Part 39: Test
I understood dat dis was a test. I had no objections and no need fo' further explanation. I was permanent. I was resolute. I was immovable. Dere was no anxiety, no insecurity. I would do whatever En Sabah Nur required o' me.
Sinister stepped up to introduce us. I knew now dat he was merely a pawn, a pawn dat had overstepped it's limited role too many times. He was expendable. I sensed that if I succeeded, En Sabah Nur would give him to me as a prize. Sinister was oblivious to En Sabah Nur's dark t'oughts, but I wasn'. We were one. I looked forward to it. De hatred was dim, but it was still dere. De t'ought o' having Essex at my mercy filled me with dark delight. Dis role suited me better dan I could have imagined.
"Brothers! Sisters! Mutants, all! We have glad news for you at last! The master wishes to share a glorious development with you personally. We are one step closer to a just world! Welcome our host and master, En Sabah Nur!"
De humanoid illusion was unnecessary, but since En Sabah Nur had once been a man, he found dis de easiest way to interact wit' uddahs. It was an old comfort he allowed himself to indulge. To these ignorant eyes befo' us, he seemed to appear from nowhere. Me, I knew he was here. Always here. All along. Eternal. Inevitable.
De gathered mutants could not help but show proper respect, even though dey could not properly appreciate de magnitude o' who stood befo' dem. In En Sabah Nur's mind, dey were a collective, a total value. He rarely deigned to recognize individuals. I was doubly honored by his esteem. Interconnected as we were, I could barely focus enough on any single person to make out features. Dey were a non-descript "dem".
Save one.
Somet'ing…someone had drawn his attention. He regarded dem wit' intense, expectant focus. He did not beckon me to join him, so I didn'. De master's action were his own. My actions were also his. Fo' now, I remained passive. He watched, weighed, measured de object o' his interest. Dere was somet'ing unusual, a mild sort o' irritation. Somet'ing was slightly out of reach, slightly off key, slightly off color…slightly unreachable. Dis was an unusual experience fo' de master. I began to suspect dis might be de corruption he had spoken of, de corruption he made me fo' especially. Dis was somet'ing vile that needed remedy. I awaited his order.
Eventually, En Sabah Nur dismissed whatever troubled him. It was no matter. Not'ing could cause even de slightest deviation in his plan. He had been careful, methodical, moving outside o' time. Every element was reinforced. Every possible move anticipated. Even if I failed his little test, which would not happen, he would simply find another. I was not offended by dis knowledge. His certainty was a comfort.
De sound o' his voice was soothing to me. He captivated my interest. "Every mutant has a vital place, an intrinsic, undeniable value in the new world order. As you know, we have invested in each of you since your arrival, helping you to capture your true potential, your true selves."
I knew dis was not exactly true, but not exactly a lie either. The total had value, and the total was a sum o' de parts. Dere would come a time when we would make difficult decisions fo' de greater good, but we were only beginning. Dese were children. Dey needed time to mature, to see de vision realized, to align. Harsher realities would come later, when dey could understand. Fo' now, dey listened, eager fo' validation as all children are.
"But building a new world requires much. As we have learned about the state of mutant-kind, we have been searching for those who are worthy to be set apart. Generals to usher in and foster the new age. Icons to inspire new generations. Benefactors to share in my great labor. Harbingers, to bring about the Apocalypse of what is. Today, I submit to you the first. He who shall bring us one step closer to our new reality."
I waited. I was uninterested in deir approval. I was entitled to it. I was his, and I was perfect. Dey could embrace me now, embrace me later, or face me someday. Death has de final say.
"I give you…DEATH."
I stepped into illumination. Light had no power against my remade flesh, de onyx hue devoured it. It lit my armor, my ghastly mane. Beautiful and terrible. Dreaded and necessary. Unendurable and inescapable. I was whatever he said I was. I was whatever he told me to be.
They needed to know dat I was o' his making. I was a symbol o' what was possible, through him.
I dropped to one knee, pressing a fist to my chest. Proudly, fondly, I confirmed, "I serve En Sabah Nur."
My focus was on his direction and pleasure, not on de crowd. But movement caught my eye.
Audacity. Hubris. Who could possibly see his work in me and think themselves capable? Worthy?
But my master was amused…and curious. As de figure approached he cast a sideways glance at me, and I felt certain dis was indeed de test. He had brought me an opportunity to show de uddahs o' what I was capable.
"Slowly," he ordered me. I rose in obedience and turned to face de figure bearing down upon me. A nothing.
As she reached fo' me, I reached up and released my staff from it's clasp, holdin' it in bot' hands and sending it at an angle wit' force against her assault, knocking her down and backwards. Dere were gasps and yells as uddah figures wit'drew from us.
"Stay," En Sabah Nur directed them coolly. "The challenge is accepted. See the outcome."
Dere was uncertainty, but I wasn' focused on dem. I waited on my opponent.
"Gambit?!" Her voice was elevated, breathless, "Gambit…don'tcha know me?!"
Ah yes. Dat uddah name. Dat single imperfection. Odd dat she knew it. But not important.
I cocked my head to one side and crouched, brandishing my staff in front o' me defensively, obscurin' my uddah hand as I deftly drew and charged several cards. I straightened and flicked my wrist, releasin' dem and feeling satisfaction as dey connected wit' my foe, knocking her backwards and down.
She drew up on hands and knees, but paused, facing de ground a moment, panting. When her eyes came up, I was disappointed to see dey were not afraid. She stared at me fo' a heartbeat, den she unloaded red blasts into de ground between me and En Sabah Nur, forcing space between us. Futile.
As we moved away from de blasts she apparently launched herself into the air, barreling towards me. It took me a moment longer to react dan I would have liked, but she wasted her opportunity by scooping me into her arms and turning to high tail fo' de rear entrance.
I reared back and slammed my skull into de side o' her face, causing her to cry out as she dropped me. I rolled wit' de impact and quickly regained my feet, loosing annuddah round o' cards, dis time mo' heavily laden wit energy. De explosions knocked her out o' de air but she came up quicker dis time, locking uncertain, tortured eyes on me.
I smiled wickedly, "You gon' put up a fight o' not?"
Her face twisted, somet'ing between pain and frustration "Ah was gettin' ready to ask you the same dang question."
I raised an eyebrow, pleased wit' de defiance. I had been sort o' hoping dis would be mo' interesting.
I put my staff away fo' de moment, "Interesting assortment o' powers you got dere. Would you care to see some o' mine?"
She took a defensive stance, but I launched myself into a back handspring away from her and towards de audience. Dey were frightened. Weak. Lacking in will. Easy targets. Befo' dey could react, I laid hands ungently on two faces. Didn' matter whose.
And den I corrupted dem.
A pulse o' blue light ran under deir skin and deir faces darkened into an ashy gray. Wit' guttural roars, dey sprang fo'ward wit' single-minded intention. De woman had been giving me pursuit but pulled back a step, not expecting new challengers and unable to make sense of de sudden changed circumstance.
De crowd near me attempted to flee, some o' dem in a near panic. I paid dem no heed, but watched my prey to see what she would do next.
She clenched her arms once rigidly, and somet'ing like silver plates scaled down over her skin from top to bottom. I felt a discordance. Somet'ing not quite right. I ignored it.
When her assailants arrived, deir attacks could find no landing. Wit' an eerily familiar precision, she vaulted behind dem and landed very precise blows, dropping dem bot' but leaving dem unharmed.
I thrashed at de crowd, corrupting uddahs as dey tried in vain to flee, sending a volley o' non-descript souls toward her. She took a defensive stance as a wave of mindless rage vessels pummeled her, hitting, clawing, scratching, biting. It made no difference to her metal flesh but it certainly slowed her down. She had enough strength to take them on, but she was exercising restraint, trying to quell dem wit'out seriously hurting dem. Pitiful.
While she was distracted, I swooped in again, not bothering wit' any kind o' mercy. En Sabah Nur wanted me to use her resilience to show my quality. I obliged. I lifted my staff and focused my attack into heavy, swift head blows, wailing relentlessly, the sound of de connection between my staff and her metal form reverberating off de walls. De repeated redirection prevented her focus as she tried to keep her defense precise, limited, non-lethal. She tried to reach fo' me but wit' her so outnumbered I could easily dodge in de fray. I switched to my cards, explosions landing so fast you could keep time by dem.
To my annoyance, I sensed movement behind me, coming towards rather dan away. I turned and caught a blow aimed fo' de back of my head. Annudah woman, tall, slender, harsh glare. Somet'ing about her I jus didn' like. I swept her legs from under her and tossed a card her way, but she rolled just out o' reach befo' it hit. Dese mutants didn' even have access to deir powers, jus' what was she trying to accomplish?
Mo' disruption behind me, I sensed, as I cast a glance backwards. An older man wit' silver hair had come to de defense o' my primary target, pulling my minions off her one at a time, choking dem from behind until dey dropped. Despite his age, he was strong, calm, methodical - regal even. A leader's bearing.
De woman behind me had regained her footing and was launching annuddah assault, quick and lithe. Trained. A larger man was rushing to her aid. I smiled at him. He might make a mo' interesting colleague. I dodge de woman's assault and aligned myself, preparing to corrupt de big man, when de metal woman called out commandingly.
"Don't! Mystique! It's too dangerous! Get the people out of here, to the arena if you can!"
My two opponents hesitated. De young woman and the man wit' silver hair managed to waylay de remaining corruptions. I planted my staff on de ground and raised one eyebrow, smiling a devil's smile, biding my time.
"And just leave you to-?"
"Without yoah powers, they'll just use you against me. Ah can't do this if ah gotta protect you too."
The older woman sneered, "It's not us you're trying to protect."
The younger woman's voice was gentle, "It is, mama. It's not just you…but you too. Please. I'm on a knife's edge here. I need yoah help, but not this kind. Help me get these people safe."
The older woman's face twisted into a snarl, "You cannot save him! Do NOT be stupid!"
De young woman took a deep, painful sounding breat'. "If you think I've made it this far with no plan, then yoah the stupid one."
De silver-haired lion spoke up, "Mystique, you are emotionally compromised. She's right. We cannot provide effective combat in our humbled state. We must comply. These are our people, these other mutants. It's unclear what he's doing to them."
De older woman glared at him, "Not all parents are as indifferent to their children as you are, Magneto."
I knew de large man was sore to have wound up fo' a fight only to have his leash jerked at de last moment, "We gonna DO something or stand around crying like a bunch of babies?" de older woman glared back at him forcefully and I felt it unlikely she would need my help punishing him.
"Mystique…please. He won't hurt me."
Dis Mystique's head snapped back toward de younger woman, "Funny, I could have sworn he was literally just that second doing his very best to hurt you."
Finally, I interrupted by cracking my staff at de older woman, sending her flying. The big man tried to respond but my cards were faster dan he was.
De silver haired man began yelling orders as though he was quite accustomed to total obedience, "Everyone OUT! Head for the arena!" He moved to corral de collaterals, disengaging. I removed him from my awareness, no longer a threat and not the target o' my testing.
I turned my gaze to my original foe and let out a low whistle, "What a waste. You got to do better at guarding yo' tells."
Her eyebrows lowered defiantly but her voice was desperate, "Ah know you're in there, Gambit."
I dropped back into an aggressive stance, "Hate to disappoint."
She jutted out her chin, "You sound like Gambit."
"Coincidence," I took a step closer.
She took a stepback, brows knitted in somet'ing like desperation, "Ah'm tryin' to help you!"
I clicked my tongue as I shook my head, "I'm not de one needing help."
I took a deck, split dem in half, bowed dem back and released de barrage straight at her.
De explosions had almos' no impact against her metallic skin, but it did cover my trail as I took hold o' mah staff once mo' and descended on her. As soon as de dey ceased I was dere, whipping my staff hard and aiming fo' her throat. To my surprise, she ducked and dodged to my side.
"You fight like Gambit."
She should have used dat opportunity to strike me, but she grabbed fo' me again, crushing my arms to my sides and pulling me in face to face.
Momentarily, I allowed her to succeed. Her eyes studied mine searchingly. Green. Green eyes I noticed. I allowed my expression to soften and meet her gaze, as she seemed desperate fo' me to do.
"And what would Gambit do, in a situation like dis?"
She stopped breathin'. "Say mah name. Rogue. Say it."
Keeping my gaze soft, slowly and gently, I pulled one hand free o' her hold. She let me. I turned my expression curious, ponderous as I touched my fingers to her hair. Her face lit up in hope, eyes glassy, lips parted. Beautiful.
"Hmmm…" I lulled, keeping her focus on me as I flicked a card from my wrist into my hand, sneaking a charge up behind her ear, between her auburn and white tresses.
"I would, chere, but you wouldn' hear it."
I wrenched myself free o' her grasp and launched myself away as it detonated in her hair, de sound bursting her ear drum, causing her to clutch her head in agony.
Dat should have incapacitated her, but to my surprise she staggered painfully back to her feet. When she brought her eyes back to mine, tears streamed down her cheeks.
Discordance. Somet'ing wrong. It was strong now. Made me wince. An aggravation.
She clenched her fists, and I heard a SNIKT as claws emerged from between her fingers.
"Dammit, swamp rat," she whispered t'rough de tears. She charged me and I felt satisfaction. Now we were getting somewhere.
But at de last moment, she careened back towards the platform where En Sabah Nur and Sinister sat watching attentively. I figured she must have changed her target to my master, as useless as dat was. I pursued her.
She surprised me. Taking to de air, she was a blur o' fury as she landed her assault on Sinister, slamming her claws repeatedly into his chest in a bloody mess o' murderous intent.
He howled in surprise and agony, and I felt a swell of joy at his pain along wit' betrayal at her appropriating my prize. En Sabah Nur only watched. Whether I saved him or not was a matter o' indifference.
I took annuddah card and dis time, rather dan pink it lit black. A death charge. It would disintegrate whatever it touched.
I raised it above my head but a force I couldn' explain jarred me, halted me. I altered my trajectory and released it.
In de next breat', Sinister melted into black dust beneat' her. I felt no satisfaction. I hadn' killed him, per se, as much as I had avoided killing her. A puzzling decision.
En Sabah Nur was suspicious. I felt it. I wanted to regain his confidence, but I was unsure how. My mind raced, recalling her weaknesses. Ah yes, mercy.
I searched de room and found de crowd largely cleared and fled. Dere was one soul slumped against de wall in de back, unconscious, unnoticed, but alive. I did what I needed to do to put myself in range and den I lifted three mo' cards, charging dem black and holding dem aloft.
"Shouldn' have dropped dat tell, chere. You don' wan' dis poor innocent getting hurt, now would you?"
She looked up at me, jaw dropped as she realized my intent, and froze, unable to come up wit' her next move.
I grinned triumphantly. I had her. "Why don' you stand up nice and slow like?" She hesitated a moment but could do not'ing but comply wit' my request. I studied her, "Dat metal is de wrong complexion fo' you, hahn? Put dat away."
She took a deep breath, and den de metal sheets shuffled away, leaving her as she had been. Dere was somet'ing o' relief. Less dissonance. Mo' correct.
I dropped my staff and raised my hand, beckoning her toward me wit' two fingers.
She looked over her shoulder at En Sabah Nur's humanoid form. Her entire body went rigid, eyes sharp and hot but voice chillingly cold, "Yoah gonna pay foah this. Ah'm gonna make you pay foah what you've done to him. Ah promise ya." En Sabah Nur gave no response.
"Come HERE," I demanded, pointing to de ground directly in front o' me, holding de glowing cards a little higher.
She took a step towards me and extended her hands out in front o' her, a gesture o' submission,
"Dat's right. Nice and easy."
Her breat' was quick as she took measured steps, "You got a tell too, sugah."
"Death don' play games."
"You are NOT Death," she spat at me, "he couldn't have picked a worse scoundrel foah that name."
I lowered de black cards in her direction as she approached, but she kept her eyes on me, paid dem no mind.
"Yoah full to the brim of life. Always have been. Draws everything and everyone to ya."
"How sweet. I'm touched."
Her jaw tightened, determined, and her eyes brimmed wit' tears held violently in check.
"You light up everythin' you touch."
Somet'ing in me shuddered again. En Sabah Nur was ready fo' me to end it.
She came to stand befoah me, and my hand lowered unconsciously. Her eyes closed foah half a second, as though she heard an unpleasant sound and was shaking it away. I felt…curious…I wanted to know what she was t'inking. It was uncomfortable. Unseemly.
Very slowly, she placed one hand on my chest. I recoiled and jumped back, hissing in warning. She drew a quick breath, but den slowly continued her approach. Again, she placed her hand against my chest. Against my heart. I grimaced and glowered, but she stood her ground.
She held my gaze wit' hers, "You called me 'chere'. Just now. Do you remember why?"
En Sabah Nur demanded dat I end it. I jerked my cards up between our faces, making her jump. She shuddered again as though she heard somet'ing grating but held her ground.
"Yoah a good man. You have a good heart. Ah trust it. Ah trust you."
De words were a foreign language. Out o' place. But somet'ing was wrong again. I felt disoriented. I needed to appease de master. Her eyes were beautiful. I needed to close dem. Her voice was kind. I needed to silence it. I wanted to reach out to her. I wanted to hurt her.
She glanced at de cards briefly den back at me.
"Is this what you want?" She raised her hand as though she was plannin' to grab de cards herself. I was perplexed. Why would she do dat?
As she reached out, she winced again and clenched her jaw, but only paused a moment befoah continuing, placing her trembling fingers around de black glare. It looked wrong, glowing against her perfect skin.
We stood dere, holding de cards togeddah.
I stood frozen, trying to figure her out. I was always trying to figure her out. She always surprised me. Dere was nobody like her.
Somet'ing in me started to crumble.
Missed her. Missed her surprises. Missed her fighting. Missed hearing her say "dang", even.
She must have seen somet'ing change in my face because she reacted, locked onto me de mo' intently. Her voice came out a whisper, "Yoah name is Remy LeBeau."
Somet'ing in my mind…liked dat. Liked de sound o' it. My voice tried it out, "My name is Remy LeBeau."
I pulled back de charge from de cards. I wasn' sure why. I could see she was having a hard time controlling her breath as de tears started to slipdown her cheeks. She put her uddah hand up to my chest, alongside de first.
"Yes. Yes that's right, sugah. Do you know who ah am?"
En Sabah Nur was furious. He wanted me to yank her by de hair and rip her throat open.
Wit' jerky motions, I managed to put my fingers back to her singed locks, but I paused to let de silk brush against my palm, not quite able to close my hand. Even wit' what I had done befo', she didn't resist me.
She pressed her hands mo' firmly against mah chest and challenged, "Remy LeBeau, do you know who ah am?"
De world seemed to slide to one side and crash, splintering.
I grabbed her shoulders urgently, "Rogue, you got to run!"
She ignored my words and threw her arms around me. I couldn' stop myself from holding her back.
Her shaking voice was in my ear. "Anna. You've always called me Rogue, but mah name is Anna and ah want you to have it. Ah want you to have everything ah've got. Please come back to me, Cajun."
My heart swelled and I felt tears I couldn' stop run down my face. It was excruciating to part from her, but I had to. I pulled her back and looked into her perfect face.
"I can'. I don' know how. You got to run. Run now. I'll hold him as long as I can."
Her expression turned angry, "Do you trust me, Gambit?"
Gambit…she was either mad, or on a mission, or bot'.
"S' not about dat!"
"DO YOU TRUST ME?"
I returned her glare furiously. Why wasn' she understanding me? "OF COURSE I DO!"
"Then kiss me! Kiss me right now!"
I froze wit' shock, but a moment later, she closed de gap between us and put her mout' to mine violently. Her lips were perfect. Even here, even now, my knees went weak.
Den it started. It was like I had pricked my finger and squeezed, but everywhere, all at once, inside and out.
She couldn' do dis, she couldn'. It wasn' jus' me in here.
Feebly I tried to resist, but she clutched me to her all de harder and I had not'ing to resist wit'. I was stuck in a current. I was helpless. En Sabah Nur was outraged. I was in love wit' her. It was all being carried away. Fading. Waning. Vanishing.
And den suddenly, like a rubber band snapping into place, I was someplace else. Someplace familiar. De Danger Room.
I gasped fo' air and my eyes searched furiously fo' Anna, but she was nowhere to be found.
Instead, I stood across from a demon. A demon wit' onyx skin and a shock of bluish white hair. A demon wearing silver and black armor. Astounded and horrified, I couldn' react as he whipped his staff around and it connected broadly wit de side o' my head.
I went careening towards de ground, but I never landed. Someone caught me.
"I have him!" Storm's queenly voice rang out as she moved to put distance between me…and me.
"JEAN!" Cyclops' voice was urgent and alarmed.
De familiar voices brought me back to my senses and I looked around as we cut through de air. Dey were here. Dey were all here. Cyclops, Jean, Wolverine, Beast, Jubilee, Storm, Colossus, and a translucent figure o' Psylocke. One minute we were in de Danger Room, de next all solid ground had faded away and I felt de terrifying formlessness o' de astral plane.
No. I couldn' be here again, full o' panic wit' no body to catch it.
It was barely a heartbeat befo' we were someplace else. Someplace unfamiliar, but solid at least. I was left again disoriented and gasping.
My doppleganger was not so hindered and sprang into action, but he was waylaid by a brilliant red blast and den a barrage o' fireworks so big and bright it nearly blinded all o' us. Shielding his eyes wit' one clawed hand, Wolverine sped wit' murderous intent towards de light show and de dark figure it obscured.
"I need time to repair the container! Psylocke help!" Jean's voice rang out desperately.
De dark figure burst through de light to meet Wolverine head on, not responding to de claws as dey made impact but delivering blows o' his own, sending Wolverine tumbling.
Suddenly de wind picked up and den gusted violently, stalling de enemy approach befo' bringing him to a full stop. Lightning crashed down on him in a deafening display o' fury.
"What's going on outside?" Cyclops yelled as he released annuddah round o' blasts.
"I've taken us to a psychic holding area, where Ms Marvel was held. Time moves differently here. Just focus!" Jean called back.
From inside de lightening storm, pink card cards sailed up into de air and exploded against Storm, knocking her from flight and bringing de air back to stillness.
Colossus and Beast were already on de offense, and as dey approached Colossus picked up his blue counterpart and threw him wit' extra force toward de object o' our aggression. Beast landed wit' a flurry o' wallops and den vaulted overtop, locking him in a hold from behind as Colossus arrived with a fist like a cannon.
He was stalled, but didn' flinch. Colossus rained down blow after blow, but dey gave no injury. A slow smile spread across de demon's face, and his features melted and congealed into someone else entirely…de humanoid image o' En Sabah Nur. His eyes, full o' delight, fell back on me.
Unconsciously, I started backing away. Not him. Not again.
De spray of fireworks broke our connection and suddenly someone had two fistfuls o' my coat.
"Either wake up or get behind me, loverbayou!" Wit' one last shake, Jubilee turned in a flourish o' yellow vinyl, putting her petite form between me and En Sabah Nur.
Once de fireworks cleared, I saw Beast skidding across de ground to land in a heap while Colossus skipped like a stone across de surface o' water in de uddah direction.
Wolverine was behind En Sabah Nur, clinging to his back wit' one hand and digging into his neck with de claws o' de uddah.
En Sabah Nur reached behind, catching Wolverine's arm and dragging him violently over his shoulder, and I saw it pop out of socket as he did. Once Wolverine was in front o' him, En Sabah Nur grabbed de uddah arm and gave it de same harsh treatment, prompting a howl.
"JEAN!" Cyclops demanded.
"Almost! I need time!"
En Sabah Nur raised Wolverine over his head, and de sight jarred me loose. "C'mon Jubilee!"
She didn' hesitate. We ran shoulder to shoulder, a hail o' lights, pops, blasts, and explosions.
We managed to destabilize him enough dat he dropped to one knee, but we quickly realized he meant to break Wolverine over it. As we sprinted I whipped my staff out and charged it befo' sending it sailing into de leg holding his weight, sending dem both down to the de ground.
Wit' a sneer o' exasperation, he gave a determined stomp to one o' Wolverine's exposed legs as he leapt back to his feet. Growling, Wolverine slung one injured arm to plunge his claws into En Sabah Nur's Achilles' tendon, but even as it emerged on de uddah side de hulking humanoid gave no indication o' pain.
"JEAN!" Cyclops' voice was all de mo' urgent.
All at once, En Sabah Nur's image waivered and den swirled befo' a shimmering shield expanded out from him in all directions, causing de ground to shake and sending us flying as it reached us one by one.
"It's done! Everyone get OUT!" Jean shouted.
Most o' us couldn't move, caught as we were in de swelling force radiating from our foe. But den I felt de familiar, close, unseen pressure o' Jean's telekinesis wrapping around me like wings.
I found myself back in de Danger Room with Cyclops and Jean and watched as she ripped de uddahs one by one through de door. En Sabah Nur and his energy field raced to meet us on de uddah side. As soon as she pulled de last one through, she slammed de door and barred it wit' anyt'ing she could conjure.
We saw the thud o' impact on de uddah side and repeated shutters as he tried to batter his way through.
"Will it hold?" Cyclops asked.
"The Professor made that container to hold Ms. Marvel. It has to hold."
De pounding continued on de uddah side. De vibrations ran along de floor like an earthquake. Jean's face twisted in dread.
Jubilee tended to Wolverine, working to get his arms back into socket. After de second pop, he cracked his neck and sighed heavily, surveying de door as it seemed to groan under de assault.
"I don't think so, Red."
Cyclops clenched his jaw and looked at de floor, running statistics, probabilities, strategies.
"What happens when he breaks through?" Colossus asked de question we were all t'inking.
Cyclops tried, "Is there another holding space? Or could we make one?"
"I can't make anything stronger than what the Professor already built. And even if I could, it takes time…time we don't have."
"Hank, could you modify the Danger Room based on the parameters we know?"
"Given that this is psychic symbolism and I'm limited to the programming protocols Rogue understands…frankly no, my friend. Even in the real Danger Room I don't think I could do it, especially not in the time we have."
I became confused. And when I tried to sort back through my mind to make sense o' it t'ings got even mo' muddled.
Was dis a hallucination? A vision? A dream? De astral plane? Where was Rogue? Had she been here at all?
"Where…where are we? What's going on?" My voice lacked any form o' bravado.
I got several sidelong glances but nobody seemed ready to jump in wit' an answer. Somet'ing thundered on de uddah side o' de door again.
I felt a strange sense o' disconnection as I scanned de room, de familiar yet slightly altered space, de faces o' de Xmen, de horrible door. Bewildered, I asked, "Any o' dis real, hahn?"
Storm approached me cautiously and de movement caught my eye. Her face was open and gentle. "Gambit. I am so sorry. We are not sure what you have been through and there is no time. We…you and I…all of us…have been fully absorbed by Rogue's power. We are real, but we are inside Rogue's psyche."
Dat didn' make sense. Rogue hated using her power. She wouldn' use it against her friends.
My suspicion and disbelief must have shown on my face. Jubilee stepped up to flank Storm, "Do you remember how you got here?"
"We're not gonna have time fer this," Wolverine approached me mo' forcefully, "That jack wagon got ahold of you, bub, took you over. Don't know where your mind was. Thought we were gonna have to take you out or be taken out. But Rogue found you. She believed in you. And then she brought you here. She's calling the shots."
Wolverine turned his gaze directly over to Cyclops, "And it sounds like we need orders."
Jean and Psylocke were working feverishly to reinforce de door, but it was obvious dis was a temporary solution.
I tried to make meaning out o' deir words. I remembered as though through a dream…how could I not have known her face?...some kind o' violence. A kiss. She brought me here wit' a kiss. And when she brought me here…she brought him too.
My eyes turned wit' renewed horror onto de door as I repeated Colossus' question, "What happens when he breaks through?"
"She'll have to choose to fight him or expel him."
I noticed furtive glances towards de screen on de far side o' de room. As I looked up, I realized we were looking through Rogue's eyes.
Only moments had passed since our fight. She held onto my abandoned form, defeated and listless, and En Sabah Nur looked on motionless and scowling from de platform. She walked backwards as she carried me, keeping one eye on our malevolent host, and placed me gently next to Piotr against de wall. Squaring herself off and focusing her attention on En Sabah Nur, I could feel hate and rage roiling off o' her, as well as her restraint in trying to keep her composure.
En Sabah Nur cocked his head to one side, "You are victorious. I was right to take an interest in you," somehow it didn't sound like flattery, mo' like a threat. My blood ran cold. She faced him alone.
Storm put a hand on my shoulder, "She's not alone. She has us. We're all here."
Rogue didn' answer him, but checked as furtively as she could fo' de exits. I could feel her t'oughts. She needed to draw his attention away somehow. Away from de infirmary, and now away from me and Pietro.
"Do you think you have outsmarted me, little one?" His voice held a potent threat.
Psylocke stepped toward us, drawing our attention back into the room. "The infirmary has been compromised. Collars have been removed. Patrols are posted."
Several heads jerked in her direction.
"There was no time, with everything in here. Nothing I could do. Your bodies are here, but none will have powers."
I felt collective despair but could make no sense o' it. "What does dis mean?" I asked in alarm.
De door thudded and Wolverine snarled, but no one answered me.
De scene continued.
Rogue didn' answer him, instead continuing small steps against the wall, away from me and Piotr, but he didn' wait fo' her response befo' he continued, "You've collected quite the assortment of powers, characters. It was a creative risk. Impressive."
I felt somet'ing o' her alarm. "Ah'm a survivor, as you've already discovered," she tried as a diversion.
He smiled cruelly, "Accurate…for now. But you are too conniving, too insidious. You wish me to face your cohort, but I am unwilling to waste so many promising subjects."
She smirked back at him, "And there's yoah tell. 'Subjects', sugah. That's all you see. Not people. Not even when they're mutants. Yoah not interested in a better world foah anyone but yoahself."
En Sabah Nur took long strides toward Rogue as my heart thundered, pleaded within me fo' him to stay back.
"Spirited," he continued toward her, "shrewd…liar." He came to stand directly across from her, forcing her to crane her neck to look up at him. "It's not for the sake of the world that you loathe me. It's for the sake of a single man. You failed to realize what I had done for him, because you are small and selfish. But you could be more."
"Yoah the liar, and only a half of one at that. Yes, I hate you foah what you did to Gambit. AND I hate you foah what yoah tryin' to do to the world. But you can't make me moah than what ah am. You just want to make me moah of you, and ah ain't havin' it."
With a blast of fireworks, she tried to make a break fo' it.
Jubilee pumped her fist in the air next to me. It was a short-lived pride.
"I've taken their collars, young one," he called after her coolly, "To where will you run?"
His proclamation stopped her in her tracks and his question echoed in my mind, reverberating back to my suspension in de dark. I was terrified fo' her. She didn' know what to do.
"Psylocke?" she t'ought out.
"I can confirm. The collars are gone. We have neither our powers nor the element of surprise. Awaiting orders."
Horror spread thickly through Rogue's mind like a sickness. She forced herself to center. She needed time. She tried to imagine what Cyclops would do.
Cyclops felt it and clenched his fists in frustration, gears in his brain turning all the harder. He wanted to advise her but wasn' sure what to suggest.
Rogue turned back to En Sabah Nur, doing what she could to keep her features unreadable, continuing to put distance between herself and his form, but mo' importantly between herself and de defenseless forms o' me and Piotr.
"Why? If yoah so invincible, and you knew what we were up to, why not face us?"
En Sabah Nur studied her, "As I said, I am unwilling to waste subjects. You have taken some of the most interesting. But if it's any consolation to you, you have managed to surprise me. You've introduced a new possibility, one that I welcome. Fate continues to favor me."
"How's that?" Keep him talking, buy some time.
"It seems I will trade one horseman for another…far more interesting," I hated de way he said "interesting" as he matched her step, following her course. "In your haste, I doubt you've yet realized the consequence of what you've done."
De door shook behind us ominously, dis time hard enough dat it entered Rogue's awareness.
"What's going on in there?" she asked, trying to keep her focus.
Dere was no time fo' gentleness, "You absorbed both Gambits. Ours and his. I don't fully understand, but En Sabah Nur was able to join his consciousness and will with Gambits. They separated when you absorbed him and he's reverted back to En Sabah Nur himself. We've contained him in the holder you used to use for Ms. Marvel, but it won't hold forever," Jean tried to keep her voice tactical but failed. It was laden wit' grief. Dis was bad.
I wanted to shout at Rogue to run, to get away, but where could she go? I was desperate to protect her but I didn' know how as my eyes raced between de screen and de door, body begging me to move but not knowing where 'xactly I was supposed to go.
"Horseman?" she invited him to go on as we all sat paralyzed. She continued to scan fo' an escape and noticed de ceiling here was glass.
As it caught her attention, it also caught Beast's, "Keep the glass in view, please," he instructed. She did her best to oblige.
"Four. Four horseman to bring about the end of what is and to begin anew. It was my design to bring Death first. You have thwarted that intention. You should be proud. It is not often that my plan is altered."
"You talkin' Revelation?"
"Hardly. As I said, you all have danced around the edges of reality in your religions, your legends. There are pieces of me everywhere, if you know how to look. It's me you have been seeking, without realizing."
Rogue's voice rang out in the room again, "Jean, can you help me expel him, if he breaks through?"
Jean's chin trembled and her eyes fell on me. I was confused. "If you expel him, he will return to Gambit's body. Alone."
"Let him have it!" I shouted at Rogue forcefully and it made her jump. She didn' answer.
"And then what, have her fight both Death and En Sabah Nur?" Wolverine snarled at me but his attention shifted back to Jean, "What are you thinking, Red?"
Jean shook her head once, jaw clenched, barely hanging on, and closed her eyes.
"I'm quite curious exactly how my influence will play out. It's a scenario outside my imagining. I find myself…fascinated."
"The gap between you and mah type can't be properly conveyed in words. Move along sugah."
He smiled, and de annoyance on his face was turning into somet'ing mo' like cruel delight.
"How can I help you understand? It's already done. I am victorious. It does not matter what you do next. My influence will overpower you. Alter you. Perfect you. As it did him. It is only a matter of time."
Her heart started to race and she closed her eyes fo' half a second.
Her form appeared in de Danger Room wit' us. She was so beautiful I couldn' breathe. I felt like she couldn' be real. Like if I touched her, she'd shatter and I'd realize I'd imagined her. Immediately she noticed de door and her eyes grew wide as she watched it shudder and shake.
Beast came up beside her, his expression grim and his voice flat, "The glass ceiling has no blue light. It's a manual addition, as some things here are. You could break through it, if you tried." It was a new observation but no help.
"Ah gotta get y'all outta here."
"We won't be able to help if you do that. We can at least fight him. Buy you time."
Frustration rolled off her in a concussive wave. Wit'out saying it aloud, we felt her t'ink, "Time to do what?!"
Her mind raced. If she expelled En Sabah Nur, he and Death would kill her. She wasn' sure what would happen to us if we were still on deck when dat happened.
If she expelled us, she'd be defenseless and En Sabah Nur would kill her, or take her over.
Slowly, degree by degree, her mind cooled, as though she was coming to a realization.
21
