Time Heals All Wounds

Ok – don't get all strange on me – I had to attempt it at least once – a pure NO OC story had to be done – I don't own them not a damned one – this time – I hope – maybe – nope not yet. (looks at the blank page in front of her – can I really do this?)

Ten years after X3 a heartbroken and much changed Marie comes home to the mansion – Can she handle the changes she finds – especially in the one person she counted on to never change.

Chapter 27 Gang aft a-gley

They were led into a large room, with a window overlooking a large arena. Sitting in a throne like chair was a large man with blue skin and strange tattoo markings wearing Egyptian style clothing. The guards bowed to him, forcing the three women to their knees in front of him. Marie shuddered, behind him stood Juggernaut and Gambit, both dressed in Egyptian clothing. Marie wondered just how he was keeping Jugs still.

"So these are the intruders. Interesting." The blue man stood up, and walked to them. He reached down and lifted Mystique's chin. "Defiant. Strong. Talented. What a waste."

He returned to his chair and waved his hand at the guards. They pulled the women up to their feet and forced them to the window.

"You wanted to watch – I see no problem with that. Once Death is decided – you will know the face of your executioner." Marie gasped as Logan and Sabretooth walked into the arena.

"No." She whispered. She glanced at Kitty, but she was glaring back at Apocalypse or rather at Remy standing behind Apocalypse.

"Guards, leave us. I think my horsemen can effectively control three weak female mutants." Their escort from the elevator left, without a backward glance. Marie heard a soft hiss from Mystique.

"We'll see who's weak." She muttered.

Marie glanced at the shape shifter next to her. She'd abandoned pretense, and was in her normal form. Marie shuddered at the hate in her glowing yellow eyes.

She heard soft steps behind her, and a soft voice, familiar and yet cold and distant.

"You don't have to die, Chere." He whispered. "You can stay – join me." She wanted to turn, and spit in his eye, but Kitty beat her to it.

"Not on your life, Gumbo. A Sne night stand doesn't give you the right to…" She covered her mouth and blushed.

"KITTY!" Marie snapped.

"I don't want to talk about it." She turned her eyes back to the arena. Marie just stared at her for a moment, before motion in the arena drew her attention. The fight had started. Sabretooth lunged at Logan who dodged, and dug his claws – wait, where was the metal?

"LOGAN!" Marie gasped.

"I removed it. The winner will have it grafted onto his skeleton, the loser will die." The malicious voice behind them said.

"You sick bastard." Marie hissed, and received a cuff from the back of Remy's hand for the trouble.

"Women should be seen and not heard." The voice behind her hissed.

"Kiss my ass." Marie snapped back, earning another blow from her controlled ex boyfriend.

"I am almost tempted to break your spirit – before I kill you – just to prove it can be done." She could hear the smile on his blue lips, but she refused to take her eyes off the fight in front of her. Logan was holding his own against the larger opponent, had managed to get Creed into a corner and was pounding his claws into the other man's body as fast as his arms would move. Creed went down, a pool of blood at his feet, but Logan didn't stop.

Suddenly audio speakers clicked on and they could hear the heavy breathing and mutters of the combatants.

"…for Rose, for Fox, for MARIE!" The last was a shout as Logan dug his claws deep into Creed's skull. The larger man dropped completely to the floor. Logan pulled his claws out – one of them missing the tip. It had broken off in Creed's head. Marie felt tears running down her face.

He stepped back and turned to face the window, both hands claws extended over his head. She gasped as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and bowed to the window.

"I claim victory, Master." He said clearly.

"A battle well fought, Death. Your metal skeleton will be restored to you. I look forward to having you at my side. Your first task is already set." Apocalypse said gleefully. Logan bowed his head.

"At your pleasure, Master." Marie wanted to scream – this wasn't Logan.

"Yes – I think I might just break your spirit first." He chuckled behind her. She hadn't even heard him move, but he was standing right behind her. "All three of you. Take them to the medical facility – this one especially I want mutation inhibitors implanted immediately." He took a strand of her hair in his hand and lifted it to his nose. "Then bathe her – I think lilacs – then bring her to my chambers. I will have Death watch as I break her."

Marie spun, whipping her hand out to try to catch him unaware, but Remy grabbed both her wrists in his gloved hands.

"I don' tink so, Chere." He said in that dull voice.

That was the wrong move, Remy didn't know she had Carol's powers still. She grinned at him, before taking a backward lunge through the plate glass window behind her, dragging Remy down to the sandy floor below her. She landed with a thud, knocking him out, but she just got up and turned to face her worst nightmare – Logan attacking her.

The problem with that – it was exactly what she wanted. She smiled at him, a smile he should recognize, but there was no sign he did. She waited until he was close, and then slipped away at the last second.

"I'm sorry, Baby. I have ta do it." She whispered as she hit him with a bare hand, hanging on for dear life as he tried to dodge. It took almost a minute, but he dropped like a rock, and she could feel him settling in inside her head. She checked to make sure he was still breathing. Killing him wasn't part of her plan. She looked over at Remy but he was still out cold. A three story drop could do that to a guy.

She flew back up to the observation deck – and entered the fight that had started in there. Kitty was phased, and had crossed through Juggernaut, disrupting the implants in his body. He was in motion, and couldn't be stopped he'd already gone through one wall and was trying to turn around and come back. Apocalypse and Mystique were going at it hand to hand, and the guards were streaming through the opening in the wall made by Jugs.

Marie took everything she'd just gained from Logan and went to work, her own bone claws out, slashing and punching. Kitty was back in normal space, and was trying to help Mystique take down Apocalypse.

"A little help here." She said.

"A little busy here." Marie replied. Just then the last two people she wanted to see walked in, the Jean and Scott whatever they were. She turned to face them, but Scott pulled his glasses down, and blasted the entire group of men coming in through the opening in the wall, even blasting Juggernaut back and down an escape staircase.

"That should keep him busy a while." He said with a familiar smile.

"SCOTT!"

"Yeah – long story."

"Rogue, behind you." The Jean thing said. She turned, Remy had woken up and had made his way up the wall to the broken window.

"Chere – dat wasn't very nice." He said with his slow grin. She grinned back.

"I owed ya one, dumb ass." She replied as he flicked a card at Apocalypse. The explosion knocked all three combatants down, and the large blue mutant shook his head.

"He don' do so well against physical attack." Remy said with a grin.

"Any way we can contain him – or kill him." Marie said, the Logan in her head growling with approval.

"He's immortal – can' kill him. But he has a chamber dat he was hidden in – we can lock him back up in der' and make sure no one let him out again." Remy said.

"How do you know that?" She asked him.

"When he's in control – tings leak over – an' his plans – well dey weren't pretty, non." He said.

"What plans?" Mystique asked picking herself up off the floor and giving Apocalypse a kick to the head to knock him out.

"World conquest for one, setting himself up as some kind of super emperor; it's a good thing Rogue didn't touch him. He absorbs powers as well, if the two of them had come in contact, it would have killed them both." The Jean thing said.

"Let's get dis monster back in his box." Remy said as they lifted the prone form of Apocalypse. His chambers were right off the observation deck, and inside was a large sarcophagus looking thing. Scott and Remy managed to get his limp body into it, and trigger the controls to close it.

"Now we jes' have to lock it somehow."

"Leave that to me." Said the Jean look alike. She used her telekinesis and they watched as something happened, causing the box to seal into a single piece of obsidian. The red head stumbled a little, and Scott caught her.

"Now we just have to make sure no one ever finds him again." Scott said softly.

"What about the others – the people here?" Marie asked.

"His control over all the mutants on the island is released, the humans will be confused by the changes, but I think the mutant population can handle it." The red head said, pulling herself back onto her feet, shaking her head.

"I saw you DIE!" Kitty said finally, facing Jean.

"Yes you did. He is powerful – very powerful, but Phoenix is too – She is the one who found him – who woke him, before Alcatraz ever happened, before I even came out of the lake. She set everything up so that if I was able to take over, to find a way to kill myself - my own body, that she could survive, have a backup on reserve so to speak She would travel between the bodies, working here while I was recovering under the lake. She didn't realize she would bring me with her, or that she would NEED me once Apocalypse took control of things. He has difficulty with split personalities, can't control them both, so I was able to set things up to bring Scott here, before Alcatraz, and then to be ready if or when Apocalypse lost control of Phoenix, to take back over. She's locked up – for good I hope."

"Jean." Logan climbed over the broken window frame.

"Yes Logan."

"Fuck." He grumbled. Marie just stared at him. He was wobbly on his feet, but alive, and glaring at her. "If you EVER do that again…"

"What? I missed ya up here." She said with a grin, tapping her temple and he grinned back.

"Darlin, as long as ya missed me HERE – I'm good." He said as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She felt a contented growl inside her head and grinned against his lips.

"Baby – I'm gonna like havin ya BOTH places." She ignored the stares from Mystique, Jean and Scott.

"God – just don't tell me what I have to say about me – I ain't sure I can handle that." He grinned.

"Only when the you in my head thinks you are bein a total ass – I'll keep the rest to myself.

Jean got their attention and explained to the group that when Apocalypse became distracted by Marie's tumble into the arena, she'd grabbed control of the body from the weakened Phoenix, releasing the computer that he used to control the other mutants. He exerted his control initially, and then put in the implants to reinforce it so that he didn't have to concentrate all the time. Even he had a limit to his power. The only ones he'd planned on controlling fully were Phoenix, and the ones he selected as his Horsemen.

"Where's Warren?"

"He's in the medical facility. His wings haven't grown back yet." Jean said simply.

A sudden crash through the wall and Juggernaut screeched to a halt.

"DAMN! I missed the whole thing."

Marie glanced over at Kitty and Remy. When had THAT happened? Kitty was wrapped in his arms, and hers were tight around him.

They all headed out, most of the mutants who were on the island loaded onto the supply boats and headed to the mainland, most of the humans with them. Jean picked up the box holding Apocalypse and dropped it down a deep chasm on the island, and filled it in. Whatever life support that box had would sustain him indefinitely, and now they were aware of his existence, and would keep an eye open.

Marie watched as they loaded Warren on the plane. Bobby and John had been locked in cells, waiting for their turn to fight, and had been relieved when they were released. They had lead a group of mutants against some of the human guards and taken control of the processing facility, freeing quite a few of the mutants waiting for processing. Toad had been recovering from whatever enhancement Apocalypse had done to him, and was lying on a stretcher on the ground outside the plane. Sabretooth was still out and on another stretcher.

"Are you sure we can't give you a lift." She asked Mystique.

"No, now that the radios aren't blocked anymore, Erik is sending someone to pick us up."

"Be careful." Marie said as she felt Logan's arm slip around her waist.

"I will – let's do lunch sometime." Mystique said with a grin.

Marie glared back. "Right."

Mystique laughed and the X-Men loaded onto the plane. Bobby and John were at the controls. Kitty was curled up next to Gambit, leaning on his arm. Marie just shook her head and sat down next to Logan and strapped in.

"What was that about?" He asked, pointing to the closed ramp of the plane.

"Nothin – just, well if we ever have that kid, I'm sending her a birth announcement." She smiled.

"Why?" He growled.

"Grandma has a right ta know." She said softly.

"WHAT!?"

"She knew things no one else did – about me being abandoned, things only the mother would have known." She whispered.

"Baby – are you alright?"

"Yeah – at least I KNOW. I may not like her, may not trust her, and may end up killin' her one day, but at least I KNOW where I came from."

He slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest. "Just as long as she doesn't try ta seduce her son – in – law again." He muttered.

"Well she has good taste." Marie said, and then what he said sank in. "Son – in – law?"

"If you think you are having my kid without being my wife – your' crazy." He said.

"Is that a proposal?"

"No – it's a statement of fact." He growled. She just grinned against his chest; she wouldn't have him any other way.

She glanced over at Kitty and Gambit.

"Spill." She said.

"After I left Pyro's room the other night – well Gambit was out by the pool and we started talking and well – one thing led to another and we ended up in the pool house and…"

"You are sleeping with my ex?" Marie asked.

"Just once."

"Not if I have anytin' to say about it." Remy grumbled.

Marie just glared at him.

"What – like you have room to talk, you moved on – it's time Remy did too."

"You hurt her, Remy, I'll kick your ass – again." Marie glared. She felt Logan's chuckle.

"And if she don't I will."