That Stupid School Project

[MorriganFearn]

Author's Note: WARNING! This is an X-Men: Evolution fan fic that I started a looooong time ago (Evo was still running, it was that long ago). So, to those of you expecting a pokemon story: turn away (unless you like X-Men: Evo, then by all means continue to read). Some of the language is a little harsh. I was trying to capture that "high school" feel (casual swearing, and general idiocies included). I tried to catch everything, but I'm by no means perfect. And sorry about the accents for those who don't like accents. I'm a friend of them, and I believe in them the way Twain did, but I realize they can be hard to decipher sometimes. Please don't be too offended.

Anyway, TSSP is a powerless AU, which means that it is basically about what the lives of the cast and characters of X-Men: Evo would be like if they had to get along in this reality, rather than their own. A few relationships have changed from cannon (most significantly Rogue's familial relationships). The first chapter shall introduce our main characters as they fit in the normal world. See if you can spot the cameo appearances.

This work of fanfiction is dedicated to all the comic characters that never had a chance to become Evo-ized. Especially Sinister and Stryfe.

~~~

Year of (ex)Change-- also entitled: Stupid School Project
by The Rogue and John Allerdyce

The sky was a clear and uncompromising blue. Light wisps of clouds darted across it. There was a cool, crisp smell to the air. The sound of laughing children came from behind the high walls of the local elementary school.

Cars filled the parking lot of the high school. It was eight o’clock on a Tuesday morning in September. In this sleepy little town just off Long Island Sound this meant that everyone was getting to work, going to school, and wishing that it was yesterday because they hadn’t gotten enough rest on Labor Day.

Mayor Kelly sat in his office reading reports and memos. Principal Darkholme was looking out the window at the mass of students ready to start another fun filled school day after their three day week-end. Professor Xavier was sifting through the mountains of applications to his private school. In a bar somewhere on the outskirts of town a man known only as Logan was happily drinking away his liver. In front of the imposing doors of Bayville High School everyone was quickly separating into cliques.

A group that sat in the shadow of the steps turned on a boom box and listened with depressed looks in their faces as heavy metal flooded over them. They sneered at the group of jocks that walked past laughing about try-outs.

The group of cheerleaders that floated by stopped to look at the overly made up and darkly outfitted group. One of the perky girls whispered something to her friends. The girls broke out into a simultaneous giggle. They moved on to catch up with the jocks, stopping along the way to pose for a yearbook photographer.

Several skateboarders weaved through the crowds, laughing with each other. They started an impromptu contest. The winner was decided when one of the boarders grinded down the hand rail for the school steps and stole a soccer star’s orange juice.

The star just rolled her eyes and continued her conversation with her teammates. Several of the football players walked up and joined in the joke that the soccer player was telling about her victory at last night’s unofficial game with Center Island’s high school.

No one noticed the glare that they were getting from the crowd that was interested in cars. The glares were being divided evenly between Bayville’s quarter back and the Russian exchange student, who was chatting up the perky idol of the computer classes. The auto body division of the high school was divided on who was prettier, Katherine Pryde, amateur hacker, or Jean Grey, soccer super star.

One of the members of the track team jogged past Katherine and quickly tweaked her pony tail, staying only long enough on the scene for the computer genius to recognize him. She glared at him and her tall and chunky side of Russian growled deep in his throat. The track member gave an unrepentant smirk, and with a cocky wave he vanished into the crowd.

He ran past the Goths only stopping long enough to ask the obvious leader of the outcast group what color she was going to be dying her hair today. She snarled at him, flipped her white dyed bangs out of her face, and turned the heavy metal up louder.

Her glare magnified itself by three hundred and focused on the black haired boy chatting with an orange haired boy who was writing something down in a notebook. Some people get everything handed to them on a silver platter. The black haired boy was one of them. He had it all, a loving mother, friends who weren’t constantly waiting for him to show a sign of weakness, and good grades.

Him and Jean Grey. Two of the perfect little students at Xavier’s Academy for Gifted Students. It was basically a place for the geek crowd to hang out. They went to school with the other mortals, but they got a step up on the academic ladder. They could get into any programs they wanted. They were all rich bastards.

She knew that this guy was the principal’s own son and she couldn’t do anything to him without receiving a monumental detention. Not to mention the flak she’d get from her adoptive mother, Irene, about how she should treat her little brother with respect.

“Hey, sheila, couldn’t help noticing that you were staring at us. Well, glaring at us. Hopefully more at me than my little buddy, who, hey where’d he run off to?” the guy with the notebook who the raven haired boy had been talking to looked around wildly. He had a thick Australian accent and the Goth girl remembered she had heard something about some guy from Sydney coming to Bayville on an exchange program. He was supposedly staying with the Xavier prodigies.

“Buzz off, crocodile hunter. We don’ lahk yahr kind ovah here,” she sneered.

“Hey, not my problem skunk head, you were the one who was staring,” he was still writing stuff down in his note book while looking around for his vanished companion. The Goths didn’t bother to tell him that it was doubtful that any of Xavier’s people would come within ten yards of one of them. This stranger would learn soon enough.

The bell rung sharply and everyone made their way into the school building. They tried to stay in their cliques, but classes forced them together.

The Goth leader noticed that the Australian was following her into class. Just her luck.

She looked at the cards on all of the desks. Her English teacher believed in assigned seats and had arranged them so that they were in alphabetical order by last name. Alder, Alder, where was Alder? She had found Allerdyce, funny name and not one that she knew. Ah, here was Alder, Marie, right in front of Allerdyce, St. John.

She slid into her seat and prepared to be bored. This teacher believed in Shakespeare, among other things. He also was interested in end of year creative projects. Those Marie didn’t mind so much, she like to get her feelings down on paper, but she didn’t like sharing them with the class.

An eraser tapped her in the back of her neck and she swung around to glare at the grinning visage of Allerdyce, St. John. Oh crap, not that stupid Australian. That was it, fate was conspiring against her.
John leaned over her shoulder and read her card before she had time to stop him.

“So, you’re a Marie. Funny, I thought that a sheila like you would have a name with more X’s and Z’s than that. You know something like Xena, or Zelda.”

“Go choke on a bagel, or somethin'.”

Marie stared straight ahead until the English teacher, Mr. McCoy, came in. The guy was the teaching equivalent to a Jack of all trades, he taught a bit of history, English, Latin, chemistry, and subbed for the gym teachers.

He started off with quoting Shakespeare, everything was normal. They spent the rest of the class dissecting a poem by Oscar Wilde, The Portrait of Dorian Grey. Marie grudgingly admitted that St. John, what ever else he was, had a real talent for English.

Fifteen minutes before class ended Mr. McCoy told everyone that they would be doing an end of term project. The difference this year from other years was that they would be doing it with a partner. The he told everyone in the front and third rows to be partners with the person sitting directly behind them.

Marie felt like hitting herself with her history text book, easily the heaviest thing in her back pack, as she looked at Jonathan’s grinning face. Her final grade for the year depended on this loon?

[MorriganFearn]

Author's Note: Yay for slapstick. Slight mention of it in this chapter anyway. And this is where we see that Rogue always was and always will be a brotherhood girl. You might have caught Pietoro and Lance mentioned in chapter one, and now in two let's see 'em (along with Todd and Fred) in "normal" roles. Enter the hoodlums ^^.

~~~

The rest of Marie’s day wasn’t going too well either. John turned out to be in three out of her four classes. What made the situation worse was that Scott Summers was in two of those classes. She had no wish for John to find out that she had a stupid crush on Jean Grey obsessed Scott Summers. It was a vain hope.

Her last class of the day was drama, which she shared with Scott, and now John. On the upside, she also shared it with the only people who she felt were OK to hang out with and weren’t Goths. She hung out with the Goth crowd for image; she hung out with these guys for the friendship that only being slightly too weird for any other group gave people.

They all had other cliques that they hung out with, but they were always on the edge of them, even though Lance, Pietro, and Marie practically ran their cliques. Lance Alvers was the co-leader of the car nuts (the other leader was Scott Summers). Pietro Maximoff was on the track team, basket ball team, and soccer team. Todd ‘Toady’ Tolensky was a pick pocket and tended to hang out with the rappers. Fred Dukes was part of the wrestling team. Then there was Marie Alder, Goth and sci-fi writer, Ice Queen and Rogue. That neatly finished out their little group of freaks.
There was one other thing that had brought them all together, other than being absolute outsiders. They all hated and loathed the Xavier Kids. So Marie could probably lose John, who stuck to her like an annoying limpet during their classes together, by virtue of the fact that he was one of the annoying Xavier’s Students, now.

As she came into class she caught onto the end of a heated debate that was going on between the overweight Freddy and the stocky Lance.

“There is no way that Kitty is more attractive than Jean,” Fred told Lance, “First of all; Kitty barely has two neutrons to fire together in that fluffy bunny infested brain of hers. Jean is the most intelligent girl in Bayville.”

“Yeah, right,” Lance retorted, “Jean’s the shallowest girl that Bayville has ever seen. Kitty is way more intelligent. You can’t be a hacker if you are not intelligent. Her pink bubbly side is just an act. Look, why don’t we get an unbiased opinion?”

“There’s no way, yo, that we are gonna find an unbiased opinion on this subject. All of the girls in school are friends with either Kitty or Jean, yo. And all of the guys are in love with the two of them,” Todd said to Lance.

“Oh, we know someone with an untainted opinion,” Lance said calmly. “Hey, Rogue, who’s better: Kitty or Jean?”

Marie walked up to her friends. John followed, she ground her teeth. Honestly wasn’t he going to leave her alone for one minute?

“Oh, no. You two can’t use Rogue’s opinion,” Pietro grinned craftily, “She’s biased towards Kitty ‘cause Jean’s got Scott’s heart in her back pocket. And we all know how the charmin’ Queen of Ice feels about Summers’s love,” Pietro made a mock bow over Marie’s hand and mumbled the words “Oh, Majesty, I am afraid that I must inform you that King Summers has fallen in love with Queen Grey’s undying beauty. My sweet Rogue, pearl of my eye, how may we revenge thee?”

“By getting this creepy Aussie tah stop followin’ me ‘round, lab rat.”

“Oh Southern Belle, how happily we shall do this for you, oh great lady of--”

“An’ yah kin stop callin’ me stupid names. We ain’t in the middle of the Dark Ages yah know.”
Pietro stepped back from his friend grinning mischievously. His eyes darted to the uncomprehending John.

“Uh, who’s ‘Rogue’, mate?” John looked as if he was questioning Pietro’s sanity.

“Oh, Saintly Lady, have you not even told this utter commoner your nom de plume?” Pietro stopped short with his theatrics as he saw the threat in Rogue’s eyes, “This, my Aussie friend, is Marie Alder, though among friends she goes by the name of The Rogue. Now, why don’t you go and sit down with your own kind?” the table where both Scott Summers and the giant Russian sat was indicated with a jerk of Pietro’s thumb.

“Anyway,” Lance continued, even though John had yet to leave the vicinity, “Rogue, you’re about as close as we will come to an unbiased opinion. So who is better: Kitty, or Jean?”

“Well, Jean’s more attractive, but Kitty has the better personality. They are both Xavier’s ovah achievers, but Jean plays powah games with her boys, where as Kitty has yet tah chose one. Howevah, she’s been awful chatty with that Russian -- Ah think that Ah have tah chose Kitty, but personally Ah don’t think that eithah of yah are fallin’ in love with the right girls.”

“Masterfully decided, Rogue,” Pietro took center stage again, he really couldn’t resist being in the spot light, “Now, on to the next question that we needed decided by an unbiased authority. Who’s hotter: Lance or me?”

“Yah, ‘Tro. Yahr second place on the hottest guy in school poll that is goin’ on the girl’s bathroom wall,” Marie grinned at the miffed expression that appeared on Pietro’s face.

“Second place. Second place! Who’s first?”

“Hi, Scott,” Rogue waved over at the sunglasses toting boy, enjoying the look of jealousy that suffused Pietro’s face.

“I came in second to Sergeant Summers? There’s no way.. Arrrgggh, those X-Kids get everything.”

“What are ‘X-Kids’? Rogue made quote signs with her fingers.

“What we’re now calling those freaks that hang out at that private school. X is short for Xavier, see?” Lance told her, “Am I in that poll at all?” he looked hopeful.

“Yeah, yah came in fourth. Just after tall, dark, an’ Russian. Hey, we’d better get tah our seats. Johnny, what the heck are yah still doin’ here?” Rogue glared at her project partner, who was scribbling down stuff in his note book.

Lance took a seat at the back table looking dejected about the fact that he had come in second to Kitty’s new flame. They all joined him, even John. Pietro shrugged and the rest of the guys became acquainted with Johnny, but Rogue seethed.

The end of class couldn’t come quickly enough for Rogue. Johnny had made friends with her friends easier than fish breathed water. As soon as the bell rung she grabbed her bag and bolted for the hall. The other guys stared after her. John started to follow, but was caught by Lance.

“Don’t, something’s upset her. One of us will deal with it. You don’t know her well enough to be able to duck whatever surprise she has coming for you,” Lance turned to the rest of the gang, “OK, who stormed out on us last time?”

“Pietro.”

“Pietro.”

“Yeah, it was me," Pietro hung his head. "Remember, I want to be cremated, not buried,” he ran after Marie.

“What was that all about, mates?” John felt puzzled. Like anywhere else there were obviously traditions here. He just wanted to understand them.

“We have this thing, foo’. We tend to blow up a lot, so whoever was the last person to blow up has to go and confront the one who has just blown up. It’s a means of punishment. Pietro yelled at everyone yesterday, so now he has to go get Rogue and calm her down. If you need us, we’ll be off looking for a tombstone for Pietro. The last time Rogue blew up the person sent to calm her down got kicked in the balls,” Todd explained, “That girl has serious anger management issues, yo.”

“And very good aim,” Lance seemed to be speaking from memory. A very painful memory.

John shrugged and walked off in the same direction as Pietro.

[MorriganFearn]

Author's Note: Short scene coming up, going to flesh out Marie (revealing that she has deeply angsty problems that need addressing and all that jazz -- not really, but it looks good on the promo ads) and give a little hint about what it's like to live in Pietro's shoes in my universe. In a lot of ways his personality is closer to the comic version, but his past is fairly cannon Evo.

~~~

The fall air was crisp and smelled slightly of apples. The trees along the road were few and far between but they always cast the perfect amount of shade. Rogue was sitting under one, looking off into the distance.

There was the cliff that marked the end of Bayville and the beginning of Long Island Sound. She remembered going down there over the summer with her guitar, sitting on the cliff edge and just playing it until her life restored itself to normal.

Everything seemed to be going wrong. She wished that she had never allowed Irene to convince her to move up to New York. Bayville was so provincial, and all of the rules had changed.

But Marie had wanted to know about her family. Her family was in Bayville. So, Marie had to be in Bayville as well. She had found out about her family. Now her jealousy of them was eating her up inside.

“The view’s a lot better closer to the cliff. You can even see the water, you know.” Pietro was leaning against her tree. There was only the slightest sheen of sweat to show that he had been running all the way from the school.

She just sat in her pool of shade. Rogue didn’t want to talk to anyone, not even one of her best friends. Pietro was used to this. He was good at playing the waiting game. Rogue never liked to say anything. She didn’t trust people. He could deal with that, he’d known her for two years, practically since she moved to Bayville. Rogue had never told anyone why she had moved. Pietro didn’t care as long as she never asked where he went every second Saturday.

“Why do yah guys lahk John so much?” Marie’s sleepy Southern drawl caught him off guard for a second.

“Why shouldn’t we like the guy? He’s funny, he doesn’t seem to have the hang ups about rules that everyone else around here does, and he’s got all of these ideas just floating off of him. Plus he’s something new, that’s something you don’t see every day. Especially not around Bayville, we need something to take our minds off what hell it is here. He’s just what we need, someone who shakes things up just by being around.”

The wind sighed through the trees and some grasshoppers chirped in the short grass leading up to the cliff edge. Pietro played the waiting game some more. It was a game that Marie liked.

“He’ll shake things up a bit. But not in a good way. Yah should have seen him in chemistry, it was creepy the way he looked at the Bunsen burner,” Marie broke the silence after five minutes of heavy duty contemplation.

“Hey, maybe if we’re lucky he’s an arsonist. Wouldn’t that be nice, seeing the admin section in flames? Can I ask you the question now? Why don’t you like John?” Pietro moved slightly so that he was absolutely out of range of Rogue. He had learned the lesson that Lance had brought home to everyone about Rogue, that when the girl was upset you should be in another state.

“Ah don’t think that we ought tah be friends with any of the X-Kids, OK?” Marie burst out.

Pietro continued the waiting game. He wanted to know the whole truth. Somehow he couldn’t believe that The Rogue was so petty as to think that all people who went to Snobville were evil bastards.

“Well, aren’t yah gonna say anythin’? Honestly Pietro, sometimes yah just make me crazy,” Pietro’s fists clenched as Marie said this, and his face became a mask of hatred, but he didn’t say anything.

His friend looked up at him as soon as she listened to the words she had just said in the ringing silence, “’Tro, Ah didn’t mean that. Ah really didn’t. Ah just meant that yah made me really angry.”

“Yeah, well you do that to me, too. Sometimes. Just please watch your words-- Oh, forget it. Who cares? I mean, it’s just a word. You can make it up to me by telling me why you have taken it into your head to hate Johnny. It’s a little strange for you; I mean you insisted that we give everyone of those X-Kids the benefit of the doubt, before. Even after Jean Grey decided that she could score some points with her crowd by totally embarrassing you.”

“Ah never insisted that we give that Darkholme boy the benefit of the doubt. That’s who John was hanging with before he met me. Anyone who hangs out with the Darkholme boy is bad news.”

Marie brushed her hair back behind her left ear. That was her unspoken signal to leave. Pietro left her. He still had time to jog a few laps around the park before the Maximoffs were expecting him home. He set off for the park at a sprint.

[MorriganFearn]

Author's note: Short chapter (actually all of them have been fairly short compared to my usual standards). Again this is a characterization chapter <bamfs out>.

~~~

John walked up to the gates of the school and typed in his security clearance. His mind was still reeling from what he had over heard. He knew that he had flipped his notebook out; he could feel his right hand moving, so the pencil was probably activated.

He couldn’t get the way that Marie had sounded when she was talking about Kurt out of his head. He had noticed that she wouldn’t even say the guy’s name, like it would contaminate her or something. What had Kurt done to deserve this girl’s enmity?

The boy he was wondering about almost crashed into John as the Australian rounded a corner of the Academy.

“Whoa, get your head out of the clouds, dude. You almost ran me over,” Kurt steadied his friend. He looked at John with a worried expression. The Aussie normally looked about as conscious of reality as a sugar high bunny rabbit, now the guy seemed to be grounded in reality. It looked like reality had been a bit of a depressing let down.

“Hey, Kurt? Have you ever heard of a Goth sheila, dyes her hair a lot, and named Marie?”

“Uh, I don’t know man. I try to keep away from the Goth element, you know? I think she’s pretty high up in their popularity system, if that helps. Why do you want to know?”

“Uh,” John tried to think up a suitable lie, “I was just assigned to do a year end project with her. In English. Is she any good?”

“I told you, I don’t know. I haven’t heard much about her. She came to visit Mom once when she first came here, I think, but other than that I haven’t a clue. But hey, what does it matter? You’re some sort of writing genius, right?”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to be the only one carrying the project on my shoulders. Oh well, I have a ton of homework to do, see you later.”

John walked through the front doors of the mansion. He looked at the foyer and shook his head. It still amazed him that anyone could live like this. There was just so much. Potted plants, most of them were plastic, gilt picture frames, shiny hardwood floors, and that omni-present scent of pine. His room in this place was about the same size of his apartment back home, and he didn’t have to share it with an all star brother, or a despairing father.

John walked up the stairs, took a left and went down to the third door. He walked into the spacious room with a sigh of contentment. The window gave a nice view of the cliffs and the sound. He had his own desk and chair. The room had even come furnished with a laptop.
John dumped his books and things down in the chair; he could get to them later. Now he had to figure out what they would be doing for a project. Marie would have her own ideas, so he couldn’t start off on that. But, they needed to get together on this as soon as possible. He began to draft a polite note that would get Marie out of her shell long enough to at least start on the darn thing.

[MorriganFearn]

Author's Note: Someone said that this chapter was full of Ryro subtext. I, being romantically dense (and a romy fan to boot), don't see it. I'm just trying to get my main guys to get together and be friends. I don't think it's impossible for two people just to enjoy one another's company without being boyfriend, girlfriend. So I'd just like to disclaim right now, I'm not pairing Rogue with anyone who she doesn't get paired with in Evo. Which sadly means we'll be seeing a lot of Rogue's annoying and pathetic crush on Sergeant Summers.

~~~

The grass under the tree was springy and soft. Slightly longer close in to the trunk than the other neatly clipped grass of the park. John’s heavy, black back pack thudded down. It was soon joined by the gangly Australian.

It was just after 2:30 on a Saturday afternoon. The trees had yet to turn color, although Kitty had promised John that they would soon. School had been hell, John had carefully stayed out of Marie’s way in every class, except for English, and he couldn’t help that. On the up side, it meant that he had learned a lot more about his fellow students at the Freak Academy, but John missed hanging out with Marie’s friends.

There was that pragmatic view of life, the simple dynamics of the group, and the strange friendship of its members. All of these things fascinated him. Why, for example, was Pietro, easily the most popular guy in school, hanging out with someone like Todd?

John pulled out his notebook. He looked at the notes he had made, there were a few doodles as well as the spiky handwriting cluttering up those pages. He flipped to a fresh page.

The sun warmed the tree trunk he was leaning against. The bark was rough, which was good because he felt that he was going to fall asleep if he got any more comfortable. There was the sound of young children laughing as they played tag less than 100 feet away. There was the splash of the fountain that greeted people at the entrance to the park.

John realized that his eyes were closed and he snapped them open to look up in to Rogue’s heavily made up face. His English partner was glaring down at him. Today she had gone for that stark black and white look; John was surprised that she wasn’t turning to bursting into flame every time she came into direct sunlight.

“Well, so, you uh, made it sheila. I thought you weren’t going to show,” John grinned up at Rogue, hoping to dissipate the omni-present glare.

“Well, that’s not mah fault. Yah told me ta meet yah undah the big elm tree near the kiddies playground. Yah weren’t there.”

“I am, too! How on Earth can you say that I’m not where I am?” John was indignant.

“’Cause this is a maple tree, you idiot.”

“Oh,” John had the grace to look embarrassed, “Look, woodsy stuff isn’t my strong point. Let’s just say that it was the fact that I can’t tell a maple tree from a strawberry tree and move on.”

“Strawberries don’t grow on trees,” Rogue was trying not to smile.

“I said let’s move on, didn’t I?” John growled.

Rogue sat down opposite from him. He noticed that she had left a good amount of space between the two of them. He must remember that, she didn’t like being near people. It was a good character insight.

She glanced at John’s notebook. Why did he always have that thing? No, she didn’t want to know. Why should she care about what this stupid Aussie did?

“Have you got any plans for what to do on the project, Marie?” John broke the uncomfortable silence.

“Yeah, Ah do,” Rogue didn’t elaborate.

“And they would be--,” John motioned with his hands for her to continue.

“Well, the project is that we are supposed to write a novel or short story about teen years, rahght? So, Ah thought that we could write about life in Bayville only AU stahle, yah know?”

“AU?” John was non-plused.

“Yah have got to get out and around to some sci-fi stuff Johnny. AU, as in Alternate Universe,” Rogue said very slowly, as if talking to an idiot. “Yah know, where everythin’ the same, only different?” Rogue looked over to see the puzzled expression on her partner’s face get replaced by a disappointed one, “Not exactly what yah had in mind, huh?”

“Well, I thought that we could do the whole Bayville thing, only we would follow relationships and stuff,” John was studying the grass at his feet intently.

“Romance,” Rogue choked. She didn’t know if it was from laughter or the thought of having her friends make fun of her for the rest of her life, “Yah can’t be serious Johnny. Mahndless fluff, that’s all it is. Even Miss Perfect Shade of Red Jean Grey doesn’t read that crap.”

“Hey look,” John yelled hotly, “It’s what I like to write, OK? What would you have us do? Space Invaders from the Planet Krypton?” he was blushing angrily.

“Naw,” Rogue snorted, “Ah have no intention of gettin’ sued by DC comics, or whoever it is that owns Superman, for copyright infringement. But Ah do think that we ought tah be doin’ a sci-fi. Those thin’s are fun tah write.

“Mah idea was more along the lines of symbolism. Look, what does every person feel that they are during those teen-aged years? We all feel that we’re freaks at one tahm or another. So, we make our main characters freaks. They have super powahs, and they try tah cope with them, even though they’re plain dangerous. It’s the perfect metaphor for bein’ a teen, we all feel lahk we’re powahless and everythin’s goin’ outta control. For these characters they aren’t powahless, but they are totally outta control, no one will listen to them because their freaks, but as they grow up they master their powahs and thin’s stop bein’ so tense for them. We can use our own friends and enemies as starters for our characters, and work up from there.”

John nodded, “I like the idea of using friends and enemies as characters. It would be fun to get a few people back for everything they’ve done. But I don’t think that anyone should know that these people are freaks for a while. It would add to their tension having to keep it a secret from everyone. Oh, and as to our own characters, I can control the AU version of Rogue, and you can control the AU version of Johnny. That way we don’t make ourselves perfect Mary Sue’s.”

“Fahne bah me. What are Mary Sue’s?”

“Those characters that are perfect in every way. They’ve got everyone falling over them and they get everything handed to them on a silver platter. Honestly sheila, you’ve got to check out romance more often,” John couldn’t resist using a condescending tone.

“Oh, yeah, Ah’ve seen it happen tah some otherwise good stories. So, who should we have do what?”

“Well, I’ve been taking a few notes about the people around here,” John took out his notebook and flipped to a page that had a list of names on it next to some numbers.

Rogue scanned the list. Most of the X-kids were on it. So was one of the football players, a thick set quarterback named Duncan Matthews. There was one of the girls soccer players. Here was one of Kitty’s friends, some weirdo computer nerd who called himself Arcade; he probably played Dungeons and Dragons. Rogue noticed her name next to the number 13, something about that set up seemed a little ironic. After her name was a complete list of all of her friends, as well as a few teachers.

She reluctantly handed the note book back. She would have liked to see what ‘notes’ John had made about her. Or maybe she wouldn’t like to see them; they might be a little too accurate for her liking.

“So, we focus on a few of these people, an’ expand from there, huh? How are we gonna pick them?” Rogue looked at John with a raised eyebrow.

“Uh, I hadn’t really thought that far. Why don’t we just pick a couple of people to do the first chapter on? Let’s see here, we should have maybe five or six characters. Any more and it will get confusing. We could choose them by running our fingers up and down the list with our eyes closed. Whoever we pick will be who we write about.”

“OK, but Ah will be doin’ the pickin’. Yah probably know the whole list by heart an’ what’s the point of having yah eyes closed then?” Rogue shut her eyes and reached out for the notebook with one hand. He passed it to her, being careful to test out his theory about her. As he let the notebook slide into her out stretched hand he carefully brushed her fingers. He noted that she flinched slightly as she felt his contact. Interesting.

The notebook was placed in the grass and Rogue lay on her stomach as John used a highlighter to mark the names that she indicated. Rogue opened her eyes eventually and stared at the names in front of her.

Scott Summers
Jean Grey
Kurt Darkholme
Professor Xavier
Ms. Darkholme
Todd Tolensky

“Hmm, looks lahk what evah we’re gonna be writing is gonna star the X-Kids,” Rogue didn’t look too happy with this.

“Hey, we could always pick again. I mean Jean’s nice and all, but neither she nor Summers are very exciting casting material,” John tried to appease Rogue.

“That’s nahce Johnny, but Ah think that we should stick to what we have here. Ah figure that the Academy is the perfect place for all of the weirdo freaks to hang out. That place is practically a mansion, rahght? So it could be lahk a secret school or somethin’. Hey, look, Ah got guitar lessons in an hour, Ah gotta go. Can yah make a copy of that list for me? I’ll see you at school on Monday,” Rogue jumped up, grabbed her bag and ran off.

[MorriganFearn]

Author's Note: Jean bashing occurs in this chapter. Please keep in mind that you are reading this through Marie's filters. She's human like everyone else, and gets jealous and angry. That disclaimer being said it should be obvious why there is Jean bashing going on (I abhor character bashing. If you don't like someone don't write about them. However, Rogue would not be Rogue without a bit of bash in her). I also appologize for campy dialog. You can tell that I wrote this a long time ago.

~~~

John passed Rogue several folded up sheets of paper as she slid into her seat only ten seconds before the tardy bell.

Mr. McCoy had them diagramming sentences today and this was one area of English that Rogue had problems with. She carefully copied down the notes off the board, but her attention always strayed back to the pile of papers that she had carelessly shoved into her back pack.

Chemistry, her next class, didn’t allow her any time to take a look at what John had given her. They were now studying the chemical changes brought on by heat. With John as her lab partner Rogue had to divide her attention between the experiment and the Bunsen burner obsessed Saint.

As she left class Scott grabbed her arm. Marie felt a hot rush of blood to her face, but she disentangled herself from his grip almost as soon as she had made it. He pushed his red tinted sunglasses further up his nose and shrugged. Rogue sighed and walked into an alcove where they could speak better.

“Yah wanted somethin’ Summers,” she tried to make her voice sound harsh and cold. This was the person who couldn’t eat or sleep without thinking of Jean Grey, why should he care that an outcast Goth had feelings for him?

“Yeah, what’s this John said about you coming over to the Academy after school?” the warm baritone didn’t sound too happy.

“What are you--” Rogue began, but then she stopped. John wanted her to come over, huh? There must have been something in the papers he had handed her about it. Oh well, if he wanted to invite her she might as well come, it would probably be the only time that she would ever get in, “Oh, yeah. Was that tonight? Ah thought it was tomorrah. Thanks for tellin’ me Scott, it completely slipped mah mahnd.”

“You mean you actually are coming? I thought that it was just a joke.. Why are you coming? I thought that you hated us,” Scott looked worried.

“Ah was invited wasn’t Ah? What’smattah Sugah? Are yah revokin’ mah right tah come?” Rogue grinned at herself, from the expression on Scott’s face he was just dying to do that. It hurt that he didn’t want her to come over, but if this was his reaction then just think of everyone else’s.

“No! No, only the Professor can revoke visiting rights, and he sanctioned John’s,” The way Scott said the word sanctioned made Rogue think that Scott believed that his ‘Professor’ had made a serious mistake.

“Hey, look, Ah gotta go. Ah have no intention of bein’ late tah mah study hall. See yah in drama, Scott.”

Rogue walked off down the hall. She could feel Scott’s eyes boring into the back of her head. Honestly, she thought, I’m not going to make off with the silver while I’m over there. Why does he have to be so mistrustful of me? What have I ever done to him? Well, besides call Jean Grey a very *friendly* person in front of the whole school, but she deserved it.

“Yo, Rogue? Wakey, wakey Ice Queen,” Todd waved a hand in front of her face, “You want to go get a pass to go out of grounds? The screaming siren is givin’ them out to everyone who wants to quote unquote ‘enjoy the freedom and healthy air outdoors’ or somthin’ to that effect.”

Rogue nodded and walked up to the study hall teacher, Mrs. Syren. She requested two passes, and headed out to the courtyard with Todd. There were five different trees out here, and Rogue chose the one with the most glass under it, on the assumption that no one else would want it.
Her book bag was laid down with a thwap, and she spread her denim coat over the glass strewn ground. Todd hopped up into the tree, the guy preferred to be up high. He swung down on a branch and held on by only his knees.

“What have you got there, yo?” he indicated the sheaf of papers that Rogue was finally bringing out of her book bag.

“Nothin’ really, just some stupid English project I have to work on with Johnny,” she brushed a few dirty smears off of the pages.

“Oh, so that’s why he has been avoidin’ us. I thought it was because he was a no good X-geek,” Todd spit and hit a dandelion dead center.

Rogue winced; she hated Todd’s annoying habit of spitting at things, though his aim was remarkable. She looked down at the papers. On top was the list; on the same page was a yellow sticky saying that she should meet John at the Institute after school so that she could get to know the characters of the people that they would be writing.

So that was his little game. It was good advice; they could do a lot more if they had two view points instead of just one. Rogue also decided that she would want a blue print of the school. That way she could put in secret training areas and things like that.

She flipped a page; this one seemed to be a bio of Scott. It had his full name, height and age; some general characteristics, like hair and eye color, as well as some personality quirks. Then there was a long section entitled notes. There was still plenty of space at the bottom for further observation.

The next few pages were the bios on Jean Grey, Professor Xavier, Kurt Darkholme, Ms. Darkholme, and one of Todd. The last one she quickly pushed to the back, in case her friend might see it.

So this is what he gathered in that little notebook of his. Well, she would do him one better. Rogue smiled as she patted her book bag. It was good that she had brought her journalism homework to school, after all.

Her smile abruptly vanished as a shadow fell across her face. Todd flipped down from his branch, ignoring the scrapes the glass made on his hands. Jean Grey stood over the two of them. Rogue kept her face calm and neutral.

“Sooooo, Marie, Scott told me that you were coming over to visit us,” Jean sounded like she was keeping herself from yelling with a great effort.

“An’ if Ah am?” Rogue didn’t bother to hide her disgust.

“So you are. How nice that is for us,” Jean plastered her best photogenic fake smile on her face, “It’s really wonderful to see that Jonathan has made a friend outside of the Academy.”

“An’ it’s really nahce tah know that St. John,” Rogue stressed the name hard, “has people who are lookin’ out for his safety an’ makin’ sure that he doesn’t make friends with the wrong crowd. After all, ain’t it awful when yahr new in town tah find out that the person yah considered yahr best friend was really only bein’ nahce tah yah tah win some stupid bet!” Rogue spat at Jean.

Two red dots flashed into life on Jean’s cheeks and she glared at Rogue.

“Well, at least I don’t hang around with some womanizing albino creep, his thick skulled car junkie friend, a walking tub of lard, and a pick pocket Toady freak!” she yelled.

“Hey, at least we don’t hang around with a boy who constantly wears sunglasses for his ‘image’, yo. Though I heard your teammate Taryn say that he looks very sweet with them off, and with a few other things off as well,” Todd came to Rogue’s rescue.

“What’smattah Red, feelin’ jealous?” Rogue nodded, “Just as Ah thought. The only question is: who are yah jealous of? Taryn, or Scott?”

Jean smiled nastily, “Ha. Ha. I’m not jealous of anyone,” she sounded like she was on the verge of tears, “I just hope John gets what he’s paying for.”

Rogue and Todd watched her run off with her arm over her eyes. Crocodile tears, thought Rogue, just the perfect act for everyone who witnessed that scene. Nice and caring Jean Grey is yelled at by the heartless witch-queen Marie Alder.

“You actually going to the X-Mansion, foo’?” Todd looked at Marie.

“Well, if Ah wasn’t before Ah am now. Sweet Jeanie’s gonna pay for that last remark,” Rogue folded her arms with a look of determination on her face.

“OK, yo. We’d better get in, the bell,” the shrilling of the bell cut through Todd’s speech, “is gonna ring,” he finished with a haphazard smile.

“Naw, really?” Rogue made a sarcastic face, “Hey, thanks for helpin’ me out against the Grey Lady, Ah thought Ah was going tah explode when she said that about you, Lance an’ everyone.”

“Hey, what are friends for, if not to stop a fight?” Todd looked at Rogue as she bent down to pick up her book bag, “Hey, you don’t think that Jean was really upset by what you said, do you?”

“Naw, that was just her and her crocodile smile, as they say,” Rogue started off to the door that led from the courtyard to the auditorium.

Rogue and Todd chatted about anything that came to mind as they walked along. Rogue knew that she sounded a little desperate as she talked. Like she was resolutely trying not to feel guilty about something.

Freddy called them over and they all took seats at one of the five tables dragged up to the orchestra pit. Lance was already there and Pietro rushed in just before the teacher. John showed up three seconds after the teacher and bout five seconds before the tardy bell.

He slid into his seat and then looked around. There was something missing from this picture. He noticed that Scott was looking around, too.

“Hey, guys have any of you seen Piotr? The big Russian exchange student. Draws a lot. Doesn’t talk much,” John said in response to the uncomprehending stares that he was getting from the rest of the table, “I talked to him at lunch today but he isn’t here. It’s not like him to skip a class,” John looked worried.

“Nope, haven’t seen him. If we’re lucky he got deported,” Lance said darkly.

“Uh, why’s that, Lance? He seemed sortta nice to me,” Freddy said in his slow way.

“You didn’t hear Kitty during chemistry. It was all ‘Piotr’s so nice, and kind, and artistic. I wonder if he likes me. He’s got really nice legs. I just love his eyes. Did I mention that he was artistic?’” Lance rolled his eyes and then slumped at the table, looking depressed.

Pietro snorted, “Lance, face it, the pretty Kitty is just outta your league. I am a little worried about giant, stupid, and Russian though. Knowing our luck, one of us will be accused of kidnapping him,” he glanced over at Rogue, “Is it true that you are getting to go into the X-Geek’s secret lair this afternoon, oh implacable Ice Queen?”

“Yeah, Ah didn’t know until Summers cornered me in the hallway but Ah guess Ah am. If only because Ah need to see how many others of the X-Freaks are gonna give me the third degree. Ah already got it from Jean and Scott.”

“Oh, sorry ‘bout that. If I had known that they were gonna grill you I would have kept quiet,” John looked a little abashed.

“No problem, they only wanted tah make sure that Ah wasn’t gonna make off with the silver,” Rogue smiled bitterly.

‘Hey, maybe you should make off with the gold instead,” Pietro laughed harshly.

Everyone around the table fell silent each thinking their own thoughts about the way the senior students of the Xavier Academy for Gifted Students had automatically assumed that Rogue was up to no good.

John felt angry at his fellows and ashamed of them.

Rogue was feeling that it was a sad state when people thought that she would stoop to stealing something.

Todd was still angry at Jean.

Freddy couldn’t really believe that anyone would suspect any one of their group, except for Todd, of stealing.

Lance felt that there ought to be some way to get back at Scott and prove to him that Rogue wasn’t a thief.

Pietro was seething inside. He would admit that if he had been the one asked the worries about the silver would have been reasonable, considering some of the stuff he was doing this year. But Rogue was above that sort of thing, she was too proud to steal.

Pietro and Lance exchanged a look. It simply said that the X-Geeks would pay.

The class started and everyone got caught up in the activity. It was one of those improvisation games known as park bench. The only hint of animosity was when both Scott and Lance were up together. Even then, it was broken up by Piotr coming late, without an excuse. That was when Ms. Monroe, the drama teacher, decided to call a halt to the proceedings. This was pretty lucky because Scott and Lance looked like they were about to kill each other.

The rest of the class went on without incident, although it was noted that Scott seemed to become extra clumsy when Pietro was around, tripping over things and knocking into other people. However, after Rogue took Pietro aside during one partner activity and whispered a few things to him (John was pretty certain that he had been able to catch the words ‘just ‘cause he’s a stupid moron doesn’t mean you have to be’) Scott miraculously regained his balance.

As the last bell rang and everyone headed for the exit Ms. Monroe called Pietro back to ‘discuss a few things’. The rest of the gang waited for him in the hall.

“Excuse me. I vould like to speak vid Ms. Alder, if dis is OK vid you,” Piotr the Russian walked up to them and addressed Lance.

“Yeah, it’s fahne with me,” Rogue pushed past Lance who was grinding his teeth together, “What did yah want tah talk about? If it’s about me going to the Academy, yeah Ah’m goin’. Ah’ve already told two people this today.”

“This is not what I am vishing to be speaking vid you about. Could ve talk somevere vere der are no prying ears?” his accent was thick, and Piotr spoke very slowly, as if he didn’t wish to startle anyone.

“Yeah, ovah here,” Rogue walked over to a window against the strong growls of protests coming form Lance.

“Good. I vas late to class because I found Jean Grey, a housemate of mine, crying in an unused class room. She seemed quite upset. I heard one of her friends say that she had been vid you. I vas vudering vhat happened to make her so upset. She vould not even let her friends come near her,” Piotr looked genuinely concerned.

“She started insultin’ me, an’ Ah decided tah insult her right back,” Rogue’s face was stoney, “Ah figured it’s about tahm that she’s the one in tears.”

She turned and walked down the corridor. Her back was stiff and she was looking for an excuse to kill something. Lance raised his eyebrow at Todd, who nodded a silent conformation. They all followed their friend out the door into the beautiful autumn sunshine.

Piotr looked after them and then he followed, too.

Pietro risked a peek outside the door and felt relief wash over him when he saw that no one was there. He looked at the sunshine, still enough time to go jogging around the park for fun before going home.

[MorriganFearn]

Marie Alder stood nervously in front of the imposing wrought iron gate. The thing had to be twelve feet tall.

A chill breeze whistled past her legs and tugged at her carefully done hair. She had made one trip to the girl’s room after school to put extra make-up on, do something with her hair, and put on some jewelry.

Why had she done that? It was just the X-Kids, after all. Now she could have passed for one of those snotty rich little bastards any day. What did she care if they saw her the way she normally was? But there was something different about being her grungy Goth self at school and being it here, in front of these gates. Here she would be the dark brooding sculpture of ice, rather than the scruffy vagabond of the school.

She would show them that just because she hung out with Lance and everyone didn’t mean that she would steal the silver. She was just as well educated and intelligent as these people. She hadn’t signed up for their stupid school program because she didn’t want in, not because she wasn’t smart enough.

John was typing in the security code and pointedly not noticing her. The Goth had given him the details of what had sent Jean Grey off with her tail in between her legs. The insults had seemed a little harsh in his opinion, but he couldn’t make any judgment about it until he learned why Rogue hated Jean with such a vengeance.

Unfortunately no such information was forth coming. Rogue had given him the bare facts of the case, but none of the back story. When he had asked her what had set her off she told him that it was none of his business.

“What are we goin’ tah be doin’ here anyway?” she said suddenly, making him jump and type in the wrong number.

“Uh, working on the project.. You didn’t think that we would be.. you know,” he trailed off, there was no way that the sentence could end well.

Rogue just snorted, “Yah obviously don’t know me very well, Sin Jin,” she had taken to calling him that on the walk from school. He didn’t mind, it was a lot better than Johnny, a nickname that he was trying to stamp out, “Ah am th’ Untouchable Rogue. Yah didn’t think that a nahce warm Southern gal like me got the name of Ice Queen for the way Ah like mah tea, do yah?”

“So, you like iced tea, do you? Well isn’t that something. Darn you stupid security system open these gates before I make a bigger fool of myself,” he yelled at the keypad.

“Yah mean like talkin’ tah the security system,” Rogue was beginning to smile.

“Well, yeah. Uh, what was the original question?”

“What th’ heck are we gonna do here all afternoon?” she asked him as the gates began to swing open.

“Oh, I thought that we could do a little background surfing on our key characters. You know, find out their quirks and stuff. The more we know about a person the better we can fit some powers to them. Like I think that the Headmaster, Professor Xavier, should be a psychic. It fits him; he always knows what’s on your mind before even you do.”

They walked across the sloping lawn, talking about who would fill what position within the team.
“Summers is th’ obvious leadah of all these do goodahs,” Rogue said vehemently.

“Yeah, but he’s got no personality. We could never make it fly. You’ve got to keep the reader’s interested, otherwise you’ve lost sheila,” John shot back.

“Yeah, Ah see that. But yah don’t want th’ main good guy tah be interestin’. Yeah need tah have th’ minor characters hog th’ spotlight. Anyway, we should keep this as real as possible,” Rogue countered swiftly.

“Real! How can you possibly talk about real? We’ve given the main adult character telepathic powers!”

“Whoa, is there trouble in paradise?” Kurt walked around the corner so suddenly that both Rogue and John jumped in fright.

“Uh, hi Kurt. This is Marie, Marie Alder, she’s working on the English project with me,” John introduced them. Rogue seemed reluctant to shake hands.

“It’s great to meet you, Fraulein,” Kurt made a mock bow over her hand. Instead of rolling her eyes and sighing with exasperation the way she did when Pietro pulled the same stunt with her Rogue looked like she was going to be sick.

“Yeah, well, it’s not so great tah meet yah,” she bristled.

“Prickly, isn’t she? Just part of her inconceivable charm and-- uuff,” John doubled over where Rogue’s elbow had made contact with his stomach.

“OK, that was just part of her inconceivable charm and very sharp elbow, huh?” Kurt grinned at Marie, inviting her to share the joke.

She almost brushed him off again, but she remembered that one of the names on the list of people that they had to interview was his. And, she told herself, it was an OK joke. I can drop my hatred for one afternoon, give him a chance. It’s not like he’s the one I’m pissed at. Just his stupid, unfeeling--, she stopped that train of thought cold. She would not let that woman overshadow her life.

“Do yah always pop up so suddenly?” she asked while John got his breath back.

“Oh, yeah. Scott’s threatening to put a bell around my neck, it’s happening so often,” he smiled at her.

Marie grinned back despite herself. Kurt was very good humored it seemed, “Why did yah call me Fraulein just then?”

“Oh, I spent one year in Germany. I use the German when I want people to swoon all over me. It doesn’t always work, but I figure with your reputation the chances were that it wasn’t likely to.”

“Mah reputation?” she said in a dangerous tone of voice.

“Yeah, or rather the reputation of those you hang out with. I think you must be the only girl who has been in Pietro Maximoff’s presence for more than five seconds and not tried to kiss him,” Kurt said jovially, oblivious to the danger.

“Oh, that is a relief. Pietro and Ah want tah keep our engagement a secret.”

John, who had just gotten his breath back, let it out in a whoosh. Kurt looked shocked for a few seconds. Rogue began to laugh at the stunned expressions on the faces of the two boys. Then Kurt began to laugh, too, once he realized that Marie had been making a rather bad attempt at a joke. It was a sympathy chuckle.

“Ah should really try that joke when Pietro is around tah hear it. Ah’d just love tah see the look on his face. If it was anything lahk yahs then it’ll be worth it,” Rogue added, obviously oblivious to her total lack of humor.

“You really have to make sure that everyone knows that you are joking. You look so serious, that and you aren’t the type to joke around like that,” Kurt said as he accompanied his friends to the front entrance.

“C’mon Rogue sheila,” John was feeling happier again, Rogue’s initial iciness had toned down, though she was still holding herself stiffly, “We’ll give you the grand tour. D’you want to start with the grounds or the Academy itself?”

“The grounds, Ah think that Ah’ll get tah see more that way,” Rogue told the two boys.

Kurt offered her an arm, but she pretended not to notice that it was there. John shook his head slightly at Kurt and gave him a look that has been universally translated to mean ‘tell you later’. Kurt shrugged, but he started off, explaining the secrets of the wide sloping lawn and the lovely gardens.

Marie watched everything with a hint of envy. She got particularly attached to the small gazebo overlooking the sheer cliff that dropped into the Sound. John and Kurt had to drag her away from the woody enclosure that the gazebo rested in.

Kurt did tell them a lot about the history of the grounds, particularly the tress that grew along the edges. He went on for quite a while about the differences between the elm and the maple when Marie told him about John’s slip up. Kurt only ended that when John began to beat his head against a ‘bloody ash tree’ in his own words (it was a pine, but both Rogue and Kurt agreed that it was probably not a good idea to mention that fact).

He showed them all of the best places to climb, which trees had the best views from the tops, and which ones were challenges from the climbing point of view. Marie always climbed up Kurt’s trees with him, but John preferred to stay on the ground, claiming that he liked his skull in the same piece.

Marie and Kurt were just racing up a spruce tree when John shouted up to them that they had company. Both of the laughing teens slid down again to be confronted by Scott Summers.

Rogue became suddenly aware that her hair had mostly come undone, her clothes were severely disheveled, and to top it off her make up was smudged from the tears of laughter that she had a moment earlier. Scott Summers, the hottest guy in school according to the girl’s bathroom poll, had just seen her look like a total idiot. She was going to be haunted by this every time she stepped into chemistry and drama class.

She could feel the heat rushing to her face. Wonderful girl, not only do you look like you were trying to relive your days as a three year old, you’re blushing, she scolded herself. Scott Summers has just seen you fall out of a tree giggling like a maniac. This situation can’t get any worse.

Scott’s gaze, however, brushed past her to land on Kurt.

Oh, come on! Rogue thought, suddenly angry. What does he think I am? Just this Rogue shaped patch of air? I bet he wouldn’t act this way if Jean was standing in my place.

“Hey, Kurt, Dr. MacTaggart wanted to see you about that report that you handed in on the evolution of mankind. She has a bone to pick with you about your extra gene theory,” Scott scratched his head; science was a closed book to him.

“Oh boy, I am in trouble. Jean was the one who had helped me write that report. She sortta lent me that theory. I am so dead,” Kurt was off so fast he might as well have teleported away from the other three.

“Does he always pop off lahk that?” Rogue asked Scott. Yes, thought her subconscious, yes, pay attention to me. Look at me, please look at me. Wow, you have hot eyes without those glasses.

“Yeah,” Scott looked uncomfortable, “he does do that a lot. Look I’d better be--.”

He was cut off by a grinning Aussie, “you’d better be helping my on the grand tour, mate. Kurt was just showing us the beauty of the forest before you made him run off,” John flashed a smug smile at the gaping Marie, who was trying to figure out what the heck her partner was up to.

“But can’t you do it?” Scott protested as John took him by the arm and propelled him forcefully towards the next stop on the tour.

“No, mate, I haven’t the knowledge of the Academy that you permanent students do. Look, here’s the garage. Now explain to Marie what it is that we do here.”

John needn’t have bothered to be there in the time that they spent in the garage. Marie had immediately run over to a motorcycle and begun to ask questions about things like vintage, which as far as John was concerned, was something that happened to wine. Scott began warming to the questions. He didn’t let down his guard enough to say that he had enjoyed Marie’s company, but he did become very respectful.

It was five o’clock when Marie’s watch beeped fitfully. She started and stopped running her fingers down the Harley that had caught her attention in the beginning. She groped guiltily for her bag and began to mutter excuses.

“Hey, Marie, y’can’t leave!” John cried, “We still have to compile all of our notes!”
He looked distraught at the idea of letting this part of the project slip through his fingers.

“Yah can come over an’ have dinner with me,” Marie clapped her hand to her mouth. What on Earth had possessed her to say that? And why did she have to say that tonight? She couldn’t have Sin Jin over for dinner tonight!

“Sure sheila, that would be great,” John babbled out before Rogue got a chance to change her mind, which it looked like she was already in the process of doing, “Tell Xavier that I’ll be out with Rogue,” John waved to the flabbergasted Scott and walked over to Rogue.

She turned and walked out of the garage as fast as possible, trying to think of a way to gracefully get rid of him. She couldn’t retract the invitation, now that it had been made. That would be the worst case of bad manners ever; Irene would never forgive her for it.

She couldn’t tell him why she didn’t want him to come, either. What would be the point of keeping him away if she had to describe the knowledge that she didn’t want him to have?
So, she would have to have him come over. Not good, he would find out what a mess her life was.

[MorriganFearn]

((I like this chapter. In fact, I like all the chapters that occur in Bayville's local cop bar. I can add more AU versions of characters from the comics than from anywhere else. See if you can spot all of the references.))

~~~

John wandered along, next to the scowling Rogue. This would be the perfect opportunity to find out more about the broody Goth girl. There seemed to be an unwritten list of rules somewhere that said what you could and couldn’t say to Rogue. Since he didn’t have access to it, the way all of her other friends did, he was going to have to observe her and find out.

Her group of friends all seemed to have a set of words that set them off. He knew from the conversation that he had eavesdropped on that you did not say the word "crazy" in Pietro’s presence. You never made fun of Lance’s Jeep, or Freddy’s weight. He didn’t have a handle on what set Todd off, but of the group he seemed to be the most easy-going. Rogue was the enigma, things set her off all right, but he didn’t know which things.

They walked into the run down part of town in a heavy silence. Rogue was kicking at some pebbles that were unfortunate enough to end up near her booted feet. John was looking at his notebook cover, which he had brought with him. Rogue turned down a side street and entered a shabby bar. John stood outside for a while in surprise, but then went in after her.

There was a smoky haze in the bar, but to John’s relief it smelled more of cigars than cigarettes. He didn’t think that he would have been able to stomach the stench of cigarettes at the moment. He was already shocked at his partner’s behavior.

Rogue slid into a booth that had a man slumped over it. The guy was obviously drunk, and John’s nose wrinkled as he slid in across from Rogue and the man. Rogue shook the man, but very gently, John noticed.

“Here, you can’t sit there,” a tough looking girl walked up out of the gloom. She wore a canvas apron that was stained with God knew what and a grim scowl, “Oh, it’s you Marie,” her expression softened, slightly, “Who’s the stud?”

The rag that she had been using to polish a beer mug flicked in John’s direction. He felt suddenly hot, but Rogue laughed. She seemed freer here. He had certainly never seen her act so lose around anyone, not even her gang of friends.

“This is Sin Jin, Ah asked him ovah for dinnah bah accident.”

“How do y’do that?” the girl looked incredulous.

“We’re partnahs on a school thing. We needed tah work out th’ details of th’ project and I made th’ invite without thinkin’,” Rogue shrugged, with the closest approximation of ruefulness that she could make.

“That’s for sure,” the girl gave John another steely glare, “you’ve gotta get rid of the stupid sense of politeness that Irene ingrained into you.”

“Whatevah. You got your ways, Ah got mahne. Speakin’ of politeness, Sin Jin, this is Xy, we jus’ call her Exie.”

“How d’you manage to get a name like that?” the question burst out of John’s mouth before he could stop himself.

“That what happens if your father is so drunk he can’t write your name straight on a register,” Exie shrugged and turned to Rogue, “Speaking of the old reprobate, you’d better wake him up. He’d be right pissed if he missed his daughter’s visit because he was too busy consoling himself today.”

“Ah thought he’d gone off of th’ stuff,” Rogue looked at the man sitting on the bench next to her with worry, forgetting her partner, who was trying to sort all of the information out at once.
“He has. Just, well, things happen,” Exie didn’t meet Rogue’s piercing emerald gaze.

“What thin’s?” the question was forced out with deadly menace.

“Nick died,” the reply was short.

“Uncle Nick! Why wasn’t Ah told? When did this happen?” Rogue looked furious.

“We found out on Labor Day. Dad didn’t want your concentration to slip from school. Well, that and he became so sauced after he found out -- It was a two day binge.

“Today was the funeral, and that just started the ball rolling again. It’s only him and Creed left now. It was so sad, us three, we were the only mourners. We didn’t tell Irene because she’d insist that you go, and you’d insist that you go, and we really didn’t need you and Creed trying to clobber each other with the coffin.

“Besides, you know Fury; he never liked to inconvenience anyone, and taking you out of school today -- Well for starters that would have ruined my chance to mock you and your date,” the girl grinned maliciously at John.

“Wait a tic,” John was doing speed calculation, “You two are sisters?!”

“Yeah, we got the same Dad. The lazy wretch that Marie is trying to coax awake,” Exie’s tone was soft even though her words were harsh.

“Who says that I’m not awake already?” came the growl from the supposedly sleeping man, “So, you goin’ out with my daughter, bub?”

“No, Logan, it’s not lahk that, Ah swear. An’ Ah’d lahk it if y’all didn’t give Sin Jin ideahs, he’s got enough comin’ out of his head without mah family tryin’ tah turn them in an amorous direction,” Rogue glared at the grinning people who bracketed her.

John blushed, and began writing things down feverishly. He flipped to the page that he had done on himself and put down that he had a habit of writing things down when he was under emotional distress. Displacement activity? He wrote, and then added a second question mark.

“So, how’s your mother?” Logan asked.

Exie began to polish the beer mug feverishly. Rogue clenched her jaw, her face suffused with red. This was visible, even under her customary ten layers of make-up.

“How th’ Hell should Ah know?’ her voice was quiet and threatening.

“How ‘bout Irene?” Logan looked unperturbed.

“She’s fahne, Ah guess. Wants me tah move away from the crowd Ah hang with, as per th’ usual. She doesn’t get it,” Rogue broke off biting her lip.

“She’s right,” Logan growled, “I don’t mind that wannabe rocker boy, Avery, or whatever, but I don’t think that you ought to be hanging around with that little Toady.”

“Todd’s a good person,” Rogue defended hotly.

“He’s a pickpocket,” Logan said, his manner was outwardly calm, but John could see the angry flush on his cheeks.

“He’s a loyal friend. Better than some Ah could mention,” Rogue managed to give the illusion of drawing herself up while still keeping in her seat.

“Yeah, that sneaky white haired freak being one of them. He’s been doing everything he can to drive those parents of his to the insane asylum. That boy is nothing but trouble,” Logan commented sourly.

“Yah don’t know him, Ah do,” Rogue said quietly, drawing rings on the table in stale beer.

“What I do know is that he’s been shop lifting,” Exie interjected forcefully, Rogue looked up, startled.

“Pietro? Yah gotta be kiddin’ me. Todd, yeah, Ah can see him makin’ th’ step, but Mr. God of th’ Athletic Scholarship Program himself?” both John and Rogue were incredulous.

“Yeah, well, he tried to get in here on a fake ID about a day ago. Look, you know what they say, like father,” Exie cautioned.

“Lahke son. Yeah, Ah know. Funny, the last tahm Ah heard that little phrase was when Pietro blew up at everyone,” Rogue mused.

John quickly flipped to the page underneath the label of Pietro Maximoff.

“What Ah’d lahk tah know,” Rogue mused, “Is why everyone always uses that phrase when ‘Tro’s around,” both girls turned to look at Logan sharply.

He shrugged, “I was off in Arizona, or somewhere in the mid west, or maybe in Ontario. I don’t know. But everyone steps carefully where the Maximoff boy and his real parents are concerned. Everyone knows that poor couple adopted him, and of course you get all of the stories associated with why they aren’t his parents. You girls are right; it’s always the father they speak darkly about. Creed could tell you more than I can. He actually knew the kid’s father.” Logan inspected his glass to see if there was any beer left.

“We are not askin’ Creed for information. It doesn’t matter that much tah me if Ah don’t know. An’ Ah won’t involve some low down, dirty, evil bastard in what mah friends won’t tell me.”

“You sound like I did when I was younger,” Logan grinned, “It’s funny that you two hate each other so much. I can’t really understand it. You’ve never seen the things about him that made me hate him, and the first time he met you, nothing happened. Maybe there is such a thing as hate at first sight.”

“Maybe,” Exie looked at Logan, as if he was opening up an old argument, “But I don’t think that--,”

“Oh, don’t start that old argument again!” Rogue exclaimed.

“What argument?” John spoke up now that they were on solid ground conversation wise.

“They like tah argue over philosophical points of view. Last year it was truth versus beauty. This year it’s been love at first sahght,” Rogue shifted her weight on the bench and glared at both Exie and her father with exasperation.

The door opened letting drafts of air that sent the cigar smoke filling the room moving. Exie looked up, her face creased in a frown.

“Hey, we’re not open for another half hour,” her face softened as she recognized who was in the doorway, “Oh, it’s you. Sorry, I should have remembered that you were coming. You already know me and Logan. This is Marie; she’ll be the other waitress. She only comes every Monday. You’ll be working the supply shift under Logan. What you have to do is.. Hey I’m trying to tell you about your job here!” Exie’s frown snapped back into place.

The new comer was staring at Rogue who was tense and growling. John could immediately see the resemblance between Logan and his Goth daughter.

“What the Hell are yah doing here?” Rogue’s voice was low and menacing.

“Ro- Ro- Marie! I didn’t know that you were here,” John looked at Lance Alvers, who stood paralyzed by Rogue’s baleful glare.

“Same here,” she said, “but Ah do know someone who does. Avery indeed. I’ll get yah for this Logan,” Rogue threatened without taking her eyes off of Lance’s pale face.

“Didn’t want you to be running off if you knew that one of your crowd was going to be here. And he will be working here, no matter what you want to say to the contrary,” Logan looked up from his beer glass, which he had been gazing wistfully at, once again.

“Whatevah,” was Marie’s only response.

Exie led Lance on a grand tour explaining what he would be doing. This seemed to consist of make sure that the beer nuts never ran low. He also had to make sure that the right alcoholic beverage was given to Logan in case of a fancy order, but those weren’t common, and when they were ordered it was usually Fuzzy Navels that were asked for. Lance memorized where the bottles of orange juice and peach schnapps were kept and then was declared fit to do his job.

Exie handed over a clean apron to Rogue and got a marginally more presentable one for herself. John was taken out of the both and was put into a corner barstool where he could converse with Marie and not disturb the other customers. Logan slid out of his seat grumbling, and went behind the bar to prepare for the first wave of customers.

John watched everything curiously as Exie and Marie swiped the tables clean.

“Uh, ain’t there some sort of law against children working in a bar?” he asked Logan tentatively.

Logan grinned, “Yeah, but in this section of Bayville the cops don’t come around unless they’re off duty. Nobody’s gonna try and close down the only cop bar in town. The other bars won’t have it because the cops will just invade their ‘establishments’ and scare away all the regulars, and the town council won’t have it ‘cause I’ve got the dirt on every single member. So Exie stays and helps me out and Marie does waitressing on Monday nights.”

“What d’you mean, ‘cop bar’?” John asked, his note book open to a new section entitled ‘Logan’.

“Simple, this is where the cops go if they are off duty. This bar is like a second precinct for them. There’s a couple of ‘Nam vets that come here, too. And one little old lady whose been coming here since it was the Rose Tea Shop. It’s pretty somber in here for the most part. Cops are serious drinkers, vets are serious drinkers, and little old ladies have mean ways with umbrellas if things get too loud for them.”

“By serious drinkers you mean?” John gestured with his left hand as his right scribbled madly.

“They come looking for enough beer to drown out everything that they have ever seen. It’s, how does that quote go? Oh yeah, ‘They drink with the clear intention of never seeing sobriety again.’ Why are you writing all of this down?” Logan looked at John suspiciously.

“For that English project that I’m working on with Marie, mate. I’m looking for atmosphere and ambiance. That and this place provides good character insights.”

“Yeah,” Logan replied with the tone employed by every person who has no clue what you are talking about but will agree to anything if you will only shut up.

John knew this tone well. He shook his head and bent down so that he could attempt making his hand writing neater. Why did people always ask for information if they didn’t want it? Oh well, just one of life’s little mysteries, like why no one else liked to watch the pretty pictures that fire created.

“Hey,” Rogue’s shadow fell across his paper, “What have yah got for ideas so far?”

“Well, I think that we ought to include your father. He’d make up for the total lack of character in Scott. More than make up for it, the guy has charisma.”

“No. No way! We are not draggin’ anyone else intah this. Ah don’t want--,” Rogue cut herself off.

“You don’t want people to know about him,” John said, one pale orange eyebrow raised.

“Yah’re darn right. It’s bad enough that mah best friends are tryin’ tah test the limits of th’ law with out haulin’ all of mah problems for everyone to peer at in a school project!” her emerald eyes flashed in anger.

“We don’t have to write the same relationships that everyone has. Also, you’re not even in this thing yet. I’m writing him in, it’s a done deal,” John closed his notebook with what would have been a snap if he had been using any other implement, because it was a spiral bound notebook it closed with a soft thwap. Not as final or impressive as a snap but it still got the point across.

“Fahne, but Ah get tah write th’ entire plot for th’ first chapter,” Rogue hissed back.

“OK, and we’ll do the character’s powers together. See how easy things are when you compromise sheila?” John seemed to be back to his usual smiling self.

“Comprmise! Ah’ll compromise with you when--,”

The door swung open, cutting off what Rogue was going to say.

((Dun, dun, dun...))