The Rogue and Gambit Experiment | By : celticmanou Category: X-Men: (All Movies) > Het - Male/Female Views: 5354 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men or any character in this fanfic, and I do not make any money off it. If they were mine, my name would be Stan Lee. |
The journey was uneventful, almost tedious. Or it would have been without the knot tightening her stomach. She thought about her previous life, the life she had before the fateful kiss she shared with Cody.
Growing up with two mothers was difficult in a narrow-minded town. Though Irene and Raven handled the situation rather well. Momma Irene and Poppa Raven. Raven was often gone for her work and Irene was always there to take care of the growing Marie.
Irene always forbade Marie to date boys. She would get mad every time Marie bonded with boys and befriended them. She was a bit overprotective but she always meant the best for her foster daughter.
Rogue sighed and braced herself for what was to come. The cab had dropped her in front of her mothers' home. She had checked on Internet, Irene Adler and Raven Darkholme still lived there. She walked to the door, raised her hand and rang the house's bell. The door opened and a figure appeared in the doorway.
"Marie?" said the woman hesitantly.
"Momma Irene! I'm here. I'm really here."
Irene opened her arms and Marie flung herself at her. They laughed and cried and laughed again.
A little while later, they were seated on the couch, holding hands. Irene being blind, she needed the touch to feel her daughter was really there. Marie was talking about her life with the mutants, the cure, how she became Ororo's assistant.
"You are not here to stay, are you?" sweetly asked Irene.
"I'm not, Momma. Sorry but... My life belongs there. I wanted to reassure you about my whereabouts but my life is there now. I have friends and a career. I found the life I want to live."
Irene held her daughter's hands tightly. "I'm sorry, child."
Then the world went black.
---------------------
When Rogue opened her eyes, she saw Irene and Raven on each side of her.
"How are you feeling, child?" asked Irene.
"Ouch... What happened?" she asked, before the memory hit her. "Cody! I did something to him! Oh my God! I killed him!"
Panic hit her and she struggled to free herself. She noticed she was wearing gloves and none of her mothers was touching her bare skin. "I'm a mutant... Oh no I'm a mutant!"
"As we are," softly said Irene.
Speechless, Rogue's gaze traveled between her mothers.
"I can read the possible futures," said Irene. "And Raven can change form."
Raven, on cue, changed her form to assume her true self. She was tall, red-headed and blue-skinned. "Beautiful," said Rogue.
A smile appeared on her mothers worried faces. "Thank you, honey." answered Raven. "My mutant name is Mystique. Irene's is Destiny.”
"Then mine will be... Rogue."
"Cody will be fine, Rogue. You don't need to worry about him."
"What did I do to him?"
"When you touched him, you took a part of him in you. A part of his mind, a part of his energy and, if he had been a mutant, a part of his abilities."
Rogue looked down at her hands. "My skin is dangerous..."
Irene nodded sadly. "It is. I'm sorry, my child."
Rogue turned toward her bedroom door when someone knocked. Raven, still in her natural form, went to open it. In the doorway was a young woman. "Is she awake?" asked the newcomer.
Raven nodded and led her to Rogue. "Sage, meet my daughter Rogue. Sage is a mutant herself."
Rogue exchanged few words with the girl. She soon left her 'sickbed' for a trip to the bathroom. If Raven and Irene hadn't revealed they were mutants too, Rogue would have fled away. Somehow, she felt that she missed something, someone. She shook herself and looked at her own reflection while washing her hands. She gasped when she saw her reflection. The white streaks in her hair! Was it some kind of side effect to the mutation? Probably. Neither Raven nor Irene seemed shocked by it. She remembered the mutants she had seen on the news. Some had rather disturbing physical mutations. And Raven was blue-skinned. She could feel lucky with bits of fair hair and leech skin.
She sighed and joined her mothers downstairs. "Even though she's here now, I still see this Danvers girl as a threat for Rogue. It seems that we didn't change a thing."
Surprised by the words she caught, Rogue did her best to keep a straight face as she got into the kitchen, where her mothers were. She pulled her gloves on her hands, hiding as much skin as she could.
After the conversation she had caught between Irene and Raven, life became disturbingly... normal. Days after days, Raven would bring mutants so Rogue could test her ability on them. "You need to control when and how you absorb their powers," Raven kept saying.
Rogue started to have nightmares, starring the people she has absorbed and some she hadn't. One kept coming back. It was a dark-haired, strong-built man with claws. He kept saying "I care about you, kiddo. I'll help you." but it made no sense to her. Why would she need help? She was with her mothers, the two people who cared the most about her.
When she woke up after the dreams showing the unknown man, her senses were keener. She could see in the dark, smell all the scents around, almost feel the house around her.
After one of those dreams she woke up with alarm. Someone was in the house. She got up and, slightly crouched, made her way silently to the stranger. She was threatening Raven. "You have escaped from jail, Mystique, but I'll take you back there right away."
Rogue took her gloves off and caught the stranger with her bare hands.
Mystique screamed "no!" and the stranger started to struggle against Rogue grip. She didn't her go. Soon, the stranger stopped struggling, her eyes closed and, when Rogue let go of her, she fell unconscious on the ground. Rogue sat as Miss Marvel's mind tried to take hers over. She fought back and won. She could feel her in her mind, stronger than anyone else.
Mystique knelt next to her foster daughter. "My girl... What have you done?"
Rogue shook her head, unable to speak.
"You've done what Irene and I had feared. You have taken her in. You have taken everything she was... forever."
Tears started to flow on Rogue's cheeks. "I can feel it. She's in here." she touched her forehead.
Weeks had passed since she woke up in her bedroom and she could feel how different it was from the other times she had absorbed people. She didn't know the woman's mutant power but it flowed through her. The woman had been strong. She closed her eyelids, trying to ignore the alien memories and thoughts coming from Miss Marvel, AKA Carol Danvers.
She heard Raven call Sage on the phone, asking her to come at once. Rogue felt like she was drowning in the mixed memories. She felt torn between the opposite personalities.
It felt like hours, but a few minutes later Sage was at Rogue's side. “Open your eyes, Rogue. I can connect my mind with yours better if you let me in.”
Rogue did as it was asked. She looked into Sage's deep blue eyes and drowned into them as if they were two oceans. Time and space lost meaning as she blacked out. “I will lock the parasite's personality away. I have no idea if it will last but it's her best shot. Why did you let this happen, Mystique? I know you are power greedy but not so much you'd risk your own child's sanity.”
“First, Sage, you know nothing about me or what I'm able to do. Second…” Mystique hesitated and sighed. “I was trying to prevent that, you see? I was about to leave with Miss Marvel so she could try to keep me locked again. I didn't want them to meet. Destiny had seen it…”
“You should have let her go on with her life. No one deserves this fate.”
“You told us her mutant abilities were starting to awaken again. You're the one who said that you couldn't jump-start her powers if she wasn't already awakening to them. You were the key to bring her back. I asked you to, and you could refuse. You're the only known mutant with this ability.” Mystique leaned in to kiss the top of Rogue's head. “I wanted my savage baby girl back. We found her, you know? She was fending for herself in the swamp and she was barely eight. She ran away from her parents’. I felt drawn to her, we had similar lives.”
“Her life had changed, Mystique. She was given a shot at happiness.”
“It couldn't last. One day or another, her powers were to awaken. And what would've happened? She can kill with a touch. What if she fell in love and killed her lover? How could she go on if such a fate happened to her?”
“You know something about killing, Mystique. You cold-blooded murdered quite a bunch of people. I did what you asked because I owed you. It doesn't mean I was pleased with it.”
Mystique turned away. “Put Carol Danvers in a cage and bury her deep where Rogue will never dig her up and leave. You may not come back again. Consider your bill paid. After this, you won't owe me anymore.”
When Rogue came to, she was in her bed. She remembered the trespasser, how she drained her and how she felt when the woman's mind invaded her own. But now she felt… okay she guessed. She was her usual self.
She got up and went to the bathroom. She splashed water on her face. It was morning already. She went down the stairs and got to the kitchen. Destiny – momma Irene – was there drinking coffee. She sat next to her momma, greeting her.
“Raven told me what happened yesterday,” started Irene.
“I drained someone more than I've ever had,” answered Rogue.
“I saw it happen. Dozens of times. We were trying to avoid it but it seems some things are not to be prevented.”
“I never saw her use her powers so I don't know what powers I have now.”
Irene's smile turned sad. “She could fly, she was incredibly strong, she had a seventh sense that warned her of danger.”
“What happened to her?” asked Rogue. “She fell unconscious last night.”
“Oh, Marie, my sweet child… I'm sorry to be the one to tell you… You killed her last night.”
Rogue walked away from Irene, horror painted on her face. “I have… taken… her life?”
Irene sadly nodded.
“It can't be,” she screamed and she ran away.
Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she ran to the closest forest. There she punched a tree, which fell on the ground, completely destroyed. She looked at her hands. She hadn't felt any pain in her hand when she had punched. She screamed and fell on her knees. Sobs were shaking her petite frame. During the weeks she had practice she had never dreamed –no, ‘nightmared’ – that she could kill someone with her power. She remembered when she woke up. She hadn't felt any different. But everything was, as she had killed. She was a murderer. Her hands were tainted with someone's blood.
She sat there, her back leaning against a tree trunk. Momma Irene had seemed sympathetic and non-judgmental but how could she move on now she had killed?
Sobs eventually subsided and the tears started to dry on her cheeks. She was hugging herself, rocking back and forth, muttering. “I didn't want to, I didn't want to…” she said repeatedly.
In her anguished state, she didn't hear the man approach until it was too late. “Remy found you, Chérie. You worried us, you know.”
The Cajun came closer, knelt and held an extended hand so she could use it to get up. “Look at you, Chère, dirty and sittin’ in the mud. You shouldn't do that, you'll catch a cold. Come with Remy, love, we'll get you cleaned up.”
His words reached her and she looked at him, startled. “Who are you?” she asked. “Are you a friend of my momma?”
“I don't know your maman, Chérie, but Remy do know you. Let's go to your friends and try to sort it out.”
She escaped his hands as he reached to straighten her. “Don't touch me! I'm a killer! My skin could kill you!” She snapped. She burst into tears immediately after. “I don't want to… I didn't want to… I didn't mean to…”
Worried, seeing that he reached the limit of what he could do for Rogue, Gambit reached in his pocket and took the communication device Wolverine gave him. “Yellow leader, here's the Gambit.”
A growl answered. “Gambit, I told you I don't want to be called Yellow leader.”
“We have a situation, Logan. She doesn't seem to remember me.”
“Did you think you made such an impression?”
“This is serious, boss. She seems to suffer memory loss and confusion.”
All sarcasm and irony disappeared from Wolverine's tone. “I'll be here in a few.”
Gambit put the communication device away. “Your friends will be there soon, Marie. We'll help you.”
His voice echoed the one she had heard in her dreams. “Help me? You can't help me. Ah… I need to see my momma Irene… And my poppa Raven…”
She turned away to go back to her home. Gambit grabbed Rogue's arm. “Don't walk away please… I thought we… we shared something before you left to come here.”
“I don't know you, how could we share something?” She countered. But as she said it, she looked into the strange man's red eyes and felt some kind of… recognition.
“How could I know your name, Marie, if I didn't know you?”
She was rendered speechless. She gaped at him a minute. When she heard noise in the woods, she looked around, panicked, and broke Gambit's grip on her arm. She saw the man of her dreams walk toward her. He had a friendly smile and she couldn't see any claw.
“Marie! So Gambit found you! That's a relief, all those weeks without a word from you.”
“I don't know you either. Who are you people? What do you want? I warned you, don't touch me or you'll suffer!”
She backed away, in a defensive pose, eying both men warily.
“Remy told you she was confused, Wolverine.”
“Get lost, Gambit. And let me take care of her. I've known her for two years; we went through a lot together.”
Rogue looked at Wolverine with anguished eyes. “How can you know my name? Why did I see you in my dreams?”
Wolverine's features softened. “Kiddo, we've known each other for two years. When you discovered your mutant powers, you fled. I met you in the dead of winter and gave you a ride. We went to Xavier's school to have shelter and training. One year ago, you gave up your mutant name, Rogue, to take the cure and live as an average human with the name your parents gave you, Marie.”
“What is my mutant power?” she tested him and he knew it. It seemed that she had a gap of two years in her memories.
“Your touch absorbs memories and energy from the people around you. If the person is a mutant, you temporarily assume that person's powers.”
“And I kill them.”
Wolverine frowned. Rogue had never killed anyone with her touch, and he had experienced it firsthand. “You absorbed me on different occasions so you could use my ability to heal. I'm still standing here, ain't I?”
“I've killed. I'm not the person you think I am because my powers are not CURED.” She shouted. She leaped and flew into the air, getting away from them.
It was the first time she flew. Even in her distressed state, she enjoyed the feel of the wind rushing against her skin, the speed of the flight, the freedom in her bones.
Down on the ground, the two men who swore to take care of Rogue deep in the secret of their hearts looked at each other.
“I bet she got her powers back, and some more with them, Logan.”
“I bet you're right, Gambit. As much as I dislike it. Someone also did a good job brainwashing her. Did she say something relevant?”
“Just that she wanted to go back to her momma Irene and her poppa Raven. And that she'd killed someone.”
Wolverine's eyes opened wide. “Raven?” he groaned. “I hope Raven isn't Raven Darkholme or we'll have a hell of a problem.”
“Someone I should know?”
“A shape-shifter. She helped Magneto abduct Rogue for some suicidal plan to turn the whole humanity into mutants. Rogue almost died in the process.”
“And yet she talks about this person as if she were her parent.”
“It worries me, Gambit. I've encountered the lady several times the last years and none of the encounters was pleasant.”
Gambit nodded. “Then we have to free Rogue from her and find someone who can give her back the time she had with us. Her memories.”
“Unfortunately, the two people I knew who could do it were the Professor X and Jean Grey. Both are dead.”
A form appeared from behind a tree. “I can do it. I locked her memories. I also locked something more. Someone else could awaken it and Rogue would be destroyed. It seems that we'll have to find an agreement, gentlemen.”
Wolverine's claws sprung free from his hands and he pinned the woman against a tree, his claw at her throat. “Who are you?”
“I'm Sage. I'm a telepath, among other things. I owed Mystique a favor and she forced me into it. She has ways to persuade people.”
“Did all the mutants who were cured get back their powers?”
“All of them will eventually, depending on their strength and their level of mutation. I jump-started Mystique and Rogue.”
“What do you mean, jump-started?” asked Gambit.
“I helped them to develop their powers. Mystique can shape-shift again, and Rogue's touch is now potentially lethal again.”
Wolverine's voice shook with restraint. “I want to plunge these claws in you. You've done the worst to the girl. She never wanted her powers and did everything she could to get rid of them.”
“I just made the process go faster. She had a few months, maybe a year, before her powers regained their previous level.”
Wolverine cried and plunged his claws in the tree. “I can't believe it. Why should I believe you?”
“Because Mystique lied when she released me from my debt. She intends to use me to jump-start Magneto. He is too powerful and I don't want to do that. I've met the man. He hadn't reached half his potential when he lost his powers. If I jump-start him, his powers may increase. He's a threat to both humans and mutants.”
Wolverine's claws retracted. “You will help us with Marie?”
Sage nodded. “And I'll stay with the X-Men from now on.”
“We'll see,” said Wolverine. “Now answer one more question.”
“I will. She has permanently absorbed Miss Marvel’s powers.” She said, picking the question from his brain.
“Carol Danvers?” he shuddered. “And how come…?”
“She kept the contact a bit too long. All I know is that Carol was at least knocked out. Mystique and Destiny say Rogue killed her. Mystique took care of Carol's body when I was locking her personality in Rogue's mind.”
“Carol's personality?” Logan asked
Sage nodded. “I've never seen it, even with other telepaths. Rogue has completely taken Carol in. Even if Carol's body has survived, her soul is gone. It's trapped in Rogue's body now.”
“I'm gonna kill Mystique. I won't miss this time.”
“The girl is pretty much attached to the woman she knows as Raven. Raven and Irene raised her together.”
“How had we never known about this all?” questioned Wolverine.
“Rogue never gave you her family name, and she never felt the need to talk about the life she had abandoned. She never knew Mystique and Raven were the same person. And now she knows, she has forgotten all that Mystique has tried to do to her.”
“You talk pretty, Sage, but if you lied or hid something, this Cajun will make you pay,” said Remy, pointing himself.
Following Sage, they walked toward Irene and Raven's home, where Rogue had probably come back to.
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