I decided to try writing one of these. Guess I'll see how it turns out. Although constructive criticism is preferred, feel free to flame all you want. I want to know if it's bad!
As of the end of Self-Possessed, this is an AU. It started out as my own reason of why Rogue, or anyone else for that matter, hasn't mentioned Irene since the show started. It also deals with Rogue's
mixed feeling about Irene and the rest of her family. The style is sort of stream of consciousness, going back and forth between Rogue's thoughts and her actually conservation.
Rogue fiddled with her gloves for a moment, having a hard time with the very tiny buttons on her CD player. Having just switched disks she was attempting to find a certain track. Irene was across the room watching "All My Children," or something like that, Kitty was the one who liked those shows. Irene had never much cared for soap operas before, either. Wasn't one to "watch" much T.V. at all, but there were show she liked to listen to. Rogue had a feeling the orderlies just turned any show on to keep her occupied, but Irene seemed to be happy enough in front of the T.V., listening, so Rogue didn't mind. It was quiet, even with the television and the muffled music emanating from the headphones still dangling in her gloved fingers. It always seemed to be too quiet here. As such, Rogue always felt she had to whisper.
"The professor's back, now. I didn't have time to tell you before, but he was captured, me and some of the other guys, too. But we're all okay now. I helped find him, the professor, I mean and I beat up Juggernaut. That was i really/i cool." A strange conversation. If Scott were to overhear it, he might not have been to happy. But Irene already knew her share of secrets, and besides, the older women couldn't really hear what was going on anyway. Her unseeing gaze never wavered from the flickering screen. Talking about her life, in all its craziness, wasn't as hard as Rogue had thought it would be. She ran away because she didn't think she could face Irene after what happened to Cody. After Mystique, and even after Xavier, the girl still didn't think she could ever bring herself to try and explain everything to her foster mother. The only person who had ever cared about her had been cut completely out. But that was okay, because she had to isolate herself from everyone anyway. It just seemed natural, in her mind.
"The school's letting us stay. For right now anyways. Of course, not everybody's happy about that. Don't bother me none though, it's always been like that for me. Kurt and Evan are taking it kinda hard. Jean's doing better than I thought she would. Then again," rolling eyes, "she's perfect, so what else should I expect." The professor had actually been the one to tell her about Irene, right after the first stroke. It was funny, really, Irene wasn't old enough to have a stroke, or Alzheimer's. Sure she had the cane, but that was just 'cuz she was blind. Maybe she did dye her hair, but she still wasn't that old. She couldn't be. Did she some how find out about the Brotherhood? Was that what had caused it?
"Evan was having some real problems, got so bad, he up and ran off one day. I imagine he'll be back soon enough, just needs some time by himself. It's been cloudy ever since he left, though. I feel bad for Storm. " After Rogue had started having the nightmares, the nightmares where she saw what had happened to Kurt, the nightmares from Mystique, she had a different idea. When she saw the blue-skinned woman's past, when she saw that sweet, kind Irene, hadn't always been sweet and kind... After that she started thinking maybe the stroke was because Rogue had betrayed Mystique.
"Evan is coming back, how long can a body hang out in a sewer? I mean, honestly." Sweet, kind Irene who secretly believed the human world always be afraid of her, always hate her. Who had always known Rogue would be a mutant one day. Sweet, kind Irene who had been working with Mystique for years.
"I met a cute guy the other day, but he tried to blow me up. Just my luck, right? I still think Scott's nice and all, but he is so in love with Jean, it's not even funny." And they were sickeningly cute together, so why not let 'em be sickeningly cute together.
"I saw him again though, the card guy, that's who tried to blow me up, and he was nice enough. I think he was too busy plotting something with Lance and them, but still for one Magneto's people, I'd reckon that's progress. 'Course, look who I talking to. I'll never understand what you saw in iher/i." And she never would, no matter how long she dreamed Raven's dreams, she would never understand how sweet, kind, calculating Irene could love that cruel, manipulative...
"Does she ever come see you? Or is she too busy with world domination and all that?"i Do you remember her, understand her? If she talks louder than a whisper, do you get upset and start rambling on like a crazy person until the doctor have to come? I didn't mean that Irene, I swear, I know your not crazy. It's not your fault, it's mine, I just don't know how to talk to you right. /i
"Alright, I'm sorry I said that about Raven. I know she meant a lot to you." The Alzheimer's was in the very early stages, the stroke probably exacerbated it. The professor's word, iexacerbated,i, sounded like it came off a vocabulary test. Without the stroke, she could have had another good ten years, maybe. Her doctors said she couldn't live by herself anymore and the professor found her a good nursing home nearby. There was nobody for her back in Mississippi. This was a nice place, even if it was too quiet and smelled like medicine.
"And I'm sorry, I didn't visit last Christmas. Stuff just came up, like Magneto, again." iAnd Scott was actually paying attention to me, but that's a pitiful excuse. /i"I swear, that man follows me around just to cause trouble. Between giant robots and going crazy, you know why I haven't been to see you lately, but I'm here now."
The professor had been so good to her, she should tell him, he knew about Mystique now, just not everything... There was just that pesky habit of avoid unpleasant topics. Case in point, Rogue could talk to Irene now that her former foster mother was oblivious to the conversation. Wasn't really anyone else's business anyway what she said or didn't say. She had felt guilty about not telling Kurt and letting him know that he wasn't that crazy witch's only child. But, still, he had never liked talk about Mystique, so why should she?
He had offered to come with her once, his grandmother had been sick for long time when he was little, he understood. Blast Kurt and his thoughtfulness. He couldn't come and see her trying so hard to not to talk to Irene. He wouldn't understand, he think she was like her, only caring about people if they were useful.
"They all know about Mystique, now. She told 'em, not me" this was in a even softer whisper than the rest of the conversation had been. "But not about you....I didn't tell them that."
"I guess its getting late. Lotsa chemistry homework tonight I gotta get started on. Already had detention once this week, can't give 'em any more reasons to kick me outta school. I should probably be going, unless you want me to stay." Kurt and the professor could never know about Irene and Mystique. Couldn't know, they wouldn't understand. They'd think the only reason Irene loved her was because of one of Mystique's crazy plans.
"They'd be wrong, I know they would. You're not like that, Reeny. I know you, I know you're not like that. If I'm wrong, go on and tell me I'm wrong." The television flickered again and the theme song for "One Life to Live," started playing.