Hey guys! I'm back.  I've barely been living at home lately, so I'm sorry for this being late.  The moment you've all been waiting for is here.  I'm going to announce the finalists for the name the disclaimer contest.  My apologies to anyone who didn't make the cut.  I have three brothers and some of you suggested their names for the disclaimer (all of my brothers' names were actually suggested... and some of their middle names, too).  Some of the other names were also family members, so, I give you, in no specific order, the five finalists (they will be repeated last thing at the bottom of the chapter, so you remember them.  One vote per person, please)

Disclaimer: since I'm about to get named, can I announce them?

Tainz: Sure.

Disclaimer: Here they are... the names I could stand to live with.

                Houdini

                Caleb

                Pickadilly

                Daniel

                Nicodemus

Tainz: Now, Mr. Disclaimer (that's gonna be his last name lol), do your stuff.

Disclaimer:  Recognise it?  That's great, Tainz doesn't own it.

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                Rogue looked at the man sitting in front of her.  Remy LeBeau.  She'd barely even thought of him in years, but the memories came rushing back.

                "You will be fine, chèrie.  You got people watchin' over you."  She could hear him say it as clearly as she had that day in the bayou.

                "Too bad they're gone," she said under her breath.

                Remy blinked.  "Shoulda known dat Rogue and Emily were one person.  Dere only be one fille like you in de whole world."

                "Shut up, swamp rat.  Let's just get this over with."  She approached his position on the bed, starting to peel one glove off.

                "So, you an official good guy now?"

                "Yeah, now shut up so Ah can rhyme off the spiel Ah have ta give anyone Ah absorb."

                "Maybe if de X-Men had lasted a little longer, you all woulda been recognised as good guys."  His tone was meant to comfort her, meant to be sympathetic, but it only succeeded in infuriating her.

                "Shut up or Ah'll absorb ya completely."

                "So, you still got a little bit of de bite de Brotherhood were always talkin' about."  He smiled charmingly, appreciating her.

                "That's all in the past, swamp rat.  Right now, I have to interrogate you."

                "Dat what you call it now?  You t'ink it okay to absorb people for information like your mère wanted, if you call it "interrogatin'"?"

                Rogue sighed, determined not to let him get to her.  "When Ah touch ya, you'll feel like you're dyin' for few seconds until Ah release ya.  Don't be alarmed.  Ah won't hold on long enough ta do ya permanent damage.  If ya struggle and try ta stop me, it'll do both of us more harm than if ya just let me absorb ya peacefully.  After Ah let go, ya may pass out, or ya may merely feel dizzy or tired for a time.  Just rest quietly until ya feel better."

                "Remy already know all dat.  Remember Mardi Gras?"  He winked at her.

                Rogue rolled her eyes and reached out.  The initial shock of her powers taking over held her in thrall for a moment, then she started paying attention to his psyche flowing into her mind.  It felt just like she'd remembered, soft and gentle, but with clawed edges that tore away at her defenses.  A cat.  That was what it reminded her of.  At last, she felt the information she needed and she released her grip on his face.

                Taking deep breaths, she pushed away the parts of his mind that she didn't need.  He was also breathing heavily, trying to regain the energy he'd lost to her.

                "Chère, y'take Remy's breath away."

                She ignored him, or she at least tried to.  She couldn't stop looking appreciatively at his t-shirt, which was stretched across his beautifully muscled chest.  She shook her head, chalking it up to his attraction to her manifesting in her mind.

                "Thank you for your co-operation," she said formally, her own accent less pronounced as she tried to avoid any vestige of his accent or speech patterns from showing in her own speech.

                She went out into the hall and then into the observation room.

                "What did you find out?" Kathy immediately asked.

                "She's got the Acolytes back up and runnin'.  She's added members.  Most of the old members and the Brotherhood's there, plus a few new ones."

                "Acolytes, I know, but the Brotherhood?" Kathy repeated, unsure of the meaning.

                Rogue stared at Kathy blankly for a moment before remembering that the Brotherhood had broken up long before Kathy's time.

                "The Brotherhood of Mutants.  It was the forerunner of the Acolytes, but Magneto gave up on them to form the Acolytes instead.  It consisted of five members, Blob, Toad, Scarlet Witch, Avalanche and Quicksilver.  They weren't adept as fighters and, until the day that Scarlet Witch showed up, they never won a battle."

                "A battle with whom?"

                "The X-Men."  Rogue's tone told Kathy that the subject was closed.

                "I recognise the name Quicksilver, but none of the others."

                "Blob was Freddy Dukes.  He had a lot of fat under his skin, which made him virtually invincible.  He was also extremely strong.  He's on the new team.  Toad isn't on the new team and he won't be, either.  He's a doctor now.  Scarlet Witch is Wanda Maximoff..."

                "Wasn't that Quicksilver's last name?  He was Pietro Maximoff, right?"  Kathy knew, from long experience, that Agent Manning knew more about Magneto, Mystique and the Acolytes than anyone else.  Kathy didn't even bother asking how Rogue knew anymore.

                "They were twins.  Magneto, their father, had her placed in a mental institution when she was a small child and her powers manifested.  She had probability-alterin' powers, which were referred to as Hex-Bolts and Hex-Fields.  She could make pretty much anything happen, at anytime she wanted.  She was the only reason the Brotherhood ever beat us."

                "She was mentally unstable?"

                "Not until after she was locked away, from what Ah know.  She was just a normal little kid, but her powers were outta control.  When she managed ta escape from the institution, with Mystique's help, she set out on a single-minded quest ta kill Magneto and Pietro.  She never succeeded, because Magneto had her memories completely changed so she didn't remember what had been done ta her."

                "She's on the new team?"

                "Yeah, and we should be able ta change that by gettin' a strong telepath to put her memories back the way they were.  She might even help us."

                Rogue was quiet for a minute, thinking.  "The other one was Avalanche."  Rogue's voice cracked, remembering how Kitty had always loved Lance, even when she was mad at him for being a hood.

                "Lance Alvers.  He's on the team, too.  From Remy's memories, Lance, who can shake the earth and cause earthquakes, is there to avenge the death of an old girlfriend of his, Kitty Pryde, who died about ten years ago.  He's also the one that convinced Blob to join up."

                "Who are the new ones you don't recognise?"

                "It's a little harder ta figure that out for sure.  Remy thinks with a Cajun accent.  Ah'm pretty sure the first one's called something like Husk.  She..."  Rogue closed her eyes and her voice faltered as she suddenly recognised the young lady from Kentucky.  She'd seen the girl, much younger, in a photograph, years before.  "Her real name's Paige Guthrie.  She changes her skin to pretty much any substance.  She's tryin' ta avenge her brother's death.  Sam died the same day as Kitty Pryde.  There's also a young man named Angelo who can stretch his skin like tentacles.  His best friend's there too.  He's called...Sink?  But that doesn't make any sense to Remy.  His power is to use pretty much anyone's powers, but unlike me, he doesn't absorb it or need ta touch the person ta do it."

                "Any others?"

                "A couple that Remy doesn't have any clear memories on.  Apparently he came here ta tell us what was happenin' pretty soon after Mystique recruited him."

                "So you don't recognise anyone else?"

                Rogue scanned the faces in her mind again and started to shake her head when she thought she recognised a man about her age, with short blonde hair.  "Oh god.... Alex."

                "Who?"

                "Alex Summers.  Ah think he calls himself Havok.  He shoots force blasts from his hands.  His brother, Scott, was killed with Kitty and Sam."

                "Do you have any details?"

                "It's gonna be a widespread attack.  They aren't gonna try ta bust through security when the targets are together.  It's gonna take place over the course of five days, starting April 30.  The Vice-President will be first, targeted at her family's home in LA, courtesy of Angelo.  They don't know where the rest of them'll be, but Destiny's workin' on it."

                "The rest of them?"

                Rogue's eyes widened.  "They know the names of everyone on those files we uncovered at the Place."

                "But... The biometrics system...  Security...  How could they know?"

                "Mystique knew Ah was workin' here.  She told Remy that "Agent Manning" was informing them.  She musta been shiftin' inta me...  She knows me well enough ta fool anyone."

                Kathy hung her head.  "I'll get on the phone.  We've got to get someone after...  Who did you say was trying to find out the locations of the targets?"

                "Destiny.  Irene Adler.  She's a blind mutant who sees the future."

                "Any idea where she is?"

                Rogue thought about it for a minute or two.  "As far as Ah know, she hasn't moved...  She should still be in Caldecott."

                "All right."

                Kathy and the all but one of the other agents left to start trying to track down Destiny, while the remaining agent, Harry Carroll, stayed behind to keep an eye on her.  In addition to his pheromone mutation, he also had limited empathic abilities.

                "I don't think she understood," Harry started, obviously referring to Kathy, "but I listened to it all.  You were the X-Man that used to be in the Brotherhood, weren't you?"

                Rogue's head snapped up to look at him.  "What do ya know about that?"

                "I did my final essay for my mutant terrorism course in university on the Bayville mutants.  I know a bit about the Brotherhood, the Acolytes and the X-Men.  The members of the groups weren't all named in my resources, but I did find some history on each person.  Kitty Pryde, Sam Guthrie and Scott Summers, the three that you said were being avenged, they died with the destruction of the Xavier Institute, didn't they?"

                Rogue nodded silently.

                "So their loved ones would hate the government, wouldn't they?"

                Again, Rogue nodded.

                "Why don't you?"

                That stopped Rogue short.  "Ah...  Ah..."

                "Why are you working for us?  Are you a spy?"

                "No.  Ah had ta work in investigations.  Ah had ta find mah brother!"

                Harry nodded.  "And when you talked about Destiny and Mystique, you were broadcasting affection, among other things.  What's with that?"

                "Ah don't wanna talk about it."

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So, I was lazy last time and now have twice as many reviews to respond to.  The responses go in order of chapter 6 reviews, to chapter 7 reviews.

Shiva:  Thanks for the cookies.  And what do you think?  The Brotherhood gonna make an appearance?

RogueDragon5:  Kurt and Rogue should never be lovers.

You like Remy being there, huh?  And congratulations.  You were reviewer # 100.

Sakura Marcom:  Thank you for your suggestions.  Please don't hate me for not taking them.  I had a limit. 

Kosumi:  I'm really glad you like the painting.  I know it's kind of a sad story, and it won't necessarily have a happy ending....  That wouldn't leave room for a sequel...  Would it?

DemonRogue13:  Thanks.  The support of my reviewers is all that keeps me going.

Does this chapter come up to your standards??  I hope so.  And there might be Romy in the future, just wait and find out.

roguehobbit:  Those were some awesome names, honey.  And please don't cry.... too hard.  It might impair your vision so you can't R&R!

I'm glad you're excited.  And no, I never put a limit on the number of entries, did I?

Green Eraser:  I'm sorry I took so long.  It was just one thing after another.  You know how it is.  Great names, btw.

Storm-Pietro:  I worship you, after reading Fiery Speed, or is it Speedy Fire?  I can't remember.  Titles aren't my strong point, but it's one of my new favourites.  I'm glad you liked the portrait.  I was proud of that.

Lucky439: Sorry you passed out...  It wasn't my intention.  Glad you like.

Yumiko: You got him.

No, I couldn't tell you love Remy.  I thought you hated him!!  (j/k)

Danfred:  More good names... I got so many of them...

You can't have the hot Cajun.  I need him for my story.  I'll set up a viewing time for you, though.

Personage:  Sorry I couldn't choose Mark for the disclaimer's name.  I have two uncles and a cousin named Mark.  I really liked the idea, though.

How are you so accurate with the future??

Rogue 151:  Eric was Magneto's name, and my cousin's name.  Sorry.  Another good one, though.  I hope it doesn't make you hate this, because I didn't choose you.

I did choose Daniel, though.  And, apparently, Rogue's just calling herself Anna.  It may not be her real name.  No one's sure.

ishandahalf:  Cool beans... I love that....  Thanks!!

You want Romy... I'll seeee if we can't arrange something.  And, as for the Bunny on crack comment, how many times do I have to tell you, I'm not Pietro!  (lol)  And bunnies can be really scary.  Watch Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail.  You'll see what I mean!!!

edanielrya:  I haven't had a chance to read Broken yet, but I'm sure it's beautiful.  I can't wait to get a chance to read it.  Don't be in awe of me, please.

AkumakoRonso:  I'm not evil..... Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha!  Oops... time to head back to my "Evildoers Anonymous" meeting.  And angstiness has it's place, n'est-ce pas?

ChaosCat:  I'm so glad I wasn't near you to hear that fangirl sqeal!!  LOL  And I'm on your favourites list??  Aw, shucks....  I didn't know you loved me like that.... *blush*

Sigma1:  Like twists, hmmm...  wait till you see where this is going.....

ANKLE:  so that was your shadow....  teach me how to do that, please???

Samantha (x0x0@graffiti.net):  I'm glad you liked the bit with Kurt being scared.  I really don't want it to be "*poof*  Kurt's been rescued and life goes perfectly and happily ever after," you know?

Phoenix147:  The legendary Remy?  Yup!!!  I'm glad you're a fan!!!!

jaygurl1:  I stopped there, but not for too long.  and I want that cookie!!!

Okay, everyone, the final names are, once again, Houdini, Daniel, Nicodemus, Caleb, Pickadilly.

Vote vote vote!!!

Love always,

Tainz