Disclaimer: I don't own X-men, Marvel does. No profit was made from this
fic.
A.N.: Set in the movie universe. Takes place a few months after the movie. Rogue's POV. It starts out kind of slow, but bear with it. It gets better. Sorry if the whole thing seems stiff. Dialogue is my strong suit, and there's not a lot of it in this chapter. **Additional note: When I first wrote this I had a major mental checkout moment and misspelled Rogue's name. It should all be fixed now. Sorry everyone!**
The Girl, the Animal, and the Thief Ch.1 By Threnody
Rogue gasped as the sharp metal pierced her flesh. The pain filled her chest and blanked out rational thought. She stared down into his hate filled eyes and watched as they began to fill with shock and then horror. He retracted the claws and she gasped again as pain shot through her. She vaguely heard him call out for help, she tried to talk to him to say anything, but the words would not come. As she felt her life draining away she took the only option left to her. Silently begging him to forgive her, Rogue tentatively reached out and braced herself as she brushed her fingertips against his cheek. She felt his fear, and his pain. Flashes of memories filled her mind and she tightly shut her eyes against them. None of them made sense. She saw people, and machinery, she felt the pain that he did, and the hatred. So much pain. She let him go as she felt the last wound close and he fell to the ground. She could hear his voice in her head, and she fought against him, trying to hear herself. She saw the shapes of people she knew around her, some staring at her with fear. She felt anger against those who feared her for her "gift", and wondered if it was her anger. She needed to be alone, to run away. She mumbled all she could manage of an explanation and fled.
Rogue awoke suddenly, squeezing her eyes shut at the vivid dream. She hated this. She had been dreaming about that night more often lately, each time it was more and more clear. In a way she desperately missed Logan and wanted him back. His strength amazed her and she felt there was much she could learn from him. But she was also terrified of the day he would return. He represented her two greatest fears: being close to someone, and being alone. He wasn't afraid to touch her, like so many of the students were. He had practically given his life to save her, he wasn't afraid of what she could do. But by touching her, he had been hurt. He had almost died, and then there would be no one that didn't fear her. She would be alone again. Part of her wanted to push him away, and to draw him closer.
She grunted and pushed herself away from the desk where she'd fallen asleep. She walked over to the window and stared out into the afternoon sun. She'd fallen asleep in the middle of the day. Walking back to the desk she stared down and the trigonometry homework she'd been doing. No wonder she fell asleep. Rogue stretched and was contemplating getting back to work when her stomach growled. Without another thought she walked out of her room and made her way down to the kitchen.
She played with the white streak in her hair and was about to round the corner into the kitchen when she heard her name. She stopped abruptly and listened to the voices in the kitchen. It was the Professor and Miss Grey. Why would they be talking about her?
"What are you saying, Professor? That Rogue could become a whole different person?"
The Professor sighed, and idly stirred his tea. "It's a possibility we must consider, Jean. If she stayed in contact with someone for long enough, she could absorb their entire personality, and that person would then co-exist with Rogue. Now, in ten years possibly Rogue would survive this and eventually recover. But at her current mental and physically developed state, I'm afraid that Rogue would not be strong enough to retain her identity. In essence, she would be lost forever and the other personality would become the dominant one. Rogue would be dead to us."
Icy fear stabbed through Rogue's chest, and Jean's next words caused her heart to stop.
"Is there anyway she could control her ability?"
Rogue stopped breathing as she waited for the Professor's response.
"No. I don't believe so."
Rogue clasped her hands over her mouth to prevent the cry from escaping. But her hands could not prevent the anguish that she felt, and the two telepaths turned towards the sudden strong emotion. Rogue fled from the kitchen and ran back up to her room, slamming the door behind her. She flung herself onto her bed, curling up into a ball, try desperately to stop the sobs stuck in her chest. She couldn't stop the anger that she could now recognize as his. She was angry that this would happen to her. Angry at the world. She felt so helpless, and out of control. Deep inside, she had known that there would be no way to "cure" her, and that she would have to spend the rest of her life without human contact, but hope had always managed to work it's way into her mind. Now there was no hope. Nothing, she began to feel empty.
She sat up in her bed and rubbed at her eyes, sighing. She tugged slightly at her gloves and stared at her hands resting in her lap. She felt all the emotions and the fear returning and wanted to run away. She needed a distraction. Jumping up from the bed she grabbed the sketchbook that was lying on the floor, a couple of pencils and ran out of the house. She ran for as long as she could before collapsing in a heaving pile. She rested for a moment, trying to catch her breath and fight back the tears that were threatening to spill again.
When she'd regained control she looked up to see where she was. She'd run into a forest. Strange, she thought, it seems so quiet in here. She listened carefully but could detect no trace of any life. She breathed in the sweet air deeply and thought on that. No one else around. No one she could hurt, or steal memories from. A sense of serenity settled over her and she smiled slightly. Maybe this was the answer, to move away from all that caused her pain. Her smile grew and she quickly opened her sketchbook and began drawing the grass around her. The sense of peace grew as she made plans for her future alone and away from others. She wouldn't have to see the fear in their eyes, or hear it in their voices. She wouldn't have to be tortured by watching Jean and Scott hold hands, or hug or kiss. She wouldn't be constantly reminded of all that was denied to her.
She frowned and looked down at her drawing. Something was wrong, it didn't quite look like the grass she'd been trying to draw. Her frowned deepened and she held the paper away slightly to try and figure out what was wrong. Her eyes widened in surprise when she realized she hadn't been drawing grass, but hair. His hair. Logan. Her life of solitude had forgotten about him. She wouldn't be close to him. The one person whom she'd never sensed fear from. She knew him better than he thought. She remembered so vividly when she'd adopted his personality for a few days. She'd reveled in the feeling. He'd melded with her, become a part of her. She'd owned his strength and his courage for a short while, and she had loved the union. She felt that they had shared something deeper than any physical contact could provide, and then she would remind herself that it was one- sided. The day that he had left she had been so excited to see him, feeling that they'd shared something special, only to realized they'd shared nothing at all.
She sighed sadly and continued the sketch of his strong face, oblivious to the world around her. Suddenly black shrouded figures appeared around her. She gasped and jumped up, surrounded she realized there wasn't any escape. Fear filled her, mixed with his animal instinct to attack. Trembling she silently asked why, if she had to be a freak in the first place, couldn't she be a freak with a power that would actually be useful. She thought of slightly draining one of them to shock them and then she could get away. But the Professor's words came back, the icy fear along with it. There was nothing she could do. She put on the bravest face she could manage and glared at the people who surrounded her, drawing what strength of his she had left.
"What the hell do you want?"
She was met by silence for a moment and then one of them stepped forward.
"Where is the Thief?"
Rogue glared at them. "I don't know what you're talking about."
His hand moved so fast Rogue barely saw it. She felt air move swiftly across her cheek and felt a sharp pain across her face. She quickly raised her hand to face and pulled it away to find blood smeared on her glove. She looked behind her and saw a small knife stuck deeply in a tree. Her eyes widened and she turned back to her assailant. The expression on his face remained unchanged, one of cold ruthlessness.
"Where is the Thief?"
Before Rogue could think of an answer a small glowing object shot towards the man, connecting with his shoulder and exploding on impact. He screamed out and grabbed at his shoulder, clutching the burning mass of flesh that was left. Rogue's eyes widened with horror, but the sight was soon blocked as another body jumped in front of her. She dazedly looked up at the presence before her and was met with the back of a head. Brown hair, came the thought in the back of her mind, it's very nice, but unkempt. Like his, not curly though. She sighed inwardly when she realized it wasn't Logan that came to her rescue.
"Why don' you ask me directly? It would be better than scaring this petite here, no?"
He pressed a button on the small metal object in his hand and it suddenly grew into a staff. With an excited cry he leapt towards the attackers, swinging his staff wildly yet with a grace and finesse she couldn't fathom. She watched his dance with fascination, amazed at how swiftly he could move. He reached into his full-length coat and pulled out a playing card. Her mouth hung open as the card began to glow and he hurled it at one of the black figures. It exploded in a mixture of beautiful light and crimson blood. She stared at this stranger with a new feeling; he was a mutant, like her. Slowly the warriors began to retreat until there were only a couple remaining. His staff connected with the jaw of one of the men, knocking him unconscious and sending him flying towards Rogue. She didn't notice him in time and grunted as his body connected with hers. She was thrown to the ground, the black clothed figure landing on top of her, his face rolling dangerously close to her own. She frantically tried to push him away from her, but wasn't strong enough. She shut her eyes, preparing herself for the contact, and the flood of memories. But it never came. She gasped slightly as the weight was suddenly gone from her. She looked up to see her rescuer standing above her, throwing the body off to the side. She hurriedly sat up as he kneeled down next to her.
"You alright chere?"
She stared up at him speechlessly, still in shock from all that had happened. It was the first time she'd gotten a look at his face. He was beautiful. His black and red eyes where so intriguing and she felt lost slightly in the depth behind his eyes. His mouth curved into a cocky grin and she realized she was gawking at him. She blushed slightly and shut her jaw, shifting her eyes away from his.
"Looks like they cut your pretty face, petite."
His hand reached up to brush away the blood and she instinctively jerked away from his touch. He looked at her a little surprised, but misread the fear in her eyes.
"It's alright, chere, I can control my power. I won' hurt you."
Reached toward her again, but she jerked away again. She couldn't stop her fear or the pounding in her chest. She didn't want him to know that she was a freak, but if she didn't tell him, he would think that she was afraid of him because he was a mutant. She could see the slight annoyance in his eyes at her fear, and forced her mouth to work.
"Ah.Ah'm not afraid of yer power."
His eyes softened slightly as he looked at her. "Then what're you afraid of?"
"Mine."
His eyes widened slightly as he realized what she was saying. And he looked down at her with a different expression in his dark eyes. He almost seemed to understand. Rogue silently snorted at that. No one could ever understand. The only one who came close was Logan. But he wasn't here.
"Don't touch my skin. Please."
He looked at her for a moment, and then nodded. Extending his hand he said, "My name's Remy LeBeau. And what's yours, chere?"
Rogue tentatively took his hand. "Rogue."
He smiled slyly and raised her gloved hand to his lips, gently kissing her fingers. His eyes looked up at her shocked expression and he smiled again. "That's a beautiful name chere."
Rogue sat there in stunned silence, her hand still clasped within his. She wasn't sure what to feel or say. She shook herself and stood quickly, distancing herself slightly from the man.
She cleared her throat and looked at the few bodies still unconscious. "Who were those guys?"
A muscle ticked slightly in Remy's jaw and he looked down and the black shrouded figure at his feet.
"Rival guild." His answer was succinct and final, leaving no room for discussion. Rogue looked up at the mysterious man, sensing a dark past was attached with the cheerful smile he was now displaying.
"Well, chere, I don' think it be safe for a young pretty petite like you to be walkin' alone in dees woods. Why don' you let the ol' Gambit here make sure you get home all right. Sounds like a good idea, no?"
Rogue couldn't help but smile at his obvious flirting, and, to her dismay, her heart began to beat slightly faster at his attempts. She sighed inwardly, realizing she was setting herself up for pain. Once he realized what her "gift" was, he wouldn't want to have anything to do with her. Let alone want to flirt. But she didn't feel safe after the attack.
She sighed slightly and nodded towards him. His smile widened and he bowed toward her, extending his hand.
"Lead the way, chere."
She clutched her sketchbook to her chest as the mysterious "Gambit" walked next to her. She wasn't sure why she trusted him, but something about him made her not fear him. Besides, she told herself, the mansion wasn't too far away, and the Professor would know if he was trustworthy or not. She walked silently, sensing that something important was happening, but she wasn't sure exactly what. She did feel fear towards Remy, but it wasn't a normal kind of fear. It was a fear of what he could do to her heart, and that was her greatest fear of all. Once again that day she felt the confusing wish that Logan would return as soon as possible. Something was happening, and she wanted him to be with her and hold her and protect her as he had promised.
Oh please Logan, she wished silently to the sky, come back soon.
~To be continued~
AN: Well, what did you think? Should I continue with the story, or just work on one-shot fics? You the reader decide.
A.N.: Set in the movie universe. Takes place a few months after the movie. Rogue's POV. It starts out kind of slow, but bear with it. It gets better. Sorry if the whole thing seems stiff. Dialogue is my strong suit, and there's not a lot of it in this chapter. **Additional note: When I first wrote this I had a major mental checkout moment and misspelled Rogue's name. It should all be fixed now. Sorry everyone!**
The Girl, the Animal, and the Thief Ch.1 By Threnody
Rogue gasped as the sharp metal pierced her flesh. The pain filled her chest and blanked out rational thought. She stared down into his hate filled eyes and watched as they began to fill with shock and then horror. He retracted the claws and she gasped again as pain shot through her. She vaguely heard him call out for help, she tried to talk to him to say anything, but the words would not come. As she felt her life draining away she took the only option left to her. Silently begging him to forgive her, Rogue tentatively reached out and braced herself as she brushed her fingertips against his cheek. She felt his fear, and his pain. Flashes of memories filled her mind and she tightly shut her eyes against them. None of them made sense. She saw people, and machinery, she felt the pain that he did, and the hatred. So much pain. She let him go as she felt the last wound close and he fell to the ground. She could hear his voice in her head, and she fought against him, trying to hear herself. She saw the shapes of people she knew around her, some staring at her with fear. She felt anger against those who feared her for her "gift", and wondered if it was her anger. She needed to be alone, to run away. She mumbled all she could manage of an explanation and fled.
Rogue awoke suddenly, squeezing her eyes shut at the vivid dream. She hated this. She had been dreaming about that night more often lately, each time it was more and more clear. In a way she desperately missed Logan and wanted him back. His strength amazed her and she felt there was much she could learn from him. But she was also terrified of the day he would return. He represented her two greatest fears: being close to someone, and being alone. He wasn't afraid to touch her, like so many of the students were. He had practically given his life to save her, he wasn't afraid of what she could do. But by touching her, he had been hurt. He had almost died, and then there would be no one that didn't fear her. She would be alone again. Part of her wanted to push him away, and to draw him closer.
She grunted and pushed herself away from the desk where she'd fallen asleep. She walked over to the window and stared out into the afternoon sun. She'd fallen asleep in the middle of the day. Walking back to the desk she stared down and the trigonometry homework she'd been doing. No wonder she fell asleep. Rogue stretched and was contemplating getting back to work when her stomach growled. Without another thought she walked out of her room and made her way down to the kitchen.
She played with the white streak in her hair and was about to round the corner into the kitchen when she heard her name. She stopped abruptly and listened to the voices in the kitchen. It was the Professor and Miss Grey. Why would they be talking about her?
"What are you saying, Professor? That Rogue could become a whole different person?"
The Professor sighed, and idly stirred his tea. "It's a possibility we must consider, Jean. If she stayed in contact with someone for long enough, she could absorb their entire personality, and that person would then co-exist with Rogue. Now, in ten years possibly Rogue would survive this and eventually recover. But at her current mental and physically developed state, I'm afraid that Rogue would not be strong enough to retain her identity. In essence, she would be lost forever and the other personality would become the dominant one. Rogue would be dead to us."
Icy fear stabbed through Rogue's chest, and Jean's next words caused her heart to stop.
"Is there anyway she could control her ability?"
Rogue stopped breathing as she waited for the Professor's response.
"No. I don't believe so."
Rogue clasped her hands over her mouth to prevent the cry from escaping. But her hands could not prevent the anguish that she felt, and the two telepaths turned towards the sudden strong emotion. Rogue fled from the kitchen and ran back up to her room, slamming the door behind her. She flung herself onto her bed, curling up into a ball, try desperately to stop the sobs stuck in her chest. She couldn't stop the anger that she could now recognize as his. She was angry that this would happen to her. Angry at the world. She felt so helpless, and out of control. Deep inside, she had known that there would be no way to "cure" her, and that she would have to spend the rest of her life without human contact, but hope had always managed to work it's way into her mind. Now there was no hope. Nothing, she began to feel empty.
She sat up in her bed and rubbed at her eyes, sighing. She tugged slightly at her gloves and stared at her hands resting in her lap. She felt all the emotions and the fear returning and wanted to run away. She needed a distraction. Jumping up from the bed she grabbed the sketchbook that was lying on the floor, a couple of pencils and ran out of the house. She ran for as long as she could before collapsing in a heaving pile. She rested for a moment, trying to catch her breath and fight back the tears that were threatening to spill again.
When she'd regained control she looked up to see where she was. She'd run into a forest. Strange, she thought, it seems so quiet in here. She listened carefully but could detect no trace of any life. She breathed in the sweet air deeply and thought on that. No one else around. No one she could hurt, or steal memories from. A sense of serenity settled over her and she smiled slightly. Maybe this was the answer, to move away from all that caused her pain. Her smile grew and she quickly opened her sketchbook and began drawing the grass around her. The sense of peace grew as she made plans for her future alone and away from others. She wouldn't have to see the fear in their eyes, or hear it in their voices. She wouldn't have to be tortured by watching Jean and Scott hold hands, or hug or kiss. She wouldn't be constantly reminded of all that was denied to her.
She frowned and looked down at her drawing. Something was wrong, it didn't quite look like the grass she'd been trying to draw. Her frowned deepened and she held the paper away slightly to try and figure out what was wrong. Her eyes widened in surprise when she realized she hadn't been drawing grass, but hair. His hair. Logan. Her life of solitude had forgotten about him. She wouldn't be close to him. The one person whom she'd never sensed fear from. She knew him better than he thought. She remembered so vividly when she'd adopted his personality for a few days. She'd reveled in the feeling. He'd melded with her, become a part of her. She'd owned his strength and his courage for a short while, and she had loved the union. She felt that they had shared something deeper than any physical contact could provide, and then she would remind herself that it was one- sided. The day that he had left she had been so excited to see him, feeling that they'd shared something special, only to realized they'd shared nothing at all.
She sighed sadly and continued the sketch of his strong face, oblivious to the world around her. Suddenly black shrouded figures appeared around her. She gasped and jumped up, surrounded she realized there wasn't any escape. Fear filled her, mixed with his animal instinct to attack. Trembling she silently asked why, if she had to be a freak in the first place, couldn't she be a freak with a power that would actually be useful. She thought of slightly draining one of them to shock them and then she could get away. But the Professor's words came back, the icy fear along with it. There was nothing she could do. She put on the bravest face she could manage and glared at the people who surrounded her, drawing what strength of his she had left.
"What the hell do you want?"
She was met by silence for a moment and then one of them stepped forward.
"Where is the Thief?"
Rogue glared at them. "I don't know what you're talking about."
His hand moved so fast Rogue barely saw it. She felt air move swiftly across her cheek and felt a sharp pain across her face. She quickly raised her hand to face and pulled it away to find blood smeared on her glove. She looked behind her and saw a small knife stuck deeply in a tree. Her eyes widened and she turned back to her assailant. The expression on his face remained unchanged, one of cold ruthlessness.
"Where is the Thief?"
Before Rogue could think of an answer a small glowing object shot towards the man, connecting with his shoulder and exploding on impact. He screamed out and grabbed at his shoulder, clutching the burning mass of flesh that was left. Rogue's eyes widened with horror, but the sight was soon blocked as another body jumped in front of her. She dazedly looked up at the presence before her and was met with the back of a head. Brown hair, came the thought in the back of her mind, it's very nice, but unkempt. Like his, not curly though. She sighed inwardly when she realized it wasn't Logan that came to her rescue.
"Why don' you ask me directly? It would be better than scaring this petite here, no?"
He pressed a button on the small metal object in his hand and it suddenly grew into a staff. With an excited cry he leapt towards the attackers, swinging his staff wildly yet with a grace and finesse she couldn't fathom. She watched his dance with fascination, amazed at how swiftly he could move. He reached into his full-length coat and pulled out a playing card. Her mouth hung open as the card began to glow and he hurled it at one of the black figures. It exploded in a mixture of beautiful light and crimson blood. She stared at this stranger with a new feeling; he was a mutant, like her. Slowly the warriors began to retreat until there were only a couple remaining. His staff connected with the jaw of one of the men, knocking him unconscious and sending him flying towards Rogue. She didn't notice him in time and grunted as his body connected with hers. She was thrown to the ground, the black clothed figure landing on top of her, his face rolling dangerously close to her own. She frantically tried to push him away from her, but wasn't strong enough. She shut her eyes, preparing herself for the contact, and the flood of memories. But it never came. She gasped slightly as the weight was suddenly gone from her. She looked up to see her rescuer standing above her, throwing the body off to the side. She hurriedly sat up as he kneeled down next to her.
"You alright chere?"
She stared up at him speechlessly, still in shock from all that had happened. It was the first time she'd gotten a look at his face. He was beautiful. His black and red eyes where so intriguing and she felt lost slightly in the depth behind his eyes. His mouth curved into a cocky grin and she realized she was gawking at him. She blushed slightly and shut her jaw, shifting her eyes away from his.
"Looks like they cut your pretty face, petite."
His hand reached up to brush away the blood and she instinctively jerked away from his touch. He looked at her a little surprised, but misread the fear in her eyes.
"It's alright, chere, I can control my power. I won' hurt you."
Reached toward her again, but she jerked away again. She couldn't stop her fear or the pounding in her chest. She didn't want him to know that she was a freak, but if she didn't tell him, he would think that she was afraid of him because he was a mutant. She could see the slight annoyance in his eyes at her fear, and forced her mouth to work.
"Ah.Ah'm not afraid of yer power."
His eyes softened slightly as he looked at her. "Then what're you afraid of?"
"Mine."
His eyes widened slightly as he realized what she was saying. And he looked down at her with a different expression in his dark eyes. He almost seemed to understand. Rogue silently snorted at that. No one could ever understand. The only one who came close was Logan. But he wasn't here.
"Don't touch my skin. Please."
He looked at her for a moment, and then nodded. Extending his hand he said, "My name's Remy LeBeau. And what's yours, chere?"
Rogue tentatively took his hand. "Rogue."
He smiled slyly and raised her gloved hand to his lips, gently kissing her fingers. His eyes looked up at her shocked expression and he smiled again. "That's a beautiful name chere."
Rogue sat there in stunned silence, her hand still clasped within his. She wasn't sure what to feel or say. She shook herself and stood quickly, distancing herself slightly from the man.
She cleared her throat and looked at the few bodies still unconscious. "Who were those guys?"
A muscle ticked slightly in Remy's jaw and he looked down and the black shrouded figure at his feet.
"Rival guild." His answer was succinct and final, leaving no room for discussion. Rogue looked up at the mysterious man, sensing a dark past was attached with the cheerful smile he was now displaying.
"Well, chere, I don' think it be safe for a young pretty petite like you to be walkin' alone in dees woods. Why don' you let the ol' Gambit here make sure you get home all right. Sounds like a good idea, no?"
Rogue couldn't help but smile at his obvious flirting, and, to her dismay, her heart began to beat slightly faster at his attempts. She sighed inwardly, realizing she was setting herself up for pain. Once he realized what her "gift" was, he wouldn't want to have anything to do with her. Let alone want to flirt. But she didn't feel safe after the attack.
She sighed slightly and nodded towards him. His smile widened and he bowed toward her, extending his hand.
"Lead the way, chere."
She clutched her sketchbook to her chest as the mysterious "Gambit" walked next to her. She wasn't sure why she trusted him, but something about him made her not fear him. Besides, she told herself, the mansion wasn't too far away, and the Professor would know if he was trustworthy or not. She walked silently, sensing that something important was happening, but she wasn't sure exactly what. She did feel fear towards Remy, but it wasn't a normal kind of fear. It was a fear of what he could do to her heart, and that was her greatest fear of all. Once again that day she felt the confusing wish that Logan would return as soon as possible. Something was happening, and she wanted him to be with her and hold her and protect her as he had promised.
Oh please Logan, she wished silently to the sky, come back soon.
~To be continued~
AN: Well, what did you think? Should I continue with the story, or just work on one-shot fics? You the reader decide.