A series by November

Chapter 29: The Evil That Men Do

"Slept in the dust with his daughter,
her eyes red with the slaughter
of innocence..."
--Iron Maiden

The voice woke her from her sleep, gentle and invigorating.

~Rogue, are you awake?~

She could swear that she heard the voice in her room, but it was in her head. It was 7:15 on a Sunday. She could hear only the low sound of Teletubbies in the next room.

~Charles?~

~Good morning, Rogue. I’m sorry to have awakened you but I have a recruitment mission if you are interested.~

~Um, can you call me instead?~

~I did. There was no answer.~

She saw the phone on the dresser. She had forgotten to charge it, again.

~Oh, I’m sorry.~

~It’s no problem. Meet me in my office in ten minutes if you’re interested.~

Rogue quickly showered and pinned up her hair. She gave Maggie some juice and a granola bar, told her that she was going downstairs for five minutes and kissed the top of her head.

In ten minutes Rogue, Storm, and Logan were assembled in the office. Logan looked up when Rogue entered. Her face was freshly scrubbed and without makeup. He actually felt his heart beat faster.

He looked down at his hands and tried hard to shield his thoughts.

Xavier wheeled in, wearing his exceedingly rare jeans and a neatly pressed white shirt.

"Good morning, everyone, thank you for coming so quickly. We have a bit of a situation. A high school guidance counselor in St. Louis brought it to my attention. A sixteen year-old girl named Jane Tranh has just been outed as a mutant. She claims that her mother is trying to keep it from the father and it’s only a matter of time before he finds out. He is physically and emotionally abusive and the mother fears for her daughter’s safety, if not for her life.

"I have spoken to the mother and she wants the daughter to come here and study, so your mission should be relatively simple - to pick up the girl. Logan, I want you along in case things get ugly with the father." He nodded.

"What about the daughter, what does she want?" Rogue asked.

"The daughter is terrified. The locals tried to beat her up the other night. I think she’ll come, and whether or not she wants to stay of course is her choice."

Rogue nodded.

"The only trick is landing. I’m sending you in the Cessna because time is of the essence. However, it’s not exactly rural so you’ll have to land at the airport and rent a car. I’ve already arranged for your landing. It’s about a half hour from the airport."

"What’s the girl’s mutation?" Logan asked.

"She’s a telekinetic and she can cause crippling anxiety in whomever she chooses. She might eventually be an asset on the special psionic team I want to create. At any rate, her safety is of paramount importance. I‘ll watch Maggie for you, Rogue."

Storm flew the Cessna to the Lambert St. Louis airport without incident. Rogue pondered Logan as they made their way to the car rental counter. What effect did the zoolike airport have on his heightened senses, she wondered, with all the sounds, smells of food venders, layers of noise, beeping baggage carts usurping the announcements on the overhead PAs. He must have been able to tune it out, because he appeared calm, like a man going on vacation. She idly wondered what it would be like to go on vacation with him.

Storm took control at the car rental desk and in a few minutes they were in the parking garage. Storm called shotgun and Logan called the driver’s seat. Rogue, despite the hour-long flight, was not awake enough to care about either and she slipped into the back seat.

They were turning on to the girl’s street when the cell phone rang. Storm answered. "Okay. Okay. We’re here now. Allright. Copy." The tone of her voice made them all perk up. Logan looked fifty yards down the street and located the house number. He floored it and then braked in front of the house, causing them to nearly fly into the windshield.

"The shit has hit the fan." Storm said. "Father’s all over the kid, no weapons." She was already getting out of the car.

They ran to the door, first Storm and Rogue, then Logan. It was open. Storm slammed the door open and a man shouting in rapid-fire Vietnamese was heard from the kitchen.

Logan pushed ahead and by the time Rogue and Storm caught up to him the man was pinned to the kitchen wall with two claws on either side of the man’s neck, a third threatening to slice him through. The girl was cowering in a corner. The mother stood there, crying.

Rogue rushed to the girl. Her lip was bleeding and her face was beginning to swell.

"What happened?" She asked.

"He found out and he started to beat the shit out of me." The girl was Vietnamese but she spoke like any other American teenager.

"Okay. We’ll get some ice on that. Did he do anything else?" The girl shook her head and began to cry.

"It’s okay, sweetie, we’re gonna help you. Storm, get me some ice! Did your mom tell you about the school?"

The girl nodded. Her face was buried in her knees and she didn’t look up. Rogue stroked back her silky jet hair. "We’ll take you someplace safe, okay?"

"Just get me the fuck out of here," the girl sobbed. Rogue had heard that many times.

"Okay, we will. Do you want to go pack some things?" Jane nodded.

"Okay. I’ll help you." Rogue helped Jane up and said "My name is Marie, by the way."

Rogue followed Jane into her room. It was twenty shades of pink, with ribbons hanging from the mirror. Upon closer inspection Rogue could see that they were for track and field events. On one shelf there was a collection of cows, porcelain cows and stuffed cows and plastic cows and Mexican cows painted every color of the rainbow.

Jane pulled a suitcase from its hiding place under the bed. She started emptying dresser drawers into it.

"Do you want to bring your cows?"

Tears still fell from Jane’s eyes. "My mom said just bring the essentials."

"Oh, I think we can bring ‘em. It’s quite a collection. Why don’t I pack them while you get your stuff together?"

Jane nodded, silently. Rogue took a laundry basket from the floor and emptied it, and began packing the porcelain cows between layers of the duvet. Jane still sobbed while she hurriedly pushed clothes into her suitcase.

"He’s not gonna kill my dad, is he?"

"No, he’s just gonna make sure you’re safe."

"He should kill him." Jane’s jaw clenched and she shut the suitcase with a hard yank of the zipper. Rogue suddenly knew that the abuse had been going on for a long time and that the girl’s mutation was just an excuse for the latest round.

Rogue looked around the room. Remembered being Jane’s age and having to make the same decisions. "Anything else you want to take? We have our own jet."

Jane shook her head no. "Just let’s get out of here."

"Okay. How about your pictures of your friends?"

"They’re not my friends anymore."

"I’m sorry. I‘ve been there," Rogue said. Jane followed her down the stairs.

"Logan, are you OK down there?" She shouted.

"Never better, darlin’. Just have an itchy middle finger is all. Hey, what’s a Doe Nyock Doe Nyoo?"

"He called you a motherfucker," Jane said quietly.

Mrs. Tranh declined to come to Westchester. After Marie lead Jane out, Logan laid out Mr. Tranh with a right hook and they were back on their way.

"I’ll drive," Storm said.

"Rogue, why don’t you take shotgun?" Logan shot her a look. She didn’t know why he wanted to be in the back with Jane but it was a mission, and she trusted him as far as missions went.

They were whispering in the back seat and Storm turned on the radio to give them some privacy. Rogue shot her a questioning look and Storm shrugged. She wished they had a telepath on board.

"How long has your father been messing with you?" Logan whispered to Jane. She looked at him, shocked.

"How do you know that?"

"It’s my mutation. I can smell things."

"You can smell him on me?"

"Sort of." Logan said. He didn’t want to tell the girl that he could smell that her several-week old fetus was the product of her and her father.

"So, how long?"

"He’s always messed with me."

"I’m sorry."

"You should have killed him."

"Did he at least use some protection?"

Jane burst into tears and Marie and Storm exchanged glances. Rogue turned up the radio a bit and forced herself to look away. "You know, don’t you?"

"I’m sorry, darlin’. I can smell it. I just wanted to know if you knew or not."

"I’m not stupid."

"I didn’t say you were. I just wanted to know if you knew." He gingerly put an arm around her, trying not to scare her.

"I want this thing out of me," she said.

"I’m sure we can help you. Does he know?"

"He doesn’t know a thing beyond his own dick." Jane spat.

"You’re makin’ me wish I had killed him."

"Hey, it’s never too late." There was something corrupted, dark about the girl, as if a light inside her had been snuffed and would never reappear.

An few hours later they were in Xavier’s office. Storm took Maggie outside to play. Xavier motioned for Rogue to stay with him, Logan, and Jane.

Jane stared at the crumpled tissues in her hand as Xavier gave his welcome-to-the-school speech. Rogue had brought several dozen teens here and has heard it a million times before. She had heard it herself.

Logan spoke. "Jane, do you want to tell Chuck what we talked about in the car?"

"What does it matter? Do I even have a choice?"

"Yes you do, Jane. I’ll respect your privacy if you don’t want to talk about whatever Logan is referring to. You should know though that we can’t help you unless you tell us what’s going on. And Rogue can tell you that I’m almost impossible to shock." Xavier winked at Rogue.

"I’m pregnant," Jane said quietly. "By my father."

"Oh. No wonder your powers have just manifested. The stress of your pregnancy has probably triggered your ability."

"Really?" Jane looked up for the first time.

"Yes, mutant traits normally manifest during teenage years, during some sort of stress. For me, it was being beaten up by some street thugs, and realizing that I could throw them back in the air."

"I thought I was losing my mind." she said quietly.

"Jane, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard young people say that."

"But - what if I want to have an abortion? You won’t kick me out, will you?"

"Absolutely not. You haven‘t had a choice about what your father did. You should have a choice now. We have two doctors on staff and if they can’t help you they’ll find someone who can."

"Why do you do all this? Why are you so nice?"

"Lots of reasons, Jane. I was a kid once, believe it or not, having just come into my powers, and like you I thought I was going crazy. The simplest reason is that I like helping kids in the same situation."

Jane nodded, satisfied by that answer.

"You are welcome to stay if you wish, and attend classes. In addition to classes we do a lot of work with helping students to control our powers."

"You’re all alumni, aren’t you?" She looked at Rogue and Logan.

"I am, he’s not."

"Rogue is a teaching assistant and a college student. Logan teaches martial arts and self defense. Why don’t you two fetch Jean while I talk to Jane," Xavier said.

In the hall, Rogue said "you can smell the baby, can’t you?"

"Most sickening thing I’ve ever smelled too. Dad is the granddad."

"Welcome to the Jerry Springer show."

"I wish I’d killed him."

"Yeah, but we don’t really need to be dealing with the St. Louis police, do we?"

"Nope."

"You know how many missions like this I’ve been on?" Rogue asked.

"No."

"Thirty seven. It’s become the B Team stock in trade. This is the first one pregnant by her father though."

"Makes me want to puke."

"I’m glad you were along. Ironically you were the one she seems to trust."

His jaw clenched. "Why is that so ironic?" She heard anger in his voice.

"Relax, Logan," Rogue knocked on Scott and Jean’s door. "I meant because you’re a man. Sexual abuse victims are often afraid of men."

"Oh. Well, I wanted to know if she knew."

"Whatever you said to her, you were great. She doesn’t trust Storm and I, I can tell."

Scott came to the door in jeans and a tee shirt. "Hey guys."

"Jean here? We have a non-emergent medical situation."

"Yeah, come on in."

Not so ironically, it was Logan that Jane wanted at her side while Jean and Hank terminated her pregnancy. He held her hand as she became unconscious, turned his head away from the blood. Rogue watched from the back where she and Darla were assisting. The way he turned his head away inexplicably made her heart swell. After all those cage fights, he couldn’t bear the scent of blood?

She didn’t know what it was, but that was the beginning of the beginning for her.