Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just enjoy playing with them. This story is in no way meant to infringe on the rightful owners of the X-men.
Thanks to all of you great people. I'm so happy that so far you are enjoying the story. I'm not really good at describing an action and fighting scene. So I'm not overly happy with this chapter. I can't seem to get the feelings and depth of the scene right. If any of you have a tip or idea to help me with that, I would be more than happy to hear it. Just no ugly bashing please. If you don't like the story, then by all means stop reading. There are some really great stories out there. To those of you wonderful readers who have reviewed and favorited and alerted my fic. I wish to send you a great big, THANK YOU!
"So what's the plan?" Rogue asked pushing her irritation at the man down as the others entered the Danger room. She needed to stay focused right now.
"Same as before. There will be a flag hidden somewhere in the simulation. You have to find it, and capture it." Scott informed her.
"Before we start, let me get this straight. I can doing anything, and use anything to get the flag, as long as I don't touch any of you with my skin, correct?" Rogue asked serious.
"Right." Scott affirmed. He knew that she could also fly, figuring that was why she was asking.
"Alright." Rogue said pulling her gloves snug on her hands. "Let's play." Rogue smirked.
"This isn't a game, kid, we're going to push you to your limits to make sure you can take care of yourself, and the team in a battle." Logan growled out upset that she wasn't taking this as seriously as she should.
"Seeing how I don't have a team, I only have to worry about myself. Something I'm use too." Rogue replied unconcerned.
"Be careful, Rogue. Although this is a simulation, you can still be hurt by any object." Ro warned.
"Gotcha." Rogue gave the white haired woman a brief smile.
"Good luck." Ro smiled encouraging, then went to take her place.
"Thanks." Rogue answered in returned.
Soon the metal room transformed into a down town New York, on a stormy and rainy night.
"Grr, I hate getting soaking wet." Rogue complained as her clothes started clinging to her. She was on a sidewalk, next to a bakery. The scents of freshly baked bread drifted to Rogue's nose, and made her stomach rumble. "Great, now I'm soaked and hungry. Summers is really pissing me off." Rogue growled rotating her shoulders. Taking minute to take in the surroundings, she searched for any signs of the flag, or any of the X-men. Not seeing either, Rogue turned and looked up to guess the building behind her was at least ten stories high, which should give her a better view of the area. Lifting off the ground, she flew up to the roof, then once again surveyed the area for her target or the X-men.
"Why didn't you tell us she could fly?" Wolverine growled annoyed in his com-link at Cykes. Wolverine didn't like unnecessary surprises, during a battle.
"The Professor and I gave our word, we'd keep it to ourselves, until she agreed to stay." Cyclopes replied tensely.
"You should have told us, before this. She got any other mutations, you're not telling us about?" Wolverine snapped out gruffly.
"None that I know of. The only thing I remember her mentioning is flight and deadly skin. Why? Thinking she'll be able to get passed you?" Cyclopes mocked Wolverine.
"Not likely One-eye, however I'm sure she could get passed you." Wolverine threw back confidently, a smirk in his voice.
"And why's that?" Cyclopes asked annoyed.
"Cause, she just flew right by you." Wolverine chuckled amused in his com-link.
Cyclopes jerked around to see that Wolverine was right. "Shoot." Cyclopes hissed upset as he searched for Rogue.
"Will the both of you stop it, and concentrate on doing your jobs." Jean snapped out. "She's on the old theater building. She's near you Ro."
"I see her." Ro answered back. "Has she found the flag yet?"
"I don't think so, she's not looking at it." Jean answered Ro.
"Can you pick up anything from her Jean?" Cyclopes asked hopeful.
"No." Jean answered back, her tone telling her teammates just how much she didn't like the fact.
"Alright, I'm in position. Storm, when she goes to fly, send a gust to ground her."
"Alright." Storm agreed.
Rogue sat on the old theater building as she surveyed the area. She spotted Cyclopes moving into a new position, behind a laundry mat, which was across the street from where she was situated. Ro was two buildings over to her left, on the roof.
"Well, Charles you wanted to see what I could do, let's me show you." Rogue stated allowing her mind to open up to the five others around her. Jean was located across the street inside one of the buildings. Hank was two blocks over at a construction sight, that just happened to be beside a junk yard, where the flag was as well as Logan, who was guarding it.
Closing the telepathy search, Rogue debated, how she wanted to play this. She could go straight for the flag, and ignore the team as much as possible, why giving a wow factor, or she could confront them drawing the battle out, go one on one. Going for option one, seemed more interesting, so she chose to go with that one, plus it would keep some of her abilities to herself that she wasn't ready for the other to know about. She knew that Storm was suppose to ground her with a gush of wind, when she went to move. She planned on using the gush of wind to her advance. Keeping her focus off of where the flag was or any of the team, she lifted off the roof, into the air, and headed in the general direction of the junk yard.
Storm called a strong wind, and sent it rushing at Rogue.
Feeling the wind rush toward her, Rogue pulled up her own gift that allowed her to control the wind. Whipping the wind around her so it gained speed rapidly forming into a tornado.
Everyone watched waiting for Rogue to be knocked to the ground. Instead of falling like they expected, they gasped shocked, when suddenly a tornado appeared, and engulfed Rogue.
"Storm?" Cyclopes called out concerned.
"That's not from me. I'm not controlling it." Storm called upset.
"Can anyone see her?" Cyclopes called out freaked out not knowing what was going on, or if Rogue was seriously hurt.
"Negative." Hank called out just as distress sounding.
"No. I didn't see her get thrown, she has to still be in that thing. Storm can you get rid of it?" Wolverine called out growing more and more upset, and worried Rogue was in serious trouble.
"I'm trying, but it's not working." Storm called back her voice strained from calling on her powers to restrain the monster of a tornado.
"It's heading toward you, and Hank, Wolverine." Jean called out concerned, wondering what was going on. If it wasn't Storm controlling the tornado, it had to be Rogue. It wasn't programmed into the simulation. All of them had run this simulation before.
"What's going on? This isn't part of the simulation?" Wolverine demanded growing restless, and very worried about Rogue. "Cykes, did you change it?" Wolverine growled out his voice tight as he watched the tornado bounce into the air, then touching back down again. The blaring noise making Wolverine's sensitive ears ring in pain.
"No, hold on guys, we're on our way to your position, now." Cyclopes called back. Wolverine could tell that the younger man was running, as he spoke.
Moment's later both Jean and Storm landed in front of a hill of stacked up wrecked cars. Logan stood on top of the hill, his eye's glued to the tornado that was getting closer, causing and leaving destruction in it's path. Logan watched as Cykes' almost lost his head as a blue postal container came sailing straight for his head. If he hadn't blasted it with his optic blast, he would have been seriously hurt. Right behind the postal container, the tornado, picked up a small car, and hurdled it toward the man.
Hank seeing his friend in dire danger, jumped from his position off the steel beam he had been perched on. Using lamp posts to swing and jump, he just barely was able to reach Cyclopes, and dodge the car before it could crush them. Hank shielded Cyclopes' body with his own as they crashed against a brick wall. Thankfully neither man was hurt seriously.
"Scott are you alright? Hank?" Jean cried out in telepathically, fearful they had been seriously injured. She could feel Scott's wooziness, and a mild pain through her shared mind link with him.
"We're alright, just a bit banged up, is everyone alright? We're on our way toward you now." Cyclopes informed her and the others.
"Hurry, it's getting closer." Jean warned, then spoke something that Scott wasn't prepared to hear. "And Scott, I think Rogue is the one controlling the tornado. There's no other explanation." Jean said very serious and upset.
"I'm on my way." Was all Scott could think to say.
Jean, Wolverine, and Storm had taken cover as the tornado bounced into the air, and hovered high in the sky, directly over the junkyard. The wind was ferocious, as it roar and whipped around them. The roar of the tornado was deafening.
Jean was using her telekinesis to protect herself from fly objects, while Storm was using a wind shield. Wolverine was dodging most objects, but ones that he couldn't, he used his claws to destroy. As soon as Cyclopes and Hank joined their teammates, a large truck was lifted up, then dropped directly in front of the gates, blocking the exit.
Assured now that she had their attention, Rogue released the tornado, allowing it to dissipate. She dropped from the sky, landing on the car that held the flag. Plucking it from it's place, tied to an old car's antenna, as the team only stood there staring at her, all of them either stunned or frowning quite upset she could tell. Ro, and Hank were stunned, while Scott, Jean, and Logan were upset.
Not caring if they were upset or not, she tucked the flag in her pocket, then descended the hill of junk cars.
"Since I have the flag, does that mean I win?" She asked a teasing glint in her eyes and voice as she took the flag from her pocket, as the city disappeared, and the Danger room returned to normal.
"What the heck was that?" Jean yelled out upset. "You nearly got Scott kill. You showed no concern or thought for others."
"He's still standing, so I don't see your problem." Rogue shrugged unconcerned. Of course she wouldn't have let anything happened to the others. She had watched the car sailing toward Scott closely. If it had looked that he would have got crushed, she was ready to stop it.
"So that's how you care for your teammates? If they get hurt, so be it." Jean snapped.
"If you noticed, I didn't have a team to protect. It was me against all of you. Do you really think that was fair? The rules were that I could do whatever I wanted to capture the flag, as long as I didn't touch anyone. Seeing how I didn't lay a finger on anyone you, I did what I was suppose too." Rogue stated coolly.
"You should have told us, you could control the weather." Jean snapped out still pissed off.
"I can't control the weather." Rogue said her tone clipped, but she was proud that she wasn't letting her anger get out of control.
"Just because I can't read your thoughts, doesn't mean I'm blind to what's in front of me. We all saw you. Are you claiming that you weren't the one controlling the tornado?" Jean demanded sharply.
"No." Rogue answered simply.
"So you admit that you're lying. You can control the weather." Jean huffed satisfied that she had proven her point, and Rogue a liar.
"I admit no such thing. I can't control the weather." Rogue growled, her anger rising more to the surface, at being called a liar.
"What do you take us for, a bunch of fools." Jean hissed out taking a step closer, getting into Rogue's face.
"Jean, honey. Let's all calm down." Scott said trying to calm her. He remembered Rogue's telling him and the Professor, that she didn't like people in her space, and like the Professor had warned, they didn't know Rogue that well. The girl had deadly skin, and could touch Jean if she got upset enough.
Both Rogue and Jean, as well as Charles as picked up Scott's inner concerns.
"No Scott, I'm not about to trust some lying little girl with the lives of my family." Jean brushed Scott's restraining hand from her arm. "If she'd lie about something like this, then she'd could be lying about her skin, and even if she's not, how can we trust someone like her to be around the kids." Jean said glaring pissed and distrustful at Rogue.
"So now I'm a liar, and a murderer?" Rogue growled out her anger surging. Her eyes hard and cold as she glared back at the red headed woman. "That's it, I'm out of here. As far as I care, you can take your little team, and shove it where the sun don't shine. I haven't done one thing to deserve this crap." Rogue snarled out her inner animal surging, but she pushed it down as she headed for the door.
"Rogue wait." Scott called after her.
Rogue jerked around as she reached the door, her eyes burning with anger. Her fist balled into fist. "And for your FYI, Dr. Grey. I can't control the weather. I controlled the air, and as for my skin, believe me, you don't want to find out." Rogue said coldly, before turning back around and storming out of the room.
"Rogue, please do not go. Jean was wrong, and I am very sorry for what she said. I know that you were telling the truth, and I know that you would not willingly hurt anyone here. Please give us another chance." Charles called out telepathically as Rogue reached the front door.
Rogue growled out upset at the fact that her feet had stopped, and that she was actually considering Charles's request.
"Why are you doing this? Are you wanting to be hurt?" Rogue demanded of Marie.
"It's a risk, I'm willing to take it if he's telling the truth. Hank and Ro weren't really upset, only surprised. They don't know us. They don't know all of what we can do. It was a shock, and we did surprise them.
"I don't like that woman. She just jumped to the conclusion that we were lying, and then dared to accuse us of willing to kill an innocent child." Rogue smarted still stewing about what Jean had accused her of.
"I know, I don't like her either." Marie returned.
"Rogue, please give us another chance." Charles called out again when he got no reply the first time, but knew she was till standing at the mansion's front door.
"I'll think about it. Right now I need some air." Rogue snapped out in her head, then stormed from the mansion. Not even bothering for a vehicle, she took to the sky, and headed into town. She needed more than air. She needed a stiff drink too.