Summary: It's been ten years since anyone has seen John Allerdyce after the incident at Alkali Lake. If he didn't join Magneto, where did he go?
Disclaimer: Property of Marvel and Fox and Stan Lee and blah blah blah...
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A/N: Just a couple of things -- I'm thinking John was around 17 when he left, the cure is permanent, and the Professor, Jean, and Scott are alive. See what I can do through the power of fanfiction? Woo!! Set after X3. Now onto the story…
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You always do as you're told?
He never was one for goodbyes, she thought.
He had been gone for ten years. And no one could figure out where he went.
Jean was wrong when she said he was with Magneto.
Maybe he did get on that helicopter, but it seemed that he didn't stay very long. Every fight they've been up against the Brotherhood, even at Alcatraz, he was nowhere to be seen. Rogue was sure if he had been there, he would have gleefully participated. He wasn't one to hide when there was a war to be fought. If the incident in front of Bobby's house had taught her anything, it was that he loved to use his powers.
The Professor couldn't find him, even with Cerebro. He just could not detect John's mutation anywhere. There were no reports of mysterious fires or blazes or anything that could even remotely be connected to him.
He was just...gone.
Rogue knew what they said at the school. She couldn't ignore the whispers and gossip forever.
He's probably dead.
But she couldn't accept that. She did not want to believe that he could have died alone somewhere on the snowy slopes near Alkali Lake. That Stryker's plan had succeeded in killing at least one mutant off the face of this earth.
No, he had to be alive.
Somewhere. Anywhere.
She sighed heavily. She really needed to focus her attention on the children.
They were at the Metropolitan Museum, supposedly looking at the artwork for a class project, but the children seemed more interested in running circles around the guards and making their workday miserable.
It had been almost three years since the Professor had offered her a position at the school. She was still getting used to the idea of teaching kindergarten, with Jubilee, no less -- the girl who proclaimed she was allergic to all things child-related. But Rogue enjoyed her work and the kids were always eager to learn.
Well, except when it came to looking at very old paintings, she thought.
"I give up," Jubilee said throwing up her hands in defeat. She stood next to Rogue and asked, "Who's bright idea was it to bring them here?"
"Don't look at me -- I thought we should have taken them to the zoo."
"It would have been more appropriate with all of them acting like a bunch of frickin' monkeys."
Rogue giggled as Jubilee reached out and grabbed a boy who was running past her by the arm. "Sam, will you please stop running?"
"Yes, ma'am," he said, very politely for a five year old, then proceeded to walk away just far enough before he went into a full-out sprint again.
"I can't believe he did that," Jubilee said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Did you really think he was going to listen?"
"No, not that. He called me 'ma'am.' I'm only twenty-five! I can't be a ma'am yet!"
Rogue giggled again and watched as Jubilee tried to pull apart two boys who decided to wrestle in the middle of the room. She wasn't quite sure why Jubilee was putting so much effort into maintaining some kind of order with these kids. It was just no use whatsoever. And some of them were probably strong enough to blast even Logan off of them. It was common sense to let them just tire themselves out. Jubilee was going to have to learn that the hard way.
Her attention was diverted when she saw Sam again but this time a blonde-haired girl she had never seen before was chasing him.
"I'm gonna get you!" she yelled out to the boy.
Sam just laughed and ran faster, almost colliding with a group of Japanese tourists.
Rogue smiled. She couldn't remember the last time she felt that carefree.
"Maggie! Maggie! Come back here!"
The blonde-haired girl skidded to a stop at the voice and turned around sheepishly.
"I told you to stay close."
"Sorry, daddy."
Rogue couldn't see his face, his back was toward her. He was wearing jeans and a dark blue shirt, 'Phoenix Fire Department' written on the back.
Hmm...he's a firefighter...must explain the shoulders...
She watched as he crouched down and picked up the little girl by the waist. The girl smiled in apology as she leaned back in her father's arms and touched his cheek with her small hand.
"Don't run off like that again, okay?"
"Okay."
"Let's go find mommy, all right?"
The little girl nodded vigorously, her hair flying all over her face. As he smoothed the hair away, he turned so Rogue got a view of his face and what she saw made her heart, her breath, her entire body stop.
"John?" she whispered.
She watched as he carried the girl through to another room. She hurried after him, pushing people aside.
Were her eyes playing tricks on her? She had to make sure it was him. She hoped it was him. She prayed in those seconds trying to catch up to him that it was him.
"John!" she yelled out again but he didn't turn around, acting as if that wasn't his name. Why wasn't he turning around? Several men further away had heard her and turned around, wondering who was causing the commotion in an art museum. "John!"
She finally caught him by the arm and spun him around. "John...it's you."
His brow furrowed and he frowned. The little girl in his arms had the same exact expression on her face.
But Rogue wasn't paying attention to any of that. She just couldn't believe he was here, standing in front of her...alive. He was a bit taller, his hair was lighter and shorter, his face more matured, but his eyes...they were the same shade of blue she remembered.
"I think you've got me confused with someone else." He tried to walk away but her grip on his arm only tightened. She couldn't let him go again, not when she just found him.
"John, it's me. Rogue. Remember?"
His frown only deepened. "I'm sorry, I don't know who you are."