Chapter 7

Wolverine was piloting the jet to Chicago city where they had found a warehouse that had ties to the FOH. Wolverine along with Rogue, Remy, Psylocke and Shadowcat were the X-men on the mission with him. "Listen up; we can not be sure that this is the place that Ororo is being held. But, there may be clues to where she is. If nothing else we can cut off some of the FOH of supplies," Wolverine told his team. He had his mask off while he piloted.

"We know that already mon ami. There a reason you are telling us again?" Remy grumbled. He was getting agitated and it was not hard to figure out why. He was shuffling a deck of cards in his hands without pause.

"Making sure we all on the same page Cajun," Wolverine growled. Rogue, Shadowcat, and Psylocke exchanged glances. They knew that both Wolverine and Gambit were concerned about Ororo and that was making them edgier then normal.

"ETA two minutes, we are going in low," Logan told them as he dropped the altitude of the plane. He did this sharply and several X-men found themselves grabbing their seats in death grips. Then Logan flattened out and there were a couple of relieved sales.

"An actually bloody warning would have been nice!" Psylocke shouted at Logan displaying her temper. The others also had looks of angry but did not say anything out loud. It was time like these that Psylocke was glad she was no longer a telepath and was only a telekinetic now. The others thought would have more then likely be loud enough to be heard over her barriers and be like they were all shouting at her.

"I am with Psylocke on this one Logan, a warning you were going to do that would have been very nice," Kitty told him in a calmer voice then Psylocke had talked to him in.

"Be grateful the ladies are present," Gambit muttered under his breath. He spoke quietly so it was only loud enough for Logan to hear.

"Quite your belly aching," Logan snapped at them all.

"Easy sugah, we all are on edge. Let us not take out on each other," Rogue cut in with her Southern drawl. It was unusual that Rogue was the playing peace keeper because she was known to have a temper and was usually one the first to join a fight.

"We are landing," Logan growls as he lowers the landing gear on the plane. No one dared to make a comment about having a warning. Using the VTOL capabilities Logan gently lowered the plane to the ground. The X-men quickly filed out and Wolverine activated the plane's security and rendered it invisible to the naked eye. "Let's go," he growled. He led the way toward the warehouse and saw is was surrounded by high fence. As they approached the warehouse they were alert for any security including cameras. Gambit spotted the security cameras first. Three around a side door, he pulled out three cards and charged them with kinetic energy and threw them at the cameras. The cameras immediately exploded when the cards hit. The X-men waited to make sure no alarms had been triggered. Then they had to get over the fence. Gambit pulled out his collapsible bo-staff and with a flick of his wrist he extended it and used it to vault over the fence. Rogue grabbed Wolverine and Psylocke and flew them over the fence gently touching them down next to Gambit, Shadowcat air-walked over the fence.

They hugged the shadows as they made their way to the small door. Psylocke, Shadowcat and Wolverine had all been trained in the way of the ninja making it hard for them to be spotted. Gambit had training of a thief to help him sneak in. Rogue simply used her ability of flight to avoid making any noises, since she was the least trained in stealth.

The door was locked and Wolverine pulled his hand back and let his claws slid in place. Before he could slice the door open Shadowcat placed her hand on his arm. "Allow me, I am less likely to trigger alarms," she pointed out. Wolverine locked eyes with her. There were no words needed between them. Finally with a growl Wolverine nodded.

"Be careful," he told her.

"You bet!" Shadowcat responded when she phased through the door. There was a tense moment when the door opened but everyone relaxed when Shadowcat was revealed to have opened the door from the inside.

"No guards in sight and I took out the camera watching the door," Shadowcat told them. Wolverine nodded and took the lead. The others fell in behind him knowing that Wolverine's sensitive nose would be able to detect things that they could not.

Wolverine lead them deeper into the compound and then tensed the others saw the change and took fighting stances. They were not sure what caused Wolverine to tense but, they did know it could be nothing good. Gambit pulled put and expanded his bo-staff while Psylocke hand glowed and her sword took shape in her hand. Rogue rose a little farther off the floor while Shadowcat started phasing.

Wolverine lead the team to a t-section, each direction looked the same way. Wolverine did not hesitate and immediately headed to the right deeper into the warehouse. The others followed silently knowing Wolverine's tendency to stalk silently. Each member if the team had a unique relationship with Wolverine.

Kitty, had trained to be ninja under Wolverine's instructing to fight his old mentor, Ogan. She learned how to be a ninja in ordered to fight Ogan's control. Her ninja training combined with her phasing ability made her a tough foe to fight.

Rogue had once been an enemy of the X-men and had absorbed her abilities of flight, super-strength, durability and endurance from a friend of Wolverine's Carol Danvers who was also known as Ms. Marvel. But, they had reconciled on a trip to Japan where Rogue helped Wolverine save his love Mariko from death. Since then they had been close teammates.

Psylocke had originally been British and not been a great physical combatant. Then her mind had been transferred to an Asian body and she gained the knowledge and physical strength of a ninja. Wolverine and Psylocke grew closer practicing their moves against each other. It gave them a unique bond with each other.

Gambit and Wolverine on the other hand did not get along at first; in fact they had fought over concern for Ororo. They got along for the sake of the team but, were very competitive with each other. They were ok friends and both were close to Ororo and protective of her. To Logan, Ororo were his best friend and a kindred sprit. To Gambit Ororo was like a sister who like him grew up thieving to survive.

Wolverine led them toward the heart of the complex. So far security was pretty light. Then Wolverine stopped and concentrated on something the others could not detect. "We got trouble," Wolverine told them.

*****

At the mansion:

Scott approached Professor Xavier after Wolverine's team departed. "We are ready to go sir," Scott told him. The others were waiting for them outside. Hank, wearing an image inducer would drive the car while Bobby sat in the passenger's seat. Warren, Jean, Scott and the Professor would be in the back of the limo owned by Warren.

"Thank you Scott," the Professor told him. He directed his motorized wheelchair out toward the mansion's front entrance.

"Hank called the Avengers to keep an eye out for Ororo. They said they would keep an eye out but, it seems Kang is trying to conquer our time zone again. Cap assured us that the Avengers could handle him," Scott filled the Professor in. Hank had for a time been an Avenger and was considered to be a reserved Avenger.

"Reed and Susan Richards assured me that they to will be looking for Ororo but are similar tied up," the Professor told Scott they had by that point reached the mansion's entrance and Jean used her telekinesis to lower the Professor's wheelchair down to ground level.

"If we were already up to the armpits in FOH trouble I would start thinking Magneto was going to be knocking soon," Bobby told them. No one laughed at the lame attempt at a joke. They all knew that it was highly likely that Magneto would attack at any time.

The Professor slid himself into the car and Scott placed the wheelchair in the trunk for the trip. Everyone filled into the car and Hank drove them to the airport. From there they took a privately charted plane or Warren's to Washington DC. There was a limo waiting for them. Scott drove the limo to the hotel.

The Professor had called ahead and scheduled a time to see Creed. Creed's secretary told him she had given him an hour time for the appointment, the day after they landed in DC. The plan was for Charles to meet up some supporters and attend a highly politically party. Bobby and Scott would be escorting the Professor to the party. Warren, Jean and Hank would be working on trying to hack into Creed's files during the event. As far as the general public knew the Professor was not connected to the X-men in any way.

Luckily their first night in DC was peaceful. Hank was unable to hack into the files he wanted but, he was not caught in the act either. The politically party was the same old political game that had been going on for years, one side trying to convince everyone that they had the right of it and gain supporters then the other side trying to convince them they were in the wrong of it, the never ending world of politics.

Early the next morning was the appointed time to see Creed. Scott and Jean accompanied the Professor. Scott and the Professor were wearing gray business suits that were common attire for DC while Jean was wearing a black skirt and jacket that blended in with the many political women. Her hair was up in a bun that rested at the nape of her neck. They reached Creed's office five minutes before the scheduled time.

"Yes, we are here to see Mr. Creed I had an appointment, Professor Xavier," Scott told the secretary.

She looked up and studied them a moment then looked at her computer monitor and then back to Scott and blew a gum bubble. "I am sorry but Creed has cancelled the appointment. He stated that he had other more important business to attend," she told them. She did not sound apologetic at all and popped another bubble before noisily chomping on her gum again.

"What you mean other important business?" the Professor asked. Jean wheeled him closer to the desk so he could see the secretary better. He could sense Scott's confusion and resentment. Jean was as confused as Scott and the Professor.

"All I was told that he had more important business. If you want to schedule another appointment I can schedule it for you," she told them sounding rather annoyed.

"Does he have any time today?" the Professor asked kindly. He knew Creed was planning a political game with him and did not like it but, he was going to try and avoid adding fuel to the fire.

The secretary with another pop of her gum turned back to her monitor and started typing. She rubbed her left shoulder shifting her shirt collar revealing a tattoo on it. It was of the Earth and had the letters FOH across it. All three immediately recognized the tattoo. They all stiffen recognizing the tattoo instantly. The secretary took no notice and turned back to them. "He is all booked for the rest of the day and the rest of the week," she informed them popping yet another bubble.

Before anyone could ask her another question Creed and several others stepped out of the office. "You will have my full support on the project," Creed told the one man who was balding as they stepped out of his office. The secretary's whole attitude instantly changed when the doors open. She took a tissue and took the gum out and placed it into the trash can. She stood up tall and picked up several files and walked towards Creed and company.

"I knew I could count on you, Senator," the balding man responded. He shook Creed's hand and headed out with a couple of his men. That left Creed and his two guards. Both had matching tattoos that the secretary had on their necks.

Creed then noticed that his secretary was not alone. He instantly recognized Professor Xavier and approached him. "My apologies Professor Xavier I had some pressing business come up and that was why I had to postpone our meeting. My old secretary was suppose to call you yesterday morning to reschedule the appointment but, it seems that was just one on many things she neglected," Creed told him. His mind was closed off and nothing leaked through to the Professor. "I am truly sorry for the in convince," Creed told him.

"If you have some free time now, I would not take much of your time," the Professor told him. At the same moment Creed's secretary handed him several folders.

"I am sorry Professor but I actually running a bit late and have a telephone conference coming in at any moment. Christina, hear can help you reschedule," Creed told the Professor. As the phone rang Christina, the secretary, picked the phone up and placed her hand over the mouth piece.

"Sir, it's your conference call," she told Creed.

"Yes transfer it to my office," he told her. "I am very sorry about this Professor but, some things could not be put off," he told him as he reentered his office, followed by his guards. The men slam the doors shut behind them.

"Well that was a waste of time," Jean muttered. Christina pulled out another piece of gum and started chomping on it loudly.

"Did you want to schedule another appointment?" she asked rudely.

"No, not at this time," The Professor told her as he gestured that it was time to leave. The three left in silence to they reached the elevator. It had apparently been on their floor because as soon as Scott hit the button to go down the doors opened to let them in. As soon as the doors closed Jean looked over her shoulder in thought.

"Jean?" Scott asked he could sense her thoughts were partly confused, partly thoughtfulness. Even without their physic rapport Scott would be able to tell something was on her mind.

"Creed's guards, they had seemed to have a fresh memory of Ororo. I am not sure how recently they saw her but, it seemed to be very recent," she told them.

"Sounds like our suspicions are conformed then, the FOH have Ororo," Scott stated rubbing his neck. Scott wrapped his arm around his wife and kissed her head.

"What has me perplexed was that I did not pick anything up from Creed, not even a stray thought," the Professor told the two. They reached the lobby and stepped out deep in thought.

***

In Creed's office:

Creed put the phone on speaker after his guards closed the doors. "What you have to report?" Creed asked all business.

"We are captured a couple more mutants, including a former X-men codenamed, Wolfsbane. We have mad some progress with interrogations but, they still resisting. We do have plans have to break one so she will be easier question," he was informed.

"I take it you are talking about the Storm. Professor Xavier was here I do not think he knows that we have her," Creed responded.

"Well they obvious suspect something. The second warehouse was broken into. The alarms were triggered were have not confirmed who the intruders are yet, but we suspect they are X-men."

"If I am not mistaken he was accompanied by Cyclops and Phoenix." Creed told them.

"Well that still leaves several of the X-men out there and we do not know how many intruders have infiltrated the warehouse."

"Keep on it, and let me know if the next round of questioning turns anything up," Creed ordered.

"Of course sir," then the phone was hung up.

Creed stretched and sighed. "Hopefully the physic barrier prevented the Professor from getting into my mind. With Storm as our captive I am sure they are going to be more emotional and more likely to make mistakes," Creed told his guards with a grin.

"So the rearrangement of your schedule was on purpose sir?" one of the guards asked.

"Yes, it was part of the plan. I would have gone farther and tried capturing them here but, that would have been too risky. They still are unaware that we know where they are based and that there Professor is a mutant and that gives us the advantage," Creed tells his guards. All three men smile in glee.

****

In New York City:

Sean and Emma had heard about Ororo's disappearance and had traveled to NY to help. Most of the students took off to Muir Island for a break. Two students had decided not to go Leech and Jubilee. Leech wanted to help and knew that Ororo grew plants. So he decided he buy some for the mansion.

He had gone off on his own and found the small flower store that had many exotic plants. He opened the door and it chimed as he entered. The sales lady looked and smiled. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"I am looking for some plants for a friend," he tells her. "Well we have some fabulous new plants. Some very exotic ones in the next room, we have to keep them in a different atmosphere then the rest," she explained.

"That sounds like what I am looking for!" Leech told her excited. The woman smiled and showed him the door gestured for him to precede her. He stepped in the room and turned to her confused. Only to find the door had been closed on him. Soon the gas filled the room and within moments he was out cold.

The sales picked up the phone by the register and pressed one of the speed dials. She waited a moment before speaking. "Caught another one," she spoke into her phone then hung up and returned to tending the plants in the empty store humming to herself in satisfaction.

Down the street:

Emma suddenly stopped in her tracks in middle of walking. Sean and Jubilee turned to her wondering why she had stopped.

"What is it lass?" Sean asked.

"I just loss contact with Leech," she told them. All three exchanged a look then started high tailing to where they thought Leech was suppose to be. When they found no signs of him they high tailed it to the mansion for help.

Authors note: I kinda rushed this chapter. So it is probably not that great. Reviews are always welcomed. And English was never my greatest subject, lol.

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