So it was that Scott and Rogue talked. Sat there and talked. And they told their stories, and Rogue learned a great deal about her new home.
Because trapped she was. At least near as either of them had been figure out. Scarlet Witch had been a casualty of the war long, long ago. And without her hex powers, Rogue didn't see any conceivable way of returning to her own dimension. This saddened her... but she felt distant about it. The tears would come later. She pushed it into the back of her mind, forcing herself to focus on the here and now.
Seems their world had been the same up until just after Scott had arrived at the Xavier Institute. Toad had exposed them long before the sentinel incident in her own world, and people's reactions were much the same as they had been in hers. Fear, hatred, and violence. Toad had managed to escape their wrath that day, but Xavier had not been so lucky only a few weeks later. He'd been shot down in cold blood by a mutie-hater at a Mutant Rights convention. He'd tried until the very end to bring about peace. But that was only the beginning of a long series of events that had led to the war-torn world Rogue had awoken in. Of Jean or Jamie, or some of the others who'd once lived at the Institute, Scott knew nothing, apart from those under his command. Presumably they'd been brought into the camps or killed by anti-mutant mobs. In many ways, the Magneto of this world had been dead right about the human's reaction.
Mutants were contained, at first, sent off to concentration camps to keep them under control, with nullifying collars around their necks and the 'M' symbol branded into their heads over their left eye. It'd been like the Jews during World War II. No, it'd been worse. But it had explained to Rogue the symbols she'd seen on Jubilee and Cybelle. The brand was a mark of shame, but Magneto had made it into the symbol of his people. A symbol of pride.
But Magneto was the mutant messiah. He'd found and taken in troubled mutants, like the Xavier of her world. He'd taught them to control their powers, to become a united team. And they'd rescued their brethren from the camps, killing their human captors. Unfortunately, this spurred the humans to counter-attacks. Captives mutants were slaughtered in large numbers to keep their populations down, and nuclear devices had been launched to try and destroy Magneto and his men, not realizing they were safe and protected beneath the surface of the earth in his metal sphere. It'd been specially built by Magma and Cyclops, reinforced by steel and wired and set up to be completely self sufficient. Magneto kept the entire place running with a magnetic/electric generator he'd designed himself. And nobody had yet discovered its location. From here they could strike anywhere with no relative difficulty.
And there the world was, perched on the brink of destruction, with two sides engaged in a deadly war. Countless lives had already been lost on both sides. Kitty, Jean, Logan, Xavier. So many friends that Rogue had known, all gone. And the human population had been devastated in the nuclear attacks.
Then Rogue did break down and cry, clinging to Scott for comfort, which he gave as best he could, holding her in his arms comfortingly.
Reluctantly, Rogue spoke of her own world. Partially to satisfy Scott's curiosity, partially to keep those unhappy thoughts of her at bay. She needed to focus on something positive right now. Cyclops had said he would speak to Beast, but she didn't hold out much hope for herself.
So she talked of her home, of the Institute, of Bayville High. Of the Brotherhood and the Acolytes, of all those she'd known and how different they'd been back in her universe. How Scott had been a teacher. And Jean his girlfriend. And Kitty's cooking had been dreadful. Little things she'd never completely appreciated until she'd lost them all. And he'd just sat there, listening. She was glad. She needed someone to just listen right now. Later she'd cry alone, keep her pain to herself. But for now, it felt nice to be comforted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Commander!"
Scott's head snapped up, as did Rogue's, as Ray stumbled into the room, making his way around a nearby rose bush, skidding to a stop as he spotted them both.
"Oh, sorry sir, didn't mean to interrupt..." he started.
"Nevermind," grumbled Scott, sliding to his feet and giving Rogue a gentle pat on the shoulder. "What is it, Berzerker?"
"Report from Magneto sir. We've got some new orders. I was told to report directly to you..." he stated, glancing at Rogue questioningly. Scott nodded. Berzerker held his hand against his ear, it glowed with a soft blue light.
"Okay. Convoy heading through downtown Caldecott, Mississippi to avoid blockade. Blockade set up by us. Intercept convoy. Much needed supplies involved," stated Ray, repeating his orders as he received them. An odd quirk of his mutation he'd discovered a few years back was being able to listen in on electronic airwaves. He could hear them as if he had a radio right near his ear, and could turn it on and off at will. As such, he'd been given to Cyclops's unit to intercept such transmissions from Magneto.
"Understood. Berzerker, go find Ms. Marvel. Mobilize the troops," he ordered. Then, his expression softening a tad, he turned back to Rogue. "Sorry, but this matter requires my attention. I'll talk to you later."
"Wait... ah... ah want to help," she said softly.
"You sure?" he asked, turning back to face her. "Can you follow my orders?"
"Well actually ah'm used to that," she replied with a knowing smirk.
"Alright fine," he said. "Well you're already suited up," he said, giving her a quick once-over. "Come with me. I'll lead you to the center. But don't expect special treatment," he added.
"'course not," she replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rogue lined up with the other mutant soldiers in the center of the fortress. Its name fit, it really wasn't much to look at. Just a big open space, with a metal ceiling about twice as high as the other rooms, and some drawn out chalk lines to mark where the soldiers stood. Like right now. The center seemed to be at the very top of the fortress.
Quicksilver, Scaleface, Magma, Cannonball, Husk and Meltdown (or Boom-Boom, as Rogue knew her) in row one.
Berzerker, Avalanche, Lucid, Wolfsbane, Ms. Marvel and Rogue in row two behind them.
Around the troops she noticed, hanging on the fringes, some mutants she could've only concluded were civilians. Mindbender was there, that didn't terribly surprise her. If he was the only one who could operate Cerebro he must've been highly valued. Have him killed in combat and no more mutant soldiers would ever join them at the Fortress, save through sheer luck. She also spotted Storm and a young blonde girl, perhaps no more than fifteen, standing next to her. They too watched from the sidelines.
Cyclops stood atop a pedestal, speaking to his troops. Behind him stood his lieutenants. Spyke, who looked much as Rogue knew him in her universe, and Calliban. The pale mutant looked slightly more animated than the one she'd known, albeit in a brief basis. His eyes held more life, and he stood tall, not slouched over.
"Alright, everyone listen up!" shouted Cyclops, and the dull din of conversation ceased. Everyone turned their eyes on him, soldier and civilian alike. "Our lord Magneto had been aware of our supply crisis for the past week, and has done much to provide for us. He has created a blockade to force an enemy convoy towards our location. They will be heading through downtown Caldecott in Mississippi in less than an hour. We will be approaching from the south and the north in a two-pronged attack. First line," he stated, addressing them. "You will be from the north under the command of Spyke. Signal us when you are in position with the usual methods. I will personally lead the second line in an attack from the south. When I fire into the air, begin your attack. We expect little resistance but be careful, I want as few casualties as possible. Do you understand?"
Rogue was nearly deafened by the resounding "Yes, Sir!" reply.
"Then move out!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey kid," a voice called out. Rogue paused, slowing her jog. A young lady had just addressed her. Some strange lady with... red hair... blue eyes. Ah. Rogue smirked, recognizing her. It wasn't much of a disguises, after all. But she hadn't been standing with the soldiers... so she must've been a civilian in this dimension. Nobody taught her matrix-level kung fu skills in this world.
"Yeah... did you need something?" she asked.
The red-headed lady reached down to her belt, drawing a gun from it and twirling it around her finger, presenting it butt end towards Rogue. Rogue accepted it. It wasn't just any gun, it looked advanced. Really high-tech. Military grade. And it was light as a feather in Rogue's hand.
"Mutations are nice and all, but never hurts to have a backup weapon," she remarked casually.
For a moment Rogue was enraged, but she remembered this wasn't the same woman she knew. Maybe this version of her foster mother was actually nice. Rogue smiled, nodding, and then jogged off after Cyclops and the others, calling out back over her shoulder. "Thanks Mom."
Mystique blinked.
"Mom?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rogue manages to form a rough holster for the sidearm as she jogged along, catching up with Cyclops. He and his squad had arrived in a large open hangar at one of the bottom most levels of the fortress. A great number of long underground tunnels led out in a number of directions, and she concluded this must be how the base's location was never discovered. They could appear anywhere around Bayville and no one would be the wiser.
Rogue boarded into a modified aircraft that'd been painted black along with the other troopers in Cyclops's group. She noticed Spyke doing something similar in another jet. It surprised her, how close the vehicles were meant to resemble the Blackbird, but then again the same principles applied. Stealth and speed were their primary important. Firepower came from the mutants within.
Cyclops sat in the commander chair, his jet facing one of the many metal sealed entrances to their fortress. He was watching his watch.
"Five... four... three... two... and one," he declared, as the doors slid open with pre-determined timing. Magneto must've planned the timing from a remote location. Wherever he was, he knew what he was doing, that was for sure. Their jet zoomed out of the confines of the hangar, along a narrow tunnel and up and out into the sunlight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The troops filed out, Rogue staying alongside Cyclops as they emerged from the stolen and modified jets. They kept low to the ground, climbing over a low hill of hard-baked earth. Caldecott looked much the same as Bayville had, all dust and death and destruction. She wondered where it was that most humans lived. Had any cities survived this war?
"There it is," whispered Wolfsbane, already transformed into her fully wolf form. It kept her closer to the ground. Plus her senses were a lot sharper in her wolf form... except her eyesight, or so she'd once told them back in her world. Avalanche crouched down on the other side of her, his expression one of eagerness. Rogue was right... something bad had happened to Lance to make him hate humans so much. And she suspected she knew what it was.
"And the other team?" asked Cyclops, grabbing some binoculars and peering down at the convoy. Simple covered trucks, few guards, and one longer trucker with re-designed wheels to allow it travel over rougher terrain. Just like Magneto had said. And... ah, there it was. Two flashes of light, being reflected by a mirror that Spyke was carrying with him for just such a signal. "They're in position... everyone ready?" asked Cyclops, glancing back at his team. They nodded. Then he looked to Rogue.
She gulped, nodding her head. Hopefully she wouldn't be in the thick of things.
"Alright... now!" he ordered, launching an optic blast into the air. The signal for both teams to strike. And strike they did. Rogue was vaguely reminded of a certain movie about Scottish swordsmen making a similar sweeping attack against their enemy. She joined in the charge, yelling with the rest of them.
Battle was soon joined.
Author's Notes:
A very brief, simplified version of the Alternate universe's history. I'd rather not go into the actual, boring dialogue between AU Scott and Rogue. But for those of you familiar with the Age of Apocalypse, same deal. No Xavier, no mutant-human relations (bad though they may be). Thus, war. The idea of Berzerker's powers allowing him to pick up radio waves is based on his comic version. Evo Berzerker has not shown such talents, but who's to say he has yet to develop such powers? Before any of you panic, no those are not all of the mutants at the fortress. That's just Cyclops' team. And yes that was Mystique, whom in my AU never adopted AU Rogue, the two have no relationship. AU Mystique just took in AU Rogue as a friend from AU Destiny. The reference to the movie about Scottish swordsmen was, of course, 'Braveheart'. As if you couldn't tell. Next chapter, a little more insight into Ms. Marvel's and Husk's powers (for those non-comic fans among us who don't know what they are). Plus, next time, something very special planned for the poor dearie Rogue.
Risty: Ah, thought perhaps you meant her son. I gotcha now. Rahne and Sam in the comics? Interesting. Well I don't care either way, in Evo they're one of the couples I love, support, and write about. Oh and Prof X wasn't exactly trying to save Toad, Toad simply led to what happened, as you no doubt read above.
Elrohirthewriter: Squee indeed. I've always been curious about Cannonball's sister since I saw her way back in another fic. I only hope I do her character justice. Cable and Bishop both had their good points, don't get me wrong. But both of them really had attitude problems because of their horrible futures.
Rogue14: I thought you'd say something along those lines. I'm afraid you'll have to brace yourself for disappointment, however. This won't be quite as fairytale story-like as you'd probably prefer with the southern goth and the x-men's field leader.
Todd fan: Yeah, poor Toddly. Don't worry, he will be avenged. Forge too. And I don't know about canon things either. Like I keep telling everyone, I never read an X-Men comic in my life! Everything I know I know from the great glowing box that consumes half my life. All hail television!
X00001: Mmmmmm… no. Mention of Jean yes, you've already seen. But that's it for now. But don't worry, I'll have rather specific mention of what happened to everybody's favorite *gag* redheaded bitch.
Nessie6: Pietro will always be like that, I think. But yeah, masking inner demons and such. Kinda makes you wonder if maybe he'd been doing it before because his twin was in a mental institution. Roberto… with Amara. Nah. Roberto strikes me as the X-Men equivalent of Pietro. Prefers the regular, human ladies. A new one each night.
Rogue Witch: AU's are always compelling, if done well. I don't think a single person with a decent imagination has never asked the question 'what if?' AU's answer those questions. Glad you're also enjoying the AU Scott-Rogue relationship.
Elrohirthewriter: Glad you appreciate how my characters are still, somewhat, IC, even though they've all changed so much. Carol Danvers you'll find out next chapter, great many things planned for her and Rogue. 1984-eqsue? Am I missing something? I'm afraid you've lost me.
DoubleL27: Updates coming atcha with the speed of Quicksilver. Glad you're enjoying the characters and brief insights. More of those to come, in dispersed throughout with the plot to keep the drama level up. And angst level. And as you can see, Scott may try, but it won't be easy. I loved Carol's suggestion too, actually. Made me laugh.
Ankle: Clearly you've not read Scribbler's 'Judgement Day.' Best AU I've ever come across. So is Sandoz's 'Rock your World.' There work has inspired me. High quality stuff. But glad you like my story too.
Sashi: She doesn't know who Kitty is, just a name she heard Rogue call out. My apologies for awakening such painful memories. And no, Willow was invented by Comet-hime. I'm not entirely sure where she got the idea from.