The Acolytes met the day after Charles died.

These had been Erik's secret stipulations. He had a plan made, set aside, and prepared for incase anything ever happened to his dear adversary. It was something so against the ethics of his late friend, he could've never put it into action with him there. It was kind of ironic, but he would not let his friend's dreams die in vain. Die with him.

Pietro and Wanda stood stone faced behind him. His son was a spitting image of him at that age, that is where the resemblance stopped. He was still impatient, lazy, and a complainer. But, as the world became a crazier place for mutants to be, the more he wanted a place at his father's side. Especially with Charles gone (and his chances of going to the institute were slim), this was his only choice.

The same went for Wanda. It wasn't the mutant politics motivating her, it was a need to be close with her father. To have something in common. Piotr stood towards the back of the cluttered hideout. He was not proud or happy to be in league with Magneto. But he was able to keep his dear sister safe. What other choice did he have? The Acolytes stood for everything he wasn't, but for Illyana, he could suffer.

Remy leaned against the wall, shuffling his cards cooly. In truth, he was sad to hear the professor was gone. He almost wished he could check on Rogue for some, strange, altruistic reason. But he would bring only chaos showing up there, especially once he participated in Magneto's plan. Whatever he had planned would only solidify the rift between the two groups.

A slender, short haired, asian girl also hid in the shadows, waiting to be addressed by the legendary mutant. She was a little bit younger than the rest of the group, but her powers were amazing. He had assembled this group for specific reasons.

"I have known that this is what I would do if Charles was struck down for some time." He looked into each member's face. "I agreed, I could try his way. Try peace so long as he was here." He clutched a fist tightly, memories of the mutant burning his brain. "And he was shot down at a peaceful protest." The mutants hung their heads. Even former Brotherhood members had nothing bad to say about the psychic. "Humans. They pick violence time after time..." His eyes darkened. "So I choose violence as well."

"What is Magneto plan?" Piotr asked softly, eyeing the man. He was brilliant, but he got a little fantastical at times. He hoped this wasn't one of those times.

Tiny, tiny pieces of metal collected in Magneto's hands. Slowly, they built a figure. A person. Remy squinted. 'Das not...'

"Rogue?" Wanda raised an eyebrow. She still wore the same kind of makeup, but she'd stopped cropping and dying her hair. It was now a muted brown and to her shoulders. Rogue had always bothered her the least of the X-Men. 'What does my father want with her?'

Remy felt his heart rate go up, and Piotr felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. "What need with Rogue?" He asked genuine confusion. Remy looked uneasily between them.

"Rogue retains all of the abilities she's absorbed. If she's absorbed you," His eyes narrowed. "Yours, too. She could have any ability should she just touch someone. What do you think?" Piotr swallowed at the insensitive tone of his boss' voice.

"How ya gon' get her to leave dat school?" Remy questioned fearfully. She would never go for this. Would he threaten her, brainwash her... The more he thought about it, the more he felt the walls coming in. "Especially if Charles jus' died." The older mutant pressed his mouth into a grim line. "Magneto." The magnet mutant gestured, and a petite girl approached him.

"This is Blindspot," He began somberly. Piotr looked like he would be sick, imagining what a certain, pony-tailed mutant would think of his involvement. He wiped his giant hand over his face and groaned. This was going to be so bad. Remy shook his head vigorously. "She has the abilities to alter... Change, erase memories." Remy felt like he was going to hurl.

He fought the urge to cry out in protest. There was no way he was going to kidnap her and deliver her to Magneto, was he? Taking her had been bad enough, but leading her to think she was someone else? He felt disgusting.

"You're going to trick her into being an Acolyte?" Wanda questioned flatly. Her father blinked slowly.

"Unlocked, evolved... Rogue alone has the power to unite our race for one cause. Our betterment. What better symbol than a mutant, fighting, with your powers, too? Leading the revolution against homo sapiens." He took in a shuddering breath. "It won't be the way he wanted, but I will get our people peace."

"So y'gonna force her?" Magneto chuckled ruefully. It wasn't exactly a secret that Remy was at least fond of the girl. He'd secretly been wondering if Remy would even go through with being an Acolyte, now. 'I may need him the most.' He hoped so, he wanted to account for surprises. And he already knew he'd be yanking her from their cold, dead hands. 'I was beyond fortunate to find Blindspot...'

"No matter what it takes." He responded simply. Remy shook his head, not surprised in the least bit. 'Everybody wanna use her...' He thought grudgingly. Including him. He had added to that horrible list, and now he was going to aid Magneto to do the same. Again. He really wasn't a fan of himself as the other Acolytes discussed the news amongst themselves.

"They took our strongest weapon against the ignorance and fear of humans. Charles Xavier." His helmet levitated over, settling on his head. "So. now we will draft the strongest weapon that remains. No matter what it takes. By any means necessary." Remy dropped his eyes, suddenly feeling sick.

'What Remy gonna do...'

Logan called it.

Four weeks after the funeral, Magneto and his Acolytes attacked a Friends Of Humanity protest. It was a mob scene, and the worst mutant related incident in a year. When Charles was alive, the group was thought to be disbanded and Erik an ally of the X-Men. But only the telepath's life promised that. Now, after reeling from emotions, he would continue to fight for mutants. The only way Erik Lensherr knew how.

The whole world was watching, now. Logan was stressing the importance of getting this done right. No civvies in the crossfire, no millions of dollars of property damage. He knew it was largely out of the team's control. They only got better as X-Men in the years after Apocalypse. He knew, with Bucket Head, a lot of that would be out of their control. But the world would see them try, damn it.

The plan, unless otherwise stated, was to pass Rogue along like a football and get the magnetist drained. That would quiet his tantrum the quickest. This wasn't Rogue's first rodeo with him, either. Before the professor passed, he'd been working on Rogue's powers, trying to see if there was a way to make all her powers accessible. The breakthrough never came before his death.

'I'd sure feel better if she had access to all her abilities.' He thought, eyeing her wearily. "Be careful..." He warned seriously as the X-Jet landed. She nodded, shrugging her cropped jacket on.

She had no problems making this bout quick. The quicker it was over, the less damage done. But it didn't go that way. Magneto, was not alone in downtown Bayville. He hovered in the air above the massive, anti-mutant banners strung over buildings. He watched, unflinchingly, as people in the crowd fled through the streets. The magnet master's heart accelerated when he saw the X-Men had finally arrived.

'Now, this begins.' Metal was ripped from the streets, from pipes in the ground, and from buildings. Cars lifted all around him as he waited.

"On your guard!" Logan ordered, unsheathing his claws. Laura was beside him, her claws already out. Rogue edged beside them, fiddling with her gloves as she hopped from foot to foot. She went (even whiter) white as a ghost when she saw a figure appear through the billowing smoke and chaos. A figure with a staff. 'No...' She thought, her stomach lurching. Cars dropped from the sky like precipitation.

If Remy was anywhere near Magneto, he was an Acolyte again. Meaning, the Acolytes were not disbanded. Or, they had an agreement to reform if something happened to Charles. Rogue wasn't sure which was worse. She heard the growl raise in both Logan and Scott's throats. Neither man had expected anything different from him. He approached them lazily, his weapon spinning around.

His eyes were anchored on Rogue. He let out a salacious whistle. "My, my. Ya look better every time I see ya, chére. And dat ain' easy." Rogue trembled, fighting her blush as she was standing right next to Logan and Kurt. Neither of them noticed, and if they did they didn't act like it. They were preoccupied with the cajun. He seemed... Different. A few years separated now and when he'd taken Rogue, but then he had an almost harmless, laissez-faire attitude about him.

They didn't want to admit it, but they had been most scared that Remy would take her. For good. But now, there was something sinister about him. He seemed like someone who could hurt her, now. It was in his eyes. Cruel. Unyielding. Rogue found herself frozen, staring down the mutant's cruel sneer. "Sit dis one out, petite. Remy don' like fighting beautiful women." He gestured towards his face. "You can jus' have a seat right here..."

Now Rogue's face was as red as Jean's hair. She was so embarrassed he was being vulgar towards her. Because she was around her team and Logan, and because she was so hopelessly inexperienced with sex. She couldn't help but blush, making it even worse. He grinned at her like a hungry alligator.

"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to," Logan warned, his eyes black.

"Ah... A-Ah..." Rogue stammered as Wanda appeared in the air behind her father. 'What, what the hell is going on?' Something really strange was going on. 'This doesn't make sense!' She thought. Wanda's powers were a holy terror to fight. And she never, in a million years, thought she'd work for her father. Kitty gasped beside Jean when she saw the titanium skinned mutant, grudgingly in his uniform.

'P-Piotr...' She thought. Magneto snapped, and Wanda hovered forward in a haunting, red light. 'He looks... Bothered by something?'

"X-Men, mo-" Scott screamed as he was enveloped in Wanda's red energy. 'What?' Rogue watched in horror as Wanda began hexing her friends all the way down the block. One by one, Logan, Kurt, Scott, Kitty, Jean, Bobby, and Amara were all sent flying down the road. Leaving Rogue alone, horribly alone. Even though Logan knew it was useless, he thrashed wildly against her powers.

"You guys!" She screamed, eyeing the former goth mutant.

'No, that bastard is here for her!' He realized, his heart slamming in his chest. He should've known. "MAGNETO," He screamed, held taut by his daughter. Rogue dropped one of her gloves. She wasn't sure why they had all singled her out, but she wouldn't go down without a fight. 'Okay, Rogue. Think of everything Logan's taught me...' She looked at Wanda wearily, wondering how she was even supposed to get to her to touch.

The petite, asian girl came out of nowhere, kicking and screaming. She cartwheeled towards Rogue and kicked at her, the girl barely dodging out of the way. She was covered in a slick black and yellow unitard, one Rogue had never seen before. She dropped quickly and narrowly avoided a punch. Rogue screamed and launched her foot, kicking forward. Her boot connected with the girl's stomach, sending her careening into a car.

Screaming, Rogue flipped forward to tackle her. Blindspot rolled out of the way, swiping desperately for Rogue's skin. 'She's not scared of my mutation...' She thought, freaked out.

'Just get a hold of her and this is all done.' She thought cockily. Magneto was very interested in her mutation and spent a lot of time gassing her up. 'Time to prove him right!' She reached for her again, but Rogue dropped to the concrete, breathing heavily. She swiped her foot with a scream, sending Blindspot crashing into the ground. Rogue scrambled for her, not even caring what her powers were, but trying to touch her.

Suddenly, she froze. Wanda had hexed her with her other hand. 'No, damn it!' She struggled, but there was no use.

"Stripes," Logan snarled from feet away.

"Really, Wanda? Went through all that crap to do what daddy says," She growled, gasping when Wanda made the hex tighter. Remy hung his head, refusing to meet Rogue's eyes although she stared. 'What is Remy doin'...' He watched, his expression definitely sad as Magneto's plan came to fruition.

"No hard feelings, Rogue. He's family." She said, as though she were already tired of saying it. Rogue thrashed anyways, even though she knew there was no point. 'Ah'm doomed...'

"Cheater," Rogue hissed, watching with fearful eyes as Blindspot prepared to touch her.

"It wouldn't have mattered if you touch me," The strange girl said, almost apologetically. Her short, dark hair flipped out at the ends, giving her a juvenile look. She was definitely younger than Rogue, she had to be. Rogue had to guess she was close to Kitty or Laura's size, and just as lean. Rogue strained and struggled to get away from her hand.

"NO," Rogue let out a scream that her whole team heard, despite being powerless to help. Kurt writhed, trying harder to teleport than he'd ever tried before. When Jean began to scream like a banshee, everyone started going wild.

She cried, thrashing her head back and forth. "NO," She gasped, her eyes wide in shock.

"JEAN," Logan cried. "What's happening?"

"That mutant," Jean's voice rose in pitch as she spoke. "Oh god, Scott. She's replacing and altering Rogue's memories with fake ones... W-When she's done, she..." She let out a sob that had Scott ready to chew himself out of Wanda's hex. "With the professor gone, do you realize the lasting damage she could do?" The psychic was near hysterical herself, driving Kurt and Kitty to a frenzy.

They were all pinned uncomfortably against the concrete, flailing helplessly. "Jean," He hissed. 'What the hell is happening over there?' "Rogue!"

Rogue fought the sensation with all her might, but memories were a weak spot for the mutant. 'No... Don't let her... Don't forget...' The psyches and memories already took such a toll on her, that Blindspot had little to no difficulty rewriting her memories with new ones. Rogue's scream petered out as she grew weaker, sailing to the ground. 'No...' Veins bulged on Logan's skin as he craned his neck to see her. "Rogue, c'mon. FIGHT." He screamed, wishing desperately Wanda's hex would fail. But it never did. "MARIE,"

'I have to do something,' Jean thought. Her powers were more tied to her emotions than she wanted to admit, and ever since the professor had died they'd been... Off. 'I can do this.' She focused, centering her mind and her powers. She thought of everything he taught her, everything he'd ever said to her about her powers. She felt Wanda's hex being slowly pried off of her. With a grunt she broke free, taking to the sky. "Atta girl, Red." Logan cheered in awe, praying she made it in time.

Jean hovered faster than anyone remembered seeing her fly, rocketing over to where Wanda and Blindspot had Rogue. You could practically hear her telepathy sizzle as she tried to aid her teammate. It began to flare bright pink, and even at times, orange as she raced for the red witch. "Wanda," She began through clenched teeth, like a mother reprimanding a child.

Magneto's offspring didn't acknowledge Jean, much. She flicked a wrist wrapped in red energy, and Jean cried out. 'C'mon, you got this.' She insisted, shooting mobile bursts of telepathic energy. 'I'm stronger than her.' Wanda's powers were just so unpredictable. No matter what she threw, Wanda's powers managed to at least make her effort miss.

The witch covered herself in a massive, red bubble. Her eyes even began to glow red. Seconds later, Jean was sent colliding with the street. With a final moan of resignation, Rogue collapsed onto Blindspot. The dark haired girl tentatively held her, guilt gnawing at her insides. The instant she was out, metal began compiling around all the Acolytes and surrounding them with spheres. Logan screamed and shouted until his voice blew out, but Magneto would not heed.

In a few more moments, they were hundreds of miles away. Leaving the X-Men in the dust. Eventually, Wanda's hex wore off, releasing them. But it was too little, too late. Where Rogue was was anybody's guess, now. Logan pounding the ground angrily, his metal fist ringing softly. "What the hell just happened!" He screamed at nobody in particular. Magneto baited them and they took it. 'God fucking damn it.'

"Rogue!" Kurt screamed helplessly through cupped hands. "Oh god..." They all stood and looked in the sky at the rapidly retreating circles.

xxx

Logan was sitting in the waiting area of the infirmary, his head in his hands. He felt a migraine coming on, and it would be the first of many if Rogue was gone long. The kids were exhausted because nobody had slept well after the professor's death. Now, they were anxious and worried about Rogue and the government's retaliation over Magneto. 'This is not what we need with Chuck gone...' He scrubbed his face until his eyes were red and puffy. Jean and Scott hovered above him, the worry written on their faces.

When he smelled Kitty, his head snapped up. She looked like a glass of water that was about to spill, it tugged at his insides and made him want to stab things. "How's Elf," He asked, his face pained.

"Hank... Thought it a good idea to sedate him..." She tried to keep her voice from cracking. Logan's face managed to pale even further, Scott clenching a fist beside him. "He just... Um," Kitty twiddled her fingers. "He knows Magneto experiemented on him... Maybe Wanda, he's just worried about what he would use her for, we all are..." Logan heaved a heavy sigh, thinking fast for a way to soothe the poor girl.

"Listen," He said, his voice gravelly. "This is best case scenario. Magneto bein' radio silent until Chuck passes? That means it's impulsive, emotional." He looked at her with dark, intense eyes, impressed by the words rolling off his tongue. "A response to trauma. Not one of his cuckoo for cocoa puff plans he's been plotting on for years." He tried to look exasperated. "We'll talk him down, we'll deal with the fall out and everything will be fine." He insisted, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Scott and Jean exchanged glances. "Y-You think so?" She practically sobbed. Logan shook his head stiffly.

"Yep, for all his faults... Magnus loved Charles." 'And on that principal alone, he can't harm Rogue. Because Rogue was important to him...' He left strongly implied. Kitty nodded dumbly, her lip quivering. Jean wrapped an arm around her.

"C'mon, Kit. I'll make you some tea..." Jean offered, ushering her towards the kitchen. Scott sighed and wiped his hands over his face.

"Be straight with me Logan." He turned to face the man, his jaw clenched.

"What is Magneto capable of right now? A Magneto with no Charles Xavier in the world..." Logan's eyes narrowed.

"One of the times Charles got in to Bucket Head's head, know what he saw?" He wrinkled his nose with an unreadable expression. "Him daydreamin' casually about rippin' my adamantium skeleton out for getting smart mouthed with him." Scott suddenly felt sick, and he did not get queasy easily. "Personally, I'd like to see him try. But Rogue," His expression darkened. "We need to get her out of there, especially right now. Especially because Charles is gone." 'So is his humanity.'

The Acolytes were gathered morbidly in Magneto's underground Muir Island base. Blindspot was working furiously on Rogue, who was still incapacitated. She tucked dark strands of hair behind her ear, the other hand on Rogue. Whatever Erik wanted her memories to be, he just told her. Remy watched, his face blank as they built her into a whole new person. 'Makin' up a whole new life to manipulate her...' He felt sick suddenly, imagining having his memories tampered with. 'Gotta watch petite, for sure.' He warned himself.

He wanted so bad to snatch Rogue up and race to the institute. He wasn't the most morally forward guy, but even he found this despicable. Insidious. Cruel. He could tell Piotr did too, he was just fundamentally a good guy. His face was buried in his massive hands, squirming in discomfort. Magneto's children watched in a mixture of shock and disgust.

"Are you ready?" Magneto snapped after a while, watching Blindspot like a hawk. It was clear he had been getting impatient. She huffed.

"Yes, what do you want?"

"Her name is Anna Marie. Mine, Joseph." He caught a few weird looks that he ignored. "Her codename, Legacy." Remy's face darkened. 'Legacy?' He repeated, wondering just what he was up to. "Her mother," He rolled his eyes. "Birth mother is Raven Darkholme." Remy's blood when arctic. 'Mystique?!' "It has been prophesied, it is her destiny to use her many mutant powers to fight for all mutantkind. The X-Men are her sworn enemies, they want to kill her because she has the potential to stop them. They are evil, mutant terrorists." Blindspot nodded, conjuring fake memories of the X-Men attacking her, chasing after her.

Now, it seemed the man's next request was unreasonable. At least, he was acting like it. Remy's stomach flipped. "Okay, now..." Blindspot nodded.

"Now..."

"Make our relationship as close as hers was with the professor. Charles Xavier." A lightbulb in the bathroom shattered, even Wanda unable to contain her awe. Remy's mouth hung open in silent disapproval, while Piotr got up with a clatter and excused himself. Magneto had not expected them to understand, what Charles dying really meant, what they would have to do. It was easier not to try. 'As long as they remember the order of things, I care not about their opinions.'

Blindspot hesitated for a second before obliging, sweat trailing down her brow. "The Acolytes are her protectors." He continued, his face intense. "Gambit," Remy was ripped from his trance, his eyes on the magnet mutant. "You are fully responsible for her safety, making sure the X-Men do not take her or undo what's been done here today. Understood?" Remy glowered, then steeled his face. Hoping he didn't see, he dipped his head.

"Right," He uttered, not very talkative. Magneto nodded. He frowned when Blindspot made a face.

"I... I think I figured out something..." She murmured, looking at the strange girl. "She has the abilities to use all her powers, but doesn't know how to use that ability." She turned back to the white haired man. "If I give her memories of being able to control her power..."

"She will be able to recall her abilities. Excellent, I won't have to manipulate her mutation at all." Magneto seemed to relax at the prospect of having to do a little less work. 'He is interrupting' and changin' her life. Puttin' it on pause and he's happy to cut corners on what he has to do...' Remy had never been Magneto's fan, but he was certainly disgusted by him, now. 'But I accept pay and shut my lip about it, what dat make Remy?' He sighed.

"You are to find me when she's awake and ready. Then," He flashed his cape around him. "We will be begin." Blindspot swallowed, turning her focus back on the pale girl below her. 'I better get this just right,' She thought. She'd never seen him so wired or excited about anything. It was kind of chilling.

"Yes, sir." He floated into the darkness like a specter, leaving an uncomfortable atmosphere behind him. Remy pinched the bridge of his nose. 'What has Remy done?'