Note: I do not own the X-Men or make any form of money off of them.
Chapter 7: Forecast
Rogue slipped under the covers of her bed, not even bothering to take off her shoes or change into pajamas. She was too exhausted to bother with such formalities. All she wanted to do was embrace the sweet oblivion of sleep.
Within seconds Rogue was unconscious, a blessing after the long day. She had recovered her powers, knocked her boyfriend unconscious and been attacked by Magneto, a man who had once tried to use her as a giant battery. Sleep had to be better than her day had been. It wasn't.
He was sitting on a stool next to Kitty Pryde, wanting desperately to make her feel better. She was so sad, and so pretty. She was so alone, and he wanted to make her feel better.
He was dating Rogue though, and he couldn't betray her like that. No matter how much he wanted to kiss someone, he loved Rogue, or thought he did. It wasn't her fault she couldn't touch anyone, and he wasn't going to hurt her by kissing someone else.
But he knew Kitty used to ice skate every winter, and that she hadn't been able to do that since coming to Xavier's. He knew exactly what to do to cheer her up.
He told her to get her skates and meet him out by the fountain. When she got there he froze it solid and gave himself "ice" skates. Then he took Kitty's hand and they skated around the fountain together. She even laughed a little bit.
And, he rationalized; it wasn't as if he was cheating on Rogue. He was doing what any good friend was doing, trying to cheer her up. Rogue would understand. But deep inside he knew what he had done for Kitty was much more than an act of friendship, and he knew that he wouldn't tell Rogue what he had done.
He was sitting next to Rogue on the couch, pretending to listen to her complain about her day. Usually he would have listened, but Kitty had just walked in with Piotr.
Kitty and Piotr walked over to the pool table and started a game. He really wanted to go over there and ask Kitty if she wanted to go out. But he knew he wouldn't do that because he was dating Rogue. And he knew Kitty would say no because he was dating Rogue. She was too good of a person to even contemplate going out with him while he had a girlfriend.
He just wanted to be able to touch someone. Just because Rogue couldn't kiss a boy didn't mean he had to be subjected to a lifetime of not being able to kiss a girl. He thought about breaking up with her right then and there, but knew that it would break her heart, and that was just something he wasn't willing to do for the sake of human contact.
So he vowed that he would be better to her. What amazed him most was the fact that he had to try to be kind and caring to her.
He was walking into her room, expecting her to still be in San Francisco or wherever she was, waiting for the Cure. He received a shock when he saw that she was sitting on her bed, waiting for him.
He knew without her saying that she had taken the Cure. Just like he knew that she had taken the Cure to be with him, even though she told him she had taken the Cure for her.
As he embraced her he knew that he couldn't break up with her, no matter how much he wanted to. She had sacrificed who she was just to be with him, and breaking up with her would hurt her more now than ever before.
And he knew that he would never have given up his powers to be with her, no matter what happened. She was the one who would always be willing to give and to work through their problems, he just wanted to move on. But she had already given up so much, and he vowed that he would try to work through their problems, at least for a few weeks. After that, she was on her own…
Rogue woke with tears in her eyes as the first rays of dawn streamed through her east-facing window. She wished she had never gone to sleep, just like she wished that she had never taken the Cure.
It had not solved any of her problems. Bobby seemed, if it was possible, even more distanced from her. The other kids in school had hated her. Although very few said it, they considered her a betrayer. She had taken the Cure while they had decided to cope with being a mutant. She was weak.
As she sat in bed, sobbing, the temperature in her room dropped steadily until frost began forming on the windows of her room. The Cure had made things worse for her, and then it had worn off. Now she was changed, her powers were changed.
One touch and she acquired the powers of that mutant. One touch and she acquired their memories. Most of those faded immediately when contact was broken off. Those that didn't had come to haunt her while she slept.
She knew that those dreams about Bobby were, in fact, his memories. She knew that he didn't love her anymore. She knew that they were over, despite what she had gone through. Everything he had gone through for her had been false.
She sighed as she got out of bed, frost forming on the floorboards around her bare feet. She glanced down and sought out the source of the frost, the power she had stolen from Bobby. The frost around her feet and the temperature in the room slowly rose to match what the thermostat said it should be.
She slowly pulled on her clothes, not ready to face the day while she knew that she would never get back to sleep.
Bobby and she were over. He might not know it yet, but she had already come to the decision that they were breaking up.
Who needs that jerk? she thought as she exited the room, locking the door behind her. She made her way slowly to the kitchen, wanting to eat some form of breakfast before the rest of the school had devoured all of the good stuff.
Once there she poured herself a cup of luke-warm water from the tap and grimaced at the taste. As she gripped the glass she concentrated, willing the water's temperature to drop. Slowly it did so until the water was only a few degrees above freezing.
I can defend myself now she thought as she sat down at the counter and drank her water, contemplating what she wanted to eat. I don't need him. We never really belonged together anyways. I can do better.
But as she sat there all alone at the counter the full weight of the night's dreams came back to her and she began to cry again, wishing that she had never had a boyfriend, or that she at least hadn't been so stupid as to believe the Cure would be her salvation.
She lowered her head to the marble countertop and cried, not aware that Logan was standing in the doorway, watching.
xXx
Corey walked Alice to her dorm-room and kissed her goodnight before teleporting to his room. Normally he would have been loathe to use his powers when there was no true need for them, but he had come to the decision that using them as he wished probably wouldn't blow the world up since he had learned control.
As soon as his body hit the mattress he was unconscious, still exhausted from the telepathic battery he had taken earlier that day and a little shocked at just how much power he truly had at his disposal.
He stared at a woman who had taken the Cure. She was simply cooking pasta, singing to herself. It was the first time since she had acquired her powers that she had dared to sing. With her ability she could alter reality to a center extent, and sometimes that had unforeseen consequences.
Suddenly the boiling water exploded upward and froze to the ceiling, covering it in a layer of thin ice.
The women covered her mouth and slumped down in a corner as she realized that the Cure had worn off, and that singing, the one thing that had brought joy into her life, was the one thing that she could no longer do.
A father was playing football with his son. As he threw the football to his soon it suddenly exploded, knocking both his son and him off of their feet.
As the man stumbled to his son, he saw that the young boy had hit his head on the sidewalk and was bleeding to death.
Two girls were shopping for clothes in a large shopping mall. They were having fun, laughing as the other tried on silly hats or ugly tops. Both girls' had had mutant abilities that had prevented them from doing this kind of thing, in public.
One girl began to turn a slight shade of violet and her ears elongated and tapered to a point until they resembled elf ears. The other girl's hair turned a shade of green closely resembling that of a highlighter.
The shopkeeper turned to see the newly transformed girls and screamed. The pretty violet girl grabbed the green-haired girl and dragged her through a portal that had suddenly appeared in the shop.
Rogue was twisting and turning in her bed, tormented by the memories of her boyfriend, Bobby Drake.
Images rose from her. Images of Bobby sitting by Kitty Pryde, of Kitty and him skating on an icy pond. And with these images came Bobby's feelings: feelings of desire for Kitty and feelings of sorrow and regret about Rogue and her power.
As the last of the memories faded Rogue woke, tears in her eyes. She knew that her boyfriend no longer loved her.
A cruel man stood upon a hilltop, looking down at a sprawling, soot-covered city where huge mechanisms and machines moved and strained. An equally cruel looking man whose cape had a red spider emblazoned on it turned and…
Corey woke with a start, the images rushing through him and making his eyes tearing with their emotional pain. Slowly the emotional pain receded, although the images and the memory of their pain remained.
Sitting up he tried to recall the last image, but no matter how hard he tried, it eluded him.
When the first rays of sunlight pierced his window he silently slipped from beneath the covers, glad that Storm had not yet found a roommate for him.
Quietly, to avoid waking any of the neighboring rooms he pulled on loose pair of jeans and a t-shirt and grabbed the messenger bag that held the laptop his parents had given him before sending him to Xavier's. Before exiting he took a quick glance in the mirror and would have dropped the messenger bag if it had not been over his shoulder.
The reflection staring back at him was the same as it had been the night before. The same pale complexion peppered with light brown freckles. The same small nose, blue-grey eyes and blue-rimmed glasses. But his hair, which had been a dazzling shade of red-orange from his Irish heritage, was a lustrous shade of blue. Even his eyebrows were blue.
Before he raced out of the room he grabbed one of the winter caps his mother had given that covered his hair and ears and jammed it on. He rushed from the rooming, closing the door as quietly as he could before rushing to the kitchen.
He almost backpedaled when he saw Rogue still sobbing on the counter, but figured he was no worse of than she. So he grabbed a bowl of cereal off of the fridge and milk and poured himself a bowl of cereal.
Once seated he opened his laptop, planning to do some research while no one was awake. He had planned to do some research on Charles Xavier, the man who had supposedly died but then showed up late last night. Now his new goal was to find information on latent mutations in those who already had a pre-existing mutation. He was, however, distracted by the still crying Rogue.
"Are you okay?" he asked, shutting down his laptop. If his dreams were any indication then Rogue was pretty upset.
"I don't really feel like talking Corey," she sniffled, not looking at him. "You seem nice enough, but I don't really know you…and I shouldn't unload my problems on you."
"It's about Bobby," he mumbled through a mouthful of cereal, looking meaningfully at her. "You want, no, you need to, break up with him."
"How did…did…did you know?" she sobbed, looking at him through red, puffy eyes. It was obvious that she had been crying for quite awhile, and that she desperately needed to talk to someone.
"I had a dream last night, just like you," he said, looking woefully at his now empty bowl. He pushed it aside and looked at Rogue, wishing that there was someone else to do this. "I'm kinda telepathic," he explained, tapping the side of his head. "For some reason I seem particularly connected to those who took the Cure."
"So, does that mean you saw everything? You saw all of those memories of Bobby and Kitty…and me," she asked, her voice almost inaudible, as if she was afraid that someone would overhear their conversation.
"Yes," Corey replied, taking his bowl and spoon and placing them in the school's commercial dishwasher. "And for what it's worth," he turned to look at her, his eyes showing the sorrow and pain he felt for her, "I think you should dump Bobby. If he didn't have the strength to figure out what was wrong with the relationship, if he couldn't figure out how to make you feel loved even if you couldn't touch him, he didn't, or doesn't, deserve you," the young teen stated matter-of-factly, trying to give her advice, bolster her confidence and console her all at the same time. "There will be other, better, people in your life."
Rogue looked at him sadly, knowing that he meant well but at the same time knowing he would never understand her position. She was one of those mutants, like the ones who looked different or had abilities that separated them from the rest of humanity, who could never be accepted or truly known by anyone because of the nature of her powers. She was alone because she could not touch anyone, just like others were alone because they did not look like anyone else.
As if Corey read her mind he removed the winter cap he had been wearing, revealing his lustrous indigo hair. In the sunlight it became apparent that his hair was not a solid color, like Mystique's red hair, but was actually a deep blue with highlights of lighter and darker blues. The effect, although strange, looked quite handsome with Corey's pale complexion.
"Oh my god," Rogue rushed over too the young teenager, concerned for him. When she had left him last night his hair had been orange, a color that was not altogether unusual considering his heritage. His blue hair was something else altogether, and made him easily identifiable as a mutant. "What happened?"
"I'm not sure," he shrugged, avoiding her gaze. "I think it must be some sort of latent mutation or something. I think the Professor might know more."
Rogue rushed over and embraced him, sorry for what had happened to him and how he had tried to comfort her even though he had his own problems to deal with. She just wanted to thank him, for trying to help her even though he barely knew her.
Kitty walked into the kitchen, stifling a yawn. Piotr and Alice followed close behind, both looking exhausted. They all stopped in their tracks when they saw Corey and Rogue hugging.
Kitty and Piotr, who would have never expected Rogue to cheat on Bobby, were flabbergasted. Alice, although she had been dating Corey for less the forty-eight hours, was vaguely jealous.
When Rogue turned around, her eyes still puffy with tears, Alice immediately looked down, ashamed of her jealousy for what had clearly been a hug of friendship. Kitty rushed over and hugged her friend, careful not to touch the inch or so of bare skin that she had left exposed.
"Are you okay Rogue?" Piotr asked, his Russian accent coming thickly with exhaustion. "What happened?"
"It's nothing," Rogue replied, wiping her eyes. She pulled away from Kitty's embrace, not angry with the girl but not willing to confide in her when, even though it was through no fault of her own, she was partially to blame for her sorrow.
Kitty stared into the other girl's face, trying to determine what the problem was when Alice rushed over to Corey and took his hand, tears flowing down her cheeks.
"What happened?" she ran a hand through his indigo hair. When he had left her at her dorm room the previous night his hair had been a brilliant orange-brown, but overnight it had shifted to a deep, shiny indigo. Even his skin seemed paler, and looked as if it might have a light blue tint, though it was difficult to tell in the early morning sunlight.
Kitty and Piotr turned and gasped when they saw his blue hair, not entirely sure what had occurred during the night to mark such a serious transformation. Rogue looked at him sadly; keenly aware of how such a mutation would affect his life.
"I'm not sure," Corey replied, pulling Alice to his side. "I was going to ask Professor Xavier about it later."
"You could just ask him now bub," Wolverine stepped from the shadows. He looked more agitated than usual, but was staring at Rogue with a look that could not have been taken for anything other than concern. "The Professor wants to see you all now."
"But…," Kitty stuttered, "the meeting was supposed to be later, around nine or so."
"It was," Logan replied, still staring at Rogue, "until it turned out you were all conscious at this inhuman hour. He thought you would all be passed out for longer. Obviously he's been gone for too long."
"Nice hair by the way," he smirked at Corey, unable to resist the temptation to mess with him. He turned around and walked to the door of the kitchen, but before leaving he yelled over his shoulder, "And Iceman is awake and in the Professor's office, just so you know."
Only Corey and Alice noticed how Rogue tensed up, Kitty and Piotr were staring incredulously at the door which Wolverine had just exited through. Corey reached out to put a comforting hand on Rogue's shoulder but a warning look from Alice told him that Rogue was not in the mood to be touched.
"Come on ya'll," Rouge said as she strode after Wolverine, not willing to let anyone see the pain on her face.
Kitty and Piotr stood there, mystified by Wolverine's anger, by Rogue's sudden change of personality after the mention of Iceman's name, and Corey's sudden transformation.
Corey had told Alice the basics via the telepathic bond that had formed yesterday, not wanting to say anything about Rogue's predicament, or his, out loud in front of Piotr or Kitty. Piotr would worry, sure, but Kitty would almost certainly blame herself for Rogue's pain, so they merely followed her out of the kitchen, neither ready to admit anything to the others.
xXx
Rogue was still standing outside of Xavier's office when the others caught up. Alice and Corey saw how nervous she was, afraid to even turn the handle and face what lay on the other side of the door. Alice gave Rogue a brief, reassuring hug while Corey opened the door. She gave both of them a grateful glance before walking in, her head held high.
Kitty looked at the curiously, uncertain of what she had missed and what was making Rogue so nervous, although she had an idea. She sensed it was somehow related to something that had happened between Bobby and her, although she was not certain herself if anything had happened between them.
"Hello," the Professor greeted them enthusiastically, hugging Rogue, Kitty and Alice and shaking Piotr and Corey's hand. The students who had been there when Xavier had been "alive" had never seen him so happy, and the new students were shocked by how enthusiastic and excited he seemed.
Storm was sitting in one of the armchairs that had been arranged in a circle around the Professor's desk. Logan, Angel and Jamie were both leaning against the wall, Logan unwilling to sit, Angel standing to give more room for the others and Jamie uncertain of his place. Hank McCoy was seated in an armchair across from Storm. Moira was seated behind the desk, next to and slightly behind the Professor's seat. Bobby was seated on a loveseat, and looked up expectantly when Rogue and the others entered.
Rogue, however, sat across from him on a couch with Corey and Alice, not even glancing up at Bobby. Kitty, not certain of what was wrong with Rogue but no wanting to anger her any further, sat on the couch next to Bobby's with Piotr.
Storm and Angel caught sight of how stand-offish Rogue was acting towards her boyfriend, and of Corey's newly blue hair, and looked at each other, concern etched in both of their features. Moira glanced at the Professor curiously, but did not know enough about the students to comment.
"How are you all this morning?" the Professor asked as he took his seat. He sensed Rogue's resentment of Bobby, Corey's anxiety, Alice's concern and Bobby's, Kitty's and Piotr's curiosity.
"Fine," Rogue and Corey snapped in unison before anyone else could respond.
"What's wrong baby?" Bobby asked, getting up and walking over to Rogue. But before he had even gotten near her Alice and Corey had both stood up, holding hands. A translucent blue shield surrounded the couch and blue sparks skipped between the fingers of Alice's free hand.
"Bobby," Rogue said, standing and gently motioning for Alice and Corey to sit, although she was thankful they had intervened. "We're over," she said, her voice unnaturally calm despite the emotions roiling within her.
Before Bobby could protest she plowed on, wanting to end the entire affair even though most of her teachers and closest friends were watching. "I know you don't love me anymore. You were falling out of love with me before the Cure, and were even more distant afterwards."
She looked away then, unable to look him in the eye anymore. "I had dreams last night, of your memories…of you and Kitty. I know how you felt about her. You wanted her to be more than a friend, even though she didn't want that from you. She just needed someone to be kind to her, and you wanted more. I don't blame you Kitty," Rogue told the young woman kindly when she saw her head go down and tears began to pour from her eyes.
"Bobby," Rogue continued, looking into his eyes and seeing the same pain and exhaustion she had seen in his eyes long before, and after, the Cure but had been unwilling to see it for what it really was, "you didn't want to be with me when I had my powers. Then, I took the Cure…gave up everything I had, everything I was, to have a chance at a normal life, a chance with you…and you still weren't happy. We can't be together Bobby, and I don't think we were ever meant to be together."
Clearly done speaking, and exhausted by her effort, Rogue sat. Corey and Alice sat on either side of her, Alice hugging while Corey tried to comfort her. Bobby just stood there, shocked by what had just happened, until a growl from Wolverine told him that if he tried to get back with Rogue, or if he did or said anything to her at that moment, he wouldn't live to see lunch.
"Clearly I have missed many things," the Professor said after several minutes, wishing that his telepathy were up to par. Then he might have sensed Rogue's feeling towards Bobby. "Now, I would like you all to tell me what has happened in my…absence."
Storm and Logan began, telling about the Battle of Alcatraz and Jean Grey's death. A tear rolled down the Professor's cheek as Logan told him what had happened, and what he had done to the woman he loved. The Storm filled him in with the details of the school and how Corey and Alice had come there.
Then it was up to Corey to tell about Rogue's telepathic message and how he had "felt" the Cure wear off on mutants across the world. This news clearly shocked the Professor, who had believed that the boy was no more than a low-level telepath but who obviously had much greater power than even he realized. Rogue was called upon to personally tell the part pertaining to how her powers had returned, an event that was particularly painful for her but keenly interested Dr. McTaggert and the Professor.
All of the teens told about Magneto's attack on the school, and then Rogue told about Bobby's memories, something she didn't go into much detail about, and her extended powers after which Corey told them of his dreams and awaking to blue hair.
"What's the problem?" Corey gasped, out of breath from the long narration. He pointed at his blue hair and almost unnoticeably blue skin. Then, shockingly, he pulled his hair back just a little to reveal that his ears had slightly elongated and were tapering down to a point.
"Oh my god," Kitty said, torn between amusement at Corey's elf ears and horror at his transformation. In the end amusement won out and a small giggle escaped her lips.
"Oh yes, it's very funny. Make fun of Frodo," Corey said sarcastically, taking his seat beside Alice. During the course of the story Rogue had switched with Corey so that the couple could sit together and hold hands.
"Well," Moira stood and walked next to Charles, "there are several possibilities. One is that you have a continuing mutation, much like Emma Frost. It is rare, but possible. However, for you it is unlikely because the mutation would have manifested over time, rather than all at one time."
After they had had sufficient time to digest her first option she continued. "Or you had a latent mutation, one which did not manifest itself when your original mutation appeared, brought on by the battle with Magneto, although that seems unlikely to me as well."
Everyone in the room looked thoughtful, wondering what her third option would be. "The third possibility is that you had some form of a latent mutation…which was activated due to your odd connection to the Cured," she said, using the term for the mutants who had received the Cure.
"I know it hardly seems possible. But consider it. You may have had some latent mutation, much as those who acquired new powers after the Cure, and your connection to them acted as a catalyst to those mutations. Just like the Cure acted as a catalyst on the other mutants," she said, drowning out the teens, and teachers, protests. "It is the most likely possibility."
"So…there's nothing that can be done?" Corey asked, although he felt that he already knew the answer.
"Short of allowing Rogue to drain your powers and put you into a persistent vegetative state," Dr. McTaggert replied, not unkindly. She did not want to dash the boy's hopes, but knew that getting his hopes up would be even crueler.
"It's okay," Alice squeezed his had, "I think you're kind'a hot as an elf, Frodo." She joked, kissing him. He smiled at her attempt to cheer him, and found that he was not quite as depressed as he thought he would be at the new that his condition was permanent.
"Hank has news that is nearly as bad, if not worse, than the Cure wearing off," Xavier cut in, happy to be with his students and overjoyed that they seemed mostly unaffected by the traumatic events of yesterday.
"What could be worse than yesterday?" Rogue asked, curious despite the knot of fear that had coalesced in her stomach. Her kiss with Bobby, Corey's face contorted with pain and Bobby's memories stood out poignantly in her mind, not to mention Magneto's attack.
"It appears," Beast said, standing and popping a disk into the Professor's computer. The TV in the corner flickered on, filled with the contents of the disk. They appeared to be the schematics for something.
"It appears that Boliver Trask has made a deal with Angel's father, Warren Worthington Junior, to make a line of mutant exterminators. A line of robots called the Sentinels," Beast explained gravely, flicking to a diagram of the robots. From the scale it appeared the robot would be anywhere from twenty to thirty feet tall, and it looked extremely deadly.
"You can't be serious," Kitty stood, her fist clenched at her side. Colossus stood behind her, his hands placed firmly on her shoulders. The young girl looked close to tears at the news, and even Colossus had paled visibly.
"Professor, they can't do this," Rogue added, wishing she could hold Bobby's hand but knowing that path was closed to her. She saw Angel staring at her in concern and looked at him quizzically. She was saved from having to ask him what he wanted by Logan's hand on her shoulder. Still, the way he had looked at her, his eyes filled with concern and care had felt…good.
"It is not a 'they', not really," Beast said, clearly as unnerved as they all were by this new threat. "It is merely Trask and Worthington. The government knows nothing of this. I discovered this in a rather…unorthodox manner," Beast admitted, switching off the TV.
"You mean you were in someplace you weren't supposed to be in," Alice guessed, her intuition telling her what he had not said. Beast merely nodded his ascent.
"These are not ready yet, but they will be before Christmas. They will most probably be used on Christmas, as a way to maximize the terror in the mutant community," Beast said gravely, looking at each of them in turn.
Alice and Corey were holding tightly onto each other, scared despite their impressive arsenal of powers. Wolverine was holding Storm's hands tightly, as were Kitty and Piotr, neither conscious of their actions. Rogue and Angel were staring at each other, both of their bodies tense with concern. Bobby was merely sitting in his seat, still in shock that Rogue had actually broken up with him. Moira was standing behind Charles, her hand resting on his shoulder, both to offer her support and to offer him support.
"As much as I hate to say this," Professor Xavier said, his new, younger face seeming as old as his former one with the tension the news had brought, "it is time to prepare for war."
Hmmm…again, I thank everyone who reviewed. Thanks dancingelf1986, Scarlett Ivy, La Noir Rose, DarkAngelmi818, and RoguePixie04. Keep those reviews coming.
Sorry it took so long to get this new chapter up. I was just a little busy, and a family member was a little under the weather.
Oh, I need a little bit of feedback, for whenever you review. I'm trying to think of codenames, for Alice and Corey, to put on their profiles (which I will post, so that you can see their powers and levels and stuff). Right now I was thinking Indigo (for Corey) and Circe (like the Greek witch) for Alice. Any ideas you have are appreciated.
Oh, and I know my chapter are getting longer, but I'm getting more confident and getting more ideas so they just kinda expanded naturally. But this is about as long as an individual chapter should get.
Also, tell me what you think of the new summary. I thought it was a little more descriptive and told more about the story. I also changed it to drama/romace because as the story goes on I'm starting to focus on not only the dangers, but also the relationships.
Have fun!