The Rogue

Author's Note: Okay, so maybe I'm making an AU kind of fic… but its based on the X-Men… and besides, I've got plans for Rogue in X-Men: Evo… besides, I can't make a fic based on the actual comix.

Votes so far:

Scott: 66

Logan: 55

=================================

Marie woke up in the Med.-bay, staring at the white ceiling. She groaned as she tried to sit up, pulling some of the tubes and needles in her arms. She let her vision clear and found Jubilee, Kitty and Bobby asleep on the couches outside the room. Willing her legs to move farther, she reached the closet and took off the skimpy hospital gown. Placing her own clothes back on, she decided to take a stroll.

Every muscle in her body was disagreeing with her. She felt weak and was about to fall. Some parts of her were numb, and some were just too sensitive.

" Marie, darlin' what are you doin' out of bed?" Logan asked, shocked to find the frail woman stumbling in the hallway.

Marie looked up, surprised to see Logan's concerned expression. Her throat feeling scratchy and parched, she couldn't reply to his question, but instead, she shrugged.

" Come on, let's get you something to eat," he sighed softly, wondering how a woman could make him do such things.

Marie smiled at him, and nodded slowly. Logan gently carried her, bridal style, towards his bedroom. He saw the puzzled look on her face and he grinned.

" Breakfast in bed. Comfy, don't you think?"

Marie blushed as he flashed her one of his heart-melting smiles. The ones usually reserved for Jean, or so she thought.

As he laid her down on his bed, he opened his hand and revealed his tags. She looked up at him as he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

" Well, uh, I found this… when you were uh, floatin'," he said, placing in on her. " You know… it looks good on ya."

Marie blushed and looked at the sheets of his bed.

" I'll, uh, get you that breakfast," he said.

Marie nodded and smiled at him thankfully, barely noticing the slight redness of his face. 'How cute… I made him blush!' she thought happily.

*I take it back. Maybe he does like you *

Marie smiled triumphantly and sighed. *Thank you, Cody *

============================================

Scott sat in the library for hours. He had no clue what to do, he checked Rogue's address and apparently, the house had been sold ten years ago, and they sent no forwarding address. That alone proved that Rogue did not just have a nightmare. That freak-out was the result of some kind of an experiment that had been done to her, and the contraption on her neck was a tracking device.

He did his best to track Rogue's parents but all signs say that they had just up and left without a word. Not even her relatives knew where they were. Sighing, Scott took a sip of his coffee and went back to the books.

Xavier had told them to rest, but Scott could not just stomach the idea of sleeping while Marie was missing ten years of her life!

*Logan's missing all of his life, save for the fifteen he's lived free, why not help him uncover his secrets? *

Scott turned around and found Jean standing by the doorway in her nightgown and fuzzy bunny slippers. She walked towards him and refilled his cup of coffee.

" I don't like Logan," Scott said, looking at Jean, his words having double meaning.

Jean sat down with him and sighed. " Look Scott. I know I've messed up, but… can we at least be friends?"

Scott turned in his chair and looked at Jean incredulously. " Jean, we've always been friends."

The silence that came after was too loud for Jean to bear, clearing her throat she looked at the books that were sprawled around his desk.

"What are these?" she asked.

" Every book known to man about the spine. Dr. McCoy said he would read them to see whether or not he could gather relevant information from them," Scott yawned. " He somehow thinks that maybe that thing on Marie could be what's keeping her mutation constantly 'on'."

Jean nodded. " It could be…" she said sadly. " Anyway, I just came with a refill. I'll see you downstairs."

Scott barely noticed as he continued on with his reading. Jean sighed as she leaned by the doorway. Taking one last glance at the man she loved, she let her tears fall freely and left the library.

=========================================

Jubilee woke up with a start as she found Rogue's bed empty. Stumbling, she woke Bobby and Kitty by slapped them hard. Panicking, they started power walking towards the cafeteria.

" Shouldn't we like, tell the Professor?" Kitty asked, biting her fingernails. She had acquired the habit when her mutation had kicked in.

"And risk giving him a heart attack?" Bobby asked in reply. " We all know that the Professor thinks of Rogue as his daughter!"

" Why is that, by the way?" Kitty asked, their panic temporarily forgotten.

" He thinks of us as his children. We're important to him," Jubilee said as she searched the rooms they passed. " But, he thinks of Rogue as his own flesh and blood since she absorbed most of Magneto, and she's the only one other than Storm who actually includes him in things."

Jubilee's companions said a small 'oh' and continued on with their search. As they all sped down the hallway, they didn't see Logan appear around the corner.

" Slow down there, y'might accidentally bruise something," he joked.

Bobby glared at the intimidating man and frantically searched the cafeteria for Rogue. He hated Logan, just as much or maybe more so than Jubilee hated him. Everyone in the mansion knew that Rogue was in love with Logan, but what they didn't know was that Bobby was in love with Rogue. But after months of seeing her fade away to almost nothing, he became more of her brother-figure than her boyfriend.

Bobby had to face the hard truth and started dating Jubilee. After Jean Grey had kissed him, Scott had suddenly become her support. He had watched from afar as the two began to hold to each other, supporting each other until they were both standing on their own.

Jubilee saw the glare Bobby gave Logan, and she placed her hand on his shoulder. Kitty was still searching frantically, catching Logan's attention.

"Who're you lookin' for?" he asked gruffly. Kitty looked at Logan and noticed the tray he had in his hands. She noticed that most of the food on the tray was Rogue's favorite. Though Rogue hadn't spent that much time in their room, both Kitty and Jubilee knew her more than most people.

" Rogue," she replied. "Where are you taking that? I didn't know the Wolverine liked Salad."

Logan growled and leaned down towards her, making her back away with fear. He smirked as he smelled the fear on Kitty.

" Marie's with me. I'm takin' these to her," he said as he backed off, giving her a wink as he walked up the stairs, leaving the three teens dumbfounded.

===========================================

Xavier couldn't hold back his tears. No wonder her mind was so closed off, he thought sadly as he wheeled himself towards the window. Rogue had always been special to him, ever since she had arrived at the mansion, he felt something towards the young woman.

There was innocence braided in her very being. He was amazed at how innocent she was, considering her predicament with her skin and her parents. After the discoveries of yesterday, Xavier felt weak at how caring she still was.

He turned on his laptop and clicked on a few files. A photo of Rogue when she had first arrived popped up. Xavier smiled as he looked at her, a shadow of a smile on her face. He clenched his fist as he recalled Dr. McCoy's theories.

"So, you say that contraption can control her mutation?" he asked the furry doctor.

Hank nodded as he pulled out an X-ray of Rogue's neck. He took out a metal pointer and circled the metal object on her neck.

" See, when we are afraid, our brain sends out a series of hormones which in turn lets our instincts out. In a normal human's case; that would be to run and find something to keep you safe. In mutant's cases, our mutation kicks in," he explains. " The transmitter on Rogue is connected to her spine, as well as her brain. The machine has somehow tapped into her nervous system and has her 'locked' in 'defense' mode."

Xavier looked on and urged the doctor to continue. Scott sat quietly beside him, absorbing all the information in.

" So, can't we just take it out?" Scott asked. " Rogue could control her mutation then, right?"

Hank shook his head. " I'm afraid it's not that simple."

" That transmitter has been blocking out ten years worth of memories, taking it out would just make Rogue have waves of memories, making it possible for her to get amnesia," he said. " Another thing would be, that we could damage her nerves permanently."

Xavier sighed, wiping the sweat off his brow. " Why should it be causing her pain now?"

" Well, I've seen models like these before," Hank said slowly. " There could be numerous explanations but there are two big possibilities in Rogue's case. One: that Rogue never thought of the past that explicitly before now… and two…"

"Two?" Scott urged.

" Her captors are nearby."

Xavier couldn't let his daughter get caught. No… he thought. He wouldn't, it would be over his dead body that Rogue be taken once more.

========================================

"Sir? We have located the Rogue's signal."

"Good. What area?"

"New York, sir."

" Good job. Inform the General, we'll be on our way first thing."

========================================

Author's Note: Okay, I've tried my best to make Logan lovey-dovey. It won't be easy, since I still want him rugged and rough. Scott? He's just mean cuz he cares and is freaked.