Author's Note: I forgot to put this in the first chapter, so here it is: I do not own these characters, Marvel does. Please don't sue this poor, starving college student.
* * is telepathic speech^ ^ is internal dialogue
Chapter One: Dramatis PersonaeRogue and her fellow mutant agents boarded the helicopter. Wanda was watching Jono suspiciously, wondering what was underneath his jaw and torso wrapping. Sage was observing everything around her; Rogue could practically see her brain clicking away behind her eyes. Remy cast an admiring gaze at the outfit Tessa was wearing. ^ The Hellfire Club sure knows how to have their employees dress ^, he thought to himself. Rogue was keeping a general eye out on her agents. Although they all reported directly to her, they had not known the identity of the other agents Rogue had recruited to infiltrate the many different mutant organizations. They were aware that other agents were in place, but to lessen the impact if one of the agents were captured, they were not told the names.
Nick Fury looked around the helicopter in a skeptical manner. ^ This was the crack team Rogue had put together? ^ The group looked like a bunch of gothic rejects. First, there was Rogue, the Queen of the angry make-up and dark scowl. Then there was Wanda Maximoff. If Rogue was the Queen, then the Scarlet Witch was the Princess. She had let her hair grow to just past the shoulders, but she still had the lower half of her hair dyed red and she still dressed in the torn clothing and long, scarlet duster. Next was Jonothon Starsmore. His upper body up to his nose was wrapped in black, leaving only his arms free. With his black leather pants and brooding gaze, he was the epitome of dark, angst boy. Tessa was dressed like sub/dom fetish fantasy with her black lingerie bustier and her hair in a bun at the top of her head. Her expressionless face with the zigzag tattoos and her cool blue gaze was a bit disconcerting, so Nick turned his attention to the last member of the group. Gambit, other than Tessa, was the most mysterious member of the group. He seemed to be the most open member, with his charm and flirting, but he never talked about himself nor divulged any of his history to others. When Nick had climbed aboard the helicopter earlier, he had called ahead so the files S.H.I.E.L.D had compiled on the four heretofore unknown agents would be ready at his arrival on base. Nick had known the basic information on these mutants, but wanted to become more familiarized with their history, personal details, and stats.
Rogue looked to Chamber to gain his attention. * Why do you still wear your wrapping when there is no need to hide yourself anymore? You told me six months ago that the operation Weapon X gave you was successful and your body was repaired. *
Jono's eyes crinkled at the corners, his version of a smile. *Well, luv, there was no need for the rest of the mutant population to know of it. They knew of my condition since my powers erupted, and Weapon X and I wanted to keep it that way. With my face and body restored, I can infiltrate groups with them none the wiser. Who would connect Chamber, the man without a chest or lower face, with this new, good-looking bloke? *
Rogue snorted and thought * Were you this conceited before your accident? *
* Why do you think I was so angst-ridden at the loss of my face? It wasn't 'cause of me not bein' able to eat, I'll tell you that * Jono replied.
Rogue rolled her eyes at Chamber. She knew that the damage inflicted when his powers manifested themselves had really affected Jono. A few years ago, Jono was a typical teenager, enjoying being a musician and spending time with his girlfriend. Then, one day Chamber's powers literally exploded out of him, ripping away his chest and lower jaw. They also injured his girlfriend, rendering her paralyzed from the force that shattered her legs. His heart, lungs, and other internal organs were instantly vaporized by the psionic energy emanating from his chest. Without his mouth or jaw, he couldn't eat or talk, or even kiss. His energy kept him alive; he didn't need to breath or eat to live. Rogue always felt a connection to Jono; of all of the team, their powers seemed to be the closest in defining them. Rogue was the untouchable; her powers prevented her from skin to skin contact, lest she absorb the life force, memories, and powers of another. Chamber was the hollow man with only destructive energy inside him. His limited telepathy allowed him to communicate with others, but he had to restrain himself from "speaking" with people who did not know of his powers. He had to act the mute burn victim and carry a pencil and writing tab everywhere with him. ^ Now that Jono's chest and face had been restored, will we still be as close as we once were? ^ Rogue mused.
Sage, being a low level telepath, knew of the silent communication between Jonothon and Rogue. Chamber was a strong enough telepath to notice her eavesdropping, so she did not listen in, however she did make a mental note. While observing the others in the helicopter, she continued on with her internal ponderings. Tessa, how Sage despised that name. 'Tessa' conveyed an innocence that Sage never had, especially after living on the streets when she was a teenager and being Sebastian Shaw's Girl Friday for over five years. However, it was the name she had been born to, and unlike Rogue, she would not hide from it. That being said, she referred to herself as Sage and preferred that others call her that. Sage had a harder edge than Tessa; she was tougher and could handle difficult situations. Sage implied knowledge and mystery, while Tessa invited people to confide in her. Sage's ability, her curse, was to remember everything. She would rather not have people tell her their secrets, she had enough to handle on her own. Sage's brain had endless storage capacity; she could recall names, faces, conversations, useless and not-so-useless data in an instant. Rogue had referred to her once as a cyberpath. However, unlike a computer, Sage could not delete any of her records, no matter how much she might wish to.
Her analytical nature and instant recall lent her an advantage as a spy. She could be in deep cover for long periods of time and retain vast amounts of knowledge, easily accessible whenever a meeting could be arranged with Rogue, her handler. She had originally agreed to spy for Rogue because, as naïve as this sounded, she had wanted to do some good in this world. Sage had thought it would not be a problem being a spy; she was never one for the spotlight. However, there was a difference in not drawing attention to oneself, and hiding one's true nature. Fending off members of the Hellfire Club who were not in the Inner Circle, but wished to be, while trying to be diplomatic to the sycophants wearied her. Sage would have rather just broken a bone or two to get her point across, however Tessa had to be mindful of her place as Shaw's assistant. Her position was not as high as even the lowest of the Hellfire Club.
There were only two members of the Hellfire Club that Sage could stand. One was her boss, Sebastian Shaw. He was loud, obnoxious, vicious and uncouth, but he had been kind to her in his way. He had never expected her to sleep with him, nor any of his cronies. It was as if he viewed her from a distant, paternal manner. He was not too interested in her or her life outside of the HC, but he did engage her in personal conversation and musings from time to time. Sage did not regret betraying his trust and spying on him for Rogue, but she protected him in her own way. She did not divulge his weakness for his long dead wife and she kept his son Shinobi out of the briefings as much as possible. For all Shaw's faults, stupidity was not one of them, so Sage could find a kernel of respect for the man.
The other person Sage didn't hate in the HC was The White Queen, Emma Frost. Emma could be cruel and ruthless, but she was also highly intelligent. She used all the resources at her disposal, including her sexuality, to remain in power. However, Sage had seen Emma with her Hellions, and this Emma was somehow softer, less harsh. Even though Emma led a public life as the CEO of Frost Enterprises, her past remained a secret. Sage got the sense that Emma's childhood and teenage years had not been pleasant, though she was a born to a life of wealth and privilege. Life had taught Emma some hard lessons, and Sage could identify with that. Although Sage could tolerate Emma, she could not bring her self to like the woman.
Gambit was also aware of the silent communication between Rogue and Chamber. Though he was not telepathic, he was an empath and could feel the amusement of Jono and Rogue. When their private conversation ended, Remy could feel Rogue begin to brood. ^ Does the chere do anything but dwell on unpleasant thoughts? ^ He looked around at the others in the helicopter again, and realized that he had worked with each of these people at least once in the past. Back when he had been one of Magneto's Acolytes, had been in a few jobs that involved the Brotherhood, which Wanda had been a member of. After the Acolytes disbanded, Sabertooth had joined Weapon X and recommended him for an odd mission or two, which put him in contact with Chamber. Being exiled from the Thieves' Guild did not preclude his father from asking him to infiltrate the Hellfire Club to steal some objects that had somehow fallen out of Guild possession. After retrieving the lost art and returning it to the Guild, Shaw had hired him for a job. Apparently, Jean-Luc had to arrange a demonstration of Remy's master thief's skills before Sebastian would consider Gambit for an assignment. Once Remy had passed the test, he and Tessa had worked together to find a traitor in the Club and steal information and items from a rival organization.
However, the person in the helicopter he had the most contact with over the years was Rogue. She was the person who gave him his assignments and he reported his progress to her on a regular basis. Remy could not believe that he had known Rogue for five years, it seemed like only yesterday that Rogue had recruited him. At first, he agreed to join her endeavor as a lark. He was at a bit of loose ends after his exile from New Orleans and the Thieves' Guild. She was cute and what she wanted him to do seemed simple, get a mutant named Magneto to ask Remy to join his little gang. How was he to know that Rogue's morals would rub off on him? As a thief, he lived in a world of grey. He did not think of himself as a principled man, but somehow he began to feel that what Magneto wanted to do to humans as wrong. He wasn't the most fond of people in general, but even he objected to genocide. He did not agree with everything that Charles Xavier had to say about human and mutant relations, but he would take Xavier over Magneto any day. Even though Rogue had been raised by Mystique and she had lived for a time with the Brotherhood, he tended to think that her views on mutants and their place in the world was most influenced by her stay with the X-Men, specifically the Professor, and maybe even her brother, Kurt. Although they had worked together for years, Rogue had never really let him in, and his beliefs were based on observation. However, his empathic powers gave him an edge that she was not aware of, for not even Jean-Luc knew of his empathy, only his kinetic powers.
The Scarlet Witch stared off into space. She had no inclination to speak with anyone onboard, not even Rogue. If Wanda were asked who her best friend was, and she was in a mood not to hurt the impertinent person who asked such a personal question, she might answer Rogue. After all, Rogue was the only person who treated Wanda as someone who was sane and whose temper was not something to be feared. Wanda ignored the little voice inside her head that whispered ^ What about Lance? He never treated you as insane, just as a typical girl that was a mystery, like every other girl he knew. ^ Lance claimed to never understand women, which included Scarlet Witch. He didn't think of her rages as behavior of the insane, but just like any other temper tantrum that anyone sane could have thrown. Avalanche was the only one that could save Toad, Pyro, the Blob and Quicksilver from her wrath at the annoying pranks they pulled on her.
She didn't regret agreeing to spy on the Brotherhood for Rogue. At the time, the only member she knew was Pietro, her twin that betrayed her to their father. Lance, Todd, and Fred were abstract concepts, never fully realized until she actually met them. Even after she joined the Brotherhood at the behest of Mystique, she had the role of a daughter seeking revenge to play. It wasn't that hard to do with Pietro, because she did feel resentful of his freedom and his relationship with their father, Magneto. Toad and Blob were harmless idiots, and could actually be kind of nice at times, so it was easiest to scowl at them to keep their distance. Lance was another matter. He had a hard life as an orphan that grew up to be a rebel and resentful of authority. It was odd yet fitting how he became their default leader after the defeat of Apocalypse four years ago. She had come to grudgingly respect him over the years. Wanda had actually come to like the Brotherhood mutants. They were the closest thing to a family she had, Pietro not withstanding. She hoped the fact that she was not all she appeared to be would not permanently damage her relationship with the Brotherhood. This thought occupied her on the trip to the S.H.I.E.L.D base. She snapped out of her thoughts when the chopper touched down.
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Okay, this is the end of Chapter Two. I hope all the exposition did not scare you off. The next chapter will deal with how Rogue first joined S.H.I.E.L.D. and formed her crew. Basically, each chapter will progress from the time of the team formation until the present debriefing. It will cover plots seen in the episodes throughout the 4 Seasons of Evolution, but from a view skewed and twisted to fit this story. This is not an AU, just a what if story. For those of you who are ROMY shippers, please be advised, I am not sure if this will turn into a ROMY. This decision is up in the air at the moment, I'll just have to see where the muse takes me. I hope you like it.