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34-Restraint
"You guys look like shit," announced Tabitha bluntly as the Brotherhood filed into the house. Behind them came Remy, who was grinning from ear to ear. It was the third day in a row that the Brotherhood had been out training with the Cajun.
"Thanks," grumbled Lance plopping down on the couch beside Tabitha. "Why don't you come practice with us?"
"Because there's no point in it. If Little Miss Fuck-it really decides to return I'm not stayin'. I'd rather take my chances with the X-Men than with her."
Pietro snorted as he lowered himself into a chair. "You just don't wanna be on Rogue's bad side when Mystique takes the reins again."
"Neither do you," shot back the blonde. Further argument was postponed as a beam of headlights shone through the front window. Tabitha turned in her seat to peer out into the night. "Speaking of the she-devil—it looks likes she's back already. And…she really does have a recruit."
"What?" Lance turned as well and frowned. "Looks like a girl."
"Lemme see," ordered Pietro shoving in between Lance and Tabitha. His face paled, and his eyes widened in shock. "No. No."
"Former flame?" teased Tabitha.
"That's my sister!" croaked out Pietro in a hoarse whisper. He shrunk away from the window and glanced around the living room wildly. "Whatever you do, don't tell her I'm here!"
"You have a sister? Oo, Rogue ain't gonna like this, yo," chuckled Toad. Pietro glared at him and pulled open the closet door just as the front door swung open. It was too late. Mystique stepped into the room, freezing Pietro in his spot. The speedster gulped as his eyes locked on the girl directly behind the shape shifter.
The girl had dark eyes and long tangled hair to match. She was dressed in baggy sweats and a shirt two sizes too big for her, with a large jacket over it. Her eyes narrowed as she caught sight of Pietro.
"Pietro," she said with a strained tone of voice.
"H-hey, Wanda, how's it going?" returned Pietro tugging at the collar of his shirt nervously.
"How's it going? How's it going? I'm gonna kill you!" shrieked Wanda. She clutched her hands into fists and a dark red glow seemed to resonate around her body. Pietro squeaked and dodged behind the chair, only to have it cut in half, the top portion bouncing down on top of his head.
"What the hell is she doing?" demanded Lance putting himself in front of Tabitha.
"Hexing me," moaned Pietro. Lance frowned and clutched his own hands into fists, letting loose a tremor that shook the entire boarding house. Wanda didn't even blink as she turned her attention on the dark haired teen, sending the tremor back his way. Lance stumbled backwards into Tabitha, knocking both of them to the ground.
"What a woman," breathed Toad in awe as he peered out from behind Fred.
"That's enough, Wanda," stated Mystique. Wanda looked ready to argue but folded her arms against her chest instead, glaring over at Pietro.
"I'm outta here," muttered Tabitha. She pushed herself to her feet and headed upstairs, dutifully ignoring Mystique's gaze. "Don't worry, lady, I'm leaving for good. I don't wanna catch whatever disease it is you're carrying."
"Brat," murmured Mystique under her breath. The blue mutant turned her attention to Remy who was leaning against the kitchen doorway. "What are you doing here?"
"Only my job," remarked Remy casually. "Da boss man said you weren't doin' your job, so here I am—doin' it for you. I'm putting these boys in shape."
"And he's doing a better job than you could." Tabitha grinned cheerfully as she came down the stairs, a canvas bag slung over her shoulders. "Of course, even a two year old could do a better job than you."
"You're not really leaving, are you?" asked Lance as he finally pushed himself onto his feet.
Tabitha shrugged. "Sorry, but you boys know where to find me. Later, shifty, I'll tell Rogue you said hi—that oughtta get the girl fumin', don't you think? Maybe she'll pay you a little surprise visit."
Mystique was glowering as Tabitha headed out the front door and vanished into the night. Then she turned her attention back to the rest of the household. "From now on this team is it. No one else can join, got it? I'm sick and tired of getting the cast offs from the X-Men."
Lance snickered. "Thirty bucks says she'd take Rogue back in a heartbeat if the X-Men ever kicked her outta the mansion."
"Fifty bucks says Rogue would kill Mystique before she ever came back," replied Pietro darkly.
"Shut up," snapped Mystique. "I think it's high time we hit those X-Men with all we've got. And this time I don't want to see you brats fucking up—you'll stay until each and every one of Xavier's kids is down and out for the count."
Toad made a face. "Not Rogue, yo, she'll kill us if we ever laid a hand against her."
"I don't give a damn. She's an X-Man. She isn't on our side." Mystique practically growled as she spoke.
Pietro peeked up from behind the broken chair and gazed at Mystique thoughtfully. "There are a lot of things you don't know about Rogue," he said simply.
Remy stepped in before Mystique could lash out at the teen. "I t'ink the crazy woman has an idea here. I t'ink you boys are ready to show those X-Geeks what you're made of. If not, well it was nice knowin' ya."
"This is why you brought me here?" asked Wanda accusingly. "To fight some battle for you? That's rich—I almost expected better from you. Well, I'll let you in on a little secret, I'm not fighting. The only one I want to hurt is my father…and he's locked up in prison. So while I'm thankful that you burned down the asylum I was at, I'm outta here."
Mystique rolled her eyes as she spoke. "Go then, but know this, Wanda, if you leave you'll never get the chance to go after Magneto. The X-Men will keep him locked up forever, and I already know that Xavier is looking for you. He knows just how dangerous you are, and he won't stop until you either locked up or in his control. But if you stay I promise you'll get a chance to go after Magneto. But only if you destroy the X-Men."
Wanda frowned as she stood her ground. "Fine." Then she turned on her heels and disappeared upstairs. A door slammed shut, causing the Brotherhood to flinch.
"Your sister's hot, yo," stated Toad glancing over at Pietro.
"She'll kill you if you so much as look at her funny," remarked Pietro.
Toad shrugged. "I always liked a good challenge, man."
"You don't even know how to spell challenge," said Fred scratching his head.
"H-E-R," was Toad's witty reply.
Remy shook his head and pushed himself off the door frame. "I'll be by tomorrow afternoon, den. Be ready."
"I don't like him," muttered Mystique the moment Remy had left the house.
"Looks like you don't have a choice," said Lance. "Sabertooth brought him in. Your boss man has a plan…and you're outta the loop again."
Pietro sighed and drifted upstairs, ignoring the argument between Lance and Mystique. He was ready to enter his room when he noticed the bathroom door slightly closed with the light on. Pietro took a deep breath and headed over to it, pushing the door open gently.
Wanda glared at him with narrowed eyes. She had a pair of scissors in her hands, and her hair was soaking wet. "Get lost," she ordered.
"I didn't know you were out," remarked Pietro leaning against the doorway.
"Fuck you. I didn't know you were still working with that man you call father. I should have known though, you won't ever do anything to piss daddy off. God-damn prick."
"He had his reasons you know."
"Spare me the lecture, Pietro. I'm only here so I can kill him later. Mystique promised me she'd give me the first shot at him the second he got out."
"That's if she's still alive when he gets outta jail. The way she's goin' I don't think she's gonna last much longer. She's got a lot of people after her. One's a lot like you, holding the same kind of grudge against Mystique that you hold against our dad."
"As long as this person doesn't get in my way—I'll keep Mystique alive as long as it means I can kill him," vowed Wanda through clenched teeth. With a determined look on her face she began to hack at her hair with the scissors.
"Sometimes I wonder how it's even possible that we're twins," started Pietro bitterly. "We're always going to be on opposite sides. But you know what? I think this time even your powers won't protect you."
Wanda paused in her cutting to glance Pietro's way, but the speedster was already gone. She bit down on her tongue and went back to cutting her hair, concentrating solely on the snip of the scissors and not Pietro's words. She'd show him. She'd show everyone.
The Next Day:
Pietro was waiting for Rogue beside her locker when school ended. Rogue instantly noted the strained look on his face as she opened up her locker.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Mystique brought in a new recruit."
"Ah heard. Tabby spent all evening with the Professor talkin' about it. Who is she?"
"My sister," murmured Pietro.
Rogue shut her locker sharply and glanced over at Pietro. "You have a sister?"
"Not just any sister. A powerful mutant of a sister. Rogue, Wanda is dangerous. Really dangerous. She hexes people," said Pietro quietly.
"Hexes people? Ah don't understand."
"Her powers can turn everyone else's powers against them. Her powers enable her to get everything to work her way."
Rogue frowned. "Ahn you're tellin' meh this because…"
"Good ol' Gambit decided that the Brotherhood and the X-Men would have a little showdown today. Mystique got Wanda to agree to join us. Only so Wanda can play out her little revenge card one day."
"Revenge card?"
Pietro sighed. "You know how you want to kill your mother? Wanda feels the same way about our dad."
Rogue let the information seep into her brain. "When is it gonna happen? The battle."
"As soon as we all show up at the boarding house," answered Pietro.
"Pietro, Ah need ya ta tell meh everythin' you cahn about Wanda—especially all the stuff that concerns Mags. There's no way in hell Ah'm lettin' Mystique screw up all mah plans."
Pietro nodded shortly. He grabbed Rogue by the elbow and led her out of the school, whispering a mile a minute. He knew he could count on her to take care of everything. That was why Magneto had wanted her on his side in the first place.
Meanwhile, Scott was pacing in front of his car, waiting for the others to show up. Or namely Jean.
"Don't make a hole in the ground," snickered Kurt as he appeared in the back seat of Scott's car.
"Out. I need to talk to Jean, and I'd rather do it without you guys listening in," replied Scott distractedly.
"That's not fair though," pouted Kitty as she joined the two teen boys. "How are we gonna get home?"
"You do know how to walk, don't you?" retorted Bobby as he and St. John appeared.
Scott groaned. "Come on, guys, do me this one favor, would you?"
"What's in it for us, mate?" demanded St. John suspiciously.
"I'll try and get Logan to cut back on Danger Room sessions this weekend. I'll tell him we need a break. We've been training too hard lately anyway."
Kitty cheered. "Sounds like a plan to me. Have fun asking Jean out. Everyone already knows what her answer will be."
"Ha. Ha," deadpanned Scott crossing his arms in front of his chest.
"Guys!" Jean's worried cry startled the team. She was headed their way at a brisk walk. "We've got a problem. And I mean a big problem. The Brotherhood is causing a ruckus at the mall! The Professor wants us to get to the mansion pronto and change into our uniforms. He says the whole team—old and new are gonna be needed for this."
"Let's go then," agreed Scott brusquely. The teens scrambled into his car and were soon speeding towards the mansion.
The Mall:
"You know, I never liked shopping here, yo," stated Toad hopping on top of the second floor banister.
"That's because you could never afford anything," sneered Avalanche flexing his fingers. He didn't feel very comfortable in his uniform, simply due to the fact that he never had to wear it much. Mystique hadn't liked them going up against the X-Men much, but apparently she had changed her mind since Wanda the Scarlet Witch had agreed to fight on their side.
"Where the hell is Pietro?" snapped the Scarlet Witch irritably.
Gambit snorted. "I don' t'ink the boy could handle goin' up against his girl."
The Scarlet Witch raised an eyebrow. "Pietro has a girlfriend? Are you sure we're talking about the same lowlife piece of dirt here?" She shook her head and continued walking through the now empty mall. Her dark hair had been chopped short, barely reaching her eyes, and the top had been died a maroon red to stand out against the black. She was also wearing a red uniform underneath a maroon coat that went down to her ankles.
The Blob made a face. "Rogue isn't dating Maximoff, is she? I thought she was dating wing boy."
"You're a little behind, Blob," replied Mystique darkly. But there was a sense of satisfaction on her face upon learning that Rogue and Warren were in Splits-Ville.
"We've got company," growled Sabertooth sniffing the air. "It smells like the whole team's here."
The Brotherhood made their way to the escalators in time to see the X-Men entering the mall. Sabertooth had been right; the whole team was there in their uniforms. Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Jean, Nightcrawler, Shadow Cat, Iceman, Pyro, Magma, Jubilee, Sunspot, Bezerker, Cannonball, Boom-Boom, Wolfsbane, and even Colossus.
"Let's have us a little fun, huh?" suggested Avalanche cracking his knuckles gleefully. The others nodded in agreement and began to advance down the stopped escalators.
"Alright, Lance, you've had your fun—it's time you guys learned a lesson!" shouted Cyclops readying a single hand near his visor.
"Go ahead, try," taunted Avalanche boldly. Cyclops gritted his teeth and shot a red beam in Avalanche's direction. The Scarlet Witch was already in action before anyone realized what she was doing. One second the beam was getting ready to hit Avalanche and then the next it was flying back to hit Cyclops in the gut, sending the X-Man to the ground.
Jean swallowed back some fear as she steadied her voice to be heard by the team. "Remember what the professor said!" she called out. The others nodded—some more hesitantly than the others, but they quickly scattered in a couple different directions preparing for battle.
About a block away from the mall were Rogue and Pietro walking side by side. Neither said a word as they walked. They both knew what they had to do. Pietro was dressed in his uniform while Rogue had opted for something else. She didn't consider herself part of any team, and so she had dug out a pair of form fitting black pants, knee high brown boots, a long sleeved form fitting black shirt that reached her mid-riff, a short brown jacket that was only an inch longer than her shirt with sleeves that reached her elbows, and a pair of fingerless brown gloves.
The two teens paused outside of the mall, glanced at each other once, and then pushed the doors open to step inside the shopping center. Rogue sighed at the sight. For once in their lives the Brotherhood seemed to be winning.
Avalanche and Cyclops had resorted to fists; Sabertooth and Wolverine were attempting to shred each other apart; Nightcrawler was busy tackling Toad to the ground while Shadow Cat helped Storm pull off the acid mask on her face; the Blob was going one on one with Colossus; Gambit was knocking Iceman and Pyro around with a bo-staff; and Mystique was easily bringing down the new recruits, including Boom-Boom who refused to go down as quickly as her comrades. Meanwhile the Scarlet Witch was hexing everyone and everything that got in her path, including a very frustrated Jean Grey who looked ready to lose control.
"Its show time," announced Quicksilver softly.
"Then lets give them a show ta remember," replied Rogue with a grin. Quicksilver nodded and took off into the fray, easily knocking down Iceman. Rogue slipped into the shadows of the wall, and slowly made her way to the elevators. She pressed the button, and gave a small jump as it dinged open. No one seemed to notice. With a deep breath Rogue stepped inside and prepared herself for what she was about to do.
When the elevator dinged open, the Scarlet Witch glanced over suspiciously. But she couldn't see a thing. She turned away from Jean Grey who was breathing raggedly at the bottom of the staircase. The Scarlet Witch took cautious steps over to the elevator and peered inside, her hands glowing red. It was empty. As an afterthought she glanced upwards, but it was too late.
Rogue dropped down from the ceiling, tackling the Scarlet Witch to the ground, her bare fingers grabbing onto the witch's face. The Scarlet Witch gasped in pure surprise at being caught off guard, and then her look changed to one of horror as the Rogue drained her. With quick reflexes Scarlet Witch pushed Rogue off her and scrambled to her feet with a gasp of air.
"How dare you!" screeched the witch shrilly, clenching her fists tightly. Rogue cocked her head to one side thoughtfully after she got back on her feet. She felt a little woozy from the draining, but she refused to let it show. Rogue had a role to play. Both girls were glowing.
"That don't sound so good," murmured Toad glancing upwards toward the stairs. Nightcrawler nodded in agreement.
The mall began to shake, the tables in the food court rattling as store windows shattered into a million little pieces. The mutants on the ground level tumbled to the ground as the shaking intensified. A dark red glow seemed to filter down to the ground level before there was a loud boom. Suddenly the shaking had stopped. Both teams slowly got to their feet, eyeing the second floor carefully.
"Maybe the Rogue isn't as tough as you thought," smirked Mystique crossing her arms. Nightcrawler glanced over at his mother in time to see a small worry line crease her forehead.
"Wanna bet?" challenged Rogue appearing at the top of the stairs. The southern girl slowly made her way downstairs, eyeing everyone with a studied look.
"No way," breathed Avalanche. "There's no way in hell you could've beaten the Scarlet Witch."
Rogue shrugged nonchalantly as she reached the bottom of the escalators. "Everyone goes down after a drainin'."
Sabertooth snarled over at Mystique. "I thought you said the brat couldn't be beaten."
"Apparently I was wrong," replied Mystique softly.
"Never!" shouted the Scarlet Witch darkly.
Rogue turned to glance up at the Scarlet Witch with a frown. "Well then," she murmured to herself. "Ah guess it's time for the real fun ta begin."
"I will not be beaten by you!" The Scarlet Witch lifted her hands in the air, along with tables and chairs from the food court. Rogue narrowed her eyes, but didn't move an inch. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and eyed the other girl seriously. The Scarlet Witch practically howled as the tables and chairs clattered to the ground. Rogue still had control of the hex powers as well.
"Ah'd give up if Ah were you," said Rogue loud enough for all to hear.
"You're the one thing that stands in the way of my goal! I will never give up!" The Scarlet Witch raised her hands again, picking up everything, including glass, off the ground.
"Have it your way." Rogue also raised her hands in the air. Scarlet Witch felt the items under her control waver. Both girls were at a standstill as the items neither went forward of backwards. Then, at a slight nod from Quicksilver, Rogue relinquished control of the items and was running as fast as she could towards Scarlet Witch. Rogue dodged a chair and leapt atop a table as she hurled herself at Scarlet Witch, knocking the other girl to the ground.
"We cahn do this over ahn over again, sugah," hissed Rogue. "But admit it, ya cahn't beat meh today. Maybe if Ah hadn't drained part of ya…but it's a little late for that now, isn't it?"
"I want to kill my father," snapped Scarlet Witch acerbically.
"Yeah, just like Ah wanna kill mah mother."
"I need Mystique to get to my father."
"Just like Ah need your father ta kill Mystique," shot back Rogue. "If you wanna kill your father—that's fine by meh, but Ah need him for a little while. You cahn have him just as soon as he gives meh mah dues."
"He tried to kill you—Mystique told me that much," muttered Scarlet Witch as she and Rogue pushed themselves into a standing position.
"We aren't that different, you ahn meh. We've both been abandoned by our parents—ahn we both want revenge. But neither of us will get our revenge unless we work together."
"How so?"
"Ah'll leave Mystique alone for a while as long as you promise not ta kill your old man the second he's outta jail," replied Rogue.
Scarlet Witch narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms dubiously. "Why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't. You need Mystique ahn Ah need Mags. Ah want control of mah life."
"You won't get that working for my father."
Rogue shrugged. "Maybe not, but Ah wasn't plannin' ohn workin' for him for long. Ah'm not part of the Brotherhood, ahn Ah'm sure as hell not part of the X-Men, Ah don't belong anywhere. Ah want revenge same as you. Mystique is only one part of that revenge Ah want. Mags isn't gonna get away so easily for tryin' ta kill meh. Ah've got plans for him…big ones."
"You have an agenda," stated Scarlet Witch quietly. She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "You're stringing everyone along."
"You have no idea, sugah."
"You're going to need my help."
"Only if ya agree ta back off for a while."
Scarlet Witch thought for moment. "Alright," she conceded. "From now on you and I are on the same side. I won't kill Magneto until you've pulled off your charade, as long as you don't kill Mystique until Magneto is out of jail."
"It's a deal." Rogue stuck out her hand, and the Scarlet Witch took it, cementing their deal. "Take your boys back ta the boarding house, Ah've gotta deal with Mystique ahn the other side of our team."
The Scarlet Witch nodded shortly and the two girls made their way down the escalator steps.
"What just happened?" asked Iceman scratching his head in surprise.
"I have no idea. Did anyone hear what they were saying?" Cyclops glanced over at Jean who shook her head no.
Wolverine growled. "Damn kid just stopped the whole battle. By talkin'. I didn't think anyone could stop somethin' like that with a few words."
"Except maybe killing someone off by having them listen to Kitty non-stop," giggled Boom-Boom. "You guys shoulda known better than to underestimate Rogue."
Rogue stopped short upon reaching the bottom of the stairs. Her eyes darkened in anger. "Where the hell is she?" demanded the southerner icily. Her eyes followed Sabertooth's finger to the mall entrance. Mystique was gone. With an unreadable look Rogue stalked out of the mall with Sabertooth and Gambit unobtrusively hot on her heels. The Scarlet Witch was already gathering the Brotherhood together.
The X-Men watched in stunned silence as the Brotherhood drifted out the entrance as well. Finally Cyclops asked the question foremost on everyone's minds. "What the hell just happened here?"
"I have no clue, but do you think someone should go after Rogue—I mean, just in case she's in danger?" muttered Nightcrawler with a quaver in his voice.
Wolverine shook his head. "Nah, she ain't gonna find Mystique anyway. Let her cool off before she comes back home."
"If you say so," said Nightcrawler mournfully. Iceman clapped the blue mutant on the back comfortingly.
"We should probably all get home," replied Iceman with a yawn. "We're all gonna be as sore as hell tomorrow."
Meanwhile, Rogue was still walking at a furious pace, not bothering to see who was following her. Mystique had snuck away again. Like a damn snake. And Rogue was getting sick and tired of it.
"Uh, chère, don' ya think you should slow down?" called out Gambit with a crease in his forehead.
"Can't keep up, Swamp Rat?" tossed back Rogue pausing on a street corner.
"Non, I jus' t'ink you're gonna make yourself sick tryin' ta run afta the evil blue woman," replied Gambit cheekily.
Rogue snorted. "Fuck off. Where the hell did she go? Ah have business ta take care of."
"You can't kill her," pointed out Sabertooth with a low growl. "We need her."
"Ah know that, but Ah wanted ta let her know that screwin' up mah plans isn't in her best interests."
"It isn't, huh?" Mystique materialized out of the shadows and stood before Rogue with a blank face. "You handled yourself well today. I don't know how you did it, but somehow you gained control of my team."
"They've never been your team, Mystique," scoffed Rogue crossing her arms. "Ahn cahn ya blame them for wantin' out of all your crazy shit? You're not makin' it easy for them ta stay in one piece. Throwin' 'em at the X-Men like they cahn actually beat 'em? You suck at bein' in charge, that's for damn sure."
"I didn't ask for your opinion," snarled Mystique.
"No, but maybe ya should have. Look, we need ta work together. We're all ohn the same side."
Mystique made a face. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Sabertooth took a step forward. "She's working for Magneto, too."
"You've got to be kidding me." Mystique shot quizzical look at Rogue. "You're helping out the same man who tried to kill you?"
"Guess Ah really am your daughter, huh? The crazy part had ta come from you." Rogue blew out a frustrated breath. "Look, Ah'm doin' this for mah own reasons—none of which are any of your business, got it? Ah still hate ya, Mystique, but Ah'm willin' ta work with ya for a while until the boss is outta jail. But after that all bets are off."
"I don't like it. You don't trust me, and I don't trust you," said Mystique after a bout of silence.
Rogue shrugged. "Then Ah guess it's a good thing we ain't takin' orders from each other, isn't it?"
"Speaking of orders," started Sabertooth, "Magneto wants Rogue and Gambit to infiltrate a military compound a couple of miles south of Bayville. He has a feeling there's something going on down there regarding mutants that the government doesn't know about."
"Why the hell do I hafta get paired up with the femme petite? I didn't sign on for baby-sittin'," muttered Gambit making a face.
Rogue glared at him. "Then don't act like a baby, sugah. Ah don't have time ta watch ahn make sure ya don't screw up."
"Brilliant," sighed Mystique rubbing her forehead wearily. "Magneto just had to pair them up—they won't get out of the compound alive. They'll alert everyone within a thirty foot radius they're there with all their bickering."
"What the boss says goes," cut in Sabertooth gruffly. "We need to work together to pull this off, got it?"
Rogue and Gambit grudgingly nodded in agreement. Rogue chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "Does anyone know anythin' 'bout a prophecy?"
Mystique's head shot in Rogue's direction. "Where did you hear anything about a prophecy?"
"It's complicated…Ah asked Caliban 'bout it ahn he said he'd check into it for meh." Rogue took a deep breath upon seeing all three pairs of eyes on her. "It has somethin' ta do with the way Ah lost control last week…Ah kinda took someone's powers that are…questionable."
"Fuck." Mystique brought a hand to her chin anxiously. "I thought Destiny had been wrong about that one…damn it all to hell. I'll see what she remembers about it—see if it applies to recent events. Do you wish to share which mutant it was that you can't seem to control in that mind of yours?"
"Jean Grey."
Mystique nodded sharply. "That's what I was afraid of. Whatever you do, stay away from her. I don't remember much from the prophecy, but I do remember that the dark spirit is not a friendly one. Does Xavier know about it?"
Rogue shook her head. Mystique muttered under her breath. "Alright," continued the shape shifter seriously. "Don't do anything to piss off Grey. That prophecy is important—but it's flexible. It'll shape itself to comply with present events, and that's all we need is for you to somehow get sucked into it, Rogue."
"Then it's really serious?" questioned Rogue. "It's somethin' dangerous?"
"It's almost as dangerous as the end of the world."
Gambit grumbled. "I didn't sign up for da end of the world."
Sabertooth shook his head. "It won't come to that as long as we stick to the plan."
Rogue nodded along glumly, not paying much attention as Sabertooth and Mystique discussed escape plans for Magneto. It was all becoming too much for her to handle.
It was late by the time Rogue returned to the mansion. She paused long enough to see Logan sitting on the porch smoking a cigar. "Where've you been?" he asked.
"Wanderin'," replied Rogue softly.
Logan snorted. "Don't lie to me."
"Ah ain't."
"Don't shit around with me, Rogue. I'm not stupid. You don't think I didn't notice how Sabby and Gumbo followed you out of the mall today? You don't think I can't smell them and Mystique on you? What the hell have you gotten yourself into?"
Rogue shrank back at the tone of his voice. "N-nothin'," she stammered.
Logan rose to his feet, easily towering over the southern mutant. "I don't have a problem slicin' you up if it turns out you're the enemy, Stripes. Don't play dumb with me. Something's going on—and when I find out what it is I'm gonna make you pay. Nothing good ever comes from being a traitor, got that?"
Rogue nodded meekly. Logan studied her carefully before turning and entering the mansion. The second the door slammed shut Rogue dropped to her knees, staring blankly at the ground. She had thought she had been careful. She had thought no one would ever notice. But she was wrong. Oh so very wrong.
A/N: Alright, I'm not sure I really like how this chapter turned out, but I'm too lazy to go back and change part of the plot. So hopefully it'll work out in the end. Oh, and I really do apologize on the way I portrayed Wanda. I REALLY didn't like that. So I'm sorry if this chapter seems way off…I'll try and get another one out this weekend, but if I don't it's because I got waylaid with all my scholarship forms. Thanks for being patient with me.