(Hey all- notes from 11/06/2021. So sometimes writing fanfiction is harder than a novel because you don't get to go back and fix your mistakes. Your first draft is your only draft. You don't get to go back and make it look like you knew what you were doing the whole time. Like say for example you mess up one of your main characters ages that is really hard to pinpoint because of time travel shenanigans. Than your either have to accept your mistake and move forward while making your typo work OR you can hope your readers will forgive a quick upload and know that your human and trying the best you can- lol. Here's hoping you guys don't mind.)
Please enjoy!
Chapter Forty-Five:
Magnetos' eyes fluttered open to the sight of Jean and Rogue hugging- and saw that Rogue arms and hands were making contact with Jean's skin- still she seemed to have control over her powers.
'Does she have- I thought she couldn't control her skin when she has another mind in hers- unless,' he considered.
"Dad, you okay?" his son asked. He nodded as she rubbed the side of his head. Rogue broke apart from Jean and turned to face him.
"You were frozen for a few minutes. I had to tell Charles about the amnesia," she told him.
"Oh- lucky for him. Considering you only deigned to inform me last night," he quipped as he rubbed his head, shaking off the effects of the flashback.
"There no way you would've believed me before then," she pointed out.
"Yes, that's true," he agreed, as his eyes flashed to Charles. He looked shaken. 'Are you alright?' he asked, sensing unease from his old friend.
'I'm fine,' he replied quickly, averting his gaze.
'Something seems off,' he replied.
'If one of us should have cause for concern for the other, it would most certainly be me for you, Magnus,' he thought, his tone angry. He raised an eyebrow at that but didn't comment further.
"So, did you remember anything good?" Rogue asked. He shifted his gaze towards hers.
"I'm not sure," he said vaguely, knowing Rogue wouldn't want him to answer her question honestly in front of Charles. "We'll talk about it tonight and you can fill in the context then," he said.
"Whatever you need, sugar. You know, I've just been trying to help ya," she said. He watched his old friend's eyes flash from his to Rogue's, then back to his.
'Oh, I see,' he realized. "I know that now," he said aloud. "I'm pleased you've finally told me the truth of it," he said.
"I'm just glad it's actually working. I was starting to think nothing was gonna bring those memories back up to the surface. And lord knows you wouldn't trust a telepathic to mess around in that head of yours. Had to do it the hard way to ensure that you'd trust the validity of the memories," she said.
"Well, from our conversation this afternoon, it seems you were being too cautious, too subtle in your attempt to tease the memories from my subconscious," Magneto said.
"A mistake, I finally have the freedom not to make again," she said with a smile. "Which is such a relief. I hate having to hold back information. But there's a responsibility to having access to others' minds," she said, her eyes flashing to Charles. "A delicate balance between offering help and respecting a person's right to sort it out for themselves," she said, her eyes quickly jumping to Jean's giving her a quick smile. "Just because I have the knowledge at my disposal doesn't mean I have to be the one to help," she said.
"In my case, I'm glad you've interjected and made me aware of my ignorance and I'm rather pleased you didn't involve anyone else in that endeavor," he said, his eyes flashing to Charles. "That might have ended rather badly," he added as he watched Charles' eye widen with realization.
"It definitely would have," Rogue agreed with a stein nod. "You're gonna have ta endure a lotta headaches before you remember everything," she pointed out.
"I've suffered through worse," he said dismissively. "Besides, the injury is self-inflicted. I'll take my lumps and survive this as well," he said reassuringly.
"Oh," he heard Charles say- taking in the exchange he and his girl had staged for his benefit.
"What?" she laughed. "You thought I was just messing with him for the fun of it?"
"Well, that was what it seemed like," Charles said.
"Although, it has been a great deal of fun," Magneto smiled.
"Well, yeah, obviously," Rogue smirked up at him, as he heard Jean attempting to hold back a laugh next to him. "Jean Elaine Grey, don't think I don't hear you snickering over there," she grinned.
'Magnus,' Charles thought as he made eye contact with his friend, tuning out the sound of Rogue and Jean sharing a laugh. 'If you did want help,' he projected into his friends' minds.
'While your offer is appreciated. At this moment, Rogue's assistance is the only one I desire. I'll ask you to respect that,' he thought. Charles gave him a hesitate nod in response. 'Thank you,' he said as he gave one in return before shifting his gaze towards the dome's entrance.
Wolverine walked back into the dome, but couldn't bring himself to join the others at the front of the classroom. Instead, he leaned back against the wall next to the entrance. His arms were crossed against his chest as he stood silently, watching the students making use of the additional space. Mattresses were placed in perfectly shaped tiered sections, covered in newly purchased sheets. And each one was being enjoyed by a small group of students, as they had spread out throughout the room.
The entire dome had an impersonal smell to it; clean, cold metal, and sterile bedding. A combination that invoked a familiar sense of unease in him he couldn't place.
"An interesting classroom design," Hank remarked.
"Yeah, I don't like it," Logan grunted.
"Oh?" Hank asked, a twinge of concern in his voice.
Logan's eyes passed over Rogue as she stood at the front of the classroom. An enormous smile on her face as she and Jean were laughing together. Magneto's eyes flashed to his, a knowing look there, as he nodded towards Rogue, a subtle reminder of what he had promised to do.
"It's nothing," he said dismissively as he stood up straight.
"If you say so," Hank said before following him towards the group of instructors.
"Rogue," Logan said, making eye contact with her. "Can I talk to you?" he asked.
"Yeah, 'course," she said pleasantly. "I gotta little time to spare. Least until the brotherhood gets here," she said. "Your head feeling okay?" she asked him.
"I'm fine. Go on," Magneto said, gesturing towards him with his head. She flashed her boyfriend a quick smile before walking towards him.
"I wonder what's taking them so long," Jean said, as Rogue gestured with her hand towards the exit. He gave her a nod before they both headed in that direction.
"With Blob in the car, they probably stopped for food," Pietro said. He heard Scott let out an exasperated sigh. Rogue glanced back at Scott as the smile on her face dropped, replaced with a serious expression.
"If they had come back with us, it wouldn't be a problem," Scott said.
"We couldn't force them," Jean said, as he and Rogue exited the dome. He turned his attention away from the conversation and onto Rogue as she walked ahead of him.
"So- ah," he said.
"Logan, would you mind following up with Fury?" she asked abruptly as she turned around to face him.
"You haven't brought this up in a while," he said.
"I know, but I should've," she muttered, an undertone of anger in her voice that wasn't directed at him. "And I am now," she said firmly as she made eye contact with him. "Can ya ask him? Please? About contacting the Starjammers?"
"Last time I did, Patch said his agent couldn't receive messages. Something about range," he said.
"Figures Carol would be unavailable when she's actually needed," Rogue muttered, aggravated. He raised an eyebrow at that- but choose not to comment on it.
"He's gonna ask me why," he said dryly. Rogue turned away as she let out a sigh. "Why we need to talk to some group of space pirates," he said.
"We just do. That's all Fury needs to know," she said flatly.
"Fine, then I'm asking," he said, his voice rising.
"I can't, Logan," she said. He felt his eye narrow at that.
"Kid, I've done a lot of favors for you with no questions asked," he said.
"I know," she said, avoiding facing him.
"When you told me the plan to defeat Apocalypse. Asked me to trust you. I did. I took you at your word. Took the credit and got Fury on board."
"And it's a good thing you did," she said, turning to look at him. "Or we'd be living in a very different world right now," she said, her tone ominous.
He held her gaze for a long moment.
"You never told me how you knew the sentinel project was up and running," he said.
"How I knew?" she laughed disgustedly. "Logan, a mega-mutant was menacing the world with his very existence and inability to be challenged," she said as she took a step towards him. "Of course, they reinstated the sentinels," she exclaimed. "I didn't confirm that with anyone. I didn't have to. Pattern speak for themselves," she said bitterly.
"What pattern?" he asked. He watched her eyes widened as he sniffed the distinct smell of fear that stemmed off of her.
"Never mind," she muttered. "Look, you don't have ta follow up if ya don't want to. I'm sorry I brought it up. I'll stop asking," she said, throwing up her hands in a gesture of defeat.
"That's not what I'm saying. Work with me here. Give me something," he pleaded.
He listened to her, let out a sigh.
"Alright, fine," she said, exasperated before she turned to look at him again. "There's someone here at the institute who needs to speak to Captain Cosair. But that person doesn't know it so they can't take the steps themselves."
"Who?" he asked.
"I wouldn't be right if I told you first," she said.
"So, tell them," he said.
"I can't," she repeated.
"Why?" he asked.
"I need a confirmation that Captain Corsair is still alive. Once I have that, I can tell him," she said.
He considered that for a moment, recalling how her expression dropped before they had exited the dome and who she had been looking at.
'Scott, huh?' he thought to himself.
"Doing anything before that would be-" she explained. "It'd be cruel," she finished sadly.
"Then maybe you should stay out of it," he said, annoyed.
"That the trouble with knowledge, James," she said. His eyes narrowed at the mention of his given name. "Having it gives you a responsibly to act," she said.
"There are some things that should stay buried," he said, as his hands balled at his sides.
"That's your right, Logan," she said. "But not everyone wants to forget the past. Some of us can't," she said.
"Yeah, I know," he said irately before he walked past her, needing a moment to compose himself. "Look, I didn't ask you out here to fight. I wanted to apologize for this morning," he said.
"You already did. You don't have ta again," she said.
"That's not what your boyfriend said," he said before she let out an amused chuckle. He turned back to look at her, her hands were on her hips.
"Ya taking orders from Magneto now?" she asked, her head cocked as she smirked up at him.
"Yeah, I probably shouldn't've listened to him," he said. She let an amused huff as before her attention turned away from him- towards the road. "Something the matter?" he asked.
"No, I've got Magneto's powers. I can sense- The brotherhood's getting close-" she said- her eyes distance. He took a moment to sniff the air. They were about three miles away. He looked away from her as he sniffed, smelling the brotherhood's car and those in the jeep before he hesitated. He sniffed against, to be sure he was right. "What is it?" her expression turned to one of concern. "Is anyone hurt?" she asked.
"They picked up an extra," he said.
"Person?" she asked.
"Mutant," he said, sniffing again. "A girl, covered in fur," he said.
"How old?" she asked. He sniffed again.
"Pre-teen," he answered.
"T.J?" Rogue whispered, her voice tinted with hope. He watched her legs lift into the air, levitating her body into her meditation position, legs crossed beneath her.
"Who?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Give me a minute," she said. He let out a low grunt but waited.
She didn't respond for a few minutes, but slowly he watched a grin come to her face.
"Yup, that's T.J, alright," she smiled as her legs returned to the ground. "You'll meet her when she gets here," she said as she began to pace back and forth in front of him. "Well, that explains why they're so late for my class," she said, slightly giddy.
"You- ah- you looking forward to teaching?" he asked, with a raised eyebrow, as he watched her pace.
"Yeah, actually, I am," Rogue smiled. "It's been a good long while since I taught an entire class of kids. I've missed it," she said.
"Yeah," he huffed, finding the comment strange but shrugging it off like he always did. 'Kids gotta lot of memories in her head. All of 'em feel like they belong to her,' he reminded himself. ''Course she gonna get some of them confused for her own,' he reasoned. "That's good," he nodded. "Look, kid-"
"Logan," she said, stopping directly in front of him and turning to face him. "How many times do I gotta ask you to pick out a new nickname for me?" she asked, interrupting him. She'd been bringing this up more and more lately.
"I know you're getting older," he said. He heard her let out a sigh.
"Good lord, it feels like I've been correcting you about this for years. I ain't a child," she said strongly. "Haven't been since you met me. I know I've told you this before, that I've asked you to acknowledge this," she said.
He put his hands in his pockets as he turned away from her.
'Kid's sleeping with an older man, and now she's gotta assert herself as an adult. I get it, but I don't have ta like it,' he thought. He let out a low grunt as he rubbed the back of his head. "Look, I know 'cause of all the memories you got in your head you feel older than-"
"No, Logan. You ain't listening to me," she interrupted. "You never listen when I try ta talk about this," she sighed, her tone dejected. "And I've- I've just let ya keep calling me kid over and over," she sighed. "It was easier that way, ta let ya. Not to take the risk by explaining why you were wrong. I-" she said- her speech falling short.
He turned to face her and found her bright green eyes staring back at him.
"Well, I'm listening now. Say what you gotta say," he said. He watched her take a deep breath as she held his gaze.
She opened her mouth to speak, for only the smallest whimper to emerge. Suddenly, her breaths were shallow- coming fast. Her eyes widened before her mouth shut itself tight.
'Damn,' he thought.
But there he was again, staring at the same scared fifteen-year-old girl who had newly joined the X-Men. The same kid, with all her secrets, who desperately wanted someone to tell them to, but couldn't bring herself to speak. He never enjoyed smelling fear on her, witnessing it far too often. But here they were again- with her covered in the sickening stench.
"I-" she struggled. "Fuck," she yelled in frustration as she turned away from him.
"It's fine," he said.
"It's not-" she exclaimed. "When it's out in the open- when it's all out- you're gonna be so mad at me for not telling you myself- for not telling you sooner. You're gonna feel used and- lord- well within your rights, you're gonna be furious with me," she said.
"Rogue, it's fine," he said again.
"It's not-" she repeated, as she wiped the sides of her eyes. "I- fuck- why is this so hard?" she yelled as she crouched on the ground. "Jesus Christ, Anna-Marie, just fucking say it," she reprimanded herself.
"It's alright, you don't have to," he said as he walked closer to her.
"I need ta tell you this, Logan. I should've told you years ago," she said as he crouched down next to her.
"It's okay. You can tell me when you're ready," he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Shit," she yelled as she stood and broke away from him. He watched her take deep breaths, her arms hugging herself, her body shaking.
"Trauma is- it's difficult to talk about," he said.
"Don't I know it," she said before sighing. "But this ain't that- has nothing to do with what Mystique did to me. It's separate," she said before letting out another sigh. "Least, it's supposed to be separate," she yelled as she threw her hands up again. "But every damn time I try to talk about it- all this fear bubbles up and I remember that emptiness of having nothing- no memories- no personality- no nothing- just a damn shell of a person. Then I can't speak- I can't breathe- and I- Fuck," she yelled again. "After all the shit I've lived through, this, this bullshit gives me PTSD," she muttered, her tone exasperated with herself, her arms crossed over her chest.
"It's okay," he said again. "I don't know how many times you've tried telling me- whatever this is. You can't fake this kind of fear. I'm not gonna be mad at you," he said.
"It's fine if you are," she muttered. "I'll understand- I just- I hope you'll be able to forgive me," she said. "I really do," she whispered.
"There's nothing ta forgive, darling," he said, the endearment slipping out unintentionally. But as she turned to face him, with the smile that graced her face, he didn't regret it. Her arms fell to her side.
"I'm ain't a child, Logan. Yes, I am in a younger body. That is an undeniable fact. The same way you're in the body of a man in his prime," she said, gesturing towards him. "But both of us," she said, gesturing between the two of them- as she took a step closer to him, "are older than we appear. I ain't eighteen years old and I am so sorry for the all the times I went along with that. Please forgive me for lying to you and please believe what I'm telling ya now," she said- her bright green eyes staring up at him- pleading with him.
"Okay- alright-" he relented, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck. He let out a sigh as he met her gaze again. "So, how old are ya?" he asked.
"I'm seventy-nine," she answered.
"Years old?" he asked skeptically, as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Yeah," she said with a sad smile. "I was born in nineteen-eighty-two. I grew up. Got adopted by Mystique. Grew up some more. Lived through a lotta shit, a lifetime's worth of memories," she said.
His eye darted to her foot, which was now tapping against the ground. Usually, that led to her breaking down. She quickly closed her eyes as her hands took hold of the hem of her shirt.
'That's okay, darlin, you just pretend I ain't here and say what ya gotta say,' he thought to himself.
"Then some other stuff happened and I- I made a choice to start over again," she blurted.
'Start over? She must mean moving to in Bayville,' he thought.
"And then Mystique did," she said as tears formed in her eyes. "She did- she did what she did ta me- to cover up her crimes, to hide the memory of what she did ta my mother," she said as he watched tears freely flow down her face.
'Wait- that happened when she was- she was four. So, starting over from what?' he thought, confused. He didn't speak aloud- knowing his silence was the one thing keeping her talking.
"My powers manifested again," she said.
'Again?' he repeated to himself.
"And I got all my memories back," she said as she wiped the corners of her eyes and her face with the back of her gloved hand. "All of them and all of a sudden, I was a completely different person. Took months to convince myself, I wasn't crazy. That what I was remembering was real. And I knew I- I had to get away from Mystique and Irene. So, I escaped to Bayville and it took some time but I joined the X-men and you- you know the rest," she said, her eyes still closed, her body shaking again- fear radiating off of her.
"Starting over from where?" he asked.
"Twenty-forty-two," she said- her voice low.
"That an address or?" he asked.
"It's- My kids they- I lost my kids. So, we made a choice," she said.
"We? Rogue, what the hell are you talking about?" he asked.
"Time travel," she whispered. Her eye flashed open to look at him. "I'm talking about traveling through time. I've- I've done that," she said.
He just stared at her- not knowing what to say.
"My kids fell through a time vortex- like the one we sent Apoc-" she cut herself off as her attention turned away from him. "Brotherhood's here," she said, as he heard the front gate open. "Shit," she exclaimed. "The first thing Kurt's gonna wanna do is talk to Charles," she muttered as she lifted herself into the air.
Before he could utter another word, she was flying full speed toward the garage. He let out a low growl as he followed her on foot.
Wanda felt anxious as the Lance parked the jeep. T.J, was looking at up her with an expecting glance.
"Remember what we said," Wanda said. "Stay here and out of sight until we come back."
"Okay," she reluctantly said, as she ducked down in the back seat of the jeep. She and Kurt shared a glance as they go out of the jeep.
"We'll stay with the kid, while you two get the Professor," Lance reiterated from the driver's seat.
"We can handle babysitting," Freddy said.
"No doubt," Toad said.
"Thanks," Wanda said before she looked up. She found herself letting out an annoyed sigh as she saw Rogue flying into the garage. 'Great, just great,' she thought.
"Rogue, good," Kurt said as she landed in front of Kurt. "We have a situation. We need to get the Professor," he said.
"That is absolutely the last thing that needs to happen right now," Rogue said dryly.
"Rogue, really, we need to-" he said.
"Little brother," she said placing her hand on his shoulder. "I know you've been having one hell of an afternoon, but I'm gonna need you to trust me, okay?" she asked.
"But you don't know what's going on," he said.
"Here's the thing, sugar, I do, actually," she said.
"Cause you know everything, right?" Wanda asked, irritated.
"No, not everything, but enough," she said. "For starters, I know who's hiding in the jeep, right there," she said.
"But how?" Kurt asked.
"Is T.J okay? Did she come out of the vortex alright?" she asked.
"Yeah, yeah, she's okay," he said disjointedly as he and Wanda shared a look.
"Good," she said with a nod. "Kurt, upstairs, in Magneto's room, my bookbag's hanging off the chair by his desk. In the front pocket, you'll find your old image inducer. I fixed it up for T.J.," she said.
"But how did you know we need that?" Kurt asked.
"I promise, I'll explain, but I'm sorry- I-" she started to say before sighing. "One thing at a time, okay? We're on a bit of a time crunch. Can you please go pop up and grab it?" she asked.
"Yeah, yeah, okay," Kurt said. He turned to look at her. "I'll be right back," he said before he teleported away.
"T.J, you okay, princess?" Rogue called out. Wanda felt her eyes widen as Rogue said her daughter's name.
"Auntie, is that really you?" her daughter's voice perked up as she popped up from the back seat. Wanda watched Rogue's face light up, a bright grin appearing on her features.
"Taila Josephine Wanger, my beautiful niece," she said as she crouched down. "I've been waiting a long long time to see you again, princess," Rogue said as she held her arms open.
"Auntie Anna-Marie," the younger mutant cried as she jumped out of the jeep and into Rogue's open arms. "I was so scared," she cried.
"Shh," she hushed as she hugged the girl close to her. Wanda stared down at Rogue with wide eyes. "Everything's okay, sweetheart," she said.
"They asked me about the sentinel wars and the camps- but-but I don't know why that stuff happened. I was a baby," she cried.
"Oh, Taila, my sweet girl, that was never gonna be your burden," she said. Rogue's eyes popped open and locked with hers. "Never," she said strongly. "I promise, everything's gonna be okay," she said. Wanda staggered back, hitting into the jeep.
"Is Rogue a time traveler?" he heard Toad whisper from behind her. She turned to look at the boys still sitting in the jeep.
"Or is she messing with us too?" Freddy suggested.
"I don't know, but I've had about enough of this. I want some answers now," Lance said as he motioned for them to get out of the jeep.
Okay- so with my new job the workload and the commute- it seems like I'm going to be updating monthly. Hopefully, I can try for more chapters, but that's what seems feasible at the moment.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please consider letting me know your thoughts on the chapter. I can't tell you what seeing a new review does for my motivation. :)
Speaking of which!
AbraxasDane: Thank you! I hope you liked this chapter too! And yup- Rogue would punch Charles if she could- lol :)
Always Twight 7: Thank you! Again, I LOVED the fanart! Thank you so much! And I'm glad you're enjoying the interactions between Rogue and Pietro, they are fun to write! And the flashbacks are so much fun too! I'm glad you like them- more to come! And next chapter- more details about the brotherhood and the days of future past!
