“Okay Rogue, again,” Helen called seriously as she shifted her weight, balancing every inch of her body on the balls of her feet in preparation of the oncoming assault. The young woman had proven to be a masterful student, one that had shown a great aptitude to the skills Helen taught.
Fully aware of her good looks, her curves Rogue wasn’t above using them to distract, to draw her quarry in without giving an inch. So far she’d managed to best both Edward and Tank, two of the most able bodied warriors. The only man she’d sparred with and hadn’t been able to take down was Logan, and that was a session that left everyone both exhausted and turned on.
Like poetry in motion they fought hard, never pulling punches, tossing moves at each other that both knew and were able to block. With each move, with each blow their strength increased, their ability to flow together as warriors improved until it was like looking at mirror images.
The lingering caresses on a hip, or the cup of a jaw before a bite were hardly part of the fight, rather they spoke of unlimited affection… of something that made their battle all that more daunting. For both of them to be able to exhibit that much aggression with a lover, a friend made those watching only too aware of how dangerous they would be on the battlefield.
Ducking at a punch Helen grunted when a foot connected with her stomach, knocking her off balance for a split second and turning the tide until Rogue had her pinned, “Excellent work.”
“You got distracted,” Rogue smiled softly, a mere easing of her features. “Thanks.”
Helen rose to her feet in one smooth, agile leap, “You’ve been honing Logan’s skills in your head again haven’t you?”
“Yep,” Rogue shrugged and shifted, immediately moving back for another round. “It’s easier to do that than think of what I let them do. I can’t…I won’t let them win. They took so much from us; it’s a fight I can’t afford to lose.”
Helen nodded and moved to block Rogue’s blows with one of her own. Using her weight and her skills gleaned from years on a battlefield Helen still found it hard to take Rogue down, and with each day she trained, each moment she worked with Logan, each glance at her friends, at the still uncharted control of her claws her skills grew.
Twenty minutes later winded, both women gathered their gear and headed for the shower. There was no conversation, no rehashing of the weak spots like most in training would do with their trainer – rather it was over and done and nothing needed to be discussed.
Running a brush through her hair Helen glanced in the mirror at the sudden appearance in it behind her, “What’s on your mind?”
“When do we go against them?”
Helen hid a smile as she pulled her hair back into a thick braid before turning to stare at Rogue’s expression, “There’s been some indication to several of our personnel that there is a young mutant a coupe days west of here that could use some help. We’re going pick her up in a few hours, soon as Edward gets the transportation lined up. If what Logan has told me is true then I imagine that they’ll be there. She’s a pretty powerful mutant by all accounts.”
“What’s her mutation?”
“I’m not entirely certain but I think it has to do with electrical charges. If you’re coming you better get dressed for it.”
“I’ll be ready,” Rogue promised with a slight twisted grin. As soon as the door closed she moved to her locker and pulled out long cloak the Logan had gifted her with and smirked. Draping it over one arm she exited the dressing room and headed for her quarters, catching sight of Kitty and Jubilee standing together talking.
Both were dressed in black, Jubilee’s bionic eye gleamed in the florescent light and her face wore a dark look. Her tank top bore the jagged tears of a nameless rage, her baggy black jeans were tucked into the top of her combat boots, and a holster hung low on one hip.
Kitty wore a lightweight, black silk mask to cover her face, her hands were wrapped in heavy duty leather gloves, and black leather covered her upper torso, blending gracefully into the black and silver leather pants she wore. A subtle sniff told Rogue that both of them wore Kevlar under their clothes, and upon a closer look both wore heavy chokers around their necks.
Smiling at the grim reminder of the darts that had been shot into their necks Rogue nodded at them and hurried to dress. Shedding her clothes she pulled on a thong before slipping into the heavy denim covered Kevlar pants Logan had ordered for her, buckling the belt into place she reached for the jacket laying on the bed. Pulling on the heavy leather reminiscent of the X-uniform Rogue sighed and shook her head.
“We’re too damn old for this crap,” she muttered angrily and jerked the coat on. After pulling her newly grown hair back into a crude handkerchief she reached for her cloak.
“Don’t forget your gun,” Logan’s low drawl had Rogue glancing up sharply to see him sitting next to the window, a cigar crushed between his teeth.
“I won’t,” Rogue replied steadily and slid into place on her hip before walking over to sit at Logan’s feet, “Can we do this?”
“This pick-up?” Logan shrugged at Rogue’s nod, “Piece of cake. The hard part isn’t a pick-up it’s controlling the rage you’ll feel when you see ‘em again. See you know they set you up and it ain’t gonna set well with anyone of the three of you, or with me for that matter. You lean on me baby and I’ll make damn sure you get back here.”
“What about Jubes and Kitster?”
Logan shrugged and leaned forward until they were nearly touching, the faint trickle of her power beginning to grow, to itch as it sensed power close by, “I’ve got their backs, although Jubilee is gonna be the best protected girl out there. Tank’ll watch her back, and God help anyone who gets in the way.”
“Kitty’s being eaten alive with rage you know. She wants to kill Xavier, wants to get back what they stole away from her.”
“She’ll learn real soon that you can’t steal back what was taken,” Logan replied seriously. “But let her have her vengeance, they all deserve it.”
“What do I deserve Logan?” Rogue whispered, “What am I entitled to?”
Logan paused for a second before smiling slightly, “The same as them if you want it.”
“What if I do? Will you want me less because of that?”
“No,” Logan shifted, moving so he was kneeling in front of her, “Would you stop wantin’ me if I wanted revenge for what they did to you? To your friends?”
Rogue shook her head slowly, “No. I want revenge Logan, but more than that I want acknowledgement. We weren’t throwaways; we were supposed to be part of the team, part of the family.”
“You are. You’re part of my family, this family. You are my family.”
“Great, three daughters,” Rogue grunted.
“You aren’t my daughter Marie, Jubilee and Kitty yeah, maybe but you never. Not since we met that day in Laughlin.”
Rogue nodded and smiled shakily, “I can do this. I can face them.”
“You can,” Logan squeezed her hands, “You’re made of pretty strong stuff.”
A soft knock on the door had both of them glancing up, “Yeah?” Logan ground out.
“It’s time to go,” Val’s distinct voice had Rogue and Logan getting to their feet and heading for the door. They would beat Xavier to this girl, and if they saw them… well it would be all out war. He had no idea what sort of creature he’d awakened with his disregard, but he’d find out.
Sitting silently in her location Kitty kept her gaze on the move, searching for the distinct appearance of the X-jet. Spotting it she smirked coldly and waiting, blending back into the rubble that littered the ground. The girl they’d come for was securely sequestered away, and a glance shared with Rogue and Jubilee had all three turning to Logan who’d merely shrugged and moved into the shadows. He would watch and wait, like them he wanted to know how the X-men dealt with the loss of this kid.
Watching the team disembark and begin searching Kitty moved further into the shadows as she saw a potential weakness and moved to intercept it. Moving silently, using her powers to phase through things rather than around them she moved into place and waited, an injection gun in one hand.
When her target came within striking distance she signaled Rogue who immediately nodded at Jubilee who sent a wave of sparks at the X-jet and began setting small fires to distract the team. Like a well oiled machine they created the appearance of the team being under a massive attack, using smoke bombs, flames, and Jubilee’s sparks to do the work for them.
When her quarry got within the appropriate distance Kitty moved quickly, stealthily and emptied the tranquilizer into a well muscled thigh. A wave and she had her target behind the nearest dumpster where she covered him with her cloak and moved back into position as the team called a retreat. She knew it wouldn’t take long for them to figure out that they were missing one person but for the moment she wasn’t too concerned. She had some time, and a new toy… at least temporarily.
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000