Tears in the Rain (X-Men ROMY)

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

The professor slotted back into the school easily, almost as though he'd never left. There were changes, of course, such as new students and Betsy joining the staff, Logan had left (for a while at least), Scott was dead, Jean was dead again, and a number of the faculty were now not old enough to drink, but Charles took it all his his stride, as usual.

Though the school had mourned for him, without a body they'd been told they had to wait 7 years to declare him dead, so his financial affairs were easy for him to take charge of again.

Rogue soon got to grips with her new powers since, like all the powers she stole, she seemed to instinctively know how to use them. She did crush or break a few objects in anger, but quickly got even that under control.

As Easter loomed closer, Rogue finally decided to go and visit her folks. She didn't know why now, exactly, but they had been in her thoughts more and more recently and she just felt that it was just something she felt she needed to do. Remy was right, one way or the other, she needed to find out if they could reconcile.

Storm granted her leave over the Easter holiday, though Rogue swore her to secrecy over the reason and her destination. Remy was surprised to hear that she was taking a holiday, but she lied and said that she was going to a retreat to learn to meditate and better control the voices in her head. Professor Xavier was helping her once again but everyone knew that she still had nightmares, usually from other peoples memories, though to be fair, she had enough of her own bad memories to justify a few sleepless nights.

She left the day before school broke up so that the others couldn't follow her, and drove down to Mississippi to give herself plenty of time to think on the way. Her parents, Owen and Priscilla D'Ancanto, lived in Caldecott County, Mississippi, which was a two day drive from the school, and she arrived there on the Saturday evening. She didn't really feel like meeting her parents after a 10 hour drive, so she booked into a little family run hotel, the kind that didn't require ID and a credit card. She paid for two nights in cash but was put on the spot when they asked for a name.

"Marie," she said as a reflex. They still looked at her though, clearly wanting a surname. She couldn't give then her real surname in case they knew her folks, so she gave the first one that came to mind. "Marie LeBeau."

They wrote it down and handed her a room key.

Remy took the smaller Blackbird and arrived in Caldercott County a few hours after Rogue. He parked the jet on top of a shopping mall (in stealth mode so it wasn't visible) and made his way to the hotel where Rogue's car was parked.

He went straight up to reception and asked for a room.

"Of course, sir, I just need a few details. Your name?"

"Remy LeBeau."

"Oh, your wife has already checked you in," the receptionist said with a smile.

"My wife?"

"Marie, she booked in a few hours ago."

"Oui," he bluffed. "She must have arrived sooner than she thought. What room is she in?"

"Room 9."

Remy made his way there and knocked. Needless to say, Rogue was angry when she opened the door to him.

"You followed me!"

"No, your car is lo-jacked."

"You followed me!"

"I traced you, there is a difference."

"Not in my book!"

"Rogue, I was worried about you and no one would tell me where you'd gone. When I saw you stop here, I realised that you were going home. I just thought that you might need a friend."