Chapter Ten
Logan grumbled around his cigar for the fifth time. He hated monitor duty. His beast rather roam free than be bound to a swivel chair watching the quiet grounds, unless they include a fiery kitten. Blue eyes sparked as they caught sight of the golden furred feline, boredom vanishing as he paid close attention, wish I could join ya, darlin'.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The sudden shrill noise spooked his beast and forced him to cover his ears with a wince and growl. He slammed a fist down on the control panel, trying to search for the person who tripped the alarm, "Logan?"
He glanced back to see the regal form of Storm, worry deep in her eyes, "Someone tripped th' alarm."
"Harry?" Everyone had found out the hard way that young Harry was a trouble magnet, especially those on monitor duty. There were times the alarms went off and they found a sheepish Harry to be the reason. It grew worse whenever Logan and/or Remy were out on a mission or out of town for any reason. After the first several trips, the one on duty began searching for Harry, eyeing every monitor until they found him and kept a close eye on him until he either was in bed or was found by either Logan or Remy.
"Nah. He's in th' groove. Watched 'im head that way just before th' alarms were tripped."
Storm hesitantly nodded, knowing there still was a possibility that Harry tripped something, "Then who?"
Logan snarled as he found the targets, "Military."
Her eyes widened, "What?"
He pointed out to a small team of uniformed officers sneaking through the far west side of the woods, closest to Harry, be careful, darlin'. He truly did hope they didn't find his mate. Wolverine wouldn't be too happy nor was Logan willing to force the beast into submission if something was wrong with Harry, "What now, Storm?"
"Get the children out. Send an emergency message to our allies to protect them. Put the Blackbird II on autopilot and behind shields. They are our first priority. Then join the rest of us to defend the mansion." Storm went into leader mode swiftly, snapping out orders as she pushed another button to alert her team for battle, also raising the mansion's auto defense mode.
Wolverine wasn't happy about leaving his mate in the woods but knew how precious the children were to Harry. He couldn't abandon them now. Nodding to the white haired weather witch, he hurried off to find the students already rushing from their rooms, "Blackbird! Now!" He helped them alter their route, rushing ahead to prep the jet. "Get everyone on. It may be crowded but safer."
Storm watched over her shoulder as Wolverine bound away for the children before searching out her small team. Goddess protect us all. She rushed out into the open with all the fury of nature. "You will not enter!" She unleashed all the power of her control, determined to drive back the enemy to allow the children freedom. She and her team wouldn't go down without a fight. She jerked at the sound of a roaring howl, knowing the bloodthirsty creature called Wolverine had entered the fray. For now the children were safe but Harry was still missing. They would fight to find him, defend their home, and viciously try to run out the trespassers.
Inside the Mansion
A shimmering object danced through the mansion, jingling softly. Suddenly it stopped before a large mirror, admiring its reflection, flying closer and touching the cool surface with tiny hands when it was distracted by a deadly growl. It hid quickly, waiting for the creature with gnashing teeth and sharp metal claws to rush away. Shivering, the tiny fairy darted from its hiding spot to the upstairs. A voice scolding her in her head as she stretched out her senses, oh, too big, mother. She jingled loudly, waiting for several other fairies to answer her call.
Hurry, my children. They swiftly darted about the mansion, searching for the marked areas. Mother had sent them on a mission, calling to her children of nature to aid her son, her wielder. They ignored the cries of shock and pain outside, rushing into their destinations to finish what their fellow brother of magic started. Good.
Just moments later, soldiers burst inside, one taking lead, "Two down and three up!" Five soldiers immediately broke off to follow orders. They searched their areas, looking for the items their boss desired but to their surprise and fear there was nothing. They had no choice but return empty handed to their leader, "What do you mean it's empty! Boss said everything should be here, even Cerebro!" Beep! He sighed, knowing this wasn't good but at least they had the specimens their boss wanted, "Fine. We leave with what we have now."
Unknown to their hasty retreat, several fairies were giggling when their fellow comrades flashed into view, pixies! Eyes wide, they watched as the pixies burst through every room and made sure their job was complete. Anything of value or possibly could aide the enemy suddenly vanished, as if there never was such a thing. They laughed, watching the windows as a large helicopter dropped as low as it dared to extract the imprisoned X-men. Stay, my children. Aide him. Such beauty in truth and chaos shall ring.
Imprisoned Elsewhere
Groggy, Storm slowly opened her eyes, sight blurry but coming into focus little by little. She peered around, trying to move but couldn't. She found her body encased in chains and her throat weighed down by the familiar weight of a Genoshan collar. "Mmm." She blinked rapidly, searching the bare and metal room. Her team laid about, all in chains and collars, except Logan. Logan! She remembered, before she fell from the sky in pain, that Wolverine had been felled by a dozen tranquilizer guns with at least three tazers before someone could collar him as he collapsed. Her eyes watered at the sight of Logan trussed heavily with adamantium chains and metal sleeves over his hands.
Where's Remy when you need him? It was times like this that Remy was on her team or that he could give her more lessons on how to break out of such shackles. She could steal small things or easily snip wires to enter a building, could even do stealth mode, but there were some things she couldn't do. As a Master Thief, Remy could slip out just about any imprisonment, without the use of his kinetic powers.
"Ugh."
She jerked against her short length of leash, "Logan!" Dazed blue eyes were opening and closing. It seemed Logan still wasn't over the drugs fed to him. She watched helplessly as he slowly moved every limb to find himself trussed completely, not completely as he has very little movement. "Logan?" She tried calling again but only got a grunt as an answer. She opened her mouth to call again when a screech of a door opening stilled her.
"Well, well, the infamous X-men. Only so few." A bulky male stood before her but his attention was on a dazed Logan. She didn't like the glimmer in his eyes, not one bit. "Where are your fellow teammates?"
"By the Goddess, I hope Logan never gets free!" She wanted to say more but her heart forced her to question, "Where's Sheik?"
Suddenly, he gave her his attention, eager to learn more of this Sheik. She was glad to not have said more or gave away Harry's real name. "Sheik? A new member, I presume. Must be a child as many weren't available. We are searching for those possibly with their families."
Harry's free! He doesn't know about Harry! She just discovered a way to aide Logan. She refused to rise to the man's bait about the children. The X-men's allies will have already made sure the children with their families were safe from harm. She was more worried about themselves and what the Blue team would do if they found an empty mansion. She had to get her team free and the only way was to do the one thing they tried not doing, releasing the full fury of Wolverine. But can I get to the man beneath the beast once we're free?
"Very well. We shall learn the secrets shortly. A couple days wait won't hurt." He turned away, stopping by a sluggish Wolverine, voice murmuring, "So glad you could visit us once more, Wolverine." And then walked out.
Storm was stunned. This man had the clues Logan had been searching for. Logan had his side trips, looking for his shattered past. She could wait to learn more but Harry could also be in danger, as were the other children. No. I can't. Forgive me, Logan. She decided her team was more important than a past. For now, she had to get through Logan to Wolverine. His fury and animalistic rage could be the only way to freedom. Harry! He doesn't know Harry's here! If Harry's not here, perhaps I can convince him that Harry's in danger. She inhaled deeply, preparing for the worst. Please, Bright Lady, please aide us! "Logan!" Nothing. She tired again, voice louder, "Logan!" That got a curious grunt, "You must hear me!" Logan didn't stir, almost as if he was falling back into darkness. No! "Logan! Hear me! Help us! We can't find Harry!"
Logan laid dazed, confused on why he hurt so much and why Wolverine was anxious. Something was wrong. Then a voice, "Logan!" He tried to answer but nothing. Silence. He was so tired. Then the voice came again, "Logan! Hear me! Help us! We can't find Harry!" He knew this person. He knew this Harry. Why? Who was he? Then images of a golden skinned young man appeared, grinning at him, emerald eyes shining. He saw images of himself stroking soft fur, running a hand through black hair, snagging a swishing tail. Memories flooded as the voice yelled out, demanding his help, pleading to help Harry before the enemy hurts him. Harry! No! Mine! Wolverine wasn't happy. Harry was his! His mate! No one else could have him. He struggled, he fought, and he pushed to be free.
Storm watched with hope as Logan suddenly began thrashing around. Please let him help us. She kept her eye on him as she began gently rousing the others, hoping someone may know how to free themselves from the chains or at least their collars. If not, they would need to rouse a raging Wolverine to tear through their collars and chains. Please.