Notes: I hope you are all enjoying your summer to the fullest. Myself, I've started working so I've been pretty exhausted, so it has taken me a while to update this story. I hope you will all enjoy this chapter. I think this together with the next one are my personal favourite. Maybe. Not sure. Anyways, I hope you all see this as a little summer treat to you all. The story has a bit to go yet, but I've decided to make a trilogy of this story. More information about it will come in the finale chapters. Also, I always love reviews so feel free to give me anything for a review. Even if it's just 'good story' or something. I'm like many, completely addicted to reviews and find them extremely useful. But it's your choice :) I hope you enjoy this chapter and are having a wonderful summer.
The next day, Bobby regained consciousness. At first, everything seemed perfect – he'd lived, Xavier had survived but then he realized that there was this extreme tension in the air wherever he went. Kitty or Peter didn't say anything – besides saying that they didn't know what he was talking about and he felt fairly certain that they were lying. Not even Wolverine answered his questions properly.
He sighed. Rogue was his girlfriend; he deserved to know what was going on. It wasn't like Rogue was some random woman he'd picked up in a bar somewhere, he genuinely cared about her. Eventually, Bobby decided to go and talk to the Professor.
"Eh," Bobby started as he walked into the small crappy space that had become Xavier's office, "Professor-"
As Xavier turned around Bobby felt that it was strange not to see him in a wheelchair. The only thing that assured him that Xavier was who he said he was was the calm and instant protection that Xavier seemed to spread around himself whenever he was near. Even though things were probably more serious now than what they had been weeks ago, Bobby had never felt safer in a long while.
"Yes, Bobby?" Xavier wondered, probably already knowing what he was going to say, but waited for Bobby to speak on his own terms.
"They won't tell me anything," Bobby sighed, making a hopeless gesture outside the door to show that he meant Wolverine, Storm and the others. He felt partly like a child for coming to Xavier with such a minor problem even though the Professor had probably bigger things on his mind. But he had to know.
"Things are not looking good for Rogue."
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Pyro studied Rogue across the table. He wasn't quite sure he liked this "improved" Rogue compared to what she was before. She might have been broken, but therein laid what Pyro liked about her. When she was this better Rogue, she often played on his feelings, making the reality painfully aware that he rather would just want to forget. When she was normal, he could at least pretend that she didn't know.
He sighed. He hated having these feelings for her (god how lame it sounded) and he hated the fact that he cared if she cared. He hated her. He hated everyone like her – snobbish teenagers who always got what they wanted – who always fitted in and always had everyone liking them in an instant.
He didn't want to be everyone, he wanted to hate her.
Rogue looked up, meeting his gaze and he felt the hatred for himself only grow stronger as she sent him a smile across the table. She was like a siren from the Greek mythology – but instead of making sailors crash against rocks – she lured him in and played with him. He disliked her for it but could not quite hate her. Therefore he hated himself.
He returned to study Rogue. He really liked the way her hair fell when she tilted her head like that and he loved how dark her voice sounded with that accent of hers. Alluring, tempting. He watched in horror as Mystique and Rogue shared a glance between them as if they'd just shared an inside joke. He'd never understand women. He thought Mystique hated people on principle but it seemed as if she and Rogue were bonding in some freaky… ironic way.
It had taken them almost two days to get through these files, sorting out everyone who stood on a power level under four. Pyro felt a slight contentment wash over him as he put his own file into the one that selected above level three students.
He bent his head down, searching for Bobby's file.
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"I just picked up a signal from Rogue, while using Cerebro. It appears that she is hiding in an old military bunker. Chances are that Magneto and Mystique are with them. It's difficult to determine just how many there are, since the location makes the tracking extremely difficult." Xavier informed as he gathered all of the ones that had been picked out for this assignment – the strongest ones – the ones that had healed the quickest.
Himself. Logan. Storm. Bobby. Kitty. Peter. They weren't many, but they didn't have much choice. If they were to fight Magneto and Rogue, they had to use everyone they could get.
"One thing I don't understand," Storm said, sitting on a chair across the Professor's desk, "Why would Magneto go through all this trouble? Why Rogue? What does he want? I'm sure there are mutants out there with powers more adapt for this kind of using. This goes a little bit deeper than just a bruised ego."
Xavier thought for a moment. "I'm not sure what Magneto's plan is, but considering the timing he has, I doubt its political. But I do not think it concerns Rogue. I think he merely met her by chance – you said she ran away, didn't you? Believe me when I say that Erik has a way with words. I believe Rogue was just a lucky chance – fate finally smiling in his favour. You have to understand, Magneto is a very complex person. Even I, after all these years of knowing him, and my ability, still have trouble understanding him. He is about as reliable as a hurricane."
"So what are we going to do?" Logan wondered, "What's our objective?"Hopefully kill the son of a bitch.
"Our objective is to catch Rogue and bring her back here. I need to make some tests to see her chance of survival. Also, you need to find those documents." Xavier felt Bobby's and Logan's nausea at the idea that Marie might not live through this and his thoughts were with them.
"But they are going to see us coming, aren't they?" Kitty wondered, "I mean… they would have her under pretty high security. At least, that's what I'd do. – If I were him."
Xavier nodded. "Perhaps, but that's a chance we have to take."
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They located the bunker somewhere in the middle of the woods, not seen from above. Outside everything was silent besides the birds that whispered their tunes in almost hushed voices. Logan looked around at the surroundings, feeling the irony not quite escaping him as he walked out of the jet. He looked behind him, seeing the rest of them following him.
"How much further?" Logan asked, pushing the issue of what the was when they actually got there as far away from his mind as possible.
Xavier looked around, probably smelling their minds or something. "About a mile from here." Logan nodded and made a wave to make sure everyone followed him.
Bobby rushed to his side, looking at him with blaming eyes as Logan struggled to ignore his presence and keep on walking. "Why didn't you tell me?" Bobby demanded, his eyes fixed on Logan's, demanding answers. Not accepting being ignored.
"'Cause, kid," Logan said, sighing, "I didn't think you could handle it. You need to keep your head in the game."
"You're not my father, so stop making decisions for me what I can't and cannot do." With that, he packed away – leaving Logan alone in the front but Logan could feel Bobby's eyes on him as they continued to walk.
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"Rogue, are you feeling all right?" Pyro wondered, sitting down next to her as she was having another of her episodes.
Rogue groaned, holding her hands to her head, rocking back and forth. "If you call that mind fiddler over here, John. I will kill you." Somehow, Pyro didn't doubt her.
He swallowed, feeling powerless over the fact that he could do nothing to help her. He looked around the room as if he searched for answers. "Do you want me to-"
"NO!" Rogue yelled, falling back against the floor, moaning in pain. "I'm fine," she bit out as she tried to keep the other people inside her head at bay. Not very successful though. Everyone was screaming.
Pyro sighed. "Is there something I can do?" Pyro felt the hatred for himself come back as he realized he had just offered to help her and that he'd put himself out there for her to break. Then, his heart broke when he heard Rogue laugh coldly, as if she was saying 'What could you do'
As Rogue started to fall deeper into a sleep because her energy level was low, Pyro tilted her head upwards and put a pillow under her head. He brushed some of her brown hair away and squeezed her hand softly. I could take care of you. If you let me.
Sometimes, he hated himself for caring.
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Bobby felt as if they'd been walking forever when they finally stopped and found themselves gazing at what was said to be the hide out of Magneto. Bobby couldn't help but sigh and feel an incredible sadness wash over him as he stood there. This was it, his mind told him, but he couldn't help but feel a slight doubt wash over him, feeling as if – in a way – everything had been too easy.
He looked over to Peter, Kitty, Xavier, Storm and Wolverine, they were mentally preparing for the battle. "We can't stay out here long," Wolverine said sharply, catching everyone's attention, "They'll see us," he explained as he walked up to the bunker.
Bobby took a deep breath. So this really was it. Was it? Bobby quickly followed Wolverine and the others, not quite getting Wolverine's pained expression out of his thoughts. Why did he get the feeling as if something bad was going to happen?
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Magneto watched, as the intrusion alarm went off by the entrance. He didn't need to guess who had come, but he was more than shocked that they had located him. He looked over at Mystique, who caught on his thought-train, getting up from his desk, rushing outside to see what the problem was.
Magneto felt a slight stir in his stomach as he heard the X-Men fighting somewhere far away. Something was wrong. How could they have recaptured their strength so quickly?
Without thinking more, Magneto rushed from his desk, leaving the last documents behind on the desk. He had to mind to those later. In the hallway, he met with Pyro, looking just as puzzled as he felt. "What's going on?" Magneto noticed that his voice was slightly tired, as if someone had drained him from his energies.
"They're breaking in," Magneto said, walking with quick steps towards the entrance, making himself ready to fight them. Pyro followed, slightly behind him.
Suddenly, Rogue appeared by his side. "They're here, aren't they?"
Magneto nodded.
"Let's finish them off, shall we?" Magneto wondered, giving Rogue a playful smile, then turning his attention back to where the fighting came from.
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Logan watched as Mystique and about a dozen other armed mutants came to the entrance, seconds after they've broken through. Apparently, they did have high security. He drew out his claws, growling little because of the stinging pain they caused. Mystique smiled at him, playfully, and then as if on a given signal, the mutants with Mystique first in line, attacked.
At first it was all claws, growl and hit whoever you hit, but after a while, Logan got used to the chaos, and could distinguish his team from theirs. Logan pushed his claws through the fifth mutant but then it was as if time stood still. Magneto, Pyro and Rogue walked through the door, at first only gazing at the fight.
"Only attack the strong ones", Magneto ordered Rogue, who nodded, understanding his orders.
Wolverine made himself ready, throwing the mutant aside, ready to attack, but then he heard Xavier's voice inside his head. Don't, Logan. Go and get the files. His office shouldn't be far away.
Wolverine glared at Magneto, his eyes travelling to Rogue, feeling the anger boil inside his blood. He heard someone attacking him from behind and then he just straightened out his arm, letting the mutant run into his claws, all on his own accord. He saw Storm starting to fight Magneto, Pyro sending extreme amounts of fire towards Bobby and then he saw Xavier step out from the crowds, looking at Magneto.
Magneto froze, completely shocked as if he recognized him. Storm paused, for whatever reason and Logan saw Magneto's lips moving.
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"Charles," he heard himself whisper. This was… impossible and yet… so very brilliant. Ignoring Storm, Magneto stepped down, to meet his old friend in the middle of the crowd.
Hello, Erik, the familiar voice told him and Magneto couldn't help but feel slightly happy that his old friend, after all, hadn't died. Nice to see you.
"Nice to see you too, Charles," Magneto replied, smiling slightly, "I must say, I thought you were against this sort of thing," He made a pointing look towards Charles' new body.
Sometimes you need to do things you don't like in order to survive – you if anyone should know that.
"Then you should understand what it is I'm doing here," Magneto commented dryly, letting his eyes travel over the fight.
To the mere eye, this seemed like one of the most bizarre conversations, in the middle of a war, but the real fight wasn't in body – it was in mind. Charles tried to go through Magneto's helmet, while Magneto tried his best to keep Charles away, all very calmly of course. Having known the psychic for as long as he had, gave Magneto certain advantages.
I don't understand what it is you're doing here, Erik. Why burn down the school?
Revenge is something you'll never understand, Charles, so don't stress yourself trying to. These people robbed me of everything I had. Everything. They must pay.
And the girl… what about her? Shouldn't she pay too?
Rogue is paying, paying the ultimate price. Yes, Charles, I know what will happen to her if this madness continues. The only reason I didn't kill her was because her existence served me in a much more efficient way. She's weakening the others – especially the Wolverine – which works in my favour.
Once a chess player, always a chess player – isn't it so, Erik?
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Pyro stared in fury at Bobby. The idiot had frozen his hands and knocked him unconscious. The only thing that had saved him had been the good heart of a mutant who had picked him up and ran away with him before it'd been too late. Pyro had heard that trauma made some people keener to help others, but he'd never seen it before.
The anger boiled within him, working in his advantage. For his powers to work best, he needed to be in tune with his feelings, unlike Bobby who needed to control them. "You killed me," he hissed as he closed up to Bobby, replaying the last seconds of the previous fight. But this time he knew he wouldn't be knocked unconscious.
"I don't see your dead body anywhere," Bobby groaned, trying to push away the fire around him.
"Well, you would've if someone hadn't picked me up," Pyro said, the hatred coming to the surface, "You are suppose to be the one with all the morals, right? What did they say about killing your best friend?"
Bobby made a grimace of pain, "You're not my friend anymore. That sort of stopped when you betrayed all of us."
Pyro saw Bobby's eyes drift away from his own. He didn't even need to look to see where he was looking. He wanted to piss Bobby off. "Pretty little thing, isn't she?" Pyro commented, playing the bad ass, although feeling as if he'd just poured acid into his own stomach, "Good kisser, but you would know all about that, wouldn't you?"
Bobby's eyes snapped back to Pyro's, the horror and anger mixed all together. Pyro laughed. "Hell of a kick you get when she touches you, isn't it?"
If Pyro didn't know better, he'd swear he just heard Bobby growl.
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Wolverine's adrenalin rushed through his body as he ran to Magneto's office. He didn't exactly know where Magneto had his office, but all he needed to do was so smell to see where most of his smell was attached. Wolverine stopped for a second as he felt Marie's scent fill his nostrils, mixed together with Pyro's and the nausea washed over him again. Wolverine shook his head, no time for it right now, continuing to search for Magneto's office.
He ripped the door open, much correctly, seeing that it was an office. He rushed to the desk, seeing a few files already on it, he glanced through them, seeing pictures and random words attach itself to his mind. He closed the files and took them into his hand. These had to be the files that Xavier was talking about.
Wolverine started to rip the drawers open, searching for more of the documents but he couldn't find them. Where were they?
Moving away from the desk, Wolverine opened the lockers, throwing out its content in search for the rest of the files, finding nothing. He heard steps approaching quickly in the background, steps that belonged to the home team.
Dammit!
Logan stopped looking, giving up, laying the files in his armpit, raising his other hand with his claws, slashing the enemies' faces as they opened the door. As they screamed in pain, Wolverine felt a bit of contentment as they fell to the floor. Killing never felt all right but he knew he'd sleep all right at night. It should teach them not to interrupt while the enemy was stealing information about their plans.
When he got back to the battlefield, he saw that nothing really was out of the ordinary. He saw Peter, Storm and Kitty fighting together to beat off Mystique, Storm sent lightening at Mystique, Kitty lying almost beat up in the corner and Peter trying to keep Mystique away from her. Magneto and Xavier just stood in the middle, just looking at each other.
Good time for a chat, Logan snorted.
Then he looked more closely, searching for Bobby and Rogue. Then he saw to his horror how Bobby seemed to be outnumbered with Pyro and Rogue working together, trying to make the ice he'd made out of himself melt. Logan looked for a while, seeing different chances Bobby could've used to win this fight – but Bobby just sat there, defending himself.
The situation had finally broken Bobby.
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"Come on," Pyro laughed, "You aren't even trying Iceman," sending another ray of fire at him.
Joy filled him as he heard Rogue laugh with him. "We're trying to give you a fighting chance here, Bobby," she told Bobby with her strong accent, "But it doesn't do any good if you're just defending yourself."
Bobby's eyes attached itself to Rogue's and Pyro somehow knew exactly what he was thinking. It talked like her, but it wasn't her.
Somehow that realization made Pyro only angrier. Sending more fire at Bobby. Then he felt something sharp hit in him the back and he let out a loud scream of pain, he could hear Rogue say something in the background, but it seemed as if all the sounds around him disappeared.
Now there was only him. And he was loosing.