The next day, regulations were relaxed, people were allowed to sleep in with their hangovers or exhaustion, allowed to recover from a long night of living freely. They deserved it, stated Magneto.
Rogue was asleep in a private room, finding Carol's old room with little trouble. Another subconscious memory she had. Carol's roommate, some gal named Psylocke, had been transferred to another base a few weeks ago, and a replacement had yet to come. Good for her. Rogue had no desire to see anyone at the moment, least of all Cyclops. The pig.
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"So what've you got for me Beast?" asked Cyclops, sipping his coffee. His night hadn't been as late, since after he couldn't find Rogue he'd gone pretty much straight to bed. He hadn't slept much, but then again as a commander of Magneto's troops he was used to being up at a moments notice.
Still, a little coffee never hurt.
"Forge and I believe we've formed a theory about Rogue, based on her story and my lieutenants own experience with parallel dimensions. We think that perhaps the powers of the Scarlet Witch were turned upon themselves they tore a hole in reality. Since her powers manipulated reality, this seems logical if they were pushed too far. And if this is the case, that explains why Rogue herself was sent, because of this Jean Grey's shield. It sent only the person inside. And if that is true..."
"Enough," replied Cyclops, rubbing his temples. "We know its true, at least. This Rogue is from a parallel universe. Now I have only one question. Can we send her back?"
"Send her back?" asked Beast.
"Yes send her home..." replied Cyclops darkly. He was convinced it was for the best. She was safer there. Especially from him.
"Not from what Forge is telling me, no," replied Beast with a heavy sigh. "According to his calculations there are billions of parallel universes out there. Countless numbers of them. Even if we could invent some device to breach the walls between the universes... the chance of finding the one this Rogue comes from... its... impossible," he said.
Cyclops sighed. Beast rarely used that word, and when he did he was serious. And between him and Forge they would've exhausted every single tiny possibility.
"So once again science has failed us," replied Cyclops, finishing off his coffee and standing. He needed some fresh air.
"Indeed," replied Beast. Then something occurred to him. "Wait..."
"What?" asked Cyclops, turning back around.
"I may not have the answers... but I think I just recalled someone who might," he replied with a toothy grin. "Let's just pray she's still alive."
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"Rogue? Rogue are you in there?"
"Spdflx?" she said, sitting up and brushing back her hair. Someone was pounding on the door. Groaning, she slipped to her feet. She'd worn her uniform to bed, pretty much just collapsed and gone straight to sleep after last night's events. Her hair was a mess, her face was a mess, her uniform was a mess. But right now, she didn't get a rat's ass.
"What?!" she roared, slamming open the door.
"Whoa!" said Forge as he stumbled backwards, flinging his mechanical arm up to protect himself. "Easy Rogue! I'm on your side!"
"Sorry," she grumbled, placing a hand to her face. God, it was too early for this. "Just... rough night."
"I hear that. I must've been drunk as all hell last night... but listen that's not important. We think we've found something important... would you come with me?"
"Surprised Cyclops wasn't here instead of you," she grumbled, closing the door and walking with Forge as he guided her back to the medical lab.
"Actually he wanted to, but figured he'd be the last person you'd want to see right now... something about last night..."
"At least he kept the details to himself," grumbled Rogue, secretly grateful Scott had kept what happened between them. Maybe he was really sorry about what happened. She'd have to set things straight with him today.
"Ah Rogue... come in," said Beast, beckoning her in to the medical lounge. It was empty, no patients today. All the truly injured were in another part of the medical center, kept in isolation and hooked up to morphine to keep them from feeling the pain. Ray was due to be released later that day.
Scott was there. And, Rogue was sorry to see... he really did look unhappy. She sighed, all her anger fading away. She almost wished he could be a pig so she could chew him out, but she knew it wasn't true.
"Rogue, I..."
"It's okay, Scott," she interrupted. "We were both... out of last night, and ah forgive ya. But that don't mean ya can do it again," she added quickly.
"Perish the thought," he replied, turning his back to her so she wouldn't see his expression. At least his tears weren't visible. Few people in life ever got a second chance. He'd gotten it... and he'd blown it.
Sensing some of the tension in the room, Hank cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention.
"Rogue. We believe we've thought of a way you can return home. I admit openly it's a long shot, but still..."
"What is it?" asked Rogue, a little too eagerly. But still, how eager could anyone be to stay in a world that was not theirs. Especially if there world was so much better? Not that eager at all.
"Destiny."
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So it was that Rogue, Cyclops and Colossus were again taking one of the helicopters west to the Rocky Mountains... to visit an old friend of Magneto's. She'd retired from the war effort. Seen too many horrible, awful deaths. Last anyone had heard she'd headed west to join with an even older friend of her own. Agatha Harkness. A human, but a witch. She did not choose sides in the war. And now neither did Destiny. She knew the outcome, but no one could pry the truth from her lips.
The helicopter set down near an old hut high up in the mountains, isolated from the entire world, surrounded by a self-sufficient garden of flowers and foodstuffs, as well as a simple pen for chickens and pigs. A small family could live in such simple surroundings for years, undisturbed.
Cyclops took the way, leading Rogue and Colossus behind him. Cyclops had picked Colossus for a very good reason. The man wouldn't spill what had happened to Magneto. Or anyone else for that matter. Colossus was mute. His vocal cords had been completely crushed by a rogue mutant early on in the war by the name of Omega Red. He'd been destroyed... frozen then shattered into a million shards. But the scars of their battle lingered.
Cyclops didn't want Magneto to know what was happening. After what had happened he no longer trusted himself around Rogue, that was true. But worse than that was that he did not trust Magneto around Rogue. He knew about Magneto's project. An end to the war. But only she could use it... and it might kill her. He couldn't allow that to happen. That's why he was here, now, looking for a blind woman who could see the future. Beast and Forge could be trusted to keep their mouths shut. At least for a while. Hopefully that would be enough.
Cyclops reached the door first, but stepped aside, allowing Rogue to approach. She raised her fist to knock...
"Come on in," came a voice from insight. A young female's voice, no less. That was peculiar. By all accounts, Destiny was in her mid-fifties. Confused, Rogue pushed open the door, revealing the interior of the small hut.
Small it was. Her room back at the Institute was bigger, and this place was considerably filled with all manner of clutter that made it seem that much smaller. A bed rested in the corner, simple and barely big enough for a single person to lie down upon it. All around lay a clutter of items, some easily recognized, some truly exotic and unidentifiable. Along the far wall lay a rack of drying herbs, just over the bed, filling the air with all manner of strange scents. A strange symbol was traced in the floor just to the left of the door in some whitish powder, and the remainder of the floor was covered in a clutter of parchments, fluffy pillows, and other things. On most surfaces around the room a number of multicolored candles and incense had been placed, though now they were unlit. The rest of the room was shrouded in shadow.
"Please don't disturb the symbol please... took me an hour to get it set up," came a voice from the darkness. Rogue's head snapped up, and she took a hesitant step inside, trying to peer into the darkness and get a better look at who was there. It certainly didn't sound like her foster mother.
"Destiny?" she asked.
"A good guess," replied the strange voice again. "I'm afraid not though... though I believe you'll be pleased to see a familiar face."
The strange voice intoned a word that, for the life of her, Rogue could not translate. And this was a girl who had absorbed German from Kurt, Portuguese from Roberto, Russian from Piotr, and even Japanese from Logan of all people. Yet this single word was like nothing she'd ever heard before. It seemed to resonate with pure power.
The word spoken, the candles in the room simultaneously lit up with a tiny flame, each of a different color. Red, yellow, green, blue, violet, illuminating the room in a myriad of bizarre colors and double-shadows. And in the light, a figure became visible, standing almost directly in front of Rogue. A woman, young and dark-skinned, with ebon hair that fell to her shoulders and dressed in white robes the color of virgin snow. And, to Rogue's shock... it was a -familiar- face.
"Amanda?" she asked in surprise.
"I go by the title Daytripper these days," she replied. "But yes, in your world you know me as Amanda Sefton."
"How..."
"Destiny foresaw that this day would someday come to pass, and prepared me while I was her apprentice so I could be ready for when you came here. I've been expecting you."
"What..."
"Your foster mother and my other teacher, Agatha Harkness, both perished during the beginning of the war, when the bombs fell," replied Amanda. "Their magic in the Winding Way was not strong enough to save them, though mine was."
"But..."
"My teacher could not foresee everything," replied Amanda... or Daytripper, as she preferred to be called. "But she knew when her time came... and she passed on peacefully. And now I think, since I can sense you're becoming frustrated, I will drop the soothsayer gypsy act and allow you to actually ask a question before I respond to it," she added with a smile.
"That'd be helpful," grumbled Cyclops.
"Ah, Cyclops, second in command of the great Magneto," remarked Amanda, glancing at him as if noticing he was there for the first time. "How will you cope without your great leader, I wonder?"
Cyclops, to this, had no possible reply. Was... was this strange girl telling him Magneto was going to die? That was impossible... without Magneto, the war would be over... and the wrong side would win. He was their leader. Without him they were helpless.
Ignoring the befuddled Cyclops, Amanda turned back to Rogue, gently taking her gloved hand and drawing her into the hut. "I know you've come because you're not from here... you're seeking a way home, right?"
"Yes."
"There is a way," replied Amanda. "Allow me to explain..."
"Colossus, wait out here," ordered Cyclops, about to join Rogue inside. But the door shut in his face. A clear, non-verbal way of saying that he wasn't welcome. Grumbling, he sat down outside, waiting for Rogue to emerge.
Author's Notes:
And so we find out more about the dimensions, and we meet the AU Amanda Sefton. Her comic incarnation was Daytripper, a powerful gypsy sorceress, and she was Nightcrawler's wife and the mother of their child, Bluebelle. The comics also made references to the mysterious 'Winding Way' when describing magic and I've made references to it here. More to come, including explanations about Rogue's trip, dimensions, and Amanda's magic. But two chapters from now, next chapter has something even more important.
Sashi: I've noticed that as well, actually. DBZ fanfics with the Saiyan's too (mostly Vegeta). Go figure. And yes, I agree, Rogue needs to realize she's going home someday. And Scott does too. Glad you liked the insights into Magneto, Lance, and all the others.
X00001: Glad you're enjoying yourself, and thanks as always for the reviews.
Todd fan: Oooh... you have no idea what lies ahead for these poor mutants. Oh, if you only knew. But you don't, because only I know! Muwahahahahahahaha! Glad you liked what happened with Kitty and Rahne.
Comet-hime: Hey, go easy on the guy! He's had a rough time too ya know. Glad you enjoyed all the happy scenes with Lance and the Sam/Rahne. And I know you liked the Mystique dancing. I know you did! Don't deny it!
Elrohirthewriter: For Kurt, you'll soon see. Although if you want spoilers, check out what happened to comic Kurt in Age of Apocalypse. That'll give you some hints. Rogue and Carol have already kinda-sorta made peace, the way she does with most of her other personalities.
DoubleL27: Of course he's sorry. He's still a good guy at heart, just a little rough around the edges. Same as most everyone else. And yeah, nobody ever stops such underaged things from happening, but I wanted to be sure I didn't offend anyone. Poor Magneto and poor Avalanche. Don't worry though... everything will be alright in the end.
Nessie6: Poor you with your poor headache. I wish I had the mutant ability to heal you. But, I'll just keep writing, since my story can distract you from the pain of reality. As for Lance, well... here's something you can hug safely *hands a Lance-plushie to Nessie6* Enjoy. I'll keep this one *huggles his X23-plushie*
Spectra2: Oh, believe me I shall keep up the good work. You keep up the delicious reviews. I must have delicious reviews... they sustain my life! Must... have... more!!!
Risty: There's always someone who cares, believe me. Usually its somebody in the middle of Canada, but other times it somebody important. I just try to cover myself. I'd love to be able to shapeshift too. I'd have -ever- so much fun. Hehehe. And yeah, I love writing there's AU's because I can be ever so creative with them.
Rogue14: Right away!
Sandoz: Oh shush you. I try to be non-offensive to my readers. And this is the thanks I get! I hope the angry-Lance (as he's being called) and AU Kitty story was everything you hoped it would be. And you're absolutely correct with the AU Scott and regular Rogue relationship. Kudos for spotting that. X1... oh, of course not... that's crazy... you're crazy... *hides his secret plans involving a spinning ring.*