Part 13- ‘Promises…Promises….’
Rogue climbed off the back of the bike and stood facing the tall building, she hadn’t noticed how much bleaker the place looked in the night. She had told Gambit to keep driving so instead of heading straight to the warehouse they had spent the next few hours exploring the open road and Rogue had loved every minute of it.
The events back at the mansion had been unfortunate but she didn’t regret leaving, not for a second. As she rode on that bike she had felt the wind whip up her hair the sensation was as close to freedom as she had got in the last few months. Maybe things could have gone better with Logan, she sighed quietly to herself when she thought of him again, but she shook the gravity off and smiled. It wasn’t the end, not by a long while, she would see the X-men again, and she would see Logan again, in fact she was planning to see as much of them as she ever did.
She stepped into the dark building her footsteps causing the laboured and rotted floorboards to creak with every step. Gambit was right behind her, but she soon sensed they were not the only ones in the room. And sure enough out of the shadows came figures she soon recognised, Magneto and Mystique. For a while they all just stood together in a circle under the single fluorescent strip light hanging from the ceiling.
Almost instinctively Rogue took a step backwards; she had fought these mutants for so long it was only natural for her to feel cautious. Her retreat found her in the arms of Gambit, he placed his hand protectively in the small of her back and the warmth of his touch through the material of her coat steadied her. He moved his hand upwards until it rested on her right shoulder.
‘Its okay fille, I’m right here…’ He pressed her shoulder lightly and with his guidance she stepped forward once more.
Magneto sensing her hesitation attempted to offer a smile; Rogue decided it would be a long time before she would ever get used to that smile without thinking it was just creepy. ‘I can well understand your caution my dear,’ he spoke in a low gravely voice, oddly stately but menacing all the same, ‘it must be strange to find yourself here of all places.’
Rogue smiled a little, taking another step forward she looked around the vast empty warehouse, or at least attempted to, it seemed Magneto and the gang had yet to discover the wonders of electricity, either that or they were having trouble paying the bill because the whole place was pitch black. And then almost all at once the whole place lit up, every light in the building seemed to ignite; she looked back towards Magneto who was still smiling.
Rogue scoffed, ‘Nice trick, but ah kinda prefer the dark these days.’ With that she closed her eyes and concentrated, the lights began to flicker and then one after the other each bulb shattered, row after row the glass smashed and the tingling sound echoed around the room as the pieces hit the floor, until the only light left was the one that they were all standing under. She smiled widely now as the superior display of her powers boosted her confidence.
‘Very impressive Rogue, it is clear to see your powers have developed beyond all expectations…’ Magneto started to walk in a wide circle around her, as if he was inspecting her, Rogue turned to face him at every turn, added confidence she may have had but there was no way she was going to leave her back exposed to Magneto.
‘Ah’m guessing ya know somethin’ about what’s happenin’ to me?’ Rogue queried as soon as Magneto had come to a stop in front of her. He smiled once more and almost laughed a little. ‘I assure you my dear; I have no idea what you’re talking about…’
Rogue smiled along with him, ‘Sure ya don’t… y’all expect me to believe that the Cajun here just happened to stumble into that bar brawl?’ She crossed her arms in defiance,
‘Ya know ma accent may be slow, but I sure as hell ain’t.’
Magneto stepped close to her and shook his head, ‘No you really aren’t slow at all are you?’
‘So what’s happening to me?’ Rogue demanded once more.
‘It’s quite simple really…you’re evolving. Your X-gene is most likely in its final stages of development and as such your powers have kicked into overdrive.’ Seeing Rogue confused still he reached forward and tentatively placed a hand on her arm, ‘You really should be quite proud, Rogue you’re close to perfection.’
Rogue shook his hand off; his tone unnerved her, perfection? ‘Why now, why is this happening now?’
Magneto shrugged, ‘That I can’t answer, perhaps it’s in answer to the trauma you’ve suffered these past years, and these powers are an added defence mechanism that your body has deemed necessary, after all evolution is about survival.’
‘Are they permanent?’ Her voice shook a little as she spoke; it seemed so hard to believe, if she had evolved exactly what had she evolved into? A superior version of herself or a collection of every other mutant she had ever encountered? She found it difficult to discern which prospect she feared more.
‘I’m not sure, Rogue this change, the speed of it is unprecedented, we knew it would happen eventually, but how far the powers would extend is unknown even to us.’
‘We…?’ Rogue stared up at him now, her eyes blazing with a fury that was at once vulnerable and demanding.
‘Oh Charles knew something was happening, we may not be on the same side but we do have the odd discussion now and again, ‘ Magneto smiled quietly to himself, a small remembrance igniting a memory, ‘usually over a game of chess.’ The smile faded and Magneto feature’s returned to its usual stern appearance. ‘He spoke to me about it; he asked me if I thought if it was possible that mutants were still evolving, if it was possible some of us hadn’t reached our full potential. He was general in the details of course but I knew it was you, Rogue you had him worried, he saw it in you as I have long seen it, the power, the grace…the potential.’
Mystique who had hitherto remained silent suddenly spoke up excitedly, ‘And now you’re here, back where you belong, where you fit in.’ Rogue snapped her head around to look at Mystique, the woman who had posed for so long as her best friend and who claimed to be a mother to her.
Rogue laughed bitterly, ‘and now ah suppose we can have a lovin’ mother and daughter reunion right?’ Mystique actually stepped forwards as if to her embrace her estranged daughter. But Rogue’s blazing eyes and clear rage stopped the older mutant in her tracks, she shook her head, ‘now ah know you’re not goin’ to make the mistake of touchin’ me, not unless ya liked the idea of bein’ pushed off a cliff again, ‘cause believe me that can be arranged.’
Mystique growled warningly, her eyes gleaming a menacing yellow the ladies were ready for a fight. Magneto stepped forward and pointedly ignoring Mystique spoke low to Rogue, ‘But you enjoy it don’t you…the power, the darkness, its comforting isn’t it?’
Rogue smiled sweetly up at him, ‘The power, ya mean you’re power?’ She looked him squarely in the eye, ‘Yeah the magnetism’s fun, but ah like the blocks better.’ She tapped her finger against her forehead, meaning she had gotten around his ability to read minds, so there would be no playing tricks with her.
But he was right, the power all that strength was truly glorious, perhaps evolving wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
‘Why are ya tellin’ me this, why work so hard to get me here?’ Rogue turned on Magneto with an energy he found amusing. ‘What do ya want from me?’ she pressed further.
He looked intently at her and standing close pressed both his hands onto her shoulders, Rogue stared up at him this time allowing the contact to remain. ‘Because Mystique is right, you do belong here; don’t be afraid of the darkness or what you’ve achieved, embrace it, encourage it…’ taking one hand from her shoulder he took hold of her chin firmly, ‘listen to me Rogue, I can help you, right now I know that it tires you, after absorption you get a little weaker, well I can help you control that, train the process so there won’t be any pain and all that’ll you feel is the power, the life force as you suck it right out of them…’
His words, his words were so soothing, the sound filtered through her and she found herself nodding her head, her eyes drifting closed, but the effect lasted only a moment and she remembered where she was and who he was. Snapping her eyes open, she stepped back quickly. ‘Why…?’ she asked furiously of him.
‘Can’t you see it…?’ Magneto’s voice rose and octave and his voice seemed to boom and resonate around the room, ‘What we can be, Rogue with you by my side we can restore the natural order, take it back and make it the way it should be. With your powers we can turn this world upside down and bring these pathetic humans to their knees, we can put our race where it should be…, at the top of the food chain.’
She looked at him intently, how was it he was saying the words she had been thinking, words she had been carrying on her heart for so long? And why was it that this suddenly made all sense to her?
‘You know..,’ he spoke low again, ‘you of all us know what it is to hate them, to know how much they have hurt us and how they deserve to be punished. Can you imagine what it would be like Rogue, if we can change it, can you imagine mutants living without fear? Living free lives, without prejudice, without the hate and the threats, and free to practise their powers, Rogue can you imagine a world without organisations like the FFH?’
That did it, Magneto could not have words that would have spoken more to Rogue than the notion that they could be free of the hateful FFH.
‘Alright, ah’ll stay,’ she replied softly. Gambit took the one bag she had brought with her and made his way to the warehouse floor, halfway up the stairs Rogue turned back to an unmoving Magneto, ‘but ya should know I ain’t gonna make the mistake of trusting any of ya…’
He smiled back at her, ‘Then you’re in the right place, because none of us would be stupid enough to make that mistake…’
Rogue was laid flat out on the uncomfortable mattress her arms resting listlessly by her sides, and her hair hung loosely over her eyes, around her face and down around her shoulders; she stared up at the ceiling, her eyes blank and unmoving. The paint was peeling and yellow, the warehouse was certainly not the Academy in terms of appearances or comfort, but it was where she was staying. It was the place she had chosen, an abandoned old building surrounded by mutants only a few weeks ago she would have been fighting.
The strangest thing oddly enough for Rogue was the silence of it all, the warehouse was so damn quiet; at the Academy she had been used to the noises. The sounds of the other students running in the corridors, the giggles of the girls she had to share a room with, the shouts from outside the window, it was a constant noise, even in the dead of night she would hear them, sleepy breathing sounds, shallow sighs, contented happy sounds she found it harder and harder to endure. She barely slept and having to listen to how easily a good night’s rest came to just about everyone else only made her want to scream in anger.
But here it was quiet, peaceful almost, now that was strange.
But now here she was in a room next door to the Cajun, the same mutant who was now leaning against the frame of her half-open room door.
She was so caught up in her own thoughts she barely registered his presence. He watched her intently for a while before finally choosing to break the silence, ‘Hey cher`ie…’ his soft voice cut through the unusual silence easily.
Gambit had to repeat his words before she noticed him; she turned her head slightly to look at him. ‘What?’ she asked quietly.
‘Somethin’ on your mind cher`ie?’ he asked her before his face broke into a mischievous smile. A confused Rogue could only look curiously at him before it finally dawned on her what he was indicating with those red eyes of his.
She wasn’t lying on the mattress anymore, rather she was floating a few inches in the air above it, she had been so preoccupied in her thoughts she barely noticed she was levitating.
Recovering she sat up and buried her head in her hands, sighing deeply she stood up and made her way towards the door.
‘Ah need to go see someone, don’t wait up…’ she called out behind her. She was away and down the staircase before Gambit had time to make a reply.
The clink-clink of glass caught his ears long before it would have caught in the range of any normal human range of hearing. And then there was the familiar scent, he shut his eyes and allowed his other senses to guide him, to the scent and the sound of the one person he needed to see, to hear… and to feel again.
And sure enough there she was sitting on a little clearing leaning back against the tree and looking for all the world as if she belonged there. But she didn’t belong there, not anymore. The white streaks in her hair caught the moonlight perfectly as she tilted her head up slightly to look up at him; she smiled and held up a bottle of beer for him.
‘Hey Logan, drink….?’ Her southern lilt made her voice seem softer than usual. He stared down at her for a long while determined to ensure she wasn’t an illusion, a bitter mind-game of make believe. She was real all right, curiosity and sanity satisfied he took the bottle from her gloved hands and sat next to her.
‘Guess it’s nice to see some things don’t change…’ he growled at her before twisting the bottle cap open and taking a long sip of ice cold beer. She smiled and took a sip from her own bottle.
‘Ouch…’ she replied, he’d never been happy with her drinking, too much and too fast for one so young he had always said, but she smiled at his words all the same, ‘And ah thought ah was supposed to be the bitter one.’
He looked sternly at her, ‘Yeah well I haven’t had the best of days.’
‘No?’ she questioned him, ‘Wanna talk about it?’ she looked slyly at him, a look he didn’t appreciate. ‘Should ah take that as a no?’ she continued.
He growled low and Rogue started to wonder if this really was a good idea. ‘Why’d you do it?’ But his voice softened and he leaned his head back against the tree, they were sat close their heads almost touching. He looked over at her, so as he spoke his every word was a breath brushing softly against the base of her neck.
She met his gaze, her voice grew husky and she struggled to speak ‘What?’
‘Why’d you have to hurt her, Siren why’d you drain her?’
She looked away, and paused before she answered, ‘Because I could.’ His look of confused dismay failed to move her. She smiled and looked directly at him again; his face was so close to hers, their lips barely inches apart. Neither moved, neither was willing to give in.
‘Come on Logan, ya know me, ah’ve never lied to ya. What do ya want me to say, that I did it because I was pissed off she screwed around with ma boyfriend, that ah wanted to hurt her, to make her feel it?’ She shook her head, ‘No, to tell ya the truth ah couldn’t care less about them, ah did it because ah could, because ah have the power and because ah….enjoyed it.’
Rogue spoke the last words carefully, so that he would hear, that he would understand. She stood up and as she did so cast the bottle aside, brushing herself down she turned to walk away.
An infuriated Logan grabbed her by the upper arm and pulled her back, as chance would have it he was wearing gloves, or maybe it had less to do with chance and more with the fact that he had been expecting this nocturnal visit. Either way his rage was clear as he grabbed her forcefully by the chin and forced her to look at him.
‘I don’t believe you…’ he hissed the words at her. He wrapped his other hand around her waist and pressed her close, she was crushed against his broad chest, her legs clashing against his, his hand held firmly against her back.
‘There’s got to be more to it than that, I know we hurt you, all of us…and me especially,’ he stopped and moved his hand to stroke her face gently, ‘but Rogue…’ his pained voice softened her a little as she closed her eyes and relished the feel of his strong hand against her skin, but it was only a little, and she pushed his down and away and stepped out of his embrace.
Her eyes blazed with a long suppressed fury. ‘Scary isn’t it, seeing it…all this darkness that surrounds me, look at me Logan, look at what I’ve become…’ She burned the words into his mind.
‘You should have told me, you never let me in!’ Logan could see it now, all the bitterness, all the rage she had lived with this past year had been eating her up and now instead of fighting it she was using the white hot rage that burned in her, and it was making her dangerous. He was seeing the darker side of her and the startling truth was what he saw was a mirror image of what he himself had been so many years ago.
All those years ago, before he had found the Academy, before Charles had calmed the tempests of his mind, back when he had still carried the scars of their experiments, when he had carried the agony and misery of his existence as a pain without release, this….this is what he saw in Rogue now.
And the revelation almost brought him to his knees, because she had found Charles, and she had found the academy but still it had meant nothing.
‘Ah was bleeding right in front of y’all, and ya didn’t see it, none of ya did, ‘cause ya didn’t want to. But you’re watching now aren’t ya, that’s why ah did it, ah wanted y’all to see the power that ah have.’ Rogue smiled at him before she slowly began to peel off her gloves.
Logan tensed at her actions but refused to move, he stood resolute and unafraid, ‘You had that power before remember? All those changes you went through because of the mutants you’d absorbed before, that almost killed you.’
She shook her head, ‘No, not this time, its different now, ah can control it…they don’t control me, not this time Logan.’ She flexed her bare hands and stepped toward him.
Logan watched her every step, she came closer and closer until she was only inches away from him.
‘Don’t do this Rogue,’ Logan’s voice cut through the deadly silence that had hung between them, ‘this isn’t you.’ She smiled up at him, a gentle smile, and the smile that he remembered from so long ago.
‘Logan…’ she barely whispered his name, ‘ah would never hurt you…., not unless ah have to.’ She watched his eyes before fixing her gaze on his mouth seemingly fascinated by his lips; reaching out tentatively she brushed a finger gently against his bottom lip, her hand quivered gently.
Logan took hold of her hand pressing it in his own, ‘What about Siren, you almost killed her; you didn’t have to do that.’ Rogue snatched her hand away and turning her back to him proceeded to replace her gloves.
‘This is me Logan, Scott was right; y’all should never have trusted me, ah never belonged here, not really…ah never fitted in, maybe ‘cause ah never wanted to.’
‘You do belong here, Scott was angry, grieving he didn’t know what he was saying, you need to be here…’ He pleaded with her, she needed to be here, where he could save her and stop her spinning out of control.
But his words fell on deaf ears, Rogue shook her head, ‘No…this was place was killing me, ya still can’t see the hell ah’ve been through, now ya get to see. Ah’ve crossed over to the darker side Logan, and ah kinda like it there.’
But he wasn’t ready to let her go, not yet, ‘This rage you’re carrying, you think that’s going to help you? I’ve been there, I’ve felt that hate, but you know what it’s gonna burn out and you know what you’re gonna be left with nothing…nothing Rogue.’
She stared at him before she smiled and laughed a little, ‘Then ah guess you’re right some things don’t change…’
Logan’s anger at her stubbornness threatened to boil over, ‘Then why’d you come here, what was the point other than pissing me off?’
‘Ah honestly don’t know Logan…’ She began walking away, before Logan relented and called out after her.
‘I ain’t giving up on you Rogue, no matter what, you can walk away all you want I’m not giving up.’
She stopped and turned on her heel, ‘That’s a shame because I gave up on you and this place a long time ago.’
Then what do you want from me?’ Logan shouted out her, even as she walked away he could catch her words floating back on the wind.
‘Ah don’t know Logan, ah may have given up on you….but ah ain’t ready to let you go…yet.’
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Author's Chapter Notes:
‘Are they permanent?’ Her voice shook a little as she spoke; it seemed so hard to believe, if she had evolved exactly what had she evolved into? A superior version of herself or a collection of every other mutant she had ever encountered? She found it difficult to discern which prospect she feared more.
A/N: Shifting allegiances and nocturnal visits to Logan...*sigh*
A/N: Shifting allegiances and nocturnal visits to Logan...*sigh*