Chapter 26
Rogue awoke screaming, and panting as sweat leaked all down her face and body. There was a person in front of her calling her name. It was Wolverine. He had her craydled in his arms and was shaking her to wake up. When she finally did, she felt the panic slowly leave her, but her heart was still racing.
"W-What happened?"
"You touched Jean and weakened her enough for chuck to calm her down and help her get herself under control." Said Wolverine. Rogue looked passed Wolverine to Magneto who was stood somewhat near them, but with his back turned. She looked from Magneto and Wolverine to the scene before her. Jean was still unconscious in Cyclpose's arms. Little things started coming back to Rogue, but as she tried to think more on the topic her head started hurting. Badly.
"Arrr." She cringed in Wolverine's arms while reaching to touch her head.
"Rogue?" Said Wolverine.
Rogue unconsciously went to access Jean's mind, but for some reason it burned and clawed as if it was actually fighting against Rogue to be set free.
'I'm in your mind Rogue, but only to help you.'
'Professor?' Rogue questioned in her mind.
She felt the Professor's presence in her mind and then she felt this hot pain slowly melt away and go as if it was being contained and locked away somewhere deep in her mind.
"There." Said the Professor.
Rogue opened her eyes, still sweaty and breathing heavily. Her tired eyes found the Professor who was now besides her with Magneto and Wolverine.
"Pro-professor?" Rogue manage. The Professor, himself, looked tired with sweat pouring down his face. He looked like he'd just been to war (twice). Rogue noticed it again. There was no more pain in her mind. "Thank you." Rogue breathed.
The Professor nodded his head. "Your most welcome Rogue. I'm sorry I broke our promise of staying out of your mind."
"I-It's OK. I found out today who the real person was who sent me away." At that life changing thought, Rogue began rubbing her head again and sat up out of Wolverine's arms.
"What do you mean kid?" Asked Wolverine.
"Errr," Roue said dumbfoundly. "I mean I know it wasn't the Professor."
"How do you know it wasn't the Professor?" Asked Magneto.
"Jean, errr, Phoenix told me before she attacked me. She said Jean got rid of me and wiped all your memories of me so the Phoenix, errr, that dark side of her today couldn't get to meh. 'Cause."
"Because if it knew about you it would try to kill you." Finished the Professor for Rogue who was still feeling sick, light headed and dizzy.
"Errr, yeah."
"It was affriad that you might be able to match it's powers." Added Magneto, putting two and two together.
Rogue looked and felt disappointed. "But I wouldn't be able to stop it, even if I really wanted to. Jean still had half control over the Phoenix. I wouldn't be able to stop the Phoenix if it had full control."
"What you talking about strips. You got things sorted in the end. But I don't have a clue what your going on about with this Phoenix crap." Said Wolverine.
"The Phoenix is a being inside Jean which is known to be the most powerful being in the universe." Everyone had stopped to listen to the Professors conversation.
"What are you saying Professor?" Asked Storm. "What is this being?"
"This being is the Phoenix which we have had a glimps of today. The controllable side of Jean Grey today."
"So it was that Phoenix's things fault, not Jean's? Jean had no control over it?" Cyclopse asked, with hope in his voice.
"No Scott. That wasn't Jean. While the Phoenix took over Jean's body, Jean was lost to us."
Cyclopse's face dropped. "You mean that this thing has taken over Jean's body and made her a prisoner inside her own body?" Questioned Cyclopse.
"How do you know so much about this Professor?" Asked Rogue, suspiously.
"I read it in your mind Rogue. The part of your mind which you have taken from Jean Grey and in you mind her psych explained this to me while she and I pushed the Phoenix to the back of your mind."
"Oh." Said Rogue. Rogue was too tired and in too much pain to pay much more attention now.
"Will it be back?" Asked Cyclopes.
The Professor's face fell. "I'm not sure. But I do believe there is a very strong possibility we will be facing the Phoenix again in the future."
Everyone took that as a yes. Cyclopes looked down to Jean; pain ridden as he saw how tired and stranded she was already. "But...But." He looked up and towards Rogue. "Rogue. Couldn't she stop this thing? Can't you take it away from her Professor." Asked Cyclopes, now looking towards the Professor.
"As Rogue already said, she would be no match for the true Phoenix's power and I have been trying for may years, without success, to remove this being from her body Scott. I'm afraid all I can do is help Jean push it back and search for ways in which to help remove it from her body."
"How long have you known about this this thing Professor?" Asked Cyclopes in disgust.
"Since I meet her. I didn't know what it was exactly, but now I know more. I have more to go off to help Jean now. We will disgust is more later, for now let us take our leave before the police come."
Rogue felt herself lifted up into Wolverine's arms. It shuck her awake. Slowly, as Wolverine began carrying her towards the X-Jet, she took in what was happening and looked around. When she saw Magneto still standing tall, with his cape wiping in the wind and his head turned to look out towards the world, as if facing the hardships which were to come something clicked in Rogue's mind. Sinister was still out there. The world was in cause and lose. She knew the X-Men's approach was too weak to win this war. She knew they wouldn't' accept killing. And she knew she till had to kill Sinister and make him suffer. From the Phoenix's speech too, she knew she'd have to do something horrible which shed hate and that was to drain Sinister of every nasty little thought he had to find missing mutants and save their lifes. She knew the only person who would understand her roll and new find reason in this life was Magneto.
"No." Rogue weakly said. Struggling against Wolverine, she tired to push half out of Wolverine's arms and come to her feet.
"Relax strips-"
"No, put me down Logan!"
Wolverine did what she said with a growl in the back of his throat. Everyone stopped to watch Rogue as she rocked on her feet. Slowly, she walked towards Magneto. His followers who had come with the X-Men and seen that Magneto was standing still, separating himself from the X-Men, began to move to the side to let her pass. Magneto had turned face her. She kept eye contact with him until she was stood by his side, facing him eye to eye.
"I don't belong with the X-Men. Not then, not now, maybe not even n the future." Rogue looked out to all of Magnetos followers and the X-Men. Rising her voice she poke, "I'm gonna be the one to find that scumball Sinister and I'm gonna be the one to end his life and this miserable life us mutants are living in cause of him. I'm the only one who can do it, 'cause I'm the only who can get into his mind and find out where our fellow mutant brothers and sisters are and how shut down the Sentinel robots. We're a war and ya'll know that." Rogue paused, feeling at faintness making her weaker d making a simple thing as standing harder."I know you X-Men want peace and all, but what I need to do ain't gonna help your cause much. I'm gonna go with Magneto and be the fighting force that's gonna help us win this war. Your cause is right X-Men. You should keep going with your none violent approaches, but for those that won't and aren't gonna listen, the Brotherhood will sort them out. We al need each other 'cause divided, we'll fall. We've all just gotta chose a side ta help which helps us. N I chose the Broherhood. If ya ever need any help with the Phoenix though, just give us a holler." Rogue gave a polight smile.
The X-Men looked hardfaced about what Rogue had said, but Rogue heard mutters of agreements and OK's. Her world was rocking though, and all she understood was her head was dizzy and she was about to fall. Then she felt an arm wrap around her lower body an a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes to find herelf looking at Magneto's chest. Blinking once, she looked up into his helmet. His eyes were soft, but still had that first look to them. Rogue gave a little smile to him. She heard the X-Jet take off and felt the wind whip her hair and Magneto's cape. Closing her eyes, she leaned back into Magneto, not caring if he was bothered about others judging them, because she just didn't care.
She heard Magneto address his followers, giving orders to those who could fly to follow him and those who couldn't to get into the silver spheres he 'd created from broken metal from the building for them to climb into. Rogue looked up at Magneto, something on her tongue burning her and needing to be said.
"Erik." He looked down at her, she felt his arms adjust so she was strongly held up in his arms. "I am gonna be the one ta kill Sinister. Just think how'd you have felt if you'da watched someone else kill those people who locked you up and experimented on you. It felt good to kill them didn't it. Ta get revenge."
Nothing was given away in Magneto's eyes as he looked at her. It was only in what he said next which made Rogue sure that she no longer had to trick him so she could gain the upper hand of killing Sinister (or so she presumed). "As you wish."
The next thing Rogue knew was she was being put into her own special sphere Magneto had made for her and as she sat in the crafted seat and the sphere closed around her, Rogue sat back and slept, feeling safe and somewhat at peace with the new information she had recently found out. She smiled as she slept.