Disclaimer: Well, I decided to take some classes on hacking (yes, they do have those) to learn some new tricks; I'll let you know how they go…
A/N: Wow! It's been less than a month, and I'm updating! I am so psyched! Anyway... this more action with Rogue and her crew, more rescues on the way, and some guest appearances... I hope you like it too!
"…"- conversation
'…'- thoughts
(…)- extra facts/actions (some)
'blah' - telepathy/what people say mentally
Chapter 59: Rogue's Chronicles: Rescues, Part 3
Hallway #22, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 2:05 AM
The next hallway that Rogue's group entered was hallway #22, which outwardly seemed the same. However, beyond the steel door, it seemed different somehow.
Pietro whistled as he entered the hallway, stating, "Damn, there's no metal in here!" Then he started at what he had just said. "Wait, if there's no metal in here then that means –" Pietro didn't finish as he ran the length of the hallway, stopping at the cell that held a young woman with emerald green hair – Polaris.
Rogue, who had watched Pietro, saw what he was going to do and yelled, "Pietro, no!" Rogue accessed Pietro's speed and sped up to Lorna's cell just in time to grab Pietro's hands that had been poised to touch the bars.
Pietro gaped at her. "How-in-the-hell-are-you-using-my-powers?!?!" Pietro quickly wrenched his hands free from Rogue's hands and stared at her.
Rogue smiled and said, "Tell yah later, Pietro. Right now, yah and Lucid need ta know rule #1 in these halls: never touch tha bars; they have electricity runnin' tha length of them and unless yah want to get electrocuted yah don't touch 'em; understand?" Pietro nodded and turned his attention to the cell's occupant as he heard her scream.
"She's my other sister; isn't she, Rogue?" Pietro asked sadly, not noting the look of sympathy that ran through Rogue's eyes. Rogue quickly told to Laura to go and help Lucas and Aaron with the other cell's occupant; she'd take care of Lorna's cell herself.
"Yeah, she is," Rogue responded after a moment. "But Pietro, if there's one thing tha' Lorna never wanted anyone else ta know it's tha' she's the daughter of Magneto and Wanda's and your sibling. Ah only know because she confided in meh, and Ah feel guilty for breaking mah vow of secrecy but yah and Wanda have a right ta know 'bout Lorna. Be kind ta her, Pietro; she hasn't had an easy life. She and her sister – yeah, her younger sister, who isn't a mutant – had a kind family tha' they lived with for most of their lives but they were killed by tha FOH five years ago; they still cry for them on tha anniversary of their deaths. Just be gentle, Pietro." Rogue put a hand on Pietro's shoulders, giving him a sense of reassurance before she turned to the bars.
Rogue decided to make a bit of a show for Pietro's sake, to try to bring back the cocky attitude that she was used to seeing from him; honestly, the attitude had grown on her through the years of their acquaintance. She chanted, "Ah call on tha powers of lightning and energy! Come to meh and help meh!" Rogue's eyes went pure white as she concentrated on Ororo's energy. She then launched a devastating lightning attack at the bars of the cell, and after a moment, the bars cracked and disintegrated. Rogue breathed and her eyes returned to their natural emerald color.
She turned to Pietro, who was once more gaping at her, shock evident on his face. "Damn, Rogue, you've got to teach me how to do that someday!" Rogue shot him a crooked grin and then nodded with her head at the cell, telling Pietro to come and help her free Lorna. Pietro, grinning, took off inside, followed by Rogue. By the time Rogue had knelt in front of Lorna, Pietro had taken off the collar using a combination of lock-picking skills he had picked up from Leon and super-speed. The collar lay on the ground, crushed into pieces underneath Pietro's boots.
Rogue gently placed her hand on Lorna's face, transferring energy to the magnetism wielder. Lorna groaned and slowly opened her emerald eyes, gasping in surprise when she saw Rogue touching her face with her bare hand. "Rogue?! How are you touching me?" Lorna asked, letting her worry get the best of her.
Rogue took her hand off Lorna's face and said, "Ah have control now, Lorna, and it's permanent. Now, if you'll excuse meh Ah have to go and help tha others." Winking, Rogue left the cell to go and help Lucas, Laura, and Aaron, who were trying to awaken Tyne but without success. Lorna felt someone grab her arm and help her to her feet and thinking it was Alex instantly flung her arms around the figure beside her.
Pietro froze when Lorna hugged him; she obviously thought that he was Summers' younger brother; otherwise, she probably wouldn't be hugging him. Pietro decided to break the truth to her and, gently removing Lorna's arms from around him brought her into the light that emanated from the hallway.
Lorna saw whom she had really hugged and, gasping, stepped back in shock. "Quicksilver! What are you doing here?! Where's Alex?" Lorna looked around; rushing past Pietro and into the hallway, hoping her boyfriend was outside, waiting for her. When she didn't see him she sighed and put her hands over her face, embarrassed that she had hugged someone else that she had thought to be Alex and hadn't even checked to be sure.
Pietro came up behind her and, gently placing a hand on her shoulder said, "Polaris, Lorna. Listen to me. I know that you're my sister and I know that you feel ashamed that we're related. Hell, if I were in your shoes I'd be embarrassed as well." He smiled at her and on getting no reply sighed and continued, moving to remove Lorna's hands from in front of her face and lifting her chin so that they were eye-to-eye, "You may not like Wanda or me but I really want to get to know you better… you and your sister. We're siblings; even if that means that we share the same egotistical father. I want to be the brother to you that you deserve. Besides," and here Pietro grinned, a gleam coming into his eyes that reminded Lorna of the look Alex got when he had a plan to piss off Scott, "the more siblings I have the more brainpower I have to come up with plans to torture Summers and his perfectionist, sissy of a wife. So, will you let me get to know you better?" Pietro offered his hand in friendship to Lorna, praying that she'd take it and not leave him hanging, feeling like a complete idiot.
Lorna eyed Pietro – no, her brother she corrected – and wondered if she could trust him. Then she remembered what Rogue had told her about Pietro and Wanda when Lorna had asked after confiding in the Southern mutant the truth about her heritage. She remembered hearing how both Pietro and Wanda had been treated like shit when they were younger and as a result, both resented their father. Deciding that for that reason, along with having more help in torturing Scott and Jean, she could trust Pietro she took his hand, shaking it warmly. "I think that I'd like to get to know you and Wanda better; after all, if we're going to be siblings then we have to learn how to speak telepathically so no one else knows our plans to torture and destroy Scott and Jean, right?" She grinned and looked at Pietro, seeing a grin identical to hers plastered on his face.
"Exactly!" Pietro exclaimed, ecstatic that he had made up with one sibling. Now, he had one more to go. Rogue called them over at that moment, and after reassuring Lorna that they would find Alex introduced Pietro to Tyne, who had finally woken up after Aaron got help from Rogue on healing her, mentally and physically.
"You're Quicksilver, right?" Tyne asked shyly, causing Pietro to wonder why she was the leader of the younger mutants. "It's nice to meet you."
Pietro nodded and moved to shake her hand but was shocked when he felt Tyne grab his hand roughly, causing him to send a glare her way. However, Tyne's blue eyes glared right back at him and he gulped on seeing them narrow so that they resembled hawk's eyes. Tyne then shifted into a large hawk, complete with black and white feathers, yellow eyes, and a bright red plume of feathers on her head, Pietro backing up in shock.
"I am known as Wing; do not forget that one simple fact," Tyne said, her voice now volumes lower and holding a dangerous tone to it. Pietro gulped and nodded, making a mental note never to piss the leader of the X-Sword team off again.
Tyne then shifted back to her human form and, holding a hand out to Pietro said, "Sorry; I could sense you had doubts about my leadership abilities and I had to prove you wrong." She shook hands with Pietro then moved over to her team, all of whom were snickering at Pietro.
Rogue turned to Pietro and, crossing her arms, asked, "Have any doubts 'bout Tyne's ability ta lead?"
Pietro shook his head no at least five times before answering, "Not in the least; not at all." Rogue, still chuckling, explained to Tyne and Lorna how to travel the hallways then led the way to the next one, filing the scene away for a later time when she could tell Wanda.
Hallway #24, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 2:20 AM
When Rogue's group, now numbering eleven, entered hallway #24 Rogue was shocked to realize that Moira MacTaggert had been imprisoned as well.
She snarled, "How dare that bastard Apocalypse imprison Moira?! She's not even a mutant, for tha love of Gawd!" She then motioned to Lorna to do her thing, which she did right away. Rogue had reasoned that since Lorna could control all metal it would be simple for her to use her powers and rip the metal bars off the doors, which would save precious time.
Lorna nodded and, stepping forward, closed her eyes and put her hands out in front of her. Concentrating, Lorna floated into the air and in a few minutes had managed to rip the bars off of their cells and twist them into an unrecognizable pile of scrap iron, which landed at Rogue' feet. She then opened her hands and landed lightly on her feet, letting out a sigh of relief that Rogue's plan had worked successfully.
Pietro placed an arm over her shoulder and said, "Well done, sister of mine. Now I have some more lock-picking tools!" To prove his point, he produced a handful of small metal pieces he had taken from the pile, the perfect size for use with the locks on the collars. Lorna grinned back at him, and Rogue watched the siblings interact, glad she had told Pietro about Lorna; as long as Lorna didn't find out that she had told Pietro about his siblings she was fine.
Rogue then motioned to the next wave of mutant rescuers, which consisted of Laura and Aaron for one cell, she and Pietro for the other. The rest would keep guard over the door, Opal doing so with an air of disgust, obviously feeling that guard duty was beneath her. Rogue decided to help Moira and so sent Laura and Aaron to the other cell. She and Pietro ran over to Moira's cell and ran inside, where she knelt in front of the Scottish doctor and got ready to heal her.
"Done!" Pietro called out as he dangled the now useless torture device from his hand, twirling around the piece of metal he had used to free the doctor in his hand. He then chucked the collar over his shoulder at the wall, grinning when he heard it fall to pieces as it hit the wall. Chuckling, Rogue placed her hand on Moira's cheek and healed her, making sure not to harm her psyche at any time.
Moira's gray-green eyes flickered open and when she saw Rogue she exclaimed, "Rogue! Thank the gods tha' yer here! Sean's in trouble; they tortured him and Ay'm not sure where he is and is Rahne okay?" Moira's eyes searched Rogue's for the answers to her questions and on seeing that Rogue didn't know let silent tears fall down her cheeks.
"Ay'm so worried about them. Ay mean, we were taken captive days ago and Ay was forced tae create these damn collars for torturing mutants and people while they tortured Sean in front of me… oh god, wha' have Ay done! And Ay don't even have a clue where Rahne is. Why is this happening?!" Moira buried her face in her hands and began to sob, even as Rogue wrapped her arms around the woman, crooning to her that it would be okay; that they would rescue Sean and Rahne and get everyone off the damn prison. Rogue noticed that Moira was still in the clothes that she had been in when she had given her last lesson via satellite a little over a week ago. They consisted of a knee-length navy blue skirt, a pale purple blouse, a white lab coat, and her white sneakers, all of which was now ragged and dirty. She also had on her silver locket that Rogue knew had pictures of her parents, her fiancé Sean, and Rahne inside, and her engagement ring, a gold band with a small diamond in the middle surrounded by a topaz and ruby.
"It's not your fault, Moira," Rogue soothed, leading Moira out of the cell and into the hallway, Pietro following. "Apocalypse is back, Moira, and he needed your skills with technology ta create those damn collars so tha' he could torture us all and choose his Horsemen. Yah had no choice, Moira. None of us blame yah; yah had ta do what yah could ta save Sean's and your life." Rogue nodded to Lorna to come over and help her comfort Moira, who was still crying, although her sobs had gotten quieter.
Meanwhile, across the hall, Laura and Aaron had rushed into the cell and after she had freed the imprisoned man, Aaron had healed him. When the man didn't wake up, Aaron tried once more. Concentrating and focusing on the happiest memories he had ever experienced Aaron placed both hands on the man's face, closed his eyes, and enveloped them in a brilliant white aura.
SEAN'S SUBCONSCIOUS
Aaron found himself on what appeared to be some kind of plane, the stars shining brightly. He saw his patient below him, looking at the sky from what appeared to be the tower of a stone castle, surrounded by a beautiful landscape. He was dressed in dark brown khakis, a cream-colored wool sweater, black sneakers, and a black jacket; the same clothes he had been wearing when Aaron found him. Aaron landed and approached the man, noting how he seemed to be sad here.
The man turned to him and said, "Hello, boyo. I was just watchin' the stars, lookin' fer a way out. Name's Sean; Sean Cassidy. However, others know me as the Banshee." Aaron started; in front of him was one of the founders of the X-Men – Banshee!
"I'm Aaron and I can help you find your way home," Aaron said, fighting the urge to question Sean about the original X-Men team as he walked until he was beside Sean. "Give me your hand."
Sean sighed, and continued looking at the sky. "Ye know how hard it is to live with the burden tha' I helped create the X-Men? Charles wants me back to serve but I can't bring meself to do it; I'm happy with me life with Moira and yet I feel like me time on Earth's done. Maybe I'm better off stayin' here."
"Absolutely not!" Aaron sternly said, startling Sean so that he looked at him. "We need your help, Banshee. Apocalypse is back and we need all the help we can get. Besides, Rogue said that Moira was in trouble; she needs you too, Sean. Are you just going to abandon those who care for you and need you or are you going to come back with me and help them?" Aaron offered his hand to Sean again.
Sean stared at Aaron for a moment, pondering his words, then, grinning, looked at Aaron and said, "Aye, you're right, boyo. They need me and I'm not going to let Moira down." He took Aaron's hand and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared in a flash of white light.
SEAN'S CELL
Laura had been watching the white light when it suddenly vanished in front of her eyes. She opened them and saw Aaron and the man standing, hand-in-hand, grinning at each other. Laura noticed that the man's clothes, which had been ratty and torn before, had somehow changed into a uniform that she thought was odd in that it looked a bit old-fashioned. It consisted of dark green pants, a dark green turtleneck with yellow stripes going from shoulder to shoulder, goldenrod boots, gloves, and a large black "X" stitched onto both his shoulders, along with being the main centerpiece of his dark brown belt that she figured had a communication device. It also seemed like he had a black cape that draped from his shoulders to just above his knees.
Aaron turned to Laura and, grinning, said, "Laura, let me introduce you to one of the founding members of the X-Men: Sean Cassidy, a.k.a. Banshee." Laura gaped, obviously surprised and beyond shocked that Banshee, one of the founding members of the X-Men and the most powerful, was in front of her.
Sean grinned and said, his sky blue eyes twinkling with amusement, "Is this yer girl then, Aaron?" Aaron and Laura started and, after looking at each other, vehemently shook their heads no. Sean laughed his voice a deep tenor tone that reached into the hallway and reached Moira's ears.
"Ay hear Sean," Moira whispered, not sure if the laugh she was hearing was there. When the laugh didn't fade, she ran from Rogue and Lorna's arms, the two women shooting each other knowing glances. Moira ran into the cell and on seeing Sean covered her mouth and whispered, "Sean?"
Sean stopped laughing and spun around in surprise. When he saw Moira he walked towards her and said, "Moira, me luv; it's me." He caught Moira as she flung herself into his arms, burying her face into his uniform as he rested his head on hers, both reveling in knowing that the other was okay.
"Sean, are ye okay?" Moira asked, reaching up to touch her fiancé's rough face. Sean grinned, knowing that his Moira was more concerned about his well-being than her own; it was one of the things he loved about her.
"I'm fine, luv, thanks to Aaron," Sean turned to allow Moira to see Aaron and Laura, whom she nodded hello to, as she knew them from their lessons via satellite with her.
Rogue entered the cell and said, "As happy as Ah am to know tha' yah two are both fine we need ta get going and save tha others and defeat Apocalypse, okay?" On getting nods from them, she grinned and her smile widened when Sean stepped forward and said, "I'm at yer service, Rogue. The Banshee is ready to terrorize the skies once more."
Rogue drew them into the group of mutants and, after introductions, the group set out for the next hallway.
Hallway #18, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 2:45 AM
Upon entering hallway #18, Rogue and Lucas, accompanied by Pietro and Aaron respectively raced to free the other mutants. However, first Lorna took to the air once more and dismantled the bars of the cells. This time, though, the electricity that had been on the bars didn't fade away as it had the previous time; it instead set a path for the mutants and Moira, who were shocked at this turn of events. Before the electricity could get any closer Lucas stepped forward and, concentrating, created a psychic shield tinged with fire to protect them. As he did this his eyes blazed bright purple with the effort and those behind him were shocked, Moira especially.
"Is tha' Legion helping us?" she asked Rogue, who turned to her and nodded. Sean, meanwhile, was studying Lucas, looking for any sign of the darkness that he could always sense when he was around Lucas. However, this time he found nothing.
"Rogue," Sean asked, and Rogue turned to him. "Is Legion really with us or is he trickin' us?" Rogue shook her head, knowing that Sean and Moira didn't trust the young man for obvious reasons, the prime one being that he had attacked Muir Island numerous times, hoping to gain mutant recruits but failing every time.
Rogue replied, "Lucas is really on our side, Sean. Remy and Ah cleansed him of tha evil aura tha' Apocalypse had been infecting him with for over a decade remotely. He's really on our side and feels tha' he has ta help us ta make up for all tha years tha' he caused his parents and others trouble. He wouldn't be with us now if Ah didn't trust him." She then turned back to Lucas, who had just put down his shield after getting rid of all the stray electricity by throwing it back into the pile of scrap iron that was now on the floor of the hallway. "Good work, Lucas." Rogue said, and Lucas turned around, grinning widely as if he had just opened the biggest gift on Christmas morning.
The two groups then rushed off to the cells, Moira choosing to tag along with Lucas and Aaron to help them with the cell's occupant. Lucas and his group rushed into the cell and with Aaron and Moira holding the mutant while Lucas disintegrated the collar that was around his neck, careful not to harm him. A shaft of light filtered through the chasm of a doorway and Aaron started on realizing that Ross was in front of him.
"It's Ross!" he exclaimed, drawing Moira's attention. She nodded in agreement, recognizing the young samurai from her lessons and her studies of the metal in his blood due to his powers. "I'm going to heal him," Aaron said but before he could place his hands on Ross's face Moira stopped him.
"Wait a minute, Aaron," she said, her doctor's eyes picking up something unusual about Ross. "Ay sense tha' he is full of anger. Unless we can calm him down, the moment he wakes he will attack." Moira put her chin in her hand to think and then snapped her fingers on coming up with a solution. She looked up to Lucas, who was standing behind Ross, waiting for her orders. "Legion, can ye go inside his mind and cleanse him of the anger?"
Lucas started; he knew that Moira was asking him to do this because she trusted him; something he still had yet to come to terms with was the fact that people actually trusted him now.
"Are ye sure?" he asked haltingly, giving her the chance to reconsider her offer.
When Moira nodded yes, he let out a breath and said, "I'll try, Dr. MacTaggert." He then moved so that he was in front of Ross, Aaron and Moira having stood up to give him room and, closing his mind Lucas delved into the telepathic side of his personality, drawing on David's powers for back-up.
As Lucas moved through Ross's mind, he saw that the young mutant was tortured with thoughts that ranged from anger at his parents for not letting him grow up normally to being angry with himself for being a mutant.
'Poor boy,' Lucas thought to himself, vowing to help him control his anger when this whole deal with Apocalypse was done. Lucas knew the effects anger could have on a person and was determined not to let it happen with Ross.
Finally, Lucas reached the core of Ross's mind and, after a few minutes of manipulation and erasing managed to banish all thoughts of anger from Ross's mind. Lucas nodded his head and closing his eyes willed himself to return to his body.
Lucas opened his eyes and found himself staring into the black eyes of Ross, who was regarding him with a steady gaze.
"You helped me get rid of the anger inside my mind?" Ross asked quietly, his voice low and deep. Lucas nodded and was beyond shocked when Ross placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Thank you, my friend." He then saw Aaron and a grin broke out onto his face, causing his eyes to glimmer with happiness. "Aaron, I feel like, how do you say, crap. Can you heal me?"
Aaron, grinning, nodded and came forward placing his hands on Ross's arm healed him. Once he was done, Aaron got to his feet, pulling Ross up with him. They shook hands, grinning all the while, and then Ross turned to face Lucas again, his black eyes regarding the adult in front of him.
Ross bowed from the waist down, as he had been taught by his parents, and said, "Thank you again, friend, for helping me." Lucas, feeling self-conscious, bowed in return, his black eyes not leaving Ross's.
Moira, a smile on her lips, watched the scene, now knowing that Lucas had truly changed. She had been testing Lucas when she asked him to help Ross and he had passed with flying colors. She motioned to the three men in the cell to follow her out of the cell and into the hallway.
Rogue and Pietro, meanwhile, had freed Britt, Rogue taking her time to heal the young girl, feeling a kinship with her. She had powers that made her feel uncomfortable; after all, talking to a wild bird during a training session would make anyone self-conscious of their powers. Rogue also knew that Britt had a close relationship with Rahne, with whom she worked in the veterinary clinic that was located on the grounds and who understood how mutant powers could make their possessor self-conscious. Rogue also repaired Britt's glasses, which had broken during the fight at the school two days ago.
Britt's dark brown eyes opened and on seeing Rogue, she grinned and threw herself into the woman's arms, a muffled "Thank you" barely audible.
Pietro watched this for a moment then, feeling like he might gag, left the cell to go and talk to Opal and Lorna, both of whom was helping out on guard duty. A few moments later, Rogue and Britt followed Pietro out of the cell, where Britt was reunited with her team, Tyne taking the time to reassure her that they would do fine in their next battle. Ross stared at Britt from afar, noting how happy she looked when among her friends. When he noticed that it was his turn to welcome her back, he did so with a smile and a look in his eyes that made Britt blush a little; not that anyone noticed, as they were all listening to Lucas give the run-down of the rest of their mission. The group then left to go and rescue the occupants of the next hallway.