Disclaimer: You know what I think? I think you're all too hung up on ownership. I mean, who cares who owns it? Well, I suppose MARVEL might care, seeing as how they actually do own it.

A/N: Part 3.

FTR: Some new people have come to the Institute. This is set post-Apocalypse, and the Acolytes and the Brotherhood have moved into the mansion. (Mainly because I don't want to have to come up with a reason for Wanda and Johnny to be there, but that's really beside the point.) We also have Tabby back, and anyone of the New Mutants that left. And Emma. Mustn't forget Emma. Hehe.

And now… we shall go on.

"Finally!"

Shush, you two. I'm trying to type.

Chapter 2: Rogue

She flew, her auburn hair flying out behind her like a battle flag, her white streaks teasing her face. She radioed the mansion about a minute before she landed, just to give them a heads up.

Inside the mansion, in the living room to be exact, Kurt and Logan's heads shot up at the same time.

"What is it?" Kitty asked, knowing the two feral mutants had smelled or heard something.

"It's- Rogue?" they exclaimed at the, same time.

"What? Really? Why is she here? Is she close? Duh, Kit, she must be close or they wouldn't have smelled her! I bet she's out there right now!"

The mansion's occupants got excited along with her, and followed her out into the foyer.

Kitty skipped forward, intent on opening the door for her friend, but before she got within ten feet of it, it was kicked open with a loud crash, and a livid, fiery eyed Southern belle strode through.

"Someone betta be on Cerebro when Ah get down there!" she screamed, both mentally and vocally. The gathered mutants cringed at her shriek, but Kitty pulled herself together with remarkable speed and squealed.

"Rogue!"

"Hey, Kitty," her friend replied with a slight smile. She gave the twenty-two year old a hug, then continued on.

"Hey, Rogue-"

"Not now, Kit! Gotta do somethin'. PROFESSAH!"

The unexpected yell caused a few yelps, then Rogue was gone, disappearing into the lower levels of the mansion. Her friends exchanged looks before following after her.

"I'm sorry," a clipped British accent was saying as Kitty and Kurt rounded the corner, "But you simply cannot enter Cerebro while the Professor is using it!"

Rogue gave her an incredulous look before simply snatching the front of her shirt in a fist and throwing her out of the way. She continued on, Cerebro's doors opening as the Professor recognized her psychic signature from inside.

Emma groaned from her place on the couch in the living room. Logan shook his head. Speaking with personal experience from crossing Rogue, that had to have hurt.

He watched in slight amusement as Kurt and his girlfriend stood over Emma like commentators. The little jokers were entertaining the crowd of mutants without even realizing it. They were being totally serious.

Kurt glanced at Kitty and said, "Vell?"

Kitty looked thoughtful. "Hm. Well, in Emma's defense, she's never met Rogue. She doesn't really know what Rogue is like."

Kurt nodded musingly. "Mm-hm. Und against?"

Kitty exploded. "Hel-lo! We have like, totally told her all about Rogue! She sooo should have known better!"

Kurt nodded again solemnly. "Mein thoughts exactly, Katzchen."

"Hello, Rogue."

The professor's voice was kind, and genuinely sounded pleased to see her. If he was even a bit irritated by the fact she'd just thrown one of his telepaths through a wall, he didn't show it.

"Ah know where he is," she blurted. "At least, Ah think Ah do."

Xavier didn't need to ask who he was. He simply turned to her and said, "Where?"

She twisted her gloved hands. "Well, Ah- Ah don' 'xactly know know. Ah jus'- Ah had a nahghtmare. Except that it was Remy's reality. What he was feeling, seeing, thinking, so was Ah."

Xavier looked intrigued. "How is that possible?"

She hunched her shoulders. "Ah-uh, Ah kinda have an empathic link wit' him. Think it's from absorbin' him so much in the past. Ah know what he's feelin', an' sorta know his thoughts, if they're emotional."

"Fascinating," he mused. "How do you think it will help us though?"

"Ah think if maybe you read mah memories of the images, ya could gather some kinda coordinates. Ah think he was tryin' to send some, but the link failed."

"Well, it's worth a try at least." He motioned her in front of him, then raised his hands to either side of her head to begin reading her thoughts. He was shocked by the level of fear and pain she was feeling from this memory, but pushed past it as best he could. He reached the man with the smile-to Rogue that smile meant pain- and gasped.

"Rogue, do you know who this is?"

Her forehead wrinkled. "Uh, Ah thought he looked familiar, but Ah couldn't place him."

"That's Bolivar Trask."

She gasped. "That dastard!"

Xavier turned back to his work, but listened with one amused ear to the rantings and colorful names Rogue was throwing around. Apparently having Remy around for years had had a bigger effect on her vocabulary than he'd thought. Of course, Tabby, John, and Logan had probably helped, but still. Some of those insults and threats had a definite LeBeau feel to them.

He stiffened suddenly.

"I've got them."

They were gathered in the living room where she'd left them. Kitty, Kurt, Logan, Tabby, Ray, John and Wanda- who'd come running out of the room they were in, straightening things and smoothing hair- as soon as they'd heard she was back. Bobby and Jubilee were bouncing excitedly on the loveseat. Piotr Rasputin sat in the corner with a serious, calm expression on his face. Emma lay on the couch, still grumbling at Rogue's treatment of her. Betsy and Warren had stopped by for a visit and ended up staying, not entirely sure what was going on, but determined not to miss anything more. Jamie was there, bickering with himself, as usual.

And then all conversation stopped as Rogue re-entered the room.

Glancing around, a slight smirk gracing her features as Remy's psyche in her head informed her that, "she still got it." Leaving people speechless by her very presence.

Shaking the thought away- and the images and innuendos that came with it- Rogue stepped into her crowd of friends and waited for total attention.

"We found him."

At that, a collective gasp went up from the assembly, and Johnny eagerly leaped to his feet.

"Where?"

She clenched her fist. "Trask. Trask has him." She waited.

Logan and Kurt let loose almost identical feral snarls. St. John's normally slightly insane, cheerful expression transformed in a heartbeat, matching his lady's for pure, blazing fury. (No pun intended, there were quite literal flames rising in their eyes.) Kitty's streak of violent cursing of Trask in German and Pig Latin, nicely spiced with her own special brand of Valley Girl accent caused a few raised eyebrows, and Xavier, who had come in behind Rogue, was now wondering if he'd have to restrict the young woman's access to the languages. Seeing as most of the curses she probably learned from her boyfriend however, he didn't think that would go down well. But it was Piotr's reaction that was the most surprising.

He growled, an actual growl, worthy of notice from the Wolverine, and stood.

"Vhere?" he repeated.

"Ah've got coordinates," Rogue replied. She took a minute from her hard expression to crack the tiniest wisp of a smile. "Huh. An' here Ah thought Ah was gonna have to ask for volunteers."

Her eyes narrowed. "Here's the plan. We go in, we get Remy, we get out. Everything in between is collateral damage. 'Kay? So who's all comin'?"

Logan stood. Kitty and Kurt were beside her in an instant. She looked around for John and Wanda and wasn't much surprised to find them at her back already. Piotr lumbered up to complete the group.

Tabby's eyes widened. "Ooooooooo… someone's gonna di-ie!"

Logan spared her a second for an amused, frightening grin.

Emma piped up just then. "Wait. I am confused. I mean, obviously Trask is horrible, and I understand why Rogue would want her boyfriend back, but-"

"He ain't mah boyfriend," Rogue interrupted.

"Beg pardon?"

"Remy LeBeau ain't mah boyfriend. An' Ah ain't seen him in six months."

Emma gave a confused smile. "Then… I don't exactly see the urgency… six months…"

And then Emma was hauled off of the couch and slammed into the nearest wall.

"Remy LeBeau is not mah boyfriend. Remy LeBeau is mah HUSBAND."

She dropped a stunned White Queen to the floor and strode out the door to the X-Jet without another word, her little band following.

Tabby whistled. "Whooo-whee. Sure would hate to be Trask."

Emma still wasn't getting it. "Why?"

"'Cause he's an idiot."

"Why?"

Jubilee gave her a pitying look. "Because," she said in the manner of one explaining to a small child. "He kidnapped Remy. Rogue's husband. On their wedding night. "

"Oooooooo! I just realized something! Trask kidnapped Remy! On their wedding night!"

They all looked at Jubilee. She rolled her eyes and turned to her boyfriend. "Bobby, honey. If you're not going to follow along with the conversation, could you please keep out of it?"

Sullenly he nodded.

"I do not understand," Betsy spoke up suddenly. "What is all this about the wedding night?"

"Rogue's powers, well some of them, don't allow her to touch. She found out that she can touch Remy, but only after a really long time, and sometimes she slips still. It was their first night together. They did things properly. And then Trask kidnapped him, right as they were beginning their honeymoon."

"Oh!" The purple haired telepath exclaimed. "You all are right. Trask is an idiot! How can someone with such a large head be such a pea-brain?"

Tabby shrugged. "Dunno. But does anybody wanna bet that he ain't getting out of this alive? Or at least not awake."

Hands went up. Bets were made. Charles Xavier didn't even put up a front at stopping them. He understood perfectly, for once, their betting pools. Trask was sooooo dead meat.

A/N: Soo, just wanna say, I like Emma, really. But Jean wouldn't work here, and I like Betsy even more than Emma so…. Yeah. I've noticed that as a general rule with X-Men, telepaths tend to be pretty oblivious. So I thought I'd play with that a bit.

Alroight, already, stop playin' an' get tat ha nex' part!

Ashy, y' bein' bossy.

Yeah well, someone aughta do it, otha than you!

Y' take dat back!

No!

*and now there are purple hexes flying through the air, and weirdly shaped blobs of air doing dances*

Indy, leave him in this dimension please this time? Or at least somewhere you can get to him easily? I'm gonna need him soon.