It was a quaint little cafe, the double doors not two feet from the pavement of the highway. Logan and the others ordered themselves a biscuit. Rogue was chowing down on two quarter-pound cheeseburgers, easily eating the most out of them all. Remy wished they served beer, because he didn't know how much more of Logan's suspicion he could take.
"We can't stick around for long," the healer muttered. "If I know Pierce and if I know Caliban, we're being tracked."
"It's not Pierce you have to worry about, mon-ami." Gambit swished back a mouthful of iced tea. "Ever heard of a Doctor Zander Rice?"
The Professor creased his eyebrows. "Yes, I remember. A scientist for the group Alkali-Transigen. The X-Men were investigating him before..."
"What about him," Logan interjected, before the Professor began remembering too much.
"You should know," Rogue joked. Though it wasn't really a joking matter.
"You killed his father," Gambit explained. "Back when you first escaped Alkali lake. Probably caused him to have some sort of psychosis. Because since then, he has been plotting the extinction of the mutant race."
"And he's succeeded." Rogue finished off the last bite of her sandwich and washed it down with some of Gambit's iced tea, smirking at him.
"Wait," Logan quizzed. "How do you know all this?"
Gambit and Rogue exchanged a look. Hesitantly, she replied, "You'll know in time. In Oklahoma City, there's somebody who can help the Professor. If you're up for it."
Laura immediately tugged on the Professor's jacket. "Eden," she said firmly.
Logan's fist fell to the table, the weight of it startling the waitress. "For the last time, there's no such thing as Eden. It's a comic book. The stories aren't real."
The Professor gave him a withering look. "That's not necessary, Logan. There're other survivors, children like her. They will be there. They need our help."
Rogue focused on Xavier. "Ah'm sorry, Professor, but ah've seen all the meds you have left. You don't have any time. Do you want a repeat of-"?
"Exactly," Logan cut her off. "So how about a compromise? We drop the Professor off first and then go see about these survivors."
Laura harrumphed and crossed her arms, secretly plotting to take off at the first opportunity.
Charles Xavier knew her thoughts but chose not to comment. "Now," he addressed Rogue, "what's this person's name? And why does he want to help?"
Gambit smiled nervously, while Rogue flushed and looked away. The others waited nonetheless, deeper frowns appearing as time went on.
At last she decided to just come out with it. Knowing their reactions, she whispered, "Nathaniel Essex."
Not missing a beat Logan stood up and aimed a finger at Gambit. Rogue winced at the sound of his chair clattering to the floor. "I thought you learned your lesson the first time, bub! Now you've dragged Rogue into this?"
The absorber felt embarrassed for some reason, as though she had disappointed Logan. Gambit frowned and stood up as well. One thing he didn't miss from the old days, constantly defending himself from Wolverine. "You have no idea what you're talking about! Where were you all this time? Where were you when Rogue was captured-"
Gambit paused at the feeling of someone tugging on his arm. He looked down and Rogue shook her head, an anxious expression on her face.
Logan didn't want to believe. He didn't want to believe that he failed twice to protect Rogue. Without another word he marched through the exit, ignoring Charles's pleas to come back. He lit a smoke, wishing that he never met Laura. He wished that the Professor wasn't sick. It was getting entirely too complicated. Back in the old days, this is generally when he would take off. But the X-Men were a thing back then. Today, Logan knew, he couldn't afford to just go riding into the sunset. No matter how much he had to clear his head.
Rogue joined him, strangely. She laughed nervously. "I guess the cat's out of the bag."
Logan shook his head. To him there was no way to apologize. "Listen," he began, searching for the words.
"It's okay," Rogue supplied. "When ah left the X-Men, ah didn't expect y'all to come chasing after meh whenever ah got in trouble. 'Specially not someone as trivial as mahself."
Seeing as how Rogue being captured in the last timeline had led to the perfection of the sentinels, Logan knew that wasn't the case at all. Her abilities ironically helped doom the mutant race as well as save it when she borrowed Kitty's powers.
"It's mah fault. I know I was one of the reasons you left. I never could stay in one place for long."
Leaning on the jeep, Rogue turned her head as a southward wind blew a bunch of dust into their faces. It coated her lips, so she licked them and spit out the taste of the dirt.
Logan, for the first time, observed Rogue. She was a perplexing mix of contradictions. She was tall, fit, and possessed a confident devil-may-care gait. Yet she was always putting herself down. She was invulnerable, yet quick to anger, and prone to feeling hurt.
And himself. Still running. Unable to settle down. Despite the Professor's insistence.
"In the end," he said, "Not much has changed, after all."
At that moment Gambit came sprinting out of the cafe. "The kid asked to go to the bathroom. When I figured it had taken too long, I discovered she had bolted out the window."
Through the front windowpane of the cafe Logan could see the Professor mouthing, "Go after her."