Chapter 3, "Wash Away Those Years"
By: MidnyteRogue aka RogueBHS
Ahh, Moscow. How I hate it. All the damn cold, and snow, and ice. Argh. Why Momma agreed to do a mission here when she knows I hate the cold is beyond me. She promised she'd try for a mission somewhere I could wear a swimsuit for a few hours. I'd freeze my butt off if I did that here.
Not that Pyro would care. He can warm up easy as long as he keeps his flame-throwers handy. And Blob...with all that fat, I don't think he'd ever notice if it dipped to a few hundred below zero. Momma, Nanna, and I are bundled up like crazy though. Toad and Avalanche got left behind this time. Moving our base outta New York. Much too close to the X-men Momma said. I have to agree on that one.
I glance out the window of the taxi and get a good look at the famous St. Basil's Cathedral. Its beautiful, that I could never deny. But the people...Hard to believe a country puts so much into memorials and what not, then leaves its people begging in the streets. When the taxi stops a few minutes later, I glance at the hotel we're staying at. Its clear that Momma made sure to get aragements for the best hotel. Maybe I will be able to use that swimsuit after all...
As I get out, I spy a boy around my age. He's definitely cute. And definitely Russian from the tattered clothing that would be no aid against the chill if you ask me. But maybe he's a mutant like Momma and Nanna. He's definitely strong. Got more muscles than any boy my age I've seen back home. Momma sees me looking at him and can't help but smile. She ushers me inside, whispering that she always knew I'd have good taste in boys. I giggle, knowing it amuses Nanna to hear it.
"Leave her be Raven. She's young yet. But I imagine there's a handsome man waiting for her in the future."
Momma smiles at Nanna and nods, despite Nanna's being blind. "You're quite right, Irene. Besides, I refuse to let just any young man have my daughter."
I smile and lift up my suitcase after Momma's checked us in. "Which floor, Momma?"
"The fifth, dear. You do have everything don't you?"
I nod. "Yes, Momma. I triple checked everything before we left. Promise."
Momma hugs me as best she can, considering she has a suitcase in one hand. "I don't know what I'd do without you some days, Rogue."
I smile broadly at Momma. I love her so much. "I don't know what I'd do without you either, Momma. Or you Nanna."
Both women smile at me, but say nothing. They don't have to. The three of us are a team... a family. Without them, I would have been the Mississippi River Rat for the rest of my life. Without Nanna and I, Momma'd probably be a nutcase. And without Momma and I, Nanna'd have ended up in an asylum long ago for her visions.
Rogue seems to have enjoyed her life as a villian more than some of us thought. But she also thrives on the goodness too. It shows. I don't think any of us have realized exactly how close Rogue was with Mystique and Destiny. There must have been a love between them of some kind. I don't think Rogue ever counted on finding that with the X-men.
I glance up at the passage about the young boy. Colossus perhaps? He mentioned that his family visited Moscow once a year for supplies one time. I don't quite remember why it was brought up, but it was. Not that it matters I guess. Rogue has found her desinty with the X-men. She's found another family.