Title: The mocking Ocean
Author: Carla Email: hunnyb17uk@yahoo.co.uk Disclaimer: Not mine, I do not own, please do not sue! (Not that I have anything anyways) All is owned by Marvel and Fox. I just put em to better use ( Archive Rights: DDFH, If ya want it take and tell me where it's goin' Rating: Probably PG - 13, It's pretty tame, some swearing as Logan is in it. Summary: Marie tries to look after the team alone, bad things happen, Logan tries to pick up the pieces. Category: Some weak angst, happy ending. Series: NONE. Feedback: Always welcome, GOOD bad and ugly welcome. Warnings: NONE Author's Notes: I can't believe that I have written another angst fic. What is wrong with me?? It's not that bad though, not like loss and consequences. (see I even manage to plug another story () Thank you/Dedications: This is for everyone that enjoys my work, all three of you!! :D (Seriously everyone in DDFH)
Chapter 1
Logan had returned. That was all that they told Marie, through her thick oak bedroom door. He didn't come to see her though, she wondered if he knew that she was here. She was sure that the others would tell him, it's not like she'd been anywhere else, but here in the last 4 months. She was agoraphobic, she hadn't stepped foot out doors, or even out of her room since the last battle, her first battle as one of the x-men.
She had joined the team two years after Logan had left a few weeks after her eighteenth birthday. She felt that she was mature enough, her powers had become advanced, they had evolved to their highest power, and now she was able to fly and was strong, with superhuman strength and she was near invulnerable. That had made her arrogant, she thought that because she was invulnerable that meant that she was invincible, there was a huge difference, she was not invincible, and she could still be killed.
Chapter 2
She had insisted that she was ready to be one of the x-men and had begged Xavier to allow her to go to the big battle against the recently escaped Magneto, and his cronies.
Charles had been reluctant as had Scott, they thought that she needed more time, but she had argued saying that she was stronger than any of the Brotherhood, and Charles and Scott had reluctantly relented, because they knew that she was needed on this mission, as was Shadowcat (Kitty), Jubilee, Iceman (Bobby) and Pyro (St. John) they were all members of the junior team, but they were needed in this battle, as was the two latest team members, Gambit and Beast.
They had arrived at the scene of the battle, on Miami Beach, and Marie could still remember in vivid detail the jokes that Bobby and St. John had made on arrival, they had cheered at the fact that they would be fighting on a beach in the summer, and that they could get a tan whilst they fought.
Scott had been annoyed, which was putting it mildly at this behaviour, he was in reality thoroughly pissed off, the younger team members were taking it all too lightly, which was a very dangerous thing to do, when fighting an enemies of the likes of Sabretooth and Mystique, in fact all of the brotherhood were dangerous.
"Why don't you all get your heads in the game, this is not some game, this is a battle where lives are on the line, yours as well as the innocent bystanders. This is not some training exercise in the danger room; you cannot stop this if you are injured. This is a serious battle with deadly enemies, you can not afford to screw this up, you, the public and your team mates lives are at risk, so grow up, and stop fucking around!" Scott all but roared, and everyone shut up. It was then that Marie had realised that this might not have been such a clever idea after all, you could always tell when it was serious when Scott started swearing, also a lot of what Scott had said, had scared Marie, she hadn't really thought of all the lives that would be effected, just her own.
They landed the jet a good mile away from the battle ground, which made no sense to Marie, what if there were casualties, wouldn't they need to get to the plane as soon as possible? But she hadn't voiced her concerns, Jean, Scott, Ororo, Gambit and Beast had all done this before and they knew what they were doing.
Storm had conjured a powerful mist to expand across the beach; so that the Brotherhood would not know which direction they would be coming in. Marie and Storm took to the skies and kept a birds eye view of the situation, informing those on the ground where the Brotherhood were, through the communicators that they all had attached to their uniforms.
They had spotted the Brotherhood and told the others where to find them, what they hadn't realised was that the Brotherhood had spotted them also.
With a lash of his tongue Toad had caught Storms ankle and whipped her to the ground, she hit the ground hard, and was knocked unconscious momentarily. Rogue watched this happen with morbid fascination, she shouted furiously into her communicator, "Storm is down and out get here now!" She was going to fly down to the ground when she was grabbed from behind.
'Storm' had Rogue in a vice like grip around her arm and middle, and in the air Rogue could not get the leverage to free herself. She cursed, she had been stupid, whilst she watched her friend get pulled to the ground, and she had let her guard down and had given Mystique the opportunity to get to her.
There was only one thing to do. Rogue turned herself so that she was pointing head down towards the ground and then flew as fast as she could, Mystique had screamed with fear, thinking that Rogue was going to plummet them both into the ground head first, but at the last possible second, Rogue pulled up out of the dive but Mystique's body clipped the ground and she was pulled off of Rogue. Her body bounced and tumbled off of the ground until she finally came to a halt, unconscious, or dead.
Rogue was about to straighten and fly upwards when she caught a devastating blow from Sabretooth his claws, slid deep into her side, severing and artery. The artery healed itself straight away, but she would continue to bleed from the actual wound, that would not heal by itself, and she could still bleed to death here, that scared Marie, up until that point she had thought that she was indestructible, but she wasn't, and she was also totally dependant on her already busy team mates. For the first time in her life Marie, was truly petrified.
The battle raged on around Rogues prone figure, lying on the ground staining the sand around her pinkie red. Silent tears fell from Marie's eyes; she could no longer hear the sounds of the furious battle, only the sound of the ocean, suspiciously loud. It was then that she realised that it wasn't the ocean she heard, just the roaring in her ears. She watched her friends fall. She wanted to help Jubilee, who fell to the ground with a glassy look in her eyes. She wanted to help a defenceless Remy who was lying with a broken leg and had Sabretooth stalking towards him, claws raised for the final blow. She wanted to help Storm who had Toad's, poisonous mucus on her face, robbing her of breath, choking her. With a loud soul-wrenching scream that was torn from her broken body, she watched helpless.
Chapter 3
It was Iceman that picked up Jubilee and ran holding her almost dead body, to the jet where pregnant doctor Jean Grey was waiting. It was Beast who kicked Sabretooth hard enough to render even him unconscious, and save Remy. It was Cyclops who blasted the hardened slime off of Storms face. Whilst she watched, helpless.
Rogue had passed out then, she was told that the battle had ended when Charles had arrived and controlled Magnetos mind when his helmet was knocked off of his head. Pyro had found her and thought that she was dead; he had run holding her motionless body. Jean had stitched her side, and realised that anyone else would have needed a blood transfusion, but with her body now stitched, it was repairing itself and making more blood. When they had left Marie in the Lab for rest, she had nearly been driven insane by the sound of the ocean in her ears.
She had been moved up to her room several days later, when Jean proclaimed her fully healed. She had ventured outside to the garden where the others were, they had all made a good recovery, Jubilee had received a concussion when she had hit her head, Ororo was fine as was Scott, Jean, Hank, Bobby, Kitty and St. John, and Remy had a broken leg, that was now in a cast, he was at present sitting in a lounge chair soaking up the sun, with Jubilee and Kitty running errands for him. Marie went over to join them when, Bobby and St. John had ran passed her and jumped into the pool, the splash that followed, echoed through Marie's head.
The sound of the ocean, Remy being clawed to death by Sabretooth, Jubilee, all light fading from her eyes, Storm suffocating, movements finally stopped, all in front of her whilst she watched helpless.
The others saw Marie go into a trance-like state, they watched her eyes widen in horror, watched the tears flow down her face, watched as her eyes rolled back into her head, watched her slump to the ground.
Jean had managed to mentally 'catch' Marie before she hit the ground. The others were all wondering what had happened to cause such an intense reaction from her.
They had taken her inside to her room, and Professor Xavier used his mind to convince hers that she needed to sleep for a solid eight hours, and they had all left Marie's room.
But from that day Marie never did.
Chapter 4
Logan had returned to find that something was wrong with Marie. He had been gone from the mansion for two and a half years; he had found a record about his past. He had been a nobody, a loner even then, that was why they took him, and they knew that he wouldn't be missed. Turns out he wasn't married, never had been, had no kids, had no family at all. He should now be 124 years of age, and he thought that he looked pretty good for that - heh. He had also found out the names of the assholes that did that shit to him, and thanks to his contacts found out where they lived, and now they were all dead and gone, revenge is sweet and he had a sweet tooth.
But when he had returned to the mansion, he had hoped that Marie would run out and greet him with open arms, that didn't happen. He entered the mansion and went straight to Charles' office, he entered without knocking, and was met by the surprised glances of all of the x-men including Xavier, which was his first clue that something was amiss. Why would the world's most powerful telepath not know that you had returned?
He then noticed the concerned pale faces of the others, they all looked worried sick, literally, they were pale and gaunt looking. He then noticed that Marie wasn't among them and he felt his blood run cold. "Where's Marie? What happened?" He asked afraid of what the answer might be. "It's Rogue" Charles started and all sorts of scenarios ran through Logans mind, Marie being attacked and dieing, without him there to save her, Marie being kidnapped, maybe by the government fuckers that got him. His claws shot through his hands, but the pain he always felt, was gone, it was diminished by the pain he felt in his heart. "Logan, it is not what you are thinking" Charles hastened to reassure the broken man in front of him. Jean, Scott, Ororo, Hank and Remy left them to talk in peace. Scott, Hank and Remy waited outside the door in case Logan went ballistic. Which Scott was sure he would.
Jean and Ororo went upstairs to talk to Marie through her bedroom door. Since the last battle Marie had been in her room, she had not ventured out of her room, and she rarely let others in. She had become a recluse. The only people that she saw were, Kitty, when she phased her food through the door, Jubilee on rare occasions and Jean and Ororo once as well. She refused to speak about why she stayed in her room; she only asked how the others were, and what was going on in the world. They arrived at Marie's door, and Jean felt a wave of anguish come off of Ororo, one that she mirrored. "Marie, Logan's back" Jean said softly to the door, hoping against hope, that the door would fly open and Marie would rush out, as carefree as she was before the battle, she knew that she was hoping in vain. There was no response from the other side of the big oak door this wasn't unusual. Jean and Ororo looked at each other sadly and reluctantly walked away from the door. Missing Marie's whispered "Good".
Meanwhile, Charles had explained everything to Logan, who had listen calmly, then tore up Charles' office. He couldn't believe that they had allowed her to stay alone in her room for four whole months without human company. He knew that Charles had his standards and wouldn't go into anyone's mind without permission, but hell Marie obviously needed help, she was a recluse, she was only eighteen years old for god's sake.
He took a deep fortifying breath and left Charles' office, he glared at the men that were standing at the door, the two newest guys were scared, he could smell it, but they didn't back down, that was because they didn't know him, yet. Scooter was trying to look brave as well, but Logan could smell that he was scared; hell anyone could tell that he was shaking with fear. Heh still got it. He brushed past the men without sparing them a second glance, he all but ran full out up the stairs to Marie's room.
He tried the door, and found it predictably locked, so he took a deep breath and knocked onto the door. "Marie darlin' let me in" Logan said to the door, he knew that they had quite an audience; he could detect fifteen different scents behind him. He hoped that Marie would open the door for him, if not he would break the damn door down. His sensitive hearing picked up the sound of movement from inside her room. The door opened slowly, ever so slightly, as if she was hesitant in letting him in, and he wondered why she had such a bad reaction to the battle, he wanted to kill Sabretooth, and he would, for hurting Marie so badly, if she hadn't become invulnerable, it would have killed her for sure. He took a deep fortifying breath and walked into her room.
Logan had expected a lot of things, he had expected her room to smell, no matter how good Marie always smelt a room that has been constantly lived in for four months was not gonna smell pleasant, he had expected Marie to look ill, gaunt, skinny to the point of illness, he had expected the room to be dark, dingy and messy. He was wrong, the room smelt like Marie, and that was a good thing, it smelt of the raspberry scent she always wore. Marie looked as healthy as ever, even more so since he had come back, she had grown up and she had filled out in all the right places. In a usual situation Logan would have felt a hard kick of arousal at the sight of her, but he was too worried to concentrate on anything but Marie's mental well being, he supposed the reason for her looking so well was due to her invulnerability, her body wouldn't allow itself to become ill. Her room was bright, it looked as though she had cleaned it in the morning and then gone out for the day, that kind of untouched look. He wondered if the fact that she couldn't control her powers had anything to do with her being in her room now, he doubted that, that was the reason, but he hadn't been at the battle. At that reminder he cursed himself again. Sure finding out about his past had been important, but he had found the file, two months after leaving the mansion, he could have returned then, to make good on his promise to Marie, but getting revenge had been too important to him, and it had cost Marie a lot.
He sat down on the bed next to her and she looked at him with her wide brown eyes, and she looked so needy, Logan was transported to another time, the time on the train when she told him how her powers had worked, and she had looked deeply into his eyes then as well, as if begging him to accept her, not to condemn her for taking his innermost secrets. Logan did now what he did then, he put his arm around her and pulled her into his chest, he held her there for a good three minutes before she finally let go of some of the emotional strain she had been carrying for so long. She started sobbing, not quiet sobs either, heart wrenching sobs, it kinda sounded like a babies sobbing, when the baby got really sad.
Logan held Marie until she was all cried out and had fallen asleep against his chest; he slowly picked her up and laid her in her bed, and put the covers over her. He was going to sleep in his own room tonight and visit Marie tomorrow, he knew that she wasn't ready to see him all of the time, that she needed to get adjusted to him being there.
He slowly left the room and was startled to find, all of the x-men, including the junior team and Charles all waiting in the corridor, they were standing far enough away from the door, that they would have heard nothing, so he wasn't gonna chew 'em out this time, he knew that they were all worried about Marie. But he wasn't gonna tell them anything about what had just happened, that was personal, between him and Marie only. "She's gonna be fine" was all he said; yet strangely, it seemed to be enough. He watched in fascination as they all relaxed at once, it gave Logan a sense of pride that he was the only one that could get through to her.
Chapter 5
That night Marie had another nightmare, it wasn't surprising, she had them every night, and tonight was no exception. They always started the same, her dumping Mystique, and then being attacked by Sabretooth. Then she was lying on the ground, and the ocean was roaring so loudly, that she couldn't hear anything else, just the roaring of the sea. Then Jubilee ran towards her and Marie could only watch helpless, as Magneto used his powers to hurl a chunk on metal at Jubilee's head, Marie watched Jubilee fall, head bleeding, all light extinguished from her eyes. Then St. John, who had seen this happen, ran towards Jubilee's dead body, and Marie saw him meet the same fate as Jubilee. Then it switched suddenly and then Remy was in her line of vision, his legs mangled and Sabretooth grinning above him, hand back ready to swipe. Then a petrified Remy meets her eyes, pleading with his own, Marie sobbed as she watched Sabretooth rip into the young man. Beast met the same fate and Marie was hysterical, sobbing and screaming as loud as she could for someone to help them, but she didn't hear her own voice all she heard was the deafening, mocking sound of the sea.
Logan was awakened when he heard Marie scream, he shot out of bed and sprinted to Marie's room, Scott and Jean were already there, they were standing outside the door, looking indecisive as to what to do. Logan didn't even pause he just waltzed into the room through the door he hadn't bothered locking.
Marie was squirming in her bed, tears running down her face. Logan's heart broke to see that. He gently shook her awake, knowing that, that was the fastest way to awaken someone. Marie's eyes snapped open and she saw Logan there and her heart felt full again, Logan was back he would protect her, he would protect the others, and they would finally be safe.
That night after Marie had calmed down, Logan wanted her to tell him exactly what had happened. She didn't even hesitate. She told him about Magneto escaping from prison. She told him of how she begged Professor Xavier to allow her to go on this mission that she was ready. She told him of the flight and the jokes that the boys cracked about the battle being on the beach, of how Scott lost his temper and yelled and swore. At how that was the moment that she realised that she was in real trouble here, if Scott was that worked up. She told him about Toad knocking Ororo out and how that gave Mystique an opportunity to grab her, of how she pulled off the dive that took out Mystique. How she saw Sabretooth, a split second before he swiped, and how it was to late to dodge the attack, of how she managed to twist slightly so he missed his target - her heart, and caught her side instead. She also told him; of watching the others fall, of feeling so helpless, she confided in him the reason she was afraid to go outside, of how the sound of water scared her as it so reminded her of the mocking sound of the triumphant ocean.
"Logan ah'm so glad you're back" Marie stated looking sincerely into his eyes, he didn't like what he saw in those depths, Marie had always had old eyes, older than any persons should be, but now they were haunted too. "Why's that darlin'?" He asked, honestly wanting to know the answer. "Because now you can protect them," She answered, still looking into his eyes. "Protect who darlin'?" Logan asked, confused. "Tha team" She replied. Logan wondered why she thought that the team needed protecting, they were the ones that did the protecting they were all strong. Then it hit Logan, the reason she was so afraid, she was the strongest member of the team, with her skin, the power of flight, super strength and invulnerability, just as he had been the strongest, with his claws, enhanced senses and super healing. She had gone on that mission so that she could take them all on single- handed - in her opinion anyway. She felt that she had failed them when she became injured and helpless, although nothing was her fault, and the others were able to handle themselves, in Marie's eyes they needed looking after by someone that could get seriously hurt, to take the brunt of the attack, and still heal and fight. Logan felt his heart break wondering how in the hell he was going to change her opinion.
As much as Logan hated to do this, he knew that he had to share what he had found out with the others, he had, had dinner with Marie in her room, and he had noticed that she had brightened up considerably since that morning, she was now fast asleep in bed, and Logan was in Charles' office with the other x-men.
Logan told them all what Marie had said and what he had concluded from it. When he was finished Charles was the first to speak, "Much as I hate to admit it, Logan is right, I have been feeling waves of failure coming from Rogue and at the time I was unsure of as to why, but now I realise that he has found the truth, at the present time, I am unsure as to how to handle this. I shall need to think it through, please excuse me" with that Charles left the room, and Logan could tell that the man thought that he had failed Marie.
Jean, Ororo and Kitty all sat crying, saddened at what their friend was going through all because she wanted to save her family.
Jubilee, who usually had the most to say on a subject sat with her jaw clenched, the only show of her emotions was the energy making her fingertips glow, she was sad for Rogue but she was also angry, a little angry at Rogue for keeping her away and not letting her help her, and a little angry, that she saw them all as helpless, but she was a lot angry at Sabretooth for hurting her badly and having to make her watch them all fall.
St. John and Bobby just sat still and quiet as they thought this situation through, they understood Rogues logic and they thought that it was amazing that she loved them all so much that she was willing to take on the brunt of the enemies force so that they would not be injured, but they also knew that Rogue had to realise that they were a team and they all looked out for each other, they all had formidable powers that made them a force to be reckoned with.
Scott sat in still silence also, he could not believe that he had missed something as big as this, he was the team leader he was supposed to pay attention to his team, and due to his careless oversight Rogue had been suffering for months.
Remy and Hank were both pacing, Hank was trying to come up with a scientific theory that would help his younger friend, that was what he did when he was under stress, he related everything back to a scientific theory. Remy on the other hand felt just as helpless as Rogue must have, he had no idea as how to help her, he didn't know what would make it right, and he knew that they all had to do something to make it right.
One week later and they were still no closer to getting Marie out of her room, they had tried everything, as had Logan, he had invited her out on a date, and she had just smiled sadly and shook her head no. He had invited her out for walks, trips, drives and the answer was always the same, a timid smile and a shake of her head.
All of the x-men were close to breaking they simply had no idea as what to do. They had all gathered in Charles' office once again when the security siren went off. Someone was in the grounds.
Chapter 6
The X-men quickly suited up and then ran out onto the lawns, the Brotherhood had found the mansion and had somehow managed to get in. There were three new faces amongst the lot, unknown to Logan; they were the faces of Quicksilver, Juggernaught and the Blob. Logan knew whom he was going for straight away, Sabretooth. Storm and Jean took on Quicksilver. Cyclops took on The Blob The junior team took on Juggernaught with Charles waiting to use his telepathic ability. Beast took on Mystique. And Gambit took on Toad. There was no sign of Magneto. The battle started and Marie looked out of her bedroom window in fright. There were some bigger mutants in this battle. But it would be ok they had Logan; he would make sure they were all right. It was then that Marie picked up a change in the atmosphere. She looked down in horror and saw Magneto making his way to the battle from the woods. Logan would be hurt by Magneto, he was the only one that could hurt him, and hurt him badly.
Marie rushed over to her wardrobe and took out her spare uniform, one that she had never worn, and thought that she never would. She hurriedly put the uniform on and went back to the window. She watched the scene unfolding from below. Juggernaught was there, he was Professor Xavier's stepbrother, and he was just like her, super strong and invulnerable, though his was thanks to magic, not evolution. She knew that the only way to beat him was to take off the huge helmet that he wore, so that Charles could use his mind, to disable him.
The junior x-men were trying to get the helmet off of him, and they were getting there slowly. It was then in those few seconds watching them that Marie realised that it was going so well due to teamwork, not an individual. She watched in horror as Logan suddenly started floating away from Sabretooths bloody and prone body, Logan let out an agonised howl and that spurred Marie into motion. Sure she was scared of being helpless, of leaving her room, much less the mansion. But she was more scared of losing Logan.
With that though, she took a deep breath and then opened her window, and flew out of her room. It took a lot of effort just to fly, which worried Marie; she hadn't used her powers, or even exercised them in so long. She flew quickly over to Magneto though and rammed into him, full force, he was knocked to the ground unconscious; Logan looked at Marie with pride and disbelief and then ran back to Sabretooth who was healing.
Marie saw that Storm and Jean were taking care of Quicksilver; Cyclops had control over the fat one, whatever his name is. Beast had knocked Mystique out and tied her up, and Gambit had also knocked Toad out and tied him up using his own tongue. Beast, Gambit and Rogue made their way over to the Juggernaught, The junior x-men had managed to tire him out but they were unable to undo any of the four clasps that held his helmet on. Rogue had a plan, she mentally shouted it to Charles who in turn relayed it to all of the team, and they all looked at Rogue and nodded. Rogue was quick, so she darted in, feigned a grab for the helmet, dodged his ironclad fist and then kicked him, hard. He shot backwards, and then landed on his back. Whilst he was struggling Shadowcat phased through a wall and quickly unhooked one of the clasps. Iceman then froze one of the Juggernaught's hands to the ground. Pyro, set fire to one of the clasps and melted it off. Juggernaught was finally able to free himself and staggered to his feet, Jubilee blinded him with her colourful plasma bursts and Gambit charged a card and threw it to the Juggernaught's feet, he flew into the air and again hit the ground, Gambit and Beast ran over to the fallen monster and unclasped the final two clasps. They tried to pull the helmet off put it was too heavy, the Juggernaught finally got to his feet, and threw Gambit and Beast backwards. Rogue took to the air, and then grabbed the helmet off of the big mans head and flew out of reach with it. Juggernaught staggered, then Charles let rip with his mental ability and knocked the big man down.
By the time that the battle was finished, and the police had arrived to take the Brotherhood away, Sabretooth in a body bag. It was dawn. The x-men walked into the poolside garden and all fell into sun chairs, exhausted. "Feels good t' be outside" Marie stated. The others didn't say anything to that just looked at Marie with pride, love and happiness in their faces. They all sat in companionable silence as the sun rose, and they all slept in the sun chairs. Logan woke up at about midday and saw that the only other person awake was Marie she smiled at him. He got up and held out his hand, she took it without hesitation and they walked into the forest, they stopped when they found a clearing and sat down, Marie didn't realise that there was a pond in these woods, she sat and watched as the birds swam. "So does that offer fer a date still stand?" Marie asked Logan smiling at the man she loved. "You bet baby" He replied, kissing her head where he was protected by her hair. Marie sat and listened to the water lapping gently at the waters edge and smiled, for she no longer felt helpless, she realised she was part of a team, and she no longer heard the waters mocking roar, only it's comforting whisper.
END
Author: Carla Email: hunnyb17uk@yahoo.co.uk Disclaimer: Not mine, I do not own, please do not sue! (Not that I have anything anyways) All is owned by Marvel and Fox. I just put em to better use ( Archive Rights: DDFH, If ya want it take and tell me where it's goin' Rating: Probably PG - 13, It's pretty tame, some swearing as Logan is in it. Summary: Marie tries to look after the team alone, bad things happen, Logan tries to pick up the pieces. Category: Some weak angst, happy ending. Series: NONE. Feedback: Always welcome, GOOD bad and ugly welcome. Warnings: NONE Author's Notes: I can't believe that I have written another angst fic. What is wrong with me?? It's not that bad though, not like loss and consequences. (see I even manage to plug another story () Thank you/Dedications: This is for everyone that enjoys my work, all three of you!! :D (Seriously everyone in DDFH)
Chapter 1
Logan had returned. That was all that they told Marie, through her thick oak bedroom door. He didn't come to see her though, she wondered if he knew that she was here. She was sure that the others would tell him, it's not like she'd been anywhere else, but here in the last 4 months. She was agoraphobic, she hadn't stepped foot out doors, or even out of her room since the last battle, her first battle as one of the x-men.
She had joined the team two years after Logan had left a few weeks after her eighteenth birthday. She felt that she was mature enough, her powers had become advanced, they had evolved to their highest power, and now she was able to fly and was strong, with superhuman strength and she was near invulnerable. That had made her arrogant, she thought that because she was invulnerable that meant that she was invincible, there was a huge difference, she was not invincible, and she could still be killed.
Chapter 2
She had insisted that she was ready to be one of the x-men and had begged Xavier to allow her to go to the big battle against the recently escaped Magneto, and his cronies.
Charles had been reluctant as had Scott, they thought that she needed more time, but she had argued saying that she was stronger than any of the Brotherhood, and Charles and Scott had reluctantly relented, because they knew that she was needed on this mission, as was Shadowcat (Kitty), Jubilee, Iceman (Bobby) and Pyro (St. John) they were all members of the junior team, but they were needed in this battle, as was the two latest team members, Gambit and Beast.
They had arrived at the scene of the battle, on Miami Beach, and Marie could still remember in vivid detail the jokes that Bobby and St. John had made on arrival, they had cheered at the fact that they would be fighting on a beach in the summer, and that they could get a tan whilst they fought.
Scott had been annoyed, which was putting it mildly at this behaviour, he was in reality thoroughly pissed off, the younger team members were taking it all too lightly, which was a very dangerous thing to do, when fighting an enemies of the likes of Sabretooth and Mystique, in fact all of the brotherhood were dangerous.
"Why don't you all get your heads in the game, this is not some game, this is a battle where lives are on the line, yours as well as the innocent bystanders. This is not some training exercise in the danger room; you cannot stop this if you are injured. This is a serious battle with deadly enemies, you can not afford to screw this up, you, the public and your team mates lives are at risk, so grow up, and stop fucking around!" Scott all but roared, and everyone shut up. It was then that Marie had realised that this might not have been such a clever idea after all, you could always tell when it was serious when Scott started swearing, also a lot of what Scott had said, had scared Marie, she hadn't really thought of all the lives that would be effected, just her own.
They landed the jet a good mile away from the battle ground, which made no sense to Marie, what if there were casualties, wouldn't they need to get to the plane as soon as possible? But she hadn't voiced her concerns, Jean, Scott, Ororo, Gambit and Beast had all done this before and they knew what they were doing.
Storm had conjured a powerful mist to expand across the beach; so that the Brotherhood would not know which direction they would be coming in. Marie and Storm took to the skies and kept a birds eye view of the situation, informing those on the ground where the Brotherhood were, through the communicators that they all had attached to their uniforms.
They had spotted the Brotherhood and told the others where to find them, what they hadn't realised was that the Brotherhood had spotted them also.
With a lash of his tongue Toad had caught Storms ankle and whipped her to the ground, she hit the ground hard, and was knocked unconscious momentarily. Rogue watched this happen with morbid fascination, she shouted furiously into her communicator, "Storm is down and out get here now!" She was going to fly down to the ground when she was grabbed from behind.
'Storm' had Rogue in a vice like grip around her arm and middle, and in the air Rogue could not get the leverage to free herself. She cursed, she had been stupid, whilst she watched her friend get pulled to the ground, and she had let her guard down and had given Mystique the opportunity to get to her.
There was only one thing to do. Rogue turned herself so that she was pointing head down towards the ground and then flew as fast as she could, Mystique had screamed with fear, thinking that Rogue was going to plummet them both into the ground head first, but at the last possible second, Rogue pulled up out of the dive but Mystique's body clipped the ground and she was pulled off of Rogue. Her body bounced and tumbled off of the ground until she finally came to a halt, unconscious, or dead.
Rogue was about to straighten and fly upwards when she caught a devastating blow from Sabretooth his claws, slid deep into her side, severing and artery. The artery healed itself straight away, but she would continue to bleed from the actual wound, that would not heal by itself, and she could still bleed to death here, that scared Marie, up until that point she had thought that she was indestructible, but she wasn't, and she was also totally dependant on her already busy team mates. For the first time in her life Marie, was truly petrified.
The battle raged on around Rogues prone figure, lying on the ground staining the sand around her pinkie red. Silent tears fell from Marie's eyes; she could no longer hear the sounds of the furious battle, only the sound of the ocean, suspiciously loud. It was then that she realised that it wasn't the ocean she heard, just the roaring in her ears. She watched her friends fall. She wanted to help Jubilee, who fell to the ground with a glassy look in her eyes. She wanted to help a defenceless Remy who was lying with a broken leg and had Sabretooth stalking towards him, claws raised for the final blow. She wanted to help Storm who had Toad's, poisonous mucus on her face, robbing her of breath, choking her. With a loud soul-wrenching scream that was torn from her broken body, she watched helpless.
Chapter 3
It was Iceman that picked up Jubilee and ran holding her almost dead body, to the jet where pregnant doctor Jean Grey was waiting. It was Beast who kicked Sabretooth hard enough to render even him unconscious, and save Remy. It was Cyclops who blasted the hardened slime off of Storms face. Whilst she watched, helpless.
Rogue had passed out then, she was told that the battle had ended when Charles had arrived and controlled Magnetos mind when his helmet was knocked off of his head. Pyro had found her and thought that she was dead; he had run holding her motionless body. Jean had stitched her side, and realised that anyone else would have needed a blood transfusion, but with her body now stitched, it was repairing itself and making more blood. When they had left Marie in the Lab for rest, she had nearly been driven insane by the sound of the ocean in her ears.
She had been moved up to her room several days later, when Jean proclaimed her fully healed. She had ventured outside to the garden where the others were, they had all made a good recovery, Jubilee had received a concussion when she had hit her head, Ororo was fine as was Scott, Jean, Hank, Bobby, Kitty and St. John, and Remy had a broken leg, that was now in a cast, he was at present sitting in a lounge chair soaking up the sun, with Jubilee and Kitty running errands for him. Marie went over to join them when, Bobby and St. John had ran passed her and jumped into the pool, the splash that followed, echoed through Marie's head.
The sound of the ocean, Remy being clawed to death by Sabretooth, Jubilee, all light fading from her eyes, Storm suffocating, movements finally stopped, all in front of her whilst she watched helpless.
The others saw Marie go into a trance-like state, they watched her eyes widen in horror, watched the tears flow down her face, watched as her eyes rolled back into her head, watched her slump to the ground.
Jean had managed to mentally 'catch' Marie before she hit the ground. The others were all wondering what had happened to cause such an intense reaction from her.
They had taken her inside to her room, and Professor Xavier used his mind to convince hers that she needed to sleep for a solid eight hours, and they had all left Marie's room.
But from that day Marie never did.
Chapter 4
Logan had returned to find that something was wrong with Marie. He had been gone from the mansion for two and a half years; he had found a record about his past. He had been a nobody, a loner even then, that was why they took him, and they knew that he wouldn't be missed. Turns out he wasn't married, never had been, had no kids, had no family at all. He should now be 124 years of age, and he thought that he looked pretty good for that - heh. He had also found out the names of the assholes that did that shit to him, and thanks to his contacts found out where they lived, and now they were all dead and gone, revenge is sweet and he had a sweet tooth.
But when he had returned to the mansion, he had hoped that Marie would run out and greet him with open arms, that didn't happen. He entered the mansion and went straight to Charles' office, he entered without knocking, and was met by the surprised glances of all of the x-men including Xavier, which was his first clue that something was amiss. Why would the world's most powerful telepath not know that you had returned?
He then noticed the concerned pale faces of the others, they all looked worried sick, literally, they were pale and gaunt looking. He then noticed that Marie wasn't among them and he felt his blood run cold. "Where's Marie? What happened?" He asked afraid of what the answer might be. "It's Rogue" Charles started and all sorts of scenarios ran through Logans mind, Marie being attacked and dieing, without him there to save her, Marie being kidnapped, maybe by the government fuckers that got him. His claws shot through his hands, but the pain he always felt, was gone, it was diminished by the pain he felt in his heart. "Logan, it is not what you are thinking" Charles hastened to reassure the broken man in front of him. Jean, Scott, Ororo, Hank and Remy left them to talk in peace. Scott, Hank and Remy waited outside the door in case Logan went ballistic. Which Scott was sure he would.
Jean and Ororo went upstairs to talk to Marie through her bedroom door. Since the last battle Marie had been in her room, she had not ventured out of her room, and she rarely let others in. She had become a recluse. The only people that she saw were, Kitty, when she phased her food through the door, Jubilee on rare occasions and Jean and Ororo once as well. She refused to speak about why she stayed in her room; she only asked how the others were, and what was going on in the world. They arrived at Marie's door, and Jean felt a wave of anguish come off of Ororo, one that she mirrored. "Marie, Logan's back" Jean said softly to the door, hoping against hope, that the door would fly open and Marie would rush out, as carefree as she was before the battle, she knew that she was hoping in vain. There was no response from the other side of the big oak door this wasn't unusual. Jean and Ororo looked at each other sadly and reluctantly walked away from the door. Missing Marie's whispered "Good".
Meanwhile, Charles had explained everything to Logan, who had listen calmly, then tore up Charles' office. He couldn't believe that they had allowed her to stay alone in her room for four whole months without human company. He knew that Charles had his standards and wouldn't go into anyone's mind without permission, but hell Marie obviously needed help, she was a recluse, she was only eighteen years old for god's sake.
He took a deep fortifying breath and left Charles' office, he glared at the men that were standing at the door, the two newest guys were scared, he could smell it, but they didn't back down, that was because they didn't know him, yet. Scooter was trying to look brave as well, but Logan could smell that he was scared; hell anyone could tell that he was shaking with fear. Heh still got it. He brushed past the men without sparing them a second glance, he all but ran full out up the stairs to Marie's room.
He tried the door, and found it predictably locked, so he took a deep breath and knocked onto the door. "Marie darlin' let me in" Logan said to the door, he knew that they had quite an audience; he could detect fifteen different scents behind him. He hoped that Marie would open the door for him, if not he would break the damn door down. His sensitive hearing picked up the sound of movement from inside her room. The door opened slowly, ever so slightly, as if she was hesitant in letting him in, and he wondered why she had such a bad reaction to the battle, he wanted to kill Sabretooth, and he would, for hurting Marie so badly, if she hadn't become invulnerable, it would have killed her for sure. He took a deep fortifying breath and walked into her room.
Logan had expected a lot of things, he had expected her room to smell, no matter how good Marie always smelt a room that has been constantly lived in for four months was not gonna smell pleasant, he had expected Marie to look ill, gaunt, skinny to the point of illness, he had expected the room to be dark, dingy and messy. He was wrong, the room smelt like Marie, and that was a good thing, it smelt of the raspberry scent she always wore. Marie looked as healthy as ever, even more so since he had come back, she had grown up and she had filled out in all the right places. In a usual situation Logan would have felt a hard kick of arousal at the sight of her, but he was too worried to concentrate on anything but Marie's mental well being, he supposed the reason for her looking so well was due to her invulnerability, her body wouldn't allow itself to become ill. Her room was bright, it looked as though she had cleaned it in the morning and then gone out for the day, that kind of untouched look. He wondered if the fact that she couldn't control her powers had anything to do with her being in her room now, he doubted that, that was the reason, but he hadn't been at the battle. At that reminder he cursed himself again. Sure finding out about his past had been important, but he had found the file, two months after leaving the mansion, he could have returned then, to make good on his promise to Marie, but getting revenge had been too important to him, and it had cost Marie a lot.
He sat down on the bed next to her and she looked at him with her wide brown eyes, and she looked so needy, Logan was transported to another time, the time on the train when she told him how her powers had worked, and she had looked deeply into his eyes then as well, as if begging him to accept her, not to condemn her for taking his innermost secrets. Logan did now what he did then, he put his arm around her and pulled her into his chest, he held her there for a good three minutes before she finally let go of some of the emotional strain she had been carrying for so long. She started sobbing, not quiet sobs either, heart wrenching sobs, it kinda sounded like a babies sobbing, when the baby got really sad.
Logan held Marie until she was all cried out and had fallen asleep against his chest; he slowly picked her up and laid her in her bed, and put the covers over her. He was going to sleep in his own room tonight and visit Marie tomorrow, he knew that she wasn't ready to see him all of the time, that she needed to get adjusted to him being there.
He slowly left the room and was startled to find, all of the x-men, including the junior team and Charles all waiting in the corridor, they were standing far enough away from the door, that they would have heard nothing, so he wasn't gonna chew 'em out this time, he knew that they were all worried about Marie. But he wasn't gonna tell them anything about what had just happened, that was personal, between him and Marie only. "She's gonna be fine" was all he said; yet strangely, it seemed to be enough. He watched in fascination as they all relaxed at once, it gave Logan a sense of pride that he was the only one that could get through to her.
Chapter 5
That night Marie had another nightmare, it wasn't surprising, she had them every night, and tonight was no exception. They always started the same, her dumping Mystique, and then being attacked by Sabretooth. Then she was lying on the ground, and the ocean was roaring so loudly, that she couldn't hear anything else, just the roaring of the sea. Then Jubilee ran towards her and Marie could only watch helpless, as Magneto used his powers to hurl a chunk on metal at Jubilee's head, Marie watched Jubilee fall, head bleeding, all light extinguished from her eyes. Then St. John, who had seen this happen, ran towards Jubilee's dead body, and Marie saw him meet the same fate as Jubilee. Then it switched suddenly and then Remy was in her line of vision, his legs mangled and Sabretooth grinning above him, hand back ready to swipe. Then a petrified Remy meets her eyes, pleading with his own, Marie sobbed as she watched Sabretooth rip into the young man. Beast met the same fate and Marie was hysterical, sobbing and screaming as loud as she could for someone to help them, but she didn't hear her own voice all she heard was the deafening, mocking sound of the sea.
Logan was awakened when he heard Marie scream, he shot out of bed and sprinted to Marie's room, Scott and Jean were already there, they were standing outside the door, looking indecisive as to what to do. Logan didn't even pause he just waltzed into the room through the door he hadn't bothered locking.
Marie was squirming in her bed, tears running down her face. Logan's heart broke to see that. He gently shook her awake, knowing that, that was the fastest way to awaken someone. Marie's eyes snapped open and she saw Logan there and her heart felt full again, Logan was back he would protect her, he would protect the others, and they would finally be safe.
That night after Marie had calmed down, Logan wanted her to tell him exactly what had happened. She didn't even hesitate. She told him about Magneto escaping from prison. She told him of how she begged Professor Xavier to allow her to go on this mission that she was ready. She told him of the flight and the jokes that the boys cracked about the battle being on the beach, of how Scott lost his temper and yelled and swore. At how that was the moment that she realised that she was in real trouble here, if Scott was that worked up. She told him about Toad knocking Ororo out and how that gave Mystique an opportunity to grab her, of how she pulled off the dive that took out Mystique. How she saw Sabretooth, a split second before he swiped, and how it was to late to dodge the attack, of how she managed to twist slightly so he missed his target - her heart, and caught her side instead. She also told him; of watching the others fall, of feeling so helpless, she confided in him the reason she was afraid to go outside, of how the sound of water scared her as it so reminded her of the mocking sound of the triumphant ocean.
"Logan ah'm so glad you're back" Marie stated looking sincerely into his eyes, he didn't like what he saw in those depths, Marie had always had old eyes, older than any persons should be, but now they were haunted too. "Why's that darlin'?" He asked, honestly wanting to know the answer. "Because now you can protect them," She answered, still looking into his eyes. "Protect who darlin'?" Logan asked, confused. "Tha team" She replied. Logan wondered why she thought that the team needed protecting, they were the ones that did the protecting they were all strong. Then it hit Logan, the reason she was so afraid, she was the strongest member of the team, with her skin, the power of flight, super strength and invulnerability, just as he had been the strongest, with his claws, enhanced senses and super healing. She had gone on that mission so that she could take them all on single- handed - in her opinion anyway. She felt that she had failed them when she became injured and helpless, although nothing was her fault, and the others were able to handle themselves, in Marie's eyes they needed looking after by someone that could get seriously hurt, to take the brunt of the attack, and still heal and fight. Logan felt his heart break wondering how in the hell he was going to change her opinion.
As much as Logan hated to do this, he knew that he had to share what he had found out with the others, he had, had dinner with Marie in her room, and he had noticed that she had brightened up considerably since that morning, she was now fast asleep in bed, and Logan was in Charles' office with the other x-men.
Logan told them all what Marie had said and what he had concluded from it. When he was finished Charles was the first to speak, "Much as I hate to admit it, Logan is right, I have been feeling waves of failure coming from Rogue and at the time I was unsure of as to why, but now I realise that he has found the truth, at the present time, I am unsure as to how to handle this. I shall need to think it through, please excuse me" with that Charles left the room, and Logan could tell that the man thought that he had failed Marie.
Jean, Ororo and Kitty all sat crying, saddened at what their friend was going through all because she wanted to save her family.
Jubilee, who usually had the most to say on a subject sat with her jaw clenched, the only show of her emotions was the energy making her fingertips glow, she was sad for Rogue but she was also angry, a little angry at Rogue for keeping her away and not letting her help her, and a little angry, that she saw them all as helpless, but she was a lot angry at Sabretooth for hurting her badly and having to make her watch them all fall.
St. John and Bobby just sat still and quiet as they thought this situation through, they understood Rogues logic and they thought that it was amazing that she loved them all so much that she was willing to take on the brunt of the enemies force so that they would not be injured, but they also knew that Rogue had to realise that they were a team and they all looked out for each other, they all had formidable powers that made them a force to be reckoned with.
Scott sat in still silence also, he could not believe that he had missed something as big as this, he was the team leader he was supposed to pay attention to his team, and due to his careless oversight Rogue had been suffering for months.
Remy and Hank were both pacing, Hank was trying to come up with a scientific theory that would help his younger friend, that was what he did when he was under stress, he related everything back to a scientific theory. Remy on the other hand felt just as helpless as Rogue must have, he had no idea as how to help her, he didn't know what would make it right, and he knew that they all had to do something to make it right.
One week later and they were still no closer to getting Marie out of her room, they had tried everything, as had Logan, he had invited her out on a date, and she had just smiled sadly and shook her head no. He had invited her out for walks, trips, drives and the answer was always the same, a timid smile and a shake of her head.
All of the x-men were close to breaking they simply had no idea as what to do. They had all gathered in Charles' office once again when the security siren went off. Someone was in the grounds.
Chapter 6
The X-men quickly suited up and then ran out onto the lawns, the Brotherhood had found the mansion and had somehow managed to get in. There were three new faces amongst the lot, unknown to Logan; they were the faces of Quicksilver, Juggernaught and the Blob. Logan knew whom he was going for straight away, Sabretooth. Storm and Jean took on Quicksilver. Cyclops took on The Blob The junior team took on Juggernaught with Charles waiting to use his telepathic ability. Beast took on Mystique. And Gambit took on Toad. There was no sign of Magneto. The battle started and Marie looked out of her bedroom window in fright. There were some bigger mutants in this battle. But it would be ok they had Logan; he would make sure they were all right. It was then that Marie picked up a change in the atmosphere. She looked down in horror and saw Magneto making his way to the battle from the woods. Logan would be hurt by Magneto, he was the only one that could hurt him, and hurt him badly.
Marie rushed over to her wardrobe and took out her spare uniform, one that she had never worn, and thought that she never would. She hurriedly put the uniform on and went back to the window. She watched the scene unfolding from below. Juggernaught was there, he was Professor Xavier's stepbrother, and he was just like her, super strong and invulnerable, though his was thanks to magic, not evolution. She knew that the only way to beat him was to take off the huge helmet that he wore, so that Charles could use his mind, to disable him.
The junior x-men were trying to get the helmet off of him, and they were getting there slowly. It was then in those few seconds watching them that Marie realised that it was going so well due to teamwork, not an individual. She watched in horror as Logan suddenly started floating away from Sabretooths bloody and prone body, Logan let out an agonised howl and that spurred Marie into motion. Sure she was scared of being helpless, of leaving her room, much less the mansion. But she was more scared of losing Logan.
With that though, she took a deep breath and then opened her window, and flew out of her room. It took a lot of effort just to fly, which worried Marie; she hadn't used her powers, or even exercised them in so long. She flew quickly over to Magneto though and rammed into him, full force, he was knocked to the ground unconscious; Logan looked at Marie with pride and disbelief and then ran back to Sabretooth who was healing.
Marie saw that Storm and Jean were taking care of Quicksilver; Cyclops had control over the fat one, whatever his name is. Beast had knocked Mystique out and tied her up, and Gambit had also knocked Toad out and tied him up using his own tongue. Beast, Gambit and Rogue made their way over to the Juggernaught, The junior x-men had managed to tire him out but they were unable to undo any of the four clasps that held his helmet on. Rogue had a plan, she mentally shouted it to Charles who in turn relayed it to all of the team, and they all looked at Rogue and nodded. Rogue was quick, so she darted in, feigned a grab for the helmet, dodged his ironclad fist and then kicked him, hard. He shot backwards, and then landed on his back. Whilst he was struggling Shadowcat phased through a wall and quickly unhooked one of the clasps. Iceman then froze one of the Juggernaught's hands to the ground. Pyro, set fire to one of the clasps and melted it off. Juggernaught was finally able to free himself and staggered to his feet, Jubilee blinded him with her colourful plasma bursts and Gambit charged a card and threw it to the Juggernaught's feet, he flew into the air and again hit the ground, Gambit and Beast ran over to the fallen monster and unclasped the final two clasps. They tried to pull the helmet off put it was too heavy, the Juggernaught finally got to his feet, and threw Gambit and Beast backwards. Rogue took to the air, and then grabbed the helmet off of the big mans head and flew out of reach with it. Juggernaught staggered, then Charles let rip with his mental ability and knocked the big man down.
By the time that the battle was finished, and the police had arrived to take the Brotherhood away, Sabretooth in a body bag. It was dawn. The x-men walked into the poolside garden and all fell into sun chairs, exhausted. "Feels good t' be outside" Marie stated. The others didn't say anything to that just looked at Marie with pride, love and happiness in their faces. They all sat in companionable silence as the sun rose, and they all slept in the sun chairs. Logan woke up at about midday and saw that the only other person awake was Marie she smiled at him. He got up and held out his hand, she took it without hesitation and they walked into the forest, they stopped when they found a clearing and sat down, Marie didn't realise that there was a pond in these woods, she sat and watched as the birds swam. "So does that offer fer a date still stand?" Marie asked Logan smiling at the man she loved. "You bet baby" He replied, kissing her head where he was protected by her hair. Marie sat and listened to the water lapping gently at the waters edge and smiled, for she no longer felt helpless, she realised she was part of a team, and she no longer heard the waters mocking roar, only it's comforting whisper.
END