DISCLAIMER: I do not own X-Men Evolution nor do I make any money from this. So, do not sue please!

Takes place during Impact yet Magneto lives on, that's the only difference. So here's another chapter. Enjoy!

What can I say, other than sorry for the wait! School, work, a husband, pregnancy followed by a baby, life kind of takes control and makes me forget about other things. I'll warn you, I won't have much time but I'll try to write some here and there when baby's asleep and if I don't have schoolwork or actual work. For those of you still reading this story, this chapter is for you! Thank you sincerely and you guys are the best. Leave me some love…or hate at the end of the chapter.

therapist

XXXXXXXXXX

Black Coffee

Million Dollar Woman

By Therapist

As light first began to peek through his blinds, he wondered if anyone could die from sleep deprivation. Three days without sleep had left him cranky, as well as miserable. Yet, every time he closed his eyes, he saw Jean and he just couldn't put himself through it again. This past week had been the roughest in his life, right up there with when his parents had died.

The trampling of feet in the hallway told him that the others were up. They had yet to finish the repairs on the house yet, Danger Room sessions were still taking place. Scott had decided to protest. He couldn't leave the X-Men, for Jean's sake, yet he wasn't going to make life easier for the Professor as well. Starting today, he will not participate in Danger Room sessions. With Logan gone as well, they only had Ororo and Beast left to run it.

After Logan had found out what Xavier had done, he left without saying anything. He and Kitty watched as he disappeared, only to reappear with a duffel bag within five minutes. That wasn't a good sign. Before, if missions were to last longer than a day, Logan always packed a backpack, never anything more. A duffel bag was not a good sign.

They followed him as he left the mansion wordlessly and headed into the garage. He looked at Kitty, whom looked back at him, stricken with panic.

"Logan? Where are you going?" Ororo asked.

"Away from here," he answered as he strapped his bag to the back of the motorcycle. "I'm gonna look fer the girl an' bring her back. Then after, I'm gonna leave fer good."

Ororo reeled from shock, "Lo-"

"Stop 'Ro."

Though Logan was stoic, his eyes held pain and betrayal. Scott knew that look well; he saw it every time he looked in the mirror.

Logan had left right after that and the Professor had locked himself in his room, leaving Storm to clean up the mess and run the Institute.

Some time passed by with him not moving from bed and trying his best to not think of the past days' events. A knock on his door sounded. He yelled enter, not bothering to rise from his bed.

"Scott?"

He scoffed when he heard the Professor's voice but didn't answer the man. The hum of his chair sounded as he wheeled himself to Scott's side. He did nothing to acknowledge the man, instead kept staring at the ceiling. The silence continued on, with neither one speaking.

"You did not show for the Danger Room session this morning," he remarked.

Silence was his answer.

A heavy sigh emitted from Xavier and he wondered if he was going to give up and leave…he hoped he so. "Scott…I know-" he paused. Scott could see the struggle Xavier had and before, he would've felt pity for him but not anymore. Perhaps he was projecting because Xavier sighed again.

"There is going to be a meeting tonight Scott and I request your presence."

Meeting…he remembered what happened the last time they had a meeting. He was bitter and angry, whom he was angry at, he didn't know. All he knew was that it fueled him.

"I'm not going," he said flatly.

The Professor sighed again. "I know I do not deserve your trust after what had happened. However, I need to make things right. I need to explain to everyone of what had happened."

He tried to be angry, stay bitter but he heard his words. "What time?" he asked after a long pause.

The Professor let out another sigh but this one was of relief. "Six, in the war room." With that he left Scott alone with his thoughts.

Thoughts he had. The never ending buzzing inside his head filled his day with possibilities, scenarios and every emotion known to man. While going over the battle for the millionth time in his head, he remembered his previous doubt of whether Rogue was in control. It was a thought that weighed heavier than most others. If she wasn't in control, yet, they attacked her without questioning it, it just made him feel worse than before. Not only did they fail her by thinking of another way but also they failed to see that it wasn't Rogue that attacked them, it was someone controlling her. Now he was sure of it. The lack of her drawl, her mannerisms, even the look in her eyes. Sure there was hatred in them, yet, to him, it seemed different.

Times like these, he wished Jean were here. He could bounce ideas off her and get her opinions as well. Yet, she wasn't here. All he had were his thoughts.

A heavy sigh left his lips. Right now his thoughts drifted back to seeing Rogue in the mall. She looked well enough, which made him feel slightly better. Seeing her should've given him hope that they'd be able to save Jean. Yet it didn't. The fight happened so fast and everything was so chaotic he didn't register the fact that Rogue tossed him, much like Jean could have done before.

Being the leader of the X-Men meant that a lot of time was spent with the Professor in learning about everyone's powers, how to utilize it in battle as well as the limitations on them. Rogue's power was tested extensively mainly due to the fact that they wanted to help her find a solution to her powers. Thanks to Wolverine and his healing powers, they found out how long she would retain her borrowed powers during testing. Sixty times however long she touched someone.

Scott didn't know how long Rogue had touched Jean but he was sure by now, a couple days later, that Jean's power would've faded away. Remembering vividly being tossed back, he now knew that wasn't the case. Why hadn't Jean's power fade? What does that mean?

These were questions he would need to ask tonight even though he had a feeling that he wouldn't like the answer…

XXXXX

Today was different. Not just because of what happened but how he felt. He hasn't felt this crazed, out of control in a long time. And he did nothing to rein it in. The Beast was almost out and he pitied any person that gets in its way.

His nose caught a whiff of something. It was her scent. He made it a habit to memorize and catalogue every person, not only how they looked or acted, but how they smelt, the sound of their voice. Eyes deceive so he uses all his senses to distinguish. Looks can be imitated but smells are a bit harder.

He leapt over the wall, landing gracefully. The trees were dense, added to the humid air dampening the forest; he was surprised to have caught a scent of anything. He took another whiff, just to make sure. The earth, trees filled his nostrils tainted with a small hint of Rogue and… He sniffed again. Blood. The smell mingled with Rogue's and he was sure that it was hers. Another sniff told him it was a lot of blood. The blood would lead him into the forest and he set off.

A few yards in, he could see that a battle happened. Trees destroyed and after a quick inspection, he knew whom she was fighting.

Sabretooth…

A sniff confirmed his thoughts; he could smell him all over this area. Following his nose, the strongest scent led him to a crater. It was there that Sabretooth's scent was strongest and also tainted with blood. If Rogue was indeed fighting with Sabretooth, it seemed like she got in a few hits. Ignoring Sabretooth's blood and scent he focused on the one he was looking for.

This led him away from the crater, to an empty field adorned with a giant boulder. It was there; he smelt her blood. Luckily it wasn't a lot but he couldn't help but feel concerned. There he knelt, inspecting the ground and the area around it. From the impression in the dirt, he guessed that she rolled and the boulder stopped her. Tracks lead away from the boulder, definitely a woman's from the size of the feet and the heel impression.

The scent was still strong, meaning that she was recently here and more importantly couldn't be too far away. Letting his nose lead, he followed the trail. It leads him away from the forest and to a path that was well hidden. Despite the well-worn dirt path, he doubted many people knew of this spot due to its remoteness and that it was hidden within the forest.

Squatting down he placed his nose close to the dirt and took a good whiff. He immediately got Rogue's scent, which was the strongest. He could make out maybe 4 others. It was hard to separate the smells, especially when Rogue's scent was the strongest. It drowned out the others but he was able to make out Sabretooth's, Magneto's and…the other two, he couldn't put a finger on it. One was familiar and the perfumed one was something new. It was true that he remembered all scents he's come across yet it was hard trying to remember which scent is what when he'd have to sort through million other possibilities. Thinking hard, he tried to remember where he smelt the familiar scent. It was a light fragrance, definitely female, wasn't strong on perfume or other scented crap, most likely an older woman. He didn't smell any medication, so he knew not too old, which narrowed down the field somewhat.

He took another whiff, focusing on the smell and blocking out the others. Somewhere, the smell clicked with him. Destiny. That's the last person. Having only met and smelt the woman once was the reason why he had a hard time recalling and cataloging the last scent.

He didn't know what this new information meant. The last time he checked, Mystique and all those that were in her corner did not associate with Magneto. But it was clear from the strength and the way the scents mingled that she was Magneto, at least walking next to him.

Putting those thoughts aside, he focused on following the scent. It was a few days old but fading. Glancing at the sky, it definitely looked like rain, which would dampen any chance at tracking Rogue. His nose leads him down the dirt path and to a clearing. Here, he could make out Magneto's and Destiny's scents much better along with the mystery woman's, telling him that they must've spent some time here. It was there that the trailed ended. Tire tracks lead away from the clearing. Shit. Scents were unique, easy to track; vehicles weren't, making this a dead-end for him.

Even though he couldn't follow them anymore, he still learned a lot. Like finding out Destiny has paired up with Magneto. Since he couldn't follow the trail anymore, he needed to regroup and figure something else out. He wasn't going to give up until he found Rogue and brought her back home.

XXXXX

Magneto sat across from Emma with Jason hovering nervously above her. It would seem like any other discussion they've had except for the fact that Rogue was unconscious on the table before them. And just like before, he was seeing his carefully laid out plan slowly unravel. He wondered if someone was pulling the strings of his plans as he has done to a stray string coming loose from a garment.

It was only the seventh day since this whole thing started and it was starting to things were starting to fall apart. He thought it'd be weeks before he would have to take some sort of drastic measure like the one they were about to do. Yet, it seemed like the gods had different plans.

"I don't think this is the best idea," Emma repeated. He heard her earlier when she proclaimed her opinion. He couldn't have that. Without Emma, there wasn't much he could do.

"Didn't know you cared Emma," he remarked, hoping to rile her.

She frowned and let out a scoff. "I don't. There's one thing about, well two things, but the other I really shouldn't voice out loud, but the other thing I care about is winning and we can win with her. But we can't do it when she is, as you put it 'A second away from being committed'."

There were times that he was glad for Emma's ability to remember virtually anything they've talked about or that she read. This was not one of those times. "Yes, I did say that. However, we won't win this fight if she's on Xavier's damn side!"

Only times of extreme anger or frustrations does a swear word slip his lips. Erik disliked cursing; he felt it was beneath him and that all points could be explained without the use of vulgarities. But this was a very delicate situation and he needed Emma to see that she had to do this.

She raised an eyebrow at his tone and choice of words. "I will do it Erik, but I can't promise what will happen to her afterwards. She could be fine, turn out like Victor or fall into a coma. I just want you to be prepared of the outcomes," she explained.

"What are the chances that she remembers everything?" he asked.

"At this point, about 50 percent. The barrier I made is strong, yet, it seems like someone is trying to break through it and if they do, everything will be released," she answered.

"Why don't you do something about it?" Jason asked. Emma turned to him and gave him a withering look. He shrunk back and apologized.

"I cannot do anything because once I open that door, it will release everything that was stored in there. All I can do is reinforce the wall. If someone scratches at the wall, eventually it will create a hole and the whole thing comes undone. The old memories are echoes in her mind, always there. The altered memories are still there, just much stronger than her old memories, for now. It's difficult to explain."

Magneto mused over the information and considered his options. Not knowing what to do, he turned to Emma. "What should we do?"

There weren't many times where he asked for opinions and Emma raised a brow at him again. He remained silent, and she turned back to Rogue. "If we don't fix this now, it'll get worse. Something inside her head is screwing with me and I intend to deal with it. With Jason and myself inside her head, we should be able to clear up whatever is causing the problem."

"Wait. I'm going in there too?" Jason asked.

"Is it dangerous? I can't risk you as well Emma," Magneto said, as if Jason hadn't spoken at all. While receiving what he could only guess as an offended look from Jason, Emma offered a small smile.

"As sweet as that is Erik, I am offended that you don't think I can handle this job."

"Not at all dear. I have complete faith in your abilities. However, I do not trust her mind, especially if something is in her mind is fighting against you."

Emma grinned. "I think I can handle a few echoes Erik."

He sighed and nodded. Suddenly, he was tired, more than he ever was before. "Fine Emma. When shall this thing be done?"

"Tonight. The faster we get this thing done, the faster we can get everything back to normal."

"What if we can't fix her?" Jason asked.

Turning to Jason, he gave a neutral look. "We kill her, of course."

XXXXX

Life was simpler when he was a kid. There were no worries about anything but school and homework. Even after the discovery of his gift and seeing into the minds of those closest to him, Xavier's life had been uncomplicated and easy.

He never considered his telepathy to be anything but a gift and he used his powers without hesitation. Yet now, the thought of using his powers made him feel ill.

Sitting in his room, the lights were off, and Charles listened to the sounds of the mansion. Despite it being a weekend, it was quiet. Even without prying, the mansion usually echoed with the thoughts of his students. Whether it was the students trying to shield their thoughts or his refusal to "hear" anything, it was the first time in a while that he was blessed with true silence. Any other time, he would have relished the quietness but now, it filled him with trepidation. His mind replayed the incident, his mind seeing patterns and clues that he missed. Did he purposely miss those clues, did his mind turn a blind eye to those, sensing that his mind had already chose what to do and therefore, wanted to see that the Rogue he knew was gone. There were too many questions and no answers for him.

In his mind, he tried to think of what he would say to everyone. Oddly, he couldn't think of a single thing to say. Xavier prided himself on his orating skills yet they seemed to have abandoned him at this time. Maybe it was his mind telling him that instead of giving a rehearsed speech, he should try and be frank with his team.

Glancing at the clock, he sighed as he realized he was out of time. He didn't know what would happen after this meeting. He hoped that the X-Men could survive this yet he wouldn't hold it against anyone if they wanted to leave.

Wheeling himself out, he headed toward the war room. Ororo met him in the hallway, walking besides him. Her presence, usually comforting, filled him with anxiety. It could have been her anxiety feeding his but he was glad to have someone next to him, even if she was as nervous as he was.

Before long, he found himself in the War Room, the first one there. His team was usually punctual and with only a few minutes to spare before six, this was highly unusual.

Could you blame them? His mind chided. They just fought in the hardest battle in X-Men history and it was against one of their own. Even in the end, after everything she had done, Rogue was still an X-Men, a comrade in battle, a friend.

As minutes trickled by, the room remained empty. Despite no one coming, Xavier intended to wait all night long if needed to talk to his team.

He heard someone clearing his or her throat by the door. He was surprised to see Scott there, looking unsure.

"Scott."

"I wasn't going to come," he confessed, "but decided to suck it up. Jean would've wanted me to come."

Xavier remained silent, only nodding.

Scott entered the room, noting the empty chairs. "I'll round everyone up," he said before leaving the room. A few minutes later, Scott returned with everyone in tow. Silently, his students entered the room, sitting down and for once, being absolutely silent.

His students were usually rambunctious and this silence was a total opposite, it did not bode well for him. Despite his best effort, he couldn't block out everything that his students were feeling. The room exuded sadness and confusion, with some anger there as well. After the last student took his seat, Xavier wheeled himself to the front of the room.

"I've been trying to think of what to say to everyone and for the first time, in a long while, I am without words," he said. Though it was still silent, he felt like he had the room's attention. "What happened with Rogue…"

"Is done. Ve don't regret vhat ve have done," Kurt interrupted, garnering murmurs of agreement.

Xavier sighed, wondering whether to burden them with the truth.

"The Professor has more to say," Scott scolded, "please don't interrupt anymore guys."

Xavier gave him a slight nod in appreciation. "As you have noticed, Rogue's behavior has changed over the past few weeks." This elicited a few snorts. Ignoring them, he continued. "I had unsuccessfully tried to probe into Rogue's mind, but she kept me out just as a telepath might have. I was worried that she had gained control of her 'borrowed' powers. As we learned before, with control came the other psyches she had absorbed.

When I had tried to probe her mind, I did not hear the other psyches. Which lead me to believe that Rogue's behavior was not due to other forces controlling her but of her own cognizance. When it was brought to my attention that Rogue may have been killing others, I grew worried that she would soon turn her violence to you."

Xavier paused, his mind going back to that day. He tried to remember everything of that day, how he felt and why he did what he did.

"That day, Rogue had left and I attempted to connect with her, which she allowed. She subtlety threatened all of you and I could feel her intent. While she did sever our connection, I could still follow her. Before I was kicked out, I felt a three more psyches enter her mind, and I knew that she had killed them."

A collected gasp went throughout the room. Xavier nodded, bringing out a paper that he was holding. The front headlines were about the triple murder in their town. "I had seen other ones like these but I wasn't sure until that day," Xavier explained. He hope he could convey what he was feeling that day. "On that day, I knew she had killed those men and I knew she would come back here so do the same to you. Therefore, I had made a decision to wipe Rogue's mind."

There wasn't a shocked gasp, like he thought there would be. It was just silence, so thick, he could hear the blood rushing to his ears. All eyes were focused on him, most with wide-eyed expressions, a few met with anger.

"How could you…" Kurt whispered.

He didn't know how to respond, and he was still trying to figure out the answer himself. "I know it goes against what I have taught all these years but I believe at that time, that this was a necessary action."

"If the Professor had not done what he had done, Rogue surely would have hurt you students," Ororo added. "The welfare of one versus that of many, in the end, we couldn't let Rogue continue on her path."

Many noises of agreement passed through the room and most seem to accept his explanation, except for two people. Kitty and Scott rose from their chairs, the latter looking angrier than he ever seen.

"Did you know that Rogue wasn't in control when she came back?" Scott asked, silencing the room. Slowly, everyone's gaze returned to his. He looked at the face of his first student, seeing the anguish on his face. "Did you know?"

Xavier could only look at him and the rest of his students, as they waited for his answer. "I did not care," he whispered.

XXXXX

"I heard about your project with Rogue," she said to Scott. He tried to smile at her but it came out a grimace.

"Yeah the teach didn't even let us pick our partners," he complained. "Though I can use this opportunity to get to know her."

She couldn't help the surge of jealousy she felt and she covered it by scoffing. "Like Rogue would ever talk to you."

He shrugged and looked away. "She might. We actually have a lot in common and I think I can relate to her."

"Scott, no offense, but you're a preppy boy and Rogue is…" She struggled to think of the word to describe her. "…different."

"She might be that but I think I can reach her."

Another spur of jealousy filled her. "I don't know why you're trying so hard, Scott. She's just gonna tell you to get lost!" she said angrily.

He turned to look at her, startled at her anger. "Why are you mad?"

"I'm not!" she said sharply.

He raised an eyebrow then a look of comprehension appeared. "You're jealous aren't you?"

She was mortified that she was so transparent. After a brief second, she laughed manically. "As if I'd be jealous," she quipped, "it may be a surprise to you, Scott Summers, but I don't care who you hang out with."

Now it was his turn to laugh. "You are so jealous Jean and you're still a horrible liar."

She huffed and took off the hallway, his laughter still ringing in her ears.

Before out of earshot, she heard, "And it's WHOM!"

That did it. She was pissed before but now she was furious. Putting a hand to her temple, she felt for Scott. Feeling him, she entered his mind, shoving his consciousness into the back. In full control, she began to imitate a monkey, even going so far as to try and pick bugs from passing students' hair.

She withdrew as Scott went to pick Principal Darkholme's hair. She giggled as Darkholme yelled at him.

XXXXX

He tried to brace himself as the fist rose. No matter how many times it happened before, he could never get used to it. The blow came, the fist solidly connecting to his abdomen. He knew the drill. Blow to his stomach, to knock all his air out and stop any resistance, even though he never tried to fight back. Several blows to his head followed it; it always made him feel scrambled. It happened like he predicted, a blow to a head followed by several kicks to his abdomen. The air whooshed out of his, leaving him gasping. It distracted him from the pain but the panic of dying was worse than any pain inflicted on him.

His assailant stopped. His assailant, if he could, he would've chuckled at that thought. He could never think of him in any other way besides assailant, even though he was his father. At fourteen, he considered himself an orphan, raised by a cruel man.

Perhaps he would stop, he hoped. There was always that hope but he knew it was foolish. And that foolishness had lead to this moment. The moment he's been planning for weeks. He had one chance and though he had plotted and imagined every outcome, actually doing it was much harder than he imagined.

Through the years of abuse had conditioned him to put up as little resistance when the beatings came, sometimes he had an 'easier' beating, most of the times the man would go until he lost consciousness. The will to fight, to live, had been driven from him, and he contemplated suicide many times but he wasn't strong enough to carry through it. Running away wasn't an option; he was still a kid, with no income or saved money, and nowhere to go. Every days he prayed that today would be the last day, the day where that man would go too far. But it never happened. The man always knew when to stop.

Then one day, after a nasty beating, a plan began to form in his mind, leading to this moment. The man stood above him, like always, staring down at him, disgust all over his face. Just as planned, he knelt down, bringing his face close, so close that he could smell the whiskey with every breath.

"You're pathetic," he snarled.

This was the moment that he has been waiting for and he could feel his body shake with anticipation. His hands felt sweaty, but he held on tightly to the knife.

Mistaking his tremble as fear, the man said, "Don't pass out on me boy, there's a lot more where that came from."

He lunged forward, pushing the knife into the man's soft flesh in his abdomen. Blood didn't squirt out like the movies, but spilled from the wound site, covering his hand with the warm liquid.

The man's eyes looked shocked, his mouth was open but no sound came out. The man fell onto his butt, his mouth still open, and knife still in his belly, and his eyes shinning with fear and pain. He stood up, and stared down at his tormentor. And he felt powerful for the first time in his life and he realized that he enjoyed this feeling; it was better than being afraid of everything. He made himself a promise to never be the victim again, to never feel fear.

"Look who's pathetic now?" he spat. He removed the knife, eliciting another moan of pain from the man. "Don't pass out on me, there's a lot more where that came from," he echoed, lifting the knife again. Seeing the fear in his eyes, he thought that maybe he liked this a little too much. But he didn't dwell on that thought as the knife plunged downward again, the flesh giving way to the sharp steel. He relished the screams the man made, and lifted the knife again. A laugh escaped his lips and he found that he did enjoy this.

XXXXX

She screamed and her eyes snapped open. Her throat was raw and her eyes wet.

Hi Roguey, I told you I'd make you pay. A voice whispered. It was that man's voice. She was scared and he knew it. It was hard to explain but she could feel his joy at her fear. Even though she didn't know the source of the voice, she knew that he was right. He was going to make her pay and she didn't want to know what he had planned for her.

XXXXXXXXXX

8/31/2014

Soooo…yeah, it's been a while. All I can say is that I'm sorry and as stated in the intro, life happens. I plan on finishing this story some day. Between homework, work, baby, and married life, I'll try to squeeze in writing wherever I can. And I want to say thank you for everyone that reads and/or reviews this story, you guys and gals are great! This chapter is for you awesome folks.

therapist