Note: After Ascension, Scott and Jean graduated and Magneto is the reformed teacher for the New Mutants.
Summary: Rogue is fighting her dark impulses while also trying to battle her mutation alone, which is causing her to become what she hated most.
'Touch him.'
"Rogue look out!" Cyclops hollered as an optic beam of red energy wavered past her and hit the sentinel's hand, preventing it from shooting her.
Rogue shook her head forcefully in an attempt to snap herself back to earth as she moved to avoid being hit by the robot. Chaos ensured all around her as a burning car soared through the air, Nightcrawler grabbed hold of Shadowcat and teleported out of there before the car landed.
It looked as though they were fighting in a junkyard, that had recently had a visit from Pyro. Sentinels continued to shoot at the X men, even though they looked more like they were shooting in every direction to purposely hit vehicles to bury the X men.
Other flying debris were sprayed everywhere as the New Mutants ran for cover. Iceman created an ice dome to protect his teammates. He grinned triumphantly as the others cheered him on. But the fame was short lived. A flaming ball of rock hit the ice dome, burying most of the new mutants, and Iceman, who probably wasn't grinning anymore.
Bamf.
Nightcrawler had teleported him and Shadowcat on top of the giant sentinel. Where Shadowcat phased through it's head. She came out of his leg a few seconds later.
"Run for it!" Shadowcat yelled as the sentinel started to shake and then... Boom! Rogue covered her face to keep from getting hit by the debris.
"Computer end simulation!" Magneto called.
The environmental changed quickly for raging chaos to a large metal training room.
'Speak of the 'reformed' devil himself.' Rogue thought to herself as he floated down in his usual red and purple armor, and happened to be helmet less. That had been quite a shock to Rogue when he first started to teach at the Institute, he gave up his helmet, but still wore his armor during battle simulations.
"The majority of you did well, though there is room for improvement." He stopped to give many of the new mutants a knowing look. One of those, your not as trained as the other's look.
The new mutants looked at each other and sighed. 'Jeez can he ever give them a break?' Rogue thought as he looked over at the rest of the mutants. Magneto wasn't exactly the easiest teacher at the institute.
"Class dismissed." Those seemed to be the only encouragement the younger mutant's needed as they all quickly filed out to go fight over the bathrooms, as usual.
The senior X men always seemed to be the last to leave. "Rogue could I see you for a moment?" Damn the devil.
Rogue sighed as she turned around, and to think she had almost made it to the door.
She approached the white haired man and tried her best not to glare.
'Touch him.' A voice hissed in her head. Rogue chose to ignore it as always.
"Yes Magneto?" Rogue asked as she stared into his eyes, which looked like a mirror version of hers, deep dark green.
"I have noticed lately that you've been rather distracted, today it almost caused and accident."
'Well ok, what am I supposed to say to that?' "Ahhh...yeah won't happen again, I've just been really stressed lately due to school." Nice one Rogue. Both of those facts were actually lies but it's not like she had any intention of telling anyone her secrets anytime soon.
Magneto gave her a curious look, as though he were trying to tell if she was lying. But he accepted her answer even if he had doubts.
"See that it doesn't."
And with that she was dismissed. She made her way to the elevator, then to her room, before entering her bathroom. Slowly she adjusted the dial to cool water.
Cold water always succeed in making her feel numb, which was what she desperately need.
'They don't know how lucky they are.' Rogue thought as she lathered a bar of soap up. Mutations were a gift, that much was true, and every day Rogue watched kids use the're gifts.
'None of them realize it, but it's their addiction.' That was also the truth. How would they feel if they were stripped of it? Kurt used his teleporting on a daily basis, and Rogue knew from Magneto's memories what metal felt like to him. Like it was singing to him, calling to him, it even soothed him. To be stripped of that, he'd be in agony.
Kitty, though she resented her gift at first, now had come to love it, she too used it on a daily basis, whether it was just to phase her hand through her locker or the fridge, or even through a robot in the danger room.
'I want to feel that so badly.' One of her darkest secrets. 'Because using it feels good, feels like it's apart of me.' She thought as she stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel and reached for the hair brush.
'Each time I use it, it only feels better.' Rogue finished brushing her hair and started to put her pajamas on.
'Of course that can never happen, my gift hurts others, Professor X doesn't even wanting me using it.' She sighed as she crawled into bed. 'Is it even a gift?' She asked herself. 'It feels good, but it hurts people, it causes me to wear all these clothes, I can never be close to someone.'
'No.' She decided firmly. It was no gift. Other people have gifts. 'I have a curse.' How true that was. She had been denied everything. Her ability to get close to someone, her mutation,(never being able to use it) her comfort(honestly wearing long sleeves kills you in summer).
'What I would give to feel a hand on my face, even a gloved one, or someone pat me on the back, god I would die for a hug!' Rogue chuckled to herself. 'God I am pathetic.'
The others didn't have any idea how hard it was to restrain herself. 'I want to absorb them so badly, I want to touch so badly. But I can't, not when I have their trust.'
'At first it was easy, but now, how is it I want to touch and absorb someone at the same time?'
She laid in her bed silently wishing for sleep. She was interrupted by a knock on the door. She sighed loudly as she got up. 'What now?' She asked.
Kitty was waiting on the other side. "Hey Rogue, you coming to dinner?"
She gave Kitty a fake smile. "Nahh, I'm not really feeling well." She didn't even have to think about that lie, it just came out.
Truthfully, she was avoiding two telepaths. It wasn't always easy to hide your thoughts from them, the easiest solution was always to avoid them as much as possible.
She didn't need the professor knowing how badly she wanted to touch people, not only for physical contact, but to absorb them.
Kitty's face was etched with worry. "It's nothing like, serious, is it?" She asked. Her worry almost made Rogue feel bad about lying...almost.
"No, I just need some sleep. Thanks Kitty."
Rogue watched the happy girl walk down the hall and sigh. 'I wonder if she knows how lucky she is.' Rogue though pleasantly to herself before settling back down in bed.
"Talk about freaks." Theresa said loudly as she passed Rogue and her gang. "Cheerleader slut." Rogue muttered to her friends.
"Talk about it." Kitty agreed. "I mean, like, I don't, like, don't want to be gossip, but she's slept with half the football team. A couple of the guys wound up in a fight over it last week."
"Poor suckers." Rogue said. Kurt and Kitty nodded before stopping to show the new mutant freshmen around. Rogue stared for a minute. 'I'm the oldest of the group.' She realized.
Some of the kids were freshmen, others like Amara, Roberto, Jubilee, Bobby, and Rahne were sophomores.
"Remember guys no mutant abilities, Kelly's bound to be on a warpath due to the fact that he lost the election." Rogue gently reminded them.
Some of the younger mutants started to giggle. "Yeah, thank god he lost that election, if he had it his way we wouldn't even be here." Amara said.
"Yes, and lets not give him or anyone else a reason to go gunnin' for us." Rogue said. Bobby laughed loudly. "When'd you become Scott's successor?"
A few off the mutants cracked a smile at that. Rogue fixed them with a stern look. "Guy's I'm NOT kidding. I didn't want to worry anyone, but there's been an awful lot of talk lately about sentinels...coming to the school."
The others fell silent. "Look it's ok guys, we won't let anything happen to you, just save the goofing off for when we get back home ok?"
The mutants nodded. "Just stick together." Rogue told them as she spotted Principal Kelly coming down the hall.
"Well, well, well." Kelly stopped when he reached the group. "Two gone, another out the door this year." He gave Rogue a cruel smile. "Miss Darkhölme, it's your senior year isn't it?" He asked.
'As if the jackass didn't already know.' Rogue thought as she nodded. "Yes sir." She responded respectfully. 'Now there's a guy who really deserves to have my curse used on him.' The urge was very tempting.
'It would feel good.' The dark voice in her head whispered.
There was no use denying that Rogue would get to use her mutation, and as a bonus she would get to put a jackass flat on his back.
'Do it.' The voice encouraged. Rogue swallowed hard as she closed her eyes. 'Control, control, ignore the fact that he deserves it.' The rational part of her mind was fading. 'It would feel good, and the mutant's hate him so much they would never say anything. YES!'
'No.' Rogue firmly thought. 'Your friends, your teammates, your family, what would they think?'
Rogue slowly opened her eyes.
"I have to get to class." She hurried past him as the other mutants scrambled out of Kelly's way.
Please tell me what you think! I'm trying to be a better writer and any advice, comments, or input would be appreciated.