Disclaimer: This fan-fiction is not written for profit and no infringement of copyright is intended. Beta-ed by Ami L. Mandel. Cheers, I owe you love!

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

For one split second, all Logan could process was silence; absence of meaning. It was like the name Marie had just used was, was a nothingness inside his skull. A hole. Random noise. Blank space.

And then-

It came to him in a moment. Memories, thousands of memories. His. Scent. Grass and sunlight. Give and press of soft skin- And then: How could you do that? How could you do that to me, James? Screams. Blood on his hands, dirt underneath his skin. Killer. Animal. Monster. Flash of red hair, bone into metal into pain into death-And that name, that name jack-hammering through his head like a freight-train. Howlett, James Howlett. Howlett, James Howlett. Howlett, James Howlett-The best of the best at what he does.

But what he does is just plain sick.

His gaze went to Marie then. Blue eyes wide, trying to pull him close. Yelling things he wouldn’t hear, calling out to him. Will not answer, soldier. Need to know. The memories were becoming overwhelming- Is this who you wanted to be, Jimmy? Is this your precious Goddamn quest-? and he tried to pull away from her but she wouldn’t let him. She could see what this was doing to him, see this murderous, animal rage- Jesus he didn’t want it moving underneath her sweet, soft skin- and she wanted to help. Wanted to touch, just like always. Smiling, squeezing his gloved hand in her bare ones-

And that was when all Hell broke loose.

Because the second her bare hand made contact with his glove, something simply ripped the wall behind them down as if it were made of paper. For a beat there was silence and then suddenly the kids were screaming, hauling each other to safety. The older mutants snatching up the little ones, powers kicking off as the students bi-located, telekinetically lifted and wholesale mutated the debris out of the way. The coordination pretty damn impressive for a bunch o’ teenagers. That lanky smart-assed senior, Julian Keller, using his telekinesis to prevent the roof from toppling in. Little Meghan Gwynne flitting a couple of feet from the ground, trying to check Noriko Ashida’s safety bracelets to make sure she didn’t overload. Smoke everywhere, the youngest crying though nobody seemed to be hurt- He had to get Marie to safety- But Rogue wasn’t looking at him anymore. Her eyes were riveted to a spot over his shoulder, her expression horrified. Logan didn’t think he’d ever be able to move again but he followed her line of vision-

And stopped dead.

Standing in the centre of the room was a burning woman. The burning Marie from his dreams, in point of fact. The woman was smiling, her smoke-filled eyes black. You called for me, her voice whispered in his head. Snaked down his spine like a chill that burned. You called for me and Ah came James. Even if you don’t deserve it. She was moving towards him, every step leaving a charred black footprint in its wake, her fingers trailing scorch-marks over the walls. Eyes fastened on Marie, her smile predatory-

Instinct kicked in then.

Everything went quiet and clear. Memories set aside, and only two words existed: Protect Marie. He shoved her behind him, popping his claws just as she was out of arm's reach. Logan strained his senses and sniffed the air. The thing didn’t have a scent, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t bleed. He checked to make sure there were no students nearby to use as a shield (there weren’t) and eyed the ruptured room for any other masonry Smokey felt like throwin’ his way. But nothing was twitchin’, which meant that either she was toying with him, or she’d tuckered herself out with the grand opening. Jesus, he hoped it was option B. The burning woman took another step towards him, her hungry gaze still fastened on Rogue, and Logan growled. He could feel the adrenaline starting to build, the animal inside him itching to come out and play-

Because if there was one good thing about discovering you were a hundred-year-old monster, it was this: You knew how to fight dirty for what was yours.

“Get goin’, Marie,” he growled through his teeth, eyeing the newcomer. “I got this.”

“The hell Ah will,” Rogue snapped. She stepped out from behind him, shifting her weight to the balls of her feet and taking a fighter’s stance. Some tiny part o’ him felt proud at her confidence and some tiny part o’ him felt furious at it, but he knew arguing with her wouldn‘t do a blind bit o’ good. “Ah got point,” she muttered, “You take mah six, since she seems so damn interested in me.” He opened his mouth to protest but she feinted towards the newcomer, drawing its attention and giving him the tactical advantage. Forcing him to acknowledge that in a battle situation, two heads really were better than one.

Marie locked eyes with their opponent and began backing up then, already mentally calculating how much room she had before she hit a wall. About fifteen feet, she guesstimated, enough to give Logan room to manoeuvre if they were lucky. She just needed to keep Smokey there distracted while Storm and Kurt got the kids away. She maintained eye-contact with the target, concentration not wavering a millimetre. Half glad she had her gloves off, since now might be a good time to borrow someone’s powers for a tic-

And pray the New Reliable didn’t kick in while she was at it.

It would have to be skin-to-skin contact then: the Old Reliable was way more predictable than the New. And she was in a room full of kids. Her eyes went to Kurt first but she discarded the thought: She’d found his mutation impossible to control the last time and there was no room for error now. Ditto on Storm: God only knew what kinda damage she’d cause if she went there. The oldest kids had formed a perimeter to protect the youngest, which meant that she had several powerful actives to choose from, but even then she would have to be careful. Ashida was out of the question: she’d fry the county. The nearest suitable was Keller but Hellion’s telekinesis was the only thing holding up the roof right now, and Gwynne- Just no. She needed to borrow a power which was defensive and not explosive. And she needed it yesterday. The burning woman was grinning at her playfully, clearly unfazed by her presence, and instinctively Marie darted towards the perimeter, making sure to keep between them and the newcomer. Also ensuring that since Smokey turned to follow her, Wolverine was now behind their opponent.

Safest place for him to be, she knew.

She wanted to check on him but she didn’t dare break eye-contact. Instead she fell back a little more, searching the hall as unobtrusively as she could. Then she felt it: Behind her a tiny hand reached underneath her jeans’ leg to touch her bare skin. Immediately fourteen year old Sooraya Qadir’s mutation rippled through her, her body beginning to swirl into dust. Ah owe ya one Kid, she thought as her hands, her skin dissolved. Her form stretching out and hanging on the air. Suddenly she felt as wide as the world, the breath in her lungs filling the spaces between her molecules. She let herself hover on the breeze and as she did so she felt Logan through her other mutation. You keep on distractin’ her, darlin’, Wolverine whispered in her head. Keep her attention on us and not the kids. Smokey was pulling at her, psychically trying to grab a hold of her form but Marie darted around the other woman, keeping out of her grasp. Pictured her body pulling in tight against itself, clenching like a fist, and then suddenly releasing the pressure like a blow. It worked: Smokey was thrown backwards, smashing into what was left of the hall’s door-jam and setting it alight. For a moment her ghost-like body seemed to destabilize, her shape flying apart like smoke against a gale and with their opponent distracted, Logan went on the offensive. He swung a vicious left, then a right, lightning quick jabs so ferocious that anything made of flesh and blood wouldn’t have stood a chance. But as soon as he attacked she seemed to regain her physical focus, and within seconds she was back on her feet-

And Logan was passing right through her.

Marie watched in horror as Wolverine’s form slid clear through the burning woman’s, his body landing with a heavy thud on the other side of her. Within seconds he was back on his feet but by then it was too late. The burning woman gestured with her hand and immediately he was raised aloft, his feet a couple of inches off the ground, helpless. Logan’s eyes were scanning the room, searching for anything he could strike back with, but nothing was within reach. And unlike the other students, he didn’t have any psionic abilities to help him out. Marie tried to attack again but the burning woman’s telekinesis held her back, no matter how she struggled. Or how she swore. Smokey began shaking Logan, making a slashing motion with her hands: Immediately vicious red burns appeared across his face and chest. She raked her hands downwards and burns tore through his sides, the cloth of his shirt and jeans suddenly streaked with ash. She was burning him from the inside out, Marie suddenly realised. She could feel it through their link. “That the best ya got, bub?” he muttered through clenched teeth, and the burning woman pulled her hands apart, splaying his limbs out agonisingly. Logan grunted in pain.

Something in Marie snapped.

Without really thinking it through, she charged at the other woman - and she made contact. Smashed into her with the force of a hurricane, her only thought was to keep her Logan safe. The burning woman was thrown backwards again, smacking into the ground so hard the floor cracked. The few remaining students screamed but Rogue was beyond caring; Within seconds she was tearing at her opponent with everything she had, her mind a merciless dust storm, cutting her way through anything in her path. Smokey struggled but she was truly no match for her. Or for her rage. It was the weirdest sensation, like trying to wrestle a shadow, but since her body was still mostly sand she couldn’t burn- And that did put Little Miss Arson at a disadvantage. For the first time in the battle her opponent’s confidence slipped, and Marie pressed her advantage, grasping those burning wrists and holding her down. Rage making her rain down blow after blow, beyond caring what anyone thought. Not even noticing when the kids turned their faces away.

I will kill him, thief child, the burning woman whispered desperately. I swear I will burn him from the inside out-

“Shut up!” Marie snapped.

Do not try mah patience child, Smokey muttered. If you wish him to live, you will let me go-

“Or what?” She spat. She felt so high on her own anger-

Or this.

And with a vicious gesture she sent Logan reeling backwards, collapsing like a rag doll. Their link sputtering out. Just for a second it felt like a part of her was missing, and immediately Marie dropped her, running towards Wolverine. Her opponent, the kids, all forgotten. He’s okay, her mind chanted, He’s damn near indestructible, he’s gotta be okay. But there was something else thrumming inside her brain, something warning of danger. The world seemed to slow to nothing as she ran to him, her movements deadened like she was running through water. Everything narrowed to this one point. She reached the spot where Logan had fallen and skittered to a halt, trying to force her body into cohesiveness. Suddenly regretting borrowing Sooraya’s gift, because her hands were vibrating so hard she couldn’t touch him. She needed to- Needed him to- She forced herself to concentrate, turning him over and searching his face even as he opened his eyes-

And growled at her.

Not his usual gruff, affectionate greeting. Not even his warning to get the Hell outta the way and let him work. Logan rolled away from her, pulling himself into a protective crouch, and bared his teeth. Snarled. Marie looked into the face of the man she’d known for seven years, the man she loved, and saw absolutely no recognition there. It was like Logan was simply…gone. She reached out for him, trying to touch him and re-establish their link, needing the feel of his large calloused hands in hers and his voice in her head-

And her skin met with bone, where his metal claws had once been.

His knuckles were streaked with what looked like silver tears, the melted adamantium burning a trail across his hands. She stared at it in horror, her mind unable to process it, the remains of Sooraya’s mutation preventing the melted metal from burning her-And suddenly she recognised that voice warning her of danger. It was the Logan in her head, and he sounded-He sounded frightened. Walk away from this, he was whispering, Walk away from this right now, Marie-

But by then it was too late. The Wolverine was loose.