Rogue looked up from where she was sitting on the floor of the living room with Luke Cage and Jessica Jones’ daughter. She was rebuilding the wood block tower that the giggling toddler had been repeatedly knocking over for the past hour - much to Rogue’s played up devastation - and was ready for a new distraction. Tony Stark’s butler stepped away from the front door and revealed a young girl, barely a teenager with long black hair and huge green eyes, dressed in jeans and black t-shirt. Her visitor’s apprehension was palpable and when her gaze fixed on Rogue, it was with a startling intensity.
“Yes?” Rogue smiled at her encouragingly and stood up, picking up the baby before approaching her visitor. She was a pretty little thing.
“Anna?”
The name made Rogue stop, a mere millisecond, but enough for the young girl to notice.
“Sorry. I meant to say Rogue.” Her voice was soft, its huskiness reflecting its disuse. The girl’s grip on the straps of her backpack tightened. She was extremely agitated.
Rogue approached her and gave her a bigger smile, making sure to maintain a distance between them to alleviate some of the child’s discomfort. “That’s okay. It is my name.” Rogue lifted her head; the girl’s scent seemed familiar. “Are you one of my former students?”
“You could say that.” And then, “You really don’t remember me?” The girl watched for any sign of recognition, her face hopeful.
Rogue shook her head apologetically, shifting the wiggling toddler onto her other hip. “Outside of your scent, not a thing. How about you bring me up to speed over some soda-pop?”
Rogue handed Danielle to her nanny who came to retrieve her charge. At the baby’s fussing, Rogue took her hand and blew strawberries into its dewy palm, the toddler’s delighted screams making both women laugh. Rogue looked over to the young girl to share the moment but was surprised to see that adolescent remained completely unaffected, her face expressionless. Rogue shared a look with Doreen who left to put Danielle to bed. Obviously not all kids liked babies.
Rogue indicated with her hand for the girl to follow her, noting that the kid’s eyes darted everywhere, assessing all the exits and entrances of the mansion as she was led into the kitchen. The strange girl continued to tug at the straps of her backpack, her body a bundle of tightly wound nerves and Rogue realized by the way she sniffed the air that she was trying to determine who else was in the mansion.
“No one’s here, except for who you just saw,” Rogue reassured her and the information calmed her somewhat. “It’s the weekend and even the Avengers get to have some fun.” Rogue pulled out a stool at the breakfast bar for the girl to sit in and opened the refrigerator door, offering over her shoulder, “There’s Coke, Sprite and Dr. Pepper. Which would you like?”
“Water, please. And thank you.”
Rogue grabbed a bottle and passed it over, amused at how proper the girl sounded. “So, how about you telling me your name?”
“X-23. But you knew me as Laura.” She sat at the edge of her seat, looking around her, gauging, calculating. Still on edge.
“Okay, Laura. How about you tell me why you smell almost exactly like the Wolverine?” Laura’s eyes shot to hers and Rogue held them. “Are you his daughter?”
“No. Not exactly.”
“Now that sounds downright mysterious.” Rogue sat down on the seat beside her and decided to not push for an explanation. “How can I help you, Laura?”
“Why are you here, Rogue? Instead of Westchester?” Laura twisted off the cap of the bottle and began to drink from it, pausing once to catch her breath before emptying it of water. Rogue got up to get her another one but Laura declined, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as she waited for an answer.
Rogue regarded her for a moment before replying, “The more important question is - why are you here?”
“You must come back.”
The girl’s declaration surprised her. Rogue straightened in her chair and patiently asked, “Now, why must I do that?
”
“The Wolverine needs you.”
Rogue’s smile became frozen on her face and she gave the child a hard look. “How did you get here, Laura? A young girl like you shouldn’t be in New York City, alone. Does the Wolverine even know you’re here?” The way Laura’s heart sped up told Rogue he didn’t and she stood up to grab the cordless phone off the wall.
“You must come back,” Laura repeated calmly. “You belong with the Wolverine. You are his mate.”
Rogue’s heart twisted painfully at the simply stated words, making her sound harsher than she intended when she responded tersely, “It’s going to get dark soon and I’m sure everyone is worried about you.” Rogue began to punch in the phone number of the academy.
Laura stared at her. “I waited all summer to see you again. You said before you left that you would stay with me until I was comfortable in the new school. You promised to take care of me. But you’re not there.”
Rogue’s face softened, realizing that her relationship with Laura obviously went beyond teacher-student. Rogue left the call incomplete and sat back down, holding the phone between her hands.
“I’m sorry, Laura. There are a lot of things I don’t remember and making that promise to you is one of them. Maybe you can come here every week and we can catch up with each other? I’m sure I can arrange something. How’s that sound?”
“I want you to come back with me. Don’t you know how much you’re hurting him?” Her large eyes suddenly filled with tears. “How could you do this to us?”
“Laura, you don’t understand…”
“I still need you! I trusted you! And now you’re gone!” Laura stood up, wiping away the tears that managed to escape. “How could you let this happen? I wish I never listened to him!” She began to back away from Rogue, her face twisted with anger. “I wish I never met you!” She ran out of the kitchen, crying.
“Stop, Laura! Please, don’t go!”
Jarvis glanced up from where he was adjusting a painting on the wall of the main foyer, jumping back in surprise when Laura ran past him. She slammed the front door behind her, setting the portrait off center again and he gaped at Rogue who followed close behind.
“Jarvis, do you know who that girl is?”
Iron Man’s trusted servant looked very concerned. “I do believe that is Miss Laura. She appeared a couple of months ago after locating Mr. Logan.”
Rogue accessed Logan’s memories and the images that came into her mind made her eyes widen in understanding. She pressed the kitchen phone into the elderly gentleman’s hands. “I’m going after her, Jarvis. Please contact the X-Men and let them know she was here.”
Doreen ran down the stairs, worry etched on her face. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Rogue. You shouldn’t leave here by yourself.”
“I can’t just let her go, Doreen. She’s been on the streets before and knows how to lose herself in New York City.” Rogue grabbed her leather jacket and shrugged it on.
“Just hang on. I’ll get in contact with the Avengers.”
Rogue swung open the door and shook her head. “She won’t be responsive to whole bunch of Avengers swooping out of nowhere to get her, especially because Captain America wanted her jailed when they first met. I’ll find her. Just tell everyone what’s happened.”
Doreen and Jarvis’ protests followed her down the front steps as she ran after Laura, catching the young feral’s scent easily before tearing across Fifth Avenue to follow her into Central Park. When the Logan in her mind began to protest as well, she slammed him back into his box, intent on tracking the girl who had already had good head start on her.
Damn, but the kid was quick.
Even at a dead run, Laura’s scent stayed ahead of her, zigzagging across the lawns of the huge municipal park in an attempt lose Rogue. Rogue yelled out her name repeatedly, thanking people who pointed out the direction the young girl was running in, and growing more frustrated as time went on with no Laura in sight. Growling, Rogue looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was beginning to set.
Shit.
Unbelievably, the distance between them grew. Rogue continued the chase, refusing to accept that a child could get the best of her but after a while, Rogue admitted defeat and realized her night was going to be spent following Laura, rather than catching her. She stopped on the other side of Central Park and spun around, struggling to hang on to the scent. There were people milling about everywhere, enjoying the summer evening and Laura’s scent intermingled with the crowd’s, making Rogue swear again. Pulling out the cell phone from her jacket pocket, she braced herself before hitting the talk button to finally answer its incessant ringing.
“Where are you?”
Wincing, Rogue pulled the phone away from her ear. She took a deep breath and made sure her voice was even although the barking sound of Logan’s voice made her heart beat faster than the hour long sprint she just endured. “I’m outside the Museum of Natural....”
“Don’t fucking move.” He ended the call abruptly.
Rogue stared at the phone for a moment before scowling and pushing through the pedestrians that lined the Central Parkway West sidewalk. Breaking out into a steady run, Rogue knew where Laura was headed based on the direction of her scent. Picking up her pace, she punched some numbers into her cell and Ms. Marvel answered right away.
“Okay Rogue, what do you need? I’m sky bound and just over Harlem.”
“It looks like Laura is headed over to Hell’s Kitchen, her old neighborhood. Maybe you can contact Daredevil to keep an eye out for her?”
“Will do, kiddo. Jessica and Luke have some contacts there as well. Don’t worry, we’ll get her back, just keep your eyes and ears open and keep safe.”
“Thanks Carol.” Rogue ended the call and continued to run, mentally smacking herself for not taking her wallet to hitch a ride on a cab. Then again, it was Saturday night in New York City. The odds of snagging one in this part of the city would be next to impossible.
After about ten blocks, Rogue reached 42nd Street where Laura’s scent suddenly became stationary. Rogue stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, causing the throngs of people around her to complain as they were forced to move around her. Ignoring them, she lifted her nose into the air and dread flushed through her. The stench of freshly drawn blood surrounded her and she turned sharply to the left where a wall of plywood ringed around a construction site.
Leaping over the barrier, Rogue raced towards the back of the half built skyscraper, her eyes adjusting quickly to the lack of light. Rogue immediately spotted a small figure sprawled on the gravel strewn ground and she ran towards it, heart in her throat.
It was Laura. Her hands were pressed to her side and she was trying to stem the blood flow that was pouring out from between her fingers. Rogue dropped to the ground beside her and gathered the young girl into her arms, placing her hand against the large gaping cut that sliced around Laura’s waist.
“It’s okay, sweetie. You’ll be okay.” Rogue pulled off her jacket and t-shirt, ripping the cotton in half to bind it tightly around the wound and tying the leather around it. The dressing did little to staunch the copious amount of blood that continued to flow out of the girl, the thick red liquid spilling over Rogue’s legs and staining the ground beneath them. Horrified, Rogue realized that the young feral’s healing factor was failing to kick in.
Laura’s body began to seize and looking into her terrified eyes, Rogue yelled, “Don’t you dare, Laura! You hang on, do you hear me?”
The young girl nodded, blood beginning to stream from her nostrils and mouth. Laura blinked rapidly and was trying to tell Rogue something but the effort made the blood in her throat gurgle, taking away her ability to breathe.
Rogue shushed her, her tears falling onto the young girl’s cheeks. She could feel the small body in her arms lose its heat, Laura’s wheezing and dropping blood pressure telling Rogue she was losing her. Rogue heard the roar of a jet nearby and she looked around her desperately. Grabbing an empty soda can, she charged it and whipped it high into the air and within moments of its explosion the Blackbird was above them, its powerful tracking light shining down and blinding them.
“I've got you, Liebkin,” a voice said. Strong blue arms wrapped around her and an instant later, Rogue found herself in the interior of the X-Men’s plane.
Beast took Laura from her and placed the ashen faced youngster onto a stationary bed, ripping open bandages while Storm raced to hook her up to an IV. Logan grabbed Rogue, the sight of so much blood making his hands rough as they ran over her body looking for injuries and she pushed him away, screaming, “It’s Laura who’s hurt! She’s lost too much blood and she’s not healing!”
Stunned, Logan’s eyes snapped to Hank’s. The doctor’s face was grim.
“She’s dying, Logan.”
Rogue cried out in anguish. Logan rushed over to Laura and ripped off the sleeve of his uniform, yelling, “Get my blood into her! Now!”
Beast made an end-to-end anastomosis between the artery located at Logan’s wrist and the vein on the inside of Laura’s elbow, allowing a direct transfusion between the two ferals. Colossus led Rogue to a chair and Nightcrawler placed a blanket over top his foster-sister, the pale colored material darkening from the congealed blood that coated her shaking body.
Rogue was barely aware of Scott’s shouted command for Nightcrawler to strap her in, all her senses focused on the young girl fighting for her life as the powerful jet’s thrusters kicked in to speed back to Westchester.