The X-Project

An odd letter arrives for Marie.

Rogue was humming to herself as she strolled down the second floor corridor. Despite the month's awkward and unpleasant start, things had been looking up lately. It had been a fairly quiet week, or as quiet as things ever got at the mansion. The kids seemed to be chattering more than usual, but there hadn't been a supervillain or a kidnapping in almost two weeks. All in all, a relaxing beginning to the final month of summer.

“Ms. Marie? Letter for you,” said a little lavender haired girl, who handed her a smeared envelope.

She thanked the girl absent-mindedly and continue walking to her room, tossing the letter on her desk. Standing in front of the mirror, she ran a hand through her hair. She was still getting used to the new look and barely recognized her reflection. Frowning at the girl in the mirror, Marie let out a sigh. At least hair grows back. And, she admitted to herself, short hair didn’t look bad on her. Turning, her eyes fell on the almost forgotten letter and she walked over to pick it up.

Ripping open the envelope (who had time for letter openers?), she pulled out a thick piece of paper. Unfolding it, she scanned it quickly, then rubbed her eyes. Looking at the letter again, she squinted, trying to make sense of it. Huh? Her frustration continued building and her brow furrowed more as she kept trying to make sense of the words on the page in front of her.

She goes to see if Nate can help her make sense of it.

Marie had been standing in front of the boathouse door for at least five minutes, telling herself to turn around and go back to her suite. This was such a little thing, there was no need to bother Nate with it. He had to be busy, sorting things out after everything that had happened in Afghanistan, not to mention before, but a glance down at the letter clutched in her hand reinforced her desire to ask for his help. Raising her free hand, she finally knocked on the door.

Nathan, alone in the office - amazingly enough - looked up from where he was working at his desk, and spotted Marie at the door. "Come on in," he called, waving at her with his good hand.

She took a few steps and then halted, shuffling her feet. Come on, make some small talk first. “Hey Nate. So Sooraya seemed to like the clothes Ah took her. Thanks again for helping me with those words.”

"You're... welcome," Nathan said, his eyes narrowing as he got a good look at her expression. "Okay, kiddo. I don't need the telepathy - what's up?"

She shrugged and held up one hand with a ‘You caught me’ look on her face. Holding up the letter she had received, the tiniest frown crossed her face. "Ah got this in the mail...and well, normally Ah'd just assume it was some weird joke or somethin' since Ah can't make out most of it. But…" She paused and bit her lip. "Ah thought maybe you could help me figure out what it says. Ah...Ah probably would've thrown it away except..." Her thumb gently smoothed out one corner as she held it up for Nate to view the postmark that clearly read Meridian.

"Your... hometown, right?" Nathan said, frowning briefly as the name of the town twigged the visual memory of Marie's file.

“Yeah, back in Mississippi. ‘cept Ah haven’t been there or in touch with anyone there since…well, since a long time back.” She wrinkled her brow as she focused her concentration on the paper that was also in her hand. “About the only line Ah could even make out was this one,” she said pointing towards the bottom of the page. “And it still doesn’t make sense.” She had obviously studied it for a while as she repeated the words from memory. “The crimson tide rises, the exits are blocked and there is no respite. True heart acts as a beacon to heroes." She looked at him helplessly. “It’s just gibberish…but Ah thought maybe some of the rest would mean somethin’.”

Both of Nathan's eyebrows went up. "Okay, may I just say what the fuck? That sounds like bad poetry?" He extended a hand tentatively for the letter.

Marie couldn’t help but laugh and it was probably the first time a smile had crossed her face since she’d opened the letter. “Yeah, that’s why it’s so strange,” she said as she handed over the letter, her hand hesitating for a moment before she released it into his grasp.

Nathan unfolded it gently. It was old paper, he thought - heavy, and a little worn. The writing was elegant, yet messy, as if rushed, and he frowned as he saw that the writer had made odd little doodles in the margins here and there. Unrecognizable shapes, most of them... his jaw twitched slightly, though, as he spotted what could have been the X-Men emblem.

Focus on the text, Dayspring. And it was hellishly confusing. There a little German, here a little Russian. Farsi, what looked like some African language he didn't recognize... Portugese, Spanish... it was like some sort of bizarre linguistic jigsaw puzzle.

“So?” Marie asked anxiously. “It’s just nonsense, right?” She began pulling at her gloves in her nervous tic, walking around to stand behind Nate and scan the page. A knot had formed in her stomach based on the fact that he was still looking at the letter and hadn’t just dismissed it as some small part of her had hoped.

"This German bit... 'The wolverine met a man who couldn't be killed. And that man took from him someone he loved.'" Nathan was looking slightly disturbed.

Marie’s face turned a shade paler than it had been before. “The wolverine…” she repeated. That could only mean one thing…or one person that she knew of. Who would be sending me something about Logan from Meridian? And why the code? Double code at that, different language and strange wording.

Nathan's frown deepened as he tried to translate more. The writing was difficult to read. "'No grassy knoll, no magic bullet,'" he translated from the Russian. "'Death is dealt by demonic innocent, and the world descends into Hell'..."

Marie closed her eyes momentarily, trying to make sense of the words. “Ah don’t get it,” she said flatly. Walking around to the other side of Nathan’s desk, she collapsed into a chair.

"Join the club," Nathan said quizzically. "To me this looks like someone knows something about you and is either try to scare the crap out of you or just confuse you to death." The handwriting would have been elegant, if it hadn't been so rushed... Nathan paled suddenly.

“Maybe just confuse…” she started hopefully until she noticed the shade of Nate’s face. One of Marie’s eyebrows raised up as she very quietly asked, “What?”

Nathan's voice was flat. "The Farsi bit, here. 'Wings of fire will serve as shield to those fleeing the mountains for the plain. But fire and water will meet again above the river.'" He looked up at her. "Did you ever," he asked, his voice softer, suddenly, "read the file about the Ushuaia mission, to rescue me when my uncle kidnapped me? When I walked into the situation willingly, because I'd had a precognitive vision of all of it ending at the 'end of the world'?" He paused. "Ushuaia, on the tip of Tierra del Fuego... the city at the end of the world?"

She looked at him, not comprehending his words or maybe not wanting to understand. “But…that would mean…” she trailed off, waiting for him to tell her she was on the wrong track.

"This is metaphor, Marie. And it's..." His throat tightened for a moment. "I don't know. Not for sure. But look at this - we've got two bits here we can link directly to people here. The wolverine? And wings of fire, again?" He shook his head. "It reminds me of my mother's letters," he said softly, almost hoarsely. "Someone is trying to get your attention. Whether they're actually a precog or not."

“Oh,” she said. After sitting in silence for a few minutes thinking over what Nate had said, she nodded as though she had reached some internal decision. She reached out her hand for the letter and met his gaze. “Ah think Ah need to go now.” Her voice was oddly calm.

He extended the letter, gazing at her worriedly. "If you need... anything, I'm here. You might... show this to Marie-Ange, too." Angie was the one of them who was actually still a precog, after all.

She shrugged. Like that wouldn’t be an awkward meeting. Hi Marie-Ange, Ah’m dating Doug now, can ya help me figure this letter out? “Maybe. It’s probably nothing.” She took the letter, folded it and hastily shoved it in a pocket as she rose. “But…well, can’t hurt to check it out. Ah’m kinda overdue for a visit home anyhow.”

Nathan nodded slowly. "Maybe... some good can come out of this, then?"

“Sure,” she said, though her words sounded false in her ears. Home. She was going home.

Later in the afternoon, Marie tells Scott that she’s leaving.

The problem with east-facing windows was that late-afternoon sunlight didn't reach the suite directly. So Scott had moved to one of the third-floor lounges, seeking out the sun. He was curled up in one of the overstuffed armchairs - he'd pulled it over to the window - but the sunlight was too weak, optimum position or not. It barely registered, and Scott huddled further into the chair, shivering slightly, trying to ignore the steady ache that seemed to echo along his bones.

He didn't feel well. Didn't feel well at all. He'd been feeling sick and faint since that conversation with Logan, and hiding in his suite... just wasn't going to work. Too empty. He ought to have gone back and checked on the kitten at least, but... Scott closed his eyes, shaking a little harder.

Marie had been walking around the mansion in somewhat of a daze since talking to Nathan. In the past hour, she'd made travel arrangements to go home. Home. The word felt funny in her mind. She had come to think of Xavier's at home, but seeing the Meridian postmark had flooded her mind with memories of the place she had called home before. The place she hadn't been in three years with the family she hadn't talked to in as long.

As she passed by the third-floor lounge, she saw movement out of the corner of her. Walking in, she was surprised to find Scott there and it looked like he was trying to become one with the chair. Right. Should tell someone Ah'm leaving. That's the responsible thing to do. Right. When she stood behind the chair, she cleared her throat to get his attention.

Scott opened his eyes, still huddled but rigid suddenly. It took a considerable act of will not to betray the sudden tension as he looked up and around at Marie. "Hey."

"Hey. Ah gotta go home for a few days, thought Ah should tell someone." She blinked at how quickly the words had come out. She had meant to make small talk first, see how he was holding up, but her mouth seemed to have a mind of it's own.
Scott stared at her for a moment, before he reassembled his thoughts enough to answer. "Anything wrong?" It was an automatic response, like his brain was on autopilot. Bad day. Very bad day.

Nope, just a crazy letter that makes no sense from a place Ah haven't been in forever. No siree, all is right as rain. Swallowing the caustic reply, she shook her head. "Don't know. Don't think so. Just gotta check something out. Ah think Logan's gonna come with me, just in case."
Flinching already at the mention of Logan, Scott saw the flash of what had to be irritation cross her face - at his reply - before she wrestled it back down. He sank deeper into the chair, wishing for a blanket. "That's a good idea. Back-up. Never a bad thought..." He trailed off.

Marie felt an inner twinge of guilt at the look on Scott's face as he seemed to grow smaller. "It's just…complicated," she said with a sigh. She pulled a chair over and sat down, staring out the window.

"When is it not?" It was a weak attempt at a joke, but an honest one. He ought to ask her what was going on, Scott thought. What was wrong, whether he could help... those were the things he did, no? The questions he asked, when they needed asking.

"Ah guess that's part of life around here." She lapsed into silence. "So if Ah told you, do Ah gotta tell anyone else? Dani's still gonna be around to keep an eye on the kids…" she trailed off.

Scott started to shake his head, then hesitated. "Let Ororo know?" he ventured, after a moment of thought. "I'm... not precisely handling team stuff at the moment."

She clasped her hands in her lap and nodded her head. "Yeah, ok. Ah shoulda figured, Ah'm sorry." She stood up and paused, her eyes finally focusing on Scott. "How are you holding up?" she asked softly.

Scott shrugged a little. "I'm tired," he muttered. Not explaining the conversation with Logan. Not to her. "Sore, still... if I'm not in direct sunlight, I hurt. Still."

"Oh," she said. "Do the sun lamps in your room help with that at least?" She shuffled her feet awkwardly.

"A little." There were reasons he didn't want to spend too much time in his room, though. "It's not as bad as it was. Think my system's finally getting used to absorbing energy when it should, again..." She was definitely ill at ease, and Scott writhed a little, inwardly. "Marie... are you going to be okay?" It was the best he could do.

She forced a smile on her face. No need to share her concerns with Scott. After all, she didn't know anything yet. She couldn't even have named what she was worried about if he had asked. Instead, she settled on the one piece of the puzzle she could. "It's just been a long time, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know." She'd mentioned to him at one point that she hadn't contacted her folks while she was in Canada. It was good, he thought, that she was doing it now, and said as much, hesitantly.

She nodded, her face blank and unreadable as she recalled the last conversation she'd had with her mother. "Yeah... we'll see." She twisted her gloves nervously. "Home..." She'd been about to say where 'is where the heart is', but that would be describing the mansion, not Meridian. "...sweet home," she finished lamely. "Ah'll check in when Ah get back, shouldn't be long. You uh... let me know if Ah can do anything for you, 'kay?"

Scott nodded slowly. "You be careful?" he asked, and there was a flash of something close to real pain on his face for a moment. "Just... be careful. Whatever it is, don't..." Let it break you into pieces? Was that lack of optimism on his part, or just fear? Fear that if it didn't go well, he wouldn't be able to do anything? Scott closed his eyes for a moment, a tremor crossing his features.

Composing her face into a smile again, Marie nodded. “Ah’ll be careful. But it’s just home.” She bit her tongue to keep from saying ‘What’s the worst that could happen?’, settling instead on “Ah’m sure it’ll be fine.” Marie’s words would’ve sounded convincing if only she wasn’t trying to reassure herself.