The students were all gathered in the commons room, anxiously awaiting the arrival of Xavier's ex-wife. This would certainly be interesting and everyone was excited. They wondered if she was pretty. Did she and the professor have any more children? How long, exactly, had they been married?
All conversation came to a sudden stop as she walked into the room, Logan and Ororo by her side. Gabrielle shot a quick glance to Xavier and then her eyes darted around the room looking at all of the students. Jean and Scott smiled reassuringly and the youngest waved at her with a grin. Her gaze suddenly fell on the girl with two-toned hair. Her collar and bracelets were the same as Lucas'. It was depressing to look at and she tore her gaze away as the sting of tears came to her eyes. With another glace, she could see the questioning and concerned look in her eyes.
"Everyone this…this is Gabrielle Haller. She has agreed to stay at the mansion until we—" Xavier was interrupted by the door bell. Logan sniffed at the air, growled, and unsheathed his claws as he stalked toward the door. Gabrielle looked at him, stunned.
***
It was just your everyday, ordinary, nothing happening afternoon at the Brotherhood house. So much had been happening and yet they always seemed to ignore it, or not care. Nothing seemed to bother them at all so long as they could just lounge around and do nothing all day they were fine and happy.
Wanda was up in her room, some of her furniture shoved up against the door since it didn't have a lock. That was the first thing on her mental "What-to-do" list. She could hear Lance downstairs playing his guitar, Todd yelling as a massive explosion signaled that it was obviously "that time of the month" for Tabitha. Fred and Pietro were probably just watching TV.
There was a knock at the door. Lance, knowing well that it couldn't be Kitty, took his time as he approached the door.
"What is it?" He said lazily. With a flick of the wrist, he was sent flying into the kitchen. Wanda rushed down the stairs, a hex bolt glowing in her hands. With a quick shot, the man on her porch was enveloped in blue light, power sparks cracking and bursting. Pietro and the other's soon followed, all of them staying (safely) behind Wanda.
"Who are you?" She shouted angrily. "Answer me! You're obviously in the wrong house!"
"Oh? Then were should I be? With the X-men? With my father?" He hissed angrily. Wanda stared, releasing her hold on him. Cautiously, she stepped forward, her hands still clenched in fists at her sides.
"Your…father?" She stuttered.
***
Logan cringed. He was getting really sick of seeing this guy. Suitcases were piled high on the top step; Remy smirked, Pyro swallowing nervously remembering their previous and not-to-pleasant encounter. Piotr appeared, yet again, unfazed.
"What do ya want bub?" He growled, sheathing his claws.
"Nothin' much mon amie. Just a place t' stay for a while," Remy replied shuffling a deck of cards.
"Yeah. Right and I want to be the tooth fairy!"
"Logan! Show them inside"
"You have got to be joking!"
"Logan…"
"Fine! But I'm not making any promises on getting 'em to the commons room in one piece!"
Just when Rogue thought that her life couldn't get any worse, it went beyond rock bottom. Though she kept her patented death glare in place, her mental airplane of sanity and self restraint had just been shot down and was spiraling in a fiery blaze into the dark abyss of her mind. Oh yeah, her life sucked. Even though she had enjoyed going to Mardi Gras with Remy (she had heard his real name said by one of the Rippers) she couldn't see the saucy Cajun as anything other then a cunning womanizer that should be sent to the fiery pit where the coffee was always cold.
Protests from the students had immediately gone flying as Logan stalked into the room, the Acolytes following him in. Well, at least some did. Remy grinned, winking at the younger girls, causing them to blush and giggle. Scott and the other X-men, still feeling the heat of anger for the attack on them and the mansion. It was their fault that mutants had been exposed and their lives destroyed. Some of them reacted more then others.
The sky clouded over, thunder rolled, the dishes in the kitchen fell and shook on their shelves and the entire mansion quacked. Rogue glared at Remy, all of her hatred and loathing pulsed in her mind. (Boy, she was so deep in denial she didn't realize she was denying anything at all.) She didn't care. Her hair fluttered, and her green eyes glowed white as lightning flashed.
"Rogue!" The professor shouted. "Remain calm! Control yourself, as I have been training you to do!" All activity stopped as everyone turned to stare at her, eyes wide.
"What are ya'll starin' at!?" She shouted. Claws shot from her hand, piercing the leather chair she was sitting on. With a low growl and "snick" of metal claws, she stormed out of the room, up the stairs and to her bedroom, closing her door with a slam.
***
Wanda brought out whatever beverage she could find in the near empty refrigerator. There wasn't any ice and the electricity had been cut off so she hoped that he wouldn't mind that his coca-cola was warm.
Pietro sat almost thoughtfully listening to Lucas. To think that he thought that his family needed counseling. It was the one thing that he figured that most mutants had in common. Family troubles. Whether or not it had happened before or after powers had manifested, most mutants never seemed to have a stable family.
"Why would you wanna stay with us, yo? In case you haven't noticed, this ain't no mansion," Todd asked.
"My father was always so busy taking care of everybody elses freaks that he never had time for his own," Lucas replied. Taking the drink from Wanda, he nodded in thanks, popped the top and drank the entire can in mere seconds. "I'm going to take down his group of X-men," he growled, "It's the only reason I'm here,"
"But we're the losers, yo! The X-men are winners, it all balances out,"
"Ah, but change is on the horizon my friends," Lucas smirked.
***
Standing on her balcony, Rogue remained quiet as she let the chilled early evening air brush her hair out of her face. The sun glowed orange and the sky was painted in the mixed shades of red to rose pink. From so far away she could see the ocean glistening like liquid rubies and smell the salty spray as it hit the rocks.
Stepping back into her room, making sure to shut the glass balcony doors, she flopped onto her bed and lay on her side staring out the windows at the freedom that seemed so out of reach. So much seemed out of reach. Love, family, friendship, control, nothing was left out for her to grasp. It was sickening.
"Hey, Stripes," Logan said creaking the door open, "time for dinner. You coming?"
"Ah'm not hungry," she replied bluntly, running her fingers along the bindings of the books on her shelf.
"Okay. I'll save you something. You know, just in case you want it later," he said. She didn't even bother to look up, she just nodded as she pulled an Anne Rice novel from bunches of vampire stories and sat on her bed.
Vampires. It was funny, but Rogue could always compare herself to them somehow. It made perfect sense. They took blood, she took energy, memory, and powers. Yeah, vampires were her only friends, even if they were just fictional characters. It was a cold comfort. Like a soaking wet coat on a winters day.
Author's Note: Sorry this story is moving so slowly. It'll get better eventually, plus, adding these bits and pieces will help the story make sense in later chapters.