Author's Ramble: This is the continuation of Guilty Conscience, Part 1 (which is a continuation of Lady MacBeth). If you have not read either, please do so before reading this, as it will not make much sense if you do not. Sorry it took me so long to update. Got lazy and got busy with my readings (I highly recommend LotR: RotK, it's quite good, and yes I started on LOTR 'cause of the movie, but read the book first . I had apparently been living under a rock and didn't hear of LOTR, only the hobbit). ANYWAY, here it is. Thanks to all who have reviewed! It means so much to me!!! *Sniff* Oh and If you're wondering how I came up with Carol's personality, I got it from "This Woman, This Warrior" (), and just got the idea from there as to how she would be. Right then, on with the Fic.
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As Carol
opened her eyes, she found herself in an office, facing her were young
strangers sitting on a sofa, staring at her with a mix of awe and sadness. She had never seen them before, yet somehow
two of them looked strangely familiar. Not knowing where she was or who these
people were, her first instinct was to get up and run. But for some reason she
could not. Except for her eyes, she
could not move a muscle in her body; she couldn't even speak. Now, she was trying to leave on more than
instinct, but from fear. She didn't
know where she was or how she got there, she couldn't move or speak, and, on
top of all that, she felt strange, as if something were different about her and
just…wrong. Finally, she heard a voice.
"Hello, Carol. I'm Professor Charles Xavier. I am sure you are
wondering what you're doing here and especially why you cannot move.
Please, do not be alarmed. I am speaking to you inside your mind and I
have taken measures to make sure you did not leave here, from fear, before I
can fully explain everything. I mean you no harm and I will release you
from my grasp once you have given me your word that you will not leave or do
anything rash. Do I have your promise?"
Though she could not open her mouth, the words came clearly from her mind.
"You expect me to promise you I won't leave? You expect me to believe you
mean me no harm after you've just told me you've put a mental bind on me?
I'm recalling things now, about your team and how they came to recruit me, I
know who you are and what you do. You can't fool me."
"Please, there
is much to explain. I need you to trust
me. Someone obviously got to you before
we did and told you what he or she wanted you to believe about us, but I
can assure you it is not true. Please,
just trust me, hear us out, and let us talk before you make your judgments."
Seeing no other choice and not wanting to stay immobile forever, she
reluctantly agreed to listen, all the while thinking of how she could escape
once she was freed.
"I can read your mind, you know. So, if you would please put away
any thoughts of escape for a moment, so that we might get on with our
talk. I do not wish to use extreme measures to keep you here, but if you
insist on leaving, I am afraid you will leave me no choice."
Carol was released from Xavier's mind control and was now able to move and
speak. She looked around the room (this time able to move her neck,
instead of just her eyes), and saw that a bald man in a wheelchair was sitting
closest to her, on her right. He began to speak to her.
"Hello again, Carol. Since there is so much to say, I believe an
introduction is in order before we begin. As you already know, I am
Professor Charles Xavier. You are in my Institute for Gifted
Youngsters…mutants, like yourself. With me here are some of my students -
Kurt, Scott, Jean, Evan, and Kitty. I believe you've already met Jean and
Kit-"
Carol jumped up
suddenly, as if something had startled her.
She had been using her newfound mobility to look all around, and caught
sight of herself, at least what she could see without a mirror and apparently
was not pleased. "My clothes! What
happened to my clothes?! What am I wearing?! What did you do to me?!"
"Carol, if you would please sit down and calm yourself, I will get to
everything in due time." Xavier said calmly. He seemed to be
the only one taking things easily. The X-men had looks of shock on their
faces. Perhaps it was due to the fact that they were looking at Rogue,
but hearing someone else speak through her body.
"Calm down?! How do you expect me to calm down? This is nuts!
I'm getting out of here."
"Don't you want to know first how you came to be in someone else's
body?"
"Someone…else's…body?" she asked, with a note of disbelief in
her voice. She looked down at herself more closely and, sure enough, she
was not in her own body. She knew she had felt strange in her own skin,
but she never would have imagined this! She almost fell back down onto
the chair, not knowing what to do or say at the moment.
"Yes, I know this must be hard for you, it's hard for all of us- "
"Hard for
you?! Hard for you?! How can this be hard for you!? You're not the one stuck in someone else's
body! How can this possible be hard -"
"Rogue
was our friend, ok?! She gave her life just so you could have another
chance! She's gone, and now we all have to live with each other, so
I'd get rid of that attitude if I could, Missy!" Evan spoke out
suddenly.
"Live with you? You've got to be kidding me. Why would
I want to live with you? I may have promised to hear you out, but I never
promised I would stay. In case you don't remember, I'm not your little
'Rogue-friend', so don't expect me to take her place. I've got a college
to graduate from, an organization to run, a life of my own to live!"
"Um, like, in case you haven't noticed, you're not exactly in the same
shape as you once were. You're in a fifteen-year old body, and unless you
can convince everyone that you are really Carol Danvers, you've got no choice
about where to go. Face it, you're stuck with us, just like we're stuck
with you," Kitty said smugly. It was a shock for everyone to her
speak like that, even, it seemed, Kitty herself, but she just shrugged and
sneered at Carol with her arms crossed. Apparently, she had stuck a nerve
in Kitty.
Carol was, for the first time since her revival, speechless. It was true;
she could not go back to her old life. The life she knew was now just a
memory, and this sort of news would be hard for anyone to take.
"Now Carol, as I was saying," Professor Xavier continued as if there
had been no interruption, "you had already met Kitty and Jean when they
went to recruit you, as well as Storm and of course, our dear Rogue. You
remember when they came to you, yes?"
Carol gave a simple nod. Her eyes were watering, but no tears had fallen,
as if she were holding them back. In fact, she was. Carol did not
want any man to see her cry. Men had always made it a point for women
never to see them cry, as it made them feel weaker. Thus, she felt
that that led them to believe she was weak, and she would never give any man
the opportunity to think she was weak.
"And do you remember what happened when they met you? You remember
fighting them? Do you remember your fight with Rogue?"
She gave a simple nod to each question he asked her, wanting each time to yell
out how they had come to destroy her life, just as the woman had foretold, but
resisting the temptation, waiting until she was able to do so without shedding
any tears.
"Right
then. I believe you have your memory in
tact, as you should. It seems your
whole personality as well as all your memories did indeed transfer into Rogue's
brain. I do wish to-"
"Umm…where's…what happened…" she interrupted, attempting to get the words out of her mouth without crying.
"Your body in Boston General Hospital, where you have been in a coma for several weeks, with no change in brain wave patterns. I have been going there every week to try and revive your lost mind somehow, and I believe I may be making some progress but it is a difficult procedure."
As if Carol's previous news had not been heartbreaking enough, that last bit of news was the hardest blow of all. Still, she sat silent, not wanting to show them her tears of pain.
"As I was saying, I want to clarify a few points about what happened as it seems you have the wrong impression."
Carol suddenly found the courage to speak and seized the opportunity.. "I don't have the wrong impression. You're monsters, all of you, especially the one you call Rogue. You took
my life away, took it right from my body so I could join your little team. What kind of people are you? Sacrificing your own to get what you want? How dare-"
"How dare we? How dare YOU?! Don't you talk that vay about Rogue! She sacrificed herself for you, hoping that she could make things right! And all you are is ungrateful! You don't know vat you-"
"Kurt, please, sit down. I won't have any more outbursts!" Xavier said quickly.
"I'm not going to just sit here and listen to her talk that vay about Rogue! She's dishonoring her memory!"
"Kurt, please, calm down."
"Forget it, I don't want to be in the same room as her anyway." He said as he made his way for the door, muttering some obviously unkind words in German under his breath as he did so, slamming the door shut behind him.
Xavier
sighed heavily before going on "Miss Danvers, if you please-"
"That's Ms. Danvers…I will not be referred to by the title that men
use to rank women into classes based on their marital status!"
The X-men rolled their eyes at her little feminist speech as the Professor
continued.
"What happened between you and Rogue was an accident. She had not
meant to permanently absorb your psyche. In fact, it made her quite mad,
what with you struggling to take over. In the weeks that followed, even
though I had succeeded in silencing your persona, Rogue was always distraught
about what had happened. She never wanted to hurt you. She did not
know what would happen when she held on to you for so long. She merely
meant to weaken you, as you were a formidable opponent to my X-men. She
did not want any of it. In fact, she didn't use your powers because of
the guilt she carried inside her; she didn't feel she had the right to.
She decided then, to give you another chance at life…at the cost of her
own. And that's how you are here now, in her body."
"Oh, and I suppose that's supposed to make me feel better and forgive her
for what she did? Well, sorry but I'm the one who's stuck in someone
else's body. I don't care if she 'sacrificed' herself or whatever you
want to call it. She deserves it. I was forewarned that you would
come and steal my powers, and that's exactly what happened. Why should I
believe that you had intended no harm to me after all that's happened? If
you think Rogue's decision is going to make me all mushy and feel sorry for her
and change my mind about you, I'm afraid you've got me figured all wrong.
I can see right through your tricks and I won't be fooled."
"Yes, well, it seems this is all I have patience for for today.
Perhaps we could all use a bit of rest to adjust to our new…arrangements.
Kitty, will you please show Ms. Danvers to your room."
"Don't tell me I'm sharing a room with her?!"
Xavier continued to speak, as if he hadn't heard her. "Everyone, please
try to treat our new 'guest' with as much hospitality as you would any new
recruit. We'll all meet up later to give you a tour of the place and get
you settled in."
"I told you before, I'm not staying!"
"And like Kitty said before, I'm afraid that, under the circumstances, you
have no choice. Good-bye."
With that, Xavier wheeled himself out of the office before the others.
Apparently she had hit a nerve in him as well, but he was always good at hiding
it and keeping his temper at bay.
Kitty did as she was told and showed Carol her new room, though with hardly a
word to her, mostly just pointing and one-word sentences. Carol walked
towards Rogue's bed, which was now hers, feeling like she wanted to sleep
forever, hoping she would wake up from this horrible dream when she got
up. She was distracted, however, by two envelopes lying on the
freshly made bed, one with "Carol" written on it, and the other
addressed to "Everyone". She picked up the envelope addressed
to her and looked across the room at Kitty, as if she knew what this was.
But Kitty, it seemed, was as perplexed as she was, for she too was holding an
envelope and looking at Carol. They both sat on their beds and began to
read their notes, while, in their respective rooms, the other X-men were
reading theirs.
