Uncanny X-Men, The (1981 series) #269

In Australia, after experiencing the strange, incomparable feeling of being ripped apart heading through the Siege Perilous, the portal opens and Rogue reappears in her room, once more whole! The first thing Rogue notices is the fact that she’s retained her memories, wondering why she wasn’t granted a new life. She grabs a shirt from her drawer and notices that someone seems to be using her TV and shower! On the TV, she sees news reports of Mystique’s apparent death, as well as the deaths of Destiny and Stonewall at Muir Isle. After a moment of stunned sadness, she grabs her costume and shouts for the X-Men before hopping out of the window. However, she soon discovers she can no longer fly as she tumbles off the awning and onto the ground, where she’s found by Pretty Boy and Bonebreaker. Rogue realizes the Reavers must have taken back their little town, while Bonebreaker contacts Donald Pierce as he and Lady Deathstrike are in the process of transforming Cylla Markham into a Reaver. Pierce tells Bonebreaker to kill Rogue, but before he can, he’s slammed into by Ms. Marvel, now separated from Rogue! Gunning for Rogue, Ms. Marvel tears through the Reavers while Rogue runs. Rogue makes it to the hill where she finds Gateway, stock still and unable to move. She absorbs his power and promises to come back for him, opening up a portal to take her far away. Just as she’s about to step through, she’s tackled by Ms. Marvel, and the portal closes after them with a flash!

Meanwhile, deep in space, Lila Cheney is on the run aboard a Shi’ar ship. She gets caught but is able to grab a guard’s gun, her shot ricocheting off his armor and blasting a hole in the ship wall. As Lila gets pulled out into space from decompression, she gives a small smile, before teleporting away in a blink! Back on earth, it turns out that Gateway’s portal deposited Rogue in the Savage Land, while Carol was sent elsewhere. As Rogue enjoys her time in the seemingly empty Savage Land, she hopes Carol was sent somewhere just as great. Unfortunately, Carol ended up on Muir Isle, in the midst of Moira MacTaggert and Amanda Sefton seemingly torturing Polaris! She tries to free Polaris but is rebuffed by Amanda and the arrival of Legion, who tears back his face to reveal that he and everyone else on Muir Isle is under the control of Shadow King! Without being able to tell how long she’s spent there, and without Carol’s powers to rely on, Rogue treks through the Savage Land, honing on her body and confidence. While, back on Muir Isle, Shadow King tries his best to take over Carol as well. As he slowly breaks down her defenses, the still-bound Polaris swears that she’ll make him pay!

Back in the Savage Land, Rogue comes across the aftermath of a terrible battle, where a village was razed to the ground. She finds a sigil the X-Men had left and wonders how long she was away in the Siege, as a mysterious figure watches her from security cameras! The sensors note something coming in fast, just as Rogue hears it as well, right before Carol comes zooming up and delivers a massive punch to Rogue! Wondering how she survived that, Rogue realizes that when the two of them are in close proximity, they seem to share the powers. Rogue fights back and notices that Carol seems to be decaying. Carol reveals that she’s under Shadow King’s control as well, and states that there isn’t enough life essence to sustain both of them! As Carol begins to drain Rogue, just as Rogue did to her all that time ago, Carol gets healthier as Rogue decays. Just as Rogue is about to succumb, Carol is blasted from behind by someone unseen! Some time later, at an old citadel that used to belong to Sauron, Rogue awakens strapped to a slab as a strange mechanism courses energy through her. Noting she feels much better now, her savior comes up a frees her from the machine. Rogue discovers that the man who saved her was Magneto, as he states that between her and Carol, only one of them could survive, and he chose her!