Logan read through the reports that the team filed while he was on the other secret mission for Chuck.
All the reports indicated that something had tripped the alarm at the laboratory and Rogue couldn't make it past the closing gates in time. Mystique had abandoned her while Rogue was left rattling the gate. Bobby and Jubilee came upon her. Bobby's report claimed she put up a fight, while Jubilee claimed minor scuffle. Kitty and Piotr both claimed that she walked quietly back with Jubilee and Bobby as she was escorted back to the jet while they waited for Scott, Jean and Beast.
Logan looked up from the detailed reports as Jean walked back into Chuck's office an hour later.
Chuck looked up. "Well?"
"Still no word. Scott's on watch. Logan, you can get some rest until your shift. She's not cracking." Jean took a seat across from Logan and Chuck and crossed her legs.
Logan had to admit the woman pulled off the sexy look and her long legs very well. Jean tossed a smirk at Logan before turning back to Chuck. Damn telepaths.
"I snapped a suppression collar on her and tried to read her mind, thinking her mutation might be a hindrance."
"And?"
"Well, she must have really mastered blocking out telepaths. The only thing I got from her was a bunch of numbers," Jean said.
"Numbers for what?" Kitty looked up from her laptop.
"I'm not sure. She kept saying nineteen, twenty, one, two. It was like she was counting from one to twenty over and over again."
They stayed in the room for another hour debating Rogue's presence, Magneto's plans and where Rogue had been all her life. They still drew blanks and finally everyone called it a night.
Logan decided to get some shut eye before starting his shift.
Logan shuffled back to his room, showered and fell onto his bed. He only slept a few hours before he bolted awake.
He knew what she meant with the numbers...or at least he had an idea.
There was no harm in testing his theory.
He still had an hour before his shift, but there was no way he could sleep now. Logan pulled on his sweats and a hoodie and made his way to the lower levels.
Just as he got to Rogue's holding cell, he saw Scott standing outside stupefied and some painful moaning coming from the inside.
"Whatcha doin out here Summers?" Logan asked.
"Waiting for Jean. She thinks she's had a breakthrough," Scott said dazed.
Logan walked inside to find all the cameras had been cut off. Whatever was going on didn't sound good. He threw open the door to find Jean hovering over Rogue's groaning body.
"Jean!" he barked. Something inside of him snapped.
She immediately settled to the ground.
"What the hell you doing?"
"What does it look like? Trying to get information. Aren't you a little early? Well, she's still not cracking. I guess it's your turn now. I'm sorry I took up Wolverine time. Don't go too easy on her," she said rapidly as she strode confidently out of the room.
Logan had half a mind to take after her, but he had to see to Rogue first. The kid looked like she was on the brink of death.
He quickly ran to her and righted her chair and she screamed in pain.
"It's ok, kid." He released a claw and slit the collar at her throat.
Rogue coughed up an unhealthy amount of blood on his hoodie before her healing started to kick into gear.
Logan stepped outside as Jean and Scott were walking away. "What the hell Jean?"
"What?" she turned around.
"You trying to kill her?"
"Oh please Logan. She'll heal once you take off the collar. You know for a fact if it was the other way around they would have done the same thing."
Logan didn't know what to believe as he watched her and Scott walk away.
Logan slipped off his hoodie, walked back inside, and gently rubbed Rogue's face of the dried blood as the cuts and bruising started to disappear.
Rogue moaned as she opened her eyes and focused on Logan. "Damn, that bitch is crazy!"
"Jean's usually not like that. I don't know what came over her."
"More like the Phoenix came over her. Can I have some water?"
Logan raised his eyebrow as he went to the corner of the room and filled a paper cup with water. "Phoenix?"
"Another thing to ask Charles. He's growing his own ticking time bomb right there." Rogue moaned before letting Logan hold the cup to her mouth and drinking.
"What's next? Are you here to bite my head off or lick my wounds?" She asked, wetting her lips.
"Neither. I just want to ask you a few questions."
"Oh goodie. More of those. I love them especially since I've been so forthcoming. Nice body by the way," Rogue smiled cheekily. The dried blood on her face made her look disturbing.
Logan took a deep breath. "How long were you in the lab?"
Rogue looked at him. "What the fuck are you talking about? I was only there for a few minutes before your dazzling Iceman caught me." She eyed his well defined abs and the particular vein bulging down his arm.
"No, I mean the mutant experimentation lab. How long did they keep you there?"
Her head snapped up. "How would you know that?"
He had hit gold.
"The numbers. Jean said she read your mind earlier and all she got were numbers. Everyone was trying to figure it out. But I knew. I got these in a lab," Logan said releasing his claws.
He retracted them. "I don't remember much before and during. But I've been caught and sent back to labs afterwards until Charles found me and gave me a place to stay. Counting helps remove your mind from what your body is subjected to."
"Is this the part where we swap mutant horror stories and become friends and I turn and help you defeat my father for a place on your team?"
"No…I just wanted…"
"I thought so. So let's not talk about it. "
"Well, you don't seem to want to talk about anything else, so I say we talk about it," Logan said turning over the other chair and taking a seat.
"Really? I spent three years hating my parents for turning me over like a piece of meat to a mutant lab. I did shit I never want to think about again. Then one day, a band of mutants blow up the lab and offer me a place to live. A home. Only I find out that the leaders were my real parents and their friend for ages kidnapped me and gave me to scum of the parents I had who threw me in a lab in the first place. That in a nutshell is my story."
"I'm sorry that's what happened to you. But you can't hate Xavier for that. Magneto and Mystique aren't exactly parental material. Xavier had no idea your adoptive parents would be like that."
"Don't even fucking defend him. That wasn't his choice to make."
"I'm not defending him. I just wanted you to see why he did it.."
"Do you see why he does things?"
"The man offered me a place to live. He gave me a second chance."
"And because of that you're going to turn a blind eye to all the wrongs he's done?"
"He's made a few mistakes, but who hasn't?" Logan shrugged.
"His mistake cost me years of my life! He sits here wanting everyone to control their powers so that when he says go, they fire. He's worse than the Mutant Registration Act. He has Cerebro here keeping track of mutants and their powers. He's like Big Brother. And worse, as a telepath, he can sneak into your mind and jack shit up. Your lovely Jean Grey is a prime example. Someone needs to take care of her before she goes ape-shit crazy."
"You're wrong about everything. It's not the way it seems—"
"Oh yeah? You're a feral. You follow your instincts. Has your instincts not told you yet that something is wrong here?"
Logan was silent.
"I thought so. You can't sit in front of me telling me otherwise. You're self loathing is apparent. You're saying it's okay for Xavier to force you to control your animal side, but then makes you go all feral when he wants a something dirty really done?"
"I…"
"You know what I'm saying is true."
"You're just twisting words. That's what you lot are known for anyway. You're no different. You're always trying to collect mutants as well." Logan exclaimed.
"But we don't shy away from who we are. We believe every mutant is worth an immense potential no matter their mutation. We give them an option. They know what they are agreeing to. Do you know what you've agreed to? Supposedly the most powerful telepath in the world offers you a place to stay in exchange for god knows what while you fight his battles. Now how long has it been since you joined the X-men? And you still don't know the truth about anything. Such a small price to pay for your dignity," Rogue said sarcastically.
"So you know the truth? Do you know who I really am?" Wait, what was he doing? When did he suddenly feel closer to her? He was playing right into her hands.
"Maybe, maybe not. It's not my place to say. But I know some people who could help."
"Help as long as I do what you want. How are you any different now?" Good, try to get back on the right side.
"Cause I will tell you exactly what I want from you, and not lead you around on a leash."
Logan pushed his chair away from the table, got up, and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
She was really getting to him. What she was saying was making sense, but he didn't want to believe it. What if she really was telling the truth though? No. It couldn't be. She was saying anything to get him to believe her. He was not going to play her accomplice.
Keep talking though kid, and he could get something.
"What are you saying?" he asked her.
Rogue shook her head. "Join us. There is a war brewing. But what Xavier is doing isn't safe. Hoarding all these children in the middle of New York will not help. What do you think will happen when humans are permanently turned against mutants? That Sentinel project isn't just a rumor. You think you can protect all these children here?"
"So what do you suggest we do?"
"Come with me. There is no right or wrong side now. It's just a matter of survival. My father wants to avoid what was done to him for his beliefs years ago. He wants to avoid persecution for what we really are. With us, you can be free to embrace yourself. You can explore your mutation not neglect the special part of yourself and hate it because of what you think it makes you."
"I don't know if I can trust you."
"Trust me? I spent years with my adoptive family hating my skin before they turned my over to a lab to get rid of me. They don't understand what is different. They need time. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day. Together we can all stand up for ourselves. Prepare ourselves. Give the human race time to come to grips with us. If they can, we can live together. If they can't then a war will come. But until then, we just want to make a place for ourselves.
"And I'm suddenly supposed to believe you?"
Rogue smiled, "I like you and I know that you like me too, at least enough to know I'm telling the truth."
"How do you know I like you?"
"It was obvious when you first walked in. You were thinking if it were anywhere else, you'd have my legs wrapped around you in two seconds flat."
Logan froze mid-stride.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Italics = thoughts
Bold = either used for emphasis or flashbacks...
Bold = either used for emphasis or flashbacks...