Title: Powers Regained
Author: Ashnan Etana
Summary: When you lose your powers, what would you do to regain them?
Disclaimer: I don't own them. If I did… sigh …Oh, the things I could do with a certain Cajun and a growly butt-kicker. Makes my skin tingle just thinking about it.
Rating: R - (or whatever the equivalency is now for that) for language, Rogue and Logan have filthy mouths.
Archive: I would be thrilled if anyone wanted to archive any of my work. Take it. Just let me know where I can find it.
Feedback: Yes, please. It always helps to know what others think, even if it's bad. But be supportive; don't flame just to be cruel.
Author's Note: This story is set in the MovieVerse, but draws heavily from the ComicVerse. I won't go into detail but here is a quick rundown on the ComicVerse elements used in this story. At one point, Rogue lost all of her powers. When her powers returned, it was only her skin. She had permanently lost the powers of superstrength, flight and invulnerability.

It was a simple routine mission. The team was to pick up a young boy whose parents had literally thrown him into the streets when his powers manifested. It was a dull mission, sure, but at least Rogue had been allowed to participate. She had been informally booted off the team ever since she'd lost Ms. Marvel's powers. The older X-Men seemed to think it would be safer for her to stay at the mansion. They always tried to phrase it in a way that she would be defending the school in case of attack, but it was really "we have no use for you now" and Rogue knew it. They seemed to have forgotten that she'd gained her powers when she was on a mission with only her skin as a weapon. Whenever she pointed it out they gave her looks of pity and frustration. Well, she was the one that should be frustrated! She was sure that the only reason she was on this mission was because of Professor Xavier. They'd been in a counseling session when she'd let it slip that if she'd have gone with John to Magneto's camp he'd find a way for her to be useful. She'd explained that it was a joke, but they both knew she wasn't entirely kidding. Xavier couldn't risk her defecting. After all, she may not be powerful now, but she had the potential and in the wrong hands - no couldn't risk that. So here she was, back on the team.

They pulled up in front of an abandoned building that Xavier had given as the coordinates of the last place the boy had been.

"Logan, Storm, you cover the back. Bobby, Jubilee, watch the front. Jean and I will approach the boy." Scott was in full leader mode. Everyone began to move out to their assigned locations. As an afterthought, Scott turned to Rogue, "Oh, Rogue, stick close to Jubilee. Jubilee keep an eye on her."

What! Rogue thought. You have got to be kidding me. She shoots off fireworks. How is that more useful than my mutation.

Bobby and Jubilee were dutifully guarding the front entrance. Rogue was just lounging against a wall muttering unhappily under her breath. Within minutes the place became a war zone. Explosion were going off and different colored blast were shooting out of the building at all angles.

The three junior team members ran into the building. Apparently, they'd stumbled onto some kind of hide-out being used by mutant runaways . The young runaways were terrified which made them more dangerous.

Rogue was watching the "real" X-Men trying to keep themselves alive and defuse the situation at the same time, when Scott was knocked down in front of her. She could see that the boy was going to take another shot at Scott; without thinking she ungloved, reached down and lightly tapped Scott's forehead and shot a quick blast at the boy.

The fight had wrapped up pretty quickly after that. Jean and Storm had managed to calm the kids and the team ended up taking several mutants back to the school with them as well as the boy they'd been sent to help. The moment the jet took off, with Storm at the controls, the lecture started. Well, it started as a lecture but turned into more of a yelling match with Logan actually popping his claws out at one point and threatening her with them.

"Rogue, you could have been injured..."

"Scott told you to stay with Jubilee..."

"...should have waited outside...", Jean was trying to present an air of compassion and tolerance. Ha, like she has me fooled.

"You're lucky I don't tan your ass right here, kid..."

"What the fuck do you think you were doing going..."

"You ever pull a stupid stunt like that again snickt..." Logan was never reasonable, even on a good day.

"Rogue, even with that quick of a touch Scott is going to be out for hours. Had the situation not been resolved so quickly, we would have been in serious trouble. We needed Scott." Jean ground out through clenched teeth. Ooh, she's losing it. Not so perfect after all.

"Well, I coulda let him get blasted to hell and back! Then he'd have been out permanently. That would have been real useful. Y'all oughta thank me!" No way was Rogue going to just sit there and take their crap.

"Thankful that you coulda gotten yourself killed!" Logan growled. "You just sit your ass down and shut the hell up. I don't want to hear one more word out of your mouth until I calm down, which won't be anytime soon."

Rogue opened her mouth to snap back. "Not-one-fucking-word!" Logan roared.

Everyone had worked things out. Rogue got a lecture about team work. Yeah team work! Apparently saving a team member's ass was not considered team work. She was forgiven and all was forgotten. But not by her. Rogue spent the next week being thoroughly pissed off. So pissed in fact that she avoided everyone. Well, everyone except Logan, she couldn't stay mad at him for more than a few minutes, even when he was being a total jackass. She didn't speak to anyone else; would just give a faint smile if spoken to.

So here she was, sitting in the garden contemplating her life. She had been invulnerable. She had been stronger than any of the other team members. She had truly been a god among insects. Who were they to tell her that she was nothing. They had never appreciated how powerful she had been. She had saved their asses on more than one occasion and this was the thanks she got? She had been ROGUE, now she was barely Marie. She had become the last resort.

"If we all die and you can't run, you can go ahead and drain the big baddies." Rogue muttered to herself, blowing a strand of stray hair out of her face.

"Hey, Kid." Rogue snapped out of her contemplation to see Logan walking toward her. "You missed training. Again."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I overslept." She gave him a half smile. "Nightmares."

Xavier's voice sounded in their heads. Time for the X-Men to foil would-be-evil-doers again.

"Shit, I haven't made it to breakfast yet." Logan grumbled.

"We'll have to talk to them about scheduling these things better." Rogue laughed.

"Come on, smart ass, and suit up."

Scott briefed them in the jet on the way to the abandoned mine. Some unknown group of mutants was up to some vague bad stuff for some unknown reason, yadda, yadda, yadda... Why was it always some abandoned mine, or warehouse, or piece of shit land that no one cared about anyway. What does anyone care about some mine in the middle of nowhere anyway? Let them have it. Rogue didn't care. But then, Rogue didn't care about much lately anyway.

They'd no sooner landed when several mutants started running toward them. Rogue didn't recognize any of them, so at least it would be interesting to watch the action. She vaguely wondered what kind of sparkling super powers they had.

"Rogue,..." Scott began as he descended from the jet.

"Stay with the jet. Got it." She called out cheerfully. That's what had been decided at the last "team" meeting. She was the jet-holder-downer. Wouldn't want the jet to float away if the laws of gravity ceased to apply suddenly. She sat down where she had a good view of the action from the jet. No use in being bored while she waited. She took her gloves off just in case.

She watched as Cyclops blasted away with his beam. Iceman iced all the baddies that came his way. Kitty and Kurt were phasing and bampfing every which way. Gambit was playing with his cards, turning little harmless bits of paper into an effective weapon at his whim. Even Jubilee was using her fireworks to help out.

She actually enjoyed watching Wolverine hurl himself through the air, claws out like a dart, at the enemy. He was definitely one good looking badass. He tore through his victims, and that's what they were really - they didn't have a fighting chance in her opinion. As he always said, he is the best at what he does.

Then there was Jean. She should be stuck in the fucking jet. She was doing some kind of mind game with the enemy. Although they really had no proof of that. None of them were telepaths. She was probably just standing out there like a dumbass trying to impress Logan and Scott. Rogue looked down at her watch and wondered how long it would be before Jean collapsed from exhaustion again. She knew that wasn't fair to Jean. But damnit, Jean had everything. Rogue should be able to be a little nasty in her mind without feeling guilty.

Rogue saw some huge lunk of a guy pick up a boulder and hurl it toward Jean. Jean moved to get out of the way, but it clipped her pretty good. Wow, it really didn't take Jean too long to get her ass kicked. Shit, now I feel bad. Scott was kneeling beside Jean before Rogue could blink.

Rogue saw the mutant that had knocked out Jean take to the air only to land directly in front of her. He gave her an evil grin. "What's a pretty little thing like you doing in a battle like this?"

"Is that a pick up line?"

"Is it working?" He gave her a wink and a stunning smile.

"Hey, we're enemies here. Shouldn't we get to the fighting part?" Rogue laughed at his joke. At least he wasn't one of those mindless mutant lackeys.

"We'll have to do that I guess. But how about you give me a kiss first?" He leaned into a casual stance. "Just in case we don't get a chance to later."

"Works for me." He looked a little surprised as she moved toward him, but his grin grew wider. Rogue placed her hands on both of his cheeks and leaned in to give him a kiss. Her lips weren't on his for more than a couple of seconds before his knees buckled beneath him.

She followed him to the ground, never letting go of his face. She could feel his life flowing into her. His strength...his powers. It was intoxicating. It felt so good. It was like a drug, she couldn't shake the high. She had to have more. More...she needed it so much. It had been so long since she felt this good. God, she couldn't get enough. She basked in the feeling of power, the rush of energy, until she felt his last bit of life flow into her, the connection ending only when he'd finally died. She threw her head back in ecstasy and took a deep satisfied breath. She could feel it hum through her. She was powerful again. She could feel the super strength that she had missed so much. She could feel the need to fly well up inside her. No feeling of invulnerability like she previously had, but hell, two out of three ain't bad. No two out of three weren't bad at all. She was back on her throne, returned to the status of a god.

Her eyes snapped open suddenly. "Oh, my god! What did I do? What did I do?" She stumbled backward toward the jet, all the time chanting almost hysterically, "Oh god, oh god, oh god, ohgodohgodohgod..."

Jubilee, who had started running toward Rogue as soon as she saw the big mutant standing at the jet, watched the whole scene play out.