31Disclaimer:So here we are, chapter 5 and I'm still not owning the X-Men. I will notify you if that changes, I promise.
-x-
A few girls were crying steadily. Wanda was leaning on John, who clutched his lighter, but never flicked it. Jubilee and Bobby held hands, and Jean and Scott refused to look at each other. The only two remaining members of the original brotherhood, Lance and Pietro were playing cards in an absent minded fashion, with Pietro constantly looking over at Tabitha, who was curled up into a ball on the couch.
The residents of the Xavier mansion were gathered in the recreation room, staring aimlessly at walls. The majority of the room was dressed in black, with a few who wore colours traditional to their own cultures. Rogue wore all black (not that she was normally colourful). She never had an extreme fondness for Toad, but he was still someone she'd known for a long time, and for him to die like that just seemed..unfair. Unnatural.
Logan surveyed the room and sighed, walking away. He wasn't one to dwell on past things; he'd been alive so long that he understood that everybody died eventually. He of course, lived on the daily assumption that his death was within extremely close range – assuming anyone was smart enough to figure out how to kill him.
He walked away from the kids and back towards Hank's lab. The professor, Ororo and Hank were discussing Todd's death, and he wanted to know what conclusions they came to. Since none of the kids had seen anything, Hank had performed an autopsy on the professor's orders. Logan was curious as to the cause of the boy's early death.
He found each of the teaching staff standing, arms crossed, in the lab. The professor nodded to Logan as he walked in the room and leaned against a cabinet.
"As I feared, Todd has been murdered. Hank, if you would?" Xavier motioned with one hand to the blue doctor, who turned and pulled a plastic Tupperware container off the shelf and passed it to Ororo, motioning for her to examine it and then pass it to Logan. Inside, was a small, circular object, with one sharp pointed arrow extending from one side, much like a screw.
"What you are seeing is an advanced piece of technology that was shot into Todd's neck from a shot at far range. It was likely silent and moving at a speed invisible to the human eye. I found it lodged in the blood stream. It ejected an immediate poison that targets the X gene." Hank said. Logan grabbed the tupperwear and stared at the minute dart – he could barely see the tiny black head.
"So you're saying if sniper boy missed and hit a human, they'd be fine." He growled and looked up at the fuzzy doctor with a raised eyebrow.
Beast nodded and Logan tossed the container over to him, which he caught with a surprised expression.
The professor sighed, and the three adult mutants turned their eyes to him. "That means that not only was this a direct attack, but a planned strike against the mutant community."
Snkt! Logan's claws shot out from his hands, and a single drop of blood fell to the floor from the tears in his skin. "And that means they'll do it again." He snarled and started walking out.
He ignored the calls of "Logan!" and "wait!" as he stomped into the living room, where all the students were gathered. Shocked eyes looked up at him. A few kids gulped. Rogue looked confused, Kitty sniffled, and Jamie woke Tabby up.
The room was silent, and the younger mutants were refusing to take their eyes away from Logan and most were afraid he would somehow disappear if they blinked.
"Todd didn't die." Hope rose up in some, and it was quickly squashed. "He was murdered by people who are targeting mutants. Which means it's time to get scared, and time to get smart. So there are new rules."
A lot of the kids gulped. Logan was being blunt; it was the only way that made sense to him, and so he was going to run with it. "No going outside the grounds alone – and not at all if you're obviously a mutant and you can't cover it." He nodded at Kurt, for example. "No using your powers outside the mansion. Danger room sessions are mandatory for everyone and you need clearance from all four of us before leaving the city. Curfew for everyone is sunset – and if you're off property after dark you will be the target in the danger session at four the next morning!"
He walked through the room to stand in front of the fireplace, and they all followed him with their eyes. Professor Xavier, Ororo and Hank were standing in the back of the room, watching Logan as well. They had yet to interrupt, so Logan was going to assume they were agreeing; and if they weren't, he'd still impose the rules on the kids.
"As of right now you're all going to carry cell phones and some kind of panic button at all times, I even want you wearing them when you're asleep. And I will skewer the first one of you I see who breaks any of these new rules, you got it?"
No one bothered to speak. They were all shocked. They'd gone from mourning to DefCon2 within minutes (many of the younger mutants thought of DefCon4, but those who had experienced the mansion explosion from four years ago referred to this lock down as DefCon2 – DefCon4 couldn't be declared until lead shielding popped up all over the windows).
Logan, contented that the kids both feared and understood the new rules, stomped out of the room. He heard soft wheels turning and stopped so that the Professor could catch up to him.
"I think that those were some very good ideas, Logan." Charles said softly, knowing not to provoke Logan into anger.
Logan nodded. "Thanks Chuck. I think it's time we revisited our security system. I'll start on it in the morning." Charles wheeled away with a soft whirring sound, and Logan climbed into an elevator, headed for a punching bag.
-x-
The next morning, a new Danger room schedule had appeared in everybody's room, posted to the door. Rogue found that her schedule had been loaded up, with private training with Logan, small group training with a few other mutants, and X-men group training; leaving her with two to three Danger Room sessions every day.
"No one will evah get fat while livin' here." She grunted and began to throw on a pair of sweat pants and a brown long sleeve shirt. The young woman tied her hair back with an elastic and strapped on a pair of gloves before jogging over to the elevator.
When Rogue walked out into the danger room, she was suprised at who was there. Pherma, Kitty, Pete Wisdom, Tabitha and Pietro were all standing in the room, talking. Logan was no where to be seen. She was very confused; she had no idea what this particular batch of people were going to be doing together, but she shrugged and started stretching anyway.
Logan walked in and crossed his arms, standing in front of everyone else. He raised an eyebrow at Pherma's attire – she wore yoga pants and a red sports bra, with her long hair tied back. She smirked at him, in response he rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Alright. There's two more who aren't at the mansion yet who'll be joining this group, but we're gonna start without them."
Logan motioned and all of the older X-men lined up facing the wall. The rest fell into line, some looking very curious. He walked up and down the line, loudly declaring the instructions.
"Welcome to Black X. This is a special missions unit separate to the X-Men, which is why your schedules have been modified for both X-Men training or standard training if you are not a member of the X-Men, as well as Black X training. You will not discuss anything that happens in Black X training outside the room. You are never to tell anyone when you are on a mission, or doing anything involved with this unit. No one besides the members of Black X, Professor Xavier and Magneto are to every discover that Black X exists. If you have any questions, keep 'em to yourself." He snorted. Kitty looked like she was very determined to ask a few questions – curiosity killed the cat after all, and Kitty was not a particular exception to that rule.
Pete Wisdom rolled his eyes as he saw the reaction that Kitty had. He was used to this sort of thing from days of being in black ops, and it didn't bother him in the slightest that the mutants were creating their own operation front. In fact, he thought it was a damn good idea and about bloody time.
Rogue said nothing. She had wondered why the intensity of her training had changed. But she started to factor in the different aspects that each of the mutants in the room could bring. Kitty-intelligence or breaking and entry; Wisdom-experience and stealth; Pherma-reconnassiance, distractions; Pietro-speed and getaways...it started to click. The mutants in this room were chosen for their abilities and skills, not for their age or alliance. Clearly the professor and Logan had something planned, but she hadn't a clue as to what.
"These sessions aren't going to be like your regular training. Not a lot of combat, and a lot of skills that you won't see the need for until much later on. You may never tell anyone outside Black X what we are doing. So, for your first task, we're going to learn about lying."
Curious looks shot from one teen to an adult and back around the room quickly. Logan indulged the kids, he let them whisper and wonder about what their next few days would be like, what kind of training this could possibly be.
"For the next 24 hours, you must absolutely lie to every question you are asked. If someone asks you for your favourite colour, lie. If someone asks you if you took something, lie. And learn to run with what happens after."
Logan focused his eye on each mutant, one at a time, slowly taking them in and studying them. "We begin right now."
He walked over to Pietro, "What kind of ability do you have?" Logan growled easily.
Pietro shrugged off the larger man's advances. He had Magneto for a father – lying was second nature and in the genes. "What the hell are you talking about? I'm not one of those mutie freaks."
Rogue was impressed with the disgusted tone of Pietro's voice. He genuinely sounded like one of the crowd. It was a little scary, but she ignored it. They were just going to do what they had to do.
Logan gestured to the door with his hand. "You can go." He started going down the line. A decent, convincing lie was all it took to be dismissed from today's 'training' session. Some went easily and in seconds, like Tabby and Pherma, but others, like Kitty, had trouble staring Logan down.
"Mr. Logan, I'm not really the lying type..." Wisdom snorted and Kitty glared at him.
"Where were you born, Half-pint?" Logan inwardly groaned. This was the third question he had asked her, and she had yet to tell one convincing lie. She was doomed in the field. Absolutely doomed.
"Uh...California?" Kitty asked. Everyone in the room groaned in unison.
"Don't ask, Pryde, know. It's your birth place – say it like you know it, not like you don't. Say it as sure as you'd say your favourite colour is..." he paused and looked her up and down, "pink." Wisdom finished with disdain.
"Okay. California." She said this time with a bit more certainty. It sounded...almost convincing.
"Half-pint, we are going to try one more time and then I'm throwing you out of here by your ponytail and you will just have to lie to everybody else in the building about why, you got it?" She nodded and gulped.
Rogue caught her eye and gestured for Kitty to breathe and try to calm down.
"What is your favourite subject in school?" Logan asked, nearly pleading. It was obvious he really didn't want to deal with Kitty anymore.
Kitty saw Wisdom smirking out of the corner of her eye. He didn't think she could do it. He didn't think she was good enough to be in the group. Well, she'd show him.
She looked Logan straight in the eye. "Gym." She said.
Rogue looked at Wisdom. Wisdom looked at Logan. Logan looked at Rogue. And instantly, all three broke out into grins.
"That, Kitty, was convincing. Now keep doing that for the rest of the assignment." Kitty smiled, a very happy and satisfied smile and skipped out of the room, her ponytail bouncing behind her.
Wisdom shook his head, smirking. "That girl is going to get shot." His accent was thick, and he was checking his pockets for a cigarette, but that was about it.
Logan raised an eyebrow to the Englishman. "Wisdom, why the hell are you even still here? I told you I knew you're good enough. You still have to do the assignment though."
"I wanted to stay and ogle Pryde some more." Wisdom smirked. It was apparent that he was going to very much enjoy this whole lying assignment for the remainder of the day. With that comment, he tipped his imaginary hat to Rogue and sauntered out of the danger room.
"So Logan, let's start lying." Rogue nodded her head towards her teacher.
"Rogue, I'm not near stupid enough to think you can't lie to my face. To any body's face. I think you're capable of lying to your self. I just hope when it gets down to it, you can figure out which lies are which."
She blinked. Logan unbuttoned his shirt to reveal a white wife beater, and tossed the button up black shirt on the ground. He took a few steps and then sat down, cross -legged, in the meditation pose he and Rogue had been using so frequently.
"Are you ready?" He closed his eyes and didn't particularly care what her answer was.
She sighed. There were too many games happening, between having to remember to lie when being asked things, and to control her powers and deal with cajuns breaking into her room and Toad dying and it was a lot to deal with at once.
Rogue tried to concentrate. She went through all of the calming rituals that Logan had taught her, breathing in patterns, focusing on the darkness of her mind, using black bricks to block out her thoughts, but there was too many, and for every brick that blocked out one thought, another thought would break through any tranquility she had and she would be right back to where she was.
Logan must have realized that she wasn't ready to begin her exercises, because he was sitting with his back against hers, his legs crossed and meditating normally. "Y'know, Rogue, sometimes the only way to clear your head is to spit out whatever it is that you can't stop thinking about."
She dropped her head. As the southerner opened her eyes and laid down on the ground, she groaned. Her limbs were sore.
"This whole freaking place is a mess, Logan. There's mutants everywhere, you can't get ice cream out of the fridge if you put it in there ten seconds before, and now Todd's dead. Ah knew him, Logan, Ah knew him. We weren't friends, we didn't talk, but Ah knew him and now he's dead. And it's not like he just died, he was murdered by somebody just cause he has diff'rent genes then them and now anybody could die because we're mutants and apparently somebody decided they have the right to kill us and Ah don't see the point of us tryin' to make the world bettah because people don't even want us in it and ah'm not sure I want to be in it!" She ranted.
"Rogue. Being a mutant is important, you know. It means you can do something other people can't. It means you can help people and you can make the world better if you want to. But you're right – outside this mansion is the real world, and it's a scary place, especially for you kids. So Stripes, the best way to cope is to be ready for what the world is going to throw at you, and to deal with your stress." He hadn't turned to face her, but his words were strong and clear. She imagined he didn't want to look her in the eye while being sensitive and encouraging, and so she didn't mind not looking at him either. The whole being emotional thing didn't really work for either of them.
She turned her head and cracked her neck on both sides, and stood up. "Dealing with my stress, huh? So, does that mean I can have today off?"
Logan grinned, turned around and stood up. "Not a chance. Now, attack me."
-x-
Kitty was again, in the library. She was curled up in a chair, hugging her laptop, which was giving off both warmth and playing soft music. She figured that if she was going to have ot lie to people, avoiding them would be the best way of not telling the truth about things.
She wrote a quick letter to her parents, giving no details of Toad's death, the funeral, or anything that was actually happening at the mansion, and instead wrote about her pasta adventure the night before – the first time she ever cooked spaghetti sauce without lighting it on fire. It was rated her best meal ever by the entire house, and Ororo looked at her and said that Kitty was finally starting to become a better cook. Everyone had been happy to have an edible meal that night when they had expected charcoal and a serious need to dial the pizza place.
She looked up when she heard whistling, only to see Pete Wisdom walking in and taking a seat in front of her. Apparently, annoying her had become Wisdom's latest hobby.
"Wisdom, we're in the library, why don't you just grab a book and leave me the hell alone?" She said.
"Because I'm secretly fascinated by your being and want to spend all my time basking in your presence." She glared at him, then groaned aloud when Logan's instructions for his little lying game came rushing back to her presence.
"So, Pryde, I've been thinking."
"I realize it's hard the first time, but it'll get easier."
"Very drôle. Would you go to dinner with me on Friday?" He grinned, as her jaw dropped open. He was using the game against her – she had to lie. He knew it, and he could easily make sure that Logan would know if she broke the rules.
So, she sat there, open mouthed, staring in shock at Pete Wisdom. The grumpy Brit was enjoying this assignment far too much for her own tastes.
"Great. We'll be going 'round 8 then." He started to stand and Kitty finally found her voice.
"You're only doing this to tick me off!" She shouted.
"And behold my success. See you Friday, Pryde." With a catchy tune, he hummed as he waltzed out of the library, leaving Kitty to hyperventilate on her own.
-x-
Rogue was walking back to her room when a flash of blue caught her eye in an open doorway. She turned back and poked her head in the room.
"Hey, Kurt, Ah think Amanda said somethin' about.." She froze as she entered her room. Instead of her step brother standing there, her eyes widened to see her mother was in fact the blue skinned mutant in the room.
"Rogue.." Mystique started, softly, hoping to soothe her daughter.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOIN' HERE?!" She shouted. Rogue's breath became quicker and more shallow. As her mother advanced towards her, she backed up, falling against a dresser. Several cosmetics and various items rattled behind her, and her back pressed against the mirror.
"Rogue, I'm here to help, really." Rogue was hardly calmed by her mother's presence. Tired from her session with Logan, she did the first thing that came to mind.
"You don't have the right! You can't be here! You can't help! You only make things worse and you only care about yourself! What about Kurt? Oh, god, Kurt! Haven't we told you already? Stay the hell away from us, Mystique!"
"No, Rogue, really, I'm here to help you! I'm here to make your problems go away!" Mystique tried yet another time to move towards the southern girl, but to no avail. This time, Rogue backed towards the window – willing to jump out of it and pray she was okay when she landed if she had to.
"Make the problems go away?" Rogue laughed bitterly. "You are the problem! God!" Rogue felt her eye twitch, and looked down. Her hands were turning blue, and then into claws, and back to her regular hands. The insides of her brain felt like they were on fire, the psyches inside her screaming with rage and fury that didn't belong to her, and she fell back against the open window.
Mystique grabbed onto her arm, and as Rogue tugged her arm back, her sleeve slid up her arm, and her mother's fingers grazed her skin. She groaned as the image of her as a little girl flashed before her eyes, images of Kurt playing in Germany, of Destiny scrawling out predictions in her diaries.
"Rogue, no!" The blue mutant shouted. She reached for Rogue again, who threw herself backwards away from the woman.
Rogue had already been standing in front of the window, and now threw herself backwards harder then before. She fell backwards and tumbled out the window.
The memory of watching the Mystique statue fall off the cliff started replaying in her mind as she felt herself falling down from the side of the building. She could see Mystique, face pulled into horror as she stretched her arm out, a sad, failed attempt to catch Rogue.
Rogue closed her eyes as air rushed up, as her memories and Mystique's flowed easily through her mind, intertwining and confusing her.
A memory of Kurt teleporting around the house away from his foster parents took over, as Rogue started to question how much longer before she reached the ground. Mystique had obviously been spying on him in his younger years - her pathetic way of making up for her absence.
She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the happiness Kurt was showing – he was enjoying playing with his parents. Her body seemed to curl up into a ball on its own. Why does falling to my death take so damn long? Rogue thought.
She smelt sulphur, and suddenly her body felt like it was splitting at the seams – one half of her trying to rip apart from the other. She felt herself hit the ground and opened her eyes. She was on the small, flat portion of the large roof. Somehow, adrenaline had taken over and she had tapped into Kurt's powers and teleported.
She stood up, dizzy, a side effect of using Kurt's powers without having touched him recently.
Looking around, she blinked smoke out of her eyes – Is it like this for Kurt? - and saw a figure standing on the roof. His back was turned to her, but he wore a long trench coat and had a cigarette in his left hand.
"Well, Chère, it looks like you can't stay away from Remy after all, hmm?" He took a long drag and turned around to wink at her, before sitting on the edge of the roof and humming softly.
Rogue walked to the other side of the roof, away from the Cajun, and sat down on the edge, trying to figure out how she was going to get down.
The silence was eerie, and she rubbed at her arms, trying to keep warm. It might not have been so bad if she had been alone, but the damn Cajun had to be up here too, in the freezing winds.
He must have some how noticed her looking at the gutters, trying to notice the closest open window. Unfortunately, because the wind was so rough tonight, most all the windows were closed.
"You know, chèrie, you should spend less time thinking about how to leave and more time enjoying the time you have up here."
"Cajun, Ah may have eternity up here if Ah can't find a way down."
"Remy'll get y'down if you relax."
She spent twenty minutes ignoring his proposal, trying to think of a way that didn't rely on her powers (which were definitely no guarantee). She gave up and walked over to his side of the roof. She sat down next to him in a huff and stuck her hand out.
He handed her his pack of cigarettes. She wasn't sure what irked her more – that he knew what she want, or that he understood her enough to know what she wanted, including the bit about getting down. He snapped his fingers and the cigarette lit – a perk to his powers.
She held the cigarette easily, taking a long drag and sighing. It was like seeing an old friend for the first time in years – like coming home. Coffee, cigarettes and good music made the world go 'round.
"How long since you last had a smoke?" He asked.
"A year, or so." She whispered, handing back the pack and the lighter. He held up a gloved hand, stopping her and refusing to take them.
"Keep 'em, then. So you won't have to wait so long."
"Mmm." Rogue exhaled, flicking the end of her cigarette. They were quiet, whispering back and forth without reason. After all, they were outside and it wasn't likely anyone was going to hear them.
"What are you doing up here anyway, Cajun?" She asked. She threw her cigarette off the roof and took a second from the pack he had given her.
"No smoking in the mansion, Rogue. Baldy's rules." He lay down, staring upwards. "And Remy likes to watch the smoke."
"Watch the smoke?" She asked. He motioned for her to lie down next to him. She rolled her eyes. He repeated the motion and she lay down.
"Look." He grabbed her cigarette, snapped his fingers, took a drag and exhaled. The smoke traveled up and dissipated. "It can go anywhere it wants, but it's only got a few seconds before it falls apart and there's not enough of it left for you to see." He handed the cigarette back to her, and she exhaled into the night sky, looking for the same process that he had described.
Remy sighed and his fingers twitched, the kinetic energy being a familiar constant presence – albeit one that made him a bit jumpy. "'Always thought that it was like an explosion. It just gets so pent up, and then one hot powerful moment – like being kissed by une belle femme, and it explodes. It just can't stay together anymore."
"Oh, and I suppose you've kissed enough 'belle femmes' to know what it feels like?" She snorted. She didn't like to listen to people talking about anything physical; it was like talking to an alcoholic about how fun it was to get drunk, or telling someone who is lactose intolerant that milk is holy.
"Remy's kissed plenty o'femmes, sure, but none that make Remy want to 'splode." He sighed and sat up, shaking his head lightly. "Remy thinks that'll be the femme he stays with."
Rogue raised an eyebrow and sat up next to him. She winced – she had sat up too fast. When her head cleared, she found red irises searching her green ones. "Why're you being all deep and sentimental with me, Swamp Rat?"
She was surprised to find, that when Remy was being truly emotive, his third person trait dropped away. "Because, River Rat, you are one of the few people in this mansion who is neither trying to kill me, or get into my pants, and still has a brain in their head left over."
He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. He looked good in relaxed clothes – a pair of loose cargo pants and an old black faded t shirt made him look more comfortable then his bod armour and face plate, though his trench coat reminded her of who he was – she could see the pack of cards sticking out of his pocket.
"Why are you up here listening to me, then?"
"Because Ah can't get down." She answered, her voice sounding cold. Logan's game didn't even spring to mind -the reponse was natural.
He chuckled and stretched his arms up. "Whatever you say, River Rat, whatever you say."
-x-
A/N: Well! I tried to have this done before March Break, but since that didn't happen (that was a week ago), I have it ready for Easter instead.
And Yay! Spaces. I'm going to go back and do chapters 1-4 in better spacing so they're easier to read for you guys, and possibly tweak Rogue's accent – because I hate writing in said accent. It's annoying.
So please send love, anger, laughter, whatever this chapter makes you feel. If you like bits and hate others, tell me, because other chapters don't improve without you telling me. Love to you all. (March 22nd, 2008)
March 30, 2008: Just going through all my chapters, fixing indents and scene breaks. Thanks!
Through Darkness and Light /x\