Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me.
51-Hell On Earth
-Two Years Later-
Washington, D.C.:
"It is an honor to be the Republican Party candidate for President of the United States of America. Once elected I will make the mutant problem go away. Humans should not live in fear. We shouldn't be distrustful of our neighbors. There is no chance for peace as long as mutants are free to roam the fair streets of our country. Homo sapiens are the superior species—and yet we must be on guard every moment of every hour of every day, just in case a mutant dares to attack us. We are not free. We are prisoners in our own homes. Mutants have made us prisoners!
"And to top that off our very existence is being threatened by the mutant called Apocalypse. Imprisoned for over a millennia, he was set free to reign in terror over the planet. And who set him free? A mutant. They have been planning and plotting to destroy the human race for decades, and now—now they just might get their chance.
"Mutants are an abomination. They are not blessed by God Almighty—they are the devil's servants out to take away our very way of life. Mutants are why our world is at war. There can never be peace so long as mutants thrive. In our country alone there is a civil war brewing. Yes, a civil war.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot deny what is happening in the United States of America. We cannot hide the truth. But our current President of the United States, President McKenna, would have you believe that mutants want to coexist with us as equals. But we are not equal. They have powers that make them dangerous.
"Mutants can set you on fire if you make them angry. They can read your minds, and if they so choose they can rewrite your very thoughts. They can walk through walls, they can multiply at will, they can run like the speed of light…there's even one who can steal your very life with a single touch. That's cold blooded murder. Then there's invasion of privacy, grand theft, assault, rape, kidnapping, you name it and they can do it.
"No, we cannot live peacefully, side by side, with mutants. We never will. Never before have we been forced to sit and watch as murderers were pardoned. Mutants killed Senator Edward Kelly Sr. Mutants killed Colonel William Stryker. There were two of the finest men in America and now they are both six feet under at the hands of mutant terrorists. Our country hasn't faced a threat of this magnitude since nine-eleven. Mutants are killing men and women who dare to stand up against them. Well I won't sit idly by and watch as mutants murder any more innocent people! I intend to put a stop to the mutant problem!
"Once I become your president I will round up each and every mutant and lock them up behind bars! No mutant will roam free again! They will be branded and shipped off to a mutant camp, never to interact with us on a daily basis ever again. Mutants will become extinct when I become your president—because I will not let them take away my civil liberties. The question is will you let them take away your freedom?"
Senator Graydon Creed stepped back from the podium, his lips twitching with a grin as the crowd of tens of thousands of spectators erupted into cheers. He glanced at the man beside him, sharing a triumphant look.
Edward Kelly Jr. inclined his head approvingly. "I think we just won the presidency."
"It's about damn time something went right," growled Graydon as he plastered a grin on his face and began to wave at the crowd.
"You're telling me. General Fury wants to speak to us. He's still complaining about Weapon X."
"What, the sentinels can't round up his perfect creations?" Graydon chuckled.
"Apparently the mutants in question are proving more talented than he had originally thought," said Kelly. "As it is, none of the mutants determined to be threats to national security have been caught. Only weaklings and would-be innocents have been taken in for questioning."
"Are any of them talking?"
Kelly snorted. "None of them know anything worth hearing about and if they do they're more afraid of the Big Three than us."
"The Big Three?" Graydon turned to glance at his friend and running mate with an incredulous look on his face.
"Apocalypse, Phoenix, and the Rogue."
"God, I can't wait to get my hands on them and tear them to pieces. Three mutants…three mutants have turned the world upside down, and for what? Because all fucking three of them are terminally insane."
"And that alone makes them deadlier than the others we're after."
Graydon nodded shortly as he and Kelly turned to walk off the stage. "Speaking of which, how are we doing catching them—the others?"
"Neither the X-Men nor the Brotherhood have lost any members. Even the Hellfire Club and their Hellions have proved their ability in escaping S.H.I.E.L.D. clutches."
"And no luck with Apocalypse and his minions either I take it?"
"Anyone sent after them has yet to be heard from."
Westchester Army Base:
A lone guard walked the perimeter of the brick building with his heavy boots crunching over the gravel. The night was still, not even a light breeze stirred. Shifting his rifle from one arm to the other the soldier continued along his path, disappearing around the corner of the building to circle it one more time.
From the shadows four figures emerged on silent feet. Mystique changed forms from her original blue body to that of the guard that had just circled the area. She looked around cautiously before motioning for the three others to follow her over to the door that led inside the building.
Shadowcat quickly phased through the door, opening it up from the other side. She ushered the group inside, tucking a strand of her chin length hair behind her ear. Wolverine sniffed the air before moving down the hallway with the rest of the group hot on his heels. Three quarters of the way down the hall he held up his hand, pointing a single gloved finger at a door on his right.
The door was unlocked.
"Remember, look for anything that can give us a clue as to what Trask is working on next," whispered Storm as she gently closed the door behind her.
Shifting back into her own form Mystique made her way over to the desk and computer as Shadowcat pulled open a nearby file cabinet. Storm searched the small closet as Wolverine positioned himself at the door; his ear listening for anyone headed their way.
"Here's a list of mutants wanted by S.H.I.E.L.D.," murmured Mystique. "It looks like Weapon X wasn't the only project created."
"I've got the sentinel designs…Jesus, they're really packing some serious ammo now." Shadowcat glanced over at Storm with fear in her eyes. "It's going to take more than a miracle to destroy them."
"Well I've got a briefcase full of names of Trask's fellow co-workers. I don't know how recent it is since William Stryker is still listed on here," said Storm as she shut the closet door. "But it could prove useful in the future. This will help us identify potential hazards and watch them to see what moves they make in the coming years. It's bad enough it's an election year—we have our hands full doing damage control with Creed in the lime light."
Wolverine snorted, turning his attention away from the door. "We're about to have company," he stated.
The group tensed, waiting for the inevitable. The door swung open and in walked Dr. Trask. All five froze as they glanced at one another in complete surprise.
"I think now would be the time to run," murmured Shadowcat under her breath.
"How dare you…how dare you!" Trask's voice rose as he backed away. "Intrud—" His words were cut off as Wolverine clamped a hand around the doctor's throat.
"Not today, bub, but thanks for letting us use your office. We learned a lot about you and your work. I think it might come in handy," said Wolverine in a low growl.
Mystique rolled her eyes as she shifted into Dr. Trask. "Just knock him out and let's get out of here."
"That's easy for you to say, you ain't the one doing the knocking out."
"Pretend he's Gambit and you just found out he asked Rogue to marry him or something," suggested Shadowcat with a hint of a smile on her lips. That did the trick. Minutes later the phony Dr. Trask was leading Wolverine, Storm, and Shadowcat back the way they had come, leaving the real Dr. Trask unconscious on the floor of his office.
"If that sonofabitch lays a finger on my daughter I'm gonna rip his head off," vowed Wolverine darkly, still seething over the Gambit remark.
Storm and Mystique/Dr. Trask exchanged knowing looks as they reached the doorway. When Storm spoke it was to Shadowcat. "Do you have everything we found today?"
"Yep, not let's get outta here," answered Shadowcat shortly. She glanced behind her nervously. It was far too quiet for a military base.
Muttering under his breath about Cajuns and children, Wolverine reached out to open the door when it suddenly swung open of its own accord.
"Please tell me I'm not imagining things," murmured Shadowcat blinking her eyes as she studied the figure starting back at them. In the doorway stood Dr. Bolivar Trask.
"Is this somebody's idea of a sick joke?" Wolverine narrowed his eyes at the third Dr. Trask of the evening, waiting for an explanation.
Dr. Trask grinned. "I take it you guys already beat me to the office, huh?"
"Who the hell are you?" snapped Mystique as she shifted back into her blue form.
"Oh, right. Sorry about that." Dr. Trask chuckled in a nervous manner, eyeing Wolverine's claws with avid distrust. Shifting from one foot to the other the so-called Dr. Trask began to shift forms as well. When the last traces of the doctor-scientist were gone an average sized man with brown hair, hazel eyes, and a gaunt looking face stood before the small group.
"He's a shape shifter," stated Storm in surprise.
"We can all see that, darlin', now let's get the hell outta here before the real doc wakes up and sounds the alarm. We can ask this bozo questions later." Without waiting for a reply Wolverine grabbed the male shape shifter by the arm and pushed him back outside with the ladies right behind him. As silent as the night the group melted back into the shadows.
Several minutes later they were off the base and back at their SUV. Wolverine pushed the male shape shifter into the side of the vehicle, watching in satisfaction as the man groaned in pain.
"Alright," started Mystique coldly, "who are you, who do you work for and what do you want?"
"They call me Morph and I'm here looking for some clues on what Trask has been working on. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been too fuckin' quiet for the liking of mutants everywhere. With the whole election coming up and the Apocalypse thing, mutants are scared as hell. They wanna know what's next, what do they need to be on the lookout for?" Morph shrugged as he rubbed his shoulder gingerly. "As to who I work for, well, no one really. I'm a free agent type of guy. I work for whoever wants to pay my bills. This time around some guy came up to me and asked me to do him a favor. After he told me what it was I was in. I ain't a big fan of the government, so any chance to get one step ahead of them is fine by me."
Storm frowned. "This man, what did he look like?"
Shuddering, Morph said, "This guy had red eyes like the devil. Had a girl with him, pretty gal too—but let me tell you, she wasn't the friendly type. I almost felt like I didn't have a choice in the matter. I thought she'd kill me if I said no."
"Rogue? Why would she be asking another mutant to do something she could easily do herself?" questioned Shadowcat. "It doesn't make sense."
"It doesn't have to make sense. Rogue isn't in control of herself. She hasn't been for the last two years," replied Mystique.
Wolverine shook his head. "No, the half pint's right. Rogue could waltz right in here and get what she wanted without a problem. No, she's up to something. By using another mutant she's showing a new hand."
Mystique was thoughtful for a moment. "Power. Rogue is showing that she has the power to start her own faction of mutants. If she asked Morph here to do something for her, and Gambit was with her, then it means she's more than one of Apocalypse's underlings. She's breaking away."
"But to what purpose? Is she regaining control of her mind, or is she succumbing to evil's desire to try and overthrow Apocalypse?" asked Storm softly.
"Either way follows the hand of fate. Rogue is destined to destroy Apocalypse."
Morph made a face as he tried to follow the conversation. "Am I still getting paid?"
Wolverine looked over at the mutant with a snide smirk on his face. "Oh you're getting paid alright. A couple of DR sessions and you'll be all taken care of…for life."
"Really?" Morph brightened. "These DR sessions, what are they?"
"The next big thing to gold."
"Oh, then I can't wait."
"Neither can I, bub."
Xavier's Mansion:
"Crap! They're still coming!" cried out Havok turning to glance at his brother. "They must have figured out Wolverine and them went for a visit!"
Cyclops grunted. "I'm not surprised. Wolverine always likes to leave a calling card these days. Alright, guys, you know the drill—shoot the sentinels outta commission, but remember, we've gotta do this as a team. No heroics, got it?"
Quicksilver grinned at the dark look sent his way. "Oh, yeah, right, got it. This time if one of the girls gets herself in a jam I'll just leave her there."
"I think you missed the whole point, Speedy," chuckled Boom-Boom as she and Avalanche joined the white haired man. "Cyke just doesn't want you to get caught again either. It's not as romantic saving your scrawny ass from the giant tin cans."
"If you ask me Summers should just let the fuckers have you. You're nothing but a pain in the ass," added Avalanche as he balled his hands into fists.
"Remind me to step on your birthday gift if I ever get around to buying you one," muttered Quicksilver before speeding off towards an oncoming sentinel. Avalanche and Boom-Boom exchanged shrugs before they too ran after their friend to destroy the robot.
Nearby, Bezerker, Cannonball, Toad, and Blob were busy trying to prevent one of the sentinels from crashing through the front gate.
"Jesus," gasped Bezerker wiping sweat off his brow, "would it kill S.H.I.E.L.D. to leave us alone and go after Apocalypse instead? The guy wakes up and begins terrorizing the world, and who do the sentinels go after? Us."
"Rogue probably scared the shit outta 'em last time they tried to kill her," replied Toad taking a three second breather.
Cannonball snorted. "If you ask me I think Phoenix is scarier outta the two of them. Her whole face looks distorted like she's some kinda demon."
"Maybe she is," suggested Blob. The four males dived away just as a sentinel shot a laser beam in their direction.
"Oh man, we're in for it now," groaned Husk as she scrambled back to her fee. Her skin was as hard as rock and felt gravely to the touch.
Psylocke nodded as she took out her purple psyche sword. "I'm beginning to think that S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't give a damn about anyone or anything but Weapon X and their little clone."
"You'd think they'd get tired of running after me all this time," agreed X-23 as she slashed at the foot of a sentinel.
Pyro chuckled. "Sure thing, Sheila, and next thing you know they'll be wanting to give ole Wolfman a reprieve too."
"Less talk, more destroying would be nice!" called out Magik as she ran past the group, making them jump back into the action.
"Mein gott, I'm ready for a nap," sighed Nightcrawler as he appeared out of thin air beside Forge and Mirage.
Mirage nodded in agreement. "I think we all are. We've been battling for over half the day now."
"Well," murmured Forge standing up from the machine gun sprinkler he had been tinkering with, "maybe this will scare 'em off for a while." He pressed a button and the three mutants jumped back as the machine gun opened fire on the sentinels.
"It's about damn time," growled Scarlet Witch landing beside the trio. Colossus nodded in agreement as he and Multiple joined the group.
"Plug your ears!" cried out Multiple glancing over at Siren who was opening her mouth. Beside her Banshee was doing the same thing. Every mutant placed their fingers in their ears as two high pitched sonic cries screeched through the air. One by one the sentinels began to break apart and topple to the ground until none were left standing.
Beast grinned as Forge stopped the machine gun. "Well, that was an interesting feat."
"Aye, I think those shrieks cleared my ears," grumbled Wolfsbane as she returned to her human form.
Iceman chuckled. "All that really matters is that the tin cans are down and out for the count."
"Do they know that?" asked Jubilee pointing over at a metal arm that was twitching despite being attached to nothing.
"I believe that would be my doing," replied Magneto floating down to the ground. To prove his point he lifted a single hand into the air, moving the metal arm so that Professor Xavier could roll by in his wheelchair with Dazzler right behind him.
Arclight nodded approvingly as she glanced around the mansion grounds. "It's nice to know the robots don't think for themselves, otherwise they'd be pretty damn pissed right about now."
Professor Xavier smiled as he glanced around at the mutants with smudges of dirt on their uniforms and faces. "Congratulations on a job well done. I think you are getting better day by day."
"Yeah," chimed in Daytripper, "this time it only took us half a day to defeat the sentinels."
Washington, D.C.:
Graydon set down his glass and leaned back in his chair. Loosening his tie he was beginning to relax when a sound made him sit up straight again. He gulped as the curtains of his office window fluttered in the wind. The window was open and he had not opened it.
"Who's there?" he asked hesitantly.
"The tooth fairy," growled Sabertooth as he came through the window.
Graydon blanched at the sight of his father. "What are you doing here? What do you want?"
"I just came to give you a warning. You're causing chaos in the streets with your speeches. Mutants don't like what you're saying," said Sabertooth in a low voice.
"They aren't supposed to like what I say. I'm not on their side."
"Do they know your family is full of mutants?"
"I was adopted. They don't need to know anything if I don't look like I want to know anything. Not once have I shown an interest in the parents who gave me up at birth. You're terrorists, both of you. I will have nothing to do with either one of you!" Graydon's voice rose with anger.
Sabertooth snorted derisively. "Your mother has two other kids. Both of them are mutants. One of them is the one called Rogue. If you piss her off you know she'll turn around and kill you. That one has no qualms about killing insects who get in her way."
"I thought she worked for Apocalypse."
"She thinks Apocalypse is slowing her down. It's only a matter of time before she gets rid of him and takes over the world for herself."
"I doubt she has any idea who I am," shot back Graydon darkly.
"Oh no, she knows exactly who you are, and she's watching you. Me, I don't know who to fear more, Rogue, Apocalypse, or the Phoenix, but you, you take one wrong step and the Rogue will drive a knife straight through your heart." Sabertooth chuckled darkly at the thought, making Graydon swallow vile beginning to rise in his throat.
"Get out," ordered the shaken senator. "Get out!"
Sabertooth grinned maliciously and turned to go back through the window when a gunshot rang out. The tawny haired beast clutched his shoulder and fell to the ground with a yowl of pain. Graydon clutched the edge of his desk as S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers burst into the room.
General Fury entered last and watched in satisfaction as the soldiers shot Sabertooth with a tranquilizer and then tied him up. The general then turned to Graydon. "We've been following him all day. One down, only three more to go."
"What are you going to do with him?" questioned Graydon wearily.
"Question him…and after that, well, it all depends on how much he values his life."
Westchester Army Base, Two Hours Later:
Sabertooth let out a feral growl as he tried to move his wrists from the metal cuffs holding him down to the chair. No matter how hard he yanked, he couldn't break from his bonds.
"I believe in time you will come to appreciate the wonders of adamantium," stated Fury as he entered the cell.
"Fuck you."
"My, what a temper you've got. It's a wonder Stryker was ever able to control you at one time."
"Let me go."
"Not until you answer a few questions for me."
"Go to hell."
"How can we destroy Apocalypse, Phoenix, and the Rogue?"
"How would I know?"
"You work for them, don't you?"
"My loyalties lie with only one."
"Who?"
"Only one."
Fury gritted his teeth in anger. "Answer the goddamn question!"
"Does it really matter who I work for? All three of them are dangerous. All three will kill you."
"Why did you go talk with Senator Creed?"
"Ask him."
"He says you threatened him."
"Not me. My boss."
"The Rogue then? The good senator said you mentioned her."
Sabertooth grinned. "She hates all humans."
"I understand she has the ability to absorb the powers of mutants. Is this true?"
"That's only one of her gifts."
"She has more? Remarkable. She seems to be a much talked about mutant these days. I wonder why."
"For someone who worked with Stryker you sure ain't very smart."
"Uh-huh."
"The Rogue is a product of Weapon X."
"That's a lie. There's nothing about her in the files."
Sabertooth's smirk widened. "But I bet you have volumes about her father. The Rogue is a result of the procreation of the mutants Wolverine and Mystique. So, all in all, that little girl is part of Weapon X. She ain't no clone like your other one."
"Clone? What clone?" Fury shook his head and mulled over the latest piece of information. "So Wolverine has another daughter. One we didn't even know about. Interesting. That could prove very useful in the future."
"Only if you can catch her…and no one's been able to do that yet."
"We'll see about that."
Sabertooth snorted. "Well while you're at it why don't you look up the good senator's family tree. That's pretty interesting as well."
The Hellions Base:
"I don't see why we can't go out and fight too," muttered Carol as she plopped onto the sofa in the living room. Jay looked up from his book but didn't say anything. For the past two years he had listened to Carol's complaints on the lack of interaction with Apocalypse and his minions, or, to be more exact, with Rogue. Oddly enough Carol's complaints seemed exactly similar to Emma's.
"You still aren't strong enough to go up against her," stated Jay in his soft country twang.
Carol frowned. "One day I will be," she said as she rubbed her forehead, indicating the onslaught of another headache. Jay nodded in agreement, watching her carefully. He had a sinking suspicion that Carol was still not in control of her mind—she never had been, not even when she had first arrived to work with the Hellions. None of them were. Each Hellion was under the direct control of either Emma Frost or Selene.
"Still whining?" asked Lorna as she entered the room.
"Bug off," snapped Carol testily. The two girls eyed each other before bursting into giggles.
Jay rolled his eyes. "I'm glad y'all can find some humor in bleak times."
This set the two females off into gales of laughter that didn't taper off even when Amara and Roberto entered the room.
"What's going on?" asked Amara eyeing Lorna and Carol warily.
"They're losing their minds," replied Jay.
"Who isn't in this place?" grumbled Roberto as he and Amara took seats on the love seat.
Carol stopped laughing. "Are you guys still going on and on about us all being zombies? Come on, don't you think it's getting old? We aren't zombies. No one's in control of our minds but us."
Lorna frowned. "How can you be so sure of that?"
"What makes you so sure that you mind is being controlled?" countered Carol.
"Not everyone's minds are being controlled, but a good majority of us our here against our wills," replied Amara.
"What do you know? You followed your boyfriend here! Think what you want, but I know for a fact that I am in control of my mind." With that Carol stood up and walked towards the door.
Jay's words stopped her in her tracks. "If you are in control of your mind then how can you explain the intense hatred you feel for Rogue? You knew nothing about her and then one day you just…hated her and everything about her. You went out of your way to make her an enemy. Why?"
For a brief moment clarity swept through Carol's eyes, clearing her eyes to a light blue, but just as quickly that clarity was gone and Carol was walking out the door.
"How much longer until we're puppets too?" questioned Lorna in a soft whisper. The room was silent as no one knew how to answer.
Westchester Army Base:
Dr. Rao studied the vial in her hands. She had worked laboriously over the formula for the past two years and finally, finally she felt it was ready for testing.
"Perhaps now this fruitless war will be finished. Now we will be able to live in peace." A small smile worked its way up onto Rao's face as she thought of the endless possibilities the vial in her hand would soon provide.
Now all she needed was a mutant to test it on to be sure that it worked.
On the Other Side of the Base:
"Are you telling me that Wolverine was here right under our noses?" demanded Fury.
Trask nodded as he rubbed the back of his head. "He was here all right. He knocked me out after the mention of Rogue—sounded personal if you ask me. Are you positive the Rogue is his biological daughter?"
"We won't know until we test her blood first. But if she is, think of the possibilities if we can get her onto our side," said Fury with hope in his voice.
"You'll have to brainwash her first. She's quite a handful from the sounds of it." Trask winced as he rubbed a rather large bump on the back of his head. "Rumor has it she's worked on all sides of the fight. What's her real name again?"
"I think her adopted name is Marie…Marie something. She came from Mississippi somewhere. I have a couple guys checking it out. At Bayville High she went by Rogue Darkholme and she was…I think a senior. She'd be about twenty now. She's not a kid anymore."
"Not a kid?" Trask snorted. "She's still pretty damn young."
"Sabertooth hinted that she's more than capable of holding her own against the likes of the Hellfire Club, Sinister, and the leaders of the X-Men, and Brotherhood of Mutants. She never graduated from high school though, but she isn't stupid. The girl is cunning and one step ahead of everyone else."
"You really think you can catch her and bring her in? I don't want your job."
Fury grinned. "All that matters is using her skills and powers to bring down the mutant race."
At the same time as General Fury and Dr. Trask discussed Rogue, she was making her way down the hallway towards them. Raw power seemed to radiate from her as she walked, steering every soldier and scientist in her path running in the opposite direction.
Rogue's eyes were still black as night and her hair now reached just below her shoulder blades. She wore leather pants that hugged her every curve, with combat boots pulled up to her knees over the pants. Her leather shirt wrapped her upper body tightly, leaving her shoulders bare, and the sleeves reached down to her knuckles. The black color offset the white streaks in her hair, giving them an eerie glow.
When Rogue reached the door leading to Trask and Fury she paused for a moment. With a smirk she raised her hand in the air, flinging the door open psychically. Both Trask and Fury jumped in their seats as they caught sight of the woman standing on the other side of the door.
"Jesus Christ!" cried out Fury as he levitated in the air.
"I hope you have a plan in mind," murmured Trask as Rogue came to stand directly in from of the doctor-scientist.
"I hope y'all were saying nice things about me," said Rogue in a soft but dangerous tone. "Of course, I don't think there are many nice things you can say about me…so it seems pointless to play nice, don't you agree?"
"What do you want with us?" demanded Fury from his position in the air.
"I only came to fetch Dr. Trask. He's a wanted man."
"What do you want of me?" asked Trask suspiciously.
Rogue chuckled. "I don't want you for anything, sugar, my boss wants you. He seems to think you might be useful. I'm just the one picking you up."
"I thought you were breaking away from Apocalypse," stated Fury.
"Who the hell told you that? Sabertooth? I can never break away from the Apocalypse—no one can. And if I did break away from him you can be sure the two of you would be dead in a matter of minutes. I have no use for men who have worked alongside someone like Colonel Stryker. In fact, I have no use for any human being. But enough about me," murmured Rogue, growing more serious, "it's time to deliver the good doctor to Apocalypse and receive my reward for the day."
In a puff of smoke Fury was back on the ground, but both Rogue and Trask were long gone.
Apocalypse's Hideout:
Remy twirled his staff as he stood from his seat on the bed. He tensed at the sound of footsteps stopping outside the door. The doorknob began to turn, edging the door open. On nimble feet Remy had the intruder pinned against the re-closed door.
"Trying to sneak up on me, chère?" he hissed as his red on black eyes locked on green ones.
Rogue grinned. "I take it I didn't surprise you, huh, sugar?"
"I've trained myself to recognize the sound of your footsteps, ma chérie. You ain't ever gonna surprise me." Remy lowered his staff.
"That sounds like a challenge to me, Swamp Rat," murmured Rogue as she wrapped her arms around the Cajun's neck.
Remy dropped his bo-staff to the ground, swooping in for a kiss as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I think you should start tonight."
"I like how your mind works, Swamp Rat. I'm starting to think there's a good reason why I've kept you around for so long," replied Rogue in between kisses. Remy smirked as Rogue began to push him backwards towards the bed; her lips never straying far from his own.
Like a long practiced dance the pair tugged at each other's clothing, never saying a word to disturb their enchantment with one another. Even as they tumbled onto the bed it seemed more of a ritual than anything else, for not once did either think of anything but the intense satisfaction and pleasure they felt in the arms of the other.
Elsewhere in the Hideout:
Phoenix studied the human, intrigued that he had yet to faint in her presence. Dr. Bolivar Trask was more hardened than she had thought a human could be. Standing a few feet behind her, Apocalypse chuckled.
"For the past two years you have declared the mutant known as Rogue a liar and a creature full of malicious intent and deceit. Yet once again she has proven her worth and loyalty by bringing me the creator of the robots you call sentinels. You are losing your way to envy of a mere child, Phoenix. I can't help but believe that you are losing your touch."
Phoenix stiffened at the comment, her dark eyes clouding to an even murkier shade of black than they already were. "She is up to something. I can feel it in my bones. The Rogue is not to be trusted. She is fated to destroy you and yet you continue to keep her by your side. How much longer will you keep your darkest enemy a cherished advisor?"
"When the time comes I shall destroy her and then none will ever stand in my way again. Until then she has her uses. All the Rogue really cares about is keeping the mutant called Gambit in her bed. Her mind is under my control—just as your mind is under my control. The Rogue is nothing more than a puppet," stated Apocalypse.
"As you say." Phoenix inclined her head in acknowledgement of the words of Apocalypse. "But what use do you have for this human?"
"I have a use for his creations. The sentinels will make a fine army for me to control, don't you agree?"
The Phoenix mentally brightened at the thought of having an entire army at her disposal. It wouldn't be long before she herself took control over everything Apocalypse had accomplished over the past two years. In steady voice she said, "You truly are a god, my liege. Your mind continues to astound me in your cunning and devious ways."
But even as she spoke she knew only one obstacle stood in her way of total domination of the universe. It stood in the form of a woman just as dangerous as she.
Back to the Other Side of the Hideout, Hours Later:
"How much longer do we have to pretend we're puppets, chère?"
Rogue shrugged as she shifted under the blankets to wrap her arms around Remy's waist. "I'm not sure. Phoenix is catching on though. I think she suspects that I've learned how to control Apocalypse's control on my mind. Of course I have to say that she isn't very fast at catching on…it's been two years since Apoca-face woke up."
"But it's only been one year since you've gained control," pointed out Remy as he wrapped his own arms around Rogue's body, hugging her closer and reveling in her warmth.
"I know, and soon we'll be able to rise up and kick ugly's ass and get back to normal."
"Which means back to not touching."
"It ain't my fault Pocky's control is the only reason I'm able to control all the other powers I've got running around inside my head. Besides, I thought you liked it better when I don't have any powers at all."
Remy chuckled. "Well, I don't have no complaints, but I do kinda miss the chase, chère. It took me a whole year to get you to play with me…" Remy frowned. "I take it we can't keep Pocky around so we can keep up the fun stuff?"
"Not a chance, Swamp Rat," replied Rogue with a grin. "But you never know what'll happen after we get rid of him. Maybe I'll have control for the rest of my life."
"I don't think your parents are going to like the sound of that."
"What they don't know won't hurt them."
Remy nodded, smiling as Rogue snuggled against him. "You still don't know what's going to happen when you kill Pocky, d'ya?"
"No, but whatever happens, Remy, we'll get through it together. You're all I've got right now. We've been plotting against Pocky since the start…and I think we're the only ones capable of going up against him." Rogue sighed. There was one obstacle in her way. One very dangerous, yet a very familiar obstacle.
"Then what do we do about the Red Bird?"
"I don't know…I don't want to kill her because deep down she's still Jean…but I'm starting to think I don't have a choice anymore."
"Then maybe we shouldn't think about it tonight," stated Remy moving to kiss Rogue once more. The southern belle allowed herself to be distracted from her thoughts once again.
A/N: As of June 3, 2007 this chapter has been revised.