Rogue sat in the kitchen. It had always seemed odd that in such a high-tech place, only one TV was available. And it was a small old thing. It worked fine and had cable...but the Professor was sending a clear message about teens lounging in front of a TV more than strictly necessary.

She groaned in annoyance, sensing a disturbance. Upstairs, one of the slumbering mutants had awoken and was making her way downstairs. It seemed there was no hope for solitude and peace in that place, even at 3 am in the morning on a school day.

Back when they shared a room, Rogue had suggested Kitty to keep a glass of water on her nightstand so that she wouldn't have to get up for a drink in the middle of the night. The younger girl had refused the advice and got snappy when pushed about it. Since she was quiet and never disturbed her sleep, Rogue had shrugged it off. But Kurt didn't. His diligent spying on Kitty earned him a lecture from Ororor and the nickname Nightstalker, but it also helped resolve a mystery that had all of them mildly confused. Kitty didn't go to the kitchen to have a glass of water: she wanted food. Greasy, high-calorie food…

"...Robert Edward Kelly, principal of Bayville's public High School since the previous principal's mysterious disappearance 2 years ago, continues to top the popularity polls, despite the belligerent tone of his campaign. He has promised strong measures against the mutant population here in Bayville. Some of those measures have been labeled anti-constitutional altogether, but…"

Rogue's face hardened. This shouldn't be happening now. She needed time to build walls of denial and hope around the painful truths Apocalypse had forced upon her. Xavier's dream was the way to go, because the alternative was too horrible. If humanity was to turn upon itself, let it do it without her help. Never mind the innocent and helpless; never mind the perpetual victory of evil; never mind the lonely harrowing death of millions...

Rogue whimpered, pressing the palm of her hands against her eyes. Kelly couldn't win. People had to be aware of the madness, of the hatred, of the danger to the whole community. History couldn't repeat itself. They had to be aware of the past, of the crimes committed and left unpunished for centuries, of the victories earned thanks to the torturous sacrifice of thousands...Kelly could not win...People would take a stance against bigotry...

"Mmornin', Mist' Logan…"

Rogue started. Kitty was in the kitchen, shuffling towards the refrigerator. She phased half-way through the door and stepped back out with a carton of milk in one hand,and a bowl with chicken wings in the other. She watched her sullenly, hoping against all odds that the pig-out ritual would proceed to its conclusion in silence. Wishful thinking. Kitty's sleepy gaze eventually drifted towards her. The girl snapped to full attention, and Rogue sighed again.

"What're you doing up…?"

"Ah missed the debate."

Kitty turned to look at the TV, and immediately scowled. They were re-airing the debate that had taken place earlier that evening in a live broadcast. The three candidates for mayor of Bayville had exposed their plans for the city and its people, explaining why their ideas would prove more beneficial to the community than those proposed by the other two candidates.

Kitty didn't need to see the painful spectacle again. The Professor had gathered everyone in the Library so that they could watch it together, and talk about it once it was over. Kelly had never bothered to hide his hostility towards them, but the other two candidates merely provided a softer version of the same draconian measures. By the end of it, neither of them had felt like saying anything. It was up to the adults to make some sense of such hatred, to inspire hope in those hard times, and give them strength to face the impending threats stalking in the horizon.

"They are afraid." The Professor had said in that soothing voice of his. "All we need to do is show them that there is no reason to fear us. Tomorrow, we will have our chance to speak. And they will see that all we want is to live in peace, just like them."

"Guess they didn't trust him in the same room with the candidates, huh?" Rogue said dryly.

Kitty closed her mouth. Logan hadn't dragged Rogue into the Library to participate like everyone else. Bobby and Berzerker had protested the deferential treatment and demanded the same benefit. But they had to "sit down and shut it", and deal with the unexplained absence of their teammate. Since the Apocalypse's incident, many things about Rogue remained unexplained. The adults assured them that everything was okay. That whatever Mystique and Mesmero had planned, it obviously failed. And that was great...but it didn't explain why Rogue was acting so strangely. They kept asking to "give her time", but it wasn't helping. Weeks crawled by, and Rogue just seemed to be getting weirder.

"Maybe….but it's like the Professor said: people are afraid. And we can show them there's nothing to be afraid about."

"Hope you are right."

"Rogue...Are you sure you're okay...? You're like….quieter now...and...not even around anymore…? Are you…." Her concerned face grew deadly serious." Are you on drugs?"

"No?! And don't you go tell the Professor ya think Ah am, you hear?"

"I won't tell anyone. You can tell me."

"I'm not on drugs, Kitty…."

"Then why are you acting like this?"

The last few months had been so hard. All the persecution the humans subjected them to, the nerve-wrecking conflict with Mesmero and Apocalypse, and now the elections sparking a dozen frightening uncertantintes. It wasn't healthy to face it all alone. Just thinking about all the painful moments the Professor, Jean and Ororo had helped to sooth, all the sadness Kurt and Bobby had chased away, all the fears that Scott and Mr Logan had known to dispel...

Rogue didn't have any of that. She refused it. And Kitty didn't understand why. It wasn't okay to abandon oneself to despair and anger.

"I'm your friend. You can talk to me. Please, talk to me."

Rogue's dispassionate gaze followed the slow progress of a lone tear as it rolled down Kitty's left cheek. Indeed, they were friends. Their shared needs and continual exchange of favors-both in the day to day life, and in the battle field- reinforced that sense of camaraderie and union. Together against the rest of the world. Like soldiers in an army…

The Professor was a smart man. He knew a war was coming. He was training them for it. The Dream….was a merciful screen to give them some measure of happiness in the hell to come…

Rogue winced and covered her eyes, feeling the tears rushing up yet again.

"Ah've seen horrible things, Kitty….It's making me hate people. Ah can't look away from that. Ah think the Professor's lying to us. He knows what's coming and lies about it. Or he knows and it broke him. And he's lying to himself, just like he's lying to us."

"...you...you saw this when you touched Magneto?"

"Apocalypse, Kitty. He was old. He was never asleep. He saw it all. He showed me. And Ah don't know why...Ah don't know what he wants me to do."

"...did you tell the Professor about this?"

"...no…Ah need time to understand."

"He'll help you." Kitty placed a hand on Rogue's shoulder, making sure first that it was clothed.

"Or he'll lie some more. Or get so scared, that he'll try to do something to me. That's what people do, Kitty. When they're scared, or when they see something they don't like, they attack."

"He would never do that!"

"How would you know?" Rogue cracked a dry laugh. "You don't know him….Ah do…"

The change in her companion was sudden and absolute. Whereas before the words she spoke mirrored those in her mind, and the emotions pouring out of her were sincere, now her silence hid treachery. Kitty was having an epiphany: Apocalypse had driven her mad. Names were flying passed in her mind. She was trying to select the safest option to talk to about this...

Rogue's face hardened, and Kitty swallowed nervously under her cold gaze.

"The Professor is selfish and manipulative just like Magneto is." The words came in a hiss, her face twisted in a sneer. "But he's a dreamer. And he will let people die for his dream. He'd rather stroke his ego than save lives. Keep his conscious clean telling himself he did what was right even if innocent people die….And he'll lie to get you to do the same."

Kitty struggled to control herself, but Logan had trained her well. His training had sharpened perceptions that escaped rational thought. She was in danger. An unknown enemy was wearing her friend's face. A dangerous creature that wished her harm. She had to flee. Now. With a whimper, she bolted for the door.

Kurt ported in front of her. She reacted on instinct, ready to phase through and avoid collision. But her mutant powers failed her. The air was knocked out of her, as she slammed against something as hard as concrete. She bounced off with a cry of pain and landed hard on the tiled floor. For long agonizing seconds, all that existed in the world was pain and a ringing in her ears. But she struggled to push pass it. She looked up to glare at Kurt.

"Stop popping…!" The rest of her tirade died on her lips. It wasn't Kurt…."H-how did you…?"

Rogue looked down at her as if she was a bug that needed to be squashed.

"Y'll are a fool. Just like the people that'll vote for Kelly."

"Rogue…"

The door slammed open and a pack of hungry mutant teens stampeded into the kitchen, chattering and mumbling. As usual, poor Jamie got bumped and a dozen more of him popped into existence. Amara went straight for the pantry, followed close by Bobby. Berzerker was already latched to the coffee maker and Jean was preying upon the fruit bowl. The rest had trooped to the fridge and were buzzing there like a hive of wasps.

Kitty and Rogue stood frozen, disorientated by the sudden intrusion of routine into their strange intense encounter. They locked gazes after a moment, and understanding dawned on them within seconds: power had switched hands. Scowling, Kitty climbed back to her feet, her seething eyes never leaving Rogue.

Scott was the first to notice something wasn't right in the kitchen. Jean was next, followed by Amara and Sam. Soon, everyone had grown quiet and were looking at the pair standing in the middle of the kitchen, seemly locked in a stare-war.

"Hey, you two okay?" Scott asked, approaching the pair. It wasn't rare for these two to be at each other's throat...but usually things looked as silly as they were….Now, Rogue seemed deflated and about to throw up; and Kitty was pale, her hands were trembling...and her babish face was twisted in a look of genuine anger.

"No!" She bite out, making everyone jump. "No, we are not okay at all!"

Rogue sighed. Fuck.