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Chapter 29: Home

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"They've caused enough problems! Kill them both!" Trask ordered his soldiers.

The unit of military men rushed forward at Oblivion and Flare. Oblivion leapt from the top of the small balcony that was rimmed around the aquatic camber and floated in mid-air. Flare jumped downward to the floor with a skilled landing and primed her palms to form flames. As Oblivion hovered in the air, she plunged blue light from her palm into the opening of the camber. Even though the mental of the camber was sturdy it couldn't withhold a shockwave so strongly concentrated, causing it to explode and the huge amount of water that had been contained inside washed over the soldiers.

The soldiers quickly jumped to their feet again, drenched in water, and holding up their guns defensively.

"On my command, shoot them," Trask told his men, glaring at both Oblivion and Flare. "Fire!"

"If you say so," Flare quipped with a sly grin and threw monstrously large flaming spheres at the soldiers, as they tried to shoot at her and Julia.

One of Flare's fireballs missed a soldier and instead collided with the floor near some loose wiring of electrical equipment behind the troops. Sparks started to fly from the machine as the flames of the fireball began to spread onto the wires and smoke from the fire triggered an alarm to start its wailing.

"Where are you going?!" Trask exclaimed as he saw his superiors quickly leaving.

"We're getting out of here," replied one of the owners of Embros, an elderly man with thinning hair, dressed in an expensive gray suit. "If you think we're going to stay here while those two destroy this place and possibly themselves then you have gone mad, Trask! Flare and Oblivion are your mess, you clean it up, but we're getting out of here!"

The three Embros owners rushed out of the lab room, exiting the facility along with other scientists in the building, who had been alerted by the fire alarm.

"You must've hit one of those wires with your fireballs," Julia realized as the alarm continued to echo in her ears. "We've got to get out of here!"

Oblivion swiftly floated down to the ground beside her mother. Flare was constantly propelling fireballs around the room at the soldiers and at Trask, whom they were protecting.

"I'm not going anywhere until I get to Trask! He robbed you of a childhood and kept your father from us, I'm not leaving until he's dead!" Flare protested. "Ahhh!"

One of the bullets from a soldier's gun had grazed Flare's shoulder. Though it stung, she tried to ignore the pain in her now slightly bloody shoulder and continued battling the soldiers.

"Julia, do you have enough strength to make a force field with your shockwaves like you did at the Delegates' Ball?" Flare asked.

"Yeah, but-"

"Listen, when I give you the signal you have to create a strong force field around us, all right? Our lives depend on it, so can you do it?" Flare questioned with urgency and graveness.

"Yes," Oblivion replied, but with uncertainty, "I can."

Flare swallowed hard in her throat, "You'd better get ready for this, Embros is going to explode."

~~~~~~~

"Amazing!" Hank remarked. "After all your sessions with Xavier there was no change in your condition, but only a couple of days after absorbing Oblivion, and you have acquired complete control."

"Yeah," Rogue said, being shocked herself, "but how am Ah able t' touch after jus' absorbin' Oblivion once? What power does she have that's allows me t' do this?"

"No," Irene said, "it's not barrowing Oblivion's powers that's changed you- Rogue, you have changed yourself."

Rogue lifted an eyebrow, "What?"

"Don't you see?" Irene said. "I foresaw your determination when you fought Carol Danvers for control over your own body, I foresaw your maturity and selflessness when you were willing to sacrifice yourself to stop Oblivion. Don't you understand? Enduring all these battles has contributed to your strength of mind. You could always touch, Rogue, but you had to get pass your own mental block. And you were growing mentally stronger with each battle and with the support of others that care about you, so now you have been able to surpass that block of your own disbelief in yourself. You can touch because you've finally found full and complete confidence in your own abilities."

There was a pause. Rogue was trying to understand what Irene was wisely telling her. *All this time, after all the sessions wit' the professor an' tryin' t' keep mah distance from people that care 'bout me the most, an' Ah could touch all along if woulda jus' believed in mahself-jus' like how Ah learned t' control mah flyin' ability! But Remy...how'd he know Ah could control mah absorbin' now? Or did he really know Ah could when he kissed me? Ah've gotta find him! *

"Thanks y'all!" Rogue said and hugged both Hank and Irene. Then she rushed out of the infirmary.

~~~~~~~

Logan hurriedly walked down the steps of the grand staircase in Xavier's Institute. His eyes searched around to make sure there was no sign of anyone. *Good. No one to stop me this time, * he thought and as his hand reached to turn the knob of the front door, he felt a strong force halt him from any further movement.

Don't, Logan, Xavier's telepathic, stern voice came into the dark haired man's mind.

Logan growled and mumbled beneath his breath. Don't what? I've got to save them! I know Flare and Oblivion are in trouble-I can feel it in my gut! he protested.

So, you're just going to fly to Nevada in the Blackbird, storm into Embros and kill everyone you see until you find them?

That's the plan, Logan responded simply to Xavier's sarcasm. This is the third time you've stopped me from leaving, Chuck! I can't just sit here and do nothing! Trask said he would return them today and he hasn't. I'm going to bring them back myself, I don't care what you think!

But Trask didn't say exactly when he would return them, and we don't even know that they're actually being harmed, Logan. You could just cause a massacre at Embros for no reason, and I cannot allow you to do that, Xavier said.

Logan felt a sudden irresistible urge to turn away from the door and gait calmly back upstairs to his room. He growled inwardly in realization, the telepath was controlling his actions and once again, he would be unable to go find Flare and Oblivion. *I hate that Chuck can do that! *

Listen, Logan, we'll give Trask one more hour to turn up with Flare and Oblivion. If they are not here within that time, then I will assemble our teams and we will bring them back, all right? Xavier asked.

Logan clenched his teeth, he didn't want to wait-he wanted them back now. Still, in any case, it would be better to have a whole team of mutants to help him fight off Embros' security than him doing so alone. All right. Trask has got less than an hour, if their not back here by then and he's hurt them, I'm going to tear him to shreds, no matter how hard you try to stop me, Chuck.

~~~~~~~

The wires that had caught fire began to whip around eccentrically and electric sparks started to shimmer like drops of sunrays as they sprang from equipment plugs. The fire was spreading rapidly over the wires causing the soldiers to become apprehensive about finishing their battle with Flare and Oblivion.

"We should get out of here! This place is going to blow any minute!" one soldier said as his gun unloaded its bullets in attempts to at shooting Flare, but could not make it passed the impact of the fireballs she'd throw in their path.

"No!" Trask said. "All of you hold your positions! If we die at least that mutant bitch Flare and her bastard child will burn with us! I refuse to leave and give her a chance to get out of here alive!"

"Sir, have you gone insane!" said another soldier.

"Do as I command!" Trask yelled and pushed a soldier in front of him as he saw a fireball headed in his direction. The soldier was immediately set on fire and screamed painfully as he burnt to death.

"I'm getting out of here!" said one soldier and pushed his way through the large group of troops, then out the door. Others of the military group quickly followed.

"Come back here!" Trask yelled at his men, but they continued to evacuate the building.

"You ready?" Flare asked, a fireball forming in her palm.

Oblivion nodded, but hesitantly.

Flare thrust the fireball forward and aimed it for the wires that had already begun to spark and spurt with flames.

BOOM!!!

Once the fireball made contact with the electrical wires it exploded only to ignite another, much larger explosion, which engulfed all of Embros.

~~~~~~~

Remy strode slowly into the hotel room. It was a small, bare, beige colored room that included hardly any furniture, but it had been cheap enough for him to afford at least a few days away from the Xavier Institute. He hadn't wanted to leave the Institute, but it hurt him too much that since the kiss Rogue constantly avoided him.

He did realize the danger in having kissed Rogue last night-he'd actually had his skin against hers, which could have caused him to be forced into a coma, or possibly death. Strangely, she hadn't absorbed him, and though he forced himself to believe it was a fluke of some kind, and he shouldn't get his hopes up, he couldn't help wondering if she'd finally learned to control her powers.

He shook his head absently; there was no reason to be wishful thinking when Rogue wouldn't go near him. He plopped down on the edge of the bed and it made a light creaking sound of rusted metal grating together inside the mattress under his weight. He lay back on the thin, course comforter of the bed and grimaced as bitter thoughts struck him. *What's de point? Why try t' love her when she don' want t' be loved? Why even bother if she can't even admit how she feels? *

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Pietro bolted upward in bed. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand of his plushy room in Xavier's Institute. It was 4:30 in the afternoon. Something was wrong; he could feel it. He could sense it in the pit of his stomach that something had happened to Julia.

Julia, the girl he'd affectionately nicknamed Jules; he missed her so much. He had been sulking inside his room most of the day, thinking of her, longing for her. He was sure now, though he had been tentative before, he was beginning to have strong feelings for her that he'd thought were impossible for him to have.

Though he knew something was amiss. Those military people and Trask had promised they'd release Oblivion and Flare, but he hadn't believed them then and he certainly didn't now. He got off of his bed and zipped out of his room.

"Hey!" Logan shouted angrily, as he instinctively evaded a strong gust whipping passed him in the corridor.

Pietro stopped and turned to face the older man.

"Where are you goin' in such a hurry?" Logan asked, slightly curious.

"To see Xavier. Something's happened, I know it," Pietro replied.

"Something's happened? To who?"

"Oblivion and Flare, something's just not right," Pietro said.

Logan's eyebrows furred a moment. *That's it! I can't wait any longer! * He growled, "If Trask has done any thing to them I'll-"

"Yeah, me too, but let's find them first," Pietro recommended and Logan nodded. The two headed for Xavier's office.

~~~~~~~

"Kitty, have ya seen Remy around?" Rogue asked anxiously, as she entered the living room.

"No, have you asked Kurt?" Kitty queried.

The gothic girl let out a frustrated sigh. "Ah've asked everyone! Nobody knows where he is! He's jus' gone!" Rogue exclaimed.

"Don't be ridiculous, Rogue. He's, like, somewhere. He'll be back soon," Kitty reassured her.

*Ah hope so, * Rogue thought.

"Hey, why did you want to, like, see him anyway?" Kitty inquired.

The gothic girl sighed, "Because Ah-"

"Rogue," Mystique interjected, coming into the room. "Can I talk with you a moment?"

Rogue glared at her mother. "Look, Ah'm busy right now, okay?" she said irritably.

"It'll just take a second," Mystique pressed. "Please, Rogue."

Rogue chewed her bottom lip a moment and sighed. "All right, but make it quick," she said and followed her mother to the porch at the front of the mansion.

~~~~~~~

The smoke steadily began to absolve. The sky was bright overhead where the ceiling was no more. All that remained of Embros were the charred remnants of walls, floors, ceilings, cages and equipment, which had been completely dismantled by the explosion. Small fires were flagging in a few places of the rubble, the flames dwindling as droplets of rain began falling from the sky.

Flare observed the ruined facility without any traces of remorse in her sparkling amber eyes. Embros had been a prison and now that it was destroyed, along with its gatekeeper Trask, finally, she and her daughter were free.

Flare and Oblivion stood in the mists of the wreckage and were unable to taste the smoke as a large sphere, an azure-tinted force field, surrounded them. Thankfully, Oblivion had been able to create a strong enough force field that had protected them once the explosion had occurred.

"Let's go home," Flare said.

Oblivion stared at her mother, "But we've lived here most of our lives. Where is home?"

~~~~~~~

"Please, calm down," Xavier said, as he sat behind his office's desk. Both Wolverine and Quicksilver were standing agitatedly before him.

"Now listen, Chuck, I can't just wait and hope Trask will keep his word! Trask and his lackeys are probably torturing a woman I care a hell of a lot about and my own daughter right now! And all you can do is tell me to calm down!" Logan yelled, the volume of his voice at nearly a raging level, yet it was truly anger masking his fear and frustration. "I'll feel a lot damn calmer when I get them back! Look, I didn't come to you for permission to find them-just try to find their location and we'll get them back ourselves!"

"Yeah, because we don't know what those military crazies in Nevada could be doing to them!" Pietro added.

"I'm sure Oblivion and Flare would appreciate your concern, but I know they're fine," Xavier said.

"How can you be so sure!" Pietro exclaimed.

Xavier sighed, "Because-"

Charles? came a voice into the telepath's mind.

Flare, is that you? Xavier asked.

Yes. Julia and I are fine. I bet Logan's losing his mind about now though! Flare said, and chuckled aloud.

Xavier looked at the creases in Logan's uneasy expressions. Actually, he is a bit worried. He was just urging me to assemble our teams and free you and Oblivion from Trask.

Honestly, I care about Logan, but that man worries too much. He should know by know I can take care of myself, Flare said, but more so to herself. Look, it's going to be awhile to get from Nevada to New York and right now Julia and I have just boarded a plane, so we should be there in a few hours. We'll be at the Institute soon, but there is a possibility of a delay, so if we don't get there by tonight then it'll be early tomorrow.

Good. I'll inform the others and look forward to seeing you and Oblivion soon then. he said.

And, Charles...thank you for allowing my daughter and I to stay with you, we really don't have anyplace to go now since we've always lived at Embros.

Think nothing of it, Meg was the last thought Xavier sent out.

"Why did you get so quiet all of a sudden?" Pietro asked the telepath confused.

"Yeah, are you sensing anything, Chuck? Did something happen?" Logan asked anxiously.

"Well, there is no need to be troubled about Flare and Oblivion's safety. They are taking a train from Nevada tonight and should be here by tomorrow morning at the latest," Xavier informed.

~~~~~~~

It was mid-afternoon as stars were beginning to faintly materialize in the sky. Rogue plopped down onto the swing that hung from the porch 's ceiling. Mystique stood before her and spoke with a calmness and sincerity she had never heard her mother use prior to then.

"I've never been proud of more than half the things I've done," Mystique began, "and change hasn't been an easy concept for me in the past, but I know now that the only thing I've ever been truly proud of in my life was you and Kurt."

Rogue could hear honesty in the shapeshifter's voice, but she still had some faint resentment left in her heart for her mother. "So, what exactly did ya call me out here for?" Rogue questioned impatiently.

Mystique sighed. "I wanted to know if you'd allow me to be your mother again," she replied.

"Ya already talked t' Kurt?" Rogue queried.

"Yes, I had spoken to him about this earlier after he and the others had gotten back from the mall," Mystique said.

"An' what'd he say?"

"He forgives me," Mystique said, "but can you?"

Rogue took a long pause, considering her mother's words. Mystique had done so much; she had betrayed, lied, and caused both her children needless pain. Was it even possible to forgive such terrible deeds? Could Rogue even have faith that Mystique truly wanted to change? She had always been one person Rogue learned not to depend on or trust.

Although, Mystique had been there through the whole battle with Magneto and Oblivion, side by side with the X-men and Brotherhood. She had been as worried as Rogue was when Kurt had gotten hurt and deeply upset when she thought Rogue was going to die. *Maybe she is capable o' changin'. Ah guess Ah should at least give her a chance, * Rogue thought.

"Ah guess Ah could forgive ya, too," Rogue decided.

A few tears of happiness came from blue-skinned woman's eyes as she embraced her daughter. Rogue was still shocked that she'd seen her mother cry more in the past few days than in previous years.

"Thank you for letting us start over," Raven said.

Rogue smiled slightly as her mother released her. "Well, Ah gotta go now," she said.

"Go? Where?" Mystique asked.

"Ah've gotta see Remy. Ah've been tryin' t' find him, but it's almost like he jus' up an' disappeared. Ya see, there's somethin' important that's happened," Rogue said.

"What?" Mystique asked curiously.

Rogue carefully slid one of her gloves off. She reached up and wiped away one of Raven's tears of joy. "Ah have control now. Ah can touch," Rogue told her mother smiling. *Ah jus' hope Remy will come home soon, so Ah can tell him, too. *
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A/N: Well, just so y'all know, next chap will be my last chap for this story and PLEASE REVIEW!!!