Brian growled and jumped on Remy, knocking him to the ground. Remy struggled under his weight and tried to push Brian off him but he was excessively big.
Rogue shook her head and immediately the visions she was having disappeared. She smirked at her date and flew over to where the X-Men stood, shocked. She sneered at them.
" What? Are yah'll just gonna stand there and stare at meh or are ya'll gonna faght?" she smirked and when none of them did anything but stare, she shook her head. " Pathetic," she muttered under her breath and before any of them could register what was happening, she sent a lightening-quick kick towards Evan. Her heeled-boot caught him in the stomach and he gasped, falling to his knees. She giggled evilly, watching him squirm.
Amara burned with rage, literally, when she saw her boyfriend kneeling on the floor, clutching his stomach. She conjured up some fireballs in her hands. She glared at Rogue.
" Rogue, I don't care that you used to be an X-Man! That gives you no damn right to attack my boyfriend!" she raged and sent a fireball straight at Rogue. None of the X-Men moved to stop her. Rogue stepped aside so the fireball missed her completely and hit the wall. The rest of the humans saw what was going on and ran away from the commotion, screaming uncontrollably.
" Is she the only one that has enough guts to stand up and fight meh?" Rogue raised an eyebrow and most of the X-Men began to get angry.
Brian kept trying to punch Remy but Remy kept moving his head so he missed and kept hitting the stone ground. Gradually, Remy began to get dangerously angry and he lifted his knees to create a barrier between them before kneeing him in the jaw. He heard a sickening crunch as his knee made sharp contact with Brian's jaw. Brian fell off him, clutching his broken jaw. Remy swiftly got up and turned to see Emma Frost fighting Jean and Pietro, the older man that had been called Wimgard fighting Amara and Lance, Psylocke fighting Scott and Logan, Kurt and Evan battling the other man who had morphed into a creature that looked very much like a gorilla. He saw, away from the fight, Kitty desperately trying to talk to Rogue. He ran hastily over to them.
" Rogue! What are you doing? You're fighting your own family," he heard Kitty say. Rogue scoffed.
" Family? Yeah raght! If yah were mah family then yah would've helped meh get out of Trask's base. But no! It was Sinister who helped meh. Yah understand? Not yah or any other worthless so-called heroes!" Rogue shot back and proceeded to fight Kitty. Kitty gasped as Rogue's fist came sailing at her. Her fist went right through Kitty. Rogue growled under her breath and super-quickly sent out her left leg and tripped Kitty up. Kitty fell to the floor. Remy ran up to them and grabbed Rogue's shoulders.
" Rogue! What are y' doin'? Y'r fightin' y'r best friend!" he yelled in her face, shaking her slightly. Rogue yanked his hands off her.
" Don't touch meh!" she screamed. Her fist went crashing into his stomach. He inhaled sharply as the air was knocked out of him but he just gritted his teeth and took it.
" Rogue, you're wrong. We didn't come to rescue you because we didn't know!" Kitty spoke up, on her feet.
Remy turned as he heard a scream. He saw Jose kneeling on the ground, with blood staining her white shirt. She had her eyes shut. Jubilee was fighting Brian whose jaw was swelling up badly. He turned back to Kitty.
" Kitty, go help Jose. I'll deal wit' Rogue," he instructed and Kitty nodded and ran off. Rogue glared at him icily.
" Ah ain't here tah be dealt with! Ah'm here to get rid of the likes of you!" she yelled and charged at him, hitting his stomach again. He held her by the arms and kept her fairly away from him so she couldn't hit him.
" Listen Rogue. We do not want t' fight y'. We wanna help y'. But they cronies of Sinister's don't. They want y' f'r y' powers, Rogue. And right now y'r helpin' them get it by fightin' us!" he exclaimed, trying to make her see sense. He tried so hard not to flinch at the sheer hatred in her eyes.
" Liar!" she hissed, " It isn't them that want meh for mah powers! It's you and y'r X-Men! Ah remember everythin'!" she added, the hatred in her voice intensifying. Remy looked at her, puzzled.
" Chere…" he didn't get to finish because he was pulled back, away from Rogue, by someone. He yanked his trench coat out of the person's grip and turned round to be met with a punch right across his face. Remy's head went to his left so quickly that he could've sworn that his neck had lost all its bones. He turned his head back painfully to see Wimgard looking at him with mock pity written right across his face.
" Keep away from the lady," he said coldly, in a posh accent and punched Remy again but this time Remy was ready and he dodged it, took out his bo-staff, and hit Wimgard across the face with it. Wimgard stumbled back a few steps, holding his bleeding mouth. Remy jumped into the air and did a swivel-kick, kicking Wimgard in the stomach. Once he was partially sure that Wimgard was down, he turned back to Rogue, who was staring icily at him, with her arms folded.
" Listen t' me, Rogue," he instructed, " We don't wanna fight y'. Chere, we love y'. How could we fight y'? We want y' back, mon amour," Remy said softly, hoping to make her come back to the X-Men, to him.
Rogue stared into Remy's red-on-black eyes as she completely lost herself. His words were swirling round in her mind and she began doubting everything she had been brought to believe in the past five years away from the X-Men. He had inserted some sort of memory in her mind and she watched, shocked and wide-eyed, as it replayed in her mind.
Flashback
" Professah! Ah can't do this anymore!" Rogue gasped, opening her eyes and pushing the bald man out of her mind. Professor sighed, disillusioned.
" Rogue. In order for you to gain control of your powers, we need to work together. Together, being the key word," he tried to make her enthusiastic of what they were trying to accomplish. Rogue sighed and put her head in her hands.
" Ah know, Professah. Ah know. But we've trying like this for what? Three months? Four months even? An' we're not getting anywhere!" she exclaimed, standing up abruptly. The professor wheeled himself around to the front of his desk, where Rogue was standing, trying to hide her distress.
" I know, Rogue. But it will take time. You know that. When Jean first came into this Institute, she was constantly levitating things without even knowing so and when angry, everything around her would start swivelling around. She only learned to control her powers reasonably recently," he explained, with a hint of a smile on his face, as he recalled the 'good ol' days'. Rogue looked at him with a slightly disgusted look on her face.
" Yeah, Prof'. But as you often forget, Jean is Miss. Perfect. She can't do anything wrong so it only took her... what? Two days to control her powers? Face it, Prof'. Ah ain't gonna control mah powers so there's no point in wastin' your tahme tryin'!" she exclaimed and stormed out the office, only to bump into someone as soon as she got outside. She looked up to see a handsome face, smiling at her.
" Bonjour, chere," Remy greeted, kissing her gloved hand. Rogue smiled lopsidedly at him.
" Hey, sugah," she answered quietly. Remy sensed her distress and looked at her properly.
" What's wrong, chere?" he asked, concerned. Rogue took his hand and led him outside, where they sat on a bench, shaded from the sun's glare by a tree. Rogue let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around herself, bringing her knees up close.
" Rogue? What's bot'erin' y'?" Remy asked again, wanting an answer to why his chere was sad.
" Remy? Why can't I control mah powers?" she asked him quietly, not looking at him but instead, looking at the grass underneath them. Remy searched her face. So, this was why she was so upset. He placed a gloved finger under her chin and tilted it up so he could see straight into her beautiful eyes.
" Mon amour, y' can control powers. All y' need is some self-confidence and trust in y'rself," he answered. Something flickered in Rogue's eyes but as soon as it came, it was gone.
Rogue smiled bravely for him as his words warmed up her insides. She wrapped her arms around him and savoured the feel of his arms holding her tightly.
" Thank yah, Remy," she thanked him and kissed his covered shoulder. He laughed lightly.
" Anytime, chere…"
End of Flashback
Emma Frost sent Jean Grey flying across the club, so she landed right next to Pietro, groaning in pain. Pietro was out cold from when Emma had shocked him with a mental energy blast. Emma Frost detected a strange but familiar mental signature from the back of the club. She turned swiftly to see Rogue, on her knees with her eyes shut as she clutched her head. Emma looked to see Gambit, walking towards her, with a sort of dazed look on his face.
Emma hastily tuned into Rogue's mind and saw that she was watching a memory that Gambit had inserted into her mind. Emma growled, partly in anger, partly in pain. However much she hated to admit it, she felt sorry for Rogue. Emma didn't think that she would be able to handle it if her mind had been messed up and so ruined as Rogue's was. Rogue had so many people inserting things into her mind, some true, some complete lies. Emma was one of the unfortunate people to have lied to Rogue via mind manipulation. How much did she regret it? Too much to count.
Emma shook her head and ran to where Rogue was. She reached her and shook her shoulders from behind, snapping her out of her trance. Rogue's eyes opened immediately and she faced Emma, confused.
" Emma, what's going on?" she asked. Emma looked at Rogue and a horrible choice faced her. In Rogue's unstable state, where right and wrong made no sense, Emma could just tell her what the whole of Sinister's team had been telling her for the past five years and she could take the easy way out. But then there was that nagging feeling, called her conscious, that wouldn't let her off so easily. She was so tempted to just tell Rogue the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth but then she would have to face, not only Sinister's wrath, but the X-Men and Rogue's as well. Plus, Rogue would never feel so betrayed in her life. And no matter how evil she was Emma could not let Rogue feel that betrayal. She had felt it before and would not wish it on her worst enemy.
" Rogue, Gambit's been messing with your mind and trying to feed you lies," the words rolled off Emma's tongue as if she had practised them all her life. She kept her blue eyes cold, as she looked at Gambit, who was staring at her, angry beyond words.
" Comment! Chere, dat's…" he tried to explain but was cut off.
" Shut up! Just shut up!" Rogue yelled and lashed out at Gambit. He fell back under the force of her attack.
" You liar! Ah'm sick of people messin' around with mah mahnd so just stay out of it! First that damn Professor, then that daft woman at that surgery, then Emma and now you!" she exclaimed, still yelling. She was sitting on Gambit and was trying to punch him but he kept moving his head out of the way, just as he did with Brian.
" Ya'll think yah're so great just because yah can mess up and ruin othah people's mahnds'! Well, guess what? Yah ain't gonna mess around with mah mahnd any more because it's had enough people ruinin' it!" she finished and kicked down on his shin, making him groan in pain. Rogue took this as an opportunity and punched his jaw from underneath, knocking his head back to hit the ground. Blood started to seep from the side of his mouth as she continued to punch him. Gambit did not try to fight back.
When he was half-conscious, she got off and walked away from him, hugging herself. She suddenly felt very cold. She turned to see most of the X-Men lying or kneeling on the ground, defeated. The only people left to fight, where Wolverine, Cyclops and, surprisingly enough, Shadowcat. They were trying to fight off Wimgard, Gorillaman, and Psylocke. Emma and Brian where nowhere to be seen. She wanted to go help the rest of her team but she felt drained. She walked up to Psylocke who was circling Cyclops.
" Psylocke, I'm leaving now," she muttered. Psylocke stopped and stared at her. Cyclops didn't pursue the attack.
" What, you're not going to stay?" she asked fatuously. Rogue rolled her eyes.
" Well duh! That's what ah mean when ah say 'Ah'm leaving now'. Are you lot comin' or stayin'?" she asked quietly. Psylocke stared at her closely for a second before nodding. She turned back to Cyclops.
" Geez, sorry doc, but looks like we're not going to stay for the rest of the party. Tell you're little understudy's ' Sweet Dreams' for me, will you? That's a good little cyke!" she sneered at him before turning to Wimgard and Gorillaman.
" C'mon guys. Let's go," she instructed. Rogue stared back at Remy with hate burning in her eyes.
" This isn't finished yet. You will pay for what you did to me," she called and her voice echoed around the ruined club. They left with their heads held high, not one of them giving a second glance.
Cyclops stared after them before rushing to Jean. Wolverine and Shadowcat helped all the other fallen X-Men, not a word exchanged between them. Jose crawled slowly over to Remy, who was still lying on the ground, eyes full of pain. But it was emotional pain, not physical pain.
" Remy? Are you okay?" she asked hoarsely. Remy's eyes slid to her slowly.
" Oui, I'll be fine," he answered and sat up slowly, with Jose helping him. He eyed her bloody shirt, which was torn.
" What happened t' your stomach? Who did dat?" he asked quickly, a brotherly concern coming over him. Jose shrugged.
" The woman with the purple hair, hit me with the sword," she explained shortly. A long silence stretched between them.
" Rogue did dis t' me," Remy said suddenly, gesturing to his black-and-blue face and still bleeding lip. Jose bit her lip, unsure of what to say.
" She said dat she loved me. She said she wouldn't leave me. She said she wouldn't hurt me," he went on, lost in the past. Jose placed her hand on his arm.
" Remy, don't…" she said quietly. Remy looked at her innocent face and some of the anger washed away. He gently placed his arm around her shoulders for support.
" Come on, Jose. Let's go home,"
Rogue looked out the window of the jeep and watched as the world flew by her. Gorillaman, being the less hurt, was driving and Betsy was sitting next him. Behind them were Emma and Wimgard, talking quietly to each other. Rogue and Brian sat at the back. They hadn't said a word to each other since they found Emma and Brian already in the jeep, arguing over Gambit.
" Rogue?" he asked suddenly. Rogue didn't look at him.
" What?" she asked and heard him gulp. She didn't know why she was so angry at everyone. She just…was.
" You did really well today, Rogue. You fought your emotions and let the foolish X-Men have it!" he exclaimed. Rogue turned to look at him.
" You think ah did well?" she asked, interested. Brian nodded excitedly.
" Definitely. You really did us proud. They were practically letting us win," he continued. Rogue smirked and her anger slowly ebbed away.
" Ah always aim tah please," she drawled. Betsy turned and looked straight at her.
" Next time, every one of them losers will die," she said strongly. Rogue grinned.
" Let me do Gambit. We have some unfinished business,"
