Chapter Fourteen: Betrayal

Rogue saw him standing by the window. Now was her chance. His guard was down. He trusted her. All she had to do was pull the trigger, and it would be all over. She would be one step closer to her plan- Mystique's plan- of world domination.

Sweaty palms gripped the plastic pistol firmly. She pulled it out from behind her back, leveling the weapon to the back of his head. Her finger trembled as it drew near the trigger.

He never turned around. The poor bastard probably didn't even notice her presence. He only stood facing the window and watched the snow fall, oblivious to the fact that the white blanket would soon be coated with crimson blood- his blood.

Do it, Mystique's voice urged. Get it over with. It will be easy now that his guard is down. Just kill him. It'll be fine. He's the man that you hate.

But she did not hate him. She couldn't hate him. He had done so much for her, never suspecting that one day she would stand above his bloody corpse. Or perhaps he did suspect something but didn't want to believe it. She could not kill the man who allowed her to touch the man she loved and subdue Carol's voice. She could not kill her best friend's father. She just couldn't do it.

"Magneto," she said softly, while lowering the weapon.

"Yes? What it is?" he asked curtly.

Her hand quavered; the gun shook violently under her grasp. "Ah came t' tell ya somethin'."

He turned around, curious. "And what is that?" He did not seem to notice the gun she held.

Rogue could see herself pressing the trigger now. She imagined his ice blue eyes widening in surprise when she said, "Ah've come t' kill ya." The bullet would slice through the air in a wide arc, meeting the place between the brows. Only a trickle of blood would escape from the wound, and she would gingerly clean it up. She would fly from his quarters and drop him in the ocean so he could join Trask, Gyrich, and all the others she had killed. If anyone would find his body, it would be rotted and maimed beyond recognition, due to the vicious waves of the sea. No one would know Magneto was even gone. Mystique would smile when she told her of his demise, and congratulate her on a job well done.

Instead, the teenager only stood in front of the Master of Magnetism, quaking as soft sobs escaped from her mouth. "Run," she said, before dropping the pistol.

"Pardon me?"

"Ah was sent to kill you," she whispered, trying to fight the tears of despair that sprang so readily to her eyes. "But ah can't. Not after the kindness ya showed me. An if Ah won't do it, then Mystique'll finish the job. Get outta here b'fore she gets the chance."

Magneto laughed, which was definitely not the response Rogue had expected. The laugh was a strange musical cackle that seemed foreign on his lips. "I'm afraid it's too late for that, my dear."

His face shimmered and molecules changed and reassembled themselves like a jig-saw puzzle. A long, indigo face stared down at her complete with sharp golden eyes that had a hint of the malicious laughter that flowed from her blood red lips.

"Mystique?" Rogue asked incredulously. "But, why? Ah coulda killed ya!"

She smirked. "But I knew you wouldn't, darling, because you have that horrible thing called a conscious. Such a pity, too. You really must have that removed."

Her whole body felt as though it was made of lead. "Where's Magneto?" she choked.

Mystique smiled. "Oh, I've taken care of him." She saw her daughter's face, and her own expression twisted into disgust. "Oh, don't tell me now, when we're so close to victory, you're backing out? That suddenly you're turning into Miss Morality?"

"We didn't have t' kill him," Rogue replied. "You coulda took his shape while we held him somewhere-"

"And risk the chance of someone finding him?" she snorted. "I thought you were smarter than that, Rogue."

"Why do we have t' kill?"

Mystique knew what happened to her daughter. It was so obvious! Why didn't she see it before? It was that boy; he changed her. He told her that she didn't have to kill- filled her with delusions equal to Xavier's pipedream. She didn't have to kill, oh no, mutants and humans could coexist if she just believed. Peace and love would save the day! All the better to brainwash you with, my dear. She was even willing to turn against her own mother- a child! Her cause, however realistic it was, meant nothing to Rogue anymore, because of love. It was the blade hovering above their heads, just waiting to come crashing down the moment Rogue decided to follow her heart.

"You fool!" she snapped. "You absolute fool! You're willing to throw away everything I've taught you- everything we've worked for, just because of a silly little boy? I've raised you better than this!"

"Raised me t' do what, Momma?" Rogue retorted angrily. "Kill, lie, and steal?"

"I raised you to fight for a cause, damn it! I raised you to use your head, not your heart, and you never, ever listened. Now I beg you, Rogue, listen to me. I know better than you. I've lived a long life, and I know that your heart only gets in the way."

She shook her head. "No, that's exactly what ya taught me t' do. Fight f'r somethin'- someone- Ah believe in! Remy makes me happy, not killin', not lyin' t' everyone Ah care about, not threatening world leaders, not any o' it! You could never make me happy, Mystique. You tried. But the extremes we gotta go t' just t' have y'r dream come true only made mah unhappiness worse."

"But someday you will be happy!" Mystique argued. "Once our dream becomes a reality!"

"It ain't our dream. It's y'rs."

Raven looked away. "What are you saying, Rogue? That you don't love me?"

"O' course Ah do!" Rogue insisted. "But Ah don't wanna kill anymore, Momma! An if ya loved me, ya'd just except that!"

She shook her head sadly, as if in a trance. She pulled Rogue into an embrace, surprising the girl. "I do love you," she said in a haunting tone. Slender fingers found the serum in she had slipped in her belt. She fastened a needle onto it. "That's why I must do this."

The needle plunged into Rogue's abdomen, and the girl cried out in pain. Mystique pushed the lever firmly. "It will be all over, darling, and you'll feel better."

Rogue shivered and gasped, holding tightly onto Mystique. Her fingernails clawed at the older woman's shoulder until blood ran down into small streams. Mystique only smiled sadly at her daughter. She stroked her hair gently as her other hand held the girl's body to her own. Rogue's fingers relaxed, resting on the blood-drenched shoulder, quivering slightly. Her vision blurred and the whole world seemed to dance with black spots. Mystique clutched her daughter tightly as Rogue slipped into unconsciousness.

xxx

Oh shit, kids! What's going to happen to Rogue and the Acolytes now? Stay tuned!