Wrapped Up
Warren glares at Gambit, horrified at what he's been forced to remember. He lunges at the young man, his hands gripping Gambit's throat viciously. "You knew and you never said a damned word?!"
"I didn' realize it was you! Your wings had been mutilated and regrown so many times, I had no idea!" Gambit gasps through agonizing breaths. He tries to pry Warren's hands away. "Please! Lemme go!"
Warren just chokes him harder. "And Sarah! What happened to Sarah?"
"Sinister had a bunch o' men destroy all dem Morlocks! T'was a massacre!" Gambit feels ready to pass out. He goes limp in Warren's hands.
Donovan/Rogue grabs Warren's arms. "Don't, Warren. Y' can't hurt him cuz he was won over by a monster. There had to be a reason why he did what he did."
Warren glares at her with hate filled eyes. "You killed Donovan. You're as much of a monster as Mr. Sinister is!"
Rogue/Mandy laughs mirthlessly. "Donovan was just a weak minded, easily swayed puppet. You asked her to do anything and she jumped at the chance to show off or kiss ass. You're better off without her as a pawn."
Donovan/Rogue forces Warren to let Gambit go by twisting his wrists and pulling him away. Kitty hurries to his side to help him up. "You okay?"
"I be ok, p'tite. Nothin' more'n I deserved," Gambit says quietly. He shakes his head.
"That's how you thought of Donny?" Donovan/Rogue asks. "Then why pretend t' love her? Use her the way y' did? She loved you more'n life itself. An' y' just used her. Why?"
"She got me killed! I wanted to do everything for her and she ran off. To protect me, she said. If she had just taken me with her in the first place, we could have had such a great life together!" Rogue/Mandy rants.
Donovan/Rogue shakes her head and jumps at Rogue/Mandy. "What kind of life would you have had? Neither of you had your had yer diplomas, no money… nothing! Donny wanted to save you from a miserable life so that she could provide you with a better one when she was able!"
They tumble to the ground together then. Donovan/Rogue manages to pin Rogue/Mandy down and they stare at each other for a minute. Before either can say anything, Warren tears them apart. He glares at them all, holding both girls by their collars and facing Gambit. "I don't know who to hate more. The boy responsible for my torture and loss of memory, the woman who killed one of my best friends, or the woman who drove her to doing it and making me see all the pain and suffering people are capable of inflicting."
"Warren, stop this," Donovan/Rogue says. "We can handle this. I'm sorry for this…"
"That's not Rogue's voice…" Rogue/Mandy says suddenly. She tries to yank away from Warren but Donovan/Rogue grabs her by the front of the shirt. She pushes Warren away as she turns to stone.
"Not again…" Kitty groans. She sees Cyclops and Colossus approaching them. "Uh oh…"
"Kitty? What are you doing out here?" Cyclops demands. He sees the two women in stone and Warren grabbing Gambit by the throat. "What the hell is going on?"
Colossus pulls Warren away from Gambit. "You have some explaining to do, Mr. Worthington."
"This boy is responsible for the deaths of dozens of mutants!" Warren shouts. He struggles against Colossus' powerful grip. "The people living under the sewers!"
Cyclops shakes his head in frustration. "Kitty, explain what's going on. I don't care why you're here as long as you know what's happening."
DONOVAN'S MIND:
You tricked me! Mandy screams mentally. She glares at Donovan and Rogue. How did you survive? How can two minds coexist when there is nothing to hold the extra down?
Don't matter, Mandy. Y' gonna gimme back mah body an' yer gonna leave Donny alone, Rogue says angrily. She's had enough of this madness.
Mandy sneers. You can't just make me go away. As a psychic, I can anchor myself to Donovan forever and there's nothing you can do about it.
Donovan doesn't take part in the argument. She just stares at the two young women. Rogue looks at Donovan. Donny held onto me. Made sure that Ah wouldn't leave her…
Mandy practically screams her rage. She lunges at Rogue and knocks her down. If you die here in Donovan's head, your body dies, too. It's possible to kill if you know the right way…And I know it!
Help! Rogue cries. Donny, please… y' heard how she feels about ya. She reaches for Donovan again as Mandy's hands tighten around her throat.
Donovan grabs Mandy and tears her back away from Rogue. Rogue steps back as Donovan spins and throws Mandy as hard as she can. Mandy flies out of sight with nothing to stop her. Donovan turns to face Rogue. You have to get out of here.
What about Mandy? Rogue asks.
She's not going anywhere, Rogue. She has to stay in my mind. You go back to your body and you'll be fine.
Rogue gazes into Donovan's eyes. She sees the sadness there and knows what's happening. You're gonna stay here…Stay in stone.
I have to. It's the only way to keep Mandy from hurting anyone else, Donovan says softly. She holds out a hand. I'm sorry for all of this. I had no idea she was still in my head… that any of this was happening.
Rogue throws her arms around Donovan. These X-Men folks got mind readers and doctors and stuff. They can help you. Y' don't gotta be stone forever!
Donovan holds Rogue tightly. When I turn flesh again, make sure you're in your own body. You'll know it when you feel it.
No! It ain't fair! Rogue shouts. She leans up and kisses Donovan deeply. She doesn't feel the kiss but she feels the emotion shared between them. She sighs. Stay with me. Ah need you.
Donovan, you'll pay for this! Mandy's thought travels to them. It sounds faint so Donovan figures she has plenty of time to save Rogue. She concentrates on changing her status again.
THE CLEARING:
Donovan's stone shell cracks and breaks open. Rogue shakes her head and throws herself into Donovan's arms. "Freeze!" Cyclops snaps, holding a hand against his visor threateningly.
"Don't hurt her!" Jennifer shouts. She pushes Cyclops aside. His optic blast hits a nearby tree. "Didn't you hear a damn thing said to you? Donny's not the bad guy here. I'm not even the bad guy anymore, which is weird as it is. Back off and get your mental midget out here to kill off that girl that's in Donny's head!"
"No!" Donovan gasps. She sees Marvel Girl heading toward them. Cyclops had called the cavalry in apparently. "You can't kill her. Please…"
Rogue bursts into tears. Donovan looks at her sadly. "I'm sorry, Rogue. But maybe something can be done to help her. She's only crazy because of what happened to her. If she could be helped…"
Donovan suddenly lurches forward as Marvel Girl uses her psychic ability to shut down her mind. Rogue tries to hold onto her but Donovan is too heavy and they both crash to the ground. "What'd y' do that for?"
"If we're to do anything, we need to take her to Professor Xavier. He'll be able to do something for her, I'm sure," Marvel Girl replies. "Marvel Girl to Wolverine, do you read this transmission?"
"I hear ya, Red. Sabretooth punked out and ran off. Almost at yer location," Wolverine snarls into his communicator.
"Meet at the Blackbird. We've got everything under control here," Cyclops cuts in.
Warren crosses his arms. "I'm not going anywhere till I know that this little punk gets what's coming to him," he glares at Gambit. "And what about the pilot of the plane we took to get here?"
"Slaughtered. We found the plane on our way to getting Hank some help," Marvel Girl says, paling at the thought of the gruesome scene she had come across. "You'd better get back with us."
"And me?" Jennifer asks, almost afraid to know. "I know I need to pay for my crimes…" she looks at Donovan, surprised at the impact Donovan has had on her conscious. "What do you need me to do?"
"You're to come to our base for questioning and then turned in to the proper authorities," Cyclops replies. Colossus picks up Donovan. "Let's go."
"Y' can't leave me!" Rogue exclaims. She touches Donovan's cheek. "She needs someone t' be there when she wakes up…"
Cyclops nods. "You're coming as well. We're going to wrap this mystery up once and for all. And to do that, we need all the pieces of the puzzle."