She was a different person.
She told herself that over and over as she stared at the mutant in front of her. She wasn't a scared little girl anymore, trying to find her way in a world that rejected and even hated her kind. She wasn't a little girl who didn't know how to use her power or who depended on other to protect her.
But, even as she said it, she felt the dread curl deep within her belly. There was only one person she knew who could fight, let alone handle, Sabertooth and as of right now, that person wasn't there. The memories of that snowy day came back with such a vengeance that she almost shook from the power and fear they broke back with them.
The black eyes that looked at her then were so different from the blue she saw now, she almost believed they weren't the same person. But, when he spoke, it was the same chilling voice, the same heartless tone.
And he smelled the same.
"Sabertooth?" Scott asked, confused.
"That's his mutant name." she muttered, keeping her eyes on Sabertooth as she continued to back the two of them away. Her grip remained tight while a bemused smile began to form on Sabertooth's face.
"Did I catch you at a bad time, Scott?" Sabertooth asked, eying her like she was a piece of meat he wanted to devour.
"Hey man, every time is a bad time." Scott replied with a shaky laugh.
"Don't speak." Rogue commanded, using Logan's lingering abilities to sniff out the closest exit.
"Well, I must admit one of my bad habits is coming in at a bad time." Sabertooth said almost conversationally. Rogue ignored him, growling when she bumped up hard against Scott's chest.
"What the hell are you doing?" She asked without turning around and rolled her eyes when Scott replied sarcastically, "I can't go through staircases."
"I guess now it's time that we get this over with." Sabertooth said, running a long, yellow nail against the lockers. The scrape against metal distracted her for a moment, and it was a moment she couldn't afford.
He jumped and Rogue let out a curse as she tugged Scott forward, breaking into another run. Sabertooth landed with a growl a few feet behind them, but she didn't glance behind her to see anything else.
"Pick up your feet!" she yelled, turning to pull Scott in front of her. He stumbled, brining both of them to the ground with a crash.
She heard Sabertooth chuckle and scrambled to her feet, throwing her body in front of Scott's as he laid on the ground. The large man stopped, eyeing her with such cold blue, she wanted to step back.
"Step back, human. That mutant is mine!" Sabertooth screamed, extending a long yellow finger in front of her face.
"I don't think so." She said as calmly as she could, trying to catch her breath.
"I am not going to let some human girlfriend get in my way!"
"You know what? I'm going to get you back for everything you're going to do to me in the future." She said threateningly, pointing her own finger forward. She touched the tip of his finger long enough to absorb the strength before she pulled back. Sabertooth blinked and she had to use all of her strength to stop his personality from taking over her own.
"Ready?" she asked.
"For what—"
He went flying when her arm came out, connecting with his sternum. He hit the lockers with a bone-crushing bang, knocked out for a couple of seconds. She turned, bending down to reach for Scott as she hauled him to his feet.
"RUN!" She shouted, pushing him as he stared at her, mouth agape. "RUN!" She repeated, grabbing his arm once more. His long, jean coat stopped her from absorbing him and she was thankful for that.
She heard a growl when they were yards away and she turned to see blue lockers flying across the hall. She stopped long enough to goggle, Scott in turn stopping with her.
"Get back here you little bitch!" Sabertooth yelled, his tall frame a dark contrast against the tan floors and walls of the school.
"Come on!" Scott yelled this time, reversing their grips as he gripped her bare arm.
"No!" she shouted, already knowing with dread that it was too late.
She felt the power behind her eyes, Scott's unconscious body dragging her down as the red beams flew out. She watched as it sliced the walls of the school, breaking the glass of the windows before landing on the ceiling, creating a huge skylight in the plaster.
She hit the floor hard, the back of her head connecting with the tile strong enough to send her head splintering. She closed her eyes for a moment, the pain so acute she could've puked from it.
"What an interesting mutant." She heard a voice murmur, opening her blurry eyes to see a tall figure standing over her. Sabertooth bent over her, watching her with curious eyes. Something cold hit her cheek, and she turned her head to see a pair of dog tags.
"Victor…Creed." She mumbled the name to herself before she closed her eyes once more.
She felt herself being lifting, not having enough energy to do anything but pass out with a sigh.
X
"Is she alive?"
"Who knows? She hasn't moved since he brought her here."
"What about the boy?"
"Woke up a while ago, and let me tell you, that Sabertooth did a number on him."
"What'd they put over his eyes?"
"I don't know, but poor kid can't see."
"Have they used him yet?"
"I don't know, Emma, they just got here."
"What kind of eyes and ears are you?" A woman with a melodic voice asked. It was an absurd thought of the voice reminded her of Jean's.
"What about her? Anyone know what she does?" Another voice asked, this time a young male.
"I don't know, but Stryker is mighty interested in her."
Her head hurt, and there was a headache brewing deep inside the left lobe. The noise they all were making wasn't making her headache lessen and it annoyed her that they were talking about her like she wasn't there. The mutants in the mansion had no respect for personal space, and not to mention privacy.
"Have they used her yet?"
"Emma, we don't know."
Who the hell was Emma? Maybe it was a new mutant the Professor was going to introduce to them later.
"Is she strong?"
Emma? Hell, how was she supposed to know? She just wished they would all get out of her room and leave her alone.
"I didn't hear much—"
"Shocker there." Someone muttered.
"but, if Stryker is interested, she must be."
How come she didn't recognize any of the names?
She opened her heavy eyes, blinking to clear her vision when everything she saw was blurry. When she felt the hard floor instead of her comfortable bed and felt confusion cover her senses. She sat up too quick, letting out a groan as she lowered herself to the ground. She raised her head, cradling her head as she closed her eyes.
"Aw, man." She muttered, wishing the pain would go just go away.
"Hey, hey! She's awake!" someone yelled. There was more shuffling and she heard metals bars clinking.
Metals bars?
Her eyes shot open, widening when she fully took in her bearings.
This wasn't her room. The hard floor wasn't her bed. The dingy, black walls were not her own.
The memories came rushing back so quickly, she felt as if she had to hold her head so they wouldn't burst out of her skull.
"Scott!" she yelled, jumping to her feet as she slammed on the metals bars of her prison cell. She wrapped her hands around the bars, shaking them so hard she thought she would break the building. She continued to scream Scott's name, not noticing the other mutants that surrounded her.
"Scott? Scott! Give him back you son of a bitch!" she screamed, fear coating her veins. What the hell had she gotten them into?
"Scott!"
Quiet!
The command rang through her head loud enough to have her shutting her mouth in surprise.
The only person that had ever been able to do that before was the Professor.
She turned, hope rising as she looked around for the familiar man.
When she saw no one in the dark, her hope faltered, and then deflated when the voice spoke again and she realized that it was a woman's voice.
"That's better."
A glow began to grow from a distant corner of the room, spreading as the fire was fueled. She saw the face of the mutant holding the fire, not recognizing the mutant but being able to recognize the ability.
Another glow started and she turned towards that one, a woman's body taking shape using sparkling diamonds.
"Whoa, Emma, turn down the light." A mutant muttered from the dark.
She watched as various lights began to emerge, realizing that they were all different powers being used.
"Whoa." She muttered, hands sliding softly down the metal bars as she turned around and around. Soon, the entire room was lit enough for her to see the faces well.
They were all so…young.
The woman in diamonds released her mutation, the glow in the room dimming but not dying.
"Sorry about that. I hate getting into other people's minds but that was the only way I could think of getting your attention." The woman said, stepping as close as she could to Rogue before she was stopped by the metal.
Rogue couldn't speak, confused by not only the sheer number of mutants she saw, but also of where she was and why she was there.
"I can answer that." The woman said before letting out a curse, sending her an apologetic smile.
"sorry, telepathy is tricky." The woman said. Rogue shook her head, "I'm used to it, so, no worries."
She hadn't been lying. The Professor had invaded her head more than enough in the past…
Future?
Present?
She waved it away, not caring about verb tenses. It was miniscule compared to what she had to deal with right now.
"I'm Emma. Emma Frost. Resident telepath and shield." She said the last with a shaky laugh, trying to lighten the current situation. When rogue didn't smile, Emma let out a cough, her smile dropping.
"Yeah, well, anyways. You're in Canada."
"Canada?" She asked, thinking of the time when she had once wished to take a trip there. Well, this wasn't exactly what she had meant…
"Yeah, Canada. Or so we've been told, they could be lying to us about that too." A mutant from the corner of the room told her with a heavy voice.
"What is this?" She asked, waving her hand as she tried to encompass the whole room.
Because the light was dim, she didn't see much but saw enough to conclude they were all prisoners, each having their own cage of metal bars and each separated from the others.
"We call it 'Weapon X' prison. Not a catchy name, but it fits." Emma replied, shrugging slightly.
"Weapon X?" Rogue asked, confused
"Yeah, Weapon X. A sadistic government project headed by Stryker himself. Created to turn mutants into weapons, willingly and unwillingly." A voice murmured from the floor.
She recognized that voice.
Wait a minute, she knew that voice.
"Scott?" Rogue asked, sinking to her knees as she tried to find him.
"In the flesh, so to speak anyways." He muttered and she heard clothes rustle as Scott moved around. His voice floated out from the darkness and with an almost relieved sigh, she noticed they were in the same cell.
"Scott." She said his name on another sigh of relief, running her hand along the floor as she tried to find him. Her hand hit his shoe and in the next second she felt arms wrap around her, tightening her in a hug so unfamiliar is shocked her.
"I thought you were dead." Scott murmured against her ear, and if she if had had enough energy to think about just how much emotion had been in that one phrase, she would've.
But, she didn't have enough energy to do anything other than return the hug.
"Told ya she was his girlfriend." One of the mutants snickered, and she turned to deny the statement.
She heard the click of a lock, the door down the hall making noise as everyone turned to look at it.
"Quick! Lights out everyone!" Emma whispered furiously and Rogue watched as the room was swamped in complete darkness.
"Emma-"Rogue began, confused.
Shut up and pretend you're still knocked out!
"hey, what's happening?" Scott asked.
"Sleep!" she said before pushing him away from her. He slid farther away than she had meant him to go, but she didn't dwell too much on that fact. Instead, she laid back down on her back and closed her eyes.
She heard the door creak open, the small window of bright light landing on her closed eyes. Boots clicked along the small hallway, coming to a stop right in front of her cell.
"She's still out?" a voice asked from the doorway.
"It looks like it sir."
"Damn. Fine, we'll get her another time. Stryker is not going to be happy with Creed." The voice at the door said gruffly. The boots clicked away from her cell, fading as it's owner continued out of the room. The door clicked shut, bathing all of them in darkness once more.
There was no sound from the other mutants for a moment. No one spoke, no one moved and Rogue wondered what they were waiting for. She opened her eyes, trying to find the small glow of light that would tell her they were safe. When she saw a faint red glow, she let out a sigh.
"Guys—"
"Knew it." A voice whispered from the dark.
The door swung back open and Rogue closed her eyes, blinded for a moment by the bright light.
"Bring her to Stryker!" a tall man in army boots demanded, pointing at her cell from the doorway.
"Shiiiiiit" she dragged the word out as she scrambled away from the metal bars, her back hitting hard against the cement wall. She let out a growl, hitting her thigh in frustration. She muttered a curse when she hit something hard in her pocket. Her eyes widened when she remembered about the watch.
She let out a whoop of joy, finally realizing that she could get herself out of this mess.
She reached into her pocket, pulling out the watch as she glanced up.
She felt guilt hit her when she saw the mutants around her yelling, struggling to get out.
She should stay and help them, but if she messed up anything else in the past, who knows what future she would have?
She ignored the guilt that began to build, squishing it instead with the intense joy she felt knowing her nightmare was almost over.
"Take me back!" she yelled, clicking open the watch.
She felt the surroundings shift around her, Scott's hand touching hers briefly before she disappeared.
two chapters FTW! Here's hoping for another one!
and thank you Demon Flame, Chamberlinofmusic and the rest of my fans (i hope u guys are fans .) for the constant reviews! i LOVE it when i read reviews of how the chapter (or story itself) made your day, or made you feel such emotions etc. As a wrtier, that's what i strive for ! Much love 3