Posting the most climactic parts of the story first. This should be the last chapter I post for a while, however (at least until I can gauge it's welcome). If you'd like to see it continue to the good stuff (where Rogue deals with recovering), please review!

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"Well," Bobby cleared his throat. "That was … weird."

Wolverine was unfolding the paper when Jean's voice came through the intercom to the others. "Seven buildings North and three to the East," she called out. "Mystique sent me the visual telepathically."

"Checks out," Wolverine confirmed as he studied the crude map and their surroundings. "Let's go." He broke into a run with the others on his heels.

As they headed for the building, the X-Jet zoomed overhead and landed about fifty yards from the building.

"Jean," Wolverine yelled into his headset, "What 're you doing?! We ain't plannin' on hangin' around!"

"Logan," Jean spoke to him, Storm and Beast telepathically. "Mystique … told me what Destiny saw in her vision. She didn't say anything before because she didn't think Bobby and Kitty should hear it. Destiny didn't see who the men were, but she saw what they …did to her." Jean's voice broke with unshed tears.

"Jean?" Wolverine demanded back.

"Just – just keep Bobby out of the warehouse, okay. I'm getting a stretcher and some blankets ready. Scott's going to stay here with the plane and keep it running."

"Jean!" Wolverine mentally shouted at the red head.

"Storm and I – we should go in first, in case she's awake. You and Beast should probably wait outside."

"T' hell with that, Red. I can heal her. I ain't stayin' outside with the pup." They were close now. Wolverine could see Jean as she wheeled the blanket-covered stretcher out of the plane and toward the front doors.

"You can't," Jeanspoke to the group again. "Mystique said that Destiny saw Rogue get injected with something that removed her powers, but she didn't know if it was temporary or not. She just knew that in one vision she saw you touch her and nothing happened."

"I STILL ain't waitin' outside!" And with a violence the others had never seen in him, Logan finally reached the large steel doors and slashed away at them until there was very little left of the entrance.

"Logan, stop this!" Storm chided. "You'll frighten her!"

"ROGUE!" Wolverine yelled as he stepped over the rubble."Rogue it's us! Where are you darlin'?" As the leader of the X-Men darted into the large warehouse, he was overcome with a torrent of atrocious odors and he bent over, coughing and gagging.

The others entered as Iceman stood watch outside and they instantly covered their faces.

"Goddess!" Storm exclaimed, "What IS that?"

Beast tried not to gag as he quickly tied a cloth around his nose and mouth. "Ach! It… it seems to be a mixture of human waste and other fluids, but it's old - ripe with bacteria."

"There's blood, too. Fresh. Real fresh," Logan commented as he tied a bandana around his nose too. "ROGUE! Where are you?!"

Jean touched her forehead as Wolverine took a whiff and coughed again. "This way!" she called, heading for the far end of the warehouse. "I can sense someone!"

Together the four X-Men ran toward the end of the warehouse with Jean and Beast pulling the stretcher. As they approached a small room tucked away in the back corner, Wolverine stopped.

"She's here," he whispered. With held breath, he turned the handle on the door. With a deafening creak, the door slowly swung open, allowing a sliver of light to enter the room and illuminate a shabby, blood stained mattress in the center of the room.

"Rogue," Wolverine called quietly, but as he saw the huddled figure shrouded in darkness in the far corner, he ran over. "Rogue!?"

Kneeling down, his hand found her neck and felt for a pulse. "She's alive, barely." Removing both gloves, he placed his hands on her naked shoulders. No one moved as they waited silently for her powers to kick in.

"It's not – I can't…" Wolverine started, but he was suddenly overcome with the smells, his emotions, or both, and without warning bolted from the building.

"Wolverine!" Jean called after him.

"Jean," Storm cautioned quietly, "Let him be." Although her heels should have clicked and echoed on the concrete floor, Storm entered silently and scanned the room, taking note of the mattress and distinct lack of other objects in the room.

She found the girl in the far corner and carefully approached. "Rogue…?" the weather witch whispered. "Rogue, it's us – the X-Men. We are here child." She knelt down next to her teammate and gently peeled some of the girl's hair away from her face.

"Jean, a blanket please," Storm called to her friend, who was frozen in the doorway. "Beast, I need a knife and a neck brace please."

Beast quickly dug into the large first aid kit as Jean draped the blanket over Rogue's nude form. The furry doctor rushed the items over.

"Here," he handed Storm the knife as he did a visual check of the girl's wounds. He observed the angry red splotching across her left eye and cheek, as well as her slightly split lip. Her shoulders were both dark purple around the sockets and were hanging back at such an awkward angle that he knew they were dislocated, if not shattered.

Swallowing hard, he noted the prominent imprints of large, fat fingers along Rogue's collar bone and chest before they disappeared beneath the fresh blue cotton blanket. He watched silently as Storm cut a crude leather dog collar off the girl's neck and Jean instinctively reached to her temples to unlatch the cuffs around her wrists.

Beast leaned forward to get a closer look at the welts around Rogue's neck, but he was startled to find her eyes were slightly open.

"Rogue," he called to her softly, "Rogue can you hear me?" He snapped his fingers close to her face but received no response. "Rogue? We are here to take you home. Can you speak? Can you move?"

Still no response.

"She appears to be catatonic - severe shock. We need to get her home quickly." With extremely delicate fingers, he slowly latched the brace around her neck. "Jean, can you depress the gurney and place it behind her?"

Jean did so quickly and once the portable bed was in place, Beast tried to speak to Rogue once more. "Rogue, we need to roll you back onto the gurney. Your shoulders are dislocated and this might be painful. Do you understand?"

Nothing.

Beast sighed before motioning to Storm and Jean. "Her arms are still at a very awkward angle. It's going to be difficult to move her without causing pain." He repositioned himself near her head, "Storm, I'll need you to slide the gurney under her as we lie her back."

The three X-Men were solemn as they positioned themselves quickly. Jean's eyes shone with unshed tears while Storm tried to remain stoic and focused on helping her friend. Outside, however, dark clouds were moving in and a light smattering of rain began drumming against the roof.

"Jean," Beast spoke again as Storm readied herself on the other side of the gurney at Rogue's back. "I need you to use your powers to stabilize her head, neck and shoulders as much as possible while I lift her."

Jean nodded, and her voice was raw as she responded, "I can lift her telekinetically; just rotate her in the air."

Beast smiled kindly, but shook his head. "I know. However, I'm more concerned about keeping her stable. I need your full concentration on making sure her head and neck do NOT move."

Jean nodded again and remained silent as she placed her hands to her temples.

"On three," Beast commanded.

They counted together in almost a whisper, the gravity of the situation having fully set in as they worked to extract their nonresponsive teammate from the nightmare she had endured.

Rogue's eyes were still slightly open, staring out into nothingness as she locked herself away inside her own mind. Her friends might have thought her dead if it hadn't been for the slow rise and fall of her chest as her lungs continued to function even though she herself could not.

As Beast picked her up from under her shoulders, they were all startled by the small whimper of pain that was wrenched from her pale, chaffing lips.

"Rogue?" Beast questioned as her eyes closed for a brief moment, inhaling sharply as her arms were slowly bent back to their proper position. She finally lost consciousness completely as Beast set her down fully on the gurney.

"Rogue!" Jean cried as she felt the younger X-Man succumb to the blackness.

"She's alright," Beast reassured the redhead. His fingers were braced against the girl's neck, reassured by the thready thump of her pulse against his furry digits.

"Let's move, QUICKLY." Together, they lifted the gurney back to its full height and began rushing the cart out the door. "Tell Bobby to get some extra blankets and ask Scott to find the oxygen mask and tank!" Beast called to Jean over the clatter of the wheels against the uneven concrete as the sounds bounced and echoed throughout the large warehouse.

"Hank?" Storm questioned, her eyes darkening as a bolt of lightning struck a nearby roof.

"Her breathing is too shallow; she just needs a little assistance." He reassured the two women with a small smile. "She'll be okay."

Inwardly, however, he knew it wasn't really that simple.

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