Hello everyone! Sorry the first chapter was short, it was just to get the story started, and I wanted to upload something, like NOW! Thanks to all my lovely reviewers, you guys are so sweet!

UnknownSource: yes there is a plot, it starts shaping up around the next couple of chapters. Glad you liked my funniness and strange German! Hope it's still funny in this chappie!

Anyway, on with the story!

Thanks for keeping me sane

Miss P

Disclaimer: If I owned x-evo, I wouldn't be writing fanfic to try and ease the pain from lack thereof of a 4th season here! Um, I made up the bands, except for The White Stripes - I wish!

Rogue pulled the sleek silver vehicle into her usual park. She glanced at the handbrake with distaste before yanking it upwards. It wasn't as if it was dirty, or bashed about or disfigured, in fact the shiny, flawless black of the thing was exactly what was wrong with it. The Southerner much preferred the grungy, worn, imperfect look of things. Suited her better.

"Well, gotta run, see you after!"

The high pitched, gabbling voice broke into Rogue's thoughts. She watched her slightly younger friend bolt towards the large brick building. She stepped out of the car and locked it, in no hurry herself. The school was the symbol of most things that went wrong in her life, so she wasn't going to let it rule her. It wasn't as if her teachers were overcome with horror at the thought of not being with her for the few minutes that she was missing of 1st period. More like relief.

She trudged out of the parking lot, undeniably dragging her feet. It was already shaping out to be a bad day.

She reached her locker and pulled it open in one habitual movement. It took a few seconds of rifling through books and papers, before she realised that something was dangling from the roof of it. She gave it a little tug, and it came free, attached to a small piece of blu-tack. It was a beautiful necklace, a small piece of amethyst encased in a silver wire cage. It was hung on a string of thin black velvet.

Rogue let out an admiring breath, blowing a strand of white hair out of her face. She couldn't think who would leave her such a beautiful thing, especially without taking credit for it. She wandered vaguely to 1st period, still staring in awe at the gift.

She was seated in her French class, turning the crystal over and over, deftly considering her gloved fingers, when she found the second token between the pages of her French dictionary. A card. The queen of hearts.

Charles Xavier stared intently at the screen of Cerebro. He typed in something, then returned his gaze to the somewhat futuristic technology. Two flashing green dots appeared in the general New York/Bayville area.

The wheelchair-bound man sighed heavily. Though he looked slightly pleased, his stance was weary and his attitude was resigned.

'They are here. I cannot hide this any longer. Especially if my beliefs regarding Erik are correct. It is time to put my own priorities and feelings aside.'

He shut his eyes for a moment, then propelled himself towards the exit.

Kitty Pryde stormed out of the school building, her eyes darting around the grounds. She let out a small squeak of frustration while resisting the compelling urge to stamp her foot. She charged around to the backfield, where she then spotted what she was looking for, seated in the shadow of a large oak tree. Rogue looked up as Kitty came stomping towards her and flung herself down on the grass beside her.

"Uh, something wrong?"

Kitty subjected her to a scowl remarkably like one of her own before beginning her rant.

"Yes there is something flipping well wrong! I went to my locker to get my Chemistry books, and the door was, like, practically melted shut! Then, when the school janitor had managed to prise it open, all my books were either totally burnt to a crisp like this,"

She held up a book as she said this. The corner she was holding it by crumbled off, and the rest of the book was suddenly a pile of ash on the ground between the two girls. Rogue hid a smirk.

"…Or singed enough to make most of the stuff unreadable!" Kitty continued furiously. She tipped the remaining contents of her bag on the ground. Admittedly, most of her books were now black. Rogue frowned.

"Were any of the other lockers melted?"

"The two on either side of mine were a little, but looked like mine had got the full, mean, blast of it," Kitty pouted.

Rogue examined one of the books, still frowning.

"Weird thing is, who would have enough firepower to do that much damage?" she wondered aloud.

"Pyro comes to mind…" grumbled Kitty, half-expecting Rogue to laugh at the absurdity of her statement, but surprisingly she nodded thoughtfully.

"That's what I was thinking," she said. "See, I found this thing in my French book that I definitely didn't put there, but it was just so weird."

"Huh? Like what?"

Kitty's mood ebbed away slightly, knowing she wasn't the only one subjected to the ridicule. She leaned over to look at Rogue's bag for some evidence of sabotage.

"Well, what was it?" she asked, upon finding nothing out of the ordinary.

"Well it wasn't exactly like what you got, I mean for a start it certainly wasn't hostile,"

She flipped through the pages of her dictionary as she spoke. She found the card and handed it to Kitty. Kitty simply gaped at it before doing a double take.

"What? You mean all you got was this, this dumb card, and I got my entire locker plus it's contents barbecued? How do you know the things are even connected, I mean, you probably just picked that up around the institute, stuck it in there for, like, a bookmark, then forgot about it. Why would an Acolyte stick a card in your French book?"

Rogue shrugged, for once not jumping down Kitty's throat for snapping at her.

"I just thought that one that ignites stuff mighta done it. He carries cards around, doesn't he?"

"I don't know," Kitty responded sulkily. "Gambit you mean, right?"

"I think so."

Just then, the bell rang, interrupting their discussion.

"I'll see you by the SUV after 6th period," Rogue called after the departing Kitty. "Don't take forever getting there either."

Kitty waved unenthusiastically to show she had heard. Rogue glanced at the card briefly, then let it float to the ground as she too walked away.

Jean was looking out the window anxiously. Scott came up behind her, a small smile on his face.

"You know, Jean, I'm sure Rogue's gonna bring your car back in one piece."

Jean jumped slightly; she hadn't realised Scott was even there. She turned to face him.

"I know that, it's not what I'm worried about, what I'm worried about is that Kitty might have convinced Rogue to let her drive it back," Jean told him. "And you're not one to talk either, you wouldn't even go as far as to lend your precious car."

Scott grinned guiltily and sat down beside her. "Well if I was to lend it to someone, Rogue would be the only one I'd trust with it," he said. As Jean gave him an offended look, he added hastily, "Apart from you, I mean."

Just then a small squeal of tires announced the girls' arrival. Jean turned back to the window so fast her long red hair flicked Scott in the face. She heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that Rogue was indeed driving. She also let out a giggle of surprise when the two got out, and she saw Kitty's scowl. What's more, Rogue's smirk was as close to an amused grin as an expression of Rogue's could ever be.

"Wow, those two have so got to stop hanging out so much," she commented. "Their personalities are rubbing off on each other!"

Scott chuckled too and they strolled out the door, hand in hand.

"Excuse me, I think I know real rock bands a bit better than you. It was definitely The Devious who got it."

"No way, it was the Barracudas!"

"How could the Barracudas ever win a prize in the category of rock music? They're just some tryhard teeny bopper punk band."

"Oh, come on! This was 1997!"

Kitty phased her head through the wall, for better observation of Rogue and Kurt's argument.

"Oh, who cares anyway," Kurt said. "I just want to get to some cookies and cream! The true wonder of the ice cream industry!"

Rogue laughed, a sound not often heard around the mansion.

"I agree. So lets hurry up and get the ice cream!"

Kitty couldn't hide a giggle this time. Knowing she was caught, she phased the rest of her body through the wall as the siblings whirled around.

"Honestly, anymore of this brother-sister bonding and you're gonna make the spring flowers pop out a few months early, plus all the birds bursting into song every time you guys walk by!"

Kurt laughed and Rogue glowered. Bobby came around the corner holding a peanut butter and jam sandwich.

"Yeah, next thing you know, the two of you will be creating a band together or something," he agreed thickly, spraying crumbs. "And calling it the White Stripes," he added, eyeing Rogue's streaks.

Kitty giggled again and Bobby laughed at his own unmatched humour. Rogue scowled and Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Just because you couldn't be picked out in a crowd, Drake," he retorted on his sister's behalf. "I guess we'll just go and get ice-cream without you then. Come on, sis."

He held out his hand to Rogue, who for once decided to let the 'sis' thing go, and took it. They both grinned and ported away, leaving behind indignant faces and a strong smell of sulfur.

There, second chapter! It took a little longer than I thought, but hey, it's here now! Once again, please review, let me know if you liked it! I'll love you forever if you do! More reviews I get, the faster chapter 3 will be up!

Next chapter: Rogue and Kurt have a surprise encounter in the ice cream store and witness something very strange….