Chapter Twelve
Magneto never let go of Rogue's hand, not even when she pulled away as mutants walked down the corridor (though he did stir her close to his side so their bodies were almost touching and their hands were barely noticeable). He held her hand and led her all the way, down stairs she'd never knew where there and down to Forge's base. It was kinda nice, Rogue thought. And she enjoyed it. She wondered if him refusing to let her go was a sign of their relationship status. Were they a couple? Did she want to be in a relationship with Magneto? Even be in one at all? Was this even right? Wasn't she too young and he too old?
Rogue questioned herself and them, until they walked into a white room with a surgical bed in the middle of the room and large computers surrounding it. Rogue froze where she stood at the door, halting Magneto to a stop too. He looked back at her and had saw her eyes had grown wide with fear and horror. He understood instantly it was too soon to see such equipment.
"Magneto?" Came a voice from behind the computers. Forge came out, smiling idioticly at them as he walked over. "So, she ready for me to try and get it off? I've got to say, I can't wait to have a look at the little tinker."
"Rogue." Magneto said, taking her by both her arms and shaking her.
"Is she OK?" Forge asked.
"No." Magneto looked around the room, then began pushing Rogue out of it. They moved into the waiting room outside and Magneto sat her down in one of the chairs. "Rogue?" He questioned.
Rogue was still in a daze, but keeping hold of Magneto's hand and squeezing it helped bring herself back. She looked up to Magneto who stood over her and gave a small smile, though it wasn't a happy smile. It was to show him she was alright.
Magneto turned to face Forge after seeing Rogue was alright. "Forge, will you be able to take it off here?"
Forge nodded his head, started mubbling about some strangely named equipment and then ran off back into the lab.
"Now that he's gone, are you truly alright?"
Rogue took in a deep breath then let it out, "Yeah, just a little shaken up is all. I'm fine." She said attempting to smile up at Magneto again.
Magneto frowned down at her. "My dear, God forbid you should ever have to try and lie to me. You, out of all people know me better than anyone, possibly even myself. I too, out of all people, understand you better than anyone could. I've already explained this. We have the same goals and the same morals. We are not enemies. You do not need to fight or hide yourself from me. Please do not try."
Rogue took in every word he said, then nodded her head. "Your right." Rogue looked down to her hands. "I'm not alright... Seeing them again... Having them try to capture me again... It just brings back all the bad memories. I managed to fight them off sometimes when I was on my own and get away. But... they finally caught me."
"And delivered you to Sinister." Rogue nodded."I understand your pain and that the wounds are still fresh. But sometime soon, when your ready, you'll need to open up to me Ro-"
"No! I don't need to revisit those memories! You don't need to know what happened to me!" Rogue stood up with a first look in her eyes as she faced off against Magneto. "All you need to focus on is stopping Sinister from becoming president of the United States, destroy all his labs and then, once he'll watched his growing empire crumble, kill him. Slowly and painfully."
Magneto looked deep into those firery red eyes. Those eyes were the same he saw when Rogue had killed the president. And the look in those eyes were the uncontrolable rage that was taking over her and her vision. He remembered that rage well and remembered how it almost destroyed him. How dangerous that emotion could be. Magneto stood tall and unmoved. He knew he had to becareful where he stepped with Rogue. Although she wasn't a threat right now, he knew she could be. He was going to need to guide her out of that anger just as Charles had done for him before she self destructed.
"We will take Sinister down Rogue." Magneto said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "But for now, you need to recover-"
"I don't need to recover!-"
"You're in shock! You're weak! And your anger has taken control of you!" Magneto said, rising above Rogue's voice in his demanding voice.
"That is not true!" Rogue stressed, stepping forward so she was closer to him. "I'm thinkin' more clearly than you! Your the one who always thinks destroying things and 'making-a-statement' showing that you destroyed them is the right way to go about things. 'Cause ya think humans will be scared of ya. News flash, they're not scared of us even if they should be. By just showing off and making them hate us, your just creating another obstacle and leading things to a war more quickly, insteada taking the slow hard way and just waiting for them to come around. Yeah, some people are always gonna be racist against mutants and lock us up, and treat us like animals, and experiment on us. But that's where the Brotherhood and X-Men come in and we gotta stop them so no more mutants get hurt. That's why my plan'll work, but you, what have you actually done that's been successful, huh? What-"
Magneto became harsh with Rogue as his anger flared. Rogue was shoved hard against the wall, pinned by her throat. She still held that anger in her eyes that matched Magneto's. "Do not push your luck with me, Rogue! I know the mistakes I've made in the past has effected our future, but from those mistakes I have grown stronger. Mutants have grown stronger. Stronger and more willing to fight for their rights of life. If I hadn't have made those mistakes, made those failures, than the mutants outside that follow me would not be here. Most of them would be dead. I did what I had to that I thought were right at the time and if I was given the chance to go back in time and correct my failures, I would still make all the same mistakes and all the same failures as it takes all those falls until you can reach victory. And my people will come out victorious when all is said and done. You will understand that all the things I've done have been necessary so we can have a future."
After a moment passed and he realised that Rogue was struggling to breath, he released her. Both had calmed down from that point dramatically and both huffed. Magneto felt as if he needed to say something, but he would not apologize. He would make her see she was wrong to question his actions. "You-"
"You should go!" Rogue cut in faster and louder. "You should go. Go give orders for everyone to move out. Sinister knows where your base is. He's not gonna pass up such a golden opportunity."
"I've already given them orders-"
"Then go help them. What, you think I need you here to hold my hand while this power neglecter gets cut off me from around my neck? Just go. They need you more than I do."
They were harsh words, but they were true and from Rogue's refusal to look at him, he left.
Rogue bathed in the silence for a moment as she got the voices in her dead under control and focused on her breathing. She was hurt by how Magneto had attacked her, but she hadn't been scared. She understood better where he was coming from when the other him explained it all in a gentler way inside her head, but she still wouldn't change what she'd said.
"Oh. You alright?" Rogue looked up to Forge who was coming back into the room with a bag of tools.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Lets just get this over with."
XXXXX
Magneto stood on the hill, watching as his Brotherhood began moving out. So flew away, some teleported, others walked or ran. Either way they were moving quickly and the memorial statue of Mystique, he had built and put up quickly. Now the camp was half empty and half of the mutants would already be setting up their things in Magneto's New York hide out. Magneto watched them all, focusing more on what his group leaders were doing to organise things. Then his eyes shifted to Forge who had come out of the base. Magneto awaited for Forge to come to him.
"Is it off?"
"Well, erm, you see, there were, erm, Rogue erm," Magneto glared at Forge, irritated by his stammering.
"Forge." Magneto warned.
"No, I, erm, I couldn't get it off." Magneto let go of a stressful snort and looked back to his people. That was just what he was fearing. Forge continued to mubble on; a few words caught Magneto's attention. "When I did try cutting it off, I set something off and it shocked Rogue."
"An electric current?" Magneto asked.
"Yeah, throughout her whole body. It looked painful and she did scream in pain a little, but she seemed as if she was waiting for it. Ready for it. In the end, I couldn't cut throw the band without pulling or tripping one of the wires inside. Rogue explained that this Sinister guy is quiet the genius and he would have invented it so it couldn't be removed. If what I think is right, which I think it is, there are wires within the collar that are attached to the metal surface of the collar and if it gets cut or even if you try easing it apart with your powers, it'll either shock Rogue, only with more strength or it might even blow up."
Magneto found himself cursing Sinister and getting annoyed that once again this madman had found a way to get to Rogue and trap her, only this time the madman had gotten thrown his protection. Magneto felt as if Sinister was mocking him and insulting him by attacking Rogue and trapping her right in front of him. He didn't want this madman to have anything over him, especially not hurting the people he cared for. He'd already lost Mystique to Sinister, he wasn't about to lose Rogue too.
"Where is she?" Magneto asked.
"Oh, she's gone back to her room I think to pack her stuff. She should have been out by now though, I think."
Not having Rogue in his sights made Magneto uneasy. Yes, they may have just had an argument, but that didn't mean he would break his promise to her which he only made a few hours ago that he'd be there for her. Magneto flew over to the entrance to the base and entered it.
He walked the hallways until he came to Rogue's room. He knocked three times, then opened the door. There was no one inside. Magneto frowned as he saw that her draws had been cleared, but he hadn't seen her outside. Magneto turned and went to the closest exit. He looked all around for her, then flew up high, not being able to see her around the base. Finally he lowered down to stand next to Pyro.
"Pyro, has one of the teleporters taken Rogue?"
"Not that I know of, no." Said Pyro. Magneto's frowned deepened. "Why? What's happened now? Is she lost again?"
Magneto looked out and around the base. "No, I do not believe she is lost. I believe she has run from us. I want her found Pyro." Pyro nodded and created a team to search for Rogue in the forest.
XXXXX
Several hours later and there had been no trace of the Rogue.
"It's like she's just vanished into thin air. You don't think some other guys like the Nasty Boys came and caught her, do you?" Asked Pyro as he came to stand beside Magneto.
"No Pyro. Rogue was not prepared for that attack and let her guard down knowing we were just around the corner and believing that no one would be crazy enough to try and attack us anyway. This time, I think she knows to be aware and left alone."
"Right, but one thing I don't get is why would she run away?" Asked Pyro.
Magneto believed he knew the answer to that question, only he didn't like it. He turned on his heel and moved back to the last teleporter. "We will have to leave her behind. We've searched all over and could not find her. If she's ran away by choice then there's nothing more we can do."
Pyro was confused by Magneto's new dismissal of Rogue's absence. But he knew better than to argue or ask questions. And with that the teleporter teleported them all away.