Disclaimer—I don't own anything here.
20—Random
Mystique yawned. Being Mr. Guyrich wasn't doing much for her beauty sleep. It seemed Senator Kelly needed his personal aide awake most of the time to keep on top of the numbers rallying to his cry. A cry to lock up every single mutant in America, before taking on the world. With gritted teeth Mystique listened to the Senator as he babbled on and on about his upcoming meeting with the President.
"Now, Guyrich, I want everything in order when we touch down at the White House. Make sure I have my reports on homeland security. We got to scare the President shitless in order to get more backing for the Mutant Registration Act. Damn muties, who the hell in their right mind would try and protect them?" Senator Kelly snorted with derision as he peered out the window of the small plane. They were crossing water now.
"Wait a second; does the damn pilot know where he's going? There's no water on the way to the White House. Not from New York! Guyrich!" The Senator turned to his aide but the figure staring back at him wasn't Guyrich. In Guyrich's place sat a morosely beautiful blue woman in a white form fitting dress staring right back at him. Her yellow eyes seemed to pierce his soul.
"Who are you?" he gulped, shrinking back in his seat.
Mystique smiled. "You're worst nightmare. You have every reason to fear me, Senator, because its people like you who make me the way I am. Dangerous." Her words dripped with venom, and on the last syllable she quickly knocked the Senator out with a sharp kick to his head. With a satisfied smirk, Mystique drew a dagger as she made her way to the cockpit.
"We should be in Canada within the hour—what the—" the pilot never finished his thoughts as he slumped over dead in his seat, blood spilling out from the slit in his throat.
"You humans are so stupid," muttered Mystique as she took over the plane's commands from the co-pilot's chair.
The plan was finally in motion.
Underground:
Magneto's eyes were closed in concentration as the sounds of Mozart drifted throughout the metal room. With a sigh he opened them to peer at the cell phone sitting atop his desk. Patience was wearing thin.
"What the hell is taking so long?" he murmured to himself. He stood up and began to pace the room. The moment was coming. A moment that would define his place in history—as the liberator of mutant-kind. No more would the homo-sapiens rule the world…it was time for a new era.
The cell phone rang, breaking Magneto from his reverie. He picked it up and smiled at the caller I.D. It was perfect timing. He turned it on, bringing the small device to his ear. "My dear, please tell me that the next phase has been completed?"
"It's done," came Mystique's voice from the other end.
"Perfect." Humans were about to head on a one way trip to extinction.
Elsewhere Underground:
Sabertooth growled a deep rumbling sound from within his chest. He was on edge. Magneto's plans were underway, but Sabertooth was taking orders from a higher power. Times were dangerous, and it was each mutant for himself. The hairy mutant kicked a chair across the room he was in, the sound echoed through the dank sewers.
Some base. They were hiding out in the rotting sewers of all places—the X-Men really didn't have a clue what they were up against. Sabertooth grabbed his chair again and took a seat. He grabbed a large metal file and began the long, yet soothing process of sharpening his nails.
He needed to be ready for his role for the future. The offer was too good for a screw-up. The money was only a plus, Sabertooth's life though, that was the real clincher.
Undisclosed Location in Egypt:
The mutant known only as Sinister studied the calendar on the wall of the dark tomb. It was an ancient hieroglyphic calendar, but he didn't need to translate it into English anymore. He had been staring at the calendar for the last three years, waiting for the day of Revelations.
With a straight face he walked over to the small desk he had moved into the tomb. On top of the desk was a paper schedule. Only half the items on the list were completed. Two names stood out as he casually glanced over its contents.
Warren Worthington and Rogue.
The day was almost at hand.
Cerebro:
Xavier reached out with his mind with a single purpose. Find Mystique. The shape shifter had been missing for quite a while now. The school board had decided to dismiss Principal Darkholme for not showing up for her job the last couple of weeks. With a troubled sigh, the great telepathic finally opened his eyes in retreat.
Mystique was nowhere to be found, which meant only one thing. Magneto. Something was amiss, and Charles knew that whatever was in the making would be his old friend Eric's doing.
"Eric, why have you lost your way? What is it that you are planning? I feel such a sense of foreboding coming my way. Why must I feel so helpless?" murmured Xavier to himself.
He winced as the sound of breaking glass reached him inside Cerebro. Apparently the new students were having a little too much fun. With another sigh, Charles slowly made his way out of Cerebro. His search for Magneto would have to wait for another day.
Xavier's Mansion:
"Oops," said Jamie as he and Jubilee stood staring at the broken window. They had been playing baseball—inside the house of all things, and now there would be severe consequences.
Jubilee groaned. "Man, why can't I have powers that would fix this mess?"
"Think we'll be in trouble?" asked Jamie, his eyes already forming tears for a potential plea bargain.
"More than likely. This wouldn't have happened if Bobby hadn't decided to ditch us. I don't see what the big deal is about some stupid play rehearsal. It's a freakin' school play! No one's gonna see it!"
"Rogue's in it!" announced the small boy perking up. Jubilee felt herself deflate at the thought. With Rogue in the picture, the young Asian didn't stand a chance in hell at getting Bobby to notice her. What did everyone see in the Rogue anyway? She wasn't even that pretty.
"My life sucks!" Jubilee pouted and kicked shards of glass spinning across the floor. She whimpered in defeat as the glass came to a halt in front of the Professor himself.
"I think an explanation is in order," said Xavier softly.
Garage:
Logan studied his bike from one angle and then another. Yep, she definitely needed to be washed. Damn kids, always trying to touch it with their grubby little hands. Never mind the fact that the kids in question were really teenagers. No one touched his bike.
Tossing a sponge into the bucket of water Logan drifted off into thought. His mind was still reeling from the last interaction with Rogue. There had been something funny about her after she had drained Red. But Logan couldn't quite put his finger on it. With a shake of his head, the older X-Man grabbed the soapy sponge and began the process of cleaning his precious bike back into tip-top condition. He had a feeling he'd be using it soon.
Garden:
Ororo was basking in the sunlight, trying to take in the peacefulness of the moment. She gave a small shiver and pulled her coat tighter around her body. She shifted in her seat as her ears caught a strange sound. It was more like a lack of a sound. The quiet—there weren't any birds singing in the trees. Looking up into the sky, the weather witch didn't see any birds flying over head.
"Something is coming," she whispered to herself trying to sit back. There was no use jumping to conclusions, but her mind was now awhirl. Animals knew when danger was on the horizon. And judging by the lack of animal activity now, Ororo knew something big was headed their way. With a resigned sigh, she sat up and slowly made her way back into the mansion.
Stuff like this just couldn't be ignored. War was brewing.
New York City:
Warren stuffed his hands into his coat pocket, and hunched his shoulders as he made his way down the crowded sidewalk. Winter was here, but the only cold Warren could feel was a deep sense of danger. Mutants had been quiet lately, and he knew it had nothing to do with Senator Kelly's Mutant Registration Act. No, it was almost as though the mutant population felt some kind of storm was coming, and now they were hiding out in hopes it would pass by peacefully. So lost in his thoughts, Warren didn't notice the blind lady until he had bumped into her.
"Oh, sorry! I seem to be doing a lot of that lately," apologized Warren as he steadied the red headed woman.
"You!" she exclaimed, her sunglasses peering right through him.
"Excuse me?"
The woman known as Destiny paled and gripped the boy's arms with strong hands. "It is coming! The end of mankind is coming!" she hissed.
"I don't know…are you alright?" Warren struggled to get loose, but the woman held on like iron cuffs.
"Rogue! She is in danger! And you, you are also in danger. Why didn't I see this before? Why didn't I see? It will be too late. Her fate is changing…"
"Did you say Rogue?" demanded Warren, his eyes widening in horror. "What kind of danger is she in? Tell me! I have to warn her!"
Destiny let go of Warren and shook her head sadly. "The end of the world is coming."
Bayville High School:
"You should come over this weekend and meet my parents, Kurt. I know they'd really like you," said Amanda sweetly. Kurt gulped at the thought.
"Amanda, I think I should tell you something," he started nervously. Deep down Kurt knew there was no way Amanda's parents would accept him once they found out he was a mutant. Kurt hadn't even told Amanda yet.
"You don't have to say anything. You'll meet them in a safe place. Daddy isn't really that bad. Come to Church with me this Sunday and you can see for yourself. Okay?"
"Uh, well, you see, uh…sure. Church on Sunday," relented Kurt. Amanda gave a squeal of delight hugging Kurt.
"Meet me at my house Sunday morning at eight-thirty. See you later."
Kurt watched with a sinking feeling as Amanda bounded away towards her home. He was so screwed. With a sigh, the German teen leaned against the oak tree and slumped to the ground. He was definitely going to have to get a couple of pointers from Scott now. Just as Kurt was getting up the nerve to stand up and search for Scott, one very stinky mutant jumped down in front of him.
"Yo fur ball, heard you got detention for missing school the other day," exclaimed Toad with triumph.
"Ja, no thanks to you, Wart."
"The name's Toad, you better remember it or else."
"Or else what, slime ball? You're the one who pushed me down the stairs—"
"And then you poofed away!"
Kurt snorted. "No, I fell into a time warp. Met another mutant like myself."
"Yeah, I heard. Some freak called Forge."
"What d'ya want?"
Toad gave a sinister chuckle. "Nothing. Just thought we should finish our last fight. It never got finished last time around."
"Fine by me," muttered Kurt, turning off his image inducer. He had barely returned to his naturally blue form when Toad tackled him to the ground. The two teen boys wrestled, until Kurt pushed Toad off with his feet. Toad flew back into the tree, dazed. Just as the green boy was about to do a counter attack he froze. A car was slowly driving by the school.
Kurt yelped and jumped into the branches of the tree. Toad joined him, and in complete silence they watched as the car rolled to a stop. A man in a dark business suit stepped out, seeming to inspect the outside of the school. He was a portly fellow with gray hair and dark eyes. He took a couple of steps towards the school, but stopped upon hearing someone call his name.
"Mr. Stryker, sir, the President just called. Your colleague, Senator Kelly, failed to show up for the intended meeting. The plane he was in vanished from radar. The government's worried that mutants are behind the disappearance."
William Stryker locked his jaw in place and threw the school another disapproving glance. With a sharp nod he returned to the car, and it took off at break neck speed.
Kurt and Toad both jumped down from the tree, their battle forgotten.
"That Kelly guy, wasn't he at the rally the other week?" asked Toad with a nervous twitter.
"Ja. He hates mutants." Kurt turned to face his archrival. "You don't happen to know anything about this, do you?"
"No…unless…" Toad trailed off and glanced in the direction of the boarding house. Mystique had been gone for quite a while now. She only did that when Magneto had something up his sleeve.
"Unless what?" Kurt groaned as his question went unanswered. Toad was already gone.
Park:
Bobby kicked a pebble with his shoe. It skittered down the sidewalk, but the blonde teen didn't even notice it. Play rehearsal hadn't gone very well. His role as Benvolio wasn't much fun. Of course, it didn't help that he hadn't memorized his lines. The ones he did know were quickly forgotten whenever he saw Rogue. She had seemed different today. Almost scared and lost.
"Why won't she talk to me?" he murmured to himself.
"Hey freako, move it or lose it!" threatened a deep voice from behind Bobby.
"Fuck off, Blob."
Fred shrugged. "Suit yourself, Ice Chump." The heavy set mutant nudged Bobby to the ground with a large elbow.
Bobby groaned. "Dude, I don't feel like messing around. So fuck off."
"Make me."
With a shake of his head, Bobby scrambled to his feet. "Don't you get it? Rogue's hurting!"
"Huh?" Fred blinked in surprise. He hadn't been expecting this.
"Didn't you see her at rehearsal? Something's bothering her. She wasn't even talking to anyone today."
"Well," Fred scratched the back of his head. "I guess she did kinda seem different today. But she isn't in a fight with Lance. Or anyone else."
"Yeah, well, something's bothering her, fatty. You live with her; you're friends with her for Christ sakes! Why don't you start keeping an eye on her, huh? I may be the enemy here, but I'm still worried about Rogue. Something's going on, something bigger than you and I can even imagine." Bobby looked at the other mutant expectantly. Fred finally nodded in agreement.
"Alright, I'll talk to her. I'll keep an eye on her too, only so you can stay the hell away from her!"
"That's all I ask."
"Freddy! We got a problem!" wheezed Toad hopping over to join his comrade.
"What kinda problem?" demanded Fred.
"That Senator guy is missing. The one who hates mutants."
"So?"
"Mystique hasn't been around for a while, or hadn't you noticed? C'mon, we gotta find the others and let 'em know. We're gonna be in deep shit!"
Bobby was at a loss of words as the two Brotherhood mutants rushed away, talking a mile a minute.
"I better let the Professor know about this," he murmured to himself.
Skate Park:
Pietro was waiting for Evan as he exited the skate park.
"Hey Daniels, catch this!" the white haired teen barely had the words out of his mouth as he shot a fist into Evan's face.
"What the fuck, Maximoff?" demanded Evan stumbling backwards a few steps.
"Just a little warning you should pass on to your buddies," replied Pietro flippantly.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Guess you haven't noticed, have you? Are you really that dumb?"
"Huh?"
Pietro sighed and grabbed Evan by the collar, pushing him against a nearby wall. "Your friend Kitty is in for a whole lot of hurtin' when Rogue finds out her little secret. If you want to keep her alive then maybe you should keep her away from Lance. In case you've forgotten, Rogue isn't the most forgiving person on the planet. She looks ready to snap again…and I'd hate to see it wasted on someone as pathetic as Kitty Pride."
Evan gritted his teeth and shoved Pietro away from him. He quickly produced a bone stake and whirled it around in his hands. "Then you better tell Lance to keep his hands to himself. I think if Rogue were to take anyone down it would be Lance." With those words he lunged towards Pietro, the stake aimed at the speedster's chest. Pietro moved to the side, watching Evan steady himself for another attack.
"You aren't even in my league, Daniels. You never will be," taunted Pietro calmly.
"Asshole!" Evan tossed the stake at Pietro, knowing full well the teen would get out of the way. But Evan was ready for him; he pulled out more skeletal spikes and threw them as fast as he could at Pietro. Minutes later the two teens were out of breath, having gone in a circle more than twice.
"Give up?" huffed Pietro.
"Never," vowed Evan. He was about to throw a well aimed punch, but Pietro was already throwing a shoulder into his gut and forcing Evan back towards the brick wall with as much speed as he could muster. Evan felt the wind knocked out of him and winced as the bricks pressed into his back.
Pietro took a step back as Evan dropped to the ground. "Just pass on the warning, dumbass."
Evan watched as Pietro disappeared in the blink of an eye. With a groan he tried standing up, but he still hadn't caught his breath yet. Evan sat back and leaned his head against the wall. Why did he have to warn Kitty to stop playing games?
Xavier's Mansion:
Jean studied the television screen with keen interest. Breaking headline news confirmed what both Bobby and Kurt had discovered earlier. Senator Kelly was in fact missing. There was an investigation ongoing, but absolutely no leads.
To top off that, Mystique was also missing. And, as the Professor had reluctantly informed them, she had been their high school principal. It was mind blowing, yes, but not surprising. The Professor liked to believe everyone had an ounce of goodness in them; that they deserved every chance they had to prove themselves to the world.
"What does Magneto want with Senator Kelly?" murmured Jean to herself. She leaned back into the cushions of the couch as her mind drifted away from the news program. She was getting stronger by the day, returning to the way she was before the battle with Rogue. Of course, now Rogue refused to even look her in the eye. Not that Jean could blame her; she had initiated the attack forcing Rogue to lose control.
But something else was bothering Jean. There was a small voice in her head telling her she was forgetting something. Something she had somehow managed to gleam from Rogue's mind in the midst of their battle. The only problem was that Jean couldn't remember what it was she had learned. But she knew it was important.
Jean sat up like a dart when she heard the front door open. She rushed over just in time to see Evan come in with bruises across his face.
"Pietro?" she asked knowingly.
"I'd kill him if he ever took the chance to stand still," muttered the other teen darkly.
"You shouldn't let him get to you like that. He was born to be annoying."
"You're telling me. Hey, have you seen Kitty by any chance?"
Jean shook her head. "No, why?"
"Nothin', I just gotta talk to her. I think it might be important."
"How important?" Jean narrowed her eyes as Evan looked at her.
"You really want to know?"
Drive in Theater:
Lance parked his jeep and turned to the passenger beside him. Kitty grinned at him as the movie started. With a shake of his head Lance tried to concentrate on the opening scene. But his mind was awhirl. What he was doing was wrong, but it felt right. After working on a school assignment with Kitty the last couple of days Lance had come to see a whole new side of her. She wasn't just an annoying valley girl, she was smart and funny. And beautiful. Old feelings that Lance had thought he had gotten rid of had come flooding back full force.
"I'm really glad you took me out tonight, Lance. It's like really sweet of you," murmured Kitty nestling into the crook of his arm.
"Yeah yeah, just don't let anyone else know. It'd ruin my reputation," replied Lance in a teasing manner.
"What about Rogue?"
"You let me worry about her, alright?"
Kitty sat up with a serious expression on her face and looked at Lance carefully. "Lance, you know I like you, and I know you still like me, so why don't you just end things with Rogue? She might understand, you know."
"It's complicated. Rogue's been out of it lately. She needs me." Lance avoided Kitty's eyes, nervously running a hand through his dark eyes.
"You love her." Kitty's voice was accusing.
"I…I don't know anymore. Everything's so damn confusing, Kitty. Part of me wants to move on with you, but the other part of me won't let go of Rogue. I'm worried about her. She trusts me; I don't want to lose that."
"But aren't you like breaking her trust right now?"
Lance was quiet as he gazed up at the movie screen, paying little attention to the movie itself. Then he turned back to Kitty and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "Like I said, you let me worry about Rogue."
Kitty nodded in understanding as Lance pulled her into a hug. Things would work out one way or another.
School Auditorium:
"Scott, for the last time, Ah really don't care how Ah sound in this play. So what if Ah forget a few lines? It's not that big of a deal," said Rogue trying to keep herself from strangling the X-Man standing beside her on the stage. After the regular rehearsal had ended Rogue had somehow agreed to stay and practice her lines some more with Scott.
"Rogue, don't you care how the school thinks of you?" asked Scott looking up from the script.
"No."
Scott sighed. "How about your grade in this class? If you don't put any effort into your performance then it could mean a really bad grade."
"Mail it to meh then. Oh, ahn while you're at it, why don't ya mail a copy of the performance, 'cause Ah don't think Ah'll be there." Rogue tossed her copy of the script to the ground and turned to go when she felt a hand on her arm.
"Rogue, what's wrong? You've been acting strange all day." Scott pulled Rogue back towards him, but not forcing her to turn around.
Rogue bit her lip as she contemplated her thoughts. "Didja ever get the feeling that some things are beyond your control?" she murmured softly.
"All the time."
"How about the feeling that something that shouldn't happen will happen because no matter how hard ya try, you cahn't change fate."
"That's how the world works, Rogue. You can't change the future."
"Then what do you do when ya know the most important person in your world is the last person you could ever trust?" Rogue turned around with tears in her eyes. "'Cause Ah've never felt so lost before, Scott. Ah cahn't trust anyone…Ah cahn't even trust mahself."
"Rogue…" Scott pulled Rogue into a hug, letting her cry into his shirt. "What's going on, Rogue? What is it you're not telling me?"
"Bad things are comin'. Ah'm so afraid of what will happen. It's all mah fault. Ah should never have been born. Mah powers are a curse; ahn innocent people will suffer 'cause of it."
Scott pulled away from Rogue gently, looking down at her tear stained face in hopes of finding a clue in her babbling. She looked back at him, fear and pain evident in her green eyes. She was hiding something from him, something darker and more dangerous than anything he had ever known.
"I told you once that you could tell me anything, Rogue. That hasn't changed because of a couple of battles. You're confused, you're scared, and you're hurting. Tell me what it is; I want to help you."
Rogue sniffed back more tears. "Ah want ta believe ya, Scott. Ah really do, but…Ah…Ah cahn't. Ah'm so sorry."
"Hey, hey, it's going to be alright. I promise." Scott placed a hand on Rogue's head, smoothing her hair and trying to avoid her skin at the same time. He gave her a small smile of comfort as he forced her eyes to meet his own. Time seemed to stand still as Scott lowered his face towards Rogue's. He heard her give a small gasp, but rather than reassure her he simply brought his lips down to meet hers.
The kiss was gentle, causing more tears to trickle down Rogue's face. Just as she felt the familiar tug of her powers starting up, Rogue broke the kiss, saving Scott from a potential draining. With a shake of her head, Rogue took a couple of steps backwards before turning to flee from the auditorium.
Scott watched her run, berating himself for taking advantage of her at a time like this. He had had a chance to connect with her, and had blown it for a single kiss. "Dammit!" he hollered kicking the scripts off the stage.
Rogue was right. Something was coming alright, but Scott would be the last one to know about it.
A/N—Alright, I worked on this for the past two days. I hope it turned out alright. I wanted to kind of set up the events of the next two chapters, so I apologize that there isn't much with Rogue here. But the next two are all about her. I'll try and update ASAP. Thanks for being patient.