OMG you guys. I just typed up the outline- JUST the outline - in size 11 font, single spaced lines, no breaks and mostly one line per bullet point of "action"/scenes in each day/chapter/gift/event, and it took… are you ready…?
SIX Pages! Just for an OUTLINE! And the best part? The few chapters I've already written don't even take up the first half page…
BWAHAHA! This "short story" just morphed itself into something much hairier. But, I'm determined, and motivated, and PRAYING I won't give up this time.
And, if I don't keep making progress on writing, I'll just post the outline so you don't have to wait forever to find out what happens..
PLEASE leave reviews! I want to know how each chapter fits with the story line, if the characters need work, if the dialogue and action flows well, etc. Oh, and if you have suggestions for a better chapter title, I'd love to hear it. This one isn't working for me.
Love and light,
Wiccamage
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It was Wednesday - FINALLY, the last day of school before Winter Break - and Rogue, Kurt, and Kitty were walking home in the unseasonably warm weather.
"I so don't want to do Logan's outdoor "mudroom" session today," Kitty whined as the three trudged along the road, passing the park where the accumulated snow was quickly melting.
"Ja," Kurt agreed, "I don't understand why we have to learn to maneuver in snow and mud. I mean, really, of all the times we've been in fights almost ALL of them were in cities and streets, and it's not like snow and mud are THAT much harder to fight in..."
Rogue smirked, but said nothing, taking in the beauty of the little park that was just a small portion of the picturesque woods that surrounded the northern end of Bayville. It was one of her favorite places to come and think when life at the Institute became too loud, claustrophobic, or overwhelming.
"Besides," Kitty continued in the same pouty tone. "It's too cold! Nobody gets into fights when it's this cold!"
Rogue rolled her eyes and sighed. "Kit, it's like, 45 out here, that's plenty warm enough."
"Not once we get started," The petite brunette interjected. She kicked a small stone, sending it skittering across the road. "Logan wants it down to like, 10 below 0."
"The Professor's not gonna let it get that cold. He wouldn't send everyone home with frostbite and pneumonia." Rogue argued. "And Storm's the one controlling the weather, anyway. She's not nearly as 'cold' as Wolverine."
Kurt and Kitty paused for a moment, unsure if Rogue was actually making a real joke. When the Southerner chuckled and threw a small, self-satisfied smile over her shoulder at her friends, they couldn't help but laugh along.
After a few minutes of quiet walking, Kurt sighed again.
"Do you know how hard it is to get mud out of my fur?!"
The girls giggled again as they came up to the gates of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Storm was waiting for them halfway up the drive. She gave them a knowing smile.
"Decided to take advantage of the warmer weather, I see."
The three high school seniors nodded sheepishly.
"And," the weather witch continued, "it wouldn't have anything to do with delaying Wolverine's training session?"
When the teens said nothing, Ororo looked amused. "Most of the others are already around back. Logan has requested you wear your civilian clothes for this exercise, so you can go ahead and join the others right away."
"Oh man!" Kurt moaned. "I'll be taking a shower 'til Christmas!"
Kitty pouted again. "But, I love this coat!" she lamented, but begrudgingly headed toward the back with Kurt.
Rogue hitched her backpack farther up on her shoulder and started to join her friends when Ororo gently touched Rogue's arm, stopping her.
"Rogue," she began with a quick eye to Kitty and Kurt, "might I have a word with you for a moment?" The white haired X-man waved the others on. "Go on ahead you two. Please let Logan know that he should get started. Rogue will catch up in a few minutes."
The three exchanged confused glances, but Kurt and Kitty nodded silently and continued walking.
With her hand still on Rogue's arm, Ororo guided the 18 year old toward the lobby of the mansion where Professor Xavier was waiting. Rogue looked nervously between the two adults.
Xavier smiled reassuringly. "There's no need to look so alarmed, Rogue, we were just curious to see how you are doing. Have you had any more trouble with that voice you heard?"
Rogue shook her head no. "It's actually been pretty quiet up there. Even the other psyches haven't been as troublesome lately. Not sure why, but ah ain't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth."
The Professor nodded, but looked slightly concerned. "I see. Well, Ororo and I were wondering if you'd like to start doing some private meditation sessions with her and Jean a few times a week to see if you can find a way for us to safely enter your mind. That way if this presence makes itself known again, we stand a chance of helping you conquer it."
"That sounds fine. You have any idea what or who it might be? Ah," Rogue nervously shifted from one foot to another. "Ah've been thinking, and what if..." she played with the shoulder strap of her book bag as she chewed her lip. "What if it's Apocalypse?"
The Southerner swallowed hard and cast her eyes to the floor. The thought of that madman taking control of her again haunted her dreams more often than not.
Xavier smiled reassuringly and took the girl's covered hand. "I have no reason to believe that is the case. When you sealed Apocalypse in his vessel, I am certain he was cast away from this planet. While I cannot say he will never again be a problem for the X-Men, I am sure it will be quite some time before he returns."
"I have a theory," the Professor continued, "that perhaps this presence is in fact the psyche of one of our enemies that you may have absorbed too often. Perhaps someone like Magneto or even Mystique."
Rogue grimaced as her stomach turned over, and she nodded glumly.
Ororo smiled. "I would like to start with a short session tomorrow morning after breakfast if that will work for you?"
The girl nodded again with a weak smile. "Sure. Ah have t' hit the library t' do some studying before the big dinner though. Figure ah'll pick up some books for mah research paper and ah also need t' use their microfilm lab t' look up old newspaper articles."
As Rogue turned to head to the back, Ororo cleared her throat. "Oh, Rogue? You also received a package today. I left it up in your room. You may want to take care of it before the training session starts if you don't wish to hunt it down again once the other girls discover it."
Rogue snickered, but glanced toward the backyard where they could hear Wolverine already barking orders. Nibbling on her lip as she tried to decide which fate was worse, Rogue suddenly smiled mischievously and headed for her room.
"Sounds like Logan has his hands so full ah doubt he'll even notice if ah sneak in a FEW minutes late…" With a bright smile and a little wave, Rogue dashed up the stairs two at a time and disappeared.
Ororo and Xavier exchanged amused smiles.
"I cannot recall the last time I have seen Rogue smile like that." Ororo commented as she and Xavier headed for the backyard to oversee Wolverine's training exercise.
The Professor nodded. "Yes. The attentions from this young man do seem to be having a positive effect on her." His grin faded somewhat as he steepled his hands. "I only hope she feels the same once this gentleman reveals himself."
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With her older, tattered gloves to replace her new, exquisite ones with her for the training exercise and one of Kitty's old coats over her arm, Rogue dashed down the stairs. She raced out of the lobby, into the kitchen, out the back door and into the middle of what appeared to be a free for all.
Cannonball and Wolfsbane were playing keep away from Iceman and Magma; Sunspot and Jubilee, along with Cyclops and Jean were making their way through Storm's blizzard and Beast's snowball barrage to capture flags, and Berzerker, Kurt, Tabitha, and Kitty were "racing" from one side to the other of the frozen swimming pool on their stomachs.
As she'd suspected, everyone ELSE was in uniform. Only she, Kurt, and Kitty were still in their street clothes - Wolverine's punishment for their tardiness most likely.
Rogue quickly caught Kitty's eye and waved her friend's parka in the air. Kitty's eyes lit up and she quickly phased and "stood" on the ice, running over to switch her outerwear.
"You're seriously the BEST," the petite brunette exclaimed as she phased her brand new, light pink, faux-fur lined coat through the wall of the dining room and threw on her old purple one instead.
"And seriously BUSTED," Wolverine commented from the alongside the building where he was watching the groups. "I KNOW Charles didn't need you for that long." He narrowed his eyes at the Southerner and folded his arms.
Rogue fiddled with the sleeve of her coat. "No, he didn't, ah just…" She thought hard and fast. How could she be honest and still manage to dissuade his interest as quickly as possible? "Ah had to… take care of something." She looked him dead in the eye and raised her eyebrows, as if daring him to continue his questioning.
He raised an eyebrow, putting his hands on his hips impatiently. "What THINGS?" he bit out.
"You know," Rogue raised her shoulders and put one hand out as if she were offering something, an incredulous look on her face. "GIRL things."
Wolverine grimaced and Rogue suppressed a grin when he turned around and walked away without another word.
Kitty stared at her, confused. "Wasn't that like, last week?"
Rogue nodded, and grinned. "Ah wasn't talking about THAT kind of girl thing…"
"Ooohh!" Kitty squealed quietly. "Did you get another…"
Rogue nodded again, holding up a hand, "And ah'll tell ya all about it LATER, okay?" She hitched her thumb in Wolverine's direction and Kitty pretended to zip her lips. Then, she walked back to where Nightcrawler Kurt was ALMOST done belly crawling across the swimming pool. She sped up to a jog, then leaned forward with her hands in front of her head as she got to the starting line of the pool again. Phasing to slow her momentum, Shadowcat threw herself onto her stomach and slid across the entire length of the frozen water to the finish line. Grabbing hold of Boom Boom as she slid, the girls tagged the tile surround of the pool together just before Nightcrawler and Bezerker did.
Giggling like mad, Shadowcat and Boom Boom hoisted themselves back onto the ground and waited for the boys to join them.
"Hey, that's totally unfair!" Nightcrawler complained as he and Bezerker finally joined them on the side of the pool.
"I like, never used my powers ON the ice," Shadowcat countered with a wink to Boom Boom.
"Yep, looks like we win, Wild Blue Yonder Boy," the blonde boasted with a flirtatious wink to Nightcrawler and a high five for her teammate.
"Alright everyone, fall in," Wolverine called to the group.
All the students, along with Storm and Beast, gathered around where Wolverine was standing near the back deck. It was then that Rogue noticed Angel and the Professor standing on the back porch watching the group. The blonde man noticed her staring, smiled and waved. Rogue blushed furiously, but held up a hand quickly before turning her attention back to Wolverine.
"This next exercise is an obstacle course," Wolverine explained. "You CAN use your powers, but they may or may not help you. You will get wet, and you will get muddy. If you or your partner get TOO wet or muddy, you'll be tapped out. The team with the best time gets first showers and a free pass to skip any Danger Room session of your choice."
There was a chorus of gasps, squeals, and even some clapping. Rogue tried to look pleased, but truth be told, she didn't really mind Danger Room sessions all that much. Sure, it was harder for her than most because she didn't have an offensive OR defensive power unless she borrowed someone else's. But, most of the Danger Room sessions allowed her to work on honing her natural physical skills like martial arts, acrobatics, and stamina - essentials to her usefulness as an X-Man.
She wouldn't hesitate to drop an opponent with her powers in a real life situation, but sometimes getting that close to an enemy was tricky. And, she definitely didn't want to go around using her powers on her teammates during training sessions. If they were knocked unconscious on the battlefield it was one thing, but borrowing someone's energy and powers to blast a few nets or dodge a few boulders wouldn't help her already bleak reputation.
"Iceman," Wolverine continued, pulling Rogue from her thoughts. "You helped build this thing, so you're sittin' this one out, and Shadowcat - I caught that little stunt back there - you can sit out with him. You two will run it alone after everyone else. Jubilee and Tabitha, you're together now. Jamie's down sick with the flu, which leaves Rogue…"
"Ah don't mind sittin' out, or runnin' it alone," the Southerner called.
Wolverine shook his head. "Normally I'd say sure, but some of these obstacles were just designed for two. They'd be impossible for you to do alone. And you need to train for this more than most since you don't have the defensive powers" He turned around and looked at the other students. "Anyone up for runnin' it twice? Maybe sittin' it out in Rogue's place?"
Rogue grimaced. Obviously, there wasn't going to be a rush of volunteers to give up a free pass out of a Danger Room session, or to run a 30 minute course a second time... For a minute she thought Scott was considering volunteering, but when he squeezed Jean's hand, she understood. They wanted to win so they could use the time to get some privacy. She couldn't really blame them.
Just as the silence was starting to get awkward, a deep male voice spoke up from behind them. "I'll run it with you Rogue."
The group of X-Men turned to stare at Angel, who was quickly removing his trench coat. He wore a red sweater with a black turtleneck underneath, and plain blue jeans with black winter boots. His majestic white wings remained folded behind him as he strode across the wet snow to stand next to Rogue.
Rogue smiled gratefully as Angel approached, but bit her lip as she noticed his nice clothes. "Are you sure you wanna do this?" She questioned. "Wolverine's known for making these things a bit - involved - and that looks like an awfully expensive outfit. Ah'd hate for it to get ruined 'cause of me."
Warren smiled. "What this old thing? I'll have you know I've had this since before we first met."
With a shake of her head, Rogue grinned. "Well alright, don't say ah didn't warn ya."
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Rogue and Angel raced along together through Storm's persistent blizzard. Their opponents, Jean and Cyclops, were just slightly ahead thanks to Jean's telekinetic ability to block out some of the ice and snow. Rogue and Angel pushed harder, straining to keep pace with them.
As each team raced to pull ahead, however, they came upon a downward slope. It was nearly the length of a football field with an elevation of about 50 feet. Rogue and Cyclops were the first ones to reach the precipice, and they quickly realized the folly of their haste.
The top of the slope had been coated with ice and covered with a fine sheet of snow, concealing the potentially dangerous slide. The two forerunners slipped on the ice simultaneously and shot over the edge, careening down the wide, long ice chute. Rogue strangled a scream of surprise as she fell hard on her backside, just managing to keep her head from thumping against the ice. With a quick glance to Cyclops, she noticed that he had fallen face first, a much more potentially dangerous position.
Rogue struggled to sit up, and when she couldn't, leaned over toward Scott and pushed one of his legs to the side slightly, giving him the momentum he needed to flip around and right himself. Just as he was about to flip himself onto his back, he was suddenly lifted up into the air by an invisible force.
Jean to the rescue again.
"Rogue!" Rogue looked up and back to see Angel flying toward her at full speed, his arms outstretched toward her. Without question, Rogue pushed up with all her might and grabbed on to his hands. Within moments the pair landed safely at the bottom of the ice slide as they continued running, just a few short yards behind Jean and Scott.
In front of them, the trees had been pushed together to inhibit those with flying powers from going over the next set of obstacles. There were short mounds of snow ahead with small tunnels through which the students were expected to crawl. Jean and Scott came upon them sooner than Rogue and Angel and, again using her telekinesis, the redhead simply lay down on the snow in front of Scott and propelled herself forward on her stomach, towing Scott along behind her.
Rogue and her partner approached and Angel glanced wearily at the narrow tunnels.
"I'm not sure if I can get my wings to fold up enough to fit through here," the winged mutant admitted sadly. "And even if I do, every time I move to crawl, they'll just move again and get in the way."
Rogue bit her lip and thought a moment. The rules stated that they couldn't go above the tree line, so flying was out, and she didn't exactly have any telekinesis to help them get through. Rogue kicked at the front of the tunnel. Just like she thought. Ice again.
Her face lit up suddenly. "Can you lie on them when you sleep?"
Angel looked confused and slightly embarrassed.
"I mean, can your wings take your weight when they're folded? Can you lie on them?" Rogue was quickly taking off her coat.
"Yes…" he nodded slowly. "It's not exactly comfortable and I don't like to do it for long, but I can lie on them."
"Great!" Rogue declared, coming around behind him. "Fold 'em up for me if ya please?"
Confused, Angel did what she asked and was surprised to feel her gently cover his wings with her coat, using the sleeves to tie it securely around his waist.
She climbed down into the first tunnel and instructed Angel as her voice echoed. "Okay, now come down here and lie on your back. You're gonna hold onto mah boots at the bottom and use your feet to try and push us along while I use mah arms. You may be able to use the ceiling to get more leverage. Looks like it's made of harder, compact snow rather than ice so it might grip better.
Angel quickly laid on his back and pushed himself into the tunnel carefully, grabbing on to Rogue's boots as she made her way into the second tunnel. Each tunnel was about eight feet long and separated by 1 foot gaps.
As Angel cleared the first tunnel, he changed his grip on Rogue's feet to grasp the bottom soles of her boots. "Rogue, try to give yourself the least amount of friction as possible, I'm going to try something."
Rogue pushed herself up on her knees and elbows slightly so her stomach was just barely off the ground. It took a lot of effort to "plank" on the ice, but when Angel used the gaps between the tunnels to push off and propel them forward several feet at a time, they moved much faster.
It took a few minutes to clear all six tunnels, and Rogue was certain Jean and Scott were far ahead by now. The team considered having Angel fly them forward, but Storm's blizzard had picked up again and it would be too difficult for him in the somewhat narrow pathway between the trees. Instead, Angel quickly handed Rogue her coat back as the two sprinted forward, determined to catch up to Cyclops and Jean again.
A few dozen yards ahead, Rogue could see Scott and Jean as they jumped ice hurdles and ducked under frozen icicles. Rogue noted that as the couple climbed over and under and over and under, they slipped frequently on more ice. Bobby Drake had apparently gotten a little ice-happy while helping build the course this morning.
When Angel and Rogue approached the hurdles just behind Jean and Cyclops, Rogue called out to her partner. "Hey Angel, you ever played on a homemade Slip 'N Slide?" With a grin, she burst forward and slid along the ice on her stomach the same way Shadowcat had on the frozen swimming pool.
She heard the blonde man laugh loudly. With one well-placed slide, Rogue had cleared over half of the entire section. The hurdles were low enough to the ground that they were relatively easy to climb over, but not so tall that you would normally consider going under them. Likewise, the hanging icicles weren't so low to the ground that you had to drop to your knees or climb on all fours, but they did require a moment's pause - especially for the taller men like Angel.
Rogue turned around from her halfway point to see Angel running toward the hurdles much as she had done. Right before he slid on his stomach, however, he used his wings to give him one last push forward before he tucked them in safely against his back. With his arms extended, he launched onto the course and quickly surpassed Rogue's halfway mark.
Grinning, Rogue grabbed hold of another ice hurdle and swung herself underneath the top bar of that hurdle and the next two. Grabbing the fourth hurdle, she again swung herself under the hurdle and the following two icicles. Angel was already almost to the end, having only half a dozen hurdles and icicles remaining to maneuver around, but Rogue was quickly catching up to him.
By the time she reached the end of the section, her butt was wet, muddy, and freezing cold, but the pair had made significant time on Jean and Cyclops.
Coming to the top of a small hill ahead of them, Rogue heard Scott yell suddenly from just ahead. There, at the bottom of it, Scott was standing waist deep in ice water. Rogue shivered subconsciously as she watched Jean telekinetically pull her boyfriend out of the frigid water.
Angel and Rogue looked over the next section of the course. It was long and wide, with no overhanging trees to keep them from flying, and Rogue could make out a faint shimmer every so often along the snow drifts. Realization dawned as the wind blew aside a large section of snow, displaying dozens of intermittent puddles covered with a thin layer of ice.
"Thoughts?" Rogue asked quickly as Jean and Cyclops took to the air. Stupid useful telekinesis…
"Flying looks good," Angel responded quickly, but paused when the other team was suddenly pelted by bright green tinted water balloons and blasts of icy wind shooting across the sky about four and a half feet up from the ground. It wasn't until Jean and Cyclops carefully landed back on the ground and ducked low that the winds died down. Water balloons were still being thrown at the pair, but with their powers, they were able to easily deflect them - well, most of them. Rogue tried not to laugh as Cyclops was pelted in the back of the head with the bright green balloon.
"Um…" Angel was suddenly at a loss. Flying was definitely off the table. As soon as Jean tried to levitate again, even a miniscule amount, the blizzard kicked up again and forced her back down to the ground.
Rogue scanned the area again. The opposing team was trying without much success to pick their way carefully across the field of watery "landmines." Cyke was taking slow, deliberate steps to test the ground and pulling back every time he alighted on a frozen puddle. They were making slow progress on their side of the course, but they were still far ahead of Rogue and Angel.
With a scrutinizing eye, Rogue carefully analyzed the field. She watched Jean and Cyclops as they would step lightly and either continue forward or step around. The southerner's eyes lit up as she realized that the snow around where the pair sidestepped was slightly darker and bluer than the rest of the field.
She looked toward their side of the course and smiled. She could make out the same dark blue patches hidden in the snow. It was just dark enough that she could make out the difference from this height, but likely not discernable from on the ground. Pointing out the tells to Angel, she hatched a plan quickly.
"Look at those dark patches? Jean and Cyke don't seem t' notice the difference, but ah bet if ah stand here and direct you around 'em, you can blaze through there pretty fast. Then, I can just follow your footprints in the snow once you get to the end. The course narrows about 50 yards down, so ah'm gonna guess that's a new obstacle." She looked to her partner nervously. "What do you think?"
Angel smiled brightly and nodded. "I think that sounds like an amazing plan!" he beamed.
Rogue returned his wide smile and the young blonde flew down the small hill, landing just at the bottom before he could get hit by a blizzard.
"Go left 'bout three feet, five feet forward, two left!" Rogue called to her teammate, who quickly calculated and followed her directions. When he was coming up to the last direction, Rogue shouted out the next set of instructions. "Another step t' the left and five steps forward, then right six feet!"
Angel again did as she told him but during the third round of instructions, Rogue yelled, "STOP! just as he was he was about to step into a puddle. He was just able to pull his foot back before the ice cracked beneath his weight.
It took about 3 minutes for him to run the fifty yard course with her shouting instructions, but by the time he came to the end he was at least 15 yards ahead of Jean and Cyclops.
Rogue quickly slid down the hill and followed Angel's footprints in the snow, only stopping to recalculate once or twice where his tracks had disappeared from the lightly blowing wind. The southerner was nearing the end of the course with only 20 feet left, when Cyclops saw her running up fast from behind. In a fit of competitiveness, he figured he could sprint the last 10 or so feet without trouble, but as he made the last step before the end of the section, he stepped on a large, wide sheet of thin ice and fell through.
"Cyclops! Rogue and Jean yelled simultaneously, and Rogue quickly ended her course and came around the front with Angel as Cyke finally emerged from the frigid water, gasping and sputtering. Jean levitated through the air without a thought, but was blasted by a water cannon. Rogue figured there must be some kind of sensor on the ground that activated when they left the ground.
Rogue and Angel reached Cyclops first and they each grabbed a hand, pulling him out of the water quickly. Rogue removed a glove and put two fingers in her mouth, whistling loudly to get someone's attention. Thankfully Beast and Storm were already on their way with warm blankets and heat packs. The two adults reached the team leader about the same time as Jean and quickly wrapped him up. Beast then radioed to Kurt, who teleported in to extract Cyclops and Jean.
"Oh man," the blue German teen bemoaned as he took in Cyclop's shivering state, "That looks SOO cold!"
"Y- yeah, it is," the taller teen commented. His teether were chattering now as he shivered.
He nodded in the direction of the remainder of the course. "You two should get going, you've already lost enough time helping me."
Rogue gave an amused side smile. "As if we'd just let ya become a popsicle." Angel shook Cyclops' hand, and then Jean's. "You run a good race. I look forward to the next time we do this." With that, he started walking toward the next part of the course, but paused when Rogue didn't immediately follow.
"You gonna be okay?" she asked, concerned.
"Yeah, you go ahead. And Rogue?" Cyclops motioned her closer.
"Yeah?" She stepped forward, just within his reach.
He surprised her by quickly reaching out and squeezing her still bare hand briefly, thereby transferring some of his power to her. "Good game."
Rogue pulled back, slightly stunned as Scott motioned to Kurt, and the boys and Jean teleported back to the mansion. She blinked her eyes rapidly as she felt the familiar burning sensation of Cyclops' powers filling her retinas.
With a smile, she turned to Angel, eyes aglow, and said, "Let's finish this thing!"
A few feet away, the final part of the course was comprised of a narrow, muddy pathway about four feet wide situated between two large embankments of snow. It was covered by tree branches to discourage flight, but there was a space about two feet high between the snow mounds and the trees. As the two teens stepped into the small valley, they were immediately barraged by dozens of green-tinted water balloons. They were shooting out of little turrets positioned in the space between the trees and the embankments.
Rogue tried taking out one of the turrets with Cyclops' blasters, but a shield prevented her from causing any damage. She opted instead to shoot the balloons as they came closer, and the two teammates took off at a run as they tried to dodge and shoot down the projectiles. Angel was able to use his wings to softly cushion the balloons, letting most of them fall unbroken on the ground. And, with the last of Cyclops' optic beams, Rogue protected Angel's flank.
When the borrowed powers faded away, though, Rogue was unable to properly defend herself and Angel positioned her in front of him between his wings so he could protect her from the barrage.
Together they ran, albeit awkwardly, toward the finish line and ended the race at 25 minutes, 32 seconds. As they were the first (and so far only) group to cross the finish line, Rogue and Angel were given a change of clothes and allowed to sit in a viewing room to watch the others run their own races. Forge had helped create most of the automated weaponry as well as the video feeds that had been set up along the course.
The Professor, Wolverine, Jean, and Forge were already in the viewing area when Rogue and Angel arrived.
"Rogue, Warren. Welcome," the Professor greeted the two warmly. "Hot chocolate?" He offered, motioning to a table by the fire where there was a machine, cups, and cans of whipped cream waiting.
Warren grinned and headed over to get himself a cup. Jean was standing by the fire holding a cup and came over to converse with him. Logan joined Rogue and the Professor, putting a hand on Rogue's shoulder.
"Ya did good out there, Stripes," her mentor praised her with a satisfied smirk.
Xavier nodded. "Indeed. The way you and Angel solved many of the challenges was very clever."
Angel and Jean had meandered back over to join the conversation. Angel beamed. "It was all Rogue, really. My first instinct is always to fly so I was a bit at a loss, but Rogue really analyzed each obstacle. Her solutions were a bit out of the box, but they worked extremely well."
Jean nodded. "Without my telekinesis, we would have fallen behind in the first few obstacles. I couldn't believe how well you two kept up."
"Angel's wings here gave us a good step up right from the get go, though. Ah can't run nearly as fast as he can fly. Plus, ah would've gotten toasted at the end there with all those water balloons." Rogue smiled slightly at Warren, who was now towel drying his blonde hair.
He smiled back at her, offering her a fluffy white towel, which she took graciously. "My wings do come in handy, but obviously not all problems can be solved by flying." He winked at her as she began drying her own hair with the towel. She smiled shyly, albeit happily, at his compliment.
"Or telekinesis," Jean interjected, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. "I can't believe I dropped poor Scott in that freezing water!"
"I'm just impressed that he was able to keep such a fast pace being as wet as he was," Angel commented.
"Hmm," the redhead replied thoughtfully, "I just hope he doesn't get frostbite because he refused to quit."
"Indeed," the Professor agreed.
"Oh, OUCH!" Forge suddenly yelled from his position on the couch. He was glued to the video monitors as he watched Jubilee, Boom Boom, Cannonball and Wolfsbane race against each other in their heat. Cannonball had gotten pegged hard in the face with a snowball trying to protect Wolfsbane, who was currently in full wolf form. The group continued watching as both teams eventually finished, but with Cannonball and Wolfsbane far ahead of Jubilee and Boom Boom. The former team had worked very well together, both simultaneously leading and following, and, like Rogue, thinking outside the box to overcome the obstacles.
Scott had changed out of his wet clothes and was warming himself by the fire as the four junior X-Men joined the first group in the viewing room as Nightcrawler, Berzerker, Magma, and Sunspot were about halfway through their own race. Nightcrawler would port himself and Bezerker as far ahead as he could, but during trickier parts like the hanging icicles, he didn't know what lay beyond the hidden obstacles and was unable to just teleport through them.
Magma and Sunspot were having a much harder time with the course. Their naturally high body temperatures were quickly melting a great deal of the snow and ice, and they were getting wetter and muddier by the minute. During the large ice slide, both of them had skidded to a stop about halfway down because their extreme heat had melted through the ice completely. Sunspot had been able to carry Magma while flying since she was immune to his sun powers, but they were still having trouble keeping up with Nightcrawler and Berserker.
Finally, at the ice puddle land mines as Rogue had dubbed them, both of the teams had quickly succumbed to the tricky puddles. Magma and Sunspot had initially tried crawling on their stomachs, but even with their powers deactivated, their body heat was too high and they melted the thin sheet of ice covering the puddles. Nightcrawler had confidently teleported himself and Berzerker out of what he THOUGHT was harm's reach, and accidently landed them right on top of the long, wide puddles at the end of that obstacle. In the end all four teens were disqualified and Nightcrawler quickly teleported them all, soaking wet, into the living room as Storm, Beast, Kitty, and Bobby, joined them.
Wolverine quickly gave out his kudos to everyone - making sure to praise each team for certain aspects of their runs. Although, the most positive thing he had to say about Boom Boom and Jubilee's race was "Nice enthusiasm and hustle, girls." He spent more time telling each group about what they could have done better, however.
In the end, after about 20 more minutes of instruction and replaying the video feeds to show everyone the highlights and lowlights, Wolverine finally announced that Wolfsbane and Cannonball had won by a margin of 16 seconds over Rogue and Angel. The teens all congratulated the winners, as well as the runners up, before the winning team dashed off to the private showers as fast as possible.
The Professor offered his personal bathroom to Warren, but the blonde millionaire declined graciously. He had business that needed his attention and needed to be off.
"Thanks for letting me train with you, Rogue," he said with a bright smile. "I had a lot of fun."
"I should be the one thanking you," the southerner replied, tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked away shyly. "Ah would've never made that course alone, let alone in second place."
"Well," Warren said, shrugging on his coat, "I'm sorry we couldn't have won you first."
Rogue shook her head. "Don't be. Ah'm not nearly as soggy and muddy as some of the others, and ah really don't mind Danger Room trainings all that much."
"Well then, I'm glad for the experience all the same. It was a pleasure. Thank you." He stated as Rogue walked him to the front door.
"Thank YOU," she countered, smiling as he extended his hand to shake hers. It was slightly awkward to be sure, but not nearly as much as if he had tried to hug her. With a wave, she watched him head down the front porch steps and take to the sky. She smiled a little to herself, then her eyes lit up as she remembered the latest gift she'd gotten from her secret admirer. Dashing up the stairs to her bedroom, Rogue was more than eager to try out some of the "relaxation kit" she'd just received. It contained a variety of fancy soaps, bubble baths and shower gels, an Enya CD, tub pillow, bath salts, and a bath bomb.
She wasn't typically one for luxuriating in a tub, but a nice long bubble bath sounded like heaven right now!
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