Thanks again for all the reviews! Keep them coming! ;) Dragonseizer, DefCon4 locks down the entire house. In DoR, not even Sam's powers could breach through the defenses to get them out. Hope everyone enjoys! There will be another chapter up tonight at some point.

                                                ~BQ

Chapter Eight:



There was a knock at her door.

Even before he asked if he could come in, she knew it was Evan. He had a distinctive knock, really, two short beats followed by a longer one. Distantly, she wondered if he knew that, or if he had never even noticed. She'd only noticed in the past few days, having heard it quite a few times, so she doubted he even knew about it.

"Rogue?" his concerned voice called through the door. "Can I come in? Please?"

"No," she grunted.

"Chere," Remy's thick, rich Cajun voice flowed under the door, making her stomach flutter. "Chere, if you don' open dis door an' let Spyke in, Remy goin' pick de lock an' den we both gon' come in dere, comprenez?"

Rogue sighed. She had no doubt that he was serious. "Fine," she grumbled in response, and she heard Evan's relieved sigh, even though he tried to hide it. She rolled off of the bed and slowly made her way over to the door. Wordlessly, she flipped the lock in the other direction, then slipped back across the room to sit down on her bed.

The door opened and in stepped a boy that she had to look twice at to be certain it was Evan Daniels. After all, when she'd last seen him, he had been terribly thin, pale, and in his tattered X-men uniform, his blond hair having grown out to show the black roots. The boy who stood before her now looked healthy and strong, his complexion darker than she could ever remember it being in Bayville, his hair trimmed so that it was all blond again and barely longer than a buzz cut. She wondered briefly where he had gotten hair dye to fix the coloring. Instead of the disheveled navy uniform, this boy wore a pair of navy shorts and a white T-shirt. He even had shoes, and it wasn't until that moment that she realized how much she'd missed normal shoes. Her X-men boots were comfortable, but not for three months straight.

Remy stuck his head in the door and flashed her a small smile. She blushed slightly, and he winked at her before disappearing back into the hall and shutting the door after him, leaving her alone in the room with her teammate.

"Hey," Evan said, shifting uneasily. Now that he'd actually managed to get her to let him in, it was obvious he didn't really know what to say. Rogue almost smiled. It wasn't often that she got to see Evan uncomfortable.

"Hey," she replied quietly.

Evan took her response as his cue and walked across the room to sit down on the bed beside her, settling a few feet away, and Rogue couldn't help wondering if it was because he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, or if he was worried about accidentally touching her.

"So," Evan said, fidgeting with his hands idly. "Uh...how are you feeling?"

"How do ya think Ah feel?" Rogue replied dryly.

"Not too good, huh?"

"Give the boy a prize," Rogue muttered. She rubbed her forehead with the heel of her hands, trying to make some of the pain so away. "What are ya doin' here, Ev?" she asked, not looking at him.

"I wanted to talk," Evan replied, as if that should have been obvious.

"Ya couldn't do that with one o' the others?" she drawled.

"I wanted to talk with you," he rephrased, not rising to the bait. "I wanted to spend some time with you, you know? Make sure you're doing okay and all that stuff."

"Doin' okay?" Rogue echoed incredulously. "Our friends are dead. Our home is gone. Ah've destroyed a girl's life, an' fo' that she ain't never gonna let me have no peace." She scowled slightly. "But, yeah, Ev, Ah'm doin' okay."

Evan sighed. "Okay, so not the smoothest thing I've ever said, but give me a break here, will ya, Rogue? I'm worried about you, we all are. You can't just shut yourself away from everyone, man."

"Watch me," she muttered darkly.

"Rogue," Evan said, his voice almost pleading. "I know you're hurting, but this isn't the time to be pushing the people who care about you away, man. Right now you need us, and we need you, more than ever."

"Ah don't need nobody," Rogue grunted. "Never have, never will. Ah can do just fine on mah own, thank ya very much."

"Yeah, cuz look at how great a job you've done so far," Evan snapped, and Rogue blinked, surprised by the harshness in his tone. She turned to face him, ready to explode, and found herself staring into eyes smoldering with pain and fear, drowning in sorrow and anxiety. For a long moment they stared into one another's eyes, and in that moment Rogue understood Evan Daniels better than she ever had before.

He was scared, he was worried, he was hurting, and yet he was putting her first. Worrying about her pain before his own. It was a lesson in friendship that she would never forget.

"Ah know," she said softly, sighing deeply and flopping down onto her back on the bed. "Ah know, an' Ah'm sorry."

"Don't be, man" Evan replied, sighing. "I don't want you to be sorry. I just want you to be okay."

"Ah know. An' that means a lot, Ev," she whispered. "Thank ya."

"Hey, we're friends," Evan said with a dismissive shrug. "Friends look out for one another. They take care of each other, right?"

"Right," Rogue replied with a weak smile.

"They also talk to each other," Evan said meaningfully. "So why don't you tell me what's bothering you, okay?"

"Ya mean besides mourning the loss o' a bunch o' our friends, not knowing what happened to the rest o' them, havin' our mansion blown up, bein' here with Magneto, an' havin' Carol Danvers runnin' around screamin' in mah head all the time?" she retorted sarcastically.

"Yeah," Evan retorted with a rueful smile. "Besides all that."

"Ah guess it's just everythin' comin' t'gether all at once, ya know?" Rogue said dully. "Ah mean, why the hell does all this bad stuff have t' happen at the same time? Why couldn't it be spread out some, instead o' everythin' just slammin' in mah face like this?"

"I hear you, girl," Evan said, laying back down beside her. "It's like, maybe we could have dealt with this whole mess if we could break it down some? But when it's all thrown at us like this, it just seems like it's too much. Like we can't even begin to handle it all, ya know?"

"Yeah," Rogue said quietly, knowing exactly what he meant.

They laid in silence for a few moments, then Evan sat up and turned to face her, a stern look on his face. "Look, I know Carol has been saying a lot of things to make you depressed and all, but you can't listen to her, okay? I mean, she's just saying it to make you upset. All she's doing in trying to hurt you to make herself feel better about what happened to her."

"It's mah fault, Rogue said miserably. "Ah did this t' her. She's only tryin' t' get revenge for what Ah did."

"You didn't do anything, girl," Evan said sharply. "Trask did. If she wants revenge, she should get it on him, not you."

"Ah ain't exactly innocent in all this, ya know," Rogue replied flatly.

"No, you aren't," Evan agreed. "But you couldn't do anything to stop what Trask did, and I don't have to be there to know that you struggled against it. You tried to prevent it, Rogue, and you've been drowning in self-loathing ever since. If that's not enough for Carol to see that you didn't mean for this to happen, then nothing will make her see that. You've got to stop feeling guilty for things you had no control over and let go of it."

"How?" Rogue rasped, her throat tight. "How can Ah let go when she's still in mah thoughts? When she's screamin' an' kickin' at me the whole time? How can Ah let go when Ah can't get her out o' mah head, Ev?"

"I don't know," Evan answered truthfully. "You'll just have to find a way. The Professor will be able to help you later, but for now, you just have to find a way on your own." He squeezed her shoulder. "I know you can do that, girl, you're stronger than anyone I know."

"It's not a matter o' strength," Rogue told him sadly. "It's a matter o' findin' a way t' shut her up. Ah've been able to block her out most o' the time when she gets loud, but it's stressful t' do so. Makes me feel real tired an' weak, ya know? Gives me a headache. Ah don't know how the Professor an' Jean do this kind o' thing. It's wearin' me out."

"Well," Evan said, a thoughtful look on his face. "The Professor always said that your mind is really hard to read, kind of like Logan's, so maybe there's a way for you to make it so that Carol can't read your thoughts. That way even if you can hear her, she can't hear you. At least that way you'd have some privacy, right?"

"That'd be great," Rogue said. "But just how am Ah supposed t' be able t' do that? An' how am Ah supposed t' know how t' do that?"

"That's the tough part," Evan agreed with a nod.

Rogue was tempted to roll her eyes, but somehow she managed not to. "Ah wish the Professor was here," she said quietly. "Hell, Ah would even settle for Jean right about now. Maybe she could look inside mah head an' figure out what t' do. She's always been real good at figurin' things out."

"I'm sure one of them will be able to fix your head," Evan said, then snorted at the absurdity of that sentence.

"Ah think it might be a li'l too late for that," Rogue replied with a small ghost of a smile, and Evan grinned at her, obviously shocked, and pleased, to hear her make any type of joke at all.

"I don't know," he said with a wicked gleam in his eyes. "If they can do something for Pietro, then there's definitely hope for you."

Rogue smiled slightly, but her smiled faded as she remembered the tenuous strain with the quickfooted mutant. "Has he been makin' any trouble?" she asked, referring to Pietro's eternal rivalry with Evan.

"Not really," Evan replied, and she could tell he was a little surprised about that. "He hasn't really been around much. He keeps to himself, doesn't really come near me or Fred. I think, if it's even possible, he might be feeling bad about betraying us."

"Good," Rogue grunted. "He should."

Evan nodded. "That or he's afraid that you'll somehow know he's talking to us and come out of your room just to kick his ass again."

Rogue groaned. "Ah think Ah really lost it durin' that li'l scuffle, didn't Ah?"

"Lost it?" Evan echoed with a smirk. "I didn't know you ever had it."

Rogue glared at him. "Funny, skaterboy. Really funny." She sighed, running a gloved hand through her hair. "Ah dunno. He just made me so angry, ya know? Ah mean, Ah trusted him. Yeah, he was with the Brotherhood, but Ah thought we could trust him."

"We all did," Evan admitted. "Even me. I thought he might turn around and attack us later, you know? That he might leave one of us hanging in the middle of the battle, but I never thought he'd betray his own team." He shook his head. "Sometimes I just can't understand that hyperactive jerk."

"No one can," Rogue replied, shaking her head softly. "He's Pietro."

"Yeah," Evan agreed. "He's Pietro."

"Do ya think the others got away okay?" she asked softly. "Jean an' Kurt an' Kitty an' the Prof an' ya aunt?"

"I hope so," Evan answered. "Kitty and Kurt can escape pretty much anything, ya know? So it's not likely they were caught. Jean and the Professor could wipe the military's minds into letting them escape, and Auntie O, well..." He swallowed and Rogue saw just how worried he was for Ororo. "She's a force to be reckoned with, man, and I pity anyone foolish enough to get in her way. Know what I mean?"

Rogue realized something in that moment. Evan and Hank had tried so hard to reassure and comfort her in the past few days, but right now Evan was seeking the same from her. Even though she had little hope in the words she was about to offer, she knew that it was the right thing to say. "Ah'm sure she's okay, Ev," she said, although she was sure of no such thing. "Storm is too powerful to be taken down."

"We thought that about Wolverine, too," Evan pointed out darkly.

Logan, Rogue thought, her thought burning and her chest aching fiercely. Logan, ya best be alive. If ya ain't, Ah'll nevah forgive ya fo'  it.

"They'll both be fine," Rogue said, trying to sound calm. "They all will. They're X-men."

"Yeah," Evan said, more to himself than to her. "They'll be fine. They're X-men."

So were Scott and Bobby and the others, Rogue thought bitterly, her heart twisting in anguish. And look how much good that did them in the end.

"The whole world knows about us now, Rogue," Evan said, sounding tired and weary. "That battle was on the news. The entire world knows about mutants now, about us. There have been riots everywhere, protests and hazings. It's like the 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement all over again, 'cept this time they don't even think we have the right to be alive."

A surge of anger, from both her herself and Carol, swelled up in Rogue. "They're bigots, Ev," Rogue snapped. "They're nothin' but bigots who don't know any better. It'll pass, just give it time. This is just the controversy of the moment."

Her words sounded empty, even to her.

"They hate us so much," Evan muttered, a look of despair on his face. "Some of the things they've said about us on t.v...."

Let me talk to him, Carol said, speaking for the first time in hours.

Rogue started, surprised. Why? she asked suspiciously, remembering the cruel things Carol had said to Hank.

I'm not going to say anything mean, Carol said, rolling her eyes. I promise. I just want to talk to him for a bit. Geez, it's the least you could do to let me talk to someone besides you for once.

Begrudgingly, Rogue stepped aside and let Carol have control of her vocal cords once more. "Look, Evan," Carol said in Rogue's voice, her tone surprisingly gentle. "Ah know it seems bad right now, but give it time an' it will get better. People are just scared right now, that's all. We're somethin' new an' different t' 'em, an' they don't know how t' deal with it yet. People are scared o' what they don't understand. Give 'em time t' understand us, give 'em time t' see that we understand them, an' it'll get better. Ah promise, it will."

Evan blinked at her, then smiled faintly. "Thanks, Rogue."

"Don't mention it," Carol said, then retreated back into Rogue's mind, letting Rogue have control again.

That was nice o' ya, Rogue told her. Thank ya.

Yeah, well, I didn't do it to be nice, Carol snapped. And I certainly didn't do it for you. I was just sick and tired of hearing him bitch about it, okay?

Okay, Rogue conceded, not quite believing her.

"This is a pretty nice room," Evan said, looking around for the first time. Glancing about at the room Harmony had shown her into, Rogue realized he was right. It was a nice room, with a decent sized bed, white walls, a desk and a dresser for clothes. Not that she really had any that fit, Hank had been right, Harmony was about two sizes bigger than Rogue was. She had her own little bathroom, too, a luxury to someone who had shared two bathrooms with twelve other kids for the past two years. She'd been given a comfortable room, she just hadn't looked before.

"Yeah," Rogue agreed. "It is, isn't it?"

"You got your own bathroom?" Evan cried, his eyes wide. "Man, no fair! I have to share with the Acolytes. That Pyro guy is in there for like an hour every morning!"

"Just be glad ya don't have t' share with Sabertooth," Rogue offered with a weak smile. "The fleabag would shed all over the shower."

Evan laughed. "Yeah, you have a point there." His expression grew serious and he eyed her appraisingly. "Is it weird for you, too, being here? With Magneto and people who are supposed to be our enemies?"

"Magneto is our enemy," Rogue reminded him. "The same goes for anyone who follows him. An', yeah, Ah guess it is. Ah keep wantin' t' open mah window an' just fly off t' look for the rest o' the X-men, but Ah know it won't do any good. We're on an island, an' Ah don't have any idea where to start lookin'. That is, if we could even manage to sneak outta here."

"Magneto said we were free to leave if we wanted to," Evan said quietly.

"Did he now?" Rogue mused under her breath. Somehow she doubted that they really had much of a choice. She glanced at him sideways. "So do ya wanna go?

Evan shrugged. "Magneto says there isn't anywhere for us to go."

Convenient excuse, Carol mutttered.

Rogue had to agree with her on that. "He's right, ya know," she told Evan softly. "We're refugees right now. We ain't got a home, an' we ain't got nowhere t' be headin'."

"I know," Evan replied. "It's just..."

"Hard?" Rogue finished knowingly.

Evan nodded.

"Ah know," Rogue said. "It's hard for me, too. But Ah'm willin' t' give it a try. How 'bout ya, Ev?"

Evan sighed. "I guess I'm in, too, man. We don't really have any other choice, do we?"

"Nope," Rogue replied, almost smiling.

They sat in silence for a long moment, then Evan turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "Do me a favor?" he asked.

Rogue shrugged. "Sure, if Ah can. What is it?"

"Next time you decide to kick Pietro's ass, count me in."

This time, Rogue did smile.