Disclaimer: Okay, still don't own X-Men and I'm defiantly not making any money off of this so no one sue. You won't get nothing but a headache. And I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of it's references. Oh, but I do own Ebony and the story idea and probably any characters you don't recognize. Yay me.
Authors Note: Everyone, y'all need to go and read Mercury Dream's stuff. It's really, really, really, really, really good. (Did I mention really?) A Rogue's Touch and All Grown Up are my favorites but the others are all really good as well. So go read her stuff to. Now, quickly! Oh, and if any of you didn't already know, Ishandahalf has posted a fic that you all need to go read too. Remember, Xander said it best. "To read make's our English speaking good." I'll be introducing more evil characters later on, hopefully soon. I have a few in mind but I have to create a couple of more. If anyone has any they'd like me to consider, feel free to send me the ideas in a review and you'll get full credit for them if I use them.
'text' internal speech
dreams
Wandering Souls
Chapter 28: Final Chances.
Mystique sank onto the bed of the small apartment she'd been living in since her escape from Magneto, her whole body ached and her head still swam from her daughter's touch. 'No, not your daughter. She never was yours,' she thought as she picked up a picture of her, Irene and Rogue at age seven. The girl was smiling and holding a rather large gymnastics' trophy. Mystique couldn't deny the pride that was on her face in the photo, nor could she stop the pang in her heart as she realized that now, there was no hope for her ever having any kind of relationship with Rogue again.
At least she had been successful. Weeks earlier Irene had a vision, showing her Rogue's demise as her powers grew out of her control. They both knew that she was too stubborn a girl to seek help for her oncoming overload, so Mystique had to be there. In case Rogue needed her. And now, she was fine and Irene's visions of the future had returned, and Rogue was one of their players. The blue shape shifter let out a sigh as touched the picture lightly with her fingers, tracing Rogue's face with her nail. Despite her efforts, she'd grown to love the girl. And had tried to give her everything she'd never been able to give her two sons. Kurt at least had grown up in a loving home. Her other boy, Graydon, though, she knew his hatred for her and her kind was her own fault. But with Rogue, she had hoped to do better by her. Without having to give her to strangers to do it. A cool breeze blew across the room and Mystique placed the photo on the bed and looked to the window, about to get up to close it when she froze, two emerald eyes burning a hole into her being.
"Hello Raven," Meranda's voice was ice cold as she spoke. She sat on the window frame, glaring at the woman before her. "Long time no see. What's it been now? Fourteen years?"
"Give or take," Mystique replied coolly as she rose, taking on a defensive stance. "What are you doing here Ebony?"
"What, no hello hug?" Ebony asked as she rose swiftly, her words dripping with sarcasm. "No, hey it's good to see I didn't kill you or even a pity to see you lived?" Meranda began to circle the room, running her hand over furniture and the walls as she walked. Her eyes never leaving Mystiques.
"What do you want from me? I did what I was paid to do," Mystique growled, not letting Meranda know just how tired she was. Or how unnerved Meranda's presence was making her.
"Wow, what a great excuse," Meranda exclaimed as her hands began to glow a soft pink color and the paper on Mystiques walls began to fall off, the glue being loosened by the heat Meranda's hands were emitting. "Maybe I'll use that one when they ask me why no one can find the parts."
"You can try," Mystique challenged evenly.
"No, actually, I can succeed," Meranda stated, sending a roundhouse into the shape shifter, her sudden movement combined with Mystiques fatigue caught the blue skinned woman off guard, and the kick landed squarely in her jaw, sending her flying into a dresser. "Well come on Raven! You could at least put up some kind of a fight. I'm not even using my powers yet and wouldn't you love to see them all? Since I wouldn't have them if it weren't for you."
"So that's why you're here? Cause I gave you to Townshend?" Mystique sneered as she climbed to her feet. "It wasn't much of a challenge."
"Yes, shooting someone in the dark is never really that hard," Meranda growled as she stood before Mystique, placing her hand into a small pocket inside the lining of her trench coat.. "But I'm here more to tell you to stay the hell away from my daughter."
"Or what?" Raven challenged.
A smirk appeared on Meranda's face as suddenly her hand shot out, pinning Mystique against the wall with a dozen throwing stars, embedded in the wall as well as in the woman's blue skin. "Think about it Raven," Meranda took three steps and was suddenly in the other woman's face, watching the blood trickle down the wall from the wounds she'd inflicted, her right hand resting on the wall next to Mystique's head. She spoke quietly as she leaned closer, "You handed me over to a government agency whose main goal was to create the ultimate mutant weapon. Do you honestly think they spent all that time and money and didn't do a good job at it?" She smiled sweetly before turning away and heading back towards the window. "Just keep that in mind the next time you even think of coming near my baby." And with that, she was gone into the night leaving Mystique to find her own way out of her current predicament.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I can't like, find my history paper!" Kitty squealed as she rummaged around the mess on her desk. "Ugh! Have any of you seen it? It's, like, worth 40 percent of my grade!"
"You put it in your bag last night," Wanda stated pulling on her trench coat and checking her hair and makeup one last time.
"Oh yeah," Kitty said phasing the paper out of her bag. "Thanks."
"Whatever," Wanda replied grabbing her own bag and walking out the door of their bedroom, heading down for breakfast.
Downstairs, things weren't much better. All around Wanda the X-Mansion was in chaos as everyone rushed to find papers, books and everything else under the sun on this early Monday morning.
"Ah finals week," Henry mused as Wanda entered the kitchen. He was sitting at the table with the other adults, sipping coffee. "A time for endings and new beginnings."
"And chaos," Logan added as Kurt BAMPFED into the room, landing on Remy's foot. Logan smirked and continued reading his paper, coffee in hand.
"Ow! Watch it homme!" the Cajun yelped as he hopped up and down on his good foot.
"And procrastinators," Ororo added as Bobby sat at the other end of the table, frantically scribbling down an English paper that was due in his first period class.
"What's going on here?" Wanda asked as she plopped down next to Meranda at the table, grabbing a donut from the box in the center.
"We're enjoying the chaos that is finals," Meranda stated sipping her espresso. "And why aren't you running around like a maniac?"
"Don't see the point," Wanda shrugged as she picked at the donut. "I did what I have to do, so now it just comes down to I passed or I didn't."
"What a remarkable attitude," Hank commented with a grin.
Rogue entered the kitchen looking paler than usual, gripping the wall for some support as she let out a long breath. Her power overload had taken a great toll on her both physically and mentally, and left her weak. Logan made a move to get up to help her but was beaten to the punch by a certain Cajun, who swept his arms around her waist and supported her over to a nearby chair at the table. "Mornin' mon amore," he said kissing her head. "Remy made y' some eggs," he smiled as he set the plate before her.
"Merci Rems," Rogue smiled as she picked up the fork and dug in. "Mornin' y'all," she added to the others as they bustled around the room.
"Morning dear, how are you feeling today?" Meranda asked as she brushed a hair behind Rogue's ear.
"Fahne," Rogue replied as she smiled over at Logan, who was growling savagely in Remy's direction, saying sweetly, "Don't kill him Daddy. He's a good cook."
"He's lucky I didn't kill him last week," Logan growled returning his attention to his paper, referring to walking into Rogue's med bay room late at night and finding his baby girl curled up in the infamous womanizer's arms. Fortunately, Henry had chosen that moment to check on Rogue as well and was able to help stave off her feral father long enough for Gambit to run.
Rogue just shook her head slightly and continued to eat her breakfast. All the adult's eyes were on her, concern on their features. If it were up to anyone at the Institute, Rogue wouldn't be going back to school yet, but unfortunately, Principle Kelley had made it quite clear that if she didn't participate in finals week, then there would be no way for her to graduate in the spring and Rogue refused to repeat the year. Even with Rogue coming in this week, Kelley had insinuated that she still may not pass.
Meranda and the Professor were ready though. Both were dressed nicely and prepared for the meeting they had with him this morning. And Meranda was more than looking forward to putting the little man in his place once and for all. Which was exactly why Charles was accompanying her.
"Do you think you're up to today child?" Ororo asked Rogue as she drank her juice slowly.
"Fer the last tahme, Ah'll be fahne," Rogue said as she sat down her glass and glared at everyone. Since her powers overloaded and the concert two weeks earlier everyone had been tiptoeing around her and catering to her every whim and driving her crazy. "Ah'm jus' a little tired from it all."
"Of course you'll be fine kid," Logan stated setting the paper on the table and finishing off his coffee. "You're tough. Get it from your old man."
Meranda let out a snort as she downed the rest of her espresso. "This from the man who passed out during her birth," she stated as she ran her finger lightly over the rim of her cup.
Logan shot Meranda a glare as Ororo, Hank, Charles and Rogue laughed slightly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I understand your concern Ms…" Kelley began looking over up from Rogue's file and over at Meranda.
"Davidson," she answered curtly, more than a little annoyed with the Principles apparent dislike for her and everyone at Xavier's.
"Yes, Davidson, but we can't just go letting people graduate who have a tendency to not attend class now can we?" Kelley continued in a patronizing tone.
"Are you trying to insinuate that my daughter didn't have a good reason for missing class?" Meranda dared, glaring daggers at the man.
"I'm sorry, your who?" Kelley asked taken aback. This was definitely not the woman he'd met when Rogue was admitted to the school.
"My daughter," Meranda stated, her anger rising more.
"I'm sorry, but I've met Rogue's mother and, I'm absolutely positive it was not you," Kelley stated, closing the file and looking at the woman. 'What are these freaks trying to pull now.'
Charles quickly cut in, not having to be a telepath to sense the tension and animosity growing between the two. "It appears there was an earlier misunderstanding," Charles began, smiling politely at the principle. "This is Rogue's mother."
"Ah," Kelley responded before reopening the file. "Well, as I was saying, even if she passes her finals, these absences," he paused for a moment for dramatic effect. "They're hard to ignore."
"Don't you mean, the fact that she's a mutant is what's hard to ignore?" Meranda asked dangerously. She was getting a little more than pissed at this guy and that was never a good thing. It was when she got really angry that she lost control of all her acquired powers and that's when it got dangerous to be around her or even to be her for that matter.
"What exactly are you trying to imply Ms. Davidson?" Kelley asked, his voice dripping with anger.
"Nothing at all Mr. Kelly," Meranda stated, rising to the challenge. "I thought I was being rather blunt in my accusations."
"Meranda," Charles said firmly, which had the desired effect on the woman. She shut her mouth and leaned back into her chair. He turned his attentions back to the principle, "Now, I'm sure there's something we can work out Principle Kelley," Charles used his soothing diplomatic tone that always worked on his students, and faculty alike.
"In all honesty, I doubt it will matter after Friday Professor Xavier," Principle Kelley all but sneered as he closed the folder again and rose, walking to the corner and one of the many filing cabinets, opening a drawer and finding the slot for Rogue's file.
"Why?" Meranda asked suspicious. "What happens Friday?"
"The school board will hold another meeting concerning the Mutant Issue in our schools," Kelley smiled. "And whether or not they will be able to return next semester."
"Why weren't we informed of this sooner?" Charles asked, irritation growing in his own voice.
Kelley turned back to them, smiling politely. "I suppose that the school board didn't see the need to involve you Professor."
"Why you little prick," Meranda seethed and rose out of her chair, her eyes glowing red. "And I'm sure you had nothing to do with that," she slammed her palms down on his desk and could feel the fear vibrating off the poor pathetic excuse for a man.
"Come Meranda," Charles said, after reading enough of the Principle's mind to find out when the conference was being held and where. "We've done all we can. So long as Rogue passes her courses, he cannot hold her back. And if he tries, we come back. Good day Mr. Kelley, and we'll see you Friday."
Meranda walked behind Charles, her trench coat flowing behind her as she took the handles of his wheelchair and wheeled him towards the door, opening it with her mind and slamming it the same way. Once they were safely outside and in the car, Meranda looked hard at him. "You should have let me hurt him."
"But my dear, it will hurt him more when our students return in the spring," Charles concluded as they began to head back towards the Institute. "And believe me, they will be returning."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rogue sat idly at the X-Man's lunch table, picking at her sandwich. She was the first one out there today and she sat alone, bored out of her skull. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, relaxing her muscles completely. It was less than a minute before she found herself in one of her new favorite places, in front of the house in her mind.
She looked around, noticing the calmness that her mind had become as opposed to the chaos that reigned there only two weeks earlier. She strode up the steps and opened the door, entering the old home. She smelled the comforting scents of Dragon's blood incense and smiled. "Madison, ya here?"
"No I'm in Tahiti," came the sarcastic reply from the kitchen.
"Haha, yer so damned funny," Rogue stated walking into the warm room and smiling at her friend who went around what seemed to be a daily routine of making nachos. "Ya know ya don't have ta eat right?" Rogue asked as she plopped down into the chair at the table.
"Yeah, but I don't have anything else to do at the moment," Madison replied carrying the plate over to the table. "Besides, you're craving nachos. This morning I had eggs and I must say, that little Cajun of yours is a damned good cook."
"Don't Ah know it," Rogue replied grabbing a chip and wondering if the food in her mind tasted the same as what she ate normally.
"So how's your tests going?" Madison asked as she dug into her lunch.
"Fahne," Rogue replied trying the chip and determining that the real thing was much better. "Especially since Ah learned how ta tap inta mah other psyche's. That French test was a piece a cake."
Madison let out a loud laugh as she rose to grab a coke from the fridge. "And I'm sure Remy didn't mind at all," she smiled as she sat back down. They sat in silence for a bit as Madison ate, just enjoying each others company. It was a few moments before Madison spoke again. "I like him Marie. He's good for you."
"He is ain't he?" Rogue smiled as she looked down at her glove free hands. She never wore gloves in her mind and she longed for that sensation outside of it.
"It'll happen, just give it time," Madison said supportively as she gripped her friends hand. "You're almost there."
"Am Ah?" Rogue asked hopefully. Since her overload, she'd spent most of everyday inside her mind with Madison, struggling to understand her power and find her own sense of control. Madison assured her every time that she was much closer, and now she could feel it in her own heart as well. She let out a long breath, blowing her bangs from her face. "What do ya think there doin' now?"
"Who? Sakura and the guys?" Madison asked taking a drink from her coke.
"And ya," Rogue reminded her as she twirled her hair around her finger. It was at that annoying length that was to long to really be considered short, but not long enough to do anything with. She wanted to cut it but Remy nearly had a heart attack every time she mentioned going to the beauty parlor so she left it alone and just bitched at him every time it got to be too annoying.
"Probably nothing good," Madison replied, reaching behind her back and retrieving two ivory handled Beretta's from the waist band of her pants and set them onto the table. The handles were ornate with two fire breathing dragon's carved on each side. They were truly magnificent weapons and Rogue admired them for a bit as Madison continued. "Or don't you remember that part?"
"No Ah remember," Rogue said softly as she picked up one of the guns and ran her finger over it gingerly as she looked to Madison for permission. The other girl nodded and Rogue proceeded to dismantle the weapon, and reassemble it in record time, spinning it once around her finger before replacing it on the table before her friends psyche.
"Not bad," Madison commented as she rose to place her plate in the sink. "Guess Eric taught you better than we all thought."
"Guess so," Rogue smirked as she looked over at the fridge. On the door, attached by a magnet of a monkey flipping the bird was a picture, perfectly preserved in her mind of her, Madison and three others. Madison was wrapped in the arms of a big muscled bald guy that gave Vin Diesel a run for his money in looks, as she smiled at the camera. Next to her stood a taller, leaner but still well muscled man with dark curly hair pulled back in a pony tail, a goatee and rich amber eyes, his arms wrapped around another girl with brown and red streaked hair and a knowing glint in her eyes. Rogue stood between the two women, both of whom had arms around her shoulders, pulling her back into the group hug. "Ah miss it sometimes," Rogue admitted feeling a wave of guilt wash over her. The things they'd all done together wouldn't exactly have won them good conduct medals. They were well on their way to becoming professional criminals back when Rogue was still hanging around them and now, she could only imagine what kind of trouble they were getting themselves into, or out of for that matter.
"Hey, what's with the guilt trip?" Madison asked pulling Rogue to her feet. "We had fun! And the people we hurt had already hurt a lot of other people even worse."
"It didn't make it right," Rogue argued.
"Damn, must be all this X-Men influence. Because we all know that none of them ever fucked up before and did stupid shit," Madison stated sarcastically, releasing Rogue's hands and placing her own on her hips. "At least we were good at what we did. And besides, it's not like Mystique wasn't training you to be a terrorist anyway. We just helped hone your skills." Madison turned and headed towards the front hall. "Besides, we did a hell of a lot better job looking after one another then the X-Men seem to. Or that Brotherhood of Mystiques for that matter. We were family, or didn't that mean anything to you?"
"Oh come on ya know it did! Still does but Ah don't come in here ta fight wit ya," Rogue said following her. "Ah'm jus' sayin' that what we did wasn't right. Doesn't mean Ah wouldn't do it again."
"That's what bothers you isn't it?" Madison turned to Rogue, her indigo and black braid flying behind her. "That you'd do it again. That you're not as perfect as you want to be."
"Can't help it," Rogue shrugged. "It seems Ah'm surrounded bah perfection."
"Oh you mean the red head? Please, you could take her. Hell, anyone of us could have taken anyone of your X-men. Odds are, still can," Madison said as she started up the stairs.
"Where are ya goin?" Rogue asked, stopping at the base. In all the time she'd spent up in her mind, she'd never climbed the stairs before.
"To meet your pain," Madison said calmly holding out a hand to Rogue.
A cold breeze blew down the stairs, and Rogue clutched her shoulders. The upper floor seemed overly dark, contrasting greatly with the light, airy atmosphere on the lower floor. "Ah don't wanna go up there."
"You have to if you ever want to learn control," Madison said evenly. "The secrets in your pain, and you keep your pain up there."
"Ah ain't ready," Rogue stated turning to leave when Madison's words stopped her.
"If you don't think you're ready now, then you never will be."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey Remy, what's going on?" Evan asked as he and the others joined the young Southern couple at their lunch table. Remy sat munching thoughtfully on a bag of chips while Rogue sat motionless besides him, her head bent and her chin resting on her chest.
"Nothin' homme," Remy replied as he threw the empty bag into the middle of the table.
"What's, like, up with Rogue?" Kitty asked about to wave a hand in front of the young Goth's face when Remy's hand shot out and caught her wrist.
"Ma chere be medetatin'. Probably talkin' ta dat Madison fille again," Remy stated releasing Kitty's arm and grabbing Rogue's coke, taking a drink. Rogue had told everyone a lot of what went on in her head when she meditated, but Remy knew more than the others.
"Is it wise for her to be doing that here?" Scott asked sitting down across from Remy, Jean sitting next to him, peering at Rogue with curiosity.
"I wonder what's going on in her head right now," Jean mused when Remy suddenly shot her a glare.
"Curiosity killed de cat mon ami," Remy growled, overly protective of Rogue in her current, vulnerable state. "Best leave it alone Jeanie."
"I wasn't going to," Jean's voice trailed off as she looked down at her hands, her face turning a bright enough shade of red to rival her hair.
"Course not," Remy stated, trying not to become annoyed, but the truth was it was incredibly hard. Remy had come up on Rogue about five minutes before the others had shown up and he'd found her deep in meditation. He'd seen her in this state several times over the last two weeks and each time they got deeper and deeper and in Remy's opinion, more dangerous. Every time she came out of it her moods were different, and more intense than the last. Usually, she only attempted this deep of a meditation with her mother or Xavier around, as well as Doctor McCoy, who could sense her sudden changes in mood and physical status, and pull her out of it fast if the case so required. He wasn't sure what she was thinking undertaking in it here at school, but he was going to do everything in his power to keep her safe. Even if that meant letting down all of his shields and walls and letting his full empathic ability shine to it's fullest. The only downside was he wasn't only connected to Rogue and her mood, but to everyone else's within a two mile radius. "She's fine," he returned his gaze to Scott, deciding to answer the boys question. "Remy's lookin' after her."
"Do you need some help?" Jean offered, feeling the effects of Remy's empathy through her basic telepathic skills.
"Non p'tite. Remy got it under control," Remy replied smirking at her when a sudden wave of fear washed over him, coming from Rogue. He turned on the bench, straddling it as he faced her, looking at her intensely. "Fer now," he added as he watched his girlfriend, her breathing quickening a bit and for a brief instant he wished he was a telepath.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So ya sayin' if Ah don't go up now that's it?" Rogue asked glaring at Madison.
"No," Madison took a few steps down and met Rogue's gaze. "What I'm saying is if you don't believe in yourself enough to go up now, you probably won't ever be able to."
"Wow, ya sure have a lotta confidence in meh," Rogue replied sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest and looking over her shoulder at the door.
"Oh cut the shit," Madison replied annoyed. "It's not my fault you're a chicken shit."
"Ah am not!" Rogue yelled glaring back at the girl.
"Then why won't you go up there?"
"Cause Ah don't feel lahke it."
"Liar."
"Bitch."
"Slut."
"How?"
"Fine, if you want to play this game that's fine by me," Madison threw her arms up in the air and walked over to the couch, flopping down in a huff.
Rogue looked at her friend and then back up at the stairs. She couldn't go up there. Couldn't relive it again. "Ya jus' don't understand how hard this is," she whispered.
Madison was at her side in an instant. "Yeah, I do. I've been up there Rogue," Madison whispered, placing a supporting arm on her friends shoulder. "I know it's hard, but if you want the answers then you have to relive it."
Rogue let out a long breath and looked up the stairs, before slowly beginning to climb. She got halfway there before turning around and looking down at Madison. "Ain't ya comin' gal?"
"This part you have to do alone," Madison replied. "But I'll be here when your done."
"Well tarnation gal, ya coulda told meh that earlier!" Rogue stated, her accent thickening the farther up the stairs she climbed. "How will ah know where ta go?" she asked before continuing.
"You just will. Now get going! You're lunch breaks not going to last forever."
Rogue let out another breath and turned back, climbing the stairs to face her demons. She made it to the top of the stairs and saw two long corridors, one a lot longer than the other one and lined with different kinds of doors. She could hear screaming and pounding coming from that corridor. "Mah psyches," she whispered to herself before looking down the shorter corridor. It was a lot darker and she could feel the cool breeze coming from that direction. "Must be this way," she mumbled as she walked down that hallway. It was also lined with doors, but none of them as imposing as the first. To her left and right she saw different memories. The first few doors were her most recent, consisting of her and the X-men and Remy and her parents. The farther down the hall she went, the older the memories were and the younger she became in them. She walked for what felt like forever till she came across the doors she didn't want to look in. The memories she whished died long ago, that she'd pushed to the back of her mind and the end of this hallway. Most of them just had the doors closed with a foreboding shadows over them, and with each one she passed she knew which memory it possessed. But one stood out above the rest. It was at the very end of the corridor, the door made of steel and covered in thick chain's and several padlocks. The air around it was like ice and like the others, Rogue knew what memory lay hidden here.
"The answer's in your pain," Madison's words rang through her head as she lifted her hand and touched the door. Chain's feel away and Rogue was sucked into the room, where once again, she could here her own screaming.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The pain and confusion hit Remy like a tidal wave just seconds before Rogue began to scream. The X-Men all moved into action, looking for concern at their friend as Kitty pulled out her cell phone to call the institute, and Jean went into Rogue's mind. Meanwhile, the guys formed a human shield around their friend, keeping the bystanders from getting to close while the girls started offering assistance and Remy grabbed onto Rogue's shoulders, shaking her forcefully.
Jean entered a room in a house to find a black and indigo haired girl glaring daggers at her as she stood at the base of a long staircase.
"Can I help you with something?" she asked the redhead as she pulled out a dagger from her arm band.
"I'm looking for Rogue," Jean said as she started towards the stairs. "She needs my help."
"She doesn't need anything from you red," the other girl growled stepping into Jean's path. "She has to do this on her own. She'll be fine so you can just get the fuck out of here. Now."
"Look, I know who you are Madison," Jean said standing up to the girls challenge. "And I know you think you know what's best for her, but she's hurting. Can't you feel it?" Suddenly Jean felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Remy smiling at her.
"She's okay p'tite," Remy reassured her. "Dis be somethin' she have t' do. Now go 'fore Madison git's mad hahn?"
"But," Jean began before she felt herself be forcefully pushed out of Rogue's mind. Everyone turned to look at her except for Remy. "They won't let me help her," she said tiredly as she leaned against Scott.
As suddenly as it began, Rogue's screaming stopped and her eyes shot open, tears clouding them. She looked around at the group slowly, her eyes settling on Remy, who had to put his shields back into place to fight off the overwhelming sadness, fear and betrayal rolling off of Rogue. "Y' alright mon amore?" he asked going to wrap her into a hug when she suddenly pulled away from him.
"Don't touch meh!" she shouted and got up, grabbing her things and running off towards her class, tears falling down her cheeks.
"Chere wait!" Remy called going to follow her when Wanda stopped him.
"I don't think she wants you Remy," the young Goth stated grabbing her own bag. "Let me handle this one okay?" Wanda took off after Rogue, her trench coat billowing behind her. Everyone watched dumbfounded, their astonishment finally broken by the bell signaling them to head back to class.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Remy sulked around on the couch. It was Friday afternoon and finals week had ended for the short winter holiday. By all accounts Remy should be thrilled, but as he idly flipped through the channels, nothing but sadness clouded his heart. It had been a week since Rogue had spoke to him, and the pain of her silence was killing him.
It wasn't just him though. Since the incident at lunch on Monday she hadn't really spoken to anyone. Including Logan and Meranda, much to their unease.
Now, Remy sat alone in the rec room, as the others prepared for the school board meeting this evening. The Professor had requested that they all attend, and take the news of the meeting and the boards decision back to their parents over the holidays.
Remy was aware of Rogue's presence as soon as she entered the room but said nothing. He'd learned early on in the week that she didn't want anything to do with him until after she dealt with whatever she needed to. So as hard as it was for him, he was giving her the space she needed.
Rogue walked slowly across the room, settling down next to him on the couch. They sat in silence as Remy continued to flip through the channels.
"Watcha watcin' Swamp Rat?" Rogue asked quietly as she stared at the screen ahead.
"Nothin' really Cherie," Remy replied clicking off the TV. "Ain't nothin' on." He threw the remote down on the table and looked at her as she continued to stare at the screen. She'd been crying. He could tell by the streaks made in her makeup. 'Ma chere seems t' be doin' dat a lot dis week,' he thought, longing to take her in his arms and make everything better for her. 'If only Ah could charge de bad feelings and blow dem away, Ah would.'
They sat for a few more moments in complete silence before Rogue looked over at him, meeting his gaze. "Ah'm sorry fer the way Ah've been actin' lately. Ah jus' had ta work some stuff out."
"Did y' work dem out den?" Remy asked, grateful that she was finally willing to talk to him about whatever was bothering her.
"No, not yet," Rogue replied in all honesty as she watched the hope drain from his beautiful demon eyes. More than anything she wished she could tell him that everything was okay and she had all the answers but she didn't yet and she couldn't lie to him. She loved him too much to do that. "And Ah don't know how long it'll take either."
Remy looked down at his hands for a moment before meeting her gaze, offering her a smirk, "Remy got all de time in de world mon amore," he got up and leaned closer to her and watched to make sure she didn't flinch away before quickly kissing the top of her head. "He be here when y' be ready t' talk." He started towards the door and stopped when a faint sound met his ears.
"Wait," Rogue whispered, the tears returning to her eyes. Remy turned and looked at her with concern. "Ah ain't ready ta talk yet but," she took in a deep breath before meetin' his gaze. "Could ya jus' hold meh fer awhile?"
In two long strides, Remy was across the room and on the couch, pulling Rogue into his arms, whispering French into her ear, trying his best to sooth her as he slowly rocked her back and forth, letting her cry into his chest.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The gym of Bayville High School was filled that night as parents, teachers and the press were gathered around for the school boards monthly meeting. All the students and faculty of the Xavier Institute sat near the front in a large group, Hank and Kurt hidden by their image inducers.
Everyone watched as Principle Kelley stood before the board, rattling off a list of reasons why the mutants of Bayville should not be allowed back the following semester, or ever again.
The whole thing sent a wave of anger thru the students of the Xavier Institute while they sat and listened, waiting for their own fate to be decided. Rogue sat huddled close to Remy, much to her father's dislike, her head resting on his shoulder as their hands rested intertwined on his knee. This was all just too much for her. Between her fatigue from her power overload and the emotional roller coaster her recent discoveries had sent her into, she was both mentally and physically exhausted. That topped of with the tension brought on by the board meeting tonight had not done her any good at all. Remy had tried to persuade her to stay home and rest. He'd even offered to keep her company, not really looking forward to the meeting and all the emotions that it would bring crashing against his mental wall. And he was always up for taking care of Rogue. But sadly, she had insisted on attending, arguing that she couldn't wait in anticipation all night to find out the boards decision. It was just too big and the suspense would drive her crazy.
Meranda sat straight and tall between Ororo and Hank, an air of dignity and defiance about her as she stared daggers at Kelley, seething more with each word he spoke.
"Distinguished members of the board, the mutants at Bayville High have continued to put our normal students in jeopardy repeatedly throughout this semester. Not only that, but there is an increasing amount of absences among the Mutant Populace of our school, the reason usually being something do to their powers. This last month alone damage to the school such as electrical surges, frozen water fountains, tether ball ropes coming to life, as well as several other unusual incidents, that can only be explained by the mutants using their powers, have been reported which have resulted in thousands of dollars worth of damage which taxpayers are forced to pay for." Kelley spoke coolly a smirk on his face. "This is a clear violation of the act which allowed them to return to school in the first place and must result in their immediate expulsion."
Around the room there was a mixture of cheers and boos from the crowd. Next to Kurt, Amanda squeezed his hand supportively, her family joining those who booed rather than the supporters of Kelley's radical proposal.
Rogue tensed next to Remy, anger filling her eyes. Remy squeezed her hand gently, trying his best to soothe her and control the emotions crashing against him. When he was in a large room, filled with a strong emotion, like hatred for instance, it became harder for him to keep his walls up against it. That was one of the few reasons he stayed at Xavier's. As strong as Remy's shields already were, at times he needed them to be stronger and the Professor was helping him to build them.
"Alright settle down," the President of the board stated, banging his gavel down hard on the table and drawing everyone into silence. "Thank you Principle Kelley, now I believe that Professor Xavier has some points to make as well."
Kelley huffed a bit and took his seat, glaring over at Charles as Ororo and Meranda got up and walked behind him, Ororo taking his chair and rolling him towards the middle of the floor, turning him to face the crowd as well as the board itself. Meranda took her place next to him, a folder full of papers in her hands.
"First off, I'd like to thank the board once again for letting me speak to you all tonight," Charles began, his voice calm and soothing. "We all know why we're here so I'll just get right down to business. Mutants, are nothing to fear. We are simply the next phase in the evolutionary chain," Charles looked on at the crowd. So many emotions were radiating towards him. Fear. Anger. And respect. That was what he focused on and it was coming the strongest from his students. That feeling gave him strength to continue and hope for his dream. "It is true that some of us possess powers that may be considered dangerous, but only if those mutants are left uneducated and ignorant of how they can control there gifts. It is my job, as well as the people I have working with me to educate these gifted students in controlling their abilities, but I cannot do this alone. If you allow mutants to be kept out of school. If you deny them an education, you are hurting yourselves more then they're hurting you." He paused for a moment, letting the crowd come to terms with what he'd just said before continuing. "When we all leave this meeting tonight, we'll get in our cars and drive home. Now imagine how dangerous we'd be if none of us had ever learned how to drive? We couldn't have done that without a basic education first, so that we could comprehend and understand the rules of driving and road courtesy. The same holds true for my students and their gifts. I cannot teach them to control them if they do not have a basic education. An education that every American citizen is entitled to."
The crowd watched him for a moment in silent awe before he continued once again. "Now, Principle Kelley has raised some good arguments against my students, but I'm afraid if you are going to expel them, then there are a few others that must join their ranks." At this point Meranda stepped forward, folders in hand.
"These were obtained through legal ways," she began, her voice clear and calm, hiding the anger that dwelled beneath it. "The first article I'd like to address is Principle Kelley's accusations on the number of absences among the Mutants at Bayville High being higher than in it's not mutant populace. I'd like to present the board with these attendance records of the Bayville High Football team, compared to those of the students who also live at the Xavier Institute." Meranda handed the board the papers. "These were obtained from a school report that can be found online." (AN this may not be true and you may not actually be able to do this, but this is AU so I say it is. And I don't know about anyone else's schools, but back when I was in high school jocks, especially football players, could do no wrong. Which was really dumb at my school cause our team sucked.) "The next accusations are based on school damage caused by mutants," Meranda continued. "The water fountains that froze, were all outside, in New York's lovely November weather," Meranda stated, noticing as Bobby shrunk into his seat. "And electrical surges happen everyday, due to blown fuses and damaged transformers that could have very well been the fault of the electric company and not any students with special abilities." Here she noticed Jubilee and Ray sink into their seats as well. "And as for tether ball ropes coming to life," now was Wanda's turn, "Isn't that just a little absurd for even you Mr. Kelley?" Laughter rang out through the crowd as all the students as well as a few parents and several teachers had a good laugh at the Principle's expense. "And if you're going to try to get sympathy for your cause by playing the tax payer card," Meranda smirked and shook her head. "Well, Benjamin Franklin said it best. There are only two certainties in this life. Death and taxes and that applies to mutants as well."
A few chuckles were heard as Meranda presented the rest of her folders to the board before taking her place back behind the Professor. Charles again rolled forward and cleared his throat before turning fully to the board. Last time we met here, discussing the future of our mutant students, they proved to you that they have learned to use their powers for the betterment of society as well as the protection of it's not so gifted citizens. That they could control their gifts for the common good, and even those who caused the commotion have since learned to act differently, as you can see by the lack of any disturbance here tonight. By making them relive this trial, and prove themselves again is cruel and unnecessary. Please, put your trust in them as they put their trust in you tonight. Thank you." With that, Charles, Ororo and Meranda took their seats.
"Thank you Professor Xavier," the President of the Board said as the group from the Institute took their seats. "The members of the board and I have looked over this information, prior to this meeting, since Ms. Davidson was kind enough to fax it over earlier in the week as well as several other, interesting and befitting pieces of evidence that help to clear the Mutant's of Bayville High. And in light of recent events, as well as a glowing letter of recommendation from the President, this board has determined that the mutants of Bayville will be returning next semester. Now, I hope that this will be the last time we have this discussion Principle Kelley," the President stated, shooting a glare over at Kelley before banging his gavel. "Meeting adjourned."
A wave of relief passed over the students of Xavier as Charles turned to face them smiling. "Now my students, let's go home."
Calliann's Ravings: And the students won! As if there was ever any doubt. Xavier kicks too much ass. Okay, I'm sure y'all have a bunch of questions, like what the hell was it Rogue saw in her head. Well, I must say, you just have to wait till the next chapter cause I'm an evil heinous bitch. J/K! Well, actually I am a evil heinous bitch but the reason you have to wait is cause there's a plan and I'm trying to follow it. I'm hoping to get the next chapter up tomorrow, err…later today, cause it's my plan. And also my birthday so everyone gets a gift. And I have tomorrow off so after I get stuff done for classes, more posting from me. And now my ranting's and ravings are probably starting to confuse people so I'll stop. Except for this last bit. I don't know if I like how the school board meeting played out, especially Charles speeches but hopefully it sounds better to everyone else than it does to me. And now on to my many reviewers or at least a few of them.
Taz9 ~ I rock? Yay! I really don't know how I do it either. If it weren't for you wonderful reviewers I wouldn't even know THAT I did it at all actually. Rogue will figure it all out in the next chapter. But I had to stop here cause this one was getting really long. Hope you enjoyed.
Rogue4787 ~ Well, I noticed how all the Rogue centered stories did Self Possessed chapters as well, and what gets me is it never really goes into what might have been going on in Rogue's mind at the time. So I thought I'd try to focus more on that then on what the others were trying to do to stop her. Here's a little more on Madison and you'll get even more later, but hopefully you'll still like her then. She's one of Rogue's old friends that she used to get into trouble with, as I've kinda outlined in this chapter. It's not that they're bad people, just not perfect angels. She is still alive and her corporeal self will be making a later appearance as well as her and Rogue's other friends. Thanks for your congrats and hopefully I'll be able to post again quicker than last time. Hope you liked this one as well.
Jukebox ~ Thanks as always! Your support means so much.
Koosei ~ Well, Carol will make other appearances they won't be for awhile so don't worry. And I couldn't let Rogue leave him. This is a Romy after all and what kind of Romy fan would I be if I screwed it up like that. I'd have to kick my own ass. Well, hoped you liked this as well. Let me know.
Lovablelatina ~ sorry there's a lack of reaction to Rogue and Remy's bedroom predicament, but I didn't really want to write about Remy trying to outrun Logan's claws. I did give you a little taste though, hope it was enough. Enjoy.
NNC ~ Sorry if this disappoints you, but I've never wrote a Lemon and I don't see myself doing it in the near future.
Rogue77 ~ I'm nocturnal. It's my way. Yeah, damn metamorph's don't like Romy's do they. Bastards. I can't wait to see your trick. Can I have a hint? Please…::pouts::
Ishandahalf ~ Yay, you reviewed! I love it when you do that. Logan can't skewer Remy in my story. It's not allowed. If he does I'll have to go get out my big magnet and my torture devices, and let's just say, it won't be pretty in the end. I guess I did good with the whole point and click idea. It just kinda popped into my head and I ran with it and now I'm really glad I did. And don't think your story didn't inspire me cause it did. But I've had a rough work week and this is my first day off since Tuesday so I post as quick as I can. Hope you enjoy mine as much as I enjoyed your last three.
Lightspeed Suzuka ~ My friend who helped me create Sakura told me to tell you that she's heard of the show before and was a fan which is why she picked the name. The Madison bit was purely a coincidence. I had no idea about the show and the name Madison just kinda popped into my head and she didn't even realize it till I showed her your review and she remembered. And Toddler Suzuka is right. Remy would NEVER consciously cheat on Rogue.
Untitled Whispers ~ Well I'm always happy to have a new reviewer. And being obsessed with Romy is NEVER a bad thing. And I must agree, Remy is way to hot to die. Thanks for reviewing and I hope to hear more from you.
Jadedbeauty ~ You can and did and did I tell you how wonderful your stories are? I'm sure I have and if not, I just did so yay me. Hope you enjoyed this one as well. I try.
Mercury Dream ~ Thank you! You're the only one whose sang to me. Well besides a guy at work, but I told him that the greatest gift he could give me was to stop singing. Damn that British Glory I don't possess. Well, at least I'm 365 days closer to my legal drinking age. Guess till then I'll just have to do it illegally like everyone else in America under the age of 21. I'm not sure how we'd set up the petition either, but it does sound like a really good idea. And I guess we'd send it to fox or marvel.
I'm just glad you're feeling better enough to review. I did miss your last one but you more than made up with it with both these long ones.
I knew you'd like it if I added Jamie. He is too cute. I like most of the newbies though. And I can't wait to for the sequel to your story. I'm excited and giddy. I would love to tell you exactly what she meant but then I'd ruin the next chapter for you and I don't want to do that. And she could have been watching Something Blue although I like Lover's Walk and Spikes little monolog about Buffy and Angel in it.
I don't think any of us are old enough to know what they were doing in that danger room. Scary.
I loved Batman and Robin. And it has the best ideas as you can tell from my little theft of it. Batgirl was pretty awesome too. And thank you for noticing my 'residual territorial nature' line. I'm just so proud of it, which is probably sad but hey, it could be worse I guess. You're welcome for the RoLo. The decision was made on the requests of two people specifically. You and my friend Sofie.
Dru is awesome. And I'm really proud of my impression. I can even do that whole insane sway thing. But I digress. I must disagree though on one thing. I'm a die hard Buffy/Angel fan so the whole Buffy/Spike thing is just so wrong to me. But alas, diversity is what makes the world go round. I love Spike, don't get me wrong, and Angel annoys the hell out of me most of the time, but I just can't bring myself to see Buffy with Spike. I do love the new Angel eps with Spike. There just so damned funny, at least the ones I've seen are anyway.
Damn straight jacket. I hate when they're difficult. Gives you that cramp in your neck and the headache from hitting your forehead on the desk when you miss the keyboard. Not pretty. LOL! I could do that but I don't want to steal your immortality idea and gosh darnit you just beat me too it. I'll come up with something though. I usually do. And you're right about the party. Bad idea on my part.
I guess you'd say you have a love/hate Jott thing going on which is just fine. I've been working on some of my future chapters and there is some Jott bashing. Oh well, it has to be done (cause let's face it it's just too fun). Now onto your next review.
You are so welcome. After you started posting your recommendation for my fic I started getting a lot more reviews so I'm sure it's due to you, so I should be thanking you as well. Ish's fic just rocks so I had to start with the advertising for it as well. But we all knew she would do great though. And I'm afraid I can't even compare to her. She's more like up there with you and I'm still at the bottom of the rung, which is just fine by me. Xander is awesome, and I've been told that Harmony is funny in Angel but she just sucked as a villain. And annoyed the hell out of me at times. But so long as she's funny I'm sure I could forgive it. And leave those mittens off missy! I like the random comments.
OH you hate everyone too? Yay! I'm not alone once again. People annoy the hell out of me, but for your information, I don't consider you people. And Meranda did inflict bodily harm and threats of revenge onto her so she suffered. And will again later. I'd kill her off now, horribly and painfully, but I may need her later.
Y'know, I never noticed it, but I must have an M thing right now since all my characters names start with M. If you ever read the other fic I have up, (which you should cause I haven't been getting as many reviews for it and I'm not sure if it sucks or not and I know you'd be honest and tell me) the son Meranda and Logan have in that, I don't remember if I stated his name in what I have posted yet or not, but his name is Merrick. I'm going to put up a sequel to that one if I get more positive reviews for it. Anyway, back to your review. Hopefully you'll continue to love Madison when she comes in her real form. (Which will be in about two chapters.) You want to hear something scary? Madison's personality is based on mine. I'm really that sarcastic and that much of a bitch and I've really been known to be that honest. You'll get a better look at her later when her and Sakura come into play. (Sakura is based on my friend who agrees with the Spike as Remy idea, and we actually thought of banter that we normally have and I'm putting it into the story, but I'm getting ahead of myself again. Back to the review. Luck and love to you as well dear, hope this was worth the wait and I hope to have more up soon. (Wow, my reply to you was over a page long. Cool. We should exchange emails or something.)
Crystalyn ~ I'm glad you love the story but I must refer you up to NNC, and the whole I don't do Lemon's bet. Sorry.
Rogue5157 ~ Oh you have info on Wanda's mom? Where'd you get it cause I couldn't find anything. Thanks for letting me know.
Gothic Cajun ~I may not have inspired you to go to prison yet but my story is still young. I fear you and your angst love. But that's okay. There will be more angst later so at least I know you'll be happy with it so it'll all be worth it.
Emumoon ~ I'll try to put in more French but all of mine I have to translate on a site cause I don't speak anything but English. I say you use the wax lips idea too. The more the merrier. Glad your hooked, are ya still?
Well, that's all from me for tonight. Take care all and much love.
Calliann
Authors Note: Everyone, y'all need to go and read Mercury Dream's stuff. It's really, really, really, really, really good. (Did I mention really?) A Rogue's Touch and All Grown Up are my favorites but the others are all really good as well. So go read her stuff to. Now, quickly! Oh, and if any of you didn't already know, Ishandahalf has posted a fic that you all need to go read too. Remember, Xander said it best. "To read make's our English speaking good." I'll be introducing more evil characters later on, hopefully soon. I have a few in mind but I have to create a couple of more. If anyone has any they'd like me to consider, feel free to send me the ideas in a review and you'll get full credit for them if I use them.
'text' internal speech
dreams
Wandering Souls
Chapter 28: Final Chances.
Mystique sank onto the bed of the small apartment she'd been living in since her escape from Magneto, her whole body ached and her head still swam from her daughter's touch. 'No, not your daughter. She never was yours,' she thought as she picked up a picture of her, Irene and Rogue at age seven. The girl was smiling and holding a rather large gymnastics' trophy. Mystique couldn't deny the pride that was on her face in the photo, nor could she stop the pang in her heart as she realized that now, there was no hope for her ever having any kind of relationship with Rogue again.
At least she had been successful. Weeks earlier Irene had a vision, showing her Rogue's demise as her powers grew out of her control. They both knew that she was too stubborn a girl to seek help for her oncoming overload, so Mystique had to be there. In case Rogue needed her. And now, she was fine and Irene's visions of the future had returned, and Rogue was one of their players. The blue shape shifter let out a sigh as touched the picture lightly with her fingers, tracing Rogue's face with her nail. Despite her efforts, she'd grown to love the girl. And had tried to give her everything she'd never been able to give her two sons. Kurt at least had grown up in a loving home. Her other boy, Graydon, though, she knew his hatred for her and her kind was her own fault. But with Rogue, she had hoped to do better by her. Without having to give her to strangers to do it. A cool breeze blew across the room and Mystique placed the photo on the bed and looked to the window, about to get up to close it when she froze, two emerald eyes burning a hole into her being.
"Hello Raven," Meranda's voice was ice cold as she spoke. She sat on the window frame, glaring at the woman before her. "Long time no see. What's it been now? Fourteen years?"
"Give or take," Mystique replied coolly as she rose, taking on a defensive stance. "What are you doing here Ebony?"
"What, no hello hug?" Ebony asked as she rose swiftly, her words dripping with sarcasm. "No, hey it's good to see I didn't kill you or even a pity to see you lived?" Meranda began to circle the room, running her hand over furniture and the walls as she walked. Her eyes never leaving Mystiques.
"What do you want from me? I did what I was paid to do," Mystique growled, not letting Meranda know just how tired she was. Or how unnerved Meranda's presence was making her.
"Wow, what a great excuse," Meranda exclaimed as her hands began to glow a soft pink color and the paper on Mystiques walls began to fall off, the glue being loosened by the heat Meranda's hands were emitting. "Maybe I'll use that one when they ask me why no one can find the parts."
"You can try," Mystique challenged evenly.
"No, actually, I can succeed," Meranda stated, sending a roundhouse into the shape shifter, her sudden movement combined with Mystiques fatigue caught the blue skinned woman off guard, and the kick landed squarely in her jaw, sending her flying into a dresser. "Well come on Raven! You could at least put up some kind of a fight. I'm not even using my powers yet and wouldn't you love to see them all? Since I wouldn't have them if it weren't for you."
"So that's why you're here? Cause I gave you to Townshend?" Mystique sneered as she climbed to her feet. "It wasn't much of a challenge."
"Yes, shooting someone in the dark is never really that hard," Meranda growled as she stood before Mystique, placing her hand into a small pocket inside the lining of her trench coat.. "But I'm here more to tell you to stay the hell away from my daughter."
"Or what?" Raven challenged.
A smirk appeared on Meranda's face as suddenly her hand shot out, pinning Mystique against the wall with a dozen throwing stars, embedded in the wall as well as in the woman's blue skin. "Think about it Raven," Meranda took three steps and was suddenly in the other woman's face, watching the blood trickle down the wall from the wounds she'd inflicted, her right hand resting on the wall next to Mystique's head. She spoke quietly as she leaned closer, "You handed me over to a government agency whose main goal was to create the ultimate mutant weapon. Do you honestly think they spent all that time and money and didn't do a good job at it?" She smiled sweetly before turning away and heading back towards the window. "Just keep that in mind the next time you even think of coming near my baby." And with that, she was gone into the night leaving Mystique to find her own way out of her current predicament.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I can't like, find my history paper!" Kitty squealed as she rummaged around the mess on her desk. "Ugh! Have any of you seen it? It's, like, worth 40 percent of my grade!"
"You put it in your bag last night," Wanda stated pulling on her trench coat and checking her hair and makeup one last time.
"Oh yeah," Kitty said phasing the paper out of her bag. "Thanks."
"Whatever," Wanda replied grabbing her own bag and walking out the door of their bedroom, heading down for breakfast.
Downstairs, things weren't much better. All around Wanda the X-Mansion was in chaos as everyone rushed to find papers, books and everything else under the sun on this early Monday morning.
"Ah finals week," Henry mused as Wanda entered the kitchen. He was sitting at the table with the other adults, sipping coffee. "A time for endings and new beginnings."
"And chaos," Logan added as Kurt BAMPFED into the room, landing on Remy's foot. Logan smirked and continued reading his paper, coffee in hand.
"Ow! Watch it homme!" the Cajun yelped as he hopped up and down on his good foot.
"And procrastinators," Ororo added as Bobby sat at the other end of the table, frantically scribbling down an English paper that was due in his first period class.
"What's going on here?" Wanda asked as she plopped down next to Meranda at the table, grabbing a donut from the box in the center.
"We're enjoying the chaos that is finals," Meranda stated sipping her espresso. "And why aren't you running around like a maniac?"
"Don't see the point," Wanda shrugged as she picked at the donut. "I did what I have to do, so now it just comes down to I passed or I didn't."
"What a remarkable attitude," Hank commented with a grin.
Rogue entered the kitchen looking paler than usual, gripping the wall for some support as she let out a long breath. Her power overload had taken a great toll on her both physically and mentally, and left her weak. Logan made a move to get up to help her but was beaten to the punch by a certain Cajun, who swept his arms around her waist and supported her over to a nearby chair at the table. "Mornin' mon amore," he said kissing her head. "Remy made y' some eggs," he smiled as he set the plate before her.
"Merci Rems," Rogue smiled as she picked up the fork and dug in. "Mornin' y'all," she added to the others as they bustled around the room.
"Morning dear, how are you feeling today?" Meranda asked as she brushed a hair behind Rogue's ear.
"Fahne," Rogue replied as she smiled over at Logan, who was growling savagely in Remy's direction, saying sweetly, "Don't kill him Daddy. He's a good cook."
"He's lucky I didn't kill him last week," Logan growled returning his attention to his paper, referring to walking into Rogue's med bay room late at night and finding his baby girl curled up in the infamous womanizer's arms. Fortunately, Henry had chosen that moment to check on Rogue as well and was able to help stave off her feral father long enough for Gambit to run.
Rogue just shook her head slightly and continued to eat her breakfast. All the adult's eyes were on her, concern on their features. If it were up to anyone at the Institute, Rogue wouldn't be going back to school yet, but unfortunately, Principle Kelley had made it quite clear that if she didn't participate in finals week, then there would be no way for her to graduate in the spring and Rogue refused to repeat the year. Even with Rogue coming in this week, Kelley had insinuated that she still may not pass.
Meranda and the Professor were ready though. Both were dressed nicely and prepared for the meeting they had with him this morning. And Meranda was more than looking forward to putting the little man in his place once and for all. Which was exactly why Charles was accompanying her.
"Do you think you're up to today child?" Ororo asked Rogue as she drank her juice slowly.
"Fer the last tahme, Ah'll be fahne," Rogue said as she sat down her glass and glared at everyone. Since her powers overloaded and the concert two weeks earlier everyone had been tiptoeing around her and catering to her every whim and driving her crazy. "Ah'm jus' a little tired from it all."
"Of course you'll be fine kid," Logan stated setting the paper on the table and finishing off his coffee. "You're tough. Get it from your old man."
Meranda let out a snort as she downed the rest of her espresso. "This from the man who passed out during her birth," she stated as she ran her finger lightly over the rim of her cup.
Logan shot Meranda a glare as Ororo, Hank, Charles and Rogue laughed slightly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I understand your concern Ms…" Kelley began looking over up from Rogue's file and over at Meranda.
"Davidson," she answered curtly, more than a little annoyed with the Principles apparent dislike for her and everyone at Xavier's.
"Yes, Davidson, but we can't just go letting people graduate who have a tendency to not attend class now can we?" Kelley continued in a patronizing tone.
"Are you trying to insinuate that my daughter didn't have a good reason for missing class?" Meranda dared, glaring daggers at the man.
"I'm sorry, your who?" Kelley asked taken aback. This was definitely not the woman he'd met when Rogue was admitted to the school.
"My daughter," Meranda stated, her anger rising more.
"I'm sorry, but I've met Rogue's mother and, I'm absolutely positive it was not you," Kelley stated, closing the file and looking at the woman. 'What are these freaks trying to pull now.'
Charles quickly cut in, not having to be a telepath to sense the tension and animosity growing between the two. "It appears there was an earlier misunderstanding," Charles began, smiling politely at the principle. "This is Rogue's mother."
"Ah," Kelley responded before reopening the file. "Well, as I was saying, even if she passes her finals, these absences," he paused for a moment for dramatic effect. "They're hard to ignore."
"Don't you mean, the fact that she's a mutant is what's hard to ignore?" Meranda asked dangerously. She was getting a little more than pissed at this guy and that was never a good thing. It was when she got really angry that she lost control of all her acquired powers and that's when it got dangerous to be around her or even to be her for that matter.
"What exactly are you trying to imply Ms. Davidson?" Kelley asked, his voice dripping with anger.
"Nothing at all Mr. Kelly," Meranda stated, rising to the challenge. "I thought I was being rather blunt in my accusations."
"Meranda," Charles said firmly, which had the desired effect on the woman. She shut her mouth and leaned back into her chair. He turned his attentions back to the principle, "Now, I'm sure there's something we can work out Principle Kelley," Charles used his soothing diplomatic tone that always worked on his students, and faculty alike.
"In all honesty, I doubt it will matter after Friday Professor Xavier," Principle Kelley all but sneered as he closed the folder again and rose, walking to the corner and one of the many filing cabinets, opening a drawer and finding the slot for Rogue's file.
"Why?" Meranda asked suspicious. "What happens Friday?"
"The school board will hold another meeting concerning the Mutant Issue in our schools," Kelley smiled. "And whether or not they will be able to return next semester."
"Why weren't we informed of this sooner?" Charles asked, irritation growing in his own voice.
Kelley turned back to them, smiling politely. "I suppose that the school board didn't see the need to involve you Professor."
"Why you little prick," Meranda seethed and rose out of her chair, her eyes glowing red. "And I'm sure you had nothing to do with that," she slammed her palms down on his desk and could feel the fear vibrating off the poor pathetic excuse for a man.
"Come Meranda," Charles said, after reading enough of the Principle's mind to find out when the conference was being held and where. "We've done all we can. So long as Rogue passes her courses, he cannot hold her back. And if he tries, we come back. Good day Mr. Kelley, and we'll see you Friday."
Meranda walked behind Charles, her trench coat flowing behind her as she took the handles of his wheelchair and wheeled him towards the door, opening it with her mind and slamming it the same way. Once they were safely outside and in the car, Meranda looked hard at him. "You should have let me hurt him."
"But my dear, it will hurt him more when our students return in the spring," Charles concluded as they began to head back towards the Institute. "And believe me, they will be returning."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rogue sat idly at the X-Man's lunch table, picking at her sandwich. She was the first one out there today and she sat alone, bored out of her skull. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, relaxing her muscles completely. It was less than a minute before she found herself in one of her new favorite places, in front of the house in her mind.
She looked around, noticing the calmness that her mind had become as opposed to the chaos that reigned there only two weeks earlier. She strode up the steps and opened the door, entering the old home. She smelled the comforting scents of Dragon's blood incense and smiled. "Madison, ya here?"
"No I'm in Tahiti," came the sarcastic reply from the kitchen.
"Haha, yer so damned funny," Rogue stated walking into the warm room and smiling at her friend who went around what seemed to be a daily routine of making nachos. "Ya know ya don't have ta eat right?" Rogue asked as she plopped down into the chair at the table.
"Yeah, but I don't have anything else to do at the moment," Madison replied carrying the plate over to the table. "Besides, you're craving nachos. This morning I had eggs and I must say, that little Cajun of yours is a damned good cook."
"Don't Ah know it," Rogue replied grabbing a chip and wondering if the food in her mind tasted the same as what she ate normally.
"So how's your tests going?" Madison asked as she dug into her lunch.
"Fahne," Rogue replied trying the chip and determining that the real thing was much better. "Especially since Ah learned how ta tap inta mah other psyche's. That French test was a piece a cake."
Madison let out a loud laugh as she rose to grab a coke from the fridge. "And I'm sure Remy didn't mind at all," she smiled as she sat back down. They sat in silence for a bit as Madison ate, just enjoying each others company. It was a few moments before Madison spoke again. "I like him Marie. He's good for you."
"He is ain't he?" Rogue smiled as she looked down at her glove free hands. She never wore gloves in her mind and she longed for that sensation outside of it.
"It'll happen, just give it time," Madison said supportively as she gripped her friends hand. "You're almost there."
"Am Ah?" Rogue asked hopefully. Since her overload, she'd spent most of everyday inside her mind with Madison, struggling to understand her power and find her own sense of control. Madison assured her every time that she was much closer, and now she could feel it in her own heart as well. She let out a long breath, blowing her bangs from her face. "What do ya think there doin' now?"
"Who? Sakura and the guys?" Madison asked taking a drink from her coke.
"And ya," Rogue reminded her as she twirled her hair around her finger. It was at that annoying length that was to long to really be considered short, but not long enough to do anything with. She wanted to cut it but Remy nearly had a heart attack every time she mentioned going to the beauty parlor so she left it alone and just bitched at him every time it got to be too annoying.
"Probably nothing good," Madison replied, reaching behind her back and retrieving two ivory handled Beretta's from the waist band of her pants and set them onto the table. The handles were ornate with two fire breathing dragon's carved on each side. They were truly magnificent weapons and Rogue admired them for a bit as Madison continued. "Or don't you remember that part?"
"No Ah remember," Rogue said softly as she picked up one of the guns and ran her finger over it gingerly as she looked to Madison for permission. The other girl nodded and Rogue proceeded to dismantle the weapon, and reassemble it in record time, spinning it once around her finger before replacing it on the table before her friends psyche.
"Not bad," Madison commented as she rose to place her plate in the sink. "Guess Eric taught you better than we all thought."
"Guess so," Rogue smirked as she looked over at the fridge. On the door, attached by a magnet of a monkey flipping the bird was a picture, perfectly preserved in her mind of her, Madison and three others. Madison was wrapped in the arms of a big muscled bald guy that gave Vin Diesel a run for his money in looks, as she smiled at the camera. Next to her stood a taller, leaner but still well muscled man with dark curly hair pulled back in a pony tail, a goatee and rich amber eyes, his arms wrapped around another girl with brown and red streaked hair and a knowing glint in her eyes. Rogue stood between the two women, both of whom had arms around her shoulders, pulling her back into the group hug. "Ah miss it sometimes," Rogue admitted feeling a wave of guilt wash over her. The things they'd all done together wouldn't exactly have won them good conduct medals. They were well on their way to becoming professional criminals back when Rogue was still hanging around them and now, she could only imagine what kind of trouble they were getting themselves into, or out of for that matter.
"Hey, what's with the guilt trip?" Madison asked pulling Rogue to her feet. "We had fun! And the people we hurt had already hurt a lot of other people even worse."
"It didn't make it right," Rogue argued.
"Damn, must be all this X-Men influence. Because we all know that none of them ever fucked up before and did stupid shit," Madison stated sarcastically, releasing Rogue's hands and placing her own on her hips. "At least we were good at what we did. And besides, it's not like Mystique wasn't training you to be a terrorist anyway. We just helped hone your skills." Madison turned and headed towards the front hall. "Besides, we did a hell of a lot better job looking after one another then the X-Men seem to. Or that Brotherhood of Mystiques for that matter. We were family, or didn't that mean anything to you?"
"Oh come on ya know it did! Still does but Ah don't come in here ta fight wit ya," Rogue said following her. "Ah'm jus' sayin' that what we did wasn't right. Doesn't mean Ah wouldn't do it again."
"That's what bothers you isn't it?" Madison turned to Rogue, her indigo and black braid flying behind her. "That you'd do it again. That you're not as perfect as you want to be."
"Can't help it," Rogue shrugged. "It seems Ah'm surrounded bah perfection."
"Oh you mean the red head? Please, you could take her. Hell, anyone of us could have taken anyone of your X-men. Odds are, still can," Madison said as she started up the stairs.
"Where are ya goin?" Rogue asked, stopping at the base. In all the time she'd spent up in her mind, she'd never climbed the stairs before.
"To meet your pain," Madison said calmly holding out a hand to Rogue.
A cold breeze blew down the stairs, and Rogue clutched her shoulders. The upper floor seemed overly dark, contrasting greatly with the light, airy atmosphere on the lower floor. "Ah don't wanna go up there."
"You have to if you ever want to learn control," Madison said evenly. "The secrets in your pain, and you keep your pain up there."
"Ah ain't ready," Rogue stated turning to leave when Madison's words stopped her.
"If you don't think you're ready now, then you never will be."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey Remy, what's going on?" Evan asked as he and the others joined the young Southern couple at their lunch table. Remy sat munching thoughtfully on a bag of chips while Rogue sat motionless besides him, her head bent and her chin resting on her chest.
"Nothin' homme," Remy replied as he threw the empty bag into the middle of the table.
"What's, like, up with Rogue?" Kitty asked about to wave a hand in front of the young Goth's face when Remy's hand shot out and caught her wrist.
"Ma chere be medetatin'. Probably talkin' ta dat Madison fille again," Remy stated releasing Kitty's arm and grabbing Rogue's coke, taking a drink. Rogue had told everyone a lot of what went on in her head when she meditated, but Remy knew more than the others.
"Is it wise for her to be doing that here?" Scott asked sitting down across from Remy, Jean sitting next to him, peering at Rogue with curiosity.
"I wonder what's going on in her head right now," Jean mused when Remy suddenly shot her a glare.
"Curiosity killed de cat mon ami," Remy growled, overly protective of Rogue in her current, vulnerable state. "Best leave it alone Jeanie."
"I wasn't going to," Jean's voice trailed off as she looked down at her hands, her face turning a bright enough shade of red to rival her hair.
"Course not," Remy stated, trying not to become annoyed, but the truth was it was incredibly hard. Remy had come up on Rogue about five minutes before the others had shown up and he'd found her deep in meditation. He'd seen her in this state several times over the last two weeks and each time they got deeper and deeper and in Remy's opinion, more dangerous. Every time she came out of it her moods were different, and more intense than the last. Usually, she only attempted this deep of a meditation with her mother or Xavier around, as well as Doctor McCoy, who could sense her sudden changes in mood and physical status, and pull her out of it fast if the case so required. He wasn't sure what she was thinking undertaking in it here at school, but he was going to do everything in his power to keep her safe. Even if that meant letting down all of his shields and walls and letting his full empathic ability shine to it's fullest. The only downside was he wasn't only connected to Rogue and her mood, but to everyone else's within a two mile radius. "She's fine," he returned his gaze to Scott, deciding to answer the boys question. "Remy's lookin' after her."
"Do you need some help?" Jean offered, feeling the effects of Remy's empathy through her basic telepathic skills.
"Non p'tite. Remy got it under control," Remy replied smirking at her when a sudden wave of fear washed over him, coming from Rogue. He turned on the bench, straddling it as he faced her, looking at her intensely. "Fer now," he added as he watched his girlfriend, her breathing quickening a bit and for a brief instant he wished he was a telepath.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So ya sayin' if Ah don't go up now that's it?" Rogue asked glaring at Madison.
"No," Madison took a few steps down and met Rogue's gaze. "What I'm saying is if you don't believe in yourself enough to go up now, you probably won't ever be able to."
"Wow, ya sure have a lotta confidence in meh," Rogue replied sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest and looking over her shoulder at the door.
"Oh cut the shit," Madison replied annoyed. "It's not my fault you're a chicken shit."
"Ah am not!" Rogue yelled glaring back at the girl.
"Then why won't you go up there?"
"Cause Ah don't feel lahke it."
"Liar."
"Bitch."
"Slut."
"How?"
"Fine, if you want to play this game that's fine by me," Madison threw her arms up in the air and walked over to the couch, flopping down in a huff.
Rogue looked at her friend and then back up at the stairs. She couldn't go up there. Couldn't relive it again. "Ya jus' don't understand how hard this is," she whispered.
Madison was at her side in an instant. "Yeah, I do. I've been up there Rogue," Madison whispered, placing a supporting arm on her friends shoulder. "I know it's hard, but if you want the answers then you have to relive it."
Rogue let out a long breath and looked up the stairs, before slowly beginning to climb. She got halfway there before turning around and looking down at Madison. "Ain't ya comin' gal?"
"This part you have to do alone," Madison replied. "But I'll be here when your done."
"Well tarnation gal, ya coulda told meh that earlier!" Rogue stated, her accent thickening the farther up the stairs she climbed. "How will ah know where ta go?" she asked before continuing.
"You just will. Now get going! You're lunch breaks not going to last forever."
Rogue let out another breath and turned back, climbing the stairs to face her demons. She made it to the top of the stairs and saw two long corridors, one a lot longer than the other one and lined with different kinds of doors. She could hear screaming and pounding coming from that corridor. "Mah psyches," she whispered to herself before looking down the shorter corridor. It was a lot darker and she could feel the cool breeze coming from that direction. "Must be this way," she mumbled as she walked down that hallway. It was also lined with doors, but none of them as imposing as the first. To her left and right she saw different memories. The first few doors were her most recent, consisting of her and the X-men and Remy and her parents. The farther down the hall she went, the older the memories were and the younger she became in them. She walked for what felt like forever till she came across the doors she didn't want to look in. The memories she whished died long ago, that she'd pushed to the back of her mind and the end of this hallway. Most of them just had the doors closed with a foreboding shadows over them, and with each one she passed she knew which memory it possessed. But one stood out above the rest. It was at the very end of the corridor, the door made of steel and covered in thick chain's and several padlocks. The air around it was like ice and like the others, Rogue knew what memory lay hidden here.
"The answer's in your pain," Madison's words rang through her head as she lifted her hand and touched the door. Chain's feel away and Rogue was sucked into the room, where once again, she could here her own screaming.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The pain and confusion hit Remy like a tidal wave just seconds before Rogue began to scream. The X-Men all moved into action, looking for concern at their friend as Kitty pulled out her cell phone to call the institute, and Jean went into Rogue's mind. Meanwhile, the guys formed a human shield around their friend, keeping the bystanders from getting to close while the girls started offering assistance and Remy grabbed onto Rogue's shoulders, shaking her forcefully.
Jean entered a room in a house to find a black and indigo haired girl glaring daggers at her as she stood at the base of a long staircase.
"Can I help you with something?" she asked the redhead as she pulled out a dagger from her arm band.
"I'm looking for Rogue," Jean said as she started towards the stairs. "She needs my help."
"She doesn't need anything from you red," the other girl growled stepping into Jean's path. "She has to do this on her own. She'll be fine so you can just get the fuck out of here. Now."
"Look, I know who you are Madison," Jean said standing up to the girls challenge. "And I know you think you know what's best for her, but she's hurting. Can't you feel it?" Suddenly Jean felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Remy smiling at her.
"She's okay p'tite," Remy reassured her. "Dis be somethin' she have t' do. Now go 'fore Madison git's mad hahn?"
"But," Jean began before she felt herself be forcefully pushed out of Rogue's mind. Everyone turned to look at her except for Remy. "They won't let me help her," she said tiredly as she leaned against Scott.
As suddenly as it began, Rogue's screaming stopped and her eyes shot open, tears clouding them. She looked around at the group slowly, her eyes settling on Remy, who had to put his shields back into place to fight off the overwhelming sadness, fear and betrayal rolling off of Rogue. "Y' alright mon amore?" he asked going to wrap her into a hug when she suddenly pulled away from him.
"Don't touch meh!" she shouted and got up, grabbing her things and running off towards her class, tears falling down her cheeks.
"Chere wait!" Remy called going to follow her when Wanda stopped him.
"I don't think she wants you Remy," the young Goth stated grabbing her own bag. "Let me handle this one okay?" Wanda took off after Rogue, her trench coat billowing behind her. Everyone watched dumbfounded, their astonishment finally broken by the bell signaling them to head back to class.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Remy sulked around on the couch. It was Friday afternoon and finals week had ended for the short winter holiday. By all accounts Remy should be thrilled, but as he idly flipped through the channels, nothing but sadness clouded his heart. It had been a week since Rogue had spoke to him, and the pain of her silence was killing him.
It wasn't just him though. Since the incident at lunch on Monday she hadn't really spoken to anyone. Including Logan and Meranda, much to their unease.
Now, Remy sat alone in the rec room, as the others prepared for the school board meeting this evening. The Professor had requested that they all attend, and take the news of the meeting and the boards decision back to their parents over the holidays.
Remy was aware of Rogue's presence as soon as she entered the room but said nothing. He'd learned early on in the week that she didn't want anything to do with him until after she dealt with whatever she needed to. So as hard as it was for him, he was giving her the space she needed.
Rogue walked slowly across the room, settling down next to him on the couch. They sat in silence as Remy continued to flip through the channels.
"Watcha watcin' Swamp Rat?" Rogue asked quietly as she stared at the screen ahead.
"Nothin' really Cherie," Remy replied clicking off the TV. "Ain't nothin' on." He threw the remote down on the table and looked at her as she continued to stare at the screen. She'd been crying. He could tell by the streaks made in her makeup. 'Ma chere seems t' be doin' dat a lot dis week,' he thought, longing to take her in his arms and make everything better for her. 'If only Ah could charge de bad feelings and blow dem away, Ah would.'
They sat for a few more moments in complete silence before Rogue looked over at him, meeting his gaze. "Ah'm sorry fer the way Ah've been actin' lately. Ah jus' had ta work some stuff out."
"Did y' work dem out den?" Remy asked, grateful that she was finally willing to talk to him about whatever was bothering her.
"No, not yet," Rogue replied in all honesty as she watched the hope drain from his beautiful demon eyes. More than anything she wished she could tell him that everything was okay and she had all the answers but she didn't yet and she couldn't lie to him. She loved him too much to do that. "And Ah don't know how long it'll take either."
Remy looked down at his hands for a moment before meeting her gaze, offering her a smirk, "Remy got all de time in de world mon amore," he got up and leaned closer to her and watched to make sure she didn't flinch away before quickly kissing the top of her head. "He be here when y' be ready t' talk." He started towards the door and stopped when a faint sound met his ears.
"Wait," Rogue whispered, the tears returning to her eyes. Remy turned and looked at her with concern. "Ah ain't ready ta talk yet but," she took in a deep breath before meetin' his gaze. "Could ya jus' hold meh fer awhile?"
In two long strides, Remy was across the room and on the couch, pulling Rogue into his arms, whispering French into her ear, trying his best to sooth her as he slowly rocked her back and forth, letting her cry into his chest.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The gym of Bayville High School was filled that night as parents, teachers and the press were gathered around for the school boards monthly meeting. All the students and faculty of the Xavier Institute sat near the front in a large group, Hank and Kurt hidden by their image inducers.
Everyone watched as Principle Kelley stood before the board, rattling off a list of reasons why the mutants of Bayville should not be allowed back the following semester, or ever again.
The whole thing sent a wave of anger thru the students of the Xavier Institute while they sat and listened, waiting for their own fate to be decided. Rogue sat huddled close to Remy, much to her father's dislike, her head resting on his shoulder as their hands rested intertwined on his knee. This was all just too much for her. Between her fatigue from her power overload and the emotional roller coaster her recent discoveries had sent her into, she was both mentally and physically exhausted. That topped of with the tension brought on by the board meeting tonight had not done her any good at all. Remy had tried to persuade her to stay home and rest. He'd even offered to keep her company, not really looking forward to the meeting and all the emotions that it would bring crashing against his mental wall. And he was always up for taking care of Rogue. But sadly, she had insisted on attending, arguing that she couldn't wait in anticipation all night to find out the boards decision. It was just too big and the suspense would drive her crazy.
Meranda sat straight and tall between Ororo and Hank, an air of dignity and defiance about her as she stared daggers at Kelley, seething more with each word he spoke.
"Distinguished members of the board, the mutants at Bayville High have continued to put our normal students in jeopardy repeatedly throughout this semester. Not only that, but there is an increasing amount of absences among the Mutant Populace of our school, the reason usually being something do to their powers. This last month alone damage to the school such as electrical surges, frozen water fountains, tether ball ropes coming to life, as well as several other unusual incidents, that can only be explained by the mutants using their powers, have been reported which have resulted in thousands of dollars worth of damage which taxpayers are forced to pay for." Kelley spoke coolly a smirk on his face. "This is a clear violation of the act which allowed them to return to school in the first place and must result in their immediate expulsion."
Around the room there was a mixture of cheers and boos from the crowd. Next to Kurt, Amanda squeezed his hand supportively, her family joining those who booed rather than the supporters of Kelley's radical proposal.
Rogue tensed next to Remy, anger filling her eyes. Remy squeezed her hand gently, trying his best to soothe her and control the emotions crashing against him. When he was in a large room, filled with a strong emotion, like hatred for instance, it became harder for him to keep his walls up against it. That was one of the few reasons he stayed at Xavier's. As strong as Remy's shields already were, at times he needed them to be stronger and the Professor was helping him to build them.
"Alright settle down," the President of the board stated, banging his gavel down hard on the table and drawing everyone into silence. "Thank you Principle Kelley, now I believe that Professor Xavier has some points to make as well."
Kelley huffed a bit and took his seat, glaring over at Charles as Ororo and Meranda got up and walked behind him, Ororo taking his chair and rolling him towards the middle of the floor, turning him to face the crowd as well as the board itself. Meranda took her place next to him, a folder full of papers in her hands.
"First off, I'd like to thank the board once again for letting me speak to you all tonight," Charles began, his voice calm and soothing. "We all know why we're here so I'll just get right down to business. Mutants, are nothing to fear. We are simply the next phase in the evolutionary chain," Charles looked on at the crowd. So many emotions were radiating towards him. Fear. Anger. And respect. That was what he focused on and it was coming the strongest from his students. That feeling gave him strength to continue and hope for his dream. "It is true that some of us possess powers that may be considered dangerous, but only if those mutants are left uneducated and ignorant of how they can control there gifts. It is my job, as well as the people I have working with me to educate these gifted students in controlling their abilities, but I cannot do this alone. If you allow mutants to be kept out of school. If you deny them an education, you are hurting yourselves more then they're hurting you." He paused for a moment, letting the crowd come to terms with what he'd just said before continuing. "When we all leave this meeting tonight, we'll get in our cars and drive home. Now imagine how dangerous we'd be if none of us had ever learned how to drive? We couldn't have done that without a basic education first, so that we could comprehend and understand the rules of driving and road courtesy. The same holds true for my students and their gifts. I cannot teach them to control them if they do not have a basic education. An education that every American citizen is entitled to."
The crowd watched him for a moment in silent awe before he continued once again. "Now, Principle Kelley has raised some good arguments against my students, but I'm afraid if you are going to expel them, then there are a few others that must join their ranks." At this point Meranda stepped forward, folders in hand.
"These were obtained through legal ways," she began, her voice clear and calm, hiding the anger that dwelled beneath it. "The first article I'd like to address is Principle Kelley's accusations on the number of absences among the Mutants at Bayville High being higher than in it's not mutant populace. I'd like to present the board with these attendance records of the Bayville High Football team, compared to those of the students who also live at the Xavier Institute." Meranda handed the board the papers. "These were obtained from a school report that can be found online." (AN this may not be true and you may not actually be able to do this, but this is AU so I say it is. And I don't know about anyone else's schools, but back when I was in high school jocks, especially football players, could do no wrong. Which was really dumb at my school cause our team sucked.) "The next accusations are based on school damage caused by mutants," Meranda continued. "The water fountains that froze, were all outside, in New York's lovely November weather," Meranda stated, noticing as Bobby shrunk into his seat. "And electrical surges happen everyday, due to blown fuses and damaged transformers that could have very well been the fault of the electric company and not any students with special abilities." Here she noticed Jubilee and Ray sink into their seats as well. "And as for tether ball ropes coming to life," now was Wanda's turn, "Isn't that just a little absurd for even you Mr. Kelley?" Laughter rang out through the crowd as all the students as well as a few parents and several teachers had a good laugh at the Principle's expense. "And if you're going to try to get sympathy for your cause by playing the tax payer card," Meranda smirked and shook her head. "Well, Benjamin Franklin said it best. There are only two certainties in this life. Death and taxes and that applies to mutants as well."
A few chuckles were heard as Meranda presented the rest of her folders to the board before taking her place back behind the Professor. Charles again rolled forward and cleared his throat before turning fully to the board. Last time we met here, discussing the future of our mutant students, they proved to you that they have learned to use their powers for the betterment of society as well as the protection of it's not so gifted citizens. That they could control their gifts for the common good, and even those who caused the commotion have since learned to act differently, as you can see by the lack of any disturbance here tonight. By making them relive this trial, and prove themselves again is cruel and unnecessary. Please, put your trust in them as they put their trust in you tonight. Thank you." With that, Charles, Ororo and Meranda took their seats.
"Thank you Professor Xavier," the President of the Board said as the group from the Institute took their seats. "The members of the board and I have looked over this information, prior to this meeting, since Ms. Davidson was kind enough to fax it over earlier in the week as well as several other, interesting and befitting pieces of evidence that help to clear the Mutant's of Bayville High. And in light of recent events, as well as a glowing letter of recommendation from the President, this board has determined that the mutants of Bayville will be returning next semester. Now, I hope that this will be the last time we have this discussion Principle Kelley," the President stated, shooting a glare over at Kelley before banging his gavel. "Meeting adjourned."
A wave of relief passed over the students of Xavier as Charles turned to face them smiling. "Now my students, let's go home."
Calliann's Ravings: And the students won! As if there was ever any doubt. Xavier kicks too much ass. Okay, I'm sure y'all have a bunch of questions, like what the hell was it Rogue saw in her head. Well, I must say, you just have to wait till the next chapter cause I'm an evil heinous bitch. J/K! Well, actually I am a evil heinous bitch but the reason you have to wait is cause there's a plan and I'm trying to follow it. I'm hoping to get the next chapter up tomorrow, err…later today, cause it's my plan. And also my birthday so everyone gets a gift. And I have tomorrow off so after I get stuff done for classes, more posting from me. And now my ranting's and ravings are probably starting to confuse people so I'll stop. Except for this last bit. I don't know if I like how the school board meeting played out, especially Charles speeches but hopefully it sounds better to everyone else than it does to me. And now on to my many reviewers or at least a few of them.
Taz9 ~ I rock? Yay! I really don't know how I do it either. If it weren't for you wonderful reviewers I wouldn't even know THAT I did it at all actually. Rogue will figure it all out in the next chapter. But I had to stop here cause this one was getting really long. Hope you enjoyed.
Rogue4787 ~ Well, I noticed how all the Rogue centered stories did Self Possessed chapters as well, and what gets me is it never really goes into what might have been going on in Rogue's mind at the time. So I thought I'd try to focus more on that then on what the others were trying to do to stop her. Here's a little more on Madison and you'll get even more later, but hopefully you'll still like her then. She's one of Rogue's old friends that she used to get into trouble with, as I've kinda outlined in this chapter. It's not that they're bad people, just not perfect angels. She is still alive and her corporeal self will be making a later appearance as well as her and Rogue's other friends. Thanks for your congrats and hopefully I'll be able to post again quicker than last time. Hope you liked this one as well.
Jukebox ~ Thanks as always! Your support means so much.
Koosei ~ Well, Carol will make other appearances they won't be for awhile so don't worry. And I couldn't let Rogue leave him. This is a Romy after all and what kind of Romy fan would I be if I screwed it up like that. I'd have to kick my own ass. Well, hoped you liked this as well. Let me know.
Lovablelatina ~ sorry there's a lack of reaction to Rogue and Remy's bedroom predicament, but I didn't really want to write about Remy trying to outrun Logan's claws. I did give you a little taste though, hope it was enough. Enjoy.
NNC ~ Sorry if this disappoints you, but I've never wrote a Lemon and I don't see myself doing it in the near future.
Rogue77 ~ I'm nocturnal. It's my way. Yeah, damn metamorph's don't like Romy's do they. Bastards. I can't wait to see your trick. Can I have a hint? Please…::pouts::
Ishandahalf ~ Yay, you reviewed! I love it when you do that. Logan can't skewer Remy in my story. It's not allowed. If he does I'll have to go get out my big magnet and my torture devices, and let's just say, it won't be pretty in the end. I guess I did good with the whole point and click idea. It just kinda popped into my head and I ran with it and now I'm really glad I did. And don't think your story didn't inspire me cause it did. But I've had a rough work week and this is my first day off since Tuesday so I post as quick as I can. Hope you enjoy mine as much as I enjoyed your last three.
Lightspeed Suzuka ~ My friend who helped me create Sakura told me to tell you that she's heard of the show before and was a fan which is why she picked the name. The Madison bit was purely a coincidence. I had no idea about the show and the name Madison just kinda popped into my head and she didn't even realize it till I showed her your review and she remembered. And Toddler Suzuka is right. Remy would NEVER consciously cheat on Rogue.
Untitled Whispers ~ Well I'm always happy to have a new reviewer. And being obsessed with Romy is NEVER a bad thing. And I must agree, Remy is way to hot to die. Thanks for reviewing and I hope to hear more from you.
Jadedbeauty ~ You can and did and did I tell you how wonderful your stories are? I'm sure I have and if not, I just did so yay me. Hope you enjoyed this one as well. I try.
Mercury Dream ~ Thank you! You're the only one whose sang to me. Well besides a guy at work, but I told him that the greatest gift he could give me was to stop singing. Damn that British Glory I don't possess. Well, at least I'm 365 days closer to my legal drinking age. Guess till then I'll just have to do it illegally like everyone else in America under the age of 21. I'm not sure how we'd set up the petition either, but it does sound like a really good idea. And I guess we'd send it to fox or marvel.
I'm just glad you're feeling better enough to review. I did miss your last one but you more than made up with it with both these long ones.
I knew you'd like it if I added Jamie. He is too cute. I like most of the newbies though. And I can't wait to for the sequel to your story. I'm excited and giddy. I would love to tell you exactly what she meant but then I'd ruin the next chapter for you and I don't want to do that. And she could have been watching Something Blue although I like Lover's Walk and Spikes little monolog about Buffy and Angel in it.
I don't think any of us are old enough to know what they were doing in that danger room. Scary.
I loved Batman and Robin. And it has the best ideas as you can tell from my little theft of it. Batgirl was pretty awesome too. And thank you for noticing my 'residual territorial nature' line. I'm just so proud of it, which is probably sad but hey, it could be worse I guess. You're welcome for the RoLo. The decision was made on the requests of two people specifically. You and my friend Sofie.
Dru is awesome. And I'm really proud of my impression. I can even do that whole insane sway thing. But I digress. I must disagree though on one thing. I'm a die hard Buffy/Angel fan so the whole Buffy/Spike thing is just so wrong to me. But alas, diversity is what makes the world go round. I love Spike, don't get me wrong, and Angel annoys the hell out of me most of the time, but I just can't bring myself to see Buffy with Spike. I do love the new Angel eps with Spike. There just so damned funny, at least the ones I've seen are anyway.
Damn straight jacket. I hate when they're difficult. Gives you that cramp in your neck and the headache from hitting your forehead on the desk when you miss the keyboard. Not pretty. LOL! I could do that but I don't want to steal your immortality idea and gosh darnit you just beat me too it. I'll come up with something though. I usually do. And you're right about the party. Bad idea on my part.
I guess you'd say you have a love/hate Jott thing going on which is just fine. I've been working on some of my future chapters and there is some Jott bashing. Oh well, it has to be done (cause let's face it it's just too fun). Now onto your next review.
You are so welcome. After you started posting your recommendation for my fic I started getting a lot more reviews so I'm sure it's due to you, so I should be thanking you as well. Ish's fic just rocks so I had to start with the advertising for it as well. But we all knew she would do great though. And I'm afraid I can't even compare to her. She's more like up there with you and I'm still at the bottom of the rung, which is just fine by me. Xander is awesome, and I've been told that Harmony is funny in Angel but she just sucked as a villain. And annoyed the hell out of me at times. But so long as she's funny I'm sure I could forgive it. And leave those mittens off missy! I like the random comments.
OH you hate everyone too? Yay! I'm not alone once again. People annoy the hell out of me, but for your information, I don't consider you people. And Meranda did inflict bodily harm and threats of revenge onto her so she suffered. And will again later. I'd kill her off now, horribly and painfully, but I may need her later.
Y'know, I never noticed it, but I must have an M thing right now since all my characters names start with M. If you ever read the other fic I have up, (which you should cause I haven't been getting as many reviews for it and I'm not sure if it sucks or not and I know you'd be honest and tell me) the son Meranda and Logan have in that, I don't remember if I stated his name in what I have posted yet or not, but his name is Merrick. I'm going to put up a sequel to that one if I get more positive reviews for it. Anyway, back to your review. Hopefully you'll continue to love Madison when she comes in her real form. (Which will be in about two chapters.) You want to hear something scary? Madison's personality is based on mine. I'm really that sarcastic and that much of a bitch and I've really been known to be that honest. You'll get a better look at her later when her and Sakura come into play. (Sakura is based on my friend who agrees with the Spike as Remy idea, and we actually thought of banter that we normally have and I'm putting it into the story, but I'm getting ahead of myself again. Back to the review. Luck and love to you as well dear, hope this was worth the wait and I hope to have more up soon. (Wow, my reply to you was over a page long. Cool. We should exchange emails or something.)
Crystalyn ~ I'm glad you love the story but I must refer you up to NNC, and the whole I don't do Lemon's bet. Sorry.
Rogue5157 ~ Oh you have info on Wanda's mom? Where'd you get it cause I couldn't find anything. Thanks for letting me know.
Gothic Cajun ~I may not have inspired you to go to prison yet but my story is still young. I fear you and your angst love. But that's okay. There will be more angst later so at least I know you'll be happy with it so it'll all be worth it.
Emumoon ~ I'll try to put in more French but all of mine I have to translate on a site cause I don't speak anything but English. I say you use the wax lips idea too. The more the merrier. Glad your hooked, are ya still?
Well, that's all from me for tonight. Take care all and much love.
Calliann