The Song of Eternity
Canto 9
Ronin
Verse 4
We've been through hell,
Lost our mentor and leader,
Been exposed to the world,
Lost some friends, lost ourselves,
But we're still here.
Rogue opened her eyes groggily as she looked around her darkened room in the mansion. She tried to get used to the darkness as she listened to try to find out what woke her up. She finally got used to the darkness and moonlight and recognized Kitty sleeping in the bed on the other side of the room, but could not find what woke her up. "Probably one of the bats again," she muttered as she slipped on her slipped and stumbled her way to the kitchen.
She was surprised to see McCoy, Scott, and Lance already awake and sitting around eating. "Looks like someone else couldn't sleep," McCoy commented as Rogue yawned and say down.
"It's the bats again, they fly right by my window and wake me up every other night," Rogue explained. "What are your excuses?"
"Bad dreams," Scott said.
"Weird dreams," Lance added.
"I was hungry," McCoy shrugged. They sat there silently for a minute eating, drinking, and staring groggily off into space as it started to rain.
"Any word on where the missing people are?" Scott asked.
"Nothing yet, but once they come out into the open Cerebro should be able to locate them," Hank explained.
"We should be out looking for them," Lance said angrily.
"You need to stay in school and get back to whatever you consider normal. If Vincent and Magneto cannot handle the situation themselves, the twenty or so of you getting in their way will not help," Hank told him.
"There's something weird going on out there," Rogue said quietly as she looked out the window. All four sets of eyes looked out at the dark tree line.
"I don't see anything," Scott said.
"Wait for it, be careful not to blink," Rogue told them. "It's really fast," she added as a dark blur whizzed across the far side of the yard.
"What was that?" Lance asked. "Pietro?"
"Too slow to be him," Hank shook his head. He went over to an intercom on the wall and pressed a button. "Creed, where are you?"
"Sleepin', go away blue," the reply growled over the intercom.
"Probably someone from the town trying to mess with us. I say we go mess with them," Lance said as the room trembled a little.
"If they come any closer to the mansion, the defenses will activate and deal with whoever it is," McCoy said.
"What if it isn't someone from the town. It could be once of Apocalypses people," Scott guessed. "We need to check it out, come on," he said as he headed to the door with the others in tow. "Spread out," he ordered as all four of them rushed out onto the wet grass to look for the intruder.
Rogue frowned as she felt herself getting cold and wet. She squinted at the dark tree line, but could find nothing out of the ordinary. "This sucks," she grumbled, but kept looking around.
"Anything?" Scott shouted to the others.
"No sign of whoever it was," McCoy said as he examined the ground near where they saw the intruder.
"They probably got spooked and bolted when we came out. Most of the town is scared of us, whoever it was is probably long gone by now," Lance ventured.
"But if they were crazy enough to come here, then…..," Rogue stopped talking as she put her hand out. "Where'd the rain go…?" she muttered as she saw the rain keep falling on her friends, but not on her. "Aaah!" she screamed as she turned around and saw the dark figure behind her.
"You four are going to wake the others if you are not careful," the figure spoke. "What are you thinking, coming out here in the rain by yourselves in the middle of the night anyway?" he continued as Rogue looked up at the huge black feathered wing he had extended over her. "Let's get inside before you hurt yourselves," Cole ordered as he walked back to the door.
"What are you doing here Cole?" Lance asked as he caught up with Rogue and Cole. "We told Murphy and Elena that we don't need or want your help," he said angrily.
"Too bad you have no say in the matter," Cole said coldly as he stopped at the door. He closed his eyes and shook a little as he pulled his wings back into his body. He leaned against the mansion as he caught his breath before pulling a shirt from the bag he was carrying and joining the others in the house.
"What were you doing out there?" Scott asked as he took a seat.
"Patrolling," Cole replied.
"You don't have to do that, we don't need your help," Scott said.
"As I told Lance, you have no say in the matter," Cole replied as his voice grew deeper in some parts. "I will do what I want, when I want. You do not have a say in the matter," he finished.
"May I ask, are you okay?" McCoy asked as he noticed the change in Cole's voice and growing tension.
"I am fine, you should all get some sleep," he added glancing at a clock.
"Fine, we get the picture, Mr. hard-ass Turk," Lance said angrily before storming out.
Scott and McCoy followed him out, but Rogue stayed at the table with Cole. "What do you want?" Cole asked her.
"The way your voice changed…it was your other personality, wasn't it?" Cole just stared back at her silently without responding. "I remember it from when you saved us when the military attacked. What's going on?"
"Nothing is going on, we are fine," Cole replied.
"Are you sure? You don't seem fine," she said dejectedly.
"Leave us be," Cole ordered as he stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him.
Rogue sat there stunned for a minute before she noticed another figure had entered the room. "What do you want?" she asked Magneto.
"Initially I wanted to see what you four were doing outside at 4 in the morning, but I have figured it out by myself," he explained. "A bit of advise Rogue, you may want to avoid that boy."
"Why?"
"A man possessing the power he does, cursed with a second, darker personality, living the life he does… He is dangerous Rogue. Be careful around him."