A/N - Ambrosia; Why would Kurt call Kitty 'Miss'? Um, because he's polite and hasn't known her all that long? I don't know, actually. Well-mannered little Elf, ain't he?
Unwillingness to go back and explore emotional relationships? Boy howdy, are you going to regret saying that. We have a whole bunch of Pietro vs. Mystique angst in this chapter, and from here on in the relationships and dynamics of this slipshod little exodus are what drive the whole narrative. The last chapter wasn't so much unwillingness, as prepping for the angst that's to come - drawing things out a little. Think how uninteresting it would've been to read if everything was just lumped together at once. Boom, there goes the character development, away into the sunset in a cloud of dust.
'Still, if Magneto is insignificant in the scheme of this, then you're pretty much saying don't count on seeing any future cast members.' Am I? Don't bet on that. Some as-yet-unseen characters do turn up, just not in any incarnation you're familiar with. It's just not feasible to have everybody there, though. Unbelievable, too. And as for the ongoing debate about Magneto; all right, I'll concede the point that yes, Pietro *did* know Magneto pre-Evo timeline. The guy *is* his Dad, after all, and *did* perform all those augmentation experiments on his kiddiewinks when they were little, so it stands to reason that Pietro would have a passing knowledge of who Magneto is. My point was - and is - that Pietro hasn't seen his father in several years. Even though Mags turned up in Season One, he and Pietro never had any interaction before the ToT, so to the cast here, he's just a non-entity they never encountered. A nothing to them. That clear up where I was going with that?
Mike; you're very welcome. I like getting reviews, as do the other authors.
Tenshiamanda; you're right, they could do with a telepath or something. But isn't that always the way? You need something, and it's just not there...
Many thanks to everyone who reviewed - Tears-of-Silver, Ambrosia, Mike, Tenshiamanda, Kentucky Fried Fetus (that's one hell of a pseudonym, by the way), and SorrowRain. Hope to hear from you again in relation to this chapter. Enjoy.
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Twelfth Fragment ~ 'Retrieval'
*******************
{BAMF!}
Kurt fell to the floor. "Ach, it's madness out there. There's people fighting over *water*. Can you believe it? An old man and his wife have a still and people are rioting for a drink from him..." He shook his head. "The sooner we're gone, the better."
"Kurti!" Robyn leaped into his arms. "Are you okay? You don't 'port unless there's trouble."
"I just hate mobs, Liebling. I'm all right." He held her close and soothed her fears, breathing in her familiar scent for a little reassurance of her safety; a habit of his since before she could remember.
Daisy was standing uncertainly nearby, scuffing her scaly little feet and sniffing profusely. "Do I get a hug, too?" she mumbled after a moment.
Kurt opened his arms. "Ja, Liebchen. I have enough arms for everyone."
Daisy paused, surprised at the open tactility. Then she grinned and joined the impromptu cuddlefest, making up for lost time when nobody would touch her.
*******************
Rogue chose a knife with deliberate slowness, and watched it flash in the grey sunlight.
Pietro took a step back. "Rogue?" he said again, a little less sure of himself this time.
"You are a mutant," she growled. "You must die."
"Hello? If you really are Rogue," Pietro said nervously, "then *you're* a mutant, too."
"I am *not* a mutant!" she spat. "I am the Hunter! Already one and twenty muties have fallen by my blade." She coughed, and abruptly her voice changed. "Pietro... help... who's - Shut up!" she finished loudly. "Stinkin' mutie trash! As soon as I can, I'll kill you too!"
The right hand, holding the knife, lifted.
"Get away!" Rogue shouted. Her left hand clamped onto the opposite wrist, pushing it down. "I can't... bring someone, please! Help!"
The right hand won the battle for control, and Rogue charged towards Pietro, weapon held high.
Completely ignoring normal safety rules, Pietro turned and ran in the direction of the hangar.
"Stupid mutie!" Audrey shouted. "You let him get away!" She jerked in the direction Pietro had gone, but Rogue was maintaining enough control to keep her feet rooted to the ground.
"No," Rogue whimpered. "Leave them alone..."
Her voice changed again. "That's it."
The Audrey consciousness abandoned chasing Pietro and launched an all-out assault inside Rogue's mind, relentlessly beating down the mutant persona.
*******************
Mystique, in the form of a raven, flew swiftly across the decimated city, following Pietro as he led Kurt and Logan on foot. From her high vantage point she was the first to spot Rogue - who should have been dead, and looked as such - and swooped down, melting into her true shape before even fully landing.
Rogue was just standing there, not moving and staring at nothing.
The three men came up behind Mystique, taking in the same strange scene at a glance. For a moment, nobody could think what to say. It was all too surreal, and for an instant they each felt adrift from the shred of normalcy still afforded them by their broken world.
Suddenly, Rogue snapped to life. "Mutie freaks!" she screamed, enraged. "Everywhere!" Raising the knife once more, she barrelled towards the weirdest-looking one - a demon in man's clothing.
_Not the knife,_ Rogue thought weakly, desperately. _The skin. Please, the skin._
"I will *not* use your freakish powers!" Audrey said out loud, startling those around her by talking to the other presence in her mind.
And that acknowledgment was Rogue's key to the world.
_Who are you?_ she whispered in their shared mind.
"I am the Hunter!" Audrey declared. "It is my sworn duty to smite all mutants! And when they're all exterminated, I'll strike down this body I've been forced into, thereby killin' the last mutant."
"Who?" Mystique pressed from outside, not sensing the inner turmoil that had sparked such a statement.
"The one who calls herself 'Rogue'." Audrey had stopped, though her knife was still poised for an attack. "The one who... who trapped me in this damn body!"
Rogue continued in the same quiet tone, sliding a little control into her muscles and guiding Audrey's hate-ridden limbs to her own purposes. _Touch him._
Audrey advanced once more towards Kurt, empty left hand outstretched as if to grab his throat and choke the life out of him. Automatically, Kurt began to retreat.
"Don't," Logan murmured. "The real Rogue wants this. She's foolin' the other persona."
So Kurt stayed in place, but didn't need to fake fear as Rogue's bare hand met his neck.
_Sorry,_ Rogue's awareness said as his mind flew into hers. _You have the most energy. I need you to help me fight Audrey..._
There was a flash, like lightening. Kurt could feel his body falling down, yet he was watching it at the same time. Through Rogue's eyes. Two scenes, yet one and the same. The most bizarre experience of his short life.
"Mutie! Stinkin' Mutie!"
Kurt turned inside Rogue's MindScape[1] to face hatred that was as old as blood. It was strange, but he could feel himself just as he always could. Almost as though he still possessed his physical body. It was that which probably prevented him panicking at being absorbed so fully and completely. His identity was still his...
"Ja," he said, testing the new lips of his mental form. "That's right. And you'll find me a harder fight than an underfed wisp of a girl who's half-mad from hunger."
"I can take you on!" Audrey was a half-formed shadow, but she solidified before his eyes. Her face was a lot more sallow than he would've thought, her hair a dark shade of brown, and from each ear jangled an assortment of hoop earrings and gold crosses. She wore the same leather ensemble Rogue's body had on, and behind her green eyes blazed something dark and hateful. The shadows rippled around her like living tissue, and formed a knife in her hands.
Kurt blinked. He had a cutlass that had definitely not been there before. It was hard and real to the touch, and he waved it experimentally above his head. "Ja?"
Audrey's knife became crueller, designed to wound, and wound badly. The other hand held a nastier knife.
Kurt abruptly had a foil in his tail and another cutlass in the other hand. "You're automatically outnumbered, Fraulein," he purred, brandishing all three. He felt a sudden twinge, like someone had turned on a light and ripped away a nearby shadow. But there was no time to dwell on the odd sensation. "Care to surrender?"
In answer, the mental form of Audrey charged forward. She was deadly and swift, and sped low, swinging her knife around to rip Kurt's gut out from under him.
{CLANG}
The foil met her halfway, and she snarled as Kurt's face came close to hers.
"Too slow, Fraulein," he said softly.
The second knife whipped up faster than the eye could see. Audrey's normally green eyes burned with black hatred, and Kurt startled as it neatly sliced the foil in two.
"Scheisse!" he swore, and 'ported away.
He reappeared a few feet from where he'd been standing, and was momentarily surprised that bamfing was even possible here, let alone the curious feat of bamfing without collapsing. Yet there was little time for speculation as the shade of Audrey leapt forward again.
Somehow, she was faster here than she could ever have been in real life. Even Pietro would've had trouble keeping up with her, and all Kurt made out was a blur of leather and metal before searing pain lanced through his side. He screamed, and on instinct his tail lashed out and caught Audrey across the face.
She fell back, cursing loudly and leaving one of the knives embedded in the fleshy part of his hip. It had gone right through, and Kurt winced as blood began to ooze from the wound.
"How is this happening?" he wondered aloud. "How can I feel pain here? This place is all in Rogue's mind."
"That's exactly why it's real!" spat a lunging figure, and he 'ported away again. Audrey glared at him, and her hand began to ripple. "If I defeat her here then I'll be in control of this body *permanently*. But to do that," the hand reformed into something shiny and sharp, "I have to go through *you* first."
Kurt's cutlasses suddenly didn't seem so threatening as he eyed the weapon Audrey now held with what was obviously a practised hand. It was a blade of some description, longer than a knife, yet broad. One side was smooth and deathly keen, the other serrated with tiny teeth like a shark. It looked heavy, but the Hunter twirled it effortlessly around her head, face set into a gruesome mask.
Kurt waved his own weaponry around, including the stump of a foil, but he was no expert. He knew only a little of blade fighting. It had been a hobby for a while, but only as sport. The way Audrey handled her blades, it was clear this had never been a sport to her, and never would be. She fought with the intention to kill and no other.
"Scheisse!"
*******************
Pietro dashed around in circles, too worried to keep still. Every now and again he paused and made as if to lay a hand on one of the two figures, but always jerked it away again at the last second and resumed encircling them.
Logan sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes half-lidded but watching intently. Kurt was slumped a few feet away, tail flaccid as if in sleep. The mutant once known as Rogue stood with left hand still outstretched, motionless, her face blank. Her stare was unfocused, and the only movement either of them made was breathing.
A small black cat slid up to Logan, and he broke his gaze as Mystique shifted back into her own body.
"There's nobody about," she confirmed. "We're safe for the moment." She bit her lip and hesitantly asked, "Any change?"
Logan shook his head.
Mystique glanced at the silent tableau and felt the coppery tang of blood on her tongue as she bit her bottom lip again. Rogue looked so different. So... there weren't really words to describe her malnourished appearance, nor the ugly purple scars showing through too-short hair. She was much paler than the shapeshifter remembered, and her features had hardened - though whether from whatever ordeal she'd been through in the last four years or the influence of this creature called Audrey was unclear.
"Siddown." Logan's voice jolted her from her ruminations. "This prob'ly won't end for a while. Might as well take the weight off."
Mystique glanced at him, then back at Kurt and Rogue. Finally she sighed and sank down. Her eyes strayed to Pietro, who was at that moment knelt by Kurt and poking his shoulder. The elf didn't so much as stir.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Logan grunted. "From what I can tell, that girl's absorbed a mutant hunter from somewhere. Most likely thing is she got the elf in to duke it out where she couldn't. You heard her when she touched him. She needed extra energy. He had it. Most logical course of action."
"I didn't mean that."
He looked up at her. "Meaning?"
Mystique sighed and dropped her gaze. "I meant what's going on with... everything." She waved a hand, encompassing all around them. "It's been so long. Why now? Why so many old ghosts now? It's been four years, Logan, and now suddenly so much is happening all at once. People returning - being found - revelations I would've thought impossible a few days ago. Why did all this choose *now* to happen?"
Logan regarded her steadily for a moment. "Raven," he said, using her real name for the first time since she'd joined their little band of misfits and survivors. "Rogue was part of your team, wasn't she? I remember you bringin' her to Bayville 'round the same time 'Ro brought Porcupine in to take care of him. What happened to her? I heard you talkin' to Speedy on the bus. She disappeared, didn't she?"
Mystique nodded, not meeting his eyes. Why not tell him? "Yes. Rogue was Brotherhood. She was - is... my daughter. Or as close as. I adopted her when she was very small, then gave her over to a friend when I had to move to Bayville. Then... when mutants went public... I just wanted her close to me, where I could protect her."
Logan raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
Mystique went on. "It was... before the virus came. Anti-mutant mobs were still around, but we kept them off - Todd, Pietro, Rogue and I. We were... a family, of sorts. The closest any of us had ever been to one, at any rate." Her breath hitched, and she turned her face away. "I don't quite know where it all went wrong. One day Rogue went out and just... didn't come back. We - I - searched everywhere for her. She wasn't stupid, she knew not to stray far with new gangs popping up every day."
"But you didn't find her," Logan surmised.
She shook her head. "We tried. Honestly we did. That was how we became separated in the end. I just... couldn't accept that she was gone. I *wouldn't* accept that she was dead. So I kept looking. Every night I went out, but I never found her. Then one evening I came back to find our home wrecked - the boys gone. There was... there was blood, and I thought the worst. I wandered around aimlessly for a while, taking what form I needed to survive. I never went back to my Principal Darkholme persona. Too many bad memories. I did what I could to survive; joining different groups and factions that would take me in to get food and a place to stay. That was what I was doing when... when Todd..." She choked on the words, and Logan felt a sharp tug at his heartstrings as she gamely continued. "I didn't know that was what we were out for that night, and by the time I realised, it was too late. They'd already found him. There was nothing I could do, so I hid in their midst. I can still hear him," she tapped at the side of her head, "Screaming. Do you know what he said when they were beating him to death?" A tear slid down her nose and dripped off the end. "He called... he called for his mother. He wanted his Mom. And I didn't do anything. I didn't even... didn't even..." She trailed off, a sob wracking her throat and water blurring her eyes.
She startled as an arm wrapped around her shoulders, and jerked her face up to blink into Logan's. The gruff man's expression was sad, somewhat reminiscent, and his dark eyes held a spark of pity she thought would never be hers after what she'd done. She didn't move away when he brought his other arm up and drew her into a comforting hug of the variety usually reserved for upset children. When he started stroking her hair she gave up trying to hold her emotions back, and finally let loose the torrent of guilt that had built inside of her in a flood of tears and hacking gulps. Four years worth of pent up culpability unleashed itself, and she clung to him like she was drowning.
"Shhh," Logan whispered in an uncharacteristic show of sympathy. "It wasn't your fault, Blue. We all got demons in our past."
"I left him all alone," she said brokenly. "I let him die right in front of me. He was so scared, and I watched as they beat him. He... he tried to get away, but they wouldn't let him..."
"Shhh," he said again, understanding exactly what she was going through.
Pietro skidded to a stop and stared at them. Neither adult took the slightest bit of notice. They were too wrapped up in each other and their own thoughts.
Mystique was... crying?
Pietro blinked. Mystique *never* cried. She was Boss Lady. She was tough.
But she was weeping. Right there in front of him. Bawling her eyes out like a baby.
Pietro shook his head. _Crocodile tears,_ he dismissed, and his expression turned cruel. _She's just trying to turn them. Get them on her side so that they won't throw her out. Looking after her own skin *as usual*. That's just her style._ Contempt filled him, and he opened his mouth to voice it.
Logan's warning glance made him stop. Evidently, the bladed man believed her, and his eyes told as such. Pietro gaped openly, aghast at how easily she'd fooled him. Logan scowled a little, and then returned to comforting the juddering woman.
Pietro glowered at him. _Fine! Be a sucker. Just don't expect me to join the happy party! She can't get around *me* so easy. I'll never forgive her for what she did, *never*!_
In disgust, he sped away and went back to guarding Kurt and Rogue. Mystique may only be interested in herself, but *he* would make sure these two came back safe and sound.
He stopped at Rogue and waved a hand in front of her face. She was as a statue, and he snatched the hand back, chewing his lip.
_I just wish I knew what was going on in there._
*******************
{CHING}
(CLANG CLANG}
{CHING}
Kurt was breathing hard, and he bounded back a few steps to manoeuvre his left cutlass around. Audrey easily parried the blow and brought her smaller knife up with the intention of plunging it into his unprotected chest.
{BAMF}
She snarled, swinging her arm around to loose it in a deadly blow instead. Kurt ducked, and the blade went skimming overhead, just barely clipping his tail-tip on the way past.
"Missed!" he said, with far more frivolity than he felt. The look on Audrey's face was disturbing, and he couldn't help a shiver running the length of his spine as he watched her features contort into a fresh growl of hatred.
"I'll kill you, mutant," she hissed. "Whether in this body or your own, you *will* die."
"And you're doing a sterling job of it so far," he sing-songed.
Audrey replied with another faster-than-fast run and stab, which he narrowly evaded by feinting left and darting away.
Rogue's MindScape was black and fathomless. There was no floor or ceiling, no matter what his pattering feet told him, and everywhere he looked was just dark expanse that stretched further than even *his* excellent vision could make out. It was more than a little disconcerting, running with no idea where you're going, and even more so when you didn't even know if you were even *moving* or not. Certainly, the surroundings gave no indication he was actually in motion.
Briefly, Kurt wondered what had happened to Rogue to make her this way. His own mind was filled with colours. When he thought they moved and shone - the Professor had told him so when questioned what it was like to be inside another's mind. Rogue's interior was blank. Stagnant. There was no movement, and definitely no colour anywhere in this bleak place. It was all gone - driven out by some force until there wasn't even a shred left.
"What happened to you, Fraulein?"
This wasn't the same girl Kurt had met a few times four years ago. She'd been a member of the Brotherhood then, but mutant tensions were high, so they'd been civil to each other. He'd assumed she was dead like so many others, but this terrible MindScape made him think that she'd been through something much, much worse than simple death.
He skidded to a halt, glancing over his shoulder. Audrey was nowhere to be seen, but that didn't mean she wasn't there. Hesitantly, Kurt looked at his cutlasses - the foil having been abandoned somewhere in the all-encompassing murk.
He didn't understand how, but somehow he'd created these with the power of his mind. He hadn't thought them into existence, exactly; they'd just... appeared. Like a reflex action. The foil too - while it lasted anyway. Yet he couldn't do it again. He'd tried during the skirmish, but nothing seemed to work.
"Were these a parting gift, Rogue?" he asked of the nothingness. "Are these your doing?"
His only answer was silence. If Rogue had been helping him at the beginning, her presence had gone now.
A low scrape suddenly sounded to his left, much quieter than a normal ear could hear. But Kurt's hearing wasn't normal, and he spun in a nanosecond. A flash of green and metal, and Audrey launched herself out of the darkness at his throat.
Kurt fell back, dropping the cutlasses on instinct and reaching up with his hands instead. He grabbed her wrists tight and brought both feet up as one to connect with her stomach. A snatch of her face glowered hotly at him as the Vanguard spectre went flying. Audrey dropped into a roll, and almost as one they leapt up again.
Kurt looked desperately around him. The cutlasses were gone. Vanished the moment he let them go. Audrey's weapons, however, were still very much in her possession. The side where she'd pierced him ached as he looked at the wickedly sharp metal, and his tridactyl hands clenched uselessly with the want to hold something with which to fend her off.
_Kurt..._
Kurt startled at the voiceless voice. It echoed around them noiselessly, and he looked for the source despite himself.
Audrey saw her chance and took it. She kept low and snaked along the ground, coming up straight at the last possible second and taking Kurt completely by surprise. He held out an arm to shield himself, and howled as a deep gash opened up. Audrey scowled and tried to strike at him again, under said arm.
{BAMF}
Kurt pushed himself to the very limits of his abilities. In reality his furthest teleport could take him about two miles. Here - who knew? All he cared about was getting as far away from Audrey as possible so that he could regroup his thoughts without getting skewered in the process. He was more than grateful when he opened his eyes to find her nowhere in sight.
The elf sank to his knees, holding a palm to his side. It came away bloody in a light that wasn't truly there. How he could see himself so clearly in such pitch darkness was yet another mystery he'd never unravel.
_Kurt..._
That voice again. Whispering and soft, it slunk into his ears like a fluttering moth. Kurt jumped up, ignoring the pain, and called out, "Who's there? Where are you?"
Silence for a moment. Then; _Help me..._
Kurt's brow knitted. There was only one person who'd say that in here. "Rogue?"
_Help..._ it said again, weaker this time.
"Rogue, where are you?" Kurt asked desperately. "I can't help you if I don't know where you are."
_Trapped..._
"You're trapped? Where? Can you give me a sign? Anything?"
Nothing happened. The voice was gone, and Kurt's spectral shoulders slumped.
Suddenly, a burst of brilliance erupted to his right, and his head jolted up as a line of flickering light traced along the floor that wasn't really there to his feet. It wavered, but stayed stretching off into the distance like a beacon.
Or a trail.
Setting his mouth into a grim line, Kurt followed it.
He didn't know how long he walked. It felt like hours, but in a place like this there was little concept of time, just as there seemed to be no concept of space. He kept his gaze fixed to the line of light, worried it would vanish like the cutlasses if he so much as dared to look away.
Gradually, he became aware that the darkness around him was lifting slightly. It lightened to grey around the edges of his vision, and soft, purring murmurs filtered through the gloom with every step he took. Unintelligible at first, they sharpened as he went on until he could clearly make out distinguishable sounds.
A heavy door slamming, lock clicking into place.
Buzzing, like a fan or some other such appliance.
An engine, roaring into life and speeding away.
Footsteps echoing along some unseen corridor.
A curious squirting noise - brief, but somehow unsettling.
The clink of metal against metal.
Kurt's ears pricked at each, wondering what they portended. Were they memories? Did that mean he was getting closer to Rogue herself?
Then came the voices.
"Put her in here. Make sure she's secured properly."
"The straps are tightened, Doctor. What should I do now?"
"Shuddup in there, freaks! I'll feed ya when I'm good an' ready!"
"I want my Mommy. Wanna go home to my Mommy!"
"There's another one! Quick, grab her!"
"Poke out his eye... poke out his eye... pop - there it goes. Woo, watch it fly..."
"A small incision here, I think."
"Doctor, the drug's wearing off!"
"They're loose! Hurry! Bar all the exits!"
"What the - AAAAARGH!"
Each voice was different, and not one of them he recognised, but Kurt shivered all the same. They refused to go away, and as they got louder, the line he was following grew dimmer. He quickened his pace, as if that would help, but it flickered out and he was left staring at nothing.
Finally, he lifted his eyes, and was amazed to see that the all-consuming blackness he'd come to expect was gone. Replaced instead by a scene he instantly recognised as the setting for various movies watched years ago on the Institute's TV.
He was in a corridor. The walls, floor and ceiling were all made of metal that shone, and a single bulb suspended wanly above. It shuddered vaguely as something pounded above, presumably on the floor atop this one. There were no windows anywhere - nor doors either, for that matter.
Having no other plan of action, Kurt continued along the route he'd been shown before the line went out. He padded along the corridor, new sounds echoing in his ears.
A set of thick metallic doors rose up in the wall ahead and he went towards them. The only open one shut before he got there, and the lock clicked into place with a sound Kurt had heard before. He peered through the single, high pane of glass, but it was frosted and he could see nothing but a few dark blobs he assumed were people.
Carrying on, Kurt came to the end of the stark hallway. The murmur of voices pervaded the air, and in panic he scaled the wall and clung to the ceiling, hoping against hope his wound wouldn't drip and give him away.
A pair of white-coated figures passed obliviously beneath him, talking amiably.
"...longest lasting of the bunch," one said. "Been here for about four years, give or take."
"Really?" gasped the other. "How's that possible?"
The first shrugged. "I think she's the Doctor's pet project. Won't let her be terminated until he gives the say-so..."
They pattered out of earshot, and though Kurt strained he could hear no more of their illuminating conversation.
Flipping adroitly to the floor, he glanced down each of the options now presenting him. To the left was another shiny passage rimmed with heavy metal doors that turned off at the end. To the right was similar, save for it finished in a door rather than a corner.
Kurt chose the right. He didn't know why, but some inexorable force drew him that way, and he dutifully complied. There were still no people about, and he reached the door with its tiny frosted-glass window without mishap.
Yet there he paused, uncertain. He knew in his heart of hearts that this place wasn't real, but something held him back for a moment. Was it... fear? Fear of what he'd find on the other side of this door, perhaps? He really had no idea where he was supposed to be, but had a niggling sensation deep in his gut that this was somewhere that *Rogue* had been before. A place of her memories, dredged up and created as... as what? A prison? This place had 'jail' stamped across it like a barcode. Could it be this was where her mind was being held captive by Audrey's wrath?
The recollection of the Hunter's name made him to look around nervously. But he was still completely alone. A soft patter went by overhead, making the light-bulb dance, but that was all.
He turned back to the door and, on impulse, reached for the handle.
At once, a burst of images flooded his brain.
There was a shopping bag clutched in one of his hands, and he swung it back and forth as he walked along the pavement. He was humming. Some tune he'd heard on the radio that morning and couldn't get out of his head. The words failed him, but the melody was nice enough, and it tripped lightly off his tongue as he took the shortcut through an alleyway back to the Boarding House. Momma had told him not to take this route, but he hadn't seen anybody around, and figured it was safe enough. Pietro would kill him if he wasn't back in time for dinner, and he couldn't exactly explain that he was late because he'd gone out to buy the speedster his birthday present. The pair of running shoes bumped together inside the shoebox, and he smiled to himself at the good choice of gift.
Suddenly he couldn't breathe. Rough hands in gloves jutted as if from nowhere to clamp around his mouth and nose, and he struggled as he was dragged backwards into the shadows. He kicked and fought, but it was no use. Whoever held him was much stronger. If only they weren't wearing gloves!
"This the one?" asked a gravelly voice.
"Yeah," replied another. "Quick, settle her down and we'll put her in the van before anyone sees."
A snort of derision. "Like anyone's gonna care 'bout a worthless mutie."
"Be that as it may, orders is orders. Here, use this."
The hand on his nose shifted, and something cold and damp pressed against his face. An acrid stench filled his nostrils, blurring his brain. He recognised it as chloroform just before he passed out.
Another image. This time indoors. Metal walls and ceiling. He tried to back into the corner but found one of his ankles ensnared by an iron ring chained to the centre of the room. It cut into his skin, exposed by the wafer-thin pyjamas he was being forced to wear. They were revealing and far, far too dangerous. Didn't they know about his skin? Stupid question. They had to if they'd dressed him this way.
A metal band encircled his throat, but he'd already learned that to touch it was to receive pain. He felt dull, skin and nerve-endings somehow dead and lifeless.
The door creaked open. A figure in a labcoat hove into view. Waves of loathing washed over him, tinctured with fear so desperate it made him want to weep.
"Why're y'all doin' this?"
No answer. Instead the figure walked to the middle of the cold chamber and noted a few bits of scrawl down on a chart. Then it placed a tray of something on the floor and turned to go again.
Kurt scrabbled foward, but the shackles didn't stretch, and he had to settle for calling, "Why? I ain't done nuthin' to you."
A pause. "You were born."
Suddenly the scenario was whipped away, and Kurt found himself strapped tightly to a gurney being wheeled... someplace. Someplace he didn't know. Faces wreathed in masks hovered above, and voices flitted back and forth like flies over dung. He felt drowsy, and by tilting his head he could see a drip inserted into his arm. The vein was bulbous and throbbing with whatever they were feeding into his bloodstream.
His feet banged a set of doors open, and the trestle ground to a halt. Kurt groaned, but froze as a face loomed above him. It too was half covered by a white surgical mask, and he felt his eyes widened in horror as he saw plastic-gloved hands squirt some amber ichor from the long tip of a syringe. He didn't know what it was, but he knew it wasn't good. It couldn't be. Nothing they ever did to him here was good.
His head was twisted to one side, and the syringe pricked his neck. It burned for a second, and he fell once more into an endless black pit.
And then he was cowering back in his cell, feeling the lumpy stitches they'd left him with. His head hurt - his *mind* hurt. Whatever they'd done to him, it was agonising. 'All in the name of research', they'd said. It was what they always said, and he had yet to believe them. Personally, he thought they were all just a bunch of sadists. First chance he got, he was going to wring their necks - without either gloves or restraint collar on.
A hand reached across. Pale, pale skin - nearly as pale as his own. Green, glowing rime encircled his shackles, and the world exploded.
Running. Now he was running. Running like his life depended on it - which it would, if they caught him. He couldn't let them catch him. Not now. Not when he was so close to getting out. To being free. His bare feet thwacked the ground, which was uneven and stony. He'd already reached the outside world. He would *not* let them take him back. He'd waited to long and endured too much to have it snatched away now.
Dark sky stretched above him, speckled with stars. It'd been so long since he'd seen the sky - starry or otherwise. He stumbled, and marvelled that there was a stone to stumble over instead of the smooth flat surfaces of the lab. Metal was no substitute for proper earth, and he resisted the urge to fall to his knees and kiss it simply for being there.
Torchlight flared behind him, and the monotonous wailing of the siren reached a new pitch. But Kurt didn't care. They wouldn't take him back now. Not now he was free.
Free!
She was free. Free to go home to the south. The south? No, to Bayville. That was where her family was. That was where she'd find them. Faces swirled in her blurry mind - blonde, green, blue, fast, jump, Momma...
She?
Her?
Him
Kurt...
Kurt gasped as he let go of the door handle, and stumbled backwards. The flurry of images faded as quickly as they'd begun, and his breathing slowed from the rapid sharp intakes of breath to which it had crescendoed. His heart thrummed the inside of his ribcage like it wanted to break out.
All at once he realised several things, some of which made him nauseous, and some of which made him want to whoop with joy.
No longer afraid, the elf straightened up to his full height and pushed open the ostensibly unyielding door. No flashes of foreign memory hit him this time, and it easily swung open.
The room beyond was arrant and unforgiving. Bright white light glared down from the ceiling and reflected off the polished metal walls until it hurt to look. It was small, and devoid of objects or people, save one.
A dejected figure sat in the centre of the space, legs drawn up and head pressed to the arm surrounding them. She sat motionless, not even bothering to look up when he entered. Her hair had been cut short, and from what he could see she wore a mutant restraint collar of the sort he'd always feared. Snapped around her ankle was a shackle that led to the floor. Yet most startling was her translucency. the harsh lines of the room were visible through her, albeit a little warped and distorted.
Kurt stepped forward and knelt by her side. "Rogue," he said gently. She moved, and he tried again. "Rogue, it's time to leave."
She raised her head and looked at him. "... I remember you..."
Kurt smiled and nodded. "Jawohl, we met a couple of times in Bayville. Remember? My name's Kurt."
Rogue's essence pressed a hand to her forehead, as if struggling to remember. "Bayville. Gone," she murmured. Kurt was forced to agree, and tears filled her eyes. "Everything's gone. Dead. All dead."
"Not everything. Rogue, you have to leave now. There are people waiting for you on the outside. They want to see you."
"People?"
He bobbed his head. "Ja, Pietro's waiting. Do you remember him? Some of my friends are there too. Logan, Kitty, Alvin, my little Robyn. Nice folk. And... and Mother."
"Mother..." she blinked. "My mother? Or yours?"
"Ours," he replied with a warm smile. "I've come to fetch you, meine Schwester."
Rogue's dark eyes rounded. "You're my... my brother?" Then she frowned again, expression troubled. "Dangerous... I remember... someone else... Hunter."
"Ja, Rogue. That's why I'm here. I've come to help you get rid of her and take you home. Bitte, Rogue, you have to remember. We have to fight her together."
Rogue looked confused and rubbed at her temples. "Can't think," she mumbled. "Head hurts. Too tired." She made as if to fall back into her knees, but Kurt caught her arm.
"Nein, Rogue, you can't give up. If you give up, Audrey's won. She'll use your body for terrible things, Rogue. *Terrible* things. She'll... she'll hurt people with it. Rogue, I can't fight her alone. This is *your* MindScape. You can control it, but I can't. I need your help."
"Audrey?" Rogue repeated, as if recalling the name. "Aud - " Suddenly her mouth dropped open in shock, and she cried out in a voice filled with warning. "Look out!"
Kurt didn't even have time to turn around to see what she meant. He was, however, very aware of the wrench of agony in his chest, and the strange pointy object that came into view through the front of his shirt with a horrible wet ripping sound. A blinding pain made him gasp and hack, and a strange whistling noise slurped from somewhere around his chest region.
The elf twisted his neck enough to see the triumphant face. Audrey smirked as she pulled the double-sided blade free, sending a splatter of red across the smooth metal tiles.
"I told you, mutant. Either in this body or your own, you will die."
Kurt coughed, and something tangy touched his tongue. It slithered from the corner of his mouth and dripped off his chin. His knees buckled, and he hit the floor hard with a sickening smack. His chest burned as he attempted to draw breath and failed miserably, more blood slinking past his lips.
This wasn't real! This wasn't real!
But it hurt. It hurt so much...
"NO!"
Kurt was vaguely aware of a shadow falling across him and the clinking of metal chain. Spots danced haphazardly across his sight, but he heard Audrey snarl back, "Stay down, mutant. Make this easier on yourself."
"I won't!" Rogue spat, taking a step forward to stand protectively over Kurt's fallen shade. "I won't let ya hurt him. Y'ain'twelcome here, ya monster!"
"Monster?" Audrey guffawed. "Look who's talking, *freak*."
Rogue's eyes, erstwhile lustreless and dull, blazed with a new intensity that would've made even Kurt quail, could he see them. She calmly reached up and yanked off the restraint collar, which disintegrated into a thousand glittering pieces. Likewise, her shackles followed suit, and she walked forward unhindered.
"Monster."
Audrey readied herself, blade still dripping with Kurt's blood. "You couldn't hold me off before," she spat, "What makes you think now's gonna be any different?"
At this, Rogue paused, and glanced over her withered shoulder. Her face set into a grim mask, and she didn't bother to answer. Audrey narrowed her eyes and created a small knife in her free hand. She threw it with deadly accuracy, and it flew through the air so fast it was a blur.
{CHING}
Rogue knocked it away with her bare hand. Audrey goggled, and then created another to throw. Much the same happened.
"Ya can't stop me that easy," Rogue said in a calm voice. "I'm not as weak as before, and I know this place better'n you do."
"What? The lab?" Audrey sneered.
Rogue shook her head. "No. Mah mind."
Abruptly, the floor beneath the Hunter began to melt. Audrey cried out and tried to leap clear, but silver tendrils grabbed her ankles and dragged her back down again. Rogue walked sedately, unhurriedly, speaking as she went. "I know how to control this place more than ya, Hunter. Ya used mah own memories against me before to force me down, but I won't let you trap me again. Here, *I'm* in control."
She reached the edge of the metallic pool, where only Audrey's head, shoulders and right arm were now visible. "You can't get rid of me," Audrey yelled angrily. "*You* trapped me in here, remember? I'm here to stay - for keeps!"
"I know. I don't intend to try getting' rid of ya. I know it's impossible. But I *can* trap ya in here, just like ya trapped me."
Audrey's face fell open. "You can't! You can't keep me a prisoner in here forever!"
"You were going to do it to me," Rogue said, tone devoid of any emotion.
Audrey may have said more, but at that moment her face and all the rest of her mental form disappeared into the viscous gloop with a 'schloop'. Rogue wasted no time, and raised her hands to call up a mass of the stuff. It hovered before her, and she watched impassively as it formed and shaped itself into a barred cage, replete with key. Audrey glared out at her as she turned it, effectively locking her in.
"You can't do this to me!" she screeched ineffectually.
"Yes I can." Rogue extended her arms. "And I am."
Her hands glowed red hot, and bolts of flame shot from her fingertips, melting the cage bars together until they formed a tight, impenetrable box. At once the fire vanished, and Rogue pursed her dark lips. Jets of icy cold air swathed the box, cooling the metal and sealing Audrey's presence within where she couldn't even be heard anymore.
The box floated there for a moment, and then faded away, stored in the deepest recesses of Rogue's consciousness where the Hunter would hopefully never break free again.
Then Rogue fell to her knees, utterly drained. Memories slowly returned to her, and in a few seconds she'd pieced together the entire events spanning four longs years of confinement in a mutant research lab. Ethereal tears streamed down her cheeks as things slotted back into place. It was painful to remember, but it was a good pain, borne of knowledge. She'd rather remember hurt than be in ignorance for the rest of her life.
Suddenly, she sat bolt upright, and scrambled back to the inert figure lying where she'd been bound in the prison of her own memories.
"Kurt," she whispered weakly, shaking his arm. "Kurt!"
The furry figure moved, but he was almost gone, and she looped her arms around him defensively.
"Don't you dare die on me, bro. There's one last thing to do yet."
*******************
The three onlookers startled as Rogue let out a gurgling cry. Logan and Mystique leaped to their feet, but Pietro beat them to the punch.
{VIP}
"Rogue? Rogue!"
She blinked, eyes refocusing on him. "Pi... Piet..." she murmured, and then fell to her knees. Pietro dropped beside her and clutched at her arm, but she shook him away. "No... have to... have to get... to him..."
The trio looked on, amazed, as Rogue dragged her too-thin body over to the collapsed Kurt and placed a hand on his forehead. A faint glow flickered around her fingers, coalescing to the centre of her palm. Then she let it, and the rest of her, drop.
Kurt's eyelids rippled, and he coughed as he started coming to.
"I don't believe it," Mystique breathed. "How did she -"
Pietro darted to Rogue's aid and cradled her spindly fame in his arms. "Rogue, are you OK? Rogue! *Rogue*!"
Green slits hove into sight and a reedy, tired voice croaked, "S'alright, Speedy. I'm in control now. Not gonna... hurt no-one..."
"Where's the Hunter?" Pietro asked, unable to keep the question in despite the smile spreading across his face at the sound of her familiar southern accent. "Rogue, what happened to the Hunter?"
Her eyes drifted shut, but she whispered, "Audrey's... gone. Need to sleep, Pietro. Just... lemme... sleep... 'splain later..."
As Rogue fell into much-needed slumber, Kurt opened his eyes and weakly lifted a hand to his hip. "'M okay," he mumbled.
"What happened, Elf?" Logan demanded.
"Mrr," Kurt ignored the question and pressed his hand to the pavement. "Help..."
Mystique crouched beside her son and lifted him into a sitting position.
"It's OK," he coughed. "Rogue took me into her mind to fight the Hunter - Audrey. I found Rogue, and she got control and locked Audrey away. I thought she'd killed me..." He rubbed his chest where the sword had poked through.
"Stupid thing Stripes did," Logan nodded slowly, misunderstanding.
"Nein - " Kurt paused to breathe. "Audrey. The Hunter. Used to be... Vanguard leader..." He smirked. "She stabbed me with her steely knives, but she just couldn't kill the beast. [2]"
"What about her?" Pietro was still cradling Rogue.
Kurt closed his eyes again "She'll be OK. Just needs rest. So do I..." He yawned, and Logan scooped him into his arms without another word. He was surprisingly gentle, and Kurt's tail dangled listlessly past hands that could so easily slice it clean off
Pietro watched, and then shook his head with a weary sigh. "Home again, home again, jiggety jig..."
*******************
To Be Continued...
*******************
[1] Like a landscape, only way more surreal.
[2] From _Hotel California_ The other line is "You can check out any time you want, but you can never leave."
Unwillingness to go back and explore emotional relationships? Boy howdy, are you going to regret saying that. We have a whole bunch of Pietro vs. Mystique angst in this chapter, and from here on in the relationships and dynamics of this slipshod little exodus are what drive the whole narrative. The last chapter wasn't so much unwillingness, as prepping for the angst that's to come - drawing things out a little. Think how uninteresting it would've been to read if everything was just lumped together at once. Boom, there goes the character development, away into the sunset in a cloud of dust.
'Still, if Magneto is insignificant in the scheme of this, then you're pretty much saying don't count on seeing any future cast members.' Am I? Don't bet on that. Some as-yet-unseen characters do turn up, just not in any incarnation you're familiar with. It's just not feasible to have everybody there, though. Unbelievable, too. And as for the ongoing debate about Magneto; all right, I'll concede the point that yes, Pietro *did* know Magneto pre-Evo timeline. The guy *is* his Dad, after all, and *did* perform all those augmentation experiments on his kiddiewinks when they were little, so it stands to reason that Pietro would have a passing knowledge of who Magneto is. My point was - and is - that Pietro hasn't seen his father in several years. Even though Mags turned up in Season One, he and Pietro never had any interaction before the ToT, so to the cast here, he's just a non-entity they never encountered. A nothing to them. That clear up where I was going with that?
Mike; you're very welcome. I like getting reviews, as do the other authors.
Tenshiamanda; you're right, they could do with a telepath or something. But isn't that always the way? You need something, and it's just not there...
Many thanks to everyone who reviewed - Tears-of-Silver, Ambrosia, Mike, Tenshiamanda, Kentucky Fried Fetus (that's one hell of a pseudonym, by the way), and SorrowRain. Hope to hear from you again in relation to this chapter. Enjoy.
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Twelfth Fragment ~ 'Retrieval'
*******************
{BAMF!}
Kurt fell to the floor. "Ach, it's madness out there. There's people fighting over *water*. Can you believe it? An old man and his wife have a still and people are rioting for a drink from him..." He shook his head. "The sooner we're gone, the better."
"Kurti!" Robyn leaped into his arms. "Are you okay? You don't 'port unless there's trouble."
"I just hate mobs, Liebling. I'm all right." He held her close and soothed her fears, breathing in her familiar scent for a little reassurance of her safety; a habit of his since before she could remember.
Daisy was standing uncertainly nearby, scuffing her scaly little feet and sniffing profusely. "Do I get a hug, too?" she mumbled after a moment.
Kurt opened his arms. "Ja, Liebchen. I have enough arms for everyone."
Daisy paused, surprised at the open tactility. Then she grinned and joined the impromptu cuddlefest, making up for lost time when nobody would touch her.
*******************
Rogue chose a knife with deliberate slowness, and watched it flash in the grey sunlight.
Pietro took a step back. "Rogue?" he said again, a little less sure of himself this time.
"You are a mutant," she growled. "You must die."
"Hello? If you really are Rogue," Pietro said nervously, "then *you're* a mutant, too."
"I am *not* a mutant!" she spat. "I am the Hunter! Already one and twenty muties have fallen by my blade." She coughed, and abruptly her voice changed. "Pietro... help... who's - Shut up!" she finished loudly. "Stinkin' mutie trash! As soon as I can, I'll kill you too!"
The right hand, holding the knife, lifted.
"Get away!" Rogue shouted. Her left hand clamped onto the opposite wrist, pushing it down. "I can't... bring someone, please! Help!"
The right hand won the battle for control, and Rogue charged towards Pietro, weapon held high.
Completely ignoring normal safety rules, Pietro turned and ran in the direction of the hangar.
"Stupid mutie!" Audrey shouted. "You let him get away!" She jerked in the direction Pietro had gone, but Rogue was maintaining enough control to keep her feet rooted to the ground.
"No," Rogue whimpered. "Leave them alone..."
Her voice changed again. "That's it."
The Audrey consciousness abandoned chasing Pietro and launched an all-out assault inside Rogue's mind, relentlessly beating down the mutant persona.
*******************
Mystique, in the form of a raven, flew swiftly across the decimated city, following Pietro as he led Kurt and Logan on foot. From her high vantage point she was the first to spot Rogue - who should have been dead, and looked as such - and swooped down, melting into her true shape before even fully landing.
Rogue was just standing there, not moving and staring at nothing.
The three men came up behind Mystique, taking in the same strange scene at a glance. For a moment, nobody could think what to say. It was all too surreal, and for an instant they each felt adrift from the shred of normalcy still afforded them by their broken world.
Suddenly, Rogue snapped to life. "Mutie freaks!" she screamed, enraged. "Everywhere!" Raising the knife once more, she barrelled towards the weirdest-looking one - a demon in man's clothing.
_Not the knife,_ Rogue thought weakly, desperately. _The skin. Please, the skin._
"I will *not* use your freakish powers!" Audrey said out loud, startling those around her by talking to the other presence in her mind.
And that acknowledgment was Rogue's key to the world.
_Who are you?_ she whispered in their shared mind.
"I am the Hunter!" Audrey declared. "It is my sworn duty to smite all mutants! And when they're all exterminated, I'll strike down this body I've been forced into, thereby killin' the last mutant."
"Who?" Mystique pressed from outside, not sensing the inner turmoil that had sparked such a statement.
"The one who calls herself 'Rogue'." Audrey had stopped, though her knife was still poised for an attack. "The one who... who trapped me in this damn body!"
Rogue continued in the same quiet tone, sliding a little control into her muscles and guiding Audrey's hate-ridden limbs to her own purposes. _Touch him._
Audrey advanced once more towards Kurt, empty left hand outstretched as if to grab his throat and choke the life out of him. Automatically, Kurt began to retreat.
"Don't," Logan murmured. "The real Rogue wants this. She's foolin' the other persona."
So Kurt stayed in place, but didn't need to fake fear as Rogue's bare hand met his neck.
_Sorry,_ Rogue's awareness said as his mind flew into hers. _You have the most energy. I need you to help me fight Audrey..._
There was a flash, like lightening. Kurt could feel his body falling down, yet he was watching it at the same time. Through Rogue's eyes. Two scenes, yet one and the same. The most bizarre experience of his short life.
"Mutie! Stinkin' Mutie!"
Kurt turned inside Rogue's MindScape[1] to face hatred that was as old as blood. It was strange, but he could feel himself just as he always could. Almost as though he still possessed his physical body. It was that which probably prevented him panicking at being absorbed so fully and completely. His identity was still his...
"Ja," he said, testing the new lips of his mental form. "That's right. And you'll find me a harder fight than an underfed wisp of a girl who's half-mad from hunger."
"I can take you on!" Audrey was a half-formed shadow, but she solidified before his eyes. Her face was a lot more sallow than he would've thought, her hair a dark shade of brown, and from each ear jangled an assortment of hoop earrings and gold crosses. She wore the same leather ensemble Rogue's body had on, and behind her green eyes blazed something dark and hateful. The shadows rippled around her like living tissue, and formed a knife in her hands.
Kurt blinked. He had a cutlass that had definitely not been there before. It was hard and real to the touch, and he waved it experimentally above his head. "Ja?"
Audrey's knife became crueller, designed to wound, and wound badly. The other hand held a nastier knife.
Kurt abruptly had a foil in his tail and another cutlass in the other hand. "You're automatically outnumbered, Fraulein," he purred, brandishing all three. He felt a sudden twinge, like someone had turned on a light and ripped away a nearby shadow. But there was no time to dwell on the odd sensation. "Care to surrender?"
In answer, the mental form of Audrey charged forward. She was deadly and swift, and sped low, swinging her knife around to rip Kurt's gut out from under him.
{CLANG}
The foil met her halfway, and she snarled as Kurt's face came close to hers.
"Too slow, Fraulein," he said softly.
The second knife whipped up faster than the eye could see. Audrey's normally green eyes burned with black hatred, and Kurt startled as it neatly sliced the foil in two.
"Scheisse!" he swore, and 'ported away.
He reappeared a few feet from where he'd been standing, and was momentarily surprised that bamfing was even possible here, let alone the curious feat of bamfing without collapsing. Yet there was little time for speculation as the shade of Audrey leapt forward again.
Somehow, she was faster here than she could ever have been in real life. Even Pietro would've had trouble keeping up with her, and all Kurt made out was a blur of leather and metal before searing pain lanced through his side. He screamed, and on instinct his tail lashed out and caught Audrey across the face.
She fell back, cursing loudly and leaving one of the knives embedded in the fleshy part of his hip. It had gone right through, and Kurt winced as blood began to ooze from the wound.
"How is this happening?" he wondered aloud. "How can I feel pain here? This place is all in Rogue's mind."
"That's exactly why it's real!" spat a lunging figure, and he 'ported away again. Audrey glared at him, and her hand began to ripple. "If I defeat her here then I'll be in control of this body *permanently*. But to do that," the hand reformed into something shiny and sharp, "I have to go through *you* first."
Kurt's cutlasses suddenly didn't seem so threatening as he eyed the weapon Audrey now held with what was obviously a practised hand. It was a blade of some description, longer than a knife, yet broad. One side was smooth and deathly keen, the other serrated with tiny teeth like a shark. It looked heavy, but the Hunter twirled it effortlessly around her head, face set into a gruesome mask.
Kurt waved his own weaponry around, including the stump of a foil, but he was no expert. He knew only a little of blade fighting. It had been a hobby for a while, but only as sport. The way Audrey handled her blades, it was clear this had never been a sport to her, and never would be. She fought with the intention to kill and no other.
"Scheisse!"
*******************
Pietro dashed around in circles, too worried to keep still. Every now and again he paused and made as if to lay a hand on one of the two figures, but always jerked it away again at the last second and resumed encircling them.
Logan sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes half-lidded but watching intently. Kurt was slumped a few feet away, tail flaccid as if in sleep. The mutant once known as Rogue stood with left hand still outstretched, motionless, her face blank. Her stare was unfocused, and the only movement either of them made was breathing.
A small black cat slid up to Logan, and he broke his gaze as Mystique shifted back into her own body.
"There's nobody about," she confirmed. "We're safe for the moment." She bit her lip and hesitantly asked, "Any change?"
Logan shook his head.
Mystique glanced at the silent tableau and felt the coppery tang of blood on her tongue as she bit her bottom lip again. Rogue looked so different. So... there weren't really words to describe her malnourished appearance, nor the ugly purple scars showing through too-short hair. She was much paler than the shapeshifter remembered, and her features had hardened - though whether from whatever ordeal she'd been through in the last four years or the influence of this creature called Audrey was unclear.
"Siddown." Logan's voice jolted her from her ruminations. "This prob'ly won't end for a while. Might as well take the weight off."
Mystique glanced at him, then back at Kurt and Rogue. Finally she sighed and sank down. Her eyes strayed to Pietro, who was at that moment knelt by Kurt and poking his shoulder. The elf didn't so much as stir.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Logan grunted. "From what I can tell, that girl's absorbed a mutant hunter from somewhere. Most likely thing is she got the elf in to duke it out where she couldn't. You heard her when she touched him. She needed extra energy. He had it. Most logical course of action."
"I didn't mean that."
He looked up at her. "Meaning?"
Mystique sighed and dropped her gaze. "I meant what's going on with... everything." She waved a hand, encompassing all around them. "It's been so long. Why now? Why so many old ghosts now? It's been four years, Logan, and now suddenly so much is happening all at once. People returning - being found - revelations I would've thought impossible a few days ago. Why did all this choose *now* to happen?"
Logan regarded her steadily for a moment. "Raven," he said, using her real name for the first time since she'd joined their little band of misfits and survivors. "Rogue was part of your team, wasn't she? I remember you bringin' her to Bayville 'round the same time 'Ro brought Porcupine in to take care of him. What happened to her? I heard you talkin' to Speedy on the bus. She disappeared, didn't she?"
Mystique nodded, not meeting his eyes. Why not tell him? "Yes. Rogue was Brotherhood. She was - is... my daughter. Or as close as. I adopted her when she was very small, then gave her over to a friend when I had to move to Bayville. Then... when mutants went public... I just wanted her close to me, where I could protect her."
Logan raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
Mystique went on. "It was... before the virus came. Anti-mutant mobs were still around, but we kept them off - Todd, Pietro, Rogue and I. We were... a family, of sorts. The closest any of us had ever been to one, at any rate." Her breath hitched, and she turned her face away. "I don't quite know where it all went wrong. One day Rogue went out and just... didn't come back. We - I - searched everywhere for her. She wasn't stupid, she knew not to stray far with new gangs popping up every day."
"But you didn't find her," Logan surmised.
She shook her head. "We tried. Honestly we did. That was how we became separated in the end. I just... couldn't accept that she was gone. I *wouldn't* accept that she was dead. So I kept looking. Every night I went out, but I never found her. Then one evening I came back to find our home wrecked - the boys gone. There was... there was blood, and I thought the worst. I wandered around aimlessly for a while, taking what form I needed to survive. I never went back to my Principal Darkholme persona. Too many bad memories. I did what I could to survive; joining different groups and factions that would take me in to get food and a place to stay. That was what I was doing when... when Todd..." She choked on the words, and Logan felt a sharp tug at his heartstrings as she gamely continued. "I didn't know that was what we were out for that night, and by the time I realised, it was too late. They'd already found him. There was nothing I could do, so I hid in their midst. I can still hear him," she tapped at the side of her head, "Screaming. Do you know what he said when they were beating him to death?" A tear slid down her nose and dripped off the end. "He called... he called for his mother. He wanted his Mom. And I didn't do anything. I didn't even... didn't even..." She trailed off, a sob wracking her throat and water blurring her eyes.
She startled as an arm wrapped around her shoulders, and jerked her face up to blink into Logan's. The gruff man's expression was sad, somewhat reminiscent, and his dark eyes held a spark of pity she thought would never be hers after what she'd done. She didn't move away when he brought his other arm up and drew her into a comforting hug of the variety usually reserved for upset children. When he started stroking her hair she gave up trying to hold her emotions back, and finally let loose the torrent of guilt that had built inside of her in a flood of tears and hacking gulps. Four years worth of pent up culpability unleashed itself, and she clung to him like she was drowning.
"Shhh," Logan whispered in an uncharacteristic show of sympathy. "It wasn't your fault, Blue. We all got demons in our past."
"I left him all alone," she said brokenly. "I let him die right in front of me. He was so scared, and I watched as they beat him. He... he tried to get away, but they wouldn't let him..."
"Shhh," he said again, understanding exactly what she was going through.
Pietro skidded to a stop and stared at them. Neither adult took the slightest bit of notice. They were too wrapped up in each other and their own thoughts.
Mystique was... crying?
Pietro blinked. Mystique *never* cried. She was Boss Lady. She was tough.
But she was weeping. Right there in front of him. Bawling her eyes out like a baby.
Pietro shook his head. _Crocodile tears,_ he dismissed, and his expression turned cruel. _She's just trying to turn them. Get them on her side so that they won't throw her out. Looking after her own skin *as usual*. That's just her style._ Contempt filled him, and he opened his mouth to voice it.
Logan's warning glance made him stop. Evidently, the bladed man believed her, and his eyes told as such. Pietro gaped openly, aghast at how easily she'd fooled him. Logan scowled a little, and then returned to comforting the juddering woman.
Pietro glowered at him. _Fine! Be a sucker. Just don't expect me to join the happy party! She can't get around *me* so easy. I'll never forgive her for what she did, *never*!_
In disgust, he sped away and went back to guarding Kurt and Rogue. Mystique may only be interested in herself, but *he* would make sure these two came back safe and sound.
He stopped at Rogue and waved a hand in front of her face. She was as a statue, and he snatched the hand back, chewing his lip.
_I just wish I knew what was going on in there._
*******************
{CHING}
(CLANG CLANG}
{CHING}
Kurt was breathing hard, and he bounded back a few steps to manoeuvre his left cutlass around. Audrey easily parried the blow and brought her smaller knife up with the intention of plunging it into his unprotected chest.
{BAMF}
She snarled, swinging her arm around to loose it in a deadly blow instead. Kurt ducked, and the blade went skimming overhead, just barely clipping his tail-tip on the way past.
"Missed!" he said, with far more frivolity than he felt. The look on Audrey's face was disturbing, and he couldn't help a shiver running the length of his spine as he watched her features contort into a fresh growl of hatred.
"I'll kill you, mutant," she hissed. "Whether in this body or your own, you *will* die."
"And you're doing a sterling job of it so far," he sing-songed.
Audrey replied with another faster-than-fast run and stab, which he narrowly evaded by feinting left and darting away.
Rogue's MindScape was black and fathomless. There was no floor or ceiling, no matter what his pattering feet told him, and everywhere he looked was just dark expanse that stretched further than even *his* excellent vision could make out. It was more than a little disconcerting, running with no idea where you're going, and even more so when you didn't even know if you were even *moving* or not. Certainly, the surroundings gave no indication he was actually in motion.
Briefly, Kurt wondered what had happened to Rogue to make her this way. His own mind was filled with colours. When he thought they moved and shone - the Professor had told him so when questioned what it was like to be inside another's mind. Rogue's interior was blank. Stagnant. There was no movement, and definitely no colour anywhere in this bleak place. It was all gone - driven out by some force until there wasn't even a shred left.
"What happened to you, Fraulein?"
This wasn't the same girl Kurt had met a few times four years ago. She'd been a member of the Brotherhood then, but mutant tensions were high, so they'd been civil to each other. He'd assumed she was dead like so many others, but this terrible MindScape made him think that she'd been through something much, much worse than simple death.
He skidded to a halt, glancing over his shoulder. Audrey was nowhere to be seen, but that didn't mean she wasn't there. Hesitantly, Kurt looked at his cutlasses - the foil having been abandoned somewhere in the all-encompassing murk.
He didn't understand how, but somehow he'd created these with the power of his mind. He hadn't thought them into existence, exactly; they'd just... appeared. Like a reflex action. The foil too - while it lasted anyway. Yet he couldn't do it again. He'd tried during the skirmish, but nothing seemed to work.
"Were these a parting gift, Rogue?" he asked of the nothingness. "Are these your doing?"
His only answer was silence. If Rogue had been helping him at the beginning, her presence had gone now.
A low scrape suddenly sounded to his left, much quieter than a normal ear could hear. But Kurt's hearing wasn't normal, and he spun in a nanosecond. A flash of green and metal, and Audrey launched herself out of the darkness at his throat.
Kurt fell back, dropping the cutlasses on instinct and reaching up with his hands instead. He grabbed her wrists tight and brought both feet up as one to connect with her stomach. A snatch of her face glowered hotly at him as the Vanguard spectre went flying. Audrey dropped into a roll, and almost as one they leapt up again.
Kurt looked desperately around him. The cutlasses were gone. Vanished the moment he let them go. Audrey's weapons, however, were still very much in her possession. The side where she'd pierced him ached as he looked at the wickedly sharp metal, and his tridactyl hands clenched uselessly with the want to hold something with which to fend her off.
_Kurt..._
Kurt startled at the voiceless voice. It echoed around them noiselessly, and he looked for the source despite himself.
Audrey saw her chance and took it. She kept low and snaked along the ground, coming up straight at the last possible second and taking Kurt completely by surprise. He held out an arm to shield himself, and howled as a deep gash opened up. Audrey scowled and tried to strike at him again, under said arm.
{BAMF}
Kurt pushed himself to the very limits of his abilities. In reality his furthest teleport could take him about two miles. Here - who knew? All he cared about was getting as far away from Audrey as possible so that he could regroup his thoughts without getting skewered in the process. He was more than grateful when he opened his eyes to find her nowhere in sight.
The elf sank to his knees, holding a palm to his side. It came away bloody in a light that wasn't truly there. How he could see himself so clearly in such pitch darkness was yet another mystery he'd never unravel.
_Kurt..._
That voice again. Whispering and soft, it slunk into his ears like a fluttering moth. Kurt jumped up, ignoring the pain, and called out, "Who's there? Where are you?"
Silence for a moment. Then; _Help me..._
Kurt's brow knitted. There was only one person who'd say that in here. "Rogue?"
_Help..._ it said again, weaker this time.
"Rogue, where are you?" Kurt asked desperately. "I can't help you if I don't know where you are."
_Trapped..._
"You're trapped? Where? Can you give me a sign? Anything?"
Nothing happened. The voice was gone, and Kurt's spectral shoulders slumped.
Suddenly, a burst of brilliance erupted to his right, and his head jolted up as a line of flickering light traced along the floor that wasn't really there to his feet. It wavered, but stayed stretching off into the distance like a beacon.
Or a trail.
Setting his mouth into a grim line, Kurt followed it.
He didn't know how long he walked. It felt like hours, but in a place like this there was little concept of time, just as there seemed to be no concept of space. He kept his gaze fixed to the line of light, worried it would vanish like the cutlasses if he so much as dared to look away.
Gradually, he became aware that the darkness around him was lifting slightly. It lightened to grey around the edges of his vision, and soft, purring murmurs filtered through the gloom with every step he took. Unintelligible at first, they sharpened as he went on until he could clearly make out distinguishable sounds.
A heavy door slamming, lock clicking into place.
Buzzing, like a fan or some other such appliance.
An engine, roaring into life and speeding away.
Footsteps echoing along some unseen corridor.
A curious squirting noise - brief, but somehow unsettling.
The clink of metal against metal.
Kurt's ears pricked at each, wondering what they portended. Were they memories? Did that mean he was getting closer to Rogue herself?
Then came the voices.
"Put her in here. Make sure she's secured properly."
"The straps are tightened, Doctor. What should I do now?"
"Shuddup in there, freaks! I'll feed ya when I'm good an' ready!"
"I want my Mommy. Wanna go home to my Mommy!"
"There's another one! Quick, grab her!"
"Poke out his eye... poke out his eye... pop - there it goes. Woo, watch it fly..."
"A small incision here, I think."
"Doctor, the drug's wearing off!"
"They're loose! Hurry! Bar all the exits!"
"What the - AAAAARGH!"
Each voice was different, and not one of them he recognised, but Kurt shivered all the same. They refused to go away, and as they got louder, the line he was following grew dimmer. He quickened his pace, as if that would help, but it flickered out and he was left staring at nothing.
Finally, he lifted his eyes, and was amazed to see that the all-consuming blackness he'd come to expect was gone. Replaced instead by a scene he instantly recognised as the setting for various movies watched years ago on the Institute's TV.
He was in a corridor. The walls, floor and ceiling were all made of metal that shone, and a single bulb suspended wanly above. It shuddered vaguely as something pounded above, presumably on the floor atop this one. There were no windows anywhere - nor doors either, for that matter.
Having no other plan of action, Kurt continued along the route he'd been shown before the line went out. He padded along the corridor, new sounds echoing in his ears.
A set of thick metallic doors rose up in the wall ahead and he went towards them. The only open one shut before he got there, and the lock clicked into place with a sound Kurt had heard before. He peered through the single, high pane of glass, but it was frosted and he could see nothing but a few dark blobs he assumed were people.
Carrying on, Kurt came to the end of the stark hallway. The murmur of voices pervaded the air, and in panic he scaled the wall and clung to the ceiling, hoping against hope his wound wouldn't drip and give him away.
A pair of white-coated figures passed obliviously beneath him, talking amiably.
"...longest lasting of the bunch," one said. "Been here for about four years, give or take."
"Really?" gasped the other. "How's that possible?"
The first shrugged. "I think she's the Doctor's pet project. Won't let her be terminated until he gives the say-so..."
They pattered out of earshot, and though Kurt strained he could hear no more of their illuminating conversation.
Flipping adroitly to the floor, he glanced down each of the options now presenting him. To the left was another shiny passage rimmed with heavy metal doors that turned off at the end. To the right was similar, save for it finished in a door rather than a corner.
Kurt chose the right. He didn't know why, but some inexorable force drew him that way, and he dutifully complied. There were still no people about, and he reached the door with its tiny frosted-glass window without mishap.
Yet there he paused, uncertain. He knew in his heart of hearts that this place wasn't real, but something held him back for a moment. Was it... fear? Fear of what he'd find on the other side of this door, perhaps? He really had no idea where he was supposed to be, but had a niggling sensation deep in his gut that this was somewhere that *Rogue* had been before. A place of her memories, dredged up and created as... as what? A prison? This place had 'jail' stamped across it like a barcode. Could it be this was where her mind was being held captive by Audrey's wrath?
The recollection of the Hunter's name made him to look around nervously. But he was still completely alone. A soft patter went by overhead, making the light-bulb dance, but that was all.
He turned back to the door and, on impulse, reached for the handle.
At once, a burst of images flooded his brain.
There was a shopping bag clutched in one of his hands, and he swung it back and forth as he walked along the pavement. He was humming. Some tune he'd heard on the radio that morning and couldn't get out of his head. The words failed him, but the melody was nice enough, and it tripped lightly off his tongue as he took the shortcut through an alleyway back to the Boarding House. Momma had told him not to take this route, but he hadn't seen anybody around, and figured it was safe enough. Pietro would kill him if he wasn't back in time for dinner, and he couldn't exactly explain that he was late because he'd gone out to buy the speedster his birthday present. The pair of running shoes bumped together inside the shoebox, and he smiled to himself at the good choice of gift.
Suddenly he couldn't breathe. Rough hands in gloves jutted as if from nowhere to clamp around his mouth and nose, and he struggled as he was dragged backwards into the shadows. He kicked and fought, but it was no use. Whoever held him was much stronger. If only they weren't wearing gloves!
"This the one?" asked a gravelly voice.
"Yeah," replied another. "Quick, settle her down and we'll put her in the van before anyone sees."
A snort of derision. "Like anyone's gonna care 'bout a worthless mutie."
"Be that as it may, orders is orders. Here, use this."
The hand on his nose shifted, and something cold and damp pressed against his face. An acrid stench filled his nostrils, blurring his brain. He recognised it as chloroform just before he passed out.
Another image. This time indoors. Metal walls and ceiling. He tried to back into the corner but found one of his ankles ensnared by an iron ring chained to the centre of the room. It cut into his skin, exposed by the wafer-thin pyjamas he was being forced to wear. They were revealing and far, far too dangerous. Didn't they know about his skin? Stupid question. They had to if they'd dressed him this way.
A metal band encircled his throat, but he'd already learned that to touch it was to receive pain. He felt dull, skin and nerve-endings somehow dead and lifeless.
The door creaked open. A figure in a labcoat hove into view. Waves of loathing washed over him, tinctured with fear so desperate it made him want to weep.
"Why're y'all doin' this?"
No answer. Instead the figure walked to the middle of the cold chamber and noted a few bits of scrawl down on a chart. Then it placed a tray of something on the floor and turned to go again.
Kurt scrabbled foward, but the shackles didn't stretch, and he had to settle for calling, "Why? I ain't done nuthin' to you."
A pause. "You were born."
Suddenly the scenario was whipped away, and Kurt found himself strapped tightly to a gurney being wheeled... someplace. Someplace he didn't know. Faces wreathed in masks hovered above, and voices flitted back and forth like flies over dung. He felt drowsy, and by tilting his head he could see a drip inserted into his arm. The vein was bulbous and throbbing with whatever they were feeding into his bloodstream.
His feet banged a set of doors open, and the trestle ground to a halt. Kurt groaned, but froze as a face loomed above him. It too was half covered by a white surgical mask, and he felt his eyes widened in horror as he saw plastic-gloved hands squirt some amber ichor from the long tip of a syringe. He didn't know what it was, but he knew it wasn't good. It couldn't be. Nothing they ever did to him here was good.
His head was twisted to one side, and the syringe pricked his neck. It burned for a second, and he fell once more into an endless black pit.
And then he was cowering back in his cell, feeling the lumpy stitches they'd left him with. His head hurt - his *mind* hurt. Whatever they'd done to him, it was agonising. 'All in the name of research', they'd said. It was what they always said, and he had yet to believe them. Personally, he thought they were all just a bunch of sadists. First chance he got, he was going to wring their necks - without either gloves or restraint collar on.
A hand reached across. Pale, pale skin - nearly as pale as his own. Green, glowing rime encircled his shackles, and the world exploded.
Running. Now he was running. Running like his life depended on it - which it would, if they caught him. He couldn't let them catch him. Not now. Not when he was so close to getting out. To being free. His bare feet thwacked the ground, which was uneven and stony. He'd already reached the outside world. He would *not* let them take him back. He'd waited to long and endured too much to have it snatched away now.
Dark sky stretched above him, speckled with stars. It'd been so long since he'd seen the sky - starry or otherwise. He stumbled, and marvelled that there was a stone to stumble over instead of the smooth flat surfaces of the lab. Metal was no substitute for proper earth, and he resisted the urge to fall to his knees and kiss it simply for being there.
Torchlight flared behind him, and the monotonous wailing of the siren reached a new pitch. But Kurt didn't care. They wouldn't take him back now. Not now he was free.
Free!
She was free. Free to go home to the south. The south? No, to Bayville. That was where her family was. That was where she'd find them. Faces swirled in her blurry mind - blonde, green, blue, fast, jump, Momma...
She?
Her?
Him
Kurt...
Kurt gasped as he let go of the door handle, and stumbled backwards. The flurry of images faded as quickly as they'd begun, and his breathing slowed from the rapid sharp intakes of breath to which it had crescendoed. His heart thrummed the inside of his ribcage like it wanted to break out.
All at once he realised several things, some of which made him nauseous, and some of which made him want to whoop with joy.
No longer afraid, the elf straightened up to his full height and pushed open the ostensibly unyielding door. No flashes of foreign memory hit him this time, and it easily swung open.
The room beyond was arrant and unforgiving. Bright white light glared down from the ceiling and reflected off the polished metal walls until it hurt to look. It was small, and devoid of objects or people, save one.
A dejected figure sat in the centre of the space, legs drawn up and head pressed to the arm surrounding them. She sat motionless, not even bothering to look up when he entered. Her hair had been cut short, and from what he could see she wore a mutant restraint collar of the sort he'd always feared. Snapped around her ankle was a shackle that led to the floor. Yet most startling was her translucency. the harsh lines of the room were visible through her, albeit a little warped and distorted.
Kurt stepped forward and knelt by her side. "Rogue," he said gently. She moved, and he tried again. "Rogue, it's time to leave."
She raised her head and looked at him. "... I remember you..."
Kurt smiled and nodded. "Jawohl, we met a couple of times in Bayville. Remember? My name's Kurt."
Rogue's essence pressed a hand to her forehead, as if struggling to remember. "Bayville. Gone," she murmured. Kurt was forced to agree, and tears filled her eyes. "Everything's gone. Dead. All dead."
"Not everything. Rogue, you have to leave now. There are people waiting for you on the outside. They want to see you."
"People?"
He bobbed his head. "Ja, Pietro's waiting. Do you remember him? Some of my friends are there too. Logan, Kitty, Alvin, my little Robyn. Nice folk. And... and Mother."
"Mother..." she blinked. "My mother? Or yours?"
"Ours," he replied with a warm smile. "I've come to fetch you, meine Schwester."
Rogue's dark eyes rounded. "You're my... my brother?" Then she frowned again, expression troubled. "Dangerous... I remember... someone else... Hunter."
"Ja, Rogue. That's why I'm here. I've come to help you get rid of her and take you home. Bitte, Rogue, you have to remember. We have to fight her together."
Rogue looked confused and rubbed at her temples. "Can't think," she mumbled. "Head hurts. Too tired." She made as if to fall back into her knees, but Kurt caught her arm.
"Nein, Rogue, you can't give up. If you give up, Audrey's won. She'll use your body for terrible things, Rogue. *Terrible* things. She'll... she'll hurt people with it. Rogue, I can't fight her alone. This is *your* MindScape. You can control it, but I can't. I need your help."
"Audrey?" Rogue repeated, as if recalling the name. "Aud - " Suddenly her mouth dropped open in shock, and she cried out in a voice filled with warning. "Look out!"
Kurt didn't even have time to turn around to see what she meant. He was, however, very aware of the wrench of agony in his chest, and the strange pointy object that came into view through the front of his shirt with a horrible wet ripping sound. A blinding pain made him gasp and hack, and a strange whistling noise slurped from somewhere around his chest region.
The elf twisted his neck enough to see the triumphant face. Audrey smirked as she pulled the double-sided blade free, sending a splatter of red across the smooth metal tiles.
"I told you, mutant. Either in this body or your own, you will die."
Kurt coughed, and something tangy touched his tongue. It slithered from the corner of his mouth and dripped off his chin. His knees buckled, and he hit the floor hard with a sickening smack. His chest burned as he attempted to draw breath and failed miserably, more blood slinking past his lips.
This wasn't real! This wasn't real!
But it hurt. It hurt so much...
"NO!"
Kurt was vaguely aware of a shadow falling across him and the clinking of metal chain. Spots danced haphazardly across his sight, but he heard Audrey snarl back, "Stay down, mutant. Make this easier on yourself."
"I won't!" Rogue spat, taking a step forward to stand protectively over Kurt's fallen shade. "I won't let ya hurt him. Y'ain'twelcome here, ya monster!"
"Monster?" Audrey guffawed. "Look who's talking, *freak*."
Rogue's eyes, erstwhile lustreless and dull, blazed with a new intensity that would've made even Kurt quail, could he see them. She calmly reached up and yanked off the restraint collar, which disintegrated into a thousand glittering pieces. Likewise, her shackles followed suit, and she walked forward unhindered.
"Monster."
Audrey readied herself, blade still dripping with Kurt's blood. "You couldn't hold me off before," she spat, "What makes you think now's gonna be any different?"
At this, Rogue paused, and glanced over her withered shoulder. Her face set into a grim mask, and she didn't bother to answer. Audrey narrowed her eyes and created a small knife in her free hand. She threw it with deadly accuracy, and it flew through the air so fast it was a blur.
{CHING}
Rogue knocked it away with her bare hand. Audrey goggled, and then created another to throw. Much the same happened.
"Ya can't stop me that easy," Rogue said in a calm voice. "I'm not as weak as before, and I know this place better'n you do."
"What? The lab?" Audrey sneered.
Rogue shook her head. "No. Mah mind."
Abruptly, the floor beneath the Hunter began to melt. Audrey cried out and tried to leap clear, but silver tendrils grabbed her ankles and dragged her back down again. Rogue walked sedately, unhurriedly, speaking as she went. "I know how to control this place more than ya, Hunter. Ya used mah own memories against me before to force me down, but I won't let you trap me again. Here, *I'm* in control."
She reached the edge of the metallic pool, where only Audrey's head, shoulders and right arm were now visible. "You can't get rid of me," Audrey yelled angrily. "*You* trapped me in here, remember? I'm here to stay - for keeps!"
"I know. I don't intend to try getting' rid of ya. I know it's impossible. But I *can* trap ya in here, just like ya trapped me."
Audrey's face fell open. "You can't! You can't keep me a prisoner in here forever!"
"You were going to do it to me," Rogue said, tone devoid of any emotion.
Audrey may have said more, but at that moment her face and all the rest of her mental form disappeared into the viscous gloop with a 'schloop'. Rogue wasted no time, and raised her hands to call up a mass of the stuff. It hovered before her, and she watched impassively as it formed and shaped itself into a barred cage, replete with key. Audrey glared out at her as she turned it, effectively locking her in.
"You can't do this to me!" she screeched ineffectually.
"Yes I can." Rogue extended her arms. "And I am."
Her hands glowed red hot, and bolts of flame shot from her fingertips, melting the cage bars together until they formed a tight, impenetrable box. At once the fire vanished, and Rogue pursed her dark lips. Jets of icy cold air swathed the box, cooling the metal and sealing Audrey's presence within where she couldn't even be heard anymore.
The box floated there for a moment, and then faded away, stored in the deepest recesses of Rogue's consciousness where the Hunter would hopefully never break free again.
Then Rogue fell to her knees, utterly drained. Memories slowly returned to her, and in a few seconds she'd pieced together the entire events spanning four longs years of confinement in a mutant research lab. Ethereal tears streamed down her cheeks as things slotted back into place. It was painful to remember, but it was a good pain, borne of knowledge. She'd rather remember hurt than be in ignorance for the rest of her life.
Suddenly, she sat bolt upright, and scrambled back to the inert figure lying where she'd been bound in the prison of her own memories.
"Kurt," she whispered weakly, shaking his arm. "Kurt!"
The furry figure moved, but he was almost gone, and she looped her arms around him defensively.
"Don't you dare die on me, bro. There's one last thing to do yet."
*******************
The three onlookers startled as Rogue let out a gurgling cry. Logan and Mystique leaped to their feet, but Pietro beat them to the punch.
{VIP}
"Rogue? Rogue!"
She blinked, eyes refocusing on him. "Pi... Piet..." she murmured, and then fell to her knees. Pietro dropped beside her and clutched at her arm, but she shook him away. "No... have to... have to get... to him..."
The trio looked on, amazed, as Rogue dragged her too-thin body over to the collapsed Kurt and placed a hand on his forehead. A faint glow flickered around her fingers, coalescing to the centre of her palm. Then she let it, and the rest of her, drop.
Kurt's eyelids rippled, and he coughed as he started coming to.
"I don't believe it," Mystique breathed. "How did she -"
Pietro darted to Rogue's aid and cradled her spindly fame in his arms. "Rogue, are you OK? Rogue! *Rogue*!"
Green slits hove into sight and a reedy, tired voice croaked, "S'alright, Speedy. I'm in control now. Not gonna... hurt no-one..."
"Where's the Hunter?" Pietro asked, unable to keep the question in despite the smile spreading across his face at the sound of her familiar southern accent. "Rogue, what happened to the Hunter?"
Her eyes drifted shut, but she whispered, "Audrey's... gone. Need to sleep, Pietro. Just... lemme... sleep... 'splain later..."
As Rogue fell into much-needed slumber, Kurt opened his eyes and weakly lifted a hand to his hip. "'M okay," he mumbled.
"What happened, Elf?" Logan demanded.
"Mrr," Kurt ignored the question and pressed his hand to the pavement. "Help..."
Mystique crouched beside her son and lifted him into a sitting position.
"It's OK," he coughed. "Rogue took me into her mind to fight the Hunter - Audrey. I found Rogue, and she got control and locked Audrey away. I thought she'd killed me..." He rubbed his chest where the sword had poked through.
"Stupid thing Stripes did," Logan nodded slowly, misunderstanding.
"Nein - " Kurt paused to breathe. "Audrey. The Hunter. Used to be... Vanguard leader..." He smirked. "She stabbed me with her steely knives, but she just couldn't kill the beast. [2]"
"What about her?" Pietro was still cradling Rogue.
Kurt closed his eyes again "She'll be OK. Just needs rest. So do I..." He yawned, and Logan scooped him into his arms without another word. He was surprisingly gentle, and Kurt's tail dangled listlessly past hands that could so easily slice it clean off
Pietro watched, and then shook his head with a weary sigh. "Home again, home again, jiggety jig..."
*******************
To Be Continued...
*******************
[1] Like a landscape, only way more surreal.
[2] From _Hotel California_ The other line is "You can check out any time you want, but you can never leave."