Thanks to:
UniversalAnimeGirl – Welcome back! Yes, the idea for Jean being able to control Rogue's powers came from you reminding me about Carol Danvers being able to do so, and I'm very grateful! And the Mystique/Rogue/Kurt thing is coming up soon… Self Possessed will come up before the Apocalypse thing. I think Mystique worked with Mesmero just because it seemed like a good idea and she's under the impression that it will help Rogue somehow. Mesmero's a liar!
Steph14Wales – hope you have more luck with the other chapters now!
Furygrrl – The Acolyte confrontation is right here, plus more of the (Pyean? Jyro? What the hell is that pairing called anyway?) Jean romance you like! Well, maybe not romance, but similar. On a related note, I've been working on a Jeance one-shot which may be posted on Evo-over 18 when I've finished.
LadyEvils – Lance is smarter than most people are willing to admit. I think so anyway. It can be kinda hard to make Evil Jean seem to have any other emotion than evil glee, so I'm glad you like her missing the Acolytes!
X00001 – The wait is over! Well, sort of, it's never that easy with this fic, hee hee!
Kurttyscogue – I think Jean just sees Apocalypse as a way out of the X-Men, but she's going after the Acolytes anyway!
Psycho88 – You might not have to wait too long for your wish!
Raphaella – There will be a Mystique/Jean confrontation and it might not be what you'd expect, at least I hope it is!
Lyranfan – Scott-trampling imminent! Ascension 2 will be different from the programme, but that's all I'm giving away! Oh, I'm evil.
DemonRogue13 – I thought Lance would be suspicious because she drained him and because he's known her for a lot longer than most of the X-Men. I don't think his suspicions will do him any good though!
Rogue14 – Old Poxy Lips, as I used to call him, is gonna give Jean good reason to reconsider. But will she change her mind?
XX-Goth-Gal – At one time I didn't really like AU until I read some excellent ones and did a total U-turn on them. Now they're my favourites! And Leech will turn up.
Oceanbang – The entire fourth series will be very different thanks to Evil Jean. And the fight with the Acolytes is here!
Enfant-terrible – You've given much such a swelled head! But thank you! And I'm gonna continue writing the fic 'til the bitter end…incidentally, I just read part 3 of you're 'do you love Pietro too much?' fic with St. John and I can honestly say that 'fire resistant' isn't a statement, it's a challenge! But I was unable to review it for some reason.
Author Note: {There's a lot of this in this chapter. It's thoughts. Telepathic knowledge. It'll all become clear, well I hope so anyway.}
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution. I don't even own my own personality anymore – Jean stole it from me!
It was raining hard when the limousine pulled up outside the Acolytes lair. Jean had gained the information about its whereabouts and layout from Pietro's mind and knew there was only one way in undetected…
"The window."
Silently, Mystique offered Jean her hand and the girl triggered Rogue's powers, leeching her morphing abilities. Jean paused briefly, fighting the wave of self-loathing that stemmed from Mystique's hatred of her, before transforming into an owl and flying into the base.
The first person she saw was Sabretooth. Quickly she changed back into Rogue and used Logan's powers to knock him off his feet. He leapt up with a roar and grabbed her arm – which was uncovered. A moment later Sabretooth was left in a crumpled heap.
A chuckle from behind her made her teleport an instant before she was engulfed in flames. Pyro laughed as she reappeared and he got her in his sights, aiming the flamethrowers at her.
"I've been waiting a long time for this. I'm gonna barbecue you for what you did to Jean."
"St John, wait!" Jean dropped the accent and used Mystique's powers to change Rogue's body into her own form. "I-it's me!"
"Jean?" Pyro paused before he could throw fire at her and gaped. "But…how?"
"It's been me all along." Jean approached Pyro cautiously. "When Rogue stole my mind, I took over her body and infiltrated the X-Men."
"Blimey, that was awful bold of you." Pyro wrapped his arms around her and grinned. "So, you've come back to flick my bic?"
"Uh, not exactly." Jean put her lips to his and triggered Rogue's powers with some regret. She was still rather fond of him.
A slow handclap from behind her startled her into breaking the kiss. "Bravo chere."
Jean let Pyro fall as she turned and morphed back into Rogue. Gambit had always been rather taken with Rogue she remembered, meaning it was the best appearance for the confrontation. She headed towards him, holding her hand out to drain his powers.
"Looks to me like Rogue's up to no good, but hey, I like that in a girl." Gambit tried to stop Jean with his staff, which she batted away contemptuously, continuing to advance.
Gambit backed away. "Only thing is you're not alone in your head are you?"
Jean lunged at him and he leapt onto a crate behind him. "So who are you? Rogue – or Jean?"
Bored of the conversation, Jean picked him up with her TK and bounced him off a couple of walls before letting him drop. She leapt onto him but he was too fast for her, getting his staff between them and keeping her at bay.
"See if you can guess," she hissed before he threw her off. She hit the floor and kept going, using Kitty's phasing powers and leaving Gambit wondering where she'd gone. A moment later, she rose through the floor behind him and as he turned, she kissed him. He sank to the floor, out of the fight.
Hmmm, she thought critically. Pyro's better.
Magneto walked in and glanced at his fallen Acolytes, Sabretooth, Pyro and Gambit sprawled across the floor. Narrowing his eyes, he scanned the base for movement but saw nothing.
"Where are you Rogue?"
He walked further into the room, past the unconscious Gambit…
Huh?
Magneto realised the incongruity a second too late. The second Gambit leapt up, morphing into Rogue as she rested a hand on his face.
Job completed, bridges well and truly burned, Jean wiped the Acolytes minds, turned into an owl and left the same way she came in.
"Lance, stop pouting!"
"Well I feel like a jerk."
"You look very handsome."
"I'm wearing a dress!"
"It's not a dress, it's a robe. And you should be proud, you graduated!"
"Thanks to the Prof and Mr McCoy's extra tuition." Lance tried to adjust his mortarboard and Kitty slapped his hand away.
"I'll just be glad to get out of here," said Scott, who also felt like an idiot in the robe but was wise enough not to mention it.
"Scott!" Jean smiled teasingly, trying to forget that under other circumstances she too would be graduating. "You can't tell me you don't have at least some good memories?"
"Let's just say I won't be buying the yearbook."
Jean laughed. "Are you ever gonna lighten up?"
"Yep. One minute after graduation."
"I can't wait," added Lance.
"C'mon Rogue," said Kitty, shaking her head in wonder that the two boys weren't more excited. "Let's go sit with the others. And Lance, if you don't stop fidgeting with that robe, I won't give you your graduation present!"
The two girls headed over to where the Professor and Storm sat on the bleachers with Kurt. Kitty's smile faded as she looked up at them. "Ororo still seems sad since Evan went off with the Morlocks."
"He'll be back," predicted Jean. "Live in a sewer or a mansion? Ah know what ah'd choose."
Scott and Lance took their places among the other graduates, most of whom ignored them. Lance cleared his throat, wondering how to approach a delicate subject with some one he didn't get on with too well. "So, uh, you and Rogue seem, uh, close."
"That obvious huh?" Scott blushed a little and smiled. "Yeah, we're dating. But Rogue doesn't want anyone to know yet until she's told – uh, it's not my place to say anything. But we're gonna tell the others soon."
At that moment Principal Kelly took the stage and prevented Lance from replying, but his mind was working overtime. Rogue was dating Scott and she had something to tell them? The look on Scott's face had given away more than he would have wanted it to, giving Lance a good idea of what the secret might be.
Rogue can control her powers? Since when? And why hasn't she told anyone about it?
Something is very, very wrong…
"Welcome." Principal Kelly looked out at the graduates. "I think back to the first time I spoke in front of you. Change was the theme then and it has never been more important than it is today. So, as you go out into this rapidly changing world, it is essential that you take control of your futures. You many look across from you and see students who have certain advantages over you. Don't be deterred. Any disadvantage can be overcome. You can prevail. We can- oh, no."
The assembled students turned to see Magneto floating across the field, accompanied by the Acolytes and most of the Brotherhood. Principal Kelly dived behind the podium as the screaming students fled the field. Scott and Lance fought their way through the crowd and Lance had the time to wish he wasn't about to face the enemy wearing a dress.
Jean decided to slip away in the chaos. If Magneto was here, there was a strong possibility that she'd been found out, although she had no idea how, and she had no desire to blow her cover at that moment. She'd almost gotten away when a sudden strong wind surrounded her, the world seemed to blur and she found herself facing the Acolytes.
Pietro. Great.
A magnetic pulse lifted several of the steel chairs recently evacuated by terrified students and they began whirling around her. She looked straight ahead, wondering how the hell she was going to get out of this one.
The Professor wheeled himself onto the field, surrounded by the other X-Men. "Magneto, explain yourself!"
"The girl is under Mesmero's control Charles! She attacked us to absorb our powers and then wiped our minds with his powers to cover it up."
Under Mesmero's control?
Jean began giggling, unable to believe that the mighty Magneto had got it so wrong. Giggles turned into laughs and the other mutants stared at her, not understanding her mirth.
"Oh Buckethead," she grinned. "I'm not under anyone's control – but Rogue's under mine…"
She used Mystique's powers to change into her own form, relieved to look like herself again. Having Rogue's powers had been fun but looking like the Goth had been a pain in the ass. She was sorry in a way that she'd been found out, but she'd known it would happen sooner or later, probably sooner since she'd began leeching powers from the others. Now she had been found out, she intended to have some fun taunting the X-Men.
"I told you so!" said Pyro.
"Jean?" Scott stepped forward, fists clenched. "What have you done with Rogue?"
Jean laughed. "Summers, you are so gullible."
"I knew it!" shouted Lance. "I knew something was up. It's been you all along!"
"Yeah, it was." Jean smirked at Lance through the barrier of steel chairs. "And you ought to thank me."
"Thank you!" Kitty glared at Jean, hands on hips. "You pretended to be Rogue, did goodness-knows-what to her and you expect us to be grateful? You're unbelievable!"
"Without me, you wouldn't have what you have now, any of you! Isn't that right Lance?"
The psychic wave hit Lance before he could respond, driving him to his knees. The future that Destiny had seen for him without Jeans interference flashed through his mind.
{…you're with me now…}
{…no, I'm not…}
{…the pointy ears are starting to work for me…}
{…you and me got a date Pretty-Kitty, how about a ride on the concrete coaster…}
{…lousy ride loser…}
{…right I can totally see us walking 'round the mall together…}
{… what makes you think I'd even…}
{…would you like go to the dance with me…}
{…Kitty I want you to leave…}
{…the real you…}
{…nothing but a hood…}
{…never be good enough for you…}
{…won't talk to you at all…}
{…she won't even go near him…}
Kitty ran over to Lance and dropped to her knees beside him as he covered his ears and closed his eyes in a futile attempt to keep the images out. "Leave him alone you bitch!"
"What did you do to Rogue?" Scott had one hand on his shades, ready to blast her.
"I already told you Summers. It was me all along! I've been in control ever since Irene's funeral."
"Let her go!"
Jean smirked at Scott's fury. "You want her back? I'll set her free – but I don't think you'll like it when I do."
On the astral plane…
Rogue glanced around her in amazement as the walls of her prison began crumbling, She touched the wall and it disintegrated beneath her fingers.
"I'm free!"
She floated upwards, barely noticing the other, smaller jails around her, which were also beginning to break apart, jails that had previously contained some of the secrets that Jean had kept from her.
"Free, I'm free, I'm…"
"…Free."
As Rogue took back control of her body, it reverted back to her own appearance. She blinked, glancing down at her hands as if to prove to herself that she was no longer discorporeal.
She had just enough time to wonder why she was stood within a cyclone of steel chairs on the football field in front of the X-Men, Brotherhood and Acolytes when a wave of previously suppressed knowledge washed over her, information that Jean had taken from Destiny and absorbed from Mystique.
{…who Risty really was…}
{…MONSTER! What have you done to him…}
{…we cannot lose her, especially not to Xavier…}
{…was it worth the loss of your son…}
{…used me to spy on the X-Men…}
{…adopted you when you were four…}
{…alvays knew I vas adopted…}
{…trust me Rogue…}
{…who Mystique really is…}
Rogue staggered, overwhelmed by the facts she'd only just learned, putting her head in her hands. She was vaguely aware of Scott shouting her name and the metal chairs that circled her…
{…lying in the aisle of the church, she touched his face…}
She repelled the chairs with a magnetic pulse of her own, her shape changing until she was Magneto's exact double. The other mutants backed off in a hurry, using their powers to avoid being hit. Principal Kelly pulled his head behind the podium just in time to avoid being beheaded by a steel chair aimed at the stage with lethal force.
The real Magneto squared up to his imitator as the others looked on.