Back to You…

3 Years later…

Location: Somewhere in Fiji

It had been a long day…and Rogue was resting on the beach enjoying the bleeding colors of the evening sky across the light blue sea. She breathed in the fresh air and closed her eyes as she tried to maintain a level head. Her legs were crossed neatly and her back perfectly straight, obediently, as she prepared to end her day with her evening meditation. Her hair was longer than before, and blew gently with the wind to reveal Rogue's tanned and dirty face. Today, like ever other day, Rogue awoke at the crack of dawn and began her training with her morning meditation, before continuing with her vigorous and physically demanding training. She would then run along the beach and along the pathway that would lead her to her Master's training facility.

Master Odie, a master of the arts of meditation as well as martial arts, was a man of few words as well as a perfect role model of self control. He was nearing the age of 65 and was a good friend of Professor Xavier, who took it upon himself to sculpt the young Rogue into a stature of pure discipline and skill. His role was to help Rogue to reach her potential—to control her powers and to become more than what she was when she first set foot on the island.

Rogue would begin her daily training with Master Odie after her morning run and would then spend her evenings working as a bartender at the islands main bar. After her shifts were over, it was very common to see Rogue sit by the surf side of the beach and meditate to signal the end of her day. Rogue's life consisted of a never ending dedication to her training and to her goal to become the powerful and in control mutant that she needed to be. Though that's not to say that the 21 year old did not have her days when her youthful nature decided to rear its path of 'youth gone wild' ways amongst the islanders…as well as poor Master Odie—who never regretted not having children, especially daughters…thanks to Rogue's occasional misbehaviors…Despite this, Rogue knew how fond Master Odie was of her, and she was forever grateful for all that he had done for her.

She focused on the power she felt inside, her mutant ability, and focused to contain that energy into a well formed ball in her mind. Master Odie had taught her to find the power inside her, and to take control over it—instead of letting the power control her…just as it did before. When she had finished with her meditation, she noted that it was late and that the last crack of sunlight had retreated into oblivion for the night—she took this as her cue to do the same…so she raised herself up off of the sandy ground, and jogged her way back to her home.

It was 10 O'clock when Rogue fell asleep, her mind clear of stress and open to an evening of pleasant and interesting dreams. But unfortunately for her, her sleep was interrupted by the sound of a firm hand banging at her front door. Naturally, Rouge awoke with a jerk and took a minute or two to gain focus after being awoken from her deep sleep. After looking at the clock on her night stand, Rogue allowed herself to release a long and deep groan of displeasure when she saw that the time was now 4:00 AM…

Who ever is knocking at my door better have a good reason to… Rogue thought to herself before rolling out of bed and moving to open her front door.

"Rogue, please open the door. I know it's early…but it's important that I speak to you now!" came the voice of Master Odie from the other side of the door.

When Rogue finally opened the door, her eyes adjusted themselves to the disheveled form of a clearly upset Master Odie.

"What's wrong?" Rogue asked, worry evident on her youthful face.

"I just had a vision. I can't go into detail…but there is a matter of great importance that needs to be taken care of immediately!" Odie explained as he pushed his way past Rogue and motioned for her to close the door.

"Again I ask…what's wrong?" Rogue repeated with a hint of youthful attitude.

"There's not much I can tell you—mostly because I don't completely understand it myself…but…" Odie began, pausing slightly as if to gain his composer as well as formulate his next words more clearly and carefully. "I need you to do something for me…I need you to fulfill a mission that must be started as soon as possible!"

"Could this not wait until at least 10:30 am?" Rogue asked, clearly not caring too much about the situation at hand—though to be fair to Rogue…it was 4:00 in the morning and her brain was not yet fully awake.

Master Odie flashed the girl a serious look, "NO! It cannot, my very young student. I need you to deliver a message as well as a 'very' special item to your old Professor!"

Rogue moved to sit at a chair and motioned for Odie to sit as well, before expressing the first question that came to her, "you mean Professor X, right? You expect me to go back to the mansion after all these years?"

"Yes. I need you to give him a private message and a special crystal that I have been safe guarding for the past 30 years. And more importantly…you need to leave as soon as possible. Preferably in the next hour or so—"

"What?" Rogue exclaimed, "You can't expect me to just take off in an hour!"

"I've booked a plane that will take off in an hour and will fly you to the mansion. You will be on that plane." Odie stated. His eyes calmly resting on the young woman he had been training for the past 3 years.

Rogue just looked at him, hands raised up in the air as a sign of her distaste at the idea of ever setting foot in that mansion ever again. Anger raging through her veins at the thought of having to see Jean again—or anyone else who reminded her of the events that took place 3 years ago…

"I can't go—you're going to have to find someone else to do your bidding."

"Why not?"

"Well, for starters…" Rogue began, pausing slightly as she tried to think up an excuse for not doing as her master asked of her. "I haven't packed yet—not to mention that I have 'job' here—

"Ah, yes, your job as the island's bartender and bar fight instigator…" Odie replied smartly.

"Hey! I happen to 'love' my job! –and I never 'start' bar fights…it just so happens that people pick fights with me…and…well…I am obligated to finish fights before they get out of control…" Rogue replied in her defense. "I take great pride in my work"

"I see" Odie replied simply, "I still need you to do as I ask. And you will do it. Because I am your master and this is a mission I need you to complete. You are the only one who can do this—and it is more important than getting drunk and beating people up." He finished curtly.

Rogue twisted her face in frustration, her hands to her sides and as she tried to think of another way out of this mission. She knew better than to say her real reasons for not accepting the mission—and she reasoned that perhaps being sent on this mission was a test for her. Perhaps this was Master Odie's way of trying to get Rogue to confront her past so that she could let go of the anger and hurt that still existed inside of her. She also didn't want her master to think that she was soft…or even worse—a pussy. So she took a deep breath, and nodded her head in obedience.

"Fine, I'll do it."

"There was no doubt in my mind that you wouldn't, my young learner."

"Don't push it…" Rogue replied, taking another deep breath before asking, "so what's the message? And where's the crystal now?"

"I will give both items to you before you board your plane. So for now, I believe you need to start packing…" Master Odie stated as he moved from his seat to exit Rogue's house. As he opened the door to leave, he turned his head to the side and muttered a quick "See you in 30 minutes", before closing the door behind him and making his way to his own home.

It did not take Rogue long to pack, since she was sure that her dreaded visit to the mansion would be extremely brief. So she packed a quick and light bag with all the necessary essentials, and then made her way towards the only launch pad located on the island. Rogue's mood continued to get more and more fowl as she approached the awaiting plane—which was not actually a plane…but more of a helicopter that could only seat 2 people.

Rogue shook her head as she made her way towards the helicopter, where her master stood in waiting for her. Since the engine was running and master Odie's hearing was not nearly as good as it used to be…Rogue settled for a quick smile and a nod as to mean "goodbye". Before getting into the helicopter, she grabbed the special package from Master Odie and then loaded her backpack and the package into the small air craft. She then entered the helicopter and sat awkwardly in the passenger seat of the air craft next to the pilot. And as the craft took off, Rogue waved goodbye to her master before the pilot yelled for her attention.

"Hey Rogue! Here's the plan! We'll fly as far as we can and we'll stop for gas when we need it—I know the route well. Can't risk letting you take a regular plane…can't risk losing that package due to shitty luggage handling at airports—that and this little adventure needs to be on the down low…but don't worry! We'll make it alright!" said Chuck, who was also a mutant who possessed the ability to teleport objects as well as people.

"Why can't we just teleport there? I hate flying!" Rogue complained

Chuck, the pilot, just chuckled as he explained, "I can't teleport from this distance…but don't worry, I plan to do mini teleporting trips all along our journey. That should help us in terms of fuel management…as well as cut down on transportation time."

"Sounds like a plan, Chuck" Rogue responded, feeling a bit better about the travel plan.

Although Rogue felt a level of calm at the moment, it was hours later that she began to feel the twinge of anxiety as she got closer and closer to the mansion—and to a possible encounter with Dr Jean Grey.

Authors note: Hey guys. I hope you guys liked the first chapter…It's been a while since I've updated this story—so the direction of this story has changed a little bit lol. I decided to make a sequel because its been 3 years since Rogue left the mansion—so there will be some changes… I'll try to come up with a new chapter soon.