In the back of the jet, the only thing that Marie was concerned with was Logan. She was well aware of the fact that she was traveling with several mutants who had just blown up a military base. While any normal person would have been more frightened of the mutants than the human doctors who had been inside the building, Marie felt the exact opposite. The mutants that she was traveling with had just saved Logan’s life. That was all the reason she needed to trust them.
“How is your clawed companion faring?” Magneto asked, his softly accented voice very comforting to Marie.
Her fingers gently tracing Logan’s features, Marie glanced over at the aging mutant who sat across from her. “Ah think he’s just restin’ right now. Logan heals real fast so he’s likely just restin’ up while his body fixes itself.”
Magneto nodded his head, a slight smile gracing his wrinkled features. “That would undoubtedly be best considering the circumstances. If he is anything like Victor, he will be good as new in a few hours.”
Marie nodded her head, her entire focus once again going back to Logan. She cradled him gently in her arms, his head nestled comfortably against her shoulder. Marie took great comfort in being able to hold Logan after having been forced to watch his body wracked with such agony only a short while before. The peacefulness that his features now bore eased the incredible fear that had filled Marie since seeing Logan’s crumpled form lying on her kitchen floor. For the present, Logan was safe. That was all that mattered to Marie.
“How come ya’ll attacked that place? Did ya know Logan was there?” Marie inquired of the old man.
Magneto bobbed his head from side to side a bit. “Did we know that there was a mutant being tested there? Yes. Did we know that it was your friend, Logan? No. I must say, though. What surprised me the most was your presence. Not just at the compound, but in trying to rescue our unconscious comrade. It is not often that a human would put herself at such risk for a mutant.”
“Logan’s different,” was Marie’s answer.
“How so? To most humans, a mutant is a mutant,” Magneto reminded her.
Marie shrugged her shoulders. “He’s different ‘cause he’s Logan. There’s no other reason ‘sides that. Why? Do Ah need one?”
Magneto immediately shook his head. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, my dear. In fact, I commend you for looking past his mutation the way that most do not. That is a very rare thing.”
“Ah care ‘bout Logan an’ Ah don’t wanna see him get hurt,” Marie told him, gazing lovingly at Logan’s sleeping face. “At least not more than he already has been. Logan’s done nothin’ t’ deserve what’s been done t’ him.”
“And what of other mutants? Do they deserve to end up in places like your friend?” Magneto inquired, arching an eyebrow.
Marie didn’t hesitate before answering. “Of course not! Mutants are human bein’s an’ just like the rest o’ us an’ should be treated like human bein’s. Ah don’t hafta be some big shot humanitarian t’ figure that out.”
That seemed to please Magneto quite a bit. He smiled softly and leaned back in his seat.
Putting Magneto from her mind, Marie smiled down at Logan and began smoothing her fingers through his hair. Even though the more rational part of her brain reminded her that Logan would be perfectly all right, it didn’t stop her from worrying about him. She had witnessed everything that had been done to him and it broke her heart to know that they had done something so terrible to someone as sweet and gentle as Logan. He had done nothing to deserve what had been done to him. No one deserved it. Marie wouldn’t even want to see her worst enemy go through what Logan had.
As her mind began to actually process what she had seen done to Logan, tears began to fill her eyes. The first indication she had that she was actually crying was the tear that landed on Logan’s pale cheek. She used the pad of her thumb to wipe the wetness away from his cheek.
“Ya can take Logan somewhere they won’t find him, right?” Marie asked, looking back over at Magneto.
The older man nodded his head. “No need to worry, my dear. Logan will be completely safe where we are headed. You have my word.”
Marie heaved a great sigh of relief. Nodding her head, she placed a soft kiss on Logan’s forehead. Resting her cheek against the top of Logan’s head, Marie shut her eyes, allowing herself to relax for the first time since she realized that the soldiers had broken into her home.
“And what of you, my dear Marie? Will you be remaining at my sanctuary?”
It was then that Marie realized that she had made no plans for the distant future. All that she had been focusing on was getting Logan to safety. She hadn’t even considered that safety would be a place that she might not be welcome.
“Can Ah stay at yer sanctuary? Ah know that it’s fer mutants, but....”
Magneto held up a hand to silence her. “You are more than welcome to stay, my dear. You sympathize with our cause, that makes you welcome.”
“Ah just... Ah just don’t wanna leave Logan, is all. Kinda foolish considerin’ Ah’ve only known him just over a day, but Ah care ‘bout him just the same,” Marie admitted, stroking her fingers through Logan’s tumbled hair.
“It does not take long for someone to build up emotions for another,” Magneto told her. “From experience, I know that it can take only a moment for someone to establish a permanent place in your heart.”
“That’s pretty much all it took,” Marie murmured.
The rest of the journey was continued in relative silence. There was the odd attempt at conversation, but both Marie and Magneto elected to stay silent. For her part, Marie was content to merely watch Logan’s face as he slept. As he slept, each and every one of Logan’s defenses were down and Marie could clearly see the quiet, gentle man that she had had glimpses of over the past forty-eight hours. The one who wasn’t lost and confused or screaming in agony, but the Logan that would only pop up for brief moments at a time. The Logan that he was struggling to remember.
From her view in the window, Marie watched as the approached a vast island out in the middle of the ocean. It resembled a military base more than it did a tropical resort, but Marie could see the reasoning behind that. Magneto’s sanctuary was supposed to be a place of safety for mutants. Constantly being hunted-- mostly by the government --it was necessary that the sanctuary be able to defend itself against such an attack.
“How many mutants live here?” Marie asked as the jet began its descent towards the island.
“Less than twenty,” Magneto informed her. “This is my main base of operations. Very few get to see this place. Most of the others go to much more relaxed areas where they can live in peace.”
That had Marie confused. “Then why did ya bring Logan here?”
“Logan’s case is very special. Logan isn’t just some random mutant who is being persecuted by his hometown. The government has an interest in Logan and his mutation. That means he requires greater protection,” Magneto explained, smiling kindly at Marie as he spoke.
“That’s a lot more than Ah expected ya’d do fer Logan,” Marie admitted, smiling gratefully at the older man.
“I am merely giving Logan a place to stay where he can recover and hopefully regain what was taken from him,” Magneto told her
Marie simply nodded her head. Magneto’s words gave her an incredible amount of reassurance. Logan would be safe at the elder mutant’s island fortress. Far safer than he would have been at her cottage.
At the though of her cottage, Marie’s eyes got suddenly big. “Boris!! Ah fergot all about Boris!”
Magneto cocked his head to the side. “Would this Boris, by any chance, be large black rottweiler who is not particularly fond of government soldiers?”
“That’s my baby. Is he all right?” Marie asked, biting nervously at her bottom lip.
“Boris is perfectly all right and traveling back here in my other jet,” Magneto assured her. “He and Victor became quiet friendly when we were attacking the compound.”
Marie let out a breath she hadn’t even been aware she was holding. Boris was all right and, given time, Logan would be as well.
The worst day of Marie’s life was finally beginning to improve.