Without Masks
X-men: Evolution fanfic, sequel to "Triangle," and Lover100 fanfic challenge
Disclaimer – Rosaline, Madison, Adryen, and all other original characters are mine. The world of X-men, and its characters, belong to Marvel Comics though. I'm just borrowing the place to give them somewhere to live :)
Notes – This is a couple of things. 1) my contribution to the Lover100 fanfic challenge over on Livejournal. Of course, I picked Rosaline/Madison as my pairing. 2) A sort-of sequel to "Triangle." All the prompts for the challenge are different, and as such, this will be a very…abstract story, time-wise. It's really going to be a bunch of short stories strung together. There's no real chronological order, but all stories will take place during Rosaline and Madison's time away from Bayville, or during the future events I listed in the Extras. I think that pretty much covers it. Enjoy!
Also, this is the sequel to "Opportunity." Please do read that first.
Trust
It had been three days since the argument, and Madison hadn't stopped playing superhero. She just did it after Rosaline had fallen asleep. Even though she was "allowed" back in bed, they weren't really speaking. She knew Rosie must have figured out what was going on – her girlfriend, though sweet and sometimes naïve, wasn't stupid, and it was impossible to miss how sluggish she was becoming. Still, she went out, determined to try and make a difference.
One night it finally went bad. She tried to stop a mugging, but the gang was bigger in number than she thought. She couldn't use her power to control all of them. They beat her until she fell into unconsciousness, and when she woke up they were gone, along with the man she had been trying to help. She was relived to find she could stand and did so slowly, making her way back home. It was painful, but she could tell her wounds were not serious; when she had been on her own before Bayville she had been attacked a few times, and that, combined with what her father had done to her since birth, gave her an understanding of how much her body could take. Still, there was now proof in the cuts and bruises that she hadn't stopped like Rosie wanted her to. There was no way she'd be able to hide them. However, she realized as she walked along carefully that she was rethinking her actions. The situation could have turned much uglier, and even if she wasn't killed, she didn't have medical insurance and they wouldn't be able to afford any hospital bills. She cursed, feeling stupid for not having thought of that sooner. And what was Rosie going to say?
The pain increased as she climbed the stairs of their building, but before long she was at the door. Fumbling with her keys, she opened it and staggered inside. If she could get to the bathroom quietly, she could clean herself up without waking her girlfriend, and she'd tell her the truth in the morning. Luck was not with her; Rosaline sat wide awake in bed, staring at the door as if she had willed it to open. Her face paled and she gasped when she saw the state her love was in. Forgetting her anger in place of worry and fear, she jumped up and rushed to her side.
"Goddess…what happened?" she asked in a terrified squeak of a voice.
Madison leaned against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor. "I think I bit off more than I could chew."
"You're bleeding!"
"Just a bit."
Stammering, Rosie disappeared into the bathroom. She emerged moments later with her arms full of various objects from their medicine cabinet. Most of it was useless, but she plopped the assortment down and started sifting through it anyway. Madison pointed out what she needed, and Rosie silently helped her clean and bandage herself up. She also urged her love to take some painkillers, still worried despite her insistence that she'd be all right. Then they sat there in silence, both of them staring at nothing and thinking worlds of different things.
"I should call the Professor. He could get us back to the Institute and Dr. McCoy could tend your wounds," Rosie suggested quietly after what seemed like hours.
"No. I don't want to go back to Bayville, and I know you don't either."
"Then I'd better call my parents."
"Even more no. They'd take you back to Salem, and away from me, especially if they saw me like this."
She sighed, and Madison knew without looking at her that she was crying. "…I want to scream at you and tell you how stupid you are for doing this."
"Then why don't you?"
"Because more than that, more than anything, I want you to understand why I want you to stop. I want that to mean something to you." She took a shuddering breath. "I know you want to help people, but I lost my brother because he wanted to be heroic and avenge me. I can't lose you the same way. I love you too much."
She reached over and took her hand. "I love you too, Rosie."
Rosaline looked at her and met her eyes, tears still streaming from her own. "I need to be able to trust you, Madison. Completely. Trust that you won't hurt me, trust that you won't leave me. Trust that you won't die trying to be a hero."
"You can trust me, love."
"Not if you keep doing this."
Silent, she thought about that. "…But don't you think we have an obligation because of what we can do?"
"I don't. Didn't I explain that clearly enough before? We can use our gifts in other ways, help people in other ways. And I don't see my power over plants as just a tool to benefit humans. I…I don't want to tell you what to do, and I'm not trying to control you, really. I just know I can't live the life this would bring us."
Madison closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. "All right," she said after a few moments had passed. "I'll stop. But if I'm out somewhere and I see someone that needs help, and I can improve the situation safely, I'm still going to."
Rosaline let out a relief-filled sob, then kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you." She stood up, helping Madison to her feet, and they hobbled back into bed together.
"So what are you going to tell your boss?" she asked as they made themselves comfortable.
"About my injuries?"
"Uh huh."
"…I joined Fight Club?"
She rolled her eyes. "Oh very funny. But seriously, you're going to need an excuse or they'll think I beat you."
"They won't think that. You're too sweet, and you bring them cookies sometimes." She smiled. "I guess I'll tell them I'm the one who got mugged."
"Will they believe that?"
"They'll believe that more than if I told them I was a superhero for a week."
"Point." She carefully snuggled closer to her love, minding her bumps and bruises. "Maddy, I am sorry I stopped you. I understand why you wanted to do it. But I know you'll find a way to help people without putting yourself in danger."
Madison sighed, and though there was sadness in it, the fact that she leaned to kiss the smaller woman on the head and ran her fingers through her hair clearly showed her acceptance. "I hope so, honey. But either way, its not worth losing you."
"Good," Rosaline whispered. Moments later they were both asleep, resting better than they had in days.
Author's notes:
I wrote this, and "Opportunity," because my interest in the superhero-genre circles around the humanistic aspects of being superhuman. Like Rosie and Madison wondered, does a person have to fight crime if they have super powers? I'm actually really torn on the issue – part of me agrees with Rosaline, part of me agrees with Madison. Writing about it helps me explore both of those views on it within myself.
And I also realize that in most of the situations I've written so far where these two are disagreeing, Madison ends up caving and doing what Rosie wants. That's not how their relationship is in general. So I will be writing something soon where it's the other way around :)
