I had dressed out in my uniform in record time. I was quickly making my way to the war room (I'd always wondered about that name, especially coming from the Professor) when I'd ran into Storm.

"Hey Storm," I said brightly. "How was the city?"

"Oh, it was fine. Same old stuff. Do you know anything about this mission?" I shook my head. I hated these minutes before a briefing. You hope and pray that it isn't anything catastrophic and that everyone is going to come back in one piece. I had a terrible feeling, though, that this time it was something catastrophic. I wiped my mind clean as we entered the war room. The last thing you needed to do when you're around two powerful telepaths is to broadcast your fears like you were yelling over a loudspeaker.

"There has been an incident concerning a large amount of mutants in rural Mississippi. As a matter of fact, Rogue, it's taking place in your hometown of Meridian. A young boy who was in the hospital for heart surgery manifested his mutation and now the doctor's have been forced to postpone the surgery." The Professor was trying to nail down how I was feeling about returning to my home, but I clamped down my mental shields on him. I didn't know how I was feeeling....

"What's his mutation? Why did they have to postpone a critical surgery over it?" Storm asked. Jean was the one who spoke up this time. "He is actually John's opposite—he can create fire, but he has no control over it. If he is sedated for the surgery, he will be intubated, and he will be on oxygen. If, in his unconscious state, he creates any fire he could cause a major explosion." We all looked at each other. For once, this really had nothing to do with the fact he was a mutant. It had to do with the fact he could hurt himself and everyone around him.

"The surgery is essential to the boy's survival. The plan is to go to the hospital, they are expecting us, and allow both John and Jean to be present during the surgery. Jean will try to enter his mind to keep him from creating any fire while sedated, and John will be there to extinguish any fire that make occur. Now-" Logan's voice cut off the Professor.

"And what about the 'large amount of mutants' you mentioned way back?" Logan knew something was up. The Professor was making this sound way too simple.

"Yes, Logan. I was getting to that. There seems to be a mutant rights group surrounding the hospital and protesting rather violently. They are convinced the hospital is simply withholding treatment from a mutant," he paused and I knew the other shoe was about to drop. "It's the Brotherhood. With Eric and Mystique leading the way." Magneto. Dammit, dammit, dammit. Not only did I have to go to my old hometown, but I had to deal with the guy who would've liked nothing more than to shuffle loose my mortal coil. In simple terms: Kill my ass for his own gain. Awesome. This should be a good mission. The Professor's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"......important to make sure that there are human or mutant fatalities. At least as much as you can. Help in any way you are needed. You are there to assist the local law enforcement keep the peace and make sure the hospital is not full-out attacked. I know you can do it. Good Luck." And with that, we were walking to the Blackbird. The ten of us had been on many missions before, most of them pretty mundane. Pick up this mutant kid, or stop this one from incinerating an entire city block. We got more fighting time in the danger room than anywhere. We boarded the jet and I strapped on my seat belt. Logan was in front of me and he swung his seat around to look at me.

"You're gonna be fine. Hometown, who cares? Magneto? We won't let him get you. Not again. I promise." Logan spoke so low that no one else would be able to hear him. I gave him a pathetic half-smile and turned to look out the window. I heard him sigh and swing his seat back around. I tuned out most of the flight.

"Logan! You don't look so good! Flying still really bothers you, huh?" Scott was practically choking to try to stop from laughing. "If God wanted us to fly, He'd have given us wings, Cyke." Everyone laughed quietly. Logan was notorious for being a nervous flyer. It was funny because, of everyone, he'd probably be the only one to actually survive a plane crash. He took a lot of shit from Scott over his one real fear.

"OK, Boys! Playtime's over," Storm yelled from the controls. "We are coming up on the hospital, now. Oh my God...."

We all scrambled to look at what Storm was seeing, and it wasn't good. Probably around 100 or so mutants screaming, yelling, and climbing around the hospital. The police looked like they were about to piss their pants. Magneto being there meant no guns for the poor human police. We were their only line of defense. Scott threw himself into fearless leader mode as we landed.

"OK everyone. Here's the plan. Jean, Pyro, and Kitty will go inside the hospital. The dean of medicine will brief you on what needs to be done. Jean and Pyro, you know what you have to do. Kitty will be there to phase out anyone should something go wrong. The rest of us will set up a perimeter between the protesters and the hospital. We are not to engage in any physical altercations unless it is absolutely necessary. Logan, that means keep the claws in as much as you can. We are simply going to try to allow the doctor's the time to perform the surgery. It could take up to 4 hours. Diplomacy is a must. Keep telling them that the surgery is underway and that any attacks could endanger the boy. Remember that Mystique is sneaky. Make sure there aren't two of any of us milling around causing trouble. Keep all com lines open. And use them. Radio silence is not the best way to go. We need to talk to each other and stay informed. Jean will keep us updated as the surgery progresses. We can relay that information to everyone outside. Hopefully that will get them to calm down. Any questions?" He looked around to make sure we all knew what we were doing. "Good. Now let's go!" We exited the jet and were met by a group of doctor's, nurses, and police. They led us down to the surgical floor. Once Jean, Pyro, and Kitty went with the Dean, the rest of us were escorted to the front of the hospital. We stood silently at the doors of the ER. After a collective deep breath, we pushed through the doors with our usual degree of confidence and made our way towards the enraged crowd. As we separated into our line, Scott talked quietly with the police. He came to stand in front of us, holding a megaphone.

"Can I have everyone's attention, please! We are here to help the boy inside! Two of our people are using their gifts to assist the doctor's so that the surgery can commence. We will be given updates and we will pass them on to you. If you want this child to survive, you must stand down! If you attack this hospital, you could inadvertently cause death or injury to anyone inside: Mutant or Human! Please, let us help him!" Scott took a visible deep breath. The crowd was still restless. Then, they began to part as though being moved by an unseen force. Just then, Magneto appeared with Mystique by his side. This should be fun. I held my head a little higher and switched on my skin. What I wouldn't give for a chance to drain him, and her for that matter, dry. He was nothing but a trouble maker.

"Well! If it isn't the X-Men! Like I didn't see this coming from a mile away! How can you actually stand in defense of these homo-sapiens? That boy could still die because of the delay created by their fear and hatred of mutants!" What a dick. He still didn't get it. Just his voice was enough to make my blood boil. Just then, Scott spoke up.

"Magneto, we don't want trouble. We got here as fast as we could. Jean and Pyro are inside, helping control his mutation long enough so that the surgery can proceed. As soon as he's out of surgery and it's safe, we'll go. We don't want any problems. Neither does the Professor." Scott sounded every bit of the diplomat he needed to be. I knew it wasn't going to be enough.

"Not good enough!" Oh no. I saw what happened next in slow motion. He raised his right arm and with the smallest movement of his wrist, the army behind him rushed toward us. Seven versus one-hundred, if not more. This was gonna suck.

The fight began. I heard Logan's claws emerge, Storm took to the sky, Pete's body shifted into a metal wall, I saw flashes of red from Scott out of the corner of my eye. Sparks flew from Jubilee's fingers. Bobby had made a series of fort-like structures with ice. And I was throwing punches and kicks wherever I could. I was snatching pieces of mutations and throwing it right back at them. I slowly became aware of Logan right beside me. I noticed that attacks against me were getting less frequent. He was shielding me! I was getting more and more pissed. I did not need a babysitter, especially one who also fucked me. I knocked out a girl who had been teleporting around me in circles. I was getting way irritated with that bullshit. Once I finally landed a kick from behind my back, I gently made contact with her face. I teleported as far away from Logan as I could. He realized what I'd done after about five minutes and came rushing over to my new position.

"You OK kid?"

"Stop following me Logan!" this was said as I brought a knee up to the guy who kept turning into jelly every time I tried to hit him. "Or that'll be you, next!"

"I'm not following you. I'm making sure Magneto doesn't decide to try to off you again!" He sank his claws into a guy covered in spikes. It amazed me how we could actually be having a conversation in the middle of fighting off a mass of people who was trying their damn best to kill us.

"I can take care of myself!" I took a sucker punch to the stomach. I doubled over, then came up with an uppercut to the jerk-off's chin. "Didn't anyone teach you not to hit girls! I'm telling you, none of y'all have any goddamn home trainin'!"

The fighting raged on and I was getting mighty tired. We were trying to keep repositioning ourselves so that we each could take somewhat of a break, but it wasn't going well. Storm was going from sky to ground, trying to electrocute anyone she could. Scott was trying to stun anyone that got too close to the hospital. We did seem to be making some headway. The crowd was thinning out. We heard Jean through the comm sets, telling us that the surgery was going as well as could be expected. I didn't even know how long we'd been fighting, but I knew that we weren't going to be able to keep this up for four hours, if not more. Just then, I heard Logan yell out. Suddenly he was airborne, being flung through the air. He hit the outside of the hospital with an ear-splitting crack.

"Logan!" I had been fighting with some guy who kept changing his size from anorexic-size to sumo-size. Finally, I just kneed him. It was an easy way to bring down any man, and even though it was fighting dirty, I'd had enough. He went down and I turned to run to Logan.

"Get your man, girl, I gotcha!" Jubilee shouted as she took my place and started setting off sparks with everything she had.

"Logan! Logan, wake up!" I was careful not to touch any exposed skin. I shook him. Nothing. The impact had definitely rang his bell. I heard somebody coming up behind me and I swung around, ready to attack.

"Look who it is, Mystique. Our little sponge. We love what you've done with your hair," they looked at each other and laughed. Yeah, ha ha. "He seems to spend a lot of time unconscious around you."

"I'm gonna drain you so slowly, you're gonna be begging me to kill you." I stood up and walked towards them. Just then, Mystique spun around and her foot connected with my face. It wasn't long enough for me to absorb her. Blue bitch was smiling at me as I regained my composure. I lunged at her, and we were off. Before I knew it, she had me pinned on the ground, my hands useless and restrained to my sides. She licked her lips and smiled.

"Who's your daddy, little girl?" Now that was just uncalled for. Suddenly I became aware of another set of hands on my waist. Before I could even react, I was phasing out of her grip and standing up behind her. I kicked as hard as I could and she was on the ground. I straddled her hips and put my hands on her face.

"Who's your daddy, now." I took just enough to make her pretty useless for awhile and fought the urge to morph into everyone she'd ever become. I stood up and turned to face Kitty. She was smiling in her quiet way.

"Thought you guys could use some help," she said.

"Oh, you don't know. Thanks Kitty. Now, let's get to work." She grabbed my covered wrist and we spun around to see that Magneto had disappeared, but Logan was coming to. I briefly wondered what his angle was. He just walked away. He was doing all of this for a reason, but I couldn't sift through Mystique's memories at the moment to find that reason. I had to check on Logan.

"Logan! You alright?" I yelled as we phased through someone and knocked them down from behind.

"Sure, Kid! Just taking a quick breather," He looked back at the damaged wall. "Damn! That's gonna be expensive to fix. I hope they have insurance." Yep. He was just fine. Smart-ass. I noticed that our attackers were finally falling back, but there was a crowd of civilians forming in their place. Watching the drama unfold. What did they think this was, reality TV? As we started to regroup, I scanned the crowd off to the side and I saw two faces I knew. And then, I knew nothing.

There was lots of talking, a flash of light, and then I heard Logan's voice. I just couldn't understand what he was saying. Up. Kid. Marie. Wake up. Suddenly I sat straight up and my eyes flew open. I was off to the side of the front doors, Logan still shaking me gently.

"Marie, baby. What happened? You went down like a ton of bricks. You alright?" I didn't answer. "Kid! You alright?" I looked at him blankly and shook my head to clear it up.

"Yeah....I think. I just....I thought I saw....," I gave up and decided that laying down was better. Just then, Scott came running over to me and Logan.

"She injured? Rogue, did you get hurt?" I couldn't answer. I just rolled my head back and forth on Logan's arm.

"I don't see any blood, besides a split lip. I think she just....passed out? She said she saw something. She's still out of it." Logan's voice still seemed kinda far away, and I fought the current trying to pull me under. Just then, I realized what I'd seen. I jumped up, nearly knocking Logan over in the process. Not an easy feat when you're talking about a guy laced with a shit-load of metal. He called my name, but I ignored him and ran towards the crowd. I was scanning every face I could. I knew what I saw. I knew who I saw. I had seen my parents. I ran around, trying to catch another glimpse. I felt hands, pulling me back. I fought them and kept looking. Then I saw them.

"Mama, Daddy?" my voice was barely a whisper. Suddenly the hands on my body loosened and I walked numbly towards the two people who had given me life. Everything else went away. I stopped two feet from them. They were behind a sort of make-shift fence.

"Mama, Daddy," apparently that was as far as my vocabulary went. I took a deep breath. "What are you doin' here? Are you alright? This is dangerous. You shouldn't be here." Why did I care? They had kicked me out. My head was a mash-up of swirling thoughts. Both my own and from those who I'd touched. Then, something slid across my mind. Mystique. Magneto's plan. I looked at my parents. "I'll be right back, don't you go anywhere!" I ran to Scott. "Scott! Magneto! He wants to have his own country. A place for only mutants. Basically a cult. He's going to continue to stir up small battles like this to get his way. He's going to convince the government that these things wouldn't happen if there was a place for just mutants to live and rule. That's his plan." I was talking so fast, I wasn't sure if I'd even been speaking English. After dropping that bombshell, I ran back to where my parents had been. They were gone.

"Shit!" I ran into the crowd, yelling for them. As I made it to the back of the crowd, I spotted them walking away from the hospital. "Please! Stop! You came here for a reason." I stopped in front of them and they took a few steps back, my dad holding my mom. They looked so much older. We just stared back at me for what felt like forever. Finally, my dad spoke.

"We thought it was you on the TV. You were protecting the hospital with those other....mutants. I don't know why we came." my father shook his head.

"I can control it, now. I can. I do. Most of the time, I don't even have my skin, well, on. I guess that's the best way to say that. I'm an X-Man. I help people. I'm not evil. I'm not. I love you." I'd never said so much so fast in my life. I was breathing hard. My heart was pounding. I wanted to throw myself into their arms. I waited for them to speak. I waited for them to run away. Finally, my mother burst into tears.

"Marie! My baby girl, I missed you so much. I—I... oh, I love you, too!" She was sobbing, and I became aware of the tears rolling down my cheeks. I mustered up the concentration to switch off my skin and took a step toward them, my hand outreached.

"It's safe, I swear. It's safe." I stepped closer. Just then, my mother flung herself at me. She was holding me so tight, I could barely breathe, but I didn't care. My father came over to join us. I was full out crying now. I knew that they had missed me, I knew that I was going to have my parents back in my life, and I knew it was all gonna be alright. I knew nothing.

I felt the knife go in without realizing it. I stumbled back. I looked at my "parents". My mother had become a man I didn't recognize, and my father started to say something as he walked towards me with a bloody knife in his hand.

"Like, I asked before: Who's your daddy, little girl?" Mystique was standing in front of me. I felt another bolt of pain rip through my stomach, and I realized she'd stabbed me again. I fell. I couldn't even scream. I looked up at her standing above me.

"Don't fuck with me, you life-sucking bitch. Too bad you threw your comm unit. It's gonna be awfully hard to call for help, isn't it? Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. Now, I really need to go.....maybe I'll come dance on your grave. That'd be fun." She slowly walked away. I was laying in an ally, alone. When had we even walked into an ally? The pain was unbearable. I tried to scream. I tried to crawl. Another current was pulling me under. I was helpless to stop it this time.