Dante pulled up beside them in Tobias's car seconds after Scott had pulled the keys from the X-Jeep and took his post by Allana, their comical convoy traveled down the halls of the mansion. The younger kids scattered at the sight of Jasper's trampled body and two Brotherhood members as well as Allana's reappearance.

Logan met their parade down taking Jade and motioning for Dante and Allana to follow. Tobias kicked the wall as they disappeared into the hidden elevator.

"Calm down, Tobias, he just needs to get to the bottom of this."

Tobias gave another mighty kick to the paneled wall, but rested his hands there, refusing to look at either of them. "Sod off, Scott. My girlfriend just get royally beaten by Sabertooth and you're expecting me to stay calm?"

Scott sighed and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, a habit he'd seemed be picking up from Allana. "Unfortunately that's not our only problem, Rogue's missing."

"Not to mention your girlfriend's sister has decided that maybe her time would be better spent not being a mutant," Pietro muttered though his normal sarcastic tone sounded weak.

Tobias finally turned to Scott, "The cure they've been going on about?"

"You know about it?"

"Between those two you can learn pretty much whatever you want to know… and stuff you don't," he almost laughed, but caught himself, "How long has Rogue been missing?"

"At least a couple hours, that's when we came back from the Bat Cave to find her gone," Scott said rather tiredly.

Tobias yelled a few colorful curses making any younger mutant who may have been eavesdropping to think better of it. Jean came around the corner to investigate the ruckus and stopped short when she saw Pietro.

"What's going on here?"

"I'll explain later right now when is the Professor getting back?"

She closed her eyes to concentrate, "He's on his way with the new recruit."

"I haven't heard anything about a new recruit."

"You've been preoccupied."

That hung between them for a beat of silence.

"He and Ororo should be back tonight," with that she walked past them.

Now Scott felt like kicking something. Jean had always been his best friend. This past week he'd been so caught up he'd barely registered her existence. Guilt was a complicated matter, having been so involved with the Rogue-Pietro drama, not to mention Allana's bizarre behavior; this short week had changed everything.

Now that his adrenaline had taken a dive he turned to Pietro and barely grasped why a member of the Brotherhood was there.

Tobias too seemed confused of the circumstances of which they'd been acting almost as one unit since they'd found out Allana wasn't where she was supposed to be.

That was when it hit him full force. They were only kids. The feud between the houses had to do with the adults; it been null for almost four months with the disappearance of Magneto, Sabertooth, and Mystique. No wonder everyone thought him crazy for trying to keep them separate.

At least until Rogue was found the uneasy alliance he and Pietro had would stick.

Allana stroked Jasper's hair as they rode down the elevator to where The Danger Room, the Hospital Wing, and Cerebro were hidden.

Dr. McCoy immediately went about cleaning and stripping Jasper down and into loose clothes. After that he went about attaching electrodes to monitor her vitals. Allana watched all this with detached fascination and forced her nausea down at the glimpse at some of the deeper wounds. After he was done Jasper barely looked human.

She grabbed for Dante, needing his solid form, whether or not he offered any support had never been the question. She didn't really want him to comfort her, sometimes trying to make things better only made them worse. It was probably why she liked him so much. What she should have connected with was his black t-shirt, but found he'd been yanked back by Logan.

"No!"

"We need to talk," Logan said.

"He didn't do anything," she bit back tears she'd been fighting.

"He's the only conscious witness; I would think you of all people would want this."

"But he's my friend," she nearly chocked on the words but the door slammed where they'd disappeared. "He wouldn't do this to me," she tried to launch a tornado but as before nothing happened. Collapsing in a chair she forced off her boots off and tucked her knees under Scott's sweater.

Dr. McCoy silently worked at his table letting her fume. After a while the aura of anger seeped away and left only the smell of salty tears that now streaked her pained face. When he felt it safe to talk he turned to her.

"You're still a mutant," he reassured, "but I don't know when your x-gene will become dominant again. Could be a manner of hours, could be a manner of days."

She nodded, "Where's Cameron?"

"In a closest somewhere waiting for his turn."

She shook her head, "Does nothing I say matter."

"Allana," he said attending to her sister and then slowly started to examine her face. The normally dark green orbs a violent emerald due to the residual tears that she now refused to allow flow any longer or at least while he was watching, and whatever mixture of chemicals she'd only hours ago willfully injected into herself. "These are just precautions, nothing more. Now, I need to check on the other students, do you want to come?"

Again she shook her head, "I'm just going to stay here with her."

He left and there they were alone in the cold, white room.

"It's just you and me, sis," she said to Jasper's unconscious form. She curled herself into the warmth Scott's sweater permeated resting her head against her knees. Wiping away her tears stubbornly and hating that she'd cried in front of someone and over something she had caused.

Thing's were not looking bright from where she was sitting. All her actions, the lying, the sneaking out, they always led to one thing… sent away. It was either that or she left. She'd tested the Professor's patience for her short stay of a month and a half and knew that the only reason he put up with was because of her relation to Jasper.

Jasper actually got along with everyone, Jasper who had actively participated in X-Men battles and had a uniform. Jasper who knew when to quit while she was ahead, unlike her no good older by three months half-sister who knew when to quit, but ignored the indication because she thought she knew better. Yes, she'd tested his patience alright. Down to the elasticity point and now it was thoroughly possible she'd broken the last strand of trust that he may have had for her. Where would she go if the Professor kicked her out? Would she go back to the streets? Without her powers and with 'the cure' leaving her weaker than she'd ever felt before there'd be no way she'd survive like she had.

The Brotherhood, maybe? No, despite her friendship with Pietro and Dante and overall fondness/tolerance she felt for the others, she knew that it was no place for her. It was already crowded to begin with and as much as she didn't fit in with the X-Men, she fit in less with their rag-tag team.

Breathing in hard to hold back a sob, now was not the time to feel self-decrepitating, not with her sister lying there barely alive. But the breath brought in a new scent, one that overpowered the strong anti-septic that consumed the air. Scott's smell, of soap and sweat and that aftershave that he insisted upon wearing and she normally hated. Now, acutely aware that she still wore his sweater and felt somewhat disgusted with herself and moved to take it off. At the last second she changed her mind and settled into the sleeves that enveloped her arms.

"At least his after shave is more tolerable than hospital stench," she rationalized to no one in particular and rested like that for a long time.