Rogue crouched in a corner of the van and planned. Jean knew of her newer abilities, which meant that she had probably ensured that the vehicle was one Rogue wouldn’t break out of easily. Fair enough. She would conserve her strength for whatever came next, especially now that Jenny was safe. There would probably be a chance to escape when they reached whatever their destination was. They would have to let her out of the van at some point. She would need to strike then. She didn’t dare make any more definite plans, however, since she had no idea whether or not Jean was listening in on her thoughts.
“Of course I am, Rogue dear,” Jean commented casually
Rogue glared through the barred window separating them at the red hair shining through. If only Ah had Scott’s mutation, she thought, not caring if Jean heard her.
“What, you never lost your precious control around him? I guess the sex wasn’t that great,” Jean said, flashing a smirk back at her.
“Oh, no, it was fantastic. Ah’m just that good now,” Rogue shot back. She watched in satisfaction as Jean paled and then faced forward again.
Suddenly the van stopped moving forward. Since Rogue knew there weren’t any stoplights so close to the mansion, she wondered where they were. Surely this wasn’t their final destination. It was much too close to any hope of Rogue’s rescue, and whatever plan Jean might have, Rogue doubted that she wanted any attempts to occur before she had Rogue more secured.
As the van shut off, Rogue turned to the back doors and braced herself. She would probably only have seconds, and she had to make them count.
When one of the doors popped open, Rogue rushed through it. A large hand grabbed her right arm before she could launch herself into the air, though. A flash of red to her left and then a soft cloth was pressed over her nose and mouth. A sickening sweet smell engulfed her, and she tried not to breathe even as she pushed them away. It was too late, though, and Rogue felt herself sliding into a dark oblivion before she could stagger more than one step forward.
Logan was finishing off his last target and about to head toward the cowering mutant couple the larger man had been about to attack when Xavier’s voice echoed in his head.
X-Men, we have a situation at home. Mop up and head back. The other man’s mental voice was tense. Several scenarios flashed through his head as he thought of those left at the mansion: the Professor, Rogue, and the children. Nothing his mind came up with was reassuring. He looked around wildly, taking in the other X-Men helping members of the mutant group who were first attacked towards the Blackbird. None of the assailants were still standing, which was all Logan needed to know. He turned back to the couple nearby and gestured.
“C’mon, we’re getting you out of here,” he said gruffly. The couple hesitated only briefly before the yellow-skinned man grabbed the hand of the woman who had recently been throwing lightning bolts around like javelins. They followed the other members of their group into the waiting plane. Logan stood by the hatch and took one final look around as his own teammates climbed aboard. When only Scott was left outside of the plane, they stared at each other for a moment, challenge in every line of both of their bodies and glaring from Logan’s eyes before they both stalked forward and up the ramp at the same time.
Logan spent the half hour flight back purposefully not thinking about what could have gone wrong. If he let himself think about it, he knew he would probably start rampaging through the plane out of sheer rage, which wouldn’t help. The situation called for every ounce of control he possessed, but somehow he kept from killing anyone for looking at him wrong until they were landing in the special hangar underneath the mansion’s basketball court.
Xavier was waiting to meet them as they stepped off the plane. He had a word of welcome for the mutants, an older student rubbing sleep out of her eyes ready to take them to guest rooms to get some rest, and eyes full of worry that Logan zeroed in on. He’d been expecting Rogue. He’d been expecting uproar with panicked students racing into the underground bunkers that were more secure than any bomb shelter. He saw neither. That set his nerves even closer to the edge of rage, close to the point where he’d be jumping back into the Blackbird and taking off whether or not the hangar doors had slid open yet.
The Professor must have noticed Logan’s state. Hell, a blind person probably would have noticed it, let alone someone so attuned to the mental state of everyone surrounding him the way that Xavier was. “Rogue has been taken,” he said, his clipped voice betraying the tension his mental one had conveyed earlier.
“How?” Logan and Scott spoke at once and didn’t even bother to glance at each other as they focused on the Professor.
Xavier shook his head. “It…it was Jean,” he admitted. “Somehow she snuck into the house without my noticing and took Jenny.” There was a general outcry at that. “She left Rogue a note, apparently. Once Jenny returned, I woke several of the older students. They found this,” he said, holding out a smooth white piece of paper with a crease down the middle. Scott reached for it, but Logan snatched it away first. His eyes scanned the words through a red haze. When he finished he crumpled the paper as his hands fisted.
Scott cleared his throat pointedly, so Logan threw the paper at him. “We’re going after her.” It wasn’t a question. He knew no one else would argue with him despite the energy they had all just expended.
Xavier shook his head, and Logan stared at him incredulously. Calm down, Logan.
“By the time Jenny returned to the mansion and I got down to Cerebro, I was unable to find her. Jean planned this very carefully. Rogue is most likely unconscious. I will have to wait until she regains consciousness to locate her,” the Professor explained. He was attempting to radiate his usual calm, but Logan saw through the cracks in his armor to the deep concern underneath.
“I can track her,” he said desperately. There had to be a way. Scott nodded frantically, apparently forgetting that he hated Logan in his need to rescue Rogue.
Again Xavier shook his head. “Jean knows your abilities as well as she knows mine, Logan. Remember that she provided your medical care whenever it was needed. She will have planned to exploit your weaknesses as much as she did mine. You will not be able to pick up any trail if my guess is correct. She will have taken to the air at the first opportunity.”
Scott dropped the note and ran his hand through his hair, the scent of his frustration and fear overpowering that of the others in Logan’s senses. “There has to be something we can do, Professor,” he ground out, echoing Logan’s thoughts eerily.
“We will wait. I will scan with Cerebro until I find her, but even I can’t stay permanently attached to the thing. As for the rest of you, get what sleep you can so that you will be ready to face whatever comes next,” Xavier advised as he turned his wheelchair and headed out the door into the cool white corridor.
Logan followed him. Like it or not, he would wait outside of the door to Cerebro until he got his answer. He felt another presence next to him as he followed the Professor. A quick glance showed Scott, his jaw set with determination, pacing beside him. At first Logan wanted to shove him away, deny him the chance to be the first to know when Xavier found Rogue. That wouldn’t help Rogue, though, so he turned back with a growl and continued his deliberate stalk through the hall.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
What's this? Another chapter? I hope you enjoy!
Chapter End Notes:
So what's next? A successful trap or a successful rescue? I guess we'll see!