1

X-23, Rogue and Todd walked into the foyer of the Xavier mansion under the watchful gaze of Dr. McCoy. Professor Charles Xavier sat in all his glory awaiting Todd. Standing next to him was a seemingly poker faced Mags...er, Magneto. Todd'll always think of the supervillain as they did over at the Brotherhood house.

"Don't worry.", X-23 instructed. "The professor is more than fair and always right."

Then she turned toward Sam. "Hey, Cannonball! Want to get in some extra sparring in the Danger Room?"

"I don't feel like dying just today, X-23.", the boy declined.

The girl huffed. "But you're invulnerable."

Todd resignedly walked toward the two most authoritative, if not purely powerful, mutants he knew of.

"Come Rogue.", Irene instructed. "You will take this opportunity to show me what you believe you've been hiding from me."

"Mom, I re/"

"Wait until we're there.", she continued. "I'll understand."

2

Irene knelt between the pieces of stone on the beach below the cliff. The emotion on her face was a much older version of grief than Rogue expected. The girl was already in tears.

"Mom, I can explain."

Irene picked up one of the shards and held it to her cheek. "Apocalypse had already killed her and Xavier had put her on display as if she was a momento of a previous adventure instead of giving her a proper funeral. Everyone who had no place to say and didn't know any better thought that just because we have what the flatscans would call powers that there would be some magic cure-all for death. Kurt was pressuring you with his idealized version of the potential of his imagined version of her despite you actually had a relationship with Mystique. It all came to a head and one impulsive shove later she was on her way down here and there was nothing you could do about it. That sum it up?"

Rogue wrapped her arms around herself.

"And because of that you stopped writing to me. You just threw yourself into the problems everyone around you expected you to have rather than the ones you were facing. Now you see why I'm grateful to Toad?

"Oh, that's right-it haven't happened yet. That's in a few minutes."

"Whay aren't you madder at me?!", Rogue exploded. "I killed my own mother-better than that, one that didn't kick me out on the street for something I ain't had no control over. I killed your wife! After ya'll took me in your house. How can you just accept that?"

"I've had time." was the reply.

Irene continued. "I predicted that you'd be disowned by your birth parents. It was how Mystique and I found you so readily. But I also predicted this. The alliance with Magnus, your eventual siding with Xavier, and her fate here. And it was really...beautiful, you know. Mystique...Raven looked me dead in the eye. She asked me if you were going to eventually be happy because of our efforts. When I told her that you would, she told me that there was no greater accomplishment for a parent.

"Mystique was many things. Arrogant, competent, passionate and uncompassionate. But she was also dedicated to the people she wanted to be. She knew well before you met her that you would...treat her remains like this. She just loved you enough for it not to change her course of action. And all she asked of me was to do the same."

"Mom, I/"

"Just come here child.", Irene commanded with arms open.