Disclaimer: Not mine.
Chapter 55-War
Her eyes, usually a sparkling green and full of spirit stared out the window vacantly. Her face was somber and her hair dull. She looked as though the very life inside of her had fled, leaving behind an empty shell in its wake.
Unable to take much more of this sobering sight Remy glanced away. His eyes, so full of despair and fear, closed so he could come to terms with the thoughts running through this tired head. The last three days had been spent wide awake watching over the fair creature in his life, now on the brink of total destruction.
The Cajun charmer had come to a devastating conclusion since Rogue had returned three days ago in a disoriented manner. It was one he was having a hard time coming to terms with because it only revealed a part of him—a part of him he had tried to keep buried for so long.
His Rogue—the girl he was slowly but surely falling head over heels in love with—was gone. The girl sitting beside the hotel window was not Rogue, at least not the one he had come know. No, this was someone else entirely made up of a mixture of minds, powers and personalities. She was an enigma unlike any other before seen.
And yet, despite this, Remy knew he couldn't turn his back on her, or abandon her to her fate. He would stay and help her in hopes that perhaps he could save her from herself. Remy was going to fight for Rogue even if she wouldn't fight for herself any longer.
A knock came at the door, but only Remy jumped at the sound. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he got to his feet and moved towards the wooden structure. He didn't bother glancing through the peephole, opting to simply pull the door open and allow the visitor in.
Sage stepped through the doorway, her eyes traveling to Rogue's listless figure beside the window before returning to Remy who was now leaning back against the closed door with a cigarette in his mouth.
"How long has she been like this?" inquired Sage.
"Three days."
"Has she said anything?"
"Non."
Sage sighed. "Where's Caliban?"
Remy shrugged. "Should I care?"
"He's better off with you than with Apocalypse."
"Maybe I'll look him up again."
"I thought Rogue had enlisted his services."
"Don't mean nothing, chère. She's been busy with that mind of hers." Remy moved away from the door and over to stand in between Rogue and Sage. He trusted Sage to a degree, but not enough to give her access to Rogue. "Now why don't you tell me why you came?"
"I'm on your side," snapped the other woman sharply.
"'Course you are."
Biting down on her tongue Sage waited a moment before saying, "I think I've found a way to destroy Apocalypse once and for all."
"I'm listening." Two heads turned to stare at Rogue in wonder. The southern woman was sitting up straight, a familiar spark in her eyes.
Remy felt his heart skip a beat and his mouth twitched in a smirk. "I think we're listening, chère," he murmured to Sage.
"Good."
The Middle East:
A woman screamed in sheer horror as a tall man stood over her, his hands raised over his head. She watched with no choice as he pulled his hands apart and brought them back together in a resounding clap of thunder. The ground began to shake and buildings began to topple. More screams echoed in the air as people tried to run every which way to avoid being crushed, but for many it was useless.
"I am the beginning and the end," stated the man brusquely. "I am War."
His dark eyes seemed to bore a hole into the woman at his feet as he finally noticed her. The fear in her eyes meant nothing to him. He glanced away saying, "Do not fear me. This is the future. This is your future."
The woman's scream became a silent cry of agony as the mutant stepped past her and continued down the street of the city. After so many years of fighting for land in the Middle East a mutant was the final cause of peace between two different groups of people…but it would be much too late to give thanks for that. A new kind of terror had just filtered into the country, and it would only take a miracle for it to be taken out again.
Atop a building Cyclops motioned for his fellow team mates to wait for his signal. They had been watching Abraham Kieros, or War as he was now being called, for quite some time. But they had been waiting for the go ahead from the Black Bird. Avalanche gritted his teeth but dared not refute Cyclops's role as team leader. Now was not the time to bring up past prejudices. They were only here for one reason. To destroy War.
Beside Avalanche Boom Boom cracked her knuckles. Her patience was wearing thin. It had been ever since the others had returned with the news that Famine was dead. The blonde was starting to believe that every battle with Apocalypse and his Horsemen at this point would end in death. Glancing to her right Boom Boom offered Magik and Cannonball as reassuring a grin as she could muster up. They all knew that the smile was fake. Things had been getting steadily worse around the mansion…hope was beginning to fade.
"Now," came a crackly voice over the COM link, pushing the team into motion. Dropping to the ground below Avalanche rolled his shoulders and began heading in the direction of War with the rest of the group right behind him.
"Remember, guys," said Cyclops with an urgent tone to his voice, "anything goes in this round."
"That's just the way we like it," replied Boom Boom with a dark grin.
New York City; S.H.I.E.L.D. Base of Operations
Fury stared at the four sheets of paper sitting on the desk in front of him. He had been waiting a long time for this, and now he was finally getting the o.k. He rubbed his forehead wearily and sat back in his chair to contemplate what it was he was about to do. After so many years of SHIELD being affiliated with Weapon X and other sinister projects Fury couldn't easily say that he was proud of his job.
In all honesty the man had absolutely nothing against mutants. Yes, some were bad, but others—like the X-Men—had proven time and time again that they were good. Was it really wise to start up a civil war between humans and mutants for the rest of their natural lives? Wasn't there a better way to go about things? Was there really no chance for peace?
With a sigh Fury sat forward in his chair and picked up pen from nearby. He had no choice in the matter this time simply because this was his job and it was something he was getting paid to do. He couldn't make the final decisions on how to go about dealing with mutants until SHIELD and Weapon X were separate entities…and that didn't seem likely once Graydon Creed won the presidency.
The sound of a pen scrawling across paper was the only sound to be heard for the next few seconds until Fury gathered up the four separate sheets and stood up. His eyes moved to the door as his assistant came through. She was on time as always. "Here are the papers to be faxed across the country, Sharon," he said softly. "Let's make sure every building in the country has them plastered in the windows."
Sharon nodded and took the papers from Fury, her eyes darting down to study them. "We're really going to resort to want ads?" she questioned.
"We don't have a fuckin' choice anymore. We need to catch the Wolverine, Lady Deathstrike, X-23, and the Rogue. They're the future of Weapon X—and our keys to keeping our jobs. What Creed wants Creed gets."
X-Mansion:
Xavier closed his eyes and allowed his mind to drift as he sat in his office. The day had been long so far, but only because Xavier had yet to sleep. How could he when two of his students were struggling against the powers within them? He felt like a failure to the ones who mattered most to him—the very students he had created this school for. It was meant to be a safe haven for mutants; a place where he could connect with the youngest minds and help them learn to accept their powers and use them for good…but it seemed he had lost his way so long ago with Jean, and now Rogue. He had tried to help Jean, and he would continue to do so when she was returned to them safe and sound…but would he be doing it for the right reason? And then there was Rogue. She was hard to connect with; hard to help. Could he ever help her, or would she continue to fight the fight alone?
His thoughts were interrupted by a tickling sensation at the edge of his mind. Frowning slightly the Professor allowed his mind to open itself to the far off thoughts seeking his attention.
Professor? Can you hear me? It's Amara—and Roberto. We're…we're at Emma's mansion…and, well…she's planning something big. I don't know what, but she's been plotting and being super evil lately. I think she's trying to one-up the rest of the Hellfire Club and Apocalypse. I just…I don't know what to do. Roberto and I are stuck here. What can we do? Should we try to run away? It's bad enough trying to risk talking to you now, but Emma isn't here so no one should hear this. Oh, I hope you can hear me.
Amara, it's okay. I'm here. Don't do anything until we can get you out of the Academy. I appreciate you telling me that Emma is up to no good again. I will be on the lookout for the next phase of her plans. Please be careful and know that we are doing the best we can on our end…
Opening his eyes the Professor sighed. There would be no reply. He could sense Amara's thoughts breaking up. He supposed Emma had returned. He prayed Amara and Roberto would be safe. It was bad enough they had gone to the Academy—Roberto because of his father and Amara because she couldn't bear to be parted from Roberto. How long ago had this been? It seemed like only yesterday that it had happened…and yet a whole year had passed since then.
"Have we truly lost our way?" he murmured to himself. "Can we never go back to the way things should be?" Xavier glanced up at a knock on the door with a small sigh. He straightened himself in his wheelchair and sent a thought to the person on the other side that it was safe to enter. He couldn't let doubt cloud his every thoughts from here on out…he had other students to think about too.
Back in the Middle East:
"This is the hunk of junk that's gonna stop Apocalypse?" demanded Rogue tersely.
Remy shrugged as he reached through the broken glass casing to pick up a small stone dagger. "That's what Sage said."
"I don't trust her."
"Chère, you don't trust no one."
"Give me one good reason why I should. This is a dagger. It ain't big—it's small. What the hell is it gonna do to Pocky? Make him laugh? Ooo, great weapon. I can't wait t see the look on his face when I pull it out." Rogue scowled and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She had listened intensely when Sage had described an object so sacred that Apocalypse would fear whosoever held it in their hands. At first it had sounded too good to be true and now looking at the so called sacred object she and Remy had just retrieved Rogue knew hope had been too much in this case. The object in question was nothing more than a plastic knife against Apocalypse.
"Well ya never know chère. This might really be the answers to our prayers," replied Remy with a grin at her. He was relieved to see her back to her usual argumentative self. It meant that she wasn't completely lost to him yet…
"Fine. Let's take the damn knife and find Apocalypse. Where'd Sage say he was again?"
"Back in his tomb in Egypt. Sounds like we got ourselves a real family reunion coming up, eh, chère?"
"Yeah, the kind where the guest of honor gets himself killed," agreed the southerner savagely. Remy opened his mouth to protest but decided it really wasn't worth it. A blood thirsty Rogue was better than a zombie Rogue. He shook his head and turned to follow the brunette out of the museum. Sage had sent them to the Middle East, smack dab in the midst of all the chaos that had erupted as a result of War hanging around causing trouble. Luckily no one had seen them arrive, so leaving would possibly be just as simple.
Remy frowned as he had to force himself to not run into Rogue. She had stopped in her tracks directly outside the museum entrance. He glanced up to see why and stifled a groan. Standing at the bottom of the steps looking at them was War…and he didn't look happy to see them. Pocketing the knife Remy pulled out his deck of cards and waited to see how Rogue would react.
"I see you have found the stone dagger," pointed out War dryly.
"What's it to you?" snapped Rogue angrily. Behind War she could see the small and battered group of X-Men and Brotherhood forming a line. War himself didn't look as though he had been harmed at all.
"My mistress wants you dead."
Rogue creased her eyebrows as she struggled to come up with a name, realization dawning only seconds later. "Well isn't that sweet. Remy, did you hear that? Phoenix wants me dead."
"I hope that isn't supposed to be new news, mon ami, because we already knew about the firebird's little vendetta against Rogue."
War's face was stoic as he eyed the two mutants in front of him carefully. Neither one feared him and that wasn't how he liked it. "I will be greatly rewarded for bringing her your heads."
"Well sugar, you can go ahead and try," murmured Rogue with an evil smirk, "but I can almost guarantee you it isn't going to work." She lifted a hand into the air, lifting War off the ground and pulling him closer using powers that weren't originally her own. As soon as he was only inches from her face did she finally stop moving him. War struggled to free himself as Rogue tilted her head to one side. "Now what are you going to do, darling? It seems to me you're in a spot of trouble.
"Now let's review, shall we? You work for Phoenix, I work for no one. Phoenix is insane. I'm not. Who d'ya think is gonna win this battle then? Me, or you…or Phoenix? She should be more concerned about finding Apocalypse and killing him before I come after her." Rogue reached out with a bare hand to grasp War around the neck, her strength cutting off his air supply. He fought for breath but Rogue only tightened her grip, watching in mild amusement as her powers began to kick in, draining the last of his life force from him. Out of the corner of her eye Rogue could see her former teammates stepping forward in protest.
Leaning closer to War Rogue whispered, "You aren't the first man I've killed…and you won't be the last."
War's face was a cross between total fear and pain as he gasped for air. He tried to plead for mercy but no coherent words would leave his lips. Rogue watched him with no emotions showing on her face. His eyes slowly began to cloud over as his brain began to throb. His feet kicked in the air a few times, and then they became still. Rogue let her psychic hold over him go and watched as he fell to the ground in a crumbled heap. Her eyes moved upwards to gaze at the X-Men and Brotherhood members watching her in horror.
"I think it's time to go, chère," murmured Remy reaching forward to cup her elbow with his hand. Rogue nodded and promptly turned to face him.
"Next stop doomsday," she replied softly, her green eyes softening with a hint of sorrow. Remy couldn't speak due to a large lump in his throat, but he did nod in understanding, cupping both his hands around Rogue's face.
"Doomsday it is." And in the blink of an eye the pair was gone from sight.
Hellfire Club, Massachusetts Academy, Boston:
"I have a proposition for you, Viper," stated Emma as she poured herself a glass of bourbon.
"I'm sure you do," replied Viper with a roll of her eyes. "And it had better be worth my time."
"Oh believe me, it is. You see there is a man running for President right now. Graydon Creed. How I loathe him. Anyway, I think it's high time that man knew what kind of opposition he has in the public, don't you?"
"That depends. What kind of opposition are we talking about? I'm only an assassin, I don't do petty work."
Emma's blue eyes glittered as she brought her alcoholic drink to her lips. "I only had one thing in mind. I want Creed dead. He's a nuisance to the Hellfire Club—I want him taken out once and for all. If he were to live he would only screw up my plans more than he already has. My plans were already dashed when that ass of a man found out I was a mutant. I have high hopes for the future, Viper. If the Hellfire Club is to become the premier voice of the country I need to be in high power…and I can't do that with Creed in my way, catch my drift?"
Viper studied the woman in front of her closely as if to try and find a flaw. The only thing that popped to mind was how…odd Emma Frost sounded. She sounded unlike the business woman Viper had met long ago. Back then Emma had been every inch of a professional as possible, but now…now the blonde woman seemed more of a desperate woman trying to regain lost ground. Something wasn't right about this entire set up, but Viper knew the consequences of turning down the White Queen.
"I'm in. When do you want me to kill him?"
"Right after he takes the oath of office. Let's see Robert Kelly Jr. squirm when he's forced to become the next President of the United States."
Standing outside the doorway Selene smiled to herself as she mouthed the words along with Emma. Things were going according to plan.
On the Other Side of Boston:
"I'm telling you I don't like this place. It gives me the creeps," muttered Morph as he glanced around nervously.
Sinister didn't reply right away. His own eyes were busy studying the dark surroundings of the alley way, wondering if coming to this rendezvous was the right thing to do. Not that he had much of a choice in the matter anyway. Apocalypse had screwed everyone over and it was high time the mutants who had brought him to power did something about it.
"I'm glad you two could make it," came a voice from further down the alley. Morph and Sinister turned in the general direction, awaiting the voice to step out of the shadows. As Sebastian Shaw stepped into a sliver of moonlight he said, "We have a lot to discuss."
Egypt:
Sage sat in her hotel room, her mind moving as fast as the speed of light. She had spent hours upon hours explaining to Rogue all about the stone dagger and how it would help her defeat Apocalypse when the moment was right. She had seen the doubt in the southern woman's eyes, but Sage knew what she was talking about. She was a walking computer for crying out loud. She wasn't likely to get things wrong any time soon.
Muttering under her breath Sage got onto her feet and started pacing up and down the room's length. It was Rogue that had her in such an anxious state. The girl was out of control, that was more than evident for the eye to see…but it was more than that that worried Sage. It was the potential within Rogue. The potential to be the most powerful being in the universe if she wanted to, though perhaps not as powerful as the Phoenix. But she was pretty darn close.
If Rogue destroyed Apocalypse like she was meant to do then things would return to relative normalcy…except, what would happen to Rogue? The southerner and Cajun both seemed convinced that Rogue would die at the end of the ordeal, but Sage wasn't so sure about that. With so many conflicting powers within her Sage was more likely to think that Rogue would only lose her mind…which could probably be likened to death in one matter or another.
But if she didn't lose her mind…and if she managed to keep alive…Rogue would be a very valuable tool for the future. Valuable and powerful.
Glancing at the phone on her bedside Sage moved back to sit on the bed and picked up the receiver, dialing as quickly as she could. She waited for the phone to stop ringing on the other end. There was only one place that someone so powerful would be needed or even appreciated…and with the Phoenix completely insane Sage had a feeling that second best would be acceptable.
"Get me the Black King—and tell him I've found us the future Red Queen."
X-Mansion:
Sitting on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor only made Mystique that much more aware of how horrible she felt at that very moment in time. Her head was swimming, her stomach was doing something that felt an awful lot like somersaults and tango dips, and her entire body shone with the unmistakable sheen of sweat.
For three mornings she had felt this way, and it didn't seem to be getting better. In fact, it only seemed to be getting worse than before—something that didn't sit very well with the blue shape shifter. She should be out fighting for her daughter's life, or sitting two floors down with her son as he healed; but instead she was still sitting on the floor of her bathroom counting every tick of the clock as time slowly passed by.
Yellow eyes closed and she bit her lip as her stomach did a quick dive up, down, and around. When she finally opened them again her eyes focused on the clock, taking note that it was time.
Pushing herself to her feet Mystique slowly rose to stand in front of the bathroom mirror hanging directly above the sink. Taking a deep, soothing breath the blue mutant glanced down and picked up a small white stick sitting atop of the porcelain in front of her. Her other hand reached towards the other side of the sink, grabbing hold of a small rectangular box. Together these two items were brought directly in front of her face for Mystique to scrutinize with every ounce of her attention.
A minute passed as her yellow eyes roved back and forth between the box and the stick. Then another. And another.
"Damn." She tossed both the box and the stick into the trash, knowing full well no one would even notice it when they took the trash out later that week. No one was capable of noticing very much considering all that had been going on the last few days. Everyone was in a state of panic and fear. Under normal circumstances Mystique would consider these things weak and human, but since it was her daughter on the front lines of battle Mystique was just as worried as everybody else.
She took the stairs two at a time until she reached the ground floor. Her eyes gazed around the hallway before starting off in the general direction of the library. She was intent on finding Magneto right away and confiding in him of her latest…dilemma. She wasn't sure whether he would be upset or pleased. He had always been a hard man to read and she had been his closest friend for so many years now…and more than just a friend.
Mystique found Magneto in the library bent over a table and book. A soft smile graced her lips as she moved towards him. He was always so serious when studying something. Her smile vanished as she realized that what he was studying was not the book, but a photo tucked inside the book. It was a photo of a tiny girl with the tiniest wisp of…green hair.
"Erik," she greeted coldly.
Magneto glanced up in surprise and hastily tried to hide the photo. He opened his mouth to say something but oddly found himself at a loss for words. "My dear," his words were interrupted as Pietro came whizzing inside the living room, Wanda several feet behind him.
"Just got word back from the others. Rogue was in the Middle East too—she killed Kieros without much effort," stated Pietro quickly.
Wanda snorted. "Then she vanished like always. She had a knife with her and Cyke's been busy trying to find something about it on the Blackbird's mainframe computer system. The Professor and Beast are also looking into it. They think it's important." The dark haired woman looked back and forth between Magneto and Mystique, noticing that something seemed to be wrong.
"What's going on?" asked Pietro as he too noticed the discomfort in the air.
"Your father has a baby picture of that green haired brat," muttered Mystique folding her arms across her chest.
"What green haired brat?" demanded Pietro turning to glance between his father and the shape shifter.
Wanda rolled her eyes. It was much too obvious who Mystique meant. "Lorna Dane. Now why on earth would you have a picture of her unless she was somebody important?" Her dark gaze turned towards her father, narrowing into slits as her mind came up with several possibilities—all of which she didn't approve of.
Erik cleared his throat as he tried to come up with the right words to explain what was going on. There would be no easy way to explain this…nor could he do it correctly. It was what it was and there was nothing that he, the Master of Metal, could do to make it any different.
"Lorna is my daughter."
Silence filled the room. Pietro's eyes widened as his own mind tried to fathom exactly what his father had just admitted. Wanda on the other hand only snorted. She had noticed something…many things in fact, that were too similar to her and Pietro, and even their father himself. Lorna's powers hadn't exactly been all that different from a certain someone. So while she wasn't surprised, Wanda did find her attention drawn to the set look on Mystique's face. She wasn't altogether fond of the blue shape shifter, but she knew that Mystique and Erik had a connection unlike any other she had ever seen. Wanda was under the impression that it would take something earth shattering to separate the two of them…and she wasn't quite sure that this would be it.
"Another one, Erik. Really, how many more children are you planning on surprising me with?" demanded Mystique darkly.
"Me? My dear, if I recall correctly, you have three of your own that you kept from me for many years as well. I never mentioned Lorna before because I had no idea she was still alive. Her mother had kept her mostly a secret, revealing that she had carried my child years after I had left her—she never mentioned that the child had lived, though she did give me a single photograph of her. Since discovering that Lorna is in fact alive and well I was only waiting to inform you of my connection to her."
"You bastard. Are there any more children hiding out in the woodwork that I should know about, or is that it?"
"You now know everything I have ever kept a secret," replied Erik calmly.
Mystique nodded, mostly to herself. Her yellow eyes studied the man in front of her studiously. Then she spoke. "Fine then. As soon as this mess with Apocalypse is all cleaned up you can make it up by marrying me. I won't have any more secrets between us—and the best way to guarantee that is to get married once and for all. I'm tired of being nothing more than a name in the dark. You will marry me, Erik, and then people will stop wondering why it is you and I are always at odds. Together we can be a team again. You got it?"
Erik was mildly surprised by the strict tone of voice that Mystique was using. He could only half comprehend what it was she was demanding of him. Marriage. He had never thought Mystique would be one to tie herself down to any one person, man or woman. The beautiful mutant was an enigma to him and he had thought she had been content with the way things were…but it was now apparent that she was dissatisfied with the way their relationship currently was.
"Of course, my dear. Whatever you want."
Back in Boston:
Emma rubbed her forehead gingerly as she walked into her study. She could feel the onslaught of yet another migraine—what it was from was beyond her. It was more than likely a cross between the large quantities of alcohol she had been drinking lately, as well as the long hours she had been doing. Things with Brian were progressing well; he had yet to move out of her room, which was something of a miracle considering Emma's track record with lovers was both long and short. She had kept many lovers over the years, but too many of them had lasted no longer than a day at most. Brian was quickly becoming a record holder in his place as her current boy-toy.
Blue eyes narrowed as Emma realized that her study was anything but empty. Sitting in a chair across from her desk was none other than Chris Aaronson…King Bedlam. He was the man currently in charge of her Hellions, but Emma hated him with a passion greater than love. He was too cocky and sure of himself for the blonde woman's liking. He thought he was equal to her and the rest of the Hellfire Club rather than the lowly man he truly was.
"What the hell do you want?" snapped Emma crossly. She moved over to her own chair behind her desk, glaring at the other man all the while.
"I'm tired of being left in the dark. I demand to know what's going on with the Club and the Phoenix. What's going to happen next?" questioned Chris just as crossly. "I want answers, Emma."
"Screw you. Who the hell gave you the right to come in here and start questioning me, my actions, or those of the Hellfire Club? We pay you good money to teach the Hellions how to use their powers—not to try and worm your way into a place you don't belong!"
"You're a royal bitch, you know that? I'm the one doing all the grunt work here—I work my ass off with those kids while you drink your petty little life away and pretend to play god with the Phoenix. If you don't start answering some of my questions then I just might take those precious Hellions of yours away and start up my own faction."
Emma snorted derisively as she reached for the vial of wine atop her desk. "Go right ahead, Chris, and see if I give a damn. The Hellions are not the future—neither are the X-Men. The Hellfire Club is the future, and I'll be damned if you think you can be a part of it. So go ahead and take those brats away and start up your own school. You'll find before long that it's harder than it looks to run a group of teenaged mutants."
Chris pushed his seat back, getting to his feet. His face was a mask of pure anger as he steamed from head to toe. "I'll see you in hell, Emma Frost."
"You're halfway there, darling." Emma lifted the vial of wine as if to toast the seething man, watching in pure delight as he stormed out of her study. "God, I can't say that I'm sorry to see him go. Ass. He'll be back before long, begging me to take him and those bratty kids back into the Hellfire Club." With another amused snort the blonde pulled the stopper out of her wine and tossed her head back to take a large swig of the liquid inside. As the alcohol coursed down her throat Emma could finally feel her body and mind relax.
Egypt:
"There it is," stated Remy softly, his words reaching Rogue with a soft breeze.
"There it is," repeated the southerner in general agreement. Her eyes studied the large pyramid before her, wondering what exactly awaited her inside. She glanced back at Remy, her eyes seeking out his as if for reassurance. Despite her usual demeanor the brunette couldn't help but question what exactly she was going to do upon walking into the temple in front of her.
Behind Remy Caliban stood with a solemn expression on his face. He lowered his head as if in prayer, his lips moving soundlessly. It was evident what he felt about the entire matter, and rather than anger Rogue it soothed her. Normalcy was something she had always craved and here she was finding it in a pair of mutants worried about the next step she took.
Her head glanced away from Remy to stare at the large sand brick structure sitting out on the dunes. Inside, somewhere, was Apocalypse trying to plan his next move towards total destruction and colonization. He was out to make himself the ultimate being in the world, and later the universe, and his time was quickly running out.
"You sure about this, chère?" questioned Remy after a moment.
"No." Rogue turned back to the Cajun with a small smile, her face softening with an angelic look. "But as long as I have you with me, Swamp Rat, I'm pretty sure I'll be fine."
Remy grinned, reaching out to pull the southern belle into his arms, wrapping his own around her tightly. It felt good to hear something so…normal come out of Rogue's mouth, and even though they were talking about their deaths Remy would take it any way he could.
Caliban watched the pair in silence, his eyes closing as his whispered words silently became audible. "Our father who art in heaven…"
A/N—As of June 2, 2007, Chapter 55: War has been revised.