AN: Of course, I totally don't own anything from Marvel. Not making any money from writing, but trying to finish school without dying.


XMen POV -

Scars. They show that change is inevitable. Show that you survived, but having to adapt was something Rogue had learnt from a young age. She was adopted, but raised as blood - never treated any differently. Until Cody. She could never blame her friend for stealing her first kiss. But the consequences left scars. Cody became comatosed, not waking - even after two years. And Rogue, was left unable to experience proper human contact, seemingly for the rest of her life. At Xavier's, she had been marginalised. Never involved, always sitting on the sidelines - out of distrust in her power. Fear had crept into other students eyes after she put the invincible Wolverine in the Med Bay. Yet, Logan had not ceased in training her - encouraging her to get close to people emotionally. She was covered in scars, emotionally and physically - but they showed how far she had come. And they would not dictate where she went.


Rogue stared at Coulson. He knows who I am, she thought; realising she had lost the upper hand. They wouldn't have known who she was if Professor Xavier hadn't registered the mansion as a private school. Would they tell the X-Men that she's alive? Could she face them again? No. Rogue didn't feel she could. It would disrupt them. "Ah don't want to talk about mah 'death'," Rogue growled through bared teeth, "get me a change of clothes, I want to leave."

No sooner had she spoken, the door opened and Fury entered. "You won't be leaving. You'll give us answers, but for now I have a proposition for you. You join S.H.I.E.L.D or you get sent to a research facility." Rogue hid her shock, her experience with S.H.I.E.L.D told her that she wouldn't get a family like with the X-Men. Yet, she could build a life away from her dependence on the X-Men. It wasn't an overly difficult decision, she would have a new life. It would be for the better. "Alrhight. Ah'll stay." Fury's face said it all. He had known she would choose to stay. "You'll train with Agent Romanova, she'll get you up to S.H.I.E.L.D standards. We don't know how well Xavier trained you," he declared. Rogue felt enraged, how dare he slander the X-Men's training!


Avenger POV -

Rogue's room -

It was too easy, Fury thought. He was one step closer to having a mutant in the Avengers Initiative, then Earth's mightiest heroes would be together to defend the world. Opening the wardrobe in the corner, he pulled out a plastic bag. Placing it on the end of the bed, he left the room with only "get dressed" leaving his lips. Coulson stood to leave, when Rogue asked, "Is he serious?" Turning round, he took in her slightly shaking legs as she stood up from the bed. "Yes. Director Fury is deadly serious. Your training starts today," Coulson replied, hiding his pity for the girl. She loomed like a gust of wind would permanently damage her - Romanova would obliterate her. He left the room to give the young mutant her privacy to get dressed.

Ten minutes passed before he knocked on the door and asked if she was alright. Her reply was heart-wrenching. "Ah can't put mah t-shirt on..." Came her muffled voice. It sounded like she was crying. "Would...would you like some help?" Coulson found himself asking. There was a silent pause before she replied with a hesitant "yes, please." Slowly entering the room, Coulson approached the skittish doe - Rogue looked at his with her teary emerald eyes. The shirt was abandoned on the floor. Her torso only covered in a plain black bra, leaving her exposed. Her ribs protruded, hip bones jutted out - she didn't look skeletal, just slightly anorexic. Any trace of muscle mass was gone. She was shaking from over-exertion. She isn't ready to take on Romanova yet, he thought to himself. He bent over and plucked the black shirt off the floor. "Alright...over the head and insert arms," he said in an attempt to comfort her. Rogue's eyes remained downcast. This must be embarrassing for her, Coulson thought, being unable to even get fully dressed. He rarely felt sympathy for anyone, but this girl had a resigned look in her eyes that was different to the confident one she had when facing Fury.

Rogue whispered a quiet "thank you" before pushing herself to stand again. The shaking had ceased and she suddenly carried herself like a seasoned fight. What was going on? Her eyes glazed over, before hardening to replace the resigned look with one of determination. At that moment, Coulson knew. Rogue was going to give Romanova a fight she would never forget.


Outside the safehouse -

Fighting had always come naturally to Natasha; even when she was younger. After the Black Widow programme, she went rogue. Taking assassinations of high profile individuals, she got on S.H.I.E.L.D's radar. Her lifestyle hadn't bothered her until they sent Barton out to kill her. She got so used to being on a pedistal, when Barton came after her, she ran - evading him for as long as possible. He caught her - and she fell from her pedistal. However, the repercussions reverbarated throughout her future. Joining S.H.I.E.L.D over death led to Natasha finding a kindred spirit in Barton - her best friend. Of course, a negative of joining the agency was that she was at Fury's beck and call - the very man who ordered her death. Something he enjoyed putting into practice as he made her train the new recruit - Rogue.


She paced in the clearing outside the safehouse. Coulson was supposed to have bought the recruit out nearly twenty minutes ago - he was never late, always annoyingly punctual. Natasha opted to train outside, the rooms in the safehouse were too small. The smell of oak, pine and ash trees filled her lungs; the dirt was reasonably smooth and flat - perfect for the recruit's first training session. "Agent Romanova," came Coulson's voice. She hadn't realised that her eyes were closed. Opening them and turning to face him, her eyes were immediately drawn to the short girl beside him. What's so special about this little girl? Natasha thought boredly. "This is Rogue, you've been debriefed on the standards Director Fury wants her up too. I'll be observing to make an assessment for Director Fury," Coulson stated. The girl, Rogue, stepped forward slightly wobbily; Natasha quirked a perfectly arched eyebrow. Coulson sat on a nearby log, and gestured to Rogue to take her position.

The two women stood opposite each other, neither moving. Natasha gave no indication to her attack when she struck. She charged at Rogue, who had been staring blankly at a tree behind her. Natasha swung with her left, intending to land a left hook to Rogue's side. The hit never landed, as Rogue caught Natasha's fist and used the momentum to trip the red-headed agent. Natasha hit the dirt; her opponent hadn't moved besides grabbing her wrist. What just happened? Natasha thought, what training does this girl have? Propelling herself off the dirty ground, Natasha landed a roundhouse kick to Rogue's shoulder. That brought Rogue out of her blank trance as she hit the floor. Snapping her head up to look at Natasha, her eyes held an eerie glow. Suddenly, Natasha found herself pinned to one of the trees she had smelt before; an invisible force holding her in place. Coulson jumped to his feet. Rogue slowly approached the former assassin, and yet, it wasn't Rogue. This was a confident and arrogant person, very different to the resigned girl Coulson had met. Her head snapped to look around at him, "you'll find that ah'm adequately trained," Rogue declared, "tell Fury that the training wasn't necessary."


AN2: To Be Continued...dun dun duuunnn! What's up with Rogue? Black Widow lost a fight? Strange things are happening...

Copyright © 2007 The University of Nottingham