Disclaimer: X-Men and X-Men the Movie do not belong to me. They belong to Marvel and 20th Century Fox; I am making no profit off this fic.

Author's Note: Yes, I know I haven't updated in a long time. For those of you who have bothered to keep reading it, I apologize and I thank you for bearing with me. I state this day, and please remind me if I don't, that I promise to update at least every two to three weeks, provided I don't have a lot of homework.

PS This is going to be a really looooong movie.

PPS: Please excuse my awful attempt at a Cajun accent.

Chapter Five

Rogue shifted in her bed, but didn't open her eyes. Remy held her gloved hand; feeling disappointed that she wasn't awake, but relieved that she was safe. Upon returning to the mansion, while she was still unconscious, Professor Xavier reached into her mind, searching for Ms. Marvel. With his powers, he was able to trap her in Rogue's mind until she could return to her own body, if ever. The body, meanwhile, was lying in a hospital bed in Manhattan on life support, put there anonymously by Jean and Logan. The doctors were simply baffled by her condition, and if the X-Men had their way, they would never know the truth. Rogue would be put away for sure if they did. Now Rogue was safe at home, but with little change. Physically, she was all right. But the mental trauma that was caused by fighting Ms. Marvel could have lasting effects.

Remy reached over and moved the gray lock of hair out of her face, careful not to touch her bare skin. Her eyelids blinked and he nearly jumped in surprise. They blinked a second time, adjusting to the light before opening fully. Rogue was awake.

* * * * * *

Screech! Professor Xavier's wheelchair squeaked as he rolled back and forth, from one side of his office to the other, over and over again. Beast, Logan and Jean sat in chairs in front of his desk, eyes darting from left to right, never leaving him, like people watching a tennis game. Logan suppressed the urge to tear the professor to shreds. He was making him dizzy.

Finally, the door opened and Cyclops and Storm came in, dressed in their street clothes and looking depressed.

Professor Xavier sighed. "I take it things didn't go very well." He didn't need to be a psychic to figure that one out.

Cyclops folded his arms across his chest and frowned. "Magneto's still trapped in his plastic prison. If he knows anything, he isn't telling. But I don't think so." He walked over to sit next to Jean, who took his hand and patted it reassuringly.

Logan growled, both from frustration and the gesture. "Well, if it's not Magneto, who is it? And why?"
They all looked at each other and shrugged. "We'll have to wait," said the professor, "and see what their next move is. I have a feeling we'll find out soon enough."

* * * * * *

Rogue groaned and pushed herself up into a sitting position. She looked at Remy, who was standing over her with a smile on his face. Instinctively, she pulled the covers closer to her.

"Remy, what are you doing here?" she asked, confused.

His smile widened. "Waiting for you to wake up, Sleeping Beauty," he joked. "How ya feeling, chere?"

Rogue rubbed her forehead. "Okay, I guess. What time is it?"

He glanced at her alarm clock. "It's 1:32."

"Oh." She pulled back the covers, realizing she was fully clothed, and started to climb out of bed. He pushed her back gently.

"Classes have been canceled for the day. You stay here and rest."

"Oh, okay," she said. Secretly, she was a little disappointed that he hadn't skipped for her. She sighed to herself and sank back on her pillows. Glug. Rogue blushed and put her hand to her grumbling stomach. Remy snapped his fingers, causing a small spark. She nearly jumped. He smacked himself on the forehead.

"Damn, Ah almost forgot. You're probably starving. Ah'll go get you something to eat. Be right back." He sprinted towards the door, knocking into her backpack as he did, causing it to fall on the floor.

Rogue laid down, feeling slightly dizzy, but more or less in control of her mind. Still, a funny feeling lingered that told her Ms. Marvel wasn't totally gone. She would have to remember to ask Remy what they'd done to her, both mind and body. Mentally, she scolded herself. Who knows what condition that woman is in, and you're complaining about a little dizziness?

She heard soft footsteps coming down the hall. The smell of Campbell's chicken noodle soup wafted through the door even before he came in. Rogue's stomach growled. It wasn't her first choice of an entrée, but she would eat anything just then.

Remy carefully balanced the tray on one hand and pushed the door open with the other. He walked towards her, not paying any attention to where he was going. Before she could warn him, he stepped and slid on fat, heavy textbook titled Early American History. The tray tipped forward, causing the steaming hot soup to fall right at Rogue. Automatically, she jumped out of the way to avoid it. But instead of landing on her bed or the wall to wall carpet, she hovered there in midair. Remy gasped. Curious to see what alarmed him, she looked down, only to see the floor about seven feet under her gaze.

"What da…" he began.

Rogue's stomach turned from the altitude, but she managed to reply calmly, "It's part of my powers. I not only absorb the mind of a person, but their physical strength and mutant powers as well."

"Oh." He backed away slightly. Rogue's spirits sank at his fear. So much for our friendship, she thought.

"Well?" he asked. "Are you going to come down now?"

"Huh? Oh right," she said dumbly. She frowned. Down didn't seem all that likely. Rogue sighed loudly. "Well, I can't exactly wait for Ms. Marvel's powers to go back to her. Is there a ladder somewhere around here?"

"Ah doubt it," he replied. "Maybe Ah should get Beast."

Rogue shook her head furiously. "No, I'll figure it out myself." She wasn't exactly in the mood to explain to her teacher why she was hanging in the air, even if it was a mutant school. Rumor traveled quickly in the Xavier Institute and everyone would know within the hour. She was sick of being the topic of strange discussions.

She thought back carefully. When I got up here, it's because I wanted to jump out of the way. Maybe it's all will power. She listened, half-expecting Ms. Marvel to give her an answer. Here goes nothing. She concentrated hard, willing herself down. She leaned to the left, then straightened out. Then to the right. Slowly, like a leaf falling off a tree in autumn, she drifted back to the ground.

Remy applauded. "Cool. Ah've always wanted to fly, chere."
Rogue grinned. It was pretty cool. Ms. Marvel must have had a field day with these powers, she thought. Her grin faded.

"What's wrong, chere?" Remy inquired.

Rogue sighed. "Who knows how long this will last? It could only be for a few weeks or something. Or maybe it can last forever. But still, they're not mine. They're hers. I'm just a thief."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Remy held up a hand. "Don' go insulting thieves. We don' like dat," he added with a smirk.

Rogue didn't hear him, or maybe she just didn't want to. Her face turned red with anger and shame. "I'm no better than Mystique or Magneto. I'm like a vampire, praying off of others. No one wants me around." She screamed with frustration. In a sudden burst of rage, she lifted up her double bed high in the air, herself along with it. Letting go, she let it slam to the floor with a thud. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Remy approached her cautiously and put his arm around her shoulder. She buried her head in his chest. "We do want you around, chere. You're an X-Man. We need you. Heck, you're one of the few students dat even has an X-Man name. Ah gotta come up wit one of those." He paused, stroking an imaginary beard. "Like Wild Card, or Ace of Spades, sumthin like dat."

Rogue giggled. He patted her back. "You're not alone anymore. Neither of us are."

She wiped her eyes. "You, alone? I can't imagine that."

"It's true," he said seriously. "Look into my eyes." Rogue did so.

"Very nice," she said, blushing. "Interesting color. I've never seen anything like it before."

He nodded grimly. "Not many people have. Dat's why Ah had to live out on de streets, stealing whatever Ah could get mah hands on. Or doin' worse than stealin'. Da things Ah did…" He winced at the thought. "Anyway, if Professor X hadn't found me, Ah'd still be doin' dat. An' where would you be, if he hadn't found you?"

Rogue shrugged. "You do have a point. And maybe I'm not totally useless, at least for the time being."
His eyes twinkled. "There's only one way to find out."

* * * * * *

Rogue stared blankly at the control panel beneath her, her hands poised over the keys.

"Go on, chere," Remy urged. "You know how to work dis, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I do it all the time for everyone else. I've just… I've never done it for me before," she explained apologetically.

"There's a first time for everything," he said, grinning. "It's okay to be nervous. Come on, you know you want to."

"Um, okay." She ran her fingers over it and stopped at the enter button. Wincing, as if it hurt her to touch it, she pressed it.

"Beginning simulation," a computerized voice stated.

Rogue gulped. "I guess it's now or never."

Remy took her gloved hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Let's go chere." He pushed open the door and led her down a flight of steep steel steps.

Rogue looked around the empty room numbly. Okay, just a room, just an ordinary room. An ordinary, dangerous room.

"Rogue, look out!" Remy shouted. She looked up just in time, to see a laser gun on the wall turn. It was aiming right at her.

* * * * * *

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Logan grumbled. He glared at Cyclops.

"We can't do anything until we find out who's responsible," he replied calmly.

"Well, then we should be looking for them, instead of sitting on our asses," he shot back.

"Please, calm yourself, Logan. It really isn't helping anybody." Beast put his hand on Logan's shoulder, who shrugged it off.

"I understand you're worried, Logan, but I really think we should wait for their next move. In the meantime, I'll try to find out what I can with Cerebro, but you all should get some rest. If what I'm thinking is true, you're all going to need it."

"But, professor…" Storm began.

"Oh, whatever. I'm going to go see Rogue." Logan stormed out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

"And to think, I actually missed this place. Damn people are making me crazy." He sighed and headed down the hall, muttering to himself.

"Ah!" He heard the scream the wall. A few feet ahead of him, he saw the door with a sign hung on it that said "Danger Room."

"No one's supposed to be in there right now," he wondered aloud. He sniffed the air carefully. "Rogue!"