Disclaimer: I own nothing
A/n: Sorry, I know I haven't updated in almost 2 months. I really just haven't had the time. School is keeping me super busy. I'll try to stay up on my updates, anyways, here's the next chapter:
"Hey Logan, what were those numbers she told you before?"
"I don't know. It was kinda weird of her to say something that random..." He turned to Xavier. "Professor, do these numbers, twelve dash one twenty eight dash ninety two, mean anything to you?"
A thoughtful look came over Xavier's face as he pondered the question. A slow smile crept onto his face then he grinned. "Good girl, Rouge, very good!" He said, more to himself than to the others looking at him in confusion. "Follow me," he led them down to the lower labs, basically undamaged by the attack.
"What's the deal, Xavier?" Logan asked impatiently.
"The numbers Rouge gave you are the code for activating a small tracking device that we placed on the back of her necklace, that one she wears all the time. The one Bobby gave her, I believe." Bobby smiled and they all nodded in understanding. "She came to me with the idea a few months after the Liberty Island incident." Scott flinched visibly. Jean had been there and any thoughts of her brought with it painful memories. Xavier continued as though he hadn't noticed, but watched Logan touch his shoulder comfortingly. "She said, should something like that happen again, at least we'd be able to locate her faster and stop whatever was happening."
"She never said anything to me about it," Bobby said, sounding a little hurt.
'Yeah," Logan agreed, the same hurt tone in his voice.
"Don't take it personally, you two. Nobody but Rouge and I knew about it and I asked her not to say anything. It was safer that way. For everyone." Xavier pulled up in front of a computer and waited for it to boot up. When it did, he pulled up a program and typed in the code, then pressed enter. A bunch of numbers and letters flashed by rapidly at eh bottom of the screen and a map appeared.
"This will only take a minute," Xavier mumbled, and just as he did, a little ding sounded from the computer's small speaker and a red dot moved quickly along the screen, following the maps little roads.
"Is that her?" Logan asked, indicating the dot.
"Yes."
"Jesus, they're moving fast."
"One would assume they were trying to make a fast getaway and get as far from here as humanly possible and quickly as humanly possible."
"They can't run forever," Logan growled deep in his throat. "And when they stop, they're gonna get a nasty surprise."
"Damn straight," Bobby agreed.
"Oh no, Boy Wonder," Logan said cynically. "I fly solo."
"Not a chance in hell. She's my girlfriend and I'm helping you find her." Bobby crossed his arms over his chest and glared at him determinedly.
"So am I," Scott said. "There's no way we're letting you go alone. Besides," he smirked, "you'd probably save Rouge and leave the other kids there. Once you decide something your mind is a little dead set on that one thing and you forget abut everyone else."
"Shut it, Scott, at least I don't have to wear those stupid glasses all the time."
Scott smirked and raised a hand to his custom made glasses. "I could take them off if you want?" He suggested threateningly. Logan raised his hands in mock-surrender, chuckling a bit. "Give up?" Scott grinned.
"For now," Logan nodded. "We have more important things to worry about. Like rescuing those kids."
Rouge was thrown into the back of a slate grey van, landing sprawled, bound and gagged, on Tyler's legs. Tyler, Emma and Riley were in her van; Shane, Tina, Ana, Rachel, and Alex were in the second. There was a special coating on the van's interior that blocked psychic waves from being passed between cars and to prevent Xavier from locating them.
Riley scooted over to her, arms and legs bound, but not gagged. "She's hurt," he cringed, feeling her pain in his own body. He put his back to her and gently pulled the gag out of her mouth. A few minutes later she groaned and opened her eyes slowly, looking around.
"Hey Rouge, you okay?" Tyler asked from above her, as she still lay on his legs.
"Yeah," she winced as she got her knees underneath her and sat up, leaning against the wall beside Tyler. Emma hovered a few feet off the floor on the other side of the van. Riley sat across from Rouge, face screwed up in concentration as he warded off everyone else's emotions.
"Who are these guys?" Emma asked. "What do they want from us?"
"I don't know," Tyler and Riley replied quietly. Rouge looked at the floor for a few moments in silence before looking up sadly.
"Zachary Stanton." She said. The others looked up at her sharply.
"Who?" They asked simultaneously.
"Someone...from my past..." Rouge whispered, and then was lost to her own thoughts.
TO BE CONTINUED...
