Magneto Moments
By Daughter of the Black
Disclaimer: I do not own X-men
A/N: Please review, and italics are thoughts
Chess and Other Things
Part one of two
It was only a week after the Liberty Island incident when all the order that had been restored broke loose. Logan had only just recovered, and he was already planning to leave when screams echoed through the halls, nearly leaving him temporarily deaf. Only one mutants scream could make the Wolverine cringe like this, it was Jubilee. It was coming from a classroom, no, judging by the acoustics, the garage. When the feral man reached one of his favorite spots in the school, his heart nearly stopped.
There she was, on the ground lying perfectly still. Scott was kneeling next to her, checking her pulse and calling her name, her only response was to scream, and rasp that it hurt. Logan was moving to place his hand on her cheek when Cyclops stopped him. Jean and the Professor came not seconds later, alerted by one of the younger telepaths. The girl was moved to the infirmary, no one daring to touch her flesh, no one daring to move the fierce protector that had rooted himself quite firmly at her bedside.
Rogue did not remember falling to the floor, only the harsh pains as she was labeled, not as a mutant, but as a Jew. She saw those she both knew and did not walk to their deaths. Those numbers that cursed him before, and drove him after. They were the reason that he had used the senator, used him to try to erase those numbers. With each grueling step she took, she understood why he had done this; he was trying to save them.
It dawned on her then, he was not cold, but brilliant, his hopes and dreams, his ideas were ingenious. His method however, was flawed quite seriously, and needed much more development. As she struggled to walk the path given to her, she wished with all her heart that he would find peace beyond the doors so long ago built and shoddily barricaded. Each day he lived, was more akin to a second, and each morsel of food a speck of dust.
Charles Xavier sat at the head of Marie's hospital bed, eyes closed, concentrating. A deep frown shortly crossed his face, but was removed as he opened his eyes and left the room. The crowd in the hallway greeted the man with a cacophony of questions, not sure, how to answer, he simply let his wheelchair roll down the passage. Why, why was it that I could not see anything? She is not in a coma, but as far as we can figure it is an extended dimension of sleep. It does not make sense, she has brainwaves, she responds to everything, yet she is not waking. Her mind is locked to me; she has not the training to do that, nor the mental stability. The only logical answer would be that her subconscious is preventing anyone from interfering. However, from what? Sighing, the man entered his office, slowly trying to puzzle this whole mystery out.
Time and space spun around Rogue, settling in a paradox of a room. It was warm and cold, sharp and soft, unfeeling, and feeling. It was a library of sorts, it was made mostly of metal and everything had metal accents, it was silent except for the soft strains of a violin that played over the stereo. In the center of the room, there were only four things, two chairs, a chessboard, and him. He who has so many names, none of which defined him wholly, sat in the pure light that flooded only that spot. Him who took on the title maser, murderer, savior, and saved.
Logan was furious, Chuck had not said one thing about her condition, truth be told, he had said nothing at all to anyone for six hours. He had locked himself in his study, and had yet to reappear. Logan was tempted to break the door down, but could not, and would not leave her alone. He watched, fists clenched as beneath her eyelids, her eyes moved. Every now and then, a thin smile or a dark frown would chase across her face, only seconds later replaced by the bland look that made her look so pale and sickly.
A sadistic smile grew on his face until no longer could she bare the silence, she walked over to him and sat down, using his own powers she moved the white pawn over spaces to rest until taken. The unspoken agreement for the need of a match was forgotten as Magneto faced his toughest challenge yet, himself. He chuckled silently to himself, whoever would have thought, that one could play oneself in a true match, not a match where either way you won.
Time passed without really passing, things that should have taken only minutes dragged on for days. With each move either made, Rogue learned something new, that he hated all liquor with the exception of wine, loved to read late at night, and had a possessive nature for memories. But then she too had an involuntary possessive nature for memories. He needed the reassurance, while she would rather not know most things. A single game stretched what seemed to be days, only to end in a stalemate once again.
"She has blocked me from her mind, even if we wanted to risk damage, I am quite certain I would not be able to break through. She will wake up, but by her own means, all we can do is wait, it has only been ten days after all." The cool voice belonged to none other than Charles.
As he broke the news, gasps and shudders went through the teachers, the school had only been told that Rogue was very sick. No one knew that she could be this badly harmed after being so lively not so long ago. Logan stormed off, only to be attacked by some of Rogue's friends, wondering what was wrong, hoping for some answers. Bobby or Iceman as he was called took particular time to try to weasel any morsel of information he could from the staff. Logan hated the boy, he was too wrapped up in Rogue, always talking to her and just generally being near her. He wanted her, Logan could smell the hormones of the kid a mile away. Rogue was just too innocent to realize, so he took it on himself to protect her from apes like him. Why the hell then, could he not protect her from whatever was happening.
Erik talked of the past, and the future he had hoped for, and she tried hard to make him understand. Understand that he was right, and he was wrong, wrong in so many ways. Erik learned of her plans, her plans that she had made to travel. He understood this thirst for change, and although this was only a tiny portion of him, the rest was locked away. The time they spent kept him sane, kept him from drawing out the metal from his own body, just to feel it again. Their time let him teach her the joys of metal and let him enjoy it once again.
They were playing chess once again, neither winning or losing when he asked her just why she had locked herself away. She stumbled over the question and in her haste to move on, she moved her knight to a fatal spot. With that one move, she had sealed the games fate. A sad smile sat on those lips, which seemed to drip with honey when he spoke of his plans. Time and space blurred again, she screamed as her vision of him faded, and barely felt him grasp her wrist to keep from losing her.
Dr. Jean Grey was sitting at her desk, concentrating on the metal clipboard in front of her. All the symptoms and changes, every detail they knew about the girl. An alarm that was attached to her monitor blared, but was not nearly as frightening as what she saw when she looked into the lab, Rogue was up, forcing the doors open, her pale frame dwarfed by the black gown the doctor had covered her with.
When the door opened, Rogue rushed through them, her mind directing her body. She slid the elevator door closed and ran out in to the open hallways, the dining room doors were open, and when the blissful laugh echoed through the school, everyone who could took a spot at the door. Logan was watching as his Rogue spun, spun unaware of the spectators that watched.
A disheveled Jean arrived moments later, panting and rather white. No one dared go to help her, because doing so would mean crossing her path. The laughing and twirling stopped, and echoes were the only noise, excepting the whispers. Rogue stared at her hands in wonderment and bliss, "I understand I'm sorry. You were right, I feel so safe and warm, surrounded by you." Rogue paused for a moment and tilted her head slightly, "Yes, you are right, and more than ever I understand your fascination with him. To have all that warmth, I would just die!"
Rogue walked out the garden doors, leaving the rest of the school to gape in her wake. Scott had run over to Jean and was holding her, soothing her. Logan was struggling with either going after Rogue or checking on Jean. Iceman beat Logan to the choice, he was running out into the pouring rain, looking. There she was, standing in the center of the huge garden, her gloves peeling themselves off. They seemed to hang in midair for a moment then drop to the ground.
She stared into the sky, letting the cool rain wash over her skin, he watched happily. Her sudden recovery was not as great as they planned, she crumpled to the ground, Logan, Bobby, and the staff watched helplessly. Logan was about to make a break for her body, when it rose. Neck and knees supported by unseen arms, her bare feet dangling, her body cradled by something not known. Each person in turn looked at both the Professor and Jean. Each was rather slack jawed.
Through the hallways, and into her room, the parade followed, all seemed lost for words. When she was laid gently on her bed, several people breathed a sigh of relief. Before anyone could stop him, Logan had his hand on her cheek. The small veins began to grow until the skin looked ashy and Storm pulled the man away.
Rogue sat straight up and started to scream, "No, don't leave me, I'll behave. Please…," She trailed off and she started to cry, sobs shook her body so hard, that Logan pulled the sitting girl into his arms, only making her sob more.
So that was the first part of the first story, the next story will be around X2, the scene after Rogue 'flies' Magneto and Rogue meet again. Hope you like this idea, the third may be from the movie or with a weird twist, haven't decided yet. Please review and give ideas for third story.
Daughter of the Black