A/N: 22 reviews!! Yippee Skippy! *sniffle* I feel so loved…
Rogue151: I hadn't noticed it but your right, Geoffrey does look like Jack. That was completely unintentional, but it makes sense. See, Geoffrey's eyes are like that because he's been with the CIA for so long, and he's seen so much, that he's pretty much numb to everything. I think Jack is the same way. And which one was the Telling? I never pay much attention to the titles, lol.
Carla1: Is this a fast enough update? I am considering making this a romance, but you'll just have to wait and see what happens. Ain't I a stinker?
Amanda14: I like your idea for the anti-telepath thingy. Now I just need a scientifical explanation of how it works, a product design, and a really cool name. :)
Yumiko: Hmmmm…interesting….I like it! Kudos to you for coming up with it!
SorrowRain: Well I couldn't make her late, then how would she be allowed to go to the "library" on Saturday? She'd be on house arrest! Btw, I have this one-shot fic up in the X-men movie section that desperately needs reviews. And it's a POV story. It's called Reflections of a Terrorist. PLEASE R+R!!
Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers. Have fun with your brand-new X-jets!! And now, here by popular demand, is chapter 6. Have fun, y'all!
The next two days passed without event, so on Friday Rogue was itching to get on with the mission. She had already told the Professor that she would be spending Saturday at the library. "Ah still have a ton of werk t'do," she had said. So he had given her permission to go, provided she was home by curfew.
So Rogue spent Friday night packing her backpack with "study supplies." There was the pen transmitter, a pencil with a camera in the eraser, and a little spiral notepad that doubled as a scrambling devise to prevent anyone from bugging the area. There was also a book with a hidden compartment. It held a police badge, I.D., passport, handcuffs, and a handgun.
Rogue glanced over the items quickly, checking each one for flaws. They were all in perfect working order, as she knew they would be. The kit had been given to her by Agent O'Connell, so it stood to reason that it had already been checked over several times. Even so, she felt like it would be irresponsible of her not to check them. Once satisfied, she tucked everything away in her bag, along with her CD player and a bunch of CDs. There wasn't anything special about those; she just refused to be stuck on a plane with nothing to do. She then went to bed, waiting for Saturday to come.
The next morning Rogue awoke at 6:30, giving her time to take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and be at the library by 7. When she got to the kitchen to get a quick bite, Logan was already there, reading the newspaper.
"What're you doin' up this early, Stripes?" he asked, glancing over the top of his paper.
"Ah have t'go down to the library an' get some homework done." He grunted in response, and she took it to mean he was done talking. She ate a bowl of cereal, hung her bag over one shoulder, and walked out the door.
The street was a lot lonelier then it had been the last time. The only signs of life were the birds chattering away at each other in the trees, hidden by the thin veil of fog that had fallen the night before.
The library was just as still…on the surface at least. Yet as Rogue descended in the elevator, she knew that the CIA headquarters below would be as active as Kitty in the mall with a gift certificate. Her guess was confirmed when the elevator door slid open, and everyone was running around like the whole world would fall apart if they didn't get their work done. Of course, seeing as how this was the CIA, that wasn't necessarily a bad guess.
Rogue stepped out of the elevator, once again heading for the room where they'd had the meeting on Tuesday. And once again, she was the last one there.
"Good morning, Agent Rogue," said Agent O'Connell, rising from his chair.
"Good Morning." Rogue found the nearest seat and sat down.
"Alright everyone," began O'Connell, "in just a few short minutes you all will be boarding a plane bound for England. Onboard will be an agent assigned to help you alter your appearances, so that you match your I.D. cards. The flight is two hours long, which means that because of Agent Rogue's eleven o'clock curfew, you MUST be on the plane by nine, with the Keystone. That gives you exactly twelve hours to complete your mission. Understood?" There were sounds of confirmation made around the table. "Then let's move out!"
Rogue, Agent Corprew, and Agent Smith were lead to the hanger by one of the lower-level agents. The plane, while impressive, had absolutely nothing to compare with the X-men's Blackbird. But Rogue figured a plane was a plane, and climbed on board.
The seats were plush, and incredibly comfortable. The three agents sat down, and waited for the plane to take off. As the engines began to rumble Rogue glanced through the window, trying to see the ceiling open overhead. The lighting was to dim, though, and all she could make out was a large gray mass. Slowly the giant bird lifted off the ground, bringing Rogue eye-to eye with a stand of trees. As they got higher, it became apparent that it was not a stand of trees, but a forest. She watched as the ground below slid shut, removing any sign that a top-secret spy network was below.
"Wow," Rogue said. Agent Corprew looked at her.
"I take it you've never done an away mission."
"Not *this* far away," Rogue confessed. "What about you?"
"Oh, I get sent on away missions aaalll the time. I've been to Germany, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Portugal, and Moscow, to name a few."
"And Ah thought goin' from Mississippi to New York was a big deal!" Rogue thought for a moment. "O' course, Ah *did* think someone was tryin' ta kill me at the time. Turned out it was just a good-fer-nothin' shape-shifter tryin' ta make me think the X-men were evil."
"Why'd they do that?"
"She wanted me ta join her Brotherhood of Mutants. It worked fer awhile…till Ah found out the X-men hadn't really tried ta kill me, and it was all a twisted scheme on her part."
"So now you're with the X-men?" Rogue nodded. "I never knew that there was so much rivalry between mutant groups. I always figured you guys had enough to worry about with the Friends of Humanity and all the other ignorant racists."
"Tell me about it. But the X-men and the Brotherhood have *very* different views. And sense the realizing of one sides dreams will mean the destruction of the others,"
"You're constantly fighting each other," Agent Corprew finished for her.
"Yeah, and as if that weren't complicated enough, now Ah've got *this* job to throw into the mix."
Agent Corprew opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by a door opening behind them. An agent stood there, presumably the man responsible for changing their appearances.
"Who's first?" he asked. Agent Smith wordlessly rose from his chair and went with the man through the door.
Once they were gone Agent Corprew said, "How exactly did you get to be a Special Agent in the CIA? You're only a kid!"
"It's a LONG story. What do you know about Project Marvel?"
Agent Corprew shrugged. "Just that it was a plan instigated in the 1970's to create super soldiers for the government. But when they couldn't figure out how to manipulate existing DNA, it was discontinued."
"That's not entirely true. The Project wasn't completely shut down, so much as put on hold. It was in limbo, if you will. But then something happened in recent years that made the government reinstate Project Marvel."
"Mutants appeared."
Rogue nodded. "The CIA realized that they didn't need ta manipulate people's DNA, they could just let Mother Nature do the work for 'em."
"So you're a part of this Project Marvel, then?"
"Yep."
"But like I said earlier, you're just a teenager. Couldn't the CIA have gotten an adult mutant?"
"Ya have ta remember that ninety percent of mutants today are teens. So the options were pretty limited."
"Well, then why couldn't they just wait for the teens to grow up? I mean, the Project's been down for three decades, what's another couple of years?"
"They probably could wait with any other mutant."
"But not with you?"
Rogue thought carefully before answering.
"It's cuz of mah pow'rs. See, whenever Ah touch someone skin-ta-skin Ah absorb there life energy, and all there mem'ries. With mutants, Ah take their pow'rs."
"I already know about your powers, it was part of Agent O'Connell's briefing when I was assigned to this mission."
"Then ya probably also know that Ah can't control 'em…yet. The CIA thinks they might be able ta not only teach me ta control mah pow'rs, but ta use the pow'rs Ah drained from other mutants. But they had ta start trainin' me now, er else mah pow'rs'd reach a point where contolin' 'em'd be impossible."
"So it's just like that old saying, you can't teach an old dog new tricks."
Rogue nodded. "Confusin, ain't it?"
At that moment the door opened and out walked the recently transformed Agent Smith. His black hair was now a light, almost sandy brown. The bump in his nose was no longer visible, thanks to a synthetic putty that identically matched his skin tone. Contact lenses had transformed his eyes from gray to blue, although they still lacked any sign of life.
The agent responsible for Agent Smith's new appearance stepped into the doorway.
"Next," he said. Agent Corprew stood up and followed him through the door.
Agent Smith took the seat opposite Rogue.
"Ah like the hair," she said in a vain attempt to start up a conversation. He merely glanced at her, then pulled a paperback novel out of his jacket pocket and began to read.
"Ooookay. Ah guess Ah'll just listen ta some music." With that Rogue pulled out her CD player and began listening to her Linkin' Park CD.
A half-hour later the door opened again, and out came Agent Corprew. Her eyes, once brown, were now hazel. Her wavy hair had been tied back in a ponytail. A once-prominent scar across her lower lip had been covered up expertly. In short, she looked like a whole new person.
"Guess it's mah turn," Rogue said, taking off her earphones. She walked through the door, into a small room with a chair. A table sat next to it, covered in makeup supplies, hair dye, and a box of different colored contact lenses. The agent stood beside the table, motioning for Rogue to sit down, which she did.
"Alright," said the agent, "first things first. We need to get rid of that white streak of yours. Now, how does your hair look in that I.D. picture? Oh yes, that's right…" Over the course of the next thirty minutes Rogue was transformed to match her I.D. card. Her white streaks were dyed red, and extensions were added to her hair. All of her Goth makeup was removed. Finally, she was given a new wardrobe to complete the look.
There was a pair of blue jeans, a tan belt, a green blouse, and tan shoes. A trench coat completed the outfit. Rogue then placed her I.D., pen, pencil, and notepad into one of the pockets. Her badge was clipped to the belt, and a hip holster was added for her gun.
That done, she stepped out the door and went back to her seat. Ten minutes later the plane landed in London International Airport, and it was time to find the Keystone.