AN: And we're back! I hope you all survived that three-week hiatus of episodes. I know you're dying to find out what happens, so here it is! Episode Eight of X-Men: Standing Guard! This episode is the last "non-big" episode of the season. Every episode from here out will be big, with huge stakes and lots of action! This episode is meant more to wrap up the first half of the season than to start off part 2. This is also the first episode in the new schedule. X-Men: Standing Guard has been moved from bi-monthly to weekly! That's right, you'll get a new episode of X-Men every single week! Please read all the way to the end, there may be some surprises along the way! Enjoy! Please leave a review if you enjoy the series!
Previously on X-Men,
Erik stood up. "We debate this too long, Charles. We must act now! I will strike against the humans, with or without you. "
Charles looked up with tears in his eyes. "You realize I will defend the humans against any attack. I still have hope for them."
Erik's face set into a determined look. "Then the next time we meet, old friend, it will be on the battlefield."
"If you want a war, my friends. We will give you war!"
A trash can exploded. People screamed as fire erupted into the skies.
Magneto descended from the sky mere moments after the explosion. More explosions rocked the streets as trash cans exploded up and down. Police were moving in with orders to shoot anyone who even remotely looked like a danger. Fighter jets flew overhead and armored cars seemed to appear from nowhere, flooding the streets. With a large howl, a pink portal opened in the sky and mutants stormed out of it. Pyro and Havok took the initiative, sending devastating bursts of energy and waves of flames at the protestors. People screamed and pushed each other aside in an attempt to escape their death.
"Hey Lance!" Rahne greeted, walking up the short stairs to the stone
"Rahne?" he asked, looking up from his work. "What're you doin' here?"
"Lance—" Rahne paused. "have ye notic'd anythin'…strange happ'nin' t' ya recently?"
Lance paused, stiffened up. "Whatdya mean, strange?"
"Like—Like—I dunno really. Just som'in' outta the ordinary, somethin' no one else can do."
Rahne felt the porch shaking. She looked down at the ground. It was splitting beneath her. She leapt to one side as a crack opened up in the earth. The shaking increased. Rahne looked at Lance. His eyes had rolled back in his head and he was gripping the stone wall of his father's shop with both hands.
"Rahne! The people!" Scott yelled.
"But—but they'll see me!" Rahne exclaimed.
"Rahne! Now!"
The Scottish girl frowned, but morphed into her were-wolf form and reached a hand into the void, grabbing a villager's hand and hauling him out. He scrambled away from her.
"Daddy!" Rahne exclaimed, running and leaping into her father's arms, hugging him tightly.
"There's m' little girl!" he exclaimed, returning the embrace, whirling her around as if she weighed nothing.
Sinclair walked to the front of the house and opened the door, stepping out into the snow and cold, icy wind. He was greeted by a sight he wasn't expecting to see. It appeared the entire village had congregated outside of his house, carrying torches, brandishing rifles and knives. He looked in astonishment at them. The man who had knocked on the door was carrying nothing. He looked at Sinclair sadly.
"Give her to us, Sinclair." He said softly. "Yo'r daughter has abilities that belong t' no human. She's been possessed. Give 'er to us. You don't have to do anything."
"No, she's not possessed—"
"Close all the windows, board them up." He ordered. Rahne obeyed, darting to the windows, slamming the wooden shutters closed.
"What is it?" Jean asked.
"They want Rahne. They believe she's possessed. I tried explaining she's a mutant, but they won't listen. We've got an hour before they burn the house down."
"Yo're comin' too, right?" Rahne asked, tears streaming down her face. "Daddy?"
"I'm sorry, Rahne. My place is here."
"Go. Go now!"
"Daddy! No!" Rahne screamed. Jean grabbed her and dragged her off, having to apply telekinesis to keep the young girl in her arms. Rahne sobbed and screamed, the noise disappearing into the roar of the fire. Her father turned towards the front door, holding a cross in his hand.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For thou art with me."
The roof collapsed inwards.
"Somethin' you learn very quick in the real world, X, the government, the police, anybody who works for the government, you can't trust 'em."
"Why not?"
"Do ya know how I came t' work here?"
"I was blackmailed into working for the Project. I didn't sign up. The Project blackmailed meh into working for 'em. Then they got my DNA, fingerprints, everything they needed, committed a few murders in m' name; they left m' DNA and fingerprints behind."
"My dad told me this morning that a very bad person was coming to get me. He'd take care of the bad person if I led you to a certain spot." Rogue looked at Cassidy, studying her, trying to determine if this was the truth or not. "But I know you're not a bad person." Cassidy said, softer. "So I led you here."
A black van screeched up next to the alleyway and SWAT officers swarmed out of the back. They entered the alley, guns searching about for the mutant. Nothing.
"Secretary Trask, she's not here." One member said, touching his ear."
"She's gone dark. Return to base. I'll take care of the mess from here." Trask replied.
Sentinel Project Main HQ
December 24, 17:20 EST
"Rogue, what are you doing here?" X asked. She glanced at the red-head's thigh. "Why are you carrying a gun? I did not think you had been given one yet."
"X, we gotta go. Now!" Rogue said breathlessly, grabbing the smaller girl's arm.
"What are you talking about?" X asked.
"Trask just issued a kill order for me. We gotta go, now!"
"That is preposterous," X said. "Why would Secretary Trask issue a kill order for you? You are perhaps his best agent!"
"I dunno, but we ain't got much time! He may already know I'm here!"
"Rogue, calm down." X said, laughing. "Secretary Trask—" she stopped suddenly and turned. "Do you hear that?"
"No, what?" Rogue asked.
"Gas." X replied.
"Very funny." Rogue retorted.
"No," X sniffed the air. "Sleeping Gas! Hold your breath!"
Rogue took a deep breath, but the yellow gas had already filled the room. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell to the ground.
"Rogue!" X exclaimed. She ducked low to the ground to try and gasp a breath, but the gas had an effect on her, too, and she collapsed next to Rogue as if she were sleeping.
"All units, this is Secretary Trask. Is the kill-squad in place?" Trask asked.
"Yes, sir." The leader of the kill-squad replied. "We are in position outside of the gym. Are we clear to enter?"
"Kill Agent Rogue, but leave X-23 untouched. She's too valuable a piece of hardware. Breach on my mark. Three, Two, One, GO!"
One of the kill-squad members held open the gymnasium doors and the rest of the squad swarmed in, rifles up, looking for the mutants.
Trask looked at the screen. "Get their signals on-screen. Now!"
A dozen blue images popped up on the screen.
"Delta, the targets should be three meters in front of you." Trask said.
The team moved to the specified location, but didn't see anything.
"Nothing, sir! Can we ventilate this fog?"
"No! X-23's healing factor will kick in and she'll wake up. We need her unconscious."
"We can't find either of them, sir!"
"Look harder!" Trask yelled.
"Harry, you see anything?" one member asked. He turned to where his partner should have been, but he wasn't there.
"Harry?" he asked, turning around. He felt two blades enter his back and a hand clamp over his mouth. X-23 lowered his body to the ground. She looked up, her eyes glinting red. With a loud yell she leapt at remainder of the kill-squad.
"Screw keeping her unconscious!" one member yelled, firing wildly at the teen. "She's awake and we can't fight like this! Ventilate the room! Vent—" X sliced his throat and threw him into his partner.
"All units move in! Subdue the target!" Trask ordered. Three more teams entered the room.
"Ventilate that area. Now!"
"Yes, sir!"
The smoke slowly began to clear. X ran over to where she had moved Rogue and stabbed her with a needle to wake her before standing up and running at the three teams. She grabbed one soldier's shoulder, slit his throat with her hand-claws while spinning, sliced two more's chests open with her feet and leapt at a fourth victim, burying her claws deep into his chest. She backflipped off of him, slicing two more soldier's throats with her feet and digging her claws into another soldier's chest, slinging him at his partner. She pulled the pin out of a grenade on one soldier's chest and darted to the other side of the room, sliding between one guards legs and slicing. He screamed in pain.
"Shoot her! Shoot her!" the soldiers yelled. They opened fire. X dodged it all, staying low to the ground and running at them before leaping into the air, taking off three soldier's heads at once. They rolled on the ground as X finished off the final guards. She crouched down, digging her claws into the final soldier's heart when she heard a click.
"Dodge this." A voice came from behind her. There was a loud bang. Something thumped to the floor behind X. She stood up and turned around to see Rogue holding a smoking gun.
"Thanks," she said breathlessly.
Rogue nodded. "Now d'ya believe me?" she asked.
X nodded. "Let us leave."
Rogue followed X out of the gym.
"Damn it!" Trask yelled, slamming his headphones down. "Lockdown this building! Get every soldier in here to hunt them down and shoot them! Both of them! DO IT NOW!"
Rogue slid around a corner, brought up her pistol and fired three times without breaking stride. She and X ran past the dead bodies.
"I was not aware you were that skilled with a firearm." X said, slightly amazed, darting around another corner and taking out two guards on her own.
Rogue touched the white streaks in her hair gently as she ran. "There's a lot you don't know 'bout me, X." she replied. "This way!"
"This hallway is the fastest route to the outside of the building!" X said.
"Which is where they would expect us to go!" Rogue exclaimed. She grabbed X's arm and dragged her down another hallway. About halfway down the corridor, half a dozen soldiers stepped out, brought up their weapons and opened fire. X shoved Rogue into a doorway and took the bullets. She collapsed to the ground.
"X!" Rogue yelled. She pulled out her own pistol and fired off six rounds, each one hitting a soldier in the head. She darted out and helped X up.
"That hurts a lot worse than it does on your television shows." X groaned, clutching her chest.
Rogue darted over to the soldier's bodies and grabbed a rifle from them. She darted down the hallway, X following.
"Where are they?" Trask demanded.
"They're—here!" one technician exclaimed.
Bullets streaked into the room and everyone dropped to the ground.
Rogue held down the trigger until there were no bullets left. She had sprayed the room through the door. It wasn't good for accuracy or confirming whether or not she had hit Trask, but it helped her feel better. X caught up to her as Rogue dropped the rifle, reloaded her pistol and continued down the hallway. She ran face-first into a soldier. She grabbed him, blocking a punch at the same time, twirled over his head, put him in a headlock, forced him onto his knees, and snapped his neck in one fluid series of motions. X stared in amazement.
"Come on! No time for starin'!" Rogue exclaimed. She grabbed the soldier's pistol and continued running.
"We're almost there!" she yelled. She rounded a corner and stopped cold, X running into her.
What had to be a dozen and a half soldiers were standing, weapons aimed at the mutants, between them and freedom.
"Hands up!" the soldiers exclaimed.
Rogue hesitated and raised her hands behind her head, one brushing her backpack. X followed suit, looking at her strangely.
"Close your eyes."
Rogue dropped a cylinder to the floor and turned. It detonated. White light filled the soldiers' vision and a loud ringing penetrated their ears. Rogue turned, deaf, but not blind, and leapt at the soldiers, a knife in each hand. Within a matter of seconds, she had killed them all. She ran back to X.
"Get those doors open!" she yelled, her voice almost inaudible due to the flashbang. X nodded and moved to the door, extending her claws and beginning the slices. Rogue backed up to her, keeping an eye on the hallway. Three soldiers rounded the corner and Rogue fired three times, killing each one.
"How we comin' on that door?" Rogue yelled.
"Almost there!" X replied.
A soldier rounded the corner, but ducked back at the sight of Rogue. Rogue fired a round, but was too late, as he had ducked back behind the corner, and she missed. Rogue heard the door squeeze out of its place, but didn't hear it fall.
"X, what we got?"
"Uhh, a problem." X replied. "This is a door to nowhere! We're fifty feet above the forest!"
The soldier fired and Rogue ducked, letting off a burst of her own.
"Do you see a city?"
"Yeah, twelve kilometers north!"
"Good!" Rogue replied. The soldier fired again, more of them coming to the hallway. Rogue fired a burst and kept the soldiers at bay. "I'm really sorry about this!" Rogue yelled. She turned, grabbed X by the waist and shoved her out of the doorway. They free-fell fifty feet, the wind whistling between their limbs, until they hit the roof of the forest, branches scratching them, large limbs knocking them this way and that. X hit the forest floor with a thump and Rogue rolled off of her, groaning.
"What the hell?!" X demanded, standing up and realigning her arm.
"Sorry, it was that or get shot t' Kingdom Come." Rogue replied. "If it's of any consolation, I'm hurtin' too."
"Well we need to keep moving." X said. "We need to head south."
"The town is north." Rogue said, standing up and brushing herself off.
"Exactly."
"I have a safehouse in New York, and that's north of here."
"We can not reach that—"
"X, follow my lead." Rogue said. "We don't have much time. We need to move now!"
"Sir! Sir, are you all right?" a soldier asked, running into the bullet-ridden room. Trask stood up from behind a table and groaned.
"What happened?"
"They escaped sir."
Trask took a moment to accept this fact before roaring in anger and slamming his fist on the table.
"Find them! Find them now and kill them!"
"Yes, sir!" the soldier responded, running from the room
-
X-Men: Standing Guard
Season 1 Episode Eight
"Gone Rogue"
They had been running for an hour now and were barely halfway to their destination. X-23, who had spent her life as a soldier, was growing tired. Rogue seemed tireless though. Despite her main role in the fight for their escape and the fact she hadn't stopped since they had fallen into the forest, Rogue was still moving, fast.
The two girls were currently resting in a tree, regaining some of their energy. They had been ducking in and out of foliage, doubling back, taking side paths, anything Rogue could think of to avoid being caught. Helicopters swarmed above them and soldiers were crawling through the forest. Rogue handed X a bottle of water and watched as she gulped it down.
"Rogue?" X asked.
"Shh!" Rogue responded, holding a hand over X's body. The younger girl heard nothing for a moment before soldiers crawled the path beneath them, lights on, weapons primed. They passed and Rogue waited a full minute before removing her hand.
"Rogue?" X asked again.
"Yeah?" Rogue whispered.
X hesitated.
"Spit it out."
X hesitated for a little more. "How did you do that?"
"Do what?" Rogue asked, looking around.
"Fight like that, kill with no remorse. I have never seen you like that, and those skills are not acquired by watching TV shows."
Rogue looked at her. "It ain't important. So long as I can fight."
"But—"
"Time to go." Rogue replied, jumping from the tree silently. X followed.
"Why do I have the feeling that you are avoiding the topic at hand?" X asked.
"'cause I am." Rogue replied. "Come on, let's—"
"Freeze!" troopers swarmed them on the ground. They were completely surrounded. Rogue and X-23 pressed their backs to each other. They turned, surveying the odds, then leapt at their individual targets. Rogue was slicing with her knifes, taking down three soldiers, turning and firing a shot at a fourth, downing him as well, before stabbing a fifth soldier in the chest with her knife.
X was taking care of herself. She had taken out half a dozen guards and was taking care of a seventh when one snuck up behind her, his gun ready to take her head clean off. Rogue grabbed one of her knives and threw it, impaling it in his skull. He fell to the ground with a thud. X glanced at Rogue and nodded. Rogue pulled the knife out and wiped the blood off.
"How did they know where we are?" X asked.
Rogue started thinking, but stopped, looking at X.
"What?" she asked.
"Turn around an' take yo'r shirt off." Rogue ordered.
"What?!"
"Do it!"
X hesitated, but turned and slid her shirt off. Rogue ran a finger down her spine. It took her a few times, but she eventually found it, stopping between X's shoulder-blades. She pulled out her knife.
"This is gonna hurt." Rogue warned before digging her knife into X's back and digging with it. X clamped a hand over her mouth, but still yelled out in pain. Rogue apparently finished, because she smoothed out the skin she had cut and gestured for X to turn back around.
"Whoah." X said. Rogue was holding a beeping chip, its sinister blue light flickering in the darkening forest. "They planted that in me?"
"Tracking device. Begs a lot uh questions, but for now we're gonna stab this and run."
With that, Rogue placed the chip on a rock and stabbed it.
"Damnit!" Trask yelled. "They found the chip! We're operating blind now!"
"Not necessarily, sir." One soldier replied. "They've been heading towards Philadelphia steadily for about an hour. If we can send advance troops, we can trap them when they get there."
"Not bad, soldier." Trask commented. "Do it!"
Scotland
December 24, 22:05 GMT
-
"Dad!" Rahne yelled, struggling to escape from Jean's grip at the sight of the collapse of her house.
"Rahne! Keep quiet!" Jean exclaimed.
"No!" Rahne cried out. She howled, morphed into a wolf, and darted down the hill, Jean pursuing.
Rahne darted to the ruins of her house and morphed into her were-wolf form, digging through the rubble until she found her father's body. She hauled him out and lay his head in her lap.
"Oh, daddy." She cried, tears streaming from her eyes. She heard the crowd walk up behind her, she heard several guns click. Her vision turned red and she leapt at them, growling, ripping guns and flesh from them. Someone fired a shot at her and she leapt at them, ripping their throat out in one fluid motion.
"Rahne!" Jean yelled, levitating the were-wolf off of the body. "Calm down! Look what you've done!"
Rahne stopped struggling and turned, looking at the dead man. She morphed into her human form and collapsed to the ground, staring blankly ahead.
"Quick! Some'un shoot 'er!" a voice yelled. Several guns were cocked and aimed, but before they could open fire, Jean stepped between Rahne and the village.
"Stand down!" she ordered.
"Get out of the way, missy, or yo're as good as dead!"
Jean didn't move. Someone fired and the bullet grazed her arm. Jean looked at it, running her hand over the wound, blood on her fingers, before turning back to the villagers. Her hair lifted itself up as if she was submerged in water, waving in the icy night. She levitated herself a couple of feet off the ground and extended her arms. Her eyes glowed with fire and her entire body burst into flames. The villagers backed up. If this wasn't a show of the Devil, they didn't know what was.
The flames continued to burn around Jean, not harming her. The flames spread out forming the outline of a bird. When Jean opened her mouth, it was not her voice that spoke, but that of another being, deep and echoing.
"Be gone, pitiful creatures!" she called. "This is your only warning!"
Someone stepped forward to shoot her, but Jean disintegrated them into floating pieces of ash. The villagers looked at her in astonishment.
Jean lifted herself higher into the air, flames shooting from her wings.
"I am fire! Life Incarnate Now and Forever! I am Phoenix! And you will flee before me!" At this last sentence, Jean flew down among the villagers, disintegrating some, setting others on fire, and sending the rest running back to the village. Jean watched them go with a wicked smile on her face.
Outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 24, 19:03 EST
"Down!" Rogue exclaimed, shoving X's head beneath the window of a taxi. Bullets riddled the vehicle. Rogue stood up and fired off several rounds, downing some soldiers, missing others.
"Why do you not simply use your martial arts and close-range weapons skills to kill these soldiers?" X asked.
"'cause I ain't bulletproof, sugah!" Rogue replied. She stood up and fired off a few more rounds, hitting a car and making the soldiers duck for cover.
"Comeon! Let's go!" Rogue exclaimed, running from the taxi, firing a stream of bullets at the soldiers and darting down an alley.
"Climb!" she ordered, leaping up onto a fire-escape and darting from wall-to-wall, making her way to the roof. X watched her go before extending her claws and climbing the wall, joining Rogue on the rooftop.
"Now what?" X asked.
"We need something to hide our identities, which means we need a clothing store." Rogue replied. She ran over to the edge of the building and looked down.
"There's one three buildin's over, this way." Rogue gestured. She darted over the appropriate number of buildings and jumped into the alleyway, breaking her fall by landing in the dumpster. X slid down the wall using her claws. Rogue jumped out and walked around to the front of the building. She pulled a pin from her hair and bent it.
"Watch my back, I'll pick the lock." Rogue whispered, digging the pin into the lock. X stood with her back to Rogue, watching for any movement on the streets. There was none. The lock clicked and Rogue opened the door quietly.
"Comon" she urged, ushering X inside. The two girls entered the shop and closed the door behind them. Rogue darted silently over to a rack of clothes and dug through it.
"Look for somethin' casual, but hides yo'r identity. Like a hoodie or a hat."
X walked over to a rack and picked up a hat, placing it on her head.
"Looks good on ya," Rogue whispered. "Keep it. Find a scarf and a new shirt. Yo'rs has bullet-holes in it."
The lights flickered on. Rogue and X turned to find an old lady, her hand on the light-switch and a pistol in her hand.
X gulped.
Scotland
December 24, 22:08 EST
Lance trudged along the worn path. It was dark, probably about ten or so Lance assumed. He wasn't quite sure, he had left his watch in the village. After breaking the village in half earlier, quite literally, Lance had grabbed a backpack full of supplies and made a run for it while the rest of the village headed for Sinclair's house. He felt sorry for Rahne and her father, but that was their battle and he wasn't sticking out his neck for the girl, no matter how cute she was.
The grass was moist and the path muddy. It traveled up the mountain to one of the houses Sinclair had built in case something happened. Sinclair was always looking out for his congregation, building safe-houses in the event of an emergency. The house was pretty high to avoid floods, mud-slides, avalanches, and anything else. Lance had always made jokes about it being so high, but now regretted them. His feet were sore and aching. His back hurt from the weight of his pack, carrying the essentials he would need to survive.
Lance kicked a pebble out of the way and watched it tumble down the mountain. He turned and continued walking. Rocks jutted out from the mountain in place of trees. One was near the path and Lance held out his hand, willing the rock to move. He watched it tumble down, too, smashing into a well and destroying it. Lance humphed in amusement and continued up the hill.
Someone was standing several yards up the path. He was holding something that was glowing and Lance knew immediately he didn't like the man. He was leaning on a rock and looking cleverly at Lance. As the boy neared, he saw that the man was holding a deck of cards, a bo-staff tucked under his other arm. As soon as Lance was near enough, the man stood up, tucking away the cards and twirling his staff.
"You here to rob me?" Lance asked, looking at the man suspiciously.
"No," Gambit responded. "I'm here to make you a proposal."
Lance shifted the weight of his backpack and looked at Gambit expectantly.
Gambit whistled. A breeze brushed by Lance and he found himself looking at a man in blue and white holding his backpack. "Looking for this?" the man asked.
"Hey!" Lance exclaimed, checking his back, then leaping at Quicksilver, who darted to the side.
"Give him his backpack, Pietro." A new voice commanded. Scarlet Witch descended from the sky, her palms glowing red with power.
"Here, you take it!" Pietro said, tossing it at his sister, who merely levitated it back to Lance's side.
"What the hell is this?!" Lance exclaimed.
"We, Lance, are like you. We are mutants." Gambit said, still casually standing to the side.
Lance stared at them. "What d' you want?" he asked.
"Nothin'," Gambit replied. "We're here to offer you an opportunity."
Lance raised an eyebrow, encouraging Gambit to continue.
"There's this place for mutants, where they're safe, can feel at home, don't have to hide what they are." Gambit said.
"Where?" Lance asked.
"Follow me, boy, and I will show you." Gambit replied, extending a hand.
Lance took it.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 24, 19:09 EST
The lights flickered on. Rogue and X turned to find an old lady, her hand on the light-switch and a pistol in her hand.
X gulped, moving to extend her claws, but Rogue put a firm hand on hers and stepped forward, bowing to the old lady.
"Wǒ de shǒu púrén" Rogue said. "Wǒ shì yī lì shā, méngyǒu mài kěn nà jiāo'ào"
The woman bowed. "Huānyíng nín, méngyǒu dà fūrén"
""Wǒ bèi rén zhuī shā, xūyào de yīfú. " Rogue said. "Nǐ néng bāng wǒ ma? "
The woman nodded. "Shǒuxiān, wǒ xūyào kàn dào nǐ de suǒpéi zhèngjù."
Rogue bowed once more and pulled off her hat, brushing her white strands down in front of the woman.
"Hěn hǎo, zhèyàng yī lái, yě hún"**
Rogue turned to X. "We're clear."
X unclenched her fists and walked up to Rogue. "What did you say to her? That sounded like Chinese."
Rogue smirked. "I have a way with words." She replied.
Rogue pulled the hoodie over her head, looking at herself in the mirror.
"Not bad," she commented.
"Green and white?" X asked as the old lady helped her into a jacket.
"What's wrong with that?" Rogue demanded.
"Green is spring in China." The old woman said, bowing to Rogue again. "I feel it fits you especially well."
Rogue smiled a thank you and turned back to the mirror.
She was wearing green skinny jeans, a white tank-top and green jacket. A hoodie was sewn into the jacket with white outlines. It hung low enough on Rogue's head that she could see out, but no one could see in.
"What do you think of mine?" X asked, turning in the mirror.
Rogue turned. X was wearing black jeans, a grey and black sleeveless top that seemed to conform to her body through every breath she took and muscles she flexed. Over this she wore a black motorcycle jacket and gloves. She had hints of dark red on the hat she wore on her head that matched the splashes of color in her clothes. The hat cast a shadow over her face that hid her identity without looking suspicious.
"It ain't exactly undercover," Rogue said. "But it does the job."
X turned and looked at herself in the mirror. Rogue walked over, bent down, and whispered into her ear. "You look good in it, kid."
X turned and looked at her, smiling.
A sharp rapping came at the front door.
"FBI, open up!"
Rogue glanced at the woman. "Is there another way outta here?"
The woman pointed to the back of the store.
"Xièxiè!" Rogue said, clasping her hands together and bowing. "Nǐ de fángzi de zhùfú"
The woman bowed in return. Rogue and X darted to the back of the store. There was a door leading into the alleyway. After glancing to make sure no one was outside, the two girls exited, shutting the door behind them quietly.
"Who was that? Why did she help us?" X asked. "And why did you speak to her in Chinese?"
"She's someone who owes allegiance t' me." Rogue replied, walking briskly to the edge of the alleyway and glancing out.
"Because of your hair." X said.
Rogue stood straight up and turned. "How'd you know that?"
"Her posture and attitude changed once you took off your hat and showed her your hair." X said. "You touched it when we were escaping the Project. What is it?"
"It's something fir later." Rogue replied. "We're gonna have to steal a car."
"Steal a car?" X asked.
"I ain't walkin' to New York, sugah." Rogue replied.
X sighed and rolled her eyes. Rogue glanced around the corner one more time before darting across the street. She pulled the pin out of her hair again and picked the lock on the car, gesturing for X to get in. As soon as they did, two agents walked around the corner. Rogue reached down and ripped open a panel, pulling out some wires and pressing them together.
X glanced in the mirror. The two agents were walking down the street, knocking on doors, glancing into alleyways and getting closer.
"Rogue!" X warned.
"Shut up!" Rogue hissed, holding her knife between her teeth.
"They're like five yards away."
"Hot damn!" Rogue exclaimed. The car cranked, attracting the two agents' attention.
"Hold it right there!" they yelled.
Rogue shifted gears and slammed down on the gas.
"Yeeehawwwwww!"
The yellow Ferrari sped off into the night.
-
Scotland
December 25, 00:01 GMT
-
Rahne limped up to the Blackbird, Jean lowering the ramp with her telekinesis. Jean's hands were shaky and the ramp quivered as the two boarded. It took most of her concentration just to lower the ramp, now she had to remember the process for starting up the Blackbird.
Rahne moved over to a chair and plopped down, hugging her knees, rocking. Jean glanced at her. The poor girl had lost her father, then she had killed someone, something she believed strongly against. Jean had no idea what she was going through.
Something beeped urgently on the console. Jean pressed a button and Storm's image came on-screen.
"Jean!"
"Storm?" the red-head replied, tucking her shaking hands into her jacket and sitting down.
"Where is Charles?" Storm asked.
"He and Scott are out looking for the mutant. Something went horribly wrong, Storm—"
"So you know?"
Jean looked at her. "Know what?"
"About Magneto's attack."
"What?!" Jean asked, leaning forward in the chair.
"Magneto and his army attacked an anti-mutant rally. There's a lot of people hurt and dead. The President has declared a state of emergency. Any mutants thought to be a danger are under arrest and can be held for an indefinite period. He's requested a meeting with Charles."
"Oh my God!" Jean exclaimed, then again. "Oh my God!"
"I am afraid this takes priority over a mutant recruit." Storm said.
"Yeah, yeah." Jean said. "We need to leave anyway. I'll contact Charles and Scott, tell them to get here as soon as possible. We're on our way, Storm."
The white-haired female nodded and cut the transmission.
'Professor!'
'Yes, Jean?'
'Storm just called. Magneto attacked an anti-mutant rally in Washington. The President has declared a state of emergency and all mutants are under arrest. He wants to talk with you.'
'Good Heavens!' Charles exclaimed.
'Something else happened,' Jean added, glancing at Rahne. 'I'll tell you when you get here.'
'We are on our way.'
Jean stood up and walked over to where Rahne was sitting. She looked at the little girl for a moment before sitting down and hugging her to her chest. Jean stroked her hair, staring blankly ahead. Fire flashed in her eyes.
-
Somewhere In the State of New York
December 25, 02:09 EST
-
The car sped down the empty stretch of asphalt. The sound of the engine, the vibration of the car, the feeling of the power beneath her hands; the wind blowing in her hair, the smell of burnt gasoline, the speed and the intensity; all of this got to Rogue, making her feel at home, comfortable, like she could relax. She very much enjoyed life in the fast lane. Sitting still made Rogue feel slow, sluggish, exposed, and anxious. When she was moving as she was moving now, still recovering from the adrenaline rush of battle, this was when she was happiest. She felt safe moving at high speeds, as if nothing could catch her.
Rogue glanced over at the seat next to her. X was asleep. She had taken off her jacket and draped it over her body, her head leaning against the doorframe, her eyes closed and her face peaceful, her dark hair blowing in the night wind. She had decided to rest and regain her strength while they drove, feeling, too, that they were relatively safe. Rogue smiled.
It had been a long time since Rogue had seen this many stars. She was not allowed to leave the Sentinel Project unless she was on a mission, and most of her missions took place during the day, so Rogue was unused to the vast amount of twinkling globes in the night sky. There weren't near as many stars as back home in Mississippi, or in-
The car stuttered, as if on purpose to ruin Rogue's moment and disrupt her thinking. She glanced at the dashboard. The gas tank was empty and there wasn't a gas station around. She sighed and pushed the car as far as it would go before stopping and pulling over on the side of the road. She shook X.
"Hey!"
X mumbled something and turned over sleepily. It started snowing, the white flakes falling down onto the cold ground. Some flew in and landed on X's hair.
"X! Wake up!" Rogue whispered again, shaking the girl. "We've stopped!"
X continued to sleep. Rogue sighed, stuck two fingers in her mouth, and whistled loudly. X sat up so fast and hard that she rammed her head on the roof of the car. Her claws were extended. Rogue laughed at the look on her face. Very rarely did X get caught off-guard and very rarely was she asleep when it happened. The combined mixture of surprise and sleepiness was just too much for Rogue to bear.
"Hey!" X exclaimed, desperately trying to smooth out her dark hair. "That is not amusing!"
"Kinda is." Rogue giggled. "You—You should see yo'r face!"
X scowled and continued fixing her hair, sheathing her claws.
"Why did you wake me?"
"Two things: it's Christmas, you shoulda known I'd wake ya up this early."
"Completely irrational." X huffed, sliding on her jacket again.
"Second, we've stopped. Car's outta gas. We gotta hike it from here. I'd say New York City is about…twelve miles?"
"Rogue," X said, a serious look on her face.
"Once we get there, we can take a taxi to West—"
"Rogue," X said, slightly louder and more urgently. Rogue stopped and looked at her.
"What?"
X took a deep breath. "I will not be accompanying you on this journey."
Rogue looked at her blankly for a minute. "What?"
"I can not accompany you to the Xavier Institute." X said.
"How did you—"
"I assumed, rightly so, that is where you would be heading." X replied. "I can not come with you, Rogue."
"Why the hell not?" Rogue asked, still caught completely off-guard.
"This place, it is not for me. I—You would call it a "gut feeling". My "gut" is telling me I must leave you here, that I must travel elsewhere." X tilted her head. "Does that make sense?"
Rogue just stared at her. "From anyone but you, yes."
X smiled. "I feel this is not the last we will meet, Rogue. I feel we will meet again very soon."
Rogue nodded silently. X looked at her with compassion, wiping away a tear from her face.
"Do not cry. I will always be with you and you with me." X said gently.
Rogue sniffed. "Thanks." She replied. "I just cain't stand t' see ya go!" she exclaimed, hugging the young girl tightly. X returned the embrace with as much emotion and strength. They held each other for a moment before X broke the embrace and climbed out of the car with Rogue.
"I will see you again soon, I promise." X said, the wind gathering up her hair and the snow dusting it.
Rogue nodded and bit her lip, watching X traverse into the plains. Rogue broke down and cried. X had been her only friend for the past year and a half. They had risked their lives together, fought together, spent almost every waking moment with each other. They were more than friends, they were sisters. Now hers was gone. So this was what that felt like.
Rogue cried for a little bit. Sincere and bitter weeping. She finally regained control of her emotions and took in a deep breath of the cold air. She pulled the backpack out of the car and threw it over her shoulder, trekking towards New York City.
-
Xavier Institute
December 25, 07:31 EST
-
A sharp rapping came at the door. The sound echoed around the hollow halls of the Xavier Institute, followed by silence. The knocking came a second time. Scott Summers stirred in his bed.
"Jean?" he asked sleepily, reaching over and grabbing his red-tinted sunglasses, sliding them on. The beautiful red-head wasn't there. "Jean?" he asked louder.
There was no response. Scott heard the rapping a third time and sighed. Maybe Jean had gone for a morning walk and locked herself out. He slipped on a pair of pants and some house-shoes, travelling down the long flight of stairs. The doorbell rang and the rapping once more.
"Hold on! For crying out loud, Jean it can't—"
Jean wasn't on the other side of the large, mahogany door. Lorna Dane was. Her hair was still the same fabulous green it was the day she had first shown up at the Institute. She was wearing tight jeans, snow boots, leather gloves, and a grey parka with the hood down. Her emerald eyes widened when she saw Scott standing shirtless in the doorway.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, dropping her briefcase. "Oh-Umm…"
Scott was speechless. The two stood there for a minute, just staring at each other.
"Scott!" Emma called from the kitchen, walking into the room holding a cup of tea. "Don't hold the bloody door open like that! Who's—Oh. Hello."
Emma was wearing a pair of white, fluffy pajamas, her bright blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was carrying a cup of hot English tea and stopped cold when she saw Lorna standing in the doorway. There was a quiet moment shared between the three of them before Emma pulled them all back into reality.
"Well don't just stand there! Help her with her packages and see what she wants!" Emma exclaimed. She walked into the dining room. "And close the bloody door!"
"Uhh—sorry." Scott said, reaching for Lorna's suitcase, picking it up. "Needless to say, we weren't expecting you—Professor!"
"I'm sorry if I'm intruding—"
"No, no! Not at all! I thought you left with Magneto, though…Professor!"
"I did. After…do you mind if I discuss this with Professor Xavier first?" Lorna asked.
"Of course not!" Scott replied. He turned and yelled louder. "Professor! Someone is here to see you!"
Scott closed the door and ushered Lorna into the dining room with Emma.
"Sorry to rush out, but I'm going to put on a shirt and see where Jean is." Scott said. "You two behave yourselves."
Emma nodded with a smile and Lorna watched Scott jog up the stairs. Emma watched her with concern before taking another sip from her tea.
"He was going to ask her this morning, you know." She said into her tea.
Lorna looked at her. "Oh no! I wasn't—It's just he reminds me so much of Alex…"
"Mmnn" Emma replied into her tea.
Xavier rolled out of his bedroom and into the dining room. "Scott? Who—Hello, Lorna!"
"Hello, Professor." Lorna replied.
"It's good to see you! I hope you weren't waiting for too long, we've all had a bit of a rough evening I'm afraid."
"No, not too long." Lorna replied with a smile. She stood in silence for a second. "I hope it's not too much to ask if I re-join the X-Men?"
"No! Of course not!" Charles replied. "You are always welcome here, Lorna. Although, I did believe you had left with Erik."
"I did." She replied. "After that horrible attack on the rally, though, I changed my mind. He mis-lead me and many others. I don't want to be a part of that anymore."
"Well I'm glad you have decided to return to us, Lorna. We'll have your bags taken up in a moment and you can have your old room back. For now, however, warm yourself by the fire and have something to drink. Emma?"
"Jean? Jean where did you go?" Scott called.
"Shh!" the voice came in reply. Scott followed it into Rahne's room. The young girl was curled up to Jean, soft asleep. Jean was holding her, rocking her gently.
"Lorna's back." Scott whispered, walking over to Jean.
"I hope you didn't answer the door like that." Jean whispered, a snarky smile on her face.
Scott blushed.
"Scott Summers!"
"I thought it was you!"
Jean giggled softly, running her hand through Rahne's hair. "Well, I'll be down in a minute." She looked back at Rahne, still stroking her hair.
Scott smiled, standing up. He reached over and brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, kissing it gently before descending back downstairs.
"Like we've got kids already." Scott grinned.
"Professor! We're going to be late for the President. That's not a good way to save our species."
"Just a moment, Scott." Charles called.
Jean descended the stairs, smiling at Scott. She was still wearing her pajamas, her red hair messy. She walked into the kitchen and let out a small exclamation. "Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! I didn't see you there, Lorna!"
Scott grinned. Charles rolled out of his room and smiled.
"Shall we be going?" he asked.
"Actually!" Storm called, running up next to Charles. "Scott, I think you should stay here and I'll go with Charles. I believe you have a Christmas gift to deliver?"
Scott blushed.
Charles smiled, patting him on the shoulder. "Best of luck, m'boy."
Storm wheeled him out of the house.
Scott watched them go, shutting the door behind them. He pulled a small velvet box from his pocket and glanced at it. He clicked it open and looked at the object inside.
"Scott?" Jean called.
The brown-haired mutant closed it with a click, sliding it into his back pocket. "Yes?"
"Come on! Emma cooked waffles!"
"British waffles?" Scott asked, making a face.
"American." Jean replied with a smile.
"That I can live with." Scott replied. He offered his arm to Jean. "M'lady?"
Jean took it with a smile and they strode into the kitchen. Scott directed her to the end of the table and pulled out her chair. He sat down next to her and let out an exclamation as Emma set a plate of waffles in front of him.
"Oh come on, they're not that bad!" she exclaimed.
"No! It's this blasted thing I forgot to take out!" Scott said, pulling out the velvet box. "Jean, hold onto this for a while, wouldya?" he asked, handing it to her.
Emma looked at him with a clever smile and strode quickly to her end of the table, not wanting to miss the show.
Scott dug into his waffles like nothing had happened. Jean looked at the box carefully, her heart fluttering. She picked it up gently and opened it. She gasped and covered her mouth.
"Oh, Scott!"
Scott reached over and pulled the ring out, getting down on one knee in front of her. "Jean Elaine Grey, will you marry me?"
Jean stared at him, one hand over her mouth, the other over her chest. She was having difficulty breathing. Something jarbled came from behind her hand.
"What?" Scott asked.
Jean was close to hyperventilating. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Scott leapt up and embraced her tightly before pressing his lips to hers and kissing fiercly.
Emma and Lorna applauded, cheering loudly for the couple. They were too absorbed in themselves to notice.
-
Washington, D.C.
December 25, 1:00 EST
-
The doors to the Oval Office opened and Charles Xavier rolled in with Ororo Monroe.
"Charles." McCoy said, standing up, coming around to the front of his desk and shaking the elderly man's hand. "Ororo, it is good to see you again."
"You too, Mr. President." Ororo responded.
"Thank you both for coming. I'm sure you are very concerned about the state of emergency. Depending on how this meeting goes, it should be lifted directly afterwards." McCoy said, returning to his chair.
"Mr. President?" Charles asked, not quite sure what he was talking about.
Vice President Robert Kelly strode in with his assistant. She glanced at the two with a polite smile, her eyes flashing yellow. Charles' eyes widened slightly, but he kept it to himself. He knew not who this mutant was, and he wasn't about to reveal her to her mutant-hating boss.
"Oh." Ororo said, her entire attitude shifting. "Mr. Vice President." She greeted coldly, emphasizing the word "vice".
"Mr. Kelly is here to provide a second opinion. You, Professor Xavier, represent the mutants. Mr. Kelly here represents humans. I will be a neutral third party, listen to both sides, and make up my mind on whether or not to lift the mutant ban currently in place." McCoy leaned back in his chair. "Oh, and try not to get too loud. The Secret Service are very touchy people."
-
New York City
December 25, 2:30
-
Rogue took another bite out of her sandwich. She had walked the entire way into New York City. Her feet were exhausted from walking, her body was exhausted from all of the fighting, her mind was exhausted from the stress, her eyes, too, were exhausted from crying. Rogue had found somewhere to eat and she still had a few safe-houses around the city she could stay for somewhere to sleep. She needed rest. She had fought and traveled and cried enough. What she needed after she got done eating was a good long nap. Besides, it was Christmas.
A police car pulled up outside of the diner and the two officers got out. They walked in, glancing around. One of the officers glanced at Rogue for perhaps a little too long, but Rogue passed it off as her mind playing tricks on her. She didn't need any more fighting right now. The officers walked up and stood in line. One of them touched his shoulder radio. Rogue set down her sandwich, watching him carefully. He turned back around and glanced at her casually and returned to waiting patiently in line.
Rogue stood up. It was time for her to go. She tossed down a few dollars as a tip and headed towards the front door as nonchalantly and quickly as possible.
Police cars screeched up outside of the diner followed by a SWAT van. The SWAT team lined up outside of the window, their rifles aimed at the shop.
"Hold your fire!" One of the officers inside yelled over the noise of panic inside the shop. "Hold your fire! We have civilians in here!"
Rogue turned and threw two knives with expert precision. They sliced the officer's belts off, causing all of their weapons to fall to the ground. Rogue ran up and kicked them both in the chest, knocking them off of their feet. She grabbed both of their wrists and held her thumb sharply over that specific point. The officers slipped into unconsciousness.
Rogue stood up. She refused to kill police officers. They were simply doing their jobs. The people at the Sentinel Project were trained killers who had no remorse, but these men were good people…well…some of them at least.
Rogue walked over to the door and glanced out. There were at least half a dozen officers and a full SWAT team outside. There was no way she was getting out of this without a scratch. Hell, she might not get out of this at all.
"Agent Rogue, put down your weapon and come out with your hands in the air!" an officer shouted.
"Like hell." She whispered. She glanced around for anything she could use. She needed something, a distraction maybe… Rogue glanced at the backdoor. The officers would be coming up from behind. She darted over, pushing a chair up against the door and locking it. She looked at the unconscious officers and their belts, an idea coming into her head. She grabbed both of their guns and one of the belts.
Darting back over to the doorway, Rogue slung the belt at the window, shattering it. A few shots were fired, but quickly ceased. Rogue pulled out one of the officer's pistols, carefully aiming it. The SWAT officers had no clue where she was, which gave her an advantage. She practiced aiming on three of the officers multiple times to make sure she had the motion down.
Rogue fired once, twice, three times. Each time she hit a SWAT officer in their shoulder, disabling them from using their guns. The SWAT officers turned and fired at Rogue's position, shattering what remained of the glass and part of the doorframe. She slid back, cringing as bullets streaked past. One grazed her arm, drawing a trickle of blood. She held her gun around the outside of the doorframe and fired blindly until all she heard was clicking. Rogue dropped it and fired with the other one. She had no clue how many officers she was downing, if any, and no clue how much damage she was doing.
An idea came to Rogue's mind. She darted low and out of sight back to where the two unconscious officers lay. Rogue picked up her knives, sliding them back into the sheaths under her sleeves. She darted back over to the doorway and threw her guns out of the window.
"Hold on! I quit! Uncle! Uncle!"
Rogue pulled her pistol out of her holster and tucked it into the back of her jeans, pulling her shirt down over it to where it was almost invisible. Raising her hands, she opened the door of the diner and walked out.
SWAT placed their sights on her, and she walked slowly out to the middle of the semi-circle they had formed. She analyzed. Out of the dozen and a half officers that had shown up, only six were down, none with life threatening injuries. There were only seven swat officers and five regular officers, two of which were tending to their fellow officers.
"Hands on top of your head! Get down on your knees!" the SWAT captain ordered. Rogue smiled and placed her hands on top of her head, kneeling down. With the rest of SWAT keeping their weapons trained on her, two officers approached her, one with handcuffs. He bent down and went to place them on her.
"Sugah, I really am sorry 'bout this." Rogue said.
"Keep an eye on her," the first officer said to his partner. "I don't like this little bitch one bit."
Rogue smiled surly. "I'll have ya know, I really don't like that word."
With that said, Rogue kicked the partner's legs out from under him, spun, grabbed the first officer, put him into a headlock and got behind him, using him as a human shield before SWAT could fire.
Rogue reached with one boot and snapped his kneecap. He yelled in pain.
"That was for callin' me a bitch." She whispered into his ear. "Coulda been avoided."
"Agent Rogue!" the SWAT captain called. "Stand down!"
"Don't hold ya breath!" Rogue replied. "Y'all wearin' y'alls vests?"
The officers glanced at one another inquisitorially. Rogue rolled her eyes at their stupidity and shoved the first officer forward, firing a round into his back with his own pistol that she had slid from his holster when she snapped his knee.
Pulling her pistol from the back of her jeans, Rogue leapt behind a concrete barrier and fired, dual wielding, at the officers, downing six more officers. She went to shoot another officer, but heard only clicking.
"Well, shit."
Sliding her own gun back into her holster and slid the knives out of her holster. Rogue leapt over the barrier, darting behind a police car. She slid around one side and stabbed the officer huddled there in both shoulders. She grabbed his taser, ran, threw both knives, one per officer, kicked a third officer in the chest, knocking him backwards, stabbed two more SWAT members with the taser, punched the Captain in the throat, hard, and knocked out the final officer with a sharp right cross.
Rogue grinned, gasping for air. She retrieved her knives, sliding them back into her sheaths and reloaded her gun as well as disarming all of the officers. Unfortunately for her, more squad cars screeched around the corner. She ducked behind the SWAT van as officers drove up and opened fire. Rogue turned around a corner and fired multiple rounds, downing only three officers.
"They don't make handguns like they used to." She muttered, trying to adjust to the kick of the Captain's pistol. She pulled out her own and downed five more officers with as many shots.
Officers with shotguns and semi-automatics opened fire on her position, causing her to duck back behind the van again. She was breathing hard and was almost out of bullets again. She was running out of options. Maybe she could hijack the truck…
Rogue heard an officer yell out in pain and the loud noise of a motorcycle engine. She glanced around the corner to see a masculine-looking woman with an eye-patch swinging a sword at officers. Rogue watched as three more disfigured mutants joined her and took down all of the officers.
Rogue stepped out from behind the SWAT van, her guns still in hand and ready to fire.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The woman with the eyepatch turned to Rogue, sheathing her sword. "I am Calypso, and we are the Morlocks." She gestured to the mutants next to her.
"I've heard of you." Rogue said. "Some kinda mutant terrorist group, right?"
"We only protect mutants from oppressive saps."
"Saps? Now there's a term I haven't heard in a while." Rogue said. Saps stood for homo-sapien. It was a rather crude term, one Rogue preferred not to use.
More police officers screeched around the corner. They came to a stop and opened fire on the bands of mutants. Calypso pulled out her own pistol and shot two of them in the chest.
"Hey!" Rogue shouted. She fired as well, hitting the officers in the shoulders and downing them. She turned to Calypso with a pointed glare. "We gotta go! More are on their way. We can lose 'em in the sewers!"
"No!" Calypso returned. "We will fight them here, show them that mutants will stand strong against the human oppression! We will show them that mutants will—"
"Will you shut up with yo'r speeches already?" Rogue demanded. "We ain't killin' any more police officers! They're just doing their jobs!"
"I understand if you don't want to kill, perhaps you can't, but—"
"Honey, I can kill just fine. I got a lotta bodies under my belt, too many for my tastes, but I can certainly as hell kill. These men are doin' their jobs though. They don't deserve to die!"
Calypso held out a hand and one of her cronies handed her a rocket launcher.
"Calypso!" Rogue warned.
Calypso brought up the rocket to aim as more squad cars rounded the corner, this time an impossible amount.
"Don't do it!" Rogue warned.
Calypso's finger hovered above the trigger, Rogue's didn't. The one-eyed mutant froze, the rocket launcher falling from her hands. She looked over at the red spot on her tank-top's shoulder and collapsed, her allies catching her.
Rogue sighed, closing her eyes and returning the gun to her holster. She took a deep breath before darting to a running squad car and driving off quickly, leaving the mutants to fend for themselves.
X-Men: Standing Guard will return shortly
AN: I hope you enjoyed this episode! It's the last episode this season that won't be a huge episode. Starting next week, the stakes get even higher! Please check back tomorrow for the EPILOGUE to this episode, come back Saturday for an Author's Review, and Sunday for an exclusive preview from next week's episode!
As you might have noticed, I'm doing two new things for the rest of this season: an epilogue and an Author's Review.
The Epilogue to the episode is like a post-credits scene, but one that is very important for the next episode, so it's still just as critical to read as the full episode. That will be out tomorrow, check it out!
The Author's Review is a short article re-capping what happened in this episode, what it means for the plot and characters, what's next for the series, any easter eggs, etc. Check that out Saturday!
As usual if you enjoyed the episode and want to see the series continue, please leave a review! It lets me know that the series is enjoyed. If we get to fifty reviews, I'll publish a Season 2 of the series. If you really enjoy the series and want to know more, check out my profile where I have episode titles, synopsis, release dates, and more as well as updates on the series. For round-the-clock updates, notifications, and exclusive previews, follow me on Twitter (link on profile)! That—That—That's all folks!