X-Men Evolution: Rogue Evolution

Blood in the Mud 13.7

Jean, Scott, and Anna weren't in any of the cars they normally used, but were instead in a Jeep that had lived in the corner of the garage for as long as Anna could remember. It didn't need much to get going again, and with the help of a single Danger Room droid, they managed to get the tires filled, the oil checked, and get it some gas. They were suited up and on the road in less than ten minutes.

"It's not far," Jean told Scott from the passenger seat as they trekked over a slushy country road. They hadn't turned on their headlights till they were well outside the view of the mansion, and Anna almost missed the brief time she couldn't see the many potholes that threatened to throw her into the roof of the Jeep in the backseat. "It's halfway down a long stretch of Mason Road."

Scott tapped the center console. "Mind putting it in the GPS?"

"We can't leave a trace of what we're doing here, Scott. Don't worry, I memorized the streets, I can get us there." She gave a strange pause. "Besides... We'd have a hard time missing it."

Anna held onto a built-in grip on the column of the door. "You haven't told us yet what the mission is, Jean."

"Some local hicks, I don't know if they're FOH or not, captured some mutants and are going to hurt them in the woods nearby."

"Was that on the news? How did you find that out?"

"Cerebro tells me more than the news. It extends my psychic reach. I saw through their eyes. I could... feel their fear."

Scott looked at her a moment and tightened his lips to a line. He patted the back of her hand. "Just tell me where to go."

Like Jean said, it didn't take long for them to get there-or at least close by.

"Kill the engine." Jean checked her watch. "Everyone got their face scramblers ready?" When they confirmed, Jean popped open her door. "We walk from here. Stick to trees, and keep it to code names from here on."

None of them were particularly outdoorsy types, which is something Anna was quickly reminded of by how each of their footsteps sounded like a herd of buffalo all stomping on a tree limb one after another. Still, what was even louder was the commotion they heard just beyond the tree line they were using for cover. In the air, Anna could smell smoke. A blast from a shotgun sent them all to the ground.

"Fuckin idiot!" A heavyset man dressed in flannel smacked a shirtless teen with shaggy hair at the top of the hill on the back of the head. He ripped the shotgun out of the hands of the teen, "You that much of a fuckin loser you can't hit a can with a scatter gun, boy?" He took aim and fired at something unseen. "There! Now that's how you do it!"

"God," Rogue rolled her eyes, "it's just like being home again." When she looked at her fellow X-Men, she found Phoenix staring somewhere beyond the two men with two fingers resting on her temple.

"Over the hill," She said and closed her eyes. "There's a group gathered around the fire, but I think we can get to the cages without them seeing."

Cyclops leaned in, "Did you say cages?"

"We need to get past these two." Jean looked at the pair with the shotgun and raised her hand. The fat man soon dropped the shotgun and stood slack-jawed. When Rogue looked at the boy with shaggy hair, he looked just as stupified.

"Rogue, I can't hold them for long. Go up on the hill and touch them just long enough to put them to sleep. Cyclops, follow her. I'll be right behind you."

Cyclops touched her arm. "What about you?"

"I said I'd be right behind you, now hurry!"

Rogue and Cyclops exchanged glances before ultimately following orders. Racing up the hill while keeping close to the ground, Rogue was now a breath away from the back of the large man. This close was she could smell the cheap beer on him, but he was just as dumbstruck this close as he was at the bottom of the hill. She checked with Cyclops one last time while removing her gloves. The line his lips drew wasn't a source of confidence, but it didn't feel like a condemnation either.