Adaptation, Chapter Eight

[willowaus]

Title: Adaptation
Pairing: eventually Magneto/Rogue
Summary: When all she knows is destroyed, Rogue must learn to adapt or die trying.
Rating: T

Thanks as always to sionnain for Beta-ing and omaetoy for her various input.



Rogue awoke on her bed, tangled in the blanket and sheets. Her body felt like it was on fire and she tugged at the sheets, finally able to kick them off of her. She peeled off her pants and threw them to the floor, trying to let her skin breathe, to allow the coolness of the room to flow over her. It wasn’t working, the heat still moved through her, encompassing every inch of her. How does Pyro deal with this?

She moved to the bathroom, stripping the rest of her clothes from her, and wondered for the first time how she had made it into the bed. Pushing that thought back she turned on the water and stepped into the shower, letting the cool liquid cascade down her body, chilling her. She leaned against the stall and closed her eyes, relaxing as her body temperature slowly began to lower.

Rogue bit her lip as she saw the hatred in Bobby’s eyes over and over. She closed her eyes and sunk to her knees, bracing herself up by her arms, the water still falling down onto her. It was no longer a pleasant experience; instead of cooling her down it now chilled her. She made no move to turn it off or leave, accepting the icy onslaught as her punishment.

Eventually she left the bathroom, wrapping herself in one of the towels and laying back down on the bed. She curled into a fetal position, ignoring the set of new clothes laid out for her. The sheets she had thrown off had been folded and placed back on the bed, letting her know someone had been in the room. She kicked at the items, sending them to the floor before closing her eyes.

There was a knock on the door and she didn’t even bother to open her eyes. “Rogue,” Avalanche said. “Magneto wants to see you in fifteen minutes. Report to his study.”

Rogue made no reply and she heard him leave a few seconds later. She didn’t move, remembering her attack on Pyro. Because that’s what it was, Rogue, she told herself. An attack. She bit her lip, satisfied when she could taste blood. He didn’t deserve that. No matter what a jerk he’s been.

What if I turn on the kids? Her eyes opened in terror. What if I get upset at Paige and… She closed her eyes again, unable to complete the thought. I am a monster.

Pyro’s last thoughts before he slipped into unconsciousness resurfaced and she replayed the alarm and blind terror he had felt. A leech, she told herself. That’s what you are. The tears started again and she cried silently.

She heard her door open but didn’t move, her tears continuing their path down her face. The door closed again and she could feel his presence in the room. “I’m a monster,” she hiccupped, her eyes opening, but she was unable to see clearly through the tears. “A human leech.”

“You are a mutant, Rogue,” Magneto said, his voice soft. “You should not be ashamed of using your power.”

She cried harder at that, the image of the betrayal in Bobby’s eyes flashing before her. “I’m afraid,” she whispered, seeing Pyro’s fallen body. “If you hadn’t forced me to let go I could have killed him. Oh god, did I kill him?” Rogue looked up at him.

“Pyro is fine. He is to rest for the remainder of the evening,” Magneto informed her. “He is very pleased that he does not have clean up duty tonight.”

She tried to smile at that but was unsuccessful. “I could have put him in a coma,” she whispered, closing her eyes.

“The only way to control your power, Rogue, to be successful at managing it,” Magneto stated as he sat down on the bed, “is by using it.”

She opened her eyes and shook her head. “No,” she said vehemently.

“How does one become a better cook?” Magneto asked. “Or become a more skilled driver?”

“Practice,” she replied, her voice full of defeat.

“Precisely,” he said.

“But I can’t kill anyone when I practice those,” she countered.

“Oh?” he asked, and she could hear the amusement in his voice.

“Not as easily as I could using this,” she stated and held up her hand. “I’m dangerous.”

She felt him watching her intently and she drew back her hand. “You need to practice,” he said.

“Get dressed,” he told her and she reddened at the lack of clothes, pulling the towel down to try and cover more of her skin.

Oh god, she thought, closing her eyes in mortification.

“The female body has been the source of inspiration for various artists,” Magneto stated. “You should not be embarrassed by it.”

She opened her eyes and stared at him as her discomfort grew. “Can you…just…go,” she pleaded, silently wishing that she had died that day in the machine. At least then I wouldn’t have dealt with this.

He had the annoying smirk on his face, the one that made her want to kick him really hard in the shin. “Deadly skin,” she reminded him. “Sucks the life and powers from people.”

He arched an eyebrow in response. “Does it now?”

“Just kill me now,” she muttered, remembering his ability to touch her. She flushed at that thought, biting her lip in confusion.

“I will be waiting in my study,” he informed her.

“Is there another type of bomb for me to learn?” she asked, watching as he moved towards the door, silently berating herself for keeping him in the room longer.

“You need to practice,” Magneto repeated and looked back at her. “Perhaps it would be best for you to do so on someone who is able to control your power.”

Her forehead wrinkled in thought as she tried to determine someone who could do that. “Oh,” she said as she realized what he meant.

“Ten minutes, Rogue,” Magneto said and exited the room.

***

Rogue stood outside of Magneto’s study, anxiously looking at the door as she nervously twisted her hands. He was offering to help her use her powers, giving her the opportunity to use them on him, even though he already knew how it felt to have her drain his power. Only one other person had done that. She scowled, not liking the similarity it drew to Logan. Logan did it to save me, she reminded herself, because of Magneto.

Magneto’s doing it to… her thoughts trailed off, not sure what his motives were. She shook her head, having no desire to think too deeply about his intentions. As she moved to knock, the door opened for her and she walked inside the study, instantly regretting her decision to come inside. Her cheeks reddened again, disconcerted because he had seen her…Practically naked!

Magneto sat reading in the upholstered chair that faced the doorway. She looked at the title of the book and froze, wondering if she could quietly exit the room. There was a tug on her hands and she looked down at the new gloves and then back at him. I wouldn’t get all that far anyway, she reminded herself as the metallic links shrank around her wrists.

Silently, she sat in the seat opposite him. “Lolita?” she asked her voice breaking as she said the word. She just knew her blush reached all the way to her ears.

He placed the book down on the table in between them and she felt the metallic links loosen. “Gloves off,” he told her, reaching his hands out for them.

She removed them and handed them over, quickly placing her hands back in her lap. Anxiety flowed through her and she reached up, twisting a strand of her white hair. She ceased the motion when she saw that he was intently watching that movement. “You know what,” Rogue said, standing. “I don’t need to practice.” No, I need to crawl into a hole and die. “I can…manage my powers just fine.”

She cringed. Even to her ears that sounded lame. “Sit, Rogue,” Magneto said and she sank into the chair, chiding herself for obeying.

“How does this work?” she asked him, pulling her knees up to her chest and laying her resting her head on them. “No one’s ever…err…helped me with my powers before.”

“Charles never attempted to?” Magneto asked. She was taken aback by the sincerity in his voice.

Rogue shrugged in response. “Well, when I first got to the mansion, the focus was on finding out why you wanted Logan, not that you even wanted him,” she stated. Like he didn’t know that, Rogue, she berated herself. “After the Statue, he was more concerned with keeping all of you locked up in here,” she continued, tapping her head. “After Alkali, well, Dr. Grey’s death hit us all really hard. Not that much was accomplished before the… second attack.”

“When you use your power, what does it feel like?” he asked and she tilted her head as she tried to formulate an answer.

“I don’t really know,” she replied. “The emotions and powers that I absorb kind of overwhelm me…I…I feel a pull. Like when I’m being dragged around by you.”

Magneto placed his hands, palms up, before her. “Then push,” he told her.

“Push?” she asked, looking at him quizzically.

“Hands,” he stated and she hesitantly placed her hands on his.

She felt a tingling sensation run through her body that had nothing to do with her power. Looking up at him, she bit her lip, unsure what was going to happen. She felt the pull begin and her eyes widened as she began to hear the symphony of metal around them. Quickly, she pulled her hands away. “I’m sorry,” she said, fearing some sort of punishment for not ‘pushing’.

“Hands, Rogue,” Magneto said, urging her to continue.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she told him. I don’t want you to be stronger than you already are in my head.

“If I thought you could harm me, Rogue,” he said, placing his hands back out, “we would not be doing this.”

Hesitantly she placed her hands back in his. The pull started again and she tried to push, but the lure of his powers captured her. The pull abruptly stopped and she looked at Magneto, waiting for his wrath at her incompetence.

“Again,” he stated and she felt the pull start again and concentrated on pushing it back.

She felt the transfer weaken briefly before he stopped it completely. “It wasn’t as strong,” she said excitedly.

Magneto nodded, dropping his hands to his lap. “Very good.”

She smiled. Maybe I won’t have to wear gloves the rest of my life. She blinked in surprise, her gaze dropping to her gloves as she felt his appreciation for them. Looking back at him, she noticed the small traces of fatigue in his stance. Maybe this takes more out of him than he’s letting on…

A knock at the door startled her and she turned as the door opened. Blob stood on the other side. Magneto stood and she rose as well. “That is enough for today, Rogue,” he informed her, handing the gloves back to her.

She took them and placed them on. “Thank you,” she told him and walked towards the door.

“Enter, Blob,” Magneto stated as he sat down at his desk. “Oh, and Rogue--” she stopped and looked back at him. “Your power is meant to be used. Do not let anyone make you feel otherwise.”

The door shut in front of her and she bowed her head, missing the seclusion of the study and dreading the encounter that she would eventually have with Bobby and Pyro. With heavy steps, she began to descend the stairs, smiling slightly as the metal in the fortress softly sang to her, providing a small measure of comfort.

***

Rogue stood on the threshold of the room, anxiously watching the others watch the television. The children were strewn about on the floor, laughing as the coyote was hit by another anvil. Her gaze traveled to Pyro, who was laying on the couch, silently laughing at the antics and shoveling handfuls of popcorn into his mouth. The butterflies in her stomach became more pronounced as she fretted over what his response would be. The last time she had used her power on him he hadn’t been happy. He felt betrayed, she reminded herself, remembering the anger that had flowed into her when she had called back his flames.

She bit her lip. Though, I didn’t feel any anger this time. He was startled and then scared, never thought I would use my powers in an offensive attack. She looked down at her gloves. Neither did I.

The air around her turned cold and she turned, coming face to face with Bobby. She moved away from the room and into the hallway, her gaze never leaving his. His blue eyes that had once held so much warmth and affection towards her were now guarded, reminding her of the look he gave Magneto and the members of the Brotherhood.

“Bobby…I…” she started, her voice trailing off because she didn’t know what to say.

“You could have killed him,” Bobby said, shaking his head in a manner reminiscent to Mr. Summers.

“I know,” she replied, guilt washing over her.

“The Rogue I know wouldn’t have done what I saw you do to John,” Bobby insisted and there was a flash of concern in his eyes. “You were always telling me how you hated what your power did, all of the voices, the memories that weren’t yours.”

She nodded, tears prickling her eyes. “But, Rogue, I saw you,” he continued. “And you were enjoying it. John was lying at your feet and you were playing with his power.”

“I remember seeing the thrill in your eyes when you turned your mother’s tea into an icicle,” Rogue said. “You were so happy to show your gift to her. No one has ever seen my power as a good thing before. No one but Magneto. He’s trying to help me control it, so maybe I can use it and not hurt others.”

Bobby stepped back from her, shaking his head. “He’s corrupting you.”

“Bobby, please,” she pleaded, wishing she could make him understand. She knew it was futile, she hardly understood anything.

“He tried to kill you, Rogue,” Bobby reminded her. “Did you forget that?”

She narrowed her eyes, tugging harshly on a strand of white hair. “I can hardly forget that,” she replied, her voice cold and eyes narrowed in anger. She dropped her hands to her sides and looked away from him, looking back into the room and at the children. “He was trying to make the world a better place for mutants.”

Bobby looked at her, his mouth opened in shock. “Rogue,” he began, unable to believe the words she had just spoken.

“If he had succeeded, none of this would have happened,” Rogue whispered, seeing her friends’ faces in her mind. “Jubilee, Kitty, Dr. Grey…all of them would be alive.”

She looked back at him. “The sacrifice of one for the greater good.”

He blanched, shaking his head as he looked at her. “You can’t honestly believe that,” he urged.

“I don’t know what I believe anymore,” she whispered and looked down at her feet.

“He’s a madman, Rogue,” Bobby stated.

“A madman who has taken you and the others in, Iceman,” Magneto said from behind them causing the two of them to turn. “You would do well to remember that.”

Rogue looked at him, wondering how much of the conversation he had heard. From the pleased smile he directed at her, she had a feeling he had heard a good deal of it. She quickly looked away, her stomach twisting into knots. A uniformed groan from the children caused her to look towards them and she noticed that the television was off.

“Your presence is required,” Magneto stated and looked at Pyro. “I am afraid that you will be unable to continue your rest, Pyro. We have urgent matters that need to be discussed.”

“All of us?” Rogue asked as she looked at the children.

“All of you,” Magneto replied and waved a hand at the younger mutants before turning on his heel.

“Come on,” Pyro grumbled and slowly stood up.

The children moaned and stood, following him out of the room. Rogue looked at Pyro, unsure what to say to him. Sorry I almost killed you didn’t sound very good to her ears. “Hey,” Pyro said as he walked by her, flashing her one of his genuine smiles.

She looked at him, startled by this change in behavior, before following after the group. Behind her she heard Bobby grumbling and chose to ignore him, not wanting another discussion with him anytime soon. She had no idea what she would say to him.

Silence fell among the group as they walked down the hallway, each wondering where they were going and what Magneto wanted to tell them. Rogue’s pace slowed as she realized they were heading to the room he had held the debriefing in. She looked at the children, fearful they were about to see the disturbing images she had been forced to sit through. Shaking her head, she quickened her steps, passing Pyro and the younger mutants and coming to walk beside Magneto.

“Is something the matter, Rogue?” Magneto asked curtly.

“You’re going to show us new news footage, aren’t you?” she asked, hoping she was wrong.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Do they need to see it?” she prodded.

“They are mutants, Rogue,” he stated, turning to fix an icy glare at her. “They deserve to know what is happening to our kind.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” she muttered. “You aren’t the one who gets to deal with their nightmares.”

She slowed her footsteps, knowing that any attempt to reason with him would be futile, most likely ending up with her receiving another punishment. She yelped as she felt the pull of his power on her, bringing her back to his side. “You and they have been coddled long enough,” Magneto told her, his voice low and dangerous. “Charles was a fool to keep what he knew from all of you.”

“The Professor was running a school,” she replied, scowling at him. “Trying to keep us safe and happy.”

“Look how successful he was,” he responded.

“Oh, but, your way of doing things is so much better,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Scaring them is going to benefit them more than the nurturing environment they had at the mansion.”

“Perhaps, Rogue,” Magneto replied. “What they need is to see the true horrors that they are to endure if what is occurring is allowed to continue.”

Her eyes traveled to his arm and she bit her lip, knowing the numbers beneath his sleeve by heart. “That won’t happen again,” she whispered, not quite believing the words she spoke.

“Oh? They have already created the first camps,” Magneto stated. “Plans for our annihilation are not that far off.”

Her feet had stopped moving as his words sunk in, his memories surfacing, showing her what could happen. For once she was thankful for the metal in the gloves as he pulled her along. It can’t happen, she told herself. People won’t let their children be killed.

Her thoughts turned to her own parents, remembering the last time she had seen them. They had told her to pack her bag, drove her to the bus station, gave her a couple hundred bucks and drove off, leaving her to fend for herself. She was no longer their daughter. But they wouldn’t have let people kill me, she told herself, desperately trying to push away the doubt that was sinking into her very soul.