A/N: THANKS FOR THE TONS OF REVIEWS. I GOT YOUR VOTES. RIGHT NOW, RIETRO
IS LEADING. LOTS OF YOU WANT THAT BUT D.R.T. MADE THE BEST ARGUMENT OUT OF
EVERYONE ELSE AND IT WAS VERY CONVINCING. SO IM THINKING IT'S BETWEEN
REITRO AND ROLA. I'M TEMPTED TO MAKE IT INTO A ROGUE/REMY PAIRING BUT I
DON'T KNOW THE CHARACTER WELL ENOUGH TO ACTUALLY DARE TO WRITE HIM INTO THE
STORY. SORRY TO DISAPPOINT THOSE OF YOU WHO WANTED GAMBIT. HOPEFULLY I
DON'T GET FLAMED. ANYWAY, HERE'S ANOTHER CHAPTER.
OH, AND THANKS FOR ACTUALLY READING THE AUTHOR'S NOTE.
~*~
"Why are you with Duncan?" Scott demanded the minute he got the chance to corner Rogue.
"What's it to you?" She asked, offended by his tone.
"I don't like that guy. He's bad news." Scott declared firmly.
"I don't care if you like him or not. It's my choice if I hang around him. Why does it matter to you anyway? It's not like Duncan's stealing Jean from you because in case you didn't notice, I'm not Jean. Never will be."
Scott frowned at her, noticing the slight hint of bitterness in her voice. "Yeah, I noticed that." He said, giving her a quick overall look.
"Look, Scott, what do you want? Why do you suddenly care? It's not like you ever paid attention to me before." She said irately.
"I care, Rogue. As much as you think I don't, I do." He said, rather annoyed by her accusation.
"Right." She said. "Does this have to do anything with my new look? Now that I look like this you suddenly care? Shows how superficial you are Scott." She said vehemently.
"Rogue, listen to me. You don't know what you're doing."
"Whatever." She said walking away. "I'm a big girl, Scott. I can take care of myself."
"Right. We have training in the danger room. I expect to see you there." He said; his voice more commanding than Rogue appreciated.
"Wrong again." She declared as she walked away without even an explanation.
"That girl has serious problems." Jean muttered as she stood next to him, obviously hearing everything that went on between them.
"We're not helping though." He said irately.
Jean frowned, not liking his tone.
************************************************************************
Rogue leaned against the stand as she waited for Duncan to come out of the locker room. The football game was over and as usual they had won. He had asked her to wait up for him outside while he changed.
"Hey." He said, startling her a little.
"Hey." She replied, giving him a small hesitant smile.
"Ready to go?" He asked.
"Yeah. Where are we going?"
"To celebrate." He replied, grinning at her.
"Good luck, man!" One of his teammates called out as they walked to his car.
"What was that for?" She asked, looking back at the other guy who was winking and grinning at her like an idiot.
"Oh, nothing." He said offhandedly.
"Okay." She said as she got into the passenger's seat. She looked over at him, watching him enjoy the wind whipping on his face from the window. There was something off about him, something she didn't like. It was as if in every smile he gave away, something sinister was hidden; always a buried agenda with every compliment he said.
Her subconscious was telling him to stay away from him. He was bad news like Scott said but she refused to listen.
She didn't need Scott's little warning. Didn't need him or any of them to take care of her.
Never did. Never will.
They drove around for awhile, stopped by the local fast food joined where she spotted Kitty, Kurt, and Evan. Kitty gave her a worried look before they drove off.
Duncan reached for his bag and pulled out something as they drove up a hill.
"You want some?" He asked as he handed the bottle of vodka over to her.
"No." She replied looking away.
"What? You don't drink?" He asked in a rather surprised tone. He downed the vodka sloppily, spilling some on his chin and jacket.
"No, actually, I don't." She said defiantly. No one, not even Duncan was going to make her want to drink.
"Oh, come on. Just try it. It tastes great. Besides, we're supposed to be celebrating right?" He said as he pulled up to the edge of the cliff, looking over the whole of Bayville, even Xavier Institute.
"Celebrating what exactly?" She asked as she folded her arms in front of her protectively.
"Oh, lots of things. Me winning the game. Me getting asked by a scout to go pro next year. Me getting the prettiest girl in the whole school." He grinned leaning closer to her.
Rogue backed away, frowning at him and at the smell of vodka in his breath. "I thought you already had her and then you lost her." She said narrowing her eyes at him.
Duncan sat up straight; his face contorting into a scowl. "You mean Jean Grey? What's this got to do with her? Me and that girl are history. Besides, why is she spreading rumors? That girl is so damn uptight; I swear I don't know what I saw in her." He declared roughly, his voice low and dangerous.
"She's not spreading rumors." Rogue corrected him.
"Right, like she isn't. Ever since we broke up, girls have been giving me the nastiest look." He grumbled.
"Maybe because they see that you're nothing without her." She whispered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." She replied hastily, pasting a rather wide eyed, innocent smile on her face.
"Right. Why don't you come here and I'll show you nothing." He said pulling her close to him, his grip forming a bruise on her arm.
"Duncan, you're hurting me." She said trying to pull away from him.
"I bet you like that." He chuckled as he started kissing her neck.
"Duncan, I said no!" She said shoving him away from her and trying to get out of the car but he yanked her back inside and she screamed as she struggled from him,
He pinned her beneath him, kissing her frantically, his hands roaming everywhere. Rogue fought him back, her smaller frame not withstanding the weight of his body.
"Stop!" She yelled but he didn't hear her. He was too busy, too engrossed in whatever it was he was about to do.
Something deadly snapped inside her as Duncan started ripping her shirt off. Her nail grew into claws, very much like the ones that Sabertooth had. She reached up and slashed him across the face, digging her nails into his skin.
He cried out in agony as he stumbled away from her and out of the car on the ground.
"You bitch!" He said touching the blood from his face. "You practically tore out my face!"
Rogue said nothing as she walked up to him, grabbing him by his neck, his feet barely touching the ground. Her eyes glowed as she sneered at him, her hand keeping a tight grip around his neck.
"You're one of those mutants I heard about! You're one of them freaks!" He managed to choke out as he fought for air.
She growled. "That's right. I'm one of them. The difference between me and the rest of them *freaks* is I won't think twice about killing you." Her voice was low and dangerous. It sounded inhuman; a cross between Rogue and something sinister.
She threw him on his car, his body slamming harshly on the ripped metal, the glass shattering around him.
"Please, stop." He whimpered weakly as he tried to get up but Rogue couldn't hear him anymore or at least wouldn't listen to him.
She was too far gone.
Anger had taken over, something primal and deadly had replaced her.
She grabbed him by the hair, almost ripping his scalp in the process. He whimpered in pain, struggling from her death grip. She dragged him off of his car, on the ground, the dust surrounding him as he kicked and screamed.
She made him stand close to the edge, her hold keeping him from falling off.
"When a girl says no she means it." She hissed; her voice calm and cool despite the uncontrollable rage inside her.
She let go of him and he flailed his arms like a pitiful bird trying desperately to fly but before he could fall, he mange to get a good grip on her arm and pull her down with him, sending them both to their deaths.
And Rogue screamed.
************************************************************************
"Man, she doesn't look okay." Pietro worriedly whispered to Lance who also looked troubled.
"She's okay. Bruised and scratched up but okay. I think she broke her rib from the fall." Lance replied quietly. They were both standing by Rogue's room both worried about her condition.
Earlier tonight they had grown worried when she didn't show up home. They knew she was with Duncan and that made it even worse. They knew his reputation, knew what he did to unsuspecting girls.
And luckily, they knew where he usually took them.
When they reached the top of the hill and found Duncan's car practically ripped into shreds and the blood on the hood, they started to panic.
Something had gone wrong.
Very, very wrong.
Two hours later, after a very long alarmed search for Rogue, they finally found her in the bottom, unconscious; Duncan's barely breathing body not too far away.
No matter how scared they were, no matter how worried, they couldn't call the x men. They knew she wouldn't like it. They got to the point that they were scared enough to call their rivals but thank god they found her in time.
Before anything else could happen.
She could have died.
When they found her, Pietro had lifted her frail body, barely weighing anything. She was covered in blood and all they could think of what caused this and whether she would make it.
At least they found her in time.
"Is she awake?" Pietro asked.
Lance nodded grimly, sighing in frustration as he ran a shaky finger through his dark hair.
"She's not talking to me." He said.
"I'm going to go see her." Pietro declared and Lance stepped aside. Pietro pushed the door open, cautiously peering into the room. Rogue was lying on the bed, still in her bloodstained clothes which soaked right into her white bed sheets. She had her back to him as she laid in a fetal position, her eyes shut but not really sleeping. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly as he walked towards the chair next to her bed and sat down.
No answer.
"Rogue?"
Still no answer.
He let out a deep relieved sigh when he saw that she was breathing, barely but at least alive. He sat there for a long time, just looking at her try to sleep, her face red and blue from the scratches and bruises. They had found her in such a bad condition, her clothes in shreds and he wanted to ask her what happened, what Duncan did to her but he didn't. He didn't want to push it knowing that she wasn't okay right now.
She needed time.
"I killed him, didn't I?" He voice was so small and weak that he thought he didn't hear it at first but she was now looking at him, her eyes blood shot, waiting for him to answer her.
"Roguey, you didn't kill him. You didn't kill anybody." He replied, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"But I wanted to. I almost did." She said not moving an inch.
Pietro looked at her, startled by her sudden revelation. "Because he hurt you?"
"He tried." She said closing her eyes. "But I hurt him back and I wanted to kill him. I beat the crap out of him." She whispered.
"He's okay. He's in the hospital. I don't think he'll say much." Pietro said reassuring her.
She took a deep painful breath. "I don't care if he says anything or not. The fact is I tried to kill him. I would have. I didn't even think about it. I just kept on hurting him, and then I pushed him." She continued.
"Rogue, it's okay. It wasn't your fault."
"But it is. Don't you see? The professor had every reason to worry. He knew this was going to happen." She declared weakly. Pietro looked at her, as her wounds started to heal, and finally disappear. He didn't understand what was going on but he had the feeling that she was about to explain it to him.
"What do mean?" He asked.
"My powers evolved. I pretty much stole Mystique's power. Now, I'm a super mutant." She said matter-of-factly. "I should have said something." She said.
"You needed time."
"Yeah, but I lost it. Sometimes, I change and I can't control it when it happens." She declared.
"Like right now?"
Rogue nodded. "Pietro, come here." She said patting the empty space beside her. He did so in an easy stride. "See?" She said taking his hand into hers.
"You can touch." He smiled.
"Yeah."
"Aren't you happy?" He asked.
She shrugged her shoulders as if unsure, looking away from him; her hand still in his. He gave it a soft reassuring squeeze.
"Hey, it's okay." He whispered.
"No, it's not." She said turning her head into the pillow so that he wouldn't see her cry. She shifted herself on the bed, let go of his hand and turned to face away from him. "I'm dangerous. I could change any day. Kill one of you."
"You wouldn't do that." He protested firmly, sounding surer than he intended.
"You don't know that. But I do. I know that when I'm threatened, I won't hesitate, no matter who it is. I will kill you if I need to." Her voice sounded odd as she turned back around to face him, as if she was sure that she would. "You saw me before. You saw how I didn't stop."
Pietro nodded, remembering hoe powerful she was even then, even with the limited amount of energy that she had.
He listened to her explain everything, from the concert to her training to now, giving him some insight on how this whole mess truly started. It was terrifying.
But he refused to believe that she would hurt them. He was Rogue-the Brotherhood's Roguey. She wouldn't hurt them.
Never would he doubt that.
In his mind, her actions were justified. Duncan tried to hurt her and she fought back. It just happened that she was stronger than he was. That in the end, she was the one who won. Her powers saved her. It made sense.
"Everything's going to be fine." He whispered, rubbing her back when he realized that she was crying. He didn't really know if anything was going to be fine.
He knew it wasn't the same anymore. He knew that her new powers made her leave the X-men.
Something big was going to happen. He just hoped they'd be prepared for it. Rogue especially. As powerful as she says she may be right now, she was still fragile, still broken inside.
No amount of power could fix that.
~*~
SORRY THAT THIS FIC ISN'T EXACTLY EXCITING. I JUST HAD TO MAKE A POINT WITH DUNCAN. YOU GUYS DIDN'T THINK THAT I'D BE THAT CRUEL TO STICK HER WITH SOMEONE LIKE HIM, DO YOU? THAT LITTLE INCIDENT WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD INTO SOMETHING BIG. ANYWAY, SHE WILL END UP WITH ONE OF THE BoM GUYS. I JUST HAVENT DECIDED YET. KEEP ON GIVING ME SOME IDEAS. AND THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS.
OH, AND THANKS FOR ACTUALLY READING THE AUTHOR'S NOTE.
~*~
"Why are you with Duncan?" Scott demanded the minute he got the chance to corner Rogue.
"What's it to you?" She asked, offended by his tone.
"I don't like that guy. He's bad news." Scott declared firmly.
"I don't care if you like him or not. It's my choice if I hang around him. Why does it matter to you anyway? It's not like Duncan's stealing Jean from you because in case you didn't notice, I'm not Jean. Never will be."
Scott frowned at her, noticing the slight hint of bitterness in her voice. "Yeah, I noticed that." He said, giving her a quick overall look.
"Look, Scott, what do you want? Why do you suddenly care? It's not like you ever paid attention to me before." She said irately.
"I care, Rogue. As much as you think I don't, I do." He said, rather annoyed by her accusation.
"Right." She said. "Does this have to do anything with my new look? Now that I look like this you suddenly care? Shows how superficial you are Scott." She said vehemently.
"Rogue, listen to me. You don't know what you're doing."
"Whatever." She said walking away. "I'm a big girl, Scott. I can take care of myself."
"Right. We have training in the danger room. I expect to see you there." He said; his voice more commanding than Rogue appreciated.
"Wrong again." She declared as she walked away without even an explanation.
"That girl has serious problems." Jean muttered as she stood next to him, obviously hearing everything that went on between them.
"We're not helping though." He said irately.
Jean frowned, not liking his tone.
************************************************************************
Rogue leaned against the stand as she waited for Duncan to come out of the locker room. The football game was over and as usual they had won. He had asked her to wait up for him outside while he changed.
"Hey." He said, startling her a little.
"Hey." She replied, giving him a small hesitant smile.
"Ready to go?" He asked.
"Yeah. Where are we going?"
"To celebrate." He replied, grinning at her.
"Good luck, man!" One of his teammates called out as they walked to his car.
"What was that for?" She asked, looking back at the other guy who was winking and grinning at her like an idiot.
"Oh, nothing." He said offhandedly.
"Okay." She said as she got into the passenger's seat. She looked over at him, watching him enjoy the wind whipping on his face from the window. There was something off about him, something she didn't like. It was as if in every smile he gave away, something sinister was hidden; always a buried agenda with every compliment he said.
Her subconscious was telling him to stay away from him. He was bad news like Scott said but she refused to listen.
She didn't need Scott's little warning. Didn't need him or any of them to take care of her.
Never did. Never will.
They drove around for awhile, stopped by the local fast food joined where she spotted Kitty, Kurt, and Evan. Kitty gave her a worried look before they drove off.
Duncan reached for his bag and pulled out something as they drove up a hill.
"You want some?" He asked as he handed the bottle of vodka over to her.
"No." She replied looking away.
"What? You don't drink?" He asked in a rather surprised tone. He downed the vodka sloppily, spilling some on his chin and jacket.
"No, actually, I don't." She said defiantly. No one, not even Duncan was going to make her want to drink.
"Oh, come on. Just try it. It tastes great. Besides, we're supposed to be celebrating right?" He said as he pulled up to the edge of the cliff, looking over the whole of Bayville, even Xavier Institute.
"Celebrating what exactly?" She asked as she folded her arms in front of her protectively.
"Oh, lots of things. Me winning the game. Me getting asked by a scout to go pro next year. Me getting the prettiest girl in the whole school." He grinned leaning closer to her.
Rogue backed away, frowning at him and at the smell of vodka in his breath. "I thought you already had her and then you lost her." She said narrowing her eyes at him.
Duncan sat up straight; his face contorting into a scowl. "You mean Jean Grey? What's this got to do with her? Me and that girl are history. Besides, why is she spreading rumors? That girl is so damn uptight; I swear I don't know what I saw in her." He declared roughly, his voice low and dangerous.
"She's not spreading rumors." Rogue corrected him.
"Right, like she isn't. Ever since we broke up, girls have been giving me the nastiest look." He grumbled.
"Maybe because they see that you're nothing without her." She whispered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." She replied hastily, pasting a rather wide eyed, innocent smile on her face.
"Right. Why don't you come here and I'll show you nothing." He said pulling her close to him, his grip forming a bruise on her arm.
"Duncan, you're hurting me." She said trying to pull away from him.
"I bet you like that." He chuckled as he started kissing her neck.
"Duncan, I said no!" She said shoving him away from her and trying to get out of the car but he yanked her back inside and she screamed as she struggled from him,
He pinned her beneath him, kissing her frantically, his hands roaming everywhere. Rogue fought him back, her smaller frame not withstanding the weight of his body.
"Stop!" She yelled but he didn't hear her. He was too busy, too engrossed in whatever it was he was about to do.
Something deadly snapped inside her as Duncan started ripping her shirt off. Her nail grew into claws, very much like the ones that Sabertooth had. She reached up and slashed him across the face, digging her nails into his skin.
He cried out in agony as he stumbled away from her and out of the car on the ground.
"You bitch!" He said touching the blood from his face. "You practically tore out my face!"
Rogue said nothing as she walked up to him, grabbing him by his neck, his feet barely touching the ground. Her eyes glowed as she sneered at him, her hand keeping a tight grip around his neck.
"You're one of those mutants I heard about! You're one of them freaks!" He managed to choke out as he fought for air.
She growled. "That's right. I'm one of them. The difference between me and the rest of them *freaks* is I won't think twice about killing you." Her voice was low and dangerous. It sounded inhuman; a cross between Rogue and something sinister.
She threw him on his car, his body slamming harshly on the ripped metal, the glass shattering around him.
"Please, stop." He whimpered weakly as he tried to get up but Rogue couldn't hear him anymore or at least wouldn't listen to him.
She was too far gone.
Anger had taken over, something primal and deadly had replaced her.
She grabbed him by the hair, almost ripping his scalp in the process. He whimpered in pain, struggling from her death grip. She dragged him off of his car, on the ground, the dust surrounding him as he kicked and screamed.
She made him stand close to the edge, her hold keeping him from falling off.
"When a girl says no she means it." She hissed; her voice calm and cool despite the uncontrollable rage inside her.
She let go of him and he flailed his arms like a pitiful bird trying desperately to fly but before he could fall, he mange to get a good grip on her arm and pull her down with him, sending them both to their deaths.
And Rogue screamed.
************************************************************************
"Man, she doesn't look okay." Pietro worriedly whispered to Lance who also looked troubled.
"She's okay. Bruised and scratched up but okay. I think she broke her rib from the fall." Lance replied quietly. They were both standing by Rogue's room both worried about her condition.
Earlier tonight they had grown worried when she didn't show up home. They knew she was with Duncan and that made it even worse. They knew his reputation, knew what he did to unsuspecting girls.
And luckily, they knew where he usually took them.
When they reached the top of the hill and found Duncan's car practically ripped into shreds and the blood on the hood, they started to panic.
Something had gone wrong.
Very, very wrong.
Two hours later, after a very long alarmed search for Rogue, they finally found her in the bottom, unconscious; Duncan's barely breathing body not too far away.
No matter how scared they were, no matter how worried, they couldn't call the x men. They knew she wouldn't like it. They got to the point that they were scared enough to call their rivals but thank god they found her in time.
Before anything else could happen.
She could have died.
When they found her, Pietro had lifted her frail body, barely weighing anything. She was covered in blood and all they could think of what caused this and whether she would make it.
At least they found her in time.
"Is she awake?" Pietro asked.
Lance nodded grimly, sighing in frustration as he ran a shaky finger through his dark hair.
"She's not talking to me." He said.
"I'm going to go see her." Pietro declared and Lance stepped aside. Pietro pushed the door open, cautiously peering into the room. Rogue was lying on the bed, still in her bloodstained clothes which soaked right into her white bed sheets. She had her back to him as she laid in a fetal position, her eyes shut but not really sleeping. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly as he walked towards the chair next to her bed and sat down.
No answer.
"Rogue?"
Still no answer.
He let out a deep relieved sigh when he saw that she was breathing, barely but at least alive. He sat there for a long time, just looking at her try to sleep, her face red and blue from the scratches and bruises. They had found her in such a bad condition, her clothes in shreds and he wanted to ask her what happened, what Duncan did to her but he didn't. He didn't want to push it knowing that she wasn't okay right now.
She needed time.
"I killed him, didn't I?" He voice was so small and weak that he thought he didn't hear it at first but she was now looking at him, her eyes blood shot, waiting for him to answer her.
"Roguey, you didn't kill him. You didn't kill anybody." He replied, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"But I wanted to. I almost did." She said not moving an inch.
Pietro looked at her, startled by her sudden revelation. "Because he hurt you?"
"He tried." She said closing her eyes. "But I hurt him back and I wanted to kill him. I beat the crap out of him." She whispered.
"He's okay. He's in the hospital. I don't think he'll say much." Pietro said reassuring her.
She took a deep painful breath. "I don't care if he says anything or not. The fact is I tried to kill him. I would have. I didn't even think about it. I just kept on hurting him, and then I pushed him." She continued.
"Rogue, it's okay. It wasn't your fault."
"But it is. Don't you see? The professor had every reason to worry. He knew this was going to happen." She declared weakly. Pietro looked at her, as her wounds started to heal, and finally disappear. He didn't understand what was going on but he had the feeling that she was about to explain it to him.
"What do mean?" He asked.
"My powers evolved. I pretty much stole Mystique's power. Now, I'm a super mutant." She said matter-of-factly. "I should have said something." She said.
"You needed time."
"Yeah, but I lost it. Sometimes, I change and I can't control it when it happens." She declared.
"Like right now?"
Rogue nodded. "Pietro, come here." She said patting the empty space beside her. He did so in an easy stride. "See?" She said taking his hand into hers.
"You can touch." He smiled.
"Yeah."
"Aren't you happy?" He asked.
She shrugged her shoulders as if unsure, looking away from him; her hand still in his. He gave it a soft reassuring squeeze.
"Hey, it's okay." He whispered.
"No, it's not." She said turning her head into the pillow so that he wouldn't see her cry. She shifted herself on the bed, let go of his hand and turned to face away from him. "I'm dangerous. I could change any day. Kill one of you."
"You wouldn't do that." He protested firmly, sounding surer than he intended.
"You don't know that. But I do. I know that when I'm threatened, I won't hesitate, no matter who it is. I will kill you if I need to." Her voice sounded odd as she turned back around to face him, as if she was sure that she would. "You saw me before. You saw how I didn't stop."
Pietro nodded, remembering hoe powerful she was even then, even with the limited amount of energy that she had.
He listened to her explain everything, from the concert to her training to now, giving him some insight on how this whole mess truly started. It was terrifying.
But he refused to believe that she would hurt them. He was Rogue-the Brotherhood's Roguey. She wouldn't hurt them.
Never would he doubt that.
In his mind, her actions were justified. Duncan tried to hurt her and she fought back. It just happened that she was stronger than he was. That in the end, she was the one who won. Her powers saved her. It made sense.
"Everything's going to be fine." He whispered, rubbing her back when he realized that she was crying. He didn't really know if anything was going to be fine.
He knew it wasn't the same anymore. He knew that her new powers made her leave the X-men.
Something big was going to happen. He just hoped they'd be prepared for it. Rogue especially. As powerful as she says she may be right now, she was still fragile, still broken inside.
No amount of power could fix that.
~*~
SORRY THAT THIS FIC ISN'T EXACTLY EXCITING. I JUST HAD TO MAKE A POINT WITH DUNCAN. YOU GUYS DIDN'T THINK THAT I'D BE THAT CRUEL TO STICK HER WITH SOMEONE LIKE HIM, DO YOU? THAT LITTLE INCIDENT WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD INTO SOMETHING BIG. ANYWAY, SHE WILL END UP WITH ONE OF THE BoM GUYS. I JUST HAVENT DECIDED YET. KEEP ON GIVING ME SOME IDEAS. AND THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS.
