"Remy?" Everything had felt so wrong without him by her side. Joseph had insisted it had to be this way, but she didn't believe him. The Remy she knew would never leave without a word, not unless he was made to. Rogue went to fly to him, to ask him where he'd disappeared to for days. Magneto held his broad arm in front of her, his face pinched in a scowl.
"You know that you are not welcome." He said coldly, his hands glowing with a purple light. Metal rose ominously behind him, but the cajun did not back down.
"Joseph, no!" She cried, moving between them both. "Stop this!" Remy glowered, he was counting on Blindspot to keep her end of the deal. 'Otherwise, we ain' stoppin' nothin'.' But, she didn't seem to remember. She still seemed to adore him, the real Rogue would not. He held a staff out, made from a plastic blend thanks to the professor. 'Guess I'm winging it.'
He jumped when Logan landed beside him with a thud. He knew he would be thrown into the waters below to sink, but he was hoping that his presence was enough to trigger Rogue's memory. Her real memories. They were running out of options. "Anna Marie." He growled softly, his eyes locked with Magneto's. 'His face...' She thought, backing away. She remembered it all, finally. The team rescuing her from Canada, Logan offering her his hand in the jet.
Him rescuing her and the others from Sabretooth, them riding away from the military after the institute blew up. Him backing her up when Jean's powers manifested, him talking her off the ledge when her powers overwhelmed her. When she didn't know who or what she was, when nothing made sense in her life. He was always there.
The other memories, the memories of him chasing her. Threatening her, it was all fake. The fear, the rage. All of it. She had seen his beserker rages, those moments when he lost his humanity. He didn't scare her even then. 'B-Blindspot... Sam...' All the memories of their friendship were lies.
The hugs, the talks, spending their childhoods being mentored by Joseph, none of it was true. 'She could touch me, so Ah et her in. Ah'm such a damn fool...' Rogue thought, her mind shocked by the influx of memories. All three men froze as the images assaulted her mind's eye, one by one. Tears leaked down her face, her mouth open in a gasp of pain. She had never feared Logan, he was her closest confidante. He hadn't be chasing her, he'd been fighting to free her.
And Joseph... Rogue looked up with glossy eyes. "Joseph?" She repeated, her voice shaking. "There is no Joseph. Only Magneto." The mentioned mutant hovered, his eyes glowing yellow. 'As I suspected, the whelp's work has failed us.'
"You triggered her memories." He snapped, eyes boring into Logan. Remy grabbed on to his deck of cards quickly, but metal scraps from the REBIRTH console knocked him off the torch.
"Swamp Rat!" Logan screamed, reaching for him. "You," He shot his claws out, praying he could get enough momentum to attack.
"LOGAN," Rogue squealed as Remy topped over the edge. He didn't utter a sound as Rogue disappeared from his line of sight. The black of the sky swallowed his vision as his descent slowed. Jean's telekinesis sure was handy. He landed with an oomph in Warren's arms, soaring around the statue. He exhaled in relief, clinging to the winged mutant as the wind whipped them.
"Merci," He uttered, staring up in wonder.
"No problem," Warren answered with a smile. "Gambit's been recovered." He called, swerving towards the team at the base of the statue. Remy began to wrench and wiggle suddenly.
"Take me back!" He cried, reaching for the Statue Of Liberty's torch. "Wolverine need backup, he can' stop Magneto alone!" Warren didn't heed his request.
"We're gonna regroup on the bank and figure something out." He assured, his face serious. Remy's eyes didn't leave where Rogue was. Up there, Logan stood staunchly in front of Magneto. It didn't matter what else happened. He was taking Rogue with him.
"Give it up, Bucket Head. S.H.I.E.L.D has a nice, glass and plastic cell waiting for you. It's where you belong." He moved closer carefully. "What Charles would want, at this point." The metal groaned as he spoke, making Rogue panic.
"Stop it!" She screamed at Magneto, but he wouldn't heed her "Leave him alone!" Logan cried out when he felt the metal on his frame vibrating, his claws bending in the wrong directions. "Ah said STOP." Logan dropped to the ground, the tension gone from his body. He looked up and Magneto was yanked in the sky, Rogue standing defiantly. in front of him. Tears streamed down her face.
Magneto looked so hurt, like he had the right to feel betrayed by her. It made Logan sick. It confirmed that this was what Magneto had to do. No matter what anybody else did. Without a word, he flicked his wrist around. Logan flew faster than Rogue could respond, over the edge of the statue. Leaving Rogue all alone. "Damn it," Ororo cursed, for a lot of the X-Men for the first time they'd heard. She took to the sky as Jean sighed.
"What is it?" Scott asked, his eyes straining to see what was happening.
"He knocked Logan over," She met his stare with worried eyes. "She's alone up there." Jean floated to the sky to keep Logan from falling. Everyone on the ground began to scream and cry when a white light began to shine from the statue's torch. Remy's hands flew to his head while Kurt and Kitty stared up in wonder. Piotr paced behind them.
"That must mean is working." He stressed, looking towards the United Nations gathering. At this point, they could see the glow. 'Magneto, he is a madman.' It was the only time he found himself cursing his metal skin. It had made him the magnetist's bitch for a while.
"What do we do," Remy looked around him helplessly. "Someone, get Remy up here."
"How?" Scott countered, watching both Jean and Storm in the sky. The southerner turned to Kurt.
"You?" He scratched his head.
"Ve can sure try." He clapped his hands onto Remy's brown trench coat.
"LOGAN," Rogue screamed, trying to fly forward to catch him. She felt her ankles captured by something, iron tentacles. She looked back in shock at Magneto restraining her. "You," He pulled and she was slowly tugged towards the machine he'd fashioned. Even with her super human strength, Rogue couldn't break free. 'Why? What's wrong with me?'
She tried with all her might to phase through, thinking of Kitty's memories now that she was herself. Nothing happened. "You have many powers, Anna, but I have done a lot of research with my one." She found herself covered in a faint, purple light. Seething, she shot an optic blast at the man. It was reflected an electromagnetic shield.
"W-What are you doing?" She hissed, glaring at him as he dragged her to the machine. Chains rose, wrapping themselves around her wrists, binding them to two levers on the console. She wrenched wildly, her eyes wide as she began to feel claustrophobic. Grey clouds covered the sky as thunder boomed. "Let me go." She insisted breathlessly. No matter what she tried, she wouldn't be freed.
"Adamantium, dear." He told her apologetically as she tried to free herself. "And changing the magnetic properties of the particles around you can keep you from phasing or otherwise escaping these chains." She looked at him fearfully, her heart hammering in her chest. 'He's going to fuckin' kill me.' She thought, pulling with all her might, anyways.
"Ya really think this will work?" She hissed in a rage. The chains clanked around her on milky wrists. It took everything in Magneto not to release her. It was like Jesus being crucified, it would serve mutant kind forever. "You are gonna kill the most important, influential people in the world and everything is gonna descend into chaos!" Tears were gathering in her eyes at how futile it'd been. The irreparable things he'd had her do, the woman she'd killed. Just to die before making it right. "That's what ya want, isn't it?! Magneto, please don't... Don't do this. Is this was Charles would want?"
"I'm sorry, Legacy." She watched in shock as he approached her, his hands gloveless.
"No." She insisted. "You get your self righteous ass in here and make the sacrifice for this cause! The one Charles made, the one he would make before he ever saw one of his children hurt!" She spat, wrenching like she were possessed.
"I'm sorry..."
"I'm ROGUE," She screamed in his fast, twisting. She spat on him as his hands connected to her face. For the millionth time, her mind erupted into memories. Memories that were not her own. The holocaust, seeing piles of dead bodies taller than mountains. Shoes and rings, too. Knowing the soot on your food used to be people, burned in the crematorium you cleaned.
She screamed, throwing her head up to the sky. "NO," With the remaining bit of his strength, Magneto powered up his creation, tears behind his own eyes. Rogue began to scream horribly as the device drew from her own power to run. A shining, silver light engulfed the torch, lighting up the night sky. 'No...' She tried so hard to do good, be good, and she was forever used to make the worst things happen.
She cried out as the light washed over her, the silver in her hair shining brightly. Magneto watched from the ground, nearly incapacitated. "Forgive me... Anna..."
Jean nearly dropped Logan when she saw the Statue Of Liberty erupt into light. "NO," He snarled, reaching for it. Jean changed her direction quickly, sweat on her brow.
"Okay, we have to improvise. " She released him and he soared through the air, rocketing towards Magneto and Rogue. 'I'm going to get you onto the console, you must break the device to save Rogue and the people at the summit.' They both watched as the silver ray began to flow out over the water. Towards Ellis Island. 'Now, Logan. It has to be now, Scott's under order to take a shot if he has one.'
Jean's voice scrambled Logan's head as he careened towards the light, hoping he got there in time. Rogue was shrieking, but at least she was still alive. It looked like Magneto had no juice left. Desperately, his fingers outstretched, he reached for the REBIRTH machine. 'Almost,' He thought, his chest feeling tight. Tears washed down Rogue's face as she sobbed, the last of her energy being drained. 'You hang on, Stripes.'
He gripped the edge of the globe like structure and held on tight. He swung himself down to where Rogue was chained. Screaming, he raised his claws to sever the device. He felt himself be restrained at the last moment. 'NO,' Magneto was panting, his hands held up. Logan roared as his claws bent the wrong ways. All he could hear was the damn machine and Rogue's crying, it was killing him. He pushed, even against Magneto's magnetism.
Kitty watched from shore, her hand clasped in Kurt's as the ray rocketed towards Ellis Island. 'This can't work... It...' Scott squinted into the darkness, his vision making it almost impossible to aim. 'I have to,' He told himself harshly. Failure wasn't an option, the professor hadn't trained him to fail. He looked at the machine, and he knew a full blast from him with Rogue in there would kill her.
But, he could just make out Magneto's dark silhouette. Praying, he fired. His optic blast careened into the magnetist's back, sending him flying to the ground. Crying out, Logan's claws swung up and he demolished the former S.H.I.E.L.D technology. Chunks of metal and wires flew into the dark waters below. The ray stopped just short of the island, affecting nobody. People cried, prayed. Nobody had ever seen anything like it.
The X-Men and affiliated allies stood at the ground, staring up. What was happening? Had it worked? Somebody tell them something.
Breathless, Logan's eyes adjusted to the dark after the blinding light. He blinked, seeing that the island had been spared just in time. Groaning, he jumped down to where Rogue hung slack by the chains on her wrists. Now, his heart began to hammer in his chest. He cut through the chains and slipped a hand around her back, carefully. He hadn't touched her since he'd healed her. It'd felt like so long, she looked like a different person. Like a fairy tale, draped in green cloaks.
He moved her hood down and listened closely to her chest. Shaking, he pulled one of his gloves off. "No," He began. "We do didn't do all this for..." Almost as though he were scared, scared to know the truth, he placed a tentative hand on her forehead. It was what he was afraid of. Nothing. 'No...' He pressed harder, his fingers indenting her flesh. She was still, cool from the night air. "No, Rogue. Don't do this..."
They had saved the world, but they were too late for her. "We can't lose you too..." He dropped his forehead to her, tears streaming onto her face. "I'm sorry..." It was all he could say. He had promised to never let anything happen to her, and he'd failed. He thought he imagined the familiar, prickly sensation of her mutation. Her touch. 'She's...' He gasped, wounds that Sabretooth had given him briefly resurfacing as she stole his healing factor.
Rogue awoke with a gasp, then a scream as Logan plummeted to the ground. Unconscious. Her head was swimming with so many feelings, memories. So much, but she was finally able to make sense of it. She knew what happened. She dropped to her knees beside Logan, peering in his face. 'He's alive, jus' hurt.' She thought, shivering.
"Y-You saved me..." She thought, tears welling behind her eyes.
"Chére." She looked up, her expression unreadable. Gambit was standing there, his trench coat flapping in the wind. He had expected to find her dead and Logan raging up there, but he was pleasantly surprised. "Y'alright-" He stopped when she popped her bone claws out and stood defensively in front of Logan. He frowned. "Rogue?"
"Ah remember..." She growled, Logan's personality traits taking over for the time being. Remy swallowed hard, he'd been afraid of this. But he couldn't say he didn't deserve it.
"Ya remember..." He repeated dumbly. She nodded, her lip twitching. And despite wanting to gut him, she wanted to kiss him. She wanted him to tell her everything was going to be okay. 'What are these feelings?' They confused her. She remembered the past month or so, that he'd stood by and let Magneto manipulate her. But she couldn't fight the warm feeling blossoming in her chest. She glared at him, undecided.
"Yes." She breathed, Logan twitching behind her as he finally began to heal. Their eyes met and fear pierced the cajun's heart. "Everything."
FIN
A/N: Thanks to anyone who read and reviewed and just tuned in to this for me! Definitely want to start storyboarding a sequel about the fall out of Rogue's conflicting feelings and memories and maybe even a choice between the two. :P See you guys on the other side.