The driver opens the door for them when they arrive back at the penthouse. She feels his eyes on their backs as they leave him behind, step into the building and cross the marble floor.
Remy pushes the button and they wait silently before the elevator. She watches the floors light up, coming closer and closer.
"3" illuminates and a sudden calm washes over her.
She's not alone anymore.
She looks at Remy reflected in the polished surface of the doors, meets his eyes...
2
And over her shoulder the driver is at the front desk, speaking to the concierge, nodding slightly in their direction.
1
The doors slide open, their reflections part, disappear.
They step inside.
The doors swish shut and they are alone, words tumble out of her, no time, no time to explain everything just-
"Mystique has Deborah-"
"Yo' frien'?" she blinks at him, surprised.
"Y'remember her?"
"I 'member ever'ting."
"She's had her this whole time. She's usin' her ta control me, make me stay with Th' Brotherhood, make me do things. Ah need ta get her out, Remy. Tonight. Ah don't have the info'mation Mystique needs no mo'. Xavier got rid of it after Ah touched 'im... Ah need ya ta help me get ta her..."
He's staring at her neck.
"Remy?"
"D'y'know where dey holdin' her?" He says.
"The... the floor below ours...There's a hidden door in th' room – Ah don't know where it leads, but th'cell is right below Mystique's office which makes me think-"
"It goes t'her," he murmurs still focused on her skin.
"Yeah..."
He lifts his hand, his fingers hovering beside her throat.
"How dat happen?"
"What?"
"You bleedin'..."
Musta been when Wolverine was tryin' ta scare me...
His eyes flash, tracing the razor straight line of blood.
"Did he cut you?"
"Ah'm fine. Deborah-"
"Don' worry, we get her out."
The elevator stops.
"How?"
The doors open.
"Trus' me."
-/-
"What happened?"
"She was causin' a scene, had ta get her out, non? Anybody touch de femme it be all over. T'ought Rogue here wouldn' be much use t'us if she b'hind bars."
Mystique turns to her, dismissing Gambit, and he leans against her desk nonchalantly checking out the papers scattered across it.
"Did you get what we need, Rogue?"
She can feel Remy's eyes on her telling her to lie.
"Yeah – Ah got all of it. Did Avalanche pick up that Alexander guy?"
"He has not reported back yet."
"'Dat don' sound good..."
"Lebeau?"
"What?"
"Are you trying to piss me off? You're already on my shit list for what you pulled tonight – did it occur to you that you and Lorraine Downey are not supposed to know each other? Did you not understand that all of you were supposed to remain independent on this mission? Contacting each other only when absolutely necessary and in secret when you did?"
"Mebbe y'shoulda given me de rundown in French, neh?"
Mystique whips around and he gives her a lazy smirk.
click "Raven..." click
Mystique glares at Gambit and reaches past him to pick up the phone, taking it off speaker.
"Yes, Irene? ... Can it wait? ..."
Rogue tenses as Mystique's gaze slides away from Remy, over to her. She forces herself to not look away, to meet her eyes, calmly, coolly.
And what she finds in them isn't anger... or even suspicion.
It's worry, it's-
Fear?
She has never seen Mystique look afraid. Ever.
A shiver chases its way down her spine.
It's bad... whatever Irene's tellin' her... it's bad...
"I'll be right there," she murmurs against the mouthpiece, hangs up the phone. In the dead silence they stand there face to face, almost close enough to touch and Rogue knows she can reach out and do it right now. End this. She can take all the answers... but something in Raven's eyes... she doesn't want to know what she's thinking right now, what's making her look so scared...
Mystique reaches out to her first, places a hand on her silk-clad shoulder and squeezes gently.
"You've been through a lot this evening. We'll debrief later... You should rest now and I will come to see you when I've finished with Irene."
She turns, she leaves.
She leaves them alone in her office.
"Remy..."
He's already on his feet, searching.
"She left us alone."
"Don' question y'good luck..."
She watches him run his hands along the bookshelves, the walls.
"Remy, it's bad... Whatever Irene knows... It's bad enough that she would leave you alone in her office..."
"Den we better do dis quick 'fore she comes to her senses. Where you say de door was in de girl's room?"
"It... it would be here Ah think..."
She's facing a bookshelf against the far wall. He comes to stand beside her.
"Start pullin' books – maybe one a'dem will-"
"Wait..."
There's a sculpture sitting on the fourth shelf. A hand cradling a woman. Something about the fingers... the thin grasping fingers and the woman curled into herself is so sinister...
It's beautiful until you really look at it, until you realize the woman is afraid.
She touches the sculpture, smoothes her hand along the cool marble of the woman's calves, her knees, her arms crossed protectively over her heart. She places her hand over her completely, trapping her between her palm and the sculptures'.
She grips, gently twists.
It gives.
The bookshelf slides back into the wall.
"Not bad, cherie..."
"Come on..." she whispers and steps into the darkness.
-/-
She feels her way, almost tripping down a flight of stairs she knew would be coming, and after a few choice words she hears a faint whistling and Remy tosses a card before them which glows softly at their feet before disintegrating.
He tosses another and another as they descend.
And come to a door.
"There're cameras in there... Mystique probably ain't watchin' now but we haveta get Deborah out fast..."
He holds up another card, traces the door's outline, looking for a handle, a button, anything...
Nothing.
"How th'hell..."
He slips the glowing card into one of the seams.
"Remy..."
"Iss okay – I can control de charge..."
A flash of magenta, a puff of smoke and the door swings open into more darkness. They step inside and the lights flicker on.
"What..."
No...
The room is empty.
"No."
Empty.
"No no no nonononono..."
"Chere..."
"Deborah..."
"Rogue-"
She...
"She did it... She killed her... Ah did what she wanted and she did it anyway... She..."
"Are you sure dis be de right place?"
She crumples to the ground, shaking, shaking and clutching her stomach feeling sick.
It was all f'nothin'... alla this... everythin'... those people...
An' a part of ya musta known... y'were hopin' she wasn' a monster... but ya musta known...
Why didn' Ah get ta her sooner...why didn' Ah grab Mystique the second she threatened her... why...
Cause ya didn't wanna believe she's evil... ya didn' wanna believe she was really capable of... of...
"Ah did what she asked! Ah did everythin'!"
"Rogue..." His arm around her, lifting her up, making her look at him through her tears, her rage. "Rogue, dere's nothin' we kin do if she not here... We walk away together. We walk away now..."
"That can't happen, LeBeau."
Raven stands in the doorway, the black mouth of the stairwell yawning behind her. She shuts the door, shuts them all inside, a glint of metal at her thigh, clicking once against the wall as she turns to them.
"Rogue listen to me-"
"You killed her!"
"No."
"Then where the fuck is she?"
She breaks away from Remy, comes towards Mystique, her hands balled into raised fists.
Raven doesn't say a word and she uncurls them, holds up her palms.
"Ah got two ways t'take it from ya," she bluffs. "That man ya had me absorb? Alexander Charles? He was a telepath."
Raven blinks.
"...A strong one. Stronger than Jean Grey. Much. Ah won't hafta try very hard ta-"
Raven smiles.
"'Course... there's... the other way too..."
She's smiling.
"When we bring Mr. Charles in you will absorb him fully."
What?
"What?"
"Rogue, don't you see?" Raven begins excitedly, "Once you have his power you will be able to help us without hurting yourself – you will have complete control –"
"Listen ta me! Ah'm not doin' this no more! Ah'm done! Ya killed Deborah! Ya-"
"I did not kill Deborah."
"Ya think Ah'm gonna believe ya just let her go?!"
"Rogue, she was never here."
"What're ya talkin' about, Ah saw her-"
Raven closes her eyes.
Her skin shimmers, her hair twists into long dark curls and when she looks at her again her eyes are no longer gray, but brown. Wide, brown Bambi eyes.
Oh mah God... oh mah...
Ah shoulda known... Ah shoulda...
She's hyperventilating.
"... How long..."
"Since the beginning. Deborah is probably still rotting in that orphanage. I approached you in the library. I talked you into going to New York. I found you at that club, LeBeau. I chose you on purpose. I knew who you would be to her, to them. I knew you would be the link we needed -"
"That's enough."
"Rogue-"
"Ah said enough. It's ovah, Mystique."
"It's not over. You can't leave here, Rogue. Terrible things will happen if you do. Destiny-"
"Ah don't care! Ah don't care 'bout th'visions!"
"You don't understand, Rogue – if you walk away I promise you it will be much worse than the life you imagine here."
That ain't possible...
A whistle of power.
Gambit holds up a glowing card.
"We done here, Mystique."
Raven laughs shortly, lifts the gun. Her jaw is painfully tight, her eyes sad, but her hand does not waver.
"I love you, Rogue. In every world, every reality, you are my child. I am trying to protect you."
She shifts her aim away from Remy, away from the glowing King of Hearts.
Rogue stares down the barrel of the gun.
"Stay with me. Don't make me do this."
Out of the corner of her eye she sees Remy start to move and she holds out a hand, her fingertips resting briefly against his pounding heart.
"Rogue?" he asks.
"Shhh..."
The card burns itself into ash, charred hearts falling to the white white floor.
She looks away from it, away from him. She forces herself to move.
She stares into Deborah's eyes and comes closer, closer until the cold nose of the gun kisses her heart.
"Raven?"
Deborah's face disappears and Raven looks back at her, beautiful smooth Raven, a mess now with tears slipping quietly down her face. Her mouth is a hard determined line, but her storm-cloud eyes say, please.
"Yes, Rogue?"
"Go to hell."
She doesn't hear the gun fire. It's muffled by someone's scream, by an explosion of power that lifts her off her feet and sends her hurtling through the air. She feels the heat on her face, the burning pain of the bullet that has ripped into her flesh, the impact of hitting the floor. And then she can't move at all. All she can do is stare up at the ceiling... the white white ceiling flickering with shadows pink and gray and black ... orange and red... waving and waving like flames... like gauze... Remy's face through the haze coming closer and closer... She thinks of his kiss... that first kiss at Fahrenheit through the gauze... warm and soft and making her heart race...
Her heart hurts.
And then no more.
She can't feel anything.
Her head is swimming, her vision blurring. She hears Remy say "Oh God... Oh God... No... Please God..."
He leans over her, presses his hands hard over her breast, trying to stop the blood.
"Don' you dare die on me!"
He's getting farther and farther away... his voice sounds so small... She watches him try to save her, his hair falling into his eyes... those eyes... Tears on his cheeks leaving trails through the soot...
He whispers, No...
And she closes her eyes.