Disclaimer: Still don't own the X-Men. Damnit!
Authors Note: Feel free to let me know if you like what you read. Might just help to encourage me….er…better not say that or none of you will review.
To all those who have reviewed. Thank you so much! You've made my day. A couple of quick notes, my accents may be off at times. I'm sorry but I'm not that great at them, so I apologize now. Rogue's 18. Thought I put it up on the summary page, but I forgot. Thanks to Caliente for pointing it out. Now on with the story.
'text' internal speech
Wandering Souls
Chapter 2: Sudden Introductions
The Brotherhood eyed the new girl suspiciously as she set her bags down at their feet. She was cocky and a bit rude.
"Who the hell are you?" Wanda finally asked, the cord around her brothers neck tightening slightly.
"Rogue," was the simple response as the girls demeanor seemed to change slightly, taking on a defensive stance. Mystique had warned her that they would not trust her and she had no idea how they would react to her yet. "And ah'd lahke to get goin' if it ain't too much trouble. Mamma's waitin'." She eyed the others cautiously. She didn't want to be there and it was obvious they didn't want her there. Or they were hiding it really well if they did. She missed Mississippi already, and Irene.
"Uh sis," Pietro choked out, struggling with the cord.
Wanda tore her gaze from Rogue and looked deadly at her brother before releasing him, with a satisfying thud, to the ground. "Wanda," she said turning her gaze back to the girl in front of her. Rogue looked to be a little older than Wanda, and seemed to have the same love for the Goth attire, judging by her dark make-up. "Toad."
"Yes snookims?" Toad asked, hopping up to Wanda, ready to do whatever the woman wanted him to.
She looked down at him disgusted before barking, "Get her bags. And don't drip on them," she then walked over to Rogue. "Lance's jeep is out front."
"Thanks sugah." Rogue relaxed a bit. "Now, which one of ya is Lance?"
"That'd be me," Lance stepped forward and offered Rogue his hand. "Lance Alvers at your service." They shook and Lance offered her a smile before continuing with the other members introductions. "That's Toad down there."
"Yo."
"And the big guy with the chips is Fred, or Blob."
"Nice to meet you," Fred said, wiping his hand on his overalls before offering it to Rogue.
"Pleasure sugah," she replied taking it gingerly and hoping the cheese powder wouldn't get all over her gloves.
"And this is…"
"Pietro Maximoff at your service," Pietro replied, appearing in an instant before Rogue and bending over to kiss her hand. Winking at her as he rose.
Rogue just gave a little snort and shook her head before turning back to Lance. "Lead the way sugah."
"Hey!" Pietro yelled, put off by her lack of attention to his charms and started after the group. "Don't you even want to know my sign?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The X-Men climbed out of the x-van in the middle of the parking lot of the Bayville Airport. And looked around, ready for action. "Keep your eyes open. I want a perimeter set up," Logan began, climbing out behind the teens. "Half-pint, you and Gumbo take the north parking lot. Elf, you and Spyke are around back, and Slim, you and Jean are by the front Exit."
"Be careful," Ororo added, handing out the com units. "Logan and I will be at the van if you need us. And remember, we're not here for trouble."
"Of course. X-Men, move out," Cyclops stated as the team nodded in agreement before moving off to their designated areas.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey, this is, like, Lances jeep," Kitty exclaimed as she walked over to the vehicle and peeked inside. "So this is, like, where I left my hair tie." She added, phasing through the door and retrieving the purple scunchie and placing it in her pocket, hoping no one saw or heard the last part.
"Don' fret p'tite," Remy whispered into her ear, his Cajun accent sending a chill down her spine, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. "Your secret be safe wit Remy."
Kitty blushed before nodding and looking back at him and shooting her best glare. "Like don't do that."
Remy chuckled slightly as he turned a card over in his hand. "Sorry p'tite. Gambit be forgetting himself." A sudden noise caught his attention and he grabbed Kitty and pulled her down behind the jeep as the side doors of the building opened and the Brotherhood exited, complete with someone Gambit had never seen before.
"Alright p'tite, Gambit be ready to create a distraction. You go see if you can find out what dey be up to, non?"
"Alright. Better get over here Scott," Kitty whispered into her com link. "We've found them. But don't, like, engage them or anything." She looked over at Gambit who nodded before she phased into the ground.
Remy watched from behind the jeep, pulling a deck of cards out of his pocket, and began shuffling them idly, just in case he needed them.
"The jeeps this way," Lance said leading the way, Rogue at his side as the others followed suit. Eyes open. Lance turned to look and nearly ran into, or rather through, the phasing Kitty who was rising out of the ground before him. "Jesus Kitten! Don't do that!"
"Sorry," Kitty blushed as Lance smiled at her. "I was just, like, out for a walk and noticed your jeep. So what are you up to?" she glided over to him, placing her hands behind her back.
"None of your business Pryde," Pietro snarled, running quickly in-between her and Lance. "Now why don't you run on home. It's past your bedtime."
"Back off Maximoff!" Evan's voice cut through the night as a series of spikes jutted from the ground where Pietro had been stand.
"Once again Daniels, you're too slow," Pietro taunted as he noticed the X-Men coming out of the shadows around them. Including the one by Lance's jeep. "Shit, we're surrounded!"
Lance turned to Kitty, anger in his eyes. "I thought you were alone!"
"Lance I'm sorry," Kitty began but was quickly cut off as the ground began to roll.
"Who are they?" Rogue asked turning to Wanda whose eyes were full of fury.
"The X-Men," she replied as she moved towards Evan. "No one tries to kill my brother but me!" She snarled and began her attack.
Rogue looked around and noticed that everyone seemed to be fending off someone. Toad had abandoned Rogue's bags and was facing off against a fuzzy blue guy with a tail who kept disappearing into puffs of smoke in one area and appearing in another. Fred had dropped his chips and was being held in mid air by a red head. The girl, Rogue thought she heard Lance called her Kitty, was keeping Pietro busy as Lance faced off against a guy wearing a red and yellow visor.
"Guess that just leaves you and Gambit cher," Rogue heard a familiar accent as she spun around to meet two red on black eyes staring back at her. Rogue's breath caught for a minute and she was mesmerized by those eyes.
Gambit himself was not unaffected by the emerald gems he stared into. He was able to recover more quickly than Rogue though as his eyes began to travel from her face and down the rest of her body. "Gambit have to say though, he don mind de fates choice."
"My, my, looks lahke the X-Men ain't very picky," Rogue drawled pulling at her gloves a bit, a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. "Letting a Swamp Rat join the team."
"You wound me cher," Gambit feigned hurt as he charged a card, looking at it as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world as he watched it glow. He stole a glance out the corner of his eye to make sure the girl before him was watching as well. "Why don't you give up now cher. Gambit don't want to hurt you none."
Rogue laughed at his confidence as she admired his physique a bit. 'Now now girl, stay focused. Don't wanna screw up now. Your mom will be pissed.' "Good thing ah don't share your concern sugah," Rogue said jumping into a back flip as one of the cards feel where she stood, exploding on contact. "Come on Cajun," she said, continuing her flips as more cards fell. "Is that all you got?" Rogue vaulted herself onto a nearby car, landing gracefully in a crouch, the years of combat training with her mother and gymnastics paying off. She smiled over at him as she waited for another attack, slipping her gloves off and into her pockets.
"You be good cher," Gambit replied, intrigued by her defense style and slightly disappointed that she hadn't chose to attack him at all. He was curious as to what exactly her power was. He reached into a hidden pocket of his long trench coat and retrieved his Bo staff, pressing two buttons to extend it. "But Gambit be better," he finished vaulting himself onto the car hood next to her.
Rogue saw her opportunity and took it, rising close to him, their faces millimeters apart. "Whatevah ya say swamp rat," she smiled letting her lips brush his slightly.
Gambit was caught off guard by the sudden kiss but was not unhappy about it in the least. Until he felt a pull at his lips as if the energy was being drained from him. He pushed her away as he fell to the ground, looking up at her again and noticing that her once green eyes, were an endless abyss of red and black.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I knew we couldn't trust those kids to stay outta trouble," Logan growled as he and Ororo made their way to the north lot.
"Yes, like you always do," Ororo mused a smile playing at her lips.
Logan grumbled something under his breath as they stepped into the lot. Taking a quick survey of the sight before him. "Gumbo's down," he began when his breath caught in his throat. A young woman stood over Gambit, her face framed by two white stripes.
"Logan, what is it?" Ororo asked concern filling her voice as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I don't know, but I think I know that kid. Get the others," he replied, shaking off his shock. "I'll take care of Gambit and the kid."
"As you wish," Ororo replied taking to the sky. A sudden gust of wind sweeping across the lot as the air filled with clouds and thunder. "ENOUGH OF THIS!" She bellowed, lightening hit the ground near the fighting teens.
"HEY!" Pietro yelled, "They started it."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Logan made his way over to the two near the vehicles, claws extended. Rogue turned and looked at him, Gambit's eyes staring out her of her own.
"Dey started all of dis," Rogue stated, eyeing the man before her as he picked up a deck of cards from one of Gambit's many pockets and began to shuffle them. Alternating between charging the cards and withdrawing it.
"Easy kid, we just wanted to talk to ya," Logan said, walking slowly over to Gambit checking that the boy was still breathing.
"Well ah ain't interested in talkin," Rogue replied charging a card and throwing it into the air above the two men before taking her leave towards the others.
Logan lunged for Gambit and pulled him out of the way, just as the card fell to the ground and exploded where the boy had lain.
"Wow, dat fille has some kiss," Gambit groaned, rubbing the back of his head as he rose.
"Save it bub, we gotta get back to the x-van. Ro's taking care of the others," Logan replied gruffly as he pulled Gambit to his feet, his mind lost in thoughts about his past.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I do not care who started this Mr. Maximoff," Storm replied as she landed gracefully in-between the teens. "I'm ending it. X-men! Return to the van, and boys, perhaps you should head home. I'm sure Mystique is wondering what kind of trouble you're getting into," Ororo stated as the X-men began to shuffle back towards the van.
"Lance, I'm sorry," Kitty whispered as she stopped before the older boy, her eyes downcast.
"Don't worry about it Kitten," he said comfortingly as he placed his finger under her chin and made her meet his gaze. "Gave me a chance to kick Summers ass." He smiled at her as she hurried behind the others.
"Is life here always dis interesting?" Rogue asked, placing the cards in her pocket and pulling her gloves back on as she joined the others. "Cause ah'm going to love livin hear den." She smiled at the others as her eyes returned to their normal vibrant green. "Can we go home now? Ah'm anxious to tell mamma about dis."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So Remy dude, you okay?" Evan asked as he watched Remy down a couple of aspirins as he stood in front of the counter in the mansion's kitchen.
"Yeah mon ami, Remy be fine. Jus' recoverin," A smile played across his lips as he thought back to Rogue. "Dat was some kiss."
Evan laughed loudly as he downed another glass of milk. "Dude, don't tell me you've found another one!"
Remy just smiled as he left the room, emerald green eyes dancing through his mind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So you were able to defeat them then?" Mystique asked as she watched Rogue move around her new bedroom, organizing her CD's and cloths as she unpacked.
"Was der evah a doubt?" Rogue asked turning to face the blue woman before her. Rogue fidgeted nervously under her mothers gaze as she adjusted the straps of her black tank and moved to playing with the string of her pajama pants. "It was surprisingly easy."
"You've made me very proud today Rogue," Mystique replied smiling slightly. "I know now that bringing you here was for the best. Now try to get some sleep. You'll have to begin your training again tomorrow."
"Yes, ma'm. Night." Rogue watched as the other woman left the room closing the door behind her. Rogue waited a bit before heading over to her jeans and removing the deck of cards she found there. 'Ah wonder who he was.' She smiled as she ran her fingers gingerly over the cards. 'Ah'll just have to make sure Ah run inta him again.' She pulled open her night stand drawer and threw the deck in before climbing into bed and turning off the light. She closed her eyes and listened to the new Cajun voice in her head as she fell into a somewhat blissful sleep.
Authors Note: Feel free to let me know if you like what you read. Might just help to encourage me….er…better not say that or none of you will review.
To all those who have reviewed. Thank you so much! You've made my day. A couple of quick notes, my accents may be off at times. I'm sorry but I'm not that great at them, so I apologize now. Rogue's 18. Thought I put it up on the summary page, but I forgot. Thanks to Caliente for pointing it out. Now on with the story.
'text' internal speech
Wandering Souls
Chapter 2: Sudden Introductions
The Brotherhood eyed the new girl suspiciously as she set her bags down at their feet. She was cocky and a bit rude.
"Who the hell are you?" Wanda finally asked, the cord around her brothers neck tightening slightly.
"Rogue," was the simple response as the girls demeanor seemed to change slightly, taking on a defensive stance. Mystique had warned her that they would not trust her and she had no idea how they would react to her yet. "And ah'd lahke to get goin' if it ain't too much trouble. Mamma's waitin'." She eyed the others cautiously. She didn't want to be there and it was obvious they didn't want her there. Or they were hiding it really well if they did. She missed Mississippi already, and Irene.
"Uh sis," Pietro choked out, struggling with the cord.
Wanda tore her gaze from Rogue and looked deadly at her brother before releasing him, with a satisfying thud, to the ground. "Wanda," she said turning her gaze back to the girl in front of her. Rogue looked to be a little older than Wanda, and seemed to have the same love for the Goth attire, judging by her dark make-up. "Toad."
"Yes snookims?" Toad asked, hopping up to Wanda, ready to do whatever the woman wanted him to.
She looked down at him disgusted before barking, "Get her bags. And don't drip on them," she then walked over to Rogue. "Lance's jeep is out front."
"Thanks sugah." Rogue relaxed a bit. "Now, which one of ya is Lance?"
"That'd be me," Lance stepped forward and offered Rogue his hand. "Lance Alvers at your service." They shook and Lance offered her a smile before continuing with the other members introductions. "That's Toad down there."
"Yo."
"And the big guy with the chips is Fred, or Blob."
"Nice to meet you," Fred said, wiping his hand on his overalls before offering it to Rogue.
"Pleasure sugah," she replied taking it gingerly and hoping the cheese powder wouldn't get all over her gloves.
"And this is…"
"Pietro Maximoff at your service," Pietro replied, appearing in an instant before Rogue and bending over to kiss her hand. Winking at her as he rose.
Rogue just gave a little snort and shook her head before turning back to Lance. "Lead the way sugah."
"Hey!" Pietro yelled, put off by her lack of attention to his charms and started after the group. "Don't you even want to know my sign?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The X-Men climbed out of the x-van in the middle of the parking lot of the Bayville Airport. And looked around, ready for action. "Keep your eyes open. I want a perimeter set up," Logan began, climbing out behind the teens. "Half-pint, you and Gumbo take the north parking lot. Elf, you and Spyke are around back, and Slim, you and Jean are by the front Exit."
"Be careful," Ororo added, handing out the com units. "Logan and I will be at the van if you need us. And remember, we're not here for trouble."
"Of course. X-Men, move out," Cyclops stated as the team nodded in agreement before moving off to their designated areas.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey, this is, like, Lances jeep," Kitty exclaimed as she walked over to the vehicle and peeked inside. "So this is, like, where I left my hair tie." She added, phasing through the door and retrieving the purple scunchie and placing it in her pocket, hoping no one saw or heard the last part.
"Don' fret p'tite," Remy whispered into her ear, his Cajun accent sending a chill down her spine, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. "Your secret be safe wit Remy."
Kitty blushed before nodding and looking back at him and shooting her best glare. "Like don't do that."
Remy chuckled slightly as he turned a card over in his hand. "Sorry p'tite. Gambit be forgetting himself." A sudden noise caught his attention and he grabbed Kitty and pulled her down behind the jeep as the side doors of the building opened and the Brotherhood exited, complete with someone Gambit had never seen before.
"Alright p'tite, Gambit be ready to create a distraction. You go see if you can find out what dey be up to, non?"
"Alright. Better get over here Scott," Kitty whispered into her com link. "We've found them. But don't, like, engage them or anything." She looked over at Gambit who nodded before she phased into the ground.
Remy watched from behind the jeep, pulling a deck of cards out of his pocket, and began shuffling them idly, just in case he needed them.
"The jeeps this way," Lance said leading the way, Rogue at his side as the others followed suit. Eyes open. Lance turned to look and nearly ran into, or rather through, the phasing Kitty who was rising out of the ground before him. "Jesus Kitten! Don't do that!"
"Sorry," Kitty blushed as Lance smiled at her. "I was just, like, out for a walk and noticed your jeep. So what are you up to?" she glided over to him, placing her hands behind her back.
"None of your business Pryde," Pietro snarled, running quickly in-between her and Lance. "Now why don't you run on home. It's past your bedtime."
"Back off Maximoff!" Evan's voice cut through the night as a series of spikes jutted from the ground where Pietro had been stand.
"Once again Daniels, you're too slow," Pietro taunted as he noticed the X-Men coming out of the shadows around them. Including the one by Lance's jeep. "Shit, we're surrounded!"
Lance turned to Kitty, anger in his eyes. "I thought you were alone!"
"Lance I'm sorry," Kitty began but was quickly cut off as the ground began to roll.
"Who are they?" Rogue asked turning to Wanda whose eyes were full of fury.
"The X-Men," she replied as she moved towards Evan. "No one tries to kill my brother but me!" She snarled and began her attack.
Rogue looked around and noticed that everyone seemed to be fending off someone. Toad had abandoned Rogue's bags and was facing off against a fuzzy blue guy with a tail who kept disappearing into puffs of smoke in one area and appearing in another. Fred had dropped his chips and was being held in mid air by a red head. The girl, Rogue thought she heard Lance called her Kitty, was keeping Pietro busy as Lance faced off against a guy wearing a red and yellow visor.
"Guess that just leaves you and Gambit cher," Rogue heard a familiar accent as she spun around to meet two red on black eyes staring back at her. Rogue's breath caught for a minute and she was mesmerized by those eyes.
Gambit himself was not unaffected by the emerald gems he stared into. He was able to recover more quickly than Rogue though as his eyes began to travel from her face and down the rest of her body. "Gambit have to say though, he don mind de fates choice."
"My, my, looks lahke the X-Men ain't very picky," Rogue drawled pulling at her gloves a bit, a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. "Letting a Swamp Rat join the team."
"You wound me cher," Gambit feigned hurt as he charged a card, looking at it as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world as he watched it glow. He stole a glance out the corner of his eye to make sure the girl before him was watching as well. "Why don't you give up now cher. Gambit don't want to hurt you none."
Rogue laughed at his confidence as she admired his physique a bit. 'Now now girl, stay focused. Don't wanna screw up now. Your mom will be pissed.' "Good thing ah don't share your concern sugah," Rogue said jumping into a back flip as one of the cards feel where she stood, exploding on contact. "Come on Cajun," she said, continuing her flips as more cards fell. "Is that all you got?" Rogue vaulted herself onto a nearby car, landing gracefully in a crouch, the years of combat training with her mother and gymnastics paying off. She smiled over at him as she waited for another attack, slipping her gloves off and into her pockets.
"You be good cher," Gambit replied, intrigued by her defense style and slightly disappointed that she hadn't chose to attack him at all. He was curious as to what exactly her power was. He reached into a hidden pocket of his long trench coat and retrieved his Bo staff, pressing two buttons to extend it. "But Gambit be better," he finished vaulting himself onto the car hood next to her.
Rogue saw her opportunity and took it, rising close to him, their faces millimeters apart. "Whatevah ya say swamp rat," she smiled letting her lips brush his slightly.
Gambit was caught off guard by the sudden kiss but was not unhappy about it in the least. Until he felt a pull at his lips as if the energy was being drained from him. He pushed her away as he fell to the ground, looking up at her again and noticing that her once green eyes, were an endless abyss of red and black.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I knew we couldn't trust those kids to stay outta trouble," Logan growled as he and Ororo made their way to the north lot.
"Yes, like you always do," Ororo mused a smile playing at her lips.
Logan grumbled something under his breath as they stepped into the lot. Taking a quick survey of the sight before him. "Gumbo's down," he began when his breath caught in his throat. A young woman stood over Gambit, her face framed by two white stripes.
"Logan, what is it?" Ororo asked concern filling her voice as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I don't know, but I think I know that kid. Get the others," he replied, shaking off his shock. "I'll take care of Gambit and the kid."
"As you wish," Ororo replied taking to the sky. A sudden gust of wind sweeping across the lot as the air filled with clouds and thunder. "ENOUGH OF THIS!" She bellowed, lightening hit the ground near the fighting teens.
"HEY!" Pietro yelled, "They started it."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Logan made his way over to the two near the vehicles, claws extended. Rogue turned and looked at him, Gambit's eyes staring out her of her own.
"Dey started all of dis," Rogue stated, eyeing the man before her as he picked up a deck of cards from one of Gambit's many pockets and began to shuffle them. Alternating between charging the cards and withdrawing it.
"Easy kid, we just wanted to talk to ya," Logan said, walking slowly over to Gambit checking that the boy was still breathing.
"Well ah ain't interested in talkin," Rogue replied charging a card and throwing it into the air above the two men before taking her leave towards the others.
Logan lunged for Gambit and pulled him out of the way, just as the card fell to the ground and exploded where the boy had lain.
"Wow, dat fille has some kiss," Gambit groaned, rubbing the back of his head as he rose.
"Save it bub, we gotta get back to the x-van. Ro's taking care of the others," Logan replied gruffly as he pulled Gambit to his feet, his mind lost in thoughts about his past.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I do not care who started this Mr. Maximoff," Storm replied as she landed gracefully in-between the teens. "I'm ending it. X-men! Return to the van, and boys, perhaps you should head home. I'm sure Mystique is wondering what kind of trouble you're getting into," Ororo stated as the X-men began to shuffle back towards the van.
"Lance, I'm sorry," Kitty whispered as she stopped before the older boy, her eyes downcast.
"Don't worry about it Kitten," he said comfortingly as he placed his finger under her chin and made her meet his gaze. "Gave me a chance to kick Summers ass." He smiled at her as she hurried behind the others.
"Is life here always dis interesting?" Rogue asked, placing the cards in her pocket and pulling her gloves back on as she joined the others. "Cause ah'm going to love livin hear den." She smiled at the others as her eyes returned to their normal vibrant green. "Can we go home now? Ah'm anxious to tell mamma about dis."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So Remy dude, you okay?" Evan asked as he watched Remy down a couple of aspirins as he stood in front of the counter in the mansion's kitchen.
"Yeah mon ami, Remy be fine. Jus' recoverin," A smile played across his lips as he thought back to Rogue. "Dat was some kiss."
Evan laughed loudly as he downed another glass of milk. "Dude, don't tell me you've found another one!"
Remy just smiled as he left the room, emerald green eyes dancing through his mind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So you were able to defeat them then?" Mystique asked as she watched Rogue move around her new bedroom, organizing her CD's and cloths as she unpacked.
"Was der evah a doubt?" Rogue asked turning to face the blue woman before her. Rogue fidgeted nervously under her mothers gaze as she adjusted the straps of her black tank and moved to playing with the string of her pajama pants. "It was surprisingly easy."
"You've made me very proud today Rogue," Mystique replied smiling slightly. "I know now that bringing you here was for the best. Now try to get some sleep. You'll have to begin your training again tomorrow."
"Yes, ma'm. Night." Rogue watched as the other woman left the room closing the door behind her. Rogue waited a bit before heading over to her jeans and removing the deck of cards she found there. 'Ah wonder who he was.' She smiled as she ran her fingers gingerly over the cards. 'Ah'll just have to make sure Ah run inta him again.' She pulled open her night stand drawer and threw the deck in before climbing into bed and turning off the light. She closed her eyes and listened to the new Cajun voice in her head as she fell into a somewhat blissful sleep.