Chapter Eleven
Rogue woke up in soft satin bed sheets. They were cool as she turned her head and refreshing. Rogue could sense a gentle morning light too as she started to awaken. It wasn't strong, but it was up lifting. She knew she couldn't be in her dark little cell with this soft light. Rogue wanted to know where this delightful light was coming from and slowly opened her eyes.
Rogue woke up to be in a creamy room. There were large windows that let in the light from the forest and she was in a queen sized bed. Rogue looked around, seeing that there were actually good furnishings around. There was a white sofa besides a fireplace and a bookshelve and wardrobes.
"Good morning." Rogue turned her head to the door to hear where that smooth deep voice came from. Magneto was stood in the door way looking at her as she slept.
"Morning." Rogue said sitting up and stretching. "Where am I?" Rogue asked, relooking around the room for clues.
"I had you moved to my room so I could keep an eye on you?" Rogue felt her calm relaxed mood dropped to an embarrised suprized one. Shyly she looked back at Magneto who was smiling light heartedly at her hand-in-the-cookie-jar face.
A thought came to Rogue's mind. "Why?" Rogue asked.
Magneto's smile dropped. "You fainted. There was no physical damage done to you; it was unnatural for you to pass out."
"Oh." Rogue said. She looked away from Magneto, feeling a little unsure of what to do, she got out of the bed and started making it.
"You don't have to make up the bed."
"It's fine." Rogue said. After having made the bed, Rogue stared at it. There was a silence where both just stared at the bed. Then Rogue started to blush.
"Is there something you would like to tell me Rogue?" Rogue went pale.
"Like what?" She asked.
"Those Nasty Boys, they went to a lot of trouble tracking down our base and waiting till you were on your own and further away from the base. Who is this man who wants you Rogue?"
Rogue throwned and looked back to the bed. "Oh come on Magneto. Even you could work that one out." Rogue snapped.
"I know and I already had. From the moment you told me, I knew. I just want you to say it. Want you to tell me." Rogue closed her eyes, tightly.
"Rogue." Magneto said gently, walking towards her. Rogue put her head down as if shamed. She still kept her eyes shut tight. "Rogue." Magneto said again, this time reaching out for her arms to turn her around. Rogue had wondered how she had gotten into wearing a long sleeved t-shirt, long enough to be a dress, but never questioned it. She could feel the heat of Magneto's body close against her own.
After a final deep breath in, Rogue opened her eyes and looked up to him. He saw her eyes sparkled with tears. "Yeah. I was the person who got captured. I'm the one who got experimented on by Sinister. Are you happy now?" Rogue demanded.
A tear slid from her eye and slowly down her check, Magneto moved his hands up to cup both of her checks and wiped the tear away. "That you have finally told me the truth about your past, yes. That you had to live through that man's torture and live knowing he is still alive, absolutly not. I promise you Rogue, if it's the last thing I do, I will take down Sinister and everything he stands for. He will not harm you ever again!"
That touched Rogue's heart more than he could possibly know. But she shuck her head. "Logan... The Wolverine" She corrected herself. "Once told me the same thing. That he'd be by my side and protect me no matter what. But he broke that promise. How do I know you won't too."
"Because," Magneto said, lifting her head again to look at him and holding it tighter. Not so tight that it would hurt, but enough to get her attention. "Rogue, we both know what it feels like to have to live through one of those camps. We both want those camps destroyed and the mutants inside freed. We both strive for the same thing, just as all the rest of the Brotherhood do. We all become one and we all take care of each other so we can deal with our problems."
"But what if you forget about me too?" Rogue said as another two tears fell down her checks.
"I have protection from him Rogue. This very room we stand in blocks him from our thoughts. I will wear my helmet whenever I leave and I will allow no opportunities for him to enter and alter my mind. I won't forget you Rogue. I'll always come and get you when you need me. If..." Rogue heart sunk. There was always a price to pay. Why didn't she learn this by now. "Only if you stay with me. Stay with the Brotherhood. Become apart of our family. Apart of our goal. Help us take down Sinister and his camps. Will you Rogue, side with the Brotherhood?"
Rogue was still for a moment, she knew he was doing it again. Using his mind games and persuading her through speech. She could try to fight it. She should know that he wasn't telling the truth. And she did. She knew all of these things, yet she still wanted to say yes. Why did she want to put herself in such a set up position for pain? She didn't know and at that moment she didn't care. She thought that she'd deal with the pain of betreyal later, but for now, she was his. "Yes." Her yes was a silent gasp of the word, but he heard it none the less.
They were so close together. Their lips inches apart. A thought came to Rogue's mind, one that didn't seem to be her own, but one which persuaded her with his thoughts. Rogue closed the gap and her eyes, reaching up on her tip toes and kissed Magneto on the lips. Magneto closed his eyes and enjoyed the fell of her soft lips rubbing against his. And then it was gone. He opened his eyes to Rogue's now open ones. Nothing had happened. Magneto hadn't been effected by Rogue's power. He could see Rogue getting smaller and smaller and felt her letting go of him. He didn't want her to go, so gripped her tightly and pulled her forwards, carefully making sure his lips landed on hers. At first it was just gentle stroking of the lips, and then they both began sucking the others lips, and soon their tongues meet in a deep passionate kiss. Rogue had lifted her arms up out of Magneto's grip and wrapped them around his neck. Magneto had dropped his hands to Rogue's waist, pulling her closer to him and lifting her hips up slightly. The feeling felt so good and everything else was simply forgotten about.
Until the phone rang. Magneto broke away first, placing his head against Rogue's. He didn't want to move away and wanted to kiss her again, but business called. He opened his eyes to view Rogue. "I need to answer that."
Rogue looked sightly annoid and upset, but slid her arms off his shoulders and nodded her head. Magneto slowly dropped her and let her go, then moved into the next room where he answered the phone.
Rogue looked around awkwardly, not sure what to do with herself now. Or how to act, or feel, or think. Rogue seemed to have lose her mind while she had been kissing Magneto. Rogue didn't know if she was ready to face Magneto or not yet, but she felt like a lost puppy without him. She moved to the door and watched Magneto in his office on the phone. She read his body language that leaned against his desk. From what Rogue could gather, something bad had happened. Gravelly, he put down the phone and rubbed his hand over his face.
"Magneto? What's wrong?" She asked quietly from where she stood.
Magneto turned to look at her out of the corner of his eye. Rogue saw his true emotion come through and saw that he was miserable and upset.
"Mystique... " He looked back down to the desk, needing both hands to support him now. "Your warning came just a little too late. I was too late to stop her... She's gone Rogue."
"Gone?" Rogue echoed.
Magneto nodded his head. Rogue felt the horrible truth drawn upon her. Although she hadn't known Mystique very long, she had still been her friend and like a mother figure to her. Taking care of her, teaching her and although she didn't know it, giving Rogue hope. Rogue felt as if she had just lost a life long friend. Both Magneto and Rogue felt that way. They stood in silence, mourning Mystique's death. "Couldn't... Are you sure?" Rogue asked Magneto through a broken voice.
He shuck his head, then rubbed harshly at his eyes. Rogue knew he was rubbing harshly at his eyes to stop the tears, but he still felt for his lost friend. His ex-lover. Rogue couldn't bare looking at Magneto anymore. It hurt too much. Mystique's mind and memories came to her as she had looked at him. As she did think of him.
"We both knew this would happen Erik. One day, we'd all die. We'd both die. But we'd die for a cause. A cause worth dieing for."
Magneto looked to Rogue, bewildered. He straightened up as he started to piece things together. "Rogue, did you absorb Mystique?"
Rogue stilled didn't meet his eyes. She was deep in her mind, facing Mystique's persona in her head. Rogue nodded her head. Rogue blinked hard then reopened her eyes, this time looking at Magneto. "I didn't want her to die..." Rogue looked away from Magneto again, not being able to look him in the eye. "I was only just getting to know her... She was starting to become my friend." Rogue couldn't help the tear that fell from her eye. "It fells like we have been friends for years... How did she die?" Rogue asked looking back up at Magneto.
Magneto looked down to the ground. "She had broke into Sinister's office, only they were waiting for her. Mystique put up a good fight, but in the end they'd beaten her too much. Mystique took the last bullet to the head rather than go through the torture they would put her through."
Rogue closed her eyes tightly and looked away from Magneto. "That's what I would have done. That's what I would have done if I had gotten the chance." Another tear escaped Rogue's eye.
Magneto walked over to Rogue and enwrapped her in a hug. Rogue opened up to Magneto and wept in his arms. Magneto in return squeezed Rogue tightly. So tight that she found it hard to breath. But she knew pain was his way of coping. Pain and anger. If she was right then after this he would throw stuff and break stuff, or kill people and give out commands. He would turn all his upset into anger and revenge and he would make sure that a plan was set. Rogue could deal with the pain, which was why she let him squeeze her so tight.
Soon Rogue stopped weeping and Magneto loosened his grip. He held her, resting his head on top of hers and she placed her head on his chest, listening to his heart. "We're gonna have to move camps, aren't we?"
"Yes." Said Magneto, gravelly.
"I think we should build a statue of Mystique here before we go. In honour of her memory. She deserves a least that."
Magneto pulled back from Rogue and looked her in the eye. "I believe that would be a very good idea."
Rogue nodded her head at Magneto's now even tone. She could feel him rebuilding himself and soon he would become very angry.
Rogue let him go and he stood tall. "Is there somewhere or something I should be doing now?" Rogue asked.
Magneto stuided her and then his eyes moved down to the collar around her neck. He reached up his hand to touch it. "The collar; do you know anything about it?"
Rogue attempted to look down at it, but couldn't see it. She raised her bare hand to the collar and ran her fingers across the familiar cold ring. Rogue's face fell. "Yeah. It's a power neglecter collar. It stops mutant's powers so it's easier for Sinister to contain his mutant prisoners."
Magneto placed his fingers under her chin, and raised her head to look at him. "You are no longer a prisoner of his. And never shall be again. Remember that Rogue." His eyes were firest and looked full of truth. Rogue nodded her head. "How do we remove it?"
He saw the look of hopelessness on Rogue's face. "You haven't tried getting it off?"
"I wanted to, but our technician, Forge told me not to. He didn't like the red light on the collar and wants you to be awake when he attempts to take it off." Rogue nodded her head and looked down to the floor. "What is it Rogue?" Magneto questioned.
Rogue looked up to Magneto and said, "The thing about the collars is... Sinister usually plates some kind of shocking device in them..." Rogue looked away from Magneto, a distancing look in her eye. "He used to shock us from time to time when we needed... Disciplining."
Again Magneto moved Rogue's chin to look up at him. "You are not there Rogue. The collar will come off very soon and then it'll be gone. You won't ever have to see it again." Rogue nodded her head.
But Magneto still didn't seem convinced. He moved his head down to peck at Rogue's lips. "You are not there Rogue, because you are here with me. And I don't much like to share."
Rogue's smile grew. "Old traditioned guy, huh? You know," Rogue said, wrapping her arms around Magneto's neck. "That's a rare and unique quality most guys now-a-days don't have." Rogue pouted. "Such a shame."
Magneto chuckled. "Indeed. Now, we must get you down to Forge's lab and see if he can have this removed from your neck."
Rogue nodded, moving her arms off from around Magneto's shoulders. Her arms dropped to her side and again, she wasn't sure what to do without Magneto guiding her. Magneto did as she pleaded him to in her head and took her hand. He kept hold of her hand all the way to Forge's lab.