We own nothing!

***Past - New Orleans***

"Come on." Logan ordered to Rogue as they went up the fire escape of an old brick building. He had searched around for an hour before coming across an abandoned apartment on the top floor across from the casino. He checked it out first and by the scent no one had lived there in years.

"Ya sure this is a good idea? Maybe we should go to a hotel or somethin'? What if the owner comes back?" Rogue suggested to him as he opened the window and crawled inside.

"Ya know we can't meet anyone here, not even if I never encountered them." Logan reminded her as she went slid through the open window and shut it. "Ya stay here; I'll go find somethin' for us ta eat. Maybe ya could clean out the fridge or somethin' cause it smells like shit from here." He told her before heading back for the window.

"Logan? Couldn't your other self sense you?" Rogue asked him curiously. It could prove to be a problem for the two of them.

"Probably, just gotta be careful of where I go. If I end up meeting him, well, I'll figure out what to do if it happens. Tomorrow I'll send ya out ta look around if ya are up ta it." Logan suggested to her. Rogue smiled and nodded. She always enjoyed being around Logan out of everyone else in the mansion. He treated her like she was an adult and not a child, even when she felt like one. He always seemed to place trust in her that he didn't with some of the others.

Rogue turned around and took in her surroundings. The apartment looked like it had been fairly clean with the exception of a few things knocked over. She ran her hand over the black leather couch that sat in front of a small television with wooden bookcases on either side of it.

She walked over to the table and turned it back onto its four legs and pushed the two chairs close to it. She adventured down the hallway where it became weird. There were holes in the wall like someone had thrown a fist at it. Pictures were lying on the ground as if they had been knocked off and stepped on. 'Guess either someone was really drunk or got inta a fight.' She thought to herself as she picked up the picture and set it back on its hook, only for it to fall off the wall again.

She entered into the bedroom on the right across from the half bathroom and was in shock. The door was barely hanging on its hinges and the frame around the door had cracks around it. The black satin sheets of the bed had been thrown on the white carpeted floor carelessly and above the headboard were three bullet holes. The mirror over the dresser had a giant crack on it and was missing a few pieces that had fallen off. The window had been smashed open with glass still littering the ground below. She found more bullet holes on the closet door.

'What happened here?' She thought and then took a step forward when she felt her foot step on something. She looked down at found a small dart and picked it up. It was as long as her index finger with a small needle at the end of it. "I'll have Logan take a look at this." She said to herself and placed it on the dresser.

Rogue went over to the closet and looked through to get an idea if a man or woman had stayed here. She found a bunch of shirts of black, purple, maroon, blue, and green with a few pairs of pants. 'Someone liked shoppin'. Wonder if we invaded Jubilee's ancestor's home.' She thought to herself as she looked through the male clothes. She finally shut the doors and walked over to the window and found on the other side of the bed was a dried pool of blood.

"Great, he just had ta pick a creepy place." She muttered to herself and decided to leave the bedroom. It was starting to give her the creeps. At least the kitchen and dining room were fine. She stopped at the small bathroom in the hallway and slowly opened the door. 'Please don't let there be a dead body in here.' She thought to herself, but found it was fine with the exception of the dust that caused her to sneeze.

"Gotta do some major cleanin' in here later." She said to herself before closing the door. She went into the kitchen and opened the fridge and had to hold her nose. There wasn't much food, but the food left inside had been rotten for quite a long time.

She held her nose as she picked up a small opened package of what she hoped had been bread and went over to the trash and dumped it out. "Told ya it smelled like shit."Logan said, startling her. She turned around to find him standing with a small bag.

"How did ya get that?" She asked him and shut the refrigerator.

"Broke into the back of this grocery story and got a few things. Not enough to make them wonder where it is." Logan replied before he went to the cabinets and looked through them. "I don't think this guy knew what the meaning of storing food meant." Logan said before closing the cabinets, not giving Rogue a chance to see what was up there.

Logan opened the drawers to try to find silverware. "Didn't know people could eat with this." He muttered and dug around the drawer to seeing what else was in it.

"What?" Rogue asked him and looked over his shoulder. Logan began pulling out knives from the drawer and placed them on the counter. "What's so bad about that?" She received her answer when Logan began unloading packs of playing cards. "So the guy had a card fetish." Rogue shrugged.

***Past - Three Mile Island***

Colonel William Stryker watched over Weapon X's newest experiment. They had gone to work a week after losing their previous experiment that was now being hunted. It seemed every tactic they used was turned against them. They needed someone better to hunt down Wolverine. Already some of the other agents had failed or had been killed by the animal and it was not acceptable. He was already being watched by the government for spending so much money on a project that got up and left.

He had admired James Howlett since the first day he found him and Victor Creed. Unlike the other man, James seemed to be able to hold onto his humanity better and was able to turn on his animal instincts. Creed was the opposite. The man was more animal than anything. He was useful for the moment, but didn't know how long he would be able to keep him that way. He knew how much he wanted to get back at Wolverine and the other felt the same way.

At the same time he also hated Wolverine. He was the same as the rest of the mutant population. He was meant to be their weapon to tract down other mutants and put them under control. He ran off on them and now they were out the money they spent on creating him. He had been so careful over the years in luring Wolverine into his hands, but something had gone wrong. That matter still had to be dealt with.

Stryker smiled to himself. It had been a perfect set up. He mentioned to Creed that if he killed James' woman he would go nuts. His hypothesis was correct and Wolverine began hunting down members of Weapon X to try to find them just to find Creed. Unfortunately for Wolverine, no one knew the location of Three Mile Island with the exception of a few.

"Sir, we have reports on the mutant that escaped two days ago." One of the guards rushed to him and stood beside Stryker. "We wanted to know if you want us to pursue the mutant and recapture it or let it go."

Stryker raised an eyebrow at the man and felt like slapping him. What kind of questions was that? How dare he think about letting a mutant run free. "You will go after it. I will not allow any mutant to run free. They all need to be controlled, caged, or killed. Those are the only options you may take when encountering the mutant." He ordered to the soldier who nodded.

"Yes, sir." The guard saluted him before going back to his team and started preparing for New Orleans where the mutant was located.

Stryker walked down the stairs, his hand running along the cold metal of the rail before he reached the bottom. He went over to a table where a man was strapped down with no shirt and had wires sticking into his arms, chest and legs. His once tan skin now turning stark white and his head full of hair was now bare. The man glared at him as he came into view. "Now really Wade, you knew what would happen when you volunteered." He said calmly.

"I volunteered to get the healing factor, not to get metal shoved up my ass. So, is this how you and Victor feel when you're alone together? Or are you only pursuing him because Howlett dumped you." Wade Wilson commented before Stryker grounded his teeth. Two of the prisoners had started a rumor around the prison that Creed had been fucking Stryker. It was undignified, but he knew that they were only animals that didn't know any better. Reason more to put them on their leash.

"There is one small thing I forgot to mention." Stryker told Wade as a doctor came over with a large needle. "We've decided to close your mouth up. We believe it will be better for us and everyone else. I will see you again in a few days, Weapon XI." He said before leaving.

***Past - Apartment, New Orleans***

"It's a tranquilizer." Logan told Rogue without having to sniff the small dart. "Whoever lived here must have pissed someone off." He informed her and looked around the bedroom. "If ya don't want ta sleep in here, ya can always have the couch. Might be a bit better." He said as Rogue sat on the soft queen size bed. The room wasn't so bad, it was just the bullet holes that disturbed her a bit.

"Ah guess it will be fine." Rogue shrugged before yawning.

"I'll see ya in the mornin', kid." Logan said as he was about to walk off.

"Logan, Ah was wonderin', what is the first thing ya remember?" Rogue asked him and crossed her legs underneath her on the bed. She had seen a few images in her head when she had absorbed him, but they didn't mean anything to her. She figured maybe he could explain some of the things she saw.

Logan folded his arms over his chest and began to think. The only person who he had talked to about his earliest memories was Xavier in hopes he could find out more. Other than that, he hadn't shared it with anyone. He looked down at Rogue and thought it couldn't hurt to tell her. After all, she did accompany him to the past to help him find out what happened to him.

"I remember waking up with a headache and a guy pulling me outta a building. Don't know who he was, but he seemed like he knew me. I asked him what my name was and he said it was Logan. After that we came upon a lady that was dying." Logan leaned against the wall as he remembered the red haired woman that in a way reminded him of Jean. "I don't know who she was, but I felt like I had some sort of connection with her. The man didn't know who she was either. I remember seeing her take her last breath as she looked at me. I know I felt sad that she was dead, but didn't know why." Rogue laid her head on the palms of her hands as her elbows rested on her knees.

"After that I traveled the world for twelve years and then I met you." Logan finished and then looked at Rogue. "Did you ever pick up anythin' when ya absorbed my memories?" He asked her.

"Ah saw ya gettin' the operation done with your claws. That was pretty much the main memory Ah got from ya. Ya were angry about somethin' that happened. Ah saw bits of ya travellin' the world, but Ah didn't catch the first part ya said." Rogue replied to him.

"Yeah, so ya pretty much know as much as I do." Logan said with frustration before turning towards the door. "See ya in the mornin', kid."

"Night, Logan." Rogue smiled at him as he left. She got up from the bed and picked the bed sheets off the floor and made the bed. It felt weird being in a room that someone had been attacked in. 'Ah better not start hearin' voices in my head and get possessed by the devil.' She thought to herself as she sat down on the bed and lay down on her back.

She thought about what she would do the next day since Logan would let her explore New Orleans. She had always wanted to go there when she was younger, but her parents always refused. Now she was finally here and wished it was for visiting instead of looking for information. 'Maybe when Ah get back, Ah'll take a trip down here, me and. . . ' She thought to herself and then rolled onto her left side.

She knew she was using this trip as a distraction from what was happening in the present. It seemed like every time she came close to having a normal life it was ripped away from her. First with David, then she met Bobby, who ended up breaking her heart because he liked Kitty. She didn't understand why he couldn't come out and tell her why he liked the younger girl. Better yet, why he kept saying she was his girlfriend and pretending to care when he really had his eyes set on someone else.

"Maybe Ah'm tryin' too hard." She whispered to herself as she looked at the broken window as a cool breath blew in. She wrapped her arms against her chest and buried her head into the pillow. She was now everything she wanted to be since she first found on she was a mutant: normal. She could touch again, but even with that, no one still wanted her. A tear ran down her cheek and buried itself in her hair. "Maybe it was never my powers that were the problem, maybe it was just me? Maybe I pushed Bobby into Kitty's arms by complainin' about not bein' able ta touch." She mused to herself.

She could hear an ambulance siren coming in from the outside. She rolled onto her back again and placed her arms behind her head. She began to wonder why Bobby had asked her out in the first place. Did he ever truly love her? The first day of class he was the only one who talked to her besides John. During the time she had touched Logan and the other students backed away from her he still accepted her. 'Did he pity me? Is that why?' She brushed away the thoughts and started thinking about sleep. She would need it for the long day tomorrow.

'This doesn't feel right.' She moved onto her right side and looked at the closet. 'No one has been here for years, but why does it not feel that way? ' She thought to herself, but ignored the feeling. She knew if something happened, Logan would come to her rescue.

***Present - Xavier Institute, Westchester, New York***

Bobby walked down the hall as Kitty went upstairs to get ready before the movie. They agreed to go to the nine o'clock showing with Piotr and a few of the older students. He wanted to find Rogue and explain to her that what happened earlier was nothing. 'Sometimes she takes things too far.' He thought to himself as he walked past the staircase and found Jubilee and Rahne Sinclair sitting at the bottom.

"Have either of you seen Rogue?" He asked them. Both of them looked at him and then looked at each other.

"Why is he asking where Rogue is?" Rahne asked her friend and then looked back at Bobby.

"I know what you mean. Everyone knows they don't belong together. He keeps on checking out every girl except his own." The thirteen year old said and smiled at Bobby as he became frustrated. He didn't know why he bothered asking these twerps, all of them seemed to enjoy causing trouble.

"That's not what I asked." Bobby glared down at them and both of them stuck their tongues out at the same time. "You probably don't even know." He grumbled.

"Yes we do." The seven year old Rahne smiled at him and rocked back and forth the stairs before getting up.

"Where?" Bobby asked her again.

"It'll cost you, Frosty." Jubilee crossed her arms over her chest. Bobby rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, I am not bothering with you kids. Isn't it past your bedtime?" Bobby sneered before walking off. He hated the younger kids of the school sometimes. They were getting more obnoxious as the years went on. When he arrived at the school he had never been that way. He was well behaved, well almost, he played a few pranks on Mr. Summers and learned that hiding the visor is not a good idea.

***Present - Xavier's Office***

"Yes, we are looking forward to meeting her." Charles Xavier said into the phone before hanging up. Ororo Munroe sat across from him and with a disapproving look.

"Why didn't you tell me Forge was here?" She asked Charles, who sighed and rubbed his fingers over his temple.

"I know how hard it was for you when the two of you had broken up. I asked him before he came back if he wanted you to know he was here and he said 'no'." Charles explained to her the best way he could without upsetting her.

Ororo sighed and leaned back in the chair. "It is alright I guess. If the Goddess did not wish for us to meet again, then so be it." She whispered and stood up from her seat.

"There was another reason why I called you here." Charles told her before she tried to leave. "There will be three new students arriving in two days, each of them are children. I would like you to set up arrangement for their rooms." Charles asked her.

"Of course, Professor." Ororo responded. "Evan seems to be enjoying his stay here so far. It is good to see him be accepted here than at his school." She said, referring to her eight year old nephew, Evan Daniels.

"Yes, I saw him playing with Nathan and Rachael the other day. He seemed quite happy here. I am sure he'll help welcome the new students." Charles smiled before dismissing Ororo.

End of Chapter 2

Things will get more exciting soon. I promise