Chapter 17: Plan of Action

                It was early morning when Xavier gathered Remy and Logan into his office. The other students had by this time wandered back to their rooms, and Logan pacified an exhausted Kitty's confused questions as to where Rogue was. For the moment, no one else knew, and they would keep it that way until Xavier could learn as much about the occurrence as possible.

                Xavier sat facing the couches in front of the fireplace, where Logan was pacing back and forth restlessly. He'd seen the look in her eyes, the sound of her voice.. Even her smell told him that wasn't Rogue. His heart raged out at whatever was doing this to her, but if his suspicions were correct, how could he rage at something within her? Without a tangible target in sight, Logan growled inwardly in frustration.

                Xavier cleared his throat before speaking. It was his job to remain cool and composed, though he was finding it rather difficult to maintain.

                "I was able to follow her path southwards. She seems to have been moving at an unnaturally rapid speed, so I had some trouble pinpointing her exact location. The last place she stopped was in an industrial district twenty miles north of Albany, but her connection became severed inexplicably. It's as if something is shielding her mind from me, in the same manner Magneto has hidden himself from me.

                With a slight sigh, Xavier lifted one hand to his brow.

                "It is Carol Danvers, as I feared." He turned to Remy. "I know you must be feeling very weak, but can you please tell me what happened? Something must have triggered this."

                Remy sat on the couch, huddled in his trench coat as intermittent shivers coursed through his body. He did feel quite terrible, and his birthday cake had come back up not too long ago. He looked at Xavier and gulped, then turned his eyes back to the floor.

                "Remy ain' sure... he almos' certain dat she all ready like dat when he go up to find her..." This got a glare from Logan, who undoubtedly knew what had been happening, and this didn't help Remy's disposition any. He still felt ashamed that he would take advantage of her like that, while she wasn't in control. How could she ever forgive him?

                Xavier didn't comment on that. He'd picked up easily on Remy's memories of the events, but that still left a lot unexplained.

                "I suspected that Carol had taken over by the time you found her. I have learned from several students that she'd been complaining of a headache before she went to her room. Carol must have been waiting for the opportunity, but I cannot imagine why Rogue would submit so easily. You say you were able to touch her?"

                Remy just nodded, eyes still fixed on the ground. He had touched her and let his questions be drowned out. It was like a dream come true, and still seemed like a dream now, though it quickly shifted to a nightmare. He suspected it could have been much worse if he hadn't pushed his question, and would have still be worse if Logan hadn't saved him, something Remy had been sure to thank him for.

                Logan stopped mid-stride suddenly, a snarl crossing his features. The knowledge of what the two of them did irked him enough, even more so with the thought that the Cajun was so ready to fool around when he knew that Rogue wouldn't possible behave in such a way. The only consolation to Logan's anger was the amount of suffering the Cajun was going through now.

                "Look, bub, we know what you two were doin'. Now who started it?"

                Xavier paused, and Logan prayed for the excuse to flay the boy alive.

                He shuddered slightly and fingered his cards, very edgy and nervous.

                "Wasn' Remy... he swear... she touch him, an' he ask how... den she... um... stop his questions..." He blushed and gulped, then gripped his cards firmly. He knew, or at least hoped, Xavier would stop Logan from tearing him to pieces, but it was always a good idea to have a backup when one dealt with the deadly Wolverine.

                Logan glanced at Xavier, who didn't contest the boy's words. It was the truth then. Minus yet another object of his pending revenge, Logan resumed his pacing, hands running through his hair.

Xavier returned to examining the situation at hand.

                "It is obvious that Carol has enough control over Rogue's mutant powers to enable or disable them at will. The question is, why did she attack you as opposed to anyone else? We know that Carol Danvers was also captured by Trask. Remy, can you think of any reason why she would want you dead?"

                Remy shrugged and thought on it. He went back to his time with Trask, tried to remember this Carol person. That's when it struck him. The blue eyes. He remembered those. She had piercing, almost icy blue eyes that would drill right into you.

                He remembered the day when he'd been eating in the cafeteria with Colossus and he'd watch them drag her away. She'd screamed and cursed, and those eyes had met his, gone straight through him then, too. She'd been in a lab coat like the other scientists, though... Rumors had abounded that she was a mutant, and Remy had found it was true when he'd spotted her in one of the holding cells. She'd been so angry with Trask, and everyone involved with the project, cursing anyone who walked by and screaming threats at them.

                "She... remembah me... Used ta work fo' de project, den dey learn she a mutant too... Dey didn' want any of deir scientists to be mutants, jus' muscle... She wasn' happy... Jus makin' good on some t'reats she make, Remy guess."

                Logan halted his pacing once more, mind thinking back to his time in Trask's lab. "She was in the same cell block as us. I remember right before they took Rogue, they had to knock the woman out with gas. None of the guards would go near her, but she didn't look too strong to me."

                A muscle in his jaw flinched. They had to use a similar technique on him, keeping him in a constant state of delirium lest he shred the metal prison with his claws.

                Xavier mused silently for a moment before turning to Remy. "Do you know anything about her abilities?"

                Remy shook his head. "Dey nevah let Remy an' de othahs look at de files unless we was goin aftah someone. Dey took her while she was still in de buildin'." He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment as he tried to calm himself. He coughed and rubbed his eyes a bit as his vision blurred for a moment. This was definitely worse than the other times.

                Xavier nodded. "I'm sorry to have kept you so late; you most certainly need your rest. Logan, I want you to gather the others in the morning to decide on a plan on action. Remy, we'll keep you informed."

                Remy blinked, then frowned as he looked at Xavier. "Remy gonna help too... He gotta be responsible... Partly responsible anyway... he have ta make up fo' it..." He nodded at his decision, and he sounded quite adamant about the point. He just hoped that Xavier would let him go...

                Xavier sighed, having expected this.

                "I can't ask you to be involved, given the nature of the situation. You have no reason to feel responsible. I realize that you care for Rogue, we all do, but if this Carol Danvers is after your life, we can't afford to put your life at risk again."

                Logan concurred silently. It had been shown how easily Carol could trick Remy into getting close enough to drain him. "Look kid, we're going up against a wolf in sheep's clothing. Do you really think you're prepared to fight Rogue, hurt her? Because chances are there won't be any other way to beat this thing."

                The thought made Remy stop and rethink his own ability to participate. They'd be fighting Carol in Rogue's body, and when the time came, he wasn't sure he could trust himself to do what was necessary.

Remy sighed, and then stood.

                "Remy know what ta do... He go get Leech, den she be harmless, jus plain ol' girl, an' anyone strongah den her be able ta jus' pin her down... Use some tranq dahts... Dere be no problems at all..." He looked pale and sweaty still, but he was getting energized, ready.

                Logan nodded. Whatever the kid had planned, he seemed sure of himself. "Come on, Gumbo, you need to rest up." With a final look to Xavier, he led Remy away by the shoulder to guide him safely back to his room.

                                                                        * * *

                "Absolutely not! Leech is just a child, Gambit, I will not allow you to endanger his life just to save some surface-dwelling girlfriend of yours."

                Callisto crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. That was the final word. Remy sighed, and even Leech looked a little crestfallen - he was more than ready to help his friend Remy after the Cajun had taught him how to pick pockets so well - but they both knew it was useless. You didn't challenge leadership as a Morlock unless you could do a better job yourself. Remy nodded and patted Leech on the head.

                Callisto sighed and shook her head, "I'm sorry, Gambit, and I wish you luck, I just can't risk Leech's life." Remy nodded again, "I undahstand. T'ings will work out, he sure... He see you all when he done searchin..."

                They said their goodbyes and Remy made his way out of the abandoned military tunnels, up into the sewer, and then to the surface so he could drive back to the mansion to join the others gathered to search out Rogue.

                                                                            * * *

                A few days had past with no sign of her. A team of X Men had been sent to the industrial complex near Albany and found no clues, and the Professor was still unable to detect her using Cerebro. On the fourth day since her disappearance, a clue surfaced from an unlikely source.

                Kitty answered the front door, dark circles under her eyes from the past few late nights.

                "Pietro?"

                The speedster stood on the doormat, looking worse for wear himself. "We know where Rogue is."

                Before Kitty could respond, Xavier appeared behind her, gesturing them both to come inside.

                "Please join us, Pietro."

                Normally the speed demon would have scoffed at an invitation to work with the X Geeks, but this time he didn't argue, following them at a steady pace - much slower than normal.

                The X Men were strewn about Xavier's office, some sitting on the couches, others pacing, others gazing off into space. All snapped to attention when Quicksilver, of all people, walked through the door with the Professor.

                Pietro took a seat, suddenly fidgety in the presence of so many X Men, some of whom shot him suspicious looks. He decided to get right to the point.

                "Rogue was at the house."

                Pietro had no idea what had occurred with Carol, which explained his confused demeanor when explaining the events that transpired at the Brotherhood.

                "She didn't even stop to say anything, just attacked us out right. She got Lance. He's alright now, but.. She didn't get me, I was too fast for her." He paused, smirking faintly, trying to restore his shattered confidence. "Mystique came back the day before. She tried to fight Rogue, but.. I've never seen anyone beat Mystique so easily. I tried to stop Rogue from killing her, but nothing I could do seemed to faze her. Mystique's alive, but she won't wake up."

                Pietro looked up, brows drawn together with the effort of maintaining such a slow pace, along with trying to make sense of what had happened. "Rogue was wearing this metal collar. I've seen Magneto make them. You can guess what it's for."

                Indeed, Magneto had given Mystique a similar token once before, to keep her from being detected by telepaths, and Cerebro. Of course, that was back before Mystique betrayed him, or he betrayed her.. Who knew?

                Remy frowned as he fingered one of his cards. What was Carol doing? There was only one answer, really, because there was only one thing Rogue's powers were good for. Trask had seen that, or his bosses had, or something, and they knew what to do with her. Did Carol have the same idea? And now she had some collar from Magneto, even though he was supposed to be dead... Then Remy looked at Pietro.     "Where Magneto at now?"

                Pietro chuckled bitterly, straightening his posture. "My father contacted me before Rogue showed up. He wanted me to get out of there, but I thought, 'what could little Roguey do', right? He's not on an asteroid this time, but leave it to the old man to be original. He's running his operation off an island in the south Pacific."

                Remy sighed and shook his head, then Xavier started his questions.

                "Pietro, did Eric tell you how Rogue got a hold of one of his collars? And does he know how to track someone who is wearing one?" Xavier steepled his fingers and watched the young man carefully, not wanting to invade the privacy of his mind. As long as Pietro cooperated he wouldn't have to.

                Pietro shrugged, slowly regaining his usual arrogance.

                "I have no idea. He didn't mention this, but Rogue wouldn't have been able to get one of those collars unless Magneto gave it to her personally. He doesn't just leave them lying around, if you know what I mean. And the fact that she attacked Mystique supports that they might have partnered up." Pietro looked at the Professor, genuinely confused. "Why would Roguey do that?"

                "When Rogue was kept in Trask's laboratories she was forced to completely absorb a woman named Carol Danvers. Something has triggered Carol and awakened her, now she is in complete control of Rogue's body. She attacked Remy a few nights ago." He motioned toward Remy, "And now it seems she is trying to build up an arsenal of powers. I'd appreciate it if you would tell me how to contact your father, or if you did it for me, as I think we would have a much better chance of finding her together."

                Just like Chuck; he always wanted everyone to get along and live in peace.

                Pietro stood up, wary. He wasn't in a big rush to join the X Geeks - he'd been fighting them long enough. He couldn't risk betraying his father either, unless he wanted to be on the receiving ends of similar plots.

                "I don't think it'd be the greatest idea to just stroll up to him and ask him if he's seen Rogue. If he's protecting this Carol woman, then you don't want to give her a chance to prepare." Pietro fidgeted in place once again, not liking the position he was being put in.

                "You said that Eric called you to warn you that Rogue was coming. I believe he gave her the collar willingly, as she'd hoped, then she betrayed him and came after you and your friends. I'm sure he'd be eager to regain his collar rather than let her continue using it."

                The few students that paid attention thought this sounded like Xavier's typical logic, but the Professor wouldn't rely on that for Pietro. Rather he resorted to methods he left for his last chance, and this was that chance. He reached into Pietro's mind and made the suggestion seem like it was the only possibility, so that he would be more than willing to help them.

                Pietro thought for a moment, but found that he had nothing to think about, really. He wanted to help Rogue as much as the next, and he owed her enough to give the necessary information..

                "Fine.. It's called the Savage Lands. You didn't hear it from me."

                With that, he immediately made for the door, exiting in a blur.

                Xavier nodded and looked around at the gathered students. "Kitty, please go find Jean and Dr. McCoy, and ask them to start up the Blackbird. I'll send them coordinates when everything's ready. Logan, please assemble anyone you think would be useful. Mind, the environment in the Savage Lands is that of a rain forest, and the wild life is... unique. I'll give you a full briefing when everyone is assembled. Everyone else, go get some rest or relax otherwise. Nothing else can be done for now."