Chapter Eight: Death of a Mutant

And here's Chapter Eight, my first chapter for the new year!

dixie326: (To your first review) Yeah, to anyone that was seeing the movies without having read the comics or seen the cartoons beforehand, they wouldn't mind the way Rogue was written. As I've said before, I hadn't seen the original 90's cartoon, just clips. And I found a few videos featuring the best of Rogue, and I just thought, 'how could they have gotten her so wrong in the movies?' Also, I've come across quite a few Jean haters on this site. Personally, I don't hate her; I actually think she's a great character (at least in Evolution and in the movies, when she's played by Famke Janssen). I just didn't like that she was with Scott.

dixie326: (To your second review) I'm glad you like that little change. It was one of those last minute changes I made to try to flesh out their characters and relationship a bit more. It's not just a friendship, but they're also developing a brother-sister or father-daughter like relationship. But now that you brought up the whole Lolita thing, I'd like to remind all readers that Rogue and Scott's relationship won't start until after she turns eighteen, which will be established in the sequel.

Weeee: I'm happy you like it! I can't draw, either; I prefer coloring and painting.

DusktoDawn21: Yeah, she was the popular girl in school, wasn't she? No wonder Rogue resented her. I still wonder how she would've handled the Phoenix if the show continued for a fifth season, and whether or not she would've survived. Heck, maybe they would've thrown in her romance with Logan since she already graduated high school and is 18, XD.

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

Logan had been forced to go back to the mansion with Scott and Ororo. Needless to say, he wasn't very happy with how the evening went. He splashed water onto his face from the sink in his bathroom. "You said he wanted me." He dried off his face and turned to look at the professor, Ororo standing beside him.

Professor Xavier sighed. His attempts to convince his old friend to give them Rogue not only failed, but nearly cost dozens of innocent lives. "I made a terrible mistake. His helmet was somehow designed to block my telepathy. Couldn't see what he was after until it was too late."

Logan grabbed his jacket and headed out.

"Where are you going?" Ororo asked him.

"I'm gonna find her," he said shortly.

"How?" Professor Xavier inquired.

Logan glared at them. "The traditional way: look."

Ororo left the professor to follow him. "Logan, you can't do this alone."

He scoffed as he descended the stairs. "Who's gonna help me? You? So far, you've all done a bang-up job."

"Then help us," she said. "Fight with us!"

He stopped and turned to face her. "Fight with you?" he repeated. "Join the team? Be an X-Man?" He glared at her. "Who the hell do you think you are? You're a mutant. The whole world out there is full of people that hate and fear you, and you're wasting your time trying to protect them? I got better things to do." He took a couple more steps toward the door before addressing her again. "You know, Magneto's right. There's a war coming. Are you sure you're on the right side?"

She just stared back. "At least I've chosen a side."

Not bothering to answer that, Logan turned back towards the door and opened it to find the very last person any mutant would find here: Senator Kelly, damp and exhausted.

"I'm looking for Dr. Jean Grey," he gasped before collapsing in Logan's arms.

They brought the senator to the med lab, where Professor Xavier looked into his mind to see who had tried to turn him into a mutant. He saw, as he suspected, that Magneto was responsible, but that wasn't all. He got a good look at the machine that performed the procedure. While it appeared to trigger mutation in humans, it also severely weakened Magneto. As Mystique led him away, he passed Kelly and whispered in his ear, "Welcome to the future, Brother."

Afterwards, he explained all this to Scott, Jean, and Logan, while Ororo stayed in the med lab. "The machine emits radiation that triggers mutation in ordinary human beings."

"But the mutation is unnatural," said Jean as she watched Logan pace the room. "Kelly's body is rejecting it. His cells began to break down almost immediately."

"What effect does the radiation have on mutants?" Scott asked.

The professor shook his head. "There appears to be none," he said. "But I fear it will seriously harm any normal person exposed to it."

"So what does Magneto want with Rogue?" asked Logan after he stopped pacing.

Professor Xavier shook his head again. "I don't know."

As Logan sighed in frustration and began pacing again, Scott spoke up.

"Wait a second. You said this machine draws its power from Magneto," he started. "And that it weakened him."

"Yes," Professor Xavier answered slowly, Scott's realization dawning on him. "In fact, it nearly killed him."

Logan stilled, his eyes widening. "He's going to transfer his power to Rogue and use her to power the machine."

Everyone in the room looked at each other in alarm, though Scott and Logan were the most worried about Rogue.

"Cyclops," began the professor, "you and Storm ready the Jet. I'm going to find Rogue. Jean, get Logan a uniform."

Hearing this, Scott stood up and fixed Professor Xavier with an unbelieving stare. "Wait a minute. He's not coming with us, is he?" In his opinion, Logan wasn't quite cut out to be an X-Man. He didn't follow orders, and he just jumped headfirst into danger without a plan. Hell, he was about to leave to find Rogue on his own again before Kelly arrived!

Jean just rolled her eyes as Professor Xavier simply said, "Yes."

Scott's jaw dropped. "I'm sorry, Professor, but he'll endanger the mission and –"

"Hey, I wasn't the one who gave the station a new sunroof, pal," Logan snapped.

Scott turned to face him. "No, you were the one who stabbed Rogue through the chest," he shot back angrily.

"Scott," said Jean quietly, but no one seemed to hear her.

Logan blinked, as if suddenly aware of how much this was really affecting Scott. "Huh, you seem to be really worried about a young girl you barely know, Pretty Boy," he said almost tauntingly.

At this, Scott nearly ran at him, only to be held back by Jean.

"Scott, don't!" she said, looking between the two men rather nervously.

Before anyone said or did anything else, Ororo ran in, looking like she saw a ghost.

"Senator Kelly is dead," she said shakily. She had reluctantly stood beside the senator to keep him company before he transformed into a giant puddle of water, leaving nothing of him left.

No one spoke for a while. Then Professor Xavier said, "I'm going to find her." He looked between Scott and Logan, who were back to glaring at each other. "Settle this," he said firmly.

And there's Chapter Eight! Don't you just love a good Scott and Logan rivalry?

By the way, there's a really short deleted scene where Jean talks to Charles about Logan, but I didn't include it because I'm not entirely sure where in the movie it'd take place. Basically, Jean's intrigued by Logan, and curious about what goes on in his mind, and Charles advises her (as he sips his tea) that poking around a mind like Logan's might not be safe.