Two Years Later
She looked at her hands and wondered how she came to have so much power. Power that she was afraid of. Power that made others afraid of her.
"Hey, kid, you daydreaming again?"
She looked up at the sound of his voice. But he wasn't leaning against the door. He wasn't anywhere in the room. It was just a memory.
A memory. Something that she had taken for granted two years ago when she had lost her past. Now she cherished everything she went through. She memorized everyone's face and name, every little detail in every little second she lived and breathed. But the one face and name she wanted to remember and forget at the same time haunted her day and night.
Logan.
See you later.
She was nineteen now. She was learning to survive on her own, control her powers, in Jubilee's words "Kick some ass." She was doing well in her classes and helping the younger students in their studies. She had really grown-up since she came to the school.
She looked back at her hands, no longer afraid.
**"Hey, Rogue, you got a letter." Jubilee handed the envelope to her roommate.
Rogue quickly snatched it from her and ripped it open. A smile spread across her face as she read Logan's handwriting.
Hey Kid, sorry for the wait. You know I hate doing this kind of stuff. But I just wanted to let you know how things were. It's strange. I was sitting in this bar a few nights ago, started talking to this guy, and we got on the topic of searching for our purpose in life. I tell him I'm on a journey to find out about my past. He looks at me like I'm crazy or maybe it's from the shots we had just finished, who knows? Anyway, he looks at me and says, "What about your future?" Now I look at him funny and he says, "The past is the past. You should be on a journey towards your future." Well, kid, that got me thinking. I've been searching for two years and I think I forgot a long time ago what exactly I was searching for. I hope things at the school are good. Cause some trouble for me, alright? Logan
"From Logan?" Jubilee said as she sat down next to Rogue on the bed. "I can tell by that sappy smile."
Rogue put the letter back in the envelope. "I'm just excited to get a letter, that's all. It's been almost four months since I heard from him."
"So, what did he say?" asked Jubilee. "Is he coming back anytime soon?"
"He didn't say," Rogue said, "but I got this feeling that he might be."
"Is it that weird connection you got with him? You know, when you touched him?"
"I just know," Rogue said with a smile.
**Scott and the Professor entered the hospital and was greeted by a female doctor. She was dressed in scrubs and her brown hair was tied back in a ponytail.
"I'm Dr. Bennington," she said. "I'm glad you could make it on such short notice."
"We came as soon as we got the message," the Professor said. "Can we see her?"
"In a moment, but I think I should tell you what caused us to summon you here," Dr. Bennington said.
"Go ahead," said the Professor.
The doctor reached for a folder and pulled out some brain scans. "This is Zoey's brain activity when she was first brought here two years ago. Minimum brain activity, but over the past few weeks, we've been getting these." She pulled out another scan. "These lines indicate brain activity and as you can see, it's been very heavy."
Both Scott and the Professor looked over the materials.
"What does this mean?" Scott asked.
"It means that Zoey is awake," Dr. Bennington said.
"How is that possible?" said Scott. "She's still laying in bed, in a coma."
"That's what we don't understand," Dr. Bennington said. Just then, her beeper went off. "Excuse me, but I have to take this call."
Scott turned to the Professor. "Professor, do you have any idea what's going on?" He watched as the Professor moved towards a room. They went inside and saw Zoey in the bed. The only noise came from the machines surrounding the room.
"She's conscious," the Professor said, "but I can't seem to communicate with her."
"Is she communicating with anyone?"
The Professor waited for a moment. "Yes."
**John walked down the hospital's hallway just in time to see Scott Summers and the Professor get on the elevator with a doctor. He hid from their view and watched as the doors shut behind them. He wondered if they would have recognized him anyway. He had let his dark hair grow out and his eyes had only become darker, almost black. He wore the long black coat he had received as a gift. A gift from his new family.
As John went to Zoey's room, a voice appeared inside his head. "John." It was the Professor. "Where are you going?" He shook his head to get rid of the voice. "John." He was still there.
"Leave him alone." Zoey. It was a comfort to hear her voice, saving him.
A moment passed and it was quiet again. John made it to Zoey's room and closed the door. He took a seat next to her body and grabbed her hand.
"Hey, Zoey." But he did not move his lips.
"Hey, fire boy." But she did not move at all.
**"I hope we keep in touch," Dr. Bennington said. "Zoey doesn't get many visitors."
"Does she get any visitors at all?" asked the Professor.
They were in the main lobby on the first floor of the hospital building.
"On occasion, you and Mr. Summers, but no one else," said Dr. Bennington. "Wait. I take that back. Over the past few weeks, a young man has been in her room. He said he was a close friend of hers."
"The same weeks that her brain activity started to grow?" asked the Professor.
The doctor frowned. "Why, yes, I believe so."
"Does this young man have dark eyes and hair? John, that's his name," the Professor said.
As the Professor and the doctor spoke, Scott noticed a group of young men in a corner. They were dressed in long black coats. He eyed them suspiciously. They looked back at him. Scott sensed that trouble was on its way.
"Professor, we need to get out of here," he said.
But, it was too late. The group formed a circle around Scott and the Professor. Scott reached up to his visor just as a bolt of energy came flying towards them. He fought back with a red beam, knocking down one.
The Professor looked up to see John approaching them. "John!" But as soon as John saw him, he turned the other direction and fled. The Professor looked back at Scott and saw him stumbling from being outnumbered by the men in black coats.
"Lets go!" Another man in a long coat appeared. His eyes were red and his hair fell over them. He took out a card and a surge of energy connected with it. He threw the card towards the Professor and Scott.
A blast of light blinded them for a moment and when it was gone, so were the men in black coats.
**"Rumor has it that John was at the hospital visiting Zoey," Bobby said to Rogue and Jubilee at dinner. "There was some trouble too with other mutants."
Rogue frowned at the thought of their lost friend. "Was he okay? John, I mean."
Bobby shrugged. "Whenever there's trouble, there's John, so who knows?"
"He was your friend too, Bobby," Rogue said.
"Yeah, until he left us for dead when Zoey went crazy," said Bobby.
"Stop it," Jubilee said gently. "It's already tense around here. The last thing we need is you two getting into a stupid fight."
"Fine." Rogue got up from her seat and left the dining hall. She sighed and walked down the hallway towards the main lobby when she sensed something, someone.
Logan.
She turned and there he was, coming down the stairs. He was dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. She smiled and ran to him. He caught her and they wrapped their arms around each other.
"Welcome home, Logan," she said.