When she landed hard on her side…again, she let out a curse, reminding herself to work on her landing if she was ever going to travel again. She stayed on the ground as she collected herself, allowing her body and mind to adjust to the new setting.

When she finally did open her eyes, much to her deep regret because she was still seeing stars, she didn't see the mansion like she thought she would've. Instead, she saw the back of a fairly new school, the tall brick building silhouetted against the sun. She rolled to her feet, only groaning slightly when she saw she was still clad in her sweats and baggy shirt. Well, she would fit right in with the kids in the school. All she was missing was the backpack loaded with stuff.

She trudged up the hill leading to the school, wondering if she had been sent back to the time when The Professor came to recruit Scott. Was she supposed to stop the recruitment? That seemed a bit odd, especially since Scott was sorta the entire X-men team in the future. So, maybe stopping the recruitment was not what she was sent to do. She'd only asked to go back to stop Jean and Scott from dating.

So, why hadn't she been sent back to when they first starting dating? Why not the mansion instead of his old school? It wasn't like she could stop them from liking each other, but she was pretty sure she could stop them from ever going out.

She'd just made it over the crest of the hill before she heard the shouting. She saw the group of kids first, the sounds of "fight" evident as hands were raised. Curious, she ventured closer, careful to make sure her skin was covered.

From the look of the students, this was definitely a high school, the kids ranging between the awkward stages of adolescence and the final stages of early adulthood. They were all shouting, excited as they circled another group of kids that were bullying someone. She craned her neck to see over the students, finally happy for once that she was 5'9 instead of small and petite.

She let out a curse when she saw the familiar red shades, connecting it to the brown hair and broad shoulders of the future leader of the X-men.

"Move! Get out of my damn way! Move!" she shouted, fighting her way through the kids as she tried to get into the middle of the circle. She continued to shout, yelling obscenities as she cleared herself a path.

Once, a long time ago, she had been in high school, a typical student like many of the kids here. If she hadn't been a mutant and "transferred" to the mansion, she would've been a senior this year. She would've already gone to school with kids like this for four years. Regardless, she didn't forgot how idiotic and moronic many of them were, doing anything to grab attention or be important for just a moment.

She didn't forgot how cruel kids could be to those that were different.

"If you don't get out of my way, I am going to hit you!" she screamed, still muscling her way past the kids as she tried to get to Scott. Many moved, others just crowded in more when one of the boys landed a good punch on Scott's face.

There were six of them, each circling Scott as he stood bleeding and bruised. She recognized the varsity jackets, sneering as she considered the old high school cliché. Too bad it hadn't changed in 20 years.

She finally made it to the front lines of the circle, reaching it in time see Scott hit the ground as the largest of the boys tackled him. The sunglasses fell off, and with a shout to keep his eyes closed, Rogue jumped in.

She made contact with one of the blonde boys first, landing a kick to his face as he stumbled back. She turned, ducking when the largest boy took a swing at her. Her fist shot out, connecting with his groin as he doubled over in pain. She watched as he dropped to the floor, smiling in satisfaction as she finally got back at all those kids whoever picked on mutants in the history of mutants.

She screamed when her hair was grabbed, her head jerking back with the force of it. Her eyes connected with dark brown and with a growl, her fist shot out. She felt cartilage crunch under her fist, the grip on her hair loosening enough for her to pull free. She turned on her knee, facing the kid as he gripped his bleeding nose. She adjusted herself, long legs flying out as she caught the kid's legs behind his knees. He feel with a shout, rolling on the floor as his head smacked against the hard ground.

Jumping to her feet, she made a come hither motion with her finger to the remaining three. When none of them moved, she raised an eyebrow. "What, can you only fight when you outnumber a guy 6 to 1? Are you that pathetic?" she asked, knowing that would set off one of them.

She wasn't wrong.

She smiled when the bigger of the remaining three came running at her. She jumped, slapping her foot across his face as she spun in the air. She heard the boy gag as he hit the floor, knocked out momentarily from the strength of the kick. She threw her hair out of her eyes as she landed, golden irises watching the remaining boys. "Who next?" she asked, breath coming out strong from exertion. The remaining two boys slapped each other, each one backing away slowly. The crowd of students had thickened, every other kid yelling encouragement to the remaining boys. One got gutsy enough to actually start running towards her.

She grinned. Dropping to the ground, she avoided his high kick as she kicked his feet out from under him. Midway through his fall, she kicked him in the back, sending him flying away from her. When he landed, rolling onto his side with a groan, he remained in that position.

She glanced up at the last boy, wondering what his next action would be.

She only smirked when he ran away, fighting through the crowd of kids that was already thinning.

She turned in circles, making eye contact with the other boys she'd already taken out. They were all glaring at her, one clenching his fist hard enough to turn it white. "Want another go?" she yelled. When they all remained quiet, she pointed as Scott. "Fuck with him again, and I won't go easy on you. Now, get moving."

When none of the moved, or made a move to move, she took a threatening step forward. They all scrambled to their feet, fleeing as she watched them run.

When no one but a few stragglers were left, she turned towards the young mutant, crouching as she tried to bring herself level with Scott.

"Hey," she said gently, only feeling a bit odd at seeing Scott more than a decade younger. She reached out a hand, placing it gently on Scott's shoulder. He jerked away from her, eyes clenched so tightly that she thought he might pull a muscle from the strain.

"Don't touch me." Scott said hoarsely, hands reaching out around him to feel for his glasses.

She glanced around, locating them a couple of feet away from the pair. "Stay here." She commanded, rising to her feet as she walked over to the glasses. She bent over, picking them up as she turned to make her way back over to Scott. She crouched in front of him once more, sighing as he remained sitting there, eyes shut tightly. "Scott," She began, reaching out for him once more. He must've known she was going to do it because he jerked away from her once again.

"I said don't touch me. I don't need any of your help." he scolded, still feeling around for his glasses.

"Man, you're as stubborn now as you are in the future." She mumbled, thrusting his glasses towards him. "There are nicer ways to say thank you." She chided, shaking the pair in front of his eyes. He reached out, hands wrapping around her wrists as he felt for the glasses.

She pulled back quickly, the glasses falling back on the ground as she let out a gasp. The contact hadn't been long enough for her power to take effect, but the feel of skin against hers, even for that moment, was almost like heaven. "You okay?" Scott asked, still feeling around for his glasses.

"Fine." She mumbled, picking them up again. "Stand still." She told him softly, sliding on his glasses as she avoided his skin.

She watched his face unclench slowly, eyes opening as he could see once again. "Better?" she asked and took his scoff as a yes. "your welcome." She muttered, rising to her feet.

Scott glanced up at her, and she was struck by the fact that Scott was…hot. Sixteen years earlier would put him a year older than her 17, and Rogue didn't blame Jean one bit for falling for the young Scott.

He struggled to his feet, standing up fully as he continued to stare at her. "How'd you know?" he asked, and she didn't feign ignorance when she answered him. It's not like only being able to see through sunglasses was a common thing to run into every day. "Let's just say…you and I are not that much different." she answered, reaching up to rub the back of her neck as she glanced around.

"So, you know about…me?" He asked, incredulousness in his voice. She shrugged. "I know you're a mutant, and that you're power is…this." She said, pointing at her own eyes.

Scott let out a sigh. "The old man said he wouldn't tell anyone." Scott said, annoyed as he let his eyes trail over the back of the school.

"Old man?" she asked.

Scott looked back at her. "The man in the wheelchair. Said he had a school for "gifted kids" and wanted me to attend. Said he would keep my powers a secret regardless of whether or not I chose to join."

"Professor X." She said, smiling as she thought of the old man. She saw his eyebrows raise in surprise. "You know him?"

"Eh…ish. Nice guy, good school…you know, the works."

"Do you go there?" he asked, and she had a hard time deciding how to answer this. After a moment, she said with hesitation, "kinda" and left it at that.

Scott nodded, hands on his hips as he turned his head to spit out a wad of blood. She'd seen him do worse in danger room sessions, so she didn't have a problem with his recent action.

"So, do I get to know the name of my savior?" Scott asked, still eying her.

"Savior? Hardly."

"As much as I'd hate to admit that a girl saved my ass today, I'd like to say thank you. You know, being polite and all."

"Right, well-"

"Unless you'd like to tell it to me over dinner."

She snorted. She hadn't meant to, but Scott Summers asking her out on a date seemed a but surreal. When he frowned though, she sputtered out an excuse. "That's not the best idea. Let's just say, it would be a really long distance relationship."

"What, like, another state?"

Try another time period.

"Another time zone." She answered instead, reaching inside the pockets of her sweats.

She felt the watch instantly. Remembering her earlier intent, she glanced up at Scott. "Whatever you do, avoid Jean Grey."

Scott looked at her puzzled, and she could've sworn she felt the watch vibrate. Did she want to leave now? It would be a good of time as any.

Without much to go on, she clicked open the watch, shouting at Scott to look over his shoulder. She smiled when he fell for the trick, disappearing as the watch began to click.

X

She landed in something plush, thanking God for the soft spot as she rolled.

She let out a scream when she rolled right off the bed, hitting the ground with a thud. She let out a groan as she turned on her side, staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling with blurry eyes.

Where was she?She was pretty sure she had wished to go back to her time when she opened the watch…

"Marie, honey, are you okay?" a deep voice shouted, and she heard blankets rustle as feet hit the floor.

Honey?

She let out another scream when Scott appeared in front of her, bare from the waist up as he reached for her. "Oh my gosh, Professor Summers? What are you doing here?" she shouted, reaching for the blanket as she threw it around her body.

Scott looked at her confused. "Professor? Marie, honey, are you alright?" he asked, taking another step towards her,

"Oh-ho, no! I am not alright! Why am I here and why are you…why are you naked?"

'"Marie, honey, we've been through this. Charles said it was ok as long as your powers are under control. And I am not really naked, I mean-" She waved that away as she stared around with wide eyes. "Why am I in here? What are we doing together? Oh, damn! Did I land I the wrong place?"

Scott let out a laugh. "You're in here because that's what married couples do. They live together."