There was a soft knock at the door to Phoenix's temporary bedroom but she completely ignored it this time, just staying under her bed sheets, her face hidden in the soft feather pillows and her body wrapped in limp warm bed sheet.
Another firmer knock followed before whoever it was let themselves in.
It was Rogue and she had with her a tray of food, enough to do for a fully sized breakfast.
Something Phoenix hadn't done since she had gotten here was eat, but she found herself forever without an appetite and forever without a care to grow one.
"Ah'm sorry, I'll come back later—"
Phoenix sighed finally getting up.
"No it's okay, come in."
Hesitantly Rogue did so and laid the tray on a small bedside table knowing it was something Phoenix wouldn't give a second glance to but feeling she had to try with her anyway.
Without looking at her Phoenix spoke, her voice flat and strained, her words getting straight to the point.
"I like you Rogue, in fact you're probably the only reason why I'm still here. But I know Storm's gonna die and I'm going with her so I want you to tell me a few things first. What did you X-Men plan on doing when you'd finally rounded us up and herded us here?"
Rogue straightened up slowly, the words chilling through her blood.
"What do you mean you're 'going with her'?"
Phoenix ignored her. "Well?"
Rogue brushed back loose strands of white on brown hair trying to brush off the nerving words Phoenix had just uttered.
"Look Phoenix, somewhere along the line you got our reputation mixed up with the Patrol's and I don't blame you for being suspicious of us because of that, but we're not the bad guys here. Charles's ideology is far from capture and slavery, you wanna talk to Sinister about that."
Phoenix frowned, red eyebrows almost meeting as she was now left more than a little confused. "Sinister?"
Rogue sat down on the bed again, the same as she had done not three days ago with all the patience and time in the world to spend with Phoenix if it could maybe stable the woman a little. It was her turn to get bluntly down to the point.
"Phoenix, you've gotta listen to me 'cause I'm gonna clear a few things up for you here and now. The X-Men and the mansion exist solely for a place mutants can come and have a decent shot at a peaceful life. We fight only when we're provoked and only for our people but at the same time we don't go about murdering humans or whatever. We don't capture, we don't deal in slavery and we don't kill. Got that?"
Phoenix nodded quietly, finding that despite her strong doubts before, now she was slowly beginning to believe her every word. Rogue went on with her to the point explanation.
"Now the Patrol, well talk about your complete opposites. Yeah that's who you go to for everything we stand against. They're a bunch of mutants too, damn powerful mutants. Only if you've got immense power do you get a place with the Patrol, that might have been why they were after you and Storm, Storm especially."
There was an expression of mild shock on Phoenix's deadbeat face. Her voice took on a little more strength with the rising interest she had in what Rogue had to say.
"Storm?"
Rogue nodded. "Charles says she packs a hell of a punch with whatever gift she's got. Not to say you don't either, you've got potential and a fair amount of it too."
She smiled in seeing Phoenix sneak a secretive smile of her own to herself.
"Anyway, off the point a little here. The Patrol yeah, they're run by this freak scientist who goes on the name of Mr Sinister. You wanna stay away from him on a dark night, any night actually. The mutants he catches, if they're not powerful enough to fight in his 'elite force' or whatever they are, then they're fair game for him to cut up and experiment on. That, I should know…"
She trailed off and Phoenix watched her pale.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, sorry. Well Sinister's team so far is small but ever growing and ever scary. Lets see, there's his second in command, Cyclopes. Man he packs more of a punch in his optic blasts that Logan does in getting to his beer."
Phoenix suppressed a laugh. "Optic blast, like laser beams coming out his eyes or something?"
"Yeah something along those lines. You wouldn't laugh though if one of them had hammered you in the chest more than a couple times."
Phoenix blushed in embarrassed shame. "Sorry."
Rogue shook her head. "No, it's okay. Anyway, next down from him is his brother, guy by the name of Havok. Plasma from hands, need I say more?"
Phoenix shook her head. "Not really."
"Nasty temper on him too. That makes him more deadly than the plasma. Okay next in line we have a fine young femme who likes to call herself Sage. Creepy little package, she sees you face, she hears your name, she'll never forget you and she'll be able to predict your ever move after your first fight."
Phoenix raised an eyebrow, slightly impressed by what she heard. "Good thing I'm unpredictable then."
"Yeah, well you aint going into any fights, not for a long time and a good bit of training first, if you're willing. Now like ah said it's a small team. Best for last, a guy by the name of Sabertooth. Avoid him at all costs, trust me."
As a way to gain her trust Rogue's black leather gloved hands reached for the hem of her long sleeved green top and pulled up the front to expose her belly to Phoenix, revealing the truth in her warning. Three long thick white lines stretched from her pelvis across diagonally to her side, dominating the skin there.
Phoenix winced in sympathetic pain.
"Nasty. Kind of like Storm's I suppose."
Rogue smiled sadly. "Another reason why ah think you should have just a little more faith. If ma body could heal that then she can heal what she was dealt, well ah believe so anyway."
Phoenix hesitated in asking the question most nagging at her since Rogue's quick silence only a minute ago.
"Did, did the Patrol get you once?"
Again Rogue was quiet, moving her emerald green eyes down to the dark wooded floor. She nodded.
"Yes."
Phoenix waited for more but didn't want to press. Rogue did continue.
"They experimented, they tortured, and they had their fun. Ah'm here for revenge now. But that's not something up for discussion."
Rogue got up. She nodded to the tray of food.
"You're best eating that, on Hank's orders."
Phoenix shook her head. "Couldn't even if I wanted to."
Rogue looked insistent. "You know we could go out instead if you're feeling a little confined here. Maybe a little change in scenery wouldn't go amiss, what do you say?"
Phoenix looked reluctant, her thoughts ever turning back to Storm.
"You could do with the fresh air too ah'm sure. Storm won't be going anywhere and that includes the after life by the way."
Phoenix wanted to refuse but at the same time desired the company quite badly. Her limbs were stiff from lying in bed so long, her stomach ached from the lack of food and her mind was taut from being left alone to think the worst. She was doing herself no favours here so finally in seeing the sense of getting away from the indoors she nodded in firm agreement to Rogue's idea.
"Okay, but I pick the food joint alright?"
Rogue smiled. "Fine by me."
The young southern mutant could never express the relief that hit her there and then or the easy that came over her worried mind as she felt a weight she never wanted to carry lift.
They left together away from the vast elegant mansion ground that was Rogue's home and into the streets of New York that Phoenix liked to call her home.
After a long night of little sleep and growing worry Charles found his body defeated to his mind and got up, heading to the place he had most visited over the past three days, the medical rooms.
Hank was there as always; it made Charles wonder if the boy ever went back up to his room at night.
He leant on his stick as he came to a stop at Storm's bedside, looking down on her never moving body.
"How is she?"
Hank turned to confront his mentor with something on his face Charles hadn't seen since he was given this patient, a smile, an actually genuine smile.
"Much improved. The flesh wounds are healing well, the blood's filled out of her lungs and she's responding to the liquids I put her on yesterday. I think Charles that we got our miracle."
With him and his report Charles smiled, laying a gentle hand on the dark forehead of his newest charge. He looked down on her closed eyes and took in her fair features nodding to himself in grave wonder.
"I would hate to think what the Patrol would have done if they had got their hands on this one."
Hank went on about his business talking to Charles as he did.
"Best not to think of the 'what ifs' Charles. Rogue would have been after them so fast though that they probably wouldn't have had her for five minutes before she got her back. You know how strongly she feels against them. She wouldn't be able to bear the thought of another woman going through the torture she did."
Charles shifted his stick and his weight. "That would be why she was so desperate to find them then, even more than I was?"
Hank nodded. "Exactly. I thought you would have known that."
To this Charles smiled in a bittersweet tone. "You four are the ones that share the gossip, I'm just the boring uncool teacher in the background."
Hank laughed. "Well if you use the word 'uncool' one more time then yes you would be. But you know what you mean to her; guess she's just really private. Remy's the only one that really knows what happened back there two years ago."
Charles stroked down the face of the young woman then made to leave.
"Well I don't intend on ever ask her, unless we really have to. That's her business, not ours. Anyway good work Hank, keep it going. For me now though breakfast beckons."
Hank turned and nodded then went back to his patient shaking his head and smiling at his miracle in almost disbelief. Now he only had to tell Phoenix.
As Rogue found herself standing in the single room that belonged to Phoenix and Storm and had made as their home for the past seven years she saw what Phoenix meant when she had talked about Storm being all she had. Phoenix smiled at her subtly shocked face.
"Yeah, place is kind of a state. I only need to grab a couple of things and then we're outta here."
Rogue stood at the doorway awkwardly as Phoenix grabbed a set of keys, a bag that was quickly stuffed with random pieces of clothes laid out across the floor and furniture and something Rogue didn't get a good look at, a photo frame she guessed.
"And we are out of here. Come on."
The two began to walk down a long tediously going set of stairs but only got past a couple of flights before Phoenix was stopped.
Rogue quickly grabbed her as she went to lunge for the wobbling figure of Mr Ransom. To this he smiled.
"And where's Miss Stormy on this fine day then?"
"You bastard, I swear to fucking God you are a dead man walking!"
But despite her struggles Phoenix couldn't get away from Rogue's scarily strong grip.
"Let go Rogue! He's the one that did in Storm!"
Rogue turned her bodily to face her with stern unflinching green eyes. Slowly she shook her head. She saw as a lick of red flames passed over Phoenix's sharp narrow green eyes; her face twisted into a warning for Rogue; her teeth and fists clenched tight.
"Let-me-go."
Rogue remained firm in her grasp. "No. I wont let you, he is in no way worth it."
Phoenix stared and Rogue back until Phoenix relaxed and was forced to admit defeat. To this he laughed.
"Another time perhaps? Good to see you again Phoenix and send Storm my condolences."
He continued to ascend the stairs and as he reached eye level with the red head Phoenix did the only other thing she could, spit in his eye.
He reached to punch her but an arm flew out in front of him blocking the blow inches from the young woman's face. Rogue stood now in front of Phoenix with as much warning in her calm green eyes as Phoenix had given her before hand.
No words were exchanged only a mutual loathing before both girls and man separated and went their own ways.
Phoenix stopped Rogue on the next floor.
"Why didn't you let me go? God Rogue, I thought you'd understand more than anyone."
Rogue's eyes remained calm and unflinching as she gave the most to-point answer she could give.
"Because, sometimes we have to be stronger, and I believe you probably can be."
And at that Rogue made her way with Phoenix behind at her heel out of the grimy one room apartment block and back to the vast luxury Victorian mansion grounds. She remained silent the entire way, allowing Phoenix to think.
((Chapter four up a.s.a.p, although that might nor be very soon, sorry.))