Marie stormed through the hallways trying her best to suppress the anger surging through her body. Damn Scott. He always had to be such a condescending jerk when Marie made a decision. Just once she would love it if he would give her one word of praise for handling a difficult situation rather than finding fault with what she'd done. He wasn't there. He didn't see. Marie was tense from the interaction with Scott and on edge because her attempt to bring Vinnie under control in her mind wasn't working as easily as it should.
She'd spent the ride back from the mission trying to focus her shields and contain Vinnie's consciousness within her mind. Marie had absorbed many people in the course of her tenure as an X-Man but she'd never taken on someone with any significant level of psychic ability. Psychics, telekinetics and other such mutants were rare and, therefore, not usually encountered during a mission. Vinnie's presence wound his way through her mind, slipping through her psychic grasp at each attempt to fully contain him. She'd been able to push him to the recesses so that he couldn't overwhelm her completely, but Marie wasn't sure if she possessed the mental strength to fully subdue him.
Marie stepped off the stairway and turned the corner where she slammed directly into Remy LeBeau. He wrapped his arms around Marie's waist in an attempt to steady her from falling backwards.
"Remy! Shit, I'm so sorry."
"Pas de problème, chere. Where you goin' in such a hurry?"
"Danger room. Need to burn off some post-mission energy."
She could tell by his knitted brow that Remy wasn't buying her forced attempt at a calm demeanor. He always had a sense about her moods. That and she was a shitty liar.
"You tryin' to smooth talk a smooth talker, belle. What's wrong?"
His arms remained around her middle. Claustrophobia enveloped her, her body flushing with fear and panic. Too close. Marie pushed back quickly and Remy's arms snapped to the side as if she'd struck them away.
"Rogue…"
"Remy, I need to go. There's…"
Her retreat was interrupted by Remy's hand on her arm. After what she'd just been through, the unexpected restriction caused her to react instinctively. Before she could make a conscious decision about her next course of action, Marie heard the command echo through her mind as she made eye contact with Remy.
Back away.
Without hesitation, Remy removed his hand and stepped toward the wall. He looked at Marie but his eyes were unfocused and his face expressionless. Marie's lip cocked in a half smile. She'd done this. Rendered him helpless with her mind. The satisfaction at rendering him completely vulnerable rushed through her. This was power.
No. No!
Marie mentally slammed down on what she knew was Vinnie's presence. It had been so easy for her to give in to that seduction; the opportunity to be in constant control was as tempting to Marie as the apple was to Eve.
"Remy!"
His red on black eyes darted back and forth as if he'd just awoke from a dream. He was confused and disoriented, looking at Marie as if he'd just seen her for the first time.
"Sorry, chere. Must have drifted off for a moment."
She had to go. Get away before she lost herself completely to his power. It fluttered just out of reach, ready for Marie to grab ahold and let it do anything she wanted. Marie rushed past Remy, not knowing what to say that would explain anything that had just happened.
oOo
Logan moved through the mansion, tracking Marie easily. He was unnerved that her normally earthy and calming scent had taken on a bitter tinge. It must be Vinnie's. The idea of that sick bastard affecting her so completely made the Wolverine howl with rage. Once he'd realized that his feelings toward Marie were more than that of a friend and teammate, possessiveness of Marie consumed him. When she went on a mission without him, Logan would spend hours distracting himself from the myriad ways Marie could be hurt. If anything happened - as it did the last time - Logan blamed himself for not being able to protect her.
Despite his feelings, he'd never had the courage to step up and tell her. Logan believed that doing so would rob her of the opportunity to have a life with someone without his kind of baggage. Jean had insinuated time and again that Logan wasn't the 'good guy' and he'd allowed himself to believe that he wasn't worthy of love - especially Marie's love. So he'd screwed around with other women as a way to prove to himself that he was an asshole. But Jubilee had been right. Every person in this mansion had a past - held on to issues they should have let die years ago. Pushing Marie away only served to make both of them miserable.
And now was not the time to sit by and let Marie go through this by herself. When the puzzle pieces finally connected and Logan understood exactly why Marie had been isolating herself, he felt as if the earth had dropped away beneath his feet. Marie had always been Logan's anchor. But now, he would have to step up and be her strength in the storm she was facing.
Logan left the stairway and stopped in his tracks. Marie's wasn't the only scent to fill the air. Remy had been here. Fear, confusion and excitement permeated the area.
What the fuck was going on?
Logan continued his pursuit, finally ending up in the observation deck of the danger room. He looked down into the semi-lit room and saw Marie, mercilessly dispatching enemy after enemy, using every power in her arsenal. Normally, observing her like this would excite him. Logan had long admired her fearlessness in combat. But seeing her in such a state and knowing what kind of pain fueled her rage only served to compound his helplessness. He wanted to fix it - take away every bad thing that had ever happened to her. It was never that easy. Not in their lives.
His eyes were drawn to the sudden halt of Marie's movements. Logan leaned in and placed his hands on the control console. Marie was in the center of the simulation - the standard battlefield scenario - where she stood face to face with Callisto. He watched as Marie approached Callisto, who, despite the program, remained completely still. Danger room battles were simulations but they were still hazardous to the participants.
And enemies never just fuckin' stood there.
Logan knew something was off. He could see it in Marie's movements. She approached Callisto slowly and deliberately, and Marie's hand came up to caress the tattoo on the woman's face. Callisto stood unmoving as Marie's other hand snaked its way to her throat. Logan watched as Marie closed her grip and the dark haired woman began to choke.
"Fuck."
The word spilled from his mouth as Logan crashed his hand down on the button to end the simulation and unlock the security doors. As he ran to the entrance, he could see the room returning to its default setting. Logan flew down the stairs two at a time and slammed open the heavy metal security door as if it was made of balsa wood. He barreled through the room, his only focus on Marie who now stood alone and unmoving in the middle of the vast space.
Logan skidded to a stop in front of her, his hands moving to either side of her shoulders.
"Marie?"
Tears brimmed her beautiful eyes and a sheen of sweat covered her face. Marie looked at him and her chin shook with the effort to not break down completely.
"I enjoyed it."
"Enjoyed what, baby?"
"The control. The power. Watching Remy do what I wanted. Seeing Callisto's fear as she was forced to obey me. I wanted to see her in pain."
Remy. She'd used Vinnie's power on Remy. That's what he'd smelled in the hallway.
"Marie, you can fight him. The professor can help you..."
"I understand now. I know what they wanted. It wasn't about the sex. It was power. They loved seeing me afraid...at their mercy."
Logan watched her, waiting to hear what she was going to say..afraid of what he would hear. She moved forward and tipped her head upward to look into his eyes.
"I can feel what Vinnie did to those women. How much he craved it. Now that craving is mine."
"No, Marie."
Marie nodded her head slowly and the tears fell freely.
"There's no difference between me and the monsters anymore Logan. I'm the monster."
Logan pulled her into his arms as she cried. He felt her legs giving way and followed her body to the floor where he cradled her in his lap, rocking her back and forth slowly.
"That isn't you, baby. That asshole did to your mind what Cody did to your body. But I'm here, Marie. We're gonna get through this."
"Maybe this is what going crazy feels like. Maybe this is how the good guys turn into bad guys. Just the right trigger to send them over the edge is all they needed."
"Stop it, Marie. You could never turn into a piece of shit like Vinnie or Cody."
"But it's in there, Logan. That lust for someone else's pain. I wanted to watch Remy do whatever I wanted. And he would have." A choked sob interrupted her words. "What if I do that to you, Logan? What if I hurt you?"
Logan shifted Marie in his lap so that her face was even with his.
"Look at me, darlin'."
She shook her head and stared at her hands, intertwined so innocently on top of her legs. Logan's voice grew low as he whispered the words. His breath was warm as it caressed the hair that fell over her ear.
"Marie. Look at me."
Reluctantly, Marie turned her head to meet his gaze. Despite all she'd been through, Logan was always amazed at Marie's beauty. Eyes red and swollen and hair damp with sweat didn't diminish how stunning she was.
"I've spent my share of time with monsters. You don't have that in ya, darlin'."
Logan paused, considering his words. Showing his emotions through action was much more comfortable to him than talking. But, right now, Marie needed his words just as much as his physical presence.
"I've never been scared of your powers, Marie. It scares the shit out of me to think what those powers do to you. You've gone to hell and back. But you're a fighter and I'm gonna be at your back every fuckin' step of the way."
He leaned toward her and placed a kiss on her forehead quickly, before any sensation of her power could begin. Marie sucked in her breath. Logan knew she was afraid of hurting him but even if he had to put up with a little drain in his health for a chance to steal a kiss, it was a price he was willing to pay.
"Logan…"
"Just let me finish, darlin'. I told you before the mission that we were gonna have a talk. I let my fear keep me from you for too long. I never wanted to hurt ya and I thought pushin' you away was the right thing to do. I was an idiot. If you'll have me, I'm yours. I'll never leave you again, baby. The only way you're gonna hurt me is if you shut me out."
Maybe it had been the feeling of her body next to his that distracted Logan. Or maybe it had been forcing himself to concentrate on getting out what he'd wanted to tell her. Whatever the reason, Logan suddenly realized that Marie's hand had been resting on his cheek.
Her bare hand.
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