Author's Note – I still don't own the characters.

Shame, I'd be rich if I did…

Note 2 – It has been pointed out to me that Kurt should just use "Frau" rather than "Fraulein" to refer to Martha, since Fraulein refers to younger women. In-story, this is because Kurt is trying to compliment Martha, since he really likes her (and loves her cookies). Out-story, I screwed up since I don't know much german. Mea culpa. Oh well.

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Chapter Nine

Friend Indeed

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"Clark, a situation has just developed."

"Go ahead." Clark said almost absently as he adjusted his course to keep the plane level during its aproach to the runway.

"Cerebro has just detected a new mutant in New Orleans a few minutes ago. A teenage girl with a powerful, and unusual power. She can apparently drain the power of other mutants."

"Interesting." Clark said. "That's quite some power."

"Yes, but Mystique was detected in the locality, as was Sabertooth."

Clark bit down a curse. "Are they working together?"

"They're both known to work for Magneto." Xavier confirmed. "Best guess, they're going to make this new mutant think that the X-Men are after her, and that Sabertooth is her protector. If they do that…"

"Shit." Clark cursed. "Let me land this plane, and I'll get over there. I may need backup."

"Cyclops and I already preparing, as are the others. If Magneto gets his hands on this mutant… I don't know if this power will affect you, but if Magneto thinks it will, he won't stop until he gets this new mutant."

"Hopefully it only works on humans." Clark said, frowning as he adjusted course slightly to keep the plane stable during its final approach. "Hold on… okay, plane's landed. Have you uploaded the tracking data? Good, I'm on my way."

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Anna Marie ran through the dark night, her mind awash with panic and confusion. She had panicked when she had kissed Cody and felt his memories flowing into her, leaving him on the ground, unconscious and her trying hard not to let his memories overwhelm hers. As she had tried to run off, several more boys had tried to grab her and every time they did, she absorbed their memories and sent them crashing to the ground. And after that, several people had started to chase her, including a short, bulky man with silver claws and another with a weird visor. And all of them were closing in on her, she could here them. Then the man with the blades stepped out in front of her.

"You may as well stop runnin, darlin'." He sneered. "The professor wants you."

"The girl is free to make her own choice!" another voice snarled and one of the largest people Anna had ever seen landed in front of her, squaring off against the intruder, his clawed fingers flexing as he moved between her and the man with the blades. Anna stared at him, her panic starting to change to gratitude that someone was trying to help her.

"I actually agree with Sabertooth on this one, Mystique." A third voice said and everyone looked up in shock. "But really, pretending to be Logan? Be reasonable. Anyone would think you were trying to trick the girl."

"Wh… what?" Anna managed, staring up at the man that she recognised as the semi-mythical Superman.

"Simple, the two you see before you are Sabertooth and Mystique, a shape-shifter, both of whom work for a man named Magneto. She can copy their shapes, but not their powers. That's where you come in."

Sabertooth backed away growling as Superman landed. Anna looked at them, her terror ebbing as rationality re-emerged.

"A shape-shifter?"

Superman nodded and Sabertooth lunged forwards. "Shut up!"

Anna tried to dodge out of the way, but tripped and fell. Grabbing onto something for support, she felt a new wave of memories flowing through her in the split second before she was knocked over, into another set of arms that held her gently.

"Oh gawd!" she gasped. "It's true, they only wanted meh for mah powers! They wanted to use meh agahnst… you…?"

Anna trailed off as she realised that Superman was holding her, that her hands were clasped over his… and nothing was happening.

Nothing at all.

Superman loosened his supporting grip and let her stand by herself. Moving as if in a dream, she lightly brushed his face, then placed her hand firmly against his cheek.

"…how?"

Suprisingly, it was not Anna who had asked, but the now-blue-skinned woman who had been impersonating the man with the blades.

"I'm… unique." Superman said, smiling down at Anna. "I may currently be the only person you can touch without hurting them, but whenever you need a hug, a shoulder to cry on or even someone to carry you when you are tired, I'll be there whenever you ask. I'll never hurt you, I promise."

Anna blinked as her eyes filled with tears. Whatever had happened had robbed her of the ability to touch another, then Superman…

Reaching up, she grabbed him and pulled his head down, kissing him deeply. After a moment, she released him and sighed, resting her forehead against his chest.

"Damn. No fireworks."

"Sorry."

"Not yah fault." Anna said with another sigh. "Ah suppose if ah can't have yah as a boyfriend, then at least ah've got a friend ah won't kill by accident."

Superman smiled at her, then looked round. Anna looked round as well, frowning.

"Where'd those two go?"

"I think they realised that their plans for you wouldn't work." He said. "I can hear my friends approaching, do you wish to meet them, or shall I take you back to your home?"

"Ah'm an orphan." Anna said. "A rogue, ah've got no real home."

"Then, Rogue, may I offer you a new one?" Superman smiled. "One with good company, excellent food and, for now at least, your own room?"

"Ah'd lahke that." Rogue said quietly, then her stomach growled. "Oh gawd!"

"I think you'll need some of that food I promised." Superman said, scooping her up bridal-style and floating upwards. "I think there's some chocolate cake on the menu."

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"Report."

"We lost her. Xavier's people got her."

"That is not acceptable, Raven!" Magneto almost spat. "That girl is our only weapon against Superman!"

"A weapon that doesn't work." Sabertooth interjected. "Girl was stroking his face and gave him a kiss. No effect. No effect at all."

For almost a minute, the phone remained silent.

"Eric? You still alive?"

"Yes… yes I am. So Superman is immune to her draining powers."

"Yeah, but I'm not. After that flying boy scout appeared, he blew the plot to pieces and the girl grabbed some of my memories, saw what we were trying to pull on her. Mystique was wearing Logan's form, even I couldn't tell the damned difference, but he did."

"I can't disguise myself from him, Eric." Mystique said, her voice shaking. "No matter what form I wear, no matter the shape, he knows it's me, and I don't even know how!"

"Return to Bayville, will need reinforcements, I'll arrange for Pietro to join you, if we cannot beat him in power, speed may yet work. Xavier will probably arrange for the girl to join the local school like she did with Wagner and Pryde, so make sure she gets in without any trouble. Do not try to approach her at this time. While this is a setback, it is not a disaster. At least now we know another thing about this Superman, his power is indeed different from a normal mutant. Sabertooth, write up the mission and return to my side."

The phone went dead and Mystique and Sabertooth looked at each other.

"I don't think he liked that."

"At least you get to stay away from Superman." Mystique snapped. "He knows who I am, if he comes after me…"

"Then don't give him a reason to." Sabertooth shrugged. "He coulda killed me last time we met. I hit him so hard my fist shattered and he didn't even twitch. Hell, he probably could have killed us both now, but he didn't. Probably hates killing, so work with that, though…"

Sabertooth trailed off and Mystique looked at him.

"What?"

"It's just… couldn't be…"

"Victor…"

"Fine!" Sabertooth snapped. "He didn't smell human. Not human, not mutant, he smelled of something… other. Never smelled anything like it before, not a clue what it means."

As Sabertooth stormed off, Mystique stared after him.

"Not… human…?"

After a few moments inthought, she shook her head.

"No. Not possible."

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"Oh gawd, ah ate too much." Rogue sighed as she slumped back in her seat, the bowl in front of her empty except for a couple of crumbs and a few streaks of special sauce. "Ah don' think ah'll be able ta move for at leas' an hour."

"Ja, I agree." Kurt said from across the table. "Fraulein Martha, you are a goddess of cooking."

"I second the elf's motion."

Everyone promptly stared in near-shock at Logan, who simply shrugged. "What?"

"Then I third it!" Kitty giggled. "And if I have another bite, I'll explode."

"Fourthed. And while it's not a bad way to go, the downside is that it means no food the next day." Jean joked, causing a brief round of chuckles.

"Well, before we finish, may I say a few things?" Xavier said from the head of the table. "First, Martha. Once again, you have provided a meal that even the gods would be envious of."

Scott and Clark started to clap and all the others quickly joined in, causing Martha to blush.

"Secondly." Xavier continued, once the applause had abated, "I would like to welcome Rogue to our number. Rogue, if there is a way to help you get your power under control, we will find it. I promise."

"In the meantime, I'm still available for hugging purposes." Clark grinned at her. Rogue smiled and leaned against him, letting him wrap his arm around her as she enjoyed the little bit of true contact she could still get.

"Third, a bit of news that I am afraid will dampen the mood, but which Clark insisted that you all know." Xavier said, glancing at Clark, who nodded. "As you know, Mystique and Sabertooth tried to trick Rogue into joining their ranks, so that they could try and use her powers aginst Clark."

"Wouldn't work." Rogue mutttered as Clark reached across and gently brushed a loose lock of hair back to behind her ear.

"That much is obvious. So they are unlikely to be after you any longer. However, we now have proof that they will be in a position to watch you, since Mystique is Principal Darkholme."

Kitty, Kurt, Scott and Jean all jolted in their seats as Xavier made the revelation.

"Clark is certain that she knows that he knows, and thus that you know, so it is very unlikely that she will take any action against you four. Sorry, five. However, she will be reporting to Magneto and Clark is currently the only one of us who can consistently see through her disguise. Therefore, I must stress that under no circumstances are you to discuss anyone's skills or powers while at the school."

"But… Mystique is…" Kitty started before Clark cut her off.

"I intend to have a long discussion with her tomorrow, but from what I can tell, she acts as the spy of Magneto's group. While she can fight if she needs to, she prefers to remain in the shadows and she seems to be afraid of me. She knows that if she lets anything happen to any of you… there'll be nowhere on earth she can hide."

Clark's voice rang with iron resolve and determination and Rogue nestled against him again.

"Ahnd tha's why ah see Clark as mah big brotha." She said. "He's a Super Man indeed."

"Big brother…?" Clark mused. "Hmmm, Anna 'Rogue' Kent… I'll think about it."

Rogue opened her mouth, then froze. Clark looked down at her as she turned to Martha, who smiled at her.

"Imagine, having a daughter at my age."

Rogue stared at her, then her eyes filled with tears and she grabbed Clark, hugging him itghtly. Carefully avoiding skin contact,Martha rested her hand reassuringly on the crying girl's shoulder.

"I heard your story. If you want Clark as a brother, then I'll be happy to welcome you to the family."

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Sabertooth stood in front of the metal desk, fighting off the feeling that he was an errant schoolboy standing before the headmaster, as Magneto leafed through the report that he and Mystique had compiled. After a few minutes, he looked up.

"So Mystique still has no idea about how this… Superman found out who she was?"

"No. She's still freaked out about it."

Magneto nodded and pulled across a larger file. Victor saw the name printed on it.

Clark Kent.

"So, we now know that he can fly, is very tough, strong and immune to the draining power of Rogue." Magneto summarised. "In addition, we cannot apply leverage because his only family, his mother, a Martha Kent, is currently living at Xaviers mansion as a cook."

"Apparently she makes a very good chocolate cake." Sabertooth offered. Magneto stared at him.

"What?"

"That was the reason that Logan abandoned the fight and let Superman take me down instead." Sabertooth explained. "Chocolate cake with a pouring sauce."

Magneto's disbelieving stare didn't abate in the slightest.

"Seriously. He dropped me in Alaska, then went back to Xavier's so he wouldn't miss out."

Magneto hadn't moved.

"Is… something wrong? Hello?"

Just as Sabertooth was about to wave his hand in front of Magneto's face in the hopes of getting a reaction, Magneto finally blinked, then shook his head.

"You are telling me that a chocolate cake…"

"with pouring sauce," Sabertooth interjected.

"…with pouring sauce," Magneto continued, "was the reason you ended up in Alaska?"

Sabertooth shuffled his feet. "Um, sounds pretty silly put like that."

Magneto sank his head into his hands. "And yet, somehow, I just know it's true." He sighed. "Alright. Anything else?"

"Yeah, he smells odd."

Magneto glared at him. "Define. Odd."

"I dunno. Never smelled anyone quite like him, he smelt… like… like… I dunno. Different."

Magneto returned his head to his hands. "Just… go."

Sabertooth went.