Ch. 10

Immovable Objects and Unstoppable Forces

When the days ticked by and no response arrived, Charles Xavier prepared for battle. He hated using violence as a solution but even he, with his years of experience in handling Magneto, knew his hope for negotiations to be in vain. He conferred with the others and they decided on who would be part of the team going and who would remain behind.

Along with himself, Jean and Scott would go - the two of them being in command of the team on the ground. Charles would remain behind in the jet with Beast to have a medic stationed in one spot. The remainder of the team would be Kurt, Rogue and Kitty. John agreed to go along as well, knowing some detail of the layout and location. Ororo would remain behind to take command of the school. He made sure a few of the older students took on some responsibilities in their absence.

At the base, the others were preparing for their side. There was still no way to communicate with each other, Remy tried getting into every accessible part of the base to find reception and failed. Through careful conversations with a few of the guards, Remy was able to ascertain that there were boats still stationed in the waters. The larger problem was still the keys. When Sabertooth brought Logan his lunch that day, Logan did his best to stall the mutant and keep him talking. For all that he studied the man, he couldn't spot any sort of key. That's where Remy's thieves would come in, although he wasn't sure how they had become his really. Many of the others were plenty excited for any type of battle and more than eager to help with an escape. A number had heard of the battles between the X-Men and Magneto and were excited to share in the adventure.

"When do you need this key by?" a small blonde woman asked. Remy looked over at her, all he knew was her name - Tasha. Her arms were covered in various tattoos and he thought he recognized one as a distant guild symbol. But she fit in with the small group of thieves set up here and held her own. A heck of a card player too he remembered.

"We be estimating two days. That should be enough time for the others to mobilize, get themselves set up."

She nodded, "I think I can get you your key," she smirked.

Tasha hadn't given him any specifics, but they were all on the lookout for a way to get their hands on a key. Magneto himself didn't come down this way often unless something needed his immediate attention. So that left either Mystique or Sabertooth, and either of them could have the key.

Piotr and Mia spent time breaking the others up into groups. Should they all have the chance to get out, Piotr didn't want anyone getting left behind. More experienced mutants were put in charge of smaller groups, each group having a variety of abilities incase they should get the inhibitors off. He wanted everyone to have a fighting chance. Piotr as well as a couple other mutants were designated to help the children escape. They were all instructed on possible escape routes, as well as what to expect from the X-Men and Magneto's team. There were two main concerns, one of which was timing. With no way of knowing when the X-Men would arrive they were taking a chance on leaving themselves out in the open. Piotr did his best to detail how to reach the nearest town, but was hopeful it wouldn't come to that. He didn't know what the locals would think when a group of mutants descended on the town. But logistics was another problem, how to get all those mutants out of there? He was going to have to leave that one to the professor.

At the end of that night, they reconvened at Logan and Mia's room. Piotr and Remy caught him up on what they had accomplished. "Remy got a couple volunteers, they going to sneak out tonight and see what the system is like. Wish now I had paid more attention to it, but Remy never really had to try to sneak out of here before. We know where the room for the cameras is, one of the thieves said they try to take care of that part for us when we make our move.

Logan nodded, "Alright, well lock down is soon. We'll call it a night and meet up again in the morning. By then we'll hopefully have some information on the security from your buddies."

Remy agreed then headed for the door, Piotr rose to go with him then stopped and looked at Mia. Mia sent a pleading look to Logan. "You know you're technically an adult, you don't have to ask me kid," Logan said reading her intentions. She smiled and gave him a quick hug, "Don't worry, I promise I won't go anywhere on my own and I'll see you in the morning." He returned the hug but sent Piotr a warning glance over her shoulder. The three of them left the room and headed out into the hallways. Remy's room was a few doors down from Piotr's and they stopped there and said their good-bye's. As they entered Piotr's room, Mia remembered the letter in her pocket. She pulled it out and quickly scanned it.

Mia,

Don't worry, we're coming for you. Keep that Swamp Rat out of trouble. He's unfortunately growing on me.

Love,

Rogue

P.S. I'll kill you if you tell him that.

She smiled at her friend's brief note, Piotr looked curious and she handed it over. He smiled as well, "Remy talks about her more then you would realize. I do believe he is very serious about her, I've never seen him that way before."

Mia thought that Rogue was a little more interested in him than she was letting on, "I think they'll be good for each other," she said. She took a moment and surveyed the room. A touch nicer than hers, she thought. The furniture was obviously designed for use not looks, but it was sturdy and when you were Piotr's size, that was important. It was more lit and boasted a nicer looking television.

As if reading her thoughts he spoke, "It's not where I used to stay, the rooms upstairs are rather nicer. But it is not as bad as some of the rooms down here. Surprisingly, the children's rooms are the nicest."

She was a bit surprised by that, Magneto didn't seem to have much in the way of compassion.

There was not much in the way of entertainment, so they settled into watching reruns of various shows and were content with keeping each other company. For the first time in days, Mia felt happy. She eventually dozed off, lulled to sleep by the sounds of the TV and rhythm of Piotr's heart.

The next morning, after filling up on breakfast, Remy met with his thieves. Mia had taken herself off to talk to Logan while Piotr would go visit his sister. They did their best not to be together all the time, lest someone get ideas.

Remy's "meeting" as it was, was a casual game of cards. He was settled around the table with about 4 of the others when Tasha strolled in looking like the cat who got the cream. Remy dealt her in. "So, what's the status."

One of the thieves, a short stocky man with a New York accent spoke up, "The doors aren't too hard to reprogram. That I already tried. I spent about 10 minutes in the hallways before some of those guards showed up. It's not much time, given the size of this place, but it's something. But it would take someone like us, who knows how to move against the cameras. Anyone walking down the halls would have been caught sooner."

"How close do you think you can get to the surveillance room?" Remy asked folding his hand.

"If I start in one of the rooms closest to the office I think I could get there. That'd cut down time trying to get through the hallways. I could reprogram the door and get in, don't know how many people they have in there."

Another man spoke up, "Two at all times. I've counted. They come on regular 8 hour shifts. Two and two. I've counted about four guards on duty during the day."

"Two came for me last night, so I would assume that's only two on during the night."

Remy nodded and dealt, "Any word on the key?"

"Neither Sabertooth or Mystique made a show yesterday, so it was impossible to tell." Remy waited while the man looked through his cards, then nodded. Next was Tasha, she sorted her cards then pulled two from her hand. When she slid the cards back over, Remy realized something was underneath.

"No way."

She merely smiled, "I had an, well let's call it an "opportunity" shall we. I can only hope it will not cause troubles that we have retrieved it early. It will be missed I'm sure."

Remy pocketed the key as stealthily as possible, "Oui, one can only hope it will not be a problem. I also hope that you did not put yourself in a difficult position to get this."

Tasha folded her cards, "It was a position I was already in. Why not take advantage, no?"

After that eventful meeting, Remy swung by to grab Piotr before heading to Logan's room. Even the others were stunned at how quickly they had gotten the key. "Now the question here is, if we take off our inhibitor, will someone be warned? I don't want to risk taking them off any earlier then possible," Mia stated. The others agreed, they would wait until the last possible second to remove them.

Tomorrow night at lock down, various groups would assemble in rooms. Remy's thieves had their orders. They would station themselves down near the manned surveillance room. Piotr as well as two other mutants were in charge of getting the children out. Other then Illyana, none of them had been told of the plan for fear of their talking about it. Remy would retain possession of the key and be stationed with the thieves. Should it become necessary he would remove their inhibitors first to help continue their escape. Their main objective would be to enter the surveillance room and disable all the doors. If that was not accomplished by a certain time, then the mutants were to try to disable the doors themselves. Quick lessons on how to override the doors were handed out and all mutants who could complete the task were asked to help other rooms that could not.

They could only hope and pray that the X-Men would arrive at the same time. Piotr had written directions down on how to find the nearest town and the location and contact information of the Mansion. Should they escape they would be able to call for assistance. Remy and Piotr both still had the cell phones provided to them by the professor.

The group spent the day circulating amongst the others, making sure everyone was up to date on what needed to be accomplished. When it felt like they could accomplish no more they were exhausted. It was nearly dinner time, Remy excused himself to go catch some sleep. While it was suggested everyone turn in early, they needed some to stay out and around to make things seem like normal. Mia was tired, the stress was getting to be too much.

"Do you want to grab dinner?" Piotr asked her. "No, I just want to go lay down. I don't feel like eating." Piotr sent her to his room while he ate dinner. When he returned a short time later with a plate in his hand, Mia was sound asleep on the bed. He was going to have to wake her soon, she would be staying in the room with Logan and needed to be there before lock down. He figured they had a good hour to rest before then, and after making sure the alarm was set, he crawled in behind her.

When their hour was up, Mia's heart sank. Tonight everything would change, if it went as planned. She took as long as a goodbye as she could before Piotr had to force her on her way. She got back to her room to find Logan waiting for her. He convinced her to grab a shower, then they would turn in. Their plans would begin at midnight and they would need all the rest they could get.

At around 11 that night, Mia sat dressed and ready to go in the chair on edge. Every noise made her nearly jump. Logan had just gotten into the shower but Mia hadn't been able to rest that much. She had finally given up trying after an hour. She heard a set of feet go past the door, guards moving around the floor. She'd heard them go by about every ten minutes and only resulted in making her feel more nervous as time moved on. Logan came out dressed and ready to go, a towel across his shoulders. She heard feet go by again and checked the time on the clock, that was only five minutes, perhaps it was one of the others? It was only 11:30 at this point. Logan plopped down on the bed and put the television on, but kept the volume down low. After settling on something pointless they both proceeded to wait.

More footsteps.

Then more.

Mia frowned, that was too many and too fast. "Logan, I think something is happening."

Logan turned off the television and moved to the door. He listened, "Too many people going by this room," he muttered.

"Do you think the others have been caught?" It wasn't quite midnight yet, but that didn't mean they weren't on the move. They knew they might have a better opportunity sooner and they were prepared to move then if need be. Time on the clock flashed 11:50.

"It's just feet, no noises," Logan said his ear pressed to the door. He continued to listen, "I'd guess a dozen or so at least in the last few minutes."

"They know," Mia stated. Logan just grunted and continued to listen.

Suddenly the building gave a shake.

Logan jumped back from the door as an audible sound of doors unlocking reverberated around the floor. Mia approached it and it whizzed open to near chaos. A large number of guards were in the hallway but people were pouring out of the doors making a run for it or trying to take on the guards. It was obvious word had gotten out. But the doors had opened, that meant the thieves and Remy had accomplished their part of the plan. She didn't have to wonder long if they had removed their inhibitors, a flash of red down the hallway answered that.

"We have to get movin'. Not sure if they were able to disarm the doors but I guess we'll find out," Logan said. He studied the door for a minute then threw himself through the doorway. He screamed and pulled himself back through. Mia dropped down next to him, "Shit darlin' that's a lot stronger then I figured it would be," he choked out. "Just sit for a minute Logan, I'll have to get to Remy and get the key."

"Just go, I'll wait for someone to get me out."

"Don't be stupid, I'll be right back. I'm not going to lea-" She closed her eyes, "Mia?" She made a shushing motion with her hand.

"They're here!" she smiled.

After the jet had landed the X-Men with the exception of the Professor and Beast moved towards the compound. They found a cave entrance with a sizable amount of space to leave the jet and headed towards what was exposed of the compound. A portion of it was under ground but at this point they couldn't be a hundred percent sure where the others were. Magneto was smart, it was hard for Jean or Charles to probe their way in but Jean hoped once inside the compound she'd have a better chance. John led them towards the doorway that would be the easiest to get through. They knew they wouldn't go undetected, the arrival of the jet would most likely take care of that. Once the few guards who were stationed by the door were taken care of, John used their keycard to get in the door and they all filtered through. Their main goal was to rescue Mia and Logan as well as Remy and Piotr if they could find them. Secondary was getting the others out, however they wanted to get as many out as possible. As Jean moved through the hallways she began mentally searching, there were so many people!

"There's a lot of mutants housed here, we have to head down, they're below us. I'm trying to locate the others," she said as they moved for a stairwell. Suddenly she stopped, Scott ran into her. "What's happening?"

"They're getting out, Remy and some others I think freed them. There's a lot of conflict, guards are fighting them. Dozens of guards in the hallway, the mutants are running, they're scared. It's a lot of noise, wait! I think I found them!"

Mia!

Jean?

We're coming, hang tight. The jet is out by a cave entrance, do you know where that is?

Yes we do, that was our main route of escape.

Get down there with Logan, we'll do what we can for the other mutants.

Jean, we don't have our abilities. Remy has a key to unlock the inhibitors. Find him if you can, I may not be able to get Logan out of the room myself.

I'll try and find him, get moving!

Mia felt the connection break and opened her eyes, "They're coming for us. The jet is down by that cave entrance. We need to head that way. I'm going to find Remy and get the key. If I don't Jean will find him." She headed to the door and stopped at the doorway, "I'm not leaving you here Logan." Logan smiled, "I wouldn't expect anything less. Be careful."

She hadn't left the doorway yet when she felt someone grab her, it was a guard. She couldn't tell if Remy was down the hallway anymore but she yelled for him. The guard proceeded to haul her out of the room and onto the ground alongside a few other mutants. Logan got as close to the door as he dared.

"Get off me!" she kicked and screamed until she thought she'd go hoarse. She managed to land a few blows until he cuffed her across the face. The other mutants alongside her were mixed between anger and fear, some were moaning, some were cursing and fighting back. The mutant next to her took a butt to the head from the end of a gun. That quieted a bunch of them. She felt something press down on her back and looked behind her to see Mystique.

"I'm guessing you and your friends were a large part of this. The X-Men will be quickly taken care of."

"Just because you have some of us, doesn't mean you'll get all of us. Your collection will be rather depleted," Mia retorted. Mystique laughed, "You're a pretty good bargaining chip though. You and the Wolverine. We'll see what happens," she pushed down harder on Mia's back making her gasp.

The pressure was suddenly released as Mystique was taken down in a flash of silver. Mia rolled over and guards began moving in. Logan stood there on shaky feet before her. Blood rushed down his hands and dripped on the floor. He was sweating and nearly shaking but he pressed on. Guards went down left and right and mutants who had been on the floor quickly scrambled to their feet to get out of the way. Mia got up in time to see Mystique slink off, her hand holding her side. Logan must have actually gotten her.

More mutants joined in the melee and Mia thought that was a good time to get a move on.

"Logan, let the others fight. You've done enough. We have to get moving." She pulled his arm and lead him down the hallway. How far did Remy say to go? She wished she could spot him, or anyone for that matter. She sent messages out to Jean to update their status but didn't hear a response. Was she at the third hallway now? Looking over at Logan she could tell he probably hadn't even been counting, so she turned and hoped she was right. He stumbled and it took all her strength to help him stand back up. His claws had retracted but the wounds were still bleeding rather quickly. People were running past them in both directions. There was too much confusion, no one seemed to know which way to go.

They'd have to worry about themselves though, Mia needed to Logan out of there as fast as she could. She really needed Remy and the key. She almost missed the door as lost in thought as she was. It was mostly off its hinges, people must have gone through there, they were on the right track.

"C'mon Logan, we're getting there. Stay with me."

"I'm doing what I can darlin'. I busted the control on that door but it didn't do as much as I hoped," he was huffing a bit. He still looked sweaty and rather pale, she hoped he could stay on his feet. They went down a number of stairs, it was slow going at times. She'd wait for Logan until he'd caught up then they'd move on again. Finally she thought they were at the right level and cracked open the door, it was dark and smelled wet. Most likely the right hallway. She froze as she heard a thunk above their heads a few floors up. A quick look revealed nothing but she could tell Logan heard it too. He nodded and they proceeded through the door. Remy had told them to go left and stay straight. She noticed more connecting hallways until the hallway started to end and the walls were more rocky. The sound of the door clanging through the hallway spurred them on, "We should hurry," she whispered.

They began sprinting down the tunnel, it was dark, the lights few and far between. She kept one hand on the wall to maintain her balance, the gravel loose below her feet. She spied some light up ahead and was relieved when they came out of the tunnel. The cave was large, landings were crudely cut into the rock, making their way down to a ladder. There was enough light near the docks and she could spy a few boats from their height. The cave itself was poorly lit save for the exit which she could see daylight peeking out of. They were near the edge now and she frowned, there was no rail. They would have to go slow. She heard a small moan next to her and Logan sank to the ground.

"No, Logan. You've got to get up. We're almost done, c'mon," she said encouragingly. She couldn't help him, couldn't even support him, his weight had taken her down instantly. He shook his head, "Can't darlin', can't."

"Yes you can. I see the boats Logan, we're almost clear," she did the best to keep the helplessness out of her voice. She felt exhausted herself and seeing Logan in his condition made her want to cry. The others hadn't found them yet, Jean had told her where the plane would be but they were fighting, something that Mia and Logan couldn't do with their inhibitors. She hadn't seen Remy or Piotr since chaos broke loose and that caused her to fight back tears. She shook her head to clear her thoughts then began tugging on the mans arm again, "Please Logan, I need you to do this for me. I need you to get up," she begged. Logan groaned, but this time, rolled himself over to his knees and slowly worked his way back to his feet.

She heard him before she saw him, the deep growl that reverberated around the cavern. Logan was barely on his feet before he was taken down. "Logan!" she screamed then lost her footing as the ground shook and a flash of red nearly blinded her. To her immense relief it was Remy who managed to knock Sabertooth off of Logan. Logan didn't move though, he had spent nearly all of his energy just getting up and Sabertooth was quickly regaining ground. Remy hurriedly pressed something into her hand before charging the mutant. She glanced down and saw the small key in her hand. Mia hastened to Logan's side, knowing his healing abilities were in desperate need. She fumbled with the inhibitor until it made a resounding thud on the rock ground, then she waited.

At first there was no difference and her heart began to sink. But slowly she saw cuts healing and bruises vanishing until he had enough strength to open his eyes. "Oh thank god," she whispered. "Not dead yet, kid," he smiled. She smiled in return and helped him sit up. Remy was doing a good job of keeping Sabertooth back, but Logan knew he was going to have to help. He worked his way to his feet, cracked his neck, then with much excitement extended his claws. He quickly joined in the battle.

Mia bent down and picked up his inhibitor to pull the key out and frowned. The small, thin key had bent when the inhibitor had fallen on it. She bent it back, trying not to break it and finally wiggled it free. She was nearly startled when Remy landed next to her after being knocked down by Sabertooth, but now Logan was on him, keeping himself in the middle. She worked the key into the inhibitor on her wrist then cried out in despair. It had broken.

Remy was shaking himself off and getting to his knees, "Petite?" She showed him the two pieces of the key, one half still in the inhibitor. Remy grabbed her wrist and began trying to turn what was left of the key, "Petite, my fingers are too big, I gotta help Logan," she turned and saw that Logan had gotten himself knocked down and was almost off the side, clinging to the first of the ladders. Remy ran and tackled Sabertooth from behind while Logan pulled himself up. Mia tried to fight her frustrations, if she could get the inhibitor off she could just stop Sabertooth all together. She worked her nails down around the broken shaft of the key and tried turning it, it was slow but she could feel some give. The ground shook again as Remy unleashed another attack and she heard the sound of rock cracking. Logan had lost his positioning putting Sabertooth closer to Mia. Sabertooth chose to use that to his advantage.

Mia could see him advancing on her, taking steps backwards in false attempts to move away from Logan and Remy. She looked behind her, she only had about ten feet tops before she reached the edge and she wasn't on the side with a ladder. She was losing her focus, her palms began sweating and she cursed when she lost what grip she had on the key. She worked her fingers back around the piece and began twisting it again. Looking back up, Sabertooth was only about five feet away. Giving up on the key for the moment she began scrambling to get to a better position. If she could get to the ladder she could start to head down, away from the fight. Mia wasn't happy at the idea of running away, but she needed time to focus on getting her inhibitor off.

But Sabertooth stepped to the side, acknowledging her move and she stopped.

She heard the telltale sound of metal as Logan's claws scratched against the rock, a warning. Sabertooth grinned.

Standing alongside Logan, Remy pulled a card out of his pocket, the glowing light casting shadows on the cave wall. "That all you got, Gambit," Sabertooth goaded. "Be more then you have, non?" The card wavered between his fingers, waiting for release.

"Then bring it," Sabertooth told him. And Remy did.

What Remy would remember in that moment would be different than the others.

Logan saw the attack for what it was, but only a moment too late. Sabertooth merely smiled in victory. As the card flew from Remy's fingers, Mia realized what was going to happen and dug her nails back into the keyhole and was forced to jump back from the explosion.

Remy saw it as Sabertooth, being himself. A man wanting a fight and one that Remy was certain he himself would win. What he didn't see was the already loose stone, the cracks that had slowly formed from their fight. What Remy would remember is that he was the one who sent Mia over the edge. The one who caused the floor to crack and rumble as rock slid apart from rock. And Sabertooth, who stood there watching as she scrambled for handholds, for anything that would keep her from going over the side with a feral smile on his face. Remy heard a scream and it took him a moment to realize it was his own. It was one of those strange situations, he thought, where everything moved in slow motion and not a detail was missed. Logan had lunged for her, but Sabertooth was quickly there fighting the mutant back, keeping him at bay. Remy couldn't move. His body shook and he put his hands to the side of his head to steady himself. He needed to help Logan, the man was in rage and fighting poorly for it. Tears clouded his vision but he fought on.

Remy looked down next to him and saw the inhibitor cuff that had been on Logan. He quickly scooped it up and charge the mutant. While Logan battled with Sabertooth, Remy ran in but surprised them both by rolling onto the ground between them. Sabertooth looked down, Remy had managed to lock the cuff about the mutants ankle. He let out a growl, but already the effects were obvious. The few cuts that Logan had just landed didn't close up and continued to bleed. Now it was Logan's turn to smile, "Go!" he hollered at Remy who needed no orders. He quickly sprinted down the side towards the ladder and could only hope he could get there in time.

The fall felt long, but in the darkness, she couldn't tell how far down it actually was. This side of the cave wasn't as lit and for that she was somewhat thankful. Her fingers were lodged back into the keyhole struggling during her descent. She wasn't prepared for the icy cold waters that surrounded her, or the breath that was knocked from her lungs. White spots were clouding her vision and she was torn between working to free the key or struggling to reach the surface. She wasn't sure she had enough air for either. She kicked her feet, she couldn't even make out the surface of the water and continued to use her hands to work on the key, she felt it click and was nearly free of the device when her lungs gave out and water rushed in.

The climb down the ladder felt tortuous to Remy even though it had taken no more then two minutes at the rate he had gone. So far he had calculated she had to have been in the water for nearly five minutes between the fighting and his climb, but he wasn't even near the side she had fallen off of. As he landed down on the bottom he was met with two guards stationed by the boats. They had heard the fighting and were merely waiting on backup. In the distance Remy could hear the motor of boats and quickly set about setting off explosives to send the two guards easily into the water. He grabbed a boat and roared the engine to life, knowing it was quicker then him trying to swim.

The water was still faintly rippled, the falling rock had created waves as he rushed towards the spot under the cliff side. He squinted through the darkness but couldn't see anything, then quickly shook off his coat and boots and dove in. The water was icy and black and he had to feel around, grabbing handfuls of water in search of a body. He was finally forced to surface for air. From above he heard screams but ignored them, but then the room shook with a ferocity greater then the one he had created and rock fell away from the cave wall and light filtered in. He saw figures through the dust and it only took him a moment to register one silhouette in particular. Rogue.

Scott had burst through the wall at Jean's order. The tone of her voice had been frantic and even with the entrance a short distance away, his way was quicker. Rogue, Scott, Jean and Kurt all ran into the cave.

"Over here! Now!" Remy yelled.

"Remy!" Rogue yelled back. "In the water! Mia's in the water!" he hollered back. That was all it took for the others to set themselves in motion. Remy took a gulp of air and headed back down, Scott and Kurt both dove in and headed towards Remy. Jean scanned the water searching and frowned. Her senses were overwhelmed with the emotions in the room, particularly above her. She could sense Logan, the despair and anger as well as the satisfaction. Sabertooth was dead. Logan had always been a little harder to read, but at the moment his thoughts were clear as a bell. She could sense him moving, beginning to make his way down towards them and she redirected her thoughts to the water. However, she wasn't sure there was going to be any happy ending.

Rogue stood next to her looking at her as if she was suddenly the one who could read thoughts. "You don't sense her do you?"

Jean hesitated, then shook her head, "I don't hear a thing," she practically whispered. Logan had taken the other available boat and two more boats were heading in. Jean quickly assessed there were six guards. As soon as Logan was near them she pushed the boats back and over causing the men to fall out. They surfaced and swam for the docks, Jean figured that bought them at least a couple more minutes. Logan joined them on the small rock beach. As much as he wanted to, jumping in the water wouldn't help, they'd only be forced to rescue him as well. "How long?" Rogue asked him. Logan shook his head and it took him a while to speak, "I don't know, too long." Scott came up gasping, "I got her!"

Logan quickly moved to the edge of the water as Scott swam closer, Mia hooked under his arm. Remy and Kurt were close behind. Logan reached down and pulled her out of the water settling her on the rocky ground. The others climbed out while Logan leaned down listening for anything, a breath a heartbeat. "Please Darlin'" he whispered. Remy was suddenly there, moving Logan to the side and administering CPR. Jean knelt down near her head and let her hand fall over the girls head. Scott hurried off with Kurt to handle the guards who were regrouping.

Remy pushed on, certain that he had probably broken a rib by now, but there was no change. Jean tried to wait, tried not to have to say the words. But finally she couldn't handle the wash of emotions pouring out of everyone. She put her hand on Remy's shoulder, "That's enough Remy.""No," he told her."Yes. Remy I can't sense anything, she," her voice cut off and she composed herself," she was under too long. I lost sense of her minutes ago.""Don't care, maybe you be wrong. I did this," he whispered at the end and set to start over again. This time it was Rogue's hand on his shoulder. He couldn't bring himself to look at her, "Remy, you didn't do this. You tried to save her," she told him gently. Remy shook his head, "I'm the one who blasted that rock, I'm the one who sent her into the water." He was losing his composure, he was going to have to tell his best friend that he was responsible for the death of the woman he loved. He would be mourning for two friendships then it seemed.

Rogue bent down and let her arms circle his shoulders, he was suddenly aware of how cold he was. Logan bent down and pulled Mia into his arms, his face buried in her neck. "After all this, after all this," he moaned. Scott and Kurt returned from the docks and approached the scene quietly. "We need to head back to the jet," Jean told them, echoing Scott's thoughts. Rogue helped Remy to his feet, "What am I gonna tell Pete?" he asked."Piotr won't blame you, Remy. You couldn't foresee any of this," Rogue told him helping him to his feet. She was maintaining her composure for him, but a few tears still slipped out. She helped him walk back towards the hole in the wall, keeping her arm locked around his in support.

Logan walked mostly in a daze, he didn't even remember reaching the jet. All he could feel was the body, almost heavy in his arms. As he reached the steps he wondered what to tell the Professor before he realized he would already know. Hank was there, waiting for him, ready to take her. Logan shook his head and climbed up. Hank directed him towards the back of the plane where a small cot and medical supplies had been on hand ready for the wounded. Only Mia wasn't wounded.

He sank down onto one of the few seats in the back and merely held her. Hank did him the courtesy of pulling a small curtain across the doorway. He could hear the sobs of the others, most of them trying to stay quiet. Others would need to be told as they approached, Logan was thankful he wouldn't have to see their faces. Hank busied himself around the two, not once even asking Logan to put her down.

The first to arrive back at the jet were Kitty and John. He could hear Scott, keeping his voice calm but telling them what had happened. He could hear John's gasp and muttered curses and Kitty's sobs. Kitty was never quiet he reflected. But still no one came beyond the curtain. The wait was excruciating. They were waiting on one more, the one who he knew beside himself would take it the worst. Logan had never seen Piotr anything but calm and controlled except maybe when he was fighting. But even then he was still mostly in control.

Logan closed his eyes and breathed, pulling Mia into an even tighter grip if it were possible. He waited until he heard the sound of the curtain open and close as Hank left. Then he heard the crunch of gravel, of hurried feet and realized there were two people they were waiting for. Piotr and Illyana, he had rescued his sister. Hank stood just outside the curtain, while Scott maintained his position at the top of the steps.

He didn't hear the words that were said, he didn't want to. But he heard the scuffle, Illyana crying at the outburst of her brother. He could hear them restraining him, talking to him trying to calm him down. He could hear Remy talking to Illyana. Piotr was going on in Russian now and even though Logan couldn't understand the words he could feel the emotions behind them. The engine whirred to life and the steps closed up.

I thank you all for your patience, this chapter was a long delay. But the story isn't over. Until next time…