The stage opened with a monster truck riding on 5 small cars, cheered by the crowd.
"Let's hear it for the four-wheeler champion, Shirley Ray!" exclaimed the announcer.
Shirley Ray gave a thumbs-up and then drove away in her monster truck.
"And now, here's the main attraction of the evening. Give it up for the world's strongest teenager... Fred 'the Blob' Dukes."
Fred stands in the middle of two monster trucks. He then grabs two chains. One in each hand, the other end of each chain was connected to the monster trucks.
"Very good, Fred. Show us what you can do!"
Fred then wrapped the chains around his forearms, making sure his feet were sufficiently embedded in the ground.
Among the audience, Mystique was present in her Principal Darkholme disguise. She looked at Fred to see what he could do.
Fred smiled as the Monster trucks began to pull away, but they both stopped as Fred held them in place. Then, with a good pull, Fred brought the trucks towards him. He then jumped as the two trucks collided. Then he landed on the back of both trucks. Both monster trucks' rear tires burst from the weight.
The crowd cheered, and Fred gloated at his success. He started to lean, but lost his balance and fell headlong onto the ground, and the crowd began to laugh at him.
Fred began to lose his temper, not wanting to be laughed at.
Among the crowd, Logan and Jean were also there to watch Fred. Deker would have been there too, but the professor wanted to do some tests on him to see why Rogue's touch didn't do anything to him while Cody was in hospital.
Charles, Scott, Kitty, Kurt and Deker were currently in the Danger Room. The professor turned and looked at Deker.
"Deker, you said that when the Rogue came into direct physical contact with you, her powers didn't affect you. Is that true?" Says Charles.
"That's right." Decker agreed.
"So, what do you want us to do, Professor?" Kitty asked.
"Simple, I want you to try using your powers when Deker makes contact with your skin." Charles explained, before turning to Deker. "You can start."
Deker then approached Scott.
"Please tell me we don't have to hold hands." Scott joked.
"Relax, buddy. I'm not going to hold your hand. Besides, we all know it's Jean's hand you want to hold and not mine." Deker joked in turn. "No, I'm going to grab your forearm, then you can take off your glasses and see if you can use your powers.
He then grabbed Scott's forearm.
"It's okay, you can go... But just in case look where there's no one."
Scott nodded, looked at a wall of the Danger Room and, with his free arm, removed his glasses and slowly opened his eyes. And lasers shot out of those eyes before he quickly closed them and put his glasses back on.
"I think we screwed up professor. I'm not a mutant power inhibitor." Deker said, letting go of Scott.
"Hmm. Interesting. All right, Deker, let's see if you can stop other people's powers from working. It may depend on the person." Charles suggested.
Deker nodded, walked over to Kurt, did the same and Kurt tried to use his powers, he couldn't. He then let Kurt go and Kurt was able to teleport again. He then walked over to Kitty.
"Are you okay with this, Kitty? I don't want to make you uncomfortable." Said Deker.
"Yes. That'll do, Deker." Kitty nodded.
He then grabbed Kitty's arm.
"All right, try to use your powers, Kitty." he said.
Kitty tried to use her powers to pass through a wall created by a metal plate on the floor of the danger room that had risen, but like the others, she was able to make it through. Charles had seen enough and understood.
"It seems that you have, in addition to all your other abilities, either immunity or the ability to suppress Rogue's power while in skin contact with her, Deker." Explained the professor.
"Interesting. Do you think one day I could make it so that I don't have to touch her for it to work?" Deker asked.
"I don't know, but we'll find the answer to that question in due course." Answered
"Very well." Deker nodded.
"Well, thank you all for your time and help tonight, you're free for the rest of the night."
The professor walked away. Scott, Kitty and Kurt left to relax, leaving Deker alone in the room.
He looked down at his hand, which had touched Rogue's, thought back to the feel of her soft skin against his.
And his claws came out instantly.
In his room, Fred threw objects and broke everything. Then he hit the wall, creating a fist-sized hole. Mystique, wearing her Principal Darkholme disguise, opened her door.
"Is something wrong?" She asked.
"Yeah. Those small-town hicks. They've laughed at me for the last time. I'm leaving for good!" He said.
"That could be arranged. In fact, I know a place where your talents would be really appreciated." Darkholme suggested.
"Look, lady, if you're from the circus, you can forget it!" Fred retorted.
"Oh, no, no, no. I've got something much more interesting on my mind. Want to hear more?"
"Huh. Yeah, sure I do. Why not?"
Outside Fred's room, Logan and Jean could be seen heading for his room. Logan then looked inside and saw Headmistress Drakholme smiling at him, Fred then closed the door.
Headmistress Drakholme now stood in her office with Fred.
"And here's your schedule for the semester. Any questions, Mr. Dukes?" She asked.
"I don't know if I could do school again. I didn't really fit in with the others." Said Fred.
"You won't have that kind of problem here. As head of the school, I can make sure of that."
Fred then stepped out of the office and began looking at her schedule.
"The first period is... Uh... it's complicated."
Just then, Duncan walks past Fred and Fred grabs him by the back of his shirt and pulls him next to him.
"Hey! Hey, you! Where... where am I supposed to be?" Frend asked, showing Duncan his schedule.
"I don't know. How about a show? How about a show?" Duncan laughed.
Fred didn't like this answer at all and started to get angry. His face began to redden with all the anger he had. He then threw Duncan into the hallway.
"Don't make fun of me!" Said Fred before then grabbing a wall of lockers and ripping them off the wall and holding them over his head.
Fred starts walking towards Duncan who really was. Jean then enters the hallway and sees what's going on.
"Wait up! Hey, hey, whoa!" Duncan begged.
Luckily for him, Jean intervened before Fred could finish what he was trying to do.
"Hi. You must be new." She said.
"Huh?" Said Fred, turning to her.
"Uh... I'm Jean Grey."
"Yes, I am. New, I mean." Fred replied shyly.
Duncan stood up and ran off as Fred then began to walk toward the wall where he retrieved the lockers and put them back.
"Welcome to Bayville. So... what do your friends call you?"
"I don't know. I've never had any friends. But my name's Fred, Fred Dukes."
"Well, Fred, I want to apologize for what Duncan said. He can be a real jerk sometimes." Says Jean before taking Fred's schedule. "Hey, did you need help figuring that out?"
"Yes. Uh, please."
"Okay. Hmm... Your first class is... right over there!" She said, looking at the schedule, then pointing down the hall.
"Huh. Thanks."
"Don't worry, the first day is always the hardest." She says as she hands Fred back his schedule and starts to walk away. "It'll get better. See you soon!"
"You can count on it."
In a classroom, a teacher handed out books to his class.
"All right, for this drama exercise, you're each going to do a scene with a partner. Since some of you haven't chosen a partner, I'll do your pairings myself. Taryn, you and Paul will do Laura and Jim from The Glass Menagerie. And that leaves you." Said the teacher, handing Rogue a book. "And you." He said, handing another copy of the book to Scott.
"Oh, great." Scott sighed.
"You two are going to perform Shakespeare's Henry V. I've got it written down. Henry and Catherine, daughter of the King of France."
"Good luck, Scott. I don't think Miss Small, Dark and Scowling has ever uttered two words. You'll have to play both parts yourself, lad." Said one of Scott's friends, making the class laugh.
"All right, class. All right, class. Now, I want you to get together with your scene partner and rehearse. You're performing Tuesday." Says the teacher.
Scott looks at Rogue.
"Uh... hey, are you okay with this?" He asked.
"I'm not afraid of you." Rogue replied.
"I didn't say you should be."
"Just tell your weird friends to keep their distance this time. Except Deker." She said, to which Scott sighed.
"Oh yeah, she likes you. She's playing hard to get. Unless it's Deker she wants." Scott's friend joked.
"Shut up, Paul."
Later, at lunchtime, the group of X-men were seated at a table. At this table was Scott, then Deker, who was seated to Scott's left. Then next to Deker were Kitty, Jean and finally Kurt. And at the table next to them were Rogue, Toad and Lance.
"Is that that huge guy you and Logan went to see Saturday night?" Kitty asked Jean as they saw Fred enter the dining hall.
"Yeah, Fred. He's all right. When he's not ripping lockers off the wall." Jean commented.
"Did he do that? Weird!" Said Kitty.
"Hi, Deker?" Jean said, attracting the attention of the teenager, who was casting discreet glances at Rogue, who pretended to ignore who was at the table next to her.
"Hmm?"
"Did the professor understand why Rogue's touch did nothing to you?" She asked.
"At the moment it's all theoretical. But according to him, if I have skin contact with her, her powers won't work. A sort of inhibitor." Deker explained.
"Really? Sounds interesting."
"I guess so." Said Deker before turning his attention back to Scott, how did the classes go? I heard you had to work with Rogue." He said before having a little coughing fit that was clearly simulated. "Bastard." He said between coughs.
"Yeah, I get to play a romantic scene with a girl who thinks we tried to kill her. Boy, she's gonna have to be one hell of an actress."
"My friend, you must invite me to rehearsals!" Kurt laughed.
Fred, who had a ton of food on his tray, was walking past the table when Kurt started laughing. Fred turns around and looks at where the laughter is coming from and sees that not only is Kurt laughing, but Scott is joining in too.
Fred continues on his way and goes to sit down at a table, but just as he sits down, the chair breaks under his weight, throwing his food behind him and some of it falls on Duncan and his friends. They all stand up.
"Bad move, Blob."
"Uh, stay here, Kitty. This could get ugly." Says Jean.
Fred tried to get up but couldn't, slipping repeatedly on the food, until Deker grabbed his hand and helped him to his feet. Everyone laughed at him. Fred lost it and went berserk.
"Don't make fun of me!
Fred then picked up some food and threw it at Duncan and his friends. And they throw food at Fred, setting off a big food fight. Everyone starts throwing food. Scott takes cover and Jean uses her powers to stop the food from touching her. A hamburger flies toward Rogue's head and was about to hit her, but Deker quickly went to her, grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the way.
"Thanks." Rogue smiled.
"No problem." Deker smiled back.
"Fred. Fred, calm down!" Jean shouted.
Fred now had a table in his hands and spun around to block the food being thrown at him. Jean then ran towards him.
"Fred, stop! Ah!" Jean said before stepping on a cake, causing it to slip and fall at Fred's feet. "Fred!"
Fred, his face half-covered with food, held the table above his head and seemed about to drop it on Jean when Scott rushed to Jean's side and destroyed the table with his eye beams. Fred then wiped the food from his face.
"Put the table down, Fred." Jean said cautiously.
"Jean?" Said Fred.
"You heard her, big guy. But if you want to fight, try me." Said Scott.
"Back off, Scott. I'll handle this. It's all right. It's all right. Right, Fred?" Jean pointed out.
"They shouldn't have laughed at me!" Said Fred, as Jean and Scott stood up.
"No! No, they shouldn't have. Uh, Scott, don't you have a class to go to or something?" Said Jean.
"I'll be close by if you need me. Very close."
"I'll be fine." Jean insisted.
Deker then approached Scott.
"Come on, let's get out of here. Jean's got it." He said.
Scott and Deker began to walk away and Scott looked at Deker to see he had a smile on his face.
"What's with the smile?" Scott asked.
"Oh nothing." Said Deker, clearing his throat. "Oh, Jean don't worry I'll save you! You want to reach him, big man! Then you'll have to go through me first!" He said before laughing, no longer able to keep a straight face.
"First of all, I don't talk like that at all." Scott said, scratching the back of his head. "And secondly, what about you and Rogue? Hmm? I saw you save her from a hamburger shot to the face."
"Yeah, yeah, what about it?" Said Deker, stopping laughing as they walked out the door.
"So what? What I mean is, you've got a thing for her." Said Scott. "That shouldn't surprise me, since you asked the professor to be in charge of the mission to recruit her. The questions I have are: why her? And why didn't you just ask the professor to locate her and go find her?"
"Well, you'll find out the answers one day, maybe. Monsieur, I don't like Jean." Deker joked.
Rogue, who was at her locker, started talking to them.
"Wow! You guys really take care of each other, don't you?"
"Yeah. Yeah, we do." Said Scott.
"What's going on here?" Principal Drakholme asked.
"Nothing!" Rogue gasped.
"We were just talking." Added Deker.
"Then you'd better stop talking and get to class! Have I made myself clear?" Said Principal Darkholme with authority.
"Yes, ma'am." Said Rogue.
"If it pleases you." Said Deker before turning to Scott. "I'll talk to you later."
Deker started to walk away, then heard footsteps and looked to his left to see Rogue walking in the same direction.
"Hey, don't forget. To the park after school. And bring the playbook with you!" Scott said to Rogue, who nodded.
"So... your back's feeling better?" Rogue asked.
"Yeah, I'm healing fast." Smiled Deker. "And what about you? Were you able to lose her when she was chasing you?"
"Yes, I did. I was able to take refuge in the cemetery and hide from her. Then I met someone who signed me up here." Rogue explained.
"Good." Deker sighed in relief. "Those imposters seemed determined to hurt you. I was really worried about you."
"What makes you think they were imposters and not your friends?" Rogue said, frowning.
"Because, as you can see, I know them. And it's not like that white-haired girl to attack with a grenade. Or to attack without retaliating, for that matter." Deker explained.
Then he stopped and laid a comforting hand on Rogue's shoulder.
"Look, I'm not asking you to join them. That's for you to decide. I'm just asking you to trust me on this." He said. "I just want to help you. Your power could attract the attention of people with bad intentions. And I don't want that to happen."
Rogue was surprised by this statement, but she smiled at him and placed one of her hands on his.
"Don't worry, I can manage." She said, removing her hand from his shoulder. "But if I need help, I'll come to you."
"Okay." Deker smiled. "See you soon, Rogue. Have a good day."
"You too, Deker."
Deker then walked away.
Later, the Professor and Logan were outside, watching Kitty, Kurt, and Deker train, all three in their X-Men outfits.
Kitty with a football ball ran away from Kurt.
She began to run through the trees, while Kurt continued to chase her.
"Well done, half-elf. Stop the elf from stealing your ball. But stay focused, otherwise..." Logan said before what he was trying to warn could happen.
Out of nowhere, Deker grabbed Kitty in his arms and spun her around. Kitty, caught off guard, dropped the ball.
"Didn't see that coming, did you?" Said Deker.
Kurt then teleported to the ball and caught it.
"Ha! It's mine now!"
Deker gently put Kitty down and let go.
"Kurt, give me the ball." He said.
"You'll have to catch me first!"
Deker and Kitty both pursued Kurt, but he teleported onto a tree branch.
"Be careful when you teleport!" Said Logan.
The tree's branch broke and it began to fall. Kitty took flight and jumped across Kurt. She also snatched the football ball from his hands. Kurt fell to the ground and Kitty stood in front of him, laughing. Then Deker arrived and snatched the football ball from Kitty's hands and used a secret technique that even his mentor didn't know...
"Nigerundayo!" He said as he took off running, followed by Kitty and Kurt.
Logan then smacked his face.
"Did he just yell 'Run away' in Japanese?"
"Yes, yes, he did." Charles smiles.
"Professor, I need help! Help, please!" Jean shouted at the teacher.
Suddenly, the professor hears Jean's cries for help.
"Jean. Stay calm. We'll find you." he thought to his student before looking at Logan. "Jean has been kidnapped.
"Deker and the Elf, go get Cyclops! I'm off to find Jean." Said Logan before leaving, donning his gear and setting off on his motorcycle to find Jean's whereabouts.
Scott and Rogue could be seen at the park reviewing their theatrical work.
"Do you like me, Kate?"
"Pardonnez-moi?" Rogue said in French. "I can't tell if I like you."
"Angels have everything of you, Kate...and you have everything of an angel." Said Scott, making Rogue laugh.
"The girls are right. You are a charmer." She said.
"Look, I'm just reading the lines, okay?" Retorted Scott, with annoyance.
"Yeah, I know you are. It's just that sometimes, I wish..." Said Rogue, lowering his eyes.
"Yeah? You wish what?" Scott asked.
"I'd like... to be a little closer to people. But you know what happens when I touch them." Rogue replied.
"What about Deker? From what I can see he's really trying to get close to you." Scott suggested.
"I know... but I'm afraid of what will happen if I touch him."
"Haven't you noticed?"
"Noticed what?" Rogue asked.
"He told us that when he was trying to help you, he touched your skin. But nothing happened. He was perfectly fine. We assume that among his powers, he has an immunity to yours. So why not try to go further?"
"Really? What if it was just luck?" she asked, worried.
"Rogue, Deker is a mystery to us too. But I think he'll be much more open with you than with us."
Rogue was about to speak, but Kurt teleported to the table and Deker came running.
"Wow! A tender moment here? Sorry to interrupt." Kurt said.
"I swear, he's like an annoying little brother." Rogue replied, to which Kurt stuck out his tongue.
"What's the problem?" Scott asked.
"Jean's been kidnapped!" Deker replied, removing his mask and helmet.
"What?!" Scott shouted, then grabbing Deker's suit by the armor plate and pulling it closer to him.
"Easy, Scott. Can you let go of me, please?"
Scott let go of Deker.
"Sorry."
"It's all right. No matter what. Wolverine's looking for her, and Kurt and I were sent to find you." Deker explained.
Scott then slammed his hands on the table.
"Blob! If he's hurt her, I'll..." Scott said before looking at Rogue. "Do you know anything about him?!"
"No. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you." Rogue replied.
"Then I hope you can live with your conscience." Said Scott before putting his hand on Kurt. "Beam us back to base, Mr. Wagner."
"Yes, Captain! See you soon, Deker!" Kurt said before beaming up with Scott.
Deker then sat down at the table, putting on his helmet and mask.
"Don't you have to go rescue Jean or something?
"I think so, but I'm sure they'll hold out by the time I get there." Says Deker, shrugging his shoulders. "So, what's on your mind?"
"Nothing." Rogue replied, trying to put on a straight face.
"Don't be offended, but your impassive face needs work and maybe I can help? If you don't mind talking to me about it."
"It's just that I'd like to be able to get closer to someone. I was saying that to Scott and he said something about you." Rogue replied.
"Ah, I see. He must have told you that I seemed immune to your power?"
"Yes, and I don't want to get my hopes up." Rogue sighed.
Deker then removed one of his gloves.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"Hold my hand."
"What? No, I don't want to hurt you." Rogue refused.
"Come on, it'll be all right. What are you afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid." Rogue refused.
"Then what are you waiting for? Take off your glove and hold my hand." Deker insisted. "In any case, it's not really possible for you to hurt me any more than you already have."
This information intrigued Rogue. What could Deker have gone through to consider it worse than having a part of him stolen?
She sighed, and removed one of her gloves.
"If you're hurt, it's your fault." Rogue insisted.
"Just relax, you'll be fine... I hope."
Rogue then slowly grabbed Deker's hand and held it, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. Rogue then looked at Deker, who had a smile on his face.
"I told you everything would be okay." he smiled.
Rogue couldn't believe she was touching someone without that person getting hurt because of her. Rogue didn't realize it, but she let out a few tears.
"Hey, are you okay?" Deker asked softly, concerned.
Rogue then pulled herself together and wiped away her tears.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine, I just never thought I'd be able to make contact with anyone again."
Rogue then stopped holding Deker's hand and stood up.
"I'm glad I could please you." He said, putting his mask and helmet back on. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go and find Jean. You're more than welcome to help me if you like."
"And if I don't?" Rogue asked warily.
"Then it's all right." He said, shrugging his shoulders as he stood up. "Rogue, there's good in you. But it's up to you whether you want to act on that goodness and help people. The X-men and especially I will always welcome you with open arms if and when you want to become an X-men."
"So why did you make all those assumptions about them when we talked?" She asked.
"Because with what happened, I gave you assumptions so you'd understand that those 'X-men' who chased you were just imitations." Deker replied. "Some people are very good at using our eyes to deceive us. But in the end, whatever your decision, I'll respect it."
He then turned and headed for his motorcycle.
The professor could be seen talking to Scott, Kurt and Kitty.
"I've been in mental contact with Jean, but she has no idea where she is. All I can say is that she and Blob are somewhere in this area." Says Charles, pointing to the circled area on a map.
"Professor, where's Deker?" Kitty asked.
"I've already told Deker where to start looking." Charles replied.
"All right, let's move on." Said Scott.
They then climbed into two vehicles and set off in search of Jean.
Fred and Jean, meanwhile, were in a room with lots of candles.
"It's going to be the best evening you've ever had. Dinner, dancing..." Fred said before Jean interrupted.
"Fred, it doesn't work like that. You can't force people to love you."
"Why not? I'm stronger than everyone." Fred retorted.
"Being nice usually works better."
"That's right, I almost forgot. I've got a little surprise for you." Said Fred before exiting the room.
Outside, Logan could be seen stopping, sniffed the air then spoke into his watch.
"I've found them. They're in the old South End Ironworks. I'm on my way."
"Logan, wait for backup." Charles said from the watch.
But Logan didn't listen. He hung up, pulled out his claws and started running into the building.
The professor then told the others where Jean was, and everyone started heading for her.
Fred was in the factory's main room, holding a record player, when Logan burst through the X-shaped door with his claws and jumped on Fred.
Fred threw Logan away from him, also throwing the record player, which shattered it.
Logan went on the attack without taking out his claws. Fred moved out of the way of Logan's attack, then picked up some heavy machinery and threw it at him.
Jean heard what was happening and tried to free herself from the pipes with which she was tied by twisting them with her telekinesis until they broke.
Fred looked around and tried to find Logan. He then looked up to see that Logan was on the ceiling and leapt straight at him. Fred grabbed Logan by both arms, threw him to the floor and lay on top of him.
"I can't breathe." Logan gasped.
"Jean is my friend! You can't take her away from me!" Fred shouted.
A red beam suddenly passed over Fred's head and he looked up to see Scott.
"We're just giving her a way out. Even if it has to go through you." he says.
Scott then fired his eye beam at Fred and Fred used one of his arms to block the blast and slowly started walking towards Scott. He then threw Logan on top of Scott, sending them both out of the building and onto Logan's motorcycle. Scott's visor was pulled away during the impact, so he couldn't open his eyes.
Another motorcycle arrived on the scene and stopped, then two people got off. They were Deker and Rogue. They both walked towards Scott and Logan. Rogue touched Scott's face and took some of his powers. Deker then went over to them.
"Are you all right?" He asked, to which Logan and Scott groaned in pain in response. "Okay, thanks for the talk, guys."
Back inside, Fred can be seen returning to the room where Jean was. He opened the door to find a filing cabinet flying straight at his chest, which he grabbed.
"Nobody respects me! And you're the worst of them! You pretended to be my friend!" Fred shouted.
Fred then threw the wardrobe directly at Jean, who was still tied up and used her powers to prevent him from touching it, and she put it down. Fred then exited the room and picked up more heavy machinery and was about to throw them at Jean, but he was hit on the back of the neck by a red beam. This forced Fred to drop the machine.
Fred then kicked the machinery in the direction of his assailant, but Rogue and Deker stepped aside.
"Leave her alone, you idiot!" Rogue ordered.
"You'd better do as the lady says, buddy, because my way of asking won't be so kind." Said Deker, pulling out his claws.
"What are you two going to do to me? Make me wear bad makeup and cut me with paper?" Fred scoffed.
Rogue and Deker both start walking toward Fred.
"Didn't Mystique tell you what my power was?" Rogue asked.
"No, because I don't care!" Fred retorted.
Fred tried to hit Rogue with a few punches but she ducked. Deker then kicked Fred in the back of the knee, causing him to fall to his knees. Deker then quickly retracted his claws and hit Fred with a right hook to the jaw, then Rogue touched Fred and began to take his powers.
"My power is your power, and I can cumulate them!" she declared.
She then threw Fred into the air and hit him with Scott's eye beams. Fred crashed into a pile of scrap metal, but got up without a scratch.
"I'm too strong, even for you! You're no match for me. I'm the Blob!" Fred declared.
"No, you're not. You're just a piece of trash who wanted a date." Rogue retorted.
"Emotional damage. Deker commented.
"Now do you know where the garbage goes? Don't answer, I'll take you there!" Rogue declared.
Fred then jumped on them and Rogue hit Fred again with Scott's eye beams and this time he flew through the roof and out of the building, landing in a garbage heap.
The X-men could be seen outside and Rogue picked up Scott's visor and put it back on Scott's face.
"There, I've only taken a short-term dose of your power, you should be back to normal soon." She told him.
"You're like an angel, Kate." Said Scott, shaking his head, still stunned by the shock against the motorcycle and the side effects of Rogue's touch.
"My name's not Kate. And I'm no angel." Rogue retorted, not seeming to realize he was saying that in reference to their theater work.
"But you helped us. Why?" Jean asked.
"I don't know why." She replied, looking at Deker. "Hey, Deker, do you mind giving me a ride?"
"Sure, I don't mind." He replied before addressing the other X-men. "I'll see you later."
Deker then walked over to his motorcycle, grabbed his helmet and handed it to Rogue, who put it on. He then climbed onto his motorcycle, started it up, and Rogue climbed on behind him.
"Make sure you hold on to me, I don't want you falling off now." He said.
Rogue then wrapped his arms around Deker and began to drive.
Deker stopped and Rogue got off his bike and handed him back his helmet.
"Thanks for the ride."
"You're welcome. Thanks for helping us get Jean back. I gotta say, you were pretty badass back there against Fred." Deker commented.
"Oh, stop it, you're going to make me blush. Besides, it was a team effort." She retorted.
"We make a good team, don't we? Well, I'll leave you alone now. See you at school?"
"See you at school, Deker."
Deker nodded, then walked away as Rogue was still thinking about their conversation earlier, before joining the X-Men against the Blob.