I'm sorry; have you seen my heart? It seems to have been run over and then set on fire. Or maybe set on fire, then run over.

This is really, really good. I love watching Marie move ahead with her life and figure out what she wants it to be. It takes a special kind of strength to do what she did. Looking forward to the epilogue.

Author's Response: Thnak you :o) I\'m glad you\'re enjoying it (even if your heart\'s been run over... sorry about that!) You shouldn\'t have to wait too long for the epilogue. I\'m hoping to get it posted tomorrow.

I just realized that I only reviewed Chapter 1, so here, have some more stars. :)

I like that you're not beating us over the head with lablablab but rather getting the X-Men into position. There's only so much pain and suffering I feel like reading, even if it even Marie's story.

I've really enjoyed this story with its angst and plot twists and many fine and shiny hat-tips. (Though I'm sorry to say I missed the LOTR refs; do I have to turn over my geek card now?) Thanks for writing. See you on the flip side.

Author's Response: Nah, you can keep the geek-card, you\'ve earned it. I\'m glad you enjoyed the story. Thanks for the review. :)

Ah yes, the GRE. That was... delightful. :P

Ooh, hey, I've been wondering when or if someone was going to bring in First Class. This is very intriguing and I'm eager to see more. It's always great to see your name pop up on the Most Recent page; I know it means something good is coming.

BTW, I noticed one tiny mistake:

“But why you?,” Hank asked.

That comma shouldn't be there. :)

Author's Response: LOL, you would not believe how many times I put that comma in, and then took it out again, and then put it in again, and then took it out again. ;-) I should have just looked up the rule already. What can I say, it was midnight. Thanks for the correction! Yeah, I\'m going a little AU with First Class, pretty much just moving all those good villains into the present timeline. It would work for Shaw, but I wanted Emma too and didn\'t have the time and energy to make up new henchmen, so there ya go. ;-) Thanks so much for reviewing!

Oh--there is one way Logan can hurt Shaw, and it's the same way Magneto did it in First Class: fist against forehead, slowly and gradually introduce sharp metal object through skull, et voila. Dead Nazi! You're welcome. ;)

Author's Response: :-D But, I think that only worked because Xavier had psychically immobilized Shaw. From what I can tell, Shaw can even use simple friction to \"recharge\" himself, so I think even a slow impact might be something he could repulse in his usual state. Or just use his energy burst to blast Wolverine before he even breaks skin. He\'s a tough one -- but don\'t worry, I didn\'t start writing until I had a way to defeat him in mind. ;-)

I love that you had Rogue put all the pieces together. Even recovering from Shaw's abuse, she's tough. :)

Author's Response: Thanks! Partly that was just to save Shaw from \"monologue-ing\" later, but I also liked that they kind of got a jump on him by putting the information together themselves. I was a little surprised myself that I hadn\'t gotten around to letting her know about Logan\'s healing, it\'s such a key part of his character, but I guess they had other things on their minds. ;-)

Oh wow, twist the knife, why don't you? She's so unsure of herself, so full of doubt... even though we know Logan loves her, she obviously doesn't.

Can't wait for the next chapter. :)

Author's Response: Yeah, I\'m sorry, I do bring the angst. And honestly, on the one hand this Rogue is pretty fragile and full of doubt, but on the other hand...Logan really doesn\'t *say* much. When I was writing that part where Marie thinks back to what he actually said to her, I paged back through the story because I was pretty sure he must have said *something* about caring for her or them being together after she\'s free of Shaw or *something*, but...nope. Just that he was gonna kiss her. I can see how she would have her doubts.

*fans self* Hell yeah!

Er, that is, good show, old girl. ;) Like a dominating Logan is ever a bad thing? Love it. Now get to the hot Rogan sex part, woman!

Author's Response: So glad you liked it! Yeah, I have to say, I happen to like an...um...\"masterful\" Logan myself at times, but this fic has already skewed towards a weaker Marie than I usually write, and I didn\'t want her to be all passive. She takes control in the next chapter, though, so I consider it fair play. And don\'t worry, hot Rogan sex is next on the agenda -- I figured it would just be all the hotter if I didn\'t have to keep throwing up barriers between their skin. I have done one sex scene with Untouchable!Marie but it is quite logistically challenging, and since I want this Marie to have control eventually I figured I\'d just go ahead and get it out of the way so we can get on to the hot sexin\'. ;-)

I see Rogue has located her can of wup-ass. Jean sure sold it. :) Oh Sebaaaastiaaaan... Marie's got a surprise for you...

Author's Response: Yeah...must have been hidden somewhere. ;-) As for Jean...you should know a Roganite would not give Jean so much credit. ;-) Hope you find the explanation satisfying.

Well, you know, I've never been a Jean-hater. Don't really understand it, actually.. So I'm one who has no trouble giving her credit of any kind.

Author's Response: Ha, actually, me either. Jean in my stories is usually pretty neutral, or even helpful in a distant kind of way. In truth, I just thought that it would be insane to give Shaw Rogue and Jean in the same place -- no matter what happens, letting Shaw get the power of the Phoenix was not an option. So, Jean gets to stay at home and work off her I\'ve-been-drugged-for-a-month-straight headache. ;-) At one point I did consider having her show up, unplanned by the X-Men, to personally take care of Emma as revenge for her captivity, but it was just too much going on.

Huh. There are funny bits, but you lost me with the shock anklet and the little red button. It stopped being fun for me after that. :(