Carol was in a rush to get where she was going and knew
thatthe fastest way to get there was by flying. However, not knowing her
way there, nor feeling up to flying there herself, she found out when the next
flight to Boston was and hitched a ride on a plane (making sure the coast was
clear first, of course).
When the plane began its descent, Carol abandoned her ride towards Boston
General Hospital, where her body lay lifeless. Upon her arrival, she got
the information that she needed and proceeded to her room.
There in the room was Carol's body, lying unconscious on the bed, surrounded by
three people who were very dear to her: her mother, her father, and her friend
Jessica, all three of whom looked equally surprised to see the stranger.
Breaking the silence, Carol spoke.
"Um…hello. I'm…Rogue."
After a short, awkward pause, Carol's mother replied, "Hello, Rogue.
Come in. You're here to see Carol?"
"Uh, yeah, she was a friend of mine," Carol said, pausing for a
moment before speaking again. "How is she doing? Has she made
any progress?"
"No, she hasn't made any progress since they found her nearly dead on the
stretcher. Doctors are saying it's hopeless and that it's silly to keep
her on life support. What do they know, heartless fools? Do you
know what may have happened to her?"
Carol shook her head. "But I know she'll make it," she said, trying
hard to smile. "She's a fighter."
"Well, you do know our Carol after all," Carol's mother replied.
"How do you know Carol?" asked Jessica. "I don't remember her
ever mentioning you. You do seem familiar, somehow."
"Jessica, please. You don't need to interrogate her."
"Well, I didn't know her for long, but I guess you can say we had a
connection."
"Hey, how about we take a little walk, have some girl talk, get to know
each other, share some memories of Carol? Whattya say?"
"Umm…sure. Sounds good."
Jessica and Carol walked out of the room together, closing the door after
them. When they were a safe distance away from Carol's room, Jessica
spoke once more.
"All right, now I get some answers. I only stopped the
interrogation out of respect for her parents, but now I want the
truth. Did you have something to do with what happened? I know I've
seen you before and I don't think it's just a coincidence. Where have I
seen you before?"
"Calm down, Drew, I can explain."
"What did you s-? You called me Drew. How did you-"
"I always called you Drew. You always called me 'Danvers'. It
was our 'thing.'"
"How- it can't be. How do you-?"
"It's me, Carol."
"It can't be. It's not possible. What kind of sick person are
you, playing games-?"
"Drew, believe me, I wish it weren't true but it is. Rogue was one
of the women who came after me when I left the meeting that day. And yes,
she did have something to do with what happened."
"That's how I know you…err…her. What…what happened?"
It took Carol a few minutes to explain everything that happened that night and
in the months that followed, including her "resurrection" and about
how Rogue had sacrificed her life for her.
"Well, I have a hard time feeling sorry for her, after what she's
done."
"I used to feel the same way. I thought she got what she deserved.
Her idea of a second chance wasn't exactly the greatest. I mean, I had to
go back to high school. But, no, Drew, I was wrong. I was
manipulated into believing they were the enemy, that they were coming after
me. I only just found out how wrong I was. I attacked them first,
Drew. Rogue was innocent."
"Oh Carol. I can't believe this. Of all the - who would do
such a thing?"
"A very unstable person with a wicked heart."
"Well, I see you've finally learned the truth, Carol," said a voice
from behind. She and Jessica turned around to find Professor Xavier.
"Professor, what are you doing here?"
"I've come here for you. We've had a deal, remember?"
"Oh, yeah, right. I just- "
"It's all right, Carol. I understand. No need to explain. I
gather your friend knows the truth now?"
"Yes. This is my friend Jessica. Drew, this is Professor
Xavier. He's the one who made this, well, possible."
"Wait, then, could you do something for Carol?!"
"I don't know if I can. The damage was extensive and I have tried
before with no luck. However, using Carol's conscious mind, it may
work. But even if I could revive her, there's no promise of a full
recovery."
"It doesn't matter. Anything's better than this."
"All right then. Carol, I may need your help in the process."
"Ok, Professor. Drew, you need to get my parents out of there."
"Leave it to me. You guys just keep out of sight."
Jessica reentered the room and emerged moments later with Carol's
parents. When they had finally gone in the elevator, Carol and Xavier
went into the room to begin the procedure.
Xavier created a mental link with *Carol and looked around her conscious,
looking for what he needed. He then linked both their minds with Carol's
and did whatever he could. After several moments, he opened his eyes,
indicating he had broken the link with both Carols.
"Well, what happens now?" Carol asked.
"I've done all I could. I'm afraid there's nothing else I can
do" Xavier noticed the look of pain and desperation in *Carol's
eyes. "I'll be waiting outside."
Carol looked down at her body and her eyes swelled up with tears.
"Hey there, me. This is really weird, talking to myself outside my
body, but you have to pull though We belong in our own body, living our
own life. Come on, please, you have to do it; you have to make it.
I wish I could do something to help. You don't know what it's like, not
being in your own body, having to live through someone else's life.
Please, please wake up." *Carol grabbed hold of her body's hand and
squeezed it tight, looking hopefully at her body, as if she were expecting to
see a change.
She then held her hand to *her face, forgetting about Rogue's powers, as tears
flowed down her cheeks. An onlooker would have expected a transference to
take place, but nothing happened. Finally, she lowered her head, gave a
sigh of despair and began to sob, holding *Carol's hand to her chest with
both hands. Suddenly, she heard a loud beep followed by another, and
another. She immediately looked up, her eyes so watery she could barely
see. After wiping her tears away, she saw the brain wave screen and
couldn't believe her eyes. The brainwaves had changed markedly; almost
double! Unable to contain herself she cried once more, but this time,
tears of immense joy. She bent down and hugged her body, not knowing what
else she could do to release the happiness she was feeling.
Carol ran out of the room to find Professor Xavier to tell him the good news,
when she saw Jessica and her parents coming out of the elevator. She hid
from view quickly, waiting until they were inside the room before coming
out. She was about to go find Xavier again when she heard shouting coming
from the room. Moving towards the door, she heard what it was.
"It's a miracle! A miracle! She's going to make it! I
knew it! I knew she would! Our Carol's going to make it! Call the
doctor! Call the nurse!"
Carol walked towards the room and stood in the doorway. She saw Jessica's
face light up and fill with tears as she smiled to Carol and mouthed "It
worked!" Carol just nodded and smiled. By her mother's orders, she
entered the room and celebrated with them with many hugs and smiles.
Carol's mother told her that she had a lucky star, since the change came
only moments after she showed up. Carol smiled, happy to hear her
mother's kind words to her. After saying her goodbyes (which was much
harder for her than for them, except for Jessica), Carol and Xavier left for
the X-jet (where Wolverine was waiting), but not before asking Professor Xavier
for a favor.
When they finally arrived at the mansion, they found everyone waiting at the
hangar, anxious for their return. They ran eagerly towards them, asking
questions like "Where have you been?" and "What happened?"
"Wow, now this is what Ah call a warm welcome. Nice to know ya'll
care."
"Hey, you got your accent down pretty good."
"Well, Ah'd sure hope so, being that Ah've talked like this all mah
life. Ah am from Mississippi after all."
Everyone's face was blank, not knowing if she was being in character or playing
tricks.
"Do Ah have to spell it out for ya guys?"
"R-Rogue?" Kurt asked.
Responding only with a smile, she found herself attacked by everyone in a group
hug accompanied by faces that were full of elation. "Whoa, easy,
guys, will ya? Don't get all mushy on me now."
"But, I don't understand. What happened to Carol?" Scott asked.
"We'll answer all your questions later," answered Xavier.
"Right now, I think we should focus on having our Rogue back."
Everyone nodded in agreement and began walking away with
Rogue, busily telling her how much they missed her, what life was like with
Carol and and how glad they were to have her back.
"Rogue, one moment, before you go."
"Ah'll see you guys in a bit," she said to the others as they left,
turning her attention to the professor. "What is it, Professor?"
"Carol wanted me to give you this. She wrote it before the
'operation' and said it was for you, and you alone," he said as he handed
her a folded piece of paper. Rogue took the paper from his hand and
opened it as Xavier wheeled himself out of the room.
"It's good to have you back," he said, before wheeling himself out
the door.
Rogue smiled and proceeded to read her letter.
Dear Rogue,
Well, looks like the tables have turned and now I'm the one writing to
apologize to you. I'm sorry, Rogue. I'm sorry all this happened to
you, to us. I'm sorry for not believing you and never giving you or
anyone a chance to show me the truth. Please tell everyone I'm sorry for
being so rude and unsympathetic. I'm very sorry.
But, as sorry as I am, I cannot forgive you. I cannot forgive you because
you have done nothing wrong. Do you hear me? You have done NOTHING
wrong. I was fooled by a manipulative, conniving witch into believing you
were the enemy. How wrong I was. How ignorant I was for believing
her, a complete stranger.
I have to say, living your life wasn't easy, but I thank you for what you
did. It takes a brave and pure-hearted person to sacrifice their own life
to give life to another. You are one of a kind, Rogue. Life is
precious and you need to start living it more fully. Your friends care
about you dearly. Take the time to show them how much you care. Spend
time with them Rogue. They're good people.
There is something else I want to tell you, but I don't know if I should.
You've been through so much already, I wouldn't want to add more. I will
tell you one thing, and you can decide for yourself if you want to know
more. Make sure you know who those you trust really are. People are
not who they appear to be.
All my best,
Carol A. Danvers
Rogue folded the letter and wiped the tears from her eyes before going to join
her fellow X-Men. "Thank you, Carol. Now, we are both
free."
The End
* * * * * *
So, what did you think. Please, be honest. Criticism IS welcome as long as it's constructive (tell me why it stinks). Please Review, I would love to know if anyone's reading and what you think. Thank youuuuuuuuuu!
