*** Disclaimer in Part One * * * *
A/N: My update list for this and other stories is at: autumnfic@yahoogroups.com
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Westchester New York
Scott and Logan had been true to their word and departed from Westchester as soon as the morning light had come. Charles had seen them off and wished them well. Logan predicted they would be gone for a few days at least. Charles had told them that he could no longer track Rogue and it made all three men nervous. Charles was a strong enough telepath to be able to track any living mutant within fairly easily. He needed Cerebro too actually locate them, but without it he could make a guess at how far away they were.
"How far is this place?" Logan asked Scott who was behind the wheel.
Scott knew that Logan was more anxious to get to Rogue than he let on, and a particularly antsy Wolverine behind the wheel was not a good combination, so Scott was driving. "It's about 600 miles." Scott answered.
Scott flipped on the radio and began humming along to 'Genie in a Bottle.' Logan snickered and it turned into an all our laugh when he saw Scott mouthing the words. "I ain't gonna rub you Scooter, not in your wildest fantasy."
"Shut up Logan." Scott began; his face reddening at being caught nearly singing.
Logan kept laughing. "Jubilee blasts this stuff on her radio all the time, I couldn't help picking it up. The engineers behind this type of music are experts at classical conditioning." Scott said indignantly.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Logan grinned.
The laughing Wolverine tipped his chair back and attempted to relax. Scott had changed the radio to a classical station so Logan's chances of sleeping increased ten fold. If he was on a long trip at least he could sleep through part of it.
Scott schooled his brain to concentrating on the road ahead, he was glad Logan was attempting to sleep. He really wasn't up for hearing his friend gripe and moan about driving like an old grandpa.
He was worried about Rogue. Logan didn't know it, but Logan had only lost connection with a fellow mutant once before. A mutant called Nightcrawler had been on his way to the mansion when a band of FOH'ers had gotten a hold of him. They caught him by surprise and shot him before he could teleport. Charles had sent Scott and Jean to pick up the body. Without Logan's knowledge, Charles had instructed Scott to do the same should things come to that. It wasn't something Scott was looking forward too, but he knew it was an option. He was worried about Rogue, she had been writing to him every other week or so, but he hadn't heard from her in nearly three weeks now. It wasn't characteristic of her to change her ways that quickly.
Rogue had a lot of repressed anger and aggression which would bleed out in extremely violent training sessions or when she was particularly stressed. Bobby had been on the receiving end of one of her bouts of anger when Rogue discovered he'd been cheating on her. She'd hit below the belt, literally and Bobby had ended up with stitches in a few uncomfortable places. Scott had witnessed the beating and had been shocked at exactly how hard Rogue could hit when she was good and mad.
Her enemies received the brunt of her brutality, but Scott suspected that even those who were close to her could be on the receiving end if they were caught in the crosshairs of her rage. It was a thought Scott had kept closely to himself. Accusations of anger management problems weren't something Rogue needed to hear. She had enough problems already; Scot t didn't need to add to them so he'd kept quiet. Shaking himself out of his grim contemplation Scott glanced over at his partner and discovered he was sleeping. Scott flipped the station back and began humming gently to pop music. He liked it for the fact that it was mindless enough to clean your mind of any thought, which was something he sorely wanted at the moment.
***************
Charles returned to his study a heavy frown on his mouth and wrinkles weighing down his brow. He'd secretly used Cerebro to attempt to contact Rogue but had found nothing. It either meant she was dead or unconscious. The last was a slim hope in a bad situation as it had now been nearly a week since he'd last felt her presence. Rogue was almost as hard to kill as Logan was and could easily take care of himself so Charles was at a loss. With a trouble mind he settled himself down to his morning routine. He glanced through the mail quickly before pulling the newspaper into place. The headline immediately jumped out at him.
Vampire-like Attack on Mutant Registration Bill Supporter.
Late Sunday night, Senator Lori Angleman was asleep when she awoke to find herself with a stranger-latched too her neck. The intruder drew blood but closed the wound in a highly primitive fashion. Angleman had no other wounds but was visibly shaken from the encounter.
When asked what the attacker wanted, Senator Angleman gave the following statement. " My attacker is a mutant-rights terrorist. My life was threatened if I didn't agree to retract my mutant registration bill and urge my fellow senators to do the same. I refuse to be bullied by this coward. The bill will be submitted, and it will pass."
The strong statement from Angleman was heralded by several of her colleges. The Senator got a clear description of her attacker, though the many surveillance cameras around the property showed nothing. Angleman described the perpetrator as being around five feet six inches, 130 lbs, with brown hair with two white streaks, brown eyes and white skin. Angleman claims the attacker is highly dangerous and incredibly strong.
Police sketch artists are composing a drawing based on the senator's description. If anyone comes into contact with the suspect, please notify the Atlanta Police Department at 1-800-555-3245.
Charles stared at the article for a long time. Deep down he knew it had to be Rogue, and his heart broke. She had come to his institute as a young girl, full of anger and despair. And he hadn't helped her the way she needed help. She was damaged and he hadn't lifted a finger. It was his fault, and he finally understood how grossly he'd underestimated her.
************
Logan had awoken five hours into the journey and had insisted that Scott take a break for driving. They'd driven in tense silence and finally entered the city limits of Pavmire, Rogue's last known location. Logan's heart was hammering in his chest, he was nervous. He hadn't seen Marie in six months now, and he didn't know what to tell her. He'd been a chicken and had run away from her without giving her a reason. She was likely to be pissed at him, and he knew he deserved it, but seeing Marie angry with him tore at his heart. It made him feel guilty and want to do anything to ease that look off her features.
"What road?" Logan asked tersely.
"32 Taryn Road." Scott recited from the sheet of paper Charles had given him.
Logan turned the suburban onto the appropriate drive and slowed the vehicle to scan for the appropriate building. The truck rolled to a stop and he and Scott jumped to the ground and walked to the door. "Logan, are you ready?" Scott asked.
The older man simply nodded and rapped sharply on the door. When there was no answer Logan knocked again a bit harder. "Logan, the door's open." Scott informed him, jiggling the handle.
Without a moment's hesitation, Logan opened the door and barged into the house. Darkness greeted him as he stepped into the small living room. Rogue's things were present everywhere. Gloves, scarves, books, cd's. The house smelled distinctly of her, but another scent mingled with it, one he couldn't identify and one he wasn't sure he wanted too. Scott headed off to search the back of the house while Logan explored the front. His eyes adjusted quickly to the lack of light, and his sharp sight picked out a broken picture frame on the floor.
It was a picture of the two of them. He'd returned from Alkali Lake, and was hugging Rogue who'd come to greet him. Kitty had taken the picture, which at the time had annoyed Logan. Now he saw what he'd refused to acknowledge for too long. Rogue was a beautiful young woman. Her hair, her lips, her body, everything about her was young and full of light. The only difference in her appearance was her eyes. They held a weight and a knowledge that no 20 year old should ever experience. It gave her the appearance of being older than her years. Logan stared at the picture for so long that he missed the slight creak of the door as it was opened.
"She's not here Logan." Scott told his college.
"Where the hell is she?" Logan was frustrated.
They'd traveled all this way and still had yet to find Rogue. "Where did Charles say she was working?" Scott mumbled to himself.
"The funeral parlor downtown. McGreggor's Undertaking." Scott answered his own question.
"Nice name." Logan snorted.
"We have two options, try to find her tonight, or check into a motel, get something to eat and start again tomorrow."
"Yeah, I'm beat." Logan muttered.
"You were asleep for most of the trip." Scott said exasperatedly.
"Shove it One-eye, let's grab a bite." Logan snarled and stalked out of the house.
A few minutes later the two were eating greasy burgers at the local burger joint. They'd decided to check out the house once more before crashing at work, and if they couldn't find her they'd drop in where Rogue worked. "Did Charles tell you anything else?" Logan asked out of the blue.
"About what?" Scott said carefully. He didn't want to say what Charles had said, but he didn't want to hide anything either.
"The whole brain thing. Why can't he find her?"
"He doesn't know Logan. It's only happened once before, but it wasn't good alright?"
"What happened before?"
"Charles couldn't reach someone."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Logan growled.
"I'" he began but was interrupted by a piercing scream.
"Help! Oh God someone help!" A panicked voice cried from behind the restaurant.
Scott and Logan being in the superhero business, responded quickly to the cry for help. In the darkened ally a young man was being held up against the wall while a smaller figure was apparently giving him a really nasty hickey. Scott grabbed the shoulder and was shocked at what he saw. The young man disappeared, and the young vampire licked the blood from her lips.
"Rogue?"
"You interrupted my dinner, what do you want?"