Rogue could feel the little boy’s eyes drilling into her back as she lead the way out of the building. She knew he was watching her, because from the moment she has smashed her way into the room where he was kept, he had been transfixed by her. Mus’ be the hair, she thought to herself.
Kitty had quickly warned her about the boy’s mutant suppressing power, so Rogue kept several feet between them as they made their way out, not wanting to be caught off-guard if someone were to try to block their escape, meanwhile her mind was in an uproar. When she had first laid eyes on the source of the cure, she thought she was seeing a ghost. He looked almost exactly the way Cody had looked when he was a little boy, and her heart lurched at the jarring resemblance, while her mind was instantaneously filled with memories she thought she had long forgotten, or perhaps covered up. Memories from before her mutation, before she became Rogue and was just Marie, a young girl living in poverty near the banks of the Mississippi. Remembering how she and Cody had met when they had been just five years old, when she had decked him in the face for throwing her into a mud puddle and ruining her pretty new dress. Lord, was her Momma ashamed! Nice Southern young ladies most assuredly did not deck anyone, no matter what the circumstances. Afterwards, the two children had struck up an unlikely friendship, which lasted up until they shared their first kiss and Rogue’s power surfaced. Before she had run away from home, she had visited Cody in the hospital one last time. The doctors had told his family that there was no chance of him ever waking up, and as Rogue stared at his unconscious face, grown old before it’s time, the guilt of what she had done almost overwhelmed her. Her first friend, her first love, her first kiss… her first victim.
Now there was this boy Jimmy looking at her, depending on her to keep him safe. Rogue knew nothing about this child, but she knew she would protect him with everything she had in her, feeling that if she could keep him from harm, maybe in some way it would somewhat atone for what she had done to Cody so long ago.
At last they made it out of the facility and Rogue gestured for them to follow her along the wall, out of sight from the battle which appeared to be winding down.
After a few yards, Rogue stopped and went to stand beside Kitty and Jimmy. “OK Kit-Kat, think ya can make it to the ‘Bird from here?”
Rolling her eyes at the nickname, Kitty nodded. “You be careful,” she told Rogue gravely, releasing Jimmy’s hand to wrap the other girl in a tight hug. “Jubilee will kill me if anything happens to you.”
Chuckling, Rogue returned the embrace before stepping back to crouch in front of Jimmy. “Alright honey, ya ready to go home?”
She watched as his wide blue eyes lowered to the ground, and he mumbled quietly in a forlorn voice, “This was my home.”
Glancing around, Rogue saw that his ‘home’ was almost completely wrecked, with bodies littering the ground while other areas were alight with fire, to say nothing of the various debris strewn about.
Smiling at him in reassurance, she leaned closer and whispered, “We’ll be your home now.”
Jimmy’s head lifted, and Rogue was pleased to see the hope shining in his young face. Unable to help herself, she tentatively raised one hand, noticing how different it was from earlier that afternoon. Then it was delicate, smooth, the hand of a debutante. Now though, the carefully shaped nails were broken and chipped, the deceptively dainty knuckles bruised, cut and swollen, while blood and other grime coated her skin.
Her hand still hovered uncertainly in front of Jimmy’s face, not wanting to touch his unsullied skin with her filth, until finally she reached out and brushed one finger lightly over his smooth cheek.
Rogue’s eyes prickled from emotions, realizing that this was the first time in years that she was actually touching someone without bringing pain, the first time being so close to a child. Back in Mississippi, Rogue had been a great baby-sitter, longing for the day when she could have her own children. After her power presented itself, she didn’t dare get too close to any kids, not even at the mansion, terrified of what her skin could do to a small child.
Still grazing her finger along Jimmy’s rosy face, Rogue smiled gratefully at him. “Thank-you.”
Jimmy blushed, a bashful look on his features. “I get that a lot,” he confessed, and Rogue laughed, dropping her hands to her sides as she stepped back.
“Ah’ll bet ya do,” she agreed. “Now, y’all gotta motor on outta here. Ah get the feelin’ this is the calm before the storm.”
Nodding at her one last time, Kitty reclaimed Jimmy’s small hand and together they ran for the direction of the Blackbird, their forms melting into the shadows as Rogue turned back to the fight.
The majority of Magneto’s army had abandoned ship, fleeing the island with their lives and whatever pride they had left, but a few still remained. As she watched, Rogue saw a huge fire-ball soaring through the sky, heading straight for a small group of military personnel, who squawked in terror while they scrambled for safe cover.
Without much thought, Rogue felt her feet leave the ground as she soared into the sky, placing herself directly in the path of the oncoming flaming projectile.
Absently wondering when she had absorbed someone who could fly, she pushed the thought away as she approached the fire-ball in the sky. As she drew nearer to it, Rogue saw that it was a car, or used to be. Judging from the flames, she figured Johnny was behind it.
Just as she was about to meet it in mid-air, the flames engulfing the car vanished as ice began to form around the blackened metal. Recognizing the work of Bobby, Rogue sent him a silent thanks. She hadn’t really wanted to char her snazzy uniform anyway.
Using Juggernaut’s incredible strength, Rogue spun in a circle, swinging her arm out like a bat as it connected solidly with the now ice-covered car. It smashed off her and rebounded back in the direction it had come from, and from her position in the air, Rogue could clearly see Pyro and Magneto standing side by side, both oblivious to the danger heading right at them as they continued launching fiery cars at their enemies.
Rogue’s eyes were drawn to another figure dressed entirely in red, standing a bit off to the side of Magneto’s position. Seeing the trademark red hair fluttering in the breeze like a banner, Rogue instantly recognized the Phoenix and unconsciously bared her teeth at her.
The icy car she had launched back was now almost over the heads of the trio before Magneto noticed it. Caught by surprise, there was no time for him to erect a shield with his supply of metal strewn about. Instead, he and John frantically dove out of the way with barely an instant to spare as the car crashed into the ground where they had been standing only a split second before. The only one who appeared unfazed was Phoenix. She remained exactly where she stood before, an empty expression on her face as she watched the two men climb back to their feet.
Still hovering above the earth, Rogue watched as Magneto spoke urgently to Pyro, who nodded and ran out of sight while Magneto finally raised his head to glare up at her.
Sure that she had his undivided attention now, Rogue smiled benevolently down at him…
And gave him the finger.
Magneto’s face contorted into a mask of rage, and Rogue almost expected him to throw a temper tantrum right then and there. Instead, he appeared to mentally count to ten before smiling up at her in a grandfatherly way.
“Come no child, this is pointless,” he called to her, his voice cajoling. “Why do you waste your time and those amazing talents of yours just to defend a few worthless homo-sapiens?”
Rogue placed both hands on her hips and shook her head in disbelief. “Because it’s right,” she shot back, using a tone usually reserved for wayward children.
“You have a great power Rogue,” he continued as though she hadn’t spoken at all. “And a great darkness within you. That’s good. With such a combination, you could be a great addition to our cause.”
Yeah, see where it got Mystique, Rogue quipped to herself, before glancing swiftly behind her to see Bobby and John battling it out. A part of her itched to go help her old boyfriend, but she knew this was something he had to do on his own; he would only resent her interference.
Turning her attention back to Magneto again, she allowed her smirk to widen. “Immer der Verkäufer, Erik” she said, enjoying the way his face blanched upon hearing his native tongue coming from her mouth. “Big man you are, takin’ kids an’ brainwashin’ ‘em to yo’ way o’ thinkin’. If ah recall correctly, ain’t that what the Nazis used to do? ‘Sie jung erhalten’, ain’t that what they always said?”
Rogue knew she had hit a nerve from the way Magneto jerked as though she had physically struck him; his face flooded with colour and he appeared too enraged to do more that open and close his mouth like a fish on land. If he starts shakin’ his fist at me like some scandalized ol’ lady, I’m gonna bust a gut, Rogue thought. Aw screw it. With that she burst out laughing, and turning her back on his now-purple face, she flew down to check on Bobby’s progress. However, when her eyes fell on him, she lost her concentration and fell the last few feet to the ground, landing in an ungainly sprawl in the dirt by Pyro’s unconscious body.
“Bobby,” she breathed, taking in his new appearance. He now looked like a living ice sculpture of himself, quite literally an Iceman… an apparently naked Iceman.
Noticing where her eyes had roved to, Bobby jerked the jacket off of John’s limp body and held it modestly in front of himself. “My uniform cracked off, OK?” he huffed, clearly mortified. “But look! I mopped the floor with Johnny!”
Standing up on suddenly wobbly legs, Rogue grinned at Bobby, slowly getting used to his au naturel look. "Let's find ya a pair o' pants before ya start a few fires of yo' own," she giggled, wagging her eyebrows suggestively.
Just then a cacophony of gunfire rang out, causing the pair to cry out in surprise while their hands rose instinctivly to cover their ears against the assualt.
"Looks like the Marines have jus' landed," Rogue observed mildly, pointing to a squadron of military personnel who were currently firing with everything they had at their disposal towards the vicinity of Magneto.
They ain't really firing bullets at a man who manipulates metal...are they? Rogue asked herself in wonder as Magneto launched another attack, sending metal and shrapnel towards the humans shooting at him.
Debris flew all around them, and Rogue hastily scooped up John off the ground like a sack of potatoes and thrust him into Bobby's still ice-covered arms. "Take 'im an' get outta here," she told him sternly, cutting him off when he opened his mouth to protest. "Ya ain't got any pants on Bobby! Ya wanna get killed out there when ya get distracted worryin' 'bout your man parts bein' exposed?"
Looking like a chastised puppy, Bobby nodded in defeat. "When you put it that way..." Turning, he began to make his way to the jet, but when he was several feet away Rogue called out to him.
"Bobby!"
He paused to look at her expectantly, clutching John awkwardly in his arms, and Rogue shrugged slightly, a lewd grin on her face. "It's a good look for ya, though. Ah know ah like it."
"Lech," he replied with laughter in his voice, before continuing on in the direction of the Blackbird.
Still smiling, Rogue turned to see the rest of the X-Men heading towards her, and she hurried to meet them halfway. A flying piece of what seemed to be a part of the Golden Gate Bridge raced towards her from the sky, and she threw herself to the ground, rolling over until her back hit the side of the remnants of the military truck that the team was huddled behind for cover.
"Magneto seems angry," Colossus said in his deep rumbling voice, his metal skin glinting eerily from the various fires burning unchecked around them.
"Yeah, ah think ah may have had a hand in that," Rogue admitted, chewing on her bottom lip with a guilty expression. "Ah might have... flipped him the bird."
"Oh my," Beast exclaimed softly, while Logan gave her the thumbs up, a smirk curling his lips.
"Meanwhile, nothing is hitting him," Storm panted, brushing blood away from a gash on her forehead. "We're just going in circles until someone takes him down HARD."
"I could-" Logan began before cut him off sharply.
"Ya couldn't do anythin', Logan," she told him. "You an' Colossus would be the worst to try anythin'. He'd sense ya comin' from a mile away, an' then what? He'd play ya both like puppets." She glanced down at the ground, brow furrowed in thought. Even if they were somehow able to knock him out now, so what? Magneto was like a cockroach; you could never get rid of him, he'd just keep coming back for more. Getting close enough to him to kill him was an option, but Rogue was still loathe to do it, knowing that Charles wouldn't want his old friend killed, despite things he had done.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Beast, who suddenly scrambled for something on the ground. "Ah-ha!" he exclaimed in victory. Sitting back up, he produced what appeared to be a magazine from a firearm, yet instead of bullets, it was filled with needles."They promised that they would never use the cure as a weapon against mutants," he said sadly, turning the cartridge over in his large furry hand. "I suppose that it's fortuitous for us that they lied."
Rogue gently extracted it from his grip, staring at the slim vials in amazement. Ah wanted this to be injected in me, she thought in shame. Shaking the thought away, she raised her eyes to her team.
"Ah know how we can do this."
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: I think at this point we all know I own nothing. Dare to dream though, dare to dream.
Ok, now we're getting to the nitty-gritty. this chapter was inspired by the song "Remedy" by seether. I'm really anxious to start the next chapter, cause I know I'm gonna have a blast writing it. But, there are a few things I need to warn you about. I've always gone more by comic lore than movie world, so in this chapter some things are more comic-y. like the fact that Rogue's first kiss was with a guy named Cody, not some dude named David. can someone tell me why they changed this anyway? these suits in the movie industry drive me nuts. or maybe that's just my job giving me some loose screws, i dunno. moving right along..uh. well, i guess that's it. if there's anything you're unclear about, feel free to ask me, and i'll do my best to answer. some german dialogue in this, translations at the bottom. i'm really appreciating all the reviews i'm getting, please keep it up!
Ok, now we're getting to the nitty-gritty. this chapter was inspired by the song "Remedy" by seether. I'm really anxious to start the next chapter, cause I know I'm gonna have a blast writing it. But, there are a few things I need to warn you about. I've always gone more by comic lore than movie world, so in this chapter some things are more comic-y. like the fact that Rogue's first kiss was with a guy named Cody, not some dude named David. can someone tell me why they changed this anyway? these suits in the movie industry drive me nuts. or maybe that's just my job giving me some loose screws, i dunno. moving right along..uh. well, i guess that's it. if there's anything you're unclear about, feel free to ask me, and i'll do my best to answer. some german dialogue in this, translations at the bottom. i'm really appreciating all the reviews i'm getting, please keep it up!
Chapter End Notes:
Immer der Verkäufer - Always the salesman
Sie jung erhalten - Get them young
i don't speak German, i just used a translator, so to anyone who does speak the language, forgive the errors.
Sie jung erhalten - Get them young
i don't speak German, i just used a translator, so to anyone who does speak the language, forgive the errors.