Hank lay in the room, dimly aware of his surroundings. In the hours since Kat had left, he simply lost track of time, pondering what his existence now brought him. Part of him wondered how mortified he would be if the others managed to find him. He was so engrossed within his own mind that he didn't even take notice of the door opening.

"This place is certainly out of the way. I would've never thought about searchin' this far outside of town."

"I know Wolverine but let's just find Hank and get out. I know he's still got to be here."

Rogue turned her attention to the bed, where she couldn't help but gasp at the scene. Despite recalling it in her mind since she temporarily stole Kat's memories, she still found herself not prepared for the scene before her. Wolverine hurried up to the bed and quickly bared his claws, breaking the chains that held Hank in place.

"Hank, can you hear me?" he asked the blue-furred mutant.

Hank groaned, cracking open his eyes enough to stare at the images of his two comrades. He managed to crack a smile once he saw them though uncertain if he should believe what he was seeing before him.

"I must be dreaming. You can't possibly be here," he murmured.

Before either of them could give an answer his statement, Hank closed his eyes into unconsciousness. Wolverine gave a small growl as he gazed over the patches of blood that stained his friend's fur.

"Whatever she's done to him, she is goin' to pay for it. We shouldn't have left her behind," he snarled.

"It couldn't have been helped but let's worry about her later. I'm pretty certain that we'll come across her again at some point in time. Right now, let's just worry about getting Hank back to the mansion," Rogue immediately responded.

Gently lifting their friend up, they carefully placed his bigger frame into Rogue's waiting arms before they gently carried him out of the building.

00000

Hank took a deep breath and sensed something was different. The first thing he noticed was that the air didn't seem as thick or stuffy as what it was earlier. The other thing he noticed was that he was laying on a soft surface. Opening his eyes slightly he found a familiar scene before him as a face popped into his field of vision, her white striped red hair bouncing along the way.

"Hi hun, how're you feelin'?"

Hank weakly smiled as he tried to move but soon felt a sturdy hand sitting upon his shoulder.

"Don't try to move yet. You were in bad shape when Logan and I found you. I'm just glad we found you before Kat could hurt you even more," Rogue told him.

"How did you...?" he quietly asked.

"I absorbed Kat's memories. That's how. I just wish we saw her ploy earlier otherwise you and Remy would never be in this situation. She works for Magneto and therefore she frequently collaborates with Mystique. We figure that she's played a big part in this somehow. We also searched her room and found the device that she placed in the phone line. That was scrambling our sensors but right now, you should take it easy," Rogue explained.

She carefully watched Hank as he took a deep gulp and licked his parched lips. Slowly, he turned his attention elsewhere as he was uncertain how the others would perceive the situation.

"So what's the fallout from my naivety?" he finally asked.

"Hank, you're not at fault here. Sure, we were a little upset at first when we found out what happened but you have to remember that we were all fooled by her charade, not just you," she assured him.

"But it nearly cost Gambit and myself our lives!" he protested. "I was so easily fooled by her ploy. I believed that she was someone like me, who knew what I go through everyday. What makes you think that it won't happen again?"

"No, it won't, Hank. You know not everyone we encounter will be like Katherine. She was one of a kind," Rogue calmly told him.

A forlorn look crossed Hank's face as he shook his head. Carefully, his closed his eyes and fell back into his restless sleep. Rogue sighed as she glanced over to Gambit, who was sleeping soundly in a bed a few feet from them. His injuries had continued to heal nicely over the last few days and for that, Rogue was pleased. Giving one last smile she stepped out, leaving Hank and Gambit alone to rest. She stared down the hallway for a few moments before heading down, past all the doors until the one that had the professor's name on it. She hesitated for a moment before lightly knocking and heard a 'come in'. Stepping inside, she looked at the professor sitting behind his desk.

"Hank awoke for a few minutes," she told him.

"Ah, that's good. I was worried about him. How's he taking the situation with his recent abduction?"

"He's takin' it pretty hard. He feels like he should have seen it comin' and the fact that he hadn't, he's afraid of what will happen now not just from himself but from us as well," explained Rogue.

"It will take some time for him to see that we are not angry with him over what happened. We were all deceived by her actions. I figure what Kat probably wanted to do was create a discourse with ourselves that made itself known soon after we became aware of her presence. Unfortunately our indecision about whether or not to trust her most likely became part of our downfall in this situation," the professor replied.

He glided out from behind his desk and positioned his chair next to Rogue, who remained standing where she was. With her one arm down by her side and her other hand stretched across her stomach holding onto her elbow, she seemed a bit distraught. Xavier could see it written all over her face.

"What's the matter Rogue? Is there something you wanted to discuss with me?" he finally asked. "It doesn't take a psychic to see you're upset about something."

Rogue hesitated for a moment, a little uncertain how to proceed with the inquired question. She gave a deep sigh as she glanced out the window at the setting sun before returning her attention back to the man sitting before her.

"Well, it's about Kat but not in the way you think. When I was absorbin' her memories, I managed to get a bit of a look into her past. Her name is indeed Katherine but the life she's had so far...scares me," she explained.

That caught Xavier's interest as he turned his full attention to her. Placing a hand up to his chin, his interest didn't escape Rogue's notice. Her stomach was doing somersaults as she wondered how she should explain to him what she saw.

"I didn't know who else to turn to with some of things she's done, some of the places she's been..." she started.

"If you need more time, don't hesitate to ask. I will always be here for you to talk to," he assured her.

Rogue shook her head, knowing that she would have to get this out eventually. Now was as good of a time as any and she gave a deep breath.

"Professor, I don't what Magneto told you but she's from Louisiana. The things her parents did to her before she finally ran off are atrocious. It's because of what her parents did that she started to lash out at not just the normal homo sapiens but to mutants as well just for her own personal gains but there's one period of time in her life that will bother me for a while. Somethin' that I feel that I need to tell you," she explained.

"And what would that be?"

Rogue hesitated for a moment, thinking about the words in her mind. The flashes of memory before her eyes were as vivid as when she initially saw them as she hung onto the mutant known as Katherine.

"While she was still in Louisiana, but after she left home there was a group of men who found her wanderin' around and took her in. They taught her their way of the street and she was a quick study at it too. They frequently sent her on missions they couldn't for one reason or another before she met Magneto on one. I thought I recognized the faces of some of these men at first but I wasn't certain. It took me a while to realize who they were," she told him. "They were members of the Thieves Guild in New Orleans. She and Gambit met several times over the course of her time with them but whether or not he remembers her is another story. She looked so much different back then. We all figured that Gambit got caught up in everythin' as Kat went after Hank but I'm thinkin' that may not entirely be the case. She may have been hopin' to cross his path at some point to do exactly what she did to him. For that reason, I doubt we've seen the last of Katherine."

The professor's eyes widened at the idea. He almost didn't want to think of the history that Gambit might have had with this feline woman or the idea that she could be back. He couldn't help but think about what was going to happen next and if either Hank or Gambit were going to be ever safe from her clutches. She almost had both of them this time as it were.

"I agree with you Rogue, she will be back and I don't doubt that she'll also return with a vengeance," the professor finally said.

The End

Thank you, thank you, thank for putting up with me and my belatedness in getting this finished.