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The humid Gulf coast air flowed through her hair as she punched the bike towards where Steve ran off after the creature from the orphanage.

Rogue almost felt bad about ditching Summers almost immediately after they started back on the bikes. But she had no intention of sitting by like a child while Steve took care of whatever that thing was. Plus, Steve was right, Summers was about as charismatic as a pile of rocks. She had a better chance against the rat creature than she did against being bored to death. 

More than anything, though, she had a feeling deep in her stomach that she knew what that rat creature was. Or, to put it more accurately, she knew who that thing was. 

While walking the deserted hallways of the orphanage she had spent only a few months, the picture started to become clear. Maybe she hadn't seen it while she was there because she was rendered numb by her newly orphaned state, or because she had still be a stupid, scared, little girl at that point. She wasn't sure, but seeing that place as it was tonight pulled the curtain back from her eyes like a murderer confessing to their crimes.

That place wasn't an orphanage. Not in the traditional sense, of course. No, that was a halfway house for kids that someone out there wanted to perform experiments on. She had been the only one to have powers when she got there. At the very least, she had been the only one to exhibit them. The others had always seemed normal.

That rat was one of them though. She felt it.

But she still hoped she was wrong.
[hr]
The thing was fast. That's all Steve could think about as he made his pursuit on foot. He was one of the fastest human beings as far as he knew, and he could barely do his best to keep up with it as it tore down the main street of town. So far it had already scrambled over half-a-dozen cars, smashing windshields and collapsing roofs as he did.

It was late, but not late enough that there weren't bars still open or people on the streets. The creature ran through a group of civilians, knocking them down like a bunch of drunk bowling pins. The rat thing raised its clawed hand at one of the bar-goers, a young woman who was screaming like she was in a horror movie. Before the razor sharp claws came down on the horrified woman, Rogers's shield slammed into its back.

The mutant was knocked from on top of the girl, and the shield flew back to Steve's hand in mid-sprint. It was still amazing to him how the shield behaved. It was like second nature to him after all these years with it. He knew it had more to do with his enhanced speed, strength, and reflexes than anything else, but it still felt like the shield obeyed his will more than anything. He and it moved in concert, one moving where the other needed them to be.

"Move! It's not gonna stay down!" he motioned to the party goers. The rat started to get back up, and he launched himself towards it before it could threaten them again. Steve collided with it in a flying tackle, the two of them rolling into the street. The rat creature thrashed wildly, attempting to scratch and bit at Nomad. Steve used the shield to deflect the blows, rolling away to give him some breathing room. 

His opponent hissed at him and then lept off its powerful, furry feet towards Rogers. The super soldier absorbed the leap with the shield, and then tossed the creature behind him. A window shattered as the rat ended up in a bar. Screams and panic echoed from inside, and Steve rushed to make sure it didn't hurt anyone. 

Standing in the shattered front window, the light filtering behind him as if he was a gunslinger in one of the old Westerns he and Buckky once watched on the silver screen, Steve called to the creature, "Hey you. Forget about me?"

The rat did turn to face him. It was far too focused on the innocent people cowering in front of it. Some patrons had turned over tables to put a barrier between them and the thing that was now looking at them with voracious hunger. One man had fallen over a bar stool when the window was broken, hurting himself in the process. He was attempting to crawl back away from the monster, but there was no way he'd get away in time.

With another hungry leap, the monster made its move. With a flick of Steve Rogers's wrist, the shield flew once again. It bounced off the wooden, bar floor and up towards his opponent's chest. It struck true, flinging the creature back through the kitchen of the bar. Steve scooped up the shield as he followed. He found the kitchen empty, but the back door swinging open.

Nomad took off in pursuit, finding the creature doubling back towards the orphanage. Maybe he had enough, and was retreating somewhere he believed he would be safe. Steve wasn't sure, but at least there wouldn't be any innocents it could hurt there.

When he reached the orphanage's courtyard, however, the creature was nowhere to be seen.

A hiss from beside Rogers drew his attention, but he saw nothing. Turning wildly, he searched for his aggressor, keeping his shield at the ready.

"Leave," a voice growled from the shadows. "Trap."

"Jesus," Steve whispered to himself. It could talk. He could talk. It was clear he was a male. And if he could talk, it meant that he was probably a human. But if that was the case, it was a more advanced form of mutation than Steve had ever seen in the SHIELD files. Never before had he seen a human lose their minds after a mutation. It was disturbing, and raised a lot of questions about what had really been going on in that orphanage.

"LEAVE!" the rat jumped out of a tree, teeth and claws bared towards Steve.

Before he reached Nomad, a motorcycle without a rider slammed into its side.
[hr]
The rat mutant attempted to stand and lunge at Steve once again, but Rogue intercepted him. She launched herself onto it's back. As it attempted to buck her off, she held onto it with one, gloved hand. With her teeth, she pulled off the glove on the other hand before shoving the hand beneath the creature's fur and onto its skin.

The sensation she felt was all kinds of wrong. Any other time she had ever taken the life force of someone, she had felt their fear. It was tinged with other emotions, sure. Sometimes even memories. But this time all she felt was hunger and rage. She felt her heart rate rise as the anger took root.

There was more, though. She felt stronger. She could hear every cricket in the grass of the courtyard. The smell of the rat man's fur became overwhelming, and even the dark of night became a little lighter. 

The anger won out, and she picked up the rat over her head. As she did, she saw the creature's face start to lose its rodent-like qualities. As it did, her suspicions were confirmed. The pointed ears and fanged visage retreated, and from behind them came the face of Eddie Whelan, one of the former kids of the orphanage. His scrawny, skull-like features returned, and the pain she was inflicting on him became clear. She put him down, and he retreated into the building.

A hand was placed on her shoulder, and the rage flared up once more. She grabbed the arm and flipped the person like a ragdoll over in front of her. It was Steve, who put his hands up in surrender, "I don't know what just happened, but you need to calm down. And we need to get out of here."

As he spoke, she felt the strength and senses she had taken from Eddie start to melt away from her. Remorse instantly welled up inside her. She had done it again. She had hurt someone, lashed out with powers she didn't understand. Except this time it was purposeful. Rogue had hurt Eddie, whether it was to defend Rogers or not. And then she used what she had taken in order to snap at the person she was trying to protect.

What was she becoming?

"Steve...I...I don't-"

Before she could finish, a whistling sound filled the air, and Steve tackled her to the ground, tenting both of them with his shield.

She began to lose consciousness just as the orphanage exploded.