Logan didn't end up leaving for his meeting for another hour, after the two of them got distracted when Marie insisted she wasn't tired, so Logan had to wear her out. Marie kissed him sleepily, as he eventually pulled himself back out of bed and re-dressed. The smug grin on his face informing anyone who cared to ponder, just what he had been up to.
He knocked on Chuck's office door, and was mentally called in before his knuckles had connected with the wood. "You know I don't like you doing that," Logan commented, as he entered the office. Suddenly becoming aware of the other presences in the room, he turned a questioning look on the Professor.
"I apologise, I was about to call you so this was just good timing. We have received intelligence that Mystique has mobilized all the Brotherhood operatives in quite a substantial radius, the exact target is unknown, and the timing of whatever attack they have planned is also unknown but with the rate they are preparing, it is likely to be soon, we are expecting another attempt to release Magneto and--" Here Logan cut Charles off.
"Not Magneto, they're coming here," he advised, glancing over the print offs of intel and surveillance photos spread across the desk.
"What makes you say that?" Scott asked, sounding uncertain.
"I don’t know if the girls told you but they went to the mall yesterday, Jubilee, Kitty, and Marie, took the boys with them, they ran into Sabretooth as they were leaving, he tried to intercept them but they managed to break a few road rules and get away. Marie believes he got close enough to scent the boys, so he'll know about Liam, they're coming here, and they're coming for the--"
Like a moment of foreshadowing, just a scene too late, sirens began to sound through the whole building, alerting the residents to a perimeter breach. Immediately the team broke, meeting ended, and the X-Men raced for the nearest exits. As the youngest students ran for their designated shelters to await further instruction, the older students, and those training to be X-Men, joined the adults outside to face the intruders.
There wasn't time to set up communication equipment, so Xavier and Jean hastily cobbled together a telepathic connection between a half dozen 'leaders', to send details of the assailants around. Xavier could count about twenty signatures approaching, some trying to sneak around the building, to gain entry at less guarded points.
The fighters quickly spread out, to tackle their foes head on. For a moment it was the calm before the storm, then all hell broke loose when dozens of mutants burst out of the shadow of the woods to attack.
Logan thought he spotted Sabretooth but couldn't be sure, when he asked the Professor to locate him there was a negative response. He was somewhere within a wide radius but the Professor could not pinpoint his exact location stating simply that he was 'South'. As the fighting grew more desperate and vicious, Logan signalled for Jubilee to follow him. Kitty joined them as they reached the patio.
"You two go upstairs to Marie, you're her last line of defence, if anyone gets to you call the Professor to alert me, then hold them off for as long as you can until I get there, got it?" he ordered quickly.
"Got it!" both girls replied, taking off at a dead run inside the building.
A few minutes later, with much of their force depleted, the Brotherhood operatives were forced to pull back. Logan watched in satisfaction as they beat a hasty retreat, some if their wounded being abandoned in their haste. Suddenly, a concerning figure picked herself up off the ground, before turning to help a fallen teammate.
"Kitty!" Logan called, rushing over to her, "Where's Marie, and Jubilee?"
Kitty looked at him confused. "I haven't seen Rogue all day, and I haven't seen Jubilee since breakfast--" Was all she managed to get out before Logan was dashing for the mansion, cursing loudly.
"Mystique got through," he yelled at Scott, as he flew across the field and into the building. He took the stairs two at a time, hearing the pounding of feet behind him as several others followed. As he stepped off the stairs at the right floor, he could see the still form of Jubilee laid out cold on the floor halfway down the hallway. His ears told him she was alive as he rushed past her, she likely hadn't even seen the attack that knocked her out.
He burst into the suite just in time to see Mystique's choke hold on Marie falter, as Marie began to drain her, through a hole she had torn in the leg of Mystique's pants. The blue form went down to her knees a moment later, before Marie spun around and kneed her hard in the side of the head, knocking her out cold. Logan was over the couch before Mystique's body had even hit the floor, cradling Marie to him as he scanned her quickly for injury.
"Careful!" Marie exclaimed, "Let me turn it off," she explained, as Logan felt her skin gently zap him.
He moved his hands to a part of her that was covered by her clothing, holding her close until she sagged against him in exhaustion. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.
Marie assured him she was fine, before she moved him aside and rushed back into the nursery. The boy's cribs were empty, which gave Logan pause for a split second as he felt his heart leap into his throat, but Marie was heading across the room before he could speak. She slowly pulled open the deep drawer in the bottom of the freestanding wardrobe to reveal the two, still sleeping, infants, tucked away between spare blankets.
"Darlin you're a genius," Logan told her proudly, as he sat down heavily beside her, gently picking up the nearest baby to cradle him to his chest. Marie did the same, and they sat side by side until Logan picked up the scent of tears. He pulled Marie between his legs and hugged her tight, wrapping his whole family in his arms, as she cried tears of relief. That was how they were found several minutes later by Scott, once Mystique had been secured.
Jubilee rushed in unsteadily moments later. "I'm so sorry Logan I don't know what happened, I didn't even see what hit me..." she mumbled, slurring her words slightly – the poor kid probably had a concussion.
"It's okay Jubes, it's not your fault, she got the slip on me too," Logan assured the girl, as the babies began to stir.
"How did you know?" Jubilee asked curiously.
“I didn’t, they started to pull back and I saw Kitty on the field, when she said she hadn't seen you I knew it must have been the shape shifter tagging along with you... and I sent her straight to her target," he berated himself. "I'm sorry darlin, I should have come up myself..."
"No Logan, you were needed more down there. Besides, I handled the blue bitch, and I have to tell you, it felt really good!" Marie added her two cents worth, earning a chuckle from everyone around her.
"There's still the problem of Sabretooth, he didn't show during the fight, make sure the Professor keeps scanning for him, just in case he's still around somewhere, the fact the others didn't hang around and wait for Mystique makes me think she had a different escape plan, one that may involve him," Logan directed at Scott, who nodded solemnly in agreement.
Scott was still somewhat in shock that Logan had so quickly, and accurately called the Brotherhood's strike. The man was a tactical genius from what Scott had been able to glean from his infrequent use of the Danger Room, always several steps ahead of his opponent, whether real or virtual. He was still trying to come up with an argument that would convince him and Rogue to stay on at the school, even if just for Logan to assist as an X-Man. So far nothing seemed to be working, and the pair had even begun to talk about their impending trip back across the continent, much to his annoyance.
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