The others were there by the time she returned from town, and Scott should have been on their way. There weren’t any hugs or happy greetings, nothing joyous or even a simple hello. It was just a giant group of people, standing around, looking at each other for the first few minutes.
“Why don’t we go in the house and wait for Scott,” Logan said as he watched Rogue and the others eye each other carefully. Six years ago, there would have been squeals of joy and tight hugs, although carefully placed. There would have been laughter and jokes and shallow happiness. But now, they just watched each other carefully, silently communicating with small shifts of bodies as well as eyes. There was no denying the energy that surrounded the group of six, or Logan found himself and Storm feeling as if they were on the outside looking in at something powerful. The group exuviated a danger and malice so extreme, Logan felt his spine shutter at its presences. He was only happy these people were on his side.
~*~*~*~*~*~
They sat around the table, whispering silently, and, again, Logan found himself and Storm secluded from the rest. That didn’t keep him from listening in, though.
“There coming for me, not you,” Rogue whispered to the others, working to catch them up on the events that she had only just learned herself. “They don’t even know you’re here. If you want to go, I can get Scott and Logan to let you take back the small jet they flew in on. I’m not making you stay and fight. This is your decision. Make it fast though, because once they get here, there will be no turning back.”
“I think we’ve all already made our decision when we came, Rogue,” Piotr answered for the group. The others shook their head in unison. “This is for us as much as you, and we’re not going to leave you to face them alone.”
“I thought as much. But you have to understand what we are facing. It’s deeper than we thought,” she said quickly, knowing that what she was going to tell them would shock them as much as it did her. “When we were taken, it wasn’t random.”
“We’ve all suspected that for a while, Rogue. We’ve been talking about it when we could find time away from everyone else.” John’s voice was full of bitterness and anger. She knew what was tearing him apart, knew that he had been abused for his abilities more than the others. Like with hers, they relished on the fact that he didn’t have absolute control over his abilities, and he was taunted and abused for it.
“Well, it’s deeper. It was an inside job,” Rogue said quickly, wanting to get this part over with before Scott came back. No matter what he said, she knew that he was hurting because of it, that his pride was crushed over being betrayed like he was. “We were set up by Jean Grey.”
She gave them a moment to absorb the information. She knew that it was a shock, even if their facial expressions didn’t show it. They were good at hiding their feelings. Like herself, they had been trained well and it was that training she was counting on.
“It makes since, now that we know,” Jubilee said quietly, seriously. “She… she was always really careful around us, guarded. She never really went out of her way to talk to us. I figured that she thought Xavier was helping us and she didn’t want to get involved. You weren’t opening up to anyone but Scott, and we thought that it might have had something to do with that.”
“Yeah, well, out rescue probably cost her. It seems she’s still in contact with them. I wish that we had a better knowledge of who ‘they’ are.” Kitty said sternly, angrily. “It would help us prepare.”
“We might not know who they are in name, Kitty, but we were with them for four years. We were trained by them,” Rogue replied, her eyes narrowing. Although Kitty had become stronger, she still seemed to doubt herself. “We know them better than they think we do. We know how they think and how they will attack. They’ll use the village to try to throw us off, but we’ll cover that, too. They showed us who’s powers work well together and why. Chances, are, they are going to come at us here. They don’t know about anyone else but me, but they will be prepared. So let’s make them feel safe.”
“What are the teams?” John asked, preparing for the fight.
“Colossus and Shadowcat will be our backup. You’re going to be at the pub, keeping an eye out. The people there are already expecting you. You’ll leave when Cyclops comes back.” Rogue paused for a moment, eyeing them carefully. Piotr opened his mouth to protest, but Rogue cut him off with a look. “I know you want your pound of flesh. You’re going to get it. I wouldn’t be surprised if a squad showed up there, too. You’ll know them when you see them. If you don’t, the natives will. All of the young men without wives and children will be there to support you. They aren’t trained, but their Irish. They’ll die happily for their own, and their too damn stubborn and proud to let others do it for them. They’re good fighters, though. It’s in their blood.”
She turned back to the others swiftly, for the first time, her gaze shifting to include Ororo and Logan. Of course, Scott chose that time to stroll in, looking a little worried. Rogue motioned to Kitty and Piotr, and they left without a word. “The majority will be attack the house. Storm, Jubilee, Iceman, and Cyclops will be the second wave. Once the path is clear, move in. No questions, Storm.” Ororo stopped midsentence, understanding the authority in the young woman’s voice. “This isn’t some kind of final exam. The four of you will be able to work well off of each other.
“Pyro, you will stay in the shadows until the majority are in this area.” She pointed to her map, drawing an imaginary line that was ten feet in front of the area a small piece of paper was sitting, depicting her yard. “Once that’s done, I want you to start a fire. Keep it under control, but make sure that it’s about five feet wide going out. And long enough to keep them in.”
“That’s too much,” Ororo interjected before Rogue could continue. “He’s not capable of something like that.”
“You don’t know what I’m capable of, Storm,” John replied with a smirk that reminded Rogue of when they were young.
“Make sure you stay covered, John. It’s safe to assume that Jean won’t bother with a mental scan until it’s too late,” Rogue said, ignoring the look of shock on Ororo’s face. “If she does catch you, throw everything you’ve got and burn the bitch, but keep her alive. I have some important questions for her.”
“Surely you don’t mean Jean Grey?” Ororo asked shocked. It was painfully clear that no one had let her in on the truth of the matter. “What would she have to do with this? Why would she even be here? Is this why you told me not to call her when I spoke to you, Scott?”
“This is it exactly, Storm,” Rogue replied before anyone else could. “Jean Grey set us up and sold us to these people. She didn’t call Logan when we disappeared, even though she had his number. And when I left, she broke into Xavier’s office and found out where I went to. She’s the one who told them where I was and if she’s not leading them, she’s with them. They wouldn’t give her the chance to disappear until they have me again.”
“Scott,” Ororo said, turning to her friend with eyes full of question. “This can’t be true. I know you both have had your differences in the past, but there has to be some kind of a mistake.” When Scott ignored her, keeping his eyes firmly glued on the wall, Ororo turned her pleads to Logan. “Logan, listen to reason. She couldn’t have…”
“ ‘Ro, get a hold of yourself, Darlin,” Logan whispered to her as he watched the skies out of the windows. Giant storm clouds were starting to form because of her mood change. As Storm took a few deep breaths, things began to clear. “She did, Storm. I saw her come out of the office myself, and her scent was all over the place.”
“Does this mean you won’t fight with us?” Rogue asked quickly. She knew that they could still pull this off without her, but Rogue wasn’t vain enough not to know that the extra person would help. “You won’t stand with us?”
“I’ll stand with you, but I can’t believe it. She was my friend, Rogue,” Storm replied angrily. “If what you say is true, then I will see it for myself tonight. And I will offer my apologies when this is over.”
“That’s all I ask for,” Rogue agreed with a tip of her head. “Logan and I will make up the first line of defense. We’re the only one’s who could survive the impact. And we’ll cause the most damage. Are there any more questions?”
“Yeah,” Bobby said quickly. Rogue was a little shocked. He hadn’t said a word since they arrived. His lips twisted into the shadow of the smile he once use to flash with ease, and it wasn’t hard to miss the playful light in his eyes. “What do we do now?”
“Wait. If they’re going to hit, it will probably be tonight. Pyro, take a book of something and find yourself a good little hiding spot. I’ll check on you periodically. You’ll act as our look out two. When you see them, send some kind of sign.”
“How will we know what the sign is?” Logan asked quickly, raising an eyebrow at the way the two smiled.
“You’ll know,” John replied with a laugh before heading out.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
“If she does catch you, throw everything you’ve got and burn the bitch, but keep her alive. I have some important questions for her.”