(A/N) Okay here is the next chapter...his one is longer then the last one....Thank you to all that reviewed....**TheLittleRogue and Snow Lepoard Freak*** you guys ROCK!! thanx again and here is the next part!! ENJOY!!!! ^,.,^

Disclaimer: Xmen ain't mine....so sad.... ;)

~Jakie

P.S HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!!!!!!!!! hope you wore green!!

*PART ONE*

There was nothing left of the living room, that was obvious, the only thing still intact was he stone fire place. Oddly enough, the floor above the living room and the rest of the house was still mostly together. The kitchen though was pretty banged up, broken pipes sent a fountain of water into the cool Canadian air. The three of us stood in the rubble that was Nikki's living room.

"I guess it could have been worse." Nikki sighed, kicking at a piece of soiled wood. I looked around at the mess in it's entirely. "Really?" I asked with a hooked eyebrow. Nikki didn't comment, instead she began to step over the debris, salvaging whatever items she could. Rogue looked around and then went to set on the stairs.

Nikki had left my sight, although I could still hear her humming wistfully to herself, despite the recent event. I looked up, sensing something, but this wasn't like before- a warning signal. This was something completely opposite. Rogue sat on the third step from the bottom, her face buried in hands.

"What's wrong?" I asked, doing my best to step around the cluttered mess. Rogue looked up, but not at me, but rather into space. I sat beside her. She slowly closed her eyes, and a single tear ran down her cheek. I rarely ever seen this side of Rogue.

She looked at me, faking a smile and wiped the tear away with her hand. "Nothing." she said. I waited a moment, then she spoke again. "Who where those mutants?"

"I don't know." I sighed.

"What did they want?"

"I don't know." I repeated.

Rogue fought back another tear, and I sighed, putting my arm around her shoulder. "But something I do know is, just before those to asshole's showed. I seen the team on the news channel." I paused, it seemed so long ago then . "The man that was talking. His voice, I can remember it, and then it cut to a clip and it showed Scott and Storm and Jene. In cages. . ." my voice trailed off.

Rogue sat up suddenly. " I remember! We have to go after them! Where did it say they were?"

"It didn't." I grunted. I hated seeing Jene locked in some kind of cage, the thought even killed me.

"We have to do something." Rogue whispered, leaning into my arm.

"We will." I assured her.

Nikki then came around the corner, holding a broom, looking concerned. "Is everything okay?" It fell quiet around us, and a chilling breeze blew in as the day got darker. "Not really." I said, looking at Rogue. "I think our friends are in danger."

"What kind of danger?" Nikki frowned. Rogue sat back up, and brushed another tear from her eye. "We're not sure." Rogue sniffed. "But Logan and I seen them on a news channel."

Nikki looked confused. "Your friends?"

"Yes, there was a man talking about some sort of experiment that involved mutants. He said it was a way to solve the 'mutant problem'." I explained.

We all seemed to shudder at the sound of the words 'mutant problem'. The world was either scared of us or jealous of us, that was what I had narrowed it down to. It was just fact that man would try to destroy something that was inferior then him when they he was scared. That was the easy way to deal with it. And this time, mutants seemed to get a lot of attention, along with a bad reputation. It drove me crazy. We were in fact people, although it seemed other wise.

"Why does the world think we are a problem?" Nikki asked angrily, dropping the broom.

"They're scared." Rogue murmured.

"That's no excuse to get rid of us!" Nikki growled.

"The point is!" I yelled, getting their attention again. "Something is wrong. I don't know

what it is, but I something definitely feels off."

The two of them looked at me, Rogue's expression still looked some what solemn, while Nikki's was red in frustration.

For some reason, there had been a strange feeling dwelling up inside my stomach, and it wasn't a virus. Something had felt off, ever since I had woken up from the jet crash. It wasn't something new, I had had these sensations before, and it was usually a pretty accurate warning system.

Nikki moved over and sat one step behind Rogue, and then there was silence. "We need to go." I finally said, waiting as long as I could allow myself. Rogue nodded, and got up.

"No! Wait!" Nikki called from the steps.

I was really getting tired of hearing those words come out of her mouth. "How do you know where to go?" she asked, standing.

"I think we can handle it." I said turning to leave. "What if there are others out there waiting for you? She strutted over and stood in front of me, only leaving a small gap between us. "What if you get hurt?" Nikki's silver eyes bore into mine with such intensity, I had to look away.

After a moment I came to the only solution. I sighed "If your worried that much. Then come."

Nikki stepped back, and the eye contact resumed with much less intensity. "You want me to come." she smiled, like I had offered her a ticket to Hawaii. I looked at Rogue, who was smiling mischievously.

"No." I said, and Nikki's face lost it's smile. "But Rogue might like the company." She smiled again, but not as wide.

"Go get your stuff before I change my mind."

She turned silently and hurried up the stairs, her long raven hair lashing behind her like a silky whip. My eyes followed her back, until I could no longer see her, then I looked at Rogue.

I stood, leaning on the strong threshold still standing at the entrance of the door, my anxiety growing. I could almost hear the time ticking away, faster then I wanted, every second closer to what might be the end.

Rogue still setting on the steps, was smiling like she was up to something, and her eyes never left me. In my years I had gotten used to people staring. I got them wherever I went, but it was the way she was staring at me that bothered me.

"What?" I mumbled.

She laughed lightly. "I've never seen you blush before."

"I don't blush." I disclosed, coldly.

"You blushed Logan." Rouge sighed. "I saw you."

My eyes narrowed, "No." I warned, hoping to close the subject.

Rouge shook her head, "You know that the first step in a relationship is denial." she said teasingly. I was about to disagree, when Nikki came down the stairs wearing her blue jeans and the flannel shirt along with a leather jacket and a small backpack thrown over her shoulder.

"I'm ready." she announced. "Now you can leave Logan." she smiled, pointing out the door. "But my truck is a rec."

I looked out the open door and seen Nikki's blue pickup folded around a tree. I rolled my eyes. "It was junk to begin with." I scoffed and went out the door, trudging through the snow.


Let me know what you thought....or the lephicans (spelling is horrible!!!) might get you!!!

~Jakie


CHAPTER FIVE