Disclaimer: Marvel owns all X-Men related things, though I own this fic and the general concept for it.

Rating: Rated M for language and mature subject matter.

For ROMY AMV fans: If anyone is interested, go to YouTube and search for Rogue Gambit videos. Anything by "karebare89" was made by myself. I have made numerous videos for ROMY. Hope you guys check 'em out.

Thanks again for the great response in reviews, guys!

Enjoy the chapter!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"ROGUE!!"

Her heart jumped in her chest as she lurched forward in the bed, letting out a near strangled cry. She gasped for breaths as she frantically looked around the room. Her vision ghosted and blurred everything in the room as her eyes moved at an unbelievable rate. She could barely recognize where she was.

"Rogue. Please, calm down."

Hank approached her bed cautiously as she remained and frantic and in a state of shock. He raised his hands, attempting to catch her attention and draw her back to her senses.

"Hank?! Wh-where am Ah? What happened? Where'd they all go?"

Everything was gone; the chains, the tunnels, the fighting, the smell of blood, the air of death and evil, and that damn presence… the one that made her do it. Nothing; all that was left was a sick feeling her had in her gut. Like a monster was staring at her from her closet as a child, or hiding under her bed. The normally white-blanketed room was hidden in shadows from closed lights, leaving only her and the good, blue doctor in the light of a single lamp over her bed.

She couldn't remember what had happened.

Hank reached out to her, "Rogue, everything is alright; your back home. Please…"

"No!" Rogue jumped back, "Where is it?!"

Hank was puzzled by her question, "Where's what, Rogue?"

"That monster! She let that monster…" Rogue worked herself into such a panic; she gripped the sides of her head and shut her eyes tight. She was hallucinating, "Ahh!"

Throughout her screaming, Logan charged into the room, finding Hank attempting to calm the girl down without taking a hold of her. Hank quickly moved to the IV and injected small doses of morphine to calm her.

"Rogue, lissen to me! You're fine. Everything's fine. Just rest, darlin'," Logan said sternly, but gently.

"No!" she protested again, slowly losing her strength, "She's still here..." tears slowly spilled from her bright green eyes, almost pleading to not be left alone, "She has tah be!"

Hank turned back to Rogue, "Who is, Rogue? Who's here?"

"In mah… monster…" she drifted back into sleep again, resting back on the bed.

Logan and Hank stared back at each other in confusion, "Monster? A hallucination?"

"Maybe," Hank replied, "Rogue's prolonged exposure to Ms. Marvel while under Malice's presence has most likely… created some sort of twisted being within her mind. A separate entity that most likely embodies the emotions and fears Rogue felt towards the situation she was in."

Logan gently moved the sheets back over Rogue's body as he spoke, "But it should fade, right? Just like all the other times she absorbed people."

Hank looked at Logan solemnly, "This is a very difficult situation," he felt like he was talking to a father who just found out is daughter was in a car accident.

"Is she going to be okay?!" Logan retorted, wanting a plain and simple answer. However, with Hank, it was never simple.

"I'm sorry, Logan, but I'm not entirely sure of the extent of which the damage has been inflicted. Rogue has never been exposed to absorbing skin contact for as long as she was."

"What're you saying Hank?" Logan's growl was slowly becoming predominant.

"Rogue may have permanent damage to her mental and physical state as a result of what happened. For all we know, any progress she has made through training has been obstructed due to the trauma. It may very well be impossible now for her to develop any sort of control over her abilities, or even that of Ms. Marvel's."

Logan looked down at the girl he considered the closest thing he ever had to a real daughter and family. He had been in this situation with her before. But this… he wasn't sure any of them would recover from this.

"We can't keep her doped up on morphine forever, Hank. Next time she wakes up, I want you to call me and Charles as soon as she's up."

"Of course. I understand your predicament, Logan. And I agree," Hank looked back at Logan as he slowly left the room and left the doctor with his patient.

Logan had been awake for hours now. It felt like only when he just shut his eyes that Rogue began to thrash out. He needed to know she'd be okay. The circles under his eyes began to show, even for a man who had regenerative capabilities. He quickly rubbed his eyes as he passed by a few rooms on his way down the med bay. Scott was still recovering from a few injuries he sustained and Jean was by his bedside with a sprained wrist, seemingly asleep as well. Ororo was asleep in her room, lying on her side to avoid resting on the stitches she had running down her back. Kurt was back up within hours and was pacing his room finding nothing to cease his uneasiness. Logan could tell this whole experience shook the elf.

Rogue may not have known it, but she was the rock of strength and the meaning of family for a lot of people in that mansion.

Kurt and Rogue became very close as siblings after the whole Mystique incident and they confided heavily in each other for encouragement. Logan was no different. But Logan knew that if Rogue found out what happened to either of the two people at the end of the hall, it really would destroy her.

Logan moved up to the glass window that let him view into the room of Carol Danvers. The heart monitors and respirators were the only sound that he heard as he stared at the battered and bruised woman before him. Charles had done a complete mental examination of each of the patients that were now lying in the med bay after what happened in the Morlock Tunnels. Carol Danvers had resulted in having no brain activity whatsoever. Her entire mental scape was blank and left nothing for the Professor to relay. She was in a coma and it was unclear if she would ever recover from it.

They pulled Ms. Marvel's body from the crater she made when she plummeted into the concrete. The commandos that followed her command allowed the X-Men to take custody of her initial care because they did not understand the complexities of her injuries and would retrieve her once she was considered stable. They would be back within the next 12 hours.

It was like death was staring at him, but he just couldn't face it. To think that the girl he knew all these years could do something like this... Logan could not believe Rogue was capable of such an act, even though he knew it wasn't her conscious decision. Rogue would blame this on herself and always think of this as the point in her life that she took another human being's life.

He couldn't stand to look at her anymore. Logan moved back from the glass and lowered his head in shame, that he let something like this happen. He was supposed to prevent this, he knew more about this then anyone else and yet he still let it happen. Why couldn't he have done something? Why? Why didn't he insist that she come on the mission? If she had just been with the team, she would have been safe. Malice would have never possessed her if she had just been on the jet with them. Why?

Logan lifted his head once more, sighing as he rested his head against the wall and turned to look at the room at the end of the hall. It was dark through the glass. Only the briefest of flashes from a heart monitor light came through and it terrified Logan to think that what was currently in front of him could be the same case in that room. They were lucky though, it could have been much worse. But he was afraid Rogue wouldn't share his sentiments.

He swept the side of his mouth and took a few quick, easy breaths before walking out of the hallway and into the light of the elevator. He was going to need a few hours of sleep if he wanted to be in the proper state of mind to face the reality of this situation.

xxx

"ROGUE!!" the sound echoed throughout the tunnels.

Sinister called out for his Marauders to withdraw. Cyclops and Jean were already out of his hands and his beloved Malice was left to wonder aimlessly without a host. There was no point in staying and fighting. He would recoup his strength and return. During the ruckus, they disappeared… without a trace.

The remaining Morlocks had quickly made their escape with most of the commandos. A few of them remained after the battle to aid Ms. Marvel's limp body. Xavier and Beast had soon joined them in remnants of the tunnels and promised that they would take her back to the mansion and help her recover until she was stable.

The X-Men were randomly scattered as they helped their comrades out from rubble and with any of their injuries. Colossus returned with the Professor and Beast. He was almost immediately at Shadowcat's side, still a bit dizzy from Vertigo's attack.

Nightcrawler wrapped his arm around Storm's waist as he teleported her back to the Black Bird.

Wolverine helped to load Ms. Marvel onto a cot before he watched the Cajun, taking hold of Rogue carefully and cradling her in his arms, waiting for another cot to come for her. He knew she was barely conscious, but Gambit needed to rectify this.

Gambit knelt on the ground as he held Rogue. She had groaned from the dull ache throbbing in her head, and blinked a few times, barely being able to look up at Remy, "R…Remy?"

His response was low and cumbersome, "Good to have ye back, chere."

Rogue attempted to focus on his face, now showing some early bruising and a few cuts, she gave no response, not even a smile.

Remy just continued to murmur to her, not so much to comfort her, but himself, that he let this happen to her, "Ye had dis Cajun worried fo' a while dere." He was trying to laugh, but his eyes were already becoming glassy. He kissed the top of her head and said, "I ain't eve'a lettin' you leave my side again, Anna. I promise."

"Remy…" Rogue's lip trembled a little as she shut her eyes and curled into his hold, wrapping her arm around his side as she shook.

Remy let out a stifled cry of pain as she held his waist. He hadn't even noticed it. Too much adrenaline at the time.

Rogue let go immediately and sat back, tears streaming down her face as she looked back at his face and seeing Remy biting down on his lip hard. Her strength was almost instantly returning to her as the realization of the situation hit her. Her attention flew to his side. "Remy!" she gasped in horror, pulling his duster away from his body. His shirt, now blood stained, showed the round bullet hole just underneath his pectoral.

Remy only looked back at her apologetically, now beginning to find it difficult to breathe, as she attempted to shout for the others, "Was not'in' you could'a done, chere."

"Logan, please! Help him!"

Rogue looked back at Remy, almost on the brink of becoming hysterical, as he reeled unsteadily into Rogue. She caught him by the shoulders and moved him on to his back, almost effortlessly.

Wolverine was by Rogue's side in a second and instantly smelt the blood coming from Gambit's body. He called over to Beast, quickly latching Ms. Marvel steady on her cot and sending them off.

"Remy, stay with meh… please!" Rogue was crying harder then ever before. No one had ever seen her like this.

"I… I be alright, cherie," Remy breathed out as he raised his hand slightly, Rogue took quick hold of it with her hand and nodded to his comment, attempting to be strong. But she had never felt weaker in her life. Like she could do nothing to stop this. "Trust me," he said again. Rogue suddenly felt the charge he was putting off through his hand, enough for something small. His smirk appeared on his face and she could only smile back to him. That smirk and that tingle always made her smile. She was still crying, but she understood what he wanted. Rogue leant down and slowly brushed her lips against Remy's. It was a calming moment for them both. Rogue felt so much more easy and relaxed, she nearly stopped crying.

As Rogue pulled away, Remy lost consciousness and Beast quickly approached his side, asking questions to Wolverine. Where was he hit? How was his breathing?

Rogue simply remained focused on his face, peaceful and angelic. His hand had lost its grip, but she held it with both hands as Beast assessed him. The only thing Rogue heard after all that was Beast, "He has a collapsed lung. We need to get him back to the mansion."

Rogue's head snapped up in attention, "He'll be okay, though, rahght?"

Beast sighed, "Rogue…"

"Jus' tell meh he'll be okay, please!" Rogue shouted as she stood up and backed away from them.

"Rogue, calm down!" Wolverine moved to follow Rogue and to calm her so Beast and the Professor could tend to Gambit and get him into the Black Bird.

"No! Stay away! Monster! You did this to him!" Rogue began to shake her head in confusion, not completely addressing Wolverine. She screamed out in anger before Rogue flew up into the air and away from him. She burst through the tunnel ceilings in rage and onto the city streets of New York.

However, just as quickly as she did, Rogue quickly lost her energy and fell back through the holes and into the tunnels once more. Wolverine quickly moved to catch her and swiftly was able to get her back onto the jet.

xxx

Rogue slowly stirred from her sleep, not 8 hours later then her first hysterical outbreak. She looked around the room and felt at a somewhat ease to home. She wasn't back in the tunnels again.

She rested back against her pillows and rolled her shoulders, feeling her side twinge from pain. Rogue rested her hand on her waist and felt a thick padding there. That's right. Harpoon hit her, she remembered the initial pain. But she could remember feeling Wolverine's healing factor already in use at the time. Why did she need the bandage?

The door opened with a near silent whoosh as Hank stepped in with a chart in hand, "Oh, Rogue, you're awake. How do you feel?"

Rogue looked back at Hank solemnly, "Fahne… Ah guess."

"You have been through quite a bit in the last two days. No wonder you slept so long," he continued, studying the chart once more.

"What… exactly happened, Hank?" Rogue mumbled, still confused, her memory serving little use.

Hank quickly looked back at the young woman, and sighed before moving over to the speaker that led through the mansion. Pressing the buttons for Logan's room and the Professor's study, he said, "Excuse me, but Rogue has just woken up."

Both men replied shortly and were already on their way down to the med bay.

"They'll be here soon to explain the situation to you properly."

"All Ah remembah was Malice…possessin' meh. And the attack from the troops," Rogue continued, hoping to get some information.

"Do you remember anything after the attack?" Hank asked, approaching the side of her bed.

Rogue shook her head in reply, "Everythin's a blur after that," Rogue shook her head, frustrated and slammed her fist against the bar of her bed. The bar broke off the bed and fell to the floor with a loud clank as Rogue jumped back in surprise. Hank knew he shouldn't have, but he laughed heartedly at the girl's strength.

It was then that Logan and the Professor arrived at the room, "Rogue, it is good to be see you awake. We were worried about you," the Professor stated calmly.

Rogue shook her head away from the bar on the floor and back to the newcomers, though still surprised at herself, "Uh… thanks…. Professor."

Logan moved over to the bed, "You doin' okay, Stripes?"

"Ah'm fahne. Why is everyone askin' meh this?" She retorted, getting slightly annoyed that no one was answering her question about what happened.

The Professor attempted to keep Rogue calm, "We're just concerned for your well-being, Rogue. The other day's events stirred quite a few of us."

Rogue sighed and asked again, "Can ye at least tell meh what it was that gave everyone a scare, then?"

The Professor turned to Logan and nodded for him to leave the room. Logan didn't want to, but he understood, "I'll be right outside, if you need me."

As Logan left, Xavier turned back to Rogue, "Now, how have the psyche's been acting in your head?"

Rogue had barely noticed, "They haven't been saying much. They all seem… kinda scared, if anything."

"Can you recall the last person you absorbed?" he asked.

Rogue quickly attempted to remember, but she couldn't, "Ah'm sorrah, Professor. Ah can't."

Xavier quickly looked back to Hank as he jotted down some notes on the clipboard he held.

She shifted between the two suspiciously, "Did Malice make meh do somethin' with mah powers, Professor?"

The man before Rogue could only look back at her with a sort of pity. He was unsure of how to explain the situation to the girl, "Rogue… I want to be clear that nothing about what happened was your fault. Nothing could have prevented what happened. It is because of the twisted minds of Sinister that brought us this unhappiness."

Rogue could feel the stress he put in his words and how tense it made the room feel. She simply decided to agree with him for now and nodded her head, though she felt like she would cry soon if they didn't start talking.

The Professor began once more, "Thanks to the efforts of Ms. Danvers and her men, for the most part, we were able to thwart Sinister's plan. He was attempting to use genetics of powerful mutants in order to take control of a world that would ultimately be inhabited by his slaves, Using Scott's and Jean's genetics to do so. The Morlocks, mankind, everything would have been lost to that mad man. Thankfully, we have prevented that from happening.

"However," he paused for a second, "Ms. Danvers did not quite make it out of the situation intact."

Rogue looked confused once more, "What happened to her? Is she okay?" Xavier only shook his head as Rogue gasped in shock.

"Sadly, while you were under Malice's control, Malice felt that Carol was putting Sinister's life at risk and she acted out of rage. Malice attempted to use your absorption abilities in order to kill Carol. She wasn't successful, but it isn't looking very good for her."

Rogue placed a hand over her mouth as she shook, the memories slowly coming back to her. She could remember hearing Carol begging for it to stop. She could remember flying around the tunnels, trying to fight Malice's control over her body. And she remembered feeling that terrible presence being lifted from her. But that presence was still there. It was wasn't Malice's. It was something… different, but it felt just as sinister.

Rogue tried to shake herself back to reality, "How… How is she?"

Hank continued, "She has yet to report any brain activity since she has been here. As far we can tell, she will remain in a coma for a while to come."

Rogue silently let tears fall from her now closed eyes. It all came back to her; Carol's memories, emotions, everything that she was was now a part of Rogue. That was the presence she felt. That hate that Ms. Marvel felt in her psyche. The rage that engulfed her as her being was being taken away from her. She would never have her life back. Neither of them would. It wasn't her fault, but at the same time, it was. Rogue wasn't strong enough to fight off Malice's control. If she hadn't been to mentally weak, she could have prevented what happened. Now, she would have to live that hanging over her head for the rest of her life.

She could feel Carol's powers through her now. That explained why the bar broke when she hit it. She hadn't been trying to channel Juggernauts power when that happened. The flying, the strength, the invulnerability, it would all be hers now. Still didn't explain the bandaging though.

She let a sniffle escape before trying to wipe away her tears. She may not have strong before, but damn it all, she was going to be strong now. Rogue looked back at the two older men. It seemed like they weren't quite through yet, "Wh-Why do Ah need bandagin'? Ah can jus' use Logan's healing factor."

"I'm sorry, but you can't, Rogue," Xavier stated.

"Why not?"

"Because your secondary mutant is gone."

Rogue stopped trying to peel off her bandages and listened to them, "What?"

Hank tried to explain it to her quickly, "It is most likely because Carol's powers have over-ridden your natural mutation process. Since you have completely processed your first mutation, your absorbing capabilities remain. However, channeling other abilities seems to be impossible for you now. Ms. Danvers powers are now your secondary mutation."

Rogue sniffled once again, but tried not to let it phase her, "Great! What gal wouldn't want to be able to lift a 50 ton pile of bricks."

"But you should look at this as a new opportunity," the Professor tried to remain optimistic, but with so many of this students injured, it made him feel like joining this mission on Ms. Marvel's request may have been a poor decision.

Rogue snorted at the comment, "Hard to look at it that way when the human bein' responsible for the 'opportunity' is in a coma." Both men could only seem to agree with Rogue silently.

Rogue looked back at them as they stood there, silently. Guess the bad news just wouldn't stop, there had to be something else, "Who else did Ah hurt?" she asked.

The two looked at each other, but Xavier was quick to reply, "You didn't hurt anyone, Rogue."

"Well someone else has to be, otherwise, you wouldn't still be here," she retorted, staring down at her hands, the dreaded things she hated.

Hank was unsure about whether or not they should tell her, she had already been told so much. But he knew the Professor was not one to lie to his students.

"We thought you might want to know how Gambit was doing."

Rogue immediately snapped her head back to the men and gripped the sheets. She hadn't even realized he hadn't been there. She thought he was waiting for her to wake up. Only then did she realize the irony.

"Remy? Oh dear Lord, where is he?" she asked quickly.

"He's in another room, sleeping," Hank replied, only to realize it was a poor decision.

Rogue barely heard their answer before she moved to get out of her bed, removing various pads and IV's. The Professor and Hank both attempted to stop her, but she was able to push past them with her new found strength. She bolted through the door and into the hallway, passed Logan, who had been waiting patiently for Hank and Xavier to let him back in, and she began searching through each room.

Scott was up and awake, talking to Jean as Rogue passed by their room while both Ororo's and Kurt's rooms were now empty. When she reached Carol's room, Rogue had to pause momentarily to look back at the woman. Only her chest rising and falling indicated life. It scared Rogue to think she caused this to happen. But no matter what she felt for Carol at the moment, though as terrible as it felt, she cared more for Remy's well being.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Wow! I am SO sorry for the late update. I have been swamped with school.

On the bright side, thanks to my time away from writing stories, I got 4 A's in my college class (out of 6) XD Woot! But these stories are still up and running. I have them pretty much planned out. It's just putting it to… keyboard is the problem for me.

Well, I shall try to update again soon. Especially since, I cut it off where I did. MUAHAHAHA! I'm evil like that.

Until Next Time…