Six Months Later
DISCLAIMER - Of course I own the X-Men, my minimum wage job is just for funsies. And if you actually believe that, don't worry, the men in white coats are already on their way to get you.
A/N - Because Magneto moved the chess piece.
Six months. It was exactly 6 months to the day that she had packed her bags and for the second time, walked out of a place she called home.
She didn't do it for Bobby. No matter what anyone thought, she hadn't taken the cure for him. She'd taken it for herself, for her parents, for anyone who'd ever been hurt by her mutation in the past and for all those who could have been hurt in the future.
Now, six months later, she stood at the window of the tiny apartment she shared with 2 others, roommates who had no idea of what she used to be and who she had classes with at the local college, staring out at the mass of people on the street several stories below.
It was nothing like she thought it would be – life after the cure. The first time she'd touched Bobby's hand without fear as she slipped past him, the first time she'd kissed a boy without sucking his life from him, the first time she'd been able to hug a friend, shake hands without her gloves on, the first time a stranger bumped her bare shoulder in the street.
Every single occurrence sent a thrill through her, tingles from the point of impact moving below her skin. It was amazing. But as time passed, as her new life went on, with every touch a feeling grew within her.
A feeling that this was wrong, that she was wrong. And that something bad was going to happen.
Marie D'Ancanto couldn't help the sigh that escaped her, just like she couldn't help the regrets she held when she allowed herself to think about it during the long sleepless nights.
Looking into the crowd below her, she knew that there were at least 2 mutants within that writhing mass of bodies. They held themselves differently, saw the people around them through eyes that had seen more than everyone else could imagine. It was a skill that most mutants had, distinguishing others from the humans.
She still acted like she was different sometimes. Caught herself flinching if someone grabbed her arm, still hesitated for a split second before a kiss.
Maybe she should have listened to the warnings her body was giving her. Maybe she should have been more careful, known that it was too good to be true.
Because in the end, she had found out that you could only deny who you are for so long before it catches up with you. She'd lived a normal life for six months now, and she'd gotten so used to it that she'd almost forgotten how right it felt to be herself.
With a tug on the elbow length gloves she'd thought she'd never wear again, she turned from the window to look at the boy on the sofa. He was staring at the television, where some anxious looking scientist was being interviewed by an eager reporter. She didn't need him to look at her, though, to know what she would see in his eyes.
Rogue picked up the army surplus bag that held all her possessions and walked past the guy whose fear resonated within her mind and had done since she'd kissed him hello that afternoon. The only sound as she left the third place she'd ever felt like she belonged was the reporter's excited chattering…
"Sources within Worthington Industries have confirmed reports that the mutant cure is only a temporary palliative. All over the country mutants who took the cure have regained the powers they lost…"The End