Hi there! I've been reading fanfiction for a while now, so I decided I would try it out myself. I greatly appreciate any feedback. I'm not sure if I should leave this as a oneshot, or if I should add a few more chapters. We'll see where my muse takes me! I am not affiliated with anything Marvel and I am not posting this with the intention of getting anything. Warning: There are some parts in here that are might be a little stomach turning to some. Not violent, but just generally gross
Rock Bottom
She pressed her palms tight against her forehead as if it would somehow push the pounding pain in her head away. All of the voices and memories swirled around her head so rapidly that it was hard to focus on any one thought. The headaches were a regular occurrence in her life, but they seemed to be getting progressively worse. The professor had her try various meditation and relaxation exercises to help tame the chaos in her mind, but nothing was helping. Even entering her mind and calming the spirits of those she absorbed only offered temporary relief, and each time they seemed to come back stronger. Day by day it was becoming clearer: Rogue was losing control and it would only be a matter of time before the inmates took over the asylum. Although Professor Xavier and the other teachers at the school tried to stay positive for her sake, Rogue was beginning to lose faith in the idea that she would ever be herself again, much less control her powers.
Rogue dug the heels of her hands harder into her brow. She needed to take something. Maybe with the pain gone, or at least dulled, she could sort out what was going on in her head. She rose from her bed and, taking slow steps, made her way to the bathroom. The movement made her feel dizzy and stirred the psyches up in her head. They got louder and the images whirled so quickly through her mind that she almost forgot where she was heading.
Dr. McCoy had given her a stronger painkiller when over-the-counter pills stopped working. He warned that she should not take more than two at a time, but sometimes Rogue would take one extra when the headaches were really bad. 'I just may need an extra one or two today,' she thought as she reached into the medicine cabinet for the small bottle. She had to catch herself on the vanity as the voices got louder for a moment. With shaky hands, she filled a cup with water and opened the pill bottle. She shook two pills into her hand, popped them into her mouth and chased them back with the water. There was another outburst in her mind.
"Maybe just two more," she said shakily to herself. She shook some more pills into her hand and swallowed them with the water. 'There were only two in there right?'
As if in reaction to her taking the medication, the din in her head got louder as each psyche aggressively tried to make itself heard. Rogue was overwhelmed by the need to make the pain stop – now. 'Just a little more… a little more medicine won't hurt; it'll make it stop sooner.' She re-filled her cup and swallowed the tablets in her palm. The empty bottle hitting the floor made a hollow sound as she braced herself against the vanity. She breathed deeply, waiting for the pain to subside so that she could think clearly again. All concept of time was lost amid the silent chaos.
Rogue wasn't sure how long she stood there before a strange combination of numbness and nausea washed over her. Her knees buckled under her and she fell to the floor. She was only vaguely aware of the cold tile against her cheek and the sharp pain in her stomach. With the thick fog over her brain, Rogue's body launched itself into survival mode. Her stomach began to heave, retching its contents onto the floor, onto herself, onto anything that happened to be in the way. The muscles in her stomach continued to convulse, working to expel the poison from within it. All the while, Rogue was barely, if at all, aware of the movements of her body and any of the noises she was making. A distant scream registered somewhere in her brain. It sounded as though it was coming from the far side of the mansion grounds.
"Oh my God! Rogue!" Kitty had heard the sound of someone getting sick in the bathroom from her bedroom. After it had gone on for a while, she decided to check on whoever it was. A shrill scream escaped her lips at the sight of her friend and teammate lying on the floor surrounded by her own vomit. Rogue's eyes were half-open and vacant. She didn't move from her semi-fetal position on the floor. "Rogue? Are you okay? Can you hear me?" Her voice was shaky as she kneeled down and began to reach her hand out to her fallen friend.
The familiar smell of brimstone notified Kitty that Kurt had arrived, no doubt to see what she was the commotion was about. He gasped at the scene before him, "Mein Gott!" Quickly he kneeled down next to Rogue and placed a hand on her shoulder. Rogue began to heave again until green bile spilled from her mouth. Kurt's eyes surveyed the room until they landed on the empty pill bottle on the floor. His eyes widened and his stomach dropped. "I'm taking her to the med lab, now!" he uttered frantically before disappearing with Rogue in a cloud of smoke.
Kitty's eyes moved to the last spot Kurt had looked at before porting away with Rogue. Her hands swung up to her mouth. "Oh no… Please, no."
"Kitty! What's going on?" Logan startled the young girl in front of him. His expression was a mix of worry and anger and his claws were out, ready to attack.
Kitty stood up and spun around to face him, "It's Rogue… she… oh God," a sob caught in her throat as she dissolved into tears.
"Where is she now?" Logan grabbed her by the shoulders and lightly shook her.
"Kurt took her to the med lab."
"Let's go," he said, taking hold of her arm and dragging her away from the gruesome scene. As he ran toward the elevator, Jean and Ororo approached them with concerned looks on their faces. He stopped and gently shoved Kitty at Jean. "Red, take her someplace quiet. Storm, go close up the girls' bathroom upstairs and make sure no one uses it."
"Logan, what's wrong?" Ororo's brow knitted together in confusion and worry.
"I don't quite know the details yet, but I can tell you that it isn't good."
With that, he ran off to the med bay and hoped against hope that it wasn't as bad as he thought it was.
~oOo~
Rogue could sense the commotion around her, but could not describe it if asked. Distant, muddled voices talked over her. Something was being pushed down her throat and it probably should have felt more painful than it was. More voices: these ones louder and more urgent. Through the tingly numbness of her skin, she could feel a rough warmth press up against her face and a hint of a familiar electricity as a blackness overtook her.