Hey guys! First of all, thank you for reviewing this story or putting this story on your favorite/alert list.

Second, something about this chapter – this is the longest chapter yet (more than twenty pages). And I guess, this one is more interesting than the last couple chapters because there is finally some activity in this one. It doesn't have much of Logan though. Also, I've changed the way Remy talks because I suddenly realized that. I'd probably change that in other chapters too.

Chapter Five

Juggernaut

"Chère? Chère wake up!" I heard Remy call out to me. But I was too drowsy and I wanted to sleep.

Shucks, my head hurt. Badly.

"Remy I wanna sleep!" I whined, trying to turn away from him. "Go away!"

God that hurt. Speaking hurt.

He chuckled and I groaned inwardly, searching for my pillow around. Only I couldn't find my pillow. It was something rather hard than my bed. Like leather.

Also, why was Remy inside my apartment?

And why the hell did I smell alcohol so much?

"Rogue, get up!" Remy said, pushing me up.

With real efforts, I got up. My head was feeling like it would split open any second. I blinked my eyes a few times in the dim lighting.

"What? Where am I?" I asked, taking support against the seat I was sprawled on before.

"He left you here. That Logan. Like this."

I closed my eyes trying to remember my last conscious thought through the splitting headache, in an effort to prove Remy wrong. Because Logan couldn't do that to me. He wouldn't. Logan cared for me in spite of everything and I knew he wouldn't leave me like this. All alone. In a bar filled with all sorts of people.

I looked around, tears filling my eyes, remembering how Logan had run after Jean, leaving me helpless.

"Are you crying, chère?" Remy asked.

"No," I lied outrageously, wiping my eyes clean. My head hurt even more, if it was possible and I felt like throwing things around. Or maybe hit my head on the wall before throwing things around to stop the immense pain.

"My head hurts," I murmured, sliding against Remy. Only, then I remembered. I looked back up at him. "What are you doing here?" I asked him.

He smiled, though his smile didn't reach his eyes like always. "Remy followed you."

"You did?" I smiled.

"Had to ensure that you were safe."

I smiled a bit wider. "Thanks," I said, trying to get up as Remy helped me. "For how long have I been out?" I asked.

"Three hours."

"Three hours?" I asked, gaping. "Why didn't you wake me up before?"

"You were out like a light. Remy waited for you to get a bit sober."

I smiled again. "I think we should get back home now."

He nodded, sliding a hand under my arm and helping me walk out of the bar, which was almost empty now.

"What were you doing while I was out?"

"Looking at you," he answered.

"What?" I asked, looking up at him. He was taller than me.

He smiled. While I watched him, I tripped over something and he clutched me tighter. I smiled again, holding onto him. God, my head hurt really badly.

Once outside, I felt a slight breeze blowing. It stung me and I shivered slightly. Remy, very gentlemanly took out his jacket and dropped them on my arms. I took it gratefully, holding it securely around me.

After walking for a couple minutes, I looked around to see that we were in a darker alley now, walking towards my car. I suddenly remembered that I had lend him my keys in the morning. He had a flat tire and Michael wanted him to go and get a few kegs of alcohol for the bar.

"Remy had to park it here in the dark so you and Logan won't see him," he explained, grinning.

I nodded, leaning against him. He was practically carrying me now.

Suddenly, Remy stopped.

"What happened?" I asked, looking up at him. But Remy's eyes fixed ahead, his beautiful face distorted with annoyance.

I looked up to see what he was looking at and find Logan walking towards us.

All my calmness deserted me and I felt like punching Logan till he dropped to the floor. I looked him straight in the eye, already taking my glove out of my right hand. Today, Logan was going to pay.

Only, I noticed something was off about Logan. There was an almost feminine touch to the way he walked. Also he was smiling widely. I saw him as he approached me, looking at me all the while.

"Aren't we all cozy here?" Logan asked.

"Logan?" I asked, very doubtfully. Something was definitely wrong.

Logan grinned in a not–so–Logan smile. "Are you sure, Rogue?" a female voice said now.

"Mystique," I whispered, recognizing that voice at once. Instinctively I took a small step back and struck Remy's side. I looked up at him as he looked back at her, confusion on his face.

"So you're not as drunk as you look," she said meeting my eye with an eye. "Long time no see." I frowned at her as she looked at Remy and checked him out unabashed. "Nice company," she smiled at him as I stood up straighter.

What was creepy was that she was looking like Logan and speaking in her own voice. I could have never imagined that and here I was looking at the figure of everything that symbolized a man (except his ungentlemanly behavior of leaving me alone in the bar. Oh, and hitting me before that) speaking in a female voice.

"God, what do you want?" I groaned, while maintaining an eye–contact with her (or him, since she looked like Logan) all the while. Loose an eye contact and your opponent thinks you're weak.

"Is that a way to greet now, Rogue?" she continued in her voice now. "Well, anyway, I'll mind my manners. How are you this fine evening?"

I scoffed.

"What, no answers? Anyhow, I must say that you look great. In fact, you don't look a day older than when I last saw you."

Will she shut up already? I was tired of hearing that! And God, was I annoyed?

When I said, nothing, she continued, "I just complimented you, Rogue. I thought that would have thanked me or maybe returned one in exchange?"

When I merely glared at her, she grinned. Logan's grin. "I see you are in no mood to exchange pleasantries."

"Why haven't you killed me already?" I asked before I could stop myself. Really. We were fighting since ages. Now was the most appropriate moment to attack and here she was, trying to strike a conversation with me. I mean, she could have finished this off easily seeing that I was quite vulnerable right now. Hangover and all.

She smiled at me.

"Look, I'm too tired with your Brotherhood's games, okay? So will you tell me why you haven't already tried to knock me out?"

"Too eager to die or too foolish to live?" She asked, smiling. "See, your thinking about us is epically wrong. You look at us like as if we are some sort of villains."

"And you're saying that you're not a villain?" I asked, amused.

But Mystique merely shook her head. "We never killed mutants now, did we?"

"Right," I scoffed. I bet half of the mutants on Earth are already lying in their graves because of them.

"Rogue, it's true. Not until mutants come in our way, we don't. We don't spill mutant blood. We even give them a fair chance to run away before a decent fight."

"Just tell me what you want then," I asked instead.

Mystique sighed. "Let's first get a little way away from your dog friend, back there so that we can have our little moment together. You already took forever to come out of that bar."

"What moment?" I asked looking back as if to see Logan running towards us. Which would have been odd seeing that Mystique in Logan's form still stood in front of me.

"Come on, Rogue," Mystique said still in her voice. Suddenly, she changed into Ethan. I gulped at the small form of the boy I had harmed from so long ago, but whose image was engraved into my mind. She continued in Ethan's voice now, "I'm just a kid, Rogue. Give me a break."

I almost gasped at that.

"How do you know?" I asked her, a bit angry this time. "It happened inside the mansion!"

"Oh we've got our eyes everywhere," she said, taking Jean's form now. "Won't you agree?"

"I–It was you?" I asked, blinking my eyes, my mouth hanging open.

"Was it so hard to guess?" She asked and Jean's face smiled at me.

It would have been a real fright for a human to see Mystique changing into another form. However, I wasn't expecting anyone to be around at this time of the night in this dark alley. I doubted if anybody would hear us shout for help if Mystique had mutants from the Brotherhood around.

"My work is immaculate, you see," Mystique said. "Right now, Logan is running after a teleporter, who'll disappear after taking Logan far enough from us."

I was feeling angrier by the second.

"It was Magneto, really. I was supposed to give you guys a glimpse until Logan was after me and then, the rest of the job was shared by the teleporter because I had to look into finer details of the plan."

"I'll kill you," I said, leaving Remy's support fully now and standing up straight.

"Well, I don't think that would be too easy for drunk and unstable Rogue," she said, giving me a lopsided smile. Logan looked weird with that smile on.

I frowned at her. Unstable? Was she describing herself? Remy started forward but I dragged him back, restraining him. I was somewhat thankful for his reaction. However, I had to get this straight first. Maybe, he could blow up Mystique after that.

If he would even agree to do that.

"And what exactly, may I ask, was your plan?" I said, glaring at her.

"To get you alone with me," she replied, returning to her own form now. She stepped towards me now and started circling Remy and me. Remy's hold on me tightened, seeing which Mystique smiled. "I didn't of course expect another mutant, other than Logan of course, to jump to your rescue. I wasn't even expecting Logan to leave you alone. I was just wishing it. Or rather, Magneto was wishing that."

It stung when she said that. I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to remain calm.

Anything stupid could lead to a disaster, Rogue.

"Why?" I asked, "Why did you want me alone?" I was feeling more assured now because of Remy. The guy could freaking blow a building so Mystique was no big deal, I guess.

Only, I didn't think Mystique was alone.

"I wanted to talk to you," she said stopping in front of us, after completing a circle. I had a hunch that she was checking out Remy from behind while circling us. "On behalf of Magneto."

"You are on his side again?" I asked. "Doing his dirty works?"

She looked down then, not meeting my eyes. "Let's go somewhere private. Handsome Cajun boy can join too."

Then, she started walking swiftly across the street towards my car while both of us stood glued to the place.

"Come on," Mystique said, looking back, looking slightly irritated.

That's when Remy spoke up for the first time. "Remy will not join you. We talked about that before. The answer is still the same, chère."

Mystique turned around and smiled again. This time at Remy.

So… Remy knew Mystique? Strange.

And she had probably already talked to him to join Magneto's Brotherhood, as it appeared.

How many recruits did the Brotherhood already have?

"Then maybe, you'll leave us alone," she said, walking towards us– no, Remy.

Remy smiled. "I don't think that would be possible."

"I don't think that you understand the situation here," Mystique said, gritting her teeth.

She looked angry at Remy for some reason. Why? Because he declined to join the brotherhood?

"Well, whatever the situation might be, Remy is not leaving," Remy said, confidently.

Mystique sighed and in the very next moment, a small breeze blew, making me shiver again, in spite of Remy's jacket around me. I looked back up at Remy, who didn't even have his jacket and found his eyes fixed on Mystique.

And suddenly, I knew something was wrong.

"Remy?" I asked, looking up at him.

But Remy didn't answer, nor moved.

"Remy?" I said again, moving in front of him. I called him a couple more times, yet, his eyes didn't move and he stared at Mystique unblinking. I took out a hand from under the jacket, the one which was glove–less and I waved my hand in front of his eyes. Still, he remained unmoving.

I turned around and faced Mystique. I felt tired and dizzy and scared. Scared for Remy and me. Because now I was sure we weren't alone. Mystique couldn't have frozen Remy. She didn't have the ability to do it.

"What did you do to him?" I shouted at Mystique who was checking out her nails.

She looked up, as if bored. "Oh, nothing," she replied, "Now if you want him alive, start moving. He'll probably wake up again after I'm done with you."

"I'm not joining your Brotherhood if that's what you want to talk to me about."

"Just follow me Rogue. Or I'll have nothing better than to kill you."

Before I could stop myself, I found myself saying, "If you wanted to kill me, I think I would have been already dead. Or fighting you to death."

She smiled, coming closer a few steps. "You know what? I like that about you. You are practical. Nothing dreamy, nothing imaginary. You keep it straight."

I looked back at Remy, who still stood frozen. Would he keep standing like that while we talked? It didn't seem right.

Suddenly, Mystique slid past me, and very unembarrassedly, took out my keys from his front pockets and started towards the car, while I looked at him with my eyes wide open.

"He'll be fine," she said, irritated again. "Now, are you following me?"

I turned around, nodded discretely and followed Mystique towards my car.

Inside the car, she started the engine as I slid into the passenger seat and put on my seat belt. Immediately, the car shot forward.

After about two minutes of driving at about a hundred miles an hour, during which I clutched my seat bell like it was my lifeline, she came to an abrupt stop in another dark alley with a dead end. A couple shops were shut down and there was just a single street light at the far corner. There was no one around. Or so it seemed.

Slowly, I took out the other glove from my hand and prepared myself. I was ready to fight and take a few down if it came to it. I smiled. I wasn't dying that easily.

"So?" I asked, when she didn't say anything after a minute of silence. I was fully awake now. My head still hurt but I was awake enough to see Mystique smiling. The adrenaline rush had probably taken me out of my drunken haze because all I knew was that I had to save Remy and myself from this mess and my eyes wide open looking over at Mystique, trying to decipher the next part of her plan.

She turned to face me. "Honey, we are just going to talk. About your future."

I knew where this was going but I played along. "What about it?" I asked, wishing that I had tyenol somewhere here.

"Look," she said, turning to me. "Cajun boy let out part of the surprise but…"

"What?" I asked when she didn't say anything.

She smiled again, fully facing me now. "We both know that you are no longer a member of the X-Men team. I've been keeping an eye on you for a while now."

"Why?" I asked, hitting my head on the back seat. Anything to stop making it pain so much.

"Always thought you were valuable. And, we have an eye on X-Mansion. Always."

"Right," I said, this time with understanding. It made sense. The Brotherhood would always have an eye on us. Like we kept an eye on them. I just never thought about it the other way. I mean, I always thought that the X-Mansion was this safe place that nobody would ever dare come close to because of Professor.

I mean, Professor could look into the minds of people. Why didn't he know if we had a traitor amidst us?

Then again, Mystique had already infiltrated the place once. And she had messed up with me too, feigning to be Bobby and escaping everybody's eyes while doing so. So maybe all this wasn't really difficult.

Especially with someone mutant who could block mind control.

Jacob Lepkowski, I smiled. I knew something was wrong with that guy. His looks screamed that.

Suddenly, his face floated in front of my eyes. Beady black eyes that kept staring at you, face darker than the darkest chocolate you ever saw, black hair slicked back over a face with small nose and lips with sharp white teeth.

That guy could shield him mind and I knew Professor had a difficulty with him. He once gave his example in one of our class while explaining us about the limits of everyone's powers, in which case, he was explaining his inability to look into his mind and read his exact thoughts.

"So, what are you going to do ahead?" Mystique drew my attention back to her.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well you know. What are your plans for future?"

"If you've been keeping an eye on me for a while now, you would know that I'm perfectly happy the way I am. I think I'll stay that way for a while. A long while."

"Working at a bar, a meager salary to live by and putting up in a despicable apartment. Living in this hand to mouth condition – working each day for dinner that night. Eyeing that cute co-worker of yours, but still shying away. Is what you call being perfectly happy?"

"Shut up," I snapped. "You know nothing about me. Don't even attempt to understand my life. You'll have a hard time doing that. You don't know what it's like to be finally… free."

"I know, honey. Been there, done that. Doesn't serve the larger purpose in life."

"Which is?"

"Mutant rights," she answered. "You know about it and you saw it over the years. What they are capable of, what they think about us, what they want to do to us. Those humans think they are sitting on top of the food chain, doing whatever they want to whoever they want with nobody to interfere. You know how close we are to a war, how thin the line always is. Don't you want revenge? Don't you want your parents to know what you are capable of, after they ditched you? Left you all alone?"

"They never ditched me," I murmured. "I left."

"And what made you leave them? Were they too happy to know you were a mutant? Did they treat you the same way as before? Or did they think that you had a disease, waiting for some cure… praying for it to appear of nowhere. Did they treat you like the daughter you were before they found out or did they treat you with fear, anticipating your touch and scared of death by your hands?"

I looked at her, outraged. How could she–? I turned away from her. It wasn't that way. It wasn't.

But no matter what she said, it was that way. And I couldn't deny that.

"How was it like to have your parents afraid of you, to back away from you? How was it like to not receive a mother's love because of something they did? Wasn't that their genes that you inherited? What was your fault? Nothing. And still, they–"

"What the fuck, Mystique?" I said, looking at her, my temper rising. How could she say all those things after all these years? I was trying to forget it and she had to bring it all over again. Anyway, was she making random guesses or did she have an eye on me even then?

She fell quite looking over at me in an amused way.

"Join us, Rogue. We need you. You need us."

I looked back at her, my eyes scorching, my insides burning with anger. "Are you insane?" I scoffed. "I am in no way joining you. I didn't fight you guys all these years, just to join you in the end. I know things happened to me and I know that those kinds of things are happening to everybody around the globe. I know that mutants are fighting for their survival. Professor Xavier is fighting, Hank is fighting, Senator Kelly is fighting. Everybody is. In their own small ways. But not you guys. You don't want Mutant Rights. You want the position humans hold now. You want to rule them while they slogger at your feet. You want them in our position, our place. You don't want equality, you want dominance."

"And you don't want it? You don't want to fight people who've hurt you, hurt your mutant friends? Don't you want revenge for every mutant who died because of the government initiated projects? Don't you remember Striker? He was a government official, a Commander of the army. People like him are everywhere, Rogue. You know it. And you saw what kind of projects he was funding. You know what happened to Logan because of it. He lost his life, his memories, everything. Mutants like Logan are everywhere. Suffering."

"I don't care about Logan," I snapped at her.

"No you don't. Not after what he did tonight. But this time try saying this again with your heart in it."

I glared at her, turning outside to look at the pavement beneath the tires of the car. "You see," she said behind me, "The worse part is that you know you're never going to get him."

I gulped, scowling at the pavement.

"You are after Logan, honey. Anyone can see that."

I looked at her, frowning. She was not bringing Logan into all this.

"Why are you bringing him up?" I asked. "You can leave now. I don't want anything to do with your Brotherhood. If I haven't made myself clear already?"

"No, let's talk. After all, we got this chance after so long."

Of course I remembered the first time she talked to be, in Bobby's form, instigating me against Professor and the Mansion.

Exactly what she was doing now.

"Mystique, no," I warned her.

"And you know why you are not going to get him?" She asked, smiling. No sneering. "Because he's not" – she squeezed her eyes, as if thinking for the right word, "…tamable. You know what I mean? Logan is wild. He's had the taste of it. He has lived the wild. I don't think you can get him that easily. What you have is Wolverine. You know that Logan doesn't really exist. And this Wolverine doesn't like ties. Not even the ties that bind him to this sweet kid, Marie."

"Shut up," I said, sitting back into my seat. "You know nothing. Just shut up."

"You think you love him and yeah, no doubt… maybe you did love him a while ago. But now, you hate him. You hate him, Rogue. He hit you today. Another reminder of the hurt he has caused you, the pain he gives you. You hate all those bloody goody-goody people. You hate being expected to do the good when everything bad happens around you. You hated Jean. You hated that she was so close to Logan, while you – you never could get behind the Wolverine. Even today, Logan chose her over you. You were drunk, vulnerable. Just a sight of Jean, made him run after her in a kind of frenzy, leaving you all alone. He doesn't care if you're hurt. He doesn't care if you die. He doesn't give a damn."

My temper was rising with each word that Mystique said. My blood was boiling and I wanted to hit her. No, drain her life force out of her. And leave her to die here in this dark alley.

But God, she was right. Logan chose Jean over me. Each time. Every fucking time. I was alone like I always ad been.

"Logan doesn't care, honey. He's always been the one–night kind of guy, if you what I mean? But Jean was special, wasn't she? She could have held him, unlike you. She drew him towards her, in spite of that dead boyfriend of hers. Jean had something that you didn't. And you what that was? Jean was more" – here, she traced a hand down her cheek, smiling just the way Jean did, outside the glass doors of the bar– "…touchable."

I felt a tear glide down my face into my lap. She was right. Mystique was right. Logan never cared for me. I was untouchable. I was a kid. Jean was the woman he was always after. And…

He could touch her. While I had the poison skin. I was cursed. Why would anyone take broken goods when they had perfectly fine ones?

"Professor Xavier helped Jean," Mystique continued. "He helped her tame her power. He created a barrier around the Phoenix, preventing her from letting her powers out when she was a kid. She broke that barrier when she turned into the Phoenix again, couple years back. And you know what the biggest question is? Why didn't Professor help you… the same way?"

I looked down at my hands, my eyes widening as I realized the truth of that fact. When he explained us about what had happened to Jean, he had said something like that. He had told us how he had helped control Jean's enormous powers because she was capable of hurting others, because she couldn't control them herself.

Just like me.

Only, her powers probably had more destructive outcomes, but whatever. I was in the same situation all along. Why didn't Professor help me the same way?

But there must be a reason. I couldn't think about Professor like this. He wasn't partial. He was the same teacher to all of us. He was a just man. It was wrong to think about him that way. In my life, he symbolized everything that was right, that held meaning. If he was the wrong man, then…

My world would collapse.

No, there must be a reason. A reason to this. Professor wouldn't be impartial. He loved me like a teacher. He was the same to everybody.

Only why didn't he help me like he helped Jean?

I closed my eyes and relaxed my mind. It was wrong to think about Professor that way. He was the one person in my life who couldn't hurt me. He was the one thing I had supported myself against.

Logan left me, Bobby left me, Kitty betrayed me. Everybody did. But I knew Professor wouldn't. He wouldn't. If he would have been able to help me, he would have.

"Mystique, don't," I said, gulping my tears down. It was wrong, I repeated to myself. Professor must have a reason.

"You don't want to hear the truth, Rogue. Nobody loves you, honey. They all act. They all pretend to be your family. They lie, Rogue. Because the truth is… that you are a mutant not worthy of their noble work. They create. And you? You destroy. You are destructive."

"But I never did hurt anybody on purpose," I mumbled in my defense.

"They kept you inside the Mansion to keep an eye on you. They don't want you, they need you – to make sure that you don't turn against them, because that… that would be lethal. They couldn't afford that now, could they? And when they couldn't keep you any longer and you fled away, they sent Logan after you. They knew Logan would bring you back. Because Logan, honey, is your one weakness. Your Achilles' heel. You have a soft spot for him…while he–"

"Shut up, Mystique," I said in a warning tone.

"While he," Mystique went on uninterrupted, her smile turning sour, "He never cared for you."

"Leave me alone!" I said, feeling like I would bawl my eyes out if Mystique continued any longer. And she was right. That's what hurt the most.

Why didn't Professor help me, like he helped Jean?

Why didn't Logan help me, when I was drunk? Mystique was right. I was vulnerable. I was weak. Logan left me at the time I needed him the most. He always did that. He kept on pestering and badgering me when I didn't want him and he left me when I needed him.

"Join us. Join the brotherhood," Mystique said, looking me in the eye. "We'll make your dreams come true. We'll find a way. Magneto, you know, is just as powerful as your Professor. We'll help you. You'd be able to touch again. That's what you want, right? To be able to touch?"

"Please, shut up," I said, again, speaking through a constricted throat taking support against the dashboard, my head down, looking at my boots.

"It's what you want Rogue. We can give it to you. Magneto will help you. He wants you among us. You'll make a great team with us."

God, why wouldn't she shut up and leave me alone? I didn't need her to realize how pathetic my life is. I knew that already. I didn't need her to say that over and over again like some sort of mantra!

"You and me… We are connected," Mystique said, keeping a hand on my shoulder now. "I feel… I feel that you need me. I wouldn't confess, but Magneto has helped in ways I couldn't imagine. You can find the same thing in him."

"No," I answered, my eyes fixed on my boots.

"No?" She asked, somewhere above me, as if confused.

"No," I replied, looking up again, suddenly finding a way to answer her back. "What are you to him Mystique?" I asked her.

She looked confused.

"To Magneto?" I explained. "You know what you are to him? You are just his favorite pawn."

"What?" Mystiques asked, amused.

"Magneto left you when you needed him the most too."

Mystique's amusement turned into a glower as I continued, "He left you just like Logan left me. You are right. Maybe I'll never get him. And what if he even agrees to be with me? I'm cursed. It's not like we'd ever have a real relationship. And so… maybe that's the way it's supposed to be. Maybe we both were never meant to be. But what about you? I heard you took the cure's shot to save Magneto getting hit?"

Mystique merely glared at me in response. Glare with contempt and anger and… pain. Suddenly, I realized that I felt the very same.

"He doesn't love you, Mystique. He only wants you to do his field work. He plays you all and stays behind the curtain himself. He directs you, never letting anything touch him. You think he loves you? Because let me tell you something, sugar, he's only using you."

"No," Mystique said, "He came for me."

My eyes softened. She was just like me. "Only after the cure failed, isn't it? Did he even remember you once, while you were human?"

Mystique looked beyond my shoulder, outside the window. Her smile was long gone and I could only see pain, sadness and hurt on her face.

"You are only disillusioning yourself," I told her, seeing myself in her. It was as if I was telling myself all this. "People like us are just puppets. People like Magneto play us. He just wants you to work for him. He has no affection for you. Just like Logan. He was with me until he needed me. I comforted him. Helped him Jean wasn't there. When he broke down after her death. But," I smiled, "All I got in return was betrayal."

She looked at me, her eyes unfocused.

"Magneto…" She said, as if lost in a trance.

"He used you. And he's still using you. Just to get his work done. He doesn't want you. Doesn't love you."

She looked at me, as if defeated. "You don't need to do this. You know it. Go to the X-mansion. The professor will take you with open arms. He'll help you and you'll find a man in him worth your trust. He'll–"

Suddenly, the car started moving very fast, making me stop mid-sentence. And then, it moved with so much speed, banging right into an electric pole on my side.

I screamed, horrified, as I hit the car's door and Mystique toppled over me.

"He heard you!" Mystique cried, sitting up straighter, looking at me.

"W–what?" I asked, trying to gain my balance.

"He has mutants who were keeping an eye on us!"

"Out, Mystique!" I heard Magneto's voice boom around us.

Mystique obliged, getting out in one swift motion. Before I even realized what was happening, the car moved again and banged into a wall, sliding along it so that it crashed into the wall, while it kept on speeding ahead.

I saw sparks flying everywhere as the metal screeched against the brick wall. I panicked, trying to get out of the way, but it was to no avail. I was stuck with the seat belt strapped on. I tried holding on to the car's gear stick and dashboard as the car reversed again, having reached the dead end.

I looked around. Magneto. The car was all metal. Of course he could control it. I had to get out.

I looked at my seat belt and tried unbuckling it, working quickly. But my hand shook and the buckle was tight. Even after my repeated attempts, it just wouldn't come off.

"Fuck," I cursed. "Come on, move!"

Shit, I suddenly realized. He had the buckle too. It was metal.

"It's not so easy, Rogue," I heard Magneto's voice again. "You tried to mess with Mystique's head. But I'll give you one last chance. Join us now and you will live."

I looked around, trying to find something to cut the seat belt's material off. I couldn't see Magneto but his voice was enough to scare me. I looked at the glove compartment. Then, opening it quickly, I tried searching for something, anything. But I couldn't find anything sharp in it. I banged the glove compartment right back, angrily, so that it swung open again.

Next, cursing loudly, I tried looking for the tool box. Shit, it should be here somewhere!

But before I could even decide where to look for it, the car changed its direction, moving ahead with full speed again. I was juddered violently as the car hit the wall again.

I clutched at my seat belt and the dashboard again, feeling the car move this side and that. It was moving as if it had lost all control, shaking all over the place fiercely. I was banged into the car door again and again, so that the whole of my side hurt badly.

"Join us!" Magneto shouted, angrily.

"No!" I screamed back. "I'm not with anyone. I'm not even working with Professor Xavier. I'm not with you. Leave me alone!"

"Leave her alone," I heard Mystique repeat my words, "She doesn't want in."

"Oh," Magneto said, "She's got to you, has she?"

"Leave her, Magneto. Let her go." I heard moment later, she added, "Let both of us go."

I heard Magneto's deadly chuckle. "You're leaving?"

"Yes," she said. "I'll go with her. She's right. You left me and only came after me when I was Mystique again. I want out."

Magneto's laugh died mid-way. "Don't you realize? There is no way out."

A second later, I heard again, "Finish her off! She's got to my best fighter."

I sighed in defeat. God, if I was being killed strapped like this, I was sure I would be able to do nothing. I considered shouting for help, but if nobody heard the car screeching, it was a wonder anybody would hear me scream for help.

Before I could think of any other strategy to save myself, a couple hands abruptly pulled me out of the car. The belt slid off easily this time and in another second, I was thrown onto the wall that the car had banged into. I slid down it, the whole of my back-side stinging badly.

I shut my eyes hard, reeling from the shock of the pain. Shit, I felt numb all over and my head hurt like hell. But the good thing was that I wasn't dying in the car. My attacker was in front of me. I clutched my head, trying to make it stop whirling around and tried focusing in front of me.

I was sure, some part of my assailant would be bare. I smiled. Bare enough to touch.

I heard Mystique shriek. "You said no mutant blood!"

"That was before she corrupted you. You were at your best until tonight, Mystique. You failed in your task first time today." I heard his voice fading, "Such a shame. I wouldn't have expected this from you."

I looked around, trying to see Mystique. But the only thing I could see was the dead end of the road and the car next to me. Before I even knew, my shoulders were clutched roughly and I was pulled up along the wall. I shouted as pain shot up all my body, my back side scratching against the rough wall. I opened my eyes to see a sneering face.

"Juggernaut," the huge man growled – his face smiling, sweaty and extremely close to mine. "Remember me in afterlife."

I looked at him, breathing heavily. Without a moment's ado, he crashed hard into me.

All breath knocked out of me, as I realized that I had probably heard my bones crack. My mouth fell open and I realized that I was shrieking. Wildly and uncontrollably. I gulped, trying to breathe. But I couldn't. I couldn't breathe.

Panic.

That's what I felt. I knew I was going to die. Shit, there was so much left to do. I wanted to see my parents once before I died – my Mom, my Dad. I wanted to see my hometown again. I wanted to visit my vacation home. Even after all that happened. I wanted to see them. One last time.

All was lost. I was going to die.

I felt darkness tugging around the corner of my eyes, but I tried to stay awake as I fumbled, trying to find bare skin on my attacker's body. I had to get him. God, if I was dying, this Juggernaut person was dying with me.

The last thing I knew was that I smiled as I felt my attacker's body convulse on my touch. A couple of seconds later, I knew it was too late for him. He became still in a moment more and I felt his thoughts swarming inside my head.

A woman's shriek, a boy's laugh echoed and I saw a sweet face of a kid, then people, chains, shrieks…

I lay down, feeling my head ache now more than ever. But I couldn't move. And my body hurt. My ribs, my arms, my hands, my legs…

Everything hurt.

End this, I wished. Please end the pain.

Then, he was pushed away from me and I felt softer hands, kinder hands. I heard Mystique's desperate cries as she urged me to stay awake.

But it was too much. I smiled at her, telling that it was okay.

Death would end this pain. It hurt too much.

She tried turning my face to her, but her body quivered when she touched me, making her draw her hand away because of my powers. I heard her curse, but her voice was becoming faint with each passing second. Yet, she never quitted trying to touch me.

I tried to slap her hand away but my hands wouldn't move, wouldn't follow my orders.

Suddenly, I saw Logan and he was holding me in his arms. I couldn't help but not touch him. I couldn't move and he was holding me. His shirt came off and I was all but fallen over him.

I saw faint scratches appear on his chest and immediately I felt better. The pain began subsiding and I felt Logan's thoughts whirl around in my head.

Running after Jean, a dead body, no pulse, and me… lying unconscious…

I heard a low growl and realized it was Logan's. I didn't want to hurt him. I didn't want to live. I wanted to tell him to get off me and let me die. But I couldn't.

So, I did what I could do then. I wished really hard for one last time. I wished for the mutation to stop working. Mystique touched me again, telling me to try and stay awake. I smiled as her body didn't quiver this time as she touched me. Logan was telling me to stop doing something. I didn't know what and it was too hard to make any meaning of it now. Remy, who was standing behind Logan, was calling my name.

My eyes felt heavy now and I accepted the darkness without any resistance.

The last thing I saw was faces – Mom's, Dad's, Logan's, Jubilee's, Remy's, Professor's, Storm's, Scott's. Even Jean's.

Then, everything fell black.

Do review! I really like this chapter and reviews would be great. Thanks. :)