Marie slid down from the cab to the icy ground, clutching her duffel bag in one hand.  She looked around in dismay at what appeared to be little more than a tin shack.  The daydreams she used to pass the long, boring hours of travel had not conjured up anything like this desolate place.  She wondered who the joker was that called it a city.  This was nothing more than a corrugated metal building.  It still had to be warmer than standing outside in the wind and snow.

The air inside the bar was stale and filled with smoke.  It smelled like a terrible mixture of beer and gym socks.  Flames danced in large steel barrels around the room giving off heat and flickering light. The main attraction seemed to be a large metal cage in the center of the room.  The spectators were mostly weather and life-hardened locals and tired, lonely truckers just passing through, with a few barfly females thrown into the mix.

Marie pushed her way past the crowd to get a better look at the cage. The two men inside circled one another warily.  A few punches later, one of the men inside hit the floor and didn't get up again without assistance.  Marie turned away, the only attraction she was interested in right now was a bathroom.  She moved quickly towards the back of the building.  Spotting the bathroom, she hurried for the door carefully darting around the bar's patrons.

Closing and locking the door behind her, Marie glanced around the little closet-like room.  It wasn't the cleanest place she had ever been, but it was better than nothing.  Removing her coat and gloves then tossing them on the counter  she looked at herself in the mirror for a few moments. Placing her bag on top of her coat, she rifled through the bag's contents and pulled out the white washrag she stole from a hotel when she still had money to stay at one.  Marie wet it under the ice cold water coming out of the tap and squeezed out the excess.  She vigorously rubbed it over her face and arms, rinsed it out and washed under her arms.

"Hurry up in there!"

Marie looked at the door and sighed heavily.  "Sorry, just a minute," she called out.

Wringing out the washrag, she stuffed it back into her bag.  Pulling on her coat and gloves, she grabbed her bag and opened the door.  Marie ignored the glare of the waiting woman and walked past her into the bar.  It was late and she still needed to find a ride.  The cage was empty now and a lot of people had cleared out in the few minutes she spent washing up.  Remember to secure a ride first next time, she thought.

Three truckers sat around a table laughing and finishing off their bottles of beer.  Marie approached them, hoping someone generous was going her way.

"Excuse me?"

They didn't notice her and continued their raucous laughter.  Marie cleared her throat and spoke louder.  "Excuse me? I'm lookin' for a ride."

The talking and laughter ceased as the men turned to look at her.

"Where ya goin', sweetheart?"

"North west, towards Alaska..." she trailed off when the man shook his head.

"Yeer hedin the wron wwway, sweehart," the second man slurred.

"Sorry, can't help ya, honey," the third said kindly.

Abandoning their empty bottles, they stood up and helped their drunken friend to his feet, guiding him in the direction of the door.

"I'd settle for a bigger town!" she called out to them as they drifted out to their trucks.

Walking outside, Marie threw her bag down into the gravel, giving it an angry kick as the last of the big rigs started to pull away.

"Great, just fucking great!" she mumbled to herself.

She was out of food, money, and clean clothes.  Now, she was stuck in Bumfuck with no ride.  Yet another thing to tack on to her list of things that had gone wrong recently.  The next time someone called her sweetheart, they just might get their life sucked out and not in a good way.

Marie looked up at the sky, smiling sadly at the small sliver of moon.  The moon at least was familiar in this frozen wasteland.  It would be dawn in a few hours, surely someone would pass through that could give her a ride.  Now, she just needed to find a way to stay warm until then.

"All right. Enough mopin'," she told herself aloud.

A crunch of gravel alerted Marie to a presence behind her, but before she could even turn around immense arms wrapped around her waist and shoulders, pinning her arms uselessly against her sides.

"No!  Let go of me!" she screamed.

The man pulled her up against his chest making her feet dangle off the ground as he ran into the trees.  Marie struggled desperately to free herself and kicked wildly at the body restraining her but the contact seemed to have little effect on him.  He moved deeper into the dark woods and Marie's fear and desperation increased.

"Help me!" Marie shouted.

There had been no one left at the bar to come to her rescue.  Deciding it was up to her and not wanting to die, especially out here where no one would find her, Marie bit viciously into the arm around her shoulders.  The man pushed her roughly away from him with an enraged snarl and struck her across the face, knocking her to the ground.

The world tilted wildly for a few seconds before Marie recovered from her unexpected collisions with a massive hand and the ground.  Finding herself free of the man's gruesome paws, she jumped to her feet. Tree branches slapped at her arms and cut at her face as she ran.

The man laughed cruelly, "I want to play, girlie!"

She didn't know which way to go, only knowing she had to get away.  Her foot hit something solid in the dark, sending her crashing hard into the ground again.  Marie scrambled frantically to her feet and continued her reckless flight.  The freezing air made her lungs ache and the cuts on her face burn but she did not slow down.  Marie was certain what the man had in mind for her would be a lot more painful.

"Scream for me!"

The terror of dying sent a quake of panic through her when the sound of his voice and crunching leaves came from directly behind her.  Abruptly the ground rushed up to meet her as a heavy weight crashed down on her back.

After a long night of fighting and quite a bit of drinking, Wolverine walked out of the bar into the dark parking lot.  Almost everyone but the bartender had left by now, even the drunk stragglers had been sent on their way home by friends.  Logan's truck sat alone at the end of the lot.  He stopped for a moment and looked up at the sky.  It would be dawn in a few hours and it was time to get some sleep before hitting the road.  Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Logan was walking toward his truck again when a feminine cry for help made him turn to look at the treeline behind the bar.  He tried to tell himself not to get involved, that it wasn't his problem, but he couldn't make himself turn away.

Logan walked into the trees in the direction of the scream, his sharp eyes seeing a flash of movement in the distance.  A small female figure running blindly through the trees with a large beast-like man pursuing her, calling out tauntingly.  Logan ran after them, catching up when the man tackled the girl onto the ground.  The man, hearing movement behind him turned with an angry snarl, unhappy that his fun had been interrupted. He pushed himself to his feet and moved to meet the intruder.

Logan clenched his fists and leapt at the man, arms and claws extending as he moved.  The man grabbed Logan by the collar of his jacket and used Logan's momentum to easily throw him aside. The man lunged, knocking them both to the ground. Logan rolled away, up onto the balls of his feet and crouched down ready to leap again.  He waited for the man to advance and Logan threw himself at the man lumbering towards him with a lion like roar.  The claws of Logan's left hand easily penetrated the soft flesh of the abdomen.  Savagely driving his other hand into the man's chest, Logan gave a final twist and upward thrust of his claws.  There was a sickly, wet cracking of bone before the enormous man fell backwards, his body sliding smoothly from the adamantium.  Dark red splashes of blood stained the bright, white snow.

Logan looked back to where he last saw the girl but she was gone.  She must not have been too happy to see another man with claws.  Allowing his claws to retract, Logan followed the clear trail the girl made in the snow.  She must have run without thinking or she was lost, because the tracks led further into the forest.  Logan could hear her hitched breathing as he got closer to her. The breeze swept the metallic scent of her blood and the salt of her tears to his nose.  She was hunched down trying to hide in a small outcropping of rocks.  The sound of rocks shifting under his boots made her look up.

"No, please," she breathed.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Logan tried to reassure her.

Obviously the girl wasn't buying his platitudes, as she ran stumbling over rocks hidden in the darkness. He moved after her, having no trouble seeing in faint moonlight.  Logan brought her to an abrupt halt by grabbing her wrist.

"No!" she cried, striking out at him with her free arm.

Logan caught it before she could hit him and with both of her arms firmly in his grasp, he jerked the girl closer.  "Take it easy, kid! I'm not going to hurt you!"  Getting his pants and boots wet traipsing through the snow did nothing for his patience or disposition.

The girl stared at him with wide, frightened eyes for a moment.  "I - I thought - ya were him," she choked out.

Logan was glad the girl got her tears under control on the walk back. The crying made him feel uneasy, like he should put his arm around her, hug her or something.  Wolverine absolutely did not go around hugging and comforting strangers or anyone else for that matter.  She wobbled unsteadily on her feet so he did hold on to her elbow.  Fishing her out of one snow bank because she lost her balance and fell had been enough.

"My bag is over there," she said through chattering teeth, pointing to a dark lump against the building.

"Yeah, well, yer fine now.  I took care of yer friend back there," he said, letting go of her.  Logan turned towards his truck and started to walk away.

"Yer just going to leave me here?  Where am I supposed to go?" she asked looking around the empty parking lot.

"I don't care where ya go."

"Then why did ya even bother helping me?"

Logan glared at her challenge.  The kid was either stupid or brave, he thought. It was a damn good question though.  He looked around at the dilapidated building and empty lot.  There really was no where for her go and no one out here to help her.  The moisture in her hair and clothes was starting to crystallize.  Logan couldn't leave her out there to freeze to death.  The last thing he needed was some girl's blood on his conscience.

Throwing her bag onto the floor, Logan started the truck and pulled away from the bar.  Lighting and stuffing a cigar into his mouth, he attempted to ignore the girl.  Already irritated with himself for getting involved in someone else's problem.  He didn't get to pretend she wasn't there for very long before she spoke.

"Where we goin'?"  She shivered and rubbed her hands together trying to get some feeling back into her numb fingers.

"I gotta room," he said, glancing over at her.  Flicking on the heater, he reached for her hands.  "Here, put your hands over the vent."  Logan picked up her gloved hands and held them over the warm air.

Logan flipped the light on as they walked into the room and pushed the door shut behind him.  Tossing their bags down on the floor, he turned to look at her. The darkness hid more than he realized, the light of the room revealed dark red streaks of blood from cuts, a lump on her forehead and deep purple bruises on her pale face.

"He hit you?" he asked quietly.  Frowning, Logan reached out to take her chin in his hand.  She flinched away and Logan let his hand fall, clenching his teeth.

The girl looked away sadly.  "Ya cain't touch my skin.  I'm a mutant too and my skin would hurt ya.  I - I didn't think ya were goin' to hurt me."

Logan examined her for a moment and tried to determine if she was telling the truth.  She seemed to be holding her breath, waiting to see what he would do.  She appeared to be nothing more than a normal girl but there were no signs of a lie in her heart rate or scent. "You better clean up."

She sighed in relief and nodded.  Picking up her bag from the floor, she went into the bathroom without speaking and closed the door.

Logan sat down on the edge of the bed and lay back with a sigh.  He hadn't planned on being a babysitter.  Maybe he could drop her off at the next town tomorrow.  Maybe she could find a trucker to ride with in the morning. He could always wake up and just take off like it was some one night stand.  Sitting up, Logan took off his belt and boots.  He looked up when the girl emerged freshly showered from the bathroom. The girl's hair was clean and wet, her clothes dirty even though she had changed into dry gloves, pajama pants, and a long sleeved shirt. Although she was still pale and bruised, she didn't quite look like death warmed over with the blood washed away.  Standing in the doorway, she looked around uncertainly before looking him in the eye.

"Thanks for helpin' me."

Logan looked away uneasy, not feeling like he had done anything to deserve those words.  He was reasonably sure you were supposed to help people because it was the right thing to do, not because you didn't want to feel guilty.  His eyes moved back to her when she walked over and pointed at his hands.

"Are ya all right? Is that from your claws?"

Logan held his hands open in front of him.  Seeing the other man's blood streaking his fingers and knuckles, he shook his head slightly. "It isn't mine."  He stood hastily and walked past her into the bathroom, scrubbing away the blood and drying his hands before going back into the main room.  The girl was just standing there, staring at the only bed in the small room.  They were both silent for a moment. There was nothing left to do, except go to sleep.

"Are there extra blankets?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"No. Here," he said moving over to the bed.  Logan stripped the faded comforter and blanket off, handing them to her.  Sitting on the end of the bed, he watched while she spread the covers on the floor.  He had already done more than he should and there was no way he was going to give the kid his bed.  Once she looked settled in her makeshift bed Logan got up and turned off the light.

"G'night... uh - hey, what's your name?"

"It's Logan."

"I'm Marie.  G'night, Logan."
 

A gruff, "You awake yet, kid?" woke her.  The bright sun poured in through the window and forced Marie to close her eyes again.  She rolled over with a groan. "I am now.  What time is it?" she muttered sleepily.

"Nearly ten.  Come on get movin'."

Logan nudged her leg with a booted foot and Marie tiredly pulled herself to her feet.  Her empty stomach made its presence known with a loud rumble.  Marie's eyes widened as she sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth and pressed her palms against her belly.

Logan tilted a curious eyebrow. "Hungry?" he asked with a smirk.

She smiled ruefully and shrugged.  "Don't think I've eaten in two days."

His smirk turned into a frown when he remembered what it had felt like not that long ago to be wretchedly cold and hungry.  Damn it, don't look at those sad eyes, he berated himself.  Ignore the trembling of her hands from hunger, he insisted.  The kid must have some kind of 'you will fall at my feet' mutation because he couldn't think of any other reason why the Wolverine would open his mouth and offer, "I'll buy us breakfast.  Hurry up."  He would take care of cold and hungry, but then she was definitely on her own.

Logan watched her poke another fork full of pancakes and sausage into her mouth.  He pushed his empty plate away and slowly drank coffee while he considered her.

"Where you headin'?"

"Alaska but rides are kinda hard to come by up here and I ran outta money a while ago," she answered before taking another bite.

"You try to hitch a ride with Sasquatch last night?"

She looked down at the table with a frown then turned to look out the window.

"I was looking fer a ride with the truckers leavin' the bar.  It wasn't workin' out though.  I was tryin' to decide what to do when he grabbed me.  I tried to fight him but he was huge, so strong.  I bit him and when he dropped me..." she shook her head, "I just started runnin'. I'll be right back," she excused herself with a tearful voice and quickly disappeared into the bathroom.

Logan frowned into his coffee while he argued with himself.  Just last night, he had been plotting ways to get rid of her.  One little sob story and you're thinking about keeping her, he scolded himself.  He didn't want her getting hurt but it wasn't his problem.  He had learned over the years that it was best not to have any attachments.  He would still be running naked through the forest like an animal if no one had helped him though.  He didn't have any use for an underage girl but his conscience insisted there was more to life than sex.

Logan sighed in exasperation.

"Is something wrong, Logan?"

He was too busy fighting with himself to answer her question.  Logan snatched his leather jacket off the chair and headed for the door without looking back.  He stopped suddenly and turned to look at her.

"I'm movin' on to the next town. You ridin' with me or not?" he asked gruffly.

"I'd like that.  Thanks," she smiled at him.

That was a real nice smile and it made him angry at himself that he wanted her to smile again. Don't be suckered in by a pretty face, he criticized.  It made her eyes glow and he wanted to see her to do it again.  No use for a girl too young to bed, he tried to remind himself. Once again, his conscience insisted there was more to life.

"Shut up," he muttered under his breath.

"What did ya say?"

"Nothin'."

Marie was beginning to think he didn't like her very much.  He had been scowling, staring straight ahead and smoking like a freight train ever since they left the diner. She didn't think she could take it much longer.

"How can ya stand all that smoke?"  She coughed and batted the smoke away from her.  The irritating smoke was making her eyes water.  She coughed again, rolling her window down a little even though it was freezing.  "Those things are gonna kill ya."

"Nah, my mutation, I heal from anythin'."

"Hmph. Well, I don't," she mumbled quietly.

Logan looked at his cigar, glanced at her then scowled at the cigar. He snuffed it out with a put upon sigh.

"Thanks, Logan," she said, rolling up the window.

"Yeah," he grumbled.

"So, ya have more than one mutation?  Healin' and those claws?"

"That ain't a mutation, kid."

"What do ya mean if it isn't a - "

"I don't want to talk to about it," he said quietly.

"Oh, uh... okay.  I'm sorry.  I just thought - sorry."

"Yeah.  Well, yer right.  I got heightened senses too."

"Like what?"

"I can see real good, in the dark too.  I can hear and smell things like when someone is afraid."

"Ya can really smell somethin' like that?" she asked amazed.

"Yeah, sometimes it ain't all that great.  You know, like last night when you needed to take a shower."

"Hey, that wasn't nice!" she exclaimed indignantly.

Logan smiled around his cigar and couldn't stop himself from chuckling at the look on her face.

"So, how long you been on your own?"

"About eight months."

Eyebrows raised in surprise, Logan glanced over at her.  "How old are you, kid?"

"I'm seventeen.  Have ya ever been to Alaska, Logan?"

"Yeah."

"Is it beautiful like all those pictures and postcards ya see?"

"Nah, it's even better... if ya like snow and Eskimos."

Marie laughed at the disclaimer.  "I don't know about Eskimos but I've had my fill of snow recently."

They continued to chat a little and the ride was more relaxed.  Marie was happy to have pulled him out of his brooding.  Now that she had gotten him to talk a little he didn't look as if he were about to dump her on the side of the road at any minute.

As Logan pulled into town she started to wonder if he drove them in circles, it looked an awful lot like the last town.

"What did ya say this place was called again?"

"Brochet," he answered not looking away from the road.

The name didn't mean anything to Marie.  These little snow banks they called towns around here had not been a part of the plan.  Other than being attacked by a big cat though, things had finally started looking up.  She had slept in a warm room, showered with soap and warm water, and even eaten warm food.  The company wasn't all that bad either, now that Logan had relaxed.

The sound of the truck's door closing snapped Marie out of her thoughts.  Logan was already walking towards what must be a hotel.  It looked more like a prison without the barbed wire fences.  Climbing  over the seat, she found their bags, then tossed them over the seat before climbing back up front.  She waited for Logan to come out of the office before getting out of the truck.

Inside, Marie set their bags down on the floor with a tired sigh.  The hotel looked the same as the last place too.  A single bed against the wall, a small bathroom, a small table with an even smaller television and one chair.  It almost looked like heaven, a testament to just how much she had lowered her standards for acceptable lodging.  Marie turned to look at Logan, who was already sitting on the edge of the bed untying his boots.  He stood up and began stripping off his leather and jean jackets. He unbuttoned and removed his flannel shirt then reached for his t-shirt.  Apparently he was going to keep undressing if she didn't say something to stop him.

It was tempting not to say anything and let him finish undressing. Logan's ass was nice in those jeans and Marie was willing to bet it was even better in the flesh.  Although, this really wasn't how she wanted to see her first real live naked man.  Marie cleared her throat uncomfortably at the direction of her thoughts.

Looking up at the sound, Logan stopped undressing with his t-shirt halfway up his chest. "What?"

"What are ya doin'?"

"I'm going to take a shower," he grumbled with an irritated frown.

"Uhm... aren't ya gonna to undress in the bathroom?"

His frown turned into a scowl.  Logan growled softly as he snatched his bag up from the floor, stalked into the bathroom and closed the door a little harder than necessary.

Marie pushed her lips together but it didn't stop the smirk and pressed a hand to her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.  She didn't think he would like that very much.  Marie turned on the room's heater and it began to weakly sputtered warm air.  Removing her coat and gloves, she took off her jeans and changed into pajama bottoms.  She turned on the tiny television in an attempt to occupy herself while Logan was in the shower.  Marie lay back on the bed and flipped quickly through the static filled channels, stopping on a mostly visible station.

A news anchor woman with a fake smile and stiffly molded hair, intelligently proclaimed it would be cold.

"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock."

An anchor man with a fake smile and stiffly molded hair, happily declared the winners and losers in the world of sports.

Marie's eyes grew heavy as the scores failed to hold her attention. She yawned and rubbed sleepily at her face.  The droning voices of news casters lulled her into a light sleep.  She was startled awake when Logan turned off the television.  He stood beside the bed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, rubbing a towel over his wet hair, making it stick up wildly.  Throwing the towel on the end of the bed, he gestured for her to get up.

"Oh, sorry.  I'm so tired," she said with a big yawn.

"Grab a pillow and blanket."

Logan kept his eyes closed, enjoying the feel of her hand soothing over his bare chest.  He couldn't help but smile a little, lying here in bed with her while she lightly caressed him was heaven.  He tried to roll over to face her, he wanted to touch her too but he couldn't move. Logan's eyes snapped open and fear rushed over him.  The world had a strange green tint.

He tried again to move, struggling more desperately this time. The muffled sound of men talking and moving drew his attention.  He wanted to speak to them and he wanted to yell, but his body wouldn't cooperate.  The men in uniform smiled and congratulated one another, drinking champagne, celebrating.  Another group of men in surgical scrubs gathered around him.  Scalpels in hand, they examined him with cold uncaring eyes as they prepared to cut along the lines drawn on his skin.  Logan's heart rate and breathing accelerated in panic as his skin split open under the blade and pain washed over him.

He woke sitting up, feeling disoriented and frightened.  Marie was standing over him, an odd choking sound coming from her throat.  His claws buried almost to the knuckle in her chest, through her lung, the cause of the awful sound.

"No," he tried to say but no sound came from his mouth.  He needed to do something to help her.  Retracting his claws, Logan managed a word, "Marie."

He couldn't move, too many thoughts rushed up in an instant of panic. He should stop the bleeding.  He should call for help.  He should go get someone.  He should have known better than to bring her here.

Another sickening sound came from Marie as she tried to breathe.  She reached out to him and the smooth tips of her fingers brushed his cheek.  He gasped as pain ripped at his mind, sweeping over his chest and crushing down on his lungs.

Marie jerked her hand away and Logan collapsed onto the floor at her feet.  "No, no, not again."  She hadn't meant for this to happen, hadn't known her mutation would absorb Logan's healing.  She had thought death was only a moment away and wanted to touch him before it was too late.

Marie kneeled down beside him and pressed her bare hand to his shirt covered chest.  Her eyes closed in relief at the movement of his breath and heart beat.  Moving over to her bed on the floor, Marie picked up the pillow and blanket, carefully she rested his head on the pillow before spreading the blanket over him.  Sitting on the edge of the bed, she stared blankly at the motionless body on the floor.  Chaotic thoughts that were not her own swirled through her mind.  Tears welled up in her eyes as his memories play out in her mind.

...waking up naked in the snow, with nothing but dogtags; restrained in a tank, unable to speak or move; running in fear, hiding like a frightened animal; soil sticky and wet with blood; doctors and soldiers talking and celebrating; uniformed men huddled together in a trench moaning in pain from ghastly wounds; flesh splitting, parting under the sharp edge of a scalpel; basic instincts to survive driving every movement; helpless to fight the piercing needles; wanting death to bring an end to the pain and terror...

Crushing her eyes shut, the tears flowed down her face.  She tried to push away the gruesome images and chanted in her mind.  "Please, let him be all right."

Logan drifted to consciousness slowly to the sound of someone crying. Groaning, he blinked heavily feeling a little weak.  A very worried Marie with tears streaking her face instantly filled his vision.

"Mmmarie? What - are you okay?"  Sitting up, he touched the blood stained material under her collar bone.

"I'm - it's okay.  I'm not hurt.  I was afraid ya might not wake up. I've got ya in my head now too," she said shakily.

"I'm all right, Marie.  I'm sorry.  Come here."

Logan wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him.  He frowned in thought, not understanding what she said about having him in her head.  Burying her face in his shoulder, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, hands clutching at his shirt.

"I'm sorry, I hurt ya," she cried.

"I know.  I didn't mean to - "

Marie continued as if he hadn't spoken.  "The doctors hurt ya so bad. It hurt so bad," she sobbed, her body trembling.

Logan closed his eyes in despair.  "Oh God... Marie.  I'm so sorry," he whispered in anguish.  He stroked his hand between her shoulder blades in a attempt to comfort them both.  After a few minutes she stopped shaking and relaxed into him.  Logan let her rest against him until she pulled back and he carefully brushed her hair away from her face.  He took a moment to look closely at the now perfectly smooth skin.

Acting surprised, he said, "Hey, look at that."

Marie's head tilted to the side a little in confusion. "What?"

"You were pretty under all them cuts and bruises."

Looking away, her mouth curved up a little as she blushed.  "I'm gonna go wash up now."  She stood up and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Logan stared at the closed door for a minute before standing up.  Still feeling shaken up, he absentmindedly changed into a shirt that wasn't stained with blood and tears.  After touching him, she had healed, seen his nightmares, and probably just added one to the queue.  It would be best to send her on her way, like he should have in the first place before he ended up killing her on accident.  Tonight at the fights, he would help her find someone nice to ride with into a bigger town.

Marie came out of the bathroom with a freshly washed face and looking much calmer.  "Guess I blubbered all over your shirt," she joked, gesturing at him.

It caught him off guard and he just stared at her for a second.  "Had worse things on it," he assured her.

Logan sat down on a stool at the bar, ordered himself a beer and asked the kid if she wanted anything before he realized she shouldn't even be in the building.  He had never much cared about that sort of thing before.  He was going to send her off without doing any more damage than he had done already.  They could always go back to the hotel and play Scrabble, he snickered.  A tiny voice whispered that Scrabble was very educational.

Logan slammed his empty mug down on the bar with a growl.  The kid was kind of nice to be around but these conversations with himself about her had to stop.  It was going to take more than a little beer to quiet the mental ping pong tonight.

"Another beer and a shot of whiskey," he snapped at the bartender.

Logan looked over at her, studying her intently.  She seemed too delicate to have survived for months alone, the beast in the forest and now an encounter with the Wolverine.  There must be a lot more to her than the soft packaging.  It made him want to learn more about her. His interest in attachments usually consisted of insert Tab A into Slot B.  That was another interesting thing about her.  She was beautiful but held his attention without dressing or behaving in a sexual way. That was quite an accomplishment for anyone, let alone a seventeen year old girl.  It must be that damned 'you will fall at my feet' mutation again because he should absolutely not be thinking about her body. Beating the hell out of a few drunks would make him stop thinking this way and it would make him some money even if it didn't work.

Marie perched uncomfortably on the edge of the bar stool next to Logan. She watched him as he gulped down a beer like it was nothing more than water. After a few more drinks, Logan stood up and removed his jackets. Marie's mouth fell open as he undressed down to his bare chest.  She wanted to kick herself for stopping his little strip show at the hotel earlier.  Logan had said he was going to be fighting tonight but he hadn't mentioned anything about it being half naked.  She concentrated on watching him as Logan walked over to speak with the bartender then walked toward the cage in the middle of the room.  He stood in a corner of the cage, cracking his neck and stretching his shoulders.  A big, hulking man joined Logan inside the cage and the announcer began exaggerated introductions.

Logan was such an odd contradiction of strong and powerless, confident and uneasy, harsh and soft, Marie thought while watching him move  fluidly.  Time past mostly unnoticed for Marie while yelling out encouragement and cheers from her bar stool.  She sipped at her water, watching with fascination the silken movement of muscle in Logan's chest and arms.  His back wasn't too bad either and his skin tight jeans, hugging muscular thighs was rather alluring.  Actually the whole package was kind of nice, especially glistening with sweat.  Marie wanted to help him peel those jeans off.  It might kill him but she would have enough material for years of sexual fantasies.  She took a deep breath and tried to get herself under control.  The nnouncer's wail proclaimed Wolverine as the winner and brought Marie out of her torrid thoughts.  Most of the drunk and rowdy locals were clearing out now that Wolverine had subdued all willing opponents.

She smiled at Logan as he walked over.  "You really flattened those guys!" she exclaimed with excitement.

There was that smile again.  The one that made her eyes light up.  The one that made his stomach feel peculiar.

"Yeah, I guess I did."  He grinned a little and chuckled, amazed that she was having a good time.  After putting on his shirts and jackets, Logan sat down beside Marie.  He felt a lot more relaxed now that he had expended some energy.

"Know anything about fighting, kid?"

"No.  Why?"

"Always good to know a thing or two.  Maybe I could show you some stuff," he offered.  Earlier thoughts of finding her a decent trucker to ride with faded a little further away each time he had looked over from the cage and saw her smiling at him.

"Really? You'd teach me to fight like that?"

"If you want," he added casually.

"That would be great."

A tall, thin man with odd glasses and a dark skinned woman with bright white hair approached the bar.  They were obviously mutants and Logan watched them cautiously.

"Excuse me?" the man said interrupting Marie's happy chatter.

Marie pulled at her gloves, wondering what this man could want with them.  "Yes?"  she asked staring into his strange red glasses.

The man glanced at the white haired woman beside him.  "Could we please speak to you alone for a minute, sir?"

Logan's eyes narrowed suspiciously.  He was not going to let these people separate him from Marie.  He got up from his bar stool and placed himself between Marie and the strangers.

"I got nothin' to say to you."

"We believe you are in danger," the white haired woman stated calmly.

Slipping down from her bar stool, Marie pressed herself against Logan's back and nervously squeezed his arm.

"Yer the one who's gonna be in danger."

The white haired woman tried again. "We only wish to help you."

The man held his hands out in what was supposed to be an appeasing manner as he stepped a little closer but Logan was not appeased.  His face hardened into a menacing scowl, Logan bared his teeth and growled in warning.  Even though most of the man's face was hidden, he looked startled for a moment before stepping away.  Logan backed towards the door with Marie still behind him, keeping his eyes on the strangers. In the parking lot, Marie crashed into Logan's back when he stopped suddenly.  The large beast-like man from that first night in the forest was crouched on the hood of the truck.

"Fuck."

"Oh god, Logan. It's him."

The man should be dead from the wounds Logan inflicted that night.  He must have healing powers too and he brought friends this time.  The other two would be coming out to help him.  Logan couldn't fight all three of them while keeping Marie safe.

"Stay behind me," he said tensely to Marie.  Logan circled around to keep the man in front of him while they backed away.  He turned around, pushing Marie ahead of him towards the trees.  "Run!"

Sounds of the man crashing through the trees followed a short distance behind them.  Logan stopped running when he felt the man's friends would take a few minutes to catch up.  Now he could face off with the furry man and deal with his friends later if necessary.

"Hide. I'll find you," he told Marie, giving her a little push.

Marie was hesitant to leave him.  "Logan..."

"He's here.  GO!"  Not watching her go, Logan released his claws and crouched, ready to fight.

In a few seconds the hulking man burst through the trees, leaping at Logan.  The large man's momentum knocked Logan over onto his back. Logan pushed his legs up into the man's stomach and continued the backward momentum, sending the man flying over his head.  Logan rolled to his feet, ready to advance again.

Sprawled out on his back in snow, the lion-like man clambered to his feet and took a wild swipe at Logan's head.  Logan ducked, avoiding it and threw a clawed punch that didn't make contact.  The man grabbed Logan's arm at the wrist and used it to jerk him closer, then raked a vicious paw across the right side of Logan's chest and shoulder. Logan's grunt of pain turned into an angry growl.  A knee into the man's groin loosened his grip enough for Logan to free his wrist. Logan quickly kicked the man in the side before moving out of reach.

The white haired woman suddenly floated down through the trees calling out, "Sabretooth!"

Sabretooth merely snarled at her before advancing on Logan again.

A bright beam of red light blasted a tree in half next to the grappling men.  They scrambled out of the way but a fleeting moment of distraction was all it took to lose the advantage.

Sabretooth lifted Logan over his head and threw him, sending him flying into another tree.  Logan's head smashed painfully into the trunk and he fell to the ground.  He pushed himself to his feet, stumbling in a daze.  Before he could recover his senses, a heavy object made contact with his head, dropping him unconscious into the snow.

Marie ran a short distance away from Logan after he yelled for her to go.  She sat back against a tree, breathing heavily from running, letting the snow soak into her clothes.  Afraid for Logan, Marie huddled down to watch, trying to stay out of sight.  She gasped when the beast clawed Logan across the chest.  Logan quickly freed himself but the man and woman from the bar had caught up with them.  Marie could make out the woman yelling, "Sabretooth!"  Apparently that was the name of the white haired woman's furry companion.  The woman held her arms up to the sky and the wind and snow picked up, making it difficult to see.

"Logan," Marie breathed.

She watched in fear as a red beam of light came unexpectedly from the strange glasses of the man, hitting a tree next to Logan.  The tree ripped in half and Sabretooth quickly took advantage of the opening. Logan went flying through the air and crashed into a tree.

"No."  The word was only a tortured moan.  Marie jumped to her feet, praying.  "Please."  Hope rose in her heart as Logan staggered to his feet and her stomach sank when Sabretooth swung the remains of the tree like a bat and Logan's head snapped back at the contact.

"No, Logan!"

No longer caring about the other mutants, Marie ran from her hiding place.  Another bright blast of red struck out but not at her or Logan. Sabretooth ran off with a snarl as the man fired at him.  Apparently they really had been trying to help Logan.

Marie dropped to her knees beside Logan with the snow whipping around them.  She carefully stroked his hair away from the jagged slash that ran from Logan's forehead down to his cheek bone.  In the length of a few heartbeats the horrible gash began to heal and once again the skin was perfectly smooth.  A little remaining blood the only proof it was ever damaged.

"Logan, can ya hear me?  Logan, please," she begged him.  The voice of the man with strange glasses came from behind her.

"We should get him back to the plane."

Marie turned to look at the man that spoke.  "Who the hell are ya people? What do ya want?" she shouted in distress.

"We are from a school for mutants. We only want to help you," the dark skinned woman explained.

Marie looked down at Logan in concern.  "Can ya help him?"

"We have medical facilities.  You'll both be safe there," the man assured her.

Marie wasn't sure if she could believe that but she was sure that staying out here with Sabretooth lurking nearby and Logan unconscious wasn't safe for either of them.  So, with a resigned nod, she agreed, "Okay."

"I am Storm and this is Cyclops.  What is your name, child?"

People running in skin tight leather and blasting things with their eyes was not inspiring her trust.  "Rogue."

Cyclops pulled Logan up into a sitting position then attempted to lift him up over his shoulder.  He nearly fell down and didn't even come close to lifting Logan.  "This guy eat lead for breakfast?" he griped. Stepping around behind Logan, he wrapped his arms around Logan's chest and settled for dragging him backwards through the snow.  They walked a short distance through the snow to a clearing.  Marie stopped and stared dumbfounded.

"Ya call this a plane! What kind of a school has a jet a like that?" she demanded.

"A very well funded school,"  Cyclops puffed, out of breath.

Logan awoke to the sound of someone moving around him.  He wanted to get an idea of what was happening around him before making a move.  The information immediately available to him was the smell of an unfamiliar woman and all too familiar stench of anti-septic.  Keeping his eyes closed and breathing steady, Logan searched the room for sounds.  His gathering of information was cut short by the sharp sting of a needle entering his arm.

Launching himself off the table, he grabbed the doctor by the throat. Holding her in front of him as a shield and using the wall to cover his back, Logan quickly scanned the lab.  Seeing no other threats in the room, he ran for the door, leaving the woman choking and gasping on the floor.  Logan ran down the metal corridor and a panel in the wall opened as he moved passed it.  Pressing himself against the wall, he edged towards the opening.  A quick peek around the corner, revealed only an empty elevator.

The elevator doors opened to hard wood floors and expensive furniture. Keeping his back to the wall, Logan moved out into the hallway.  Marie had to be here somewhere, Logan was not going to let himself think she may have died out there.  A bell rang loudly and the sound of foot steps filled the hallway ahead.  He dashed behind a pillar, pressing himself against it tightly.  Unaware of Logan, a group of children stampeded by laughing and talking.  Logan was confused at the sight of happy children in the building but he needed to find Marie and figure that out later.  Ready to search the entire building if necessary, Logan decided to start with the nearest hallway.  Proceeding down the hall on silent feet, he looked into windows of several empty rooms and another room full of apparently happy teenagers.

Logan could smell her now, Marie had been down here and she was still nearby.  Reaching a room where her scent was strong, he threw the door open.  A classroom full of teenagers turned to look at him.  The only one Logan had any interest in jumped up out of her seat.

"Logan!"

Marie decided these people were logical to a fault.  No matter how much she argued they insisted she could do nothing to help Logan because he was unconscious.  They also insisted she go to class because she had not graduated.  She had not been to school in nearly nine months and after the things that had happened recently she really didn't see much point.  Finally she conceded, too tired to continue arguing about it.  Maybe she could take a nap on her desk.  Marie
sighed in exasperation, walking down the hallway to Miss Monroe's history class. Opening the door, she walked into the classroom.

Miss Monroe looked up at the interruption. "Please, take a seat."

In front of the class Miss Monroe continued to drone on, something about Christianity and the Romans but Marie's mind wandered far away from Emperor's.  Professor Xavier thought there was hope for her to learn control of her mutation.  She would be able to touch again without fear.  Marie wanted to show Logan that she could touch without hurting him.  The impulse to run a hand over Logan's bare chest would be a lot more difficult to control if she knew it wouldn't hurt him.
Remembering that he was lying unconscious downstairs, Marie's thoughts turned to worry for Logan.  She jumped in her seat when the door suddenly burst inward.  Turning to look, her eyes widened at the object of her worry standing half-naked in the doorway.

"Logan!"  Marie was instantly out of her chair.  Stopping in front of him, she remembered the room full of people behind her.  Marie turned to find everyone staring.

Miss Monroe smiled softly. "Go on, Rogue."

Logan pressed his hand into her back and guided her into the hall.

"Wow, who's the babe?" a girl leered.

"All right everyone your atten - "  Miss Monroe's voice cut off as the door closed.

In the hallway, Marie looked up into Logan's worried eyes when his hands came down on her shoulders.

"Are you okay?  Rogue?" he looked at her questioningly.

Marie looked down at her shoes, trying not to be distracted by the bare chest she had just been imagining.  "I'm fine.  These people are kinda weird but I'm fine.  I didn't tell 'em my name, I wasn't sure if I should trust 'em."

He nodded solemnly.  "Tell me what happened."

"Sabretooth, the big furry guy.  He knocked ya out.  Then the man and woman from the bar, Miss Monroe," she gestured to the classroom, "and Mister Summers chased him off.  I wasn't sure if we'd be safe here but ya weren't waking up and Sabretooth was still out there.  It was snowin' and..." she rambled.

"You did what was best at the time," Logan assured her.

"Ya aren't mad I let 'em bring ya here?" she asked uncertainly.

"No, I'm glad yer okay."

"Are ya okay, Logan?  I mean, ya got hit in the head with a tree!"

"I gotta hard head, kid," he assured her.

A older man dressed in a suit entered the hallway in a wheelchair. "Hello, Logan."

Logan scowled at the interruption and turned to face the man.  "Who're you?"

"I'm Professor Charles Xavier. Won't you join me in my office?" he  suggested pleasantly.

Logan opened his mouth to say something contrary but a small hand on his arm made him stop.

"Why don't ya go talk to him?  I'm okay here," she encouraged him.

Marie did seem to be all right and she wasn't afraid so Logan allowed Professor Xavier to lead him down the hall.  He could hear Marie open the door and go back into the room as he walked away.

"Where are we?"

The Professor explained while showing Logan around the mansion.   "You're in Westchester, New York.  This is my school, Xavier's  Institute for Gifted Youngsters.  My people brought you here for medical attention and to protect you from Magneto.  Sabretooth, the man that attacked you, works for Magneto."

"What would this Magneto guy want with Rogue?" Logan questioned.

"Rogue?  Why do you think it is her, he wants?"

"She had a scrape with Sabretooth a few days ago."

"What did you want with the girl, Erik?" Xavier mumbled quietly.   Entering his office, Xavier was lost in thought, until the  presence of several minds just outside the door interrupted.  The  door opened as he mentally beckoned them to enter.

Logan tensed as the man and woman from the bar and the woman from the  lab entered.  He held himself ready to fight or run should it be  necessary.

"This is Scott Summers, he is called Cyclops.  Ororo Monroe also known  as Storm and Doctor Jean Grey," Xavier introduced.

"Yeah, we already met," Logan said, glaring at each of them.

"They were my first students and now they teach others to control and  make use of their powers.  Many of the students here have unusual and  dangerous gifts like your young friend, Rogue.  I believe we may be  able to help you as well, Logan."

"What makes you think I need help?"

"It must must be very difficult to wander from place to place for  fifteen years, never knowing the truth about yourself."

"What the hell do you know about it?" Logan snarled, taking a  threatening step towards Xavier.

Scott was ready to grab Logan and started forward but Xavier waved him  off.  "We all have gifts here, Logan.  Since I was a child I have been  able to read thoughts and control minds."

Taking a nervous step back, Logan snapped, "You better stay outta my  head."

"Yes.  Yes, of course," Xavier easily conceded. "I have a lot of  resources at my disposal.  So, if you will allow Jean to examine you, I will do everything I can to help you find your past."

Logan examined the Professor closely looking for any sign of a nefarious purpose.  He glanced at the others in the room but no one gave any indication that it was lie.  Nodding slightly, Logan agreed to the testing that he hoped would bring him closer to his goal.

Walking down the metal corridor to the lab, Logan glanced around uneasily as they approached the room filled with needles, scalpels and drugs.  He needed a distraction badly and the perfect thing was right beside him.  A little flirting with the lovely Doctor Grey and he might not pop claws and run for the nearest exit.

"So, what's your gift, Jeannie?"
 

Marie prepared herself for more boring history as she watched Logan walk down the hallway beside Professor Xavier's wheelchair.  Opening the door, she quietly returned to her seat in class.

The girl beside her leaned over and whispered, "Hey, who's Mr. Luscious?"

Marie smiled and looked away bashfully.  Now that she knew Logan was all right the images of her bare hands stroking that well sculpted chest returned.  Marie was still daydreaming when the bell rang and students filed out of the class room.  Picking up her books, she followed them into the hallway.  A thin, brown-haired boy walked up to her and introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Bobby.  What's your name?"

"I'm Rogue."

"Welcome to Mutant High, Rogue.  Can I show you around?" Bobby offered.

"I could use a guide or I might get lost," Marie said, feeling a little overwhelmed at the size of the mansion and happy for the offer.

"Don't worry, I'll show you around,"  He gestured for her to walk with  him.

Marie tried to remember everything Bobby pointed out.  A compass and map would be good thing to have around here.  After giving her the grand tour, Bobby excused himself to do homework.

At dinner Marie wanted to join the conversations but all the talk about clothes, music and movies were things she had not thought of since leaving home.  Feeling awkward and out of place, Marie sat quietly and ate her food before going up to the room she would be sharing with two other girls.

Tired from the long day, she went into the bathroom and wallowed in the seemingly endless supply of hot water pouring out of the shower.  Drying off and changing into borrowed bed clothes, Marie walked over to the bookshelf.  Her new roommates appeared to have a rather interesting mixture of books.  Marie pulled a small paper back called 'Wild Seed'  off the shelf and laid down on the bed to read.  The words on the page  began to blur after only a few pages until she could no longer keep her  eyes open and drifted off to sleep.

The bottle and a glass were Logan's only company as he sat out on the front steps looking up at the stars.  He leaned back on his elbows wishing for a cigar.  Feeling restless, Logan wandered around the mansion grounds in the dark, thinking about where he would go from here until the stars began to fade into the lightening sky as the sun edged out the darkness.

Logan sat down on the steps again with a glass of scotch in his hand and watched the clouds turn muted tints of purple and fiery shades of orange and red.  Marie had been right, these people were weird but at least it seemed safe enough.  They might even be able to help her with her mutation.  Thoughts of Marie with touchable skin stirred up an interesting image.  Logan could see himself kissing those soft, smiling lips of hers.  He nearly growled as someone approached and disturbed his daydream.

"You need somethin'?" Logan asked.

"What are you doing out here?" Scott wondered aloud.

"Just havin' a drink.  You want some?"

"A little early for drinking, isn't it?"

"Maybe we can get you some milk, One Eye," Logan offered ungraciously.

"I don't know why the Professor is helping you."

"I don't know either.  I didn't ask for anyone's help."

Marie's voice interrupted before things could progress from barely  civil to outright hostile.  "Y'all havin' a party out here?"

Scott said, "Good morning, Rogue."

Logan looked over his shoulder at her. "Hey, kid.  You sleep okay?"

"Mornin', Mister Summers," she said walking past him.  Marie continued down the steps and sat down beside Logan.  "Not really.  I was havin' a nightmare."

Frowning, Logan squeezed her shoulder. "You okay?"

Marie rested her head on Logan's arm and nodded against him.  "I'm just real tired."  Looking up at him, Marie added, Ya look tired too."

Logan tipped his head down and took a deep breath of the clean scent of her hair while his hand smoothed over her hair and shoulders.  "I been out here most of the night, didn't feel like sleepin'."

"Hmm... I wish I had known I coulda come out and sat with ya.  I was tryin' not to wake my roommates.  Oh, I'll have to introduce ya!  I know ya will just love Jubilee's bright yella jacket,"  Marie laughed  at the look of doubt on his face.

Behind them Scott frowned while they sat together and talked as if  they were alone.  He watched them closely for a minute before he turned  and went inside.

After breakfast Marie wandered outside to absorb a little sunshine.  Finding a bench, Marie sat down to enjoy the quiet morning.  The soft  breeze fluttered her hair and scarf as she sat with her eyes closed and her head tipped back, letting the sun shine on her face.  Marie smiled when she felt someone sit down next to her.

"Long time no see," Marie said opening her eyes to look at Logan.

"I need to get out of here for a while.  You wanna go for a ride?"

She had been thinking about skipping out on class anyway and going for a ride with Logan would have to be a lot more interesting than  mathematical equations.  It was an easy decision.  "Yeah, let's get  outta here."

Logan led the way over to the garage, pulling a set of keys out of his pocket and sitting down behind the wheel of a car.  Getting into the passenger side, Marie put on her seat belt as Logan started the car.  He drove through the gates and headed for the city.

"So, where are we goin'?"

"Have you ever seen the Statue of Liberty?"

"No.  Well, I've seen it on TV," she answered.

"You're going to have a great view."

A while later, Logan parked the car in a nearly empty lot and Marie wondered why they were stopping here.  She was about to ask when he got out of the car and came around to open her door.  Logan held it open and gestured for her to get out.  Marie stepped out of the car frowning in confusion as a grandfatherly looking man approached them.

"Hello, my dear," he greeted her.

"Who - " she stopped and stared at Logan in shock.

He laughed maliciously as his face and body lengthened into the form of a tall, thin woman.   Normal skin transformed into bright blue scales and dark hair smoothed out into a deep orange.
 
"Oh!"

The needle stung as it entered her neck and everything drifted away into darkness.

"Cerebro had been... improved."

"You've done well, Mystique."

He had already checked her room, classes, and the mansion grounds but no one had seen Marie all morning.  Fear knotted into a tight, heavy ball in the pit of his stomach each time someone gave a negative answer.  He didn't think Marie would just take off without saying something to him.  Stalking into the dining hall full of teenagers eating lunch, Logan scanned the room for Marie.  A glowing yellow jacket moving towards a table across the room caught his attention.

"Hey, you!" he called out, moving to intercept the girl.

The girl in the bright jacket turned to see Logan charging at her.  "Woah, dude.  Me Jubilee.  You Tarzan.  What's up?"

"Where's Rogue?" Logan growled at her impatiently.

Jubilee shrugged.  "I dunno.  She was already gone when I woke up and  she didn't show for class."

Logan stalked back out the way he came before she could say anything else.  Worry and fear for Marie filled his thoughts and Logan walked blindly down the hall while his mind raced to think of anywhere else she could have gone.  Finding himself outside of a door that smelled like Xavier, Logan opened the door and walked into the office without knocking, interrupting Jean and the Professor.

"Where is she?"

"Where is who, Logan?" Jean asked bewildered.

"Rogue.  Where is she?" Logan demanded again.

Xavier's eyes lost focus for a moment as he searched for her.  "She's gone," he answered puzzled.

In the hallway outside Cerebro, Logan fidgeted anxiously.  Ororo, Scott and Jean stood quietly, watching him pace in agitation.

"So, what the hell does this thing do?"

"It allows the Professor to locate mutant brain waves over long distances.  He used it to track Sabretooth to you," Jean explained.

The portal to Cerebro opened and everyone turned in anticipation of an answer.  No one had expect it to reveal Professor Xavier lying unconscious on the floor.

"Professor!"  Jean ran to him and reached for him with her mind.  She could feel him faintly as if he were a great distance away.  "Scott, help me."

Scott picked up their mentor and carefully sat him in his wheelchair.   Logan trailed behind as they pushed the chair down to the medlab.  After watching Xavier get settled on an examination table, Logan went  up to his room.

He needed to find Rogue before this Magneto guy found her if he hadn't already.  His blood boiled at the thought of her being harmed in any way.  Xavier couldn't find her now and the others were too busy tending to him so Logan decided he would just have to start looking under every rock.  Putting on his leather jacket, Logan went straight for the front door.  He opened it only to have a man fall into his arms.

"I'm looking for Doctor Jean Grey," the man gasped.

Scrutinizing the obviously ill man, Logan couldn't guess what might be the matter with him.  The man clung to him tightly, trying to stay upright.  Grudgingly, Logan was half carrying and half dragging the still gasping man over to the elevator.  Then Logan stumbled with the man along the corridor into the medlab.

"Hey, Jeannie!  This guy..."

Storm and Jean still standing at Xavier's bed side, turned around when  Logan called out.  Jean saw someone she never would have expected to see here.  "Senator Kelly?  This table here, Logan," Jean directed him.

Logan helped Senator Kelly up onto a examination table next to Xavier  then moved away, glad to no longer be used as a crutch.  He went to stand silently across the room, watching Jean take samples and run tests.  Logan could see from the look on Jean's face that whatever was happening to the man couldn't be good.

"Senator, I want you to relax."

Jean stood at the end of the bed and held her palms on each side of his head.  Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on his thoughts.  The images of Kelly's forced mutation and escape entered her mind.  Jean gasped at the strain and broke the connection.  She allowed herself to rest against the supporting arm Logan put around her waist for a moment.

"What did you see?"

In the doorway, Scott glared at the man holding Jean.  He cleared his throat to get their attention.  Steadying herself, Jean stepped away from Logan.

"Try to rest now, Senator."  Jean smiled soothingly at him before walking with Logan over to the door.  Rubbing her aching temples for a moment, she said, "Scott, have everyone meet in the Professor's office.  I'll be there in a few minutes."

There had been so much going on with Rogue, the Professor and now Senator Kelly.  There hadn't been time to find out what caused her mentor to collapse.  Jean walked purposefully down the hall into Cerebro.  Opening a panel in the console, she removed a contaminated cylinder.  Someone had breached security but only someone with a recognized retinal pattern could enter this room.

"Mystique."

Jean entered the tension filled office and everyone waited anxiously for an explanation.

"Senator Kelly is dying, his body is rejecting an unnatural mutation and his cells are breaking down.  Magneto forced this mutation with a machine that drew on his powers, severely weakening him.  Cerebro's security has been compromised and Mystique is the only one I know of that could get past the retinal scanner."

"Mystique?"

"She is a shapeshifter, a part of Magneto's Brotherhood," Jean explained to Logan.

Unable to contain his energy any longer, Logan paced the length of the room.  "One of Magneto's goons walked right in here, tampered with Cerebro, putting Xavier in a coma and walked out with Rogue?  Damn it, Xavier said she would be safe here!"

Ignoring Logan's rant, Ororo asked, "What use would she be to Magneto?"

"Rogue touched me before and she had my mutation for a while, if he touched her..." Logan trailed off, afraid to complete the thought.

"Then he could use Rogue as a battery for his machine," Scott finished.

"Now, that he has tested the machine, who is he planning to mutate?  Magneto would want to make a statement.  Something big - " Jean thought out loud.

"The Summit was on the news earlier.  It's tonight.  World leaders all in one place.  It's the kind of thing Magneto would do," Scott said.

"What are we waiting for then?  We have to find her!"  Logan demanded.

"If we're right, there are a lot of people in danger.  Rogue isn't our only concern here," Scott tried to explain.

"She is MY only concern."

Feeling heavy and tired, Marie slowly opened her eyes then wished she had left them closed.  She was alone in a small room with her bare hands chained to two upright posts in front of her.  Marie was pulling experimentally at the cuffs on her wrists when a door creaked open and the grandfatherly man from the parking lot entered her little prison.  He didn't look so grandfatherly now, wearing some sort of odd helmet and a cape.

"Good, your awake and just in time to meet your fate."  He frowned and admonished her, "None of that, my dear, girl," when Marie pulled at her bonds again.

"What do you want with me?"

"Ah..." he smiled a little sadly, "I am going to make you a martyr for the mutant cause.  Now, if you will excuse me, there is a nuisance I must attend to before we begin."

Magneto disappeared through the hatch, leaving Marie alone again. Pulling at her shackles, she looked around for anything that might be helpful, but the room was empty except for her and her restraints. Scraping her skin raw by trying to pull her wrists out of the cuffs  obviously wasn't helping so Marie changed tactics.

"Help!  Please, someone help me!  I need help!" Marie screamed, not  knowing if anyone could hear her, not knowing her screams were  fueling Logan's rage.  She was still screaming when Magneto came back  into the room, ready to carry out his plan.

"Please, don't do this," she begged, trying to move away from him as Magneto reached out with bare hands to touch her face.  "No!"  Marie squeezed her eyes shut and tried to resist the memories and power flowing into her against her will.    The air around Marie's hands shimmered to life and the metal bonds directed her hands into position, locking them in place.  Finally, Magneto stumbled away from her weakly and through the small door.  The walls surrounding Marie flew apart as the rings on the machine whirled to life.  A bright, pulsating light began to grow.

The pain started in her head and traveled down through her body.  Marie moaned in distress, unable to draw enough breath to scream.  Her muscles trembled as she tried to obey the instinct to move away from pain.  Her heart and lungs slowed as even the will to struggle was stripped away, and the function they began at her birth came to an end.  Marie let the darkness envelop her and sweep away the pain.  Then nerves registered a touch and sluggishly sent a signal to the brain.  The brain not yet surrendered to the death of its body relayed a  final message.

Marie took a deep breath and awoke to the sensation of bare skin against her face.  Magneto had touched her but this body carried the scent of Logan and leather, his solid chest, arms and his mind. Gasping in shock, Marie quickly pushed herself back and broke their connection.  She looked down horrified at Logan's tattered body.  Logan was covered in awful gashes and blood flowed steadily through tears in his uniform.  Marie did not even see Magneto laying in the wreckage of his machine.  She crawled over to Logan, unable to think through the riot of images and voices, Marie rested her head against Logan's chest  and listened to the soft thump of his heart.  She lay there while the confused mess of senses and memories blocked out her surroundings.

...fear and confusion, struggling against soldiers; Charles walking away, so young and foolishly optimistic; corpses barely recognizable as human; metal bending and twisting with a thought; herded and packed into a train car like cattle; never let it happen again; warm, pale and soft skin under large dark hands; flesh parting under the sharp edge of a scalpel; claws piercing flesh, choking, gasping breath; Jean's long, thin legs, curving softly into her hips; kissing Marie, bare and smiling lips; protect, safe, can't let her die, won't let her die...

A pair of kind and gentle hands helped her stand, and a soft voice spoke, "Jean will take care of him, child.  Come with me."

Marie stumbled along blindly, letting Storm hold her up and guide her. During the flight back to the mansion Marie sorted through foreign images of things seen previously only in history books.  Logan's memories were more familiar and less frightening than the first time and Marie emerged from the thoughts to place herself at his side. She sat staring at nothing and absently stroked Logan's leather  covered leg.

Jean bandaged the worst of the wounds on Logan's torso and cast worried glances at Rogue.  Logan was alive and breathing, so little else could be done for him until they arrived at the mansion.

The jet safely in the hanger, Scott rushed back to help Jean move Logan inside.  Storm took Rogue by the arm, guiding her weary feet towards the infirmary.  The girl would not sit down, but stood a short distance away from the gurney.  Between a little muscle and a lot of telekinesis Scott and Jean managed to get Logan up onto the examination table. Jean cut away the remains of Logan's uniform and tossed it aside. Grabbing a sterile needle from a supply cabinet, Jean cleaned a site on  Logan's arm for the IV.

A familiar and growly voice that was now echoing inside of her mind  became agitated as the sights and smells of the medlab came into  focus.  "He doesn't need medical attention," Rogue stated curtly,  wanting Jean to put the needle away.

Jean spared her little more than a glance before returning her attention to Logan.  Opening the package, Jean removed the needle and took Logan's arm into her hand.  Leaning in close to insert the needle, she startled at a low growl behind her.  "Uh, Ororo?  Would  you take Rogue upstairs to rest?" It wasn't a question.  The girl had obviously absorbed Logan's aversion to all things medical and it wouldn't do to have her interfering.

Storm carefully took Rogue by the arm again and led her upstairs to her room.  Opening the door quietly, Storm guided Rogue over to the bed.  "Do you wish for me to help you?" Storm whispered, trying not to wake Kitty and Jubilee.  The girl shook her head numbly at the question and Storm reassured her, "It will be all right, do not worry.  Try to sleep," then went out and closed the door.

In the bathroom, Marie stared at her changed reflection in the mirror, examining the bright streak of white for a few minutes then she  mechanically washed her face, and brushed her teeth.  Borrowed healing  factor or not, the strain had caught up with her.  Dragging herself  over to the bed, she got under the covers still dressed.  Marie lay in bed listening to her roommates breathing, heartbeats and hair grate across their pillows, her own heartbeat like thunder.  The heating and lights inside the room emitted an irritating whine.  The telephone and electric lines outside the window gave off a maddening buzz.  The untamed wind tossed trees and leaves about wildly, making them scrape and crunch.

Marie suddenly realized why Logan would choose to spend most of his life in the solitude of the wilderness.  It must be nearly impossible to live with such overwhelming senses surrounded by scents and sounds of people and their civilization.  Closing her eyes, Marie tried to focus on her own heartbeat, letting it drown out all other sounds.

When Marie next opened her eyes, the clock on the night stand said it was nearly four thirty in the morning.  The intensity of Logan's senses had already faded to a tolerable level in the few hours she slept.  The sounds made by a sleeping Kitty and Jubilee were no longer nerve racking.  Marie got out of bed and carefully peered out into the hallway.  She stealthily slipped out of her room and quickly made her  way down the stairs.

The elevator doors quietly opened to reveal nothing but darkness. Marie stepped through, letting the doors close behind her.  She used  her hands to feel along the wall and slowly moved down the corridor. Reaching the end, Marie walked through the door into the medlab.  The dim light of machines illuminated two figures lying on tables, draped with white blankets.

Without hesitating, Marie walked over to the table where Logan lay sleeping and climbed up to sit on the edge, carefully avoiding tubes and wires.  Ignoring Xavier's presence on the other table, she focused on the sound of Logan's breathing, then adjusted her own to match. Marie rested her hand on Logan's blanket covered chest and closed her eyes.  She yawned and wished there was enough room to lay down with Logan.

Almost an hour later, a voice startled her out of a light doze.  "Rogue?"

Marie got down off the table and tried not to look like she had been  caught napping.  Holding her head up and looking straight at Scott, she  said, "Morning."

"You shouldn't be down here," Scott said, frowning.

"You gonna tattle on me?" she smirked with a shrug.  "I was just  checking on him and I'm going back to bed now," she stated, striding  out of the lab confidently.

Scott sighed and shook his head as he watched Rogue walk out as if she  owned the place.

When Marie woke up again, her room was bright with the afternoon sun.  Kitty and Jubilee had already been in class for a few hours, but the  nights events apparently were enough to excuse Marie.  She got out of  bed, slowly stretching her muscles and decided a long hot shower was the first order of the day.  Wishing for her duffel bag that was still  in Logan's truck, Marie dressed in borrowed jeans and a long sleeved  shirt with her own gloves and scarf then went downstairs in search of  food.  She was ransacking the refrigerator, looking for some leftovers  when a voice interrupted her scavenger hunt.

"Good afternoon, Rogue."

"Professor!" she exclaimed, surprised he was awake.  Turning around to  look at him, she asked, "Yer okay?"

"Yes, quite all right.  Jean has told me about last night.  Are you  suffering ill effects from the absorptions?"

"Yeah, I was just wondering if ya had any caviar in here.  Ugh!" she  scrunched her face up in disgust.

"Erik always did have a taste for the finer things in life," Xavier  smiled at the memory.  "Come to my office when you have eaten and I  will do what I can to help you," he said and wheeled out of the  kitchen.

Returning to her rummaging, Marie collected the necessary condiments  and other items to make a sandwich.  She piled on the roast beef until  Logan would have been happy with it, and then took her plate over to  the counter.  Marie sat down on a barstool and contentedly stuffed her  mouth with the oversized sandwich until she was interrupted again.

"Good afternoon, Rogue."

Marie choked down a mouth full before speaking.  "Hi, Doctor Grey.  How's Logan?"

"He is well on his way to healing," Jean assured her.  "How are you  feeling, Rogue?  I didn't get a chance to examine you."

"Nothin' to worry about, Red.  Logan healed me," she said, taking  another bite.

Jean nodded uncertainly, a little shocked by the nickname.  "Well,  uh... I'll let you finish eating.  I should get back to the lab."

Marie finished her sandwich, gulped down a glass of water and then went  to find Professor Xavier.  In his office, she sat down and he asked her  to relax.  The Professor raised his hands to Marie's head and merely  sat quietly with his eyes closed.  A little while later, she left his office feeling somewhat disappointed.  She had not been expecting that  at all.  Marie wasn't sure what she had been expecting Xavier to do,  certainly not a magic show but something a little more exciting than  sitting there in silence.

Happy to be missing out on school, Marie went up to her empty room and  lay down on the bed.  She tried listening to some of Jubilee and  Kitty's music to distract herself but their taste in CD's gave her a  headache.  The book, she had been reading the day before still lay on  the night stand.  Picking it up, Marie wished for useful healing and shapeshifting powers like the woman in the book, she read intently  until Kitty and Jubilee came back from class.

"Hey, Rogue," they both greeted her, throwing their homework on the  desk.

Marie set her book aside and sat up to talk to them.  "Hi, guys."

Kitty gasped, "What did you do to hair?"

"Cool, it's definitely you, babe," Jubilee was impressed.

"Where were you yesterday?  They wouldn't tell us where you were or  anything," Kitty complained.

"The guy you came with..." Jubilee prompted.

"Logan," Marie supplied.

"Riiighttt, Logan.  He was running around here like a rabid animal  yesterday looking for you," Jubilee told her.

Marie tried to keep the explanation short and sweet, without some  of the more fantastic details.  "I got kidnaped by Magneto and he  almost killed me with this machine.  It sucked my life out and turned  my hair white.  I almost died, but then Logan touched me and I absorbed his healin' ability."

Kitty and Jubilee blinked, stared at Rogue and then glanced at each  other.  The new girl had an impressive imagination, her storytelling  skills could use a little work though.  That was a very interesting way  to cover up a hair dye experiment gone awry and the best damn excuse  for missing school they had ever heard.

Marie added, "Logan's still unconscious in the medlab."

"Unconscious?" Jubilee sounded skeptical.

"Yeah, when someone touches my skin I absorb their memories and  energy," she explained sadly, wiggling her gloved fingers in front of  them to demonstrate.  "Logan knew what would happen from touchin' me  once before, but he did it anyway."

It sounded kind of like one of Kitty's romance novels and she sighed  dreamily, "That is so sweet."

The next morning before dawn, Marie crept down to the medlab again.  Logan groaned softly when she sat down on the table beside him.  Even  after being witness to Logan's ability to heal, Marie had not expected  Logan to wake so soon.

"Logan?" she whispered.

Moving his head towards the sound, Logan groaned again. "Mmm..."

"It's okay, Logan.  We're safe now."

Logan's eyes slowly fluttered open.  "Mmree?" he rasped.

"I'm here."

"You 'kay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay.  I just needed to see you."

He blinked at her heavily before nodding slightly.  Logan reached for  Marie's hair and wrapped a streak of white around his fingers.

"I think it makes me look kinda exotic."

"Didn't nee' help bein' beau'ful," he mumbled sleepily.

Marie smiled at the compliment and ran gloved fingers through Logan's  hair.  "Ya go on back to sleep now," she ordered.  Marie slid down  from the table, getting ready to leave but continued to pet his hair  for a few minutes until Logan's eyes closed and he drifted back to  sleep.

Scott Summers, leader of the X-Men and chief worrier, woke long before  dawn with thoughts of improving school security floating through his  mind.  There had to be something he could do to keep Mystique from  having free reign around here.  Scott got out of bed quietly and pulled  on his clothes, being careful not to wake Jean.  A little patrol of the  mansion would ease his worry about the children's safety.

After making some coffee, Scott wandered through the upper level of  the mansion, sipping from his mug.  Satisfied that all was well, he  took the elevator downstairs.  Scott stopped at the medlab door when  he saw Rogue sitting with Logan again.  Unlike the previous morning, Logan was awake and had a lock of Rogue's white hair in his hand.  Scott could hear Rogue say, "I think it makes me look kinda exotic."

Logan's reply was too quiet for Scott to hear but Rogue seemed to like  whatever he said to her.  Scott watched them with apprehension as Rogue  began to pet Logan's hair.  Scott headed for the garage to contemplate  the situation without bothering to admonish Rogue.
 

Jean stared bleary eyed into her first cup of coffee for the day.  Ororo sat down beside her, wide awake and pleasant.  Ororo would think  this was an acceptable hour to have a conversation.  She was one of  those damned early to rise and happy about it people.  She didn't even  drink coffee and there was just something fundamentally wrong with  that, Jean thought moodily.

"Isn't it a beautiful day, Jean?" Ororo asked brightly.

Proven right again this morning, Jean sighed and grunted.

"Oh, first cup?  Sorry.  I have papers to grade.  I shall see you this  afternoon," Ororo said, leaving Jean to commune with her coffee.

Jean took another drink of liquid ambrosia before resting her head on  the table.  After finishing a second cup and pouring herself a third,  Jean decided it was time to check on her patient.  Down in the medlab,  Jean set her coffee on the desk and moved over to Logan.  She carefully  peeled back bandages and found perfectly healed skin underneath.  Jean was amazed and intrigued at Logan's incredible ability to heal.  She  was running curious fingers over a patch of smooth skin that had  previously been a gaping wound in his abdomen when Logan's hand  suddenly closed over her wrist, stopping her inspection.

Jean smiled, "Hey.  How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Fine.  Where's Rogue?" he sat up and looked around as if he expected  the girl to be there.

"It's early, she's probably still asleep," Jean replied.

Nodding, he complained, "I'm starving and thirsty."

"After what you survived, we can't have that.  Let me find you some  clothes and then we'll get you some breakfast."

In the game room, all of the resident teenagers gathered for some  goofing off and relaxation after class.  Several of them stood  around the foozball table taunting one another over their scoring  abilities or lack there of.  At another table a board game was  going on and the players were loudly arguing over their made up rules.

"Ha!  I've got three queens.  I win again!" Marie crowed and grinned  widely as she won yet another game of poker.  "Dang!" she banged her  fist on the table, "I should have played fer money instead of snacks."

Across the table, Bobby shook his head in disbelief as Rogue added  her newly won pot to the mountain of pretzels in front of her.  He  collected the cards to shuffle again and watched Rogue eat from her  winnings.  "Remind me to never play strip poker with you."  Her face  fell a little at the comment and he realized it hadn't been the  smartest thing to say to a girl with deadly skin.  "I didn't mean... I  just meant that..."

"I know what ya meant, Bobby.  It's okay.  Deal those cards so we can  get on with yer butt kickin'."

"Cheatin' at poker, Rogue?" A voice accused her.

Marie turned to see Logan eyeing her winnings with a smirk.  She  smiled and put on an indignant air, "I do not cheat!" then she  snickered and grinned slyly in complete contrast to the innocent  tone of voice, "Does usin' yer memories count as cheatin'?"

Logan clenched his teeth to keep from smiling in front of the kids  at the mischievous look on Marie's face.  With the slightest tilt  of his head, Logan gestured towards the door and when Marie nodded  her understanding he walked out into the hall to wait.

Crossing his arms and narrowed his eyes, Bobby concluded.  "So,  that's why I can't beat you."

Marie shrugged and tried in vain to look innocent.  "I'll let ya keep  my share.  See ya later," she told him, waving as she left the room.

"Can we go somewhere?" Logan asked, when she came into the hall.

"There shouldn't be anyone in my room right now.  Will that due?"

Logan nodded and let Marie lead him upstairs away from all the  noise of teenagers playing and talking.  In the bedroom, he looked  around at the posters of half dressed boys and dangerously leaning  stacks of CD's, wondering how she could stand to be in here with  those other girls.

"Are ya all healed up?" she asked after they sat d