Gambit looked down at Rogue. She lay on the bed resting. He smiled. She looked so peaceful. He brushed a strand of hair from her face. She was so beautiful. His eyes glazed over as he remembered one of the times they'd spent together. "Remy, sugah?" Rogue said peering into his room. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a green sweater.

Rogue smiled. Remy couldn't help but smile back. He loved her smile.

Remy's mind snapped back into reality when he heard the door open with the usual Swoosh. He turned to see Sinister. He held some mugs in one hand and a batch of papers in the other. Gambit scowled and turned away. He looked back down at Rogue remembering where he was and why she was here. "What can I help y' wit' mon ami," Gambit said with some edge on his voice. "Y'figure a new way t'mess up my life."

"Here," Sinister said pushing a mug his way. "Since you're worried about Rogue and Rashelle I'll act as though I never heard that."

Gambit took the mug and sniffed it. Didn't smell like he had put anything in to it. "Do you actually believe I would do something to you before you get my job done Le Beau?" Sinister said eyeing him.

Remy shrugged and sipped the cocoa. Sinister handed him the papers. "These are the plans of the MRC building," he said. "I suggest you study them carefully. There are a couple ways to get in. I'll let you decide which is best."

Gambit nodded and finished off the drink. He placed the drink on the table. As he reached for the papers his head began to feel fuzzy. He looked at Rogue and then at Sinister. He was smiling. "You bast . . ."Remy said as he lost consciousness.

Sinister smiled. This was all too easy.

Jon ran down the street capped in the darkness. Not even the moon was out tonight. He turned down one of the side rodes and into an alley. No, he thought desperately. She's not here. Where the hell is she.

Jon sifted through the trash that lay all over the ground. She was no where in sight. NO! Damn it where are you? You can't escape me Rashelle. I will find you again.

He ran out of the alley and down the street.

X-Mansion

Jean Grey Summers walked into the room. The young girl they had found last night lay on one of the hospital beds. Her body was connected to so many tubes and machines. Jean sat down and carefully covered her up. Who did this to you? Jean thought brushing the young girls hair from her face. Jean turned to see Beast in the doorway. "Will she make it?" she asked.

"I don't know Jean. She was hurt pretty badly. Concussion, broken rib, vertebrae, some internal bleeding, both legs shattered, etcetera," he said. "All we can do is wait and see."

Jean nodded. He walked out of the room. Who are you? she thought. Jean rose and walked out of the infirmary to the kitchen. Storm was in it getting some tea. "Hello Jean. How is she?" Storm asked.

"I'm not sure Ororo," Jean said filling a mug up with the tea. "How's the search for Gambit and Rogue going?"

"No leads. It's as though they just . . . disappeared. Cerebro can't even find them," Storm said looking out the window. "It's not like Gambit not to at least call me. I am worried Jean. I do not know what to do?"

"We'll find them," Jean said.

"I know we will my friend. I just hope when we do it's not to late," Storm said.

Jean nodded.

Switchback materialized by Rashelle's bed. She looked down at her friend and sighed. "I'm in sir," she said into the intercom.

"You know what to do," Sinister's voice said over the link.

"Is this the only way sir," she said. "There must be another way."

"If she awakes in the mansion they'll know where the base is. Obey my orders Haley."

"Yes sir."

Jean walked through the infirmary's doors. The girl's eyes were open. Jean dropped the cup of tea she had and ran over. She hears the girl saying something. She strained her ears. "Remy, remy," the young girl said.

"Remy," Jean said. "What about Remy?"

"Remy . . . Sinister did it, not the Thunderbirds . . . Remy I'm sorry, so sorr--" the girl said.

Jean looked at the young girl intently. "Sinister," Jean said. "What about Sinister?" Suddenly the girl began to shake violently and her heart began racing. BEAST!!!

The doors to the infirmary flew open and Jean saw a blue haze run through them. She stepped back to give Beast room but heard the heart beat stop all together. Beast hunched over and sighed. "Time of death 6:17 am," he said.

"Any idea what happened?" Jean asked.

"She possibly went into cardiac arrest. I'll have to do an autopsy to find out. What's wrong Jean?" Beast said.

"Her last words were about Gambit and Sinister," Jean said. "I better tell the Professor. Do you think Sinister has Rogue?"

"I hope not," Beast said covering the body with the sheets. Jean walked out of the room towards the Professors office. Beast rolled the bed towards his laboratory to do an autopsy.

Switchback re-materialized by where the bed was a needle in her hand. I'm sorry Shelley. Sinister told me to. At least he can never hurt you again. Please forgive me. She looked around the room and went over to the table with the computer. She slipped in a disk and opened up files under LEGACY VIRUS RESEARCH. She copied them onto the disk and then deleted the files. She was about to open the MUTANT GENETICS FILE when she heard a noise. She ejected the disk and disappeared.

Beast walked back in and grabbed some tools from one of his cabinets. He looked at his computer screen and closed the file and turned it off. Have to remember to stop staying up so late working on this. Keep forgetting to turn the computer off.

SINISTER'S BASE

Sinister walked into the laboratory and smiled. Rogue laid on one table and Gambit on another. He'd done dozens of in vitro fertilizations before but they were always just experiments, playing around with DNA. Few ever actually worked. This one, however, had to work. Of course he could always let nature take its course but with these two it could take years. It would. He was picked up the scalpel and walked over to Rogue. He was about to cut when he heard the door open. He turned. Switchback stood there.

"I obeyed your orders sir. Shelley's dead," she said. "I have the information you required from McCoy's lab."

"Good. Put it onto the table," Sinister said turning back to Rogue.

"Sir?" she said.

"Yes Haley," he said.

"Do you have need of my services?" she asked.

"Not now. Bring a comlink with you," he said.

"Yes sir," she said and disappeared.

Sinister set aside the scalpel and picked up a needle. He stuck it into one of Rogue's ovaries and began removing some of her eggs. He did it carefully but in a hurry. She couldn't loose too much blood. After all if she died he'd loose his bargaining chip.

"What do you mean she said something about Gambit and Sinister!?!" Cyclops yelled. "To think we've been letting him stay here. Excepting him and he's been in league with Sinister this whole time."

"We do not know that Remy is in 'league' with Sinister Scott," Jean said. "All I know is that she talked about both of them. Maybe the girl knew Remy and Sinister. . . perhaps Sinister needed Remy to 'steel' something for him."

"Maybe. What do you think Professor?" Cyclops said.

"Perhaps. But we do not know and even if we did we don't know where they are," Xavier said.

"Then what do we do Charles. Remy is my friend. Rogue is like a sister to me. We can not just abandon them," Storm said. "By the goddess I'll go and look for them on my own."

"Do not worry Storm. I believe I know what Sinister might be after," Xavier said. He turned his wheelchair towards the computer screens. The MRC building popped up. "This is a government mutant research facility. Not many know of it because of the type of research. Hank and I have been there dealing with theories on the legacy virus and mutant genetics. Dr. Burnam was one of their finest scientists. He has research that would be quite valuable to any geneticist." <

"It's about Haley," he said.

Mrs. Carlton looked at him and her face went a ghostly white. "Haley?" she whispered. "Have you found her?"

"No. I wish I had. I know how much pressure you've been under since Andrew's death but I need to ask you about the night she disappeared," he said.

Dead. Dad. No. He can't be. Switchback fell to the floor making the vase on the table beside her fall over.

Xavier and Mrs. Carlton turned and saw her lying on the floor. "Haley," Mrs. Carlton said. "Haley!"

Switchback's head snapped up. Shit they weren't suppose to see me. Have to go. She ran towards the door.

Haley, she heard in her mind. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to face Xavier.

"Leave me alone. I have to go. I shouldn't be here," she said.

"Haley, why?" her mother said. "Please don't leave again."

"I have to," she said.

"No you don't Haley," Xavier began.

"Yes I do. Sinister'll have my head when he finds out I came here," she said to Xavier. "I love you mom." She said to her mother and then disappeared.

Haley! Haley!

Leave me alone Uncle Chuck. You don't know what I've done. What I've become. I can never come home. Never. I was stupid to even try.

Haley he projected but he could no longer feel her mind.

Sinister stitched up Rogue's stomach and smiled. He heard the door open. "Aw your back," he said. "Help me bring these two back to Rogue's room."

"Yes sir," Jon said.

"I take it you didn't find Rashelle," Sinister said.

"No," he said picking up Rogue. "What did you do to them?"

"Well it seems there will be a miniature Remy and Rogue in about nine months," Sinister said.

Jon held in a laugh. Gambit a father. He couldn't see it. Sinister picked up Gambit and the two headed down the hallway. He saw Switchback come in one of the entrances. She was crying. "You looked in on your parents?" Sinister said.

She nodded. "Did I not tell you to stay away from there," Sinister said.

"I'm sorry sir. It'll never happen again," she said.

"See that it doesn't," he said. He watched her leave for her room.

"Do you need her taken care of sir," Jon asked.

"No," Sinister said placing Gambit on the bed beside Rogue. "I have need of her services still." He reached into his pocket and took out a needle. "You however are a different matter." He stuck the needle into Jon's neck. Jon fell to the floor trying to breath. "Aw Jon. You almost cost me my bases location. Don't worry I won't dispose of you. You'll make a terrific specimen."

Jon tried to grab for a weapon but was soon unconscious.

Remy awoke with a start. Sinister, he thought. He looked down and saw Rogue lying beside him. She was okay. She shifted her weight closer to him. He held her close. If we both be fine den why'd he drug me? He brushed her hair from her face and picked the plans of the MRC building. I better get dis over wit' and get her safe before he has time to do any thin'. Rogue groaned and moved closer. He pulled her close so her head rested on his shoulder and sat up slightly to read over the plans.

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