Author's Note(s): First up, thank you to my reviewers. I make no denial of being a comment whore and loving them far more than I should. :) So yes, here's another update. I never imagined I'd churn out another chapter so soon but here it is.
To Thine Own Self, Be True
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Chapter 2: Send In The Committee
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Sitting across from Professor Charles Xavier would normally have no effect on Rogue other than the acknowledgement of his presence. However, with the added pressure of her future fate combined with what he had just divulged made it hard not to be nervously shifting the air. As Rogue's discomfort increased, her sinuses became a little more blocked causing her breathing to take on a more vicious rhythm in an attempt for air.
"While I know you've grown into one of our most reliable X-Men, I'm not quite comfortable with you undertaking this kind of a thing all on your own. You're still part of a team Rogue, and that means that others are just as responsible for your well-being as you are for theirs. I cannot allow you to undergo such an unknown, potentially harmful—"
"—But Professor!" The anxious girl began to interject, abruptly gripping the arms of the leather chair to keep her anchored in her seat. Instead of allowing her to continue the Professor held up a hand, palm towards her, to quiet her outburst.
Charles Xavier put the exterior of an experienced poker player to shame in the fact that he was virtually unreadable. In all the years after the manifestation of her powers she had begun to notice body language; how to read it and how to use it to her advantage. But the professor had always projected an exterior of calmness, Rogue could not remember it another way. This behavior was definitely a large factor to consider in the few situations the Professor did become anxious or uncomfortable. Obediently Rogue closed her mouth and allowed the older man and founder of the school across from her to finish his speech that would no doubt crush her every hope.
"As I was saying, I cannot allow you to proceed with such an undertaking, without some kind of support group." A few milliseconds passed between the sentence and the liveliness of Rogue's green eyes as she registered what this meant.
"Ya mean it Professor!" Rogue's stomach was turning flips inside her abdomen as she heard this news. Readjusting her grip on the arms of the chair, her muscles felt alive with adrenaline. Any of the sinus problems she had earlier instantly cleared up as she felt the surge of excitement cascading out of her. The crisp smell of the office only served to further her excitement as she patiently awaited for confirmation form the man across the desk from her.
Giving a nod, the good professor continued his debriefing. As much as he wanted for Rogue's happiness, like any of her fellow X-Men, he wasn't sure she was going to like the terms and conditions under which she would be allowed to do this experiment—if you wanted to call it that.
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There were dangers, she knew that. Professor Xavier had told her about the unpredictability of the drug. He had also told how she would have to surrender certain rights to undergo any such treatment. Certain freedoms would have to be relinquished from her; freedoms such as the immunity from the professor's telepathy if he felt any distress from Rogue. There would also be daily to weekly check-ups until they could figure out what effects the drug would have on Rogue as well as some other invasions of privacy she would normally never stand for.
Logan, Ororo, and Dr. McCoy had been called into the office a brief moment after the Professor had finished disclosing all the new procedures to Rogue. Each of them had been involved in lengthy discussion the night before about Rogue's ability to handle such an unknown project.
Logan, admittedly, had mixed feelings about it just like the other three schoolmasters but his negative side won out. Even with Rogue being more mature now than she was in her impulsive teens, he didn't like anything medicinal. Then again he was a walking tank with an auto-recovery skill to beat the band and Stripes was definitely deserving of a chance at happiness. However, something instinctively told him that any synthetic way of altering, controlling or enhancing one's powers was extremely bad news. The short man had contemplated his own skeleton interwoven now with adamantium and what little he could remember of his own choice. He knew the medication was as simple as taking a pill and yet he was unsure if it would end up being traumatic later on. Being coined with the name Wolverine, he had a certain affinity for danger and impulsivity but it didn't mean he couldn't understand the feeling of regret.
Ororo had been altogether accepting of the idea, in her calm and placid way. Much like a body of water, she often exuded a more peaceful exterior while currents under the surface were working unseen to the unwatchful eye. The goddess-like African woman was the longest standing mother figure for all the wards at Xavier's and she had no qualms about the procedure. She knew quite well the danger of the situation but also knew Rogue, not only as a student but as a responsible companion and X-Man. She had faith in both Rogue and Henry's abilities.
Dr. McCoy was, as always, cautious but hopeful. He was a little torn behind his reasoning, but otherwise he was mostly optimistic. The only thing unsure to him was if he was truly excited for Rogue, if the medication were to work, or if he were excited for himself. Like any good doctor or scientist, he was excited about his research being tested. The implications of what could be done, if it worked were blindingly bright. Of course the other part of Henry McCoy slowly set to work as well.
It wasn't often the large blue man worried about his own endeavors with such a vicious fervor. Then again, it also wasn't very often that his work could be used against him in a malicious way. If this worked, who was to say the government wouldn't confiscate the research? Then before you know it there would be something similar to the mutant registration laws to keep the mutant population under control.
To cure them. The dignified man thought heatedly. Henry McCoy detested few things save the idea that natural biological traits should be considered as flaws or hindrances to one's own development. This being a possibility, he had debated with himself for a very long time about allowing Rogue to do this.
Professor Charles Xavier held the web-like lines of resolve together between them. All agreed that Rogue deserved control and even though there might be a possibility for her to learn control of her powers on her own, the chance was infinitesimally small; as Hank had pointed out by way of charts and research into how the human body works and develops.
Rogue was a bit uneasy about all the restrictions she would be placed under and the rights that would be stripped, but she couldn't really feel that uneasiness when she thought about what freedoms she would gain if the medication worked.
The last restriction was the limited information of who would be allowed to know Rogue was on this medication. Obviously Jean and Scott were high on the list of candidates. Rogue had wanted Kurt and even Kitty on the list of X-Men allowed to know but the professor had stressed the importance of secrecy until Rogue's initial reaction to the medication. Naturally the younger kids at the institute were to know nothing of this talk and experimentation. Rogue would be asked to dress as per regular until they could be sure that the medication either worked or until they were sure no blatantly dangerous side effects would present themselves.
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It was in this situation that Rogue found herself sitting in the med-lab early one morning helping Dr. McCoy hook small monitoring electrodes up to her body. She was to wear the bio-monitors for the entire day so that Hank could keep an eye on her vitals if anything were to go wrong. Rogue was to keep her schedule to it's usual parameters and keep herself covered up as per usual. Cautioning her that the medication could take days to get into her system when taken properly, Hank finished adjusting the battery in the monitoring pack that lay strapped to Rogue's back.
"If anyone," Hank began, "Should inquire about your new electrical equipment just tell them I'm running some new diagnostics on your bio-chemical structure to see how the genetic structure of your DNA may change for the purposes of—"
Rogue held up her hands in a gesture of assurance.
"Ah get it Hank, don't tell anyone anythin' out of the ordinary right? Ah'll just say it's none of their business anyway." Rogue was never a morning person and waking up extra early for a 'Danger Room Session,' as she had told Kitty, that mysteriously took place in the medical wing of the Xavier school without breakfast was taking it's toll. "Hell, Ah'll tell them I'm pregnant, just let me go an' get some food. Please."
Slightly chuckling to himself at Rogue's odd sense of humor, Dr. McCoy handed his newest patient a small yellowed bottle mostly filled with rather bulky white tablets in it.
"Ingest one of these every morning with food." Turning back to his clipboard, he focused his eyes upon a small checklist pinned on it. "Let me know when you're running low on those pills so I can make some more for you. Also, if you notice any change in your normal behavior, be it bowel movements to mood swings, you need to report to me or one of the others immediately."
Silently dismissing her with a nod, Dr. McCoy stood there in the lab hoping for the best as the hungry X-Man left to find food.
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End Notes: After reading the first chapter I noted that some errors that inevitably show up when writing things at 2 or later in the morning. One of these things would be that my foot notes were a bit weird and out of place. That's because my asterisks were erased by ff(dot)net. I don't know what they have against asterisks and the little symbol over the 6 on American keyboards (which is apparently NOT called a karat like I thought), but ff(dot)net is damned certain they will not appear in any document! No sir! Not for this place!...pah.
Sadly there's no Remy in this chapter either. I was certain I'd get him in there but, geh, it's so hard to pace a story sometimes. I just didn't feel it would be okay to put him in here yet. I'm also afraid that this story may end up being too heavy and introspective for reader tastes. If any of you are noticing this sort of a trend, please feel free to let me know. I like deep and rich stuff but I understand sometimes that it might be too much. (I'm still working on my finesse.)
I love comments. I thrive on them. Please feel free to tell me what you like or don't like about this story. Critiques are muchly appreciated but so are ego strokes. ;)