She sat cross-legged on her bed. She had been crying for awhile now, every since Storm told her that their trip to the mall had come up empty-handed. Still no answers; she was beginning to think that nothing was ever going to help her trigger her memories.
"Hey, kid."
She didn't look up at his voice. He was the last person she wanted to see. "I want to be alone."
He stepped in anyway. "You don't have to be alone right now."
"Well, I wanna be," she said, turning her back to him.
"Listen, Rogue," he said softly, "we're all trying to help and--"
"Help?" She wiped away another tear. "Is that what you call it? I didn't ask to touch you and now I have this--" She touched her head. "I have these images, these feelings inside me. I can't take it anymore."
"That's why you gotta talk, Rogue," he said. "I know you're trying to be strong and put up this front that none of this matters to you, but it does, doesn't it? You're scared. You're scared that you might never get your memory back."
She turned to face him. "I'm scared that I might become like you!"
"Me?" His face filled with hurt. "What?"
"You don't have a past, Logan," she said. "I don't have one either. When I went inside your mind, I felt the darkness. I felt the pain, the sadness, the anger. I don't want any of that."
"The difference is that you will get your memory back, Rogue," he said. "I won't. That's why I want to be here for you, that one of us, you, will remember their past."
Rogue looked into his eyes, saw that they were sincere, and found herself moving towards him across the bed.
"I'm so tired, Logan," she said.
"Get some rest."
She shook her head and placed a hand over her chest. "I'm tired inside." She laid her head down on the pillow.
He reached over to touch her.
"Don't," she said. "Please don't."
He nodded and pulled over a chair as she closed her eyes. He watched her sleep.
**
Jean was on her way to see the Professor when a voice came to her. It was a young girl and she was speaking directly to her.
"You're looking for me."
Jean placed her hand on the wall, feeling weakened.
"Are the girl who took away Rogue's memories?"
"Yes."
"Why are you hiding?"
"I don't want to be harmed."
"You won't be. We need your help."
The girl did not answer right away.
"I need your help also."
**
"How was it possible that she could telepathically communicate with me, Professor?" Jean asked. She stood next to Scott with Storm and Logan in the Professor's office. "I thought she could only take away memories. Is this another power we don't know of?"
"Possibly," the Professor said, contemplating the situation. "It is quite remarkable that she was even able to make contact with you."
"She wants to help us," Jean said, "but only if we help her."
"How?" asked Storm.
"She's looking for her brother," Jean said. "He's a mutant also, but she hasn't seen him in nearly five years."
"I suppose we can use Cerebro to find him," the Professor said, "but we can't take her word just yet."
"So, now what?" Logan said. "Are we just gonna wait around until this girl decides to talk to Jean again?"
"Glad you mentioned that, Logan," Scott said as he threw him the set of keys. "You get to pick her up at the train station."
**
Logan stood in the crowded train station lobby, looking at every face, trying to figure out how in the hell he was supposed to know who the girl was. He placed his hands in his leather jacket and turned to see a girl staring at him. She was around Rogue's age with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in a dark coat and black jeans. She appeared timid as she approached him.
"Hi, Logan," she said.
"How do you who I am?" he asked.
"I don't," she said in a sweet tone, so innocent that it could be considered evil. "Rogue does."
In the car, Logan and the girl sat in silence. She sat quietly with her hands placed on her lap, her eyes looking out the windshield.
"So, you got a name?" Logan said.
"Zoey," she said. And then, "Do people still call you Wolverine?"
It was strange to hear such private things about him coming from this stranger; this stranger who had Rogue's memories.
"Listen, Zoey," he said, "you gonna give Rogue back her memories. That's the only way we can help you find your brother."
"I know," she said. "It's a 50-50 deal."
He glanced over at her. "So, how long have you been on your own?"
"Ever since my parents threw me out of the house," she said bitterly. "They got all paranoid about this mutant thing and disowned me."
"And your brother?"
"My brother took off way before I did," she said. "He left on his own though. My parents adopted him when he was a baby, but when he got old enough, he left. He hated living in that house. So did I."
"So, you like living like this?" he asked.
"Yeah, I get into trouble, but everything I'm doing, it's because I choose it," she said. "It's all about independence, making the choices you make, making the mistakes you make. Kinda like you and her."
"Me and who?"
"You and Rogue."
The answer caught Logan by surprise. "What do you mean me and Rogue?"
"You gotta believe me when I say I really am sorry about Rogue, but I had to get out of that mall before the cops came." She looked at him. "I can teleport using other people's energies and that wipes out their memories, kinda like a side-effect. Anyway, I have all these memories inside my head, sometimes I don't know which ones are mine or other peoples, but Logan, you should see what Rogue sees, it's so beautiful."
"What does she see?" he asked.
"She sees you," Zoey said, smiling. "I was there when she saw you in that bar in Canada. She was scared of you, but she was intrigued. I was there when you and her met Scott and Jean and Storm and the Professor. She only wanted to stay because you were there. I was there when she would wake up at night and find you at that window. I know what you two were talking about, and what she was feeling. She really cares about you, Logan." She stopped and lowered her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to just blurt all of that out. These are Rogue's memories, her thoughts, I shouldn't have said anything."
Logan turned his attention back to the road, trying to hide the tears that were collecting in his eyes.
**
John saw the car drive up the driveway and stop as Logan and a young blonde girl got out. Another student? He went closer and hid a few feet away.
"The Professor will probably want to see you right away," Logan said to the girl. He opened the front door for her.
The girl nodded and stepped inside the school.
John waited a moment and then followed them. He found the girl sitting in a chair outside the Professor's office. "Hey."
"Hey," she said.
"I'm John." He looked into her blue eyes and he thought he could see them changing colors--blue, green, hazel, then back to blue.
"Zoey."
Just then, the Professor's door opened and he came out. "Hello, John," he said.
"Hi," John said stepping out of the way.
"Come in," the Professor said to Zoey.
She got up and smiled at John before entering the office.
John watched the door close and stood there, his thoughts lingering on Zoey.
**
"She's here?" She grinned at the news. "She's really here?"
"Yeah, and she wants to help you," he said, happy to see her smiling again.
"That's great," she said. She sat down on the couch and tucked a leg under her. "You were right, Logan. I'm going to get my memories back."
He sat down next to her. "Yeah, kid, you are."
She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
He remembered what Zoey had said, "She really cares about you, Logan." Well, I care about her too, he thought as he wrapped his own arms around her.
**
From the doorway, Bobby looked on as Logan and Rogue embraced. Jealously filled his body. He tried to push it away as he turned from them.