Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of X-Men Evolution. They all belong to their respective creators and I am just an unworthy fanfiction writer who chose to write in their steed.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. I really appreciate it. I'm sorry a new update was so long in coming. What followers are a couple reader questions that arose.

GothikStrawberry: Sorry for the lack of Kurt. I like Kurt but I don't really want him as a major player. I want Rogue to find herself and in my opinion she needed to give up all her ties to do that. This story is going to focus mainly on Rogue, the Acolytes, Magneto, and Logan.

pyrobabe: I'll try not to make John too crazy. He will be a little more crazy when he is introduced but he will mellow a lot over the course of the story.

Chica De Los Ojos Cafe: I try to keep my chapters about the same length. (2000-3000) words per chapter as a max. Anything longer then that is hard to read in my opinion. I'm glad you liked the story so far.

To Sleepy26, ishandahalf, elmo the cajun puppet, and maleficus-lupis: Thanks for your reviews.

Now on with the story...

Last time:

A small smile graced Rogue's lips as she watched the gate close behind her.

We all have to make our own choices and I made mine. Good bye X-men hello life.

Rogue shifted her duffle bag to her other shoulder and turned to look up at the mansion. She was elated by the idea of leaving but she also realized that she was leaving a lot behind. She had a couple friends within the walls of the mansion and those few friends were people that she would miss deeply. She would miss Kurt and Kitty. Those two students were the only students at the Xavier Institute that she had really formed friendships with. She would miss them but their friendship wasn't worth putting her life off anymore then she already had. Rogue had no doubts that the two younger mutants would do well in life. The fact that she left them would definitely sting for a while but they would eventually realize that Rogue was doing what she thought best.

Then there was Logan. The elder mutant was the one that Rogue really regretted leaving. He had been her mentor for years and she knew that he considered her as something more then a student. They were both loners by nature and Logan had taken her under his wing and taught her the tools of the trade. He had taught her how to hold people as friends while always looking out for what you needed. He had known that Rogue had been going through some problems over the last few months and Rogue knew that Logan and talked to Professor Xavier about her powers more then once.

She vividly remembered the occasion she had walked by the Professor's office only to hear Logan and the telepath arguing. She had been curious and had stopped to listen. Logan had been ranting about how Xavier kept accepting more and more students as part of the Institute while neglecting the ones he had already taken in. The Professor had calmly countered by explaining that he was trying to help all mutant who would accept his aid and that he couldn't play favorites by only accepting the best. That had set Wolverine off on a loud rant.

"Dammit Chuck, you can't ignore the students you have promised to help just because a newly developed mutant gets kicked out of his home by his misunderstanding parents. You can't do it all by yourself. You have to take care of the ones you committed to helping first. What about Rogue? She has been here for years and I never see you working with her. On the other hand I have personally seen you working with Jean, Scott, or any number of the new younger mutants. When are you going to help the ones who really need it? That girl is a strong member of the X-team but you can't keep dangling the idea of control in front of her face to get her to stay with you. She not just a weapon you can push aside when you don't need her and eventually Rogue is going to get tired of waiting around for you to help her."

"I understand your concern Logan but I can't not help new mutants. They are just as scared and just as confused as Rogue was when she arrived here. You have to understand that I am obligated to help as many young mutants as I can."

Rogue moved away from the door when she heard Logan's fist smash onto the Professor's desk.

"That's not good enough Chuck, you can't take in EVERY mutant child that crosses your path. The Institute isn't big enough to house them all and half of them don't have powers that suit them to be X-Men. The house is already overcrowded and the kids we do have don't have any space. Think about how the other kids must feel when they see new recruits pouring in here left and right."

Rogue could hear the Professor sigh in frustration. "I understand Logan but I have a duty to help protect as many young mutants as possible. They must learn to control their powers peacefully or we will never be accepted. Would you prefer I let them fall into Magneto's hands?" Logan barely waited for Xavier to finish before he spoke again.

"This isn't some of race Chuck. You can't do it all so just quit trying." Rogue had barely enough time to start moving down the hall before the door to the Professor's office opened and Logan stormed out. The elder mutant scanned the hallway as the door clicked closed and his eyes landed on Rogue. She had smiled weakly at him.

"Thank ya." She had whispered. "Ahh heard what ya said and Ahh appreciate it." Logan's anger had softened slightly at her words and he had made his way down the hall toward her. He had gently placed a hand on her covered shoulder and given her a tight smile.

"Anytime Stripes." They pair had stood silently for a second before Logan spoke again. "If you decide to leave kiddo, be careful out there. It's dangerous out there and I don't want to see anything happen to you." Rogue had nodded silently as a couple renegade tears tracked their way down her cheeks. Logan had gently tipped her chin up and wiped the tears away with the pad of his thumb. The contact had been too brief to cause a reaction and for that Rogue had been grateful.

"I'll be here if you need me Stripes. Just take care of yourself."

Those were the words that rang in Rogue's head as she looked back at the mansion. She knew that if anything happened to her all she had to do was call Logan and he would be there as soon as he could. The idea that she had someplace to turn if things got truly rough calmed her and she turned away from the mansion and began the long walk to the bus station.

The night was comforting and Rogue enjoyed the soothing walk. It took her a couple hours but she finally made it to the bus station. She collected her ticket from the woman at the night desk and then she went to find the part of the station where her bus would arrive. Shortly after she arrived dawn began to break and the busses began arriving. She had found the platform with ease and was the first one onto the bus. Much to her relief there were not many people on the bus and she was able to find a seat that was relatively secluded from the rest of the passengers.

The bus pulled out of the station shortly after 8:00 am and Rogue released a breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding. She had half expected the X-Men to burst onto the bus in full battle gear to drag her kicking and screaming back to the mansion but they hadn't come and she was relieved. Now all she had to do was enjoy the ride and get some sleep before more people got on board.

Back at the Xavier Mansion

Kitty awoke to annoying beeping of her alarm clock and groggily snaked her hand out from under the warm blankets to kill the annoying machine. As she did so she noticed that the room was rather cool. The younger girl sat up and looked around the room. If she had been more awake she would have noticed that most of Rogue's possessions were gone but her attention was currently affixed on the open patio door.

With an angry huff she slipped out of bed and made her way over to the door which she closed with a snap. As she was walking toward her closest she slowly became aware of the lack of clutter that usually littered Rogue's side of the room. She reached the walk in closest that she and Rogue had shared and became fully awake when she opened the door. Rogue's side of the closest was almost completely bare.

Kitty felt panic rise in her chest as she stumbled toward the door of her room. She phased through it just as Scott was passing by the door. The two students fell to the floor in a heap and Kitty scrambled away off the older boy. Scott was about to give her a lecture about watching where she was going but fell silent when he saw Kitty's face.

"What happened Kitty?" He asked as he stood and brushed his clothing off. For a second he thought Kitty wasn't going to answer but she finally managed to blurt out what was wrong in a long winded sentence that reminded Scott of Pietro.

"ItsRoguesheislikemissing. Ilikewokeupthismorningandthepatiodoorswereopenandallofherestuffisgone." Scott raised his hands in front of himself and motioned for Kitty to slow down. The girl huffed in irritation but repeated what she said in a much slower voice.

"Rogue is missing Scott. I woke up this morning and the patio doors in our room were open and all her stuff was gone." Scott didn't hear the last part because when Kitty mentioned that Rogue was gone he had rushed into the girl's room and was frantically looking around. He could definitely notice that there was a distinct lack of Rogue in the room. Her posters were still on the walls and much of her bedding was still there but the clothes, CDs, and makeup that were characteristic of Rogue's presence were gone

Scott cursed under his breath and made his way back into the hallway. Kitty was still standing there in her pajamas and Scott motioned for her to follow him.

"Let's go tell the Professor Kitty. He needs to be informed immediately. She could be in trouble for all we know." The younger girl trailed silently after the older boy. Neither of them saw Logan exiting the staff bathroom. Scott almost stormed around the older mutant and continued down the hall towards the professor's office and Kitty tried to do the same but Logan stopped here.

"What happened half-pint?" He could tell by the look on Kitty's face and by that way that Scott had stormed down the hall that something major had happened.

"Rogue is gone. I woke up this morning to find most of her clothes and all her stuff gone." Much to Kitty's surprise Logan seemed unfazed by the news; in fact it was almost as if he had expected something like this to happen at some point.

"Figures." He muttered under his breath. Kitty was so upset about finding her roommate gone that she missed the comment and looked toward the direction that Scott had headed.

"I need to go after Scott." Logan nodded and motioned for her to move along. Before she did so she looked up at Logan and spoke in a quiet voice. "Do you think she's okay?" Logan nodded.

"Stripes can take care of herself. I'm sure she is fine. She is almost twenty-one and definitely isn't a kid anymore." Kitty nodded and looked slightly relieved by his words. Before Logan could say anything more Kitty took off down the hall after Scott. Once the girl's back was turned Logan allowed a proud little smile to cross his face. He had known that Rogue would leave the institute eventually. She was a bright girl with a bright future and Logan had been surprised that she had chosen to stay with Xavier and the X-Men as long as she had.

"Good for you Stripes. I hope you find what you are looking for and that you never forget that I'll do anything I can to make sure you are okay." For some reason Logan had taken a shine to the girl. He had seen how lonely Rogue had been and he had always made it a point to be close to the girl. He remembered the incident outside of Xavier's office a few weeks ago and how much his words must have affected Rogue. He knew enough about he girl to realize that leaving to pursue her life was a big step and he would support her no matter what she chose to do with her life. "She deserves whatever makes her happy and I'll be there no matter what." He would always worry about her, because in his own little way he had adopted Rogue as his own daughter and like any good father he only wanted to see his precious daughter smile.

He had only seen Rogue genuinely smile a few times in all the years he had known her and those times were instances that he held close to his heart. He knew what it was like to be a loner in a world where everyone had friends and he had taken Rogue under his wing when she needed comfort the most. He had made it clear over and over again that Rogue could always come to him to talk and she had taken him up on the offer more than once. There had been several times when he and Rogue would sit on one of the porches in the middle of the night with a pitcher of lemonade and a CD player playing softly in the background. He had enjoyed those times. They were times when Rogue would wear nothing but a tank top and shorts and just lie on the wood deck or grass with Logan watching over her. Those were the times that she had felt most normal and Logan gave them to her whenever he could.

In truth Rogue had been the only reason he had chosen to stay with the X-Men. He had never liked the fact that Xavier kept taking in more and more students then he had the capacity to help and Logan was sick of having to train them all. Most of the new students were thirteen to fourteen year old punks who had gotten kicked from their homes by uncaring parents and Charles Xavier had taken it upon himself to help as many as possible. Now with Rogue gone his only motivation for staying was gone. Logan allowed the smile that had formed on his face to widen a little bit. He could leave now and return to his life as a drifter. He could head south, partially because that was where Rogue was most likely to head and partially because he hadn't been to the Southern half of the country in years.

With this decision made he made his way towards his room and started to pack. As he was doing so he heard the bustle of students as they starting waking increase. He also noticed that many of them were gravitating toward Xavier's office. Logan was pretty sure that he had contacted the students who had known Rogue the longest to inform them of the situation. When he had finished packing Logan made his way out of his room toward Xavier's office. When he arrived he found the other mutant sitting behind his desk with his head in his hands. When Logan entered he looked up.

"I suppose you heard about Rogue." Logan nodded silently as the professor continued. "You were right when you said she wouldn't stay forever, I just never dreamed that it would be so soon." Logan chose to remain silent. He was not going to rub the fact that he was right in the telepath's face. When Logan felt the silence had stretched too long he spoke.

"I'm leaving as well. I've spent too long in one place for my liking. If you need me you know how to get a hold of me and I'll come back if it is an emergency. I would make Scott head of the danger room sessions. Don't let the power go to the boy's head though. He has a lot to learn. I also want to wish you luck Chuck. Don't try to save the world in a day cause it won't happen." With that Logan turned and headed for the door. As he opened it the Professor finally spoke.

"You are going to follow her aren't you?" Logan stopped and looked back at Xavier.

"No, I'm not following her. I'm going the same direction I think she will go and if she decides she needs me I can reach her easier. Unlike you Chuck I care about the girl and intend to help and protect her if she needs me to." Xavier watched Logan in silence for several seconds.

"I didn't intentionally abandon her Logan. Please realize that. I want the best for her."

"You can't decide what is best for her Chuck. She has to do that for herself now and I think that she will do a wonderful job on her own." Xavier nodded and Logan took that as his cue to leave. He was surprised that he had not been asked to stay but he was not about to complain. The sooner he left the sooner the better for everyone involved.

Next Chapter: Rogue gets to New Orleans stay tuned for more

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