"Rogue, wassa matter?" Jubilee asked, barely coherent.

Rogue didn't answer. Her eyes were blank, and then they shut as she dropped to her knees and clutched her head in her bare hands.

---

Carol told her.

Logan growled out.

Rogue would have smiled if the situation hadn't been so grim. she whispered as the other voices began to pound into her.

There was a sneer in his voice.

They were pouring into her, trying to drown her in their fear, their hatred, their contempt. She felt strong arms around her, holding her up. She clutched Carol and Logan to her, knowing that they were all that stood between her and death at that moment.

Carol whispered softly into her ear.

Rogue answered.

Suddenly it felt as if her skin was being torn open, and then she being filled beyond capacity with a strange light. This lasted for years, and it took only a few seconds.

Carol told her.

Then she stood alone against the three minds attacking hers. Except that she wasn't alone. She was Marie, and she was Carol, and even Logan claimed a part of her. All of their minds had coalesced into Rogue. She felt the powers she'd experienced briefly before surging to life, and with those powers came the strength to subdue the other damn minds she was stuck with. Temporarily, anyway. And that was all she needed.

---

"Okay, Jubes, yah rested enough?" Rogue asked, standing up and taking her hands from her tear-streaked face. She smiled slightly. Okay, maybe it was more of a smirk, but she was still trying to adjust to having completely absorbed Logan.

Jubilee gave her a strange look through eyes that were squinting around the pain in her head. "Sure, Rogue. You ever gonna tell me what all that was about?" she asked as she prepared herself to be lifted up by Rogue again.

"Maybe, Jubilee, although Ah really don't think yah could understand. Let's just say that, while Ah'm back Ah'm also a lot better than Ah was before." That was all Rogue would say to Jubilee. She remained silent the entire way back to the motorcycles, not even looking winded as she settled Logan down gently and kept a hand on Jubilee's arm to make sure she wouldn't fall flat on her face.

"Okay, now what are we gonna do?"

They had two motorcycles. That was good. There were only three of them. Of course, there was the small problem of what to do with the two members of their little group who could barely stay conscious.

"Why don' we jus' sleep here?" Jubilee suggested, sitting down on the grass and stretching out. "I think there're blankets and stuff in the back of the motorcycles. There should be, anyway."

"Sounds like a plan," Rogue muttered to herself. She opened up the storage compartment of one of the bikes and, sure enough, there was a whole survival kit in there. It was the same with the second bike.

"Okay, how exactly am Ah gonna split two blankets between three people?" Rogue asked herself.

"Why don' ya just lay 'em over us all. We can huddle t'gether for warmth," Jubilee stated.

"Yeah, and what happens if one of yah happens to touch my face or somethin' during the night?" Rogue asked, a bit of panic in her voice.

That's when she remembered something Carol had said. And she suddenly had a pretty good idea what that gift was.

Rogue reached inside herself and tugged something into place that she should have been aware of a long time ago, or so she told herself. Just to test it out, she laid a bare finger on Jubilee's hand. Nothing. No pull. Rogue increased the pressure and still nothing. She wanted to cry with joy, but her tears were long gone by now.

"Never mind, Jubes. Ah'll just get you and Logan all arranged then Ah'll scrunch between yah. That way, if either of yah need something during the night, Ah'll know right away," Rogue murmured. Of course, she knew by now from the way that she was breathing that her friend was asleep, but it felt good to talk to someone after such a long time of being tamped down by Carol.

Rogue settled Logan and Jubilee then laid down between them, pulling the blankets over all of them. What with the blankets being thermal adding to Logan's naturally high body heat, she was asleep as soon as she pillowed her head on Logan's chest.