Disclaimer: Once again, I don't but I wish I did. Only want one (wolverine). I do however own the mutant Tremor.
Distribution: Anywhere someone would like to post it, just be polite, ask. **Thanks to Kari Jo for posting it on her site.**
Author's note: Thanks again to Khaki (welcome back!), Jessyca, Faedyn, Kyrie and Mandi K. for your support, friendship and patience. You all mean a lot to me. Also thanks to all of you that have reviewed. Sorry for the long delay in getting this chapter out. Please continue with the support!
Rated: R -- Language and hint of sex.
CHAPTER 8 -- THE DISCOVERY
In a dank motel room several miles from the mansion, around the same time that Rogue was viewing the end of her life, as she knew it. Logan was passed out on a dirty bed. Several empty bottles of whiskey were scattered around the room along with the remnants of empty food containers.
This is how he has been living since that fateful day. He woke up, drank his breakfast, fought in cage matches, not caring if he healed or not. He fucked around with any whore he could find. Drank more to the point of oblivion. All of these in attempt to either survive with the guilt and loneliness or to end his miserable life. He cursed his life and the mutation that made him different and unreachable. He didn't care any longer, his reason for living was gone.
Logan was in the middle of a nightmare, not his usual one but a new and horrifying one that played over and over again in his alcohol numbed mind.
He was trying to get to the building to save Marie, but he just kept running and running, not being able to reach her. Then the building exploded and in the flames he saw her face, burning, flaking, turning black. He could smell the scent of burning flesh. He 'heard' her tell him accusingly that he had failed to protect her like he had promised. That he had let her down. That it was all his fault. But instead of it ending like it always did, with him holding her hideously burned body in his arms, her face changed in the flames and it let out a scream that echoed in his drunken mind.
I'm Alive! God Logan, I'm Alive!!!!
He jolted awake. His naked body was wet with sweat. He could still smell the odor of burning flesh and he could still hear her screaming out for him.
His senses were fully aware now, as the alcohol began to wear off. His healing ability had finally kicked in. He could still hear her voice and the fear in it. For the first time in weeks he felt something more than despair, he felt fear but he also felt hope. Finally reality kicked him in the face - "Damn it, get a grip. You're loosing it." Logan said to himself.
He got up from the filthy bed, not caring if he had anything on or not. He went into the bathroom and splashed water on his face. Looking in the mirror he saw a face that looked back at him. He didn't recognize it. The face in the mirror was unkempt and unshaven. The eyes that looked back were dull and lifeless.
"Man, you know damn well that she's gone. It was nothing but a stupid fucking nightmare." Logan said back to the face in the mirror.
He went back to the bed. Finding another bottle of whiskey, he drank it to deaden the pain and to get a few more hours of oblivion. He fell into a fitful slumber. Never getting rid of the 'feeling' that gnawed at the back of his alcohol dulled mind.
He woke up the next morning to his same routine. He had whiskey for breakfast. Throwing on some clothes, he went to the local bar and signed up for that night's fight. He won all the rounds but took a beating. He collected his money and found a willing whore on the street. He brought her back to his room where he fucked her roughly. Not caring about the arching and sweating body beneath him. As he grunted and groaned, he finally found his release as he called out the name that haunted his days and nights.
He paid the whore, not caring when she called him a bastard and an animal. All he said to her was "Yeah, that's what I am, a damn animal." He proceeded to get blissfully drunk. He passed out and had the same nightmare/dream he had before. It also ended, as before with Marie screaming his name and that she was alive.
He jolted awake. But this time he let the 'feeling' come to the surface. She was alive. He could 'feel' it somehow. But the logical part of him told him that this was just a dream. She was dead. He had seen her body and had held it. But deep down in his soul he 'knew' that something was wrong with the whole thing. That she was alive and needed him. They were connected somehow and he was finally listening to it. 'His' Marie was alive and calling out for him to find her. And by damn he was going to.
With that thought in his mind, a new resolution and a plan formed. He showered and cleaned up. He paid his bill. He hopped on 'his' bike. He knew he needed help and he knew exactly the people that could help him.
He headed for the mansion, knowing full well that this would be the hardest part. Trying to convince his friends that he had not gone off the deep end. That he wasn't crazy like they all thought he was.
As he came through the gates, he heard children playing and saw many of the students outside. He felt a flare of anger. It was if nothing had happened, as if Marie had never existed. But he pushed it down as he remembered the old saying -- "Life must go on."
He pulled up in front of the mansion. He came to the front door and entered his code. He was surprised that he even remembered it. He was even more surprised that it still worked. Leave it to good old Chuck to keep the faith alive. He made his way to the professor's study. He saw a few kids that he knew. When they said hi, he barely acknowledged them with a nod of his head. The pity he saw in their eyes made him angry. Marie was alive. Deep down in his soul he knew this and he would show them. That's if he could convince the main people first. He vowed he would, one way or the other.
He stopped outside the study door. He could hear voices on the other side in a heated discussion. He didn't have to wait long, he heard the professor's voice in his head. Welcome back Logan, please come inside, we were just talking about you.
Logan entered the study. The professor sat behind his large mahogany desk. Also in the room were Scott and Jean. They both looked up from what they were discussing. He saw the pity in their eyes also. The same as he had saw in the kids. The only one that didn't look at him like that was the professor. He looked straight at Logan with knowing eyes.
Scott was surprisingly the first to step up and offer his hand to Logan.
"Nice to see you back Logan." Scott said as he extended his hand
Logan ignored him and went straight to the desk. Logan glanced at Jean.
"Hi Red" he said softly, looking at her differently than he did before. She nodded to him.
The professor looked at Logan. "I don't need to be psychic to know that you are in great turmoil but that you have come to a decision. A decision that will have an impact on all of us."
"Am I right?" he said with a slight smirk.
Logan looked at the professor then started pacing. He told them about what he had been doing since that fateful day. How he had seen them at the funeral and how he had spent his days and nights since then. He left nothing out. Nothing at all.
He then told them about his nightmare, going into great detail. When he was doing this he started to sweat. He was unsheathing and sheathing his claws. The blood dripped onto the carpet but he took no notice. When he came to the part with Marie's scream he stopped pacing abruptly. He looked straight at the professor, who all this time had been listening quietly but intently.
"I know you will think that I have finally lost my mind and I might really have, but I will tell you this, I heard her scream in my mind that she was alive. I feel this in the deepest reaches of my soul. Something is wrong here, I can't tell you exactly what or how. I just know what I think."
"There is one other thing. As much as this hurts me to say - I can't do this alone, I need your help."
"I believe Marie is still alive and waiting for us to find her. I can't prove anything, you are just going to have to trust me." Logan said. Finally sitting down in a chair and putting his head in his hands.
Scott had come up behind him. He put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "That's okay buddy. We also have some unanswered questions. That's what we were discussing when you came in. But I'll let Jean and the professor explain."
Logan looked up at the professor expectantly.
The professor cleared his throat. "Logan, Jean had taken some samples from "Rogue's" body when you brought it to the lab."
Logan looked at Jean with contempt in his eyes. But the professor held up his hand.
"Please let me continue and hear us out. She took the samples by my instructions. So that someday we could find a way to help another person who came forward with the same affliction as Rogue's. So that Rogue's death would not have been in vain. As she ran the tests, she found some things that were of interest and out of the ordinary. We were just discussing them when you came in. Please proceed Jean."
Jean looked at Logan, who by this time had settled down and was listening. She proceeded to tell him of her findings. "As the professor had said, I took samples from the body when you brought it in. I thought it would be of use in the future." She looked hard at Logan, "I know what you are thinking Logan, I know it was ghoulish. But it was also professional. Don't think it wasn't hard on me, it was. She was my friend also." Tears threatened to come but she pushed them back. "After I had a chance to look at the samples, I did some tests. I rechecked my findings and brought them to the professor."
"We were just checking them over and deciding what we should do next." Xavier said.
"Stop the run around. Why don't you just tell me? And by the way, if there was something wrong, why didn't you contact me? I'm sure you could have found me with that Cerebro thing." Logan asked almost angrily.
"We didn't contact you because we wanted to be sure." Xavier interrupted.
"And we didn't want to get your hopes up, if what we found out turned out to be wrong." Jean said.
"What are you trying to say?" Logan said with an edge to his voice. "What is this decision that you were making and what does this have to do with Marie? I want to know now."
Xavier took a deep breath. "What we found out from the tissue samples is that there was no trace of a mutation in the body. We had originally thought that the mutation dies with the person, but after doing some research, we found out it stays in the body as is still active for a time."
"What we plan to do is open the crypt and exhume the body. Jean will run blood tests along with DNA tests. This should prove if it is indeed Rogue's body or an unfortunate imposter."
Xavier looked at Logan "Do you agree with us?" Xavier asked.
Logan looked up angrily "I don't need any fucking tests to know that it's not her body. I know she is alive and waiting for me. This is just a waste of precious time, but if it makes you guys feel better and pushes you to help me find her, then do it. BUT I will say this. If this messes with the time I have to find her and if I should loose her again. I WILL NOT HESITATE TO KILL ALL OF YOU! Do I make myself clear?"
"I'll contact the right authorities and get the permits we should need. We should be able to proceed first thing in the morning." Xavier said to the grim but hopeful faces looking at him.
"Jean and Scott, show Logan to his room. Get him a change of clothes. You should all get some rest." Before Jean could say something to him about also getting rest he interceded --"I have some calls to make. Then and only then will I rest."
Logan let them lead him to his room. It was just as he had left it. It's not like he had it done up or anything. He never did stay long enough to make it his own. All he knew was that he didn't want to sit around waiting and resting. God only knew what Marie was going through or what torture she was enduring. Why did he have to be cautious, the old Wolverine would have gone busting down doors and taking care of anyone in his way. But the new logical side of him said that they had to be sure.
For all his healing power, he was exhausted. He didn't want to sleep but as soon as his head hit the pillow he was asleep. Soon after, the nightmare began again. He was running for the building screaming her name. He saw the explosion, then he was holding her burned body, crying her name. Then he heard again her scream Logan, I'm alive, Oh God, I'm alive!
He woke up screaming her name, forgetting for a moment where he was. He had unsheathed his claws during the nightmare and had shredded his bedding. He settled down, not wanting to wake anyone and have a replay of the first time someone had woken him from a nightmare. He remembered that first time, he had almost killed Marie but she had saved her own life by 'borrowing' some of his. Logan went to the window and looked out over the grounds, watching the sunrise.
Hold on sweetheart. I know you're out there. Once I prove it to the others, we will find you. I promise you that. I love you Marie. Logan thought to himself and said to the wind.
An hour later he was downstairs in the lab with the others. They all were lost in their own thoughts. Each getting ready for the grim task ahead.
"Let's do this." Xavier said.
They left as a group. When they arrived, the caretaker was already there. He unlocked the crypt then left the group alone. Walking away the caretaker just shook his head. Logan and Scott were able to lift the coffin from its resting-place and carried it to the black van that was waiting outside. Each were in lost in his own thoughts.
When they arrived back at the mansion they entered by the back way. They carried the coffin to the surgical room. Jean got into her scrubs and prepared herself for the task before her. Logan and Scott left the room at Jean's request. She wanted to do this alone. But she knew that they were watching behind the window.
The body was in good condition considering the condition it was in originally in. Jean professionally took the samples of tissue and blood that she needed. Since the professor had not allowed any autopsy or embalming to be done it was not as hard as she thought it would be. She then sealed the coffin again. She signaled Logan and Scott.
They took the body back to the crypt. After sealing it again, Logan walked away without looking back. He knew this was not his love. She was out there somewhere waiting for him.
Jean started the tests, but the DNA test would take about 6 weeks to complete. They had a template from Rogue when she had first arrived at the school.
Jean came to the group. "It's as I suspected. The preliminary tests show that the blood from the body is type A and Rogue's is type O and there is no sign of any mutation in the body." Jean stopped and waited for this information to sink in.
"We have been cruelly tricked." The professor stated sadly. Remembering that it was his old 'friend' that has done this cruel thing.
"It would seem so, but remember this, these are just the preliminary tests. We should wait for the DNA tests to be finished before running off." The professional and cautious Jean said. At the same time the Jean that was Rogue's friend and fellow X-man just wanted to go off and start looking.
"We can't wait! The final tests are going to take too long. She's out there damn it! We don't know what they are doing to her! I have to find her. I can't let her down this time!" Logan yelled. "Not this time." He said again, softer this time.
"Please Logan, calm down. We have to be sure. I know it's the hardest part, the waiting. But we have to check things out first. Believe me when I say I want to find her also." Xavier said.
"Scott, I want you and Logan to go back to that building. Sift through it completely. See if you can find anything out of the ordinary. See if there is anything that can point us in a direction. I will go to Cerebro and see what I can find out from there. Jean, continue with the tests and get the results back to us as soon as possible. I know I don't have to tell any of you that time is of the essence."
Xavier looked at Logan intently. "I promise you this Logan. If it turns out that she is still alive. We will never stop trying. WE WILL find her. If it's the last thing that we do."
"That's right buddy. WE ALL let her down the first time. It will not happen again." Scott said. "I also have a score to settle with a certain hairy beast. Bobby will also be avenged."
Logan looked around at the faces of his friends. Not knowing what else to say, he turned around to leave.
He went outside to the edge of the woods around the mansion. He pushed out a thought with his mind as hard as he could, knowing that neither of them were telepathic but hoping she would be still be able to hear him
Hand on darlin', I'm coming for you. We are all coming for you. Just hang on. I love you very much.
Marie was out there somewhere, alive and waiting for him to find her. He would not rest until he held her again in his arms and confessed his love for her. He would not let her down this time.
TBC
**
