Disclaimer: I don't own any characters except my characters. Which are quite a few this time around. Let's try it this way: I don't own any Marvel characters that happen to show up in the upcoming chapters and which I'm sure you'll recognise without any need to name long lists. I also do not own Jenny, which Dizi created a few years back and which is a fabulous character. I strongly recommend you read her adventures with Wolverine and the X-Men.

My Irbis Saga is divided into two cycles: the Irbis Cycle proper, and the 'Taming of the Hearts' Cycle. This is the fifth story in the second cycle.

You do not have to read the first cycle, just be aware that Creed met his match (sort of) in this Irbis OC. In the second cycle there are several plot points of the first cycle that are mentioned but they don't really require going back to read it (if you disagree, let me know). Do note that this cycle is set in an AU that diverges from the canon comic books shortly after M-Day.

Be aware that the stories in this cycle segue one into the next and, even though each story has its own arc (with a few subplots), there is one line that follows all of the stories. If you wish to start this cycle at the beginning, keep in mind the list below

Previous stories in the 2nd cycle and how essential they are to know before you read the current story:

1. The Proposal – focus on Remy and Rogue. Not essential to the current story (but the last chapter explains a lot).

2. The Ressurrection – focus on Creed, Irbis and Lilia. This is an essential read as it explains the basic premise to the whole cycle.

3. Double-Dealings – focus on Creed, Irbis and Lilia, but also on Mystique. It sets the stage for the current 4th tale but it isn't essential.

4. Disasters Come in Threes – focus on Creed, Irbis and Lilia, but also on Rogue and the twins. The current 5th tale is a continuation of this so it is an essential read.

Note: This is my second time working with a bit more of action. The first time was with Jubilee in The Proposal, but there was quite a lot for different characters to do so there actually was action. This time, though, there's a whole lot more of fruitless searching and 'paperworking' and not many lively action scenes. To solve the problem, I decided to weave in two stories to provide some tension before the final show down. Because there will be an action packed showdown, that much I can promise, and there will be three happy endings (though some may be happier than others).

Please let me know what you think of the rhythm and whether there is a good balance in-between the three plots fighting for their respective happy endings. Thank you for your continuing support.

1. Plans – Part I

"Non," Marie said sharply.

Rogue looked away from the desk where she was grading essays in time to see her little girl push her twin brother away from a blue ball. Little Christopher swayed precariously for a few seconds before falling on his diapered behind and looking helplessly at his sister.

"Mine," she told him grouchily.

"Play nice, Marie," Anna told her. "Ya should share yer toys with yer brother."

Christopher looked at her with a helpless pout then started crawling towards her through the grass. Anna frowned. Little Chris had stopped crawling rather early, why was he… Ah, he got to his feet and ran clumsily into her arms, just as Marie embraced her from behind. Laughing, Anna lay down on the blanket over the grass and enjoyed the summer sun. She held both children tightly and closed her eyes.

"Mommie! Mommie! 'ook!"

"What is…" As Anna opened her eyes with a smile, the question froze on her togue. Her baby girl had developed blue skin and straight red hair.

Rogue sat up and nearly smashed her face against a reclined plane seat. Next to her, two women wearing head scarves were snoring softly. What time was it? Outside, the sky was brightly blue but her phone was still set for French time: 5.38 am. What was the time difference between France and Afghanistan? Uh… She was under the impression there was a nine-hour difference between Massachusetts and Afghanistan. Nine or ten…

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing in approximately 20 minutes. It is now 9.10, local time, and we can expect clear skies for the entire day, with temperatures reaching 28º C. As we start our descent, please make sure…"

She'd be out of the plane shortly after 9.30. Rogue looked out the window again, this time taking in the mountainous terrain below her. Had Laura read her texts? She hoped so. She was not looking forward to looking for the young clone throughout those mountains. Even though she wanted to check any messages, she forced herself to stay put.

She realised she was once more toying with the charm Remy had offered her three months earlier. She looked at the entwined silver hearts and smiled sadly as she read the inscriptions on the rims: Marie, Christopher. She kissed the charm and held it tight inside her hand while her mind returned to the same path as before she'd fallen asleep: killing Mystique.

Back in the Academy, all she could think of was that she'd kill the woman. Just kill! But it was one of those reactions one has. How many times had she threatened to murder Remy, right? Through her pain, she had still asked herself how a woman who'd been like a mother to her could do something this evil? Sure, she had tried to kill Rogue before, had… but she'd also insisted over and over that no matter how twisted her actions were, she would always want nothing but the best for Rogue. Back in the Academy, she had still asked herself how could her 'fostermother' have done such a thing. Fostermother. She'd still thought of her as family.

During the flight from the States to France, she'd stopped thinking of her as estranged family. She was now a dangerous villain who meant nothing to Rogue.

She had started imagining the confrontation then, but often the clash between the two ended in the realm of fantasy. Too often, Rogue saw herself simply punching her non-stop. Scenario after scenario, it always ended up in a relentless beating, with Mystique barely making a move to stop the onslaught. Well, except in the scenarios where the snake abandoned the babies to save herself.

Now, as the plane swerved softly left to align itself with the runway, that rash anger felt icy and collected. Chop her head off, Creed had said. Chop all of her body into tiny pieces and incinerate them all.

Rogue would need a blade for that, which she didn't have. Unless one counted Laura as a living blade. In that case, she had half a dozen. The ideal would be for Rogue to distract Mystique so that Laura could catch her from behind. Behead her immediately. Of course, if she was going to be a useful distraction, she'd have to get herself in shape. When had she last practised hand-to-hand combat at Mystique's level? The only thing she had going was super-strength, and Mystique knew all too well how to counter-act super-strong opponents.

Skipping ahead the fight itself – that could not be rehearsed – Rogue focused on what to do afterwards. Behead Mystique, then chop her body into pieces. Common sense told her to dismember her quickly and then focus on the torso, so as to reach her main organs. As a skilled shapeshifter, the woman could move them around inside her to avoid deadly hits, but she wouldn't be able to so if she was beheaded and the stabbings were too fast, too numerous.

She could see the slaughter in all its repulsive enormity before her.

She could see the head, those yellow eyes wide and dead, in a pool of blood near the butchered body.

It did not disturb her.

If anything, it was the lack of emotion that unsettled her. Neither a sense of victory or fierce satisfaction. Not even a shadow of hard-earned peace, savage fulfillment or appeased anger. In her mind, the chopped up pieces of the woman she had once loved like a mother ellicited no emotion whatsoever.

Was this what killing felt like for Laura? A big unconsequential nothing?

The moment the plane touched down and desaccelarated to parking speed, though, she got her phone discretely out. On the loudspeakers, the passengers were told to keep their seatbelts on and to refrain from using cell phones while the seatbelt sign was on.

The moment it got reception, Rogue frowned. 295 messages? She opened the text app and realised 294 of those messages were from Creed. What the hell? She read Laura's first, obviously:

will be there. call me when you are off the plane.

Great. They could organise a plan and get tickets for another plane immediately. She then checked Creed's and took a deep breath. It was a list of Mystique's old haunts, at least all he knew of, as he mentioned in the first few messages. Every place had a comment and the ones he thought were particularly likely were in Caps Locks. Sometimes the place name showed up alone in a message, followed by all the details he was aware of. It was never ending!

Rogue skimmed through the messages and stopped midway.

once theyre ready to accept Raven as their new mom

maybe in 1 - 2 years

Once they're ready to accept… Rogue quickly rubbed the painful tear away. She had to harden herself because the killer was right: Mystique would try to make her babies forget about their Mommy. She would try and… She would fail. Rogue would find her long before her babies could forget her. One or two years, Creed had said. Did he think she'd let that treacherous viper wander freely that long? No. Not even two months! Two weeks! No.

we need a world map, she texted Laura. asap

Laura drove Rogue to a house about half an hour from the airport. Both were wearing headscarves and loose coats to hide their bodies and call less attention to themselves in the busy morning roads of the city.

"We will be able to talk and organise our next steps," Laura had told Rogue.

The woman, however, had been enraged with the idea. Her plan had been to catch another plane back to Europe immediately – which told Laura she was not thinking clearly. Rogue could have asked Laura to board the first plane out of Afghanistan. It would have been more sensible as it would have saved time and Rogue could have started her investigations immediately. Now, however, their options were either to get on a morning plane that would take over twenty hours to reach Madrid – to where Rogue insisted they must return – or to wait until next morning and board the 8.30 plane, which would get there in only fourteen hours.

Rogue had wanted to board the 20+ hour flight; Laura had refused.

"We cannot discuss our next steps in public and you will be useless if you do not get some rest and focus."

Unable to make the woman see reason and unwilling to start a fight in the airport, Laura had turned her back on her and had returned to her rental car. Rogue had eventually joined her, but she was furious. It was ok. She had 23 hours to overcome the fury and focus her mind.

Laura drove out of the city and through the surrounding fields, driving past two small farming villages before stopping by the house she had rented. Being a foreigner who spoke the language fluently was useful, but it was the money she used to rent the house above its normal price that had got her female condition overlooked. That and the fact she had presented herself as a soldier. Sometimes, she had to show her deadly skills if she wanted to be respected, but the money had been enough this time.

It was a small traditional mud house, describable as a box and possessing a single window next to the door. The window had no glass, only a crooked shutter that wouldn't shut. Inside, there was an oven and a hearth to the right, next to what could have been called a counter under which two dirty yellow jugs of water would keep their needs covered until next morning. On the left, there was an old darkened rug that had once bore a blue pattern amidst dark red. It served as bedding. Laura went inside only to get rid of her coat and headscarf and bring out a box with bolani, a type of flat bread with a vegetarian filling. Later, she'd buy some mantu, dumplings of minced meat, from a nearby family. For now, though, the bread would suffice.

"Sit here," she told Rogue, choosing a spot that was in the shadow thanks to the tall mud walls surrounding the house. The surrounding wall was actually the key feature that had made Laura choose it for their safe house. "Eat something to recover your strength and tell me all the details."

Her account of the events was sometimes muddled by outbursts of anger that worried Laura. She often also skipped ahead to what she wanted to do instead of presenting a strictly chronological report. She was too emotional.

It was obvious to Laura that even if she had already been in Madrid when the videos of the children's delivery to Mystique were discovered, it had still been too late. Mystique was experienced and intelligent, and she had had plenty of time to prepare the whole operation. Either they had caught up with the delivery sooner, or running after the runaway mutant was out of the picture. The only thing left was really to understand the logic guiding her plan and start what must forcibly be a long, slow search. To go on such a search blindly, though, would greatly diminish their chances of finding the missing children.

"Is it known why Mystique targeted the twins," Laura asked once Rogue had explained how she'd sneaked away from the other X-Men to get on the plane to Afghanistan.

Rogue closed her hands into tight fists.

"It seems Irene had predicted they'd become very powerful," she sneered. "Mystique never could resist power."

Irene Adler, Destiny. Laura had heard of her and her predictions. She was also aware Rogue had been raised by both Mystique and Destiny, so the expression "it seems" left some doubts in Laura's mind. It was also strange that the precognitive had predicted Rogue would have children when everyone had thought it impossible. But perhaps the prediction had been too vague to be recognised as such till the events had unfolded themselves.

"Do you recall that prediction?"

Rogue shook her head.

"Creed heard it some time when they worked together."

Laura frowned. Sabretooth? That one had died quite a few years ago.

"And who did he pass that information to? How and when did you come to hear of it?"

Because it could be a rumour, after all.

"Have ya heard 'bout Tigard, the newest X-Men?" Laura nodded. "He's really Sabretooth. Apparently a clone of his took over his identity and he let 'im run free. When Logan killed 'im, Sabretooth took advantage of it ta remake his life as a new person. Now, he's workin' wi'the X-Men and he was the one who said… he didn't remember the exact words, but apparently Irene predicted that Ah'd never really control mah powers, but that Ah would create a powerful future."

Ok. Then her goal must be to find a place where she could raise them. How she planned to raise the children would determine her destination. Having been raised by her, Rogue would be the best to answer that question. Though Sabretooth-turned-Tigard might have relevant ideas, if they had worked together as often as it was said.

"D'ya get the map I asked ya?" Rogue carried on. "Tigard sent me a list o' places Mystique has used over the years an' that might give us some clues."

Laura frowned and echoed the name, Tigard.

"Sabretooth is dead," Rogue said with surprising heat, having in mind the man had been a long-time enemy. "He's got a baby girl. Anyone as much as dreams Sabretooth is still alive, an' she might as well be dead. That's why he let the clone run free in the first place. He has his heart in the right place now, no matter what he did in the past, an' that little girl does not deserve ta be hunted down, ya understand? So… Sabretooth is dead an' this is Tigard we're talkin' 'bout."

Laura nodded again, since Rogue's protectiveness of the man's true identity was explained by her own endangered children. She got a paper pad and the map, then opened them on the ground, a pen in hand to mark the places.

"Salzburg," Rogue grumbled. "She had a house there that she used a few times over the years, somewhere 'tween a church and a train station. He can't recall details. She once mentioned somethin' 'bout havin' growin' up there, so… she might wanna go back, I don't know."

Laura nodded and marked it on the map then jotted it down on the pad.

"A large city is a good place to hide," Laura commented. "But a more rural environment may be more appealing depending on how she plans to raise the children in the long run. Do you think she'd let emotional reasons guide her choice of address on this case?"

Rogue shook her head and mentioned Bregenz, a rural area by a lake that offered quick access to Germany and Switzerland.

For the next hours, they simply added every place Tigard had mentioned to the map of Europe, leaving out other continents for the time being. The places clustered in paths that highlighted the areas of Europe Mystique had favored over the years. Now it was time to decide if she would keep to the places she was already familiar with, or if she'd avoid them altogether.

Using rocks to weigh down the pieces of paper where Laura had taken notes about each place, they started discussing Mystique's plans for the education of the children and how those places could fit which plans.

"If Ah ain't mistaken, Tigard an' Mystique discussed the right way ta raise children the last time they were together, in Paris. But Ah'm not sure exactly what was said."

"Ask him for details," Laura said quietly. "Preferably, her exact words and then his interpretation based on how well he knows her."

Rogue nodded and texted him. In the mean time, Laura looked at the map of Spain. It was known that Mystique had left the airport, and although she might have returned there under a different guise to get on a plane to elsewhere, Laura felt she must have avoided that option. The Spanish authorities had only been warned 33 hours after the children had been handed to Mystique, so it would have posed no danger, but the shapeshifter couldn't have known how much time she'd have beforehand. She could have driven to another Spanish airport or across the border, either to Portugal or France, to get on a plane there. Or on a long-distance train. If she had previously arranged documents for a family of two parents and two children, paying someone to act as the second parent…

It would be very difficult to locate her. Very difficult indeed. In the texts, Tigard had suggested she might pose as a tourist, travelling slowly along the Mediterranean Coast until the children were fully used to her. It was a valid suggestion, but Rogue seemed to find it too obvious.

"Laura."

She looked up from the diagrams she was making on the paper pad, calculating times and variables. There were too many unknowns, and they'd need to hear from Tigard to have a clearer picture of Mystique's plans. Rogue was frowning furiously at her and Laura wished she would get those emotions in check sooner than later.

"Ya promised me once ya'd protect mah children."

She hadn't exactly promised, simply shown herself willing… perhaps even desiring to do so. Despite the inaccuracy, she nodded.

"Ya know there's only one way ta protect 'em from Mystique, don't ya?"

Laura straightened up.

"If her aim is to use their future powers, she will not stop for as long as she is alive," she said quietly.

"The X-Men don't know Ah've come to you fer help."

Hmm. Well, Logan knew, but he often kept information to himself.

"They also don't know that… Ya know they'll do anythin' ta stop me from killin' Mystique."

Laura breathed quietly, thinking it over, then she shook her head.

"You will not kill Mystique."

She hadn't expected the woman to punch her without warning, but Laura still evaded the attack easily. Enraged, Rogue flew blindly against Laura. Almost with a sigh, Laura once more avoided the string of attacks, manipulating their positions until she was able to hit the solar plexus and the brachial plexus in quick sequence, then pin her down on the ground.

"You are too weak, out of shape and emotional to do it."

Laura somersaulted away from the woman before she could react. There were tears running down her still enraged face.

"Beating an experienced fighter to death will take too long," Laura carried on while getting ready for another attack. "And being so emotional about the whole situation, there is a high probability she will win the fight rather than you. Besides, a skilled shapeshifter would be difficult to beat to death even if she were immobilised. Her power not only gives her regenerative abilities, it also allows her to change the position of her organs to minimise the impact to the most sensitive inner organs."

"D'ya think Ah don't know that?"

"Using your draining powers to kill her would be detrimental to your health in unpredictable ways," Laura continued. "And that might further jeopardise the children."

"She has ta be chopped ta pieces!" Rogue shouted. "Chopped ta pieces an' burnt t'ashes! That's the only sure way ta get rid of her!"

Her body posture indicated fatigue.

"The plan is fer me ta distract her in a fight, an' fer you ta chop her head off, then keep on choppin' till there's nuthin' ta regenerate."

Ah, that was a sound plan.

"Why did you not say you intended me to make the kill instead of you?"

Laura returned to the map and diagrams, crouching.

"Still, from this altercation, it is clear you are not in conditions to be much of a distraction," Laura collected everything into a neat pile. "Mystique is more than capable of handling two skilled opponents at the same time. We will spend the rest of the day sparring."

Rogue was glaring silently from afar.

"You really must control your emotions. Mystique will use them against you."

"Ah know," she grumbled viciously.

"Good."

Laura took the map and the notes into the house and returned outside. Rogue was looking at some charm on a necklace.

"We'll start with the basics," Laura informed her. "I will not use my claws, and you will use neither your flight nor your draining powers. Ready?"

She nodded and took off her blouse and her jeans, revealing the uniform she had underneath. Then she hid the charm under the top of the uniform.

"Ready."

If you've enjoyed the chapter, please leave a review. Just let me know what you liked and disliked so I can keep improving my writing skills. Thank you.