Ragged breathing heaved Rogue’s chest as she remained limply on her knees. Her eyes stared unseeingly at the floor, brow slowly constricting to form an increasingly angry expression. Her mind felt void and empty. She knew of only one thing right now. Her fists slowly unclenched, pulling her nails out of the small cuts remaining in her soft palms. She gave a small tug on the manacles, of which rattled quietly against the pipe in which they were bound to. Empty eyes narrowed slowly as Rogue continued to pull on the binds, the circular metal tight against the bottom of her hand. Teeth gritted as she continued to pull, her slim hands straining against metal. The narrow pipe in which she was bound to was slowly weakening.
With an abrupt twist of the chains, the metal cut through the slim piping with a screech of the breaking material. Lyman quickly turned to see what had caused the noise, but his eyes met the empty corner in which Rogue had been situated. Immediately, his eyes darted around the lab, scanning frantically for the missing girl. Gun raised, he advanced forward cautiously, remaining quiet and alert for any indication as to where she had hidden. There was only one exit, and she was yet to pass him to reach it.
He had only stepped past a stack of crates against the tiled wall when a figure flew down out of the shadows. Lyman let out a strangled noise as he was grappled around the neck, being forced to the floor at the weight landing on his back. His rifle flew out of his hands and skidded on across the tiles to rest out of reach. Driving her knees into his back, Rogue wrenched her cuffed wrists towards her, the metal chain tearing into his throat. Lyman desperately struggled to retaliate; his choking gasps echoing about the empty laboratory.
But Rogue did not relent, blackened eyes staring down at the back of Lyman’s head until she saw him fall limp. She pulled her wrists back towards her, panting softly as she inspected the blood that now stained her. With a growl she wrenched her narrow hands through the manacles’ cuffs, her skin cutting and tearing as she forced her appendages backwards through the designated holes. Fresh blood was soon pouring from her hands as she strained to free them. The pain was fuelling her.
With a snarl, she tossed the freed manacles aside, bloodied hands bruised and cut. She slowly picked herself off of Lyman’s unmoving form, crawling cautiously away as her eyes scanned the silent laboratory. She located the exit, and just as she was about to run towards it, a sound caught her ears. Logan’s body had not shifted. Rogue crept towards him quietly in inspection. She did not recognise him. Cautiously, she sniffed him. He was alive. Barely. He let out a low groan, of which startled Rogue and caused her to growl lowly in response. She backed away, fierce eyes watching him warily.
His head lifted slowly from the puddle of blood, ruptured neck, whilst still injured, was slowly healing. The sight and scent of blood was quickly driving into Rogue’s animalistic senses. It made her want to kill. Lyman’s death had satisfied her, but she wanted more. She wanted to feel it again. She growled once more, this summoning Logan’s attention upon her. Matching black eyes bore into each other’s with no flicker of recognition. They both remained still, sizing each other up cautiously. Logan attempted to pull his hands forward, but they remained bound to his chest. His eyes narrowed, he abruptly allowed his claws to be released. They stabbed into his chest as he let out a fresh howl; blood flowing across his already stained attire.
Rogue backed away, staring at him. Her fingers dug her nails against the coarse tiled floor. The sight of the blood was calling to her. Logan abruptly wrenched his knuckles sideways out of his chest, cutting through the fixed manacle. It fell in pieces onto the cold flooring. Logan sank onto his knees, breathing gutturally as he fought to heal the new chest wounds. His head slowly lifted, watching Rogue through damp strands of hair. Nose sniffed inquisitively, finding her scent but not recognising it. It did trigger an urge however, and he slowly climbed onto his feet to advance towards her, watching her closely.
His progression towards her caused Rogue to quickly feel threatened and she growled lowly in warning. His path did not break and as soon as he was closed enough, Rogue lashed out with a hand. Long fingernails caught his cheek, drawing four lines of shining blood across his skin. Momentarily surprised by the attack, Logan stopped, but soon enough his eyes hardened. Head tilted, neck cracking slowly. A growl sounded through bared teeth before he leap upon her.
Their exchanged sounds echoed loudly across the laboratory as they wrestled and tussled with each other ferociously. Fierce snaps and snarls punctuated the punches and kicks, occasional noises of pain wavering through. They continued to pull and tear at each other, fighting brutal and swift. A swinging fist hit Rogue across the head. Rearing forward, Rogue latched into his throat with her teeth; viciously injuring his already weakened neck. In retaliation, Logan threw her bodily aside, sending her smaller form flying away and hitting the nearby crates with a dull thud. She slumped down onto the floor, resting on her arms as she panted for breath through bloodied lips. Her face bore many cuts and scratches, and the majority of blood on her torso belonged to her.
Logan’s bite wound was gradually healing over and he turned slowly, watching her with narrowed eyes. He advanced on all fours, great chest heaving for breath as he thrived in his bloodlust. As weak as she may have been, Rogue did not recognise the option to flee. She flew at him with a fresh cry, being caught as Logan collapsed backward. He grabbed her tightly to subdue the tirade of sharp nails, rolling her over to gain to upper hand once more. She quickly tried to scramble free, but he grabbed her by her shirt, of which ripped apart. Tugging her back towards him, he used his heavier weight to pin her down. Leaning over her, he placed a large hand against her throat, strangling her sounds. Seeking domination, he glared down at her, blood slowly dripping from the fresh line of scratches on his face.
As she tried to valiantly escape, he let out a bestial roar into her face. She went still, narrowed eyes glaring up at him. Blood slowly trickled from a head wound and into her white streaks, staining across her left temple. He lifted a fist slowly, the soft ‘snikt’ of ejecting claws echoing about the lab. He situated them over her chest, eyes narrowed as he watched her face. Rogue was panting heavily, winded and seriously injured. She stared up into his face in turn, feeling a small nudge in the back of her mind. Recognition. Eyes searched his face desperately, clinging onto that one glimmer of light in this bloodied world of darkness.
Footsteps sounded hurriedly throughout the chamber, and Logan wrenched his head round to stare at the figures that had run inside. Without another sound, he quickly injected his claws and leapt off of Rogue, running out. Rogue quickly coughed and gasped for air as her throat was freed, her chest heaving for well-needed breaths. The footsteps continued and she quickly looked up to see a small group of leather-cladded individuals staring down at her.
“Rogue! Are you alright?” said a red-haired woman.
Immediately, Rogue tensed up, scrambling onto her feet and backing away. She let out a low, threatening growl to the strangers.
“What’s wrong with her?” came another voice, quickly.
The male present spoke up. “We need to go and find Logan before he escapes.”
Rogue glared at them all in turn, breathing ragged. She teetered unstably and sank to her knees, the colossal wounds overwhelming her. “Rogue?” said the first woman again.
“Jean, Scott and I will find Logan. Can you manage with Rogue?”
“Yeah, I’ll take her back to the jet.” The two figures turned and sprinted from the laboratory, leaving Jean overlooking a cowering Rogue with concern. Rogue lowered down to the floor slowly, feeling her head swim murkily. A bloodied hand clasped against the wound on her abdomen, visible through the ripped remains of her attire. As much as she desired to attack the female besides her, Rogue could not summon any energy. She remained tiredly aware of a presence fighting within her, fighting for domination over her bestial urges. Carefully, Jean outstretched a hand, passing it over Rogue’s forehead in a slow sweeping motion.
Her pain ebbed away, eyes rolling back slowly as the dark realms of unconsciousness overcame her.
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