TITLE: Like Wishing on Stars: Chapter 1 (The Return)
AUTHOR: Tempest
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, and see, I even stick to traditional couplings so don't sue my proverbial pants off!
RATING: PG 13
SUMMARY: Remy's been gone for two years, and Rogue has a device to control her powers. Has he finally returned?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: My first fanfic. R&R, but be kind!
Home
. She never thought that she would be so deathly relieved to be returning. No, not after Remy had disappeared. Then it was a place of memories, too many to count, too many to live with. She had hurt them when she had left so suddenly, but she had needed to sort things over by herself, as well as investigate into a device that emits high levels of a certain chemical that overpowers mutant capabilities when worn, yet is utterly harmless. She had it now, in her wrist, surgically implanted there. She just had to will that it be activated or de-activated now that it was hooked up to her brain. What an adventure that had been… but that was then, this was now. Gazing at the mansion – dear god how she couldn't wait to surprise them! Two years ago, when she had first left, she had decided to greet them with a hug to one of them, which she had decided, would be Wolverine.A small smile crept onto her face. The Professor couldn't know she was here, not only did The Device quell her powers but blocked everything mutant about her, and to him she would be just another curious young woman in the crowd. And what a crowd! Surrounding her, throbbing, pulsating with life! But it was a dangerous crowd. Rowdy. Ready to spill, damaging the grounds. Wondering why nobody was doing anything about it, but knowing that Storm could repair the damage done to the plants with a month of expert gardening, she put it in the back of her mind and slipped through the increasingly drunk crowd. Brushing back a lock of red hair, she deftly strode through the other people in only shorts and a T-shirt, enjoying the feel of accidentally brushing against anything without her suit. Would she ever get used to this again? However, the appreciative stares from some of the men only soured her happy demeanor. Didn't they already have girlfriends? And even if they didn't…
Shutting these thoughts from her mind, Rogue hurried up the steps into the mansion, the computer security recognizing her features automatically. "So they knew I'd be back, they knew I'd need to get in, they didn't erase my privileges" At the sound of her own voice, she frowned deeply. Another thing she'd never get used to. They had done….something… and messed up her voice. Sure, they had managed to get it perfectly normal again, but without her accent. After a moment of contemplating this, she shrugged and glanced around. Nobody here. Anger. "Where did they go!? I haven't waited for this for two years for nothing!" Suddenly, Storm's voice. Never in her life had she expected the sudden well of tears. No, no, be strong Rogue, you're home, everything's gonna be the same.
But everything's going to be different. Why had Remy left? She knew the answer, but refused to accept it, no, not by any means. Now, Storm had finished talking.. there was the rest of them, talking all at once. And the Professor!
"We can't just stand by and watch as this crowd grows more and more rowdy by the minute. We have to put an end to this. Wolverine, Storm, go out there and calm them down." She could just imagine the look he was giving Wolverine… the one that meant no funny business. Curbing a giggle, she saw her chance. Flinging wide the doors separating her and her companions, Rogue rushed in and flung her arms around Wolverine and gave him a kiss on his rough cheek. "Logan!" The large man took a staggering step back as if he had seen a ghost, and as her lips pressed against his skin he flinched. Wolverine. Flinched. She had made him flinch. Laughing, she whirled about the group, giving out hugs to her shocked friends. No, not friends, family. "I'm cured! I'm cured!"
As everyone except the professor stared in slack-jawed amazement, Scott managed to regain his composure. "H…how? When?" Everyone was grinning ear to ear, and the faintest smile was showing on the Professor's face.
And so she told them. Told them all about that first night, ending up on the street after being chased out of a motel when a man brushed against her for a split second. Finding one of his cards in her jacket. Trying to take her life, then finally getting a lead on The Device before she had time to think of suicide again. Agreeing… agreeing to become a test subject for both a new drug and the device in return for in being implanted in her arm. The drug made her sick, very sick, and there were many times that in a torrid fever she had called out for them, Them and Remy, but she didn't tell them that. When the sickness was gone, the pure bliss of human contact. But no Remy. She had to stop it, had to stop thinking of him.
"Good for you Rogue" Jean grinned, one hand lightly on Scott's shoulder. *What an adorable couple*, she thought absently. *You and me Remy, we could have been like that.* But she had resolved not to think about him like that anymore, and pushed it out of her mind.
She smiled, a genuine smile, no false facades this time. "If I still have a room, I'm going to go lay down. I've been on my feet for a few days now, hardly any sleep."
The Professor nodded and went back to explaining the situation. Mardi Gras festivities has spilled into the grounds, and they simply needed to herd the people out. However, they first needed to find whoever was in the crowd that the security reconized and allowed in, along with the rest of the people.
Dear god. Mardi Gras. Somebody who security computers were told to allow in. It only meant one thing to Rogue, and a stark and horrific reminder of who she was for so long…
"It could be Ga-HEY!" This said by Jubilee as Logan prodded her with his already unsheathed claws, glancing pointedly at the trembling young woman retreating from the room.