Disclaimer: Don't own these, except Jax, Landon, and Kristal. Nanaki and
Tara are the property of Takamo used with permission out of stupidity. No
comment on what would happen if I owned the X-men.....let's continue.
I've decided to give some more information on Rogue's "alliance". I picked this back up because someone practically begged me to continue it and I got a very weird ideal. I'll be working on a new X-Men HUMOR fanfic soon so they'll both be slow. If you're wondering about the new one check my profile. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ "Xavier, where's Marie?" Logan stalks into the office, without bothering to knock. He hadn't seen her since he'd
gotten released from the hospital that morning. He hadn't seen much of anyone, really. "Xavier!" There was no
response so Logan slams his fist into the desk. The older man lifts his head. "Yes, Logan?" The usually calm Charles
Xavier looked more confused then he'd ever seen him. "Marie, where is she?" "Medlab since early mor--" "Medlab?!
What's she doing down there? Is she hurt?" Xavier was silent for a few minutes, then replies just as Logan was
beginning to harbor thoughts of ramming his claws down the professor's throat. "Rogue's fine. One of her alliance
members was hurt during a mission.......she hasn't left all nig--" Logan left before he could finish the sentence. One
thought repeated in his mind. Maie needed him. He walked to the medlab and knocked on the door; nothing
happened. An alarm set off in his mind and he exited his blades before cautiously entering. Logan's eyes adjusted
almost instantly to the change of light and his gaze went to the still form on the med table and a form sitting beside
it, asleep in the chair. "Maie?"he spoke her name quietly and walked over to her; she didn't move,"Rogue.." He
touched her shoulder and she instantly woke, rising into a battle stance. "Marie, relax. It's just me...." She sighed and
visibly relaxed,"Logan....what are you doing here?" "Xavier told me about what happened? You okay?"
Rogue stared at Logan as the truth sank in. He'd come to check on her, he did care about her. "I'm fine, but it's not me
I'm worried about. If it had been Nanaki, Jax, or Landon I wouldn't be so worried......Nanaki can heal same as you,
Landon can heal enough so as not to die, and Jax, as far as we're aware can't die." "Wanna tell me what
happened?"he asked, startling her as he glances over the teenager laying before him. It was one of the younger
alliances, not as experienced. Not many people were willing to work with the younger students. Bobby had the only
other group that actually went on missions. "Honestly? I don't where they screwed up. It should have been a clear
shot, according to the professor. Although I'm not as worried about Tara as I am the other's reactions.." Her eyes
moved once more to the girl laying before her. She was just eighteen and at first glance appeared normal, until
someone noticed the reptile aspect to her looks; Rogue shook her head, studying the girl's brownish-green hair and
the way her eyes were closed tightly in pain, even in her sleep. "What's wrong with the other's reactions?" Logan
took her arm, not the least bit demands, and pulled her over to the other side of the medlab; they were still close
enough to know if something was wrong. Rogue sighed,"Kris blames herself, Landon, too. They were suppoused to
be covering her and both got sidetracked......I haven't gotten the whole story yet. Will you go let them know that
Tara's okay? They should all be in the rec room, except maybe Jax. He said he would retire for the night...." "No
concern for his teammate?" "More defiant of joining a team. Almost like you were when it first started....untrusting,
selfish, a jerk, cared for no one but yourse--" He cut into her description of him aburptly,"Look, I thought it was
for the best, then, Marie. Do you have to condem me now?" It hurt her to do it, but Rogue turned and walked back
to Tara's bed. "You condemed yourself the day you left and waited so long to return...the others are waiting." She
resumed her seat as if she'd never moved. She held her breathe until his footsteps faded completly down the hall and
she was alone again in the medlab; there, alone, she allowed the tears to fall....
"Dammnit, what's with her attitude? I thought things were going well between us..." Logan punched the wall as he
reached the doorway of the rec room. The second he entered the room he was met by three pairs of eyes: one dark
green, one lighter green, and one light brown pair; another figure stood off from them all, covered completly by the
hood of the cloak he wore. Jax, he guessed instantly. For some reason he couldn't think of how to tell them what
Rogue said. "Did Rogue send a message?"Kris, he recognized, asked, standing up from where she'd been sitting,
"Is Tara okay?" "She's fine, kid." His sense picks up on an emotion and he stares at Jax. "Why don't the rest of
you go ahead to bed and you can see her in the morning. I wanna talk to you, Jax..." The others looked baffled at
his last words, but stand all except Landon; he stays sitting. A few moments pass before he stands. "I'd rather go
see Tara...." Logan notices the look pass between Jax and Landon before the other boy exist the room; Jax hadn't
moved the entire time. "Something you wanted?"he asked, his voice held a hiss similar to that of a snake, not
moving. Logan moved to stand directly in front of the boy, but saw nothing, except yellow eyes staring at him.
"Why do you feel so guilty?" "I don't feel guilty. I could care less about anyone here,"he snapped, the same hiss
to his words,"I'm only here because they promised to help with my curse." "I thought Xavier taught you to see your
abilities as a gift, not a curse..." "A gift? What would you know about having the 'gift' I have? You know nothing
about what it's like to be me..." Jax's voice is bitter and full of distrust as he moves to shove past Logan and out of
the room; Logan catches his arm, pulling him back. "What makes you so diffrent from the rest of us? We're all
mutants and we've all suffered..." There was silence a moment, before an answer came. "I never said I was diffrent,
but you look normal. I can't even go out in public without this stupid cloak or an image iducer which I refuse to
wear." "Why not?" Logan didn't want to push the boy, but knew that keeping it in was hurting him. "This is why
not...." The hood slid back from his face and showed what was a human boy, but also a snake. Fangs curled over
his lips and most of his face was covered in scales. Logan sensed fear and also the way his heart beat faster; he
remained silent. "Aren't you going to say something? Everyone else has a comment about the Serpent King." Logan
simply shrugs,"Lose the attitude and maybe people would accept you, Serpent King...."
"Marie, how long are you going to stay here?" Bobby's voice was quiet, but held a slight command to it. Rogue
sighed,"Bobby, this is my team. You can't expect me to leave them anymore, then I'd leave you or any of the
others.." "It's not just them. Since Logan's return you've pushed me away and spent what seems like an awful
lot of time avoiding me..." "Avoiding you? We barely see each other as it is....you have nothing to worry about
from Logan...he's just, just, oh, you don't understand." She turned to walk away from him, but he caught her arm
and brought her back. "Marie, what don't I understand?"he asked, his blue(are they blue?)eyes boring into her
brown ones(should be green); she turned her head away. "Part of me will always be his, Bobby...he saved my
life four years ago and yes, I had a crush on him, then. I'm with you now.....Logan has nothing to do with us." The
words sounded, slightly false to her own ears, but she ignored it and smiled. "Mari--" Rogue cut off the rest of his
sentence by leaning up and pressing her mouth against his; she held the kiss and felt him respond, the kiss changed
from gentle to passionate. Over his shoulder she caught sight of Logan watching them and felt a sharp pain there;
his eyes were dark and angry. She broke off the kiss instantly, but he'd already stormed off. Bobby stared at her, his
eyes almost accusing.......
I've decided to give some more information on Rogue's "alliance". I picked this back up because someone practically begged me to continue it and I got a very weird ideal. I'll be working on a new X-Men HUMOR fanfic soon so they'll both be slow. If you're wondering about the new one check my profile. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ "Xavier, where's Marie?" Logan stalks into the office, without bothering to knock. He hadn't seen her since he'd
gotten released from the hospital that morning. He hadn't seen much of anyone, really. "Xavier!" There was no
response so Logan slams his fist into the desk. The older man lifts his head. "Yes, Logan?" The usually calm Charles
Xavier looked more confused then he'd ever seen him. "Marie, where is she?" "Medlab since early mor--" "Medlab?!
What's she doing down there? Is she hurt?" Xavier was silent for a few minutes, then replies just as Logan was
beginning to harbor thoughts of ramming his claws down the professor's throat. "Rogue's fine. One of her alliance
members was hurt during a mission.......she hasn't left all nig--" Logan left before he could finish the sentence. One
thought repeated in his mind. Maie needed him. He walked to the medlab and knocked on the door; nothing
happened. An alarm set off in his mind and he exited his blades before cautiously entering. Logan's eyes adjusted
almost instantly to the change of light and his gaze went to the still form on the med table and a form sitting beside
it, asleep in the chair. "Maie?"he spoke her name quietly and walked over to her; she didn't move,"Rogue.." He
touched her shoulder and she instantly woke, rising into a battle stance. "Marie, relax. It's just me...." She sighed and
visibly relaxed,"Logan....what are you doing here?" "Xavier told me about what happened? You okay?"
Rogue stared at Logan as the truth sank in. He'd come to check on her, he did care about her. "I'm fine, but it's not me
I'm worried about. If it had been Nanaki, Jax, or Landon I wouldn't be so worried......Nanaki can heal same as you,
Landon can heal enough so as not to die, and Jax, as far as we're aware can't die." "Wanna tell me what
happened?"he asked, startling her as he glances over the teenager laying before him. It was one of the younger
alliances, not as experienced. Not many people were willing to work with the younger students. Bobby had the only
other group that actually went on missions. "Honestly? I don't where they screwed up. It should have been a clear
shot, according to the professor. Although I'm not as worried about Tara as I am the other's reactions.." Her eyes
moved once more to the girl laying before her. She was just eighteen and at first glance appeared normal, until
someone noticed the reptile aspect to her looks; Rogue shook her head, studying the girl's brownish-green hair and
the way her eyes were closed tightly in pain, even in her sleep. "What's wrong with the other's reactions?" Logan
took her arm, not the least bit demands, and pulled her over to the other side of the medlab; they were still close
enough to know if something was wrong. Rogue sighed,"Kris blames herself, Landon, too. They were suppoused to
be covering her and both got sidetracked......I haven't gotten the whole story yet. Will you go let them know that
Tara's okay? They should all be in the rec room, except maybe Jax. He said he would retire for the night...." "No
concern for his teammate?" "More defiant of joining a team. Almost like you were when it first started....untrusting,
selfish, a jerk, cared for no one but yourse--" He cut into her description of him aburptly,"Look, I thought it was
for the best, then, Marie. Do you have to condem me now?" It hurt her to do it, but Rogue turned and walked back
to Tara's bed. "You condemed yourself the day you left and waited so long to return...the others are waiting." She
resumed her seat as if she'd never moved. She held her breathe until his footsteps faded completly down the hall and
she was alone again in the medlab; there, alone, she allowed the tears to fall....
"Dammnit, what's with her attitude? I thought things were going well between us..." Logan punched the wall as he
reached the doorway of the rec room. The second he entered the room he was met by three pairs of eyes: one dark
green, one lighter green, and one light brown pair; another figure stood off from them all, covered completly by the
hood of the cloak he wore. Jax, he guessed instantly. For some reason he couldn't think of how to tell them what
Rogue said. "Did Rogue send a message?"Kris, he recognized, asked, standing up from where she'd been sitting,
"Is Tara okay?" "She's fine, kid." His sense picks up on an emotion and he stares at Jax. "Why don't the rest of
you go ahead to bed and you can see her in the morning. I wanna talk to you, Jax..." The others looked baffled at
his last words, but stand all except Landon; he stays sitting. A few moments pass before he stands. "I'd rather go
see Tara...." Logan notices the look pass between Jax and Landon before the other boy exist the room; Jax hadn't
moved the entire time. "Something you wanted?"he asked, his voice held a hiss similar to that of a snake, not
moving. Logan moved to stand directly in front of the boy, but saw nothing, except yellow eyes staring at him.
"Why do you feel so guilty?" "I don't feel guilty. I could care less about anyone here,"he snapped, the same hiss
to his words,"I'm only here because they promised to help with my curse." "I thought Xavier taught you to see your
abilities as a gift, not a curse..." "A gift? What would you know about having the 'gift' I have? You know nothing
about what it's like to be me..." Jax's voice is bitter and full of distrust as he moves to shove past Logan and out of
the room; Logan catches his arm, pulling him back. "What makes you so diffrent from the rest of us? We're all
mutants and we've all suffered..." There was silence a moment, before an answer came. "I never said I was diffrent,
but you look normal. I can't even go out in public without this stupid cloak or an image iducer which I refuse to
wear." "Why not?" Logan didn't want to push the boy, but knew that keeping it in was hurting him. "This is why
not...." The hood slid back from his face and showed what was a human boy, but also a snake. Fangs curled over
his lips and most of his face was covered in scales. Logan sensed fear and also the way his heart beat faster; he
remained silent. "Aren't you going to say something? Everyone else has a comment about the Serpent King." Logan
simply shrugs,"Lose the attitude and maybe people would accept you, Serpent King...."
"Marie, how long are you going to stay here?" Bobby's voice was quiet, but held a slight command to it. Rogue
sighed,"Bobby, this is my team. You can't expect me to leave them anymore, then I'd leave you or any of the
others.." "It's not just them. Since Logan's return you've pushed me away and spent what seems like an awful
lot of time avoiding me..." "Avoiding you? We barely see each other as it is....you have nothing to worry about
from Logan...he's just, just, oh, you don't understand." She turned to walk away from him, but he caught her arm
and brought her back. "Marie, what don't I understand?"he asked, his blue(are they blue?)eyes boring into her
brown ones(should be green); she turned her head away. "Part of me will always be his, Bobby...he saved my
life four years ago and yes, I had a crush on him, then. I'm with you now.....Logan has nothing to do with us." The
words sounded, slightly false to her own ears, but she ignored it and smiled. "Mari--" Rogue cut off the rest of his
sentence by leaning up and pressing her mouth against his; she held the kiss and felt him respond, the kiss changed
from gentle to passionate. Over his shoulder she caught sight of Logan watching them and felt a sharp pain there;
his eyes were dark and angry. She broke off the kiss instantly, but he'd already stormed off. Bobby stared at her, his
eyes almost accusing.......