"Hey, guys, Donnie here from Digital Rebellion. I'd like to say thanks for staying through the entirety of the video, we here at Digital Rebellion really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to watch us perform. Unfortunately, I have some bad news. Due to some recent complications, I'll be taking a leave of absence from the band for the foreseeable future. I can't get into the details at the moment, but rest assured, I will be back eventually. Until then, keep rocking. This is Donnie, signing out."

The young man then lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. Closing his laptop, he looked around his room. Earlier in the month, you could tell it housed an aspiring musician as it had posters covering the walls while an amp and guitar sat next to his desk where a trash bin overflowing with crumpled papers usually sat. Above said desk would normally be his abnormally large collection of guitar picks. Now, however, most of his possessions sat in suitcases next to his door. Turning his gaze to his hand, he watched as it shakes far to fast for any normal human.

"Ryan, are you sure about this?" asked a short middle-aged woman at his door. She wore the face of a worried mother seeing her child off to the next chapter of their life.

He looked up at her and nodded then turned his gaze back to his hand, "It's time I learn to control my powers. Properly. And the only way to do that is by going to this institute."

Meanwhile, at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, many of the students were just waking up and going through their typical morning routine. One such person was a young woman by the name of Anna Marie, also known as Rogue.

An audible groan can be heard escaping her lips as she plugs her earbuds in and enters the kitchen to fix her breakfast. Grabbing a plate from the cupboard, she absentmindedly puts food on it, all the while scrolling through her music playlist on her phone.

Taking a seat at the table, she finally settles on a new single that was recommended to her by YouTube and begins to eat. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to be swept away by the opening guitar riff of "Sick of Me" by Digital Rebellion. Thoroughly surprised at the talent of the relatively new band, she allowed a faint smile appear on her face as she ate.

As the song wound down she looked back to her phone to find another song of theirs, wondering if the magic from the first song was a fluke or if they were just that good. She quickly settled on a song called "Censored" and was hooked by the first chorus. Unfortunately, she was dragged out of her musically induced coma by the sound of knuckles knocking on the table she was sitting at. Looking up in annoyance, she was met with a grin from one of her closest friends, a quirky brunette by the name of Kitty Pryde, also known as Shadowcat.

"Hey, Rogue, whatcha listening to?" she asked as she plucked one of her earbuds out.

"Digital Rebellion, you wouldn't like them," replied Rogue as she took back her earbud before Kitty could listen in on her music.

Crossing her arms and trying her best to look offended, "How do you know? I might like them more than you."

Letting out a slight laugh, Rogue closed her eyes and replaced the earbud back in her ear, "Because they're metal, and if I recall, you hate metal with a passion."

Leaning down to Rogue, she once again took one of her earbuds and put it in her ear just as Rogue pressed the play button. Startled at the sudden explosion of guitars and drums, Kitty immediately removed the earbud, "You're right," she said as she rubbed her ear, "Do you have to listen to music that loudly though? Maybe that's why you never hear us when we try to talk to you."

Rogue just smiled as she once again put her earbud back in and shrugged as she finished eating her breakfast. Putting her phone in her pocket, she took her plate to the sink and rinsed it off, all the while jamming out to Digital Rebellion and other such bands that now had permanent spots in her playlist.

Once done, she turned back around as two of their colleagues entered the room. One was a brunette male, the other was a redhead female, both being a few inches taller than her. Looking to the male, whom she knew was Scott Summers, she nodded and immediately turned her gaze to the redhead as she attempted to push her crush on the young man far into the back of her mind. While Scott happened to be the target of her affection, the redhead next to him known as Jean Grey, was the bain of her existence. She was perfect in every way imaginable, or at least that's how Rogue saw it. She knew she had no chance at taking Scott from her, but that didn't stop her from pining over him, hoping one day to have a chance at him.

Wasting no time, however, Jean spoke up, "Hey, we're leaving to go pick up a guy in Iowa. The Professor said he needed us to go pick him up."

Raising an eyebrow, Rogue spoke up, "Okay, you're telling us this why? Usually, it's the Professor, Storm, Scott and you who go to pick them up. Why tell us?"

Crossing her arms, Jean turned to Rogue, "Because the Professor told us to come and get you two. Instead of Storm and him, It will be me, Scott, Kitty and you that go pick him up."

"Well that's just peachy, but why us?"

"Because the two of you are fairly good examples of what the institute can do to help teach mutants how to control their powers. Scott and I are going along because the Professor wants to see if we can do this on our own."

Sighing, Rogue nodded, "Fine. Let's get going, I forgot to put my phone on charge last night and I don't want it dying before we get back."

Content with Rogue's compliance, Jean turns to Kitty, who immediately nods. With a small smile, she turns and begins to leave, "Meet us at the X-Jet in 10 minutes. I want to be back to enjoy my Saturday as soon as possible too."

Making their way to the X-Jet hangar, Kitty and Rogue meet up with Jean and Scott and board the plane. Taking their seats, the four soon take off, making their way to Iowa. Sighing, Rogue looked at her phone as her music soon became the only thing she could hear. This is so boring. Why do I have to go? Kurt would be just as good of an example. Rogue groaned as she allowed her thoughts to wander aimlessly before her curiosity peaked, remembering she knew nothing of the new band she had only recently begun listening to.

Typing the name into the search browser on her phone, she was quickly led to the band's Wikipedia page, only to see one name under the member's section. Donnie. Guess he hasn't revealed his last name yet. Scrolling down the page, she quickly realized a lack of information on the only known member. All that had been given was an age range and a general description of how he looked.

She was then about to exit the browser when a phrase in the top of the next paragraph caught her eye. Based in the midwestern United States, likely Iowa based on some information gathered from a Reddit AMA done by Donnie, the lead singer of the band. Taking a moment to wrap her head around why the sentence had caught her attention, she remembered their destination. Iowa. Snickering to herself, she passed the coincidence off as just that, a coincidence.

The X-Jet landed not long after Rogue exited the browser and went back to listening to the massive playlist she had built up over the years.

I should really split up my playlist into a bunch of smaller ones, she thought as she stepped out onto the grass of a defilade near their destination.

"Okay guys, we hoof it from here. Shouldn't be more than about 20 minutes of walking," said Jean as Scott and her started walking.

Kitty and Rogue soon followed, the former without the slightest hint of displeasure while the latter followed behind her, sighing in annoyance. Checking her battery, Rogue soon found was a mistake as she saw she had a mere two percent, Great.

The journey turned out not to be anywhere near as long as previously thought as the group reached the town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa in only a few minutes. Walking the streets, Rogue and Kitty looked as lost as they could be, their only source of direction being Jean as she walked confidently through the streets alongside Scott.

Averting her eyes, Rogue gritted her teeth as she followed her colleagues, trying to once again push the thoughts of her brunette team leader out of her mind. At least for the moment. Unfortunately for Rogue, it seemed that no matter where she looked, she was met with yet another happy couple. The one thing she never seemed to get to be a part of, no matter how hard she tried.

Sighing, Rogue shook her head, momentarily accepting the idea that Scott would never be hers. Raising her head once more, she barely managed to stop herself from bumping into Kitty as she and the others had stopped in front of a somewhat decent size house, in a neighborhood she hadn't realized they had entered.

"This must be the place," spoke Scott as he made his way towards the front door. Jean soon followed, Kitty and Rogue not far behind. While the others stepped onto the porch, Rogue stayed at the steps, examining the outside of the decently well kept home. Up the steps and to the right, she watched a swing sway in the light breeze. Shifting her gaze a bit, she looked at the porch as a whole.

Looks like it was repainted recently. Nice to see someone putting effort into making their home last. Looking at the base of the steps, she noticed the small flower bed on each side of the steps with an almost never-ending array of different color flowers. Her concentration was interrupted as the front door opened, revealing a short woman with brown hair and a blatantly forced smile.

"Hello?" she asked, sounding as if she was prepared to slam the door and run at the first movement.

Taking the initiative, Jean spoke up, "Hello ma'am. We're from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. We're here to pick up a young man by the name of Ryan Lindsay."

Nodding the woman stepped out of the way, gesturing the four into the home. As Rogue entered the living room, she took note of the handful of picture frames hanging on the walls in various places. Some of which were family portraits, while others were of a boy, each with a guitar of sorts in hand. One frame, in particular, caught her eye, however. The picture in question looked as if it had been taken outside at the garage disconnected from the house with four teenage boys, arms linked with various musical equipment in the background.

Noticing Rogue's interest in the picture, the woman speaks up, "Ah yes, Ryan has always been the musical type. Always practicing or trying to write a new song. I don't know where he gets it from," she added with a small chuckle.

The woman's smile soon faded however as she remembered the reason these people were standing in her living room. Holding up one finger, she heads up the stairs in the corner, leaving the four teenagers in the living room alone.

"Ah, you must be the folks from the institute," a much deeper voice spoke coming from the opposite doorway. There stood a man, much taller than the woman presumed to be his wife. Although through his much rougher exterior, it could be seen that the events of the day were already taking its toll on the man as it had the woman.

Nodding, Scott approached the man and extended his hand, "Yes sir we are. If you don't mind me asking, what can you tell us of your son? All that we were told was to come pick him up. We weren't informed of what his powers were or anything."

Taking Scott's hand with a firm shake, the man nods. "Well, there really isn't much to say other than he's, really fast. A blur even. He used to be able to control himself, but now," the man pauses, "Now it's on a day to day basis. Some days are better than others. Like today, for example, walking is somewhat fine for him but, doing things like reaching out to grab something is a bit difficult for him."

Confused, Jean takes her spot at Scott's side, "How is what I assume is super speed affecting his day to day life so negatively?"

"My only guess is that his body is moving faster than his mind can keep up with and leads to him just being confused. Trust me, it's much worse on days where he has trouble controlling himself when walking. He just goes flying into walls and doors. And that's if he doesn't collapse from going for too long." said the man as he took a seat in a recliner in the corner of the room and gestured towards the couch.

Interest peaked, Rogue takes her chance to speak, "What do you mean by collapse?"

The man only shrugged, "My best guess is that yet again, his brain isn't comprehending the speed that he's moving at, and isn't adjusting to it. The faster and longer he moves, the more oxygen he needs. However, his brain doesn't realize that and isn't trying to compensate for that need, leading to him collapsing and usually passing out from oxygen deprivation."

"You seem like you know a lot more about your son's condition than most people would," spoke Jean.

"We've always been in contact with Professor Xavier. We've had years to figure out the specifics."

"Wait, then why are you only now contacting us to come pick him up? We could have been helping him this entire time towards controlling his power," said Scott.

A sigh could then be heard from the stairs. Turning, they saw it was the woman from before. "You're too young to understand. We tried for so long to have a child of our own, years even. We were so happy when our family was finally complete." Stepping over to a shelf by the staircase, she picks up a picture frame with a much younger version of the couple in a hospital room, with a baby in the woman's arms. "It's selfish of us I know. But I couldn't bear the thought of our baby growing up without his parents. So, with the help of the Professor, we raised him ourselves. All while trying to teach him how to control his powers in the process."

Silence then engulfed the room, no one sure of what to say. Thankfully, the silence would not last long as they heard a new set of footsteps coming down the stairs. With bags in hand, a man about Scott's height descended the stairs and slowly came into view. As he came more into view, Rogue took mental notes on his attire. Sneakers. Black jeans with a chain, that is probably attached to his wallet. Leather jacket with a hood? Who is crazy enough to wear that in the middle of May? Her curiosity was then pushed to the back of her mind as she heard the thump his belongings made when he dropped them on the floor at the foot of the stairs.

With a slight hair flip, he grinned, "Sup."

Stepping to his side and placing her hand on the back of her son, who stood a few inches taller, she spoke, "This is our son, Ryan. He can be a bit, um, rough around the edges I suppose."

Slumping slightly, Ryan looked down at his mom, "Oh come on. Where's the fun in them getting to know me if you go and tell them everything?"

"Oh shush, your tone has gotten you into much more trouble than you seem to remember. It's best they have some idea of what you're like before you inevitably say something stupid," she replied sternly.

"Now, now you two, let's not start this in front of our guests," said his father as he made his way to the other side of Ryan. Sighing defeatedly, Ryan looks at each of the four strangers in his living room.

As if on cue, Jean speaks up, "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Jean Grey."

Raising his hand and offering a warm smile, "I'm Scott Summers, it's nice meeting you."

Ryan's attention was then drawn to the brunette waving her hand enthusiastically, "And I'm Kitty!"

Slightly taken aback by the cheer radiating from Kitty, Ryan smiled and turned to the final person. A woman with white streaks in the front of her auburn hair. Doing a quick once-over of her outfit, he offers a friendly smile.

Shaking her head quickly, she looks to the side, "I'm Rogue."

Laughing nervously, Kitty places a hand on Rogue's shoulder, "She's not really a people person."

Ryan chuckles as he replies, "I would say that we'd get along great, but that would kind of go against not being a people person." He turns to face the group as a whole, "Anything you guys need to know or did my parents give you my life story?"

The four teens looked at each other, silently asking that exact question. After a moment, Jean turned back to Ryan and spoke, "Nope. Your parents already told us everything we were going to ask."

With a shrug, Ryan turns to each of his parents and gives them both a hug.

"If you end up having second thoughts, all you have to do is call," began his mother.

"I know. All I have to do is call and you two will be in the car and on your way in 10 minutes," Ryan says with a chuckle.

Turning away from his parents, he grabs his bags and nods, signaling that it is time to leave. Following his lead, Rogue and the others exited the house. Stopping at the road, everyone turned to face the house. With a smile and a wave, Ryan said goodbye to his parents. Turning and stepping onto the sidewalk, he couldn't shake the feeling of this being goodbye. This ain't the last time I'll see them. Is it? He thought. No, of course, it won't be. It's just the first time I'll be so far away. He continued to reassure himself as he absentmindedly followed his new acquaintances.

"Wait, don't you guys have like, a car or something?" He asked as he hurried to catch up to Kitty.

Scratching her head and smiling, she turns to the brunette, "Not exactly. We had to park a good bit away."

"Why? There was plenty of room on the road to park at my house," Ryan asked with a bewildered expression.

Glancing over her shoulder, Rogue spoke up, "Trust me, there wasn't enough room."

Confused, Ryan stayed quiet, not sure what to say. Continuing on their way, Ryan became even more bewildered as they left the city on foot. Sensing his curiosity, Kitty placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not far from here. You'll understand when we get there."

"Uh, if you say so." He then turned his attention to Rogue, whom he noticed taking glances back at him.

"Don't mind her, she can be a bit rough around the edges, but overall she can be really nice," Kitty said with a nervous laugh.

Nodding, he turned to face forward once more. Moments later, much to Ryan's confusion, the group began entering the woods. Opening his mouth to speak, he quickly reclosed it as they entered a clearing just large enough to house a jet. Baffled, he stopped in his tracks, unsure of what to say he stood at the edge of the clearing with his mouth agape.

Whilst Rogue passed the others and got on the jet, the others turned to see why Ryan had stopped. Scott then smiled, understanding his new colleague's confusion. Placing a hand on his shoulder and gesturing to the jet with the other, Scott spoke.

"This is the X-jet. A heavily modified SR-71 Blackbird capable of vertical takeoff and way too many other things to list. See why we couldn't just park outside your house?" Scott asks with a large smile.

Mouth still agape, Ryan only manages a small nod. Giggling, Kitty walked to the opposite side of Scott, and puts her arm on Ryan's other shoulder and uses her free hand to shut his mouth.

"Careful or you'll catch flies."

Ryan can't help but laugh as he and the others make their way onto the X-jet.

Stepping aboard, he quickly finds a seat a few rows back from the front. Setting his luggage in the seats in the back, he sat in a seat near the middle as he examined the inside of the jet. He watched as Kitty hesitantly took a seat across from him as she eyed Rogue, who had sat closer to the back. Peeking back, he watched as she fidgeted with the cord of her earbuds. Looking towards the front, he saw Jean and Scott enter the cockpit. Turning back to Kitty, he gestures to Rogue.

"What's up with her?" He asked.

Looking towards Rogue, she responds, "She's just grumpy. She didn't really want to come along. And to make matters worse, her phone died so she can't listen to music."

Scratching his chin, Ryan looks to his stuff and stands up. Making his way back to his stuff, he opens a very telling case, revealing a guitar. Guitar in hand, he walks back to his seat, but on the way, he stops at Rogue.

"Phone dead?"

Looking up, she nods with a disinterested look.

Taking his phone, Ryan puts his passcode in and hands it to Rogue, "Here use mine. I don't need it right now."

Before Rogue could respond, he went back to his seat. Looking at his home screen, Rogue saw an updated version of the same photo she saw in his house. In the middle stood Ryan, guitar in hand. To his right was another brunette with his arm draped over Ryan's near shoulder. To his left, two blonde twins, both mirroring the other. Both had guitar's next to themselves and an arm draped over the other and doing peace signs. All shared two specific things, a massive smile. Rogue couldn't help but grin slightly as she brought up his full list of apps, looking for something to listen to music on before finding Spotify.

Doing a quick once-over of his saved music, she plugged her earbuds in and clicked on a song titled, "The Voiceless" by Fire From The Gods. Quickly satisfied with her choice, she sat the phone on her leg and leaned back into her seat, only to be disturbed by the phone vibrating. Picking it up, she realized the phone had locked and she didn't have the passcode. She watched as more and more notifications appeared, all from YouTube. Looking to Ryan, she wondered, Why is he getting so many notifications from YouTube? As she was about to turn back to the phone, she noticed him pulling something out of his shirt, and turned back.

Ryan then pulled a necklace from inside his shirt and took it off, revealing several guitar picks dangling from it. Unclasping the back, he held his hand below the necklace to catch the picks as they slid off. Setting one to the side, he replaces the others on the silver necklace and puts it back on. Linking his fingers and popping his fingers, he clasps the guitar with the pick in his left hand.

"You're left-handed?" asked Kitty, who had silently been watching him from across the aisle.

"I'm ambidextrous, I just prefer playing with my left," he says as he glances up. He then grows extremely red and drags his hand down his face, stopping at his eyes and keeping them closed.

Kitty then realizes Ryan's mistake and bursts out into laughter. Confused, Rogue pauses the song and removes her earbuds. Standing up, she heads towards the front of the jet, taking a seat behind Kitty.

"What's going on up here?" she asked.

An audible groan could then be heard from Ryan as he still covered his face. Turning to Kitty, who was gasping for breath, she raised an eyebrow.

"Oh Rogue, you should have been here. I don't think I can do it justice," she says in between breaths.

"Phrasing is a bitch," Ryan says as he drags his hand the rest of the way down his face.

"Still kinda left in the dark here," spoke Rogue, now a little annoyed that she still had no idea what happened.

Running his fingers through his hair, Ryan looked up, "Kitty here, asked if I'm left-handed. I replied with, I'm ambidextrous, I just prefer playing with my left."

Rogue then looked at Ryan, mouth slightly open, baffled. She then began snickering, and leaned over, "Phrasing dude, phrasing!"

Groaning, Ryan gripped his guitar and began to play. Closing his eyes, Ryan soon drifted off into his own little world. Forgetting where he was, he began to sing.

We used to have it all

It was us against the world, but now

I've been staying on my own

Spending all these nights alone hoping that you're coming home

Rogue and Kitty looked at each other shocked. Neither could seem to formulate words as Ryan continued.

Cause you're always in my dreams

It's like you would never leave

Feels like an eternity, and I can't believe

Ryan continued to play as if he had completely checked out mentally. Rogue, on the other hand, was beyond shocked at how easily the brunette's fingers glided across the strings, bringing out just the right sound.

I let you in, you pushed me out

You left me on my own, you left me all alone

I let you in, you tore me down

You left me skin and bone, you left me all alone

You left me all alone

Ryan soon realized exactly what he was doing and immediately stopped. Wide-eyed, he stared at Kitty and Rogue, as his face grew red once more.

Trying to play it off, Ryan chuckles, "Whoops. Sorry about that, old habits die hard."

Kitty and Rogue then shared a look before both turning back to Ryan.

Kitty spoke first, "That was good."

"Good? That was awesome," said Rogue.

Speechless, Ryan just sat there, completely shocked at his colleagues' reactions. Then, a smile began to creep onto his face. Setting his guitar to the side, he runs his fingers through his hair and turns to face them.

"Thanks. I usually try to not just burst into song out of the blue but as I said, old habits die hard," he says scratching the back of his head.

"What do you mean? You're really good, why would you want to stop?" asked Kitty.

Smiling brightly, Ryan lets out a little chuckle, "I'm not stopping. Just gonna have to put less time towards it for the foreseeable future. You know, gotta get into the swing of things with a new school."

Kitty and Rogue both nodded, acknowledging the sense behind his statement. Kitty then looked at her phone, checking the time. Rogue on the other had remembered something.

Reaching into her pocket, Rogue withdraws Ryan's phone and tosses it to him, "You're getting a lot of notifications on YouTube."

Catching his phone and quickly puts his passcode in, he nods, "Yeah, I was expecting that. Figured my phone would blow up eventually."

Curious, Rogue crossed her arms, "Why?"

Shrugging, Ryan keeps his eyes on his phone. Curiosity getting the better of Rogue, she gets up, acting like she's heading back to her seat in the back, she then slips into the seat behind Ryan. Eyes still glued to his screen, Ryan doesn't acknowledge Rogue's seat switch, clearly entranced by whatever he was seeing. Peeking over the seat, Rogue tries to see what he's looking at. Much to her chagrin, all she can see is the comments section on a YouTube video. Reading a bunch of the comments only confuses her more as each said something about someone named Donnie. Donnie? Where have I heard that name before?

Ryan then laughs a little, startling Rogue and sending her back behind the seat. She then hears Ryan sigh sadly, and speak in a very hushed tone, "Donnie, signing out."

Sticking his phone back in his pocket, Ryan goes to put his pick back on his necklace, giving Rogue the chance to get back to her seat. Sitting back in her original seat, Rogue rested her hand on her chin, thinking. Why is that name so familiar? Donnie, Donnie, Donnie. It's on the tip of my tongue but I can't think of why it's so familiar. Sighing, Rogue gives up on the mystery on her mind for the time being.

Huffing in annoyance, Rogue decides to just wait till they get back home to try and remember. Taking her phone out, she goes to turn it on, only for it to immediately turn back off. Throwing her head back into her seat, she looks to Ryan. Maybe I shouldn't have given his phone back so quickly.

A/N: Hey guys! Long time, no update. Hopefully that'll change this time around as I am rewriting the story. The story wasn't going the way I wanted it to so I'm rewriting it! I can't promise quick updates, as I do have major plans in the near future, but I do promise each chapter will be a substantial addition, meaning at least 5 thousand words or more.

I also need some opinions. The song lyrics in this chapter are actually a song I edited. I was wondering if it would be better to do that or if you guys would rather I make a companion story over on Wattpad using actual songs. If I did it like this, I would put a notice in the chapter on here to signify that there was a song on the companion book that goes there. The reason I ask this and don't just edit a bunch of songs is that, well, I suck at that. Like seriously. Plus it's against 's terms of service for the actual song lyrics to be used (if I read it right).

Another thing. If anyone would like to make a cover for the story, that would be great. I'm terrible at drawing because there's always something I don't like the look of.

One more thing, A BIG THANK YOU to my beta reader and basically editor, Lex Starfire. They helped me out tremendously when it came to making the sentences flow, as well as grammar mistakes I didn't catch initially.