Author Note: The thanks this time were so long I put them to the end of the chapter. If you reviewed, you're there! When I got to two pages I thought I'd better move them. Everyone left such lovely long reviews I had to answer all statements (that means ramble) and that's why. If it sounds like I meant for you to read the review before the chapter I probably did – it's kind of a spur of the moment thing. If you like this way better, let me know. Also, this is the first time I've tried to use Cerebro as a plot device so let me know how that worked, if it did. Some of it from the comics, some from Evo, some from the film.
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Jean had barred both Mystique and Todd from the Cerebro room, fearing that they would distract her. She had grudgingly allowed Logan to watch on the condition he didn't disturb her or break her concentration in any way. In spite of his silence, she could sense his presence and it made her uncomfortable.
She gave the headset a suspicious look, not knowing if she was doing the right thing. What if she couldn't work Cerebro? It would be bad enough if the alien thoughts of other people were to overwhelm her but it would be infinitely worse if nothing at all were to happen. At least if she couldn't cope with the minds of others she would have been able to work the damned machine and in time she might be able to locate the survivors. If nothing happened, she would have let everyone down.
Trying hard to banish the doubts from her mind, she put on the headset. She could work Cerebro. She had to be able to.
For a moment nothing happened and she thought her worst fears had come true – then the influx began. Shadowy figures took form in her mind, although she was unable to sense more than a shadow of their thoughts. One thing to be grateful for, since those shadows were hard enough to cope with.
Under normal circumstances, there would have been millions of minds and her untutored powers might not have been enough to protect her. As it was, she was barely able to stop herself ripping the headset off and throwing it across the room. The assault on her mind was all-encompassing and she gritted her teeth, determined to get results. She'd show them she was just as capable and strong as they were…
A man, no, a boy, trying to coax a baby into taking a bottle…"Mutant life signs confirmed," droned the computer.
Another boy sleeping uneasily, lay on top of the covers still fully dressed…"Mutant life signs confirmed."
A girl sat beneath a tree, idly watching the clouds…"Mutant life signs confirmed."
"That's enough!" Jean snatched the headset off, the images behind her eyes fading almost instantly. The sensation that they were still in her head remained.
"You OK Jeannie?" Logan was beside her in an instant, making sure she was alright.
"I'm fine," replied Jean, pushing an errant strand of hair off her face. "It's just – that was unpleasant."
"It's done with for now," said Logan. "And it worked! Cerebro's sorting through the information you found right now."
Jean looked at the computer screen and felt her spirits rise. The computer screen was flickering through several screens, coming up with pictures and information. She tapped on the keyboard and began to study the information.
The first picture was identified as Lance Alvers, last known address in Illinois, currently in Indianapolis. She gave the picture a curious look. While using Cerebro she was sure she had seen him with a baby but the machine hadn't picked up on it. She had only set the scan on mutants – Cerebro couldn't scan for both humans and mutants at the same time – which meant that the child hadn't manifested any powers. An eighteen-year-old boy in charge of a baby. She dreaded to think what was happening there.
Samuel Guthrie, the second picture. Currently at his home address in Kentucky. The picture showed a friendly faced blonde boy and Jean wondered just how much of that smiling, happy teen was still left in the face of what had happened.
The computer was having a hard time with the third person, not seeming able to focus on one person. Jean frowned and tapped a few more buttons, trying to get it to give her at least some information. Eventually it seemed to decide on one person and she glanced at the picture and sighed.
"I've screwed up," she said bitterly.
"What are you talking about?" Logan rested a hand on her shoulder. "Seems to have gone fine so far."
"Yeah? Well look at this." Jean moved slightly so that Logan could see the screen.
"Oh."
"Cerebro seems to think you're in the Midwest. One of the people I saw seems to be you – but I saw that person and it was a girl. I've screwed up somewhere."
"Don't worry about it," said Logan soothingly. "Probably just a glitch."
"Some glitch. What if the others I've found are messed up?"
"We won't know until we trace them," said Logan. "And even if one of them is off, doesn't mean the others are. You ever hear of the other two before?"
"No."
"Then they'll be there. It was probably me being in the room that messed up your concentration – but you did good."
"Thanks." Jean allowed herself a smile. She had done well. Even though she had found only three people and one of them was some kind of mistake, she'd managed to use Cerebro and locate other people. She felt rather proud.
"We can use the Velocity to go see these kids," said Logan, a frown on his face. "And I think you might be the best person to talk to them. You're about their age by the looks and you've been through similar things since the flu hit."
"You don't look happy about it," said Jean.
"I just don't like the idea of leaving Mystique and Todd here alone," replied Logan. "When Chuck was here, she would have done anything to get her hands on some of the stuff in here."
Jean shrugged. "Maybe, but what harm can she do now? The Institute is the best place for her to be at the moment – we have power still and we can trace survivors. It's in her best interests to work with us. Besides, even if she has information or technology, there's not a lot she can do with it now is there?"
"I guess not." Logan didn't look too convinced. "We'd better tell them what we found out."
Logan and Jean left the Cerebro room and almost ran straight into Mystique, who was waiting outside the door. She seemed unusually anxious.
"Did you find anyone? Were you able to work it?"
"She did it," said Logan, wondering about the woman's edginess. "We found two survivors straight away, maybe even three."
"Where? In Mississippi?"
Logan gave her a curious look. "No, not in Mississippi. Jean was only able to use it for a short time."
"No one?" Mystique strode over to Jean and got uncomfortably close, making Jean lean back and wonder what had gotten into the shapeshifter who was usually so calm. "You found no survivors in Mississippi?"
"Back off Raven." Logan took Mystique by the arm and pulled her away from Jean. "Just because she didn't locate anyone doesn't mean there was no one left alive. She did her best and found some people. Give her a break."
Mystique nodded and took a deep breath, getting herself composed again.
"Mississippi." Logan thought about it for a moment. "Is that where Irene is?"
"None of your business," snapped Mystique.
"If you want to find her, make it our business."
Mystique glared at Logan for a moment. "That's where Irene is."
Jean was confused but didn't know how to ask any questions. Who was Irene? And why did Logan know so much about her? It occurred to her again that Logan and Mystique seemed to have some shared past that she knew nothing about but they didn't seem to like each other so what was the connection?
"Then we'll search Mississippi when Jean's recovered from using Cerebro – it was a strain on her. What did Irene have to say about the flu?"
"Just that she saw it coming."
Logan narrowed his eyes. "When did she see it coming?"
Mystique ran her hand through her hair, betraying her nervousness. "Only after it was too late to do anything about it."
"Meaning that the virus wasn't supposed to happen. Some one changed things."
"What does it matter now?" Mystique's eyes flashed. "We might never know what happened. Even if Irene's still alive, she might not have seen anything. The future isn't like the one she saw, so everything she told me is useless now."
"Yeah." Logan shoved his hands in his pockets, trying to get used to this new attitude from Mystique. She had always been able to justify her actions but she seemed defensive almost. Then he dismissed the thoughts. She was worried about her oldest friend, a woman who was probably dead. It made sense that she would want to preserve the memory of her friend, find an explanation for Irene's inability to foresee the tragedy that had befallen the world.
"We're gonna chase up these kids," said Logan, including Jean in his statement. "We'll take the Velocity. You and Todd stay here. We shouldn't be more than a day or so."
"You're leaving me in the mansion?" Mystique raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this a surprise."
"We don't have much choice," growled Logan. "And you can't do much damage now."
"I can," replied Mystique quietly. "But I won't. Go find these kids."
Logan strode off down the corridor, refraining from commenting on Mystique's sudden solicitousness. She had never before cared about anyone but herself and he was tempted to believe that it was in her best interests to recruit people to the Institute, maybe to further one of her plans or Magneto's ultimate goal of mutant superiority. But it made no sense. If that was her plan, why involve him and Jean? She knew he was there before she arrived at the mansion and knew he could screw up any plans she made. Or maybe he was reading too much into things. Maybe she really just wanted to help other survivors and her past misdeeds were clouding his judgement.
Jean followed Logan down the corridor, totally confused. She didn't know what to think. She could sense that Mystique was sincere in her desire to help but she couldn't bring herself to trust the woman totally. Fortunately, she would be able to ask Logan when they were in the Velocity without Mystique overhearing. She was going to find out what was going on around here. They owed it to her to clue her in. And if they didn't…well, she felt justified in reading their minds in that case. She had to protect herself and she'd known these people for less than three days. She hoped it wouldn't come to that – the Professor had drilled into her that privacy was important and she shouldn't read minds uninvited – but she refused to be kept in the dark any longer.
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Rogue yanked open the drawer and eagerly pulled out the contents. A thick notepad and a sheet of paper, covered with Irene's sprawling writing. She had always been amazed at how legible her foster mothers words were considering she couldn't see what she was doing and now she was grateful for it. The sight of the familiar handwriting made her want to cry again and she resolutely forced the feeling away. She might have known Remy would be there but she wasn't sure about this knowledge, didn't quite trust it and she didn't want to show him any weakness.
The sheet of paper turned out to be a letter addressed to her and she read it to herself, growing more amazed and worried with every line.
Rogue,
When you read this, I will have died. You buried me in the garden where the roses are. I can see you knelt in the bedroom with the diary on the floor, a man in a trench coat behind you.
Startled, Rogue turned around and made sure Remy was wearing a trench coat, although she already knew he was. How could Irene know that she would meet him, or that she would even be alive to read the note?
This is going to come as a shock to you and I'm sorry. I should have been preparing you over the years as to what you are but I wanted you to have a normal life as long as you could. I knew as soon as your powers emerged, normality would be forever out of your reach. However, something has changed in the world, something that wasn't supposed to happen. That was the flu.
I went blind when I was thirteen years old, but I can still 'see' so to speak. I see the future. I know that sounds unbelievable but I think right now you might be more inclined to believe me than you were when I was still alive. I see pathways, probabilities, what will probably happen. But the future isn't set, human actions are malleable and this is why I had no idea that the disease would be set upon the world although once it had been I knew what would happen.
Some thirteen years ago I had a vision of a young girl with mutant powers – I know you've learned about mutants now. That girl was you. I wasn't the one who adopted you. Your adoptive mother is called Raven Darkholme. She wanted to help you when I told her the nature of your powers and that you were about to be orphaned so she arranged to take you in. However, Raven is a powerful woman and aware that to look after you herself could place you in danger, hence she turned you over to me. She has seen you several times over the years and has provided for us both financially and socially, making sure you learn many of the skills you possess.
Rogue raised her eyes from the page and stared blankly at the wall for a moment. Irene didn't adopt her. Some one else had because she was a mutant and needed help. She supposed she should be grateful, but the news had come like a hammer blow to the chest.
Our plan was to place you in Raven's custody once your powers emerged and she would teach you how to use them and educate you as to the nature of our enemies – mutants are not liked by many of those aware of our presence. This is a fear reflex but understanding this does not mean that these enemies are less deadly.
Now everything has changed again and it falls upon me to tell you the nature of your powers. I know you are unsure what is happening to you – it happens to most mutants when their powers emerge. I was terrified when I found what my powers were. Trust me when I tell you that you have nothing to fear from your mutation if you exercise caution.
You've been seeing visions because of your contact with me as I died. You are not naturally precognitive as I was, but now you are. Your gift is to temporarily absorb the powers and memories of another person through skin contact. The dermatologist lied to you at my instigation. I could not tell when your powers would manifest so I made up a phony skin condition to minimise the chances of you making skin contact with others and triggering your powers when I was not around to help you. Believe me when I say I did this to help you. I wanted you to have normalcy but I couldn't risk you exposing your powers or becoming afraid when you didn't know what had happened. This is a great gift, you will be able to use the powers of others or gain information from your enemies merely through a touch.
A gift.
Rogue couldn't believe what she was reading. A gift? Would she be able to choose when to trigger her mutation or was it something that she couldn't control, that would keep her from ever having contact with another human being? Irene couldn't possibly believe that such a thing was a gift.
You may find it hard to believe now, but you will learn to adjust. However, you should learn a lesson from what happened to me when I died. I don't want you to feel any guilt over this – I would have died anyway. It was my time and I knew it was coming. When you touched my skin, you absorbed my powers. But because you held on for too long, the absorption is permanent. You will be able to access my powers for the foreseeable future, probably the rest of your life. And herein lies the danger to you. This prolonged contact will render the other person unconscious, in a coma or worse. You should be very careful or damn sure that you want them that way. There is no way to tell how else this will affect you – I do not see that in the future – but I'm telling you to exercise caution.
"No…"
Rogue dropped the letter and looked at her shaking hands. Had she hastened Irene's death by holding on to her? Was she really able to do that? But that didn't make her a mutant, it made her a leech, a vampire, stealing powers and essence and life with a touch.
"What's wrong chere?"
Remy frowned as he watched the change come over the girl. She had been excited to find the message from her dead mother but as she had read the note she had become more worried until she was trembling. Intuitively he knew it was more than the emotions that might overcome her having lost her only family and holding a reminder in her hands. Something in that note had upset her.
When she didn't reply, he walked over to her and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Chere, what…"
"Don't touch me!"
Rogue twisted out of his grip and gave him a look that was almost terror. "Ah'm dangerous, ah'm poison so don't touch me!"
Remy held up his hands, startled. What the hell brought this on? "Chere, what's wrong?"
"Mah powers…"
"What about dem? You're a precog – or a telepath?"
"Ah'm a vampire!"
"Huh?"
Rogue picked up the letter and waved it at him. "Irene was the one who could see the future and ah stole her powers! When ah touched her ah took her powers and killed her!"
"Dat can't be…"
"That's what happened!" Rogue stood up, dropping the letter and heading to the door.
"Chere…"
"Stop calling me that! Just leave me alone!" Rogue ran from the room and Remy heard her run down the stairs and slam the front door. He sighed, confused. The girl was insane and he had no idea what the hell she was talking about. He was tempted to just jump on his motorcycle and get away from here – he'd had his fill of crazy women, enough to last him a lifetime. But then, there was no one else around to help her. She was a frightened teen and he felt slightly guilty for thinking of leaving her alone, but his healthy streak of self-interest forced him to consider it.
His gaze fell on the discarded letter and the notebook she hadn't even looked at and he allowed himself a smile. He might take off and leave her, but why make that choice before he knew all the facts? If she was right, if her adoptive mother was a precognitive, then maybe the book contained valuable information about the future. Whether he stayed or left, he could do with knowing what the future held. Nothing was certain anymore and any defences he could establish would be useful.
Without any guilt about invading Rogue's privacy, he picked up the book and the letter, sprawled out on the dead woman's bed and began to read.
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"I want answers Logan."
"Huh?"
Jean leant back in the co-pilots seat and folded her arms. "You and Mystique, you keep talking about things I have no idea about and I don't like being kept in the dark. You two haven't been in the mansion five minutes and you expect me and Todd to trust you but neither of us knows what's going on. It'd be easier to trust you if we knew a few things."
"Jean…" Logan adjusted some of the instruments, using it as an excuse not to meet her gaze. "It's complicated. Anything we talk about is in the past now."
"So it can't hurt to tell me."
"Actually it might. Neither of us is what you might call the model of restraint."
"If we're stuck in the mansion with you, then we need to know we can trust you. I need to know I can trust you. I can't do that if you keep things from me. If you don't tell me what's going on, I can just read your mind."
"Trust me, you do not wanna do that."
Jean frowned. Logan's words didn't have an air of menace about them. They sounded more like a warning.
Logan sighed. "I'll tell you what's important, but I can't go over all that ancient history just to satisfy your curiosity. It'd take too long and most of it isn't relevant."
"That's fine."
"Mystique and I both have healing factors of a sort. Mystique's shapeshifting makes her able to negate wounds and poisons because she just changes to a form that isn't affected. I just…get better. We're both – let's just say we're older than you might think. A long time ago – a very long time ago – we met up for the first time along with another woman, Irene. But we chose different paths. She ended up working for mutant superiority over humans and I ended up listening to Chuck and fighting the good fight. She's done some pretty bad things in her time but so have I."
Jean mulled over what he said. "But if that's the case, why does she seem to trust you and you don't trust her?"
Logan gave a humourless laugh. "Because Mystique operates through deceit and manipulation. I just lose my temper. She knows if I wanted her gone, she'd be gone. And she knows I don't trust her – no use in pretending. That's why she trusts me, because I'm honest enough to show it. And she knows what I'm like."
"That doesn't make much sense." Jean frowned, confused.
"I guess not," replied Logan. "But that's how it is. The thing is – she seems sincere at the moment. I've seen her act sincere, good enough to fool anyone. But this concern, this anxiety, I've never seen that from her before."
"I can usually tell when some one's lying," said Jean. "It's part of the telepathy – even when I'm not reading minds I can tell. I sense she's telling the truth. But earlier, when you were talking about Irene, there was something else there. Not that she stopped telling the truth, but I think there was more to it than she let on."
"With Mystique, there usually is." Logan checked the co-ordinates. "Maybe the flu made her think about what she's been doing all these years. We're above Indianapolis. Since we can't pinpoint this kids exact location through Cerebro, we'll be tracking him the old-fashioned way. Think you can handle it? You haven't left the mansion since the flu hit. Things in the outside world aren't…pleasant."
"I can handle it," said Jean determinedly. "Count on it."
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Thanks to:
Ishandahalf – Thought I'd throw in some promises for future chapters just so ya know there are some bad guys coming up!
Furygrrl – Oddly enough, I'm sure that your review came up as anonymous on another fic I wrote a long time ago and I can't remember which – have to look into it. I have big plans for Juggy, I suddenly thought of it at work last week and I hadn't even planned to put him in the fic (so the boring and huge pile in my inbox had an upside). Sabretooth was a must-have, he couldn't die either so he has to show up sometime! I wanted to get across his feral side with the deer although I found that pretty gross myself. Buckethead's vanishing for a few chapters but he will be back and he will be reunited with the twins at some point – although I doubt it'll be happy families ;) I'm glad Sinister came off OK, I've never written him before and I must have done about three rewrites before I was happy with him. As to the big Summers/Grey plot, I haven't decided yet. I was gonna allude to it but I was so undecided I decided to leave it for now. Trask is way important for the later chapters of the fic but 'til then he'll be lurking Sabie-style in the wings!
UncannyAsianGirl – You know, I have never been to a comic book convention? They're always miles away and I don't drive. Have to settle for practically paying the wages at the local comic book shop. Anyway, I'm way into AoA at the moment, which is probably where the Logan/Red lust came from ;) I got a 'what if?' comic a while back where Logan and Mystique were a couple and I guess a lot of the uneasy banter between them rose from that idea (it won't leave my mind!). So far, the baby's codenamed 'Kid', I really can't think of what to call it! But I loved the idea of Lance forced to play daddy. Wanda and Pietro will be meeting up with other people soon. I am so against the Romy 'love at first sight' thing that I felt a bit compelled to do the opposite. Perhaps 'interest at first sight', although Remy might be evaluating that in this chapter ;) I always have problems with Jean getting dressed! As bizarre as it sounds I try to avoid mention of her wearing jeans but since that's all I wear (and the language thing – I can't see her wearing kecks or trews and I hate the word 'slacks') that's what I end up writing. In one comic they mentioned that Logan and Mystique and Irene met before WW2 but failed to mention circumstances so I'm drawing off that without going into detail. Oh, and Rogue in this fic is Mystique's foster daughter. I sometimes neglect to make the distinction. I saw Todd latching on to Jean as a kind of big sister figure, so that's what's gonna happen in here. I've never really thought of Mags as a typical bad guy, more consumed with his 'mission' so I used that to make him a little less evil. I've just got the new comic of 'the End' where Rogue and Emma's kids are yelling about how their mums are gonna save them – it's pretty good! Remy as third Summers bro or Sinister's kid though – urgh. I'm glad you like the way I wrote the villains because I've never written them in depth before and it was a hell of a challenge. Hey, don't worry about not reviewing earlier, that damned real life gets in the way of all of us! And I look forward to the 'Ray of Light' vid, I showed 'Born to be Wild' to my non-X-Men fan friend and she loved it too, so you must be doing something right!
LadyEvils – There will be a big chink of Lance in the next chapter! The Villains chapter wasn't planned but when the idea came to me I just had to use it. And some mention of him here! Juggy hasn't a reason to rampage but when will he find that out? Essex and Trask will both be major players later on and Mags is gonna find the kids – Rogue saw it so it has to happen now!
Minnaloushe – Jean's powers going out of control have to happen at some point and no Scott and no Prof – I'm guaranteeing nothing! I want to follow the power progression as far as the first series is concerned at least and maybe into the second. A vote for Logan/ Jean romance? I'm really undecided about who will find romance with who but that has to be a possibility (especially with the 10 year anniversary AoA comics coming out now). I wasn't sure if I was just taking up space with the list of mutants so it's good to know it worked. With a fully operational SHIELD facility, Trask could have the Sentinels up and running in no time…NO! There will be no Mags/ Rogue romance! Much as the possibility worked OK in the comics, in Evo :shudders: it just wouldn't work. I was most pleased with the way Sabretooth worked out but I do have big plans for Sinister too. Until I got your review I hadn't thought of him bothering the dead but now – let's just say it might be a distinct possibility!
Todd Fan – From this chapter it might seem that Sam angst is about to change focus if not become a thing of the past!
Sangofanatic – I'm a touch surprised at my own choice of survivals to be honest. I've had the idea in my mind for some time now and who lives or dies changed all the time it was just in my head. And it changed while I was writing it too – Mystique was originally supposed to die!
Rogue14 – No, I'm not a guy but I guess I only look like Callisto from the shoulders up (no tentacles lol). Magneto always sees things the way he wants to (don't you just hate people like that?) and Sinister…he's never been a fave villain of mine but let loose on this world, think of what he could do!
TheDreamerLady – Whether or not Cain and Essex will get killed off, you'll have to wait to find out! Essex did make X-Man in the AoA AU (but now he's dead so all's well) and that's one of the reasons I included him – in a post-apocalyptic world he would be either a huge asset or huge threat. The human question is a good one and although I have been concentrating on mutants there have been a couple of humans thrown in and there will be more. At the moment I'm concentrating on the mutants but in a few chapters I'll be bringing in more human survivors. Some good, some bad and some ambiguous.