Author's note:

I am so sorry for leaving you in the lurch, and I'll be the first to admit that chapter 10 wasn't the best place to leave off, but real life cracked down on me… But I finished the last of my mock exams two and a half hours ago… so here you go… there is no more buffer zone left, but I'll try to get back ahead… another apology will be for spelling/ style flaws, Hannah the fab has also had exams and extra curricular thingies on this weekend, and so has not had anything beyond the most cursory look at this chapter, it will probably get a beta and re-post early next week, but hopefully it will do to tide you over.

Thank you to the readers for bearing with me, my own hate of well underway wip suddenly left for dead will keep me at this… even if the plot is running away with me… oh well, we'll all find out where it's going together…

As always, the disclaimer – I STILL don't own the X-men, I'm just borrowing them! All credit must go to Marvel, and those people who bought the film rights off them!

So, for your amusement, PaintR Productions bring you the first little hint of action.

Hope you like it!

Again, thanks for reading!

Xxx

Cheers!

PaintR

-----

The cold air of morning awoke Marie suddenly as Logan dragged the duvet off of her. "Wah…uuugh…unnn…" she moaned, clutching at the corner of the duvet.

"Up. Come on," declared the already dressed Logan as Marie shaded her eyes from the bright light of morning. She squinted at the clock on the bedside table.

"Logan!" she wailed "its Sunday mornin'!" She looked at the clock again, arching her back and stretching languidly, "It's seven fifteen on Sunday mornin'." She took a deep breath and yawned, "It's seven fifteen on Sunday mornin', an' ah had a very late night," she elaborated plaintively.

"All the more reason not to let the day waste away. The danger room's waiting, kid. As am I." He looked down at her, smiling. "Five minutes. Dress for a workout."

"But what about mah shower? Ah stink!" She indicated her day old clothing.

"You'll smell worse when I'm done with you." He shrugged, and opened the door for her. "Now, beat it." Marie fixed him with a venomous glare, and flounced out past him, diving down the corridor to her room. There, she quickly scrubbed her face in the washbasin, and stripped out of her old, smelly clothes.

She grabbed her clothes and dressed, combat trousers, running shoes and a sports top, over which she pulled a light net shirt, and, scraping her hair back into a messy ponytail, ran back out into the hall to where Logan waited, leaning on the wall.

She fell into step next to him as he set off down the corridor and pulled on her leather gloves, the ones that Jubilee called her hobo gloves, they weren't fingerless, more finger-tip less, covering her fingers all the way to the last joint. "So, what exactly am ah doin', Logan?" she asked as they wooden panelling finally gave way to the white-walled section of the mansion, and the reinforced door of the danger room.

"Getting your focus back, kid. In, warm up." Logan stood in the corner, typing into the control panel.

"Mah focus?" Rogue demanded, jumping up and down on the spot trying to shake the lethargy out of her limbs.

"Yeah," said Logan, taking off his shirt and throwing it into the corner.

"This is a level eight simulation. Authorisation required," the soft voice of the danger room computer broke the silence that fell in the huge space. Rogue's eyebrows shot up.

"Y'all expect me ta warm up with a level eight? Logan, have you gone nuts?"

"X Logan Alpha: Fight 23," Logan enunciated slowly, lifting his head to the ceiling. Turning back to Marie he smiled. "I'll back you on this one kid. But you're leading."

The hum of the holographic imagers rose as the lighting dropped. Suddenly Marie found herself alone in the middle of a park. No. Not alone. Logan stood to her left, and on the other side there was…

"Oh mah gawd. Logan, it's huge!"

"No breakfast till you take that thing down."

-----

Bobby waited at the foot of the stairs for Kitty and Jubilee to come down to breakfast. He sat on the bottom step, long limbs akimbo, staring vacantly at the blue light blinking discreetly on the door to the viewing area of the danger room as he fought the tinnitus ringing in his ears, aggravating his headache. Eventually the alcohol-fried neurons in his brain managed to fire in the right sequence and he realised that the high pitched buzzing was in fact linked to the fact that the danger room's occupied light was flashing on, and that, logically, someone inside was running a simulation. Remarkably pleased with these conclusions he decided to go and have a look, and then completely failed to stand up.

Pulling himself up from the floor was difficult, first he used the steps and then leaning heavily on the banister he levered himself, slowly, back to his feet and set off, slowly, across the corridor. Listening intently he heard rhythmic thumping and grunts coming from inside the danger room. Suddenly a hand tapped him on the shoulder. He swung his head round sharply, and then groaned as the world slipped out of focus and then snapped back, the blurs across his field of vision resolving into the form of Kitty.

"God, you scared me," he whispered.

"Whatcha doing?" She asked liltingly, grabbing hold of his arm and leaning heavily on him.

"Trying to work out what's going on…" he murmured, still staring at the door.

"Yeah, who'd be in the danger room at 9 on a Sunday?" asked Jubilee. Bobby did a double take.

"Where'd you come from?"

Jubilee rolled her eyes at Kitty, who giggled. "You might hung over, chica, but this one still seems drunk."

"So who's in the danger room then?"

All three pressed their ears to the joints of the airlock style door, discreetly disguised as wood panelling, listening for signs of life from the inside.

"Come on, put some effort in!" a male voice yelled, hoarse and harsh.

"Mmm fockin' trying," a woman snapped back

"Harder," he ordered, above the rhythmic thumping.

"Aaaaagh!"

"Again"

"Ugh"

"More!"

"You… ugggh …. Ah'm… tryin!'"

"Come on, kid!"

A crowd of X kids was, by this time gathered around the door, behind the trio, looking curiously at them, and how illogically they were grouped. Jubilee was kneeling on the floor, and Bobby was bending low to put his ear at keyhole level, with kitty straining on tiptoe to place her head above Booby's. Suddenly the three eavesdroppers heard the woman scream something, angrily, the words mixed up by the machinery running the simulation and a long wordless howl, followed by a quick shouted curse and an almighty crash and a thump.

Kitty, startled by the noise overbalanced, and clutching at the other two for balance, but to little avail, phased all three through the door, short circuiting it so that it shot open, and the X-kids behind saw the trio in a pile on the floor, in front of the remains of an immense robot.

Silence.

Then there was a sudden flurry of noise, screams and laughter mixed as the kids scrambled to breakfast, or perhaps just away, seeing an angry, bleeding Logan rise from the pile of rubble.

-----

Logan watched Marie dodging the energy bolts being spat out by the sentinel, dodging closer and closer with each move, aiming to get close enough to attack it hand to hand. She punched and dodged, and kicked and dodged, Logan yelling advice and encouragement as she snarled back at him after every comment. Suddenly a blast caught her and she was knocked back. The rhythm broken, silence fell as Logan hefted her to her feet and pulled her behind one of the defensive walls. Marie looked furious. Nearly there, Logan thought, make her snap, work her through whatever it was blocking her…ahem…powers. "Take control. Stop reacting, act. You're plan doesn't work, get a new one." Logan said harshly. The room faded back into silence.

Marie, no, Rogue's eyes flashed fire, and she drew herself up, sweeping her hair back and staring him full in the face. Logan noticed, although she appeared not to, that, in standing up straighter, her feet had actually left the floor, and she was in fact floating about four inched off the floor. She was now in the Sentinel's line of fire, and dodged the blasts, this time by swooping out of the path of the bolts. The chaos and destruction began again, and she turned back to Logan "FINE!" she screamed "HOW ABOUT AH USE YOUR THICK HEAD TA BREAK IT?"

Without warning she grabbed Logan by the wrist and spun around, whipping him around her like a hammer, releasing him in the direction of the giant robot.

"Holy Sh…" was all Logan had time for before he slammed into the machine's midsection. With a crash Logan impacted the machine and it burst into pieces, which tumbled to the floor.

Silence fell, and then the door slid open. Marie floated, chest heaving, scratched and bruised and angry, looking at Kitty, Bobby and Jubilee who were in a pile on the floor.

"Where the hell did you learn that?" yelled Logan, fighting his way out from beneath the pile of rubble.

"Door open. Safety protocols engaged. End simulation," the emotionless voice of the computer announced to the room, as the rubble disappeared, leaving Logan standing alone in the middle of the room, the three youths in a pile in front of him. The crowd of kids outside the open door ran away screaming, the deep scratches and bruises on his naked torso healing up as Marie watched.

The comical sight of her friends attempting to stand up, as well as her feelings of elation that she had defeated Logan's simulation and relief that he was all right, had restored Marie's good humour. She looked at him, her eyes raking up and down his muscled form. He stared back at her, raising one laconic eyebrow and shrugged.

Moans from the floor made Logan turn around stare at the trio getting up from the floor. "Hey…" said Bobby, looking confused.

"Go away," snapped Logan.

"Uh yeah," said Kitty, giggling nervously, "sorry to interrupt, we'll just be going…" Kitty turned to Jubilee and Bobby and started to usher them out.

Bobby was staring, confused, at Logan, "Weren't you a robot a moment ago?" Logan frowned at him.

Jubilee, on the other hand, was staring at Rogue. "Uh, chica?" Marie looked down at her. "You do know you're floating, right?"

Rogue stared at the floor, her face shocked. Suddenly she was falling, and landed on the floor on her bottom with a bump. "Ohhhh," she moaned, getting up slowly, rubbing her backside.

Logan strode round to help her up. "OUT!" he yelled at the bemused trio, who obeyed quickly. "Here, crack a glove, kid."

Marie smiled gratefully and touched her fingertips lightly to his arm, feeling the pull begin. She focused on the pull, keeping it slow, imagining a wad of cotton wool between him and her so that he didn't come through her skin too much. The pulsing veins of energy stood out against his densely muscled forearm and into her fingers. She felt the energy like rivers running under her skin, the healing power knowing where it was wanted, even though she didn't. Logan's eyes fluttered closed and Marie felt he was about to break through her imagined barrier and snatched her fingers back.

She stood back, and Logan shook his head, smiling at her before reclaiming his shirt.

"So do ah get mah breakfast now?" Rogue asked as they left the danger room.

"Well, technically, I was the one taking down the robot…"

"Hey!?"