She didn't know what to do.
She stared at green lawn, eyes vacant as she once again relived their fight. It had been a week and a half and she wished something would've changed. Every time she thought about the fight, she always twisted something or changed it, resulting in a change of outcome.
Like, if she hadn't run away from him in the first place and had stood her ground, then she never would've ended up in Alex's room. Or, if she had just left in the beginning and not stayed to talk to him, then Warren never would've found her in Alex's room. Or, and this one was the most reoccurring scenario, if she had called him out on cheating on her first, then maybe he would be the one feeling as if he had to crawl back to her on his hands and knees.
It wasn't like she had been the one to do something wrong. Sure, Warren could say that Mina had just been giving him "advice", the same excuse she had given Warren about being in Alex's room, but she hadn't come out half naked and with a satisfied smile plastered on her face.
She let out a sigh, standing up from the bench as she began walking away from the mansion.
She glanced over her shoulder, irritated when a soft voice spoke, and chose to ignore him as she continued to walk.
"Rogue." Xavier whispered, and then she watched as he appeared in all his glory. He was standing this time, the familiar wheelchair gone as continued to walk beside her.
When she didn't answer him, he cleared his throat, sending her a look. She just continued to walk, not turning to look at him and instead trained her eyes on the path ahead.
"You can't run away all the time, Rogue."
"Shut up." She muttered, picking up the pace.
"I didn't teach you to always run away, Rogue." he chided, reaching out to wrap a hand around her arm, stopping her. She turned on her heel, staring at the kind old man who had been like a father to her the years she'd been as the school. The sun overhead was bright, casting shadows through the trees as they hit his face.
"What?" she shouted, jerking her arm free. He didn't reach for her again, his goal to stop her already accomplished, and instead stared at her solemnly.
"Don't do this. Not again."
"Don't do what?" she asked, tawny eyes flashing with anger and pain.
"Don't shut out everyone else just because one person made a mistake-"
"I don't shut people out."
"Regardless, this isn't healthy-""I'll tell you what isn't healthy! A relationship that is nothing but one-sided."
"Rogue-"
"No-"
"Stop interrupting me!" Xavier shouted, and she felt it as her body was pushed back slightly. For the first time in the months since he died, she felt his power. Not coming from her own body, but for the man standing in front of her.
The man that was supposed to be dead.
She blinked, mouth snapping shut as surprise reverberated through her body. Charles looked down at his own hands, turning them both ways before glancing back up at her.
"What…just…happened?" she asked, taking a step forward cautiously. Charles shook his head, brown eyes staring back at her with confusion.
"I…I don't know myself, Rogue." he whispered, taking a step forward himself.
And that's when she felt it.
She dropped to her knees, ignoring the pain as a twig pierced past her skin. All she noticed was the pain that seemed to snap her apart. Images flashed in front of her eyes, images of hospitals, doctors, nurses, doors that had 'top secret' scrawled on top of them and even more jumbled images that she couldn't make out.
She let out a gasp, wrapping her arms around her body as more information assaulted her. She saw blue eyes, wide and terrified, and two sets of brown as they were screaming. Needles, medicine, painful experiences that seemed to skyrocket through her body as she fought to control it. She closed her eyes, tears sliding freely down her cheeks. She heard screaming, and wondered if it was her or someone else. There was whimpering, and someone was crying. The sound was so pitiful…so pathetic that she knew it wasn't her.
She never whimpered like that.
"Help me…""Save me…"
"I want to be free…"
"Don't leave me here…"
"I don't want to me alone!"
So many voices ran through her head and for one, terrifying moment, she lost a sense of herself. She opened her eyes, black swallowing the iris as she began convulsing.
"Stop." the whisper tore through her throat, the effort it took to speak already draining her. "Please…please, stop." She grunted, body dangling on the edge of pain and unconscious.
Then, everything faded as she was jerked to her feet, arms wrapping around her as the world was blotted out by white.
The automatic numbing of sensations was so comforting, she closed her eyes again and fell into it.
After a moment, the pain in her knee was the only thing that pulsated, her body exhausted from the ordeal. She kept her eyes closed, hating that he was the reason that she felt so calm but at the same time loving the feel of his arms around her once more.
"Rogue." He whispered her name, his voice so low that she was surprised she could hear him.
She wanted to scream I love you, thank you…anything along those lines. Instead she whispered, "I hate you so much." before she passed out.
X
"Welcome…to the end of the mutant world as we know it." Warren the Second said, beaming as the body was raised out of the pod. He glanced over at a scientist, the smile growing wider as the older man thought of a plan.
"Wilson!"
The scientist jumped, fumbling with the clipboard as he tried to get his bearings.
"Uh-uh, yes sir?"
"Call the Xavier Institute."
X
"Apocalypse?" Logan asked and Ororo nodded. She glanced around the small office that Xavier had once occupied, remembering the man as she glanced at the small things he always collected. It'd been months since she'd last been in here, and even now, she found it difficult to concentrate in a place where a dear friend once spent every waking hour.
But now…the mansion needed her. She looked at all the young faces, each child scared in their own small way. The older mutants all stood, except for one…
Her brows furrowed as she made eye contact with cold blue. Warren would not leave the young mutant's side. Rogue laid against him, his arms wrapped around her protectively. She was knocked out cold from something Ororo had yet to learn about, her tall body lax.
If the call hadn't come in, she would've commanded Rogue be taken to the infirmary, but now…she wasn't so sure the infirmary was safe.
If any of them were safe.
"Why call it Apocalypse?" Kitty asked, leaning on the bookshelf. It creaked and she only shot it a glance, slightly annoyed.
Ororo splayed her hands. "He calls it the 'end of mutants'. A play on words." she muttered, refusing to shudder at the cold voice that had spoken to her over the phone.
"why call us? We can stop him. It doesn't seem like a very smart move." Bobby commented, yawning a bit.
On the other side of the room, Jubilee and Alex shook their heads. "Warren Worthington II is nothing but smart. He's has a reason for calling us." Jubilee said, glancing down at Warren, as if looking at him to confirm it. The blonde Angel nodded.
"Dad is smart. He has an ulterior motive for everything. I was talking to Mina," he began and decided to ignore the looks from Logan and Bobby, "and she said Dad was after Rogue for something."
"Rogue?" Logan asked, glancing down at the sleeping mutant.
"What happened to her, bub?" Logan asked and bit back a growl when Warren shrugged. "Beats me. Someone was screaming. I looked out my window and she's kneeling half in and half out of the woods." he didn't mention the fear that had gripped his body, or that he had jumped out of his own window on the second floor just so he could get to her faster.
"You said that Number Two wanted Rogue for something. Any idea what?" Logan asked and this time let the growl escape when Warren shrugged again. "Mina told me nothing. Just that there was this project Dad had been pouring all of his money into. Rogue was just…" he trailed off, something nagging at him.
He glanced up at the weather-witch. "What else did Dad say about Apocalypse?" he asked and Ororo blinked slowly, confused for a moment. "He said that he found the perfect weapon to end mutants. He just needed a key."
"A key?" Warren asked and Ororo nodded. "I am sure that that is what he said. He also said if we didn't bring it to him, he'd get it himself-hey!" she shouted, when Warren jumped up, his wings wide.
"Stay with her! Don't leave her side!" he shouted, pointing at Rogue. He ran over to the large window, threw it open and jumped out.
"What the hell!" Logan screamed, uncrossing his arms as he followed the white blur. He leaned halfway out the window and shouted.
Warren ignored him, flapping his wings harder as he tried to fly faster.
He needed to stop his dad…at all costs.
X
"Go! Follow him!" Logan shouted to all of the older mutants. Some nodded, others were already out of the door as they began to make their way towards the Jet.
"You, get back to your rooms!" he yelled at the younger kids, already herding some of them out himself as he ran out the door.
Ororo glanced down at the body on the couch, Warren's words ringing through her ear. She looked up quickly, already picking out two mutants. "Stay with her!" she shouted to the two. "If she wakes up, don't get too close. But damnit, if something happens to her while we're gone…" the weather-witch trailed off, hoping she didn't have to finish the sentence. The two nodded vehemently, already testing out their powers even as she was leaving the room.
"he's after Apocalypse." Logan said, grabbing her arm as he tugged her towards the basement housing the X-jet.
"How do you know?" Ororo asked, watching as the older mutants scrambled around, Kitty phasing some through the floor. Logan glanced over at the weather witch.
"Number Two is after Rogue cause she's the key. Didn't you pick that up?"
"but why Rogue?" Ororo asked.
"You're guess is as good as mind."
"What is Warren going to do?"
"Try and stop the idiot before he can release Apocalypse is my guess."
Ororo reached out both hands, slapping them on Logan's chest as the elevator dinged.
"You don't think…" She trailed off, realization dawning.
"Let's hope not."
tehehe, cliff hanger! :D
R&R
