A/N: Howard Livington is my character.
Disclaimer: Butterfly by Tapping the Vein
Rogue stirred sleepily. Hearing a rustle, she swiftly grabbed her sword, unsheathing it in a second. Quiet reigned for what seemed an eternity until a bird peeped. Relaxing her grip on the hilt, Rogue deftly swung it back inside it's cover.
Her movements spoke of experience.
Searching the room she was in with her eyes, Rogue sighed. Judging by random girl undergarments, she was in Pietro's room. Picking up the bed cover she had thrown onto the floor, Rogue crisply made his bed and grabbed her pack that was under his bed.
Something similar to screeching grated her ears and she winced, clutching her ears. Hurling the door open with a slam, she glared down the hallway at a surprised Todd.
He raised up his hands as an attempt to fend off himself and said, "Yo, this time it ain't me."
"SHUT UP PIETRO!" screamed out a voice from one of the run-down rooms. "Some people are still asleep!"
"Not anymore!" Pietro's chirped from the bathroom, but he stopped singing.
An audible, "Finally," was heard, but no sooner was that said, Pietro started singing again and this time it was an attempt at one of Justin Timberlake's songs.
"ARGH!!!" Mystique's room busted open with a fuming goth female whom Rogue looked at with surprise. Ignoring the white-banged female, Wanda furiously banged on the bathroom door. "ANYTHING BUT THAT SONG!!!"
Rogue watched with amusement when Todd hastily hopped out of harm's way and a disgruntled Lance emerged from his room with a "What the hell's going on?" Noticing Rogue, his brows quirked nonplussed at her existence in this household.
While chaos raged between a maddeningly cheerful Pietro and a frightening Wanda, Lance drew Rogue to the side and hissed, "What're you doing here?"
"What? Am Ah not welcome anymore?" At Lance's searching look, she snapped, "Look, Ah don't want t' tahlk 'bout it."
Lance shrugged. "Fine by me. Just making sure it was okay with your X-geeks."
If he hadn't known Rogue, he could have sworn the flash in her eyes were of sadness, but Rogue gave a mirthless chuckle.
"You need a ride to school?"
Both of them ignoring the ongoing bickering in the background, Rogue waved Lance off as she retreated back to Pietro's room. "Ah'ma take a sick day. Ah don't feel too well," she lied.
The door shut with a final note and Lance frowned thoughtfully.
"DON'T MAKE ME HURT YOU!"
"EEEEEEEK!"
Lance shook his head. Kids. They definitely were kids.
-------------------------------------
"She's hasn't like, been to school for two weeks and I haven't like, seen her at all lately. Where is she, Professor?" Kitty Pryde persisted with concern. "All of us are really worried about her."
Xavier sighed. "I can't locate Rogue's exact whereabouts."
Sorry for the time she snapped at Rogue, Jean explained in a defeated note, "Rogue somehow has built up her mental shields. Even the Professor can't break through it and it makes it difficult for either one of us to know where she is exactly."
Confused, Kitty asked, "How is that? Isn't it like, impossible to have strong mental barriers?"
Under his breath, Xavier voiced, "Yes, it is indeed strange."
Hesitating, Kitty softly continued, "But it's not just that I'm worried about her sudden disappearance." Pausing, she began, "She's been acting weird lately and I'm sure everyone's noticed by now. Is something wrong with her, Professor? Like, I mean, we all knew Rogue had kind of an odd side, but..." she trailed off. Taking another breath, she blushed. "I know it's wrong, but I read Rogue's diary and it has stuff in there that like, seems to point at insanity."
Inwardly debating whether his students should know, Charles slowly drummed his fingers in silence.
Glancing at Xavier, Jean started haltingly, "I think what the Professor's not trying to say is, Rogue has schizophrenia."
Kitty blinked. Schizophrenia? But... it wasn't possible. "Is... schizophrenia curable?"
"If caught in the early stages, yes, but not completely."
"Is she...?"
Xavier interrupted gently, "It is too late. The only kind of treatment we can offer her now is the care given by the medical centers that specialize in this."
At her unspoken question, the Professor sighed, "I have never known anyone to heal completely."
"Then...?"
He looked at the two girls with sadness. "The Rogue we know will be lost to us."
-------------------------------------
Rogue opened her eyes. The usually vivacious, bright emerald fire was burning low, in a dull, cold blaze.
She was sitting with her legs to her chest, her sword cradled by her shoulder and the nightly sounds greeted her waking ears. Leaning her back against the tree, she waited silently in the shadows.
'It's time,' whispered the voice in her head.
Christine appeared to her side. "They're all against you, Rogue. They're trying to take you back even as we speak, but you know what'll happen if they get their hands on you." Becoming business-like, she said crisply, "Howard Livington is a leader of a secret mutant organization. His people are helping Charles Xavier find you."
She studied the unresponsive Rogue. "You know what to do."
Still sitting, Rogue unsheathed her sword and examined the blue blaze. Heaving to her feet, Rogue sprinted down the road with curious ease and calmness.
~*~
What Am I?
I Wish I Was A Butterfly
I'd Fly And Fly
Until It Was My Time To Die
It's Creeping In Again
I Know What I Really Am
No More Pretty, Purple,
Peaceful Butterfly
~*~
It was not yet dark, for there was light, although it was dimming. Stopping in front of a coporation building, Rogue looked up to the looming intimidation and walked inside. Immediately, Rogue found the meeting room and brushed past the secretary.
The secretary bristled impatiently and stood up, attempting to stop the strange young woman. "Excuse me, miss! You're not allowed to---" Her sentence was obscured when a shining blade pierced into her side.
~*~
Simple Life
If I Were A Butterfly
I'd Fly And Fly
Until It Was My Time To Die
Its Creeping In Again
I Know What I Really Am
No More Pretty, Purple,
Peaceful Butterfly
~*~
Pulling the blade out with ease, Rogue ignored the horrified gasps around her and cut off the woman's head. Better a simple death than a painful one.
The meeting door burst open and Howard said with annoyance, "We're in the middle of a meeting!"
Rogue searched the room and her eyes landed on a middle-aged male with graying hair in a black suit, as if he were about to attend a funeral.
'Leave no traces...'
Slicing through the elderly bunch of middle-aged men, Rogue brutally cut carelessly, but with dead aim. Blood showered her hair and drenched the room, filling the place with the stench of death. Not one to pleasure in mutilation, Rogue swiftly ended each and every one of their lives, until Howard was left.
~*~
Come See The Blood That's In My Bed
Come Hear The Things
That Nobody Talks About
Shut Up You Mouth
Shame On You Shame On Me
~*~
Sweating, the man pleaded with the young teen. "Please... I have a family."
Rogue said dully, "They've already been disposed of. It's time you've joined them." Without a further word, Rogue sliced heavily through his body, breaking his bones as she cut through them with ease.
The two body pieces lay on the floor while blood gushed over Rogue's boots and the man's fingers twitched before his eyes rolled lifelessly and breath no longer occupied his lungs.
Crouching down, Rogue examined the man's body before wiping her sword on his half-drenched suit. Like sweatlines, blood tinged her face and dripped from her hair to the red, red floor.
~*~
Look At Me
I Wish I Was A Honey Bee
Anything, Anything Other Than
The Things I Have Been
I Slip Out Of My Skin
So I Don't Have To Do It Again
But Just A Passing Thought
And Your Filth Is Seeping In
~*~
Then she was flying. Bursting from the windows, shattering the heavy glass like it was ice, Rogue fell towards the ground, not noticing the shouts and alarm hurled at her. Before she hit the floor, she suddenly disappeared. Sirens wailed of their too late arrival while witnesses looked stupidly at the spot the girl should have been crushed on.
Back at the Brotherhood's home, Pietro gently laid the sleeping Rogue into the tub. He ran the shower and watched fascinated at the pink water washing down the drain.
Rogue's eyes fluttered open, the pink water dripping from her eyelashes and she looked up quietly, into the blue eyes of her friend. Though she hadn't said a word, her eyes challenged him to speak against her, against the actions she had committed.
Pietro only picked up her leather-gloved hands and placed a bar of soap into it. He left her to her chaotic thoughts and she felt the water patter over her body for what seemed like eternity. Her clothes had soaked up the water and washed out the blood but Rogue could still feel it. She could still feel the blood covering her body.
~*~
Come Scrub My Hands
They Won't Come Clean
Come Sit With Me
While The Walls Press In On Me
Shut Off That Light
Shame On You. Shame On Me.
~*~
A/N: Confused? Good. Explanations will come later on. x) Anyway, review, review, review!
Disclaimer: Butterfly by Tapping the Vein
Rogue stirred sleepily. Hearing a rustle, she swiftly grabbed her sword, unsheathing it in a second. Quiet reigned for what seemed an eternity until a bird peeped. Relaxing her grip on the hilt, Rogue deftly swung it back inside it's cover.
Her movements spoke of experience.
Searching the room she was in with her eyes, Rogue sighed. Judging by random girl undergarments, she was in Pietro's room. Picking up the bed cover she had thrown onto the floor, Rogue crisply made his bed and grabbed her pack that was under his bed.
Something similar to screeching grated her ears and she winced, clutching her ears. Hurling the door open with a slam, she glared down the hallway at a surprised Todd.
He raised up his hands as an attempt to fend off himself and said, "Yo, this time it ain't me."
"SHUT UP PIETRO!" screamed out a voice from one of the run-down rooms. "Some people are still asleep!"
"Not anymore!" Pietro's chirped from the bathroom, but he stopped singing.
An audible, "Finally," was heard, but no sooner was that said, Pietro started singing again and this time it was an attempt at one of Justin Timberlake's songs.
"ARGH!!!" Mystique's room busted open with a fuming goth female whom Rogue looked at with surprise. Ignoring the white-banged female, Wanda furiously banged on the bathroom door. "ANYTHING BUT THAT SONG!!!"
Rogue watched with amusement when Todd hastily hopped out of harm's way and a disgruntled Lance emerged from his room with a "What the hell's going on?" Noticing Rogue, his brows quirked nonplussed at her existence in this household.
While chaos raged between a maddeningly cheerful Pietro and a frightening Wanda, Lance drew Rogue to the side and hissed, "What're you doing here?"
"What? Am Ah not welcome anymore?" At Lance's searching look, she snapped, "Look, Ah don't want t' tahlk 'bout it."
Lance shrugged. "Fine by me. Just making sure it was okay with your X-geeks."
If he hadn't known Rogue, he could have sworn the flash in her eyes were of sadness, but Rogue gave a mirthless chuckle.
"You need a ride to school?"
Both of them ignoring the ongoing bickering in the background, Rogue waved Lance off as she retreated back to Pietro's room. "Ah'ma take a sick day. Ah don't feel too well," she lied.
The door shut with a final note and Lance frowned thoughtfully.
"DON'T MAKE ME HURT YOU!"
"EEEEEEEK!"
Lance shook his head. Kids. They definitely were kids.
-------------------------------------
"She's hasn't like, been to school for two weeks and I haven't like, seen her at all lately. Where is she, Professor?" Kitty Pryde persisted with concern. "All of us are really worried about her."
Xavier sighed. "I can't locate Rogue's exact whereabouts."
Sorry for the time she snapped at Rogue, Jean explained in a defeated note, "Rogue somehow has built up her mental shields. Even the Professor can't break through it and it makes it difficult for either one of us to know where she is exactly."
Confused, Kitty asked, "How is that? Isn't it like, impossible to have strong mental barriers?"
Under his breath, Xavier voiced, "Yes, it is indeed strange."
Hesitating, Kitty softly continued, "But it's not just that I'm worried about her sudden disappearance." Pausing, she began, "She's been acting weird lately and I'm sure everyone's noticed by now. Is something wrong with her, Professor? Like, I mean, we all knew Rogue had kind of an odd side, but..." she trailed off. Taking another breath, she blushed. "I know it's wrong, but I read Rogue's diary and it has stuff in there that like, seems to point at insanity."
Inwardly debating whether his students should know, Charles slowly drummed his fingers in silence.
Glancing at Xavier, Jean started haltingly, "I think what the Professor's not trying to say is, Rogue has schizophrenia."
Kitty blinked. Schizophrenia? But... it wasn't possible. "Is... schizophrenia curable?"
"If caught in the early stages, yes, but not completely."
"Is she...?"
Xavier interrupted gently, "It is too late. The only kind of treatment we can offer her now is the care given by the medical centers that specialize in this."
At her unspoken question, the Professor sighed, "I have never known anyone to heal completely."
"Then...?"
He looked at the two girls with sadness. "The Rogue we know will be lost to us."
-------------------------------------
Rogue opened her eyes. The usually vivacious, bright emerald fire was burning low, in a dull, cold blaze.
She was sitting with her legs to her chest, her sword cradled by her shoulder and the nightly sounds greeted her waking ears. Leaning her back against the tree, she waited silently in the shadows.
'It's time,' whispered the voice in her head.
Christine appeared to her side. "They're all against you, Rogue. They're trying to take you back even as we speak, but you know what'll happen if they get their hands on you." Becoming business-like, she said crisply, "Howard Livington is a leader of a secret mutant organization. His people are helping Charles Xavier find you."
She studied the unresponsive Rogue. "You know what to do."
Still sitting, Rogue unsheathed her sword and examined the blue blaze. Heaving to her feet, Rogue sprinted down the road with curious ease and calmness.
~*~
What Am I?
I Wish I Was A Butterfly
I'd Fly And Fly
Until It Was My Time To Die
It's Creeping In Again
I Know What I Really Am
No More Pretty, Purple,
Peaceful Butterfly
~*~
It was not yet dark, for there was light, although it was dimming. Stopping in front of a coporation building, Rogue looked up to the looming intimidation and walked inside. Immediately, Rogue found the meeting room and brushed past the secretary.
The secretary bristled impatiently and stood up, attempting to stop the strange young woman. "Excuse me, miss! You're not allowed to---" Her sentence was obscured when a shining blade pierced into her side.
~*~
Simple Life
If I Were A Butterfly
I'd Fly And Fly
Until It Was My Time To Die
Its Creeping In Again
I Know What I Really Am
No More Pretty, Purple,
Peaceful Butterfly
~*~
Pulling the blade out with ease, Rogue ignored the horrified gasps around her and cut off the woman's head. Better a simple death than a painful one.
The meeting door burst open and Howard said with annoyance, "We're in the middle of a meeting!"
Rogue searched the room and her eyes landed on a middle-aged male with graying hair in a black suit, as if he were about to attend a funeral.
'Leave no traces...'
Slicing through the elderly bunch of middle-aged men, Rogue brutally cut carelessly, but with dead aim. Blood showered her hair and drenched the room, filling the place with the stench of death. Not one to pleasure in mutilation, Rogue swiftly ended each and every one of their lives, until Howard was left.
~*~
Come See The Blood That's In My Bed
Come Hear The Things
That Nobody Talks About
Shut Up You Mouth
Shame On You Shame On Me
~*~
Sweating, the man pleaded with the young teen. "Please... I have a family."
Rogue said dully, "They've already been disposed of. It's time you've joined them." Without a further word, Rogue sliced heavily through his body, breaking his bones as she cut through them with ease.
The two body pieces lay on the floor while blood gushed over Rogue's boots and the man's fingers twitched before his eyes rolled lifelessly and breath no longer occupied his lungs.
Crouching down, Rogue examined the man's body before wiping her sword on his half-drenched suit. Like sweatlines, blood tinged her face and dripped from her hair to the red, red floor.
~*~
Look At Me
I Wish I Was A Honey Bee
Anything, Anything Other Than
The Things I Have Been
I Slip Out Of My Skin
So I Don't Have To Do It Again
But Just A Passing Thought
And Your Filth Is Seeping In
~*~
Then she was flying. Bursting from the windows, shattering the heavy glass like it was ice, Rogue fell towards the ground, not noticing the shouts and alarm hurled at her. Before she hit the floor, she suddenly disappeared. Sirens wailed of their too late arrival while witnesses looked stupidly at the spot the girl should have been crushed on.
Back at the Brotherhood's home, Pietro gently laid the sleeping Rogue into the tub. He ran the shower and watched fascinated at the pink water washing down the drain.
Rogue's eyes fluttered open, the pink water dripping from her eyelashes and she looked up quietly, into the blue eyes of her friend. Though she hadn't said a word, her eyes challenged him to speak against her, against the actions she had committed.
Pietro only picked up her leather-gloved hands and placed a bar of soap into it. He left her to her chaotic thoughts and she felt the water patter over her body for what seemed like eternity. Her clothes had soaked up the water and washed out the blood but Rogue could still feel it. She could still feel the blood covering her body.
~*~
Come Scrub My Hands
They Won't Come Clean
Come Sit With Me
While The Walls Press In On Me
Shut Off That Light
Shame On You. Shame On Me.
~*~
A/N: Confused? Good. Explanations will come later on. x) Anyway, review, review, review!