Title: A Lesson to Learn

Title: A Lesson to Learn
Author: sourspunk
Summary: Logan/Marie pairing. Logan and Marie's lives have both drifted apart since his departure in the movie. Five years later, they find each other again. Now they both are in for a lesson in living and loving.
Rating: PG13(?) It's nothing bad really. Just rated for a bit of language right now. It'll definitely get a higher rating later on though.
Disclaimer: All X-Men characters belong to Marvel and Fox; this piece of fan-written fiction intends no infringement on any copyrights.
Archive: None at the moment. But if you want to use it, just ask.
Feedback: You know you want to. Don't be shy. I don't bite. *ggrrrr*

Chapter 1, Sulking and Remembrance

It was dark and gloomy as Marie walked through the streets. The only sounds were of her worn shoes softly slapping against the cement sidewalk until she came to a sudden hault, catching site of a big movie poster taped to the side of one of the older buildings in the city. The sign read, "Now Playing", and had some scribbles on it. And though it looked like a bad movie, she decided to go see it anyway. Afterall, she had nothing better to do.

She walked in, almost exactly when the movie started. Walking to the first seat she spotted, Marie quietly sat down to face the upcoming entertainment. The theater was almost empty except for a young man with dark greenish hair, and a giggly couple. In the far corner there was also a figure, but she couldn't make it out. Not allowing it to bother her, Marie focused her attetion back to the screen.

The movie itself was a badly made porn, and it was slightly funny. The way the moaning didn't quite match the mouths, the way the women kept looking disgusted... she guessed that it was homemade, but wasn't really sure. Either way, she tried to keep her snickering down to a minimum.

After the movie, Marie started walking home. She didn't speed, she had no need to. Nothing could harm her. She had incredible strength, the abilty to fly, and not to mention the countless random 'afflictions', as the proffessor use to call it, that she could rarely attribute to just one person. The fact that her skin could kill with a touch was reason alone for her not to fear much of anything.  As of a week ago, she obtained the quaint gift of reading minds, telepathic was the word. She could also move objects now too... that would be telekenesis, if she remembered from Jean correctly. Not that it mattered much anyways, because soon the power would just fade away like every other mutant's did.

Except for the first few victims of her poisonous skin.

Five years after discovering her mutation, and she still felt the young boy named Cody in her head. He didn't have x-ray vision, or mind control, or even the ability to form bubbles, like some of her acquaintances at the mansion. No, he was just a regular human, popping up every now and again just waiting to be handed a bowl of soup when he was sick, or to be counted in on the school trips to the mall so that he could play in the arcade room to achieve that all-time high score. Always the youngest. Never to grow old no matter how much times passed. She could even consider him her inner-child, because really. That's what he was now that part of his soul was forced to spend an eternity there within her own.

Erik never left either. Even his powers managed to emerge when called upon. Oh, he'd hang low in the dark crevices of her mind for a while. But never for long. He always liked to catch people offguard. When they least excepted him. So when everyone thought he'd finally disappeared, that'd be when he'd strike. Melding his own personality with her own. Just for the sick pleasure of watching those she loved, like the proffessor, to reel back in the horror of the revelations that'd occur. He was never pleasant to share a mind with. Always there to remind her how superior she was to others. How she alone could destroy the human race and rule mutant-kind with an iron fist, if only she'd get up and do it. And whenever she'd mess up, it was because she wasn't trying hard enough. And if he were there, he'd show her how it was done right. Ofcourse he wasn't. And that just pissed him off. Royaly. Because Erik never did like to be considered weak.

To this day, Logan was still probably the most welcomed. And that wasn't because of the gifts he left her; the sharpened senses and faster healing; which were always a good thing. It was because he was the closest thing she'd ever come to as considering a friend since her mutation manifested. Though, the first week with him *was* difficult because he'd always try to cop a feel off of Jean. Eyeing her when she walked into a room, like she was a giant piece of candy, and he just wanted to take a huge lick. Which really wouldn't be too far from the truth. But, when the realization dawned on him that his actions where bothering Marie, he'd back off. He was always good to her. Looking after her like he promised he would. Encouraging her when she felt she couldn't do something. Stepping up and taking a swing at Erik and the others when they'd try to over croud her mind. When she'd wake up from a nightmare, he would help to calm her back down and tell her everything would be alright. Always there. He was her angel. Her hero dressed in jeans and flannel.

 

Carol. Marie didn't like to think of her often. Carol was nice. She was a daughter, a wife, a mother, and a great friend to many. She loved to cook food for her family and take the kids to school in their family station wagon. When a new neighbor came to town, she'd be the first to bring over a batch of freshly made chocolate chip cookies. So, it was without joy, when a mission went wrong, that Marie had to absorb the life out of the woman. No matter how nice her exterior was, on the inside, Carol was the scariest thing Marie had ever seen. Which said alot actually, considering she had both Logan and Erik in her mind as well. Two years Carol has been in her head. Two years, full of revenge plotting torment on the young girl that stole her soul and sent her into a coma, never again to see her family or friends. It was tortue for Carol. It was hell for Marie.

 

Marie knew she was gorgeous. With medium length mahogany-red hair that curled just a little at the ends, and two out of place white shocks outlining her face, that would look strange on anyone but her. She wore a tight brown babytee that's color matched her eyes perfectly. Marie was almost 22 now, but her eyes made her appear much older. Ofcourse, thinking about it, when you have memories of one who's well into his sixties, and another who could be older than god, who's wouldn't? She had a perfect figure. 34D 28 34. And she often wondered why she bothered keeping a figure, when no one would ever be able to touch her at all.

Marie often wondered about many things.... things that she wished had not happened.

*flashback*

Movement... she knew He was there....but where...where was He?... He was fast and silent, not ever allowing her a clear shot of His image... Marie saw the movement again... then....it was black.

*present*

She felt tears come to her eyes. Marie looked up and noticed she was almost home. Just one more block.

As she arrived at her door, she noted something on the doorstep. She stooped down effertlessly and picked it up. A rose. A beautiful rose that was the color of her hair.. that mahogany-red. Marie unlocked the door to her apartment and Kipper, her cat, began rubbing against her legs. She was immediately comforted. Tired though. Definitely, she needed her sleep. As she walked to her room, she thought about Him again. But quickly pushed Him into the deepest parts of her mind as she had everyone else. It was always easier that way.

Then she put her head down on the soft checkered pillow, and felt better than she had all day. Marie fell asleep before she could take her shoes off.

When she woke up, she looked around. Kipper was curled up next to her, the sun shining dramatically through the curtains. It looked so beautiful. It was moments like these that she could almost believe in God, except, it was proven that he was basically a faerie tale. She thought about how everyone was in shock when their shelled town was first introduced to mutants. With the myth of superpowered humans come true, there was a slight panic. Marie grinned remembering an old neighbor. The woman was so obsessed with God, she wished she could have seen her face when the information was revealed that she too was a mutant. Mutants. A blasphamy against everything God created.

Marie couldn't quite remember the dream she had. There was something about it. She tried to remember, but that just seemed to block it out more.

She got up and walked into the bathroom, and as she looked in the mirror, she saw she had been crying in her sleep. She got undressed, and stepped into the shower, but not before looking at herself again, fully in the mirror this time. Marie was almost always pleased with what she saw before her. This time was no different.

 

The hot water felt good, and as she started to relax, she felt hungry. She finished washing her body, and concentrated on her hair. It was not too long, a little past her shoulders, and it was always soft. Marie opened the shower door and wiped off the now foggy mirror with the back of her hand. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and then brushed her teeth in the small sink. 

She went to the kitchen thinking about her dream. *What could be so bad... Bad enough to make me cry?* she asked herself. *What could I have dreamed about?*

She fixed some cereal and muched quietly on the hard grain and cold milk. She remembered when she was little, she used to laugh with her parents when they ate breakfast. Her father was really funny, and made the stupidest jokes. But they made them laugh, and feel more like a family. Shruggging off that thought, Marie put her bowl in the dishwasher, then grabbed a long hooded cloak from the hat rack. She wrapped the surprisingly light garment around her shoulders and tucked a flyaway platinum hair behind her ear. 

Before opening the door to go outside, Kipper meowed for more wanted attention. Maried curled her fingers through his long hair as she would a lover, combing through the blonde, thick, wavy locks. He snorted a little and tossed his head, hair slipping free from her touch.

"Kippy," Marie murmured, the mock warning in her eyes as she slowly pulled back her hand. He turned his head back and looked over his shoulder, blinking his large, dark, expressive eyes as he twitched his ears this way and that.

"I'll be back soon, love," Marie's only response before shuffling herself out of the door, was a short plantative meow.

TBC... don't worry. it gets better. I hope......