Chapter 18: The X Men vs Carol Danvers

                After flying over an endless blue ocean, the Blackbird descended near an island, which stood out like a dark emerald with the dense jungle that covered it. The plane hovered a moment before touching down on the edge of one of the island's many beaches.

                The X Men, who had been briefed during the flight, cautiously alighted from the jet. Among them were Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Beast. Gambit emerged, last but not least. The Professor remained on the jet, keeping in contact with Jean.

                A huge dinosaur lumbered through the trees slowly, and stopped at a particular one to start a lunch of leaves. Huge insects and other strange things could be seen as well. Xavier hadn't been kidding when he talked about unique wildlife. Logan took point and led them through the jungle landscape, everyone dressed in safari clothing with backpacks that had emergency supplies in them.

                After nearly two hours of hiking they could make out a large building through the trees, huge windows opened to the lobby-esque area, but the building expanded far beyond that. There were a few people that walked from one door to another, but no commotion of any sort... Hopefully that meant they hadn't been spotted.

                The group stopped at their vantage point, well out of sight. They waited until nightfall before attempting to sneak into the complex. Outfitted in their X gear, they left their supplies behind and split up into groups - Wolverine led Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Remy, while Storm and Best led Cyclops and Jean. Going in opposite directions, they approached the building from two sides. Storm worked in some fog to help cloak them.

                Kitty phased them inside the building while the others gained their own access. They were supposed to meet in a supply closet on the first floor that Xavier had given them directions to. Calling it a closet was a bit of an understatement, as it was a large room that contained all sorts of boxes and crates. Apparently they wouldn't run low on food or anything for quite awhile.

                Jean unfolded a map as Xavier talked to the group. He had picked up images of Rogue from several people and had narrowed down her location to a certain part of the second floor. That was their new objective. Beast took Nightcrawler and Storm to help him attack the security system so they could create a distraction when they needed it.

                Wolverine led the rest upstairs and started to search the rooms. Shadowcat put her head through walls to check and see if Rogue was there, Wolverine sniffed about, and Cyclops and Remy stood guard. Where was she?

                Wolverine walked out of one of the rooms and returned to where Remy stood guard at the top of the hallway, sniffing every now and then. His voice was gruff and annoyed. He stood beside Remy, looking down the hall.

                "She's not in this wing. Let's move to the next area."

                As Remy nodded and moved to walk down the hall to gather the other X Men, Wolverine moved behind him, aiming a solid kick at the base of his spine.

                Remy went down hard with an 'umph' only to feel two bodies tumble over him as the real Logan made an appearance. Suddenly the lights in the building started to come on. They weren't undetected anymore. He heard a crackle as Beast came over his comm set.

                "Are we ready?"

                "Not yet," Cyclops answered as he knocked a mutant, who had emerged from his room, over the rail and down into the lobby with a 'thud' using one of his optic blasts. It would be better if things went haywire when more people were out.

                Remy regained his feet only to see two Wolverine's facing off, the others readied to take care of anyone else who came out. Remy charged a card and whipped it at a block of doors on the first floor on the opposite wall, and the walkway promptly collapsed in front of the doors, hopefully keeping whoever was inside there... A few less they had to worry about.

                The fake Wolverine paused as if in recognition, morphing Mystique-like into Rogue.

                "Logan!"

                Her eyes were green, and her voice sounded the same. Little did Wolverine realize Carol was utilizing the finer points of Mystique's impersonation abilities. Carol used his moment of hesitation to lash out in a vicious kick to his chest, sending him sprawling backwards.

                The rest of the X Men emerged from their searching and joined Remy behind Logan, prepared to fight. Rogue narrowed her eyes - blue once more - and pulled something from behind her back. It was a small knife, nothing more. It then began to glow with a familiar red energy, and she whipped it straight at them - charged with the amount of energy of a grenade. Not waiting to watch it explode, she took off down the hall.

                Remy grabbed Kitty and told her, "Phase!" And phase she did, letting both of them fall through the floor. They landed easily and Remy dragged her away as the walkway above them collapsed as well. Logan chased after Rogue and Cyclops went as well. Nightcrawler made a nice appearance when he suddenly 'bamf'ed right ahead of her, one leg extended to try and trip her. A soft rumble sounded Storm's approach as well. Hank had sent backup. More mutants had appeared now, and a gout of flame shot toward Wolverine and Cyclops as they ran. Everyone here knew the X-Men. And no one liked them.

                Rogue ran down the hall, vaulting over Nightcrawler but not stopping to fight him. She couldn't afford to face them all at once until she had the advantage. The mutants that covered her flight were by no means a formidable barrier between Rogue and her pursuers - most hadn't been extensively trained in combat situations. Magneto's muscle was usually kept out in the human world, gathering his information and doing his dirty work.

                Rogue heard thunder rumble, and it wasn't from Storm. She had to find a way out. The hallway was devoid of doors leading to the outside, but she suddenly skidded to a halt and darted into one of the rooms. A skylight in the ceiling provided barely enough light from the stars outside, at least what stars could be seen through the canopy.

                Logan slid as he turned and darted into the room as well, having to fall to all fours to keep balance, though he missed Rogue and slammed into the far wall of the room. Wolverine growled and scrambled up. Cyclops took care of disabling other mutants as Remy made his way back up to the second level. He told Kitty to go find Beast and be ready to help him through the nearest wall. Things were quickly on their way to out of control and he had to go help make sure Rogue was captured.

                Just as he was about to get through the door he was nailed by a flying chair and sent sprawling onto the floor. You didn't have to be well trained to use super strength, and there was a bulk of muscle down on the first floor. He tore up whatever he could and threw it at the X-Men, doing his best to hit them.

                Rogue whirled as Wolverine crashed into the room, readying herself as he got to his feet and screaming at him, voice tinged with panic.

                "Do you really think you can defeat me here?!"

                He charged her, and she stood her ground. The first punch to her ribs very nearly winded her, but the second barely made her flinch. With a sudden wave of strength she seized Wolverine by the wrists, spinning in a wide arc and hurling him into a stack of crates on the other side of the room. She picked up a crate near her, intending to throw it at him, before Cyclops appeared in the doorway. Not pausing, she flung it at him, faltering slightly. She vaulted up another crate and leapt at the skylight, shattering the glass with her fist, and pulling herself onto the roof.

                Remy got to his feet as Cyclops blew the crate apart with an optic blast. The Cajun jumped and easily made it to the window, where he pulled himself smoothly to the roof and ran after her. There was a rumbled as Cyclops sealed the door, and soon he and Logan were on the roof too. It was a curved surface and rather slick, but Remy seemed as sure footed as ever. He pulled a card out and charged it, then flung it toward Rogue's feet, not in an attempt to hurt her, just knock her down.

                Rogue jumped to the side as the card struck, the force propelling her tumble. She landed on one knee, an arm held out to steady herself. Now that she was actually still for a moment, it was easier for one to have a look at her. She had left the institute wearing nothing but the dress, but was now wearing a black PVC catsuit, which fit like a second skin and left nothing but her neck and hands bare. Her eyes were piercing blue, and everything in her demeanor betrayed a level of training beyond the Danger Room. Carol was a double agent in her former life, and it was her business to be accurate and deadly.

                The sky above them was clouded, and the wind picked up slightly - the calm before the storm. Even now rain drops fell now and again, tinking slightly against the metal roof. Carol smirked, watching them carefully. Time to work on a psychological level.

                "You would attack me in this body? I guarantee I won't feel a thing, it is hers yet."

                That, of course, struck a chord with Remy, and he slipped on the slick roof and fell. He only slid a short way before he managed to regain his feet but Wolverine was already past him. Perhaps he was the better man for the job; he didn't have the same qualms as Remy did. He knew what he had to do. Nightcrawler teleported to the roof near him with Storm at his side, ready to accelerate the storm that all ready approached.

                Cyclops' voice came over the comm set, "All right, Beast, hit it!" Things inside would go crazy quite quickly as every alarm and fire suppression system in the building triggered. Beast and Shadowcat would head back toward the Blackbird after that. They still had to get Rogue, though, but it wouldn't be easy.

                A dark grin curled Rogue's lips as the tempest began to pick up, the rainfall steadily increasing. She tilted her head back as the rain pelted against her body, reveling in the surge of strength. Her piercing blue gaze leveled once more at Wolverine as she sidestepped his attack, moving with a new quickness. Her agent skills as a psychological profiler locked onto Logan, and Carol began the process of cracking him.

                "I can hear her thoughts as she sleeps - she dreams of you often. Even now," she mused, pausing as if to listen to an inner voice. "Yes, she's quite upset, I can tell. Screaming. It'd be a shame if I hurt you too badly."

                A bolt of lightning struck down not too far from her, a blinding flash soon followed by the shockwave and deafening thunder. Remy shielded his eyes and tried to keep track of everything through the rain. Kurt scrambled down next to him, "Vee have to get out of here!"

                Remy shook his head and watched. "You go, I'm staying!" More lightning as Storm rose into the air, collected up by the strong winds.

                Nightcrawler frowned but teleported over to Cyclops, who had tried to get a good fix on Rogue so he could knock her down long enough to Wolverine to grab her. The rain made that a bit harder. Remy crawled slowly closer and slipped on his leather gloves. If only he had Leech here.

                Rogue jumped away, Wolverine on her heels. She exchanged a few punches, but mostly kept to her evasive maneuvers.

                "What a waste of time you've spent trying to 'protect' her. Look at her now! You can't even protect her from herself."

                *Snikt!* With a ferocious snarl, Wolverine unsheathed both claws, and before he knew what he was doing, thrust both at her chest with deadly aim. Eyes closed, he felt his claws penetrated flesh, and the sharp tang of blood overwhelmed his senses. Blinking his eyes open, he found Rogue holding bold of his fists, his claws protruding from the back of her hands.

                Rogue smirked, holding Wolverine's fists back with a small amount of effort. She leaned in to lick the blood flowing down her wrist.

                "Temper, temper."

                Suddenly Remy rushed forward. Logan wouldn't be able to do it by himself, but Cyclops still hung back. Nightcrawler saw Remy's movement and got the idea, then teleported behind Rogue, and tried to knock her on the back of the neck. Maybe if he could render her unconscious they could get that collar off.

                A few other mutants appeared at the far end of the roof, but were quickly obscured by the rain and several muffled shouts came as they were flooded off as Storm increased the rainfall in that area.

                Rogue moved with unprecedented speed, dislodging her hand and leaning back, ducking under Nightcrawler's swipe. Her free hand shot up like lightning and grabbed his bare neck, letting loose Rogue's power. Still maintaining her grip on his neck, Rogue removed her other hand from Wolverine's claws, who now regained his composure.

                He aimed another punch at her midsection, but found himself striking Nightcrawler instead - he'd been whirled around as a human shield. With a powerful kick aimed at Kurt's back, she sent both X Men backwards onto the slippery surface of the roof. Nightcrawler was unconscious.

                Rogue teleported out of sight, reappearing behind Cyclops, thrusting her bare hands on either side of his face.

                Remy looked around and spotted her by Cyclops, then quickly changed direction. He went hands-and-knees across the slippery surface toward the two as he watched Cyclops freeze at her touch. Remy pulled a card and charged it just a little, then threw it at Rogue. He hoped he would at least scare her away from him soon enough with that.

                Rogue struck Cyclops hard at the base of his skull, not having quite enough time to render him unconscious before Remy threw the card. She teleported away and back to Logan, deciding to finish him off once and for all. He came at her full force in a flurry of punches and kicks, and she allowed herself be hit, stumbling back onto the roof. Turning her head, she spit blood from her mouth and leveled her piercing glare at Wolverine.

                Then she struck. She teleported to his side, her attacks blurring from the sheer speed, dodging his pitiful attempts at a counter attack with overly exaggerated, graceful movements. She was showing off, and by this time, she'd had enough.

                Deflecting one last, weak punch, Rogue ducked and brought her leg around in a forceful roundhouse to the side of his head. She hit him square in the temple, and Wolverine dropped.

                Remy changed direction again and went for her once more, another card all ready charged and he threw that as well. He lost his footing for a moment and fell to his stomach, but still held precariously to the roof. Suddenly the rain was interspersed with hail, mostly concentrated over Rogue's current position. There wasn't much Storm could do now that wouldn't endanger her unconscious friends. She didn't want to wash them over the edge.

                Rogue stood over Wolverine's body for a moment, before she felt a pressure around her whole body. Her head snapped up and looked across the roof at Jean Grey, who'd just arrived to see half of her friends unconscious on the ground. Before she could react, Rogue felt her body lift into the air and brought to a halt, before being slammed straight into roof. This caught her off guard, and her vision swam as she slid a ways down the slanted surface on her back. She remained perfectly still, breath coming in short gasps, and she waited.

                Remy crawled slowly toward her but Jean beat him. She levitated herself quickly over to Rogue and knelt beside her on the roof. Jean reached out with bare hands and laid them on Rogue's arm, a slight frown on her face. She always was the concerned one.

                "Rogue, I know you can hear me, and I'm sorry for having to do that..." She then reached up to try and find where to unfasten the collar while Remy kept his slow pace forward.

                Within the space of a heartbeat, Rogue curled her legs up and back, striking Jean squarely in the chest with enough force to send her back into Remy. Flipping up onto her feet, Rogue didn't pause before sending an optic blast straight at her. Jean, recovering from her stumble into Remy, brought her hands up to block the blast with a telekinetic bubble. *bampf!* Rogue was at her side, aiming an elbow strike at her head instantaneously.

                Remy didn't recover quite as well but slid quickly down the roof, toward the edge, then he felt a strong winds slow and stop his movement, and even push him up a bit. He smiled up into the sky, though he couldn't see Storm, and started to scramble back upwards. This time he made sure to get out from behind Jean, however. He didn't want to get pushed back again.

                Stars danced in front of Jean's eyes as her head hit the roof, sliding back towards the edge. Satisfied, Carol turned to face her last target. She began to walk slowly towards him, taking her time as she built up her power.

                "You really shouldn't have been so inquisitive the last time we were together. Your death would have been much more pleasant, wouldn't you agree?" Her features were dark, her blue eyes cold enough to send a chill through anyone.

                Remy chuckled and pulled himself into a standing position.

                "Aww, cheri, wha's wrong? Yo' mad dat Remy rejected yo'? Shame shame. He suspect dat yo' liked him even at de compound, cheri, when yo' had yo' own body. Dose t'reats so empty, wasn' hahd fo Remy ta tell." He grinned and walked slowly to the side, wanting to keep some distance between them.

                She circled around him in turn, watching him with an even expression.

                "What chance do you think you have? I've defeated all who have challenged me, and their powers lend me more strength than I need. This is what you helped Trask to achieve, but he misjudged me. He should not have chosen someone so weak willed. I shouldn't be complaining, though. I'll use her powers to become unstoppable, and soon all this," she gestured around at the complex, the island, the world. "Will belong to me."

                She stopped suddenly, as if listening to something. "Ah yes, I can hear her now. I can hear her scream." Carol flexed Rogue's fingers, still covered in blood from the wounds in her hands. "There are advantages to borrowing another's body.. One can make them feel all the pain and remain virtually unfazed."

                Remy chuckled again. "Yo' always did have de eye fo' opportunity, dough, I t'ink dat body suits yo' much bettah. An' yo' really know how ta dress it too." He gave an appreciative whistle as he looked over her body. He turned on all his charm of course, and made no move to attack her. In fact he seemed astoundingly relaxed and unworried by the fact that his friends had just been taken out so ea

sily. "Yo' know, sweets, Remy can always be a very helpful pahtnah... in mo' ways den one."

                Carol smirked. Then there was only one thing that would get to him. She stopped moving, taking a deep breath before her eyelids fluttered, and the icy blue faded into a deep green.

                Rogue drew in a choked breath, dropping to one knee. The muscles in her legs burned from the overuse they were not used to, and breathing was painful - something felt wrong with her ribs. Expression contorted in pain, she looked down at the blood on her hands in disbelief.

                "Remy..?"

                The voice was hers, the accent, and her entire demeanor was entirely Rogue's. For the time being, Rogue was the dominant consciousness.

                Remy arched a brow and shook his head.

                "Dis Cajun ain' no foo', he know de tricks, dey ain' very complicated ones, aftah all. He sho' would like fo' yo' ta take him up on his offah. Jus' ta prove he sincere..." He pulled the deck of cards from his trench coat and threw them into the wind. "Now come on, don' try an' pull Remy's leg."

                Rogue looked up at Remy with a hurt, questioning gaze before she screamed, clutching the sides of her head. Carol took back over, and stood with a slightly annoyed expression. She started to walk straight towards him, teeth bared.

                "Don't take me for a fool. You die now!" Her icy blue eyes became tinged with red, and released an optic blast.

                Remy jumped to the side and rolled up the slope before he got to his feet, still a bit unsteady. He pulled out the telescoping pole and tossed that away too. "Remy ain' takin' nobody as no foo'. He serious, damn it. He do whatevah yo' t'ink he needs ta prove it." He moved back a few steps again, up to the peak of the roof to gain better footing. "He jus rathah yo' stop tryin' ta kill him first."

                Her lips curled in a snarl as she watched him. Was he trying to get himself killed? Her eyes followed the discarded telescoping pole until it was out of sight, then she looked back to him. It was a trick, she knew it. But curiosity killed the cat, as the saying goes, and she watched his expression as she spoke.

                "Why are you doing this?"

                He arched a brow at that. "Yo' mean dat yo' don' know? Remy t'ought yo' had mo' of his memories den dat. De only person Remy care fo' is Remy. He play nice wit' de Prafessah an' his kiddies, but he jus' gettin' free room an' food. Den he plan ta move on ta de Mo'locks, but dis seems like it provide bettah opportunities ta Remy." He grinned and shrugged. "No need ta get Remy killed ovah a room an' food, anyway. So why not do dis?"

                She considered his words, not truly believing them. Still, if he wanted to play at this game, so could she. She teleported away, reappearing no more than three paces in front of him and holding his telescoping staff. She glanced at it before extending it.

                "Then prove it," she challenged, tossing him the staff. "Attack this body." She watched him pointedly to read his expression, waiting.

                He hesitated for a moment. "Yo' gonna try an' kill Remy again?" His expression had been completely sincere, and now he just seemed hesitant for that fact. Inwardly he was slightly worried. He'd been trying to think a message for the Professor, to send a message to the Morlocks. What if he hadn't gotten it, or what if Callisto had said no? It shouldn't take this long...

                She held her hands out to her sides, palms up.

                "Don't worry, I won't attack or defend. Prove yourself, if you are so adamant about joining me."

Her gaze was calculating.. another hesitation on his part would mean his demise.

                Remy shrugged and his stance dropped slightly. Rogue would just have to forgive him. He took a small step forward and thrust the pole out toward her gut, and still he tried to get the message to the Professor. There hadn't been any sort of answer, but would he answer? He might not want to startle Remy... It had still taken far too long even this far.

                She stumbling back slightly, not wincing. Straightening, she took a step forward as she regained her breath, expecting more. Her piercing blue gaze bore into his eyes, looking through him.

                "What is it you are waiting for?"

                He sneered at that and took a sweep at her legs, and pushed still forward at the same time, as he hoped to get her with his shoulder.

                "Remy ain' waitin' fo' nuttin'! Yo' gonna see jus wha' he can do!" His eyes seemed to glow slightly now, really into the attack, but still he just wanted for the cavalry to arrive.

                Carol allowed her body to be shoved unceremoniously against the roof, pushing herself to her feet, face within inches of his, challenging him.

                "Then show me!" She practically screamed it. The farce was easy to read into, but whatever he was waiting for, it wouldn't be enough to stop her. She was merely toying with him now.

                Remy jumped back and readied for another swing... Then he felt that energy, ever present in his form, that energy that always pushed to be released into something else, disappear. He remembered that sensation, it had to be Leech. This made him grin, and he caught sight of them from the corner of his eyes.

                Callisto, the tall one-eyed leader, Leech, the green-skinned power-suppressing child, and Mikhail Rasputin, the brother of Remy's old partner Colossus who just happened to be able to open rifts in reality. He must have used the shadow reflection of this reality, he'd said every reality had one, and they were far easier to travel through. Finally they'd made it.

                "Now yo' goin' down, cheri." Remy planted his pole at the only part of the roof one could consider level and vaulted forward, one of his boots headed straight for her stomach.

                She didn't bother blocking; planning on using her ability to absorb it, channel the pain into the other entity in her borrowed mind. But the kick hit her full force, and she flinched as her head hit the ground. She felt the rain pelting against her body still, but the familiar surge of strength was gone. After fighting so long in her enhanced state, the return to normality sent her off-balance, and she felt.. weak.

                She scrambled to her feet, panic setting in, and whirled to see the green skinned child, and the absence of her mutant powers, along with those she had borrowed. Unsure of what was happening, she immediately tried to focus on her hand to hand abilities alone - it was her last line of defense.

                Her venomous glare turned on Remy once again, pushing the pain from Rogue's wounds and injuries to the back of her mind as best she could. Her attack speed was below normal, given her injured state, and there wasn't as much power behind them. She feinted a heel strike at Remy's head before turning to send a kick at his side.

                Remy easily blocked the kick with his pole, even pushed her leg up to send her off balance again, then swung as hard as he could at the collar on her neck. *Bam!* The metal shattered and slipped from her neck, circuits sparking and sputtering in the rain. The door was open for Xavier to at least render her unconscious. He caught Rogue as he body drooped and closed his pole up, then dropped it into

the large pocket he always kept it in. He lifted Rogue over his shoulder. It was over.

                "Come on, cheri, time ta go get yo' fixed up..."

                He headed for the portal as Storm flew off toward the Blackbird. Remy was there soon enough as well thanks to Mikhail's experience of negotiating realities where physics didn't always apply correctly. They parted ways there, though, and Remy thanked them all profusely. It wasn't long before the X-Men, injured comrades on board, were headed home.