Note: Finally got around to finishing this chapter. Damn, it's been a while! Thank you to everyone for being so understanding with my recently lax updates and RL life craziness. I know it happens to everybody now and then, no matter how hard we try to avoid it! I appreciate the patience, though. I'm not done with this story yet! :D
Coming Up: Back to a little action and drama for the new family!
Twenty-Five
Logan's infamous training sessions were never something that Rogue looked forward to, but while the others all moaned and groaned in anticipation of the Wolverine's first session back as instructor, she was secretly more than pleased to see him in his orange and black uniform again, though he was minus the boots for now. Forcing back a smile, Rogue joined the rest of the team on the edge of the lawn just outside the woods, waiting for Wolverine to tell them what their objective was for the evening session.
When she learned of the scenario that was about to take place after splitting into two groups, Rogue's urge to smile rapidly faded. They were supposed to be practicing evade and capture by trudging quietly through the woods while seeking out members of the opposing team. Each team had the same objective, neither supposed to allow themselves to be caught. The major catch was that Wolverine was acting as lone assassin, trying to pick off members of each team before one group could eliminate the other. Rogue wasn't happy that she was going to have to avoid running into someone from the opposite team as well as Wolverine, who was notoriously skillful in evasive maneuvers with his military background and natural feral instincts. Any team able to capture him would be rewarded by being allowed to skip one non-essential training session of their choosing over the next month. Rogue didn't have much hope that she or anyone else would succeed, considering that you had to physically restrain your opponent for five seconds or knock them off their feet to get a 'capture.' The only mutant in the mansion that was strong enough to restrain Wolverine was Beast, and unfortunately he was not a student, nor was he involved in the evenings session. Jean had a chance if she used her telekinesis or managed to cut off his motor functions telepathically like Professor Xavier could, but Rogue wasn't sure that the redhead was quite that skilled with her powers yet. Wolverine was also pretty resistant to psychic attacks, so the chances of Jean pulling one over on him wasn't very likely.
Rogue's group consisted of herself, Spyke, and Jean, with the redhead being designated as group leader while the other team had Cyclops, Shadowcat, and Nightcrawler. To change things up, Wolverine had designated Nightcrawler to be their group's leader, forcing Cyclops to take a backseat position for once.
With their group currently split up and sweeping the grounds in the same direction to try and weed out the other team, Rogue was feeling especially vulnerable. She picked through the tall grass of an area surrounded by deep woods, cringing at every snap of twigs and the crunch and whisper of dry grass beneath her feet.
Hearing the telltale BAMF of imploding air from one of Nightcrawler's teleports, Rogue dropped to a crouch in the waist-high grass to hide herself. She waited patiently, quietly, while listening for more movement. He was close, and if Nightcrawler managed to get within striking distance without seeing her first, Rogue might have a chance at taking him down.
Getting both eager and anxious to move, Rogue clenched her teeth and concentrated on slowing her breathing to do as they were taught. While his natural agility aided him in their current exercise in stealth, Nightcrawler's ability to teleport was only working against him. It was a noticeable tell that gave him away by scent, sight, and sound. Unless he was being used as a decoy, the fuzzy blue elf didn't stand a chance.
Rogue smirked as she heard him close in on her position and prepared to make her move. She was about to perform a perfect leg sweep and tag Nightcrawler when a psychic call from Jean interrupted. Judging by the abrupt way that Kurt shuffled back a few steps, startled, it had been a mass message to everyone.
"The session's terminated. Everyone get back to the mansion."
Standing up in the tall grass, Rogue almost laughed when Kurt yelped and jumped backwards at her sudden appearance.
"Way to give a guy a heart-attack!" he squeaked in a high-pitched voice, holding a hand to his chest.
She couldn't hide the smirk and pointed a finger at him. "I so almost had you." Rogue's expression turned serious as she moved beside Nightcrawler. "What do yah think's goin' on?"
He shrugged. "Who knows? Let's go find the others."
Rogue nodded in agreement as they started to walk out of the woods, seeking out the rest of their teammates. Finally spying Jean, Evan, and Scott standing in a half circle by the foot path leaving the woods, Rogue and Kurt jogged over. "Hey, what happened? Someone get hurt?"
Kurt spun around and then glanced beyond the group, scanning for a missing teammate. "Where's Kitty?"
Jean waved her hands to try and get everyone to calm down and stop badgering her with questions. "Kitty's fine; she's with Logan. That way." She gestured to where the stone foot path branched off, winding back into deeper woods.
Rogue's brows knit together in confusion, peering at Jean expectantly, awaiting more pertinent information.
"So, you gonna tell us what the heck happened, or what?" Evan asked impatiently, crossing his arms.
Scott stepped forward. "It was my fault. I was trying to take Logan out of the scenario and he fell into the lake from the cliff."
"I got him out as fast as I could with my TK, but by then he was already panicking and in feral mode," Jean explained with a regretful frown.
Rogue bit her lip worriedly. She knew Logan had a thing about water, especially being completely submerged. Something to do with Weapon X she was sure, but she'd never asked and Logan had never offered up the information. He'd been worse about it when he was feral though.
Jean sighed. "He took off into the woods, and when I sensed that he'd calmed down a little Kitty went to go check up on him."
"Are you sure you should've let Kitty go after him like that?" Kurt voiced anxiously.
Jean tapped her temple. "I've got a telepathic link with her open so I know she's fine. It was her choice. She wanted to try and talk him through it."
"Ah'm gonna go find 'em," Rogue said determinedly, taking in a deep breath. She waved a hand behind her, knowing a protest from Jean or Scott was coming. "Ah needta make sure Logan's okay." He would have done the same for her.
Rogue marched down the path about fifty yards before discovering Logan and Kitty sitting side by side in the dirt, leaning against an enormous fallen log. Logan was silent, head bowed with his mask pulled back, and soaking wet. Kitty was talking to him softly. Rogue wasn't able make out the words as she cautiously approached, but she could tell that Kitty's tone was soothing. She couldn't help noticing that a small group of trees nearby bared the mark of Logan's claws, and figured he'd worked off a little aggression before Kitty got there.
As she got closer, Rogue heard Logan grumbling softly and grunting, then his dark eyes snapped to her attentively as he quickly pushed to his feet. She almost asked him if he was okay, then stopped herself. He clearly wasn't. She shared a concerned look with Kitty as Logan brushed by her, heading off in a direction that was even farther from the others.
When Kitty began to follow after him again, Rogue stepped in front of her. "Let me go this time?"
Kitty nodded with a soft sigh. "He's still pretty shaken up," she whispered, offering Rogue a good luck, then walking away to join the others in returning to the mansion.
Rogue had to jog a little to catch up with Logan's swift, determined stride. "Hey," she called, grabbing at his forearm to try and get him to slow down.
"GRRAH!" Logan jerked his arm away and gave a warning growl.
As she leaned back and raised her hands in a non-threatening gesture, Rogue watched Logan's eyes widen briefly before he came to a complete stop and covered his face in shame.
"Sorry," he rumbled, shaking his head and scowling. "Dammit." Huffing out a breath, Logan cursed himself, hands fisting at his sides.
"It's okay," Rogue softly reassured him. "Ah shouldn'ta done that." She gave a small, apologetic smile.
He dropped his arms back down to his sides and turned his back to her, but didn't start walking again. "I lost it out there," he muttered to himself in frustration, clenching and unclenching his fists.
"It ain't yer fault, yah know. You can't help it if water's a trigger for yah." Shrugging, Rogue moved around him slowly so she could see his face.
Logan's jaw muscles twitched as he clamped his teeth down hard, breathing heavily. "I thought I had a handle on this."
"This ain't somethin' you can just heal instantly, Logan. It's gonna take time," she tried to reason. "Ah'm sure the prof, Ororo, an' Mr. McCoy have told yah the same thing."
He heaved a heavy sigh and stared hard down at the ground between them. Droplets of water from his hair dotted the dirt by his bare feet. Logan's hands opened and closed slowly at his sides.
Logan didn't know what to say. He knew Rogue was right. Everyone was right. He needed time. But for a guy that was used to healing wounds at an accelerated rate, having to wait an unspecified amount of time for a mental wound to heal was just downright frustrating. Gritting his teeth, he dragged a hand through his still-dripping hair and tried to shake off the urge to run through the woods, roaring and trashing everything within his path as he worked through the rage of helplessness that surged through him when he'd hit that water.
He tried to focus on the fact that his bones hadn't dragged him down as much as they used to since he no longer had the adamantium, but that only reminded him more of the Weapon X tank.
"Logan?"
At the sound of Rogue's tentative voice, he looked up at her worried face and realized he'd been growling, fists clenched with his claws just barely poking out of the backs of his hands. "Sorry," he muttered gruffly, shaking his head again and forcing the claws back in. Trickles of blood dripped down between his fingers.
"Maybe you oughtta go spend some time with Ororo an' Skye," Rogue suggested with a small, encouraging smile.
Logan sighed softly. Being with his two girls tended to calm him almost instantly, and apparently it was pretty obvious. He nodded with a grunt. "Yeah. S'probably a good idea." He walked off in the direction of the mansion, resisting the urge to sprint in his eagerness to feel at peace again.
As he stepped inside the mansion through the back kitchen doors, Logan realized he was still dripping wet. He knew he should probably hit the showers and change before going up to the loft, and made a detour down to the locker rooms in the sublevels. He didn't want to have to face Ororo and explain why he was soaking wet, though he figured one of the students would spill the beans eventually.
.
A hot shower and some clean, dry clothes made Logan feel immensely better, though he was still a little keyed up from what happened during training. Eager to see Ororo and Skye, Logan practically ran up the stairs from the locker room, avoiding the elevators altogether.
When he reached the top of the main staircase from the foyer, Logan stopped and turned as Ororo's scent drifted toward him. She was walking his way and smiled when she saw him.
"You're done with training already?" she asked with surprise.
"Yeah," Logan responded quickly, hoping not to betray his inner angst with his voice or body language. He consciously adjusted the tone of his voice. "Where's Skye?"
"She just went down for a nap. I was—"
The sound of the mansions intruder alarm going off interrupted Ororo, causing both her and Logan to start in surprise.
"Probably just one of the kids punching in the wrong access code," Ororo said absently. It happened from time to time.
There was a steady vibration building beneath their feet, and Logan growled, his fight-or-flight instincts kicking into overdrive. "Not one of the kids," he snarled, fists clenched and claws beginning to push up between his knuckles. "Avalanche?"
Ororo briefly pursed her lips and then grabbed Logan's forearm, giving it a squeeze to focus him. "I'll go find out what's going on and make sure this isn't a full on Brotherhood attack. You get up to the loft and stay with Skye."
"'Ro," Logan growled, not very happy with her plan. His protective instincts were all over the place, demanding he take care of both his mate and his pup. He grit his teeth, struggling to focus, and remembering that his mate was more than capable of taking care of herself while their pup was helpless.
"Logan, go! Keep Skye safe!" Ororo called out while manipulating the air currents around her and flying down the stairs as another quake-like rumble shook the walls.
Roaring in frustration, Logan bolted for the loft at top speed, loping on all fours without immediately realizing it. He barged into the door, nearly knocking it off its hinges and waking the sleeping baby.
Reacting to his infant's cries, Logan bounded over to the cradle by the bed, sniffing and making soft grunting noises as he reached down to the wailing baby. He lifted Skye carefully and gently held her to his chest, nuzzling the top of her downy-soft head affectionately. Just as she was calming down there was another low rumble as the entire building trembled, and Logan gave a low snarl. He had to get Skye out of there. 'Ro wanted him to keep their pup safe, and that was exactly what he was going to do.
.
Ororo had sent Logan to Skye, worried that seeing Avalanche might trigger a feral response because of their last encounter. She liked to think that she was protecting him rather than sheltering him from what could possibly be a difficult situation in the midst of his recovery.
"What's going on?" she asked Hank while moving behind him as he punched a few keys at a wall-mounted security monitor in the hallway. "Is it a Brotherhood attack?"
He tapped his chin, shaking his furry head. "No, I don't think so." Hank hit a few more buttons and cycled through the various security cameras before settling on one near the front of the mansion. "There!"
Ororo leaned forward, squinting slightly when Hank pointed a clawed finger at a figure standing on the lawn and appearing to be shouting up at one of the west wing windows. She could see that the figure was definitely Lance, but he was alone and dressed in civilian clothes, not his Avalanche uniform. "Isn't that Kitty's room?" Ororo pointed at the screen.
"Indeed." Hank frowned, scratching at a bushy eyebrow. "This appears to be a one-sided lover's quarrel."
Ororo scowled, suddenly very angry that a thoughtless teenager's unwanted advances had put the entire mansion on high alert. She thought of the fear she'd felt that her baby could have been in danger, and the windows all went dark as there was a low rumble of thunder while the storm clouds blocked out the setting sun.
"Ororo," Hank said calmly, turning to her. "I will seek out Kitty so this can be resolved peacefully." He put his code into the control panel to shut off the alarm and cancel the alert. Hank then accessed the intercom to make sure the rest of the kids stayed put so as not to escalate the situation. "Are you alright?" he asked Ororo softly with concern when the rumbles of thunder grew louder.
"I am fine, Henry." Ororo pursed her lips and concentrated on returning the weather to its natural state. "I just…I need to go see Logan to let him know that everything is alright."
Hank gave her a quick nod before she took flight, immediately heading upstairs.
Ororo's feet hit the floor just inside the suspiciously open door to her family's loft. She looked around quickly, but there was no sign of husband or baby. The new mother panicked for a split second before reminding herself that she was not the kind of woman that got hysterical at the drop of a hat. Allowing her rational mind to take control of the panicking mother side, Ororo took in a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Skye is fine, she told herself. Logan has her and she is absolutely fine. She had no doubt that Logan would protect their daughter by any means necessary, but the question still remained; where were they?
.
At this time of year the sun went down fairly quickly, and it was already getting quite dark. The situation with Lance had been resolved after the boy received a stern talking to from Professor Xavier and Hank, and Kitty had agreed to speak with him. Ororo wasn't sure about the details of their conversation, she only knew that Hank had remained close by in case things got out of hand like the two teens' last argument. Thankfully the situation didn't get violent, and in the end Lance left peacefully and reluctantly agreed to give Kitty space.
While that was going on Ororo had scoured the mansion in search of Logan and Skye. She'd checked all the typical safe zones such as Cerebro and the Danger Room, but they were nowhere to be seen. None of the other students that she encountered had seen them either, and Ororo felt pretty damn close to hysterical-mama-bear-panic-mode. While some part of her brain considered that the whole thing with Lance could have been a diversion so someone could take Logan out and steal their baby, another part of her felt confident that nothing like that would have happened. She was still worried, though. It was getting late, it was dark, and it was cold outside. Ororo was feeling more determined to find them, concerned that Skye just wasn't equipped to deal with such cool weather without the appropriate clothing. She'd only been wearing a onesie and some footie pajamas, and Ororo didn't think that Logan had grabbed anything other than the baby when he'd picked her up.
Deciding to seek out the professor for assistance, Ororo burst into his study. "Charles, I need your help."
"What is it, Ororo?" he questioned in concern.
She realized that Jean was standing in front of Charles' desk, and briefly apologized for her interruption. "I'm sorry for charging in here, but I don't know where Logan is, and he took Skye with him. I sent him to keep her safe when the alarms started going off. I'm concerned that the incident may have triggered a feral episode."
Jean's eyes swiftly flashed to Xavier, then to Ororo, looking slightly guilty. "He may have already been halfway there," she said softly, continuing her explanation when Ororo furrowed her brows with concern and motioned that she go on. "During our training session he was knocked into the lake and went a little ballistic. I think he panicked being under the water and had a flashback or something." She bit down on her lower lip. "Kitty and Rogue went and talked to Logan after he stormed off, trying to calm him down. It helped some, but Rogue suggested he go see you and Skye, knowing that being around you two tends to relax him."
Ororo heaved a sigh. "So he was already on edge, struggling to keep control, and then the alarm went off. Great." Bringing a hand to her forehead, she frowned and looked over at Charles, who had come around to the front of his desk. "Do you think you could find him?"
The professor rubbed at his temple as though in preparation. "I won't be able to find Logan's exact location, but I can try to reach him telepathically and perhaps see through his eyes to discover where he is. If he's gone feral, however, I may not be able to get inside his mind without him allowing me to do so. Logan normally puts up a mental shield subconsciously, and that shield is far more difficult to penetrate in his feral mindset."
"I understand, Charles. But, please, you must try. If he's got Skye somewhere outside he may not be in the right state of mind to be aware of her needs." Ororo was sure that Logan would protect their daughter from harm, but if he was thinking of her as a pup and not a child, he might not realize just how vulnerable the infant was to the elements.
"Professor, let me help," Jean offered, stepping forward. "With our combined telepathic abilities we might have a better chance of getting through to Logan."
"Alright." Charles gave a slight nod and moved his chair closer to Jean as she took a seat. "Just be careful. Logan's mind can be…difficult," he said, putting it mildly. "If you feel too much resistance, just back off, don't push."
Jean nodded in understanding and Ororo stood by anxiously, unable to help as the two telepaths closed their eyes in concentration and began mentally reaching out for her husband.
Ororo began to pace behind the telepaths before heading over to the window and pushing it open. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the wind and trying to sense the shift of air around her husband and daughter's bodies the same way she would sense Logan's presence on the grounds when he'd gone full feral. Filtering out the interruption of air movement by the small animals and swaying plant life, Ororo concentrated harder, focusing on things of larger mass. Her brows furrowed deeply as she attuned herself to the air movement, finally discovering something of interest. Having faith that Logan, together with Skye, would be the largest moving, breathing thing on the grounds, Ororo felt confident that it was them that she was sensing. She smiled a little with relief, then turned around when she heard a sound from Charles and Jean.
The two telepaths had their eyes open, staring at one another in a brief, silent conversation before speaking aloud. "You sensed it as well?" Professor Xavier asked Jean, leaned forward slightly in his chair.
She nodded. "Yeah."
Charles looked to Ororo, giving her hope. "We weren't able to get much from Logan, but I believe we connected fairly strongly with Skye, though it was very brief."
"Is she alright?" Ororo asked anxiously, concerned about her daughter's wellbeing because of the chill November night and the infant's young age. She had no fears that Logan would harm her, even while not in his right mind.
Professor Xavier offered a sincere, calm smile along with a nod. "I believe so, Ororo. I sensed she was warm and content, though a little hungry."
Jean's green eyes closed again, her brow wrinkling in concentration, one hand to her temple. "They're somewhere dark…damp…"
Ororo's body went rigid as she sucked in a sharp breath with realization. "I know where they are!" She was already leaving Charles' study, the professor and Jean fast on her heels. "He's taken her somewhere outside the mansion where he feels safe," she rattled off while still walking determinedly. "It's the cave, Charles."
"Of course," Xavier murmured softly, continuing to follow her. "Ororo, wait!" He reached out a hand and managed to grasp her wrist. "Take someone with you, just in case you need help getting them back."
She shook her head. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Charles. Logan may be aggressive towards anyone but me approaching him and the baby while he thinks there's a threat here."
"Take Kitty," Jean suggested smartly. "She's close to Logan, and as a precaution she can remain phased to hide her scent."
"Alright," Ororo agreed with some reluctance. "Have her meet me on the back patio with some flashlights. I'm going to grab a bag with a few things for the baby." She left Charles and Jean, hurriedly moving toward the elevator. Ororo was anxious to get her baby back, having not been separated from Skye for so long since she was born. She was eager to see Logan as well, hoping to be able to shake him out of his feral mindset and calm him down. Ororo knew she needed to be able to convince him that the mansion was safe now, and she had to steel herself for the possibility that she may have to push past her claustrophobia and crawl into that small cave in order to coax Logan out. The task might not be as easily done as she hoped.
.