Chapter 7:
He only barely managed to make sure the bike engine turned off before he took off into the mansion. His mind was whirling with what had happened the past couple of hours- finding Buckethead's camp, hearing his psychotic plan, seeing Jean…he had to get back. He had to warn them, tell them what he saw out there.
The army that Magneto had…there were just too many.
The last of his cuts had healed before he'd even sat down on his bike, but his clothes were ratty enough that Storm gave him a raised brow when she saw him.
"Logan, wha-"
"I found her," he cut to the chase. "She's with Magneto and I know where they're headed. We have to move. They're going to attack Alcatraz," he took off down the hallway, not even waiting for them to keep up.
He smelled Iceprick off to the side and caught him running up the stairs out of the corner of his eye. He knew he'd be getting the other Junior X-Men ready to head out. At that thought, he felt his shoulders tense in preparation.
He couldn't decide if he was more nervous about going to war or facing Marie.
-x-
Zipping into the leather suit felt a lot more serious this time around, though Rogue wasn't surprised by this in the least. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, though she made sure to keep a calm exterior. She still wasn't sure if she was ready, though the voices in her head and the power that thrummed through her veins told her differently. She felt like something big was going to happen, something irreversible.
Despite the warmth of her suit, she felt a shiver go down her spine.
She just hoped she was ready for what's to come.
As she followed Jubilee and Kitty down the hallway, she noticed Logan standing at the doorway to the X-Jet. He looked her way and she quickly diverted her gaze to the ground. She could hear the conversation going on around her, but it was like she was underwater. She couldn't concentrate on anything that they were saying and she focused all of her attention on gathering her hair into a bun.
She could feel Logan's eyes on her, but she refused to look back. She knew they were giving inspirational speeches and she was reaching the point where she just wanted to get on with it. As soon as everyone started walking through the entry, she was quick on their heels.
Unfortunately, she didn't count on Logan snagging her arm and holding her back as everyone else got on the jet.
Her eyes met his and she hated the tingle that shot through her.
She ripped her arm away. "What, Logan?" she spit at him.
His jaw muscle clenched before he focused his attention on the ground. "Look, I just wanted to say…," he trailed off, shaking his head. He reached into his pocket and Rogue immediately recognized the familiar tags. He offered them out to her.
"Why give 'em back to me?" She questioned, her eyes narrowed.
He shrugged, eyes riveted to the tags in his hand. His thumb brushed across his name emblazed on the metal. Rogue glanced back up to his face to see him swallow. Something clicked in his eyes and suddenly they were staring straight into hers. She shivered again.
"Because with you is the only place they belong."
Her breath caught in her throat. Then she shook her head.
"What are you sayin'...?"
"Marie, you know what I'm saying."
"I need you to actually say it though."
His jaw clenched but he took a step forward. She craned her neck to keep up eye contact. He reached down to gently grasp her hand and brought it up to meet his. Placing his tags in her palm, his lips pressed into a warm line.
"These tags represent who I am and who I've been. They're important to me." He curled her fingers around the tags, their eyes never leaving each other. "I want you to have them."
She blinked.
"Becaauuuse…?" she tilted her head to the side.
He stared blankly at her.
She raised her eyebrows at him expectantly.
"I…,"he looked confused and she couldn't help the small quirk of her lips. She couldn't help fucking with him just a little bit.
He narrowed his eyes at her but smiled anyway. Slightly pushing their joined hands closer to her, he grew serious again.
"You're important to me too, Marie. Probably more. And I don't trust anyone else with them." His thumb brushed across the tops of her fingers and she felt the warmth of it to her toes.
Withdrawing her hand from his, she took great care of replacing the tags around her neck, tucking them safely inside her suit. She patted the spot where they were, which happened to be directly above her heart. She looked back up at him.
His eyes had been trained on her face the whole time.
She smiled at him.
"Um, guys?"
Both jolted and turned to the jets entrance where Jubilee was grinning over at them.
"I hate to interrupt, but…mutant prison raid, remember? Gotta go save the day again." She popped her gum and winked over at Rogue before ducking back into the jet.
Logan glanced back over at her and Rogue knew her face was tinged pink, but she bravely returned his gaze.
"Well, you heard her, sugah. Let's go save the day," she grinned.
He smirked and didn't say anything when she grabbed his hand to lead him onto the jet. He merely followed after her and closed his fingers around hers.
-x-
Kitty focused on breathing evenly and keeping her mind as clear as she possibly could. If she allowed her thoughts to stray, there's only one place they'd lead and she couldn't afford to get sidetracked about that right now.
She couldn't help it though. She was going to see him again. John was going to be there, she just knew it. She could feel it in her bones.
It kind of terrified her.
Did he look different? Would he remember her? Or act like she was nothing but another enemy? Would he attack her? Would they fight?
Kitty dragged in a ragged breath and tilted her head back against the seat. Clenching her eyes shut for a moment, she then turned to glance at everyone around her. The air was thick and nobody could bring themselves to speak. The only lightheartedness Kitty could remember was when Logan and Rogue walked onto the jet, Rogue's hand resting over her heart.
Kitty had smiled, knowing that at least someone's relationship had been repaired.
She could only hope the same could be said for her by the end of the battle.
She could only hope they all made it out alive to even mend those relationships.
She kind of hoped he wasn't even there. It would make her life a whole lot easier. Of course, when did John ever make her life easier though?
A chuckle escaped her lips without her thinking, despite the bitterness sweeping through her. It was nice to know he could at least still make her laugh even when she didn't want to.
-x-
Rogue clenched her fists as she stared out at the army in front of her. There were hundreds of mutants, all ready to tear the X-Men apart. Tear her apart.
She was a bit nervous, to be honest.
Glancing to her right, she caught Logan's eye. Immediately a warmth settled over her and she felt herself calm, her posture loosening and strengthening at the same time. She smiled at him. His eyes were piercing but his mouth curved into a smirk as he nodded back to her. She could see that he was a touch nervous as well, his hands clenching and his knuckles tightening around his claws, but he appeared to be confident. She strived to accomplish the same thing, drawing from his strength and hopefully providing some back to him.
When he looked front again, she turned to her other side to share a quick glance with Jubilee and Kitty, who both looked determined and fierce and she had to smile again. Rolling her shoulders, she once again faced Magneto and his army.
The air was tense and no one spoke. A breath seemed to inhale and suddenly Magneto was shouting.
"Finish them!"
And everyone rushed forward and the battle began.
-x-
Oh my goodness I am so sorry for the long delay, real life caught up to me and it's been crappy trying to write anything to be quite honest. I was dealing with graduation and grad school and a bunch of other things (though I am proud to announce I now have a bachelor's degree under my belt hehe) and I work retail so holidays were obviously awful- so there are my many excuses lmao I'm so sorry ya'll. I hope this is alright, I'm so sorry it's so short. Thank you to all who are still reading this, I really appreciate it :) Enjoy and please let me know what you think :)
