A/N: Hey guys, I'm back! So, I've decided something. I'm going to start all this over again. But here's a warning — this is going to go real slow. Even after March, I have my College Exams up next, which I have to prepare for. I wouldn't not be very frequent in my updates and I'm going to take my own sweet time putting it up because I want to do it right this time.

I'm sorry if I'm disappointing you with this update since I'm only putting up the first chapter, but this is how its going to be.

Have a nice time reading!

Title:On The Run

Summary:This story is set after X-Men 3. Rogue is back at square one with her powers, which seem to have a mind of their own. The strange relation of her powers with a mere kiss, Scott's and Jean's death, Professor's re-appearance, Logan's disappearance — it's all beyond her. She wants peace, which is not here at home.

No, not without Logan, its not home.

So, what does she have left to do other than running away?

Here, poor Rogue is on a run from her miserable life and wants to discover what lies beyond the four walls of the Mansion. This story explores the other side of the Mutant World, which lies outside the Mansion, outside Professor's care and protection.

But Rogue is unaware that what she has seen at the Mansion is only a small amount of what Mutants are capable of. Somebody is hard after her and wants something that is very dear to her. Something, that they can't have until Rogue dies.

Will Rogue escape what has been planned for her?

Or will she die a gruesome death?

Disclaimer (for the whole story. I'm just not gonna post Disclaimers after every chapter): This fan fiction is not written for profit and no violation of copyright is intended. I do not own the X-men nor am I acquainted with Marvel in any way.

(However, in this chapter, I do own Ethan Miles and Margaret.)

Chapter One

Cursed

"Are you sure, child?"

"I don't know professor. I just feel it's not right, you know? Staying here and…putting lives at stake."

"I know how you feel, Rogue. But we're a family."

I didn't answer that. I didn't quite have the words.

"Running away is not the best solution every time, you know?"

I know he was referring to the last time I ran away –- a few years ago when I injured Logan terribly. When Mystique tricked me into leaving the school. As it turned out, it wasn't the best solution.

This time the decision will be all mine," I said determinedly.

I fingered one of my silver curls, looking down at them. They were the reminder of the foolishness I showed last time. But I didn't mind the curls now. They were a part of my identity now.

"What about Logan? He's not even here. You cannot simply leave."

I saw a corner of my lip move up, as I looked at myself in the mirror. Professor could be convincing if he wanted. Only, I wasn't going to be outdone this time.

"I'm not exactly decided," I said, sitting down on my bed.

A pause. He didn't reply. Of course he must know. It was foolish to expect otherwise.

"Okay Rogue," he said nonetheless.

And then there was silence. I waited for a couple more minutes for anything else to happen. You could never be too sure with psychics.

As soon as professor tuned out of my head, I sat on my bed again, turning towards the window and watching a tree far away in the garden which sprawled majestically in the front of the mansion. I smiled at the view my window had to offer. I'll miss it all.

After the cure failed and made the headlines once again, I was one of the first ones who were almost worried into a depression. I, in no way, wanted my mutation back. It was something that had me scared out of my bed a dozen times until the unfortunate day finally came — the day I saw Bobby kissing Kitty. I was fuming by the time I came to my bedroom and the next thing I knew, there was Bobby behind me, lying on the floor, unconscious.

And yes, I sort of blame Bobby for getting it all back. What? Somebody had to be blamed. He was the one who triggered it all over again. What if it had to happen one day anyway? I could have had more than those three months of blissful happiness if Bobby hadn't cheated on me.

I sighed. I just had to leave. The place was getting on my nerves.

Maybe Professor already knew that I played him. It wasn't exactly easy to do it. Even when Professor respected others privacy and tried to stay out of their heads most of the time, I knew it wasn't exactly easy to control our mutation. It became a habit to use them in a while… After all, it was a part of who we are.

We, the Mutants.

It's a strange world for us. We hide from normal life because we can't have it, we try to get away, heal ourselves of this abnormality, yet we find ourselves in the same place. Was there no way to escape this? To run away?

Yeah, only if it was that simple. If somebody here at the Mansion heard me call it an abnormality, they'd argue me to no end. Right, as if they had to cope up with what I face every single day, every single minute, every single second.

I got up and began packing again.

There would be no end to this one.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Startled, I looked at the door. It was late. I didn't expect anyone. Quickly, I walked to the door and into the hallway rather than inviting the knocker in. I didn't want anybody to see that I was packing. Not that there was much to pack anyway.

The first thing I saw was his blue eyes. I looked away immediately, focusing on the painting that hung on the wall behind him. It was a ship, rolling in dangerous waters. Did I mention, I'd like to go on a cruise some day? Maybe, I'll fulfill some of my wishes after leaving. I have a whole life in front of me anyway.

"Rogue," Bobby said, looking at me. "I—I heard."

I focused my eyes back on the painting. The colors were beautifully done. A sun sparkling on the ocean, the blue and greens of the water melting together into one another, the wood of the ship, the slight upturn of the bow. "And you came here because…?"

"We can talk, Rogue. You don't have to be like this."

I blinked at him several times, trying to think of a right thing to say. In the end, I sighed. "Bobby, let's just not talk about things you or I have no way of explaining. You did what you wanted to do. I'll do what I want to. I'm not bound to you in any way now."

"Rogue, please? For the sake of our friendship?" When I glared at him, he tried again, "Let's just be civil, at least?"

"Right. The cliché. Let's be friends. Let's be civil. Sorry, Bobby, but I hate clichés. So, goodbye."

I looked at his sad face again, stepped inside and shut the door in his face.

"We're on the same team, Rogue!" Bobby shouted from outside. "How are we supposed to work together if you behave like this?"

I had solution to that too, Bobby.

Yes, I was leaving. So, no worries there, right?

Readying my duffel bag, I wrapped myself up in bundles of clothes. It was freezing outside but I knew I had to get out now. I left my bag on the bed, shut the room behind me, which I had cleaned of my personal belongings and walked towards the infirmary, thinking all the while.

It was past midnight but I wanted to see, just this one time, that the kid was alright. It was a wonder how their mind worked these days. The minds of the kids, I mean. The idea was foolish, not to mention risky and suicidal.

Come on! A dare? To touch the untouchable? Didn't they know I was deadly? Didn't they think? Didn't they know that I was a menace? To the society, to the people? Didn't they know why I stayed away?

I mean, I wasn't even worth all this — being treated like an X-men. Because unlike the X-men, I didn't save people. Rather I harmed them. I could kill by mere touch. Didn't they know?

And maybe that's why I was recruited to the team. To pave way for the others. To kill the enemy.

I mean, I wasn't like Storm, who could brew up a disaster and calm it down to a fine sunny day in seconds. I wasn't even like Scott, who could control his mutation with help. At the end of the day, he was still normal.

I was like Jean, probably.

But then, I didn't exactly like being compared to Jean. I mean, not like I didn't like her. I just preferred not to talk about her.

Why I hadn't gained control over my mutation, standing at the age of twenty, I had no fuckin' idea. Really. Almost everybody my age that I knew can do it — Jubilee and Kitty could do it. But then again, I didn't really like to talk about Kitty. Plus, I didn't think of them as powers anymore. I mean, surely, what Jubilee and the others have, might be a blessing, or a strength, an added bonus. But what I had was a curse. It was damn curse.

And I could clearly see the result of my curse on others as I reached the infirmary. I stood far away, maintaining a safe distance. More than a safe distance, actually. The boy was on a bed, breathing peacefully. Coma, most probably.

I didn't even have a freaking idea what his condition was. Was it anything serious? Maybe not. Nobody was really beside him. He was alone there, lying like an angel on the bed. His skin was pale, very pale. But I could see the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. I sighed with a bit of relief. At least he was alive.

Five seconds at the very least. Yes, I knocked him out within five seconds. That's how much it took. Depended on the immunity, basically. The kid was barely ten. Maybe, it was three seconds.

God, I am pathetic.

"He'll be alright," I heard a hoarse voice behind me.

"Are you sure?" I asked without even thinking, turning to find Hank behind me.

"Um, Hank. Uh, what are you doing here?"

It wasn't like we saw Hank everyday. I mean, I've been in the mansion these three to four years and I only saw Hank once before. And that too, when the cure was released and he came here to inform us about it.

"I was checking on the kid. He's related."

"Oh, great," I said, sarcastically. I practically killed Hank's relative. Who is a kid, by the way.

"It wasn't your mistake," he said sympathetically.

Did I mention I hate sympathies?

"I wish everybody would stop saying that," I sighed. I had heard it enough times and I for one knew that it wasn't the truth.

"You don't wish to acknowledge the truth, is all. You know as well as I do that you never intended it to happen. It's not your fault."

"Right. I broke the vase. Accidentally. But 'I'" —I made quotation marks in the air— "still broke it. The blame stays on me. Plus, I have him inside my head. As an extra credit for the deed."

"You barely absorbed him!" Hank said, amused.

"He's what? Ten? Minimum immunity. Plus, I was asleep. I couldn't even have pulled myself back. Maximum exposure. On first impact, he toppled all over me. And…uh, I wasn't exactly dressed," I said, blushing in the end.

Hank reddened slightly (yes, he could do that!), nodded, looking away himself.

"How long?"

"What?" Hank said, looking back at me.

"How long will he be like this? Do they have any idea?"

Hank shook his head. "Not really."

"I'm sorry," I told him, through a constricted throat. He nodded again.

"Is he…is Ethan your son?" I asked, at last. Yes, that was his mane. Ethan Miles.

I couldn't really access all thoughts of Ethan yet. He was very sad.

"Ma nephew," he said in that gruff voice again.

I nodded at him once and made to leave.

"But it still isn't your fault, you know," I heard behind me.

I looked back at him. "Hank, it still won't change the fact that Ethan is in coma and it happened because of me."

With that, I quickly walked back towards my room. I didn't want to hear any justifications anymore. I knew what was the truth and I knew anybody saying anything against it could not alter a fact.

I guess luck was on my side. Because Ethan, the kid I nearly killed? He had an ability to make people think what he wanted, believe what he wished. I was kind of amazed he didn't use his ability to dissuade his fellow gamblers. I mean the bet equated to a death wish. Plus, he didn't even want to bet. He just did it because of a girl. To show her that he didn't fear a challenge. No wonder Ethan was only ten. I mean, if he could dissuade people into believing him, he could have made the girl believe in him without the bet with his powers solely.

I mean, they didn't even foolproof their plan. I had it all laid out in front of me. Ethan would repeat it all to me from time to time. If Logan was at the mansion, he would have caught the kids before they even came to my room — all the more making me wish he was here. Anyway, nothing can be done about that because Logan was never one to put stakes on.

He was a free bird, that Logan. He was downright moody and did what he pleased, when he pleased.

I thought we were special, you know? I mean, he met me before Jean and still…

I sighed. God, Rogue why do you even try? Who are you? A gullible sixteen years old? And Jean? Well, she was the perfect one for him. Even when she already had a boyfriend — even when she had Scott and didn't want him.

But I guess that was it. She was the forbidden fruit, right? And more age appropriate?

Shut up, Rogue! I mentally reprimanded myself.

Jean was dead for Christ's sake! What was wrong with me? It was wrong to blame her like that. She never wanted Logan to crush on her. Even though I had noticed those glances she gave Logan several times and did wonder if something was going on between them behind Scott's back.

Rogue! Shut up.

I sighed. After Jean died, Logan...well, he changed. I barely came back home, cured of my mutation, to find Logan all broken over Jean's death. All the time I spent with Logan — trying to tell him everything will be alright, everything would work out great in the end — it didn't exactly work for me and Bobby. So even when I was cured, he was more into Kitty. Seeing me with Logan only pissed him off more. It was after all that that he went and kissed Kitty. I chanced upon them only because of Logan, who wouldn't allow me to go see Bobby. I became very suspicious and went to see him straight-away.

Anyway, we were meant to have that break-up. I was kind of happy that it happened after all. I had been expecting it to happen for long enough. And after I took the cure too! I always thought that somehow, the cure was to work wonders with my relationship with Bobby. He was the main driving force after all.

It didn't matter to me that I broke up with Bobby because I had Logan. Logan was one man whom I relied upon. But then, one day, I saw Logan from my window, walking off into the woods towards the cemetery. He did that a lot. I mean, he usually visited Jean. All the time. And I knew it was hard for him. To kill Jean. To kill his love. He did try a lot. He told me all that. He tried to save her, to persuade her to control her mutation, to not let it rule her. But he did what he had to. It was hard for him and I knew it. And I was there with him. To help him out. To tell him that family was there for him — that I was there for him.

But that was the day, he left.

He left the mansion.

He left me.

I kept waiting for him to return back from the woods. Waited for him the whole night. I even searched the woods in the morning. But there was no Logan. Professor Xavier told me to let it be. To let Logan have some time for himself. Maybe the wild Wolverine needed time to get over Jean's death in the wild. That he would be back in the end.

That this was his home.

And like the naïve girl that I was, I believed Professor – stopped searching for him and started waiting for him instead. Maybe if I would have gone after him that day, I could have brought him home, could have reasoned with him, could have persuaded him to stay.

But now, there was nothing to do.

He still wasn't back. It's been almost a year now. Never was Logan away for so long. Never was Logan so… irresponsible and negligent of me. I mean, Logan and I...we weren't just friends. Sure I had a crush on him since forever, but that wasn't it. Logan and I — we understood each other, we trusted each other with our lives. We looked out for each other.

Right?

Wrong. So terribly wrong. Logan proved everything about our relationship wrong. He left me here at the mansion. Without a word. Without a note. Without a phone call. No hint of when he would be back.

But then, I just cannot not wait for him for forever, right? If he could be reckless like that, leaving me behind without even telling me that he was planning to leave, never even saying a goodbye, well, I could be damn reckless too.

I gulped. I still couldn't get it. How could Logan leave me like this? We were together in this. We came to the mansion together and he just couldn't leave me like that. I lived here because of Logan. I mean, who likes seeing her boyfriend kissing another girl's face off? Who likes being feared being touched in the hallways in here? Sure, I head friends here, people whom I could rely on, but if Logan wasn't here, was it worth it? Was it worth it to put lives here at stake? I only stayed here in the first place because Logan thought I'd be safe here, while he roamed around the world. I agreed because at the end of the day, I knew Logan would return. But this time, there was nothing – not a word, not a goodbye, not anything.

For days, I kept remembering the first time he left me, placing his dog tags in my hand, telling me he'd be back for them, with a smile that promised his return.

Right. This time there were no promises. So, I didn't even know if he'd be back — if I'd ever see him again. And well, if this was the Logan I had crushed on for ages, well, I didn't care a fig for him too. Because the Logan I knew was the Logan who cared about me. It was the Logan who always thought about me. When he came to take me back to the mansion, on that train, he promised that he'd look out for me, that he'd be there. But I guess I lost that Logan ages ago.

Maybe… that Logan died with Jean. Because this new Logan... he wasn't my Logan. He wasn't the Logan I cared for, the Logan I lov—

Will you shut it already?

I guess, Jean was the only person that ever mattered to Logan. Because if it did matter to him that there was a girl still waiting for him back home, if he even remembered me, he wouldn't have done this to me.

And if anybody thought I was angry with Logan? They were wrong.

Because I was not just angry. I was livid. I was furious. I was pissed off. If Jean was the only one that mattered to him, well then, I'd forget about him too. I'd forget that there was a guy who once saved my life at the risk of his own life. I'd forget him, his bloody smile, his jackass attitude and his stupid 'kid'ing me.

God, even the topic of Logan, makes me drift from what I had been thinking about initially. I shouldn't let Logan have that effect on me. After all, I didn't care for him.

Anymore.

Shit, this is confusing. I keep telling myself to believe that I don't care for him, that I don't concern myself about him anymore, but I just cannot stop thinking about that damned man!

I'd try the nonetheless. So, back to Ethan. What they had planned was to unlock my room and enter without waking me up. Something they had well thought for once. Ethan had... friends. Yes, a friend who could unlock any kind of doors. George. A guy named, George. And a friend who could put people to deep sleep. Margaret. I smiled involuntarily. Ethan liked Margaret. He took the bet for her. And Ethan liked her voice. Margaret sung me and the teachers on night watch to sleep. When Ethan touched me, he lost all direction and toppled over me, making Margaret gasp and lose her concentration. Margaret shrieked and lost control over our sleep. That broke the sleep spell I and the others were under. All the rest of them ran away, leaving Ethan with me, the reason Ethan was in contact with me for so long.

If even one of those kids was a true friend of Ethan, he/she would have helped Ethan and not run away. The Ethan inside my head sobbed from time to time. I tried comforting him, and he did stop crying after a while. Maybe I should stop thinking about him. Maybe that would calm him down a bit — focusing on other things beside himself.

What I wanted was to explore this world — this Mutant World. There was a lot more to Mutants than just this Mansion. And I wanted to see, feel and live it.

I sighed yet again, reaching my room. I had only a little amount of money saved up. But I didn't think I would need much of it until I have Ethan's powers up my sleeve. I knew it was illegal and morally wrong, but in return of my endeavors and contribution in saving the world for umpteenth times now, I guess I should have a little favor back from the world.

Yeah. Until luck favored me and Ethan's powers stayed with me.

Which wouldn't be long. So, my conscience needn't worry so much.

I wrote a swift note thanking the Professor for his kind-heartedness and benevolence for taking me in with Logan (though I didn't mention him) and asking him not to try and find me. Then, I left that note in Professor's study, who thankfully wasn't there.

"Leaving?"

I cursed my luck. I could have escaped this so easily. I was almost on the door. "Yes, Professor." After an afterthought, I added, "I thought I tricked you."

"But you see it isn't so easy to trick me, Rogue."

"Not with you being psychic, it isn't."

I opened the main door and was about to step out when Professor's voice chimed inside my head again, "On a serious note, Rogue, are you sure you don't want to be found?"

So, he had read my note.

"Yes, Professor."

"Are you going back to your parents?"

"I'm not really sure about what I intend to do Professor," I confessed.

"Its a bad world out there Rogue," Professor said, his voice taking a fatherly tone, "and you should know that outside this Mansion, you'll face a lot of challenges. "

"I've learnt a lot from you Professor. I'm sure I'll outlive all my problems."

"And... what if... what if Logan comes back?"

I stood still for a moment. "Will he be back, Professor? I don't know. Because he left me no way to know."

"But there's always a hope."

"Which always gets crushed with Logan around," I replied bitterly.

There was a pause and then, "Do you want me to give him a message or anything?"

I pondered on that one for a moment. Sure, I wanted to give him a message. And, I could even make it short and sweet for him.

"Yes, Professor," I said, smiling a bit now.

I stopped, deciding against it for a second. But no, I wanted him to receive that message. He deserved that.

"Sorry, professor, for the language but you asked for a message. IfLogan comes back, and if he asks for me, tell him to fuck off."

There wasn't a sound from Professor after that, except a low grunt, acknowledging my answer. Well, I was angry with Logan for leaving me alone like this and he could have a piece of my mind.

With that, I shut the door behind me with all the force that I could muster, took one of the cars from the garage and drove out of the school property.

"Oh, and Professor?"

"Yes, Rogue?"

"I'll pay back for the car. Somehow."

"Rogue, you don't need to do—"

"But you see, Professor, I need to," I said, quite determinedly. Then, in a softer tone, I added, "Goodbye."

"Did anyone ever tell you Rogue? Goodbyes are not forever," Professor replied.

I merely smiled in response.

Then, gripping the steering wheel harder than I thought possible, I accelerated the silver beauty and drove on with no destination in my mind.

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