Uncanny X-Men (6th series) #4

(Flashback)

It is a rarified beautiful day in early spring, thirty days since Charles Xavier first met Sarah Gaunt, a woman whose freedom challenges and thrills him. Charles is still in England, and still wears a jumper – but he swears Sarah fells his beating heart as she clings to his arm while they walk along the edge of a lake. Charles is besotted with her – there is no other word for it. 'Stop, Jaguar' Sarah remarks as she grabs Charles' face. 'What are you doing?' Charles asks. Sarah informs him that he has something on his mouth. 'What? What is it?' Charles enquires. 'Me, Charles. You have a bit of me on you' Sarah jokes as she presses her lips to Charles'. When they part, Charles suggests that they stop and have a proper cup of coffee so they may discuss this predicament with the gravity it requires. 'What say you?' Charles asks. 'I say... you can't have coffee when you're pregnant, Charles' Sarah responds.

'I'm not pregnant' Charles replies, to which Sarah points out that she is. 'Sarah. That isn't funny' Charles utters, shocked. 'Oh, I suppose not. Wait till it's your turn to change nappies in the middle of the night' Sarah remarks, to which Xavier tells her that it is too soon, too soon to know. 'For most, perhaps. Not for me' Sarah tells him. 'Sarah, I don't... what do you want?' Charles asks. Sarah motions to where a man and woman are walking with a baby in a pram, and tells Charles that she wants what they have. 'And we'll have it, Charles – think of it' Sarah asks. For a moment, Charles Xavier wants it, too. He can't explain it. But he is who he is – and because of that, he knew it that instant. 'You're ruining this beautiful moment. How could you. How could you, Charles? Sarah utters.

(Present)

In the sky over Louisiana, where Anna Marie LeBeau a.k.a. Rogue and Kurt Wagner a.k.a. Nightcrawler move through the air in some sort of combination of flight and teleportation. Rogue looks concerned. She doesn't know how she knows this, she just knows that Wolverine is dying – dying in the dark. She can't have that. If Wolverine goes, she needs to be there to hold him – she made that vow a long time ago. 'Are you certain this is the right -?' Nightcrawler begins, to which Rogue tells him that she loves him, and not to ask her that again as she flies forward, before Nightcrawler then teleports them a short distance through the air and tells Rogue that he understands. Rogue is happy about that – because she doesn't understand it. She doesn't want more grief, she is full up, with what happened to Krakoa and then Charles – and then Harvey X. 'It's too much. Please, if anyone's up there other than Galactus... please, please let us not be too late' Rogue thinks to herself.

One final teleport, and the mutant heroes land down in a dense forest. 'This is it' Rogue tells Nightcrawler. 'Are you -?' Nightcrawler begins, before deciding to just agree with Rogue. 'This is it, then' he remarks, as Rogue looks around and tells Kurt that she is sure of it. 'Where is he?' she asks. 'Forgive me, sister, but how are you sure of it?' Kurt begins, before he points ahead. 'Oh. I see' he utters, before suggesting that he thinks they have found the spot. Rogue looks over to where Kurt is pointing and sees a trail of blood on the forest floor, leading into a dark part of the forest. 'Find him. Look for him' Rogue tells Kurt, who remarks that there is no need. 'Oh sweet lord. Logan' Rogue gasps as they find Logan's blood-soaked body slumped against a tree stump. 'What have they done to you?' Rogue calls out as she sees Logan's clothes in tatters, and the flesh around one of his arms has been completely eaten away.

Rogue and Kurt crouch beside their friend, and Rogue remembers how when she hated herself, Logan taught her how to stop – he was the first decent man to ever say he loved her and mean it. 'Ah can't lose him. Ah can't' Rogue thinks to herself. Kurt sees that Logan is barely breathing, to which Logan wearily remarks that he is breathing – for a bit, anyway. Logan urges Rogue and Kurt to go. 'She's still here' he utters. 'Logan? Who is she?' Rogue asks. 'I dunno. Death, I guess' Logan responds. Rogue stands up and instructs Kurt to take Logan back to Haven, as Jubilee will know what to do. 'Anna Marie, no!' Kurt exclaims, suggesting that she come with them, and they can return with an army. 'Ah can't do that, Krt. Ah think Ah'm fixing to stick around a li'l bit' Rogue replies.

Logan tells Rogue to leave him, and that he would rather die here, where he belongs. 'Shame you made me leader then, soldier' Rogue retorts, before instructing Kurt to get Logan gone. Rogue gets her phone out of her jacket pocket and calls her husband, Remy leBeau a.k.a. Gambit. Gambit is standing over his three cats, Oliver, Lucifer and Figaro, who are safely in carry cages, as he tells Rogue that he is on his way – that he will crawl if he has to. But Rogue tells Remy that if he loves her, if he ever felt a whisper of love for her, then he will stay there. 'Promise me. On our marriiage, Remy. Ah got – Ah got a chore to finish' Rogue explains. Nightcrawler has gotten Logan to his feet, and Logan calls out to Rogue, calling her “Moonbeam” he tells her to take his hand, as she won't be able to beat her without his healing factor. 'Use what I got. I'm beggin' ya' Logan asks. Rogue hangs her head and refuses the offer. 'Could use a piece a good news before this ride home, Elf' Logan tells Kurt, asking him if he has anything like that in the chamber. Kurt wraps his arms around Logan and teleports away while uttering 'Krakoa lives, my oldest friend. Krakoa yet lives'.

'I feel her. Don't know how. But I feel her like spiders on my skin' Rogue thinks to herself as she walks down to the river that flows through the forest. 'Ah know you're here, “Sarah”. It's just you and me now' Rogue calls out. 'What say this sweet southern gal teaches y'all some proper manners, you twisted, murdering bitch?' Rogue asks, when, suddenly, 'Yes. Come to Mommy' Sarah Gaunt, the Hag, utters as her monstrous form appears above Rogue and drops down towards her, dangerous claws at the ready. 'Good lord' Rogue gasps, deciding that Sarah is like every nightmare she has ever had glued together. 'Sorry, lady. Ah got too many scary mamas already' Rogue responds as she slams a fist into the Hag, knocking her aside. But the Hag is quick to recover, and she sniffs Rogue. 'Childless. I can smell it on you: the emptiness' the Hag exclaims as she punches Rogue backwards – hard – sending her careening down the river.

Rogue decides that the Hag punches hard – maybe harder than Colossus. 'You mutants. You're pretty as models. You live in castles' the Hag calls out. 'Castles? Not no more' Rogue responds as she gathers herself on the other side of the river. 'Yes. Let's see if we can't do something about the pretty part, too, shall we?' the Hag suggests, raising her claws as she grins wickedly. Rogue can see it in her eyes – the coldest, deadest smile since Mojo. 'She ain't never gonna stop' Rogue realizes.

At Haven House, Gambit, Jubilee and Marcus St. Juniors, the house's owner and an old friend of Gambit's, are waiting in the kitchen as Kurt teleports in with Logan. 'And God still lives as well. Heaven be praised' Kurt utters, while Jubilee is shocked at the sight of  Logan. 'Oh no. Oh no' she gasps as Wolverine is placed on the kitchen table, blood pooling around him. 'Hey, punkin. Not too hard, kay?' Logan tells Jubilee, while Gambit asks 'What in Hades...?' and decides that this is it – marriage ot not, he is going.

Meanwhile, at Graymalkin Prison, formerly Charles Xavier's School. The Warden, Dr. Corina Ellis, cuts into a rare steak as she sits at a table opposite her companion, the frail looking Phillip Scurvy. Two sentry guards stand nearby. Dr. Ellis informs Phillip that they have problems – there has been unauthorized access to the old Morlock Tunnels below the grounds. She adds that the perimeter system is giving them unreliable data, and Xavier has gone catatonic. Phillip reports that their mutant supplier, Sarah, is going after their leader. “Rogue” Dr. Ellis remarks. 'Yes. Only it's a distraction' Phillip explains, revealing that Sarah has found their base somehow – where the kids are. Dr. Ellis stands up and tells Phillip that she doesn't see how this is their problem. 'Good riddance, I say' she adds. Phillip informs Dr. Ellis that the kids are 15 and 16 – the oldest is almost 17 – the same age as her brother. Dr. Ellis stops in her tracks. 'Prickly, my friend. Too prickly by half' she replies, before asking Phillip what he suggests that they do. 'Help them. Send the Trustees' Phillip urges. 'No. We won't be doing that' Dr. Ellis responds. She starts to walk away, informing Phillip that this discussion is over. 'And stop pouting' she adds.

Back in the forest, 'Really. You should be thanking me' the Hag snarls as she knocks Rogue aside, hitting her hard once again. 'That was the one. Concussion, or worse. Didn't even know Ah could catch one anymore' Rogue thinks to herself. 'Get out from under Charles' thumb. Surely you see it – how he always gets his way somehow?' the Hag shrieks, before pulling on Rogue's hair and remarking 'You and your “Omega”-level mutants. Do you know where my power comes from?' she slams Rogue's head down into the ground and exclaims 'Look around you. Every living thing. Every cricket and sapling. Ten million acres of trees in this state only' the Hag reveals, before putting her foot on the back of Rogue's head, keeping her submerged in what looks like mud. 'I'm afraid my Greek is rather poor. What is ten times Omega?' the Hag asks. Rogue mumbles something from the ground, to whch the Hag tells her that she will have to speak up. 'Ah said – it's part of the Greek alphabet – it ain't a number at all!' Rogue retorts as she punches backwards, catching the Hag off guard.

This enables Rogue to leap up and slam her knoee into the Hag's face. 'Well, hey, hey, hey. Ah believe Ah just heard something crack. And that means...she's breakable!' Rogue realizes. The Hag struggles to speak as Rogue begins pulling on her hair, and she tells her enemy that she has a little bit of a secret. 'I absorb powers. I have Wonder Man's running through me on the current' Rogue reveals, adding that she still got as little mess of Captain Marvel hidden on the back shelf, too. 'Don't tell nobody' Rogue asks her. 'But here's the fancy part... that's just in this hand' Rogue explains as she pulls back her fist, then slams it into the Hag, sending her careening backwards. 'Oh, and Sarah? Logan says go to hell!' Rogue calls out.

But the Hag recovers quickly, and as Rogue flies towards her, the Hag remarks 'You barely literate fool. You ornamental puppet. Just sleep. It's over' the Hag snarls, as Rogue realizes that she thought taunting the Hag would make her sloppy – which always works for Spider-Man. The Hag begins beating her fists against Rogue's head, and Rogue realizes that the Hag has just trippled her concussion. Rogue stumbles backwards against a large rock and holds up a hand, asking the Hag to wait, to stop, just for a minute. 'I could...I could touch you, take your powers' Rogue points out. The Hag looms closer and responds 'Then you would be me. Do you truly want that?' Rogue thinks that Hag suddenly speaks with a boice that sounds like an underwater burial. 'Long as she ain't hitting' Rogue supposes, before the Hag reveals that she hasn't slept in seventeen years. 'There was a hurricane. You might have heard...'.

(Flashback images)

The Hag reveals that there was 125 billion in damage, and almost a third of the people left and never came back. She waited for help that never came. She held her and her son up with her left hand, clinging to the side of a roof as the water rose around them – her little Brian. 9 years old. There was no food and no water to drink, they were wearing pajamas in the endless rain. But sometime, in the night – she doesn't know when – her right hand became empty. And after carving “I'm sorry” into the rooftop, Sarah just let go with her left, as well. She sank into the depths of the water. She asked for peace. She asked for forgiveness. But she was denied. She saw things floating all around her in the wretched, filthy water. Bodies and worse – so much worse. What came out of that water three days later – Sarah Gaunt isn't sure if it was her at all.

(Present)

'You can't – you can't blame mutants for that!' Rogue utters. 'I don't. I blame Charles' the Hag responds, before suggesting that they finish this. Rogue asks Sarah how she survived, and suggests to her that she may even be a mutant. 'Did you think of that?' Rogue asks. The Hag just tells Rogue to come closer, and grabs her by her wrists. 'Don't you ever call me a mutant, you diseased little sanctimonious tart!' the Hag snaps. The Hag  goes and finds a way to make the concussion Rogue is suffering from seem like a tropical vacation as she snaps Rogue's bones like summer twigs. 'Weren't you about to teach me some manners, little creature? Tell me more about the manners!' the Hag laughs, wickedly.

Meantime, Dr. Ellis is placing a phone call: to Gambit. She introduces herself as the Warden at what used to be Xavier's Academy, and reports that she will say this once and that it won't be repeated: 'Sarah Gaunt doesn't care about your wife. She wants to kill the mutant kids you're protecting. And she's sending a small army. That is all' Dr. Ellis declares, before hanging up on Gambit, bidding him luck.

Gambit is still at Haven House, leaning against a wall as he listens to the Warden. He says nothing as Nightcrawler, Jubilee and Marcus, Alice and Chelsea St. Juniors stand nearby. 'Well. Dat got me feeling some kinda way' Gambit remarks, before calling out to Marcus. Marcus turns to where the young mutants are standing and opens a door in the corridor, he instructs them to get down into the basement, and adds that it will be locked from the inside, with radio silence maintained. Gambit turns to Chelsea and tells her that she should be in charge of the cats. 'I'm sorry about the bad men, Uncle Remy' Chelsea responds. 'Can't be helped' Gambit tells her, and as he starts to walk away, Jubilee puts a hand on his shoulder and asks him where he thinks he is going. 'Logan needs you' Gambit tells her, to which Jubilee retorts 'Screw that. We're the last remaining X-Men, aren't we?' Gambit stands with Jubilee and Nightcrawler and tells them to come on then, but as they step out onto the front porch: 'Oh me oh my though!' Jubilee utters as the trio see a strange sight before them.

It's the mutant called Fawn, her body transformed somewhat as she stands flanked by several dozen cloaked figures. 'Holy crow, there's a lot of 'em!' one of the X-Men exclaims. 'The people of the house below. Too long have your kind existed only to spoil the bloodlines of true humanity. Surrender, or suffer the consequences' Fawn warns them. Gambit agrees that there is a lot of them. 'Most is straight full-up ugly, too' he notes. Suddenly, 'Hey, coach. Put us in, all right?' one of the young mutants suddenly exclaims. Gambit turns to them and remarks that he recalls giving them their orders already. 'If we f-f-followed orders, all f-f-four of us would be d-d-dead' Jitter points out. 'Hey, die outside fighting, or die in a basement cowering' Ransom suggests. 'That sounds nice either way' Deathdream decides.

Gambit smiles and raises his pinky and index fingers, making a “hang ten” symbol. He tells the kids that there are less than a million cajuns in  the entire world. 'No sense in losing the best one' he adds, before the others make the “hang ten” symbol, too, and everyone puts their hands in a circle. 'I don't got a catchphrase. Fight forward. No shame in running if you need to' Gambit declares, when, suddenly, Logan appears. 'That mighta been the all-time worst battle speech in x-history, Remy' Logan declares. 'You foolin'?' Remy responds, asking Logan if he has listened to Chuck or Summers. 'Like listening to corn grow, it is' Gambit declares. Logan has a blindfold over hs eyes, blood stains across hghis shirtless body and on his claws. 'Fair' Logan responds, before asking if someone can point him at the bad guys while he can still stand upright.