Chapter Text
In the end, it’s Rogue who has to hold the election meeting several days later. Pietro rightfully points out that nobody here likes, trusts, or cares about him except for their team- and for some, the post M-Day Terrigen mist trauma is still fresh. She’d ask Kurt, but apparently he’s been busy “putting out fires” with Legion.
“Kurt!” Rogue calls in his doorway. “I know you’re busy but can you help me go over my speech for the assembly?”
“Ja!” He responds, barely visible as he moves around his cave.
As Rogue enters the space she sees a fire extinguisher sitting next to his bed. “Uh… Kurt? What’s that for?”
“Me.” David says from his spot on the cool stone floor. She jumps a little, not having realized that David was still at Kurt’s.
Kurt sighs. “You need to eat something David-”
“ Technically , no. I don’t.” David says casually, barely even reacting when his arm spontaneously catches fire. He just stares at the flames in mild curiosity.
“ Verdammt .” Kurt hisses, grabbing the fire extinguisher and spraying it over David’s arm. “Again? Why David? Why are you like this? Scheiße. ”
“Cyndi’s celebrating.” David says, almost fond. “Feels wrong to stop her. And she likes you, she wouldn’t burn down your house.”
“Comforting.” Kurt mutters.
“I…didn’t realize you meant literal fire.” Rogue says cautiously. “Who…who’s Cyndi?”
“One of my oldest friends, she’s the only original left.” David says, tapping his head with his middle finger. “She’s really happy right now.”
Rogue looks like she doesn’t quite believe him, but hands Kurt the paper copy of her speech anyway. “Right….uh Kurt, it’s mostly Pietro’s writin’ - apparently he ain’t as much of a dumbass as he acts. I adjusted some stuff given he don’t really know the island but I wanted another set of eyes on it before tonight.”
“Of course.” Kurt says, transferring the fire extinguisher to one hand so he can hold the speech with the other. “Are Pietro and Wanda getting settled okay?”
“I need them to either move in with Lorna or get their own separate places immediately.”
Kurt snorts as he reads over the speech. “That bad?”
“I can’t have Pietro and Remy in close quarters, it’s bad for my health.” Rogue says. “And the bickerin’ - I don’t know whose idea it was for the twins to be stuck at the hip but I could just about shoot ‘em. Somebody’s gotta fix it.”
“Good luck with that.” David says, now laying face-up on the floor. He looks cold.
Kurt smiles tensely, walking his sister to the door. “The speech looks good. Either of the twins are welcome here but…David hasn’t….left or slept so…maybe make them aware of that first.”
“Thank you.” Rogue says. “If you need anythin’-”
“You have enough on your plate. I’ll ask Lorna or Kevin.”
“Yeah yeah….I’ll tell the moms yer okay. Raven’s convinced David’s going to kill you.”
“I would NEVER !” David yells from behind the heavy curtains. “And you can tell that bitch -”
“I got him.” Kurt says with an apologetic smile. “Really- go. I don’t want to even think about what Pietro and Gambit have done to your apartment.”
---
The island is clamoring around her as she stands on the elevated platform within Arbor Magna. She hasn’t even begun talking yet and already questions are being flung at her.
Rogue sighs before yelling. “If y’all would let me talk you might get some answers!”
That at least seems to quiet the crowd’s roar to a murmur. Her team stands in the back of the room, a united front, even if David and Terry both look significantly worse for wear. Rogue’s surprised David even came out, what with….the fires and all.
“So-” She starts, making a point to look as many of the mutants around her in the eye as possible. “We need volunteers to run the election who aren’t interested in bein’ on the transitional government. I will be leadin’ the volunteers given that I don’t wanna be on the government. I’m in charge of my team and that’s enough like herdin’ cats for my likin’.”
From the back, she takes some comfort in Kurt’s small smile, and in the way Lorna and Wanda’s shoulders shake just lightly with laughter. She’s not the PR person, but she can do this.
“There is no requirement to run other than to be invested in representing our people. You can nominate others but know that they will have to give a speech, so it’s prolly best to make sure that they want to run. We have another assembly in three days to see and meet the candidates we have at that point. We’ll hold the election a week from today, you can nominate others or yourself day of, but…keep in mind that everyone will be more prepared to vote for the folks they know are runnin’.”
Overall it still feels disorganized, and Rogue half expects them to laugh at her. Instead they look almost like they’re taking it seriously. They’re responding like they actually think this might work.
How do we submit nominations? Chamber asks, projecting to the room.
“There will be a box here in Arbor Magna to submit anonymous nominations or you can tell me directly.” Rogue says.
That seems to pacify Jono for now, but the questions keep coming in. Throughout the process, Rogue gains a new appreciation for every teacher she’s ever had- it’s as if these people didn’t listen to a thing she’d said… but they were engaged, interested…Maybe this would actually work.
-----
The noises start from the guest room and Rogue grumbles, burying her face in Remy’s chest and silently praying that whichever one of the twins got talked into taking the bed tonight quiets down quickly.
Remy’s fingers card through her hair and gently tug on the strands behind her ear, gently trying to wake her fully. “Cher, there’s lights in the hallway.”
Well…that probably rules out Pietro. She thinks, only a little anxious as she stretches and glares sleepily at her husband. “You go look.”
Remy shakes his head. “I don’ think Gambit’s the best man for the job for that twin.”
Rogue sighs and punches him lightly in the arm before sitting up, hardly complaining when he sits up with her and pulls her into a kiss before she gets up and tugs on his shirt from the day before and a pair of gloves to head out of their room. “You owe me.”
“Course cher, I’ll make your favorite for breakfast.” He says, blowing her a kiss as she closes the door.
She finds Pietro sitting with his back against the guest room wall in the hallway. He regards her with dead eyes and a surprisingly even tone. “Morning.”
“Is it?”
“Three am.” He replied, wincing as Wanda can be heard whimpering in her sleep. “She’s been at it for an hour. She won’t wake up.”
He had the air of someone who’d tried.
“Surprised you’re not in there.” She said after a moment, hesitating. Wanda gasps sharply and
Pietro’s expression was unreadable when he looked at her. “Do you know how to stop something you lived through? Because I know I tried, and I couldn’t figure out how to save her from it then…or now.”
“Are you-”
“She knows I’m here.” Pietro says, though he sounds defeated. “She knows I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
Rogue licks her lips awkwardly and gently opens the door, the creak of the hinges had jolted Wanda awake the night before last but now she remains, twisting fitfully in her sleep. Around the room figments of the past float around them like ghosts. Pink, luminous, ghosts float past, telling the story of monstrous memories. Her grief laid bare as her voice echoes throughout the room,
‘no more mutants.’
With each repetition of the phrase Wanda makes a pained noise on the bed.
“Wanda.” Rogue says gently, trying to rouse the other woman to alertness. “Wanda, it’s okay, you’re safe.”
A second vision across the room shows a memory of Wanda holding two infants close to her chest. Her sons, Rogue realizes too late, so little in the memory, fragile. The memory fizzles in and out- like she’s not sure if it exists or not. Like Wanda isn’t sure if she should hold onto it or not. Erik’s voice echoes here, ‘make more mutants.’
Rogue can hear hyperventilating but the Wanda in the guest bed is eerily still and quiet. She turns around to see a vision of a much younger Wanda, visibly shaking as Magneto grips her by the arm. His low voice commanding her to stay still and ‘play nice’ with the men he was to meet with. Rogue couldn’t help but shiver, this was so far from the Erik she knew and yet….and yet she had no doubt it was real. What had Pietro told her? Our father is the worst man alive, and Wanda is his favorite daughter?
Rogue sat on the bed and gently pulled Wanda into a sitting position, once she was vertical Wanda gasped and her eyes flew open as the ghostly echoes vanished- her power now brought forth into her hands as a weapon though the tears in her eyes revealed her fear.
“‘S just me.” Rogue whispered, gloved hand rubbing gently over her shoulder. “‘S just me. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
“It-”
“It’s all over now.” Rogue whispers, taking Wanda’s hand and threading their fingers together. “I’ve got you, and Pietro’s right outside. You’re okay.”
This place is rotten from the inside out .
Kurt jolts awake at the voice in his head- immediately searching out David in the dark. His friend is lying facedown on the cold, stone floor but seems to be blissfully asleep. Kurt is almost relieved until he realizes that the voice in his head had been David’s.
Moments later Kurt feels stuck to the bed, immobile as if he’d been strapped down and gasps, spasming with the sensation of needles pricking his flesh. He can hear Moira’s voice overlapping, praising him for taking it so well and then laughing cruelly as she comments on how he has no choice with the drugs in his system. Poor little David, she says and then twists, morphing into the image of Charles Xavier, I’ll never lose you again.
David screams. “Help me! Unca Dan, Poppa, Momma--I’m hurting--somebody, anybody, help me, save me, make it stop-- please, please, please .”
Kurt twists and fights back against the invisible restraints, but Charles’ voice continues to speak, echoing in the cave. I can’t countenance it- there’s too much at stake- you’re unstable- I can’t stop you from coming back to earth but I’m asking you not to. It would disappoint me, David-
And then David’s voice, in his head. He ah- he’ll oppose my resurrection if I die here.
Above him, Kurt screams as he sees the body of the Professor, his old friend turned enemy hovering. His lifeless dead eyes staring into his soul.
From Kurt’s own mind he hears a laughing voice echo. You’re one of the kindly ones, Kurt.
The body falls and suddenly Kurt is free, his bonds lifted. He sits up and rushes to David’s side but his friend hardly stirs, merely continues to breathe easily as he rests- sleep having come to him for the first time in days. Kurt sighs and hefts David’s limp body into his arms, pulling him into the bed so he can cover him with a blanket and keep a better eye on him. If only one of them is getting sleep tonight it should be David.
This place is rotten from the inside out.