Disclaimer: The X-Men/Brotherhood aren't mine, they're Marvels. Claire and Nick Darth are.

Author's note: Whahaha!

And this is why you should never have caffeine late at night. Oh well one of my fastest updates, and you're in luck There's a bonus chapter! WAHOO! This chapter is told primarily through Rogue's "point-of-view", or maybe I should say thoughts, because it's all third person. It was a lot of fun to write, I got to analyze my characters through another's viewpoint.

(This chapter is not the one with the awful cliff hanger. The next is. This just has the typical end-of-chapter cliff hanger.)

Read. Review. Enjoy. (wait... that's out of order...)

The days were whizzing by fast. Rogue did not like that. The Institute students just finished worrying about Midterms, only now to turn around and start thinking about their quickly approaching Finals. It was a bit more for Rogue though, this was her last year, she was a senior. It was starting to come time to start thinking about decisions for her future. She'd talked with Professor Xavier a few times about it, but she couldn't figure anything out.

Rogue sighed and slammed her math book shut. She sat back at the desk in her room and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Apparently teachers didn't care if you were an X-Man and had perilous Danger Room sessions on top of homework.

Not like that was the biggest of her worries. Things had been quiet for the last few weeks, and that is what worried her. No Brotherhood, no Haven, hell, no humans! And the silence bothered her more than the noise.

It wasn't just the trouble makers being silent, it was the Dyson brothers. They always got into trouble. It was a part of their wiring. At least that's what Rogue figured. Leo had a knack for it. But the last few weeks he'd actually been trying to patch things up with some of the kids at the Xavier Institute that he'd made tiny enemies of. Really, he and Bobby were… almost friendly. It was strange, no weird. Weird is good, strange is bad (~Fitch, The Warrior Heir).

She supposed maybe it was just the video games. The two were starting to actually work together in that, and they were recently paired together in a Danger Room session. Believe it or not neither received any injures due to each other's protection; and there were a lot of moments where the other could have "accidently" let the other get hurt.

Of course Leo was having no luck with Ray, that boy could hold a grudge.

And then there was Claire Darth. She actually visited the Institute, to see Leo. The boy was overjoyed. Rogue thought they were a bit of a strange couple. Claire seemed very edgy and private, Leo… well maybe they weren't that different. Everyone knew she was a mutant, but she left them guessing on what she could do. She declined an offer from Xavier to bring her father and do a tour, and also a simple lesson request. Maybe she was a vampire… that would be a gift to hide.

Rogue groaned. Too much supernatural reading. Her thoughts had a mind of her own.

Yet most worrying was Benj. Now he was acting strange. Every time they began to have a moment he pulled away. He was rejecting physical contact, giving up on his reckless attempts to kiss her. Maybe the professor had gotten to him. Or Logan. Yeah, she'll blame Logan; he probably threatened to kill him. She'd have to talk to him about that.

As far as Rogue knew, Kurt was having troubles with Amanda. She knew her parents didn't know about them, still… somehow. How oblivious could parents get? Yikes, they'd have to suspect something. Kurt was especially jumpy, and occasionally yelled out things like: "Ack! I wanted to tell you! Oh, oh it's just you…" Yeah, like Amanda's parents would ambush him at the Institute. Actually, maybe they would… their daughter was dating an off-limits mutant and the closest thing to parents Kurt had in town was the professor. Ah, whatever, that was Kurt's issue. Rogue thought that maybe he should just tell them, but after it being in the dark for so long? That would not go over smoothly.

Kitty and Lance. Blehk. Mushy. All the time. It was obnoxious. And Kitty knew how to do obnoxious to perfection. But she seemed upset after she saw him, and the Institute was catching on. The younger mutants and Scott were having a cow. Scott especially. "Dating the enemy… blah blah blah." Ugh, Rogue was glad that wasn't her. It'd be like her dating Gambit. That dumbass. Jean was… nice… supportive… annoying. Benj had this great idea: "Rogue try to get along with Jean. It couldn't be that bad."

Maybe… maybe. Really, she only hated her because she got Scott. Rogue had Benj, he was at least returning her feelings, well was. Something was up with him. It bugged her. Anyways, Jean. That girl got everything. No, maybe she could at least try to get along more with her. Or she could continue to avoid conversation so nothing came up. Yeah, that strategy had worked so far, she would stick to it.

Who else? Oh yeah, Scott. Rogue didn't see him too much; she was a bit swamped with school. He apparently was too, and Danger Room sessions, and his new obsession of documenting everything they knew about the Haven. It wasn't all that bad, he'd figured out a lot. He was always there for the mutant meetings. It was scary how much he was observing. Like how Ashley was dating Julian Hans, a definite not Haven member. Or that Portia and Sionnach despised each other, even though she'd never heard them speak a work to each other during a meeting. Or that there was always a lack of a Clay Dune. Personally, Rogue didn't care about the Haven. Sure they'd caused some trouble, but they never really hurt anyone. Except Storm, but she was fine now. The venom was temporary, which somehow she knew they knew. A few times she'd seen a suspicious dog waiting outside the school building with no tags. It looked familiar at first, and then Rogue realized it was that wolf-dog girl, the one who could create sound waves. That was… odd. It was weird to see her there, a lot of students noticed her but she only moved when a Haven member came up.

It made Rogue think of Rahne, or Wolfsbane, and it made her a little sad. None of the X-Men had seen her in months, although Jamie stayed in frequent electronic contact. She was having a tough time at home; she had made her way into several newspapers when the original mutant incident happened. Apparently, a lot of people were unwilling to forget that. Sadly, her parents were still unwilling to allow her to return to the Institute. Rahne called a few days before and asked Xavier to try and persuade her parents, but even with the professor's calming words they weren't swayed. Beast was going to make a trip out to her home, to talk with them soon. But with Thanksgiving coming up the trip might be delayed.

Speaking of Thanksgiving… a new plan had been formed. Students were going to invite immediate family to the Institute to celebrate the weekend before, and then go home with their families. Xavier was covering costs where needed. It was a good idea, there were several students who wouldn't be able to head home. Leo, Benj, Tyler, Rogue, Piotr (Colossus), and Kurt were among them. Kurt's parents were coming to the States for the celebration, but American Thanksgiving wasn't exactly a "German" event. The blue boy was thrilled though, he hadn't seen his parents in person for a long while. Colossus had located his family with the professor's help, but they didn't speak a ton of English. He didn't want them to feel uncomfortable, and "You are my family too, yes?"

Rogue wasn't really looking forward to Thanksgiving. It was an awkward time for her. She had no clue who her real parents were, she did not want Mystique to ever show her face again, and she hadn't left things on the best of terms with Irene. Kurt, Benj, and the professor thought that she should try and invite the woman that had cared for her for so long, but… Rogue was having trouble trying to imagine it.

She couldn't just… walk up to Irene and say: "Sorry, ya wanna come ta Thanksgivin'… even though ya handed me ovah to Mystique?" Yes, brilliant plan!

Ugh. Awful. Purely awful.

Rogue stood up from her desk chair and unceremoniously flopped down on her bed. It was getting late, she had a test in the morning, and a test at the end of the day. If she didn't stop her spinning mind now, she would never sleep. She'd just get up early and finish that stupid math homework. Or maybe she'd copy someone else's. Oh wait, no one was in her math class. She groaned and rolled over to look at the clock.

10:47. Not too bad, unless you had to get up early. Which she did! The joys of early morning Danger Room sessions! Maybe she could ask to be excused. Rogue played that situation over in her mind:

"Hey Logan, can Ah talk ta ya?"

"Sure kid."

"Can Ah not participate in the Danger Room session in the morning?"

"Ha. AHAHAHA! Nice try, Rogue. No exceptions."

"Damn it, Logan. Ah have a test in the morning!"

"So? I have to deal with kids in the morning."

Sigh. It was never happening. She was just going to die. That would show Logan.

She groaned again. No, dying wouldn't help. Somehow Wolverine would chase her to the afterlife and drag her sorry ass back.

Maybe she shouldn't have drunk that coffee.

"Pssst! Rogue!"

"Ahh!" Rogue screamed, shooting straight up. She looked bewildered around. Kitty was poking her head through the wall. "Gawd Kitty, are ya tryin' to kill me?"

"I can't sleep, so I wanted to see if, like, you were still up, you know?" Kitty explained timidly.

Rogue fell back on her bed and exhaled. "Next time, pretend Ah'm asleep."

Kitty phased the rest of the way through the wall and jumped on Rogue's bed. The goth narrowed her eyes at her.

"Ya're supposed to be pretendin' Ah'm asleep."

"You said next time."

"Argh!" Rogue threw her hands up. "Fine, what is it?"

Kitty sat at the end of the other girl's bed and stared at her feet. Rogue noticed her surprising quietness and sat up. Something was on her mind.

"Well, uh… like…" Kitty muttered, then she sniffed.

Uh oh, bad sign #1.

"Lance… he…"

Bad sign #2.

Rogue shifted positions on the bed so she was sitting alongside her friend.

Kitty had her hands folded in her lap. A tear splashed against her skin.

Bad sign #3. And now all Hell breaks loose.

"He c-called to s-s-say…" She turned her face to Rogue. Her eyes were watery and beginning to get bloodshot. "…He broke up with me, Rogue!" She shouted angrily. She let out a sour laugh. "Like, he couldn't even say it to my face, you know?"

"That boy's always been spineless…" Rogue muttered. Now Rogue wasn't good at "comforting". But like any good friend she tried her best. "Ah don't get it, what happened?"

"I don't even know!" She choked. More tears fell down her face. "I thought… I thought…"

"He loved ya?" Kitty leaned into Rogue and sobbed into her shoulder. Rogue wrapped an arm around her. "He did, Kit… he really did…"

It made no more sense to her than it did to the young Pryde. What the hell happened between her and Lance? Brotherhood business? He hadn't let that come between them before, unless… if Magneto found out. He probably would have ordered Lance to sever his ties to the X-Men. Maybe she would just have to "accidently" bump into him during the school day, find out what was in his mind.

Kitty continued to cry, and Rogue suppressed a groan. Now she was definitely not getting any sleep. Of course this reason was more worth it.

After some time Kitty did fall asleep on the other girl's shoulder. Rogue was too exhausted to move her anywhere so she laid Kitty down on her bed and fell asleep next to her.

Before her vision blurred into that which accompanies sleep she saw her clock read 1:40.

Greeeeat.

Have you ever wondered what a Danger Room session is like with only four hours of sleep?

Well it's not recommended.

Rogue hit her alarm at least five times before realizing she'd actually have to get up. Last time Logan had actually bashed her door in and dragged her into a Danger Room session when she didn't show up on time. No one else really got that "special" treatment, but Rogue decided to take it as a sign of his affection.

Right, affection.

The tired girl rolled (literally) out of bed and onto the floor. It took a few minutes before her vision stopped being so blurry, and she got up and threw on her uniform. With dread she turned back to her bed.

Kitty was still passed out, her arms flung crazily around on her bed, well Rogue's bed. Now that was a wakeup call: being slapped in the middle of the night by Shadowcat.

Rogue groaned, switching her gloves to her combat gloves and then grabbed Kitty by her feet.

"Get up, Kit. We got a Dangah Room session. And Ah am not really in the mood to explain why ya're sleepin' in mah bed."

The girl groaned and muttered something about five more minutes. Rogue rolled her eyes and dragged the half-asleep girl off the bed. Kitty hit the ground with a jolt and she sat upright.

"Like, ow! Why would you do that?"

Rogue rolled her eyes. She was not a morning person. "Like, maybe because we, like, have a Dangah Room session." She said perkily and imitating Kitty's voice.

Kitty looked insulted for a second and then her expression fell into hurt. She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Do you think you could get me excused? I… I don't think I can do a DR session this morning, you know?"

"Kit, Ah—"

She turned her eyes up to Rogue and pulled the saddest face ever. Rogue sighed. "Fine. Ya're sick. Go back ta bed… And Ah mean, yar bed!"

Kitty sprung up and wrapped her arms around Rogue's neck. The goth stiffened, and then hugged her back. It would've been nicer if Kitty hadn't ended it by phasing through Rogue's body and into her room next door. That basically ruined it.

Logan didn't buy it, but he had his hands full with the rest of the team.

Rogue failed miserably at her task. Miserably. And then… onto school.

Test in the morning? Disaster. Rogue dozed off halfway during it, and ran out of time to complete it.

A call home to her… professor? Fantastic! A lecture awaited her back at the Institute.

Somehow, just somehow, Rogue managed to drag herself through the day to Chemistry. Now maybe she was expecting some sympathy from her friend Claire. But apparently Claire had other ideas.

The second Rogue sat down Claire stiffened in her seat. The girl slowly turned to look at her, a slightly frightened look in her eyes quickly fading.

Weird, no not weird. Plan old strange.

"Hey, uh… are you alright? You look like you died."

"Thanks…" Rogue muttered, grabbing her pencil out of her bag. "Good ta see ya too."

Claire continued to look at Rogue like she expected her to notice or say something. Sorry, I'm not all here today. Rogue thought to herself.

The girl finally shrugged and glanced up at the teacher. A smirk inched across her face. The teacher caught her eye and stood up straighter.

"Miss Darth, a word." He commanded. The whole class looked up, though the bell hadn't rang yet, and watched with interest.

The green-eyed girl got up and walked over to him. The smirk was still on her face.

"Now Miss Darth, I've been getting some complaints from your other teachers." He started. "You've been acting up in class today and I am going to tell you know I will not put up with any funny business. It doesn't matter if your father is the principal, I will send you to talk to him."

Claire's face paled, and the smirk left. But… it was an unnatural paling, almost like she had changed her skin tone.

The teacher smiled at her reaction. "Good, we're clear then. Take your seat. This is your only warning."

And let the bad sign count start again.

The girl walked back, slowly regaining her color as she went. Her eyes brushed over Rogue and the smirk returned.

"Is something goin' on, Claire?"

She shook her head. "Nah, just havin' some fun today. My dad's—" She stopped. Looking over at Rogue she frowned. "It's hard to get some people's attention some times."

Odd reply…

Something was wrong. Rogue was getting that especially ominous feeling that was normally reserved for encounters with Magneto, Mystique, and whenever Leo was acting strange.

The bell rang. Their teacher walked to the front of the classroom and handed out the test packets.

"You have until the end of the hour to finish. There will be no talking of any sort, if I so much as hear a whisper you're out of here. Got it?"

The students murmured an agreement.

"You may begin."

Almost immediately Claire stood up. "I'm not taking this test."

Rogue looked up and hissed. "What the hell are ya doin'? Sit down!"

She looked down at the goth and smirked, before looking back at the teacher. "I don't feel like it."

"Enough! I was warned this was how you were acting today. Miss Darth, why don't you go speak with your father, the principal?" Their Chemistry teacher spoke up. He seemed angry.

Out of character. Claire usually has her head on… Rogue thought.

Claire Darth turned to leave, and Rogue thought she heard her whisper in a voice that was definitely not her own, "Finally!"

Now out of respect for the system, let's just call that Bad Sign #4.

Rogue couldn't believe what just happened. Of course the ever growing suspicious and ominous feeling she was getting wasn't helping. She tried to go back and focus on her test, she couldn't really afford another bad report at the moment.

Then again, life has a funny way of intervening.

A few minutes after Claire had left, the door to the classroom flew wide open and actually splintered a little as it crashed into the wall. The class looked up, a few freaked out shrieks echoed the room, and saw Claire Darth standing there.

But it wasn't the Claire Darth that had just left a few minutes ago. This one looked frantic. Her hair was tied back in a hasty ponytail, but it still looked like it had gotten attacked by an angry bird. The white T-shirt she was wearing was smudged with dirt, the gray hoodie over top was ripped along the sleeves, where some sort of metal brace glinted underneath. Her jeans were torn and slashed. Basically it looked like she had been jumped in an alley.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Jones, I was on my way to school and—"

"Miss Darth! I thought I just sent you to the principal's office!" The Chemistry teacher cried, bewildered. He stood up from behind his desk.

Claire's eyes widened in shock. "Th-that's not possible sir, I only just got here."

"Then who… this doesn't make any sense young lady."

Rogue managed to meet the other girl's eyes. She was really freaked out, her bright eyes flickering like mad.

It made sense now. The odd behavior, that smirk Claire had earlier… the feeling in her gut she had. And Claire had called Darth her dad, not her father. The small word change was uncharacteristic.

"Mystique…" Rogue growled. She stood up. "Uh, Mr. Jones, Ah'll escort her back ta the office… and make sure she stays there."

The teacher probably would've liked to say he didn't want her to go, but where was the harm in letting a mutant escort another mutant out of his classroom.

"I… I guess, but Rogue, please try to return to finish your test?"

The teacher didn't even have time to say anything more before the pair was out of the room.

The two girls were sprinting down the hall, Rogue asking questions and Claire answering them.

"So wha' happened?"

Claire sighed, a teacher was walking down the hall. The two slowed and tried to look casual. "I, er, was taking a short cut on the way to school and someone jumped me."

"An alley? Please don't tell me ya were that stupid."

She didn't reply.

"Ya were! Gawd Claire!"

"But someone replaced me, why… why would someone do that?" Rogue could tell that her mind was spinning fast.

It didn't make any sense, Claire wasn't some important mutant. She was just a teenager. Why would Mystique want to impersonate her?

The two reached the office. The secretary looked up in confusion.

"Claire? But you just—"

"Did I go into the office?"

The secretary shook her head, trying to figure out what was going on. "Yes, but you're out here… and…"

"Thanks." Claire said hurriedly. She ran up to her father's office door. The doorknob jiggled but the door didn't open. "Damn, locked!" She looked at Rogue. "You don't happen to have a super helpful power here, do you?"

"Only if we found The Blob. But ya know, no powahs in school."

Claire sighed, lining up her shoulder with the door and backing up a few feet. "Let's see if this works…" She charged at the door, which shuddered and burst inward.

Woah. Claire didn't look that strong. Maybe that was her power, super strength.

The secretary screamed in surprise. "What are you doing?"

They ignored her and went in the dark office. Suddenly the door closed behind them and locked again. They whirled around to look at the door, but a voice came from across the room.

"Ah, maybe if you won't use them for me… you'll use them to save your daughter!"

Rogue turned and saw the face she never wanted to see again. Mystique had Principal Darth shoved up against a book case with a knife at his throat. He looked oddly calm, and a bit surprised. The knife was pressed so close to his throat a small trickle of blood was running down his neck.

The goth saw Claire shudder from the corner of her eye. The girl clenched her fists.

"Let my father go." She said with forced calm. "I'll give you three seconds."

"You are in no position to threaten me, girl." Mystique spat.

"Time's up." Claire growled. She looked like she was going to jump at the blue skinned woman, but Mystique was faster. She threw the knife in her hand with great speed at the teen.

The knife embedded itself in Claire's right shoulder, just missing her lungs. The teen stumbled back from the force and gasped. Rogue took everyone's surprise as a time to move. She charged at Mystique and tackled her. Darth ran over to his daughter.

"Rogue…" Mystique growled as the two wrestled on the ground. "I'm surprised. I thought you would have it figured out by now."

"Shut up." Rogue said, standing up. She tore off one of her gloves and lunged back at Mystique as the woman stood up.

Mystique swerved out of her reach and kicked the girl in the stomach. "You would like it to be that simple, wouldn't you?" The shape-shifter kicked her leg out and knocked Rogue's legs out from under her. The teen hit the ground hard, causing her to have to shake her head to clear the stars.

The woman was stalking toward the father and daughter now. "I'm surprised at you Darth, I thought you would try to save your daughter!" She sneered.

The principal looked up with hatred in his eyes. He had the knife in one hand, and the other was pressed against Claire's chest, stopping the flow of blood.

"I told you, I am not a mutant! There was nothing I could do!" He cried.

"You keep this charade up even now?" Mystique roared. "We now what you can do Nicholas Darth!"

The man had tears pooling in his purple eyes. He laughed scornfully. "Do you think I would've let this happen if I could? Whoever you are, you are sorely mistaken. I am no mutant." His normally sweet tone was so tainted it was almost disgusting.

Rogue fought past the stars in her vision and tried to get up. She saw the blood on her principal's hands. "No…" As much as she hated Mystique, she couldn't believe the woman had just done that. With an angry yell she ran at Mystique and slammed her against the wall's book case. "What is wrong with ya, Mystique?"

Mystique actually laughed. "Go ahead Rogue, absorb my memories, then you'll learn the truth." The way she said it, Rogue knew that was just what she wanted. She didn't want to give that to her.

"As much as Ah want ta…" Rogue toward Mystique's face, then went next to it and grabbed a heavy book from the shelf. She tore it free and smacked the blue-skinned mutant upside the head with it.

She let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground. She groaned, but didn't get up.

Rogue was torn between making sure she didn't get up and seeing if Claire was okay. Finally she figured Mystique would probably get away anyways so she ran over to her friend's side.

Okay wouldn't be the way Rogue described her condition. The girl's breathing was jagged, her eyes screwed shut, and her face pale. Principal Darth was pressing both hands now on her wound, but blood already stained part of her shirt.

The man glanced up at Rogue. "Call the secretary in here, call the police. I'm going to take Claire straight to the hospital. She has a bit of a healing factor, so she'll probably be fine." His voice was smooth and full of authority. "I don't know who the hell that was, but I have a feeling you do. You better let Professor Xavier know as well."

Unsurprisingly there was a crash like glass shattering behind Rogue. She didn't even bother to turn. Mystique was gone.

The professor, Rogue, and Leo came to visit Claire in the hospital later that day. Rogue was relieved that the girl's color was improving and she didn't look too bad. There was a large wrapping around her shoulder, but the doctors said she hadn't lost too much blood and she was healing quickly. She said hello and asked how she was feeling before leaving Leo and Claire alone. The boy had freaked out at the Institute, but kept everything under control. He clutched Claire's hand fiercely until she had to tell him to relax or they'd have to amputate her hand.

Rogue joined the professor and Mr. Darth outside in the waiting room. The man with the jet-black hair held his head in his hands.

"I don't understand Charles, why would that mutant target me and my daughter?" He asked.

Xavier frowned. "I don't know, what exactly did she say?"

Darth shook his head and looked at the older man. "She demanded that I display my powers. That if I didn't she'd find a way to force me. S-she said her employer had keen interest in me." He looked from Rogue back to the professor. "Is it possible she had me confused with someone else, someone you know? I-I am just a human, I can't do things like you can. I couldn't—" He coughed gruffly. "I couldn't stop her." He sounded miserable.

"I don't know. We'll try to figure it out, Mr. Darth. For now I think the best for both of you is to get some rest." The professor assured.

Darth nodded weakly, his eyelids closing.

Rogue recognized the professor's influence. He turned to Rogue. "This is troubling. Mystique has remained hidden for some time… I fear she's partnered up with Magneto once again."

"What do they want? Ah don't see how they got anythin' from this." Rogue muttered.

The professor watched Darth sleep in his chair for a few seconds. "All I know is that he was lying. He doesn't know why Mystique was after them, but he knows he's not human."

Rogue frowned. "He's a mutant, then why—"

"I don't know. It's possible he's in denial, but also that he needs to maintain a cover of being a human. I don't think the school board would let him continue being the principal if they knew…"

"Would he put his daughah in dangah just for that?"

He folded his hands under his chin. "It seems unlikely, but maybe he had faith she would be okay. He mentioned she has a healing factor… perhaps if you hadn't shown he would have revealed his powers to Mystique. We'll never know." He sighed. "But we will keep his secret; let's just keep this between us. I don't doubt the other students would be able to handle this, but it is his secret to tell. And so far he has presented us no harm."

Rogue nodded. She sat exhausted into a chair next to the professor. He chuckled.

"Late night?"

"Ah'm nevah drinkin' coffee before bed again."

Hadn't planned on the Kitty Lance split but then my mind was like, "you know you want to"... and yeah I had kinda been thinking about it. But I had a ton of fun doing everything from Rogue's stand point. Was anyone confused why Claire was bleeding? Or why Darth didn't use his powers? If you are think about it. It's a secret.

Alright proceed at your own risk. The next chapter is the one with the dire ending.

And finally the title plug.