Chapter 26

Rogue is awoken the next morning by someone knocking on her door. She pulls her pillow over her head. "Go away," she mumbles. It is far too early.

She can just about hear the door open.

"Come on Rogue. Time to wake up. It's Christmas." It's Clark.

"It will still be Christmas in an hour," she says back. She then hears that loose floorboard creak. "Before ya even think about it," she warns what she can tell is Clark approaching the bed. "Remember one touch and ah'll be ruining your Christmas."

"Alright," Clark concedes. He knows he can get a bit carried away on Christmas morning. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," she mumbles back before she falls back asleep.

An hour later Rogue does get up. She is just out of bed stretching her muscles out when there is another knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"Um...Chloe," is the response.

"Just a minute," Rogue tells her as she makes her way over and opens the door.

"Um hi," Chloe says a little awkwardly. "Mrs Kent sent me to say to come down and get breakfast."

Rogue nods. "Just a sec," she tells Chloe as she goes back to her bedside table and grabs her gloves.

Chloe watches on. She had asked Clark last night when they were talking about what he could do and what everyone and the institute could do and he told her about Rogue's power. It was so sad. "Can I ask...if you can't touch...how do you and Clark...?"

Rogue sighs. "We don't. We can't. We're still working it out."

Chloe feels like she should not have asked that. Damn reporter instincts. "I'm sorry," she says and Rogue shrugs trying to show indifference when she is far from feeling so.

Chloe notices that on the other side of the room is a bed with pink sheets and walls covered in boy-band posters and other male celebrity posters. "Deja vu," Chloe mumbles.

"What?" Rogue asks.

"Um it is just...your room-mate's side of the room reminds me of my house-mate's room." Her house-mate being Lana who loves pink. Seriously pink covers, pink carpet, pink curtains, pink everything.

Rogue pities Chloe if her house-mate is anything like Kitty.

Down in the kitchen Pete and Clark are sitting next to each other at the table eating breakfast and catching up. "So you can hear like everything now?" Pete asks in relation to Clark's superhearing.

"More or less but on the plus side without it I couldn't have saved Rogue."

"Ah yes. When you had your revelation about your feelings for her."

To Clark it sounds like Pete isn't all that convinced that Clark means what he says. "I do like her Pete. I like her a lot," he tells his friend earnestly.

"I'm not saying you don't although forgive me if I'm still in shock about the fact you like anyone apart from Lana Lang."

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"Oh come on Clark. You have been in love with Lana since you were about 6. A naked supermodel could have been standing in front of you and you would have turned her down flat declaring how Lana is the only perfect woman for you."

"I never once said Lana was perfect."

"No but you were totally convinced that Lana was the one and only woman for you which is quite something when you're 6."

"I did not think that when I was 6 Pete. In fact if I recall you had convinced me back then that if I was to even touch a girl she would give me cooties."

Pete smirks. "Well it's not my fault you're gullible."

Clark lets out a sigh. "You are right though. I had convinced myself that there was no-one but Lana."

At this moment there is a cough and the boys find standing behind them is Chloe and a hurt angry looking Rogue who then promptly storms off.

"How much did you hear of that?" Clark asks in reference to the conversation he just had with Pete.

"Enough," Chloe says with a stern expression on her face.

Clark actually mutters a curse which is a first as far as Chloe is concerned as he gets up and chases after Rogue leaving Pete to face Chloe giving him her most intense death glare. "What?" Pete asks her.

"The two of you are just a pair of dumb-asses," Chloe insults Pete.

"I was just telling Clark a few home truths," Pete says in his defence. "And he's the one with super-hearing. He should have heard you coming."

Chloe shakes her head at the two of them. Dumb-asses. You never talk about stuff like that where someone might overhear you. "Have you phoned your family yet?" Chloe asks Pete. They had both spoken to their families last night explaining everything but she was asking whether he had phoned to wish them a Happy Christmas.

Pete checks the time. "Little early. I'll give it another hour."

Chloe checks the time too. "Yeah. You're right. I'll probably do the same."

"So Chloe...you are taking this whole thing really well about Clark," Pete remarks.

Chloe shrugs. "Alien or no Clark is still Clark. He is just a little bit...different from the rest of us. That's all." Yeah so it is kind of amazing that her friend is a real life alien but after talking to him last night for about 5 minutes she concluded that nothing that much had changed. Clark was still the same dorky guy she had known for years albeit one with superpowers but hey... she comes from Smallville where superpowers are just about the norm. At least Clark used them for good by stopping all the meteor...mutants she has to remember to refer to them from now on.

Pete lets that one hang for several seconds. "So do you think she has killed him yet?" Pete asks in reference to Clark and Rogue.

Chloe rolls her eyes. Definitely a dumb-ass.

Rogue stomps off down the corridor hurt swirling around her heart. It seems she has been playing second choice to Lana and after she defended Clark last night as well.

"Rogue wait!" Clark shouts after her not quite slipping into superspeed.

"Go away Clark!" she tells him.

"Please. Let me explain," he begs of her.

Rogue stops and turns to face him. "What is there ta explain exactly? Ya were just using meh because ya couldn't have her!" she almost shouts, although the angry hostile tone of her voice is as clear as day. That is what she got from what she overheard. He thinks Lana is the only woman for him but since he is here and Lana is not he has basically settled on Rogue as second choice.

Ok Clark will admit he makes misjudgements and mistakes but he won't accept that accusation. "Now that is not true."

"Isn't it?"

"No. If you had let me continue what I was about to say to Pete was that I had been mistaken about Lana."

"Really?" Rogue asks sceptically.

"Yes really." Clark runs his hand through his hair. "You see I had convinced myself of what I said and what I had ended up doing was trying to change myself into what I thought Lana wanted in a guy."

Rogue is a tad confused by what Clark means. "What?"

"You've had a first crush right?"

Rogue nods. Cody. The boy she kissed at the party just as her powers manifested themselves. She had been crushing on Cody for months and now she is stuck with a part of him permanently in her head.

"Then you must have thought about what qualities it was that he would be attracted to in a girl."

Again Rogue nods.

"I thought the same about Lana and then I set about changing myself into that person because I thought she couldn't possibly really want the real Clark Kent but you...you do. You learned I was an alien and it didn't bother you. You didn't look at me any different to before. You agreed to go out with me...the real me because this is all I am Rogue. What you see standing in front of you. Clark Kent, farm boy from Kansas and what he wants...all he wants...all I want is you and if you don't believe I'm saying the truth then touch me."

"What?"

Clark holds his arms out. "Go ahead. Absorb me if that is what it takes to convince you."

Rogue can tell that Clark is deadly serious about this. She is tempted to absorb him just to be certain but that would be a lack of trust on her part. She shakes her head. "No. Ah believe ya."

Clark lowers his arms back to his side. "I'm not perfect Rogue. I make mistakes just like any other person. Lana...in many ways Lana was one of my bigger mistakes because I dragged it out too long. I let it go too far without her knowing the truth about me and when I wouldn't let her in...when I refused to tell her the truth she ended up understandably hurt and bitter at me." There is a lot of regret in Clark's voice and it is a reflection of he allowed everything between himself and Lana to end up.

Rogue reaches up and starts twirling one of her bangs around her finger. She isn't sure what to say to that.

"You should go have breakfast," Clark tells her.

Rogue thinks that she should. She is hungry. He moves to the side as she walks by him.

"Rogue," he says stopping her.

"Yeah?"

"Will we be ok?" he asks her.

Rogue takes a moment to think on what Clark said. She lets her temper lower a bit and says "Yes Clark. We will be ok."

That brings a smile to his face and she smiles back before she heads off to the kitchen for breakfast. Scott then appears round the corner.

"I'm guessing you heard that," Clark assumes. Privacy it seems went out the window the day he came here.

"Most of it," Scott admits. "Would you really have let her absorb you?"

"If that is what it took than yes." Clark takes a moment. "Oh Happy Christmas," he says realising he hasn't said that to Scott yet today.

"Yeah. You too. Happy Christmas."

"Could have done without the relationship drama though," Clark says with dry humour.

Scott shakes his head. It is strange how Clark seems to find humour in almost anything. In fact Mr and Mrs Kent are the same. Must be a farmer thing.

Later that morning the time has come to exchange gifts as they all sit around in the lounge next to the tree. Charles received one from all the students of a framed photo of them all standing in front of the mansion and he wonders how they pulled that one off without him noticing. He would put it on his office wall next to the one he had of the original X-Men team before all the New Mutants came.

Hank got a new pullover of the type he liked which was handy since it was difficult for him to go shopping looking like he does now.

Scott ends up with yet another jumper but he thanks the Kents respectfully. He gets a new watch from Clark which Clark tells him is the same type his father has which Mr Kent got from his father and which has therefore survived decades of farm work so should survive at least a little while even when they are battling mutants.

Clark got the inevitable joke present from his parents of a new alarm clock which had given Chloe cause to ask why and Clark explained about his habit of accidentally crushing them. Chloe just looked at him rather blankly for several seconds before she cottoned on. She still hadn't quite caught up on the fact that her best friend was a super-powered alien.

From Rogue he got a copy of 'To kill a Mockingbird'; his favourite novel. He use to have a copy but when they unpacked here at the mansion he couldn't find it anywhere so he is very touched. It does not escape Charles' notice what Clark's favourite novel is about. It is also one of Charles' favourite novels for the racial prejudices it deals with.

In return Clark gives Rogue a novel in return. One of the Anne Rice ones she loves so much.

"Look inside the cover," he tells her.

Rogue opens the book and finds inside that is actually a signed copy. "How did ya manage ta get it?" she asks him.

"If I told you that it would ruin my air of mystery," Clark jests.

Chloe snorts. "Air of mystery my foot."

Clark ignores Chloe and hands over a smaller gift to Rogue. "I got you this too."

Rogue opens the gift to find it is a bracelet engraved with what she recognises as Kryptonian script.

"How did you get that?" Pete asks him recognising the symbol on the bracelet as something you just can't pick up.

"I got a plain one and I engraved it myself with my heat vision," Clark explains to his friend.

"What does it say?" Rogue asks him.

"Hope," Clark answers simply. "Because that is what I want you to always have Rogue. Hope that we will find a way to control your powers."

Rogue hates to show it but she can't stop the little tear forming in her eye which shows how touched she is by his gift. God what is Clark doing to her? She never used to be this emotional. Then again she never thought a guy like Clark would look twice at her let alone date her. She slips the bracelet on her wrist.

Martha and Jonathan watch the whole thing smiling. Clark could be so thoughtful and tender when he put his mind to it and it made them happy to see him in an open honest relationship. It was sad how Rogue and Clark couldn't touch each other. On the other hand at least they never had to worry about a certain physical aspect of relationships. God knows Clark had been embarrassed enough the first time they sat him down and had 'The Talk' and he probably isn't eager for a refresher any time soon.

"I'm surprised," Pete tells Clark. It was after gift exchange but still before dinner so the two of them were wandering around the mansion while Chloe was back giving Professor Xavier the 3rd degree.

"About what?"

"How readily you told Chloe about yourself," Pete elaborates. After all he had to find Clark's spaceship to get Clark to admit the truth.

"People change Pete. Being here...I've learned to be more comfortable with myself although don't expect me to climb to the top of the nearest building and shout it out," he says with wry humour. Of course what he is thrilled about is how well Chloe has taken it. There was no looking at him funny or treating him any different although she did manage to get through what seemed like hundreds of questions last night which Clark did his best to answer. "How are you doing Pete?" Clark asks his friend in relation to everything. "I know this is a lot to take in."

"Well after meteor...mutants," he says remembering to avoid the word freak, "and learning what you are it is not as much as it might have been but I have to ask why tell us and not Lex and Lana?"

"Because I know Lana would not take it well," Clark says in his judgement.

"Yeah she is a little bitter at you," Pete will say in agreement.

Clark shakes his head sadly. "I left it too long. I fear she might..."

"Not take it very well? Use her anger and resentment and twist it and you into something horrible?"

Clark manages a sad smile. Good old Pete. Still as brutally honest as always. "Something along those lines, yes."

"Give her a decade or two to calm down and I think you'll be alright," Pete says trying to be funny and lighten the mood. "And Lex?"

Clark lets out another sigh. "He is my friend but..."

"But?"

"He is still Lionel's son and there was that whole thing about trying to reforge their father/son bond last time I checked."

"Actually I think from what Chloe says they are back at war with each other," Pete points out.

"I want to trust him but there is just some piece of me that won't overlook the fact he is still a Luthor."

"If you want my opinion..."

"Always," Clark assures Pete.

"Then I wouldn't tell Lex either because I just know he is up to something. You should see the mansion sometime. It is more like a military barracks with all these security personnel these days. If you tell him and he decides you are a threat or something he has an army to take you down."

Clark frowns. That doesn't sound like the Lex he remembers. Guess quite a bit can happen even in a few months. Well that just confirms it for now. He has made the right choice but things can change and maybe one day he will change his mind but not today.

The two friends continue their wander through the mansion. Pete takes in the opulent fittings of the mansion. "In a way it is nice to know that there is a place teaching people to use powers for something other than the mayhem we have both seen back in Smallville. I have to ask though what were you really doing in New York and don't give me that shopping line."

"Did you hear anything about the Angel?" Clark asks Pete.

"Sure...no way. Really?"

Clark nods. "We were looking for him. Turns out he is a mutant. In fact we just said our goodbyes to him literally 5 minutes before you showed up."

"Goodbyes?" Pete queries.

"He wasn't ready to come here. He still had some way to go to learn to accept what he is." Clark cocks his head to the side suddenly. "I have to go. The Professor is calling me." Clark points down the corridor. "Turn right at the end and my parents are in the kitchen, second door on the left," Clark explains the way.

Clark then zips off. The Professor called his name out-loud since telepathy doesn't work on him. When he reaches the office he finds Scott and Rogue there. He guesses Chloe was finished and this was probably a debrief about the mission.

Charles listens carefully as the 3 teens explain what happened and how they bumped into Magneto and figured out that he must have set Warren up on the bridge. Charles shakes his head slightly at that one. He only wishes he could be surprised that Erik had done it. Of course it was deeply worrying to learn that Magneto now seemed to know Clark's weakness.

Clark meanwhile had been thinking on it and had come up with an answer as to how. "It was the incident at the jewellery store," he had concluded. "Remember that I overheard Mystique on the phone to him. She was there and saw what happened."

Charles nods. He now remembers wondering at the time just how much Magneto knew. Well it has happened and they will just have to deal with it the best they can.

"Well you all did an excellent job," Charles says in praise of them.

"But we failed to get Warren to come," Scott points out which kind of makes it a failure.

"Yes but you kept him from Magneto. That is a victory Scott. It leaves open the possibility of him joining us one day." Charles looks at time. "Well I believe Martha will be serving Christmas dinner shortly. Let us convene in the kitchen."

Charles has to say that Christmas dinner has to be one of the happiest sights he has seen in many years. With so many round the table happily chattering away. It is a moment of family togetherness he has not seen in a long time. On top of that the dinner Martha cooked is excellent. Charles feels he will be spending many days working it off.

Afterwards the teens sit in the lounge to allow their dinner time to digest.

"Ah think ah'm going ta burst," Rogue says. Dinner had been great but there was just so much of it yet she couldn't help herself because it was just so good.

Scott doesn't say but is right there agreeing with Rogue. That was just great and he is pretty certain he will be bursting apart at the seams shortly too.

Rogue looks at Clark sitting there not looking like he is about to burst yet he ate more than she did. "How can ya eat so much Clark?" Rogue asks him.

Clark shrugs. "One of the weird benefits of being an alien I guess. I mean considering the speed I can move at, the way I heal rapidly I'm assuming my metabolism is pretty fast."

"So can I ask do you guys really train in a room full of death traps?" Chloe asks. It had been raised during Christmas dinner as the subject of a few jokes and grumbles.

"Virtually every day," Rogue complains. "Because Logan is a sadist who enjoys making us suffer."

"Well that will be a slowing of the pace for you then Clark," Chloe quips.

"Huh?" he asks.

"Well it was you that stopped the meteor...mutants and I mean that must have been pretty intense at times considering."

Clark shrugs.

"Why did you never take any credit for it Clark?" Chloe asks him.

"It wasn't like I did it for the glory or anything Chloe. I did it because because it was the right thing to do. Because they were dangerous and hurting people."

"Yeah but most people would be crowing to everyone about it. You are kind of amazing that you did it and took zero credit. You are like a superhero or something."

Rogue smirks. "Ya see. It is just lahke ah said. Ya do want ta be a superhero," she teases him.

"Not really...and it isn't all training Chloe. Believe me. There are times we have to stop other mutants."

"Yeah lahke Live Wire," Rogue says her unhappiness at that psycho all too plain.

"And Magneto," Scott adds while wondering what Magneto is planning next.

At one of his bases what Magneto is planning right now is to give his bruises a few days to heal. Despite his armour Cyclops' blasts pack quite a wallop. Not to mention one where Clark Kent struck him. Even a piece of wood can kill if thrown with enough force and Clark Kent seemed to pack quite a wallop of his own. Magneto did not actually know his codename. It is a minor thing but something to find out at some point.

He learned something from it all though. Clark Kent has a weakness. One that does not make sense. He is still missing something because he knows almost as much about the x-gene as Charles does and it cannot create a mutant with that many abilities and from all he knows about the meteor mutants it was the same. It begs the question as to what exactly Clark Kent is. Not that Magneto is obsessing in anyway. He just would like to know.

He takes a slightly painful breath. New York had been a slight miscalculation. He had gone by himself because he honestly did not expect to run into any of the X-Men. He knew that Charles sent them all home for Christmas. As he said. Miscalculation.

There are other things that easily make up for it. The capture of Live Wire who was having another 're-education' session with Mastermind just to reinforce the changes that had been made to her somewhat unstable mindscape as Mastermind had described it as. Live Wire's powers were most impressive and formidable. The potential future uses Magneto could think of for her were numerous. She would join his Acolytes.

Other good news included Mystique's reports that it seems the Brotherhood are back on side for now. Essex is keeping him updated on Lionel Luthor's activities and the status of his new enhancer. For now he would leave it where it is in Luthor's hands but he already had it planned out how to take it when the moment came.

Magneto moves from his personal quarters in his base and seeks out Haze. Time to give her her Christmas present so to speak. He finds her inevitably flirting with Gambit once more. In this lounge area he had turned a blind eye when they put a Christmas tree. He might as well let them have their little celebration. As for the others Colossus was still sore about his sister and was still mostly keeping to himself in his room. As long as he did what he was told Magneto was not bothered. Speaking of the girl he had Sabretooth and Pyro babysitting her at the moment. He will keep his word to the extent that she will not be harmed.

However back to the business at hand. "Haze," he summons her.

She gets off the couch where she was sitting next to Gambit and makes her way over to Magneto. "Yes Magneto."

"I have been thinking over your proposal regarding Clark Kent and have reached a decision," he informs her.

Haze's face lights up in anticipation.

"You have my approval. I will inform Mystique that you will be attending Bayville High in the new year." With proof about the green meteor rocks affecting Clark Kent it seems more than likely that Haze's belief in how the red variety affects Clark is correct. If it affects him the way she believes than soon he will have a powerful new ally without having to go through the effort of attempting to capture him as he tried back in Smallville.

Haze smiles widely utterly thrilled that he approved her idea. "Thank you Magneto. I shall not let you down."

"See that you don't," he warns her although so far she has never let him down. She had been an excellent asset. One of the best of his recent recruits. Magneto turns and leaves without another word.

Gambit saunters up next to Alicia. "You see chere. D'is just like Gambit told you. Brains and beauty is a deadly combination."

Alicia blushes at his compliment.

Gambit gently strokes her cheek. "Gambit will miss you," he says with some sincerity actually. She had been here the longest with him apart from Sabretooth and great company the feral mutant wasn't.

"I'll miss you too," she says her breath hitching slightly at his touch. "By the way...Gotcha!"

"Quest-ce?" he says in French meaning 'What?'.

Alicia points upward and smirks. Gambit looks up to see that they are right under the mistletoe which she had joked that she would lure him under. Gambit had promised her that it would be the other way round. A little fun competition to pass the time. He shakes his head but with a smile as he lowers his head and very gently gives Alicia the very first kiss of her life.

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; One more chapter with Chloe and Pete at the mansion to tie up a loose end.