Chapter Six: The Runaway
And here's Chapter Six! Remember my question last chapter? About having doubts over whether this story will do well, or if I should take it down? Well, on the day of my last update, I saw that I lost a follower. I mean, it's no big deal, but I do have anxiety, and this rather unhealthy fear of angering or disappointing people. I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm posting this story because I'm proud of it. If people don't like it, that's fine, because what matters is I like it.
That being said, I'm really unsure about the end of this chapter, where Scott talks about his relationship with Jean to Ororo. I've spent a really long time coming up with a coherent and believable conversation about a subject like that (it's gone through several rewrites), so I hope it's not too bad.
DusktoDawn21: Thanks for your continued feedback!
alxxman: I'm glad you like it so far! I'm ready to present the more bad-ass Rogue as well, but keep in mind, it won't happen till the next story. I said in the first chapter that her being shy, timid, frightened, etc. in the first movie was understandable and believable. I just think that it should've been drastically reduced in the sequel. All I ask is for y'all to be patient, because I promise it will be worth the wait!
Weeee: When I first read your name, I immediately heard Baymax (from Big Hero 6) going, "WEEEE!" in my head, so it definitely got a laugh out of me! I'm with ya, when I found out Rogue had a crush on Scott in Evo, I immediately shipped it (though at that age, I didn't understand the word "shipping"), and I still do to this day. Thanks for the positive feedback!
I changed the Story Image because I think that it suits the saga better. I'll use it for the whole trilogy.
And Merry (early) Christmas to those that celebrate it!
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.
The next day, Rogue sat alone on a bench on the mansion's grounds. She hadn't been able to go back to sleep after taking some of Logan's power. Not only did she feel guilty, she had to deal with his repressed memories. They were fuzzy, so she couldn't quite see exactly what had happened to the Wolverine in the past, but they were still very unsettling, to say the least. She also started feeling what he was feeling for Dr. Grey, which made her very uncomfortable. She knew that Dr. Grey and Scott were engaged, and having deep feelings for Scott hurt enough.
"Rogue!"
She looked up. "Bobby!" She scooted over on the bench and he sat down.
"Rogue, what did you do? They say that you're stealing other mutant's powers."
She felt her stomach drop. "No, no! I borrowed his power –"
He cut her off. "You never use your power against another mutant."
Rogue stared at him, her guilt rising up. "I had no choice." When he sighed in disappointment, her eyes widened. "No, you have to understand –"
"If I were you, I'd get myself outta here," Bobby cut her off again.
"What do you mean?"
He sighed again, though he didn't look at all sorry. "Listen, the students are freaked. Professor Xavier's furious. I don't know what he'll do with you. I think it'll be easier on your own."
Rogue wanted to cry. She thought she had found a safe haven here, but she had screwed it up. She truly is a danger to everyone, even her fellow mutants. And if the professor was angry, she couldn't imagine how angry Scott might be, or even Logan.
"You should go," Bobby whispered with a hint of malice. Without a word, Rogue got up and left to go pack.
She didn't notice his eyes flashing yellow.
Professor Xavier and Scott were studying Logan's x-rays again.
"What are you looking for, Erik?" the professor asked himself. "It's strange. There are more powerful mutants out there. Why should this one be so important to him?"
"Maybe it's his way with people," Scott quipped. Professor Xavier raised an eyebrow.
"You don't like him." It wasn't a question or an accusation.
"How could you tell?" Scott asked, smirking. Professor Xavier smiled.
"Well, I am psychic, you know," he reminded him. And being psychic, he was well aware of the unexpected love square involving Scott, Jean, Logan, and Rogue. However, he didn't interfere, because he knew that they would solve it themselves.
Suddenly, the doors opened, and Logan and Ororo walked in.
"Where is she?" Logan asked immediately. He looked rather angry.
"Who?" Scott asked, but it was Professor Xavier who answered Logan.
"Rogue." Scott spun around to look at him. He had a distant look in his eyes before he said, "She's gone."
For a moment, Scott thought his heart had stopped.
The professor led them to the door with the X lock Logan had seen the other day and had his eyes scanned. Jean had also joined them.
"Welcome, Professor," said a female robotic voice as the doors slowly opened. He wheeled himself inside the room, Logan following.
"Welcome to Cerebro," he said.
Logan looked around. It was easily the largest room in the mansion. The small thin pathway they walked on led to an odd looking contraption with an equally strange-looking helmet. And the rest of the room... It seemed to be round, with the ceiling high enough to determine how far below the the first floor they were, and the bottom looked too dark to really see. There were no corners, and the entire wall of the room was covered in square-shaped panels.
"This certainly is a big, round room," said Logan as Professor Xavier stopped in front of the contraption and placed the helmet on his head. He thought he looked like he was sitting at a futuristic computer desk.
"The brain waves of mutants are different from average human beings," the professor said. "This device amplifies my power, allowing me to locate mutants across great distances. That's how I intend to find Rogue."
"Why don't you just use it to find Magneto?" Logan asked.
"I've been trying, but he seems to have found some way to shield himself from it."
Logan frowned. "How would he know how to do that?"
"Because he helped me build it," said Professor Xavier. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."
Logan took the hint and left the room to join the others, the doors closing behind him. He looked at Jean and asked her, "Have you ever...?" He tilted his head towards the doors that had closed.
"Used Cerebro? No. It takes a degree of control and...for someone like me, it's..."
"Dangerous," Scott finished for her.
Inside Cerebro, Professor Xavier closed his eyes as he reached out to find Rogue. It took him about a minute, but he found her.
"She's at the train station," he said as he wheeled himself out of Cerebro.
"Where is it?" Logan asked at once.
"A few miles west of here." Seeing that Logan was about to leave, he added, "Logan, you can't leave the mansion. It's just the opportunity Magneto needs."
"Listen," Logan growled, "I'm the reason she took off."
"We had a deal," Professor Xavier reminded him firmly.
"She's all right," Ororo tried to assure Logan. "She's just upset."
If she was 'just upset', she wouldn't have left, Scott thought, his worry about Rogue building up.
"Storm, Cyclops," said Professor Xavier, gaining Scott's attention, "find her. See if you can talk to her."
Scott and Ororo left Logan and Jean with Professor Xavier. After getting their coats and Scott's visor, they headed for the garage.
"Did I say something back there?" Ororo asked him on the way there. She noticed his change in behavior when they talked about why Rogue was gone.
"Not at all," he said shortly, not looking at her. Slowly, she started to piece it together.
"You're really worried about her, aren't you?" she questioned him. Jean had talked to her about how Scott seemed really taken with the southern girl. Of course, she also had to be honest about her own strange feelings about Logan. To Ororo, it seemed that her two closest friends were suddenly drifting apart.
Scott sighed. "Can we talk about this later? We can't let her get on that train."
"And I'm sure it's not just because we would be losing a student, right?" she shot back.
He stopped. He finally turned to face her. "I don't really know how to explain it, but... I just feel this need to protect her. She's obviously scared. She can't control her powers, and the other students don't seem to want to even talk to her, not after last night. She needs someone she can trust." As he tried to explain it, he realized then that just thinking about Rogue made him feel pleasantly warm inside. He once felt that way about Jean, but something had changed.
From the way he talked about her, Ororo began to realize what was going on. It wasn't just about trust; he was falling for Rogue. And she already knew that the girl had a crush on him.
"Scott," she began gently, "have you forgotten that you're engaged? To your best friend? And now, you're throwing that away because of a seventeen-year-old girl?"
"'Ro, I'm not throwing that away," said Scott, almost raising his voice. "Jean and I talked about this, and..." He lowered his voice. "We realized that we might be better off as friends." At Ororo's surprised look, he continued, "Look, I've had a day to really think about it, and I just feel like my relationship with Jean isn't..." He sighed, irritated that he couldn't explain this the way he wanted to. "Everyone kept saying how we look so perfect together, how we were meant to be the 'perfect couple'. And I think that clouded my better judgment. I love her, but...she's just my best friend..." He trailed off, not wanting to explain any further.
Ororo was speechless. Like everyone else, she believed that Scott and Jean would make a perfect couple. But after what Scott said, she now understood that he and Jean were just living a lie, to meet everyone else's expectations.
Like some kind of 'perfect' illusion.
"I'm sorry," she finally said.
He shook his head. "It's okay. Let's go get Rogue."
As they headed for the garage, she asked him, "You really care that much about her?"
Before he could answer that, he looked around the garage.
"What?" she asked now.
"Where's my motorcycle?"
And there's Chapter Six! What Scott said about his relationship with Jean reflects my thoughts on their relationship in Evolution. They're obviously really close friends, but the way their relationship was built up just seemed...off to me, I don't know how to explain it. Maybe the thought of them being together makes me uncomfortable because they seem more like a brother and a sister to me. Like Scott said, it's hard to explain, so sorry if the way I went about it doesn't make sense.
Also, yes, that was an obvious reference to the song "Perfect Illusion" by Lady Gaga near the end. When I first listened to the chorus, it made me think of Scott and Jean.