Chapter 11: The Raid

Kitty and Rogue looked at one another. Both of them were scared very much, but they knew that with Logan near them they would be fine. He was the mutant they knew they could trust most with their lives, other than Professor X.

"What should we do, Logan?" Kitty asked him.

"I'm not sure," Logan told her. "Just be careful. These guys mean business. Your phasing ability will help you get away from them. Rogue, I know you don't want to use your ability, but you might have to. It's the only way you can get out of this. Please listen to me."

Logan went away, leaving the girls and Bobby.

"I'm scared, Kitty," Rogue told her.

"I am too," Kitty admitted. "But we need to move on. We need to help Logan out and wake everyone up here. Come on!"

"Wait, how will we be waking everyone up?" Bobby asked them. "Just by screaming, or something else?"

But then, before either of the girls could answer, they heard the sound of the front door opening and Logan saying, "Hello, all you pieces of crap! It's so great that you're here! I hope you all have a terrible time dying!"

Kitty, Rogue and Bobby laughed at the joke. They realized Logan was trying to buy them time. But suddenly they heard a gunshot. Kitty jumped when she heard it.

"What was that?" she asked Rogue and Bobby.

Rogue peeked out from their hiding place, being as careful as she could. She saw Logan on the ground, unmoving. Her eyes widened as she realized what had happened.

Turning back to Kitty and Bobby, she whispered, "They shot Logan! We need to get out of here before we're next! Come on!"

Kitty and Bobby followed her as quickly as they could and as silently as they could through the living room and up the stairs. Kitty hurried to her room and phased through the door. Alison was sleeping, and as much as she hated it, Kitty shook her awake.

"Alison, you need to wake up now!" Kitty hissed at her.

"Why?" Alison mumbled, half-asleep.

"There are people in the house that are trying to kill us!" Kitty explained as quickly as she could. She didn't know an easier way to say it.

It was then that Alison shot right up. Despite being so tired, she was ready to get out of there. Alison tried not to think of being shot at.

"What do we do?" Alison asked. "Where's Logan?"

"He was shot by the men," Kitty told her solemnly. "I know it's hard to think of, but he's gone now. We need to get out of here before we suffer the same fate."

Alison nodded. Tears were in her eyes, and the same went for Kitty. Both of them hugged each other.

Suddenly they heard footsteps behind them. Whirling around, Kitty saw the men who had shot Logan there in the doorway. She froze for a moment, but when they raised their guns, she took Alison's hand and concentrated. One of the men pulled the trigger, but all of the men were surprised when the dart whizzed right through Kitty and Alison and ended up embedded in the wall. Kitty looked back and saw that it was only a sleeping dart. One that would knock someone unconscious, not kill them.

But despite that, Kitty took Alison and ran through the wall. They needed to get out of there before something bad really did happen.

"Can you go any quicker, Kitty?" Alison asked her.

"It's hard, only because I'm so tired," Kitty told her. "I'm sorry, Alison. I'm doing my best, though. They can't get us as long as you hold on to me. We can get through this. We just need to find Rogue and Bobby, and then we'll be fine."

As they hurried, Kitty noticed some of the children in the rooms staring at them with scared expressions.

Going right through one of the walls, Kitty found herself running into Bobby and Rogue. Piotr was there too.

"Oh thank God," said Rogue. "I was hoping you hadn't been caught yet."

"We nearly were, but Kitty was able to phase us out," Alison told her. "Helps to have really good friends."

"Nice, job, Kitty," Rogue complimented. "But before we start complimentin' one another, we need to get out of here. We need to find some way to escape before something really bad can happen."

They heard a grunt outside, as well as a few screams. Fearful, they all jumped when the door was broken, but all their fears went away when they found Logan standing there, sweat rolling down his face.

"Logan, you're alive!" Bobby exclaimed.

"Yeah," Logan said. "If anyone shoots me, I'll come back, no matter what happens. But for now, we need to leave. We need to find the Professor and the other teachers, including Storm, Jean, and Cyclops, and get our butts out of here before something terrible can happen. And along the way, we have to save these kids and get them to a safe location. I'm not sure who's behind this, but that doesn't matter. We just need to get the heck out of here."

Kitty, Rogue, Alison, Bobby, and Piotr all nodded.

Suddenly something came crashing through a window. It was blue. But then Kitty realized they were a person. Or so she thought. Scales covered their entire body. They wore only a white leotard. Kitty saw Logan's eyes widen. Logan obviously knew them.

"Mystique," he said.

The mutant looked at them with a smile. "Hello, Logan," they said with a female's voice. "It's nice to see you again. Who are these children you have with you?"

Mystique's eyes traveled over them, and soon her eyes widened when they came to lay upon Kitty and Rogue.

"Oh, hello," she said. "I'm glad to meet you both. I haven't seen either of you before in person. But I have seen you both on a monitor. In the video you both fought against a Sentinel. Congratulations on the defeat."

"It was you," Kitty said. "You were the one who put that robot out there on that dock! You are the reason I almost died!"

Mystique laughed. "Yes, that was somewhat unfortunate. But the good news is, you're alive and well, and we can get on to what's next. Don't you think so? That, and I've come for Rogue. I want her now."

Rogue felt a pang of fear. "What do you mean?" she exclaimed. She and the others heard much commotion outside and knew the raid was still going on.

"I want you to come home," Mystique told her. "I want you both. You are the reason the Brotherhood has gone through some pain. You see, we've been trying to get some powerful mutants inducted, but you have not complied with what we want. We want you to come and join us!"

"No." The word came out of Rogue's mouth so quick she didn't even remember saying it. But when she realized it, she smiled in a sort of mischievous way.

Mystique was now trembling with rage. "What did you just say?" she hissed. "What did you just say to me?"

"She said no," Kitty told her. "Are you that deaf?"

"Why you little-"

Logan ran at her and kicked her through the wall, sending her to the hard ground below.

"Will that kill her?" Piotr asked.

"No," Logan said. "She can shape-shift. She'll be back before you know it. It's quite unfortunate, as annoying as she is."

But then a fireball came flying into the room. It hit the floor in front of them and exploded. Kitty took hold of Rogue. She couldn't get Bobby, Logan or Piotr.

However Piotr turned into a metal form and Logan, despite being burnt, just stood there. Kitty, Alison and Rogue were unhurt, thanks once more to Kitty's phasing ability.

But Bobby took some of the blast. Pushing Alison and Rogue out of the way, Kitty took Bobby's hand.

"I've got you, Bobby," she said. "I've got you. Now we need to get out of here," she added to the others.

"Too bad," came a male voice. It sounded a little like Bobby's, but it was a little different. A little deeper.

A boy suddenly appeared, resembling Bobby but with more golden hair. He was smiling in a dangerous way. He looked right at Bobby, roared out, and tackled him. Somehow the floor was destroyed.

"What in the heck was that?" Alison exclaimed.

"Is Bobby okay?" Rogue asked. She ran to the open hole and found Bobby and the other boy going at each other.

"It's over, Bobby!" the boy yelled. He was unharmed by the fall.

"No," Bobby told him. He was bleeding from a cut on the right side of his head. "Please, I don't wish to fight you!"

"It's too late for that crap!" the boy exclaimed. "It no longer matters! All I care for is Magneto becoming the strongest mutant there is!"

Logan jumped down to meet them.

"So you're supporting that idiot now?" Logan asked. "I feel sorry for you. I wish you could be with us. You have a lot of potential. But now it seems we'll be fighting you for a long time."

"Please, John, let us help you! We want you to be on our side! Let us help you!" Bobby said. He saw Piotr coming their way, having jumped down silently.

"What are you talking about? I know where my true loyalties lie, Bobby! You and your stupid X-Men won't be able to defeat Magneto soon enough! He has much more strength than any one of you ever shall!"

"Is that so?" Piotr said. John whirled around to see him, but it was already too late.

Piotr punched him right in the face. Blood dripped from John's nose. However, just as he went unconscious, he sent a fireball at a generator over in one corner. It was what was powering the entire mansion. And now it had been ignited. It would explode.

Seeing what was about to happen, Kitty jumped down to them. She phased through the floor and jumped right back up.

"Kitty, get out of here!" Logan cried. "I will get Bobby out of here! You don't need to be a part of this! Now run!"

"No!" Kitty yelled. She saw Rogue and Alison jump down. "Get close to me! Now!"

Kitty felt Rogue and Alison hang on to her. She looked for Bobby, and found him hugging Piotr, who had become his metal form. She knew now Bobby would be safe.

Closing her eyes, she thought, Everything is going to be all right. Everything will be fine. I just have to…

She was cut off from her thoughts as she saw the wall of fire coming at her and her friends. She concentrated as well as she could. And then suddenly…all went black.