xxbluewingsxx: I'm so sorry for the super long delay! I'm slowly getting my muse back so hopefully I can finally finish this story off. One chapter at a time! So please enjoy this peace offering :)

Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men or any of the X-Men characters!

Escape

The days wore on. Rogue completely lost track of time and she didn't have the heart to ask James.

For the most part, they remained in silence. They had spent the last month getting to know each other, and now that they were forced to confinement, they had nothing to say to each other.

For Rogue, the worst part was that James would hardly look her in the eye. She had a couple of speculations regarding this.

One: Rogue had stated her fury at James for not telling her about Trask and his deeper underlying true motives. Although she acknowledged her own fault for not recognizing it herself (the man's methods for control were unorthodox), she had never expressed this to James, and therefore he felt guilty about their imprisonment.

Two: James was mad at Rogue. He had said from day one that she was in control of their departure time. She had been the one to mention it at that particular time in the Training Room, where the room was rigged with microphones and cameras. Had she waited just five minutes until they were out of the room, Trask would have never known, and they could have slipped away in the night just as James had planned all along.

Rogue wish they had talked about it in the first days of their imprisonment, because the longer they spent here, the most awkward is became to bring it up.

Days must have turned into a week… maybe two or three. With no windows and no way to find the time, she really had no idea how long they were in here. And James had completely shut off by this point. For days (or again, maybe weeks) he spent all day with a look of concentration on his face and Rogue was worried about interrupting his train of thought. Especially if it involved an escape plan.

Everyday Harpoon and Scrambler would alternate bringing their food. And everyday Trask would visit to find out if they changed their minds about joining him.

Rogue knew it was only a matter of time before a) they drove themselves insane from being locked up, b) they gave in prior to going mad, c) Trask got tired of waiting and killed them off to simplify things.

But James had a plan.

It started off like every other day. Rogue sat on the bed, while James paced the room. Rogue tugged at the collar around her neck, trying to scratch the skin underneath. It was terribly uncomfortable and was chaffing the skin underneath. She knew it was angry red and probably had rashes crisscrossing all down her neck.

The door down the hall banged open as Harpoon came in carrying a tray of food for their lunch. He placed the tray on the floor and opened the tiny compartment so that he could slide the food in without opening the cell door.

Rogue leaned forward and sniffed with disdain at the tray of meagre offerings. They could clearly give a shit about what their prisoners ate and it showed in this pathetic pile of… well she had no idea what it was. And whatever it was, there wasn't much.

She looked at James across the room and his eyes met hers. There was no mirror in their cell, so she had no idea what her appearance was, but judging from James' appearance, she could make a pretty good guess.

James, once muscular and toned, and clean cut, had obviously lost weight. His once intimidating stature he severely shrunk. He was in desperate need of a shave, and his hair was scraggly and greasy. They both needed a shower and they both needed a proper meal.

Harpoon looked the little compartment and stood up to leave without saying a word.

James stalked across the tiny room and pressed up against the bar. "You're fucking kidding me right?"

Harpoon stopped mid step but otherwise he did not acknowledge James.

"I mean seriously, is this all the food you can offer us? We're starving down here!"

Harpoon sighed and his shoulder drooped as he turned around to show James his exasperated face.

But James was not to be deterred. "Scrambler has been putting on a lot of weight. Surely he can spare a meal or two so we can eat. And you too tubby!" James was smirking, as though he was making a joke at a friend's expense, rather than insulting his jailor.

Rogue watched the entire exchange in silence, but the last sentence made her catch her breath. Oh God he's going to get us both killed!

Harpoon stormed back across the room and grabbed the collar of James' jacket through the bars and pulled him forward so his whole body and face slammed into the poles. "Shut the fuck up Madrox!" With his other hand a spike shot from his wrist and he pressed the tip to James' neck. "There's nothing stopping me from killing you. We don't need you." His eyes slid over to Rogue. "She's the one we really want. We're just keeping you alive to use as collateral."

Rogue met Harpoon's gaze but soon dropped her eyes to the floor. She didn't stand a chance against Harpoon. Malnourished and powerless, he would wreck her in five seconds flat.

James placed his arms through the bars of the cell and pushed Harpoon. Apparently despite the conditions they had been forced to survive in, James still had a bit of strength to him. Harpoon's hand was dislodged and James took a few steps away so that Harpoon couldn't grab him through the bars again.

"Come at me then! If you think you stand a chance!" James challenged, opening his arms, inviting the other mutant to battle him.

Again Rogue felt her breath catch in her throat as Harpoon smirked and unlocked the cell door, slamming it wide about with a loud bang that made Rogue wince as her ears began ringing.

Harpoon slid one spike out and threw it at James. It caught James in the shoulder and the man gasped as he stumbled backwards with the force. He was pinned against the wall and his head dropped so Rogue was unable to gauge his expression.

Harpoon slid another spike out and pointed it at Rogue. "You got something to say girly?" He threatened her.

Rogue, still holding her breath, shook her head from side to side once. Harpoon retracted the spike and stepped forward, and brushed a strand of hair over Rogue's face. Rogue completely froze at the contact and she felt shivers run up and down her spine. "Good girl. You just remember that. You would do well to teach the same to your buddy." He patted her on the cheek forcibly so it was more like a slap and then left the room, but not before relocking their cell door.

Rogue waited until she heard the hall door open and slam shut before she released the breath she had been holding this entire time in fear.

"James!" She gasped, her voice hoarse from not using it for… oh who the Hell knew how long it had been since she last spoke?

She jumped off the bed and stumbled on her feet as she skidded across the tiny cell to James. Her worst fear was that it had caught him in the heart and he was long dead… or slowly bleeding out to his death.

However when she stepped up close, James lifted his head and gave her a weak smile. "That Harpoon… he is so aggressive and rash, he never takes the time to aim properly."

Now that Rogue looked more closely, she could see that James wasn't bleeding at all. In fact, the spear her completely missed James, instead it had hooked the shoulder of his jacket and it was that which was pinned to the wall.

Rogue exhaled and felt a brief flash of irritation. "You nearly gave me a heart attack. I could slap you around the head for pure stupidity!"

James grinned again. "Ah but as you can see I am perfectly fine, and in about ten minutes, you'll be thanking me." James used his free arm to grab the spear, but he was unable to dislodge it. "Can you give me a hand?"

Rogue sighed and rolled her eyes, but she grabbed the spear firmly between both hands and began pulling. She had lost a lot of energy and strength from being cooped up and it took her a couple of minutes before she finally felt the spear begin to slide from the wall and James was released. "So what on Earth were you thinking? Harpoon could have destroyed you back there!"

James rolled his arm a couple of times and rubbed it briefly with his other hand. "I will show you." He took the spear from Rogue and pointed it at her. "Right now, you have to promise to trust me, do not question me, do as I say when I say something, and most importantly, stay quiet!"

Rogue was so taken aback that she felt her lips lock and she nodded once.

James nodded back and then brought the spear closer to Rogue. She shut her eyes closed and lifted her hands as though surrendering. Maybe James was just going to stab and kill her here and now rather then draw out what was sure to be a long and painful death.

She felt something pressing her neck and peeked open one eye and then the next. James has jammed the spear into the keyhole of her collar. "Are you…"

"Sh!" James snapped. "I need to focus. But yes." And as surly as he had spoken, there was a click and Rogue's collar fell to her feet. Rogue shuddered as the air prickled the raw skin on her neck and she gingerly brushed her fingers to the tender skin on her neck.

James tossed the spear to the ground, satisfaction written all over his body language. "Alright, now use your powers to take mine off."

Rogue shook her head. "James… you know I can't."

James shook his head. "Come on Rogue, you have to. I know you can do this. I believe in you 100%"

Rogue crouched over and picked up the spear. "James, I really can't. I never learned how." And she set to work using the spear to unlock James' collar. It took a great deal longer then when James had worked on her collar, but eventually she heard the satisfying click and he too was free. His neck was blistered and covered in rashes all over.

James then took the spear from Rogue and ran towards the cell door. He jammed the spear into the lock and started twisting it around.

Rogue hesitated and looked down, as though she was ashamed. Rogue pulled the top of her sweater down to show a thick scar that ran horizontally along her neck.

Logan turned around to observe. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it before. One sweep around the room, and he could judge that by everyone else's reactions that they felt the same.

Logan growled and looked away, unable to stand the sight of the hideous mark, especially knowing what had caused it.

"You know, it's kind of funny." Rogue gave one small chuckle, but it wasn't genuine. It was filled with pain and misery. "If I had used Magneto's powers, I could have had the collar off and the cell door open in a second. It would have saved us so much time, and who knows, maybe James would have made it."

There was another distinctive click and the cell door creaked as it swung open. "Come on Rogue! Remember, stay quiet and do as I say!"

Rogue nodded and tumbled out of the cell after James, her legs unsteady from being cramped and having no room to move for far too long.

James turned and grabbed her arm, jerking her along at a much quicker pace, she could hardly keep up. James was practically dragging her. They broke out of the prison room and James tugged her along as he whipped this way and that. Rogue felt dizzy and disoriented, she wondered how James could possibly remember where he was going.

And then there was the door.

And James kicked the door open and dragged Rogue out into the bright sunlight. The light reflected off the snow, making everything ten times brighter. They had been locked in that dimly lit room for far too long. Rogue gasped with pain and ripped her arm free from James to shield her eyes from the sun. Her eyes burned and she had red dots on her eyelids when she closed her eyes.

She felt tears of pain sting her cheeks as a harsh wind buffeted her sideways and flecks of snow landed on her face.

She heard a similar groan from James and she knew he was just as blinded and shocked as she was. They both needed a minute to recover.

But they wouldn't get their minute. Because at that precise moment, Rogue heard a yell from inside the mansion that made her skin go cold with dread.

"THE PRISONERS HAVE ESCAPED!"

BW: I hope you liked it! I have been a little bit out of touch with writing lately so I might be a little rusty, so please review! :)