3/13
A/N btw, if you want mails when i update, just drop me a review and please leave you add. muchos thanks and enjoy.
"Can't this thing go any faster?" Rogue asked, her voice laden with the Southern accent, for the fourth time during the ride.
"As I've told you before," Scott replied, pushing some of his flying hair off of his face. "Any faster and we'd be breaking the speed limit,"
Rogue sighed loudly.
Scott was wondering what all of the hurrying was about. They had just barely left the school premises; the traffic's very light and she wanted him to break the law?
When they got inside the Institute's gates, Rogue all but jumped out of the convertible, (actually, she did jump out, even before he had turned off the ignition) and ran inside the house.
He sighed, gathered his and Rogue's forgotten books, and went inside the mansion. He went straight to the kitchens to check out the contents of the fridge. When he checked out the freezer, he remembered that Rogue still owed him his ice cream. He closed the fridge door and resolved to look for her to get his ice cream.
He decided to walk to his room first; to drop off his books and then to Rogue's to drop off hers.
'Bamf,' he distinctly heard, as his hand touched the knob to Rogue's and Kitty's room. He opened the said door quietly and swiftly, and saw Rogue get something from a drawer. He was about to ask her what exactly she was doing there, and where Kurt was for that matter, another 'Bamf' was heard. A pile of black smoke scattered all over the room, but Rogue was gone.
Scott dropped off the books at her bed angrily and slammed their door shut. How could she? How could she possibly not tell him that she still had access to Kurt's powers? He marched towards the med.-lab, where he was sure to find Rogue. Who else' power did she still have? As the leader of the X-men team, he had the unquestionable right to know just what exactly the power of his team is, and Rogue's not doing so really, really pissed him off. He marched angrily towards the med.-lab, where he was sure to find her, doing that 'thing' with Professor Mcoy.
The steel doors to the med.-lab opened automatically, and he stomped in. "Rogue, what the hell are you trying to prove?"
Rogue, who had been sitting on one of the metal beds, jumped off and with her glove-less hand, touched him in the face. He immediately backed off, but she held her grip. When the pull started to kick in, it was beyond her control to detach herself from him.
A hazy image of Professor Hank running towards them and asking him if he was all right as the last thing that he saw. And then, there was blackness.
When he came to, Scott felt his glasses to check if they were still on and was relieved to find that they still were there. He opened his eyes and it was of no surprise to him that he was lying down one of the metal beds that Rogue was seated on before.
Speaking of Rogue, where was she? How long was he out? He sat up straight and massaged his neck. Her powers truly could pack up a punch. And she had perfect knowledge of that, so why did she shove her hand to his face? It was definitely intentional, but why?
His reverie was interrupted by Professor Hank's voice. "Ah, Scott. Glad to see that you're up," he walked closer to him and checked his pulse. "Nothing's wrong with you, it seems. Rogue's worried sick, and she sends her apologies,"
"Where is she?" he asked, pulling his hand away from the older man's furry one somewhat roughly.
"She's in Charles' office," replied the good doctor. "They're having a talk about what happened in here this afternoon--"
Scott didn't exactly wait for him to finish; as soon as he heard where Rogue was, he bolted out of the med.-lab and into the Professor's office. What was going on? Why was this happening? What exactly was happening?
When he reached his destination, he didn't bother to knock, as he was sure that Professor X was well aware that he was coming. When he got inside, he immediately saw Rogue seated in front of the Professor's desk, with her head hung down. Her head snapped towards him and the door when she heard the noise.
Her eyes widened and her lips broke into a smile as she jumped out of her seat and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry," she all but cried. "It was just this experiment, and I really thought that I didn't have it anymore and -- thank goodness that you're okay!"
Scott gave the Professor, who was smiling at them with that knowing look, a look of confusion.
"Ah Scott," said the Professor. At last, some explanations. "You see, Rogue and Hank had been working secretly on a formula, not unlike the one that Hank used to take, to somehow . . . control Rogue's mutation. I had the knowledge that they were planning to commence such a research, but I didn't think that they would do it without my permission,"
Rogue let go of his neck and went back to her seat. A few moments later, Scott followed her to listen more to the Professor's explanations.
"It seems that the young Miss Rogue and Professor Mcoy had only been working on the said formula for only three weeks now," continued the Professor. Rogue hung her head even more. "But I can't say that I'm all that upset about it, Rogue. Given your type of mutation, I know that it must be hard for you, but Chemistry is not the only way that you should depend on. Remember, I am always here to help you if you need anything,"
It took Rogue a couple of seconds to reply. "I know that Professor. It's just so hard . . . the only good thing that this curse has given me are you guys . . . and when I'm here, I feel like I'm nothing but a liability to the group . . ."
"That's not true," Scott suddenly said. "You've helped us loads of times with your powers. It's not a curse, Rogue, it's a gift,"
Rogue said nothing. He could see it on the look on her face that she didn't believe a word that he had said. The silence stretched on for a few minutes, until the Professor broke it.
"Scott," he said. "I believe that you have another thing to ask Rogue before you came in here?"
Scott remembered. "Rogue," he called, his voice gentle, on account of the fact that he knew that he had no idea just how devastated Rogue felt right at that moment. "Kurt's powers, why didn't you tell me that you still had them?"
Rogue's eyes snapped upward to meet his. "You saw?"
"Yeah," Scott said, somewhat uneasily.
"I believe you should continue this outside," interrupted the Professor. He maneuvered his wheelchair out from behind the desk and towards the door. "Hank is on his way here now, and we have to discuss the afternoon's events,"
The two teenagers complied and walked out of the door. Scott never lifted his gaze on Rogue's walking form, and he was sure that she knew that fact.
"Cyke," she started at last, after a long while of walking in silence. "I never told you, or anybody, about me still possessing your powers because I knew that all of you would be mad at me,"
"That's not true," he replied, repeating a phrase that only a few minutes ago, he had uttered. Only this time though, it no longer held the sincerity that it contained the first time. "Why would we be mad?"
Rogue looked at him pointedly. - Really, - her voice inside his head echoed. - You wouldn't be mad at me just because I had your powers? And the fact that I can control them doesn't bother you at all? You don't feel alienated by all of this? -
Scott shook his head violently. "Stop that!" He found it very unnerving to hear her voice bounce off the walls inside his head, instead of Jean's or the Professor's.
"See?" she replied, looking down at the plush carpet that they were walking on. "Just think how the others would feel if they found out,"
He did think about it and he had to admit that she was right: the X-tem would be somewhat furious at her. Most probably, they would as if their personal space had been invaded, exactly the way Scott was feeling. They would probably feel that she had somehow taken away something that made them unique to the world, and he knew that they would more or less be hostile towards her for it.
Moments later, they found themselves on the garden, in front of the fountain, more specifically. The ice had melted, the water was flowing, but the flowers still were nowhere to be seen. They stood there for a few minutes, gazing at the form of the woman-angel in front of them.
"Are you depressed by all of this?" he asked. He knew it was a stupid question, but he couldn't stand the silence anymore.
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I am," she replied. "I've been waiting for this to happen for three weeks now. I've made up all sorts of plans inside my head, plans about the changes that would happen when it's gone,"
"So that's the reason why you asked me what I'd do if my mutation's gone last night?"
Rogue nodded and smiled sadly. "Yeah. And that note that I gave to Kurt was one that explained what I was doing. I knew he'd disapprove, but I had to tell him, he's my brother, after all. He's literally the only family I've got,"
"Why aren't you crying?" asked Scott. He knew that sounded rude, but all the people he knew, if put in the same position as her, would --should-- be crying right now.
"You've already seen me cry," she replied sadly. "I'm not going to do it again,"
Scott pitied her, because for the first time since he knew her, he finally understood the weight of Rogue's powers. "Are you going to try again? With the experiment, I mean,"
"If the Professors agree, then yes, I will try again," replied she. "I don't think that there would be any cure for this, except science,"
"Hmm . . . " he murmured. "And if you succeed with the second one, would you leave the Institution?"
"Maybe," she whispered. "I haven't really decided on that yet,"
"I still say that you shouldn't leave. People in here won't look at you differently without your powers,"
She said nothing in return, and the silence lingered on until they were both too cold to stay outside. They went inside the Mansion and they went to their separate rooms.
tbc