A/N: Happy Reading!

Through it all I've made my mistakes, I stumble and fall, but I mean these words:

I want you to know, with everything I won't let this go.

These words are my heart and soul. I'll hold on to this moment you know.

As I bleed my heart out to show and I won't let go

- "With Me" Sum 41

"But chere-"

"I swear if you call me chere one more time, I'll take that stupid staff you carry around and shove it- oh hi Storm." Marie broke off, thanking the weather goddess for the interruption.

At first Remy's attention to her was amusing. He was so over the top and corny, throwing French words around like it would make every girl immediately jump into bed with him. Yeah, well not this girl. She preferred hazel eyes and claws…but that was just her personal opinion. Speaking of Logan, Gambit didn't seem to be his favorite person either. Every time the two alpha males were near each other, Logan practically radiated fury and aggravation. Marie was seriously starting to worry for Gambit's life if he flirted with her in front of Logan one more time. But then again, maybe his death wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Then at least she could have dinner without being harassed by his lame attempts at wooing the pants off her.

"Good evening Rogue." The white haired woman smiled knowingly, sharing in Rogue's exasperation. It seemed the two of them were the only women immune to the Cajun's charms. Even Jubilee was walking around with cartoon hearts in her eyes. "Would you perhaps want to go-"

"Yes!" The brunette interrupted eagerly. "I would love to!"

"-assist me in my garden." Storm finished, holding back a laugh at the injured look on Remy's face. It quickly disappeared, and was replaced with his usual smarmy facial expression.

"You know what they say. Absence makes the heart grow fonder ma amie." The incorrigible mutant commented, shooting Rogue a wink as he walked away. Just as Gambit left, a certain feral mutant entered the hallway where Rogue and Storm stood. He sniffed the air, before turning and glaring at Remy's turned back.

"Gumbo botherin' you again?" He growled, the metal in his arms itching to be released.

Laughing lightly at Logan's nickname for the guy, Rogue shrugged noncommittally. "He'll give up eventually. With him it's all about the chase. And what's more unattainable than a girl with poison skin?"

Grunting in response, Logan turned and faced the two women. "Still, I'd love to gut the sucker."

"Well I think if ya did that, there'd be more than a few angry women pounding on your door." Rogue commented wryly. Seriously, it was sad what a little accent would do to almost the entire female population.

"Darlin' that would not be anythin' new to me."

Rolling her eyes at his comment, Rogue turned to face Storm, who had been silently observing this whole exchange. "Ready to go?"

"Sure thing. Meet me out there whenever you're done here." Storm replied, eyeing Logan and Rogue, knowing their conversation was not over.

As Ororo Munroe went outside, Logan turned to Marie with a serious expression adorning his face. He was worried about her. Suddenly, her mutation had vanished and she had decided to keep it a secret. Also, without her mutation she would have no way to defend herself. He wasn't denying that she was great at hand-to-hand combat, but her abilities are what made her almost unstoppable. But if Logan was honest with himself, his greatest fear wasn't that she'd be taken from him during battle. It was that she would be taken from him by another man. As soon as everyone found out that his Marie was touchable, there would be a line of ready males at her door. He saw her close relationship with the Russian, how the Cajun practically drooled over her, and what about the Icecube? The last time he checked Marie was still in a relationship with that boyscout Bobby Drake.

"You gonna tell the Popsicle?" His asked without thinking, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why would I?" She returned, mirroring his stance.

"Aren't you two…you know"

"Hell no! That boy is like a brother to me." Rogue interrupted, missing the flash of pleasure in the hazel eyes watching her. "A lot changed while you were gone."

Following instinct, Logan brushed a lock of hair from Marie's face, his voice gruff when he apologized for him absence. Waving his apology off Marie caught his hand in hers. "You're back now. That's all that matters."

Hazel met golden brown as the air between the two seemed to hum with energy. Pressing her lips briefly to the knuckles on his hand, where his adamantium claws were hidden, Marie turned and followed Ororo's earlier path. She needed some time to process her thoughts. Logan stared after the girl he'd sacrificed his life for multiple times, still feeling the press of her soft lips against his hand. That girl knew him better than anyone. Probably even better than he knew himself. When he first saw her sitting in that run-down bar he didn't pay her much attention; figuring her story was that of a typical teenage runaway. Then she warned him about the knife, believing she was saving a fellow mutants life. Back then he denied the fact that she saved his life; he was invincible right? But only now did he realize how wrong he was in that conclusion. She had saved him, just not in the way he first thought. Marie had come to him in a low period of his life and lifted him up again. She was a beacon of pure light in his dark world.

It was only after he happened to glance in his rearview mirror, seeing her standing in the snow alone, that he realized he couldn't leave her behind. He'd never told her this but when he first woke up in the med lab with Jean's cold doctor hands practically feeling him up, his first instinct was to grab the kid and get the hell out of the mansion. Without even knowing her that well, he saw it as them against the world. He had been on the way to his cabin in Alberta when Marie hid in his camper. And he was planning to offer her a place to stay there; with him. It wasn't until he saw how well she fit in at the school that he realized just how young she was; just how much she needed this environment. Vowing to protect her if it killed him, he walked down to the med lab. It was his shift to watch over Jean.

A slight movement from the sleeping woman next to him brought Logan out of his reverie. Mentally shaking the encounter with Marie from his thoughts, his hazel eyes flicked to her. His sensitive hearing picked up a change in her heart rate. She was waking. In an almost graceful move, the unstable woman opened her eyes with a small gasp. Her eyes met a pair of hazel ones watching her from where he sat next to her bed. Jean sat up, her red hair swinging over one shoulder in a purposefully seductive move. She leaned her weight back on one hand, staring at the man who remained seated. Brushing imaginary wrinkles from her black tank top and skirt, the older woman leaned forward as if waiting for something from him. Refusing to be the first one to speak, Logan lounged lazily in his chair, observing. Wheels had asked that people took turns watching over the good doctor until she awoke. The Professor hadn't wanted her to wake up alone just in case it really was Jean in control. And it looks like he was the lucky one who got to be here…great.

With a coy smile the red-head stood from the bed and approached Logan where he sat, her skirt swishing around her knees. She came to a stop directly in front of him, ignoring the eyebrow he quirked in question to her strange actions. In a move that shocked the flannel-clad mutant, Jean slid into his lap and dug her obscenely long, red nails into his biceps.

"What're you doing?"

Disregarding his question, Jean dragged her nails down his arms, breaking through the skin and leaving angry lines of blood. Hissing at the pain her actions brought, Logan grabbed her rather large hands in his, glaring at the woman who sat on his lap.

"I think it's about time you got the fuck off." He growled, eyes blazing in annoyance.

For years, years, he had chased Jeannie and not once did she ever fully give in to his advances. Quickly, he realized she was just a merciless tease and liked the attention his interest gave her. Whoever this person was, it was not Jean Grey. It looked like her, smelt like her, but it definitely was not her. He knew Jean would never betray Scott, no matter how attention-seeking she was. She may have been a little self-consumed, but she wasn't a cheater.

Her smirk never faltering, the bold woman leaned forward and to capture him in a voracious kiss. Logan froze under her actions, before standing and unceremoniously dumping her onto the cold tiled floor. He growled warningly at the figure on the ground, wiping her lipstick and taste from his mouth as he turned towards the door. With his back turned, he missed the sneer that crossed her face as her eyes glowed a startling white color. He sensed the chair just as it neared him. Turning just in time, he unsheathed his claws, slashing the chair to pieces before it made contact with him.

"So it's gonna be like that, huh Red?" He taunted, flexing his fingers.

He dodged the huge metal desk she sent flying his way, twisting around just in time to see her take flight, busting straight through the wall. Cursing under his breath, he darted through the Jean-shaped hole and watched her grow smaller in the distance. While Logan was looking up he heard movement from on the roof. It was Marie. She glanced down at him before looking back up resolutely, her eyes on the quickly disappearing Jean Grey.

"Don't even fuckin' think about it Marie!" He roared, instinctively knowing what she was planning without her having to voice it.

The brunette took a deep breath, knowing what she had to do. She reached deep into her mind, pulling up Carol. Come on, come on. She begged, knowing that now was a good time for her powers to re-appear. She had to go after Phoenix. She was the only one who had a chance of keeping up with the malevolent entity. She closed her eyes and concentrated on flying. Why isn't this working? Rogue felt like screaming at her failure to activate her mutation. When she lost her deadly skin, it seems the abilities she had gained went with it. The irony of this moment was not lost on Rogue. The one time she actually wanted her mutation, it disappeared on her. When a crazy metal-wielding old bat wanted to put her in a machine and kill her for her mutation, of course it worked! When she wants to save an innocent person…not so much. She returned to her perch against the chimney on the roof, feeling more helpless than ever.

Down below Logan watched the forlorn and almost betrayed look that overcame Marie's face when her abilities didn't return. He knew he should talk to her, but he needed to do something first. Logan stormed up to Xavier's office, intent on telling the old man that his star pupil had destroyed the medlab and ran away…again. This time almost taking his Marie with her.

Erik Lehnsherr watched the news broadcast in disgust as the Friends of Humanity radicals preached about fairness and justice. About how mutants were just that…mutations. Mistakes. Needed to be eradicated…or cured. This so called cure was a disgrace. The humans were just afraid and hid behind words like equality to justify the invention of the cure. Now, there were rumors that it was being made into artillery. Magneto had no doubt that pretty soon it would be loaded into weaponry and shot at mutants, whether they were a threat or not. Perhaps they would even find ways to aerosolize it and would be able to distribute it in mass quantities. Possibly to even whole cities at a time. The whole situation was reminiscent of another dark time in his life. Except this time, he would fight back. This was why he and Charles would never see eye to eye. His old friend would rather idly sit by while humans took the mutant race out instead of fighting back. He didn't share Erik's own belief that there had to be sacrifices before the war could be won.

A heavily tattooed and pierced woman entered the room. He continued to stare at the television while he greeted her.

"Callisto. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I've sensed a powerful mutant in Annandale-On-Hudson"

"Well, this one better be even more powerful than the one you sensed in New Orleans. Especially after my men failed to find him."

"If it's who I think it is then you won't be disappointed."

"…I'm listening."

"I have word that a certain old friend of yours lost his most powerful secret weapon."

"Alert everyone. We leave tonight."

Callisto nodded in assent and left the contemplative man to his thoughts. Magneto placed his telepath-proof helmet on his head, his cold blue eyes alight with something akin to hope. With a weapon like Jean Grey he was sure to be victorious in his quest to save mutant kind.

A/N: Once again, review this chapter and I will send you a preview for chapter nine! Thanks for reading!