A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed. Hope you like this.
Traitors: Chapter 8
"John?" Rogue murmured. She felt around his side of the bed, unable to feel his arm around her anymore. She got up, pulling the covers up to her chest. He was no where in sight. His clothes were gone. "John?" she asked once more, louder. She got up, and dragged the blanket with her, it being wrapped around her from the chest. She picked up her duffel and entered the bathroom, dropping the blanket outside.
Quickly getting dressed, she rushed out of the toilet door and nearly jumped. Shutting her eyes to try and calm herself, she took deep breaths.
"You have to stop doing that," she murmured.
Raven smiled at her. "Aw. Now what fun would that be?" She backed up and fell into a chair, crossing her legs and arms. "So…" Pause. "How's it been?"
"It's been less than twenty-four hours," Rogue muttered, stepping out and putting on some socks and shoes. She looked back up at the woman. "What are you doing here?"
"Checking in on the both of you. Just making sure everything's all right."
Rogue nodded and stood up. "Yeah. Well. Thanks, Mystique. For the money. For your concern. Whatever. But I have to go find John, okay?"
She got up to the door and turned the knob. Stopping she turned back, and scanned through the bed and then through the duffel. Where was her phone? Damn. She turned back to Raven, looking flustered. Raven, however, was smiling.
"Come on, kiddo. Relax. You just married the guy you love. What up with the grouchy exterior?"
"I just…" her expression softened. "I'm a little nervous, all right? It's…it's dangerous now. Too dangerous. I just don't want to lose him."
"Then you shouldn't have married him, huh…" Raven drawled. She stood, and Rogue froze.
She shrugged. "Why are you here?" Pause. "Mystique, why are you really here?"
"What…I can't be?"
Everything started to piece together into Rogue's mind as her questions spilled out. "Why'd you steal my number? Why not just ask? Why help us? How did you know we were here?"
Mystique dropped her arms to her side. Her face showed a hint of sadness. The window broke. Two men had just come through it, both of them now wrestling on the floor. Rogue screamed. The glass shattered at her and she held her arms up to guard herself. Mystique didn't even flinch. Her skin changed quickly and she became blue once more.
"What?" she demanded strongly, stepping slowly towards the girl as Rogue slowly stepped back. "You think that the minute Magneto gets his powers back he won't search for me? He never forgot me. Always knew I'd be loyal. Willing to help." Rogue hit the dresser as John stood, but was thrown into the wall, crashing it.
Rogue felt behind her. Left out scissors. Good. She took them and stabbed towards the woman, but got flipped over and landed on the ground on her back. The impacts caused her to let go of the scissors, which slid towards John, who sat up. He grabbed them, and stabbed his attacker in the knee. Standing up in a shot, he threw the scissors and they hit Mystique in the arm. Once again. She didn't even flinch. Rogue got up and took the chair, hitting her with it. She fought it off.
"How can I be that strong?" Mystique taunted. John took Rogue's hand. He jerked her behind him, and let out a gulf of fire, which blew back Mystique and half the wall behind her. Pulling his wife, they jumped out of the window, onto the staircase and trampled down. They jumped off the last two steps and ran through the parking lot and into the sidewalk of the motel. They wouldn't stop running.
A small forest.
"Inside," John panted.
"John, what happened?" Rogue demanded once they had run far into the wood. She looked at him, and took deep breaths, looking around. She was flustered. Confused. Everything was happening so fast. He sensed her fear.
"Hey," he said. She didn't listen. He took her, placing a hand softly on each side of her face and said calmly, "Hey." She looked at him with her deep brown eyes. He took a few deep breaths. "Listen. We can get out of this. Trust me."
"I trust you," she replied. He stopped her before she could say another word.
"I'll protect you."
"Let's just get out of here." She looked close to tears. She couldn't take it. She thought she could. How can he still… look at me like this? She wondered, her eyes closed, trying to recollect everything. I'm supposed to be brave. I wanted this too.
"I'm sorry," she breathed. "I am pathetic. I can't even take this," she said. They she took his hands down.
"No. No. Don't worry." He glanced around. "I woke up and saw them in the parking lot. Four of them. I took out one. Now there are just three. And I don't think Mystique's awake." His eyes traveled from side to side, looking and listening for any signs of danger. He took her hand. Then turned to her. "Rogue. Honey. I need you to help me. They're good. Real good. Can you?"
She nodded, and swallowed once. Then, breathing properly yet frequently, she let go of his hand.
"Duck!" he yelled, pulling her down. The ax went past their heads and into a tree. Pyro. Rogue saw him at a glance, and saw Pyro. The one she knew would always come out when she needed him. She pulled out the ax and turned, giving a grunt as she pushed back the ax he was holding, which, in turn, pushed the guy back as well.
She caught another glance. Pyro pulled his hand back and sent another raging fireball at the second attacker, another guy. This one merely chuckled, and with a wild look in his eyes, screamed, "You're gonna have to do better than that, Pyro!" The flames hit the guy. Scorched him a bit, yeah. But he was standing still. Sweating like heck, and charged at him. He knocked him into a tree and took him by the chin, slamming his head into it. Then, with somewhat consciousness, he lifted Pyro. "After I kick your fuckin' ass, I'm gonna kick you're girlfriend's too!" he hollered. John opened his hand. Fire sparked out and exploded, one after one, they gunned at the guy like bullets from a machine gun. Each pellet on fire, burning a bit of flesh. Still, the only thing that happened was the guy turning redder and angrier. He pulled out a knife. "Cheers, you fucked up piece of shit!" he said, pushing it forward and pulling Pyro by the shoulder. He quickly turned, and it hit him in the arm. The knife protruded to the other side of his arm. The blood didn't drip fast though. It was falling slowly. Pyro pulled his head down. He looked close to giving up.
Rogue pushed back her attacker once more, and blocked herself with the ax. She whirled, and tried to cut him up, but instead he grabbed her by the legs and slammed her down. He pried the second ax from her fingers with a fierce effort. What are these guys? Pro-wrestlers or something? she thought. She kicked up, and hit him in the gut. He punched her in the face. She couldn't see John anymore. She tried to push him off, but he tried to choke her with the ax handle. Then he got pulled back viciously, and fell to the ground. The ax got pulled up again, and the two handles knocked the guy continuously, then let him back out and fall to the ground. There was such a fearfulness she could feel from him. She had never seen this side of him before. He was pissed. Majorly. Rogue felt like she couldn't stand up from the nervousness running up and down her. She placed her arms around him.
He pushed her off slightly and she stood up carefully. He approached the guy on the ground. He was bleeding from the head and lips. His eyes held so much fire. He was angry. He jerked the guy by the shirt, and he chuckled lightly, blood falling from his mouth.
"Listen to me, you scum-filled, fucked up asshole. You treat my wife like that again. I'll end you. Touch her again. Just once more. I'll kick your ass. Kill you." He dropped him on the ground, and the man continued to chuckle slightly. He placed a protective arm around Rogue and she glanced back and saw the guy Pyro had been fighting earlier. He was in a pile on the ground, dusted and bleeding. She took the hand around her shoulder in hers, and laid her head on his shoulder. She had never seen this side of him.
xXx
"I told you," he said, sitting in the bus later on. She sat next to him and laid her head on his shoulder once more, while he took her hand in his. "I'm always gonna protect you, baby. Always." He leaned in and kissed her on the top of the head. John once more. Calmer. She could feel his heat. It was rather comforting. "I love you."
"Johnny…" she whispered much, much later on as they exited the bus. He took out his wallet and took out some money from the ATM. He pocketed it with the rest of the cash he had taken out earlier.
"We're going to be okay," he said, taking her hand tightly in his. Another deserted town. Another motel. Another night. He pulled her closer, and put his arm around her shoulder once more. "No one's gonna separate us, okay? No one."
He pulled her into the room, kissing her lightly on the neck. She smiled and moved to the bed, dropping onto it.
"You all right?" he asked.
She stared at him and smiled slightly, taking off her jacket. She dropped it on the bed and sat down, shifting her gaze to the floor, breathing deeply. He sat down next to her, and put a hand on her shoulder. His warmth zipped right through her. She turned to his concerned gaze, and her hand rested softly on his. He took her hand tightly in his.
"I'm fine." It sounded too quietly said. He knew something was wrong. Her hair fell down, covering her face from him.
"Did I do something?" he asked her. No response. "Rogue," he said, a little frustrated. "Just tell me." She shook her head lightly. "Is it because of the way I…erm…handled the situation with those thugs?" No response. But he felt as though he had hit the reason. "I was trying to protect you." No response. "Are you scared of me?"
"No," she said, croakily. "I'm scared of them." She tucked her hair behind her ears, and looked straight ahead at the dresser and wall before her. "Is there anything we can do to make them stop?" He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't think of anything.
"We'll have to think this out," he finally said. He stood and paced before her. "How…how could they have known where we were? Callisto's toast. No chance she could've sensed my power…" He stopped. "Mystique came to you, right?" Rogue looked up at him and nodded. "Then…then she sent us a text message…" Pause. "She's been trying to help us." One more pause. "Rogue, where's your phone…?" he asked. She looked up at him, took out the phone from her pocket and handed it to him. He took it, and turned it over, staring at it. "I think we have to leave…" he began.
"Sure…" she said, getting up.
"Wait…" he added, thinking thoroughly of what they were going to do. "I'll be right back. They come, you get outta here faster than anything. If things go bad, we'll…we'll meet at the Academy, okay?"
She nodded quietly. He sat down next to her once more and took both her hands in his.
"Baby, I love you. Okay? I'm doing this because I love you."
"I love you too." He nodded, and put the phone in his pocket.
"Pack incase. If they come, go to the Academy." He took out fifty dollars and handed it to her. "Stay safe." He left the room and darted out of the motel.
xXx
He arrived at the bus stop once more, and through an open window, threw the phone in. It hit a thud, but because of the passengers coming on board, no one notice. He placed his hands deep into his jacket's pockets, and walked through the streets.
They had tracked them through the phone. At one point he smiled slightly at the Brotherhood's attempt. It was a good try. Not good enough. Heck, was he crazy? He had constantly wondered if he was a complete moron for marrying Rogue and getting her into this mess. A) if the Brotherhood caught up again, it wasn't as though he could stop them from hurting him and Rogue. Not forever, anyway. And B) if Logan found them, he, John, was a dead man.
People walked by, but he didn't bother noticing them under his cap. All he cared about was getting back to Rogue. Hopefully she was still there. He walked up the stairs, and into the room. She was inside, looking out the window. She turned instantly at the sound of the door opening, but calmed down at the sight of him.
"They've been…tracking us," he said. She got up and walked to him, then hugged him tightly. He kissed her on the cheek.
"Eat something," she said, leading him to the table.
He sat down, but shook his head. He didn't feel like eating. Not at the moment. She ignored his protest, and took the spoon and forced some food into his mouth. He ignored the spoon at first, but like before when they had first stayed in a motel together, he gave up, and took a bite. She smiled slightly, and her hand rested on the table. He saw her ring. Wedding and engagement. He smirked.
"So…" she said. "You've won the girl, haven't you, John?"
"Yeah," he said simply. He looked at her. "It's good to know."
xXx
She woke up the next morning under the covers once more. It had been a…fun night. She was still exhausted. Getting up, she got dressed, and walked to the table, a little confused, and a lot worried about John not being there again when she woke up. A note was placed on the table.
'I love you. So much.'
It told her he was gone. She sat down at the table, the note in hand, and buried her head in her arms. She was crying softly. He was gone. She stared at the note, and turned it around. There was writing there too.
'I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise. Don't worry about me. Again. I love you. Always will. Always have.'
She smiled slightly. He'd come back. He promised. She laid her head back in her arms. John knew what he was doing.
But still. It was too soon. They'd just gotten married. They were in love. She couldn't lose him this soon. She knew somehow. This day would come where they'd be seperated, temporarily or permanently. She just wished it was temporary. She loved him too much. And he loved her as well. It was too soon. The thought kept running back and forth through her mind. He knew what he was doing. And he was doing it for her. For them. So they could live together in peace. She glanced up once more, and found a phone on the table.
One more note.
'I have the number. I'll call you when I can.'
She wiped away her tears, but her hands covered her face, and she began to cry.
It was too soon.
A/N: I'll bring back John soon…update as soon as I can. Review, please?