She doesn't have a common name to go by with her friends. She's been hiding behind a false moniker for years. Only she knows what her life was like before she was taken into the care of two women -- Raven Darkholme and Irene Adler, Mystique and the late Destiny, respectively. She is Rogue, an X-Man with a personal endeavor. She's been airborne for about two hours now. Blink could've just teleported Rogue to her destination, but she wanted the scenic route.

Rogue finally lands in a cornfield, away from any kind of civilization. She unzips her duffle bag and changes out of her uniform into some comfortable clothes. This is Caldecott, Mississippi; Rogue was born here. Not the best part of the country, to say the least. Ever since the mysterious Witness began appearing to the X-Men in their dreams, Rogue has questioned running from her past.*

(* Check issue #21 -- Brad)

She wades her way through the cornfield and begins walking down a gravel road. She could fly, but she wants to experience every minute of walking like a normal person.

Rogue has been "cursed" with the ability to absorb the energy and memories of anyone she touches with her bare skin. This ability is uncontrollable, making it difficult for Rogue to experience true love or any kind of intimacy. Once a criminal under Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Rogue eventually sided with the X-Men, since they were the only ones who could truly help her cope with her mutant abilities.

Even though Charles Xavier has long since died, Rogue still remembers the compassion he had for her when she first came to the mansion in Westchester. Rogue was a criminal who almost killed Carol Danvers, an ally of the X-Men and personal friend to Wolverine. The X-Men threatened to quit, but Xavier never turned down the chance of helping another.*

(* Waaaayyy back in Marvel's Uncanny X-Men #171 -- Brad)

Rogue eventually proved herself and even gained the trust of the grouchy Wolverine. She made friends with her sworn enemies. Rogue never had many friends. She was an outsider, even before her powers manifested. She was the kid in school who never talked to anyone, who never connected with the other students.

Rogue sheds a tear as she walks down the road. She wipes the tear off her cheek and continues down the road. She's stronger now, emotionally and physically. She'll get through confronting her past whether Caldecott likes it or not.

Colorado

"Where's Rogue?" Quicksilver asks through his communicator. Every member of X-Men Omega has one for emergencies in case Psylocke is unable to use her telepathy. He's standing in the observation panel that monitors the Danger Room.

The X-Men standing in the Danger Room shrug. Clarice raises her hand, speaking into her communicator, "She went home."

"Who gave her the okay?" Quicksilver asks.

"You know Rogue, Pietro," Archangel says, flying up to Quicksilver's level. "She'll be back, don't worry."

"We can't operate as a team if our team members come and go as they please!" Quicksilver yells.

"We also can't function as a team if you're always barking out orders!" Warren exclaims. "The X-Men aren't the Avengers!" Archangel yells, his eyes glowing with yellow light. "It's not an obligation to be on this team!"

"It was NEVER an obligation for me as far as the Avengers were concerned," Quicksilver shouts.

"Sure looked that way for awhile," Archangel says.

"Warren! Pietro! Stop this testosterone overflow!" Psylocke shouts telepathically.

Sabretooth snickers under his muzzle, "Looks like the battle for most stuck-up mutant. Are we gonna do this? Who cares if the touch-phobic ain't here?"

Psylocke shoots a glance at Sabretooth, "You sod off, animal!" She generates her psychic blade, "I swear to God, I'll--"

"Psylocke!" Quicksilver yells. He zips from the observation desk down into the Danger Room. He grabs Psylocke's forearm before she can jab her psi-blade into Creed.

Sabretooth simply laughs, "Anytime, doll... anytime..."

"Sometimes I wonder if even Xavier could've tolerated you all," Quicksilver says.

"He probably could have... even you, Pietro," Warren says, descending to floor level.

Blink sighs, twirling her javelin, which lights up with pink energy. Pyro leans over and whispers, "They always like this?"

Blink smirks, "Pietro's just the world's biggest ass--"

Blink fails to notice Quicksilver standing in front of her, with arms crossed, glaring down at her.

"--kicker?"

Caldecott

Rogue finds her way to a small, out-of-the-way diner. She opens the door and finds nothing but drunken men sitting at the bar. She ignores their hoots and approaches the tender.

"Ah'll have a water..." Rogue says. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out two singles.

The tender gives her an awkward look.

"Bottled water," Rogue emphasizes.

The band of drunks snicker as the tender silently gives Rogue a plastic bottle. "There's a fountain out back--" the tender begins.

"Ah'll take mah chances with this stuff," Rogue says, unscrewing the cap and taking a slug. "Oh, an' keep the change, sugah."

Suddenly, Rogue is surronded by five drunk men. One of them hiccups, then says, "You sure are pretty, skunk-head... *hic* wanna go fer a ride?"

Rogue brushes her white highlights aside, "Ah'll walk, thanks." The drunks laugh hysterically.

"You refusin' t' go wit' me?" the man asks.

"Somethin' like that, sugah. Believe me, Ah'm not your type. Now get outta mah way!" Rogue yells.

The man grabs Rogue by the collar of her shirt, tearing it off, revealing her bra. The man smiles as he tries to rip the bra off, too, but suddenly slumps over. Rogue quickly puts her shirt back on.

"Idiot..." she mutters.

"Let's git 'er!" another drunk yells. They advance on Rogue.

Rogue sighs, blowing her hair out of her eyes. She yawns, almost casually throwing each of the men into, and through, the bar. Rogue straightens her shirt. She begins to exit the diner.

"Hey!" the tender yells. "You gonna pay for the damages, missy?"

Rogue turns her head, "Will that undo what those men tried to do to me? Ah'm a woman. Ya can look, but don't touch. Ol' tricky hands, here, found that out the hard way..."

The tender fumbles with his words, "Well... Ah... um... oh..."

Without looking back, Rogue walks out the door, "Ah thought so."

Rogue walks away furiously. Argh! Mutant! Woman! It don't matter... discrimination is everywhere!

Unbeknown to Rogue, a mysterious caped man peers behind the corner of the diner, running off in the opposite direction...

Rogue continues down a road, which seems sparsely populated. She wipes the sweat from her brow. Rogue almost forgot how hot it was down here. She hears the whistles of zealous males as she walks down the small road. She stops when she reaches a farmhouse. The white-colored house was peeling from lack of care. The gutters were overflowing with leaves and twigs. The yard was a mess. The grass hadn't been cut in years, Rogue suspects.

This was where she grew up. Not as Rogue of the X-Men, but as someone else. She had definitely evolved into a very strong woman and human being since she'd lived here. She's come to confront her birth mother.

Rogue steps up the creaky porch and knocks on the screen door three times.

"Hello...?"

She knocks again with no answer. She pushes the screen door open. It wasn't locked and the main door was open, so someone had to be home. Rogue never knew her father, she always assumed he left her mother or died sometime after she was born. Her mother, her real mother, was the last shred of her past left.

Rogue turns to the right to check the dining room. Old memories surface as Rogue remembers having to listen to her mother yell at her in a drunken rage for not eating her vegetables. Rogue suddenly rubs the back of her head, remembering the pain of her mother's fist.

She looks up the staircase and remembers being pushed down the stairs, breaking her foot when she landed, for not being ready for church on time. Rogue turns to her left, making her way through the living room, towards the back of the house, the kitchen.

Rogue remembers an instance where her mother was wielding a large knife... for no apparent reason. Rogue remembers her mother's smile as she cut herself. Rogue might have been forgiven for not wanting to save her violent mother, but she did anyway. Only weeks after her mother recovered, Rogue was beaten in another alcohol-influenced brawl.

Rogue is surprised to see Fabian Cortez, the former Acolyte of Magneto, holding a butcher's knife against her shaking mother's throat. Cortez is smiling. His long red hair is pulled back into a ponytail and his two-day stubble glows in the afternoon sunlight. Cortez has managed to mount Rogue's mother onto the wall by digging other knives through her clothes. She hangs from her clothes, her graying hair flows while the rest of her lies dormant.

"What're you doin' here, Cortez?" Rogue asks.

"What does it look like?! I'm here to torture your birth mother... interesting, isn't it? I could've tortured Mystique, but this was much more challenging."

"Ah didn't come here to fight, but if you must insist--"

Before Rogue starts laying on the punches, Cortez activates his mutant power to increase or decrease a mutant's power upon Rogue. Rogue suddenly falls ill and finds that her strength is gone. Rogue knows immediately that Cortez has lowered her powers to their smallest spike.

Cortez smiles as he kicks Rogue in the stomach, causing her to fall onto the kitchen table, breaking it. Rogue grabs her back as the pain surges through her spine. She heaves, Cortez knocked the wind out of her. Rogue can't remember the last time that happened, she was pretty much invulnerable, after all.

Rogue grits her teeth. She wasn't going to be defeated this way in the house she ran away from, trying to forget. By now, her barely-conscious mother looks down upon her daughter.

"M... Marie--?"

"Don't CALL me that!" Rogue shouts, tackling Cortez to the ground, taking a knife and holding it to Cortez's throat. "Yer powers don't mean jack now, sugah. Mah powers cain't get any lower and Ah still kicked yer butt."

Cortez's mouth trembles, trying desperately to hide his fear, "You won't kill me... you X-folk don't kill..."

"You're right, we don't kill... but accidents have happened," Rogue says.

"Is this an old boyfriend, Marie?" Rogue's mother asks. "Ah knew Ah shoulda disciplined you betta... girl Ah'll tell ya what..."

Rogue gives her old lady a hard look, "Ah wouldn't try that."

Cortez uses this distraction to increase Rogue's power. Rogue actually absorbs her mother's psyche just by looking at her. Rogue throws the knife to the floor and screams. She grabs her forehead and slumps to her knees. Images of a turbulent past flood Rogue's mind.

Rogue suddenly experiences her mother's life. "Ah'll learn you, you little bitch!" Rogue yells, sounding almost exactly like her mother. In her mind, Rogue sees herself being punched and kicked, her body being battered. Suddenly, it's clear. Rogue has finally discovered why.

Rogue's mutant power, the ability to absorb the essence of others, has been uncontrollable because she has been running from her past for so long. She was afraid it would finally catch up with her. She subconsciously kept her power on, because she didn't want to be hurt by ANYONE.

Suddenly, previous "acquaintances" begin emerging in Rogue's persona. Cortez slowly backs away as Rogue's hands unsheathe six very sharp claws. Pain surges through her hands. Suddenly, that pain lessens as her eyes begin to emit a highly concussive solar-based energy. Rogue, who is in a berserker rage, lunges for Cortez.

Cowering in fear, Cortez activates his power, returning Rogue to her natural power level. Rogue tackles Cortez to the floor and grabs him by the face with her bare hand.

Cortez winces. He blinks. "Wha---what's happening?"

Rogue smiles, "Nothin'... yet..."

Rogue picks up Cortez by the collar of his shirt and throws him out of the house, by crashing him through the wall. She walks over to her mother, who is still recovering from her daughter's effect.

"Y... y-you're one o' them... mah daughter.... Ah shoulda beaten those powers outta ya... long ago... Ah shoulda..."

"Ah just saved your life, Mama... and you're talkin' about givin' me a beatin'? Is that all you can say?" Rogue asks, tears pooling in her eyes. "It was because of you that Ah couldn't control mah powers..."

Cortez crashes through the kitchen and holds out his clenched fist. Rogue grabs his bare forearm with her bare hand and absorbs his power. Cortez shrieks, yanking his hand away. He tries to de-power Rogue again, but can't. "NO!" he shouts. "NOOOO!!!!"

Rogue smiles as she holds out her fist and activates her new temporary power on Cortez. Cortez screams as his entire body burns as his powers are forcibly turned up and down. Having enough, Cortez staggers out of the house and disappears into the woods.

Rogue approaches her mother again. She takes her bare hand and touches her mother on the nose.

And she smiles.

"Nothin' happened," Rogue's mother says.

"Ah know..." she replied before removing the knives from the wall, causing her mother to drop on the floor. She looks up at her daughter.

"Ah suppose you wanna beat the livin' hell outta yer mama, huh?" she asks.

"I want to... more than anythin'... but Ah'm not. You just ain't worth it, mama." Rogue walks back through the living room to the front door. Rogue stops as her mother runs to catch up with her, as Rogue suspected she would.

"Marie... Rosemarie... please... Ah... Ah'm sorry for the way Ah treated you back then... Ah was goin' through tough times... what with your father leavin' an'... then you go on a date with that Cody kid an' you up an' left... Ah's thought you were a murderer on the loose... poor kid was in a coma ferever..."

Rogue laughs, "You were just about to rip me to shreds when you found out Ah was a mutant back in the kitchen... that's part of the reason Ah ran away... Ah was runnin' from you. Well, now Ah'm sick o' runnin'."

Rogue pushes the screen door open, "Good-bye, mama. Have a nice life."

"Rosemarie..." the woman whimpers.

Rogue walks down the path to the dirt road. She inches her finger over to one of the zealous men.

"Come 'ere, sugah..."

The man, complete with sweaty wife beater and overalls, high-fives his buddies and runs over to the Southern Belle. Rogue kisses the man on the mouth.

"Was it good for you?"

"Oo-o-o-o-o-o yeah, sure was *h-yuck*..."

"Good, then this--" Rogue says with her fist, "--should be even betta."

The man slumps to the ground and vomits.

"Ah'm beginnin' to like this crazy thing called touchin'..." Rogue says with a smile. She continues to walk down the road, with a skip.

NEXT ISSUE: When Blink and Witness work together - BIG trouble follows!