| Chapter 8: Misguided Accusations |

"Damn it, Logan!" Scott shouted as he hounded Logan down the hall. He had just come in and it was late in the day. It had taken him so long because he had to walk rather than ride the motorcycle that he didn't bring back.

"Look, what do you want me to do? I can't get it back now. Just get a new one!" Logan said as he turned into the kitchen. He opened the top cupboard and pulled out a glass bottle of cola.

As he was about to open in, Scott grabbed his jacket by the collar and turned him around with an angry expression on his face. Logan raised an eyebrow as he looked at Scott.

"I'm getting real tired of your crap, Logan. I've let you take my motorcycle more than I've let anyone else- even after you lost and destroyed them! You're a tracker, right? Find. My. Motorcycle. Or else I'll never let you take another vehicle of mine again."

Logan chuckled in a dry tone. "Well, if you don't let me go in the next few seconds, I'll turn into a killer instead of a tracker." he threatened. Scott waited a few second before letting him go forcefully. "Besides, I can't get it back. I owe the guy for smashing him in the head with it." Logan replied as he drank the soda he opened.

Scott's mouth opened slightly. "You hit a man in the head with my motorcylcle?!"

"Yeah, that was uncalled for, but he hit me in the balls," Logan chuckled lightly as he took another sip with of the soda. The bottle made a small popping sound as he moved it from his lips. "I was blinded with rage after that."

"Is that man okay?! Logan, what the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Relax, Shades, he's fine. I made sure of that before I left, I'm not stupid." Logan said with an annoyed raised eyebrow. "I had to keep him from following me everywhere I went because he was stubborn and could obviously hold the smallest grudges, so I just gave him the motorcycle to keep him off my tail. I know no one would've wanted him here."

Scott stared at Logan for a long time, thinking of what to do. He hated when Logan was right. "Couldn't you have given him money or something?" Logan shrugged which annoyed Scott even more. "So you had money and didn't give it to him, but you gave him my motorcycle instead?"

"I am going to use that money for other things, y'know? I'm not wastin' it on some angry guy who holds a grudge."

"That kind of sounds like you, Logan," a new voice chuckled. They two looked towards the doorway to find a hairy blue creature with more human like features. He walked into the kitchen barefoot as he went to the fridge. "Don't mind me, I'm just taking a break. I've been downstairs all day, I think I missed all of my classes today."

The blue beast pulled out a bottle of water and banana as he went to the counter to eat his snack. He stopped short of peeling the banana when he noticed Logan and Scott glaring at each other; nothing new.

"I'm sensing a bit of tension here. May I ask what's wrong?"

"Logan lost my motorcycle again, Hank! Do you know how many I've lost because of him already? Do you know how much I pay on replacing them every year?!"

"Uh, I'm guessing quite a large amount." Hank nodded.

"And you're going to buy me a new one with the money you didn't give the guy," Scott said, turning to Logan. By now Logan had finished the soda and put it down on the small counter next to him, making a small clink sound.

"The hell I am," he mumbled. Scott looked as though he would blow his top and Hank got up, knowing that this couldn't end well.

"Look, Scott, I'll get you a new motorcycle, okay? I'll even enhance it so that it has an automatic homing tracker and can be nearly indestructible if Logan ever gets to ride it. Does that sound good to you?" Hank offered as he took a bite of his banana.

Scott stood for a while, thinking. "It sounds good, but it isn't fair. You didn't lose it, Logan did." His voice softened towards Hank, but grew harsh when he spoke Logan's name.

"I don't care, I'm doing it anyway. We both know how stubborn Logan can be." Hank replied smirking at Logan. Logan scoffed playfully a bit before starting to head towards the door.

"That sounds just fine to me, Shades. Take the offer 'cause if you don't, I sure will." He chuckled with himself as he started to walk towards the door, but was stopped short when he bumped into someone else.

"Oh, sorry," said the girl with her accent. "Logan! You're back!" she said happily as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Hey! Yeah, I am. I always come back, you should know that," he said with a smile. The girl pulled away from him and when he looked at her face, he felt a bit confused.

"I was just comin' down to get something to eat, I missed lunch today."

"Leila? Don't you usually stay in your room around this time? Why are you out?" he asked suspiciously. The girl looked back, confused.

"Leila is in her room right now, Logan. Excuse me," the girl said as she squeezed past him. She smiled at the others in the kitchen and greeted them before getting her snack. She grabbed a granola bar and walked out through the now clear doorway. Just as she started opening the bar, a hand grabbed sleeve and shoved her into the wall.

"You're not Leila," he growled quietly. The hall was growing dark as the day got later. From a distance, the two would just look like shadows.

"I know I'm not Leila. I'm Rogue. Are you okay, Logan? You're scarin' me..."

Logan blinked as he looked to the floor, feeling a bit dizzy and confused. Rogue? It sounded familiar, but.... The name didn't sound right to him. It's like his mind wanted to repel any thought of Rogue.

"I'm just fine, but I'm not stupid." His voice threatening and his grip tightening.

"Let me go, Logan! You're hurting me!" she squealed.

Logan sniffed her lightly. The smell was familiar, but not in the comforting way. He didn't like it or the person it belonged to. Logan grabbed the girl by her throat that was covered by her turtle neck sweater and pushed her further against the wall and balling his other fist up, allowing his claws to come from between his knuckles and right in the face of the girl. "What are you doing here, Mystique?"

"Mystique?! I'm not-AHHH!" she screamed as he slid his claws lightly on her cheeks, creating scratches, but making them a little deep. Her screaming drew Hank and Scott out from the kitchen just in time to see Logan cutting up Rogue's face.

"Logan, what the hell are you doing?!" Scott shouted.

"Mystique is back!" he replied, not letting up his grip or retracting his claws.

"I'm not Mystique," Rogue choked out faintly. Logan's head snapped towards her, but when he heard footsteps racing towards him, he turned back towards the kitchen doorway and saw Scott racing towards him. Before Logan could react, Scott had tackled him to the ground, letting a grunt escape from both of them and making Logan let go of Rogue.

She fell to her knees, coughing hard and gasping for breath while blood from the scars in her cheeks mixed with the tears and fell to the floor. She couldn't believe it. Logan didn't remember her and he had accused her of being Mystique. Her heart hurt more than her cheeks did as she watched him wrestle with Scott. She felt arms being wrapped around her and she looked to see Hank moving her away from the fight.

A small crowd of students appeared at the steps after hearing Rogue's shouts. There were quiet murmurs as they watched the scene unfold. Some of them flashed a bit with their powers, deciding whether to use them to help out or not, but Hank told them to stay back and let the teachers handle it. He told them to go back to their rooms, but of course they didn't and they just watched.

Scott finally had the upper hand when they stood up and he pushed Logan up against the wall hard. Logan jerked around for a bit, but then stopped. "That isn't Leila, that's Mystique, Scott." He whispered just a little tired.

"Look at her Logan, that's Rouge not Mystique-"

"Who the hell is Rogue?" Scott's angry expression left his face and a shocked on took his place.

"Are you alright, Logan?" he asked, actually feeling a bit concerned about his team mate.

"I'm well enough to know that you two are protecting the wrong person," he said as he struggled again.

"Logan, don't you think if this were Mystique she would have changed back to her original form by now from the pain?" Hank called out. He was kneeled down with Rouge, hugging her as she cried into his hairy chest.

"She isn't hurt enough!" Logan shouted. "Sorry, Shades. I gotta prove it."

"Wha-" Scott was cut short as he felt Logan's claws glide across his torso. He knew it was going to leave scars as he held his stomach and fell to the ground.

The blood was already seeping through his shirt as he squeezed harder, trying to put pressure on it. Logan didn't even look to check whether or not Scott would be okay. He was racing towards Rogue and Hank with his claws out, prepared to prove he was right.

Hank pushed Rogue behind her. Other students caught her and started to walk with her reluctantly to the infirmary. He was prepared for Logan's attack and attempt to get past him to reach Rogue. The closer Logan got, the more nervous the students got as they backed up to get away.

"I'm sorry, Logan," Hank said softly to himself, knowing he would have to hurt Logan a little to keep him from causing serious damage to someone else.

Then, suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Logan stopped. He jerked forward a bit as he did and he did it a second time before slowly slumping forward.

Everything began to go in slow motion for Logan as he fell to the ground. He knew the sharp pains he felt in his back were tranquilizer darts as he reached back to pull them out and confirm it. His eye lids fell slightly while he looked back to see who had shot him. The halls were still dark so he saw mostly two shadow figures with his weary growing vision.

He recognized the taller one; Jean. The red head he still had feelings for had just shot him with tranquilizer though Logan didn't fully understand why. Then there was the figure next to her that was a bit shorter. He had trouble squinting his eyes because they were tiredly falling. He would have been shocked to find out who it was, but the effects of the dart were getting to him and he mostly fell asleep.

He knew he wasn't imagining it because he could smell her scent. The younger girl standing next to her with the victorious smirk on her face was truly there, but he couldn't do anything about it as he lost consciousness.

'Why was Leila smirking at me like that?'

• • •

A/N: I am trying to finish this as soon as I can becuase there are only a few more chapters to go and when the Watty Awards open (which I hope is soon) I want to be ready. Sorry if it wasn't good, I was trying to build suspense, but everything is better in my head until it ends up being typed through my fingers.

I wish I was as descriptive as Jack London, but not so much that it's bring; just enough imagey and diction to help make it easier to visualize.

That is all for today, I hope you enjoyed. Thank you for reading!