Rogue gasped, clenching her hand weakly to her side. She could feel her blood flowing out. She was too weak to clamp down on the wound. She had lost her watch, it was some three feet away. All she could do was stare at it, she couldn't feel her legs anymore. The blades had pierced her spine. She couldn't crawl to the watch to activate the emergency beacon. She was trapped, bleeding out on the floor, her breath stuttered, she was losing the ability to breathe. Her heart slowed, she could feel it. The dark form of her killer stood over her. How could they have done this to her? She should never have lied…

Her heart stopped beating.
-

Rogue gasped, sitting straight up in the bed. Her heart beat at an extremely fast rate. She was sweaty, her thin sheets twisted around her body. She had been squirming again. She had a knife in her hand, she must have grabbed it instinctively while she was asleep.

Six Months Ago
-

Rogue sighed and placed the knife back on her nightstand. She hated this dream. Always the same one: the first time she had trained with McKenna.

-
The forest was dark, leaves covering the ground. Rogue made entirely too much noise as she ran from her attacker. A second arrow flew past the girl and she gasped, stumbling slightly, and fell face first into a tree-stump. She scrambled up, but tripped again, falling on her back and looking at the archer in black and red approaching her. Rogue, without her signature white stripes, wasn't done yet. She kicked at the archer's legs, giving her enough time to stand up. The archer already had her bow trained back on Rogue. The red-head eyed the lethal, pointy tip of the arrow.

"Yield," the provocative voice ordered.

"Make me," Rogue growled.

The archer smirked beneath her mask and adjusted the arrow to remind Rogue of its proximity.

Rogue smiled and ducked low, the archer re-aiming and firing. Rogue jumped into the air, grabbed a tree-branch, and kicked at the archer. The hooded female caught her leg, however, and jerked her down, tossing her to the ground. Rogue kicked her bow out of her hand and attempted to flee again. The female archer fell on top of Rogue, pinning her legs down. Rogue swatted with her fists. The archer held those down, too.

"You refuse to yield."

"That ain't how I do things where I'm from." Rogue growled, still struggling fruitlessly.

"You never heed my advice."

"I don't need yo're stupid advice." Rogue growled again. "I'm fine on m' own!"

"And yet," the archer stood up, releasing Rogue. "You fail every time we battle."

Rogue narrowed her eyes. The girl laughed, tugging off her hood and mask, revealing a soft face with a pointy chin and deep brown eyes. Her hair, too, was brown and done in curls except for three black, straight stripes on either side of her head.

"It ain't funny."

"I have discovered the name by which I am going to call you."

Rogue raised an eyebrow. "Well don't keep me in suspense."

"Introductions. I am McKenna Pryde, of the rank Kyoshi. I hereby officially take you as my apprentice and name you ye haizi."

"Yay what?" Rogue asked.

McKenna laughed. "Ye Haizi, it means "stubborn one"."

Rogue narrowed her eyes again, staring at McKenna. Slowly she smiled.

"So what do I call you?" she asked.

"That is something you will learn in time, ye haizi." McKenna replied, turning and walking off. "Return with me to the main fortress and drink."
-

Rogue descended the stairs of the Xavier Institute. She had tugged on a bathrobe and tied it tightly around her waist, covering as much of her body as she could. Ever since her loss of powers, Rogue had been more conservative in her dressing. She couldn't afford to drain someone. Rogue's slippers made soft noises on the stairs. She sighed and glanced at the clock on the oven in the kitchen as she entered. Four in the morning. It was like a routine now. So many nightmares, so many sleepless nights.

Rogue walked over to the refrigerator and opened it, pulling out a pint of milk and pouring some in a cup. She grabbed a packet of instant cocoa and mixed it up in the drink, sipping the chocolate cold. Rogue turned to sit down at the table when she spotted a flickering light in the next room. It was obviously the television, but who would be up at this time of the night (or morning depending on your point of view)? Rogue walked in the room and glanced at the television. The channel kept switching. A nature documentary, a cop show, shopping network, the channels flicked by in a matter of seconds. The channel stopped on In the Heat of the Night.

"That is your favorite show." A voice came from the couch.

"How'd ya know I was up?" Rogue asked, walking around front and sitting next to Lara.

"I heard your slippers on the stairway." Lara replies, perfect grammar as usual. She doesn't move her eyes from the television. Rogue notes they, too, have dark spots under them.

"M' slippers gave me away?" Rogue asked.

"No, your opening the milk and chocolate did."

Rogue nods and takes a sip of her drink.

"What are you doin' up?"

"I…" Lara seems hesitant, something Rogue has only seen once before: Lara's first undercover mission, back when they worked with the Sentinel Project and her name was X-23.* "I, too, could not sleep."

"Dreams?" Rogue asked.

Now Lara looks at her. "How did you know this fact?"

"I guessed." Rogue admitted. "What are the dreams about?"

Lara hesitated. "What of your dreams?" she retorted.

"So stalemate it is, then." Rogue replied, turning to the television and watching as Sherriff Gillespie and Mr. Tibbs fought it out.

Lara flips the channels again as the show goes to commercial break. The next channel is a news one and Rogue lays a hand on Lara's sleeve, indicating she stop. Lara turns up the volume so they can hear it.

"…six month anniversary of the Days of Future Past event. Yes, it's hard to believe, but six months ago mutants traveled through time to save President Robert Kelly from assassination by mutant terrorist Erik Lenscherr, aka Magneto."

"Once a terrorist, always a terrorist." Rogue muttered.

"While the initial aftershock of the event shattered mutant-human relations and battles between mutants and Sentinels broke out all over the nation, a peace treaty was ratified by President Kelly and Charles Xavier of the Xavier Institute. This treaty brought fighting on a major scale to a halt as well as many anti-mutant legislation in Congress. America's move has inspired many countries around the world, although Russia, Iran, and North Korea are still proceeding with their Sentinel Programs despite global outrage."

All of the Sentinels had been destroyed during that fateful night. Not a single one remained. As far as S.H.I.E.L.D. could tell, Lara had been successful at wiping the AI and blueprints from Trask Industries. Rumor had gone around that President Kelly had visited Trask Industries just two days before Larry Trask's tragic car crash that killed his entire family, but that was never proved.

"Startling news broke earlier this week that Worthington Labs was developing a "cure to mutants". While Worthington Labs founder and CEO Warren Worthington II declined to comment, sources close to the Labs state that Worthington is mere weeks away from developing the cure. The Senate Mutant-Affairs committee is expected to call Mr. Worthington in front of them later this week to discuss breaches in the mutant-human peace treaty. S.H.I.E.L.D. will not be in attendance."

"They're still cleanin' up their ranks." Rogue informed Lara. "So many damn HYDRA agents…"

"It is startling how deeply S.H.I.E.L.D. was infiltrated." Lara replied. "I am surprised the World Committee did not disband them."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is too valuable." Rogue replied. "'sides, Alexander Pierce was HYDRA, so the Committee ain't got rights to do any disbandin'."
-

Amara crept down the stairs quietly, giggling, Kitty right behind her. The two girls crept across the living room to where Lara and Rogue were asleep, Lara's head resting gently on Rogue's shoulder. Amara giggled and moved Lara's hand into the open, spraying whipped cream onto it. The two girls giggled quietly as Lara shifted in her sleep. Kitty grinned and handed the feather duster to Amara. The two girls stood up and backed away behind the couch, standing behind it. Amara held the feather close to Lara's face and tickled it against her nose. Lara scrunched her nose and kept sleeping. Amara giggled and tickled Lara's nose again. Lara planted the whipped cream in her face. The moment it came in contact with her face, she sat straight up, looking around for an attacker. Kitty and Amara laughed outright and darted down the hall.

"Kitty! Amara!" Lara roared. She chased off after the girls who screamed hysterically.

All of the noise had awoken Rogue. The red-head checked her hands for whipped cream before rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She stood up and readjusted the bathrobe, brushing her red hair behind her shoulders, and walking into the kitchen.

Rogue had grown out her hair over the summer. It now hung down near her elbows, curling slightly at the ends. She had kept up the white streaks in her hair, using the special way in which McKenna had dyed it to dye it again. She still looked like the same old Rogue, except much more tired.

"Rogue!" Jean exclaimed. "Good morning!"

Rogue smiled and sat down, exhausted. Jean placed a plate of pancakes down in front of her and Rogue bit into them.

"Where are Kitty, Amara, and Lara? I could have sworn they were up."

"Oh… they're out getting' their mornin' exercise." Rogue replied deviously. Something shattered in the next room and Jean sighed, placing her head in her hands.

Rogue smiled.

"Good morning, everyone." Erik greeted, walking into the kitchen. Ever since the Days of Future Past incident, Erik and the other mutants had returned with him to the Xavier Institute. Erik was currently working on setting up a mutant school in Genosha, a subsidiary of the Xavier Institute, but it was taking some time. Many of the older, and younger, students who had families and were mostly in their powers, had returned home for the first part of the school-year until the secondary academy opened. It was much easier to be a mutant now with the peace treaty in effect. Not everyone followed it, but most people had just been looking for a side to take.

"No muffins, Erik." Rogue stated through a mouth full of food. "I hate English food."

"You just have no taste." Erik replied, grabbing three muffins and putting them on his plate.

"Oh, I got taste," Rogue replied, pointing her fork at him. "Yo're the one who says everything funny and eats funny food…"

"Why thank you, Rogue, I speak funny too." Charles said, rolling into the room.

"Sorry, Prof." Rogue mumbled.

Charles smiled and gestured for Erik to grab him a muffin as well. "Rogue, the Principal at the local high-school wishes to speak with you…again."

"What'd Lara do this time?" Rogue asked.

"Her boyfriend claims she dislocated his shoulder when he tried to kiss her."

Lara walked in the room at this moment, breathing deeply with a big grin on her face.

"Is that true, X?" Rogue asked. She still referred to the clone in passing as "X".

"Is what true?"

"Did you dislocate ya boyfriend's shoulder when 'e tried t' kiss ya?"

"First, and foremost," Lara said, heaping scrambled eggs onto her plate. "He is not my boyfriend. I do not have one. To answer your question, I did dislocate his shoulder. He was getting too…aggressive."

"Good girl." Rogue replied, taking a bite out of her pancakes.

"Rogue!" Jean exclaimed. "You can't condone that type of behavior!"

"Why the hell not?" Rogue demanded. "She's got t' learn t' stand up for herself!"

"What'd she do now?" Jubilee asked, walking into the kitchen with messy, spiky hair and a loose pair of pajamas on.

"Dislocated some guy's shoulder." Jean exclaimed.

"Good girl." Jubilee grinned, rubbing Lara's hair. Lara laughed and leaned her head into it, growling like an animal. Jubilee burst out laughing.

"See?" Rogue asked, gesturing at Jubilee.

"Jubilee isn't the best person to be taking advice from." Jean sighed. "Besides, you are her official guardian now, you have to act like one."

Rogue sighed and set her fork down, watching as Lara grabbed a glass of orange juice and sat down at the table.

"Lara, I do agree with Jean on this one."

"That is a surprise." Lara noted, taking a sip from her drink.

"Ya have t' be careful the way you react. Kissin' doesn't deserve a dislocated shoulder. Ask, try t' get away, then if he still ain't got the picture, kick 'is ass an' I'll be fine with it."

Lara sighed. "I still do not understand how all of the boys at school do not get the point that I am not interested in…"going out"."

"Boobs." Rogue responded. "Trumps everything else."

Jubilee laughed and pointed her fork at Rogue with a mouth full of food. "She's got a point."

Rogue smiled and Jean sighed.

"So, Jean, where's Scott?" Rogue asked. "All tuckered out from a night of…refreshing activity?"

"Don't be gross, Rogue." Jean replied. "I'm letting him sleep in this morning. He's tired. He deserves it."

"I'm sure." Rogue muttered with a devious smile, leaning into her breakfast. She grabbed Lara's glass and took a deep drink out of it, setting it back down.

"Did you guys see the news report this morning?" Jean asked, changing the subject.

"Last night." Rogue corrected. "If any of y'all stayed up for the eleven news, you'd've seen it."

Jean rolled her eyes.

"I saw it." Erik started. "You know that President Kelly, who shouldn't even be in office, provided military funding to Worthington? No doubt trying to get that blasted cure of his off the ground."

"We have no proof, Erik." Charles said.

"Proof my ass. I ought to go up there and show them what they're trying to cure."

"Which would only encourage them." Charles pointed out.

"Please—" Rogue said. "I've got a headache, and we've already got enough to deal with."

"I have a feeling it's gonna be a long, chaotic next few months."
-

-
X-Men: Standing Guard
Season 2, Episode One
"In Need of an Angel"
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