Changes
By Daughter of the Black
Disclaimer: I do not own X-men or anything by Marvel comics, any characters you do not recognize are mine.
Chapter One: A new Beginning
Authors Note: This takes place after the third movie, but Scott is alive, I will get into the cure later. Remember if to review no matter what. Well time to start.
She was lying on a cold metal table; it was time for her weekly checkup. Hank was always nice, and it was strange to have to be watched over all the time. Rogue was not sure if the choice she had made to take the cure was right until the day when she started to feel every cut and bruise that the students of the institute took. It was just that at first, but once she began to gain control of her empathy, two more blows hit her harder than ever. It was a month or so after she took the cure when she heard Bobby thinking, he was trying to find a way to break up with her, without hurting her. The truth was, was that she had been working up her nerve to do just that. She was a very creeped out by this, and figured that first she would do the right thing then go see Hank. Logan had yet to run, and when Bobby and Rogue had decided to be just friends, he took over caring for her. In another month or so, small things began to float around her, Rogue once accidentally made a needle fly through the air and hit Logan in the gut. He healed, but it gave the woman a few ideas.
The next little experiment was rather dangerous, since it was very difficult, but she just had to try. When everyone was asleep one night, Rogue went down to the sub-levels and got into Cerebro. Without any real knowledge of how it worked, she tried to use it. It was more complex than she thought, and understood why Jean had tried to use it. Of course, someone namely Scott Summers, the doors had just closed when Rogue realized that he was trying to get in.
Flashback…
Scott saw only a brunette walking down the catwalk, into the machine called cerebro, he clawed at the doors. Then realized it was hopeless, he had to go get somebody, so he ran down the passage, when he reached the main hall he turned and headed towards the teachers rooms, all the time shouting that Rogue was in Cerebro. Logan had beat every other teacher into the hall mainly because whenever someone said Rogue, he jumped. As soon as Storm put the situation together, half of the school had woken up and when they saw the assembly of teachers heading down to the basement levels, they followed, some more quickly than others.
When the mob stopped at the end of the hallway, the doors to cerebro were closed. However, as the teachers spoke in whispered tones, the door slid open, to reveal Rogue walking back to them. A puzzled look on her face, Logan saw her first, and was shocked to see that she was alright. Jean had been a powerful mutant and even she after more than a decade did not have the control to use cerebro with out being hurt. Rogue had faltered as she walked through the door and fallen on the ground, still conscious but just very weak. Logan had lifted her up and taken her directly to the med lab, Hank of course decided to do more tests.
With each power that grew and strengthened, her body would grow weak, until it was used to the new strain on her physical body. She had been confined to bed for three weeks, only let out to teach a class or two. After two months, and it was the end of April, she was allowed to be out of bed so long as she was in a wheel chair. Rogue felt more and more like Professor X with each passing day. It was worth the worry that is trying to use cerebro, she had to know, was Magneto truly powerless. It was something that bothered her, the answer she got did not comfort nor concern her though, it was merely something that was good to know. That way it would not surprise her later.
After that one time in cerebro, Storm and Scott had interrogated her at the same time, she had worried them. She did not tell the pair just why she had gone in there that would come later, they only asked her what had possessed her and if she had really gotten it to work. Logan had been angry and he did not hide it well, he was most often found in the danger room, and Rogue did not understand just why he was angry at her until she heard a thought of hers when he had been tired. He was worried about her, worried that she would get hurt, it hurt him. Deeper than that, he wanted her, had for a long time. The funny thing was, was that he didn't know that Rogue felt the same way, practically every other person at the institute knew, but not the Wolverine.
…End Flashback
Ever since that incident, she had been required to go to weekly checkups, to just make sure that she was okay, it was during one of these sessions when she had kissed Logan. They had been alone in the room, so she just turned to him and let her lips rest on his, then moving to pull at his bottom lip. She could tell he wanted this, and she pushed him over the edge by running a finger down his chest, playing with the buttons. When she did that, he was putty, kissing her back for all he was worth. Soon everyone knew that the pair was dating, since Logan tended to take her to restaurants and volunteered to carry her where she wanted to go. Logan of course was playing the gentleman and never ever tried to rush Marie, it was important to him that she trusted him. It made Storm wonder if beneath indestructible walls, was the Wolverine a marshmallow.
It was almost the end of May, and Rogue had become more and more restless, she could be caught sitting next to a window just staring out into the distance. She finally decided to do what she thought she needed to, she rolled into Storm's classroom, she was alone, grading papers. She spoke quietly, hoping not to startle the headmistress, "Storm, I was wondering could I maybe go home, my sisters graduation is on Saturday morning, I would like to go. Not alone though," Her eyes clouded for a moment then cleared, "Bobby, Kitty, and Jubilee are free, and I am sure that Logan would drive, so would Bobby. We would need to leave tonight though, we could camp out, I want to go see them. See what my life would have been like."
Storm was only slightly startled, "Of course Rogue, But I will book you rooms at hotels, you are in no condition to stay outside right now. I will have everything set up when you leave. Now go pack, and I'll get to work." Storm smiled and gave the seated girl a hug.
Rogue left, feeling lighter, she let everyone know what was going on, and then went to find Logan. He was of course fighting drones in the danger room; she used the intercom to speak to him. He listened to her for a moment then nodded and left the room. Rogue went to her room, and packed a duffle; she added a few blankets to the top just in case and then headed down to the garage. When she arrived, an SUV was ready, and Bobby was sitting in the driver's seat. Logan pulled around in his silver sports car, the jackknife door opened and Logan stepped out, he closed his door and took Marie's bag from her lap dumping it in the trunk. He wheeled the chair around to the passenger side and opened the door, and scooped the woman he loved into his arms, then gently depositing her on the seat. He set the blankets at her feet and closed the door.
They stopped at eight that night outside a hotel in Alabama, they got some strange looks when they walked in, but they were helped. Rogue was even more nervous and when she woke up, she was a mess. Once she had showered and dressed, they checked out and hit the road for the last stretch of the journey. It would only take an hour or two, and Rogue was dressed for the graduation. She had on a short black dress that had thick straps; on top of that, she had arm length gloves that tied at the top. The black heels were merely for show, but they completed the ensemble. Her Hair, which was waist length, was in a net at the back of her neck. Only the shoulder length white streaks hung loose, framing her face, the dark brown that bordered on ebony contrasted extremely with the loose locks.
They pulled up outside of the school, Logan settled her in the wheelchair, and the group of five made their way inside. No one paid to much attention to this group, and Rogue sat silently through the ceremony. She held tightly though to Logan's hand, and he held hers, squeezing every now and then to reassure her. Just before everyone filed out, they left. It took Logan longer this time to weave in between traffic, making sure that he was going the right way, the van followed them, Bobby making sure to keep up. They took their time in getting to Marie's home, hoping not to be the first there. When they did pull up onto the curb, they all saw the huge tent in the front lawn.
Many people inside the tent had seen the silver car drive up, followed by a black van. Many thought it was some professional singer, others thought it was some rich kid. None expected what they got. Logan got out and situated Rogue in her state of the art wheelchair, draping a blanket over the back to make her comfortable. Bobby got out and so did the other girls, they each took up their position, Rogue between Jubilee who wore a yellow halter dress and Kitty who wore a sky blue sundress. Logan pushed the chair, and Bobby came just behind Logan. They crossed the street and everyone stared, Rogue could identify most of them, and there she was, Lilliane. The one with the stringy dark blonde hair, absolutely no fashion sense, and a heinous figure. There, standing amidst a throng of girls and guys, was David, Rogue shuddered. She felt Logan tickling her neck, I am okay, it is just the first guy I ever touched, over there. She felt Logan look and tense up, they group reached the walk up to the front of the house, and now, Marie's father had seen the group.
"Who do you think you are, crashing my daughter's party," He spit at the group.
Marie's mother was the first to recognize her daughter, "Marie, is that really you?"
"Forgotten your daughter so soon, I know at least a dozen people who don't know her, and owe their life to her." That was Logan; he was trying to control his anger.
"Mommy, Daddy, what's wrong? Who are these people, make them leave!" Lilliane spoke this time.
"Ah, my twin sister Lilliane, congratulations. You actually graduated high school. Did you really think I would miss a chance to see what life I could have had, had we had our destinies switched. Though I rather prefer mine, even counting the times I almost died. Or the people who died or I pulled to an inch from death. I love the people I have met, both those who used me and those who cared for me." A far off gaze came into Rogue's eyes.
That is all for now. Please review, I have some weird ideas, but also need ideas. I will explore in the next chapter David, Logan, Bobby and their relationship to Rogue plus the girl Lilliane.
Daughter of the Black
