Sorry it took so long!! I was having file upload issues!
Rogue lifted her head slowly, trying to focus through the dizziness of foreign emotions and experiences on whoever was approaching her hiding place. She felt Sabertooth's personality inside her mind rear up, demanding she not be caught off guard by the enemy, and battled him for control.
Mystique slipped from the darkness like a shadow herself, coming easily to rest in the center of the alley.
"Rogue," she called gently, like a friend, like a…
She's NOT my mother, Rogue thought, gritting her teeth. Sabertooth snarled in her head, emboldened by her rage. Everything came back to her now, her life, her name, home, friends, her memories.
"Are you all right?" asked the shapeshifter.
"Get away from me!" Rogue growled, shoving herself from the wall and making to stumble past Mystique.
"Please listen," Mystique continued, and Rogue felt a rush of savage satisfaction to see her blue hand raise as if to brush her shoulder, then falter before the prospect of her mutant touch. "I know I hurt you. But I only posed as your friend so I could be near you."
In a very, very small part of her mind, Rogue registered a hint of sincerity in Mystique's voice. But the more dominant part of her held no empathy. In fact, she felt her fury exploding against her reigns of control and fought to control it for only a second. She needed to contain the force, direct the power, use it as a medium to release her anger… Change it.
Rogue's shield collapsed again as dark hands shot out of the shadows. She'd lost control again. Her skin darkened, eyes yellowed, hair lengthened and slipped into a deep russet orange.
Mystique's eyes widened as, within the space of a second, she found herself staring at a perfect mimicry of herself. Rogue's yellow eyes glared, fanged teeth glittering in a leer.
"Liar!" Rogue screamed, and Mystique was so taken aback to find herself looking at her own image that she couldn't even bring herself to block as Rogue snatched her arm and shoved her back into the alley.
"I know the truth!" Rogue shouted. "You used me to spy on the X-Men!"
"No," Mystique insisted, rising to her feet and reaching out futilely as Rogue turned her back and took a few steps forward. "It's not that simple!"
Rogue whirled around and aimed a high roundhouse straight for Mystique's face. Mystique slid down into a perfect dodge on the ground. "Please, don't do this."
Mystique stood before Rogue leaned in to the attack, punching high. She swiped Rogue's blow away and caught another before somersaulting backwards into the alley, narrowly missing a scissor-kick to the head.
Mystique righted herself and extended her hand. "If you have my memories, then you know what our relationship is."
Mental Rogue leapt from the shadows of her mind, tackling Mystique's personality in her head to the ground. She focused in and re-assembled her shield, trying desperately not to think of how much harder it was to recover it each time she needed to.
"I don't know anything," the Rogue in the alley insisted, shaking her head violently as she slid back into her own form.
"Admit the truth, Rogue. I adopted you when you were four."
"No!" Rogue drew her arm in a slashing gesture, squeezing her eyes shut against the memories that rose unbidden by her, like a film playing behind her eyelids.
…The joy Rogue had felt leaving the orphanage for the first time, going to live with a mommy of her very own. She'd promised her a coloring book when she got home, and a new doll for her to play with…
"Search the memories," Mystique continued.
…"Here you are, Sweetheart," her mother announced, sliding a peanut butter sandwich across the bar of her old kitchen. "Your favorite."…
…"Jimmy Tanner, Mommy," cried a little Rogue as her mother held her close. "He pushed me on the slide!"…
"You are my daughter."
Rogue couldn't handle it. Her whole childhood felt like a lie, a secret agenda for someone else's whims. The pain enveloped her, dulling every sense of reality. She turned and bolted from the alleyway.
Mystique followed at a sprint. "Rogue!"
Rogue stumbled slightly, still running somewhat blindly. Her hands went to her temples. She couldn't see straight as the tears she'd fought all night swirled in her eyes. She wanted to, needed to escape…
Kurt.
Rogue felt the contractions of Nightcrawler's ability thrum through her. It was like light pressure all around her. Her ears popped, her chest constricted, and she just… disappeared.
Courtney Summers: THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
DejectedBlithe: Hee hee, thanks! I do, too, which is where the story came from! Thanks!
Ondjage: Thank you, too! Oh, I don't plan for it to be Rogan-- I do love the brief pairing in the comics, but for Evolution I like the paternal relationship he has with Rogue. I mean look at hte girl-- she needs some sort of parental figure who knows how to show it (well... sort of, lol)!