Mommy Mystique (cont.)

(Still in flashback mode.)

Rogue didn't waste any time. She went straight to Mystique's room, even though it was the middle of the night.

"What is it?" Mystique groaned. "It's 1AM, for God's sake."

"Where's the baby?" she demanded.
"What baby?"
"The one you dropped off the bridge!"
Mystique was shocked. She didn't know how Rogue knew about that dark time in her life, but . . . there was no backing out of this now.

"You know who he is, don't you?"

Mystique sighed. "Sit down, Rogue."

This explanation wasn't going to be easy--for either of them--but it was time the truth came out.
"Sixteen years ago," she began, "I met someone . . ."

"You mean . . . ?" Rogue started to ask.

"Yes. We were very much in love. But before we could get married, he got killed in a car crash. I was three months pregnant at the time."

"Oh mah God." Rogue gasped.

"I didn't know what else to do, so . . ."

"So you put the kid up for adoption?"

"Not exactly. I met up with someone I'd known years ago, who offered me a job. When I told him about the baby, he said that wasn't a problem. If I'd only known what he was planning . . ."

Rogue sighed. "Ah get the picture."

"A month or so later, I found out I was having twins."
"Twins?"

"Yes. I was doubly worried after that . . ."

"So you have two children?"
"Yes," Mystique said, and it wasn't exactly a lie. She had two others that were dead and one that wasn't speaking to her, but he didn't count, did he?

Rogue didn't know how to react to this. "So what happened to them? The baby that fell off the bridge?"
"I followed him and made sure he was all right. Then I left Europe for good."
"What about the other baby?"
"The other baby . . . Irene had warned me that something would happen if I went with Magnus--"
"Wait a minute. Irene? As in, the lady who raised me?"
"Yes."
"Are you tellin' me that--"
"Yes," Mystique said. "You are my daughter, and Kurt Wagner is your twin brother."

Rogue was shocked. "You mean . . . you're my mother?"

Mystique nodded.

"But where have you been all this time? Why did you leave me with Irene? Why--"

"There was nothing else I could do . . ."

"Why?"
"It's . . . too complicated to explain. What I did for a living then . . . I couldn't have brought a child along."
"Why couldn't you have done somethin' else?"

********

Rogue looked at her mother and said, "God, Ah can't imagine how hard it had to be for you to admit all that stuff . . ."

"The hardest part," Mystique said, "was still yet to come. I still hadn't told Kurt the truth. I didn't know how."
"So Ah kinda took matters into mah own hands," said Rogue.

*******

Before Mystique, Rogue had sprung to her feet. "Ah gotta tell him."
"No! Wait!"

But Rogue was already out the door . . .

She'd just have to go after her herself. Even if it was the middle of the night.

Kurt, meanwhile, was in the middle of a late-night raid on the fridge when Rogue showed up.

"Vhat are you doing here?"
"Ah gotta talk to you."
"But you set off all zhe alarm systems!"

"This is important!" Rogue insisted.

"If it's that important," said a voice from the doorway, "we should all be here."

Kurt and Rogue both turned . . . and saw Scott in the doorway.

"What are you doin' up?"

"Never mind that. What's so important that you came all the way over here in the middle of the night?"

Rogue took a deep breath. "Ah gotta talk to Kurt alone. It doesn't concern anyone but him and me."
"Wrong."

"Scott," Kurt started to say, but Rogue cut him off.

"Ya might as well know. Kurt is mah brother."
Both boys stared at her like she'd grown a second head.

"You're kidding."

"Mystique told me everything."
"And you trust her?"

"I know what you're saying, but still--"

"But nothing," Scott said. "She could have made the whole thing up."
"Why would she do that?"

"Ja," Kurt said, "Mystique may be a lot of things . . . but she told me zhe truth vhen I met vith her at zhe construction site. Maybe . . . maybe she vants to make it up to us."
"Ah don't know . . ."

"It's worth a try, ja?"

"So what are ya sayin'?"

"Vell . . ." And he told her his idea.

"Ah think that might work . . ."

(More to come!)