I am the soul of all evil. It's the only plausible excuse for always taking forever to add a new chapter. Well, really I have been having a very hard time trying to get enough time alone to finish a chapter, because some very annoying people (no names mentioned) always come in and hover around behind me reading over my shoulder. And if there's one thing that really rubs me up the wrong way, it's being watched when I'm trying to write. But never fear, for I am here again! Now, I'm new at all this Romy stuff, so excuse my amateur status! And what's more, I'm afraid this story's end is drawing ever closer, with an aim of a ten-chapter whole. But anyway, that end is not here yet, so sit back and enjoy the show!

And with as much faith as you yourselves put in me,

Miss P

UnknownSource: I was absolutely overjoyed to see you hadn't abandoned me! Thankyou for all your encouragement and kind words, a reviewer like you is what it's all about! I really try to make it humorous, to take out some of the morbid-ness, but seem to be failing miserably. Though lots of people liked the Pyro/Rogue interaction I see. Which is good. Thanks anyway and keep reviewing-I love it!

Ishandahalf: Thankyou! I try for cuteness. I know a lot of people don't like OC's, myself included sometimes. But I'm doing my best.

Kagii: Yes it's long, indeed. Is that bad? Sorry also if it's complicated. (Locks Remy in bedroom for safekeeping, then takes metal detector around the closets before realising it's not Piotr I'm looking for. Goes back to Remy for comfort)

Disclaimer: Right. We've been through this. And it's stupid. If you're that determined to sue me, check previous chapters. :P

Cold. Dark. Quiet. Uneasy. Lonely. Impatient. Eerie. Boring. Uncomfortable.

Which of these describes your atmosphere?

'Can I choose 'all of the above'?'

Rogue couldn't understand for the life of her how her two cellmates had managed to fall asleep with their arms chained above their heads. It must be about the most comfortless sleeping position known to humankind. The manacles had already cut in so much she swore she could feel a warm trickle of something making it's way slowly down her aching arm. Then again, perhaps her senses were tired of staying on pointless alert, and had invented something to keep themselves busy. Rogue could understand why, she'd been telling herself an attack was just around the corner for hours, just to distract her from her own boredom. But it was obvious. They weren't about to be interrogated, set upon or tortured, and certainly not moved to more pleasant quarters. Too uncomfortable to sleep, too bored to stay awake; she'd stopped being wary about 5 hours ago, and was almost disappointed to realise that Magneto and his trained monkeys otherwise known as Acolytes were probably all asleep, and not giving a damn about any of them. Rogue rattled her chains, not expecting to achieve anything. She stopped quickly as she remembered the sleeping children. But now another sound reached her ears, and this time she knew she wasn't imagining it. She listened harder. It was a sort of scuffling, outside their door. Feet. So everyone wasn't asleep after all. Rogue glanced at the kids, pondering. It was a slim chance. But…what did she have to lose. Say it didn't work, and she woke Eva and her brother up for nothing. At least then she'd have someone to talk to. So she shrugged, opened her mouth, and yelled.

"Heeeeeeelllllloooooooo?"

Eva and Max both woke immediately, staring at Rogue like she'd gone crazy. She winked at them.

"Sssoooooooommmeoooooooonnne? Heeeeeee…"

The door was thrown open to reveal a tall, slim, yet muscular silhouette.

"Merde, chere, are y' tryin' t' bring th' ceilin' down around us? S'm've us are tryin' t' sleep y' know."

Rogue glared. She hadn't betted on him being the one out there.

"Yeah, like me! I don't know if you've ever tried to sleep with your hands above your head and cold metal slowly shredding them to pieces, but take it from me, it ain't exactly comfortable!"

"You're breaking my heart, ma cher. Perhaps if Remy could serve as a pillow he could make you a little more comfortable."

Rogue smiled sarcastically. "Yeah, sure. Just come here and I'll help us both to sleep."

"Oh, you a wasp hidden in the petals of a beautiful flower, cher," Remy tutted. "Remy be glad t' come closer, sure, but he is wary of your sting."

"For God's sake!" Rogue half-yelled in her exasperation. "You never quit, do you?"

Remy smiled, with fake guilt perfectly woven in.

"Non, I admit, especially not for th' belle fille. Remy go a long time 'fore he quit on her."

He smiled again. Rogue forgot what she was going to say. The corners of her own mouth twitched.

"Argh!" she growled, furious with herself. "Look, would you just unchain me so I can get some sleep?"

Remy chuckled. He eyed her, his infuriating smile lingering, before replying.

"Non. Even without orders, Remy not that stupid."

"Looks can be deceiving, apparently," Rogue muttered. "Oh yeah, what am I gonna do, I'm totally covered up! Don't give everyday creature comforts to your prisoners, I suppose?"

"Oh, chere, dat hurts! You not a…"

"So do these bloody chains!" interrupted Rogue loudly. "They're cutting through the skin! Just chain me to the floor if you must, I don't give a shit, so long as I can sleep!"

"They not there to hurt you cher," said Remy seriously. "Just a precaution."

Rogue sighed "Well that's what they're doing, if it's what they're there for or not. See for yourself."

She opened her palms in a look-it's-all-safe gesture. Remy came forward cautiously. He stopped about two metres away and peered at her.

"I don' see anything," he said stubbornly.

Rogue rolled her eyes. "My sleeves are covering it," she said, resisting the urge to add 'idiot' on the end. Eva let out a small squeak, like she was trying to stifle a giggle. Remy started, as though he'd just realised the kids were there.

"Now I don' wanna be comin' any closer, p'tite, I know what that mind and lovely body are capable of."

Rogue held back a scowl with great effort. "Don't then," she said, turning away and wincing as she did so. She could almost feel him hesitating. What she did feel a moment later was a gentle tugging of her sleeve.

"Well, if y' want me that much chere, I don' like seein' you in discomfort."

Rogue noted his gloves as he pulled her sleeve up to inspect her wrist. Her eyes moved up his muscular arm to the sleeve of his t-shirt. It'd been a long time since anyone had been this close to her.

"Jus' a little raw is all. No blood; you fine. Remy takin' good care of you, non?"

Rogue smirked up at Remy's cocky grin."I don't think he knows how much."

Her green eyes met his red-on-black ones, neither pair blinking. But, surprisingly enough, Remy was the first to break eye contact. His eyes rolled right back, in fact, eyelids fluttering out of control. Rogue dropped her exposed arm to her side as he collapsed to the floor.

"But first he's gotta learn to take care of himself," she said grimly. She turned her head to see Eva and Max staring at her. She averted her eyes angrily. It was always the same, kids, teens, adults; she was always met with the same shock, the same fear, when someone saw her power for the first time. She'd experienced the feelings herself. She let out her breath in a throaty kind of growl.

She pressed her hands against the manacles and concentrated. Within seconds the whole chain had exploded and she was up, rubbing her wrists. There was a gasp.

"How did you do that?" Eva asked, wide-eyed. She didn't seem to be able to decide whether she was frightened or fascinated.

"I told you before that my power was useless unless I could touch another mutant. Cos touching is my power. If I touch people, their energy and memories, and some things they can do becomes mine. If I touch another mutant, I can use their power for a little while."

Eva's eyes got, if possible, even wider.

"Does it hurt?" she said breathlessly.

"I don't know. Not for me. They get knocked out because I take their energy; I don't know if it hurts."

Rogue felt slightly guilty as she said this. She'd never thought of that before. She quickly went over to Eva and charged her chains. She let go and proceeded to Max as they exploded. She reached out for his handcuffs, and was horrified as he cringed away.

"It's ok," she said softly. "I promise I won't touch you."

"Will the 'splosion hurt me?" he asked, in an even quieter voice. Rogue shook her head and charged his left manacle. He jumped when it blew, but let her do the next one without a word. Both on their feet, Rogue ushered them into a corner and made them stand in silence. She crept to the door and tried the handle. It was unlocked. She opened it the tiniest crack and squinted out, checking and double-checking that all was clear. She waved at the young Spaniards, and they hurried over.

"Do you know what we're about to do?" she asked them.

"What?"

"We're going to try and escape from here. We can't be seen, cos if they catch us trying to get out they'll be very angry. You have to be as quiet as you can; don't speak unless I say. If you see someone, tap me, but be careful not to touch my skin. Ok?"

"Yes."

Rogue studied them. Eva had a sort of determined, serious smile on her face, and grabbed her brother's hand. Max stuck out his chin and nodded once.

"Ok," Rogue said. "Here we go."

She checked the corridor once more for any movement. She opened the door as little as she could and still get out, and squeezed through. She motioned for Eva and Max to follow, and they both turned sideways and slipped past easily.

Rogue pressed herself against the wall for no real reason and edged towards the corner, Eva and Max so close behind she could hear them breathing. Her every nerve was tensed for danger, and on more than one occasion she swung around to find nothing there at all. Eva kept opening her mouth as if to ask a question, but never spoke a word. Max barely made his existence noticeable; even his footfalls were quiet.

There was no sign of life; everywhere they went they were faced with nothing but the cold unfriendliness of metal. Rogue was beginning to realise that the unremarkable surroundings and maze-like structure of the place were serving the purpose they were undoubtedly designed for. Without even the benefit of seeing the way in, the way out would not be easy to come by.

Rogue stopped in her tracks and held out an arm to stop the children. She looked from one end of the corridor to the other. It seemed empty. Surely she hadn't imagined it? She listened harder. There was no sound now. Wait. There. She bent down.

"Did you hear that?" she breathed in Eva's ear. The little girl shook her head curiously. Maximo was watching them both with patience uncanny to a boy of his age.

Ok, so she was hearing things now? She could've sworn…there. A low sort of rumble; a growl? She glanced at Eva. Perhaps she was a metamorphagus, like Rha…

Suddenly Rogue was hit with a force that felt like a bull behind a battering ram, and she was knocked off her feet. She rolled over and leapt up immediately, too shocked to be hurt at all. She looked frantically around for the kids. They were standing some metres away and looked unhurt. Rogue would've been relieved, except at that moment something heavy swiped across the small of her back. She whirled around to face her attacker, and let out a cry of surprise. The all too familiar coarse features and long sandy hair of Sabertooth met her eyes. His own eyes were wild with fury and his mouth was twisted in a snarl. He looked so crazed it was almost laughable, apart from the blind hatred that carried his every move. He launched himself at her, and she easily moved aside. It was like fighting a drunk person. Only his strength was on his side. She darted towards the kids but he grabbed her ankle; she tripped and fell flat on her face. He was on her again in a matter of seconds; he took hold of her shoulders and flipped her onto her back, pinning her down. He shoved his hands in her face.

"Gloves this time," he whispered viciously. Rogue caught a fleeting glance at them; they exposed only the tip of his fingers, and the full length of his claw-like nails.

'All the better to tear you to shreds, my dear,' Rogue thought, cynical even at a time like this. She glared up at him, and he grinned maniacally back before lunging for her throat. Rogue caught his wrists pointlessly; he was too strong to hold off. She gasped for air, letting out a gurgly sort of grunt. It grew, into a growl, then got louder and louder, and she roared as loud as she could in the surprised man's face. Her right hand collided with his jawline, and as he eased off the smallest amount, she shifted her leg out from under his and jerked it upwards. She wondered briefly how many times she'd be able to use that move before he learnt his lesson, then, using his shoulders as leverage, was able to roll him off her, and herself out of reach. He slashed aimlessly through the air. Rogue ducked, scrambled across the metal floor and to her feet. He dived forward, and missed her by a mile. He skidded along on his front. Rogue darted forward, and jabbed her thumb into the nerve cluster at the back of his neck. She stepped away tentatively. He didn't get up. Rogue let out a breath she hadn't been aware of holding and raised her eyes to the kids. They both looked a little shaken, but showed no physical harm.

'Just me then,' Rogue thought with a roll of her eyes. She waved a hand and the children hurried over to her.

"Are you ok?" cried Eva shrilly.

Rogue nodded. "I'm ok, but we've got to get away from here, fast, in case someone heard us. That's quite likely, so we better get moving."

She felt her throat gingerly. He hadn't broken the skin, at least. She started forward, in no particular direction. But then she suddenly heard rapid, urgent-sounding Spanish from behind her, and a high pitched scream; before an elephant hit her over the head with a cricket bat and she lost consciousness.

She ran. She ran and ran, willing her legs to go faster. It occurred to her that track was never a skill they were trained for. Probably the most important thing they would ever learn, and the easiest lifesaver they could ever use, and they were expected to be fit enough to do it on a regular basis. She kept running. Her chest was hurting, her legs were numb, she couldn't go any faster but it would soon catch up. She rounded the corner and smacked straight into Kitty. The girl made a small noise of surprise. Then she collapsed.

"Kitty!" Rogue cried. She shook her friend's shoulders desperately. She was out. At that moment Kurt teleported next to the two girls.

"Keety?"

He turned to Rogue fiercely. "Vat did you do to her?"

"I just bumped into her!" Rogue defended, alarmed at his hostility. She was shocked to see tears in his eyes.

"No, Keety, no…" he sobbed.

"What's wrong Kurt?" she asked urgently.

"She's dead! You killed her!" he shrieked suddenly, and pounced towards her. She jumped away and faced him again.

"Kurt, what's going on?"

He didn't reply. He was face down on the floor, not moving. She gasped.

"Rogue? What happened?"

She felt a hand grab her wrist. She turned, snatching it away, but Scott had already fallen. She stood, looking with terrified eyes at the bodies surrounding her. They seemed to go on forever, and she was standing right in the center, the only one moving. She clutched her head, thousands of psyches yelling at her, accusing her. She looked up at the sky; and screamed…

Rogue jolted awake. Tears mingled with the cold sweat on her face, and she was shaking. She made to wrap her arms around her knees, but something prevented her. She looked at her feet. Chains bound them now, and handcuffs were replaced around her wrists. However, they were now merged to the floor as opposed to the wall. She rolled her eyes. Recovering slightly from her nightmare, she raised her head to check on the children. What she saw in their place was a large, badly bruised, yet undeniably familiar man.

"Hey," Rogue called. "Aren't you an Acolyte?"

He, too, lifted his head, and studied her for a moment before answering.

"Yes. My name is Piotr, but you probably know me as Colossus. And you are, Rogue, yes?"

"Yeah. So uh, what exactly are you doing in here? And what happened to you anyway?"

The huge man bowed his head.

"It is easy," he sighed, "to be punished under a master of metal, when your body is a prisoner of the substance."

Rogue was momentarily taken aback.

"Magneto did this? Why?"

"I did not adequately attend to my duties," Piotr replied after a pause.

"Oh come on!" exclaimed Rogue, unable to let that pass. "You can't be serious! What'd you do wrong? Overcook his bacon?"

Piotr shook his head solemnly. "My particular responsibility is not one to be taken lightly. It is crucial that I am prepared to devote myself to it, for the consequences of neglection are unthinkable."

"So what is this vital, essential, paramount job that you've been saddled with? And if it's so important, why are they wasting time punishing you when you could be carrying on with it?"

The Russian sighed resignedly. "Because Victor Creed can be restrained for a short time without my supervision. And Magneto feels he needs to...press upon me the importance of what I'm doing."

Rogue narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Sabertooth? So locking up your own team members a new battle scheme is it?"

Piotr gave her a weird, regretful smile, almost sympathetic.

"You saw it yourself. He's not in his right mind. We don't know what's happened, but he has become fixated with causing the death of Wolverine. Perhaps their ongoing, pointless rivalry has driven him to madness, we are unsure. But he somehow knows, knows that Wolverine feels something different for you than he feels for the other students. Magneto was wary of Victor setting out to attack, so I was told to keep a constant watch. But I have already let my concentration slide, at the forest, where we battled you. He escaped, but he didn't seek out Wolverine, as we'd expected. He went for you. And the second time around, we knew it wasn't a mis-calculation, or a fluke. Magneto understands that Wolverine feels a certain fatherly affection for you. He believes that Victor, possibly sensing this, has sought to kill you instead, because you are an easier target. Magneto can't afford any conflict with Xavier now, and if Victor attacks Wolverine, or yourself, conflict is inevitable. We hold you here to prevent Victor setting out to kill you. I am the only one who can actively restrain him, so I must be on constant hand if there is ever the need."

"Woah. Ok, so woah, wait a second. Ol' Sabes is after my blood, cos Logan's over-protective. Bucket-Head doesn't want his hidey-hole discovered, so I'm brought in to keep Sabes indoors. You and your metal suit are able to hold Sabes back at full throttle, so that means you're on rabid-kitty babysitting 24/7? And Mr Power Trip beat you to a pulp, cos what, you wanted a shower? Or was it a nap?"

"It is imperative, now that you are here, that I keep Victor under control at all times. He wants to kill you; he knows it will either lure Wolverine or cause him grief enough to guarantee him an easy defeat. Magneto cannot afford to be at the wrong end of two X-men killings right now."

Rogue managed a scowl.

"Thanks for your concern."

"Piotr."

Man and magnolia turned their heads. One smiled. One did not.

"Remy," greeted Piotr with a nod. "Good news?"

"Oui, homme. Remy comes with a key, which could be good news, non?"

Piotr smiled. "Thank you comrade. I have served my punishment, then, I assume?"

"Well Remy not in the habit of going against his lordship's wishes," Remy grinned back. "Bad for the health."

He unlocked Piotr's handcuffs and headed for the door. Piotr turned to Rogue.

"I wish you luck. And hope you come out of this with less bruises than I."

Rogue smiled a small, sarcastic smile in response. Remy opened the door for Piotr, but didn't follow him out.

"Oh chere. Why must you continue to push yourself into harm's way?"

Rogue looked at him. He was still facing the door.

"Because. I don't really favour the whole locked-in-a-room-at-a-madman's-mercy kinda thing too much."

"You not in any danger while you in this room chere. If we wanted to hurt you, we could've done it a long time ago, and we wouldn't need to bring you here to do it, either. For your own sake cher. Don' try an' escape. No one with access to this room has any intention of hurtin' you."

"Look," said Rogue firmly. "I'm not one to wait around for my fate to be decided. If there's something I can do, I'll do it. If you were hoping for the swooning, helpless damsel in distress, you picked the wrong girl."

"Over the past few weeks, Remy been seeing a lot of you. And none of it seems wrong to him so far."

He opened the door again. He was halfway out before he turned to face her.

"Please chere. Listen to Remy. We not holding you here forever, but once you're out, there's only so much we can do."

"No luck?"

Kitty shook her head sadly. Jean sighed.

"It's not like I didn't try, but it's not as easy as it may sound. I'm going to have a headache for days."

Kurt glared at her. "Ooh, a headache, you poor thing. We wouldn't want you to worry yourself, so you just sit back and relax, while Rogue's probably going through a lot worse than a headache right now."

Both girls stared at the elf, shocked to hear such harsh sarcasm coming from his playful, joking mouth. Jean recovered quickly and drew herself up indignantly.

"Hey there's no need to go blaming things on me, I didn't see you doing anything to help. We've been searching for days, everyone's tired and disappointed, but you didn't have any right to take it out on me."

"Hey, it is his sister you know," Kitty jumped in on Kurt's behalf. "And we're scared for her. You didn't see it. You don't have any idea, we're a lot more than disappointed. You don't even care about her."

"God, what's your problem? I didn't do anything, Rogue is my teammate too, of course I'm worried about her! How dare you say things like that to me?"

"She's only a teammate to you. You care more about yourself than any of your 'teammates'. She's our friend, and you treat her like crap, so excuse us for having the guts that no one else has to put you in your place. Which is very far from the throne you seem to think you belong in."

Logan came curiously around the corner to see what all the arguing was about. He thought he heard Fuzzy's voice abusing the crap out of someone, but that was ridiculous…

"Well, I have never met a more ungrateful pair than the two of you! Here I am, trying my hardest to find Rogue, when if anyone, she's the one to treat me like crap. It's hard to fail, especially when it's one of our own, but having you two accuse me of not caring about anyone but myself, well. That's really getting low there."

Logan watched Jean storm off with stunned eyes. Kurt had a very ugly expression on his face, and the half-pint was standing next to him with her arms folded. He considered going over to them, but thought better of it. The kids looked like they just really needed some time. He headed instead for Charles' office. He wanted to know what their next move was, waiting around here was getting him very agitated. As he passed the kitchen, he heard loud voices, and drew closer to listen properly.

"This is stupid, we are wasting time that we don't have, and neither does Rogue. We don't need to come back here, we can easily take sleeping shifts, and have food on the jets. I say we get back in the air and…"

"Scott, you must think logically. No one is feeling their best now, and the last thing we want to do is give up, but searching without sleep and nourishment will only make everyone cross and dejected. We will set out again, we have no intention of leaving Rogue to her own devices. But we have to use our heads and not be searching mindlessly day after day. It will bring no results."

"And hanging around here at our leisure will? If we expect to find her, we have to look. And time is running out. Who knows what Magneto's plans are?"

Logan edged away, not really in the mood to stay and listen to the teenager and the weather witch battle it out. But he had to admit, she had a point. With the number of arguments he'd witnessed already, searching for days without any proper food or drink wasn't doing any good, and no progress was being made. But the boy was right too. Sitting around on their butts wasn't helping Rogue. And helping Rogue was exactly what he intended to do. He continued up the stairs and along to the professor's office. It was an unwritten rule that no one was allowed in there unaccompanied, especially without knocking. But Logan was not in the habit of following rules.

"Charles?"

An old man turned around from his desk to face the newcomer.

"Logan. You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Charles, I wanted to know what our next 'plan of action' is. Seeing as the first one all but bit us in the behind."

"Ah, I was hoping you were coming to me with a suggestion or idea, Logan. Because I have been trying to answer your question myself for the last few hours, and have not yet found an answer."

Logan took an involuntary step backwards and narrowed his eyes. "Are you saying you don't know how to find her?"

Professor Xavier shut his eyes. "I am running out of ideas where to look."

"So what are we supposed to do? Wait until Magneto decides to either let her go or kill her? Wait until she's forced to use her power to protect herself? Leave her to take care of her own wellbeing?"

"I do not know. I am sorry, no one is more concerned for her safety than I. But I don't have any more options, I know not what more to do."

"Well that's it. We can't even find a member of our own team, can we? This war's sure going to be interesting."

He turned and strode to the door.

"Logan where are you going?"

He turned angrily to look at his friend. "You may be willing to give up in the light of a few difficulties, but I'm not going to sit around feeling pathetic. You do what you feel is enough, and I will too."

He left. Charles Xavier watched him go, and made no attempt to stop him. He wanted to find the girl, he cared for her. In a way, Xavier was happy for him, that he'd found someone that mattered even a small amount to him. He just hoped it wouldn't end in tears. He went over to the window in his wheelchair, and watched the motorcycle drive through the gates.

For a Rogue-centered chapter, I'm very unhappy with it. Oh, the dreaded action scenes! I haven't seen Piotr written very much, so he's very experimental here. Again, any tips would be welcomed with open arms. Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to read my humble fic!