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Chapter 2 – While you were gone
The laughter of children could be heard throughout the mansion. No worries or cares to any of the younger students whose innocence made it all harder for her to bear. She knew and they didn't – they didn't know about the threat that had made itself known to Charles through a premonition or that this omen could mean that everyone here would perhaps cease to exist in only mere months.
She was the only one Charles could tell. As she had accidently touched Charles when he first came back to life, Rogue was one of only three people in the mansion who had telepathic powers. Charles, herself and Jean all had the power to see future events and to exchange the knowledge between each other but due to Jeans mental state, Marie was the mutant that the Professor confided in.
When Jean, Scott and the Professor all came back to life it was a huge shock to everyone.
Storm had started to settle into a routine as she and Hank became the best double act anyone had ever seen around the school. They planned every timetable, created schedules for all of the junior (now senior) X-Men so that they could help out as well as bringing new cafeteria staff and groundskeepers so that the school could run with three members being permanently (or so everyone thought) gone.
So, when the three dead mutants just moseyed out of the garage and crashed the annual garden party, most people were momentarily stunned. Storm, Hank and the rest of the X-Men rushed over to give all three members a hug, forgetting about their guests and the fact that only a year and a half ago Jean had nearly killed the rest of them. This was when Marie accidently touched Charles and got his telepathic mutation.
Storm ushered everyone into her (Charles') office and asked them whether they could explain how they ended up being alive. Everyone stared at the three adults until finally the Professor spoke. "It's complicated."
He hesitated, looked around at Scott and Jean, and then carried on. "Well, Scott was never dead in the first place." Shocked gasps came from everyone. "When Jean was the phoenix it recognised Scott as Jean's soul mate and decided to be ... to ... how do I say it? Merciful. Yes, merciful. The phoenix created a vortex around Scott and lowered him into Alkali Lake which meant he was off of the Cerebro grid but he wasn't dead – just in a very deep sleep if you will."
"What about yourself and Jean?" Marie asked impatiently.
"Ahh, that's a bit more, complicated my dear. Oh, I see your powers have returned?" Inquired the Professor.
"Yes they have Charles, as have Eric's and everyone else's who took the blasted cure." She replied coldly. Charles noted that the girl before him was no longer the scared runaway but a woman that had been betrayed and heartbroken by the only man she had ever loved.
She was very much like Eric, the memories gave her eyes the look of a much older and wiser person but he knew that those memories did not mean she was that older and wiser person. Her own difficulties and struggles had given her the opportunity to realise that life was mostly obstacles you have to face and confront so he knew not all that was seen in her features was from the nightmares from the memories he was sure she had every night. He knew the heartbreak was because of one man and one man only. Logan.
He knew she was pissy that Logan had left when everyone needed him, she wasn't pissed because he left her, she was pissed because he left everyone else. However, she had an air about her that screamed maturity and he knew that when Logan returned she wasn't going to run into his arms just because he was the man she loved. Logan had to earn her love and trust once again. Charles was proud of Rogue.
Although, he hadn't seen her in 2 years so he couldn't make his full judgment until he got to know her again. "Although, it means that I can use any power I have ever absorbed which is handy when you want to kill an enemy, isn't it?" Charles hadn't expected that one but from the looks on everybody else's faces, this attitude was not rare.