**00.30 GMT-6, 14 February 1996, Alkali Lake, CANADA**
Rogue
She was called Subject Zero. Sometimes they called her The Mutant Bitch. A name for a thing, not a person. She was the one who could not be touched.
Except for him.
What they did in this room was not really love. It was a clinical act, ordered and observed by those creepy white people. But when her skin touched his, it lied to her.
When that happens, her mutation would force a connection to his. His mind would bleed into hers. And in the chaos of his memories, the violence, and the loss, she kept finding her own feelings staring back. His fury was her fury. His grief for the stolen children was her grief. It was like touching a mirror of her own soul, a soul just as broken and trapped.
Marie…
Sometimes, in the haziest corners of her mind, it stretched into Anne Marie. It felt like a ghost, a girl she'd once been in a life someone else had lived. It was her, but it wasn't her anymore. Not here. Not anymore.
He also had given her his.
It had happened during one of the nights, in the breathless, painful silence afterward. His voice was a ragged scrape against the sterile air. "Logan," he'd grunted, his eyes holding hers with a fierce intensity. "Name's Logan."
It was an offering. A piece of himself. The truest act of intimacy they were allowed.
She had given hers in return. "Marie," she'd whispered back. "Anna Marie,"
It became their silent rebellion. Marie. Logan. No more than that. No grand plans, yet. Just the affirmation that they were still people, not just things. It was a promise, whispered in the air between them: No more. We will get out. No more children taken. No more.
She will rogue if that happens again.
Rogue…
It was more fitting that Marie, maybe she'll change it to that if she ever escapes. Marie was the girl she couldn't be. Rogue was the woman surviving this hell.
That was what she told Logan.
That was what she told herself.
That was what she told the little ones she couldn't keep.
They never let her keep them. Not ever. There had been so many. A procession of small, warm bodies taken from her arms before a year had passed. Their faces were a blur, stolen by grief and chemicals. The loss was an open wound that never healed.
In those moments, he wasn't Weapon X. He was the only other person in the world who understood this specific, agonizing pain. Logan. Subject Zero, no Rogue, didn't know what connection they had before this place, but she was sure it was more than that of breeding partners.
He was a victim, much like her.
A shrill, piercing shriek that tore through the walls of their concrete cage, drowning out even her own thoughts. Red light began to strobe overhead, washing the room in flashes of panic.
Rogue flinched, pressing her bare hands over her ears. Through the glass, Weapon X was instantly on his feet, his pacing replaced by a predatory stillness.
Then came the sound they both dreaded. The deep, resonant clunk of the primary locks disengaging. The solid wall of reinforced glass that divided their cells slid into the ceiling. They were now in the same room. Logan immediately stepped closer to her, a silent, protective presence. This meant the scientists were coming.
For a mission. Or for another baby. Fresh dread coiled in her stomach.
She didn't want to have another one, not right now.
She faced Logan, giving him the looks.
It's time.
He gave a single, grim nod for confirmation.
Now or never.
A figure stumbled through the open doorway. One of the scientists, his face a mask of pure terror, his lab coat torn and smeared.
Logan's hands clenched, claws ready to erupt.
SHHNIKT!
Three gleaming, blood-tipped adamantium claws erupted from the center of the man's chest. His eyes bulged, a final gasp escaping his lips before he crumpled forward, dead.
But it wasn't Logan's claws.
Standing behind the dead scientist, revealed in the bloody doorway, was a boy.
The boy was a mess of blood and fury, his chest panting. He yanked his claws free with a sickening sound. He grinned, a wide, manic slash across his face that was terrifying, yet held a glimmer of something else.
"I've finally found you!!! It took us 4 chapters this time!" he said, his voice breathless but clear. "Miss me?"
Logan shifted fully in front of her, his body a shield, a low warning growl rumbling in his chest. But she sensed a flicker of something more than just threat beneath the sound.
The boy's eyes, a familiar wild green, found hers over Logan's shoulder.
That scent…
Our baby.
One actually had survived.
He was so big. She had missed so much.
We missed so much…
Before either she or Logan could speak, Before they could speak, he surged forward and crushed them in a hug. She braced for the drain, the agony… but felt only solid, warm pressure. He was immune.
"Okay, got 'em," the boy mumbled. "Come on, rugrats! Time to go!"
On cue, two small children darted into the room, hugging the boy's legs. A little boy. A tiny girl.
their scents.
It's also familiar…
The older boy's scent had stirred the old, aching hollow. But these two… the same, only stronger. The last few ones were taken from her.
There are more of them.
There are more of them!
They survived!!!
The boy lifted them effortlessly, one arm around her, the other around a rigid Logan. The little ones clung to his legs.
"TO FREEDOOMM!!" Weapon XI suddenly shouted, startling both her and Logan.
"TO FREEDOOMM!!" the little boy echoed with a child's lisp, mimicking the cry while the other little girl pulled out one of her fists.
SPOOF!
**00.45 GMT-6, 14 February 1996, Somewhere in Canada, preferably a long way from Alkali Lake, Wade not really sure…**
Suddenly, they were outside. The sterile hell of the facility was gone, replaced by the biting cold of a night in wilderness and a sky full of stars.
The older boy, who had been energetic just moments ago, suddenly swayed on his feet. He took a stumbling step and leaned heavily against a tree trunk, his breathing shallow. "Whoa. Wobbly-wibbly! Eenie-meanie-miney-mo... definitely gonna blow!" he muttered, his voice thin. "Never doing it again, zero star. Bleegghhh"
"Well, at least we're a few hundred miles away," he added, forcing a weak thumbs-up. "We could catch our breath for a moment… Fuaaah!"
He was pale, terribly thin. The clothes hung off him like a shroud.
"Are you okay?" Rogue asked, her voice soft.
"Tip-top, Momma! A-OK!" he chirped, the energy so forced it was painful. "Just never teleported a whole family before, that far too! The mileage on this chassis is a killer. Yeah, I never gonna do that ever again, I feel like my own soul is being sucked!"
He sounds really energetic but somehow she knew he was just putting up a front.
"Who are you? What do you need for us?" Logan asks cautiously. His voices sound unsure and wary at the children.
"What? Oh yeah, the whole amnesiac thingy, I thought you guys already knew from our scents already?"
"Ah can't believe it… You are alive…" Rogue choked, she cannot believe her own words.
"Yeah, my name is Wade, I think. And this little murder machine is Kenny and Laura. Say hi to our mom and dad guys!"
The two little children just tightened their holds on Wade's legs. Both unsure and wary as they stare at Rogue and Logan.
"Okay, you little gremlins, listen up. That grumpy mountain of muscle and body hair? That's our Dad. The gorgeous Southern belle who could probably kill a man with her pinky? That's our Mom. I know! Unbelievable right! Mom settled for sure!"
While he spoke, his hands were already moving, gently untangling the two smaller children from his legs.
The little boy was rigid. His small body was tense, his dark eyes wide and flicking rapidly between the strange, vast darkness of the forest and the two unfamiliar adults. He took a half-step back, his small hands curling into fists at his sides, a low, uncertain sound rumbling in his tiny chest.
"Hey, easy, Ken," Wade said softly, his tone shifting from performative to gentle. "C'mon, man. They're not gonna bite. Probably. I think the big man do bite… I am not entirely sure." He then looked up at the adults while pushing the kids to them.
"My babies…my sweet, beautiful babies…"
She fell to her knees in the snow and carefully wrapped her arms around all three of them, pulling them into a crushing, desperate embrace while still trying to avoid skin contact with her newfound children. She didn't want to fuck this up too.
Not after everything.
For a second, there was only stiff, shocked silence. Then, Laura's small, tense body slowly relaxed into the hug. Ken remained rigid for a moment longer before a tiny, shuddering sigh escaped him, and he leaned in. Wade, caught in the middle, let out a soft, startled "Oof," but his arms came up to hug her back, his face buried in her chest.
She felt a heavy, warm presence behind her. Logan. He didn't kneel, but his large, calloused hand came to rest gently on top of her head, his fingers tangling in her hair for a moment before moving to settle on Wade's shoulder, then Ken's.
"Okay, not to be party pooper, but I think I need to breathe and puke! Like right now!"
Marie slowly and reluctantly let go of the hug, but her hands still lingering on the small, warm backs of Laura and Ken as if afraid they would vanish into smoke the moment she broke contact.
The moment the embrace broke, Wade took a single, wobbling step backward. His face, already pale, turned a sickly gray-green. "Gotta say... being hug is nice... hurkk—"
He didn't finish. He stumbled past them, one hand clutching his stomach, the other flailing out to catch himself on a tree trunk. He barely made it before he doubled over, heaving violently into the snow. It was mostly dry, wrenching spasms, his exhausted body having nothing left to give.
"Well, family really is my F-word."
Logan had been scanning the tree line, but he stopped. He turned, and his blue eyes fixed on the older boy. He strode back to him. Without a word, he simply yanked the boy away from the tree, grabbing him by the back of his oversized collar with a practiced ease.
"Hey! My indignity!" Wade squawked, but he was too drained to put up a real fight.
"Storm's coming," Logan grunted, his eyes flicking to her. "Can you walk?"
She nodded.
"I also can walk!!! Let me down you Hairy Canuck!"
Logan hoisted him onto his back with barely an effort. Wade was shockingly light. As Logan adjusted his grip, he was completely silent, but a look of grim determination settled on his face.
On his back, The boy gave a full-body shiver. "Ugh, not even minutes having a dad, I already have daddy issues," he mumbled into Logan's shoulder, his voice muffled. "So not my vibes. At least princess carry me! Or let mom princess carry me! I like mom more!"
"No, leave her alone."
"Cih…"
"What about you two?"
Ken and Laura just stare at him, unsure of what to say. Their gaze stared at Logan with curiosity and longing at both of them.
"Just pick them up already, Pops! Proof you got them dads strength!!! I thought the Wolverine supposed to be strong!"
Logan seems a little bit annoyed but didn't say it. In one fluid motion, he scooped up the little boy under one arm and settled the quiet little girl on his hip. All three children, secured. His gaze found hers, direct and sure. He jerked his head northwest.
"Follow me."
"That's more like it! Now I am not the only one who is humiliated! Hehe!"
"You never know when to shut up do you?"
"Nope!"
WOLVERINE
The kids were light. Too damn light. The boy on his back was a bag of bones. The little ones in his arms were no heavier than a couple of rabbits. A quiet, cold rage settled in his gut. Later, the man promised. Later, the wolverine echoed, already making a list.
Family, huh?
What the hell am I supposed to do with kids? He didn't know the first thing about being a father. Hell, he didn't even remember his own father. The only thing he'd ever been good at was fighting and surviving. What did he have to give them? How to throw a punch? How to take a bullet?
Surviving…
Yeah, he was good at those, let's start there.
His senses already mapped the area. He could smell a rock overhang, a potential cave, maybe a half-mile in. It would do.
Somehow he felt familiar in this area.
He felt her following close behind. He could hear her breathing, the soft crunch of her steps in the snow. Good. She was keeping up.
There are also these dreadful questions in his head, but he kept them caged.
How did the kid break the conditioning?
Is it permanent?
What if he snaps back?
What if HE snaps back?
What if they all have a sleeper agent, and this is all a trick? Some sense of false security?
The questions could wait. They were for later. For when they had a roof and a fire. Right now, all that mattered was they were all with him now.
Get them safe. Keep them warm.
As he walked, the rhythm of his steps began to quiet the animal panic in his chest. In its place, fragments surfaced.
And Marie... Sometimes the greasy-haired scientist called her Subject Zero. His memories of her were a haze of pain and a strange, solid comfort.
A look. A sense that they were the only two real people in a world of ghosts. Her strength, the quiet way she endured, had been an anchor. She was important. Always.
She was his.
His mate.
No. She was Rogue.
She wasn't his, not after all that happened.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! I know you are a cheesy helpless romantic guy already, stop overthinking and find us shelter Pops!" the boy said from his back.
"How did you–"
"Cause your face looks so tense like you constipated or some shit. Oh, wait! Your face always did that!"
"Why are you so sure I am not leading you all back to the facilities anyway?"
The boy, no Wade, was still on his back. "Oh. That's easy. You didn't even try to stab me after I teleported you across country. I trusted you now."
"You shouldn't have,"
"Again with the self-hating thing!"
He hopped out of Logan's back and landed clumsily across him. Right, he still hasn't recovered yet. Why would he jump off like that! He got one stupid kid!
Just like himself.
"Don't do that! You have not recovered yet!"
"How did you know about us anyway?" Marie ask curiously.
Wade just shrugged, his movement still a bit shaky. "'Bout that, I just got the perfect timing with Stryker trying to fully brainwash me last night and it bit him in the back since it didn't work on me, I kinda unlock some past memories? I knew you wanted to get out too. I've seen all your files, Pops have been so misbehaving lately killing anyone who entered your room unless it was Mom."
Both Logan and Marie were silent after hearing that.
"They were trying to feed me this new brainwashing fluid and I think my poor little mind couldn't take it and I just snapped? I killed everyone that night, including Stryker. Y'know the guy who did it to us in the first place. The greasy obnoxious bastard, hell even his blood is slimy! Remind me to take a full bath after all this."
"Are they all dead? We're free?" Marie cut him, her voice barely a whisper.
"Well, not all of them, but the important ones are definitely dead. I think. I am not sure. Maybe I'll check after th–"
"NOO!!!" The word burst from both Logan and Marie in unison, a shared, panicked command.
"Alright, alright, jeez," Wade said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I can't even go sightseeing my own masterpieces. I put a lot of thought into it when pressing the self-destruct button y'know! Which by the way! Completely stupid on their part! If I were them I'd label it anything but self-destruct and put it somewhere no one can see! Like in the closet or something!"
"That was reckless sugar," Rogue said, her voice laced with worry.
"You shouldn't do it all by yourself, kid. Should have gone to us first, we could help you!"
"Nah, you guys are in the other side of the lab from me and the rugrats anyway. Beside, I didn't have anytime to waste ever since I slam that self-destruct button. Also, convincing two toddlers is easier than two adults who probably brainwashed or ordered to kill me on-sight anyway."
"That's not-"
"If I didn't do it like that," Wade snapped, whirling around to face them, his voice cracking with venom, "All of us would not be together right now! You guys didn't even know we exist and were probably trying to escape without us! You're gonna leave us in that hell!"
"..."
"I… I am sorry," Wade mumbled, staring at the ground. "I am not myself when I am hangry… I don't blame you, it just–"
"It's alright." Logan swallowed hard. "We–I did deserve that…"
"It's not your fault," Wade said, the words tumbling out in a rush. "Who knows what he did to your memory anyway… I also too overly paranoid at that time, let–lets just find somewhere to sleep, the kiddos are sleepy…"
"..."
Both Logan and Rogue fell silent, watching him. They saw the act snap back into place, the forced cheer that didn't reach his eyes. They saw the way he turned and started walking again, putting a little distance between himself and them, as if he didn't deserve to be close.
"So! Caves! Cozy. Hope there aren't any bears. Not that it mattered! I'm great with bears. We're pals. I like unicorn more tho,"
He watched his son's retreating back, the small figure trying to carry the weight of a world he'd never asked for.
"What are you waiting for? It's freezing here! Let's fucking go!"
He didn't say anything. He just fell back into step, his gaze fixed on Wade, ensuring the distance between them never grew too great.
"Jeez, you guys are so cheesy. I am not going anywhere anytime soon. You still got like 8 years more with me!"