Logan pulled Rogue roughly behind him as she eyed the young man who stepped into the elevator as they got off. As the ginger haired man smiled she gave him a small wave with her hand and Logan jerked her again.
“Oww, Logan.” She looked up at him as she finally moved to keep up with him. “You’re hurting me.” A small smirk played across her face. “I kinda like it.” She winked at him and he relaxed his grip.
“I’m not so sure it was a bright idea to bring her along,” Logan grumbled at the Professor who was just in front of them as they walked down the hallway.
“Would you have preferred to have kept her back home in a much more highly male populated area and with you not around to defend her honour?”
Logan grumbled as they kept walking. “You have a point.”
“Besides it be more of a risk to bring the others along who haven’t already been infected with the chance that they could be and plus Mr. Lester should recognize Rogue and perhaps be more helpful to our requests.”
“You know I may not be exactly myself right now but my hearing is still pretty good and you could stop talking about me like I’m not here or that I’m a burden.”
Logan stopped walking immediately and Rogue bumped into him, he caught her and held her at arms length as he bent down to look her directly in the eyes.
“You’re right, baby.” His eyes turned serious as he gazed at her. “And you’re not a burden, nor have you or will you ever be one, you got that darlin’.” He gave her a light shake as her gaze moved down towards the floor.
“Okay,” she whispered.
“I mean it you know; I was just being an ass.” He smiled as she looked back up at his face.
“Come ‘ere.”
He pulled her into a tight hug as she reciprocated his grip. They held each other for a couple of seconds as he buried his nose in her hair and took in her scent. Her hands began to wander down towards his waist and lower. He pulled back and she looked up sheepishly at him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered again.
He pulled her around beside him, her hand in his as they continued to follow the Professor.
“Don’t be, that ass is yours and yours alone.”
A smile quirked at her full lips as they walked.
The Professor was already waiting outside one of the doors patiently for them to catch up.
“I believe this is Mr. Lester’s current residence according to Kitty’s background check.”
There was a large pile of week old mail sitting just by the door. The Professor reached up and knocked politely on the door. For a moment they didn’t hear anything and Logan chose to knock again more loudly.
“Who is it?” a small voice called out from behind the door.
“Mr. Lester my name is…”
“Please, go away.”
“Please sir, my name is Charles Xavier and…”
Logan quirked his head towards the door, his claws sliding out quickly and he slashed the door knob barging into the room. Mr. Lester was half way out his window onto the fire escape when the Professor stopped him with his powers and pulled him back into the room, sitting him gently on the couch.
“Please no, you have to stay away from me,” Brian mumbled, pulling at his messy hair.
Gazing around the room it was immediately noticeable that Brain Lester was a reclusive hermit. His room was well lived in, the more than standard of amount of locks on his door and windows.
“You have nothing to fear from us, Mr. Lester. We only wish to speak to you in a calmly fashion.”
Brian looked up at them, his eyes squinting as he took them in.
“You,” he nodded at Rogue who stood partially behind Logan. “You’re from the park.”
Rogue nodded. “Yes.”
A smile brightened his face. “And you’re…you’re alright?” he gasped in surprise.
“No, she’s not alright,” Logan growled taking a step forward.
“Logan, please.”
Brian’s face fell. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.” He looked up his eyes connecting with Rogue’s. “I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
“If I release my hold on you Mr. Lester will you stay and let us talk with you.”
“You’re not going to hurt me are you?”
“That’s up to you, bub,” Logan growled.
“Logan,” Rogue whispered as she placed a hand on his arm.
“No, Mr. Lester we are not here to hurt you, merely we wish to understand what has happened to Rogue.” The Professor nodded at her. “And the rest of our friends.”
“Alright.” Brian nodded. “But please just stay where you are don’t come any closer…I don’t…don’t want anything to happen.”
“What will happen if we do, Brian?”
“I don’t know…I can’t control it…my power,” he gazed up at them. “I take it you’re mutants too.”
They nodded. “When…when people get to close to me and my emotions flare it just happens and sometimes just by touching other people…you don’t know what it’s like to fear touching other people.”
“Yes, I do,” Rogue spoke up quietly. “You’re not alone.”
“Really?” Brian spoke looking up at her in desperation and hope.
“Yes,” the Professor smiled sincerely. “Rogue has the power of skin absorption, she can kill with a touch and it’s only been in the past couple of years that she has learned control.”
“I understand,” Brian spoke, his head bowing. “But I do not think there is any hope for me, I have seen people driven crazy, done horrible things all because of me and because of my curse,” he spat.
“Explain to me your power?”
“I’d say I can control the seven sins, but I have no control,” he laughed bitterly.
“You seem to take the time to pick which ones you use,” Logan spoke darkly.
“No,” Brain looked up wide eyed. “It doesn’t seem to work like that, the sins choose themselves. I can feel the surge of power coming out of me but it changes every time when I come in contact with the person, as though the sin picks the person.”
“You’re saying there’s a reason that the people you infect are infected with each particular sin?”
Brian gazed at the Professor. “It’s been like that every time, I’ve never even thought of it. It’s as though the body of the person draws it out of me.”
“Are you saying Rogue asked for this?” Logan yelled.
“No,” Brian spoke hurriedly under Logan’s glare. “No. No never,” he whispered as he rung his hands together. His head popped up as he stared intently at Rogue.
“Which were you hit with? It all happened so fast.”
“Lust,” Rogue spoke quietly.
Brain took his time gazing at her. “You look good considering,” he muttered. “I’ve seen others lose it quicker then you seem to have. Although, it won’t be long until you constantly burn with it like a sickness.”
“Then you better fix it,” Logan snarled.
“He your boyfriend?” Brian nodded at Logan.
Rogue nodded. “Yes.”
“Good,” Brian mumbled as he shook his head. “Something stable, that helps. You must really love each other because if it wasn’t more then just lust, you’d probably be finished by now. Real love helps slow the process but it doesn’t stop it I’m afraid.”
“How can we fix it?” the Professor inquired.
“You can’t.”
“What?!” Logan growled his claws coming out as he stepped forward.
“Logan, no!” the Professor yelled holding him in place with his power. “If you let your rage take over and make him feel threatened who knows how his power will react.”
Taking a deep breath Logan let his claws slide back in and he let his body relax enough on the outside. As the Professor’s hold receded he backed up to his original spot.
“I’m sorry, I wish I knew how.”
“Has there ever been once where someone you infected somehow broke free of its hold?”
“Once,” he spoke his eyes unfocused. “It was a long time ago, the first time my power manifested. I was in the backyard with my older brother and we were playing and I was washing my new bike and he came up and started teasing me, you know how older brothers are,” he smiled for a second.
“Started holding his arm out on my head, stopping me from reaching him, somehow I slipped out of his hold and tackled him and I had felt it, the power inside of me and I saw the coloured light flow into him. It was green; envy. At the time I was freaked out, I knew about mutants, hell I had a cousin who was a mutant but I was afraid for my brother, I didn’t understand. It only lasted for a couple of minutes though; I guess my power wasn’t as strong then. He started going on about how he didn’t get anything, how I got everything and then finally there was this moment of clarity where he just blurted out that he was jealous that I got a new bike and he didn’t and that he knew it was stupid because it was my first real bike and all of a sudden his eyes flashed green and he was back to normal.”
Brain looked back at them as though coming back from the memory itself. “Well, you know as a kid realizing I had a supposed gift I wasn’t so afraid to try it out, but for a long time it never worked and then as I got older it would happen and then I’d find out I couldn’t fix it, that it was always too late…” he paused. “Well, then that’s when I knew I wasn’t safe to be around.”
“It’s never ever worked after that?” the Professor asked seriously.
Brian shook his head slowly. “No, I use to think that if the person could admit the reasons why which ever sin took a hold of them, then it would work, but I found as I grew up and when it would happen with strangers, adults it was always too late. It would consume them before I could get a chance to understand them, to help them.”
“But I don’t know why,” Rogue spoke up.
Brian smiled sadly at her. “Sometimes the reasons are buried so deeply within ourselves that we’ve refused to deal with them for so long they come back to haunt us and we don’t know how to stop it.”
“So you’re saying I want to be a whore,” Rogue spat.
“Marie,” Logan whispered reaching for her.
“Forgive me, I was under the impression no woman wanted to be a whore,” Brian spoke calmly towards her as he shook his head. “No, I do not believe you want to be a whore, and I don’t think that’s why you are consumed with lust. There’s something inside of you, issues you’ve refused to deal with and now you’re paying for it.”
“I don’t need this crap,” she spoke heading for the door, Logan reached for her just in time.
“Not just yet darlin’.”
“It’s good that you still have enough room to feel other emotions, like anger. You could still have a chance.”
Rogue was silent as she waited for them to leave.
“Brian, why were you at the park when you’ve refused outside contact for so long?”
“Another mutant by the name of Magneto contacted me through a source and wished to help me. But I still have many mutant contacts around the city who know certain things and they told me to stay away from him, that he didn’t want to help me but to use my power for his purpose. I was afraid and I was being chased by this horrid animal like mutant when I bumped into you and your friends.”
“Sabertooth,” Logan growled.
“If that’s what you want to call him,” Brian remarked.
Logan sniffed. “I smell blood.”
“Brian, are you injured anywhere?”
“Yes, that beast clawed me.”
“Would you mind if I checked your wounds?”
“Sure,” Brain nodded.
“I must ask you to please stay here for us to contact you again if we need to; I can’t believe that there is no way to control your power for your sake and for my friends. I have a friend who is a doctor, a mutant specialist named Moira who I know will wish to help you.”
“Thank- you.”
Brian slowly started to pull his shirt up over his head revealing a surprisingly fit body. There were a few small sets of red gashes criss-crossing over his ribs.
“I’ll help,” Rogue spoke up, moving forward with her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she smiled, her mood suddenly changing.
Logan stopped her and pushed them into the direction of the door with a frown on his face.
“We’ll be outside.”
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