hey everyone.

This is my first X-Men fic, so please be gentle. i'm just kind of getting into the groove of it, so bare with me for a while. i'm going to try to include a lot of characters in this one, but not so many i get overwhelmed so let's hope i do good with that. well, hope it sounds at least a little entertaining. I will say that, because of my writing style, my OC will probably come off as a bit "mary-sue-ish" at some points. I try to prevent it, but sometimes it's inevitable. i hope that won't be the case this time. and please don't let that turn you off. enough with the rambling...

read on and rock out

Ruby Dust

Timeline: After the trilogy...

Prologue

The sound of metal scraping against metal rang out in the distance as Ororo Munroe stood with her arms folded, observing her familiar surroundings. Her foot tapped harder and harder on the ground as another robot head landed at her feet and Logan appeared from behind it. "You know," she sighed, throwing her fists towards the ground and storming off, "I'm getting real sick of this, Logan." Her students followed her, also getting slightly annoyed with their substitute and his lack of team work.

"And I was getting sick of the metal head," he grunted back.

Storm shook her head to clear her anger, aware that outside clouds were covering up the sky. The simulation ended as they exited the room, shedding various articles of their uniforms as they walked. After completely calming herself, which allowed the clouds outside to clear, Storm allowed her class to leave and returned to her office for some well needed alone time. Burying herself in paperwork, like she had for the past several days, Storm took all the time needed to be just with herself. If she consumed her thoughts with legal matters and other seemingly insignificant things, she wouldn't be able to think about what her mind really wanted to wonder to.

Fate made it seem inevitable, though. As she reached for a new pen, Storm noticed the postcard she had crumpled at thrown in the garbage. On one side: a dog wagging his tail merrily on a beach. On the other: a hastily scrawled note that had made Storm well up in tears.

Professor,

I think I can finally say that I'm ready to come back. The adventure's been fun, but I miss all of you so much. I've given up on finding my family. It seems that I wasn't destined to have one. I may continue my search one day, but I when I remember how much you've helped me, and everyone else, it doesn't really matter to me anymore. Anyhow, I hope to see you soon.

Ginny

Storm clenched the folded paper in her hand tightly and held it to her chest. The mention of the professor still made her cry, as it should have. But how was she going to tell this girl, once a good student and friend of hers, that her mentor and father-figure was no longer in this world? How was she going to tell her about everything that had happened. No doubt Ginny would be expecting change. But when she did show up, how was she going to take all this news?

Those questions made Storm's skin crawl as she disposed of the postcard one more time. Burying it in the trash can, she could only hope that no one pulled it out again.

oOoOoOo

Bobby sauntered down the hallway, a flower in his hand and a smile accompanying it. It was his anniversary with Rogue, and he was certain that she had forgotten. All the better to surprise her, he thought as he pushed open the door to her room. She was sitting on her bed, a book in her lap. Her back was to him, so Bobby dropped the flower into her book and covered her eyes with his hands.

Rogue laughed at his little game, but didn't participate. She parted his hands and moved them around her waist, where he could hold her weight as she moved to kiss him. Their lips touched as Bobby's smile grew deeper into his already red cheeks. He hardly noticed that he was getting lightheaded until his knees gave way under him, causing them both to be knocked on the floor.

"Bobby!" Rogue changed her tone to that of a worried girlfriend. She had come to the realization that she loved him a while back, which made her mind on the ultimate decision to forgo her superhuman abilities.

She noticed that Bobby had been getting a little weaker lately. But when asked about it, he would shrug her off and state that he was fine. Mostly because he was.

Bobby picked himself up off the floor and took a moment to regain his balance. Just like that, he was 100 percent again. This was only evidence to one of his biggest fears: Rogue's abilities were coming back.

Sure, he loved that they were both mutants. He appreciated the fact that because of Rogue's, they had to fight a little harder to stay together. But Bobby Drake would be lying if he said he hadn't loved the last couple months. He got to touch his girlfriend in ways that he never thought he would. In the past couple months, Bobby had made it a point to become familiar with the curves of her body and the feel of her soft skin against his. If Rogue's abilities were coming back, he wouldn't be able to feel that part of he relationship anymore.