Professor Charles Xavier created his school and team of X-Men to be a space for second chances and new beginnings time and time again. Rogue was one of the mutants who started over with the X-Men. Leaving her life of crime the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants behind, Rogue earned the trust of Xavier and his team. Yet it wasn't until after the world-changing M-Day, an event that killed or removed powers from most mutants, that Cyclops finally gave Rogue a chance at being a team leader.
In X-Men #188, the "Supernovas" story arc begins, written by Mike Carey and art by Chris Bachalo, Tim Townsend, Jaime Mendoza, and Antonio Fabela. The unpredictability of new threats during missions of this era gave Rogue's quick thinking a time to shine. Cyclops admired her unconventionality and leadership, telling her to assemble the team of her choice. Her picks were a bit surprising, as many members used to be on the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
A new dangerous threat, the Children of the Vault, has arisen and attacked the X-Men in their home. It is Rogue's job to assemble the best team possible to fight against this threat that made the fight so personal. Two of the members she picks are dependable heroes. Cannonball, known for the fiery blast he creates to fly quickly, has been a member of various mutant hero teams. The other hero, Iceman, was one of the founding members of X-Men and his icy powers are always useful in a fight.
Her first surprising choice is Mystique. Rogue knows the shape-shifter's evil past intimately, as Mystique is her adoptive mother. Cyclops, shocked by the choice, asks Rogue why. To which she answers that she doesn't trust Mystique and wants the other woman close to keep an eye on her every move.
Rogue also enlists the help of two women that had recently come to the mansion unconscious after being rescued from a testing facility. One of them is known as Omega Sentinel, a human woman who had been given a sentinel upgrade to fight mutants. However, after some assistance, she was able to override that part of her programming but still retains the mechanical enhancements.
The second woman is even more of a questionable variable. Lady Mastermind is a powerful telepath that can create realistic illusions, much like her evil father Mastermind. She has worked for both sides of the mutant world but puts her own needs easily over any kind of moral code.
Even more dangerous than Rogue's choice of Mystique is her recruitment of the violent villain Sabertooth. He stumbles into the mansion, with blood still literally on his hands, and asks for sanctuary from the Children of the Vault. To keep him on a figurative leash, Rogue has Beast implant nano-sentinels in his bloodstream that they could activate and kill Sabertooth at any sign of betrayal.
Although it seems like an odd mix of mutants, the team works well against the Children of the Vault. Omega Sentinel has tech abilities, Mystique is a seasoned spy, Cannonball and Iceman's flying and elemental powers are useful, Sabertooth is raw power, and Rogue will do anything to get the mission complete. Cable, who also joins the team, responds well to Rogue's leadership and they work in tandem as leaders of the team. Although Xavier and Cyclops sometimes see Rogue's team as a bit too aggressive, they were able to save the X-Men home and defeat the Children of the Vault in a flying ship.
Right after defeating the Children, Rogue's team is thrust into a new threat. This time a villain named Pandemic has kidnapped and infected Rogue with a disease that not only causes illness but increases her power to kill anyone who touches her in an instant. Rogue's increased abilities are pushed when she absorbs the alien Hecatomb, which contained eight billion entities.
Rogue falls into a coma from all of the beings fighting for dominance in her brain. Mystique takes a calculated risk and presses an infant Hope Summers, the first baby born since M-Day, to Rogue's face and instantly heals her with no ill effects to the child. Rogue is not pleased with what has happened and leaves, abandoning both her team and the X-Men for a time of self-reflection.
Most of Rogue's team end up in Krakoa better people, except for Sabertooth who has been imprisoned. For a time Rogue struggles with controlling her absorption powers and conquering the demons of her past. Eventually, she works through her issues. She later rejoined the X-Men and became a leader of the Avengers after Captain America's retirement.
Now she has better control of her powers and has finally married her long-time love, Gambit. Together they fight on the Excalibur team and possibly becoming parts of the Captain Britain Corps. All of this shows that Rogue can go through dark times but still come out a hero.