Twenty minutes later Rogue felt the plane begin to descend, she watched out the window as they dropped below the treeline, spying a couple of floodlights that marked the main entrance of the complex they were heading for. They weren't going in by the front door however, they would be slipping in through the rear entrance by the helipad, which their intel suggested was currently unmonitored due to security maintenance. This meant there would be more guards but once the guards were taken care of there would be no cameras to pick up their entrance, it also had more direct access to the control room.
Silently slipping through the forest Rogue could feel Logan on high alert, she expertly sidestepped twigs and other forest debris that might cause a sound that would give away their location, she flinched as someone behind her didn't, a faint crackle sounding from under a misplaced boot, she tamped down on the Logan urge to turn and glare at the owner of that boot. Reaching the edge of the forest they paused to observe the guards on duty. There were two on duty, though they seemed more engrossed with their conversation with one of the two soldiers working on electrical components at the open hanger door. None noticed as a thick fog rolled out of the forest, the four X-Men slipping, speedily and silently, towards them.
As the fog began to close around them the two guards realised something wasn't right but had no time to react before Cyclops and Rogue silently knocked them out, Storm and Jean taking care of the other two. Quickly and silently the four unconscious men were bound, gagged, and deposited out of sight before the group moved into the base.
Their first port of call was the control room, another three guards were dispatched there, before the team moved out, each to their objectives; Jean was staying to man the control room, Cyclops and Storm were raiding the records room, Rogue was heading for the basement level. The security cameras showed lights on down there, and an energy reading which appeared to be an electrical field of some kind, so she was fairly confident something was down there.
The group moved together until they got to the sub-level elevator, Storm continued on to the records room while Cyclops pulled Rogue up, holding the elevator while he spoke.
"I don't like sending you alone, scope out as quick as you can, don't be seen, if there is nothing down there get straight back up, and for god's sake don't get hurt, Logan will kill me if anything happens to you down there," he scowled around his visor, and Rogue had to bite her lip to hide her grin.
"I'll be back in a flash, safe and sound," she replied, pushing his hand off the elevator door so it could close.
The ride down was short but she had the time to pull Logan's heightened senses to the forefront of her mind, before she flattened herself against the wall as the door began to open. Peering out cautiously to see who, if anyone, was immediately present, she was relieved to find the short hallway empty. She scented the air as she had seen Logan do before, and was surprised when Logan immediately responded.
'Down the hall, last door on the right, that's the only person down here ... it smells like a kid,' he stated hesitantly.
'A *kid* kid, or a me kid?' she jokingly quipped.
'The first kind,' Logan murmured unhappily.
Rogue quickly and silently slipped down the hall, Jean's soft voice spoke through her ear-piece. "I've got eyes on you Rogue."
Cyclops's voice was heard next. "Status report Rogue?"
"One occupant, last room on the right, give me a minute," she replied.
She regarded the solid door in front of her, it didn't have a viewing window or even a flap for passing food trays through, it was secured by a simple hand-turn deadbolt which Rogue reached for. Her hand was almost to the bolt when Logan called out a warning, at the same time as a spark of electricity bit into her hand. Rogue let out a startled, but muffled, yelp of surprise.
"What's wrong? ... Rogue? ... Are you okay!?" filtered through her ear-piece as all team members radioed through to her.
"I'm fine, the doors electrified, are you able to shut down the electricity Jean?" she asked, looking around to see if she could see anything that looked like a control panel at her end. "Never mind, I think I've got it," she spoke again, spying a glowing dial back by the elevator. Sure enough, when she got close, she saw it had voltage readings showing, quickly spinning the dial around to zero she jogged back to the door. She could hear quick shuffling movements from inside the room now, like whoever was in there had suddenly realised they weren't alone.
Rogue quickly unlocked the door, cracking it open, she watched more of the room come into view gradually as she tried to spot the rooms occupant. There was a soft glow lighting up the room, similar to moonlight, casting just enough light for Rogue to see a small head of tousled dark hair peeking at her from behind a metal bed frame that had been flipped on its side.
Logan growled in fury as she spotted the child, he couldn't have been much more than three years old. She gently pushed the door open all the way, all senses on alert to be sure there was no one else she may have overlooked. Once the door was fully opened, she slowly moved closer, stopping when she saw the dark eyes of the small boy narrow, and heard a soft growl echo around the room.
"Can I come in?" she asked, softly, positioning herself in such a way that looked as non-threatening as possible.
'Crouch down darlin',' Logan directed, 'Get closer to his level, move slow and smooth, keep your hands in sight, palms up and open.'
Rogue followed Logan's guiding, crouching down but keeping her feet under her in case she needed to spring up in a hurry, she noted that the little boys growling stopped when she asked if she could enter, and she took that as her cue to slowly move into the room. She stopped in the middle of the room before speaking again. "Can you come out from behind there sweetie?" she said softly, holding her hand out to him.
The little head that was peering over the overturned side of the bed dropped down, before reappearing from around the bed end, soon the ragged mop of dark hair was joined by a grubby, chubby face, an arm, an equally grubby torso, and eventually his chubby little legs. Like Rogue he was crouched, poised to jump and run at a moments notice. One hand stayed holding on to the bed but the rest of him moved toward her as far as his reach allowed. He stood for a moment, visibly scenting her, before his hand released the bed and he tentatively crept forward. He reached out when he was close enough and poked at her hand, before sitting back on his haunches regarding her, appearing almost confused.
"Rogue we need to hurry, whatever you've found grab it and get out," Cyclops ordered in her ear. She watched the little boys ears perk up at the sound, that was meant to only be audible to the wearer.
"Sweetie, I know you're scared right now, you were very brave coming out to see me but we have to go now," she nodded towards the door, "Will you come with me?" she asked, holding her arms out as one would when asking a child for a hug.
The little boys eyes seemed to brighten, he cocked his head curiously, moving closer to her until he was standing between her outstretched arms but she knew she couldn't just grab him, she had to wait for him. Just then a loud siren began to wail, the boy panicked for a split second, throwing his hands over his ears, before diving into Rogue's arms and burying his head in the crook of her neck, his face protected from her skin by the high collar of her uniform. "Run," he whispered.
Not needing anymore encouragement Rogue wrapped her arms around him, picking him up, feeling his chubby little legs wrap around her waist, and his little arms wrap around her neck, holding onto her tightly. She sprinted for the elevator.
"Cyclops we're coming up the elevator, do we have cover?" Rogue yelled over the siren.
"Copy, I'm in position to cover you." The door slid open at ground level a moment later revealing Cyclops, standing at the ready, he didn't give her a second look simply directed her down the corridor towards their escape route, the sound of running booted feet could be heard in the other direction. They met up with Jean at the control room, who breathlessly advised that Storm was already out, readying the jet to leave. They ran full tilt out the door, Jean telekinetically closing and locking the heavy hanger door behind them, that didn't help much though, as several guards came running around the building from the front entrance as they were halfway across the clearing. Scott returned fire while Jean and Rogue ran for the treeline, then Jean stopped to cover Scott as he followed them. Rogue didn't stop running, carrying her tiny charge back to the jet as fast as possible.
"ETA?" Storm asked, of Cyclops and Jean, as Rogue stumbled aboard.
"Thirty seconds," Rogue gasped, trying to catch her breath as she stood at the hatch controls, ready to close the door as soon as all team members were on board.
Twenty seconds later Jean and Cyclops hit the ramp at the same time, Rogue hit the close button as their momentum carried them into the jet, while Scott yelled for Storm to lift off. Everyone grabbed hold of the nearest fixed object, as the jet lifted off the ground, banking steeply into the air.
Breathing a sigh of relief once the floor was level again, Rogue dropped into the nearest seat, her arms wrapping around the shy boy still clinging to her, he was anxiously peering around him taking in the new environment. Jean and Cyclops picked themselves up off the floor and quickly checked each other over for any sign of injury, once satisfied that each was unharmed, they shared a quick kiss before Cyclops walked to the front of the jet to help Storm. Jean moved over to Rogue and sat down next to her.
"Hi little guy, my name's Jean, what's your name?" she asked the little boy, in an overly cherry voice. The little boy just glared at her, growled, and buried his face in Rogue's shoulder again. Jean looked amused, "Well I guess we'll just call him Logan the second."
Rogue giggled, Logan growled, and the little boys face popped off of her shoulder looking up at her face. Rogue smiled down at him, before lifting a gloved hand to his face. He stiffened and bared his teeth as the hand got closer and she paused, letting him sniff at her hand, then he licked her hand, then he nipped her hand.
"Ow," Rogue squeaked, not moving her hand. Dark eyes dipped and the child looked a little ashamed before he tentatively moved his face closer to her hand, licked her again, then nuzzled into it. Taking that as her cue to resume what she had been planning to do, Rogue moved her hand to his head and began to gently and softly run her fingers through his hair, smoothing it away from his face, and gently detangling what she could reach as gently as she could. Before long the little boy was purring contentedly as he snuggled into her lap, his face resting on her chest, his little arms and legs losing their rigidity and sagging limply as he drifted off to sleep.
Jean watched, with a soft smile, as the little boy fell asleep. "We should call you 'Rogue the Feral Whisperer'," she said softly. "You remember when you spent the day with Logan after he touched you on the statue?" Rogue nodded, trying to get the unpleasant image of comatose Wolverine out of her head. "I reviewed his vital signs when I was sorting his file out after the event, and that time you were with him was the calmest and steadiest his vital signs were the whole 3 days he was out," Jean revealed, "Just thought you should know."
Jean stood up, the movement rousing the sleeping child, when he realised she was walking away though he quickly fell back asleep. Jean moved up to the front of the plane and buckled herself into a seat, they'd be landing again shortly. Rogue gently tugged the emergency seat-belt around herself, trying not to jostle her cargo as she secured herself. Then she wrapped her arms back around the little boy and listened to his soft breathing as he slept; she was still running on adrenaline but that would wear off soon.