The X-Men had never been able to find Rogue through Cerebro. Even after the White Queen finally got her hands on the device she had been longing for, she still couldn't search for Rogue, which was quite unexpected.
One had to realize that with the Professor in a comatose state and Jean Grey missing, the White Queen was very likely the most powerful telepath on Earth. She was perhaps the only one capable of projecting her consciousness globally through Cerebro.
Yet, the White Queen's mental search for Rogue came up with "nothing"?
This spoke volumes. It either suggested the worst—that she was dead—or it meant she had found some other way to avoid being located.
"And there are two possibilities for that. The first is that you didn't want to be found by us and were deliberately hiding."
"How is that possible? Without Jean or the Professor, how was I supposed to know you guys could find such a powerful telepath so quickly?"
Rogue complained honestly, not feeling that this matter had anything to do with her. She only knew about the X-Men reforming for missions through the internet and television. In fact, it wasn't until several weeks after the X-Men had regrouped that she even knew they were "back from the dead."
Of course, it couldn't be denied that Rogue indeed had no intention of returning.
"It's not that I didn't want to go back, it's just that I have a lot of people here to look after."
Rogue explained helplessly to the group: "You have to understand, I'm spread thin. There are mutants everywhere in need of help; many don't even have the ability to live independently and can't make it to Genosha. I have to stay behind to help them."
"At the very least, once you heard news of the school being rebuilt, you could have sent a message back to tell us you needed help."
Logan wasn't particularly satisfied with Rogue's arrangements. Back when she was just a young girl under twenty, he was the one who brought her to the mansion. In Logan's eyes, it was only reasonable and necessary for this kid to seek help.
The fact that she chose not to ask the school for assistance and instead shouldered so much responsibility on her own made Logan quite angry.
Of course, now was not the time to discuss this.
"Alright, let's set that topic aside... those people looking for me, do you know who they are?"
"We do. In fact, they are how we found you. Emma suggested that if we couldn't detect you directly, we could change our approach—find those who are trying to find you and track them instead."
After explaining the sequence of events, Cyclops began to tell Rogue what kind of predicament she was facing: "Right now, we need to protect you and ensure that not a single sample of your DNA falls into the enemy's hands."
"Enemy? Who is it this time?"
Rogue looked at Logan with confusion. The other X-Men glanced at each other, only then realizing that Rogue seemed to be the only one who didn't know what was going on.
"It's the Sentinels. The enemies we're dealing with are Sentinels from the future."
Hearing "future Sentinels" made Rogue even more bewildered. It wasn't until Cyclops and the others gave a detailed explanation that she more or less understood what had happened and how she had become the key to the entire conflict.
She was about to ask more when she heard a strange sound. Then, the X-Men looked toward the sky. They saw a Sentinel robot that could only be described as colossal, appearing directly over Paris.
No one had ever seen a Sentinel like this. The giant monster stood over 50 meters tall and looked dilapidated, composed of various damaged parts. Sparks were even flying from its body, but that didn't hinder the monster's lethality in the slightest. It leaned against a nearby skyscraper with one hand while aiming its face toward the X-Men standing on the rooftop. Cyclops took a deep breath and issued orders to everyone.
"There are other people in this building. Emma, Nightcrawler—evacuate the civilians. Iceman, you're responsible for maintaining the building's structural integrity. Colossus, Logan—take Rogue and evacuate first, protect her at all costs. Storm, go intercept that damn Sentinel!"
No one questioned Cyclops's orders because he had already sprung into action. The moment the giant Sentinel turned, a lethal green laser erupted from its eyes. Cyclops used his ability to counter the blast with his own energy. The building beneath their feet began to crack rapidly; it wouldn't be long before it collapsed.
Iceman released a massive amount of frost to prop up the building's structure. The White Queen used telepathy to disperse the civilians inside the building, while Nightcrawler did his best to teleport out ordinary people with mobility issues. Simultaneously, dark clouds gathered over Paris as fierce lightning and powerful storms began to batter the giant Sentinel's battered frame.
In an instant, Paris was plunged into darkness, and intense beams of light illuminated the sky shrouded by storm clouds. Both sides erupted with immense power simultaneously in an attempt to destroy one another.
Meanwhile, Logan and Colossus chose to evacuate urgently with Rogue. Witnessing the chaos, Rogue made a split-second decision: "We can't leave yet! At the very least, we have to get those kids and the homeless people out of here!"
"You are their target. As long as you leave, they'll be safe," Logan said decisively. The Blackbird was no longer safe, so they chose to take the stairs. However, as soon as they reached the ground floor, they saw a tall humanoid robot appear before them.
Nimrod looked at the X-Men and offered his opinion mildly: "Greetings, X-Men. I have eliminated you once before; I do not mind eliminating you a second time."
"Now, please hand over Ms. Anna Marie, and I can grant you a merciful death."
Logan immediately bared his claws, and Colossus shifted into his metallic skin. Looking at this group of "fools who overestimated themselves," Nimrod had no intention of showing mercy. However, at that moment, a bone boomerang struck Nimrod in the head.
It did no damage, but the taunt factor was off the charts.
"Welcome to Paris, ladies and gentlemen."
As the mutant Blink used her teleportation powers to bring Gambit and his team onto the battlefield, the flippant French rogue flashed a smug grin: "I must say, as a Frenchman, I'm quite impressed by the new tricks you Yanks have cooked up. Don't worry, we aren't enemies. Quite the opposite."
"We intend to send this robot gentleman to the Great Beyond."