1 Metal Bars

By: charisma



Summary: This is just a sad little fiction on Rogue. Her powers have driven her over the edge, and she's done something horrible.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rogue, or any of the X-Men. Any other characters I have made up and therefore are my own.

Feedback: I would really love it. Good or bad, throw it my way please.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The woman sat on the hard ledge, gazing out of the barred window. The moon was shining brilliantly, the stars twinkling onto the world below, but she took no notice Unfocused, her tired eyes were bloodshot and glassy, the spark that once filled them long gone, replaced by an emptiness. Her hands lay in her lap, twisted together and bound, red and scratched. Shifting on her seat absently, the woman's hair caught the moonlight, auburn with two white streaks in the front, accompanied by another new streak in the back. At a time lustrous, the hair had become listless and greasy. This woman, once a radiant beauty, had become a pale, unidentifiable female tormented by her memories and the voices that occupied the dark voids of her mind.



*Flashback from earlier that day*

Dr. Marlowe looked down on her sheet, absently twisting a piece of blonde hair around her finger as she looked over the notes for the woman in front of her.

"Rogue?" Dr. Marlowe inquired, looking up questioningly. The woman, seated in a hard plastic chair, her hands tied together and gloved, just stared straight ahead. Her eyes were unblinking, tears flowing from them freely, though she took no notice of them. Her face was cut up, a result from that morning when she had tried to fight a large orderly.

"Rogue, my name is Dr.Marlowe. I just want to ask you a few questions." Dr. Marlowe tried again. This time, Rogue snapped out of her reverie, and she looked back at the doctor carefully, scrutinizing her before nodding her head slowly.

"Well, Rogue, you've been brought here because…well…" Hesitating, the psychologist fidgeted nervously in her chair. She wasn't sure what Rogue remembered or believed. A case like this and a patient like Rogue were extremely delicate.

"Ah know why Ah was brought heah." The doctor was surprised, and she peered carefully at Rogue through wire-rimmed glasses.

"Well then sweetie, why don't you tell me what happened yesterday, when you were in the Institute."

Rogue shifted in her chair, more tears flowing out of her vibrant green eyes. Breaking her gaze with the doctor, Rogue stared off into space again, her breath beginning to come out more harshly.

"Rogue, begin wherever you want, and tell me whatever you can. I'll listen without interrupting. I promise."

"Ah didn't know why he wasn't wakin' up." Rogue started suddenly, her voice cracking slightly.

"Ah just saw him lyin' on the floor, and Ah was standin' above him. He wasn't movin', so Ah called his name. He didn't answer me, and Ah started screamin'."

Rogue paused, and Dr,Marlowe furiously scribbled on her paper. Crossing her legs, she looked at Rogue intently, waiting for her to continue.

"He wouldn't get up. His neck was at a strange angle, and he wasn't breathin'. Ah didn't know what was wrong. And then suddenly, Ah knew. Ah knew what had happened."

Rogue paused again, but this time the doctor stopped writing. She focused on Rogue who had started to sway in her chair, and shake her head violently, the tears splattering on the tiled floor around her as her voice raised lightly.

"Ah started to cry. Ah looked at him again, and then Ah realized that Ah had killed him. Ah had killed him…but Ah never meant it. Ah never meant it!"

Rogue began to scream, and Dr. Marlowe tensed up. The guard outside of the room looked into the glass window of the door, ready to come in, but Dr. Marlowe shook her head. Whispering soothingly, she tried to calm Rogue down, and slowly, Rogue began to quiet. Suddenly, she stopped altogether.

"Rogue, why did you do it? Can you tell me why you killed him?"

Rogue looked back at the doctor, her face scrunched up and twisted in agony.

"There are these voices, inside mah head. They tell me that Ah need to hurt everyone that can touch someone else. They scream at me, and tell me that no one should deserve t'be happy, because Ah can't. It hurts so much. No one understands, and everyone hates me. Ah couldn't take it anymore…he was the person near me when Ah had enough. He was tryin' to help me, and then the voices told me that he was tryin' to hurt me, so Ah…"

Suddenly, Rogue cried out, and she ripped the bonds off of her hands. Grapping her head sharply, she screamed in pain. Falling to her knees, she began to shake violently. Shuddering, Rogue was yelling incoherently. Gasping, Dr. Marlowe stood up quickly, dropping her clipboard as she called for the guards. In seconds, the heavy door was opened, and several guards flew through, clutching clubs and bonds. One medical doctor came through also, and amidst the chaos he was able to inject Rogue with the sedative even though she was squirming and wreathing.

After receiving the injection, Rogue slumped to the floor bonelessly. One guard threw her over his shoulder, and carried her out. The other guards and the doctor followed in procession. Dr. Marlowe gazed thoughtfully after the group, and then quickly picked up the phone and dialed a number.

*End flashback*



Outside of Rogue's room, peering in by the two-sided mirror, was Dr. Marlowe, an older, bald man, and a pretty women with dark skin and white hair.

The man was in a wheelchair, gazing sadly at Rogue. The white-haired women took the man's hand, and a tear slipped down her cheek. The man turned toward Dr. Marlowe, his face weary and his voice heavy.

"Dr. Marlowe, did she admit to killing Remy?"

Dr. Marlowe sighed, then looked down at her clipboard. Finally, she nodded.

"Yes, Professor Xavier, I'm afraid she did. But it seems that she has become insane. While she says that she has killed the man, she claims that there are voices inside her head which demand that she hurt others that are able to touch others."

The Professor nodded slowly, then looked into the room again. Rogue had folded her knees to her chest, her arms surrounding them as she sobbed quietly to herself.

"Well then, I guess that we must leave her here. I had always feared that she would end up going insane due to the fact that she could not touch another. My fear has come to pass. We found her lying over Remy's body, screaming that he had to come back because she would die without him. It seemed that she had never meant to kill him, and that's when she started attacking the others."

Dr. Marlowe nodded at the Professor sadly.

"Yes. Those would be the voices that she was talking about. It seems that there is nothing we can do now except keep her in captivation. She is a danger to anyone she is around. I'm sorry Professor and Ms. Munroe, but it seems that Rogue will end up dying from these voices inside her head. They will eventually destroy her, and she will die."

The Professor just continued to gaze at Rogue, Ororo doing the same. Ororo looked at the Professor.

"Professor Xavier, what will we tell Logan?" Ororo asked carefully.

Shrugging sadly, the Doctor shook his head slowly. Then, Dr. Marlowe broke in suddenly.

"Professor, I believe that it may be better if none of the X-Men come to visit Rogue anymore. Seeing one of you may anger or upset her, and she may attack and lash out. But even if she doesn't see you, it may be painful for the visitor to see Rogue in the state that will come over her. She may be unrecognizable."

The two nodded, and took one last glance at Rogue, each wrapped in their own thoughts and regrets.

Finally, the two turned away and prepared to leave. Before they exited the door, the Professor spoke over his shoulder.

"If Rogue ever asks about us, tell her that we forgive her, and never blamed her for the death of Remy. We miss her dearly. Tell her that I'm sorry I could never help her."

The two mutants left, and Dr.Marlowe turned back to the mirror. Wrapping her arms around herself, she whispered softly to herself.

"No one could ever help her."

The Doctor left the small room. Inside her prison, Rogue was clutching the metal bars on her window tightly, tears trailing down her gaunt cheeks, softly humming a sweet French song she had once learned from a loved one lifetimes ago.

~FIN~