2 January

"Do not Enter"

Rogue rolled over in her bed before pulling her knees up to her chest. The mansion had a warm atmosphere despite the chilling winds outside battling the extensive climate control of the inside. Still, Rogue was used to southern weather, where it was typically still warm during the winter with more moderate winter weather. New York was a completely different animal.

No one had bothered to wake her up a decent hour, and most of the other inhabitants of the mansion avoided her after her display at midnight the day before. Most of them. A couple still acknowledged her presence, and fewer still tried to engage her in conversation. She was more or less left to her own devices. She was certain that once school rolled around - she was told it would start up again on the ninth - the avoidance of these particular children would cease to exist. People tended to navigate towards their like, and since this was a more or less closed community, Rogue would eventually fit in, even if with only the kids at the mansion.

More challenges to the setting rhythm shook Rogue's life. A hurried knock at her door caused Rogue to peek her head out from under the covers to see someone crack her door open. A girl a couple years older than Rogue and with blazing red hair stood in the hallway, her hand on the door handle. "Hi. I didn't wake you, did I?"

Rogue refrained from rolling her eyes. "Nah, I was just layin' about."

The girl didn't appear to be convinced, but she had a goal in mind. "Sorry. The professor wants you in his office whenever you're ready. Although I suggest you go meet with him soon."

"Ah'm decent. Be there in a few."

The girl nodded her head and left, leaving the door wide open. Sighing to herself, Rogue clambered out of bed, quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and exchanged her nightshirt for something more acceptable. Glancing at herself quickly in the mirror to check and see if her hair was under control, she exited her room and wandered down the hall. She brushed her fingers through the minor knots as she walked to better her appearance before she stood before the professor's door.

"Come in," he voiced from the other side of the closed door. Rogue blinked at his impromptu response when she had thought she was moving quietly. Gripping the door handle, she slipped inside, closing the door quietly behind her. "Good morning, Rogue," he greeted. Rogue hadn't thought that she had told him to call her Rogue in place of Anna Marie.

"'Morning, professor," she mumbled in response. "Ah heard you needed me?"

"Yes. I'm sure you've noticed by now that this school isn't normal."

Rogue was sure that the two of them had been over this when she first arrived. Of course it wasn't normal; that was the reason why someone with her particular talents was housed in the mansion instead of sticking with her foster mother. "Yeah." She might as well grace him with a response.

"Before the regular school curriculum starts this year, I'd like to introduce you to a little project," Professor Xavier continued.

She didn't know what to think. "Okay."

"Come, child, follow me." He wheeled himself away from his desk, through the room, and waited at the door. "Would you mind opening the door? I could manage, but -"

"Sure," Rogue interrupted, striding past him to open it wide enough for him to pass. "Where are we goin'?"

"You'll see," Xavier replied vaguely. He zipped past her to an elevator, pressing the button in order for the doors to open. Once inside, he pressed a button to take the pair to a lower level, one he had told Rogue where the more boring aspects of the secondary school was located. Rogue hadn't seen the basement before, but it certainly wasn't what she was expecting. The hallways were made of a shiny metal, almost reflecting their images back at them. Xavier, unperturbed by the environment, continued to lead Rogue to a specific room. "This is the observation room," he told the girl.

Rogue walked up to the large bay-type window at the end of the room, peering through the glass into the massive room below. "What room is that?"

"We fondly call it the Danger Room," he answered. "Inside is the senior team preparing for a training session."

"They sure are dressed funny." Rogue snickered at their tight ware. Six students congregated in the middle of the room, only a couple of which she actually recognized. The burly boy from before was in there, as was the red head that fetched Rogue from her room.

"You see, this school is more than a secondary school," Xavier plowed forth as if Rogue had never interrupted him. "Every one of us has a special power" Rogue tossed him an alarmed look. 'You are not alone, Rogue,' he said. Though he didn't actually say it; his mouth never moved. Instead, Rogue heard his voice inside his head.

"Ah ... Ah don't get it," Rogue stammered.

"Inside of this school, we learn how to use our powers and how to work in a team to benefit mankind," the professor continued. "They are called the X-Men."

"They ain't so manly." Rogue cast another glance down into the room, her eyes catching on the stark white wings of a blond headed boy. She hadn't seen him in the living room with everyone else - everyone that looked normal - the night before. "Her especially." Her eyes flicked from the winged boy to the red headed girl.

"Jean? She was a little later to join the team." Xavier turned the wall-sized console, which Rogue guessed was to control the Danger Room below. He typed a few things in to the program, and then spoke into a microphone in order to explain the scenario to the children. Rogue heard a man with a visor over his eyes shout back an affirmative before he turned to the team.

"Professor? Will Ah evah be doin' that?" she questioned, finding the idea a little exciting once she got past the idea of not being alone. She couldn't touch people, but that winged boy probably couldn't just walk around in the city with those large wings attached to his back.

"In time, yes," Xavier responded. "But until then, you are not allowed in the Danger Room. Once we start training you, you may only enter with supervision. Do you understand?"

Rogue nodded, her eyes still glued to the crowd below. One of the boys, taller than everyone else, had a glimmering skin, almost like the walls of the hallways outside. "Yeah. Ah'm not fixin' ta do it anytime soon."