Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men...

xxbluewingsxx: I'm alone!! Finally... but I'm still soaked... warning... do not give your friends candy when they plan to dump water on you... They locked me out of my house!!!! Not cool! So not fun!!

New Found Powers

Rogue tried to swim towards the surface, but her limbs were growing stiff due to the cold water. She was so scared.

Eventually, she reached the small hole in the ice she had created. She gasped for breath, the cold, had frozen her lungs, making it difficult to breathe.

While she was trying to breathe, an orange light caught her attention. It was coming from under the ice, about 20 feet away. Taking a deep breath, she dove under the water and swam towards the light. As she grew closer, she noticed it was just a big ball of orange light. When she was inches away from it, she stuck out a hand and put it inside the ball. It was so warm. She went inside the ball and as soon as she got in it, she realized there was air in it.

She collapsed to the bottom of the ball, and gasped for breath. As she steadied her breathing she realized she wasn't alone.

She stood up. The person standing in front of her had red hair. She was looking at the ground of the shell.

"Jean?" Rogue asked. The red head looked up at her. Rogue recognized, the face of the telepath.

"Rogue, take me to the surface." It sounded like two people were talking at once.

Rogue nodded her head silently. She grabbed Jean's wrist and pushed her way out of the shell. Once the two were out of it, it disappeared. Rogue took Jean to the hole she had fallen through. They climbed out and sat down, coughing up water.

"Jean?" Rogue asked again hardly believing that it could be her. "Is that really you?" She whispered.

"Yes." Jean said, a smile on her face. Rogue let out a cry of happiness. She ran over to Jean and hugged her. She wasn't paying attention for skin to skin contact. She felt the pull on her cheek and let go.

She was about to apologize when she saw Jean was still smiling. "Rogue. I'm so happy you found me."

"Oh, Jean, I'm so sorry!" Rogue apologized.

"For what?" She looked confused.

"For crashing, the Blackbird. If I hadn't crashed it you wouldn't have died and..." Rogue stopped talking when she realized Jean was laughing. Not a harsh laughter, but a cheerful, good-spirited one. This really was Jean. Rogue realized what she had just said and joined in the laughter.

"Rogue, I never died. I somehow managed to survive." Jean explained. "I'm sorry for the guilt I put you through this past month. I tried to make a connection with someone but I couldn't and then... I realized after a while, I could with you."

"Oh Jean, it's so good to see you!" Rogue cried. They hugged again, both of them crying out of happiness.

Jean looked at Rogue arm's length away. They looked a teach other, taking in the other's changes in appearance. Jean had long hair now, while Rogue's hair was pretty much the same length, but she had grown a few inches taller.

"We should start a fire, Rogue. Your clothes are soaked. Come on, before you catch pneumonia." Rogue would have argued but remembered that this was the old school doctor. Rogue nodded and they headed of into the forest.

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"Rogue you know how I told you about some of the discoveries I made in your head?" Jean asked. They were sitting on a log, a few feet away from the huge fire they had going. The sun was starting to go down. Rogue had spent the whole day telling Jean about what had been happening at the Institute since she had 'died'.

"Yah, I remember." Rogue answered. "Why?"

"I found something very interesting. You might not realize it Rogue, but you can control the powers of the different mutants you have absorbed." Jean told her.

"Are you serious?" Rogue asked excitedly.

"If you focus on a certain mutant, let's say for example Magneto, you could control metal. It only works for mutants you've absorbed though." Jean stated.

"So you mean, I could teleport us back to the mansion?" Rogue asked.

"I don't think we should do that." Jean said, looking at the fire.

"Why not? You just said I could use their powers." Rogue said.

"Well, you can't just suddenly use it. You'd need practice first." Jean explained with patience. Jean had always been patient. "Plus I think we should get back to Westchester before practicing anyways."

"Your right." Rogue said. Suddenly she remembered something. "Jean, yesterday I was able to use Magneto's powers. I walked into my room to get my backpack for class. I reached over to my nightstand to get my key, and it just flew into my hand." Rogue finished her story."

"Rogue, this just proves that you can use their powers. If you don't believe me, try it out." Jean said.

"Right now?" Rogue asked.

"Right now." Jean replied simply.

"How?" Rogue asked dumbly. Jean nodded towards the fire.

Rogue stretched a hand out towards the fire. She opened her palm up towards the sky and suddenly a little ball a flame, jumped from the bonfire into her palm. Rogue smiled brightly before closing her hand and smothering the flame.

"See?" Jean asked, smiling just as brightly as Rogue.

"Thanks Jean." Rogue said before another ball of fire jumped into her hand.

"No problem." Jean said. She watched Rogue toss the fireball from one hand to the other before asking her another question. "So who exactly have you absorbed?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Well first I absorbed Logan. Then it was Magneto." Rogue smile faltered a bit. She remembered all too well, that night on the statue of liberty when she almost died. "I absorbed Logan again. After that I didn't absorb anyone for a while. Then after William Stryker's attack I absorbed Bobby and John. Then I touched Kurt for a few seconds. The whole month you were gone I didn't absorb anyone. Well, I accidentally absorbed Miss Munroe." Rogue smiled at the memory.

"What happened?" Jean asked, sounding like a teenager, who wanted to know her best friend's first date out with a crush.

"Well ever since you...disappeared." Rogue said. "Xavier thought that it'd be best if the team spent more time together. We did simple things like go to a movie, or go on a picnic. So one night we decided to go to a movie. I sat on at the end, and Storm sat beside me. Anyways we put our purses on the floor side by side. After the movie we bent down to get our purses at the same time. We bonked heads. The skin contact wasn't enough for her to pass out, but she was a little dizzy for a few seconds. She thought it was because we'd rammed heads so hard. What's really funny though, is she had a huge purple bruise on her forehead for a week." Jean burst out laughing at the end of Rogue's story.

"I would have loved to see that." Jean giggled. "So who else have you absorbed?" She asked changing the subject again.

"Well last night I absorbed Kitty, Jubilee and Kurt again. Oh and I absorbed you earlier" Rogue finished her list.

Jean nodded. "So that means you can heal, you have heightened senses, control metal, create ice, manipulate fire, teleport, control the weather, phase through solid objects, create sparks, can move things with your mind and can read minds." Jean smiled brightly at Rogue.

"Wow." Rogue said shocked. "I can do all that? That's pretty amazing." They both burst out laughing.

"Oh there's something else." Jean told Rogue "You know how Logan has metal claws?" The look Rogue gave Jean made her giggle. "Well, you have claws too. Not indestructible metal, but indestructible bone."

Rogue looked disgusted at first but then asked "Will the claws be covered in blood when they come out?"

"Oh, no." Jean quickly answered.

"Oh thank God." Rogue relaxed.

They spent most of the evening laughing and catching up, and testing out Rogue's new powers. Around midnight they fell asleep in the snow, both having the best rest they'd ever had the past month.

xxbluewingsxx: They are back... and waving a pom-pom in my face... and hitting me over the head with it... Still kind of wet...