Set five years after "What If…". Lending to the idea of what if Rogue had stopped Pyro from leaving the jet that day in Alkali Lake. All events of X3: The Last Stand took place, however the battle between Pyro and Iceman took place earlier, on school property, just because that would make more sense.
"Rogue! Watch out!"
The power absorber spun, eyes widening as a large metal head of a sentinel was hurtling towards her. Pushing off the ground, she flipped backwards and into the air. Floating above, she turned her face away from the explosion the projectile created.
A female electronical voice was heard then. "Mission Objective complete," before the sentinel and carnage disappeared, revealing shiny gray walls.
A guy with flaming hair looked up at her.
"Hey Rogue! You comin' down?"
She gave him a sardonic grin. "Depends. Ya gonna put your hair out?" Rogue asked as she lowered herself to the ground. "Don't need to catch my feet on fire. Wolverine's not around ta heal them for me."
Pyro snorted. "Right, like you need him anymore."
John was right. She didn't need to absorb Logan's gift anymore and hadn't needed to for a while. Last year, on the eve of her twenty-first birthday, they had to deal with a power-spike.
Emma Frost, a rather close friend of Professor X's, had paid a visit to the X-Mansion after the Alcatraz Island fiasco. She was devastated learning about Xavier and wouldn't believe he was dead. She disappeared for a while after that, only to return six months later with an unfamiliar telepath. Only when he spoke, entering the minds of the mutant staff gathered did Storm voice a tentative, "Charles?"
When he nodded, questions of how and when obviously followed and it was surmised that Xavier was able to use some last minute mind control, sending his subconscious far away, intact. Moira MacTaggert, another friend of his, was disconcerted to find him speaking to her through a long-time coma patient. She was able to nurse him back to health after that.
Thus, they were able to use Cerebro properly. Hank had figured out how to rewire its process to their technology so that any power spike or endangered mutant would show up on their radar. But that still had a few bugs to be worked out.
So Xavier sent them out to handle this power spike, more concentrated then usual which meant a level 4 or 5 mutant, so they all went, minus Storm and Wolverine. They were already on a mission.
So Rogue set out with Pyro, Iceman, Shadowcat, Colossus, Angel, Jubilee, Emma Frost and Beast. It turned out to be a sentinel, one of the newer prototypes attacking a masked woman flying about. They quickly dispatched the sentinel, but grew disconcerted when the woman started attacking them.
No one could get to her. She dodged Pyro and Iceman's elemental attacks, threw Angel in the way of Emma Frost's psionic attacks, broke through every object Colossus threw at her and knocked Beast out. Jubilee's powers had no effect on her whatsoever. It was decided. Angel would fly Rogue over her and she would use her powers to knock her out.
It worked better than they thought. However, Rogue held on so long, having no choice as they plummeted and Angel getting blown off course, that she had absorbed her powers permanently. Right before they hit the ground, she realized she could fly and zoomed up, her bare arms wrapped around the woman's bare shoulders.
When they took the unconscious woman back with them to the mansion, Rogue was distraught to find out the woman wasn't going to wake up, being in a permanent vegetative state. To help the young woman overcome her devastation, they moved the woman out of the mansion and to Moira MacTaggert's clinic.
After further evaluation, they found that Rogue had absorbed her superhuman strength, ability to fly and thick skin. Meaning she was almost entirely impervious to harm.
She spent the next six months taking extra training courses to handle her abilities. Rarely did she see John and Bobby, both who had managed to retain their friendship throughout their similar feelings for the female mutant in question. But she became an integral part of the team, finally having them depend on her rather the other way around, to help. Iceman learned to skate on self-made ice bridges, allowing him freedom in the air, but Pyro still need a lift to reach further heights and she obliged.
Personally, he was still a jerk making it impossible to pursue anything entirely serious with him. Rogue did break up with Bobby soon after the Alkali Lake incident, but it became a tug of war over her between him and John. Finally, Kitty and Rogue were able to calm Bobby down and got him to back off. Rogue also took John to task and got him to stop baiting Bobby. John wasn't easily persuaded but once Bobby and Kitty started dating he finally calmed down. He was no longer in danger of losing Rogue and felt it was the perfect time to become the perfect ass towards her.
Refusing to put up with him and his general teenage boy perverseness, she spent more time with Piotr and Warren. She grew attracted to Piotr and his calming presence. He was polite and kind to her and come Valentine's day they had their first kiss. His lips were warmed metal, but she didn't hurt him, so she didn't mind.
Bobby took pity on John as he watched this all happen from afar. Their friendship returned little by little and they were finally back to trading insults good-naturedly in the Danger Room while trying to blow each other up.
John took a particularly vengeful stance when facing off against Piotr, but he held his own, calm as always. At the end of the year, however, Piotr's concerns for finding his sister Illyana took over when Professor X mentioned finding someone with her particular talents. Piotr left on his own to find her, saying goodbye to Rogue first. They didn't hear from him for four months, but the thing between him and Rogue was over, though they were still on friendly terms.
Pyro was now trying to get in her good graces and little by little she was allowing it.
They walked together to the changing area, separating to the men's and women's to change into their street clothes.
Exiting, Rogue found John already outside waiting. He was flicking his lighter open and close, a habit he never kicked even after Beast installed the flame starter on his wrist.
"Doll, I love ya, but my head is killing me, so you're gonna have to quit that before I throw ya out the window," Rogue drawled as they strode through the underbelly of the mansion.
Flicking the lighter shut on last time before pocketing it, he smirked. "I knew it."
"Knew what?"
"You love me."
Rogue rolled her eyes at his bright expression.
"Most people would focus on the part where I threaten them bodily harm."
"Aw, but you love me. You wouldn't be able to 'harm' me. You're a softie."
Rogue glanced over at him, incredulous. "I'm a softie? What about you? Never did I hear more panic in a single statement then your warning in there," she flicked a thumb behind her towards the Danger Room. "But of course, we all know what you feel for me—"
The breath left her as she was pushed into the wall, cold against her back, John's hand splayed across her stomach. Her startled gaze met his calm one. He leaned in closer.
"And what do I feel…" his voice whispered into her ear causing her to shudder. Slowly, he leaned back out.
Rogue calmed her breathing and let a grin slowly spread over her mouth. "Total annoyance." Pyro's gaze flicked up from where it was studying her mouth, surprised. At her grin, he smiled back before leaning in.
Right before his mouth could brush hers, she turned away, pushing him from her.
"Hey," he protested.
"You're suicidal, John." She muttered and kept walking.
He grabbed her arm, but she shook him off and he watched her walk away.
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The next day, Rogue made her way down to the medical lab. Beast had made a break-through with the mutant gene suppressant and wanted his favourite test subject to try it out.
She sighed when she got his message, not expecting this time to be any different, despite Hank sounding overly excited this time.
Pressing the button, the doors whooshed open revealing the blue-haired mutant surrounded by his lab. Hank, affectionately known as Furball by Wolverine, looked up and smiled.
"Ah, Rogue. Please come. Have a seat."
Rogue smiled. "Hey, Beast. What'd'ya have for me today?" she asked, upbeat. His mood must be infectious. She took a seat in the lab chair and tried to relax.
"Well, we're going to see, aren't we?" he smiled, a jig in his step.
Despite her nervousness, she couldn't help but smile. Beast was a very serious, studious fellow, so this was quite a spectacle, not to mention a little adorable as it reminded her of a puppy with a new treat.
Hank turned back around, a needle in his hand. He flicked it to get the air bubbles out, before focusing on her. She pulled off her glove and watched him swab it with a cotton ball. Trying to relax, she watched in morbid fascination as he brought the needle down to pierce her skin.
He had to press hard, her skin being nearly impenetrable, but it slid in easily with his superhuman strength.
"Now, this will give you just enough to manage your mutation. You'll be able to shut off your absorption powers just like you do with your ability to fly." Hank explained in a soothing voice.
"So, it'll be like gravity to my flying," she analogized.
Beast thought. "Yes, it'll turn it off until you make a conscious decision to use it." Slowly, he slid the needle out of her arm, pressing some gauze over her wound.
Rogue pressed down on the gauze and folded her arm to hold in place.
"How long?" she asked.
"Oh, just a few minutes to half an hour and we should find out whether or not it's a success."
Rogue nodded and leaned back in her chair to wait. Twenty minutes later, she gasped. Hank looked up from his computer and hurried over to her.
"What is it?" he asked.
Rogue started shivering. "It's…cold." Her insides were searing from the cold.
Beast immediately reached up to feel her forehead, but stopped coming to his senses. Pulling open a drawer, he pulled an ear thermometer and pressed it to her ear. Pulling it away, he looked at the read-out. 100.69 F.
He frowned. She was running a fever. Her shaking abruptly stopped then as she passed out. Beast frowned as he lifted her carefully onto his operating table. He got out a washcloth and ran it under some cool water, ringing it out before placing it on her forehead. He pulled on latex gloves before feeling her neck. She was still burning up.
Hank strode over to the intercom. "Storm. We have a situation."
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A/N: Alright. This is the set-up. "What If..." is where it all started, and if you want to see how Rogue and Colossus got together, check out "Moldable Steel", another oneshot. Review if you like it and I'll put up the next chapter sooner. Flames will be molded by Pyro and since I control him in this instance, the result will not be pretty.