Despite the fact that Logan had failed in his ever important duty of keeping Marie safe, Jean, Storm, Scott and the professor met him in the driveway. They all took turns in greeting him and offering words of comfort and encouragement. Even Scott gave him a muttered, "It'll be alright".

"Any luck with Cerebro?"

Jean and the professor traded uneasy looks before turning back to Logan, "Perhaps it would be best to talk in my office. Not many of the students know what's going on and I'd like to keep it that way."

Numbly, Logan followed them to the professor's office and plopped down on the large leather couch, "Alright. Let's hear it. When can you have Cerebro up and running so we can locate her?"

"If anyone other than Emma had been there to damage Cerebro, we might be able to make some quick repairs...but, like I said...she was a student here and she knows a lot about the inner workings of that machine."

Logan stood and began pacing, "Cut through the crap, Chuck. What are you sayin'?"

"The cords she took out and moved reversed the polarization of the machine. In order to fix it, we'd need Magneto's help in rearranging the various magnetized panels throughout the chamber."

He felt as though someone had reached inside of him and pulled out the last tiny shred of hope he'd been clinging to.

Logan quickly turned around and began stalking out of the mansion with Jean, Scott and Storm hot on his heels, "Logan! Where are you going?"

"If I need to find Magneto to find Marie, that's what I'm gonna do."

Jean was the first to catch up, "I'll come with you."

Scott's mouth dropped open, "Jean-"

Storm spoke up as well, "I'm coming too."

The fearless leader couldn't very well be the only team member left at the mansion, so he reluctantly agreed to go.

Within an hour, they'd mapped out a few of Magneto's most likely hideouts, then loaded onto the blackbird and took off in search of the enemy who might be their only hope of finding Marie.

Little did they know, he would be harder to find than they thought.

To her knowledge, the last time she saw Logan, he was dead. Marie had given up on the hope that she would ever see him again, so holding onto the will to fight was even harder than it should have been...not that she'd given up completely. Every time Victor came to her room, she put up a fight that was warrior-worthy. All she succeeded in doing was spraining her own wrist and angering Victor...so she just tried to remain strong and survive every punch that rolled her way.

For just a few minutes a day, she'd allow herself to think about Logan.

That's what got her through the long, drawn out days and Victor's intolerable night time visits.

About two and a half weeks after her arrival, Victor decided it was time to introduce her to the Brethren Court. She initially refused, but Emma's "convincing" left Marie unable to do anything but agree. It was also sure to keep her in line during the introductory ceremony.

She stood still while a mutant named Danielle helped dress her in a long, black and red trimmed dress, then curled her hair and pinned it to the top of her head. As Danielle put the finishing touches on Marie's make up, Raven entered and noted the sour look on Marie's face. She sucked her teeth and glared at her, "You really don't appreciate your position."

Marie stared straight ahead and rolled her eyes, "No...I don't, but I really don't see how that's any of your concern."

"What's a matter, little girl?" Raven smirked and suddenly shifted her form into Logan, "Missin' someone special?"

Marie's heart clenched before she suddenly turned and slapped Raven as hard as she could. The shapeshifter had turned back into her female form as soon as the stinging hit was delivered.

She held her face and glared at Marie, "Why you little-"

Victor entered the room just as Raven was preparing to retaliate, "What the fuck is going on here?"

Danielle quickly left the room as Raven straightened and stuttered, "N-n-nothing. I was...I was-"

"It looked like you were about to HIT the mother of my child..."

Raven quickly shook her head, "No! No! I was just-"

"Was she bothering you, baby?"

Marie rolled her eyes as he wrapped an arm around her waist, "Just keep the bitch away from me."

Victor pointed at Raven, "I'll deal with you later...now get the hell out." When she was gone, he turned back to her and rubbed his hands down her arms, "You look beautiful..." Marie did everything she could to ignore him, but he snatched her face to his and looked down into her eyes, "You're late."

She snatched away from him and crossed her arms, "For what?"

Victor smirked, turned her back around and ran the back of his finger over her lower abdomen, "For this..."

Marie jumped and quickly turned away from him in disgust as she wrapped her arms around herself. Victor laughed and pulled her to him from behind before kissing her ear, "You know, I thought it would take a little time, but I guess your body wanted it..."

She wanted to snatch away and scream, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her raw emotion, so she just stared straight ahead as his hands roamed over her body. A knock on the door made him growl, "What?"

Emma opened the door, "It's time, sir."

He nodded before guiding Marie out of the room.

She'd only been allowed out of the suite she was kept in a couple of times before and that was only to be taken to Victor's room. She didn't even know what part of the country she was in...if she was even still in the country...

If she was, she guessed that she was in California. Out the window, she could see the ocean and it hadn't rained once since her arrival two weeks prior.

Marie was guided down the hallway, then down a dark, narrow spiral staircase which led to two very large double doors. Someone who Marie didn't recognize handed Victor a red a black robe, which he put on before taking her hand.

When the doors opened, Marie was confronted by the sight of nearly fifty mutants sitting in a chapel-like room. A unified gasp swept over the crowd as Victor began walking down the center aisle with her on his arm.

Despite the number of people there, the silence was shocking. She'd never felt so many eyes on her at once.

When they reached the altar at front, Victor sat her down in a throne-like chair, then sat beside her. A man, who was probably the equivalent of a high priest, walked up to the altar and motioned toward Marie, "She is here...the mutant goddess who will usher the liking of Romulus back into our world...creating order where there is confusion...delivering justice where there is crime...and ridding this world of the inferior maggots we know as humans!"

She jumped slightly when the crowd began clapping and cheering. After the end of the sermon/evil pep rally, Victor led her out among bowed heads.

Marie had never been more frightened in her life.

Logan roared at the sky and punched the nearest tree, unleashing his claws in the process. After nearly three weeks of searching, their efforts to find Magneto had proved fruitless.

Jean sighed, "Logan, we have to remain calm."

"Remain calm? I was calm for two whole fuckin' weeks! She's probably..." his voice trailed off as he envisioned Victor touching her.

Storm, Jean and Scott looked at each other, "Look...we'll call the professor and find out if there's any other place we can go. We're not gonna give up, OK?"

Logan looked around at their confused faces and nodded, "Fine..."

While Jean and Scott moved back aboard the jet, Storm rested a comforting hand on Logan's tense shoulder, "Logan...we didn't want to say anything...but we all know about you and Marie..."

At this point, he could care less who knew what, so he just grunted and lowered his head as he thought about the time he spent with the only woman who'd been able to make him genuinely laugh in fifteen years. He was brought back from his fantasies by Storm's voice, "The professor picked up on your thoughts the day you got back to the mansion. We all support you...and I hope we're able to get her back. Not just for the safety of the world...but for you."

He looked at Storm and favored her with an appreciative nod. In his current mood, it was all he could muster.

After putting in a call to the professor, they discovered it might be possible that Magneto had returned to his home continent of Europe.

Logan knew that, if Magneto had gone there, they'd be looking for a needle in a hay stack, so they recruited more help from retired X Men members and some of the older students.

Hank McCoy, Bobby Drake and Peter Rasputin joined Logan and Storm in the continued North American search for Marie while Scott, Jean and Warren Worthington hopped from Poland to Germany to France in their search for Magneto.

Wherever the Brethren were keeping her...they were doing a good job at keeping her hidden.

Marie collapsed on the floor of the bathroom after spending the past fifteen minutes emptying her stomach of everything she'd eaten in the past 24 hours. The mutant named Danielle, who served as her maid, assistant and messenger found her and rushed out to get Victor, who quickly arrived and put Marie in bed.

He turned to Danielle, "Call the midwife..."

She fell asleep, feeling weak and sick, but was soon awoken by a woman entering her room with Victor. The woman made her go pee in a cup, then performed a pregnancy test. Marie sat on the bed, looking down at her hands as everyone waited for the results.

When the test was ready, the midwife checked it, then looked up and gave a brief nod to Victor, who grinned broadly.

A silent, lone tear fell down Marie's face as she let out a deep breath and sniffled. She had a feeling she pregnant, she just hated the fact that it was now confirmed.

Victor kissed the top of her head and looked down into her eyes, "How are you feeling?"

She suddenly wretched and leaned over, throwing up directly on his shoes. She would have laughed if she didn't feel so sick. Her nausea had perfect timing...

Victor jumped backwards and yelled, "Shit!"

The next morning, Victor came to check on her again, "Feeling better today?"

Marie sighed, "I need fresh air. I wanna go outside."

"Can't do that yet."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "Why not?"

"I'm getting a special little headband made for you. It should be ready soon, but until then, you have to stay in the house. I have a unique roof on this place that keeps nosey telepaths, like that professor, out."

Marie cursed under her breath. This asshole had thought of everything.

She stood and walked into the bathroom where she started the water and pinned her hair up, "I have to take a shower...do you mind?"

He smirked and watched her, "Not at all..."

Marie tried to close the door to the bathroom, but he stopped her, "Leave it open."

She closed her eyes and began undressing. He stared at her through the clear glass door while she showered, eyeing her hungrily and readjusting his bulging erection.

When she exited the shower, she quickly wrapped herself in a towel before even bothering to dry herself. Victor stood and walked over to her, making her back up into the nearest wall.

She trembled and closed her eyes as he gripped her waist and started to pull her body to his, but he stopped himself and rushed from the room, leaving a confused, but immensely relieved Marie standing in the bathroom, shaking.

Minutes later, Marie heard moans and the rhythmic creaking of a bed coming from the room next door...Victor's room. After several moments, she heard a voice that sounded startlingly familiar to her own cry out Victor's name just as he roared "Marie!"

She waited a few minutes before opening her bedroom door. The guard who was sitting in front of her door looked up, "Do you need something?"

Marie slowly shook her head and watched as Raven, who had shape shifted into Marie's likeness, walked out of Victor's bedroom with a bright red face and downturned eyes. She quickly turned back into the other human form she typically used when she realized she had company.

Her eyes briefly snapped up to Marie's to glare at her before she rushed by.

Seconds later, Victor exited his room, straightening out his jacket. He favored Marie with a quick wink before disappearing around the corner.

She suddenly felt the need to throw up again...and it wasn't because of the hormones.

The following weeks passed by slowly and torturously, but conditions did improve for her.

Although she could tell he wanted to, Victor halted all night time visits, possibly because he was afraid his typically rough handling of her would harm the baby. Instead, he made Raven take on Marie's form so that he could have his way with her likeness. He even made Raven alter her Marie-form as her body began to change with her pregnancy.

In the meantime, Marie tried to keep her mind off of the cold, hard facts of her situation and just concentrate on reading the millions of books she had access to.

For a brief, fleeting moment after finding out she was pregnant, she wondered if her baby was Logan's. She quickly dismissed the thought, knowing if that were true and Victor found out, it would mean a death sentence for both her and her child, so she refused to even allow herself to entertain that scenario, for fear that Emma's random telepathic spying would discover her little secret.

After a few more weeks, she was finally fitted with the small, telepathy-blocking metal head band and allowed to venture outside under extremely close supervision. She also used it against Emma, allowing herself to fantasize about the few perfect days she spent with Logan, making love, playing board games and talking.

During her walks outside, she got a better look at the mansion, which looked to be a renovated, old Spanish villa with the most amazing ocean views Marie had ever seen. She had absolutely no clue were she was until nearly three months to the day after she arrived.

One day, her body/prison guards were feeling exceptionally generous with her time outside and decided to escort her down to the beach.

They'd just told her they were ready to head back when she spotted a beach sign that was in Spanish...possibly warning about jellyfish.

A sinking feeling invaded her gut when she realized that it was likely she was no longer in America.

How would Logan find her? How would anyone find her?

During a particularly quiet afternoon sometime during her third month of pregnancy, Victor showed up in Marie's room with with some shopping bags and boxes.

She hated it...it reminded her of the night in the hotel when he had designer clothes delivered to her. She had lapped up every second of his false charm and she couldn't be more ashamed of it.

"What's this?" she asked, looking up from her book.

He tossed the garment bag onto her bed, "We've got company coming over for dinner. I wanted you to look nice."

Up until then, she'd been forced to take all of her meals inside of her room. Venturing out into the mansion for dinner was an interesting prospect.

"Try it on."

She gave him a perplexed look, "Right now?"

He nodded and sat down on the arm chair near her bed. She sighed and picked up the dress before walking toward the bathroom, but he suddenly spoke up, "I want you to change...in front of me."

Marie let out a shivering breath before turning away from him and slowly sliding out of her sweat pants, then her tank top. She reached for the dress, but Victor, who she didn't realize had stood and was now directly behind her, took her by the waist and turned her around so that he could look down at the slight swell in her lower abdomen.

She violently jerked away when he reached to touch her belly, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer, "Don't. Move."

Marie looked away and allowed him to run his hand over her stomach. He smiled, "It's good that you're showing this early. He's growing quickly..."

She snapped her eyes upwards to glare at him, "He?"

"Obviously it's assumed Romulus will come back in male form..."

Marie quickly moved toward the bed and picked up the dress to slip it on. She didn't want to mention that she felt within her heart of hearts that the baby she carried was a girl.

She straightened the dress out and glared at her own reflection, then at him, "What kind of jack ass gets a pregnant woman a dress made out of this material? It clings to every curve and bump."

"A jack ass that wants to show off this bump", he said as he put a hand over her stomach, which she promptly pushed off and moved away from. "The followers want to know their messiah is on the way..." He smirked and plopped down on the bed as she rolled her eyes, "You weren't always so hard to get along with. Why can't we just go back to those days when you were that wide eyed girl in Calgary...make it like old times."

Her mouth dropped open, "Are you serious? Everything you told me during those 'old times' was a lie! Your charm, your affection...all some sick facade so you could succeed at your evil plan! You're probably gonna kill me after I give birth to your little spawn!"

She took a step back when Victor suddenly stood and began backing her up against the nearest wall. He raised a clawed finger up to her face and narrowed his eyes, "Wanting you has never been a lie..."

Marie stared at him in silence for a few moments before her eyes began to shift about nervously, "I think you should back up...I'm feeling sick."

Victor eagerly stepped backwards, obviously remembering the terrible fate his shoes met the last time she got sick in his presence.

She quickly sought refuge in the bathroom, closing the door behind her and looking in the mirror.

By the time she emerged from the bathroom, Victor had left so that he could get dressed for the dinner party. When he came back to pick her up for dinner, he looked her over and grunted approvingly before escorting her to the giant dining room which already had a few, nicely dressed mutants milling about, sipping drinks.

She stared longingly at a glass of wine and sighed as Victor pulled her over to a few people. They treated her like she was a conversation piece in an art gallery, talking more about her than to her as they stared at her slightly changed figure.

Marie sighed when her stomach growled, "When are these guests gonna arrive?"

Victor turned toward the door and smiled at the newcomers, "Ah...Erik.."

She followed his eyes to the doorway just as an older man entered, flanked by two tattooed women. Victor guided her toward him, "Marie...I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Erik Lensherr, also known as Magneto."

Coming up next...

Raven and Marie have a confrontation that threatens the health of her unborn child.

Marie has her first ultrasound.

Scott and Jean capture one of Magneto's cronies.

Victor forces Marie to make a tough decision.

As always, my lovely readers, please please REVIEW!