Author's Notes: Ok, so I'm aware that it took me forever and a day to get this last chapter out. I blame real life, and stupid people. Part of me is so, so, SO happy this is finished (because it leaves me free to work on the top secret project that DeepSaltWater and I have been cooking up) and at the same time... Kind of sad. But there are other stories that need writing, and this beast is finally slain. Hope you all enjoy it! Beta'd by DeepSaltWater if it weren't for her, this chapter STILL wouldn't be written! Thanks for cracking the whip sweetie.
-Translation- -/- is a new scene since fanfiction was being a pain in the ass. I tried loading this chapter for three days!
He was aware of being watched and just couldn't be bothered with it. He was content for the first time in his remembered life, being a prisoner of a mad man aside, and he was determined to hold on to this small moment of peace. The smell of Marie washing over him as she adjusted to get a better view brought a small smile to his face, especially when she barely lifted the sheet that covered him for a more thorough inspection. She lay back down beside him and remained still for the briefest period of time before pinching his arm, hard.
"What the hell Marie?" He sat up rubbing the area she'd nipped, glaring at her with narrowed eyes.
She simply smirked before snatching the pillow his head had been resting on, and re-adjusting herself.
"Just testing a theory sugar. That's all."
"And what kind of theory requires you attacking my arm, darlin'?"
"A dream." She said it so matter-of-factly, and the look she gave him told him she knew something he didn't.
"A dream?" Eyebrow raised, no understanding in sight, and he waited patiently for her to explain.
"You see, I had this theory. I was touching you, you were touching me. We were touching, you weren't dying… and, I figured it was a dream. So I had to test it."
Logan nod his head as she finished speaking, "I see. Aren't you generally supposed to pinch YOURSELF to see if you're dreaming?"
"I tried. Didn't work."
"So you pinched me?" He was incredulous, she found it charming.
"Yup."
"And WHY did you think this was a dream?"
She shifted to her side as he lay down beside her once more.
"Well, it was either a really good dream," she was all seriousness when she spoke, "or a terrible nightmare. Being stuck here, and everything with Carol… but on the other hand…" she let the sentence trail off, and a slight blush crept up her cheeks.
"You got the nightmare part right, but we're both awake. As for the rest well, that was a dream come true."
She smiled up at him, and began running her hand over his chest. Marie began a gentle exploration of his body with her fingertips, making mental notes along the way. Her exploration halted when Logan rolled her onto her back with a low growl.
"My turn," he murmured, and gently nipped at her neck.
It wasn't long before he discovered what made her scream his name.
-/-
Several hours had gone by, and the two lovers lay entwined on the small mattress. Rogue ran her fingers through the hair of Logan's chest and whispered softly:
"My life closed twice before its close—
It yet remains to see
If Immortality unveil
A third event to me
So huge, so hopeless to conceive
As these that twice befell.
Parting is all we know of heaven,
And all we need of hell."
She had been enjoying the movement of his hand in her hair when the poem had come to her, the serious thoughts that only seem to come to one after a period of reflection.
"What are you talking about baby?" He looked down at her as he stroked her hair, and the soft skin of her back.
"Emily Dickinson. It seemed fitting." She shrugged before letting out an exasperated laugh.
"Why's that?" Logan's hands stilled as he tilted her face up to his.
"Because I'm gonna die."
Logan propped himself up against the wall before pulling her up and into him.
"You're not gonna die Marie. I'll figure out a way to get us out of here, understand?"
Rogue sighed, "Easy for you to say. You aren't the one he's making run around like a hamster on a wheel." The statement was without accusation, but not the faint trace of bitterness.
"I know darlin' and I'm sorry, but you can't give up. I mean it Marie, if you give up now, that sick bastard wins."
"I know, I was trying to make a joke." A ghost of a smile made its way to her lips.
"Gotta say it wasn't very funny," he smirked.
"It wasn't very funny," her voice a mocking imitation of his. "Humph, I'd like to see you do better."
Logan quirked an eyebrow, "So this pirate walks into a bar…"
-/-
"Here's what we know," Cyclops brought up the hacked surveillance video that Kitty had presented him, "our people are being kept inside of this building. Lucky for us, it's easy to get into. Our biggest problems at the moment are that we don't know what we'll face on the inside, and how to keep civilians uninvolved."
"So we jus' go in at night. Not as much security den, an' not as many civile t' get in de way eit'er."
"Gambit's right. We hit em' at two in the mornin' and they'll never see it comin'." The pop of Jubilee's gum echoed in the room as the team members contemplated the situation before them.
Scott looked to Ororo before asking her opinion on the matter, "Ororo?"
The weather goddess shook her head in agreement, "I believe Remy and Jubilation have valid points, but we can not simply knock on the door and ask for the return of our friends. "
"No," Jubilee agreed before throwing her thumb in Kitty's direction, "but we DO have a girl who can walk through walls. We send her in, she checks the place out, reports back to us, and gets us in."
Kitty paled at the comment, "These guys have Rogue and Wolverine, who's to say they won't get me?"
"Because you'll have back up Kitty." It was the first time Bobby had really spoken on the subject, and several people raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What? Just because she and I broke up doesn't mean I want to see anything BAD happen to her. We need to get them out, and we need to get them out now. It's a good plan, we hammer out the minor details, and we go in." He shrugged nonchalantly when Kitty glared icily at him.
"So it's agreed then. We go in tonight. Shadowcat will get whatever necessary information we need, and get us inside. We find our people, and free whoever else might be in there with minimal damage to property or humans." Cyclops looked to the X-Men surrounding him and waited for any further thoughts or suggestions. When nothing was said, he dismissed the team with a, "You all know what you have to do, we meet back here at midnight and proceed from there."
-/-
Logan paced restlessly while Marie meditated. He hated feeling helpless, and it happened so rarely that the feeling was nearly overwhelming in its intensity.
"Good plan, sugar."
He stopped pacing to look at her. She hadn't moved, but her eyes were open and watching him. Re-adjusting her legs, she tilted her head up to look at him.
"We've tried breaking through the door and the walls, pacin' a hole in the floor is the only option we haven't tried."
The words had come out with more of a bite than she'd intended, but the pressure and lack of knowing what was happening was weighing heavily on the both of them.
"Sorry, darlin', thought you were off in your own world there."
"Kinda hard to find inner peace when you're radiating enough anger to turn Ghandi into a serial killer, now c'mere."
Marie extended her hand towards him, bare fingers inviting without the threat of her skin. Taking her hand in his, he seated himself next to her.
"You figured out exactly how this is working yet?" He looked down at their intertwined fingers, and squeezed gently.
"She talks to me," Marie tapped her finger against her temple, "Carol does. It isn't like the others, like you. I," she paused looking for the proper explanation, "it was different. This transfer was different because I took it all."
Logan wrapped an arm around her, "It wasn't your fault baby."
"I know, and Carol knew too. She doesn't blame me, but she's angry. She keeps telling me things; things she learned or noticed since she'd been held here- trying to figure out how to get us out of here. It's like she's taking me apart from the inside and re-organizing the pieces."
A look of concern crossed his face and he tightened his grip on her shoulders. "Not sure I like the sound of that kid."
"It isn't like that," she reassured, "she isn't trying to take over. It's like taking apart an engine and rebuilding it. You get new parts, install them, upgrade, whatever, and you get better performance out of it. I'm the engine and Carol is the new part. I'm getting a crash course on her powers AND mine. She's making me STRONG."
"You were always strong Marie, not a whole lot of people that would have survived what you have darlin'."
"That's not what I meant, I'm," she sighed as she tried to organize her thoughts, " I'm more organized. It's… quiet up there now. She's silenced the other voices."
"Even mine?"
She pat his hand, "No sugar, not yours. I think she kinda likes you."
A low rumbling could be heard through the thick walls bringing Wolverine to his feet.
"Did you hear that?" His expression was intense as he listened for the familiar sound again.
"No, I didn't hear…" her sentence was cut off as the rumbling grew louder and Logan pulled her to her feet.
Both Wolverine and Rogue listened intently as the sound of fighting began to filter into the room.
"Looks like the cavalry has finally arrived," he grinned wolfishly.
"Bout damn time!" She flexed her fingers, and felt the current of strength flowing through her.
Rogue hovered in the air at the sound of something exploding against the door, and Logan unleashed the blades from his forearm with an audible SNIKT. His body tensed, he motioned Marie behind him as another explosion caused the ground to quake. Rogue was only vaguely aware of the body that came hurtling through the wall moments later, even as she pulled the Wolverine back. She coughed as the dust settled and gasped when she saw a familiar, dust covered auburn head.
"Oh my god, Remy!" flying over to him, she knelt by his still form and checked for a pulse.
She looked up in time to see Leash stepping through the decimated wall, malicious grin plastered to her evil face.
Logan leapt at the woman; teeth bared, adamantium blades sinking into her flesh like a hot knife into butter.
The small sound that had escaped her mouth as the metal blades tore through her lungs brought a grim smile to Marie's face. Through the hole she could see several of her friends squaring off against opponents.
"Stay here Marie," Logan barked the order at her.
"You're joking right?" She was incredulous. "You expect me to stay here and do nothing? This is MY fight more than it is yours!"
"Darlin', I can't help the others if I'm too busy worryin' about you. Get Gumbo, and get the hell out of here." He moved towards the shattered wall.
"Logan!"
Stopping dead he turned to her, "Don't sass me Marie, for once would you just do as you're damn told!"
She met his eyes again, and stood. "Fine. Go help the others."
Kissing her briefly, he turned and slipped into the hallway.
'I'll get Gambit out of here and then I'm coming back.' She said it to herself even as she bent to pick up the unconscious Cajun. At her touch, his red on black eyes fluttered open briefly, scanning her face.
"Chere, dat you?" he asked weakly.
"Yeah Remy, it's me." She smiled down at him.
"You sure are a sight for sore eyes girl. We been so worried bout you Rogue, what dey done ta you here?" Taking an appraising look at her, he smirked, "Couldn't have been too bad, you look sexy as ever." He winked, and winced at the movement as she put his arm around her shoulders.
"Listen at you swamp rat, flirtin through a concussion," she grinned before changing the subject, "long story Rems. Can ya walk?"
"Oui, takes more than that ta take me out of the game fille."
Trying not to jar him as she helped him up, she began to support his weight as they moved toward the carnage. Remy murmured, "Voyons vous dans enfer," -See you in hell- as they made their way past Leash's crumpled body.
"Égal enfer vouloir pas prendre son." -Even hell will not have her-
Remy tilted his head toward her, "Didn't know you spoke French chere."
"I don't," she blinked, "Carol does."
Remy's face was a puzzled mask, "Carol?"
Rogue sighed as they stepped through the debris, "I promise I'll tell ya everything once we're out of here," checking to see that no one was paying any attention to the two of them they began to move down one of the hallways, "just as soon as we GET out of here that is."
Cursing silently as they moved Marie wondered how the rest of the team, especially Logan, was doing. The blast that met them as they rounded a corner caught her completely off guard, and she and Gambit flew backwards into one of the still intact walls.
"Leaving so soon?" Sinister sneered at her as he began to close the distance between them.
"Without saying goodbye, now what kind of lady would I be?" Rogue groaned as she sat up and looked over at Remy. His already present injuries the worse for wear; she knew this fight was up to her. She dusted herself off only to be knocked back several steps by a fist to her jaw. Recovering, she popped her neck while glaring dangerously at Sinister; before she answered with a punch of her own.
"Obviously your momma never taught you how to properly treat a woman." With each word she followed with a punch or kick for emphasis, easily landing the hit through his attempted blocks.
"Ya don't HIT ladies," with a roundhouse kick that laid him out, she watched as he fell to the floor before straightening the hem of her shirt, "and I sir, am a lady!"
She was about to finish the job when she heard a pain filled moan behind her.
"Dat you are Roguey, dat you are."
With a smirk she walked back to Remy. "Tired of crashing through walls yet, Rems?"
"What can I say cherie? The walls, dey can't get enough of ole Gambit."
"Well c'mon wall charmer," she put his arm back around her neck to help support him, "let's get out of here before we run into any more nasty surprises."
Moving as quickly as possible through the labyrinth of hallways, they finally reached an exit. With a wave of her hand the doors swung outwards, the metal running through them under her complete control.
"Dat's new," Remy eyed her curiously.
"This old dog learned a few new tricks, that's all," the streets were quiet with the occasional passerby. New York was nothing if not exposed, and the disheveled appearance of the two X-Men didn't warrant a second glance.
Satisfied that they were a safe distance from the Institute, Rogue turned to Gambit, "You gonna be ok from here swamp rat?"
"Go, help the others. I'll be fine chere."
She didn't need to be told twice. Hovering a foot off the ground she took off with a speed she had never known on foot. Entering through the door she had mangled in her bid to get Remy out safely, she landed effortlessly. While flying had proved to be faster, Carol's memories had briefly shown that ceilings and flight did not mix. Moving deeper into the building brought the sounds of a skirmish closer, and her heart beat heavily in her chest. She prayed that the others were alright and her mind wandered to Logan in particular. Calling up Magneto's powers she tried to search him out, the metal running through him calling to her like a Siren's song. The increasing volume of the cacophony told her she was in the right place, and she watched as Kitty phased through an opponent, and it fell to the floor sparking defectively.
"Some of these things are robots!" she called out and Rogue heard Jubilee respond.
"How come you get the robot and I get Squid Man?"
Sidestepping the debris, Marie stopped when Jubilee caught sight of her.
"Roguey! Chica! You're ok!" Jubilee paff'd the 'Squid Man' and waved excitedly, all while ducking one of the tentacle arms intent on smashing her into the ground. Even under the circumstances the Eurasian girl was cheerful, and it brought a brief smile to her face.
"Heya Jubes, you seen Logan in this carnage?" She formed a long ice spear and hurled it at the ugly creature, pinning one of the thrashing tentacles down.
"Thanks babe," Jubilee ducked again and came up with a punch to the thing's gut, "last time I saw him, he went thatta way." She shot a thumb behind her in gesture of general direction.
"Thanks Jubes." The two girls hugged briefly before Rogue headed off in the direction Jubilee had indicated.
"What, I don't get a hug?" Kitty huffed.
"Shut it Pryde, and help me get Bobby outside."
She snickered as she moved further away from the two girls. She didn't hold any animosity towards Kitty, but it was always enjoyable to hear Jubilee stick it to her. Thinking about what had happened between her and Bobby served as a temporary distraction, but she still felt as if she'd been traveling through an endless maze of corridors. Moving stealthily, she turned another corner in time to see Logan take off after a shadowed figure. Logan had stopped and she suppressed the urge to call out to him when she saw the person he had been chasing. Sinister now faced Logan, a conniving grin cut across his evil face. Releasing the claws and preparing to leap, Rogue's blood ran cold as she watched Zaladane materialize with one of the other mutates. She only had one chance before she lost the advantage that surprise would afford her. Eyeing an isolated hospital bed, she reached out with her mind and tried to lock onto the metal of the side bars. She knew with his enhanced senses that Wolverine would be aware of the two enemies behind him, but even as good as he was, she planned to even the odds. Gently manipulating the metal on a molecular level, she extracted one of the long side bars. Focusing on her target she brought the pole up like a baseball bat as Zaladane exercised her control over the metal of the Wolverine's skeleton, "Oh no you don't, bitch!" Slamming the woman in the skull Rogue watched as she pitched forward, a satisfied smile on her face. Logan's eyes narrowed as he went for the flame haired teleporter, "I thought I told you to get out of here!"
"No, you told me to get Remy out. I GOT Remy out, and now I'm back." Her attention only partially on Logan, her peripheral vision trained on Sinister.
His opponent vanished, only to re-appear behind him and land a punch to his kidneys. Noting that his trap had failed, Sinister took the opportunity to try and slink off into the shadows once more.
"Not this time," she growled under her breathe before taking off after him.
"Marie, wait!" the shout echoed around her, but she brushed it off and continued forward. Running through the twisted hallways she tackled him; they both slid backward and she pinned him beneath her.
"You know those days when you're angry at the world?"
Lifting herself from the ground she grabbed a fistful of his shirt collar; lifting him off the floor she pulled his face near hers, "I'm havin one of those, only instead of 'the world', I'm just pretty much pissed at you."
Utilizing every ounce of stolen strength, she pulled back and punched him. His body went flying as she set herself back on her feet, and stalked towards him once more. Crawling backwards in a bid to escape, his back met with a solid wall.
"You must understand. Everything I've done, I've done for you!"
Fury blazed in green eyes as violent anger took over, "You made me a killer! Carol Danvers was a good person, and because of YOU her blood is on my hands!" The temperature in the room dropped as ice spread over the walls.
"It was all done for your benefit!" Sinister's shallow breaths came out in puffs of white, fear plain on his face.
"My benefit? I may never be able to forgive myself for what's happened here, but I can make damn sure it never happens again!"
The force of the ice she blasted through her fingertips knocked him through the wall and into the storage room behind it.
"Assholes with God complexes," she spit on his prone form, "never seem to run out in this business do they?"
She directed the question over her shoulder at Logan's stealthy approach, even as he came to lean against the crumbling stone.
"Sure don't, darlin'. I think they put that as a requirement in 'Evil Villains Weekly' or somethin'."
Both sets of bone claws slid silently from her hands as she kneeled next to Sinister and made the move to shove them into the unconscious man's chest.
"Marie," His voice caused her to pause and look up at him, "you don't wanna be doin' that kid. You're no killer."
She made no motion to withdraw the claws even as her arm wavered, "But he deserves it
Logan."
"I know that baby, but you'll hate yourself for it."
Her hesitation said it all and he watched as the wall of fury she'd built collapsed inside of her.
"You're right." The claws retracted back into her forearms, and she stood up shakily.
"Why don't you go on back and join the others, I'll take care of him."
"But…"
"No buts darlin', they need help."
"Ok, Logan. Ok."
He cupped her chin gently, forcing her to look up at him. "I love you."
"I love you too." The ghost of a smile crossed her features and she started on her way back to the rest of the X-Men. He made sure she was well out of earshot before he released the blades again. Stepping over to the fallen body, he stood looking down on it.
"She's no killer," he slid the claws deep into the other man's chest, before pulling them back out, "but I am."
Kicking the corpse in disgust he continued, "No one hurts what's mine."
EPILOGUE
It had been three months since their return and Marie was still adjusting to life as it was. The retention of imprinted powers was a permanent change as confirmed by Hank, and Rogue's training was stepped up as a result. The fight at The Institute had gotten little media coverage, largely due to Xavier's influence, and the files they'd acquired had led to the liberation of several other facilities. There had been some tensions between her and the others once the story had gotten out, but most people had come to accept and forgive. The hardest thing that she had had to face was the whispered rumors about her and Logan. When they had gotten back to the mansion, it had been made clear to everyone that things between them had changed, and in less than a day he'd had all of her personal possessions moved into his room. The trauma of the experience was nothing compared to the scare she'd received after being a week late; until Hank had assured her that she was not, in fact, pregnant. Occasionally she would retreat inside her mind to speak to Carol, and upon her insistence, a small marble headstone was placed in the school's cemetery.
She still attended therapy sessions with Professor Xavier during the week, but the most effective therapy she'd found was lying next to the man she'd never dreamed she'd be able to touch. She had grown up quickly on the road, but she had still been innocent. Magneto had taken her innocence, but she had still been a dreamer. Sinister had nearly succeeded in crushing her dreams, but Logan had given them back to her.
