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Words in italics are telepathic conversations, thoughts, or dreams.
Chapter 12
"Rally, I brought you breakfast." Jean smiled, walking into the young girl's room with a tray in hand.
"I'm not hungry, Jean."
The red-head sat the tray down on the nightstand and frowned. "Please eat something. I'm worried about your health."
"Logan's not."
"Yes, he is, Rally. It's just hard for your father to express emotions."
"Anger isn't hard for him." Rally mumbled.
Jean sat down on the bed beside the teen and looked at her sternly. "Logan is trying to be a father to you, but do you understand how difficult that is for him? You have no idea what he has been through or anything about his personality. I do, and I have seen the change in him from the time he found out you were his daughter until now. He is doing the best he can, and you aren't making it any easier on him, Rally."
The young girl stood from the bed. "It's not easy for me either."
Jean followed suit and placed her arm around Rally's shoulders. "But it is easier for you to love and show affection."
The teen didn't respond.
"Eat up, Rally. You need the nourishment." The red-headed mutant stated before leaving the young girl alone.
She watched as the woman walked out the door. "Goodbye, Jean." Rally whispered after the door closed. Although she had thought about what Jean said regarding Logan, it didn't change her mind about leaving the mansion. She figured once she left, he wouldn't have the burden of her since it was so hard for him to have a daughter and take care of her. The only thing was to come up with a plan of how to escape. She was well aware of Cerebro and of the three telepaths in the mansion. She would be easily found and brought back but if she went while they were sleeping, maybe she would go unnoticed until morning. That would give her enough time to at least get a good distance away from the mansion, but what then? How could she hide her presence?
With her lack of knowledge on the matter, there was only one way to find out: ask someone. That was easier said than done, though, especially in her situation. First, she was grounded and wasn't allowed to speak to anyone. Second, the people who knew most about the subject were telepaths, or people who could stop her plan before it even began. She could always press her luck with one of the other students. The x-men weren't as pressing with her separation since she hadn't dealt with it too well. Jean must have talked to the professor and they weren't as pressing with the matter as the first day she arrived. That was just Rally's guess, though.
Realizing that asking another student might just be her best bet, Rally opened her door quietly and peered down both directions in the hall. There was a boy who looked about her age walking her way with his head down, looking in a book. The way he was flipping pages, it seemed like there was no way he was reading it.
"Hello, can you help me?" Rally asked with a smile. This was going against what Logan had commanded about not talking to anyone and staying in her room but he wasn't there. What did it matter?
The boy looked up from his book, a little startled, and spotted Rally. "Sure, what do you need?"
He walked up to her and they stood face to face. He was taller and seemed very intellectual.
"What can you tell me about Cerebro and how it works?"
He looked a little confused at her request. "Why?"
She raked her mind for a clever answer. "I'm…studying the…technological advances in today's era." This was a school after all. Hopefully the boy would buy it.
"Oh. Well…" The young mutant began. For five minutes, Rally stood listening to him intently.
She asked as soon as he finished talking, "So the only way to not be found by a telepath using Cerebro is to cease thinking?"
"Basically, yes."
"But the only way to do that is by…dying."
"Not necessarily. A comma would be capable of stopping brain waves or if your mind gets taken over by a symbiotic mutant."
"Oh, I see. Well, thank you." Rally began slipping back into her room when the boy caught her arm.
"Wait, I didn't catch your name." He smiled kindly.
"Rally." She returned the smile.
"Nice name. I'm Cody and reading books is my specialty. What's yours?"
She hesitated, "Um, healing."
"Cool. Do you want to eat lunch with me? That's where I'm headed after I drop off my book in my room."
"I can't. Sorry." The teen apologized.
"No prob. I'll catch you later then. Bye Rally."
She breathed a sigh of relief. She thought he would keep talking forever. Slowly, she closed her door and sat down on her bed. This was going to be harder than she thought. As soon as someone found her missing, they would go to Cerebro and find her. With their powers, especially Warren's, it wouldn't be hard to retrieve her, that she knew. If only there was someway to trick Cerebro. Since there wasn't, running away was a stupid idea. The mansion wasn't so bad. Yeah, her Dad seemed like he hated her and she couldn't socialize with the other students, but it could be worse.
The young girl flopped down on her bed and closed her eyes. Things would be different when she got her powers, her real powers. Suddenly, her windows smacked open and Rally popped up from her bed with a startled expression. There, standing in front of her was the strangest man she had ever seen. He was tall, old, and had an odd looking helmet covering his head. Oddest part of all was that he was levitating in mid-air. She shouldn't have found it that strange considering she was in a mutant infested mansion, but it still amazed her.
"Hello, my dear." He greeted with grandfatherly kindness.
"Hi." Rally replied, in shock that a man had just appeared through her window.
"Is this the one?" He asked someone who had not yet entered into her room.
"Yes." A sinister voice answered which she recognized immediately. Sabretooth. He was perched menacingly on the window sill. "Where's Daddy to protect you now?" That same sickening smile spread across his face that she had seen so many times.
Rally opened her mouth to scream for help but nothing came out. She fell to the floor, unconscious. Another man appeared in the window with a cocky grin.
"That was unnecessary." The man with the helmet said angrily toward the one who had knocked Rally unconscious with his mind.
"She was gonna' scream, Magneto." He replied.
"I would have taken care of that." Magneto stated. "Now I must wait until she regains consciousness which requires patience. That, I have very little of and you may pay dearly for what you have done."
"I'm sorry, Magneto. I didn't mean it, please, I-I'm sorry."
Clearly ignoring the plea for apology, the older man with the helmet looked to the young girl lying on the floor. "Take the girl without harming her. You wouldn't want to injure your niece" He commanded to Sabretooth.
Sabretooth nodded with a chuckle. "Of course not." He picked up Rally and slung her over his shoulder. In seconds, the group disappeared, unseen and unheard.
Several hours later, Wolverine parked his motorcycle in the mansion's garage. After his long ride, his mind was clearer and he was ready to handle the situation with Rally from earlier that morning properly.
Logan headed towards his daughter's room but glancing at the clock, he turned around and headed for the kitchen. It was nearly lunchtime so he might as well grab her some food and then go up.
"He's back." Scott unhappily grumbled as Logan entered the kitchen where the x-men were seated.
"Scott." Jean scolded.
Logan smirked at Scott. "Good puppy."
The man with sunglasses growled and started to get up but Jean touched his arm. She didn't want anything started. In silence, Wolverine began to get a plate and place food on it. The Professor grinned at the men. They acted so much like teenage boys sometimes.
The old man in the wheelchair rolled to where Logan was making the plate. "Logan, if you don't mind, I would like to accompany you when you take lunch to Rally."
"Go ahead." He answered finishing getting food. "Let's go."
As they headed towards the student wing of the mansion, the professor knew something was off. It was a strange sensation. Then he realized it. Someone had been there and not just anyone, Magneto and Sabretooth. "Logan, they've taken Rally!" He called out abruptly.
In confusion, the mutant just looked at him, but saw the alarm on the Professor's face and immediately knew who he was talking about. He broke out in full sprint, leaping up the stairs 4 at a time. Arriving at Rally's door, he wasted no time in slamming it open. Logan's attention was drawn to the open window where a soft breeze blew the curtains. He looked the room over once and bolted for the window, checking for signs of the intruders, but no one was visible. In uncontrollable rage, he bellowed out the window in a growl, "Victor!" Taking quick, deep breaths, Logan prepared himself to jump out the window and follow the scent.
"Logan, don't be irrational." The Professor said sternly, joining Logan in Rally's empty room.
"If he, lays one hand, on my daughter," He growled through clenched teeth, "I'm gonna' slice his throat."
"Come then, I will locate Rally using Cerebro." Charles stated in a calm voice, although he himself was unhappy about the child's kidnapping. He knew what Logan was capable of when he lost control and was doing his best to not let that happen.
Wolverine closed his eyes, still standing by the window, and took a deep breath through his nose, picking up whatever sent he could. His thoughts were running wild. All he could see in his mind was his daughter beat up and bruised by his brother, like the first time he had laid eyes on Rally. He couldn't let that happen again. His protective instinct compelled the mutant out the window, following the fading scent of Sabretooth's putrid stench.
The professor knew he couldn't stop him. He lowered his head in failure. Logan couldn't defeat Sabretooth and magneto, plus all of his other goons. Realizing he had to follow through on his plan without Wolverine, the bald mutant wheeled his chair as fast as he could to Cerebro. As he traveled, he telepathically warned Emma and Jean to tell the others and prepare the ship while he located Rally.
End Chapter:
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Next chapter, Rally's power will be revealed
Merry Christmas, by the way!
