Rogue woke up with the men hitting the walls. She'd been so deep asleep that any dreaming she might have been doing wasn't even memorable. Had the sound not been so loud she would have dismissed it as something she'd been dreaming but this had been too loud, too close to not be real. Tearing her blankets back, she sprang from bed and opened her door to see the back of someone she didn't recognize rushing past her. In confusion, she stepped out in the hallway, then quickly back into her room to avoid the butt of a gun being smashed into her face.
Ducking, she sprinted out into the hall and turned to punch the guy in the face. He came right back at her, swinging his weapon as though it were a club. Rogue got in a punch to his ribs as she swerved to miss being struck again, then found her legs being taken out from under her.
There was no time to think about what was going on or why. Memories of the Stryker attack came to mind, re-imagining all the secret ways in and out of the mansion.
She looked around for whoever had knocked her down; the human she'd been fighting had run off in another direction. Rogue got to her feet and was immediately punched in the stomach, then kicked backward. She hit the wall with a grunt but fought to stay on her feet. There was no one there. She was fighting someone invisible. Wonderful.
Taking a bold step from the wall, a fist met her mouth and she tasted blood. "All right. Now you done pissed me off."
She could feel the building rage. This time it wasn't something she would fight. This time she would embrace it. For a moment it looked like she'd given up, just standing there and taking one hit after another. But it was fueling her. When the enhanced senses came, it was an immediate recognition. There was blood in the air and it hurt her nose. people everywhere were screaming. The smell of gunpowder and toxins were nearly overpowering. And she could hear the movements of her invisible opponent.
He went to hit her again and she reached into mid-air, gripping his invisible fist and squeezing. A feral smile split her face. It was a wolfish grin, not belonging to her. "You picked the wrong girl t' mess with, bub."