Yay! I have updated! Finally, no? Well, I have this policy now that I won't update until I have two chapters. Mainly because I have a tendancy not to finish stories but I am extremely determined with this one. So yeah...I need to write two just in case I get in a slump and all. I have a feeling people will be happy with this chapter. It was short, but I felt like I left it in a good place.

It hadn't taken John long to get back to that God-forsaken island where the band of misfits still made their attempts at proving how advanced they truly were. Yet as he looked between all of the mutants, he couldn't help but laugh at their attempts to show that they were better than the other next to them. To him, however, it was an unending game that, after its first amusements, slowly got tiring. He just hoped he wasn't like them because in truth—then he wasn't quite as advanced as he thought he was.

Sighing as he shut down the jet that Magneto had come by for small missions such as these, making it easier to get inland when they needed to, John moved to find Rogue where he had left her. It'd be best to know whether or not she had zapped another person—hopefully Callisto if anything.

Yet when he finally got there, he frowned. She wasn't there. Weird, considering no one could have not noticed she was no longer there. That, and Magneto would not have let her go. After all, he knew well enough that the man had a higher purpose for the girl than he was letting on.

Taking off at a run, he searched through the trees. Nowhere, however, did he catch site of either of them.

That was until he saw a streak of white. Not far from where Magneto was known to give his speeches, he noticed Rogue lying on the ground. Beside her kneeled an old looking man whose eyes were transfixed upon the girl. Frowning, John couldn't help but dislike this. What was he doing to her?

"Hey!" he called out, stepping forward. Before he could get closer, however, Magneto stepped in front of it.

"John," the older man stated calmly, shaking his head slightly. "Trust me when I say the girl is in no danger, although I'm not sure why one such as yourself should care."

Frowning, John turned back to look at Rogue. He still didn't feel at ease with this. "It's just that she's one of us."

"No, John," Magneto shook his head again. "She is not one of us…not yet."

Turning back so he now stood beside Pyro, he finally introduced the stranger. "This clever man is Mastermind. He can alter anyone's memories, or what they see," he started before smirking slightly. "We don't have much time, but he's finding a way for her to see how truly cruel the X-Men were to her in the end."

"What? You can't…" freezing, John noticed the glare Magneto gave him.

"Oh, I assure you I can. And I'd be very pleased if it was not you who instructed me, telling me what I can and can't do."

Pausing, the man shook his head. "If I didn't know better, I'd say it was you who was one of them."

Nearly choking, John found himself at a loss for words. After all, he knew well what would happen to him if he didn't stop. "I did not mean it like that," his voice tightened, eyes still glued to the sleeping girls features. "It's just…I don't know."

Sighing, he turned away, not waiting for any more before he sat down at the tree where Rogue had once been tied. He had initially been fine with this. But to alter her memory? He had no idea what they would come up with, but he felt his head a mess with all the emotions he felt. Somehow it just didn't seem right. Sure, take her away from them, fine. It left them weak. But to use her at the same time like this. He had a feeling it would screw her up.

And somehow he knew she wouldn't be the same Rogue he knew.

Frowning at the thought, he managed to ignore the smirk Callisto sent at him as she passed by, clearly showing that she had heard his conversation with Magneto. Personally, John didn't care. All he wanted was to go back to it was before Mystique got locked up. At least then everything was predictable. Although, he knew well enough that she would have followed this plan as well. She had been involved in an attempt to kill the girl that one time before. Yet he couldn't help but see Mystique as sort of a mother to him in the past few weeks. That is, a better mother than his real one had been.

Sighing, he pressed his forehead to his knees, trying to clear his thoughts. How was it that everything could get so screwed up? Maybe he hadn't made the best decision, in coming there.

Yet as he kept his eyes downcast, he didn't notice that someone approached him until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Jerking his head upward, he found his jaw drop slightly as he saw Rogue.

"I didn't have anything to do with that," he defended himself, eyes wide in shock as he saw her standing there. He knew something was different…but he just couldn't figure out what.

But in an instant it was obvious as she tugged him up towards him, a coy smile on her face before she shook her head.

"My God, honey, what are you talking about?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "Honestly, you're going to get into a babbling fit," she declared before she did something that proved to him ultimately how much they had really messed her mind up.

She kissed him.

Sure, it was only for a brief second. Any longer and he probably would have been landed flat on his ass. Yet there it was…they had locked lips.

"I missed you, when did you get back?" she questioned him, entwining her gloved fingers with his and he found himself stammering now, although he couldn't deny the sudden pleasure he felt.

"I missed you too, baby," he responded. Why did it sound so natural? "Just now…but I wish it had been sooner."

He hated lying to her but he couldn't help but smile. He actually had her…he had the girl he had once wanted long ago. And it was nice.

There it be! The next chapter will enter into what happens between Bobby and Wolverine, and a small Kitty appearance. But it is sort of important in a way, although I will return back to the forest right after! Remember, R/R!