Spyke walked down the pathways of the sewers, listening for telltale sounds near the manholes. It took practice to hear the sounds he was looking for beyond the splash of water and gurgling of pipes. He looked for a low mean laughter, the scratching sounds that weren't four-legged rats. He wanted to go get some groceries, but lately people had been rigging the manholes to blow when they were moved. This was bad for the mutants, but it was absolute havoc on any construction workers. They'd be working in the sewers, come up expecting fresh air and get blown up instead.
He came to his usual exit and stopped several feet away. Taking careful aim, he produced a lit stick and fired it at the manhole. He heard a scream and an explosion. A moment later it was shoved aside and a very familiar and singed face was glaring at him.
"Yah mind? I was trayin' tah disarm tha'!" He blinked in surprise. "Rogue?" She snorted, rubbing ash off her face. "Ah course it's meh!" He scowled as he climbed up the ladder.
"What do you want?" he asked brusquely. She rocked back on her heels to give him room. She stood, brushing the singed material off her uniform. "I know yah come out this one to ge' food. Come on."
He hesitated as she walked away, but shoved the plate over the hole and followed her. He stopped on the edge of the alley. "Aren't you worried about getting beat up?" He asked her. She laughed, smiling slightly as they passed under a streetlight. "Why should I worry? I'm wit' you. Besides, folks leave me alone."
They walked along in silence for awhile. She didn't say anything, but directed him with a touch of her finger to turn at streets.
"We're here." She announced.
Spyke looked up in surprise. They were standing in front of a low block of a building. Written on the face, in bright yellow were the words:
ZEEDEE'S
MARKET
In smaller words, neatly lettered beneath it, was, "Mutants welcome." She headed forward and Spyke followed. There was a door on the side of the building, and she opened it to a dark staircase. Rogue followed it downstairs, to the next door. It opened to a flood of light. A man sat on a stool next to the door. He eyed them, but didn't move. Inside was a bright very compact mini-mart. There was only one other person in there, a tired girl, who couldn't be much older than Rogue was stocking bread. "Hello Anna."
Rogue moved forward, clasping the other's hand. "Diane, this is Evan. He's a friend of mine." Diane stepped up to him, shaking his hand as well. "Please get anything you need. Rogue said you've had trouble with getting food without a fight. Please, go ahead. You won't be bothered." Rogue walked with Evan as he picked up a basket and began tossing some much needed items in it. "So what is this place?" he asked, debating between the only two kinds of soup they had.
"It's a haven for mutants. The guy up front is one himself. Known harassers aren't allowed here. The walls are solid cement, you'd need a tank to get through them. The upstairs is a cot room, if mutants need help, or are hiding. It's a way to get necessities without fighting or being stared at." He headed up to the cash register and Diane began ringing up his purchases. "Why did you do this?" He asked her. She looked up, but didn't respond. Rogue tapped his shell. "I'm gonna say hi to Rick." She dragged him to another door, which led to a staircase leading up. She shut the door with a snap, turning to face him in the darkness. Light as through from a screen was the only light.
"That," she whispered quietly, "Is a very touchy subject with her." Rogue leaned against the wall. "She and her brother are mutants. He had power over electricity, she's something like Logan only more like a tame cat. I guess when mutant abuse started, someone found out what he was. I'm not 100% sure, but the professor thinks they forced him to use his powers on himself. It almost killed him." She was about to continue, when a thin voice came from upstairs. "Anna? That you?" She hurried up the narrow stairs. "Yes Rick, It's me." Evan heard a few coughs. "I ran out water. I'm sorry." Evan heard her light steps and then Rogue's voice, much gentler than usual. "Nothing to apologize for. Everyone needs help sometimes. I brought a friend with me. Do you want to meet him?" He must've nodded, because Evan heard no response, but Rogue was gesturing for him to come on up. He came up slowly, scratching the sides of his armor against the walls. Rogue was standing next to the only occupied bed, close to the door.
It was a dim room, and was crowded with cots that lined the dirty brown walls. Evan moved closer to Rogue, his gaze falling on the boy. He looked to be 12 or so, with thick black hair that hung long enough on the sides to brush his hollow cheeks. He had several blankets around him, but his whole, very skinny frame was shivering. There was laptop balanced on the blankets, and the light from it made his pale face seem blue. "Rick, Evan." They watched each other for a moment as Rogue picked up the pitcher sitting on the desk. "I'll be back soon." She left and Evan moved forward. He looked at the laptop screen and was surprised to see that he wasn't playing a video game. Most kids would. Instead, an elaborate spreadsheet was up and Rick was typing away. "What is this?" Evan asked him.
Rick sat a little straighter. "It's several things. This section," he pointed to the one on the left, "Computes what each customer buys. Mutants and regulars are registered. If you're running low on supplies, and can't get to the store, you call us and we fill out your normal list." He gestured to the other side, a much bigger and multi-colored side. "This part takes all the information from this side and computes that with the biweekly orders. It's already entered as to how much of each item is in the store. When it sees that we're running out of items, they highlight in yellow so that when I open it again, I know to get more. And when it's time for the orders to be filled out, I just check the ones that are yellow."
Evan looked from it to Rick, who was smiling a bit now. "This is really cool." Rick's smile got bigger. "It does other stuff too. If something hasn't been sold in over a month, it comes up in blue. Reminds us to quit ordering it for now, because it's obviously not selling. Red means that we haven't been ordering enough to last the two weeks, and green means it's en route to here. It will turn white when it's registered as a product here."Rogue came back in, balancing a now full pitcher. "We better get going Evan, your family's gonna worry." He glanced up at the clock and realized that he'd been gone for over an hour. "Crap, you're right."He came to his feet, knocking knuckles lightly with Rick. "I'll see you next time okay?" Rick nodded. Rogue picked a pencil up off the desk and moved forward. "His name's next to the Rottweiler, okay?" Evan glanced at the walls and realized with a start, that they weren't dirty, but white with dogs all over them. Some of the dogs close to Rick had names next to them. Rogue grabbed Evan and hustled him downstairs. Diane was waiting at the door with his two bags of groceries. "See you soon." she smiled. Evan and Rogue took the groceries and scattered. Outside, he found a manhole on the side of the building and headed in. Rogue handed down the groceries and followed him. "You don't have to come. I know the way." he protested. She picked up a few of the bags. "Yeah, but I wanna talk. What'd you think of Rick?" He frowned. "He seemed fine to me. Is everything okay?" She shrugged.
"You got him on a good day. When he's not doing too good, he won't recognize his own sister. That's why we write our names on his wall. Consistency helps him remember. He could have a raging scream temper, or just sit and stare at the wall. What those people did to him was horrible. He has lapses in memory, and muscle spasms and hurts a lot. He hasn't walked in 2 years." They walked a few more steps in silence. "What happened to the people that did it to him?" She looked up and in the passing light, he saw worry. "His sister is what happened. I asked her once and she said that she went for a walk after it happened, and they never went home."Evan turned pale for a moment. "She killed them?" Rogue shook her head. "I don't know. What she does is on her own conscience." She added, "That's why he's made that program. It's all for Diane. He wanted to be able to help her with the store, even when he couldn't be of much use. It took almost three months to make and everything, but now that's it's hooked directly into the computer at the cash register, it will run without him. When he can't remember, or is having a fit upstairs, he's still helping her."
Evan was silent for a moment, trying to imagine losing so much of yourself and still wanting to be nice to anyone. "I don't know if I could do that." She nudged his side. "You don't have to. You have your own battles to fight."
A few turns before they reached the hideout, Rogue stopped him. "Ah've been meaning to ask ya somethin'." She wrung her hands nervously as she set down the bags, her accent becoming more pronounced. "Close your eyes." He did so and then felt a funny whoosh.
Opening them again, he saw he firing dozens of wooden darts into the water, and felt his own shell receding into his back. "What did you just do?" He asked. She looked up from the water. "Ah was thinkin' that if I couldn't siphon off Jean's powers like I did once, maybe I could help you." He stood up to his full height and found that he was bit shorter, and that he actually could stand, instead of hunched over like the shell had forced him to a minute ago. "Could you do that again?" he asked. She shook her head, emptying her hands of the remainder of the darts.
"Ah don' wanna make you pass out. That was only brushing the thickest part of your shell, and I still got too much. Some of your memories still came with it. I want tah try it a bit atta time, but I can only do so much. It'll take some willpower."
Evan reached down and carefully hugged her, only holding her where the most fabric was. "Thank you. Someday, I'll be me again."
She let go, stepping up the ladder to the manhole. "You already are you. I just wanna help a friend."
It took almost a year after Apocalypse's defeat, but many things gradually happened. First of all, Zeedee's Market became the breeding ground for human – mutant relations. Over time, she moved from the little mini-mart into a full sized store, where only those who wouldn't start fights with mutants were allowed. People began to learn, however slowly that not all mutants are bad. Rogue and Evan continued to work on his shell and over time, it could recede enough that he could pull all of it in. After doing so, he was able to go above ground again, and started catching up on school. The rest of the Murlocks who had lived in the sewers got jobs with Zeedee's, giving them a home and a start at life.
A year later, Rick died. Many mutants attended the funeral, if not for Rick, then for gentle Diane, who had done them all some favor or another. She left for almost a month, but came back eventually, and run Zeedee's with an unheard of zeal. Rick's program ran faultessly, and she smiled a little sometimes.
Surprisingly enough, the minimal contact with Rogue, a little at a time, made Evan immune to her touch. Xavier thought this could eventually lead her to becoming immune to being used by others. But for now, she was glad to reach and touch him with her bare fingers. Having never felt other's hair, skin and in general most things, Evan thought it was funny to be walking around the house and suddenly feel her hand slide through his hair, or catch her sticking both hands in a bucket of flour. But he liked it best when she ran her hands through his hair. She'd run her hand forward, till her fingers curled up at the bottom of his neck, then she ran her hand in reverse, back up till her palm brushed his forehead. And she'd smile, and say nothing, cause there was nothing to say, when a touch said it all.
I know it sounds a little off, but I do like Evan and Rogue. Someone who is so alive, so everything, compared to someone so very held back. Reviews are welcome!