In Search Of Perfection
By ASG_Rogue
An explosion and the door yielded its strong hold on the archway heralded their entrance into the high security establishment. The high-pitched alarms that lined the building began their shrill announcement of a breach. Close by, guards had come to investigate the disturbance, while their were joined by a couple of fellow soldiers, who were prepared for anything. Unfortunately for them, this was one thing they hadn't expected. Sunlight spilled in from the site of the breach. A large crack in the wall was revealed as the smoke cleared, and two figures darted forth, using the confusion to take their opponents off guard. A woman shot from the floor into the air as she reached the soldiers, carrying several of them airborne. Meanwhile, the man, who had personally inflicted the damage, slipped two guards gunfire, and brought a pole-staff spinning around from his back, swinging it into the chests of both men.
The flying woman rammed her victims into the wall nearby, driving the breath out of them enough to hopefully keep them out of this fight long enough that she and her partner could get what they needed and be gone. She shot down with incredible aerial agility, and brought a flying punch into the face of another soldier. Her partner used the leverage of his staff to kick both stunned foes, knocking them into unconsciousness. While she provided the diversion, he snuck past the remaining defenders, and slid through a door, his destination nearby. At the end of the hall ahead of him sat a large console. He produced a wire thin item hidden in his unkempt hair, and jammed it into a tiny slot housed by the computer. 'Dis had better work,' he thought to himself while waiting for the process to be complete. Just then he noticed how quiet it had become. She was getting good at this.
She took a deep breath now, as the effects of battle had begun to take its toll on her body. Two hours now, of steady combat while they penetrated the fortress. Even with her powers, she was getting worn down. 'Down, but not out,' she grinned for a moment, and surveyed the damage she had done. Most of the men were either knocked out, or very woozy. It was a testament of the control over her super strength. Knowing when to pull punches, and the ferocity of her strength took a lot of willpower from this young woman. Leaning over, the infiltrator made her way down the hallway and towards the rendezvous point they had agreed upon.
"Bout time." She whirled around with a mixture of surprise and concern. Could there be some unknown factor, which had taken her partner out? The smell of cigarettes filled her lungs, and there was a lit cigarette right in front of her. Now she could see him, that confident expression of his. How could he be so arrogant at a time like this, when there was no time to focus on anything but the objective? Sometimes, he infuriated her with his lack of similarities in comparison to herself, and other times she couldn't say how much she appreciated him for his individuality. He would use her gratitude to tease her mercilessly. "Dat why ya love me s'much girl?" he'd whisper smugly into her ear. At times like that, she'd just roll her green eyes.
Retreating a couple of steps, she leaned over the console and tried to make sense of the strange language before her. "It's Shi'ar chere. Says 40 seconds 'til s'done." He moved next to her, and produced a small object when she looked up with intrigue. "Translator," her partner said, and leaned against the wall, foot tapping the foot impatiently. Meanwhile, the now quiet female took in the cramped room. It was about the size of a small room, only housing the computer unit and the table, which it stood on. 'So far, so good.' Seconds later, a soft beep, emanating from the unit caught both of their attentions. Then, they were covered in darkness. The entire building resounded with the powering down that was occurring. She was yanked forward as he grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the room, as the explosions began.
Running as quickly as possible alongside him, she secretly marveled at how well he knew the terrain, considering this was their first time in such a place. 'Thief trainin',' she reminded herself mentally. As they came around towards the home stretch, she could feel the intense heat just behind them. Her fear became real, as roaring flames were reflected by the metallic building's siding. He quickly jumped past the rumble of their entrance, and threw her forward, just as the wave of force generated by the explosions flung them higher than they had expected. When they hit the ground, she quickly scrambled over to his prone form. The impact hadn't hurt her much, but the same logic did not apply to him. Sitting over him, she leaned closer to check his pulse.
"Peek-a-boo!" He announced playfully as he opened his eyes, and she instinctively jerked her hand back. His smile turned into a frown when she sat back on her legs, with bewilderment. She turned her head in the opposite direction, hiding, while pretending to stare at the inferno. He realized his folly, and put his hand on her shoulder. "Sorry, guess I got ta be more considerate." "Ah could've triggered mah power the way ya scared me!" Clearly, she didn't see it as humorous as he had at the time, and on second thought, it was a bad judgement call. 'Bad call boy.' As he pulled her close, they felt the old exterior of the Danger Room floor. She rested her head against his shoulder for a moment, before he extended his hand to help her to her feet.
"Good timin' you two." Logan's gruff voice penetrated between the two of them, from the intercom. "Next time, none of that mushy mess though." His attempt at humor. Rogue shook her head, while Remy just chuckled. They walked outside of the Danger Room, and walked down the hall while the next set of X-Men entered for their own session. "Plans for t'day?" Their eyes met, and they engaged in their daily tug of war. He won this time, as she broke the gaze before speaking. "Ah kinda made plans with the ladies today. We're gonna go shoppin'. Wanna come with?" He light up a cigarette, held the door open for her with his foot, and waited for her to step out. She did so, and waited for that first puff of his. Exhaling, he responded, "No t'anks. Me an' a buncha catty women? Dem days after over wit' Roguey." His comment was met by her laughter; Rogue beckoned at him. He tossed the cigarette onto the ground, stomped it out, and leaned over to accept the waiting kiss. Afterwards, she stepped inside and went to clean herself up.
-- --
"Okay ladies," Rogue said cheerfully, as she paced in the dressing room with her latest suggested outfit on. " How's this one?" She stepped out of the tiny room, and took a walk down the hallway, like a run way model. The ensemble consisted of a tangerine orange sundress, covered in a pattern of daisies, and a brown short sleeved blouse. Jubilee beamed, appeased. "I'm tellin' you Rogue, you'll have guys banging on your window all night to come in with that outfit!" She laughed at Jubilee's comment. "Jubes, ah don't want guys bangin' on mah window when ah've got Remy with me." The other women laughed, while Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "You've got to be joking. Now go try on the good outfit I picked out." "You call that good, Betts? Hello! What's a ninja know about fashion?" "More than a mallrat." Kitty and Jean continue to laugh at this, all the while, baby Rachel squealed, mimicking her mother.
The Southern Belle walked into the back, and slipped out of the dress. While trying on Betsy's chosen outfit, she reflected on the day. It had been such long time since these women had gotten together, if only for an afternoon at the mall. Jean had given birth to Rachel, and was making a sincere attempt at living a normal life with Scott and their daughter. Elizabeth and Jubilee were both members of the X-Men along with Rogue, which usually kept them rather busy, and yet, the three of them hadn't spent much time together during Danger Room sessions, saving the world, and recuperating. Kitty was attending more college courses, while also serving as a member of the government team, X-Factor. Rogue had finally conquered her own mutant power, and the romance between she and Remy had risen to new heights.
"It's, uh, kinda tight Betts." Rogue carefully stumbled towards the others in the skintight leather mini skirt and low cut navy blue sweater. The outfit really emphasized her figure. A bit more than Rogue cared to show in public. She was still getting used to being able to show off her body without fear of absorbing another person's personality by flesh-to-flesh contact. She hoped with time she could become more accommodated to being around other people without being completely covered. It was different when she was with Remy. He was the one whom she had finally triumphed her fears with. "Wow." Kitty just stared for a moment while Elizabeth marveled at the others' expressions. "What? She looks like me." Another burst of laughter was their response.
"Okay okay! Now this is a keeper!" Kitty adjusted the plain white halter top for a moment, while the others oddly peered at the strange velvety indigo pants, which clung loosely to Rogue's trim waist. The pants were held in place by a series of golden interlocked chains. "What're those called?" Jean whispered into Jubilee's ear. "A disaster," the teenager said with an amused grin. "Pryde, that's SO not Rogue's style." "Like yours was any better, Miss Make Rogue a Living Pumpkin?" "It's better than that reject from Jerry Springer get up." "Girls, girls. Ya'll behave!" Jean picked Rachel up, resting her against her blanket-covered shoulder. The infant cooed for a moment, and pressed her tiny hand against her mother's hair experimentally. She took a seat while rocking the babe, and gestured at a bag beside her leg. "Try this one Rogue."
"Wow." "Major wow." "Impressive." This time, Rogue strolled out in the midst of them. It was a sheer, sleeveless black dress, with a black slip underneath to cover between what was required. There was a small slit which reached up halfway to her right thigh. It felt very soft against her skin, and the dress itself seemed free enough, without the fear of something falling out of place. In short, all of the women present found it satisfactory. They strolled out of the department store with a handful of bags each, and baby Rachel strapped around Jean's back, content to toy with her mother's fiery red tresses.
Rogue sat down at the booth with her tray, a turkey garden wrap and a tea, while the other ladies went to find their own lunches. Rachel sat in her baby seat, occupied with her bottle of milk. The beautiful infant kept her attention for the remainder of the time that kept the others away. Such a precious little bundle of life. Rachel was the ultimate expression of love between Scott and Jean Summers, and nothing could compare. 'That youngin' will have quite a legacy ta uphold,' Rogue thought to herself. In truth, Rogue was a bit intimidated at the thought of having a child of her own anytime soon. However, she knew that she and Remy would eventually want to have children down the road, and had talked about it several times, in light of the recent developments between the couple. "I think she looks more like Scott than I."
Glancing up from her thoughts, she noticed Jean standing over the baby seat, tray in hand. "Chinese huh?" With a quiet nod, the redhead sat down her tray and took a seat beside the now sleeping child. "Ah dunno Jean. Ah think she looks more like her mama, personally." They both knew it was true, although Rachel had her father's face, she had her mother's defiant green eyes and flaming red hair, if it was only but a small strand in the front of her head. Rachel lie sleeping contentedly, her bottle left forgotten beside her chubby leg. Jean sighed with relief and took a spoonful of noodle to eat. "She's a handful, Rogue. But never for a moment have I had any second thoughts." Rogue looked up slowly, and swallowed carefully. "Ah can tell." Both women exchanged smiles, and continued eating, only to be joined by their conspirators.
The group of women who had seen the stars and beyond chatted about a number of topics. They caught up on what each other had been up, but the most popular topic originated from the lips of the very subtle Jubilation Lee, who blurted out "How's the sex life Rogue?" The other women quieted down, and Kitty shot Jubilee a dirty look. Rogue, in the meantime, turned the color of a fire hydrant, and stuttered out. "S'just fine, girl." Each of them knew how intensely the relationship had picked up; how couldn't they? The couple practically glowed with happiness now whenever they were together. They were no Scott and Jean, but they certainly didn't lack the same love in comparison. However, it didn't take a telepath to realize that Rogue was still very uncomfortable with her newfound physicality. One could only imagine how she'd feel discussing it.