CHAPTER 2: Changed
Marie made her way down the hall towards the room she shared with Logan. She hadn’t been able to find him anywhere in the common areas. She’d check their room and if he wasn’t there, she’d go look down in the danger room. He’d taken to going down there more often, working off excess stress. She wasn’t too sure what he had to be worried about, but she guessed it had something to do with her.
She tried not to be hurt by it, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to hold it in. Was he nervous about the baby? It wasn’t uncommon for guys to freak out about that sort of responsibility or commitment, especially when it was so unexpected. But it only served to confuse her. He’d been quite adamant that he wasn’t going anywhere without her, that she was what he wanted, she didn’t think he was afraid of the commitment.
A baby then, maybe? She wasn’t too sure about that either. When the topic of the baby came up, he always seemed ridiculously proud of himself, as if he had done all the work. If he wasn’t busy being a smug bastard about knocking her up, he was driving her crazy with his overprotectiveness. So the idea that he was nervous about the responsibility...didn’t seem to fit either.
That left only her. There was something wrong with her or something she’d done. Ever since they’d gotten back from upstate New York and that blasted lab, he’d been getting more and more quiet, more pensive. She’d catch him looking at her with an intensity she wasn’t accustomed to. Sure, his stares were intense most of the time...especially when he was stalking her like she was his prey, which was all kinds of fun...but lately, they were becoming so feral, so primal, it made her nervous. Especially when he wouldn’t talk about what he was thinking.
She’d spent almost a full day down in the medlab after that dark time. Hank had wanted to run every possible test he could manage, worried that even with Sabretooth’s powers there might be drugs in her system still. She’d argued that they hadn’t given her anything and that she was fine, but Logan had growled dangerously at her, a first, so she'd promptly clamped her mouth shut and let Hank go nuts.
He’d been able to do a lot of the tests right there in the medlab. Everything was fine, as she suspected. She was, in fact, pregnant. Only four weeks. Barely enough for a man-made pregnancy test to catch. But both Hank and Logan apparently could smell it on her. She was getting tired of the mortification that came along with Hank being as feral as Logan. But he was kind and discreet and he made it far more bearable.
He’d sent out a handful of tests to Moira that would take more time. A few would take weeks as she was quite backlogged. There was one in particular that took a while. Hank had wanted to run another digitized autoradiogram on her blood sample. She’d just about forgotten about it until Hank, just arrived from the capital, had pulled her aside and mentioned that he and Moira needed a word with her and would she mind coming down to the medlab as soon as possible.
She’d been a bit shocked that Moira was here as well. She hadn’t heard the good doctor would be around until the end of the April for Marie’s regular check-up. He was quite serious and it made her nervous. She’d nodded and asked if she could go get Logan and meet them down there.
So as she walked into a dark bedroom, she sighed in disappointment. She really wanted to find him quickly so she could get some reassurance from him. She was quite shaky on her feet.
She noticed his boots on the floor next to the bed, though. She walked in slowly. “Logan?” Nothing. She was about to turn around when a growl came from behind her. Before she could turn around, before she could even register the sound, arms wrapped around and he swung her around.
She squealed in shock and gasped when her feet were lifted off the floor and she was dumped onto the bed. Logan’s face came into view as he climbed on top of her and nuzzled her neck.
“Good Lord, Logan...” she breathed. He rumbled a laugh. “You gave me a heart attack!” She half-heartedly punched his shoulder.
He’d worked himself down her neck and was now nuzzling her breasts through her shirt. He glanced up at her and grinned wolfishly. “Too easy,” he said and continued his exploration. “You smell real good, baby.”
She smiled despite herself. “How good?” she teased.
He growled deep in his chest. “Good enough to eat.” He nipped at her ribcage through her shirt.
She shivered deliciously. “What brought this on, sugah?” She ran her hands through his hair, completely mussing it.
He grumbled. “Can’t I wanna touch my girl?”
She laughed. “Yeah, sugah. Sure. Just curious as to why you’re hiding out in here in the dark waiting to scare me to pieces.”
He laughed. “Just woke up from a nap and heard you comin’ down the hall. Thought it’d be fun.” He nipped his way down her side to the edge of her jeans
He moved to her stomach and grew serious. Slowly he pushed up her shirt to uncover her navel and an expanse of skin. He traced the soft skin of her abdomen with his fingers and one of his intense stares. She watched as his fingers followed the slight lift of her skin. “He’s growin’,” came his soft words.
She smiled, deliriously happy. “He?”
Logan shrugged, barely. “Or she...can’t tell. Don’t feel right callin’ him or her ‘it’ though.”
She nodded.
He bent closer to her stomach and she thought for a moment he would kiss her tiny baby bump. The thought made her warm inside. He couldn’t possibly be sweeter, could he?
But instead of kissing her stomach, she was shocked when he began to nuzzle it, softly rubbing his cheek, forehead, nose, and mouth softly along the contours. She almost started crying at how lovingly he caressed their child.
He finally did kiss her navel and continued to softly run his fingers over her. “It’s somethin’ else,” he confessed.
“What’s that?” she whispered.
“The animal in me...” he said softly, never taking his eyes off her stomach. “The Wolverine.” He gave a soft, almost inaudible, laugh. “He’s always been so violent, so angry. He’s possessive and he’s only ever wanted things for himself.” He looked up at her. “Even you. All he wanted was to have you, never give you up.”
She smiled. “Doesn’t sound like such a bad thing to me, sugah.”
He half grinned, and then grew serious once more. “I always thought that part of me was just too dangerous, too inhuman. I never imagined that part of me would have this need...this overpowerin’ drive...to mate, to be so goddamn happy at the knowledge that you’re carryin’ my cub.” He cleared his throat. “My...child.”
He laid his head against her stomach gently. “Jesus,” he croaked. “My...child.”
She smiled and ran furrows through his hair. “Kinda overwhelming, isn’t it?”
He chuckled. “That’s one way of puttin’ it.”
“Is that...” She struggled for words. “Is that why you’ve been so quiet lately? Because you’re overwhelmed?”
He stiffened for just a second before relaxing again. “No.”
She pushed up onto her elbows. “Then what’s been goin’ on, Logan?”
He looked up at her and swallowed. “Marie...” He suddenly clenched his eyes. “It’s complicated, baby.”
“It can’t be that complicated. Just tell me,” she pleaded.
He crawled up and kissed her, one hand twining in her hair. When he pulled back he smiled. “Nothin’ for you to worry about.”
She set her chin. “You’re a stubborn man, Logan.”
He laughed. “Sure am. Now. What were you comin’ in here for?” He wagged his brows. “A little action, maybe? I’d be happy to oblige any of your cravings.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re hopeless.”
He grinned wickedly. “Utterly.”
She sighed. “Actually...” She fidgeted. “I came to get you. Hank wants to see me down in the medlab.”
His eyebrows came down instantly. “The medlab?”
She nodded. “He wants to talk to me about something. Moira’s here too.”
She could see his mind race and start coming to the same worried conclusions. “Is something wrong? You okay? The baby?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know what it’s about. He just said he wanted to talk to me about something.”
He growled. “Fuckin’ cryptic bullshit.” He pushed himself up and off the bed, bringing her up as well. “Let’s get goin’, then.”
XXX
“Ah, Logan, Rogue. Come, come. Take a seat in my office. Moira and I have been anxiously awaiting your arrival.” Hank’s blue figure strode across the room, his hands twisting frantically.
“What the hell’s goin’ on, Hank,” was Logan’s immediate reaction. “You got us down here, now spill.”
“Oh, yes. Naturally, you’re concerned. But please, do come in and sit down. It’s probably for the best that you’re both sitting for this conversation.”
Marie felt her anxiety spike to unnatural level. What was wrong that she would need to be sitting? She felt her heart take off and blood drain from her face.
Logan growled. An odd counterpart to the gentle hand he suddenly placed on her back. “You’re fuckin’ scarin’ her out of her mind, Hank.” A nifty trick, she thought frantically, being able to smell her so well.
Hank jumped in realization. “Oh, my dear. No. Please. It has nothing to do with the baby, I assure you.”
She felt the force of relief wash over her and almost blacked out. She closed her eyes and was horrified to feel tears squeeze out. She couldn’t help it. A trembling hand came up to her stomach protectively while the other gripped Logan’s sleeve. “Oh,” was the only thing she could manage.
“Jesus, Hank,” Logan barked. “Ya think you coulda told us that from the beginning?”
She felt a ridiculous sob escape and covered her mouth in an attempt to hide it. It was pointless really, especially around two blasted ferals who could hear a fart from across the building.
Hank looked horrified. “Oh, my stars and garters. Rogue, my dear. I did not mean to frighten you. I merely...I just wanted...” He stuttered over his words. “I’m truly apologetic for any distress I may have caused. Please...oh, please do not cry.”
Logan wrapped his strong arms around her trembling shoulders. She tried to hold herself together. “I’m s...sorry,” she stammered. “It’s these...stupid...hormones,” she hiccuped.
Hank scrambled for a tissue. When she wiped the tears away and finally got herself under control, they made their way into his small office, where Moira awaited.
The geneticist smiled sweetly. “I’m so happy you were able to come,” she said. “I’ve been so looking forward to talking with you, you have no idea.” She was practically jumping out of her skin.
Marie felt uneasy. The last time Moira had been this excited, she’d been talking about Marie’s mutant gene and its close resemblance to a Class Five mutation. Marie swallowed thickly. This was probably going to be just as bad.
Logan was getting more irritated by the moment. “Someone wanna tell us why we’re here?” He sat with arms crossed, a scowl on his face.
Hank jumped to respond. “Yes. Well, as you may remember, Rogue, when you were brought back here in December after the distasteful events at the college and the lab, we ran several tests.
Marie took a deep breath in and nodded.
Hank smiled warmly. “We were all very relieved that everything came back with no ill effects from your brief encounter with those awful individuals.” He smiled wider. It wasn’t like Hank to smile so openly. He always kept himself reserved, afraid that showing his fangs in an all out smile would scare others. She finally let out the breath she was holding. It couldn’t be so bad if Hank was smiling so damn much.
Logan grunted. “We already knew all that, furball. Get to the point.”
Hank quickly shuffled through some papers and files. “Yes, yes. Well, like I said. All the tests that came back showed everything to be normal. A couple of days ago, however, Moira called from her office in Seattle with the results from the last battery of tests.”
Logan growled. “And?”
Hank cleared his throat, clearly put-out by Logan’s dangerous tone. “Well, it took some time to complete the autoradiogram, you understand. Everything else seemed to be top-notch so there was no rush and you both are well aware that Moira is quite busy...”
“Jesus fuckin’ Christ, Hank!” Logan snapped. “Spit it out!”
Moira jumped in her seat at his bark. She scrambled. “I was quite shocked to see the results.” She pulled out two autoradiograms. “See here,” she pointed.
Marie leaned forward, looking at the identical charts on their x-ray type paper. Logan leaned in as well, just as curious. They looked exactly the same. She glanced up at Moira. “What am I supposed to be lookin’ at?” she asked nervously.
“This one...” Moira responded, “Is from a year ago, when we first did your tests. This other one is this most recent study.” She moved her fingers across the two.
They still looked exactly the same.
Then she placed the newer chart over the older so that the two gene lines blended perfectly.
Almost.
Logan caught it first. “What the fuck is that?” He pointed to a sequence that didn’t match up.
Moira smiled widely. “Rogue’s X-gene.”
Marie snapped her head up to look at her. “Why is it different?”
Moira shuffled around. “Well, it’s not all different. Look there...”she pointed to a large section. “This area is exactly the same. It’s only in this area...” she moved her hand across to where the pictures smeared together, “...that the change has occurred.” Her eyes sparkled. “It’s unprecedented! Do you even know what this means?”
Marie looked at her, completely lost. “Umm, no?”
Moira stood and clapped her hands together. “Rogue, your genetic make-up has actually changed. Your mutant gene has actually mutated.”
Logan looked pale. “What’s that mean?”
“Well, it gets so much more interesting,” she gushed.
Hank cleared his throat. “Moira. This next part may come as a bit of a shock to Rogue. You may want to curb your enthusiasm.”
Moira instantly reined herself in. “Oh, yes. I’m so sorry.” She scrambled for more files.
Marie was getting desperate for answers. “What’s going on, Hank?”
He started to look nervous. “It’s a bit intense,” he stuttered. “That morning Logan found you, in the woods beside the truck accident...”
“Yes,” Marie nodded.
Hank pushed on. “We returned to clear the scene. There were some casualties, if you remember.”
She remembered all right. She’d killed every human on that truck before it had pitched to the side.
Hank spoke softly. “We recovered the body of Victor Creed.”
Logan growled. “Why the fuck are you bringin’ that bastard into this?”
Hank cleared his throat. “Logan, we ran complete blood work tests on his cadaver, for research purposes. We didn’t really make a connection until Rogue’s own tests came to be so surprising. Moira and I discussed the possible etiologies of the change in Rogue’s X-gene.” He grew quiet. “Moira came up with an idea...and it turned out to be quite astonishing.”
Marie felt bile rise in her throat. “What’s the connection?”
Moira stepped in, pulling out another autoradiogram sheet. “This is Victor’s gene sequence.” She placed Marie’s newer graph over Victor’s. There were differences all over the place.
Except where hers had changed. In the area of the X-gene that her two graphs had mismatched, hers and Sabretooth’s were identical. Marie froze in horror. “Does that mean...?” She couldn’t finish.
Moira nodded. “Has it faded? The healing?”
Marie wrapped a hand around her dry throat. “No.”
Moira smiled. “If you asked me for my professional opinion? I’d tell you I don’t think it will.”
Marie looked over at Logan. He was staring at the chart, moving not a single muscle except for the twitch in his jaw. She tried to get her voice to work. It came out cracked. “So you’re saying...?”
Moira continued on. “I’m saying, Rogue, that when you absorbed his healing, you took every last bit, the manifestation and the genetic mutation with it. You permanently altered your genetic code to accommodate his. And what’s so amazing is that you only did it with one part of his genetic sequence. You didn’t take the whole thing, not the feral, not the physical manifestations, just the healing.” She sighed and gazed at the chart. “A new level of Class Four. I could never have even imagined something this powerful. Every time we look at your mutation, there’s more and more proof of just how close to a Class Five you actually are, Rogue.” She looked awe-struck.
Marie felt sick. “So what you're trying to tell me is that I can heal now, from anything.”
Moira smiled. “Anything Victor would have healed from, and that’s quite a lot.” She licked her lips. “But I’m not sure you quite understand the implications, Rogue.”
“There’s more?” There couldn’t possibly be more.
Moira nodded. “Victor’s mutation, it’s regeneration. The ability to replenish the body so it doesn’t diminish. It’s quite strong. As strong as Logan’s, I imagine.” She smiled tightly. “Rogue, there’s no record of Victors birth, his skeletal structure shows no age markers, no stress on cartilage that would naturally occur in a man in his thirties.”
Marie’s mouth dropped open in realization. Logan finally jerked his eyes away from the chart to gaze at Moira with feral stare.
“Rogue,” Moira said quietly. “We have no way of telling how old Victor was because he didn’t age.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Ok. So maybe I was able to get the next chapter out in my normal 2 day limit...but don't expect me to keep up this pace, this really is a really tough story to write...hope you enjoy! BETA-ed by doctorg, the greatest!
Chapter End Notes:
Oh! What?!? Ah, I know you all suspected as much...but it totally gets more complicated...rough times ahead! Hope you enjoyed! Review please...I write MUCH faster when I get lots and lots of reviews!