Wheeling himself into the med lab, Professor Charles Xavier was shocked by the scene that greeted him. The usually virile Wolverine lay unconscious on a gurney; bruises covering his upper body and an IV drip in his arm, hooked up to a monitor.
“How is he Jean?”
“Not good. He’s lost a lot of blood and he doesn‘t seem to be healing much at all.”
Jean paused looking her mentor over before asking, “Any idea who may have done this?”
“No and Scott told me that it was much too dark to get a good look at the assailant.”
“It was, and even a mental scan of the area came up clean. But, you know, I’d bet anything that it was a woman, judging by Logan’s… state, when we found him.”
“Well yes, most assuredly so, but I’m afraid we’ll have to wait until he regains consciousness to find out anything more. ”
Just then, Dr. Hank McCoy came barrelling through the door of the med lab, “My apologies for the sudden intrusion, but the toxicology results are in.”
He handed Jean a piece of paper.
Hesitating, she looked at Hank, “This can’t be right.”
“I know, it seems impossible, but I tested the samples a total of fifteen times Jean, each with the same outcome.”
“What is it? Jean, Hank.” Asked The Professor; worried.
“It’s negative. There‘s no sign of poison in his system, but what could have caused this?”
“I do not know Jean… but I fear that we will soon find out.”
The Professor exited the med lab, leaving Hank and Jean to tend to their patient.
Later that week, after Logan had awoken, The Professor called a meeting.
“So, who is she?” Asked Bobby Drake, a member of the junior X-Team.
“How the fuck should I know?”
Bobby shrugged allowing Hank to chime in, “Well, you were… intimate with this woman, I suspect that you would some knowledge of-”
“Look, I was fucking her in an alley when she tried to kill me… we‘re not married!”
“Right. Perhaps you could tell us how you met her then?”
Logan grunted in response before adding, “At the bar.”
“Had you ever seen her before?”
Logan smirked, “Nah, woulda’ remembered that… face.”
Scott interrupted, “Wait a minute. Let me get this straight, you went to the bar, you see this woman whom you’ve never met before and before the night is up you‘ve got her skirt hiked up to her waist?”
“Well, Captain Obvious, you done it again.”
Sensing the impending sling match, Hank intervened, “Regardless of Logan’s… social practices, this is a serious situation. Logan, is there anything you can tell us about the young woman in question; a description perhaps?”
“Yeah, I think I can manage. She was 5.9, in her mid-twenties, southern accent, big brown eyes, full lips, endless legs and a killer rack.”
“Great, you‘ve really narrowed it down.”
Scott’s sarcasm was making it difficult for Logan not to pop the claws, but he continued, “She had weird hair, most of it was brown, but her…” Struggling to find the words, he tried to demonstrate with his hands.
“Bangs?” Ororro guessed.
Logan nodded, “Yeah, they were white, and I didn’t smell any peroxide or other chemical shit… like it was natural.”
“Ce qui? White stripes?” Asked Remy LeBeau, X-Man and former member of the Thieves Guild.
“Dis belle tell you her name?” He added, praying it wasn’t who he thought.
“Said her name was Rogue.”
Feeling his heart sink, Remy was quick cover it up, “Dat an unusual name, no?”
“I doubt that’s her real name Remy,” Ro’ told him with a smile.
“Regardless of her name, she poses a serious threat to Logan. The information I gathered from his mind tells me that she is a professional assassin and capable of completing the task.” The Professor stated, running a hand over his face.
“But… Wolvie’s pretty much un-killable, right?” Asked Jubilee, also a member of the junior team.
“Stop calling me that!” Logan growled.
Hiding a smile, The Professor moved on, “Rogue’s mutation is her skin, it is literally poison; if she were to have held on any longer, Logan may very well not be with us at the present time.”
“Do we know who hired her?” Scott asked, “The Brotherhood, a government agency, some woman’s husband?”
“Hey!” Logan protested.
“What? it’s a reasonable assumption, you’re not known for your restraint.”
The Professor interrupted before Logan had a chance to reply, “Gentlemen please, we have slightly more pressing matters to attend to.”
After a moment he added, “And no, I haven‘t any idea who hired her.”
“Any chance Magneto’s behind this?” Bobby asked.
“It’s possible, but I highly doubt that Eric would employ someone outside of The Brotherhood.” The Professor answered thoughtfully.
“Yeah, if it was him, we’d probably have dumb-ass Sabretooth knocking at the door, instead of some chick in a bar.” Jubilee added, popping her chewing gum.
“Maybe the question we should be asking is not *who* hired her, but *why*?” Suggested Ro’.
“Ah yes, if we discover the why, it should help us identify the who.” Added Hank, conspiratorially.
The Professor folded his hands in his lap, “I don‘t suppose you have an idea as to who, that is still living, would want you dead?”
“My guess is as good as yours Chuck. I‘ve fucked with more people then I can remember.”
“Thanks, that helps.” Scott said dryly.
“What! You want me to say that I haven’t got a fuckin’ clue because I’ve led a Boy Scout life, never been a killer, never been a bastard?!” Roared Logan.
“Maybe, we’ve got it wrong.” Scott alleged, “Maybe it’s not that she was hired to kill Logan, maybe she’s just really pissed that she met him.”
“Fuck you, One-Eye!”
“Scott, Logan.” Jean admonished, having just entered the room from the med lab; sensing the overwhelming tension, she tried to quell it.
Ro’ attempted to steer the conversation back to the issue at hand, “Can’t you use cerebro to find her Professor?”
“I’ve tried, but to no avail, she seems to be blocking me somehow.”
“So maybe it was buckethead after all, isn’t he the only one that knows how to block your telepathy?” Asked Logan.
“Yes, Eric has found a way to do so, but he is not alone in his methods. But regardless, for the time being, Logan, I think it would be best if you did not leave the School grounds.”
Putting a hand up to silence the obvious objection, The Professor continued, “I believe that she wouldn’t be foolish enough to attack you here.”
“You‘re putting me under house arrest?”
“If you choose to think of it that way, but as you know, I am an avid believer in the mind‘s power.” The Professor said cryptically, “As for the rest of you, although we know Logan is Rogue’s target, she may use others to her advantage, so be cautious when in town.” He added, disassembling the meeting.
Filing out of The Professor’s office, The X-Men settled on a plan of action; Jean and Hank returned to the med lab to run more extensive tests while Kitty and Jubilee headed to the computer suite; intent on uncovering the mystery of Rogue.
Scott, Bobby, Remy and Kurt decided to run security of the mansion, improving it where possible. Seeing as he was the cause of everyone‘s extra workload, Logan decided to help.
He walked into the main security control area, grunting an acknowledgment.
“We’ll strengthen the perimeter, add a few extra surveillance camera’s, increase patrols, make sure there’s no blind spots…”
Logan chuckled at Scott‘s choice of words.
Ignoring it, Scott continued, “Any questions?”
Three simultaneous head shakes and one overly sarcastic “No sir!” indicated that everything was understood.
Scott set them to work, “Kurt, you and Bobby guard the back, Remy, Logan and I will work out front.”
“Oh fuck!” Scott cursed, causing the others to stare.
“Vhat is it?” Asked Kurt.
“I was supposed to pick up Logan‘s bike, we left it at that bar last night.”
“What?!“ Logan double back to The Fearless Leader, “You left my bike outside that fuckin’ shithole bar all night? I’m going to get it!”
Starting to stomp off, he was stopped by Kurt, “You can’t, it‘s too dangerous.”
Logan pushed the German‘s hand aside, “I don’t give a fuck, I’m not leavin’ it!”
“Relax homme, de Gambit will go and get your bike.”
Everyone looked at Remy, “Hey, Remy de only one to go, de rest of you stand out too much.”
“Fine. But it better fuckin‘ be there.” Logan threatened, eyeing Scott as he said it. Turning to Remy he added, “And there better not be a scratch on it.”
“Okay, Remy you go collect Logan’s bike, and the rest of us will get to work.” Scott said, following a cursing Logan out to the front.
Remy set off to find the bike and an old friend.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Must be a miracle, two chapters in as many days. Thanks go to plainlayz again for the quickest beta yet, she was so quick I hadn't finished writing the next chapter. This chapter runs along the same time frame as the last chapter. Here we catch up with our favourite Wolverine.