"Forgive me, Rogue. I hadn't considered that our accommodations weren't comfortable for our new guest." The girl's meager belongings fit into a worn duffle bag, swaying listlessly on her shoulder. Her bangs poke curiously under a dark hood, hiding as much of her face as she could. Charles rolls into a stream of the moon's light with an easy smile. She packed as much power as his fugitive brother, but he had sensed her skittish nature. She'd had a hard start to life, and knew orphans didn't stumble into mansions to live in.

"Wha... No, of course not. Ah don't even remember what havin' a home feels like. This place, it's wonderful... It's just," Even among her own people, Rogue was an island. An exception to every rule, with her stolen powers. The bald man's brow wrinkles when he sees the dejected look on her face. "Ah don't belong here."

"Oh, don't say that." He remembers feeling her unique signature, so tortured and frantic even without Cerebro. Jean had a feeling as well, that they just had to find and help this lost mutant.

"Ah'm different, professor. We both know that."

He rolled closer when he sees the tears glittering down a young face. So young, and pilfered by Mystique. Trained by Magneto. Used to do evil. It would be a long time before she opened up to him. He can tell by her shy and sensitive nature. "All of my children are different, Rogue. That is what makes them special."

"What if Ah never learn to control these powers... What if Ah hurt someone, again? Ah'm no hero. Just not really a villain, either. Not a good one, at least."

"That is where you're wrong, dear. Jean Grey is a much stronger empath than I," Carefully, he reached for a covered hand and held it for a moment. "But, I can feel you, Rogue. You never meant to hurt anyone. And your sincere regret and agony over this situation is why I'm sure you belong with the X-Men. You have a great power and a great heart to do good, if only you want to."

"You really... See that, in me?"

"Of course I do. Come, please. Tell me more about yourself. And more of what would make this school feel like home..."


The strange version of New York sure was beautiful. The city seemed to have encroached on less of the beautiful nature surrounding it. It was one of few things to bring the stressed southerner comfort, feeling more alone than she already had in her home world. Somehow, seeing versions of her missing and departed teammates had been more difficult than she'd ever imagined. Cable had traveled back and forth to different times. She knew this was possible, yet nothing prepared Rogue to see the professor again. Her lover, young and green and already living his life for good. Ororo floating through the skies. Scott and Jean, so young and unaware of the things lying in their future.

She felt like a lost little girl again, nestled on the cliff of Bayville's skyline where the city rested beneath her. 'Oh, Charles... If only you were here. To tell me... That everything will be alright...' At worst, she was banished to a strange world and displaced by this time's version of herself. At best, she returned home to a broken world. Where genocide on her kind was allowed, or watched with indifference. Where the leaders of their kind were murdered without dignity. Where their powers could be stripped like common illnesses. Like they were afflictions. 'Ah can't fix any of this, even if Ah make it back.'

Her toiling thoughts lead to more tears, running down her face and onto soft, uncovered hands. 'Remy... Erik... Ah don't feel y'all, here.' Her only choices had been to lay over their graves in the rubble of Genosha, or go after Essex. In her guilt-filled musing she hears a quiet commotion behind her and senses someone there. She wiped delicately at her eyes and sniffed, staring at passing clouds in the sky. It wasn't easy to scale the forest she flew over. Someone was determined. "Whoever you are... Ah want to be alone." The southern X-Man doesn't turn to face the intruder as she gripped her fists, tight. "Don't make me..." She chances a look behind her and finds what she expects. No evil geneticist, only the odd short man. Somehow, more tempered and gentle than her Wolverine was most of the time.

Blades of grass and leaves clung to his white t-shirt and jeans, but he looks no worse for wear as he eyed her. Like he was about to spook a deer or a horse. "You," Is all she said after a moment. He stifled a chuckle and moved a bit closer, the wind ruffling her cropped jacket.

"Yeah, me. You got a license to fly like that?" He continued his approach when she turned her nose up haughtily.

"The Wolverine Ah know ain't too funny, either." Her posture isn't defensive when she stands, more defeated as she imagined what her teammates were doing without her. Probably searching for a corpse among the rubble, where they found so many others. Logan studied green eyes for a moment and reflected on how his Rogue's were grey. With the slightest hint of green. Like what had happened with Apocalypse had drained her of saturation. Her spirit. Her fight. "How? How did you track me..." The wily woman almost feels comforted when he chuckled a raspy noise. Just like her friend back home.

"You think you're the only Rogue who's run off to sulk and cry, here?" She holds her elbows when he approached her, a whole head shorter but fearless none the less as he took her in. The well-built woman frowns when she thinks about the teenage version of herself. Hiding behind dark makeup and cropped hair.

"No, probably not. Look... Unless you can send me home, back in time... You can't fix this. And, Ah get that you want to. But..." She's silenced by a well-made pair of brown, suede gloves in his hands. A beautiful pair as she looked at him unsurely. The Canadian she knew could be brash and grating, selfish and rude. But, he could also be the most understanding person she'd ever met. Wise, too. And as much as it annoyed her, he knew her really well. Even if they'd just formally met. Slowly, she took them and put them on as if exhaling for the first time. "Thank you... Ya just, keep a spare pair on you?" What had gone on in this weird time that this didn't phase him?

"Don't gotta get prepared if you stay prepared." The silence passes between them like the gentle breeze, so much they both wanted to say, but can't. Not yet, as tangled, silver bangs fell into her face. "There. You ready to stop runnin' scared, yet?"

"What if what sent me here shows up? What if... What if the things that haven't happened y-" They were still young. They have no idea what she saw in her time. What forces of evil will work tirelessly to make happen, here.

"You both worry too much. Feel like burdens, like so much trouble. I'm wilin' to bet..." Obsidian eyes chase her relentlessly as he looked up, determined not to let her slip away.
"You never caused any trouble in your life. And whatever happens after all of this... It ain't gonna be your fault. We certainly ain't gonna think so. Look," She flinched slightly when he laid a hand on her covered arm. "I don't think I have all the answers, an' I'm not gonna tell you we do, Rogue. But, you shouldn' go through this alone. I'm not gonna let you." She can only chew her lip at resolute words.

"Can't promise this will work."

"Didn't ask ya to." How she would coexist with them without revealing the sensitive information in her head, she wasn't sure. "Just give it a shot. Even if you can take care of yourself, not gonna let you find trouble out there. And it will find you." Rogue didn't doubt it, even if sentinels hadn't been there to receive her. For there to be a team of X-Men assembled so young, she knows something went down in this different time.

"Fine. Won't make ya beg anymore..." Logan's smile is triumphant as he turned and faced the rocky forest he'd laboriously gone through to find her.

"There, see. Was that so har-" His stomach lurches when the woman grabbed him unceremoniously under the arms and whisked them both quickly into the air. "Geezus, kid-"

"Ah'm not a kid! And this'll be faster, anyway. You'll get used to it! Wolverine don't get sick when Ah fly, no more..."

"We have perfectly workin' legs!"


"You need not be uncomfortable, Gambit." The weather goddess tenderly places a cup of warm tea in Charles' hands as they sat in his office. "This is no interrogation."

"Exactly," The telepath chimed as she held a cup in front of the southerner until he accepted, bewildered by her beauty and regal nature. Remy had a lot of fun being a flirt. Making all the girls of the school blush. Teasing Rogue until her earlobes burned and she started growling. But, he did not even passively joke about the powerful woman in front of him. She commanded respect in a long, marigold-colored dress. "Logan and... Rogue had a brief exchange before she flew off." The thief can tell about what just from the troubled look on the headmaster's face. "She said she went to chase Mr. Sinister in her time. Now, she's appeared here. The administrators and I are aware of his existence, but so are you. Aren't you?"

The cajun cleared his throat uncomfortably, copper hair trespassing beneath dark eyes. "Yes... Well aware. And," He squinted with the difficulty of relaying this information, burning under intent gazes. "When it comes to time, I think he'd be capable of doin'... Somethin' like this. He..." Where to begin? It was strange to see the suave mutant unable to finesse his own words.

"Time travel and manipulation?" The weather goddess fills in when words for the younger mutant become difficult. They had learned these things were possible when En Sabah Nur assaulted them.

"Yes, mam."

"And... How did you come to meet someone like Nathanial Essex? He has mutant powers... But, Cerebro does not identify him as a biological mutant." The walls in the tastefully decorated office close in on the thief, a hard childhood flashing back to his memory. An evil, pasty white face and eyes that glowed dark red. Pointy teeth and armor sharp enough to cut skin. He'd been there since Remy could remember, haunting him. He shifted in a dark sweatshirt and tried not to show that he was disturbed by the memories.

"Was an orphan, before I ever found the guild. And... I couldn't control my mutation. Accidentally hurt people, was afraid..." He winces when the stately woman gasped, understanding fully now why he and the other southerner were so attached to each other. "Of doin' that again. He promised to help me..." A cool expression spread over his face. "For a price. A price I quickly realized I could not pay. It would be my soul."

"Ah, so you felt you owed him for his help." Charles nodded sympathetically, his mind turning faster than his face would show. And he notices how tightly the man had his hand gripped in fingerless gloves. "You are not the first here to be taken advantage of for your gifts and vulnerable position, Remy."

"Not at all." Ororo is clearly remembering things in her own past, her gaze far away as she imagines the kind of darkness this foe would bring in their lives.

"Learned more about him and myself than I ever wanted to." The telepath sees it and feels it rolling off the cajun in waves, clearly thinking about the girl he had grown so close to since Apocalypses' defeat. And though he hadn't pledged his full loyalty to the school, both administrators can think of reasons why he watched over all of them so carefully. He was privy to some nasty information. Information they would now need. "It's not a good story."

"We need to know what we're up against. What Essex knows about us."

"Potentially," Charles interrupts Ororo earnestly. "Why he would send Rogue here."

"Science." Remy replied thickly, remembering maniacal tirades the scientist would go on, the absolute glee he felt about destroying and ruining lives. "All of this is a game. One big experiment."

"To see what we could adapt to and overcome," It worried the psychic, a homosapien interested in gaining and amassing their powers. It might end up being worse than those who hated and feared them. If he had their powers, he could find their weaknesses. Know how to defeat them before he's even struck. The weather priestess frowned when the thief stood, feeling caged inside and out of his armor. Unprepared for this situation, surely.

"You all don't get it. Sinister... Just like your goal is to make this world a better place... A place where mutants are allowed to exist peacefully. He has dedicated... Everythin' he does to undoin' that. To making it worse. A worse place. He... He's been watchin' Rogue since before Magneto ordered me to." Ororo sat up off of Charles' desk, confirming what they had always feared. "Scott longer than that, since he was just a child. Jean... He's been thirsting after her DNA probably the most."

"So, he's been surveilling us. Knows about Apocalypse? The sentinels? Everything else that's happened?" Charles looks like he could stand up with this realization.

"Professor... It would be easier to talk about what he don't know." The old friends share a knowing look. "What he really is after, the only thing I think he fears... Is death. He has been searching for immortality since before this century. And he's found it..." The southerner flipped a coin and gazed back at the other mutants, bitterly. "Through cloning. There's no way to tell how many times he's cloned himself. If we can ever actually defeat him... And," He stared out the window, where everyone had just been playfully relaxing just moments ago. "Remy willin' to bet the Sinister that sent Rogue here is not the one that I worked for. To spread his evil all over the infinite universe. That is his dream." Ororo's skin is unusually sallow at the southerner's words.

"Heavens, Charles. No wonder she was in the state we found her in." She was doing everything in her power not to lead that monster straight to them.

'It will be nearly impossible to break this to the team without sending them into hysterics. And that is precisely what I think he wants. Us reactive and terrified.'

"What you tell us is not much different than I thought, but I am so grateful for your confirmation. It's not lost on me how difficult that must have been to talk to us about. And..."

"Your instincts to run are probably strong, Gambit. But now, more than ever, we need to stick together. Sinister is setting up his chessboard. And we must get ready as well." Ororo can feel a hard battle brewing just like a storm, and they will have to do everything they can to face it. The atmosphere thickens as she realizes it.

"Stay with us. You are our best insight into how Essex thinks, and... You are very wanted here. A home. Compassion. A family will defeat his quest for evil in a way nothing else can." Remy almost feels hopeful when he sees the intense look in the bald man's eyes. "And, you belong. He expects her arrival to tear us apart. Undo us."

"He has only given us another ally against his wicked ways. Another warrior for this army. You'll see."

"Storm... This scoundrel really hopes so. But," They are both comforted by his smile, however small. "Ain't got nowhere else to go or I'd rather be." His mind drifted back to snowy bangs and skin like porcelain, and how she was really holding up during all of this. He hadn't planned to leave her side at all, but the extended invitation makes him feel a little better about it. There was very little he could do to stop Sinister's assault, but that didn't mean he wouldn't go down trying.


"Does Rogue like the first Tarantino movie, or the second?" The redheaded psychic was levitating several DVDs with her telepathy, her nervous energy easy to sense. She'd since switched into old gym sweats and a giant sweatshirt of Scott's, Kitty fiddling with her thumbs beside her on the couch. She's still wearing the coverall dress with a flowy top the older mutant had given her a few years ago, her mind clearly occupied. Everyone crammed in the rec room is badly hiding their preoccupation, the goth too lost in thought to notice. Staring straight ahead, wondering if she'd be sent to some apocalyptic time soon. Like the one from her dreams.

"They are kinda like... One long movie, Jean." Kurt answers glumly when nobody else does, sitting beside his sibling on the floor in solidarity. He is dwarfed in a large t-shirt covered in vampires that his sister had given him. There was so much he wanted to say and ask, but he dare not make the situation even more difficult for her. "She likes them both."

"Okay, we'll watch one and then two." She declares even if no one is listening.

"If Wolverine brings... Brings her back," Scott looks up from visible stewing to the younger ice mutant, his face in a frown. His southern friend was one misplaced comment away from a breakdown.

"Bobby-"

"What will we call her?" The question is innocent enough, but it reminds Rogue that she was surrounded in the rec room. And this bizarre fiction scenario was actually her life.

"So not the time!" Kitty breaks her uncharacteristic silence before looking back to her old roommate. For as brave as she always seemed, she knew this was affecting her.

"What?! I genuine-"

"Nah, he's right. Good question to ask unless you want us both runnin' when someone calls." She looks a lot like the shrewd, scared teenager who ended up on the blackbird. Brow furrowed and arms crossed as she stood and planned an escape plan. "And, who knows. Maybe her parents named her. Maybe, she remembers her name. She can go by that. Ah sure don't."

"Rogue..." The shaded-man can feel the psychic pressure building in his girlfriend's mind, swimming in the dense emotions swirling around the room. Confusion. Anxiety. Resentment. "We know this is compli-"

"No, really! Nobody's got more questions than me! Maybe Ah can just disappear. She can already fly, who knows what else she can do. More efficient than protectin' me every time we gotta go fight. And her skin holds a tan, she'll look better in pictures and at the mall with y'all. Maybe she'll just stay, if anyone can convince her we know Logan will." The orphan doesn't know why she was so frustrated and angry, offended that of all the times for her variant to be sent to, it was this one. How wouldn't Remy prefer someone who looked normal? Who wasn't goth and dreary? Who didn't require an acquired taste?

"You are not replaceable." Jean says calmly, wondering how she'd react to seeing a different version of herself. She doesn't even know what she would be like. A few years before mutants were outed, she'd been a totally different person. With different goals and dreams. Friends and priorities. It's clear to see that strange Rogue was shocked to see them all so young. They were the same person in essence, but their lives had clearly been completely different. Names could really be their only similarity. "We like you just the way you are, no one could take your place."

"And the other you needs help. She... She has no one, here. Not without us. Don't think for a secon-" Scott stands in a red polo and worn slacks when an alarm interrupts his words.

'Sentinel! Headed straight for here! Beast and Ororo are on the front lawn. First string, assist them. Rogue...' She hears the gentle suggestion in her head before he even has to say it. Something weird was going on. Another plot, likely revolving around using her for evil and destruction. 'Please make sure younger students are okay and stay inside the mansion. We may need to evacuate.'

"Professor-" Kurt places two fingers on her shoulder when he sees there are tears in her eyes.

'We need not take any unnecessary risks, right now. The government has noticed our new arrival.'

"We got this Rogue, I promise. We'll get everything figured out, soon. Everyone... Let's try to make as little of a mess as possible." Memories of rebuilding the school were still fresh on everybody's mind, even after the time had passed. It wasn't the only time the institute took heavy damage, either. There was a reason sentinels didn't flood the streets, but came right to them.

"My favorite. Fighting sentinels." Kitty's blank face betrayed her words as she moved in formation, close to Bobby and Kurt with a frown towards Rogue. "We'll be right back." She promises, knowing how insulted her friend was to be left out of the chaos.

"Maybe Ah won't be..." Rogue grumbled, stomping in thick combat boots and regretting that she hadn't taken the opportunity to change out of a flouncy dress. A huddle of New Recruits and students can read the words on purple-painted lips before she says them, shoulders sagging. "Guys... The professor wants y'all inside. New Recruits on the field only if it's a catastrophe. At this point... We've fought enough sentinels to know the drill."

"Hopefully the school is not destroyed, again..." Amara muses anxiously, remembering when Mystique exploded their home.

"Is your clone here?" Rogue can see the worry and confusion in the cloning mutant's eyes when he tugged at her sleeve. "Roberto said..." The Brazilian mutant tossed his hands up in protest when he sees the scowl on the pale goth's face.

"Is that what 'Berto said?"

"No!"

The southerner sighed and wondered where the thief had gone off to. Logan was gone, but she still worried he was being reamed for things long-since buried. "Jaime, Ah don't think she's my clone. And, Ah don't really know what's goin' on." She can feel multiple pairs of eyes boring into her, her fists balled tight. "But, whatever it is... Ah'm sure it'll be fine."

"Yeah, Jaime. Nothin' to worry about." Sam drawls, draping a large arm over his younger friend's shoulders. "'Sides-"

"Is that HER?!" Rahne nearly transforms out of excitement when a missile carrying Logan drops on the front lawn.

"Yeah... She flies. Crisp," She dares the punk to disobey her when she stared squarely into his eyes. "Ah'm goin' out there. Keep everyone inside, and evacuate if you hear so much as a rumble. You know the one." He nodded, dumbfounded as she raced and pushed open front doors. The time traveler and Logan were covered in grass, but otherwise fine as she looked up at the tall, purple and magenta robot. She dusted her uniform off in an animated fashion.

"Sentinels... At y'alls ages? That don't make sense."

"Yeah... Once humans had the idea that somethin' like us existed, they started workin' on those." The feral reported, about to start shouting orders before the woman at his side shot to the air. She'd flown him over there, but he still couldn't get used to the way she took off. "HEY. Rogue," She may be able to fly faster than Angel, but those machines were still lethal. Even if they weren't stories tall. "ROGUE! Get back here!"

"Y'all are plannin' to mess up this nice school. And they got a full roster of students!" Even Scott is frozen still, his girlfriend hovering beside him as their strange teammate lifted the whole thing into the air like an empty box. Without a bead of sweat.

"H-Holy crap..." Bobby was fully iced out, but he didn't take to the sky once he'd seen their teammate do it. He was terrified of what she could do if she annoyed him like he has is other teammate. Grunting with effort, she gripped the head of the machine and began wrenching like she was opening a jar of pickles. The original Rogue can only watch in the doorway, confused and in disbelief of what she was seeing.

'H-How... How is that ME?! A-Are my powers gonna turn into that?' Remy had been racing out to assist when the sight stopped him, as well. He'd seen a lot in a short, tumultuous life. But, he had no words to describe the brawn and scrappiness of the woman in front of him. He is anchored next to the goth's side, just as confused as she was. Not much longer and the sentinel's head was removed. Ororo covered her mouth as the eyes went dim, and the mechanical whirring and turning ceased. For good measure, the southern X-Man reached deep inside its body console and ripped through all the wires to make sure it didn't trigger some sort of attack. The crumpled head in one hand, and the body in the other, she turned to face the gathering on the lawn and front door. This model hadn't been as big as the ones she was used to fighting, but they'd still need to find somewhere to put the trash.

"Aw... Ah almost feel bad. This one was kinda puny. Y'all are lucky it ain't those beasts from my time."

"They make scarier sentinels than that!?" Jean is slapped with Amara's fear when she realizes what this other Rogue has said. She turns to her quickly and speaks almost a little too convincingly. "Wh-What else is in you-"

"No, of course not!"

"Not yet..." Kurt grumbles under his breath to a disapproving look of Scott's. Kitty is smiling wide, though. Just imagine when their Rogue's powers evolved like that. "Just how often do you fight sentinels, liebchen?"

"You don't wanna know. Now, where do Ah fly this?"

"Smash it as much as you can. We'll... We'll put it with scrap metal in the hangar..." Logan's just as surprised as everyone else when he watches the muscular woman compact the indestructible metal in her hands as much as possible. There were two more manageable hulks of metal, now. He could tell this X-Man seemed to be more of a brawler, but even he had underestimated her latent strength. With flight, she almost vaguely reminded him of someone. Someone he encountered long ago, before he met Charles and his dream. "Well..."

"Oh, Colossus. Thank you." Her smile is genuine when the stunned Russian approached to grab some of the refuse. He has no idea what to make of what's going on. Hank bows cordially and accepts the smashed head.

"And I'll take the rest, my dear. Thanks for giving us the evening off! A fascinating display."

"You sound... Just like our Beast."

"Ah, more evidence for the nature of the soul. When you're ready, you will be the subject of some riveting papers and hypothesises." He can't leave science out of the equation. Living proof of time travel was right in front of him, no matter how concerning it was.

"Oh, Hank... Only kinda college Ah went to was one like this." She looked around into faces she remembered and some she didn't even recognize. Her Charles dreamt of a full school, overrun with mutant children learning their abilities. A wistful look replaces her expression as she thought of him. "Well... The cat's out of the bag. Ah ain't got nowhere else to go... " She spies the version of herself with porcelain skin. "Ah'll stay here, if that's alright with me, of course... Rogue?"

Remy followed after her unsurely as she made her way through the lawn. The crowd of her teammates parted, like the Red Sea. There would never be enough words to accurately describe what she felt. "Ah may be younger than you, but Ah been doin' this long enough to know we ain't got much of a choice. And..." With a defeated sigh, the goth dropped crossed arms and really studied the odd version of herself. Intimidatingly beautiful and strong. So unlike how she ever felt. What Mystique must've wished for. "If it were me sent somewhere... Ah hope the other X-Men would help me."

"Help ya?!" Kurt laughed when she cocked a hip and waved her hand. "My Wolverine would never let ya go! Not until you cleared some of his courses in the Danger Room, at least..."

"He sounds a lot like someone we all know." Ororo turns to the Canadian with a smug smile, one that almost makes the wild man blush.

"Ah know this can't be easy. Ah don't think Ah could make a decision like this at your age. Thank you, you won't regret it." The pale teenager only scoffed, blowing on white bangs in exasperation for a lack of what else to do.

"Ah'm only a quarter shy of nineteen... As in... Not that young... Out of high school..."

"Trust me," Jean starts with a tired smile. "WE know-"

"Well, how old are you?!" Bobby can't help but ask as Scott and Logan lower their heads to their hands.

"Bobby, you never ask a fille that..." Remy tries to warn, but the strange X-Man only laughed and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Our Bobby may be older than you, but he basically stayed this age, forever!"