"So yah're tellin me that yah know nothin about any of this?" Kris could feel her brothers eyes on her as he spoke. "Yah'll just happened to arrive on the same day Mama gets taken by some men who nearly kill me just as Ah come home from school. Oh, yeah, and let's not forget the fact that yah'll were so busy tryin to figure out what happened that yah left your only phone in the truck that yah also left unlocked, which just got stolen by God-knows-who seeing as we're out in the middle of nowhere."
"I see yah're point, what the hell kind of odds are those anyways?" Kris asked Logan, pausing in the pacing she'd been keeping up for the past fifteen minutes or so.
"This was set up." Logan replied with certainty.
"Ok, so why do they, whoever they even are, want me this bad?"
Logan didn't answer.
"He's right, Ah think this was a set up." Billy spoke up again. "Except they didn't do too good a job of it. Maybe they expected you to get here earlier or somethin, so they took Mama instead to get your attention." He paused, and again Kris could feel his eyes boring into her. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. "Krissy. What is goin on?"
"Ah-Ah don't know." It was only a partial lie. She could take a few guesses, and all of them involved her being a mutant. She wasn't sure she wanted to explain that to her brother.
But then again, she owed him an explanation, and besides he'd already seen some of what she could do, and he wasn't stupid.
"Krissy." He said again.
"Ah really don't know, ok?" She said, finally turning to face him. "Ah mean, you've seen what Ah can do, so take a guess, you'll probably be thinkin the same things as me."
There was a long, deafening silence before her brother spoke up again.
"You need to get away then." He said quietly. "Ah've heard some stuff – awful stuff. Could maybe just be rumors, but…but you need to run. Back to where ever you disappeared to after the accident with Dad...Ah mean, yah'll were safe there right? Wherever you were hidin was safe?"
"We've got no way to get anywhere now, and only so much money." She turned back to Logan, who had been awful quiet for several minutes. "What do we do?"
He seemed almost startled to realize she was talking to him. She wondered what he'd been thinking but thought better of asking.
"What do we do?" He repeated gruffly. "We get moving. Staying here ain't going to do us any good. Don't your parents have a car?"
"Mama does." Kris murmured absently as a thought suddenly struck her. "Hey, I'll be right back."
She slipped out of the room and across the hall into what had been her bedroom. It was still exactly the same as she'd left it. They'd left her room alone. Good.
She walked over to her dresser and opened one of the smaller top drawers, taking out its sparse contents. And then she froze for a moment, staring at the papers and the small knit something that her Mama had made her that one time for her birthday (Kris only kept it because her Mama had made it). Something wasn't right.
She brought the small knit whatever-it-was up to her nose and sniffed. It smelled kind of old and dusty, and then there was her scent all over it, and another that she could recognize as her Mama's. And then there was the foreign scent of leather and guys cologne?
Some had been in her room!
Dumping the items in her hand on the dresser, she reached back into the drawer and pulled out the fake bottom – and was slightly confused when the saw the large old hunting knife sitting there right where she'd put it. It didn't even look like it had been moved. Had it? Why else would someone have come into her room and gone into this drawer only? And for that matter, how would anyone else know where anything was in her room?
She took out the sheathed knife, blew a bit of dust off of it, took it out of the leather case.
And there it was, her hunting knife, looking sharp as ever. It had been a gift from her Daddy, back when he had still sort of liked her.
"Kid?" She heard Logan from out in the hallway. She slid the knife back into the leather case and hurried out of the room.
"Just had to grab something." She tried to keep the knife out of the sight. He glanced down at her hand as she tried to hide it behind her leg, but said nothing. "Uhm," she went on, "I don't know where Mama's keys are."
Logan quirked that eyebrow of his again.
"Who said anything about keys?"
Her Mama's white SUV was plain, common, and just too perfect for what they needed.
Kris made a mental note to have Logan teach her how to hot wire a car like that.
Marie was in the middle of a class on Monday morning when she finally got the call she'd been waiting for. She took the phone out of her pocket and darted out of her class room so fast that her students began shooting questions at her. She ignored them as she slipped out into the hallway.
"Hello?" She asked warily, because she hadn't actually recognized the number on the phone.
"Marie?"
"Logan!" She nearly growled at him. "Where have you been?"
"It's a pretty long story…"
"Ah can make time."
"Somebody really wants to get a hold of the kid, alright?"
"Well, are you coming back here?"
"Kris..wants to go after these guys." Logan replied, sounding hesitant.
"Oh, no. Tell me you are not actually going to do that."
"They took her mother Marie."
"Remember me? Ah'm your mate, and Ah'm getting ready to be a mother, you should be here with me!"
"I'm not going to fight with you!" He growled at her. "I told the kid we'd try to do something, so that's what we're going to do."
"What if something happens to you?"
"It won't."
"And how do you know that?"
"…because I'll make sure these guys know they'll have you to deal with if it does."
She scowled into the phone.
"Ah hope the kid is worth all this trouble." She grumbled. "Just…be safe, Logan. Please don't get yourself taken again."
"Yeah, yeah." He replied gruffly, and then he was gone.
She pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it.
"Not even an 'Ah love you'. Doesn't call for days, then tells me he's not coming back, and Ah don't even get and 'Ah love you'. You keep that up, Logan, you may find yourself without a wife to come back too." She shoved the phone back into her pocket and made her way back into her classroom.
It was a small piece of paper, hidden in the case for her knife.
'Don't worry, Krissy. They promised she won't be hurt.' It said nothing else, just gave her an address.
Krissy. She hated that nickname. Only her dad ever called her that.
Her dad, who had obviously written the note, and told them about her. She could sort of understand this, could sort of understand why he would think her dangerous after the accident.
What she could not understand was how the man could lead them to violently take his own wife hostage over it.
She let out a growl of frustration as she paced around the dingy motel room they were staying in, kicking the bed as she passed it.
Billy froze and stared at her, startled.
"What was that?"
"Me bein angry." Kris replied a little sheepishly.
He chuckled.
"Kris smash!"
"Shut up!" She threw a pillow and stuck her tongue out at him before flopping down onto the bed. "Ah'm hungry." She declared, seemingly out of the blue.
"Yah're always hungry now. We've been on the road for what, two days? And Ah swear Ah ain't never seen someone so little eat so dang much. That got anythin to do with that healin…thing yah can do?"
She giggled.
"Not very descriptive, are yah?"
He chucked the pillow back at her. She giggled some more.
"Where do yah suppose Logan got to?"
Kris shrugged.
"He said he was goin to get us some money. Knowin him he's probably found himself a cage to fight in."
"Cage?" Billy replied, sounding a bit incredulous. "Figures you'd run off to some fancy old school and start crushin on a cage fighter who's probably twice your age."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, sitting up and facing him.
"Well, Ah mean, you obviously like him. And that's fine, Ah guess, cause he obviously don't see you that way. Actually, it's kind of a relief."
Kris's brows furrowed.
"Excuse me?"
"Well, Ah just mean… You had me and Mama worried…"
She narrowed her eyes.
"…that you maybe, yah know, weren't battin for the right team…" He finished off feebly.
She was outright glaring by now, and was seconds away from making a smart-mouthed reply when the door to the motel room opened to reveal Logan, carrying a six pack of beer in one hand and four different fast food bags in the other. Kris was off the bed in seconds, entirely ignoring her brother's comment in favor of her growling stomach.
"Logan, where've yah been?" She asked as she snatched the fast food bags out of his hand. He watched her take them over to a table and immediately pull out one of the burgers he'd gotten, looking amused.
"Getting us some extra cash, like I told you. Hungry?" He quirked an eyebrow at her.
She blushed lightly and shrugged. He came up and set the beer on the table next to the food.
"There's a soda in one of those bags by the way."
She found it and mumbled a thank you around a mouthful of burger, plopping herself down into a chair. Her brother eyed the way she was sitting, legs spread a bit like a man, leaning forward on the table.
"Mama'd have a fit to see you now, dressed in blue jeans with yah're hair down like that."
Kris scoffed.
"Mama knows I'm a tomboy. I think Daddy's the one who didn't like it."
"Ah, right. Speaking of your mother." Logan spoke up again. "Asked around about that address. We'd need to hit the road early tomorrow." He paused, hesitating, and Kris noticed.
"Ok. What else?"
"I think maybe we should wait this out."
"What?" She asked flatly.
"Just, here me out. We don't know what's going on here. Some one's going to get hurt."
"We can't exactly get hurt like that."
"Your mother can." He turned towards Billy. "So can…"
"So can Ah." Billy cut him off. "Ah know Ah'm useless here, but this is my Mama too, you know. If yah do this, Ah'm comin to."
"If we wait it won't matter, what if they…" Kris trailed off.
"Storm can take the jet and be there with the team in hours." Logan reasoned.
"Ah don't care." Kris snapped. "Why's it so hard to see this is my fight."
"I'm trying to tell you it doesn't have to be your fight, kid, you have help and you'd be stupid not to use that!"
"What if Ah don't want help."
"Why the hell wouldn't you?"
"Because…because Daddy might be there!" She blurted, jumping to her feet to face Logan properly, emerald eyes turning golden yellow. "This is all my fault, don't yah get it!"
There was a bit of a pause as Logan, to Kris's shock, backed off, hands up in surrender. Billy, she noticed offhandedly, was frozen, just staring at her, probably trying to figure out what had just happened.
"I got that feeling." Logan said. "Just wanted to make sure I was right so I knew how to go into this."
"W-what?" She snapped, confused.
"I got the feeling you thought this was your fault. You told me yourself. Said you wished you'd killed your dad."
"She said what?" Billy asked, eyes wide. "You said what?"
"That's right." Logan told him, then turned back to Kris. "So now I know what this is really about. You're not going in just to save your mother, you're going for blood."
She sat back down in the chair, eyes slowly turning back to green, shoulders slumping, burger getting cold on the table beside her – she wasn't hungry any more. Something about the way he'd just said that had her stomach twisting itself in knots.
Logan caught a glimpse of her knife, resting in its case on her belt where she'd strapped it. He moved forward swiftly and pulled it out, inspecting it.
"Question is, are you prepared to take it, kid?" He threw the knife toward the table and it spun around a few times in the air before imbedding itself in the table, adding another mark to all the other scratches and dings on the rickety old wood.
She stared at it and didn't say a word, because even she didn't know the answer to that.
The sun had only just risen when they left the next morning. Logan's question would continue to haunt Kris all that day.
"Marie?" Jubilee was standing in her door way, eyes wide. She'd been Marie for a while, ever since she'd told Kitty her real name. Jubilee had liked it too much not to use it. "You're packing a bag. Why are you packing a bag? You aren't seriously..."
"Ah'm getting out of here, Jubes, what does it look like."
"B-but! Where will you go? What will you do? You can't just leave, you're pregnant, you need doctors and a hospital and…"
"And Ah can find all of that somewhere else, can't Ah? Ah'll be a teacher somewhere or something. Maybe Ah'll start up some serious art classes. Ah don't know." Marie continued to flit around the room, packing clothing, random bathroom items, some of her art work, the two sketches Chase had given her… she picked up her First Date painting, but realized it was too big to pack away, and besides she'd meant it to be a gift for Logan. She placed it just so on the bed instead.
"I don't understand." Jubilee watched, crowding the door way. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because Ah want to get out here, isn't that reason enough?"
Jubilee crossed her arms and just stared at her in an I-know-you-better-than-that sort of way. Marie sighed.
"Because Logan still can't figure out what his priorities are. Ah'm tired of waitin around for him, Jubes. Ah'm going to do the leaving this time. See how he likes it."
All was silent as Marie finished packing her bag and came to stand in front of Jubilee.
"Will you ever come back?" Jubilee asked in a tiny voice.
"Probably. Maybe. Ah don't know." Marie shrugged.
"You know he won't stick around for long without you here, right?"
"Ah don't care." Marie said, and she really didn't care – except to half hope that he'd come looking for her.
Jubilee finally moved out of her way, and Marie gave her a hug before making her way down the hall way quickly. Jubilee followed her as best she could being nearly nine months pregnant.
"Well, I mean, he took your truck, what car will you…" Jubilee stopped short when Rogue passed all the other cars in the garage and stopped at Logan's bike. "Ok."
Marie appeared to be looking it over – inspecting it using knowledge she'd gotten from Logan, one way or another.
"I'll use it for a while, then trade it in somewhere for another truck or something. Could get good money for it." Marie explained.
"Do you even know how to ride it?"
Marie only rolled her eyes; as if that was the most ridiculous question she'd ever heard.
"Logan's going to kill you for this."
"Nah, Ah'll be long gone before he gets back." Marie replied, strapping her bags down onto the back of the bike.
"Marie…" Jubilee trailed off, watching her get on the bike. "Do you really have to do this?"
Marie seemed to think on that for a moment.
"No. Ah want to. Don't worry, Ah'll be careful, Ah know Ah've got more than just myself to take care of." A hand trailed down to brush against her stomach. "Believe me, Ah know." She started the engine and slowly began to roll right out of the garage, passing Jubilee on her way. Jubilee followed her out, running after her as best she could. "Oh, and it's Rogue!" She called before revving the engine and shooting off down the drive.
She'd been nearly out of New York, heading for she-wasn't-even-sure-where, before she realized she'd left her cell phone sitting on the table next to her side of the bed.
….Please leave a message…. BEEEP…
"Marie, its Logan, and... well… I'm sorry. You were right, I was wrong, and I'm not just saying that, I mean it. I should be there with you. Had a dream last night that you left and I don't know what I'd do if that happened… so just don't. Please. I love you…"
He was hoping she'd call him back, giggle a little, tell him to 'stop bein silly, Sugah, Ah'm not goin anywhere, Ah love you too.', but she never did.
When they finally got to the large, seemingly abandoned warehouse that was supposedly housing Kris's mother, Kris herself had her knife out and was just staring at it.
Her brother got out and looked around a bit.
Logan turned to look back at her.
"She may not even be here."
"They wouldn't have brought us here for nothin, right? If my mama isn't here… whoever is may know where she's bein kept."
"Fair enough." Logan conceded. Kris didn't move, just kept staring at the knife in her hands. "You ready for this, kid?" Logan asked.
She finally took the knife and slipped it back in its case.
"Let's just do this." She said, getting out of the car. Logan snorted and shook his head, because he was almost positive this wasn't going to end well.
The door to the warehouse opened too easily; the trio made their way in warily, Kris and Logan jumping at the littlest noises. It didn't take long for them to realize that whatever this place actually was, it was no random abandoned warehouse. The winding hallways they traveled along, lined with windowless doors, were clean, not dusty. Someone had been using the place for something, and none of the three really wanted to know what.
Kris, at least, was hoping to find out who, though.
It seemed like hours before they finally made it to a more open area. Well, sort of open – the perimeter of the large room was lined with mesh cages. Rows of them swept outward, creating small hallways, with one path leading straight through the room.
Kris jogged forward, because she was almost certain this was where her mother would be.
"Kris." Logan growled softly, but she ignored him.
"H-hello?" A small voice called out, echoing throughout the cavernous room.
Kris's eyes widened.
"M-Mama?" She called back.
"Kristine?" The same small voice called out again, and Kris was more than ready to dart in the direction her mama's sweet voice was coming from.
Logan stopped her with a firm hand on her shoulder. She turned to him, eyes a golden yellow, fangs peeking out from beneath her lips.
"Let. Me. Go."
"I'm not the enemy, kid." He growled at her in return. "Shut up and listen carefully."
She glared at him, but did as he told her.
Footsteps was what she heard. Lots of them. Coming from a couple different directions. And coming fast. She spun around to stare at the entrance they had just come through.
"What is it?" Billy asked after a moment.
"Soldiers maybe? I don't know." Logan said, standing just behind Kris with his back to her, watching the other entrance. "But there's a lot of them."
"So, ah, just how many do yah think two mutants and a useless human college kid can take?"
Kris drew her knife as the first of the soldier-ish men appeared in the entrance she was facing. Logan's claws shot out with an all too familiar metallic snikt, and neither of them noticed the fact that Billy wasn't half as nervous as 'a useless human college kid' should've been.
More men appeared in the entrance Logan was facing, and these guys had guns.
"I guess we're about to find out." Is what Logan said, just before all Hell broke loose.
Cliffie, muhahahaha!
Actually, that wasn't purposeful, it's just late and I'm tired and this seemed like an ok place to end this chapter. :D
Reviews make my day, they really do.
