AN: Hey everyone just thought I'd try my hand at X-men evolution since I was pretty sad when they stopped making it. I know I wasn't the only one disappointed about how it ended- especially after seeing the group picture with Gambit in it and not getting anything else! Yeah didn't think I was the only one lol

Anyways I hope you enjoy this one!

xXx

Summary: Bloodmoon Bayou, that was the last time she laid eyes on the rare red on black eyes that belonged to him. The very same eyes that never left her mind even after another year with the X-men. Being assigned to a mission only she could fulfill left her with little choice but to accept Professor Xavier's request to go undercover and accept Mystique's offer to join her once more, with the X-men waiting as backup should the need arise.
Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined that this mission would also open her eyes to the many possibilities that awaited her, including someone she long thought never to see again.
But fate as we know it…always has a way to interfere when you least expect it.

xXx

Daylight had begun to drain away making way for the silver white moon that now hung in the dark sky illuminating the empty streets, as a figure could be seen skillfully jumping from rooftop to rooftop until they stopped to glance down below to see that this place was indeed secure.

From his understanding the goal was to go in, grab the item-and only that item- and get out.

Security however was tight tonight but that didn't convince him enough to turn around and leave, quite the opposite actually. It made him even more eager to get his hands on this priceless item inside.

Skillfully moving his way down from the skylight up above, he gracefully landed without so much as a sound before lazily walking around the place. Allowing his trained glowing red on black eyes to lead him towards his destination, while making sure to avoid any and all cameras that he knew would be around after scoping out the place the night before.

This type of heist required stealth, patience and fines that only he could expertly carry out, and if successful it would prove to be a neat little gift for his soon-to-be future family, which was the whole point of this.

With his back pressed up against the wall he peeked his head around the corner just enough to observe the moving cameras in the next room along with the barely visible red lines lining the bottom half.

'Too easy…' Confidently smirking he began silently counting down, waiting for just the right moment before using his bo staff and pointing it to the ceiling in time for it to extract grappling hooks and jolt him upward before one of the cameras turned back in his direction and doing the same for the opposite end which connected to the inside of the room.

Securing himself he made sure that his long trench coat wouldn't be in the way or seen by any of the cameras as he expertly began pulling himself from the top of the ceiling in the hall and into the targeted room. Pausing, he glanced down long enough to still see the red lasers still at work trying to detect anything that it could reach.

Reaching the door to the vault was the easy part but actually getting inside was where it could get tricky.

Grunting he allowed himself to hang upside down as he retracted a small handheld device before punching in the numbers he'd memorized earlier that evening.

"Pas mal du tout." He smugly grinned upon hearing the first lock open and raised the handheld recorder into the other slot.

"Voice authentication required." The automatic voice said.

"Tanya Trask..." The female on the recorder seductively said. So as it turns out the unexciting conversation he had with the same woman that day was worth it after all.

"Voice authentication confirmed." The voice said before unlocking the door. "Access granted."

Although the view wasn't as clear upside down, he didn't dare set foot on the ground until the voice rang out again.

"Momentarily disconnecting security..."

"Merci beaucoup mon ami." He appreciatively waved his hand before dropping in front of the door facing the vault. From his position he could see various precious artifacts lining the shelves until his eye zeroed in on the small metal box hovering above a small table.

This had to be it.

What was inside he had yet to find out and normally that would be one of the first things he'd research but surprisingly came up empty-handed, which just made this all the more intriguing.

He'd been told not to open it but with all his years of experience he knew better than to steal something without checking what's inside first and that was precisely what he was about to do once he got his hands on it. "At least give me a challenge." He quietly chuckled as he carefully stepped inside and cautiously checked to make sure there weren't any other hidden alarms or traps waiting for him.

Hovering his staff around it he briefly glanced around to make sure he was still alone since by this point he knew he only had a few second left before security in this room would be back up and someone would come searching for the reason before snatching the metal box which had the words 'TRASK INDUSTRIES' on it.

'Asshole…' After having found out who's building this belonged to, he had no problem breaking in even if he'd never been asked.

Warily opening it he frowned when his eyes caught the sleek round metal inside, wondering what the hell it was for but nonetheless quickly stuffed it inside his pocket. Whatever this thing was, wasn't his problem anymore, once he stepped outside of this building and directly handed it to the person who hired him to retrieve it for them.

All he needed to do was hurry up and get back home before word got out that this useless thing was taken right from under Bolivar Trask's nose after the guy had been released from prison not that long ago.

So, when he'd been asked to break into one of his most secure installations, he was more than willing to do so.

Speed walking down another corridor he looked up to make sure his escape route was still secure until something to his right caught his eyes.

The dazzling emerald jewel glittered in the moon's light as it delicately lay on a satin pillow inside a glass case.

He knew he should go. To get out while he could and was specifically instructed not to grab anything else, but something about its mesmerizing color drew him to it and before he knew it his feet moved on their own as if in a trance.

He ran his gloved hand over the glass display case- as if admiring its craftsmanship. "Well hello there…" he slowly smiled as another thought occurred to him. Perhaps this heist wasn't a total loss of his time after all.

After hauling himself back up to the roof he carefully climbed down the side of the building and towards the direction of the woods. The faint sounds of blaring alarms and cars could be heard already far behind him.

Cockily smirking he pulled out his reward and lightly grazed his thumb over the small jewel necklace that made him think of another time he'd been so entranced by something, which only made him reach into his pocket and feel the deck of cards inside still missing a rather important piece to the pile.

A piece that he'd doubt he'd ever get back.

xXx

"…the police are still searching for the missing item stolen and looking for any information related to the mysterious robbery that took place at TRASK INDUSTRIES not but two days ago, with still no leads as to what or who could've done this. Anyone with any information is urged to please-"

Turning the Tv off Ororo Munroe swiftly turned to Scott Summers and Jean Grey who were enjoying their day off teaching alongside her now, while Professor Charles Xavier continued to absently stare out the window enjoying his tea.

"Well, I'm sure the police have their hands full trying to catch however did this." She remarked as she sat herself down with the others.

Scoffing into his coffee Scott incomprehensibly shook his head. "I still don't understand why they're surprised or even willing to help an ex-terrorist in the first place."

"Scott it's still a crime. Whether who the person is or not shouldn't matter." Jean playfully scolded before adding. "Despite how we feel about them."

"Yeah, I know." He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I suppose you're right Jean. It's just makes me mad, and I can't help but think that after everything Trask did, there's still people out there that still side with him and always make us look to be the bad guys."

"I know what you mean." She sadly admitted. "It's bad enough that the world still sees us that way all while allowing someone like Trask to run free."

"And yet I doubt that that's the last we'll hear of him." Ororo added.

"Storms right." The professor thoughtfully said as he turned to them. "I believe someone like Bolivar Trask is not someone who can easily be silenced and yet… I find it hard to believe that the government is making him look as innocent as he claims to be."

"Exactly!" Scott slammed his hand on the counter. "How could anyone like Trask want anything less than try and put us in the ground."

"Scott…"

"Although I do understand how you must feel- all of you." The professor acknowledged remembering all the terrible things his students already had to deal with just for the simple fact of being mutants. "I must remind you that this is but a few of the many issues you'll find yourselves in throughout your life and should understand when to allow the public to take matters into their own hands and when you should. Not everyone is or will be as understanding of something they do not understand…understanding of mutants."

"What we don't understand, we fear. What we fear, we judge as evil. What we judge as evil, we attempt to control. And what we cannot control…we attack." Herny 'Hank' McCoy pointed out as he walked into the kitchen with a newspaper.

"If I'm not mistaken…it's Dan Brown?" Professor Xavier knowingly smiled having read that book once or twice himself.

"Oh yeah that lost symbol movie, right?" Scott asked watching the way Hank stopped nodding before both men turned to him.

"Picking up a book every now and then is not a crime Scott." Hank cleared his throat. "However, you're not incorrect in assuming it's also a movie…" he reluctantly admitted making the professor and Storm chuckled. "As much as I hate to admit this."

"Any word on our mystery person?" The professor glanced up at the Television while Hank did the same.

"I'm afraid not much." He put the newspaper on the counter. "No fingerprints, no close ups, no hair left behind, nothing. It's almost like this guy is a professional." Hank frustrating frowned. "But what puzzles me is that the police are claiming that only one item was stolen, but when digging though my sources-"

"You mean Warren?" Jean and Scott both asked at the same time, making them smile.

"…my sources." Hank amusingly tried to hide his smile. "Claimed that two items were in fact stolen."

"Now if we could only find out what the other stolen item is or why they're trying to hide it from the public eye…" The professor's frown deepened.

"We would be able to find out exactly what Trask industry is up to now." Scott finished.

"We also need to find out who is currently in possession of it since whatever Trask is planning…" Ororo's concerned eyes match theirs. "In the wrong hands it could be devastating."

"That is just one of the two problems we're currently faced with." The professor tiredly pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What you mean Logan?" Jean knowingly asked. "I doubt he'll ever be on board with this."

"I doubt any of us really are." Scott exasperdaly sighs already knowing where the others were.

xXx

"Alright. Let's go through this again."

Rolling her eyes Rogue couldn't help but smile at the edge in Logans voice as he remained watching her from the doorway as she finished packing. "Ah think Ah've got it Logan."

"Yeah she's got it." Kurt Wagner chimed in as he appeared then reappeared next to her to see what exactly his adopted sister was doing. "Got vhat?"

"Kurt!" Rogue quickly snatched one of her shirts from his hands. "Would you please get out of here?"

"Are ve still talking about this veird mission?" he uneasily asked.

"Maybe…" she frustratingly huffed. Years ago she would have told them all to get lost and quite bothering her so much but throughout their years together she found their concern quite touching now…to an extend at least.

"Herr Logan is right. You shouldn't go. She can't be trusted."

"Hate to say this elf but that's the reason Chuck asked her to go in the first place." Logan folded his arms over his broad chest. "Someone like Mystique needs to be kept locked up or at least an eye on, and Rogue's the best to do it."

"Vhy? Because Mystique asked her to?" Kurt unconvincingly narrowed his eyes. Everyone knew that he still held a sour spot for his birth mother- one that he was still working through. So he was surprised and angry to hear that Mystique approached Rogue one night during one of their late-night missions when she thought she wasn't being watched to offer Rogue a place to come back.

At first Rogue declined of course to put it nicely, but after talking to the professor about it in private they thought it would be the best way to keep taps on the villain and find out what exactly she was up to that would make her desperate enough to seek her out knowing that Rogue would probably tell her to go to hell.

Thinking it over Rogue at first thought that this was all another bullshit lie to try and convince her that she had changed…but after the second visit she had a hunch that perhaps there was something more to it.

Flashback…

"Kit, how are we lookin' on your end?" Rogue asked through her earpiece.

"Nothing out of the ordinary here." She responded. "It's almost like they knew we were coming…kinda creeps me out."

"Ah know what you mean." Rogue whispered as she continued to crouch down behind a large crater and could just picture her friends shivering as she continued to walk inside one of the empty warehouses. "Kurt hasn't seen them either."

"I like don't get it. Knowing Lance he would be the first to make his presence known." Kitty let her eyes trail around the empty place. "Or at least damage something."

Nodding as if she could see her, Rogue looked sideways to find Piotr Rasputin or Colossus -out in the field- nervously fidgeting next to her. For a big guy he could be pretty amusing to watch anytime he was around Kitty which she thought was cute -for them anyway.

It wasn't long after they defeated Apocalypse that the large boy joined their team and together, they were able to help him rescue his little sister and the rest of his family, which was the reason for him joining Magneto's acolytes in the first place.

"Relax big guy, Ah'm sure Kitty will be alright." She shot him a knowing smile which only made him shyly blush before nodding and looking back at the warehouse. Kitty was right, for someone the size of Piotr…he really was a big soft teddy bear.

"Ok guys? You know how I said no one was here?"

"Yeah?" They both worriedly responded.

"Well let's just say that this isn't the first time I've been wrong…" Kitty nervously gulped right before they felt the ground shaking a second before the side of the building began to tilt followed by the next.

"Crap, not good!" Rogue swiftly got to her feet and flew into the air while Piotr began sprinting towards the building. "Kurt?!"

"Sorry!" he grunted right as he jumped out of the way from Blob. "Kinda busy over here!"

"Great." Rogue gasped as she moved to the side of the building to help and try to keep it from completely falling while Piotr barged inside to try and find Shadowcat. This was just one of the things that she had accumulated throughout the year.

But the repercussions of absorbing someone like Carol Danvers constantly weight heavily on her conscious, and it didn't help that because of it Fury and the rest of Shield still considered Rogue a threat.

She supposed that that was one of the reasons why Mystique eventually approached her that night to offer her a place back with her. Understanding that once you were labeled a threat to society it would hopefully bring her daughter running back to her awaiting arms.

End of Flashback…

"I still don't like it." Logans voice suddenly pulled her back from that night. "Clearly Mystique has an agenda."

"All the more reason Ah have to go." She finally turned to them both. "Mystique said she wants me back. Wants me to go with her to meet some guy that she married or somethin'." She explained again the same way she did in the meeting that day. "Ah guess to be a big happy family whatever that means. But knowin' her, like you said Logan there has to be somethin' else she's not tellin' me." She pressed her lips together when she saw them both still unconvinced. "She also said that she needed someone she could count on, which makes tryin' to get close enough all the more easier."

"That's true." Kurt reluctantly nodded remembering how the rest of the brotherhood never took their work as seriously as Rogue did when she was with them. "Rogue-"

"Ah know Kurt." She fondly smiled at him. Out of everyone here Kitty and Kurt-heck even Logan were the closest to her, so she knew that by the look on her brother's face he really hated the thought of possibly losing his sister. "…and it's sweet of you to worry. But just don't be. Ah'll be fine."

"Not you I'm worried about kid."

And there it was. The reason for Logan constantly being on the lookout for anything to go wrong with this mission. And in Logans eyes it would go wrong if Mystique ever suspected her. Suspected that they would be there the whole way if she needed it…it would make everything come tumbling down right on top of her.

"Ah know." Leaning back against her suitcase she was just about to tell both Logan and Kurt again not to worry and that she would be careful, that she knew what she was getting herself into and that they could trust her to take this mission seriously when Kitty chose this moment of all times to phase her way through the wall, waving around a barely concealed pink bikini.

"Ok Rogue but would you at least consider taking this with you?" Kitty's eager grin slowly dissipated when she realized they weren't alone.

"Rogue…?" Logan slowly quirked an unamused brow as Kitty shot her an apologetic grin.

"Oops."

xXx

Watching the town of Bayville growing in distance behind her, Rogue continued to keep her eyes out the window, wondering just how long this mission would take her. Already regretting her decision as soon as she heard this woman talking.

"I'm surprised you accepted my offer, Rogue." Mystique suddenly broke the tension as she remained seated in the front seat next to the driver.

"Well Ah'm here aren't Ah?" Rogue irritatingly snapped back as she crossed her arms over her chest sitting next to a silent Irene Adler.

"Indeed you are my dear." Mystique intriguingly hummed before turning to Irene next to Rogue who only gave a faint nod before smiling. "It's been a long time coming after all."

"Not long enough." Rogue mumbled as she returned to glaring out the window. Just because she was stuck here with the woman didn't mean she had to suddenly be best friends with her after all the crap she's pulled. And she was sure that if she did that then that would definitely blow her cover since Rogue was never the warm and fuzzy type. It was better just to act naturally, which she had no problem doing. "Where are we goin' anyways?"

"I already told you Rogue, we're going to meet my new husband."

"Husband huh?" Rogue scoffed. "So what's that? Husband number four Ah'm guessin'?"

Chuckling Irene had to mask it with a small cough when Mystique turned back to Rogue.

"Despite how you may feel about me Rogue, I am still your mother and boss. So I would remember that next time you decide to judge my taste in men."

'Yes, because Magneto was any better…' she thought, trying to suppress a smile. "Ya'll still didn't tell me where we were goin'."

"You'll see." Mystique cryptically answered. "But once we do get there make sure you're on your best behavior. We cannot mess this up."

'So, husband number four it is…'

"Relax Rogue." Irene leaned in to whisper, sensing the girls discomfort. "And don't worry. Everything will go as it is planned and destined to be."

Feeling Irene reassuringly squeezing her hand made Rogue somewhat relax when the previous memories of her childhood spent with the woman came rushing back. "Thanks Irene."

Once the car came to a halt in front of a private plane, Rogue quizzically glanced back at Mystique.

"Can't have anyone of the X-men following us now, can we?" she quirked an eyebrow as she turned to see Rogue following her out of the car while helping Irene out and heading towards the open landing pad.

"Definitely wouldn't want those guys anywhere near me." Rogue mumbled making sure to keep her eyes forward despite the urge to look over her shoulder where Logan and the others no doubt would be watching.

Everything seemed to be running too smoothly and just as planned.

She had made sure that it seemed she was sneaking out of the mansion once everyone was fast asleep since they were pretty sure Mystique would be watching her every move, until she met her at their designated meeting spot.

But now as she approached the small plane the growing nagging in the pit of her stomach continued to try and alert her of anything that could possibly be waiting for her on the other side of this trip.

Hoping that nothing would go wrong, but to be honest when have things ever not.

"Say goodbye to your previous life here Rogue, and let's welcome the new." Mystique wickedly smiled once her and Irene settled in their seats. "With the three of us back together there's nothing we cannot accomplish."

"And the brotherhood?" Rogue asked.

"They'll be meeting us there in a few short days." Mystique informed her. "I suggest you get comfortable; it is a rather long trip back home."

"Home?" Rogue confusingly frowned, readjusting in her seat as she worriedly looked out the window now curious as to where exactly she was headed.

"New Orleans to be more precise." She answered as she leaned back in her seat. "Not quite as home as we'd liked…but it'll have to do for now."

"And how are the wedding plans coming?" Irene asked. "Any word on that?"

"Haven't heard much." Mystique disinterestedly shrugged. "All I know is that it's supposed to be soon. But since it's not mine, I couldn't care less."

Any other conversation that was taking place sounded like muffled sounds to her ears as Rogues stomach churned as second before the plane began to take of sending her and all her fears along with her back down south.

Where it all started.