Summary: Rogue is finally able to touch but she is dying. Is it too late for love?
Living For The Present: Chapter 1Rogue stood on a roof of a ten-storey building to get a better view of the fight below.
The X-men and the Brotherhood were fighting a losing battle to a group of mutants in the streets. Rogue narrowed her eyes keeping her view to the other mutants. They are different, she thought. Their powers were well controlled and their fighting seems choreographed.
Mutants, also knows as Homo sapiens superior as what Magneto had called, always begun with uncontrollable evolvement of powers, mostly destructive. Firstly, they had no idea that they are born mutants. Secondly, they do not know what powers they possessed. Once the powers evolved it took years and a lot of help to learn the nature and control your powers. But these mutants, it seems that they knew they had the powers since the day they were born.
Rogue hovered above the sky and summons Storm's power for fog. She telepathically tells the X-men to retreat and find some form of shelter. Once she knew everyone had followed order she sent a massive electric bolts using Bezerker's power to the other mutants, whom she had mentally locked their positions. There were screams below and she knew she had hit them. She landed on the ground and creates a magnetic shield around herself. She would not take any chances with these so-called mutants. Judging from the way they fight, she believes they are not mutants like herself or her teammates.
Rogue cleared the fog and bodies were sprawled on the streets. They are still alive, she could tell from the almost unnoticed raise and fall of their chest. Once she had accessed the situation and there were no threats, she let her shield down. Although she could control the powers she had absorbed before, it would still drain her if used for a prolong period. It is ironic however that she still unable to fully control her own mutation. Rogue is able to touch, briefly for less than a minute and with more practice, she would get full control but that would take years. For now she would settle for a brief touch.
The rest of the X-men came forward. Scott was the first to come beside her, followed by Jean, Logan then Ororo. Rogue had done her job; a one-man army as what the others would say. Not that her other teammates are not capable but when it come to the use of multiple powers at the same time, only Rogue could do it. She prefer to call it multi-tasking.
She waited for Scott's order; after all he is the team leader. Scott was thinking and she knew why. The situation is different, usually rebel mutants would retreat once they are losing but today, Rogue had swatted them like flies and they have to think what to do with them. The X-men are not the law; they have no cells to lock mutants up for rioting or doing illegal mutant activities, and putting them up in the med bay may not be the best of ideas. Danger room could do but for how long are they going to keep them and for what exactly? Killing them, as what Logan had suggested was out of the question too.
"Let's dump them at the metal scrap dumpster" Rogue raised an eyebrow at Scott's suggestion and Jean only shrugs. "What?" Scott asked looking at Rogue. "Well it's near, only few blocks away. We can leave them there"
Jean has been a bad influence on Scott. If about two years back, Scott would have said something like 'bring them to the danger room and we will ask who sent them once they are awake' but what strike to Rogue of Scott's suggestion was that, Scott thinks they are only normal mutants messing around.
"Scott. Ah think – " Rogue was about to tell Scott of her opinion when the bodies disappeared. It almost looks like one of their danger room session after a battle; the holographic image of their enemies disappeared. Then from afar, Rogue noticed a beam of red light was aimed towards Logan. Instinctively, Rogue pushed Logan away.
Rogue felt something hit her on the back and she thought she would be dead. Everything went too fast and she could not think of anything except for her fall. She felt her body thrown off from the impact onto the road and her body was dragged. She could feel the heat on her uniform caused by the friction and soon the fabric tore, her flesh exposed. She felt her skin peeled and cut until her head hit something and everything went black.
Wanda and Kitty had rushed over to Rogue, followed by their boyfriend, John and Piotr. They wanted to check if she was all right. The rest of the team was on high alert, for any possible attack but the street was empty except for themselves.
Kurt ported beside Rogue and asked, "How is she?"
"She's into concussion. Seems like she dislocate her shoulder and some cut and bruises," Kitty said as she checked for basic vital signs from Rogue.
Logan came and placed his hands on Rogue cheeks. "Come on Stripes" He waited for a minute for the pull. Nothing. He waited a bit longer. Still nothing. "She's not absorbing me"
"Kurt, I think you should teleport her to the jet" Wanda said, her hands glowed blue. She looked around tentatively, angry but controlled. Inwardly she swear that she'd kill the person who had hurt her friend. Kurt nod and teleport away with Rogue and later with Beast.
The X-men did a brief search around the area and deported back to the mansion once danger was clear. Wanda, Kitty, Logan, Scott, Jean, Ororo and Hank were in the X-jet. The rest of the team was on the X-van. It tore them to see Rogue to have needles, tubes and breathing apparatus on her.
"Is she like going to be O.K?" Kitty asked in a worried voice. If only she was near to Logan, she could have phase both of them from the hit.
"I thought she only have cuts, bruises and dislocated shoulder?" Wanda asked. Rogue had been known to be a survivor. She did not understand why was Rogue was hooked up like she's in an Intensive Care. Wanda partly blames herself, if only she had hexed that shot or even Rogue and Logan, all these would not have happened.
Rogue was brought to the medical bay; she still had not woken up. Beast had checked her injuries and she only had a small cut on her head that only need few stitches. There were no fractured skulls or internal bleeding. She was in stable condition, in fact she is perfectly fine and she should have gain conscious by now. Beast could not understand why. Rogue seems to be in a deep sleep, not even near coma.
"I do not understand." Beast said. "Her signs are normal. There are no injuries that could cause her to be in comatose" Beast sigh.
"So is she in a coma?" Logan asked.
"Not exactly." Beast explained, "It seems she's more like in a deep sleep"
"Isn't that like the same thing?" Kitty question.
"Well, technically, a comatose patient cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to pain or light, does not have sleep-wake cycles, and does not take voluntary actions." Beast paused, and continued. "Coma may result from a variety of conditions, including intoxicatino, metabloic abnormalities, central nervous system diseases, acute neurologic injuries such as stroke and hypoxia." 1
"So what doez zat mean Dr Mc Coy?" Kurt asked
"Well Rogue does not have any of these symptoms. Let me show you" Hank took a sharp pointed object and held Rogue's hand. "Watch the monitor. It shows her brainwave pattern." Hank pressed the sharp end onto Rogue's skin. Rogue's fingers moved and her brainwave pattern changed. "She respond accordingly to pain."
"But why zhe's not waking up?" Kurt asked again.
"I don't know. We will just have to wait I'm afraid."
1 Defination of comatose taken from wikipedia
