Replay: Slow Motion

Installment 18

Things had escalated very quickly from there.

Rogue staggered slightly, trying to catch her breath as she moved into another fighting stance. 'I don't have time for this right now' she thought as she fought the now conscious Pyro who was once again grinning like a maniac.

"Hands off mon ami" came the familiar Cajun accent followed by a small explosion at the pyromaniac's feet.

"Remy?"

"Chere, we need to talk."

"Now?" she asked him, indicating the ongoing battle that surrounded them.

"Now." he told her, leading her by the hand. Rogue suddenly felt very uncomfortable and wasn't sure if she should be trying to get away from him or not. Her heart was telling her that he was still the same person and she didn't think he would try to hurt her but he was the enemy and she couldn't just abandon her friends. The need for answers from Remy was overwhelming though so she reluctantly allowed him to pull her away.

He continued to walk further and further away when Rogue refused to move a step further.

"What does he have on ya Remy?" she asked him placing her hands on her hips.

"Notin'." He told her honestly, only then realizing it was not the answer she had wanted to hear.

"So what then?"

"Chere, I didn't know I'd be fighting other mutants." Remy ran his hands through his auburn locks. "I didn't know I'd be fighting you" his eyes were asking her to understand and he assumed that she would.

"What did you think ya'd be doing?" He wasn't making any sense at all. Wasn't it obvious that Magneto was a power hungry psycho? Was Remy blatantly lying to her?

"What else?" he replied, bitterly. Anger flashed on his face making him seem like a completely different person to Rogue. When he saw the concern and hurt on her face he turned away from her.

"Some of them may be ignorant Cajun and ya it ain't easy but we have to be better than that." Rogue moved towards him and turned him around to face her, placing her hands in his, looking up at him. "You hate other people so much that you would follow a mad man?"

"No Rogue, Remy not gonna be a part of that man's plans no more." he squeezed her gloved hands in his and leaned his forehead against her hairline. Rogue stood like that with him for a few moments before asking him another question.

"Will ya come back to the institute with me and the X-Men?" he caught the hopeful tinge in her tone and actually found himself considering it.

"I'd always come back to you petite, but I ain't no X-man." the tender moment had been shattered because Remy had made his choice and in turn, made Rogue's. Well there was that and the scream of pain that had erupted through out the park at that very moment.

"Pietro?" Rogue's eyes went wide as she dropped Remy's hands and went running back to where the fight was taking place. When she arrived she caught sight of what had caused the silver haired mutant to cry out. At first glance, it appeared as though Pietro's body had been frozen in place, only his entire body was convulsing. Upon closer inspection though she had picked up on Magneto standing a few feet away with his hand outstretched toward his son.

"Let him go ya crazy yahoo!" Rogue said moving towards the man with a sense of urgency.

"This is what it means to turn your back on me!" He said closing his hand to make a fist. Quicksilver's eyes began rolling into the back of his head. Magneto's full attention was on his son and it did not appear that anything anyone said would be able to stop him. Perhaps though, there was something someone could do.

She knew how this would have to go down. That didn't mean she had to like it. Rogue had absorbed the self proclaimed 'Master of Magnetism' before and it hadn't been pretty. The mutant was full of a hate and rage that was easy for all to see but Rogue had also seen into the pain and misery that consumed him. She didn't just see it either, she felt it. The young girl didn't have time to dwell on any of that though. Pietro looked like he was losing conciousness and his father was showing no signs of stopping.

Rogue thought Magneto was solely focused on his son so she didn't bother with trying to hide her intentions. Besides, she needed to act fast. The others were too shocked and disoriented to try and jump in to save someone they thought of as the enemy. Storm would have jumped in without hesitation but she was still in the jet. Logan always enjoyed a good scrap and didn't need much of a reason to fight but he was also painfully aware of what Magneto could do to him if he tried to interfere.

When Rogue leaped into action, however, she quickly realized just how reckless she had been as Magneto dropped Pietro to the ground and quickly turned to use his powers on her. She was gasping for air in a matter of seconds and she thought her eyes might pop out of their sockets.

She could hear Wolverine snarl and then pop his claws but she knew just as well as he did that the attempt would be futile. Magneto simply looked at the short man, before hurtling his body into the rest of the X-men.

"Seems there are three men willing to act foolishly when you're involved my dear" he directed the statement towards Rogue while looking at the destruction he had been responsible for. "Really, I'm doing them a favor." His words bounced around in her head while black spots danced in front of her eyes. And as Rogue clung to conciousness, at the back of her mind she wondered if the mad man was right.

TBC>