POV: Logan

I'm burnin'.

My whole body is on fire from the inside out. They must've caught me again, the doctors. It's the only explanation for this bone-deep agony. I can barely walk, barely breathe, but somehow, I escaped.

My body's so weak that every step is a struggle, and I wish I'd eaten more while I had the chance and gained some strength. It doesn't matter that I had trouble keepin' anything but the blandest, smallest meal down. I should've kept trying; I should've told Jeanie I didn't because I knew she'd make me return to the Med Lab, and I hated that place. It brought back too many bad memories. Of course, now I'm running from the reality that created those memories, and I'm too sick to fight.

I'm surrounded by trees, the night breeze flowing through the branches to cool my flushed skin. It's not enough, not nearly cold enough. I've got to extinguish this inner fire before I burn up completely.

I push my way forward, not knowing my destination, just knowing I have to find it. I lean on any trees large enough to have exposed trunks whenever I come to them, sometimes resting for minutes, waiting until I can force my tortured body to walk again. The narrow path seems to shift in front of me, growing and shrinking, twisting and straightening, eventually becoming so distorted that it's easier to walk with my eyes closed.

Finally, I come to a clearing where a pristine lake glows in the moonlight. The water beckons to me, promising the icy peace for which I've been searching. I stumble towards it, wanting nothing more than to step in and allow its liquid tendrils to sap my heat away.

When I finally reach the shore, I can only take a few steps into the chilly elixir before my legs collapse underneath me, and I splash into the shallow water. I lay there forever, half-in and half-out of the lake, half-freezin' and half-burnin'.

After an eternity, the water begins to win, pulling the fever from my limbs and calling me down into its depths. I don't follow, though. I stay with the stars.

They fly all around me, spinning, dancing, singing, and laughing, like kids at recess. They saw me lying in the lake and floated down to play. Hours pass as they talk to me, telling me all the things they see when the world is asleep. I listen to their high-pitched, eager chatter until the cold seeps into my heart, drawing me into a deep, dreamless sleep.

"Logan!"

I hear my name, but it isn't the stars or the lake calling to me now. It's Marie. I don't know how she got here, but she's found me. I feel her silk-covered hands flitting over my limp shoulders before they hook under my arms and pull, dragging me out of the sparkling lake bed.

"Jubilee," Marie shouts to the dark-haired girl behind her, "get help!" I wonder why she sounds so worried. Now that I've tempered the heat and my body is numbed, there's no more pain and no need for panic.

I hear pops and sparks similar to the singing last night and wonder if the stars have returned despite the brightness of the midday sun. I squint my eyes open and watch as Marie's roommate shoots multi-colored fireworks into the air, well above the treeline, like flares. I watch them fly until the light show ends, and the girl lowers her arms and walks towards me.

"That should get their attention."

"Oh, Jubes," Marie again, her voice trembling slightly. "He's so cold."

The shorter girl nods and then stumbles, mid-stride, barely catching herself. She puts both hands up to her head and says, "Whoa, I got a Jean/Professor conference call in my brain."

"Tell Jean to get here, now!" Marie commands and then turns back to me.

Her covered hands touch me again, gently caressing my face and smoothing back my hair. I open my eyes further, trying to focus on her, but she's too close, and her image remains fuzzy.

Soon Marie's friend kneels down on the other side of me. "Is he looking at you?"

"I think so." Marie's hand ran down my cheek, cupping it gently. "Logan? Sugah?"

I close my eyes trying to work up enough strength to answer her, but then her touch pulls away. When I open my eyes again, Jean is kneeling where Marie was seconds before. What the hell?

"Logan, just relax. We're taking you back," Jean says as she presses her finger to my throat, feeling my pulse.

Taking me back? Back to the doctors? Back to where the burnin' started? Why would Jean...

As these questions flow through my head, Jean looks up and speaks to someone out of my line of sight. The sun reflects off her eyes and they turn a distinctive yellow. Mystique! She'd pretended to be Marie to lower my guard and now she's playing at being Jean! She thinks I'm helpless, lying limp on the ground, but I'll prove to her that I can still fight back.

I blink and then Ororo's kneeling over me, shifting her arms under my shoulders in search of a good hold. Mystique should know better than to take that form with me. Even though I really can't smell her anymore, she should know that I'm not stupid enough to be fooled by that illusion.

Before I can act, I'm lifted and settled onto a soft stretcher and Mystique moves away only to return to my side as Marie again. She probably thinks I can't hurt her in that form, and I have to admit that it does give me a second's pause. I can't let her take me back, though. I have to fight.

I pop my claws on both hands, ignoring the searing pain, and attack. My movements are jerky and slow and her reflexes, perfect. I only catch her arm when I'd been aiming at her heart. I pull back to strike again as she sits on the ground, eyes wide in shock, but then my body freezes. No matter how hard I strain my muscles, I can't move an inch. Magneto. He's with her and I'm screwed.

Even as I stay frozen, mid-strike and straining, I know I've been beaten. The pinprick in my arm less than a minute later only confirms my conclusion as the sedative works its way into my blood stream and draws me into darkness.

Despite my weakened senses, I can smell the disinfectant-perfumed lab the instant I wake. I try to sit up, to get off the bed and escape again, but I'm tied down by leather straps and covered by a heat-radiating blanket I pull on the restraints with my arms and even release my claws to try and slice through them, but I only succeed in cutting my legs and ripping up my arms.

"Logan, stop!" Jeanie's voice approaches me from across the room.

Despite her concerned voice, I remind myself that it's not Jean. It's Mystique. She's captured me and taken me back to the lab. Already, my body sweats from an inner heat, and the cold numbness I'd searched so hard for is gone. An aching pain consumes my joints and a metallic taste fills my mouth, telling me that they've been playing with my skeleton while I've been unconscious. What I don't understand is why Mystique is involved with them. Have they paid her for my hide? Does bringing me back grant her immunity?

I lose all thoughts of Mystique when Marie bursts into the room, screaming my name. I can't see very clearly, but it looks like a man is holding her back, keeping her from me.

Mystique/Jean is still by my bed, so this is the real Marie. My heart freezes in panic as I realize that she's here and trapped along with me. She must have come searching for me, probably planning to rescue me from the lab and instead finding me at the lake. My weakness had gotten her captured, too.

Undiscovered strength flows through my body and I pull and slash at my restraints with new vigor. It doesn't matter if I cut myself. I'm cutting the table and my leg restraints, too. Pain doesn't matter when Marie's in danger. I growl in rage straining to help her, fighting to free myself.

"Please, let me touch him," Marie begs. "I can do it. I know I can."

She's almost free, and then she is, running from the doorway towards me. She's only a few feet away when the man tackles her from behind and she drops out of sight below the bed I'm attached to. I growl and pull, strain and slash, but I can't get free. Then, there's a needle in my arm and I feel the strength ebb out of me all at once, my body relaxing into sleep.

The next time I wake, I can't move. I can't open my eyes, can't pull at the restraints I feel still holding my body down, and can't even cry out in rage. They've paralyzed me. The last time they did that was to line my skeleton with adamantium. I could feel every slice, every scrape on my bones, every burn of searing metal, but I couldn't move. What are they planning to do to me this time?

I can hear the clicking of heels on metal and then my right eyelid is pulled open. A bright light shines into it, moves away, revealing a blurry, redheaded woman, and then moves back to shine in my eye again. My left eye undergoes the same treatment.

I hear Jean's voice, talking to someone I can't make out, and wonder why Mystique continues to bother with the Jean charade. I know who she really is and I haven't bothered to hide that fact. Besides, she's going to have to give it up anyway when the scientists replace her and start their work. That is, unless she plans to torture me beforehand. I wouldn't put it past the bitch. She might even kill me before they can start their experiments.

The thought of death is welcome for one second, and then I remember Marie. I have to stay alive. She's here too; I saw her. If they discover she's got my healing powers, there's no telling what they'll do to her. It doesn't matter that I'm paralyzed, weak, and probably dying. I have to hold on. I have to escape for her. If it kills me, I will get her out of here.

I hear the whoosh of a door opening and then Mystique asks with Jean's voice, "Are you ready for the test, Rogue?"

"Yes, I'm ready," Marie answers nervously.

Test? They're experimenting on her already? Why is she cooperating? Fight, Marie!

"You don't have to do this. I'll..." Mystique begins, but Marie interrupts her.

"Yes, I do. I have to for Logan."

That blue bitch! She's using me against Marie, making her do things against her will. I want to move; I want to yell, "Forget me, Marie. Fight! Escape!" but I can't move. I can't do anything but listen.