I forgot to mention on the last chapter that I am actually British, so there might be a couple little details that are a bit out, like on locations, place names and general speech. My knowledge of America is restricted to what I've seen on the telly. I did visit Los Angeles once, but I was about five, so I don't remember it too well...
Also, I know the characters on this are labelled as Angel and Rogue, but that doesn't make this an AngelRogue story! They are just two of the main characters besides Jack.
"So, what's your power?" Pyro asked Jack as they sat around the fire he had just lit, cooking some basic camping food, "Telekinesis?"
"Yeah, that's right," Jack said vaguely, serving herself some food.
Night had fallen and Magneto had decided it would be best if they all camped in the clearing. Callisto was sat with Magneto, leaving Pyro and Jack on their own.
"What happened to your friends?" Jack asked, nodding towards Bobby and Rogue who were still unconscious.
"Friends?" Pyro asked with sarcasm, "Ch! Don't insult me. Bobby Drake and his little girlfriend Rogue are hostages."
"Hostages?" Jack asked.
"They come from an establishment called Xavier's School for the Gifted, Mutants in other words. It's over in Westchester, not too far from here, and they have something we want. So, we took something they might want so that we can swap and everyone will be happy."
"I think believing everyone will be happy is a bit optimistic," Jack said.
"Well, maybe I exaggerated," Pyro said impatiently, "So, what's your real name?" he asked after a moment.
"What's yours?" she asked back.
Pyro's lips curled in distaste. He decided he didn't much like this Jack, she was too cocky for her own good. Didn't she know who she was talking to? He was Pyro, the mutant responsible for the attacks on multiple buildings and establishments, notably the labs responsible for making the 'cure'. He should smack that arrogant little smirk right off her face…
A movement behind him distracted him from thoughts of hitting her. Rogue was waking up.
On the other side of the clearing, Magneto was talking to Callisto.
"I don't like her," she said, referring to Jack.
"Why ever not? I found her a charming individual," Magneto said with a smile, "Somebody more than capable of keeping young Pyro occupied in the very least."
"I can't see her," Callisto said.
"What do you mean?"
"I can't sense her," Callisto elaborated, "Right now I can sense four Mutants other than myself in this clearing, the girl – her signal is weak, she must have taken a shot of the 'cure', but it's there. This Jack, well, if it weren't for that little display before when we showed up, I would have told you she was human."
"Perhaps she's just such a low level you can barely sense her," Magneto suggested.
"No, to have held off that kind of blast from Pyro requires a significant amount of power. You're talking level three and up. I should be able to sense her clear as daylight."
"There are many things in this world that we are unable to explain, and this is probably one of them. If it makes you feel better, watch her closely by all means," Magneto spoke dismissively, like he thought Callisto's concerns would amount to nothing.
His tone made Callisto feel stupid, and she didn't like that.
"Well, good evening sweetheart, nice of you to join us!" Pyro sauntered over to Rogue, "Jack, meet Rogue the coward who gave up her power for a boy…"
"Doesn't sound cowardly to me," Jack said, sitting down casually on the ground near where Rogue was tied up.
"Pyro!" Magneto called out, "I should think the X-men will have realised what they're missing by now, time to go and bargain with them."
"If you're after Mystique she won't go back with you!" Rogue said, defiance burning in her eyes, "She's not being held captive – she came to the mansion by her own free will!"
"Nonsense," Magneto said, "Why would she do a thing like that?"
"Because you betrayed her!" Rogue said.
"Well, we'll see about that," Magneto said, his voice low and angry, "Pyro! We're leaving."
"What about these two?" Pyro nodded towards Bobby and Rogue.
"Jack can watch them," Magneto said.
Jack knew it wasn't an offer, it was an order.
"Sure, whatever," she said.
"Then let's go," Magneto flicked his cloak and walked off with Callisto on one side, Pyro on the other.
"Are you hungry?" Jack asked, bringing over some food and drink for Rogue, and Bobby when he stirred.
"Who are you?" Rogue's voice was full of suspicion and dislike.
"Nobody in particular," Jack replied.
"What sort of a name is Jack for a girl?" Rogue asked.
"What sort of a name is Rogue?" Jack replied.
She reached in one of her pockets and pulled out a penknife. Rogue looked at it nervously and shuffled away. Jack watched her actions with an amused smile, then cut her hands free. She flicked the knife shut and handed Rogue a tray of food.
"It's hardly a delicacy," she said, "In fact, I would say it only just manages edible, but it's food."
Rogue cautiously took a bite. On deciding it wasn't poisonous she quickly ate the rest, washing it down with a drink of water Jack handed her.
"Who's this Mystique then?" Jack asked, "The way Pyro was going on about you it sounded like you had done something bad."
"Oh come on, everyone knows what Magneto is like, surely you didn't think he had actually been wronged," Rogue said, "he had Pyro kidnap me and Bobby from school."
"Well, he hadn't given me any reason not to trust his intentions," Jack said with a shrug.
"This is the man who tried to wage war on the human race, and you say he didn't give you any reason to mistrust him?" Rogue was incredulous.
"I didn't know about that," Jack said. Rogue could tell she was telling the truth. There was a very innocent honesty about her.
"Where are you from?" Rogue asked.
"A long way away," Jack said.
"Are you British? You sound British."
"Yeah," Jack said.
"Wow, that is a long way away!" Rogue said, "What's it like in Britain, I've never been."
"Well, pretty much like it is here, minus the strange playground Magneto has created," Jack said.
Rogue laughed a little nervously, like she was trying really hard to still be suspicious of Jack but couldn't quite manage it.
"My name is Marie," she said after a moment.
"Nice to meet you," Jack said with a smile.
She took out the knife again and motioned for Rogue to move herself sideways a little, so she could cut her loose completely. Unfortunately, Bobby chose that moment to wake up, and on seeing a strange girl advancing on Rogue with a knife, jumped to all the wrong conclusions.
"Rogue!" he said, yanking his hand against his ties and firing a blast of ice at Jack.
"Bobby no!" Rogue yelled, but the ice wasn't getting anywhere near Jack, it stopped short of her.
"Telekinetic," she said with a shrug as Bobby withdrew his icy blast, looking between Rogue and Jack with confusion.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"Bobby this is Jack," Rogue said, "She was just going to cut me loose from this tree."
"Oh," Bobby said, looking a bit embarrassed, "Sorry."
"No worries," Jack said with a shrug, and cut his hands loose for him. His desperate wrench to protect Rogue had twisted his hands into a very uncomfortable position.
"Why are you setting us free if you're with Magneto?" Bobby asked.
"Because I've decided that Magneto isn't exactly the nicest person," Jack said as she cut Rogue loose.
"And you didn't know that already?" Bobby asked.
"She's British," Rogue said as though that explained everything.
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," Jack said, standing up and brushing herself down, "You've changed my mind, and now we have to get out of here."
She held out her hand to help Rogue up. Rogue smiled and took it, pulling herself upright. At first everything was fine, but when Rogue came to let go of Jack's hand she found she couldn't. Her whole arm was filled with the most intense pins and needles she had ever experienced and she couldn't control it.
On her face, thick black lines throbbing like veins had appeared. Her expression was caught between surprise and fear.
To Jack and Rogue it felt like ages, but the whole thing was over in less than a second, when Rogue collapsed backwards and Jack flinched away, shaking her hand like she had been electrocuted.
"Ouch! What the hell was that?" she asked, nursing her limp hand.
Bobby dashed forwards and grabbed Rogue before she crashed completely to the floor.
"It's her power!" Bobby said, "The cure she took must be wearing off!"
"We'll have to carry her," Jack said.
"Don't touch her skin!" Bobby said, wrapping his arms round Rogue defensively.
"Not making that mistake again," Jack said, shaking out her hand again, before furtively helping Bobby lift the unconscious Rogue up.
"How far is it to Westchester?" Jack asked as they carried Rogue between them a few metres.
"Not so far," Bobby said, "But it might be quite a trek if we have to carry her all the way."
"Can you drive?"
Magneto marched up to the gates with Callisto and Pyro, throwing them open with his magnetic power.
"Welcome back," Callisto said.
"Good to be back, my dear."
What remained of the Brotherhood walked down the gravel path, Magneto with his cloak flaring out behind him (he no longer wore the helmet – with both Charles and Jean dead he didn't feel the need), Pyro with his trademark swagger, and Callisto watching all around, like a predator.
Storm was the one who saw them first.
"Logan, get Mystique! We've got trouble," she said to Wolverine, who was enjoying a cigar in her office.
Reluctantly he took to his feet and went off to find the shapeshifter. Storm ran the opposite way down the corridor to find Warren and Hank.
The X-men outnumbered the Brotherhood two to one as they marched down the pathway to meet them, but that didn't stop Storm being nervous. She tried to look powerful and in control as she came to face Magneto, but it was hard to be convincing to someone else when she wasn't convinced herself.
"Magneto," she said, "I presume you are responsible for the kidnap of Bobby and Rogue."
Her arms were folded across her chest and her stance was defensive. Magneto chuckled.
"You've been working too hard, Storm, you look tired," he said, "Don't make more work for yourself now, you know what I'm here for. Give me back Mystique and I'll give you back Rogue and Bobby."
"Who says I want to go with you?"
Mystique had been hiding behind Warren and Hank. She sidled out between them to face Magneto. She chose to face him in her human form.
"Mystique, you don't mean to say Rogue was telling the truth and you've changed your ways?" Magneto sounded like he was trying to keep his voice under control.
"You changed them for me," Mystique said, "If you can't respect me like this, then I want nothing more to do with you."
"The cure, it's only temporary," Magneto said, "Soon you won't even be like that any more."
Mystique fixed him with a withering smile.
"I know," she said, switching back to her usual appearance, "and I'm still not coming with you."
"Then we shall have to keep Bobby and Rogue until such a time that you change your mind…" Magneto threatened icily.
"Well that's only any good if you have Bobby and Rogue in the first place."
The Brotherhood and the X-men turned to face the source of the voice, a girl in baggy dungarees.
"I thought I told you to watch them?" Magneto said.
"I did, I watched them all the way here," she replied, "turns out you kidnapped two people and had intentions to kidnap a third. I thought I'd level the playing field a little."
"What's this, Eric, another of your 'Brotherhood' turning against you?" Mystique drawled with amusement.
"Well, I wouldn't say I was turning against him," the girl said, "Considering I wasn't really with him – just exploring the options. I must say, Magneto, this lot do score better points than you for location. The forest hideout has its charm, but it doesn't really beat a mansion."
Storm and the other X-men watched the exchange with bemusement. Logan was regarding the newcomer with interest (not many people had the nerve to stand up to Magneto like that, and very few of them were young, skinny females) when he felt a sharp tug on his sleeve. He looked down to see Bobby.
"It's Rogue," he said, "she's hurt."
Logan nodded and slipped away while Magneto's attention was still on the newcomer.
"Who's gobby?" Logan asked, looking over his shoulder at her.
"That's Jack, I don't really know," Bobby said with a shrug, "I spent most of the time unconscious."
"Jack?" Logan raised an eyebrow, "What happened to Rogue?"
"I don't know. Her powers came back, and I think the shock of it knocked her out, or something…"
Logan knelt beside the car Rogue was lying in, still out cold. He lifted her free of it and carried her back over towards the mansion. He was about halfway when he felt the familiar grind of his body coming to a halt against his will.
"Going somewhere with my hostage?" Magneto said.
Instantly the X-men were on guard, Storm brewing up some lightening, Bobby holding his hands out ready, Beast in fighting pose. But the Brotherhood were there to meet them, Pyro with his fire, Callisto preparing to fight.
"Warren," Storm said, "Get Rogue safe."
Warren nodded, and with a beat of his huge wings was beside Logan. He removed the unconscious girl from his arms and flew her back to the mansion.
"Don't do this Eric," Mystique said.
"Then come with me…" Magneto sounded jolly, but there was an undercurrent of venom to his voice, "And you!" he turned to Jack, "You need to decide whose side you are on, and fast."
Jack raised her hand and it started glowing green. A beam of energy shot from her wrist, encompassing Magneto. It stopped him moving except his eyes which were looking round frantically, trying to decipher his new predicament. Jack met his eyes coolly and with a wave of her arm she sent him flying away, the energy emanating from her hands lifting Magneto with no effort.
"Hope that clears up any doubts you might have had," Jack said nonchalantly.
Pyro and Callisto looked around, ready to fight, but without their leader soon lost their nerve and ran. They knew there was next to no chance they would beat the X-men outnumbered like they were.
"How pathetic," Logan said, reaching in his pocket for another cigar.
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