"Have you seen Jean?" Scott asked the Professor as he entered the office. "Is she still with Zoey?"
The Professor raised his head suddenly. "She's in trouble."
Scott and the Professor quickly went to the Danger Room and found Jean laying on the ground.
"Jean?" Scott sat her up and looked at her. "Jean, answer me."
She opened her eyes with a confused expression. "Where am I?"
"In the Danger Room," Scott said. "What happened? Where's Zoey?"
"Zoey?" Jean touched her head. "I don't know what happened. I don't know…" She paused and looked up at the two men. "I don't know anything."
**Zoey stood in the hallway. She paced up and down as she thought about what she had to do. What she had agreed to do.
"Zoey?"
She turned to see John approaching her.
"Did you want to go outside and talk today?" he asked.
"I can't, John." She hesitated on her next move. "I--I'm in trouble."
He looked at her for an explaination.
"You have to go now," she said. "Leave this place, please."
"What's going on, Zoey?" he said worried.
"I don't want to hurt you." She tried to remain strong. "I don't want you to be here to see what I have to do. Just leave."
John stayed in place, still looking at her. "Tell me what's going on."
Zoey went into her room and came back out with the globe John had given her. "Here. Take this and go."
"I gave this to you," he said.
She placed it in his hand. "Well, now I'm giving it back. Take it with you as a memory of me."
"A memory of you?" John stared down at the globe, wondering what kind of trouble Zoey was in. "Come with me, then. If you're in trouble, I can help you."
Zoey's face looked as if she was actually contemplating the idea, but she shook her head. "I can't come with you, John. I need to stay here and finish what I started."
John looked at her, studying her face.
"Go!" Zoey looked away from his hurtful eyes.
He took a step back and disappeared down the hallway.
Zoey placed her hand on the wall as a shooting pain penetrated her head. It was Jean. Jean's memories were filled with screaming and darkness. And then Zoey felt another surge of pain hit her. Rogue. They all wanted out.
"Zoey."
She ignored the pain as Scott came up to her.
"Zoey," he said again. He cautiously went towards her. "Don't be afraid."
"Me?" she said. "You should be the one afraid." She ran to him just as Scott jumped out of the way, but she was quicker, placing her hands on his head. A bright light appeared and then she was gone.
**Logan saw the bright white light in the room and went in to investigate. Storm was sitting on the ground, dazed.
"Storm?" he said.
She looked up at him. "Who are you?"
Another flash of the white light caught Logan's attention. "Stay here," he said to Storm. He went out to the hallway where Jubilee was leaning against the wall.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I don't know," she said. "I can't remember anything."
Logan caught a scent and started to follow it. He saw Zoey at the end of the hallway with Kitty. "Hey!" He went to them just as Zoey grabbed Kitty's head and the white light appeared. Logan shielded his eyes and when it was gone, he looked up to see Kitty, but Zoey wasn't with her.
"Logan!"
He turned at the sound of Rogue's voice. "Rogue?" She was standing a few feet away from him. She motioned for him to come with her and they went down another hallway.
"She's taking everyone's memories," she said. "I don't understand."
"Me neither, kid," he said, scanning the area for any more signs of Zoey. "Have you seen the Professor or the others?"
She shook her head. "Do you thinks she got them?"
"She got Storm, but I haven't seen the others," he said.
The sound of a door opening made them turn.
"Stay behind me," Logan said as he went to the room.
They entered the dark room just as the lights came on. They both jumped at the sight of Bobby standing in the room.
"What's going on?" Bobby asked.
Logan looked at him, annoyed. "Don't scare us like that again."
"I scared you?" Bobby smirked. "Cool."
"Bobby, I'm glad you're okay," Rogue said. "Zoey's on some kind of stampede, wiping out everyone's memories."
Bobby frowned. "We gotta get out of here then."
Just then, a bright white light illuminated the hallway. The three rushed out just in time to see Zoey vanish again. Peter was slumped over on his side.
"I'm going after her," said Logan.
"How?" Rogue said. "She's teleporting everywhere. You don't know where she's going to end up next."
"It's called instinct," Logan said as he started to walk away.
"Logan," Rogue said.
He turned back to her.
"Don't hurt her," she said.
He couldn't guarantee anything, but he nodded, understanding that Zoey was the only link to Rogue and her past.
**In an instant, she was there. Zoey looked around the office and saw the Professor sitting by the window. "Professor."
"Zoey." He turned his wheelchair to face her.
"I guess you know why I'm here to see you," she said.
"No, I don't," he said. "I'm still unable to read your thoughts. You've done a good job covering up your own mind with the minds of others."
"Thank you."
"But, after seeing what you did to Jean," he said, "I know you're here to come claim my memories."
She nodded. "See, you didn't need your powers for that, just your own common sense."
"And your brother? Does he even exist?" the Professor asked.
"He does," she said. "And after I'm done here, I can finally see him again."
"Who made you that promise?" he said. "Can you trust the man who made you that promise?"
"How do you know it was a man?"
"Only one man would send someone like you after me," the Professor said. "What kind of lies did Erik tell you?"
"They're not lies," Zoey said. "He knows where my brother is and after I do this for him, he's going to take me to my brother."
"Zoey, please believe me when I say that we are the ones who want to help you," he said. "Erik doesn't care about your brother or about you."
"Shut up!" Zoey tried to think, but all she could hear were the voices in her head. They were too many, too loud. She couldn't concentrate anymore. She felt as though she was losing herself.
"Zoey--"
"NO!" Zoey felt herself start to leviate off the ground. "Here's something else you didn't know I could do, Professor."
The sound of thunder made the Professor turn his head towards the window. A storm? No, it wasn't that…it was…He looked back at Zoey, whose eyes clouded over in a gray color and then turned to red. Could it be? Had she obtained their memories and powers? The red laser beam from Zoey's eyes hit him suddenly. He fell out of his wheelchair.
Zoey came back down on her feet and looked down at him. "Feeling a little helpless? How about confused?" She knelt down next to him. "Well, it's only going to get better." She placed her hands on his head.
**Logan saw the bright white light from the Professor's office and ran to it only to find the Professor lying on the ground. "Professor! Can you hear me?" The Professor laid still on the ground.
"Logan?"
He heard Rogue out in the hallway. He went out and saw that she was alone. "Where's Bobby?"
"He went to find more students, but I wanted to come find you," she said.
"Come on, kid, you gotta get out of here," he said.
"What happened to the Professor?" she asked, looking back at the office.
"Lets not talk about it."
"She got him, didn't she?"
Logan didn't reply.
"If she could get the Professor, that means she can do anything," Rogue said. "We can't escape from this. She's going to come after you, and she's going to come after me again, make me forget again."
Logan stopped and looked at her. "Stop talking like that. She isn't going to touch you. I'll make sure of that."
"How sweet." Zoey came walking down the hallway. "I like the big hero type."
Logan raised his hands showing his metal claws. "Don't make me hurt you."
"Hurt me? Why would you want to do that?" Zoey said. "I'm the only way Rogue can ever get her memories back. I'm her only chance to finding her past and you want to hurt me?"
Logan glanced at Rogue.
"You know I'm right," Zoey said. "You can't hurt me. You won't hurt me." She touched her head as another pain shot through her mind. She stumbled, but found her balance again. She smiled despite the pain. "You got some powerful people here. Nice powerful memories too. Like the Professor and Jean."
Suddenly, Rogue grabbed Logan with her bare hands. He was too shocked to move as he felt his energy being drained from him.
"They didn't know how powerful they were," Zoey said. "Mind control. Nice, huh?" She turned and left Logan and Rogue.
Logan looked into Rogue's dark eyes as she continued to hold onto his head. "Rogue…" Her eyes were cold and robotic. He fell to his knees as he felt weaker and weaker. Then, he did the only thing he could to save himself. He plunged his claws into her chest. Her eyes softened as her face filled with astonishment. She pulled her hands away from him and whispered his name before collapsing.
**Zoey entered the main lobby just as a bolt of cold air hit her sending her to the ground. She looked up to see Bobby.
"We haven't actually met," she said standing up, "but I know you."
"You don't know me," he said. "Those memories that you stole know me."
She tilted her head to her left and sighed. "And soon you won't even know who you are." She charged at him as he blasted another shot of cold air at him.
Bobby watched as she dodged the shot and ran right through him. He turned to see her standing behind him. "Nice trick. Did you borrow it from Kitty?"
"That's not the only thing I borrowed." She preceeded to leviate off the ground. Her eyes became dark with storm clouds. She raised her hands towards Bobby.
He reacted by shooting a surge of cold air at Zoey.
Zoey prepared to fight back with a bolt of lightening when the sharp pain appeared again inside her mind. She heard the screaming, the cries of the many people and their memories wanting to escape. She grabbed her head and cried out in agony just as the cold blast from Bobby hit her. She came falling down from the air.
Bobby kept his distance for a moment in case she got up, but she remained still. He watched as a white light emerged from inside Zoey and floated over her body and then suddenly it vanished.
**Storm entered the Professor's office and gasped at the sight of the Professor laying on the floor. She quickly helped him back to his wheelchair. "Professor, are you all right?"
He nodded despite the weakness he felt.
"What happened?" Storm asked. "One minute I was talking to Zoey and then she was gone. It was as if I had lost a block of time."
"You didn't lose time," the Professor said. "You lost your memory."
**"Jean!" Scott ran into their bedroom where he and the Professor had left her after finding her in the Danger Room. "Jean!"
She was sitting up on the bed with a bewildered expression. "Scott?"
He embraced her and held her tightly. "Shhh…" He kissed her, thankful that she was safe.
Logan stared at Rogue's lifeless body with tears in his eyes. He retracted his claws back into his hands and staggered over to Rogue. She was bleeding from his claw marks. Her eyes were closed and her face was turning pale. She was dying. "I'm so sorry," he said softly.
Just then, a white light appeared over Rogue. Logan watched as it faded into her body. He moved back as Rogue's body began to float in front of him.
**It was overpowering. All her memories. Her first day in kindergarten. Her mother's smile. Her first kiss. The day she ran away from home. Hitchiking across the country until she ended up in Canada. Entering that bar and finding Logan. Meeting the Professor and the students. Going shopping at the mall. And then---touching Logan and going inside him, absorbing him. Seeing Zoey. You said I found my anchor, who is it? It's Logan. Bobby. John. Jubilee. Go to bed, kid. Seeing Zoey, but it wasn't the same Zoey from before, or maybe this was the real Zoey. Running from Zoey. It's Logan. Kill him, Rogue. Kill him now. It was Zoey, inside her head, controlling her mind. The look in Logan's eyes as he stabbed her with his claws. It's Logan. And then it was dark. It's Logan. And then it was white. It's
Logan watched in amazement as the white light laid Rogue back down on the ground. She glowed for a few more minutes before the light disappeared. He went to her and touched the white streak that had appeared in her dark hair. He looked closer and saw the wounds in her chest healing themselves. She was slowly opening her eyes.
"Rogue? It's Logan."
It's Logan.
She breathed in as if she was being born again and let out the deep breath. "Logan." She let his name linger on her lips. "I remember. I remember everything."
**one week later
Scott entered the Professor's office. "Any word on Zoey's condition?"
"She's still in a coma," the Professor said. "The doctors think she may never come out of it."
"What should we do about John, Professor?" Scott asked.
The Professor sighed. "I'm afraid we can't do anything about it, Scott. We must let him go. He chose to leave the school and he will come back when the time is right."
Scott shut the door and turned back to the Professor. "Professor, about Logan--"
"You don't have to worry about him," the Professor said. "He knows what he has to do."
**Logan watched Rogue with the other students as they watched television. A small smile came across his face.
"Are these your bags?"
He turned to see Jean standing next to his bags.
"Where are you heading?" she asked.
He shrugged. "No where. Everywhere. I don't know."
"For how long?" she said.
"I don't know that either." He picked up a bag and slung the strap over his shoulder. "You gonna miss me?"
Jean looked into the TV room. "I think someone else will."
Logan looked back at Rogue. "Well, Jean, that's why I'm leaving. Seeing everyone lose their memories and then getting them back, it made me see that I gotta do some searching of my own. The Professor gave me some information that might help me find out about my past. I gotta check it out."
Jean nodded. "I hope you find what you're looking for, Logan."
"Logan." Scott walked up to them. "I heard you were leaving the school."
"You must be devasted," Logan said.
Scott smiled. "I am."
"Well, Logan, good luck and keep in touch with us," Jean said. She grabbed Scott's hand and started to pull him away.
Logan watched them go up the stairs and picked up his other bag, heading for the door.
"Aren't you even going to say good-bye?"
He turned and looked at Rogue. She stared at him with her dark eyes. Her hair was pulled back, the white streak hung loose over her cheek.
"Well? Are you?" she said.
"I don't do good-byes, kid," he said.
"Then, see you later," she said with a smile.
He smiled back. "See you later." He turned back to the door, opened it, and walked out, shutting it behind him.