Kitty looked in the bedroom worriedly, gazing in at the sleeping
figure laying there. Rogue's reddish hair fell around her face, her skin
awfully pale, somehow, matching the white streaks. A fading bruise was
on her cheek, her breathing coming slow and even.
"How is she?" Ororo asked, keeping her voice down. Long white
hair flowed over her shoulders, her skin chocolate brown.
"She's still out cold," Kitty murmured. The two of them walked
away from the sleeping figure as the brown haired girl continued
speaking softly, "She has bruises, Ororo, even burns. Shouldn't her
invulnerability have protected her?"
"It might just be a side effect of the power boost," Ororo
offered, "she might have to be aware for her powers to be fully active."
She looked over at Kitty with a worried frown, "Have you eaten since we
came back?"
"I had a sandwich earlier," Kitty shrugged. She ran a hand
through her brown hair and offered a smile, "Did Bishop drop off McCoy
and what was left of Stryfe with the police?"
"Cat was entertained," Ororo agreed. They walked into the living
room, the assembled X-men and guest looking up in concern.
Yuriko sat on the couch, her cybernetics concealed by her simple
clothing. The black haired Asian rose and asked, "Has Rogue awakened?"
"Not yet," Kitty said with a sigh. She was a little surprised to
see Yuriko still here, but her concern for Rogue was honest.
"She has the heart of a samurai," Yuriko said simply, "such a
one will not let a thing like this defeat her." With that, she strode
off.
"Well, that was interesting," Kitty blinked.
"She means well, I think," Elizabeth offered. The purple haired
telekinetic was sitting in a chair with Neal, the two relaxing. "So did
the others get clean away?" she asked.
"It appears so," Sage nodded, looking oddly incomplete without
Heather standing nearby. Lifeguard was on duty down on the beach, and as
much as Sage wanted to be down there with her the pale black haired
woman felt her duty was here. "Feral seems to have spirited Sakura
away," Sage smiled slightly, "though we have heard from Plasma and
Polaris."
"Oh, really?" Kitty looked surprised.
"Polaris says she and Plasma are going to destroy the Living
Pharaoh's forces," Sage said dryly, "at least according to the voice
message they left."
"Should keep them busy," Ororo noted.
"And hopefully out of trouble," Neal offered with a smile.
"Keep who out of trouble?" the voice asked. They turned to see
Rogue standing there in the doorway, leaning up against the wall for
support.
"Rogue," Kitty rushed over to her lover's side, looking up at
her in concern. "Are you all right?" she asked worriedly.
"I feel weak as a kitten," Rogue admitted quietly, "pardon the
pun, and I think I could eat a horse. Have we got anything to eat?"
Rogue took a step and stumbled slightly, Ororo moving forward to
grab her arm before she fell. "Oh, no," she murmured, realizing that she
had grabbed Rogue's bare arm with her hand...
...and nothing happened. "Whoa," Rogue blinked, looking up at
Ororo in surprise. "Nothing," she said quietly, "no effect at all."
Kitty reached out to take Rogue's hand, shutting down her
phasing power entirely. "Anything?" Kitty asked softly.
"Nope," Rogue closed her eyes, concentrating. She seemed to be
gritting her teeth, then sighed, "Nothin' works. No strength, flight,
none of my powers seem to be there."
"I'm sorry," Sage had a frown on her face, "this must be
connected to what I did when I enhanced your powers."
Rogue had the oddest look on her face, "You think it's
permanent?"
"I don't know," Sage admitted.
"It's possible your abilities might return in time," Ororo
quietly offered, looking at her teammate in concern.
"Either way," Rogue said, "for now I don't have any powers,
guys." She smiled wryly, "So what do we do know?"
"I think I have a suggestion," Kitty said with a slight smile.
It took a few days to get everything organized, but they managed
pretty well. They wanted to get this done before Kitty and Rogue left,
of course. After a certain amount of discussion they had decided to take
a vacation for awhile, to give Rogue's powers a chance to return.
The Blackbird descended on the nearby beach, coming to a rest
out on the water as the passengers disembarked. Professor Xavier led the
way, soon followed by Jean, Scott, Emma, Kurt. Logan and a few of their
other teammates.
There was a loud displacement of air and Kurt disappeared,
reappearing at Kitty's side. The blue furred man beamed as he pulled her
into a hug, "Is it true? Is my little Katzchen getting married?"
Kitty laughed, "Yeah, we decided it was about time, so..."
"Congratulations," a smile tugged at Scott's usually dour
expression, his brown hair falling in front of his ruby quartz glasses.
"Me, too," Jean hugged the younger girl close, the redhead
smiling.
"Never thought I'd see the day," Logan laughed, his short black
hair swept back in it's distinctive style.
"Thank you for inviting us," Professor Xavier smiled at her, the
bald headed man putting his hand on her shoulder.
"You're all family to me," Kitty said simply. She laughed, "I
shouldn't be hogging you all, the others will want to see you."
"Lead the way," Emma Frost smiled, her white hair flowing down
her back, dressed in her much racier version of the X-men uniform.
There was a moment of tension as the Professor and the others
entered the living room, the splinter group confronting their parent,
but the occasion seemed to help put aside any of the remaining
bitterness. There were still a few surprises in store, however.
"Yuriko?" Logan blinked as he walked over to where Lady
Deathstryke stood. His former blood-enemy wore the same X-men uniform as
the other members of the group. He looked her up and down, "I'll be
damned."
"I no longer have a feud with you," Deathstryke said simply,
"nor any of Xavier's students." A slight smile, "And I found I enjoyed
fighting by their side against Stryfe. So when Kitty suggested me as her
replacement, I said yes."
"Storm's got a good eye," Logan grinned. His eyes narrowed
slightly as she walked through the crowd towards him, "And here she
comes now." Deathstryke, deciding this might just be trouble, smoothly
slipped away.
"Logan," Ororo looked just a bit nervous as she introduced the
woman beside her, "I'd like you to meet my lover, Raven Darkholme."
Logan tilted his head to the side as he growled, "Been awhile,
Mystique. You planning on staying with the side of the angels?"
"I love her," Raven reached out to take Ororo's hand in hers as
she continued firmly, "and I'd never betray that."
Logan met her eyes, studying her intently. A slight smile, "All
right, that's fair enough. I seem to remember you bein' pretty loyal,
back in the day." He looked over at Ororo, "You usually don't guess
wrong, 'Roro. Hope you're right this time."
"That was warm," Raven quietly said to Ororo as Logan excused
himself, quickly moving over to talk to Elizabeth.
"It went better than I was expecting, actually," Ororo admitted
as she squeezed Raven's hand. "Give him time," she added.
"Professor," Rogue grinned, hugging him close. She laughed at
his startled expression, "I've been using the opportunity to do that a
lot, lately."
"Understandable," Charles Xavier agreed. He tilted his head to
the side as he offered, "You seem truly happy."
"I am," Rogue looked over at Kitty with fondness, "I love her,
more than I ever expected to love anyone else."
"And Remy?" Jean asked about Gambit softly.
"Tried to contact him," Rogue sighed, "I wanted him to hear it
from me."
"So what are you two planning?" Scott asked curiously, carrying
a cup of coffee with him.
"A bit of a honeymoon," Rogue smiled, "we're gonna spend a few
weeks up at Kitty's cabin, just the two of us. Kitty was also thinking
of stopping in at the school later, if my powers don't kick back in on
their own."
"We'll be ready to help," the Professor agreed.
Emma walked over to where Kitty stood by the mini-bar, getting
herself a fruit drink. "How are you?" Emma softly asked.
"Managing," Kitty said honestly. "What Sakura did to me all
those years ago, it left it's damage," she said softly, "but I'll get
over it, I think."
"Let me know if there's anything I can do to help," Emma said
honestly. She looked across the crowd, wincing a bit as Ororo glared
back at her.
"You want a piece of unsolicited advice?" Kitty offered. Emma
looked over at her curiously and Kitty shrugged, "Apologize. It's the
only way you'll start being something other than enemies."
"We'll see," Emma replied, keeping her voice neutral. She smiled
slightly, "Are you going to wear that for the wedding?"
"No," Kitty checked her watch, "and it's about time to get
changed. See you!"
Ororo and Kitty retired to a bedroom, even as Raven and Rogue
went into another one. "Thanks, Mom," Rogue smiled as Raven helped her
slip the suit on, being careful to avoid all the bandages and burns.
"We really should have let you heal up a bit longer," Raven
noted, adjusting the tie. Rogue had chosen to wear a suit, and she
looked good in the crisp black garment.
"Considering how often we get caught up in trouble," Rogue
replied with a smile, "I thought we should take advantage of the
relative quiet."
"True," Raven acknowledged, taking a step back to look her
daughter over. "You look terrific, of course," she smiled.
"Thanks," Rogue smiled a little sadly thinking of her other
adopted mother, "but I just wish that Irene could be here."
"She is, sort of," Raven produced a letter from her pocket,
handing it over.
Rogue unfolded it, reading Irene Alder's gentle script.
"Congratulations," she read aloud, "I'm not using my gift to foresee
this event, but instead hope that you will find love, someday. Whoever
it is, be happy, and know your future is your own to make."
The trees were dark where he stood, looking down at the beach
house and the preparations that were going on in the backyard. Chairs
were set up, and it looked like the ceremony itself was going to be
performed beneath a vine covered wooden arch.
"You coming down to join the party, Cajun?" Logan asked him
gruffly, a lit cigar held between his teeth.
Remy Lebeau shook his head slightly, reddish brown hair falling
into red eyes, "No, I don't think so. I'd be like a ghost at the party,
reminding everyone what could have been."
"They wouldn't have invited you," Logan reminded him, "if they
didn't want you there."
"Thanks, my friend," Remy shot him an honest smile, "but no."
With that he turned, trenchcoat swirling around him, and walked away.
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