Somewhere I Belong

Chapter 13

With a sigh, Shay stood up from her little nest atop the mansion and stepped up to the edge of the roof. Without looking down, she spread her wings as far as possible, then leapt off the edge, her wings catching the air and pulling her back up from the ground. The slow beating of her wings almost matched up with her heart, giving her a smooth rhythm to follow.

When Shay neared the tops of the trees, she pivoted her shoulder back, so the wind pushed her up higher, just clearing the treetops. Almost directly under her was Alton's team, dressed in fatigues, they were crouched down, watching the sky above them with night-vision binoculars.

One of the men made a motion, signaling he'd seen the girl, and other person, a girl this time, crept up beside him, a small rifle in her arms. She quickly set it up on the ground, positioning herself behind the scope. She pressed her eye to the mini-scope and searched the area the man and pointed towards.

Overheard, Shay turned, heading back towards the Institute. She'd given her homework another thought. She'd work a little more, then maybe head down to the lab to help Hank some more. Something about the night, it was getting to her. She felt a shiver run up her spine, as though she was suddenly afraid of the sky, but that was ridiculous.

Suddenly, a pain erupted in her side and Shay gave a startled shriek, her hands automatically moving to her side. An echoing sound of a blast reached her ears a moment later, scaring her ever more. Her balance was thrown completely off, and she felt her body twist, her wings folding up.

"No!" she screamed as she tried to right herself again, but the pain, it was fogging up her mind. She flipped her body again, her wings opening the best they could, but it wasn't enough, they only slowed her fall to the earth below.

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Back at the mansion, Logan was dropping a greasy wrench back into a bucket when he heard the shot. He automatically crouched down defensively, but then he realized the sound had come from far off, possibly the woods or even farther. Shay's sudden shriek that followed it up pierced his heart, but confused his mind. What in the hell was going on?

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Shay's body hit the ground pretty hard, since she'd fall from more then 30 feet up. Oddly enough though, the forest floor that she landed on was cushioned, but she had no time to wonder about it. When she hit, her head slammed into the ground, knocking her out.

From out of the bushes and trees around her, Alton's crew moved in, one holding ropes, another holding chains and one caring a very odd helmet. They first tied Shay's arms behind her back, her wings too, keeping them tight to her body. Her feet were next, followed by the chains that doubled up the ropes. Finally, the man with the helmet stepped forward and slipped it onto Shay's head. If she'd been awake and able to see herself, the helmet would look very familiar, reminding her of a certain mutant she saw only once, in an alley many months ago.

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As Logan jogged out of the garage, he passed Kurt, who had been coming to fetch him for Xavier. "Get back inside, elf. Tell Charles there have been shots."

Kurt's face screwed up in confusion. "Shots?"

Logan threw him a look as he made his way towards the woods. "Yeah, like the one a gun would make. Now, move it!"

With a quick BAMF, Kurt was gone and Logan sprinted across the open field of the mansion's back yard.

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One of the men hulled Shay up onto his shoulder and moved towards a black van parked in the shadows of the trees. The others around him began rolling up the thick mats they had spread throughout the small area of the woods, pulling up more then thirty of the black mats. They shoved them into the back of the van, then the man climbed in after them, finally dropping Shay's unconscious form atop the padding.

"Let's get the hell out of here," the lead man called through a small window in the panel between the back of the van and the cab. The engine roared to life and headlights flicked on.

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Logan sniffed the air, still trying to catch Shay's scent. He headed farther into the woods, eyes flicking around the dark trees and shrubs. With a soft SNIKT, Logan entered a dark patch, finally catching a drift of the familiar scent. From his right, he heard a rustle, then two voices.

As he approached, the slam of a door quickened his pace. Just as he entered a small clearing, a large black van pulled through an opening across the way. Shay's scent was concentrated around this spot, and Logan could make a guess on where she was now.

With a growl, Logan sprinted after the van, though after a few feet, the woods cleared and the van hit open road. All Logan could do was watched the red lights disappear down the road.

Taking a few seconds to decide what to do next, Logan turned back to the woods and began jogging back to the mansion. When he re-entered the clearing, Logan took a few seconds to look around, see what he could find.

Shay's scent was beginning to fade, along with two other scent. Oddly though, there was a fresh trail leading across the grass. It started to Logan's right and moved to his left, disappearing into a few bushes.

Moving towards the bushes, Logan lifted a hand, three deadly blades point towards the shrub. Whatever or whoever it was in that shrub didn't have much time to live. Or, at least, they wouldn't have, if they hadn't suddenly stood up, a glowing card in hand.

"Hey, mon ami, Gambit don' mean any harm," the kid said, staring at Logan.

Not missing a beat, Logan stepped right through the bushes and grabbed the front of the kid's shirt, pulling his feet slightly off the floor. "Who the hell are you?" he roared in the kid's face, causing the younger mutant to flinch slightly.

"De name's Gambit," the Cajun muttered, pulling his shirt free from Logan's grasp and taking a step back from him.

Logan's eyes narrowed. "What's happened to Shay?"

Gambit's eyes returned the same spitful look. "Gambit don' know."

A BAMF announced Kurt's arrival, followed closely by a loud southern "Logan!", a trademark of Rogue. The two appeared from behind a few trees, both pausing when they saw Logan and Gambit standing a few feet away.

"What's he doin' here?" Rogue asked as she motioned towards Gambit.

Logan looked at Gambit, waiting for an answer to his and Rogue's question, but the Cajun didn't show any sign of answering. Logan growled slightly, and SNIKT, held three very sharp blades to the boy's neck.

Rogue's gloved hands on his shoulder stopped him from doing any actual harm to Gambit though, as she quietly said Logan's name. "Come on, Logan. Let's just get him to the Professor."

Kurt stepped up and grabbed both Gambit and Logan's shoulder, and with a BAMF, the three of them stood in the foyer of Xavier's School. Kurt BAMFed away to get Rogue as Logan pulled Gambit down a hall, throwing him into a large room at the end. There was a table and two chairs on either side of it, but the rest of the room was bare.

"You move, you die. Got it kid?" Logan growled fiercely as he turned to leave the room, slamming the door loudly.

"Does Remy really have a choice?" Gambit thought outloud as he slide into one of the chairs.

****Notes****

Oh man, have you guys been watching Evo?! The new episodes so rock! I love Apocalypse. He was my favorite villain in the old cartoons/comics. Anyways, I've been watching 'em like a fool and am very happy the Cajun has been getting a bigger part, though I still think he and Colossus need to break away from Magneto and join the Xers. I mean serious, they work on the side of good, not evil! Thanks again to Amy Michelle [dark_english_rose] for translating the Cajun's words.