Bayville Manhattan, Thursday Mar. 14th 11:14 am

There were 30 sentinels let loose over Manhattan attacking all human life forms. Bobby was ordered by Emma and and Warren to stay behind should the sentinels reach campus.

Despite twenty minutes of arguing he relented, bidding the team goodbye. Reluctantly, Amara took his place. Ororo was staying behind and Joseph would be going with the field team. When Logan was ready to go Laura appeared, already suited out. He snickered to himself. "Suit yourself, darlin'."

They fought them for fifteen hours tirelessly. Logan found his place coaching Laura to do the things his claws no longer could. Kitty reached her record for the longest and biggest things she'd phased. Kurt hit a record for the most times he ever teleported.

When they headed into town, Erik was able to disable at least 5 sentinels from a massive electromagnetic pulse (which still paled in comparison to Onslaught's). Rogue swept in quickly, trying her hardest to dismantle the robots before they began to move again. Piotr found if he slammed their legs a certain way he could throw them off balance, causing them to finally fall. Then, wherever Kitty phased through would malfunction, making them far less dangerous.

Scott burned out early but he could melt the metal with his full power optic blasts. They worked in a rotating cycle of cover. Scott would lay into the mechs for as long as he could physically stand to with his blasts. When he couldn't, Rogue or Erik would take over while he rested and give him a chance to recuperate. It took six hours before they could see a difference in the crowd of robots.

Even Jean's wrath didn't wipe out the fleet (though it did get them out of hot water).

Hours had past of hopelessly battling robots. No idea how the school was. No idea how the professor was. No idea if more sentinels were coming. Everyone's bodies were singing, weeping with pain. Blood. Sweat. And grime. Part of Kitty's uniform had been seared away on the stomach by a laser she barely phased away from. Her whole abdomen was exposed. She deliriously joked while she was strung up on Piotr and Kurt's arms that she would redesign her uniform that way.

Even with her strong connection to the earth, Amara was burning out. Just smoke began sizzling from her hands for a while, even in her full form. "W-Wha...? This has never happened!?" A sentinel began aiming a laser at her.

"Switch back, switch back!" Kurt shouted. Amara complied and he grabbed her quickly out of the lasers way.

They were all nauseous with exhaustion and the battle had no end in sight. Scott and Rogue were hiding together behind some rubble together. Her long hair clung to her neck with sweat and dirt. She looked into Scott's face, imagining what his eyes looked like under his visor. He smiled wearily and adjusted the dirty, white scarf around her neck. She winked at him, adjusting his crooked visor.

"I'm gonna call her, Scott." His forehead creased.

"Rogue,"

"What else are we going to do?" He shook his head.

"Play it smart? Fight tactically and preserve our ene-"

"We are barely scrapin' by! It's a fleet of sentinels, Scott. If there was ever a time to..." He sighed.

"You're weak!" He protested. She stared at him in disbelief.

"I'm-"

"We've been fighting for hours," He corrected with a growl. "What if she takes over? Who is gonna stop you?" He shook at the thought. He was still scared of that Jean and he was scared of losing her, too. 'I can't lose anyone else... Especially not you.' She tried to look into his eyes.

"Kurt will. Logan will. You will. Don't worry, I always come back." He didn't look placated as she broke away, dodging from behind the rubble.

"What are you doing?!" Erik demanded, veering a few rockets off course from slamming into him.

"Guess," Rogue responded as her eyes glowed white.

'Jean... Whatever happened with the professor and Onslaught... The government sent out a fleet of sentinels.' Rogue reported fearfully, hoping she was listening.

'That's what I'm feeling on earth. His power... It's absolutely awe defying. So many lives snuffed out...' Rogue nodded.

'There's something wrong with the programming. They've been hacked or are malfunctioning. They're attacking everything, they've gone all terminator.' Jean frowned.

'Say no more, I'll see what I can do.'

With a scream, one sentinel disappeared completely. Erik watched in wonder. Amara supplied some fire after resting and Rogue immediately began manipulating and embellishing it, washing a wave of flames over the robot army. She screamed in rage as she burned them. When Rogue grew weak she stuttered from the sky. "Scott..." She moaned. "Blast me..." He stared at her hesitantly.

"B-But..."

"Your blasts empower Jean," She reminded. "It'll help me keep going." He frowned but complied, shooting a meek beam at her. She laughed when it struck her. "That all ya got?" He smirked.

"As you wish." She moaned as the beam hit her and she shot back to the air. Shouting, she shoved two robots midway in to the concrete and rubble. Erik summoned another electromagnetic pulse and hurled it at the relentless band of robots. Grunting rabidly, Rogue thought about Lance and the ground began to shake, opening up and swallowing one sentinel into the ground completely.

Kurt, Kitty, Piotr, Laura, and Logan watched from the rubble as Rogue laid into the machines.

"She is one woman army..." Piotr exclaimed to himself. Logan nodded.

"Sure is." He murmured, itching for his metal claws.

Rogue clenched her fists and tried to summon another earthquake but nothing happened. 'Wha...'

'Rogue. If you push it much farther you're gonna die.' Jean worried, her voice anxious. '...Or I'm going to lose control.' Rogue fell to the ground with a surprised yelp.

'No, I've got it-'

'It's not you I'm worried about.' She answered solemnly. 'I'm holding it together from the White Hot Room but if I were there I know I would get too agitated.' Rogue pounded her fist in the ground. She was right, Rogue had felt the control slipping for her fingers every time she pushed herself more. She hadn't had a choice.

"ROGUE," Scott screamed. "Watch it!" Erik quickly manipulated a sheet of metal as a shield, blocking a spray of bullets from hitting Rogue. Scott ran quickly and scooped her behind debris with him. "You alright?" She nodded in a daze.

"Y-Yeah. I am." She shook her head. "Sorry I couldn't do more. I didn't want to lose control." He smiled.

"You did great. I felt her, Rogue..." He looked back out to the remaining sentinels. "Don't worry about it for now just rest. We'll take over from here." He told her determinedly, rising to fire an optic blast into the fray.

Laura lashed out with a snarl and managed to cut straight through leg of one, sending it wobbling. "MUTANT X-23 IDENTIFIED." It droned, shooting a green sticky substance out.

"LAURA!" Logan cried out. She jumped but the goop caught her ankle, rendering her immobile. She tugged frantically. The sentinel aimed and prepared to fire a laser at her. "NO!" Kitty ran over despite Piotr's protests. She dove and flipped, landing beside Laura and phasing her leg through the slop. The laser fired but to everyone's surprise it didn't hit them. Without even thinking, Kitty had erected a barrier, hustling the other mutant out of the way. Kurt ported over quickly, evacuating them out of the area.

Logan looked at Kitty proudly. "Incredible job, Half-Pint." She took a second to take the praise and then ran off to make herself useful. With a bit of a feminine cry Amara ascended to her full flame form, shooting fire balls on approaching sentinels with fury. In a particular bout of frustration Piotr grabbed the leg of a malfunctioning sentinel and swung it around into a destroyed building.

Erik ripped an entire sentinel in half with his magnesis.

Scott melted the face off of one with his powers. Kitty phased the foot of one completely into the ground herself.

Kurt got so fast and nimble with teleporting he was running the bombs and rockets back at the machines. Everyone was becoming a stronger mutant. A better fighter. More of a master of their mutation. But still, dozens of sentinels stood before them. Even after they all exhausted their limits. There was still no end in sight.

Rogue stood on shaky feet, clearly still exhausted from her bout from earlier. She wiped her forehead with the back of her arm. "Hey," Scott began. "Try to-" A blast sent them both careening into concrete refuse. Rogue luckily landed on Scott but he hit the back of his head. Hard. Even her head was spinning. She moaned.

"Scott..." Both she and Jean groaned. She looked around, alert in an instant and on her feet. "Scott!" She tried to lift him up and felt the blood on the back of his head. The Jean inside her began hissing with rage. 'N-No... Not now...' She felt Scott's neck and sighed when she felt a pulse. His breathing seemed fine but he was out from the head wound. She hovered over him indecisively.

Jean's grasp on control was gone once she saw Scott's blood. 'Make them pay, Rogue. Do it.'

'No,' Rogue pleaded. 'Jean...'

'They have to pay.' Rogue erupted into a pillar of flames catching the whole teams attention. They watched in horror as Jean appeared from Rogue, her suit a flaming red.

"Oh god.." Kurt breathed, backing away. "Here ve go..."

"It may not be the worst she is here..." Piotr reasoned as his skin flickered between normal and titanium. "We all cannot keep fighting much longer..." Kitty grabbed him, her face laced with worry.

"P-Piotr! Just rest!"

"Yeah man, ve got it for right now." Kurt assured, watching his skin with interest. Rogue fell in a heap near Scott as Jean hovered before the sentinels, a sneer on her face.

"You've hurt my love... My friends... Everyone shall pay!" She began, looking around. Logan watched her.

"Now if we could get her to just stop at the robots..." He growled, still bitter about stabbing Jean once before. He left his heart right there. Her face like an enraged animal, she reached out and set fire to the sentinels. She screamed as they burned, still struggling to identify mutants.

"Burn to cinder! Become the first of my many-" She turned when Scott shot her with an optic blast. "Scott..."

"It's okay, Jean." He said gently. "You did it. Look." He flashed another blast and it seemed to shock her. She looked around at the destruction and what remained of the machines.

"Scott..." He exhaled, realizing he'd been holding his breath. "Scott." She smiled. "I'm here..." He stood up off of his knees.

"You are..." He said, tears falling under his visor. Rogue slowly came to by his feet, letting out a strangled cry when she saw Jean was there. Her suit was white, finally. Logan approached her, unable to keep himself from enveloping her in a slow embrace.

"Logan..." She said slowly. He smiled.

"Hey Jeannie. I've heard from ya but it's good to see you. Real good." She smiled at him.

"Take care of yourself, slugger." He flashed a grin at her as she approached Scott and Rogue. Rogue started to move away but she could've sworn she felt a suggestion to stay put at his side. "Stay strong, Scott." Jean encouraged. He nodded, still in disbelief of her being there.

"I will." He promised, removing his visor. Jean gave a bird-like laugh.

"Atta boy. Bye, bye.." He stared at her as red washed over her form.

'Bye, Jean...'

"What do we do now?" Kitty asked in confusion and exhaustion. Logan sighed.

"We hope the institute has been standing." He responded. Rogue and Scott slung their arms over each other as they began the trek towards the jet.

The Xavier Institute was still standing. It had taken it's fair share of beating. There were cracks in the foundation, busted windows and holes in the walls from sentinel attacks. The remnants of the robots showed who was the victor. Ororo greeted them wearily, her arm in a sling.

"What the hell, 'Ro?" Logan complained, examining her arm gently.

"We made out well, Logan. And you all?" She examined everyone carefully. They looked dangerously fatigued and filthy, but okay. She sighed with relief when everyone was accounted for. When they were alone she looked at Logan. "We're all lucky to be alive." Logan sighed and lit a cigarette. For once, Ororo was too tired to complain.

"Lot of people died, though. All those robots rampaging on untrained civilians..." Ororo hung her head. Logan had seen and fought in many wars. She didn't even want to know his death toll estimation. 'Between Onslaught and these sentinels...' A colossal amount of life had been extinguished.

"I know. I can't imagine..." She sighed in frustration. "How could this happen?" Logan dragged on the cigarette.

"Stopped asking myself that a long time ago, sweetheart'." She placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's get you cleaned up." He didn't object, keeping his suggestive thoughts to himself.

Nobody went to tend their wounds, everyone joined the effort of rebuilding the shattered institute. Warren flew tirelessly with planks of wood on his back. Bobby worked to ice up holes until he collapsed with exhaustion. Hank hoisted him to his room.

Kitty and Piotr got in their first argument ever because the other refused to rest. They both ended up falling asleep in the rec room and nobody had the heart to wake them.

Jubilee, Tabitha, Sam, and Roberto had started painting the foyer.

Rogue had been using Carol's powers for so long she was subtly slipping in between her own personality and that psyche. She worked tirelessly beside Scott and was notably quiet. He didn't think much of it, they were all working on an all nighter at this point. Logan approached her curiously, watching her work.

"What's the name of this school?" He asked suddenly, causing Scott to cock an eyebrow.

"Logan, w-" Rogue started to run away but Logan caught her arm gently.

"Hey, it's okay. You're Rogue. I'm Logan." She searched him with wide eyes for a moment before nodding slowly. He smiled. "There you are..." He breathed as she swayed into his arms.

"L-Logan..." He shushed.

"Rest, Stripes. You're so tired other psyches are takin' over." With a grunt he scooped her bridal style.

"How'd you tell?" Scott asked after a moment. Logan chuckled.

"Told her to bring some wood to Bobby and she brought it to you." Scott snorted. "Poor thing was so scared and confused she was just doing work with everyone else." Scott shook his head. "I'll let her catch some rest on the couch in the living room." Scott nodded, watching as he disappeared with her.

"The Mutant Registration Act has passed. Here is a word from Senator Kelly on getting it passed and what it means..." Tabitha turned the T.V off in a huff.

"Man, what a drag." She rasped. Ororo shook her head in disappointment. She was surprised but she hoped their efforts might redeem them in the eyes of humans. Maybe keep them pondering on whether or not the world needed mutant registration was actually necessary. No, days later. She looked at the room of children fearfully. 'Wake up, Charles...' She thought desperately.

Bobby kicked his feet up on the table, his particularly shaggy hair getting in his face. He chewed on a toothpick. "Shouldn't we be used to it?" He remarked, watching the T.V footage with a dark look. "People were scared of us before... What will they think now?" His voice trailed off.

"So, are they gonna fix the messed up city or send the government after us first?" Jubilee wondered aloud.

"Have hope," Ororo said but it sounded like a warning. The younger mutants were quiet.

'I hope we are ready.'

Xavier Institute, Thursday Mar. 14th 6:54 pm

Remy stood over Rogue as she slept like an angel on the couch. Her lips were parted ever so slightly and it took all his restraint not to plant a kiss on her lips. He missed her. Whatever Xavier had done had completely counteracted Sinister's experiments. He felt it all. Betraying Rogue over and over again. Scheming against her. Serving Sinister's every whim. He felt a deep shame as he watched her rest peacefully.

'I wish I could make you understand, chére.' He thought bitterly, fighting the urge to reach out and stroke her face. 'I don't deser-'

"What are you doing?" He looked up and saw Kitty, shrouded in a black, off the shoulder sweater and baggy, khaki cargo pants. Kurt stood beside her in worn jeans and and a plaid shirt.

"H-Hey?!" He cried. Remy put distance between him and Rogue's sleeping form. She didn't even wake.

"Relax," He said quickly, holding hands out. "Don't mean no harm, de professor fixed me." Kurt moved near the couch, eyeing the cajun.

"Sure," He responded, looking him up and down. Kitty crossed her arms.

"Right. And even if he could, that wouldn't give you the right to go all Fatal Attraction. Beat it!" She barked with an edge in her voice that would've made Logan proud. He backed away and retreated to a more secluded wing of the mansion. Rogue groaned, sitting up slightly.

"Aren't there other couches you can pass out on..." She grumbled, wiping her eyes. She sat up with a yawn. Both Kitty and Kurt laughed in discomfort.

"Heh, sorry. Why don't we go pass out in our room? We earned, like, days of sleep." Rogue eyed her suspiciously but stood up, her whole body aching.

"I'm too tired to argue, Kitty." She trudged behind her, not even flying as the institute slowly was fixed up. She looked back at the couch. 'How did I end up there, last thing I remember I was with Scott.' She frowned. 'Felt like someone else was there...'

Remy ran right smack into Erik, who stood looking down at him. "You." He snapped. Remy frowned.

"Was about to say de same t'ing, homme." They stared at each other for a tense moment.

"Stay away from her." Remy struggled not to burst into laughter.

"Ah, das rich. Comin' from you." His narrowed.

"I mean it, Lebeau. I can kill you in ways nobody will ever figure out. Not that they'd care..." Remy charged a card, his teeth clenching.

"Try me, would love me some'tin to do!" He exclaimed, pulling out the card. Erik chuckled before slugging Remy in the mouth, not bothering with his powers. He staggered backwards into the wall before tackling Erik to the ground. "Bastard!" He charged a card and held it to his face. He put it away, growling.

"I'm tired of refereeing you jackasses." Emma said, her arms crossed. "I only thank god Rogue was not here to witness... That. Separate yourselves or I make both believe you're in a high school production of Grease as Danny Zuko." Both mutants stared at her, certain she would make good on her word. She smiled triumphantly. "Very good. Entertain yourselves." She stalked away and the mutants went to different ends of the school.

Emma ran right smack into a very winded Hank. "McCoy," She began.

"Charles is awake!"

Xavier Infirmary, Thursday Mar. 14th 7:31 pm

Ororo, Logan, Hank, Scott, and Emma had never seen the professor look so fragile. He usually looked so strong and dignified even in his chair. But he looked small and frail in the infirmary bed, his skin colorless and eyes dead.

Ororo set a mug of tea on the counter beside him. "Please, try and have some." She urged, forcing a smile. He grimaced.

"Thank you, my dear." His gaze remained on his hands.

"How are you feeling?" Scott asked, kicking himself after. It was quite obvious the professor was in dire condition. The bald telepath smiled at Emma.

"Could you contact whoever is closest to the Danger Room and have them bring me the portable Cerebro?" Everyone looked around in stunned confusion.

"Professor-"

"Charles-"

"We don't even know what happened to you!" He smiled sadly.

"I need to see something." He insisted. Emma huffed but quickly began scanning the institute.

"Piotr will appear soon with it." She looked at the other psychic worriedly. 'Why did you have me do it?' She wondered to herself.

"Thank you very much, Emma." He said, his mind racing. 'What have I done to us all?' He showed up with the device in hand, happy to see the professor awake.

"Professor Xavier!" He exclaimed.

"Much thanks, Piotr."

Xavier accepted the helmet, his hands shaking. He already knew the truth but he had to check.

"Charles, what do you need to try right now? Give yourself some rest." Hank pleaded. Xavier set the helmet atop his head.

"Have faith, friend." He sent Hank a sad smile. The device turned on and he shut his eyes. 'Come on, Charles. You can do it.' He focused on his telepathy but he heard nothing. He could not hear anyone in the room and he could not connect to Cerebro.

"Well," Scott asked.

"What is it, Chuck?"

"It is as I feared," He said, looking down. "My telepathic abilities..." Ororo shook her head.

"No!" She gasped.

"They are gone. Onslaught... He took my powers." 'My powers are all I am...' He thought brokenly Scott stumbled, thinking about the man who taught him everything he knew about having powers being stripped of them.

"No..." He stuttered. Logan howled and shot his claws out in a rage. Hank shuffled quietly out of the infirmary.

"I will see what I can do, Charles." He said gravely. They all knew how vulnerable they became without the world's most powerful telepath on their side. Especially right now. He disappeared before waiting for any responses.

"Focus..." Joseph, gesturing with his arms around Rogue's body. Her earlobes burned but she allowed him to, paying close attention to what he said. "But not too hard, or you'll strangle your connection to the metal." He explained, swirling the metal around them in the Danger Room. Rogue watched, secretly mesmerized. "It has to flow even in high stress situations." Rogue nodded, eager to try.

She closed her eyes and thought about her and Joseph touching, hand to hand thanks to his carefully placed electromagnetic field. Her eyes glowed and she took the metal from him and began experimenting with his powers. He watched her, amused. "You must inherit intuition upon absorption." He commented. He reached tentatively for her shoulders. "You're still a little too tight here." He showed her, his voice low. Her heart was ringing in her ears. "The flow," He reminded with a smile. Rogue nodded, staring deep into dark eyes.

The next time she focused she had the metal singing through the air almost as good as him. He admired her. She was hardworking. She was strong. And she was good at almost everything she tried. A much better tactician than the tiny bodyguard with the claws Xavier kept around him. And she had more guts than the breadstick leading the X-Men. Together they could save the world. Save mutant-kind. He knew it.

Erik stared out the window of 'Joseph's' window. He had tried not to but he couldn't stop thinking about Rogue. She was head strong. Soft. Infuriating, Scary. Dynamic. She kept even him guessing and the truth was he couldn't get enough, no matter how aloof he managed to act. The problem was he had gotten to know her. The girl could hold a grudge like her life depended on her. She had tried to murder her own mother once (not that he could say she didn't deserve it). No, their brief camaraderie and relationship was over for good.

"Everything you touch dies, Erik." He murmured to himself. 'Why wouldn't everything I love?' He thought bitterly. It would never last. If there was one thing Erik Lensherr wasn't allowed to be long, it was happy.

He had more pressing matters to attend to, like the world ending because of the being he and Charles had managed to unleash. 'We aren't going to be able to beat him without Rogue...' He thought his fist clenching. Only at the extreme exploitation of the child did they stand a chance against Onslaught. Was one bright soul worth the potential extinction of millions of others? His head knew the answer, no. But his heart... His heart definitely wan't certain.

'Anna...'

"What are we gonna do?" Kitty asked in a trembling voice, sitting at the kitchen table. She held an untouched apple in her hand. "W-What if the professor is sick or something?" Piotr rubbed her shoulder.

"He is probably exhausted from the fight. His powers may return." Rogue told her. Kitty only sighed in return. Knowing their luck, that would not be the case. They had all gotten used to expecting the worse.

"We gotta stay strong for him now, Kitty." Scott urged tiredly. He looked around at the still damaged walls of the institute. Every time he looked around he saw something that needed to be fixed. "What we need to do is keep working on the school. The better his surroundings, the faster he'll get better." He reasoned. Everyone around him groaned.

"We have been goin' at it, Scott." Rogue reminded him. "I've seriously never seen everyone so tired or this place so quiet. The mansion is still standin' but it's pretty banged up." She was right, everyone had been doing more than their share of helping and it still looked like shit. 'What if the professor is on his way out as headmaster...' He didn't know what they would do. He huffed, sitting on top of the kitchen counter.

"Sorry. Just stressed, I guess." He said, his tone apologetic. Before Rogue could stop herself she reached behind Scott's neck and squeezed on the pressure points in the muscles that relieved tension. Especially behind the eyes. He didn't mind, it felt wonderful as usual. He held himself from moaning in pleasure. Kitty's mouth dropped so far Piotr had to close it. Kurt averted his eyes quickly, counting how many black tiles were in the floor.

The pair had been close since Scott's return, even snuggly. But they had been so successfully low key nobody had really noticed anything out of the ordinary with them. That small gesture confirmed it, though. When they had a moment Kitty would definitely be talking to her.

"Trust me, ve can relate. Too bad 'the vorld is ending' is not a good enough excuse for tests..." He sighed, sparing a rare thought to his spiraling G.P.A.

Kitty shook her head. "I told you the world world end our senior year-"

"Kitty," Scott snapped. "Don't talk like that." He shot a look at Rogue. "She get's that sarcasm stuff from you." He nagged, turning to Rogue with a smile that betrayed his tone of voice. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah, and I couldn't be prouder." She stuck her tongue out and slid off the counter. She didn't make it far before the alarm sounded throughout the institute. Everyone present groaned, thinking they were going on a mission.

'The professor is missing.' Emma filled them all in telepathically.

'What? We just got him back?' Scott shot back immediately, his heart racing.

'He left of his own accord to fight Onslaught.' She responded. 'I believe him to be missing now.'

"Christ..." Kurt uttered, cradling his head. "Vhat is going on?"

"I've finally made my way to the famous Xavier institute." The chilling voice caused the three mutants to turn behind them. Kitty screamed, moving instinctively behind Scott when they all realized Mr. Sinister was in the doorway of the kitchen.

"O-Oh man..." Kurt mumbled, trying not to shake. Scott reached immediately reaching for his sunglasses.

"Sinister." Rogue hissed.

"Oh, Scott. I'm so glad I caught you." His adoring stare toward the mutant weird them all out. Scott didn't even know him, why was he so 'fond' of him? Rogue pressed her nails into her palms until she thought they would bleed.

"I swear I'm gonna ring Remy's hide-" He frowned for once when she mentioned Remy.

"Remy's here? How pathetic. It's shocking but no, I did not send him here to infiltrate." He informed his, his arms crossed. "He ran from me with his tail between his legs when he had to deal with the reality of what he's been up to. You should really ask him, I'm sure he'd love to tell you." Scott ripped his glasses off with a growl.

"Shut the fuck up, Sinister." The beam sailed right through him and crashed through the wall. Rogue glared at the genetically modified mutant intensely as she wiggled her glove off. 'Gotta make this count...' She thought, eyeing him up.

"As tenacious as always." Mr. Sinister said to him like a doting parent. It made him feel sick. Kurt sent Rogue an uncertain look before teleporting suddenly. Kitty jumped in surprise as Rogue soon followed, teleporting right behind Sinister. She reached her bare hand for him but she froze behind him, struggling to move.

"What's wrong?!" Kitty screamed, running forward. Rogue couldn't even think. Mr. Sinister had her and her mind in some kind of control, even with the aggressive mental training the professor had provided her. Sweat dripped down her brow but she couldn't communicate telepathically. She couldn't even think of memories to trigger her powers. She was frozen behind the lethal mutant.

"Kitty, run to Logan, okay." Scott ordered, his body shaking with adrenaline.

"B-But-"

"Go. Now." She took off running, phasing through the kitchen table and the wall on her way out. Mr. Sinister smiled.

"Just as I've always wanted it, Scott. Just me and you. Oh," He tossed a lazy look behind him, where Rogue was silently glaring at him. "And her." He moved behind her, causing Scott to cry out. Grinning, Sinister made a fist and Rogue howled in pain, her breaths short. She doubled over, her face screwed in pain.

"D-Damn him..."

"Sinister,"

"Now that I have your undivided attention. I need you to do something for me, Scott." His eyes narrowed but he didn't say anything. "I need you to come with me-"

"No!" Rogue snarled with great effort, writhing in Sinister's painful, telepathic grip. "Don't you dare!" She cried. He tightened his grip and her screams doubled in volume and intensity, causing Scott to start shaking. "Scott-" He slowly raised a hand to his glasses, watching Rogue and Mr. Sinister very carefully.

"I give the orders, Sinister. I don't take them." Mr. Sinister chuckled.

"Oh, I figured you would say that." He grabbed Rogue's hair and craned her neck into a vulnerable position. She whimpered, causing Scott's heart to jump to his throat.

"Sinister-" He jammed a needle to her throat.

"This... Is the Legacy Virus. You all are familiar with this, right?" Rogue and Scott locked eyes. "You didn't think I saved your friend for nothing, did you? I got premium samples of the virus... I've made a few improvements, too." Rogue was shaking her head despite the helpless look on his face. 'I can't take Sinister by myself, hell I'm not even sure if the whole team can. But if he injects her all over again...'

"Scott, I'll take my chances. I have Laura's healing factor, d-" He tugged on her hair, causing her to scream. He applied pressure to the needle and Scott screamed.

"Okay. Fine. I'll go."

"Scott?!" Rogue wailed in disbelief. "You can't-"

"Slim? You alright in there?" Logan's voice sounded from down the hall.

"Logan," Rogue half sobbed and he picked up his gait as fast as he could.

"Say it's a deal, Scott. If you trick me she'll be dead before dawn." Scott sighed. There had never been any way he wasn't going to go, not unless she got out of his grip somehow. A tear streamed down Rogue's cheek.

"Don't-"

"I'm sorry..." Sinister shoved Rogue to the ground with a grunt, panting. He grabbed Scott and chuckled, the both of them fading away,

"SCOTT," Kitty and Logan landed at Rogue's side. Emma, Hank, and Ororo soon following.

"What's happening? Where's Scott?" He sniffed around them.

"Sinister took him!" She cried. "I tried to take him on and he got me and used me to threaten Scott..." Logan cursed under his breath.

"Okay, it's okay. We'll get Shades back. And he'll be fine there, we've spent hundreds of hours practicing scenarios just like this, so don't worry." He took a second to wipe a tear off Kitty's face. "It'll be okay." Rogue cracked her neck aggressively.

"He's gonna regret it." She said, wiping her face with the back of her sleeve. If Logan didn't know any better he'd say the temperature was rising in the room. He stared into Rogue's eyes and he saw a flaming symbol glow. He gasped. Not only did Rogue care about Scott a lot but she was a close connection for somebody else who cared about Scott. A lot. And they were both stewing. 'That's not good...' He thought, weary. He didn't want to see that Jean. 'If she loses control when we try to get him back we're gonna have a whole bunch of other problems.'

"Stripes." He snapped her out of the vengeful trance she was caught in. "If you're comin' on this mission you gotta keep your head on straight." His tone was harsh. He had two eyes and a nose. He knew the two were close and intimate. He was happy for the girl, she deserved it. And he couldn't help but feel she'd be safe when she was with Scott. But they all knew what was on the line if Jean took over. It wasn't an option. "And I guess it goes without saying no calling out to Jean..." She opened her mouth to complain. "She won't like what she sees, Rogue."

She bit her lip. "Logan, I just tried to take him on myself. Frankly, I'm not sure we're going to be able to take him with her." She stared fearfully into his dark eyes. "I know what you're saying and I get it. And I won't, not if I don't have to." She looked like she was going to keep speaking but she shut her mouth. 'Sometimes I don't really have a choice...' She thought

'You're my connection...' She had told her once. 'Everything I see and experience... Jean knows, can maybe even feel.' She knew there wasn't going to be much she could do to keep out of it. 'Let's just hope this works in our favor...' Rogue jumped when Kitty placed a hand on her shoulder, her face worried. Rogue nodded and headed off to get ready with her. Sinister was known for experimenting, he couldn't be left long.

Logan took the time to limp off in another direction, his nose leading the way to where the cajun mutant usually sulked. He found him leaned against the wall, flipping a coin. Logan tried and failed to suppress a growl. He heard it but ignored him, his trench coat casting a long shadow. "Gambit." Logan snarled. He didn't respond. "Sinister was here." He met his eyes with glowing red ones.

"Remy know." He spat. He continued flipping a coin.

"So you really have nothing to do with him, just like that? You're not here to be the mole?" Remy chuckled bitterly.

"My mind is lil shop o'horrors, homme. A little time wit'out his potion and I came runnin' here. Where I hope to live out de rest of miserable days in solitude." Logan stared at him for a long moment.

"Come on this mission." He stopped flipping the coin. He looked up, his mouth open in shock.

"W-Wha-"

"You got it back. Your humanity, or whatever." He felt embarrassed suddenly in front of the grizzled mutant. "If it really helps you feel better, Gambit, to think that some potion Sinister gave you made you capable of the things you did." Remy's stomach dropped. "You feel so bad about the things you done, the things you did to her..." He stepped closer, his stare hard. "Then do something about it. Go keep her safe." 'You still love her.' He didn't say it, he wouldn't plant any suggestions. But he could tell by the way the mutant was acting.

"I-I..."

"C'mon." He turned without waiting for a response. He kicked off the wall and followed unsurely behind Logan.

'Keep her safe...' Remy thought to himself, picturing her face.