Disclaimer: If I owned X-Men in any way I would definitely be living somewhere in the UK, not this sorry excuse for a town in WV.

A/N: Umm…:hides:…it's been a while, huh? Well, I have excuses galore so prepare yourself. 1. Lack of sleep. 2. School is killing me. 3. Can't remember my plot. (I know I said I was back on track last chapter, but I lied. Because I forgot…again.) 4. Very unmotivated. 5. I hate this story with a passion now. (Which is sad, because I liked my original plot. But it seemed to disappear along with what sanity I had left.) So once again, I apologize for these last few chapters. Well, it's gonna be more than a few…Whatever, you know what I mean.

Sugarhighnutjob - Thanks for the review! Hmm, where to start…let's see…1. You're welcome! 2. Yep! 3. Glad I didn't keep ya waiting too long. 4. Thanks! Lol. And I'm glad you thought it was funny! 5. Yeah, I don't really know. It sort of became Rogue-centered somewhere along the line. But I'm happy that you'll still read it! 6. And, I think I've figured out my plot…I'm kind of mixed up at the moment. I blame it on lack of sleep.

Starrydreamz - Thanks for the review! Here ya go…

LanceIsHot - Thanks! And is this soon enough?

Numbuh333halfway2hell - Hmm…Not really, no. Tabby wasn't really harmed as much as Kitty, but I guess in some ways it was the same. I can't really explain any more than I have without giving something away. But thanks for sticking with me!

Kool-Wolf - Thanks! She will. And sorry this took so long.

Anime-fanatic-17 - Thanks for the review. And here ya go.

Chapter 7

Should've seen it coming

Rogue picked up the envelope and opened it, seeing a page on top with a list of names that presumably was the list Gambit was telling her about the night before. Kitty and Tabitha's names were highlighted, most likely meaning that they were taken care of. Rogue scanned the list. Jubilee was next, followed by Jean. Wanda wasn't on the list at all, neither was Rahne.

Rogue flipped the page and there was a new list, this time guys. Lance had a star by his name, as did Pietro. Bobby, Scott, Sam, Ray, and Roberto were on the list as well. Rogue just stared at thepapers confused.

"What does this mean?" She asked, staring at Pyro.

"Oy don' know sheila. Buckethead don' tell us nothin' anymore. Hell, he probably don' even know we aren't there."

"But why are only some of the X-Men on here? And some of the Brotherhood? Did anything happen to you or Pietro?" Rogue asked, looking straight at Lance.

"Not that I'm aware of." Lance said uneasily, not liking the idea of his name being on some madman's list. "Why?"

"Ya both have a star by your names." She said uncertainly. "Unless…they got to you because of what they did to Kitty and Tabby." She said slowly.

"That bastard." Lance growled. "Using them to get to us." He then stormed out of the room, most likely upstairs to visit with Kitty.

Rogue turned to the paper they had been using for suspects and added, albeit reluctantly, Beast, Storm, the Professor, Blob, Toad, Wanda, Pyro, Jamie, Rahne, Gambit, Kurt, and herself; she didn't bother removing Cyclops name. She set the pen down shakily. The others stared at her in disbelief.

"Why'd you add us to the list of suspects?" Wanda asked, looking at her oddly.

"Because none of our names are on this list." She said, flipping through the papers where there was information on each person. "And Ah don' know what to believe anymore." She whispered to herself.

There was a groan coming from the floor and a very pissed off Cajun sat up dizzily. Rogue wasn't paying attention; she was busy reading what this "madman" had to say about his victims.

"Damn, Rogue, ya didn' have to hit me so hard. Ya could've killed me." He said mock angrily, and then he pouted when he realized she wasn't even listening. "Chère?" He asked curiously, struggling to stand up.

Rogue jumped slightly when Gambit placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned around and for a millisecond he saw pain, confusion, and distrust in her eyes. But it was gone just as soon as it had come and he was certain no one else had seen it.

"Sorry Gambit." She murmured, sitting back down at the table and putting the papers back in the envelope. "Ah should prob'ly head back to the Institute, make sure Jubilee is still okay." She said, standing up again and heading for the door; envelope in hand.

"What did I miss?" Gambit asked, touching the spot on his head where Rogue had hit him; he flinched and removed his hand, pretty sure that a nice bruise would come of this. Rogue watched him and then looked away, biting her lower lip; Gambit noticed. "Pyro, what de hell are you…did you get de papers?"

"Oy got all I could, mate." He said, pointing toward the envelope in Rogue's hands. "And Oy didn't even get a thanks." He added, pouting; Wanda rolled her eyes.

"Right, thanks Pyro." Rogue said distantly.

"Come now sheila, call me John." He said, winking at her; Gambit glared at him and walked over to her, putting his arm protectively around her waist.

"Chère, let Gambit give ya a ride home, it's de least I can do." He said, giving her a true smile.

"Sure." She said vaguely.

Back at the Institute

"Where is Rogue." Cyclops asked the assembled group in the rec. room.

"She vent to see Kitty after school." Kurt said tiredly.

"That was four hours ago." Scott yelled, slamming his fist down on the coffee table.

"Scott chill out, I'm sure she's fine." Bobby said. (a/n: no pun intended)

Just then the sound of a motorcycle could be heard as it pulled up in front of the Institute. The engine died and the doors opened, revealing a tired and anxious looking Rogue and a concerned Gambit. They entered the rec. room and all eyes were on them. Rogue ignored everyone and took a seat on the only empty couch, Gambit right beside her; Scott glared at them the whole time.

"Where have you been?" He asked distrustfully; Rogue looked at him, finally aware of her surroundings. She rolled her eyes before answering.

"Will out suffice?" She asked in a worn out tone, leaning back into the couch; Gambit put his arm around her shoulders. She looked at Scott and noticed he wasn't going to drop this anytime soon. "God Scott, Ah was at the Brotherhood house. Honestly, where do ya think Ah was?" She asked irritably.

"No need to get snippy with me, Rogue. As team leader I have a right to know where you are." Scott replied.

"Not every second of my life." She retorted, glaring at him. "Cause like it or not, what Ah do and who Ah do it with is none of you're business."

"I'm not saying that Rogue." He shot back, starting to get aggravated.

"Sure sounds like dat's what you're tryin' to say." Gambit said angrily. "Rogue can take care of herself."

"Stay out of this." Scott shouted at Gambit. "This doesn't concern you. In fact, you shouldn't even be here." And then he rounded on Rogue again. "That's another thing Rogue, why are you hanging out with this guy? He's Magneto's lackey for crying out loud."

"Scott, Ah'm really not in the mood for this." She replied, leaning her head on Gambit's shoulder; partially to piss of Scott, partially to calm Gambit down, but mostly because she could. "Can' we just get back to the subject of who's tryin' to kill us?"

"Fine." He said reluctantly. "Have you found anything else out since last night?"

"Ah have a folder with the victims names and from that we made a list of suspects." Rogue said, taking the papers out. "So far, we've come up with the Professor, Beast, Storm, Logan, Scott, Rahne, Jamie, Gambit, Kurt, and myself as suspects that are here. Other suspects are Sabretooth, Mystique, Magneto, Blob, Toad, Pyro, Wanda, and anyone from Bayville who isn't a mutant."

"Rogue, you do realize that half the people you named wouldn't have done it." Jean said from her seat beside Scott.

"Yeah? And how can we be so sure? No one here is trustworthy besides the names on this sheet." She said, waving the sheet with the victims' names on it and glaring at Jean before glancing around at everyone else. That's when she panicked. "Where's Jubilee?" She asked, standing up abruptly.

"She went to the bathroom." Amara said from her seat on the coffee table.

"When?"

"About," she looked at her watch, "I don't know, about fifteen minutes ago.

"Shit." Rogue cursed, running out of the room. She wasn't sure where she was going but that didn't matter, she needed to find Jubilee before it was too late.

Rogue threw open door after door, searching for any trace of the young Asian. She was starting to panic more as she realized she might not even be at the Institute anymore. And then she heard it, a low, whimpering noise coming from the closet at the end of the hall. Rogue ran to it and would have thrown the door open had it not been locked. Her hands were shaking so bad that she could barely hold the knob. Before she knew what was happening, the doorknob was glowing a faint pink color and she jumped out of the way as it exploded.

"What the hell?" She asked quietly, staring at her hands. But she didn't give it a second thought as she jumped up and pulled Jubilee out of the now smoking closet. Jubilee though, didn't seem to be injured. Her hands were tied behind her back preventing her from using her powers, her legs were also tied together, and she was gagged with a piece of cloth.

Rogue immediately pulled the cloth out of her mouth and untied the ropes around her legs with shaky hands. Her hands were tied too tight, so that would have to be taken care of by someone else.

"What happened?" Rogue asked shakily.

Jubilee just shook her head and nodded behind Rogue. She turned around and saw Gambit standing there, as well as Kurt, Scott, and the rest of the New Recruits. Bobby broke loose from the rest and ran toward her, taking her in his arms.

"Jubes, man, are you okay?" He asked, holding her close. She merely nodded her head and allowed him to freeze therope and then break them off. She then threw her arms around him and he hugged her close.

Rogue watched them curiously, not understanding what had just happened. Why isn't she injured? She wondered to herself. She didn't even flinch as Gambit pulled her close and whispered something soothing to her in French. She unconsciously leaned into him and they watched as Bobby helped Jubilee up.

"Jubilee, who did this to you?" Scott asked, moving closer to her. Jubilee merely shook her head and moved closer to Bobby.

Rogue was still confused. Jubilee had been next on the list, yet she wasn't nearly as injured as the other two. Kitty had pretty much been beaten to a pulp…and she dated Lance, who once left the Brotherhood for her. Tabby had been stabbed, but it wasn't fatal…she now dates Pietro and had lived at the Brotherhood. Jubilee…Jubilee just didn't fit into the equation. Who was next? Rogue asked herself in her mind. Jean.

Jean hardly had any connection to the Brotherhood though. Besides that one point in time when Blob had a crush on her. But Jean did piss off…Mystique. Mystique, who was probably angry that the boys' were no longer fighting the X-Men and even more angry that two were dating them instead. Suddenly, it made sense. Mystique wanted revenge.

"Oh God." Rogue said out loud, catching everyone's attention. "Toad was right."

A/N: Mwuahaha! And the truth is revealed! So, anyone see it coming? Huh? Did ya? Did ya?