Chapter Ten: The Mutant Inside
And here's Chapter Ten! Rogue's not very happy with what she learned from Mystique's memories, as you'll quickly notice.
And Happy Easter Sunday! If you haven't, you should check out Rise of the Guardians, which I mentioned a few chapters ago. It's one of DreamWorks' most underrated movies, and has Hugh Jackman as the voice of the Easter Bunny! What more do you need? And also Chris Pine as the voice of Jack Frost (I mention this because both the character and the actor each have a large fanbase).
0001234: Thanks! I know, after The Last Jedi (which I wasn't too bothered by), we all deserve to be a bit skeptical. But J.J. Abrams is returning to direct, so that should be a good sign, right? And yes, Lando is back! I'm anxious to see how Leia will be involved this time around; they're gonna use never-before-seen footage of Carrie Fisher from both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.
thewriternextdoo: Thanks! Yes, even in the original version, Rogue should've comforted Bobby after the tussle at his parents' house. I mean, wasn't she supposed to be his girlfriend? It's kinda sad that Rogue can only comfort him when she's just his friend (aka, when I write her character). I guess it's a sign that they weren't a great couple to begin with, but that's just me.
Bing-a-Ling27: Thanks! Unfortunately, since the X-Men are going on a mission, and Wolverine sets off on his own, we won't be seeing couple moments for a while. But we will see Scott again soon!
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.
The next morning, the mutants took the Jet to Alkali Lake. While up in the air, Bobby and Rogue stood together admiring uniforms on display.
"Why don't we get uniforms?" Rogue asked.
"Yeah, where's ours?" Bobby agreed. Both he and Rogue were still wearing the blue X jackets, but John hadn't bothered with one for himself.
"They're on order," answered Wolverine, zipping up his own. "Should arrive in a few years."
Rogue heard chuckling, so she turned around to glare at Magneto and Mystique.
"We love what you've done with your hair," said Magneto cheekily.
Gritting her teeth, Rogue practically ripped off her gloves and ran at them.
"Hey, hey!" Bobby stopped her. "Come on. Let's go."
"No, if they've got something to say, let's hear it!" Rogue snapped. After learning the truth from Mystique's memories, she was very angry with the shape-shifter. And of course, she was still pissed at Magneto, his blatant crack at her hair taunting her breaking point.
Everyone tensed when they saw her eyes glow bright red.
"Rogue!" Bobby pulled her to the side. "They just want to get a rise out of you. And the Jet already got damaged once."
Still seething, Rogue reluctantly calmed down and let Bobby lead her away. She sent one last glare at Mystique, who silently laughed, and her inner Logan briefly took over to give the middle finger before she went with Bobby. She missed the shape-shifter rolling her eyes.
John, who was fiddling with his lighter once again, snuck a glance at Magneto. "So," he said, "they say you're the bad guy."
Magneto slowly turned his head. "Is that what they say?"
John just nodded. He looked at his helmet, which he had placed beside him.
"That's a dorky-looking helmet," he noted. "What's it for?"
This time, both Magneto and Mystique looked at him.
"This 'dorky-looking' helmet is the only thing that's gonna protect me from the real bad guys," said Magneto. He held up his hand and John's lighter, which had a small flame lit, flew over to him. "What's your name?"
"John," the young man said a bit nervously, keeping his eye on his lighter. Magneto looked at him again.
"What's your real name, John?" he asked him.
John realized what he meant. "Pyro," he answered, pulling the flame into his hand.
Magneto watched the flame in admiration. "Quite a talent you have there, Pyro."
"I can only manipulate the fire," said John bitterly, putting out the flame. "I can't create it."
But Magneto shook his head. "You are a god among insects. Never let anyone tell you different." He closed the lighter and handed it back to him, without using his powers.
While this was going on, Rogue had been quietly ranting to Bobby.
"Who do they think they are, mocking my hair when they're responsible for the way it is now?" she griped.
"I thought you liked it like this," said Bobby, frowning. He, like many others at the mansion, liked the white streaks in her hair.
"I love my hair, Bobby," she snapped. "But these people are evil, and good-for-nothing liars."
Bobby just stared at her. "Did something happen between you and Mystique last night?"
Rogue sighed. "Bobby...she's my mother."
Bobby sat back, his eyes wide.
"She's also Kurt's mother," she went on. "Technically, she adopted me, but she didn't want to get too attached, so she left me with the D'Ancantos, my real parents. Before my powers came, they loved me like parents should. And what did Mystique do? Use your appearance to drive me away so I could fall into Magneto's hands! Mother of the Year right there!"
Not only were her eyes glowing again, but the whole Jet was shaking. Jean and Wolverine quickly saw that she was responsible, and the latter ran over to her.
"Hey, kid!" he said, grasping her shoulders. "Calm down, will ya? Or do you want a repeat of our last joyride?"
Realizing what she was doing, Rogue took a deep breath, and her eyes stopped glowing while the Jet steadied.
"What the hell was that?" Wolverine demanded, though he looked concerned.
Rogue shook her head. She was oddly calm now. "Just letting my frustration out, Logan. On the bright side, it looks like I'm getting Magneto's powers under control now."
And she got up to move to a seat closer to Kurt's, leaving Bobby and Wolverine bewildered. They watched as they whispered something to each other before Kurt began rubbing her shoulders, while briefly staring at Mystique.
(AN: for this scene, imagine that Rogue and Pyro swapped seats; Rogue is now behind/next to Nightcrawler)
Eventually, the Jet was landed on Alkali Lake. The mutants stayed inside to come up with a plan.
"All right, this is a topographic map of the dam," Storm told everyone else, gesturing to said map. "This is the spillway. You see these density changes in the terrain? They're tire tracks."
"That's the entrance," Wolverine pointed out as Storm changed the images accordingly.
"Mm-hmm," she agreed. "And this shows the depth of the ice that's covering the ground. Now, this is recent water activity."
"If we go in there, Stryker could flood the spillway," said Jean.
"Can you teleport inside?" Storm asked Nightcrawler, who shook his head.
"No," he said. "I have to be able to see where I'm going, otherwise I could wind up inside a wall."
Mystique, who was standing behind Magneto, watched Rogue give Nightcrawler a concerned look. She knew that the younger woman told him all about what she discovered, and that they got a bit closer. Good for them, but she had no time for her children anymore.
Wolverine just stood there, listening and thinking. "I'll go," he then said. "I have a hunch he'll want me alive."
"Wolverine," said Magneto sharply, walking through the map towards him, "whoever goes into the dam needs to be able to operate the spillway mechanism." He smirked. "What do you intend to do? Scratch it with your claws?"
Wolverine glared at him. "I'll take my chances."
Magneto stopped smirking, looking serious. "But I won't." He turned to face Mystique, and the X-Men immediately knew what he planned to do.
"I'm in," Mystique's voice spoke through the com link.
Wolverine looked impressed. "She's good," he said.
Magneto stood beside him. "You have no idea."
Mystique had entered the dam disguised as Logan, calling for Stryker. Once she was apprehended, Stryker quickly realized that she was fooling them and ordered his men to open fire, but she was too quick for them. Now she was in the control room.
Phase One of their plan was complete.
And there's Chapter Ten! Looks like Rogue's getting other mutants' powers under control. Don't worry, soon she'll have her own powers under full control, too.
Also, I'm still not entirely sure whether or not Mr. and Mrs. D'Ancanto were her birth parents, but either way, I believe they were a happy family before her powers manifested. And Rogue's obviously a bit steamed after seeing Mystique's memories, so she would naturally consider the D'Ancantos to be much better parents than her.