Chapter Two: A Cure for Mutation
And here's Chapter Two! I understand that Storm believes that there's nothing to cure of a mutant, but at the same time, I feel that she didn't really understand where Rogue was coming from. I mean, in all the time she's been there (in the original movies), Rogue was never given any opportunities to learn control for her powers, powers that can put someone in a coma by a single touch, so of course she would view the cure as a godsend. And Storm just insists that she's perfectly fine the way she is. The look on Rogue's face said it all: "Nothing wrong with the fact I can KILL people with a single touch, huh?"
Well, don't worry! I've got better plans for Rogue, just you wait.
genbo: Thank you so much!
thewriternextdoo: Thanks! I don't know if links actually work on this site, but I can still tell you where I learned of possible different versions, as well as multiple casting and directing choices. It's on the TV Tropes website, and if you look under Trivia for X-Men: The Last Stand, read the bullet points for What Could Have Been as a start. The whole page in general is very interesting to read.
0001234: Yes, Rogue can finally fly! And yes, poor Ellen. What Scott and Rogue find at Alkali Lake is gonna be life-changing for the X-Men, especially Rogue.
Hope10: Scott/Rogue team-ups are always great! Unfortunately, it's not gonna be fun for them...
By the way, my explanation for how Rogue can fly and have super strength is in the next chapter, but it doesn't involve Ms. Marvel at all (because she wasn't in the films). Do you want me to change it so it did? Or should I leave Marvel's involvement out as I originally wrote it? I mean, if she did meet Marvel and put her in a permanent coma in this version, then that's gotta mess her up even worse. She already had to deal with losing a friend, so writing a scenario where she essentially kills someone wouldn't feel right to me.
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.
"When an individual acquires great power, the use or misuse of that power is everything," Professor Xavier was teaching his class. "Will it be for the greater good? Or will it be used for personal or for destructive ends? Now, this is a question we must all ask ourselves. Why? Because we are mutants. For psychics, this presents a particular problem. When is it acceptable to use our power, and when do we cross that invisible line that turns us into tyrants over our fellow man?"
"But Einstein said that ethics are an exclusive human concern without any superhuman authority behind it," Kitty spoke up.
Professor Xavier smiled at her. She was one of his brightest students. "Einstein wasn't a mutant," he said. "So far as we know."
The students chuckled with him.
"Now," the professor continued, gesturing to his TV screen, "this case study was sent to me by a colleague, Dr. Moira MacTaggert. Jones?"
Jones nodded and blinked his eyes at the screen, which immediately flickered on. The students watched as the Scottish doctor addressed the camera with a comatose man on the hospital bed behind her.
"The man you see here was born with no higher-level brain functions," she explained. "His organs and nervous system work, but he has no consciousness to speak of."
Professor Xavier paused the tape and addressed the class once more. "Now, what if we were to transfer the consciousness of one person, say a father of four with terminal cancer, into the body of this man? How are we to decide what falls within the range of ethical behavior and what –" Suddenly, he stopped, frowning.
The students began noticing how dark clouds appeared in the sky out of nowhere. The professor didn't say anything.
"Professor?" Jones asked him.
This seemed to bring him out of his daze. He smiled at them. "We'll continue this tomorrow. Class dismissed."
Ororo was standing on a balcony overlooking the grounds. She was in such deep thought, she didn't even notice the dark clouds or the winds picking up speed.
"The forecast was for sunny skies." She turned around to see Professor Xavier there with an amused look on his face.
"Oh!" she said sheepishly. "I'm sorry." She looked up at the sky, her eyes glowing white, and the weather returned to its proper state.
Professor Xavier wheeled himself closer to her. "I don't have to be psychic to see that something's bothering you."
They talked as they strolled through the halls of the mansion.
"I don't understand," Ororo was saying. "Magneto's a fugitive. We have a mutant in the cabinet, a president who understands us. Why are we still hiding?"
"We're not hiding," said the professor. "But we still have enemies out there. And I must protect my students. You know that."
"Yes," she said almost exasperatedly, "but we can't be students forever."
Professor Xavier chuckled. "Storm, I hadn't thought of you as my student for years. In fact, I thought that, perhaps, you might take my place someday."
Sensing her shock, he stopped his wheelchair as she stopped to look at him, her jaw dropping.
"But Scott's –" she began to protest.
"Scott's a changed man," he interrupted her gently. "He took Jean's death so hard. Yes, things are better out there. But you –"
Now Ororo interrupted him. "No, Professor. I-I deeply appreciate your offer, but I still believe Scott can take your place. We all took Jean's death hard, but Rogue has been helping Scott cope so well. If it weren't for her, he'd be walking around this mansion like a ghost."
He thought over her words, then nodded. "Yes, you're right. Rogue has become a crucial member of this school. Perhaps, someday, they both can look after the school. Together."
She definitely agreed, but there was something in the tone of his voice, and the look on his face, that didn't sit well with her. "There's something you're not telling us."
It wasn't a question. Regardless, he didn't answer. He just rolled away.
They eventually talked with Hank McCoy, a former member of the X-Men who was now Secretary of Mutant Affairs in the U.S. Cabinet. He once called himself Beast, for his mutation gave him the appearance, and strength, of a deep blue, beastly animal. Logan joined them as Dr. McCoy explained to them the development of what Dr. Warren Worthington II of Worthington Labs is calling a "cure" for mutants, an injection that completely suppressed the mutant gene.
Hank seemed to be more sympathetic, knowing that there are mutants, like himself, that couldn't pass for what humans called "normal", and didn't blame them for wanting this cure. Ororo, however, adamantly refused to believe that a cure was the answer, that any mutant who would take it would be throwing away who they truly were just to fit in with society.
Logan didn't really know what to think at first. Then he thought of Rogue. Six years ago, she probably would've jumped at the first opportunity to get rid of her powers. Now that she had been training with the X-Men, and having those private sessions with the professor, she was proud to be a mutant.
He was now glad that she and Scott had left before Hank brought this announcement to their attention. He couldn't imagine their outrage, especially Rogue's.
And there's Chapter Two! Storm would make a good headmistress, but I like the idea of Scott and Rogue leading the school together a lot more. That's just one of my plans for them to have a happier outcome in this story.
Also, don't you just love the priorities humans have in this universe? They would rather spend what I'm sure is thousands of government dollars on finding a cure for mutation instead of using that time, commitment, and money to find a cure for, I don't know, cancer? AIDS? Actual diseases killing humans every year? I guess those aren't as important. (I'm, of course, being sarcastic)