Title: Control 5/?
Author: sharonmjl47
Rating: NC-17
Category: Movieverse.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, and no one. Sad, isn’t it!
Feedback: Please, bad or good. If no one tells me it’s bad, I won’t know!
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Logan walked into the cell room, and she was lying face down on the cot reading a girlie mag. Hank and Xavier had insisted that she have books and things to read, even if she was a ‘prisoner of war’. As such, she still needed to be treated fairly.
“Hey.” She didn’t turn when he spoke; she knew it would be him. No one else came in. Even the Professor didn’t come in without Logan.
“Carol.” He’d been calling her that since she told him. She got off the cot and threw the mag down on it, facing him squarely.
“Actually the last time I checked, I could have sworn my name was Marie.” He looked up from his boots and went to the bars of the cell. “Hey, sugar.”
He searched her eyes and found nothing but soft brown. “Oh Marie!” He opened the cell quickly and touched her face. Then he went to open the collar, but her hands stopped him.
“Don’t. She won’t be gone long.” Her tone was calm, but crackled with underlying frustration and possibly anger, he wasn’t sure.
“How?” His words were urgent.
“Woke up, and it was me. She’s still there, and… it’s hard to describe. It’s like she’s giving me some air. It’s weird.” She smiled at him. “So who’s taking my classes?”
His breathing was heavy, and he slammed his hand flat on the bars. “How the fuck can you be so calm?”
She shrugged. “What do you want me to do, Logan? Beg you to let me out and take the collar off, give her the chance to kill all of you? I’m not stupid. She’d love the opportunity to hurt you.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Even though you seem to be enjoying each other’s company.”
“Don’t!” He stood with his hands on his hips.
She faced him squarely and shouted at him, “What, it’s not what I think? Actually, I know you better than anyone else. So yeah, it’s exactly what I think it is!”
“Yeah, and what’s that?” His emotions were running wild, and he wasn’t able to hide his anger at the whole twisted situation.
“That you’re hot for her. You like the power, the strength of her, and the fact that you’re in control!”
He grabbed her by the arms and shook her. “Fucking hell, Marie, it’s you. It’s all about you. You’re the one I’m hot for, you’re the one I want out of the damn cell. You, not some psycho bitch who spits venom every time she opens her fucking mouth! I want you! If she’d have been in anyone else’s body, I would have killed her by now, and screw the consequences.”
“Screw the consequences? Logan, you’re practically screwing *her*.” She pulled away from him and paced a little, unable to accept that it was really her he wanted. “I feel it, you know. She may be the one in control and calling the shots, but I can *feel* you touching her, Logan. I could feel your hands on her, gentle and caring. Kissing her, licking her skin! Tasting *her*.”
“It’s you I’m touching, you I taste. It’s your body, Marie!”
She shook her head in disbelief at him. “You don’t get it, do you? It’s not me, Logan, I’m not there. I’m in another room, watching, hearing. Yes, I can feel it, but I’m not there. It’s not me, Logan, not once has it been me!”
“But …but it is you. I want you, Marie. I love you. I look at you, and I smell you. Yeah, I hear her, and it makes something base on the inside take over, and I want to control, possess, and take what I want. She makes me want to forget everything, just have what I’ve wanted for so long. But… but it’s because of you that the feeling is there, the need, the want is there. Because I love *you*, because I want *you*.” He turned away and ran his and over his face.
The slow clap of her hands made him turn back to her. A mocking round of applause and deep blue eyes met his gaze. “Bravo! A rousing speech. Not sure she bought it though...”
A sharp gasp and a squeak was all he heard when the back of his hand hit her face. Then once again, he had her by her shirt and slammed unceremoniously against the wall. “GIVE HER BACK, YOU HEAR ME, YOU SICK BITCH? YOU GIVE HER BACK TO ME NOW!”
“No! Visiting hours are over, baby, and you’re off the list! You have nothing left to bargain with.”
“Oh, really!”
“Yeah, really! You know that you won’t beat me around indefinitely, because it’s *her* precious body. I know damn well you won’t hurt me; you wont hurt *her*! You’ve got nothing to hold over me anymore, and you know it!”
He pushed away from her with a deep growl. “Fuck you!”
“That’s exactly what you want, isn’t it? Have all that pretty young flesh at your fingertips.” They stared at each other for a beat or two. He hated the fact that she was right. All he wanted was Marie.
Carol looked at him knowing that she wanted him, for the first time she had actually found someone she thought she could want. “This isn’t going to end well. You’re not the guy who gets his girl and then has a happy ending. I want to *live*, and if that means little girlie here gets the heave-ho, then so be it.” He watched as her eyes filled up, and then tears ran down her face. “Did you hear that I said, I *want* to live.”
He put his arms out to the sides and gestured to the room. “This isn’t living. You stay in Marie, you stay in this cell. You get fed twice a day and a change of clothes. That how you want to live? ‘Cause it’s all you get, darlin’. No window, no fresh air, never get to feel the wind in your face. If you want to live alone in a cell with no one to talk to, apart from the voices in your own fucking head, then so be it. And me, well…” He gave a bitter chuckle and fixed her with a hateful stare. “I never come down here again. You stay in Marie, I never want to see that face again.”
She grabbed the sides of his jacket and spoke quickly, her voice full of panic. “I... I could g… give her to you sometimes. You could have her, have me. We could make some kind of agree…agreement, and you could...”
He pushed her back, the sheer amount of desperation in her voice making him want to hit her again. “You think I want you?” He snarled his words at her.
“I know you do. I felt it when you kissed me, tasted me! Fuck, I felt it when it was pressed against my stomach the other day! You do want me. I know it!” He couldn’t deny her words; her point of view was just wrong.
He got close to her face again. “I want the body you’re in and the girl who goes with it! All I ever wanted from you was control. Maybe let loose, have a go, and smack you around a little…” He looked her up and down coldly. “But that’s it. You’re not worth anything else.” And as far as he was concerned, she really wasn’t.
His mind had finally found the line and drawn it.
She smiled at him. “Still means you’re willing to give me a part of yourself that you won’t give her.”
“No, you’re right. I won’t let her have that part of me. The dark part…” He stalked closer still to her. “The part that wants to hurt, the part that wants to claw at your skin and fuck you till you’re bleeding and begging me to stop, to hurt you and take pleasure in your blood and pain and suffering. I’d never let her have that part of me!”
“Then you’re a fool! You think that if you get me out of this body that she’s going to want whatever’s left of you? Why the hell would she? The past month you’ve been practically dry humping me every chance you get!”
“I don’t care if she never wants to see me again.” He looked her squarely in the eyes. “At least, it would be her and not you!” He walked out of the cell and slammed the door, locking it instantly.
“I’ll hurt her again.” She said it coldly, and he knew she meant it. Not because her scent showed no lie, but because he knew she was fucked up enough to do anything.
He smirked and dug his hands in his pockets. “Go ahead, ‘cause once you’re gone, I can heal her up. And trust me, darlin’, you’ll be gone. You’re gonna let Xavier in your head, and you’re gonna get lost.”
“Really, and why is that?”
“If you don’t, I’m gonna bring your little bother in here and show him what a sick, twisted bitch you’ve become. Then I’m gonna stand back and watch the look of disgust as it washes over his face.” He smiled at her shocked expression, enjoying the act that he had hurt her. “You see, I know who you are Miss Danvers, or is it Ms. Marvel? And I know who your parents are, and I sure as hell know who and where your little brother is!”
He stalked out of the room, but he still managed to hear her gasped word as the door slid shut. “Joseph!”
Standing outside in the corridor, he rested his head against the wall. He could still hear her; she had been shouting for him since the door slid shut. Only thing he wasn’t sure of was who was shouting. One minute, he was positive it was Carol, and the next he thought it was Marie. He slid down the wall and sat on the floor. She screamed his name over and over, and he just sat there and listened. He couldn’t go back in, even if it was Marie calling for him. He knew she would be gone again by the time he got to her.
The main elevator opened, and Xavier and Scott came into the corridor. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah. Mentioning Cassidy got a reaction.” He thumbed towards the noisy cell behind him.
Scott moved forward towards the med lab. “I’ll go see if Hank and Kitty have come up with anything yet.”
Xavier nodded at Scott, and Logan rose to his feet. “How long has she been calling out?”
“Couple of minutes. Chuck, there’s something I need to tell ya. When I came down here earlier, it was Rogue. She said it was weird, like Carol was giving her some air or something.”
“You’re sure it was Rogue?”
“Trust me, it was her. Brown eyes, plus no one can call me on my fuck-ups quite like she can.”
Hank, Kitty, and Scott came out of the med lab, and the Professor addressed them all. He sighed heavily before he spoke. “I want the entire team in the med lab now. I believe that I have found a way to extract Carol from Rogue’s mind, and we need to come to this decision as a whole.” He closed his eyes briefly and called to his X-men.
Xavier gestured to Hank to close the med lab door as the last of his X-men came into the room. All of them stood in front of him: Logan, Ororo, Bobby, Hank, Remy, Santo, Jubilee, Kitty, Peter, Kurt and Scott.
“I have asked you all to gather as I have found a way to eradicate this woman from Rogue’s mind. Do you remember the first time Magneto kidnapped Rogue? Well, I found her at the train station using Cerebro. The normal way for me to access a person’s mind is for them to let me. It is possible without permission, I just don’t like doing it. But in the case of Rogue, it has always been very difficult given the nature of her mutation and the effect it has on her mind. I haven’t wanted to use this avenue, but personally I see little else, but when I use Cerebro, I can in a sense force my way in.”
“Like at Alkali Lake.”
“Yes ,Scott exactly like that. But there is an enormous risk to Rogue. If, like at Alkali Lake, I push just a little too hard I could render her brain dead. The plan would be to use Cerebro to force my way into her mind and push out Miss Danvers. I cannot and will not make this decision alone.” He sighed, before carrying on.
“Carol has made it plainly clear from my meetings with her that she would more than willingly bring harm to any one of us given the opportunity, and my individual opinion is that negates the issue of human rights. We do not have the pleasure of a judicial system because of our anonymity, so the decisions that we make must be the right ones. If we leave this woman in Rogue’s body, in control of Rogue, we effectively lose Rogue as if she had died, and Carol must remain a prisoner with us or handed over to the government and held in the same way Magneto was. But if we remove Carol from Rogue then, due to her body already being deceased, we are effectively sentencing Carol to death. Do you all understand this?”
They all nodded. A few murmurs sounded before they all fell silent again. “There are many things still to consider, Rogue’s health being the first and primary concern. There is still the possibility that, no matter how gently I go, this procedure could go wrong, and Rogue could be left in a vegetative state. Also, there is the family of Miss Danvers; we have discovered her brother. Hank and Kitty have just informed me that the man in question is still a resident of New York and is, in fact, a police officer. As far as they can ascertain, he does not know who his sister is. My thoughts are not to inform him, allow this man to live his life and not to bring him into things.” He paused briefly. “I need all of you to help make this decision. I realise that some of you may feel uncomfortable making this decision for her, but Rogue is unfortunately in no way able to help us. We must base this on what we feel and think Rogue would want. We, after all, know her best.” He sighed. “This decision must be unanimous. If there is even one person who has the slightest doubt that Rogue would not want this procedure or they don’t feel that it is morally right, then it won’t be done. There will be no convincing. Once the decision is made, that’s that; other avenues will have to be considered.”
He looked around the faces before him. “Whatever your decision, make it your own, and please make sure you understand the severity of the situation and the consequences. Given the nature of this, I think we should make the decision swiftly.” He moved over to the door and opened it. “I will be in my office for the next three hours. I look forward to hearing from you all during that time.”
Logan spoke before Xavier even left the room. He ignored the voice in the back of his mind telling him to mention that Carol had said she wanted to live. “You know how I feel. Do it.” Xavier nodded and headed for his office.
Over the next three hours, the X-Men scattered throughout the mansion to sit and think. Jubilee and Santo were the first to go to see Xavier; they agreed with Logan. Next were ‘Ro, Kurt, Peter and Remy; they agreed as well. Bobby went on his own and discussed the situation with Xavier further. He didn’t quite understand how the MPD part worked with Rogue, and he didn’t want to ask any questions and appear stupid in front of the others. Once the Professor explained again and a little more simply, he agreed that Carol should be taken out of Rogue. Hank and Scott arrived at Xavier’s office just as Bobby left; they both agreed to the procedure. Kitty was the last. She walked into his office, sat down in the chair and said, “I don’t know.”
“Katherine, I said before that there would be no convincing and I won’t. What is it that you’re unsure of?”
“I found this woman, found out about her life, her family. She was like me, Professor. She had a mother, father, two little brothers. Her parents obviously cared a great deal, otherwise they wouldn’t have gone to so much trouble to hide Sean. She was smart. She had a life, a career. How can we be sure that with time, a little rehabilitation, she won’t want that life again? But then, where does that leave Rogue? Limbo, dead, I just…I …”
“Kitty it’s all right.”
“But it’s not, Professor. She’s a person just like everyone else, a person just like me. I could have chosen the careers that she did, you said so yourself once. And then there’s Rogue, my teammate, my colleague… one of my best friends. How can I even consider ending her life?”
“Kitty, this is one of if not the hardest decision that we face. I’m sorry, but I can’t help you with it.”
“I know.” She was quiet then, and she stayed quiet for around five minutes. She stared at her hands and fiddled with the edge of her sweater sleeve. The Professor simply watched her with infinite patience. When she did finally speak, her voice was very quiet. “Rogue, I choose Rogue.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” She got up and left the office. Not bothering to open the door in her haste, she phased through it.
Xavier closed his eyes telepathically calling to the team. ~The decision was unanimous. I will attempt to save Rogue.~ He thanked each of them for their support and understanding.
When he got down to the med lab, he advised Hank to ready the medical equipment in case anything went wrong. He also told Logan and Jubilee to go into the cell with Carol/Marie and monitor her. As Xavier closed the door to Cerebro and took up his position, the main body of the X-Men were gathered in the staff kitchen. All were silent and ready to wait.
Kitty and Scott stayed with Hank. Bobby wanted to stay, but Kitty shooed him off. Logan took Jubilee into the room with Carol’s cell in it. She hung back slightly, and he could tell she was nervous about being in the room with Carol. He didn’t blame her.
“Took you long enough, you bastard. You think that you can talk to me like that and walk OFF! I don’t think so, you dumb-assed mule!”
“Something I said, Carol?” Logan stood next to the cell and unlocked it. Jubilee stayed leaning against the main door to the corridor. She eyed Carol and simply listened for any change.
“My brother! Where is he? How did you find him? I have been trying for years! And you bunch of prissy little fucking goody goodies spend a couple of days, and you know!”
“He lives in New York, he’s a cop…”
“Logan!” He turned to look at Jubes when she butted in. “You can’t seriously be telling her anything?”
“Why not?” He looked back at Carol. “In a little while, Chuck’s gonna have her outta Rogue, and she’ll be dead for good this time. She may as well know, doncha think?”
Carol stood facing him. She was still inside the cell even though the door was open. “What do you mean? He can’t do shit to me. Marie’s little head is far too fragile to be poking around in. He’ll kill her and he knows it!”
“Wrong, darlin’.” He leaned against the bars casually and ran a finger down the white streak in Marie’s hair. “He’s coming in, and you’re coming out. I’m getting my girl back…” He got close to her face, close enough that she could feel his hot breath, smell his recent cigar. “And you’re going to hell!”
She shoved his chest hard, and he took a step backwards, laughing at her. Turning her back to him so he couldn’t see the fear and emotion on her face, she ran her hands through her hair. “What... what if I just let her out… let her come out, whenever she wants? We can share this… this body. It doesn’t have to be like this…” She could feel a slight pressure in the back of her mind and knew Xavier was trying to get in. “I know things, things about Magneto. I can tell Xavier secrets, plans, everything… please!”
Jubilee looked her up and down. It was the first time really that she had been anywhere near Carol, and she wondered how Scott hadn't noticed that it wasn't Rogue. It looked like her best friend, sounded like her best friend, but she could tell by the mannerisms of her, the way she moved, held herself, the way she spoke bitter and hateful, the way she begged. Definitely not her best friend.
“What do ya think, Yella? Shall we interrupt Chuck to ask him?”
Jubes looked Carol up and down again, but this time so that Carol could see the look of hate and disgust she was giving her. “Nah, she could offer me the fricking moon, and it wouldn’t be enough.”
“Glad to know we’re on the same page.” Logan was now standing with Jubilee by the door, and both were staring at Carol, waiting for her to be gone.
Carol shifted nervously on her feet, panic, fear and desperation dancing in her eyes. Logan felt a slight twinge of something, maybe it was guilt or regret, he didn’t know. He pretended to pick at his nails while he thought about it. What should he feel guilty about? Not realising that every time he touched her, tasted her, shamelessly pressed his erection into her, it wasn’t actually Marie under there. She had made it clear herself that she hadn’t been there, not once. What could he regret - letting Marie go to the library all on her own in the first place? No, that wasn’t his biggest regret. Leaving? No, not that one either. It was never telling her how he really felt until it was forced out of him. That was his biggest regret, one he would put right the first chance he could.
Logan looked up as Carol pinched her nose. He smirked, “Xavier come to say hi?”
“Fuck you! I’m not going anywhere, you Neanderthal. I didn’t leave my body a dried-up husk just to be fucked over by a bunch of weak-assed wannabes! Ah!” She grabbed the side of her head and staggered.
“Well, you know what my crazy old Chinese aunt used to say: ‘A wat who gnaws at a cat’s tail invites destwuction’, which I think means, serves you right, lady!”
Logan chuckled at Jubes’s fake Chinese accent. “Your aunt told you that?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, that and do not employ handsome servants, which I never got, by the way.”
They purposely ignored the moans of pain coming from Carol. “Chinese women in charge of a household would never employ attractive servants in case their men strayed.”
“Ok, so how is it that *I’m* Chinese, and *you* know that and I don’t? Aside from the fact that I’ve never set foot out of the United States.”
He smiled genuinely and shrugged. “I dunno.” And he really didn’t. “You’ve never been out of the country?”
“Only if coming to pick you up from Canada a couple of terms back counts!”
“Nah, that don’t count!”
“When you’ve finished with Little-Miss-Fortune-Cookie, you can tell your Professor that I’m not going anywhere!” Carol pushed Logan in his side, but rather than move him, she fell backwards herself, landing on her bottom. “I don’t want this!” She was panting with the effort of trying to keep Xavier out of her head.
“It’s not about what you want, lady. It’s all about my girl Roguey.” Jubilee smiled at her, but on the inside, she wanted to get out of the room. She couldn’t shake the fact that the woman in front of her looked like her best friend, and she was in pain. It was extremely hard to watch.
Carol struggled to her feet and watched as Logan sat down on the only table in the room. He crossed his arms and stared at her. She looked from him to Jubilee to the door. She made towards the door, but Jubilee stood in front of it and held up one hand. “I wouldn’t!”
Carol watched as Jubilee let her mutation crackle and spark slightly, and the electrical charge rippled around her hand, ready to explode into fireworks. Carol smiled and lunged at Jubilee. Logan quickly grabbed the back of Carol’s top, but it was too late. Jubilee gave her a short spark, and it charged through Carol and straight to the suppression collar, shorting out its circuits. She stumbled back from Jubilee’s blast and Logan’s grip.
Jubilee and Logan watched almost in slow motion as the green indicator light on the side of the suppression collar faded and went out.
**********END OF PART FIVE
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Summary: A rat who gnaws on a cat’s tail, invites destruction.