Jennifer hears the snapping of branches and twigs from pretty far away after a minute. She sighs. Donovan's changed form again. She begins to run after the sound of the snapping.
Rogue was always pretty fast but when she hears the loud foot steps behind her, she realizes that she's about to be out run for the first time in her life. She has been hiding in the woods for the past week, coming out at night to eat from her former neighbors' garbage. She hasn't been able to bear the idea of leaving her old life behind and now she is finding herself regretting that she stuck around. Whatever's chasing her sounds big.
Donovan bursts from the trees into a large field full of tall grass. She sniffs the air and peers around. She can smell the younger female scent but can't seem to locate her with the breeze blowing. She sighs and begins to cautiously sneak around the field.
Donovan changes form just as she springs on Rogue, who screams and tries to run. Donovan doesn't let go and Rogue struggles violently. "Leave me alone! Let go, Ah nevuh meant t' hurt no one! Nevuh, evuh! Ah liked Cody!"
Donovan presses a finger to her lips. Rogue sees the gentle expression Donovan's face and relaxes. This is the first sign of friendship that Rogue has seen in a long time. She bursts into tears and drops to her knees.
Jennifer finally catches up to Donovan and Rogue, breathing heavily and clutching at her gun. Rogue gasps and tries to run again. "Relax, darling. We aren't going to hurt you. We want to offer you a place to go. This has got to suck. Watching all your old friends hunt you down, attack you, and hate you for being born different? Who needs it? We've got a place that'll turn your life around."
"Who're you?" Rogue demands. She notices Donovan's gun for the first time and backs away. "What do ya want with me?"
"We want to offer you a place to go. Didn't we cover that already?" Jennifer rolls her eyes. "I'm Jennifer Granger and this is my silent partner, Donovan Milady. We represent the Home Away from Home team, a group of people dedicated to save miserable wretches like you and the dummy over here."
Donovan glares at Jennifer but nods at Rogue, who looks at her questioningly. Rogue's eyes won't leave Donovan's gun. Donovan smiles and shows the chamber to Rogue. There are no bullets in the gun. "Ya can make mah life better?"
"Yes, ma'am," Jennifer replies easily. She grins. Neither of them have a clue! Hiring a girl who doesn't ask questions was my best plan yet! Those morons at Weapon X will never know what hit them.
"How do Ah know y'all are legit?" Rogue asks. "Y' could be one o' those mutant hatin' groups tryin' t' trick me."
Jennifer chuckles. "Donny, show her your power."
Donovan sighs and steps back. She changes form and hears her shirt rip even more than it already was when her wings burst from her back. Rogue screams and starts to run. Donovan catches her quickly. A big friendly smile calms Rogue. "What about you?"
"You don't wanna know, hon. It ain't pretty," Jennifer replies. The dumb little hick'll be a problem if she realizes that I can take her powers.
Donovan is smiling warmly at Rogue. It's her first real smile in almost a month. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a stick of beef jerky. She had swiped it from the gas attendant. It was the only way she felt she could feel good about treating him courteously after all the stuff he was implying about hurting mutants. She hands the jerky to Rogue. "Oh Gawd… thank ya! Ah haven't eaten much in a week!"
"Come with us and you'll be well fed, I promise," Jennifer says with a deceiving smile. She glances at Donovan, who can't take her eyes off Rogue. Great, now I've got a love sick puppy dog on my hands instead of a heavy hauling bruiser like she should be. She's gonna freak when she sees what I have to do with Rogue. I have to make sure she doesn't find out till it's too late for her to do anything about it.
LATER:
Jennifer listens to Rogue go on and on about the week before as she drives the van. She is talking quietly and sadly. Donovan is sitting in the back with her, listening intently and gently rubbing Rogue's back.
"Ah was doin' great for so long… had me a boyfriend and a lot of close family. Mah mama died when Ah was young and mah daddy left 'fore Ah was born. Lived with mah aunt and uncle on their farm. Then… Ah had mah first kiss…" she looks a little wistful. "He went down and Ah knew more about him than he had told me… he was in mah head. Ah was scared and told my aunt… she called the cops and had 'em try t' arrest me…"
Donovan feels her own tears start to fall. Rogue looks up and smiles weakly. "Mah story, sugah. Y' ain't s'posed t' cry."
"Well, Donny's a bit of a crybaby, Rogue," Jennifer replies from the driver's seat.
"What did you call me?" Rogue asks. Donovan looks confused as well. She then gets distracted by Rogue's knee against hers. She takes a deep breath.
Jennifer curses under her breath. "A name we give to the runaways we pick up in this organization. Once you're registered with us, your name goes on the files officially."
Rogue smiles. "Ah kinda like that, actually…"
"That can be what we call you, then," Jennifer sighs in relief. You're a professional for a reason, Boost. Don't blow it by opening your stupid mouth!
Rogue is fast asleep at the airport, using Donovan's lap as a pillow. Donovan is gently stroking her hair and watching Jennifer buy airline tickets. She doesn't really care for Jennifer at all. While she doesn't talk at all, Jennifer talks way too much. And most of the words from her mouth are cruel and malicious. There's a secret Jennifer's keeping and Donovan knows it. She just doesn't think she wants to know what it is specifically.
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," Jennifer says loudly, waking Rogue with a shake. She grins. "Here you go, honey. One first class ticket to the Home Away from Home."
"One ticket?" Rogue asks. "Y'all ain't goin' with me?"
Donovan looks surprised as well. Jennifer chuckles. "We've got other arrangements, Rogue. Other helpless mutants to save. You'll see a man holding a banner saying 'Rogue' on it. Follow him to your destiny!"
Rogue smiles. "Thank y'all so much. Ah dunno how t' thank ya enough. Someday Ah'll repay ya, Ah promise!"
Jennifer's smile fades quickly, replaced by a somber frown. "Don't mention it. It was nice knowing you."
Donovan hands Rogue a bag with the few possessions they'd been able to attain from Rogue's old house. Rogue throws her arms around Donovan. "Thank you especially. Yer the sweetest person Ah've ever met. Ah dunno what happened t' make ya so sad but Ah hope someone makes ya as happy as you deserve."
A tear trails down Donovan's face. She hugs Rogue tightly. I don't know if it's wrong to like someone like this after your death, Mandy. Maybe it's good of me to move on. I only wish there was nothing for me to move on from. I wish you were still alive. But maybe it's not so bad of me to care about someone else like this…
Rogue pulls out of Donovan's arms and gazes at her for a second. "See ya around, Donovan…" Rogue heads to the terminal with her small bag. She turns to wave one last time and then boards the plane.
Donovan takes a deep breath. Jennifer pats her on the shoulder. "You'll probably never see her again, Donny. The program is… pretty secretive when it comes to the placement of the mutants. You can't let yourself get attached by the projects, kid. Let's go. Our next assignments in Germany. The plane leaves in an hour and I want to get dinner before we take off."