Title: Chances
Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue
Rating: PG-13 for violence, language and adult situations
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The entire crew looked at Logan like he had two heads. Logan growled. Cyclops asked, "How do you know that?" Logan scowled. He knew that is sounded crazy and he didn't want to explain. How could he explain a woman in a white dress that was surrounded by mists swirling around her? How could he explain how beautiful she was? How could he tell them what she said about Marie? "Logan?" Cyclops asked quietly. He saw the faraway look that had come into Logan's eyes. "How?" He didn't want to push Logan too much, afraid he might go over the edge. But he had to know how he knew that.
Logan took a breath. "I know it sounds fucking crazy, ok? But I also know that it's true. For some reason, a few minutes ago I couldn't keep my eyes open. It was like I was being compelled to fall asleep. Which, it so happens, I was. A woman apparently called me into a dream. I heard her calling my name…" He proceeded to tell them the rest of the "dream." He left out the part where he thought he had seen dog tags around her neck. For some reason that really had stuck with him. Dog tags. What's the connection?
"What did she say about Rogue again?" Storm asked.
"That in a way, she was dead already." Logan answered her. Cyclops cut in. "But she said Marie, not Rogue." He seemed to be almost talking to himself.
"What the hell does that have to do with anything, One-eye? Rogue and Marie are the same person." Logan felt another growl rise in the back of his throat.
"Logan, for someone that seems so smart at times, you aren't very perceptive." Logan answered Scott by raising his middle claw in acknowledgement. Scott only laughed softly.
"So, what is de plan? Shall we go save mademoiselle? Or we turn tail and run?" Gambit asked the question blandly while shuffling a deck of cards. He looked at Scott for an answer.
Scott looked at the team; his team and he knew he didn't have to ask them what they thought. "One of ours was taken. She may or may not be there any longer. But we will damn sure find out. The day we leave one of our own, will be a cold day in hell."
With that said, Cyclops turned back to the controls. He called for infrared again. And told Storm to fill Professor X in on the situation. Storm lifted the CB and called the professor. They only used the CB to call. After that the professor used his mental talents to talk to them privately. Kept their plans safer.
"Since we no longer have the advantage of surprise, I say we go in and storm the castle." Jubilee said almost as if she was thinking out loud. Logan smiled. "My thought's exactly."
* * *
The old fortress looked familiar to Logan. His skin began to tingle and his hands began to shake. What the hell? He didn't need this right now. He needed to find Marie. He needed to get her back. That was what he needed. Not a panic attack about something that had happened years ago. Concentrate Logan. He thought to himself. Scott had decided to land the jet near the fortress in the woods. They didn't know how sturdy the rooftop was, so they decided landing there would be a bad idea. Not to mention, Magneto might decide to turn the jet into a pile of twisted metal. Jubilee was in the plane, on standby. She wasn't very happy about being there. But she had the most training on flying it. The rest of them had been split into teams. Storm was with Beast, Cyclops with Iceman and Wolverine with Gambit and Shadowcat.
Wolverine preferred to work alone, but his teammates decided against that. The odds were probably not in their favor and everyone thought it was best to have back-up. They spread out. Cyclops and Iceman took the front of the fortress. Storm and Beast took the roof. Storm could fly up there and Beast could easily scale the walls. Which left Wolverine, Gambit and Shadowcat with the back.
Wolverine crept quietly through the woods. They worked their way around the fortress. Shadowcat just walked through the trees as if they were insubstantial. Wolverine looked at her questioningly. She just grinned. "Practicing." He shook his head and kept walking. Gambit had put away his cards for once. He had assured everyone that they were close at hand though. No one was in sight. Not one of the brotherhood. That pist Wolverine off. He wanted to fight, now. As they got to the back of the building, Wolverine couldn't find a door. There weren't any reachable windows either. He unsheathed his claws, intending to inflict damage on the unmovable walls. Shadowcat shook her head and motioned for him to be silent. She laid a hand on his arm. She walked up to the wall, then through the stone.
Wolverine and Gambit looked at each other. Gambit shivered. He could take a lot of things; but that gave him the chills. They stood there waiting for Shadowcat to reappear. Wolverine started to get worried. They were not supposed to split up. Each group had a warning sign. They had Gambit. In case they needed help, Gambit would throw a deck of cards in the air and make them go off all together. Storm would shoot three bolts of lightening consecutively. And Cyclops would use his visor in the same way. It was not foolproof and could probably only be used outside. But it was the best they had at the moment.
All of a sudden, she appeared above their heads hanging out of a window. She threw down a rope. She grinned and waved them on when a hand grabbed her from behind. Her eyes shot wide open and she was dragged from sight. Wolverine grabbed the rope and started climbing. Gambit right behind him. Logan knew who had grabbed her. It had a blue hand. There was only one mutant he knew of with a blue hand. Mystique.
He fairly flew up the rope. As he looked in the window, the blue hand grabbed him and swung him in. Wolverine released his claws and spun around ready to fight. Only to find Beast grinning at him. Shadowcat was right behind him laughing. Wolverine growled and watched Beast pull up Gambit.
"Where's Storm?" Wolverine asked abruptly.
"She's watching from above to see if we are having any company joining us." Wolverine nodded.
"Have you seen anyone?" Beast and Shadowcat shook their heads. No one. What was going on? Was his dream real? Was this a trap? Wolverine thought. He knew that was what everyone else was thinking. "Let's go." They all walked through the door and into the hall. Wolverine made a right turn. The halls were silent and cold. Evil seemed to saturate the place. Every once in a while they saw blood smeared on the walls and floors. As if someone had been pushed through the halls bleeding, dragging their hands across the walls in order to get away. Had that been me? Wolverine asked silently. It was a morbid thought. What was worse is that it may have been true. He shook his head to clear those thoughts away. It wasn't the time for that. They continued to creep down the halls quietly.
* * *
Storm flew around over the fortress. It wasn't a pretty sight. Half of the fortress was crumbling down in disrepair, while the other half was catching up. Vines covered the walls. Storm was sick at heart. She wanted to get her teammate back. No. She wanted to get her friend back. She could only imagine what had happened to her in the past couple of days. Storm flew in and out of the clouds of fog she had created as a cover; when she saw the plane. It was a jet almost like theirs, except it was larger. It was in the midst of the woods like theirs. She swooped down to get a better look. Someone was running towards the plane. It looked like Mystique. Where had she been? Storm went over to the fortress again and looked around. Then she saw it. A bomb had been planted near the side of the building. It's red flashing light had caught her attention. She flew around to the other side. Another bomb. And they both read three minutes and counting. The bombs were mounted to the side of the building. Only Wolverine or Rogue could have lifted them or cut them out.
Storm held her hand up to the sky and flashed lightning three consecutive times. Over and over again. Storm prayed like she had never prayed before. She then flew over to an open window and yelled to her teammates.
End of chapter 10. More to come.
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