I open the door and step inside, cringing as Rogue glares at me.
"What part of don't be late do you not understand?" she says icily, walking towards me.
"Sorry," I mumble, staring at the ground. "It won't happen again."
"What was that? I can't hear you," she says, hands on hips.
"I'm sorry, it won't happen again," I say, still facing the ground.
"Just a little louder," she says.
"I'm sorry!" I yell.
"Ah, there we go," she says. "Gloves off, now."
I peel off my gloves and lay them on the table next to hers and turn to her. She looks at me closely, and I sigh.
"There's something different about you," she says. "What's bothering you?"
"Nothing's bothering me," I say, not quite meeting her eye.
"Look me in the eye and tell me that nothing's wrong," she says sharply.
"Alright, let me rephrase that then. Nothing's bothering me, I'm just a little sentimental right now," I say a little angrily, arms crossed.
"Don't you sass with me," she says, stepping closer. "What's with the sentimental streak?"
I sigh again. "I saw my house last night. Morgan showed me."
"Is that worrying, or…"
"No, I just hadn't seen it in a while. Can we just get on with this?"
She raises an eyebrow but doesn't comment on it. "Let's get started then," she says.
We do our regular training for the entire session, and by the end I'm quivering even though we've stopped. Whether out of fear or my body being drained, I don't know.
"Darcy, there's something I need to do, and I can guarantee that you won't like it," she says, taking a step towards me. She almost looks scared herself.
"If you need to do it, then do it," I say, stepping towards her.
"Darcy, I need to use my power on you," she admits. "I don't like it either, but you're not improving and I need to find out why."
"W-will it hurt?" I ask timidly, but without moving from my spot.
"Yes," she says sadly, taking another step towards me. "If it's any consolation, it'll hurt me, too. I need you to relax. Just stay still and it'll all be over soon."
I stand frozen, unable to move as she stops right in front of me, her hand raised but not quite touching me.
"I'm sorry, but I have to," she says, moving her hand closer.
She gently places her hand on my cheek and at first I don't feel anything, but then I feel a tingling, and then the side of my face goes numb. It starts stinging then, and my mouth opens slightly in a gasp. I want to pull back, but know I shouldn't, and she looks at me apologetically. The edge of my vision is going black, and I can't find my balance. She lets go just before my legs give way and catches me before I fall. She sits me down in the chair in the corner and kneels next to me.
"Don't you pass out on me now," she warns.
"Wasn't planning on it," I say weakly, looking at her as angrily as I can manage.
"Ooh, terrifying," she mutters. "It wasn't exactly a walk in the park for me, either."
"What was the point of that, anyway?"
"I've got a bit of you inside my head now, and I need to try and find out what's stopping you from going further," she says, rubbing her temple.
"Does it hurt you to do that?" I ask, genuinely this time.
"Well your skin will cause me pain anyway, but it doesn't hurt so much. It's just the feeling of having too much inside me, too many people. I've nearly killed Logan twice, and Magneto nearly killed me."
"What?"
"I spooked Logan, and needed his power or I would have died, and after Magneto tried to kill me, Logan nearly killed himself trying to keep me alive."
"Who's Magneto, and what did he do to you?"
"The man that built this place, Charles Xavier, used to be his friend. They had similar goals, but had different plans of reaching them, and so they broke apart. Did you hear about the mutant registration act?" I nod. "Well, Magneto built a machine that would mutate the cells of anybody in its range, turning them into one of us. He set it up on the Statue of Liberty so he could attack all the politicians on Ellis Island. Only problem was, it needed a powerful mutant to power it, and he couldn't because it would kill him. So he kidnapped me after I ran away and transferred his powers to me so I could power the machine. He can control metal, and he's incredibly powerful. It did kill me, but Logan brought me back. He transferred his powers to me and wouldn't let go. That's why I've got the white in my hair. From the machine."
"What's Logan's power? Surely he just has claws?"
"Regenerative healing," she explains. "I saw him get shot in the head and he woke up a few minutes later."
"So what happens to you when you absorb someone?" I ask, leaning forward a little.
"This," she says, stretching out her hand. She touches her fingertips to mine and I gasp as I get an electric shock. "I've absorbed your powers and your energy, that's why you feel tired now. And, I have some of your thoughts and memories. I'm no telepath, but I might be able to figure out why you can't improve."
"What if you can't?" I ask. "I'm not doubting you, but what if you can't?"
"Then I'll have to try something else. Our time's up, go."
I slowly stand up, making sure I'm alright first, before getting my gloves off the table and pulling them on, fixing the sleeves of my jacket over them. Rogue still looks a little pale and I'm a little worried about her, but I probably shouldn't be.
"Are you alright?" she asks me just before I open the door.
"A little drained," I admit, shrugging my shoulders.
"Yeah, that tends to happen. Here," she says, pulling something out of her pocket and tossing it to me. I catch it and look at it and smile to myself. "You'll feel better, I promise," she says. "I didn't want to do that, and I know you didn't, either. But trust me, the chocolate helps. It helps with everything. And get some sleep."
"Alright," I say, opening the door and stepping out. "Hey, Rogue," I say, taking a step back inside.
"Yeah, kid?"
"Thanks."
She looks a little confused, but smiles. "That's alright."
I slowly make my way back upstairs and lay down on my bed as soon as I get back up to my room, not even looking at Morgan.
"What's up with you?" she asks.
"Feeling a bit drained," I mumble.
"We've got to go down to dinner soon," she says. "You reckon you'll make it that far?"
"I'll try," I yawn.
"We were going to watch movies for a bit after dinner," she says. "You don't have to if you're too tired."
"Honestly, Morgan, I'd love to, but I'm just too tired."
"Come on then, we'll go down to dinner."
"I don't think I'll make it past the stairs," I admit, rolling over to face her.
"Oh yes you will," she says, standing up and pulling me from the bed. I don't resist, and she manages to get me on my feet. "You've put on weight, that's good. You were a stick before, so this is good. Come on, down to dinner now."
"I'll fall down the stairs," I say.
"No you won't, I'll carry you down if I have to. If there's one thing everyone agrees on, it's that I'm as stubborn as a donkey. If I want to move you, I will, and that's that," she snaps.
"Yes ma'am," I say respectfully.
"Come on, I'll help you up," she says, practically dragging me out of the room.
Like she says, she does manage to get me down to dinner, and she helps me into my seat like I'm a cripple.
"What's up with you?" Jessie asks as she slides in next to me, stopping a couple of inches before she runs into me.
"Just tired," I say, punctuating my words with a well-timed yawn.
"Training with Rogue?" Bec asks, joining in the conversation.
"Yeah, we did something a bit different this time, and it really took it all out of me," I say, almost snapping for no reason.
We eat quickly, and I swallow my food without tasting it. The others all go off to Jessie and Bec's room for movies, but I go back to my own, with Morgan following nearly silently behind me.
"I'll be fine," I tell her as I open the door, not looking at her while I say it.
"Alright," she concedes. "Just don't collapse or anything."
"I'll be fine," I repeat, louder this time.
She doesn't reply, and I don't turn to look at her, but I can hear her feet shuffling away from me. I don't know what's wrong with me tonight; I'm having crazy mood swings and I can't focus. I shut the door behind me as I stumble to my bed, but I don't change out of my training gear. Instead, I sit and cry, hot tears snaking down my cheeks that I know are red. I hear a knock at the door and freeze, praying that it isn't Morgan again. If it is, I think I might lose it. I hastily wipe the tears from my cheeks as the doorknob turns, and the person behind it is someone I want to see even less than Morgan.
"How are you feeling?" Rogue asks, never moving from the doorway, the light from outside capturing her silhouette.
"Fine," I say a little acidly. My mind doesn't seem like my own, and I wonder if it has anything to do with what Rogue did to me. I know I get bitchy when I'm tired, but I can't help it.
"Hey, cool it, missy," she says, bringing back her training self.
"No, I won't," I say, standing up from the bed quickly, my head spinning in complaint.
"Calm down, Darcy," she snaps, hands on hips like she always does when she's annoyed with me.
"You can't tell me what to do," I yell, yanking my jacket from the back of my chair without really knowing why. "Sure, you've got a bit of me inside your head, but you don't know me."
"Darcy, don't do anything stupid," she says as I shove past her into the hallway.
"I'll do what I want, and you won't stop me," I say coldly, turning my back on her.
She doesn't try to stop me, or talk me out of whatever I'm doing, and she doesn't follow me. I don't meet anyone all through the mansion, and open and shut the door as silently as I can. I pull my jacket around my shoulders tightly and jam my hands in the pockets. The night air is cold, and my jacket is only thin, and leggings aren't that warm. The gates are shut, but I'm still skinny enough to fit between the iron bars and out into the street. I walk, head down and hands in pockets, through the streets in the dark, lit by dim street lights. I hear a moan coming from a side street, and know I shouldn't go in, but the moan is louder this time, and I can't help myself. I go in, and hear the moans again, sounds of pain and anguish. I panic when I see the dead end and hear rustling, and the sound of footsteps coming towards me. I can see a hand, stretching out of the darkness about a metre away from me, and start to back up a little.
"Please, don't leave me here," a frail woman's voice says from the darkness. I keep backing up, but she stumbles out of the darkness, a hand clutched over her eye. She's reasonably old, with frizzy hair and a worn face. "They did this to me and left me alone."
"Who?" I ask, hesitantly taking a step back towards her. "Who did this to you?"
The moment I can't move my body, I know I'm in trouble. "I did," a cold voice says from behind me.
My body lifts off the ground and I twist a couple of inches off the ground to face another woman. She's younger, with long, dark hair and piercing blue eyes that cut through the darkness and bore into me. She has her hand outstretched, and I know she's doing this to me. She walks around me and stands next to the old woman, and I turn around as she walks. The old woman smiles, a hard, cruel smile, and moves her hand from her face, and there's nothing wrong. I can't believe how stupid I've been, but I don't cry out for help. As I watch, the old woman morphs, her body changing into that of a blue woman, with short red hair, her yellow eyes glinting in the light.
"What do you want me to do?" the woman holding me in the air asks the blue woman.
"Against the wall," she hisses in reply. "Hold her there."
I feel my body being tossed through the air, slamming into the brick wall and pushing all air from my lungs. A black van appears silently in the mouth of the alley, back doors open, blocking my view of the street. Both women stand in front of me, and I'm just below their eye level, and I shudder.
"What's your name?" the blue woman hisses, her face only centimetres from mine. When I don't answer, she nods to the other woman, and I feel something tightening around my throat. I can't move my hands or any part of my body for that matter, and I struggle against the invisible bonds, but it does nothing except tire me. "I'll ask you again," the blue woman snarls. "What's your name?"
"Darcy," I gasp. "My name's Darcy, please."
"Kate," the blue woman says apathetically, glancing back at the woman holding me there. I take a deep, shuddering breath as soon as she releases the pressure on my throat. "Now, you're from Xavier's, aren't you?"
"Yes," I say, my eyes flitting from Kate to the blue woman and back again.
"How long have you been there?" the blue woman asks.
"A-a couple of weeks," I say nervously.
"Hmmm," she muses, reaching towards my face. I can't flinch away, but somehow Kate stops her.
"I wouldn't touch her if I were you, Mystique," she warns, glancing down at me. More specifically at my gloves. "I don't think it's safe to do that. Just give me a second." She keeps one hand facing me, and the other she holds out to the van, and I see something dark fly through the air and into her hand. She brings me towards her and I hear a click. I don't know what she has, but it's floating towards me, and it looks like a dark grey ring. I can't move at all, so when the ring floats towards me, the catch at the back open, I can't do anything.
I feel it snap closed around my neck, and a little orange light at the front lights up, and Kate and Mystique smile. Kate reaches one hand out towards my face and I try and increase my power, but it just won't work. I know I could do it even before I started training with Rogue, so I have no idea why I can't do it now. I feel her hand on my face and almost scream as nothing happens. My power was the one thing I was counting on to protect me, and I don't even have that now. She sends me flying back into the wall and Mystique takes up her former position.
"Now," she says with a malicious smirk. "You've been at Xavier's for a couple of weeks. If I'm not mistaken, you spent a fair bit of time in the infirmary with that doctor girl, didn't you?" I notice Kate watching me closely at that question, almost like she really wants to know the answer.
Mystique slaps me when I don't answer, and hard at that. "Yes," I gasp, my head reeling from the impact.
"Excellent. Kate, put her in the back," she says, striding towards the van.
The last thing I remember is Kate using her power to retrieve a straitjacket from the back of the van and put it on me, and her fist connecting with my jaw.
