AN: I did a lot of research on prisons, weaponry, and firing quadrants for this chapter! I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks so much to everyone who is reading and reviewing! We're nearing the end, I do believe, and I'm really hopeful that you will all stick around when the story gets a bit more shippy :) I know the pairing is not for everyone, so I appreciate y'all giving it a chance! Anyway, onward to the chapter! Sionnain

Chapter 14

The downside to having worked things out with Pyro was that Rogue was growing more and more comfortable in her new surroundings, and that was making her a little concerned about what she should do—should she stay here, or should she continue with her half-formed ideas of escape?

It wasn't that things were perfect, because they weren't. Her life was becoming increasingly regimented, and while that was good for training, oftentimes she wanted to rebel against the restrictions that were imposed because of it. She was beginning to feel disconnected with reality, a little, being so cut-off from what was happening in the world. Sometimes she wanted to steal the boat and escape to the mainland, but only to remember what being part of the world felt like.

There were occasional tensions between some of the others, as was to be expected. Gambit had an unfortunate habit of trying to make inappropriate jokes without thinking—Mystique knocked him on his back once for teasing Mesmero about his strange appearance. Gambit had blamed Mesmero and accused the other mutant of hypnotizing Mystique, and then Mystique had knocked him down again, so Gambit had apologized.

Pyro was moody, which tended to grate on Magneto's nerves. Which may have been because Magneto acted as if he expected them all to have transcended normal human emotions, or maybe it was that Pyro could be really irritating.

Rogue could deal with Pyro's moodiness and Gambit's flippancy, and even Mesmero's penchant for trying to catch her off guard and hypnotize her. It only really irritated her if she was trying to cook, because she didn't need anymore obstacles in the kitchen.

Usually, though, she liked Mesmero. He wasn't very talkative, but he had a dry sort of humor that she found amusing. He didn't care too much for attention and was usually quiet in a group, which she could appreciate. She also was enjoying reading his spy novels, and she liked his stories about working in carnival, about the people he'd met. He'd led an interesting life.

Magneto and Mystique often seemed to have a strange sort of tension between them that Rogue had always assumed was because they were lovers, but Pyro told her they weren't anymore. He'd looked pointedly at Mystique and then made a motion towards Mesmero and Rogue had been more than a little shocked.

No wonder she was so mad that Gambit made fun of him. Obviously, she wasn't the only one who found Mesmero interesting.

As for Magneto, she did notice herself watching him more than would care to admit. One night, when she'd discovered to her horror that they didn't have spaghetti ingredients, he'd tried to help her fix chili. She'd been so nervous around him that she kept dropping things, which was strange, because she generally wasn't afraid of him anymore.

She'd even fought him, once. He'd taken her cuffs off and while she managed to get in close, he'd still been able to physically subdue her. "Don't underestimate me," he'd said seriously, letting her go and re-attaching the cuffs.

"Trust me, I don't," she assured him, and her heart was racing for at least ten minutes afterwards.

It was really rather ridiculous. She couldn't be…there was no way she was attracted to him, was there? Obviously it had to be something else, because that just wasn't possible. He was dangerous, and a lot older than her, besides.

Maybe that's what you like.

That wasn't a very reassuring thought at all.

Regardless of the occasional unpleasantness that naturally came from a small group of people sharing relatively close quarters, things were progressing rather smoothly. Rogue sometimes thought about telling Magneto why she'd left the Institute and having him remove those stupid metal cuffs, but every time she tried to get up her nerve, something would stop her.

She'd remember what he advocated, what he was training them to do, and it would stop her in her tracks. She might like it here, she might even find herself agreeing with him more and more, but she could never seem to take that final step and ally herself with him for good. Despite having been there nearly five months, they'd done nothing but train, and while Rogue might have wanted to convince herself that was all they'd ever do, she knew it wasn't true.

Sooner or later, they'd put all this training to practical use, and that was the part she was worried about. She lived in dread of the day they were given a mission, and as the weeks passed, she began to get the uneasy feeling that one was imminent.

The first hint was when Mystique left. Rogue had asked idly where she'd gone at lunch one day, and Pyro had shrugged and said it was likely on some intelligence-gathering foray for their next assignment.

Rogue had suddenly lost her appetite and been unable to finish her sandwich.

When Mystique reappeared a few days later, Rogue was almost certain they were going to be mobilized to do something. She found it hard to sleep, images of explosions haunting her dreams, visions of having to hunt and kill her former friends tormenting her.

One morning after breakfast, Magneto informed them they were to meet for a briefing in the study in twenty minutes.

She'd nervously swallowed the last of her coffee and remained quiet as the others made small talk, wondering how they could act so…unaffected…by what they were surely going to be ordered to do.

They filed silently into the study, where there was a large projector and a screen set up, chairs arranged in a semi-circle in front of the screen. The lights went off, and Rogue sat in her chair with her arms wrapped around herself. Was this going to be so horrible it would force her to try and escape, tonight, without a good enough plan to do anything but bring Magneto's ire down upon her?

The projector flashed a picture of what looked to be a prison on the screen, the building surrounded by barbed-wire fencing and guard towers. "This is the Connecticut State Mutant Detainment Center," Magneto said, his voice tight. "Our next target."

Rogue's brow furrowed at that. Mutants?

"It's a former prison, though it had been abandoned for many years. The State of Connecticut decided to re-open it to house so-called 'dangerous' Mutant prisoners." Magneto grimaced. "If the pilot program does well, many other states are vowing to establish similar detainment centers.
Many of the mutants imprisoned have little control over their powers, and several of their incarcerations therein were highly debatable."

He flashed quickly through the pictures, which highlighted a variety of mutants with potentially deadly powers, listed in very clinical phrasing beneath their images.

Super strength. Ability to cause earthquakes. Metal tentacles. Ability to control bone-structure growth and shoot projectile spikes. Ability to remove water from the human body. The list continued, but one thing Rogue noticed was many of the Mutants currently being held in the Center would be highly unlikely to pass as human, for one reason or another.

"The prison is currently housing these twenty-five mutants. They expect the facility to be ready to handle upwards of five hundred when renovations to the cells are complete. They need special modifications, you see."

The screen now showed a cell outfitted with barbed wire and spikes, and other with a low hum of electricity around it. "Each cell is specialized for each mutant, depending on their powers." His face looked dangerous.

Rogue winced, looking away from the screen. It seemed so barbaric. She looked down at her hands and shuddered.

"So we're going to bust them out?" This from Pyro, sprawled in the chair next to her.

Magneto nodded. "Mystique has gathered the necessary intelligence on how it can be done. We will liberate the mutants and raze the place to the ground."

Rogue heard the smile in Pyro's voice as he answered. "Wicked."

Magneto nodded, a small smile on his face. "Indeed. Mystique?"

Mystique took her place in front of the screen, switching it to an outside aerial view of the complex. "This facility has eight cameras and four guard towers." She indicated them along the perimeter.

"How are we going to take out eight cameras and four guards?" Gambit asked, curious. "Don't seem like that's possible with our numbers, unless Magneto can do it long-range."

"We're not," Mystique said bluntly. "We're going to take out three cameras and one guard." She pointed at the screen, to the lower right-hand tower. "The field of fire for this quadrant is the only one we need to eliminate. It's much more practical and expedient to dispose of only the one guard and the three cameras. The rest are irrelevant."

"Won't the other guards come down and try to shoot us?" Rogue asked, hands twisting nervously in her lap.

Magneto answered that for her. "No. Guards usually stay in their towers—if there is a break-out, you do not want to put weapons within reach of the prisoners." His voice was flat, unemotional.

Mystique continued. "Mesmero, you'll stay with the helicopter—anyone approaches, you know what to do. Magneto will deal with the radio transmitter, which is located on the roof. Once the communications are disabled, we'll take out the surveillance cameras. Magneto will take care of the armed guard, and then we're in."

"Take care of the guard" had to mean only one thing. Rogue slipped lower in her seat. This entire thing seemed so…unreal.

"Where do we go in?" Pyro leaned forward, squinting at the screen. "To the building, I mean."

Mystique pointed. "Here. All the prisoners are being held in one cell block. We'll use an explosive to blow the wall from the inside—to keep the debris from harming anyone--and then Magneto can unlock the cells. The cargo helicopter is large enough to fit everyone comfortably enough. We've arranged transport to a safehouse."

Rogue swallowed. "Won't the guards come rushing in when they hear the explosion?"

"Yes. However, this prison has automatic locks so that individual cell blocks can be isolated if necessary in case of a riot. The first thing we'll do when we get in is trip the locks, so they can't get in." This from Magneto, standing off to the side.

"How do we get in?" Gambit asked. "There's not a door, is there?" He sounded doubtful.

"There's a window, which opens into the central corridor. We'll go in that way. I'll go; I can make myself small enough. I'll place the explosive, blow the wall, and…" Mystique waved her hand. "The rest of you can come in afterwards."

"Won't there be guards in the cell block?" Rogue asked, worried, unable to discount the threat of the guards as easily as everyone else apparently did. "And won't they be armed?"

"I've seen them--they have nightsticks," Mystique said with a shrug. "And I've only seen two in there at the time when we're planning to do this. I can handle them."

Rogue didn't doubt that for a minute. "Seems weird, prison guards not having guns," she muttered.

"Same reasoning as out in the yard. You keep the guns isolated from the prisoners." Mystique crossed her arms and gazed at them all. "Any questions?"

"Yeah," Pyro said, raising his hand, which made Rogue sort of want to giggle, but maybe that was because she was feeling a bit hysterical. "When you said, 'raze it to the ground', how do we do that? Explosives?"

"We'll burn it, Pyro," Magneto said, as if that should be obvious. "Or rather, you will."

"Just the cell block?"

Rogue wondered if that was natural, how excited he sounded by the prospect.

"The whole thing."

"How am I going to do that?" He sat up straighter. "From our position in that block, I'd have to go back outside where the other guards are to get a shot at the central part, which would be the best place to set a fire if you want the whole thing to burn."

Pyro had obviously been doing his homework.

"No, you won't," Magneto assured him. "Once the prisoners are released, I'll open the locking mechanism and you can fire down towards the central area. It will be too late for them to do anything about the fire by the time help arrives."

Pyro flicked his Zippo—his grin looked almost sinister in the muted light of the flame. "Okay."

Rogue had been listening very carefully, and it sounded like her only assignment was to be in attendance. That wasn't terribly awful; she'd been expecting worse. Still….

Someone will die, I'm sure of it. Those guards. They have families, kids. Parents. Someone loves them.

She thought about the faces of the mutants she had seen. Maybe they had kids, maybe they had families and people who loved them, too. Was it fair that they should be locked up? For having powers that they didn't know how to control?

Rogue remembered Lewiston, and wondered what would have happened if Dottie had called the police after the incident with Troy.

I could have ended up there, too.

She swallowed her protests, ignored the voice whispering in the back of her mind--What if some of them deserve to be in prison?—and went to train for the mission with the others.

This was it. If she could do this and not feel guilty, then she'd know, at last, if she belonged.

ooooooooOOOOoooooooo

Rogue was quiet during the helicopter ride, going over and over the mechanics of their mission. She wasn't terribly worried about her part of this plan—she wasn't really assigned anything to do—but she was nervous about everything else.

No one else seemed to be suffering from nerves, though, so she didn't say anything. Pyro was listening to headphones, his eyes closed, appearing perfectly at ease. Magneto was seated next to Mystique—she'd had the smallest flash of fear when she'd seen him in his uniform, though thankfully it abated quickly—and nothing seemed to bother Mystique, who was intent upon piloting the helicopter. They were speaking quietly, though Rogue couldn't hear what they were saying.

Mesmero, who hated to fly, was huddled in his seat with the hood of his cloak pulled over his face. Gambit was shuffling his cards, and Rogue was worrying. What if one of them died? What if it was her /i? Magneto is here, and there's a lot of metal in prisons, isn't there? Mystique's the most amazing fighter I've ever seen, Mesmero can hypnotize people, and Pyro—

"We're here," Magneto called back, jolting her out of her reverie. Rogue hadn't realized they were that close to Connecticut; she'd expected a longer flight. She peered out of the window, but all she saw was flat black nothingness, peppered occasionally by twinkling lights.

When the helicopter had landed, they were briefed again on the plan. "Any questions? Ask them now," Magneto warned, but they'd all practiced this and besides, it was fairly straight-forward as far as diabolical schemes went. Rogue supposed she could be grateful for that.

It was very cold outside, and Rogue wasn't wearing a jacket, fearing it would hinder her movements. She wondered how Mystique could stand it. She could see the prison lights gleaming in the distance, growing brighter as they neared the complex. Once they were just outside the gates, Magneto levitated up towards the roof, disappearing in the moonless night sky for a moment.

There was the faintest sound in the quiet night air—a low hum, like something tearing. Looking up, she thought she saw a flash in the night sky as the object hurtled out of view.

Magneto descended from the roof and gestured for them all to follow.

Quietly, they all crept up closer to the high stone tower. Magneto turned to Pyro and Gambit. "I'll deal with this guard and the camera. The two of you go take care of the other two cameras on this side. Let me know when you are in position." Magneto waited, and Rogue stood next to Mystique, both of them keeping an eye on the surroundings. "Here," she heard Pyro say in her headpiece, followed by Gambit's similar statement a second later.

"Now." Magneto used his power to both disarm the guard and destroy the camera all at once, and Rogue saw two bright flashes in the darkness—Pyro using his fire, and Gambit throwing one of his cards.

There was a shout, then silence, and a muffled thud coming from the tower above her. Rogue turned away when she realized what the dark shape on the ground must be, unmoving.

Magneto waved his hand and the guard's M16 came towards him. With a look of distaste, he warped the metal until it was twisted, useless mess at his feet. "Let's go."

The wall of the prison had a window several feet up, covered with metal bars. Rogue watched Mystique take the explosive device they'd rigged and look up towards the window. "You'll want to tell whoever is in there to be careful," Magneto warned, "When the wall blows. Tell them to take cover if they are close by, though the explosive should direct most of the debris outwards."

"Wait," Gambit said, narrowing his eyes. "Mystique's supposed to set an explosive, warn prisoners, and fight two guards at once? Somebody else should go in there. All of us know how set that bomb, Magneto."

"No one else can fit," Mystique said shortly. "We don't have time for this."

"I'll go," Rogue said, before she could think about it. She held up her arms, shackled by Magneto's metal cuffs. "I'm small. I can fit. You can lift me up with your powers, and if Mystique is small enough, she can go on my back. I can warn the prisoners and—" she took a deep breath, "I can set the bomb. I know how."

Magneto looked at her and gave a terse nod. "Fine. Mystique, change into something that the guards are unlikely to shoot at first sight."

Mystique shifted her form into that of a very small child. "Let me climb on your back," she said, her voice childlike. It was eerie, especially since she was still holding the explosive device in her tiny hands.

Rogue obediently went down on one knee, standing up when she felt the little arms wrap snugly around her neck. She wordlessly took the explosive, holding it carefully in her hands.

Magneto stepped forward. "Remember, you have to do this quickly. I'll need to get in and set the locks before they call for backup and open the cell block."

With that, Rogue felt herself lift off her feet with Mystique pressed tight to her back, and watched as the window went sailing past her as Magneto pulled it from the casement. She propelled forward, somersaulting through, and landed on her feet with a bit of a wince in the central corridor of the prison.

She released Mystique and looked around. She could hear the sound of footsteps running towards them, and turned towards the wall to set the bomb.

"Who're you?"

Rogue looked up at the gruff voice, seeing one of the prisoners out of the corner of her eye addressing her from his cell on the top row. The man had strange metal-like tentacles protruding from his body. There was an electrical pulse around his cell, which would presumably shock him if he tried to use them on anyone. "We're here to get you out," she said simply, affixing the bomb to the wall.

"You and a kid?" The prisoner didn't sound convinced. "How's that gonna work?"

Rogue remained focused on the explosive, doing what she'd done a thousand times in practice as if it were second nature. "She ain't a kid," she answered, just as the guards made their way towards where Mystique stood. "And we didn't come alone."

"What the hell—it's…is that a little girl…?" The guards had approached, and their hesitation gave Mystique enough time to shift forms and rush them before they could act.

"Fuck, no, it's a damned Mutie!" One of them shouted, grabbing his nightstick.

Narrowing her eyes at the phrase, Rogue resisted the urge to help Mystique attack the guards. Though clearly the other woman didn't need any help—she took one guard out with a vicious roundhouse kick to the head, and another—

She broke his neck, easily and cleanly, leaving them in a pile on the floor.

There was a moment of silence, followed by cheering. Mystique grinned fiercely. "Blow the wall, Rogue."

"If you're next to this wall, hide under your bed," Rogue called out to the prisoners, feeling a bit silly, then pressed the detonation button. She and Mystique ran down the corridor, falling to the floor as they heard the tell-tale beep announcing the imminent explosion.

The wall blew to pieces with a very loud boom and a great deal of smoke. Most of the rock flew outside, which was good, though some had fallen throughout the cell block. Rogue sprang to her feet and wiped the dust off her face. Her heart was pounding, and some debris had hit her on the back, but she was too high on adrenaline to feel any pain.

Magneto appeared as the smoke cleared, and the sound of locks clicking into place immediately followed his entrance as he isolated the cell block. There was a pounding on the door, suggesting they'd been just in time, and shouts were heard out in the central area as the guards attempted to override the locking mechanism.

"The Brotherhood of Mutants has come to free you." Magneto's voice carried effortlessly throughout the area. "We shall take you somewhere safe."

There was some more cheering as the locks to the cells clicked open. Gambit was able to short most of the additional security precautions that weren't metal, and Magneto easily disposed of the ones that were. The newly-liberated prisoners congregated at the back, near the large hole in the wall.

"Pyro," Magneto ordered, and Pyro stepped forward. "You're ready?"

"Yeah." Rogue watched him smile as he opened his lighter, and remembered him in Boston when he'd faced down the police. She wondered if he liked this better, having an appreciative audience? Probably. Could she blame him?

Magneto opened the locks and the door separating the cell block from the central part of the prison swung open. There were several—armed—guards standing there, but their guns flew out of their hands immediately. Magneto barely spared them a glance as he turned on his heel. "Rogue, quickly. Out of the way."

Rogue watched for a moment longer as Pyro sent a rather large fireball barreling down the corridor and into the central area. The look on his face was one of pure enjoyment, his stance easy and relaxed. He directed the fire like it was a symphony. Maybe to him, it was. She was transfixed, feeling the heat of the fire on her face but unable to look away.

She heard people start to scream, then took off at a run, following behind Magneto with Pyro at her back.

They moved as a group towards the perimeter, and Magneto removed the metal fencing so they could pass through. She heard shouting from the other guards in the towers, and wondered if they really would come after them. She didn't figure they had much to worry about with the guns, though, but it was a scary thought.

By the time she could catch her breath, they were strapped into the helicopter, and it was lifting up into the night sky. It worked. It actually worked. She turned her face towards the window and watched the orange flames licking at the darkness as the prison continued to burn. She wondered how many were still stuck in the building, if anyone would get there in time to rescue them.

She looked over at Pyro, who was staring out of the window at the fire below. "Isn't it beautiful?" he said softly, resting his hand against the glass, his voice reverent.

Rogue didn't know how to answer that, so she didn't. She couldn't believe what she'd just done, but her mind was curiously blank, which was weird. She'd expected to feel guilty. Instead, she just felt…

"M-miss?"

Looking up, she saw a young woman, hardly older than her, standing unsteadily next to her seat. Her bones appeared to be poking through her skin. Rogue wondered if that was painful.

Of course it's painful. She looked down at her hands, the dark gloves streaked with grey dust from the explosion.

"Thank you," she said, and grasped Rogue's hands carefully in her own. "I don't know why I was locked up there. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. It's just so hard to control the spikes…but they didn't believe me."

"Be careful," Rogue said immediately, then made her voice soothing. "It's just, my skin's dangerous," she explained, looking up at the woman's face. Her eyes were wild, like a creature kept in a cage, and Rogue felt something very much like pride when she thought of how she'd helped her escape.

"So are my bones." The other mutant smiled. "No wonder you wanted to help us," she murmured. "You're just like us."

"You should go back to your seat," Rogue said softly. The woman patted her briefly on the shoulder and returned to her place.

Rogue turned forwards again, and found Magneto looking at her. He didn't say a word, and eventually, Rogue turned her gaze away, confused. She had a lot to think about.