Disclaimer: I don't own any of the X Men. But I wouldn't mind renting Logan.
Author's Note: I told you, my faithful readers, that I would be stepping away from fanfic for a while, and I did. This story is actually one of my earliest Rogan pieces that I ultimately decided not to post due to the way I represented Logan in this story (or just certain parts of it). I felt that he was too OOC…or at least, too out of character for the type of man we (Rogan-lovers) all imagine him to be. Now, as cuddly and sweet as he was in the initial trilogy (and even in Origins), I never understood why the movie creators wanted us to think Logan harbored such severe self-hate. We never saw him do anything terrible. Even when he was a part of Stryker's team of mercenaries in Origins, we never saw Logan, himself, do anything bad. Yeah, he was with them when they did bad stuff, but I never saw HIM do anything that would truly enable him to say "I'm good at what I do, and what I do isn't nice." So, in my head, I started wondering…what if he DID do bad things? What kind of bad things would he do if Marie met him before he found his moral compass? What if he actually struggled with his morality? This story is an AU that answers that question (at least, in my own head).
You may hate Logan in this, but I encourage you to keep an open mind.
Logan was a good soldier. Not because he wanted to be…or even because he was
born to be.
It was because he didnʼt know how to be anything else.
Heʼd tried relationships here and there and attempted to live some semblance of a
"normal" life, but nothing seemed to fall in place.
Logan was a skilled soldier and natural hunter. He could execute an order without the
blink of an eye or a question to his superior about the nature of the mission.
Throughout his abnormally lengthy tenure in the United States military, he was told
repeatedly how great of a soldier he was.
He was strong, smart, obedient, and never ever questioned an order. He was also, quite literally, fearless. He wasn't afraid of pain. He wasn't afraid of death. The only true fear he had was of a cage and being locked up like the animal the world thought he was.
Thanks to the government's new Mutant Inclusion Act, he didnʼt have to hide who or
what he was from his military superiors. In fact, the US army seemed all too eager to
recruit young mutants with powers that would supply them with an obvious advantage in
war.
From teleporters to telepaths, the military was offering unprecedented incentives to get
citizens with "super powers" to join them.
After a century and a half of devoted service to the army, Logan received a new
promotion to the Military Science division. The pay increase was huge, so he didnʼt
mind the fact that he was going to end up working and taking orders from a bunch of
nerds in white coats.
As usual, he didnʼt ask questions.
He reported to the large, pristine building and was shown into an expansive lab, where
he met his new "boss", Dr. William Stryker.
"Colonel James Howlett, reporting for duty, sir" said Logan with a stiff salute.
Stryker smirked and saluted back, "Welcome, colonel."
Logan relaxed slightly, "Seems to be quite an operation you have goinʼ here."
Dr. Stryker nodded and looked around and began leading him through the large lab,
showing him room after room, "Tell me, Colonel…what do you believe the greatest
resource of the United States Army is?"
"Soldiers", answered Logan quickly.
Stryker smirked, "Iʼm impressed. Most other soldiers immediately say guns…tanks…
hummers…"
Logan sighed and looked around as they continued walking, "Those soldiers sound like
theyʼve never seen a day on the battlefield."
"And how many days on the battlefield have you seen?"
Logan avoided his gaze as he continued looking around, "More than you wanna know."
"Which wars have you fought in?"
He cleared his throat, "Every one since the Civil War…"
"Iʼm sorry?"
Logan looked around and lowered his voice, "Iʼm a mutant. Iʼve been in the army for
over a hundred years. Is that gonna be a problem for you?"
Stryker smiled, almost euphorically, "No. Not at all. Actually, having a man of
you...talents so close to my operation can prove to be beneficial for the both of us."
He didnʼt quite know what he meant by that, so he moved on quickly, "So. Seems like
youʼre running a pretty tight ship here. You need me to form a team to help secure the
facility and offer a security detail?"
"Yes. I will need a security detail…among other things." Stryker sighed, "I hear youʼre a
good soldier…youʼre not one to question orders, are you?"
"No sir", answered Logan as he tightened his jaw.
"Good. Just know that I need you to form a team of dependable, strong soldiers who will
do as theyʼre told."
Logan nodded, "You give me the date and the team will be ready."
One week later, Logan had brought his brother, Victor, as well as a few other soldiers
heʼd worked with on special assignments. Despite Victorʼs unpredictable temper and
penchant for violence, he was someone he knew he could trust. The same could be
said about all of the men heʼd picked to form Strykerʼs special team.
They met with Stryker, where they received a briefing concerning their initial and main
duties...then came the shady stuff.
Stryker began handing out folders. Inside each folder contained profiles of female
mutants. All of them were young…between the ages of 17 and 22 years old. Aside from
their age, height, weight and a picture of them, their powers were also listed.
There was a teleporter, a phaser, a girl who could create fireworks, and another girl who
had wings.
Stryker called them his "initial crop".
They were to be collected, but unharmed when they were brought to the facility where
they would be held.
Logan and his team were told that the capture and holding of these young women was
"vital to the security of the United States".
Logan didnʼt feel comfortable with it, but he was a soldier. A good soldier didnʼt ask
questions. A good soldier didnʼt disobey orders. He coordinated surveillance and the
"collection", but never participated in the actual kidnappings himself.
For two months, Logan and his team watched the young women, learned their patters,
and then, when the time was right, they grabbed them. They often used chloroform or
stun darts to knock them unconscious for their capture.
When the entire "crop" was gathered, Logan was halfway tempted to ask why the hell
Stryker was holding a bunch of mutant women captive, but again…good soldiers didnʼt
ask questions.
He didnʼt bother to give the happenings inside of the lab a second thought until Stryker
called him into his office, "Logan. I have a special assignment that requires your…
special abilities."
"Ok."
Stryker handed him a red folder marked ʻPRIMARY TARGETʼ in bold across the top. He
slowly opened it and began reading the subjectʼs profile.
Female.
5ʼ5".
115lbs.
Brown eyes.
Brown hair with a white streak.
His eyes skimmed down the piece of paper until he reached the area that described the
subjectʼs powers. He furrowed his brows and read aloud, "Subject has the ability to
absorb and retain the power of any mutant she touches….wow."
"Indeed. She has unparalleled capabilities…but her mutation is dangerous. She learned
to control it some time ago, but if she touches anyone while her powers are activated for
too long, she could kill them."
He pulled the picture out from behind the piece of paper and had to actually concentrate
to keep his facial expression from changing drastically when he took in the sight of the beautiful girl in the picture. No…no, she wasnʼt a girl. She was a woman. She was a
young one, but she was still a woman…
The soft curve of her full, perky breasts, full, pouting lips and deep, penetrating eyes
confirmed that.
He looked at the bottom of the picture and read her name, "Marie DʼAncanto. Meridian,
Mississippi."
"Thatʼs where sheʼs from. Not where she is. Sheʼs a runaway…so she wonʼt be missed."
Logan couldnʼt keep his head from snapping up at that statement. What did he mean
"she wouldnʼt be missed"? What was he gonna do to her? What had she done to
deserve to be the "Primary Target" of a super-secret Military Science division?
He had to fight hard to stamp down his concern for the girl and his temptation to start
asking a barrage of questions.
"Alright. Any leads on where she is now?"
Stryker nodded, "Best lead says sheʼs working at a diner in Baltimore. Make sure sheʼs
unharmed.
Logan nodded affirmatively before taking the file and leaving.
Twenty-four hours later, he was sitting inside of a black sedan across the street from the
Fork and Spoon 24-hour diner. He watched the people through the front windows of the
diner, but saw no one that matched the picture heʼd seen the day before…until about
midnight.
A young woman rushed in from the back of the diner with her hair disheveled and a
large jacket on. From his vantage point, he could read her lips and clearly see that she
was apologizing to her fellow waitress profusely for her tardiness. He waited for the
other waitress to leave…then for the last customer to finish his coffee before he got out
of the car and made his way into the diner.
He sat down at the counter as Marie eyed him, "Want some coffee, sugah?"
Logan nodded, "Yeah."
She sat a clean mug in front of him and poured him a cup of piping hot coffee, "Can I
get ya anything else?"
He shrugged a little bit, "Whatʼs good?"
"Uh, I donʼt suppose you like apple pie?"
Logan nodded, "I guess. Yeah. Iʼll try some."
When Marie bit her lip in deep though, Logan almost trembled in desire. She set the
coffee pot down and pointed toward the kitchen, "Iʼll see if we got some in the freezer I
can pop in the oven for ya real quick. You donʼt want the old stuff thatʼs been sittinʼ out
all day. Hold tight, k darlinʼ?"
Logan nodded dumbly. Her thick, luscious southern accent swirled around him as she
walked through the swinging doors that led to the kitchen, then returned a couple of
moments later, wiping her hands on a dish towel, "Pieʼs in the oven. Be ready in about
ten minutes…that OK?"
"Uh, yeah", he said, relieved that he could actually speak now instead of nodding like a
stupid schoolboy.
Marie smiled as she wiped down the counter and began refilling the salt and pepper
shakers, "Where ya from?"
"Originally…Canada. Now…D.C."
"Oh", she said with a nod before glancing at the tags around his neck, "You military?"
Logan followed her eyes to his dog tags before quickly stuffing them inside of his tank
top, "Yeah. Army."
Marie let out a little ʻhmphʼ before returning to her tasks. A heavy silence settled over
them as he took a sip of his coffee and glanced back at her, "You been workinʼ here
long?"
Her eyebrows briefly quirked in confusion before she slowly turned her eyes to his,
"Long enough."
Logan knew he had to play this cool. He didnʼt want to raise any alarms, and he was
slowly realizing that this girl wasnʼt stupid. Too many questions about her work and life
would likely freak her out, so he had to act like a normal guy…as opposed to a mutant
who was working for a super-secret government sect that was there to kidnap her for
god-knows-what reason.
Several minutes later, Marie set a hot piece of apple pie in front of him. She smirked
and raised a brow, "I know what youʼd like on top of that apple pie…"
"You, naked", he thought quickly before actually speaking, "Oh?"
Marie nodded and disappeared back into the kitchen before returning with a carton of
vanilla ice cream, "Nothinʼs better on hot apple pie than ice cream."
Logan couldnʼt help but stare at her breasts as she leaned over to dig a scoop of ice
cream out of the carton. That tiny line of cleavage was enough to make him want to
start drooling.
When she finished topping his pie with ice cream, he tasted it and nodded, "Definitely
good."
Marie smiled, obviously pleased with herself, "Glad youʼre enjoyinʼ it."
He smirked as he took another bite, "You donʼt sound like youʼre from here."
"I donʼt?" she said, playfully mocking him with her tone. Marie giggled a little and refilled
his coffee, "Iʼm from the Mississippi Delta…"
"What made you move here?"
Marie slowly set the coffee pot down and rubbed her hands down the front of her apron,
"Uh…just a desire to see the world, I guess."
Logan could tell that she was clamming up because of painful memories involving her
runaway, so he quickly changed the subject, "You know tonight was the first time I ever
had apple pie a la mode?"
She raised both eyebrows in surprise, "Seriously? What kinda sheltered life have you
been livinʼ?"
He almost snorted at that, "Itʼs not so much that Iʼve never had the chance…itʼs just
that…Iʼm not much of a sweets guy."
"Oh? Well...I hope Iʼve turned ya on to sweets for good", she said with a wink.
If he didnʼt know any better, he would have thought she was flirting….wait….he didnʼt
know any better. She probably WAS flirting.
Logan laughed a little and turned away, "Uh…yeah. Maybe." He smiled and set a fifty
dollar bill on the counter, "Thanks for the pie."
She glanced at the bill and suddenly called his name just before he got to the door,
"Whatʼs your name?"
"My friends call me Logan."
Marie smiled, "Donʼt be a stranger, Logan."
He left without another word.
When she thought he was out of sight, she picked up a stack of napkins and fanned
herself with them. That was one very very sexy man.
Marie mentally kicked herself for not getting his phone number...or at least enticing him
to have a quickie in the back of the diner. As she finished her shift at the diner, she
hoped and prayed that she would see her handsome customer again...soon.
I'm about to post several back-to-back chapters, but I ask you to be kind enough to take the time to review each of them! Thank you!