“I’m starting to doubt your sanity.”
“Only now,” Mystique remarked with a smile that showed all white.
Rogue narrowed her eyes at the other woman as she leaned against a tree, the rough bark digging into her shoulders.
“You asked me to drop us off in the middle of nowhere,” she gestured at the thick forest around them and the clearing off to the side. “It will be night soon.”
“You’re a tough girl, Rogue. Didn’t Wolverine ever teach you any survival skills?”
Her eyes went wide in response. “We are NOT staying here.”
“For the moment,” Mystique replied forwardly.
“I am not spending the night out here.”
“You can afford one night without a drink,” Mystique called over her shoulder as she scouted the area.
Rogue silently fumed as she directed her glare at the woman’s blue back.
“Besides you should cut back anyways, maybe it wouldn’t have been so easy for me to slip you that sedative.”
Rogue snorted.
“You’ve become too accustomed to the high life, Rogue, I blame myself.”
She couldn’t help it; she grasped her stomach as laughter spilled out of her mouth. Pretending to wipe tears from her eyes she sighed dramatically. “Don’t go playing the martyr on me now.”
Mystique threw her a precarious smirk.
“We’re out here because of you Rogue. That thief found us too quickly. You’d only just got your hands on the diary. It will be harder for him to find us in the middle of the woods.”
“Fine. Whatever,” she remarked as she sat down against a large rock and dramatically raised her arms behind her head. “I’ll just star gaze.”
After about a minute she became restless. “We’re in the middle of nowhere,” she stressed again. “I didn’t sign up to be part of Robin Hood’s merry men. We don’t have supplies...”
“You want supplies,” Mystique interrupted as she walked towards her. Rogue frowned; she did not like the look on her face or the tone of her voice. “I’ll get you all the resources you need.”
Pulling her hands back from behind her head she shifted up straighter in concern. Mystique’s smirk made the back hairs on her neck stand on end.
“If I recall the X-Jet had all kinds of supplies.”
Rogue bolted up right. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the formations of a new plan.”
“I’m not very fond of your plans.”
“The X-Men most likely will not just forget about you dropping in and stealing from them, they’ll be looking for you.”
“They can’t use cerebro, Raven, you know that, no telepath.”
“I’m sure the explosion downtown in a curious mutant area might draw their attention.”
“That’s a rare possibility, but so what?”
“And now that the thief is so close and we finally have our hands on one of the last remaining and existing diaries, we need some added back up.”
Rogue laughed. “You want the X-Men to help us? Help you?” Rogue shook her head.
“More like a distraction.”
“No,” she replied firmly. “The less they’re involved the better.”
“I’d almost say you sound concerned for them but it’s not that,” Mystique paused. “What’s there to be afraid of?”
“Nothing,” Rogue muttered.
“I can keep the Wolverine occupied if you wish,” Mystique smiled devilishly. “You don’t have to explain yourself to them.”
“What kind of distraction?” she murmured dejectedly.
“The more people with us, the more confusion.”
“I understand the purpose of a distraction, Raven,” she stressed through her clenched teeth. “What are you going to tell them, to get them involved?”
“The truth.”
“Really?” she asked knowingly suspicious.
“Okay so some half-truths, enough of the truth that they won’t notice what we leave out.”
“You mean what we lie about.”
“It’s not a lie if we never have to tell them to begin with.”
“So what truth?”
“We'll give them what we have on the Friends of Humanity.”
“I already don’t like this,” Rogue replied as she sat on top of the rock. “Involving Graydon is too close for comfort.”
“They don’t have to know he’s my son.”
Rogue shrugged as she began to search her pockets.
“We'll tell them about how he’s the one who created the FOH and that he’s planning on backing the proposed sentinel program with his own money. From our sources we know his industries are the only ones who have the planned hard drive of the proposal. The X-Men get their hands on it and destroy it and the scientists and politicians will have to start from scratch but also find new funding, Graydon Creed’s name will be damaged once it’s let out the information was stolen on his watch and the FOH’s reputation.”
“That’s if they aren’t farther along in the project than we think, what if they already have back up files and...?”
“It is too early on Rogue; they haven’t even built a prototype. He’s only just gotten them the money, all the project is at the moment is data. Data I’m sure the X-Men will be interested in, especially after Stryker and the cure guns.”
“And I suppose while this is going on we’re going to confront Graydon.”
“Two birds with one stone,” Mystique replied confidently. “The X-Men make a big splash, we get in, we find his copy of one of the last diaries and that’s that.”
“I still say he could have burned his copy years ago.”
“No, my son has far too much hate and greed in him.”
Rogue refused to comment.
“He hates mutants. He hates knowing he came from mutants but most of all that stems from his insecurities of being a human in a lineage of mutants. He cannot be great the way we are so he tries to take us down. Despite all that there is a part of him that wonders about his purpose, wonders if Destiny had included him in any of her prophecies. He’s curious about the fate of all kind.”
“We’ll I haven’t met the guy, so can’t argue the point.”
“You met him once, Rogue, too young to remember.”
“That old story.”
She shrugged indifferently as she finally found what she was looking for in her back pocket. Taking the cigarette she put it in her mouth as she searched for the lighter.
“So I hate to be redundant,” she mumbled around the cigarette. “But how are you going to get the X-Men to agree to this?”
“I’ll call them,” Mystique replied. “Give me your cell.”
Rolling her eyes, Rogue threw her cell at her and finally found her lighter as well.
“Be my guest, I’m sure they’ll be in a hurry.”
“They will if I tell them I’m holding you captive.”
“What?” Rogue yelled as she stood up again, the cigarette falling out of her mouth as she fumbled to catch it.
“I’m just going to say I’m threatening you if they don’t show up. Tell them I forced you to steal from them. Get their attention.”
“They’re not going to believe you. After today they’ll be weary of me, they won’t be wondering how to save me.”
“They will be suspicious, Rogue, I don’t doubt that and they obviously will believe it’s not what it seems but they will come.”
“They will not.”
“You were one of them Rogue, they have a habit of trying to save each other, even if it’s from themselves.”
“They won’t come,” Rogue mumbled solemnly.
“Sure they will,” Mystique replied with enthusiasm as she flipped the phone open. “Wolverine’s with them Rogue.”
“So?” she replied glaring at her.
“You could be on the other side of the world yelling fire and he’d find a way to show up with a fire truck.”
“You’re insane,” she spat back.
“I’ve seen him in action when you’ve been unconscious Rogue; the man has an incredible unnerving focus when it comes to you.”
She could hear the dial tone as Mystique held the phone up to her ear.
“We’ll I guess we’re going to see whose right.”
Rogue tried to keep her mind blank. Blank thoughts. No need to wonder who’d she’d be more happy for when whoever turned out to be right. She wasn’t hopeful. Not one bit. No X-Men meant no drama, no confrontations and certainly no explanations. But no X-Men also meant she was a lost cause. Whatever, she thought defensively, she had never truly been a part of their cause, and she didn’t care. She had her own life. If they showed up then it be business. She could do business. And if they didn’t show up then she was flying away to a nice hotel while Mystique could Lord of Flies it herself.
“Time to get your game face on Rogue.”
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