"You'll send these children away with Rogue as well, right?"
When Logan heard that Kurogai planned to take Rogue to safety, he quickly jumped on the idea. If Kurogai claimed he had a safe place, then it was as good as guaranteed. And if he could also protect the other students from Xavier's Academy, all the better.
"Are you sure you want to hand over all these mutants to me?" Kurogai asked with a faint smile.
That smile alone was enough to make several students tense. Memories of Kurogai's previous… dealings with the Academy flashed through their minds, and they instinctively took a step back. He might not appear hostile right now, but the fact remained—this was the man many of them had quietly called the demon king. Giving him the students would be like throwing sheep to a wolf.
Logan's expression shifted. "Then forget it, I'll send them home myself."
Kurogai gave a small nod, opened a shimmering portal in the air, and stepped through with Rogue at his side.
A moment later, they emerged into a peaceful courtyard—the grounds of a small orphanage.
Kurogai had several safehouses, but the mutant world was on edge, and he didn't trust most of them right now. Bringing Rogue here felt different. The orphanage was run by people he trusted, and it was far removed from the kind of dangers that seemed to follow the X-Men.
He had considered taking her to his space-based facility, but he rejected the idea. That place was full of sensitive research, including the kind of genetic experiments that had once drawn Magneto's attention to Rogue. He wouldn't risk her being exposed to it again.
Here, she would be safe—and she'd have Skye. They were close in age, and he suspected the two would get along.
"Dean Mary, I have a friend who'll be staying here for a while," Kurogai said politely as the elderly woman approached.
Her eyes flickered between him and Rogue, and her face softened into an oddly approving expression—as if she were looking at a future daughter-in-law. Rogue shifted awkwardly under the gaze.
"Brother Kurogai, that's why you came back?" Skye's voice cut in, her tone holding more suspicion than warmth.
Kurogai smiled faintly. Skye had never been thrilled about any new girl in his orbit. In her eyes, every one of them brought trouble.
"Skye, Rogue is special—like us," Kurogai explained. "Things are going to get dangerous soon. I'm giving you a task: protect the orphanage, and protect her."
Skye's curiosity sparked immediately. She'd seen few superpowered individuals outside of Kurogai and the mystics of Kamar-Taj. And if Kurogai was entrusting her with this, she wasn't about to refuse.
"Alright," she said firmly.
Satisfied, Kurogai left Rogue in their care and returned through another portal to Logan's location.
By the time he stepped out, an advanced aircraft was parked nearby—the X-Jet, the Blackbird.
"I didn't expect you to get involved in this, Kurogai. What's your real purpose?"
A tall woman with short white hair strode toward him, her sharp gaze fixed on him. Ororo Munroe, the Storm.
After returning from a mission to track down Nightcrawler, she had found the Academy in ruins. When she heard that Logan had run into Kurogai—and that he had taken Rogue—her guard went up immediately.
Kurogai rarely acted without self-interest, and Storm knew it.
"My goals don't conflict with your mission," Kurogai replied smoothly. "Think back—last time I said I'd deal with Magneto, didn't I deliver?"
Storm frowned. "You call wiping him out completely 'dealing with him'?"
Kurogai shrugged lightly, his expression unreadable. Storm had feared him from the moment they met, and he knew it. But she wasn't his enemy, so her mistrust didn't bother him.
"Fine," she said at last. "Just don't make this harder than it already is. We're ready to move."
She didn't like it, but refusing him wasn't an option. If he wanted to come along, there was little they could do to stop him—and maybe his presence would help. Even among mutants, Kurogai's abilities stood apart: powerful, precise, and unsettlingly mysterious.
"Let's go," Logan called out.
Colossus, armored—stayed behind to escort the younger mutants to safety. The rest boarded the Blackbird, and within minutes they were airborne, heading toward Stryker's base.
Inside the plane, the atmosphere was tense. Everyone checked weapons and focused on the coming mission. Everyone except Kurogai.
He lounged back, gaze drifting lazily from one passenger to another, until it landed on a figure cloaked in blue skin.
Kurt Wagner—the Nightcrawler. The mutant who had been mind-controlled into attacking the President, sparking this entire chain of events.
To the X-Men, Kurt was an ally in need of protection. To Kurogai, he was something else entirely: a mutant whose unique genetic code he had yet to acquire.
A slow smile touched Kurogai's lips.
He rose from his seat and began walking toward Nightcrawler.
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