"Opportunity only knocks once."

[xxxxx]

Chapter 17: Windows of Opportunity

It was the first morning in weeks that was quiet. It was so quiet that the birds outside could be heard. There was no sound of children yelling in the hallways outside. It was that eerie, dead silence signaling something amiss that was even worse than those noisy weekend days.

It was Sunday morning, a very beautiful one at that. Blue jays and cardinals hovered around the gardens, nibbling at the birdfeeders and singing their sweet songs for anyone who cared to listen. Water boiled in a kettle on the stove, waiting to be mixed in with mug of cocoa and to warm the bellies of young mutant children and their teachers.

Logan smiled as he entered the kitchen. It was the first day he had been able to sleep in. Usually, Lenore would be jumping up and down on his bed by eight o'clock.

Hank sat at the breakfast table, still in his pajamas, with a steaming cup of coffee within reach and a thick newspaper spread in front of his face. "Good morning, Logan. How was your night?"

Logan shrugged as he pulled a box of Cheerios from the cupboard and joined Hank at the table. "Alright. I finally got some sleep." He dug his hand into the cereal box and pulled out a fistful of Cheerios before shoving a few in his mouth.

"Ah, so you've managed to convince yourself that Lenore can manage to keep herself safe without your protection?" Hank asked, still scanning the newspaper halfheartedly.

Logan swallowed and spilled out a pile of Cheerios on to the table. "Not quite. Storm convinced me to let her take duty for the night so I could finally get some sleep."

Hank put down his newspaper, revealing a confused look. "Ororo? She was in the lab with Samantha and I all night."

"No, she was..." Logan paused for a moment, his face twisted. He jumped up from the table abruptly, spilling Cheerios across the table and onto the floor below.

"Logan! Where are you going?" Hank called, but he had already disappeared out the door, not caring enough to give his teammate's words even a thought. There remained only one thing he was concerned about: Lenore.

He hoped he hadn't been dumb enough to sacrifice the thing he swore to protect to Control - that malicious, deranged psychopath. He would never forgive himself. Her voice had sounded so smooth and honest and he had felt so full of fatigue for the past few days - but that was no excuse.

When Logan reached Lenore's bedroom, he didn't bother to use the doorknob. Instead, he burst right in, knocking the door halfway off its hinges.

Inside, the covers of her bed were strewn across the floor and Logan could now clearly smell remnants of Control's raw, bitter scent. Lenore was nowhere to be found. The balcony was empty, as was the closet; and when Logan looked under the bed all that he found were a few pieces of Barbie clothing and a Justin Bieber CD. Frustrated, he threw the case against the wall, breaking it in half.

His claws now unsheathed, Wolverine rushed from the room, his heavy footsteps pounding against the hard wooden floor. He passed a group of students in the hallway, their eyes wide in fear as they pressed up against the walls in order to make way for Wolverine.

But instead of passing by, he picked the scrawniest kid of the group up by the collar angrily. "Where's Storm?" He asked harshly.

The boy's lip quivered as he eyed Wolverine's sharp claws less than an inch from his face. "I... I..."

"Where's Storm?" Wolverine asked again, this time louder and angrily, shaking the child.

"Sh-she and Nightcr-crawler t-took a f-few kids t-to S-Sunday mass." The boy stuttered, but took a deep breath once Wolverine dropped him and his feet reconnected with the floor, however hard the landing jarred him.

[xxxxx]

Bobby Drake had never fallen harder for a girl then he had for Rogue.

Sure, he had dated several handfuls of girls even before coming to Xavier's, but none of the relationships had lasted more than a few months at a time. None of those girls had been like Rogue; he had known this from the moment they met.

It was just last school year, when she first arrived at the institute. He remembered how scared she had acted - how afraid of herself she had been; Storm's Geometry classes, where Pyro and Bobby's practical jokes soon fixed that.

Those other girls - the ones he had met before Rogue found her way into his life - were shallow and uninteresting. All they wanted to talk about was the latest gossip and how their hair would never look good no matter how much they curled it, fried it and dyed it. They never took interest in any deeper topics. The only thing they wanted to talk about after seeing a rather thought-provoking movie was how cute the lead actor was. Music was nothing more than background noise to them and literature was something that teachers maliciously forced upon their pupils. Bobby himself admitted to being shallow at times and rarely feeling in the mood for a deep conversation, but that didn't stop his desire for a girl with smarts and her own opinion.

And along came Rogue.

She was everything he could have asked for. Smart, beautiful, opinionated, courteous, but at the same time she could join in on the occasional pranks set by he and Pyro. Of course, her powers were a problem and the subject of many fights between the two of them, but it was nothing they couldn't work out together.

Rogue often voiced her suspicion of his unfaithfulness and how he would leave her for a more "touchable" girl. Bobby knew that he would never do something like that to Rogue, but... God, how he had the urge sometimes. He longed for a kiss, a touch, a warm embrace.

All that had been erased by the Cure. At first, he didn't want Rogue to give up such a large part of her life just for him, but when she told him that she had gone through with it, he felt somewhat relieved. There was no longer that dark cloud looming over them, making sure that they didn't act upon their temptations. Then that cloud was gone and they were free to do whatever they wanted.

A lot of the couples at Xavier's had gone all the way the first chance they got - since the Professor and Jean were no longer around to find out about it - but Rogue wanted to wait. She was just easing back into life without her powers. Another big step wasn't what she needed right then.

And then, just less than a month ago, it was all over. They kissed. The next thing Bobby knew, he was waking up two weeks later with an IV in his arm and one major headache. Their opportunity for that once special night was gone, just like that. No warning, no signs. Just consequences.

Bobby fought back tears. It wasn't just sex to him - it was the opportunity to make love to the only woman he had ever fell in love with.

One tear escaped his barricade; it trailed down his cheek and clung to his chin for a moment before falling through the air and splattering onto the picture that he held in his hand. It was of him and Rogue on the Ferris-wheel at Coney Island that last summer. Bobby had taken the picture, holding it out and giving Rogue a smooch on the cheek while she gave a dramatically embarrassed expression that he knew had to be fake.

There was a sudden, sharp knock at the door that startled him, but Bobby quickly stood up from his bed and wiped all evidence of tears from his face. "Come in." He called to whoever waited outside, as he slipped the Coney Island picture underneath his pillow.

The door opened and revealed Rogue. She smiled when she saw him, and shut the door behind herself.

It was odd to see her wearing gloves again and immediately reminded him not to touch her. It would take a little getting used to, Bobby thought, but it wouldn't be anything he hadn't dealt with before. He tried not to stare at the gloves, but he was sure that Rogue had noticed his not-so-subtle glances.

"Hey, how are you?" She greeted cheerfully and gave him a hug, careful not to make any sort of skin contact.

He hugged back, a little cautiously, and kissed her on the top of her head. "I'm fine. My head still hurts a bit, though. Professor McCoy gave me some meds and he said the headaches should be going away any time soon."

Rogue gave a weak smile. "Yeah, sorry about that..." She said, scratching the back of her head shamefully. "Ah'm glad you're still alive. It coulda been much worse."

"I'm just thankful that it wasn't Kitty or somebody else. Y'know, me being the strongest kid in the school and all." Bobby said sarcastically.

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Ah'd beg to differ."

"Really? Who do you think could take me on?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, Piotr for one, and Professor McCoy, and then there's..." She paused for no more than a second. "... Wolverine."

Rogue knew how Bobby hated it when she brought up Logan. He never said anything to her, but she could just see it in his eyes and feel it in his voice whenever Logan was brought up in conversation. She guessed that he still thought she had feelings for him, like the little girly crush she had on him last year after he saved her from Magneto. It was true that some feelings still remained, but any girl would be crazy not to feel something for a guy who risked his life to save hers. But if Bobby felt jealous, he didn't show it.

"I could take all three of them on with one hand tied behind my back." He said with a smirk.

"Ah'm sure you could." Rogue played along. "Even with..."

She stopped to listen to the sound of commotion coming from outside in the hallway - kids running, screaming excitedly, doors opening and slamming shut. She gave Bobby a curious look and he returned it, just as confused and curious as she was. The both stood up to investigate, her gloved hand in his, but before they could even reach the door it flung open, revealing an out-of-breath Jubilation Lee, a girl that both Rogue and Bobby knew briefly.

"You guys gotta come quick," She said, trying to catch her breath. "Wolverine's gone nuts!"

[xxxxx]

"I'll say this for the last time, McCoy: get out of my way!"

Wolverine could both hear and smell a crowd of young mutants gathering around, but candidly, he didn't give a damn. They could watch all they wanted, as long as they didn't get involved. This was between him and McCoy and nobody else.

"Logan, I can't let you do this to yourself." Hank said, trying to calm his friend down. "If you go after Control, she'll have both the Brotherhood and the Superiors behind her. They'll squash you like a bug!" He tried not to let his stare with Wolverine waver, not to show weakness. Hopefully, Ororo would be back before the talking ended and the fighting began. The last thing Hank wanted was to fight against someone with whom he had been training with for the past months.

"I don't wanna hurt you, Hank, but I will if I have to!" Wolverine threatened. He stood with his claws unsheathed, holding them in front of himself so that Hank could see. His teeth were clenched in anger, growling slightly.

One way or another, he was going to get past. Control was out there somewhere, having her way with Lenore. He wasn't just going to sit around and wait while Storm and Samantha took their time getting home from church. No doubt they would waste more time when they got home - planning, strategizing, and whatever the hell else Storm felt was essential before going into battle. But Logan didn't have any more time to waste. He didn't like the thought, but Lenore could have been dead by now.

"You don't want to do this, Logan!" Hank said.

"Get out of my way!" He swung a fist at Hank, connecting swiftly to his jaw and knocking him to the ground.

"Logan!" A voice cried out from the crowd - Rogue's. Reflexively, he spun around toward the crowd, but was quickly knocked down by an unseen force. He landed on the muddy ground with a thud.

"You're too easily distracted, Logan." Hank said, standing over him.

Growling, he stood up and brushed the dust off of his jacket. "I'll drop you like..."

Wolverine's voice was drowned out by a loud clap of thunder. The sky began to darken, and a bright flash of lightning lit up the sky, contrasting against dark clouds that had begun to circle above them.

"That's enough from the both of you!" A loud, familiar female voice came from nowhere in particular. In response, the crowd of students quickly dispersed, with a few brave kids sticking around to see what was going to happen.

Storm approached the two of them, her eyes glowing white. Samantha and Kurt stood at either of her sides, with a small group of students following closely behind.

It was obvious that Storm was angry. The wind quickened as she breathed in an out, her nostrils flaring. The skies remained dark, and lightning flashed across it, accompanied by two deafening claps of crashing thunder.

"What is the meaning of this?" She asked in a booming voice, her angry eyes still glowing white.

"Lenore's gone." Logan said sharply, his eyes floating from the sky down to Storm. "Control took her."

She looked shocked. Her eyes returned to their natural blue colour and the sky above faded back to its normal dim, gray light. Her white hair lost its volume as the wind was suddenly still. "When?"

"Last night - she tricked me. Acted just like you and convinced me to let her alone with Lenore while I slept." He paused. "That psychotic bitch."

"Watch your language, Logan." Samantha scolded quietly, gesturing to the group of kids that stood behind her.

He ignored her and continued. "We have to go and get her, 'Ro. We don't know what the hell Control wants with her, but my bet is it's not good."

"If we go after her blindfolded, she'll kill us before we have the chance to think twice." Hank retorted, giving a glance toward Logan. "We need to wait, see what our options are before we go out there."

"Tell your analytical shit to somebody who wants to hear it, McCoy! She could be dead already. We need to act now!"

"I said that's enough!" Storm yelled, followed by a strike of lightning and a crash of thunder. "Everyone, in the War Room - now!"

[xxxxx]

As always in the War Room, it was dim. But today, it was darker than usual. Not just in the light, but in the atmosphere. Wolverine and Beast stayed far away from each other as they could, but the static between them could still be felt by anyone in the room.

Everyone was present, including the younger X-Men - Wolverine, Angel, Beast, Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus, Rogue, Iceman, Shadowcat and even Samantha. They all wore their uniforms, Samantha given one of Jean's old suits. It was a bit snug, but fit nevertheless.

Storm stood at the head of the table, her eyes glowing white and her anger no doubt fuelling the downpour that raged on outside.

"Control and her Superiors have taunted us for too long. They've sneaked around behind our backs, tricked us, threatened us, impersonated us and now they are beginning to turn us against each other. I say it's high time we acted."

Wolverine smiled to himself and Beast clenched his jaw.

"But we mustn't be so heedless about our attack."

Beast smiled to himself, and Wolverine clenched his jaw.

"I have no doubt that Control knows we're coming. She'll have the Brotherhood and the Superiors waiting for us."

Shyly, Kitty raised her hand and Storm nodded to her. "Not to, like, down the mood or anything, but do we even have any idea where the Superiors are?"

"My best bet is that they are somewhere in Mutant Town, so we'll start here. That's why we'll be splitting up into teams of two. Logan," She said, looking toward him. "I believe you have a few contacts that could assist us?"

He nodded.

"Good. You will be taking Colossus with you. Don't start any trouble."

"Angel and I will take the skies. Beast and Nightcrawler, I want you to check out the sewers below Mutant Town and Alphabet City. They might have a base hidden down there somewhere. Iceman and Shadowcat, I need you to stay here and watch over the other students. I also need you to monitor the police radios for any sign of the Superiors. Contact us if you have anything. Does everyone have all that?"

"Uh, 'scuse me?" Rogue said, stepping into the dim light. "What am Ah supposed to do?"

"Rogue, I think that you should stay behind with Samantha - just for tonight. You haven't been through training for months and..."

"Alright." She said curtly, not wanting to hear anymore, before stepping back into the shadows.

"Good. We meet back here in an hour."

[xxxxx]

Rogue didn't mind being cast out. It wasn't anything new for her. Back in Mississippi, she had never been the typical girl. Her Aunt Carrie had always been a bit controlling and never allowed for much freedom. She supposed that it was for her own good. After all, the one time her aunt did leave her alone with a boy, he ended up in a coma.

So here she was, staring at her feet in the hallways and walking around aimlessly, wondering if her boyfriend would come home alive tonight. She hoped so. She prayed so.

"Well, you look a little down in the dumps." Rogue opened her eyes and looked up at Jake Barrington, who walked beside her happily. "So, tell Dr. Jake what's bothering you."

She shrugged nonchalantly and sighed. "Oh, Ah dunno. Bobby and the rest of the X-Men went off to find the Superiors. Apparently she took Lenore. Y'know, Ms. Davis? The redhead?"

Jake nodded. "Wow. Am I outta the loop or what? When did all this happen?"

"Control took Ms. Davis last night and then... well; did you see that fight between Professor Logan and Professor McCoy this morning?"

"How could I have missed it?"

"Well, Logan wanted to go out right then to find Lenore, but Beast wanted to go all strategic n' shit. Storm settled it- they just left."

"And you're not going with?" Jake asked curiously.

She shook her head. "Nah. Ah haven't trained in a while, so Ah think it's best if Ah stay behind."

"It's a shame - they could probably use you."

"Thanks, but Ah don't think so. Ah'm not much help, and besides, they don't even knew where Control is."

"Hold up." Jake stopped and she did too. "They don't know where Control is?"

Rogue raised an eyebrow curiously. "Yeah. Do you know something Ah don't?"

Jake smiled. "Apparently, I do."

I don't know if you can tell, but I've fallen in love with the word malicious.

If you notice in the seventh paragraph in Bobby's monologue, it says "Bobby knew that he would never do something like that to Rogue" but during that brief time in Ultimate X-Men (if I'm remembering this correctly) when Rogue and Bobby were dating, he randomly started making out with Kitty. The irony!

Martshi3! Guess what? She beta'd this!

The quote is some old proverb. R&R!