"That was Rogue," said Logan, growling. "She's still got some of your instincts in her head, kid. We'd better go find her before she does anything too stupid."
Rahne followed him out of the room that had been her home for three weeks and through a series of corridors as he tracked the Southern girl's scent. Most of the compound seemed unfamiliar to her now she saw it with human eyes – as a wolf she had spent as much time as possible outside on the island, and had ignored most of the interior of the building as so much background.
Logan stopped in the doorway of one of the rooms in the living area of the complex. He was standing squarely in the middle of the doorway, but by peering round the brawny man's side Rahne managed to see what was happening in the room, which appeared to be some sort of staff room. Rogue was standing by the sink, shards of a pottery cup and a puddle of coffee at her feet. She seemed almost frozen in place, and the acidic smell of shock was pouring off her in waves. Underneath that, Rahne thought she could detect something like old pain.
The southerner's eyes were fixed on the other occupant of the room, who was sitting calmly on one of the sofas with her legs tucked up underneath her body. She seemed vaguely familiar to Rahne, with her vivid short purple hair parted on one side and framing her face. Rahne racked her brain to try and figure out where she'd seen the girl before… then it came to her. At that party that Kitty and Kurt had organised at the mansion – wasn't she Rogue's friend…, she couldn't remember the name… Misty, maybe?
Rogue continued to stare at the girl, but as Rahne watched she could smell her old teammate's scent dissolve from shock into denial and confusion. "Ya're… dead! Ah saw ya die…," she breathed.
"Don't know what you're talking about luv, sorry," the other girl replied conversationally.
"Ya ruined mah lahfe, Mystique!" Rogue shouted at her suddenly, the confusion fading just as swiftly into rage. "Ah'm not going ta let you do that ta anyone else!" and she lunged at the girl. Logan managed to grab her just in time, but she struggled against him, trying to break free. Was that what I was like? Rahne wondered to herself. Just thinking about destroying what had hurt me, and nothing else?
"Mystique?" the purple haired girl asked, with an expression of polite confusion. "I'm not Mystique. I go by Psylocke, if it helps any..." Rogue growled at her, unconvinced.
"She's telling the truth, Stripes," Logan added. "Moira has her own way of detecting the blue bitch."
Rogue relaxed slightly, or perhaps deflated would have been a more apt description. "Then… ya… ya're tha real Risty?" she asked.
"Sorry, that's not me either luv," Psylocke replied, shrugging. "Name's Betsy. Betsy Braddock, if you want to be formal."
"Oh." Rogue looked slightly disappointed.
"Did you know this Risty girl then?" Betsy asked.
"Ah… ah thought ah did." Rogue looked away. "She looked jus' lahke ya… but it wasn't real."
"Oh. Too bad," Betsy responded sympathetically. "I'm real, as far as I can tell. Probably a damn sight cooler than she ever was, right?" It was a delivered with a supremely self-assured tone, at which even Rogue couldn't help but laugh. "Tell you what luv, how about I get you another cup of coffee? You seem to have lost your last one somewhere along the floor." She wandered over to the cupboards. "Nice to see you're upright again there Rahne," she added, acting as though the wolf-girl's entrance in human form was completely expected.
Rahne realised she'd been wrong about recognising the girl as Rogue's friend – now she was in the room, she could detect the girl's scent, which was nothing like the exchange student's. Betsy had been the other visitor to the Island yesterday, the one she'd chased away. But if she ignored her nose, the resemblance was still uncanny.
After providing Rogue and Logan with coffee Betsy sat back down in her spot on the sofa and began reading a book, apparently completely oblivious to the fact that she was no longer alone in the room. She didn't even look up when more footsteps sounded outside the door and Sam and Roberto walked in.
"There ya are Rahne!" Sam exclaimed, broad smile lighting up his face. "Dr MacTaggert said back ya were back to yahself and alright again!"
"I don't know about alright," she replied. She still hadn't really begun to process the events of the past few months properly, and was currently feeling oddly removed from all the human interactions going on around – her three weeks as a wolf hadn't quite worn off, and talking with people seemed a little… unusual. "But I'm back, and it's really great to see ye here, Sammy."
"Sure is!" he said, scooping her up into a big bear hug which lifted her clear off the ground. Rahne laughed, for probably the first time since Easter.
Roberto, however had hung back. His right hand was bandaged lightly, and he was holding it protectively as if to shield it from her. Guiltily, she remembered about their confrontation in her lair and the warning bite she had given him when she thought he was threatening her.
"Are you okay?" she asked him, concerned.
"You bit me!" he said resentfully, annoyance touching his scent.
"Please Roberto. I'm sorry," Rahne implored, voice cracking slightly. She didn't want Roberto, who meant almost everything to her now her parents were gone abandoning her too.
"You bit me!" he repeated, as though he was having trouble processing the idea.
"Come on, 'Berto," said Sam. "Ya know she wasn't herself or anythang – she didn't mean it. Anyway, it was only ya hand, and it wasn't as if it was deep."
"That's right Sparky," Betsy added idly from her seat on the sofa. "Anyway, you liked it – in fact, you want her to bite you again, just not on the hand this time!" Everyone, especially Roberto, shot her confused looks. "Don't try to deny it to me, luv," she said. "I'm a telepath – I know what you're thinking in that dirty little mind of yours…."
"But… I wasn't," Roberto protested, while everyone turned to give him odd looks.
"Sure you were," she insisted. He shook his head again. She stared at him intently for a while longer, then abruptly laughed. "Okay, you weren't, but it was funny while it lasted." She then turned back to her book, appearing once again to completely switch off from the others.
Betsy's comments, however odd, had broken the uncomfortable situation. Rahne had stayed watching Roberto the whole time, and he finally met her eyes. "I'm sorry too, Wolfie," he said. "It wasn't your fault." He didn't quite go as far as saying that it was his fault, but she didn't expect that much from the self-proclaimed faultless Roberto Da Costa. He gathered her up in a hug which, while not as boisterous as Sam's, was much fiercer. She returned it with interest, relieved to know she hadn't lost him too.
"Just don't do it again, kay?" he added as they finally pulled apart.
"Oh, are ye sure about that?" Rahne teased playfully. Betsy raised an eyebrow without looking up, making Roberto blush again. Which set Rogue and Logan snorting, spilling yet more coffee.
"What's going on?" asked Sam, innocent as always. That sent all three girls into fits of giggles, as he stood there radiating genuine confusion.
They managed to calm down in the end, although nobody could quite face explaining everything to Sam. Roberto had kept an arm around Rahne throughout, as though he wanted to keep her close to him. "I was so worried about you, Wolfie," he told her quietly. "I'm really glad you're back with us."
"Me too," Rahne replied, smiling up at him. He flashed his gorgeous white teeth back, then hugged her tightly again. And for just that moment, everything else retreated for a while.
They stayed like that for a while, until being interrupted by Betsy declaring loudly "Geez break it up! I think that's enough PDA for one day." Rahne pulled away, feeling embarrassed. "Oh, sorry," she said, guiltily.
Instead of accepting the apology, the older girl laughed. "No need to listen to me, luv. I just like to see people jump."
"So, what's going ta happen…," Sam began to ask, but he never got round to finish his sentence because Teresa walked into the room.
"So this is where everybody got to," she said, looking around and seeing Sam with his mouth hanging open. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt something?"
"Oh… no…," he stammered, staring transfixed at her curly blonde hair and long, slim body. "Ah… ah… was just… saying… umm… nothang important!" The last two words came out in a rush. "Mah… mah name… Ah'm Sam!" he finished eventually.
"Hello Sam. I'm Teresa," she told him, smiling at him politely. "It's nice to meet you."
The Southern boy's face turned a rather intense shade of red at the honour of having this girl say his name. "It sure is good ta meet ya too, Teresa," he managed gallantly in the end, but only after a few false starts, and some not-so-helpful promptings from a highly amused Betsy. Rahne had to bury her face in Roberto's chest to stifle another laugh at her shy friend's antics. Perhaps it wasn't so bad being part of the human world again.
NB: so there we go – a proper introduction for our latest canon addition. Betsy Braddock, or Psylocke. British telepath, famous for having very very purple hair. I couldn't resist having her look just like Risty too…yeah, I know, I'm self-absorbed. In the comics she got asianified at one point, but in an endeavour to keep things simple, I've kept her as ordinary British body here. Just in case anyone was wondering…