There were two things in life that Remy couldn't stand:

1) Being called a 'kid'

2) And being attacked while his back was turned. Currently, it was the second issue that was pissing him off

"I ain't gonna ask you again bub, where is she?" the voice of his attacker demanded again as the scenery around him swam and dimmed. The lack of oxygen was starting to get to the Cajun and he didn't like it one bit. His left arm was pinned behind his back, crushed between his own body and that of his opponent's, leaving his precious cards out of reach. So he went with plan 'B'. Reaching his right arm back, blindly, he groped along his belt until…

SHUNK

His assailant let out a pain wracked groan and Remy felt the pressure around his neck instantly lessen, the cool blades leaving three light scratches against his skin as they fell away. He gasped for breath and whiled, yanking his 'bo' staff out of his attacker's groin and bringing it to bear by his side. His head clearing with each breath, Remy sent a silent prayer of thanks back to Henri. The staff had been one of Remy's best weapons growing up, and for his thirteenth birthday, Henri had commissioned a friend of his to construct a steel, retractable one for his foster brother. Fully collapsed, it was no bigger than a small lighter, but at the push of a button, and in Remy's hands, it lengthened into six feet of pure destruction.

Or in this case, six feet of pure, nut crunching power. Completely unaware of the secret weapon, which had been deployed and extended straight into his crotch, Remy's assailant hit his knees, accompanied by a dull SNAKT sound. It was a low blow, and the Cajun knew it, but so was jumping a man from behind, so now they were even. He whirled and swiftly pinned the angry Canadian to the ground, using the staff as a lever. Remy made a 'tisk-tisk' sound under his breath and replied,

"I don' know what you talkin' about." Then, anger welling in his voice, he added, "But you sure as hell better get outta here, boy, before Ah give you a serious ass who,"

CLICK

Remy whirled in surprise at the slight noise, realizing what it was a fraction of a second too late. 'Donna had finally responded to his knock, and was un-bolting the door. With she and Rogue inside.

""Donna, don'," he started to shout, but Remy's hairy adversary took advantage of the situation. Knocking aside the staff, the shorter man reared up and lunged at Remy's chest, propelling them both backwards into the not-yet-opened door. It popped like a cork in a champagne glass as the force to two wild men slammed into it, knocking 'Donna back against the wall right along with it.

"What da hell!" they heard her exclaim as the two flew past, bouncing onto the carpet. Remy was caught beneath the other man as they hit, now pinned himself. "Remy!" a female voice cried out, but whose was unclear.

Remy grimaced as the full weight of his opponent crashed down onto his chest, but while this man out weighed him considerably, the Cajun was far more agile. Using what little momentum they had left to his advantage, Remy kicked up and, rolling backwards, propelled the man head first into the opposite wall. Scrambling nimbly to his feet in a maneuver he'd used just days earlier on Touley, the thief retrieved his deck from his pocket and grabbed a hold of as many cards as his fist could contain, charging them as high as they'd go, and letting them fly in one smooth motion. A shower of violet explosions erupted, shaking the foundation of the tiny room and filling it with a thick smoke.

His plan backfired though, as Remy lost sight of his attacker behind the smoke-screen. He'd nailed him, he was sure of that, but was the wild man down for the count, or would he be back for more? Circling, his staff in a defensive position, Remy noted where Belladonna stood in the corner of the kitchen nook, trying to edge her way back to the bedroom, presumably where Rogue was.

'Dan dat's yer goal, Remy,' he said to himself. 'Keep dat nutter outta dat room.'

The smoke beginning to lift, Remy scanned frantically for any sign of his attacker. But he heard him before he saw him

"She's in here," a thick voice taunted from within the clouds. Remy whirled, but then the voice came from the other direction. "I can smell her. I know you have her." Opposite corner now, "I'm not leaving without her"

"Over mah dead body," Remy hissed to himself, but it must have been louder than he thought because,

"That can be arranged," the voice grunted from in reply nearby, just to Remy's right. He tightened the hold on his staff. "Now I'm gonna ask you one last time before I tear this place to the ground: where is Rogue?"

"Go ta hell!" the Cajun shot back. No way was he going to lose Rogue now, not after they'd made it this far. Not to this psycho.

SNIKT SNIKT The sound hovered about the room this time, reverberating from everywhere and anywhere all at once. But the man was still invisible behind the thick smoke; Remy couldn't see a damn thing…

"After you," the voice hissed maliciously.

…And when he finally did see the man, it was too late.

"Rrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" The invader's cry echoed about the room as he lunged from the billowing smoke.

Remy never had a prayer. He was good with his staff, but his opponent was sporting six, deadly blades, three protruding from the knuckles on each hand. His shock at learning he was facing another mutant was short lived, as the Cajun gasped and prepared for an impact he knew he wouldn't survive.. Fortunately for him, though, someone else was anticipating the invader's maneuver. The scene played out in slow motion: Remy realizing his mistake too late, Logan hurtling through the air, claws poised to kill, and Rogue, who tackled the Cajun with all the strength in her, body a fraction of a second before he would've been skewered.

No one was more surprised by what happened next than Logan himself. Even within the dim settings, the smoke shrouded walls, there was no doubt who'd saved his target's life. His nose didn't lie; the woman on the ground was Rogue, though she no longer looked the part. She and her captor skidded out of control into the corner, one stacked on top of the other, and hit the wall with a sickening THUNK Logan, his claws impaling the sheetrock of a wall as opposed to the skinny kid's heart, was quickly back on his feet, confused but ready.

The duo across the room struggled to untangle themselves, Rogue getting to her feet first…at least, it smelled like Rogue. It sure as hell didn't look like her. Her hair hung even with her chin, easily six inches shorter than before. She was dressed from head to toe in black, and more promiscuously than ever. Black mini skirt, top, leather jacket, gloves, even fishnets that faded into lace up combat boots. She looked like more like a drug addict or hooker than the lost southern belle that she was. Logan was suddenly afraid that the girls's kidnapping had taken an even worse turn. What had she been forced to do? And more importantly, why was she protecting her kidnapper? That's when Logan realized that her companion wasn't moving. He was breathing, but the fall had defiantly knocked him out. It was just the two of them now. Just like before

"Rogue?" he asked, his voice demanding an explanation of her behavior in not so many words.

"You leave Remy out of this Logan," she replied firmly, her arms held out to her sides, keeping herself between himself and the prone figure on the floor. "This is between you and me." There was a look in her eyes, not of softness and sensitivity as he expected to find, nor of fear and anger. There was just emptiness. He shuddered inside.

"Out of what?" Logan demanded, taking a step closer. Rogue flinched, and he raised his hands, palms out in front of him, in the universal sign for 'calm down'. Bad idea, he forgot his claws were still exposed. Rogue flinched again and, with an instinctually born of necessity, she did exactly what 'Donna had instructed her to do earlier: she reached down into her boot and pulled out the dagger hidden there. Brandishing it in front of her, she ordered,

"Stay back!" Logan felt as if he'd been shot…er, felt like a normal person must feel like when shot. He'd come all this way to find her, and now she was pointing a knife at him. Why? She'd been the only one to trust him, the only person he'd ever met that didn't fear him. Why now?

SNAKT SNAKT Logan drew his claws back into their housings as a peace offering, cursing himself for not remembering to do so earlier. She jumped again at the noise, moving down the wall, further away from him.

"Look kid, I know what happened that night upset you," he said calmly, remembering clearly the events that had prompted her departure. "But it's alright now. I came here to rescue you, let's go!" But she didn't budge.

"No!" she declared fiercely, in a tone Logan had never heard from her before. It was cold and tough as nails and said 'don't mess with me' plain as day. "I know why you're really here!" Logan was utterly confused now. He'd expected it would be difficult finding her, and that if she had been kidnapped or held against her will, it would be tricky getting her out, but he never expected her to not want to come. Was she still scared about the stabbing? After all, she'd laid him out pretty well afterwards, so she couldn't be that frightened of him…

"What are you talking about?" he asked sternly, voicing his inner confusion. "All I know is that I came to that night, and the next morning you were gone." The knife in Rogue's hand quivered slightly.

"And I'm sorry about that," she cried, her voice cracking with emotion. She took a deep breath, and the blade steadied. "I didn't mean to hurt you, but it was just an accident," she screeched. "I left anyways, isn't that enough?"

"Enough for what?" he demanded. She was talking herself in circles, and Logan was failing to comprehend what she had to say.

"Enough to make you people leave me alone! Enough to satisfy that…that Professor!" she yelled. "Isn't it enough? Or do you have to kill me too?" she finished, completely distraught, the knife in her hand shaking violently now. Logan dropped his hands to his side, and took another cautious step forward. Rogue sidled further along the wall, further away from him. "Was it that big of a mistake that you have to kill me now too?" There was a hysterical edge to her words now.

"Rogue," he started, but she wouldn't have any of it. She didn't want to hear him again, didn't want to risk trusting him again. Only problem was she couldn't trust herself not to. She was fighting the overwhelming emotions inside her head and her heart. 'No!' she told herself. She wouldn't fall for it all again!

"I'm sorry, but I mean it…" she said, shaking her head vehemently, fighting down that quiver in her chest.

"Rogue," Logan tried again.

"…You come near me Logan, and I will…" she continued, her voice barely above a whisper now, but she knew he could hear her. Her eyes were wild…with fear, with terror, with betrayal. No longer cold and devoid of all feelings, what he saw in them now was worse. It wasn't the real Rouge he was talking to, and Logan knew it. He had to find her again, he had to save her because, like it or not, he needed her. And he was pretty sure she needed him too.

"MARIE!" The shout echoed again and again throughout the tiny room, only magnifying the silence that followed. She took another shuddering breath, staring at him.

"…kill you!" she croaked, finishing her threat in a hollow, empty voice, so soft that even Logan had to strain to hear it. But she was real again, he knew it. The wall she built inside herself, to prepare for this meeting, had come tumbling down. She was real again, she was Rogue.

"Look at me, Marie," he ordered sternly. Her darting gaze rested lightly on his face. "C'mon kid, it's just you and me. I'm not out to hurt you…and I would never let anything happen to you," he coaxed, sensing that she was giving in. "You know that." He moved another step closer, and she didn't budge. "Were in this mess together, like it or not, and I won't leave you behind. "Besides," he gave her a coy look, "I still owe you one for, ya'know, saving my life." The knife fell from Rogue's limp hand and she clamped her eyes shut against the onslaught of tears that threatened to overcome her. She won, as only one, lonely drop traced a line through her thick makeup. Logan sighed in relief, and strode quickly across the room quickly, making short work of the distance between them. He reached out his hand for hers…

And that's when 'Donna leapt out from behind the couch and buried a steak knife into the back of Logan's neck.

Westchester, NY

Scott caught himself almost wishing it were the school week again. Jean and Storm had been gone for almost two days now and, without class to teach, he had far too much time to think. He and the Professor had debated bringing the girls home at a few different times, but had decided against it each time. Even in the Blackbird, the flight to New Orleans was almost an hour long, and the likely hood of them being able to catch up with either Logan or Rogue after a delay like that was unlikely. So they stayed, sleeping in shifts and combing the local areas, but mostly waiting for word from Scott or the Professor. But Scott was nervous, fidgety, and sick for waiting and wondering. He hated that Jean was out there…without him to watch her back. Plus the thought of her and Logan being alone in a plane together didn't exactly make him want to jump for joy.

But if there was one thing Scott was good at, it was control. And right now he was controlling his impatience as much as humanly…mutantly possible as he paced back and forth in front of the long, library window, watching the students organizing a pick-up football game on the back lawn. Charles was seated at one of the many long tables, grading the older students physics papers just to keep busy. Both leapt slightly as a small beep…beep broke through the silence of the study. Xavier looked quickly down at the sensors lining the left arm of his chair.

"I targeted Cerebro to scan for Logan's life signs specifically, and it just picked up a match," he declared triumphantly. Cerebro needed the Professor to locate any new mutant signatures, but for simple tracking purposes, Cerebro could operate on an 'auto-pilot' of sorts, especially if Logan's data was already in the memory, as it was.

The two men made for the elevator to the lower levels as quickly as possible, descending much too slowly for their liking. Finally reaching the bottom, the doors parted and each hurried off in a different direction: Xavier to Cerebro, to pinpoint Logan's, and hopefully Rogue's, exact location. And Scott to the War Room to alert the Blackbird.

Neither made it very far.

Xavier was assaulted by a massive mental onslaught just as he placed his strange metal helmet on his head; just as he mentally 'reached out' to the interfacing technology that was Cerebro. Reeling in mental anguish, he fought briefly against the enclosing darkness…and lost, tumbling out of his chair and falling into a well of blackness with no bottom.

Scott, downloading the geographical coordinates from Cerebro's CPU, hit the transmit button. A fraction of a second later he hit the floor as a small electronic capsule, hidden beneath his chair, released a specially formulated vapor into the air, knocking him completely unconscious. Just as planned; just the way Bobby Drake programmed it too.

But then again, things aren't always what they seem, are they?

Unknown-Somewhere in Louisiana

Five delicate, blue fingers wrapped into a tight fist around a strangely modified palm computer, which bore a frantically blinking red LED light on the antenna. A chuckle resonated softly into the air.

"Like shooting fish in a barrel," gloated a feminine voice, which warbled and shifted in pitch as it went. The fold down computer screen snapped shut with a soft click "It's almost too easy."

A/N: Alright peeps, another quick update! And an actual cliffie this time. Thanks for the wonderful reviews last chapter, I wasn't expecting such a bombardment of complements. BTW, I highly suggest all of you watch X1 again just as a refresher if you get the chance, especially if you're confused about the whole 'Bobby Drake' situation. Thanks for bearing with me what with the delays and everything. Now review or my muses will stomp you and Remy will explode (yeah, I know that was random and all…) Let's try for 100, eh? Please :)