Chapter 12
A/N: Hey Wolviesfan thanks for the kind word. The Hand is a very good guess but not right. Close. Thank you Dee for your encouragement. I think you beat me by about three hours. I struggled a little with how to write the last chapter. Didn't want to be too graphic, but I didn't want to gloss over what happened either. I don't write cliff hangers too often, once in a while is fun though. This will be my last update for a while. Leave for a two week vacation tomorrow. Please let me know what you like or what you don't.
Disclaimer: Most of them are owned by big corporations, a few are owned by me
God she hated it here. The smell was enough to set her teeth on edge. Add to that the machines and the association her borrowed memories had with what machines like that could do and coming in to give a blood sample (Hank's continuing mission to help her find a cure) was about all she could take. One of the many fringe benefits that came with a heapin double dose of Logan's unique personality. Like the fact that occasionally her roomy had to remind her that walking down the hall sans shirt was not something she could pull off (more than once). Or the sudden urges she sometimes had to grab Bobby (or even worse Ororo) tear his clothes off and screw the hell out of him (he was takin too much time). Then there was the whole losing her temper thing which seemed to be happening more and more of late. Like last night when the X-Men came back with what she thought at first was Logan's body.
None of them had a scratch and he looked like three hundred pounds of ground chuck. There was a bloody bandage on his left side below the rib cage. Blood was leaking from his nose and mouth and the left side of his face was so battered and bloody in was unrecognizable. At first all she could do was stare at the still form that Hank and Pete brought off the jet. Hank saw the look on her face and quickly assured her that while Logan looked bad he was healing just as he always did. There was just more to heal than there normally was. A lot more. His mutation would attend to the more critical internal injuries first and deal with the things that looked bad later. Oh great. It's even worse than it looks. While one part of her brain was processing this the rest of her moved automatically to assist as four other people came off the jet. She helped Jubes take the stretcher of a guy who looked almost as bad as Logan. Kitty and Bobby took the other which held a girl. Her face looked pretty bad and when she saw a bare arm she cringed. Little round burn marks. Could things get any worse? They did. When they reached the infirmary Rogue finally noticed two other girls that were walking behind her with that Phillips woman. She was already upset and seeing her just made things worse. But it was what Hank and Storm did next that set her off. Shunting Logan's stretcher to one side they began to work on the other two.
She couldn't believe this. Rogue stood staring at them for about thirty seconds while the rage within her grew. Then Charles wheeled into the room and struck the match.
"Peter would you and Bobby move Logan to the security area so Henry and Ororo have more room to work?"
"Ah can't believe you fucking people. What are ya gonna do next, chain him up and throw him in a cell. Why the hell are you helpin them when Logan is hurt so bad?"
"Now Rogue you know that Henry will attend to Logan as soon as they are out of danger. After all they are not blessed with a healing..."
"Don't give me that shit. You know that he's in pain. How can you just leave him like this. And now you want to just move him aside so Hank has more room to take care of strangers? No fucking way!" Looking Xavier in the eye she ripped her right glove off. "Either Hank takes care of him right now or Ah'll touch him and do it myself!"
Suddenly the infirmary was very quiet. Xavier had no idea what to do with the enraged young woman who stood before him. Although it was very difficult for him to read Rogue he could tell by what she was projecting just how serious she was. Before he could formulate a response Janet walk up to face him.
"She's right Charles and you know it. While I'm sure if he were awake Logan would insist that he would be fine I don't think it's right for us to treat him as if it doesn't matter that he's hurt. He does that enough on his own. Bobby, Peter please move him to the other bed while Rogue and I get what we need." Turning to Marie she forced herself to be calm. "Please Rogue...this isn't going to help Logan feel better. What he needs is something to relieve his pain. I can help you set everything up. Then all Hank needs to do is start the IV for him."
Jubilee could see her friend was about two seconds from losing it. Walking over she gently reached out to grasp her Rogue's bare hand with her own gloved one. "Please chica calm down. We're not gonna help Wolvster by losing it. Come on babe let's help her take care of him."
Rogue looked at Logan...then at Jubilee...and started to sob violently. "Ah'm sorry Jubes...when Ah saw him coming off the jet Ah thought..."
Jubilee wrapped her arms around her crying friend. "Yeah...I know. It's ok girl. We're gonna take care of him right now. He's going to be fine. "
Leading her over to the bed Logan had been placed on they set to work cutting off his uniform. Meanwhile Janet and Charles set up the IV drip and hung the bag of morphine. By the time they were done Hank could leave his patient and he came over to start the IV. First he coated the needle in a solution that he had developed to retard clotting. After inserting the needle he proceeded to wrap it very tightly to Logan's arm. Then with Janet's help he quickly changed the bandage. Hank was pleased to see that the formerly gaping wound was nearly closed. He then turned to the three women.
"Someone will have to stay while he is hooked up to the IV. Even though I have secured the needle firmly his skin will attempt to push it out. Eventually that will happen. Hopefully by the time it does his healing factor will have repaired most of the damage."
"Ah'll do it. Ah want ta be here when he wakes up. Ah'm so sorry Hank...it was just so hard for me to see Logan hurt like that. In mah head Ah know he's gonna be alright but Ah hate seeing him suffer."
"I understand Rogue. It is hard to see the someone you love in pain. I must offer you my humble apology as well. I know that I can be so focused on what I am doing that I do not consider the effect my words and actions can have on others. I am not angry with you Rogue but I am worried." He leaned in close and whispered so only she could hear. "Please talk to Charles or...well somebody about this. We both know that Logan is not the cause of these outbursts. You need help. Please do not think you have to face this alone."
Sitting in the hated infirmary as she watched over Logan she thought about what Hank had said...and what she had done. Her first reaction was to deny it all. Of course Logans the reason she thought to herself. Why the hell else would I be acting this way. Of course it's his temper that's causing me to lose it. Thinking about it some more (not much else to do while she was here except think) she realized that something didn't fit. If her inner Logan was the source of her acting out how come the real Logan didn't act out. Sure he cussed people out and liked to piss off Scott whenever he could. She on the other hand had threatened to use her mutation on the school's new doctor. Maybe Hank was right. He was after all the very definition of smart guy. And while she didn't quite understand how she had gotten from angry to actually wanting to use her mutation on a friend she understood at least the source of the feelings. Desperation. When she had seen Logan's condition her first thought was that he would die and she would be without family. Again. She wondered if he knew how important he was to her, how much he mattered. It was something she knew he had a hard time believing. Well whatever happened one thing she was sure of. She would do whatever she needed to do to make him see. As long as she was alive he would always have a family.
Feeling a little better with what had happened she went to check on him again. Xavier had demanded that she monitor him from the office. She knew that he had a sound reason. From personal experience Rogue knew that Logan didn't wake up well. She also knew that when he did show signs of coming around that she would be in there no matter what Xavier said. Walking quietly so as not to disturb the other patients she opened the door and walked in. While the others were in private cubicles off the main room of the infirmary Hank had placed Logan in the security room. Since it was where they would house injured enemies it could be sealed of from the rest of the infirmary. Even though Rogue knew it was just a precaution, it was just one more thing about the whole situation that made her angry.
As she walked to the side of his bed she had to stifle a gasp. No matter how many times she saw his mutation in action it was still like watching a miracle in slow motion. Fours hours ago he had been bleeding from internal injures and the left side of his face had practically been pulp. Now she could run her gloved hand over the perfectly smooth skin there. She lifted the patch Hank had placed over his left eye. Instead of a grotesquely swollen bloody lump the eye and lid appeared normal. Marie pulled back the sheet to check the other wounds All the deep cuts and burns on his chest ("the chest of perfection" according to Jubes) had disappeared. Smiling she replaced the sheet when suddenly she heard movement. Turning Rogue saw one of the girls that had come back with the team. It was the younger one and when she got a good look at Logan she just stood there mouth hanging open.
"Oh my God...I can't...how did they do this?"
The girl was a good four inches taller than her five foot seven inches and thin as a rail with short brown hair. Looking at her closely Rogue noticed her eyes which looked almost like a cats with yellow iris and vertically slit pupils. Someone had given her a Xavier school track suit to wear but apparently forgotten the shoes. Even though she was sure the girls question was directed at her all her attention was fixed on Logan.
"Ah'm not sure what yer talkin about. How did who do what?"
"Don't play games with me. This guy was worse off than Luke when they dug him out of that building. All I want to know is can they do this for my sister? Do they have a machine of some kind?"
"No...no ya don't understand. Ya know that he's a mutant right?"
"Well duh...I mean I saw the knives coming right out of his hands so yea I guess I know. Still that's gotta be the scarcest mutation I ever saw."
"The claws aren't his natural mutation. He heals. From anything. Real fast. So If yer askin if they can do the same thing for yer sister Ah'm sorry but they can't."
The girls face fell and for a second Rogue thought she would start crying. But she just continued to stare at Logan slowly shaking her head. "Man that's amazing. When that building blew up I thought he was a goner. Then that big kid...the one with the cool accent changed into some kind of metal guy and started digging him out."
Shit thought Rogue. No wonder he's so bad off. "Ah'm sorry about your sister. Ah know that Hank will do everything he can for her...and the other guy." She felt so lame...she didn't even know their names.
"Luke...his name is Luke Nerling. I'm Mackenzie Harper." Then the girl did begin to cry the tears running down her cheeks. Rogue carefully checked to see if it would be safe and then enfolded the girl in her arms.
"Be careful not to touch mah skin."
"They wouldn't stop hurting her...no matter how much we begged them. At first after they caught us I thought we'd be ok. These guys were paying them to look for mutants. So when they got us back to the place they took Luke. They said they had to test us. Then we got even more scared when they didn't bring him back. They took us to a room and there was these three guys dressed in black. I mean how stupid is that...bad guys dressing in black. I was even more afraid then because there was a lot of blood and I was so worried for Luke. My sister kind of likes him and she was getting a little hysterical. They stuck needles in our arms and took some blood and put it in this box. After a few minutes they looked at it and then told the men that they didn't want us..." At this point she began to cry even harder. Rogue was worried the girl would faint or touch her so as gently as she could lead her over to a chair and sat her down.
"Just sit here for a minute Mackenzie. Ah'll be right back." Rogue went to get a glass of water and a wash cloth for her. By the time she returned the girl had stopped crying. She was hunched forward on the chair elbows on knees just staring off into space. Carefully Marie wiped her face and then handed her the glass. After a few minutes she started talking again her voice barely a whisper.
"At first they just slapped us around a little...asked about Halley...how they could find her. We told them...we couldn't tell them anything because we had no idea...you just can't find Halley if she doesn't want to be found. Then they took Anna and they started...we begged them...they were hurting her so bad and when she screamed they just laughed. They tied me to the wall and used that shocky thing on me when I wouldn't watch what they were doing to her. After the first few...after awhile she stopped screaming and just looked at me like I wasn't even there...Oh God Rogue I feel so horrible..."
"Hey...look at me Mackenzie...this is not your fault. None of you did anything to deserve what those assholes did ta you. Ah'm so sorry we didn't get there sooner and if Logan was awake he'd say the same thing."
"You don't understand," she said angrily. "I just...I just was so afraid they would...all I could think of was once they stopped hurting my sister...that it would be my turn. Then he came in and it was like suddenly...it was over. I know it's not how I'm supposed to feel but I was just so glad they didn't have the chance to rape me...and I was glad they were dead."
"You look here," Rogue said in what she hoped was a commanding tone of voice. "You think it would have made things any easier on your sister if you had been raped along with her. Look Ah know you feel terrible because she was hurt so bad but I know if I were her it would make me feel better to know they didn't have a chance to hurt you that way too."
"What the fuck do you know about it? Your living in a mansion with people to protect you. Do you have any idea what it's like for mutants out there. Do you know how lucky you are? My sister and I were living in a fucking metal box for over a month."
"Ah haven't always lived here ya know. Ah was on mah own for eight months after mah daddy told me ta get out. What Ah'm saying is we do know a lot about it. You and your sister can have a home here if that's what ya want. The Professor started this place ta give kids like us a home when their families couldn't cope."
"The big blue guy told me something like that...but it sounded too good to be true. So tell me about it Rogue. What is this place anyway?"
For the next forty minutes Rogue told her about Xavier's the best way she knew how. By telling Mackenzie how she had found the place and what a difference it had made in her life. Even as she was doing so Marie was struck with how very much Logan figured in all of this. It made her even more determined to tell him. The girl was mostly quiet while she talked aside from the occasional question. When Rogue was done Mackenzie took a long look at Logan.
"He might act like a good guy but he sure doesn't look like one! When he cut through that door I was scared to death. I thought he was gonna kill Anna and I when he was done with them. I mean he just don't look like the kind of guy to help any one."
"Ah know what you mean. The first time Ah saw him..., " hearing the infirmary door open and Jubilee call out to her she turned around and saw her friend and Janet coming through the door each with a tray heaped with food..
"Hey Rogey...brought you some breakfast. Sorry...no grits today. Hey who's the new...what the fuck!" The tray fell to the floor food and broken dishes flying all over the place.
Janet was about to walk into Anna's cubicle. Putting the try down on a table she hurried over to Jubilee. The girl looked...confused...and when she looked at what she was staring at so was she. In the aftermath of the explosion the building having collapsed with no sign of Logan escaping she had been certain there was no way he would survive. It wasn't until Hank got off the phone with SHIELD and looked at her that she realized she was crying. When Hank and Pete had finally dug Logan out she was amazed to see that he was still breathing. Seeing the condition he was in had made her feel sick. Hank had assured her just before going off to grab a few hours sleep that he would heal but she had assumed that would take weeks. That was less than five hours ago. There wasn't a mark on hin. No sign of the grievous injuries he had suffered.
Jubilee stepped to the side of his bed and reached out to trace the left side of his face with shaking fingers. Even knowing courtesy of Rogue the extent of his healing power she still couldn't believe what she was seeing. Lifting the sheet revealed the prefect skin beneath. God. She just couldn't get enough of that chest.
Seeing the look on her friends face Rogue shook her head fighting back a grin. "Down girl. Ah know he looks mighty fine but he's still not quite all there yet. Sides Ah don't think standin around perving on Logan is giving our guest here the right impression."
With a sigh Jubilee dropped the sheet. After introductions all around she hurried back to the kitchen to replace the food she had dropped while Mackenzie went to check on her sister. Janet was about to follow but paused to look at Logan again.
"I just can't...I mean Hank told me he would heal but I thought it would take weeks."
Rogue looked at her frowning. Time to eat some crow. "Ms. Phillips Ah just want ta thank ya for what ya said last night. It just burns me up how people seem ta think that it's no big deal when Logan gets hurt."
"I'm sure they didn't do it deliberately Rogue and I'm think Hank was feeling a little overwhelmed but still it made me a little angry myself. Charles should know better then to reinforce that type of thinking."
"Ms. Phillips...Janet...Ah want to apologize for treating you the way Ah have. Ah've been thinkin about how my temper is gettin a little out of hand and that maybe Ah should talk ta someone about it. Hank McCoy has been nothin but kind ta me...Ah just can't believe Ah threatened him like Ah did."
"I'd be happy to talk to you when ever you want to Rogue. Obviously Charles was a little heavy handed when I was he introduced so I understand your not being too thrilled about being ordered to see me. Why don't we start over and see what happens. I've only been here a week and what I really want right now is just to get to know everyone a little better. There is one thing I'd like you to do for me. Mackenzie is going to need someone to show her around and to listen to her. For the next few days at least I have to concentrate on Anna and I suspect so will Charles. Could you help her...make her feel at home here?"
"Ah'd be glad to. We had a nice long chat about the school already. We also talked about what happened...what those men did to them. Ah want to help any way Ah can." Banging sounds and a squeal signaled Jubilee's return and they scramble to help her before they lost another meal. Janet left to take some food to Mackenzie and her sister. Rogue and Jubilee went back to the office and used Hank's desk as a table. Rogue gave her friend a very abbreviated version of what Mackenzie told her.
"Ah what ta help her get settled Jubes. In fact if ya don't mind Ah'm gonna ask the Professor if she can stay in our room for a few days. After all the shit she's been through the girl is gonna need a little help."
"Hey that's a great idea girl. We could like show her around and clue the younger kids about how much we'll be mad if they give her a hard time. Ya know this would be a perfect opportunity for the spending of large sums of money. The girl is gonna need some clothes. Who better then us to help with that? Course with all your snoring she's not going to be getting much sleep." Jubilee grinned at her friend and quickly dodged the muffin that Rogue hurled at her.
From the doorway a familiar voice rumbled, "I don't like blueberry."
Rogue jumped out of her seat and ran toward him. All she wanted to do was squeeze the life out of him. She stopped short and actually growled in frustration when she realized he had nothing on but a bed sheet wrapped around his waist. Standing just a foot away she smiled tears trailing down her face. "Oh my God Logan...Ah'm so glad ta see ya. You scared the hell outta me!"
"Hey darlin please don't cry. Ain't no need ta worry about me kid. See I'm good as new."
Rogue clenched her hands in frustration, both at the cavalier manner he treated his injuries as well as her inability to receive the comfort she needed. Suddenly something white flew past her head right into Logans face. Jubilee had tossed him one of Hank's enormous lab coats. Quickly he put it on and Rogue flew into his arms.
"Ya big jerk! How the hell did ya manage ta let a whole building fall on ya! God Logan Ah was so scared."
"I'm sorry darlin really I am. Hey it was no fun for me either. But you know I was gonna be alright kid...after all I always heal."
Rogue wanted to haul off and smack him. "Stop talkin like that! You might not care how much you get hurt but I sure as hell do!"
Logan's throat felt a little funny...it was suddenly hard to swallow. Think you dummy! Of course she's going to worry when you get your sorry ass blown up. That's what happens when people care about you. Looking over her shoulder he saw Jubilee trying not to stare. Her eyes looked...wet and her chin was quivering. He looked at her and winked. "Come on over and help hold me up kid." She walked to them and he folded one arm over her slender shoulders.
Looking at the food on the desk he felt his stomach rumble. "So what are you two gonna eat?"
This time Marie did smack him on the shoulder. "All you men ever think about is food and sex." She divided the meal amongst the three of them and they sat down to finally eat.
"Hey kid...did they leave any of my clothes here. I fell like a fucking idiot havin to wear this sheet."
A fork clattered on the floor and Rogue looked up from her plate to see her roommate with her hands clutching her head. She was moaning in obvious pain.
"What's wrong Jubes...are you feelin alright?"
"What's wrong? I'll tell ya what's wrong girl. The Wolvster was like totally naked and I didn't even get a good look!"
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Charles Xavier started at his computer as the images played out yet again. After seeing to his patients last night Hank had stopped by to talk before going to bed. Hank had given him a brief summary of what had happened and then handed him a computer disk before going to snatch a few hours of rest. The disk contained a recording of the video feed from the communication device that Logan had worn when he had attacked the FOH warehouse. To say the quality was poor would be an understatement. Even so what had happened was quite clear. Logan had overpowered at least twenty very heavily armed (and very poorly trained) men killing at last half of them outright. Xavier still had no idea why the building had exploded. Hank had mentioned something about a bomb but the recording had ended abruptly when Logan had used the C-4 to open the electrified door.
Considering the images of what those...animals were doing to the two girls now in his care he could feel nothing but a grim satisfaction for what Logan had done. That as much as anything else frightened him. The time had come to finally lay his cards on the table. He had called Scott first thing this morning and he had agreed to return within the next few days. Later on today he would have to talk about what happened with Hank and Ororo. No doubt she would be especially disturbed with what had happened. With a sigh he reached for his phone. After hearing from Hank how SHIELD had kept the local police away long enough for them to retrieve Logan and leave he knew that this was something he had to do. He dialed and after two rings someone picked up
"Hello Nicolas...I believe we have some issues to discuss."
