Comes running into the room with the update: "Sorry, sorry….been so busy with work. Who knew there was so much to know as a switchboard operator? Ooh, troubles ahead for the X-Men in dealing with this new development with Rogue. Will Mystique and her cohorts get out of Greenland? Thanks to all who read, reviewed and alerted. You're awesome!
Disclaimer: I love you; you love me, this disclaimer's history. Hehehehe…..jk, y'all.
A few hours later in the med-bay, Hank emerges from the room after examining Rogue, to a worried Remy, Kurt and Logan.
"How is ma chere?" Remy questions, concern deepening his eyes.
"Well, the good news is that physically, she seems to be doing well, although I am getting some readings that appear to be…abnormal, for lack of a better term. Professor will be down momentarily to examine her mentally, upon my request." Hank holds up a hand at the expressions of alarm on the faces before him. "Gentlemen, please! Remy, I believe you informed us on the jet that Mystique forced Rogue to hold on to a young woman for much longer than what would be normal for her." Remy nods and Hank continues. "This is a necessary step to discover if perhaps these abnormal readings are connected to her mental activity. From there, we can get a better picture of what is happening with her."
As Hank is conversing with them just outside, Rogue awakens, her gaze darting all around the room nervously. ~Where am Ah?~ she thinks to herself, looking at all the unfamiliar equipment.
Just then, Hank enters her room, followed by Remy. "Who-who are ya?" Rogue asks in confusion.
"Chere, don'y' remember me?" Remy inquires, hurt coloring his tone.
She eyes the two of them fearfully and backs away until she hits a wall. "Don' touch meh!" she quietly snarls.
"Hank, what be goin' on wit' mon amour?" he queries, alarmed at her strange behavior, then turns back to her. "I would never hurt y' Rogue, I love y'."
"Ya don' even know meh, how can ya say that-wait, how did ya know mah name?" she returns suspiciously.
"Rogue dear, you are with your family, with the X-Men," Hank attempts to placate.
"X-Men?" Rogue spats furiously. "Momma warned meh about y'all. Ya wanted meh ta join ya so badly, ya killed the man Ah loved. Ya killed mah fiancé, Cody!" she shouts and takes off at a blind run.
Remy stands, shell-shocked at the venomous anger and her stunning announcement. "Cody?" he stares questioningly at Hank, Logan and Kurt having taken chase of Rogue. "She told me a while ago dat dis Cody had a crush on her an' she accidentally drained him at a dance, but dere was not'in' between dem really. Somet'in' ain' addin' up here."
"Hmm, that is indeed perplexing. My educated guess would be that Mystique has altered her mind, somehow," Hank muses.
Both men come to the same conclusion. "Mastermind."
"We must find her immediately," Hank replies soberly.
After several minutes pass, Remy runs into Kurt and Logan outside. "Didn' y' keep up wit' her?"
"We tried, Gumbo. Ya know how fast Rogue is. Lost her scent at the stream."
"We got t' find her! Mystique used Mastermind t' alter her mind. Dat's why she ran, she t'inks we de enemy!"
"When I get my claws on that shapeshiftin'-" Logan glances over at Kurt and quickly amends what he was going to say, "-Mystique, I'm gonna fillet her an' feed her to the sharks," he snarls.
"I vill glady teleport ze chunks to ze ocean myself," Kurt offers.
"Good attitude, Elf," Logan claps him on the back. Both of them turn to see Remy deep in thought. "What'cha got, Gumbo?"
"Just t'inkin' dat I know where Rogue's goin' but how would she get dere on foot?"
"Yeah, now we know that she's gonna try ta go back ta Mystique, but yer right. She can't get there on foot, if she even remembers how ta get there in the first place."
"So you mean Rogue could be lost in zese woods, vith no idea vhere to go?"
"Hmm, wonder who dat femme was dat Roguey drained?" Remy questions out-of-the-blue.
"Don't know, but she's gotta be pretty important ta be held by Stryker an' ta get Mystique's attention."
"Oui, de point I'm gettin' at, is dat if de femme was a mutant, which t' get deir notice is pretty much a given, dere's no tellin' what kind o' abilities Rogue has now."
"Ve need to get ze map to ze cabin und get zere before Mystique does."
"Then what, Elf? She ain't exactly in her right mind now."
"That is why I will be accompanying you," Professor says as he wheels closer to them. "I think, for Rogue's comfort, that it will just be the four of us on this mission. Do not worry, I will discover what Mystique has done to her and will do whatever I can to bring her back, though I must uncover what we are dealing with."
"Y' mean dere's a chance we won' get her back?" Remy queries with growing alarm.
"Remy, the mind is a powerful, yet sensitive organ. Rest assured, I will do everything in my power to restore her memory and reverse what Mastermind has done, but even I don't have all the answers."
"Oui, Professeur," Remy murmurs.
When the four men arrive back at the mansion, they waste no time, climbing onto Velocity and taking off into the night.
To say that Rogue is merely disoriented, would be putting it lightly. As she runs through the woods, nothing looks familiar to her at all and her thoughts are a jumble. One prevailing thought keeps going through her mind. ~Gotta find Momma, need ta find mah momma~ Tears stream down her cheeks as she remembers the close brush she'd had with the X-Men, just a short time before. She couldn't believe that she nearly became their prisoner. Quickly deciding that allowing that to happen a second time was definitely not an option, she moves faster, if possible.
A short time later, she stops to catch her breath, an unbidden thought pressing at the back of her mind. Somehow, that tall man with the incredible red eyes seems familiar, but she can't put her finger on how or why. Something about that smooth, accented baritone almost….almost put her at ease back there. Shaking her head to clear her mind of his amazingly handsome features….wait, where did that thought come from? She should be in mourning for Cody, but she can't shake the image of the infinite tenderness….and love?... in the man's gaze. ~No, can' be thinkin' on that, gotta find Momma~ Rogue forces him out of the forefront of her thoughts and continues her trek back to the mountainside cabin. After a while, she stops and looks around with mounting confusion. She thought she was going the right way, but nothing looks familiar. With a soft groan, it hits her that she has no idea where she's going. All she knew was that the cabin was in the woods, on a mountainside. Rogue leans against a tree trunk and slides down to the ground in total disbelief and buries her head in her arms. The distant hooting of an owl causes her to look up. A moment later, a snowy owl flies into her field of vision and stares relentlessly at her as if to say "follow me". Rogue returns it's unflinching gaze with her own, then rises and walks over to it, only to have it move back a few paces. She looks at it oddly, and moves toward it again, where it suddenly shifts before her eyes into Mystique.
"Momma!" Rogue cries gladly and throws herself into the woman's arms, Mystique stroking her hair.
"Yes, it's me, Rogue. Didn't I tell you they would try to separate us? The X-Men stop at nothing to get what, or in your case, who they want."
"So does that mean-?"
"I'm afraid so, my dear. That is why we must move quickly! There is no doubt that they are tracking you as they speak, especially that Cajun imbecile."
"But….why?" Rogue looks confused.
"Darling, Gambit has always been jealous of the two of you. You see, he's always wanted you for himself. He'd called Cody out a couple of times, but Cody barely managed to beat him each time." Mystique informs her a bit smugly. "Now we must go! We don't have a whole lot of time before they will catch up. Follow me." With that, she changes into a grey wolf and looks back at Rogue. The younger woman takes the hint and follows her through the woods.
Velocity moves rapidly through the night sky, the four men inside, keeping a constant lookout for their missing Rogue.
"Where could she be? Y'd t'ink she wouldn' be able t' move dat fast on foot!" Gambit says impatiently.
"Remy, I realize that you're worried, I am also, but we must try to remain calm and collected."
"Chuck, I'm agreein' with Gumbo on this one. How do ya expect us ta remain calm when a loved one is out there, alone in those woods, with a cold-hearted, calculating…..woman after her? That kid is the closest thing to a daughter, next ta Laura, ta me, an' you're askin' me ta stay calm?"
Professor barely manages to stifle the knowing grin at Wolverine's expected response. "Logan, we must look at every possible scenario as rationally as we are able. It is entirely feasible that Mystique has managed to return to the mainland and her sights will be trained on retrieving Rogue. She would not go to the trouble of altering Rogue's memories, if this were not the case. She means to keep her with her this time," Professor finishes gravely.
"Not if I can help it!" Remy retorts hotly. "If I have t' follow dem t' de ends o' de earth, den so be it," he adds in a low, infuriated tone. Logan shoots him a glance of grudging admiration.
Sorry if it seems like I'm ending too soon. I have 2 reasons for this: 1. It's nearly 3 am here and my brain is threatening to pack and move away permanently if I don't quit and go to bed. 2. It's kinda necessary, since I can't seem to save this to my flash drive and continue when I have more time. I have some troubleshooting issues with my computer (yeah, already), which will involve a system recovery, meaning that I may lose programs and documents that I have saved on here. As always, I need more reviews from y'all! PLEASE! Your feedback is important to me.
Next time: Will our small team of heroes find Rogue and manage to get her back home, or will Mystique's plan actually work this time? Stay tuned, I will update as soon as I possibly can.
