The grille shuddered aggressively under the anxious footsteps. Storm and Cyclops reached a labyrinth of passageways. They agreed to go left, and they followed the dim walkway until they reached a massive fan that revolved slowly. The corridor turned to the right, and an antechamber lay ahead. Storm vigilantly set one foot into the room. Choppy gleams of light covered the floor with blue spots.
“Listen,” Storm nodded upward. Voices resonated from above, one of them clearly belonging to Magneto. Growls of torture denoted that Logan was close by.
“Storm…”
“What?”
Scott gestured to something behind her, and she turned. “Rogue?”
The girl walking toward them was only a ghost of what they remembered. She had ambition in her gait and arrogance in her posture. Wavy locks of cherry and chestnut cascaded down her back and shoulders, and two ribbons of white hugged her pallid features. Red embers had replaced her pupils. Storm eagerly reached out to her, but Rogue knocked her to the floor. Cyclops seized her arm, but she struck his jowl with a blinding punch. Ignoring what had just occurred, she continued out into the hall.
Scott rubbed his jaw and helped Storm to her feet. “What the hell was that?”
“I don’t know,” Storm shook her head, dusting off her uniform. “But it looks like Rogue’s got her powers back…and then some.”
***************************************************************************
“Where is she?” Logan gritted his teeth, fighting Magneto’s control. He was sprawled out against the wall, arms and legs locked. Below him, a long plunge awaited.
“She’s safe. But I am not her greatest threat.” Magneto stood in the center of an immense spherical, bottomless steel chamber. A cross-shaped platform was suspended by thick cables and bordered by four arched doorways. Pyro stood faithfully behind Magneto, flames dancing in the palms of his hands. The other members of the Brotherhood guarded the exits.
“If I find out that you laid one hand on her, I’ll rip your lungs out!”
Magneto laughed. “You have no idea what you are dealing with, friend. Your precious Rogue is just as dangerous as myself.”
“She’s just a kid!” Logan struggled valiantly.
“She is a machine.” Magneto’s expression turned grim. “You see, Wolverine, Mystique knew Rogue was the only one capable of ridding her of the thorn in her side, Carol Danvers. She miscalculated terribly, and poor Rogue has permanently absorbed her thoughts, memories, and powers.”
“Whatever you’re plannin’, she’ll never join you, Magneto! Her loyalty is with the X-Men.”
“She made a choice to follow Mystique.”
“What are you talking about? Unnnggrrrh!”
“It took very little persuasion to earn her trust. She became rather smitten with one of my spies, Gambit.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Love has tamed the beast. Your delusions are charming, my friend. But you will not leave this place with Rogue… nor will you leave alive.” Magneto flicked his wrist, and Logan was hurled to the opposite wall. “Now, where are those friends of yours?”
He ordered the guards to search for Storm and Cyclops. He continued to torment Logan, stretching his limbs until the muscles tore. There was a thunderous explosion in the distance, and then another one, much closer. Pyro ignited a large fireball and ran toward the east doorway. At once, a flash of red light sent him straight back. He slid across the grate for a few feet and knocked his head against a metal post. Scott and Storm appeared.
“Let him go!”
“Very well,” Magneto smiled. Logan suddenly slid down the wall. He quickly shot his claws into the steel and jerked to a halt. Magneto manipulated himself upward, vanishing into the rafters. Cyclops blasted one of the reinforcement wires, and the platform swayed a little. He tossed the line to Logan and pulled him to safety.
“We have to find Rogue,” Logan hurried toward one of the dim passages.
“Logan, wait!” Storm called. “Logan, we have to be careful! Rogue’s…not herself.”
Logan walked briskly, barely turning his head to look at her. “What are you talking about?”
They arrived at a lofty circular stairwell, and Logan climbed three steps at a time.
“She’s pissed off and very, very strong,” Scott added.
“Magneto said that she permanently absorbed Carol’s powers and personality.”
“If that’s true, which would explain the brute force,” Storm’s breath was shallow and tired, “then I can’t imagine what it’s done to her mind. This is very risky, Logan. She’s in an extremely fragile state. She could be as volatile as Jean.”
“Especially toward me,” quipped Logan.
“Why?”
“Let’s just say… hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”
“Rogue?” Storm probed Logan for an explanation.
“Nah,” he smiled impishly. “Carol.”
They reached a landing and another empty hallway. “Where is everybody?”
“Over here,” Scott beckoned. He stood over Gambit, who lay unconscious. Storm examined the cell and the crumbled wall. “He’s still alive. C’mon, help me with him.”
“What? Why?” Logan glared.
“I have orders from the Professor to bring him back with us.”
“What’s so special about him?”
“Gambit is Xavier’s informant.”
“Gambit?” Logan involuntarily released his claws. “This is the punk who brainwashed Rogue?”
Scott hooked Gambit’s arm over his shoulder and pulled him up. “Help me, Logan. I can’t carry him on my own.”
“He’s Magneto’s spy!”
“Yeah, and he was also working with Mystique, but he didn’t know that this would happen. So, calm down. We can work this out later. Just help me!”
Logan growled and threw Gambit over his shoulder. They continued down the path, making a semi-circle around the bastion. There was a small doorway that led to an alcove with a ladder. Cool air rushed down, carrying Magneto’s voice. He was speaking to someone, almost pleading. Logan brusquely dropped Gambit and clambered up the bars, flouting Storm and Scott’s objections. He surfaced on the roof, instantly catching sight of Magneto. He felt an unfamiliar aching in his chest.
Towering over a groveling Magneto was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. The wind howled, compelling her ginger curls to dance to its music. A full moon cast an ethereal aura on her fair skin. Magneto kneeled before her, as if she were a vengeful goddess. Storm emerged behind Logan, trailed by Cyclops.
“Storm, get the jet,” Logan ordered.
“What?”
“I said, get the jet. Go with her, Scooter.”
“Logan, are you out of your mind? You know that you can’t take on Magneto yourself!” Storm appealed.
“I said get the goddamn jet ready! I’m the least of Magneto’s worries right now.”
“Logan, Rogue is dangerous! You need back-up.”
A chilling cry from Magneto caught their attention. Rogue had placed her palms securely on his face. His complexion was ghastly, and his lips were parted in a silent scream. “Get the jet, NOW!” Logan roared.
Storm and Scott exchanged glances, not wanting to leave Logan alone. “We work as a team! Don’t do this!”
“Your ego is the reason Jean is dead!” Scott unleashed the hostility and resentment that he had buried for so long.
Logan’s dark eyes burst into flames. “I did what I had to do! You couldn’t let her go, and I had to clean up your mess!”
“Stop it!” Storm interjected. “There’s no time for this! She’s going to kill him.” Rogue held Magneto by his lapel and hauled him toward the edge of the cliff.
“I can handle this,” Logan assessed the situation.
“She’s got triple your strength, and she’s invulnerable!” Storm’s white ponytail was frazzled by the speed of the wind.
“Not to adamantium.” He cocked a brow.
“Logan, what are you doing? Logan, come back here!”
“Don’t worry,” he shouted over his shoulder. “That’s my plan B.”
“So what’s his plan A?” Scott muttered. There was a commotion below—Magneto’s henchmen. “Storm, we’ve got company. Let’s go!”
Wolverine carefully advanced toward Rogue. Magneto was defenseless, too weak to fight. He dangled from her hands like a doll, limp and pliable. He gazed down at the Atlantic, knowing that death was imminent. Logan tested out his principal tactic. “I thought Carol Danvers was a good girl. A hero, not an assassin.”
Rogue twisted her head slightly, and Logan was fleetingly rendered speechless by her divine profile. “A hero saves the world from evil and bad guys, no? And this piece of scum qualifies for both categories, Logan.”
“Magneto’s beef is with men, not mutants…or even superhumans. You and I both know that.”
“He tried to destroy me! He wanted to use me as a weapon!”
“Listen, Carol, why don’t you put him down? I know you’re angry right now. I know what it feels like to have your life taken away from you; what it’s like to wake up and not know where the hell you are. But this isn’t the answer. You’re not a murderer. I know you, Carol. So, let him go and come with me.” He stepped forward.
“Don’t move any closer!”
“Put him down, and I’ll back away.”
“My business is not with you or the X-men. Now, stay away!”
“You know I was never good at takin’ orders. Especially from you…”
Logan felt his skeleton pushing against his epidermis. She was controlling him, keeping him motionless. He strained to lift his feet, but every stir sent excruciating pain through his calves and thighs. He was tearing through his own flesh. An intense heat shot past his ear, and orange flames engulfed the precipice. The pressure through his bones dissipated, and he intuitively ran to Rogue. She had thrown herself to the dank, stone ground, dodging the stream of fire. Magneto lay next to her, soothingly rubbing his neck and sputtering for air. “Byron…help me!”
A silver-haired man yanked Logan up by the collar on his black leather suit, and threw a punch across his face. Logan growled, ramming his forehead against his attacker's nose. The two men engaged in hand-to-hand combat, reserving their mutations for the final blow. Blinded by rage, Logan viciously swung at his opponent’s countenance, his mind fixated on getting Rogue to safety. His deadly claws sliced through his knuckles and gloves, and with a repulsive squish, the pyrokinetic thug crumpled to the floor. Logan felt a hand on his shoulder and impulsively spun around, puncturing skin, muscle, tendons, arteries, and a heart. His rough and intimidating scowl faded to sheer panic and remorse. Delicate fingers dug into the weathered fabric across his clavicle.
Rogue’s petite, shivering frame grew heavy. Her eyes were wide, and she swallowed loudly, startled by the dearth of oxygen. Logan whimpered when he saw a rivulet of blood trickling from the corner of her blush lips. He had never been serious about a "plan B"; he never dreamed of harming her in any way. Her voice was guttural and strangulated; “Logan…”
“Oh, god. Hang on, kid!” He hoisted her over his shoulder and dashed toward the shaft, descending the ladder swiftly. He paced the corridors, using his heightened scent to retrace the path he, Storm, and Cyclops had taken. He broke into a sprint, knowing that he had to reach the jet before he could heal Rogue, but she was fading rapidly. He located the circular entrance hall and followed the rickety metal plates to the broken door. He realized that there was no way down. Storm spotted him from below and flew up to help.
Once inside the jet, Logan gently placed Rogue on the bench seat, kneeling next to her. Gambit was slumped over in a chair, and Alison took Logan’s place behind Storm. Logan unzipped Rogue’s black hooded sweatshirt and tore open her green v-neck tee that stuck to her chest with drying blood. Storm glanced backwards and gasped in horror.
Rogue’s body was cold and her skin was ashen. Her lips were drained of their color, and Logan no longer heard the rattled breaths that she sustained on the journey. He placed his hand over her heart, blood seeping through his fingers. “C’mon, kid.”
Nothing.
“C’mon. You’re supposed to be strong! C’mon!” He applied increased pressure to her wound, almost willing his energy into her. “C’mon, kid. Please! I didn’t go through all of this to have you die in this fucking jet!”
Nothing.
“FUCK! Come on!” He shook her. “God dammit, Marie! Don’t do this to me!” He stroked her lips and her cheeks, waiting for his touch to rouse her lethal skin. He grasped the white locks of her hair and twisted them through his fingers, painting them red. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “You’re all I’ve got, kid.”
He expected her to gasp for air and sit up, like in all those romantic movies, but she remained lifeless. His heart mirrored hers, stabbed and still and bleeding. He had failed her, again. Just like always. He had watched Jean die, and he had felt inconceivable sorrow, but it paled in comparison to the agony of knowing that he would never again hear Rogue’s charming Mississippi drawl or see that contagious smile. He was a miserable and bitter man, but she made him feel as close to peace as he was ever going to get.
Alison unbuckled her seatbelt and awkwardly traversed the cabin toward Logan. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry… I know she meant a lot to you. This is all my fault…”
“Shut up,” he barked. She recoiled and returned to her seat. Logan leaned his forehead against Rogue’s, permitting himself to let her go and to grieve. “I’m sorry, Marie.”
There was unmovable silence throughout the cockpit for several moments. Then, Logan felt the familiar sensation of thousands of needles prodding his skin and his entire essence pouring out. He clenched his jaw, fighting the torture, and struggled to place his hand over Rogue’s heart. It was beating. Relief washed over him, and he battled to stay conscious. He wanted to see her open her eyes. She inhaled desperately and shoved Logan away. He keeled backward, writhing on the floor. She searched wildly for comprehension, and Storm was at her side immediately.
“Rogue? Rogue? Is it you?”
She was quaking violently, flinching with fear.
“Rogue? It’s okay. You’re safe, now. It’s okay…”
She caught sight of the blood on her hands, her shirt, and her skin, and fainted.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: The X-men and their likeness belong to Marvel and 20th Century Fox, not me.
This chapter took forever to write! I wanted it to be perfect.
This chapter took forever to write! I wanted it to be perfect.