Here is chapter ten! And, as always, thank you to my reviewers who always make me smile. ENJOY!

Logan woke to a dark room and a very dry throat. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was nearly nine at night.

I guess she did nearly kill me, he thought groggily, slowly sitting up and getting out of the bed. He couldn't remember a time that he had slept for so long, and although he could go for days without food or sleep, he did need water. Badly.

Jean had told him to holler if he needed anything, but he didn't want to be a burden, and he was sure that Scott wouldn't appreciate it if she got pulled away from whatever work she was doing just to fetch him a glass of water. Normally, Logan wouldn't care, but he really didn't feel like hearing Scott's mouth at the moment.

It was better for everyone if he just got it himself.

He didn't bother stopping to put a shirt on as he stumbled down to the kitchen and collected a glass out of the cupboard, filling it up in the sink. He downed the full glass and filled it again, drinking only half. He turned around to lean back against the counter and a dark blue cloth covered his face. He pulled the shirt off of his face to reveal Ororo leaning on the frame of the entrance, in much the same way that Jean had the night before. But while Jean's easy posture had been appealing at best, Ororo's aggressive stance was downright exciting.

But he flashed back to their encounter downstairs and restrained himself. Blatant flirting wasn't going to get him anywhere with this woman. She was powerful and she was clever. Perhaps if he didn't openly gawk at her as he had the night before than he wouldn't be manhandled by a woman.

"Thanks," he said with a smirk. "I knew I'd find my shirt if I just looked in the kitchen."

She cocked an eyebrow, but didn't seem angry or the least bit defensive. She looked bored. "This is a school, Logan. Some of these kids are just reaching puberty and many of them have yet to hit it. There's no reason why you should be allowed to parade your bare chest around when I can hardly get away with wearing my silk pajamas outside of my room."

He smirked coyly, but was careful to keep his eyes on hers. "Silk pajamas? Now why would you volunteer that information?"

She returned his coy smile. There was no hint of malice in her eyes, and his pulse accelerated. "Because you'll never see them. Put the shirt on, Logan."

Setting the glass down on the counter, he pulled the shirt over his head slowly and put the shirt on, flexing every muscle he was in control of. He listened hard and was delighted when he heard her pulse quicken. It was rather infinitesimal, if he was going to be honest with himself. A machine wouldn't have detected the increase, but he'd take what he could get.

"So, you must have followed me out of my room if you knew that I needed a shirt," he said when he'd finally managed to put the shirt on completely.

"Don't flatter yourself," she said, rolling her eyes – which, he noticed, gave his abs one last glimpse before returning to his face. "I've seen better. But I actually did follow you, with the purpose of asking you this: when did Rogue visit you?"

Logan frowned. "Last night, when I…" he ground his teeth, unable to finish the sentence even in his mind.

She scowled at him, blue eyes a little brighter. "Don't be a smartass. I mean after that."

"I'm not being a smartass," he said seriously. "The last time I saw her was when she took my power."

The scowl slid away to reveal a very worried expression. "So you haven't seen her all day?"

"No. When I first woke up the professor explained what happened, Jean gave me some pills and I fell back asleep. I only woke up a few minutes ago. Doesn't she have a class with you or something?"

"Yes," she said grimly, staring off into space. "She wasn't in my class today, or any of her classes, for that matter. I told the other teachers not to worry because I figured that she was with you."

Logan felt the color drain from his face. "Well, has anyone else seen her?"

"We're about to find out," she said, her face set with hard determination. "Go get dressed and head to the elevator. I'll ask a few of her friends if they've seen her and if they haven't, we'll go get Xavier. He'll know how to find her."

Logan nodded and left the kitchen. She was nowhere to be seen, and his hearing told him that she was already up the stairs, sprinting down the hall. Through his haze of worry for Marie, he allowed himself a quick moment of astonishment at her strength and speed.

Logan made it to his room and dressed in record time, sprinting to the elevator to find Ororo already waiting for him. Fear seized his heart as she punched the button without a word and they got into the elevator.

My fault. My fault. This is all my FAULT!

After an unbearably long ride, the elevator doors opened and Ororo briskly lead the way through the various halls that Logan would have gotten lost in. As fast as she was moving, she didn't hesitate or lose her way once and as soon as Ororo pointed to their destination, Logan picked up the pace and breezed past her.

"Where is she," he demanded as soon as the doors opened.

"Who?" Scott asked.

"Rogue." Xavier frowned, as though deep in thought. "She's gone."

I know that she's gone, Logan thought impatiently. I need to know where she's gone to.

"Come with me," Xavier said, wheeling himself out into the mass of identical halls, none of which lead upstairs or to the jet that they had.

"What are we doing?" Logan snapped as he followed behind. "Why aren't we looking for her?"

"We are," Scott said, as though that were perfectly obvious.

Xavier patiently waited for some sort of eye scanner to identify him. "Welcome, professor," a computer voice said, opening the round steel doors.

"Welcome to Cerebro."

Xavier wheeled himself in, and Logan absently followed him, thinking nothing of it. "This certainly is a big, round room," he stated lamely, for lack of anything else to say. How the hell did they expect this room to find Marie? Was it some kind of super computer-locater-tracker…

"The brain waves of mutants are different from average human beings," Xavier explained, possibly having read the last statement in his mind. "Just like you can tell mutants apart from humans by their unique scents, I can identify brain activity to tell them apart. This device amplifies my power, allowing me to locate mutants across great distances. That's how I intend to find Rogue."

Well, if it was so easy to find Marie in this manner… "Why don't you just use it to find Magneto?"

"I've been trying. But he seems to have found some way to shield himself from it."

Logan shrugged. Some part of him had expected an answer like that. Xavier seemed to have plenty of answers, but when it came to solutions… "How would he know how to do that?" Logan asked.

"Because he helped me build it."

Well, he had said that they'd been friends once upon a time. "Now, if you'll excuse me…" Xavier picked up a strange looking metal device with thick chords and placed it on his head. Recognizing this as an invitation to exit, Logan turned around and made his way back to the hall, breathing a little easier. He wasn't sure how long the process would take, but at least they'd know where Marie was. He was positive that this was his fault, and he didn't want her to hate him. Though they'd only known each other for a few days, she had grown on him.

The doors to Cerebro closed and Scott, Jean, Logan and Ororo were left alone in the hall. Ororo's scent was unusually overpowering in the suddenly colder hall, and Logan glanced in her direction. She looked terribly worried, and he didn't doubt that she was the source of the drop in temperature. Perhaps she was just worried about Marie taking off by herself.

Logan turned his attention to Jean, curious about something. "Have you ever – " he asked, motioning to the now closed door.

"Used Cerebro?" she clarified. "No. It takes a degree of control and, uh, for someone like me its – " She let her statement hang in the air, trying to find the right word.

"Dangerous," Scott supplied, speaking only to Jean, it seemed. "And I'm not prepared to see your memory erased."

Logan threw Scott a very sharp look, his lip curling up threateningly. Though his eyes were hidden by his glasses, a look of recognition seemed to cross Scott's features, and Logan knew that his comment hadn't been an intended blow. Logan knew that Scott sure as hell wouldn't apologize for it, but knowing that it had been unintentional made it easier for Logan to forgive him.

Logan idly wondered if effects like having memories erased on that machine could be reversed, to gain memories back. It didn't seem logical, but if it could be done, it would probably have to be done by a telepath. Perhaps that was what Xavier intended to do when Logan's forty-eight hours were up.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, Logan," Ororo blurted. "I just knew that she was taking time to cool off and I was sure that you knew where she was."

He looked over at her to see her looking very apologetic. Was that what had her so worried? Despite his own worry about the situation, he couldn't find it in his heart to blame Ororo at all. She was the one who'd realized that she was gone in the first place. "It's not your fault," he said calmly. "It was a fair assumption. And she's nearly an adult; we don't have to watch over her like a hawk."

"Or so we thought," Scott muttered.

A quiet, angry growl rose in Logan's throat before he could stop it. He was on edge with worry about Marie, and the fact that Scott didn't seem the least bit worried or even surprised that Marie was gone made Logan want to snap him in half. He'd give Scott one more strike before punching him square in the jaw. It was clear that Scott didn't fear Logan and could probably even handle himself in a fight, but at the end of the day, Logan would eat him alive.

A feather light weight rested on his shoulder and he jerked in surprise. Ororo seemed to have collected herself and now looked much more optimistic. Maybe knowing that Logan didn't blame her for not coming sooner was exactly what she'd needed to hear. "We'll find her. She can't have gone too far on her own, and it looks like the professor is coming out now.

The doors opened and Logan eagerly turned his attention to Xavier. "Well?"

"She's at the train station."

"Where is it?" Logan asked before he could stop himself.

"A few miles west of here."

Logan rolled his eyes and turned to leave. 'A few miles west of here' was hardly helpful, but he'd find the damn station somehow.

"Logan," Xavier said suddenly. "You can't leave the mansion."

Logan stopped and turned back to Xavier. The hell I can't, he nearly shouted.

"This is just the opportunity Magneto needs."

"Then he'll probably take it," Logan snapped. "Then again, he might not. You said yourself that you weren't sure that I was the one he was after. And how would he know where to find us unless he's a telepath himself?"

"Storm and Cyclops can find her."

Ororo turned to look at Logan expectantly, as though asking if that were okay with him. "Listen, I'm the reason she took off," Logan said, as much as he hated to admit it.

"We had a deal," Xavier said flatly.

Logan's frown deepened. Oh, well didn't that fix everything! Marie was about to get on a train to God knows where because he had nearly killed her and Xavier was worried about their stupid deal? He felt a growl itching to rise up from his throat, but Ororo opened her mouth and silenced that thought completely.

"She's all right," she said, her musical voice thick with reassurance. She turned back to Logan and caught his eyes without struggle. "She's just upset. She'll have her moment of teen angst and then she'll come to her senses."

Though the words were simple to everyone's ears, the look she gave only to him said something else. This isn't your fault either. He believed her. In the back of his mind, he knew that he should follow his own instincts and go after Marie, but something in Ororo's voice calmed his overanxious mind. If Logan couldn't leave the mansion to find Marie, then he trusted Ororo to find her and bring her back.

"Storm, Cyclops," Xavier said eagerly. "Find her. See if you can talk to her."

Logan watched Ororo carefully as she nodded and made her way down the hall with Scott. Jean exhaled, sending her less potent gingerbread smell into his lungs in place of Ororo's toxic rainforest. Logan blessed the air and finally tore his eyes away from the sway of her white hair and glared at Xavier.

His head was clear now and he realized that Cyclops had been sent to help find Marie as well. That ridiculous popinjay would take thirty minutes to discuss 'game plans' and a 'course of action.' Meanwhile Marie would probably be halfway to New Mexico…

Logan sighed. He should have raised all hell when they'd told him that he couldn't leave the mansion. But instead he'd let Ororo dazzle him into staying behind while she and Goggles went out to get Marie.

But Logan knew that finding her was only half the battle. Ororo may be a charming woman, but Logan doubted that her charm would be quite as effective on a stubborn teen aged girl. And Scott…

No.

Logan had no faith in the boy.

He glanced in Jean's direction. Who the hell was going to stop him if he decided to go anyway? He turned to leave, carefully seeking out the scent of oil and gasoline. When it hit his nose, he smirked and as soon as he was out of sight of Xavier and Jean, he broke into a sprint for the garage. Judging by the leisurely pace that Ororo and Scott had been walking, they weren't too worried about Marie actually leaving. Logan was.

He knew that she was leaving because of him, and he was going to get to her before she left and, if nothing else, at least try to make amends before she was gone. He entered the garage and looked around. Plenty of nice cars, but he doubted that the keys were inside. With a school full of teenagers, if they were stupid enough to leave the keys in the car, they were begging the brats to go out joyriding. His eyes swept every corner and stopped on a motorcycle.

It looked nice enough. Fast, powerful and… Logan smirked. The key was in the ignition, and a tag on the key chain read 'Cyclops.'

He hopped on and turned the key. Perfect fit, engine purred like a kitten, tank was full…

I'm such a dick, he thought with a wide smile as he steered the bike out of the garage.