Disclaimer: X-Men: Evolution doesn't belong to me.

Chapter Twelve

September 1996

Rogue stared at their joined hands in shock. "How…?" Her mind raced. She had felt his psyche flow into him; that never happened when she absorbed Logan's healing factor: his thoughts stayed where they were.

Now there wasn't even any sign of her powers. His hand remained closed around hers, causing nothing but a strange fluttering sensation in her chest, which she promptly ignored.

"Maybe we should focus on that later." Remy suggested, nodding towards the hole where the door had once been.

"Right." Rogue agreed quickly, shaking herself from her thoughts. The two ran out into the metal-lined corridor, only feel searing heat reach them.

"Thank God!" Rogue sighed. "Amara must not have told Pyro everything. She's over-ridden the power inhibitor."

"Well, that should make things easier." Remy commented, holding up his hand. "But that doesn't help me get rid of this."

Rogue examined in. "It looks like it needs Magneto's powers to open it."

"It does." Remy confirmed.

Before Rogue could say anything more, Magneto, Sabretooth, Quicksilver and Colossus appeared, forced backwards by the flames.

Rogue smirked to herself. She needed to know if her powers were still working and she'd just found a volunteer.

Distracted by the raging fire, Magneto never saw her hand reach out and touch the exposed skin of his face underneath his helmet. He slumped to the ground and she quickly used the absorbed power to undo the power inhibitor.

Remy flexed his hand to get his circulation moving again and charged a couple of cards, through them into the fray as well to keep his former team-mates occupied. "Thanks." He raised his voice. "Pyro! Move it or lose it!"

"On our way!" An Australian voice responded. A jet of fire flew out of the inferno and surrounded the remaining Acolytes, keeping them trapped in a hellish circle, and Pyro and Magma ran out to join them.

When he saw Amara, Remy did a double-take. "I see what you mean. Okay, let's move."

Rogue cast one last glance towards their enemies. "That's not going to kill them, is it? I mean, Pietro's an ass and all, but he doesn't deserve that. Just. And the Prof reckoned that Colossus was being blackmailed."

"He is." John told her.

"The flames won't get any closer." Amara assured her. "They'll die out once we're far enough."

"Alright." Rogue conceded. "Let's go!"

Meanwhile, the X-Men were hidden in a cave, high above Bayville. It had been a good four days – no one was really counting – since their escape from Area 51 and things hadn't gotten any better.

They had salvaged what little food had been stored in the Velocity in case of an emergency and spread it out over the last few days, but that hadn't been much and all five were beginning to feel the strain of exhaustion and gradual starvation.

That morning, word had reached them of a hearing in New York City to decide what to do about mutants and Storm and Beast had made their way there, to speak on mutants' behalf.

Wolverine had gone down to see if he could get them something to eat and the remainder of the team were responding to the situation in their own little ways.

Kurt and Evan, forever needing to feel like they were doing something constructive, were trying to get Evan's mini-TV to work so the group could watch the hearing.

Bobby and Kitty were sitting against the cave wall, both consumed with worry, not for themselves, but for someone close to them.

Bobby, of course, was worrying about Jubilee. He tried to tell himself that he was worried about the rest of his team as well, and he was, but she was constantly at the forefront of his thoughts.

Kitty's mind was firmly on Lance and the rest of the Brotherhood. It had been decided, in the only civil conversation between Lance and Scott that Kitty could remember, that the two teams would split up, so as to make it harder to found. At the time, a sound plan, but now it had been carried out, Kitty could see several huge flaws; the largest being that the X-Men had the Velocity if they were found. The Brotherhood had nothing. Her gaze moved from the opposite wall to the cave-mouth, where blue sky and sun could just be glimpsed, as if mocking her inability to enjoy it. She sighed heavily, praying that Lance and Fred had met up with Todd and Wanda safely. I guess they didn't need to go and check that Magneto had been killed by Wanda dropping that Sentinel on top of him. We'd have found out sooner or later. But I guess that wasn't enough for her, poor girl. I hope they're okay. Lance, please stay safe.

Hearing her sigh, Bobby extracted his arm from between them and slipped it around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. Before, Kitty had noticed the differences between her team-mates, but she had failed to see the one thing that bonded them. Future goals aside, they were a family and she rested her head on her brother's shoulder, knowing that they could get through this, as long as they were united. Unfortunately, for the moment, they were not.

Jean was pacing up and down, fear coursing through her, not just for herself, but for every single member of her family, both X-Men and biological; she knew there was a chance her mother and Eric would be victimised because of this. Despite her best efforts, she had yet to contact any of the New Recruits. Even Amara was beyond her reach, which was strange, since Rogue was not and they were, apparently, in the same place. Consoling herself with the possibility that Magneto's base was, potentially, huge, Jean turned on her heel.

As she did so, she caught sight of Scott, leaning against the wall at the cave-mouth, staring out over Bayville, and changed direction, coming to a stop behind him. "Scott? Are you okay?"

"What do you think?" Scott responded abruptly. "We should be out looking for them!"

"Look, Scott, I've made contact with Rogue." Jean soothed, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know it's difficult, but she can take care of herself and Amara's with her, alright?"

"And they're with Magneto!" Scott snapped. "Anything could be happening!"

Jean bit her lip. She hadn't yet shared Magneto's plan, not wanting to worry anyone else. "I won't lie to you, Scott; they're in danger. A lot of danger. And if Rogue's plan doesn't work, we're going to lose two of our team-mates permanently. But I have faith in her. And you should too. And I truly believe that, wherever Professor Xavier is, he's alright."

Scott finally smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Thanks, Jean. You always know how to make me feel better."

Jean returned his smile, but couldn't help feeling a little awkward. "Have you heard from Taryn at all?"

"No." Scott shook his head. "I got a brief text from Amanda saying that she was thinking of all of us and to give Kurt her love, but I don't want any of us to call anyone just in case…"

"Just in case the calls can be traced." Jean finished. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Are you worried about what'll happen with Taryn?"

"Jean, that's the least of my worries." Scott rolled his eyes behind his glasses; she had always been able to tell when he was doing that. "Even if it was all over and we were safe back at the mansion, I wouldn't be worried; we've practically broken up anyway."

"Oh?" Jean silently begged him to continue, feeling a little guilty for the small spark of hope inside her.

"Well, she's been away all summer, so we've only really talked on the phone." Scott shrugged. "We came to the conclusion about a week ago that it just wasn't going to work between us. We both decided it'd be better to break up face-to-face rather than over the phone."

"Then make sure you tell the others that." Jean cautioned. "Or they'll think the worse of her."

"I will." Scott promised. He hesitated for a second. "Jean, I…"

With a loud bamf and a smell of burning sulphur, Kurt appeared between them, forcing them aside. "How's the reception from here?" He asked, holding up the TV.

"Lousy." Scott answered grumpily. "Like your timing."

Jean rested a hand on his arm. "They only want to know how the hearing's going."

"I can tell you how it's going." Scott stated. "Terribly. No one wants to hear our side of things! By the time they're ready to hear that, we'll have starved to death up here!"

"I thought it was the leader's job to keep morale up?" Kitty asked bitingly. "As opposed to making us all even more suicidal."

Jean!

"Quiet, all of you!" Jean snapped. "Rogue just made contact." Rogue? Where are you?

It's alright; we're fine. Rogue assured her, her words appearing in rush. Where are you?

We're in the caves above Bayville. Are you still in town?

I don't know. Rogue admitted. Gambit and Pyro say we're just outside and we're surrounded by a lot of trees.

Well, that's alright then; you can't be too far. Jean froze. Did you just say Gambit and Pyro?

Yes. I told you earlier, remember?

That was the last thing I was focusing on. Jean snapped. You'd just told me Magneto was planning on killing you both.

They're on our side, Jean; I promise.

Before Jean could retort, there was a roar of a motorcycle and Wolverine came speeding through the cave entrance, skidding to a halt. Hold that thought, Rogue; stay where you are!

"We have a problem." Wolverine announced, leaping off the bike.

"You think?" Jean responded dryly, as two military choppers came hovering into view. "What do we do?"

"Fight." Logan answered, unleashing his claws with a faint snarl.

"No!" Scott disagreed. He turned to Bobby. "Iceman, buy us some time!"

"You got it." Bobby aimed his hands at the cave entrance and created a solid wall.

Logan rounded on Scott. "Listen, kid…"

"No." Scott stood firm. "We're not kids anymore, Logan. We're the X-Men. You trained us. And you know what? We're good." As missiles rained down on them, he shot several beams through the hole at the top of the ice, knocking them out of the sky. "We're very good."

"Fine." Logan snapped. "You wanna take charge? You're on your own." Snapping the helmet back on, he mounted the bike again and took off.

Scott scowled and turned his attention to the choppers. "X-Men, bring them down."

Down in the depth of the forest, Rogue slowed her run and motioned for the others to do the same. "Jeannie says to stay where we are." She glanced over at her team-mate. "Power down, Magma; you'll cause an accident at this rate."

Amara nodded and the flames surrounding her body disappeared, leaving her in her slightly tattered X-uniform.

A silence descended upon them for a few minutes, while they caught their breath. A cool September breeze swept past them and Amara shivered, not really from cold, but from the sudden reality of how close she had come to losing her life.

As if reading her mind, John put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

Rogue was braced against a tree-trunk opposite them, staring at her bare hands, wondering what exactly had just happened. Was it him? Was it me? What's going on here? Making a split-second decision, she stood up and moved over to Amara and John. "Amara?"

"Hmm?" Amara lifted her head from John's shoulder. "What's up?"

"I think I've got control of my powers." Rogue told her quietly.

Amara started. "Pardon?"

Rogue nodded. "I can touch Gambit without absorbing him."

Possibly foreseeing a private conversation looming, John kissed Amara's forehead, pulled his arm from around her and got to his feet, wandering over to where Remy was leaning against yet another tree.

"Thing is, he's emphatic." Rogue explained. "So that might be why."

"Like Mr. Logan's healing?" Amara asked knowingly. "So what now?"

"I want your permission to try with you." Rogue told her. "The moment I feel a pull, I'll let go; I promise. You'll end up dazed, at worst."

"Okay." Amara said immediately. "If it helps."

"Thank you." Rogue lifted a hand and touched Amara's face gently.

Nothing happened.

On a whim, Rogue focused on filtering a tiny piece of Amara's power. There was a slight pull, Amara gasped and Rogue let go immediately.

"What was that?" Amara asked. "I didn't feel any of my thoughts go."

"I didn't get any of them." Rogue told her. "That's why. I think…" She opened her hand and summoned a ball of flame.

"I thought you had to knock someone out in order to take their powers." Amara frowned.

"I did." Rogue confirmed, feeling slightly giddy. "That's because the thoughts would come first and then the powers. By the time I got to them, I'd absorbed too much of the life force for the other person to stay conscious. Now I can pick and choose what I take."

"But why has it taken so long?" Amara asked. "And why now?"

"If y' don't mind," Remy spoke up, "I've got a theory 'bout that."

"Oh?" Rogue prompted.

"When y' first got your powers, y' were scared, so y' couldn't control them, right?" Remy asked.

Rogue nodded; it had been a terrifying experience.

"And since then, you've known y' can't control your powers, so every time y' used them, y' wanted to absorb someone, didn't y'?" Remy continued. "Ideally, y' wanted them knocked out."

"I…" Rogue hesitated. She couldn't remember accidentally absorbing anyone in the last two years; she'd been too careful. "Yes."

"But y' didn't want t' absorb me earlier; y' had to." Remy finished. "It was the first time y' had a chance t' control your powers."

Although an awkward explanation, and Rogue could see the confusion still in Amara's face, she understood what he meant and had to admit that it made sense. "Okay. Well, we'll go with that, because I can't think of anything else it could be."

Without warning, Jean's voice exploded into her head again. Rogue, they've found us! The military is everywhere! We've managed to get to the Velocity, but we can't get to you; Juggernaut's out and he's attacking the dam!

Rogue cursed out loud. Don't worry about us; just sort that out and we'll find you. "We need to stay low; the others have been found and the military are nearby."

"Are the others okay?" Amara asked immediately.

"Jean says they've escaped." Rogue answered grimly. "But they've had to head for the dam; Juggernaut's attacking."

"The dam?" John questioned. "If that gets broken, we may as well give up now!"

"Who is Juggernaut?" Amara frowned.

"Hold on." Rogue told her. "Which way is the dam?"

John cast a look around. "Well…logic dictates that it's where the wind's coming from." He licked a finger and held it up. "So that way."

"Come on." Rogue led the way. "Juggernaut is Professor Xavier's half-brother.

Apparently, he used mysticism to wake his mutation and he's now practically invulnerable. His only weakness is his mind and he wears a helmet to block mind attacks. If we can get that off, then maybe we can make some headway, but Jean's nowhere near powerful enough to stop him psychically. We'll have to find another way."

"Hold on!" Amara called. "Do you hear that?"

Rogue paused and listened intently. Sure enough, there was a low hum in the air that resembled… "That's the Velocity!" Jean, you're above us right now!

"Where?" Amara cried, shielding her eyes.

"Send up a flare." Rogue told her.

"What if it's not the Velocity?" Amara worried.

Rogue sighed. "Amara, the Velocity is the only jet in America, possibly the world, that was made purely from non-metallic material; it's a very distinctive sound. Just trust me."

Amara sighed. "Alright. If you say so." She formed a ball of flame and threw it upwards, aiming carefully, so that it slipped through the branches, hovered above the trees and then extinguished.

Seconds later, the hum grew louder and the grass and leaves around them began to stir as the Velocity appeared above the trees.

The hatch opened and a familiar red-headed figure appeared, dressed in red and green spandex, her arms outstretched.

Rogue couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face as her feet left the floor. After what seemed like an age, the ramp was in reach and she caught hold of the bar and pulled herself in, seeing her companions do the same.

Bobby hurried over and took hold of Amara's hand, pulling her in as well and sweeping her into a hug. "Dammit, Amara; I thought we'd lost you!"

Jean pulled the hatch closed. "We're good to go, Scott!"

As the jet soared off, Rogue collapsed into a seat, her legs beginning to shake slightly as the events of the last few hours caught up with her. "Oh, Gambit and Pyro are sticking with us for a while, okay?"

Scott muttered something, but no one really caught it apart from Jean, who snapped, "Scott!" and then asked, "Just for a while?"

"Well, let's start with that and move upwards." Rogue suggested, closing her eyes.

Amara pulled away from Bobby, not bothering to hide her tears of relief. "Bobby, are you crying?"

"No." Bobby hastily wiped his face. "I've just got something in my eyes, that's all."

"Uh huh." Amara didn't sound convinced. "Bobby, this is John Allerdyce. John, this is Bobby "Iceman" Drake, my team leader and self-appointed older brother."

As Kitty called her over, Bobby, without hesitation, held his hand out to shake John's hand. Once Amara was out of earshot, he leaned forwards. "If you hurt her, you'll have all seven of us out for your blood. You know that, right?"

"If I ever hurt her, I'll deserve everything you do to me." John responded.

Bobby grinned at him. "Welcome to the X-Men."

"How far are we from the dam?" Amara asked, missing the by-play.

"About ten minutes." Scott answered. "At the least."

"And are we sure going after Juggernaut is a good idea?" Rogue questioned. "It could be the sentinel disaster all over again."

"Professor Xavier would tell us to forget the risk and save the innocent people who could be killed just because Juggernaut's got a superiority complex." Kitty reminded her, eyeing her curiously. "Do you want to change? There's a spare uniform in the back."

Rogue glanced down at her bare arms. "No, I'll be fine." She assured her room-mate, patting her hand comfortingly.

Kitty watched the action open-mouthed; her own gloves, although normally part of her uniform, were absent due to the unusual heat in the jet. "Rogue…how are you…?"

Jean glanced over and her mouth dropped open as well. "Rogue?"

Rogue held her bare hand out. "It's fine."

Jean hesitated, trepidation in her eyes.

Rogue sighed. "Jean, I wouldn't be doing this unless I was certain."

Kurt joined them. "She's right, Jean. I trust her." He reached out and took her hand in his furry one. "Congratulations."

Looking sheepish, Jean hugged her. "I'm sorry. I should have trusted you."

"Forget it." Rogue told her and meant it.

"How did you get control?" Jean asked curiously.

"Well, we're not entirely sure…" Rogue admitted.

"We think it's because she's always been careful and the only time she's ever made skin contact before was to knock someone out or absorb their powers." Remy continued.

"But when Remy asked me to absorb his powers earlier, I didn't want to knock him out so I didn't." Rogue finished.

Satisfied that his younger team-mate was alright, Bobby settled down next to Kitty and smirked at her. "Aw, they're starting to finish each other's sentences, Kit; isn't that sweet?"

Kitty swatted his hand. "Shut up!"

"How did you escape the other choppers?" Amara asked curiously.

"Took them down." Kitty told her. "Gently, of course. Kurt and I short-circuited the weapons' system and Jean pulled them down telekinetically."

"No casualties." Jean concluded.

"Here we are." Scott announced, cutting into the discussion. "I'm taking her down."

AN: For those of you who don't know, or haven't realised, I am English in origin. Whilst I'm aware of the larger language changes between the two countries (two nations separated by a common language, I believe is the saying) - i.e. tap/faucet and so on – it has been pointed out to me that phrases like 'bloody hell' and 'bugger off' are more common here in England than in America, so if I do make a mistake like that, I'd be grateful if you could let me know.

And even if I don't, it'd be nice if you could review anyway; statistics don't lie and the last chapter had 93 hits and only four reviews, which doesn't add up. There really is no reason for you not to review; I welcome anonymous reviewers and try to respond to all signed reviewers. Even if all you put is 'good job' or 'it sucked', I don't mind. Just give me some reason not to think that 89 people hate the story and only 4 like it.