Chapter Sixty-Six:


Lance led the way inside the moderate-sized house, shutting the door behind them as Matt stuck his skateboard into the hall closet.

"Head on upstairs and start your homework, will you?" Lance nodded at Matt.

The teenager sighed, trudging towards the stairs. "Fine," he grumbled, but didn't argue.

"Nice way ya got wit' the kids, Lance," Rogue observed with a smile.

"They drive me crazy," Lance grunted, carrying the grocery bags into the kitchen. "Just put the bags on the counter," he instructed them, and Remy and Lucas wordlessly complied, depositing the bags they'd volunteered to carry inside. "One of the kids will put them up in a bit."

"Y' got a lot o' dem here?" Remy inquired.

"We've got a handful of high school kids, runaways mostly," Lance replied, motioning for them to follow him back into the living room. "They get free room and board, as long as they go to school, work part-time, and help out around the house."

"Sounds like ya run a pretty tight shift 'round here, Lance," Rogue teased. "Ya tryin' t' outdo Logan or somethin'?"

Lance snorted, coming to a halt at the bottom of the staircase. "I don't think anyone could ever be as bad as Logan," he retorted, and then he turned to holler up the stairs. "Kitty! Get down here!"

Rogue took a deep breath, her stomach fluttering in anticipation, and a moment later footsteps could be heard moving down the hall.

"What did you call me down here for?" a familiar voice drifted down the stairs, and Rogue looked up to see a slender brunette walking down the steps with a laundry basket in her arms, her hair pulled up into a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck. "I've got a ton of work to..." she trailed off when her eyes fell on Rogue, and her face paled two shades as she gasped, dropping the laundry basket at her feet.

"Hiya, Kit," Rogue said softly, her voice thick with emotion.

"Rogue..." Kitty whispered, her hand to her mouth. They stared at one another for a long moment, Kitty's eyes wide in disbelief, and then, shaking herself free from her reverie, the former Valley girl launched herself at her former roommate with a shriek, squeezing Rogue so tight that it knocked the wind out of her. "Oh my God, oh my God! Rogue!"

They were both laughing and crying at the same time, unable to keep the tears at bay any longer as they embraced one another fiercely. Kitty squealed in delight, hugging her even tighter.

Footsteps thundered upstairs, and Rogue looked over Kitty's shoulder to see a several familiar people skidding to a halt at the top of the stairs. "What's all the commotion, yo?" a male voice demanded. "Some of us are trying to- holy shit!"

"Rogue?" Tabitha screeched, launching herself down the steps two at a time. "Girl, is that you?"

Laughing, Rogue let go of Kitty, who stepped back to slide an arm around Lance's waist. "It's me, Tabby," she replied, and let Tabitha pull her into a crushing hug.

"You're so tan!" Tabitha grinned. "Who knew you were a bronze beauty underneath all that makeup?" Before Rogue could reply, Tabitha lifted a hand to touch the ponytail that hung over Rogue's shoulders. "And your hair's so long!"

"It tends t' get that way if ya don' cut it," Rogue said with a grin, then looked past her to find Amara staring at her with wide eyes as the younger girl stepped down off the stairs. "Wow, princess, ya sure shot up, didn' ya?"

Amara's lips curled up into a smile. "I'm taller than Roberto now."

Rogue laughed. "Bet he hates that, huh?"

"Of course," Amara chuckled, and they embraced, long and tight, before Rogue stepped back to offer a smile at Todd and Wanda, both of whom were looking at her in disbelief.

"Ya look good, Wanda," she told the other girl, and she meant it. Pietro's sister had allowed her hair to grow out, and it now hung just over her shoulders. She'd maintained her slim, willowy form, which was only accentuated by the three or four inches she had grown since the last time Rogue had seen her.

The most notable change, though, was the makeup. In the years since the Sentinel Battle, it seemed that Wanda, too, had decided to give up the Gothic look. Her face was clear and tan, with very little makeup on, and the gothic cross earrings that Rogue had always liked had been replaced with a pair of gold hoops.

Gettin' in touch wit' her gypsy heritage? Rogue wondered.

"Thank you," Wanda replied, shaking off her bewilderment and extending a hand to shake Rogue's. "It's good to see you again."

"You, too," Rogue smiled. "I almost didn' recognize ya."

Wanda grinned. "I could say the same to you."

Pietro had been right when he'd said that given the chance Rogue and Wanda might have become friends. They had a lot in common, after all, more than just the style of clothes they wore. They both had parents who were mutant terrorists, parents who had used them. Wanda had been shut away in a mental institution because of her powers, Rogue's powers had forced her to keep herself shut off from the rest of the world.

For a moment Rogue considered asking about Pietro, but she decided against it for now. The last time she had seen Wanda, the girl was furious with her brother for betraying them and joining their father. If she still harbored that resentment towards him, Rogue wasn't going to be the one to bring it to the surface.

Instead, she took a moment to look around at the faces of the people she hadn't seen in years, taking in the changes in their appearances. Tabitha looked exactly as she had remembered, save for being a little taller and having finally tamed her wild, golden locks back with a hairclip. Amara, however, was a different case. The younger girl had blossomed into a beautiful young woman, with copper skin and a wave of voluminous dark hair. She looked, Rogue decided, like she belonged on the cover of a travel brochure for Hawaii.

It was Todd that looked the most different now, though. His moss green hair had been cut short, and, miraculously, he actually looked like he'd started taking a bath every day instead of once a month. She wondered if it was Wanda's influence, or if the others had simply threatened to kick him out if he didn't bathe more often.

"Hi, Todd," she said, lifting her fingers to offer him a little wave.

"Hi," he replied, shifting on his feet. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Toad!" Wanda snapped, glaring at him heatedly.

"I'm just saying!" Todd protested. "No need to-"

"It's okay," Rogue cut them off, wanting to avoid any further arguing. "Ah'm not dead, as ya'll can see, an' since we're here havin' this conversation it's obvious none o' ya'll are dead, either."

"We're pretty hard to kill," Tabby commented with a smirk. "And apparently so are you."

"X-men are good at surviving," Kitty said, grinning at Rogue. "Right?"

"Right," Rogue agreed, but inside her stomach was twisting. Four years... they had given her up for dead, and she had stopped looking for them... and all along, everyone was alive.

"You gonna introduce us to your friends?" Tabitha asked, eyeing Remy and Lucas appreciatively.

Some people never change, Rogue thought with a mental laugh. "This is Tessa," she said, gesturing to the telepath, who gave a solemn nod of acknowledgment. "And this is Lucas. They're both mutants, an' good friends."

"Hi," Tabby said, winking at Lucas, and the corner of Tessa's mouth tightened slightly.

"Fo'gettin' someone, chere?" Remy arched an eyebrow.

"Like ya'd let me, swamp rat," Rogue retorted. "This is Remy LeBeau, but Ah reckon ya'll remember him as Gambit."

Remy gave a self-mocking little bow, which made Tabby and Amara giggle, and when he winked at them they giggled even more. Rogue rolled her eyes, but couldn't keep the smile off her face. Catching Lance's eye, she saw him give her an expectant look and she sighed, knowing she might as well get it over with now.

"He's also mah husband," she added.

Tabby, Amara, Todd and Wanda all looked at her in surprise, a range of shocked emotions playing across their faces.

"Like, oh my God!" Kitty shrieked after a moment. "You two are, like, married?!"

Lance groaned, shaking his head. "I knew it was too good to last."

Ignoring him, Kitty grabbed Rogue's left hand, gawking down at the ring she found there. "Oh my God!" she cried again, and despite herself, Rogue grinned at her friend's enthusiasm. "The others are going to totally freak out! I can't wait to see the look on Kurt's face when he finds out!"

At the mention of her brother, the apprehension returned, and Rogue glanced over at Remy nervously, but he just gave her a small, reassuring smile. Kurt would deal, she knew he would. No matter what, he was her brother, and more importantly her friend.

Frankly, it was her mother's reaction she was more concerned with.

"Are you kidding?" Tabitha laughed. "What about the look on Logan's face?"

Okay, so it was her mother and Logan that she was really worried about. Kurt wouldn't hurt Remy, at least not badly, but those two...

Kitty and Lance exchanged an anxious look, and Amara bit her lip. "I'm sure Logan will, like, take it fine," Kitty said after a pause, but she didn't sound like she believed her words anymore than Rogue did.

"Hope you enjoy life while you can, yo," Todd told Remy. "Wolverine's going to tear you to shreds."

"Remy t'ink dat mebbe de homme an' I can work somet'ing out," Remy shrugged dismissively, not letting any sign of concern show. Despite his bravado, Rogue knew he wasn't looking forward to being there when Logan found out that she was now Mrs. Remy LeBeau.

"This is unbelievable," Tabitha said. "After four years you turn up alive, and married to a hunk at that! I guess that means that power negating bracelet Magneto gave you still works, huh?"

"Evan tell ya'll about that?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah," Kitty answered with a nod. "Is that it?"

Raising her arm so that the others could see the bracelet, Rogue traced a finger across the cool metal fondly. "This is it," she confirmed. "Mah savin' grace, courtesy o' yo' father, Wanda."

Wanda folded her arms over her chest and nodded absently. "Nice to know he has a heart in there somewhere."

"Still on the outs wit' him, p'tite?" Remy asked, and Rogue turned to fix him with a glare, shocked that he would have the nerve to ask that. Then again, it was Remy, so she shouldn't have been that surprised.

"He's a terrorist," Wanda responded coolly.

"But I notice dat yo' not out tryin' t' kill him anymore," Remy observed evenly, not bothered by either woman's glare. "Dat mean y' givin' up yo' quest fo' revenge?"

Wanda shrugged uncomfortably. "He's my father," was all she said in reply, and that was all the answer anyone really needed.

He's my father... Pietro had said the same thing back on Magneto's island, when he was trying to explain why he'd sided against them. Rogue had told him that she understood, and the truth was, she did. After all, despite everything that Mystique had put her through, the shape-shifter was still her mother.

And Rogue still wanted to see her.

"I told them some of what we've all been up to," Lance said, speaking up to avoid any uncomfortable silences. "But I figured you guys would want a chance to fill in the blanks."

"Right," Kitty nodded. "Where'd you leave off?"

"After we found Magneto's temporary base and rescued Evan and McCoy," Lance replied, starting towards the kitchen. "You want a beer, Remy?"

"Oui," Remy replied from Rogue's left.

"Storm and Evan were thrilled to be back together, of course," Amara commented, wrinkling her nose in confusion. "But for some reason I think Mr. McCoy was actually a little sad to be leaving."

Remy and Rogue exchanged a knowing glance, both of them thinking the same thing. Harmony. Hank and the mutant healer had hit it off from the start, it wouldn't surprise Rogue if something more than just friendship had started to develop between the two.

"When you weren't there, though," Kitty shook her head. "Everyone was devastated. Magneto told us that you and Gambit hadn't been seen since the Sentinels attacked the island, and the odds didn't look good for you guys to have survived."

"Especially not when the Professor couldn't find you with Cerebro, Rogue," Tabitha added with a frown.

"Ah still don' get why that was," Rogue sighed in frustration. "Ah mean, okay, so if Hank was right an' havin' Carol in mah head caused some kinda interference, then why wasn' the Prof able t' pick up on mah signature after she was gone?"

"I'm afraid that might have been my fault," Tessa spoke up for the first time, and Rogue looked at her in surprise. "When I removed Carol from your mind, Marie, I opened your catalog powers. As far as I can ascertain, that was what prevented Cerebro from detecting you."

"Because I had too many mutant signatures?" Rogue asked.

Tessa nodded. "Cerebro would have looked right over you, without being able to pinpoint your signature as your own. I apologize for that."

"Don't," Rogue shook her head. "Ya did what ya did t' help me, Tess, an' in case ya forgot those reserve powers have gotten us outta jams on more than once occasion. Ah don' blame ya in the least."

Tessa nodded silently, but Rogue didn't imagine the looks of relief in her friend's eyes.

"Reserve powers?" Kitty scrunched up her nose. "What are you talking about? The powers you absorbed from Carol Danvers?"

"No," Rogue shook her head. "Ah still have Carol's powers permanently, but Ah can access the powers o' anyone that Ah've ever absorbed."

Lance whistled as he came back into the room, a beer in hand. "Sounds like Magneto was right back when he said you had the potential to be one of the most powerful mutants on the planet."

"Ah don' know about that," Rogue said with a blush, taking the beer he held out to her and handing it over to Remy. "After Ah use one o' the imprinted powers, Ah get pretty weak. It knocks me out half the time."

"Still," Wanda observed evenly. "That's impressive."

"Thanks," Rogue replied. "So what did ya'll do after ya brought Evan an' Hank back wit' ya?"

"For the most part we just got by," Kitty answered. "We helped out when we could with Magneto, but mostly we just focused on helping other mutants find safe places to hide. An underground railway for mutants, I guess. That's what gave me the idea for starting up a safehouse in the south, so that mutants would have a place to go, and people who they could trust to help them get on their feet again."

"A noble goal, to be sure," Tessa murmured.

"We've all kind of gone our own ways," Tabby said, dropping down onto the couch. "There's a lot of work to be done, different ways to still help out the mutant community while getting on with our lives. This was what we chose to do."

"It may not seem very glamorous," Kitty shrugged. "But it's important work, and we enjoy it for the most part."

"Ya'll have done a great job," Rogue assured her with a smile. "What did the others end up doin'?"

"Well, Scott and Jean stayed with the Professor, of course," Kitty replied, and Rogue nodded, not surprised to hear that. "They're teachers at the school now, if you can believe that. Jamie, Sam and Roberto all stayed on, too."

"God, Jamie's gotta be, what, eighteen now?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah," Amara nodded. "He's grown up, you won't even recognize him when you see him, Rogue."

"He's finishing up his last year of high school," Kitty added. "It's funny, he's actually got Scott for a teacher, I don't know how he stands it."

"Me neither," Lance grunted, earning a reproachful look from his fiance, but Rogue just grinned, pleased to see that some things hadn't changed.

"Alex joined up, too," Kitty continued. "Right after the whole Sentinel mess Scott called him to let him know that he was alright, and Alex told him he wanted us to swing by and get him, so we did. He's an X-man now, and so is Colossus."

Beside her, Remy choked on his drink. "Piotr?" he asked in surprise. "He joined de X-men?"

"Yeah," Kitty nodded, a small smile touching her lips. "I'm sure he'll be glad to see you guys, he had only nice things to say about the time you spent together at Magneto's island base."

"Huh," Remy raised an eyebrow. "Who'd have t'ought dat Tin Boy wanted t' be a hero?"

Rogue pressed her lips together, refraining from mentioning that she had thought so all along, after getting to know the quiet, gentle boy during her captivity. Piotr had a good heart, and she wasn't all that surprised to find he'd allied with the Professor and the others. He'd never really fit in as one of Magneto's Acolytes, anyway.

"What about the others?" she asked instead. "Bobby and Jubilee and all?"

"Bobby is in Boston," Kitty replied, sipping her drink. "Ororo and Hank started a secondary school there, and he's been giving them a hand. That's where Evan went, too, and Piotr helps out there from time to time. He and Evan are pretty close, it's weird, but I guess that time on the island brought them together or something."

"It brought us all together, p'tite," Remy said, rubbing his thumb over the top of Rogue's knuckles absently, which brought a grin to Kitty's face.

"So I see," Kitty observed, winking at Rogue playfully. "Rhane and Warren are both there, too."

"Warren?" Rogue demanded, a surge of annoyance washing over her. "That's where he disappeared to? His secretary told me he'd left the country!"

Kitty blinked, startled, and then gave a sheepish laugh. "Yeah, sorry, that was the best cover story he could come up with for why he'd be gone for such long periods of time. He teaches business classes at the Boston school."

"Why bother makin' the kids come t' class?" Rogue rolled her eyes. "He could just give them all a trust fund or somethin'."

"Oh, believe me, the kids have tried to con money out of him," Tabby snickered.

"Like you haven't tried, yo," Todd snorted.

Tabby raised a finger, letting a small yellow orb form in her hand threateningly.

"Shutting up now," Todd gulped.

"Anyway," Kitty chuckled. "I'm sure Lance already told you about Kurt. He's in Canada working with Logan and Mystique."

"Poor Kurt," Rogue said wryly.

"Yeah, it's crazy," Kitty shrugged. "They fight a lot, it's pretty fun. Logan's face turns this bright red, he looks like he's going to have an aneurysm. I think Mystique enjoys making him look that way."

"Ah don' doubt it," Rogue said, unable to keep from smiling. "It's too much fun torturin' him t' resist."

"Easy for you to say," Lance grunted. "He won't kill you."

Rogue just smirked.

"Ray, Jubilee and Forge are all up there with them at the training facility," Kitty continued. "That's where we're helping mutants who don't want to enroll in the school learn to control their powers quickly, so they aren't a danger to themselves or anyone else."

"You forgot Amanda," Wanda spoke up.

"Amanda?" Rogue echoed. "Amanda Sefton? Kurt's girlfriend Amanda?"

"Oh, right," Kitty nodded. "Yeah, she's up in Canada with them. Turns out she's got some pretty impressive powers of her own."

"She's a mutant?" Rogue asked incredulously.

"Not exactly," Kitty replied, shooting Wanda a helpless look.

Pietro's twin sister sighed. "Amanda is a sorceress, much the same as Agatha, the woman who helped me learn to control my powers. Once we got settled on Muir Island, Kurt called her to tell her he was okay, and she ended up coming to stay with us, since Bayville was a zoo. About a year later her powers flared up, and we brought Agatha in to train her. She's been working alongside the X-men ever since."

"Wow," Rogue blinked. "Ah had no idea."

Wanda offered her a faint smile. "Neither did we until it happened."

"Huh," Remy grunted. "Yo' family jus' gets stranger an' stranger, chere."

"This from the Prince of Thieves?" Rogue retorted.

"Keep in mind dat yo' part o' dat family, too, Marie," Remy said with a smirk.

"Don' remind me, swamp rat," Rogue groaned, but in truth she loved her New Orleans family, and he knew it. She wouldn't trade Jean-Luc, Henri, Mercy and the others for the world. As much as it had pained her not knowing that the X-men were alive these past few years, she knew that if she had known, her life probably wouldn't have turned out the way it had.

And she rather liked the way her life had turned out.

"There's a lot of new students and recruits at all of the facilities," Lance continued, ignoring the little bickering between husband and wife. "The Academy has a few new teachers, as well as a school full of new students, and even we have a few new faces around here."

"Speaking of which," Kitty sighed. "It's my turn to cook dinner. I should get started before everyone gets home."

"I'll take care of it," Wanda offered. "You should stay and catch up with Rogue."

Kitty smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Wanda."

"No problem," Wanda said with a shrug as she started for the kitchen.

"In that case," Lance said, turning to Remy. "Why don't we get you guys settled in some rooms for the night? I think we only have two empty rooms right now, so..."

"That is acceptable," Tessa replied curtly, and it went without saying that she and Lucas would be sharing a room.

"Okay, good," Lance nodded. "If you want to get your bags and follow me upstairs, I'll show you to your rooms then."

"Be back soon, p'tite," Remy said, kissing Rogue on the cheek before bending over to pick up her duffel bag.

"Merci, mon amour," Rogue murmured, touching his cheek lightly.

"You speak French?" Tabitha asked, blinking as Lance led Tessa, Remy and Lucas up the stairs.

"She always has," Kitty said with a smirk. "Or did you never notice that some of her schoolbooks were in another language?"

"So I'm oblivious," Tabitha shrugged. "Sue me."

"T' be fair, Kit," Rogue pointed out. "Ah always did mah homework in our room or on the roof. Tabby never saw mah books. An' anyway, even if Ah hadn' spoken it be'fo, Ah'd have picked it up by now, livin' in New Orleans an' all."

"Mardi Gras!" Tabitha grinned excitedly. "Bet you had some wild times down there, huh, girl?"

"Not everyone is as wild as you, Tabby," Amara quipped with a smile.

"True, but imagine how much fun the world would be if everyone was," Tabitha retorted.

"I'm, like, trying not to," Kitty shuddered.

"An' here Lance was boastin' about how ya'd lost that valley girl talk," Rogue laughed.

"Seeing you must have brought it rushing back or something," Tabitha mused dryly.

Kitty scowled at them both. "Ha ha, very funny."

"I thought it was," Amara replied.

"You know," Tabitha commented. "If Jean was here, we'd be having a Bayville Sirens reunion."

Rogue grinned right along with the others, more than happy to think about their adventures in leather during their stint as crime-fighters now that she knew her friends were alive.

"Bayville Sirens?" Todd echoed incredulously. "That was you guys?"

The four girls just grinned at each other.

"I should have known, yo," Todd shook his head, hopping off towards the kitchen. "Only people crazy enough to spend their Friday nights out bringing down bad guys are the ones who run around in spandex."


Translations:

mon amour- my love
homme- man