Author's Notes:

First of all, FFN is not giving me any email notifications AGAIN. So who knows how many people are going to be aware that I've updated. I have to keep going in to the story just to see if there are any comments or whatnot. I've definitely been pleasantly surprised by how many people have favorited or bookmarked this story. Thanks to everyone who is liking, commenting, or otherwise following. I do love the comments a LOT. I very much enjoy engaging with people and hearing their ideas and thoughts. There have been so many times that I answer a comment and end up figuring out some other plot point or detail for the story.

Secondly, this chapter gave me SO much trouble! It's been 10 DAYS since I updated this story because the Rogue/Carol dynamic at the end had to be re-written so much to feel more organic. It still doesn't feel RIGHT, and there are some moments and insinuations that don't get flushed out properly, but I figured it was something and wanted to update rather than wait.

I'm hoping to tweak the next couple of chapters to give little bits of Episode 7 some life here. Maybe try to fit parts of the show into my own story as best I can. I definitely want to do a version of the Kurt/Rogue scenario, just maybe a little more in-depth than what they did in the show.

~X~X~X~X~X~

Shattered: Part 7

By Wiccamage

~X~X~X~X~X~

"Half-Pint? Stripes?" A brusque knock on the open hotel room door heralded Wolverine's arrival a short time later, and he walked in to find Rogue and Kitty sitting on either side of Magneto's bed. The former was holding his hand from within her shirt sleeve, and Kitty had fallen asleep curled up in the plush armchair.

The small brunette woke with a start, her eyes wild as she barely kept from phasing through the chair. Likely, she'd been reliving the horrors of the last few days in her dreams, as were most of those who managed to find a few minutes to rest their eyes. She said nothing, however, and quickly joined Wolverine in the doorway with scarcely a glance at the other woman.

Rogue, however, simply stared at Magneto, her wild hair falling in loose waves after she'd ripped it out of Carol's ponytail. She could not afford to sleep; couldn't bear to see the images and memories that lay beyond closed eyes; couldn't risk losing herself again right now - be it to Carol, grief, or her own self-loathing.

That would come later, after they'd recovered Gambit's body. After he was 'home' she could rescind her mind to grief, anger, self-hatred … maybe even Carol herself, for a time. After having locked the former Avenger in the recesses of Rogue's mind for nearly 10 years, perhaps it was time to return the favor. Carol could at least do some good as Captain Marvel. Rogue, on the other hand, had done nothing but destroy everything she 'touched.'

From the doorway, Logan whispered something to Kitty, who nodded and phased through the floor, leaving Rogue and Wolverine in relative privacy.

Rogue sat unblinking as she kept her gaze fixed on Magneto a moment longer before she nodded and slowly stood. Her jaw was set, teeth clenched so hard with anger and malice toward Sinister that her teeth would have been pulverized had she not been nearly invulnerable. Every inch of her body was coiled with fury and an urgent need for revenge. Though her eyes welled with tears, they did not fall, and she managed a small, sad smile toward Magneto's sleeping form.

"Hang in there, suga'. There's a lotta folks wanna see you get better. Lotta folks still waiting on you t' lead 'em." She gave his hand one last squeeze with her sleeve-covered one, and swallowed the lump in her throat, knowing she wasn't likely to see Erik again - not as herself, anyhow. "Take care, Erik." With a final, fleeting urge she couldn't resist, she leaned down and kissed him on the cheek, pulling back the second she felt his powers start flowing into her.

As Rogue cast another forlorn glance at Magneto's sleeping form, noting how his coloring and breathing seemed much improved already, Wolverine gave her an assessing look. Something was off with her. This odd combination of anger and resignation just didn't SIT right, and there were so many questions swirling through his mind he could barely keep them straight.

So he started with the one that had been bothering him the most - the one that seemed most pressing now, with the way she was looking at Magneto, with the way she had kissed him so tenderly.

"Is it true, Rogue?" Wolverine kept his voice so low that even Erik Lensherr would have had trouble hearing him had he been conscious. "That Magneto asked you to lead Genosha with him? Carol said he wanted you to be…" He paused, trying to keep from snarling as he glared back at the man in question. "...his queen."

Rogue's ensuing blush was only rivaled by the anger that flashed through her eyes, the rage pronounced in her tightly coiled fists. "He asked." She folded her arms defiantly, but that sadness - that numbness - still lingered, painted across sunken cheeks and darkened eyes.

"Well?" Logan asked, narrowing his own eyes and resisting the urge to shake some sense into her.

"Ah turned him down. Leastways, Ah STARTED to." She deflated suddenly, anger twisting into more pronounced grief as she wrapped her arms around herself. "We were dancin', and Ah kissed him, but Ah didn't… All Ah could think was that Ah wanted it to be Gambit. Ah kissed Erik, but it was Remy's face Ah saw."

Looking back at Magneto one last time before she turned to leave the room, Rogue bit her lip. "Ah was gonna ask Erik… was almost hopin' Ah - WE - could still stay. Me and… and Gambit…" Her breath caught as her lip trembled. "That we could help him with runnin' Genosha. Maybe Remy and Ah could figure out how to make a real life t'gether. But… All Ah managed to tell him was that Remy was right - that some things are deeper than skin. Then…"

Her chest suddenly shuddered with barely repressed sobs, and she cast her gaze to the floor as Logan shut the door behind them. "Magneto kept me an' Remy away from the blast that nearly killed him and the Morlocks. Then Remy…"

Tears escaped her eyes as she brought her bare hands to her face, covering her shame and sorrow. "Oh gawd, Logan. Remy died never knowing how much Ah…"

"I know, Rogue. I'm so sorry, darlin'." The gruff man wrapped an arm around her shoulders even though she was several inches taller than him, and continued walking with her down the hallway.

"We gotta get him back, Wolverine," she whispered. "We've GOT to. Ah can barely live with mahself knowing he STILL sacrificed himself f'r me after Ah was so cruel to him. But knowing Sinister's got his body… What that monster might do!"

"We're gonna bring him home, Rogue, I promise you that. I ain't gonna quit until he's put t' rest at the Institute, and neither will you - or the whole team f'r that matter." He gave Rogue's shoulder another squeeze as she wiped her eyes.

Trying to lighten the mood, he chuckled as he guided them down the emergency stairwell toward the first floor. "You shoulda seen Storm when she found out. I guess she's got her powers back thanks to our old friend, Forge, but she was pissed enough she prob'ly woulda just manifested 'em right then and there anyhow. Thought she was gonna deck Cyke outta principle for gettin' too comfortable on the job. 'Though she did ease up some when she found out he was sorta married to both Jean AND Madelyn. Tryin' t' explain that mess took another hour." He shook his head sadly, even though his mouth was quirked into the tiniest of smiles.

The mention of Scott and Jean, and their marriage, brought another round of anguish to Rogue's features. "Ah want the ring, Logan," she exclaimed suddenly, stopping short on the stairwell halfway to the main floor.

It took a moment for recognition to slowly blossom across his face, and the Canadian sighed. "Yeah, I figured you would. I was kinda hopin' you hadn't seen it in my memories, though. Woulda been easier for you… not knowin'."

Logan missed the way her lips trembled as he reached into the zipped side pocket of his newly replaced uniform and pulled out a small chain, placing it in her outstretched hand. "Already put it on a chain for ya, since I figured you'd want it close without actually puttin' it on yer finger."

Rogue nodded as she immediately unlatched and placed the jewelry around her neck, taking just a moment to study the ring. It was a simple, thick silver band with a single marquis diamond, maybe a quarter carat, inlaid within the metal. It didn't jut out, ensuring it wouldn't catch on anything, and the diamond would be protected somewhat by the band. The chain it dangled from was long enough that to be easily concealed beneath her high collared uniform, but not long enough to accidentally fall off while she was flying, or in the midst of battle.

"Thank you," Rogue replied simply, though her eyes were brimming with tears of gratitude and regret as she fiddled with the ring.

In silence, they traversed the rest of the way to the rendezvous point. They had chosen an unused conference room in the back of the hotel, where they were greeted by the rest of the X-Men, plus several others. There were a few chairs stacked in the corner, plus a table big enough to seat at least 12 in the middle. There were several boxes of opened office supplies scattered throughout in what looked like a hurried search for useful essentials. The mobile Cerebro unit and a laptop were sitting on the end of the table closest to Jean.

Along with Jean, Cyclops, Beast, Morph, and Storm, Rogue recognized Kitty, Kurt, Emma, Psylocke, and Angel. There was a young man with spiky blonde hair, who was powering up a generator with currents of electricity from his finger. A blonde woman with a high ponytail holding a large gun stood in one corner, with Iron Man and Captain America in the opposite corner.

Carol gave a start from within her brain, and Rogue found herself moving almost automatically towards the three Avengers. "STEVE, TONY!" She cried - or rather, Carol did - as she took the pair off guard and wrapped them in a hug.

Both men were completely taken aback by the unfamiliar woman's obvious familiarity with them, and Steve pulled back immediately thereafter, exchanging a confused look with Tony.

"Uh, hi. Rogue, is it?" Tony asked, keeping her at arm's length.

Rogue's face flamed as she ducked her head, but Carol's blue eyes shone brilliantly, excitement and sadness swirling within their depths.

"It's me, Carol," she tried to explain. "Carol Danvers - Ms. Marvel."

Matching expressions of shock and confusion met her gaze, and she launched into a hurried, if not slightly bitter explanation.

"Rogue absorbed me, nearly ten years ago. Something went wrong with her powers, and it… it was permanent. I'm kinda… stuck… in her head."

At this new information, both Tony and Steve gave a start of surprise, and Tony's face was washed in waves of outrage as he looked up at Cyclops and Wolverine.

"What the hell, Summers!?" Tony blurted out, crossing the room rapidly to shove Cyclops hard. "Our friend - OUR teammate - has been missing and presumed dead for nearly a decade and all the while she's been with YOU, a victim of one of YOUR people?!"

"Ah, crap," Morph muttered as the room dissolved into 'sides' with shouting and shoving erupting all over.

But Rogue/Carol quickly put herself in the middle of everyone, pushing the Avengers one way, and the X-Men the other. "Knock it OFF, all of you!" She barked, Rogue's rage boiling over to bleed into her own words. "We have bigger things to worry about right now! I GET it, Steve, really I do, and I'm just as pissed, TRUST me. But we will talk later. Apocalypse was the mastermind behind EVERYTHING here, and he HAS to be stopped before things get worse. I don't know his exact plans, but whatever comes next makes the attack on Genosha look like child's play. We HAVE to get to the bottom of it, and we need Rogue and the X-Men to do it."

Carol's blue eyes were blazing with all the ferocity of Rogue's southern temper as she put her hands on her hips and glared at the four men.

Gratefully, Jean spoke up from the other side of the room. Her hair was up in a ponytail and though she looked a little rumpled and dirty from the events of the last few days, she was still formidable.

"Everyone who isn't essential to the telepathic probe needs to leave, now. The rest of you find a place AWAY from the hospital - especially this room - and you can discuss whatever you want. The X-Men won't HIDE anything from our allies, but we're also trusting the rest of you to stand by your word and do what needs to be done. Agreed?"

Begrudgingly, the rest of the Avengers, and X-Men, nodded and began shuffling out. Rogue, Kurt, Jean, Beast, Psylocke, Emma, and Wolverine stayed behind. Jean turned to the young blonde who was running the generator with his electricity. "Is it all charged up, Berserker?"

The young man nodded. "Yep, all ready to go, Ms. Grey. Should last you a few hours. If you need more juice, I'll be around. I'm gonna go make sure the other generators on the next few floors are good for a couple more hours."

"Thank you again, Ray. We're lucky to have you," Jean smiled, and he blushed lightly before quickly taking his leave.

"Alright ladies - and gentlemen - are we ready?" The redhead placed Cerebro on her head, then turned to the other two telepaths, as well as Kurt, Beast, and Logan. Then all eyes fell on Rogue, who swallowed hard and bit her lip before nodding. Her nerves were showing in the way she played with the short strands of her hair, but the rage was ever present beneath every shift and glance.

"Alright, Rogue, go ahead and lie down on the table with your head up here at the end. Emma, Betsy, if you two will join me, we're going to place our hands above her head." Jean spoke firmly but kindly, and the three other women followed her directions.

Rogue looked slightly uncomfortable as she lay down on the table in her non-uniform attire, but she fingered the ring beneath her shirt and closed her eyes.

"I'll use Cerebro to link us together, and likewise project what we see on the screen," Jean continued. Beast, you'll keep an eye on Rogue's vitals, and Wolverine and Kurt provide support in case we need you to intervene. The computer is hooked up and will record everything so we can use the data to review and debrief everyone later."

Everyone nodded and moved into position with Wolverine on Rogue's left, closest to the projector, and Kurt and Beast on her right, near the doorway.

"Alright, Rogue and Carol," Jean smiled lightly from her position above the woman's head. "I need you both to try and work TOGETHER on this. If you aren't completely in sync, it's going to be a LOT harder to get into your mind, not to mention more painful. I need you to focus on trying to join your consciousnesses and the memories you absorbed from Sinister's men.

Rogue bit her lip and nodded, her green eyes staring up at Jean for just a moment before giving her a small smile. Her hand, however, hadn't released the ring that was currently hidden within her fist. Taking a few deep, calming breaths, Rogue closed her eyes and retreated into her mind to join her counterpart. Carol was dressed meticulously in her black and gold Ms. Marvel uniform, and Rogue still wore the tattered red dress from the gala, her hair a wild, disheveled mess in opposition to Carol's perfect waves. Eyeing each other up, Rogue and Carol nodded from within their shared mind and gingerly held each other's hand as they stood side by side.

"Ready, sug," Rogue said aloud as she tipped her head ever so slightly. She released the ring against her American flag shirt, and let both hands drop to the table with one last deep breath.

"On my mark, ladies," Jean said aloud. Then, telepathically, she gave the command. "Now,"

Instantly, Rogue arched off the table, head thrown back as she cried out and tried to grab her head. Together, Kurt and Beast held down one arm, while Wolverine pressed his full body weight down on her other. Thankfully, she wasn't putting all her strength into fighting them, but her body's autonomic reaction to combat the pain was still giving the men plenty of trouble.

Inside their mind, Rogue and Carol each doubled over, grabbing their heads with shrieks of agony as they were lanced with spikes of red, purple, and white lights. Around them, the psychic remnants of other people Rogue and Carol had absorbed were likewise hit with the beams and collapsed, although none lost consciousness. Carol lashed out as another wave hit the group, her fist colliding with and deflecting the triple beams even while Rogue sank to her knees and allowed them to continue stabbing through her.

"C-Carol," Rogue stuttered as the blonde woman knocked back another wave of attacks. "You - you gotta let, oh GAWD!" Rogue shrieked again in pain as blood dripped from her nose into the blackness of their surroundings. Red fluid was leaking from Carol's ears, and she dove away from another round of colorful energy.

"This is madness!" Carol shouted at Rogue, who screamed again as a third round of light penetrated her astral form and set the other psyches to shrieking, too. "This isn't working!"

On the table, blue eyes flew open as Carol wrenched her arms away from the three men holding her down, and she flew away from the three telepaths, who were likewise wincing.

"Good LORD," Emma spoke up, rubbing her temples. "I had no idea her mind was such a fortress. Rogue's actively TRYING to let us in, but even her automatic defenses, and the dozens of psyches swirling in her head, are nearly impossible to penetrate."

Jean watched Carol silently. The other woman appeared as if she wanted to fly away, yet was somehow frozen to the spot.

"No! We have t' try again, Carol!" Rogue's enraged voice echoed through the room as she held her head in her hands. "We HAVE t' find out what they're plannin'!"

"It isn't WORKING, Rogue!" Carol shouted right back, her voice crisp and icy as her Boston accent slipped through the other woman's lips. "This is ridiculous - all it's going to do is knock us BOTH out, and then we STILL won't have any information!"

"It's all in here, gal, we just…" Rogue's voice was reaching levels of desperation and resignation that gave the other six people in the room a horrible, sinking feeling. "We just have t' work t'gether! Please!? Carol, ya gotta help me find 'em! Ah can't live with mahself knowing how Ah hurt him; knowing Sinister has him!"

"But what? You can live with what you did to ME?! Why the hell should I help YOU!? You took EVERYTHING from me! Then you imprisoned me in your mind for YEARS! Never seeing the sun, never feeling my own powers! Just trapped alone in a cell with my own thoughts. It would serve you right if I let Sinister destroy you and your friends. Let him keep Gambit's body, and do whatever he wants with you and your X-Men!" Carol's voice was furious as she glared murderously at the other six mutants in the room.

"After all, I don't have any stake in the game! It's not MY life, anymore, right JEAN? Everything's all about ROGUE. And as soon as I help you people get what you want, as soon as I help stop Sinister, I go right back to my little prison cell in Rogue's mind, isn't that right?"

Jean sucked in a breath as Emma and Psylocke stared between Rogue and the redheaded telepath in shock. Well, Psylocke had the decency to appear shocked, at least. Emma simply smiled coyly and sat on the edge of the table, watching the exchange with gleeful smugness.

"Well now, isn't this interesting?" the White Queen asked, folding her arms and running one finger along her cheek. "The goody goody X-Men hiding a skeleton - almost literally. How delicious."

"Back OFF, Emma," Jean growled while Rogue shook her head, pulling at her hair.

"It ain't like that Carol! Ah'm… Ah'm sorry f'r what Ah done t' you, truly Ah am, but can't neither of us change it, now." Rogue's green eyes were welling with tears that brimmed over and cascaded down alabaster cheeks. "Ah'm so sorry. You know Ah'd take it all back if Ah could, but Ah CAN'T! And we BOTH know that what Sinister is planning next is HUGE. We HAVE t' stop him, and we can't do that unless we work t'gether! So please, Ah'm BEGGIN' you, help me - work with me. And once we stop whatever it is Sinister's plannin' - once we get Remy's body back - you … you don't have t' go back. Not ever. Ah swear."

"Rogue!" Wolverine's voice growled from below her, and aggrieved green eyes met horrified chocolate brown. "You don't mean that, darlin. You two can work together. We'll help ya both figure something out."

"No, Logan," Rogue replied quietly, not bothering to wipe the moisture from her face as it dripped to the carpet. "It's what Ah want. What Ah did to Carol… it ain't right. We all know it. Ah ain't no hero - not with all the hurt Ah caused. This is… this is the only way t' try and fix what Ah done." Slowly, Rogue alighted onto the floor, her head cast down.

"Meine Schwester," Kurt begged, traversing the distance between them on foot rather than teleporting. "Think of what you are saying. You would give up everything you have in this life? Denounce all that you stand for - everyone you care for - to try and make up for something that was essentially an accident?"

The southern woman lifted her face to meet Kurt's yellow irises. "Ah'm truly glad t' call you my brother, Kurt. And Ah'm sorry we didn't get to know each other better, t' spend more time together. But yeah, that's what Ah'm sayin. An 'eye for an eye'. Ain't that what your Bible says? The X-Men are mah family, but…" More tears stained her cheeks as she toyed with the ring at her breast, the brilliance of the marquis diamond catching the light and reflecting it into the eyes of all present. "But there ain't nothin' left f'r me here."

"I am sorry you feel that way, Rogue. I feel you are wrong in your decision - that you make it under duress - but I shall stand by you until the end, regardless."

"Well not ME," Logan growled, his arms crossed and face livid. "I ain't gonna have any part of this nonsense. There ain't no reason you and Carol can't share like you been doin.' It's worked so far."

"It ain't LIVIN' though, Wolverine. You know that. Carol don't deserve t' be sidelined half the time for the rest of my - OUR - life. What happens if she finds somebody along the way, huh? Wants t' settle down? Ah can't control my powers. SHE can. Ah'm not gonna take away her chance at happiness, too. Not again." Rogue was silent for a moment as she clutched the ring and heavy tears leaked from her eyes. "Ah've already ruined mine."

"Magneto - ERIK - would still…" Wolverine started to argue, but Rogue cut him off.

"Ah don't love Erik," she insisted. "And Ah'm not gonna grovel on mah knees just because Ah lost Remy. Ah broke BOTH their hearts, Logan, and Ah'm not fixin' t' do it again. This - this is gonna be for the best. Ah know you don't think so, but…"

"Then count me out," the Canadian grumped before turning on his heel and stalking out of the room. "Call me when you got something worth knowin', Jeannie."

Rogue watched him leave, her eyes and mind heavy with grief and regret, but no one spoke. The room was uncomfortably quiet for a few long minutes before Psylocke finally spoke up. "We - we should probably try again, right? That is, if you're ready, Rogue - er, Carol?"

Chestnut and white hair bounced lightly as the woman in question nodded. "Ah think we are, right Carol?"

Another nod, and a second voice replied. "We are." Blue eyes scanned the room, meeting the gazes of the five remaining mutants before she lifted off the ground and floated back down onto the table in the same position she had occupied a few minutes prior.

"Just… give us a minute to figure some things out, okay?" Carol's voice asked as she flashed a small smile at Jean.

Jean and Psylocke nodded, but Emma simply sighed in exasperation, examining her nails as she flopped into a chair. "Best bit of non-violent drama I've had in days, and I can't even eavesdrop. How depressing."

The redheaded telepath simply closed her eyes and took a deep breath, but there was a distinctive twitch in her temple, and Carol snickered. "We'll try to be fast," she assured the three telepaths before closing her eyes.

~X~

Back inside 'their' mind, Carol - dressed in her black and gold Ms. Marvel outfit and long blonde hair - gasped as the landscape within Rogue's mind reflected the carnage outside once again. "Rogue?" She called, looking around for the other woman. "Where are you?" When the X-Man didn't reply, Carol lifted into the sky. About 50 yards away, a crater had formed in the middle of what she assumed used to be a street. And there, sitting on her knees in the middle of it, was Rogue.

The blonde alighted in front of the other woman, who sat with her hands in her lap. The southerner was still wearing her red gala dress with hair once more tangled and full of dirt, soot, and blood. She held piles of ash that sifted faster and faster through her fingers the harder she tried to hold onto them.

"Rogue, what…?" Carol's breath caught in her throat as she watched the heartbreaking scene "What are you doing? You wanted to find out what Sinister was up to, remember? So why in the world are you sitting here at another pity party?"

Empathy shifted into anger as the blonde watched the X-Men cry over the ashes and what they could symbolize - Gambit, Magneto, love, touch, death? The ashes of a former life, perhaps.

"Get. Up," Carol growled at last. "Like you said, you can't change the past. But we still have a shot to change the future for others. So more innocent lives don't have to suffer the way we have. Isn't that what you want? What we BOTH want?"

When Rogue didn't move, and drops of moisture fell onto the ash in her hands, turning it red, Carol sighed and knelt down next to her.

"Look, I KNOW you're hurting, Rogue. I know you feel terrible about everything that's happened - including me. I'm not going to LIE and say I forgive you, because I don't know if I ever really can. And I certainly can't speak for Gambit and Magneto. But I DO know that those men both LOVED you - both DIED for you - so that you could live and hopefully be happy someday and that has to count for something."

She ran a hand through her wavy blonde locks and blew out a frustrated breath when the only indication from Rogue was more tears turning the ash to blood within her hands. The Avenger huffed in frustration, standing up and pacing. She hated this side of Rogue. This defeatist bullshit wasn't becoming of an X-Man, or an Avenger, and Carol would rather deal with a pissed off Rogue than an anguished one, any day. Violence may not be 'the answer', but it certainly was cathartic.

"I'm not going to let you sacrifice yourself completely just to make it up to me, you know?" The blonde began again, cutting a line through the dirt in front of Rogue as she walked back and forth, waiting for the other woman to move. "Especially not when I know you're just going to surround yourself with this macabre bullshit for the rest of our natural life. I may not be your friend, but I certainly don't hate you enough to let you torture yourself like this."

"Ah don't want your pity, Carol," Rogue suddenly hissed. "Ah just want justice." When she lifted her gaze to meet Ms Marvel's, her green eyes were rimmed with tears, but there was such a vicious malignance behind her irises, that Carol pulled back in surprise.

"Ah want the heads of Sinister, and Apocalypse, and Trask, and Gyrich and everyone who helped them…" Each name was spat with more venom than the last as Rogue's hands clenched tighter to the ash and rivers of red ran through her fingers. "Ah wanna display their corpses on a damn spike so Ah can watch the birds peck out their eyes from mah window."

"Rogue, that's…" Carol's brows furrowed in disturbed trepidation. "That's disgusting, first of all." She gave a little laugh, trying to lighten the mood, but she was deeply disturbed by the sheer hatred and brutality in the X-Man's words. She put her hand on Rogue's bare shoulder. "Secondly, I don't think you're the only one, and third, well… We have to CATCH them first, don't we?"

Her last words finally goaded a reaction from the X-Man, who looked up at Carol through narrowed eyes. "You ain't gonna fight me on this? You DO understand what Ah'm sayin', dontcha?"

Carol huffed and scrubbed her face with her hands before standing. "I do. And while I don't agree with it, I understand how you feel. I'm angry too. All this destruction, all this death. Sinister doesn't deserve to stand trial, and we both know it. I don't know if I could kill someone in cold blood, or if I could even stand by and let you - or anyone else - do it. But all that matters right now is finding them, and STOPPING them. And we've got to work together to do it, right?"

Rogue's gaze softened somewhat, and she looked down at her hands, finally opening her fingers to allow the last of the ash and blood to fall away. Finally, she floated upright until she stood in front of Carol, arms folded.

"What?" the southerner asked at the blonde's appraising look.

"Why are you still wearing that? I would think that even in your mind your X-Men uniform would be a better fit." Carol's brow was raised in curiosity, and while she didn't love Rogue's choice of outfits - even mentally - she tried to contain her own hostility.

"Ah - Ah ain't ready t' wear the uniform just yet," Rogue shrugged, hugging herself.

"Oookay." Folding her arms, Carol sighed and looked around at the war-torn landscape of Rogue's mind. "How do you propose we go about this telepathic probe, then? Because last time was NOT something I want to repeat."

"Ah ain't rightly sure," Rogue admitted, looking around as well. Though the images made her flinch with emotional pain, she could not look away. "When Ah used t' work with the Pr'fessor, Ah'd always imagine a door, and just let him in like a right friendly neighbor. Just haven't been able t' manifest it the same way since he…"

Trailing off, she gave a wave of her ungloved hand, and a large double wooden door appeared before them. But, as Rogue's face briefly shimmered with grief, it crumbled and fell away. "See? Ah can't seem t' maintain it, no matter how hard Ah try."

Carol nodded, studying the X-Man for a moment before stepping forward and taking both Rogue's hands in hers.

"Then let's try together."

~X~X~X~X~X~

I'd love a beta or co-writer for this, if anyone is interested. I'm losing serious steam on this, and having that person to give suggestions or just comment on a document to let me know what works and what needs more tweaking is so motivating for me!

Let me know in the comments what you thought of the Carol/Rogue convo? They are kind of heading into a more 'neutral' dynamic, but do you think everything Rogue proposed to Carol is going to happen? Will Carol honor her promise to Rogue? Does this work for them (for now)?

And how the heck do I tie Bastion in with Apocalypse/Sinsiter!? I know practically NOTHING about Bastion, or how he was defeated (strengths, weaknesses, what he did in the comics, etc). If anyone has insight, please share!