Rogue (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
smalldarkandsullen) wrote2014-08-25 11:52 am
smalldarkandsullen) wrote2014-08-25 11:52 am
Dawn of Apocalypse - for quitethecharmer
"You're all welcome here for as long or short a time as you'd like."
It wasn't what Rogue had expected to hear, honestly. Not as she'd stood in front of Professor Charles Xavier, trying to be humble but stubborn enough in her pride that she wouldn't entirely capitulate. Yet, he hadn't asked her to at all. He'd looked at her for what she was: an Acolyte without a mentor. And a broken, tired girl who'd been used too many times.
Mystique was a statue.
Rogue couldn't even have pretended to care. The woman deserved it for teaming up with Mesmero to control her. They'd taken over her mind and used her to to break into the Institute to collect powers, attack her own team, and tap the Brotherhood. Then, she'd been led to Tibet to awaken Apocalypse.
Magneto had tried to lead a charge against the risen mutant, but it had ended in his death. Gambit had disappeared back to New Orleans... or maybe to Europe or anywhere the Thieves' and Assassins' Guilds wouldn't find him. Pyro went his merry-psychotic way. Colossus had stayed with her, gone with her to the Brotherhood.
Sure, none of them had been happy to see her, but they also knew that her plan was their best chance. Once Lance had promised his support, the others had fallen in line, too. Together, the ragtag group had gone to the Institute.
If they didn't stand together, they'd die separately.
After a good night's sleep (Xavier, it seemed, felt all of them needed rest -- he'd even given his students the day off from training), Rogue was awake. She still felt exhausted, but Magneto had told her she'd probably need to rest for awhile before she was back up to speed. He'd seen the damage the mind control and draining from Apocalypse had done to her. It was still written on her face.
She'd waited. Listened to the others argue and laugh and actually sound like normal teenagers while the majority of the students and newcomers ate breakfast. She didn't want to deal with all of them. She blamed herself for the rise of Apocalypse -- and the death of Magneto. She could only assume they thought just as bad or worse about her.
This... Well. This was probably the death knell of her strange relationship with Scott.
They'd managed. Not perfectly. There'd been bickering, differences in opinions, and the slight frustration on both their parts that her powers presented. Still, they always managed. A bit of talking, a bit of time apart, a few texts to test the waters with half apologies. They found a pattern and balance they could live with, even following very different ideologies.
But this? The rise of Apocalypse? With her as the key that unlocked his final tomb?
She wouldn't forgive herself; she didn't expect him to.
Now that it sounded like everyone was out of the kitchen, Rogue slipped in. She needed something to eat. A bowl of cereal, a piece of fruit, just something small. Then, well, then she'd figure out what to do next. Maybe hide away in her room most of the day. Or maybe she'd do what she knew she needed to. The Brotherhood couldn't follow a leader who wasn't visible. She had to be seen among the X-Men, her head still high.
She'd lost everything else -- their respect was all she had left. Her position as the person they would look to in this battle. Because it was sure to be a fight none of them would forget.
It wasn't what Rogue had expected to hear, honestly. Not as she'd stood in front of Professor Charles Xavier, trying to be humble but stubborn enough in her pride that she wouldn't entirely capitulate. Yet, he hadn't asked her to at all. He'd looked at her for what she was: an Acolyte without a mentor. And a broken, tired girl who'd been used too many times.
Mystique was a statue.
Rogue couldn't even have pretended to care. The woman deserved it for teaming up with Mesmero to control her. They'd taken over her mind and used her to to break into the Institute to collect powers, attack her own team, and tap the Brotherhood. Then, she'd been led to Tibet to awaken Apocalypse.
Magneto had tried to lead a charge against the risen mutant, but it had ended in his death. Gambit had disappeared back to New Orleans... or maybe to Europe or anywhere the Thieves' and Assassins' Guilds wouldn't find him. Pyro went his merry-psychotic way. Colossus had stayed with her, gone with her to the Brotherhood.
Sure, none of them had been happy to see her, but they also knew that her plan was their best chance. Once Lance had promised his support, the others had fallen in line, too. Together, the ragtag group had gone to the Institute.
If they didn't stand together, they'd die separately.
After a good night's sleep (Xavier, it seemed, felt all of them needed rest -- he'd even given his students the day off from training), Rogue was awake. She still felt exhausted, but Magneto had told her she'd probably need to rest for awhile before she was back up to speed. He'd seen the damage the mind control and draining from Apocalypse had done to her. It was still written on her face.
She'd waited. Listened to the others argue and laugh and actually sound like normal teenagers while the majority of the students and newcomers ate breakfast. She didn't want to deal with all of them. She blamed herself for the rise of Apocalypse -- and the death of Magneto. She could only assume they thought just as bad or worse about her.
This... Well. This was probably the death knell of her strange relationship with Scott.
They'd managed. Not perfectly. There'd been bickering, differences in opinions, and the slight frustration on both their parts that her powers presented. Still, they always managed. A bit of talking, a bit of time apart, a few texts to test the waters with half apologies. They found a pattern and balance they could live with, even following very different ideologies.
But this? The rise of Apocalypse? With her as the key that unlocked his final tomb?
She wouldn't forgive herself; she didn't expect him to.
Now that it sounded like everyone was out of the kitchen, Rogue slipped in. She needed something to eat. A bowl of cereal, a piece of fruit, just something small. Then, well, then she'd figure out what to do next. Maybe hide away in her room most of the day. Or maybe she'd do what she knew she needed to. The Brotherhood couldn't follow a leader who wasn't visible. She had to be seen among the X-Men, her head still high.
She'd lost everything else -- their respect was all she had left. Her position as the person they would look to in this battle. Because it was sure to be a fight none of them would forget.