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Healing	By : AngelofSnow Category: X-Men: (All Movies) > Het - Male/Female Views: 4234 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the X-Men movies, or any of the characters from them. I make no money from from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 22
- 23
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Healing

Title: Healing
Verse: X-Men movieverse
Timeline: post X-Men: The Last Stand
Author: AngelofSnow
Pairing: Eventual Rogue/Magneto
Rating: M � The shit is gonna hit the fan real soon. In this
chapter there�s some gross violence and light sexual situations. Nothing too
controversial though.
Disclaimer: I don�t own the X-Men. I don�t own the moon. I
don�t own a home. All I got is a car and a computer.
Summary: The Cure is only temporary. While healing Rogue and
Magneto find each other and realize they have more in common than they
originally thought.�

Soundtrack: I
recommend the song �Wasteland� by 10 Tears. It�s time to break out the
angst-ridden alternative again.

Dedication: To Agent Silver for being such a loyal and
kind reviewer. You seem like one cool chick. I hope you find an Erik of your
own some day.

Notes: This
chapter advances the plot more and brings the Brotherhood to meet the X-Men.
Sadly there�s no smut in this one, but you�ll love it anyway. Or at least I
hope you will.

Chapter Twenty-Three:
Chewy Eggs

Magneto:

�� Pyro brought
her to him. She had been raving again about someone stealing all her cigars.
She had blamed Juggarnaut and tried to attack him using claws she did not have.
Luckily, Pyro had been there and stopped her before the situation got out of
hand. Pyro was getting better at predicting when the other memories in her mind
would take over. He knew when Rogue was Rogue and when she was someone else.
Her eyes would glaze over for a second and then her whole posture would change.
The change would be sudden and her symptoms would last any where from a few
minutes to several hours.

�� Whenever
Erik couldn�t watch her Pyro would be with her. Marie didn�t seem to understand
what all the fuss was about. When one of the personalities in her head took
over she never remembered anything she did. She was Logan frequently as he was one of the
strongest presences in her head since she had absorbed him three times. Marie would
be fine one minute and the next Magneto would see her sniff the air and scratch
the back of her hand where claws that weren�t there would have sprung from. It
was unnerving.

�� It had been
two weeks since he had talked to Professor Kojak and attempted to contact Storm
to be allowed to visit the X-Men mansion. Professor Kojak had not been wrong,
there were too many memories in Rogue�s head and her condition was worsening.
Magneto relieved her of her duties to the Brotherhood so she could rest and
take it easy, but that only annoyed her more. She hated every minute she wasn�t
working and contributing. She hated not being useful and it caused her to
wander aimlessly throughout the island fortress listless and bored.

�� The most
unsettling incident occurred one morning at breakfast when several of the
mutants were dining together in the room off the kitchen. Magneto sat across
from Rogue has he always did, their relationship or whatever it was between
them, was common knowledge and most of the mutants allowed them their space in
respect to Magneto�s position of leadership. Pyro was eating with them as he
was a good friend of Rogue�s and delighted in making Magneto feel uncomfortable.
He would remind him through subtle hints of the day he had caught them
together. Magneto wasn�t sure exactly why he tolerated Pyro�s presence or his
persistent annoyance. It was most likely because he saw how much potential the
boy had.

�� That morning
they had been having omelets or what were supposed to omelets. They were really
just scrambled eggs with assorted fixings. Catalyst was a fast cook but not an
exemplary one. The eggs tasted fine but she never got over-easy or sunny-side-up
to come out right. It was a small issue and no one ever called her on it. Rogue
always liked her eggs spicy and added some salsa to them for the flavor. Pyro liked
his eggs well-cooked and added generous quantities of pepper and Monterey cheese to them.
Erik�s were plainer. He only added several pieces of German bratwurst chopped
into his eggs.

�� Rogue had
been picking at her eggs, pushing them around her plate not very interested in
eating them. She picked up her cup of orange juice and her hand stopped midway
in bringing it to her lips. She paused for several seconds holding the juice
and Erik and John watched her. Her brown eyes clouded over and she seemed to
stare past them for a minute at something only in her mind. Erik tried to catch
her before she got lost amongst the flotsam and jetsam of her mind.

�� Marie.
Rogue. Stay here. Please, Marie.� He begged his hand reaching out to hold hers
across the table.

�� When she
moved again her whole demeanor changed. Her lips fell from their usual half
smile to leave a somber frown in their place. Her eyes grew dark and deep with
unseen tragedy. Her shoulders slumped and her posture assumed a subordinate,
broken shape even as her eyes seemed to command with a knowing, fierce glare.
She looked into the orange juice cup and then drank it, sipping slowly. She put
it down and crossed her arms, rubbing her hands up and down them trying to keep
warm. Then she went back to eating the eggs with a solemn slow pace.

�� Pyro and
Magneto looked on knowing that she was not their friend in that moment but
unsure who she had become. Rogue stopped eating, but starred at her food and
then looked up at Erik, her eyes unnaturally cold and haunted. She motioned to
her plate.

�� It was nice
of him to let us use him.� She took another bite of eggs chopping it thoroughly
as though the eggs were especially chewy. �There wasn�t much meat on him but it
should last us to Monday if the guards do not find his body.� She cut the eggs
using her knife, pressing hard into them, cutting around a bone that wasn�t
there. She had a guttural German accent that was several octaves deeper than
her usual speaking voice. ��If I go
before you, you�re welcome to eat me.� She looked down at her own body. �I only
wish I weighed a bit more so I might be a decent meal for everyone.�

�� Erik looked
on in abject horror remembering this conversation by heart from so many long
distant years ago. He couldn�t stand to watch her remembering just how the
flesh of his friend had tasted in his mouth: chewy and difficult to swallow. Oh
god, she was him, when he had been in the concentration camp at the end of the
war. They had been beyond starving and had lived off of shoe leather for weeks
until their numbers began to thin and the living started to eat the dead.
��
�� Erik stood
up from the table swiftly half crazed from his own memory and half from knowing
Marie was suffering under it as well. He moved so fast he knocked his chair over
and disturbed the table�s contents as he clutched Rogue�s hands in his own. He
looked at Pyro.

�� John, help
me! Please, please!� His voice cracked and it had none of its usual deep
resonance. Erik�s eyes were watering and Pyro felt his stomach sink as he
remembered the numbers tattooed on his mentor�s left forearm. He hugged Rogue
around her waist and ushered her out of the room. The other dining mutants
looked on stunned by the incident. It was dead silent as they left.

�� They helped
Rogue to his study and laid her upon the couch where she shivered against a
chill that was from over 60 years ago. Erik started a fire to try to warm her
and Pyro got her a blanket but it was useless when she was lost like this in
the memory.

�� Get
Professor Kojak on the phone. Tell her we need her help immediately.� Pyro ran
over to his desk and began dialing. Erik went to Rogue�s side as she scratched
her head to ease the itch of lice that did not exist. Erik held her against
him, trying to comfort her, praying his presence, the feel of his body against
hers would be enough to cut through the madness.

�� Do you
think my mother is alright? I talked to Greta through the fence yesterday and
she said they were moving some of the older women to a new camp. Do you think
my mother will be one of them?� Rogue held her hand up to cup her mouth as
though whispering a secret. �I�ve heard rumors that they never take anyone to
new camps, that they just�� Rogue�s voice trailed off as she shook with anger
in his arms, thrashing about while Erik tried to contain her.

�� If they do
that to my mother so help me, I will get them. I will not rest till I have
killed every one of them. They will fear me. Everyone will fear me. They should
you know. I�� Marie looked up at him, and her voice lowered till he could not
hear her. He didn�t need to as he remembered exactly what he had said next. �I
can do things to metal. I�m not like everyone else. I�m not weak. They can�t
get away with treating my people like this. I will fight them. I�ll fight them
and I�ll never stop.�

�� Erik
remembered that moment of his life perfectly in his head as though he was still
there whispering to the man in the cot next to him. He remembered that moment
so well because every day after that moment had been infinitely easier.
Watching as his mother was torn from him, knowing she was going to die soon in
the gas chambers that were dark rumors spreading around the camp had hardened
him into the iron he so loved. In that instant he did not just start to love
metal; he became it. He willed himself to be as tough and as unyielding as his
love. He looked up at the iron bars of the camp�s gate that had been replaced
after he had twisted them and hardened himself so that like metal he would not
bend to the Nazi�s will. He would not allow himself to break. He would be
metal. Everyday of his life after that fateful day when he ceased to be Erik
Lensherr and began his life as Magneto was easier.

�� Pyro walked
back to see Erik holding Marie�s shaking form as sobs racked her body. She
cried so hard she started into a coughing fit and began to cough up blood, just
as Erik had done so long ago.

�� She�s
coming. Professor Kojak�ll be in a few hours she says. She�s in Boston right now.� Erik
looked up at John and tears were streaming from his gray blue eyes. He had just
relived the darkest moment of his life through the eyes of the woman he loved.

000000000000000

Magneto and Storm:

�� While
Professor Kojak had tended to Rogue and her over-burdened mind, Magneto wasted
no time in calling Charles� School. If the only way to help Marie was to get
the information from Charles� computer, he would get it so help him, if he had
to tear the mansion apart by its steel frame. This time Ororo Monroe answered
the phone.

�� Hello,
Xavier�s School for Gifted Youngsters. Ms. Monroe speaking.� Storm�s voice was
silky soft through the receiver. It grated on Erik�s nerves. This had become an
urgent matter and her calm bothered him.

�� Hello,
Ororo. It�s Erik.� That caused Storm
to sit up straight in her desk chair. She hadn�t expected to pick up the phone
and talk to Magneto, the man who had once been Erik Lensherr to her. Storm had
spent much of her youth at the mansion and when she was younger Mr. Lensherr
had lived there as well. His was a gruff but congenial presence. All that
changed when he left to become Magneto and Storm would have preferred if she
never had to see him again. Her voice reflected these sentiments.

�� Why are you
calling Magneto?�

�� I have an
important matter to discuss with you.� He paused trying to figure out the best
way to broach the subject so that she might agree with him. �It has to do with
young Rogue.�

�� Okay, I�m
listening.� Storm did not sound too patient however, and Magneto hoped he would
not have to do this the hard way.

�� She needs
information from her medical records. I know Charles used to keep such
information in his private files. Is there a chance she may look at them?�

�� I�ve told
Rogue before the Professor�s files are locked and no one can access them.
What�s this really about Magneto?�

�� It is just
what I have told you. Is no one able to access them or you won�t let them?�
Storm hesitated before answering him; she didn�t believe him for one second.

�� They are on
his personal computer and its password protected. No one knows the password.�
Erik smiled. If he remembered correctly and Charles was as negligent about
changing his password as Erik believed him to be�

�� I do. I
know it.�

00000000000000

Rogue and Magneto:

�� Storm had
reluctantly agreed to let him have access to Charles� files on the condition
that he unlock the computer so that she and her fellow X-Men could retrieve
them as well. It had been horrendous trying to file a tax return for the institute
without the Professor�s financial records. Storm would have let Magneto take
the X-Jet for a spin if it meant she didn�t have to itemize their receipts
again.

�� The next day
found the mutants of the Brotherhood loading up the helicopter. Magneto, Rogue,
and Professor Kojak were all going along with Mystique who would serve as their
pilot. Pyro was tagging along. He never mentioned why he wanted to go but it
was obvious to Rogue he missed the mansion and his old friends, particularly
Bobby. Catalyst was coming to offer her medical opinion and Juggarnaut was
accompanying them in case Storm reneged and Magneto had to do things the hard
way. Also, with the growing war between mutants and humans it never hurt to
travel with some extra muscle.

�� Rogue was
feeling better that day. Like all the incidents before she had no memory of
what had happened yesterday. All she remembered was waking up in Erik�s arms on
the sofa in his study to see tears in his eyes. She hated what was happening to
her; the way all the memories in her mind were slowly bleeding out. She couldn�t
control when they took over and Rogue hated not being in control of her
mutation. Just when she thought her mutation might finally be of use to her
this had to happen. Marie was angry and forced herself to be angrier still.
Being angry felt better then being afraid and she was very afraid she might be
losing her mind for good.

�� Magneto
remained concerned about Rogue despite Professor Kojak�s repeated assurances
that she would be able to help her. He watched Marie the entire flight waiting
for the telltale sign of her eyes glazing over but it never appeared. She was
herself today. If not for his dire need to help Rogue, Magneto never would have
set foot in the mansion again. It brought back too many painful memories of his
failed relationship and friendship with Charles. Then, there was the open
animosity between the X-Men and the Brotherhood that he hated. Erik believed
the two organizations should have been working together rather than fighting as
they both had mutants� best interests at heart. However things had not worked
out at all how Erik had planned.

Magneto hoped to gain access to the
plans for Cerebro from Charles� computer. He had been integral in building it
once and with Charles� knowledge of the psychological components he might be
able to recreate it one day. Magneto could imagine many ways in which Cerebro
could be beneficial to his campaign to take Australia. Even the lure of the
plans for Cerebro on their own would not have been enough to cause Erik to
visit the mansion. No, he was doing this for Marie, no matter how unpleasant
the trip might be. Now that Marie was ill he regretted that he had tried to
distance himself from her. It weighed badly on his conscience and he wished he
could take back giving her the cold shoulder. Helping Marie to heal was the
least he could do for her.

There were many reasons Erik did not
relish the coming meeting with the X-Men. For one, he had no interest in seeing
the Wolverine again. After their last encounter in the Albany International
Airport hanger when
Wolverine had caught Rogue and him in an embrace, Erik was not looking forward
to facing again the man that had gone into a jealous rage over his actions.
Erik and Marie�s relationship had moved far, far, far beyond the juvenile make-out
stage and he worried what the Wolverine�s reaction would be this time if he was
to find out. Although not the smartest individual, the Wolverine was not a
fool. Something told Erik he would know exactly what was going on between Rogue
and himself.

Worse, Erik worried what Marie�s
reaction would be if her former peers found out about her relationship with
him. It was one thing for them to be so open at the Brotherhood, where his word
was law, and they were respected because of his position of leadership. But
what would the X-Men�s reaction be should they find out? It was unlikely they
would be tolerant and accepting of a relationship which on the surface seemed
so bizarre and out of place. Erik wondered if Marie was ashamed of their relationship.

She had never done anything to
indicate that she was. But they had not been very open with each other for some
time. Again, Erik regretted trying to pull away from her. He knew that she was
safer if he did; that it was better for the cause. But he felt like he was
fighting an uphill battle. He wanted her to be more to him than just a lover;
he wanted her to be his equal. Something about her, the striking contrast
between himself and her, intrigued him and fascinated him. On the surface they
had nothing in common, but underneath they both had been through the same
struggles with their mutation and both had the same desire for power and for
control. They understood one another; understood why they could not be content
to accept their fate as outcasts, live by others� rules, or love simply.

If Rogue was embarrassed by their
relationship it would hurt Erik. He secretly wanted her to be proud of it. He
wanted her to defy convention for him. He had seen her rise to Mystique�s
challenge and it had given his heart a thrill to see her fight for him. Was it
so wrong that he wanted her not to be ashamed to love him? He wanted her to
stand up for their relationship despite all that stood against it. But if she
was to ever do that, Erik knew he would have to do it first.

0000000000000

Everyone:

�� The helicopter
flew over the mansion and its grounds and Rogue could see the place had changed
since she had left. Security had been heightened with the growing mutant human
conflict; there was a barbed wire fence, lined with security camera encircling
the grounds. The helicopter landed in a field past Storm�s garden and the
Brotherhood filed out of the helicopter to see Storm, Beast, and Wolverine
waiting to greet them. Rogue could see many of the younger mutants� faces
pressed against the window glass of the common room, watching their arrival.

�� Storm looked
distrustful as she took in the sight of the hulky Juggarnaut. She felt a little
better when she saw that Magneto did not have his full combat suit on; he was
dressed in a dark grey business suit and his black fedora hat sat on his head.
It comforted her to know that he was not wearing his helmet. However, she
didn�t know it sat waiting in the helicopter. Magneto was always prepared for
the worst, if it should come to that. Beast attempted to be civil.

�� Welcome,
Magneto. Let me apologize that our last meeting was not on better terms.�
Magneto had to repress a scowl at Beast�s words. He had been the one to stab
him with four shots of the Cure.

�� Do not
worry. I am completely recovered,� and Magneto strode past him to reveal the
helicopter floating several feet above the ground. As the group made its way
into the mansion he set it gracefully back down. The Wolverine refused to greet
him and did not look at him. Logan
only had eyes for Marie who came running to embrace him in a hug.

Logan looked exactly the same to Rogue as
when she had left. His healing ability kept him from ever aging and his
stubborn bad taste kept him from ever changing his hair style. Rogue, however,
looked very different in Logan�s
eyes. Her ability to control her mutation had allowed her to permanently change
her clothing style and she had on a pair of shorts and a sleeveless tank top with
the words �IN THE HOOD� written across the chest.

Logan had spent the intervening months
worrying about Rogue, at times so much he�d considered going after her. It
never occurred to him that he had little chance of winning a fight with
Magneto; that has never stopped him from trying before. He knew she had gone to
seek his help with her mutation, but he had had a gut feeling Magneto was
tricking her, lying to her. As the months went by with no word, he tried to
imagine how she was doing. Nightmares of her joining the Brotherhood and facing
him in battle played out in his head. Other times he dreamed that Magneto is
using her, hurting her again and he had felt an irresistible impulse to try to
rescue her. And then there are the unspeakable nightmares where he remembers
Marie passionately kissing Magneto in the airport office and he imagined the
price Magneto might charge for teaching her about her mutation. He is relieved
to see her alive and in one piece, looking none the worse for wear. In fact,
she looked better than before.

He took in the sight of her; her
long two-toned hair flowing behind her as she ran to greet him. She has curves Logan hadn�t remembered. All
the time spent with Erik between her legs have made her more flexible and widened
her hips from those of a teen to a woman. She now has an hourglass figure that Logan, as a man, cannot
tear his eyes away from. He tells himself not to look at her like that. But it is
impossible not to notice her ample breasts, her narrow waist, flat stomach,
generous hips, and round butt. When she hugs him and presses her lithe figure
into him he has to fight back an urge that has never existed before in their
older-brother-younger-sister relationship. Logan is forced to acknowledge that his �kid�
may not be much of a kid anymore.

�Logan!� She says happily as she hugs him
tightly, unafraid of hurting him. There would be no more light, cautious hugs
between them now that Rogue could stop the pull of her powers. She stood on her
tip-toes and gave Logan
a kiss on the cheek, he waited to feel the pull but it didn�t come. He looked
at her as if she had grown two heads. He smiled and blushed after a few
seconds.

�I can control it Logan! Erik taught me how. Isn�t it great?�
She is overflowing with joy, proud to share her happiness with him. Erik
watches the two, momentarily jealous over Rogue�s friendliness with the
Wolverine. He dismisses it, in light of the pride she takes in explaining her
newfound abilities. Logan
wants to smile back but his mind catches on the slight slip.

�Oh, so it�s Erik now.� He says, a
stiff gruffness creeping into his voice. Marie has no way to explain this away;
she looks off to the side for a moment and then changes the subject.

�I can�t stop it forever, but I can
keep from hurting someone for a full ten minutes now.� She lets an enthusiasm
fill her voice, trying to hide her discomfort from his previous statement.

�That�s terrific, Marie. I�m happy
for you. But is everything alright? Why do you need to see Wheels� old
records?� She has anticipated this question and already knows she is going to
lie to him. She doesn�t want to worry him with the truth so she tells a small
white lie.

�Magneto wants to help me get rid
of all the extra memories floating around in my head. Ya know I got a lot of
you in there. I think I know everything about you like three times over. I probably
know more about you than you do.� She laughs nervously, wondering if he can see
the worry in her eyes. The question floats in the back of her mind: what if Magneto can�t help me to get rid of
the memories? What if I can�t stop the memories from taking over? Logan, however, looks
convinced and takes her at her word.

�He�s really trying to help you
here. He�s not manipulating you or using you? I�m sorry, Marie but I find it
hard to believe.�

�No, he�s not. He�s not like that.
You should give him a chance Logan.
He�s�� Marie�s voice trails off as she tries to think of the best way to phrase
what she�s about to say. Erik, from his position chatting with Storm and Beast
looks over intent on hearing what she says to the Wolverine. He can hear his
heart pound in his chest as he waits for her to finish. �Y�all should give him
a chance. He�s not what ya think he is. He�s a good man; he just does things
that ain�t so good sometimes.� Logan
looked skeptical. Erik felt a wave of joy at Marie�s defense. Logan sniffed the air around Rogue as the
group began to file into the mansion and out of the August heat.

�You smell like Magneto. You�re wearing
the same cologne as him.� He said, his eyes meeting hers with a knowing gaze.

�Do we?� She laughed nervously, looking
away. �It must be from our clothes getting washed together.�

000000000000000

Notes: So I hope
the cannibalism bit wasn�t too much of a gross out. I was going for the shock
value. I have no idea if that sort of thing went on in concentration camps, though
I imagine the horrors in them were even worse then that.

I know Rogue should speak German while lost in Erik�s
memories, but I wanted Pyro to understand what she was saying so he would be
upset too. Also ignore all the time inconsistencies. I made Erik 67 because Ian
McKellen is that age. But if he was a young boy, say 11, during the Holocaust
that would put him well into his late seventies by today and that didn�t seem
to fit his character.

Catalyst is tagging along just because the author wants to
include her in the upcoming fight. Yeah, I am blatantly inserting myself but
it�s cute and fun, so shut up. And unlike my character, I can actually cook a
good omelet. But I tend to just make scrambled eggs with fixings instead.

XChocolateChipX,
my beloved R&R gal, did you notice how I wrote in your suggestion? Rogue�s
going to show Magneto just how much she isn�t ashamed of their relationship
soon.

Preview: They
open the files on the Professor�s computer. What do they contain? A bevy of
secrets about our X-Men and the Brotherhood. Everyone�s got something to hide,
but it�s not going to stay hidden much longer.
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Healing