Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Anything Related To The X-Men Or The X-Men. I Don't Own Batman Or Superman Either.
Thanks for taking a look at 'The Rogue Games' the sequel to 'The Rogue Ruler'. This story might make sense if you haven't read the first one, but it will be easier to understand if you read the first one before reading this one. Thanks again for giving this story a read. And if you enjoy this tale, you should probably give some of the credit to Jehilew. She has sat through more talks about this story idea than anyone ever should. :).
Summary: With her past finally uncovered, Rogue settles into a hectic new lifestyle and tries to balance her many responsibilities. Once mysterious and dangerous things start to happen in Lenox and new family members enter the picture, she must quickly figure out who she can trust and how the X-Men can stop a force none of them could ever see coming.
"If one more person calls me princess, I cannot be held responsible for my actions!"
Remy laughed quietly and tightened his grip around her shoulders. "You are a princess, mon coeur."
The library was completely empty, sans the two mutants cozily snuggled together on a love seat set against one of the side walls. They had originally gathered under the pretense of studying for upcoming finals, but the thick books had been neither opened nor brought with them to the room. Instead, they had spent the last half-hour in quiet companionship talking about nothing but whatever random things crossed their minds. Of course, they had also spent a few pointed minutes discussing how nice it was, that Kurt and Evan had kept Axel busy by trying to teach him how to play video games for the eighth time. Hands as big as the giants just were not meant to hold something that could and had been, to the other mutants' growing dismay, snapped so easily.
Ever since Rogue, officially known as 'Her Royal Highness, Alexandria Gracelyn Rose Lenox, Crown Princess of the Lenox dimension', had discovered her true identity and past, things had been shifted into a speed so rapid that she could barely hang on. It had been almost a year since her battle with Sunil and her time had become so booked, that she barely had time to spend with Remy. Even her own thoughts had been pushed to the side since different issues seemed to pop up at the start of each new day, supposedly requiring her full attention.
She had spent the first part of her new life directly beside her mother, Lydia, current Queen of the Lenox dimension, trying to reconnect and make up for lost time. It had proven to be hard to get in a lot of quality time, though, with the queen being called to meetings from morning till night. They had been willing to give her a break for a small period of time so she could recuperate, but that window had been far too short for Lydia and her daughter. The rest of Rogue's Lenox time had consisted of helping the Morph resettlement project and trying to avoid the many photographers who chased her every time she stepped outside of the castle. The thing no one mentioned about a place full of mutants was that they could have invisible and flying paparazzi. And of course, the photographers were excited to catch any sight of the long-lost queen and princess. Her once solid thought that people would grow tired of watching her and Lydia had been dashed into a hundred disappointing pieces. It didn't matter in the slightest what they were doing; magazines of her making speeches sold as good as pictures of them eating lunch at a café.
With her mother back on the throne, Rogue had been able to get a real glimpse of her future life. The idea of having that much responsibility to other people honestly scared her deeper than she dared to admit. She could barely keep herself on time for training sessions and remember to do laundry before her closet was completely empty. How would she keep Lenox together? It had been that deep-seated fear of responsibility that convinced her to go back to Earth for a while and try to finish her high school courses. Having a degree could be her gateway to an Earth college and a career in journalism or writing that kept her out of the palace. She knew that it was probably just her way of running away from an issue, but the plan had worked somewhat well for her in the past and it kept her heart from trying to nervously jump out of her chest.
"You know exactly what I mean," She sighed and furrowed her brows as Remy's thumb made small circles over her covered shoulder, "They either make fun of me after hearing rumors or act like idiots and bow. What kind of idiot bows when they see you stumble out of your bedroom at seven am?"
Remy's slow breathing and the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he chuckled gently at her grumbles, comforted the stressed out, girl. She laid her head near the crook of his neck and tried to close her eyes and forget everything that was expected of her. As Remy's hand continued its slow circle motions, she didn't notice that he had cautiously moved the hand up her shoulder. With one small movement, his thumb grazed the side of her cheek and the absorption began immediately.
Thankfully, Rogue had gained a little more strength when it came to her absorption powers and was able to pull herself away from Remy so fast that she tripped over the coffee table in front of them and landed with a thump on the other side. She wordlessly regained her footing and watched his face and chest for signs of life. Although he was slightly paler, his eyes were open and his chest was moving quick enough to reassure her that he was going to be okay.
Once she was certain Remy would be fine, she pointed an angry finger at him and growled, "You know better than to pull an idiotic stunt like that Remy LeBeau! You could have gotten hurt or worse!"
He coughed slightly and seemed to be at a loss for words, or maybe it was the shock of being slightly absorbed that kept the boy quiet. Either way, Rogue was having trouble giving him too much pity. Remy knew that she had figured out a few new ways to control her powers, but it wasn't foolproof. And the various images of what he had been considering floating through her head did little to gain him any sympathy from the frustrated southern belle.
As long as she focused extremely hard on the person, touch was possible. They had shared some quick kisses and a few short handholds, but nothing greater than those simple actions. It took more out of her to keep the power suppressed then she would admit to anyone, including Remy. Headaches had become a very familiar friend to the girl, as she continued to try harder than even Logan suggested to gain a new hold on her powers. Keeping a well-stocked supply of painkillers in her dresser had helped the issue, but even the pills couldn't stop the deep thundering of her worse attacks.
Personally, she was less nervous about the pain she faced than the idea of losing Remy. Now that he had weaseled his way into her heart, he suddenly had a much larger amount of power. She couldn't just ignore the way his attention made her feel or how one look at his eyes sent a shiver down her back. It was terrifying to think that she had let him into a heart that few people would ever know, though she sometimes questioned whether she had let him or if he had more likely, managed to pick the lock and bounded right inside. Whatever the reason, he was part of her now and it was just as exciting as it was frightening for the southern girl.
Still, how was anyone supposed to enjoy a kiss when the whole time they had to focus their entire brainpower on not hurting the other person? It was better than they had been, but she wondered, and worried, how long Remy would stay with her if all she could do was kiss his cheek for half-a-minute. If it had been, as some people had theorized in the mansion, her unattainability that had attracted him to her, then this might just destroy the whole thing. She was now just awkwardly able to be close to him and that seemed more of an annoyance than a daring challenge for Remy, in her opinion.
"Is everything alright here?"
The twosome looked towards the door and noticed Axel standing there with a worried expression coating his slightly chubby features. Despite the fact, any danger Rogue could picture was gone, when she had decided to go back to Earth, so had Axel. He had barely been talked out of following her to school and spent almost all of his time exploring the mansion as well as trying to understand the strange Earthlings' behavior.
"Yeah." Rogue sighed and gave Remy one more quizzical look as he offered her that silly crooked grin, "Swamp Rat was just trying to speed up his death."
"It be completely worth it, Chere." Remy chuckled despite his girlfriend's exasperated sigh.
The look on Axel's face proved that he was lost and growing more concerned as the two settled into their usual routine of playful bantering and empty threats. Rogue took pity on the confused guard and pushed the subject back to her schedule, which seemed to be the main reason the giant would ever look for her. At the verbal reminder, Axel reached into the bag he almost always carried with him and pulled out his red notebook.
The mere sight of the notebooks forced a sigh out of both Rogue and Remy. Ever since Axel had arrived on Earth, he had become obsessed with note taking. The two notebooks in his bag were separated into two very different categories, blue was for any strange Earth thing he learned and red was saved for Lenox information, Rogue's schedule, and various tidbits he thought she needed to be alerted to. On the weekend visits, Rogue and Axel had taken to Lenox, Axel would always greet Eleanor with a large kiss and then go file his notebook away on an oversized bookshelf in his room. Over the year, he had already filled up at least a dozen of those blue notebooks. After he whipped out his red notebook, he ushered her to the hallway so she would not be late to her meeting with the professor.
Unlike the other mutants in the mansion, Professor Xavier had not changed his treatment of her in the slightest. It was rather refreshing to have someone who still looked at her like she was normal and not an idiotic-wannabe-princess or some stuck up celebrity. The professor had treated her and everyone else he had met in Lenox as normal people who deserved respect and attention.
Even as she settled into the plush chair in front of his desk, while Axel plopped onto the love seat in the corner, the man stared at both of them with the same kind smile. If anyone would have made a good royal, in Rogue's meager opinion at least, it would have been Professor Xavier. He had the skills in diplomacy and crisis management that she could not even picture being within her range of possible talents.
"Thank you for coming to see me," He greeted each of them in turn then gave Rogue his full attention, "I was hoping that I could discuss an idea with you."
"Sure, Professor."
"Summer break is coming very soon and the other teachers and I have been discussing the idea of taking the students to Lenox for a visit. Only, if that would be okay with you, of course."
The words stunned Rogue into silence. She had expected his request to be something simple, like keeping Axel away from the jars of peanut butter until someone else has a chance to eat some. Or maybe, a more serious request to stop threatening to throw the mutants who called her princess out of the second-floor windows. She couldn't imagine why he would want to take people to Lenox. Well, then again, she had a small idea that his research into the castle's old paperwork on various family trees could have something to do with it.
"I believe that it would be a good opportunity for the students to see the possible history of their families." He continued as Rogue tried to swallow the words, "It would also be nice for them to see how well the Morphs are doing now that you have started to create a bridge between the people."
Mentally, Rogue wondered if she should tell him that the progress was not quite as grand as he apparently imagined it to be. Sure, the first few months had been great and the majority of people had wanted to help out the Morphs and give them a chance. But now that the novelty had begun to wear off, there were growing disputes all over Lenox. Both Morphs and other Lenoxians were having fights and shouting matches about who was right or what should happen.
Besides the disagreement between their views of the Morph assistance program, there was also the idea that he expected the students to do research over the break. Did he really think they would care to find out which one of their very distant relatives might have come from Lenox? Granted, Rogue had found it somewhat interesting when the professor had first told her that he believed the visits of Lenox people to Earth had pushed the mutant gene around. She figured the idea was interesting in some far-fetched way but wasn't convinced that a bunch of high schoolers would care either way.
"Professor," She tried to broach the subject delicately instead of turning him down flat, "It might not be as great as you think. I mean it isn't like I know all that much about the current programs or helping people make peace." She fidgeted in her chair nervously, "You know Jude, my mom, and the other leaders are the ones who really know anything about that helping stuff."
"Alex," He used her birth name and gained her immediate attention, "You are a very good leader. You went through harder trials than most people could imagine, and you still showed grace and compassion to the people in the Morphs' land. You need to realize that you have true leadership skills."
She smiled ever so slightly at the compliment but pulled it back in just as quickly. It was hard to imagine herself as this tough and compassionate person the Professor and Remy told her she was in their eyes. All she had done was throw a power surge at someone who was trying to hurt her family. Any of the X-men could have done that, right? She thought with the usual self-doubt that was one of her closest friends.
"You know," Axel spoke up and pulled out his little red notebook, "If you plan your trip for June you can go to the Interdimensional Games."
Rogue outwardly groaned as the words slipped out of Axel's mouth. She had already heard his extremely long-winded spiel about the games over-and-over again for the past two months and was not willing to sit through it again. There was something about her lack of Lenox pride that seemed to rub Axel the wrong way. He had always been fiercely proud of his homeland and wanted to instill that same love in his friend and future queen.
Rogue did love Lenox, but it was more for her mother and various friends than old traditions and fancy parties. As she watched the Professor's eyes light up with interest she continued to wonder why it wasn't enough that Axel had already demanded she attended the games. Was he really going to rope the Professor into this idea?
"What are the games?" The professor asked, the interest clearly showing in his voice.
Rogue jumped in before Axel could start the proud story of the history of the games, "Imagine the Olympics played by Batman and Superman."
Despite her blunt explanation of a traditional Lenox event, Axel didn't chastise her. He was too busy scribbling the names Batman and Superman in his Earth notebook. He made a side note to find out if Batman had the head of a bat and body of a man or vice versa. Axel was pretty certain the names had to be for some kind of athletes that were popular on Earth. Maybe, they were mutants, too? He added the note to his book and looked up to see that the X-men's leader was already settling the dates of when the trip would be offered for any interested students.
"This will be wonderful." Professor Xavier smiled confidently at a nervous Rogue as he set the dates for departure on his calendar.
Time flew a lot quicker than Rogue had expected it would, but soon enough the calendar hit June. Even more surprising than the time jump, was how many mutants had decided to go on the two-week trip to Lenox. She had never expected people would voluntarily sign up for a trip that blatantly warned its travelers of possible time-difference-lag on the sign-up sheet. Who would look at a list of warnings that long and think sign me up? She wondered to herself bitterly.
Apparently, as she stared out at the large group of mutants gathered around Earth's newest teleportation stone, a lot of people were undeterred by the foreboding poster. She sighed and tried to offer Remy a smile as he placed a gentle hand on her lower back. Rogue was thankful her closest friends in the mansion had decided to come along for the games, but she didn't know what to think about the students who were a little too excited about her being a princess or the ones that constantly taunted her. What would they say when they saw her stand up for the opening ceremonies in a glittering tiara and fancy dress? As she imagined the jokes and crude comments that would probably flow swiftly through the students' various communication lines, she cringed. Maybe she could just hide for the extent of the trip and let Logan and Storm help Professor Xavier control the students. It wasn't like she had agreed to be a tour guide. No, she figured internally, I just sat there silently, so that could have been taken as a no.
"You will be okay, Chere." Remy whispered into her ear and brought a smile back to her face, "If they annoy you, just throw them in the dungeon and toss the key."
She stifled a laugh and gave him a small wink, "Deal."
She took a slow breath and faced the crowd before her as the moment of dread approached, "Alright, everyone. Get in line and try to keep your lunch down, it is time to go through the light stone."
The stones had been somewhat deactivated after the attack on the castle years before. It hadn't been until the discovery of Lydia and her regain of her rightful place, that the council had started to work towards modifying the stones to allow the people of Lenox to once again freely visit Earth. Until the recent changes, the only people who had been able to activate the stones were members of the royal bloodline or those who had certain knickknacks with, what had been described to Rogue as, activator trinkets. Once the portals were all opened up, anyone with the slightest hint of Lenox DNA could go and come as they pleased. For now, Rogue had chosen to escort small groups one at a time through the stone. It wasn't the easiest ride to get through and she figured if anyone lost a hand or foot by sticking it out of the light's barrier walls she would feel pretty bad.
The group stared at her face in a mix of confusion and excitement. A few of the more starry-eyed girls squealed in the back of the crowd, while a pair of chuckling boys made small talk about how this was probably some kind of giant trick. The professor cleared his throat and reminded the group to pay close attention to everything Rogue told them, causing the rowdy group to finally fall silent. Slowly, they took their places in line for the teleportation stone, not knowing the grave dangers that awaited them in Lenox.