I own nothing. Marvel owns it all; I'm just having a bit of fun.
My thanks for reviewing to: LoneRaven, L'ange-Sans-Ailes, Pan vs Boxer Boy 125, sharkies, thriller, gabrielle myka, blue the vampire's beloved, Nuriiko and Rogue21493.

Authors note – I would like to apologize to all for the late update, but I was busy with college. It was my freshmen year and it took a bit of getting used to. I had all kinds of family drama too, so please forgive me.

This chapter is dedicated to the lovely LoneRaven. Happy Early Birthday Present and hope you have more fun and happiness this year.

"talking"
'Thinking'

Chapter 9 – Outside looking in

Wanda held her hands high and concentrated on tearing Rogue and Ms Marvel apart. As she summoned her power, her hands started to glow blue. She aimed it at the middle, where their bodies met.

As they were hit, Ms. Marvel's body was tossed a few meters ahead. Rogue; however, remained in the same place, her hands now on her face.

"What is happening to me?" Rogue yelled with no sign of her accent.

"Wanda we need to take her to the hospital. Rogue did a number on her." X-23 called as she checked the woman out, making sure that there was nothing wrong with her body besides the consequences of the absorption.

"Rogue are you alright?" Wanda questioned carefully as she approached her friend.

Rogue had throw herself into a fetal position, but she quickly sat up and then started to float. Her body seemed to be burning on the inside and absolutely freezing on the outside. But the worst was the state of her mind. She could feel the other woman's presence as they became one. She had no idea who she was, what her memories were, or even what she looked like. She could also hear her quite clearly. At first she was nothing but a whisper, then it seemed like she was screaming.

"Murder!" Carol shouted in her head.

As Rogue grabbed her head and screamed, Wanda stopped. She had no idea why Rogue didn't let go. She had always said that the more time she touched someone when she let her powers work, the more of the person was absorbed, and the stronger the voice in her head was. Then suddenly it stopped; no more crying, no more nothing. It was as if all was solved and only one remained.

When Wanda was about a meter away, Rogue looked at her dead in the eyes. Those icy blue eyes weren't her own, and neither was that look, this was all that woman.

Rogue got to her feet in the ground and her long hair was getting shorter and blonde. She looked at Md. Marvel's fallen body and moist started to gather in her eyes. X-23 raised from her crouching position and unleashed her claws.

"I don't want to hurt you!" The short brunette stated simply "Don't make me."

Rogue then turned to Wanda as she finally decided to approach her.

"Rogue... are you still with us?" Wanda whispered as she placed her palm in the other girls shoulder.

Rogue's icy blue eyes turned back to their natural green for a minute.

"Lets go." She mumbled as her eyes widened, only to turn back to blue.

It was then that her fist hit Wanda straight in the stomach. X-23 ran towards her, but she levitated towards the town.

Far away familiar blue-grey eyes saw what was happening and decided to follow the southerner.

At the Acolytes base

Remy had this nagging feeling in the back of his head that something wasn't right. He couldn't explain it, but his heart seemed like it was about to explode.

'Maybe dat wretched femme spiked m' drink!' The Cajun said to himself as he thought of Belladonna.

"Remy?" John asked as he waved his hand in front of his friend's face. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing..." Remy uttered as he looked down "... I'm sure."

"So Johnny boy... how did that date go last night?" Remy brought up, desperately trying to shake that feeling.

"Picture a plane crash." John gestured as he gazed down "Then triple it."

Remy's eyes widened, then he broke down laughing "Dat good hein?!"

"Yeah... Oy though Oy couldn't meet anyone dumber and more self absorbed than what's her name... the last one Oy went on a date with." John admitted, a slight depressing expression featured on his face.

Remy sighed, knowing what he was thinking "John, y' need to stop doing dat! Dere are no two people alike! Wanda was one person and you will not be able to replace her no matter how hard you look."

"At least Oy look. When was the last time you went on a date?" John snapped with brutal force.

Remy's eyes hardened at his friend's harsh words, never had he spoken with him with that tone. He knew that the subject of their deceased lovers was a sensitive one and in truth, the fact that they both felt responsible for it made it that much worse.

John was a bit shocked at his own words. He didn't have that many friends. In fact it was only him and Piotr, and even the Russian had gotten somehow colder towards him with Wanda's death. The rest: Magneto and the Brotherhood, avoided being around him all together.

"Anyways… Oy was thinking of asking someone else out today." John whispered looking away, not wishing to meet the stare of red eyes that either glowed with fury or shone with pain.

"Who?" Remy questioned wile eyeing him inquisitively.

"Amara…" he murmured in response to his friend's silent question.

"Amara?" Remy answered in disbelief "Yer ex girlfriend Amara?"

As John opened his mouth to say something he was hit by a dozen of accusations at once.

"I see… so you couldn't find someone dat was exactly like Wanda to replace her, so you can leave out your little fantasy, you know, just so you won't feel so guilty. You decided to go for de next best thing." Remy ranted, letting it all out "John you can't do dat! She is a person, not a toy that you can pick up and play wit for a while and den let go when you get bored."

"Yuh are one to talk!" John shot back angrily. "Oy'm not the one that has a fiancé and yet flirts with every other girl that he meets, right in front of her, then asks for their numbers, promises to call but never does."

"No, you're the one that gets a girl pregnant and den screws around behind her back!" Remy sneered.

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, John's eyes widened and a flame came to life. With rage burning brighter then his sense, he threw the fire at his best friend wanting nothing more that to let everything burn.

In town

Rogue sat alone on top of a tall building. Her head was a mess. It was like she had absorbed Cody all over again. She didn't know what thoughts, memories and feelings were her own and what was the blondes'. The thought, the picture that showed up more frequently in her mind was that of a house. Was it her house? Was it Carol's? Carol… was that her name or was that another lie? She was lied to a lot, by many people. But who was she again? She was the Rogue, something in her screamed that; a bitter woman, a murder.

Rogue felt her control slip again, she desperately tried to grab hold of everything; the emotions, the thoughts, the urges but it was helpless and she became a mere observer. She watched as her body lifted off and headed for the house. When she felt her own body stop and look down, she recognized it. She was home.

A few feet away, a pair of blue eyes saw as the hair of the object of his desire changed from blonde to beautiful white striped brown hair. It was as if she was in war with herself.

Back at the cliff

X-23 picked up the fallen woman and placed her over her shoulder. Wanda was still grabbing her stomach; a bruise had formed under her scarlet top. She couldn't help but to be worried for the other girl. She was scared and confused; a lethal combination with Rogue's abilities. Not to mention the girl's psyche, confused the way she was, she might do something she really shouldn't.

"Wanda, the woman is dieing..." X-23 announced as she placed her head on the woman's chest, listening to her heart beat as it slowed down.
Wanda looked at her and the thought of Rogue came to mind, they were supposed to kill this person, but for some reason she didn't want to. She felt no need for this woman to die and she couldn't tell why. It could have been because she knew that once Rogue got her psyches under control, if she could get it under control, she would feel guilty to know that she killed the woman.

"Come on." Wanda uttered as she got up.

Outside the house

Rogue stood outside, peering through a window. She could see a large blue room with wooden furniture and she instinctively felt well. It was her sanctuary right? Rogue grabbed her head hard and concentrated on blocking Carol, but it was so hard. She would build walls to keep her out, only for the other woman to tear them down.

"Rogue." She heard someone say "Are you alright?"

Rogue turned around, her eyes icy blue. "Just fine... Joseph" she insisted as she walked towards him, her hands hidden behind her back.

"Are you sure?" Joseph questioned, as he noticed how different she was moving.

"Yeah." She replied, standing directly infront of him. She smirked.

"Good." Joseph said with a frown.

Rogue's smirk widened as she punched him directly in the face, making him collapse a few meters away.

"Rogue?" Joseph croaked, trying to get up. Rogue stradled him iinstead, keeping him on the ground.

"Sorry... Rogue isn't here right now." Rogue grinned as her appearence changed. Now she had Mystique's blue skin and white hair like Storm.
Joseph's eyes grew big when the Rogue's head hit him making blood pore out of his nose. She then picked him up and tossed him in the air only to have a lightning bolt hit him. Joseph's body hurt and burned, difted into unconsciousness. The last thing he saw was Rogue's foot as it smacked him in the face.

At the hospital

X-23 spotted the hospital, they were near now and it was a good thing. Even though she was a woman stronger than average, she was still incredibly tired. Wanda had offered to carry her for awhile, but X-23 refused. She wasn't going to let her team mate know she was tired, sure she was her friend but still. Letting other people know when she was weak was against her nature.

Wanda stood at the door next to her. If they wanted to dodge attention and make sure that people didn't ask questions, she had to move fast. Wanda hexed the door of the emergency room, making sure to break the acrylic glass in it from afar. As people were distracted by it, X-23 set the woman down on a gurney by the window she had walked in from. They then left.

Back at the Acolytes base

Piotr had left them alone not for thirty minutes and everything was good. They had been chatting calmly as usual and the room was in perfect condition. He had no idea what had happened between them to cause such destruction. All across the room there was hints of explosions and fires.

"What happened?" Piotr demanded as both men lay side by side on the floor catching their breath.

"Difference of opinions, mate." John lulled as he looked at the tiny flame in his palm.

"Difference of opinions?" Piotr asked calmly.

"Oui." Remy assured, making eye contact with the very confused Russian.

"Oy think… we have spent too much time apart and forgot how to talk to each other." Pyro brought up, gazing at his friend. As he continued, his eyes drifted to the Russian "Oy was about to do something stupid and he made me see that."

"Through almost exploding me." Pyro added with a sad smile.

Piotr shook his head as he walked away. When he was leaving he heard the boys talking calmly and his mind couldn't stop taking him back to better times.

Back at the Danvers' house

Rogue looked at the bleeding Joseph on the floor and couldn't help but to feel satisfied for unknown reasons. It was then that images of herself talking to her friends emerged in her head. She covered her face with her hands and tried to take control again. As she saw her reflection in the glass window she became even more confused. It was her but, it wasn't. She saw a girl with white bangs, but that wasn't her was it? No she was a blonde.

"Rogue snap out of it! You can do it." Joseph called grabbing the side of his stomach.

"Ah can't she's screaming inside my head!" She yelled as she got on her knees screaming in agony. "Ah can't hear myself!"

Joseph saw in a mixture of amazement and fear as Rogue's figure began to change into all those she had absorbed in her past.

As she quickly changed into all the X-men, Brotherhood and even the Acolytes it seemed as if she could deal with them, could take over her own body but as she assumed Carol's form, it all stopped.

"God she's a wiener isn't she?!" Rogue laughed in Carol's form.

"You have no right to take over her body like that." Joseph shouted as he ripped off the front gate and willed the metal to wrap around her body. "It's hers."

The Carol personality in Rogue just snickered at him as she broke free of the metal that bonded her with her super strength.

"I have no right?! How about my right to live? She killed me." Carol/Rogue shouted as she walked towards him in a menacing way "The way I see it, it's my life for hers."

"Fair and square." Carol/Rogue whispered when she was mere inches away from him. "So… what are you going to do about it?"

Joseph melted the discarded metal pieces on the floor, creating two metal spears. He launched them at Carol/Rogue's shoulders.

Through the corner of her eye Carol could see it coming, she smiled as she flew and the spears scraped the side of his chest and ended up nailed to a near by wall.

"That's going to leave a mark." Carol/Rogue said with a wink. "God you're an idiot. Can't you see she's using you to forget about her long, lost,
cheating boyfriend?"

"Shut up!" Joseph yelled as he applied pressure to his two fresh wounds.

On an random street nearby

"Where do you think she is?" X-23 asked as she looked around, making sure no one saw them.

"I don't know…" Wanda admitted. "The last time she got that confused after absorbing someone was… well the first time she absorbed someone."

X-23 looked at her with a frown and asked "What happened?"

"Well she was hanging out with a guy. He asked her to dance. He touched her accidentally and he ended up in a coma while she ended up in his house, thinking she was him. At least that was what the boys told me." Wanda muttered as she stopped in her tracks.

"What?" X-23 asked as she stopped walking as well "Think she is at her house? Carol's?"

"It our best bet…" Wanda replied as she began running at her friend's aid with X-23 hot on her tail.

At the Acolyte's base

"I don't think I can do it…" Illyana said with a frown, half contemplating the idea of the man in front of her being insane.

"Oh but you can. You have a great power but you need practice to master it." Magneto insisted as he lifted a clock. "There is no limit to what you can accomplish if you master your abilities."

Illyana shook her head in disbelief, but still chose to comply. She focused on the hands on the clock floating in front of her. It was as if only the ticking existed, it was almost as if it echoed inside her head.

Then they stopped. She had done it, she had stopped time. As she smiled and looked at Magneto she realized that time had stopped for everyone but her. She took a breath and decided to actually take notice of her surroundings. She had been there for sometime but she hadn't really adventured. They were in a bare metal room, and there was nothing there but Magneto and herself.

Magneto had taken upon himself to train her, to help her master her gifts. And he had been given her a hard time about it too. They would train for hours. So far all she had done was stop time and travel small distances; he thought it was best to start slow. But he had told her that he knew that she could do so much more. Move forwards and backwards in time. Travel through entire continents in seconds. He believed in her and she wanted to make him proud as well as her brother and even herself.

As she walked across the room she concentrated on starting time again. When Magneto realized she was all the way across the room he smiled.
"We are getting there my dear." He told as he placed his open palm on her shoulder.

Back at the Danvers' residence

on the glass door. She gazed at her reflection, she looked but she couldn't actually see herself, all she saw was a blur. As she touched it, she felt weak, she knew that Carol was trying to take over, and she was being forced out of her own body. As her eyes began to close she got a glimpse of her two friends.

As soon as they got on Carol's street X-23 felt the scent of blood fill her nostrils, so it was no surprise when both her and Wanda passed an unconscious and bloody Joseph.

"Rogue?" Wanda called with a firm voice.

As Rogue turned around, cold eyes returned.

"Came to finish me off?" Carol grinned as she started to levitate "Well you are in for a hell of a fight." She said as she flew towards X-23.
She picked up the shorter girl by one wrist and sent her flying against the door. X-23 crashed through the front door and out through a window in the back.

"I'm going to kill that bitch." She growled as she ripped a piece of glass from her forearm. She then ran towards the front part of the house only to witness a showdown between the witch and the rogue.

As Carol flew towards, all the witch did was raise her hand and hold her in place.

"You think you can stop me? No one can stop me!" Rogue shouted as she assumed the shape of the Juggernaut.

The sudden change, caught Wanda by surprise, causing her to lose her concentration and her hold on Rogue. As soon as her feet hit the ground, Rogue charged at her friend. When she was close enough, she turned into Sabertooth and scratched part of her neck. It was then that the familiar sound of adamantium claws was heard.

"Why don't you try and do that to me?" X-3 challenged, nearing the other two girls.

Rogue simply smiled as she assumed the shape of Quicksilver and ran a few laps around her, creating mini tornado. The sight of her brother made Wanda want to kill; her hands began to glow blue but as she was about to put him out of commission, she remembered why she was there in the first place. She wouldn't hurt Rogue; she was her friend, so instead she hexed her still.

"Rogue! Snap out of it." She yelled as she grabbed hold of Rogue's shoulders "You can do it. You've done it before."

"Yeah Rogue. This crap his getting real old real fast." X-23 agreed as she stood up and dusted herself off.

Carol took control of the body again and smiled. "Don't you think it's best if you late go of me sweetie?!" Rogue inquired this time in Pyro's figure.

"Is Rogue in there?" Wanda asked as she took a few stepes back "If she is she probably told you not to take his form. You should really listen to her."

It was then that Wanda hexed Rogue through the same hole that X-23 had made in the house earlier. She quickly fell into unconsciousness.

Ok people that was it. It was the hardest thing I ever wrote since the first four pages and the rest were written with months of difference. Anyways hope you enjoyed it. And you got it, next chapter they will meet again. What will happen? Will there be a blood bath? Will there be forgiveness? Will there be anger? You will have to read and find out.