Disclaimer: I own Chris, Khestad, and probably anyone else you don't recognize. Don't own anyone else.

Author's Note: Yes, I know, it took forever, and I'm just gonna say now, it'll probably take forever again. Probably not quite as long because school is out (finally!), but I'm still busy with everything else. (I have some problems in my life right now, so you gotta give me a break.)

Chapter 6: Escape

Rogue woke up that morning feeling not quite refreshed. Chris had been tossing and turning for quite a while after the lights-out, keeping her awake. But then again, who does sleep well on their first night?

Careful to be quiet as there was still another hour before students had to wake for the day, Rogue grabbed a towel and some clothes and padded down the hall to the bathroom to take a shower.

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When she heard the door shut, Chris opened her eyes. She had been waiting for some time, pretending that she was asleep. After quickly double-checking to make sure there was no one in the room, she slid out of bed and walked to the closet. After sorting through the clothes for a minute, she unearthed a slightly discolored piece of floorboard that she had found earlier. Digging her fingernails under the edges, she wrenched it up. Beneath the board was a cubbyhole, in which there was a black-colored denim bag. Inside that was a change of clothes, toothpaste, hairbrush, feminine items, flashlight, and black leather gloves. Already dressed in black flared jeans and a black hoodie over a fitted black t-shirt, she slipped on the gloves, shoved the floorboard back in place with her black running shoes (heels, she thought, would have fit the scene perfectly, but they were really not her thing) and tiptoed out of the room.

Once in the hallway, Chris quickly looked both ways to make sure no one was watching, the sprinted down the stairs and out the door, listening on the air for any early risers. After making sure the door was securely shut, she squeezed behind the bushes and found the emergency motorcycle that was always kept there. She make sure she still had everything she needed, then started the engine and was gone before anyone could even notice she had been there.

Only when she was well over a mile away from the mansion did she realize her mistake. She swore under her breath. This would give her less time than she had planned for. But she couldn't turn back now- Rogue would certainly be back in the room and there was bound to be other students awake.

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When Rogue re-entered the room, she immediately noticed that Chris was not in her bed. The sheets and comforter were thrown haphazardly back and one of the pillows was on the floor, like she had left in a hurry. After another quick scan of the room that told her Chris was indeed not there, she made her way to the kitchen, thinking the girl might have wanted breakfast before everyone else came down. When she entered though, it was empty except for Kurt, who was digging through the fridge.

"Good morning Kurt." He stuck his head out to see who was talking.

"Ah, Guten Morgen Rogue. Sie scheinen besorgt." Rogue just gave him a confused look. "You seem anxious," he translated.

"Oh. Well you know that new girl Chris? I'm sharing a room with her, and when I woke up this morning she was there in her bed. I went to take a shower, and when I came back, she was gone. I would have seen her if she was in the bathroom, and she's not here, so…. I don't know. It's probably nothing."

"It iz probably nothing, but ve should tell ze professor anyvay. Come here."

Rogue took a few steps toward him, he put his arms around her, and in a puff of black smoke, they were standing outside the professor's office.

"Thank you," she said. Kurt just nodded and poof! was gone. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Rogue opened the door, and there, at his desk, was Professor Xavier, and sitting across from his was Logan.

"Oh! I didn't mean to interrupt anything… I can come back later…"

"No, that's quite all right," said the professor. "What is it that you need?"

"Well, uh… Chris, the girl I'm sharing a room with, she's… not there."

"Whaddyou mean?" demanded Logan.

"Well, when I woke up this morning she was sleeping in her bed, but when I got back from my shower, she wasn't in the room, the bathroom, or the kitchen. I just thought I should tell someone."

"Thank you very much Rogue. She probably just tried to get to the kitchen for some breakfast and took a wrong turn, but I will investigate it nonetheless. Now, if you'll just follow me, we can head down to Cerebro."

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Chris drove. She drove fast, and as far as she could before she ran out of gas. When the fuel light finally did begin to blink, she was a good distance away from the mansion, and she figured that it was safe to stop. As the tank filled, she dug in her bag for her sunglasses.

'Maybe I'm just being paranoid,' she thought, 'but it's better to be safe than caught.'

When the nozzle popped out, she quickly checked the number of the pump and ran in to pay.

"Gas at number seven," she told the cashier.

"Twenty-three dollars and forty cents," he replied in a bored voice.

Chris pushed her hair behind her ear and counted out the money. After she had collected her change, she drove away, hoping that no one had seen and recognized her.

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"Gas at number seven."

Squid jerked his head up and looked over the top of the shelf. He'd recognize that voice anywhere, but he had to be sure. 'Yes, yes, it is her,' he thought. 'The girl Master Khestad experimented on. The pointy ears are a dead giveaway. What was her name? Kailee… Crystal… Christy, that was it.' He brought his sugar-filled 'food' to the cashier to ring up.

"Oooh, he'll be so happy with me! I'll follow her back to wherever she's staying, then give him the coordinates. Oh this is perfect!" He looked up to find the cashier giving him a creeped-out look.

"Dude, you need to lay off on the crack. You're kindof a little 'woohoo' in the head right now," he said while making circular motions with his forefinger.

Squid decided to play it safe and go along with the act. "Yeah, kinda gave it a little of an overdose this time." He put a huge grin on his face and hoped it would work. Evidently he was a good enough actor, because the cashier just gave him his change and sent him out of the convenience store, saying that if he was caught with another druggie he would get fired.

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"Professor?" Rogue asked timidly. She was inside Cerebro, while it was running, and she had been told not to move, but she was getting tired of just standing there.

"Yes Rogue, I agree. I think it's time for a break."

As they went back out the automatic doors to Cerebro, they found Scott, Jean, Storm, Kurt, and Logan all waiting for them.

"Did you find out anything?" asked Logan.

"Only that she's not in the mansion," Xavier replied. "If she was still here I would be able to see her telepathically, but otherwise her mind is strong enough to block me out completely. Now, this has strained my mind quite a bit, so I think I'll rest a little before I try again."

A/N: Sorry if I killed the German in there, I had to use this really crappy translator thing, and I don't even know if it worked, but w/e, I tried.

Thank you to all of you that have reviewed so far and have been patiently (or not quite so patiently) waiting for me to update again! You're all awesome! I've lost a few reviewers tho, and believe it or not, that makes me really sad! Please leave one if you read the chapter!

Lamby: ooo, thanx. Yeah, I'm a science nerd, I can't help it. Actually I'm just kindof a nerd all around. I really am extremely sorry this has taken me… months cowers, but like I said before, I've had some problems going on, and all that junk. But yeah, can I expect anything new of yours anytime soon? I hope so…

HazleSilver: nice name. I like it. Haha, you'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully anticipation doesn't kill you like it kills me. Wait…

MasterofPuppets08: well thanks. Please keep reading!