A/N Thanks to everyone that reviewed and favorited and alerted for this story, makes me all fuzzy inside.

As for the Fox News comment, some were offended by it. Fox has a documented problem with fact checking and misinformation. The comment was nothing about conservatives versus liberals, nor am I saying where anyone should fall in that category, the comment was simply about existing problems in a specific journalism outlet.

Anyways, thanks to everyone who's reading, here's chapter two.

Chapter 2

The train ride back to New York was long and silent. Rogue's face had blossomed into a riot of bruises and Gambit now sported a cut on the side of his head and a few bruises of his own. Their injuries earned them a few odd looks from fellow passengers, but once they were seated they managed to avoid any more unwanted attention.

Logan picked them up from the train station in one of the mansion's cars. He however wasn't as subtle about checking out their injuries as the train's passengers. "What the hell happened?" Logan asked gruffly, throwing their bags into the trunk.

"What does it look like?" Rogue snapped, climbing into the front seat and slamming the door.

Logan looked a question at Gambit over the top of the car. Gambit shrugged. "We ran into some anti-mutant drunks," he told Logan. "We took care of it."

Logan growled and glanced down at the car. "Is she okay?"

"Bruises, but other dan dat, she's okay," Gambit assured the other man. "She's been a bit, er, cranky since den."

"I bet," Logan said. "Let's get you guys back."

The mansion was still busy with post-Christmas buzz. There was a mixture of cleaning up and preparing to transfer students back to the mansion. A few stopped to look at Rogue and Gambit's injuries with poorly disguised curiosity, to which Rogue responded to with a loud "It's none of your business!" Logan raised an eyebrow while Gambit frowned. Sure, Rogue was known for her temper, but only if you worked her up to it. Right now it seemed to be ready to go on a flop switch.

Luckily, all the students that had left for Christmas made it back safely. It took more than a few days but there were no major incidents. A student received some heckling at the airport but a glare from Logan shut them up fairly quickly. Once everyone was back, there were still a few days left until classes started up again. Rogue was mostly found in the gym, the Danger Room or her bedroom. Students and staff learned very quickly that bothering her was something of a 'bring your own bomb shelter' kind of situation. Only Gambit seemed to be able to avoid her wrath and even he was walking on eggshells.

The night before classes started, Storm, Logan, Gambit and Rogue were gathered with the other X-Men, watching the news for anymore horrifying stories. There was a murder of a mutant out shopping on Christmas Eve but thankfully that was the only event.

"It's pathetic that the brutal murder of a father shopping for presents is something we consider lucky," Rogue said disgustedly.

"Yes, it is," Storm agreed, eyes dark.

"Considering de state of de world right now, we're lucky it wasn't worse," Gambit said.

Rogue nodded but was still obviously displeased. Gambit slipped an arm around her shoulders. She tensed for a moment against him before relaxing inch by inch. They spoke for a few more minutes before Rogue disentangled herself from Gambit and left, saying she had an early class.

Logan warily watched her go, then turned to Gambit. "Keep an eye on her," he said to the other man in an undertone so none of the others heard. "I don't know what'd going on with her, but I don't like it."

"I agree, mon ami."

Gambit was still teaching his very own Cajun French class, which was quickly becoming very popular. The students seemed to flock to his flamboyant teaching style, the possibility of a classmate blowing up and the fact that whenever they finished early or did well, he taught them seductive sounding phrases. One of these phrases roughly translated to "There are beautiful eyeballs on the door".

Rogue was still teaching Creative Writing and self defense classes, which also expanded rapidly. Girls were drawn to her compassionate nature and guys were always eager to see "Hot Ms. Rogue". Her compassion level was low lately though, as Gambit found out when he came to observe the last few minutes of her class before they went to lunch together.

Rogue was sparring with a teenage boy no older than 17. He kept throwing out halfhearted punches as if not sure he should actually be hitting her. Rogue didn't have that problem. She seized the boy by his arm and flipped him over, sending him flying into the mat, the stunned boy letting out an "oof". He looked up at her incredulously. She leaned down and offered the stunned boy a hand up.

"Never go easy on your opponent," she said to the class. "They won't go easy on you." Gambit raised his eyebrows. "Dismissed."

The class filed out, more than a few of them rubbing various injured body parts. Gambit wove his way through the students and to Rogue. "Bonjour chère," he greeted her, kissing her cheek.

"Hey," she answered. "Let me just change out of my sweaty clothes and I'll be ready to go."

"Normally I like it when yo' are sweaty without de clothes," Gambit said with a wink. Rogue gave him a tolerant smile as she grabbed her duffle bag and began unwinding her wrist wraps. "Chère, about what yo' said t' your class…"

"What bit?" she asked without looking up.

"De part about not being easy on your enemies," Gambit said.

Rogue turned to face him. "Was anything that I said untrue?"

"No."

"Then I don't see a problem," Rogue said.

"It just sounds like yo' are encouraging your students to be vicious," Gambit said.

"It's a vicious world," Rogue answered and disappeared into the locker room.

Gambit was expecting a frosty attitude from Rogue thanks to his comment but she didn't seem to hold it against him at all. In fact she seemed rather indifferent to the whole thing. They ate lunch in comfort, though Gambit, who'd had many experiences with Rogue's harsh moods was vaguely waiting for the other shoe to drop. To his surprise, they finished eating, she gave him a kiss and they parted ways. He frowned slightly, watching her make her way down to the garage.

Gambit didn't have much time to contemplate Rogue's attitude thanks to a sudden alarm. As part of his security upgrades he'd set a different alarm for different situations, the theory being it would cut down widespread panic that occurred when a generic klaxon went off. This particular alarm called all X-Men and senior staff to the War Room immediately. With a reassuring smile to a few nervous looking students, he quickly made his way to meet with the others.

When he arrived, Storm was standing in the front of the room with a grim look on her face, a look that unfortunately they seemed to see a lot of that look lately. Pyro was sitting next to Logan and looking rather uncomfortable. He'd been at the mansion for months now and just recently was deemed trustworthy enough to be let onto the team on a trial period. Logan was surprisingly okay with this, sensing a definite change in the ex-Brotherhood agent.

On the other hand, Logan lived in a state of general distrust unless it was specifically earned. The short list of people he trusted included Storm, Rogue and to some extent, Gambit, and a few others, so while he believed Pyro had to best intentions, he also tended to monitor him just in case. The constant attention from the Wolverine made Pyro decidedly uncomfortable and a bit fidgety.

"There was a riot in Georgia last night," Storm said grimly. "The people in this little town found a mutant girl with green skin. She was able to camouflage into any background like a chameleon."

"Was?" Gambit asked, referring to Storm's use of the past tense.

She sighed sadly. "They decided her skin must be the problem and it should be removed," she said. "They skinned her alive."

Rogue felt ill. Jubilee put her hand over her mouth and gagged like she might actually throw up. Even Logan looked disgusted.

"Did she…live?" Kitty asked horrified.

"She died," Storm said, then paused before adding, "She was 11." Gambit winced.

"Logan, Pyro, Gambit and Rogue are going to go down there," she said. "There are at least three other mutants in the woods outside the town being hunted by the mob. The rest of us will stay here and try to keep everything as normal as possible. And up the security level until the others get back, just in case.

Ten minutes later, Logan, Gambit and Pyro were strapped into the seats of the cockpit of the Blackbird with Rogue at the controls. Thanks to the occasional absorption of Storm, Rogue had become quite a good pilot. The X-Men had abandoned the dreaded matching leather uniforms after Magneto had taken over Boston. Once people started seeing the uniforms on them during missions, associating them with mutants, and they started to become targets. So matching leather uniforms were out and personalized gear was in.

Most appreciated this anyways. Gambit, who'd refused point blank to wear the uniform in the first place, retained his body armor and trench coat. Logan decided to keep it inconspicuous, usually just jeans and flannel. Pyro actually wore a lightweight fire-resistant shirt after accidentally catching himself on fire more than a few times. Rogue wore tight green pants and her mechanic boots, a utility belt around her waist and a beaten up brown leather jacket. Jubilee always joked that she looked like a sexy mercenary.

The trip was quick and silent except for the occasional location update from Rogue. No one knew exactly what to say. Even among the worst of the worst prisons, crimes against children carried a stigma and offenders often found themselves in a world of pain. And this town had gotten together and skinned a little girl alive. At the worst, they'd all helped. At the best, no one tried to interfere. Rogue's blood was boiling.

Rogue landed barely a half mile from the town and engaged the new countermeasures once they disembarked. Anyone who tried to approach before it was deactivated would instantly be zapped unconscious. They took off at the town at a run. They saw a group of men variously armed gathering at the edge of the woods. They veered that direction.

The group of men looked up when the four of them approached. An older man who appeared to be the leader took in their appearance with a critical eye.

"What the hell's going on here?" Rogue yelled.

"Y'all the grabbers from Atlanta?" the leader asked.

Rogue opened her mouth to respond but Logan cut her off. "That's us," he lied. Since Magneto's Boston situation, groups of human hunters had established themselves as mutant catchers. They were regarded as mutant specialists, though few were, and commonly referred to as grabbers. Gambit, who was still behind Logan, subtly put on his sunglasses to hide his eyes.

"What's the situation?" Logan asked.

"I'm Gabe," the leader said. "A hunting party went in yesterday, none of them have come out."

"How many?" Logan asked.

"Five. We were waiting to go in until you all got here," Gabe said. "At least three mutant freaks in the woods." He missed the muscle in Rogue's jaw twitch at that.

"Let's go," Logan said. "Spread your men out, we've got a lot of ground to cover."

The hunting party was 12 strong, not including the X-Men infiltrators. Logan, Rogue, Gambit and Pyro made sure to stay within sight of each other. Two hours in, there still wasn't a strong trail from the mutants they were looking for. There were small traces but nothing definite until they stumbled on the five hunters, unconscious in a pile. Gabe called them in.

"See to them," Logan said. "We'll keep looking for the mutants."

"Take four of my guys with you," Gabe said. "Safety in numbers." Logan had no choice but to nod and try to hide his irritation. "Hey! You guys stay with them here and make sure they're alive, the rest of you fan out and find the muties."

They split from the others and continued to traipse through the forest. Forty minutes later, Logan heard movement. He cocked his head to side and took a deep breath. Rogue noticed it a split second before Logan called them all in.

"I caught what looks like a trail heading east," he said.

"I didn't see nothing," one of the hunters said.

"This is what I do," Logan said, gruffly dismissing the man. "We head east." He turned to Rogue and tapped his finger to his palm twice, a signal they'd arranged long ago. He held his hand out for her to absorb, though it looked like he was handing her a small gun. When she grabbed it, she absorbed him slightly, exactly what he'd meant with the signal.

"They're going to backtrack and check on the hunters," Logan said nodding the Gambit and Rogue. "Let's move out."

As soon as Logan and the mini-militia were out of ear shot, Gambit turned to Rogue. "Where are we really going?" he asked, having observed the Rogue and Logan interaction.

Rogue quickly shuffled through the memories Logan had transferred to her. "Northwest," she said, picturing the real trail that Logan had picked up. "And quickly, before his senses wear off."

Thanks to Logan's quick thinking, Rogue and Gambit set off on the trail of the mutants. An hour later, just as Logan's senses were beginning to fade, she stopped. Gambit, ten feet from her, stopped as well. She stayed frozen when a small, pale object came flying at Rogue's head. She'd have to thank Logan for his reflexes, she barely had time to duck back and snatch the object from slight. She ran toward the bush the object emanated from in time to see a small, pink haired figure dash away.

Rogue followed hot on the mutant's heels with Gambit not far behind her. They both dodged the white projectiles though one managed to graze Gambit, cutting into the skin of his cheek.

The pink haired mutant skidded to a stop, suddenly confronted with a sheer wall of rock. The mutant turned and Rogue was face to face with a mutant girl no older than 12. She looked around frightened eyes darting from Gambit, to Rogue, to the white object in her hand, which Rogue now recognized as a kind of bone knife thing. The bone that matched the many bones protruding from the girl's skin.

"Whoa, it's okay!" Rogue said. She dropped the bone knife and turned her hands palms up to show she meant no harm. "Easy, we're not here to hurt you."

"Liar," the girl hissed. "I heard the big one say you're grabbers."

"Non," Gambit said, his hands also bare. He tipped down his sunglasses to reveal red on black eyes. "Believe me, petite, we are just like yo'."

Despite herself, the girl leaned forward, drawn in by his eyes. He thought he heard her whisper "Pretty" under her breath.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Gambit asked. The girl's eyes narrowed and darted between them. "I'm Gambit, and this is Rogue."

She still hesitated before answering. "I'm Sarah. I go by Marrow though."

"Marrow," Rogue said. "How many more of you are there out here?"

"Just two others," she said. "Ape and Pixie."

"Listen," Gambit said. "We can get yo' all out of here, we have someplace where people like us can be safe, but we need t' find dem and get yo' all out of here before dese nuts get a hold of yo'."

"We're living in a little cave that way," Marrow said pointing north.

"Lead de way," Gambit said. He and Rogue followed Marrow for another fifteen minutes until abruptly the girl stopped. She turned and let out a bird call, just a few notes. There was a rustling sound then a girl poked her antennaed head out from behind a bush. Slowly, she emerged, revealing a set of pale green and purple wings. She fluttered over and landed lightly next to Marrow but well out of the reach of Gambit and Rogue. She looked about 10.

"Who're they?" Rogue and Gambit turned to see a boy about 12 with a distinctly gorilla-like face emerge from the trees. Ape.

"We're mutants too," Rogue said. "We're here to help."

"They killed Chameleon," Pixie said. Her bell-like voice sounded sad.

"I know," Gambit said. "We're not going t' let dat happen t' yo'. I promise. We're going t' keep yo' safe."

It took a couple of minutes of talk and a few displays of power to convince the kids to follow them. Gambit and Rogue led the three mutants as quietly as possible through the woods. It was a few hours until they made it through to the edge of town. Luckily it was already dark out. Rogue and Gambit ran through the small town, towing the three kids behind them. They were pretty sure no one had seen them, but as soon as they were on board they activated the active camouflage that basically made the plane invisible. All that was left was to wait for Logan and Pyro.

Logan and Pyro weren't having fun. They'd led the hunters on a wild goose chase and back to the others and now they were getting irritated. The leader named Gabe's satellite phone rang and he quickly answered. Logan cocked his head to the side, his advanced hearing picking up the other side of the conversation.

"Pyro," he hissed. "Go." He nodded to the forest, back the way they'd come. Pyro didn't question, just slowly and as nonchalantly as possible moved into the trees.

"Gotcha," Gabe said and snapped the phone shut just as Pyro disappeared into the trees. Logan heard the cock of a rifle and turned slowly to face Gabe. "So I just got a call from town. Looks like the real Atlanta grabbers are there. So who the hell are you?"

Rogue and Gambit had been waiting for over an hour in the jet with the kids. Rogue was scanning the edge of the treeline when she spotted Pyro burst from the trees. She sat up straighter. "Gambit!"

About 20 yards behind him, Logan suddenly appeared, followed by the hunters. Gambit opened the back of the plane and stepped out so they could see where to run to. Pyro ran in, followed shortly by Logan. Pyro seemed to have escaped with only a bullet graze while Logan took the brunt of their fire, the back of his body stained red with blood.

"We're in!" Logan yelled to Rogue. "Get us in the air." He stumbled to the front and leaned on the back of her seat. Gambit strapped himself into the seat next to her. There were four distinct thuds as bullets dropped out of Logan's back followed by dozens of lighter tinkling sounds. Gambit glanced down to see pieces of buckshot littering the ground.

Gambit gave a low whistle. "Dey really wanted yo' dead, mon ami."

"Fuck 'em," Logan said. "As long as we're out of there."

Rogue took the jet higher until the horrible town was far beneath them. She glanced down at the growing pile of shrapnel at Logan's feet, her hands tightening on the controls. Gambit didn't miss the cold fury in her eyes as she looked back outside.

A/N Yeah so I took HUGE creative liberties with Sarah/Marrow and the Morlocks. Ape and Pixie and both real characters by the way. I'm just…changing it a bit.