Disclaimer: The X-Men and Brotherhood characters are property of Marvel.
Author's note: No worries, I am here.
Sorry for that hiatus. I had a lot of things going on with me. Glad to be back, and thrilled with those who have found this story and begged for the next chapter. Well, here it is!
I had trouble figuring out what I wanted to happen in this chapter, which did not help much, so I ended up restarting the one I had started in October a few days ago.
Enjoy, read, review. And happy 2014!
Pieces
The world came back to Rogue in pieces.
First was the awareness of sensation. Everything hurt. Everything. Her left arm felt constrained, she was aware of it laying heavily on her chest. Her head was splitting in pain. Breathing was difficult as her chest ached with every expanse of her lungs. The pain in her ankle nearly overwhelmed everything else, causing her head to swim as well.
She didn't dare open her eyes, afraid of what she would see.
But she was on her back, a completely different position than she remembered being in when The Scarlet Witch approached.
As her mind tried to ponder this idea, the pain caused her to black out again.
The next sense that came to her as she became conscious again, was hearing. There was a conversation occurring to her left, but she still felt groggy, and the voices faded in and out.
"…has to go." Male voice.
"…needs… stay… die… trying to help!" Female voice.
"Why? … hope… accomplish?" Male.
"I was… to save… him…" Female.
"I… out… Now…"
"But…"
"…No, yesterday would… better time. Get him out." Male. "You've compromised everything."
Finally, the voices were cutting through her mind-fog.
"I couldn't let him die!" The female voice shouted, Rogue ran the voice through her memories. It was the Scarlet Witch.
The man didn't immediately respond. "You should have. If you doubt the Xavier men, you're out of your mind." He paused. "Fine. Fix him up since he's already here. And then get him the hell out." He started to walk away, then the footsteps halted. "Just be glad I'm not Magneto or Mystique, they would've ordered you to slit his throat. But I will kill him if he's still here by sundown."
Footsteps echoed away, and a door opened and was slammed shut. There was a sigh from the woman.
"What the hell was I thinking?" She muttered.
Rogue groaned and opened her eyes a little, wincing from the light. "What were you thinkin'?"
The Scarlet Witch gasped, clearly not expecting her injured patient to be awake. Rogue turned her head to look at the woman. She was wearing a black shirt tucked into a pair of jeans, her sleeves rolled up past her elbows, showing there was dried blood smeared on her hands and forearms. Her signature red coat was nowhere to be seen, nor were her classic rings.
The woman placed her hands on her hips. "How long have you been awake?"
"I wouldn't say I was awake." Rogue muttered. "More like bein' dragged into consciousness."
She narrowed her eyes at Rogue. "Well don't move, I'm not done with you." She turned to walk down the hall.
"Well I would hope not." Not like she could move anyways, even her few small words had caused her lungs and ribs to burn in pain. She was afraid to move anything more than her lips and eyes.
At least she could admire the plaster ceiling.
The bandit returned shortly, carrying clean rags and a bottle with dark liquid. She pulled a chair out of the corner with her foot and sat beside Rogue, placing her supplies on Rogue's stomach.
"I cleaned you up mostly, but I need another look at the cut on your arm."
Rogue looked down at her chest, for the first time noticing the blood. Her left arm was bound with a straight wooden rod and white cloth. Her other arm laid by her side, her jacket there soaked with blood. The bandit got up and walked around to that side with her chair.
She paused. "I need to take off your jacket, do you think you can sit up a little?"
Rogue complied, despite the searing pain in her head. The Scarlet Witch tugged at the sleeve gently, and when it was off Rogue's arm she folded it carefully behind her patient.
"It was easier with your other arm. The sleeve was pretty much torn off." The woman commented, looking at Rogue's arm. Rogue followed her gaze. The somewhat white fabric was now red. "Uh… okay, well you can either help me remove your shirt, or I can cut the sleeve off."
Rogue felt her face flush. "Go for the sleeve."
Nodding, the bandit took a knife from her waist and hacked off the fabric. She sucked in a breath after fully removing the sleeve. "Alright…"
She moved to touch Rogue's skin, and the injured party whipped her bound arm forward and stopped her. A small cry of pain left her mouth, a very girlish sound. "Don't… don't touch mah skin."
The Scarlet Witch raised an eyebrow.
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Let's not pretend we don't both know we have unnatural abilities. If ya touch mah skin with yar own, ya'll be on yar back in seconds."
"Fine." The woman responded. She stood and again left the room, quickly returning with a pair of thin leather gloves. "There, happy?"
"Oh, extremely." Rogue grumbled, settling her arm back on her chest.
The bandit went to work. The gash on Rogue's arm tracing from the inside of her elbow to nearly her wrist, with unknown depth. Rogue cursed her plan to chase after the Brotherhood, or at least the idea to spur her horse faster up that hill.
She heard Kitty's voice echoing in her head, begging her to stay this time. "Rogue! Leave them be! You're going to hurt yourself!"
No, duh Kit.
She'd been following the Brotherhood Bandits as they left their town for about a month, but she hadn't ever reached the rocky hills until today. Rogue wasn't experienced with navigating such risking terrain, she was damn lucky the Scarlet Witch had decided not to let her die.
The Scarlet Witch tossed aside a bloody rag and grabbed the bottle with the dark liquid. She unstuck the stopper and a sharp scent filled the air.
"Uh, what it that? Iodine?" Rogue asked, wrinkling her nose.
"Yes." The other replied, placing a clean cloth over the top and tipping it upside-down to dispense the chemical. She set the bottle down and held Rogue's wrist in a tight grip. "This will sting. Don't freak out."
Rogue grinned smugly. "Oh never, miss. I wouldn't-" the bandit started cleaning the wound, "-holy shit!" Rogue resorted to gritting her teeth to keep any and all other exclamations inside her mouth.
When the Scarlet Witch was done, she took the remaining clean clothes and bound Rogue's arm. "There. You can breathe now."
Rogue's breath hissed out between her teeth. "Shut up… but thank ya."
"Right."
"Hey, really." Rogue insisted. "Uh, Scarlet Witch. Thank ya."
The woman sighed as she picked up the now used rags. "Look, you can call me Wanda as long as we're here. The Scarlet Witch is such a mouth-full."
"Okay." Rogue paused. "Why didn't ya just leave me with Hank? Ya know, the Xavier doctor?"
Wanda frowned. "One, I'd have to go back into town. Two, well… he was out when we left."
"Did you kill him?"
"I don't believe so. Quicksilver checked that he was still breathing when he took him out." Wanda stood. "Hank is a good man, Quicksilver would never try to kill him."
Rogue frowned and watched the woman leave with the used medical supplies. "But everyone else?" She called.
When Wanda returned, there was a dark look in her eyes. "You're fair game." She sat down heavily on the chair again and pointed a finger at Rogue's chest. "We barely did any damage this time around, unlike that wild man you unleashed."
"What?" Rogue tried pulling herself into a sitting position so she could better look at Wanda. "Wait, you mean Logan?" The Brotherhood knew everyone else in town, so she had to be referring to him. Rogue hadn't even seen the man fighting. "He was… he fought?"
The woman scowled at her. "He nearly killed Toad and Avalanche. I'm not even sure they're okay."
"I dinnit see-"
"Probably 'cause you and your girl were all tangled up."
Rogue's face burned bright red. "Katherine Pryde is not my girl." That situation of being thrown into Kitty was possibly the most embarrassing moment of her life. With the confusion around them and the embarrassment between the two, it took several minutes to separate from one another.
Wanda chuckled. "Only teasing." Her face darkened again, and her eyes went to the window. The light was falling. "You have to leave."
"Yeah, how are ya goin' ta do that?" Rogue asked. There was no way she could stand. She looked down at her legs, one ankle was wrapped and bound with a flat piece of wood, and the other- "You shackled me ta the bed?" She questioned, turning to the Scarlet Witch.
"Nevermind that." She muttered. "Look, you'll have to sit up and I can support you long enough to get to my horse. I can leave you somewhere."
"Just leave me some water and food. I'm sure someone will find me."
"Okay." Wanda stood and undid the chain around Rogue's ankle. She pulled a cloth from her belt. "I'm going to tie this around your eyes."
"Fine." Rogue couldn't expect Wanda to just let her see where one of their hideouts was. It was slightly disappointing, but understandable.
As she waited for Wanda to finish blindfolding her, her mind went back to pondering why she was there. What had motivated the Scarlet Witch to save her? The woman always seemed brutally ruthless, possessing a keenness for causing pain and misfortune. She had no love for anyone in Xavier, except perhaps her brother, Pietro, but even with him she seemed impartial to his well-being. When he had fallen terribly ill the year before, a guard was set up around his house to see if his sister would make an appearance. She never did. And yet, she rescued Rogue, and cared for her wounds with tenderness and skill. What was with this girl?
"There." Wanda announced she was finished. "Now start to sit up. I will be here supporting you on your right."
Rogue started to sit up, and as she did, she reached her arm out and took a hold of the Scarlet Witch's arm. Using her as anchor, she pulled herself upright. The woman looped her arm behind her and under Rogue's other arm. There was a warmth in her touch, and the woman moved cautiously as to not cause Rogue any pain. It didn't matter though, every slight movement sent a jolt through her body.
"I already hurt." Rogue whispered. "Don't worry about causin' any more."
There was a strange silence from Wanda, but eventually she acknowledged the statement with a barely audible word. Her grip tightened.
Together they slid Rogue's legs over the side of the bed and they stood. Rogue was shocked by her weakness and immediately leaned heavily on Wanda, hearing her own breathing becoming ragged.
Wanda remained steady though. She muttered instructions for moving that Rogue followed without question. After what felt like forever, Wanda leaned forward and a door creaked open. Dimming sunlight hit Rogue in the face, warming her skin.
"Vision!" Wanda yelled. Her call was answered by the sound of hoof beats. Suddenly Rogue felt a moist, warm breeze on the side of her face.
"Please tell me this is a horse." Rogue mumbled, now smelling the beast.
"It's a horse." Wanda replied. "Now this is the fun part. You have to mount it."
"I… what?"
"You need to mount Vision, he'll help a bit." Wanda stated. "Not too much to ask from a man like you, right?"
Rogue grumbled under her breath as Wanda guided her to the side of the massive horse. Muscles rippled under her touch. Wanda guided the wounded girl's hands to where they should grasp, and the horse bent his knees to make it easier for Rogue. Her foot was placed in the stirrup, and with a shaky breath, she pulled herself up with a boost from behind from the Scarlet Witch.
Rogue groaned after she got up and let herself fall forward onto the horse's neck. Shortly after, Wanda hefted herself up and sat directly behind her. The bandit seemed hesitant of how to proceed.
"Just do whatevah ya need ta, so I don't fall off." Rogue said.
So the girl pulled her upright and wrapped an arm around her waist. Her arm was tense, but Rogue felt secure with it there. There was less of a chance of her slipping off.
"Vision. Forward." Wanda said, a weird catch in her throat.
The horse surged forward, and Rogue found herself pressed tighter against Wanda, now well aware of her muscular frame. She still smelled of iodine mixed with the irony sent of Rogue's blood. There was an empty pang in Rogue's stomach as she laid back against the girl. It was a bizarre sense, but she ignored it as she was still trying to maintain herself from crying out in pain. Every step of the horse hurt.
The horse eventually slowed to a trot, and then stopped. Rogue waited for Wanda to move, so she could help her dismount, but she didn't. Rogue didn't mind, she was a little reluctant to move herself, but after what was probably a few minutes, she urged her on.
"Uh, so, we're here?"
Wanda stiffened. "Yes." At that point she slid out from behind Rogue and landed softly on the ground.
"Can you take off the blindfold yet?" Rogue asked when she was on the ground as well. In a swift movement, she felt the cloth leave her eyes.
Wanda was standing in front of her with a curious look on her face. Rogue gazed around her, seeing she was back atop the hill where she had fallen. Some irony, she guessed, but she was grateful. Someone from Xavier was bound to find her.
Rogue felt her knees buckle, and Wanda caught her as she started to go down. "Okay, no more standin'. I'm alright." She said as Wanda helped her sit on the ground, leaning her up against a rock. "I owe ya a thanks."
"It's fine." Wanda said softly. She stood and pulled a small bag off of her saddle. "Here, food and a canteen. Should last you until they find you."
"Thanks."
"Well…" Wanda crouched next to Rogue and handed her the supplies. "There ya go."
Rogue gave Wanda a slight smile. "I owe ya one, bandit girl."
"Yeah you do, danger boy."
She brought one of her gloved hands to her lips and then place it on Rogue's cheek. Rogue felt the heat spreading across her face and she looked down.
"Good-bye."
And just like that, the girl and her horse were gone.
A/N: Alright, alright.
So I decided I would not drag out the hint of romance for like ever, so I started it up at the end here. Let me know what you think.
Next: In the aftermath of the Brotherhood attack, Logan realizes the kid, Rogue, is gone. Alongside the girl named Kitty, the two head out to try and find the young man. Logan gets to learn a thing or two about Rogue from this girl, and a few more after they find the injured mutant.
