Chapter 12

Marie was upset. Just when things were settling into a comfortable, happy routine for her, something always had to gum up the works. She silently fretted and tugged at the shock of pure white hair that grew at her widow's peak as she made her way to the horse stables for her weekly turn at mucking stalls. Her champion, her Wolverine, had found a new girl. True, she herself had a boyfriend, Bobby Drake, who loved her and treated her like a princess, but when someone saves your life…Marie still carried the essence of Logan in her mind from the night she had died and he had sacrificed his own vitality to bring her back. Touching Marie's skin for too long was a death sentence, but Logan had done so willingly, because he promised to take care of her. Now…she came up short just outside the hay barn doors, startled by the sounds of struggle inside. Hay flew everywhere and there was a loud thump as if something had fallen from a great height. Marie darted inside, only to be practically knocked off her feet by Vixen barging past her, the older woman clutching her left arm. Marie thought she saw blood seeping between Vixen's fingers.

A string of muttered expletives drew her attention back to the form on the barn floor. Logan rose to his feet, cursing, wiping blood from a rapidly healing gash in his right shoulder. Marie gasped and rushed to his side, even though she knew first aid was unnecessary. "What happened?" she asked, plucking strands of hay from his shirt before they could become embedded in the knitting flesh.

"Damn woman tried to kill me. Just went completely berserk." Logan's face was dark with anger and confusion. "I've gotta find out what the hell's going on, kid." He brushed past Marie and ran out into the fading afternoon sunlight, stopping only momentarily to test the air for Vixen's scent.

The pretty young mutant stomped her foot in frustration and watched him run off. To everyone else she was Rogue, dangerous but respected. To Logan she was still a kid, and with that Vixen around occupying his every waking moment, she always would be.


I ran as hard as I could, air burning in my lungs until I came to the woods surrounding the school grounds. The panic was beginning to recede, but the residue still left a sick feeling in my gut. I had wanted to kill Logan, had actually tried to kill him. I crashed through the underbrush, heedless of the thorns and branches that tore at my clothes and skin. Shreds of images winked through my mind, of blood and men, shocked looks and flashing adamantium. More memories? Of what? What kind of person was I? I desperately needed to find out. An exposed tree root caught my ankle, and I tumbled to the ground in a heap. Searing pain shot up my leg and the tears finally came. I sobbed into the dead leaves that covered the ground, long past the time it took for my ankle to repair itself.


Logan tracked Brianna easily, heightened sense of smell or no. The woman left a trail a mile wide in her frantic flight through the woods. He could feel her anguish and confusion acutely and his heart ached for her. The struggle in the hay barn had been against her will, Logan knew. He had sensed the conflict within Brianna even as she drove her claws into his shoulder. And he could see the panic in her beautiful hazel eyes. All he wanted to do now was find her and offer what comfort he could. The agony of a forgotten past and unknown terror was something Logan was well acquainted with.

He found Brianna crumpled beneath a dead oak, sniffling back the remnants of her tears. Silently, Logan went to his knees beside her and gathered her into his arms, knowing she would not attack now. Brianna clutched him desperately around the waist, burying her head in his chest and breathing in his pervasive scent. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I don't know why…"

"Shhh, shh." Logan quieted her. "It's alright. It wasn't your fault, darlin', I know." He laid his cheek on top of her silky head, and they sat, saying everything without a word. Whatever was happening, whatever the outcome, they would go through it together. To Logan, there was no other option.