Marie rested her head on the windowsill, her head racing with thoughts. She tried to make sense of what was going on around her as calmly as she could. The last thing she needed was to pass out like ‘Ro did. She was eager to hear what the professor had to say. From what Logan had told her, there hadn’t been a body to collect after the professor’s death. He had said that the professor had simply vanished into a million ashes. How could he have come back to life? Logan had seen him die. So had Magneto, but Marie didn’t really want to think about him.
Staring out across the school grounds, Marie recalled her first few days at the Xavier Institute. She remembered being scared out of her mind the first time she flew in the jet with Storm and Scott. On the journey to the mansion she had sat down in one of the jet’s seats, trying not to hyperventilate, and glancing over at an unconscious Logan every five seconds. She remembered ‘Ro trying to calm her down, explaining who they were, that they were mutants too. The good ones, that is. When she landed in the subbasement of the Mansion she was still panicked and frightened.
It wasn’t until she met Professor Xavier that she began to trust her surroundings. He had soothed her, assured her that they meant her no harm. He was so gentle and fatherly that Marie broke down into tears on the spot. Two days later, when Logan had woken up, she remembered leaving her first history class she had with ‘Ro to find him waiting for her outside the classroom. Suddenly she had all of these people who cared for her, making her feel welcome. It was the first time she truly felt happy since discovering her mutation.
She recalled the first few days after Logan left for Alkali Lake. She had shut herself down from the other inhabitants completely. One day the professor had visited her in her room, asking her if she wanted to talk about what she was going through. At first she was reluctant, but then she realized it might actually feel good to talk about it. Next to Logan the professor was the person she felt she could trust the most at the mansion. He had listened to her talk for hours, about her time on the road, and about her despair of Logan’s departure. He let her talk the whole time without interruptions and when she was done he told her something she would never forget:
“There are many people who love you in your life. Whether they have loved you in the past, will love you in the future, or love you at this very moment, there will never be someone who doesn’t love you.”
For some reason Marie felt touched by his words. There was no doubt in his voice, just a sense of knowing. Ever since that day Marie had looked to the professor for guidance. He became the closest thing she had to a father. Losing him was one of the hardest experiences she had ever endured.
So as she continued to lean against the window frame in the professor’s office she became confused with her feelings. She knew she was supposed to feel happy and joyous at the professor’s sudden resurrection, but all she felt was curious and frustrated. She wanted answers, and the longer she had to wait, the more impatient she became.
She turned around and took in the scene before her. Logan was leaning on the far wall, not taking his eyes off of the professor, who was staring into the fireplace besides the headmaster’s desk with a serene expression on his face. When the group surrounding the professor broke up earlier so the older X-Men could go meet in his office, Marie had stayed behind thinking she wouldn’t be welcome in the meeting. It was Logan who told her to come along and that she had every right to be there. That had surely warmed her heart. The last one present was Warren, who was pacing across the room, fidgeting with his hands nervously in front of him. Marie realized that he had never actually met the professor. He must be more confused than she was.
Finally the office door opened and Hank walked into the room, followed closely by ‘Ro. Marie straightened up, Warren halted his pacing, and the professor smiled in greeting. Logan’s eyes remained glued to the professor.
“Hank, Storm, thank you for meeting me,” he addressed them. He turned to ‘Ro. “How are you feeling?”
“Better, t—thank you,” ‘Ro stuttered, still looking a little pale.
“I’m glad to hear that. Your well being is very important to me,” said the professor, smiling warmly at ‘Ro. It was all too weird for Marie, hearing the professor’s gentle voice coming from the lips of some middle-aged man who looked like some sort of stock-broker in the black suit he wore.
The room remained quiet momentarily. It was clear that they were all waiting for the same thing: answers.
“I suppose I should cut right to the chase, then. This situation must seem rather strange for all of you,” the professor said. He began pacing the room with his hands behind his back. He had his head down and remained in deep thought for a few moments while everyone else stood, waiting.
To Marie’s surprise, he stopped right in front of her. He smiled gently and addressed her, “Do you remember a lesson I taught about ethics, shortly before my presumed death?”
It took Marie a few seconds to form a coherent thought before answering. “Yes. Yes, I do. It was the last class I ever had with you,” she recalled, remembering that day nearly two months ago.
“Good, good,” the professor said warmly. “Do you recall anything about the lesson?”
Marie thought back to that day. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Before Scott and Jean’s death, before she took the cure, before she broke up with Bobby. Just…before. So much had changed since then. Marie broke her train of thought and focused on what the professor was asking her.
“I little bit. We were discussing ethics and what rights we had as mutants,” she spoke to the group before her. She realized all eyes were on her, even Logan’s, who had finally stopped staring at the professor. She blushed a deep shade of red before continuing. “You showed us this video of a doctor who was treating a—Oh, oh!” Marie’s breath hitched as she finally connected two and two together. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “It…it worked.”
The professor nodded in response. The two stared at each other, Marie speechless, the professor patiently letting her take everything in.
The other people in the room were growing impatient. Marie heard Logan growl from the corner. “Will someone please tell me what the hell the kid is talkin’ about?”
Hank shook his head in confusion. “I’m just in the dark as you are, Logan. Rogue, what’s going on? What do you know that we don’t?”
It took Marie a few moments to answer him. She could hardly believe it herself. She finally turned from looking at the professor to addressing the rest of the room. “The professor showed us this video of a woman doctor treating a man. He was unconscious, and had been for several years. There was no chance of him ever coming out of his coma. He was in a vegetative state,” she said, giving them a chance to think about what she was saying.
“After we watched the video, the professor asked us whether or not we thought it was ethically right to place the mind of one person into the mind of the man. I didn’t think it was possible, but I think…I think it worked.” She turned back to face the professor. “You’re that man, aren’t you?”
The professor nodded at her words. “Yes, I am. And you are right, Rogue. It did work,” he said.
The silence fell upon the group once more. This time it was different. They weren’t waiting for answers, but instead trying to digest the information they had just heard. Marie looked at each one of them, observing their reactions. ‘Ro had taken a seat in one of the chairs, placing her head in her hands. Hank was staring in the distance, as if he were trying to see something that was not there. Warren had started pacing once again. When she looked over at Logan she noticed that he had taken his penetrating stare off of the professor and was now staring intently at her. Their gazes locked for a few seconds before she averted her eyes, blushing.
They remained that way for several minutes, all thinking about what the professor had said, trying to mule it over. Hank was the first person to speak.
“I don’t understand, Charles. How is something like that possible? You weren’t anywhere near that man at the time of your death,” he said to the professor with scrunched eyebrows.
Marie hadn’t really thought of that. How did the professor transport his mind across such a great distance?
The professor made his way across the room and took a seat in the headmaster’s chair. With him in a sitting position it reminded Marie of the old professor who remained seated in a wheelchair. It still looked odd, though, because of the professor’s new physical appearance.
The professor met eyes with each and every one of them, with the exception of Logan, because he was still staring at Marie. She tried to ignore the eyes she felt burning into the side of her head. Instead she kept her focus on the professor, who was getting ready to speak once again.
He took a deep breath. “Under normal circumstances it would have been extremely difficult to perform such a task. I wasn’t even sure if the process would work,” he said calmly. “The only reason I was able to make that psychic connection was because of Jean. She helped me transport my mind into the man’s.”
Marie and ‘Ro gasped. Warren stopped pacing once again and stared at the professor, more confused than ever. Hank’s eyebrows scrunched even more. Logan’s eyes finally left Marie and stared at the professor like he was crazy.
“What the hell you talkin’ about Chuck? I was there. I saw Jean kill you. There wasn’t no helpin’ done by her,” Logan said, becoming angry.
“No, Logan. What you saw was the Phoenix. The Phoenix was the one in control of Jean’s body while Jean struggled to remove its presence,” said the professor. “Even though Jean wasn’t in charge, she was still conscious of everything that was going on around her. When she realized the Phoenix’s intent to kill me, I was psychically able to communicate with her in my last few moments. With our combined psychic powers, I was able to place my mind into the body of the unconscious man. My body may have been killed, but my mind lives on.”
As the answers were coming in, Marie’s head continued to be filled with more questions. Before she could ask any of them, however, the professor spoke once again.
“Now, the evening is approaching. I would prefer speaking to the children tomorrow morning at breakfast. I have journeyed a long way to get home, and I deeply need to retire for the night. I will see you all in the morning,” the professor said, and turned to open the door to the office, smiling warmly.
One by one they left the office. Marie was the last to leave, and before the professor was able to close the door behind her she turned to said, “It really is good to have you back, professor.”
The professor placed a light kiss on her forehead before turning back into his office and closing the door. Marie stood outside the office for a few moments before slowly walking away. She felt really tired all of the sudden. She didn’t really want to go back to her room because she knew she would be bombarded with questions by Jubes and she didn’t feel up to it. As she reached the top of the stairs she decided to go to Logan’s room instead.
As she approached the door to his room she became unsure with her decision. Maybe he didn’t want company, she thought. After all, they had just had a rather stressful conversation with the professor. Maybe he wanted to be alone.
Sucking up her fears, she knocked on his door with three light taps. When there was no response, she knocked again. Thirty more seconds passed and there was still no reply.
“Logan?”
No response.
Testing the door handle she was surprised to find it unlocked. Knowing she was probably imposing on his privacy she opened the door to his room slowly. The room was dark, only the faint glow of the setting sun providing some light into the vacant room. It was clear that Logan was not in his room.
Marie was disappointed and turned to leave, but then a thought occurred to her. She could go walk around the mansion and search for Logan, or she could just wait there. He’d come back to his room eventually. She went to sit on his bed to wait.
Twenty minutes had passed and Logan had not returned to his room yet. Marie was growing more and more tired with each passing second. She had laid down with her head resting on his pillow. Another ten minutes passed, and Logan was still nowhere to be seen. Marie decided to rest her eyes for just a few moments. Just…a few…moments…
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