Roguehobbit – To be perfectly honest, I have no idea. I think of these matters while I write them.

Winter Fire – Forgive me for asking this but what exactly did you mean when you said "how you should the 'prank' work out." I'm having difficult deciphering your meaning. I suppose the end was mysterious but I thought it was expected. But then again I'm the one writing this.

Terminatrix T-X – You really hate Jean don't you?

Lightspeed Suzuka – So it's a staring match you want, eh? Then so be it! And I'll have you know that you shall never defeat me for I have the greatest attention span that… Oh a butterfly!

Ishandahalf – I defiantely feel loved now, especially with all the multi colored stars. Yes I am evil, just as Spiffy for confirmation about that. Yeah well I know you were itching for Rogue to show up but I needed her to not be in it. Besides that chapter was kind of a last hurrah for the trio for a while.

Evie – I understand that you want Romyness in this story and I accept that. But don't ask for it or when it will come. Trust in me. Even if my beta doesn't, but what does she know?

Thanks to spiffythefaery the best beta ever.

Something is going to happen this chapter that is going to disappoint many of you. Believe me when I say it is written out of necessity because I don't like it any more than you will. Trust me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I have now sent you several notes of the most amiable nature,

detailing how my theatre is to be run."

- O.G.

Charles Xavier let out a sigh as he deactivated the massive machine known as Cerebro. Since Rogue's disappearance the night prior he had spent countless hours in the machine, pushing his telepathy to its limits, in order to find any trace of her. His attempts had not been successful.

The door to Cerebro slid open allowing Xavier access out. Lightly pushing the control for his chair, Xavier moved out of the machine and ran into the large body of Hank.

"Any luck Charles?" Hank asked, concerned with Rogue's whereabouts. Xavier sighed as he shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. Wherever Rogue is, I can find no trace of her." Hank nodded in understanding.

"How did the training session go this morning?" Xavier asked the blue mutant. Hank shrugged lightly, his shoulders barely moving.

"Not much training actually occurred. Jean, Scott, Kitty, and Lance spent the entire time trying to kill Bobby, Kurt, and John. Logan was hard put to dissolve the quarrel."

"Oh? What did they do this time?" Hank shook his head sadly.

"Apparently they managed to take possession of several – ah – items that belonged to Jean. Items that Jean had received from Scott."

"Oh dear."

"Preciously. They were willing to give them back to Jean for an exorbitant price." Xavier sighed as he buried his face into his hands. He really didn't want to know where this was going.

"And then?"

"Jean, obviously, did not want to pay the ransom. She went to Scott with a plea to aid her in the recovery of her things. Scott in turn, turned to Kitty and Lance to assist him, realizing that they would side with him on this matter."

"I feel a 'but' coming."

"But the terrible trio had apparently expected this. They had placed a series of clues throughout the mansion, sending the search party on a wild goose chase."

"And while Scott and company ran about the mansion they attempted to get the money from Jean?" Hank nodded.

"Right in one. Jean went to them, hoping to distract them by promising them to pay in cash but that it would take her sometime to collect all the money."

"Thus giving the others more time to search."

"Indeed. This maneuver was expected as well. When they put their minds to it, those three are exceptionally intelligent and adept at reading reactions. They gave Jean a money transfer slip, only requiring a signature."

"Dear God," Xavier muttered out loud. Hank nodded in agreement with the statement.

"Exactly. Jean attempted to not pay while Scott, Lance, and Kitty were still stuck on the clues. At this point, from what I've been able to gather from the shouts, the trio took Jean into her room, where they had hidden her things, in her chandelier. A very clever spot to hide everything if I may say so.

"The search party ran into Raven, who had noticed something was going on and helped them to decipher the clues. They arrived just in time to see Jean being threatened. They attempted to help her, not believing that the boys' would go through with their threat to destroy Jean's things."

"They carried the threat out?"

"Yes. John destroyed the goods but in the process, Lance jumped him, causing the fire to go out of control. The chandelier crashed into the floor with the charred remains of Jean's things. Victor arrived at this point and went berserk. Raven managed to calm him down somewhat and sent the students to the Danger Room, where they have been trying to kill each other for the past hour."

Xavier rubbed the bridge of his nose, in an attempt to release the tension that had been building up. The three had done it again and destroyed another part of his familial home. He needed to do something about that.

"I suppose I had best see Bobby, Kurt, and John."

"I thought you might come to that conclusion. They are waiting for you in your office as we speak." Xavier nodded slowly, not looking forward to this discussion.

"I had better get this over with then."

"Do you want me to sit in?" Hank inquired as he played with a pair of glasses, rolling them across his massive fingers. Xavier nodded briskly.

"Your presence will be most appreciated. Besides you might be able to aide me in coming up with an effective punishment. Not that such a thing exists in regard to those three."

"I'm sure something will work, sooner or later."

"I'm inclined to believe that it is later. Much later."

***

            "We are in deep shit aren't we?" John asked as he looked at the empty fireplace with longing. It just seemed to be such a waste to have an empty fireplace. Unfortunately for him, Logan had confiscated all of his lighters and had thrown them into the Danger Room, which chewed the devices up.

            "Probably," Kurt replied as rummaged through several of the books lining the Professor's study. He had several well known texts; many of them were first editions. And Kurt was leafing through most of them.

            "Come on, we've done worse," Bobby said as he made ice sculptures on the large oak desk. Kurt shook his head.

            "Ve have never destroyed a chandelier before."

            "Yeah, but that wasn't our fault. If Lance didn't rush John the flame wouldn't have gotten out of control."

            "Is there a magnifying glass in here?" John abruptly asked, tearing his gaze away from the fireplace. Kurt tossed John his monocle. John cackled with delight as he caught the glass and turned his body so that it caught as much light as possible.

            "John, you need to have something to burn for that to work." John looked up, blinking.

            "Huh?" Kurt waved his hand.

            "Nevermind. Go back to vhat you vere doing."

John nodded gleefully and turned his attention back to the fire place. Kurt leaned over to Bobby and whispered in his comrade's ear.

            "Ve don't vant him to set anything on fire vhile ve are in here." Bobby nodded, although absentmindedly. His attention was focused making an ice replica of the professor.

            The door to the study opened and Professor Xavier wheeled in, followed closely by Hank. Kurt immediately dropped into his seat and Bobby deposited the ice replica on to the desk. John didn't even look up, trying to will the fireplace to burn. This only resorted in giving the pyromaniac a headache.

            Xavier maneuvered his way behind his desk and took a quick glance at the ice replicas that littered his desk. He looked up at Bobby with a frown.

            "That is not going to get you out of trouble." Bobby raised his hand in his defense.

            "I wasn't trying to get out of trouble. I just wanted to make something nice for you."

            "It won't smooth things over either. Nor soften your punishment." Bobby grimaced.

            "Crap."

            "Language Robert," Hank chided as he swept the ice from the desk and tossed them out the window. Xavier looked at the three students in front of him and noticed that John still was focused upon the fireplace.

            "John," Xavier called, getting the arsonist's attention. John sat upright in his chair and turned to face Xavier. His right hand snapped upward and pointed left.

            "He did it," John accused, his finger still pointing left. Towards the wall. Xavier sighed as he frowned at the trio.

            "You all know why you are here. Care to explain yourselves?" Bobby began to speak up, intending to explain that they were merely practicing the implementation of economic theory in everyday life, but Xavier shot him a look which told the youth that the older man did not want to hear it.

            "Ve're sorry Professor."

            "I hope so. But that doesn't mean that I can overlook this. There are several types of pranks and I can not condone ones that lead to destruction, violence, and blackmail." The three boys winced with guilt.

            "Considering that you have pulled pranks similar to this before I am left in a situation where I do not know what to do with you three. Every type of punishment I have dolled out so far has been ineffective. I am beginning to wonder if there is anything that will modify your behavior."

            "Perhaps you would care to explain why you engage in so many pranks," Hank invited, in a tone that indicated that response was not optional. The three boys exchanged glances before shrugging.

            "Ve like to laugh."

            "And we like having fun and being carefree."

            "I like fire!"

            "We are all well aware of that John. Back to matter at hand, there still remains what I am going to do with you."

            "Charles, I have an idea." Xavier turned to look at Hank.

            "Perhaps these three are so active in pulling pranks because they are too dependent on the others. Maybe they need to spend some time apart from the rest of the students."

            "What are you suggesting?"

            "An extended field trip. I could take them on a trip, just the four of us. Then they would be forced to rely upon themselves for amusement and wouldn't be dependent on the others."

            "I'm not dependent on the others. I'm dependent on fire."

            "Of course John. On this trip you would have no access to fire."

            "No access to fire? None? NOOOOOOO!"

            "What do you mean? You're taking us away from the Institute?" Bobby asked, fear filling his voice.

            "Not permanently. But for a while. A few weeks I would imagine."

            "You can't do that! Ve don't vant to go!"

            "That is true Kurt. Hank can not take you anywhere without your consent. However, you will be punished. I think Victor will be more than happy to give me ideas for your punishment if you remain."

            "I'd love to go on a trip."

            "Me too."

            "No fire!"

Hank and Xavier grinned and nodded in satisfaction.

            "It's settled then. I suggest you all go pack because we will be leaving as soon as possible."

            "I wish you all a safe and happy trip. Take good care of them Hank."

            Grumbling at this turn of events the three boys slowly rose from their seats and marched out the door, followed by Hank. He was telling the three what he had in mind for them.

            "We will visit the Smithsonian and then conduct a study of the Rocky Mountains…" Hank trailed off as he left the room, his voice temporarily overpowered by a series of groans. Xavier couldn't contain his smile. This would, at the least, get the trio out of his hair for a while.

            Logan stalked into the room, clutching a stack of envelopes in his hand.

            "Mail's here Charles," he said. He dropped the mail on the desk and leaned against the wall, waiting for the Professor to sort everything. It was tradition at the mansion. Logan would fetch the mail and Xavier would sort it before Logan would distribute it to the rest of the mansion.

            Xavier reached up and held a magazine out to Logan. The gruff teacher snatched it and began to read through it as Xavier sorted through the rest of the mail. There was a knock at the door and Remy walked in.

            "Did you find anyt'ing Professor?"

            "No Remy. I could find no trace of Rogue." Xavier looked up and flashed Remy a smile.

            "Don't worry I'm sure that we'll find her shortly."
            "Still makes no sense to me. Her scent was only in that room. There was no way for her to leave," Logan remarked as he thumbed through his biking magazine. Remy nodded sullenly and began to turn away.

            "Remy, you have some mail." He stopped and grabbed the letter that Xavier was holding up. Remy tore the envelope open and pulled out a small piece of paper. His red eyes flew across the words and he gasped as he finished.

            "Mon Dieu! You need to see this," Remy claimed as he slapped the note in front of Xavier. Xavier quickly scanned the piece of paper, shock overwhelming him as he did so. When he finished he looked up at Remy, both of them wearing identical expressions. Logan dropped his magazine and grabbed the offending paper and read the note out loud.

            "Fear not for Rogue, she is in good care. Her Angel has taken her, to help her. It would be best if you made no attempt to see her again, if you value your hide."

Logan frowned. "This is a bunch of bull."

            "Perhaps Logan. But the question is who wrote the note? And where is Rogue?"

            "I don't know. But I'm going to find out," Logan growled as he sniffed at the note. Scowling he dropped it.

            "No scent."

            "Dat possible mon ami?"

            "Apparently, but that means we've got nothing to go on." Xavier frowned as he looked back at the note.

            "It appears we are dealing with someone intelligent. Without Logan being able to get a scent and my failure to track him with Cerebro, I doubt that we will be able to find him. Or Rogue."

            "Remy don't accept dat! We need to find her!"

            "I understand your feelings Remy, but we need to look at this realistically."

            "Non! Remy don't want to look at t'ings realistically! Remy wants to find Chere!" Logan narrowed his eyes and stepped forward to grasp the Cajun.

            "Calm down Gumbo! Snapping at Charles isn't going to help!"

            "It makes Remy feel better!"

            The door swung open and Scott and Jean walked in.

            "Professor we heard shouting. What's wrong?" Scott asked as they approached the three teachers.

            "We received a note dealing with Rogue."

            "What? Is she okay?" Scott asked as Jean picked up a letter addressed to her.

            "We have no idea," Xavier replied as Jean read the letter. She finished it quickly and turned to Professor Xavier.

            "I don't find this funny. Those boys have gone too far!" she screeched as she dropped the letter on the desk. Xavier snatched up the letter and read it out loud.

            "Your time as an X-Man is drawing to a close. You shall be replaced by one with greater potential than you could ever dream of." Dark glances were exchanged by everyone in the room.

            "Logan hand me the note that was addressed to Remy." The burly Canadian did as Xavier asked. Xavier glanced between the two notes before laying them on his desk.

            "The person who wrote Remy's note also wrote Jean's."

            "You sure Charles?" Logan asked skeptically. Xavier nodded.

            "Fairly. I can't be completely sure until the handwriting is examined but it is similar."           

            "So some nut is out there with Rogue and making demands about Jean?"

            "Exactly."

            "Any chance dat dere be more letters?"

            "I suppose there is," Xavier replied as he filed through the mail. His fingers deftly flew over the envelopes, letting his eyes scan the writing until he found what he was looking for. He pulled another envelope from the stack.

            "This is addressed to Raven. I'm sure she won't mind," Xavier said as he reached for his letter opener.

            "Mind what Charles?" Raven said as she sauntered into the room.

            "We have received several notes of a mysterious nature and it appears that you have one as well."

            "Mysterious nature?" Raven asked with a raised eyebrow.

            "One dealt with Rogue and the other contained a threat against Jean."

            "Rogue? That's why I came to see you. Rogue is back."

            Silence quickly rushed into the room after Raven's statement.  Remy was the first to react and rushed over towards Raven.

            "Rogue's back? Is she ok?"

            "She is fine. Just tired. She is sleeping."

            "Where was she?" Logan asked, his voice somewhat softened.

            "She wouldn't say. She just came back and went straight to bed," Raven replied as she reached out to grab hold Remy, who was about to brush by her and walk out of the study.

            "Let her sleep Romeo. You can see her later." Remy shot Raven a look of annoyance before nodding his head. Xavier cleared his throat, drawing their attention once more.

            "We still have the matter of these mysterious letters before us. Raven, the honor is yours." She nodded and plucked the letter from Xavier's fingers. Pulling the envelope open she unfolded a lengthy note. Her yellow eyes skimmed over the words for a moment. Clearing her throat she began to read.

            "I bid you all greetings. This will be the third of a series of notes that I have sent you, all of which were sent in the most amiable nature. However do not let that nature fool you. I have requests for you and if ignored then you place yourselves in peril.

            "At this point in time you will know that your missing student, Rogue, has returned to you. She has come back because I chose that she do so, don't forget it. Now that she has returned I am anxious to see her powers and skills develop. I feel that the type of training provided will not be enough to test her, so I demand that you, Mr. Logan, push the students harder. The rewards will be worth it.

            "In addition to increasing the difficulty of the training, I feel that a major problem in the development of the students has been caused by the leadership provided for them. The current team leaders, Mr. Summers and Ms. Grey, while both gifted, do not meet the qualifications of providing good, or even adequate, leadership. Therefore their must be a change in command. Mr. Summers provides a very tactical mind and may therefore retain his position. Ms. Grey must go. I propose that her place be filled by someone possessing the talents she sorely lacks, namely Rogue.

            "While you might believe me to be a madman, asserting my will upon you, I assure you that my recommendations are meant to improve the X-Men. Make no mistake, I am not giving you an option. Rogue will become the new field leader for the X-Men.

            "You will continue training the students as usual, outside of making their training more difficult. I will continue my vigil watching over the training sessions. When the students are training in the Danger Room, Cerebro will be kept empty. There will be no arguments about this policy.

            "Should these commands be ignored a disaster beyond your imagination shall occur. Yours in fellowship, M.G.," Raven read off.

            "MG?" Remy asked, his mind quickly turning over the note that had just been read.

            "Mutant ghost," Xavier answered. Logan snorted.

            "Mutant ghost? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

            "What are we going to do?" Scott asked, his gaze focused on the paling Jean.

            "We're gonna do what we always do. I ain't taking orders from a nonexistent person."

            "This 'nonexistent person' just wrote three notes and claimed to kidnap Rogue. It sounds like he is real to me," Raven replied as she carefully folded the note. Before Logan could retort to her statement Xavier spoke up.

            "Regardless of what we may believe about the author of these notes, we must gage the legitimacy of the threat he possesses. If we ignore him he claims a disaster will befall us."

            "You can't seriously be considering listening to that madman Professor!" Jean cried out.

            "We may have no choice, petite. Remy t'inks that maybe we go along with dis." Jean turned to face Remy, her features livid.

            "You're just saying that because it helps Rogue. You're sweet on her and you want her to go as high as she can and damn anyone else in her way. How do we know that you aren't behind this?" Jean snapped.

            "You t'ink Remy kidnap Rogue so dat she take your spot on de X-Men? You dat shallow?" Remy fired back. Scott grabbed Jean's shoulders and pulled her back, preventing her from coming to blows with Remy.

            "Enough! We aren't going to listen to this madman," Logan snapped at the rest, obviously fed up with the argument.

            "I think you are right Logan. We need to proceed as we have always done and call this mysterious man on his bluff. Scott and Jean will remain team leaders and you will conduct training as you always have seen fit," Xavier said as he tapped his chin lightly.

            "Is that wise Charles? This man has already kidnapped Rogue to get our attention. Can we be sure that he won't carry through his threat?" Raven asked, her tone indicating that she disagreed with Xavier's decision.

            "If we reject his demands won't he certainly strike back?" Scott questioned.

            "We'll have to hope not. We must believe that this is a bluff and nothing more."

            "Hope? Xavier you place the wellbeing of the students on hope? Are you mad?" Raven screeched, her tone almost pleading with Xavier to reconsider.

            "Remy t'inks that we need to be careful Professor. We can't listen to this but we need to be careful, non?" Xavier nodded.

            "Of course. We will take extra precautions but we can not subject ourselves to the whim of this madman. Else who knows what he will demand next?"

            "This is a mistake Charles. And it will spell doom for us all," Raven hissed. Logan laughed.

            "What's a ghost going to do to us Raven? Scare us to death? Howl all night to keep us up?" Raven glowered at the offensive Logan.

            "You risk his wrath. I won't. We should simply listen to him. I don't wish the ill will of the ghost upon the mansion. Perhaps you do. Reject this demand then be prepared to deal with the consequences when they come, for, as I assure you, these are not idle threats."

            "That is enough Raven. My decision has been made. We don't take orders, especially not from a letter. Everything will be fine. In fact, given the trip that Bobby, Kurt, and John are going on, I dare say that things will be more peaceful around here." Raven shook her head.

            "I wish I could," she replied as she marched out.

            "Trip?" Scott asked, his eyebrow visible above his protective glasses.

            "Yes. I felt that it would be in our best interests, as well as theirs, if they got some time away from the mansion. They will return in a few weeks, around mid December." Scott and Jean looked as if someone told them that school had been cancelled for the year. Logan looked even more joyful, as if he was given a lifetime supply of alcohol. Remy gave nothing away with his face.

            "Remy going to go check on Rogue," the Cajun said and rushed out of the room. Scott, Jean, and Logan filed out after him, all three heading towards the southern girl's room. Xavier looked down at the letters on his desk and picked up the lengthy one that Raven had read.

            His eyes quickly skimmed through it once more. He paused at the threat and considered his actions. Maybe he had acted hastily. Shrugging his doubts aside Xavier dropped the note and began to wheel himself out of the study, closing the door on his way out.

            Several moments passed after Xavier left the room, but it was not empty. The entire conversation had been witnessed by another, his presence not noted by the rest. He had heard their decision. They would attempt to defy him, they were going to ignore his commands. He wouldn't stand for it, he would punish them for their insolence. Anger tickled at his throat and he let it out, his fury taking words.

            "If these demands are not met a disaster beyond your imagination will occur. You ignored them. So be it! Then it is to be war between us!"