Immunity
Chapter 3: The Third Time
by
Dark Ferret
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters, so please don't sue me.
All seven X-men, quietly assembled around the digital map room table. Rogue moved to sit far from Logan, but it was pretty obvious by their ruffled hair and rumpled clothes, that they had been together. Returning the disapproving glares from Scott and Gambit, Logan sulked and put his feet up on the table. Professor Xavier waited for the room to settle before whirling around in his hover-chair quietly and thoughtfully.
"Magneto has resurfaced." Ignoring everyone's slight shifting, he continued, "I just confirmed his whereabouts with Cerebro. Apparently he just took control of the Arecibo Conservatory in Puerto Rico.
The leader of the X-men interjected, "Yes, for months we have been tracking his movements among the Caribbean Islands but nothing had come of it."
"Our underground connections have reported that he and his crew have taken control of the radio-telescope, in an effort to create an electro-magnetic pulse large enough to effectively wipe out all computers in the hemisphere.
Ororo was the first to react. "What?, that is the most insane thing I have ever heard, Beast will he be able to do that?"
"I am afraid that theoretically, he is. Granted he must be able to produce enough of a magnetic static charge to create a sizeable shock wave. Of course, he must also command the existing mainframe with the aid of an orbiting satellite ."
"Fuck that," Logan's eyebrows were drawn together as he plopped his feet down and addressed the team, "Why would he want to in the first place?"
Scott glanced at the Professor and continued, " We think it has something to do with the current Anti- Mutant Legislation Act being considered in Congress. He might be using Arecibo as an ultimatum."
It was Jean's turn to interject, "That's ridiculous, we have worked so hard to repeal that proposal. With key supporters in Washington, it is unlikely it will ever reach consensus and pass into law."
"Chere, Remy wouldn't call it a sure ting until it is done, no?"
"That may be so, but Magneto will never trust humans to do right by mutant kind. I believe that he would carry through with his threat despite all the consequences. It is our job now to stop him, my source tells me he is in the final stages of manipulating the mainframe data, and will set forth his ultimatum in less than 12 hours. We must intercept him and erase the mainframe before sunrise."
The team quietly listened to their calm, cultured mentor add his final statement. "Use whatever force necessary."
With that said, Xavier turned and left. None of them could ever remember him looking so old and dejected. What's more he had never authorized lethal force before.
After a minute of silence, Scott and Ororo shifted into full-fledged leader mode and began detailing the mission objectives. As always, the plan was actually very simple. They would fly in together and split into two teams. Team One would come in from above and seek out the mainframe, while Team Two crossed the jungle surrounding the base and created a disturbance. Intercepting at the middle, they would stop whoever got in the way and diasable the computers.
Checking all digital maps once more, Ororo gave the order to regroup in fifteen minutes. All seven X-men dispersed to get their equipment and suit up.
Aside from the simulations in the Danger Room and practice combat flights, Rogue had never been on a real mission. She listened intently to Scott and Ororo as they explained the plan, expecting them to ask her to stay behind for this one, but she was thrilled when they acknowledged her as a vital part of the mission. True, she had trained very hard to become an X-men, but in her wildest dreams she never thought that she would join them tonight, especially with Logan by her side. Excited and a little queasy, Rogue hurried into her new leather outfit.
In the adrenaline rush to ready for the mission, Logan overlooked a simple fact. He knew that Rogue was part of the team and that she had proven herself good enough. He knew that she was an adult now and could make her own decisions, but damn, she was still Marie, his Marie. The same girl that almost died at Magneto's hands not too long ago. Was Scott completely nuts? Unwilling to shake his rising anger and overprotective streak, Logan tracked down Rogue's scent
Barging past a sliding metallic door, Logan stopped dead in his tracks. He had come upon Rogue loading up her gear, wearing entirely too much skin-tight leather. At a loss for words, he let out a grunt instead.
Immediately sensing what his intentions were, Rogue wasted no time, "Logan, Ah know what yah are gonna say. Yah think Ah'm too young ta go on ah mission but Ah'm not."
Another grunt.
"Ah'm very strong now and mah team needs me." She was trying hard not to sound whiney.
Another grunt.
"While yah were away, Ah trained hard, an besides Ah'm not ah kid anymore." As if to prove the point she recoiled her rather large gun and holstered it at her side, trying hard to look intimidating.
His brain unable to process the image of Marie wearing that gun and not to mention that leather, Logan grunted again. He decided that he was not going to break her heart and make her stay. Besides, she was supposed to be super strong. And he would keep an eye on her at all times. Tearing his eyes away from her cleavage, Logan picked up her bag and stomped towards the jet. Damn that leather!! Rogue followed without saying another word, immensely pleased with herself. She sat quietly between Logan and Beast, and held his hand tightly. Noticing how hard Logan was trying to frown, Rogue seductively planted a soft kiss on Logan's sideburns as Beast looked over and chuckled.
The X-men flew towards the Caribbean in record time, arriving in little over an hour. They reviewed the plan one more time, turned on their communicators and split into two teams. Storm, Beast and Rogue, made up the first team while Scott, Jean, Wolverine, and Gambit made up the second. After securing the jet's masking force field, Storm lifted into the air silently. Rogue gave Logan one last tight smile as she snapped on her night goggles. She picked up Beast in an embrace and flew in the direction that Storm headed off into.
Logan grumbled as he watched her fly off with the huge furry blue doctor. It was one thing to know about her new powers, an entirely different thing to actually see it. Cursing under his breath for letting her come he focused his attention back to the others.
"We have twenty minutes to reach the compound, Wolverine you take the lead. I'll bring up the rear." Keep a tight formation until we flank." Cyclops checked his watch one last time and gave Wolverine a hard look, "Remember, our aim is to disable and detain the terrorists, lets keep the damage to a minimum."
Suddenly very much in his element, Wolverine ignored the comment aimed towards him and began to trek across the considerably thick foliage. Sensing his thoughts, Jean placed a hand on his shoulder from behind, "She will be fine Logan, you'll see."
Grumbling again, Logan led the four X-men into the dark, moonless, humid night. Night stalking was his hobby if he ever had one, and the rich smells and sounds of the tropical forest were indeed interesting. Making sure Jean was keeping up, he slashed a path through the jungle with his claws. By the time they arrived at the western edge of the compound fencing, they were slightly out of breath and their uniforms glistened with dew.
Carefully crouching high in the tree canopy, Rogue and Beast awaited Storm's indication to move forward. As Storm commanded a heavy fog to cover their infiltration, she gave her order over the communicator, "All is clear, two guards in the second tower, move in now."
Rogue wasted no time. She dropped Beast on the tower roof and silently snuck up on one of the guards. In one swift movement she sprayed a chemical into his face and slipped him to the floor. Nodding at Beast, who had downed the other guard, she flew to Storm's side. By now Team Two had to be on the Western Side.
Twenty feet from each other, Team Two approached in one wide, forward sweep. On the outermost flank, Cyclops laid a hand on his visor and aimed, while Gambit readied his cards. In one instant, they fired on the retaining building guarding the radio-telescope entrance. The attack instantly shattered the night calm and not waiting another second, Wolverine lunged forward, claws extended into the chaos of a burning building and scrambling guards.
Hearing the noise erupting on the other side of the compound, Storm, Beast and Rogue moved towards the giant telescope's control room. With fists outstretched Rogue slammed through the outer wall, leaving it in rubble. They expected to find more guards inside, but what they found was Mystique and Toad aiming weapons in their face.
Already past the first perimeter, Logan and Gambit pushed pass the oncoming onslaught of weapons fire. Knowing that they were supposed to cause a considerable distraction, the invading X-men moved through two dozen mercenaries effortlessly. Barely avoiding any crossfire, Wolverine slashed away towards the main control room. He was actually halfway there, pausing only to relieve Jean of a sneak attack from behind, when he caught a smell in the hazy, hot air.
"Well, well, won't Magneto be pleased, his pet has returned." Mystique was practically purring at the sight of Rogue. They had been careful to keep the project a secret, but had also been prepared for a last minute attack from the X-men.
Mystique quickly moved to shoot at Rogue, but Beast covered the distance between him and Mystique in one single jump, knocking her to the ground. At that same instant, Toad turned to fire on Beast, but was encountering a wall of wind that was quickly swirling to form a tornado.
"We have unfinished business." Storm's voice was strangely serene, as her eyes were turning milky white. Outside it started to down pour heavy sheets of rain.
In a second, Mystique was on her feet, running towards Beast, when she was knocked from the side by a computer desk.
"Beast! hurry ta tha mainframe, Ah'll take care of this blue bitch!" Nodding in agreement the genius mutant scurried towards the control room, leaving the X-women to deal with Toad and Mystique.
Despite the pouring rain, (Storm must be stomping ass), Wolverine knew with certainty that Victor Creed was in the vicinity. Turning to Gambit besides him he yelled, "Hey Cajun, Sabertooth is here, I'll meet up with you in the control room." Not giving him a chance to respond, Wolverine stomped off towards the radio-telescope dish.
Having rendered most of Magneto's hired thugs unconscious, Cyclops motioned for his team to move forward. He was asking Gambit if he had seen Wolverine, when they all suddenly felt the air around them crackle with static electricity. Magneto was here.
On the Eastern edge of the compound, Storm was making short work of Toad. He had repeatedly tried to strike her with his tongue, but she had managed to pelt him with enormous hail and render him unconscious. She secured him with restraints, and went to find Rogue.
Inside, Rogue was had also knocked Mystique unconscious. "Don't worry 'bout me Storm, go help Beast."
Storm nodded and flew off leaving Rogue to tie up the shapeshifter. In her rush she hadn't noticed that Mystique had opened her bright yellow eyes. Using all the strength she could muster, Mystique kicked Rogue onto her back with her newly found strength.
As, Rogue recovered from the attack and stood, she encountered a sight she was not prepared to see. Wolverine stood before her, claws reaching for her throat.
Wolverine listened carefully as the rain made bright metallic sounds when hitting the enormous open dish. He was debating whether or not to walk across it, when he was knocked from the side by a large furry monster. In no time, Sabertooth and the Wolverine were rolling down the curve of the giant radio-telescope, clawing and punching at each other mercilessly.
Rogue's shock cost her dearly. In a move that made her collapse once again, Wolverine slashed at her thigh with his right hand. Rogue braced herself for the left hand as it came down towards her chest, but managed to catch his wrist in mid-air. With that leverage Rogue lifted Wolverine in the air and flung him into the wall on the other side of the room. She looked down at her mangled leg and moaned in pain. But before she could reach to her communicator to call for help, Wolverine was already halfway to her. Smiling an evil grin, his yellow eyes flashed dangerously.
Knowing that their would be little she could do against him in hand to hand combat, Rogue summoned her strength, lifted into the air and took off her gloves. She hovered until he reached her and then slammed him with a left hook. Sprawled on the ground, she flew to Wolverine and settled on his chest, pinning his lethal arms above his head with one hand. As the storm raged on outside in the dark jungle, Rogue reached out and ran a bare finger across his lips.
Scott was the first to react to Magneto's presence. A thin red beam cut through the room and found his way towards the older man's chest. Jean, sensing that Magneto absorbed most of it, immediately froze his body in place while Gambit threw charged cards his way. Gathering his considerable power, Magneto responded by throwing a large locker to knock them down. Apparently, the X-men had taken care to wear nothing metallic that he could use against them. Distraught at the prospects of losing his plan once again to Xavier's students, he left to find the radio-telescope while the X-men scrambled, sending a mental call to Mystique.
Rogue opened her eyes slowly. The contact must have knocked her out for a good ten minutes. The dull pain in her leg caused her to wince. As she looked over to the shapeshifter next to her, she silently thanked the Professor for having taught her how to control an absorption. When she braced for it, she could prevent a new personality from taking over her mind. Still, it was dangerous, but there was no way she could have beaten Wolverine hurt like she was. Carefully rising, Rogue headed to the control room.
Beast and Storm let out a gasp as they saw Rogue float in. Storm immediately tended to her wound, tearing off a piece of her silvery cape to tie around her leg.
"By Goddess, what happened, Rogue?" the concern was clear on her friend's face.
Out of breath and in great pain, Rogue tried to explain. "It was Mystique, she changed into Wolve.."
"That's okay, hon try not to talk" was Storm's response. She activated her communicator. "Jean, Rogue's hurt, I'm headed back for the jet. Are things secure?"
"That's a negative! Magneto is here! He is headed for the dish, Cyclops and Gambit are close behind him! Is the mainframe deactivated!?"
"Just a few more minutes, stall him!" As if sensing the question in Rogue's eyes, Storm added, "Where is Wolverine?"
After a slight hesitation, Jean answered, "He is on the dish, with Sabert" The communication was cut as a blast shook the entire building.
"Damn, they need our help, Beast how's it going?"
"Almost, almost YES!!." The furry mutant jumped up from the computer terminal. "The satellite has been turned away, the dish is inactivated."
Storm turned to order the blue doctor to take Rogue back to the jet, but the young X-men was already gone.
Wolverine grimaced in pain at the gaping wound across his chest. A seething anger boiled deep within him as he jumped towards the beast before him. He lunged out and caught him in the back as he moved to retreat. Sabertooth turned quickly, raking his claws into Wolverine's side as he spun around. Sabertooth was good, but Wolverine was better. Sabertooth barely had time to register the movement as Wolverine jumped towards him, plunging his adamantium claws deep into his chest. With a gurgling roar, Sabertooth keeled backwards, leaving Wolverine's claws sticky with gore. Drawing his hand back for a finishing blow, Wolverine froze solid. He was magnetized.
Magneto came upon the scene to find Wolverine leaning over the now unconscious Sabertooth. Summoning what little power remained in him, he lifted Wolverine into the air and spun him around. He was preparing to blast him with an electric charge when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around he saw his lover, critically wounded and fading fast.
Wolverine howled in pain as his metallic skeleton strained against Magneto's hold. He snarled as he recognized the blue bitch come up behind him. To his great satisfaction, she was limping, her thigh pretty mangled. His snarl turned into confusion however, as he picked up the smell of her blood in the wind.
Catching his lover in his arms, Magneto let go of his hold on Wolverine. His concern was only for Mystique, when unexpectedly a thin red blast crossed the night once again and tore into him. He staggered, now recognizing the pretty young mutant before him, with the white streaks in her hair.
Logan crossed the distance across the dish in record time to catch Rogue in his arms. The sun was rising quickly over the jungle horizon, bathing the world in pink-orange light. He stared down at her leg, shredded with familiar looking wounds. Rogue had lost a lot of blood, but she managed a thin smile before closing her eyes. Logan took no time to think, leaning down he softly placed a kiss on her lips. As he heard the footsteps and yelling from his approaching teammates, an excruciating pain overtook him. But he passed out with a smile. He had finally kissed his Marie.
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