Chapter Ten: Breaking the Looking Glass
My art is finally up! Check it out: Pryde didn't know what to make of her run-in with Rogue the other day. Part of her wanted to rip the bitch to shreds; the other part couldn't help but feel sympathy. Perhaps it really was a mistake... perhaps her objections had been true... She shook the thoughts away. No, it didn't change the situation either way. Carol Danvers was stuck in Bayville Memorial Hospital while the X-Men vacationed in Genosha.
We did need a break, she thought, but Carol, Evan, and the professor should be here to share the experience. It's just not the same without them. The thought sunk her hopes even further. Will we ever get them back?
"What's up, Kitty Cat?" Boom Boom inquired, sipping a Diet Coke. She was dressed in a hot pink bikini and toted a beach towel in the nook of her arm. "We're all going swimming. Want to come?"
She sighed. "Not right now, Tabitha."
"You all right?" She felt her forehead mockingly. "For being a feline you sure do love the water."
"I'll be out there later," she replied, slowly getting up from the barstool. She had to discuss her concerns with an adult. Perhaps Storm would find a way to help. After all, she and Jean kept the sighting secret. What were the Brotherhood up to in Genosha?
Rapping softly on the door, Kitty let herself in to the older woman's room. She sat on her bed, reading a book about gardening. "Um, Storm, can I, like, talk to you for a second?"
She looked up and bookmarked the page, discarding the book. "What's wrong, Katherine?"
Kitty shifted uncomfortably under the weather witch's gaze. "Well, um... Jean and I, when we went to the mall, um... we ran into Rogue."
"The Brotherhood is here?" she asked, alarmed.
"Not quite." She sighed, searching for the words. "The Acolytes were with her."
"Have they teamed up?" Storm toyed with the thought. "No. Mystique would never bow down to Magneto. Rogue must be with Magneto's group then. But what are they doing here?"
"I, uh, did some searching on my computer, and, like, well... it said that Magneto has been granted control of Genosha to use as an iron mine."
She let the idea sink in before responding. "I was afraid of this."
"Afraid of what?"
She rose from the mattress. "Magneto is using this country as his base to launch the war against humans."
"What should we do?"
"I'm afraid we'll have to assemble the best we can and uncover the secrets of this place to stop Magneto."
"So what are we doing here again?" Pietro asked, bored.
Wanda rolled her eyes. "Don't you ever listen?" she snarled. "We're breaking into the Genoshian government office to burn all the records and destroy any evidence of what this country used to be and what it will become."
"Why'd he need all of us to go?" Pyro asked. "If you ask me, this is a sissy mission. I am, after all, the only one of us that controls fire. How easy would it be for me to burn this down?"
"What, you got moh' tables t' wait?" Gambit shot back.
"Oh, shaddup, all o' ya!" Rogue bellowed. "Let's just burn this muthafucka t' the ground."
"We don't need no water," Pyro sang. "Let the mother fucker burn. Burn, mother fucker, burn."
"Oh, shut up," Wanda snapped as she hexed the door open.
The room was dark an dusty, a testament to the fact that no one had set foot in the place since Magneto took office. Books after books were neatly filed in various bookshelves. Filing cabinets held alphabetical files of inhabitants of Genosha. Peter unscrewed the cap from the bright red container and spilled gasoline all over the room. Rogue knocked over the filing cabinets, spilling out every file. Pyro flicked his lighter on and off, excited at the prospect of a large bonfire.
"Ready, set, fire!"
John didn't need an invitation. He used the small flame from his lighter to form a phoenix that flew right on top of a stack of books. The room lit up with amber flames. The filing cabinets, books, desks, bookshelves, chairs, and most everything burst into flames as Pyro stood in the middle of the chaos, cackling and very pleased with his handy work.
"That's enough, comrade," Colossus warned.
"Yeah, psycho," Wanda added. "Don't take us all down with this inferno."
He wasn't listening. Instead, he basked in the fiery glow of the room.
"Knock it off, jerk!" Pietro screamed over the roaring fire.
"Ha ha ha!" he laughed. "Isn't it beautiful?"
The flames were quickly closing on the six of them. Rogue lunged for Pyro, grabbing his angular jaw. Nothing happened. That's right, she reminded herself. Ah gotta concentrate. Suddenly, she focsed all her energy on absorbingJohn and controlling defusing the fire. As each memory and ability of John's drained into Rogue, each flame dissipated. She felt the ecstasy of transfer overtake her. Her grip grew stronger until her fingernails began to dig into his flesh. John gasped for the breath he was denied as she stole every fiber of his being.
"Let go o' him, Rogue!" Gambit shouted.
She felt so powerful, and she couldn't let go. The power was too sweet. She could feel the fire Pyro controlled coursing through her veins. It burned her fingertips with rapture. John struggled against her, but his efforts were futile. The room was dark once again.
"Help!" John gurgled.
"Let him go, crazy woman!" Pietro bellowed, running to the two. Rogue gave him one fast punch before sending him into the nearest wall.
Colossus tried to pry Pyro from her arms, but was unsuccessful. It was finally Wanda who hexed him out of her arms. Gambit ran to catch Rogue as she fell to the floor. Pyro fell back into the ashes. Colossus propped his teammate's head up. John's eyes rolled back into his head. "He's going through shock," he said. "Falling buildings I can handle, but not this. I'm no doctor.
"Leave it to me," Pietro replied, and without waiting for an answer, sped out of the building to get help.
"A simple mission and it gets fucked up because of Little Miss Accident-Waiting to-Happen," Wanda mumbled. A twinge of remorse hit her and she swept her blue eyes over the scene. "I hope Pyro's okay. I know he went berserk, but, Jesus, that's no reason to have your life force sucked dry. She didn't have to hold on that long."
"She didn't mean foh it t' happen," he defended her sternly. "It probably has somet'in' t' do with de collar."
"Or the fact that she really enjoys fucking with people's lives," she responded icily. "I mean, Pietro's not her first victim. An accident my ass."
"Where am Ah?" Rogue asked groggily as Anna pried her eyes open. The room was swimming in front of her eyes. The walls were all white, and there were a few familiar faces that blurred past her gaze.
"Ya gave us quite a fright," Anna replied, "An I was a bit worried fuir a while there, 'cause my powers dinna seem ta help."
"She wasn't hurt," Gambit said. "She just passed out."
"Cold," Wanda added.
"Where's John?" she asked.
Gambit pointed to the adjacent infirmary bed when Pyro lay supine and sickly. She rolled to her side to get a good look at him. "Sorry guys, Ah didn't mean t' hold on f'r so long. Ah was just a little shook up."
"No wonder why the X-Men hate you," Wanda mumbled.
Anna swatted at her. "It was an accident, lass."
Gambit observed Rogue through heavy-lidded eyes. He looked over to John and sighed. "How long does it take to wear off once ya steal some one's identity?"
She shrugged. "Ah don't know. Sometimes it takes forevah, sometimes a few hours or minutes. Why?"
"John's been comatose for five hours," Magneto replied. "We don't know if he'll turn out to be another Carol."
"Oh mah Gawd," she cried. "No, he's gotta wake up."
There you go again, murderer, Carol whispered harshly. Now I'll be joined by some annoying Aussie.
"It cain't be like Carol," she said. "It cain't. Ah didn't hold on that long, did Ah? Ah couldn't have... it was just a mistake."
"Didn't seem like a mistake t' me," Remy said softly. "We told ya t' let go. Ya kept holdin' on."
"It was an accident," she repeated. Who was she trying to convince?
"Why don't ya just rest, dear?" Anna suggested. "It's late. We'll deal with John t'morrow."
Rogue barely heard her as she rose from the infirmary bed and padded down the hallway. What have Ah done? she asked herself. What have Ah let mahself become? Why didn't Ah let go? Why did Ah enjoy it so much? What the fuck is wrong with me!
Her room was empty and cold. Rogue quickly spotted her duffel bag and dug through it to stumble upon a bottle of sleeping pills her mother had given her to combat the horrible nightmares. Without thinking twice, she carried the bottle to her bathroom and filled a glass of water. She took the remainder of its contents in one gigantic gulp. The best thang Ah could do is die.
Wanda woke up with a start. She threw her covers off of her body, and sat up. Something wasn't right in the house. She padded down to the infirmary to find John's vitals dropping quickly. She shouted for assistance. Anna and Magneto hurried into the room.
"What's going on?" she asked them, frightened.
"There's only one explanation," Magneto replied. He exchanged a look with Anna to confirm his worst fears. "Rogue."
"You need t' try t' stay awake, lass," Anna encouraged, brushing Rogue's bangs from her perspiring forehead. Her eyes were so heavy. Rogue didn't think she could keep them open any longer. She was so cold, and everything seemed so far away. Her legs were a purplish green and quivering violently. Gambit tried to warm her up by kinetically charging the blanket. "We're almost t' the hospital."
Wanda watched helplessly as Rogue's body violently shook between she and Gambit. This wasn't her first suicide attempt. She tried it once, somewhere that it wasn't uncommon. She couldn't remember why or how, just that she felt so betrayed and helpless. Maybe Rogue really hadn't meant to hang on to Pyro for long. Now if she ended up in a coma- or worse- he would never return to normal. She sneaked a glance at Remy, who looked absolutely distraught. She knew he probably felt as bad as she did for saying some of things they said.
"Ya gotta hang in there, chere," he cooed, brushing her bangs from her perspiring forehead. "You'll be okay."
Will she? Wanda wondered. Rogue was in bad shape, and the medicine was starting to take effect. Her pulse was slowly ceasing.
Anna looked back at the three from the passenger seat. "Shit, Magnus, we're losing her."
"Do what you must to keep her alive," he replied.
She bit her lip in concentration and laid her two hands on Rogue's bare arms. She searched the body for the damage. Rogue's brain was disoriented, and her heart was slowing with each shallow breath Rogue took. Anna focused on repairing the damage. She sent a shockwave of power through Rogue's body.
"Wha-" Rogue gasped, taken aback by the adrenaline rushing through her. Everything in her body snapped too attention; it was such a shock that she could barely breathe.
"I'm afraid the damage is just going ta come back," Anna said. "We have ta get her stomach pumped quickly or her heart is going ta stop."
"Rogue, how could you be so stupid?" Wanda inquired angrily. She bit her tongue, and tried to make up for the harsh words. "I mean, it was just an accident. If you die now, then John will never come back. We've got to keep you alive to keep him alive." She grabbed on to Rogue's wrist, only to find several fresh cuts hidden by her bracelets. She stared unbelievingly at them, then at her own scars. She had been wrong. They were no different at all.
"Ah'm so sorry," Rogue choked, tears running down her cheeks. "Ah just didn't know what else t' do."
"Shush, lass," she commanded. "You need t' save yuir strength." Another shot of electricity startled Rogue's inside. Blue light flowed from Anna's warm, brown hands and to her ceasing heart.
"We're here," Magneto cried with relief.
The doors opened and the four of them rushed out, Gambit stopping to scoop Rogue's shivering body into his arms. He just hoped that they hadn't waited to long to intervene. She had to make it through, for his sake and for John's.