Triangle
By Lady Comet
Disclaimer: I own only my own brainchildren. Everything else I'm just borrowing and bending to my will
…….
Triangle
Part 8 – They Know
…
Knockknockknock.
Suddenly the Brotherhood house came to life, as everyone looked up in confusion. Masque looked even more confused at the panic on the others' faces; Freddy had almost dropped his cereal, Lance looked even worse, and she thought Toad must be hiding behind the couch. Before she could even think to ask why, which she couldn't anyway, a slight hum announced that Pietro had run to answer the door.
Curious, she stood up and went to watch. As the door opened, two figures came into view. One was a man who appeared to be in his thirties wearing a dark overcoat and jaunty-looking hat, his features very serious and cold. Behind him was an older man dressed similarly, but in brown, and his features greatly resembled that of a monkey. Pietro opened the door wider, beckoning them in and saying something she did not hear.
Pietro led the men towards the living room, and now that the men were in view, everyone relaxed a bit. Toad poked his head out from behind the couch and sighed.
"Not Mystique, good," he said.
"This might be worse," Lance thought.
Pietro stepped into the room first, smirking a bit at the rest of them. "I believe you remember my father, Magneto."
The first man took off his hat and smiled at them, though the smile seemed rather odd on his face. He had short-cropped white hair that matched Pietro's and a strong jaw line. The wisdom in his eyes seemed much older than he features belied. Masque was immediately suspicious of him.
"…And this is Mastermind," Pietro finished, disgust in his voice.
The other man kept his eyes to the ground, looking uncomfortable. He glanced over at Masque briefly, his eyes bearing into her. She stepped back, getting more defensive by the minute.
Behind them, Wanda started down the stairs, still in her pajamas and yawning rather loudly. When she reached the bottom and turned to go to the kitchen, she stopped dead in her tracks.
"Father?" she asked, very surprised.
Magneto turned around. "Good morning, Wanda."
Pietro turned to look at her too. "Told you we were getting visitors."
She ignored him. "Father, why are you here?"
He smiled at her, and putting his hand on her shoulder, turned her attention to Masque. "Pietro told us of the newest member of your team. We are here to welcome her."
Masque frowned. She had spent enough time being talked about as if she wasn't there. However, she could find no way to leave the room without walking through the group in the doorway. She was trapped.
"Excuse me, sir, but since when are we your team?" Lance asked. He stood up too, trying to take on a role of leadership. "Mystique –"
"Mystique is gone," Magneto finished for him. "I do not intend to take her place, but as my children are here, I have interest in all of you." Leaving Wanda, he stepped towards Masque, who stepped back again towards the wall. "Now, greetings child. I am Eric Lensherr."
Mastermind looked over his shoulder at Wanda before he followed. Suddenly, Wanda grimaced with pain. All the images Day had unlocked within her flew to the front of her mind as she stared back; forcing her to remember that somehow this man was involved in their suppression. She tore herself away, heading for the kitchen without another word. She didn't want to know…did she?
Back in the living room, Masque stood still as Magneto extended his hand to her. She looked at it, then at him, and then reached out to take it. He shook her hand, then let go, and gestured behind him. "Mastermind and I would like to have a word with you. Please follow us."
Again, she hesitated. She did not know these men, neither of them had been mentioned to her when she came to the house, and neither was the one Lance called 'Mystique.' This didn't seem safe.
He smiled at her in reassurance. "I promise no harm will come to you."
Steeling herself, she nodded, and followed as they led her into the room across the hall.
Watching the door close, Freddy asked Pietro, "What's going on?"
"They're going to give her a gift," he answered swiftly. "You know, to win her trust. She's more useful than you idiots realize."
"She is?" replied Toad. "I thought she was just another runaway freak, like us."
"Anythingwecangetisvaluable, Toad!" he hissed. "The X-geeks are gaining members every day, and we have to be prepared to fight them."
Lance scowled. "Really? Or are you just trying to get on 'Daddy's' good side?"
Pietro glared back, and left the room without another word.
…..
Across town, Rosaline rushed through the doors of Bayville High. She had gotten up later than she wanted, having gone to sleep way too late, and if she didn't run fast enough she was going to miss class. Everyone else had gone on ahead of her, except for Day, who was also running late and she had to leave behind. As long as she could get to her locker fast and get her books without having to fight anything, she'd be able to make homeroom. She hoped.
When she got there, she had to fight through a small crowd that was gathered around that area, all seeming to stare at one thing. She was too short to see and didn't have time to even try, focused on pushing her way through. Cursing, she finally got out of the crowd, and turned to go to her locker.
Then she stopped, dropping everything she held.
Her locker had been beaten in, presumably by a bat or something like it, and torn open. Its contents were scattered all over the floor in various states of destruction, including her textbooks. The worst of it, however, was that the door had been pushed shut again, and every negative word she could think of for being gay was scrawled across it in bright red paint. Dyke, freak, bitch, cunt, fag, freak. Some she couldn't even make out.
She took a step forward, almost stumbling, and let out a soft noise no one could understand. It was happening again. She would lose everything, again.
And then someone laughed.
The laughter spread, and soon, a lot of the crowd was laughing, thinking that this was funny and somehow okay. Rosaline didn't even really hear them; their noise filtered through her and attached itself to her memories, everything that had happened to her back home flooding her vision and turning itself into what was to come. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she sank to the floor, staring down at it.
In the distance, the bell rang, and she felt the crowd begin to disperse. When she thought they were all gone, she looked up at her locker again. All control she held on to slipped through her grasp then. Her breathing became deeper and frantic, like she was trying to scream but couldn't find her voice. Outside, the trees began to shake, and the tiles in the floor split as grass shot up between them. Her eyes turned completely brown, with black cracks at the sides, and green flowed up through the tips of her hair.
Second later, footsteps came thundering into the hallway, and someone screamed.
"Oh mah god, Rosaline!"
She didn't even notice, though Rogue's gloved fingers grabbed her by shoulders, trying to shake her back into reality. Rogue turned around, seeing Bobby behind her. He was staring dumbfounded at the destruction of her locker, not sure what to do.
"Bobby, go fin' Day," she pleaded, still trying to reach Rosaline.
He nodded, and as he ran off, people started looking out into the hall to see what was going on. In the opposite direction Tabitha happened to look out of her classroom, ignoring her teacher's call to sit back down. She gasped and ran out to help.
As she reached them, Amara appeared, also having heard the scream and coming to help. They all called out to her, but Rosaline didn't budge, plants beginning to grow through the windows and climb along the walls. Some even shot up underneath her locker and reached to tear it open again.
"Rogue! Here he is!" a voice shouted, and Bobby and Day came barreling back to them.
Day hobbled as fast as he could on his crutches, and one he got to his sister dropped in front of her and took her into his arms. Rogue, Tabitha, and Amara stepped back, joining Bobby a few feet away. Stroking her hair, Day took a deep breath and reached into his sister's mind with his power, struggling to bring her back.
You're safe, he told her. It's all right.
While he worked, a few teachers finally came into the hallway, one of them running off to find Principal Kelly. They tried to go towards Rosaline and Day, but Bobby stopped them. Before they could object, Rosaline let out a long sigh, and they all turned to see her slump into Day's arms. She had passed out.
"Um, help?" Day called, and Tabitha rushed forward to help him to his feet and lift Rosaline. Bobby also went to help hold her up while Tabby got Day back in his crutches.
Not a second later, quick footsteps announced Principal Kelly's arrival on the scene. He stopped, stunned, and then gawked. Rogue frowned, sure his shock was at the destruction of school property by Rosie's plants, not the hate crime that provoked her. He strode forward, glaring at all of them. The other teachers retreated, knowing that things were about to get ugly.
"What happened here!" he shouted.
Tabitha pointed at the locker. "That happened! What the hell is this?"
He glanced at it, the focused on them again. "And who broke the windows, and all these plants…I know one of you mutant freaks did it!"
"Excuse me?" Rogue stepped forward, her hands on her hips. "Did ya even look at that locker? That's vandalism against the school, and against her!"
"I wouldn't be surprised if this was all your responsibility!" he retorted.
"What?" Bobby gasped.
"You mutants have caused enough trouble in this school. I have had enough. You are out of here – all of you!"
"Um, did we catch him on a bad day?" Day whispered to Amara.
"No, he's like this all the time," she hissed back.
They were interrupted by the now-familiar sound of rushed footsteps and one of Kelly's secretaries appeared. "Principal Kelly…sir, there's –"
"What?" he demanded, spinning around.
She cleared her throat. "Charles Xavier is on the phone."
He growled and turned back to the students, glaring at them so hard one might think his eyeballs would explode. "I want all of you in my office. RIGHT NOW."
"But she's hurt!" Amara pointed out. "She should go to the nurse…or something!"
Prompted, Kelly glanced at Rosaline's unconscious form, and sighed with annoyance. "Fine. Take her there and then all of you, and I mean all of you, come immediately to my office. If even one of you isn't there, you're all expelled." And with that, he turned on his heel and stormed off.
"Shit," said Tabitha.
"He can't do anythin' ta us. The Professor will sort it out," Rogue insisted, though for once even she wasn't sure.
Day looked at all of them, then down at Rosaline, and shook his head. "Come on. We need to get her out of here."
…..
Back at the Brotherhood Boarding House, Masque sat rigid in her chair as the two men looked at her. Magneto sat across from her, staring, as Mastermind hovered a small distance away.
"Now…Madison, right?" he began.
She nodded, now unsure whether or not she should have given Pietro her real name when she moved in her.
"Madison, I'd like you to know that you are safe here. Everyone in this house, myself included, is a mutant like you. We all have something to fight for – our continued existence." He leaned forward, placing his hands on his knees. "If I was told correctly, you lack the ability to speak."
She nodded again.
He smiled. "Then we have a gift for you."
He stood, and beckoned Mastermind forward. The smaller, misshapen man came forward, standing over her. She sank back, not feeling very safe at all, and looked back at Magneto.
"He's not going to hurt you, Madison; he's going to help you. Mastermind is a telepath like yourself, but his powers operate differently. He can recreate memory, create illusions, and sometimes more. I believe he will be able to give you speech, though not in the way you expect." His features softened and he locked eyes with her. "Will you let him try?"
She was still frightened, and she didn't really trust them at all. However, she hadn't been able to speak since before she knew words. She could read and write, but never communicate otherwise, and she wanted to be able to talk more than anything else. That desire was so strong that it drove away all of her fears, and against her intuition, she nodded her head again.
Magneto smiled, satisfied. "Go ahead, Mastermind."
He leaned over her, placing his hands on either side of her head, his flesh just inches from her hair. She watched as his eyes turned yellow and her mind opened to him. She felt him flow through it like ink, black and thin, collecting what she knew of language and melding it into something new. It happened so quickly she didn't even have time to think about it or to worry about her memories in his hands. Then with a snap he was out, stepping backwards as she slumped forward, pushing herself back up into the chair.
"That was… " she thought, looking over at Magneto.
"…strange?" he answered.
Her eyes widened. "You can hear me."
"Yes, I can."
"But how?"
"You are pushing your thoughts into my mind, and into Mastermind's. Whoever you are around will hear you as if you are speaking to them in your own voice."
Masque put a hand over her forehead, defocusing her vision and losing herself in this new fact. She almost couldn't believe it.
"Why?"
"Excuse me?"
"I mean, why have you done this for me? This is…I mean, this is the most amazing gift I have ever been given, and you barely know me. I guess I don't understand."
Magneto stood, closing the distance between them, and put a hand on her shoulder. "We did this because you deserve it, and in working with your housemates, you will need a way to communicate. The world is very cruel, Madison, and we need to stick together to overcome those who oppose us. We must use all of our talents together to improve our lives." He reached for his hat, which sat on a table beside them, and settled it back on his head. "You are welcome."
He led Mastermind out of the room then, and after a moment, Masque got up and followed them. She stood and watched as Pietro showed them out the door, his father looking behind him to smile once more at her before they left. The door shut, and she shivered.
Pietro walked over to her then, a cocky grin on his face. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"I see it worked."
"Yes…"
"…Well?"
She frowned. "Are you expecting me to thank you?"
"No. But I hope you understand what all of this means."
"Maybe. Tell me."
He got closer, getting uncomfortably close, and hissed, "You're one of us now. Just don't fuck up." Before she could answer, he zipped away, heading back upstairs.
She went back across the hallway and sat back down in the living room with the others. Lance, Toad, and Freddy all stared at her, obviously wondering what had just happened.
She turned and smiled at them. "Hey, could we watch 'The Ellen Show?' It's on in half an hour."
Their jaws dropped simultaneously, and for the first time in a very long time, she laughed.
…..
Later, at Xavier's mansion, Rosaline sank deeper into her bed. She was home now, Xavier had taken care of everything. He was even going to pay for the repairs on the school. None of them were suspended, though the event had gone on her permanent record, and she had gotten the rest of the day off. However, she knew that any promises Principal Kelly made to look into what had been done to her were all lies. None of it mattered anyway, she was going to lose everything again.
At home, it had happened slowly, the hatred rising with the violence when everyone found out. She was lucky her family had been accepting, otherwise she wouldn't have survived. She tried to be strong, though everything they did, the cat-calls and insults and violence, eventually wore her down into the broken twig she was now. Nothing was ever done to stop it. Then it happened; she was attacked, beaten within an inch of her life and almost raped. Her powers had saved her before the boys had a chance, though it was almost too late, and too late to stop them from hurting her. She lost control and one of them died a few days later. It didn't take her long to heal, and once she had, her parents sent her here. Day refused to let her go, so he came too. She was supposed to be safe here, away from all of that. It wasn't supposed to happen again.
Tears flowed into her pillow as she rocked with sobs. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle it again if it came to that. Of course it would. She had been wrong to think it would get any better.
Outside, Day listened to her cry. He had just gotten home and wanted to check on her, but he knew this was one of the times nothing in his power could ease her pain. He sighed, defeated, and ushered himself back to his room. He'd better let their parents know what happened.
…..
"I can't believe it!" Jubilee said for the thousandth time. "I knew there was something weird about her. Didn't I say there was something weird about her?"
The New recruits were all sitting in the living room, winding down from school. Everyone had gotten back only moments ago, converging here to talk about what happened. The news had spread faster than any of them expected and now everyone at Bayville High knew about Rosie, powers and sexuality alike.
Jamie raised his hand. "Um, excuse me, but what is a 'dyke' anyway?"
Jubilee shuddered. "It's a –"
"Enough," Rahne said, shutting her up with a glare. "Jamie, ye know how normally a boy an' girl fall in love?"
He nodded.
"Well, this is when a girl an' another girl fall in love."
His eyes widened. "Oh."
"I don't see why it's such a big deal," Bobby said. "She's gay. So what? Lots of people are."
"Don't be ridiculous," Jubilee spat. "It's just not…normal."
"I don't know," Roberto said. "I don't think its right either, but we're mutants. We've gotta stick together. I don't think we should make a big deal about it."
"Me either," Ray agreed. "I think it's kind of hot. Mmm, lesbians."
While Bobby grinned at him, Tabitha and Amara exchanged glances. This was very, very uncomfortable.
Rahne looked over at them. "What d'ye think?"
"Um, what?" Amara started, thinking she meant the sex appeal of lesbians.
Tabby spoke up, feeding herself with her anger that some of her friends were such idiots. "I don't think it matters what we think about who she fucks. She's one of us now, and that means something."
They all stared at her in shock. Jubilee glared at her, and she glared back.
"I think Tabby's right," Sam decided. "It doesn't matter what we think. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to help her if she gets in trouble at school again."
Many voices in the room muttered their consent. Jubilee opened her mouth again to speak, but a sudden knock on the wall interrupted them. They all turned to see Kurt standing there, smiling as if nothing strange was going on.
"Sorry to interrupt, but it iz almost dinnertime," he told them. "Ze Professor wants us to eat dinner together so he can talk to us."
"Great," groaned Bobby. "Are we in trouble?"
Kurt smiled, and bamfed away.
The conversation over, everyone left to get ready for dinner. Tabby and Amara went up to their room, closing their door behind them.
"Shit," Tabby cursed. "Shit shit shit."
"I know," Amara sighed, plopping down on her bed. "Poor Rosie…and gods, what are we going to do?"
"I guess we don't get to come out now." Her girlfriend sat down beside her, leaning into her and letting their foreheads touch. "Who knew Jubilee was such a bitch?"
"I know. This isn't like her at all."
"'Mara," Tabby started, reaching for her. "I…"
There was a sudden knock at the door, and half of Kitty phased through it. Both of them almost fell of the bed in shock and fear of getting caught, but she didn't seem to notice.
"You guys, come on!" she urged. "Dinner starts, like, now!"
Begrudgingly they got up to follow her, sure this was going to be awkward too.
…..
"Thank you all for coming," Xavier said, looking down the table at all of his students. Everyone came, including his faculty. The only one missing was Rosaline, which he expected. "Now, I'd like to talk to you about what happened at school today.
"Regardless of what any of us think about why Rosaline was attacked, it could happen to any of us. She was attacked because of what she is, not because of her mutation, but it could have happened because of that. You all know that the world is not very friendly toward us and in order to overcome discrimination we have to stick together. This is just as true now. We are a team, and Rosaline is also part of it. Things are going to be very difficult for her from now on, and I expect all of you to be supportive. You are entitled to your opinions, no matter what they are, but I hope you understand that to persecute her for who she is is to act like those who persecute us."
Many heads around the table nodded, though a few showed frowns.
Xavier smiled. "Now, who wants dinner?"
At that cue, Jean looked at the door and it flew open, three very large pizzas floating in and onto the table. Almost everyone dived for the food, plates and napkins abandoned to a primal need. Standing against the wall, Storm watched them, noticing as Amara helped Day get his. She looked at the empty seat where Rosaline should be, then stood and walked towards the door.
Rosaline looked up as she heard someone knock. "C-come in," she said, wiping her nose.
Storm walked in, shut the door behind her, and moved to sit down on the bed next to her. "Are you all right, child?" she asked.
Rosaline shook her head, turning it to watch the rain again.
Storm raised a hand to touch her shoulder. "Regardless of what happens, you have support here. Your friends will be here to help you, no matter what happens."
"They might hate me," she whispered, tears rolling once more down her face.
"They won't."
She looked over her shoulder at her. "This has happened before."
"I know. I don't think, however, that last time you had superhuman friends to help you if something happened."
She laughed a bit, and looked hopefully at her teacher.
"We are all behind you, child. It will be all right."
Rosie nodded, leaning forward to let the older woman hug her. "…Thank you."
Storm nodded, wiping a tear from her cheek. "Now, would you like some dinner?"
She hesitated, then shook her head. "No…I still need to be alone."
"All right. If you need anything, ask." She hugged the girl again, then stood, smiling as she left the room.
Rosaline waited until he heard her footsteps fade. Sure that it was safe, she got up, going to the door and looking out to make sure no one was around. She glanced back into the room, focusing on the note folded on her nightstand, and then stepped outside, hurrying towards her brother's room. Quickly she went to his dresser and searched through the mess, looking for a tiny slip of paper she knew he still had. Her fingers closed around it, and she opened it up. Wanda's number.
She knew that's where Masque had gone, though she couldn't remember why. She didn't even know why she wanted to see her now, only that she did, and she could think of nothing else to make her feel better. Clutching the small piece of paper, she hurried back to her room, shutting the door and grabbing her phone. A small voice inside of her told her that it was only supposed to be used for emergencies. The rest of her screamed at it to shut up, and she dialed.
I'm crazy, she thought, and listened to it ring.
…….
Author's note: Ta da! I pound out another chapter. I hope this one doesn't seem forced, I had a bit of difficulty with it. You'll notice also that I changed one thing about Rosie's past – she wasn't raped. When it came down to it I couldn't do that to her, I think being horribly beaten is bad enough. Next one soon, I'm still trying to get this done before I start school again. And now, to answer some comments.
NctrnlBst – Close, but not quite. The people on the phone many lead up to that eventually, but it's on a much smaller scale now. Anyway, since you've read the chapter you know what their plan was. Very clever of them. And thank you for understanding my laziness
Tyriel – No "Unfinished Fanfiction folder" for me, no sir. And I have no real reason that Scott was up rather than Wolvie…except that I like writing Scott as an asshole. Its fun. And Wolvie could have easily been off at some bar getting hammered and angsting about Sabertooth. You never know. Glad you like as usual
