Title: Awakening, chap 4: Midnight Talks
Author: Blustarzengel3 (previously 'IceAngel8')
Feedback: ah.. feedback is heavenly ;) give me a small piece of heaven, please?
Disclaimer: No one is under my possession except for Linda, my beloved character ;)
Chapter four: Midnight Talks
Falling asleep was difficult on the hard, steel floor of the Danger Room. Everyone had an inflatable mattress as a temporary bed, the kind of mattress they advertised on television, and although to a certain extent it was comfortable, it was definitely not the same as the queen sized beds they all had in their bedrooms. No one dared to complain, but everyone's displeasure was evident, especially on the kids' faces. Linda glanced over to her right side and smiled. Scott lay asleep on his mattress, probably the only person to have yet fallen asleep. The lightweight blanket the adults had distributed lay to his side and Linda gently put it over him. The Danger Room was chilly, because it was made entirely of steel and metal. She kissed her fingers and then placed them on Scott's lips, giving him as best a kiss as she could. The adults were all awake, and so were half the kids, and Scott and she hadn't announced the recent change in the status of their relationship to anyone yet.
"Hey, Linda, are you awake?" Kitty asked, patting her friend's shoulder awkwardly.
"No, I'm up. I can't get really comfortable on this thing." Linda answered, turning to Kitty with a forced smile. She hoped the other girl hadn't seen her kiss Scott just two seconds earlier.
"Oh. Sometimes when Rogue takes people's powers and memories away, they kind of feel drained of energy." The brown haired girl said, propping herself up on her elbow.
"Yeah, I was definitely tired before. Felt like I couldn't move my muscles at all. But it went away, you know... and I feel fine now... but is Rogue okay? I mean, does this have any lasting effect on her?"
"She'll have your memories. Not all of them, of course, and they won't be clear. But she'll know more about you than she did before. More than any of us know about you, too." Kitty said and Linda's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Why? And how? Why is Rogue's power so... so destructive? Wait... not destructive, but so unruly?" Linda sat up, her eyes frantically scanning the room for the gothic girl. "She's cursed, Kitty. Her power is not a good mutation."
Kitty was stunned by Linda's choice of words. She sat upright on her mattress and reached towards Linda's hand. "Hey, listen. It might not be the best of powers, but it's a power, and a very useful one, too. Rogue's helped us here at the Institute quite a lot. Everyone does. It's her gift as well as her curse." Kitty paused, giving Linda a frown. "Don't ever say it to her face, Linda. Your words can seriously hurt her,"
Linda sighed, ashamed that she had spoken like that about one of her teammates. She gripped Kitty's hand for a second, letting the other girl know that she was sorry, knowing that it wouldn't be enough if she put it in words. "Maybe I should find Rogue... talk to her. Something about her seems so lonely, so sad and lost. I know her power doesn't allow her to get very close to people, but I want to be her friend."
"Rogue doesn't make friends easily, but since you are a fellow X-Man, she won't be as distant." Kitty said, smiling. She was glad that she'd spoken up for Rogue. Linda had been wrong to view Rogue that way, but it was because she hardly knew the girl.
"I think she will be more lenient toward me. Because of, you know, the power swap and everything. She saw my thoughts. It should give her a pretty good idea of who I am," Linda said, debating whether to go search for the pale skinned girl right now or wait till morning. But in the morning, they would all probably have to rise early and help clean up the mansion. "I'm going to go look for her right now. The Professor might have us do something in the morning and there won't be time to talk to her."
"Okay," Kitty said, settling back down on her makeshift bed. Her eyes fluttered shut, out of exhaustion. She'd been excessively tired since the late evening, after the rescue mission. Kitty had never traveled through solid objects with too many people at once and today she had overused her power. The thought of phasing now brought an ache to her stomach and Kitty blocked out all thoughts involving her mutant abilities. "I'm going to sleep. The rescue mission today wore me out,"
"You were pretty great today, Kitty. Saved a bunch of people's lives, you know." The green eyed girl stood, throwing down her blanket on top of the mattress. Kitty opened her eyes and smiled sheepishly. "You don't have to say anything, but I know you feel heroic. And it's not a bad feeling, Kit,"
"Thanks, Lin," Kitty replied. They had started calling each other by their nicknames shortly after Kitty had returned, in a cloud of Kurt's teleporting smoke. She had then proceeded to recount every single thing that had occurred in the backyard to Linda, who had listened with rapt attention.
The two girls had simply connected. Kitty, who'd been neglected and never had made any close friends at her old school in Illinois saw her opportunity in Linda. Linda was the kind of girl Kitty had never thought to talk too. She seemed like the cheerleader type, dressed in expensive designer label clothes and always having a handsome boyfriend to lean on. Kitty had been far from the truth. Linda was somewhat of a loner, hanging out only with her best friend and a certain small group of people, listening to rock music and wearing clothes that made other teenagers label her as a gothic She'd toned down her style when she had arrived at the Institute, but Linda knew she would never completely forget it. In New York, you dressed based on how you felt and how much money you had.
Linda identified with Rogue because was also a gothic girl. She listened to the same music, dressed in the same clothes, hung out with a small group of people just like her. Linda had lost Sarah in a tragic accident, even though Sarah hadn't actually died, but it still felt that way to Linda. Her emerging powers had caused the accident and the accident had landed her best friend in the hospital, with temporary memory loss. It had separated two seemingly inseparable friends, making them complete opposites. Sarah was the normal teenager, with normal human abilities, while Linda was the girl that had been born with an extra gene, giving her an awesome, although highly uncontrollable, power. They were worlds apart now and like Kitty, Linda saw her opportunity in Rogue. She was very much like Linda, in everything except appearances, mutant abilities and personalities. But they liked many of the same things and Linda saw that as an invitation to go talk with Rogue.
Rogue was sitting atop her mattress in a corner of the Danger Room. She had her headphones on and was staring into space, lost in music that no one else could hear. Linda quickened her pace until she finally reached her. As if sensing that someone was heading in her direction, Rogue looked up and met Linda's eyes. A moment passed. Rogue's eyes held understanding and apology and Linda smiled in gratitude.
"Hey," she said, settling down beside Rogue on the lumpy bed. "What are you listening to?"
"Evanescence." was Rogue's brief response.
"Hey, I really like that group! The CD is great too," Linda said and Rogue seemed to soften. She offered her headphones to the girl sitting beside her and Linda slipped them on. The lead vocalist's voice was crooning softly on the track and the music was beautiful, piano keys mixed in with banging drums. The song was familiar and Linda hummed along, eyes closed as she let the music take her away. Music always had that effect on her.
"Um... listen, I didn't mean... I wasn't being careful earlier. I should have worn my gloves but there were no earthquake warnings... and New York usually is earthquake free." Rogue muttered, when the music had finished on the CD and Linda had clicked the "stop" button.
"It's okay. I can't blame you for taking the gloves off. Although I have no idea what life is like without human contact, I know it must be difficult and that sometimes removing the gloves will make you feel less of a freak."
Rogue gazed curiously at Linda as she spoke. How had she known Rogue's inner feelings? That she felt freakish, far from normality when her gloves were on? That when she removed them late at night and washed her hands in the sink, she would stare at her pale skin, untouched by the sun, forbidden to ever come into contact with any other person? Rogue never let herself cry, to wallow in self pity, but the tears, the violent anger and anguish were just beneath the surface. When her power had first manifested, Rogue had been so shocked and revengeful that it had scared even her. But over time, and due to a lot of mediation and other kind of help from the Professor, she felt quite better. Her deepest feelings about her mutant abilities would never die away, but Rogue's anger towards herself and the world had softened. Maybe someday a solution would reveal itself and maybe, a miracle would occur and her gloves could finally be removed without fear.
"Thanks," she answered quietly and Linda nodded her head once. "I'm glad someone in this huge place understands me... to a certain point,"
Linda grinned at her sheepishly. "At first I was kind of pissed off at you. I felt like going up to you and demanding an answer from you. I wanted to know why you had done that to me, but then the Professor and Kitty explained things to me. And I understand now, about your abilities."
"So no hard feelings, right?" Rogue asked.
"None," Linda reassured her.
Suddenly Ororo appeared at their sides, a tired look in her usually cheerful crystal blue eyes. She was thoroughly exhausted from all of the day's events and yearned for some soothing sleep. "Girls, everyone is trying to fall asleep. I need you two to go back to your own beds and discuss whatever you were talking about, tomorrow. We're all very, very tired and want sleep. You both look worn out, too. Charles told me what occurred earlier."
"I just wanted to talk to Rogue, Ororo. I haven't seen her... well since, I woke up."
Ororo nodded, smiling at the two young teenage girls. "I'm sorry you girls went through such a difficult situation but everything is better now, so I'm glad. This earthquake really affected us. It's going to be crazy around here again tomorrow. So get a good night's sleep," she said and then turning around, walked back to her own cot.
"I guess I better go then. I'll see you in the morning, Rogue."
"Night," Rogue replied, giving a little wave. She settled down on her very lumpy mattress, trying to make herself comfortable. "Damn stupid old mattress," she muttered under breath. With a sigh she gave up. "We better be here for one night only. Or someone is getting yelled at!"
Quickly removing her gloves, Rogue shoved her hands underneath her blanket and willed herself to fall asleep. Her bare hands tingled, sending a shiver racing down her spine. The events of the day rushed through her brain, a cacophony of memories, thoughts, smiles, laughter and tears. Linda's presence had left her mind, obviously, but her repressed memories still danced around Rogue's head. With a start, Rogue bolted upright. A pale slender hand clutched her forehead as a distant memory - Linda's - replayed in vivid detail.
A girl...young, pretty... with light brown hair streaked purposefully with blue and red. The girl also had the bluest eyes Rogue had ever seen... like clear water on some tropical island. A younger version of Linda sat across from the blue-eyed girl, concentrating intently on reading the history book open in front of her. The other girl sat, idly playing with her when with no warning, she was sent flying across the room, hitting and breaking the window with a horrifying loud smack. Linda had frozen in place, staring with wide eyes as her best friend sailed across the room and then out the window. It all seemed so unreal, so unrealistically unreal... but then there was her screaming and Linda knew she'd never forget it... as Rogue did now too. Sarah had screamed with such fright...such anguish and despair. The sound had broken through Linda's trance and she had begun screaming too, tears running down her face.
Rogue shivered violently and the memory vanished, back into the recesses of her mind, where all the psyches of the people she'd ever absorbed lay. Her skin felt clammy and cool, but oddly inside, she felt hot and flushed. The world seemed to spin for a few seconds and Rogue blinked, trying to control her dizziness but to no avail.
// this never happened before... never. I've never been like this after touching someone... what's going on? //
She closed her eyes, willing for sleep to come. The dizziness faded into black and then Rogue knew of nothing else.
~~~
Author: Blustarzengel3 (previously 'IceAngel8')
Feedback: ah.. feedback is heavenly ;) give me a small piece of heaven, please?
Disclaimer: No one is under my possession except for Linda, my beloved character ;)
Chapter four: Midnight Talks
Falling asleep was difficult on the hard, steel floor of the Danger Room. Everyone had an inflatable mattress as a temporary bed, the kind of mattress they advertised on television, and although to a certain extent it was comfortable, it was definitely not the same as the queen sized beds they all had in their bedrooms. No one dared to complain, but everyone's displeasure was evident, especially on the kids' faces. Linda glanced over to her right side and smiled. Scott lay asleep on his mattress, probably the only person to have yet fallen asleep. The lightweight blanket the adults had distributed lay to his side and Linda gently put it over him. The Danger Room was chilly, because it was made entirely of steel and metal. She kissed her fingers and then placed them on Scott's lips, giving him as best a kiss as she could. The adults were all awake, and so were half the kids, and Scott and she hadn't announced the recent change in the status of their relationship to anyone yet.
"Hey, Linda, are you awake?" Kitty asked, patting her friend's shoulder awkwardly.
"No, I'm up. I can't get really comfortable on this thing." Linda answered, turning to Kitty with a forced smile. She hoped the other girl hadn't seen her kiss Scott just two seconds earlier.
"Oh. Sometimes when Rogue takes people's powers and memories away, they kind of feel drained of energy." The brown haired girl said, propping herself up on her elbow.
"Yeah, I was definitely tired before. Felt like I couldn't move my muscles at all. But it went away, you know... and I feel fine now... but is Rogue okay? I mean, does this have any lasting effect on her?"
"She'll have your memories. Not all of them, of course, and they won't be clear. But she'll know more about you than she did before. More than any of us know about you, too." Kitty said and Linda's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Why? And how? Why is Rogue's power so... so destructive? Wait... not destructive, but so unruly?" Linda sat up, her eyes frantically scanning the room for the gothic girl. "She's cursed, Kitty. Her power is not a good mutation."
Kitty was stunned by Linda's choice of words. She sat upright on her mattress and reached towards Linda's hand. "Hey, listen. It might not be the best of powers, but it's a power, and a very useful one, too. Rogue's helped us here at the Institute quite a lot. Everyone does. It's her gift as well as her curse." Kitty paused, giving Linda a frown. "Don't ever say it to her face, Linda. Your words can seriously hurt her,"
Linda sighed, ashamed that she had spoken like that about one of her teammates. She gripped Kitty's hand for a second, letting the other girl know that she was sorry, knowing that it wouldn't be enough if she put it in words. "Maybe I should find Rogue... talk to her. Something about her seems so lonely, so sad and lost. I know her power doesn't allow her to get very close to people, but I want to be her friend."
"Rogue doesn't make friends easily, but since you are a fellow X-Man, she won't be as distant." Kitty said, smiling. She was glad that she'd spoken up for Rogue. Linda had been wrong to view Rogue that way, but it was because she hardly knew the girl.
"I think she will be more lenient toward me. Because of, you know, the power swap and everything. She saw my thoughts. It should give her a pretty good idea of who I am," Linda said, debating whether to go search for the pale skinned girl right now or wait till morning. But in the morning, they would all probably have to rise early and help clean up the mansion. "I'm going to go look for her right now. The Professor might have us do something in the morning and there won't be time to talk to her."
"Okay," Kitty said, settling back down on her makeshift bed. Her eyes fluttered shut, out of exhaustion. She'd been excessively tired since the late evening, after the rescue mission. Kitty had never traveled through solid objects with too many people at once and today she had overused her power. The thought of phasing now brought an ache to her stomach and Kitty blocked out all thoughts involving her mutant abilities. "I'm going to sleep. The rescue mission today wore me out,"
"You were pretty great today, Kitty. Saved a bunch of people's lives, you know." The green eyed girl stood, throwing down her blanket on top of the mattress. Kitty opened her eyes and smiled sheepishly. "You don't have to say anything, but I know you feel heroic. And it's not a bad feeling, Kit,"
"Thanks, Lin," Kitty replied. They had started calling each other by their nicknames shortly after Kitty had returned, in a cloud of Kurt's teleporting smoke. She had then proceeded to recount every single thing that had occurred in the backyard to Linda, who had listened with rapt attention.
The two girls had simply connected. Kitty, who'd been neglected and never had made any close friends at her old school in Illinois saw her opportunity in Linda. Linda was the kind of girl Kitty had never thought to talk too. She seemed like the cheerleader type, dressed in expensive designer label clothes and always having a handsome boyfriend to lean on. Kitty had been far from the truth. Linda was somewhat of a loner, hanging out only with her best friend and a certain small group of people, listening to rock music and wearing clothes that made other teenagers label her as a gothic She'd toned down her style when she had arrived at the Institute, but Linda knew she would never completely forget it. In New York, you dressed based on how you felt and how much money you had.
Linda identified with Rogue because was also a gothic girl. She listened to the same music, dressed in the same clothes, hung out with a small group of people just like her. Linda had lost Sarah in a tragic accident, even though Sarah hadn't actually died, but it still felt that way to Linda. Her emerging powers had caused the accident and the accident had landed her best friend in the hospital, with temporary memory loss. It had separated two seemingly inseparable friends, making them complete opposites. Sarah was the normal teenager, with normal human abilities, while Linda was the girl that had been born with an extra gene, giving her an awesome, although highly uncontrollable, power. They were worlds apart now and like Kitty, Linda saw her opportunity in Rogue. She was very much like Linda, in everything except appearances, mutant abilities and personalities. But they liked many of the same things and Linda saw that as an invitation to go talk with Rogue.
Rogue was sitting atop her mattress in a corner of the Danger Room. She had her headphones on and was staring into space, lost in music that no one else could hear. Linda quickened her pace until she finally reached her. As if sensing that someone was heading in her direction, Rogue looked up and met Linda's eyes. A moment passed. Rogue's eyes held understanding and apology and Linda smiled in gratitude.
"Hey," she said, settling down beside Rogue on the lumpy bed. "What are you listening to?"
"Evanescence." was Rogue's brief response.
"Hey, I really like that group! The CD is great too," Linda said and Rogue seemed to soften. She offered her headphones to the girl sitting beside her and Linda slipped them on. The lead vocalist's voice was crooning softly on the track and the music was beautiful, piano keys mixed in with banging drums. The song was familiar and Linda hummed along, eyes closed as she let the music take her away. Music always had that effect on her.
"Um... listen, I didn't mean... I wasn't being careful earlier. I should have worn my gloves but there were no earthquake warnings... and New York usually is earthquake free." Rogue muttered, when the music had finished on the CD and Linda had clicked the "stop" button.
"It's okay. I can't blame you for taking the gloves off. Although I have no idea what life is like without human contact, I know it must be difficult and that sometimes removing the gloves will make you feel less of a freak."
Rogue gazed curiously at Linda as she spoke. How had she known Rogue's inner feelings? That she felt freakish, far from normality when her gloves were on? That when she removed them late at night and washed her hands in the sink, she would stare at her pale skin, untouched by the sun, forbidden to ever come into contact with any other person? Rogue never let herself cry, to wallow in self pity, but the tears, the violent anger and anguish were just beneath the surface. When her power had first manifested, Rogue had been so shocked and revengeful that it had scared even her. But over time, and due to a lot of mediation and other kind of help from the Professor, she felt quite better. Her deepest feelings about her mutant abilities would never die away, but Rogue's anger towards herself and the world had softened. Maybe someday a solution would reveal itself and maybe, a miracle would occur and her gloves could finally be removed without fear.
"Thanks," she answered quietly and Linda nodded her head once. "I'm glad someone in this huge place understands me... to a certain point,"
Linda grinned at her sheepishly. "At first I was kind of pissed off at you. I felt like going up to you and demanding an answer from you. I wanted to know why you had done that to me, but then the Professor and Kitty explained things to me. And I understand now, about your abilities."
"So no hard feelings, right?" Rogue asked.
"None," Linda reassured her.
Suddenly Ororo appeared at their sides, a tired look in her usually cheerful crystal blue eyes. She was thoroughly exhausted from all of the day's events and yearned for some soothing sleep. "Girls, everyone is trying to fall asleep. I need you two to go back to your own beds and discuss whatever you were talking about, tomorrow. We're all very, very tired and want sleep. You both look worn out, too. Charles told me what occurred earlier."
"I just wanted to talk to Rogue, Ororo. I haven't seen her... well since, I woke up."
Ororo nodded, smiling at the two young teenage girls. "I'm sorry you girls went through such a difficult situation but everything is better now, so I'm glad. This earthquake really affected us. It's going to be crazy around here again tomorrow. So get a good night's sleep," she said and then turning around, walked back to her own cot.
"I guess I better go then. I'll see you in the morning, Rogue."
"Night," Rogue replied, giving a little wave. She settled down on her very lumpy mattress, trying to make herself comfortable. "Damn stupid old mattress," she muttered under breath. With a sigh she gave up. "We better be here for one night only. Or someone is getting yelled at!"
Quickly removing her gloves, Rogue shoved her hands underneath her blanket and willed herself to fall asleep. Her bare hands tingled, sending a shiver racing down her spine. The events of the day rushed through her brain, a cacophony of memories, thoughts, smiles, laughter and tears. Linda's presence had left her mind, obviously, but her repressed memories still danced around Rogue's head. With a start, Rogue bolted upright. A pale slender hand clutched her forehead as a distant memory - Linda's - replayed in vivid detail.
A girl...young, pretty... with light brown hair streaked purposefully with blue and red. The girl also had the bluest eyes Rogue had ever seen... like clear water on some tropical island. A younger version of Linda sat across from the blue-eyed girl, concentrating intently on reading the history book open in front of her. The other girl sat, idly playing with her when with no warning, she was sent flying across the room, hitting and breaking the window with a horrifying loud smack. Linda had frozen in place, staring with wide eyes as her best friend sailed across the room and then out the window. It all seemed so unreal, so unrealistically unreal... but then there was her screaming and Linda knew she'd never forget it... as Rogue did now too. Sarah had screamed with such fright...such anguish and despair. The sound had broken through Linda's trance and she had begun screaming too, tears running down her face.
Rogue shivered violently and the memory vanished, back into the recesses of her mind, where all the psyches of the people she'd ever absorbed lay. Her skin felt clammy and cool, but oddly inside, she felt hot and flushed. The world seemed to spin for a few seconds and Rogue blinked, trying to control her dizziness but to no avail.
// this never happened before... never. I've never been like this after touching someone... what's going on? //
She closed her eyes, willing for sleep to come. The dizziness faded into black and then Rogue knew of nothing else.
~~~
