GothX

Prologue:

Agent X barely made the rendezvous in time.  Nick Fury had a scowl on his face, but since when was that new.  Though recently, the combined forces of the X-Men, the Brotherhood, and various others had recently defeated Apocalypse, Nick was still on edge.

"Are you calling me and my agents in, Commander?"  Agent X asked.

"No.  I want you and your men to remain in place.  Shield has found it convenient to have inside sources within the Brotherhood, the Acolytes, the Hellfire Club, Weapon X, and of course, the X-Men.  We want you to continue with your covers."

"Sir, I just want it understood that my people might not like this.  We were never meant to stay for as long as we have.  Most of us are still teenagers, and it is becoming more and more difficult to justify spying on people we have come to like and respect.  I have been in for over two years, and the others have been in for a year.  How long do you expect us to keep up this charade?"

"First of all, Agent X, I think you are the only one who really likes who they are working with.  The X-Men have treated you like family.  The others, though, probably don't have the qualms you have in 'betraying' their fellow mutants in the various clubs.  The reports you forwarded to me from your men have not seemed to indicate any great connection to those they work with and for.  Are you sure this hesitation is shared by your agents?"  Nick asked.

"You could be correct, sir.  Let me state it plainly, I don't like spying on the Professor or anyone else in the mansion," Agent X replied.

"Well, you have been with Shield since you were 10.  I expect I trust your judgment well enough by now.  How about this, only report the activities that you think are worth reporting.  You pretty much filter much of it out now; let's just make it official.  The other agents will still only report to you," he said, sarcastically.  As he didn't know who they are, that seemed to be the obvious choice.  "I'll promote you to field leader, and you will only need to contact me when you feel it is necessary," he continued.

"Agreed," Agent X said. 

As the spy was leaving, Nick said, "Just because I am backing off a bit, does not mean that I am not going to keep my eye on you, so watch yourself."

Facing away from Furry, Agent X smirked and lifted a hand in a one-fingered salute.

"Frickin' teenagers.  They never show any respect to their superiors," Fury grumbled.

"I would show some respect to my superiors, if I had any," Agent X replied.

Nick had to shake his head, and grin to himself.

***********************************

Four Years Later:

The various groups eyed each other warily.  They had grudgingly worked together to contain the combined threat of Mr. Sinister, Magneto, and Apocalypse, but now that the alliance was no longer needed, their hostilities resurfaced.

Sebastian Shaw, the Black King of the Hellfire Club, looked to his left and nodded to his assistant, Tessa.  She began to document the various events of the climatic battle in her efficient manner.  The White Queen, Emma Frost, rolled her eyes and looked in regret upon her broken fingernail. 

The Director of Weapon X started to gather his people together.  Now that the fight was over, it was time to step back into the shadows, where his agents and the program belonged.  Chamber was the farthest from the Director.  I would take him a few minutes to rejoin the fold.

The Scarlet Witch was helping her brother hobble around.  Pietro's left leg had been broken in the struggle.  However, with his rapid metabolism, he should heal in the next week or so.  Lance was trying to look too cool to be concerned about his fellow mutant, but his eyes kept straying over to Wanda and Pietro to check their progress.  Toad and Fred were regaling each other with how awesomely they performed in the fracas, each one trying to outdo the other.

Gambit was chatting with Piotr and Pyro about old times.  When the Acolytes disbanded, Gambit became a free agent.  He had worked with the Brotherhood, done an odd job for the Hellfire Club, and had a mission or two with Weapon X.  He was smiling and behaving like his charming self, but he managed to monitor the progress of a particular X-Man, or Woman in Rogue's case.

Rogue felt Remy's eyes on her, but she stubbornly refused to acknowledge his presence.  She had to keep her mind focused on the task at hand.  The tension was mounting between the groups, and she was needed to sooth Wolverine's feral tendencies.  Of all the X-Men, Rogue was closest to Logan in nature, and sometimes she was the only thing that kept him from giving in to his animal instincts.  With Sabertooth among the Weapon X crew, she didn't know how long she could keep him from going berserker.  The rest of the X-Men kept a wary distance from Logan and her.  Her brother, Nightcrawler, caught her eye, silently asking if she needed any help.  She shook her head and ruefully smiled back at Kurt. 

Just then, the head of the lone recognized agency of the US Government finished speaking with one of his aides, and turned to face the segregated groups.  Once he had all of their attention, Nick Fury began to speak.

"We have had marginal success in defeating Sinister, Magneto and Apocalypse.  I don't know how long they will be off licking their wounds, but given their state when they retreated, I expect it to be for a long while.  Good job, people."

As if this declaration was all that was needed to release the motley assemblage, they started to drift away from each other and retreat to their own worlds. 

"Oh, by the way, Agent X, I need you to gather your agents and come with me for debriefing."  Nick called out.

Everyone halted and looked to one another in confusion.  Who was this Agent X Fury spoke of?

One person slowly squared their shoulders and stepped away from the X-Men.  Logan was the first to say anything, "Rogue?" he asked in a growl. 

Rogue looked into his eyes and said softly, "I am sorry, Logan and tell Kurt I am sorry, would you?   Tell everyone at the Institute that I will explain as soon as I can."

Rogue then turned to her people and nodded.  Tessa simply handed her materials to the nearest person to her, who happened to be Emma, and walked toward Rogue.  Jono telepathically snorted inside Rogue's head.  * Bloody melodramatic Yanks * Jono thought to Rogue, who struggled to keep her face solemn.  Wanda helped her brother prop himself against a tree, then looked over at Lance.  "Keep an eye on him, will you?" Wanda asked.  Lance gave a small nod, which was as good as Wanda could expect to get from the little s***.  She sighed in aggravation, and began to stride towards Rogue.  By the time Wanda had arrived in front of Rogue, Remy had managed to saunter over to the girl with the white-streaked hair.  "I thought you would never ask, Chere," Gambit whispered in Rogue's ear.  She rolled her eyes, turned around, and began to walk to the waiting helicopter.  Her agents silently looked at each, shrugged, and followed their leader.

tbc