Xavier Institute, Feb. 3rd 7:32 pm

Kurt looked down at the silver bracelet in his hand. Mystique had given it to him during her brief stint of staying at the institute. It had his name engraved in it but he never wore it, he hid it in his bottom drawer. He sighed, running furry fingers over the smooth metal. "Mother..." He murmured softly to himself. He hadn't heard from or seen her in a while. He didn't forgive her for what she'd done to Rogue but she was still his mother. And these days, she was not safe out there. Definitely not with Sinister.

But it seemed his mother was above help. He could only expect to see her again as an adversary. Kitty knocked on his door frame and he tossed the bracelet out of view. "Hey!"

"Sorry," She called, a note book and pencil in her hand. "I came to ask if I could borrow your intro to Psych book?" She noticed the glum look on his face and set her notebooks down. She sighed and tossed half of her short hair into a bun. "What's the matter, Kurt?" She sat beside him on his navy sheets. He smiled so big his eyes shut.

"Vhat? Nothing! I'm just vegging out." He chuckled uncomfortably, sighing when Kitty didn't buy it. "Oh, I don't know, Kitty. I vas thinking about my mother." She nodded in understanding, examining his room passively.

"Ah, right. Of course you were." She looked at him worriedly. "You've got such a big heart, Kurt. Some people just don't deserve it. No matter how bad you want them to." Kurt grimaced. She was right, as usual. But it just wasn't that simple.

"I know. I hear vhat you are saying. And I know that you are right..." He looked into his hands. "And yet..."

"Relax, Kurt." Kitty urged. "I get it. It's natural. She's your mother. You're entitled to these feelings." He smiled, wondering when Kitty, of all people, got so wise. "I'd be more concerned if you didn't feel this way." He laughed lightly.

"Right. I guess..." His face fell. "I hate feeling like I am betraying Rogue. I would never. She has every right to feel this way." Kitty frowned.

"You've never betrayed her, Kurt. Ever. You're about the only person who hasn't." She exhaled sharply. "It's complicated. Just like you're entitled to your feelings..."

"She's definitely entitled to hers. I know." Kitty leaned back.

"She forgave Gambit, though. Who knows, she may be fine with Mystique one day." She said, flipping through the psychology text book on his bed. "God, this is like six chapters worth of stuff..." She groaned. Kurt didn't want to get his hopes up, but Rogue had definitely grown a lot in the past couple of years. It certainly wasn't out of the question. "Hello? Kurt? Have you already made your flash cards?" He eyed her wearily.

"Vhat? yeah, I guess." She smiled at him.

"Well... It would be convenient if I didn't have to read through all these chapters..." He rolled his eyes. "I'll owe you a milkshake!"

"At this rate, Kitty, I won't be be buying them ever again!" She stuck her tongue out at him and threw one of his pillows.

D.C SHIELD Headquarters , Feb. 3rd 10:58 pm

"D.C... D.C headquarters... Come in." Steve looked up from the newspaper he'd been boredly leafing through, waiting for Tony and Bruce to come out of their lab and give him some info.

"Bucky?" He threw the paper behind him and walked over to the large screen, revealing his dark haired teammate. He smiled with relief. "Finally checking in, I was beginning to think you were breaking up with me." He placed his hands on his hips and tried to examine his best friend on the screen. He hated it, but he knew Bucky was more of loner than they were. He was a complex person, and he often exiled himself as some sort of atonement. They needed to cover as much ground as possible, so he wasn't in the place to turn his offer down. "Where are you now?" Bucky's face fell slightly.

It was bright wherever he was and his skin and long, dark hair were glistening with sweat. "Somewhere in Rome right now." He answered, looking around. "I found one. One of what we were looking for..." He dare not say what over a transmission. They all knew they could never be too careful. Steve nodded, blonde hair trespassing past blue eyes.

"Great work. ETA on your transport back?" Bucky frowned.

"There's a problem..." Steve smirked.

"There always is."

"It's liquid. I'm not exactly sure how to extract it." Steve cocked an eyebrow, one hand over his mouth.

"But, we're looking for stones. Are you sure it's in there?" Bucky nodded.

"Trust me. It's where it is, when you see it you'll know. Bruce or Tony is just gonna have to come up with something to solidify it." Steve tossed a look back at their closed door.

"Probably take them a day or two." He estimated. Bucky smiled.

"Okay. Tell them to take as long as they need, I'll guess I'll just keep a watch on it here for now." Steve frowned at him.

"But-"

"Someone is collecting the stones, Cap." He sighed. "We remember what happened the last time that happened. They're not getting this stone without a fight." Steve nodded firmly.

"Okay, you're right. See you soon, Buck. Good work and good luck." He waved at the video message as it ended, the screen fading to black. "Stay safe..." He turned when he heard a door shut behind him, Tony and Bruce emerging from their labs. "Guys," He began.

"Where's Thor?" Bruce asked, looking around the empty living room. Steve shrugged.

"Not sure," He said as he sat on the couch. "Probably flying around somewhere." Bruce chuckled. "Where's Clint and Nat?" Tony shrugged, taking an apple from the table and taking a bite.

"I don't know, probably flying around somewhere." He looked at the blank T.V. "Who were you talking to?" Steve's face lit up.

"Bucky!" Both Bruce and Tony nodded.

"Barnes..." Tony continued, seeming distracted. He did his best to fight the rising anger in his chest. "Tell me he had some good news, because we..." He sent Bruce a tense look and exhaled.

"Well he recovered a stone, but it's in a weird form. A liquid." He reported to the scientists. "So, we'll need you two to come up with something that can extract it." Bruce threw his hands up.

"More things to do." He sighed, hanging his head. Steve glowered.

"Yeah, buddy. Let me tell you what we think we've figured out. Uh, that we may have done something. Something irreversible with that snap." Steve blinked.

"Like what, Tony?" He huffed.

"Like what if we merged our time, our reality with an alternate one. The setting was the same," Bruce held up his hand as he spoke. "Our United States... Our Europes... Our Antarcticas, all the same. But now we inhabit with it people who didn't exist in our previous Earth." Steve looked between them in confusion, his mind racing. Tony smiled, seeing clearly that he didn't understand. "The people with powers..."

He approached the screen and swiped down, bringing up footage. It was old footage of the X-Men fighting sentinels, the Juggernaut, and Apocalypse. Steve watched in amazement, approaching the screen slowly. "Oh my god..." He breathed, watching as they seemingly used magic. Augmented persons and people from space didn't surprise the captain, but seeing children wielding the elements did. "Are these kids?"

Tony watched, his hand covering his mouth. "Kind of the least of our many concerns, Cap. If these are the children..." He turned toward the screen. "What kind of adults are we up against?" Steve ran his hand through blonde locks.

"I don't know. This is worse than I thought." Bruce approached them, watching closely.

"Wait a minute..." He began, grabbing more footage. "Is that the same guy?" He pointed to Scott and enlarged the frames he was in. Both Tony and Steve squinted.

"Yeah, that might be him in like... Four or five years." Tony guessed. They watched Ororo control the weather and command a storm. "She's beautiful, can't wait for our Asgardian prince to meet her. Maybe she can be the New Asgard queen!" He commented sarcastically. Bruce sent him a scowl.

"Tony, this is serious." Steve urged. "If they control a more powerful mutant it won't matter if they're the good guys, we're screwed." Bruce sighed.

"Can't fight a storm... Thor might, but..." He shook his head.

"And then," Tony urged. "We have to deal with these... With these super-powered humans."

"We have to get these stones. Yesterday." Steve began, his voice firm. "Banner, I need you working on a way to get the Infinity Stone out of the liquid casing. Stark," His face became even more serious. "I need you working on more weapons. For all of us." Tony smiled smugly.

"Way ahead of you, Fourth Of July. But I'll keep at it. Why don't you tell the two lovebirds to get back here and do some actual work? It's only the potential end of the world. Again." Steve gave him an exasperated look, grabbing his pager off of his desk.

"Okay, okay. I get it." He grabbed his phone and dialed her number. "Nat. What's you and Clint's 20? We've got preparations to make. You what? Okay. Well," He looked over to see Bruce and Tony watching him. "Well, yeah... I... I just wish you told me." He said, his voice quiet. "Fine. Stay in touch. Bye." He huffed as he hung up the phone.

"What's the matter? Kids went to play without permission?" Tony taunted, sipping coffee out of a mug. Steve rolled his eyes.

"Natasha's worried that the KGB could potentially be in possession of the missing stones. Her and Clint are investigating." Tony nodded. "In Russia."

"I guess the KGB is her wheelhouse of expertise." Steve crossed his arms, frowning. He liked Tony a lot but he always thought the man was too smart for his own good. His mouth worked too fast. Bruce flashed green if only for a second.

"Knock it off," He growled, refraining from yoking Tony in a grip.

"Tony..." Steve glared at him until he made an apology.

"Fine, fine. I didn't mean anything by it. Nat's my buddy!" Both men walked away from him in different directions. He sighed, turning back to the screen. He let footage of what the news called 'The X-Men' play.

Xavier Institute, Feb. 3rd 12:03 am

Rogue watched Scott as he shrugged out of his shirt, tossing it on his dresser. She studied his flawless physique and wondered how the lonely goth girl ended up with him. Only after lot's of heartache. She always thought it would feel a lot better. She laid across his bed, draped in one of his oversized sweaters. "It's a lot easier to sneak around here these days, huh?" She mused sadly. "Almost makes it less fun." Scott tried to smile at her but ultimately failed, catching her attention. "Scott." He shivered when she ran her bare hand against his back. "What's wrong?"

He scrubbed his face over his hands tiredly. "Everything. I don't know, I just don't feel like myself." He looked at her, the worry etching lines in his face. "Thinking about adding another session or two with Emma a week. Maybe alone." He dropped his gaze again. "You don't need to see her as often as I do."

"You're not crazy, Scott." She hugged the man close to her, rubbing his stubble against her face. "Anyone would be messed up after what you went through, and..." She smiled as big as she could. "If talkin' to Emma more is gonna help, Ah support that." He smiled, relieved but not sure why. 'Rogue is protective but she's not jealous. I guess that was more of a thing with Jean...' Jean and Emma never got to know each other, and he knew the former love of his life wouldn't have liked the other telepath. But Rogue wasn't Jean. Not at all.

She was nothing but a beacon of light and hope that made Scott's stomach hurt. 'I don't deserve her. I didn't even deserve Jean...'

Rogue was silent in the plane ride back to the institute. Everyone was exhausted so it wasn't strange behavior. It wasn't that Rogue was being quiet it was that she couldn't talk.

She hadn't absorbed the mind control in full but she was still battling very strong, mental suggestions. 'Just last until we get to the institute, Rogue...' She thought, using every available neuron in her body to fight the urge to battle her friends. 'Oh god, Scott. What did they do to you?' She dared not look at Hank attending to him, she wasn't sure what could make her snap. 'Fight them, fight them, fight them, fight them...' The impulses repeated relentlessly.

"Hello?" Kitty urged beside her, perturbed by her friend's weird behavior.

"Perhaps she is tired, Katya." Piotr said. "We all are." She huffed.

"No, she's acting weird." She said, waving a hand in front of her face.

"Rogue?" Kurt questioned, moving closer. Logan ushered them all back, eyeing her closely.

"Stay away from Stripes for the time being. Just give her some space." He ordered.

"B-But Mr. Logan?!" Kitty began but he interrupted her.

"She inherited something from Scott, a little bit of what was controlling him." Logan explained seriously. "Not the full dose, but she's focused on fight the suggestions off, right?" She nodded, her hands clutching each other tightly. "It's okay darlin," He comforted her. "We're almost home." She nodded again, her eyes set in determination.

When they landed she exited first the jet first, flying quickly towards the Danger Room. She locked everyone else and ran advanced courses until the suggestions and urges faded away, leaving her an exhausted mess. 'What the hell just happened to me...'

"You're so supportive," He said, tearing himself from a daydream. "Thank you. I don't deserve it." Rogue sighed.

"Don't say that. Ya been there for me since Ah came here." She nagged, pinching the back of his neck with her fingers. Her groaned in pleasure, leaning into her touch.

"R-Right there..." He whimpered, the pressure behind his eyes releasing. His migraines had increased in frequency since his brainwashing. "Thank you..." Rogue smirked triumphantly behind him.

"I like returning the favor," Rogue said softly. "See?" A smile spread of Scott's face. "So let me." He turned to face her mischievously.

"And here I thought you preferred being around Remy over me..." She chuckled, hitting him with a pillow. "I'm a fool."

"Well, he's certainly been more of a gentleman, lately." She crossed her arms and Scott leaned in to kiss her for a long moment.

"Sorry, I'm not normally this jealous guy." He began, kissing down her neck. She snorted.

"Uh, hello? Don't you remember Duncan?" He sat back and laughed, thinking about high school.

"Wow, maybe I have always been this guy. And you like me anyways..." He pulled her close to him. "I love you." He said, his voice a hair solemn. She looked up at him in surprise, her eyes wide in shock. "And... You don't have to say that just because I did, if you're not ready..." Even in death it was obvious how much Scott still loved Jean. Rogue was very careful with her feelings and he didn't blame her. "I understand. I just wanted you to know..." Tomorrow was never promised, not for X-Men.

Her mouth hung agape. "How could you honestly think I don't love you, Scott. I, of course I do..." She had always known it, but she'd never admitted it out loud. She'd hardly ever verbally acknowledged her crush on Scott. He cupped her face and smiled.

"I know. I'm so grateful for you. I haven't felt like myself lately, but when I did I have you to thank for it. Thank you." He pulled her close to him. 'And I'll do anything protect you.' He thought, frowning behind her in the embrace. Scott had learned first hand there was a lot to fear out there.

Volgograd Russian KGB Base, Feb 4th 2:43 am

She always knew she was Magneto's daughter.

Lorna Dane grew up in a foster home with lots of money. This was suspicious since she was a carrier of the X-Gene. Those were usually the kids left behind to pile up in orphanages. Abandoned and forgotten, cast off into the world on their own. Almost nobody wanted to take on the responsibility of a mutant. Not if they didn't have to.

She saw him on the television during his battle with Apocalypse. She was all the way in San Francisco at the time, but she vowed to find the man with the same powers as hers. She watched, feeling like for once, she wasn't alone in the world. There was someone like her. Exactly like her. With the power of magnetism. She made up her mind right then to find him. She took off for Bayville to investigate. She never made it to Manhattan, though. She mixed in with the wrong crowd. The wrong crowd dragged her all the way to Russia.

She stood in the KGB Red Room base, her celadon hair past her shoulders in curls. She was a beautiful woman, like an ancient greek goddess. She was shrouded in green fabrics of various shades and opacities, following behind Nikolai closely. She was known as Polaris. Or Lorna Dane. Her true current identity was Malice, a mutant without a corporal form. Her ability was simply possession. Lorna hadn't been Lorna for a while now, working along side the Russian terrorists in gaining strange stones.

Nikolai turned to her, unable to hide his grin. "And you are sure, Malice... You can occupy two bodies at once?" Lorna smiled at him.

"Of course I can darling, I've been at this for hundreds of years." She placed slender hands on her hips.

"Perfect. Our version of Cerebro will help magnify your abilities to reach." He explained, showing her the silver machine. "Ah, Raven was genius to cope the schematics for professor Xavier's beloved device." His grin became sinister. "Ah, Charles. He lives on..." He walked over to a case where the Space Stone sat. "I can't wait to see what can be done with this one." 'Our ruler... He will be returned sooner than I ever imagined.'

Xavier Institute, Feb 4th 11:17 am

"Bayville Mayor Lemar Stoney leads the first annual Mutant & Human Relations Parade to help ease the tensions between humans and carriers of the X-Gene. More coverage from our correspondent, Lena Clarke. Lena!" The news anchor announced on the T.V.

Bobby changed the channel, his feet kicked up on the rec room's table. His face was starting to grow light colored stubble as he aged into a young man. "How long before you think that becomes a bad idea?" Kitty snatched the remote back and changed it back to parade coverage.

"How can we, like, know if you change it?" She snapped, watching intently to see if people even showed up. She was surprised at the normal, and seemingly peaceful function. "Oh, wow..." She muttered to herself. Bobby snorted, his arms crossed. "Maybe it can work."

"Yeah? For how long?" They both jumped when Scott stumbled in, a mug of coffee in his hands.

"What're you guys watching?" He asked in-between sips as he walked over. Kitty pointed the remote at the T.V.

"It's this mutants and people relations parade." She explained, her blue eyes glued to the television. Scott cocked an eyebrow.

"But... Mutant's are people, Kitty." He responded in confusion. Bobby snickered.

"Tell that to the people who need a mutant relations parade." He retorted. Kitty leaned in closer to the T.V, her mouth agape.

"Oh my god." She gasped, covering her mouth. "You guys, shut up and look!" The boys looked at the T.V and paled when they saw a familiar mutant clad in red. Lots of red. Her normally red powers were blue, and they were encasing everything at the parade that she could wrap them around. Scott covered his eyes.

"No... No. Tell me she's not attacking a parade made to paint mutants in a good light..." He groaned, imagining the P.R setback for mutants already. Curfews came to mind.

"Why would she do this? She hasn't done anything else in... Years?" Bobby exclaimed, watching her destroy the event on live television. "I guess I'll just suit up." He muttered to himself, annoyed he couldn't enjoy one morning of peace. Kitty shook her head.

"Last time we saw her she was mind controlled and attacked us." She faced them seriously. "What if it's happening again?" Scott's blood ran cold when he realized what Kitty meant. What if she was being mentally tortured the same way he had been? He wasn't ready to confront this yet, but he didn't have a choice. "Scott? Are you alright?" Kitty asked uncertainly, chewing her lip. He nodded, sweat trailing down his brow.

"Fine. Let's go, I'll alert everyone else. We need to shut her down, fast." He tore away from the two mutants and thought of Rogue. 'Hey, Wanda's flipping out at a parade in Newtown. We gotta take care of it, can you alert the rest of the team.'

'On it. Do you want Logan to come?' He shook his head even thought she couldn't see.

'No, it's not that far from campus. He should stay just incase anybody attacks the school.'

'Got it.'

'Thanks.'

They all met in the X-Jet hanger, Scott, Rogue, Kurt, Kitty, Piotr, Bobby, and Laura all filed on silently, nervous what had dragged the Scarlet Witch out of retirement. She had been scarce, disappearing from the X-Men for years on end without appearing again. They were all fairly certain this attack was not of her own volition. This meant Scott had to face his demons. And fast.

Rogue sent him a reassuring look from the cockpit. It wasn't an ideal situation, but at least it was just Wanda and not a government level threat. It could be the perfect excursion to make Scott comfortable on the field again. If only she knew how wrong she was.

They parked and cloaked the vehicle quickly, hearing the commotion from blocks away.

"We need to deescalate. Please, think about property damage and civilian casualties. We're on display for the whole world, make sure people can't deny what side of history we're on!" He ordered, glaring at Wanda. "So X-Men, move out!"

Downtown Bayville was shrouded in tendrils of blue as Wanda screamed and cried, tears leaking down her face. "Wanda!" Scott shouted. It was exactly as he feared. The mysterious blue influence. Fear gripped his heart as he remembered the paralyzing control. 'No...' He thought, shaking. He stood, paralyzed by the memories. Rogue shot from his side first, yelling as she went to intercept Wanda. She had stopped Scott, she would stop her. "Rogue!"

With a yell, Wanda clutched her hands into fists and slowly levitated two buildings on either side of her. Rogue halted, eyeing her display of power wearily. "Oh my god... Run!" Rogue commanded, backing away from the out of control mutant. She hurled the architecture at Rogue who barely erected enough rock from the ground to protect herself. She flew through the raining debris, panting. 'This is like, ten times worse than when this happened to Scott.' She felt everything rumble around them. 'She could dismantle this place.'

Tears streaking down her face, Wanda waved her hand and the road splintered beneath them. "Wanda!" Rogue screamed as everyone tried not to get caught in the jagged concrete. "Wanda ya gotta fight this harder, you're puttin' a lot of people in danger!" She cried, worming her way out of her glove.

Wanda didn't even notice when she was wandering through Mutie Town. A presence entered her mind and took over her faculties without so much as a yawn. They led her body to a discreet backend of the shanty town where Anastasia was waiting. She flashed the mysterious brooch and whispered. Wanda nodded dumbly and walked away.

Wanda didn't seem to recognize her words, screaming in fury as she hurled two parked cars Rogue's way. Rogue dodged one and caught the other, tossing it back with a grunt. Wanda smashed the car aside with her powers, replicating telekinesis in this heightened state. Scott fired an optic blast at her from beside Rogue, but it veered off course.

"Her hex powers..." He growled through grit teeth, watching as everyone tried and failed to intercept her with their powers. "They interfere with ours, damn it." Bobby iced a ramp around her and tried to encase a part of her in ice. The ice shards flew every which way but at her, causing him to fully ice out to avoid being damaged. Kurt teleported, but her natural hex powers caused him to miscalculate every time.

Even Piotr couldn't nail her with the debris and rubble around them.

"Alright..." Rogue said, huffing. "Time to try something."

"Like what?" Kitty asked, her back flat against concrete. She phased quickly as a hydrant flew into her.

"Fight fire with fire." Rogue drawled, her face determined.

"You don't mean using her powers, do you? She doesn't even seem to know how to use them!" A car crashed nearby them. "Are you sure it's a good idea to add more of her witch hex stuff to the equation?" Rogue stood.

"Nope." She said, doing her best to sift through the girls memories and traumas. Rogue began to glow with red, her teeth gritting. "WANDA," She howled, flying over to her. She began screaming unintelligibly, flinging everything she could get her hands on at an advancing Rogue. Rogue focused on her memories, even reaching deep down to her distant memories with Joseph.

All the nearby metal rose, Rogue's eyes yellow. Wanda didn't break a sweat, using her absolute control over her power to her advantage. The cars and light posts were getting closer to Wanda but still missing.

'D-Damn... She's still stronger than me!' She thought desperately, watching as she flung a car right where a little girl was cowering. "No!" Piotr ran and caught the car at the last moment, tossing it away from the girl. He scooped her quickly and took off, running away from the conflict. "Wanda!" Rogue screamed, trying desperately to enter her mind.

She was surprised when she actually did, though it was probably too chaotic for her to do anything about. It was the same anarchy as Scott's. These two incidents were the same. 'They wanted the artifact in Egypt,' She thought focusing on Wanda's mind. 'What are they using Wanda to get?' The answer was actually simple.

She tried to take control over the brainwashing again, but it was too much for Rogue's grasp on telepathy. Tears leaking out of her eyes, she grappled mentally with her, feeling her grip fail. 'Keep it up,' She thought, her teeth clenching. It was too many abilities for Rogue to grasp at one time.

Wanda raised all the parked cars around her and shoved at Rogue, repelling her from her mind. Several of the cars collided with the mutant, sending her crashing yards away.

"Rogue!" Scott screamed, ripping his visor off. He shot a cherrypicker at an abandoned construction site, causing it to tip over. It slammed into Wanda, causing her to crash into the ground.

"You got her!" Kurt screamed, wondering if she would get back up. But nobody noticed the blonde, Russian spy sneaking off to where Rogue was separated. Rogue shot from the debris panting, looking around. She eyed the strange blonde woman approaching her from the shadows. Her head was still spinning, before she could think, the woman ripped out a blue brooch and flashed it in her face.

It was the same blue as Scott's eyes that time. And Wanda's now. Her heart hammered in her chest as she tried to fly away, but she couldn't. She found herself strangely frozen, glued staring at blue. "Don't fight it, child." A familiar voice said. Rogue began to panic. 'No... No it can't be...'

"Mystique..." Rogue bit out, tears in her eyes. She could feel the strange stone wrapping itself around her essence. 'No! Fight it!' She set her jaw, using all the remained in her of Jean to fight it's influence. "I won't let you take me." Tears shone in the strange woman's eyes.

"You won't beat an Infinity Stone, Rogue." 'A what?'

She pushed even harder, her eyes watering. The stone trembled in her hand, surprising Mystique the most. 'Is she contesting the stone... This girl...' She watched in true amazement. It was a truly valiant effort, but she knew it would not matter. 'Scott, someone...' She thought weakly, not able to call out to them with her abilities. 'Help me...' She thought, terrified she would descend into the same grip as Scott and Wanda. 'Please...'

Mystique held the mystical brooch near her, causing her to cry out. Scott heard her, though he was still wrangling with an ornery Wanda. "Rogue..." He uttered, his feet moving when he realized he couldn't see her. "Rogue! Where are you?" He screamed out, knowing what he heard.

Blood trickled down her nose as she fought the Mind Stone, her head pulsing with pain. Her eyes turned white as the wind whipped around them. Lightning crashed next to the operative, rain beginning to pelt the ground. Grass began to sear away around them, then slowly the concrete and vehicles around them. "You can fight all you want. This always wins, Rogue!" She screamed over the storm. Rogue fell to one knee staring hatefully at Mystique.

"Why..." She rasped, glaring at her. Mystique hung her head.

"Forgive me." The blue overtook her stormy eyes. She fell to her hands and knees, struggling against the cosmic power to the last second.

"Rogue!" Scott screamed, eyeing the strange woman. "Who are you? Get away from her!" He barked rabidly, preparing to shoot them if he had to. They hid the brooch suddenly. Rogue looked up at him with haunting blue eyes. The air deflated out of his lungs as he staggered back. She stood slowly, a blank look on her face.

"It is none of your concern." Anastasia asserted in a strong, Russian accent. "Come, Anna-Marie." With a grunt Rogue leapt up, punching the ground and sending a large, blue shockwave rippling through the area, sending Scott and the rest of the X-Men flying. Wanda fell to the ground, suddenly incapacitated. Before anyone could respond, a helicopter lowered near them, kicking up dust and debris everywhere.

"ROGUE, NO!" Scott screamed, forcing himself to his feet.

"ROGUE!" Kurt shouted, teleported quickly, reaching for her when he reappeared. She raised a hand and flung him away, turning and climbing into the helicopter with Anastasia.

"DON'T," Scott screamed, remembering the mental torture vividly. He would would gladly take her place, anything to spare the pain that was ruining his life. "ROGUE!" He watched helplessly as she rose in the air, a single tear slipping past her eye. "NO,"

Kitty watched in horror, her hands holding tuft fulls of hair. "Not again!" The X-Men looked around them. Downtown Bayville was trashed and Rogue was gone. Scott punched the ground, fury rising in him like bile.

"To the X-Jet. We need to see where her tracker ends up." He rose, his knuckles scraped and bloody. Slowly, Wanda got up slowly and everyone held their breath, wondering if they had to keep fighting. She opened normal, dark eyes. Her hair was growing past her shoulders now and was a natural, muted brown. She looked around her in exhaustion and confusion.

"I don't know where you're going... But can I come?" She clenched her fists. "I've got a lot to talk about. I didn't do that on purpose." Scott approached her, his brow furrowed.

"I know," He announced. "The same thing happened to me months ago, and now it's happening to Rogue." He gave her a weary look. "Are you with us, or what?" She looked around at the tired and unsure eyes of the X-Men.

"Sure," She said unenthusiastically. "Why not." She added, following after him. "I've got nothing else to do."

'Rogue...' Scott thought, his fists clenching again. 'Hang on until I can get you.'