The Rogue

Author's Note: I am so sorry for the long delay! As I said before, we bought a place in the country and we're sort of re-modeling the house we have there, so it takes a while. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I really liked writing it. I hope you guys like reading it!

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Victor, also known as, Sabertooth watched the building until he knew by heart the number of bricks, windows and shutters it had on the front wing. He was just about to doze off when his sensitive hearing picked up the sound of an incoming jet plane.

'About time,' he thought sourly. 'My back is killing me!'

He started the truck's engine and waited for his target. The jet came to sight and passed over the ancient orphanage. Sabertooth watched as the plane landed at a nearby forest. As soon as he heard the plane land, the revving of an on-road-racing bike was heard.

Victor saw a black and blue Honda speeding across the park towards the orphanage. 'Finally' he thought, only to be surprised as the driver's helmet came off. ' It's that Cyclops kid' he thought.

He took out a cellular phone and speed-dialed DeVillago.

"We got ourselves a problem," he said. " That chick ain't the one picking up the brat."

There was a muffled curse on the other end, and then an order to go on with the plan and follow the two wherever they may go.

" I guess I see the puppy sooner than planned," he said as he hung up.

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Scott took a deep breath and went inside the large sanctuary. He hated going to orphanages, it brought back memories of his past that he wouldn't want to relive again. He sat on one of the chairs in the waiting room and drummed his fingers on his knees.

"May I help you, young man?"

Scott turned towards the soft-speaking woman and stood awkwardly. A short, plump nun was standing before him, smiling gently.

" Um, I'm-uh, here for Richard Adler," he said, unsure of what to do.

" Oh! You must be Scott Summers," she said. Scott shook her outstretched hand and nodded.

" I'm Sister Sara," she said bowing slightly. " Professor Xavier called to inform us of the incident with Richard's mother. I do hope she'll recover."

Scott wrinkled his brows in confusion. " Professor Xavier called?" he asked.

Sister Sara nodded, clutching her rosary and smiling brightly. " Oh yes, he donates money and clothes to provide for the children," she said leading Scott towards the rooms of the orphanage. " Here we are."

She opened the door and soon twenty adorable little faces greeted her and Scott.

"Richard," Sister Sara called. A little boy stood up from the back seat and carried a large duffel bag with him. Sister Sara gently nudged him towards Scott and closed the doors, saying a small apology to the teacher for her intrusion.

" Richard, this is Scott Summers," she said pointing to Scott. " He's here to bring you to your mother."

Ricky looked at him and stuck out his hand. Scott shook it and smiled brightly.

" Thank you for taking care of Ricky," Scott said.

Sister Sara smiled and nodded. " I thank you more for reuniting him with his mother."

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Ricky stared at the man before him and fiddled with his bag. They walked outside and Scott immediately regretted his choice of transport. A motorcycle isn't exactly safe for a 9-year-old kid.

"So, Ricky," he started. " You like bikes?"

Ricky nodded timidly and looked up at Scott. " Where's my mom?" he asked bluntly.

"She was injured a few days back," Scott explained. " She's still back in Westchester recovering."

Ricky frowned at the thought of his mother being injured. 'She's invincible… how can she be injured?' he wondered. He hugged his bag closer to his body thinking of a logical explanation.

" Hey, don't be so sad," Scott said, hoping to lighten his mood. " You're going to see her soon. Do you… want to get anything before we leave?"

Ricky, being a mutant growing up in a laboratory, learned to master his abilities quickly. His gift of empathy was powerful and well developed that he could feel people's true intentions. He used his abilities to double- check what Scott's true intentions were.

Ricky smiled brightly as he soon discovered Scott's intentions were pure. " Can we get some daisies for my mom? She loves daisies."

Scott kept that information in mind and nodded. " Sure. Let's grab some on the way, maybe we can ever buy her a new teddy bear."

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"All right everyone, remember… be on your best behavior around Richard," Xavier announced to the roomful of students. " We don't want to scare him off, we're not even sure if he's a mutant."

There was a few whispering amongst the students. " Professor, Isn't Rogue like, untouchable? How can she have a child?"

Xavier faced Kitty and shook his head. " That, Ms. Pryde, is something you have to ask Rogue herself."

The auditorium was soon empty as the students began to get ready for their newest recruit. Mutant or not, he was about to join their family and they were not about to turn him away. Most of the students had feared Rogue and her skin, but they had come to grow fond of the Southern Belle and her ways.

Jamie, one of the X-Men's younger students was fond of Rogue. He loved her cooking and had come to know her as a mix of being his mother and his sister. He was excited about meeting Ricky. (AN: I thought Ricky might need an older-brother figure, and in Evo Jamie seemed to be pretty attached to Rogue… in my opinion.)

Jubilee made her way towards the Medlab and found Logan next to Rogue's bed, holding her ungloved hand in his large gloved ones. He placed a gentle kiss on her palm and sighed sadly when her mutation failed to kick in.

' If only you hadn't left,' Jubilee thought sadly. ' Rogue might have ended up with you…'

She decided to come back another time and went back to her room. ' I shouldn't have meddled with Rogue's affairs… now she's stuck with an impossible choice…'

Kitty found Jubliee crying on her bed. " Jubes, what's wrong?"

" We shouldn't have messed with things, Kit…" she sobbed. " Logan's in love with Rogue… and now he's about to lose her…"

" Jubes, I thought-" Kitty started.

" He told me everything. He buckled and told me why he left… he felt perverted for loving Rogue because of their age gap… so he left to let her grow…" Jubilee explained between hiccups. " Now… we just ruined a man, Kitty. We just ruined Logan's life."

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"Marie…" Logan started, his voice low and hoarse. " Please make it through this, Darlin'."

"Logan?"

He looked up, gazing at Marie's body, hoping she was awake. His mood fell as he found her, still sleeping. He felt a hand on his shoulder, looking towards its owner, he found Jean standing behind him.

" When are you operating?" Logan asked, his throat dry.

" In a few minutes," Jean said looking at her wristwatch. " Hank wanted to double-check for any possible errors that might occur."

Logan stood and lingered over Marie's sleeping form. He placed his fingers over Marie's lips, barely touching her skin. He recalled the feelings that ran through him when he kissed her on the Statue of Liberty. The feel of her lips on his. He regretted every moment that he was away from her, and now… he might not have the chance to taste her lips once more.

"I think I should leave," Logan said, ignoring the blunt pain in his chest. " I would only end up hurting her again…"

Logan laughed mentally at his statement. The reasons he kept away from relationships were to prevent hurting himself, and now… now he realized that merely wanting to be in a relationship would hurt not only himself, but the one he loved most.

Jean shook her head. " If you leave now, it'll be like the first time you left," she argued. " Stay. Be here for her regardless of whom she decides to stay with. Be a man."

" Don't lecture me Jean. You're losing someone yourself!" Logan growled.

"No," Jean contradicted. " I already lost him, way before he realized he was in love with Rogue."

Logan sighed. " I just can't stay here, watching as she becomes a wife of someone else. Being in someone else's arms, loving someone else…" he said.

" So you're just going to leave her again? Without a word?" Jean asked.

Logan sighed. " Look, I'll think about it… okay?" he said, defeated. " I'll think about it."

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Ricky took a deep breath as the plane landed. He took a liking to Scott already, and was at ease with Ororo. She had informed him that there was going to be a party held just for his arrival and he felt slightly nervous.

" You alright?" Scott asked, holding a large white bear and the bouquet of flowers in his arms. Ricky smirked as he recalled what had happened in the store. Scott kept asking him if the items were too small, when in reality they were extremely huge and expensive.

Ricky nodded. " I'm okay," he said, holding Scott's free hand. Ororo had offered to take his duffel bag and he reluctantly caved in.

So far, every conversation they had was very ordinary. It was as if they were talking carefully around him, like he was bugged.

'Am I?' he wondered. Most of his clothes were newly bought and he had not seen inside the duffel bag since DeVillago had handed it to him. ' I'm such a dunce!' he thought. 'Of course you'll be bugged! You don't have one of those tracking device thingies like mom!'

Ororo stopped when they reached the hallway and opened the large double-doors. He stepped inside and found a lot of people smiling at him.

" Everyone, meet Richard Adler."

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Author's Note: hey all! Alright! Now the X-Men sees him! Next chapter: Rogue's powers… oooooh! And: Logan's decision. SO many things are going to happen!