Story Notes:
I promised this, and it may take a year or two but I try to deliver on my promises!
Author's Chapter Notes:
In which a discovery is made...
He stared up at the dingy white tiles of the drop ceiling above with gritty eyes. It would be so easy to allow his lids to drift closed, blocking out the sight he was all too familiar with after two years. With enemies on all sides, however, Logan considered that a sign of weakness. They talked over his body as if he didn’t exist or was already dead. He was close, closer than he ever remembered being before. Their plans had an unfortunately high chance of working based on what he knew about how his mutation worked.

“Are you sure that you want to remove his adamantium before the decapitation?” Her voice was cool, almost detached. None of the pleasure he was sure she felt at the thought of his death leaked into the blue bitch’s words.

A deep chuckle echoed to his left. “Of course, my dear. I suppose I could separate it after, but this one has given me so much trouble that I believe he deserves a little suffering prior to the mercy of his death. How could he appreciate it otherwise?”

Mystique, standing where Logan could just barely see her out of the corner of his eye, shrugged as if she didn’t care either way. “Do we do it here?” The question was casual, as if she was asking the location of a summer picnic or some routine meeting.

“No, I have prepared a special room to receive the adamantium at the correct temperature. There should be no danger in moving him now. His last ties to Charles are gone. Who will be looking for him now?”

A growl rose in Logan’s throat at that, unfortunately drawing their attention. Magneto moved closer and placed a gloved hand on his bare shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Wolverine. The delightful Rogue will no doubt feel remorse when we send Xavier the pieces of your body and she learns what your true fate was. I have that much compassion for you despite your refusal to willingly offer your services to my cause. Your Rogue will know in the end that you did not abandon her,” he said, tone dripping with mock sympathy.

The gag in his mouth, a near-constant presence in his life these last months except for meal times, prevented the curses Logan wanted to blast his captor with. All he could do was glare his rage into the other man’s cold gray eyes as he strained once again to break the metal bands holding him down. Eventually Magneto broke eye contact and gestured to Mystique.

“Shall we, my dear? I would like to get him to the black room as quickly as possible. I am eager to get started.”




Rogue was working out with Ororo and Jean in the Danger Room when the older red-headed woman drew up short in the middle of an attack. Recognizing the beginning of a telepathic conversation, Scott, who was monitoring the session from the control room above, paused the program. This left some robots hanging almost comically in the air. Rogue watched Jean’s blue eyes widen with what looked like surprise and pain, and she wondered what the Professor could be telling the other telepath. When Jean turned to look at Scott, obviously relaying Xavier’s message, Rogue’s curiosity grew. If this was about a mission, why weren’t they all receiving word as usual? Why all the secrecy?

Rogue’s uneasy suspicions were confirmed when Scott began pulling in their robotic enemies. Over the intercom connecting the Danger Room as well as the other workout rooms where the X-Men were performing their evening training he announced, “Everyone suit up and get to the Blackbird. Now!”

Since Rogue, Ororo, and Jean were already in uniform they headed straight for the hangar and the sleek black plane. As she waited in her seat, Rogue had plenty of time to wonder and worry about what was going on. Something about the air Jean was projecting kept her quiet, though, and ‘Ro must have felt the same because she also stayed silent in the co-pilot’s chair.

Rogue played with her short black leather gloves, pulling them off one finger at a time before slipping them back on over and over. The worn leather was warm against her skin, a familiar comfort in this strange situation. She kept her eyes on her hands even as the rest of the team piled in. The only time she looked up was when Kitty slid into the seat next to her. The two friends smiled tentatively at each other. They were still trying to come to terms with Jubilee’s death and how her loss, more or less, affected their relationship.

Finally Scott entered the plane, sliding the hatch closed behind him. He moved to the pilot’s seat without a word, and the entire team echoed that silence as they lifted off into a brilliant orange sunset. Rogue held her breath when he set the course and then gestured to ‘Ro to take the helm as he turned to the rest of them.

“The Professor was scanning for the Brotherhood with Cerebro,” Scott began, his voice rough. They all knew Xavier did that occasionally to keep an eye on the rival group. “He found them and…someone else. Because of this other presence he scanned Mystique deeply in order to get more details on the situation. He—“ Scott stopped, and Jean reached over from her seat behind his to catch his hand in hers. Rogue was startled by the look of sheer grief they shared.

Scott cleared his throat and continued. “The Professor learned that our target has been held by the Brotherhood for a little more than two years in an effort to get him to cooperate with a plan to assassinate the President and other heads of state. Mystique was one of his main captors, and her thoughts revealed that they very recently gave up the notion that the target could be convinced to help them. Magneto has decided to execute him because he is now a threat to the Brotherhood. They are preparing for that right now, in fact, which is why the Professor believes he can detect him once more. They have taken him out of whatever shielded area they were holding him in.” Scott stopped again.

Rogue spoke around an unexplained lump in her throat, voice husky. “Who is the target, Cyclops?” The formality of the codename seemed to help them both somehow.

Scott’s head turned toward her, and even though she couldn’t see his eyes, she knew they were as pitying as Jean’s, now also turned to look at her. Scott took a deep breath.

“Logan. They have the Wolverine.”

The lump tried to turn into a scream, a wail, and Rogue had to clamp her teeth and lips together tightly in order to keep it inside. She breathed in shakily through her nose and nodded to acknowledge that she understood what Scott had just revealed. They didn’t know. None of the ten people now looking at her sadly knew. It had only been two days since her last phone call with…Logan, and Rogue hadn’t exactly wanted to announce the break-up to anyone except Jubilee, who she couldn’t exactly keep it from.

Her best friends, sensing her pain, offered comfort as best they could. Kitty clutched her fingers tightly, while in Rogue’s head Jubilee’s love poured over her, a healing balm accompanied by the mental whisper, “Oh, Roguey, maybe I was wrong. I’m so sorry.” She barely had time to register that when Scott began speaking again above the whispers she now realized surrounded her.

“This is an extraction mission. You should know that Magneto will be attempting to remove the metal from Logan’s skeleton before he kills him. If we don’t make it in time then the Professor wants Logan out of there even if…even if Magneto succeeds in killing him. We are also to take any adamantium that Magneto manages to remove because Mystique believes that Magneto means to use it on another mutant, one currently unknown to us.” As Scott continued to outline the details of the mission his voice became more confident, as if doing so allowed him to distance himself from the horror they were about to face.

At the same time Rogue felt herself sinking further into misery. Logan might come back, but would it be to her? Had they made him call her all those times? Had it all been Mystique? If it was, what did she tell Logan? These questions and more circled in her head like vultures, obscuring the more terrifying idea that they would be too late. She wouldn’t, couldn’t let that thought take hold. They would get there in time, and they would save him. Rogue couldn’t allow anything else.
Chapter End Notes:
There, does that make the people who were upset with the ending of "I Won't Pick Up the Phone" happy? Reviews welcomed and cherished like the jewels they are!
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