Scott cracked open his eyelids as if he were unearthing some age old tunnel with a brick wall opening. He could feel a giant pressure centered right between his eyes and a little lower… his nose. He gave a pitiful moan and raised his hand up to massage the side of his neck but found himself barely able to do that. Logan must have been pissed off pretty bad about something.

"Well, it seems like the secret is out." A gentle voice floated over to his throbbing ear. He turned his head slowly to find Ororo flipping through a magazine in a chair beside him. "About you and Rogue I mean. Apparently the two went running into the school, Rogue following Logan, both yelling something about fathers and daughters and approval. I think she told him about you two."

Scott groaned. That was really the last thing he needed but if Rogue told him at least that meant that she was making a statement to him that she had moved on. And more importantly, with Scott. "Wha happ'n wi Ogan an Roe?"

Ororo's brows furrowed. "I beg your pardon?"

"Wha happen wiv Logan an Rogue?" He pushed out slowly. Ororo frowned as if she could tell how painful it was for him to pronounce each letter.

"Well, Rogue hit him in the head with a metal pan and locked herself in her room. Logan has been sitting out there for the past few hours now while you've been asleep but not a peep has been heard from that place."

Scott sighed. Logan was sitting outside her room? Was that because he loved her? Was he angry because he still loved Rogue and didn't want to give her up? Scott was so confused and he wished he could moved without feeling sharp pains all over his body. "When will I be better?" He ground out.

Ororo shrugged. "Well we've reset your nose, Logan had broken it," She added in matter-of-factly, "And we stitched up your eyebrow where he kept hitting when he didn't hit your nose. You're still a little swollen but you should be okay to stand in a couple more hours and the swelling should be down in a couple of days."

Scott groaned and shut his eyes. Then he realized something. His glasses were on again. He hadn't even noticed until then when he moved to the point where they shifted on his face. "He pointed to them in curiosity.

Ororo nodded. "We all felt it was to much of a risk to let you keep them in for long periods of time and since we didn't know when you'd wake up to take them out yourself we got Hank to remove them instead."

Scott grimaced at the idea of Hank's huge fingernails digging around his eyeballs.

Logan ran his fingers through his hair for the billionth time. Rogue still wouldn't come out of her room after close to four and a half hours of coaxing. He was beginning to wonder if she was listening to her music and couldn't even hear his pleads.

Muttering about something he stood and dusted himself off. Well, if after that much patience displayed by him she still wouldn't come out, then he'd kick the door in.

Which turning, he did in seconds.

After the splinters of wood from the doorframe settled he walked in and noticed two empty beds. Squinting his eyes in anger he walked over to Rogue's closet (it was obvious which was hers as Kitty's side of the room had pink posters and stuffed animals all over it) and thrust the door open in agitation. No one.

This is when he noticed. No Rogue scent was to be found. In fact, not even a Scott scent was there, even though he wasn't trying to look for it but he needed to if he were to find Rogue (this made him scowl). But she was no where.

He cast a glance to the patio doors and all of a sudden is heart leapt into his throat like a frightened grasshopper in the… well… grass.

He crossed the room in seconds and pulled back the curtains to find the doors open and a tree right outside. A tree that would be easy to climb. He walked to the edge of the patio and looked down. There were footsteps in the snow leading to the side of the building and back from there was something familiar.

Familiar because it was the remains of tire tracks. From Scott's bike.

Rogue walked into the bar with her jacket hood covering her face in shadow and her gloved hands pocketed. Outside the sky was pitch black and the wind blew mercilessly against the walls of the shack like building. Inside men lay face down on the bar, out cold from too much liquor, or the younger ones playing pool in the back or hanging around the juke box.

She stepped up to the empty corner of the bar counter and pushed herself onto a stool. "Water please." Her voice hoarse from the chilly wind blowing in her face, she pulled her hands out of her pockets.

The gentle looking old man nodded and brought her a cracked glass of water. Offering to pay for it, he shook his hands and insisted she take it for free. That she sounded like she needed it. Thanking him she downed half of it in seconds.

There was a clatter as the triangle of balls on the pool table was broken by the tallest one over there. He shook his hair back out of his face and Rogue almost felt like he looked familiar but couldn't be for sure.

She resumed drinking down her water until the glass emptied and she figured she'd make her way to a motel or something. She had a little money on her, enough for someplace cheap. She only needed a shanty anyways. Standing she made her way to the door and pulled her hood closer to her as she stepped out into the freeze of night. At the bike she settled herself on it before pulling the key out from her pocket.

She stared at it. She only hoped that the note she had left in Scott's room would get to him. At least once he got out of the infirmary. Sighing, she turned the key and pulled the stop up.

She looked back and saw figures surrounding her. Gasping she stood from the seat but felt hands forcing her back down. A napkin came to her nose and she flailed about, kicking and attempted to scream but felt something fall against the back of her head and everything went black.

Rogue woke up with the glare of a light above her. She felt her entire back throb as she turned from side to side, begging for her sight to clean up so she cold see things clearly but each turn hurt even more than the last and eventually she had to stop. She pulled her arm in but it wouldn't move.

Looking down she saw a table. A table? Where the hell am I? What am I doing here? What happened? She groaned and saw a dark figure tower over her. Squinted away from it she saw the face of the long haired boy from the bar. "What do you want from me?" She managed through her daze.

"Oh don't worry about it, sugar." As he spoke he turned. His hair blazed bright red but his skin turned dark blue. Mystique! Rogue exclaimed in her mind and pulled at her limbs in hopes to get away. "Now, now, don't strain yourself Rogue, dear."

Rogue grimaced. Why couldn't she get away?

Grunting she sobbed. She was scared now. Where was her Scott? Where was Logan, at least? And the professor? Was he looking for her?

"Now see Rogue, you're going to do a little something for me, you hear?"

((A/N: Ok so I had promised to myself I'd never write one of these again but… This is for all you comic lovers out there!))

Rogue looked up at the woman, her yellow eyes glowing with whatever evil could be imagined.

"You will find one Carol Danvers."

"What do you need me for? Ah don't know who that is!"

"Oh you don't need to. You see dear, this is what you're going to do…"