Rogue and Monet -- Training buddies

[x-traction.livejournal.com]

Rogue has a powers breakthrough while working out with Monet. And then food happens.

Her black hair trailed out behind her in luxurious waves and her perfectly manicured nails clacked against the screen of her cell phone as she fired off text after text. It was hard, keeping up with her mates back home when she was stuck in such a hell hole. Sure, Xavier was a man whose wealth likely rivaled her family's own. Still, it didn't mean that she liked being lumped together with a whole host of "freaks and weirdos." Speaking of which, she'd been instructed to make her way downstairs to the gym, where she was to train alongside a woman named "Rogue." Monet figured it was some sort of alias, but shrugged her mental shoulders. 'I'm sure her real name is something mundane. Like Anna.' She thought with a slight grin as she slowly floated down the stairs. Her feet were as invulnerable as the rest of her, but her heels were not. Putting as little wear and tear on them as possible was idea. She landed lightly and moved forward, following the directions that she'd been given. She stepped into the room and noticed that it was empty. She glanced down at her phone and realized that she'd arrived a bit early. She sighed and wondered just how long she was going to have to deal with this. She'd been made a part of "Generation X" when she'd arrived and, though she'd had a bit of hope, she'd yet to find anyone worthy of her time who was also a member of the team. She was respectful to the teachers, she was a proper lady after all, but the students were starting to get on her last nerve. She sat primly in a nearby chair, using the blacked out surface of her phone as a mirror. She brushed hand through her hair and gave herself a smile. God she looked good.

It didn't matter that the team switch was only temporary -- she was pissed. Sure, she understood that she had all these new powers (well, new to her) and had no idea how to use them (three broken hairbrushes this week alone). She was an Xman, damnit! She had a leather outfit. She fought alongside the Wolverine. She didn't belong with the kids. An order was an order though. Going to the downstairs gym, she wondered who this Monet character was. When she walked in the door, she gave an inner groan. It had to the most beautiful person ever. Great. Putting on a huge smile, she walked towards the other girl, gloved hand stretched out. "Well hey there. Y'all must be Monet. Ah'm Rogue. Nice ta meet ya."




Monet stared at the woman that had entered the room and immediately raised an eyebrow. Where the hell was that accent from? And that hair. She was clearly far older than Monet herself was and she couldn't help by wonder why the hell she'd be training with someone older without her instructors informing her about it. Surely if she were training with an X-Man, she would have been told. Reluctantly, Monet took the other woman's hand. "I am Monet St. Croix, yes. I would have thought I would have been told that I was working with an X-Man. I suppose that I was under the impression that I'd met everyone in Generation X." Monet replied as she lazily typed out something on her phone and got to her feet.

Ugh. Rogue hated this part. "Well, Ah'm normally an Xman but Ah got this here brain injury? From a psychic? And Ah ended up with amnesia, so here Ah am, workin' mah way up from the bottom. Again." She gave the younger girl an apologetic smile. "Guess Ah got me some new powers at some point, and Ah'm still not too keen on them. Scott don't trust me 'til Ah can show Ah got them powers under control. Problem is, Ah still ain't got a clue what they're all about. So ya see, Ah'm on the same level as you, really."

Monet's eyebrow rose even further than before. Same level? She doubted it. One simply could not rise to the level of Monet St. Croix, even if this Rogue woman was twice her age. Still, Rogue had been an X-Man and Monet couldn't help but feel the burning desire to show off, even just a little. "A psychic, you say? Well, worry not mate. My telepathy will remain as turned off as possible during our little session here. It seems that you wish to prove yourself, Ms. Rogue. So please, you may choose what we do for the time being." Monet replied, briefly examining her nails. Her polish was going to be so fucked.

"Um, okay.". It wasn't fair. She could feel the confidence inside her, but she knew it was locked away, somewhere with the rest of her memories. If only they'd open up. Rogue was sure she had a gazillion training exercises in her brain. "Ah guess we start with talkin' bout our powers. We can't train 'less we know what we're up against. Ah'll start." Ticking each power off of her fingers, she started. "Absorption, invulnerability, super strength, flight. What's yours?"

'Absorption? Absorption of what?' Monet thought before she shook herself. Later, ask questions later. "I have super strength for a woman of my height and build. I have moderate levels of invulnerability and I am capable of flying. As I stated earlier, I have telepathic powers that I can utilize within a small range." She relayed, slipping her phone into her pocket as she did so.

Rogue nodded slowly, taking that information in. Now it made more sense. Hopefully, they'd be one the same field, or else this would be embarrassing. Shucking off her sweater, she was wearing a long sleeved shirt, gloves firmly over top of her sleeves, and a pair of yoga pants. On her feet were a pair of toe runners -- stupid to look at but useful for her. "Ah guess all's fair really. Jus' don't touch mah skin, aiight? Ah don't need a copy of you up theah too."

Monet shrugged and toed off her heels. Rogue didn't have to worry, as she had no intention of getting any closer to her than she was. She rolled her shoulders before she gave Rogue a look.
"It'd be a bit barbaric to simply start punching one another. One of the instructors left me some child imitators that give a ring when you're holding them too tightly. I suppose for those of us who have...less control." She answered.

Monet leaned down and carefully cradled one of the child imitators to her chest. She'd been practicing with them for quite some time, though she knew that she didn't have problems with her strength. As she cradled the child robot, she carefully levitated above the floor. She moved across the length of the room and carefully placed the child down on the other side. She quickly assessed the robot's condition and was pleased to see that the screen read "Slightly rattled."

"I was told the next step in this exercise was to perform the maneuver while in the heat of a simulated battle. I suggest you get up to snuff before that time comes, Ms. Rogue." Monet suggested.




Monet made it look easy. The last time Rogue tried to fly, she'd ended up on her head, her butt hanging out for all to see.

She could do this though.

Strapping the doll on, Rogue tried to remember what Jessica had told her: work the core to stay balanced, visualize the move and plan out the flight plan.

Once again though, she shoot up too fast, and just as quickly, she crashed down. "Ah think Ah killed mah doll," she groaned from the floor.


Monet watched the woman crash to the floor, but stood impassively and made no move to help her up.
"I'm afraid so. Luckily, you are able to try again. Now, you won't get any better down there on the floor." Monet stated plainly as she moved closer to Rogue. "Let us try something a little different. It appears that it's true what they say. We must learn to crawl before we learn to walk. In your case, you must learn to fly on your own before you fly with passengers." Monet continued dryly. "Let's try just floating upwards. It's simple enough, we should be able to get it rather quickly. At least I hope so, I'd like to move onto something less...droll." She continued. Monet took a deep breath in, steadying her frustration with Rogue's...less than stellar flying skills. "When I fly, I will my body to rise. I tell it to defy gravity and move upwards. I demand that it remain still. I do not let my powers define me and you should not let yours define you." She continued.



Rogue gave her a funny look. "Look, Ah don't know if anyone told you this, but Ah have powers that Ah can't control, and have never been able to control. My body sure as hell don't listen to me, cause if'n it did, Ah wouldn't be wearin' these gloves day in and day out."



"They did not inform me of anything about you, Ms. Rogue. And let us not stray from the topic at hand. From what you said earlier, it seems that your other abilities WERE under your control prior to the encounter with the psychic. Focusing on that aspect of this training and not the unfortunate nature of your other powers will likely be more beneficial and rewarding to you." Monet replied, her face unchanging from a mask of steely calm. Her questions about not touching Rogue had been answered, but she wasn't going to let herself be caught up in feeling bad for the other woman. Surely Rogue knew that pity did nothing for anyone but enable behaviors that warranted further pity. As for empathizing with her, Monet had very little practice doing that with anyone and she was in no mood to try it now.

The younger woman had a point, Rogue thought grudgingly. She did have a grasp of them before, and from what she'd gathered, she was actually a force to be reckoned with.

With a stiff nod, Rogue took a cleansing breath and closed her eyes. "C'mon body. Ah don't like you much an' Ah know y'all don't like me, but there's something ta be said 'bout muscle memory so fly damnit, fly." she muttered under her breath. She kept on concentrating so hard, she didn't notice that she was floating.




Monet grinned. Her advice was sound, as she knew it would be. She joined Rogue in the air.
"Now, without causing destruction, let's make our way across the room." She advised.

"Right." Focusing an enormous of amount of energy on to this, Rogue started to float her way over to Monet. It was hard work to not move her feet as if she was walking, and she had to let go of the thoughts that she looked stupid doing this.

The sensation of moving without actually moving was strange. She could only manage a few feet before stopping, and falling slightly to the ground. After a bit of a stumble, she meditated again to try to get up. "This is hard," she said in awe. "How do all those people do this?"

"I don't know how other people do it. But I do know how I, Monet St. Croix, do it. Perhaps...this is an opportunity for both of us. As much as it pains me to say it, the instructors wish for me to practice my telepathic abilities. And you are here wondering how others fly. If you are willing, I could try communicating something to you via a mental channel. I'd like to be in contact while we do so, atop your clothing of course, unless you'd be opposed to the idea." Monet answered, practically struggling in an effort to get the words out.

Rogue raised her brows and nodded. "Okay, but jus' so ya know, it's a big ol' mess up there. You're just gonna transmit your thoughts, and not go diggin' around right?"



"I can assure you, Ms. Rogue, that I decidedly lack the burning desire to 'go diggin' as you so eloquently put it. I'll simply be doing my best to transmit my thoughts and feelings to you as quickly and painlessly as possible. Now, if you please, I'm going to concentrate." Monet answered. She moved confidently toward Rogue and latched onto the other woman's wrist with a vice like grip. Monet was glad that Rogue was invulnerable, otherwise her grip would've pulverized the Southern woman's wrist. She let her eyes slide closed and quickly began building the images, thoughts, and feelings within her brain. She reached out mentally, her eye lids fluttering, as she pushed the thoughts toward Rogue. The other woman was right, even with as little contact as Monet was exerting, she could tell that Rogue's mental landscape was a patchwork of others, sown together without rhyme or reason. She pushed on for a few minutes, transmitting the feelings as best she could, before pulling back. Her breath came on a bit harder and she swallowed dryly. 'Shit that sucked.' She thought, though her face was still the same calm mass. She could only hope that it had worked.

There was so much in her head that Rogue had to admit, she barely felt the other girl's presence. Some resistance was felt by the few permanent shadows in her brain, but she'd learned to ignore it a long time ago.

What she did get was images and sensations of flying. It was easier to visualize now that she could actually picture what she was doing.

She'd definitely have a bruise on her wrist though.

"Wow," Rogue said. "That was sure cool! Ah think ah got it now. People been tellin' me how mah body would surely remember how ta use mah powers,but like Ah said, me and mah body, we ain't really on speakin' terms."

Rogue tried to float again, and found it slightly easier this time. Now to stay in one place. ""Seems ta me y'all have a good grasp on your powers. How come ya gotta train still?"

"I'm a St. Croix, Ms. Rogue. We live for perfection. However, my father believes that a few...incidents, shall we say, require me to be here and to train. Moreover, he believes that I should interact with other mutants my age and that I should attempt to do something 'better and bigger' with myself. Like you, I...have less experience in some areas of my abilities. I've worked hard to perfect my physical abilities. I know how to hit and how hard or soft to do so, and I how to fly quite well, if I do say so myself. However, I have not had many opportunities to test the upper limits of my invulnerability nor have I had much use for my telepathy. I may be labeled a 'snob,' but even I know that it is quite rude to go rooting about in someone's head. Is that a sufficient answer?" She replied, brushing a bit of her hair away from her face as she spoke.

What was this girl's problem? It seemed no matter what Rogue said, Monet had an answer, and a snooty one at best.

"Sorry if Ah offended ya with my comment. Ah wasn't sure how y'all were gonna do it. Ain't nothin' wrong with setting boundaries, 'specialy if a body don't know ya.". Rogue could give attitude too.



Monet raised her eyebrows.
"Rest assured, you did not offend me. I was simply answering your question to the best of my abilities. My situation is not one that I can comment on succinctly. This is quite a change for me, as you can probably relate. Now that I've helped you, perhaps you'd like to help me. Do you perhaps have a general idea of how invulnerable you are? If so, how did you discover your limits? I'd rather know just how much punishment I am capable of withstanding. Shaping my nails and cutting my hair is quite a challenge, though I do not think those things are a great indicator of how well I can withstand damage during a battle." She answered.

A flash of anger went across Rogue's face. "Ah can't remember, Ah told you that already!" She clenched her fists and tried to calm down. It was hard to not lash out when these questions came.

If only she could remember...

Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm down. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine what would have happened. "Ah've had them now for like at least 5 yeahs. Ah assume a lot was jus' trial 'n' error. Ah also train with Wolverine," she added with pride. "He's prolly tested mah limits before."


Monet flinched slightly as the woman's anger crossed through her decidedly flimsy mental shields. She suddenly felt both sick and guilty, neither of them a feeling that she actually liked. And Monet had heard of the Wolverine. The man was legendary among Generation X.

"Yes, I suppose a man like the Wolverine would be quite the teacher. Ms. Rogue, I'm not normally inclined to do this, but would you like to grab a bite to eat? And before you say it, I'm not pitying you. I just feel that this situation has been stressful and taxing on both of us and that it'd be quite...nice to get out of the mansion and have something good replenish us. Would that be to your satisfaction?" Monet asked.

She gave Monet a look before finally nodding. "Alright. Give me a few minutes to shower n' change. Meet ya in the garage in 15? Ah'll see if Ah can get a car. Might have scramble mah brains, but Ah still remember how to drive. Weird, huh?"


Monet gave Rogue a faint smile. Perhaps the woman across from her was more than Monet perceived her to be. Not that Monet would admit that to anyone.
"I look forward to it, Ms. Rogue." Monet replied as she moved gracefully from the room, tossing a wave over her shoulder.






As promised, Rogue was waiting in the garage, her hair damp from her quick shower. Jeans and a hoodie were about as dressed up as she was going to get right about now. A set of keys was dangling in her hand, given to her by Logan with a promise that if her head started to hurt, she'd pull over.

Adults.

When she saw Monet, she smiled. "Ready, Miss Thang?"


Monet stepped into the garage. She was dressed in a violet turtleneck sweater that showed off her incredible figure and wore a pair of sinfully tight black jeans that ended in a pair of short, black boots. A scarf of many colors was draped gracefully around her neck, and she moved forward with the grace of a jungle cat.
"I am certainly ready, but are you? I'm prepared to treat you to some of the best food in the city. I'm certain the view from these places is simply lovely this time of year, though I can't say that I much like snow. I'm from Australia, you see." She replied.



"Ah wondered about the accent." Motioning to the car, she got in and buckled up. Once Monet was in, Rogue turned the car on. "So how'd y'all end up heah? Ah'd say it's a long way to Australia. Also, Ah have no clue where Ah'm goin' so you're gonna haveta give me directions."


"Let's just say that I've been a bit...naughty of late. Or for the past three years. Either way, my father simply ran out of schools to send me to. He said that he'd heard of Xavier's before, though I can't imagine where, and he decided that it might be...beneficial that I reside here for the remainder of my secondary education. He also believes, as I said before, that interacting with other mutants will also have some effect on me." She answered as she quickly brought up the GPS on her phone, which began to spout directions to Rogue.

Rogue gave a snort at that. "Sounds like y'all were up to no good, and yet ya still kept it up.". She shook her head, and proceeded to follow the directions. "So what's that say about you?"

She was genuinely curious. The girl was different than most people at the mansion. Monet acted like she was a gift to the Mansion, but at the same time, there was no animosity behind it. Strange.

"It says that I like to have fun. And that I am not ashamed to be who, and what, I am. Monet answered. "I believe that if things continue this way, it will certainly become worldwide." She continued, her smile vanishing a bit.

Rogue gave Monet a curious look. "What's the mutant situation like in your neck o' the woods?"


"Australia isn't very mutant laden. My grandfather is a mutant, as are my twin sisters. I have only met a few others. But I believe that the mutant population is growing and, soon, Australia too will rise to fight against what it perceives to be a threat." She answered.

Rogue shook her head. "Ah jus' don't get it. Who cares what we can do, y'know? It's not like Ah go around absorbin' people for the hell of it. Ah'm scared o' my powers too, jus' like any person should be. But that's why Ah train an' try to get them as under control as possible."

She drove a little bit in silence, music playing on the radio, as she thought about the world they lived in.

Another bout of silence. "Is this your first time in America?"

"I've been once or twice, my family and I travel all around the world. Though I have to say that France and home are the most beautiful places I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. I'm quite a fan of heat and warm colors, though I have obviously adjusted by wardrobe accordingly to acclimate myself to this weather." Monet answered. "It's clear that you've been in New York for some time, if you know your way around. But your accent is also quite obvious. So, where do you hail from then?" She asked as she examined her nails. She frowned, her polish was chipping. Damn invulnerable nails.

"Caldecott County, Mississippi." She turned and smiled. "But Ah haven't lived there in a long time. It's hard for me to remember things, but Ah do know that Ah manifested in mah hometown, ran away to Alaska, met Logan there, got rescued by the X-Men and now Ah live here. In between, there were a few stints in Canada, but Ah don't remember much bout that." She tapped the side of her head. "Brain injury." Rogue gave a little laugh. "But at least now Ah have an excuse to not remember a single thing...jus' say it's cause of mah brain injury."

Monet gave Rogue a strained smile. She wondered just what it was like not to know who you really were. She certainly knew who she was. There was no denying her powerful presence and overwhelming confidence.
"I have heard that the Southern United States has its charms. Though I can't say that I'd particularly like to go there myself." She admitted. "If you pull up here on the right, we'll be just a brisk walk from the restaurant." She replied.

"Ain't no hotter than Australia," Rogue said cheerfully.

Listening to Monet, she pulled over. "Ah'm following your lead, so you tell me where Ah'm meant ta be." She parked the car and got out to the sidewalk, tugging on her gloves to ensure they were on tightly.

She hoped that her anxiety around large groups of people was something she'd resolved as an adult.

"So where'd find this place?'


“I love the heat. Though I believe that it is because I can stand it quite a bit better than the average person. My father and I have been to America, as I said. He has quite...particular tastes, if you know what I mean. It was quite delicious, and I expect your palette to thank me when we complete our meal." Monet answered with a small smile. "And yes, please do follow close to me. I do not believe that we should be separated in a place such as this." She continued.


Rogue looked around, wondering why this was an unsafe place.

For the first time, she had to admit, she wasn't so scared to be anywhere. There were some definite advantages to being invulnerable and having super strength. "My palette is happy so long as it's fed," she said, looking around. "Some days, Ah could eat an entire elephant and prolly still be right hungry. Ah'm guessin' that mah powers have somethin' to do with me not gettin' huge though."


Monet spared a passing glance at the older woman's figure. She was quite beautiful, all told, but Monet preferred her girls to be a little closer to her age. She nodded.
"I find that my perfection keeps me from gaining unwanted mass also." She answered as she opened the door to the restaurant. "Just one of the many great things about being me." She continued with a slight grin as she led Rogue further into the building, the smell of beautifully cooked food reaching her nostrils. She flagged down a waiter and, after a few moments of exchanging words, she turned to Rogue. "I've secured us a v.i.p room. It'll be quite cozy, I assure you." She explained, gesturing for the Southerner to follow her as she herself followed the waiter.

Rogue was beyond amused. Her perfection? What did that even mean?

This girl's ego was bigger than her own, and that was saying something.‎ Still. Monet's confidence was inspiring. Rogue wondered idly if she too was that confident. She hoped so. Being insecure didn't seem her thing.

"Ya sure know how to treat a girl ‎to a good time."


Monet grinned.
"Ms. Rogue, I AM a good time. But I appreciate you saying so all the same." Monet answered as she took her seat and picked up her menu. She was ravenous, and she hoped that Rogue was too. Her daddy's credit card was burning inside her wallet.