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Title: Alter-Eighteen:
Good Weird
Author:
Terri
E-mail:
xgrrl26@yahoo.com
Disclaimer:
I don't own anyone but Jack, who just keeps showing up. What can I
say? I kinda like him.
Archive:
Ask, and I'll gladly say yes
Rating:
PG-13
Category:
Mostly foofy.
Feedback:
Please! Pretty please?
Summary:
Alternative version of events in the movie and the Eighteen series.
Logan meets up with a southern belle who he finds a little weird. But
she's weird in a good way.
Comments:
This was written in response to a plot bunny that Kathe (to whom this is also
dedicated) so graciously shared with me, which, in turn, was inspired by
her seeing an Alberta license plate. The long and short of it is -
show a situation where they meet but where Rogue is in a stronger position
than Logan. Kathe even suggested having the sex cabin be Rogue's.
Anytime you have another plot bunny you'd like to share, babe, fling it
my way :) -----------------------------------------------------------------
I'm cold
as hell. I'm fuckin' cold. I've never, ever been this cold in
my whole miserable life. I think I must be frozen solid in parts.
It's gotta be well below zero out here, and I've been walkin' for hours.
But I can't stop now - I can see the bar up ahead. They're probably
closin' for the night - shit, it's almost morning - but I swear to God I'm
gonna make 'em let me in. I gotta get warm.
It's all
that fucker Xavier's fault. Shithead actually thought I'd be interested
in joinin' up to fight the bad guys with his little team of mutants.
Dumbass. Shoulda realized by comin' out to find me, he'd just end up
leadin' the rest of 'em to me. He practically lit a path straight to
my door for Magneto and Sabretooth. Barely got away, too. That
bastard Magneto pretty much owns my ass. And he's been after me to
join up with *his* little mutant squad for years. Fucker. Oh
well, at least I lost 'em. At least I can go in the bar and get a little
warm.
Here we
go, looks like there's still one or two cars in the parkin' lot, so maybe
they're not closed yet. Yeah, door's open.
Wonder why
everybody's starin' at-oh, yeah, I'm covered in snow. Right.
Well, fuck them. There's only four of 'em still in here anyhow.
Fuck 'em.
"Hey, got
coffee?" Young girl behind the bar. Can't be more than twenty
or so. Pretty. Lookin' at me funny.
"Sureare
you all right?" Probably scared of me or some shit. Who'd leave
a little girl in charge of a place like this?
"Yeah.
Do you got coffee or not?"
"Sure.
Coming up. Is there anything else I can get you? Food, maybe?"
Still lookin' at me funny even as she's pourin' me a cup. Probably
thinks I don't' have any money to pay for-oh, shit. Shit. I *don't*
have any money to pay for it. I lost my wallet somewhere in the fight.
Great. That's just fuckin' great. I got the clothes on my back,
that's it. Goddammit.
"Uh, nah.
Just the coffee." Can't even pay ya for that, darlin', but I'm freezin'.
"Are you
*sure* you're OK? You look like you've been out in the weather for
a while." Wonder why she's got those white streaks in her hair.
Maybe some young kids' fashion trend or somethin'.
"Yeah.
Walked up from outside Drescher."
"Outside
Drescher? That's eighteen miles!" Miles? She must be from
the States..
"Yeah."
Coffee's good. Hot. Shouldn't ask for a refill, but-
"That's it."
What? Tellin' her I walked here made her pissed or somethin'?
"I'm getting you some hot food. And more coffee. It's a wonder
you're not frozen, sugar." Hmmm. Southern accent. Long
way from home, this one is. But I should probably tell her I'm flat
broke.
"Uh, no.
No food or nothin'. I-uh-I ain't got any money. Sorry."
"Never you
mind that. I'm going to bring you some hot soup and whatever's leftover
in the kitchen. We're closin' in a few and it'll just go to waste anyway.
You sit tight." She said that like there's no arguin' with her on the
point. Lotta confidence for a young girl. "Sue, watch the bar,
all right?"
Sue looks
half in the bag. "Ummm-hmmmm." Yeah, definitely three sheets
to the wind there.
Not hardly
anyone else around. Just Sue, someone sleepin' it off in the corner,
and two guys cleanin' up-hey, they got a cage. That means fightin'.
That means I can probably make some money to pay for food. Good.
Finally, I catch a fuckin' break.
"Here you
go." Whoa. She wasn't kiddin' about bringin' whatever was left-soup,
three sandwiches, fries, and a piece of pie. I'm hungry though.
"Eat up." Did she-I think she just winked at me. People don't
wink at me. I'm scary. I'm a bad motherfucker. "All right,
the rest of you, out. It's closing time."
"Uh, Rogue?"
One of the cleanin' up guys. Old, probably sixty or so. "You
gonna be all right by yourself here?" Lookin' at me all suspicious.
Well, can't really blame him. I'm just some asshole who wandered in
all covered in snow and shit and who said he don't have any money loud enough
for the whole bar to hear.
"I'm fine.
I can take care of myself, sugar." Well, she's either overly optimistic
or somewhat suicidal, 'cause if I was plannin' on robbin' the place, she wouldn't
be able to stop me.
"Rogue.."
That must be her name. Hmm. Weird name.
"I'm fine.
You go on home before Margie starts thinking you're dead in a ditch somewhere.
Go on."
"All right,
then.." He's givin' me the hairy eyeball just in case. "See ya
tomorrow."
"Bye."
Wavin' at his back, real nice. She's pretty damn perky for a shithole
like this. "How's the food?"
"Huh?
Oh, it's fine. Thanks." You know, she's got an interestin' face.
Real big eyes and big, full lips.
"No problem.
I'm just going to close up, so don't mind me. You get warmed up."
Puttin' things in order back behind the bar. Wonder if I should say
somethin'. Probably not. I already said thanks, so what else
is there to say? Oh-hey-I could ask about the fights.
"Uh, Rogue,
right?"
"Mmm-hmmm."
Lookin' up to talk to me. She's got a lotta hair. Wonder why
she don't wear it up. Weird.
"I, uh,
noticed the cage. I'm a fighter. I could-well, I could make up
the money I owe ya for the coffee and food in the next go-round."
Wonder why
that made her frown. "Don't worry about it. It's on the house."
"When is
the next fight? 'Cause I could use the money anyway." And I like
to pay my own way. I know it's just a couple bucks worth of food, but
still.
"Now why
would a nice person like you go getting in the cage? Hmm?" She
looks like she's askin' that for real, but she's *gotta* be kiddin'.
Nice person? Is the snow coverin' up my bad-assedness or somethin'?
I thought it was mostly melted away by now.
"I've done
it before. I'm good at it." I really can't think of what else
to say.
"So?"
"So, I,
uh, I thought I'd do it some more to make money. Look, kid-"
Her eyebrow went up at that. "-I, ah, don't have nothin' except the clothes
on my back. I could use the cash."
"Could you
use a fractured skull? Because that's what you'll probably get if you
step into that cage."
"Why would
you give a shit?" It kinda irritates me when people try to tell me what
to do. Even cute little things who're feedin' me and takin' me in at
the moment.
"Because
you can't possibly be up to fighting after an eighteen mile stroll in a blizzard.
I'm surprised you lived through that." Wouldn't be, if she knew about
my-what did that dickhead Xavier call it?-oh yeah, my gift. More like
my curse, if you ask me. She also wouldn't be feedin' me and havin'
conversation if she knew about me. She'd be runnin' for the hills.
"And because I hate it when people die in my bar. It means I have to
talk to the province authorities, and I try to avoid that whenever possible,
sugar."
"Your bar?"
"Yeah.
That's why the sign outside says 'Rogue's.'" Shit, didn't notice that.
Still -
"Your bar?"
"Yeah, sugar.
I got it through some..well, some unusual circumstances. But I've owned
it for almost a year now. My bar."
"Ain't you
a little young for that?" I mean, I'm not sure she's even legal drinkin'
age.
"I'm not
as young as I look. Or as sweet." That's not true-feedin' broke
strangers definitely falls under that category of sweet. Or, you know,
crazy. Or just plain weird.
"I'll be
fine for the fights. Really. I-"
"Oh, no.
No way. I say who can go in the cage and I say you don't."
"Hey!"
"Look-I'm
going to give you the key to the storage room upstairs. It's got a
cot and I'll get you some blankets. You rest up for a few days, get
your feet back under you, and then I'll be happy to let you indulge your
violent impulses in the cage, all right?"
"I ain't
no charity case." I don't need her help, and I sure as hell don't need
a few days to heal up. I'm almost as good as new now and I sure as shit
ain't gonna let no little girl tell me I can't-
"Really?
Well, what are you then, sugar? 'Cause you look to me like you're half-frozen
and without a penny to your name. You look like you could use a little
help but you're being too proud to take it." I really, really don't
like her. Who the hell is she to tell me-"Look, I know you're probably
not the kind of person who usually needs help. I can just tell that
about you, you know? But I think-it looks like you're in a little bit
of a spot at the moment, and well, let's just say that I have this karmic
payback obligation to help people like you out. Really, you'd be doing
me a favor. You know, letting me chip into my karmic debt a little?
Look at it that way."
"You're irritatin'."
And unfortunately, she's makin' a little sense and the way she said that
last part-well, I could do her a favor if she needed one.
"You're not
the first to tell me that, sugar." Pourin' me the rest of the coffee.
She has been kinda nice even if she is weird. I mean, people aren't
usually nice to me. I guess I could do her a little favor. "So,
what'll it be?"
"Fine.
Fine. But I'll be back on my feet tomorrow. You'll see."
"I've asked
you twice to get out of my bar. Sugar, I'm just about done playing nice."
What? Oh yeah, the girl. Rogue. Shit, somethin' must be
up down there. Her voice sounds tense. I gotta get up and see
what's what.
"Miss, I
assure you that we mean you no harm." Fuckin' Xavier. "In fact,
as you have probably guessed, we are mutants.like yourself." She's
a mutie? Shit, I never woulda guessed. Wonder what her 'gift'
is.
"And what's
your mutation, sugar? Rudeness? Inability to listen when other
people are talking?" Heh. That's kinda funny. I'd better
go down and talk to 'em. They probably came here lookin' for me.
"Look-"
I think that's the one with the glasses. Uptight asshole. "-
the man we're looking for, he could be dangerous."
"You mean
me?" Shit, she must be more freaked than her voice was lettin' on-she's
got one hand on the shotgun underneath the bar. Well, I'll just come
over and stand beside her. Maybe that'll help.
"Ah, yes,
Wolverine. We did not have an opportunity to finish our conversation."
"I was pretty
much done talkin', Chuck." He hates it when I call him that. Well,
I didn't ask him to come track me down, so he's gonna hafta take what he
gets.
"I would
like the chance to-"
"I believe
this nice lady here asked you to get the hell outta her place. Get goin'."
They ain't gonna be scared of one little girl, not even with a gun, but I
can always bring out the claws if they start givin' her shit.
"I wish
you would reconsider, Logan. I can help you. I can help you find
your past, help to protect you from your enemies, like Magneto." Am
I supposedta be scared of that shithead? I don't need protection from
nobody. Magneto-sure he can twist my ass into a pretzel, but fuck that.
I ain't lookin' for protection.
"Get on
your way, Chuck." Him and Mr. Tight-ass can just go back to where the
hell they came from. They're the ones that led Magneto to me in the
first damn place.
"Perhaps
another time." He's gonna go. Well, good. Wouldn't wanna
bring any trouble on Rogue's doorstep.
"Bye-bye,
y'all." She's got spirit, I'll give her that. "Nice friends you
have there."
"They ain't
my friends."
"Mmm-hmmm.
Well, they sure wanted to talk with you." She's still figurin' out
what to make of that, I think.
"Yeah.
They want me to join their little mutant justice league, the x-men."
"X-men?
I think I've heard of them.."
"Yeah, well
I ain't inclined to join up, but they ain't takin' no for an answer."
I guess it's OK to tell her.. "See, I'm a mutant too."
"Ah.
Heard him say that about me too, did you?" What's that sad look about?
"Yeah.
I, uh, I heal. From just about anythin'." Maybe I shouldn't tell
her about the claws right off.
"Hmph.
That's why you were in such a hurry to fight. That's why you made it
through the blizzard."
"Yeah."
I can see she's the kinda person who's naturally curious. Just the
way she said that, the way she figured it out right away.
"Unfair
advantage, don't you think?"
"Huh?"
"It's an
unfair advantage in the cage, don't you think?"
"Nah."
Better not tell her about the claws. She might decide not to let me
fight. She seems kinda like the sorta person who'd wanna be sure to
make the fights fair. And it's not like I'd use 'em in the cage.
"Can't fight any better, just heal from what gets dished out better."
I think that's OK with her. That settled it. She's noddin'.
"What's yours?"
"What?"
"Your mutation,
your thing."
Whoa, she's
lookin' at me real intense. "It's my skin. It kills anyone who
touches it. It sucks their life out of them and it pours into me.
With mutants, I get their powers too. I can't control it. That's
why.well, all this." Holdin' up her gloved hands. Didn't notice
before-well, it's cold. It's not that outta the ordinary to be so covered
up. "Most people around here don't know. I'd appreciate it if
you kept it to yourself."
"Sure.
Hey-I'm sorry 'bout them comin' here. I-uh-didn't mean to cause trouble."
For some reason, I got this weird urge to get that sad look offa her face.
I liked her better when she was teasin' me and tellin' me what to do, even.
That sad look is just wrong on her somehow. I almost even wanna hug
her or somethin', if that'd make it go away.
"It's fine,
sugar, don't worry about it." I gotta stop havin' these weird feelings.
'Cause now that she's smilin' just a little, I - "How are you feeling
this morning?" I have this urge to touch her hair.
"Better.
Warm. Thanks for the clothes." It's nice hair, but what the
hell is goin' on with me?
"No problem.
Look-I was just going to cook myself up some breakfast. Would you like
some too?"
"rrrr"
I guess my stomach's answerin' that one for me. Now she's smilin' pretty
good.
"Come on,
then."
"So Jack
took me in, let me waitress. To this day, I don't know what would've
happened to me if he hadn't. I mean, I look back on it now and wonder
what the hell I was thinking-seventeen, not a dime to my name, hitchhiking
across two countries.anyway, about eight months later, Jack had a heart attack.
Dropped dead behind the bar, just like that. He was only fifty-two.
I don't remember too much about that night. Just him falling and me
realizing he was dead, and then I apparently just lost it. My hair
turned white on the spot and I passed out. It was so traumatic-to lose
the one person I loved and trusted, you know? But he left the bar and
everything else to me when he passed, so now instead of Jack's, it's Rogue's."
That's one
helluva hard luck story. Parents kickin' her out, and she's right-she
coulda been in deep shit if this Jack hadnta taken her in. Must be
a strong person to bounce back from all that shit. And it goes a long
way to explainin' why she'd help me out like she did. I wish I could
think of somethin' to say to all that, but I dunno what would be the right
thing.
"You want
to fight tonight, don't you?" And I'd wanna say the right thing 'cause
I like the way she talks to me, you know? Real open, real up-front.
Like a person. Like she respects me enough and likes me enough to do
that.
"Yeah.
You gonna sign off on that?"
"Are you
really all right?" It's somethin' about her face, too. Those
big eyes and the way her lips scrunch together when she's a little worried.
Like now. She's worried about me and it makes me feel weird, but it's
kinda nice too.
"Yeah.
I'm fine, darlin'." That raised her eyebrow too, but in a different
way than "kid." A better way, I think.
"Are you
*sure*?" Leanin' across the table a little. Makes her hair drift
over her face a little. The white streaks suit her somehow.
"Positive.
I'll be fine. And I'll win too."
"Oh yeah?
And what makes you so sure about that, sugar?"
"I always
have. I'm unbeaten."
"Real roughneck,
hmm?" I think she's flirtin' a little. I think she might be having
some weird feelings about me too.
"Nah.
Not really." At least not with her. "Wanna make a bet?"
"You don't
have any money."
"True..but
I'll betcha somethin' else." Look at that, I think she's blushin'.
"You pick what." That'll put her at ease a little.
"All right,
I'll bet you breakfast. You win, you cook for me. You lose, I'll cook
for you."
"I was hoping
this would be a reward for me, not a punishment."
"Hey, it's
not my fault those pancakes burned! The pan was sticky."
"Well, that's
why one usually puts some butter in it first, sugar." She's havin' a
lotta fun with this, I can tell. She was real edgy watchin' me fight,
but that time I caught her eye and winked at her put her at ease a little,
I think. Weird to have someone worried about you, worried that you'll
get hurt.
"Aw, come
on, the coffee turned out good."
"You're
right, it did."
"You sure
you don't mind me hangin' around until Friday?" That'll be the next
fight and now that I got some money, I can pay her for room and board.
"No problem.
I kind of like having you around." Oh now, that's a blush. Real
pink.
"Yeah.
I like it here, uh, too." Oh, smooth, Logan. Real smooth.
But it couldnta been all bad 'cause it made her blush some more.
"It was
like this with Jack, too, you know? I knew him right away. Within
a minute, I knew we were.compatible, somehow. I knew he was like me,
that he had some part of him that matched me." Whoa. That's serious.
"You do too."
I can't
really think of what to-
"You don't
have to say anything. I just thought I'd say that." Nice smile,
normal as anything, real easy.
"OK."
I should say somethin' though. "You make me feel weird."
"Ummm"
"Good weird."
What is it with me all of a sudden? Can't I make anything come out
right?
"Oh."
"Different,
I mean different." That should be better.
"Oh."
"Good different."
There's a
smile. That's progress. "Good." Bigger smile. "Good."
She must be right about that part of me thing if she understood that.
She must be right. This is gonna be good. This-whatever's between
me and her-it's gonna be good.
"Mornin',
darlin'." I never really spent the whole night with someone, you know,
sleepin' with 'em and all, so I'm not really sure how this mornin'-after
stuff goes.
"Hey.
What time is it?"
"'Bout nine."
She looks pretty happy, so I must be doing OK so far. The sex part-I
didn't have any worries about that. I'm good at that, no problems there.
But the talking part and havin' her cuddle up to me after-well, I just kinda
did my best there.
"Mmmmwe have
time for more sex." Little vixen. Well, I guess that answers
my question as to whether I'm doin' OK with the mornin'-after stuff.
Maybe even OK enough to tease her a little.
"So, what,
you made me wait a month to sleep with you and now you can't get enough?"
Smilin' at
me. And I can remember crystal clear what those big lips felt like
wrapped around my-"Something wrong with that, sugar?"
"It's a
little weird, but I'm willin' to live with it."
"Fuck!"
She's bleedin', bad. Fuck, oh fuck! "Stay still, baby."
Three months. Three months, that's all I've had with her and I ain't
gonna lose her now. "Hang on."
"Logan.."
That fucker Sabretooth, he got her good before she took him out. Him
and Magneto. Goddamn fucker had me dead to rights off the bat.
Couldn't move, couldn't do nothin' to stop Sabretooth from rippin' her up.
She hadta use her powers to take 'em both down, and God only knows what's
goin' on with them in her head now. I don't know why the hell she didn't
get Sabretooth's power. Unless she was tryin' not to, tryin' to keep
as much of him out as possible, I dunno. Shit. We gotta go.
We gotta get the hell outta here-the back end of the bar's already on fire.
"Hang on.
I'm gonna get you outta here."
"No."
She's losin' consciousness. Just gonna pick her up real careful.
Get her out into the snow, clear of the bar. Her keys-her keys are
probably in her pocket. That means I can get her into the truck.
That'll be better.
"Honey, the
bar's on fire, we gotta get out. Just hang on, baby." Please,
God. Not like this. I can't lose her, and especially not like
this. Not for somethin' I brought down on her head. Please, God.
"Loganare
you OK?"
"Fine, just
fine." Got a chunk of my leg taken out. Healed. Burned
my arm pretty good. Healed. "Hang on, baby."
"Careful..my
skin.." Almost to the truck. Hang on, baby.
"Rogue, I'm
gonna put you in the driver's seat. Just hang on. You're gonna
be fine." There, now gonna climb in the other side and-
"Logan..I
feel dizzy." She's losin' blood. I gotta hurry.
"Come here,
baby." I dunno if this is gonna work, but it should. Everythin'
she said about her mutation-it should work. Sabretooth-she musta been
tryin' to keep him out. That hasta be it. It's gotta work with
me, it's gotta.
"Oh!
No.." I hafta. I hafta do it. Sorry, baby, so sorry I brought
all this down on you. Just let it work, just let it work, just let
it work.
"You must
fuckin' hate me."
"Hey.you're
up. How are you feeling?" She don't look too pissed off.
But I bet its occurred to her that I repaid her for takin' me in by leadin'
those shitheads to her bar. She lost everything she ever had, everything
Jack gave her, 'cause of me. Rogue's is gone. No way she can't
be pissed by that.
"I'm so
sorry."
"It's not
your fault, Logan. You saved my life." She looks OK, really OK.
The blood's still on her clothes, but she looks fine. We're-we're drivin'.
If she's drivin', she must be OK. She musta let me in. She musta
felt OK with that. "But Logan, you could've died. I could've
killed you. So don't-um, don't do that again."
"I wanted
more than three months." It's true, that's why I did it. Selfish
reasons. I wanted more than three months with her. And I never
can stop myself from touchin' her hair.
"Hey..we're
OK, all right? We're fine. We have more than three months."
Tryin' to reassure me. So weird that she's not pissed. I'm glad.
Still my fault what happened, though.
"They were
after me. They came lookin' for me."
"I know."
"I brought
all that down on you're head."
"It's not
your fault, it's their fault, Logan."
"But-"
"But nothin',
sugar. We're going to be just fine." It can't be that easy.
It just can't. I mean-I'm usin' up all my good luck here. Findin'
her in the first place, her lettin' me love her, be with her, and the touch
thing actually workin', havin' it save her life. That's too much good
luck right there. She should be pissed. I should be losin' her
right about now. This is just too weird.
"Rogue?
Where're we goin'?"
"Jack left
me a little cabin up in the rockies, north of Jasper, real out in the woods.
I've only ever been there once. They shouldn't be able to find us there."
"Thank God."
"We'll be
safe there."
"No, thank
God you still have somethin' left. The bar..I thought it was all you
had left of Jack, and here I go takin' it away from you."
"I loved
that bar, and I'll miss it, sugar, but it's not as important to me as you
are." You know, we don't say 'I love you' or shit like that.
It's not our style. I know and she knows, so why talk about it all
the time. She must really mean it to say it out loud. "I'm just
glad you're OK, I'm glad I didn't hurt you-well, you know, permanently."
"You didn't
hurt me at all, darlin'. Don't you worry about that." She's real
sensitive about her skin, always worried about accidents, always so careful
with me. And I know it's partly 'cause -"Hey, have you got me in your
head?"
"Oh, yes.
You're pretty strong up there. You're hanging in there."
"Shit.
Sorry." Probably just what she was tryin' to avoid. Probably
why she wanted to keep Sabretooth out. It's gotta be miserable, just
fuckin' horrible to hafta have another person in your head. It's gotta
be -
"I like
it."
She never
reacts like I expect. Shit, I should expect *that* by now. She's
weird, real weird. That shouldn't make me wanna kiss her, but it does.
Maybe I should just make sure. "Yeah?"
"Yeah.
You fit in with me pretty well. I like it a lot."
"Yeah?"
God, I do wanna kiss her. Right now.
"You must
be feeling better, sugar." She can always tell when I want her.
OK, I usually want her all the time, so it's not that hard to figure out,
but
"How long
to that cabin?"
"About nine
hours."
"Pull over."
"Logan?"
"Pull over.
I can't wait that long to hold you, darlin'. Pull over." She
is-and she's smilin'. I was right-she does make me feel weird, but
good weird. The kind of weird I can take a lot more of.
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