Disclaimer is in part 3. It basically says that the X-Men belong to Stan Lee and Marvel Comics.
The next afternoon, when Rogue woke up, she was hungry. She showered quickly and dressed in her everyday jeans, top, and gloves. Heading down to the kitchen, she found Storm working on preparing dinner.
"Good evening…" she started to greet Storm, but the circle of tiny blue flames under the stockpot caught her eye. Her inner Pyro was instantly captivated. Rogue's breath started to get short, and she couldn't stop herself from waving one hand towards the gas stove.
The flames grew higher. Rogue smiled; the flames reflected in her dark brown eyes. Storm looked over, puzzled. Rogue spread her fingers and the flames leaped even higher, almost even with the top of the stock pot. She started to laugh. In a sharp voice, slightly deeper than her natural one and with no trace of a southern accent, she said, "What'cha gonna do, Ms. Monroe? Gonna yell at me again?" She laughed, a harsh, mirthless sound.
Ororo took a deep breath. "Rogue!" she cried. "Rogue!"
Rogue did not respond, just watched the leaping blue flames. The heat of them drove Ororo back from the stove, but Rogue stepped closer with her hand still stretched out to feel the lick of the flames on her fingers.
"Rogue!" Ororo cried. Then, as realization struck, "John! John, stop it – you're burning the sauce!"
Rogue lowered her hand and stepped back a little. "Sorry, Ororo."
Ororo quickly checked the sauce. "Doesn't look as if it's burned too badly. Look at what you did to the range hood, though!" It was blackened and had started to melt.
Rogue started to shake. "I – I'm sorry. I lost control there for a minute. Won't happen again."
Ororo came over and put her arm carefully around Rogue's shoulders. "Rogue, honey, I think you should go see the new doctor," she said gently.
Dr. McCoy was huge, blue, and furry. He was also quite well read and had a very tranquil manner. He listened carefully to Rogue's story of her mutation and its results as he conducted a gentle but thorough examination. Upon its conclusion, he bade her get up and dress again, while he consulted with the professor.
He came back in after a few minutes. "Rogue, first of all let me say that you're an extremely brave young woman. It doesn't surprise me at all that you've been asked to join the team. Second, regarding your mental passengers, let's call them, I'm recommending a course of solo meditation along with several sessions with a telepath. I've arranged with Ororo to start you off with the meditation, and Professor Xavier says he is more than willing to help you with his telepathy. Do you have any questions?"
"Uh, yes. What is all this going to do, Doctor McCoy?"
The doctor slapped his forehead. "Oh, dear. Of course. Please forgive me, my dear – in my eagerness to prove my competence at my new job, I've left out the prognosis! And please, call me Hank. Or Beast."
Rogue nodded, still waiting.
"The meditation is to help you centre on yourself, to sift out your own original personality from those others you carry. You will need that enlightenment for the next step, which will require the telepath. Professor Xavier will help you build a mental holding facility, if you will, in which you can keep all the separate personalities until they start to fade away."
At Rogue's sceptical expression, he hastened to ask, "They do fade away after a time, don't they? You don't still maintain Magneto's or Wolverine's gifts, right?"
Rogue nodded. "The gifts fade, Hank, but the memories and personalities are always with me. They get less influential as I get used to them, but they never leave. I can still have mental conversations with the boy I happened to be kissing when my mutation manifested. He's fine now, I'm sure, but I'll have part of him in my head until I die. I just don't know how I can use my gift as an X-man, and still keep the numbers down up there!"
Hank had large, sympathetic brown eyes. "Well, perhaps the professor can help you find an answer to that question too, Rogue. Now, if you'll excuse me, Ororo told me that she could see you right after dinner. And she respectfully requests you stay out of the kitchen until then," he finished with a twinkle.
"If ya cain't take the heat…" Rogue muttered, not bothering to finish the cliché. Hank laughed.
Rogue decided to go down to the pond and try some meditation. She knew she would need some practice with Ororo, but she knew the basics of how it worked.
Logan found her there, sitting on the bench beside the pond. Slinging his backpack to the ground, he sat on the bench next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "I'm runnin' again," he said simply.
Her dark-chocolate eyes slid up to his. She nodded. "I thought you would." They sat in companionable silence for a minute. "Will you be back?" Rogue asked.
Logan sighed and hung his head. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll be back. Probably even join the team and everything. Gotta make sure these geeks take good care of you, don't I?" There was no hint of humour in his tone; he just sounded tired.
"How long?"
"Dunno. Few weeks, anyway. You'll be okay?" he asked, lifting a finger and stroking it down her white lock of hair.
She nodded, looking down. "I'll be okay," she said. Looking back up with a little smile, she said "I miss you when you're gone, you know. Take care of yourself, Logan."
Logan nodded once. "I will, kid." He stood up, patted himself down absently. "Tag's gone," he reminded himself. He met Rogue's eyes. "Left it in the lake. My word that I'll be back gonna be good enough?" The corner of his mouth gave the barest twitch.
Rogue smiled and nodded. "Come back as soon as you can, okay?" She stood up and gave him a quick hug, careful not to touch him with her skin.
He hugged her back, hard, then stepped back and picked up his bag. "Take care, kid," he said.
"Logan?"
"Hm?"
"Do you think you could stop calling me that?"
There was an uneasy moment while he frowned at her, then a small smile crept across his face. "Sure thing, darlin'," he said, and with a quick wink, he was gone.
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