Disclaimer: I don't own, you know that.
Chapter 2
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Some things never change.
And some things you wish really did.
Mornings at the Institute were one of the things you defiantly wish did. The mad dash to try and grab something to sustain you before Kurt would come in and devour everything in sight, Kitty scrambling to find something that actually suited her vegetarian palette, Scott and Jean staring at each other with that moony-eyed expression, and Rogue, storming in looking like she wanted to tear someone's head off.
Not that she actually would, she had progressed so much in her social skills and outward appearance...
"You touch that bagel Kurt, and I swear you'll get a boot shoved so far up your ass you'll be tasting dirt for a week!"
All she had to work on now was her dislike of early mornings.
"Rogue, language!" Jean turned away from Scott for a brief second to reprimand Rogue for her rather foul mouth, but turned back before she could see Rogue's oh so mature retaliation of sticking her tongue out.
Charles, sitting at the head of the table, leaned back to take it all in. His students had grown so much over the years; it was still hard to believe these adults were the same children he had taken in so long ago. Both Scott and Jean had gone on to university, and were currently on their summer break. Jean was in the process of obtaining her degree in medicine, while Scott wished to get his teaching degree so that he may return to the Institute as an actual teacher. Kitty chose to attend a technical school and breezed through its computer technology program in half the time it would have taken anyone else. Kurt had decided to stick around the Institute and help out with the New Recruits when they were moved to new branch in Massachusetts, going back and forth between the two schools.
"Hey, hey, have no fear, the Iceman is here! Please, no pictures, just throw money."
And then there were the new additions.
Bobby Drake had moved up from the New Recruits after showing great potential during the incident in London back when they had been searching for the second key. This was to the dismay of a few of the senior members of the team, as "the Iceman" had a tendency to...not take things as seriously as Cyclops would have liked. But, he had proved himself a valuable team member several times, so he stayed on.
"Good Morning everyone." A polite and heavily accented voice called out.
Piotr Rasputin, one time enemy of the X-Men, now one of the most valuable members of the team. After the battle with Apocalypse, he had returned to his native Russia for a time, only to appear on the Institutes doorstep seeking to help Xavier achieve his dream. "My family is safe from Magneto, but I now must make sure that no one else can bring harm to them." It was obvious that he hadn't believed in Magneto's dream of a mutant dominated society, but rather participated to prevent harm from coming to his family.
The sudden lack of noise in the room alerts the Professor to a new presence.
"Any word yet?" a husky yet feminine voice asks.
"No Mariko, but as soon as I hear from Logan, you'll be the first to know."
The young woman in the doorway turned, and with a nod, left the room. Formerly called X-23 buy the Hydra Corporation, the girl had been dubbed 'Mariko' by her 'clone-father'. She had come to the X-Men after Logan retrieved her after getting a call from her asking to learn more about whom she is. Naturally, the only person able to help with that was Logan. As it was, he had gone off on one of his 'lone-wolf' extrusions, leaving Mariko to assimilate herself with the other X-Men. It hadn't been going too well.
"Oh Charles, I meant to tell you, Hank called this morning. The seminar is right on schedule and he should be back by the end of next week."
"Thank you Storm, that's good to know."
Turning back to the counter and the coffee pot, Storm grabbed a mug and poured herself a cup. Rogue walked up behind her intent on getting a cup for herself.
"Storm, could ya grab me a mug while ya standin' there?"
"Of course child." Storm found Rogues favorite mug and poured her a cup, then handed it back to her.
"Thanks 'Ro." She said as she took the mug from Storms hand. The second she gripped it, the mug shattered, coffee spilling all over the floor and all over Rogue.
Everyone in the room immediately stopped what they were doing to gawk and the mess Rogue had made. "Oh my God..." Rogue trailed off. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
"It's alright Rogue. It was an accident, here, I'll clean it up" Kitty, being the first to regain her composure, got up and moved to get a dish cloth to wipe up the spilled coffee.
There had been many accidents like this the past year or so. There had been an incident about fourteen months ago in downtown New York involving an anti-mutant group protesting outside a restaurant that was know for serving mutants. The scene had turned extremely violent, causing the need to call in S.H.I.E.L.D while the X-Men were attempting to get a hold of the situation. There were several S.H.I.E.L.D agents running around, including a mutant named Major Carol Danvers. She had some incredible powers; invulnerability, super strength, and the ability to fly. During the fight, Rogue had gotten her glove off to try and subdue some of the protestors, when the Major had swooped down out of the sky and knocked a man that was attempting to sneak up on Rogue into the side of a building.
"Watch yourself little girl!" Danvers had shouted at Rogue before going back into battle herself. Rogue glared up at the Major and gritted her teeth. 'Little girl?! Blonde bitch! Who does she think she is!?' she thought to herself. Getting back to the task at hand, Rogue went back to rendering the protestors' unconscious.
The riot started to die down when it happened. Danvers had finally come back down to earth and Rogue had just pushed her latest victim aside. She heard Danvers make some sort of comment, and turned to face her. Just as she was about to rip into the S.H.I.E.L.D agent, when several stray mutant haters tackled Rogue from behind, catching her off guard. The force of being jumped sent her flying into Danvers, crashing to the ground, where her still bare hand made contact with Danvers bare face. Shocked by the sensation of her life force being drained, Carol could do nothing to stop Rogue from taking her powers and memories. The men who had jumped Rogue was keeping Rogue pinned to Carol, leaving Rogue unable to move her hand from Carols face. It wasn't until Kurt teleported over, grabbed Rogues other hand and 'ported her out of the dog pile that Rogue had been able to cease her absorption of Carol Danvers.
By then, it had been too late. Rogue had held on long enough to gain Danvers' powers, permanently. There had been the issue of Carol Danvers being a permanent resident in Rogue's mind, but with the help of the Professor, they had been able to tuck her away in the back of her mind before she drove Rogue insane.
"Thanks Kit. I thought I had a handle on this by now." Rogue sighed half-heartedly. It had been a long year for her, and little 'accidents' like this one were as much of a reminder of what she had done as having to use her newfound powers was.
"Hey, c'mon, you've been doing great! Now turn that frown upside down!" Rogue turned and glared at her. "Or maybe not." Kitty squeaked out. Rogue had to smile at that.
Hey, you two keep it down of a sec." Scott said looking at the television. A breaking news segment had just come on.
"Oh geez, vhat now?"Kurt asked with his mouth full.
"This just in, a violent explosion has just rocked downtown New Orleans, sending debris everywhere and damaging several buildings. So far there have been only minor injuries reported, but that may change as officials search through the wreckage of the First Bank of New Orleans. The explosion is thought to be mutant related, but there has been no confirmation on this. We'll keep you up to date as this story progresses."
The screen went black as Jean shut it off and turned to her teammates.
"Mutant related huh? Sound like anyone we know?" She gave a significant glance to the Russian man to her left.
"Da." Piotr said nodding. "Bank, explosion, New Orleans...it is defiantly something he would do."
"You don't mean...?" Kitty stopped picking up broken ceramics.
"Gambit." Rogue whispered.
The Professor, who had remained uncharacteristically quiet during this time, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
It has begun.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: wow, this chapter is longer than my Art History paper! This was really just an establishing chapter, letting you know what's up with the X-Squad before we really get into the story. I wanted to make Rogue have all her powers, so I added the whole Ms Marvel thingy....it's lame the way I went about her getting it, but I didn't want to go into a big long drawn out issue with it. She has them, and that's that.
I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge my lone reviewer of this story, Peace215, thanx so much for your review! I haven't gotten a chance to read you story yet, but as soon as I do, I will.
Let me know what ya'll think!
~Leishy
Chapter 2
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Some things never change.
And some things you wish really did.
Mornings at the Institute were one of the things you defiantly wish did. The mad dash to try and grab something to sustain you before Kurt would come in and devour everything in sight, Kitty scrambling to find something that actually suited her vegetarian palette, Scott and Jean staring at each other with that moony-eyed expression, and Rogue, storming in looking like she wanted to tear someone's head off.
Not that she actually would, she had progressed so much in her social skills and outward appearance...
"You touch that bagel Kurt, and I swear you'll get a boot shoved so far up your ass you'll be tasting dirt for a week!"
All she had to work on now was her dislike of early mornings.
"Rogue, language!" Jean turned away from Scott for a brief second to reprimand Rogue for her rather foul mouth, but turned back before she could see Rogue's oh so mature retaliation of sticking her tongue out.
Charles, sitting at the head of the table, leaned back to take it all in. His students had grown so much over the years; it was still hard to believe these adults were the same children he had taken in so long ago. Both Scott and Jean had gone on to university, and were currently on their summer break. Jean was in the process of obtaining her degree in medicine, while Scott wished to get his teaching degree so that he may return to the Institute as an actual teacher. Kitty chose to attend a technical school and breezed through its computer technology program in half the time it would have taken anyone else. Kurt had decided to stick around the Institute and help out with the New Recruits when they were moved to new branch in Massachusetts, going back and forth between the two schools.
"Hey, hey, have no fear, the Iceman is here! Please, no pictures, just throw money."
And then there were the new additions.
Bobby Drake had moved up from the New Recruits after showing great potential during the incident in London back when they had been searching for the second key. This was to the dismay of a few of the senior members of the team, as "the Iceman" had a tendency to...not take things as seriously as Cyclops would have liked. But, he had proved himself a valuable team member several times, so he stayed on.
"Good Morning everyone." A polite and heavily accented voice called out.
Piotr Rasputin, one time enemy of the X-Men, now one of the most valuable members of the team. After the battle with Apocalypse, he had returned to his native Russia for a time, only to appear on the Institutes doorstep seeking to help Xavier achieve his dream. "My family is safe from Magneto, but I now must make sure that no one else can bring harm to them." It was obvious that he hadn't believed in Magneto's dream of a mutant dominated society, but rather participated to prevent harm from coming to his family.
The sudden lack of noise in the room alerts the Professor to a new presence.
"Any word yet?" a husky yet feminine voice asks.
"No Mariko, but as soon as I hear from Logan, you'll be the first to know."
The young woman in the doorway turned, and with a nod, left the room. Formerly called X-23 buy the Hydra Corporation, the girl had been dubbed 'Mariko' by her 'clone-father'. She had come to the X-Men after Logan retrieved her after getting a call from her asking to learn more about whom she is. Naturally, the only person able to help with that was Logan. As it was, he had gone off on one of his 'lone-wolf' extrusions, leaving Mariko to assimilate herself with the other X-Men. It hadn't been going too well.
"Oh Charles, I meant to tell you, Hank called this morning. The seminar is right on schedule and he should be back by the end of next week."
"Thank you Storm, that's good to know."
Turning back to the counter and the coffee pot, Storm grabbed a mug and poured herself a cup. Rogue walked up behind her intent on getting a cup for herself.
"Storm, could ya grab me a mug while ya standin' there?"
"Of course child." Storm found Rogues favorite mug and poured her a cup, then handed it back to her.
"Thanks 'Ro." She said as she took the mug from Storms hand. The second she gripped it, the mug shattered, coffee spilling all over the floor and all over Rogue.
Everyone in the room immediately stopped what they were doing to gawk and the mess Rogue had made. "Oh my God..." Rogue trailed off. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
"It's alright Rogue. It was an accident, here, I'll clean it up" Kitty, being the first to regain her composure, got up and moved to get a dish cloth to wipe up the spilled coffee.
There had been many accidents like this the past year or so. There had been an incident about fourteen months ago in downtown New York involving an anti-mutant group protesting outside a restaurant that was know for serving mutants. The scene had turned extremely violent, causing the need to call in S.H.I.E.L.D while the X-Men were attempting to get a hold of the situation. There were several S.H.I.E.L.D agents running around, including a mutant named Major Carol Danvers. She had some incredible powers; invulnerability, super strength, and the ability to fly. During the fight, Rogue had gotten her glove off to try and subdue some of the protestors, when the Major had swooped down out of the sky and knocked a man that was attempting to sneak up on Rogue into the side of a building.
"Watch yourself little girl!" Danvers had shouted at Rogue before going back into battle herself. Rogue glared up at the Major and gritted her teeth. 'Little girl?! Blonde bitch! Who does she think she is!?' she thought to herself. Getting back to the task at hand, Rogue went back to rendering the protestors' unconscious.
The riot started to die down when it happened. Danvers had finally come back down to earth and Rogue had just pushed her latest victim aside. She heard Danvers make some sort of comment, and turned to face her. Just as she was about to rip into the S.H.I.E.L.D agent, when several stray mutant haters tackled Rogue from behind, catching her off guard. The force of being jumped sent her flying into Danvers, crashing to the ground, where her still bare hand made contact with Danvers bare face. Shocked by the sensation of her life force being drained, Carol could do nothing to stop Rogue from taking her powers and memories. The men who had jumped Rogue was keeping Rogue pinned to Carol, leaving Rogue unable to move her hand from Carols face. It wasn't until Kurt teleported over, grabbed Rogues other hand and 'ported her out of the dog pile that Rogue had been able to cease her absorption of Carol Danvers.
By then, it had been too late. Rogue had held on long enough to gain Danvers' powers, permanently. There had been the issue of Carol Danvers being a permanent resident in Rogue's mind, but with the help of the Professor, they had been able to tuck her away in the back of her mind before she drove Rogue insane.
"Thanks Kit. I thought I had a handle on this by now." Rogue sighed half-heartedly. It had been a long year for her, and little 'accidents' like this one were as much of a reminder of what she had done as having to use her newfound powers was.
"Hey, c'mon, you've been doing great! Now turn that frown upside down!" Rogue turned and glared at her. "Or maybe not." Kitty squeaked out. Rogue had to smile at that.
Hey, you two keep it down of a sec." Scott said looking at the television. A breaking news segment had just come on.
"Oh geez, vhat now?"Kurt asked with his mouth full.
"This just in, a violent explosion has just rocked downtown New Orleans, sending debris everywhere and damaging several buildings. So far there have been only minor injuries reported, but that may change as officials search through the wreckage of the First Bank of New Orleans. The explosion is thought to be mutant related, but there has been no confirmation on this. We'll keep you up to date as this story progresses."
The screen went black as Jean shut it off and turned to her teammates.
"Mutant related huh? Sound like anyone we know?" She gave a significant glance to the Russian man to her left.
"Da." Piotr said nodding. "Bank, explosion, New Orleans...it is defiantly something he would do."
"You don't mean...?" Kitty stopped picking up broken ceramics.
"Gambit." Rogue whispered.
The Professor, who had remained uncharacteristically quiet during this time, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
It has begun.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
AN: wow, this chapter is longer than my Art History paper! This was really just an establishing chapter, letting you know what's up with the X-Squad before we really get into the story. I wanted to make Rogue have all her powers, so I added the whole Ms Marvel thingy....it's lame the way I went about her getting it, but I didn't want to go into a big long drawn out issue with it. She has them, and that's that.
I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge my lone reviewer of this story, Peace215, thanx so much for your review! I haven't gotten a chance to read you story yet, but as soon as I do, I will.
Let me know what ya'll think!
~Leishy