Marie tapped lightly on the Professor’s office door. No, she thought to herself. The Professor was gone and this office now belonged to ‘Ro, who had taken over the role of headmaster at the Xavier Institute. Ever since his death the many students at the Institute had taken to going to ‘Ro for advice and she has been helping them develop and understand their powers. While Marie felt that no one could ever take the Professor’s place, she thought that ‘Ro was doing a great job with this new responsibility.
She could hear voices on the other side of the door. Someone was speaking with an angry voice, almost near yelling, and Marie suddenly worried if it was a bad time to interrupt. She was about to turn around and come back later when she heard Ororo’s soft voice telling her to come in. Quite nervously, Marie opened the door and took in the scene before her.
Logan had his back to the door and was standing up with both fists clenched as if he was resisting the urge to pop out his claws at any moment. ‘Ro was leaning slightly on her desk, her head looking at the ground. The only person who made eye contact with Marie as she entered the room was Hank, who was standing by the window, arms folded in front of him.
“Rogue, my dear,” Hank smiled. “How are you this afternoon?”
She glanced nervously at Logan’s back and then at ‘Ro’s downcast head before answering Hank. “F-fine,” she stuttered. Internally kicking herself for sounding like an anxious twit, she spoke up. “I’m fine, Hank. Thanks for asking. What are you guys up to?”
Hank’s smile faded slightly. “I’m afraid that I can’t discuss tha—”
“We were actually in the middle of a private meeting, Rogue,” ‘Ro interrupted, finally looking up at Marie. ‘Ro stood up and walked around her desk to sit down in her chair. “Unless there’s some kind of emergency, I think it would be better if you came back later.”
Marie’s cheeks flushed at ‘Ro’s comment. She had had a feeling it was a bad time to bother her. However, she felt that this recent news about the cure was vitally important to the mutant community and wanted to make sure that the others knew about what was going on. “Actually, it’s about the cure.”
Silence. Marie should have guessed that their reaction would be something like this. Every time someone had mentioned the cure in the last month near her, they had quickly stopped their discussion and looked at her with accusing eyes. It was as if everyone thought talking about the cure upset Marie or something, when in all honesty, it didn’t. Even though Marie regretted her decision at times, she wasn’t afraid to talk about it with people. Hell, she kind of wanted to talk about it with someone. Ever since she made the decision to get the cure she hadn’t really talked to anyone about it. She wanted to tell someone what she was going through and what the whole experience was like.
Marie looked at ‘Ro, who had turned to look at Hank. It looked like the two of them were communicating with their eyes. Logan just stood there, his back still faced to her. He looked extremely tense. The only sounds in the room were their breathing. The loaded silence was really killing her and she was about to speak when ‘Ro finally broke eye contact with Hank and looked back at her.
“Look, Rogue, I understand the decision you made last month was really tough, and while I personally wouldn’t have chosen it for you, I understand your reasons,” ‘Ro said in a calm and soothing voice. It was almost as if she was trying to prevent Marie from getting upset. “Now, if you wish to discuss this matter at a later time, I think that would—”
“Storm, I’m not here to discuss my choice to take the cure,” Marie said, before ‘Ro could continue drawing any more conclusions. Noticing ‘Ro’s confused look, Marie decided it was finally time to stop beating around the bush. “Have you guy’s seen the news today?”
Hank answered her, “No, Rogue. Is there something we should be aware of?”
Logan had finally turned around. He wasn’t looking at her, but instead was staring intently at the door behind where she stood. Marie noticed that he looked extremely irritated, and she couldn’t help but wonder if it had to do with the meeting he was in a few minutes ago or her daring to bring up the cure in his presence. Suddenly frustrated with Logan’s continued insistence to ignore her existence, Marie blurted out the next bit a little angrily.
“Yes, actually. While you guys have been in your little ‘meeting’, Worthington Industries announced some startling news about the cure. Apparently, it didn’t work,” she said acidly, still angry at Logan. “Well, not for everyone. Worthington said that the cure will wear off for the world’s most powerful mutants. I just thought you guys should know about this, because it seemed pretty important to me.”
Marie smiled internally at their reactions, which by the looks of them, confirmed that they didn’t already know about this news. ‘Ro was staring at Marie with wide eyes, her mouth slightly parted in astonishment. Hank scrunched his eyebrows and a frown replaced his long forgotten smile. Logan finally made eye contact with Marie, and with a sudden jolt of her heart, she noticed the expression he gave her had softened a little for the first time in weeks. After only a second, though, he looked away and that agitated look appeared back on his face.
‘Ro was the first to recover from the shock. “That’s not p-possible,” she muttered. She turned to face Hank. “Is it? Have you heard anything from the government about this, Hank?”
Hank slowly looked up at Marie, and then at ‘Ro. “No, Ororo, I haven’t heard anything about this. Well, I have heard some rumors about mutants obtaining their powers back, but I figured it was all just gossip spread by the press,” Hank said quite shakily. He looked over at Marie once again. “And you said they just announced this today? How? Is there any proof?” He sounded so desperate to find some answers. Marie filled them in on everything she knew about the press conference she had watched on TV. When she was finished reciting what happened, ‘Ro suddenly looked furious.
“So first they offer us this cure of theirs, and then it turns out to be a scam,” ‘Ro shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe this. What the hell were these people thinking? Offering us a defected ‘cure’, so to speak.” She must have realized something, because suddenly her eyes got even bigger. She looked up at Marie. “Wait, you said it will only happen to the most powerful mutants?”
Marie guessed where she was heading with this. “Yeah. I thought of that too. Magneto’s one of the most powerful mutants I know, so no doubt the cure will wear off on him, too.”
“Unbelievable,” was all ‘Ro could say.
The room was quiet once again while everyone indulged in their own thoughts. Marie once again wondered about how this cure news would affect the human public. She decided to voice her thoughts. “You know the humans will react badly to this. They were finally starting to feel safe, with Magneto gone and no mutant terrorist outbreaks since Alcatraz Island. This will only push them back into anti-mutant organizations once again,” Marie said, suddenly fearful about the future that lies ahead of them. Marie could sense that once again, things were about to change. For better or worse, she wasn’t sure yet. She could only hope for the former.
Nobody responded. ‘Ro was staring at the ground again, clearly lost in thought, and Hank had turned to stare out the window towards the school grounds. Logan had drifted over to the wall to Marie’s left and was leaning against it with his eyes closed. He was probably taking it all in, thinking about the consequences it will have for both the human and mutant communities, just like she was. Marie wondered if he was secretly hoping that she would get her powers back. As if Hank could hear her thoughts, he suddenly asked the question Marie had been hoping to avoid.
“Rogue,” he started gently, “do you suppose that the cure’s effects will wear off on you, too?”
All three of them had turned to stare at her now. Her cheeks flushed red again, but this time she was ready for a response. “No, I don’t think so,” she said. “My mutation wasn’t that powerful and I don’t see any reason why it would return.” She looked down at her hands, refusing to make eye contact with any of them. Especially Logan.
The room became silent again and this time she couldn’t take it. “I think I should go so you guys can get back to your meeting. Sorry for bothering you,” and without a single glance in any of their directions she turned around and bolted for the door. None of them tried to stop her, and Marie was relieved. Closing the door behind her she headed for the stairs. She could really use some time in her room to think and, if she was honest with herself, to cry.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I know things between Logan and Marie are rough but I promise that they will get better as the story progresses.