Humans were said to be some of the most resourceful creatures on the face of the world. Undaunted by any challenge, they'd met and conquered nearly any problem they'd ever encountered, with their only true enemy being themselves. They could adapt to any environment and, with their technology, deal with almost any challenge. They'd spread across the entire world, and even to the stars.
If humans were the inventors of adaptation, mutants were its masters.
Their hidden fortress was testified to this. With only the barest of resources, the skills and powers of the mutants present had brought its technology level up to rival that of most world powers military bases. Weaponry was a low priority for mutants, however, as they preferred to focus on the future, with their plants and their development of Cerebro. That and of course the fact that most mutant children could, with their gifts, take out an entire platoon of human soldiers.
Of course in the fortress, there was a medical center. With a war going on, casualties were inevitable, and Magneto had ordered bodies to be destroyed whenever possible. No sense in human scientists studying their dead remains and learning their secrets. Their names were remembered, and given to the archive of Cerebro for the time when the war ended and they could be remember. But the living needed looking after to, and thus the medical center had been patched together from whatever could be found and/or built by the resident fix-it's, Beast and Forge.
Which is now where Cyclops found Ms. Marvel and Rogue, lying on twin steel tables at the far end of the isolated room. Other patients he'd already passed by, including Husk, who's shoulder was being properly bandaged by one of the off-duty soldiers, and Berzerker, who was having his wounds patched up.
"How is it?" asked Cyclops, as Beast and Forge snapped to attention upon his arrival.
Beast was his typical self, clad in the standard white lab coat that most scientists and doctors tended to wear. Not that he was a civilian. His quick-wit and deadly ferocity in battle had earned him a place as Cyclops's equal, a commander of a small squad of mutant soldiers. But he preferred to keep them safe in the confines of the fortress, researching ways to fight, rather than fighting.
His lieutenant Forge was remarkably similar in that aspect. Rescued from some failed experiment of his called 'Middleverse', Forge had been an easy-going guy... until a land mine had completely blown off his left arm and most of his left leg. Surprisingly, Forge himself had crafted his replacements, and apart from a little stiffness in his movements he was otherwise as fit as anyone in the fortress.
"Things are looking, well... not very good," replied Beast with a heavy sigh. "Ms. Marvel has slipped into a coma. We suspect there is little chance of bringing her out... not the way she was, at least," he added softly. "She'd be little more than a vegetable."
"Just another name to add then," murmured Cyclops, then aloud he asked "What about Rogue?"
"Now that truly puzzles me," replied Beast, indicating the monitor above Rogue's head. A series of lines jumped in and down above her head in a tangled mix that Cyclops could not identify. "This is a recent reading we got of her brainwaves. It's totally chaotic. However, when we tried to filter it out, we found this," he stated, tapping a button on the nearby machine.
Instantly the jumbled mess of lines separated into two, very distinct, separate lines. Two sets of brainwaves.
"Rogue's mind is understandably a chaotic place. There is simply no medical explanation for what happened regarding her mutation," stated Beast. "As for what we can do, we've tried a few mild stimulants but she hasn't shown any change."
"How long will she be like this?" asked Cyclops, indicating Rogue's prone form.
"We scientists have a special term for that called 'I don't know'," replied Beast grimly. "Could be an hour, could be a week... a month... or she may never wake up at all, like Ms. Marvel over there."
"Maybe I can help," came a new voice. Cyclops, Forge and Beast simultaneously turned around to see Mindbender standing there in the doorway. "With your permission sir, I'd like to enter Rogue's mind and see if I can't understand what the problem is."
"Is that safe?" asked Cyclops.
"It should be," replied Mindbender. "As long as I don't touch her, my thoughts are still my own. I should be able to find out the cause of the problem."
Cyclops considered this for a moment. True, it would be invaluable if Rogue could be saved... but was it worth the life of Mindbender in her place?
"Do it. But no heroics, Mindbender. I've already got two names to add to the list, I don't want yours on it as well."
"Understood," replied the blonde boy with a nod. "Can someone get me a chair?"
A chair was obtained and placed between the two unconscious women. Mindbender sat down, clearing his mind, preparing. Gently he placed a hand on the forehead of the unconscious Ms. Marvel, and a second hovering an inch or so away form Rogue's deadly pale skin. And then, he dived in...
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David's eyes opened wide as he entered Rogue's mind. Each mental landscape took on a form that most reflected the personality of its owner. Thus, David was not terribly surprised to see that Rogue's mind was a dark and gloomy graveyard, filled with tombstones. Some were marked with flowers, and David concluded they had some sort of symbolic significance. In the mind, symbols were sometimes important. The sky was dark and cloudy, with the occasional flash of light and dull roar of thunder in the far background. Below the names on the tombstones were great deals of information. This must've been part of her power. Some were long, some were short... little pictures and words that must've been the memories of people she'd absorbed.
Reaching down, he touched one of the flowers, and received a flow of warm emotional energy. Someone she cared about. Glancing up, David saw the name on the particular tombstone was Kurt Wagner. No one he recognized.
David stepped down the path, searching for more information. He passed by other graves, other memories. He'd been in here before, after all, but he hadn't been sight-seeing at the time. Rogue's own memories were hidden in the mausoleum up ahead. That would be a logical place to start looking for answers.
Suddenly there came the sounds of fighting, of cries of pain, and David rushed forward, opening the doors of the mausoleum wide and peering inside.
And go the shock of his life.
One side of the room was the same gloomy darkness that Rogue's mind was composed of, and along the walls written like scripture her life and her memories into the stone. The other half was different. Brighter, clearer. The words written in bold and flowing script. And the two sides seemed... in flux. And David saw why immediately. In the center of the small room Rogue stood, arms extended, wrestling with Ms. Marvel. Their minds were clashing. And judging from the clash and the shift in the walls, they were trying to assert dominance of the room. And all the rest of Rogue's mind, it would seem.
"Rogue! Ms. Marvel, stop this!" he shouted, trying to separate them, as if they were physical beings. They ignored his feeble efforts.
"Get outta mah head!" shouted Rogue, socking the psionic image of Marvel across the face, sending her sprawling. She was up in a flash however, and tackled Rogue.
"I don't want to die!" she screamed, slamming the auburn-haired belle to the ground. "I can't just die for you! I want to live!"
"Stop! You're killing each other!" he shouted.
Neither listened, and idly the mutant boy known as Mindbender wondered if either could even hear him. They had eyes only for each other, it seemed. Blood-red eyes, bent on destruction.
David was not a soldier, and he was infinitely grateful for that fact. Magneto had declared he was too important to the war effort to risk on the front lines. He stayed behind in the safety of the fortress near Cerebro. He'd never had to make a life or death decision like his comrades, like Cyclops. He'd never had to choose one life over another, even if it was his. But now... now he had to make a terrible choice.
"I'm sorry," he stated, focusing his psionic energy, as his eyes turned all white and pupilless. Mental energy cascaded around his body, bathing him in white light as he stretched out his hands towards Rogue and Ms. Marvel...
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Mindbender opened his eyes slowly, lifting his hands up and dropping them down into his lap, giving a soft sigh. He wish he hadn't had to have done that. But it was the only way.
"Well... what happened? Did you find out the problem?" asked Cyclops.
"I did," he replied softly. "It has been dealt with... permission to leave sir?" he said, not bothering to wait for a response as he made his way to the exit.
"Wait, aren't you going to explain?" asked Cyclops in confusion and irritation. Mindbender was never like this. He was usually so meek and submissive he waited to be told to get lost before he could leave. Something must've happened. Something bad.
"Rogue can explain it all to you," Mindbender called out over his shoulder as he departed, sealing the door shut behind him. Right now he needed to clear his thoughts.
So it was that Beast, Forge, and Cyclops turned their attention to Rogue as she finally stirred, giving a groan. Carefully, she opened her eyes, blinking the green orbs and looking up, trying to comprehend completely what had just happened to her. Slowly, she sat up, glancing at those in the room.
"Rogue... are you alright?" asked Cyclops, resting a hand on her covered shoulder.
"Ah... ah'm okay... sorta," she replied.
"What happened?"
"Ah... ah must've absorbed Ms. Marvel... but... ah couldn't break the contact because we were both unconscious... so ah completely absorbed her. Ah... ah drew her memories and life-force so completely into me... that she was me... sort of."
"What did Mindbender do?" asked Cyclops.
"He separated us. But... but we couldn't live like that. Its like having split personalities... but its two whole, complete personalities, inside mah head," she said softly, lowering her head. Her eyes moistened with tears. "So he... he..."
"What'd he do Rogue?"
"He had to seal one of us away... and Carol paid the price," she said softly, glancing at the blonde's comatose body. "There was nothing else we could do for her."
There was silence then. Another life lost to the war. Another name in the great list of those who'd fallen. Rogue sighed deeply, lowering her head into her hands and began to cry. For everything she'd lost. She'd been responsible, indirectly perhaps, for Carol's death. She'd been her friend, the only one in this dimension she had besides Scott, and Rogue had killed her.
Not for the first time she'd wished that the Juggernaut had simply crushed her skull in during that fight back in her world. It'd only been two days... but it seemed so long ago.
Author's Notes:
Just a little more insight into the war and how its changed the lives of humans and mutants alike. And as many of you long saw coming, Rogue absorbed Ms. Marvel and her psyche was suppressed in the subconscious of Rogue's mind, though in the comics Jean and Professor X were responsible for that. Mindbender doing it is, ironic in a way, if you've figured out who he is. Next chapter will deal with her learning about her newfound abilities and dealing with things. Interesting note, AoA Forge was an almost completely mechanical cyborg in nature. So was Beast, at least according to the glimpses of AoA I got from TAS. Rogue's inner mind and its landscape are mentioned in 'Nightmares,' and was inspired by Sandoz and Roguesknight's works, with a few creative spins of my own.
Risty: Well that's always been my goal. Evo is not comic or TAS. Its always done things in new and unique ways, yet still draws from those elements. I try to do the same., like what I did with Carol and Rogue. Glad you're liking the insight into the characters. I try not to make them -all- "I hate humans, me kill humans" kinda people, then they'd look too alike.
Todd fan: I know it has been a while. But some of the best lines you never really forget. Glad you liked AU Paige and her powers. Oh, and there's your AU Forge. Poor him. Still, could've been worse, right? Could've been Todd.
DoubleL27: Glad you liked the way I planned for Rogue to gain Carol's powers. I do try and be original in such endeavors. More insight into other characters to come of course, in rapid succession just like the battle scenes. Because of 'course there's more battles to come. Cool Paige, poor Sam, yay Rahne. Oh yeah, and Lance. Beware of dark Lance. *yoda-esque* I sense much hatred in him.
Lyranfan: Well, as always glad my work impresses you. And yeah Sam's attitude is called, I believe 'necessary evil.' Yeah, sorry no Scarlet Witch, but it should be obvious why. Glad you're enjoying the new take on Rogue and her influx of Marvel's powers. By now hopefully you've been given enough clues to figure out who Mindbender is.
Archmagus: Next chapter, promise. The great AU Magneto finally appears to his army. Glad you're enjoying the style of the story, though I imagine you can now see why it's rated R. As you stated, no pulled punches.
Comet-hime: Oh more will come, fret ye not. This promises to be one of my longest, proudest works yet. Glad you're getting such great inspiration from my work. Which is ironic considering you've inspired some of it yourself! We're caught in a great circle! And very glad I am you enjoyed the Carol and Rogue moment at the end.
Nessie6: Well I dunno about the Guthrie clan other than Sam and Paige, so I'll just stick to those two and refer to the rest of the brood as numberless, energetic, and down in Kansas. Yes, vertically. AU Husk is rather sadistic. And yeah, totally poor Pietro. Twin siblings should never be separated.
Sashi: Just a teensy bit of masochism. And as you yourself pointed out, it's AU Paige. I doubt regular Paige will be anything like her, if and when I ever write her. And yeah I also heard recently that the Guthrie clan is all mutants. Freaky. I thought only Paige and Sam were, so I wrote the fic accordingly. Ah well, creative license. In Evo they're all humans, sans those two. Glad I got Pietro's speed right though. Speaking of tidbits though, can you get my any fine details on Rogue's (Ms. Marvel's) strength and invulnerability and send me an e-mail? Thanks.
Rogue14: You think I am evil? I have not yet begun to smite! Now let's see, where is that randomly-slay-a-character command button. I know I left it around here... aha! Right next to my randomly-maim/torment-a-character button. Muwahahahaha.