X-Men Fan Fiction ❯ The Balance of Nature ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

A/N: I'd like to give the people who actually read this a pat on the back and hope that they review.

Summery: Everyone knows that Jean destroyed many things through the Phoenix. Every X-Men found out that there was a mutant to render other mutants normal humans. But did anyone ever think about how nature balances itself?

This is set after the third movie.

...

Rogue sat under the blooming tree, smiling at her fortune. Her boyfriend, Bobby, sat right beside her as they watched the sun rise. Everything for them was going smoothly, the sadness of loosing friends put on hold as they sat and embraced each other. Neither could get enough of the casual touches, something they had been denied for more then a year because of Rogue's power.

Actually, there wasn't a Rogue anymore, her name was Marie. Marie used to be known as Rogue because of her mutation, her power and her curse, of steeling the life force through the touch of skin. Marie had started dying inside of Rogue and no one seemed to get it, until a cure for her mutation came along. Now they might see her touching someone and think about how she could not have done that before.

So while others may hate the so called cure from two months ago, she and Bobby thanked every sun rise for it. It was what allowed her to touch him, hug him and kiss him in any moment she chose. It's what allowed them to be close and cherish every moment, even through the sadness of death that seemed to shroud their school.

Oh, at least it used to be their school…now it's just his school. While Marie had given up her mutation Bobby kept his, even knowing that mutants may never be accepted in this time and even knowing that his family would turn him away because of what he is. He knew, but he didn't care. His mutation, his gift, was just as much a part of him as was his thoughts.

So while he was at school Marie was in a normal school not to far away with her own little apartment that she paid for with her part time job. She worked as an assistant designer, helping an interior designer as much as she could; running errands, drawing sketches, and going to the store while her employer talked to the buyers. Her father and mother still refused to talk to her and she knew why, they were afraid that the power of Rogue could come back. They were afraid of her, of themselves for what they had adopted.

Ah, yes, another harsh fact of life. Marie was not birthed of her parents, she had been given away by her step mother as a baby and then adopted by what she though was her family. She didn't know who her parents were and probably would never have even known about being adopted had it not been for her trying to donate marrow for her mother's spinal disease. What a nice way to find out that someone was adopted isn't it? Marie could still hear the doctor:

“We are sorry Marie, but your bone marrow is not a match for your adopted mother's.”

That was exactly how he had said it, not even conscious of the fact that she hadn't known. Even now she kept it to herself, not even telling her boyfriend. Something inside of her was needy, wanting his support and afraid that if he found out she didn't have parents then he would be more isolated from her. Of course, this was an unfounded fear but it still held power inside of her. After all, the people who raised her for years upon years tossed her away for being different. Would he too toss her away for being different from him? He was a mutant after all, and she was just a normal human now.

“Hey, what's on your mind Rogue?”

“Marie.” Marie corrected him.

“Sorry, I'm not used to that name…a lot has changed hasn't it?” Bobby asked as he stared straight into her eyes.

“I still love you, that's not going to change,” Marie said softly as she smiled at him and intertwined her fingers through his.

“I know, and that's why I wanted to ask…” Bobby said as he pulled Marie in for a short hug, “When you get out of school for good this summer, would you marry me Marie?”

Unneeded tears fell from her eyes at the sudden question, there was a new definition for popping the question and Bobby had just used the definition. She sat there, hugging him fiercely and knew at once that her life was never going to be the same…for better or worse yet she didn't know. Looking up at him she planted the smallest of kisses on his mouth and drew away with a frosted breath.

She smiled at him, seeing the playful sheen in his eyes that spoke of old times and nodded instantly. “I'd love to marry you.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A year later and the wedding had just finished. Perfect timing had been everything in this, seeing as how both Marie and Bobby wanted Wolverine and the rest of the X-Men to be there. What surprised them both was that their family had shown up, and that a lot more mutants as well. Including a person rather popular around America, seeing as the government used her powers of Flying and Strength to help where she could. Her name was Ms. Marvel and she was one of the few mutants respected throughout the world.

As the wedding and celebration ended Marie and Bobby where the happiest they had ever been. They had somewhere to belong, someone who loved them and they loved back. All would have been perfect if only Jean and Professor Xavier could have been there, but for them there was no use looking back on the past when there was a large future ahead of them. It was their wedding night, and both knew that after this night nothing would ever be the same again.