Title: Awakening, part 3

Author: IceAngel8

Disclaimer: None of the X-Men characters belong to me. Linda Goldstein, aka Ripple, is my property though, so no stealing! I'll hunt you down if you do!

Feedback: Let's see... I would definitely love to see what you thought. I write for myself, and work very hard on it, and then when my work is presented to an audience, I expect some sort of opinion about my writing! Please, feedback me! (I sound pathetic... *cringe*)

Author's Notes: Hi! This is the third installation in Awakening! Another chapter, maybe even two, will be out by Saturday night! Yay!

Enjoy the story. I worked hard on it! Please feedback me! All comments are welcomed.

Awakening: A Touch of the Unexpected

Rogue felt like her eyelids had been glued shut and that, as hard she tried, she couldn't open her eyes. She felt trapped, like the time she had slipped when she'd been ice-skating and gone underwater, only to see a solid sheet of ice blocking the outside world from her. Rogue would have died if it hadn't been for the extremely nice boy that had gone after her, plunging into the icy depths of the river and grabbing her small, fragile body. He had swam over to a stronger patch of ice and climbed up, all the while holding tightly onto Rogue, who had blue lips and was shivering with a combination of cold and fright. She had gripped his hand, with bare fingers, until Irene, her foster mother had come to retrieve her from the emergency room. Rogue had only been eight years old, still allowed to have human contact, and forever thankful to a young man whose name she never learned.

Rogue vowed to herself that day that life was a gift, and she never forgot it, not until the fated afternoon she kissed her date, at the school dance, and he spent several months in a coma. Afterwards, she had let herself grow bitter and cold, a pang of loneliness always rooted deep in her heart. She had let herself grow more attached to the people around her when she moved into Charles Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters, but Rogue knew she would never feel at complete ease. She felt sad and horribly abandoned most days, even while surrounded by dozens of teenage kids in school and at home. She felt miserable when she heard girls whispering in the cafeteria about which guy they dated, which handsome football player kissed the best, and how many babies one girl wished to have with her boyfriend or future husband. She would never have that, a lingering passionate kiss, or being pregnant and giving birth to a baby that had been made out of love, and then raising that child with her mate.

Solitude was the key word in Rogue's life, not by choice but because of necessity. If she went up and kissed a boy, he would crumple to the floor, half dead and then probably become comatose. Sometimes Rogue wanted to clench her fists and scream at the world. Why was she cursed with being a mutant? Why did it have to be her? Who were her real parents, who was the mother that had given birth to her and then just simply left? Other mutants had awesome powers, like phasing through walls and electronics and moving objects with their minds, as well as having control of when they wanted to use their powers. Rogue had no such choice. Her power was active, all the time, very much like Scott Summers, but whose deadly laser eyes were protected with ruby stone glasses. At least Scott could touch another person, without fear of killing them. Yes, Rogue could touch another person, but through a barrier, her gloves. It wasn't much but she always reminded herself not to take it for granted, even though it tore at her heart to put on the gloves every morning and only remove them before she went to bed.

Rogue stirred on her blanket, immediately alerting Kitty, who was sprawled out on her own blanket, eating cookies and sipping her bottled water. Kitty watched Rogue, waiting for another sign that she was awakening but Rogue remained still. Kitty leaned over and carefully picked up one of Rogue's gloved hands. Rogue shivered noticeably but Kitty didn't flinch. Instead, she gripped her fingers around Rogue's hands, applying a slightly painful pressure. Rogue moved a little more, trying to estrange her hand from Kitty's surprisingly strong grip.

"If you want me to let go, wake up, Rogue. I know you're there, somewhere. Rogue, you can't stay unconscious, I hope you're aware. Linda's life depends on this." Kitty said, knowing a verbal response wasn't to be expected from the other mutant girl, but still oddly waited for it. "You know what, fine. Let's see how much this hurts." she said and tightened her hold, a satisfied smile on her face when Rogue automatically tried to pull away, tugging forcefully.

"Let go. Let go of me." Rogue murmured and then suddenly went still on the blanket. Kitty dropped her hand and bent over her, concern in her brown eyes. "I can't wake up... can't wake up. Something is in my way. Kitty."

Kitty gasped as she realized that Rogue had actually spoken, and had even said her name. "Rogue, I'm right here. Come on, just open you're eyes. I ... uh... can splash some cold water on you if you want." she said, a bit hesitantly. The Professor had clearly told her to warn him if any of the girls' conditions changed, but she had defied the rule and was attempting to wake Rogue up by herself. Kitty sighed, but knew that she had gotten somewhere further with Rogue than the Professor had and using that as her motivation, Kitty grabbed her water.

She sprinkled a few drops onto Rogue's face and then a few more when the girl's eyes didn't open. Finally, Rogue seemed to come alive, her eyes blinking open and staring widely back at Kitty.

"She's gone," Rogue whispered, feeling relieved as she realized the insistent pounding in her skull had disappeared and that Linda's presence had also gone. Rogue's skin tingled, a reminder that her power had been recently used. She smiled at Kitty, who had settled down beside her. "So is she awake yet?"

"I guess it'll take a few more minutes. She awoke before, though, while you were still unconscious. It was really surprising. She's as powerful as you said, then."

"I could feel it, her mutant power, and it was similar to Jean and Scott's. Expect they have already have a good amount of control on their powers and this girl doesn't. There's this huge source of energy and strength behind her power, but Linda hasn't yet figured out how to use it. The Professor, and the other teachers here are going to teach her to become an X-Men, one of us."

"She's going to be an X-Men?" Kitty asked incredulously. "Already?"

"Apparently, the Professor decided this after her practice run in the Danger Room. She's an awesome acrobat and her power, well, you saw it, Kitty. This girl will be unstoppable one day." Rogue said and glanced over where Linda peacefully slept, her memories and powers fully restored.

"Unstoppable, huh? Well, she has some tough competition. Jean is very skilled and everyone here knows her telepathy is getting stronger everyday. " Kitty replied, giving the sleeping beauty a skeptical look. "But she might not have to compete against Jean for one thing: Scott."

Rogue felt an old pang of remorse and sadness at the mention of Scott and the two girls that had captured his attention. Linda and Jean were beautiful, each in her own unique way, and they were both mutants with extraordinary powers. Rogue felt like a complete outcast around Jean, because the other girl was better than her in seemingly every way possible. After touching Linda, Rogue didn't feel the same way about her as she did Jean. Linda had some quality of loneliness in her, although it was deeply rooted and easily hidden from the rest of the world, and Rogue identified with that. She definitely knew what it felt like to be alone, to not have the most basic of human abilities - touch.

"I could definitely tell she liked Scott. And that she is going to do whatever it takes to get him, even destroying the possible chance of a friendship with Jean." Rogue answered, feeling a hint of jealousy. She hadn't understood her attraction to Scott, knowing only at that time that whenever she was around him, her heart began beating faster and that there was a fluttering sensation in her stomach. It had been a crush out of lust and raging teenage hormones, but she knew she'd never forget it.

"Well, Linda is a very pretty girl, so I don't think getting Scott will be a challenge for her. I mean, like, hello, here comes this new exciting mutant, so who wouldn't be attracted? Scott needs a break from all the Jean drooling he does," Kitty remarked and Rogue smiled at her words.

"Jean sure enjoys the attention, though. She strings along both boys, the jock dude Duncan and our tragic hero, the X-Men leader, Scott." Rogue commented, not bothering to mask the bitterness in her voice. "She's a spoiled brat,"

"Jean had a lot of hard times in her life, like all of us, so I can't really label her as a spoiled brat. She's just a guy magnet, I guess." Kitty said, trying to quickly steer the conversation away from Jean, because she knew Rogue didn't particularly like the redheaded girl.

"A guy magnet is what I'm not." Rogue said and briskly stood up and moved away from Kitty, who stared at her back in puzzlement.

A few minutes later, Linda began showing the first signs of regaining consciousness. Kitty was lying beside her and still pondering the conversation she'd had with Rogue. She knew the meaning behind Rogue's rapid exit, knew that it hurt deeply that she would never have a boyfriend, a husband, another person to share her life. Kitty sighed, feeling almost as if there was something weighing her shoulders down. Everyone at the Xavier Institute, including it's founder, Charles Xavier, would never completely understand Rogue. Rogue forbade the Professor to ever explore her mind and reveal long hidden secrets and she kept the rest of the students, as well as teachers, at a distance. She was a mystery never to be solved, Rogue personally thought, and until this fateful afternoon, she'd been the only X-Man untouched by Charles' Xavier's telepathy.

Kitty just hoped Rogue wouldn't freak out when she discovered that the Professor had probed her mind, although his intention hadn't been to read her thoughts. Suddenly Linda groaned loudly, one hand clutching her temple as if she were experiencing a bad headache.

"Linda, what's wrong? Are you alright? Lin...?" Kitty paused, bending over the girl at the sound of pain she'd emitted.

For a moment, it seemed like Sarah had spoken, and Linda smiled in relief that her best friend was with her. She always associated the warm content feeling in her heart to Sarah's presence. It felt as if they sometimes had a physic, twin-like, connection between them. The other seemed to know when one was in pain, or was feeling angry, sad or upset about something. There had been several incidents when the girls had been forced to rely on their instincts, especially three summers ago, when Linda had nearly drowned in the lake, during camp. Sarah had been eating her lunch in the mess hall when suddenly a strange, paralyzing fear came over her. Instead of falling to the ground and screaming, Sarah had immediately ran to the river, not even aware that her feet were carrying her there. She'd felt a chilling wetness slide over her, along with the fear, and had thought of the river right away. She'd saved Linda's life that day, diving into the murky depths of the river after her best friend, and pulling Linda onto the small rowboat she'd been on. Apparently, the boat's engine had died, right in the middle of the lake, and while yanking the string to get the motor running again, Linda had slipped and hit her head hard on the side of the boat. She fell into the water, knocked out cold and would have drowned, because her life jacket had been loosely tied, if it hadn't been for Sarah.

"Linda! Wake up right now! I mean it!" Kitty's voice suddenly sliced through the blackness that coated her vision and Linda came awake with a jolt.

For an instant, she pictured Sarah's light brown hair with it's streaks of blue and red, and Sarah's captivating blue eyes, but when her blurry vision came into focus, she saw instead a pretty brunette with piercing brown eyes. Kitty snapped her fingers, giving Linda a witty smile. "I got you awake, finally. Like, it's been practically an hour since you blacked out."

"Where's Sarah?" asked Linda, still half asleep and hoping that her best friend was around. She glanced around in distress, a hurt look in her eyes.

"Whoever that is, she's not here. Are you, like, still sleeping? Wake up!" Kitty said, blowing a strand of pesky hair away from her eyes. "Linda, I'm going to get the Professor. I think he needs to check out. Don't move a muscle."

Linda nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She knew she'd start screaming in frustration and despair if she did. How could she possibly think Sarah was here, in the Xavier Institute, a school for mutants? First of all, Sarah was no mutant; she was just an ordinary teenage girl. Second of all, Sarah barely remembered Linda, ever since the accident that Linda's emerging powers had caused. Sarah's memory would come back, since the lapse of memory was only temporary, but Linda had know since the screaming ambulance had driven her best friend away, that she and Sarah would never have the relationship they had before.

A lone tear slid down Linda's cheek, landing on her lips and then continuing it's trail until the tear splashed onto the blanket, creating a small wet spot. Linda stared forlornly at it, miserable. Her head ached a little, she was hungry, and the past three hours or so seemed to be gone from her memory. She could only recall a Danger Room session with Wolverine and Storm and a few snatches of conversation with Kitty in her bedroom hallway, but then it stopped. After that, there was a blank and no matter how hard she tried, nothing came to her. It was like that segment of time had been completely erased.

"Linda, how are you feeling? Does you're head hurt a bit?" Charles Xavier rolled his wheelchair over to Linda and took one of her hands in his. He'd come immediately, as soon Kitty's panicked voice had telepathically reached him. The other girl stood beside him now, her usually cheerful brown eyes filled with confusion and worry. He could sense Kitty's concern, even without reading her mind.

"I can't remember the last three hours, I think. All I remember is eating with you, and Kitty, and the rest of the students here. Then, just talking to Kitty in the hallway. That's when everything goes blank." Linda said, looking at the two of them with frightened green eyes.

"I'll explain everything to you. Kitty you may leave," The Professor said and Kitty nodded, turning and heading away from the Linda and Prof. X.



Kitty nodded and headed towards Kurt, who had just teleported into the Danger Room with Bobby by his side. Bobby, whose codename was Iceman, had an open, bleeding gash on his forehead and his jeans had torn at the knee. Kitty ran over to the boys, the reality of the earthquake finally sinking in. It had already caused a lot of stress and worry, with Rogue absorbing Linda's power, and now Bobby stood there, physically injured.

"Where is everyone else?" she asked, breathless, as she caught up with the boy mutants.

"A lot of debris fell into the pool, including half the garage. The pool also cracked right down the middle and now there is a gap between the two sides. And everyone who went swimming tonight is trapped. Beast and Logan are working on removing the debris to get the students and Ororo out. Jean is helping them too, but they're not having much luck. Iceman and I came here to get you. Beast thought immediately of you're power. We need you to get everyone out." Kurt said, grabbing the girl's shocked hand.

"If we don't get them out, they might suffocate in there. We're all counting on you." Bobby said, smiling encouragingly at her. He desperately hoped she would be able to help them. If she didn't, then many lives would be lost.

"How did you get out, then?" asked Kitty, swaying a little on her feet from the fright that threatened to overwhelm her.

"I wasn't swimming when the earthquake struck. I got hit by some rolling lounge chairs, though, and then Logan found me, about several hundred feet away from the pool. Then Mr. McCoy suggested that we get you, because of you're ability to phase through solid matter. Now we're here."

"Oh." Kitty mumbled, "Now suddenly I wish I didn't have that power."

"Oh no, Kitty. You be glad you possess such a gift. Now, take my hand. We need to go. Time is running out for our friends." Kurt said, holding out a three-fingered hand to her. She took it reluctantly, doubt clouding her eyes. "Don't be afraid. We've got major back-up over there. And you have me."

The last thing Kitty saw before they disappeared in a fume of smoke was Kurt's wink.