X-Men Fan Fiction ❯ Memories ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

Prologue

 

“Logan, where are you going?” The sound of Marie's voice startled him. He'd been so deep in thought that he hadn't sensed her enter the garage. He turned to face her, pulling the cigar out of his mouth and dropped it to the ground, snuffing it out with his boot. She stood a few feet away from him in a loose tank top and billowy pajama bottoms. Her arms were crossed and she was staring at him point blank. Her reddish-brown hair hung loose at her shoulders and her white bangs delicately framed her face. Her expression was one he couldn't read.

 

“Somewhere, not really sure. Though I'd take up cage fighting again. What are you doing down here anyway, kid?” He watched as she bit her lip and fought a grimace at his nickname for her. She really wasn't a kid anymore, not after everything that had happened in the last couple of years. Still, he hoped that she could still keep a hold on her childhood a bit longer; she needed to feel like a child, even if she didn't openly admit to it. She didn't want to grow up as fast as she knew she had already done. At only eighteen, her mentality equaled any of the adults, her teachers, at the mansion.

 

“Ah heard you come into m'ah room and ah found your note on m'ah nightstand. Ah wanted to ask why you want to leave the school.” Straight to the point. One of the many qualities she'd picked up after having met him.

 

“I just can't stay here anymore. There are too many memories to deal with.” He gritted his teeth and reached down to grab his bag, strapping it onto the back of his motorcycle. “Besides, I never belonged here anyway. The road is my home and I prefer to wander.”

 

Her mouth formed a silent “oh” and she turned her gaze from his, reaching up and tucking her hair behind her ears. She turned back towards him and took a few steps forward, looking directly at him. “Take me with you?”

 

“What? No, kid, you belong here with folks your own age. You don't wanna end up a wanderer like me.” Logan walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “And what would Bobby think if you just disappear in the middle of the night? Wouldn't he miss you?”

 

“Logan, where have you been? Bobby an' ah split up two weeks ago. An' if anybody doesn't belong here, it's me. Not anymore.” She reached up with a bare hand and pulled his off her shoulder. “I'm normal now an' ah can't hurt anyone anymore. Besides, if I don't leave with you, I'll just go by myself. I could go back home to my folks, but truthfully, Ah'd rather stay with you. You're the only real family Ah've got anymore. You're the only one who wasn't afraid of m'ah touch when m'ah touch could kill. An' if you don't take me with you, Ah'll just end up going after you anyway.”

 

Logan looked at her, debating on whether or not it was wise to take her with him. She was, technically, an adult and was free to make her own decisions. And she was right; they were the only family that the other really had. Still, she wasn't ready for a life on the road. She wasn't suited for that kind of life. Besides, she was intelligent and would go far in the world if she stayed where she was and moved on, went to college and made something of herself. What kind of life could she have if he took her with him? He didn't want to leave her though. After being alone for so long, she had given him something to look forward too, something to return to that was actually important. He sighed and gave a conceding nod of his head. Marie's eyes grew wide and a smile bloomed from her expressionless lips as she jumped up and hugged him, placing a brief kiss on his cheek before she knew what she was doing. When she realized it, she shirked away and regained what composure she could muster. “Thank you.”

 

With that she turned and jogged towards the door. “Ah'll be right back.”

 

Fifteen minutes later she came sneaking back through the door, wearing dark jeans, a long sleeved top and that familiar green cloak and dark scarf. She carried a backpack on one shoulder, buttoning her cloak as she approached. She smiled when she got up to him. “Ah'm ready to go.”

 

“All right then.” Logan got onto the bike and patted the seat behind him. Marie climbed on behind him and put her feet up. Logan kicked up the stand and turned on the bike, revving it before pushing off and pulling out of the garage down the driveway and out of the gate onto the road. He turned back and smiled at her. “Better hold on tight.”

 

Storm had been up, unable to sleep, and was reading in the library when she heard the rumble of Logan's motorcycle break the silence of the night. She knew that he was leaving. It was something that she had expected to happen eventually. Logan was a strong man, on the outside. However she could sense his restlessness and his grief when he didn't openly express it. She knew that it was because of Jean. He felt guilty for her death. She knew that he felt something for her, though it was more lust than it had been love, he still was deeply hurt inside when she died by his hands. He was her friend and she wished there was something she could have done to ease his pain. Then again, she was suffering herself. Professor Xavier was the one person she had been closest with, he was almost a father too her, and Scott and Jean had been like her siblings.

 

The woman sighed and went to the window to watch him leave. She wondered if he had said goodbye to Rogue. It was a certainty that he wouldn't leave without doing so. The two had a connection with one another that she couldn't entirely place. Perhaps it was something like the connection she'd had with the Professor. She'd had no one at first, but he was there for her and he became her family. She sensed it was much the same between the two, but maybe, there was something more there too. Still, it was hard for Storm to imagine Logan wanting anyone other that Jean, and up until recently, Rogue only had eyes for Bobby. Besides that, she knew that both she and Logan still saw Rogue as a child, a student. There was no place for such relationships like that.

 

Finally, she could see the motorcycle pulling out of the garage towards the gate. Something caught her off guard, something that she hadn't expected in the least. There was someone else with Logan. It didn't take her long to realize that it was Rogue sitting just behind him as the bike turned onto the road and sped off into the darkness. It was surprising to see. She had figured that Rogue, having since taken the cure to rid herself of her mutant powers, would leave the mansion and return home to her parents. She would never have thought that she'd have left with Logan. It was all too sporadic. Then again, the girl had a great admiration for him, and considering the reasons she had left home in the first place, it started to seem to fit more and more. Still, Storm had to wonder if they would be coming back. Both had gone before. First when Rogue ran away because she felt like an outcast and Logan had convinced her otherwise and she would have gone right back if Magneto had not have shown up. Then again, Logan left to find out more about his past, but made the promise to her that he would come back. Now that they both were gone and that they had gone together, who was to say if they would ever come back, since there wasn't anything there for them anymore.