Chapter 1
It was the middle of fall. The leaves were already on the ground with a fresh coat of frost. The air was just cold enough that you could see you breath. It wasn't Rogue's favorite time of year but the numbness she felt from the cold reflected what she felt on the inside... nothing, nothing good anyways. It's like she felt so much pain and hurt it made her numb. Numb to feel the bad things, but also the good if there were any left. Rouge thought that if she didn't feel anything then why be here? Why continue living this way? She wanted something different, something more.
There had to be something more. she thought. More than hurting others and being hurt. It felt like it ended the same way no matter where she went or who she was with. She ended up hurting someone or being exploited for what she could do.
Except the time when I was with him. Rogue let her mind wonder back to old memories. To one of the only times she felt truly happy, the times she was when she was with him. Maybe that was the reason I want something more for my life. Because I knew that in one time in my life I was happy.
So she ran away... again. This time Rogue was so determined not to fall in the same destructive pattern again. She had promised herself that this time would be different, even if it killed her. And as she sat on the cold ground against a tree, too tired and cold to do any more, she really thought it would surely come to that. She had walked 2 days with no food and only the freezing cold water from the lake. She sat on the cold ground with nothing more than her summer jacket and thin gloves.
Of course... she thought. I will probably die before my dream will come true... before I find a home... a real family...
But as Rogue closed her eyes for sleep to take her, she heard something. She looked up to see a plane. First she had thought the cold had gotten to her, that she was seeing things. But then she felt the cold air rush over her when the jet started to descend, she knew it was real. It landed about 15 feet away throwing leaves left and right. But what she didn't know was if they were friend or foe, if she needed to run or fight. Though she was so tired, she felt that even if it was an attack she couldn't do much to protect myself.
The ramp on the jet lowered down to the ground, making Rogue nervous. To her surprise and relief the man came out of the aircraft was in a wheelchair. He was dressed for the cold with a winter jacket, hat and even thin gloves with a blanket draped over his lap, that Rogue was more than a little envious of. He gave Rogue a warm smile as he made he's way over to her. His wheelchair making a crunching noise as it rolled over the frost. Rogue pulled off her glove half way not knowing what he do next. He stopped his wheelchair to the right of her. Rogue eyed him but didn't move her head. "Good evening." he said to Rogue as she felt a warm blanket wrap around her shoulder. The warmth of the blanket felt good. She looked up at the man who now made his way back in front of her. "I hope you don't mind, you looked cold," he said it in a way that made Rogue feel like we were old friends. She was confused but looked at him with a non responsive expression on her face. "and tired if you don't mind me saying." This made her blink a couple of times, not that what he said was odd, because she probably looked half dead. The odd thing was Rogue knew she heard him but she didn't see he's lips move at all.
Was it my imagination? Rogue thought. Or was he really good at ventriloquism?
"No it's not your imagination, I really can talk with out words as you know them." he said, still without moving his mouth.
Then she got it, he was speaking in her mind. He has to be like me. He has to be a mutant. There isn't any other way to explain it.
"You are correct I am a mutant just like you."
My eyes grew a bit wider. Rogue had heard of people like him before, but never up close never like this.
"I have the gift of telekinetic." He smiled at the confused looked on Rogue's face. "It's like I can have a secret conversation with just my mind to almost anyone's mind I wish."
"Does that mean you can read my mind? Like all my thoughts?" Rogue asked a little afraid of the answer.
"I can." he said out loud.
Rogue gripped the blanket as fear ran though her. Did he know what I've done? she thought.
"But don't worry. I almost never go where I am not wanted. I can speak to you with my mind without reading yours." he continued to speak out loud.
"Almost?" she questioned.
"Yes," he said, "in some cases when others of our kind are harmful to themselves or people around them, I step in and use my gift."
"Why do you call it a gift? When its nothing but a curse." she said in a less than civil voice.
"I thought once too. But then I learned to control it, and to help people." he paused for a moment. "Would you like to learn to control your gift Anna?" He asked in a calm and collected voice in her mind.
"How did you know my na-" Rogue stared to ask, but a guest of cold wind stopped her. She clung to the blanket that she was given, pulling over her head to cover her ears.
"Maybe we should continue this conversation inside" he looked over his shoulder to the jet. Rogue looked down still not sure what to do. But she was cold and needed somewhere to warm up.
I guess it wouldn't hurt, then if I don't like what the old man is saying I can leave. And if he tries to stop me like the others, then I'll just do what I always do, what I'm good at.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he's deep very calming voice braking her train of thought. Rogue flinched as he tried to put his hand on her head. He held it there right above for a moment. "I promise, I won't hurt you..." he paused. "And you won't hurt me either." Rogue couldn't help the tears that fell from her face as he put his hand gently on her head. She had gone though so much and felt like no one knew what it felt like, no one knew her pain. But right then when she saw this man, a man she didn't even know sheared a tear for her. She knew somehow he did know her pain. In that moment Rogue felt safer then she had in years. Somehow she knew that if she went with this man she would have a real chance to change herself, and maybe a real chance to control what she had always called a curse and what he called a gift.
Rogue awoke from her deep sleep to her roommates alarm. It was some really popular pop singer that Rogue didn't remember the name of. Her roommate woke up enough to hit snooze and roll over. Kitty had a bad habit of hitting snooze for an hour and ending up late to wherever she needed to be. The alarm started going off again, but Kitty didn't even move this time.
"Kitty..." Rogue whispered, but got no response. "Kitty" she said louder, still nothing. Rogue sighed as she got out of bed and turned off the alarm. "Kitty, get up." Kitty made a sound and pulled her covers over her head. Rogue went to her side of the room and grabbed her gloves from her dresser, put them on and walked back to Kitty's bed side. "Kitty, its time to get up. You're going to be late." Kitty started mumbling in her sleep, the same thing "I'm not a freak.." over and over. Rogue stared to shake her bed. "Kitty you're having a nightmare. Wake up!" Rogue almost yelled. Kitty's eyes opened as she jumped forward in her bed grabbing the covers. Rogue took a foot back then asked as softly as she could, "Kitty? Are you okay?"
Kitty looked up at Rogue, confusion written all over her face. "It's me Kitty… Rogue." she said. Kitty rubbed her eyes and looked a Rogue again, she let out a sigh of relief. "You okay darleen?" Rogue asked, her southern roots coming out.
Kitty gave her a half hearted smile. "Yeah I'm okay..." she said weakly "I just had this dream…" she down cast her face. "More like a bad memory…"
"The one about your friends again?" Rogue asked in a very low voice. Kitty nodded.
Her friends didn't take it so well when they found out she was a mutant. Kitty said they had called her names and threw things at her. No one else knew but Rogue and the professor, and maybe some of the teachers here at school that Kitty had a hard life. Rogue would have never guessed it by the way she acts. No one would. Even the first day she got University of Gifted People, as the professor calls it. (Most of the students call it the school of freaks, weirdos and rejects.) She acted friendly and bubbly to everyone. Rogue had judge her when they first met, thinking she was too preppy and probably didn't have any trials in her life. But then she become her roommate and the nightmares started, she knew she was wrong. Kitty would sometimes wake up screaming and would start to cry and wouldn't stop till morning. Rogue learn in the 4 months that they shared a room to just sit with Kitty as she cried and listen if she wanted to talk about it. Most of the time she didn't. None of them did, no one at this school really wanted to talk about where they were from or what they had been through. Most of them, like Rogue and Kitty, just wanted a new start.
"I wish I could just forget..." Kitty said, her voice only a little louder than a whisper. Rogue nodded, knowing how she felt. She saw the tears forming in Kitty's eyes.
"Nope," Rogue said, "We are having none of that." Rogue pulled Kitty's blanket off of her in one motion.
"Ahh! Cold!" Kitty complained, wrapping her arms around herself.
"That's you're own fault for wearing a spaghetti strap tank top and booty shorts to bed." said Rogue.
"Okay one, I look adorable even when I sleep and two, you took my blanket. Rude." Kitty tried to glare but Rogue just found it funny and smiled.
"Pay back for waking up to miss pop star." Rogue pointed to the alarm clock.
"Hey it's a good song," Kitty started to get out of bed. "You just don't know good music if it bit you on thhhaaa" Kitty's foot got caught up in her sheets and she started to fall to the floor. Rogue tried to grabbed her, but it was to late. She already went right through the hard wood floor. Kitty's so called gift in action.
Rogue wasted no time running out of the room, once outside of her room she flew though the hall almost knocking some other students over. But she didn't care, she needed to get to Kitty. She flew quickly down the eight flights of stairs and a couple other hallways, until she was at the doors she was looking for, the room right underneath theirs. Rogue tried to open the double doors but they were locked. So she rammed the doors with her shoulder breaking them down. She scanned the floor for any sign of Kitty but saw none.
"Up here!" Rogue heard Kitty's voice above her. She looked up to the ceiling and saw her about seventy five feet up on a chandelier four times her size.
"Kitty!" Rogue yelled "are you okay?!"
"Oh just fine! Just hanging around!" Kitty yelled back.
"I'll go get some help! Stay put!" Rogue turned to leave the room.
"Not funny Rogue!"
Rogue smiled as she turned back to Kitty. "Kidding," said Rogue as she began to fly slowly to Kitty.
"Rogue!" Kitty yelled panic in her voice. "I think we have a problem!"
Rogue looked up to were Kitty was looking, the ceiling, cracks started to form all around the part of the ceiling the chandelier was attached to. Rogue's heart sunk to her stomach as she saw the ceiling give away, the chandelier dropped a couple feet and then was stopped by the cord still attached to part of the ceiling. Kitty almost fell off but caught herself with one hand.
"Rouge help!" Kitty yelled as she dangled from the chandelier. Rogue flew faster to get to Kitty. The chandelier cord ripping more our of the ceiling, moving the whole thing to the right.
"Let go Kitty!" Rogue yelled. Before the chandelier crashed into the wall Kitty let go. She screamed as she fell. Rogue was there in another moment to catch Kitty princess style.
"Are you okay?" Rogue asked as she flouted in the air with Kitty in her arms.
"Yeah, I am now. Thanks Rogue" Kitty let out a sigh of relief.
"No worry's sugar, stuff like this happen all the time, around her anyway." Rogue said with a giggle. Kitty joined her remembering that indeed weird stuff went on in the school on the time.
Rogue started her descent back down to the ground when Kitty put her arms around Rogue's neck. They both thought nothing of it till the moment Kitty's bare arm touch Rogue's neck.
Lightning bolts felt like they were running through Rogue's body. Flashes of Kitty's memories started to flood her mind.
Recent memories come first. She was texting in the middle of class and had her phone taking away...hiding behind a tree when the boy she liked was near...Then Rogue got older memories. Her finding out she was a mutant by hand going through a class of water... her friends finding out... That one was blurry probably because of her tears...
Only a few seconds had passed before the flashes of memories stopped. It always felt longer to Rogue. She blinked to clean her vision and looked down to Kitty who was no longer in her arms.
She looked down to find Kitty falling straight to the ground. "Kitty!" Rogue screamed as she went to catch Kitty.