Chapter Fifty-Three
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Charles Xavier sat in the desert just outside the X-Jet. He wore Cerebro upon his head as he attempted to make Apocalypse see reason. It was slowly dawning on him that it was not going well.
"The human race does not need your help," Charles projected, continuing their telepathic exchange.
Charles watched a smirk form on Apocalypse's face as he felt a shiver run down his spine. This wasn't working. Why had he thought this was a good idea? He just wanted to speak with Apocalypse- talk- come to some kind of understanding. There was so much life at stake- why didn't Apocalypse see that?
"Since when had mankind ever known what it needs," he retorted. This was never going to work. He had been a fool to try.
"You have to know, that somehow, you will be stopped," he said.
"What I know is," Apocalypse said as he felt Cerebro fly from his head- his powers' amplification cut off abruptly. "It will not be by you," he said. He felt his breath catch in his chest as Apocalypse lifted him into the air.
"Leave him alone," Storm yelled as the sky filled with lightning.
'No,' he thought distressed. She should have fled while she had the chance. He had told her to leave. He hasn't meant for this-
He felt his body being engulfed in energy. His and Ororo's screams filled the air before he felt himself black out.
Charles' eyes flashed open- as he felt-not himself. He willed his body to move but it would not listen. He felt paralyzed. He was used to this, but only with his legs. His entire body, however- panic was creeping up on him as he tried to think of some course of action. What could he do?
His senses, of course.
He glanced around as far as his position allowed. He was within some sort of black box. He felt something on his skin, his head, and his hands. He managed to look down at his hand, out of the corner of his eye and saw circuits and wires. Perhaps this was why he couldn't move-
Was he? Yes, he was standing within the box. Or floating perhaps- he couldn't be sure. He glanced outside into the dimly lit room. He could make out hues of brown and grey- he saw sand upon the ground. He was underground?- No, he realized he must be within the pyramid.
Charles felt his throat tighten as Apocalypse walked into his line of sight. The terrifying mutant stopped in front of him. Fear reigned freely in his mind as Apocalypse's figure loomed over him.
"Xavier, come with me," he commanded.
Charles felt his eyes widen as his body betrayed him-bending to Apocalypse's will.
He watched Apocalypse study him with a curious expression before he glanced down at the device on his wrist. He listened to him let out an amused huff before he used his free hand to change the dome sort of setting.
Charles felt his throat relax as his mind went blank.
"Come, I have a task for you," he said before turning his back.
"Yes, Lord Apocalypse," he responded in monotone, following him through the chamber.
"Magneto, come, remove your helmet," he ordered as he saw Magneto emerge from a black obelisk. His old friend stepped forward as he did as he was commanded. "Xavier," he said turning to look down at him. "Hidden within Magneto's mind is the location of a mutant- her name is Moria Kinross. Search his mind and find those coordinates. Now."
"Yes, my lord," he replied as he stepped in front of Magneto. Lifting his hands- he placed them on Magneto's temples and began his search.
Magneto's conscience mind was easy to locate but he sensed something buried deeper. It was a second consciousness- both belonged to Magneto. Curious, this must be the hidden memories his master had spoken of.
He could have merged the consciousnesses together, but those weren't his master's instructions. He only needed to draw the hidden consciousness to the forefront of Magneto's mind to gain access to the memories within.
Charles flew into the second consciousness. Unsure where to search, he pulled at random memories to gain context:
Magneto stood within a mutant protest. He saw signs with anti-Mutant slogans as the crowd chanted "Mutants go home." He felt Magneto's anger and frustration as he asked himself what was the right course of action. If attacking these ignorant humans would help or only make things worse for his fellow mutants. He had chosen to do nothing in that instance.
Charles delved further into his mind- and saw Magneto teaching at his school. Magneto felt pride in the progress the New Mutants had made. Still, it was all fun and games for these children. He feared the day they would have to defend themselves against an actual threat. Magneto silently prayed that day would never come as he kept the smile present on his face for the benefit of those he taught.
Charles pulled at another memory- years after the one he had just viewed- pausing as he saw Jean. Magneto had been flying in space as he hurried towards the debris of the space shuttle. Eager to save any poor soul within its wreckage. Suddenly, the shuttle broke apart and he saw Jean Grey. She cried out in pain as fire emerged from her body, engulfing her into a very particular shape- that of a bird. He pulled back- he had recalled tales of this being- he was in the presence of the Phoenix. There was little he could do to save Miss Grey- but he could warn Charles of the danger to come.
He had to return to Avalon, immediately and only hope that the Phoenix did not follow.
Curiosity got the better of Charles, as he skipped forward only a few memories: Magneto stood with Charles as he assembled his X-Men to battle the Phoenix: Beast, X-23, Iceman, Colossus, Shadowcat, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, and Storm. He was especially pleased to see Rogue. It seemed she had recovered from her ordeal in the Savage Lands, even retaining Miss Marvel's abilities after her consciousness had been released from her mind. He smiled at her but only found a cold expression meeting his.
He had left her rather abruptly- perhaps he shouldn't be surprised. He may as well leave well enough alone.
Charles skipped forward a few more memories; Magneto had recalled how Charles had thought it best to contact Shield as well. He saw the Brotherhood- no- no they were the Freedom Force now.
Magneto felt a twinge of pain in his chest, as he looked at his children. How they had grown, how he missed them. How Shield had stolen them from him.
He shook his head and push down the sting of failure- there was work to be done. Another crisis to solve. The Phoenix was a threat to them all.
Clearly, Charles was searching in the wrong part of his mind. He pulled back slightly and skipped forward several years- he felt fear and pulled up a memory.
Magneto was standing beneath an onslaught of Sentinels. Magneto debated making a stand, attempting to fight Nimrod here and now.
"Max," he heard Rogue call out from somewhere behind him. "What are you doing? We gotta go, now," she ordered.
He shook his head at his own folly and did his best to push back his fear. They had the children with them- all of the children from the Institute. Now was not the time for heroics. They needed to flee before the Sentinels rounded them up and put them gods know where.
Charles pulled back from the memories, had he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"What is taking so long?" Apocalypse asked.
"Magneto has a great many memories, my Lord. Two lifetime's worth," he said.
"Yes, I know. What you are searching for would have occurred about fourteen years ago," he said.
"Oh," he replied. He had been searching in the wrong place entirely. "Right away, my Lord," he said before he delved back into Magneto's mind. He pulled up his memories from the year in question, nineteen-eighty-nine, and surveyed them-
There, he had found it.
He saw Moira standing in one of Magneto's metal dome bases as she looked upon a chamber of some kind. There was machinery hooked up to some sort of generator which was powering the chamber.
"Are you certain this is safe?" Moria asked.
"Yes, quite certain," Magneto responded. "This chamber will keep you young for as long as you rest within it. The generator is solar powered. I needn't be here for it to continue functioning. However, I will check on you every six months or so," he said as he took in her nervous demeanor. "Are you certain you wish to do this? You can still walk away. I won't take offense," he said.
"No, no, I need to do this. If you do what we've discussed," she said.
"I assure you, no one in Bayville with die in battle, mutant or human.
"And the mutant emergence?" she asked.
"Will be handled as you dictated. I will use the Sentient Project to reveal our kind to the world. Charles won't be happy to have his X-Men used in such a way. Are you certain we can't involve him?" he asked.
"Charles will be dealing with some... rather personal issues. It'll cloud his judgment and he won't- he won't be able to help in the way you can. I've played it back in my mind so many times- I know this is the right course of action," she said.
"And you have my word. I will prevent the genocide you saw in your visions," he promised. He watched Moria let out a breath in relief.
"Then I won't be needed. Not till the twenty-tens. That's when everything could go wrong, but I can't be an old woman- not when it actually matters," she said.
"Then, by all means, Moria," he said gesturing to the chamber.
"Thank you," she said. He gave her an earnest nod as he watched her step within the chamber.
Charles pulled out of Magneto's mind with the information Apocalypse had requested. He turned to his master and telepathically relayed the coordinates.
"Both of you return to the obelisks until you are summoned," he commanded. Magneto immediately acted upon the command. As Charles obeyed he saw Apocalypse pull up his wrist and say "Sinister, I have a task that requires your immediate and undivided attention," he said.
"Certainly, Lord Apocalypse," a man's voice replied, his tone was relaxed.
"Moria Kinross rests within a cryo-chamber at the location I am sending you now. Go, retrieve her," he ordered.
"And what would you have me do with her, Lord Apocalypse? Awaken her, perhaps? To serve you once more?" the voice asked.
"No, keep her in stasis. What I need are her powers. You are to synthesize them. This is to be your only priority," he ordered. There was a pause. "Is that understood?" Apocalypse asked.
"But the boy I've created. He is a marvel crafted from two of the most fascinating sets of DNA. Lord Apocalypse, if you could see the potential in my work-" he protested.
"Essex," he yelled, "I care little for your science experiments," he interrupted. "Kinross' powers are what matter and you will do as you have been told. Or you will nothing at all," he threatened.
"Yes, yes, of course, Lord Apocalypse," Sinister agreed instantly. "It will be done," he said.
Charles' eyes snapped open as he awoke in a cold sweat. With a trembling hand, he pulled out his handkerchief and wiped his head clean, thankful no one had noticed him. He took that moment to take in his surroundings. He was on the X-Jet. Logan was back at the helm, flying them home. Ororo was behind him. Magneto was strapped into the seat across from him.
In the background he could hear Rogue softy reading to a young girl he assumed was Lorna. He turned to see the young girl was slowly being lulled to sleep, her head resting against Rogue's side as she clung to her arm, a green fleece blanket covered her body.
It was rather endearing slight.
"Oh, Merlyn, he cried. Please come too. For this once, said a large and solemn tench beside his ear, I will come. But in future, you will have to go by yourself. Education is experience and the essence of experience is self-reliance," Rogue softly read.
"I wanna be a fish too, Mommy," Lorna yawned before Rogue let out a soft laugh.
"I think you'd be the cutest fish that there ever was," she whispered before she kissed the top of her forehead as a giggle escaped the young girl.
'How could the child possibly consider Rogue her mother? It makes no sense,' he thought perplexed. He quickly shook his head and dismissed the thought. Given his vision, he didn't have the luxury of focusing on Rogue's ever-increasingly odd behavior. That was a problem for another day.
'Ororo, Logan,' Charles called to his staff. 'I need to show you both something, urgently,' he said as he projected his thoughts into their minds.
'Give me a sec to put the jet on autopilot,' Logan responded as he heard Ororo unfasten her seatbelt. He watched her give Rogue a pleasant smile as she passed and within a minute she was sitting next to him.
"Are you feeling any better?" Ororo asked as she buckled into the new seat.
"Yes, the rest was much needed," he responded.
'Go ahead, Chuck,' Logan thought.
Charles let out a sigh as he pulled them out of the memory.
'You can see my concern,' Charles thought. 'I don't know it if that was merely a nightmare or an actual memory,' he said.
'That was quite vivid for a nightmare,' Ororo stated.
'I afraid, I have to agree. What I don't understand is, if this is a memory, why didn't Moria confide in me? Why did she go to Magneto?' Charles asked. 'Magnus told me about a mutant who could see into the future. A mutant who predicted the dangers to come in Bayville and how he heeded her warnings. But to think that mutant could have been Moria. At the very least, it would explain why he was so vague. No doubt, he knew how I would react. I would've demanded he awaken her immediately,' he thought.
'It seems Moria consented to this. She asked him for help,' Ororo pointed out.
'I know,' Charles thought frustrated before pausing. 'Logan, what do you think?' he asked. His mind was blank- which- Logan didn't know Moria- he couldn't expect him to have an opinion on that. He was, most likely, listening, taking in the facts.
'Give me a second,' he said- before he felt the other man's mind go blank again. He raised an eyebrow but soon realized what Logan was doing- he was intentionally keeping his mind clear of thoughts. It was surprising, but he was entitled to his privacy. 'Look, sorry, I- ah. Rogue and I had a fight earlier,' he thought as he let out a reluctance sigh.
'Oh,' he thought surprised as he and Ororo shared a glance. 'I'm sorry to hear you two aren't getting along. I thought I was the only one struggling with her… choices.'
'It's ah- it's more than that. But I-ah,' Logan thought as Charles once again felt him struggle to keep himself from thinking.
'Logan, it's alright. I won't ask you to break her confidence again. Would you like me to disconnect as you collect your thoughts?' he asked.
'Yeah, would ya?' he asked, he sounded relieved.
'Of course,' he replied.
Logan rubbed the back of his neck as he reflected on the flashback.
'Shit,' he thought. If he had had any doubts about Rogue's claims, those were thoroughly squashed. He had seen some of Magneto's memories for himself. He didn't understand all of them- but Rogue would answer his questions if he asked. He was mad at her- but. 'General Kinross,' Logan recalled. 'So, she's the one who released Apocalypse last time. One of his horsemen,' he thought.
'She wasn't an issue this time around. I made sure of that,' he recalled Rogue's words.
'Is that why Moria had Magneto put her to sleep? 'Cause Rogue made sure she wouldn't get in the way? But how could Rogue control what happened in nineteen-eight-nine when she was stuck with Mystique and Destiny under the effect of that spell?' he questioned.
Something wasn't making sense. More likely he was missing pieces of information. He could ask Rogue, but then she would know that Chuck remembered what Apocalypse had him extract from Magneto's mind.
'The real question is, why didn't Chuck know this a month ago? Why didn't he remember?' he asked himself.
'Why do all the men in my fucking life have ta have fucking amnesia?' he recalled Rogue saying as Logan felt his eyes widened. He held his forehead in the palm of his hand as he let out a grunt. 'It was never my intention to hide shit from Charles Xavier. He's too damn busy hiding from his own damn self. Same as you. At least, you're conscious of it, James,' he recalled her stating.
He let his head hit the headrest before his eyes snapped open.
'Shit,' he thought.
Logan took a deep breath as he decided what he wanted to do. He stood up and made eye contact with Rogue. He gestured with his head towards the back of the X-Jet. He watched her nod before she started to disentangle herself from a sleeping Lorna. The kid softly groaned at the loss of warmth, but Rogue swiftly pulled the blanket up over her shoulders as Lorna readjusted on the seat. She let out a soft yawn as she settled back to sleep.
"Logan?" Charles whispered.
"Give us a minute," he whispered. Charles held his gaze with a questioning expression. "Look," he whispered. "You didn't ask me to break Rogue's confidence and I ain't gonna break yours. But we were having a conversation earlier. I needed time to think, but- I can only have one conversation at a time, alright. I need a minute," he finished.
"Very well," Charles relented before he watched him and Ororo share a glance.
"Thanks," Logan said dryly before he followed Rogue into the back of X-Jet. He closed the sliding doors behind them, granting them some privacy.
"You alright with a shield being up?" she asked.
"Sure, go for it," he said before he watched some kind of magnetic shield cover them.
"It's soundproof. So, we can talk freely," she explained as she turned to face him. "What's up? I kinda thought you weren't talking to me," she said with her head cocked.
"I wasn't but, I got another question, alright," he said.
"And I have a completely honest answer for you. Regardless of how I think you'll react, it will be the truth," she promised. He nodded.
"Did you ever- Did you ever try telling Charles about any of this?" he asked. He watched her eyes light up with interest.
"Now the only reason you'd ask me that," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest, "is if you thought there was any chance Charles doesn't have access to all his memories," she said as she stepped up to him. He watched her study him. He could almost see the gears turning in her mind as she tried to guess why he was bringing this up. "Which he doesn't and yes, I did," she finally answered as she turned and took a few steps away from him.
"When?" he asked. She turned back to face a curious expression on her face.
"Charles had sent you and Jean to Texas to recruit Blob. Mystique was there too so-"
"It was your first chance to get away," he finished.
"Yeah," she nodded. "By then I knew Magneto had amnesia and I needed help," she said. "I went to Charles and my PTSD got in the way for the first time. I didn't know what was happening to me. Luckily, Charles has a Ph.D. in psychology. He figured it out pretty quick and diagnosed me. I couldn't talk so- I let him read my mind- which was a mistake," she explained.
"Why?" he asked.
"Something in my mind triggered his whole deal and hm- I had to kick him out. In an instant, I watched as he repressed most of our conversation. At least the crucial parts that gave him enough context to understand that I was telling the truth. He looked at me like I was insane. He thought I was insane and he said he had a place I'd be safe," she said bitterly. "He mentioned Wanda," she said as she gave him a look.
"Shit," he said.
"Yup," she said drawing out the word, her tone dry. "So, I ran. Once I got out of his line of sight, he just froze and then went back to what he was doing before I started talking to him. He didn't remember any of it," she said.
"Did you try again?" he asked.
"No," she said shaking her head. "Telling Charles the truth was significantly more dangerous than I thought it was gonna be. Plus factor in my PTSD. You know how long it took for me to tell you even a faction of the truth," she said.
"Yeah, I remember," he nodded.
"Thing is, I knew Charles has some issues last go around. But I was optimistic. With the world being more peaceful I thought, maybe he'd have it together this time. But he is so much worse than he was. I've never seen the repression this bad," she said.
"What's wrong with him? Who's doing this to him?" he asked.
"Good lord, I wish it was that simple," she exclaimed. "If this was a third party, I could do something about that but this is self-induced. Until he is consciously aware that there's a problem there ain't shit to do," she said.
"Okay- that's what I'm not getting. What's he doing? Did something happen to him?" he asked.
"No, this ain't about trauma. It's his feelings. He keeps repressing negative emotions. That's why Jean's the way she is. Every time he feared her powers he would instantly repress them, but Jean felt those emotions in real-time and they're affecting her. I have ta undo five fucking years' worth of ingrained emotional damage. It's gonna take time and patience. Both of which we, thankfully, have in abundance. Jean's gonna be fine," she said.
"Okay," he said with a nod. "Okay, so what happened to her last time?" he asked. "And I want details," he said pointing at her.
"Yeah, alright," she said as she held her hands up. "So, no one knew this was a problem," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest again. "And after the Phoenix awakened that only added fuel to the fire," she said. She paused a brief moment, as she brushed her hair behind her ear.
"So, what happened after that?" he asked.
"When we went to fight her. It-ah. Good Lord, everyone was there," she said as Logan recalled a glimpse of the vision Charles had shown him. "And the whole time Charles was saying how the Phoenix was a manifestation of Jean's insecurities," she said before rolling her eyes. "Magneto tried to explain to him that, no, the Phoenix Force is an actual cosmic fucking entity. And that, no, Jean was not insane. She just needed help, not to be beaten into submission," she exclaimed visibly upset. "Charles claimed that Magneto just wanted to use Jean's powers for himself. So, of course, he was buying into her delusions so he could turn her into a weapon. And we were X-Men, so who do you think we believe?" she asked.
He let out a low growl in response.
"During the fight, she managed to regain control but she had no confidence in herself. She was so afraid of hurting someone. She ended up taking herself out of the situation," she said vaguely.
"Wait, what does that mean?" he asked.
"Logan, she killed herself so Scott wouldn't have to," she said.
He felt his eyes widen as he staggered backward hitting the shield. He stung but he barely paid attention as he registered what Rogue had told him.
"As I said, she's gonna be fine. I'll make sure of that. But he cannot get in my way and he needs to stop causing her harm. Today."
"Yeah," he said as he nodded.
"But I recognize the fact that Charles needs help too," she said before sighing. "I just- I wish Moria was here. She's good at talking to him. Knows how to keep his mind on the present. Keep him centered," she said.
"Yeah, maybe," he said.
"Okay, I answered your questions," she said abruptly as she walked up to him again. "Now, it's time for you to answer mine," she said her hands moving to her hips. "Has Charles remembered anything else besides being Apocalypse's captive?" she asked.
"What?" he asked. "How?"
"Logan, come on. Once you asked when I knew Charles hadn't remembered any of our conversations. I mentioned the Phoenix Force and cosmic entities and you didn't bat a fucking eye. I said everyone showed up for the fight. You had no questions about who everyone included. I talked about Moria, someone you've never met before, and you knew exactly who I was talking about. Charles woke up, sweating and shaking like a leaf. It's obvious he remembered something and you made it obvious what. So, again I ask," she said.
"No, not that I know of," he said bitterly, interrupting her.
"Okay," she nodded. "Thanks," she said before turning her back to him. Logan's hands balled at his side.
"You realize shit like this is why I'm pissed at you, right?" he asked. He listened to Rogue let out a sigh.
"Do you realize that shit like this is what's gonna keep all of us alive?" she asked. "Be pissed at me all you want, Logan. That's your right," she said before she turned to face him again. "But protecting mutants, this planet, and my family is a duty that I will not forsake. I don't care who's uncomfortable. I don't care if anyone thinks I'm overstepping," she said.
"Maybe, you should start caring before you burn your bridges," he said.
"Is that where we're at, Logan?" she asked.
"I don't know," he grunted.
"Well, you let me know when you decide. I've gotta go deal with Charles' new-found-knowledge," she said dryly before she dropped the shield and left him standing there.
Okay, calling it here for now! Thank you for all for reading!
I decided to pull the trigger on another major plot point in this chapter! Please let me know your thoughts! Seriously, reviews motivate the hell out of me! I was sick and then had writer's block. Then I got 4 reviews in the span of a week and I started writing like crazy!
I also have a wedding and Father's Day this month- so- sorry it took so long. But either way, please let me know your thoughts! I can't tell you how helpful, motivating and appreciated it is!
Speaking of which:
Maryam memariii: THANK YOU! Okay, her hair color indicates who's care she's in. When she's with the Danes' or her mother, they try to hide her mutation (Green hair is a pretty big giveaway). When her hair is green she's on her own or with Rogue/Magneto. No longer hiding she's a mutant. More on this in the further! And thank you! I loved writing Taunting, back in the day, but it's been so long and this story, which was originally meant to be a palette cleanser, has taken on a life of its own and I don't how long it's going to take me to finish it. But I'm working on it, one plot point at a time!
AbraxasDane: THANK YOU! I also love that line. I love your whole review. Thank you so much! Yeah, I love Rogue's and Logan's relationship! And Lorna- I've been building up to this for so long! More to come in the future! And yes, LMAO, Poor Magneto really needs to stop passing out! So glad you enjoyed it and I hope you liked this chapter too!
Callmelily: THANK YOU! Really, thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! And I hope you liked this new chapter too! I post about once per month. So, it's going to be a wait for new chapters, but I have no intention of stopping this fic. Thank you, again!
Kirogue: THANK YOU! Yup, Logan is definitely angry. And yeah, her saying that totally was an attempt to temper his anger but it was also the truth. I think that's a line Rogue's been trying to straddle with Logan. She can't ignore her observation skills, she needs them, lives depend on them, but on the other hand, Logan has every right to be mad at her. So, she trying to tell him the absolute truth. Good or bad- the full truth. While also keeping true to her mission.
Kitty is just the best so, of course, she ended up being okay with it, but if she had been mad, Rogue would've recognized her right to be mad at her for the deceptions.
I'm so glad I'm keeping you on your toes and that you're enjoying it. I hope you liked this chapter too!
