what the FUCK did xavier 'say' to her?! she was fine until her scent changed to panic and she was looking right at chuck when it did, so he must've of said something to her telepathically. that or like one of her psyches figured something out about the xmen that freaked her out. i'm so curious to see what happened and why she asked for those things. like logan said, it doesn't make sense.

this was *such* a good update!!! i love how strong your rogue is. most rogan stories have her immediately leaning on logan, him solving her all problems. i like how here she's true to lots of RL abuse survivors, very cautious and hesitant to give her trust. honestly, she's risked more than he has so far in their relationship. *she* broke them out, *she* saved his life by playing nurse, *she* accessed the memories of a sociopath to help him. sure he's brought her to the mansion and stood up to jean for her but that last bit marie wasn't around to see.

sorry, totally rambling. a sure sign i'm in love with a story! again, can't wait 'til the next update!

Author's Response: :-) Hope the next chapter satisfied your curiosity. Thanks so much for your review! Yeah, I feel like this Rogue is in some ways a reaction to the last, who was just so broken and lost that she really clung to Logan. I wanted this Rogue to be much more prickly and independent. I just hope I can keep her that way -- I'm having to resist the urge to make her all gushy about Logan. I mean...who wouldn't be? ;-)

Great job! I can't wait to see where this is going!

Author's Response: Thanks for your review! Hope you liked the updates. ;-)

oooo! i love this chappie! possessive logan is so hot! and i loves me some mean!jean, too! great update, can't wait to see what's next!

Author's Response: Ha, glad you liked my first attempt at Mean!Jean. I promise, she'll get more nuanced as the story goes on. I just had to break out the full-on bitch-on-wheels for one chapter. ;-) And yes, possessive/protective Logan is very hot. I suspect we'll see more of that guy.

ohh. Good one Marie! LOL Love her response to Jean. and OMG I absolutely am over the moon over Logan's reaction! Can't wait for more!

Author's Response: So glad you liked it! :-D Thanks so much for reviewing!

Gotta say I'm with Jean on the whole slack-jawed, gaping thing. Bitch is right. Marie sure put her in her place, though.

There is something extremely amusing about Logan shelling out hundreds of dollars for a pair of heels for Jean. I actually reread that line, like, three times, just because it was so well-written. Funny and sad at the same time. Poor fella. We all know which head he was thinking with when he made that purchase...

Marie didn't exactly get the smoothest introduction to the X-Men, but I'm curious to see how she responds to the rest of them, as well as what role they play in bringing down this trafficking ring.

(P.S. Possessive, protective Logan is yum. But that kinda goes without saying, eh?)

Author's Response: Ha. Yeah, my husband got me reading the Ultimate X-Men series, and there's a part in one of the comics where Logan talks about getting tattoos to impress girls (and then of course they fade with his healing factor). I think there was even a fic inspired by that, "Doku," that I read long ago, but I hadn't read the comic at the time. Anyway, it stuck in my mind that Logan can be a player, and probably has more money than he can spend living at the mansion, and in a rudimentary "girls like shoes" reasoning he might be willing to drop a grand on some if he thought it might get Jean into bed. And feeling like a fool is probably not something that goes down well with Logan, so I suspect he was not as diplomatic when he told Jean to "knock it off" as he might have been once he realized she was just flirting. ;-)

Heh. I like tough, prickly Marie. You write her so well! It's gonna be funny if (when) Logan steps over the line and she puts him in his place.

Wow. That's a pretty slim lead, but better than nothing, I guess. I wonder what Logan will do with it.

This is turning out to be a great story, as always. You're like, incapable of writing badly, huh? I hope you've gotten over your writer's block, because I can't wait for the next chapter!

Author's Response: I'm so glad that you're liking this tougher, prickly Marie. I feel like I'm not settling well into the character, I keep wanting to make her all sweet and wobbly-kneed over Logan. :-) Speaking of next chapters....nah, I won't nag. Just know that I'm waiting. Not very patiently. ;-)

She shot him a look like he was crazy. She pushed up onto her knees, reaching over the console into the back seat, and hauled up a briefcase. His briefcase, in fact. Fifty grand in cash.

“I take it back. You’re a fuckin’ genius, kid.”

Smart thinkin', Marie! And can I just say, I am very, very glad Logan has two eyeballs again. Not that we wouldn't love him regardless, but, y'know . . .

As far as the writer's block goes, I dunno where you struggled, but it was worth it because I loved this chapter. So many interesting details, not to mention the building of some serious unresolved tension...

Plot tension, that is. Tension in the, um, plot. Yeah.

Really wondering where the leak came from and how Marco got the lowdown on Logan. I hope it's not betrayal within the ranks =(. Although if it did turn out to be, like, Ororo or something, that would be . . . interesting, to say the least.

Go Marie, asserting your adulthood in the face of Logan's stupid self-control mechanisms! She really is a genius.

Author's Response: :-D Yeah, usually Logan is the one taking care of business, I like the idea that Marie was out and doing useful things (bringing the car around, stashing the cash, covering up in Logan's jacket so he didn't accidentally touch her skin) while he was out cold. Tee hee. The struggle came with the next few chapters, so hope you liked those also. And yes, plot tension. That's always what I'm working towards. I don't have anything else in mind, at all. ::whistles innocently::

Wow. You wrote that amazingly (not surprised). I wish I could leave a more coherent review but it's been a rough couple of days. I'm really looking forward to the next chapter- it's getting me through horrible school stuff. :) Thanks!

Author's Response: Aw, I'm sorry you've had a bad couple of days. Hope you're past that now. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, despite all your massive amounts of homework!

>>>Her voice was wobbly again when she spoke. “What if we can’t find them? What if they’re just...gone?”

He couldn’t suppress the growl that welled up from his chest at the thought. “We’ll find them. And we have help.” He squeezed her against his side. “I think it’s time for you to meet my friends.”

Author's Response: :-D Does that mean you liked that part? Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Loved the description of Marie calling on Freddy's memory. Logan is going to turn these guys into shish-ke-bob.

Author's Response: Glad you liked the memory-recall scene...wasn't sure how that would fly, it's a little different from how Marie usually seems to have access to memories in other stories. Thanks, as always, for your wonderful reviews!

You always come up with some new and fabulous way of telling me what I already know and making it seem fresh. I knew all that about Marie's mutation, but when she was telling Logan for the first time, it was like I was learning the truth right along with him.

Favorite line: "Just let yourself cry, he wanted to say, except that the Wolverine didn't say shit like that and she wouldn't listen anyway." Outstanding! -- Wendie

Author's Response: Aw, that's so sweet! I always think that Marie explaining her mutation is always the hardest part of the story, because the reader knows it all but it takes a lot of explaining for her to tell it to Logan. Logan's is so much easier, he just pops the claws, says "I heal, darlin'," and then growls a bit and you're done. ;-)

I can't believe you ended it there. HOW RUDE!! lol, jk. Well, kinda. Argh, I can't wait to read the next chapter. This was so good. Poor Marie. But damn. She's so brave and awesome in this story. And I just love the way Logan is with her. (actually I always love the way you write the two of them, no matter what nuances are changed in their personalities)

Wonderful chapter and I can't wait to read the next one! I hope that it won't give you too much trouble...Ew, having to relive the horrible Logan-torturing experience. Yuck. But trying to save Kitty and Jubilee is so worth it. sigh...oh the dilemma...anyway, I look forward to the next installment! :D

Author's Response: Sorry! I'll try to get the next chapter posted this weekend at the latest. I'm glad you're liking this version of Marie/Logan. And you're right, reliving the torture of Logan won't be fun, but Marie knows what Kitty and Jubes are going through, and she knows she needs to help them.