FYI:

~Personal Thoughts~

~"Inner Voices"~

ESP

%The Written Word%

[Flashback]

"Normal Conversation (Duh)"

ROGUE

"Oh mah God! Betsy please, get up."

~"Freaky, that me isn't it, luv?"~

~Ah'm so sorry, please, Bets, Ah'm sorry.~

~"Cool it, luv. It's ok, it's my fault that I touched you."~

~No, it's mah fault. Ah…Ah lost control.~ Ah sensed Betsy heave a huge sigh in mah head as Ah bent over her unconscious body. ~Ah can't touch her or Ah'll hurt her even more.~ Ah stood back up in a daze as Ah tried ta figure out what ta do. "Ah'll be right back, don't go anywhere." ~Yeah right, where's she gonna go?~ Ah turned an' ran down the hall tawards Remy's room.

"Remy…ya gotta help meh. Betsy she's…"

"Wait slow down, Cherie. Y' talking t' fast." Ah took a few deep breathes as he crossed the room and put his hands on mah shoulders ta keep meh from fallin' over or somethin'.

"Ah don't have time ta explain…come on!" Ah grabbed his hand an' dragged him back down the hall.

"Hey what's all the noise?" Brian stuck his head out of his door an' watched us run past quizzically. Remy shrugged his shoulders an' Brian raced after us. Ah ran inta our room an' stood ta the side of Betsy's unconscious body. Brian raced ta her an' immediately scooped her up inta his arms. "Where's the Med Lab?"

"Downstairs…Ah'll show ya."

"Mon Dieu, what happened, Cherie?" We reached the elevator an' Ah punched the buttons in frustration as its doors slowly closed.

"Ah don't know…Ah thought Ah had it under control, an…" Mah voice trailed off as Ah looked at Betsy still lyin' unconscious in her brother's arms. He wasn't angry…yet, just scared. The doors opened an' Ah led Brian tawards the Med Lab.

"Rogue, to what do I owe this honor?" Beast smiled as Ah entered but that quickly turned ta a look of concern when Brian rushed in with Betsy. "Bring her in here. I'll have to ask you to leave." He turned his back ta Remy an' Ah as he took Brian inta a small room.

"Ah didn't mean ta do it…" Remy put a hand on mah shoulder an' Ah ducked away from him. "What the hell do ya think ya doin'? Ya want ta end up like her?"

"Cherie, I can touch y' t'ough. Y' powers don't work on me."

"But there's always that chance…like before. What if somethin' happens ta ya an' Ah can't help ya? What am Ah supposed ta do then?"

"We'll worry 'bout t'at t'en. For now let's get y' back upstairs, oui?"

"No! Ya don't get it. Ah don't have control…Ah never did. My psyches have the control an' if they decide ta stop givin' meh their powers than Ah'm stuck. An' that's what's happenin' right now."

"I can't imagine my psyche would leave y' high and dry like t'at." He went ta grab mah hand but Ah jerked away from him again as we walked back ta the elevator.

"Well, he did so now Ah can't touch again."

THE PSYCHES

"Like welcome to Club Psyches."

"Bonjour, Petite. Remy'd kiss your hand if he could."

"Um, okay. Hi."

"Great, another teenager to give me hell."

"I'll try not to, luv. Um…maybe you guys can tell me what just happened. I thought Rogue could touch."

"Marie could, until Wolvie here decided t' change de rules on her. See homme, Remy told y' she needed our powers."

"And I told you that she could get along without them."

"Boys, boys…come on cut the crap. I didn't know her name was Marie."

"Oui, she don't tell many people t'at."

"Obviously, so why won't you let her use your powers?"

"She's gotten too dependent on us, that's why kid."

"But she does need you, without your powers, especially Remy's she can't live a normal life."

"Since when did mutants get the choice? You tell me that kid."

"Most don't, but Rogue has the chance to gain control and your taking that away from her, luv."

"Yeah, well she also took away your consciousness."

"She didn't mean to and she wouldn't have if you guys would have been helping her!"

"Like calm down, there's like no need to get angry. There's like enough arguing around here with those two."

"Just because he says so, neither of you will give her your powers? Why don't you just think for yourselves?"

"Like it just seems that we should be a united front, you know?"

"Oui, one for all, and all for one. Whet'er or not we really like each ot'er."

"Well, I can just feel the love in this place."

"Y' get used t' it, Petite. Y' gonna have t' since we'll be here forever."

"I still wish you guys would help her."

GAMBIT

She was quiet, t' quiet at t'at. She was feeling frustrated and I didn't even need my powers t' tell me t'at. We'd reached her room again but I wasn't going t' just let her go wit'out one last try. "Cherie…"

"What?"

"Y' gonna be okay?"

"Uh huh, Ah just wanna be alone right now." She reached for de doorknob but I got in her way.

"I don't t'ink y' are. Y' wanna talk some more."

"Ah'm fine an' no Ah don't wanna talk anymore. Can't ya just leave meh alone? Why does everyone have ta keep treatin' meh like Ah don't even know how Ah feel." She glared daggers at me while she attempted t' open de door again.

"What makes y' t'ink y' psyches are planning mutiny?"

"Ah don't know, they just stopped talkin' ta meh an' now they won't let meh use their powers. What am Ah supposed ta think?"

"Have y' tried talking t' t'em?"

"Of course Ah have. They just won't talk back." Her eyes dropped t' de floor where she refused t' look at me.

"Maybe y' should ask de professor for some help."

"No, Ah can't do that." Her head snapped back up so t'at she was staring at me.

"Why not?"

"He'll just make them go away an' then Ah won't stand any chance at control again. Ah have ta figure out how ta work this out on mah own."

"Alright, but promise me y'll come talk t' me if y' need t'."

"Ok, Ah will. Thanks Remy." She leaned up and gave me a quick peck on de cheek before shutting de door behind her. ~Oh yeah, t'at went well--not! What are y' going t' do wit' t'at girl?~

I was lying on my bed examining de books Brian and Betsy had given me when Brian poked his head in de door. "She ok?"

"Yeah, she's still unconscious but Beast says she'll probably wake up later today."

"T'at's good news mon ami! Can we go see her?"

"Uh huh. I was just on my way to tell Rogue." I rolled off my bed and joined him in de hall.

"I'll come wit' y' t'en." We walked down de hall in silence 'til we got t' de girl's room. I lightly rapped on de door and Marie cracked it open a li'l.

"What do ya want? Ah thought Ah told ya Ah wanted ta be alone."

"Oui, y' did, but I t'ought y'd want t' know Betsy's gonna be ok. We're going t' see her now."

"Oh, wait a moment then." She slipped back int' her room and grabbed a pair of gloves off de dresser. When she came back out I noticed t'at she'd changed t' a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. I gave her a concerned look but she eit'er didn't notice or ignored it.

Once we reached de Med Lab, Beast led us back t' de room where Betsy lie asleep. De t'ree of us went in but Beast went back t' one of his lab stations were he'd been preoccupied before. Marie sat down next t' Betsy's bed but just sat t'ere as if staring straight t'rough her.

ROGUE

"I'm sorry Bets." Remy walked up behind meh an' placed a hand on mah shoulder. Ah shivered under his touch but he refused ta let meh go so Ah sighed as Ah tried talkin' ta mah psyches once more. ~Bets, can ya hear meh? Can any of ya guys?~

~"Right here, luv."~

~Oh thank God, Ah was afraid ya were mad at meh.~

~"Well, I'm not but the others here seem to be, especially Logan. What happened?"~

~Ah don't know. They just stopped talkin' ta meh. Can ya blame them, Ah've ruined their lives.~

~"Honestly, yes I can, luv. You haven't ruined anyone's lives. See I'm still breathing right before your very eyes. And Remy he's standing right there behind you. And Logan and Kitty are both going at it too, so no I don't understand why'd they would hate you."~

~Well, ya the one on the inside, can ya tell meh why they stopped lettin' meh use their powers. That scared me shitless when Ah absorbed ya since Ah thought Ah had it under control.~

~"They keep talking about how you're becoming dependent. Don't know what that means exactly, but they don't want you using their powers all the time."~

~Oh, Ah've been tryin' ta use Remy's powers non stop so they think Ah'm abusin' them or somethin'.~

~"Kind of. Logan also doesn't think it's fair that you get an easy way out of learning to use your powers."~

~Sounds like him, let meh guess, Ah sould be trainin' more, right?~

~"You got it, luv."~ Ah looked up ta see that Betsy's eyes were openin' as she started ta come out of it.

"Where am I?"

"Y' in de Med Lab, Petite."

"You okay, Sis?"

"Yeah, but what happened? I remember talking to Rogue, and everything went blank."

"Ah accidentally absorbed ya. Can ya forgive meh?"

"Of course, luv. Quite a punch you got there."

"Yeah, Ah know."

"So I bet you know all my dirty little secrets now."

"Actually, Ah don't. Ah'd have ta ask ya psyche first."

~"Cool, so I don't have to tell you anything?"~

~Watch it, Ah'll drag it all outta ya eventually.~

"Oh, so then neither of you know what happened with the professor earlier?" Remy an' Ah both shook our heads but Brian didn't look happy at all.

"Now's not the time…you should rest, Sis."

"No! I'm not going to lie to my friends, not anymore." Ah looked shocked at Betsy's outburst as she sat up in her bed an' yelled at her brother. ~Wow, where'd that come from?~

~"I can get a little peeved sometimes."~

~Just a li'l?~

"I'm an agent for an organization called Strike, it's kinda like the British form of Shield." Mah eyes must have looked as big as saucers when she spilled that. "They sent Brian and I here to find Sinister and put a stop to whatever plans he might have."

"We'll do what we can t' help, Petite."

"No, no one's doing anything right now other than letting Betsy get some rest." Brian was acting his part as the defensive older brother as Ah stood up.

"Brian, quit acting like such an idiot. If anyone should leave it's you."

"They didn't need to know about Strike, Sis."

"No, but they deserved to know." They were glaring daggers at each other each challenging the other ta make another comment.

"Well, I'm glad to see that you're awake." Beast came strolling in cutting through all the tension as he took Betsy's pulse and checked her vitals. "Well, looks like you're good to go then. Merry Christmas."

"Uh, thanks Mister McCoy."

"Please, just call me Hank or Beast." He smiled as she swung her legs around and stood up.

"Ok, thanks Beast."

"Anytime. Oh, I'm supposed to tell you kids that someone needs to go pick Kurt up at the airport tomorrow."

"Oh mah God, Ah almost forgot Kurt's comin' home tamorrow! Ah'll go get him if that's ok."

"I'm sure that'll be fine." We all left the room tagether but there was an icy silence between Betsy an' Brian.

THE PSYCHES

"There you have it, luvs. She's just confused as to why you're all ignoring her."

"She'll get over it, kid."

"She wants to work this out somehow. You know a peace treaty of sorts."

"Like that sounds good to me. Come on Mister Logan, like why can't we just work this out?"

"How many times do I have to tell you Half-Pint she'll just use us until she tires of us and either blocks us out or has us wiped from her mind. You want that?"

"Non, but Cherie could do de same t'ing because we're ignoring her."

"I don't think she'll do that at all. She seems more concerned that you guys hate her."

"See homme, she's worried 'bout poor Remy."

"You need to get your head checked, Gumbo. She's not worried, she's just acting that way."

"T'en she's putting on one hell of an act if y' ask me."

"Well, I didn't."

"Like I miss giving her fashion tips."

"I think she does too…she's been heading for the black lately."

"See! She like totally needs me!"

"Whatever, I can see this isn't going anywhere anytime soon."

"Look luv, she's already said she won't keep using your powers non stop. She feels bad that you guys think you're being abused."

"Non, Remy likes de fact t'at she's using his powers. Lets Remy get a good view of all de action."

"You really are a perv, luv."

"T'at's Remy for y'."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

How could they do that to us! Today's Evo episode left you hanging as to where Rogue went! I'm almost positive that she went to find Gambit but still that's cruel to make us wait a week. I'd like to know what happened to Pyro since they brought in Piotr to help. I mean Logan already knew where to hunt down our favorite Aussie.