Summary: When the mutant registration act is passed, you either register, or are hunted down by the sentinels. Those who did register would soon find armed soldiers on their doorstep, waiting to take them and their family away, to be killed or imprisoned. A year after the incident at Alcatraz, the world has been laid to ruin. Not even the X-men can stop it, as they fight just to stay alive. These are the event leading up to Days of Future Past, as alliances are forged, relationships destroyed, and thousands slain. But how do you run away when the whole world is out to get you?
"Thirty-five dollars." The woman at the counter droned, causing me to look up curiously and pay her the money it would cost for this batch of food. Now that the Xavier Institute and the X-men were all considered felons, they'd had to abandon the mansion, which was a shame. The students and team were scattered, each clinging to the few they had managed to stick with to survive. It had been three months since she'd heard from Storm's crew, who last she heard, were somewhere in Mexico. It was a change from where she and her teammates were located, way up north in Canada. Angel and his team had supposedly retreated into the sewers, stealing to get by. All because of the humans.
Rogue shoved the money forward, grimacing at the toll it was taking on their funds. All they had were the measly remainder of past allowances and a sum of money from Professor Xavier, given to them before they had last separated.
"Thanks sugah." Rogue murmured to the woman, taking her bags in hand.
"No problem." She said, looking up for the first time since Rogue had entered the store. "Hey, honey, you might wanna stop getting your hair dyed like that. Haven't you seen the mutant on the news? Looks exactly like you." The woman, whose nametag read Roberta, mused.
"Yeah, ah've seen her, but ah'm afraid this is natural." Rogue chuckled, realizing she was talking about her. Well, her hair was natural as it could get when it had been caused by a failed attempt at murdering her. They didn't have much connections with the outside world, but she was pleased they had talked about her on the news. "Folks back home are going crazy over it. Guess what they say is true, that we've all got a twin out there." She lied quite easily.
Roberta laughed softly along with her, "Well, as long as you don't use any mutant mojo on me, you're alright in my book." She smirked, causing Rogue to mimic the expression.
"Ah promise, sugah." She joked, "Ah think you're safe."
"Good." Roberta grinned, "Have a nice day." She finished the conversation, leaving Rogue to her groceries. Piling them into her hands, she grunted softly as if the effort strained her...it didn't. Not when she could carry tons at a time. Thank god for super strength.
Rogue was almost home free when she heard the familiar van pull up next to the store...a standard issue of the MRD. Oh boy.
They were laughing as the piled out, having clearly been drinking by the beer bottles clutched in their hands, while their guns were in the other. This must just be an unfortunate pit stop. Rogue ducked her head, walking past them, heart beating out of her chest.
"Hey sweetie." When of them smirked, his Northern accent making her skin crawl. However, she turned around, as it would be dangerous to ignore them, flashing a dazzling smile to the crowd.
"Howdy boys." She drawled, biting her lip, not so much nervousness as part of the show.
"What's a fine southern lady like you doing all on her lonesome?" One asked, obviously the leader of the group by the way they all seemed submissive towards him.
"Fetchin' groceries." She laughed, though immediately turned somber, as that wasn't quite the explanation they were looking for. "Mah neighbors were mutants." She whispered, as if the mere thought of saying it aloud was terrifying. "They were picked up a few weeks back, but mah folks said 'No more'. Decided t'hit the road." Rogue sighed softly. "We're renting an apartment a few blocks east o'here." She explained.
"Damn muties." One of the muttered, in such a tone that it made her blood boil.
"It's alright sweets. Those freaks of nature can't hurt you as long as we're on the job." The leader smiling proudly, though frowning once realizing a small device on his belt loop was blinking red, making a loud noise, obnoxious noise.
Pressing the button, a small voice droned, "Dangerous mutant in proximity. Name: Marie D'Ancanto. Crime: Known terrorist,, camp escapee, and member of X-men. Abilities: Drain energy by skin to skin contact" Marie widened her eyes. Those were definitely new, though at least they got all her information right. "Appearance: Auburn hair with white streak, brown eyes, approximately 30 years old." Alright, she would have preferred that they get that piece of information wrong.
Slowly, all the men looked back up at her, fear lining their drunken gazes, causing her to giggle slightly, which was all around a bad move on her part. They clumsily pulled out their weapons, and she could tell that a few of them were praying they made it out alive against the dangerous mutant. Rogue slowly raised her hands, palms splayed to show she meant no harm. It was only for show, since they'd kill her anyway. "Alright, so ah lied a little. Can't blame a girl for tryin'" She huffed, setting the bags down on the ground and cracking her knuckles. "Who's up first?" She asked with a deadly grin.
Immediately after she spoke the threat, they open fired, energy guns blasting her to the ground. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she collapsed to the ground, smoke rising up around her. "Y'know, ya'll might wanna update those gadgets o' yours." She growled, standing up, though slightly shaky. She was fine, barely scratched, but her outfit was torn to bits, barely hanging onto her body. "'Cause unlucky for you fellas, Ah'm invulnerable now." She launched herself forward, lip curled into a sneer, "And you just pissed me off."
-DAYS OF FUTURE PAST-
She grunted, crashing through the store, and landing on a rack, toppling it over. "Damn. How many guns do they have?" She scoffed under her breath, glancing to the side as she heard a soft, almost nonexistent whimper. There was Roberta, curled against the wall, holding her head in her hands, and staring at Rogue as if she was the devil incarnate himself. She gave a small, bloody smile, "Sorry sugah." She murmured remorsefully. The woman had seemed nice enough, except for her hatred of mutants. Mutants like her. "Ah'm just survivin'" She added, before hurling herself towards her attackers.
Fists collided with noses, guns were ripped apart with bare hands, and even a car was thrown at one point. It was all a blur for Rogue, who, once all the attackers were dealt with, took a deep breath. All in another day's work, after all. Picking up the groceries, she flew into the air, heading back to their current base., as if this stop was merely a minor inconvenience.
-DAYS OF FUTURE PAST-
Kitty lounged on the old wicker chair, rocking it slowly back and forth with her heels, while staring out into the wilderness. The old cabin they had took over was nice. Perfect, even, with it's solitude from the outside world, and quite peaceful and quiet.
"You will catch a cold." A warm voice said, his russian accent making it very clear as to who he was.
Kitty turned back to him, giving a slight grin for the concern he displayed. "I think colds are the least of our worries, right now." She said, with a bitter chuckle managing to claw it's way from her throat.
"We will get through this, Katja. All of us." Piotr said, his voice unable to mask the slight glimmer of hope it held. He hadn't been with the X-men as long as some of them had, and still felt hope that everything could turn out okay. Boy, was he wrong.
Not wanting to spoil his mood, Kitty suddenly stood up. "Do you think Rogue's back with the supplies yet?" She asked, looking around for their high-flying friend to make her landing.
"No, not as far as I can tell, though I hope she does return quickly. Illyana is growing impatient." He grinned, causing her to roll her eyes at the thought of Piotr's little sister. She had been visiting from Russia when the Sentinel's had attacked the school, and with no means to return her to her homeland, she had become part of their ragtag bunch of merry men. After all, they couldn't just leave her to the wolves.
"I'm sure she is." Kitty shook her head affectionately, "Let's get inside." She decided as a breeze swept past her. He was right: it was chilly.
Upon entering the door, nothing would have prepared her for this sight. Especially as she was suddenly bowled over by a mass of blue fur. "Tag! You're it!" The german elf declared good-naturedly, teleporting away before Kitty could make a grab for him. It seemed they weren't the only ones playing the game. While she had no doubt that Nightcrawler had instigated it, Illyana and Jubilee had obviously joined in on the fun. Iceman was sitting in the corner, eyebrows furrowed in an expression she knew all too well as he tried to block out the noise they were causing.
Kitty sighed. She'd have to get him to relax. As suddenly as she could, Kitty darted for him, placing a hand daringly upon his shoulder. Bobby looked up in surprise as she whispered, barely audible, "You're it."
He looked shocked for a moment, as if he couldn't believe she had actually dragged him into their game. Then a smirk grew on his face. "If that's how you wanna play, fine." He declared, standing up and immediately chasing after Jubilee, who was the closest to him once Kitty had phased through the wall and into the bedroom to escape, before joining them once more.
They were a screaming, whooping, hollering, mess, probably sounding like a pack of hyenas to any unfortunate hikers. None of them seemed to care about the ruckus they were causing. This had been the first time any of them had had this much fun in a year, and none of them wanted to ruin it.
None of them did. It was Rogue, who burst through the door, panting heavily, and clearly bruised and burnt all over, despite her invulnerable skin. All of them stopped, gaping at her with open mouths as she walked towards the table, only slightly limping, and setting a few bags on the table. "Dinner's served." She muttered crossly, which she had every right to be given the state she was in.
Once the initial shock wore off, they all went about their business solemnly while preparing to eat, dragged back to the harsh reality of everything. Kitty rushed off into the adjoining bedroom, that was only had one full bed that could hold two of them, to find Rogue something to wear. Clothing was limited, so it was a shame this outfit had been ruined so easily.
"Let's get you cleaned up." Kitty decided, taking her friend's gloved hand and leading her into a private section. Rogue followed dutifully, barely taking notice of the worry in Kitty's voice.
Ever since her powers had come back, and she had been imprisoned in one of the many mutant camps, she had been different. Not just because she had permanently absorbed a fellow mutant, forced by her handlers, as well as their powers. It wasn't just because she would toss and turn in her sleep, and wake up, silently crying. It wasn't just the one-sided conversations she seemed to have with herself, as if somewhere in her mind, someone was speaking back. It was the way she walked, and the way she talked, and her utter indifference to the bloodshed that surrounded them. It was to be expected, Kitty figured, since Rogue was the only one who had actually managed to escape the camps alive, and still refused to talk about it.
"You can wear this." Kitty offered, holding out her spare X-men uniform. "It'll be tight on you," She confessed to the taller, more muscular woman, "But it's leather, so it'd have been tight already."
"Thanks, sugah." Rogue replied, taking the uniform and shamelessly stripping the shredded clothes from her body, and revealing a dark training bra and underwear. Then she began to slip her way into the uniform, grunting or wincing softly when she had to wriggle her way in, but managed to squeeze in. Kitty did her best to ignore the long, deliberate scratched down her torso and back, gracing her figure from her shoulder blades to her hips. It was sickening.
Before, Rogue had been extremely sensitive to others, especially concerning changing. Now, Kitty was sure she would be perfectly fine switching clothes in front of their entire party. Just another reason to add to the long list of why she missed who her friend used to be. This new Rogue was a soldier.
The worst part, was realizing that that could be all of them some day. Whipped, scarred, and trained beyond recognition. It terrified her.
-DAYS OF FUTURE PAST-
For once, the first time in a long time, dinner was not an enjoyable time. On most days, they would be bustling around, joking and telling old stories. Today was a mixture of awkward silences, curt nods, and lots of chewing. Nobody dared break the silence. To think, that this day had been going so well before.
Bobby glanced over at his silent girlfriend, who continuously simply shifted her food around on the plate, clearly not hungry, even after the exercise she had just done. Finally, he set his fork down, and spoke up. "What happened out there?" He asked, his question obviously aimed at Rogue, and the others froze, eager to listen to the story. No matter how much had changed, she couldn't lie about it or avoid Bobby's question. She never had, and never would be able to turn down her boyfriend.
She cocked her head to the side, no doubt listening to one of the voices in her head, before answering. "Ah was attacked." She said simply, "Meant to just get the supplies and leave. Woman at the counter said ah looked familiar, and it escalated." She shrugged, as if it didn't seem to matter. "Oh, and the MRD have some new device. Lets them know when a new mutant is nearby. Along with their name, age, powers, and appearance."
They all widened their eyes in shock, for probably the second time today. "That can't be good." Jubilee murmured, hugging her arms to her chest.
"It's not." Rogue confirmed, "I was able to beat them because they didn't take my new powers into account. They will not make that mistake twice." She informed them, eyes darting to look at each of their reactions in turn. "Such big guns…" She trailed off, looking down at her plate as if she hadn't seen it before, and began eating, miraculously.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Nightcrawler winced, holding his hands around his stomach. What made this all the more shocking, was the fuzzy elf's ability to eat anything, no matter the circumstance. Looks like Rogue wasn't the only one changing.
Illyana made a face, her face scrunched up at Nightcrawler's confession, "Do it outside." She ordered, her small voice making the order sound more cute than anything. "It's gross."
"I know." Nightcrawler sighed, though stayed put.
Most of them were finished eating by now, except for Rogue, who was finally shovelling the food in her mouth. "Who wants to take first watch?" Kitty asked, staring out at the dark sky. They always ate dinner late.
"Ah will." Rogue offered calmly, "Ah'm still brimmin' with adrenaline from earlier. Couldn't sleep if ah tried."
Bobby looked at her, his face a mask of concern. "You've done a lot today. You should rest."
Unfortunately, Rogue only gave him an incredulous look. "No thanks." She decided, standing up to go outside. "Ya'll sleep tight." She ordered, and leaving no room for an argument, left the cabin.
It took a moment for the team to resume their activities. Getting ready for bed didn't take too long. Disposable toothbrushes, cold water showers, and eventually resorting to the choice of sleeping naked or in their uniforms.
Bobby, peeked outside. "Wake me up in a few hours." He called softly to Rogue, "I'm taking second shift." She nodded her okay, before going back to her solemn watch over her friends. Shaking his head, he curled up beneath the table, a worn, moth-eaten blanket covering him. Jubilee and Kitty were sharing the bed, Illyana nestled between them. Piotr was lounging on the couch, already snoring a storm, with Kurt adding to the thunder as he curled up by the fireplace. Bobby didn't mind though, as the comforting sounds reminded him of his days back at the mansion. Soon, sleep had claimed him.
A/N: If you managed to get this far, I congratulate you. Basically, this story is what happened between The Last Stand and Days of Future Past, starting a year after Alcatraz. The X-men have split off into teams, avoiding MRD, sentinels, and the camps.
Basically, if ya'll are confused, Rogue got her powers back. The way I interpreted the end of that movie, is that the cure needs constant administration to be effective. Just like most medicines, taking it once won't cut it.
The title is a reference to the song Alone Together, by Fall Out Boy, which I thought suited this. Please post any concerns, suggestions, or comments down below.