Author's Note: Hello and welcome to my first X-Men story! This story will follow Rhea White, a mutant working as a teacher at Xavier's School. It will span across the X1-X3 movie storylines, and each chapter will span across the entire movie plotline, so this story SHOULD be finished in no longer than 3-5 chapters. So it's long chapters - I hope you stick with me to the end! It will be Logan/OC endgame, however of course there will be the mentions of Logan/Jean at the beginning. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the story - please R&R if you have the time!
Summary: She is a teacher at Xavier's School, not fully discovered her own powers. He's a Level-5 mutant, running from a past he does not remember. Follow the story of Rhea White from X1 to X3.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belongs to Marvel Universe, a part from my OC.
Part I
2000 – X1 Timeline
~X~
"Miss White,"—Rhea looked up from her papers to see one of her students, Kitty, standing at the threshold of her office—"Professor X has asked for you." Rhea glanced over the girl's head, spying that the grandfather clock that stood in the corridor read that it was late afternoon, meaning Rhea had been grading papers for well over four hours.
She removed her glasses and smiled at the brunette teen. "Thank you, Kitty." Kitty walked away disappearing through the corridor wall. Rhea shook her head, watching the mutant girl go with a sense of awe—sometimes working at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters was something that never creased to amaze her. Every year she is faced with new students and awed once again at the new powers she is opened up to. After five years working and studying at the school, you would think Rhea would be somewhat accustomed to working at a school for mutants.
I'll be with you shortly, Professor, Rhea thought as she began to gather the papers and organise them into a neat pile to one side of her desk. A soft, British voice appeared in her head seconds later 'Thank you, Rhea'. Rhea smiled once more, completely unnerved by the fact she had heard another voice in her head—after all, she was working under one of the most gifted and accomplished mutants of the century. Charles Xavier was quite the astounding individual. Rhea had learnt a lot under his guidance, as a student and also as a colleague.
Rhea pulled herself to her feet, straightening her black pencil skirt and her grey button-up cardigan. She left her office, locking it up as she left, and headed in the direction of the Professor's office. A few students said their hello's as they passed her in the corridor. Rhea felt proud to say that she was a well-liked teacher here at Xavier's School. Like Professor Xavier had been to her, she was firm and fair to her students. Rhea taught mathematics and trigonometry—not exactly the most invigorating of subjects, but she attempted to find some fun in each topic she taught her students, and that she believed in return earned their respect.
"Good Afternoon Miss Monroe," Rhea smiled at the white-haired woman who was speaking firmly with a student as she passed.
Storm looked over her shoulder and flashed her pearly whites in return. 'Night cap tonight? I need it' She thought as her mouth spoke "Good Afternoon, Miss White."
Rhea retrained from laughing, throwing a subtle nod in return. Similar to the Professor, Rhea had the power of telepathy—on a very low level. She could only read the minds of those that are in close proximity to her. If she did not know the person, she would have to touch their skin in order to get a reading of their thoughts, but those whom she has spent vast amounts of time in their presence—such as the Professor, Storm and her other fellow teachers—reading them without touch was possible. As well as a low-form of telepathy, Rhea had the power of empathy—while studying a person, she could usually get a grasp of what emotion they were feeling, which came in very useful as a teacher. Under the tutelage of the Professor, she was beginning to explore her empathy powers; Professor Xavier believed Rhea could even, with time, start to manipulate a person's emotions, which she had achieved to a certain degree.
Rhea paused at the Professor's door, until she heard the Professor's voice once more in her head granting her permission to enter. When she stepped inside, the Professor was putting down a book he had been reading behind his large mahogany desk. "Professor," Rhea smiled, shutting the door with a soft click and advancing into the room, placing herself in one of the plush armchairs facing the desk. "You didn't strike me as a Bram Stoker fan." Rhea lightly joked as she caught an eye of the book title.
Charles chuckled, folding his hand on his chest. "Yes, well, modern literature just isn't quite the same. Tea?"
"Let me," Rhea stopped the Professor, stepping from her armchair and heading over to the small drink cabinet where she poured a fresh cup of tea for two. Typically British, the professor only had fine-china and cups to drink from. Rhea returned with two cups and saucers that she placed gently on the desks. As she placed the cup down, Rhea felt a flow of anxiety around the professor—it radiated off him like a cool blue glow. Rhea gently placed a hand on his, letting her powers take control. Moments later, the blue glow began to dim, as his emotions began to calm. "Professor?" she asked, concerned.
The Professor smiled. "Your empathic powers are advancing quite nicely. I am most impressed, Rhea." He admired. Rhea smiled and squeezed his hand, a small nudge to say that she had not forgotten his previous anxious emotion. "I have been sensing a disturbance. And I believe it centers on the Mutant Registration Act…" Rhea nodded understandingly; the Mutant Registration Act has been something that has been discussed very openly for the past two-to-three years; an act that the lawfully requires all mutants to openly come forward and publicly announce themselves as mutants. Mutants have, for the most part, kept their powers hidden for many years—living in secret. "I can feel their fear." The Professor sighed.
Rhea squeezed the professor's hand once more, this time in comfort. "Nothing has been decided yet. Hopefully Jean's appearance will help make a difference." Rhea thought to her fellow teacher and fellow telepathic. Jean's powers resembled Professor Xavier's—only advanced in many other ways. Much like Rhea, Jean had been tutored under Professor Xavier. Whilst Rhea was ten years younger than the redhead, she knew she would never have powers that could be on par with Jean's. Jean's powers were on another level that not even Professor Xavier could fully understand.
"Something is changing," Professor Xavier mused. "A change that I fear will be much larger than our control."
"Well, Professor, as my mother says: change isn't necessarily a bad thing." Rhea smiled softly, to which the Professor returned, placing a hand on-top of the one that grasped his own.
"You are quite right, Rhea. I find your optimism quite refreshing. This school has been very lucky to gain you as a family member—have I ever mentioned that?" Rhea blushed, feeling her cheeks heat up with praise. It wasn't often she raised such praise, more often Storm or Jean. "Hm," the Professor said quite thoughtfully. "Perhaps not enough." Rhea pulled her hands away, awkwardly pushing the stray strands of hair behind her ear, aware that the Professor had heard her thoughts. The Professor snapped out of his current train of thoughts, catching on to Rhea's awkwardness and clapped his hands together. "Right—we must not waste time any longer than we have."
An hour in Professor Xavier's company passed quite quickly—as it always does. By the time Rhea left the Professor's office, lessons were officially over and dinner had begun. Rhea headed straight to the hall where dinner was placed, and joined Storm and Scott at the teacher's table. "No Jean?" Rhea asked the visor donned man, as she helped herself to some lamb chops and potatoes.
Scott shook his head as he shoveled a fork of mash potatoes into his mouth. "She's preparing for her appearance at Congress tomorrow."
Rhea nodded quietly, her thoughts once again returning to her earlier discussion with Professor Xavier. She thought of the ramifications this new Legislation Act could bring on the mutant community; there was a reason many mutants have chosen to stay in the shadows—many of them feared of being tested on and prodded so the human race could get a better understanding on why and how these powers come about. Legally identifying yourself as a mutant can expose you a whole load of danger that mutants have feared of for decades.
Storm returned to her seat with a loud huff, after having words with a student—John Allerdyce—about setting fire to his food. "I'm starting to think we need an extra pair of hands around here."
It was true—since last year, their student count has almost doubled. Whether that was because the word of the school has finally reached beyond the borders of Professor Xavier's outsourcing, or the general mutant count was growing, it was unsure—Rhea figured both.
After dinner, Rhea returned to her office to continue grading her papers. There she remained well into the evening, only to be interrupted by a knock on the door. Rhea looked up as Storm's head appeared through the door. "I come baring gifts." Storm presented a bottle of gin and two glasses. Rhea grinned, placing her red marker down and waved Storm in. "I tell yeh, these kids are getting a lot smarter," Storm huffed as she slumped into one of the armchairs nursing a glass of gin, before proceeding to tell her the efforts some children took to escape going to sleep this evening.
"Or we're getting dumber." Rhea retorted, wincing as she took a sip of the gin.
Storm shook her head. "Nope—definitely not that." Rhea laughed.
Of the three teachers, Storm was the one she got a long with the most; Storm was only five years older and had similar backgrounds. Jean and Scott tended to keep to themselves; most evenings were their only real time away from children that they could spend as a couple than co-workers and teachers. There was something all three of them had in common though—Xavier's school was their life. Summers or holidays were there only real break from the school, but even that was rare as not all children could go home. Not only was the school a place of learning but it was also a sanctuary for those mutants that have been cast out for their powers. It was what Rhea found so inspiring about this place. She could have worked in other "normal" schools, but it never would have been the same. This place was special—and that's not just talking about the students or the founder.
"Jean and Scott are on weekend duties this weekend,"—Storm said as they reached their fourth or fifth glass of gin—"I was thinking we should go out to a bar or something."
Rhea shuddered. "I don't know."
Storm raised a brow at her. "Sweetie, you're 22 years old. You're single. I think you need to let your hair down. Grading papers can wait for one night." she waved to her papers with a manicured finger. "At this rate, the only male attention you are going to get is from your students."
Rhea shuddered. "Storm, that's gross."
Storm rolled her eyes. "As if you don't know what your students think about you."
Rhea shook her head. "Actually, I don't—I have a rule: never read a student's mind."
"But you can still feel their emotions right?" Storm retorted and Rhea grumbled behind her glass, taking another large gulp. "Well, that's decided then—Saturday: you, me and my old friend tequila."
This time Rhea didn't object.
~X~
The following days passed uneventfully, for a teacher at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters that is. Jean's appearance in front of the Senate didn't go quite as planned, to most of the staff's dismay. Professor Xavier had later filled Rhea in on his encounter with an old friend, Erik Lehnsherr—now otherwise known as Magneto, a mutant that has made his abilities known over the years and notoriously fought for mutant rights in twisted ways. His presence has been quiet over the past decade, but the Professor admitted that he didn't see that lasting for much longer with the Mutant Registration Act set to go in place.
Now Professor Xavier was facing a different threat than anticipated. Magneto was inequitably dangerous and there was no underestimating him.
Rhea had been teaching when she was pulled out of her class one afternoon. Storm had approached her, a firm look on her face that Rhea didn't take lightly. She excused herself from the classroom, joining Storm outside the classroom.
"We have been called out on the mission." Storm informed her. "Scott and I will be leaving, the Professor asked me to inform you in-case there are any developments here. Jean and the Professor will be staying behind." Rhea nodded.
Rhea herself had not been called out on a mission; whether the Professor never sought need for her, she did not know. I guess you could say Rhea was classed as an unofficial member of the X-Men.
After Storm and Scott left, Rhea continued as usual—taking on Storm and Scott's duties in their absence. It was busy, but not unmanageable with Jean or Professor X on hand if necessary. By the end of the day, Rhea was sat in one of the communal kitchens nursing a steaming cup of hot cocoa reveling in the silence of the night, but also aware of Storm and Scott's impending return. At some point, Rhea heard the familiar whoosh of engines; she rushed to the window, spying the return of the Blackbird, disappearing underneath ground.
Rhea abandoned her cocoa and headed to the training facility. After leaving the elevator, she spotted Storm and Scott—apparently unscathed—along with Professor X and Jean whom had already arrived to their aid. Rhea was also shocked to see two other people—one of which apparently unconscious and being tended to by Jean. Rhea couldn't see the unconscious man from where Jean stood, but she could see the young girl clearly. She had her clothed body wrapped around her body, looking uncomfortable and scared, her large brown eyes darting around her. Rhea could feel the fear radiating from her body from where she stood.
"Rhea," Professor X acknowledge her arrival. "Perhaps you could help find our newest arrival something to eat and somewhere to sleep. She has had quite the evening." The older man smiled at the young girl kindly. The young girl nervously flitted her eyes from the Professor to Rhea.
Rhea carefully approached the girl. "Hello, my name is Rhea." She gave the girl a gentle smile.
"Rogue." the girl murmured, her arms still wrapped around her body.
Rhea smiled at the girl, for a second she took in her white gloves. It didn't take Rhea long to figure the girl didn't like to be touched—whether that was a mutant thing or a personal thing, Rhea had yet to figure out. "I made up some cocoa earlier—would you like some?"
Rogue looked towards the unconscious man—who was currently being hooked up by Jean to machines, the sound steady sound of his heartbeat echoing throughout the room—and then back to Rhea. Slowly she nodded. Rhea smiled that she managed to gain the girl's trust and lead her out of the room, back towards the elevator. Rogue followed her silently to the kitchen where Rhea gestured her to sit at the island where Rhea had been sitting previously before their arrival.
"Where are you from, Rogue?" Rhea said, as she stood over the stove, letting the milk boil. Rogue seemed apparently reluctant to answer. "It's OK, you're safe here." Rhea said, as she handing her the mug of cocoa. As she passed the mug to her, their hands met—Rogue's gloved onces flinched away almost immediately. "I'm sorry." Rhea said as she moved her own hands away.
Rogue awkwardly hung her head, her dark brown hair covering part of her face, her eyes looking elsewhere as she spoke. "Ah don't like to be touched." Rhea nodded understandingly. "Bad things happen to those who touch me." Rogue whispered. Rhea watched as her emotions changed to a mixture of sadness, fear and despair. Rhea realised the girl couldn't be anymore than 16/17. She was young—too young to have to be dealing with such sorrow, but unfortunately she wasn't the first mutant to be graced with a power that they can't control, nor would she be the last.
"You know, this a school." the girl looked up, the moonlight streaming through the window reflected on the layer of tears in her eyes. "A school for people like you—with powers." The girl blinked. "Being a mutant can feel incredibly lonely, especially when you first discover your powers. I myself couldn't understand my powers when they appeared. But I came here, to be with people of my own kind. Rogue, I don't know your past, but I can promise you this school can offer you a future. Professor Xavier is very kind—he can help you with your powers."
The girl was quiet for a long second, staring back down at her mug of steaming cocoa. "What can you do?"
"I'm a telepath and an empath." The girl suddenly looked uncomfortable. Rhea raised her hand. "Don't worry, I haven't read your mind—I would have to touch you to do that." The girl awkwardly tugged at the sleeves of her cardigan. "but I can tell you're scared, and I promise you have nothing to be scared of. I wasn't lying when I said you were safe here." The girl mulled over Rhea's words, before slowly nodding. Rhea smiled as she watched the girl relax. "Now, drink up and let's find you somewhere to sleep. Something tells me you haven't had a proper night's sleep in a very long time."
An empty mug later, Rhea led Rogue into one of the rooms where Kitty and Jubilee slept. Careful not to wake the two sleeping girls, Rhea wished Rogue goodnight after she scrounged out a night-gown for her to wear from one of the cupboards. Rhea left Rogue and headed back down to the facility rooms, an hour after she had left with Rogue. In one of the labs, she found Jean sitting next to the unconscious man. Rhea stepped forward, finally getting a proper look at the man. Rhea let out a gasp.
He was large—but in a tall and muscular way. He looked no older than his early-to-mid thirties, judging by his tanned skin on his face—that was covered by thick brown hair. It wasn't his obviously rugged or handsome appearance that made her gasp, no—it was the strong wave of emotions that overcome her. Anger, confusion, desperation… this man was conflicted. Troubled in a way that Rhea had ever faced before.
"He's in pain." Rhea murmured, her eyes not leaving the man that lay before her.
Jean looked at her. "hardly—not even a scratch. Far from the shape Storm and Scott found him in. Super healing, it appears."
Rhea shook her head. "No," Rhea whispered, eyes narrowing on the man's face. "It's a different pain. Mental." Jean looked at her confused, but just then the man began to toss, regaining her attention to the man. Jean's eyes turned to the machine, watching as his heart-rate spiked. She turned to the medicine cabinets, producing a bag of some kind of medicine to hook to his IV. "It's a nightmare." Rhea stopped Jean in her tracks.
"I know," The telepath said shortly. "I was going to sedate him."
Rhea stepped to the man's side and carefully placed a hand on his forearm. His skin felt hot and hard to touch, but Rhea didn't pull away. Jean paused, watching as the man's tossing slowly creased until he twitched to a stop. His body went limp and his face relaxed. "No need." Rhea whispered. Jean carefully put the bag to one side silently. Rhea looked back down at the man; though now relaxed, Rhea could still sense his pain. Something—or someone—had caused him this pain. "What happened to you?"
~X~
The following day, Rhea did not hear much news of the unconscious man in their lab. Instead she spent the day fitting Rogue into her surroundings; after a meeting with Professor Xavier, it was agreed that Rogue would be staying at Xavier's School for the indefinite future and enrolling as a student. Rhea gave her a tour around the school, and introduced her to her new dorm-mates Kitty and Jubilee officially. The school was whispering about the new arrivals; people turned to look at Rogue as they passed in the corridors, but for the most part, students didn't bother Rogue and let her be, much to Rhea's relief.
In the afternoon, Rhea waved Rogue off as Jubilee and Kitty took over. As a teacher, there was only so much Rhea could do for the new student, and now it was down to Rogue to settle in to her new school-life. But judging by the rare smile she saw grace Rogue's lips, she didn't see it being too much of a difficulty for her. After grabbing some lunch, Rhea met up with Scott who took over a few of her classes this morning whilst she looked after Rogue, and caught up with everything she missed out in her absence. Soon, she was back in her office, lesson planning as she devoured her first chance of food since breakfast—a peanut butter jelly sandwich she ruffed up from the communal kitchens.
'Rhea?' Rhea paused, as the Professor's voice filled her head. 'I require your presence in my office at your earliest convenience'. Rhea sighed, quickly scoffing down the rest of her sandwich and heading to the Professor's office. She was surprised to see Jean, Scott and Storm also heading in the same direction. Without discussing what this meeting was about, the four mutants entered the Professor's office.
"Ah. Logan, I'd like you to meet Ororo Monroe." Rhea stepped out from behind Scott and noticed, sitting on one of the armchairs, was the unconscious man—or more like conscious man named Logan as it now seems. With his eyes now open, Rhea could see they were a sharp shade of green—unwavering and focused.
Rhea quietly stood beside her co-workers who were introduced by the Professor. Rhea observed the way Logan's eyes lingered on Jean as she was introduced. Beside her, Scott's stature uncomfortably tightened and Rhea felt a hum of jealousy emanating from his body. Equally, she had felt Logan's attraction to the redheaded mutant.
"And this is Rhea White." Logan's eyes flickered to hers, observing her for a fleeting second, and then turning his attention back to the Professor. "You're in my school for the gifted. For mutants. You'll be safe here from Magneto."
Rhea silently observed Logan with a careful eye; watching as he sniped cheap jokes and defensive comments. A defense mechanism it appears, to hide what was beneath the surface—which Rhea soon discovered to be extreme memory loss. His entire past was a mystery. So he moved from place to place, never really finding home—because he didn't know where home was. It was no surprise Logan was unnerved by this place and by Professor Xavier who could read his mind so vividly.
The next day, Rhea had heard through Storm that Logan had been convinced to stay by Professor Xavier. Further tests had been done by Jean, but non providing answers to what Magneto might want with Logan—though Professor wasn't 100% certain Logan was who Magneto wanted. Rhea continued about her day, by lunchtime, Rhea headed up to her room to collect a few of her notes she had been up writing late into the night. However, as she was half-way up the stairs, she spotted a figure standing by the window staring out.
It was Logan, now finally out of the hoddie and tracksuit bottoms he had found upon his arrival, and back into the jeans, tank-top and brown leather jacket he previously owned. The leather jacket suited his broad, intimidating stature. Rhea was once again struck with thoughts of his attractiveness, but quickly pushed them away.
"Hello," Rhea greeted him, kindly. He turned to look at her, giving her the once over, making her suddenly self-conscious of the skin-tight pencil skirt and ruffled white blouse she wore. He didn't say hello in return, but he nodded to her in greeting. He returned his eyes to gaze out of the window. Rhea took this as a sign that Logan wanted to be alone; she began to side-pass him, continuing up the grand staircase. However, as she passed him, she turned to see what—or whom—had caught his attention. She spotted Rogue talking to another student of her's, Bobby. Rhea smiled when she saw the smile on both of their faces. "She's fitting in wonderfully." Rhea murmured. "You needn't be worried."
Logan looked at her again. "I wasn't worried." He defensively retorted.
Rhea retrained from a smile. It was a lie of course. She had felt his concern as soon as she approached him. "Sorry," she apologized nonetheless, despite knowing otherwise. "Where were you before here, when you found her?"
"Canada."
Rhea frowned and thought of Rogue's southern twang. "She must have been a long way from home." Rogue wasn't the first runaway student to be brought in—the sad truth was a great many of the students who were taught here were runaways. "It's a good thing you found her."
"Not by choice," Logan grunted. "Kid snuck into my truck whilst I wasn't watching. If it weren't for her and Magneto's men, I wouldn't even be here."
Rhea was silent for a few moments, evaluating his words. "Well, there's one thing for certain," Rhea thoughtfully said, gaining Logan's attention. "She never would have got into that truck if she didn't feel like she could trust you." Logan stared at her silently for a long moment. "See you around, Logan." Rhea smiled at him once more and then ascended up the staircase, vaguely aware of Logan's eyes following her as she disappeared.
Rhea exhaled the breath she had been holding when she finally reached her room. There was something in the air in Logan's presence that was almost intoxicating—she didn't know what it was, only that her heart was beating considerably faster and her cheeks felt hot. She kicked off her heels and headed into the bathroom, splashing some cold water on her face, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
Rhea was by no means Jean Grey attractive—she was short, even with her heels, she was no taller than 5"3, while Jean had legs for days. Rhea was, however, curved—something that had been somewhat of a self-conscious feat growing up, but now she was in her 20s, she had come to embrace her amble sized breasts and hips, the soft curve of her waist and slight bump of her stomach. Her face was rounded and gentle, not angular and sharp like Jean's; her nose was small, top lip more plumper than her bottom, and her rounded eyes a pale shade of blue—like the sky on a cool winter's day. Her hair was somewhere between blonde and brown, in soft waves down to her shoulders, that she often half clipped back or twisted into a bun. She wasn't stunning, but she was pretty.
When Rhea finally gathered herself and headed out of her room, notes in hand, Logan was no longer to be found. Rhea shook her head and the thoughts of Logan out of her mind, and heading down the stairs for her next class.
~X~
Rhea didn't see Logan again for the rest of the evening, and a part of her was sorry and glad for it. She ate with Storm through dinner, but was mostly occupied speaking to the students who were also eating in the hall, and then seeing the children to their beds when the clock struck 9. When all the children were in their beds and fast asleep by 10, Rhea retired to her own room. She headed to her bathroom were she lit some candles scattered around the room and began to run herself a bath. There she soaked for a good hour, nursing a glass of wine from the bottle she kept hidden in one of her bedside cabinets and reading one of her novels.
Bathed and the knots in her body unwound, Rhea dressed into her nightgown and slipped into bed, sleep engulfing her not long after her head touched the pillow. Only, it felt like her sleep lasted for no more than a blink—but in reality it was a few hours later when she was awoken up by the sound of movement and moaning. Rhea's eyes opened, realising the sound was coming through the walls. Rhea pulled herself to her feet, slipping on her thin dressing gown and investigated. She stepped to the corridor, and found the door to the next room was open.
As she stepped into the room, she quickly discovered who it belonged to—Logan tossed and turned in his bed. Another nightmare, Rhea quickly realized. Though Rhea was not the only one in Logan's room; Rogue stood over Logan, whispering his name, attempting to awaken him. Logan awoke with a yell, jolting upright. The sound of knives filled the room and Rhea gasped as she realized what had happened. "Rogue!" Rhea ran into room. Rogue grunted, breath struggling her, his claws embedded deep into her skin.
"Help me. Somebody help!" Logan yelled.
Before it was too late for Rhea to stop her, Rogue had placed her hand on Logan and suddenly he was struggling. "Rogue—no!" Rhea watched as the wounds in Rogue's chest healed and life begin to drain Logan's eyes. As soon as Rogue had touched him, she pulled away, leaving Logan to drop to the ground. Rhea rushed across the room crouching beside Logan as he began to seizure. Rhea was hyper-aware of a light being switched on, and Storm telling Scott to grab a pillow, before moving to comfort Rogue.
Rhea heard Rogue tell Storm that it was an accident as Scott helped Rhea place the pillow beneath Logan. Soon after the seizure began to subside and Logan fall into unconsciousness, just as Charles and Jean arrived. Rhea moved back as Jean took over, checking his pulse. Rhea stared down at Logan, relieved to hear Jean say she found a pulse. Moments later, she felt Charles' shakey hand on her arm.
"Well done, Rhea." Charles quietly murmured. Rhea looked down at the Professor, realizing now that she was the one that was shaking—not him. She quickly looked away, feeling a great sense of shame. She didn't need to be praised, for she didn't do enough—she realized before it was too late what had happened and hadn't acted quick enough. "Perhaps you should escort the children back to their beds. Jean and I have it handled from here." Charles suggested quietly.
Rhea nodded numbly and walked out of the room. "Come on kids, back to bed." She murmured to the children, who obeyed, but there were whispers amongst them as they returned to their room.
The next morning, Rhea quietly dressed and headed down for breakfast. The children were still talking about what had happened the night before, and most of them were talking about Rogue and her powers; Rhea felt the sense of fear amongst them as they realized the true reason why Rogue kept her body covered. Rhea carefully surveyed the hall, looking to find Rogue, but found the dining hall was free of any sign of the young girl.
"She's not here," Rhea said to Storm. Storm looked around, knowing who she meant. "I'll go check her room." and with that, Rhea left the noisy dining hall and headed to the girls dormitory. As she reached Rogue's room, Kitty and Jubilee slipped out. "Hello girls," she greeted the girls.
"She won't get up. We tried to bring her breakfast but she won't leave the bed." Kitty said, exasperated. The two girls casting a worried glance over their shoulders in the direction of Rogue's bed.
Rhea nodded. "Thank you, girls. Go along to class and tell the teacher Rogue will be joining the class shortly." The girls nodded and disappeared. Rhea knocked on the open door, hoping to gain Rogue's attention. She didn't move or say anything to acknowledge Rhea's presence; she stared openly and unmovingly at the wall, quilts covering every inch of her skin a part from her head. "Rogue," Rhea said, stepping forward and placing herself at the foot of the bed. Rogue's legs yanked upwards, away from Rhea, and curled to her chest. "How are you?" Rogue said nothing, continued to stare ahead of her. "Logan is fine. Fully recovered, no harm no foul." Rogue glanced at her with red eyes and looked away again. "Why don't we get you to class?"
"They all think ah'm a freak now."
Rhea placed a hand on her quilt-covered arm. "You are not a freak, Rogue. You have a power that you haven't learnt to control yet—that is it. And you will learn to control it."
Rogue shook her head furiously. "Ah will never be able to touch anybody again. I won't be able to touch, hug, kiss…" Rogue furiously wiped at her cheeks and nose. "…not without killin' 'em."
"Give me your hand, Rogue." Rogue stared at her for a long minute before pulling her gloved hand from the quilts. Rhea took the girl's hand in hers. Seconds later, Rhea watched as the Rogue's tears stopped and her emotions calm. Even after Rogue was visibly calm, Rhea remained holding Rogue's hand in hers. "Everyone is deserving of love. You may not be able to kiss, hug, or touch—but you will be able to love and that's the most important thing." Rogue loudly sniffed. "With the help of Professor X, he may be able to help control your powers until one day, you will be able to have physical contact. Have hope, Rogue." Rhea smiled and stood from her bed, dropping Rogue's hand in the process. "Now, can I convince you to come to class?" Rogue bit her lip. "I'll walk you there myself."
Thankfully, Rogue was convinced to go back to her classes. And even though whispers and eyes followed her as she went, Rogue slowly fit back into normality—attending classes, though albeit shy and withdrawn. Rhea kept an eye on the girl throughout the day, keeping a careful eye on her and the other students weren't making any comments to her. Rhea hoped, as the days wore on, the incident will be forgotten and the students will move onto the next thing—especially considering Logan was unharmed.
That evening, Rhea couldn't sleep. After the events of the night before, it felt almost impossible to switch off. After an hour or two of tossing and turning, Rhea knew sleep was not coming to her anytime soon; Rhea unwrapped herself from her bedsheets, donning her dressing down and quietly exited her bedroom, careful not to make a noise as she descended down the staircase and in the direction of the communal kitchens.
The kitchens were dark, barely lit by the glow of the moon that seeped through the window. She headed to the cabinets and began to gather the components to make herself a cup of cocoa. It was as she shut the fridge, milk in hand, she heard a voice spoke out to her.
"Can't sleep?" Rhea yelped, almost jumping out of her own skin, as she turned to face the owner of the voice. Logan, almost completely absorbed in the shadows, on one of the island seats nursing a glass of what appeared to be whisky. Rhea's heart thumped a little when she took in his bare, muscular arms and the hard shape of his chest underneath his white tank.
"Logan," she breathed. "You scared me!"
Logan merely shrugged in response.
Rhea sighed, placing the carton of milk down on the counter. "And no—after last night . . ." Rhea trailed off, watching as Logan focused his attention on the glass in hand. ". . . well, it was hard to drift off. I thought I would make myself some cocoa." There was a moment of silence between the two of them. "Would you like some?"
Logan gestured to his glass. "I'm good."
"Hitting Scott's secret stash? He won't be happy about that, you know, and you're not exactly in his good books at the moment." Rhea grinned, turning to busy herself, making the cocoa.
"Yeah, well, it's not exactly secret if you and I both know about it, is it."
Rhea laughed. "Touché." There was a long stretch of silence until Rhea walked towards him with her mug of steaming cocoa in hand. "May I?" Rhea gestured to one of the barstools next to him. He nodded. "Thanks," Rhea climbed onto one of the seats with slight difficulty thanks to her small stature, much to Logan's enjoyment. "Don't laugh. It's not my fault they make these things too tall." Rhea grunted as she finally positioned herself on the bar stool.
"Or maybe you're too much of a short-ass." Logan chuckled.
Rhea snorted. "Yeah, well, it takes an ass to know an ass."
"Touché." Logan repeated her own words. Rhea laughed and then turned her attention to the steaming mug in her hands. "How's Rogue?"
"A little shook, but I think she'll be fine once the students stop talking about what happened." Rhea sighed. "I think she'll really appreciate hearing from you—to know you're not mad."
Logan snorted this time. "Mad? Why would she think I'm mad?"
"Well, she did almost kill you." Rhea said quietly.
Logan shrugged. "And I almost killed her—I'd say we're pretty even." Rhea didn't respond to the comment, instead taking a leisurely sip from her cocoa. "Where are you from?" Logan said, out of the blue. Rhea looked at him carefully. "You don't sound American."
"That's because I'm not—well, not quite. Mum's British, Dad's American. I was born and raised in England until I was 16, and then my family moved to Washington State. I've been in the States ever since."
Logan nodded. "You seem pretty young to be a teacher." He said, looking at her with a calculative eye.
"I'm 22." Rhea responded, defensively—not like she hadn't had that comment before, but she didn't like the comment coming from him. "I started teaching here straight after I finished being a student here. I've been here as a student and teacher for . . . five years." Rhea paused for a second to calculate the time that had passed since she arrived at Xavier's school.
"You never wanted to explore a little?" Logan raised an eyebrow.
Rhea shook her head. "I've moved from the UK to the States and my parents were jet-setters—I spent my summers in a different country every year. I'd say I've had my fair share of exploring." Rhea thought of her parents now who were currently on vacation in Hawaii. "No—this is where I'm meant to be. I knew that quite early on." Rhea softly said. Logan said nothing, but she felt a sense of jealousy radiating from his body. "And you? After fifteen years moving from one place to another—you've never wanted to settle down?"
Logan became visibly tense. "No." was his curt answer. He gulped down the rest of his drink from the tumbler glass and then stood from the stool. "Night, kid." Rhea quietly watched as Logan sauntered off, his form disappearing from sight.
Rhea sighed looking back down at her mug—note to self, never speak to Logan about himself.
~X~
The next day Rhea was busy from the get go that she didn't have time to watch out for Rogue like she promised she would. But in between her classes, she managed to spot her sitting in Jean's class whilst she was on her way to her office. It pleased her to see Rogue was going to her classes. However, she was halfway through papers, when her door swung open and a worried Logan stood—his eyes darting around the room. An equally-concerned looking Storm hovered behind him.
"Logan, Storm? What's happened?" Rhea said, standing to her feet from behind her desk.
"It's Rogue—we can't find her. I hoped she'd be with you." Storm said.
Rhea moved to Logan's side and gently pressed a hand to his arm over his leather-jacket. His panting began to lessen and his body began to relax. He looked down at her, his face obviously questioning what he had done to her. Rhea ignored him, dropping her arm back to her side, her fingers flexing as the warmth from his body disappeared. She turned to Storm, "Let's go to the Professor. He can find her." Storm nodded in agreement. Rhea closed her eyes and felt for Charles' presence. "He's in the lab. C'mon."
When the three of them located the Professor in the lab with Scott, Logan headed straight for the Professor; "Where is she?" he demanded, the previous state of calmness Rhea had put him in, disappeared as they entered the room.
"Who?" Scott questioned.
"Rogue." the Professor answered before Storm, Logan or Rhea could respond. "She's gone." trip to the Cerebro later, the Professor had located the whereabouts of Rogue much to everyone's relief. "She's at the train station."
"Where is it?" Logan responded.
"A few miles west of here"-Logan began to move at the Professor's response-"Logan, you can't leave the mansion—it's just the opportunity Magneto needs."
Rhea carefully looked between Logan and the Professor. She could feel the determination in Logan—she had a feeling very little was going to stop him. "Listen, I'm the reason she took off." Logan responded.
"We had a deal." The Professor insisted.
Rhea could feel the tension rising in Logan's body. Luckily Storm stepped in before it could transpire any further. "She's alright, she's just upset." Storm mediated.
"Storm, Cyclops—find her, see if you can talk to her." the two mutants nodded and began to head in the direction of the garage.
Rhea stepped forward. "Professor, please—let me go. I can calm her down if she's upset." he Professor seemed to consider her words and then finally nodded in acceptance. "Thank you." Rhea turned to follow Storm and Scott, catching Logan's eye as she passed. "It's OK, Logan. We'll bring her back safely." Despite Rhea's words, she could still feel the doubt. Rhea shot him one last smile, before walking away. She quickly caught up with Storm and Scott as they were getting into the car. "Professor let me tag along." She explained to the two, Storm nodded and Scott was too busy mumbling something about his motorcycle as he started the engine.
The ride to the train station was short. Scott parked up and the three of them headed inside. "I'll go check at the ticket office." Storm said, heading towards the man sitting in front of a long queue behind a glass box. Rhea and Scott stayed behind, Rhea's eyes wandering around, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of Rogue whilst Scott checked the board for all incoming and outgoing trains.
"She's got to be here somewhere." Rhea murmured, trying not to let the panic settle in. Beside her, she saw Scott begin to move. "Scott?" she called after him, looking in Scott's direction, hoping he had spotted Rogue—instead Rhea saw a tall man with long blonde hair holding Storm up by her throat.
"Storm!" the second Rhea shouted her friends name, she saw something dart from the ceiling, knocking Scott's glasses from his eyes. Rhea and the rest of the people inside of the station screamed and ducked as lazars blasted from Scott's eyes to ceiling. The ceiling exploded, large blocks of ceiling tumbling to the ground at colossal speed; people dived to avoid the rubble, but Rhea spotted a child staring to the ceiling as a large chunk of rubble fell towards him. Rhea yelled, but the boy was frozen in fear; without thought, Rhea sprinted to the boy, pushing him to the side as the rubble collided with her, knocking her swiftly to the ground. The moment her body hit the ground, darkness engulfed her.
What felt like moments later, she was waking to her voice being called. "Rhea, Rhea, wake up, honey." Rhea groaned her eyes cracking open, just about able to make out Storm looming over her through her blurred vision. "Rhea, you're bleeding pretty bad—you have to stay awake for me, OK?"
"What the hell happened to her?" a gruff voice appeared. Logan.
"She got hit saving some kid from some falling rubble. Did you get Rogue? We were ambushed by Magneto's men."
"Magneto got her."
Storm paused. "Magneto . . . you mean . . ." Rhea hissed, her entire head felt like it was spinning at a hundred miles per hour. "Rhea, stay with me. Logan—get help, quickly. I don't think I can stop the bleeding. Rhea? Rh . . ."
Darkness.
~X~
Rhea didn't know how long she had been out—whether it was minutes, hours or even days, but by the time her eyes re-opened, she was no longer in the train station and now in a bright-lighted room that she knew belonged to the lab. She moved her hand, only to be restricted by the vast wires attached to her body. She moved her head to spy at the heart-pace monitor at her bedside, only to wince and reach a hand to her head in agony. Her fingers felt the smooth feeling of the bandage wrapped around her head.
"You gave us quite the scare there, Rhea." Professor Xavier's voice came from her other side.
Slowly Rhea turned her head, to see the Professor at her bedside, and smiled. "Professor." Rhea's voice was dry and cracked. The Professor silently passed her a plastic cup of water, which she gratefully drank from. "Rogue? I remember . . . I remember Logan saying Magneto took her?"
Professor nodded gravely. "A huge mistake on my behalf. All this time I thought he had been after Logan, when really they had been after Rogue all along." Professor shook his head. "But alas, Rogue is returned in—mostly—the same state that we last saw her in." Rhea raised her eyebrows. "Only cosmetic changes, I assure you." in that second, she saw an image of Rogue with two white streaks in her hair. If the circumstances were different, Rhea would have said it looked good.
Rhea nodded. "How . . . how long was I out?"
"A week." the Professor answered. Rhea blinked in shock. A week? "You had a serious bleed to the brain, Rhea. If it weren't for Logan's blood, we doubted you would have survived at all."
Rhea swallowed thickly. "Wait—what do you mean, Logan's blood? You mean he donated his blood to me?"
"Yes," the Professor nodded. "It appears his blood, transferred to another mutant, still holds healing properties. Quite marvelous and a relief on this occasion." Rhea stared at the Professor in awe that Logan had willingly gave his blood to her so she could heal. Rhea's first thought was that she had to thank Logan. However, reading her thoughts, the Professor spoke once more. "I'm afraid Logan has left us. He has gone to find answers to something he has been running from for the past fifteen years." Rhea looked away and nodded slowly. "But, alas, something tells me this won't be the last we see of Logan." The Professor finished with a wink. Rhea felt her cheeks begin to burn.
Rhea watched quietly as the Professor left the lab, silently hoping the Professor was right.
"You heard my voice, I came out of the woods by choice
Shelter also gave their shade
But in the dark I have no name
So leave that click in my head
And I will remember the words that you said
Left a clouded mind and a heavy heart
But I am sure we could see a new start
So when your hopes on fire
But you know your desire
Don't hold a glass over the flame
Don't let your heart grow cold
I will call you by name
I will share your road"
- Hopeless Wanderer by Mumford and Sons
