Pt I: Xavier's Mansion, 3 p.m.
"... and I would like your term papers on the Ottoman Empire turned in when you return on Tuesday." Storm closed her textbook and began erasing the blackboard as her students rose and made their way towards the door, mumbling and eagerly chattering amongst themselves about their endless plans for the weekend - a three-day weekend, no less!
Rogue smiled as she packed up her books and rose from her desk. It wasn't often that the students at Xavier's School got such time off, but Scott Summers, who taught most of Monday's classes, was out of town for the weekend at a conference in Washington, D.C., along with Professor Xavier. Apparently, debates about mutant rights were still continuing in the Senate, and both individuals, always eager for new insights on humans' opinions on the subject, attended to gain a sufficient earful.
Flinging her backpack over her shoulder, Rogue headed for the door when a hand on her arm suddenly stopped her.
"Hey Rogue!" Kitty grinned as she came up alongside her, falling in step with her friend as they headed out into the hall.
"Hi Kitty."
"So... ," Kitty started, shifting her books awkwardly in her arms, "are you coming with us this weekend?"
Rogue looked puzzled. "To where?"
Bobby Drake and St. John Allerdyce quickly joined the girls as they strolled down the mansion's main hallway towards the dormitory area.
"To Connecticut." Bobby finished off for her. "Me, John, Kitty, Jubilee, and a few of the others are doing a road trip up to Hartford. We'll probably head to Massachusetts as well. We'd love for you to come along. Whaddaya say?" He eyed her hopefully.
Rogue gave him a half-smile, but she only patted the strap of her pack as it lay draped over her shoulder. "Ah'd love to, Bobby, but ah really need to finish this paper for Ms. Munroe's class... ah'm a bit... "
She was cut off by John's huff of amusement. "Ah, come on, Rogue! It's not like you won't have time to do it on Monday when we get back."
"Like everyone ELSE will be doing it on Monday when they get back... ," Bobby chuckled, knowing all too well just how much of "mutant high" loved to procrastinate, himself included.
Rogue sighed, but stuck to her guns on her decision, although she thought for a minute about the past few weekends with her newfound group of friends, mainly Jubilee, Kitty, and Bobby. They had always been out and about, either her and the girls hunting for the latest sale in the mall, or taking off with the guys to catch a sporting event that you could randomly name, from a Yankees game to the New York Giants.
After all was said and done, she had actually missed some time to herself. God knows she had more than her fair share of it when she ran away from her Mississippi home several months back, but that was the past... . Even now, Rogue couldn't let the Marie within her go: the woman who longed for a bit of solitude now and then, letting it drown her within her dreams.
"So... uh... Rogue... ," Bobby tapped her on the shoulder, snapping her out of thought as she looked over at him, "you coming with us?"
"Nah, ah'll stay here this weekend. Ah just feel better about it for now." She reached out a hand, clad in a silken glove, and gripped his arm, silently apologizing. His smile faded.
"Alright then, but at least head out with Dr. Grey or Ms. Munroe if they ask you to, o.k.?" he requested.
"Ah will," she smiled.
The four students reached the stairs to the dormitory area, and Bobby and John continued down the hall to the male half of the rooms. Kitty and Rogue ascended the stairwell and walked to their own living quarters, now that they were upperclassmen and no longer shared a room together.
Dinnertime, 5 p.m.
"Ahhhhh... ," Rogue yawned and closed her history textbook, dropping it next to her while she leaned back and stretched her arms overhead, arching her back to ease the sore muscles developing from her cross-legged position on the couch.
She was in the large living room of the mansion, being one of the only students left in the residence for the weekend. Earlier, she had watched from her window as her friends and several other students piled into three cars, preparing to head out for their road trip. The thought made her giggle, for she saw her friends' faces sag as Storm saw them off, briefing them on every rule of safety known to exist while they were pulling out of the driveway. What was even more amusing was the paling look John gave Jubilee when she found the stereo system in his jeep and popped in an *NSync CD, cranking it for practically everyone on the block to hear!
"Rogue, honey?"
She looked over her shoulder and saw Storm standing in the doorway near the dining room table, a plate of food in her hand. "Dinner's ready."
The girl rose and went into the dining hall, which was adjacent to the mansion's large kitchen. Passing by some of her fellow students (what was left of them), she seated herself at the far end of the long table, placing a napkin in her lap and reaching for one of the many concoctions that Jean Grey had prepared for the evening's meal. An enticing aroma filled the air, one which Rogue picked up as a meat entrée. Her guess was confirmed when she eyed the roast beef near the table's center, surrounded by vegetables and fresh bread rolls.
Jean must have been in exceptional form tonight, she guessed, since such an elaborate meal was rare on Fridays, when the doctor normally liked to head out of town with her fiancé, Scott. Obviously, she must have missed him so much that the "energy" she would have normally reserved for him went into the food. Oh well, his loss, the students' gain...
Storm finally sat down across from Rogue, shifting plates around and checking with the other students to see if they wanted anything else. As she began to cut her meat, though, the white-haired woman paused, a puzzling look crossing her face as she eyed the table, looking for something before finally turning in her chair to face Jean, still standing by a kitchen counter.
"Jean? Where's the rest of the sal... ?"
Storm's voice was quickly cut off by a loud thump and a bang, making everyone at the table jump and glance around. The sound seemingly came from the front foyer.
"Ow!! Crap!! Stupid piece of... ," a male voice bellowed out, followed by the hard pounding of footsteps that quickly rounded a corner and ended in the kitchen doorway. Everyone at the table turned to stare. Jean looked over and smirked, shaking her head as she set her vegetable knife down and went over to help the male figure with the two large grocery bags he was carrying. They were pulled away, revealing his scowling face.
Rogue's eyes widened and she had to cough back a laugh. It was Wolverine - and he was doing the shopping!
He narrowed his eyes and removed his leather jacket, quickly brushing past Jean as he started walking towards the table, but not before he reached into one of the bags and removed some sort of small box from the top before Jean could get to it. He abruptly stuffed it into an inner pocket of his jacket, and Rogue caught site of it, but pretended not to notice. She had no idea what it was anyway.
Logan finally stopped at the chair next to Rogue, slinking his jacket over its back, but then firmly planted his hands on the table, leaning down to glare at Storm, who looked up from her plate.
"Ya know, Storm, do you honestly need that Egyptian-looking dog thing standing smack bang in the middle of the foyer!? I damn near killed myself tripping on it on the way in!" he growled.
The weather goddess was unamused and glared back. "Oh please, Logan! It's not like you wouldn't heal from a stubbed toe! Besides, you should've looked where you were going." Her nonchalant attitude made him flare, but he only growled less loudly, rolling his eyes and as he sat down besides Rogue. A few students further down the table snickered, but were abruptly silenced when Wolverine shot them another raging stare.
Rogue turned to look at him just as he caught site of her next to him, and miraculously, his brown eyes calmed almost immediately. If there was anybody who wouldn't make his animal fury go out of control, it was Rogue, and he gave her a slight grin before looking back at Storm, still feeling the slight pinch of his sore foot before it disappeared entirely.
"Yeah, well, next time I may use your little dog to sharpen my blades, Storm," he growled again before reaching for a plate and using a large-pronged fork to stab some roast beef onto it.
"Suit yourself, Logan," Storm sighed. "Oh, and by the way," she smiled, "it's not a dog. It's a doorstop of the jackal god, Anubis, lord of the dead."
"Hmph, he'll be dead himself it he gets under my feet again," the feral mutant finally closed the argument, stuffing some of the beef into his mouth.
"That's enough, you two," Jean chided from the kitchen, her back turned as she spread the bag's contents out onto the counter. "Logan, did you get the extra lettuce I needed for the salad?"
"Should be in there, Jean," he replied, seemingly uninterested as he continued to eat.
"Uh, Logan?"
"What?"
Jean turned to face him, holding up two six-packs of Guiness Beer. "I don't believe that THESE were on my list."
"So?? Fuckin' bill me!"
Both Storm and Rogue glanced at each other, quite surprised by Logan's nasty sarcasm. Rogue turned and leaned into his shoulder, nudging it with her own.
"Hey, you alright?" she whispered, trying to make a private conversation between them. Logan shifted and looked at her, wiping off his hands on his napkin.
"I'm fine, kid. Just fine."
"Ah'd hardly think so... " This time is was her turn to narrow her eyes. "You're never this nasty at dinnertime," she glanced back momentarily at her plate, "especially when there's such 'good fresh kill' as the main course."
She smiled, and Logan couldn't help himself, giving her another one of those wolfish grins she had come to love so much.
"Alright, you win... " he grunted before reaching for some vegetables. "I've just had a lot on my mind lately."
"Like what?" Rogue asked, silently wondering if he had as much amnesia as he thought he did.
"Just stuff, ya know, like maybe I should've stayed up in Canada longer, should've looked for some more answers to what happened to me," he paused to rub his knuckles, "to find out who the bastards were that did this to me."
Rogue paled a bit, then gripped his arm gently. "Hey, hey, you did what you could, Logan. All you can do is to let it go for now. They'll be other times. And besides... ," she shifted her gloved hand to his shoulder, squeezing, "ah'm glad you came back."
Her words made his skin tighten, but he didn't show it. He only turned his head towards her again, gently removing her fingers from his shoulder with his own before he squeezed them into his palm.
"Thanks, darlin'. I'm glad I did, too. Now do me a favor and let's both finish off this "kill" before it gets any colder, eh?"
Rogue snickered and the two, along with Storm, Jean, and the students, finished the delicious meal before getting up and carrying their plates to the sink.
Two students who were assigned kitchen duty spent the next half-hour washing and drying before they put everything in the cupboards. But as the boy and girl then departed the kitchen, they failed to notice a shadow, just outside in a tree by the window, quickly disappearing. It had been motionless, taking in all it had seen from the dinnertime events, namely the young woman with the white streak in her hair.
Pt II: Late evening, 11 p.m.
A soft knock came at Rogue's door, and she got up from her well-lit desk, papers strewn about in front of her, to answer it.
"Rogue, are you still awake? It's a bit late," Jean looked at her groggily, trying to pull back the red locks from her face at the same time.
"Ah know," she replied. "Ah was just trying to finish up the draft for my term paper for Ms. Munroe's class." Rogue looked back at her mess, and Jean peeked into the doorway at it, giving a small exhale of laughter.
"Heh... Storm could only wish she had more students as dedicated as you," the doctor smiled. "Well, I won't keep you, but do try to get some sleep. You do have three more days off, you know."
"You're right," Rogue couldn't help but rub her eyes, "ah'll be going to sleep soon. Good night, Dr. Grey."
"Good night, Rogue," Jean whispered, waving slightly as she padded back down the hallway to her room.
Midnight
Rogue had long since closed up her books and crawled into bed, but damn, why couldn't she sleep?
Tossing around to one side, she stared blankly at one bedroom wall, listening to the light breeze rustling the tree branches outside her window. Dressed in a knee-length red silk nightgown and a black and crimson silk scarf wrapped around her neck, she felt slightly cold, yet her heart was pounding, making her skin uncomfortably warm and tight. She was almost afraid to go to sleep... afraid that she might once again get snared up into Logan's dreams and the horrific ordeal that he went through as the adamantium was painfully implanted into his body.
The thought made her tremble, but her body finally had other ideas, and she was quickly overcome by a deep heaviness and drifted off to sleep...
THUMP! A loud knock of something against wood startled Rogue awake. She rolled slightly and looked around her room, noticing nothing, only the silhouettes of her furniture and the emptiness -- save for the tree shadows dancing on her wall from the moonlight.
Yawning and stretching her arms overhead of her, she rolled onto her back, looking up at the ceiling. It was then that she noticed the man staring down at her...
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Rogue's scream was almost bloodcurdling, but it was abruptly cut off as the figure dropped from the spot on the ceiling that he was almost fastened to, landing full-force on the terrified girl.
He immediately planted both his knees on either side of her hips, pinning her down, and grabbed both of her wrists with one of his gloved hands. Yanking them up over her head, he produced something snakelike from one of his pockets and wrapped it around her wrists, snaring them together as he hooked the rope through an ornamental opening in the wooden headboard of her bed. Now bound, Rogue was in shock and half-breathing, half-whining, but the man only yanked the silk scarf away from her neck, jamming it into her mouth and preventing any more sound coming from her. However, Rogue's eyes spoke a thousand words as she looked up, finally getting a full view of the bizarre intruder.
He was indeed a male, short in stature and dressed totally in a tan brown leather outfit, which was skin tight and showing off powerful muscles, almost as big as Wolverine's. Both of his hands were gloved as one gripped her chin, the other still on her wrists. He obviously knew about her power, being that his skin was covered, although one part was exposed - his face.
Rogue sickeningly glared up at him, noticing that his skin seemed abnormal. It was a pale, jaundice yellow and speckled with several large warts. One side of his face showed off a large spreading of scars, like the remnants of a nasty burn. His short spiky hair was matted and green, while his eyes were of a black hue, with misshapen pupils that looked almost like upside-down teardrops.
He bared a smile at her, and she felt the urge to vomit. His mouth was almost all gum, with tiny stubs of teeth protruding in an odd pattern throughout the pinkish surface. No doubt that he was a mutant, and a very powerful one at that, but what the hell did he want with her?
"Just relax, sweetie. You're not going anywhere," he finally spoke to her, a hint of a Scottish accent peeking through. It was an unusual gentleman-like voice, something that she didn't expect from such a hideous creature, but being trapped, she forced herself to listen to it.
"So, Rogue, good ta see ya again. I'm surprised you've lived this long," he looked down at her, the hand on her wrists letting go and a single finger tracing the white line of her hair.
He knew her.
"I see that we didn't do enough damage, girl," he noted her hair as his hand moved away from the whiteness and reached for something near his left leg.
What did he want?? For a flash of a second she wished she was a telepath.
"It doesn't matter now," the intruder continued speaking to her, ignoring her few seconds of struggling, "for I'm here to take care of you. You see, you foiled our plans, and even more so, you have my boss' info floating around in your skull." His other hand released her chin and traced her forehead, then descended down to her now bare neck. "I wouldn't be surprised if a bitch like you could speak the exact words that he's spoken about all those pathetic humans."
She was shocked and thoroughly confused by now, but her eyes widened as she suddenly eyed his hand which had gone to his leg, for it now produced a silvery, 10-inch blade. He braced it in both hands, the glistening point aimed at her chest.
"Sorry it had to be this way, but we still need your sacrifice for the sake of mutants, and Toad will be the one to make sure you don't jack it up this time! Later!!!"
Toad's words were sickeningly loud and cheerful as he lifted the knife well over his head, eyes glued to Rogue's.
WHAM!!!
Just then, Rogue's bedroom door flew open, slamming into the wall so hard it bounced back until it was stopped dead by the hard white fist of the newest visitor to Rogue's room.
Toad froze in his actions and quickly turned his upper body around, his legs still pinning Rogue's to the bed. He faced a pair of eyes even more vile than his own.
"Visiting hours are over, fucker." SNIKT!
Logan stepped into the room with both sets of adamantium claws bared, his teeth gritted tight when he saw the ugly thing on Rogue's bed, and even more so when he saw Rogue, her head tilted to that she could barely glimpse him from her compromising position.
It was then that she felt a new kind of churning in her stomach, this time from the site of Logan. He was wearing only grey sweatpants, and nothing else... he had obviously just come from being in bed. Thank God for his heightened senses, for he was probably the only one who had heard her short-lived scream.
"RAAAAAAAAGGGH!!!" Toad suddenly yelled and jumped off the bed, charging towards Logan. He slashed at him with the knife, and it clanged against the adamantium only twice before Logan made a hard right swipe and separated the blade from the handle, sending it flying across the room.
Toad backed off quickly, then frantically looked around the room, spying a large wooden coat rack in the corner. Grabbing it, while sending Rogue's trenchcoat tumbling to the floor, he held it like a two-by-four in his hands, while the two mutants circled one another, exchanging their own "language" of raging snarls.
Logan lunged, whilst his opponent swung the board. It caught Logan's forearm as he blocked it, inches from his face. He lashed out his leg and kicked Toad in the stomach, sending his stumbling backwards, banging into a tall dresser, but still gripping the weapon tightly.
"Rrrraaarrr!" The feral mutant snarled and charged again, his right set of claws thrust forward as he ran towards Toad, fully intent on impaling him.
Such was not the case, for Toad ducked out of way as Logan crashed into the dresser, his right arm smashing fully through the wooden drawer as the frame buckled in on him.
Pressing his advantage, the smiling Toad twirled the coat rack and smashed it against Logan's back, making him scream and buckle temporarily, but the healing factor kicked in and he jumped back to his feet while pulling his arm free.
Turning, Toad swung again and caught Logan full force in the chest, sending him sprawling backwards and slamming into Rogue's bed, breaking the frame and smashing the headboard in half, which was actually a good thing because Rogue could finally break her hands free. She gave a quick yank away from the board and tumbled off the bed, ducking out of sight on the far side, removing the gagging scarf from her mouth and wincing badly, for her wrists were burned and bleeding from her struggles.
Meanwhile, the fight continued to ensue. Logan had gotten up and away from the bed while his opponent swung the board like a maniac. It struck the tall lamp on Rogue's desk, sending it hurling to the floor, smashing glass and pieces of metal everywhere. More frantic hurling caused more pieces of Rogue's ensemble to be turned into junk: everything from the nightstand to several glass picture frames.
At one point, Toad even leapt up against the wall, bouncing off of it as he tackled Logan to the floor, pressing the rack tightly against his throat as he pinned him against the hardwood boards. But the beast was out far too long to be so "docile", and Logan, gagging and growling at the same time, tensed his body and drove his bladed left fist up and into Toad's right thigh.
"AAAAAGGGHHHH!!" Toad screamed and immediately jumped off of his opponent, giving Logan the chance to roll away and rise up. A snarl rumbling in his throat as he stood, Logan smashed the rack in half over his knee, throwing the pieces into a corner as he eyed the now-injured mutant.
Toad winced, his face a mixture of anger and pain as he clutched his leg, looking down as blood began pouring over the tanned leather, staining it. He glared at Logan, who sported a few nasty bruises on both his chest and back, and had a bloody nose, but all the marks were fading fast, as if by magic. Toad cursed silently: Shit, I keep forgetting about that healing factor of his...
Logan was unmoved. His claws still bared, he slowly walked towards Toad, intent on finishing the mess for good.
"I've had enough of you, bub. Time to pay for disturbing the lady's beauty sleep."
Time for desperate measures, thought Toad, and he crouched to the floor. Within a flash of a second, he opened his mouth and his long, mottled green tongue came lashing out like a whip, catching an off-guard Logan on the leg and yanking his feet out from under him. Flailing like a wolf caught in a snare, his large frame flew upwards and he fell, landing in a way that ensured his bare back collided with the shards of glass strew about the floor. His yowl was ear piercing.
"LOGAN!!" Rogue jumped and finally yelled out, her head peering around the corner of the smashed bed. She seemingly ignored the noises starting to brew from the hallway right outside the room -- a mixture of female voices and panicked teenagers. Instead, her eyes widened in terror as she watched Logan struggle to get to his feet, with at least twenty or thirty pieces of glass embedded in his skin, the blood trickling down his back in thin lines.
"Have a nice trip, metal boy?" Toad finally got the balls to yell an insult, and quickly hurled his tongue at him again. This time it caught Logan's waist, and the amphibious one quickly jerked his head sideways, sending Logan flying across the room and into the already broken dresser. The tall piece of furniture toppled over and landed on him, busting apart as Logan thrashed about amongst the splintered boards, cutting his skin even more where the bruises once were.
"Seems like the tables have turned, eh?" Toad sneered at the sight of his enemy, crawling towards him as Logan was distracted, trying to kick away the dresser's remains so he could stand up.
"I don't think so... ," Toad's voice dropped dangerously low and he lashed out his tongue for a third time. It wrapped around Logan's neck like a python, and his eyes went wide as he began to choke, retracting his claws as he grabbed at the slimy green surface, pulling harshly, but to no avail.
"Noooooo!!" Rogue screamed again and got up so that she was halfway above the bed frame when a psychic jolt suddenly hit her brain.
~Rogue! Rogue! Are you alright? What the hell is all that racket over there? The kids here are hysterical!~ It was Jean, finally fully awake from all the noise.
Rogue stumbled for a second and shut her eyes, sending a message in return as Jean had taught her to.
~Jean, just get the hell over here! Some mutant's broken into my room and is trying to kill Logan and myself!~
Jean's voice went like ice with a simple reply. ~I'll be there.~ Then the telepathy went dead.
Snapped back to her senses, Rogue stood up and looked over at the two men, both too preoccupied with one another to notice her. She gasped, watching a line of white saliva start to drip from the side of Logan's mouth as he continued yanking at the tongue around his neck. Toad just lay crouched on the floor about 10 feet away, his tongue outstretched and rigid like a clothesline, his face betraying no emotion. Despite the healing factor, Rogue knew that this mutant was fully intent on killing Logan, no matter how long it took. She watched as her best friend's skin went pale and the healing factor struggled to keep up, but even it seemed to be weakening.
Newfound rage suddenly overtook her and she immediately rushed out from behind the bed and charged towards the long line of tongue that lay between the two men, ignoring the glass pieces pricking her bare feet.
Her bare, bleeding hands outstretched, Rogue grabbed a hold of Toad's tongue before he could even catch sight of her, and braced her fingers tight against it's bumpy surface, trying not to get sick as she stared at the deformed pattern that seemed to line every inch of it.
Toad's body suddenly jolted upwards and he froze, now gagging himself as he quickly unwound his tongue from Logan's neck and jerked it backwards. Rogue turned and just barely caught site of his scarred face: the branch-like green vein that she had once seen on Logan's own profile was now visible on Toad's, his life force slowly being sucked out of him.
His tongue then jerked back so suddenly that it slipped through her hands and she fell backwards, the force ripping up her hands even more.
Toad dropped to his knees and grabbed for the wall, trying to get up. Logan, meanwhile, caught his breath and freed himself of the dresser. Standing, he marched over to Toad and grabbed the smaller mutant by the throat, lifting him up like a filled trash bag and pinning him to the wall.
Toad only regarded him blankly as Logan lifted his right arm and the three claws slid out. He pulled them back, eyes glued to him, when a voice stopped him.
"Logan... .don't!!" Rogue shouted, holding herself against the bed, badly bleeding. Logan jerked his head towards her, then back at Toad, and he growled as he dropped the quivering man and retracted his blades. God knows he had spilled lifeblood before, but he never wanted to do so in front of the woman he cared so much about.
Several new voices suddenly filled the room
"Rogue? Logan?" Jean and Storm, both in their nightgowns, quickly appeared in the doorway. They were out of breath, obviously running, and several other voices were heard in the hallway as at least five students tried to crowd in behind them, trying to peer past their bodies to see what was going on. The melee had obviously woken the whole mansion up.
Both women looked at the tattered room in shock, while Rogue and Logan only stared back at them, Logan giving Jean a "don't even start with me" look.
Toad, however, was oblivious to the new eyes on him and couldn't speak worth a damn. He rose up slowly and limped towards the large window near Rogue's bed, still clutching his blood-soaked leg and trying to reach for the glass.
Jean's eyes narrowed as she watched the intruder, with Storm too preoccupied with holding the students back. The doctor slowly grinned in a way that would make even the devil cringe and she glanced at Logan.
"Seems like our 'guest' is ready to make his exit. Allow ME to help him."
Logan nodded and stepped back as Rogue quickly moved away from the window. Jean looked around the room and her eyes stopped when she saw the broken coat rack in the corner. Her stare becoming intent, she made one half of the wood slowly rise from the floor. Her face tightened as she jerked her gaze back to Toad, and the board followed, slamming full force into Toad's shoulders and sending him plunging through the window and down into the mansion's backyard below.
"Whoa!" One of the students, a blond-haired boy with glasses and a teleporting capability, finally exclaimed when he caught the sight.
"Mon dieu! Someone told me this was a school of 'hard knocks', but this is ridiculous," came another reply from a tall, sandy-haired student with a French accent.
"Enough of this!" Storm finally raised her voice to the peeping students as she pushed them back into the hallway and away from the wrecked room. "Remy," she addressed the older student, also known as Gambit, who had made the 'hard knock' wisecrack, "could you please take the students back to their rooms? I want everyone back in bed... now!"
"Oui, madam," Remy LeBeau smiled and escorted the other two boys and two girls back to their dormitory after all had finally calmed down.
In the meantime, Jean had rushed into the room, dodging the glass as she yanked a bed sheet away from the broken bed and wrapped Rogue's wrists in it. Logan was immediately at her side, steadying Rogue with his hands and leaning her body close to his. Storm came back in and immediately went to the shattered window, her eyes beginning to glow white as she looked down into the yard for Toad's form.
Nothing, nothing at all... ..
The thunder began to rumble in the sky.
"Hey Storm, take it easy," Jean called over to her while still helping Rogue. "We've woken up the mansion, we don't need to wake up the whole neighborhood."
The weather goddess let her eyes return to normal. "Sorry. I was just hoping to get some revenge of my own," Storm glared down at the yard once more before turning away from the window and joining the trio as they all left the room.
Pt III: Aftermath
"Ow!! Ouch!! Dammit!! Careful with that thing, Jean!!"
Logan growled and shifted on the examining table in the medical lab beneath the mansion, laying on his stomach as Jean worked above him with surgical pliers, carefully removing each scrap of glass from his back. Surprisingly, the cuts hadn't healed immediately, since the healing factor seemed to sense that a foreign object was embedded in each wound, and didn't want to close up skin around it.
Storm sat nearby on another table with Rogue, using latex gloves to apply an ointment to both her hands and feet, now cleansed and free of blood, before she bandaged them. Rogue still grimaced in pain.
"Are you sure you'll be alright? We can give you painkillers to help you sleep." Storm looked at her with concern.
"No, ah'll be fine," she smiled slightly, rubbing her fingers over the bandages before slipping her gloves back on. "But what about Logan?"
Both women looked over at him, still jerking about and cursing on the table while Jean demanded that he hold still.
Storm smiled and put an arm on her shoulder. "Trust me, he's back to being the good 'ole Logan that we know so well."
All four mutants were dead exhausted by the time they left the lab, with the time going on 1 a.m. Logan threw on a sweatshirt after his ordeal on the table finally ended, and followed behind the ladies until he caught up with Jean and Rogue. Storm bid them good night and returned to her chambers, checking up on the other students to ensure that they were asleep.
Jean, Logan, and Rogue walked back down the hall, pausing as they passed Rogue's now 'former' room, a cold breeze chilled their feet from underneath the closed door, no doubt from the broken window.
"Logan, would you do me a favor and put Rogue up in another room for tonight - I'm far too dead to deal with this right now," Jean motioned to the room, her eyes showing heavy lines as she rubbed her head.
The feral one smiled. "Sure thing, Jeannie." He placed an arm around his angelic companion, now wearing one of Jean's robes to keep warm. "Now let the patient give the doctor an order - get your ass to bed!"
Jean was beyond argument and turned back towards her room. "Thanks. Good night, you two."
"G'night," Rogue replied as she turned around herself, heading for the spare dorm rooms by the stairwell from which they had just come, but Logan's hand stopped her.
"Where do you think you're going?" He looked down at her puzzled face and pulled her close to him.
"Ah was just... the spare rooms are... ," she pointed towards the end of the hall, but he shook his head.
"Not tonight, darlin'. Come on, this way," he pulled her hand sternly, and she had no choice but to follow him down the hall where the instructors resided.
Passing by Jean's, Storm's, and the Professor's rooms, Logan finally stopped outside his own room and opened the door, pulling her inside.
"Logan, what's goin' on?" She asked as he locked the door, then turned to her, walking right up so that he was almost nose to nose with her. She flinched, almost forgetting how much skin was exposed on her body.
"Marie... ," he started, and she froze. She still couldn't get used to the real name she was given at birth, having abandoned it so long ago when her powers appeared, but with Logan, it seemed to flow from his lips so naturally.
Logan's brown eyes gazed into hers, his hands taking her own as he lifted them to his face, his lips kissing the soft fabric. She felt herself start to tremble again.
"Do you think, for one second, that I'm going to leave you after what happened tonight?" He squeezed her hands tighter. "That bastard could've killed you, and I'll be damned if I'm ever gonna let anyone hurt you, darlin'."
"Logan, ah... ," she felt the tears welling in her eyes before she reached for him, and he crushed her to his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around her back. She let her gloves slide up his shoulders and stroke the soft hair near the nape of his neck, releasing another glorious growl from him. His breath was hot near her ear before she reluctantly pulled back, looking up at him, while his gaze fell to her bare neck.
"Wait here, I've got something for ya." He grinned and momentarily stepped away from her and walked over to his desk. Opening a drawer, he pulled something out, and she immediately recognized the small box - the same box he brought home with the groceries last night.
He walked up to her. "Shut your eyes, Marie."
She obeyed, and heard a light rustling of something soft. Then, a silky surface touched her face and lips. It lingered against her skin for a moment, pressing like a drape, and she shuddered at what she felt next.
Warm heat washed over her lips as Logan's mouth came down onto hers, pressing into her with a firm kiss, the silken fabric separating their flesh and making her body almost plead with mercy to stop the rush of pleasure swarming through her.
Opening her eyes, she saw that Logan was right up against her, his arms outstretched as he held a cream and silver patterned silk scarf taunt in front of her face. She reached up her hands and ran fingertips along the surface, while her partner opened his own eyes and finally broke the kiss.
They both pulled back and Logan looked flushed and redder than usual. She couldn't help but giggle, feeling her own blush coming on.
He finally shook his head and gently placed the scarf in her hands. "I figured you'd want this, being that your other scarf was a bit ruined, though I was gonna save this for your birthday."
She looked down at it and then gently laid it across her neck, wrapping it around her skin and tying it loosely. "Ah... .um... .thank you. That is... ."
Rogue was actually stuttering in spite of herself, taken aback by the gift, but Logan only chuckled as he walked over towards the side of his bed, still watching her.
"Speechless, eh, angel? Well... I can come up with PLENTY more things that are sure to leave you tongue-tied," he pulled the sheets back and sat down near the edge of the bed, and she stared at him, her eyes suddenly widening at what he might be aiming at.
"Wha?? Logan, wait... Jean will kill me if I get caught in here with you!" Rogue took a step back, trying to move towards the door, her hands held up in defense.
"Darlin', are you runnin' again?" The deep richness in his voice was an uncharacteristic trait for the bad-ass Wolverine, and Rogue paused, turning back to look at him. He was laying down on his side, still gazing at her. "I told you before, I won't let anyone hurt you, and run as you may, you won't be sleeping anywhere tonight without me by your side. Now come here." He patted the smooth space beside him on the bed, and Rogue looked him over, admiring the hard mass of muscle and the almost contrasting tender face he showed her, and she realized that any further arguing would be for naught.
"Fine," she murmured and slipped out of Jean's robe. This time it was Logan's turn to be a bit hesitant when his eyes met the crimson silk encasing her. Damn, my Marie has come a long way.
Rogue went to the other side of his bed and slipped under the covers, sidling up to him and resting her head on his chest as he curled an arm around her. His warmth made her feel incredibly safe, not to mention a bit unnerved. However, her thoughts momentarily fluttered, catching a few memories of Toad and all that happened in the long night.
"Logan?"
"Hmm?"
"What if Toad comes back?"
Her companion shifted towards her in the bed and raised his right arm, letting the claws shoot out, the silvery metal glistening in the moonlight coming from his bedroom window.
"Then I hope you have a taste for frog's legs."
"Blech!!" Rogue shuddered and wrinkled her face, then buried it into Logan's side, snickering and shaking her head at his dry sense of humor. "Thanks for the thought."
"You're welcome, now get some sleep, Marie," Logan sheathed the claws and turned on his back, his breath slowing with unavoidable sleep. "Good night, darlin'."
"G'night," and Rogue finally drifted off for good, visions of both the tricky amphibious Toad and her magnificent, protective Wolverine in her head.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Setting for this story is after the movie, at least one year later. ~ ~ indicates telepathic communication and italicized words indicate personal thoughts. Special thanks to Kielle for posting this story (my first) to the X-men Movieverse site! There's more to come!