To the Rescue
"Professor, we're here," called Beast from the pilots seat. "I'll set her down here." Beast piloted the Blackbird over to a small grassy area near the warehouse. He watched as the X-Men unloaded the jet. Soon the X-Men were all in position, ready to rescue their mutual friend. Finally it was just Beast and the Professor left in the jet.
"Well, Mystique? Are you planning to tell my why you are here?" asked the Professor patently.
Mystique shifter to her normal form, "Your telepathic, figure it out."
"Ah, yes. Rogue," he shook his head sadly as he read her thoughts, "I'm afraid she wants nothing to do with you."
"I just want to talk to her. In return, I'll tell you where you can find her."
"What do you want to talk about with her?"
"I have a question for her. That's all you need to know." Mystique turned to leave the jet, "Is it a deal then?"
"No. Logan is already on his way to the cave."
"Bad move Charles." Mystique pulled out a small detonator, "Last chance."
"No. I will not force Rogue to accept you."
Mystique nodded and exited the Blackbird. She walked to the edge of the field and pushed the button on the detonator. A sudden flash of light filled the sky as the Blackbird exploded.
Storm rolled over to her side, moaning slightly as she struggled to get up. Shacking her head, she climbed to her feet and made her way to the mansion. Storm immediately entered the War Room; during times of crises it served as a base of operations.
Storm walked over to the communicator and spoke in a loud clear voice, "Professor, I have lost Wolverine. How should I proceed?" She waited patiently for an answerer, yet all she got was static. Growing concerned Storm tried again, "Is anybody there? Professor, Hank, Scott?"
"Storm? Is that you?" a confused voice spoke.
"Yes, who is this? What has happened?"
"It's Scott. There was an explosion. The Blackbird was blown up. The Professor was inside, he's hurt pretty bad."
"Try to stabilize him, I'll be there as fast as possible."
"What about Wolverine? I heard you say that he left?"
"About an hour ago, he went to find Sabertooth. Where's Hank, is he with you? Let me talk to him, Scott."
"Hank's not here. He seems to have disappeared."
"That's because he's been unconscious for the last hour."
Storm spun around to see a still groggy Hank being half carried into the room by Bobby and Amara, "Hank! What happened?"
"Mystique, she jumped me and took my place. She must have planned this whole thing, but why?"
"Why else? Rogue." Storm said sadly.
Logan sped down the forest road. Now that he could smell Sabertooth, he was having no trouble finding his way to the cave. Logan slowed the motorcycle to a stop and dismounted; from here on he would have to go by foot. He walked though the forest, making o sound the whole time. A sudden scent caused hem to stop; blood, Rogue's blood. A low growl formed in Logan's thought, "If you hurt her at all Creed, you'll be sorry." Logan continued on his search for Rogue. Then he saw it; the cave. "Rogue's in there, but what about Sabertooth?" Logan walked over to a shadowed area and waited. "It's to risky to go in until I find Sabertooth, but if Rogue's bleeding…" Logan shrugged, "Rogue's a big girl, she can take care of herself. First priority is Sabertooth. After I take care of him, I'll go help Rogue."
Rogue finally struggled free of her restraints. Her arms were covered in blood; the ropes had cut deep into her wrists, and her ankle was throbbing painfully. Beyond that she was fine. Slowly, Rogue climbed to her feet. Placing one hand on the wall for support, she painfully made her way to the bars.
"Metal, damnit. Think Rogue, you've gotten out of worse scrapes than this." Rogue grabbed one of the bars and shook it hard, "Kinda weak, rusted too. Maybe I could try kicking them." Rogue's eyes scanned for the weakest spot, "There, at the end." She slowly lowered herself to the ground; there was no way she could support herself on a bad ankle, and kicked the bars as hard as possible. "No good, again." After a few more tries she heard a sudden cracking as the bar snapped in half. "Good, now let's go kick a certain Kitty's ass!"