There are some things she can't do on her own, Rogue admits to herself, acknowledging something she's fought against for so long. Being dependent upon others for so much in her life and abandoned at every turn has left deep scars, but having Knock Out here, now, and willing to help — a tiny piece of her is healing even as old wounds reopen.

She doesn't let go of the crowbar while she waits for her friend's arrival, nor when he transforms and tests the door. Even when she moves away as instructed, she holds tight to it like it's her anchor to this reality, her knuckles white as she watches him slowly use brute force to open those seemingly impenetrable doors. And with every inch he gains, something loosens in her chest...