New Gifts
Logan paced his room. It was well past midnight, but still he couldn't sleep. Around him he could hear Bobby's snoring and Jean talking in her sleep. Outside the crickets chirped and sang while the moon shone brightly across the grounds. In the gardens the sound of water running seemed to lighten his mood. Every once an awhile he would glance at the clock, sigh, then continue pacing.
"I feel like a caged animal, why can't I focus?" Logan growled.
He flopped onto his bed, winching as he heard the springs squeak, "Guess I should lose some weight," he mused.
Breathing deeply he tried focusing again on the recent events. Xavier had wanted Logan to trace some suspicious activities up north. At the time all Logan had wanted was to be free of his babysitting duties, so he had accepted Chucks offer and left that nigh without another word. Up north he came across Sabertooth's scent very suddenly, like he had just appeared out of thin air. It was strong, meaning that Sabertooth had just left the area, so Logan followed it. He tracked Sabertooth for three days straight into an abandoned saw mill, then as suddenly as it appeared, the scent was gone. Logan explored the mill hoping to find some sort of clue as to why Sabertooth would have been in the area, or maybe how Sabertooth had appeared so suddenly. However, all he found the gems.
"Should have known it was a trap, Sabertooth's never been that open about his plans. Nor would he ever go three days without trying to kill me. This doesn't make sense!" With that Logan stood up and resumed his pacing.
"Logan? You still awake?" Rogue's face appeared in the doorway, "You look like you could sleep for a week."
"Yeah, well I could use the rest," he growled harshly. Rogue nodded and started to retreat. "No don't go. I'm sorry. I haven't been getting much rest lately; guess it finally got to me. I was just thinking about something that had happened with Sabertooth, but I guess it's not that important. So, what happened to avoiding me?"
"I had a nightmare."
"So? You've had others. Nightmares have never stopped you from ignoring me before. What made this one so special?"
Logan was trying to act casual, but Rogue could see that she had hurt him, "Great, even if I look myself away I manage to hurt someone," Rogue sighed, "I'm sorry about that. It's just that I kept thinking you were mad at me or that I would hurt you again."
"I was never mad. And you never really could hurt me."
"Yes I did," Rogue whispered.
"So you going to tell me about this dream or do you want to continue your guilt trip? If so you can leave."
"No, no more guilt." Rogue sat on the bed and pulled a blanket around her, "I dreamt that he gem wouldn't work, instead it made me lose complete control and I ended up killing everyone that touched me. Normally I never think about my dreams, but lately, I've been having so many problems with my powers. Plus, Jubilee said that dreams where the body's way of telling you something. I never believed in that, but then Jean said that the Professor once told her that sometimes telepaths have dreams of the future or past of those around them. Kinda has had me shaken up, guess I'm just being silly."
"It's your worst fear. You would only be silly if you never had nightmares about that. However, a dream is just a dream. Only comes true if you believe it to be more than that." Logan walked over to the window and opened it. He sat on the sill, light a cigarette, and breathed deeply.
"Logan?" He gave a little grunt to show he was listening, "What's you fear?" Rogue asked him slowly.
He sat there silently for a moment, smoking quietly before he finally answered, "I think its time for you to go to bed. You're going to have a busy day tomorrow."
"Oh, sorry. I guess that is kinda personal, huh? But your right, I should get to bed." Rogue stared at him for a moment, then got up and walked to the door.
"No, wait. I didn't mean to sound rude, I just have a hard time telling people about my past since I don't really know much about it myself." Logan sat silently for a moment before he spoke, "I'm afraid that someone will use my friends like they did me. I'm afraid that one day you'll wake up and realize that you've been used to do something that you didn't want to do. Its an awful thing to have do to you, I wish you never have to go through that," Logan tossed out his cigarette and turned to face her, "Unfortunately, I think that has already happened to you before, and with your powers I think it will only happen again," he added silently.
Rogue smiled at him, "Thanks for trusting me. I know what its like to tell people about your past, especially when you've done things that your ashamed of."
"Yeah, don't mention it. Ever. I'll see you in the morning then. Goodnight, Stripes."
"So, what do you think?" asked Hank as he handed Rogue the ring.
Rogue eyes scanned the ring. It was a plane silver band with a single red store buried in the middle. "Looks great, thanks. How does it work?"
"The gem gives of a certain degree of radiation. The radiation will enhance your X-gene, giving you some control. At first you might not see much change in your powers, but if you train hard with Logan you should be able to touch by the end of the week," Hank smiled and patted her on the shoulder, "I need you to remember that even thought this ring will help, it's not a complete cure. It will be hard, maybe even dangerous. If you at anytime start to feel sick or light headed, you'll need to see me immediately, okay?"
Rogue nodded, "That's fine as long as I can control my powers I don't care what I have to do."
She thanked him again then left to go tell the others. Rogue walked into the elevator and stepped in. She pushed the button and waited as the machine slowly made its way to the next floor. Suddenly, pain seized her mind. She could hear voices screaming at her as the psyches in her mind attacked her. Rogue could feel a sort of numbness wash over her, blackness seemed to loom around her, and soon Rogue knew she would be unconscious.
Rogue lashed out, hitting the elevator stop button. The machine lurched to a stop, causing Rogue to fall to the ground. The voices wouldn't stop, they kept screaming at her. Rogue grabbed her head, "SHUT UP!" Suddenly the voices stopped, like they were afraid or something. The break gave Rogue enough time to build up the wall that kept them separated from her mind. Slowly, Rogue climber to her feet and made her way out of the elevator. She held her head as she made her way to the dinning room.
"Hey, Rogue!"
Rogue spun around to see her best friend and roommate Kitty Pryde running to catch up, "Hey, Logan just told me the good news. So, how long till you have control?" Suddenly Kitty's smile faded, "What happened? You look awful, are you ok?"
Rogue faked a smile, "Yeah, I'm fine Kitty. Just a minor little headache, nothing to serious, I'll live."
Kitty placed her hands on her hips and glared at Rogue, "Don't lie to me. I know that something's up, and you have better tell me or else. I mean, Rogue, come on, I'm suppose to be your best friend. That means you tell me everything and I do the same. We're suppose to trust each other with everything."
"Fine, fine, I'll tell. God, you don't have to get so worked up about it." They walked together, Rogue filling her in on everything that had happened in the elevator. Soon they arrived at the dinning room. Sitting down, they watched the others filter in. Last one to enter was Professor Xavier.
"Rogue," Kitty whispered so no one would overhear, "I think you should tell the Professor what happened, just in case it has something to do with the ring. Remember what happened last time you didn't tell him when something happened to your powers."
Rogue winched, "Of course I remember. Fine, I'll tell him. But not now, later." Kitty gave a look, "Really I will, I promise."
Kitty opened her mouth to respond, but the Professor cut her off, "Ah, Rogue. Nice to see you've decided to join us for dinner, it's been awhile. So, have you told them the good news yet?" Professor Xavier asked.
"No, I was waiting for everyone to show." She would talk to Professor Xavier later, now was not the time to be concerned about her powers, besides, she would be in control in a week anyway. Maybe it would be best to not mention that her control was slipping, she would be better in no time. There was no reason to worry, or cause others to worry. Rogue stood up and smiled, "Hank created a ring that will help control my powers. By the end of the week, I'll be normal."