Karma looked at the Professor, who gave her a slight nod. Setting down her teacup and saucer on one of the end tables, she began, “Long and myself have been working with the Japanese mutant rights activists for just under a year, since we fled our home country of Vietnam. I don’t know how much you know of Vietnam, but I will tell you that the conditions there are very poor. The economy has been steadily plummeting since Duong Duc Danh took over the Presidency and turned it into a dictatorship six years ago.
“After that, the U.S. revoked their Bilateral Trade Agreement. More than fifty percent of the population now lives below the poverty line. The only steady means of employment are in opium production and the People’s Army. Duong Duc Danh comes from long line of military generals. His objective is more power, both for himself and for Vietnam. Recently, he’s come up with an idea for a new means of gaining wealth and prestige. He’s closed off the boarders and is preparing to deal in arms – that is, mutants.”
Bobby’s eyes went wide. “He’s going to sell people? I thought discrimination was bad here.”
“It’s not about discrimination, Bobby,” Professor Xavier put in. “It’s about exploitation.”
Karma continued, “Mutants in Vietnam are valued for the glory we can bring to the country. There has been a Registration Act similar to the one you are currently fighting in place for decades. When mutants reach the age of fifteen, they begin training in the Army, and the government gives their families income, which is what happened to my twin brother Tran and myself. Male mutants are encouraged to have as many children as possible to increase the population. Some of these children, like Long, begin their training from infancy and are given drugs to speed up the manifestation of their powers.”
I glanced over at Dragon, whose face had gone to stone. Bobby and I exchanged an uncomfortable look, both of us harboring sad images of the childhood she must have endured.
“Most mutants in the programs were volunteers. However, once it was discovered that our families were not receiving the promised income, there were talks of rebellion. I can remember discussing this with Tran, but the rest is unclear, like all my memories of the twelve years before Long and I left. Our memories are returning slowly. The clearest is the final year we spent in Vietnam. That was when the mind control began to run out.” Karma lifted her long, black hair and twisted to show us the circular scar on the back of her neck.
“Scott,” the Professor prompted.
Turning, he pulled down his collar to reveal his own scar.
“For the past two years,” the Professor made clear, “the mutant program in Vietnam has been falling apart as a result of the loss of their former leader. William Stryker.”
“Stryker,” Logan echoed in a growl.
“But why?” Storm asked. “Stryker was a military scientist and an officer in the Vietnam War. Why would he work with Communists?”
The Professor answered, “Stryker’s lab at Alkali Lake proves that he never fully trusted the Vietnamese government. I have no doubt that Stryker intended to use whatever knowledge he gained from them for what he believed was the good of the United States. He was also of the opinion that mutants have their purpose – as long as they can be controlled. That was where Jason came in. But once both father and son were gone, the resources quickly dried up and the Vietnamese lost control.
“However, they seem to have found not only a new way of controlling mutant minds but a new financial backer as well. If we’re to stop Duong Duc Danh from selling mutants and their powers to terrorist states, then we must find out the identity of the backer and the means of control. This information is doubtlessly housed in the military complex where the mutants receive their training.”
“Where’s the complex?” Logan asked.
“In the northwest, in the jungle. Fan Si Pan can be seen from south side of the base,” Dragon answered coolly, still giving Logan the evil eye.
“Fan Si Pan is the highest peak in Vietnam. Could you be more specific?” Logan responded sardonically. I was momentarily impressed by his geographic knowledge. Looked like all those evenings of watching Jeopardy! had paid off.
Karma shook her head. “Unfortunately, that’s all we can remember about the location. On top of that, it’s extremely difficult to get into Vietnam in the first place. Long and I are prepared to try, but we need someone to go with us, someone who can handle themselves.”
“Someone with a security clearance,” Dragon amended.
Storm, Bobby, and I looked at Logan questioningly. His brow furrowed. “You mean me?”
Dragon’s response was clipped. “I doubt they went to all of the trouble to take your clearance off the computers after you left, especially since they had so little respect for your intelligence in the first place.”
It hit me hard in the gut. Logan had been part of this project. I’d always vaguely known that he had worked with Stryker in some capacity. This was specific. These two women knew him and, judging by Dragon’s attitude, probably hated him.
“This mission is for you, Logan,” the Professor told him.
Folding his arms across his chest, he nodded curtly.
“I must warn you, it will be long and trying and might bring up facets of your past that you’ve deemed best remain buried.”
“How long is long?” I had to cut in.
“It all depends on how long it takes us to find the base,” Karma answered. “Could be months…years.”
I was floored, but Logan was still game.
“Good,” the Professor settled. “There’s no time to lose. You’ll leave this afternoon on a flight to Thailand and continue on your own from there.“ He addressed the rest of us, saying, “Since we’re letting go of one of our team members for such an extended period of time, I would like to propose bringing Jubilation Lee, Peter Rasputin, Julian Keller, and Kitty Pride into the X-Men as permanent members. Anyone apposed? Excellent. We’ll have another meeting discussing that tomorrow. Logan, you stay for further details about the mission, but the rest of you can get back to class. The flight leaves in three hours, if you’d like time to say goodbye.” He looked directly at me when he said that.
“Wait, wait,” I said, finally finding my voice. “Professor, I’d like to volunteer to go along on the mission. I mean, three people to do all that?”
“Three people is enough, if it’s the right three people,” the Professor replied in a soothing tone.
“And if we did need more, it wouldn’t be you going along,” Logan said flatly.
“Why, too dangerous?” I sneered.
“Yes. And you’d be no use.”
My teeth snapped together audibly. I wanted to reach over and use Bobby’s power to freeze Logan into a block of ice, or take Storm’s and electrocute him with a bolt of lightning. I couldn’t because I would hurt them in the process. It infuriated me that, while he had hundreds of ways to destroy me, I didn’t have a single power over him anymore. Everything had a price.
“Professor?” I asked.
“I’m sorry, Rogue.”
I left the room, jostling Logan with my shoulder on the way.
What he’d said had been true. I wouldn’t be any use to the mission. I’d just slow them down. “But he didn’t have to be so fucking mean about it,” I snarled loudly when the elevator doors had shut tight.
I was angry, no doubt, but the worst part was that it was anger driven by desperation. Logan was leaving for a long, trying, dangerous mission with two women no one had even questioned whether or not could be trusted and without anyone to watch his back. And there was nothing I could do but let him. I hated it.
Striding out of the elevator and down the hall, I threw open Logan’s bedroom door unceremoniously. With brusque efficiency, I pulled his two duffle bags and backpack down from the top of his closet and began to pack for him. I put the essentials in the backpack and filled the duffle bags with less important stuff he could get rid of on the way.
As pissed off as I was, I still needed to give him something of mine, so I quickly went to my room and grabbed a picture I had pinned to my bulletin board. It was a shot of Logan and me at Christmas dinner last year that Kitty had taken with her digital camera. He had a bottle of beer hanging from his fingers and an amused smile on his face as he looked over at me. I was grinning back. Nothing special really, but it was rare to catch Logan on camera doing anything but frowning. I made him happy. I wanted him to remember that.
I had safely stowed away the picture in his backpack and was just folding the final pair of jeans to add to his duffle bag when he came into the room. He said, “You don’t have to that.”
“People don’t always just do what they have to. Sometimes they do what they want to.”
“You don’t want to pack for me. You don’t want me to go at all.”
Arrogant bastard. In spite of myself, I laughed. “No, you’re right. I don’t. But it’s awful damn convenient for you, though.”
“I didn’t plan this. I would’ve had to go either way.”
He was talking about last night. I was surprised he remembered. “Still,” I said, “you have to admit, the timing’s perfect. No, it’s okay. When things get too complicated, you cut and run. I understand. I used to be just like that. But then I grew up.”
“You’re not the reason I’m going. I have to go.”
I ignored that. It didn’t fit in well with my air of superiority. “Make sure I didn’t forget to pack anything important,” I told him, zipping up the duffle bag. “I’ll meet you in the garage in twenty minutes. I’m driving you to the airport.” I tried to push past him, but he caught my elbows.
“Let’s not leave it like this,” he said, his hands stroking the bare skin between my sleeves and gloves.
I closed my eyes tightly, wishing his touch didn’t mean so much.
“Talk to me, Rogue.”
I opened my eyes directly. “When you said you needed to think, did you ever even consider that we could be together? Or was that not even a possibility for you?”
His expression answered for him. It wasn’t.
Pulling his face to mine, I pressed my lips hard against his. I stepped back when he started to respond. “Stop,” I said, forgetting that I had been the one to kiss him. “It hurts.”
“Why can’t we just go back to the way it was?”
“Why can’t we just be together?”
Logan broke eye contact, moving further into his room. “We’re both too stubborn, I guess.”
“Yeah. I guess so.”
I meant to leave. I couldn’t. Years, Karma had said. One or five, I wondered.
Logan came out of the bathroom empty-handed. I must’ve done a good job packing. I put his backpack on and let him carry the duffle bags. Though it was on the little heavy side for me, the backpack would do just fine for him. “You should buy bug spray before you go,” I advised, already worrying.
“The Professor took care of it.”
“Right. Of course.”
After that, there was lunch to be eaten and people who wanted to say good luck, and directions to be given and followed. The tension and awkwardness between us built steadily and without much cause until I pulled the SUV up to the main entrance of the Westchester Country airport. Like Logan, I didn’t want to leave it like this. What could I say?
I watched him unload the bags from the back, and politely said goodbye to Karma and Dragon. Logan didn’t follow them. “You coming inside?” he asked.
“I don’t think so.” I would cry if I had to prolong this any further.
“Well, this is it, then. Anything you need to get off your chest?”
“You’re an asshole,” I said promptly, and had to smile when he gave me the eyebrow. “But I still love you.”
“Listen,” he said almost earnestly. “You be careful while I’m gone. Do your job, but don’t try and be a hero or anything. Got it?”
“Same to you.”
“Not much chance of that.”
“Of what, being a hero? Don’t be stupid, you know you are one.”
His arms came around me then, and he kissed my forehead. “I’m gonna miss you, kid.”
I hugged him back tightly, wanting more than anything to never have to let him go.