Rogue had been quizzed every night after dinner for a month after the Spider Stone Incident. The month after that wasn't so bad as the Professor found other ways to look for Mesmero rather than go through Rogues mind with a fine tooth comb. For this, Rogue was very grateful, she wanted to keep her secrets to herself and she certainly didn't want Xavier to know about all the people she had absorbed. Some things were just better to keep under wraps.
During the last two months nothing had happened much other than Logan finding out that Hydra had cloned him and now had a rogue agent bent on their destruction out on the loose. Thankfully, Rogue had been on one of her late night walks so she hadn't met Laura. Another thing she was thankful for, Rogue didn't particularly like being neutralized. Another thing she had noticed over the last few weeks was that she always had the terrible sensation that she was being followed and what's worse she suspected it was more than one person.
It could have been a multitude of people after her. Magneto had seen her in London and now knew of her allegiance with Xavier. It was entirely possible he could have sent his minions to capture her. There was of course Mystique who was always faithfully stuck to the bottom of her shoe. It could even be SHIELD, she had caught the eye of Fury a couple of months back and he seemed the type to check up on her every now and then. Hell, it could even be Wade for all she knew.
Whoever it was, was setting off all kinds of alarms in her head.
That night, Rogue went to sleep in her bed and fell in to a deep sleep, which was highly unusual for her given the nature of her powers. Rogue dreamt about a swirl of colors before things came into shape. In a haze she made her way through the mansion absorbing each of its occupants. She saw herself walk into Kitty's room but the room was empty, the voice who had been guiding her told her to return to Scott's room . She didn't know why she was listening to this voice but she just couldn't help herself. She returned to Scott's room to find Kitty trying to wake him up. The voice told her to absorb her team mate and she obeyed. Kitty let out a squeak before falling to the floor. Upon the mysterious voices commands she used Jeans telekinesis to carry the phaser back to her own room.
The next morning found Rogue looking into the fogged mirror of her attached bathroom. She wiped some of the steam off so she could see her reflection. She had slept soundly all night but had felt like she had not slept a wink. Her head throbbed and she felt sore all over like the time Wade had insisted on getting her drunk and she had absorbed fifteen people before passing out in his back yard.
"What a bizarre dream." She said to herself. She had dreamed that she had absorbed everyone in the mansion and that Mystique and Mesmero had been there. "Ah think Ah need therapy." She finally decided, her issues with her mother were starting to effect her even while asleep now. A Therapist would have a field day trying to psycho analyze her.
Thirty minutes later Rogue was dressed in her jeans and a button up white hoodie. She walked down to the kitchen but it was full of all her housemates who were in full swing and ready for the last day of school. She propped an elbow against the door frame as she watched them bustle about the kitchen all their movement was making her sick. Did she get knock out drunk last night?
She just couldn't work up an enthusiasm to eat that morning. She knew she had an unhealthy appetite and this did nothing to make it better but she thought she honestly might get sick all over the floor if she were to eat breakfast.
Besides the hustle and bustle of the kitchen was doing nothing for her pounding headache. "Ah think Ah'm gonna pass on breakfast." She said to no one in particular. She just needed to get to school and finish up high school.
Rogue walked to the garage where Logan was already leaning against the X-Van. Rogue briefly wondered why Xavier had to put an X in front of everything. Logan looked up to see her. "Ya alright, kid?" He asked, taking in her tired appearance.
"Yeah, Ah'm fine. Just had a weird dream last night." She said dismissing his worries. But then a thought occurred to her, he would be able to smell if anyone had been following her, right? "Hey Logan," She said getting his attention back.
He looked up from the paper in his hands and raised his eyebrows slightly to indicate he was listening. "Ya'd be able ta smell if someone who didn't belong was snoopin' around here right?" She asked him.
"Why? You seen someone snooping around here?" He asked, instantly on guard.
"No." She admitted. "Ah just got this feelin' that someone's been followin' me is all." Then she let out a nervous chuckle. "Ah'm probably just bein' paranoid." But she knew that wasn't right. Rule two: if it seems someone is out to get you, they are.
"I'll still check it out." He assured her.
"Thanks." She said and gave him a small half-smile.
It wasn't a moment later that the garage doors burst open and all the kids began to file into the van. Rogue of course got shotgun being it was dangerous otherwise. It only took Logan a few minutes to drive to the school and let them out. Rogue of course took her time, not as excited about the last day of school like everyone else. She saw Logan turn the corner out of the side of her eye and watched the doors to the school close in front of her. Only a few more steps and she would be in her own personal hell.
But then she heard a car pull up behind her and heard the voice from her dream speak to her again. It told her to get in the car and so she obeyed it. Once again she was in the familiar haze that seemed to envelop the earth whenever the voice spoke to her. She walked to the car and climbed in before shutting the door. Out of the corner of her eye she could barely make out the form of her blue shape shifting mother. For some reason she didn't find it odd in the slightest that she willingly got into a car with her mother to be taken to parts unknown.
Rogue wasn't sure if it was hours or minutes before they arrived at their destination time seemed warped to her. the voice told her to absorb each of the mutants in the nearly demolished house. She nodded before exiting the car. Her plan was to take them each out one by one instead of having to fight them all at once. Wanda would have to be first since she had the best chance of fighting back.
Rogue rang the doorbell and pushed the door open before lifting into the air and using Kitty's power to phase into the house. She saw Wanda go to answer the door but when she saw no one on the other side of the door she dismissed it and turned to walk away. That's when rogue made her move, using telekinesis she lifted the surprised scarlet witch into the air and absorbed her. She could hear the Blob and Toad in the next room but they were oblivious to the goings on.
Avalanche walked out of the kitchen and through the foyer he was almost to the next room when he saw Wanda's unconscious body. "Huh?" He said stupidly. This was just too easy.
Rogue landed next to him and as he turned to look at her and absorbed him easily. She moved onto the next room to take out the simpletons. They didn't even notice her standing in the doorway as they watched their morning cartoons. Rogue used Wanda's power to send the Blobs cereal bowl flying into the toads face. Using her own skills rogue flipped across the room to the green tinted mutant, jamming the cereal bowl on his head again. She then flipped her way over to Fred who just watched her. She landed on his shoulders and roughly grabbed his checks and drained him.
Toad finally managed to get the bowl off his head and saw Rogue. He was the first one who actually registered what was happening and made a run for it. Rogue immediately followed him by teleporting in front of him every time he tried to make an exit. She finally pinned him against a wall. He looked between her ungloved hands before looking back at her face.
"I hate this part." He managed to squeak out before Rogue lifted her hand to absorb him too.
"What is going on down there!" Asked an annoyed Petiro before he zipped down the stairs. Rogue instantly lifted up through the ceiling so she wouldn't be seen and so she could surprise the speed demon. He ran into the living room to examine Fred and Todd. Rogue choose this moment to float back down through the ceiling. She reached her hand out to drain him from behind but he either saw her shadow or sensed her so he ran to the opposite side of the room.
"Hey-what's-going-on!" He asked in his super fast speech.
Rogue felt her eyes grow warm as she wanted to use Scott's powers to blast him. her glowing red eyes must have scared him because he made a break for it back up the stairs. Once again using telekinesis she stopped Quicksilver before he was halfway up the stairs. She floated into the foyer as he desperately tried to get out of her telekinetic grasp. She pulled him back down the stairs and absorbed him. he let out a groan as he crashed to the floor. She smiled at her handiwork before the voice told her to return to the car because she had more work to do.
Her mother stepped out of the car to allow Rogue to climb in. Once again she felt as though she were suspended in time as colors swirled around her. The car stopped and she was let out it looked like she was back at the mansion. She heard a distant noise and a sharp pain in her forehead. She grabbed her head and looked up. How did she get back at the mansion, wasn't she just about to go to school? Maybe she had blocked it out or had been on autopilot the whole time. She shook her head to clear the drowsiness from her eyes and mind. She made her way up to the mansion, she needed a nap or something.
She was having that strange dream again. The world clouded around her as the voice told her to come to the car. Rogue opened her balcony doors and floated down to the ground below. She felt wet, maybe it was raining. She walked across the grounds and out the front gate to the waiting car where she climbed in before it took off. Once again Mystique was there, she was saying something to someone but she wasn't allowed to hear it so she watched the world swirl around her.
The voice was talking to her again now, it wanted her to absorb more mutants. She looked out the window next to her head, she saw an open window on the second floor of the warehouse. she turned back to her mother, to get up there she would need her shape shifting abilities.
"The window." Did her voice sound odd to anyone else, maybe she was coming down with a cold she couldn't really tell in fact she felt numb all over.
Mystique held out her hand and Rogue grabbed her, it only took a minute for Rogue to drain her before she slumped over in her seat. Rogue stepped out of the car into the pouring rain, she never liked the rain it was always cold. Rogue looked back to the window before transforming into an owl. She always wondered what it would be like to be an owl. She felt fragile and decided not to transform into an owl anymore after that.
She flew up and through the window and when she was about ten feet from the ground when she allowed her original form to take back over. Yes she liked this much better. Rogue heard a noise and quickly took cover behind a large crate. She peeked around it to see colossus moving giant crates across the room. Boom, boom, boom, boom went his feet, he would never hear her come up behind him. Using toad's abilities she jumped up behind him and pressed her fingers to the back of his neck. He groaned in pain and the heavy create crashed on top of the both of them. It of course didn't hurt rogue at all with her invulnerability. She stood up and grabbed colossus by his shirt collar and walked straight through the think wooden wall.
She dragged him a couple of feet before dropping him to the ground. There was a sound to her right that sounded like a roar, she didn't register the threat in time as Sabertooth slammed into the side of her. he went to tear her to ribbons but Rogue had caught up with him. she turned her hand and arm into the steel like metal and grabbed his poised hand. She began absorbing him instantly and used his own strength against him as she over powered him. It wasn't a moment before he dropped like a sack of potatoes.
Rogue held up her metal clad hand to admire it. It amazed her that her hands still looked delicate even when they were so deadly. She saw what appeared to be fire in the reflection on her hand. She turned quickly to see the insane Pyro, a wisp of a thought crossed her mind about introducing him and Wade to each other.
"Awful bold of ya coming here girl." He said as he stepped off a create. "Or are ya just stupid." He then shot a wall of fire directly at her.
The heat was overwhelming but Rogue forced her body to cover itself completely in metal. The maniac chuckled but quickly replaced it with, "Huh?"
Rogue walked closer to him, boom, boom, boom, boom. She reached her hand out as she came closer, Rogue grabbed his face as she let his life force flow in to her. She held on a moment longer just because he had burnt her clothes and they now hung in rags, just barely covering her body. Without much effort she flung his limp body to the side. This all felt so familiar, as though it had happened before.
Clapping behind her caused her to turn around to see the really hot Cajun. He was the same man who had dominated her thoughts since London, she just couldn't get him out of her head. She hadn't even talked to him and she had a crush on him. "Bravo, Cherie." He said with that oh so charming smirk. "Looks ta me like Rogues up ta no good." He said as he pushed himself off a wall and walked closer to her. She didn't know how he knew her name she only knew his from stolen memories. "But hey, Ah like that in a girl."
Rogue was glad that she couldn't blush and was too preoccupied to wonder why. He pointed his bo staff at her and she de-metaled and pushed the staff away. She reached her hand out to absorb him but he backed away and put the staff in between them.
"Only thin' is, ya aint alone in this, are ya?" He asked, she cornered him against a create. "Who's behind it? Mystique?" He jumped up on the create fluidly as she swung her arm at him. "Ah think so, question is, why?" He said.
Rogue wanted to talk to him but the voice told her no and she had to do what the voice told her she just didn't know why. The voice was growing tired of the games and told her to finish the job. She used telekinesis to fling Gambit across the room and into a wall. He landed on the ground with a thud and Rogue jumped on him. He was too quick however, and caught her with his feet and pushed her up and away from him.
"See if ya can guess." She said fighting against the voice for that one little sentence. She quickly received a sharp pain as punishment for her defiance.
Rogue struggled to reach him but his legs were too long and her arms just weren't long enough. After another moment of struggling he flung her off him. She flew across the room and landed behind a create, Rogue stuck her head up from behind it but kept low enough where he wouldn't be able to spot her. He was spinning around looking for her. She saw her chance and snuck up behind him, he turned around just as she was half a foot away. She didn't know why, her hands were free and she was showing more skin then was safe, but no she couldn't just drain him the normal way.
She kissed him.
Only her powers didn't seem to be working and she could feel his lips turn into a smile against hers as he began to kiss back. His arms looped around her waist and brought her closer. The voice didn't like this one bit and told her to concentrate on her powers. She obeyed and felt Remy's life force flow into her. Rogue frowned as she watched him fall to the floor. What did he do to her powers where she actually had to try to absorb him?
But the voice told her to focus on her mission so she moved Gambit over and out of the way. She walked to the ramp that Magneto would undoubtedly come down to see what happened to his soldiers. She positioned herself on the floor and transformed into Gambit. It was only a minute before he came down the ramp to stand right in front of 'Gambits' body.
"Rogue." He said taking another look around. "Where are you?" He didn't sound amused. "What?" He asked surprised. He must have spotted Gambit's real body so Rogue shifted back into her own form before absorbing him. She watched him drop to the ground like everyone else before walking out of the warehouse.
The next day was graduation and Rogue had been forced to attend even though she wouldn't get to walk with the rest of her classmates. She had still dressed up in a long-sleeved dress with a short skirt with a pair of heels borrowed from Jean. It had nearly taken an act of congress to get her out of bed this morning but damn if she didn't look good.
She had no idea why she was so tired, she had gone to bed early so that she wouldn't be tired today but since when did Rogue have any luck?
Rogue was seated next to Hank with Ororo and Xavier seated in front of her. "Looks like the forecast is improving." Storm commented.
"Yes, I think even Principle Kelly would appreciate your gifted abilities today, Storm." Xavier agreed.
Speaking of the devil, he walked up on to the stage in front of the crowd. "I think of the first time I spoke in front of you. Change was the theme then and it has never been more important than it is today. So as you move out into this rapidly changing world it is essential that you take control of your futures."
Rogue noticed Petiro watching her as he moved across the field. She wondered why but was distracted by the rest of Kelly's speech. "You may look across from you and see students who have certain advantages over you, but don't be deterred! Any disadvantage can be overcome, you can prevail, we can- oh no!" He said with a sour look on his face. He was glaring at the other end of the football field and everyone turned their heads to look.
Rogue saw Magneto and his Acolytes and Brotherhood coming down the field. The base lines started screaming and running away from the terrifying mutants. "Everyone please remain calm and exit the field as quickly as possible." Kelly commanded.
Rogue felt the haze take over her again, why did this keep happening? She heard the voice tell her to run to him and to not let the X-Men or Brotherhood see her. Rogue stood up and began to move away as she tried to blend in with the rest of the crowd. She had just made it around the bleachers when Quicksilver caught her. "Not so fast Rogue." He said before zipping her to stand between the X-Men and Magneto.
The metal folding chairs began to levitate and circle around her at an alarming speed, her curly hair that she had pinned up coming loose and swirling about her. She knew Magneto was doing it to trap her, but she couldn't let this continue. The voice told her to fly away. But she didn't want to leave she knew she shouldn't leave. Something important was happening.
"Magneto, explain yourself!" Xavier demanded.
Fly to me
"The Girl is under Mesmero's control, Charles. She attacked us to absorb our powers and then wiped our minds with his power to cover it up." He accused.
Fly to me Rogue
Wait, that wasn't right this was all just a dream, she wasn't under mind control. Was she?
"What proof do you have?" He questioned.
"My surveillance cameras, they captured it all." Magneto explained.
Don't believe them Rogue, fly to me, come to me. She wasn't sure if she should go but she felt herself lift into the air nonetheless. Using Magneto's own power against him she sent the chairs flying in all directions to make sure she wouldn't be followed. She was high in the air and soaring off before they knew what happened.
The voice seemed agitated but all she could think about was hoping no one saw up her skirt.
A/N
Not a lot of big changes here from my story or the actual show. You will see some huge changes in the next chapter though so stay tuned.