Disclaimer: As always, you know the drill. It isn't mine, it never has been, and never will be any time in the near future. (But a girl can dream! ^^)
Author's Note: Set a couple months before X2. Logan's gone. And yes, I've seen the second movie, and I know what happens. But, for a little while, lets just pretend that never happened. I started this in a spurt of boredom, and now I'm kinda glad I did. I like writing X-Men. It's my first, so please review!
Rogue lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Fake plastic stars once hung there, glowing at night the Little Dipper and Orion's belt, each star placed with care and purpose, but they'd been torn away when Logan left. Two years had passed, with only a few weekend visits. Jean was having dreams, horrible nightmares, and they needed him, but Rogue had learned Logan only returned on his own time.
Rogue sighed and rolled over onto her side. A picture of her and Logan sat framed on her beside stand, and another of her and Bobby. Snapshots of her friends lay in a stack next to them, with worn, dog-eared corners. Bobby's jacket hung over the sides of her chair and Logan's dog tags around her neck. Fragments of the memories in her head were scattered around her room. Sometime after Logan had left, she'd somehow acquired her own room. She was still seventeen and by law a minor.
Everything in her life was so right, but at the same time so wrong. She was a mutant. She'd run away from home when she'd discovered her power and ended up at Xavier's school for the gifted. She hadn't heard from her family since and she didn't look for it to happen either. She was the only mutant in the family, that she knew of anyway, and they probably hoped it would stay that way.
Rogue had Logan to count on, even though he was usually away. He'd helped her through her toughest time. At first, she'd found his unruly hair and wolfish instincts wild and crazy and dangerously sensual. But human contact of any sort banished the short lived desires. Logan was just another person in her life that meant so much to her, but she'd never be able to touch him. She wore layers of clothes in the hottest of days, just to protect the rest of the world from her. At times, she longed to be normal, but it seemed she'd long since forgotten what the word meant. When she looked around, she saw nothing of what the world deemed normal.
Bobby was in her life too. He wanted to get close to her, to touch her skin, and at times she believed he also wanted a kiss or two. But even his frosty might couldn't save him from Rogue's skin, although sometimes he acted as if is could. Rogue knew they seemed like an item to the rest of the school, but only to those who didn't know them well. She didn't know if they were herself. It was hard to be with someone and not touch them.
Jean, Scott, and Ororo were there too, but they were teachers, and in turn, parental figures. Rogue had long since let go of anything resembling a mother or a father. They weren't her friends, in a sense, not until she was allowed to be counted in a league high enough to be an X-Men.
Professor Xavier wanted to help her. She knew her past already, but she told little of it. She'd left Marie behind when she ran away. She was Rogue now and she'd never go back. No, he wanted to make her better. She suddenly lost the feel of a human skin other than her own. And when she happened to touch someone, it hurt. It hurt everyone else too, she knew, so rarely did the gloves around her fingers come off.
Suddenly, Jean was standing in her doorway, a classic smile beaming off her face. The smile surprised Rogue. Jean hadn't been completely happy in awhile. She was having what she thought were prophetical dreams. Magneto would be free and try to kill the human population again. Professor Xavier taken, the children hunted and killed.
"Hey, kid," said Jean quietly. Rogue opened her eyes and waved a gloved hand. "Guess what? I think I've found it."
"Found what?"
"When Logan first brought you here, I took some of your blood and DNA samples. Professor Xavier wanted me to use them to try and cure you, if only for a little bit. In other words, you'll be able to touch people and interact normally."
"How does it work?" Rogue sat up. She was interested now. Think of everything she could do, and further more, who she could do it with.
"Well, the molecules in your body react with -"
"Never mind," interrupted Rogue. "I knew that was coming."
"Sorry," said Jean, her cheeks slightly flushing, but there had been little need for an apology. Rogue waved it off.
"Can we… test it?"
"Yes. We'll need to do it a couple of times in the lab to see if it will work, if there are any areas you can't touch, how long a dose lasts. But I don't recommend using it constantly. Only for special occasions. You never know if your powers might be needed, and it wouldn't help to have them shut down."
"When? When can I try it?"
"Now if you'd like," drawled Jean slowly. The formula hadn't been tested yet on a human and she was a little skittish about the possible side effects.
Rogue threw the blankets she'd been wrapped up in over her back and stood up. When she'd come the rest, she hadn't bothered to strip of a single layer of clothing. Her boots were still tied to her feet, her sweater still zipped up to her throat. Her hair was still in good condition - she couldn't have slept even if she wanted. Lately sleep had been coming late in the night, at a time when there were only a few mere hours left till dawn. She couldn't remember her last full night of sleep, much less a sleep not haunted by a fit of dreams. She suspected they were somewhat like Jean's although hers were from experience. Ever since she'd learned of Magneto, everything had changed.
She could still see Logan suspended in the air, his claws stretching his skin, watching helplessly as he flew back into the next car. She remembered quite clearly what it felt like to be in Magneto's grips, helpless again when he tried to use her to destroy the world. But that was over, in the past. And still, try as she might, Rogue just couldn't forget, or forgive.
Rogue straightened a few wrinkles out of clothes, not that it mattered, and followed Jean down the corridor. She'd never actually found her own way to the doctor's lab; she'd always had to stop for directions. She took mental notes as she walked, storing them away somewhere with the rest of her memories. She past the classrooms, the Library, Logan's room. Rogue peeked in through the open door, finding the insides barren. A few items of clothing lay around, probably from the last time he'd returned. Even though it had been several months, his scent still lingered.
Suddenly, Rogue found herself and Jean standing at a silver wall. Jean closed her eyes and then the door opened. Behind it lay a starch white laboratory and Professor Xavier in his wheelchair, his back facing the doorway.
"Hello, Rogue," said the Professor. Rogue? Since when had he called her Rogue? And his voice seemed different and his back wasn't the same either.
"Professor," said Rogue, tipping her head in respect, just like she always did.
Beside her, Jean smiled lovingly at the Professor. Rogue watched, out of her of peripheral vision, as Jean's eyes flickered yellow for an instant and the doors behind her slid shut.
Author's Note: Didja like it?? I promise I'll continue soon. Please review!! I'll pass out candy!! ^^
Author's Note: Set a couple months before X2. Logan's gone. And yes, I've seen the second movie, and I know what happens. But, for a little while, lets just pretend that never happened. I started this in a spurt of boredom, and now I'm kinda glad I did. I like writing X-Men. It's my first, so please review!
Rogue lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Fake plastic stars once hung there, glowing at night the Little Dipper and Orion's belt, each star placed with care and purpose, but they'd been torn away when Logan left. Two years had passed, with only a few weekend visits. Jean was having dreams, horrible nightmares, and they needed him, but Rogue had learned Logan only returned on his own time.
Rogue sighed and rolled over onto her side. A picture of her and Logan sat framed on her beside stand, and another of her and Bobby. Snapshots of her friends lay in a stack next to them, with worn, dog-eared corners. Bobby's jacket hung over the sides of her chair and Logan's dog tags around her neck. Fragments of the memories in her head were scattered around her room. Sometime after Logan had left, she'd somehow acquired her own room. She was still seventeen and by law a minor.
Everything in her life was so right, but at the same time so wrong. She was a mutant. She'd run away from home when she'd discovered her power and ended up at Xavier's school for the gifted. She hadn't heard from her family since and she didn't look for it to happen either. She was the only mutant in the family, that she knew of anyway, and they probably hoped it would stay that way.
Rogue had Logan to count on, even though he was usually away. He'd helped her through her toughest time. At first, she'd found his unruly hair and wolfish instincts wild and crazy and dangerously sensual. But human contact of any sort banished the short lived desires. Logan was just another person in her life that meant so much to her, but she'd never be able to touch him. She wore layers of clothes in the hottest of days, just to protect the rest of the world from her. At times, she longed to be normal, but it seemed she'd long since forgotten what the word meant. When she looked around, she saw nothing of what the world deemed normal.
Bobby was in her life too. He wanted to get close to her, to touch her skin, and at times she believed he also wanted a kiss or two. But even his frosty might couldn't save him from Rogue's skin, although sometimes he acted as if is could. Rogue knew they seemed like an item to the rest of the school, but only to those who didn't know them well. She didn't know if they were herself. It was hard to be with someone and not touch them.
Jean, Scott, and Ororo were there too, but they were teachers, and in turn, parental figures. Rogue had long since let go of anything resembling a mother or a father. They weren't her friends, in a sense, not until she was allowed to be counted in a league high enough to be an X-Men.
Professor Xavier wanted to help her. She knew her past already, but she told little of it. She'd left Marie behind when she ran away. She was Rogue now and she'd never go back. No, he wanted to make her better. She suddenly lost the feel of a human skin other than her own. And when she happened to touch someone, it hurt. It hurt everyone else too, she knew, so rarely did the gloves around her fingers come off.
Suddenly, Jean was standing in her doorway, a classic smile beaming off her face. The smile surprised Rogue. Jean hadn't been completely happy in awhile. She was having what she thought were prophetical dreams. Magneto would be free and try to kill the human population again. Professor Xavier taken, the children hunted and killed.
"Hey, kid," said Jean quietly. Rogue opened her eyes and waved a gloved hand. "Guess what? I think I've found it."
"Found what?"
"When Logan first brought you here, I took some of your blood and DNA samples. Professor Xavier wanted me to use them to try and cure you, if only for a little bit. In other words, you'll be able to touch people and interact normally."
"How does it work?" Rogue sat up. She was interested now. Think of everything she could do, and further more, who she could do it with.
"Well, the molecules in your body react with -"
"Never mind," interrupted Rogue. "I knew that was coming."
"Sorry," said Jean, her cheeks slightly flushing, but there had been little need for an apology. Rogue waved it off.
"Can we… test it?"
"Yes. We'll need to do it a couple of times in the lab to see if it will work, if there are any areas you can't touch, how long a dose lasts. But I don't recommend using it constantly. Only for special occasions. You never know if your powers might be needed, and it wouldn't help to have them shut down."
"When? When can I try it?"
"Now if you'd like," drawled Jean slowly. The formula hadn't been tested yet on a human and she was a little skittish about the possible side effects.
Rogue threw the blankets she'd been wrapped up in over her back and stood up. When she'd come the rest, she hadn't bothered to strip of a single layer of clothing. Her boots were still tied to her feet, her sweater still zipped up to her throat. Her hair was still in good condition - she couldn't have slept even if she wanted. Lately sleep had been coming late in the night, at a time when there were only a few mere hours left till dawn. She couldn't remember her last full night of sleep, much less a sleep not haunted by a fit of dreams. She suspected they were somewhat like Jean's although hers were from experience. Ever since she'd learned of Magneto, everything had changed.
She could still see Logan suspended in the air, his claws stretching his skin, watching helplessly as he flew back into the next car. She remembered quite clearly what it felt like to be in Magneto's grips, helpless again when he tried to use her to destroy the world. But that was over, in the past. And still, try as she might, Rogue just couldn't forget, or forgive.
Rogue straightened a few wrinkles out of clothes, not that it mattered, and followed Jean down the corridor. She'd never actually found her own way to the doctor's lab; she'd always had to stop for directions. She took mental notes as she walked, storing them away somewhere with the rest of her memories. She past the classrooms, the Library, Logan's room. Rogue peeked in through the open door, finding the insides barren. A few items of clothing lay around, probably from the last time he'd returned. Even though it had been several months, his scent still lingered.
Suddenly, Rogue found herself and Jean standing at a silver wall. Jean closed her eyes and then the door opened. Behind it lay a starch white laboratory and Professor Xavier in his wheelchair, his back facing the doorway.
"Hello, Rogue," said the Professor. Rogue? Since when had he called her Rogue? And his voice seemed different and his back wasn't the same either.
"Professor," said Rogue, tipping her head in respect, just like she always did.
Beside her, Jean smiled lovingly at the Professor. Rogue watched, out of her of peripheral vision, as Jean's eyes flickered yellow for an instant and the doors behind her slid shut.
Author's Note: Didja like it?? I promise I'll continue soon. Please review!! I'll pass out candy!! ^^