“Logan, come back to bed,” Rogue said, wondering if he could hear the pleading tone in her voice. Logan stood near their bedroom door, his head cocked toward the hallway as he listened for any signs of movement from Elizaveta in the other room.
Despite feeling like she should have been shaking terribly, Rogue had managed to climb the stairs from the kitchen without spilling a drop of warm honey-laced milk. She had managed to coax Elizaveta into drinking all of it and then got her settled under her covers and had petted the girl’s hair until she fell back asleep. Without a word, Rogue and Logan had returned to their room where Rogue climbed wearily into bed and Logan took up his current vigil at the door.
“In a minute.” He tossed the whisper over his shoulder without really looking at her. “Think she’ll be okay? Should we have brought her in here with us?”
Rogue was shocked by the suggestion. “Ah…Ah dunno.”
Logan finally turned away from the door, raking his hands through his hair as he did. “If she wakes up again, we will.”
“Okay,” Rogue agreed, watching him as he made his way toward the bed. He dropped heavily onto the mattress and Rogue leaned forward to embrace him from behind. “It’ll be okay, Logan. We’ll get through this.” Feeling eerily as if she were speaking for herself at that moment, Rogue sought to distract herself by running her hands over Logan’s bare chest and stomach. “Make love to me?” she whispered shyly, afraid he would turn her down.
Logan cast a surprised look over his shoulder. She had never initiated things before, but thinking about it, he realized she must feel just as shaken as he did. Whatever the reason behind her request, he wasn’t about to turn her down. Twisting around suddenly, he caught her up in his arms and fell to his side, taking her with him. Rogue loosed a startled squeak and then laughed softly, twining her arms around Logan’s neck.
“Ah love you,” she said solemnly, searching his eyes. Their new golden color was truly beautiful.
Feeling uneasy, Logan drew back a little and frowned. “Are you all right, darlin’?”
Rogue smoothed the hair back from his forehead and shrugged slightly. “Just worried about what’s goin’ to happen Ah guess. And Ah don’t want to miss a chance to tell you what you mean to me.”
Pressing a gentle kiss to her lips, Logan murmured, “I love you, too.” After that, he left no room for words and did his best to distract Rogue from her worries about the future.
* * *
Rogue knew she wasn’t awake, but this certainly didn’t feel like a dream. She was standing in front of the main entrance to Xavier’s, her hand on the doorknob. With a mental shrug, she opened the door and walked inside, making her way slowly to Logan’s room after a moment of consideration. She thought she could hear the faint echoes of voices somewhere in the building, but she didn’t see anybody on the stairs or in the hallway.
Pushing open Logan’s door, she came face to face with herself.
“Sit down,” her double said. “We don’t have much time.”
“What? What’s goin’ on?”
“Marie, hurry up and sit down. And listen carefully.”
Dropping onto the side of Logan’s bed, Marie asked, “Who are you?”
“I’m you. The manifestation of your mutation, really. But I can’t stay. You’re going to have to take over in here again while I try to hold things together. I’ve already got everybody locked up securely and they won’t be able to get out until I can come back.”
“What are you talkin’ about? Where’s Logan?”
“He’s locked in with Magneto.”
“What? You can’t do that to him!” Marie cried.
“It’s fine. He asked me to do it so he can help keep Magneto under control. They don’t have any powers here, Marie, so Magneto can’t really do anything to hurt Logan.”
“But why? You still haven’t told me what’s goin’ on.”
“I can’t tell you. You’ll figure it out eventually, but for now, you’re on your own. It’s the only way things have a chance of working out.”
“What things?” Marie cried desperately as the walls of the room darkened and wavered.
“You’ll find out. Try not to be scared - it’s only temporary.”
“Wait!” Marie yelled as her double grew indistinct and seemed to meld with the walls and the floor. She felt the building shuddering around her and instinctively covered her head when she heard an ominous groaning from the ceiling. The shaking and creaking continued for several minutes but Marie was unable to leave. Every time she tried to stand, the quaking of the floor tossed her back toward the bed.
Suddenly everything fell still and silent and Marie dared to peek out from between her fingers. With a low gasp, she took in the changes to the room. Everything had the appearance of great age and neglect. The walls were crumbling and the once richly finished floorboards were dry and warped. The glass in the windows had flowed and settled toward the bottom, giving it a peculiar ripple that thickened at the lowest point. The comforter beneath her was faded and frayed and fell apart like dust when she poked it with a curious finger.
“Hello?” she called nervously. When there was no reply, not even the echo of her own voice, she made her way cautiously to the door. The carpet in the hallway was musty and rotted and she could see through the floorboards in some places. Hugging the wall as she crab-stepped toward the stairs, Marie held her breath and listened intently for any warning creaks from the floor.
She let her breath out in a rush when she reached the top of the stairs. The front doors stood open, giving her a clear view of the beautifully landscaped lawn and a lush garden just beyond it. With a faint frown, Marie dismissed the oddity of seeing the garden where the long winding driveway of Xavier’s used to be. Wanting only to leave the crumbling building, Marie took a blind step onto the staircase.
She didn’t even have time to scream when the wood gave beneath her weight and sent her tumbling through space.
* * *
“Marie!” Logan snapped, shaking her shoulder roughly.
Her eyes flew open with a gasp. She greedily drank in the sight of Logan’s concerned face and traced his features with shaking fingers.
“It was just a dream, darlin’,” he soothed.
“No.” Rogue shook her head vehemently. “It couldn’t have been a dream. It was too real. Somethin’s gonna happen, Logan. Or it’s happened already.”
“What are you talkin’ about?” Worry darkened Logan’s tone.
The first rays of weak morning light crept through the bedroom window. Seeing them, Rogue’s fear suddenly seemed groundless.
“Ah dunno, Logan. Maybe it was just a dream? Ah’m so confused,” she moaned, covering her face with her hands.
“Do you wanna tell me about it?”
“No. No, Ah’m all right.”
“You sure, darlin’?”
“Yeah.” Rogue scrubbed her hands roughly over her face and blinked rapidly against the brightening of the room. “Come on, sugar, we need to shower. Kids are gonna be up soon wantin’ breakfast.”
Logan scrutinized her expression. Seeing that she was putting whatever was bothering her away for the time being, Logan followed suit and rolled smoothly from the bed. He gathered Rogue up in his arms, the bed sheets tangled around her, and strode toward the door.
“Uh, sugar?” Rogue asked at the door
“Yeah?”
“You gonna put any pants on? Ah mean, Ah don’t mind, but Elizaveta might.”
“Shit!” Logan exclaimed loudly, pulling his hand away from the doorknob as if it were scalding hot.
Rogue’s laughter rang through the room when a little voice right outside the door asked hopefully, “Mr. Logan? Miss Rogue? Are you up?”