Disclaimer: Still working on hacking into the lawyers' databases… the second firewall is proving to be quite difficult, considering that I haven't made any progress at all…

"…"- conversation

'…'- thoughts

(…)- extra facts/actions (some)

((…))- author's/my own thoughts

'blah…' -telepathy/what people say mentally

Chapter 49: Beginning the Rescue

General Hallways, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 11:45 PM

Remy and Rogue were still running; they had been doing so for the last twenty minutes, and as they did so thoughts flashed through their minds.

'Remy, are yah sure we're goin' in tha right direction?' Rogue impatiently asked, making sure to keep her invisibility shield on.

'Rogue, Remy tell you already; dis Cajun knows where he's goin',' Remy replied, and after making sure to keep his invisibility on he added, 'Besides, chére, Remy knows dat tu trust moi (you trust me), non?' On getting the silent treatment from Rogue, Remy shook his head and smirked; 'La chére de Remy est trés tetu, mais Remy l'adore (Remy's chére is very stubborn, but Remy loves her).'

Remy and Rogue came to a stop in front of a large steel door, which seemed to be scratched and beat up. "What do yah think happened ici (here)?' Rogue asked, her emerald eyes alighting on Remy's (when invisible they both can see each other) black and red ones.

'Remy don't know, chére, mais Remy feels dat dis isn't bon pour nous (good for us),' Remy replied, his eyes answering Rogue's question with one of his own. After a few minutes of just standing around, they both nodded and, taking each other's hand phased through the door in front of them, Remy still holding the first-aid equipment. When they emerged on the other side, a horrifying scene met them.

'Gawd no…' whispered Rogue, her voice quavering even in her thoughts. Remy was too silent to move; he couldn't even reply. In front of them was Hallway #1, where they could see Amara and Bobby, both of whom were desperately trying to break free of the torture.

Rogue broke free of Remy's grip, threw off her invisibility cloak, and ran to Amara's cage, using her super strength to wrench the door completely off its hinges. "Amara! Amara, sugah, what's wrong?!" Rogue whispered. She knelt beside her teammate and, cupping her face in her hands lifted it to see what was wrong with her.

Remy crept up behind Rogue and, copying her super strength took the recently ripped off door and replaced it on the door, and then copied Scott's power (which he'd just seen in battle a few days ago) to seal the door back in place.

Rogue took no notice of this as she moved her hands over Amara's body, using Xavier, Betsy, and Jean's combined telepathy to scan the mutant for signs of mental distress.

'Remy, Ah found what's wrong. Apocalypse has both Amara and Bobby in these cells which project their worst fears- either physical or both- and they also have on mutant inhibition collars which prevent them from using their mental or powers. He's torturing them Remy! What do we do!?' Rogue looked up from trying to calm Amara down and met Remy's worried eyes.

'Remy don't know chére; mais dis Cajun knows dat we'll find a way to help them; all of them,' Remy knelt beside Rogue and gave her a hug. Rogue embraced Remy back, and they stayed this way for a few moments until they were startled out of their embrace when Amara screamed from behind them.

"No! Ray! Don't leave me! I, I need you here with me!" Amara couldn't stand it anymore; all she had been forced to see for days on end were horrific images that detailed her exact death either because her powers failed to protect her from the magma's intense heat, or from the bullets that had riddled her body. Amara's eyes suddenly snapped open, and both Rogue and Remy backed off quickly, both sensing something happening to the young woman.

"Ray!" Amara screamed; her eyes turned bright red, and her body began to transform slowly but surely into her "magma" uniform, burning the inhibition collar completely off. Rogue and Remy watched in amazement, mouths hanging wide open.

Amara's screams died out when she had completely transformed into her magma state; the heat that emanated off her was too intense for even the God of Water and the Goddess of Wind to approach her without letting their bodies adjust a bit to the heat. Amara then collapsed; completely exhausted from the intense effort of escaping Apocalypse's trap and the mental torture she had been forced to endure. She reverted back to her human appearance, and both Rogue and Remy could see that her uniform was still bloody and torn from the fight days before. Remy felt guilty; damn it, he didn't know how Rogue forgave him so easily for being part of the attack at the Institute; after all, it was partially his fault that everyone was suffering the way they were.

"Remy… wha' just happened?" Rogue shakily asked. "Ah thought tha' the prisoners couldn't escape without outside help…"

"Remy too, Rogue; Remy too…" Remy whispered back, his mouth pressed into a thin line.

Unknown Location, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 16, 11:45 PM

"What was that disturbance?" Apocalypse hissed, his red eyes moving to settle on his four Horsemen, all of whom were kneeling in front of him. His eyes moved from one Horseman to another, and finally settled on the one he was looking for.

"Horseman of Famine," Apocalypse spat, and at this Lucas looked up, "go and see what is wrong and report back to me; now!"

Lucas nodded his head in acquiescence and, getting to his feet, walked out of the room, the door automatically closing behind him.