Hehe... I said this would be shorter, but then I got this idea and had to run with it and now it is almost as long as the last chapter! Oh well... the next one is definitely shorter (only a dainty little 1500 words) so there we go.
Reviews appreciated as always! I'm so glad you guys have liked this story :) :)
Hope you like this chapter as much as the last one!
Just a small note, but this chapter features Rogue's boyfriend from the first movie and I couldn't remember his name. For some reason I have this feeling it's David, but I can't remember. If that's wrong just let me know and I'll change it!
Update: I deleted this chapter and resubmitted it in hopes that it might make it show up on the site, as before the story only appeared to have 21 chapters, so sorry to all the people who get alerts and have now had this alert twice!
Magneto did them all a favour by staying out of trouble. His Brotherhood stayed in their hideout and caused no problems, even though the summit went on after an official statement from the President explained the events that had happened involving the aliens. He didn't tell the entire truth. It was more of a cover-up.
Hank and Storm sat in on the summit as the representatives argued over Mutant rights and regulations. In the end they agreed on a taskforce of scientists who would work on methods to control and contain Mutants known to be dangerous, rather than all Mutants. As long as you didn't break the law, the new system promised to leave you in peace. It was a positive move that Storm and Hank were happy with.
Warren stayed in his room a lot, as did Bobby. Kitty took it upon herself to be strong and supportive for everyone else, but anyone with fairly good hearing knew she cried herself to sleep most nights.
It was Logan who answered the door, some four or five days later, to see a man and a woman dressed in robes similar to those worn by King and his envoy.
"You're looking for Jack, right?" he asked.
They both nodded together. Logan didn't know whether he should trust them, but his gut wasn't sending him any warnings, and he could usually trust his gut.
"Well, you're in the right place," he said, "But you're not going to like this…"
They followed him indoors wordlessly.
Storm ran her fingers over Rogue's hair, tracing the white streaks absentmindedly. The young girl was in a coma. Hank said absorbing King's energy along with all the powers inside him had sent her body and mind into shock. Many wires were attached to her forehead, reading her brain activity. A computer near her bedside was reading a complete brainstorm. If it weren't for the very shallow breaths and the occasional fluttering of her eyelids, Storm would have believed Rogue to be dead.
Unlike when Jack was hit with the Cure, Rogue wasn't slowly getting worse so she was in no danger of dying, but she wasn't showing any sign of getting any better either. Storm was beginning to question if she would ever wake up, and if she didn't, how long would it be acceptable to leave her before they pulled the plug on the life-support.
The hiss of the door sliding open pulled Storm out of her morbid thoughts. She looked up, expecting to see Hank, but Logan walked through the door, followed by two strangers dressed much like King's envoy. Storm stood up, but the ill feeling she had experienced when around King didn't resurface.
"They're here for Jack," Logan said.
"Have you told them…" Storm began but Logan shook his head.
"I told them they weren't going to like it," he said.
"Follow me," Storm said to the two aliens, "I'll take you to her."
She went to walk out of the room, but the woman had walked over to Rogue, examining her closely.
"Don't touch her skin," Storm warned.
The woman merely looked up and smiled before speaking directly into Storm's mind.
I won't.
Storm gaped. It had been so long since she had felt the presence of another in her mind. Without the Professor and Jean around there were no psychics in the school.
The woman smiled again and put her hands either side of Rogue's head. She closed her eyes, bending her head a little closer to the unconscious girl as she concentrated. Storm watched the woman for a moment, but her attention was distracted by the screen beside Rogue's bed. The reading was slowly being reduced to almost normal brain activity levels. As it dropped to normal, Rogue suddenly sat up, eyes snapping open and gasped. Storm rushed to her side, as did Logan.
"Rogue!" Storm said, laying a firm hand on the girls shoulder.
The reassurance of touch and the familiar sound of Storm's voice calmed Rogue's initial panic. The large gulps of air she was taking became slower and more controlled as her eyes stopped darting around everywhere.
"Rogue?" Storm looked into the girl's eyes for a sign of recognition.
"How did I get here?" Rogue asked after a moment.
Rogue was in a no-place. She was stood on something, but it was something she couldn't see. She didn't really want to move for fear of stepping off into the nothingness. The darkness was almost absolute, but for a small amount of light she seemed to be generating. How had she got here? And where exactly was 'here' anyway?
"You should really consider revamping this place," Jack's voice sounded from somewhere nearby.
Rogue turned round to see her friend sat on something in mid air. She had a half smile on her face and an amused twinkle in her eye.
"What is this place?" Rogue asked, "Where are we?"
"Inside your head," Jack replied.
"What?" Rogue said, "how can we be inside my head?"
"Well, it's your head, you have every right to be here," Jack shrugged.
"And you're here because?" Rogue asked.
"You absorbed me," Jack shrugged again, "So part of me is in your head too."
"Is it… is it really you though?" Rogue asked, "The one that is inside your own head?"
"Now you're confusing me," Jack grinned.
"Well, when I wake up, get out of my own mind, will the you that isn't in my mind remember this?"
"No," Jack said, "I'm like your own mini version of the real me. What I do in here stays in here, but I'm exactly like my real self."
"Does that mean everyone else I've absorbed will be here too?" Rogue asked.
"That's right, kid, we're all in here," Logan's voice said.
Rogue span around again to see him standing there, leaning against something as he smoked a cigar.
"Jack's right though, you really need to fix the décor," he said.
"How?" Rogue asked.
"It's your head!" Jack said, "Just imagine us someplace you'd rather be."
Rogue closed her eyes and thought of the mansion. When she opened her eyes they were in the living room, Jack perched on the back of the sofa, Logan leaning against a doorframe.
"Better," Jack said, "So who else have you touched? I figure Bobby's got to show up at some point."
"Yeah," Rogue said, looking round at the closed doors. One started to open, but it wasn't Bobby who walked through.
"Magneto?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow in Rogue's direction.
"Long story," Rogue said, looking for John.
Magneto was rarely without his pyrokinetic crony, and given that she had absorbed him once it was likely to be true of the Magneto in her mind too. True to form Pyro sauntered in right behind, flicking his Zippo lighter.
"What's with the party?" Pyro asked.
"My dear girl," Magneto said, looking round at the mansion walls with distaste, "You could have imagined us on top of Mount Everest and you chose to place us in the mansion?"
"It was the first place that came into my head," Rogue said, "And besides, I like it here."
"You might like it better on top of a mountain – imagine the views," Magneto said.
"Wouldn't it be a little cold?" Rogue asked.
"Only if you want it to be," Magneto said, a hint of challenge in his voice, "You can do anything, it is your mind after all."
"Shut up Magneto," Jack said, "She's happy here, so she can stay here, it is here mind after all."
"Who asked you?" Pyro snapped.
"If anyone had asked me I would have said to teleport you two inside a volcano," Bobby said, walking in.
He ignored John's aggressive step forwards and walked straight over to Rogue. He wrapped his arms round her and went to kiss her. Instinctively, Rogue pulled away.
"I don't want to hurt you," she said.
Bobby smiled at her.
"Then don't," he said, "Your mind, your rules."
He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek before pulling back and slipping his hand into hers.
"I can really do anything?" Rogue asked.
"Pretty much," Storm replied, appearing on the scene.
"It's getting crowded in here," Magneto commented, that same challenge in his voice.
Rogue didn't rise to it, but she was starting to wonder. She could do anything at all? Like transport them all to the bottom of the ocean? She thought about it for a moment and was shocked to see the scenery change around them.
Suddenly she was standing on a sandy seabed with miles between her and the surface. Jack was sat on a stray boulder that had probably been resting at the bottom of the sea for centuries, becoming steadily more encrusted with all manner of shellfish and plants. Logan was leaning against a cliff face.
In a brief moment of panic Rogue thought she was going to drown but she reminded herself that she had had the power to put herself and everyone else down here, so she therefore had the power to breath underwater. Did she even need to breathe at all? Probably not.
"Interesting choice," Jack grinned with amusement as Pyro tried to light a flame with increasing frustration, only managing to create a few bubbles every time.
"Why don't you take us to Anchorage?" a new voice suggested, "I thought that was where you wanted to go."
Everyone turned to face the newcomer. Rogue recognised him, though she doubted any of the others would.
"David," she said.
"Who?" Logan asked.
"Her boyfriend," David replied, "At least, I was," he added, nodding towards Bobby and Rogue's interlaced fingers.
"Is that everyone?" Jack asked.
"It is now," Warren answered.
Once again Jack raised an eyebrow at Rogue, who grinned back, slightly embarrassed.
"Can we please have a change of scenery?" Pyro asked impatiently.
"What's your problem?" Jack asked, "This place is kinda fun."
She was no longer sitting on the rock, but swimming around just above them. Rogue tried moving but found the water to have an air-like thinness to it. Trying to swim would be like trying to fly.
But then, you can do anything, she reminded herself.
She tried to think of a new, better place to be, but her mind kept travelling to the strange city she saw only in her dreams, Jack's home. Before she could stop herself, the water faded away and the city replaced it. Jack performed an elegant flip in mid air, landing on her feet next to Warren. She met Rogue's eyes briefly as the others looked round with confusion.
"What's this place?" Bobby asked.
"Just a place I've seen in my dreams," Rogue replied.
"Then the memory must belong to one of us," Magneto said.
"Why?" Rogue asked.
"Because we are your dreams," Magneto replied.
"I pity her if she dreams of you," Logan muttered.
"Better the dreams of a genius than a mindless animal," Magneto said.
"Hey, who are you calling 'mindless' bub?" Logan said, ejecting his claws, pointing them threateningly at Magneto.
Magneto turned to him, using his ability to manipulate the claws so Logan could no longer moving.
"Only the idiot who forgets every time that his claws of metal are redundant against the master of magnetism," he said, separating out the claws to cause Logan pain.
"Stop it!" Rogue yelled, wishing Magneto didn't have his power.
Suddenly Logan dropped to the floor, and Magneto stared at his hand curiously.
"You've taken my power," he said.
Rogue looked to Jack, but she just shook her head and nodded towards her.
"Me?" Rogue questioned.
"Well, you can do anything," Magneto said.
Rogue looked down at her gloved hands and imagined the gloves away. She was just about to turn and take Bobby's hand when someone else appeared in the group, someone Rogue didn't recognise.
"Come with me, child, I'll show you the way out of here," a kindly female voice said.
She was wearing robes like a nun, and her face was smiling and kind. Rogue looked from her to her gloveless hands and back.
"But I don't want to leave," she said, "I can do anything here."
"This isn't real," the woman said, looking round at their location curiously, "Would you leave your friends in the real world behind? The real Bobby? The real Logan? Would you let them suffer so you can stay here in this false realm?"
"Don't listen to her, Rogue," Magneto said, "You are a goddess! She is merely an intruder. Expel her, banish her from your kingdom and live your days out here in glory."
"He hopes to deceive you, child," the woman said, "his shadow is as manipulative as his reality, don't listen."
"But he speaks the truth!" Rogue said, "I am all powerful. I can touch!"
"But it's just an illusion, Rogue," Bobby said.
"I could be happy with your illusion!" Rogue said.
"Could you?" he asked.
Rogue was taken aback. She thought he would be happy to have her here and able to touch him.
"I…" she stammered.
"They are nothing more than shadows, child, they aren't real," the woman said.
She put her hands to her head and they began to fade. Rogue's hand passed straight through Bobby.
"Stop it!" she shrieked.
"Come with me, back to the real world, and all your friends will be there waiting for you," the woman said.
She held out her hand. Rogue wasn't sure. She could touch here, she could be anywhere she wanted.
But you will never meet anyone new, the woman spoke into her head, you will never see Kitty and Jubilee again. You will never age, you will never change. You will forever be the same. Is that what you want?
Rogue shook her head, stepped forwards and took the woman's hand. With a gasp she opened her eyes to find herself inside a medical room in the mansion.
"Rogue?" Storm said.
"How did I get here?" she asked.
Hank said it was probably the fact that she had taken on Logan's healing factor that had kept her alive, stopping her brain from completely destroying itself, but that didn't mean that Jack would necessarily make a full recovery. She lay on a bed in much the same way as Rogue had, unmoving and barely breathing. If the mysterious woman could successfully rouse Rogue from her coma there was every chance she could do the same for Jack, but Storm had to wonder if the damage caused would affect her mind in some way.
Jack woke much calmer than Rogue, simply opening her eyes, rather than sitting up in shock. She sat up slowly and looked around, registering the faces that were surrounding her. As her eyes crossed Rogue she smirked.
"You were in my head," she croaked.
"You saved my life, Rogue," Jack said a little later.
The two girls were sat in Rogue's room. They had just been examined by Hank, and were given some time to rest after being deemed healthy enough. Jack had miraculously suffered no brain damage and, though worn out, she was her usual self. Hank had said to her that she would never be able to use her power again or it would kill her. When she asked if he was certain he had admitted he thought she could probably use it one last time, but strongly recommended she didn't try it. Hank knew that it was very unlikely that Jack would listen to his advice. Once she got something into her mind it was impossible to stop her doing it.
"That's what friends are for," Rogue said with a small smile.
"Not many friends would risk their lives to help another," Jack said.
"I must just be a really good one," Rogue said, her smile growing to a grin.
"Can you be a really great friend one more time?" Jack asked, toying with her bracelets thoughtfully.
"What do you want?" Rogue asked.
Since that first croaky smile had faded at the sight of the two aliens, Jack had been entirely more serious. She had something on her mind. What it was, Rogue could only guess.
"There's something I have to do," Jack said, "I'll need to borrow some clean clothes, because I don't fancy walking around in this hospital gown, and I need you to cover for me if anyone comes in here asking after me. Tell them I'm in the bath or something."
"Sure," Rogue said, "But won't that psychic woman know if you go anywhere?"
They had been given strict instructions not to leave the room. Storm didn't want them wandering off anywhere or doing anything strenuous in case they hurt themselves in any way.
"She won't read my mind," Jack said, "She knows it isn't her place."
"Ok," Rogue said, handing Jack a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, jacket and pair of shoes, "Where are you going."
"I have some unfinished business to attend to," Jack said, slipping into the clothes, "There's something I need to do."
Silently she wandered over to the window and opened it. Rogue watched her begin to climb out but soon wandered back over to sit on her bed. Jack used the ivy and the trellis to climb down to the ground. She looked round and quickly sprinted across the field before anyone noticed, heading for the main gates.
Magneto stood on the beach, the sea breeze catching his tweed jacket. He was dressed down, understated, unnoticeable, as he stared up at the Statue of Liberty like any other tourist. But one person walking down the beach recognised him instantly.
"When I came here," Magneto spoke as they approached him, "America was to be the land of tolerance and peace. My new home."
He turned to Jack who was stood beside him, wearing a pair of jeans and a jacket that looked more like Rogue's sense of style than her own, her hands in her pockets.
"It's a strange concept, isn't it, home," he pronounced the word like it was foreign, "Not always necessarily a physical place, but perhaps the presence of an object or a person… Home is where the heart is, they say, where is your heart, Jack?"
"Beating in my chest last I checked," Jack said.
Magneto chuckled.
"Home is where ever you are then? Or perhaps you have no home."
"Perhaps I don't," Jack said.
"Then how selfless of you to almost die defending a place you don't even consider to be home."
"Consider it payment for my board," Jack said, staring out into the sea.
"Why are we here, Jack?" Magneto asked after a moment's silence.
Psylocke had picked up on her thoughts, requesting his presence at the beach. Magneto had been intrigued. The last he knew the girl was as good as dead, now she was asking him to meet her somewhere with the temerity only she possessed.
"I have a favour to ask of you," Jack said.
"A favour?"
"One last one, for old time's sake," Jack said.
"And what favour would you ask of me?" Magneto asked.
"I want something retrieving," Jack said.
"And why not ask your precious X-men?"
Jack stopped staring out to sea and turned to him, her green eyes locking on his.
"We are not so dissimilar, you and I, Magneto. We have both seen suffering on a level that no one else could begin to comprehend; perhaps that is why I was drawn to you in the first place. I ask you because you understand."
Magneto smiled and nodded.
"What is it that you want?"
"Resting at the bottom of the ocean is an escape pod," Jack said, nodding out to sea, "I want it brought here so I can retrieve a few things from inside, then I want it destroyed."
"Destroyed," Magneto said with smirk, "Are you sure Dr. McCoy doesn't want to examine it first?"
"And now you see why I ask this of you," Jack said, "Because the X-men are builders, and they don't understand that sometimes things have to be destroyed."
When the deed was done, Magneto turned to Jack one last time.
"If we are so understanding of each other, why do you always go back to them?"
"Don't flatter yourself, Magneto, I would never go with you. We have both seen suffering, but the similarity ends there. We chose to deal with it in entirely different ways," Jack said.
Magneto nodded. He understood, just like she knew he would. Jack turned away and walked back down the beach the way she had come, her hair blowing in the wind, her hands still in her pockets.
Magneto watched her until she was little more than a speck in the distance, then returned to the hideout of his Brotherhood. The first thing he did when he got there was change back into his cape.
Jack slipped back through Rogue's window just at the right moment. She stashed her things under the bed as Rogue watched, curious but unquestioning. Content that her presence on this planet could do no further damage to its inhabitants, she was quite happy to discuss things with the two aliens who knocked on the door just moments later.
How are you feeling? The man asked in the language of their people.
To everyone else it sounded nothing like words, but like a melody played on an unusual instrument. Storm and Hank, who had decided to sit in on the meeting, were entranced by the beautiful sound, and not quite surprised, but still a little unnerved to hear it come out of Jack's mouth as well.
Been better, but I'll live, Jack said.
You know why we are here, the woman said.
Of course, Jack said, but how did you know I wasn't dead?
We didn't, the man admitted, we just hoped.
As soon as we got within range I could feel your presence, the woman said, I was much relieved to feel you were alive, my lady.
Don't call me that, Jack said with distaste, I'm about as far from a lady as you can get!
Rogue laughed at Jack's indignant expression. The woman looked over at her curiously, but turned back to Jack.
Well, we are ready, the man said, as soon as you want we'll take you home.
"What?" Rogue said, the smile falling from her face, "You can't do that!"
Storm and Hank both stared at Rogue, as did the man and the woman. Rogue felt a blush creeping up her cheeks as they looked at her with surprise.
"You understand that?" Storm asked.
"Yeah, shouldn't I?" Rogue asked. It had sounded just like English to her.
"It's because you absorbed me," Jack said, "That time in the park, and then King the other day. You've absorbed our language."
I am sorry, child, but she has to return, the woman said, addressing Rogue directly, You've seen our planet, it needs a strong, kind ruler.
"But, but…" Rogue stammered.
"Someone has to go, Rogue, and there is no one else," Jack said.
Well, the man said and Rogue, Jack and the woman all turned to him, if the human girl has knowledge of our language and planet, and the ability to absorb another's powers, that means there are two people that qualify in this room.
She's just a human girl, Jack said, she belongs here.
Does she? The woman said, she doesn't look so human to me.
Rogue looked at herself in the mirror. She wasn't looking herself. Her body now matched that of Jack's and the man and the woman – thin and angular, but stronger than the average human. Her hearing had evolved, her eyesight declined. She was born a human, turned mutant, now was she something else altogether?
In that case you have a choice to make, the man said, one of you has to come back with us.
We only have the space for one or we would take you both, the woman said.
"How can we possibly choose?" Rogue asked.
"There isn't a choice Rogue," Jack said, "You stay here where you belong, I'll go back where I belong. I'll miss you all, but it's the right thing to do."
"Is it?" Rogue asked, looking down at her gloved hand, "You can't use your power any more. What if someone challenged you? I'm the stronger."
"I can't even believe we are having this discussion," Jack said, "Tell her!" she said, turning to first Hank and Storm, then the man and the woman.
We can have no part in this, the woman said, this is a choice you have to make. One of you must come, one must stay. We'll give you until morning to decide.
Just out of curiosity, I would like to know who you think should go. Leave me a review with your vote! It won't change my mind, as I've already written the final chapter, but I would love to know your opinion (and I hope it matches my choice lol!)