Y'all know the dilly yo that I don't own Marvel or these characters because my mother just had to give birth to me twenty years after Stan Lee created the X-Men. How is a girl supposed to have a fair chance at owning the X-Men?? Grr…

Author's Note: Yes, it has been awhile, but I'm updating now. Just to let y'all know that I updated The Wedding as well. Please show me you still care about my lil' ol' story by reviewing because I'm thinking that maybe I'm just wasting time on this story of mine. If y'all still care, I promise I'll try to update this baby at least once every two weeks. How about that? But, everyone, read, enjoy and review… and a little preview for the next chapter. Sinister deeds arises... dun dun dun.

Lelann37, Kitsu Lebeau, DreamCatcher89, Smiley Face, loneraven, Boom-Boom13, SickmindedSucker, Star-of-Chaos, enchantedlight, Weapon X 61, skyangle2004, TheRealMai, Rikku Ree, Blacknight369: Hi everyone! Well, I'm back with a brand spanking new chapter for y'all! Honestly, let's get this straight, Remy would never push Scott and Rogue together under any circumstances. He just wouldn't do that. Secondly, Scott's not that creepy. At the end of this chapter, he does something awesome for Rogue in my opinion. Lastly, thank you all for reviewing because you all truly just rock my socks! Much love and chocolate kisses to y'all! This chapter is for all you beautiful people. MUAH!

TheDreamerLady: I can assure you that under no circumstances would Remy purposely put Rogue and Scott together. I just won't allow it. ;P Ivyzoe: LoL, poor everybody is right. Well, perhaps not poor Tabby or Jubes or Amara. But then again, those characters don't really count in this story. And Remy is not a vampire and he never will be. ;p SweetRevenge151: Actually, this chapter and the next one are both the pivotal chapters. Umm.. then again, the chapter after the next is pretty pivotal too. Hmm… just read and you'll get what I mean. ;p psycho88: I hope I didn't leave you hanging on the edge of life too much. Here you go! Continue to live, my dear! Demiducky25: History as a major? History RULES! I love History classes except for all those damn papers. But I digress. LoL, maybe Scott would go lovey-dovey if Wolvie was nice to him… eww… gross thought! Aro: Thanks for reviewing, hon, even if tried to prevent you from doing son. I appreciate it. As for Scott, he's not a stalker or mentally unstable. He's just plain ol' stupid! ;p Pyro Lady: Of course I care if you have a stroke. Please don't have one! Here's another chapter. You're all better now. ;) GreenFairyGirl88: Piotr's family consists of his mom, dad and his little sister Illyana. They all live in Russia. Hope that answers the question for you. ;) ishandahalf: Thanks for always reviewing. I honestly don't know how you do it but it always makes me smile when you do. Muah dearie! Freak87: Well, Scott has never shown any interest in Rogue when she was head over heels for him so I doubt she would think that he would all of a sudden show interest in her now. It just wouldn't make sense to her. That is why she thought it was okay to give him a peck on the cheek. Plus, she's still scared that she'll keep messing up friendships after what happened with Kitty. I like when you review. You rule! Rogue14: Because you requested it, here it is. ;) DemonicGambit: Did I say that someone needs to die? Well… I take that back. Nobody's going to die… actually, nevermind. Forget I ever said anything about dying. Just don't fret. Everything will work out… I think. ;p unforgiven one: Trust me, this story is not going to end for a long long time. ;p Joe: Thanks for your review. It was so sweet. And Scott and Rogue? Why not? They could be cute together. ;p Peace215: Wow, you're still alive! I'm so glad to know that. I really missed reading your reviews since you leave such insightful ones. hugs Seriously, you are my favorite reviewer ;P

On with the story…

Red.

That was the only colour he ever saw.

It didn't matter if the sky was the most vibrant blue, or if the sun was the brightest yellow or even the most dazzling jade of a pretty girl's eyes, they were all red to him. The only difference that separated each of these colours were the shading of that red.

Right now, the blood dripping from her lips were the deepest red he had ever seen.

"Rogue? Are you okay? What did he do to you?" Scott asked worriedly while he reached his hands out to her bloody lips. A single drop fell onto his finger before she realized what had just happened. Instantly, she ran to the unconscious Gambit, leaving a trail of blood.

"Remy? Oh gawd… REMY! Are ya okay?? Sugah, speak to me!" Rogue cried frantically as she patted his cheeks softly in an attempt to stir him.

"Rogue! Are you okay?" Scott queried from behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She pulled her shoulder away and turned to him, a fierce glower on her face. "What the hell did ya do to him??" She yelled at him vehemently.

"I… he was hurting you. Your lips, they're bleeding." Scott managed to spit out but was still shaken by her vicious reaction to him. He was only trying to help her. He was only doing the right thing. She had no right to be angry with him. He had saved her from Gambit. Scott slowly became more resentful the more he reasoned with himself.

"What the hell did he do to you anyway?? What are you two keeping from us? How did he do that to you? Why did he do that to you? You owe me answers!" Scott shouted demandingly.

"Alright, what the fuck happened here?" Logan said as he charged into the room. He knelt down beside Rogue and hovered over the still unconscious Remy. Logan looked at Rogue for an explanation, and she stated venomously, "Cyke, here, used his optic blast at full on Remy."

"He was hurting her! Look at her lips, Wolverine." Scott responded angrily.

"Cool it, Slim." Logan ordered as he turned his attention back to Rogue, and noticed that her lips were still bleeding. "Darlin', how did that happened? What did the Cajun do?" He asked calmly, an unusual trait coming from him and one that he was attempting extremely hard to master at the moment.

"He… he was… it doesn't matter! Here." Rogue said and with a finger, touched Logan's cheek. A flash of shock mixed with pain passed through him, but it only lasted for a second. When Rogue pulled her finger back, her lips began to heal rapidly until the wounds closed up completely.

"Ah'm fine now." She said uncaringly and adverted her attention back to Remy. Her hand glazed his cheeks as she said, "Remy. Wake up, Sugah. Please."

Remy's eyes flickered a few times, and he released a moan. He slowly came to consciousness but and asked slowly. "What happened, chere?"

"You were making her bleed. That's what happened!" Scott answered for her.

"Shut up, Scott!" Rogue bellowed furiously at him.

"Did… did…I hurt y' again?" Remy questioned lethargically as he processed Scott's words.

"No… Ah'm okay." She lied and her eyes shifted away from him while she said those words.

"Your blood is all around, Rogue. Don't bother lying." Scott stated antagonistically.

"Ah told ya to SHUT UP!" She yelled at him again. As she did that, Remy looked at the bloodstain right in front of Rogue and knew that Scott was telling the truth. Suddenly, he felt sick to his stomach for what he did to the one person he loved with every fiber of his body. The feeling wouldn't last long, however, since the familiar burning sensation returned and it wasn't only in his hands – it spread to his entire body.

"Rogue, get your hands off me!!" He ordered her.

"Remy…why… AHHH!" She screamed and pulled her hand away from his face. Her palm was completely red and felt like it was on fire, and yet, she ignored the pain and turned her attention back to Remy. He screamed in anguish as every article of clothing on him was turning a bright inevitably explosive pink.

"What the fuck is going on?" Logan cried, unsheathed his claws and cut off all of Remy's clothing. Rogue immediately joined in, and started stripping the clothing off Remy. As they threw the pieces of clothing up into the air, explosions after explosions occurred sequentially, sounding almost like some sort of modern day symphony.

Remy was still screaming in pain, and Scott acting decisively blasted at Remy again, which rendered him unconscious. The few tatter pieces of clothing still on Remy lost the glow. Without a second thought, Logan lifted Remy, threw him over his shoulder and headed towards the Medical Lab where questions had a better chance of getting answered. Rogue followed close behind and within seconds, the only one left in the room was Scott.

And all he saw was red.

-xoxo-

"Dr. McCoy, is he going to be okay?" Rogue asked worriedly while she intently watched Remy sleep with different tubes and lines coming out of him.

"I can't give you a definite answer until we know what is going on with his powers. You said he charged your lips and your hand, and this wasn't the first time?" Hank inquired.

"Yeah." She answered simply.

"Why didn't you inform us of this before, Rogue?" Professor Xavier queried.

"Ah… it just happened once before. Ah didn't think it was gonna happen again and he had those pills." Rogue replied, slightly ashamed for keeping that detail out which turned out to be a rather important detail.

"Those pills aren't working. It only caused him to be dependent on them. I told him that he had to quit using them and we have to find another solution to his problem." Hank commented.

"What? He didn't tell me. But…they do work." Rogue stated, confused at the revelation.

"No, Rogue. They have absolutely no effect on his X-genes. However, they do seem to contain some sort of addictive chemical that has caused Gambit to become wholly dependent on them. The first thing we have to do is get him off the pills." Hank instructed firmly.

"But… all those times when his powers went berserk, he'd take a pill and then he'll be fine for a while. They must have worked. They have to work." She insisted desperately now that she realized there might not be a simple solution to Remy's problem.

"I sincerely apologize, Rogue, but those pills are causing him more harm than good." Hank said sympathetically.

"Rogue, you have to understand we aren't even sure where he obtained these pills. They're most likely not the same medication he was on when under the service of Dr. Essex." Professor Xavier began but was cut off.

"Non. Dey are. I know dey are." Remy said defiantly, though with large gasps of air.

"Remy, you're okay. Thank gawd you're okay." Rogue said with relief and leaned in to give him a slow soft kiss. When she pulled back, he gave her a small smile and said in a whisper, "Are y' okay?"

"Yeah, ah'm fine. Ah'm fine now that you're back wit' me." She replied softly.

"I'm sorry, chere. I'm so sorry." He murmured and struggled to lift a hand to her cheek. He didn't struggle for long since Rogue took his hand and placed it against her cheek.

"See… you're not hurtin' me, so there ain't anything for ya to be sorry for." She assured him and kissed his thumb lightly.

He merely nodded in agreement despite the fact that he knew she was lying. The image of the bloodstain was still vivid in his mind and he turned his head away from her.

"Remy, I'm glad you're with us once again." Professor Xavier welcomed.

"I need de pills." Remy responded steadfastly.

"Actually, I think it's time we know the truth." Professor Xavier suggested instead.

-xoxo-

"Can you believe it?" Jubilee asked excitedly.

"No way! Are you sure?" Amara questioned skeptically.

"Trust me! I know what we both saw and that was a half-naked Gambit on Wolverine's shoulder with Rogue trailing behind." Tabitha reassured with a smug smirk on her face since she and Jubilee were the first to witness such an event. Well, the first outsiders that was.

"I don't know… I'm still doubtful." Amara said slowly.

"Fine. Don't believe us. You'll know soon enough that we're right." Tabitha stated nonchalantly.

"Yeah…in the meantime, did you see his butt, Tabby? He is so hot even when passed out!" Jubilee gushed.

"Totally. He's got one fine ass. Too bad his boxers weren't torn off." Tabitha commented and the two girls giggled at the thought. Amara rolled her eyes and mentioned, "Aren't you two forgetting about the fact that you both have boyfriends?"

"Geez, lighten up, Amara. It's not like Bobby doesn't check out Jean's ass during training sessions." Jubilee shrugged.

"Yeah, and Pietro is always checking out girls. It's only fair that I get to check out guys." Tabitha reasoned.

"It's not a crime, Amara. We're only looking. And we see how you're always checking out Scott during training sessions. Do you think Roberto would mind?" Jubilee pointed out.

A pink blush appeared on Amara's cheeks as she huffed, "Fine. Whatever. But what do you guys think is really happening with Gambit? Sounds like it's serious."

"Gambit? What are you talking about?" A deep voice inquired from the doorway. They turned their heads and found themselves staring at a colossal man.

"Oh… Piotr, right?" Amara began.

"Yes. I'm sorry, I do not know your names yet." Piotr replied apologetically.

"It's fine. There's so many of us and you're new, it's completely understandable. But I'm Amara and the blonde one is Tabitha and the Asian one is Jubilee." She introduced them. The other two girls welcomed the new recruit with a bright beaming smile.

"Nice to meet you, Amara, Tabitha and Jubilee. Umm…if you don't mind, what were you saying about Gambit?" Piotr queried politely.

"Ohh… right. Gambit. Well, actually, I'm not sure if this is true but…"

"Hush, Amara. You know we're right. Stop being so proper. Anyway, Pete, we saw Gambit being dragged down to the medical lab. It was pretty bad." Tabitha said openly and without any hesitation.

"Medical lab? Where is that?" He asked while becoming worried over his former teammate.

"Down the stairs, turn right, then turn left towards the elevator and pressed M." Tabitha instructed.

"Thank you." Piotr said and headed on his way.

"Man… he was hot too! I love this place!" Tabitha stated immediately.

"Mmmhmm." Jubilee murmured contentedly.

-xoxo-

"Okay, she said turn right or was it turn left?" Piotr asked himself as he tried to recall the exact directions. He had managed to get down the stairs but immediately forgot which direction he was supposed to turn. He decided to take a chance and turned left.

A few minutes later, he found himself in the kitchen and definitely not where he had intended to go. He spotted a tiny girl with her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, and dressed in a dark navy sweater and a pair of black sweatpants. She was immersed with writing in what appeared to be a journal.

"Hi." He greeted warmly.

She lifted her head up, looked at him blankly and instinctively mumbled, "Hi." Then, she cast her eyes back to the open pages of her journal and continued writing. Piotr, however, assumed that it was alright to join her at the table and sat directly across from her. Again, she lifted her eyes to meet his but this time with annoyance.

"Is there something I can help you with?" She queried rather impatiently.

"My name is Piotr. You are Katya?" He introduced himself with a smile on his face.

"The name's Kitty and I know who you are." She snapped at him involuntarily. As soon as the words tumbled out her mouth, she regretted it. Yet, she wasn't about to apologize for it either. Over the past year, she had built up such an antagonistic attitude that she had become inept to apologizing for her often hostile attitude. She had reasoned that with all the bad that were going on in her life, she didn't need to apologize to anyone about anything.

Piotr didn't cringe a bit from her harsh manner. Instead, he merely observed her as he tried to recall where he had remembered her from. The dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and those sad hazel eyes… and then he remembered. She was the girl from the day Magneto exposed the mutant race to the world. But, he recalled that she was a much happier girl back then. Even when that day was of extreme disasters, he still remembered that glimpse of hope in her eyes. However, looking at her now, he could see that all hope had vanished from her.

"Well, are you going to answer me or what?" She asked, still resentful of his intrusion on her privacy.

"I'm sorry for imposing on you like this, but where is the Medical Lab?" He questioned slowly.

"Go down the hall until you hit the elevator on your left and hit the M button." She instructed quickly.

"Thank you." He said and stood up to proceed on his way.

"Why do you need to go down there anyway?" Kitty asked boldly, her curiosity winning over her desire to remain indifferent.

"Gambit is in trouble. Perhaps you would like to come to. You are friends with Rogue?" He suggested.

"She's no friend of mine." She stated bitterly, slammed her journal shut and stood up.

"But you will come?" He queried.

"No. I'm going to go find a quiet place to be alone. I don't want anyone else intruding on me." She responded curtly.

"Alright. It was nice meeting you, Katya." Piotr said after Kitty who was already heading out the back door. She turned around for a brief moment, and he expected her to reprimand him for calling her 'Katya' again. Instead, her face became soft for a split second as she said, "Tell Gambit I hope he gets better soon."

Piotr nodded in agreement, and Kitty was out the door.

-xoxo-

The abhorrent white light bore down on the desolate hallway. The air was chilly at best and the bleak silver walls reminded her of everything she hated about the Institute. Never once had she thought the Institute provided any warmth to her. The most it ever did was it gave her shelter but that was just barely one step up from living on the streets or at the Brotherhood House. The only one who ever showed her what it was like to be a part of something greater than anything she ever thought possible was losing all stability in his life and she could not stop any of it. Even worse, she was of absolute no use to him at the moment and that was why she sat on an old wooden chair right outside his door.

How things had gotten this bad, she had no idea. But, she was mentally strained and emotionally tired and she just wanted it to end. She wanted him to be better. She wanted them to be back in their tiny apartment in the heart of the Big Apple. She wanted to go back to her job. She wanted to spend her Sunday afternoons in his arms without a care in the world. She wanted to be in a normal relationship with him again. Most importantly, she wanted all the responsibilities of being a mutant over and done with.

However, with a name like 'Rogue', nothing should be expected to be easy.

"How is he?" A low warm voice asked.

She looked up into the gentle eyes of a giant. "He's… Ah don't know." She admitted honestly.

"What happened?" Piotr asked calmly.

"He just…Ah'm not even sure what happened. Ah don't know what's going on. Ah don't know if he'll get better. Ah'm sorry ah just don't know anything for sure anymore." Rogue spilled emotionally as the situation finally became real to her. Piotr placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"You'll know soon enough." He said softly.

No more words were exchanged after that, and the two merely waited in silence.

On the other side of the door, a frustrated Remy was immobile in his bed. Beside him sat the man responsible for his stationary position.

"Y' can't do dis t'me." Remy barked at the man.

"If you will only follow the procedure, Gambit, I would not have to resort to such means." A patient Professor Xavier responded.

"I already said y' can't go into my head, m'sier. Now, let me go!" Remy demanded as he attempted to turn his body but to no avail.

"Do you care to possess the skill of controlling your mutant abilities once again, Gambit?" Professor Xavier queried calmly.

"I do have dem under control. Don' worry about me. I know where t'get more of dose pills. I'm very much in control." Remy scowled through clenched teeth.

"You are not my first concern at the moment, Gambit. Rogue is." Professor Xavier stated directly.

"Ohh…" Remy mumbled and stopped struggling within the mental grasp Xavier had over him.

"Now, will you listen to reason?" Professor Xavier queried, still ever so composed. Remy looked at the older man, but didn't reply and that was a good enough 'yes' for Xavier.

"Good. Like I have said before, those pills you are taking do not help control your powers at all. You have merely become addicted to them. Apologetically, Hank and I have been unable to find a solution to your dilemma. However, I do strongly believe the answer lies within your mind and that is why this probe is necessary. You must allow me to enter your mind and sift through the memories of when you were under the service of this Dr. Essex. Hopefully, I will be able to decipher the method which he used to aid you in maintaining the control of your powers the first time around." Professor Xavier explained.

With only the thought of Rogue's well-being in mind, Remy stared up at the ceiling and muttered, "Get on wit' it."

At once, Professor Xavier linked their minds and entered Remy's head. He sifted through the recent years until he reached a sixteen year-old Remy in a dark alley where the only light provided was from his own involuntary charging of a can. Remy threw the can up and it exploded at once. Xavier watched him as he cursed violently before creeping up the fire escape stairwell of an old brick building. He followed the young Remy up the stairs and observed through the open window of which Remy had entered. He saw Remy take several strands of hair off the sleeping occupants of the apartment and then, watched him leave the premise immediately.

Xavier continued to observe Remy's memory and noted the several trash cans, telephone poles and bus stop signs that Remy would charge along the way back to what Xavier could only assume as the laboratory of Dr. Essex. Xavier also noted that each item that Remy had charged were completely out of his control.

When Remy turned onto an empty street situated right next to the waterfront, Xavier saw that he had removed the covering of a sewer. Following him down there, Xavier realized that the covering did not actually lead to the city sewer. Instead, it led to an underground stairwell that went into a tunnel. Xavier followed Remy down the long tunnel which led into another stairwell that went up into a dark building. Remy entered the building quickly and Xavier was right behind him.

"Je suis desole. Je suis desole." Remy mumbled repeatedly as his pace slowed down. Xavier could sense the remorse and the desperation that was building up in Remy, but he wouldn't know what was behind those emotions until a few moments later.

His hand trembled slightly as he reached for the doorknob and his trepidation increased dramatically. With one deep breath, Remy opened the door and he cringed with pain as did Xavier.

Suddenly, Xavier was violently thrown out of the memory as walls after walls crashed down around Remy's mind. The link was broken and Xavier flashed his eyes opened. Remy screamed in anguish as the recollections he had spent so hard burying, resurfaced in his mind. Professor Xavier immediately, subdued Remy by placing false soothing emotions in him. He calmed down, though beads of sweat still perspired at his temples and forehead.

Remy turned his head slowly to face the Professor. Disappointment mixed with regret was in his intense red eyes as he said, "I'm sorry, I can't let y' see anymore."

"I understand." Professor Xavier replied calmly.

"Please don't tell Rogue." Remy requested simply.

Charles Xavier merely nodded.

-xoxo-

Freshly showered and wearing his favorite shirt, she walked down the cold steel corridor. When his room was in sight, there was already a visitor standing at his doorway.

"What the hell are ya doin' down here?" She cried, her anger returning.

"I… I've come to…"

"What? Ya came t' blast him again, Scott?" She said bitterly.

"No. I came to apologize for it." Scott replied softly.

"Bullshit. What's your real motive?" Rogue queried, crossed her arms and passed a menacingly look at the X-leader.

"What did you expect me to do, Rogue? He was hurting you! My first instinct is and always will be to protect the one in harm's way." He snapped at her, suddenly becoming livid at her desire to pass blame on him.

"Well… ya should have… ya should…" Rogue stammered.

"Should have what? Should have waited until you were dead and then do something? Should have waited until your mouth was blown off before I do something? Rogue, I protect the people I care about and under no circumstances would I stand around and watch someone I care about get hurt." He stated firmly.

"Oh gawd…ah don't know what's wrong wit' me," Rogue began, her tone much softer. "Ah'm sorry, Scott. Ah'm sorry for snapping at ya and ah know ya just care about me as a friend. It's just that ah've been under so much stressed these past few days and Remy keeps slipping in and out of consciousness. It's just been tiring, but ah shouldn't have accused ya like that. Ah know ya were just tryin' t'help." Rogue apologized as all sense and reason came back to her.

For the past few days, she had been sitting beside Remy, waiting for him to wake. The times that he did, it would last fifteen minutes before he started involuntarily charging things, and Hank would then have to inject a sedative in him. It seemed that the only time Remy could control his power was when he was cataleptic. For Rogue, it was becoming harder every day to simply watch Remy in his comatose state especially when she knew that was the only way to prevent his powers from going out of control.

"Hey, it's fine. I understand. For what it's worth, I am truly sorry for what happened." Scott replied calmly.

"Yeah, me too. C'mon, let's go in. Maybe he's awake." Rogue stated and opened the door. Remy, however, was in a deep slumber and a sigh of disappointment left Rogue's dry pink lips.

"Oh well. Maybe another time." Rogue shrugged and took a seat next to Remy. Scott remained leaning against the doorway, observing the patient intently.

And then he noticed it.

The IV attached to Remy's wrist started to glow a light red.

"Rogue! Pull the IV out of him!" Scott yelled at her.

She looked at him with confusion and then, looked down at Remy's IV line and the whole thing turned a bright explosive pink. She immediately yanked the IV out of his wrist and Scott pulled the already pink blanket off of Remy. However, Remy's hospitable clothes were already on the verge of explosion.

"REMY! OH MY GAWD! REMY!" Rogue screamed as she attempted to pull the clothes off of him. Scott, however, merely pushed Remy off the bed and onto the floor before he grabbed Rogue and shield her from the explosion.

As soon as the explosion went off, Rogue ran out of Scott's arms immediately and ran towards the burned Remy. He had burns all over his body and still was rendered unconscious. Yet, the part of the floor he was lying naked on was beginning to turn a bright pink and she dragged him away from the area. Scott helped her and despite the fact that Remy's was involuntarily charging their hands somehow, they managed to pull him out into the steel hallway where Professsor Xavier, Hank and Logan were already there. With a healing factor and the best chance of survival, Logan lifted Remy and turned to Xavier for instructions.

"He has to be quarantined."

-------------------------------------