Chapter 6: Knocking on Destiny's Door
Rogue knew it was going to be a bad day from the moment she woke up. She heard the shrill ringing of the alarm clock on her nightstand and let out a groan, turning over on her side. It was one of those mornings where the bed was so comfortable, where the feather-stuffed pillows supported the head in just the right way, that getting up and out seemed like madness.
"Five more…min'tes…" Rogue murmured to no one. If her chipper roommate weren't such a morning person, she might have gotten her wish. Kitty was up in an instant, moving and shuffling around the room as she got dressed. It was her way of telling Rogue "get up" without poking her and risking her early morning wrath.
Kitty has slipped out of the room by the time Rogue finally dragged herself out of the warm, inviting bed. She dressed in no particular hurry, and picked up her pace only when her stomach began to growl and demand breakfast.
The mansion was being rebuilt in record time, and all the students had moved out of the underground bunkers to their usual living quarters. Fortunately the kitchen and the dining hall were also among the first rooms being completed. Stepping past a few construction workers and not paying them a second glance, Rogue entered the crowded kitchen.
"Hey, Rogue," greeted Kurt as she took the empty seat next to him at the table. He sounded tired.
Rogue nodded her head in return, still tired herself, and turned her attention to the television mounted from the ceiling as a basket of muffins was being passed around the table. Roberto and Amara entered the kitchen in the middle of a dispute, and almost drowned out the TV with their voices.
"For the last time, I didn't use your shampoo," insisted Roberto, annoyed with her persistence.
"You better not have," Amara warned, raising her chin in disdain. "I had that specially sent from Brazil, and…"
Rogue made the decision to ignore them. Her eyes fell on Scott and Jean across the room, both of whom were sipping from cups of hot coffee and completely wrapped in each other. The pair had clearly grown closer after the harsh return to Bayville High, and with the loss of their human friends they were almost inseparable. Rogue took notice of the smile on Scott's lips as he talked with Jean, and her heart sank a little.
Without warning the omnipresent voice of Professor Xavier was heard throughout the kitchen. The sudden sound of his mental command made Rogue choke back her orange juice in surprise.
Scott, Jean, please join me in my study at once.
Scott's head perked up. "Wonder what this is about," he murmured.
Jean shrugged in reply, grabbing him by the sleeve of his jacket with a tiny smile and leading him out of their crowded surroundings.
Rogue, please come as well. The professor added the order almost as an afterthought.
Rogue's eyes widened.
"Busted!" Ray grinned from across the table.
"For what?" asked Rogue snappily, rising from her seat and abandoning her breakfast. She was out the door and on Scott and Jean's heels before he could reply.
Guess it's gonna be one of those mornings, Rogue thought, letting out a sigh.
Okay, this is a little weird.
Rogue tapped her forefinger on the arm of the couch inside Xavier's study, watching him curiously. The Professor seemed tense; his voice was calm but his brow was furrowed, wrinkled in deep thought. Besides Scott, Jean, and herself, only Logan was privy to this sudden meeting; the other three seemed to be as clueless about the reason for it as Rogue was.
"With the calamitous events in recent weeks, it is unsurprising that I have been unable to keep up with my duties in tracking new mutant signatures with Cerebro," said Xavier. "My neglect may have terrible consequences, however. An hour ago I made a startling discovery, and I need all of you to accompany me on a recruitment mission."
"Sure thing, Professor," Scott said with his usual eager smile. Rogue looked down at the floor, trying in vain to ignore his arm as it brushed hers. "We'll get suited up right away."
"Hold on, Scott," Xavier said, cautioning him with an upraised hand. "Before we leave I must tell you why this new mutant is so important."
"Is he dangerous?" inquired Jean.
He shook his head. "No, his power is not offensive in nature. But he may be in danger. His name is Lawrence Trask."
Logan cut Xavier off before he could continue. "Trask?"
"As in Dr. Trask?" Scott was aghast. "The creator of the Sentinel?"
Xavier nodded the affirmative. "Lawrence is his oldest child."
"Oh my god," Jean murmured, covering her mouth with her hand. "Unbelievable."
Rogue said nothing. The name Trask conjured up painful memories—the battle with the Sentinel, the capture in green bakelite, the imprisonment in the glass cell in Area 51…She had never so much as laid eyes on Dr. Bolivar Trask, but she hated him all the same.
"So…if this is a recruitment mission, why am I here?" she asked after a beat. Jean and Scott were the star pupils, after all. She had never been included on a mission like this before.
"You, Rogue, are necessary because you have personal involvement with this case. Lawrence Trask is currently residing in Caldecott Mississippi…with Irene Adler."
A small gasp escaped Rogue's lips. She shook her head, forcefully dismissing the idea. "Irene? But that's!"
"Hold on a moment" Jean suddenly said, raising one of her perfectly manicured fingers to interject. "Who is Irene Adler?"
Xavier released a breath, preparing to answer her. He didn't get the chance.
"She is…was…my foster mom," said Rogue, a scowl darkening her pretty face.
For probably the first time in all her sixteen years, Rogue wished she were in school. She had fought rampaging mutants and even the United States government with nary a scratch or broken bone, so suddenly the jeers and scornful looks from her ignorant classmates did not seem so impossible to endure. In any event, class would be preferable to the confrontation waiting for her when she disembarked the X-Jet.
"How're you doing?" Scott asked, surprising her with the sound of his voice.
"Huh?" Rogue had been lost in thought, and she now faced her teammate with a look of confusion.
Scott moved into the empty seat next to her to allow a private, quiet conversation. He, like Rogue, Jean, and Logan, was dressed in civilian garb. Professor X had decided a more…casual approach to the situation in her hometown would be best. Knocking on Destiny's door dressed for battle was probably a bad idea.
"Well," Scott began, "I was wondering if you were okay with all of this. Your foster mom is harboring the mutant son of a guy who tried to kill us. I know that must be a lot to take in."
Under normal circumstances Rogue would have been touched by Scott's show of concern, but this time the butterflies were absent from her stomach. Instead, it felt like her insides had been filled with rocks.
She said, "Actually…before today, I really didn't know Irene was a mutant."
Scott raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? But…didn't Irene set you up with Mystique in the first place?"
Glancing away from those familiar ruby quartz sunglasses, Rogue put into words the confused thoughts that had been plaguing her mind ever since Xavier called that blasted meeting. "Yeah, she was. But she introduced me to her as Raven Darkholme, and Mystique only showed her 'true colors' once I arrived in Bayville. I thought…maybe…Irene didn't know the truth. I wondered sometimes if Irene was like us and if that was why she knew about mutants to begin with, but at the same time…" Her voice fell. "I didn't want to know."
Scott nodded his head in understanding. It isn't exactly pleasant to think someone you love may be an ally of your enemy. But rather than saying that and possibly troubling her more, he put a supportive hand on his teammate's shoulder.
"I'm not sure precisely what's waiting for us when we land, but remember Rogue, the X-Men will always be here for you."
And you'll always be an overgrown Boy Scout, Rogue thought, silently wishing she could be angry at him, or resent him for his kindness. But she could not. Not him.
"We'll be landing in about fifteen minutes." Jean's measured voice sounded throughout the X-Jet's interior on the intercom, as if she had been mentally eavesdropping and knew the right moment to interrupt.
"All right." Scott smiled wryly, changing the subject. "Let's see who this Lawrence Trask is."
"It's getting worse," Larry moaned. "I'm having more visions when I'm awake…I lose myself, where I am, what I'm doing, and some of the things I saw…"
Irene pressed her palm against his warm forehead, like a mother measuring a child's temperature. They sat in her parlor directly facing each other, as in all of their other "sessions." Larry thought she might be trying to sense something. Her skin was cool, and she pulled her hand away.
"You've been having repeated visions of Egypt and Tibet." Not a question.
Larry nodded once, swallowing a heavy lump in his throat. One word, one name, had especially been echoing in his brain for days.
Rogue.
Rogue.
Rogue.
"I don't know what to make of it all…but it's something important. Something terrible is going to happen, I can feel it. But why can't I understand it?"
Irene studied his face, noting his pained expression. Larry was pale, with his hair disheveled and dark circles developing under his eyes. Her aspirin wasn't helping his headaches anymore. It wasn't the weeks locked up in Irene's tiny house that was doing this to him; no, this damage came from internal sources.
"I would imagine that the events in your mind are out of context, out of sequence. It's up to you to put the pieces together, Larry."
"Great." Larry sighed, looking down at his hands. His fingers traced a long scar on his left palm; the result of a knife, the scar served as a reminder of the harm he could do to himself during one of his spells. "This is great. Just when I think I'm starting to get the hang of this…What am I supposed to do? If I see something terrible in the future, do I have to do something to stop it? Would that make any difference?"
"You've thought a lot about this, haven't you?"
Larry's lips formed a twisted grin. "What else is there to think about? My dad who's in jail? My sister who probably thinks I'm dead? The Men in Black who want my head? Yeah, I've had a lot to think about lately."
"Well," Irene said with a smile of her own as she rose from her seat, "I hope you'll be in better spirits when our company comes."
Larry raised his brow. "Company?" Irene did not answer him; she had already fled into the kitchen. He called after her again, disbelieving his own ears. "Company?"
"Are you sure about this, Charles?" Logan asked for the third time. "We're just gonna walk in there and have ourselves a nice cup of tea?" He scoffed, then removed the toothpick from between his teeth and threw it out the open window of the X-Van, which he was driving.
"Yes, my friend," Xavier replied from the navigator's seat. "Cerebro's readings indicated that there are only two mutants in the entire state—Ms. Adler and the boy. There are no traps from Magneto or his ilk waiting for us here, and it is very important that we reach out to the young Mr. Trask. His recruitment could be vital to our cause."
Rogue sat alone in the far back of the van, silent from the moment the X-Jet landed in the private airport just outside of Caldecott. She gazed intently at the small houses and modest businesses the van passed as they drove through her little backwater hometown. From a glance, not much had changed.
Memories best left forgotten returned as the van retraced the path back to her old house. In this town her mutant power had first manifested, leaving a boy in a coma and Rogue scared nearly to death. She remembered running down these streets, terrified, another person's memories surging through her brain. Startling encounters with the X-Men and the nefarious Mystique posing as the X-Men had driven her to the local cemetery, where things had somehow managed to get worse…
No, it wasn't just the X-Men and Mystique. Irene was there too. Irene. She said…
"Mutant hunters," she whispered.
"What was that?" asked Jean.
Rogue cringed. Did I say that out loud? "Oh, nothing."
But it was something. 'Mutant hunters' had been Irene's name for the X-Men, and it was far from the truth for obvious reasons. Had she been lied to by Mystique as well? Or was she a part of the lie? Either way, Rogue planned to find out once and for all.
Inside Rogue there was a feeling that the X-Men should be preparing for a fight, not standing in front of her old house and ringing the bell like the world's most unusual group of door-to-door salesmen. There was no sound from inside the house at first; indeed, a peculiar stillness seemed to fill the air, and not even the birds overhead were singing. Rogue's gloved finger pressed the doorbell once again.
Then she heard a rustle from behind the door. The word "Irene" was partially off her lips, but she saw the person behind the door was not Irene at all—Lawrence Trask, she realized.
Rogue was slightly surprised at how young he was. She had no idea why she did not expect him to be a teenager. He stared back at her in equal surprise, with the eye not obscured by his long, unkempt bangs as wide as a saucer.
"The X-Men…!" Larry whispered, startled. His visions had told him nothing of them making a house call; nevertheless, he recognized them all instantly. There was Scott Summers, wearing his trademark ruby quartz sunglasses; the redhead, Jean Grey; the otherwise unidentified "Wolverine"; wheelchair-bound Professor Charles Xavier; and the girl standing before him, the girl whose photograph in the parlor he had identified, the rightful owner of the bed in which he was sleeping, Irene's daughter, she was…
Rogue.
As for Rogue herself, she realized that it was specifically her Larry's eyes were lingering on, not the rest of the motley crew of mutants gathered in front of him. She pulled her head back and parted her lips to ask him what his problem was, but she didn't get the chance.
"Lawrence Trask?" Xavier asked, though he knew exactly who he was. "May we come in?"
Larry nodded once, still slightly slack-jawed, and backed out of the way to let the wheelchair pass. So this is what Irene meant by "company".
"Irene!" he called, intending to formally announce their sudden visitors. But Irene had already emerged from the kitchen, rubbing her hands together in eagerness.
"Hello, everyone," she greeted with a knowing smile. "You've been expected. I just put a kettle for tea on."
Logan crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes. "Great."
A/N: Sorry for the slow updates, but college is sucking my lifeforce dry. Next chapter, Larry's introduction to the X-Men continues as they discuss his, ahem, future, and Rogue has a few important questions for Destiny…
To answer a few questions posed in reviews:
Steven P. P: Yes, I have plans for Rossi, and it will be explained just why he hates AEGIS and Trask so much…
Bowles: The story is going to jump ahead in time several years, so we'll see what happens beyond Apocalypse. And HYDRA isn't involved; this is strictly SHIELD/ AEGIS business.
Thanks for reading, everyone!