After being sent to check on the others last issue,
Rogue enjoys her flight home, realizing she’s flown halfway around the world in
only a few hours! She arrives to find no one at the mansion. Rogue checks the
messages on the emergency phone line, until she hears one from Michael Rossi,
currently aboard the SHIELD helicarrier, looking into something Xavier had been
suspicious about. Hearing that he’s in danger causes Rogue to zoom out of
there, causing her to miss another message from Magik about Kitty’s situation
at the Massachusetts Academy (occurring in New Mutants). Meanwhile, aboard the
helicarrier, Rossi is being roughly interrogated by two SHIELD agents, though
he refuses to talk.
One of the agents departs, having seen Rossi was
investigating Sebastian Shaw and secretly contacts the Hellfire Club through a
secret line! The SHIELD mole tells Shaw of Rossi’s inquiry into him and Shaw
says to eliminate him. Just after, Emma Frost telepathically contacts Shaw to
update him on her situation, having just captured the New Mutants (to be
continued in New Mutants #17). Meanwhile, Rogue surveils the situation from the
clouds near the helicarrier. She hurls a coin with enough force that it smashes
through the hull and bounces all around, destroying the main radar system,
allowing her to sneak in undetected. Rogue smashes through the place, taking
out any opposition and destroys the internal security network.
The SHIELD mole realizes something is going on and
hurries back to Rossi and his partner. He kills his partner to craft the
narrative that Rossi overpowered him, having no choice but to kill Rossi in
retaliation. Before he can pull the trigger, Rogue arrives and rescues Rossi,
barreling out of the helicarrier. Rogue avoids the planes that took off after
them, her thoughts and manner of speaking having subtly changed as she flies
Rossi to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to the home of Carol Danvers’ parents. She leaves
Rossi to rest while she goes to fix him something to eat. Some time later,
Rossi awakens, very confused about where he is and how he got there. Rossi’s
confusion only intensifies when Rogue brings him soup, a recipe he thought
Carol Danvers came up with. Rogue responds that she did come up with it and
recounts her past with Rossi, when they first met and their previous
relationship, recounting details and stories only Carol would know.
It’s clear that Carol’s psyche has overtaken Rogue,
Carol’s memories mixing with her own. Rogue spots herself in the mirror,
confused at her appearance, the Rogue and Carol parts of her mind switching
back and forth as the two sides war for dominance. Rogue runs out of the house
in frustration, encountering more of Carol’s memories until she remembers their
fateful battle in which she stole Carol’s powers and identity. Rossi finds
Rogue in a crumpled, sobbing mess and she tearfully explains what she did, how
she took all of the parts of Carol that make her who she is, and that for all
intents and purposes, she is Carol now! Rossi angrily lashes out and
admits that he wishes he could kill Rogue for what she did, and the Carol
personality within her agrees. In an epilogue, Nick Fury questions the
unsuspected SHIELD mole, who tells Fury that Rogue killed his partner and took
Rossi. Fury issues an all-points alert to bring Rogue in, and if she resists,
to use deadly force!