Thanx to:
Key and WolfStar-SCA (I hope this chapter answers some of your questions – showdown next time! Afraid Remy won't be showing up in this story and there will be some Lancitty, although not too much)
Enfant-terrible (thank you!)
Storyteller (I'm glad you liked the humour, I wasn't too sure about it and it's nice to get affirmation that it's good)
GiniaTM (there will be major fluff in the next two chapters to make up for the lack of it in this one)
DemonRogue13 (thank you!)
Sorry this chapter took so long to post (I've been away) and it's short – I promise faithfully to add the next one in the next few days. I've also revised the earlier chapters now I've finally worked out how to get the layout right! Please review! It makes me all happy inside.
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution. If I did, there'd be a fifth series.
"Let go of me you bitch!"
"Now Rogue, is that any way to speak top your mother?" Mystique sat in front of Rogue as the girl fought the restraints of the chair she sat in.
"You're not my mother!"
"I'm a little disappointed that it was so easy to trap you," commented Mystique. "I thought I taught you to be suspicious of everyone, yet I've been able to follow you for all this time without you noticing. You should have realised that I wasn't Quicksilver this morning."
"Ah did know!"
"Not until it was too late. Not until I was close enough to get to you." Mystique sighed. "You're too naïve – but we can soon change that."
"Fuck you!"
"You've said that already." Mystique reached out and took Rogues ungloved hand, to the Goths horror. She tried to pull away, but she was too tightly bound to the chair.
"Get off me you crazy bitch!"
Mystique didn't let go. "What's wrong with a little mother-daughter bonding?"
"The serum doesn't work stop touching me!" It was her worst nightmare come true all over again. The last time she'd touched Mystique, she'd lost control of her mind. Her biggest fear since then had been the same thing happening to her again – and now Mystique was holding her hand.
"I know all about your serum," Mystique told her. "I've seen your notes – the Brotherhood aren't exactly vigilant. I know your powers still work. It's more than I could have ever hoped for."
"Get off me bitch!"
"Absorbing Pietro's personality without his physical abilities or harming him. I've wanted you to come home to me for a long time now. And I knew you'd come back if I could just get you to see things from my point of view."
"Leave me alone you - "
"Crazy bitch? You need some new material."
"You can't do this – "
"Watch me. By the time I let go of you, you'll be the daughter I always intended you to be."
"You're trying to get me to absorb your personality the way I did Pietro's," realised Rogue. "It won't work. Ah'm still mostly mahself and ah've had way more contact with him."
"Maybe. But you're an hour overdue for your next dose of that serum. I anticipate a gradual return of your powers, and the stronger they are, the more of my personality you'll take without injuring me. With a prolonged transfer instead of an instantaneous one, it should be a permanent attitude adjustment."
"Turning me into a mini-Mystique?" Rogue rolled her eyes, trying to mask her distaste. "And ah thought Pietro had a big ego."
"Pietro and his ego are no longer something you have to concern yourself with," said Mystique with an evil grin. "Nor are the X-Men."
Rogues heart sank. "What did you do?"
Mystique morphed into Magneto. "Let's just say I gave him a job to do and he was caught in his own trap."
"He wouldn't …"
"Trust me. With the incentive I gave him, he would." Mystique changed back into her usual blue form and put her face closer to Rogues. "Poor Pietro. Nice ass, but he's just not that bright."
Rogue glared at her adoptive mother for a moment, and then brought her head forward sharply. Her forehead connected with Mystiques noose and blood flew.
"AARGHH! You bitch!" yelled the shape shifter, taking her hands off her daughter and putting them to her nose instead, much to Rogues relief. Her respite was brief however, as Mystique quickly recovered, stemming the blood flow with her left hand and grabbing Rogues face with her right.
"Fighting's not going to help you," she hissed. "You're not getting away from me again!"
Pietro, thought Rogue desperately. Pietro, please be OK and find a way to help me!
*********************************
Lance had been totally confused to see Pietro speed out of the mansion and hadn't understand a word of the other boys garbled explanation. But he did stop the earth tremors as he saw Kitty running out after him.
"What's he talking about?" Lance indicated to the agitated Pietro.
"Mystique's taken Rogue and like pretended to be me to get you out of the house and she totally tried to get Pietro to kill us and now we don't know where they are!"
"You mean you didn't stand me up?"
"No!"
Wolverine walked up to the teens and Lance suddenly began wishing he'd thought it through before rocking the institute. "Of course Rock-Tumbler, ya realise Mystique knew you'd come over here when Kitty didn't show and you'd probably take a coupla lungfuls of poison gas?"
"Poison gas?" The ground began shaking and Lance controlled himself. "That bitch!"
"And-with-us-outta-the-way-she's-startin-over-with-Rogue-and-Wanda-and-Todd-and-Fred!" Pietro ran his hands through his hair and tried to control his panic.
"Not in this lifetime," said Lance determinedly. "We'll find them. Where do we start looking?"
"I-don't-know!"
Kitty shot her ex-boyfriend a look of pure gratitude and Lance coloured slightly.
*//Everyone to the X-Jet//* the Professor broke in telepathically, causing Lance and Pietro to look around in confusion. *//I've located Rogues powers about five miles outside Bayville//*
Pietro shot back into the mansion and Logan ran after him. Lance wasn't sure about following them until Kitty grabbed his hand and pulled him in that direction.
"Summers is gonna go nuclear if I go with you," said Lance, almost happily.
"Like, he already did. He almost blasted Pietro through a wall! Who knew he felt that way about Rogue?"
"Summers has a thing for Rogue? You're joking!"
"No! He went totally ballistic when he found out about her and Quicksilver."
"You know who's gonna go ballistic? Blob. He thinks he won a free meal for six. He's gonna be pissed."
"Shame we don't have the time to tell him," replied Kitty as they ran into the hangar. "He'd probably squash her!"
Scott was indeed going nuclear as they approached the X-Jet. "You can't be serious Professor! Quicksilver AND Avalanche? Quicksilver got Rogue into this mess in the first place, and Avalanche attacked Kitty when they were supposed to be dating!"
"You ridin me Summers?" Lance clenched his fists and the ground started to shake. Scott smirked and put a hand to his visor.
*//Both of you, stop it! //* The professor rolled into the hangar and shot the boys an angry look. "Cyclops, if Pietro and Lance wish to help, then we should let them. I doubt we could stop Pietro anyway."
"Got-that-right!" With a final glare at Scott, Pietro sped into the X-Jet. "Come on! Hustle it up!"
Lance eyed the X-Jet warily. He wasn't wanted, wasn't needed and he hated to fly. He still hadn't really forgiven Rogue for walking out on the Brotherhood. Maybe he should just go home.
"Please come Lance?"
He looked at Kitty and sighed. In spite of the recent bitterness between them, he still couldn't say no to her. Instead he willed his last meal to stay where it was and got into the jet.
**********************************
Rogue could feel her attitude beginning to change.
One moment she had been desperately trying to think of an escape plan, praying that Pietro and the X-Men were alright. The next, she realised that all she had to do was change shape –
Ah can't shapeshift!
Who cares? You know she's sincere about letting you go. Then you can go back to the Brotherhood and –
Ah'm bein possessed again!
Closing her eyes, Rogue frantically tried to send a telepathic message, something she'd never done before. *//Professor, Jean, please hear me, say that everyone's Ok, say Pietro's OK, please, I need help! Can anyone hear me?//*