Whilst he and Rogue had shared a rather passionate kiss only an hour ago, Logan still found himself averting his eyes when Rogue strolled into the console entrance of the Danger Room in one of the X-Men’s training outfits. Admittedly, neither of them had openly admitted their feelings just yet, it seemed they were taking it as it came, and for Logan, it was coming very fast. Securing the zip of the tight navy uniform, Rogue adjusted the sleeves, as she made sure she was comfortably dressed in the fitting material.
“What’s that?” asked Logan completely pointlessly, but it did give him an excuse to eye the outfit up and down.
“Storm told me these were the outfits before you got official uniforms and that I could borrow one if I wanted to train,” Rogue eyed Logan in return, for he was in his usual shirt, jeans and boots. “You should get changed too.”
Logan gave a snort, “There ain’t no way I’m puttin’ something as skin tight as that on. I ain’t prancin’ around lookin’ like some nut-job outta Swan Lake.”
Giggles sounded in response, causing Logan to raise an eyebrow at Rogue’s laughter. “I’m now gonna have a bad mental image of the Wolverine in a tutu doing ballet,” she said with a grin. She keyed in the code to unlock the Danger Room, entering as she danced and twirled on her tiptoes, her chuckles softening.
“Ergh,” Logan grunted as he followed her in. He hung back as Rogue keyed in the computer settings. Following her into the simulation, the large metal plated walls of the Danger Room flickered with a computerised blue blur before the mansion’s pristine grounds were revealed under a storming dark sky. Rain pattered heavily from the clouds, startling Logan as he stared at the entrance he had just walked through to find a bubbling fountain working behind him. “What the..” he muttered softly, stepping forward and placing his finger in the water. It felt cold, wet and completely natural.
“C’mon Logan!” Rogue called as she sprinted off across the grass, a hand tying up her long wet locks into a tight ponytail.
Logan’s eyes soon spotted her, and he ran after her, still observing the hauntingly realistic environment. After a moment, she ducked out of sight behind a hedge, and he followed suit, crouching besides her. “You’ve done this before,” he muttered as he peered around through the heavy rainfall.
“A few times,” Rogue replied as she leant back against the wet hedge.
“What are we hidin’ from?” he asked, listening carefully into the patter of falling rain and rush of the howling wind.
“That!” exclaimed Rogue all of a sudden as gunfire echoed through the blackness. Both Logan and Rogue spun away from each other, the bullets striking the hedge. “Split up!” cried Rogue as she scrambled to her feet, running off before Logan could reply.
He didn’t really want to leave her, not for his sake, but for hers! He had a natural desire to protect her when in a dangerous situation, and her apparent decision to go it alone made him feel strangely rejected. Watching her depart from his side cost Logan, for he felt the sudden impact of bullets tearing into his chest. “Shit!” he cursed, his claws instinctively ripping out of his knuckles. Completely forgetting this was a simulation, Wolverine took over, and his eyes flashed in the darkness as he readied himself.
There was a telltale rustle in the undergrowth and Logan leapt forward, growling and snarling as he swiped his claws across every attacker he saw. However, the fallen bodies did not linger, but they disappeared with a flicker of glowing computerised grid. But Logan didn’t notice. When the men were down, he quickly looked over his shoulder to see Rogue darting across the grounds, ducking and twist from rapid gunfire. It was a test, it was training, but Logan forgot all about that as he saw his Marie slip in the mud and crash onto her front in the sludge.
He leapt into action, sprinting across the ground at a fast pace, his long, muscular legs giving no hint to his heavy body weight as he raced forward. He leapt over the low hedge, landing on the wooden garden bench beyond it before he continued along the path towards her. He could see the gritted determination in her face as she spun round to glare at the oncoming gun-wielders. She sprung forth with an agility he had never seen her adopt, swiping her legs at the ankles of the soldiers bearing upon her. They went down instantly. One hit his head on the brick path and soon fizzled out of the simulation as a K.O.
With a grunt, Logan pushed himself onto a low stonewall, poised upon it before he pounced towards the fray that was now surrounding Rogue. With a roar he dived into the mass, claws swiping and striking the attackers that had gathered like bullies in a schoolyard. But he was getting lost. Lost inside his frenzy. The opponents that fell were only replaced as reinforcements were programmed in almost instantly as they fell. His pupils eerily dilated, Logan hacked his way through, feeling his control slipping as the musky scent of blood filled his nostrils despite the fact it wasn’t real.
Rogue stood staring as she watched Logan mow down the fighters in single swipes, but more reappeared and they were constantly advancing on Logan. Rogue fought in return, but was only mediocre at best, and some of her attacks were sloppy and poorly executed. But Logan was losing it, he was no longer in control, and Rogue could see it in his pure black gaze. She wanted the simulation to stop, for it was pushing him further than any real life battle did.
His berserker rage was always one to be wary of, for Rogue had experienced it herself. The lines between friend and foe became murky, safety and logic disappearing to welcome purely reckless, unstoppable bloodlust. And that’s when he misjudged, and his claws suddenly sunk into Rogue’s gut. His solid black eyes locked on her terrified face as he felt the blood trickling against his knuckle. He panted heavily, the heavy rain continuing to fall over their drenched bodies. Her face was stricken with shock, the rainwater trickling through her hair and down her pale features. He heard her give a choked gasp, and everything came rushing back. Within seconds his eyes were their usual brown shade, and were staring in horror at the three bloody blades that had driven straight into Rogue’s abdomen and were coming out through her back. He immediately injected his claws with a soft ‘snikt’ and stood there staring at her, fear flooding through him.
She flickered from view like all the other fallen bodies had, and left Logan stood in the mansion grounds, surrounded by the blackness of the night, the rain swishing down. “Marie..” he muttered, his wild eyes staring around fearfully, rain trickling off his nose tip. “No.. get me out!” he cried, his voice echoing eerily across the grounds. “Stop!”
His words suddenly caused the entire simulation to flicker before it faded out to reveal the metallic arena. He was still soaking wet, and Rogue was nowhere to be seen. What happened in the Danger Room? If you got hurt in there, were you hurt outside? If you were killed in there.. were you really dead?
Logan slowly rubbed his hand across his face as his mind still swirled from the descending berserker rage. It was as if he couldn’t quite comprehend what had just happened, his eyes staring unseeingly at the opposite wall of the empty Danger Room. It had all been a horrible, horrible mistake. A complete accident. He got lost in his feral rage and attacked anything and everything. He had swung for her, and had been successful. A stab in the gut would have left in a heap, slowly dying.
“What have I done..?” he whispered into his hands.
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000