New update! Thanks to Triciaxy for telling me about those corrections, I'll definitely correct them soon. Thanks to everybody else who are putting this story on their favorites/alerts and also to Mahwash, Sue Doe Nyhm, Beater101, SharkGurl, tanya2byour21, Laani, Isabella94 and tanya2byour21. I checked on my story stats here in fanficton and found out that UK is my top reader. Yay UK! :D

No, really, all the others are great too. Personally, I'm not from UK. So. (Although I plan to visit it someday.)

Anyway, I hope all those who are reading this and NOT reviewing would review it once this fic ends. I'm expecting a growth spurt in my review then. Don't disappoint me!

Okay, about the story, I know I promised you the things that would help you understand the story better in this chapter, but slight change, that's the next chapter. I hope you can wait for the next update which has all that.

I'm actually experiencing writer's block but the feedback from this story is enormous (come check my mail) and I intend to finish this one, definitely. But bear with me and stay with me with all my moods. (Haha.)

Question 1. – Do you want a little PG–13 stuff in this? Because it's bound to come up soon. (What does that mean? Tell me.) Not too mature though. I think. But I don't know what I might come up with.

Question 2. – Who all are on wattpad? It's a great place to be. Although the reviewers there are a real pain. Why? They don't review! Unlike you guys. You rock!

Question 3. – Did you select this fic basically because (a) it's a X–Men fic (b) It's a Rogan fic (c) It's a romance fic? (With some action. Its slow in that department but trust me, the romance is definitely there. Ahead.)

Question 4. – How many of you like Meg Cabot's Mediator series?

Chapter Eleven

The Red-Headed Doctor

Mystique' PoV

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Logan was sitting beside me, sipping his beer while I chugged down my martini in one go. And then, I ordered another one.

This place was a creep. I didn't like it one bit. No sexy bartenders, no cute regulars. This was just one doomed bar.

Only good thing was this passable bartender, who looked about twenty–six and was currently eyeing me from the corner of his eyes.

"So?" I asked Logan, raising an eyebrow at him.

I had slipped my number to Logan not long after I figured out where Rogue was. As a message to the motel he was staying in. Obviously, I didn't' want to see his face more than I had to.

It wasn't hard to find her with a locator by my side. This locator, as the name suggests, had the mutant ability to track anyone down by touching something that belonged to them. I had these earrings and watch that belonged to her, brought from the hospital which Rogue left there.

This talent in mutants was rare and Mark, the locator, was hard to track down at first. But you can always get what you want if you try hard enough. Plus points? If you have stayed under Eric's wings for a while and of course… if you are Mystique.

I smiled to myself as I saw how uncomfortable Logan was. This was our first encounter since the hospital that morning and I knew Logan had left no stone unturned to figure out where Rogue was. If only he could get his way this time that easily. With Rogue and Logan, Rogue would always win just because Logan had fallen hard enough for her to let her win. Why? 'Cause she was only one who could pierce the walls that he had built around himself.

I sighed. I was proud of my Marie in more ways than I could think. She was everything that I wanted her to be and… more.

"So what?" He growled. "You tell me where she is and we and find her."

"Right," I answered sarcastically. "As if it's that simple."

"What do you mean?" He asked, bending forward a bit.

"Look Logan. If you didn't know this before, well, let me enlighten you. Rogue is self sufficient. She doesn't need you anymore. She has found others."

"What others?" He asked, anger plain of his face, along with slight confusion and irritation.

"She found this guy and she's happy with him."

"What?" He asked, her eyebrows furrowing together.

"Yeah well," I smiled, enjoying torturing the poor bloke. Come on, he deserved it. He took months to answer me! "And she trusts him. And there's this girl, Juno. Who can make people fall in love. So."

"What exactly do you mean by this?"

"I mean that, she's happy, let her be."

He lay back on his chair, a frown on his face, sipping his bear again, not answering. My martini arrived and I smiled at the bartender, making him stop in his tracks for a minute as he looked back at Natalie Sherman, local television star.

"Are you Natalie?" He asked, a casual grin on his face with a hint of excitement.

"Of course, darling," I replied, smiling.

"I thought you had a shoot downtown."

"Well, you thought wrong," I replied, adding in a dazzling smile.

"Um," he faltered, clearly staring at my cleavage, visible slightly under the blue shirt I wore. His eyes shot back up and he blushed prettily when I caught his staring. "Can I get an autograph?"

"Where?" I asked, playing along, bending ahead. He was sort of cute in a puppy dog sort of way. I could definitely use him tonight. And probably hear about Natalie's affair in newspaper tomorrow. I smiled even more. I liked fire the way Mystique lit it.

"Oh stop it," Logan growled. "Flirt on your own time."

He shot the guy a glare which made him leave my side like a bullet putting in a 'See you later' to me.

"Logan, you are no fun," I said, pouting. I knew this look looked a picture of innocence on Natalie. "Now I know why Rogue prefers Leslie."

"Leslie?" He asked, the lines on his forehead burying deeper.

"He's more fun than you are. Light headed and good–natured flirt."

"Now who's he?" He asked, irritated.

"The guy I told you about. Rogue's dear friend? He has an ability to read mind. And currently, he pays Rogue for her services."

Logan was out of his chair and on my throat in a second, making me choke while I laughed on inside at his stupidity. Several faces turned our way and the bartender guy was back again, puling Logan's hand off my throat along with half a dozen others.

"Leave her, you murderer!" Cried a batty old lady and hit Logan with her bag right on his face.

Thrice.

Ouch. That big brown bag seemed heavy.

Logan was pushed away and out of the bar while I coughed and told everybody to relax, smiling inwardly. I finished the round of free martini that the bartender, Brad, offered me. Then, in a couple minutes, I ditched the bar, with Brad's number in my pocket, finding Logan just across the street a little way ahead. I motioned him to follow me.

"You loved that, didn't you?" He asked, keeping up with my pace without any difficulty.

"You bet," I smiled up at him.

"What did you mean? About what you said back at the bar?" He asked in a voice that was barely controlled from rising above the level that's normal. His eyes were fixed on the ground below as I lead him to my car.

"About Rogue and her services?"

I saw him gulp visibly and his fists clenched as he looked at me and glared.

I sat down in, as Logan followed me, and turned the keys in the ignition. The green bug sprung back to life and I brought it on road.

"It's your mistake. You got it wrong," I shrugged. Then, I added, "She joined him because he she works for him."

"I got that. What kind of work?" He asked, a whole minute later.

"She helps him handle the stupid army he's building up."

"Army?"

"More like a group. They fight for entertainment. Earn their living that way."

"You mean Rogue fights other mutants? Her powers… came back? But even then… wouldn't that be a problem for her? I mean, she'd be absorbing everybody. Too many minds in her head."

"No, she doesn't fight, exactly. And her powers aren't back. She helps Leslie take care of business and handle the people on his group."

"And… what's the nature of her relationship with this… guy?"

"She likes him."

"She does?" He asked, sitting up straighter.

"As a friend. Though Leslie obviously doesn't have the same opinion about her. The way he eyes her."

I heard a low growl beside me and smiled with satisfaction. This at least was the truth. Leslie had shown interest in Rogue, but she bluntly denied even seeing it.

I added another one, "Though this other guy… he has even tried a move on her."

"What guy?" Logan groaned now.

"His name is Mike something…" I liked playing with Logan. "No, Michael? Naah. Marcus. Yeah, Marcus. Quite a piece of cake, that one."

"And…?"

"And he got her drunk on something, tricked her to this motel room."

"And you let it happen?" He asked, angrily. Next, his anger made him incoherent as I enjoyed watching him from the side of my eye. "You let… she… him… how?"

He clutched the dashboard for support. His face was a mask of fury, worry and disappointment.

"Don't worry," I said, at last, after counting up to two minutes. "It didn't happen. Leslie guy saved her. Yay!"

Logan looked at me with disbelief, her eyes full of anger, her mouth pulled into a frown of disgust.

"How can you do this to me?" He asked, with that expression.

"Its fun," I replied, swerving the car right. "I love to see that shock and disappointment on your face. Gives me an upper hand."

"Damn, I deserve it," he said, burying his head in his hands.

"Sure you do. It took you four months to decide you loved her?" I asked, throwing in a hint of shock for the effect.

He sighed and didn't answer, staring out of the window.

I continued with my story. "Leslie's ancestor started this. Pooled in mutants from everywhere, every background. Some are doctor, others workmen from masonry. There are firefighters, teachers and even students. All undercover. They fight for the prize that Leslie decides. His own party of mutants fight these guys. Its like, defeat my mutants and take the prize. Hardly anyone wins. But even then, it's popular like crazy. It's like Takeshi's Castle. Nobody wins it and yet, they thrill in it. Though I don't know what crazy would pay fifty bucks each time just to lose."

I shook my head. "Rogue helps Leslie take care of everybody until her powers return and then, she can fight herself."

"And she'd do it? Fight mutants for Leslie?" He asked, raising his head.

"He found her soon after she ditched us. She paid the remaining hospital bills. She must have been broke. That guy saved her. She's indebted to him." For good measure, I added, "And they have quite a chemistry. They practically live in the same house."

He growled in warning. I chuckled in return.

"And… she's happy?" He asked, in the smallest voice I had heard him use yet.

I looked at him twice while driving before answering this one truthfully. "As happy as she can be without you."

He sighed again, turning his gaze outside.

"But she has good friends there," I informed him. "They take care of her. Juno, the girl? She's like Jubilee part two. Only more silent and tolerable."

He chuckled slowly. I looked at him and my lips curved up. It was nice to hear him laugh like that. But this guy seriously deserved so much worse for what all he gave to Rogue.

"And how did you find her?" He asked next.

"After giving you that incredible lecture and those satisfying kicks, I turned up at this locator's house. He helped me. Then, I simply kept an eye on her. She lives nearby. But with Leslie, these guys are hard to spot."

"Why?"

"They cloak their work. Looks like an abandoned place from outside. Inside its all lavish and huge. Some mutant helped. It's an unbelievable work, actually."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. This place houses hundreds of people and nobody ever knows about it. Well, it's practically in this forest. But I sneaked in."

I smiled at his raised eyebrow.

"That's why you couldn't find her," I told him and he looked at me before finally resting his gaze ahead.

I decided against it, but blurted out in the very last second, "Logan, you're not going to hurt her, right?"

He looked at me for the longest minute before answering. "I've already screwed this up. And if I'm what Marie wants, and believe me, I've wanted it for the longest time, I'm ready for it. And I'll not screw it up this time."

"What if she doesn't accept you?"

"She will," he answered in a definite voice.

"What if–"

"I'll make her see."

"What if–"

"There won't be 'what if's' anymore Mystique. I'm done with them for a lifetime. I know that she can't live without me. She can hit me, kick me, for doing all that, but, I won't let her go this time. I don't want some Lesbian guy strolling in and taking her away with him. Or a Remy. I've had too much. She'll have to agree."

I smiled. "Well done, kid. You might be learning something from me."

Suddenly, I heard faint sirens of ambulance. We focused ahead and I stopped the car a little way away from the scene.

All sorts of ambulances, police cars and people were lining ahead. The other side, I could see small pools of blood and pieces of burning stuff. Burning car pieces, a tire, metal. Broken glass was all over the place. But it was confined only to one corner. A large corner.

A fire engine was lined up, throwing water everywhere. A lot of thing was calmed but still things were spread around lit on fire.

"What happened?" I asked, looking at Logan who obviously didn't know a thing. "That's just three blocks away from Rogue!" I shouted getting off and Logan followed me.

There were men and woman moving around, holding walkie–talkie things in their hands and talking urgently into it. A horde of people made it difficult for us to move and see.

"What happened?" I asked, cornering a guy in orange vest over his checked shirt and black pants.

"A blast. Bomb blast," he said and moved ahead.

"Are people hurt?" Logan asked, holding that guy's shoulders and bringing him back in front of us. "Is anyone hurt?"

"Yes," He answered. "It blew up out of nowhere. Some people are injured but nobody has really serious injury. Everything is mostly fine. It was almost as if it was a sort of warning. Because nobody was really hurt. It blew up in a lonely corner. But the noise? It was huge."

Then, the guy was gone.

"A warning?" Logan looked at me worriedly.

I looked back at the peoples' back who lined the place, held back by the cops. "This is so much of a coincidence. A whole horde of mutants meets just two blocks away!"

"We need to get to Rogue fast!" He said, looking at me and I nodded.

"But how? This place, it's covered. They won't let us pass!"

"What's the other way out?" He asked.

"That'll take time!" I said, frustrated. Suddenly, I got it. Then, I smiled, slowly. "Oh, wait up."

I ducked behind an ambulance and out of sight and changed into the uniform of a cop with a face of Miranda Owens, a well known police officer in the whole state.

I came back, got a hold of Logan and pushed him ahead with me, with an expression of superiority. The news channels were starting to arrive by now and the whole place was packed. I hoped I didn't get caught on the camera.

But then, does it matter?

"What are you doing?" Logan muttered as I pushed people apart with as much strength as I could muster.

I didn't answer him. Rather, a cop answered him with a salute to me.

"Madam? What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I am doing?" I asked, frowning. "What happened here?"

"A blast ma'am," he answered. "No visible source. The C.S.U is going to arrive soon."

"No visible source?" I muttered. Mutant work.

I nodded at Logan.

"Look," I said, looking him straight in the eye. "I'm in the middle of a very important case. I need to pass with this man to the other block. This guy is a suspect and he's leading me to a crime scene. Serious business."

"Yes, you can pass," he said, giving us way. "Your car?"

"We're sort of undercover. We're going to keep it low. Left my car a block away."

He nodded letting us pass. Other people either looked at me in awe or saluted me, giving way to us both. Once we were out of sight, I changed back to Natalie.

"Impressive work," Logan commented as I finally let him go. "Now, where is she?"

"Follow me," I said, leading the way.

A couple of minutes later I suddenly spotted Leslie talking to a couple of his mutant friends.

"That's Leslie!" I muttered, walking up to him.

"Hey, uh," I faltered for the first time. What was I supposed to say? "You guys know… Rogue?"

"Are you Natalie Sherman?" Marcus asked. I chose to ignore him.

Closer up, I found Leslie had scars on his hand and a couple on his face. Same with Eve and Marcus.

"What happened to you guys?" I asked, looking them up and down.

"Ro–" Eve began when Leslie cut him off.

"Nothing. We had an accident. That… bomb blast there."

"Oh." Then, I looked up back at him. "Where is… Rogue?"

"You know her?" He asked, stepping forward.

"Yeah," I said. "She's a friend of mine. And I know that you are mutants." I extended my hand turning it my natural skin color, a faint blue for the minutest of seconds.

Leslie looked at me impressed. "Wow. You're a mutant too?"

I nodded. "And I don't usually look like Natalie Sherman. Now, where's Rogue? This is urgent."

"Uh," he looked back at Eve and then at me. "Rogue fell unconscious just minutes ago. She gave us these scars when we touched her. I don't know what happened." He shook his head. "But then, this mutant came up, said she specialized in medicine and that she'd take her to her home and treat her. Her car was small so, just Juno went in with them. We're going to go to that address now."

"Okay. What's the address?" I asked.

"You can come with us. Let's go."

I nodded, motioning Logan to follow us.

"Your name?" Leslie asked.

"Mystique," I supplied.

"I'm Leslie," he extended his hand.

"I know," I said taking his hand and then, following him.

He smiled and tapped his head. "I knew too."

"And that's… Logan," I said, introducing them.

"Seriously?" Marcus suddenly said, looking at Logan as if he was seeing him for the first time.

"Seriously," Logan growled at him, before following me.

"I'm Marcus," Marcus said, thrusting his hand into Logan's.

I walked forward, following Leslie. A minute later, we heard a loud shriek from Marcus. I looked back and found him trying to wrench his hand away from Logan. Leslie was suddenly beside Logan, looking up at him.

"Logan, let him go!" I scolded him, laughing all the while.

He let go and we got into the minivan that Eve brought up in front of us a couple minutes later.

Ten minutes later, we pulled up in front of an abandoned house. Ivy was crawling up its walls and dust had settled over the door, visible even from far off. The trees were crooked and bent into each other, growing wildly in a huge garden with the grass long dead.

"What's this?" Logan growled from beside me.

"That's the address!" Eve said, defending herself and getting out of the thing they called a vehicle.

I got out looking around. "Ask people around. Maybe we got the wrong address."

After five minutes of looking around and asking two passing people, we were sure it was the address that the supposed doctor had given us.

"Now, begins our trouble," I muttered, leaning against the minivan.

"What did this doctor look like?" Logan asked Leslie from where he stood in the middle of the road. Even the road looked like it hadn't seen vehicles in months.

"Red headed, about five eight? Fair, good looking. Probably early thirties?" Marcus answered instead.

Logan and Eve both threw him a glare. Then, Logan looked at me.

"There are a lot of people fitting that description," I answered his glance. "Anything specific?" I asked Marcus.

He shook his head, followed by Marcus and Eve.

"Great," I muttered. "Time to call in a favor from old Mark again."

"The locator?" Logan asked.

"The locator," I confirmed. "Lucky I got his number, huh?"

So, what do you think? Review! Keep me going. :D