And so the training went on. One particular day, Scott set everyone to fight each other. Claiming that one never knew when they would need to fight each other, brainwashed or fighting clones, it didn't hurt to cross train against each other. It kept everyone fresh as well.

"It's just a new kick he's on," John was leaning over telling Jubilee and Kitty. "Read it in the new Heroes Monthly."

"Oh," Kitty played along, "Is it here already?"

"Nah," Jubilee jumped in, "Totally last month column, 'Fighting on both sides: Keep your enemies closer, and your teammates closer.'"

"Written by Dick Biged, the Smiter." John finished for them as they all snickered.

Bobby walked by, giving them a nudge to keep the hilarities down. John stood up following him. The two would give it a go. But before they could start, Storm walked up.

"John, Bobby, let's not start with you two together. Such blatantly antithetical powers would be excessively draining and unnecessary at this point. We'll begin with John with Kitty, And Bobby with Rogue.

"Peter, you and Jubilee…" She walked off directing others, settling Betsy with Gambit, herself with Logan, and left Scott to keep an eye on them. After some time they would switch again. Jean and Beast would be back from the lab at that point.

Cyclops watched everyone begin at their own pace, some, like John, launching right in, others, like Peter, taking a less aggressive approach. He nodded to Warren, who launched into flight to throw a couple random moves into everyone, causing the occasional third party interruption, or ganging up on someone. Scott added some here or there as well.

"C'mon, Iceman, Let's go already," Rogue taunted Bobby as she hopped into the air, just barely hovering off the ground.

"Let's do it then," He grinned. Throwing ice at her, "Get down here and we will."

He tossed his ice around her, not aiming for her, but to box her in and block an escape. She came back down, landing hard and crouching, then launching forward at him. Before she could pounced on him, Archangel swept down ramming her from the side and rolling her over and far away. Before she could even curse the birdman, Bobby threw her an icy shower. She quickly rolled away.

"Aw, you had help."

"I don't need it."

"You do!" she laughed as she ripped off her gloves, stowing them in her belt, determined to use all her abilities.

"What are you waiting for, sweetie?" He goaded her.

Bobby threw up a wall of ice several inches thick. Rogue doubled back and knocked a fist straight through. She could feel Bobby ice her hand over as it froze in place and to the wall, trapping her briefly. She knocked her hand to her side of the wall, breaking the ice from another point; it shattered around her and to the ground.

John was similarly throwing fireballs at Kitty, but her phasing let them pass through her.

"That is uncomfortable, you know." She informed him as she danced to avoid them still.

"Oh, is it?" he laughed.

Archangel came up from behind and shoved Pyro forward onto Shadowcat. Since she saw it coming, she phased back to solid stature and left him fall against her before she gave him a hard kick to his side. When she heard him clicking for fire, the previous light going out, she changed again, just in time as her suit singed.

Jubilee's fireworks sounded about Colossus. Unaffectedly.

"Shit, shit shit." She muttered to herself. The silver mass kept coming forward for her. She threw a blast right at his chest as he reached forward for her. The lighted sparks bounced off, rocketing every which way. The blinding effect was the best Jubes could mange, so she ducked out of Colossus impeding embrace and nailed him with brilliant light as it reflected off him and ricocheted in growing accumulation.

The sparks hit John and his back arched to feel fire on his back that was not his. He didn't feel pain, but surprise as he whipped around to see what had caused it. Kitty took the opportunity to attack his back and sent him sailing across the room with an empowered flying kick to the back.

John cursed as he slid on the floor, flames shooting about as he struggled not to lose the fire. When he hit the wall, he threw fire up to yank himself up by centrifugal force. He looked not to where his flames leapt, but just thought to run back to the fray.

Rogue watched as sparks flew in front of her, John's flames and Jubes' explosions. Bobby's ice melted some before steaming the fire out. "Shitfire!" she grinned.

As John sprinted past her, she stuck out a bare hand to stop him. Running straight into it, he fell on to his back, straight to the ground in a large crash. Rogue grinned down at him and brush the back of her hand along his cheek. "Thanks, shug."

John felt a stir that was as cold as if Bobby had frozen his underwear for thirty days and in the same breath as hot as any of his fires could ever begin to know. The trivial drain left him dizzy still, but he thought only of his duty as he hopped up and continued on fighting.

Rogue grinned as she stepped to Iceman who had not witnessed her thieving, concentrated on missing Jubes' confetti fire, and John's wayward flames. She flew straight for him, burning through the ice he confidently shot her way. His jaw dropped as Rogue hit him full in the chest, her scorching hands brushed his neck on either side. He felt the spinning around him, that he had felt only a few times before, and knew that Rogue had him. The darkness cooled him from the sting of battle as he passed out.

Rogue staggered from her head full of conflicting forces. She fell to the floor like Bobby as she was overwhelmed. She looked around before her tunneling vision could claim her. She shot fire out one hand towards Jubes and Colussus, and the other hand gave ice to Pyro and Kitty.

Jubilee grinned to see the help, the blinding light was too much for Peter as he fell back, covering his eyes. Jubilee ran to him setting a quaking explosion to him armor that shook the boy apart. At that point she was pinched from above and took a tour of the skies as Arhcangel swung her about.

Kitty took advantage of the cold being sent her way as she feinted a shot one way, knowing John would go the other, and straight into Rogue's parting frost blast. Pyro froze still, the shock on his face. But Kitty was soon interrupted with a Jubilee falling onto her from above. The two got up looked around, deciding whether to go after their opponents, or Archangel. Dawning on them that they would work together. At that point Cyclops interrupted.

"Halt!" he called a break.

Panting, everyone stopped and either came up to the control room to chat and talk to their leader, or some had to recover first. Bobby stirred, shaking his head. He grasped his stomach as he headed to talk with the rest. Rogue stood up flicking her hands as if they were wet, trying to get water off. Instead, little bits of ice and flames came flaking out. She laughed. John still standing, frozen to the spot, steamed. Falling to the ground he retched, completely overwhelmed with hotness and coldness fighting in him. Rogue came over, placing her hand on his back and apologizing.

When everyone was gathered. Scott looked smug.

"So?" He simply asked, not going to be the one to have to tell them what they should have learned.

"Wow." Jubilee said for them. "That was fun. Hard. But fun."

"Well, that's great that it was fun, but…?"

When no one volunteered he sighed and launched into commander mode. "Generally good work, but you should have figured out sooner that you all should have switched it up. But still, well done Rogue."

Rogue mentally grinned that he was happy she finally did what he wanted. She managed to use each power. But she knew he wouldn't bake her a cake for it, so she let herself have a small grin before letting go and moving on.

"Well, I think we all learned," Warren cut in when Scott was asking what everyone learned individually about the others, "Not to let those girls get teamed up."

Jubilee, Kitty, and Rogue laughed. Betsy mock pouted that she had been left out. "Next time, let the rest of us have some fun too."

"It was all accident," Jubilee admitted. Her bursts on Colossus had started it all.

"Exactly, so I think everyone needs to stretch their powers. Some of you were just being repetitive. While it might hold an attacker off, it won't end the fight. That's what we need next. Fight, move one. And try not to pass out." he flicked his eyes over to Bobby, Rogue, and John.

Rogue felt a flash of anger, then confusion. It was her fault that the other two had passed out, mixing their "antithetical powers" as Storm put it, had been dangerous. Even in herself, all three had not been able to handle the jumble of the fire and ice. But she had stopped her opponent, as well as herself granted, but how did Scott expect her to end a fight without absorbing someone completely, and with using all her different abilities. Get stronger she told herself. Next time, she will have to fight the battle inside herself as well as the one on the outside. She couldn't afford to be weak.

Scott had finished up and paired off groups again. She hadn't heard what he had said about the rest. Rogue had only seen what had gone on in her little corner, and barely seen the ripple affects. How had Storm and Logan done, and Betsy and Gambit?

Beast joined the workout. Eventually Jean as well. But the exercise went on as expected. Each getting in good shots, but taking them as well. The young'uns, as Wolverine would have said, were learning fast.

Bobby walked into the kitchen late that night, his hair sticking in all directions, looking fresh and clean from his shower. He was awake, but completely relaxed as he sauntered in. Stopping abruptly he looked up at the laughter in front of him. Along the bar next to the cookingware, Rogue was grinning at…that…Cajun. Bobby's bones cracked like ice when he adjusted his knuckles and neck, looking like Logan.

"Hey Bobby," Rogue smiled at him, laughing but shooting her eyes back at the smug man next to her.

He nodded at her, but raised an eyebrow.

"Want some gumbo?" She slapped the counter laughing so hard as her head fell forward to the table.

"Uh…" He looked over to Gambit.

"Remy don' t'ink chere be all dere."

Rogue lifted her head, subduing her giggles. "Logan had KP make gumbo tonight, after his fight with swamp rat here. Didn' see it myself, but hear it was a riot."

"A riot?" Bobby held his confusion and anger in check.

"Wolvie," Gambit said with a look to Rogue before continued, "is full of humor, as Gambit's sure y' know."

"Yeah, he is a" Bobby indulged them, really not getting their in-joke, "Laugh riot." He gave them a sardonic half smile before turning and smelling the giant mess in the pans before him.

Picking up the spoon, he tipped it to his lips, wincing before he tried the foul-smelling concoction. It burned his lip as he dropped the spoon, looking around the trash can to spit it out. Instead he swallowed it, taking Rogue's glass of water, freezing it in his hand, and taking a gulp.

When the glass was empty, he slammed it down to find the two southerners laughing at him. "Very funny."

"Oh, Drake," Rogue tried through her rolls of laugher. Gambit chuckled as well. "We shoulda warned you. I am so sorry!"

"Dat's a southern taste," Gambit grinned mischievously up at him.

"We Yankees just wouldn't understand." Bobby turned around with another cynical smile, and walked away.

"Maybe he needed clahm chowdah," Rogue burst out laughing at Bobby's Bostonian.

"You guys are mean," Kitty came in from the other way. "You should've warned him."

"Aw," Rogue shook a hand at her, "You just say that cuz you made the same mistake."

"Uh, yeah." Kitty stuck her tongue out at her.

"Kätzchen," Rogue grinned at her.

Kitty, hearing that, what Nightcrawler had called her in fight today, turned a delicate shade of red before turning around and quickly leaving.

Rogue winced, almost embarrassed that she had embarrassed her fiend, and looked at her partner in crime. "Your such a bad influence on me. Here I am pickin' on all them." Her accent doubly thick around another Dixie confed.

Gambit just shrugged, as if saying it was her own fault. He stood up and walked over to the food, grabbing a bowl, but mimicking some of the students that had come through. " 'oh, soup!'"

--

Rogue ended up apologizing to Bobby, for knowingly letting him eat the spicy stew. He insisted on a hug, and when she obliged, he frosted her clothes. They crackled as she moved. He laughed, feeling vindicated, so she let him have that one.

Betty and Kitty sat close together on the couch, giggling inanely. Jubilee rolled her eyes and went to find John, who was always up for a good time. Rogue fell down next to her friends, breaking up their gigglefest.

"Oh c'mon," she waved a hand at them, "we all know what y'all are up to and thinking."

"Oh?" Kitty turned towards in mock pretension.

"No," Rogue shook her head. "You aren't getting me involved. I'm going to sit here, on my butt and think about nothing after that training."

"Too easy," Betsy laughed. Rogue glared half-heartedly at her from across the couch.

As they chatted, a "bamf!" broke their attention away and the blue-faced Kurt sat on the couch with them. "Are ve all gossiping? Tell me, vot did I miss?"

Rogue grinned and scooted over, sitting next to him and whispering in his ear, while looking over his shoulder at Kitty. He nodded along making 'oh's and 'ah's. Kitty stood up clearing her throat, Betsy stretched nonchalantly so she could watch NightCrawler's expression.

"I think I am going to go try cooking something. Er, 'Baking' I believe they call it." she looked pointedly at her two-toned haired friend. "Rogue, I need your help."

She walked over to the kitchen, an amused Rogue in tow.

"What was that?" She hissed at her.

"What?" Rogue played dumb.

"Whispering like that, carrying on! Did you tell him what we were saying?" Kitty strung the cloth nervously.

"No, I was just giving you a hard time, hun." Rogue gasped between her laughter. "I didn't even know you had been talking about him. What about Peter?"

"What about him?" Kitty swung the cloth indifferently.

"Aw, do you have a triangle on your hands?" Kitty threw the towel at her roommate. Rogue put her hands up and caught it. "A little competition can be good." She offered.

"We'll see." Kitty sunk over to lean on the counter. She looked sideways at her friend, slyly, "I think you have a triangle of your own."

"What?" Rogue looked genuinely surprised.

Kitty just settled her eyes on Rogue for a silent moment before making a comment about Betsy and Warren to change the subject. Clearly, Rogue wasn't not savvy to Bobby's pissy behavior over the other night.

I know that I had a close Gambit/Rogue moment without setting it up. Sometimes characters need privacy. They were bonding other their southerness, nothing too hot and heavy, just friendly conversation. Not much missed. Be sure, there will be more.