AN: Last time: Marie found herself plagued by a haunting vision of her old nemesis, Mystique. With no other solution, she decided to enter her own mind to discover the meaning behind the shifty shape-shifter's shadowy statement.

Chapter 3

Marie looked around nervously as she walked along the corridors of her mind. She looked at the doors of the rooms that housed each psyche, finally finding Mystique's room. She summoned a key into her hand and unlocked the padlock holding the door shut.

As she pushed the heavy metal door open, a blast of cold air made her shiver uncontrollably. She felt around on the wall beside of her to find the light switch. Soon, the cold room was filled with the glow and the buzz of the fluorescent lights overhead.

She stood still, giving her eyes some time to adjust to the sudden flood of light. When she regained her bearings, she found herself looking directly into the yellow eyes of her greatest enemy.

Mystique was in a room that was likened to a stone prison cell. It was outfitted with the simple comforts. A toilet, sink, bed, chair, table, and various books and drawings were scattered about the cell. There was a glass wall separating Mystique's cell from the rest of the room, and a simple wooden chair sat on Marie's side of the glass.

Reminds me of that scene from Silence of the Lambs Marie couldn't help but notice. She slowly made her way to the chair before taking a seat.

"Well, well, well, I seem to have a visitor." Mystique commented in a cocky tone. She slowly walked closer to the glass.

"It would seem so." Marie replied in an emotionless tone.

"I'm curious about something, did you put me in this cell because you thought it would be fitting for a monster like me?" Mystique asked, making a point to ignore why Marie was there. "Would you prefer it if I spoke to you like this?" She asked as her scales shifted and she changed into a likeness of Hannibal Lector.

"I'm not here to play games Mystique, so stop screwing around." Marie said coldly, only succeeding in encouraging the shape-shifter.

"Oh no, I'm enjoying this." Mystique replied, her voice now sounding like Hannibal's. "In fact, why don't you just refer to me as 'Dr. Lector'?" She began to laugh, irritating Marie to no end.

Marie snapped her fingers and, with a satisfying gasp of shock and pain, Mystique doubled over, clutching her head in pain.

"You forget your place 'Dr. Lector'. This is my mind, so you will play by my rules." Marie said as she watched Mystique writhe in pain.

She had to admit, this was oddly satisfying. But as soon as she realized what she had just thought, she stopped the pressure that was pressing down on her enemy. As Mystique recovered, Marie mentally scolded herself.

What are you doing?! You are not a monster! You are not a monster! She calmly repeated this thought like a mantra until she was certain that her emotions were back under her control.

"My, my, my, you are turning into quite the sadist, aren't you?" Mystique teased as she slipped into her blue form. Marie eyed her with a look of pure distain before she finally spoke.

"Listen, I don't have time for your little mind games. You know why I'm here, so why don't we cut the crap and get down to brass tacks?" Marie said in a steely voice, still eying Mystique with as much hatred as she could possibly muster.

"Ah, same old Rogue. For some reason, you never did have any particular taste for the dramatic way of life." Mystique sighed as she pulled her steel chair out from under the table and sat before Marie.

"Oh, how foolish of me." Marie spat. "Then again, maybe I would be a bit more tolerant of your idea of drama if I weren't first introduced to it the day you tried to kill me." She snippily pointed out. Mystique sighed overly dramatically.

"Are you still hung up on that? Honestly, you try to kill a person one time and you never hear the end of it!" She over dramatized her sighs and the rolling of her eyes.

"For the last time, I'm not here to mess around. I want to know what you meant when you told me that I was just like my father."

"Is it so hard to believe that maybe I meant exactly what I said?"

"Yes, it is."

"Oh? And just why is that?"

"Because of two very important reasons."

"And those would be?"

"Number one: Forgive me for not just rushing to take the word of Magneto's right-hand minion."

"You're forgiven. And number two?"

"Number two: Your statement made no sense."

"Why not?"

"Because my parents were mar-"

"Married for three years before you were born. Yes, yes, I heard that part when you said it to Xavier."

"Then you know that my only logical conclusion is that there was something behind your statement."

"Ah Marie, you've been hanging around that Logan far too much. You hear one simple comment and immediately you suspect that there is some kind of big secret behind it. Honestly, if you came across a ten-year-old's lemonade stand you'd probably smell some sort of government conspiracy."

"Mystique, instead of insulting my supposed paranoia, maybe you should consider the fact that you are at a severe disadvantage. I know you inside and out, I know for a fact that you don't go around trying to start up shit unless you know that you're info is correct. I know that there's something behind your statement, now tell me what you know."

"My dear Rogue, if you know me so well then you must know the truth."

"Truth? What truth?"

"Check the court records for that backwater town in Mississippi that you grew up in. I think that you'll find something very interesting." Mystique said mysteriously as she stepped back, allowing the shadows to envelop her in darkness.

"What do you mean? What will I find? Mystique! Get back here and tell me!" Marie jumped from her chair and banged her fist on the glass as Mystique's evil cackle filled the room.

Marie gasped deeply as she sat up on the metal table. Cassie jumped up from her chair and ran to Marie's side.

"Marie?! Are you alright?! What happened?!" She asked as she placed a calming hand on Marie's shoulder.

"Court records…Mississippi…family…father." Marie panted as she tried to calm herself.

"Marie, slow down! Listen to me, you're gonna hyperventilate if you don't calm yourself down!" Cassie said as she rubbed calming circles on Marie's back, trying to bring her down from whatever orbit she had just been sent into. Finally, Marie managed to gain some control over herself. As soon as she knew that she was okay, she looked at Cassie and uttered a sentence that she never thought she would ever again say.

"I have to go back to Mississippi."

AN: In the next chapter: Marie has to find closure about Mystique's cryptic statement, but will Jean condone her leaving when they only have less than two months before their wedding?