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Title: The New Mutants II, Volume III: Fragment
Author: kanedax
Fandom: X-Men Movieverse
Spoilers: X3; New Mutants I & II, Volumes I&II (see above)
Pairing: Remy/Theresa, awkward Rogue/Peter flirtation
Summary: The vacationing mutants take a moment to enjoy their last day.
Notes: This is the final story in what’s best described as “filler.” This volume, along with the previous two, take place between the final battle and the epilogue of New Mutants I. We’ll be getting back to the present starting with volume IV. As usual, I don’t own the X-Men, Marvel Comics, 20th Century Fox, or the New Orleans Saints. But I'd put money on them to win the Super Bowl if I were in Vegas.
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Marie D’Ancanto smiled gently as she felt the warm sun on her face. A few yards away she could hear the splashing of the hotel swimming pool and the voices of Connor Jones, Theresa Cassidy, and Remy LeBeau as they had fun.
Not that their definitions of fun seemed to coincide.
“What a gip.”
“What is it, Jones?”
“’Marco Polo’ isn’t fun with only two players.”
“Ah, sure it is. Marco!”
“Theresa, get your boyfriend over here, at least then there’ll be three of us.”
“I told you, mon ami, when I’m in a pool, I swim laps or I’m in the whirlpool. Since there doesn’t seem to be a whirlpool in this place…”
“Ah, you’re just afraid to get your ass kicked. Peter! Get over here, man!”
Marie turned her head to her right, where Peter Rasputin sat. He was dressed in a t-shirt and swim trunks, and a sketchpad was perched, as usual, in his lap.
“You can go over there if you want,” she said quietly.
Peter shook his head, his eyes never leaving the pad. “I said I’d stay here and protect you, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
“I can go back inside,” she said guiltily.
“We’re on vacation,” he replied. “You said you wanted to get some sun. Since the only way for you to get it without the potential of some creep coming over and patting you on the shoulder or offering to rub suntan lotion on you is to have someone sitting nearby, then I have no problem doing that.”
“You really don’t have to,” she insisted. There were probably less than six or seven other tourists sharing the area with the mutants. Sixty degrees was cold for a lot of people, but for a group who had recently spent time in Siberia and London, it was heaven.
“Would you rather have Jones sit over here?” he asked slyly.
She thought back to a half hour ago when they first stepped into the pool area. Connor got one look at Rogue in her green bikini and had to practically scrape his tongue off the floor.
“Yowsa,” he had said.
“Keep your distance, Glitch,” she growled, feeling somewhat self-conscious. She had owned this swimsuit since high school, and her mutant powers didn’t give her much of an opportunity to wear it. Looking down at herself she realized that she was filling it a little bit more than the last time she had worn it.
“The only girl on the trip, and she tells me to keep her distance,” Jones said.
“Hey!” Theresa protested.
Jones flinched, and turned to Theresa. “I meant… umm… the only girl showing skin?”
“Is that supposed to help?” Theresa said, fully aware that, due to her pale, easily-burning skin, she was wearing a t-shirt and shorts over her one-piece suit.
“Someone has to tell me to stop digging holes,” Jones muttered before cannonballing into the pool.
“Besides,” Peter continued, pulling her back from her thoughts. “I enjoy the view.”
Rogue felt a blush cross her face. “Thanks.”
Peter paused, looking at her. His face turned beet red. “I meant the actual scenery,” he said quickly, pointing out to the surrounding city. “I’ve always wanted to sketch Athens.”
“Oh!” she yelped, turning even redder still. “Yeah. Athens.”
Peter nodded, and turned back to back to his pad. Rogue lay back on the beach chair, and the two lay in uncomfortable silence.
“You look nice, too,” Peter eventually mumbled, his pencil scribbling furiously.
Rogue smiled, not sure if the burning in her face was from the sun or not.
“We should find a nude beach or something,” she heard Connor say from the pool. “It’s our last day before we head back to the States. They have those around here, don’t they?”
“We can’t, Jones,” she yelled, condescension suddenly filling her voice. “You’ll scare the children.”
“I am the children!” he yelled back, laughing.
“Yeah, no shit,” she muttered angrily.
“Geez,” she heard him say under his breath. “Great time for her to have a Pyro Moment.”
“Jones…” Theresa whispered.
“Yeah, I know,” he said. “I’ll ask again when she’s in a Jubilee Mood.”
Rogue sighed but didn’t reply. It was something she had gotten used to since returning to the Academy. As an X-Man, her secondary mutation was a blessing to everyone involved. She had the ability to duplicate, at last count, the abilities of eight other mutants. But that ability came with the cost of sharing a brain with eight other personalities.
Scratch that, nine others, counting her asshole ex-boyfriend, Cody. While it wasn’t as extreme as Dr. MacTaggert and the others had initially feared, mainly the fear of complete manifestations of other selves, it still had its moments. When she felt excited, for example, the happy-go-lucky nature of Jubilation Lee often came out and made her downright giddy. When she was angry, she often felt the mind of Logan or Erik Lehnsherr pushing it into anger she would have never felt before.
As the months passed, she was beginning to question herself. More and more often she would ask herself, Is this me? Or is this someone else speaking for me, emoting for me?
Now more than ever, she wished that the Professor was still alive. If there was one person who she could go to to talk about what was happening to her, why not someone who’s literally touched the mind of every person on the planet?
“You alright?”
“Hmm?” she said, turning to Peter.
“I said Kurt should be coming back from town soon, so we can probably get a bite to eat before starting to pack.” he said. “But you kind of zoned out there for a minute.”
“Sorry,” she sighed. “I was having a Peter Moment.”
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