Revived
Rather than waking up in the motel room she'd spent the night with Logan, Marie was stunned to find herself lying upon a stone slab in some big creepy stone room with one killer headache.
"Logan?" she called out as she held her aching head, even though she knew he wasn't here.
His name echoed around the chamber and she followed the sound as it bounced off the walls, looking for something to indicate she was not alone in this strange place.
All she found was the burning torch on the wall that was shedding light in the otherwise pitch black darkness.
Goosebumps rose over her skin as the whole situation was just plain scary. She sat up on the slab, drew her knees up under her chin and tried to think rather than just freak out.
But she didn't really want to think, because these events where horribly familiar to those of a few weeks ago.
Her awakening from something that didn't really feel like it had been sleep to find herself in some weird ancient monument could only be the work of Mesmero again.
How did he get outta prison though?
"It helps to have friends as powerful as Apocalypse," the man of her thoughts startled her by saying from the shadows of the room. "He is ready for you."
For a moment all that sank through her fright was Mesmero's tattooed face emerging from the darkness to approach the table she sat on. Then his words registered in her mind and her eyes widened in horror.
"Ready fer me fer what?"
"All will be revealed to you in time, child," the cloaked mutant extended a hand. "Do you come willingly or must I again put you under my control?"
Not wanting this villain to do whatever the heck it was he kept doing in her head, she hopped down to stand next to him but refused to take his hand. With much more bravado than she felt she snarled at the lackey, "Let's get this ovah with."
Without further discussion, she was led through a series of dark corridors that actually had her wishing she'd taken the jerk's hand so she didn't feel so lost and alone in all the creepiness.
Finally there was light at the end of their journey, which appeared to be the main chamber of this place.
Torches illuminated every nook and cranny of the large room, for which Marie was grateful as she followed Mesmero down the staircase that lead to the ground level.
The first thing her green eyes locked on was the scattered bits of very familiar stone laying on a slab in the center of the chamber.
Coming to an abrupt halt at the base of the stairs, she gasped in shock and turned her head sharply from the sight of her shattered adoptive mother.
Her shattered adoptive mother whom she had shattered and killed, Marie thought with fresh tears at her actions springing to her eyes.
~~ She has not been killed. ~~
Gasping once more, this time in fright, she looked around the room for the source of that telepathic statement.
Apocalypse.
Seeing the ancient mutant with that unnatural glow around his body, which was hovering at least a foot off the stone floor, made Marie feel decidedly faint.
~~ Do not worry, Rogue. You are not here to be harmed. You are here only so that I may repay you for restoring my life. ~~
That failed to reassure her any and she stumbled backward into the forgotten body of Mesmero.
The mindbender steadied her, then responded to a wave of Apocalypse's hand and left the room with a bow to his master.
~~ You have no reason to be afraid, girl. ~~
No reason?
A nearly hysterical laugh escaped her lips at that statement as she thought of how this man had defeated the best members of the X-Men, together with the Acolytes, by simply clapping his hands.
Frowning as he again pried into her thoughts, the powerful mutant lowered himself to the ground and removed his Egyptian headpiece to shake loose his long black hair.
"You and this one," he motioned toward the remains of Mystique, "have freed me from my confinement and restored me to life. In time you will come to see that I am sincere in only wishing to repay you for your assistance."
"It ain't lahke Ah wanted ya out," she automatically responded to his words. "If it hadn't been fer that little worm ya've got doin' yer biddin' Ah woulda helped tha team destroy yer ass."
"I am not so taken with you as to fail in noticing that fact myself, Rogue, but it is of little consequence. The fact remains I am free thanks to the actions of you and your mother, for that I am in your debt," he extended a hand and moved toward her.
Even though he looked almost normal now that he wasn't all floating, she still backed away rapidly at his approach.
"Whaddya want?!" she demanded as he pursued her up a few steps before she stumbled and fell to her butt on the hard stone.
"That will be revealed in time, Rogue," he bent to use his extended hand to help her up. "For now I wish to discuss what you want."
"Ah wanna get out of here."
He laughed at that.
A deep, booming laugh that echoed off the stone walls quite eerily.
While he was distracted by whatever he'd found so amusing, Marie tried to scoot up some more stairs and get further from him, but he sensed her intentions and stopped laughing to grab her wrist.
His bare hand touched the small sliver of her flesh that was left exposed by the space between the end of her glove and shirt sleeve, but he showed no reaction whatsoever.
Oh mah Gawd, her mind registered with horror, mah skin don't affect him.
Swallowing down the panic that rose within her at the realization, she did what her body had wanted to do the second she'd seen herself in Apocalypse's captivity.
She fainted.
~*~*~
Though she wanted to tell herself it had been one freaky bad dream, Marie knew exactly where she was when she hesitantly cracked upon one heavy made up eye.
Her stiff muscles told her she was again laying on solid, unforgiving stone and her green eyes saw the torches blazing all around her.
She was where ever tha hell Apocalypse was.
"We are in what is known as Mexico, I believe," spoke the devil she thought of, "an ancient Mayan pyramid called the Castillo, if you wish to know our exact location."
"Whah am Ah here?" she pushed herself upright to demand of the villain standing just a few feet away from her.
"You must stop seeing me as a villain, Rogue, I am not one. I am simply a warrior in a war that started long ago. A war against people who would see all like us dead from the most gruesome deaths imaginable," his dark eyes gleamed into hers. "A war I intend to finish."
"Bah what? Destroyin' the world? Ya don't see tha villainy in that?"
"I've no desire to destroy this planet. It's far too resourceful for that."
Frowning, her thoughts turned toward a single question, but he raised a hand to stop her from asking it.
"That will be discussed later if you must have the information to be calmed. I believe we have kept your mother waiting long enough."
His words startled and confused her for a moment until she remembered the brief glimpse she'd gotten of Mystique's remains in the chamber just before she'd become preoccupied by the presence of this mutant.
Hand going to her gasping mouth, her wide green eyes flew around the room until they landed on the table those stone fragments laid upon.
Without conscience thought, Marie found herself sliding off the table she was on to approach her adoptive mother.
"Whah's she here?" she asked in a broken whisper after staring down at the shattered stone face of Mystique.
"The same reason you are, so that I may repay my debt to her," Apocalypse said as he moved to stand on the other side of the table.
"How can ya do that? She's dead," Marie stated as she turned her back on the table.
"No she is not."
"Look at her!" she turned back around to furiously wave a hand over the scattered bits of stone. "Thare ain't nothin' left. She's dead and Ah - "
"You did not kill her, Rogue. She cannot die in this form. She is in essence frozen within the stone, whatever shape the stone may take."
"No," Marie tried to refute what the mutant was telling her. "No one could suhvive lahke that!"
Deciding that there was only one way to do this, En Sabah Nuhr rearranged the scattered pieces of Mystique with a wave of his hand. Clenching that hand just a little he was able to fuse the stone together in the form the shapeshifter had been frozen when she opened the final door barring his freedom.
Rogue gasped and again turned away as the expression of horror on that restored stone face proved too much for her guilty conscience to bear.
While she was trying to suppress the confusing emotions swirling inside her, Marie failed to notice the other mutant rounding the table to stand behind her until she felt his hands removing her left glove.
"What are ya - " she began.
The rest of her snarled question was lost as he placed her hand upon the solid stone arm of Mystique.
Instantly agonizing pain shot through her body from the contact and she knew that it was her adoptive mother's pain. Screaming with rage at Apocalypse for forcing this upon her and herself for ever destroying the statue, she tried to tear her hand free only to find it stuck like glue.
Though her tightly shut eyes did not see it, the stone slowly began to change into familiar blue skin.
First it was the arm that Rogue was touching. The surface under and around her hand changed until the arm stiffened then jerked repeatedly as blood and life flowed through it once more.
Then it was the shoulder that joined that arm to the rest of her body.
The life began to flow faster back the shapeshifter as Marie's absorbent skin drew out the curse that had entrapped her.
Within a few moments, Mystique's lungs, throat and mouth were returned to normal. A split second and deeply inhaled breath after that, the older woman let loose a nightmarish scream of agony, anguish, horror, pain and rage.
Yellow eyes blinked back to life and slowly focused on the girl clutching her arm.
Memories of her time in the stone prison only her feet had yet to be freed of, causing the shapeshifter bolt upright on the table and shove Rogue away from her with every ounce of her returning strength.
Marie flew backward and slammed into the table she'd been laying upon a few minutes ago before falling to her knees and covering her ears with her now free hands.
Above her Mystique's agonized screams turned to shouts of rage.
The words were muffled by her hands, as Rogue tried to block this reality out. Sobbing uncontrollably, she rocked back and forth on her knees, chanting over and over again "I'm sorry."
"Sorry?! You don't know the meaning of the word! Yet," Mystique said furiously before slamming her fist into the distraught girl's cheek.
Logan Ah need you, was Marie's last thought before blissful blackness enfolded her.