DISCLAIMER: I don't own the X-Men or any other characters, etc. Marvel, etc.
Reviews:
To enchantedlight: Thank you so much.
To Cat2Fat900: Thank you. Pyro and Wolvie are both pretty cool in the movies. I did check it out. ;). Not quite yet. . . Do you people want Rogue to join the X-Men or not? . . . She's got to have a reason.
To Shira's Song: Never assume anything. Who said Carol was gone? I always love good Carol torture. Lol. Don't worry, Carol won't be stuck in Rogue's head forever, but just a few more chapters. . . Glad you like Pietro as the defense, not very good at it is he?
To Dannonspring: Thank you. She broke up with Lance back in chapter 3 or 4. He's been trying to talk to her, but she isn't listening. She doesn't know Piotr yet, but she does think he's cute. He's been calm since Steven died. With his parents so messed up, he felt the need to have one calm person around. I don't know why, just more Carol torture I guess. She's angry with her parents for sending her to the Institute, and feeling very guilty about Steven's death. Don't be sorry, shows you actually read it ;). But why does everyone assume Carol is out of Rogue's head? Never assume anything. . . she may be a little calmer for a while though. Au revoir.
A/N: Be forewarned, there is a little bit of Jott in this chapter. . . don't kill me. . . actually the rest of the story will probably have Jott. . . It's the end of Scarol!
Chapter Twenty:
Victor Creed craws out of the water, gasping for breath. He coughs up water and collapses on the shore. Those kids blame ME for what happened to Rogue! ME! Like I would hurt Rogue! Raven's own daughter! Wolverine is behind this. I know it!
He coughs up more water and then his healing factor takes over and he shakes the water from his body like a dog after a bath. "I'll get you for this, Logan! You hear me! I'll get you for this!" he screams into the sky, shaking his fist.
He decides to give up morlock hunting for the day and go home. On his way, he passes by the Brotherhood house. He considers trashing it, but is appalled when he sees it. He takes note of the letters FOH spray painted in blood red on the side. Ashes on the lawn spell out the words, "Die Muties!" Toilet paper lines the roof and nearby trees. He walks in slowly, sniffing. "Graydon was here," he growls, almost laughing. He walks in further. Everything is broken and strung out all over the floor. Fabric is torn. Spray painted threats cover the walls. The smell is worse than usual. The stench of urine comes from the furniture. The children are nowhere to be found. He leaves quickly, thinking Magneto will want to hear about this, not knowing he already knew.
A lot of things had happened during Sabretooth's long swim back to shore. . .
Earlier that day, after Carol woke up, she sits up in her bed, still in the infirmary, right now, alone with Scott. She confesses everything to him. She tells him how she used him to annoy Jean, how she started having real feelings for him near the end, how she remembers everything that has happened to her, but feels like there is no connection. She feels like she is watching someone else's life. She only wants to go home and start a new life.
Scott, with tears threatening to fall from his covered eyes, says, "I, I understand. We shouldn't try to have a long distance relationship at such a young age, anyway."
Carol blinks at him, "I wish I could say I'm sorry, but I can't feel that way. I can't feel anything about my past."
"I'll take that as an apology anyway. But, why me?"
"I already told you. I did it to annoy Jean. I hated her from the very first time I ever saw her. I don't hate her anymore. I can't feel anything about her. It so strange, remembering all these terrible things I have done, and yet it feels as if someone else did them. . .like I was watching someone else do them."
"I can't listen to this anymore. Is there anyone else you want to talk to?" Scott says, standing up.
"No. I think I'd rather rest right now." Scott leaves and heads out to his room. Jean was right. . . All this time, Jean and the others, they were right. . . How could I doubt my best friend? I'm such a loser. How can she still be standing by me after I've been such a jerk to her lately? She's an angel, really. The worst she ever did was throw eggs on my face and dye Carol's hair. . . And all of that was just to try and make me see. . . How blind I've been. I was so caught up in Carol's lies. . .
Just then, there is a knock on his door. "Come in," he calls stiffly, trying to hid the few tears that had fallen down his cheeks in spite of himself.
Jean opened the door. "Hey, Scott, how are you holding up?"
"Not so well." He sighs and sits on the edge of his bed. "I think it's safe to say it's over between me and Carol."
"Really? I'm sorry." She walks over to him and places a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you really?" He looks up into her eyes, "or are you happy that we aren't together any more?" He tries to see the truth, tainted by red, in her own eyes.
Jean sighs and sits down next to him. "I AM sorry. I'm sorry because you are hurting. But, Scott, a part of me IS happy, too. I'm happy that she can't hurt you any more. And I'm happy that you know the truth now. I care about you Scott and I hated to see you being controlled like that, manipulated. . ."
Scott sighs again. "A few days ago I would have argued with you, I would have said she wasn't manipulating me, but now I know she was, because she said so with her own mouth. She's so different now."
"Rogue's not doing so well, Scott."
"I don't want to talk about Rogue, Jean."
"What do you want to talk about, Scott?"
He looks at her and gently places his arm around her. "You know, the day Carol arrived, I was planning on asking you on a date. . . What would you have said then, if I had?"
She smiles slightly, "I would have said yes."
"Would you still?"
Jean looks down at the floor. "Well, I don't know, Scott. I mean, I still care about you. I still feel the same way I did then, but things are different now and you just broke up with Carol. I don't want to be the girl that helps you get over her, just to have my heart broken when you're all better."
"I wouldn't break your heart, Jean."
"You already did," and with that Jean walks out of his room and shuts the door, tears melting her face.
Meanwhile, the Brotherhood boys, Tabby and Wanda arrive at their house only to find it in a horrible state. Tabby screams in horror. Pietro quickly grabs the hose and sprays water on the fire. The words "Die Muties!" appear in the ashes. They enter the house to find the mess left by the Friends of Humanity.
Wanda finds a note stuck to the door by a knife. "Listen to this, guys!" She says, running up to Lance and Fred. "This note says,
'Muties, muties everywhere,
Muties dying with a flare.
Friends of Humanity are here to stay.
We'll make you muties go away!
Permanently. - Sincerely The Friends of Humanity.'"
"That poem stinks, yo!" Toad says, scrunching up his nose in disgust.
"That's not the only thing that stinks in here," Blob says, waving a hand in front of his nose.
"Hey! Wanda and Tabby made me take a bath this morning!" Todd says, frowning.
"Idon'tthinkthat'swhatBlobistalkingabout, Toad." Pietro says.
"Would you slow down, Pietro?" Lance asks, shaking in anger.
"Ithink theypeed onour furniture," Pietro says, trying to slow his speech down.
Tabby starts crying and runs upstairs. When, she comes back down, "They ruined everything. . . All our stuff. . . They made a bonfire of our clothes in the bathtub, and they broke our cds. . . Everything is torn up or spray painted on. . ." She breaks down into sobs. Wanda places her arms around her in an effort to comfort her. She's feeling more rage than ever before inside of her.
"We've got to tell Magneto." Lance says.
Pietro takes out his cell phone. "Hey, Igot amessage." He listens to it. "It'sfrom Father. Hesays he'staking Rogue tothe institute. Weshould gothere."
Lance is having trouble controlling his anger and his powers as he looks at a particularly nasty threat, spray painted on the wall, aimed at the girls. "Let's go," he grumbles under his breath.
During all of this, Rogue is staring out a window with Remy's arm around her. Carol's real mind is still stuck in her head and hasn't stopped crying yet. "Perhaps Xavier can help quiet t'e fille un peu?" (1) Remy asks her.
Rogue sighs. "Perhaps. . ." She looks down. "Ah just thought that he could put her back inside her own head. . ."
"Well, at least now you know you didn't kill her, Roguey."
"Ah don't feel so much like a murderer, anymore." A tear falls down her cheek.
"You never were, chere. It was all one big accident."
She nods. "Yeah, well, Ah talked ta a counselor at the school today."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, and he gave me this card of some guy named Dr. Essex. He's a genetic scientist or something that deals in mutations. Ah was thinking. . ."
"What does a genetic scientist have to do with getting Carol out of your head?"
"That's what Ah'd like ta find out. The counselor said he might be able to counteract my mutation. . ."
Remy gasps. "Chere, you don't mean. . ."
"Maybe he could. . . maybe he could find a way so Ah could touch you."
Remy shakes his head. "It sounds dangerous to Remy, chere."
"It ain't gonna hurt ta ask the man a few questions." Rogue says, annoyed because Magneto's psyche was agreeing with Remy.
"Remy don't like it. What if t'is man is just running some kind of scam? What if he's just some mutant-hating human out to experiment on unsuspecting mutants?"
"Oh please. . ." She shakes her head. "Well, if you don't even want me ta try ta find a cure. . ."
"Now, t'at ain't what Remy said, chere, and you know it. Remy don't like t'e t'ought of some guy messing with his girl's DNA, t'at's all."
"Well, it wouldn't be my DNA exactly, at least not at first. Ah'm sure he'd want ta take blood samples and stuff."
"How he gonna do t'at? Your skin is indestructible."
"Well, ya do have a point there, Remy." She pouts.
"You know, Remy just saying t'ese t'ings cause he loves you, no?"
"Yeah, Ah know, Remy. Ah love ya, too."
"I hate to break up such a touching moment, but we need to be going home now." Magneto says, walking up to them after having a chat with Xavier.
The lovebirds nod and start to follow him when they are interrupted by Lance, Pietro, Wanda, Fred, Todd, and Tabby walking in. Tabby was still sobbing. Amara happened to pass by just then. "Tabby! What's wrong!"
"All our stuff, the whole house, everything. . ." Tabby says between sobs.
"Can someone explain this?" Magneto asks. He notices the anger in Wanda and the other's faces.
"Someone trashed the house, sir." Lance says. Xavier and some of the other X-Men walk in just in time to hear this.
Rogue gasps. "Please, don't say the FOH."
"Yeah, that's them." Fred says. "Why?"
Rogue groans, "Graydon. . ."
Magneto looks angry. "Were any of you hurt?"
"No, Pops, buttherewereplentyofthreatstogoaround." Pietro claims.
"Perhaps, it would be better if the children didn't return there, Erik." Charles says, with what seems to be a scowl on his face.
"Professor," Tabby begs through her tears, "I know I've caused a lot of trouble but, can I stay here? I'm so scared."
"Of course, Tabitha. You are always welcome here. So are the rest of you." he says gently.
"Forgetit. I'mstayingwithmyfather." Pietro says.
"You may all stay with me." Magneto nods, looking at Wanda. "Wanda, I know we have our differences, but perhaps Rogue could use your company."
Wanda glances at Rogue's tear-stained face. "Yeah, I guess I can put some things behind me. But this doesn't mean I forgive you!" She goes to stand next to Rogue.
"What are you going to do about this?" Lance asks him.
"We shall determine that at a later date, but I think I shall make an effort to discover more information about these Friends of Humanity." He growls.
"Erik, please, do not overreact. You'll only give them another reason to hate and fear mutants." Charles states.
"Overreact! What would they have done to these children if they'd been home! I don't think I am overreacting! These are MY CHILDREN we are talking about! And humans should hate and fear us! I'll make them!"
Xavier sighs and refuses to argue anymore on the subject. After all, what if it was his mansion or his daughter. . . And thinking about his daughter, "Rogue, before you leave, I'd like to see you. I may be able to help you contain the psyches that are bothering you." She nods absently and follows him into his office.
Graydon is sitting alone in his apartment. All the others had gone out to party and celebrate their first victory against mutants. He sits alone with a bottle of Jack Daniels. So, did it feel good? Trashing the place? "I thought you were gone." Ya can't get rid av me. Ah'm your conscience. "I thought you were my sister." Ah'm in the form av your sister. Answer the question, did it feel good? Did it stop the pain? "No. It felt great, trashing that place, but it didn't stop the pain." The pain will never go away, because you created the pain, Graydon. It's all your fault. "Leave me alone!" he shouts into the empty apartment.
Outside his open door, and old couple passes by. "Lousy drunk," the old woman huffs.
"I'm not lousy, you old woman!" he cries. "It's those filthy mutants! They are lousy!" He starts laughing the laugh that can only be achieved by those who are both insane and drunken.
"Yeah, uh huh. I'm sure it was the evil mutants who shoved that whiskey down your throat, too." The old man defends his wife. "Now, why don't we just shut this door and we'll be on our way." He shuts Graydon's door and they walk off, discussing the need to form a branch of the AAA in the apartment building.
You were lucky those kids weren't there. "We could have beat them." They would have trashed the lot av y'all. "Liar! We could have beaten them! And we would have killed them!" Oh, yeah, Ah'll believe that. Ya couldn't even defend yourself against your father! "My father hated me because I was normal!" But ya aren't normal, Graydon! "Yes, yes I am! I'm normal, see! Normal! I tell you! Normal!" Oh, sure, that's perfectly normal. "Don't be sarcastic with me!" Gee, you're the one arguing with the voice in his head. "AAAAAHHHH!" he screams right before he passes out in a drunken stupor.
Rogue grins at Remy after they return to the base. He father had been able to contain the psyches for a time and they are quiet, even Carol, and she's starting to feel like her old self again. She laughs at Pyro's latest joke. Wanda is laughing too and Rogue is starting to think she wasn't the only reason Wanda agreed to come and live at the base.
"If you think that's funny, mate, check this out!" Pyro grins, making a miniature version of Xavier dancing the tango with Logan in drag with his flames.
"John, how many times do Ah have ta tell ya not ta make those things with my father!" Rogue shouts as Wanda laughs again.
"Looks like someone's back to normal." he gulps as she comes at him threateningly. He then decides it would be better to run than stay and find out what Rogue can do to him now that she has Ms. Marvel's strength.
Colossus grins at Rogue. "Good to see you are feeling better, small one."
Lance sits down next to Wanda on the couch. "So, this is what it's like to be an Acolyte."
"Nice. . ." Todd says, grinning.
"Don't touch anything." Rogue warns. "At least, not until you've had a bath."
"But I had one this morning!" he yelps.
"Remy t'inks it's about time for another one, homme." he glares at Toad, who jumps back instinctively.
"Where's the shower, yo?" he gulps.
/You love scaring him, don't you, love?/ Rogue grins, using Jean's powers.
Remy grins back and shoves Todd into a bathroom. "Remy just might enjoy having you losers living here."
"Hey!" Wanda shouts.
"Remy didn't mean you, Wanda, dear." Rogue says, "Isn't that right, honey?"
"Certainly. Remy just meant t'e boys."
"Nice save, comrade." Piotr says grinning. The more people here the less time to think.
Sabretooth walks in about then and growls," I guess Magneto already knows. What are THEY doing here?"
"We decided to move in with our dear old Dad," Wanda says with a sinister grin.
Sabretooth growls. "This will make it easier for me to get my revenge."
"Just try it." Wanda threatens.
"Um, what exactly did ya do ta him?" Rogue asks, extremely confused.
"So, Jean, is it true Scott, like, asked you on a date?" Kitty says grinning as they watch Carol and her family packing their things into the Blackbird.
"Huh? Where's you here that?" Jean answers confused. She hadn't told anyone and Scott was still up in his room.
"Oh, Jaime and Bobby were, like, listening to your conversation through this bug they, like, put on Scott's dresser." Kitty returns.
"What? I'm gonna kill them!"
"Get in line." Amara says, brushing icicles off of her favorite shirt.
"How could you, like, turn him down?" Kitty says, trying to get back to the subject at hand.
"I refuse to be anyone's rebound girl." Jean says, and then groans. "Why am I telling you this in front of everyone?"
"Oh, poor Scott." Bobby quips, dodging a fireball from Amara. "Rejected twice in one day. Must be rough." He laughs.
Jean and Amara both start chasing him.
Tabby walks up. "Hey, what are they chasing Bobby for? Looks like fun." She starts chasing him too, obviously she's calmed down from earlier events. "Gosh, I missed it here!"
To be continued . . .
A/N: I know it's not much of a cliff hanger, but I do have a few surprises left up my sleeve. Coming soon: What will Magneto do to Graydon Creed? Will Sabretooth ever get his revenge? Why was Wanda laughing at Pyro's jokes? Will Lance and Piotr be able to live in the same house? Will Rogue go to Dr. Essex? Will Jean and Scott ever get together?
Please Review:)
Translation:
(1) "Perhaps Xavier can help quiet the girl a little?"