Marie had paced outside of the med lab for nearly an hour before Hank emerged. Marie rushed up to him, "What happened to him?"
Hank sighed, "Obviously I can't find any scar tissue in his brain because he heals so quickly, but I did find what appears to be adamantium chips embedded in his frontal lobe. I'd guess that he as shot with an adamantium bullet, since that's the only thing that could penetrate his skull.
"Can you remove them?"
He shook his head quickly, "Since anesthesia doesn't work on him, he'd have to be awake for the procedure. That would be sheer torture."
Marie nodded, "So you don't think there's any chance he'll recover his memory?"
"No, but at least we know what most likely contributed to his original memory loss...sorry Rogue...I know how much his friendship meant to you...we'll all just have to be patient and start over with him...his personality hasn't changed much. In fact, I think having a clean slate and a healthy environment to recover in might make his disposition even sunnier...he certainly thinks well of you." Marie nodded somberly as Hank put a gentle, blue hand on her shoulder, "I do have some news that may lift your spirits...come by my office tomorrow, alright?"
"Alright, thanks."
She entered the med lab to find an impeccably sculpted, shirtless Logan. She stopped in her tracks, apologized and turned around in an attempt to flee the room.
He laughed a little and stopped her, "I'm not naked...unless you want me to be."
Again, she blushed. If this was uncensored Logan, she was going to have to figure out how to keep her complexion under control.
Logan took a few steps toward her and looked down at the tags around her neck. He smirked, "The blue guy told me I go by Wolverine, too...he said you were wearing my old military tags."
She trembled a little at the proximity of their bodies. When he took another step forward, she took an involuntary step backwards, which made him laugh a little. He took another step forward, and again, laughed at her nervous step backwards. He slowly leaned in...and just when it seemed that she would have to push him away to avoid lip to lip contact, he grabbed the shirt that rested on the table directly behind her.
Marie breathed out a little as he smirked and pulled his shirt over his head, "I make you nervous, huh?"
"No...there's just somethings you don't remember about me."
Logan raised a brow, "You have a just as hot identical twin sister?"
"No..." she groaned as she rolled her eyes. "I...well...I'm a mutant too."
"Oh? What's your special power? Somethin' kinky, I hope."
Marie took a step away from him and looked down sadly, "I can't touch people with my bare skin...that's why I'm so jumpy around you..."
His face fell into an expression of sorrow and disappointment, "Oh, shit...sorry."
"Yeah, thanks." She knew he was about to ask how she did "certain things", so she headed him off by quickly speaking up, "Follow me, I'll show you your room."
She led him to his room, "Alright...here you are. Bathroom's through there, your clothes and belongings are all here, and the kitchen's downstairs so just go on down if you get hungry."
He nodded and looked around, "Thanks."
"You're welcome...goodnight."
She started to walk out of the room, but he stopped her, "How'd you and I meet?"
Marie smiled a little and waved her hand dismissively, "It's been a long day, you should probably get some sleep."
"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that you've never woken up not knowing who you were. My brain is going a mile a second trying to take everything in...trust me, the last thing on my mind is sleep."
Marie bit her bottom lip and slowly ventured back into his room before plopping down on his bed, "Three years ago, I stumbled into a bar in Laughlin City after I ran away from home. You were in there, cage fighting. I remember bein' a little scared of you at first, but then I was just fascinated."
"Hmph. Sounds like I must've had my shirt off."
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, but on the inside, she was giggling. The first time she laid eyes on him, he did, indeed, have his shirt off, but she didn't want to let him in on that.
Marie raised a brow, "I guess losing your memory doesn't mean you have to lose your self confidence."
For two hours, she told him everything she could about the X Men, Magneto, people in the mansion and their various abilities.
She stayed there until Bobby knocked on the slightly ajar door, "I thought I heard you in here. Hey Logan, how are you feeling?"
Logan, being naturally territorial, stood and cleared his throat, "Who's this?"
"This Bobby...my boyfriend."
He scrunched up his face, "I thought you said you couldn't touch..."
"I can't."
Logan crossed his arms, "So, what is it, exactly, that you do that makes you boyfriend and girlfriend?"
Bobby tensed a little, "It's an emotional connection, Logan." He looked back down at Marie and gave her waist a slight squeeze, "Don't stay up too late. You've had a rough day."
She nodded and watched as he left. Logan relaxed slightly and sat back down in his chair, "I guess there's another clean cut, male model wannabe I can put in the 'I hate Logan' club."
"Yeah...I think they're getting jackets made." Logan laughed as she continued, "No...seriously...he doesn't hate you...and neither does Scott. They're just..."
"...intimidated by me?"
Marie smiled and walked to the doorway, "Goodnight Logan."
"Is that a yes?"
She just continued smiling as she closed the door, leaving him in the middle of his room, smirking to himself.
Logan woke up early the following morning and made his way down to the kitchen for breakfast. He didn't realize anyone else was up until he heard the off beat footsteps of someone with a limp approaching.
Jean entered the room and smiled, "Logan...hey, how are you?"
"Good...you're Jean, right?"
She seemed a little disappointed that he didn't remember her name, "Yeah...are you feeling alright?"
He shrugged, "A little disoriented, but I'm dealing, thanks to Marie."
Her face fell even more, "Marie...oh...that's nice."
Logan immediately picked up on her cues. He may have amnesia, but somehow, he knew when a member of the opposite sex was attracted to him and this chick definitely had the hots for him. Aside from the fact that she did seem like a total ice queen, she smelled just like the clean cut asshole with the red glasses. He definitely didn't want his sloppy seconds.
Jean watched Logan's face brighten when Marie entered the kitchen, "Hey there."
"Morning Jean, morning Logan...sleep OK?"
He nodded as he watched her pour herself a cup of coffee, then turn around with the pot and motion toward him, "Want some, hon?"
For some reason, he knew her calling him "hon" was nothing more than an innocent pet name, but it didn't keep him from wanting to melt. He slowly shook his head as she turned to Jean and offered her some.
The redhead declined as well as she watched him stare at Marie, "Are you sure you're alright, Logan?"
He barely took his eyes off of Marie as he spoke, "Well, I can't remember ever bein' better."
Marie almost spit out her coffee as she giggled at Logan's honest, yet slightly sarcastic statement.
Marie began puttering around the kitchen in an effort to round up some breakfast as Jean turned back to Logan and laid a hand over his, "If there's anything you need...anything at all, you let me know, ok?"
Logan looked at her hand, then back at her face, "Uh...ok."
The professor entered a few moments later, "Logan...there you are. Did you sleep well?"
Logan shrugged, "Just a few hours."
The professor smiled sagely, "Well, I was hoping to have the opportunity to speak with you, if you're feeling up to it."
Logan glanced at Marie, who gave an encouraging nod, "Alright...what the hell."
Jean stood, "I'll see you later, Logan..."
Marie rolled her eyes and tried to keep her thoughts under control as the brazen redhead watched Logan walk out of the room.
Marie sat in Hank's office reading through a file from Worthington Laboratories.
She covered her mouth and gasped, "A suppression device?"
He nodded, "It would be in the form of an adamantium bracelet and is crafted using your DNA and that of a mutant boy by the name of Leech. His mutation temporarily disables the powers of mutants around him. They use your own DNA so that it will only suppress your mutation and not that of those around you. My good friend is heading up this project and, if you like, you can participate in the case study."
"Oh Hank...thank you so much! That would mean the world to me..." she said as she wiped a happy tear away from her cheek.
He called his friend to arrange her appointment to have her blood drawn the following day.
She happily skipped down the hallway, looking for Logan. Her good mood was nearly spoiled when she spotted Logan sitting on the couch beside Jean in the rec room. The telepath straightened a bit and quieted down when she saw Marie approach.
She crossed her arms and stood in front of them, "Don't let me interrupt...what were you two talkin' about?"
Jean sighed and smiled, but something cold lurked behind her eyes, "Oh nothing. I was just telling Logan about his relationships with everyone here. Ya know, how he always bantered with Scott, ignored Storm and took you under his wing...almost like a father figure."
Marie narrowed her eyes before glancing back to Logan, who looked slightly upset by their conversation.
"A father figure? Logan was never a father figure to me. He has, and always will be, a friend."
Jean let out a small, fake laugh, "Oh Marie...it's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's only natural for him to want to protect a young girl like you."
Marie was about to open her mouth and let Jean have it, but Scott entered, looking reluctant and put out, "The professor said I should take you down to the Danger Room and show you how to work everything...so...you coming?"
Logan nodded and seemed actually relieved to have a good excuse to leave the room...even if it was with Scott. The poor man looked down right confused.
As soon as they were gone, Marie turned back to Jean, "What the hell was that?"
Jean played dumb, "What was what? I was just helping Logan remember who he is...and who everyone else around him is."
Marie crossed her arms and glared at Jean as she stared the redhead square in the eyes, refusing to back down, "Alright Jean, I think I know what's going on here-"
"No, I don't think you do. I'm not gonna sit by and allow you to take advantage of his memory loss by making up some fake little flirtation between you two."
Marie clenched her teeth and took a menacing step forward that actually caught Jean off guard and caused her to stumble backwards, bumping into a chair along the way, "So do you just want another warm male body to follow you around with their tongue hanging out? Is that it?"
Jean crossed her arms and glared, "What is that supposed to mean?"
Marie threw her hands up, "It means...I think you're upset that Logan doesn't remember the fact that he had a thing for you. I think that him not remembering you has made you realize that what he felt for you wasn't that deep."
Jean snarled, "You don't know what you're talking about."
"You know, when I had a little time to sit and think about Logan's memory loss, I figured you might actually count it as a blessing...we all could. Logan would be free from his infatuation with you and you wouldn't have to deal with constantly rebuffing his advances...it was kind of a win-win for everyone...then I watched you. The shameless flirting...the jealousy of our friendship...it's pathetic."
The redhead stepped around Marie and rolled her eyes, but Marie caught up to her and blocked the doorway, "Stay away from him, Jean. I'm warning you. He deserves more than having to deal with the world's iciest cock tease, so why don't you just go back to your room, wait for your fiance and put Logan out of your mind...because you chose Scott...and there comes a time when we all have to live with our choices. Leave. Him. Alone."
Marie stomped off, leaving a stunned looking Jean behind her.
Thank you guys so much for the reviews! Please keep them coming! I'm still so excited about this story and I can tell you that some ROGAN smut is definitely around the corner! How do you like Marie? Spicy, right? She's actually genuinely concerned about Logan's emotional well being, so she actually doesn't have any (conscious) ulterior motives when it comes to her telling Jean to back off. She really just hated how she led him on and doesn't want her to do it anymore.
Review please! I appreciate your feedback so far! Thanks guys!