Disclaimer: Not mine, although I wish they were.

Author's Note: So after an embarrassing long hiatus due in part by time and inspiration, I sat down and watched X-Men Origins last night and remembered that I had started it and where it was going. So after re-reading it, I am posting another chapter, and hopefully more. It will be a shortish fic, at least shorter than my other one (X-Men: Resurrection, which I am reading again to work on once more).

Chapter 3

"The procedure is done," Emma called with a tired smile. She had been monitoring Rogue's thoughts for the past hour. It was hard for her to lock onto the shifting thoughts and personas that surrounded the young woman's mind. But, as always, Emma would not give up. Even despite her reasons for being there, her reasons for following the man who had captured her once, who killed her sister… well Emma knew that there was really only one thing she could do with her life—be the best at everything she tried. And right then, she was trying to be bad. "She is resting now."

"Good," Stryker whispered mixed within a sneer as he came to stand behind her, looming over the woman who would not shrink to have him near, "You know what to do now."

Emma smiled, "Yes." Now she could really show off.

Hank looked at the girl sleeping on her side. He had given her enough sedatives for her to be out for a further two hours, hopefully long enough for him to see just how much damage had been done. He wished that Jean was still with them, he could use the extra hands of a fellow doctor. But, since the past could not be undone, he would have to settle for the untrained hands of mutant geniuses: well a mutant genius and Bobby. Kitty had already finished initial scans of the vessel, and with Alex's help, had found traces of the gases used. They were being analyzed even now. Leaving Alex and Bobby to trace the vessel's origins.

Glancing once more at Rogue, hoping that she would find some rest from the memories of Warren, he turned off the lights and left the lab.

'Come to us Rogue… come to us…"

Rogue slowly opened her eyes and stood, almost falling from the effects of the drugs still in her systems. In slow, zombie-like movements made her way from the lab to the garage, where only the day before she saw Alex finish his new toy.

"Sir," a lieutenant called, picking something up on his monitor, "Creed is back with Gambit. The guards want to know what you want to do with him?"

"In the containment cells nearest the lab."

"Sir?"

"He will not escape again. Do it."

"Yes Sir."

"How long before our prize is at our door?"

"An hour."

"Have Emma and Victor ready to meet her. And tell Emma to cover up for once. I will take no chances with this one."

Bobby paused outside the lab. He hadn't spoken to Rogue since their fight the night before. That seemed like a lifetime ago. Everything had changed in so very little time. He had to see how she was coping with the change; ready for her to let him go.

Steadying himself for seeing her, knowing that she may not yet be herself, Bobby entered the darkened room, the hairs on the back of his neck rising that the mess that befell his eyes. Rushing he summoned the lights, and blinking at the sudden change, he paused. Rogue was gone.

"We have traced it back to SHIELD," Kitty told Ororo, Dani and Hank. She was taking over the briefing from Alex who had left to check on the garage where kids had thrown off the sensors. "I tried to hack their system, but they are good. All I managed to find is that the device was stolen a week ago. It was constructed by a mutant who goes by the name of Forge."

Hank glanced at Ororo whose control did wonders in that moment. "What does it do?"

"I don't know." Kitty admitted with a frown.

"I know you aren't going to like me suggesting this Ro…"

"Then don't Henry," She warned.

"Considering the nature of this device, more mutants than just Rogue could be at risk."

"She's gone!" Bobby called, rushing into the room. "Rogue's gone."

"And she took my bike!" Alex added as he joined them. He was frowning.

Storm cursed. "Hank, find out what she was hit with! Dani, do what you can with Cerebro, track her. And Logan. We may need him. Kitty, get me Forge's contact information. Its time he and I have a meeting."

–

Logan paused as he looked around. He was making his way South. He had a feeling he should have been heading North, where so many other secrets had been revealed to him. But his guts told him to go South. And for as long as he could remember he trusted his instincts, knowing that they would never lead him wrong.

Right then they were telling him that he was getting closer to answers than he had been in a very long time. He just wondered if he would like what he found.

–

Ororo took a steadying breath as she sat down in her chair behind the desk that once belonged to Xavier. There were more moments than not since his death that she wished he was with her.

She turned her attention to the screen when a handsome, American Indian's face appeared. He looked both troubled and yet happy to see her. "Ororo."

She smiled, "Forge, it has been a long time."

"Too long. What can I do for you? I have a feeling this isn't a social call."

"You still know me well. I'm calling about the capsule that was stolen from SHIELD a week ago. It showed up on my doorstep this morning."

He straightened, "What?"

She nodded, "It contained a glass that activated the powers of one of the students who had taken the Cure. What do you know about that?"

"About the gas? Nothing. As far as I am aware SHIELD is doing nothing with a gas of that nature. The capsule was designed to store toxic gases."

"Will you look into any possible connection SHIELD may have with the gas as well? Its not that I don't trust SHIELD, I just..."

"Don't trust SHIELD." He smiled and nodded, "I will keep you posted."

"Thank you Forge, I am grateful."

"For you Ororo, it is the least I could do. Please keep yourself well."

"You as well. And, I am sorry for how things ended between us."

"It had to happen, didn't it? It wasn't all bad, I still think of you whenever there's a warm breeze. How is the mutant?"

"Missing. But we shall find her."

–

The light hurt her eyes, granted with how much everything else hurt, she wasn't really surprised. She looked around, and got a sickening sense of Deja vu. It was as though she had been there before. No, not her. Logan.

She groaned, knowing that this wasn't a good sign. The sound of a growl coming from her right made her freeze. She knew that sound. And she hated it. Sabertooth.

Standing, and casting only the briefest glance to the man in the cell adjoining hers, she turned and faced the feral man. She raised an eyebrow when she saw him. Someone had given him a haircut. It didn't do much to add to his beauty, in fact, it only seemed to make him appear more like an animal, although she didn't know how that could even be possible.

"What are you doing here?"

"Is that a question you should be asking of yourself, my dear?" A voice called from behind her.

Sabertooth in front of her, a wall to her right, another cell to her left and Stryker behind her. Could her day get any better? She glanced up. Electrified fencing. Well, she had her answer.

"Stryker," she grumbled, turning her anger at the world towards him, "I should have known it was you."

He smirked, looking her over, "Well, well, well. Rogue. I must say that it is an honour to finally meet you, a mutant of such talent... If only I had found you years ago."

She took a step back, knowing the look in his eyes. It was the same look Magneto had given her when he used her to turn the world leaders mutant. "What do you want?"

"That should be obvious."

"My powers."

He smiled, "A mutant who could survive taking on the powers of Magneto, Pyro and the great Wolverine. How is Logan these days?" He asked, pointing at the dog tags still fixed to her wrist.

"You won't get away with this."

"And who is going to stop me?" He asked looking around, "The X-Men are in bad shape these days with no Cyclops, no Jean, no Professor. No one to help you."

"We'll see about that."

He laughed, "Spunk. You picked that up from Logan I suppose. I wonder what else you learned from him? What memories do you have that even he isn't aware of?" He stepped nearer her prison, meeting her eye, "Oh well, we'll find them out in time. Once we're in your head."

She smirked, "Go ahead, its already crowded in there," she pulled free a glove, "Want me to lend you a hand?"

He turned away from her, walked around the lab within which he stood, looking down the line of other cells, counting the failed experiments as he went before looking once more at her, "You will be magnificent," he beamed, "My greatest work of art. You will succeed where all others have failed."

Rogue followed his eye to the other cells, resting on the man in the cell next to her, who was watching them both intently, "Weapon 11."

"You will be weapon 12, with all the other issues fading away. No more worries about making sure to gain the right mixture of powers. The nature of your powers makes you naturally able to take them all on, no matter the kind, no matter the power limit... you will be everything I have ever dreamed of."

"Know what happens to a mutant with too much power?" She asked, growing uneasy, "Ends up killing everyone, especially the ones trying to control them."

"It will take time," he admitted, ignoring her statements as he turned again, taking in his staff who were already at work in the lab, "They're all new and need to be trained on the techniques used in the previous experiments. So we had to collect them, and deconstruct them if need be." He moved closer to her, his eyes darkening, "You will be perfect! And, once complete, I will watch as you destroy Wolverine."

–

TBC... eventually. Promise.

Same goes for my other fanfiction, X-Men: Resurrection.