The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000
Author's Chapter Notes:
*More plot, less action, but it couldn't be helped. I promise to bring more of the kicking ass in the next chapter.
Logan awoke slowly to the feel of cold metal under his body and the scent of antiseptic on the air. His hands immediately flew to his neck to check for a collar, but finding none, breathed a sigh of relief. Not back in the lab then, but where? Last he could remember he had been fighting Sabertooth and then. Wild Child, Sabertooth… Rogue! He jumped up, claws out and a dizzy spell washed over him, causing him to lean back, grasping to the cold medical table for support. The sound of a door sliding open followed by a familiar scent and he knew exactly where he was and he couldn’t say he was happy about it.
“Logan! You should still be resting! Even super healers need to recharge and judging from the state you were in when they brought you back, you could do with another few days.”
“I’ll be fine Jeanie,” he growled, tearing out an IV from his arm. He was in Westchester, back at Xavier’s, and who knew how many thousands of miles away from where he had last seen Rogue. By the time he got back to ground zero the scent would be cold, hard to follow. Dammit. He stretched his neck and his muscles felt stiff from nonuse. He got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
“How long have I been out?” he asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer.
“You’ve been in the med lab for five days. After we got the SOS signal from Beast, we sent a rescue team out immediately to pick you up. You had sustained a bad neck wound and were unconscious when they arrived. You woke up on the flight back and went berserk. Nearly killed Jubilee trying to get her to turn the plane around. We had to sedate you.” He must have been projecting pretty loudly because she winced and then gave him a look like you give a toddler about to throw a tantrum, “It was for your own good.”
Logan felt the heat of rage start to build up in him. Five fucking days. They had kept him under five days. Five days with Sabertooth’s connections and they could be so far underground even he wouldn’t be able to sniff them out. Five days and the hope of ever finding Marie again had gone from slim to next to none. He slowly drew his claws in and out, in and out, letting the pain take a bit of the edge off, if only to keep himself from gutting Jean right then and there.
He would be calm. He would be cool. “You want to tell me WHY in the hell you found it necessary to keep me out for FIVE FUCKING DAYS?” He saw Jean’s own anger flare across her face as she scowled at him.
“BECAUSE Logan, every time we let the drugs fade from your system it was WOLVERINE who would come out! Do you know how many times I’ve had to clean up this med bay because of your damn alter ego! You’ve cost Xavier millions of dollars in equipment in those few days alone!” She crossed her arms and glared at him, then sighing brought up a hand to rub her temples, “Look, I don’t want to argue with you. Xavier has been monitoring your brain activity for the past two days. When he noticed a change this morning, we thought it might signal that your dominate presence had once again taken over, so we stopped the sedation. OBVIOUSLY you are once again back to your normal self.” She gave him a look and he could read what she wasn’t saying clear on her face. It’s your own damn fault we had to keep you under for five days. Learn some self-control.
He scowled at her and then stormed out of the med lab, slamming the door behind him. He wouldn’t gut her, how was that for self-control?
A sudden laugh made him realize he must have spoken out loud. He looked over to see the large metal turning Russian they’d saved from the lab getting up from the bench in the hallway. “What you doing here kid?” he asked, not stopping as he stormed down the hallway. He had things to do, people to see, and number one of the list was finding Chuck and asking him to do a scan for Rogue using Cerebro.
“They ask me to come when they take you out of sedation. Claws don’t hurt the metal,” he said, changing into his silver form and then back again, “But it looks like this time, you’re okay.”
Okay. He scoffed. That was debatable. He’d be okay soon as he could get out of this place and start hunting down Sabertooth. He’d be okay if his damn brain would stop playing over and over in its head the million and one things that could have happened to Marie spending the past five days with Sabertooth and Wild Child. He felt the claws itching their way out again. Okay? He wasn’t even in the same universe as okay.
He quickly made his way to the elevators, Piotr following right on his heels. They stood in silence on the ride up to the main floor. Logan was in no mood to talk and the boy must have picked up on it, thankfully remaining quiet the entire time. He knew he should ask him how he was, how he liked Xavier’s, the sort of stuff an X-men would ask, but it seemed every breath was another moment of time spent, another bit of hope gone at finding Rogue, and the very small grip he had on the Wolverine was slipping away with each second. Maybe that was why he didn’t snap at Colossus when he continued to follow him all the way to the Professor’s office. If he did go berserk, he was probably one of the few mutants in the building who could help control him and apparently had done so a few times already.
He didn’t bother knocking, just walked through the door and was surprised to find Cyclops sitting where the Professor should be. He crossed his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow. He didn’t have time for hide and go seek. “Where’s Chuck?”
“Already in Cerebro looking for your friend Rogue,” he said, “Apparently you were yelling in his head quite loudly.” Finally, something working in his favor.
“Good, let me know when he’s done. I need to pack,” he went to leave but was stopped by Cyclops hand on his arm.
“Pack? What for? You can’t honestly be thinking about leaving right now!” The shocked voice didn’t fit the situation and Logan wondered what it was he was missing, because now that he was calming a bit he could smell the tension all over the air. Something was going on.
“Look One Eye, if something’s going on just spit it out cos I don’t got the time to be playing twenty questions with you and in case you’ve forgotten I’ve spent the past six months playing lab rat. I’m a little out of the loop,” he said, shrugging Cyclops hand off his arm and continuing out the door and heading towards the teachers wing. The fearless leader could walk while he talked.
Cyclops quickly caught up next to him. “You honestly have no idea what’s going on?” he asked. Wolverine didn’t respond. He heard Scott sigh, “About three months ago, do you remember anything strange happening?”
“What do you mean strange?”
“Like, everyone at the lab geared up or people wearing hazmat suits, odd tests, anything like that? A large amount of mutants dying.”
Logan looked at him like he had grown a second head, “Sounds like a normal day at the Lab Summers. Three months ago I was doing the same thing I was doing four and five months ago. Sitting in a cell, in the middle of nowhere, waiting to see what new test they’d have for me that day. Nothing weird, least not weirder then usual. Not that I know of anyway. Granted, I was half dead most of the time I was in the place.” He stopped walking and turned to face Cyclops full on, “Why?”
“Because three months ago someone, we’re still not sure who, maybe FOH, maybe Weapon X, maybe an organization we haven’t heard of yet, released a virus. They call it the Legacy Virus, designed with one purpose, to kill mutants. And it ran fast and hard. Three months ago, the entire population of mutants went from the multi-millions, to only 198 at last count. Most of them have come here to the institute seeking refuge. The mutant race is on the brink of extinction and the government has just created the Office of National Emergency to keep tabs on those of us remaining. There’s rumors they’re creating a Sentinel task force. Logan, we’re at war and we need you here, not off on some wild goose chase for a girl.”
Logan was stunned. He cast a glance at Piotr who only nodded, his face suddenly looking way older than his years. They had both gone into the lab one of many, in a world on the brink of peace and come out to find they were now part of a dying breed, on the cusp of total annihilation. 198. Sentinel task force. Legacy Virus. He felt like he had walked into a time warp, into some strange alternate reality. This couldn’t be real could it? 198. And Rogue was one of them. Suddenly finding her seemed even more important than ever.
“That GIRL is one of those 198 mutants. If what you say is true, sounds to me like we can’t afford to lose even one. She’s with Sabertooth and Wild Child. All of them were in the lab, they won’t know what’s happened, won’t realize the danger. I’m going to get her Summers,” he said, his tone leaving no room for question. Cyclops stared at him a moment and then shook his head in defeat.
“Just make sure you bring yourself back, alive,” he said finally, then turned to leave, “I hope she’s worth the risk Logan.”
Scott must not have gotten filled in on the extent of Rogue’s powers, because if he had, he would probably be pushing Logan out the door. Was she worth the risk? Hell yeah, especially now. And even if the world hadn’t gotten flipped on its head, even if mutants still made up the majority of the population, she still would have been worth the risk. She would always be worth the risk, to him.
He slammed open the door to his room and pulled a black duffel bag out from underneath the bed. Opening it up, he checked on his emergency stash of weapons and artillery. Two hand guns, a sniper rifle, some grenades, few flash bombs, some rope, and a bunch of other odds and ends one might need for attack or defense, could never be too prepared.
“Are you really going to go after Rogue?”
He gave Colossus a look as he walked passed him to open the top drawer of his dresser, shuffling through a large array of knives and guns before moving on to the lower drawers to grab some black army fatigues and a small med kit that contained his special array of injections. Antitoxins and vaccines Hank had developed over the years as they had encountered more and more biological warfare. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced Wild Child had used some sort of paralyzing drug on Rogue. He had come across something similar to it before when fighting the Brotherhood and if was right, then he had the antidote with him, if he was wrong, well, it never hurt to be prepared, especially not with mutant killing virus’s on the loose. He absently wondered if his healing powers would make him immune.
“Yeah, I’m going after her. If the Professor can’t find her with Cerebro, then I’ll just start at ground zero and work my way out.”
198. He couldn’t get the number out of his head or the thought of Rogue. He had to get her back and get her safe. Her healing powers weren’t nearly as strong as his own, she’d be vulnerable, but if he was with her, he could always give her a boost up. He could keep her alive. He felt the claws slip in and out, in and out. Reflex to try and bring himself under control.
“Moy Droog, I will you help you find her.” He felt Colossus put a hand briefly on his shoulder. He closed the drawers to the dresser and walked back to where his bag sat on the bed.
“Not that I don’t appreciate the thought Piotr, but where I’m going, hunting down Sabertooth, it’s likely to lead to a lot of not so nice places that would make the lab look like a petting zoo,” Logan said, stuffing the clothes, the med kit, his hunting knife and a second handgun into the bag, “Ain’t no place for grown men, much less young lads, even ones with their own built in armor. Especially not in days like these when every life is so important.”
He could see Colossus getting ready to protest but they were interrupted when the door to his room slammed open and in stumbled Bolt and another kid carrying someone between them, another one of the young lads he and Rogue had saved from the lab, Northstar, and he looked like he’d been through hell. Dragging him in, they laid him down on the Logan’s bed.
He looked at the four young mutants in his room. What the fuck was going on? Crazy viruses and now this? He’d been with the X-men for years and everyone had always given him a wide berth and he didn’t mind, he enjoyed his solitude, in fact he purposefully went out of his way to make sure people knew not to bother him, especially new students or recruits. Obviously someone hadn’t given these kids the memo and now his room had turned into teen boy central and he was going to have to do something about that, later.
Right now he needed to get going. He slung the duffel over his shoulder. “I don’t know what the fuck you kids think you’re doing in my room, but when I get back we’re gonna have a nice long talk about personal space, in the Danger Room, with the claws for visual aids,” he growled as the two boys stepped in front of him, blocking his path to the door. His eyes narrowed. “I’d advise you two to get out of my way.”
“You can’t leave yet Wolverine, you got to hear us out first. Jean-Paul’s brought news!” Bolt, the one he’d put in charge of watching Rogue. He could smell the waves of guilt coming off of him still.
Colossus had given him the quick and ugly version of what had happened. Rogue had ditched the kid with Hank and come over to watch the fight, apparently in a very pissed off mood. She probably realized he’d set the boy to looking after her. He felt a pull at the side of his mouth thinking of Rogue standing there in a fury, waiting for her chance to have a go at him. Then Wild Child had come and injected her and he still didn’t understand how she couldn’t have smelt him coming a mile away, but it just proved his point that she did need someone keeping an eye out for her.
He couldn’t be angry at the boy though. If it wasn’t for his powers, Hank never would have gotten that communicator working and the X-men would never have come, just in the nick of time too. The military helicopters had apparently started coming in just as they were leaving. Never could have guessed what kind of world they were coming back to though.
He put the duffle bag down and crossed his arms over his chest. “You got five minutes, make with the talking.”
“Well you see, after Sabertooth took Rogue and we saw you were out of commission and the X-men had just arrived and were loading everyone up on that kick ass jet, me and the guys, we all owe you and Rogue our lives and we sure as hell weren’t about to leave her all alone out there with him and Wild Child. So Cypher here, he got this idea.”
Cypher looked slightly embarrassed at having the attention turned on him, but continued on with the story, “Well, it wasn’t really an amazing idea or anything. Just, me and Northstar shared Sentry duty together and he had been showing off a bit so that’s why it came to me. I mean, we needed someone to keep an eye on Rogue and where they were taking her and there weren’t any teleporters around so super speed’s pretty much the next best thing. I mean he’s almost invisible when he runs.”
They were taking twenty years to get the story out and the clock was clicking, for Rogue, for all of them really, and Logan’s patience had just run out. “Get to the damn punch line already!” he growled.
“I… When I… Really fast.. and then...” Nothing but gibberish coming out in halted words from the bed and Logan walked over and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder, “Just calm down and spit it out already.”
Heading his advice, he watched as Northstar took deep breath after deep breath, before looking at him, eyes wide, “I know where Rogue is.”
Logan felt his heart clench in his chest. His eyes narrowed, “Could you show me on a map?” The boy nodded. He felt the darkness that had hung over him ever since he had woken up in the med bay suddenly lift and a feral grin formed across his face. This boy knew were Rogue was and could lead him to her.
“Kid, I could fucking kiss you right now!”
The others laughed and the boy made a face. “I’d really prefer if you didn’t.”
Logan smirked, the wheels in his head turning as a plan started to develop. Now that he had an exact location on Rogue it would make things a lot easier. Assuming she was still there. She WOULD still be there. She had to be. He’d need the boys help, he realized. He didn’t like the thought of putting them in danger, especially now, but they had proved themselves to be resourceful and they obviously cared for Rogue. He motioned for them to follow him.
He didn’t have much time. Cyclops wouldn’t like him borrowing his baby, but the man would get over it. Making their way to the lower sublevels, he stopped at a large door, entering in a passcode. If Bolt had been that impressed with the small X-Jet that had come to pick them up, he couldn’t wait for him to get an eye of this. There was a collective gasp behind him as the doors opened to reveal a large hanger. And there she was, sitting pristine in all her glory in the center of the room. Glistening black along long luscious curves. Recently updated with Shi’ar technology, she was sex on wheels with wings.
He walked up and gently caressed his hand along her side. “Gentleman, meet the Blackbird.”
He turned and looked at the gawking boys still standing in the doorway, “Well, who’s up for a joy ride?”
Chapter End Notes:
*Translation: Moy Droog - My Friend
*Comic Trivia: 198 and the Office of National Emergency (aka O*N*E*) are a shout out to the current X-men universe arch which was started on M-Day when Scarlet Witch de-mutantized all mutants except for 198 of them. Originally I was going to use this as the basis for my AU, but that would involve bringing the Avengers on board and as much as I love Tony Stark, I think I already have enough characters playing around in the sandbox and you really can't go wrong with a good apocalyptic Legacy Virus.
*More Comic Trivia: Northstar is one of the first openly gay superhero's and recently married his partner in Astonishing X-Men #51. It's a good issue, you should buy it.