Somewhere in Ohio
A black motorcycle pulled up in front of the fight club. A figure dressed in a Lycra body suit and black leather jacket swung her leg off the bike. Anyone who was watching could tell she had an amazing body, and were stunned further if they watched her take her helmet off, and watched her long brown locks that glinted coppery in the waning sunlight with two shocks of white in the front, tumbled down.
The Rogue, as she was known, was the best fighter in the whole damn fighting circuit. Everyone knew about her, so when word got out that she was in a town, the bar would be jam-packed that night.
Rogue walked into the bar and made her customary hellos. She took off her jacket, revealing that the body suit was sleeveless. Also no gloves adorned her hands. She had learned how to control her power in the months she was gone. After much meditation, she'd been able to figure out control her absorbsions, as well as how to block her thoughts in case anyone was looking for her.
She'd been on the road for four months now, and cage fighting for two. She'd also already formed quite a reputation for herself. It took a lot of self-restraint, but she never used too much power in her punches or kicks, and flying, of course, was out of the question.
The bartender gave her a smile, and began counting the profit he knew he was going to make in his head. Her beauty alone drew a crowd. But on top of that, all the guys wanted to fight her, it was an injury to their pride that a woman was a better combatant then they were, and all wanted to prove how big their . . . . were. The Rogue never lost though. No one knew where she would show up, or how long she would be there, but no one ever turned her down for a fight.
It wasn't just the Wolverine in her that enjoyed the fight, it was her own spirit as well. Every time she fought, she was fighting the darkness that was holding her soul. Fighting the dark thoughts that raced through her mind, the looks of fear in eyes of those who had known about her powers.
She heard the cheers begin and it was time to fight once more.
Grand Rapid, Michigan
Logan had been trying to find his Marie for a month now. Some leads had led him here, but it was just another dead end.
He lay in the bed of yet another seedy motel, this time on Plainfield Ave. He'd driven around a bit, and although the city was huge, this area was empty. The best it had was a few bowling alleys, a McDonalds, a rundown mall, and the only bar around was a Cheers.
Now he was in his rundown room, trying to keep from sleeping, because that was when the nightmare happened. Memories of impaling his Marie on his claws. Or when he could hear her pleas for help at the Statue of Liberty, and was powerless to go to her.
So he lay there, tormenting himself about the fact that he hadn't been there to help her when she'd needed him.
Westchester, New York
Scott Summers watched out the window into the night, worrying, which was something he did a lot these days. He worried about Rogue, that Logan wouldn't find her. Mostly, what would happen if and when he did.
His fiancée, Jean Gray came up silently behind him, "They'll be fine. Rogue can protect herself now."
"Physically, yes, but I'm more worried about what she's doing. And why Logan cares so much."
They were silent for a moment, and then Jean finally asked, "You feel guilty too, don't you." Actually, it was more of a statement then a question, so she went on, "We never ever touched her, Abby and Logan were the only ones who didn't fear her. I'll admit it. I was afraid of her a little. She had so much power, she could kill us. But she was a scared little girl, who needed people to accept her. And we never did."
Scott was stunned, "You were afraid of her? I didn't fear her, feared for her. I didn't understand why people shied away from her. Rogue, was a caring person. And she wasn't a little girl. On top of that, her mind is older then anyone of us put together, but she was stuck in a teenager's body." And with that, he walked away.
Leaving a shocked psychic behind.
Ohio
Rogue collected her winnings then returned to the rundown motel. It was really old, but clean. By far the nicest place she'd stayed in since she'd ran.
Before she'd returned to the room she'd deposited her money in an account, via ATM, that she'd opened under the name Marie Wolf. That was also the name on one of her driver's licenses. Well, the one that gave her valid ID to get plastered when she wanted to.
She had no idea where she was headed, or what she was looking for. But she just knew she was searching for something, but not. She had no set course, she left when she wanted to, stayed as long as she pleased. But Rogue never made friends, she barely even talked to people. She laughed as she turned on the shower thinking about it. She was the female version of the Wolverine.
Then she sighed.
Rogue peeled off the black lycra, which was one of many that she always wore for a fight, then stepped into the hot water. She grabbed her shower poof, which was in her shower kit, along with some Victoria Secret Amber Romance body wash.
It was Rogue's opinion that she might fight with men, like Logan did, but she sure as hell wasn't going to smell like him. Then she washed her hair, quickly, but enjoying every minute of it. Soon she was just standing there, letting the hot water stream down on her tense body as she leaned against the shower wall, and let the memories of why she left flood her mind once more, as they did every night.
Rogue had left because no one felt comfortable around her in the first place. They'd stayed even farther away after she'd drained and kept the powers of the new mutant teacher who had come to teach at the school. The teacher been grievously injured in a fight against Sabertooth, while trying to protect the group of students that had been attacked, Rogue among them. And there was no chance of her survival.
Ms. Kelsington, that had been her name, had begged Rogue to take her powers, so she could protect the rest of the students. She and Abby, which had been her first name, had been very close. They'd made a connection, and Abby hadn't been afraid of her.
They'd talked about everything, especially about the people who roamed around in there. Abby understood, she just knew why Rogue actually kept herself more closed off to the other kids then they kept away from her, because she was too old. Not in age, but in mind. So when Abby was dying, she grabbed Rogue's arm above her glove, were the little bit of skin was peaking out with her superior strength and refused to let go. She told Rogue that she didn't want her death to be senseless, and with her (Abby's) powers Rogue protect herself, maybe one-day help others. So Rogue absorbed Abby's extreme strength, and the ability to fly.
The students became more closed off from her. And after a few tormenting months of it, Rogue had known. For the second time in 17 years, it was time to run again.
The water started to turn cold, so she shut off the shower, dried off, then went to bed, for another night plagued with dreams, of him.
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