Chapter Four:


"Watch yo' head, chere," Remy said as the orb touched down with a shudder.

Rogue glanced at him inquisitively. He merely nodded his chin at the ceiling as the sphere began to slid open, unveiling around them. "Oh," she murmured, blinking as the bright light outside of the orb flashed in her eyes. She shielded her eyes, blocking out some of the sun's harsh glare.

She tried to stand and wavered, her legs still weak. Remy caught her with his arm and steadied her before stepping out of the orb and helping her out gently. "Take you a bit t'get yo' legs back under you, p'tite," he warned with a wink. "You be okay, though. Jus' take some time t'recover proper from yo' captivity, hahn?"

She nodded, swallowing the dryness in her mouth as she glanced around at their surroundings. They were on a beach somewhere, and, judging by the crystal clear water, she imagined it was somewhere pretty far south. She turned to look over her shoulder, Remy's hand remaining on the small of her back to keep her from falling as a slight wave of dizziness washed over her. A single house stood about two hundred yards away, but there was no grass under it. Instead, there was a metal covering, and Rogue had a sinking feeling that what lay underneath it was one of Magneto's future schemes.

"Dat de base," Remy explained. "De house is where we all live fo' now, and under it is where de boss man works. Got himself a whole big ol' lab down dere. Don' let none o' us near it, either. De house gon' be open t'you an' yo' friends, jus' steer clear o' de lab an' you be fine, comprenez?"

Rogue nodded that she understood.

"Good," Remy said with a smile. He nodded past her. "Den here come de others, yo' friends wi't dem."

Rogue turned to see more silver transport orbs hovering down from the sky, the glistening sun reflecting off their metallic exteriors. There were six of them, floating down to the ground alongside each other, and Rogue drew a sharp breath of anticipation as they nestled lightly in the sand.

There was an echoing snap-hiss as the orbs began to open, and Rogue swallowed hard, her hands trembling slightly.

Then the orbs were open all the way, and their occupants stepping out onto the beach.

Sabertooth was first, and if she hadn't been so anxious about her friends, she would have glared at him.

The tall, armored boy stepped up beside Sabertooth, reverting back to normal form, and Rogue gave him a fleeting glance, deciding that he looked just as solemn and strong now as he had before.

A tall, lanky red-haired boy yawned, stretching his arms, and flashed her a small, predatory kind of smile that would have made her angry in any other situation.

"Name's St. John," Remy murmured in her ear. "Call him Pyro, though. He likes it better."

Rogue nodded, her heart hammering in her chest. The only three remaining were those who were rescued. At least two of them were her friends. But one of them might not be...

Her eyes widened in relief as a slightly groggy Evan Daniels stumbled across the sand. "Evan!" she shouted, stumbling towards him on unsteady legs. He saw her and his eyes lit up and he opened his arms, enfolding her into a fierce hug.

Tears stung her eyes. "Oh, God, Ev," she gasped out, grateful that she still had gloves on as she clutched him desperately. "Ah was so worried 'bout ya!"

"Hey, don't cry, girl," Evan said, though his eyes were watery, too. "You know how I feel about crying, man."

"Sorry," Rogue rasped with a faint smile. "Couldn't help mahself."

"Children, please," a familiar voice said, thick with emotion. "I do believe you are making me tear up."

Rogue's head jerked up to see Hank lumbering towards them, and she grinned, disengaging from Evan's arms and hurling herself into Hank's. "Mr. McCoy!" she cried, hugging him, while being ever watchful of her skin and its proximity to him.

"Hello, my dear," Hank replied with an affectionate smile. "I am most relieved to see you."

Rogue smiled sheepishly, realizing that she had lost control of her emotions for a bit. She wasn't one to usually give out hugs, and when she did, it was usually in an emotional situation. Like with Kurt after he found out Mystique was his mother. Or with Logan, after that time that he caught her when she slipped from the open hatch of the Blackbird.

Logan!

She whirled, her eyes searching desperately, and her breath caught in her throat as she saw the remaining figure.

Fred Dukes.

She had to close her eyes to keep form bursting into sobs. It was one thing for the others to see her shed a few tears, but she refused to let anyone see her cry. Logan wouldn't want her to.

Oh God, Logan! she thought, her heart breaking.

She swayed on her feet, her knees buckling under her, and Hank caught her easily with his massive hands. His strong grip held her up, though she made no effort to do so herself. Logan was still a prisoner. She might never see him again.

He might die a prisoner.

A sob rose up in her throat, but she smothered it down, refusing to break down in front of everyone. She would grieve in private, alone, away from prying eyes.

Oh Lord, she didn't know if she could hold it together until then. She needed something, anything, to distract her.

"Welcome, X-men, to my sanctuary."

That would work.

Rogue swallowed hard, letting Hank help her the rest of the way to her feet, and turned to look at Magneto, who had appeared behind her, clad in his scarlet armor and purple cape. The helmet that had once struck her as odd now served to make him look even more ominous than ever.

"These are my followers, the Acolytes," Magneto said, his voice booming through the air like thunder. "Pyro, Colossus and Gambit." He gestured to each in turn, then nodded to the left, and Rogue had the feeling he was smirking. "And, of course, you already know Sabertooth."

Rogue growled softly, remembering when the feline mutant had attacked her, Evan and Kitty out in the wood while they were filming a school project. "Unfortunately," she muttered.

Sabertooth flashed her a toothy grin that she knew was supposed to intimidate her, but after all she had been through in Trask's labs, she found it amusing at the most, and shook her head softly, imagining what his reaction would be if she were to punch him good in the face right then.

The thought made her smirk slightly.

"Come," Magneto said. "I will show you to your quarters."

"What makes ya think we goin' t' go anywhere with ya?" Rogue demanded angrily. "We ain't ya students, Magneto! We're Professor Xavier's!"

"Rogue," Hank warned calmly, squeezing her arm gently. He turned to face Magneto. "Magnus, while we appreciate you rescuing us, though I'm not entirely sure of your reasons for doing so, I think that perhaps it would be best if you were to take us back to the Institute."

"Sadly," Magneto said. "I am afraid that it impossible."

Rogue's entire body tense, and she felt her anger boiling up inside of her. How dare he say that he wouldn't take them back? Did he really think they would agree to stay here?! Even if he did rescue them, that didn't mean-

"The Institute is no more," Magneto said, lowering his head slightly. "It was destroyed. Three months ago."

The look of horrified shock that crossed Hank and Evan's faces was one that Rogue knew had washed over hers, as well. "But..." Evan stammered. "But... Scott...the others...."

"Ah don't believe ya!" Rogue snarled.

"What you believe is of very little consequence to me, child," Magneto responded evenly.

"Magnus," Hank said quietly, a deadly edge to his voice. "Is this for real? Has the mansion truly been destroyed?"

Magneto nodded solemnly. "I can show you the news footage if you like."

Rogue reeled backwards in shock, gasping. Her mouth moved in protest, but no sound came out. Someone caught her by the arm, holding her up supportively, and she knew it had to be Remy since Evan and Hank were staring at Magneto with such intensity that the Eiffel Tower could have appeared suddenly and they wouldn't have even noticed.

"You're serious?" Hank rasped.

"Regretfully, I am most serious, Mr. McCoy," Magneto said, a touch of sadness to his tone. "From what I have gathered, it was a self-destruct glitch-"

"DefCon4," Evan muttered.

Magneto nodded. "So it would seem. The official report was that it was a mutant terrorist experiment gone wrong," he sneered the words coldly, his eyes flashing. "But I think we all know exactly what happened. Someone activated Charles' maximum security alarm."

"But the Professor wasn't at the mansion," Hank said, obviously struggling to focus on something other than the students who were. "He and the X-men and the Brotherhood were with us. What has become of them? They weren't captured, we would have seen them."

"That has yet to be determined," Magneto replied. "But I have been searching for Charles, and I remain optimistic that we will find him. When we do, you all will be allowed to return to him, if that is what you wish."

"Thank you," Hank said quietly, more defeat in his tone that Rogue had ever heard.

Magneto merely nodded. "Come," he said, moving towards the house. "My Acolytes will help you get settled."

As he moved, Rogue caught a glimpse of a figure standing behind one of the trees, watching.

"You!" she snarled, and, before anyone could react, she had hurled herself at Pietro Maximoff, shrieking angrily. "Traitor! Ya worthless, good for nothin' traitor!"

Translations:

comprenez- understand