~Chapter 3~
Watching as Rogue traced his hand, Logan smirked. "Are you going to do this every morning when you see me?"
Nodding as they made their way towards the medical wing, she laughed. "Ah jus' still shocked. Ah know that it been ova' three days and all, but ah always wanted to be able to touch you."
Pausing, he raised an eyebrow.
"Naw like that, just a friendly touch."
Lifting his hand that she was now holding, his other eyebrow rose. "Friendly? Is that what this is?"
Blushing and looking away, she pulled her hand back to her side. "Ah mean...it uh...it could..."
Wrapping an arm about her shoulders, he continued towards their destination."Don't sweat it kid. I was just fucking wit' ya'."
Sighing and leaning into him, she allowed him to lead her into the lab.
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Jotting down a few more notes, Hank sighed.
"What's wrong now, doc'?" Logan voiced putting his shirt back on.
"I just...I still can't figure out why Rogue's mutation can't harm you, when before it was trigered from contact with you." Placing the chart down on the table, he glimpsed the figure in the glass room having her blood taken. "Whatever the reason for this change between you two, I think that it resulted from the connection that you two have."
"If thats your theory fuzz ball, then why haven't it done so years ago?" He questioned, watching as the female in question pulled her sleeve back down. "She has absorbed my healing multiple times and..."
"Then its safe to say, that the cure made her skin advance in a way." Turning, he made move for the exit.
Confused, Logan took up after him. Walking the short distance from where he was being tested to where Marie was, he froze at what Beast asked.
"May I have your permission to cut your hand?"
Eyes going wide as saucers, her brown orbs looked towards him for help.
"Why the sudden intrest in cutting her open, bub?" He demanded, walking over and standing at her side.
"You got me to thinking about all the abilities that you have, Logan." Hank began. "If she can truely recall your forgotten memories and harbor your claws you were born with, then she must also absorbed your healing. I just wish to test it, thats all." He finished, saying the last bit towards the scared female.
Sighing and reluctantly nodding, she held out her hand.
Smiling, he took one claw of his hairy hand and ran it across her palm. Pulling back and watching as blood swelled, he smirked as her skin gave a small glow and started to knit itself back together. Retreiving the hankercheif from his pocket, he wiped the blood off and handed it towards one of the students who served as his asistant.
"Go run this blood and compare it to both Logan's and Rogue's."
NOdding, the small boy left them alone.
"So, uh...what does this mean?" She asked, hopping off the table she sat on and folding her arms. "Can ah touch again? Ah mean, other than Logan?"
Hank frowned. "I honestly do not know, Rogue. But for now you need to still be cautious of your skin and the effect that it has on..." Haulting his words as she swiftly left, he sighed. "I didn't think her skin would be difficult upon finding what it is now capable of, but..."
"Then stop fussing and find out whats going on." Logan bit out. "Because in case you have forgotten, Magneto had twice as much of that cure. And if it enhanced her power, think of what it can do to him."
Eyes wide, he scrambled for his notes. "You go and tell the X-Men that a meeting will be held shortly...I need to speak with Xavier."
Watching as he rushed about the room gathering notes and a disc or two, Logan took his leave.
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"So, we have to track down all the mutants who took the cure?" Bobby exclaimed, as all sat about the table projecting Beast's findings. "You know how long that will take?"
Charles slowly nodded. "Yes...but with Cerebro, I shall be able to find all and send you out to talk or retreive them. They need to be warned about what can happen and..."
"But their human now, Charles." Storm voiced. "Or at least that is what they think. If they believe in the cure so, then you may not be capable to find them. They would seek to keep the days of their mutation as a secret and hidden within their minds. You yourself said long ago, that you cannot force one to reveal what they do not want to."
"But ah can."
Turning, all eyes landed on Rogue.
Leaning against a wall and stepping from the shadowed corner, she sighed. "Ah can sense and find 'em. It's not that hard."
"You have had no contact with one of telepathy." Scott pointed out. "I know you want to help but..."
"Ah do." She stated, cutting him off.
"Since when?"
Lowering her gaze, she frowned. "Before ah took the cure and...and Jean died."
Scott tensed. "Wha....When did this...when did you..."
Releasing a breath, Charles shook his head. "Why did I not see it when she came to me?" He voiced, holding his head.
"What are you talking about?" Logan demaned. "You knew that she would turn and possibly..."
"Yes...I have always known." He replied, looking to all in the room. "Since I have known Jean, she has always held a part of herself that was pure evil and the definition of power. I just thought if I worked with her to supress the Phoenix, she would never allow it out...But I wrong." Pausing, he sighed. "Before Akili Lake, she came to me and asked me if it was possible that the phoenix could be stripped of her or lessened. I didn't think nothing of it, but I told her that it was a possibility." Locking gazes with Rogue, his voice hardened. "Did she come to you asking for help or was it an accident that you came in contact with her?"
"Ah...She came te me wishn' to talk."
"Why would you go with her?" Kitty asked, standing. "After that argument you both had, you should've..."
"Argument?" Both Logan and Scott voiced.
Paling, Rogue shot her a glare and gave the proffessor a pleading look.
He shook his head. "I am sorry, but if this is what led you to follow after her, then they all deserve to know what happened."
Closing her eyes and recalling what happened, she became lost in her memory.
*Flashback*
Watching as he once more rode off, she sighed.
"What's wrong?"
Turning, she found Jean eyeing her. "N'thing. Ah was jus'...uh... seeing Logan off and..."
"You know that he wishes to stay in the open and not trapped in one place. After all, he delt with that in his past. So why do you wish to do this to yourself?" Her soft voice rang, as she walked over and leaned on the wall. "Logan wishes to stay where he feels comfortable and you keep pulling him back here. You must allow him to do as he pleases and give him time to himself."
Frowning, she raised an eye brow. "Wha' ya' mean he ain't comfortable here? He says the mansion is like a second home and..."
"No, Rogue. He comes only because he feels like he needs to keep an eye on you. He needs to come to see the mansion as 'his' home, not some place where he needs to return to check up on someone."
"No offense, Jean, but Logan does what he wants. If he wishes to stop coming here and checking up on me as you think, then he would do so. Ah think that ah know him a little better than you think. Afta' all, ah kinda got 'em in ma' head ya' know."
Folding her arms, her usual green eyes darkened. "Watch what you say, Rogue. You don't want to play with fire, now do you?"
Taking a step back and eyeing her, she shook her head. "Naw, but was that a threat?"
"Take it as you want to, but keep that in mind."
"Naw, you keep in mind that you have Scott and he loves you. Don't go around and..."
"Ruin it?" She spat, advancing on her until she was in her face. "Don't worry about me and mine. I have him and thats how it will remain."
Rogue nodded. "Ok. Then if ya' have Scott, Logan's mine. Take that as ya' want, but if you want to throw the fire out, be ready to get burned."
Narrowing her eyes, she shook her head. "I would love to see you try. After all, your nothing but a wanting whore." Turning she walked off.
*End Flashback*
Scott shook his head. "She would never say something like that and threaten you."
"Quite the contrary." Charles stated. "When Jean loses control of the Phoenix, she is very rude and can be extremely dangerous."
"And the possessiveness?" Kitty voiced. "She was about ready to take Rogue's head off, when she called dibs on Logan."
He nodded. "Yes, she has a possessive side to her and in a way, the Phoenix found Logan to be one of great power and was drawn towards him. But when Rogue said that he was her's, the Phoenix would've killed her."
"Why didn't she?" Storm sounded. "If Jean was so lost to the Phoenix, then why didn't she end her then and there?"
"Rogue, would you like to answer that?"
Looking up and pass all the confused and waiting faces, she locked gazes with her so called claim. "Ah would nev' say something like that, but when she said that Logan was her's, my inner Wolverine surfaced."
"And as a result, the Phoenix recognised the power surrounding her and left her alone in fear of it being directed at her." Charles explained. "Now, can you please say why you allowed Jean to lead you away to talk?"
She sighed. "Ah didn't want to go with her, but she said what she had to tell me would able me to help Logan get his memories back."
"And you agreed, even tho' you two had an argument?" Logan asked.
"Yeah." She lowly replied.
"And what did she say?" Storm questioned.
"She told me she needed my help. Ah didn't mind helping her at all, but when she asked me if ah could releive her of some stress and take it in, ah refused."
Hank frowned. "Then how did you absorb her telepathy?"
"We were out in the garden in a secluded place and when ah moved to leave, she forced me to her side. At first ah fought her and didn't let her touch me, but when she said hundreds could die, ah agreed." Pausing, she pulled her left sleeve up and revealed a burn mark. "Ah don't recall an'thing fro' what happened next, but ah felt pain and as if ah was in an oven baking. Then ah woke up in ma' bed lata' that night."
"Let me see the burn."
Moving towards him, she allowed him to examine it.
"And when did you expierence you had telepathy?" Scott asked.
Blushing, she looked towards the one with blue skin. "When ah was talking to Curt and he uh...was thinking about uh....someone that he care about."
Gasping, the man in question eye's widdened. "You saw...wha' I thinking?"
She gave a small nod, but when he lowered his head, she added, "Ah wont tell, Curt. Ah promise."
Sighing, he relaxed.
Clearing his throat, Charles regained all their attention. "You told Jean I presume?"
"Yeah."
"And what did she say?"
"She was scared and when she saw the mark left on ma' arm, she about paniced. Ah wanted to come and tell you 'bout all wha' happened, but she said we could handle it."
"So she started to teach you about telepathy and the Phoenix?"
"Yes to the telepathy and no to the Phoenix...She taught me how to read minds, force someone to do as ah wish, and how to block others fro' evading ma'mind."
"That explains why I could not enter your mind when I wished for you. You chose when to let me in and when not to?"
"Yeah. Jean told me tha' we needed to keep it a secret until she taught me ev'thing and..."
"It's a bird." Hank exclaimed. "The burn is in the shape of a bird. Has it always been like that?"
Rogue shook her head.
"What was it before?"
"A uh...just a small roundish burn."
"And when did it change?"
"The day Jean died."
All went silent.
Moving around the table and comeing to a stop before her, Charles motioned to an empty chair. "Could you please take a seat and allow me to scan your mind? I just wish to see how much of the Phoenix resides within you."
Sighing and settling down, she nodded. "Go ahead."
Smiling, he released a breath and jerked back. Eyeing her, he frowned. "You have to let all your guards down and not fight against me."
"I didn't."
"Let's try this again. I need you to allow me in your mind. Think of a field of flowers and everything that you could ever want. Do that and you wont be able to sense me so much."
Nodding and releasing a large breath, she sagged against the chair.
Pleased, Charles allowed his mind to venture across towards her own. Witin seconds he was once more forced out, but this time, he knew why.
"Rogue?"
Opening her eyes, she gave him a lazy look. "Yeah?"
"As you know, you had piece of the Phoenix residing in you...but now, I fear that you are it's new keeper."
Blinking, a tear fell from her now misty eyes of brown.
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