Rogue reluctantly started walking, not sure where she was going. But she had to get out of the open. She could feel something. Beyond nothing making sense to her, she could feel danger in the air. It was thick with tension.
Thus, she was surprised but not totally shocked when the explosions began.
The ground shook, and Rogue immediately ducked out of sight behind some nearby debris. At least until she found out the source. Then cautiously she crawled forward. Explosions meant at the very least people. Maybe, hopefully, people who could help her.
Cautiously she peered over a overturned car, down over the hill she was on. And gasped in surprise. The streets were a battle ground. Human soldiers and machine-soldiers twice their height were steadily advancing on their foes, heading in Rogue's general direction. Their foes... mutants! Her friends, no less! She saw Tabby and Amara, running along the ground, throwing time bombs and fireballs back at the soldiers to slow their advance. And there, Lance, overturning one of the pseudo-sentinels with a very localized earthquake. She didn't recognize the girl with them, but from the way she flew through the air like Jean, she could've only been a mutant too. But she did recognize Cybelle. She'd been introduced to the dark-skinned Morlock when she'd been brought to the Institute to fight the Legacy Virus.
But they all looked so different. Tabby's blonde hair was cut short, almost shaved right next to her head, and she had a grim, determined expression seen so rarely on the vivacious teen. She was dressed leather similar to her Siren's uniform, but instead of the 'X' symbol she'd added during the fight with Apocalypse, her belt sported a strange 'M' symbol in its place. Amara was in a similar strange uniform with the 'M' symbol, with a cloak thrown around her shoulders, and her hair was also cut short. The length Tabby's had been, last Rogue had seen her. Lance was the same but... when he looked in Rogue's direction... she saw his expression. She didn't think she'd ever seen him look so... no, this was beyond angry. His expression projected raw, pure hatred that knocked Rogue off her feet. Cybelle was wearing some black uniform sleeveless and the 'M' patch. Her hands were even bare, and she had the same symbol tattooed over her left eye. The blonde wore some sort of black, skintight uniform and a bomber jacket over it. She was the only one smiling of the entire group.
"There she is! Found her!" shouted the girl, and Rogue looked up, realizing she'd been spotted.
"Get her the fuck out of here! Magma, Meltdown, give me a hand!" roared Lance, thrusting out his hands and knocking over troops and machine-soldiers alike. Magma and Tabitha focused their attacks, burning through the foundations of a nearby building, and promptly sending it crashing down on the overturned troops, smashing them to bits and killing them all.
Rogue was shocked. No, beyond shocked... appalled. They... they'd just killed all those men!
Lance might not have been an X-Man but he didn't enjoy killing more than anyone else. And Magma and... had he called her Meltdown? What was going on?!
Rogue gasped in shock as the young woman, she could see now she was a tall, statuesque blonde not that different from Jean, swooped down and grabbed her, lifting her up in her arms.
"Hey, what tha hell?!"
"Relax Rogue, I've gotcha..." she said, "Guys, we got her!" she shouted over her shoulder at the others, swooping down low along the ground. Lance and the girls ran up and joined them as the blonde dropped Rogue lightly onto her feet.
"What's going on?!" shouted Rogue, enraged and confused beyond all belief.
"Troopers coming," said Amara, panting for breath, leaning partially on Tabby for support. Cybelle stood to one side, also recovering her breath.
"Good," replied Lance, slamming his fist into his open palm. "I am personally gonna enjoy grinding them all into paste!" Cybelle smirked, nodding in agreement.
"Not today tough guy... we got orders," replied the blonde, brushing back her short hair. "Grab Rogue and get the hell out of the fire."
"Fine. Let's go," grumbled Lance. Cybelle nodded, already taking a head start.
"Would someone tell me what is going on?!" shouted Rogue, her nerves already frayed from so much stress and confusion.
"I told you! We got troopers on their way. That barrier won't hold 'em for long," replied Amara, as she started to jog away, back the direction Rogue had come from. She stopped when she realized Rogue wasn't coming.
"Amara what're ya talking about? What is goin' on? Who are those people? Why do they want ta hurt us?!" asked Rogue, grabbing the dark-haired girl and shaking her shoulders.
"Sweet Mars... how did you know my name?!" said Amara, shocked.
"What?" asked Rogue in confusion. "Of course ah know you're name, we live together!"
"Rogue you've been missing for years. Magma joined after you vanished at Northbrook," replied the strange blonde. Another explosion rocked the air. "Can we discuss this later? I may be invulnerable but you guys sure as hell aren't."
"No arguing here," replied Lance, taking off. Tabby and Amara followed. Rogue hesitated. These... these couldn't be her friends, could they? But it -was- Amara. She'd recognized her name... but... only the blonde knew Rogue, and she had no clue who the strange woman was. She lifted up into the air, flying in wild, erratic circles to draw the fire of the soldiers as they began crawling over the building, again continuing their advance after Rogue and the other mutants.
"Damned if ah do, damned if ah don't," grumbled Rogue.
She took off after Lance and the girls.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rogue caught up after Amara and Tabby, who were still tired from running earlier. Lance was pushing on ahead, moving with intense single-minded purpose. He was beginning to frighten Rogue, truth be told. What had happened to him? What had happened to Tabby and Amara for that matter? Or Cybelle? She hadn't known the burnt Morlock very well, but she'd never seemed so... lustful for blood before. She'd seen her expression once Lance suggested more slaughter.
"Lookout!" shouted Cybelle, suddenly turning and running back towards them. "Its an ambush! Fall back! FALL BACK!!" she shouted. Lance's head snapped up and the girls came skidding to a halt behind him. They saw it immediately. Armed troopers rappelling down from one of the nearby buildings.
A net dropped down atop of Cybelle. At first she was mildly amused. After all, her very touch melted even the thickest of iron. But the net was copper fibers, and the soldiers activated it, sending shockwaves through Cybelle's body, 'causing her to scream.
"Damn!" cursed Amara, running forward. Lance grabbed her wrist.
"Forget it Magma we gotta move!" he shouted. She shook him off angrily.
"Screw you! We can't leave her behind!"
"We haven't got a choice!" said Tabby, grabbing Amara and hauling her along. Reluctantly the dark-haired girl went along as Rogue and the others began running away from the ambush. Blasts split the air, and deadly laser beams sliced through the air. Sometimes dangerously close.
The blonde girl dropped down by them again, flying alongside Rogue as the others ran for their lives.
"Come on, this way! I spotted an opening!" she shouted, veering away. They gave pursuit, as she swooped up and straight down into the cracked earth... heading straight towards a metallic man-hole. Rogue winced, preparing to see her smash her head against the iron circle, but to her shock the blonde smashed through it like it was ceramic and she was a cannonball, barely even flinching. Lance and the others dropped down into the hole, splashing down into the sewers below. Rogue followed.
"Meltdown, light!" said Lance. Tabby obliged, filling her hands with glowing time-bombs. Pale yellow light filled the tunnels. Lance nodded.
"Come on, let's get a move on."
"Wait a goddamn minute!" shouted Rogue, immediately drawing everyone's attention back to her. "What is goin' on?! Ah am not moving another goddamn step until I get an explanation."
"What the hell are you talking about Rogue?" asked Tabby, stepping over towards her, looking at her like she was crazy.
"Come on guys we gotta move," said the blonde, hovering over the sewage at the bottom of the tunnels. "Those troops won't take long to find us. And I, for one, would prefer to be long gone once they get here."
"Sounds good to me," grumbled Lance. "Stay here and die or come with us Rogue," he said over his shoulder, marching off. "Like I give a damn," he muttered.
"Like you give a damn about anyone!" Tabby shouted softly after him.
Rogue growled softly, tempted to smack Lance. But something told her that he'd strike her back. Harder. She shivered. He was so... so full of anger. Why? What had happened? What was going on? Well, she wasn't going to get any answers here. Reluctantly, she followed them. What choice did she really have in the matter?
None.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lance led the way, though it surprised Rogue he even knew where he was going. He just kept plodding straight in one direction. Tabby and Amara followed closely behind him. The blonde hovered just next to Rogue, and kept glancing over at her until the white-striped girl finally lost her patience.
"What are ya looking at?!" she growled.
"Sorry Rogue, just... well, we're all surprised you're still alive," she replied with a soft smile. "We really thought you'd bit the big one."
Rogue frowned a moment, studying the blonde in the limited light from Tabby's time-bomb's. She was tall, about Jean's height, with short blonde hair she kept brushing back over her shoulder in what Rogue assumed was a nervous habit. She had the most startlingly blue eyes, and her smile lit them up whenever she spoke. She also had one hell of a figure, and her skintight uniform showed off every curve perfectly. But Rogue had never met her before, never met anyone remotely like her. And yet she seemed to know Rogue. Like a friend. But... what did she mean, bit the big one?
"What? What're ya talkin' about... and how come ya'll know me when they don't?" she added, gesturing at the others walking in front of her.
"They... oh god you don't have amnesia, do you?" asked the blond, suddenly very concerned. She floated closer to Rogue, examining her head, but very careful not to let her fingers touch Rogue's skin. So, she did know Rogue. She knew about her mutation, at least. It wasn't exactly a secret, but still, the way she did it showed familiarity. Idly Rogue brushed a glove hand through her hair, checking for bumps. She felt fine. Except for one killer headache.
"Ah... no ah'm... ah'm just very confused," replied Rogue softly. "None of this makes sense... ah mean, ah was just fightin' Juggernaut when... when everything got really weird."
"Maybe it is amnesia. But I'm sure the commander can fill you in once we get home," relied the blond. Smiling, she extended her hand. "Here, maybe this'll help... I'm Ms. Marvel. Remember me?"
Author's Notes:
The war between man and mutants has come to my AU. You'll find out details concerning that later. Needless to say, something different happened at a certain point in history, creating the AU that Rogue has stumbled into. Those familiar with AoA? Not quite the same, but similar. And we get introduced to AU Lance, Amara and Tabby. As well as an introduction of a canon character newly evolized, Carol Danvers. You'll see why later, but I imagine most of you can figure out what'll happen to her. It won't be quite what you'd expect. Amara's calling upon Mars was not referring to the Red Planet, but to the God Mars from the Roman Pantheon. Since she is from Nova Roma, which is a roman colony, it only makes sense. Soon to come, more of the AU Evo characters, including some canon and OC's. Tastefully inserted, the Evo characters still gain the most spotlight, rest assured. They're background mostly.
Richard-Raven-croft: Well, pull up a seat, glad you're enjoying yourself. Anything specific you're enjoying? Stuff I should or should not do? Details please. Reviews are good but meaningful reviews are better.
Todd fan: Oh I shall, but you'll doubtlessly hate me by the time this is done. Poor Todd. And poor Forge. And poor a lot of other characters to be honest, but I know you'd hate me most for those two.
Nessie6: It's not the future, it's the present. It's the exact same time and place she vanished, just a different alternate world. I'll explain that more in depth later. And yes, Mindbender is an Evo character, and here above you've seen plenty more as they exist in the AU. I hope this chapter helped clear things up a little bit. And no, 'fraid its not Bobby or Jamie. Recall that both of them have -brown- hair.
Comet-hime: Glad you liked my transportation description, I worked extra hard on that. As for poor Rogue, she'll be finding out soon enough. Believe me when I say that from this point on... things only get better. And plenty more fodder and ideas from your pretty piccies.
Sashi: Migraine causing? Awww. I didn't mean to make things too complex. But things are complex, darn it. The human mind was not meant to comprehend everything at once. That's why we perceive the world the way we do. Yeah, you just think about it. I hope you enjoy where this goes though.
Risty: Plenty of other words you can use. Fascinating. Compelling. Exciting. But I'm glad you like everything so far, including the dimension trip and the new world. More to come of course, hope you continue to enjoy what has become of the Evo cast in my Alternate Universe.
X00001: I'm glad you like my work so far and I'll do my best not to disappoint for the upcoming chapters. While the review was good, any comments/suggestions/requests? This fic (like my others) reflects my audience as much as my ideas. Input is always welcome.
The Rogue Witch: Well glad you enjoyed Infection and hope you enjoy this just as much, if not more. Well, kinda glad you're in the dark, makes it more exciting and surprising to read my story. And glad you recognized my effort to improve my writing style.