Chapter 10
Rogue's gloved fingers clamped tightly the dark fabric of her gown. She heard the principal's speech without really paying attention to his words. Moreover, in what should she listen to? He was not any better than the former principal Kelly, who disappeared from the map after losing the election for mayor.
She looked at something that wasn't his face. Her fingers now turned to her white locks, taking them away from her face.
The time didn't spend.
She quietly looked into the audience and found there a white-haired woman, Storm, and her professor at her side, both sitting in the bleachers of Bayville High School.
"You all can win the differences..." continued the director whose name she couldn't remember.
She again turned her attention to the bleachers, distracting herself with lots of people sitting there. Parents, uncles, grandparents, brothers and sisters ... all gathering to see the ones they loved finish another stage of their lives.
Rogue continued her observation through the endless faces of the audience, who were too busy looking at the other trainees to notice her staring. It was then that she met someone familiar.
A familiar face that she hadn't seen in a long time.
It was woman, with a tired face and short hair losing its brown color. Her empty eyes, hidden under two black lenses, seemed to be staring at her from all those teenagers. But Rogue knew that woman enough to know that those eyes couldn't see anything... At least nothing in the present.
Still, the girl directed her face to her knees and no longer looked at that point.
A question occupying her head during that endless speech.
What is she doing here?
After a few more tenths of minutes of speech, the principal finally gave his final farewell to the students, saying that "everyone" would have a bright future, and left the podium after delivering the diplomas.
Students climbed down from the stage and began to get closer to their relatives and colleagues.
Rogue didn't rush. After seeing that familiar face, she didn't want to get close to that grandstand. But she knew she was just delaying things, so she walked faster and ignored when Irene passed near her.
"Rogue," she said turning her face at the same time the girl walked near her side.
Rogue pretended not to hear, but the woman was faster and put her hand over Rogue's shoulder.
Both were silent even though the background was noisy because other people talking.
"What are ya doin' here?" Rogue said coldly without even turning her head.
Irene ignored her tone. She knew she would be treated this way.
"I came to see you," she said quietly, a little tenderness covering her voice.
Rogue did the same: ignored her tone. "Ya came to see how mah powers are, instead," she said shaking her shoulder to take Irene's hand away.
This time the woman didn't hide her sadness, and Rogue felt guilty for a few seconds.
"This is not true," Irene continued, her brows came together in a downcast expression.
Rogue gave her a dry laugh.
"Rogue," the woman insisted, incredibly following Rogue, as if she could see her perfectly. "Rogue, you know that's not true," she turned the girl to face her.
"Do Ah really know?" she asked, feeling hit. "Ah bet it was Mystique who sent ya here."
The blind woman would soon disagree, but Rogue didn't give her the chance. "Go away."
And she walked away without a look back. Gradually Rogue walked away from all these people she would never see again, until she found another group of familiar faces, but those were welcome. None of them seemed to notice Irene's presence. Not even Professor Xavier... perhaps because Irene is as trained as Mystique when it came to mental training.
Storm was the first to congratulate Rogue, then Professor Xavier, Kurt and Kitty.
Kitty and Kurt seemed most excited to see Rogue graduating. And she felt comfortable listening to the conversation of her two friends as they returned to the X-van.
"Have you seen the new guy that will be teaching us?" Kitty said. "He was sitting near the English teacher and had a pretty serious face..."
Kurt nodded, "Won't he be the new biology teacher or something?"
"I think so, but he seemed kind of... bizarre, didn't he? "
Kurt raised an eyebrow, "You always find something strange in people, Kitty."
Kitty sniffed in indignation, "Not true! It's just that I found the guy kinda hideous! How couldn't you think that? He had a weird smile and..."
Rogue, who until now was silent as she followed the four X-men, noticed a familiar bike parked in the corner of the parking lot.
She frowned for a moment and began to observe the parking lot more carefully, already knowing who the owner of that motorcycle was.
And it was then that she saw Gambit's trench coat and his auburn hair as he walked discreetly in an opposite direction without attracting anyone's attention.
"Uh," Rogue said to call Kitty and Kurt's attention without alarming Storm and Professor Xavier. She knew that the Professor would suspect something if she spoke to him directly. "Ah need to go back because... Ah have to go to the bathroom, "she considered this one as the worst excuse she have ever given, but the two didn't seem to suspect. "Ah'll be right back," she said giving her gown and her diploma to Kitty before they could say anything.
Rogue walked away to avoid suspicion and at the same times he was out of their sight, she ran looking for Gambit.
It looked like she was the only one who noticed his presence and so she decided to look up in the most hidden or empty places of the football field. She searched on the field itself, and even under the bleachers and near the garments, but nothing.
At first, she thought she was seeing things, until she felt someone putting a hand over her shoulder, making her jump in fright and turn her face at the same time.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you dat it's impolite t' persecute the others?" Gambit asked her with his cocky smile.
"Says the guy who kidnapped meh..." Rogue said calming down.
Gambit chuckled sarcastically.
"What are ya doing here anyway? Decided to ruin the graduation of dozens of students? "she put her hands on her hips.
Gambit laughed again, "You're so suspicious of everything, aren't ya, chère?"
"Well, there must be a good reason for yar to come here," she wrinkled her face. "And don't ya dare say that ya came here to visit meh because Ah won't buy it..." she said before he could answer.
Rogue knew he wasn't there for that.
He laughed and put his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, "Bien, you got me... I came here t' terrorize the entire school blasting it to pieces. Hope you don' mind it, chère," his tone was sarcastic.
Rogue raised an eyebrow. He was trying to divert the conversation and she knew it. And in that moment she realized that something was wrong. But before she could speak, Gambit began to push her back to the parking lot.
"Look, chére, ya better go now and enjoy your graduation with your friends, non?"
Rogue acted stubbornly and tried to remain where she was, but Gambit was determined. He continued to pull her back to the parking lot until she lost her patience.
"Ok, what's happenin'?" she said stopping walking and turning her face to his.
Gambit twisted his mouth and said, "Let's say there's someone her' who needs my services..."
Rogue raised an eyebrow for a moment, but then really seemed to understand. She rolled her eyes to see that Gambit was not there to do what she was thinking: another dirty job from Magneto.
But when knowing that this had to do with Gambit's other job, she decided not to mess with. She didn't want to know more than what he already said to her.
"Whatever," she said walking to the parking lot, now willingly. "Ah have nothing to do with your life anyway. Ah'm out of here. "
She stepped strong for some time and briefly looked over her shoulder just to see that Gambit was out of sight. She rolled her eyes and kept walking preparing herself to make a neutral expression so she wouldn't arouse suspicion.
Her head was so busy thinking about looking convincing she didn't notice a man walking in front of her.
Rogue managed to stop before she could hit her body with his.
She looked at the man's face. He was about medium height and wore a well-groomed black hair. But what caught Rogue's attention were his two brown eyes that had a cold and scary look.
"Sorry," the man said in a soft and friendly British accent, a huge contrast compared to his scary look.
Rogue nodded, still stuck with those two scary and sinister eyes.
"Uh," she stepped discreetly away from the man.
"You must be the Rogue, don't you?" he asked, pretending not to notice how hostile the girl was acting.
She said nothing.
"I'm the new school teacher, William Edmund" he raised his hand in a friendly gesture of politeness.
And in that second, that scary glint in his eyes vanished and Rogue came out of her trance. She blinked for a few seconds and then looked at his hand.
"Oh," she said shaking that cold hand.
He gave her another smile and Rogue could not help but smile too.
"Mah friend mentioned ya, sir," she tried to sound polite, but she could not stop smiling.
"Well, congratulations for your graduation," he said giving goodbye to the girl. "Sorry, butI have to go now, and he just walked away the same way he appeared, "I hope we meet again."
Rogue continued to watch him until he disappeared. She raised an eyebrow and then felt a cold shut invade her spine.
Maybe she saw things... but she was pretty sure that that teacher's eyes glowed red for a few seconds. There was something very wrong. But she just shook her head and was convinced she was seeing things.
She wrapped her arms with her hands and continued to walk back to the X-van.
Upon arriving in the parking lot, Rogue decided to go to the kitchen to get something to eat.
But before she could leave the garage, Professor Xavier caught her attention.
She turned to face her professor and he said, "I would like to have a word with you in my office," he smiled, taking all of Rogue's concern.
She agreed and followed him while her curiosity increased.
By some moments, she thought he was going to talk about the last telepathy sessions they had – that weren't too productive.
After the "incident" she had in the bathroom, Rogue felt compelled to have to talk to Professor Xavier. He welcomed her and the two sat in front of each other in his office.
For three hours, they stayed still like that, making a long mental therapy.
The result was inconclusive because, in a way, Rogue managed to control various minds in her head, which gave her a "break" from all that mental confusion. She took all that time to study and rest, which gave her a great condition to get good grades in her final tests – not as good as Miss Perfection's ones, though.
But what Rogue secretly hoped - even if it was something incredibly unattainable - was some kind of "cure" for her powers. Something that Professor Xavier could find in the deep corner of her mind that was an answer to her uncontrolled powers to act that way.
But nothing, even if the Professor himself also expected to find something in all that therapy.
The problem was that, even though he was an experienced man and that he was aware that some things should be handled slowly and cautiously, still there was the fact he was dealing with a teenager at the peak of her hormonal and emotional development.
Still, Rogue tried to be more controlled, because in the end he helped (and a lot) to improve her mental state.
She thanked Professor for the help, and politely left his office.
And there she was again, in that big and demure office. Only this time, without knowing the real reason she was there...
Professor moved his wheelchair behind his wooden desk after closing the office door, and asked Rogue to sit in that stuffed chair she so much knew.
Rogue put her gown and her diploma in a corner of the room and sat with her knees together and her gloved hands on them.
She expressed curiosity with a piece of doubt in her eyes.
The Professor gave her a warm smile and started talking in a formal tone, "Well, during your graduation, and I must diver that even before that, I was considering a proposal for you, Rogue."
She quickly raised her head at the man in front of her, getting even more curious. "Ya were?" She asked disjointed.
He smiled again and grabbed a separate folder over his desk with multiple papers within. Rogue overlooked what was written in that folder and was startled to realize it was her data he was looking.
Professor rummaged in some of her papers and continued, "From what I see in the reports from Beast, Storm, Piotr and even Logan..." he held up one of the papers to read it better, "You had one of the highest scores in all training sessions." Rogue felt her cheeks blush while Professor was still talking. "From what I read here, your income has improved in every month and you surpassed Scott in the hand-to-hand subject."
"Really?" Rogue was startled by Xavier's last words. She knew she had improved greatly in recent years, but she didn't know how much.
Though she hated training sessions, Rogue knew she needed to take more care than the other X-men since her powers don't protect her against machines attacks, lasers or any other long-range weapon. Therefore, she began training by herself in the Danger Room, which still needed someone manning the controls... and that someone would be Logan.
But she wasn't considering that he wrote down everything.
Xavier nodded with his head and lowered the papers to look her in the eyes, "And that's why I called you here, Rogue," the girl blinked a few times. "As you know, until now, most students of this Institute are here to learn to control their powers. But I was considering another option that was to have full members at the Xavier Institute. "
"Ya mean like Storm and Beast do?" Rogue asked, beginning to understand what he teacher meant.
"Yes," he nodded, "And like Scott, who also agreed to the proposal. Jean is still considering it, but with all her studies in college, she decided to wait until she finished it. "Rogue was quiet for a moment, thousands of doubt invading her mind, yet she felt a pang of joy in her chest. She played with the fabric of her gloves, feeling a little uncomfortable.
"With all due respect… sir, but d' ya think Ah am..." she started to speak, but the Professor politely interrupted, completing what she was talking.
"Qualified?"
Rogue again raised her head, waiting for the answer.
"I must say yes, Rogue. Although there is much to be improved, I believe you're ready to become an X-man in full time. "
The only difference was that she was risking herself much more than in a normal job.
"I know this sounds like something really dangerous, since we are not talking about any kind of work, Rogue," he spoke as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. "And that's why I thought a lot before calling you here."
He looked at her and realized that Rogue seemed shocked by what he said, "I really think you're ready to become a full time X-man."
Rogue still looked frightened, her body and her heart still pounding.
Her mind tried to imagine her doing missions for the Professor, although they were more complicated than what she was used to.
Rogue smiled at Xavier.
"I know this is a complicated decision, and so I will not rush you to answer me," he said, giving her a tolerant look as he packed Rogue's files. "Feel free to let me know when you want to, and..."
"Actually," she said suddenly, "Ah think that Ah'll take it," she smiled shyly, but with conviction. Xavier also smiled and turned his eyes to her papers while looking for some in particular.
"Very well then..." Rogue waited for him to continue talking. "What we need now is a transition."
"Transition?" she asked.
"Yes," he read a paper, "Now that you've agreed, we will have to modify some brackets in your chart to see the types of training you will receive and etcetera."
She agreed, knowing that it would be a long day.
And after several papers to read, and review, and sign, Rogue finally left that office.
She could not help but feel different.
She was still used to her school routine, although she doesn't like it very much. And in that moment, she began to realize how her life was beginning to change.
She knew now that it had agreed to be an X-mn official lot in her life would be different from what she was used to. Very different.
She knew that, now that she had agreed to be an official X-man, a lot of things would be different from what she was used to. Way more different.
And during the time she had been in the office, she took the opportunity to clarify any questions she had about what exactly she would do.
And that included missions, harder training sessions - she remembered Logan - and even cases involving secret things. At first, Rogue didn't think they were that different from what she did with the other X-men. But as the Professor was explaining she understood why he thought so much before calling her: even though it didn't seem, these missions were much more dangerous than she the ones she ever had, because it involved much more complicated things – like the Sentinels, S.H.I.E.L.D. and even a new anti-mutant organization that was beginning to emerge – something like Friends of Humanity.
She only learned the basics because she knew there were more to come. And that's when she realized how little she knew about the situation the world was taking.
Sometimes she heard news in newspapers or on television, but they were all very superficial, she knew. And now it was time to see what was really happening. Luckily, she still had time to rest on summer vacation since Scott decided to spend a few weeks in Hawaii to visit Alex and Logan disappeared for a long time. Jean was spending time with her family, as well as all of the people in the mansion, and that included Kitty, who was the only person who actually spent more time with Rogue. Even Kurt went to Germany to visit his foster parents and it looked like he'd be there for a long time.
And with that, Rogue spent almost a month walking through the mansion halls without even hearing a noise. The only people she saw were Professor Xavier and Beast.
Beast, who always helped her handle the controls and monitor her performance, was the one Rogue saw the most. There was no relationship of friendship like she had with Kurt and Kitty, but Rogue knew that Dr. McCoy was a good person, and he was not much to ask things - unless they were things related to technology or science. And it was during these weeks that Rogue has single-handedly increased her skills in a level "extraordinarily fast" (Beast's words). According to McCoy, she had increased her strength as well as agility and coordination.
The only thing that did not seem to change places was Rogue's powers. She also agreed with Professor Xavier's proposal on making mental therapy sessions three times a week, hoping to find some sort of key to control her powers. The only thing, though, that seemed to come out of all of this were fateful hours of psychic fighting... and Rogue was starting to get discouraged about it.
For a month, Rogue's life came down to: waking up, training, therapy, training, and sleeping. Until one day, she decided to lie in bed without moving or bothering to get dressed to go to the Danger Room. But she had another idea when she thought about her situation.
It was hot, no one was home, and most importantly, the mansion had a swimming pool - something she had forgotten a long time ago. She then went to the pool and stayed there for a long time, swimming, sunning and reading... at least until a shadow appeared and blocked her sun.
Rogue opened her eyes.
"Enjoying the time off, Stripes?" Logan said.
Even the temperature being almost one hundred, Logan did not seem to want to let go of his jacket and his cowboy hat. Rogue realized the tone in Wolverine's voice and then tried to defend herself.
"For your information, this is the first time Ah've been in this pool, Logan."
He grunted, but then gave her derision smile. "Nice tan," he pointed to Rogue's shoulders with his chin and walked away, probably going to talk to Xavier. When he was out of sight, Rogue raised an eyebrow and looked at her shoulders only to find two reddish spots.
"Great," she said to herself picking her sun blocker.
Surely it would hurt tomorrow. And a lot.
Yet, Rogue had a good time in the pool, swimming and sunbathing until she felt hungry and got in the mansion.
She climbed the stairs leading to the bedroom and went to shower to remove all the chlorine from her hair. After taking a cold shower, Rogue put a pair of torn jeans, a long sleeved V-necked shirt and a pair of all-stars. She left her hair wet and headed for the mansion kitchen. But before she got near the staircase, she saw Professor Xavier passing hastily through the corridor.
Rogue raised an eyebrow as she realized he didn't even noticed her, which was strange.
"Professor?" She said before he vanished into the elevator.
Xavier finally seemed to notice her presence and was soon saying, "Sorry, Rogue. I was in a hurry and didn't realize you. "
She approached the man in wheelchair, looking worried. "Did something happen?"
He turned his eyes to the hall ground and then returned them to Rogue. "Actually, yes, there is. Apparently, the powers of a new mutant manifested. "
Rogue was surprised. It had been a while since he last detected a new mutant around.
"Can Ah help ya with something?" She asked.
"Feel free to follow me," he smiled at her, but Rogue knew he was nervous about something.
Still, she followed him in silence to the Cerebro.
Xavier put his metal helmet and began typing in the main controls, until the huge holographic screen appeared. The Professor was silent for a few seconds with his eyes closed. Rogue looked at the holographic screen and waited for something to appear in the huge holographic world map.
The map then began to zoom, approaching increasingly in an archipelago from East Asia.
"Japan?" Rogue asked surprised.
Xavier also seemed impressed. Rogue shifted her weight from one leg to the other, restless. The map disappeared and then the information of the mutant appeared. It was a girl, and Rogue almost gasped of surprise to see who it was. The girl was short and seemed to be a year younger than Rogue. Her eyes were narrow and her hair was straight, short, with a very familiar purple color.
"I presume that this is not Risty, Rogue," Xavier said.
Rogue turned her gaze to the Professor, scared, but she swiftly turned her face to the screen.
"So who is she?" She tried to contain her anxiety, but her voice sounded a little lower than normal.
A data appeared beside the girl's photography and Rogue read it with caution.
Name: Elizabeth Braddock
Parents: Orphan
Brothers: (?)
Age: 16 years
Country of Origin: England (?)
Current Location: Japan - Tokyo
Powers: Telepathy
Xavier took off the helmet and sighed, turning to Rogue, who really seemed confused.
"Apparently," he said, calling the attention of the X-men. "Mystique must have had some contact with Elizabeth and for some purpose, used her identity... I'm pretty sure it's because, if that Elizabeth ran into the X-men, we would have a more hostile reaction towards her. Thanks to what Mystique had done."
Rogue still seemed frightened to see that familiar face and Xavier was silent, because he knew what it entailed.
But she pretended not to feel hit. She didn't want anyone feeling sorry for her.
"You detected her in Japan?"
Xavier nodded, "Ms. Braddock seems to be having a crisis with her powers."
"You mean..."
"They are too strong to be controlled... And that's why I detected her so far, even without the Cerebro."
Rogue looked again at the girl's data. She already had experience with uncontrolled telepaths. The door suddenly opened and Logan appeared alongside Storm who came back of her trip the day before.
"Called us?" Logan said putting his hands in his pockets and noticing the purple-haired girl on the screen.
He glanced discreetly at Rogue, who seemed quiet and expressionless.
"Yes," Xavier said with eyes fixed on the ground. "As you can see, the Cerebro has found a new mutant who seems to be having serious problems with her telepathic powers. And that's why I called you here... "
"Wanna us to pay her a visit?" Logan said in an aggressive tone. Storm rolled her eyes.
"Yes," Xavier replied ignoring Logan's tone of voice. "And I'll go with you. It seems to me that this girl is going to need my help."
Rogue just watched as the three chatted and headed for the X-Jet.
The moment the Professor stayed behind, Rogue caught his attention.
He soon turned to her, knowing what it was. "I'm sorry, Rogue, but you still need to finish your training. I hope you understand that."
She thought on saying that she was, but decided not to argue. Instead, she followed the three older X-men until the X-Jet and saw them leave.
She stayed there for some time before turning around and leaving inside the mansion.
Xavier, Storm and Wolverine were in Japan for a week. And during this period, the other X-men finally returned to the Institute.
The first to return were Jubilee, Rahne, Kitty, Bobby and Pete.
And when Shadowcat returned, Rogue realized how much she missed a talkative person by her side. Kitty told her about what she did with her parents, and about the days she spent at the beach. She, however, returned with skin rather red than tanned.
"You look different," Kitty said during a breakfast while looking at Rogue. The Gothic looked at her friend, a little confused.
"How so?"
"Oh, I know!" said Kitty crackling her fingers. "Your hair," she pulled a strand of Rogue's wavy hair. "It's wavier and longer."
Rogue rolled her eyes, but Kitty was right. Although not liking it in the beginning, Rogue began to let her hair in its natural shape.
"And you look taller," Kitty also said staring at her.
"It's called growing up," Rogue said after swallowing her toast. "And Ah think ya're overreacting, Kitty. Ya were off three weeks only."
In the following days, the rest of the X-Men came back, with the exception of Scott and Jean.
Storm, Logan and Xavier returned to the U.S. without much good news. They climbed down the X-Jet with an unconscious Professor in his wheelchair. Rogue accompanied them nervously to the infirmary wondering what might have happened for the Professor to get in that state.
Storm explained what had happened.
It seemed Elizabeth was a mutant that escaped to Japan after losing her parents in a plane crash. She soon discovered about her powers and used them to protect herself. She didn't tell any more of her story for Storm or Logan.
However, there was a moment that, as any other mutant discovering about ones abilities, Elizabeth lost control of her telepathy. And it was at that moment that Xavier detected her powers. He, Ororo and Logan then went to Japan, found her in Tokyo and offered help. At first, she was doubtful, but soon accepted it because her powers were becoming increasingly difficult to control. And when she finally managed to control her powers, Charles offered her an invitation to join the X-Men, but she refused it and fled.
During the return from Japan, however, Xavier went into a kind of coma thanks to the huge effort he had to help Elizabeth.
He woke up one day after returning to the mansion, staying in bed for two days.
And when he realized he already had regained his strength, he got up and went back to work. He spent most of his time in his office, and Rogue, who finally finished all the needed training to start a real mission, stood beside him, helping him pack up some papers. Though she hated to do it, she knew she owed it to the Professor, since he spent a great deal of time trying to find a way for her to control her powers.
And while she finished tidying up the latest report on Elizabeth Braddock's new data along with Xavier, something happened.
Scott, who had already returned from his trip a while ago, appeared at the office entrance panting, his face was worried and nervous.
"Professor," he said approaching Charles' desk trying to catch his breath. "It's Jean... she simply disappeared again."