Logan Who?.
Chapter One: Animals & Ferals.
He had left shortly after the funerals were held for the three figureheads they had lost. He hadn't said a word to her before leaving, nor did he leave a note or even his dogtags. She had been sure it must have been a mistake but even when she asked the teachers if he had seen them before he left, their answers were all no. He hadn't even left anything with them to give to her. For the next year she held out hope he would return for her. He didn't.
With her protector gone the bullying started. Of course none of the students ever did it when a teacher or other responsible adult was around, but there was more then enough time in the day to do it when neither were around. They hated her. Even the teachers sometimes held looks that hurt her heart. It was all her fault.
First, she hadn't been at the Battle of Alcatraz. She hadn't been there when everyone knew that apart from Wolverine she was the only one who would have been able to get close enough to Dr Jean Grey to kill her. She hadn't been there to save Logan the agony of killing the woman he loved (and boy did admitting that last bit break her heart).
The second, she had gotten the cure. They taunted her about that the most. Calling her weak and maybe she was. Looking back on it she knew Bobby hadn't been worth taking the cure nor their relationship. She had been barely back for twenty four hours after taking the cure that she found Robert "Iceman" Drake pounding into Katherine "Kitty" Pryde on the pool table early in the morning before everyone else was up. Both had been as bare as the day they were born, and even though both saw her they just gave her looks of amusement whilst upping their performance. She may have been weak enough to take the cure for the American Cookie-Cutter boy but she had enough strength in her to break up with him at that moment.
The third... the cure had only been temporary. Around the time Magneto got back his mutation so did she. Everything was a lot stronger then before, and although due to her mutation being back the physical (hitting, kicking, etc) stopped it was made up for with verbal, exclusion, and some even went as far as to use weapons like small but sharp kitchen knives, or even wearing gloves.
She had been relieved she hadn't taken the chance to loose her virginity whilst the cure was in effect. She still had some character and moral compass left. Unfortunately it did little to console her as she tried to hold herself and her life together. The only reason she stayed was in a misguided hope Logan would return for her.
He still hadn't after that year. So she gave up. She gave up on him and locked away all feelings she had harboured for him. It was about that time that Dr Hank McCoy took her under his wing. He was the new resident Doctor at the Mansion, Storm being the headmistress, with a lot of new teachers joining staff such as Carol Danvers who took over English as well as teaching the current X-men how to fly a plane. There was also Emma Frost, resident telepath, who not only took up the job with Cerebro but also became the Mansion's own 'Counselor' as it were despite her clear fetish with wearing white lingerie (and ONLY that) twenty four seven.
Although Erik's Psyche had become like a grandfather to her, the real Erik - aka Magneto - had not given up his personal vendetta. Infact the second he got his mutation back he was out there recruiting for his depleted Brotherhood. It was heard Mystique refused to join him since he cast her aside when she saved him from a cure shot by taking it herself. Sabertooth, as heard on the grapevine, had apparently upped his price as a Mercenary for hire. As such, Magneto could not afford him in the long term and so had taken to purchasing his time for the more important 'missions'. At first, with Logan AWOL, as well as the X-men's three top players (Xavier, Jean, & Scott), Magneto didn't bother with Sabertooth for the missions he had a feeling would result in a fight with the X-men.
This didn't last. Her mutation came roaring back and with it the clothes went back on. Hank, or Beast as he was officially called for missions, helped Rogue get back into shape fighting wise in the Danger Room. Normally it would be the job of Scott or Logan, but with both men gone and no one else wishing to get close enough to Rogue to be of any help in getting her back to fighting shape it was left to Hank to do the honours. It wasn't long before she was back on the team. What she didn't tell a soul was that she could now retain every mutation she gained from using her own permenantly. Everyone found this out on her first mission back when Rogue took control of the inferno Pyro had created. Not only had she used Pyro's own mutation against him but she had used Bobby's as well. If that fire power wasn't enough Magneto was furious when he had to battle her for control over his own personal playground - metal.
Rogue was officially a one-man (or woman) army.
After that Magneto hired Sabertooth whenever he felt there was a possibility the X-men would show up (and he could afford it). After all, not only did Rogue have the Pyro's, Iceman's, and Magneto's mutations but she also had the Wolverine's. Bone Claws. Super Healing. Heightened Senses. No matter what was thrown at her she came back for more. At this point Sabertooth was needed just to keep Rogue busy when the Brotherhood and X-men faced off. It became vital to Magneto.
Unfortunately, the fact Rogue was a lot more powerful did not endear her to her peers. Infact if anything, it made it worse. Hank was her only friend.
There were a few moments she thought about going to the real Erik. Not because she believed in any of his beliefs but because she was so close to his Psyche that she often wondered if it would be the same with the real man. Rogue did not leave however. She stuck it out at the Manor, knowing at the end of the day she could never forgive herself for abandoning whats right just to have more then one friend. It was unfair but life had never been fair to Rogue. She was used to it at the end of the day.
It wasn't any of this however that Rogue was pondering as she sent a thick sheet of ice Sabertooth's way outside a mutant experimentation labratory.
She had recently watched a documentary on Sabertooth Cats and another on Wolverines which had set her to thinking.
Logan had named his alter ego as Wolverine. However, although he displayed the behaviour of a Wolverine as far as fighting was concerned there was very little else he had in common with the small but fierce predator. Infact Wolverines, the animal, were known for being faithful to two or three life mates whilst Logan refused to commit to a single woman and instead took pleasure in various one night stands.
Yet Victor Creed, aka Sabertooth, was entirely different. Maybe it was because he had fully merged with his feral side whereas Logan kept it entirely seperate and caged up. Sabertooth Cats were social cats, they hunted in prides, and chose a single mate. Although Victor himself had no pride as far as Rogue knew the fierce loyalty of the animal was definately there. Sure, he was hired for the jobs he did and although she was sure someone like him probably had a lot of blackmail and back-ups should any job go wrong, it was clear when he was hired for a job he did it. He didn't waver from what his job was. He did it to the letter, and unless he was crossed he was loyal to his employer. It was one of the reasons she guessed he was so successful. Although Victor did admittedly seem to rape women, just a look in his eyes gave Rogue the impression should he find a 'frail' worthy enough to be his mate he would be faithful to her. Although she hated the villian Victor was and all he had done, there was a small part that understood. He had been alive for over a century with the promise of being pretty much immortal and if rumours were to believed he had lost his brother to a human psychopath.
So, the question remained in her mind, what were Feral Mutants exactly? If they weren't like an animal counterpart as most believed in this current day, then what? Were they the few that were in touch with whatever animal instincts homosapiens had lost over the millions of years, triggered by something in their mutant gene? Or was she entirely wrong, but for a Feral Mutant to be like their animal counterpart had to be merged with the feral within? If so, then would Logan finally be more like the Wolverine if he finally merged with his feral half?
So many questions, so many theories, and Rogue hated the curiousity burning within her that wanted to know the truth about Ferals.
Unfortunately there were few True Ferals she could study. Logan was gone, Victor... she was still terrified of him and he was on the other side. There were a couple of students with animal-like body parts back at the school and even fewer with heightened senses but even those were more of a Class One which meant they weren't strong enough to be any help in this kind of study.
With Logan's Feral mutation now her own, she supposed she could use that but wouldn't it be biased? Was it even the same? Sure, she had everything Logan did besides the adamantium, but she had never been born with the mutation. What if that counted for something? It was almost like nature versus nuture in a way. If only Logan could be found on Cerebro, but with the adamantium coating his entire skeleton no telepath could pick up a thing for him even with Cerebro.
Moments later a growl left her lips as she was slammed up against the metallic back door of the main building by a powerful double kick from Sabertooth's legs. Rogue forced herself up onto her feet on aching legs, but by the time she had done so the Brotherhood had disappeared along with the abused mutants from the Lab. The X-men, downheartened at being unable to rescue the mutants, started their way back to the Blackbird.
It was a quiet ride back to the Manor, at least for Rogue, and she couldn't have been happer for the jet to land. She walked as fast as her legs could take her to the Med Lab where Hank would be. Fortunately there were very little major injuries on any of the team, only minor.
With a deep sigh she sat down on a spare medical bed, watching as Hank left his office with a clipboard filled with various forms. At seeing Rogue, a brilliant smile spread over his lips.
"How did it go?"
Rogue could only offer him a disappointed look.
"The Brotherhood took them all. We managed to get the files from the computer, but at the end of the day those abused mutants were taken by Magneto and will no undoubtedly be brainwashed to his side. I feel like its my fault. I was... distracted."
She spoke quietly, feeling tears prickle the corner of her eyes. Hank laid a sympathetic hand onto her right shoulder.
"No one can be on the top of their game all the time Rogue. Besides, its two years to the day he left. Don't let it get you down. I am sure Storm can still do a lot of good with the information that was collected."
Rogue nodded, letting him know she did agree but it was hard not to let her emotions run away with her.
"At least we're finally bringing down the number of Labs out there. We're making a difference out there; slowly but surely. There is even talk of an addition to the Discrimination Law. They're talking about adding mutants to it. It'll soon be just as illegal to be discriminated for being a mutant, as it is for skin colour, gender, and disability."
Hank informed her, causing a beaming smile to surface on her face. She leapt from the cold bed excitedly as she bounced over to where Hank had wandered over to his workstation.
"Really? Thats amazing Hank!"
She said excitedly, and in that moment all negative thoughts were pushed aside for the hope of a fair and happy future.
Author's Note: After reading a few good Sabertooth stories lately, I got the inspiration for this. Now, although the story is called 'Logan Who?', this will hopefully be a Sabertooth/Rogue pairing. That is if sneaky Logan doesn't force his way in to make another trio. Anyway, enjoy!