Damages by askita
Summary: Marie and Jubilee are attacked by a random set of theives and Marie comes away with damages, how will she handle the changes to her mutation?
Categories: X1 Characters: None
Genres: Action, Drama, Foof, Shipper
Tags: None
Warnings: None
Challenges:
Series: None
Chapters: 9 Completed: No Word count: 20958 Read: 41722 Published: 10/07/2015 Updated: 10/24/2015
Story Notes:
This is an old story that I'm picking back up again. I've got some chapters pre-written. I'll be updating this when I finish posting those!

1. Chapter 1 by askita

2. Chapter 2 by askita

3. Chapter 3 by askita

4. Chapter 4 by askita

5. Chapter 5 by askita

6. Chapter 6 by askita

7. Chapter 7 by askita

8. Chapter 8 by askita

9. Chapter 9 by askita

Chapter 1 by askita
Author's Notes:
This is the first Chapter. I've got a few more written that I'll be posting over the next few days. I didn't write it in here, but Marie is 21 in this story. Jubes is just a few years younger.
She stares at the ceiling overhead, brown eyes drifting closed as she thinks back on all the things she’s seen today. After the failed attempt to convince a 15 year old with the ability to control currents in water to come back with them to Xavier’s, Marie and Jubilee had went back to their hotel to grab a seat at the bar. There were big bay windows. People, pools, miniscule human contact that everyone else takes for granted. Jubilee, to her credit, didn’t suit up and join the others. The girl was a really, really good friend.

“California sucks,” she whispered, to no one in particular.

“Whaddya mean?” Jubilee asked.

Marie lifts herself up onto her elbows, eyes scanning the expensive hotel room before settling on her friend. She gestures lazily toward the television where some Hollywood teeny boppers are coming out of a bar, hanging all over each other, cameras flashing non-stop.

“Look at them. They’re too drunk to appreciate it!” she huffs, “All that skin, all that touching, and they have no idea what they’re taking for granted. Which is exactly why I hate coming to places like this. It’s almost too much.”

Jubilee, once again, lives up to her reputation. Without an ounce of fear, she crawls over to where Marie is sprawled over the bed, grabs a throw blanket and wraps the other girl up into a hug.

“I know it’s rough, chica. We’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

Marie settles into her friends embrace, “It’s just they have no idea. I would give anything for just one day. Just a day, to be like that. Oh, what I would do…”

Moments later she’s shaking off the melancholy. “Enough of me wallowing in my own misery.” She plants a quick kiss on her friend’s blanket covered hand, “Have I told you lately how great a friend you are?”

“Not in the last few hours,” Jubilee replies, snatching the remote off the floor and flipping through the channels.

“Remind me to do that,” she hops off the bed and heads into the bathroom. A few seconds later, she emerges, and checks the time. “Up for some Chinese?”

“Always, you know I love the stuff.”

“I just got a hankering for pork fried rice, and it won’t go away.”

An hour later, they’re seated in a small Chinese restaurant boasting a name that neither of them could read, let alone pronounce.

“This place is really nice, very traditional.”

“Hell chica, I wouldn’t know. What, are you gonna ask me to read the other side of the menu next?”

Marie flashes her a glove covered finger, and giggles erupt from their table, earning glares and looks that had been heretofore avoided. Well, as avoided as possible considering that one of them is covered practically head to foot in the middle of July, and one is running around in a bright yellow tank and matching short gloves.

A waiter comes around and brings their food, and there’s silence for the next twenty minutes while they inhale everything on their plates, broken only by a muffled ‘mmmm’ or ‘ahhhh’ every few seconds.

“Now for the best part!” Jubilee announces as she pushes her plate away and grabs the fortune cookies in the center of the table. She tosses one to Marie, and digs in, cracking the sweet shell and unfurling the small slip of paper. She pops a small chunk of cookie into her mouth then groans, annoyed. “Ugh, that is sooooo cliché. What about yours?”

“Same here,” Marie replies reading her own fortune. “‘Be careful what you wish for, the future is full of surprises.’”

“I don’t know why I expected anything different from ‘True love is hard to find, you must seek it in yourself first.’ Maybe because this place looks so authentic, guess that’s what I get for stereotyping.”

“Let’s get outta here,” Marie says, and tosses enough money on the table to cover their tab. She and Jubilee leave the restaurant, and after a moment of indecision, take a left. They’re walking for fifteen minutes before Jubilee lets Marie know she’s uneasy.

“It’s later than I thought,” Jubilee squeaks out, “It’s really dark out now. I think I missed a turn.”

“Maybe,” Marie agrees, looking up and down the dark street. “We can’t be that far off course, let’s back track.”

After about five minutes of walking back in the direction they came and not happening upon familiar territory, they’re starting to get edgy. Jubilee starts digging in her pockets for her cell phone to call a cab.

Marie settles down on a bench, and watches as her friend sprawls out next to her. Brown eyes dart around them again, and she tugs on the edges of her gloves. She tries to tune out Jubilee’s chatter figuring out where exactly they were. She notices how deserted the street is, and is about to say something when her attention is immediately captured.

She becomes aware of two things simultaneously. The first, is the cold feel of metal against the back of her head, the second is the clatter of plastic as the phone Jubilee has been speaking on is knocked from her hand. She freezes, and watches out of the corner of her eye as her friend is hauled backwards over the park bench and out of her view. Panic white and hot rises into her throat, but the barrel of the pistol warming from her body heat stops her from doing anything.

“Stand up!” Comes the harsh command from behind her, and she feels a large strong hand grasp her elbow and yank her out of the seat when she doesn’t comply fast enough. She’s shoved backwards, toward the alleyway, where she stumbles and falls into the filth. She knocks her head on the rough brick, and wonders absently why people always feel the need to knock her unconscious. Her attention is drawn back to the situation at hand when Jubilee is thrown onto the ground next to her.

“Empty your pockets!” The man screams. “Give us all your jewelry and cash. Make it easier on yourself, don’t fight.” Marie looks over to see Jubilee’s pleading eyes, her hands were tied behind her back, rendering her nearly useless. Marie decides that this is not the first time that she had much more exposed skin than just her face.

“Move!” the word is accompanied by a kick in the head, and Marie fights off the sparkles behind her eyes, blinking to keep unconsciousness at bay. The movements are sluggish, but she manages to empty her pockets and dump everything on the floor in front of her. She tries to get a good look at her attackers, but they’re wrapped up as tight as she is, with the lovely addition of ski-masks. Bastards.

“Your friend too. And move a little quicker unless you want another knock.” His voice is harsh, and close to her face. The smell of his breath makes her want to wretch. She feels her vision swim as she tries to focus on him. Something isn’t right, every time she tries to focus everything goes blurry. It’s as if her vision is in an unfocused state … like when you have to see one of those magic eye posters.

She struggles to see, thankful for her gloves as she quickly removes Jubilee’s earrings, her bracelets are behind her back, and she hopes they won’t notice. She empties the other girls pockets and places everything on the ever growing pile in front of her.

“That all of it?” the man asks, glaring at her. At least she thinks he was glaring, her vision is whirling away from her again, and reaches a hand up to her head, rubbing slightly. She tosses her hair and rubs her neck, nodding at the man. Anything to get him to leave them alone.

“Yeah, that’s all…” her voice trails off as she feels the barrel of the pistol again.

“Now, why would you go lying to me sweetheart?” The barrel slides a trail along her face, from her temple to the curve of her neck, it catches on the chain of Logan’s tags and her breath hitches.

“They’re nothin’, just dog tags, I promise, they’re not worth anything. I promise. Please, leave them.” He chuckles at her and reaches out with his other hand, she freaks, then remembers they’re gloved. Bastards. It really is too bad they’re worried about fingerprints.

The chain jerks against her neck and snaps. Tears gather in her eyes, as the man inspects the tags. He laughs and threw them back at her. “They really are worthless. Don’t say I never gave you anything.” His words hurt just as much as his fist when he reaches out and cuffs her in the head again, the butt of his pistol connecting with her left temple, the wall connecting with the right.

For a few seconds it’s touch and go, as she wars within herself for her vision. When she’s able to focus, Jubilee’s screaming at her, and the small pile is gone. She clutches the tag in her hand, and it’s a few harrowing seconds before her searching eyes land on a still struggling Jubilee. She braces herself on the wall trying to balance her vision enough to grasp a nearby piece of glass and cut through the zip tie holding her friends hands together.

Finally free, Jubilee dashes to the end of the alley, looking for their attackers, but comes back empty handed with a worried look on her face.

Marie cradles her head in her hands, fading in and out of awareness. The last thing she hears is Jubilee using the communicator on her yellow leather wrist band to call for Jean and the Blackbird.


Marie opens her eyes the merest slit, struggling with her surroundings to come into focus. She’s starting to think that this is getting ridiculous. Her vision comes into focus for a moment, and she sees brick. Apparently she’s still in the alleyway, and she wonders why they haven’t gotten her up yet.

She feels hands shifting her, and hears Jeans soft voice above her dolling out instructions. Frantically she wonders who all’s here, and why can’t she move. She begs silently for no one to accidentally touch her. Even semi-unconscious she doesn’t want to hurt anyone.

The sound of Jubilee crying reaches her ears, and Marie wants nothing more than to tell her friend that she’s going to be fine. A little rest and Jean will have her right as rain, but she still can’t fucking move. Her mouth isn’t even trying to form words, and her arms won’t move, and she can’t even keep her damn eyelids open. Fuck, she curses them as she’s lifted.

She remembers that she was gripping the tags, and prays that she still has them. Maybe they were tangled around her fingers, maybe Jubilee has them. She concentrates but can’t feel them in her hand, but that doesn’t matter because she isn’t feeling her hands at all and she assumes it from being hit in the head so many times.

Is her face that irksome that it causes people to hit, and kick it? Why does the sight of her make people want to knock her head into walls?

She feels the blackness closing in again and she is being carried. She welcomes it.


When she slips back into consciousness, she is greeted by the familiar sounds of the Blackbird, but doesn’t know if they’re taking off, or landing, or still flying. She can’t force her eyes open this time, but Marie can still hear the muffled sounds of Jubilee’s crying, so she hasn’t been out for that long.

She hears the familiar sound of metal scraping on metal and does a little happy jig in her head. She feels much calmer knowing that Logan is here. She wonders suddenly why he hasn’t touched her yet. Not that she wants him to, she hates hurting him, but she’s surprised he hasn’t tried yet. She realizes that people around her are talking, it’s Jean and Scott. They’re close to her, and possibly whispering, although they could be screaming and she doesn’t know how they would sound through the gray haze of pain fogging her mind.

“No, this is her brain Scott. I’m not risking it.” Definitely Jean, and she’s angry. Not common.

“I’m telling you, Logan is right. It’ll help.” Wow, that is one comment no one thought would ever leave Scott’s lips, but ‘Ole One Eye tends to surprise us every now and then. Like that time he started the food fight in the cafeteria.

“As much as it pleases me greatly to find you and Logan in agreement on something, I’m not risking her brain on him touching her.” Bing. Marie knew it, the had to be a reason that Logan hadn’t brought her around by now. She forces herself to pay attention to the rest of the conversation. She can feel herself fading, and wants to know more before she passes out again.

“Logan’s healing hasn’t done anything to heal any possible brain damage he has. You don’t have years of amnesia for nothing. The brain is very complex. On top of that, we still don’t know exactly how Rogue’s skin works. With the level of possible brain damage, the draw on her powers could put her body at an even greater risk…”

No, no, no! Marie fights to stay awake, she needs to hear this. Damn…

She feels the blackness closing in again and Jean’s voice is silent now. She fights it.


Finally, she’s awake again. A quick scan of her body tells her that she still can’t feel anything, and that she still can’t move either. Her eyes won’t open so she concentrates on the noise around her. He hearing seems clearer every now and then, maybe it’s noises that are closer.

The sound of wheels rolling across smooth surface echo’s off the walls and into her ears. She’s in the lower levels on her way to the Med-Bay. Her mind is swirling around her, images flashing so fast she can’t make out anything but a jumble of colors. Unconsciousness beckons again, she strains to stay awake, but no ones talking, so she surrenders.


Her mind is a chaotic mess. Thoughts and feelings and things she can’t control. This shit really pisses her off. She doesn’t understand how to control the others in her head. It scares her. She’s scared. She keeps trying to hide, trying to run, but unfortunately you can’t run from your own mind. Even the oblivion of sleep is evasive. The more she comes out of her haze, the louder the voices around her get. It’s a cacophony of noise and ears can’t distinguish one from the other. And who talked this loud anyway, aren’t we in the Med-Bay by now?

She finds she can finally, finally, move again and brings her hands up to her ears. “Ahhhhh…” the shout rips itself from her throat. If everyone would just stop talking. Suddenly an onslaught of fearful exclamations assaulted her. Logan growls, it echoes off the walls repeatedly.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up…”

“Rogue, open your eyes. I need you to open your eyes for me.” Jean’s voice. Soft and soothing it makes Marie wonder how she can sound calm and scared at the same time.

She cracks her eyes open just a bit. “Jean… Jean please, just tell them to be quiet. Please, quiet.”

Jean pushes her glasses up a little further on her nose and darts a glance around. Marie watches her eyebrows draw together in confusion as she meets her eyes again. “Rogue, honey. No one is talking.”

Marie glared at the pretty doctor. “I’m not an idiot Jean, and I’m not deaf. I just want them to shush so I can concentrate.” She pauses, using her fingers to massage her temples. “Please, it’s just so loud.” She gritted her teeth, “Scott, for the love of God, please shut up, I’m FINE!”

She squeezes her eyes shut again, a whimper escaping her throat. There is a constant low growl as Logan mumbles to himself.

“Rogue,” she heard Scott again, “I didn’t say anything.”

“Scott, I heard you. ‘What is happening to her? Why is she hearing things? Is she going to be ok? What is wrong with her?’ you keep repeating the same damn thing and it’s getting annoying.” She keeps her eyes closed, rubbing her knuckles into them. “Please, Scott. Just be quiet. Logan, that goes for you too. The mumbling and growling isn’t helping anything.” She hears shuffling across the room, and recognizes the sound of the doors sliding open and closed.

“Rogue, just sit tight for a minute. I need to go talk to Scott.” Jean says, Marie moves her hands and watches the doors swallow her whole.

Silence. Blessed silence. She rubs her temple again. Minutes pass. She finds herself wondering how long they’ve been landed. How long was she unconscious this last time. The doors slide open again, and Jean comes in. She pauses, staring at Marie for a moment before walking to her desk and taking a seat.

“Can you hear anyone now, Rogue.”

She’s got to be kidding. Marie levers herself up into a sitting position, and eyes the doctor. “No. There’s no one here Jean, who would I hear?” She rubs her forehead again. “Look Jean, can I go? Please, I think I just need some sleep.”

“Absolutely not, no sleep for 24 hours. Concussions are nasty things. They can kill you. As it is, I’m worried about possible brain damage.” Jean’s voice was stern, all business.

Marie feels her heart skip a beat. Brain damage? She knew it couldn’t have been good to take that many blows to the head. “What are you talking about Jean?”

“Rogue, earlier, when you were begging the others to stop talking, there really was no one talking. I think that your concussion caused some problems with your mutation.”

Marie stares at Jean, her mouth has fallen slightly open and she just sits in shock for a moment or two. Suddenly her mouth closes with an audible snap. “Like, how?” she asks, releasing a breath she doesn’t realize she’s holding.

Jean stands, and takes a step toward her. Marie stiffens drawing a breath. She’s not sure if she likes this. Jean’s not going to touch her, right? She wouldn’t dare, would she? Marie looks down and realizes that at some point they’ve stripped her. She’s wearing nothing but a white hospital gown. Great, everyone on the team has now seen her very nearly naked. Thanks, Jean.

Which brings her back to the fact that Jean is coming ever closer. She starts approximating in her head. Four feet. Three. Tw- “Ahhh-” Immediately the voices are back. And with them, dawning realization. Jean takes a step back and the noise is gone, makes a note on the chart. It’s nothing like having the three personalities in her head she already does. They don’t linger, but it’s literally a bunch of people talking at once, but they don’t blend together to form a low murmur, like in the cafeteria. They are each distinct and poignant, but indecipherable.

One thought burns through her in her aftermath. Ok, two. First, “How do you do it Jean?”

Jean glances up from the chart she’s studying. “Do what?” Obviously the woman wasn’t paying her any damn attention.

“Deal. With the voices.” This time Jean actually gives her a bit of attention. Her eyes narrowed.

“How many do you hear?”

“You mean other than the three I normally hear?” she snorts, “When you come near me, it’s like I can hear everyone in the mansion.” She looks down, glowering at her glove covered hands. “It’s actually rather ironic, not only can’t I touch without stealing peoples lives, Now I can’t even be near them without stealing people powers.”

But, Jean wasn’t listening. She was scribbling on her notepad. Then that specific brand of concentration comes over her face, the type that you just know means she’s having some internal conversation with the Professor. Which means he’s coming down here. Which means she can’t just wallow in her own self resentment in a dark corner somewhere. The next few days are going to suck.
End Notes:
Thanks for reading come back soon for the next chapter!
Chapter 2 by askita
Author's Notes:
Here's the next chapter! I hope that you enjoy it!
They’ve been standing over there for 10 minutes already. She gets a “Good to see you’re back Rogue,” from the professor before Jean drags him over to the far side of the room. Every now and then one of them looks up at her.

She’s getting really annoyed. At least she wasn’t half naked anymore. Jean had sent Jubilee up to her room and Marie is now comfortable attired in pajamas with little monkey’s all over them, and matching yellow gloves. Obviously Jubilee had delved into her own closet instead of Marie’s.

She lets out a huff and glares in their general direction. Of all that’s happened, they still feel the need to censor their conversation. It’s annoying.

“Are you gonna stand over there whispering about me, or are you gonna come tell me what’s wrong with me?”

The professor sighs, nods and moves toward her. He stops five feet away, giving her one of those apologetic smiles that you know means he’s really, really sorry, and it kinda makes Marie feel like shit for being snippy. “Forgive me Rogue, from what Jean says about how you handled her powers…” He trails off. There’s no need to go on.

“Believe me Professor, I appreciate it.” She smiles, but the sadness is still evident in her eyes.

“Rogue, tell me, do you feel any different?”

“Aside from the dull pounding pain in my head, I feel tired, cranky and sorry I’m being such a bitch.” She tells him honestly. What’s the point in lying to a telepath, right?

The Professor rests one elbow on the arm of his hover chair and settles his chin into it. “Rogue, Jean has to concentrate to read someone’s mind. Her stronger power is telekinesis. When you were using her powers, how many voices did you hear?”

Remembering the noise in her head from earlier, she lifts a hand to her head and stares directly into the Professor’s eyes, holding his blue gaze steady for a moment. “I can’t count that high.”

A sharp intake of breath is heard, and Marie looks over to Jean, who has settled herself into a nearby chair. Her hands are shaking, and the doors slide open and Scott bursts into the room.

Marie jumps down and runs across the room to the farthest corner. The rest of the crowd has followed in behind Scott and she realizes that half the mansion must be awake. Logan takes a step toward her, but stops when she flings her arms out in front of her.

“No!” she screams, she doesn’t want to hurt anyone, and knows that she can’t control all of their powers. Her eyes scan the groups, stopping briefly one each one in turn. Logan, Jubes, Remy, Bobby, Kitty, Piotr, Storm, and Scott, all unknowingly scaring the ever living daylights out of her.

“You can’t come near me, I don’t want to phase through the floor, make it rain, or blast a hole in the wall. Please-” she begs as Logan moves closer. Her eyes lock with his golden ones, and he relents. He must have seen something convincing in them.

She drops his gaze and looks pleadingly at the Professor. He nods and turns to address the gathered crowd.

“Rogue has suffered what I can only term, a form of brain damage.” Every eye turns toward the Professor, except Logan, who’s captured her gaze again. She nods slightly as the Professor continues. “It seems that the damage altered her mutation, so that she can absorb powers by, not only being in direct contact, but in close proximity. Everyone must stay at a safety net of five feet from her at all times.”

“That’s bullshit,” Logan finally breaks out of the spell he’s under. He turns to the Professor anger sparkling in his golden eyes. “She has to stay five feet from everyone all the time. It’s bad enough she has to cover herself from head to toe, now she can’t even stand next to someone. SHIT!”

He’s pissed. She can tell, truthfully, she shouldn’t have expected any less. Logan strove to give her as normal an existence as possible. He never let her wear gloves, insisted she wear tank tops and shorts when it was just them. She smiled sadly at him, and hung her head forward, allowing her hair to fall over her face.

She leaned back into the corner and slid down the wall. She hears footsteps, and looks up. “No, Logan.” She says softly.

“You can’t,” Jean pips up, speaking for the first time since learning that she is apparently no where near her peak level of power. “Logan you could hurt her more than help her. We have no clue as to the power of your healing. The brain is too fragile.”

Logan’s knuckles go white with force as he clenches his fists, but he stands still. Barely.

“C-could-” Marie starts, stutters and starts again. “Could everyone leave, please?” They start to file away, hearing the sadness in her voice. She realizes that Logan thinks she means him, and calls out stopping him. “Stay, please.”

He nods, sends her a sad smile, and moves to reach out to her before clenching his fists again and settling into a stool next to the Professor. Marie figures that they’ll both keep far enough away if they stick together. Ironically that the two people she cares for the most, the two that are probably the only ones that can help her are forced to stay the farthest away.

The Professor turns his chair to face her again, and she gathers her strength. “What’s next Professor?”

The man tilts his head, and thinks for a moment. “I would like to try a few things.” He says finally. “Shall we retire to the Danger Room?”

Marie pulls her brows together and snaps her head up too look at him. Her eyes dart from him, to Jean, to Logan. “The Danger Room?”

“Yes come along dear, you have 23 hours to kill.”


Ten minutes later has Marie, standing next to Jean, blissfully almost alone in her already crowded head. The Professors got a block on her, so she doesn’t go all crazy in her mind and end up curled into a ball in the corner holding her ears. He says it’s a temporary block, that he can easily remove, from a safe distance, after Jean goes away.

Jean thinks that they should leave it in place, so that she can treat Marie if something crazy happens. That way they can work on medical things, Jean also thinks that it won’t be hard for her to master the telekinesis. Logan wants to know why he can place a block on her reading everyone’s mind, but he can’t place a block on her powers.

Marie wonders if the block is working, because she’s trying really hard not to think about anything, let alone what Jean or Logan is thinking. She figures that maybe it’s because she’s always wondering what Logan’s thinking, and they’re Jeans powers, so maybe the block is working. Whatever.

She focuses her brown eyes on Jean’s green ones and smiles faintly. “What do I need to know?”

Jean worries her bottom lip between her teeth, obviously choosing her cords carefully. “Everyone controls their powers differently. For Instance, Bobby knows instinctually about temperatures and water properties. Kitty uses her molecules on an individual level. When I use my telekinesis, I concentrate carefully, and try to envision all the dimensions of the object. It’s like when I use it, suddenly my eyes are like little CGI simulators that show every possibly dimension, and where exactly I need to move the object and how. I have to choose a path before I can actually move the object.”

“Hmm…” Marie tilts her head and looks at the small red marble a 15 feet in front of her, it’s small swirled with white. It makes her want to line up more and start a game. She assumes this is from Erik, she’s never touched marbles.

The process that Jean explains happens in a millisecond. She doesn’t examine the object, she doesn’t concentrate, she doesn’t choose the path before it moves. She didn’t even have to think the words. It happened automatically, instinctually. She looks at the small red marble in her hand, and back toward each of the five points the marble bounced off of. Small dents in the floor around where the marble had been set. Five points in a star.

She places the marble in her other hand, she examines the now empty palm. There’s no red mark. The marble landed softly in her hand after 5 hard bounces and a fast trip from 15 feet away.

“Holy shit!” She hears Logan over the speaker system and can’t help but smile a bit. She turns back to Jean, and hands her the marble.

Green eyes study the entire surface and dart up to the Observation Box, where Marie can now see Scott and Storm standing behind Logan and the Professor.

“There’s not a mark on it.”

“Amazing.” The professor is clearly impressed. Wonder how often that happens. “Rogue, your gift is obviously far more powerful that we had originally thought. I suspect that you could control any gift you encounter. Would you care to try Jean’s telepathy?”

Marie shakes her head quickly, “No Professor, whether I’m capable of controlling them or not, I’m not comfortable with possibly being able to cause severe damage like that.” She tries to suppress a shudder and doesn’t quite manage. “No. Plus I was thinking, Jean’s right. Now that we know I can control the telekinesis I’d prefer that you kept the block in place. At least I know that I can be near her.”

She smiles at Jean again. She returns the smile and grabs Marie’s hand. Her smile wavers a bit and she rests her head on the other woman’s shoulder. The appearance of the Danger Room changes and suddenly they are standing in a comfortable library, a large grouping of sofas and chairs appears and Marie settles into one.

The doors open behind her and she hears everyone stumble in. Logan takes a seat as close as he can get, which is still two chairs away. A wave of depression washes over Marie, and she suddenly doesn’t know if she can do it.

The Professor sits on the other side of Logan, and turns his attention toward her once every one is comfortable. “Rogue-” He’s speaking and she’s not listening. She’s looking at Storm, completely comfortable, relaxed, and serene.

She’s watching Jean and Scott, obviously not trying to touch, but unable to help themselves. A brush of a leg, fingers sliding along the back of a hand. Her heart aches as she looks Logan over, brooding into a glass of expensive whiskey he’s managed to get from somewhere. He keeps looking over at her, especially now that she’s sure her scents radiating sadness, discomfort and heartache. He’s got one fist clenched so tightly around the glass she’s surprised it’s not breaking.

She fights the childish urge to rub her fists into her eyeballs to hold off the tears. The pain that she’ll never even have the semblance of normalcy she had before stabs her like a hot poker in the heart. The confidence, the excitement, the awe and wonder from before are gone. She’s no longer excited about her mastery over the telekinesis. All she wants is to be able to crawl into bed with Logan when the nightmares get too bad. To be able to sit with him and watch a movie, a hockey game.


She’s fairly certain that she’s got to be projecting her misery, but she can’t help it. The Professors voice is soft and comforting now. Belatedly she realizes that there’s only one comfort that she wants. She manages to stay in her chair, and knows that Logan can smell her misery by the way the arm of the danger room simulated chair splinters under his free hand. She still amazed he’s managed not to break the glass, but she notices that it’s fuller than it was before.

She can’t control the snort or laughter that escapes her lips at the idea that he managed to get the Professor to let him bring alcohol into the Danger Room.

She realizes everyone is looking at her. She can’t seem to care.

“I need some time to think.” She tells them, then stands to walk out the door. “Logan, will you meet me back in the Med-Bay at-” she glances at the clock on the wall. “lunch?” Six hours, plenty of time.

“Sure” he replies, taking a long drink of the whiskey. “Lunch.”

The door clicks behind her as she heads down the hallway toward the elevator and up to her room for a much needed shower.


6:55 AM, Marie’s Room

Marie’s standing in front of the once foggy mirror staring at her reflection. A cursory once over doesn’t show any signs of change, any signs of damage. There’s no difference from the girl who stood in front of a different mirror, in a different state yesterday afternoon. None except for the large black and blue marks on either side of her head. God, why didn’t anyone tell her she looked like shit?

She dries quickly, pondering how so much can change with so little to show for it. She’s in front of the mirror again. Long black peasant skirt, V-neck light blue top, sheer black scarf, black silk opera gloves. The gloves are a pair of her favorites, Logan bought them. Had told her that the thick lightening bolt embroidered on the out seam reminded him of her. She’d smiled and thanked him, kissed him lightly on his bearded cheek.

She runs a finger over the white bolt, and smiles fondly at the memory. Another quick once over and she’s suddenly hit by the realization that now people can’t get close enough to touch her. She sighs, wishing she could fore-go all the layers, but there’s still Jean, she’s gonna need to be able to be near her and not be afraid. And there’s still all the little kids, they won’t know any better, especially if she goes skin baring.

Then there’s Logan. Jean’s only gonna be able to hold him off for so long. As of yet, Marie’s still undecided on her course of action. Which is why she needs these six hours. A quick glance at the clock, tells her that she’s only got five hours left. Shit, five hours. Grabbing a brush, she pulls it through her slightly damp locks. Trying to arrange them to cover the bruises and failing. She quickly pulls a head scarf from her drawer and ties it on, wondering absently how long she’ll need it. She whirls and heads out into the danger zone known as Xavier’s.


7:45 AM, Communal Kitchen

Marie grabs a muffin out of a large bowl on the counter and settles into a stool. She takes a bite, enjoying the fresh blueberries, letting her thoughts wander. She’s been thinking hard on her situation, taking everything Jean has said about her brain into consideration.

The possibility that it can cause further damage, slip her into a coma, increase the small radius around her. The possibility that it won’t fix it, that nothing will happen. It’s possible that she’s been thinking too hard. She doesn’t hear Piotr enter. She doesn’t even notice when he settles into the seat next to her. Until he slides a tall glass of orange juice in front of her.

She freezes, fear settling over her like a mantle. A really heavy mantle. Her head swivels and her eyes flash at Piotr. He’s gaping in shock at her and she can’t figure out why. Marie reaches up to brush a long strand of dark brown hair out of her eyes and tuck it back into the head scarf. That’s when she sees it.

The glint, like the metal of Logan’s claws. Except adamantium is prettier. Suddenly she remembers why she was afraid of him being so close. There’s not much of her skin showing, but she looks at the patch on her arm and sure enough it resembles steel. No wonder fear suddenly got heavy. Usually it’s a light airy feeling, making her want to take off in flight. And come to think of it, her perspective is a bit higher, not much, but apparently things look different from a few inches up.

She locks eyes with Piotr, only to find his blue orbs studying her. She thinks it’s probably weird to see what you should look like in reverse. He’s staring into her eyes, her now silver eyes, and he smirks at her. She scowls.

“How do I turn it off.”

“How did you turn it on?”

“What kind of question is that? I have no idea.” She’s annoyed again. Can’t he just open that big Russian mouth of his and tell her, not ask her all kinds of round about questions.

“Rogue, treat this as the learning experience it is. What happened when you turned it on?” His gaze is boring into her, willing her to answer him. It’s not surprising when she does. They’ve always been able to talk.

“I didn’t realize you were here until you passed the orange juice over.” She says thoughtfully, “I freaked, froze like I always do. No one realizes how scared I get sometimes when you guys get too close.” She’s thinking again. “So, it’s instinctual?”

Piotr’s still watching her, she thinks he’s remembering but she can’t be sure. “It wasn’t for me. I had to consciously think I wanted something for protection. Came in very handy one winter at home, when I went without a coat. I had to train myself. Like Kitty, she's trained herself. With you, it’s like instinct. You felt the urge to need protection from something and you changed. I have to actually think about it.”

“So, I could turn it off, what? By wanting to?”

“Yes, more or less. It’s easier to turn on than off. You have to think about it. Or I do. We could practice, if you’d like.” She does as he suggests and the metal melts away. She feels lighter again.

“Piotr, can I ask you something?”

“Always.”

“Do you think I should let Logan heal me?” She asks him, sighing. She takes a drink of the orange juice and chews a bite of muffin while she waits for his answer. The taste of the blueberries explode in her mouth.

“I think that you should do what’s best for you.”

“Oh, yeah. Heaps of help you are,” She snorts. “It’s just, Jean says it dangerous. That it could cause more problems. Like, increase my ‘radius’, or put me in a coma, or it might not even work.”

“Jean is a smart woman,” Piotr says thoughtfully, “and a good doctor.”

“Yeah, I know,” she’s picking at a loose thread on the edge of her skirt. “It’s just, not everyone’s powers are like yours. Not controlling your powers doesn’t hurt anyone. What about being near Jubilee? If my mutation makes me able to instinctually control everyone’s powers, then I could get annoyed and send fireworks out, I could burn people. Or like Bobby, I could accidentally freeze someone, and really hurt them.”

She’s practically ready to cry now and she slides her brown eyes over to meet Piotr’s blue ones. “That scares me.”

Her statement is simple, and truthful. She’s scared. Piotr shifts his form, and she feels cool metal touching her forehead as he places a kiss there. “You will figure it out, Rogue. I’m sorry that I could not help you more.” He turns and leaves the kitchen, leaving Marie to ponder her situation.


8:36 AM, Storm’s Garden

After spending another twenty minutes in the kitchen brooding, Marie decides a lift in spirits is in order. Which is why she’s now standing amid the vivid blooms and lush greens of Ororo’s personal garden.

Spring is beautiful in Westchester. Her gloved fingertips caress a bright blue tulip as she absently blows on the streaming mug in her hands. Coffee, sweetened with sugar and milk. It’s not Irish, the way Logan sometimes likes it. Her mother used to say that she likes ‘a little bit of coffee with her cream and sugar’, except now she makes it a lot stronger. Consequences of having absorbed Logan so much, she assumes.

She sips the coffee as the familiar buzz of the Professor’s hover chair reaches her ears. She turns toward him, sitting as he is across a small rainbow colored expanse of tulips, lilies, roses, and shiny green ivy. Ironically it’s just far enough across to remind her that she’s a leper in every sense of the word. People shouldn’t come near her, and she still has to wrap herself up. She shakes off the thought.

“Hello, Professor.” She sends him a smile that actually reaches her eyes, she loves this man who’s been more of a father to her than her own.

“Hitting the caffeine already I see.”

“Well, if Jean’s gonna make me stay up for 24 hours.”

“It’s necessary, I’m afraid.”

She sighs, loudly. “I know, head trauma and all that. It’s just annoying. Everything is annoying,” she mumbles. She’s trying to maintain a cheery outlook. It would be such a shame to bring depression to the lovely scene around her. She takes another sip of her coffee, it’s still too hot to gulp, and tries to organize her thoughts.

Seeing her brows knit in concentration, the Professor sits patiently, knowing she’ll talk when she’s ready. Its several minutes before she does.

“I think I’m going to let Logan get close to me at lunch,” she tells him. She’s still uncertain, it’s written all over her face, spelled out in her eyes. “Mostly because I can’t not let him,” she clarifies. The Professor nods his head, but stays silent.

“It’s not that I don’t think he’ll listen, although I don’t think that it’s Jean’s edict that he’s not allowed that’s keeping him away. He’s afraid of hurting me.” She pauses, there before continuing. “I can’t not let him, because I need him to be close to me. Especially now, when I’m uncertain, and still scared. He’s my rock. My immovable foundation. It’s killing him, not to be able to help me.”

She kicks a stray pebble with her bare foot, and moves over to a bench, being sure to keep the same distance between her and the Professor. Whether or not she instinctually controls other powers. She doesn’t want to wish desperately for everyone to shut up and send them all into a coma with her subconscious. That’s a lot of people in a 250 mile radius. They’d probably haul her off to jail.

At least in jail, they’d enforce the 5 foot radius. She won’t have to bottle up her skin anymore.

“Rogue.” The Professor admonishes. She blushes and turns away. She really needs to get her mind under control. She’s probably shouting at him. “You are.”

“I’m sorry, Professor. I’m just a bit, preoccupied.”

“It’s understandable Rogue. Just remember that your decision is based only on you. No one else.” He smiles that serene smile at her and turns away.

Marie stares after him for a few minutes, lost in thought. She takes another sip of her coffee, and realizing it’s at the perfect temperature, downs the rest of it. Another cup is in order.
End Notes:
Comments are love!
Chapter 3 by askita
Author's Notes:
Another new chapter for you all! This ones got some more action in it!
10:48 AM, Library

In moments like this one, Marie fervently wishes she didn’t live in a mansion full of mutants. She’s in the farthest corner of the library, the wall to her back, a bookshelf to her right, and an open window to her left. Logan’s instincts have been stronger more ingrained since the attack in California.

The carpet beneath her is soft, expensive, short. It must take forever to vacuum. Her gloved elbows are resting on her raised knees, fingers wrapped around yet another cup of coffee. Kitty and Jubilee are sitting on a loveseat across from her, curled up and quizzing her out of some magazine, trying to figure out if she’s seductive or not. They’re trying to cheer her up, and surprisingly it’s working.

She takes a long thoughtful sip of her coffee, and answers the question. “C.”

“Wow, really?” Jubilee asks, both of her eyebrows are raised.

“Ok. Let’s figure it out….” Kitty replies. Her eyes narrow on the paper in her hands, and she looks over at the magazine in her friends lap. “Wow, ok. Jubilee, you’re a ‘Full-Steam-Ahead-Seductress’. Here, read that part.” Jubilee quickly scans the paragraph, and scoffs.

“What, basically I’m a man-eating, desperate, whore? What the hell does Cosmo know anyway? It’s not like I sleep with them, jeez.” She’s annoyed and pissed, when she tosses the magazine at Kitty. Kitty, in turn, scans over her own paragraph. She promptly bursts into giggles, which has Jubilee grabbing the magazine back from her.

“What’s yours?” she asks, clearly confused by the other girls reaction. A still giggling Kitty points frantically at the page, and Marie finds herself mildly confused. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jubilee groans.

“What,” Marie asks, finding herself irrepressibly interested. It felt really good to be a girl again.

“She’s a ‘Savvy Sex Kitty’, basically she’s perfect and does everything right. God.” She tosses the magazine back at Kitty, who’s finally managed to get the giggles under control.

“Ok Rogue, You’re a…” she trails off as she figures out the results. “’Flirt-o-Phobe’. Here, she says, tossing the magazine next to her on the floor. Marie sets her coffee cup on the floor next to it, and flips to the correct page.

“’You’re so skittish about letting you’re sexy side out, it’s in danger of extinction!’ Yay me!” Marie sighs and rolls her eyes, but a little giggle escapes her mouth. A slow smiles spread across her mouth as she stares at two of her closest friends. A knowing look passes through them all, as more giggles erupt from the group.

Jubilee, still giggling, lets out and indignant ‘Man-Eater!’, which causes a new wave of giggles from Kitty.

Marie struggles for breath as she tells Kitty, “They may as well have called you ‘Boo Boo Kitty Fuck’.”

Another long round of giggles is interrupted by Bobby subtly clearing his throat. “Hey Rogue, Dr. Summers said to tell you that ‘If you keep pouring all that coffee down your throat, without eating, you’ll be hooked up to an IV quicker than you can blink.’ So, you wanna go get a snack or something?”

“Sure Bobby, I’ll meet you there in ten.” She replies with a meaningful look at Jubilee and Kitty. When he’s out of earshot, she groans and rolls her eyes. “Great, now I’m gonna have to fend him off for the next hour.” She mumbles as she leafs through the magazine. She dawdles over the magazine, talking to the other girls for a bit longer before heading out of the library. She takes the long route, sticking to the walls, peering carefully around corners before heading toward the kitchen.


11:02 AM, Communal Kitchen

She smiles at Bobby as she walks into the kitchen. She puts the tea kettle onto boil, drops a tea bag into the water, turns to the Bose Radio mounted under one of the counters. She fiddles with the channels, finding her preferred station, noting with annoyance that Bobby is very obviously mirroring her movements to make sure he stays five feet away.

Another familiar stab of pain lances through her heart. She ignores it, in favor of turning the radio down a bit, and gathering the ingredients for a small fruit salad.

“You know Rogue,” she groans inwardly as Bobby starts speaking. “I think that this is something that you can overcome…” he trails off obviously at a loss.

Marie pulls a bunch of grapes from the bowl, cutting them into quarters and adding them to her apple and orange slices. She tries to tamp down the anger beginning to boil in her as she reaches for a chunk of watermelon.

“It’s really not that different from before, right? People don’t come near you too much anyway. All you’d have to do was learn to control a few powers, like mine, and maybe Jubes’ and then you know, you could be near us. It wouldn’t be too bad you know.”

Marie slams the knife down onto the cutting board, the watermelon chunks now all but forgotten. “Dammit Bobby, listen to yourself. Standing over there, taking about how I should learn your power so I can get close to you. You can’t even let less than five feet come between us. You know, it only works in a two foot radius, there isn’t shit I could do to you from way the fuck over here. Quit the macho bullshit, it doesn’t suit you.”

She tosses the chopped watermelon into her bowl and throws the rest of the uncut fruit into the fridge. Quickly, she pours her tea, adds sugar, grabs her bowl and utensils and heads over to the small dining table across the kitchen.

Her back is straight in her chair, if Bobby has any sense in his head, he’ll leave. Let her enjoy her food in peace. Apparently he has none.

Seconds later, he’s kneeling next to her, reaching for her hand. She jerks away from him, pulling her hand to her chest as cold settles over her. With a sick sense of déjà vu, she looks down at the bare skin of her arm and sees solid ice. “Bobby!” she yells, bringing her gaze up to meet his.

Every part of her body is cold, it’s weird really, an odd sense of feeling normal and used to it, but being freezing and feeling like she should be chattering her teeth at the same time. Some part of her was barely aware that Jean and Logan had come running at her scream.

Bobby’s still kneeling next to her, trying to talk to her, stuttering over his words, with nothing coming out in the end. She can tell he’s amazed at her solid ice state, maybe even a little smug. Anger and fear burst through her in equal measures as she jumps to her feet, knocking her chair backwards. Bobby stands when she does, reaching out to her. Panic overwhelms her and she plants both hands on his chest, pushing hard. “Stop!”

He flies backward, hitting the wall, dazed, but still standing. Suddenly everyone’s attention is drawn from the dazed Bobby to Marie, who’s begun to shudder. Her breath is coming in rasping heaves, and the scream of pain that she tries to release gets caught in her throat and comes out as a strangled cry.

Jean flies to her side, Logan close on her heels. She whirls and stops him, motioning him over to Bobby. He reluctantly agrees. Marie’s aware of everything going on around her, feels Jean next to her, hands wrapped in a dish towel searching for a pulse. “Breathing and pulse are abnormal. Get him over here!”

A rough push from Logan has him barreling unsteadily across the room. It takes a few tense moments for her breathing and pulse to return to normal. The pain recedes and Marie can speak again.

“Tell her how to turn it off.” Logan’s voice is low and steady.

“You gotta think about it. Just will it back.” He manages after a few tries.

Marie concentrates and feels the ice melt away, a shudder rakes her form and Bobby backs up again. When he’s far enough away, Logan grabs him and tosses him back into the wall. “You and me are gonna have a talk.” She hears him threaten.

Her attention is pulled back to Jean, because the doctor’s talking again. Asking how she’s feeling, if anything hurts, if she’s has any leftover issues that need taken care of. Marie patiently answers her questions, and sits silently while Logan’s gaze rakes over her, knowing he’s listening and looking for vitals that Jean can’t see without his enhanced senses.

“What- what happened?” Marie asks, her voice shaky still but growing steadier.

Jean sits back on her heels, lips pursed thoughtfully. Logan leans against the far wall, waiting impatiently for Jean’s answer, golden eyes pinning Bobby to the floor where he’s slid down against the wall.

When she finally does, she’s speaking to no one in particular. “I think that in cases of mutations like Bobby’s, where there is a physical change in the body make-up, if she’s leaves their presence before she’s reverted to her natural form, there can be repercussions. For instance, what we’ve just seen. When she pushed him away, her body lost the ability to control the ice; therefore her internal organs began to experience trouble. The air froze in her lungs, her heart tried to reform, tried to pump blood.” Her emerald gaze was fierce when it landed on Bobby. “You could have killed her.”

By this point Jean’s unconsciously pulled Marie close, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, one hand rubbing the top of her head. The fear is beginning to calm, and the tears streaming down her cheeks are stopping. Jean dismisses Bobby with another glare, before murmuring comforting words to Marie. Logan takes the signal for what it is, and drags the boy to his feet, hauling him out of the kitchen and down the hall for a talk.

“Rogue, honey, are you okay? Do you want to go down to the Med-Bay?”

It takes her a few seconds to respond. “No, I’m- I’m good. I just want- can I- Can I just finish my fruit salad and my tea? Would- would that be okay?”

“That would be fine,” Jean replies, hugging her quickly before standing and helping Marie to her feet. “Maybe, after you eat your fruit salad, you should take your tea out onto the patio and enjoy the fresh air. Then, cut back a bit on the caffeine. I know you don’t want to fall asleep, but too much will make you crash. If you feel you need a lift, have some of the peppermint tea that’s up there. It will be a crisp wake-up to your senses, okay? ”

“Sure, Jean, sure. Can you be down in the Med-bay when I meet Logan there at lunch? I- I think- I’ve got some thinking to do before then, but I think I’ve made my decision.”

“Ok, remember, if you need me, just call out to me.” She says, smiling that beautiful smile of hers and tapping her temple. She squeezes Marie’s hand tightly, briefly, then departs, leaving her at the table. With a sound of disgust, she moves her food to the bar where she sat earlier with Piotr, devouring the fruit with a new gusto.


11:42 AM, Kitchen Patio

Marie gazes over the grounds, allowing the aroma of peppermint to heighten her senses just as Jean said it would. The expanse of green grass and highly maintained gardens seem almost sterile to her eye, and she absently wonders how much it all cost. She caught sight of a familiar blond blue eyed boy out of the corner of her eye and turned to him. He stopped, settling himself on the low wall that surrounded the patio, planted his feet on the grass, and studied the same panorama that Marie had been watching.

“Hello John,” she greets, before turning her attention back to the tree line.

“Heard about Bobby,” he remarks casually.

“Don’t want to talk about it,” she replies, “would rather just enjoy the view.”

She’s annoyed that her suffering as a block of human ice has already made it around the mansion. Although, to give them credit, she had been screaming pretty loudly at him. She casts another look at John, seated 20 feet away. She’s not sure if it’s in deference to her new power, or just part of his regular demeanor. Either way, she’s glad he’s far away, especially when he’s flicking that damn lighter the way he is.

She thinks John’s noticed either her irritation or her desire to be alone. Regardless, he leaves. She’s stepped closer to the wall, making sure there’s enough room for him to pass safely.

She focuses her attention back on the sterile gardens, thinking over the incident with Bobby. She knows that dwelling on her fear and pain isn’t going to do her any good, but she also knows that it’s all the more reason for her to let Logan try to heal her brain damage. Her heart begins to race and her palms get sweaty as her fear crashes through her. She can’t imagine living every day with the fear of getting within two feet of people for long enough to wreak havoc with their powers, hurting others and possibly killing herself.

Maybe it’s her sweaty palms wrapped around the mug, maybe it’s being wrapped up in her fear like she is. Maybe it’s just the plain self absorption and carelessness of a certain Cajun. More than likely it’s a combination of all three.

“Hello, chere.” Remy’s low pitched voice echoes in her right ear, loose strands of his hair brush against her cheek, as his fingers slide over her gloved elbows and up along her forearms. She jumps, startled, and feels the charge at the same time the mug slips from her hand.

The bright colorful light hurts her eyes, the noise is deafening, and she’s vaguely aware that Remy’s transferred his power to her as shards of cement embed themselves into her exposed flesh and easily slice through her clothes causing more injuries. She realizes that in her surprise at his nearness, she’s charged and released the coffee mug. An odd thought at having wasted a full cup of tea passes through her thoughts.

The next thing she’s aware of is falling into a heap to the cement, Remy’s above her. Shouting backward. Her mind is rather clear, but her senses are very muffled. She calls and screams for Jean, telling her where she is and what happened.

Sounds assault her ears as the deafness fades, but she still only catches words. “John” “Summers” “Wolverine” “Ok?” “Fine” They’re jumbled together and she can’t figure them out, but she knows that if Remy’s talking, then he’s ok. That bastard. She must have taken most of the force, after all, he was behind her. What was he doing anyway, from what she’d gathered, everyone had heard about the incident with Bobby.

Definitely need to see Logan.

She hears Jean mumbling now, calling for help, she’s fighting slipping into unconsciousness when she feels cold metal lift her off the floor. She sighs, knowing that at least it’s only Piotr, and that even if she manages to turn to metal, she knows how to turn it off.

She manages to keep her consciousness until they get into the Med-Bay.

‘Rogue.’

‘It’s Jean, in my head. Doesn’t she know I’m awake?’

‘Yes dear, but I figured it would be easier to talk to me this way.’

‘Hmmm, that makes sense. You want me to turn off the metal, I am metal right?’

‘Yes.’

‘That work?’

‘It did.’

‘Where’s Logan?’

‘He’s here, John went to get him.’

‘Jean, I’m gonna open my eyes. I want Logan to try.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes, but let me call him over.’

‘Ok.’

When Marie opens her eyes, it’s like coming out of a haze. The blurry vision, muffled hearing, and pain hit her all at once. She blinks a few times, and her vision clears. Amazing she must have either shielded her eyes, or just got lucky. She survey’s her body, aches pains and cuts everywhere… yay.

‘At least I’ve still got my clothes on.’ She sends the thought to Jean.

‘Only because I didn’t have time.’ Jean responds to the barb.

‘Is this you, or me?’ She asks, the telepathy thing is kinda weird.

‘It is a bit weird, but you’ll get used to it. We’ll figure out who it is later, you said you wanted to call Logan over?’ Jean asks, helping Marie into a sitting position.

It doesn’t take long for Marie to locate Logan. She takes a sick sense of satisfaction at the sight of Remy pinned to the wall, standing on tiptoes. The view of one claw on each side of his neck, and the middle one really close to his Adam’s apple is very familiar and just as gratifying. She can’t hear what Logan’s saying to him, but she could probably imagine if she tried.

John’s leaning against the wall not far from them, that trademark smirk on his face and she wonders briefly if he realizes what he’s barely escaped. Then it dawns on her that obviously he has ‘cause he’s seeing the whole scene play out.

‘You let him break his nose?’ She asks Jean, when she notices the blood on Remy’s face.

‘No, apparently they had an accident on the way down. Remy almost killed you, I thought he deserved a bit of Logan’s punishment.’ She hears Jean chuckle next to her and rolled her eyes.

She surveys the scene again. Remy’s got some cuts on his face, but his trench coat must be made of real leather, because she can’t see much more damage on him. Next time, I'm not taking the brunt of any oncoming debris for you Remy.

“Logan,” she rasps. She’s taken more damage than she thought. He starts, and turns toward her, dropping Remy to the floor. He takes a few steps, then looks to Jean. He closes the remaining space quickly when she nods and steps away.

The feel of Logan’s arms around her, is something she’s missed desperately during her time of need. A hiss escapes her when she feels her wounds start to close. He pulls away slightly, looking down into her face as the bruises on her head heal. She sees relief and fascination in his golden eyes as he watches the small cuts spew forth pieces of cement and stitch themselves up.

She grimaces and hisses again as the healing finally finishes. “God, I don’t remember it hurting that bad,” she sighs, resting her head on his chest.

“That’s cause you never had to expel foreign matter before. The pain’s gone though, right?” he asks, his voice gravely with relief and concern. He pulls the scarf from her head and rubs her hair as she nods. She revels in the feel of him, twining her arms about his midsection tightly. He responds in kind then speaks to Jean above her head. “How do we know if it worked, Jeannie?”

Jean assesses her from where she stands at her desk. “It seems that she’s healed her injuries. We’d have to do a Cat Scan to check.”

Marie moaned and lifts her face from Logan’s chest. “Couldn’t you just come over here and let me try my hand at Telekinesis?”

Jean folds an arm across her chest, and taps her fingers on her chin. “I think it best if we bring someone who you haven’t had contact with in for that. We wouldn’t want to take any chances about you pulling forth my telekinesis, or Piotr’s metal from you arsenal of stored powers. What about Cypher?”
End Notes:
Comments are love!!! Thanks for reading!
Chapter 4 by askita
Author's Notes:
Cypher belongs to Marvel, and the book is real, I don’t know if it’s out in Spanish though. This is the last pre-written chapter, so comments will definitely spur me into writing more!
It takes fifteen minutes for Cypher to finally arrive. He’s tall, not as tall as Logan, but taller than Jean. Blond hair and blue eyes but a little nerdy, although that could be attributed to the stack of books he’s carrying in his arms.

“Sorry, I was upstairs translating some texts when I got your page Dr. Summers.” He’s blushing and it’s adorable. Marie’s seen him around the mansion before, but she’s not sure what his mutation is. She assumes it has to do with the translating he was just referring to.

He sends a charming smile across the room, which only makes him more adorable, before heading over to Jean.

“You didn’t need to bring the whole library.” Jean tells him with a smile.

He sends her a look that’s almost comical in its seriousness. “I didn’t, only four different languages, in case you wanted to test the extent of her abilities.”

Marie’s struggling not to burst into laughter, as she buries her face back into Logan’s chest. She manages to get herself under control by the time Cypher makes it over. “I’m Douglas,” he extends a hand. Reluctantly Marie pulls one hand from it’s secure grip on Logan, and shakes Douglas’.

“OK, these are four books, I want you to open to a random page each and read one sentence.” She shifts, to accommodate the stack of books, while still maintaining a grip on the man next to her with one small hand. She flips open the first book.

“‘The story of how Cleopatra had herself smuggled into the palace by the Sicilian merchant Apollodorus, who hid her in a bed roll or a bundle of linen sheets, has grown in the telling so that in modern versions of her tale we find Cleopatra being unrolled from an exotic, anachronistic Persian rug to tumble, alluringly disheveled and breathless at Cesar’s feet.’ I like this one, what’s it called?” Marie asks.

Douglas chuckles and glances at the cover. “It’s a Spanish publication of ‘Cleopatra: The Last Queen of Egypt’ by: Joyce Tyldesley. Looks like you can still use other’s powers.”

The crushing disappointment that covers her would probably have turned her to metal if Piotr was still around.


She’s not sure how she’s managed to make it this far and still be blinded by tears, but apparently she’s run all the way to her bedroom. Her memory is splotchy on her flight from the Med-Bay, but she’s almost certain that Logan will be here any minute.

She’s crying harder than she can ever remember at her last hope having been pulled out from under her. She’s waiting for the rage to take over, knowing her sorrow will soon have another outlet. It doesn’t take long. She curses her self, her skin, God and everyone in between for her rotten luck.

Her dresser suffers as she tears at the contents, wrenching out scarves and gloves and socks and nightgowns and tossing them hither and yon. The colorful disarray isn’t enough to fill the tearing gaping anger inside her, and she’s sure she’s giving the professor a headache with her projections.

She attacks the closet next, jeans and shirts go flying, shoes are kicked across the room, and when a heavy boot clatters into the wall with a sharp crack of wood she’s given another vent for her ire. Tears are still streaming down her face, her howls and shouts are now tempered with the sickening sound of flesh hitting solid wood.

Her hands hurt, and it’s a fresh new pain. She barely registers the bedroom door swing open, but when his strong arms encircle her, all the fight goes out of her. The tears are still falling, but now she’s exhausted. His hands are moving over her back, and she’s slightly aware of him stripping off her long gloves and pulling on her oversized robe.

His arms are back around her, and she shudders as another wave of tears begins. Some part of the back of her head is curious as to how many tears the human body can create on demand. The next thing she notices is them slipping into her bed, both still fully clothed, Logan sans shoes ‘cause she’s been barefoot all day.

“Jean says you can sleep.” Before he finishes his sentence, she’s already falling.


Marie’s meandering in tunnels, dark and wet. She hears muffled screams, and sounds of partying. A distant pop. She’s running before she realizes it. Every room she passes, she peeks inside. She’s made turn after turn, and the screams aren’t getting any closer.

She hears laughing, and darts down a connecting hallway and suddenly she’s there. Lab coats, face masks, officers with champagne glasses, along with the sickening and familiar smell of adamantium. She screams at them, long mean loud noises that don’t make much sense, but the ice shards shooting at them get them moving.

It’s not fast enough for her liking and she begins picking up random objects, charging them before tossing them across the room. They carry further than they should, because of the telekinesis. Soon they’re all gone, and she’d follow them to get her vengeance, but she needs to get him out of the water.

With a wave of her hand each small metal apparatus holding him down is carefully removed, the larger pieces fall apart where they sit. She reaches a gloved hand into the water and thanks whoever that she’s in long sleeves, because he’s clutching at her without paying any attention. His breathing is jagged, and he’s pressing his face into her stomach. Marie mumbles soothing nonsense to him, trying to coax him from the water coffin.

Her eyes catch sight of the walls and she fights the urge vomit, dozens of X-rays lined up like wallpaper, and it doesn’t take her long to realize they’re all from different stages of his torture. Finally he’s standing, but he hasn’t let go, he’s still gripping her tightly as she walks him toward the doors.

They should be stepping out into a dank dark corridor, but instead, they’ve stepped through into a small clearing in the forest. There’s snow everywhere, but she’s not cold. A large fire’s roaring and she’s amazed at how clear everything in this dream is, how real it feels.

Logan pulls her down into a pile of furs next to the fire, wrapping her tightly in his arms, thanking her over and over for saving him. ‘Thank You’ and ‘I Love You’ tumbling head over heels from his lips over and over.

“You’ll never know what you’ve done for me. I’ve loved you for as long as I’ve known you. My Marie.” He’s mostly asleep now, and so is she. She takes a moment to marvel at the impossible reality of dreams as his hand settles roughly against her cheek.



Marie takes her time floating into wakefulness, enjoying that odd disoriented feeling between the dream world and the real world. It’s here that she can still enjoy the feel of Logan’s bare hand against her cheek. She sinks further into his embrace and knows that back in her bed he actually is holding her tightly, passively against his chest.

Her mind wanders, and she’s only slightly amazed that she can remember the dream fully. Everyone can for those precious moments before reality invades and take root in their brain. She can see faces and name plates, they flash before her eyes in slow motion, and she tries desperately to remember them. The acrid scent of boiling metal is stuck in her nostrils. Her ears ring with echoes of Logan’s declarations of love and devotion.

Most importantly she can consciously shape the direction of her dreams. Imagine Logan stripping the clothes from her body, the feel of his hands on her skin. His lips on hers. No pain. This was all she’d ever have.

“I wouldn’t count on that, darlin’.”

Suddenly she’s fully awake and blushing. Brown eyes snap open, and she’s got a close-up view of unshaven cheek and smooth lips. She’s also very aware of his hand on her face. She quickly jerks away, mindlessly scared, but there’s no where to go. The pillow and Logan’s strong arms are behind her.

It takes her a second to realize that there isn’t any pull. She’s not flooded with the memories he’s accumulated since their last contact. Only fleeting thoughts and conscious decisions. She contemplates, his earlier statement, going over everything she’d thought earlier. Touching, kissing, holding, loving.

‘Marie’s got some intricate fantasies.’

“Well, I’ve had plenty of time to come up with them.” She blushes, and blurts out. Quickly she plants a hand over her mouth stemming the flow of words.

‘God damn.’ Logan’s thoughts echo through her mind. When she’s sure she won’t pop out with anything embarrassing, she speaks again.

“You’re not the only one who can read thoughts.”

“Holy shit.”

“Just what I was thinking.”

“Nuh-unh.” He replies with a smirk. If it’s at all possible, her face gets even redder.

“How?” she asks.

He removes his hand from her face. “Try now.”

“Try what?”

“Well, obviously it only works when you’re touching someone.” Another smirk, he’s on a roll this morning.

“Hey, I just woke-up, and now I can touch. My brain isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders here.”

“Well, that much is- ” His comment is cut off by a spare pillow to the face. A small scale war ensues until Logan has Marie pinned on the bed, arms above her head, legs wrapped around his hips. Her heart races and a very detailed image passes through someone’s mind. Quickly they disentangle.

“You should go see Jean.” Logan’s almost blushing now.

“Only if you come with me.” Marie replies, eyes darting down to her hands twisting in her lap. She, on the other hand, is sufficiently scarlet across her face, neck and chest. She feels the weight on the bed shift, and looks up as he plants a kiss on the top of her head.

“Be back in 20, get a shower.”


A short while later, Marie is stepping out of the shower, marveling at how this time yesterday she was in practically the exact same spot. Except the knowledge bouncing around in her head is completely different. She’s toweling her hair dry in front of the mirror, when she catches her reflection, her heart aches.

The dog tags. The pain that she feels spread through her chest is what she imagines it would feel like to have Kitty reach into your chest cavity and squeeze your heart. She reaches up, dragging a finger along her skin where the chain would rest, before heaving a sigh of regret.

She had yet to tell him they were gone. With everything that had happened in the last 36 hours, her mind had been elsewhere. Mentally she rehearsed what she would say when he came back to her room. Better to tell him right off. A quick survey of her closet reminded her of the disarray she had made of her room yesterday. She picks up a dark blue pair of jeans from the floor and a white bodice top with black floral embroidery from the top of her dresser. Quickly she finds a pair of white short gloves, and a sheer white scarf. She finishes dressing in a combination of depression and elation.

She’s fingering an abused spot on her closet door when Logan returns.

“How are you hands, anyway?”

She turns toward him sheepishly, “They’re fine now. Hurt like a bitch yesterday.”

“Which is why people without adamantium skeletons and healing factors shouldn’t try and tear down doors with their knuckles.” He chides, looking at her pointedly. “How’s everything else?”

“Well, there’s something I wanted to tell you about your tags.” Her eyes are focused on her hot pink toenails, peeking out from the denim. There’s no way she’ll be able to tell him this while looking at him.

“They’re not lost.” He says. It’s possibly the one statement that could wrench her eyes from the pretty shade of pink.

“What?” she asks, she’s confused and he’s just standing there looking at her. No explanation forthcoming. “What do you mean?” she asks again, this time with a bit more clarification.

He’s fishing something out of his pocket and walking toward her. He places hands on her bare shoulders and images flash through her mind as he turns her around. He settles the tags around her neck.

“Jean gave them to me while you were out.” His hands are back on her bare shoulders, the slideshow continuing in her minds eye. “She did a CT Scan on your head shortly after we got you back to the Med-Bay. You can’t wear metal in there, so she thought I’d wanna hang onto ‘em. Now I’m giving ‘em back.”

She spins in his arms, hands going up to encircle his neck in a fierce hug. “Oh, thank you Logan! I thought I had lost them.” There’s skin touching everywhere, and as Logan’s arms slip around her waist to return the hug, they both become very much aware how good it feels to the other. They break apart quickly.

“We should get to Jean, I already called and told her we were coming.”
She cocks an eyebrow at him, searching the floor for the dark blue jacket that matches her jeans. “We’re gonna have to talk about this eventually,” she says slipping into her jacket and zipping it halfway. She notices Logan’s eyes linger briefly at her cleavage, where the dark denim makes her pale breasts just a bit paler and she grins.

As if they were still touching, or maybe Logan really is telepathic, he yanks his gaze up to meet her brown eyes. “It’s summer.” He says, in a lame attempt to cover his ogling.

“Summer or not, short gloves and a bodice top are no way for me to be running around a mansion full of kids. Besides, we don’t know if the touchy touchy only works on you or on everyone, and I don’t want every Tom, Dick, and Remy’s pervy thoughts running through my brain. Fleeting or not.” Slipping on socks and boots, which just happen to be side by side thanks to her temper tantrum, she stands and strides toward the door. “Ready?”

Logan’s stuck in thought, and it takes him a few seconds before he moves, walking through the door she’s holding open for him. “Jean should let me kill those boys.” She hears him mumble as he passes. She closes her door and follows him down the hall, eyes on his ass in the tight jeans, and thoughts on the last couple hours events.


It doesn’t take Jean long to get her up on the table, blood drawn and vitals taken. “How do you feel?”

“Great,” Marie replies, “Actually, I really can’t remember feeling this good.” She looks at Logan while shes talking, smiling brightly.

“Hmmm,” Jean makes a note on her ever present charts, and taps her chin thoughtfully. “I’d like to do a full physical on you Marie. And another CT Scan of your head. Logan’s healing is quite extraordinary, and you’ve been sleeping with it for nearly 18 hours now. Considering that a regular person heals the most while sleeping, there’s no telling what it could have accomplished in that time.”

With a deep sigh, Marie relents, heading over to the small closet like room that Jean had indicated to change into the standard Med-Bay issue black tank and shorts. She can hear their voices through the door only slightly muffled.

“You aren’t gonna check her skin?” Logan’s gruff voice, slightly annoyed.

“Yes Logan, I’m going to test her touch, I just wanted to get this done first. The machine takes a moment or so to process the results, if we have to do more, I would rather know. She’ll want to be out of those clothes and into her own as soon as possible. She’s not very comfortable so exposed.”

“Yeah,” Logan replies. He’s a bit deflated, she can tell. “I’m just worried, I mean, this is great for her, with the touching and all, but what if there’s some bad repercussions?”

She’s done changing now, but still listening to their conversation. Obviously they think she can’t hear them, and she knows as soon as she opens the door, they’re gonna shut up. Jeans speaking again, and she tunes back in.

“I don’t think there can be anything bad to come of this. Your healing ability is fixing everything that’s wrong with her. It will be amazing to chart the changes in someone new, the long term effects on the normal body. It could possibility even fix genetic issues we don’t even know about yet.” Logan must’ve given her a look, because she changes to a gentler tone and indulges something he’s projecting loudly.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let her become some kind of guinea pig, that would be devastating. Which is why I think we should keep any changes about her mutation under wraps. I’ve already talked to everyone who knows, they aren’t to act any differently, and they aren’t going to talk about it. We wouldn’t want the wrong people to get wind of this.”

She hears Logan grunt in approval and decides to enter back into the room. She doesn’t feel exposed until she walks back out and feels Logan’s eyes rake her form. This time he refrains from staring at her chest, as she moves toward them. He stares at his boots instead. It’s just as obvious.

She wiggles her bright pink toes, and smiles at Jean. “Question?”

“Yes?” Jean asks, smiling.

“When I’m in here seeing you, can it be just you, me and Logan? I mean, I’d rather not let everyone one in, and I don’t want people to know I can touch. That’s all I need Remy to think he can do. Especially the thoughts thing.” She tries to suppress a shudder and only manages marginally.

“Ugh, could you imagine just what Remy would show me- ” She stops when she realizes Logan’s got an almost faint growl rumbling in his chest. It’s a particular emotion she hasn’t seen him display as of yet. Jealously looks good on him.

Jean’s still lost, but she replies to Marie’s initial question. “Absolutely,” she moves to her desk, “I’ll put it so that a spoken password must be used to enter when you’re here.” A few clicks of the keyboard and she’s done. “Shall we head to the X-ray Room?”

Marie smiles, nods and moves to follow Jean. Logan falls into step beside her, reaching out to skim his fingers over her forearm before clasping her hand for a quick second. Just, long enough for his reassurances to flow through their connection. She has an idle thought that he doesn’t want to hold on long enough to let her know what he thinks about all the skin she’s exposing. She giggles to herself, receiving a questioning look from both of them.

They enter the room, and Marie stops, staring at the large machine she remembers from her first ever visit to the Med-Bay. They’d loaded her into it to make sure she didn’t have any injuries from the car accident. Her musings are interrupted by Jean’s soft comforting voice.

“We’ll do your CT Scan, first. Then we’ll test your touch. After that, I can have a look at the results and we’ll see where to go from there,” She smiles softly. “Are there any questions?”

“You aren’t afraid?” she asks timidly, her voice barely a whisper.

Another one of those serenely confident smiles Jean’s so good at.

“Not at all. I think this has something to do with the head trauma. It’s so completely sudden. Look at it this way. Before now there was no sign of a change in your powers. You’ve been touched by Logan numerous times, and it’s affected him basically the same way each time. The only differences were the amount of time the contact lasted. That was equally proportionate to the amount of time he was out. Had the time that Logan was unconscious begun to shrink, considerably, then we would have expected your touch to eventually not affect him. But that’s simply not the case. The reason for this change in your powers, is external. Not internal. Therefore, if you can touch him you can touch me.”

Jean’s waiting patiently while Marie turns her theory over and over in her head. After a few moments, she lets out a slightly hesitant, but mostly confident. “Ok.”
End Notes:
Thanks for reading! Tell me what you think!!
Chapter 5 by askita
Author's Notes:
This one is much shorter than the others. I decided to get on to posting instead of waiting for like five scenes in to post. Plus I'm more into shorter chapters than I was back then. (I wrote this around the same time as Last Call, but never posted it for some weird reason.)
It’s only a short while later that Marie finds herself being helped out of the machine by Logan. The contact is comforting and Marie holds on a little longer than necessary. Sensing her need for connection, Logan wraps an arm around her and holds her while they walk toward one of the beds. Jean starts to compile on the computer before walking over to meet them. Carefully she pulls off one of her gloves and climbs up onto one of the beds.

“This is just precautionary. On the off chance that I’m wrong I want to be able land on something soft instead of the floor.”

Confidentially and carefully she reaches out her hand upturned to receive Marie’s own.

She’s nervous looking at Jean’s bare fingers, but the doctor’s unspoken reassurances and Logan’s arm around her lend her strength. She places her fingers into Jeans. Nothing happens beyond the telepathic communication. It’s like a party line, where everyone talks together. No pull from her skin, just an open line directly into her thoughts.

‘Hey Jeannie.’ Logan thinks.

‘How weird is this,’ Marie replies.

Jean shrinks back but doesn’t pull away. ‘How amazing.’ She thinks to her friend.

Marie blushes when she reminds herself not to think about what happened earlier with Logan. Which of course brings the thought directly in her mind. Then Jean does pull away, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment at having seen such an intimate moment, no doubt.

Logan growls quietly and brings Marie closer to his side. She snuggles in for a long moment, enjoying the feeling of him. Instead of staying that way, which is what Marie really wants to do, she pulls out of his reach and faces Jean. The doctor has already gone back to her terminal. Marie can see the images flashing by on the screen.

“There’s a number of things that I’m noticing with just a cursory glance. This here is the repaired damage that you sustained from the head injuries. It seems to have affected the part of your brain that controls impulses. We know that because of the extensive research done on mutants who actively use their powers during CAT Scans. I can also tell you that your senses are greatly improved, more active than they were previously. Does that seem accurate to you?”

She hasn’t given much thought to her senses, but realizes now that they are more than she could usually hear. The hum of the computer is louder, she can hear both of their heartbeats loud and clear, even in the distance she can hear footsteps and chattering through the floors. Sounds that she wouldn’t have been able to pick up a lifetime ago. She can smell Logan, all woodsy and cigar, and the scent that is Logan and Logan alone. She absently wonders when he had time to nip out and into the forest.

Jean smells different as well, the perfume that she usually wears is there, but stronger, and she can tell that Jean has her own scent as well, one she recalls from the last time she had enhanced her senses.

“Hmm… I wonder if it’s because you’re still standing right next to me.” She says to Logan. He steps far enough away to be out of her range.

“Nope,” she says at the same time that Jean lets out a little gasp.

“I wouldn’t think so. Logan, Marie. Come and look at this.” They come back together as they both walk toward Jean. There, on the computer screen, is an image straight out of her nightmares. A skeletal hand with three claws overlying the bones in her forearm.

Logan’s deep warning growl doesn’t register in her head. Claws, she has claws. Carefully she lifts her arms and points it in a direction safely away from Jean and Logan. She struggles for a moment to send the claws firing and when she finally does so, it’s with a painful tearing in her knuckles.

“Holy shit.” Logan nearly shouts. Then he’s reaching out and looking at her in awe. He touches the back of the bone, staying away from the very sharp inside.

“What… I mean…” He lifts his own and lets his own adamantium claws slide out of his skin. He’s staring at them in awe, holding them this way and that comparing them to Marie’s. A look of utter shock passes over his features before he retracts the claws and lays a hand on her arm.

“God, Logan. I’m so sorry.” She replies aloud to the astonishment she feels rolling off of him. He didn’t know that he’d had bone claws underneath the metal, had assumed that they’d been an addition to his mutation, not a part of it.

She guides him to a chair and has him sit before he falls over. Then he chuckles.

“Well Marie, looks like you’re just like me now. Ain’t no harm in us hanging out together close by since you can’t absorb my powers any more than you already have.”

She can feel the astonishment in him, but also the excitement. She hears him plain as day through their connection. He should feel bad for her, resigned to living an endless existence, but he can’t bring himself not to be thrilled to be able to spend all the time in the world with her. Now-

The connection cuts off abruptly when he lets go of her, a sheepish and embarrassed grin on his face.

“Gotta keep some thoughts to myself, darlin’.” Marie can’t help but laugh, there are plenty of things that she’d rather keep in her own head as well, but she’d have to pull him aside at some point and let him know that she’d been thinking right along the same lines that he had.

Now she turns back to Jean, “Anything else?”

“Well, it seems that your bones are stronger, not necessarily denser, but there are definitely places that have grown in strength compared to your previous results. There are other things as well, your hips are wider, for instance. Your muscles are in better shape and you’re likely stronger because of that. Your lungs have increased in size, but only barely. I can only assume that your new healing factor is working overtime to make improvements to your body.”

She trailed off and Marie had a stray thought that she still had a set of bone claws sticking out of her hand. It didn’t seem to hurt to have them out, just a mild sting in her knuckles that didn’t seem to dissipate no matter how long she had held them open.

She remembered the day a few years back that she had asked Logan if it hurt when they came out. She tamps down the memory of the old Logan, the one who seemingly had nothing to live for, and focused instead on the man in front of her.

This wasn’t the Logan of her memories, that man had evolved into the man he was today. The man she loved with all of her heart and being. She hadn’t told him, of course, but she thought that he knew. Now they had all the time in the wo-

The Professor broke into their thoughts with a urgent message. “Everyone meet in the Conference Room on the main floor of the mansion. Something important has happened.”

It didn’t take them long to get up to the Conference Room, just the minute it took Marie to change back into her clothing. After everyone arrived, the Professor turned to them, his face grim.

“There’s been a special, secret meeting of Congress. The Mutant Registration Act has been passed.”
End Notes:
Reviews are love! Thanks for reading.

Shoot me if you want for the Cliffy, but there won't be another chapter if I'm dead.
Chapter 6 by askita
Author's Notes:
Hello loves! Here's the newest chapter! So ready for you to read and enjoy this!!
It’s later, when they’re back in his room and snuggled into quiet silence that Marie tells him what she’s been thinking. They’re touching but she doesn’t give her brain time to think before she blurts out the words.

“I love you, Logan.”

His thoughts pour into her: confusion, elation, desire, but all of it is shadowed. By doubt. She pulls away from him, not wanting to feel or hear it anymore. But before she can retreat totally his hand pops up and touches her face. It’s love that she can feel pouring out of him.

“I love you too, Marie. But I just want to make sure that you’re not just telling me this because of the MRA.”

She’s frustrated and pulls his hand away from her face, sitting up on the bed and pulling her knees to her chest. “Logan…” she’s at a loss for words for a long moment. He sits up next to her, pulling her close to him but being careful not to touch her skin. She’s glad that he can still read her, know when she needs to be help but also when she needs to think.

Long moments later she thinks that she’s gotten it all in a row, ready to be said.

“Logan, I am telling you because of the Registration Act, but I’m telling you because now that this is looming over us, that our world is about to be plunged into chaos, I don’t want to wait anymore. I don’t want to hold out and see if we’re going to figure it out eventually. I don’t want to waste anymore time almost being with you when I can BE with you.” She pauses and draws in a breath, ready to keep talking when Logan turns her face toward his.

He’s not soft or sweet when their lips touch, instead his kiss in hungry. It’s almost violent in his passion and she can’t help but return it, along with all the love and want and need and fear that she can feel coming off of him in waves.

When he’s done, and their lips are slowly pulling away from each other he speaks. “God, I’ve wanted to do that forever.”

It’s all he says but there’s more coming through their connection. No words this time, just sensations and feeling. Understanding and fear, silence and shouting, a little bit of everything rolling into one huge ball of emotion that it’s a little hard to understand it all. But mostly, she feels the love. And the fear.

They fall asleep that night holding each other, hoping that the world won’t descend into chaos around them.

***

Unfortunately the next morning proved to be chaos indeed. Children were being pulled from the school left and right and by the time the day was mostly finished the population of the school had shrunk down to less than fifty students.

She’s seated beside Logan in the kitchen not reading the book open in her hands. He’s alert, her Logan, and she can tell by the focus in his eyes as he nurses his beer that he’s listening and sniffing for any and all changes in his environment. They’re miserable.

Things are happening rapidly all around them and Marie is still coming up blank when it comes to an option for what to do. When it’s all said and done, the Professor has decided for them. Jean, Scott, Logan and Marie were to all head into town for a movie. With less children on roster than ever, the Professor decided that he wanted them to take some time to appreciate life in the real world, rather than living cloistered in the mansion as they would have done on their own.

It’s not until they come back to an empty mansion and a note from the Professor that things take a change for the worst. Logan’s the first to tell that there isn’t anyone home and Jean’s the first to find the note.

My Dear Children,

I’m sorry to have left you this way, but it is best if no one knows where we are. I have taken the remaining children and left to a climate that is more mutant friendly. Please know that leaving you was one of the hardest things that I have had to do, but more importantly, know that I only left you because I know that you will, in time, come to appreciate it. I know that you four can take care of yourselves. I know for certain that I will see you again.

There is another page along with this one that will allow you to access one of my accounts. It is my suggestion that you take out a large cash withdraw first thing tomorrow morning, I am not sure when my funds will be frozen because I have not registered. Do your best and take care of yourselves. I will see you soon.

Charles Xavier
End Notes:
*runs and hides*
Chapter 7 by askita
Author's Notes:
Here's a new chapter, a little longer than the last two. I wanted to get a little more into what was really happening with these guys before I get the plot rolling a little bit. Thanks for all of your reviews and comments, I'm excited to read them!
They don’t stay in the Mansion that night. Instead, because Logan’s smarter than all of them when it comes to running and hiding, they pack everything they need and sleep at a hotel. It’s a fitful night, with Logan worried that he’ll wake up fighting and Marie just scared for what they’re going to do next. Still, they sleep and it’s good because they get to hold each other, even if that’s all they can do with Jean and Scott in the other double bed.

It’s over breakfast the next day that Jean produces something else that Xavier included in the letters. Logan’s just returning from the diner across the street with takeout when she calls their attention.

“I found these yesterday, in the bottom of the envelope.” She says as she drops two plain silver bands on the table.

Marie picks one up, testing the feel of it between her hands, it’s heavier that she’s expected it to be.

“They’re power inhibitor rings. I don’t know where he got them, I only knew what they were when I slipped one on this morning.” She picks up one of them and places it on Scott’s finger. Slowly, carefully, she pulls the sunglasses off of his face.

His eyes are tightly shut.

“I can’t. Not right now. I can’t do it.” He mumbles, and Marie tucks into her food, trying to give them space. Logan settles a hand on her thigh while he eats.

“I know, I know that you’re scared. But I checked them myself, both of them.”

“I just can’t, not right now when I might hurt someone. When I might blow our cover. I can’t do it.”

Jean’s about to speak again when Logan reaches out and places the sunglasses back on his head. “Then we don’t have to do it right now, it’s morning, and bright outside. No one will think twice if you walk outside wearing sunglasses. Besides, I’ve got a place in mind where we can test it.”

That settles that and they all move back into their meal.

After a short while, when all of their food is gone and everything is packed up and ready to go, Marie pulls the other ring from her pocket.

“Who is this one for?”

“I think, I think it’s for you Marie.”

“I’m not wearing it.”

“You don’t have to, I think that with Scott’s powers inhibited that you won’t have to worry about keeping away from him. But it’s something that we’ll try when we get to wherever we’re going to.”

Marie feels a little relief at that, but slips the ring on her finger until then. She’s not happy about it, and neither is Logan she can tell. She’s gotten too used to hearing him when they touch, to feeling him inside her head in real time instead of just a leftover imprint.

Even Logan doesn’t seem happy when he takes her hand and they all head out to the black SUV they co-opted from Xavier’s fleet. First thing on the agenda was to hit up the bank. Jean uses her ID and the paperwork that Xavier left them to draw a large cash deposit from the bank. She manages to get fifteen thousand dollars.

It doesn’t feel like enough and they still need to get a new car. Which is their second stop. They trade in Xavier’s SUV and still owe another five grand, because keeping this off of the books is expensive. When they head out into northern New York, they’re riding in a older model green Jeep Cherokee and are loaded down with camping gear and groceries.

Logan’s driving and Marie’s sick and tired of wearing the damn ring because whenever she touches him she can’t hear him and she’s feels like she aging every second that passes. It’s a stupid thought, she’ll age until she doesn’t anymore and it’s likely that she’ll always look younger than him, but the idea of aging and leaving him one day makes her sick to her stomach.

He reaches across the center console and places his hand into her, squeezing her fingers and she relaxes at the feel of him. They sit in silence for a long time before Logan pulls into a state park up in the Adirondacks. There’s no one around so it seems like as good a time as any to test Scott’s powers while he’s wearing the ring.

They hike for a good fifteen minutes into the forest before Logan scents the air and gives them the all clear. Scott stands facing away from the group, his hand unsteady on his sunglasses.

“You’re sure that no ones in the area?” Scott asks before he moves his hand.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Logan tells him.

Scott pulls his glasses from his face, his eyes still tightly closed. It takes him a moment to build his courage. Slowly, Marie watches as his body relaxes and he opens his eyes. She can see the moment when he realizes that the ring is working and his eyes find Jean. She imagines what he must be feeling in that moment, the ability to see everything in Technicolor for the first time and turns back toward Logan to give the two of them a moment alone.

“Hey, darlin’.” Logan whispers to her as he buries his face into the crook of her neck. Her arms slip around his chest and pull him close when he goes to move away and she holds him to her, inhaling his scent, though it’s not anywhere near as crisp or as strong is when she’s not wearing the ring herself. Suddenly she’s frustrated again and clearing her throat to remind Scott and Jean that there’s still one more test to be performed.

“Jean, I know that this is special and I hate to interrupt, but we need to find out if I have to wear this damn ring all the time.” It’s a little selfish and a little cruel, but she can’t stand touching him and not feeling him when she does. It’s become so much of her experience with touching now that it feels like she’s missing something vital.

Jean smiles because she understands but still lingers for a long moment with Scott before backing away from him and allowing Marie to step up beside him.

“How will I know if it’s working or not?” Marie asks.

“I’m not sure.” Scotts the first to reply, which makes sense because it’s his power. “When I manifested my power I was plummeting toward the earth with a burning parachute strapped to my back. Fear of hitting the ground is what caused the blasts to shoot from my eyes. My best guess is just to focus on something in particular and try to push it away.”

Slowly, careful of where her eyes are pointed, Marie slips the silver band off of her finger. She chooses a small rock about fifteen feet away and tries to push the rock further from her. When nothing happens she looks at Jean hopefully, but the doctor isn’t convinced.

“Scott, lets take the ring back off and see if she can make it happen then.” He’s definitely not happy with that turn of events, but he slides the ruby quartz back onto his head and slips the ring off of his finger.

“Marie, try it now.” Jean urges.

It’s startlingly easy to blast the small rock a hundred feet away when she tries this time, and both Scott and her sigh in relief when he puts the ring back on. Now that she doesn’t have to worry about that she can get back to touching and really feeling and push the idea of not aging back out of her mind. She’s back and next to Logan quicker than she realizes, grabbing his hand and feeling him pour into her.

She doesn’t think anything directly, just enjoys the feel of him in her hand and in her head and lets herself be coated and cradled by his love and the fierce urge to protect.

He leans back into her and she can’t help but feel that same sense of satisfaction roaring off of him. His hands move around her waist, his fingers skimming the skin that’s exposed when she raises her arms just so, and she can’t help but notice his constant need to have his hands on her somehow, somewhere.

They’re all quiet in the stillness of the forest, lost in their own little victories over the chaos that is their life. Soaking up the moment of calm and serenity before reality sets back in.

“I’m going to keep this in my pocket, in case I end up having to touch someone skin on skin,” Marie tells Jean when they’re back in the car and headed somewhere south, because anyone who knows him will look north.

“That’s a smart idea. While we’re at it, we all ought to start calling you Marie. I know it’s something that usually reserved for Logan but considering the circumstances…” She trails off and as much as Marie wishes that it is something that would have stayed between her and Logan, Marie knows she right so she agrees.

“Yeah. Also, and I hate to say it Jean, but we’re going to have to do something to our hair. We’re entirely too recognizable.”
End Notes:
Well, how did you like it! Let me know what you think and I'll be sure to reply! Reviews are love!
Chapter 8 by askita
Author's Notes:
Sorry it took so long! Here's the next chapter!
The hotel bathroom starts to stink as soon as Marie uncaps the first bottle. It’s not a smell that goes away easily, even after she’s washed it all out under the hottest water she can stand. Logan comments about it later that night and they spend a moment commiserating about it before they drift into sleep.

The next day Jean and Marie head down to the pharmacy around the corner to pick up some medical supplies for her and Scott.

“Are you sure it looks good?” Jean’s pressing her hand into her black hair, sliding her hand down the length of it.

Marie smiles at her. “You look fine Jean. We’re just normal every day women going to the store for tampons and first aid stuff.”

Jean cracked a smile back at her. “I just… I’ve had red hair my whole life. I’ve never dyed it before.”

It surprises Marie that Jean might feel insecure about herself and she laces her arm through her friends as they turn around the corner. It’s easy to forget that she’s still a woman beneath the lab coat and the leather suit. The shopping goes quickly and smoothly and Marie and Jean are headed back to the hotel when Jean speaks.

“Don’t look now, but there’s someone following us.”

Marie tightens her grip on the toiletries. “Are they soldiers?” She can see Jean’s face go blank for just a second before she opens her eyes and looks at Marie, smiling widely.

“No, just one guy. He’s following us because he thinks that we ought to have some money on us.”

Marie returns the smile and moves her left hand while she speaks, giving the impression of two women talking and laughing. “Isn’t there anything that you can do?”

“Marie, no. No, I can’t just change his mind for him, I’m not the Professor.” Her shoulders sag at the mention of the Professor. Jean’s right even if she could she wouldn’t have done it because it wasn’t the right thing to do. Changing someone’s mind for them was beyond the question.

“Hmm… maybe just see if they’ll try anything? Hopefully we’ll be at the hotel before they decided to mug us.” Still, they start moving a little faster, heads up and alert, focused on the walk up the hill toward the hotel.

Logan’s out on the balcony when they arrive back and Jean’s heaves a sigh of relief when they get to the bottom of the stairs.

“He took one look at Logan and hightailed it out of here.”

“Yeah, he ought to have run. What’d I scare him away from?” Logan says when he meets them at the top of the stairs.

“A mugging.” Jean tells him, patting him on the arm as she passes. Marie stops and plants a short kiss on his lips before walking to the room. She can feel the emotion rolling off of him, the urge to scent the bastard down and-

“Don’t worry, Logan. He didn’t do it, he was just thinking about it.”

Scott has the same reaction Logan did, but she doesn’t need to touch his skin to know it. He outright offers to go and kick his ass. Jean smiles at her husband and discourages violence.

It isn’t long before they’re all packed up again and heading south. The trip takes three days and they find themselves is a small town in Texas, sitting at a diner and considering settling down.

“What can I get ya’ll to drink?” The waitress says after they’ve been given menus to look over. Everyone orders coffee. The television switches to local news. Marie watches, in horror, as the news crew zooms in on a line of people coming out of a building, they’re passing protesting citizens and dodging rocks.

“Today there was a heinous attack on a number of mutants outside of a Mutant Registration Center here in Dallas. There has been cries of outrage about the treatment of mutants in-“ Someone cuts off the television in the middle of the story, but it’s still sparks a conversation among the locals.

“Filthy muties,” one man says.

“I think this MRA law is a good idea. I need to be able to know who my kids are going to school with. It’s like that sexual offender registry that they have.”

A murmur of agreement comes from a few of his buddies, and their waitress chimes in as well. “I tell ya, after everything that has happened since that law was passed, I’m more and more glad that they’ve got to own up to everything. Why, we wouldn’t even have known that Bobby Jensen could light things on fire like that.”

She plopped their coffees down in front of them and not missing a beat asks them what they’ll have. Marie can’t focus on what everyone is ordering, she’s too busy being shocked by the idea that no one is at all ashamed of their attitude toward mutants.

When she comes back to their conversation she realizes that Logan’s ordered her food for her.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Scotts saying. He’s leaned over the table, both of his hands wrapped around one of Jeans.

“What is?” Marie asks.

Logan grunts, “Staying here. Their attitudes, about us” he waves his finger around the table then points to the TV, “it would make a good cover.” He’s not comfortable with it. No one at the table is because they know that eventually they’re going to have to voice the same opinion.

They’re half way through their dinner when they all agree that sticking around is their best chance of staying hidden.
End Notes:
Comments and reviews are love!
Chapter 9 by askita
Author's Notes:
Here's the next chapter, sorry that it was so long in coming. I've been working on some other fics in the meanwhile.
It’s been a few weeks since they’ve decided to settle in the small town of Dalton, Texas. Marie stays at their little two bedroom apartment, keeping an eye on the house and cooking and cleaning. Jean’s started working at the diner they ate in on their first night in town. Logan and Scott both work local construction jobs at what’s going to be a new restaurant downtown.

This is how they spend their days, working and living and watching the news, or movies from the video store when it gets to be too much. The Anti-mutant sentiment is catching. Late at night, when everyone else is sleeping, Marie sits up and worries.

She worries about the kids whose parents took them home, she worries about the Professor and the children that he brought with him somewhere, she worries about her friends and their families. She worries about the small family that the four of them have become.

Tonight, Scott joins her at the table. It’s three in the morning and she’s holding a cup of steaming tea.

“How’s it going, Marie?” She looks at him over her mug, sliding her eyes sideways and into the bedroom that she shares with Logan.

“It’s fine.” She replies.

“Fine is not sitting in the kitchen in the middle of the night drinking tea.” Scott says pointedly. “And it’s not getting up in the middle of the night to do it for a week in a row.”

She blushes at having been found out and turns to look him in the eyes. There’s no point in skating around the subject. “I’m worried, Scott.”

“Me too,” he says, grabbing a soda from the fridge behind them. Scott has never been a tea drinker. Coffee, soda, Gatorade, yes…. Tea no. She watches his face as he settled back in his chair. “I’m worried that someone will recognize Jean from all those times she went in front of the Senate. I’m worried that my ring will fall off and I’ll give us away. I worry that Logan will get hurt and heal up in front of everyone. And I’m worried that something will happen to you, sitting back here all day with no one around for backup.” He pauses, takes a long pull of his soda, and looks her in the eye.

“But I tell Jean about my worries and she makes them go away. Talk to Logan, it’ll help. I promise.” He dumps the rest of the can down the sink and pads back into his bedroom. Marie is left sitting there holding her tea cup and watching Logan. Eventually she gets up from the table and walks slowly into the bedroom. She closes the door behind her.

Logan shifts when she crawls into the bed, but doesn’t wake. A little torn between letting him sleep because he busts his ass all day and waking him up so she can have some comfort, she sits there for a long moment. She opts to wake him, they both need this.

He’s awake fairly instantly, snapping his eyes and breathing deep to identify any threat or intruder. When he realizes that there aren’t any scent tracers that don’t belong he turns on his side facing Marie. “Mmmm baby, what’s wrong?”

She trails her hand down his arm from his shoulder to his hand, ending the move by interlacing his fingers with hers. He shifts then, probably sensing her distress, and pulls her into his arms. Her worry floods into him, she can feel it when he realizes how afraid she is. His grip tightens and Marie shrinks into him, letting him envelop her.

“I’m scared Logan. I’m so scared for everyone everywhere that I can barely stand it.” She breathes him in deeply, scenting his skin and doing her best to memorize the sleepy softness that clings to him. “I just… Scott says that if I talk to you about it you’ll make me feel better. I just want to feel better.”

So he holds her, runs his hands along her sides and over her back and makes low comforting sounds in the back of this throat. She doesn’t know when things start to change but suddenly she’s gone from sad to desperate for his touch and he’s just as surprised as she is.

She opens her mouth and presses a kiss to his chest, she trails her fingers over his skin. Marie is full of want and need and something she can’t describe curls deep in her belly and she idly wonders if it’s lust. There’s something freeing about being alive and wanting and they move together as one, their mouths coming into contact with each other in a heated and passionate kiss.

Logan struggles for control for a long moment finally pulling back from her long enough to check her face and make sure that she’s there and in the moment and not lost in her thoughts. What he sees mirrored back to him in her eyes is just the same amount of longing and lust that he feels coming off of her in waves.

Then he’s back on her with more ferocity that he planned and clothing is dissolving from their bodies. Soon it’s heated flesh on heated flesh and hands and fingers and mouths roaming freely over each other’s bodies. The fear of the road fades behind them in a flash of life and a moment of ecstasy.

Afterward, when they’re spent and relaxed Marie nuzzles her face into his chest and growls contentedly. Then they fall into a blissfully nightmareless sleep.

***

Marie’s up early the next morning, before everyone else. She feels… happy, thrilled, excited, and sore. No one told her about the sore part the next day. She busies herself making breakfast for Logan and Scott and secretly appreciates the soreness and the memories that it brings.

Logan is the first out to the table, but he doesn’t sit. Instead he comes over to where Marie is standing and presses a soft kiss to the nape of her neck. The contact floods her with his love and adoration. She’s happy that he’s happy and they both spend a long moment just basking in that.

Scott ruins it with a yawn and the clinking of the coffee pot to the mug.

“Don’t mind me, just waking up over here.” Marie smiles before piling two plates high with eggs and bacon and toast and bringing them to the table. She gives one to Scott and sets Logan’s down at his customary seat.

“Alright, you two eat everything. You’ve got a long day ahead of you.”

“So, I take it that you two talked?”

Logan smirks and grunts. Marie smiles and tells him “Thank you for the advice.”

Breakfast is finished in contemplative silence.

***

Jean wakes up four hours later around 11 in the morning. Marie and her share a late breakfast and watch a little television before the she has to get ready for work.

“These late then early shifts are killer.” Jean says from the bathroom. Marie thinks again that she should likely get a job. There wasn’t much else hiring and neither Logan nor Scott wanted her working nights at the bar. But she can handle herself, even without the claws and the super healing. She decides that she’s going to press them again later.

“I think that’s a good idea, but we need to present it in such a way that they’ll agree. You know we all have to agree.” Jean calls from the bathroom. The women have spent so much time together reading each other’s minds that it’s become habit for them to be only partly involved in outward conversation. Being out of direct contact with the Professor, the block on Jean’s ability has worn thin and finally broken down.

“I need to work. I don’t like sitting around and doing nothing. It’s no different that you working nights at the diner. And we both know that I won’t start until Logan gets home and can come and sit at a table while I waitress.” Marie imagines him there, scaring off all of her tips for the night and Jean giggles from the other room.

Jean flashes an image of Scott doing the very same thing the night before. A united front they’ll make when it comes to the men in their lives. They’ll broach the subject tonight when they’re tired and hungry and likely to give in.
End Notes:
Please review! They are love and comments are awesome and I'm just super excited whenever I get a review. Tell me you favorite parts, let me know what you thought and how you feel! thanks for reading!
This story archived at http://wolverineandrogue.com/wrfa/viewstory.php?sid=4116