HAHAHA! It's a freakin' miracle! I finally updated Two Weeks, and I hope you people all like it.

Sorry it took me so long, but hey, I TOLD you that if I didn't get many reviews I wouldn't update it for a long time. So I hope I can at least get 20 responses for this story/chapter or it might take me even longer to write the next chapter.

I would say this chapter is PG-13 for strong language, but there isn't much violence in this one.

I'm still going to write the NC-17 chapters, but I will only send them to those who let me know that they want to read them in an e-mail.

Let me know what you think!

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Day Three

X-Mansion: War Room

11:00 a.m.

The X-men were all in uniform and gathered around the war-room table. Jean and Scott stood at the front, addressing the team. Beast stood to the side in his lab coat, holding a file. Jean spoke first, "Okay, we haven't gotten much, but it's a start. I got a trace of Rogue, but there was some kind of psychic shield keeping us from finding her exact location. I reached her for a moment, when a type of telepathic guard attacked me. We know that she's still in the United States and that she's in the South-East, but that's all we know for now."

Scott picked up after Jean, "I made a few calls and found out that the helicopter that crashed in the yard is an old Vietnam medical chopper. There were hundreds made in the 1960's, but the government traded them in for a new model. We're waiting for a call back from President Kelly, he's going to pull some strings and find out who owns this particular model. Beast did some lab tests on that blue liquid you found Gambit, and well, go for it Hank."

Scott stepped aside and Beast dropped the file on the table and took out a few papers. "After extensive research, I have discovered that this liquid is a powerful sedative, mixed with natural herbs and chemicals. Any common scientist or even a drug dealer could create most of this concoction, however, the herbs and chemicals alone do not produce such a strong effect. I believe I have created the correct dosage for a demonstration, and I've already tested the formula on a few mice. Logan, would you please help me with this?"

Logan reluctantly stepped forward with a sigh and stood in front of Beast. Beast continued, "Now, this tube contains 20 ml of the herbs and chemicals used in the sedative. Logan, with your permission, I'd like to inject you with the formula." Logan nodded and pulled off his glove to reveal the vein in his wrist. Hank injected Logan with the substance carefully. Logan stood for a few seconds while everyone watched him expectantly.

"So, that's it, just a buzz? I barely felt a thing." Logan shifted his weight in disgust. Beast turned back to the rest of the team, "Now, this next needle is merely laced with the chemical that I've extracted from the original syringe. Logan?" Logan extended his finger, expecting the same results as the tube before.

As Beast pricked Wolverine's finger, the X-Man stood for a second, and then collapsed to the floor. The team rushed to his aide, but the man was out cold. "He should return to normal in," Beast looked at his watch and counted down. "5…4…3…2…1" Logan's eyes fluttered open slowly and he attempted to stand. Unsteady, he began to topple, but Morph quickly supported his friend.

Logan looked at Hank in amazement. "What the hell was in that? It knocked me out cold, and the room's still spinnin'."

Beast put a translucent sheet on the table, "The chemical I found in that syringe is unlike any I've seen before. However, while I was conducting my experiments, I stumbled upon something rather unbelievable. I was in my lab and…" Beast was cut off by Gambit, who was standing in the corner.

"Pardon, mon amie, but Rogue could be in some bad trouble righ' now, so could you jus' tell us what it is?" Gambit's eyes were dark with hatred for the people who had taken Rogue, and also with worry for his love's safety.

Beast nodded in understanding and moved ahead, "I discovered that the chemical contains mutant DNA. I believe that it was extracted from a mutant and used in the sedative. In high doses, this chemical has the potential to kill." Beast looked over at Logan who was shaking his hand around and extending and retracting his claws.

Beast went on, "The syringe found in Rogue's room contained an anesthetic commonly used for medical procedures, and can leave the body almost totally numb. By calculating the water to chemical ratio, Rogue's height and weight, and the approximate amount of formula in the syringe, I predict that Rogue should have recovered from the sedative yesterday, which is when Jean picked her up with Cerebra."

Scott took command once more, "We still don't know much, but we do know that these people operate with a very high level of proficiency, and that they have enough money to buy a few army helicopters. Put it together and we're looking at a very covert and probably very large organization. We have to be ready for anything people, I have a feeling that these guys are going to be a real challenge."

Jubilee stood from her seat and posed the question, "But what do the want with Rogue? Out of everyone that was here that day the only person they grabbed was Rogue? Does that seem strange to anyone else?"

Scott spoke again, "Jean and I are starting a list of all of our most formidable enemies, and anyone who may have some bad blood with Rogue. Gambit, we'll need your help the most with this one, you knew her the best."

"She ain't dead Cyke, and I'd 'preciate if you didn't talk like she is." Gambit's eyes flashed in anger, and he stormed out of the room. Ororo tried to follow the Cajun, but Magneto held her back. "Let him be. He needs time alone now." The X-Men stared after their tormented teammate in silence.

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Day Three

Location Unknown

Rogue awoke with a soft groan. Clenching her eyes against the onslaught of light, she tried to focus on the pain shooting through her head. She lifted her hand and rubbed her face before resting her forearm over her bleary eyes.

"Hey, you awake finally?" A female voice filtered through the fog and Rogue started suddenly before collapsing back onto a very hard and uncomfortable cot.

"Whoa there gal. You ain't in any shape to be movin' around too much right now. You still gotta recover a bit." The woman had a slight accent, but Rogue couldn't quite place it.

The X-Man turned her head toward the voice and cracked one eye slightly. Her vision was blurry, but Rogue was able to make out a mane of black curly hair and a soft smile. "Wh..?" she started, but the question was cut off by a round of coughs that came on unexpectedly.

"Here, drink this." The woman brought an arm under Rogue's shoulders and used the other hand to hold a cup to Rogue's lips. Rogue sipped the bittersweet liquid momentarily, but the taste proved too much for her and she pushed it away clumsily.

The woman spoke again while trying to coax the southerner into another drink. "Look, I know it's bad, but it will help with the headache and'll get you back on your feet faster."

With a sigh, Rogue gulped down the rest of the glass. When she was finished, the stranger lowered her back down to the bed. Rogue closed her eyes as she felt the pounding in her head start to subside. As the liquid coursed through her veins, Rogue felt the tension and pain in her body melting magically away.

Sitting up with a bit of help from the woman, Rogue leaned back against a rough cement wall as she inspected her surroundings. It was clear by the bars in front of her that she was in some sort of cell. The back wall was solid concrete while the other two walls on either side were different from the first only because of the makeshift windows that were also covered in steel bars.

The only furniture in the cell was a small cot, which was pushed up against the side wall with the head of the bed against the back wall and a small bucket that continued to mystify the southerner.

The X-Man started to turn her head to gaze at the other woman, but as she did so, severe pain shot up through her spine and into her head, making Rogue groan and lean back against the wall.

Rogue lifted her arm and reached for the back of her head where the intense pain had originated just moments before. As she cautiously placed her fingers against the base of her skull, Rogue felt clumps of something in her hair, as well as a sticky, wet substance. She pulled her hand back up to her face to inspect the strange matter and her blood ran cold to find her fingers soaked in crimson blood.

Rogue bolted up quickly and put both hands to the back of her skull, trying to find the source of the blood. She immediately touched upon a lump near the base of her skull, followed by what she presumed to be a recently closed incision.

Rogue had nearly forgotten about the strange woman until a hand gently touched her arm.

"It'd be best if ya didn't touch it. If the wound gets infected it could be fatal." The woman had kneeled down next to Rogue and was reaching for a washcloth with her free hand. Rogue stared at the woman, ready to fly into a barrage of angry questions when she was stopped by the tender look on the woman's face.

The strange woman had a soft, sweet looking face that was set off by beautiful black curls and startling red eyes. Eyes, Rogue thought with dismay, that looked much like Remy's.

Rogue's thoughts and observations were soon interrupted though, by a male voice that wished to contribute to the woman's tale.

"Yep, I was here the last time it happened. Stupid kid wouldn't stop touchin' the damn thing and he got it all infected. There was this green puss oozing outta his skull and drainin' down the back of his neck. Then these little green lines started poppin' up on his neck and face and they ran all the way down to his heart 'fore it killed him dead."

As Rogue looked up, she spied the man leaning his head through the bars slightly as he looked down on the two women.

"Dougie, will you just shut the fuck up for once in your worthless life?" The woman stood up and put her hands on her hips, trying to look as imposing as possible. "You're always tryin' make things worse and you end up annoying the hell outta everyone here. You're powers aren't even worth anything. I don't see why they keep you around."

"My powers do just fine. And at least I didn't have to cozy up to one of the guards to secure my future, Jackie."

Jackie's eyes lit up with rage and she tried to step closer to the metal bars without tripping over Rogue, who had curled herself up in the corner as she watched the exchange.

"Oh go screw yourself Dougie! You know Michael got promoted AFTER we got together. That was the only damn reason he took the job—so I'd be safe from Draconis and his little lackey's."

"Oh yeah, well…" Dougie started, but another man in a cell across from Rogue's cut him off.

"Alright you two, that's enough. Give the girl a little peace and quiet, eh? She's prob'ly awful confused and tired as it is without you two startin' yer bickerin' again. Why don't ya just give 'er a nice, friendly welcome and introduce yourselves without gettin' all barbaric on each other."

Rogue watched the man as he conducted his little speech and found him very amiable. He had long, silvery hair and brown, weathered skin that was contrasted by his soft blue eyes and his gentle, but chiding tone of voice. His accent reminded Rogue somewhat of Wolverine, but without the gruff and irritated intonation.

"Miss," the old man said directly to Rogue, "allow me to introduce myself. My name's Carl and these two, if you haven't already guessed, are Jaclyn and Douglas. We're mutants, just like you… at least, I presume you're a mutant?"

Rogue nodded quietly. The headache had diminished greatly, but she was still groggy, disoriented and incredibly confused.

"That's right. Usually the baselines don't get such exquisite treatment." Carl said with a twinkle in his eye as both Jackie and Dougie snorted with amusement.

"Anyway, we're all mutants and we were brought here because of our 'gifts.' We're all special here in our own little ways and that's why they keep us here." Now Carl's voice turned gradually from humorous to a sort of saddened anger as he continued to explain the situation to Rogue.

"This place is a prison for mutants, miss. Only, we didn't do nothin' against the law and most of us've never harmed anyone. We tried to live our lives normally and without notice until one day these men in black masks and military outfits came charging into our homes or just simply grabbed us off the streets and brought us here."

The old man limped slowly back to his own cot and carefully lowered himself down on the makeshift mattress. "Now we work for Draconis against our wills because he holds all the cards and can either make our lives a literal hell or somewhat bearable. Draconis runs this place, but he's not the mastermind. Someone else makes all the shots and does all the thinking. Draconis was hired out to make sure everything works perfectly and to see that everyone stays in line and follows orders."

Rogue interrupted briefly as her curiosity mounted. "But why? They make mutants work for them, but doing what? What's the purpose to all of this?" She asked in a scratchy, hoarse voice.

Carl smiled sadly as he looked at Rogue. "That's the mystery. We all do our parts every day with little things here and there. Some of us clean, others cook. I know the telepaths are used as a sort of shield to keep people away from this place and to check for intruders. There's about ten of them that work different times of the day to scan for useful mutants and to make sure no other telepaths try to reach any of the inmates. There are other mutants who manipulate energy fields and such who make sure this place remains undetected to the government or any other advanced organization."

He paused for a moment, lost in thought and dismay. "Ya see, miss, no one ever leaves here because to the outside world, this place don't exist. Each mutant here plays a part in ensuring that no one ever finds us. And we do it 'gainst our wills because of Draconis and his mysterious master.

"No one knows what the greater purpose of this place is. Everyone speculates, sure, but no one really knows. Some say they do it so they can take over the world eventually. Some say it's so they can eradicate all mutants at once. Hostile takeover; the enslavement of mutants for profit; the unification of all mutants for a greater purpose—they're all just guesses and personally my money's on the mass extinction theory, but the truth is that no one really, truly knows 'cept the person that created all this. Not even Draconis knows what it's all about."

Everyone was silent for a moment when Rogue spoke up again. "But how do they keep ya enslaved? If everyone rose up at once and took over, what's to stop ya'll from escaping? Sure there'd be casualties, but they can't kill everyone at once."

"Actually," Jackie whispered, "they can. The reason you woke up with such a headache is because they've found a way to implant a device into each mutant's head that can neither be removed nor turned off unless you have access to the machines that control them. It's just a tiny little computer chip that's been tinkered with and probably laced with some kind of mutant chemical to keep our powers turned off until they want us to use them."

Rogue stared at Jackie and Carl in sheer amazement and disbelief until Dougie added the final coup de grace.

"And then, when they don't need you anymore, or you become too much of a liability, all they have to do is flip a switch and you die."

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Also, just so everyone knows, I will probably be taking this story off FFN for a little while so I can fix a few things and then re-post it back on the board. If anyone thinks this is a crappy idea, let me know and I won't do it.