Wolverine's
bond with Rogue overcomes big obstacles.
*****
"I want to know how in the
world could you let this happen!" Logan screamed as Storm, him and Scott
made their way into the academy. "You guys should have been watching over
her, you should have been thinking about the possibility that Magneto,
Sabretooth or Mystique were going to come back. You were supposed to be
protecting her ... " Logan was cut off by Scott.
"No Logan, you were
the one that was supposed to be protecting her, you were the one
that promised to take care of her, and it's your fault this happened!
You don't just promise a girl that you are going to take care of her and
then leave and then don't even drop a line in damn near close to a whole
year!" Scott screamed, his anger getting the best of him.
Logan stopped walking and
faced Scott. "I was trying to find out my past, trying to find out what
who I am. Fifteen years of memory are down the drain and I did what I had
to do to find out who I am, or where I belong in this world. And while
I was gone, she was your responsibility and you guys were supposed to take
care of her, and none of you did." Logan screamed back.
Storm sighed, as she watched
a heated argument between Logan and Scott start up, usually Storm would
intervene in the conversation and try to stop the argument but Storm could
already see that this was a fight that had been itching to come out.
"Where you belong in this
world? What your past is? What about her? What about where she belongs
in this world? She thought she belonged with you, you let her get attached
to you and then you just left! I was the one here for her the last year
while you fought in stupid cage matches, and I won't let you come back
here and hurt her all over again!" Scott replied, glaring.
"Hey if I remember correctly,
you asked me to come here, but like you said I was the one that
promised to take care of Rogue and that is exactly what I plan on doing,
something you bunch of X-Men couldn't do." Logan replied, gritting
his teeth.
"Oh believe me, it wasn't
my idea to have you come here! Actually I was completely against it!" Scott
said, in a low tone. "Actually if it was up to me, I would keep you the
hell away from Rogue and Jean." Scott replied, glaring at Logan.
Logan grinned. "What now,
they're both your girls?"
"Stop it you two!" Jean said,
walking over to Logan, Storm and Scott. "Welcome back Logan, it's good
to have you here, the professor is waiting for you. So if you two can stop
competing with each other for one second, I'll lead the way to the professor's
office, he's been trying to find Rogue using the cerebro." Jean replied,
walking down the hall.
Storm followed closely. "Has
it worked?" Storm asked hopefully.
"No." Jean said sadly.
"Why not?" Scott asked.
"Yeah, I thought he could
find any mutant using the cerebro, well besides Magneto." Logan replied,
walking as well.
"Well somehow Magneto has
found a way to keep Rogue out of range, we haven't been able to reach Rogue
at all. I even tried connecting to her, but I wasn't able to do that either,
Magento's hold on Rogue is incredibly strong. And we have reason to believe
that Sabretooth is with them as well, as well as some very new mutants
that have joined the brotherhood." Jean replied quickly.
"Oh great." Scott replied.
"Well I think we should at least split up the enemies --- just for planning
sake. Logan, you basically would be better fighting against Sabretooth;
You two are alike so you could predict his moves, but the thing is you
both have healing powers, so it would be hard to kill each other, which
is also a good thing. Except Sabretooth's healing ability is stronger then
yours, when it takes at least a minute or close to it for you to heal,
it takes Sabretooth about a few seconds, so you would have to be careful
in fighting him. I think Storm has a better chance against --- " Scott
was cut off by Logan.
"Excuse me for interrupting
your little train of thought, but I want Magneto." Logan replied huskily.
Storm shook her head. "You
are vulnerable against Magneto, considering the metal that is in your body,
you are very vulnerable against Magneto. Actually our best bet is to all
stick together, fight as a team." Storm replied.
Jean nodded. "Yes, I have
to agree with Storm on that one."
Scott sighed and pushed open
the door to the professor's office. "Professor, we're here, Logan too."
Scott replied, walking into the room. Scott looked over his shoulder and
shot a look towards Logan before turning back around and paying attention
to Charles.
The professor looked up and
smiled. "Welcome back Logan. So I assume you heard what is going on."
Logan nodded. "Yeah --- how
do we get her back?" Logan asked, cutting to the point.
*****
Sabretooth looked down at
Rogue, Sabretooth let out a small growl. "Do you talk?" Sabretooth asked,
continuing to stare down at the seemingly small girl below him, he towered
over her because of his tall height. "I don't get what Erik wants in you."
Rogue trembled when she first
heard Sabretooth's voice but then she forced herself to look up at the
towering beast. "Occasionally, yes. I don't know why he wants me either,
he thinks that humans and mutants can't co-exist with one another." Rogue
replied.
"They can't, but I don't
see what it has to do with you." Sabretooth replied, still staring down
at Rogue.
"He's going to kill me, use
me as an example. Humans and mutants right now may not be able to co-exist
with one another and yes humans don't treat us fairly but what right does
the unfair judgment that we have received give Magneto the right to kill
other mutants? Why should we fight one another? You keep following Magneto
down the road he is going down, all mutants will die, including you. Magneto
doesn't care about you, he cares about this cause, and he'll kill you in
a second to get what he needs. I won't believe in Magneto's cause, I won't
join him in his fight and that is why I'm dying." Rogue replied, tears
in her eyes.
Sabretooth stared at Rogue,
his head cocked to the side. "Death is just the beginning." Sabretooth
replied.
"No, it's the end." Rogue
replied. "People die and that's it, there is nothing after that." Rogue
replied.
Sabretooth bent down next
to Rogue. "You'll be the example, everyone will see that Erik's way is
the best way, the right way. Erik is fighting for mutants, he's fighting
to make a better place for us and your death will help us achieve what
we want, and this time your friends can't stop us." Sabretooth replied;
Sabretooth wrapped his paw around Rogue's neck. "Scream for pain." The
material of the scarf Rogue was wearing kept from her skin touching his
own. "Scream for pain Rogue." Sabretooth replied sadistically.
Rogue struggled against the
chains as she tried her best to scream but Sabretooth's hold around her
neck was keeping her from breathing or even screaming. 'Logan help me'
Rogue
said, hoping somehow, someway, wherever Logan was, he could hear her.
*****
'Logan help me' The
voice had sounded so scared and helpless that it had almost knocked Logan
on his ass; First it had reached his ear in a silent plea but then it echoed,
getting louder each time. It took everything Logan had not to scream her
name, he wanted to know she was okay; Logan groaned as he fell to the ground
as Rogue's plea got louder, the louder it got the more it affected him.
"Logan!" Jean screamed.
Scott rushed over to where
Logan was, Scott bent down and stared at Logan. "Logan, you okay?" Scott
asked, actually worried about the welfare of Logan. "Logan?" Scott touched
Logan on the shoulder, getting ready to feel Logan push him away but it
never happened; Logan just sat on the floor, his eyes shut tightly, not
answering anybody.
Storm looked at Logan, a
knowing look in her eyes. "Can you hear her? What is she saying?" Storm
asked calmly.
"Logan?" Jean asked, when
Logan didn't say a word.
"She connected with him."
The professor replied. "I've done research, some studying on Rogue and
Logan, and their bond is psychological, their minds seem to connect with
one another's. They can talk to each other connecting their minds with
one another, it also explains Rogue having Logan's nightmares, seeing into
Logan's past. They reach each other on higher levels, that goes into the
human brain, their minds can at times be one." The professor replied knowingly.
Logan finally opened his
eyes, Logan watched Scott inch away from him; Logan pushed himself weakly,
but then he gained his composure. "I don't know what happened, but I could
hear Rogue, she said Logan help me, I could feel her anguish, I think it
was --" Logan thought for a second. "Sabretooth, he was hurting her." Logan
replied, his eyes flaring with anger.
Jean frowned. "What was he
doing to her?" Jean asked.
"Something about screaming
--- " Logan said, his anger still not in control.
"Scream for pain." Storm
said, her voice in a low tone, but high enough for everyone to hear her.
Logan turned to Storm. "Yeah,
that is what he said to her --- how did you --- " Logan stumbled
over his words, trying to stay calm, but the thought that Sabretooth could
still be hurting Rogue, made his mind a jumbled mess.
"I just know." Storm replied,
she turned to the professor. "Professor we must hurry." Storm replied.
Scott nodded. "Yes we do,
but we need to realize that Rogue is not our only concern --- " Scott was
cut off quickly by Logan.
"Rogue is my only
concern." Logan replied, before walking out of the room. "You geeks can
stay back here and do all the planning you want to do, but it's getting
us nowhere, and I actually want to save Rogue before they kill her." Logan
screamed behind him.
*****
"Get off of her." Mystique
said, pulling Sabretooth off of Rogue; Mystique watched Rogue cough, trying
to get air in her lungs. Mystique turned to Sabretooth. "Stop playing around,
we have a mission to do, the girl doesn't die quite yet, so stop playing
with her. Or I'll make you scream, I'll make you feel pain that you couldn't
even think of, even if you tried." Mystique replied menacingly.
Sabretooth glared at Mystique,
he let out a loud growl, before he stalked off.
Mystique turned to Rogue.
"Are you okay?" Mystique asked. "He tends to play with people too much,
he seems to be fascinated with screaming." Mystique touched a white strand
of Rogue's hair. "It fits you darling." Mystique replied softly. "You could
have been something you know? Only if you would have joined us, you could
have had everything. We could have showed you how to control your mutation
and then you could have touched people without being afraid that you would
kill them. But obviously your loyalties lay with Charles, or more like
your loyalties lay with Logan." Mystique smirked. "I have no doubt that
Logan will come for you, he cares too much not to. You're blessed to have
a person to fight for you, but remember this, Logan will not walk out of
here alive and neither shall you. You've chosen your side, and unfortunately
for you --- it's the wrong side." Mystique replied, shaking her head.
Rogue glared at Mystique,
before pulling away. "Any side you are on, is bad and wrong. I won't
let you hurt Logan, I won't let you touch him, I'll die for him." Rogue
said, staring up at Mystique, a brave look on her face. "I'll die for Xavier's
cause."
Mystique smiled. "Yes you
will." Mystique stared at Rogue. "You know what you remind me of? You remind
me of the girl that was the sort of person you always remembered in school.
You weren't exactly popular but you weren't unpopular, you were everything
everybody wanted to be but couldn't be because they didn't understand what
perfection meant. You're perfect Rogue, from your head to your toes, even
to your deadly skin. You care about people more then you should, and your
loyalty in people is what makes you different from everybody else, you
have a goodness buried in you that can overcome evil, if you just believed
in yourself. You're the girl I always wanted to be friends with, you're
the girl who was always nice to me despite what I looked like, you made
school just a tad bit easy to go to. But Rogue, darling, perfection must
die, and you shall die and take perfection with you." Mystique replied.
Rogue stared Mystique in
the eyes. "And you're the type of person that dies alone." Rogue spat out.
"'Cause you kill everything that you envy because you can't stand not being
perfect. You're the sort of person that made me afraid to go to school
as a child."
Mystique stared at Rogue
as she heard the same words she had once said to Senator Kelly escape Rogue's
mouth. "I may be what you say I am, but I will be the one laughing when
Logan holds you in his arms and realizes that nothing can be done to bring
you back. My whole life I wanted to destroy perfection and tonight I will
--- now shut up before I get Sabretooth." Mystique replied; Mystique shook
her head and walked away from Rogue, before she did something that couldn't
be taken back.
*****
"Logan," Storm started, following
Logan. "Please, you know you can't do this alone." Storm replied, she let
out a sigh of relief when Logan stopped walking, and turned around and
faced her; Logan's eyes were soft and focused on her. "Logan?" Storm questioned.
Logan sighed. "Didn't we
already have this conversation a year ago?" Logan let out a chuckle. "It
was my responsibility to take care of her and I left, I left her alone
and now they have her, and all I can think about is that I let her down.
Rogue trusted me to protect her, she trusted me to save her, to be there
with her and for her, and I did none of that. I just walked out, because
I was afraid, afraid of what she meant to me --- I've never felt human
emotions before, it's always been about being closed off and feeling nothing
but the coldness in me, but something changed, I need her." Logan confessed.
Storm smiled. "Nothing matters
except that you are here now."
"But it might be too late."
Logan replied.
"Nothing is too late." Storm
replied, with a wise tone in her voice. "You came back, you didn't have
to, but you did. Because you care about her Logan, you make the fact that
you care about Rogue seem like a horrible thing but it's not, it's perfectly
normal. We all need someone, we all love someone, and for you it just happens
to be Rogue. Rogue is a beautiful young woman and she isn't afraid of you,
she cares about you, and she needs you as well, and I pretty much think
she loves you too." Storm said, smiling.
Logan sighed. "I can't do
this alone."
"Then let us help you." Storm
replied. "We can rescue Rogue, if we all work together, there is no I in
team as you may know. Together, we won't let Rogue die, we can't. She's
a friend of mine and I'll do everything in my power to rescue her, because
she's a friend and family and you never let down your family and friends."
Storm replied, walking up the stairs that led back to the professor's office.
"Coming, Logan?" Storm asked, staring back at Logan. "Please." Storm said
simply.
Logan nodded and walked up
the stairs. "So this means I have to work with visor boy? Oh how great."
Logan mumbled.
*****
"He has a mansion, that must
be where the brotherhood stays, and that must be where Erik has Rogue."
The professor explained. "Here is a map of where the mansion is, I'm going
to leave it up to you four, to find a way in. Be careful my children, my
thoughts will be with you." The professor replied, he smiled at Logan.
"Let your heart lead you my children."
Logan shot the professor
a half smile. "Let's go." Logan replied, he walked out with Scott, Jean
and Storm shortly behind him. "We shouldn't take the jet, it's too much
trouble, we take the vehicles, less trouble." Logan grabbed the map from
Jean. "Once we get inside, we split up momentarily; Like Scott said ...
I'll take on Sabretooth, Storm you take on Mystique, Scott, Jean you two
take out whoever there is, but leave Magneto until the end, he might be
too strong for just you two." Logan replied.
Scott nodded. "Good plan
Logan."
Jean smiled. "You two getting
along? It's a miracle." Jean replied.
Storm smiled. "Okay Scott
you ride with me and Jean, let Logan take your motorcycle." Storm replied,
walking over to the shiny red SUV that had the X-Men plates on the back
of the car. "Scott, we don't have time." Storm replied as she got in the
car.
Scott sighed and slapped
Logan on the back. "See you there." Scott replied, walking over to Jean,
Scott nodded at Logan before both him and Jean got in the car. "Let's go,
we don't have a lot of time, we've taken enough time already." Scott replied.
Logan hopped on Scott's motorcycle,
he started it up, Logan watched the red SUV take off; With a shake of his
head Logan sped out of the garage. Logan pushed the high-speed button and
whizzed past the red SUV. Logan kept his eyes on the road, but his mind
was on Rogue, god he hoped they hadn't done anything to her yet. You
would have felt it, Logan reminded himself, as he turned a corner.
You
would have felt her, Logan mused silently. Logan wished he was one
of those people who could stay normal under any circumstances, like Storm.
Storm had the uncanny ability to stay calm under any situation, Logan wished
he could be like that, but he wasn't the calm type of person, all that
Logan could think about was that Rogue was being held captive by Magneto,
Mystique and Sabretooth. I swear if that overgrown lion pup touches
Marie ... Logan stopped his thoughts when he realized he called Rogue
Marie, Logan sighed. Please be alright. Logan said to himself, as
he saw the brotherhood's mansion come into view.
Scott pulled the car off
to the side, he turned it off and hopped out of the car and headed over
to where Logan was, Logan was staring at the mansion as if he had never
seen such a thing before. "Hey, you okay?" Scott asked, staring at Logan.
"No." Logan snapped, but
not in a cruel way. "In that mansion holds the one thing I care about.
That's what I found out Scott, I don't care about my past. It's over with,
but she --- Rogue, is my present and hopefully my future and she's in there
and I have way too much to lose, I should have never left." Logan replied.
"I should have stayed, like she wanted me to."
"People make mistakes." Jean
replied, standing next to Scott. "But you can reverse this one before it
gets too messy."
Storm stood next to Logan.
"Logan, life is full of choices, choices that we have to make, and yeah
some choices change everything. You made a choice a year ago, you let Marie
into your life, and now you can't let her go, you have to fix this Logan,
and we'll be with you all the way. Despite that you said you would never
be an X-Man, we think of you as one of the team." Storm replied, smiling.
Jean nodded. "Completely
Logan." Jean said, smiling widely.
Scott scoffed when he saw
Jean smiling widely at Logan, but he hid the glare that was on his face.
Right now wasn't about how Jean always seemed to have to smile at
Logan, right now was about saving Rogue, right now Scott would put his
insecurities behind him. Scott looked up when he felt Storm's touch on
his arm. "Well let's get going guys." Scott said, he glanced over at Storm
and smiled at her. Scott looked into Storm's eyes and saw the silent question
she was asking, he nodded, answering just as silent.
Storm smiled when she saw
Scott nodding at her; Storm would be lying if she said she didn't see the
way Jean would look at Logan, and Storm knew how it made Scott feel, it
made him feel insecure, and Storm would try her best to ask Scott if he
was okay. "Scott, is right, we must be getting in there, let's try to find
a back way in, we should make this quiet as possible and if ... "
"We can't, we do it my way."
Logan said gruffly. "And my way, ain't always the best way."
*****
Rogue struggled against the
chains, they were beginning to make her skin raw, but Rogue didn't care
how much it hurt, all she wanted to do was get out of here; Rogue stopped
struggling when she saw Magneto walk into the room, his cape flowing behind
him, Rogue looked up at the helmet Magneto was wearing. "You look like
a buckethead with that stupid helmet on, I hope you know."
Magneto stared at Rogue,
Magneto's lips were pursed together, he let out a small chuckle followed
by a grin. "Well my dear, you definitely do have a bit of Wolverine's traits,
do you not? Mystique told me that you had Wolverine's traits but I didn't
believe it until now, you certainly aren't the little timid mouse you were
once, are you?" Magneto asked, walking closer to Rogue.
Rogue began to struggle against
the chains. "You're going to die." Rogue said in a hushed tone, Rogue's
eyes were full of fear but her voice told a different tale; Rogue stared
right into Magneto's eyes, not backing away. "And the brotherhood will
die with you."
Magneto laughed. "Oh my child,
you even have some of Charles in you. Charles was always the optimistic
one, he always thought that if somebody tried hard enough, they could do
anything. Charles is still like that and I can see that he has you fooled
into believing his cause, too bad my child, you could have been so great
with the brotherhood." Magneto replied, shaking his head.
"I'm not your child." Rogue
spat out. "I'm not a kid!" Rogue screamed.
Magneto shook his head again.
"On the outside you may look like one, but inside you aren't a child. You're
right Rogue, you are not a child, your innocence was taken away from you
the minute you learned of your mutation, and your family didn't help you.
Your parents disowned you, what does that say about Charles' cause? Where
is Charles? If he honestly cared him and his X-Men would be here, but no
... you will be the one dying alone ... alone and never loved."
Magneto replied, he used his power to lift up Rogue.
Rogue turned away when Magneto
brushed his gloved hand across her cheek. "I'm more loved, then you could
ever be."
Magneto stared at Rogue,
his eyes were soft and sad for a moment. "I've known too many mutants like
you, they think they can change the world, they think if they believe in
the cause, that they can make it work, they think that they can make the
world tolerant and good and safe for mutants like us to live in. But see
Rogue, those mutants waste their time trying to make things be right, why
be right when you can be powerful? Who cares about honesty and justification?"
Magneto asked.
"Obviously not you." Rogue
said, staring at Magneto. "And believe me, I'm nothing like you. I am nowhere
near like you, because you are a cold person who grew up lonely and scared
and now you want to take it out on the rest of this world." Rogue stated.
"And what gives you the right
to think you now me so well child?" Magneto asked, smirking.
Rogue cocked her head to
the side, she brought her hand up which were still chained down, she tapped
the side of her head with her gloved hand. "You're in here, I can see all
your memories, all your pain, all your fear. You were taken from your own
family and you never felt love, and now you want to make sure no one else
is happy with their lives ... you know what they say."
"No, what do they say?" Magneto
asked, suddenly more intrigued with Rogue, then he had ever been.
"Misery loves company, and
you my old friend are the most miserable person on this planet." Rogue
said, a frown on her face.
"Old friend?" Magneto questioned.
"Oh Charles, what a surprise to talk to you. You were able to get a hold
of the girl's mind I see? You never cease to amaze me Charles, what are
you thinking Charles? I'm about to kill one of your precious mutants, any
last thoughts for the pathetic girl? She is too much like you Charles,
she believes that humans and mutants can one day co-exist, you taught her
so well Charles, but all your lessons you gave Rogue, have been a lie."
Magneto spat out, venom lacing his words.
Rogue shook her head. "Oh
Erik, old friend, why must you think so negatively? Rogue is a very strong
girl and she will in the end triumph over you, because Rogue is not alone
... " Rogue blinked her eyes when she felt the hold the professor had on
her disappear. "Please don't." Rogue said, as she felt the chains being
dropped to the ground. Rogue rubbed her hands, she went to take off her
glove, but stopped when Magneto grabbed her by the throat. "Don't." Rogue
was able to choke out.
Magneto lifted Rogue up in
the air, as high as he could, his gloves were able to protect him from
Rogue's skin. "Say goodbye."
*****
Logan jumped through the
window, the glass going everywhere; Logan looked behind him at Scott and
shrugged. "Sorry, got a bit anxious." Logan turned around to be presented
with the presence of various mutants, two of them Logan automatically recognized
were Sabretooth and Mystique. "Oh honey, you shouldn't have." Logan said,
lunging towards Sabretooth.
Sabretooth brought up his
foot and threw Logan over his head, Sabretooth growled when he watched
Logan flip over and land on his feet gracefully; Sabretooth narrowed his
eyes when he saw Logan brought out his claws. "You won't win this time."
Logan smirked. "Haven't you
heard? The good guys always win, it's in the rule book. Heroes always
win, villains always die."
Sabretooth lunged towards
Logan, he grabbed Logan by the throat, crushing the breath out of him.
"Not always." Sabretooth threw Logan against the wall. "Once in a while
the hero dies, or in this case, the heroine." Sabretooth replied, as he
heard a scream come from the other side of the mansion, which he easily
recognized was Rogue's. "She's going to die." Sabretooth said grinning.
Logan growled out in pain,
he looked up when he heard Rogue scream; Logan's eyes darkened with anger.
"Now you made me mad." Logan replied, using his claws to slash Sabretooth
across the face; Logan grinned.
Sabretooth shook his head
as the slash marks healed. "I heal." Sabretooth replied.
Logan lunged forward and
stabbed Sabretooth in the chest with his claws. "But that distracts you."
Logan screamed, getting up.
Storm levitated herself in
the air, she lifted her head up. "Let him go." Storm said to Mystique who
had a hold of Scott. Storm's eyes slowly turned white, there was a faint
sound of thunder in the background. "Okay, I warned you." Storm replied,
when Mystique continued to attack Scott and Jean at the same time. "You
guys never learn." Storm said, shaking her head.
Scott smiled at Mystique.
"There's a storm coming." Scott muttered, he fell to the ground once a
flash of lightening entered the room, followed by thunder; The thunder
hit Mystique sending her flying across the room. "Thanks Storm." Scott
said.
Storm floated down to the
ground, she walked over to Scott and brought her hand out to help him up.
"No problem Scott."
Scott allowed Storm to pulled
him up; Scott saw two mutants behind Storm. "Duck." Once Storm ducked down,
Scott adjusted his visor and a laser beam came out of the visor hitting
the two mutants, sending them flying, the two of them flew through the
window.
"Now I think it is my turn
to thank you." Storm said, pushing herself up. "Thank you." Storm replied,
smiling.
Jean stepped over a unknown
mutant's body, Jean tensed up when she saw Magneto holding Rogue up in
the air; Jean brought her hand up and used her power to lift Magneto up
in the air, taking the more powerful man by surprise. Jean looked to the
side where Rogue had fall down to the ground, Jean shook her head and used
her power to levitate Magneto in the air.
Magneto let out a loud, husky
laugh. "Silly girl, your power is nowhere near the extent of mine." Magneto
used his power to throw Jean to the side. Magneto jumped to the ground,
he shook his head and lifted Jean up with his power, he floated Jean over
to him. "See that is where Charles makes his mistake, if you were one of
my students, I would have taught you how to use your power to the extent
to bodily harm, but oh no, Charles teaches you not to hurt people with
your power, just distract them."
"Jean!" Rogue screamed; Rogue
pushed herself up and charged at Magneto, she went to hit him but stopped
in her tracks when she saw Sabretooth in front of her. Rogue looked up
at Jean and then back where Sabretooth was. "Stop it!" Rogue screamed.
Jean let her eyes glance
down to Rogue who was being approached by Sabretooth. "No stop! She's just
a girl!" Jean screamed.
Magneto went to answer Jean's
scream but fell to the ground once he was pummeled by Logan. "Oh if it
isn't my clawed foe, I thought you would never show up." Magneto went to
say more but screamed in pain as Logan's claws slashed him across the face.
"Are you okay?" Logan asked,
turning his back to Magneto, Logan stared at Jean who nodded weakly.
"Logan!" Jean screamed, once
she saw Magneto lunging towards Logan. "Watch out!" Jean screamed again.
Magneto used his power to
throw Logan through a mirror that was hanging on the wall. "See Logan,
you just don't understand. My cause is the right one, we could make this
world ours, who cares about the humans? There is a war coming, and you
and Charles and all the rest of the X-Men don't seem to realize that my
side is the side to be on. I'm doing this to save mutants from being erased
by humans, they want to destroy us Logan, and by choosing the X-Men, you're
letting humanity win." Magneto kicked Logan in the face; Magneto grabbed
Logan by the throat. "Why risk everything for just one girl?" Magneto asked,
his eyes flaring.
Scott and Storm went to run
over to help Logan and Jean but Storm was thrown through a window by a
suddenly regenerated Mystique. Mystique watched Storm scream out in pain
as a piece of glass sliced through her body, luckily for Storm it wasn't
bad enough to kill her, but strong enough to keep her injured. Scott turned
around when he heard Storm scream, Scott's eyes flared.
"Storm!" Scott screamed,
he went to climb out of the window to help Storm but was picked up by Mystique.
"All of you will die, you
all will be the examples." Mystique replied. "No one can stop us, no one
can stop Erik. You all made a mistake by coming here, by risking everything
you had to save the pathetic girl, all she had to do was join us and everything
would have been alright. We could have taught her how to control her mutation,
we could have showed her so much more then Charles ever could, I only had
good intentions for Rogue. I watched her for months and I became intrigued
by her, she was such an interesting subject, everything about her amazed
me. She was always the sort of person I always wanted to be like, she was
perfect, and I thought that maybe, just maybe, she would join us and I
could have my own little world of perfection, she would be my friend, we
could destroy all of you, and I could have a friend. But she believed all
the fake words of sentiment and foolish advise Charles gave her, and now
you see why she has to die! Perfection, if it can't be me or be my friend,
then it has to die." Mystique said hauntingly.
Scott struggled against Mystique.
"You'll never be perfect, because everytime you look in the mirror, Raven,
you'll
see your image and the mirror will break, because beauty only exists inside
of us, and you're ugly inside because you followed a man who had never
been loved. You'll never win Mystique, Erik will never win, because the
world can change, but people like you and Erik can't. Xavier has taught
me everything, he has loved every one of his students, he calls us his
children, but you followed a man who never knew how it was to love, because
he grew up alone and you know one is the loneliest number. Erik wanted
someone else to follow his example so he got you, and now you two will
die with the crimes you have committed!" Scott screamed.
"And what crimes are those
Cyclops? The crime of wanting to live in a world that is not ashamed of
us?" Mystique questioned.
"No the crime of never knowing
how it is to be loved! Or cared about! You were right about one thing,
we all came here to save Rogue, because we care about her! People care
and love Rogue and that is why you hate her, that is why you want to destroy
her, because you know that there is no one that can feel that way about
you or Erik, and you hate that feeling." Scott replied coldly.
Mystique's eyes flared. "You
shouldn't insult the person that holds your life in her hands." With that
said Mystique threw Scott out the window, the pieces of glass cut his cheek,
Scott screamed when glass pierced his body just as it did Storm's.
Mystique grinned as she watched
both Storm and Scott writhe in pain, Mystique turned around and transformed
into Scott. "Jean!" Mystique screamed, disguised as Scott. "Jean! Oh god,
are you okay?" Scott ran up to Jean and hugged her.
Jean hugged Scott back. "Scott,
we have to help Lo --- " Before Jean could finish her statement, she felt
Scott's hand being wrapped around her throat. "Scott, what in the world
are you doing?" Jean managed to choke out.
Scott grinned. "Oh darling,
I think I've had enough of you." Scott threw Jean across the room, Mystique
changed back into her regular form once she saw Jean land against the wall,
she watched Jean slump to the floor, unconscious. "Who said love was all
roses and candy?" Mystique said to herself, laughing, she walked over to
Magneto and looked into Logan's eyes; Mystique frowned for a second when
she saw the look in his eyes ... he truly loves the girl, Mystique
thought to herself.
Magneto threw Logan against
the wall, his hand still tightened around Logan's throat. "Sabretooth!"
Magneto screamed. "Bring Rogue to me, now." Magneto grinned at Logan. "Let's
see how tough the wolverine really is." Magneto replied.
Logan struggled against Magneto.
"Listen buckethead --- " Logan was cut off by Magneto.
"No you listen Logan, I'm
about to test the strength of your heart." Magneto brought up his free
hand and two metal spikes floated over to where Magneto and Logan were.
"See Logan, your heart can be the most fragile thing you can have, but
then it can also be the most powerful thing you can have, which one will
it be Logan? Powerful or fragile? How much do you care for the girl?" Magneto
asked, he let go of Logan but before Logan could fall to the ground, Magneto
directed the spikes at Logan. The two metal spikes flew at Logan, one piercing
one side of Logan's shirt and the other piercing the other, the two metal
spikes holding Logan up to the wall.
"Logan!" Rogue screamed when
she saw what Magneto was doing to Logan. "Stop it!" Rogue screamed; Rogue
pushed Sabretooth to the ground when he tried to grab her. Rogue ran past
Mystique and ran all the way up to Logan. "Logan!"
Logan struggled against the
metal spikes. "Rogue, no! Get out of here!" Logan screamed. "Stay away
from her Simba, or I'll make sure you can never walk again, healing ability
or not." Logan's eyes flashed dangerously.
Magneto grinned. "Get her
Sabretooth, hope you enjoy this lesson Logan." Magneto replied, watching
Sabretooth walk up to Rogue.
Sabretooth brushed past Mystique,
Sabretooth cocked his head to the side before grabbing Rogue from behind.
"You still owe me a scream." Sabretooth snarled out as he tightened his
grip on Rogue. Sabretooth took a piece of Rogue's hair and sniffed it,
he grinned and looked at Logan. "You got yourself a cute girl here, I'm
going to enjoy killing her." Sabretooth growled out.
Logan let out a loud rumble,
that vibrated at the back of his throat. "You really don't want to do that."
Logan replied, pulling at his throat. "Damnit where are you guys?" Logan
screamed, his tone laced in desperation and anger.
"They're gone Logan, they
broke a promise, they promised to help you, and they broke it; Like you
broke the promise you made to Rogue. Promises are meant to be broken Logan,
that's why I never make them. People are meant to die, and that is why
I don't get attached, but tell me this if you were so damn loyal and you
cared so much about Rogue, why did you leave? Why would you leave someone
who needed you more then life itself? She trusted you, and you were afraid
and you walked out, and broke that already fragile heart of hers. How does
it feel Logan? How does it feel being responsible for someone else's pain?"
Magneto asked.
Logan froze, his eyes glazed
over in an unreadable state. "Please, don't hurt her." Logan asked, his
voice actually in a pleading tone. "Because if you do --- " Logan finally
let his eyes glaze over in anger. "I'll kill you." Logan spat out.
"Do it Sabretooth." Magneto
said, waving his hand in the air.
"Loga --- " Rogue's voice
was cut short when an unbearable pain went throughout her whole body, Rogue
slumped backwards as Sabretooth withdrew his claws from her back; Sabretooth
let Rogue fall to the ground.
Mystique looked down at the
fallen Rogue, Mystique stared at the blood forming the huge stab wound
Sabretooth had made in Rogue's back; Mystique cocked her head to the side.
"Perfection is gone." Mystique mumbled as her and Sabretooth walked out
of the mansion, they walked over to the jet Magneto had, just waiting for
their escape. "Erik better hurry." Mystique replied, as she stepped
into the jet. She turned the jet on, she watched Sabretooth get settled
in. "Good job."
Logan widened his eyes, tears
pricking them. "You bastard." Logan muttered, he thrashed at the spikes.
"You god damn bastard."
Magneto shook his head. "I'm
sorry Logan, but I had to do it, some things are just too precious to live
in this world, and Rogue was one of them. You'll look back on this day
and realize you chose the wrong side, because if you and Rogue had been
on our side, that would have never happened to her, sometimes the heart
just isn't strong enough. Love is for saps Logan, love isn't what people
say it is, love doesn't heal you, it kills you --- it killed Rogue." Magneto
looked down at Rogue, then shook his head. "But the passion you have for
her is undeniable and I would never want to make you give that up. Because
--- Passion. It lies in all of us. Sleeping... ...waiting... And though
unwanted... ...unbidden... it will stir... ...open its jaws, and howl.
It speaks to us... guides us... Passion rules us all. And we obey. What
other choice do we have? It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we
could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace. But we
would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank... Without passion, we'd
be truly dead." With that said Magneto stepped over Rogue's body and climbed
out the window, he waved his hand and let the spikes fall, Magneto then
walked over to the jet and climbed in. "Go." Magneto said to Mystique.
Logan fell to the ground,
he crawled over to Rogue, he stared down at the blood before turning Rogue
over, he held Rogue in his arms. "Rogue? Marie? Oh god --- " Logan cradled
Rogue in his arms. Let her drain you, the voice inside Logan's head
screamed; Logan nodded, he took off his glove and brought his hand to her
face, like he had done all those months ago on top of the statue of liberty.
Logan waited for a response but nothing happened; Logan took in a deep
breath remembering it took a while last time, but Rogue felt so much colder
then she had last time, there was a feeling at the bottom of Logan's heart,
but he didn't want to believe the feeling, he didn't want to believe that
Rogue wasn't going to wake up from this, he didn't want to believe any
of it. "Please Rogue, wake up." Logan's voice cracked with emotion. "I'll
never leave again, I swear." Logan said, in a hushed tone.
"L-Logan?" Jean's voice came
from behind him.
"Sabretooth got her." Logan
replied. "She's not responding, why ain't she responding?" Logan said,
his back turned to Jean.
"Where are Scott and Storm?"
Jean asked, her eyes at the limp Rogue in Logan's arms. "Are they --- "
Jean couldn't finish the sentence, just the thought of her two oldest friends,
and not to mention boyfriend dead broke her heart; Jean looked back at
Rogue, she looked up at Logan and nearly sobbed to death at the look on
his face, his eyes were concentrated on Rogue, as he desperately tried
to make her wake up, so she would drain him, so she would heal, but Rogue
wasn't moving.
"I-I don't know." Logan said
quietly; Logan looked up when he heard rustling. "I guess not." Logan replied,
when he saw Scott limping in, Storm was holding on to him, using Scott
as support, Logan could smell the strong scent of blood coming from both
of them. Logan sighed and went back to touching Rogue's face. "Come on
darlin', wake up, for me? Come on." Logan mumbled.
"They're gone." Scott said,
stumbling over to where Logan, Rogue and Jean were. "I tried to stop them,
but I couldn't --- " Scott stopped when he saw that Rogue was motionless
in Logan's arms. "Oh god, tell me --- is she --- Logan?" Scott's voice
was breaking at every little thing he said, he couldn't even form coherent
sentences, it was embarrassing. "Logan is Rogue, okay?" Scott asked.
Storm looked at Rogue. "We
failed." Storm said in a low tone. "We lost her." Storm stated, trying
to hold back tears.
"No!" Logan growled out.
"Rogue, she's not dead! She's not! It just takes a while, just hold on,
she's okay, Rogue's not dead." Logan replied, his heart beating wildly,
he began to push Rogue a bit. "Come on kid, wake up, come on kid." Logan
said in a hushed voice.
Jean frowned. "Logan, it's
over." Jean touched Logan's shoulder.
"No!" Logan screamed.
Scott bent down and took
Rogue's hand, Scott heard the growl coming from Logan, but ignored it.
"I'm just checking something, I'm not going to hurt her." Scott reassured
Logan; Scott took off Rogue's glove and checked her pulse, Scott withdrew
his hand quickly. "I felt it." Scott replied, with a look of relief but
shock in his eyes at the same time. "I felt it." Scott repeated.
"Felt what?" Storm asked.
"The pull. It was very faint,
I could hardly feel it at first, but then I felt it, she's alive, we got
to get her back the academy now! We need to get her to the medlab as fast
as we can, the faster we are, the more chance we have to save Rogue."
