Rogue sat in the garden. Crippling sadness had given way to rage, and rage mutated into confusion. Why did Apocalypse choose her, of all mutants? Had she been picked only for her powers or was her personality fundamental to his plans? Was it his plan? Or had he been just another tool? Her predecessor in some kind of cosmic plan to rid the Universe of humankind?
Boy, was that a crazy possibility. Not too crazy, though. Apparently, all the fancy crap they had found in the pyramids came from outer space. The ancient question if humanity was alone in the Universe was confirmed. They weren't. There was a much more advanced civilization out there, and it wanted them dead.
Rogue knew she should be terrified of that. Instead, it stirred the closest thing to a positive emotion she had felt in weeks. It provided a light at the end of the dark directionless tunnel Apocalypse had submerged her into. Perhaps her apathy had a point now; she was rebelling against the alien's transparent attempts to use her. She could train and become more powerful, study to find them and flip them off. Be a weapon to save humanity- in a deliciously ironic twist- if they ever came to Earth to check if their plan had worked...
A small explosion detonated, startling Rogue out of her thoughts. It took all of her self control not to slash Kurt's throat or shoot him with a searing eyebeam. That, it seemed, was the only thing left of the psyches' selves: their battle instincts. Wordless knowledge and experience burnt into her subconscious...
"Rogue! I found a way to save Mystique!" The boy announced excitedly.
He grabbed her hand. She phased it free without thinking. Kurt didn't seem to notice and he teleported away. Amused, Rogue considered porting into the mansion to increase his confusion once he returned to try and get her again. Kurt was back before she had enough time to make a decision.
"Stop popping in front of people." Rogue grumbled "It's annoying..."
Kurt looked rattled, but Rogue suspected it had nothing to do with her little stunt. He had come to her out of need. Evidently, this plan to help Mystique required her cooperation. And judging by the pleading look on the boy's face, her aid was fundamental.
A smile creeped into her face. Maybe this was life's way of compensating her: you will get used by everyone, but alas, you shall always be the one who laughs last….
"Rogue….Wanda helped me find somebody. Agatha Harkness." Kurt started to explain. "She taught her to control her powers after Mystique got her out of the madhouse, remember?"
He was babbling. Was her resentment of Mystique so transparent? Or were her crimes so terrible that hating her guts for it was a given even by those who had not been directly affected?
"Rogue…!" She blinked. Kurt looked heart-broken, as if she had already denied his request. His hands were on her shoulders. He was close...Too close. Fuck, what did he say she had to do? "..she's our mother…"
That, she was. Despite it all, Mystique had indeed housed her when no-one else would. She fed her, clothed her, taught her what a child needed to know. It was something Apocalypse had forced her to acknowledge. Things Rogue had forced herself to ignore. Things that made it hard to look at her as something other than a cruel psychopath. Things that made Mystique...her momma.
"What do Ah have to do again?"
Mystique's face was frozen in a mask of surprise and horror, her body standing stiff and twisted. It was an unsettling sight, so Kurt didn't want to interrupt as Rogue studied the living statue in silence. But as minutes crawled by, it became extremely difficult to remain tactful.
The whistling sound of his tail waving in the air made his ears twitch in discomfort. A hundred thoughts kept stumbling across his brain, so fast that he could barely acknowledge them before another took its place: we shouldn't be doing this in front of a cliff; we should have told the Professor about this; what if Agatha was lying…? Why did Rogue keep staring like that? What if she wasn't going to do it? What was she thinking? Was she angry? Sad? It looked like neither. It seemed her mind is miles away. That wasn't normal….
"Rogue….this is the right thing to do…" The words poured out of his mouth as he stepped forward, unable to endure the wait any longer. "If you don't do this, it'll haunt you for the rest of your life...Prove that you are not like her…"
That got a reaction. The dull eyes sparked briefly as they turned to fix on him. She smiled and Kurt felt a shiver ran up his spine. Rogue rarely ever smiled with honest mirth. Why was she doing it now?
"That's why you are doing this." She said. It wasn't meant to come out as an accusation, but Kurt recoiled nonetheless. She looked away, fixing her gaze back on the unblinking eyes of the statue. "To prove you aren't like her."
Kurt opened his mouth, but Rogue didn't care about what he had to say. It wasn't meant to open a debate. It had been a mere observation. No reason to be upset about it. Mystique had abandoned him to the mercy of strangers and never looked back. If not for the Professor and Magneto's cold war, they would have never met again. And once they did, what happened? She attacked him, attacked his mentor, his friends, destroyed his home, repeatedly tormented his sister.
It was natural to be afraid that, perhaps, her ruthlessness was as hereditary as the blue tint of their skin. Perhaps, at some point in his life, a heartbreak would turn him into a vindictive hateful mess. The terrors of the world may drive him mad. His heart may grow so uncaring that family and friends would only represent tools with which to shield his sorry hide from the shadowy horrors that would relentlessly haunt him….
Rogue started as something perched on her shoulder. She glanced at Kurt and immediately looked away. Couldn't he control his emotions a little better? Did he have to look so...pitiful?
"Is it?"
"..is it what…?"
"Is it so wrong to prove that we aren't like her?" He said. "And show her love and that we care even if she can only hurt us? Rogue...that's why you came here and you left the Brotherhood, don't you see it? You know she's wrong. And we can do better than her. That's what the Professor's teaching us: to do better than those who want to hurt us."
Rogue grimaced, feeling a pang of guilt. She had yearned to believe in the Professor's dream as honestly as the others did...but it never happened. There had always been that cynic little voice at the back of her head protesting against it. Ignored, it became louder with every passing month, just like the ghosts of absorbed victims.
And now, thanks to the knowledge she had acquired from Apocalypse, Rogue was finally able to recognize "the dream" for what it really was: fantasies of a man who found reality too painful to accept.
Magneto faced reality without flinching...and what did he have? A lonely existence ruled by paranoia and violence...A past, a present and a future of war.
So the Professor was selling nothing but a dream. She would indulge in it. And if she was lucky-if she fought hard enough for it- life would end before the dream died.
Kurt let out a breath as Rogue finally removed one of her gloves. There was another painfully long appreciation of Mystique's face before she finally placed her naked hand on the stone.
The stone turned into a greyish blue as it was seemly sipped by Rogue's hand. For a brief terrifying moment, Kurt thought the curse would pass from one to the other. But as quickly as his step-sister turned to stone, she reverted back to normal. And so did Mystique. They pulled apart from each other with a pained gasp, and the shapeshifter collapsed to her knees.
It took her a moment to gather her bearings. The last clear memory she had was of Mesmero….Apocalypse's tomb...the pillar….Then flashes of other events. Her son speaking to her, Toad...dancing…? Agatha's soft voice brushing her mind…Mystique raised her eyes to find her children looking down at her. They...had freed her….
Kurt had a guarded-almost hostile-look on his face. It softened as he turned to look at her side. Agatha….
"Thank you." He said.
Mystique struggled with her jumbled thoughts. Mesmero...Apocalypse. What happened? Did it work? Were they safe….? No. She was at Xavier's Institute and Rogue was standing in front of her. After that stunt with Mesmero, the girl was probably quite vexed. And if Kurt was also with her, then the rest of the X-men couldn't be far. Don't look around, play dumb. Look vulnerable…
"I...what I did…All that I did….!"
"Save it Mystique." Kurt said sharply.
He had expected nothing from Mystique-then why the sudden surge of anguish and anger? But was it too much to ask? To see some gratitude on those piercing eyes? Something resembling relief and love? Maybe regret…? He knew Mystique was a broken creature...but it hurt to see it. To stand before her and receive nothing but a calculating stare and babbled excuses…
"Come on, Rogue…It's time for dinner...They must be looking for us..."
"You go." She slipped away from his grasp. How the heck was she doing that?!
"Rogue...she can't help herself. Leave her ve…" He tried to grab her again. His hands phased right through her. "Vhat…?"
"We ain't gonna fight." Rogue assured him dispassionately. "And Ah made you a huge favor just now. Now you do one for me. Go."
"I….I'll come vack for you in ten minutes...okay?"
"Okay."
Kurt glanced at Mystique one last time before porting away.
Rogue studied Mystique. The woman had recovered fast from what others would think a very traumatic experience. Any trace of hesitation or trauma had melted from her face the second Kurt snapped at her. Her reptilian eyes were as sharp as ever. Neither Gambit's empathy nor the telepaths' powers or even Wolverine and Sabertooth's enhanced senses could give something back. She was a nothingness with a defined shape…
"...are you going to say something or am I supposed to start?" Mystique's dry voice snapped her back to attention.
Part of her wanted to kill her. She had the power. And probably enough to get away with it too. But it felt..childish to hold onto her hatred. In her own twisted way, Mystique was capable of love. And whereas Magneto was driven by hatred and trauma, and the Professor by his dream, fear mandated every step she took. And while these men thought of humanity and power and control, all Mystique wanted was to protect those very few that she felt something for. It was almost endearing in its simplicity…
The Mutant Hitler, the Dreamer and the Momma Bear.
"...Rogue…?"
"Go back to Irene, Mystique. And stay with her. You keep doing what you're doing….and it'll get you killed…" She smiled. "Maybe by me…"
Mystique felt the urge to mock and laugh. The absurdity of some child slurring a threat and expecting her to take it seriously...An impulse that died out as quickly as it sparked. Something was wrong. Rogue was a very passionate creature...so why wasn't she raging at her for what happened with Mesmero? Where was the hysterical questioning and plaintive recriminations?
All she was getting was a leveled stare, a soft-spoken threat, and an amused smile. She would, indeed, need to have a few words with Destiny….Urgently…
"Do call if blind momma says something important,...blue momma." With a mischievous wink, Rogue banished in a flash of light and a cloud of smoke.
Mystique was confused for an instant. Fury replaced it rather fast. Who told her?!
She whirled around to glare at Agatha. The old woman raised her hands in a placating gesture.
"Mystique. You know I have no reason to speak of personal matters with anyone…"
"Well, someone did!"
"That someone was not me….And you are welcomed, by the way."
Mystique sighed.
"Lets just get out of here before we overstay our welcome."