It Takes All Types: Part III It Takes All Types Kauri

Part III: Wherein Rogue's Parents Get a Start, Logan Gets Pissed, Some Teenagers Get Mad, and Kauri Blatantly Bites Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter

"Marie!"

Her father came to the door almost immediately. She stepped in and gave him a careful hug. He held her gloved hand in both of his own, and Logan felt relieved at the identical grins on their faces. All of a sudden, Rogue remembered her manners. "Oh! Uh, Logan, this is my father, Mark. Dad, this is Logan. He, uh, works at the school."

"Good to meet you," Mark said, smiling. He extended his hand, and Logan gripped it carefully but firmly.

"Mark," he said in a short greeting.

"Come in, both of you," he said, stepping back and ushering them in. Logan looked around curiously at the interior. There were no distinguishing characteristics at all. They paused a small kitchen and into a sitting room done in greens and creams. A dour-looking woman came in from the kitchen and leaned against the doorframe.

"Beth, this is Marie's friend, Logan." Mark said. "Logan, this is my wife, Beth."

"Nice to meet you," Logan said, an unnatural smile on his face. He extended a hand, but she ignored it, until he let it drop and sat in one of the green armchairs. Rogue and her dad sat on the couch across from him.

"So, Logan, are you a teacher at the school?"

"Not exactly." What did he do? "I'm more of – an odd job guy. I keep an eye on the kids – " Save them from evil anti-mutant commandos. – "run errands, do research, things like that." Not exactly a lie.

Mark made the 'Ah, I understand' sounds and motions. "That's great that you could take Marie down here." He turned to his daughter. "So, dear, please, tell me all about what you've been up to lately. How did you meet Logan? What's the school of yours like?"

"Why are you bothering?" the mother snarled suddenly. "They're freaks, all of them. They shouldn't have come here."

Logan's claws started to itch. "Hey, lady, we're mutants, not freaks. Freaks are alone. Mutants stick together."

Mark looked surprised. "You're. . . one of them, then?"

Logan would have thought that would follow logically. "Uh, yeah. I. . ." -- to mention the claws or not to mention the claws, that is the question -- "heal. Very rapidly."

"He was thrown through a car windshield and slid across the ground." Rogue put in with a touch of pride. "Three seconds later he got up."

Open-mouthed silence. Blink, blink. "I didn't think mutants could do things like that." Mark said finally.

"Not all our powers are as powerful as R- Marie's," Logan said. "Mine's fairly common, I'm told."

"We assumed that mutants could only destroy," Mark said, looking uncomfortable.

"They can," Beth growled.

"Some of us do," Logan snarled. "But the rest of us fight for the protection of humanity!"

"You fight?" Beth scoffed. "What, you bleed on them?"

He couldn't stand it. He was on his feet, claws out before they could blink. "Logan!" Rogue cried as her parents gasped and scrambled back. He took a deep breath and sheathed them again.

"Sorry, Rogue," he said, not caring. Speaking to her parents, he said, "I have a metal skeleton grafted onto my own. The claws come with it. They were not part of my power." He took a breath and sat. "I apologize. Your Marie is a powerful mutant, she fights with us."

"Logan. . ." Rogue said warningly.

"Marie, I think you had better fill us in on your . . . fight." her father said, looking worried

She sighed. "I'd hoped I wouldn't have to. Do you remember the thing that went down at the UN meeting last year. . ."

***

About a half-hour later, Rogue had fallen silent. The humans were looking more than a little shell-shocked. "See?" she said weakly. "I said you didn't want to know."

He father swallowed hard a few times, and finally managed to say, "At least you're alive and safe." He got up slowly. "I'd better get supper started. Come out back with me. I want to know how you're doing, beside this war."

Beth had disappeared already, and as Rogue got up, Logan stopped her. They locked eyes for a long moment, Logan's concerned and Rogue's sad. A silent question, and Rogue nodded. He squeezed her shoulder comfortingly, and they followed.

As thick steaks sizzled on the grille, her father, obviously trying to repress the news of his daughter's role in the growing war, asked her about her school: her lessons, her teachers, the other students and their abilities, everything.

"The other day," she was saying excitedly, "Kurt made pancakes. He's just about the best cook in the school."

"And Kurt is. . . the blue furry teleporter?"

"Yeah. So he made pancakes, and Storm was getting mad because he wasn't staying still – or on the floor. Kitty must have eaten I don't know how many by the time he cut her off."

"And Kitty can phase through solid objects?"

"Uh huh. We call her Shadowcat."

"Do you all have nicknames?"

"Mostly. I'm Rogue, and there's Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Collosus, Cyclops, Pyro, Iceman –"

"Iceman?"

Rogue blushed. "Bobby Drake. He's. . . well. . ."

"Her sweetie," Logan put in.

"Oh, you've got a boyfriend?" her father exclaimed, as her blush deepened. "Even with the. . ."

"He doesn't mind," Rogue said quickly. "He's great. He's not scared, at all." She smiled. "He's great to have around on a hot day," she said lightly.

"With a name like Iceman, I'm not surprised."

He decisively flipped the steaks onto a waiting tray, along with the foil-wrapped veggies and potatoes. Rogue got up automatically to open the screen door for him and, acting on long habit, began setting the table. Logan watched them work, envious of her home, the fact that she had once fit in somewhere.

"Beth!" Mark called up the stairs. He waited a moment and called again. He shrugged. "I guess it's just us."

Like magic, the table was covered with food and drink, enough to make Logan's mouth water. As they sat down, Mark began serving out the barbecued steaks and veggies. "Sorry for that," he said, as much to Rogue as to Logan. "She's had a hard time dealing with the entire mutant thing, and she just can't deal with them being spoken of as people."

"A lot of people feel that way," Logan said, thinking of a man in a bar who hadn't liked being duped by one. "We learn to deal with it."

They ate in mainly silence, Mark occasionally filling his daughter in on the family and community news. When the plates were cleaned and the majority of the mess was put away, Mark led them back on to the back deck. "I know you want to talk about us putting you up for adoption," he said, turning to Rogue. "I never wanted that. Your mother wanted to be rid of the 'mutant strain' on the family." He sighed unhappily. "I only agreed when I knew you'd be taken care of. You wouldn't be safe here, and neither would we. There's a lot of anti-mutant sentiments here."

"I know, Daddy." Rogue said. "Still, you should have told me."

"How did you find out?"

"Logan told me." They looked at him.

"Scott told me," he said. "He must have overheard the professor."

"You said on the phone there was another way. . ." Mark said.

"Well – " Rogue began, but Logan cut her off.

"I want to adopt your daughter," he said abruptly.

Silence. "Really?" Mark said. "I was. . . well, unaware that anyone would care enough to. . . why?"

"I like her." Logan said. "And I don't like a lot of people." He shrugged. "She interfered in a bar fight, stowed away in my truck, had the guts to mother me, and managed to not piss me off in the process. She's a hell of a girl." He took a breath. "I promised her I'd take care of her, and I couldn't. I want to now."

"We promised to take care of each other!" Rogue reminded him. "Dad, he's saved me more times than I can count – "

"– three –"

Glare. "Dad, I trust him to take care of me more than the school could."

"If she's sick or injured," Logan continued, "all she has to do is touch me and she'll heal almost instantly."

"Logan!"

"I'll be unconscious, but we'll both survive."

Mark sat in stunned silence. After a while, he shook his head slowly. "Bit of a bombshell there. I never thought. . . Why did you need to come to me with this?" "Logan needs a commendation from my parents, or a parent, so he can get a hearing," Rogue said quickly. "It's just easier." There was silence for a moment as Mark thought. Finally he nodded, almost to himself, and addressed Logan. "I trust you. You look a bit scary, and you could tear her shreds in seconds, but I do believe you." He sighed. "I was still uncomfortable with leaving her to the school, but now I'm feeling better about her future."

"You mean – " Rogue started.

"Yes. I'll write you that commendation and alert the lawyers. I –" Whatever he was going to say was lost as Rogue hit him with a hug at 50 klicks around the middle.

"Thank you, Daddy!" she cried, reverting to little-girl mode. He patted her awkwardly, obviously unwilling to risk skin contact. Rogue realized this and pulled away. They looked each other fondly, and Logan began to feel that he was intruding.

"I never thought I'd really see you again," he said.

"Me too, Dad."

"So, what do I call you now? Rogue?"

"I'm still Marie," she said, then paused. "I'm pretty sure."

They laughed, a little wetly. She sniffed and said, "So has Mom burned all my stuff or can I still get some?"

Mark laughed. "Not quite. She's more or less ignored your existence this past year. Come on, we'll start getting it." He looked at his watch. "It's getting late. You should be going soon, anyway."

Logan also glanced at the sky. "We'll drop by tomorrow to get it."

Mark showed them to the door and completely fulfilled his role as host. As they finally said goodbye, he said "I'll get started on the commendation and call the lawyer."

"Bye, Daddy."

"Bye, sweetie." He shook hands with Logan again. "Till tomorrow, then."

***

Rogue was quiet when they got back to the room. She changed into her pyjamas and performed her nightly rituals before climbing into bed with Dorian Gray.

Logan flicked the TV on; listening to the news for a bit. It was funny. Until he had come to the school, he hadn't given much thought to the whole mutant debate. Any thought, actually. Now he followed it as avidly as any X-man. After a few minutes of war this and famine that, he muted it, but kept an eye on the scrolling headlines as he pulled out the cell and called the school. Scott picked up on the second ring.

"Logan?"

"Yeah."

"How'd it go?"

"Good. The father agreed."

"What about the mother?"

"Well. . . she's about as anti-mutant as they come. She couldn't care less."

"Sorry to hear that. How's Rogue holding up?"

"Well. Better than I thought. I think seeing her dad helped."

There was a pause. "When're you getting back?" Scott's voice was neutral, but there were emotions hidden behind it – emotions Logan understood. For some reason, he didn't feel he could stay the night here in this place alone.

"Tomorrow," he replied. "Maybe the day after. I want to give Rogue a few days away from the school."

"Sounds good. I'll update the professor."

"Tomorrow, then. G'night."

"Yeah, 'night."

*click*

He sat there for a while, mind a thousand klicks away. His hand slipped to the bed and jostled the remote, causing the TV to un-mute itself.

" – a group of seven mutants was attacked in their home yesterday evening," the anchorwoman stated. "One has been killed and the other six are in critical condition at a nearby hospital. This is the third in a series of attacks on mutant by an anti-mutant protest group known as Humans First. Reports of demonstrations by this group have been reported from Canada, the United Kingd – " Logan switched it off.

He turned to look at Rogue, who had already been looking at him. They shared a long, deep look. They both knew what this meant – the school, and their friends were in danger.

"Are they alright?" Rogue asked in a small voice.

"Yeah. Don't worry kiddo, no one will get to the school while we are there." His eyes narrowed. "No one."

***

Logan didn't sleep much. Any, really. So he expected a long, sleepless night, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling. So it was much to his surprise when he started awake suddenly. Rubbing his eyes, he rolled off the bed, wearing only his pants from the night before. He staggered over to the window and opened the curtains. Blazing daylight streamed over him, so he staggered back and covered his eyes. He swore to himself as he adjusted to the light. He turned, thinking to wake Rogue, but a scan of the room showed her bed to be empty.

"Rogue?" he called uncertainly. There was no answer. He catapulted over the beds and rushed to the bathroom to find it empty. "Oh, shit," he muttered as he pulled on his old shirt and grabbed his jacket. She was probably at her father's. He went quickly down the corridor and slammed into the lobby.

"Did you see a young girl go by here?" he demanded of the registrar. "Red hair with a white streak, wearing gloves?"

"No sir, I'm sorry."

Logan snarled to himself. He started to turn away but something occurred to him. He turned back and demanded, "Where's the high school?"

The clearly terrified clerk stammered out directions, and Logan stormed out to the Landrover. He was angry at Rogue for running out, angry at himself for letting it happen, and terrified that she could be in danger. He drove faster than was safe, even for him. When he swerved onto the quiet street that housed the school, he jolted to a quick stop on the road. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when he saw the familiar form of his charge sitting on the picnic bench on the strip of grass and trees across from the squat, two-storey high school.

"Hey, kid," he said, settling beside her.

"Hey." She gazed at the school. "It's smaller than I remember, you know."

Logan looked at it. His eyes, sharper than hers, could distinguish faces pressed to the windows on both floors, and his enhanced ears could hear shouts.

"Rogue, maybe we should go – " he started, when the main doors slammed open and a crowd of students and a few teachers poured out, standing on the other side of the main driveway, a meter of concrete separating them. "Rogue. . ." he said again, more urgently.

"Go away, mutant!" One of the boys called.

"John! I'm still myself!" She called back. "I'm still Marie!"

"You're a monster!" another called.

"You almost killed Andrew!" another cry.

"Mutant!"

"Monster!"

"Leave us alone!" With the last, a good-sized rock was hurled in their direction. Rogue ducked and it sailed harmlessly by. But more followed it, striking her upraised arms, as more abuse was thrown with it.

"Sue! *duck* Katie! Phil! *duck* I'm Marie!" she cried, dropping her arms for a moment. A well-thrown rock hit her cheek, and she gave a little cry of pain. Logan stepped in front of her, shielding her with his body.

"You want a mutant?" he roared. "I'll give you a mutant!" In a flash, his claws were out and he was in a fighting stance. The abuse immediately faltered and stopped. The next few rocks, thrown half-heartedly, he slashed in half in the air. He took a threatening step forward, but Rogue's soft voice stopped him.

"Logan, no." She paused. "Please."

The claws retracted, and he straightened. With a final glare, he turned aware and helped Rogue off the table. He tried a Dignified Walk From Enemies, but it was ruined when Rogue gave a cry of pain and dropped to the ground. A ragged hole had appeared in her shirt, just above the small of her back. A wicked looking sharp chunk of concrete with bits of glass embedded in it had torn through her skin and lodged. Logan saw red. With a snarl and a bound, he was among the students, claws out.

He had gone for the one that the rest had been congratulating. He lifted him by the shirt in one hand and held the claws of the other against his throat. "Happy now?" he demanded in a snarl. "Are you? She was your friend, your classmate, and you almost killed her. It's because of you that mutants everywhere are afraid for their lives. It's because of your ignorance that we have to fight against the mutants who have been rejected and are bitter." He dropped him. "You're lucky, little man, that I'm not one of them."

He turned away, and moved to Rogue's side. He wrapped her in his jacket and lifted her easily into the back seat. He drove quickly to her parents' house, and moved her to the long front veranda. Her face was white with pain and she was sweating. Logan carefully laid her down and stretched out beside her.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He raised his hand and laid it on the exposed skin of her upper-arm. Almost immediately he felt the tug and out of the corner of his eye saw the cut on her cheek close over. He gasped for breath, and the last thing he heard before blacking out was her panicked cry of "Logan!"

***

Much later, Mark pulled into his driveway behind the unfamiliar Landrover. He hurried up the walk and met Rogue on the veranda carrying a box of stuff.

"Hi, Dad," she said, smiling.

"Hey, sweetie," he replied. "Where's Logan? I thought he was helping you."

Rogue set down the box and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. "He's up here," she said, stepping back. He looked, curious, and saw the man seemingly fast asleep on the porch.

"What happened?"

"We went to the school. I wanted to see it again they --" she swallowed. "They threw rocks and things at us. One hit me in the back, but Logan knocked himself out to give me his healing mojo." She looked at him fondly. "Big dumb Canuck."

Mark shook his head. "Are you alright now?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "Would you mind giving me a hand with this? It's just three boxes. I hope you don't mind me using them."

"Of course, darling." He glanced at Logan again. "Will he be okay?"

"Fine." She sighed. "He's just asleep now, but he hasn't slept much lately, so I let him sleep."

*** When the boxes were secured in the back seat, Rogue gave her dad one last hug. "Bye, Daddy."

"Bye, Marie." He held her at arms length. "Now remember, I want phone calls and letters, regularly."

"Sure, Daddy." They turned to look at Logan.

"Now how do we get him up?" Mark said.

"Last time I tried, he almost gutted me," she said wryly. "Maybe poking him with a long stick. . ."

A rake was procured from the garage, and, standing a safe distance away, Rogue gave his stomach a hard poke with the rake handle. Three seconds later, the rake handle was a foot shorter and Logan was on his feet, panting.

"And voila!" Rogue said, flourishing the handle.

"Ha." Logan sneered. *shink* The claws were gone. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it worked."

"That's not all that I meant."

A tiny nod. "I'll be okay." She shrugged it off. "I've packed everything. I want to get back to the school."

Logan squinted at the sky. "We'll get back late, but I want to get back, too."

"I just got this back from the notary," Mark said, holding out a piece of paper. "It's a copy of the commendation. They should be calling you."

"Thanks." They shook hands. Logan said, "I'll be seeing ya, then." Rogue followed him down to the car, and she waved as they pulled away. They packed and checked out quickly. As they drove back, Logan kept the radio on a news channel. Another attack had happened that morning by the Humans First group in L.A. A healer was the only one to survive.

Logan flipped channels in disgust, but the next thing they heard was a honey-sugar woman's voice declaring the 'unsuitability' of mutants to exist. She used that melodious, reasonable voice to declaim all mutants as 'dangerous abominations'. Like a train wreck, they couldn't stop staring. Or listening, in this case. When she signed off with a cheery, "Support your local Humans First group!", Rogue shuddered.

"This isn't good," she said.

"Not good at all." To be continued . . .