Disclaimer: I'm not saying it.

A/N: I don't have anything to ramble about this time. So here we go...

Rogue groaned as she gradually began to wake up. Eventually she managed to pry her eyes open. Everything was a blur for a moment as she blinked slowly. Her surroundings came into focus far too soon.

She sat up quickly, with a speed only possible because of the rush of panic that shot through her. Her eyes widened as she looked around. It was a small room...no, a cell, because she was definitely a prisoner...with what looked like rough concrete walls. There was no window, and only one door that, while narrow, looked like it weighed a ton or two. The only thing that interrupted the vast concrete walls was a vent near the ceiling. Too high for her to reach. The room itself was probably about half the size of the one she shared with Kitty. There was no bed, chair, or any other kind of furniture. Just the scratchy gray blanket she found herself sitting on, chains hanging from the walls, a single dim light overhead, and a metal bucket in the corner. She didn't want to think about what that was meant for, considering there was no toilet in sight.

It was only then that, as her mind cleared a little more, Rogue realized her clothes were gone. In their place were a set of thin pants and shirt. Both pants and shirt were gray, almost the same shade as the blanket, and surprisingly the shirt was short-sleeved. Considering her mutation, she would have thought even the most inept kidnapper would at least dress her in something long-sleeved if they were going to go to all this trouble in the first place.

Then it all came flooding back.

Whoever had grabbed her...they'd been wearing long-sleeves, gloves, and masks. They'd been completely covered. They knew what her power was, and had taken measures to protect themselves. And then there had been...

Her father.

A shiver went down her spine as she remembered his eyes...his hot breath against her face as he held her in place...

But no, it wasn't actually her father this time, was it? It was only a vague, foggy memory, but she could swear she'd seen him change into Mystique. She'd definitely heard Mystique's voice. Which meant Mystique had finally gotten her way. Her adopted mother had finally managed to get to her. But for what?

She stood up and walked around the cell, looking for any way out that wasn't immediately visible. She tried the door, but unsurprisingly found that it was locked and wouldn't budge an inch. Another pass around the room, and she couldn't even find a crack in the walls or floor. Jumping up in an attempt to reach the vent only ended with her falling flat on her butt.

Rogue sighed and rubbed her arms. It felt strange not to have them covered. It had been years since she hadn't worn some form of sleeve. Even her pajamas went to at least her elbows. She looked down at her bare arms and hands. They were pale from lack of sun, the skin almost porcelain looking. With another aggravated sigh she crossed her arms and held them tightly against her.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The X-Men would find her. They'd show up soon. Someone would realize she wasn't around and they would figure out that Mystique was involved. Just like when Gambit had taken her. They were her friends, her family, they would come after her.

Even to herself, the thoughts sounded a little desperate. As if she was trying to convince herself.

Bang.

Rogue's eyes flew open and shot towards the door just as the room was suddenly drenched in darkness. What little light there had been was gone. Panic twisted her stomach and her breath hitched as she was mentally ripped from the room and shoved into a memory.

The walls were too close and it was too dark. She didn't like this kind of dark. She could feel a few coats hanging down around her and there was a box next to her, but she tried to focus on the small sliver of light coming from under the closet door. Reaching out with a trembling hand, she tried the handle, but the door wouldn't open.

She wanted out.

She wanted the darkness to go away.

She wanted...she wanted...

"Daddy!" she screamed, her voice scratchy from crying earlier. That's why he'd thrown her in here. Her daddy didn't like it when she cried. " 'M sowy!"

The door didn't open, and soon even the thin ray of light under the door went out.

"Looks like we might have scared the little mutant a bit," a voice sneered amusedly in front of her.

Rogue breathed heavily as the memory faded and she was roughly brought back into the present by a gloved hand holding her face tightly. She blinked a couple of times and felt her heart race a little faster. There was a face in front of her, covered in the black material mask like those who had abducted her had worn. The only facial feature she could actually see was a pair of brown eyes and chapped lips.

She instantly tore her face from his grasp and tried to scoot away, but her back was already against the wall and another of her captors was hunched down at her side. It was then she realized the light overhead was back on, brighter than before even, and that the door was open.

She looked between the man in front of her and the woman next to her, quickly debating her chances. In the end it didn't matter. She couldn't just do nothing. With a burst of adrenaline she shot towards the door. The two captors made no move to stop her or run after her.

A second later she realized why.

As soon as she made it out the door something pressed into her side and she fell to the ground as a bolt of electricity shot through her. "Argh!" she screamed through gritted teeth as the pain persisted. It was like fire beneath her skin that singed and pinched her nerves, causing even her muscles to spasm.

As the pain faded to an uncomfortable buzzing sensation she heard laughter. She was in pain. And they laughed.

She pushed herself up, intent on running again or at least fighting back, but a foot connected with her ribcage and knocked her right back down.

"Just stay down, mutant," one of them ordered.

Rogue pushed herself up again and glared at the first one she saw, regardless of if it had been him who had spoken or not. A hand suddenly enclosed each of her ankles and began dragging her backwards. With wide eyes she tried to grab onto something...anything...to keep from going back into the cell. She grabbed hold of the door in passing and held on with all her strength, pulling away even as they were dragging her back.

She was not going back into that cell, where darkness was waiting.

She saw the long rod coming towards her this time, and tried to prepare, but as the end of the stick was slammed into her arm she couldn't stop the cry of pain that tore through her lips and put an end to her resistance. By the time the pain ebbed away again she was chained to the wall, both arms above her head, and the guards were retreating.

"Guess the mutant doesn't want any water," one of them said.

"Just leave a cup by the door."

Rogue watched as a small plastic cup of water was placed just inside the cell, next to the door. The room might be small, but she'd never be able to reach the water. Not with the shackles around her wrists. With a loud 'clunk' the door was shut again, and a second or two later the light dimmed as well. If nothing else, Rogue discovered one thing.

Mystique's new 'friends' were as sadistic as she was.

Logan brought his bike to an abrupt stop outside an old abandoned warehouse. He'd tracked down Alvers and gotten a few more details. Surprisingly enough, the kid hadn't been as stubborn or uncooperative as he normally would be. Logan had a feeling that seeing his former teammate being snatched had shaken the kid a bit. Probably not much, but enough to get him to give up more information about what he'd seen.

With the new information about the moving truck, he'd then tracked Mystique as far as he could. It hadn't taken him far, but the road he'd lost the scent on took him to the outskirts of the city. For miles, the only thing on this road was the warehouse now in front of him. It was worth a shot.

He parked his bike under a tree, hoping the foliage would hide it enough, and silently made his way towards the warehouse. There were no cars or vans in the area, but there were clear signs of tire tracks and footprints. Lots of footprints. There had been what looked like a small army here at some point. Pretty recently too by the looks of it.

After briefly inspecting the tracks he made his way inside, claws extended. It was quiet, but light from the large windows filled the interior. Other than a table and few chairs there was no furniture. Just empty cardboard boxes to one side that looked like they'd been around for a decade.

The form off to the side made him stop in his tracks though. It was a familiar blue body with red hair. "Mystique," he growled. He made his way over, careful to avoid any traps if there were any, and knelt down. She was tied up and seemed to be unconscious, neither of which altered his current anger towards her.

He didn't bother untying her, but lifted her up by the shoulders and shook her lightly in an attempt to wake her up. Fortunately, it worked.

Mystique shook her head, and when she opened her eyes she immediately tried to wrench herself away with a snarl. "Let go of me!"

"Not happenin', Mystique," he said in return, holding her firmly in place to keep her from moving. "Where's Rogue?"

Mystique's eyes widened before darting to the left and right as if looking for something. When her eyes landed on him again she glared. "Not here."

"I can see that." His patience was running out. And fast. "What'd you do with her?"

"I didn't do anything!" The woman was quite obviously seething with anger, and Logan had a feeling only half of it was because of him. "Brax took her before I could."

"Who's Brax?"

"Why should I tell you anything?"

"Because if you don't..." He let go with one hand and brought the tips of his claws to her throat. "You'll be breathing through three new holes. And if you morph into somthin' I'll just hunt you down all over again. So start talkin'."

Mystique seemed to weigh her options, and though the glare didn't fade for even a second, she apparently decided it was in her best interests to comply. "Brax works for HYDRA. I arranged for them to assist me in capturing Rogue."

"Why Rogue?" When she didn't answer quickly enough, he pressed the sharp ends of his claws a little harder against her neck.

"Because..." Her eyes darted away for a moment. "Destiny insists that there are more to Rogue's powers. She says there's a way that Rogue could retain the absorbed powers permanently. Do you understand what that means?"

The woman was drunk on power just thinking about it.

Logan scoffed. "Even if she could, Rogue wouldn't help you, Mystique."

"Maybe not...unless she didn't know any better," she added, mostly to herself with a slightly crazed expression. "If she thought I was the only person who cared about her..."

"What are you..." Logan trailed off as realization dawned on him. It was like a punch in the gut, and a second later he had a whole new reason to be furious. "You..." The word dripped with unabashed loathing and barely restrained fury. "Were planning on wiping her memory." The woman had worked with Mesmero before, he wouldn't be surprised if she had a few more 'friends' who could help.

Mystique didn't seem overly concerned, as if the opportunity she'd been working to obtain outweighed the thought of impending death at his hands. "Like starting from scratch with an even more powerful Rogue."

It took all his restraint not to skewer her there and then. "What was in it for them?"

The spark in her eyes turned to anger once again. "The agreement was for blood and skin samples, and a couple more extensive tests, but they double-crossed me."

"Doesn't feel so good, does it?" he asked sarcastically, not really needing an answer. There wasn't a single part of him that felt sorry for her. Not after everything she'd done, and everything she'd been planning on doing to Rogue. "Where did they take her?"

"I don't know."

"Where, Mystique!"

"I don't know!" she said again, copying his raised voice. "Honestly, Logan, use your head! They drugged me and left me tied up here. Do you really think they left me detailed instructions on where they were going?"

He growled, but had to admit she had a point. "I should kill you," he said lowly. For a moment he seriously considered it. As images of Rogue filled his head...tied up and drugged just like Mystique, maybe hurt...it almost seemed like a good idea.

He shook his head and pushed her back to the ground before standing. "But you're not worth it. Stay away from Rogue, Mystique. If you're smart, you'll get out of Bayville entirely." With that he stormed off, leaving her behind and heading for his bike.