Xavier's Institute Charles' Xavier's Office, Tuesday Aug. 13th 10:12 am

Rogue smoothed out her uncomfortable black dress and smiled wearily at professor Xavier. Rahne's service had just concluded. It was a somber but classy affair. Something the late mutant would've liked, she guessed.

"Rogue," She winced involuntarily. "I don't even know where to begin. I am so grateful..." He looked at her, dark eyes shining with emotion. "You saved Emma, Hank, Ororo's... Laura's, Illyana's..." The pause was pregnant. The lycanthropic mutant was clearly on his mind. Everyone's mind. He was gonna have to tell Scott and Logan when they returned. He was not looking forward to it. "Rogue, you lead the charge and saved their lives. I could not be more proud or grateful."

Rogue smiled at her black loafers with the gold chain on the tongue. "Professor, you don't have to thank me. I just did what Logan and Scott always trained me to do..."

"Just stay, Logan! None of us are ready!" He knew when they went on a 'goodbye' ride he had not heard the last of the girl's pleas. It wasn't up to him. Xavier had requested he travel to the ends of the earth looking for resources and to research. And unofficially, to clear his head.

"Rogue, you and I both know I gotta go." She looked at him, her green helmet in her hands. She knew he was right but that wouldn't stop her from trying. The wind blew between them and she shivered.

"Okay..." She looked at the dead leaves on the ground. "Take me with you, th-"

"You know I cain't do that-"

"Because you're leavin' all the kids to me!" She snarled at him. "At least have the decency to admit it to my face, Logan!" She cried, frustrated tears forming in her eyes. "You owe me better than that."

Logan exhaled like a bull. "Rogue, I'm not goin' on some cross country ride! Chuck asked me to reach out to the only places I know to look for information..." His face fell. "Information about the Phoenix. Information on how to stop it if it comes back..." Rogue's lip quivered. It was a new wound for everybody still. "I don't really want to leave. I don't really want to do much of anythin'." A silence passed between them. "Might be better for you all for me to go and get my head put back on straight." Rogue sniffed.

He placed a big hand on her shoulder. "I know I'm leavin' 'em in capable hands. And I'll be back, you know that." He made her face him, staring into her stormy eyes. "Look, I'm sorry Scott left." As if on cue the tears started. Rogue looked away from him, embarrassed. "It's gonna be okay, Rogue. I promise."

'Liar...' She thought bitterly, her attention back on the professor. "I don't have to be thanked for doin' what I had to do." He smiled at her, his eyes crinkling in the corners.

"Very well. My thanks are still in order. You always find a way to surprise us, Rogue. And pleasantly so." She smiled uncomfortably.

Some students gathered in the school's foyer after Rahne's service. Bobby stood with Amara, Jubilee, Sam, Robert, Kitty, Illyana, Piotr, and Jaime. He was trying to put on a brave face for his younger friends and the girls. He looked out of place in his crisp, well pressed suit. His blonde hair was styled neatly for a change. Rahne would've made fun of him in that crazy accent of hers and Bobby would've loved it. His gaze floated to the ground, the red headed mutant's face in his mind. 'Rahne... Why?' He wiped at his face.

Roberto stood silently, still in shock to the terrible news. Rahne had been his best friend. His confidante. They had gone everywhere together. It was jarring to see them separated, especially knowing it was by force. His face was blank, dark eyes bloodshot from crying constantly. "Last thing I said to her was I'll see you later..." He mumbled, Amara placing a hand on his shoulder. "I was so stupid..."

"Don't be that way, Roberto." She said sadly. She sighed.

"I wish Logan was here." Jubilee said after a moment. He didn't even know Rahne was gone, probably. If Charles had told him he would've been home. They all felt better when the feral mutant was around. Amara scoffed.

"What do you mean, Jubilee? He just left us. How could he..." She stared at the ground, tears in her eyes. "Of course all this stuff happens when he stops protecting us." Kitty gave the younger girl a hot look.

"Hey, wait." She began, an eyebrow cocked. "Mr. Logan left because the professor asked him to check on something. Us kids don't get clearance to be briefed on it. He didn't just leave." She informed, her arms crossed. "Rogue told me." Bobby kicked a leg on the wall with a scowl.

"Yeah, even if he's not here it's for us. Scott," The look on his face darkened. "Scott just left! He left a note on Rogue's door, for crying out loud. And how much do you want to bet he's gonna show up after everything we've been through and just be the X-Men's leader again!" Gazes dropped to the ground.

"Not now, Bobby." Said Kitty softly. She didn't really disagree she just didn't think Rahne's service was the place. Joseph stumbled into the students from the garden. He hadn't known or remembered Rahne and he didn't find his place there.

"Students," He began softly. "My condolences for your fallen friend." He looked down, his face lost in thought before he spoke again. "Who is Scott?" Bobby scoffed.

"He used to be the X-Men's leader. Until he just left." He replied, his hands balled into fists.

"Be fair, Bobby. The love of his life disappeared in flames. We were kind of expecting it." Bobby threw his hands up.

"No we weren't, Kitty! Ask any of us ten months ago; if you thought Scott would ever go radio silent raise your hands!" Nobody moved. He looked around and then back at Joseph. "He was our leader until he wasn't." Joseph nodded.

"I thought Rogue was your leader." He stated after a while. She had approached him and asked him to come, nobody else. Bobby chuckled bitterly.

"She should be. She'd never just up and leave us." He crossed his arms, suddenly jealous of how much time the amnesiac mutant had been getting from her. Kitty huffed haughtily, pulling on Piotr and Illyana.

"But that's just it, Bobby. She didn't even want to be on the team until we all almost got kidnapped." She looked at Joseph wearily. "Scott wanted to be the X-Men's leader. It's who he was. It's what he wanted to be. Nobody," She looked around. "Is going to feel that way again." She pulled Piotr and his sister along with her up the stairs.

He watched as the crowd of mutant's dispersed until he stood in the foyer alone. He thought about a strange, blue haired mutant he'd met in the slums of Genosha. She was blind but she had visions. Visions of the future she couldn't control.

"She will appear. A Legacy. To mutant-kind." She looked past him, her eyes unseeing. "White is her shroud, pure is heart. She is no hero but she is the Mutant Messiah." She smiled, mutants gathering to hear her words. "She will be called Legacy! And you," She pointed at Joseph, his eyes wide. "You will meet her. You will be her protector..."

He shook the oracle's words. 'Could it be you, Anna?' He thought about her silvery bangs.

Xavier Institute Danger Room, Thursday Aug. 15th 7:04 pm

Bobby, Piotr, Kitty, Kurt, and Amara were paired together for the Danger Room exercise. Bobby should've been paying attention to his team's strategizing but he couldn't keep his eyes off of his teammate gone instructor, Rogue. Joseph stood beside her and he watched every now and then as they joked and spoke quietly with one another. He didn't trust Joseph, just like he never trusted Remy and not even Scott. He didn't trust them not to shatter Rogue's heart.

He didn't know why he cared who she spent her time with. He just couldn't trust their former nemesis. And definitely not with Rogue. She had already retired the suit he'd designed for her but she took his nudge to change it. It wasn't a suit anymore, her pants were lycra and tight and dark green. She had on a long, hunter green and white tunic. It zipped at the chest and showed (a little) of Rogue's bust. She had on long, brown gloves that covered her entire arm. Around her neck was a long, white scarf.

Her long hair was pulled into a low ponytail. Her silver streaks were cropped into long, over grown bangs (courtesy of Kitty). She looked like a new person. She hovered around deftly pointing at students and gesturing to Joseph who nodded back, engrossed in whatever she was saying. He scowled, watching them oversee the exercise instead of paying attention to his team.

A ball careened with his head when he was staring off at Rogue. He yelped as everyone burst into laughter. "Perhaps you should pay attention to something other tha-"

"Pay more attention, Mr. Drake!" Luckily for Bobby, Hank intercepted the intercom mic from Emma. Rogue chased his stare but he avoided her altogether, not usually the one to get caught up over girls. But it wasn't just a girl, that was never it with Rogue. She amazed him. Infuriated him. Terrified him. He had had his crushes but he had never had so many feelings about a person as he did Rogue, and they weren't all romantic. She was very important to him period.

He turned wearily to his teammates and tried to focus on the session.

xxXXxx

He watched Rogue smile at Joseph as he demonstrated something to her with his power. He cleared his throat, making a tiny, iced carousel. Jubilee squealed in the distance. Finally, he tore her attention from the magnet mutant and she walked over to him, fawning at his creation.

"I forget you can do that." She mused, watching it spin around. He watched her, too proud he had stolen her attention her away.

"What are you doing now that the session's over?" Rogue leaned up and stretched, tossing an absent-minded look behind her at Joseph.

"Oh, I'm gonna stay and work on my own powers a little bit." Bobby frowned.

"You work too hard." He chastised as he walked toward the door.

"Somebody has to." Rogue retorted, sticking a tongue out. He smiled but looked crestfallen as he ambled toward the door. "Dinner when I get out?" He looked at her.

"Pizza. On the,"

"Roof." She finished with a smile. He disappeared with the last stragglers in the Danger Room. Alone now, she doubled back to where Joseph stood. Storm had made what she called an "old school" suit for the mutant since Magneto's purple and red and outfit wouldn't do. It was a bright blue X-Suit with a yellow utility belt, gloves, and boots. It was a stark contrast to everyone's general black or dark uniforms. It wasn't unwelcome.

"It looks... Righteous." She told him when she first saw it. He smiled.

"So... You want some help with my power?" Rogue nodded.

"Yeah, maybe." She looked at him with worry. "Are ya sure you-"

"Yes, I'm almost as good as new. Hank," He grinned at her. "He's a great doctor." Rogue nodded knowingly.

"Good. Thanks again, by the way." She looked at her fidgeting hands. "And yeah, I blanked at the lab. See, when I touch people..." She pulled her glove off and he stared curiously at her porcelain skin. "Somewhere, deep in my head, I keep the ability to use their power. I found that out when I lost control..." She stuck her glove on. He watched her carefully.

"Any at all? Do you know how powerful you are?" Rogue nodded.

"Trust me, I've been controlled and used enough to know." He pushed his mouth in a grim line. "But I don't have a handle on it yet. Sometimes I do it like it's second nature, others..." She frowned, remembering not being able to pull up Joseph's ability. "I blow it." He shook his head.

"You were shot with heroin almost sixty times as strong as street stuff. You were lucky to be moving." Rogue's gaze dropped to the ground.

"Ah guess," She sighed. "I just-" She sighed in frustration. "If they'd shot anyone else with that they would've OD'd before they hit the ground! They'd be dead!" She exclaimed, thinking in horror what if Kitty had been shot instead of her. She never would've made it.

"You want to protect them. The students." He craned his head to look at her face. "Mutants, Anna." She was embarrassed by his stare again, her cheeks suddenly burning red. 'Why do I feel like this...' She wondered, getting lost in his dark eyes. "You have a bright soul."

"I don't know about that, Joseph." He tucked a silvery strand behind her ear and stared down at her. 'Are you Legacy... The one I heard about?' And alarm tore them both from their thoughts. They shot upstairs instantly, the mansion buzzing in disarray.

"X-Men, to the field." The intercom announced. "Students, to the basement and suit out. Await further instruction." She looked worriedly at him and shot to the front door where Kitty, Piotr, Kurt, Bobby, and Laura waited anxiously.

"Hey," She breathed, looking around as the institute shook.

'My X-Men,' Xavier began in their minds. 'Be careful. Sentinels approach, yes here too.'

"Sentinels." Kitty said, looking worriedly towards the door. "The president called an emergency announcement for 9:30 pm." She continued.

"They must think that the Mutant Registration Act is going to be passed." Bobby surmised, glumly, flipping a coin.

"Guess they just vanted a head start..." Kurt spat, looking around. "Vhat do ve do?" Eyes drifted to Rogue. Her's hardened as she thought back to her long, grueling training with Logan in the Canadian wilderness last year.

Rogue focused on Ororo's regal and embarrassingly beautiful face as she tried to conjure her abilities. She thought of a time after her powers had lost control for the first time. Spring had come, and eventually the students busted out into the sunshine. Rogue wasn't well enough, yet (not that she spent that much time in the sun, anyways). But there was a difference in choosing to remain inside and not having a choice. Even Rogue was getting cabin fever and feeling even more isolated than usual.

Hank and Logan finally let her out of the infirmary but not the mansion. Not quite yet. She was still quite fragile, mentally and physically. She watched as everyone, even the professor enjoyed a nice leisurely day outside playing mutie ball. Dark times laid ahead. Nobody was certain for what the future held but everyone could share one big laugh together, Except Rogue. She sat in the living room and watched out the window, so use to sitting on the sidelines of the fun. Eventually, the weather mutant wafted inside and sat silently beside the girl.

What started as a simple playing exercise ended with Ororo taking Rogue, specifically, on a musical journey. 'She came to keep me company...' She thought, and she was so grateful she did.

"Thank you, Ororo." She said awkwardly. "It sounded lovely." The woman smiled down at the piano.

"Just trying to bring some of that good spirit in here too, child. Even plants inside need light." Rogue blinked, facing Logan in Canada. Where she really was. Thunder cracked overhead as clouds covered the sunlight. Logan stared expectantly at her, his arms crossed. He was searching for any signs trouble or lapses in control. Those were crucial to find. Rain began to shower them both as Rogue's eyes glowed white, her just under shoulder-length hair clinging to her neck with moisture.

'Okay,' She thought to herself. 'Now Magneto... Easy enough...' Except it wasn't. She had no fond memories with the older mutant. She found him infuriating and frightening. And generally untrustworthy. How would she master his abilities? She could use Ororo's powers because the Ororo in her head basically walked her through it. Magneto would not. She swallowed hard.

She shut her eyes and thought about him. Memories in the snow in the internment camp flood her mind. She cried out, fighting against the flood of thoughts. "Rogue." Logan barked, seeing her visual struggle. With Ororo she had called up the memory and the power. But with her adversaries the whole process was a struggle, and soon the power was wearing her.

She smelled the burnt hair and flesh as people were branded like livestock. Placed 50 to a room and fed the crusts of bread to survive. A single tear slides down her cheek as the memories assault her. Soon, the ore and metal begins being stripped from the rock and sediment around them. "Marie!" Logan called through cupped hands.

"No!" She screamed. With a yell she plummeted to the ground. The sky cleared. Ore dropped to the ground. Logan exhaled a breath he never realized he was holding. He ran over to her and knelt by her side as she slowly worked herself to her knees. She scrubbed a hand over her face as he looked down at her, worriedly.

"You gotta find some other sort of attachment to his memories." She sighed in frustration.

"I can't relate to abandoning my children, Logan." He almost chuckled at that, but his stare hardened.

"Up," He said, standing. "Again." She groaned before climbing to her own feet.

She turned to Joseph, who she had at least semi warm feelings for. 'Maybe, just maybe, it'll work now...' She thought, looking out the doors. "Piotr, Shadowcat." She smirked at the use of her codename. "Disable any guns or turrets that you see." She cast a weary look to the smaller mutant. "And be careful." They both nodded.

"Right," She said, nodding.

"Always." Piotr promised.

She turned to Bobby. "You keep it from getting too close to the mansion and put out any fires that start! Kurt," She looked toward her adopted sibling. "If someone looks like they're in trouble get 'em out of there!" He nodded. She turned Joseph. "Come with me, if you want." He nodded, a determined look on his face. They busted out of the institute to intercept the sentinel. 'Just like the Danger Room taught...' Rogue thought, thinking about Scott and Logan bitterly.

Kitty kissed Piotr on the lips even though he was already in his metal form. With a grunt he lobbed her towards the towering robot. When she approached it she phased, tearing through a turret on it's left side. Cheering, Kurt ported on the other side and caught her, returning her to the ground. The other turret shot rockets out the Laura deftly shredded with a snarl. She really was like Logan packed into a tiny, grumpy body.

With a yell Bobby shot a thick stream of ice while he rode around the sentinel, effectively blocking it in with ice. "MUTANT SIGHTED." The robot droned. Rogue stared at the sentinel hatefully, thinking about Joseph.

"No," She seethed, flying forward. "This ends now!" She cried, preparing to punch the unconscious Remy into pulp. Joseph noticed a second in time that he was actually awake.

"Anna!" He shouted. Remy twitched and jerked his staff upwards towards Rogue's chest. Joseph slammed into Rogue and replaced her in harm's way, taking Remy's staff to the stomach. Kitty and Rogue screamed as Ororo and Emma arrived, flustered.

Her eyes began to glow yellow. Joseph and Kitty gasped as her skin became titanium, like Piotr's. If his skin was normal he would've blushed in embarrassment.

"I have been outshone." He commented to himself. The sentinel's advance halted as everyone watched. 'Okay, just like you did before.' She thought, although she was starting to question how many sentinels could fit beneath the earth of the institute.

"We're here for you, y'know?" Kitty had said. Rogue had proclaimed that she had no friends after she found out Risty was Mystique. "I totally understand why you'd say that." She threw an arm around the goth mutant's shoulders anyways, to her protests.

"Ugh, Kitty-"

"It's gonna, like, be okay. I promise."

Her nose began to bleed again but slowly, the sentinel began to disappear beneath the ground. "She's doing it again," Kitty exclaimed worriedly. 'Be careful...' She grit her teeth and forced herself to keep pushing the machine down, even though it was exhausting and painful. 'Scott and Logan aren't here. I have to protect the school...' She thought desperately, her jaw clenching. She fell to one knee and the sentinel began aiming a laser at them.

"Hurry, let me port you!" Kurt screamed. Kitty ran from Piotr's side to his protests.

"Katya-"

"I'll put up a barrier!" She cried, focusing.

"It won't hold long." Laura growled in annoyance, watching the sentinel intently.

'Rogue...' A voice in her head said.

'J-Jean?' Jean had been very quiet in her mind. Rogue didn't talk about it much, but after a very manic, volatile period Jean suddenly went mute. This was the first time she'd made any noise in months.

'It's me! The... Realer me. Anyways, I'm here. You're not alone.' It was almost comforting to hear Jean's voice after so long. Rogue almost forgot it was a cruel trick of her own mind. It wasn't fair. Scott or the professor should be able to have something like this, not her. 'I haven't known how to say it, but this me is connected to the real me. The me that's out there.' Rogue swallowed. She didn't know what say, especially in her own predicament. 'Anyways... Let me help you. Please.' She could feel Jean's smile even lightyears away. She nodded, smiling.

"Uh... Rogue?" Kurt asked unsurely. The sentinel was about to blast them off the map and she was smiling like she was talking with an old friend. A tear slipped down her cheek as she stared at the sentinel.

"Anna?" Said Joseph unsurely.

She turned back to the robot, a determined look in her eye. She began to glow with an other-wordly light.

"Uh, Rogue?" Kitty questioned from beside her.

'"LAUNCHING LASER SEQUENCE IN THREE. TWO. ONE..."

"ROGUE." Bobby screamed, clambering to get beside her to protect her. Time itself stopped. Rogue erupted in a plume of flames and light, her hand held out in front of her. The laser sequence never sounded off. The sentinel was lit a blaze and a trail of nothingness was left in it's wake.

"She... She..." Piotr muttered breathlessly, clutching to Kitty beside him. Everyone watched as nothing was left but glittering metal particles in the moonlight. The flames fades, the light ceased. Rogue collapsed into a heap beside Joseph, both of them tumbling to the ground. Her skin returned to normal and she looked around.

"Anna..." He stared at her in wonder as she shook silver bangs out of her face. "You're Legacy. A goddess." He declared. She looked at him, confused.

"Joseph, what?" Kurt, Kitty, Bobby and Piotr ran to her side, staring at her in wonder.

"Your powers." He continued. Rogue smiled sadly.

"No..." She looked up into the sky, another tear slipping out of her eye. "She was a goddess. She just lent me some of her power..." 'Jean...'

"You did it." Bobby said in amazement, staring at the spot where the sentinel once stood.

'X-Men...' The message entered their minds. 'Great work. Rogue,' The pause made her nervous. 'Outstanding.'

'T-Thank you, professor.'

Joseph grabbed Rogue's forearms and pulled her into a standing position, staring unashamedly in her eyes. "You were amazing..." He sighed, tucking a long, white lock behind her ear. Bobby scowled as Kitty ushered them all, even Piotr inside.

"K-Kitty-"

"Give the girl some space, c'mon." She said as shoved the boys away.

"B-But!" Kurt protested.

"Move it!" Kitty tucked short, chestnut locks behind her ears. She turned back toward Joseph and Rogue, conversing in the dark. 'She deserves to be happy, regardless of what we think. Maybe most of all...'

Rogue smiled, even leaning slighting into the older mutant's touch. It was weird. It made no sense. But Joseph was here, something the men in Rogue's life couldn't understand. She was always attracted to the wanderer. The vagrant. But all she wanted was someone to stay planted by her side, like Kurt and Kitty. Like Scott used to. Even the passing thought of him weighs her heart down a few tons, but tonight it's okay because she was looking at Joseph and musing about how his hair is the same color as her bangs.

"I jus' did what we do." She explained. "We're the X-Men. We protect those who can't protect themselves. And each other." He nodded.

"Those who call you their friend, Anna." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "They call themselves lucky." He smiled down at her. "You know, you never asked if I would join your X-Men."

"My X-men?" He smirked.

"You just ask me to tag along..." She looked at him intently for a moment. If there was one thing Rogue didn't do easily, it was trust. From minor transgressions like abandonment to complete and utter betrayal, it never worked for her. Something about having more potential than any other mutant on that side of the globe made it hard for people not to betray her.

The fear that this was really Magneto, priming and gaming her for his next insidious plan was still there. It would be really on brand for her life. But he looked at her with such sincerity. Such gentleness. Such wonder. There's no way he could really have his memories. He nearly sacrificed himself for her. The old Magneto couldn't even sacrifice his dreams for his own children. She had to believe him, right?

"If you want to join us you should speak with the professor..." She took his hands off of her shoulders. "It's up to him. The X-Men aren't my anything. I'm on the team-" He tipped her chin up to face him.

"Anna, face it. You are these children's leader! You stood in front of them and they had the courage to continue, even in the darkest of night." She looked away but he followed her stare. "That's a leader. Not just because someone said it so."

"But Ah don' want to be!" She exclaimed suddenly, turning from him. She was scared, the most natural emotion of all.

"Who would?" He responded with an understanding smile. "But you can't change what you are. Just like you're their leader, you are Legacy. The mutant who will define and shape the future of mutant kind-"

"Joseph,"

"Trust me, Anna. I didn't find Xavier or this institute. Angel brought me to you." She looked into his dark eyes, her heart hammering in her throat. "Don't hide from who you are." Rogue leaned up on her tip toes, unsure of what she was about to do next. Joseph didn't turn away, even with the knowledge of her powers. Bobby clearing his throat broke the two from their engagement.

"Professor Xavier want's everyone in the conference room." He glared at Joseph as Rogue wandered dumbly towards the school. Smiling to himself, he followed.

New Mexico Motel, Wednesday Aug. 14th 3:26 am

It was the annual Xavier Institute Beach trip. It was to keep school morale high, as high as they could, anyways. The X-Team got their own and then the administrators took the new recruits. Rogue was 'sunning' in a black, high-waisted bikini and a black fishnet coverup reading a dark Manga called Beserk while Kurt read comics beside her. Kitty was tanning in a chair beside Jean, who'd stolen away with Scott for some rare alone time.

They managed to sneak away to a tiny cove with a waterfall and clear, blue water. Jean sighed and Scott followed her sight, trying to see the beauty that spoke so tenderly through shades of red.

"Oh Scott," She breathed. "It's perfect." She tugged lightly on his wrist, hovering like a forest nymph to the forbidden spring they'd stumbled upon.

"Jean..." She sat on a rock, the picture of perfection. From the arch in her back to the point of her pedicured toe. She was perfect, she couldn't help it. Even if she tried not to be she'd be nothing but perfect to him, and she knew that.

"Come, silly." She patted the boulder beside her, her emerald eyes smoldering. Scott smiled sheepishly, like a dog getting a treat when it didn't deserve it. "I want to see those eyes, Scott." He obeyed, sitting dumbly beside his painfully beautiful girlfriend. She gently removed his glasses, as though they may crumble in her hands. She shut her eyes and focused on Scott's. He opened them and revealed crisp, blue eyes. Like the ocean down the hill. Jean sighed.

The only thing that soothed the fires in Jean that even she didn't understand was the blue of Scott's eyes. "I'm always shocked. Every time I see you... For real." He dragged a hand through her red hair. 'It's more beautiful than I can imagine every time...'

"There you are." She cooed. "Scott..."

She wiped at the tears on Scott's face with a smile. With her telekinesis, she removed his visor with a grin. "I want to see those eyes, Scott. One last time."

"Jean..." Bright blue. Jean sighed. The sight of Scott's eyes could just instantly soothe her.

"There. Now everything makes sense again. I love you, Scott Summers."

"Jean, no matter what the universe tells you. The Phoenix Force tells you," He kissed her again. Everyone watched tearfully behind them. "You will always be Jean Grey." She stared lovingly into his blue eyes. She caught Logan's eyes and wave of relief washed over her. She blew a kiss to him and said a life time of things with her stare. He held two fingers up in a wave, sending her off like he always would.

Scott jerked in the motel of the week. The Dream. Again. He had been having it non-stop ever since Jean disappeared from his life. He groaned and grabbed his glasses from the nightstand, panting. "J-Jean..." He muttered. He had had this nightmare with out fail. 'How can I face them when...' He thought about the professor and his remaining teammates in shame. His thoughts lingered on a certain mutant in particular with white bangs. 'I'm sorry... Please hang on a little longer.' He stared at his ceiling fan. 'Forgive me.'