Days pass, nights only marked by the shuttering windows and careful tracking of the sun. He retired for the night thinking of the truth that when their sides met for battle, there would be no quarter between them. That was Zaladane's "style", as one could say. But then again, it was also once his. Was this how his enemies had felt, when rising to combat him in Cape Canaveral? Or on Muir Island? Did he approach those battles with the same overbearing confidence he could sense in Zaladane? Her minions certainly overflowed with bravado that rivaled his own at his most arrogant. The more he came to consider Zaladane and her allies, the more he found himself trapped in a mirror, staring at a distorted vision of himself.
Sleep is a mistake. But I'm so weary, this once, I can't resist. In the days since he and Rogue had their confrontation, the strange energy between them seemed to abate. Or at least not become the overruling focus of any interaction. She was apt to trust him more often. In turn, he understood more of who she was, and took to asking her, instead of commanding. It seemed to be the right course of action because in response she had acquiesced to his study of her around the middle of the following day. Regrettably, the machines had been yet again scrambled by the latest electromagnetic pulse, and the reports were undecipherable.
Retiring that night before Zaladane's assault was difficult. He felt as if his mind swarmed with countless thoughts of responsibilities, recriminations, and Rogue plaguing him as he tried to relax his body. A Herculean task; the chaos in Magneto's life had resulted in not a moment's reprieve in months. Years. Yet, even as exhaustion finally claimed him, his mind cast back to what she had said before Barbarus and the other mutates. We're the good guys, right? We're s'posed t'stand for something better!
Good won't save you, Rogue. he thought, mourning how truthful the statement was as sleep curtained around him. Sadly, his deep cloak of restorative slumber was pierced by bullets that shredded his dreams to nightmares.
Lost in memories and terrors, bullets chattered and wailed around him, scything the innocents around him to fall like monarch butterflies. Their dead eyes were as intense as the enemy's bullets. You live and we do not. They cut worse than any munition, for they held the truth. He lived while they suffered and died.
He wanted to beg for clemency from them, tell them he wouldn't go on without them, but it seemed to be the answer they hoped for; they moved as one and dragged him down.
Their bodies were bloated with decomposing gasses, ragged tooth marks on their flesh, and not all from animals. Fingers with ragged and filthy nails gripped him, first a boy, then a man, and pulled him into the dark and lonely hole of the grave. The dream changed, and logic corrected itself. He could practically taste the air, thick with loamy earth, the smell tainted by all pressed so tight together, embracing eternity. They scratched and pulled at him, each trying to clamor for his attention, to sob their tragic tale. It would be so easy to give up. Lie in the grave, they tell me. Breathe my last. Let everything go. Yes, the voices whisper, the winds scream.
No. I fight!
"What are you doing?!" he demanded as he used bruising force when he gripped the hand that tried to touch his face. Well trained through the years, he used the person's own weight to unbalance them, causing them to fall over and into the bed. Still holding the hand, he twisted in the bed, and half-rose in a smooth motion, pinning the person with his body beneath theirs. However, a heartbeat later, he chastised himself. My voice is sharper than I meant.
"Ka-Zar sent me," the X-Man said, her voice wobbling only slightly by the disadvantaged position she found herself in now. Magneto pinned her hands near the sides of her head, and she fought a spike of panic down. It was alright, remain calm. There was something strange in his sleep shrouded eyes. Perhaps he was sleepwalking, he certainly didn't seem completely awake. It was said a sleepwalker shouldn't be roused too abruptly, right?
"S'almost showtime." Magneto stared down at her through half-lidded eyes, saying nothing in response. Rogue couldn't understand what he was doing, and suppressed the reflex to throw him off. Sure, surprising him had caused this, but why wasn't he…doing something? Maybe he wasn't sleepwalking?
"Magneto?" she asked tentatively, and when he only narrowed his eyes in return, she tried again. "Magneto, you're hurting me!" The grip he had on her wrists seemed to be one of a man clinging to a branch overhead, desperate to deny gravity its prize. And while his grip would leave marks, she made the protest more to get him to snap out of it than her own discomfort. Mostly.
Magneto blinked once, twice, finally coming back to himself. He realized he was out of the dream, and safe. Taking a mental breath, he finally allowed himself to relax his hold on her. And yet, he also seemed unable, or unwilling to completely release the warm flesh that beat under his hands. Yes, part of his body was still racing after the effects of the nightmare, but close to Rogue, that didn't seem to matter nearly as much. He still seemed unable to draw himself away.
This was far too dangerous. "Clearly something went wrong when I reintegrated your bio-matrix," he said, perhaps stalling for a better idea as he relaxed his grip. Magneto rose from the bed and extended a hand to help her up. Foolish of him perhaps to do so; touching her again so soon.
"Old news, sugar. I'm just glad to be me," she said, looking for levity to pierce the moment. Anything to break that awful tension from rising up between them once again, because it was coming back with a vengeance. She took his hand and rose from the bed, but again, he didn't immediately release her.
Magneto wasn't interested in trying to make light of the situation. Her pulse was flaring wildly through her glove, and it sparked new fear in him. How could he convince her to let him try another diagnostic run of tests? The sudden thought of losing her was untenable.
"Thanks to Zaladane's influence, I cannot trust any of the citadel's instrumentalities to determine what that is…" he mused, as the space between them narrowed rapidly. "…and set it to its rights." He chose not to overthink the moment, to evaluate this action's pros and cons. Instead, he chose to bow to what they both had skirted for days now. His lips ghosted over hers before kissing her like someone who had finally taken a deep draught of water after a long journey and was returning to the well for his second. She threw her arms around his shoulders, leaning into their kiss with everything she had.
The only thing she knew next was that they had broken for air. Blinking, Rogue tried to regain her sense of balance and found herself supported by his arms. She felt a bit dizzy by their actions and he held her steady. He seemed unwilling to let her go.
"Rogue, I-" he broke off as there was a sudden clap of bare feet on the floor, pounding up the stairwell. They drew apart a breath before Ka-Zar burst into the room.
"Hate to ruin a tender moment, folks but - " he broke off, skidding to a stop when his jest turned from teasing to perceptive. The awkward moment was glossed over as they heard the sound of horns echoing about the area.
"It is time. I will take Zaladane's measure and occupy her attention." Magneto mustered his strength and clad himself for battle, attracting the particles he needed to be adequately shielded for the fight to come. "Her troops, Ka-Zar, I leave to you."
"Shanna and the kids are your responsibility, Rogue. Help her keep order." Ka-Zar said to her, turning away to complete his next task. And to leave this emotionally charged room as quickly as possible.
"The hell Ah am! Did you tell Shanna that?" she challenged, but before she could say anything further Magneto interjected.
"Rogue, for once, do as you're told!" Magneto said in chastisement. "Have you no conception of the value to which we ascribe your duties? Who Ka-Zar entrusts to your care and protection?" He wasn't angry with her, but he also had no desire to send her amongst the rank and file to die. There was a chance that the women and children behind the rear guard could get away. A slim one.
If she had thought to disobey him, she would do it almost as soon as he turned his back. Therefore, he chose his course of action, and formulated his plan. He had to keep her safe. He had to. As they exited the room, he paused and drew her back into the doorway. Any more than your own worth? To those of us who may be soon to die? He thought to himself as his thumb stroked her cheek and the rest of his hand cupped her chin. "Allow me this selfish luxury. Defend the defenseless. Be the hero you are."
"I don't believe you." Rogue said as she threw her arms around his neck and embraced him tightly. She held fast to him, and he returned it with as much strength. Rogue held longer than perhaps she should have, but she couldn't help herself. "You clever…" She drew back and nodded. "Alright. I'll do it. Just be careful out there." without waiting for him to give a response, she darted off.
Was there ever a time I did not fight? He asked himself as he left the private quarters area for the battlefield outside. If there was, he could not recall it.
Dawn was imminent, and Zaladane's forces arrived, setting themselves before their foes. No matter the plans, the arrangements, the preparations…once the sun was above the tree line the fight began and it went as battles always go. Unpredictable organized chaos. If orders were called, they were followed by whim nearly as much as by command.
For Magneto's side, however, whenever an ally fell if they weren't injured beyond the ability to fight, they were suborned into Zaladane's army immediately. Worm's ability to force others into his service caused those who could still fight, upon capture, were then sent against their friends. The battle went from a possible victory to a near positive defeat within an hour.
Before that hour was up, Zaladane arrived and met Magneto on the field of battle. One of the greatest assets she had was not youth, nor strength, but the complete disregard for the safety of the planet. The power controls her as much as she does it. Magneto was desperate to stop her; and desperate to keep from making her activities worse.
She bested him. Blasting him from the sky as the field was completely routed, Zaladane proclaimed her ascension for all to bear witness above the battlefield. The field roared its approval and her allies set about overrunning Ka-Zar's dispersing troops.
"We can't hold; head for the deep to regroup!" Ka-Zar shouted as he held off two ground soldiers at once. He couldn't find Shanna anywhere! The first lost his spear, and his life, while the other became intimately familiar with said pilfered spear. Both were dead before Ka-Zar headed on to the next opponent.
"There; the last of the rebels are here!" a man on a winged mount called to his allies, and swooping down, he landed atop Ka-Zar. Or he tried to, as he was met with Zabu's claws as soon as he left his seat. He screamed as sharp talons raked his flesh to ribbons.
Ka-Zar was not completely free of danger; Gaza was a highly competent fighter, and had numbers on his side. He drew his knife, hoping against hope that Shanna was behind him. She had to be safe. Ka-Zar would have to find out later as set his mind to his task and tried to hold his own against someone who could sense the world better than he.
He was driven back, and he saw with a sinking heart that no one would walk from this fight. In the chaos of the lines breaking, there was no order to the retreat, and he found himself fighting nearby Rogue once more. Either she had stepped up to fight alongside the warriors, or this was worse than he expected.
He was right, sadly, on both accounts.
Rogue swung her staff hard enough to crack ribs and maybe a skull, but she wouldn't be able to keep it up for long. She didn't possess that kind of stamina any longer. I hate this! I hardly have any more strength than a normal person! Have I lost all my powers?! Rogue thought but shrieked wordlessly as she felt something with claws grip her stomach and yank her off of her feet from behind.
"Yield, Jungle Lord, if you wish to live. I give you this opportunity only once." Gaza said as he knocked the wind from Ka-Zar and slammed him to the ground with a definitive thwump.
"What about this pretty? Shall I feed her to my pets?" Lupus asked, his slaver falling across Rogue's face and neck while he held her down.
"Get…offa…me…" Rogue ground out as Brainchild seemed to finally notice her.
"Ah. Rogue of the X-Men. Where're your powers?" He asked and giggled as Lupus kept her pinned down. The promises he gave her made her skin crawl. Her anger never abated inside of her, though, and it fueled her furious fight. "Perhaps we won't need Worm just yet. I think we should let her tire herself out from fighting too hard. It's fun when they fight."
Disgusting man. They weren't going to get her to crack, or even look afraid. Never. She grunted and shoved uselessly at Lupus who was digging his knee into her stomach. It made her eyes water and she gasped for breath.
"In…in your dreams…" she choked out as she tried to writhe out from under him. Unsuccessfully.
"Now, now, for your own sake, you'd better learn to keep a more civil tongue in your head." The man chuckled as he took another step closer, rubbing his hands further accentuating his cartoonish proportions.
"Uh…Brainchild?" a guard said, raising his spear as if to first attack, but then turning to run.
"Eh - outlanders!" Brainchild barely looked up before he screamed some incoherent command, and they scattered into a mad scramble. The jungle's natural sounds were wiped out as modern weapons of war fired round after round at the conquering army. Lupus peeled away immediately as the assault began, leaving X-Man on the ground.
Rogue wrapped her arms around her head and curled up in a ball on the ground to make herself as small a target as possible while gunfire chattered all around her. She didn't get a good look at the people who were firing modern weaponry at the Savage Land residents, but she didn't really care. She stayed where she was and hoped for the best. The firing was in practiced staccato, and she hoped they were well trained enough to avoid striking her.
By some sort of fortune, training, or both, she managed to escape it unharmed. The next thing she knew was someone standing over her holding a hand before her face. "Well, well, well, look who ain't dead." A tall man set the front end of a smoking rifle on his opposite shoulder as he helped the mutant woman to her feet.
"Funny, Ah was just thinkin' the same 'bout you." Rogue said as she regained her feet. Another man; he was referred to as Semyanov, was supporting Ka-Zar while the rest secured the area. "Been awhile, Colonel Fury. Thanks for the rescue."
"What I'm paid for, sweetheart." Fury jested, but his face was set into serious lines. He wasn't a man who seemed to smile. Ever. "We need to retreat; plenty of 'em ran off, and we can't stay here. We've got a campsite. Recon!" Fury shouted. "Get eyes up; we need to figure out the safest way back! The rest of you, tend the wounded, and get ready to move!"
It took a little bit, but eventually they managed to return to their hastily made base of operations, just a few clicks from where the fight had occurred. "...Zaladane caught us cold. She fried most of our electronics, left our ships wide open to her pterosaur air-cavalry. We took casualties, but we're a long way from being out of commission. No sign of Magneto since he was shot down. She's claiming he's dead, and if that's the case, we need to figure out how t'evac."
"You advocate withdrawal?" Semyanov scoffed incredulously.
Fury stared at the attaché from the United Nations. Was he serious? "And there's an alternative?"
"We have functional vehicles and the best soldiers on the planet. Yet you wish us to flee with our tail between our legs from men with stones and spears!" he retorted hotly, but before he could say anything else Fury interrupted the man.
"Yuri, good as we are, we're no match for Zaladane. This is a job for the Avengers. Or the Fantastic Four." Fury paused and amended that idea. "Maybe both."
"It is too late for that; our time has run out." Magneto said, his armor wrecked beyond repair, blood and bruises decorating much of his exposed skin. One arm leaned against a branch overhead, and he sagged against it as if the tree were the only thing that held him up.
"Chyort Vozmee - Magneto! Kill him!" Semyanov barked, training his weapons on the man.
"No! He's not the enemy!" Rogue said and ran in front of them, throwing her arms wide in front of their gunfire. Without hesitation, Ka-Zar sprang to action alongside her, the pair attempting to shield their ally.
"Don't think we'll keep from shooting, girl. Step aside, now!" the man snarled, laser points gathering in clusters at points on Rogue and Ka-Zar before attempting to center in on Magneto only.
"Tch." Fury scoffed. She was right. "Lady's got a point. Lower weapons, now!" he barked, and fortunately, the men were well trained. Their guns snapped down and Semyanov scowled, reluctantly holstering his weapon.
"At least there are some cooler heads amongst you." Magneto reflected from the other side of the field. Zabu sprang over towards Magneto, between him and the rest of the troops. Ka-Zar should've noticed, and he barely suppressed a grimace. It was good that Magneto had planned ahead at least; he understood the effect he had on others.
"Thought you looked a trifle grainy 'round the edges, Magneto. Nice hologram." Fury said as Semyanov dismissed the men to their duties with little grace.
"Under the circumstances it seemed a necessary deception." Magneto reflected as he clicked the power button to "Rest" mode. It was hardly a shock seeing the look on the Soviet man's face full of disbelief contorted in absolute fury.
"It will never be safe for you, butcher! Never safe near a true son of Rodina! Get off me, Ogarkov-...You will pay for drowning my son!"
Again, a cry from the past. One father to another in anguished grief for a slain child. At the time, my actions seemed quite appropriate. The Leningrad had fired a salvo of nuclear ballistic missiles at me, so I sank her with all hands aboard.
There is too much history, hate, and bigotry for every aspect of my existence for us to ever come to an accord. I cannot talk to these men. "It was my mistake to come. I have no business here. I wish you well in surviving the wilds; perhaps you will alert the world's heroes in time, though I rather doubt it." He turned his back on them and left, confident that even if one tried to shoot, he would successfully deflect it.
Barely thirty seconds of solitude passed before he heard a rustling behind him. "Magneto, wait! Don't let that arrogant Ruskie push you further. He's a bigot, 'n you're better than that." Wonder of wonders, he stopped and turned to her. They had gone far enough to be covered by a thick swath of jungle, well out of eye and earshot.
"It doesn't matter, Rogue. They will not listen. Even if they do, they will not trust anything I say."
"Ah don't believe I'm hearin' this from you, Magneto! Fine, if you don't wanna, Ah'll make them listen!" She paused and moved closer, taking a breath to calm down; everything was moving faster and faster. "Will you tell me, please?"
He didn't pause, it came out in succinct, terse words. "Zaladane's towers create a resonance field that place her in sync with the earth's magnetosphere. Tapping into such a fundamental aspect of reality with the focus of the planet's access points…it will allow her an ability to hold the world hostage. She could, and will, drain anything with life. Nothing will be beyond her grasp, unless she is stopped."
"Magneto, Ah'm with you, whether the rest of those idiots are or not." Rogue promised as she looked up at him. She didn't hesitate, her pledge came that naturally to her. Why did she trust him? "Whatever's needed, give the word, an' that's what we'll do. Just lemme try? Let me talk to 'em first? Please?"
How did she have such a way with him? He was forever reconsidering, and reassessing his point of view because of her opinion. Even if he didn't agree, even if he wanted to give in to his basest urges, she still appealed to the better part of him. She believed in him that much.
He didn't remember cupping her face to pull her into another kiss, but he did remember laughing as she sighed with satisfaction. "Ah'll take that as a yes." Undaunted, she leapt up and captured his mouth with hers, unwilling to let him think that he could have the lead every single time.
"I have requests."
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Of course you. Fine. What are they?"