“The coordinates for the facility are--”
“The Professor already told me. Thank you.”
Jean fell silent when Scott interrupted her. Rogue wanted to applaud his cold, clipped tone, but she settled for a small smirk as she glanced over at Jubilee. Her friend returned the look with an evil little grin of her own. They'd often complained to each other about Jean's know-it-all attitude and Scott's tolerance for it. No more, it seemed.
The short flight to the hills surrounding their target was quiet. Rogue examined her nails, wondering idly if any would break during the coming fight and how quickly she could force them to grow back. That led to thoughts about the other mutations she could use, which made her close her eyes and concentrate on examining the metallic composition of the jet, carefully avoiding the hypnotic buzz of adamantium so near. She had discovered that each metal “felt” different when she was using Erik's abilities. Rogue checked her control of her own mutation last, keeping a steady “touch” on it so that she could turn it on as needed.
Finally they landed. Rogue reflected that Scott was getting much better at that. The hatch opened, and the team streamed out into the twilight. They would wait until full dark to make their move, Rogue knew. She stood at the top of the ramp and glanced back. Scot still sat in the cockpit, staring at nothing. Sighing, Rogue went back to collect him.
She ran a hand over his hair and said, “C'mon. Together, remember?”
Scott's hand caught hers and squeezed tightly. “Yeah, I remember,” he said as he stood up. Still holding her hand, he reached out and brushed a few white strands of hair out of her eyes. Rogue pressed her cheek to his palm for a brief moment before dropping his hand and moving away. They silently left the plane and watched those wandering around the small clearing. Their eyes deliberately skipped over two still forms standing to one side.
Logan watched as Rogue and Scott left the Blackbird together. Eyes narrow slits in his hard face, he observed the way they moved, tried to convince himself he was seeing things. Concern for the man next to her, that made sense, maybe even the tenderness too, but...Rogue was rarely completely at ease around others. However, the way she moved with Scott spoke of familiarity, casualness, openness. How the hell had they gotten so close so fast?
“They had a bond, didn't they?” Jean's sulky voice drifted out of the shadows beside him, and from the corner of his eye he could see that she was staring at the couple, too.
Couple! The thought left a sour taste in Logan's mouth, twenty times—no, a hundred times worse than anything he had ever experienced while watching Scott with the red-head now beside him.
They rarely spoke these last few months, and they certainly never touched. Logan couldn't bring himself to do it. The few times Jean had propositioned him, out of loneliness or pain or desperation, all he had been able to see was a pair of big brown eyes, full of tears, pain and anger. He would go into a rage then, tearing out of the house they now shared to wander aimlessly.
He should have left. Logan told himself that over and over again. The road was just as open as it had always been, but it was no longer inviting. What if the Professor called? What if she changed her mind? He told himself he could wait, that he would wait as long as it took. So he was stuck on that ranch with Jean because the Professor had asked them to keep an eye on the area, and if the old man was checking in about mutant activity he might let something slip about Rogue. Not that he had yet, but it might happen.
The sun had barely set when Scott called them all together. Logan and Jean shifted over to the edge of the group.
“The first thing we need to do is get inside their fence and then take one of the sentries out,” Scott said. “But we need him alive.”
“Why alive?” Logan blurted out with a frown.
“We'll get the passcodes from him and use his badge to get in, so he needs to be conscious. Colossus and Shadowcat will take care of that part,” Scott said, managing to answer Logan's question without actually addressing him. Logan felt his knuckles twitch as the Fearless Leader continued. “After we get what we need from him, I will take Rogue, Shadowcat, Iceman and Jubilee into the facility while Storm leads the rest of you in fighting off the guards and clearing the way for our exit.” Scott turned and began walking toward the small cluster of buildings, obviously unwilling to take any hints, questions, complaints.
Logan glared at his back, forced to follow this man through his own insistence. He began deeply regretting that when he saw how closely Rogue followed Scott, her pale shoulders gleaming in the moonlight. He ignored Jean's sardonic look and stalked forward.
They arrived at the back of the facility and looked around. At each corner of the fence surrounding the building was a camera. Logan was wondering how they were going to sneak through, even with Kitty's help, when Rogue raised a hand. He watched in shock as the metal surrounding the lenses of the cameras crumpled. The metal encasing his bones hummed unpleasantly until she dropped her hand. He heard her say, “We probably only have a few minutes until someone notices.”
The group crowded around the fence so that Kitty could phase them through two at a time. Once they were all inside, Kitty and Piotr hunted out a sentry. When they brought him back, dazed and barely conscious as ordered, Logan felt Jean stirring beside him. However, before she could offer her telepathic help, Rogue stepped forward yet again. Logan watched in further shock as she leaned down, her lips next to the man's ear. His enhanced hearing and the still night allowed him to hear her whisper, “What are your passcodes?” At the same instant she brought her hand to his face. When she let go a few seconds later he had passed out, and she was grinning wildly as she snatched the badge off his chest.
“Ah've got 'em, Cyclops!” she said, holding up the plastic rectangle triumphantly. “Basic security measures, with not a retinal scan in sight! Storm, there are ten guards assigned outside, this one included, and ten inside with the prisoners.”
'Ro nodded. “Thank you, Rogue.” She gestured for her team to spread out.
As he moved away, Logan wondered what the girl he thought he knew was becoming.
Rogue led the way to the door she knew was both out of sight of any guards and closest to the mutant prisoners. She was glad she'd only gotten a glimpse of the mind she'd absorbed before locking it away as Professor Xavier had taught her. He was a cruel, ruthless man, and she wanted as little to do with his mind as possible. Rogue focused on the task at hand as she badged in and entered the man's code. The door clicked, and when she pulled it open the hallway was blessedly empty. They hurried in, first Scott then Bobby, Jubilee, and Kitty with Rogue bringing up the rear.
They made their way to the first intersection without seeing anyone. Scott looked back at Rogue, who pointed left. Halfway down that hall they ran into trouble—two of them, guards from the looks of them. Scott shot them in the chest with beams of red while Bobby iced over their mouths to keep them from shouting. The mutants moved past the prone bodies and continued down the hall. That was when they started hearing the noises.
Whimpers and whines could be heard first, just about what they had expected. Then came the scream. The first thing that Rogue noticed was that it sounded female. Second, she realized that it was—young. Very young. She wholly approved of the way Scott shot forward, heading toward the sound. His team followed quickly. Rogue made sure her mutation was on as she ran.
The next few minutes were a blur of hits, kicks, and brushes of skin on skin for Rogue. She was so furious that it felt like she was on autopilot as her body followed its training while her mind raged. Enough presence of mind was left that she was able to deflect the bullets and darts being shot at them, thus brining the advantage almost wholly on their side. After what seemed like too short a time, there were no more attackers. Guards in black uniforms and scientists in bloody lab coats littered the floor, however.
Scott when in search of the main power grid for the compound with Jubilee while Kitty, Bobby and Rogue worked on releasing the captive mutants. They ranged in age from eleven—the girl who had screamed, now with blood running down one side of her head while her skin rippled from one color to another—through upper thirties. All of the victims were weak and drugged, and one was very pregnant. Rogue truly hoped that was something she'd chosen before her capture, but she had her doubts.
They were herding, and half-carrying in some cases, the rescued mutants to the door they had come in through when the lights went out and the emergency lights flickered on. Scott and Jubilee caught up with them shortly after, and then they were at the door. Scott and Bobby went first with the weakest mutants, while the others followed close behind. Rogue was the last one out the door. She noticed the other half of the team fighting their way back around the building, several obvious mutants in hot pursuit but apparently not faring too well.
That was the last thing she saw before a hand shot out and grabbed her, choking off her scream.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Yay slow work week! And now for some action...
Chapter End Notes:
The next chapter is written. AND part of the one after that. However, they are not typed up, so you'll have to wait until I can get to that. Evil, isn't it?