That winter was cruel, many animals died from the cold, others from a lack of food, but Logan and Marie survived. Using the skills she'd gotten from Logan they'd resumed their training throughout the coldest part of the winter. He'd hunted her over the snow, over the hills and valleys, treating her as prey. She'd managed to turn the tables twice, setting an ambush where she'd had the advantage on his senses.
Once was next to a freezing river, the sound of the rapids hid her movements and breath, the ice at the edges wouldn't hold his greater weight. She'd dunked him, dropped a boulder on his chest and waited for the cold to nearly kill him, he'd hated drowning of all the things that happened to him. The water reminding him of the lab and she'd used that against him, it had been Wolverine's survival skills that had forced Logan to get free of the freezing water. All he'd done was stagger to the edge and cough up water, Marie had watched the colour return to his skin.
Made a fire under a pine tree, used pine knots filled with pitch to dry the ground before hauling his carcass over to the warmth. His skeleton leeched out the heat of his blood, making his system work overtime, he wasn't shivering and she knew she'd nearly succeeded in her task. To put Wolverine down. They'd spent the night there, under the pines, next to the water, she'd been guarded around him but he hadn't retaliated. He'd just spent time getting warm all the way down to his bones as she'd dried off his clothing the best they could.
The next time she'd used a dead-fall trap to get him, planted her tracks through an area filled with old wood. She'd been trailing him following her tracks, she'd rigged herself up some snow shoes made from alder and crack willow. They wouldn't last but they'd do for a day, she'd let the animal out of her, allowed it to hunt him, to 'feel' his movements. She had him in her head, and from her vantage point downwind she could read his every step. Her tracks went over some wolf trails, she'd been sure to make her prints deep there to show she'd passed after them. He'd stopped and sniffed the trees around there, taking in the local packs scent, gauging if she'd disturbed them. Finding nothing unusual he'd moved on and she'd gone to wait for him to spring her trap.
The fall made a huge sound, the old question 'does a tree make a sound in forest if no one is there to hear it' was running through her mind and her darkness chuckled as she realised Logan had heard it for definate. She found him on his side, the large deadfall hemlock resting on his ribcage. He'd turned in time to keep his breath, seeing the steam leaving his mouth and condensing in the cold air. Slowly she trudged toward him, he'd scented her and he was beginning to struggle through the pain of the wood resting on his already heavy frame. She watched in calm cool detached pleasure as he struggled, the animal in her showing her where to cut, where to stab, where to make the death she offered quick. When he saw her draw her claws he stilled, his eyes meeting hers, there was no offer of mercy in them, no offer of love, just acceptance. She'd proved she could care for herself, she could disable him for a while, although while she was watching him he'd been cutting his way free through the dead wood.
Jumping her, pushing her down into the now melting snow his fist under her chin, breath still scenting of blood. She'd reacted with her instinct, letting him cover her completely, wrapping her legs around his waist and thrusting her hips into his groin. Teeth bared she'd pulled him into her, biting him hard drawing blood; they'd been thrashing around in the cold for an hour before they'd both been satisfied.
Sex, death, survival, hunting, being at one with the environment around her, it made sense. Now all she had to do was transfer the skills over to the world awaiting them in the world of humans. To control her urges, to learn when to act and when to keep still, that would come with practice. Hunting humans was different from animals, humans were cunning but stupid in other ways, they stuck to rules, to ways you *should* behave. Logan was teaching her how to forget those rules, to just *act*, to trust her instincts and regret mistakes when she was safe. Learn from them and not repeat them, that was the key, the forensics she'd have to learn on the job.
They discussed tactics, fighting style, the ones the X-Men used and how they were easy to kill if you picked off Storm. They relied too heavily on her ability to control the air, Scott was a good hand to hand fighter but he lacked the balls to go for the throat, to finish off an opponent. Jean on the other hand often had to restrain herself from following through, he'd often smelt her need to kill. To crush the people she was holding in her minds grip, it flared briefly like her attraction to him. Only moments but they were there, the other members of the team they'd have to observe closely. Weak points were there all they had to do was exploit them, Logan had questioned her resolve. Could she kill someone who'd been her friend, the answer she'd given him had chilled her as much as him. "Friends touch you Logan, friends give a damn if your hurtin', ah've got no friends there. They all chose to believe something that if they'd known me would've been impossible to believe. They're soldiers, played by a man who sent you out to kill children he couldn't control." She'd realised exactly what she'd meant by her words and it had chilled her normally open heart. "Ah can't help but wonder who he's been sendin' instead of you." Logan's own gaze had hardened, his eyes turning dark filled with menace; voice low and dripping venom.
"Who do *you* think he could trust enough Marie? Scott, Storm, Hank?"
The name was obvious from his omission and what he'd told her about Jean suddenly became clear. "Does she know?" Logan shook his head, his hair becoming long in the months they'd been up here, the strands catching the light from their fire.
"No, but I've run into people that have seen her," Marie almost asked what he did to them. Her inner Logan just growled and she knew, he'd cleaned up her messes too, you couldn't leave witnesses, especially with Jean's high profile as a mutant leader and liaison between humans and mutants.
The thought of Jean killing someone, of being there up close and personal made her heart lurch, her pale face must have prompted Logan into speech. "She doesn't remember; he wipes her mind he has to otherwise she'd kill him for it." Marie's eyes spoke her question, "She's a doctor Marie, she saves life, it's her purpose. She even holds back when she fights, she won't kill if she can possibly help it. But she's not right up here anymore." He tapped the side of his head, his eyes had become bright in the darkness as the firelight reflected off them. "When she meets you again, push all my memories to the surface, all the pain, all the hurt. We don't want her reading you."
Marie nodded, the interplay she thought she'd had down at the school was gone; if Xavier would use Jean to kill then there was nothing he'd do. He'd already sent Logan out to kill those Xavier had thought would have been turned to Magneto's cause. What else had he been upto? She'd slept badly that night, a nightmare of Jean following her down a corridor, her hands reaching out her, trying to grasp her skin. Desperate for Marie to touch her, a mad shine to her eye as she ploughed through every obsticle she put in her way. Only satisfied when she'd caught her, her once beautiful face twisted into a harriden's visage. Her voice scratching and reedy, "Hungry...so hungry. Please Rogue let me touch you, it won't hurt you, I promise." She'd woken just as her hands had touched her skin, the jolt of it snapping her out of sleep into the arms of Logan. It took her a week to regain the confidence that dream had taken away.
When the trees around them began to smell fresh again and the snow was beginning to retreat she was ready, as ready as she was going to get. They were setting back down the mountain to the road, then to 'home' wherever that might be. Logan wa a little pensive but they packed everything away, dug a longer pit at the back of the shelter, wrapped up everything they could and stored it in the still cool earth. It'd last a year liek this before it decayed and she knew they'd be back before the trees began to lose leaves.
Using the sled they took the rest of the dried stores with them, they'd be needed on the road. The truck was where they'd left it last year, wrapped up in a tarp, weighted down and oiled up. It took a few hours to change a few things over, time to turn over the engine and let it run in before they demanded anything from it. The sight and smell of the truck was something she'd missed, the days they'd spent travelling in it seemed a world away. But stroking the chipped paint of it made her feel warm, safe, comfortable. Smiling she put her body against it as the weak spring sun shone down on them, the movement of her body enough to make Logan flick his gaze to her form.
She'd changed, a winter away had taken all the doubt from her, she moved with purpose now, no apologies for her steps or looks. Her body had honed too, the 'extra's' he'd given her were a bonus, the claws and her senses. They weren't as good as his but with time she'd master all of them just as well as he could. Her skin would take a little more time though, she'd made huge steps up here, he could sleep with her naked and she'd get nothing from him but someone else she might and that needed experimentation. He knew she wouldn't like it but he didn't care, they needed to know how much control she had of it. She was without gloves now, for all intent and purposes now she looked just like any other human being. A perfect assassin with cupid bow lips and a softness that seemed to flow with her; no one would beleive her capable of killing and that would be her greatest defence and tactic.
Grumbling he got the engine to turn over and heat up, running it in a while as they just quietly prepared for their return to the world. If it had been upto him he'd have just left them to get on with it but he knew Xavier wouldn't wait forever. He'd have sent people out to find him and finding him they'd find Marie and that wasn't acceptable. No, it was time to go home and take everything away from the old bastard just like he did the kids he was 'helping'.
They managed to get halfway home before Logan got the 'itch' in his skull, the tickle that told him he was 'needed'. Growling under his breath Marie caught the tension that had suddenly filled his frame, the anger he was keeping in check. Her voice helped to still Wolverine for a while, enough for him to pull over so she could drive. Leaving him to concentrate on keeping the man out of his head, when they reached a decent sized town Logan got her to pull over at a pay phone. Throwing open the truck door he slammed the pay phone open and punched the numbers that were burning in his brain. Watching him from her position she kept the engine running, listening to his clipped sentences. The way his large shoulders bulked out in the small space, hunching as if he wanted to tear the phone apart. She didn't catch much, just a few 'Yeah's' and a 'You *know* I will' when he slammed the reciever back down she was sure he'd broken it.
When he shoved himself into the truck he made her shuffle over into the passenger seat, he was driving. He took off like a demon was on their tail; she didn't ask what was bothering him and he didn't talk to her until they were fifty miles away from where they'd been. "We've got a job, a kid, fourteen, name of Simmons, being held at a clinic. He's an energy shifter, we're to kill him and dispose of the clinic staff too."
The silence that met her ears after the words were enough to deafen her, even the road was blurred as she put the thoughts in order.
Xavier was sending them to kill a child, one he couldn't control, the place he was in must have been human run otherwise why send Logan to deal with it? Her mind went into overdrive, maybe there was a way they could do this without killing the kid but it'd be risky and she didn't know if Logan would go for it. The one in her head saw what she was planning and he was already giving her several negative scenarios. She'd have to see what happened when they got there; speaking of which she had no idea where they were going.
"Logan where we headin' to?" He didn't look to answer her his face set as he made plans to follow Xaviers summons.
"Kendall, just past the border of West Virginia, the kids there. We do a clean sweep of the place, destroy what we can, leave nothing of us behind, kill everyone there." The dead tone he used made her flesh creep, she knew he was angry, she could feel it, just that he wasn't allowing it out of himself. He was keeping it inside, using it on those he'd been sent to kill, innocents who'd been caught in the game of chess between two madmen.
"Logan what if we get the kid out and 'lose' him?" His eyes flicked to the side, seeing her face concentracting on his reactions. He could see where she was going with this, it was dangerous and if Xaiver found out it'd throw their entire plan wide open to him.
"Where would he go Marie? We'd need places to send kids like him away from both of those fuckers. It takes time to set stuff like that up, it's a good idea but we don't have that option yet. Maybe sometime soon, but not now. We do what we're told to, we do jobs, we keep low and we live. When he thinks he's got us where he wants us, thats when we start pulling him apart." A little tension slipped out of his frame and his breath fogged in the cold. "Ah'm sorry Marie but it's gotta be this way for a while, you need to learn these skills and this is the only way I can show you right now." He turned his face back to the road ahead of them, "We've got a job to do and we'll do it. But his name'll be the one I carve on his skull when we kill him, *that* I PROMISE you."
Her bare hand touched his own, she caught a small piece of his thoughts, the warmth of the death ahead of him the knowledge that the man who did this would pay for it in the end. It'd have to do but she'd cry for the both of them after it was over, one for the boy and for Logan because no matter how much he kept inside it still hurt him. The further they went the calmer she got, she was going to do something that should have filled her with fear but she didn't feel it. She felt alive and that worried her a little, there wasn't time to think right now, she'd do it later when it was all over. She just hoped there was something left of herself to think with when it was.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Training finishes for Marie ans things to come a head, they dont get far before their 'benefactor' gives them a call....