Chapter 4
Flight. Was. INCREDIBLE.
No one in their chapter could fly. It was one of those mutations that just never really seemed to make it's way to the Brotherhood. Though, if Rogue had to guess, if you didn't have to stay anywhere, why wouldn't you leave? Why wouldn't you go as far as your body could take you? Whatever drama or danger was afoot, you didn't have to stick around. You could just chase sun until you got tired, every day.
As a little girl, back when she rode in the back of that man's pick-up truck, bouncing up and down, and holding on to dear life with a grin on her face, she'd fantasize that. Flyin' through the air without a care in the world. She didn't remember what she thought it would be like, only imagining a rush of air blowing past her. At times when it looked like that man wouldn't notice, she'd stand up, hold on to the car, and feel the wind rush against her face. He'd catch her and shout at her to sit her ass the hell down before she fell off-or worse, a cop that actually cared pulled them over.
When she took Ms. Marvel's power, the strength and flight, it wasn't quite what she expected, especially that "seventh sense" that made her more aware of her surroundings. Suddenly lifting off the ground, and the rush of strength to suddenly hold another person with ease, and knowledge of how to use it, and that sense to be more mindful of the area around her, it was incredible!
Flying was everything she thought it would be, and more! Wind rushing past her face, gravity constantly telling her where ground was and the primal satisfaction of being able to tell it to take a hike. It was liberating! It was a shame she didn't have it for long. She would have liked to have gone as far as she could, as high as she could, and watch the ground disappear and change as she ate up the distance while chasing the sun. Sadly she was in battle for her life at the time, trying her hardest to get back to stealing Ms. Marvel's power before she ran out of juice.
And somehow, that brief experience didn't get rid of the primal fear of heights!
"Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look down-and AH looked down, dag nabbit!" Rogue gripped as she kept crawling up the wall of the building clinging onto it for dear life, and not knowing how!
In hindsight, she should have taken the stairs.
WHY IN THE WORLD DID AH GO OUT THE DAMN WINDOW!? Rogue thought to herself.
Peter's memories, the ones she could "recall" helped her access the ability to stick to things without the learning curve. It was almost like tensing your muscles when you want that part to stick to something, but even he didn't know how it worked! He had a theory, something with a funny name with "wall" in it, and it did NOTHING to ease the fear the pull of gravity was giving her.
And she was just climbing. As Spider-Man, Peter swung from building to building without fear. If anything, he did it with glee at times. And wasn't just that, Peter would freaking jump out the damn window if he was in a rush! He'd go into a dive, and just before he kissed the pavement, he'd swing like he was never in free fall! She knew the answer was probably time and practice, but how did he just do it like that? When she had flight, it was like the fear disappeared right away.
Rogue quickly pulled herself over the ledge, almost desperately, and rolled herself onto the flatness of the roof's floor. She rolled to her back, ignoring the smell coming from the mask. She did wipe it, but the smell was kinda baked in. She spread her arms and legs out. She lifted the mask and caught her breath as she stared up at the night sky.
Something she didn't like about the city. The skies were sparse of stars. All that was up there were the brightest ones not spurred away by the sleepless city's lights.
She sat up and pulled out the phone and brought up the map in Peter's–
Rogue took a deep breath in, ignored that little tickle in her head that was developing.
She brought up the map in her Head's Up Display. Right away, a few place light up that made her brows furrow.
Peter had managed to tag a few of the vehicles the friends use, but from what she could "recall" after some struggling is that those Sinister Six fellas already knew about his tracers, so it was likely that those were traps. Worse yet, odds are they knew Peter knew it was trap, and they just expected him to go anyway. And the even worst than that, as far Rogue could tell, she got the sense that Peter really would have done it.
"Sorry buster, but someone else got 'em first," Rogue muttered as she looked at the places the Friends of Humanity hit.
Peter didn't know what they were after, but apparently they had hit sites that were a bit more than they seemed. A dental shop with genetics research equipment, repair stores with tons of servers with oodles of space to store customer data in, a few office shops with an underground basement filled with lasers and 3D printers and armed guards. Whatever they were after, it was stuff people went out of their way to hide. And if Yuri was right about why the feds were in town….
"Wouldn't surprise me if the keys did belong to the gov," Rogue muttered. The Brotherhood was at odds with the government, to put it mildly.
Peter happened upon them, tagged a few of their vehicles with those Spider Tracers he made before he jumped the group. The goal was to get them nice and scared to run back to wherever they were holed up and follow them. He just didn't think the Chameleon would pretend to be an innocent bystander or that the Rhino was in one of the vans, or that the Sinister six was working with the Friends at all.
Peter was able to goad the two into talking, revealing that the Sinister Six under Doc Ock was directing the Friends of Humanity. But he was then taken by surprise by one of the Humanity fellas, not expecting a guy with a broken leg to get back up and channel that fanatic fervor into holding on to him. That gave the Rhino guy the perfect opportunity to bust his wing and then make a getaway when the cops started to show up in force.
"How'd they get past that spidey-sense?" Rogue muttered. "Actually why don't ah have it?" She said recalling all the times she had accidentally gotten hurt in Peter's apartment, nothing close to serious, but it was still a pain.
Rogue wrinkled her nose, and ignored the headache she felt coming on as she fiddled with the map.
When the brotherhood scouted New York, they checked 4 of the 5 boroughs for a good enough spot to set up camp and plan their attack on the Avengers. Looking at where the robberies happened, Rogue had a guess on where they might've set up camp. Problem was, she'd have to swing to get there…that or take the subway…the second one was safer, but….
"If he can do it, so can ah," she told herself as she stood up, ignoring the budding headache that kept building for some reason. She took his power, she's not gonna let it go to waste. With a deep breath, she walked to the edge of the roof and looked at the adjacent building.
It was taller….And across the street. According to her map, and just looking around, there was no other way to get her to that building from where she stood.
With a nod to herself, she lifted her right arm, did the hand sign, her two fingers resting above the ball, aimed and squeezed.
Thwip!
"Ah," she let out as the web both fell short and it was clear that she didn't hold on long enough.
She adjusted her webshooter.
She shot another web, this time it did fly to where she wanted it to go, but….
"Drats." she failed to grab line of web she shot. The darn thing contracted too fast.
She took a deep breath, fired again, holding down the trigger long enough for a line to form. This time she caught the web just as it was contracting!
"Heck yeah," she said with a wide smile. It was a bit awkward to transition between that hand gesture and grabbing the actual web, but enhanced reflexes helped a lot there.
With a big grin, she gave the web line an experimental tug.
"Huh?" she let out as she felt something give.
She saw a brick her web was attached to fall off the building.
"Wha-" the brick continued its descent until it connected with the hood of a car!
THE CAR ALARM WENT OFF INSTANTLY!
Rogue just stared in shock, mouth a gap at what just happened.
She was still holding the web connected to the brick! The thing didn't even look taut, like it still had more give despite it feeling like it wants to shrink like plastic wrap under a lit match! She quickly let go, and the thing quickly contracted.
She quickly backed away just as she heard someone yell: "MY CAAAAAAR!" and quickly got out of sight.
She turned around, eyes wide enough to match the ones on the mask she wore, processing what had just happened, all the while ignoring the headache that was becoming more pronounced.
"Peter…bless y'er heart, ya crazy sunnovabitch," Rogue said shaking her head as she moved to the other end of the roof.
Judging how long to hold down the trigger, where to aim, and then quickly grab the line before it contracted…and he did it casually-even giddy at times…and he'd dive out damn window if he's in a rush and some how not end up as a meat pancake. The only thing Rogue could say was:
"Bless y'r heart ya crazy sunnovabitch!"
She somehow hit a loose brick her first time webbing a different building…and he just did it casually on the fly, sometimes at the last second for the fun of it.
"Fuuuuuck that," Rogue shook her head.
She blew out a raspberry and looked at the other end of the roof, where she needed to go.
She shook her head. And adjusted both her webshooters.
"Anythin' you can do, ah can do. Just baby steps," Rogue said.
She took a deep breath… and sprinted with all her might!
She ate distance with handful of stride, and jumped off the edge with something of a war cry! She felt gravity's pull as she leapt over over the street. She wasn't going to clear it.
Hands pointed out, she shot both webshooters.
Thwip! Thwip!
Two lines web shot out and hit the building, and Rogue caught both lines and pulled her self to the building-almost like a sling shot, smacking herself against it. Hard. She felt it, but she had durability to weather it.
"Oomph! Made it," she said with a small smile, heart pounding in her ears. and began climbing the building, a little less fear now, ignoring sound of someone yelling below her and a small irritating pulse in her skull. They were shouting something like "hey crawler, I know you can hear me!" or something there abouts, but Rogue tuned it out.
She made it to the rooftop, caught her breath, let out a small laugh, and ran to the next building.
Swinging might be out of the question for now, but she was used to superstrength. Not everyone in the brotherhood could handle a scrap, so they relied on her-letting her steal their abilities for a short time, mostly minor augmented strength, but stack enough it's close to the real thing-with side-effects she's learned to manage.
She ran with her full might and jumped from building to building. When she had to, she'd use her webshooters close the distance. At times, building were lower, but high enough that she could roll her landing and keep running and climbing the next building. It wasn't as fast as swinging, but she was making good time all things considered! It was even kinda fun and she could feel herself smiling as she ran….
But….
"Ugh, what is that poundin' in my head," Rogue muttered after she paused on a rooftop.
It started earlier, but she's been ignoring it.
"Is it the mask?" She wondered, but shook it off and walked to the edge.
There were no more taller buildings. Or buildings she could reasonably jump down to.
"Oooh, ah didn't think 'bout this," Rogue said, the building she was on was basically the tallest one around. She kinda got distracted and just climbed the building after reaching it. She didn't know the limits of her new durability, but she doubted she'd be alright from this height if she hit the building down bellow.
Now she started feeling like a kid who climbed a tree and didn't know how to get down. She had ideas, stick to the wall and either slowly crawl down, maybe slide down if possible. Or zipline down if she can manage the shot. Or maybe repel down using a line of web…none of it was readily appealing.
"Whado-ah, whado-ah…ah, why does my head…" she began as she messaged her temples.
It didn't make sense, why did she-
Her body froze.
She didn't understand it.
She couldn't move.
There was this weird…tingle in her head and her body locked up! That wasn't all, there was also a weird pressure beneath her forehead-underneath the bone. She wanted to move, but her body refused!
"Wh-why can't ah-"
The dam broke.
Her senses went haywire!
Her vision, already sharper, would sharpen and unfocused as her eyes darted around! Lights were bright, and shadows stood out! Smell and taste became more pronounced, more detailed! She could feel her outfit on her skin, how it clung to her body and every hair it strangled down. She could feel the weight of everything on her, of everything attached to her, and how each minor twitch she could manage shifted the weight spread through out the the soles of her feet! She felt the wind brush past her and felt how it moved! The sound, the sounds! So loud she could hear cars, people, birds chirping in alarm, power running through WIRES TOO!
Rogue frozen, unable to move with her all senses getting hit all at once as her body reacted strangely. Her palms were leaking, her stomach felt things crawling, her chest felt colder with slight pain, and the world was getting dizzy!
THE LIGHTS! THE SOUNDS! THE SMELL! THE MASK SMELLS BAD AS IT IS, HOW CAN SHE SMELL THROUGH IT!? EVEN THE HAIRS ON HER BODY WERE GOING HAYWIRED!
AND STILL, SHE COULDN'T MOVE!
IT'S TOO MUCH!
IT'S TOO-
"Hey kiddo," an old, familiar, and gentle voice said.
That voice cut through everything.
"Leave me alone!" She whined loudly as she hugged herself. She was inside her little tent outside the house, she must've been 10-11 years old, chubby and going through it.
"Oh but I brought a meat lover's pie," a pizza box was opened and placed at the entrance of her little tent. "Mrs. Lee even added extra cheese, on the house too. Still want me to go?"
She didn't say anything.
She quickly crawled to the entrance and tried to snatch a slice.
"Ah ah ah," the voice playfully chided as they moved the pizza out of her grasp. "If you want a slice, you gotta let me stay."
"HHHMPF!" She huffed loudly as she crossed her arms, much the voice's amusement.
"Well, if you're sure you don't want me to stay…."
"YOU CAN STAY!" She loudly declared, much to the voice's amusement.
"Heh Heh," the voice chuckled. "Alright, alright, here you go."
Once more, the pizza box was placed in front of the entrance and she eagerly reached for a slice.
The smell hit her first, three different meats-sauce and cheese along with the freshly baked dough, it was heavenly to her nostrils. The sight of the gooey cheese making strings as she pulled made her giggle-she had to pause and gingerly break the cheese away from the rest of the pizza. She looped the strings over and over before she took a big bite! The feeling when she chewed, the texture was perfect, the though just thick enough, and the flavors all melded together!
She was moaning in satisfaction before she realized she was doing it.
"Ha, that good, huh?" the voice chuckled, "I'll have to let Mrs. Lee know you liked this one. She tried a new tomato sauce. OH! Here, dear, take a napkin."
A napkin was offered and she quickly accepted and cleaned her cheeks with.
"I…I heard what happened earlier, that you ran out of the school after they had a fire drill."
"It was too much!" she whined. "The lights, the sounds, everyone laughin' at me, it was too much! And and and and, monday when I go back…I'm afraid…."
"...Yeah, I get that. I've been there before. Life can be scary like that. But you don't have to worry, you won't face it alone. You have us, remember? For now, it's enough to focus on what's in front of you and take things one step at a time. Okay?"
She paused.
"Who r' ya? Why am ah….?" It was like she was following a script and finally broke free of it.
"Yeah I hear ya, but that's why you got your Uncle Ben, right," Uncle Ben said, she finally got a good look at the man, he was tall, thick with a belly, and well shaven, gray but well kept hair, and had a kind smile. He wore slacks, a grey cardigan with three buttons and an orange button-up shirt underneath…he was the exact man from the picture.
"...why…" She began, but the script continued on without her.
"And your Aunt, May, is inside getting a bowl of popcorn ready. She's got few sodas cooling in the freezer for us too. She even went to the video store and rented one of those Halloween comedy specials for us to watch."
"They don't make scientific sense," she said…then scrunched her face at that response. "Wha kindah highfallutin'-"
Uncle Ben barked out a laughter, "they sure don't, but it's part of the fun, hahaha."
"Guess ah better hurry," she grumbled before taking a larger bite.
"Nah, don't you worry about that. You take all the time you need. And when you're ready to face the world again, you won't face it alone. Your aunt and I will be by your side, Peter. And we'll face it together."
"...You, promise?" She found herself asking off script, almost sincerely.
"Always, kiddo."
Anna Marie blinked light tears out of her eyes.
She quickly scanned her surroundings. Birds, she was next to birdcages with tons of pigeons, hugging her legs. She was on that same rooftop where she froze, sitting down, back on the birdcages.
Slowly and gingerly with shaky legs, she stood up, feeling her weight on her soles.
How did she…?
She looked around, edged away from the bird cages with said birds singing in alarm. The mask adjusting a little to her eye movements. The sounds and the lights were still there, they stung but not as bad as before.
Anna took deep breaths as she tried to get accustomed to her new senses. But her breathing was still pretty ragged.
"Oh man, Anna, what did ya get…get your…" she paused at that. That Shocked her.
Anna? Since when?
"Ah'm Rogue," she muttered in confusion. She's always been Rogue. She was Rogue long before her mutant abilities ever manifested. Even her teachers noted her down as Rogue, and what everyone around her called her. It's what she wrote on every test and paper she ever had to do. So why did she suddenly…?
Sirens blaring caught her ears.
She didn't need to go to the edge of the building to know it was a cop car. Her mask picked up the frequency. She heard the dispatcher saying codes she didn't know, but her mind-the memories she took-translated it. Some sort of break in, one of many disturbances around New York City. She shook her head-she suddenly gripped it. Her senses were overwhelming her again.
"Nononono," she whispered, breathing rapidly again as she felt that tingle in her head begin to build, forcing her body to freeze up again as her chest got cold.
Once more, she started to feel everything again, it was like Miss Marvel's seventh sense on overdrive and then some. It was like all the enhanced senses she's ever stolen off her mutant brothers in the brotherhood before meshing into one and becoming like some sorta sensory bomb, overloading her sense.
She found herself falling down to one knee as the world got a bit too wobbly to stay standing up right.
She tried to fight it, but the tingle got louder and more explosive in her mind. 'STOP! STOP!' It demanded! Not only that, her breathing got more ragged and haggard as her body shivered.
Just what in the world-
"Hey, it's okay kiddo," she froze when she heard that voice, it was rich and with only a hint of gravel, "just take things one step at a time."
He stepped into view, and got down on one knee to match her eye level. Said eyes were shocked behind the mask.
It was Peter's uncle, Ben!
Chapter 5
"WhaDasHHHHH-wHy? hOw?" Rogue forced out through her shaky breaths.
"Can't say." He said with shrug and a concerned look, "but what I can say is that your senses got a tune-up, and your mind is still adjusting. When Peter got his powers, it knocked him out for a whole night as his body changed. And even then, it took time for his nogging to adjust. You woke up a lot sooner than he did, and now you're feeling the full brunt of it. Here, copy me."
He looked down, and Rogue looked down, she saw his hand in front her, just above the floor, looking almost see through, and he began to move an index finger.
"Draw a square with me. Start by going up, then right. Like this. Then down and then left."
Rogue didn't move, she stared on with cracks in her loud breath.
"I'd like to promise it's not a trick, but I gather that wouldn't be much help here," Ben said sheepishly. "Richard, my brother-Peter's father, he taught us this trick. It's supposed to help with breathing. When you go right, you breathe in. You breathe out when you go left. You hold your breath for like tick or so, when you go Up and Down, um, 4 seconds. Or longer, if you want. You set the pace. It'll help."
She didn't get it. But she'd do anything for that damn tingle in her head to stop.
Slowly, Rogue moved a hand to the floor of the roof, and dragged her finger across it.
"That's it. Go right, breathe in…slide down, hold it in…and move to the left, breathe out…there ya go, hold it in when you go up," Ben said with a small warm smile. "In…hold…and out…yeah, you got it. Since you got a finger on the building's pulse, can you feel it? How rough it feels?"
She blinked at that. It's a building, it doesn't have a pulse, what would even qualify as a pulse?
Confused by the expression, she focused on the tip of her finger as she slid it. She could feel the roughness on her finger, how every pore of the concrete got caught on the ridges of her fingers. She wasn't sure what exactly a pulse for a building would be and tried focusing more to see what Ben meant. She searched, not finding a clue, but she felt…calmer, and that tingle…it waned….
"There you go, let it anchor you," Ben said in approval, she didn't see it but she got the sense that he nodded too. She thought about looking up. "Don't worry about looking up, for now, just take your time and catch your breath."
She… felt inclined to listen.
"What…what's happening," Rogue was finally able to ask. The cracks were gone, but she could still feel something…she breathed to the rhythm of her finger, as she continued to draw a square with her index finger and anchored herself to the texture of the roof's floor.
"If you mean me, I'm afraid I don't have the answers. If you mean you, I think you already guessed it. Peter's power gave his whole body a tune up, the same ones you're going through. That includes that part in the nogging responsible for the um," he smacked his lips, "the watchamacallit, ummm," he hummed for a bit before snapped his fingers, "the FFF response."
"The what!?" Rogue let out, confused.
"It's something Richard spoke about. It's when your nerves feel threatened and the survival portion of you takes over. You felt it before, right? When you feel like you're in danger, what does your body want to do?"
Rogue thought about it.
"Fight, or flight," she stated with slight confusion and she continued to make squares. She's felt it before, she's had to teach newbies how to deal with it before just how her momma taught her when she was brought in.
"Right, then there's the last one. Freeze. Though it's for hiding, so I'm not sure if how Freeze works," Ben said in a confused tone..
"But why did ah…freeze?"
"I'm no expert, but it could be a mix of stress and the way you were breathing. Its like a balloon, too little air and it won't balloon, too much and it pops. For the body, well, it feels threatened. That goes straight to that bit in the nogging regulating those Fs. The worse part is that rationalizing being safe doesn't help if your mind is focusing on survival. And that's without the tune up. With it, well…you're more of an authority on that than I am."
"Cheah," she let out in exasperation, but calmer now. "And this is…Peter's spider-sense?'
"Part of it. The loud part, the other more silent part happens in the back of our thoughts," Ben said. " Or at least that's Peter's theory, something based on this exposure effect study thing. Heh, boy, I tell ya, I was shocked when Peter showed me how loud the city was with that weird instrument he borrowed from science camp. It was loud, but I never noticed. And it's not just sounds. The heat beneath our toes, the smells we take in and forget about, or how we experience a change in temperature or moisture in the air without noticing. We experience and take in more of the world than we realize, we just…learned to tune it out. You and Peter especially. And when you hear or feel, or sense something you recognize in the back end that is dangerous, that souped up survival portion of you takes over."
"Somethin' we recognize…but why did it…oh, ah get it," Rogue said. "Ah'm way high up and my senses 'r poppin' off like kettle corn in oil. So it's dangerous to move around, is that why that tingle had me freeze like that?"
"I can't say for sure, but it sounds close enough," Ben said and she swore she could feel him shrug.
"Is it always like this, so…scary and in your face without telling you why?" Rogue asked. The darn thing felt like a panic attack!
"Not sure to be honest, but it does differ. You're in the driver seat, and that 'spider-sense' is a nervous nellie riding shotgun. When something worries them, they tell you "stop," "gun it," or even "reverse," without telling you why. Sometimes they shout, sometimes they just say: "hey, this doesn't feel right."
"Something tells me that's gonna get annoying real fast," Rogue said, to which Ben chuckled to.
Feeling a lot better now, Rogue stood up, still staring at the ground.
Slowly she looked up to see Ben's body, semi there-semi not, like a ghost. She tried looking around, but her eyes were still adjusting to it's new reality. She looked back at Ben and focused on his thick brows.
"Feeling better?" Ben asked.
"...'R you kiddin' me? No!" Rogue said. "I'm talkin' to someone ah've never met who isn't here about stuff happenin' to me! I mean-what was that, like me in a tent, and, what the hell!?"
Ben chuckled.
"Yeah I can see the problem," Ben said.
"Oh can you?!" Rogue let out with a hysterical chuckle of her own. "Ah'm going friggin' crazy here!"
"Mmm," he hummed with a nod.
"And you're not helping! Ah mean you are, but, YOU being here IS the problem!"
"I understand," Ben said with a nod.
"Good, that's good, so can you just, ah dunno…go away?"
"Sure," Ben replied, "though the problem is I don't think it's up to me whether or not I'm here," Ben said with a shrug.
"That…really ain't what ah wanted to hear," Rogue said with scrunched face. Rogue turned around, facing away from Ben and the edge of the roof, turned to the pigeon coop, her eyes focusing on different details, before shaking her head and focusing on the door to the roof.
She walked to it and rested by the wall beside the door.
Even though he left no traces on the world, she swore she could hear his steps as he approached. She looked up to see him hover over her.
"Mind if I…" he pointed to the spot beside her.
"...Sure, I guess," Rogue said as she hugged her knees, "not like ah could stop you."
"Oh, I don't think that's true, but umm…oh. How rude of me," he said, "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Ben, Ben Parker, and you're Anna, right?" he introduced himself as he offered his hand to her.
Rogue eye'd his hand, and ignored it. "Rogue, ah go by Rogue."
With a smile he retracted his hand and sat beside her. "It's nice to meet you, Rogue."
"Is it?" Rogue asked. "Ah put your nephew in a comma, one ah don't think he'll wake up from."
"Yeah, that, that does put a damper on things," he said with a frown.
"So why 'r ya helpin' me? Shouldn't you be mad or tellin' me to jump off and die somethin' like: 'to hell wit' you, ya vile woman.'"
She turned to look at Ben only to see a concerned look on his face.
"I don't want that," he said shaking his head, "and I know my nephew wouldn't want that either."
"So what! Is the Parker family just saints!? You, Peter, ol' May, all of you just…so pure and happy too."
"Well I didn't say that, and Peter is far from 'pure' as you put it. And May, okay she might actually be a saint. But we don't wish death on others. But if it makes you feel better, would you like me to make up a more self-interested reason?"
"Whhhhhhy is that even an option?" Rogue asked as she looked away, flabbergasted that anyone, even in her head, just offered that like it's normal.
"Eh, you know, it makes people feel better if they know there's a motive behind things," Ben shrugged.
"Alright, fine. What's your selfish reason for me still breathin'?"
"Because as long as you are alive, you can make it right." Ben said. "As long you can still move and breathe, you can still find a way to help Peter. If something happens to you, either because I had a hand in it, or I stayed quiet instead of helping you, then that's the end of it. And all hopes of helping Peter goes with you."
"...My abilities don't work that way," Rogue said in low voice. "This ain't something ah can fix."
"Maybe not, but as long as you're alive and well, you can still try. We've all done things we're not proud of, and most don't get the chance nor the opportunity to make amends. You still have a chance."
"Ah'm not one of you," Rogue said, as she stared off into the distance. "Ah'm a Mutant."
"...So?" Ben asked in a confused tone. "What's that got to do with anything?"
Rogue scrunched her eyes.
"Ah ain't human, ah-"
"And being a mutant means you can't laugh or cry? You don't, ah, ah-fear death, or feel joy when you got something to celebrate?"
"You daft, ol' man?" Rogue asked as she turned to look at Ben. "We're Mutants, we can do more than you can."
"Does that mean someone stuck in a wheel chair is less human for being unable to stand like everybody else?" Ben countered.
"Wha-ah-" Rogue wasn't expecting that.
"What about someone with out arms or a voice, or deaf and blind, or stuck in an iron lung, are they precluded from humanity?" Ben added.
"...That…"
"If you don't mind me making it more personal here, is Peter's aunt May less human for being unable to use her hands as well as she could because of her arthritis, or needing glasses to read?"
"What? No, of course not!"
"Then why should being able to do more than most exclude you from humanity when the opposite doesn't?"
"Ah…ah dunno, man, ah just-" She looked at Ben, expecting him to cut her off.
"Don't worry, take your time," he waved.
"Ah….ah guess ah don't wanna be human, the bad ones I mean. Ah.…when ah ran away from home, Mystique, she gave me a home, a new family, she brought me into the brotherhood, showed me what we fought for, and what we fight against."
"That sounds human to me, Rogue. Mutant or not, flight or growing big and green or not, sticking to walls or not, or swinging between buildings like tarzan or George of the Jungle, or just walking and riding the subway. It doesn't matter. We're not who we're born as, nor are we what we lose or gain unintentionally. We are the sum of our choices, the things we get to choose. We choose who we become in this life."
"A lot of us don't get that choice," Rogue said bitterly.
"Yeah, I get that. And its a shame you know. No one should walk in fear, no one should need to check over their shoulders in fear. We all live on this world for set amount of time. It'd be great if we could get along together. I guess that's why they need people like Peter, and you, to give people those choices again, and maybe they can help others too."
"Heh. Now ah know you ain't, real," Rogue said, "no ones…like you."
Ben barked out a laughter, "I'll take that as compliment, but I hear ya. For better or worse, this is how Peter chooses to remember me, even though we've had arguments, loud ones, and times we avoided each other."
"Is…that what you are?" Rogue asked.
"I can't say for sure," Ben said, "but it sounds right."
Rogue snorted.
"Right, huh, pro'lly the only thing right tonight," she said.
"Night's not over yet. But, Rogue…you mind if I tell you something?"
"Not like ah could stop you," Rogue shrugged.
"I doubt that."
"Heh, sure, Ben, sure. Whadoya want me to hear?"
"Rogue…you don't need to prove yourself to anyone."
"I-Ah, w-what?" Rogue sputtered out, clearly flustered. "What makes you think Ah'm doin' that?" She said in a higher pitched than she would like.
"Well," Ben began, "I can't say it's common to jump between buildings to a place filled with dangerous people," Ben said with concerned look and a shrug, "not unless you want prove something. Besides, at the rate you were going, you'd have to cross the bridge, and I don't think you're ready for that. "
"That's ain't your business, ol' man," Rogue said tersely.
"Maybe not, but I'd at least take the subway if I were you, we have ones that run all day and all night you know. Just look for the green globes at the entrances. At the very least you wouldn't have to risk taking a midnight dip if you miss hitting something with those gizmos on your wrist."
"Mrrrm," she grumbled at the logic as she looked at the webshooters. How the hell did Peter just swing everywhere?
"Just remember, you don't need to rush, take things one step at time." Ben said.
"And if ah d-!"
Rogue turned…and Ben was gone.
Rogue jumped to her feet and looked around.
Nothing but her and the pigeon coop.
"Great-now's he gone and now ah know ah'm crazy," she said sarcastically. She looked to the edge of the roof and she could feel her vision sharpen and wane, and the lights in the distance brighten and wane too.
"...Subway, doesn't sound that bad, actually..."
With a sigh, she pulled the mask off, whipped her hair around and slid the webshooters off.
"...Ah can see why he'd want something hidden, these are pretty fun…wait where did ah…oh," the backpack was by the coop. "When did ah…arg, forget it."
She stowed away the mask and webshooter and walked to the door of the roof.
She tried to open the door but-
"Locked…oh wait minute," using her super strength, she popped the handle off the door and the thing slid open.
She looked at the door handle and tossed it aside.
She stepped inside…paused, she looked behind her, but she saw nothing but the birds.
She thought to herself for a bit.
"Sorry Ben, Peter…ah need to do this."
She turned around and made her way down the-
"WAH!" she slipped on a puddle and landed on her butt-hard, just at the head of the stairs.
Someone had left behind a drink and at some point it tipped over and spilled over the top of the stairs.
"DAGNABBIT! WHY DIDN'T IT WORK THAT TIME!?"
Author's Note:
Hopefully I nailed Uncle Ben, trying really hard not to picture Grandpa Max from Ben10, for some reason I kept thinking of that voice.
A few years ago, I had a mental health crisis and started having panic attacks, took me completely by surprise-especially how it looked like I'd do anything to make it stop, and it completely changed my stance on mental health. It really is one of those things that's hard to understand until you go through it, and thankfully I got help. Haven't had any attacks in years thankfully, a few days I felt bad but knew how to get myself out of my head and pick myself up, but I still remember how I felt. I'd be in the middle of tabletop game at a cafe, then it just happened-small, and ramped up in intensity. That session I was focusing real hard on the texture underneath the table with my fingers-trying my best not to let it show and enjoy the game. It was weird, I was locked in- but feeling unsafe like i was about to be attacked.
When I was brainstorming this fic and doing research on what exactly that spider-sense was, some just saying danger sense, one vid saying it was something grander, I recalled the original spider-man movies with Tobey Maguire, specifically the one where Doc Ock attacked him at a restaurant that reminded me of that experience I had at a cafe and I found that interesting. That Peter's Spider-sense might just be the FFF response on overdrive and something I could relate to in terms of what happens. Hopefully I didn't accidently give people bad memories if they read that.
That thing with the square is what the guy on the phone told me was square breathing, also known as box breathing, what I was told was you breathe in when you go up and right, out when you go down and left-but I looked it up online and turns out you hold your breath at up and down and went with that version.
Hopefully I didn't go too preachy with Ben debating rogue at the end there.
Have a great day or night wherever you are, don't be afraid to look for resources(even international ones) if you need help, or just curious to look up info like the fff response, it's pretty helpful.
Chapter 6
Two Chapters.
In theory, brothers in arms joining hands in celebration. In practice, there was a palpable tension. One side full of folks who view themselves as real fighters, and their side full of folks looking for something better and willing to fight for it however they can.
Each chapter of the Brotherhood of Mutants was different.
Each chapter was shaped by it's leader.
Said leaders chose what goals they pursued, and of course, what mutants they wanted to keep around. Mystique takes just about anyone in, anyone needing a home. Her chapter focused more on being a haven more than anything. Other chapters preferred having "useful" mutations with people willing to be on the offense. Mystique's chapter didn't "sit back and watch" by any means, but her chapter was viewed as an expensive charity case with only a few real fighters. That said, other chapters usually recruited their members from Mystique's chapter, preferring not to spend too much time on recruitment themselves. Yeah, they still didn't see the value even after snatching up folks eager to do more…folks Rogue rarely ever saw again….The only person who ever returned them was Magneto. Though Magneto usually just took the leaders for dangerous missions and any one with the right ability he needed.
But, suffice to say, different chapter didn't get along for very long. There was also another risk with bringing multiple chapters together in one place. It made for a valuable target.
So when another chapter suddenly showed up, unannounced, unplanned for….
"Mastermind, are you out of your DAMN MIND!" Mystique shouted at a well-groomed and handsome man. Mystique wore a white outfit that brought out her blue skin and red hair.
They were all in an abandoned church in a tiny ghost town that had seen far better days. The town didn't even have a paved road in, it was far off the beaten path. Part of Rogue doubted it was any modern map.
Anyone who was anyone was at up by the altar. Everybody else who bothered to listen were by the remnants of the benches, mostly Mastermind's chapter. Mystique's chapter did more than just crack skulls, so only the ones that could scrap were in attendance, having already guessed their chapter was being enlisted for something.
Mastermind stood tall before Mystique with a very confident smile. He wore a very fancy regal-looking outfit with a fancy beard and goatee to match his extravagance. Even his wavy brown hair looked extravagant and complimented his creamy brown eyes. Rogue Heard rumors the man she saw wasn't real, it was just an illusion he conjured up with his abilities. That the real him was way more of a greaseball. Worse yet, there's rumors he's trying to get into the pants of Magneto's daughter…of all people, he chose Magneto's daughter…. His chapter focused more on subterfuge and collecting info.
"Come now, surely you of all people can understand the time sensitive nature of my proposal. We have to act quickly, why even Sabretooth agreed!"
"Yeah, what's wrong Raven, you going soft on us?" Sabretooth asked from the wall he alone occupied. He wore some sort of bodysuit with fur on it, said he hunted it himself. He was tall, blond, and feral looking. He was a rare few of the brotherhood that wasn't part of any chapter. "He goes where's he's needed," is what members are told, but in actuality he kinda just does what he wants until Magneto tells him where to go. The guy always gave Rogue the creeps.
"It's dangerous, Victor." Mystique spat as she looked at a bunch files Mastermind handed her with a smug grin.
Sabretooth let out an amused snarl and grinned wide enough to show off a canine.
"Better be if I'm here, I even took time off my busy schedule. I'm planning a long overdue birthday."
"Ugh, why does that sound like a threat," Rogue muttered from where she leaned against the opposite wall, doing everything she could to keep from bouncing in place. She took a few abilities the second she saw the man, recent memories of others floating through her head in a disjointed manner as well as a rush of energy, but she held it together. Nothing serious, she just had enough to be faster if she needed to be.
"Knowing him, it's probably further than that," an old man beside her said. He was tall, bald, wrinkly, and had a prominent tattoo over his right eye in the shape of a phoenix. He was an old salt in the Brotherhood, wore stretchy slacks and a blue plaid button-up shirt. Used to work with Magneto before he retired to Mystique's chapter, said his knees couldn't keep up anymore. He was the one mostly responsible for training everyone in how to fight and use their powers, including Rogue.
"Why does Magneto even keep him around, Ink?" Rogue whispered to him.
"He's a violent lunatic with abilities that complement it. That's useful when you need it," Ink said and shrugged.
"Hmm," Rogue hummed, unimpressed.
Mystique continued talking to Mastermind, shouting and cursing him out at times, but the man calmly stood there, explaining details, all with a smug smile on his face. Over time, the fury in Mystique numbed down a bit, it was there, but it seemed whatever Mastermind had was enough settle her anger some.
"It's a narrow window," Mastermind said. "It was pure luck that we lucked into one of A.I.M.'s convert operations, but the intel they had was a gold mine. Miss Marvel is still recovering from fighting something, Iron Man's suit supply running low, and they're fighting Dr. Doom overseas. They'll be at their lowest when they get back. Even if we don't wipe out all the Avengers, we'll severely weaken them and boost our reputation with our mutants brethren. And while we're fighting, another group can ransack their base of all their technology! I don't know what Magneto's project is all about, just guesses, but at least all that technology can put the brotherhood in better a position," Mastermind argued.
"Than we should get more than just us. We should contact Eric, maybe even the Juggernaut," Mystique argued.
Sabretooth howled in laugher, "Magneto's not even on the continent, he's on his little Geneva Project." Mystique glared at him after he said that, but Sabretooth only grinned. "And the Juggernaut doesn't want to even step foot in the big apple. Mastermind already tried. Apparently, something broke the big boy last time he was there." That made Mystique's eyebrows shoot up.
"He did seem a tad bit, err, down when we met," Mastermind said, frowning for the first time.
"Wha-the-you-the Juggernaut?" Mystique let out incredulously. "You're telling me something actually happened to The Unstoppable Juggernaut in New York?!"
Rogue's eyebrows shot up, she looked at Ink who shared a surprised look with her. As far as she knew, the Juggernaut was unstoppable, unreliable unless you could make him do what you wanted like Magneto seemed able to, but unstoppable.
"Yeah," Sabretooth chuckled. "Just saying the city's name set the big boy off. It was funny. But it makes me curious, you know. What exactly scared off the big bad Unstoppable Juggernaut?"
"All the more reason we can't do this on our own," Mystique muttered as she went back to looking through the documents, then at the electronic pad that seemed to manifest out of nowhere.
"We're all we got unless we want to go public, and that would ruin our advantage, or worse, alert the enemy of whatever Magneto is working on. But, not to worry, Mystique. Being the Mastermind that I am, pun intended, I've come up with an excellent plan and have several thought out strategies to deal with every eventuality. Not to mention, you and Destiny-again, my condolence-seemed very concerned about Miss Marvel. With this we can wipe her off the board and gain a boon. Miss Rogue, dear, can you come here fair maiden," Mastermind called out to her in a very dulce tone.
"Arg." Rogue rolled her eyes, "its just Rogue, pal," she said as she took a few steps forward. "What?" She asked loudly.
"Your ability, it lasts a while even with a brief contact, yes?" Mastermind said, phrasing it like a question, but he didn't even wait for Rogue to answer. "The longer you hold on, the longer you can hold on to what you stole? But what happens if you completely drain someone or hold on for a very long time, dear? It might be permanent? Very likely, yes? Even just lasting a few years would be good for the brotherhood!"
"...It's what we theorized," Mystique said, "never confirmed."
"What she said," Rogue replied, sending Mystique a small smile, Mystique received it with one of her own.
"Then we should have you focus on stealing Miss Marvel's power," Mastermind stated, "assuming your abilities do work that way, it will be a big boon for the Brotherhood to have the powers of that woman on our side."
Rogue didn't want to admit it publicly, but she did like the sound of that, though there were problems with it.
"I say we leave out the guess work," Sabretooth said from a different spot in the church.
When everyone was looking at her and Mastermind, he had apparently gotten close to the others without anyone noticing. He snatched someone up. He goes by Toad, if she recalled correctly, his appearance certainly matched it. Sabretooth picked him up by the neck and approached them.
"Ah! HEY!" Toad let out.
"Drain him fully! Show us you ain't lacking, girl," Sabretooth growled as he dragged the unwilling mutant.
Rogue looked at him with a blank expression while Mystique groaned and rubbed her forehead and Mastermind stayed silent with a small smile.
Rogue pulled off her gloves and approached Sabretooth and Toad.
Sabretooth's feral grin got wider.
"Ah! Wait, don'tdothis-don'tdothis! C'mon, Rogue! PLEASE!" Pleaded Toad with mad desperation in his eyes. He looked like he aged a few decades in the span of a few seconds.
"..." Rogue said nothing as she approached with her right palm out, gloves in her coat pocket.
"Heeee! Heeee!" Toad let out as he stared in horror at Rogue's awaiting palm, he thrashed and struggled, but Sabretooth had a tight grip on him. If anything, Toad thrashing seemed to make Sabretooth grin even wider. He was enjoying this!
Mystique didn't say anything, nor did she move to stop Rogue, she just massaged her temple. Mastermind just watched in interest and a smirk that seemed a bit too plastic. Ink just leaned back on the wall, crossed his arms, let out a small smirk.
"...Ah ain't no 'girl,'" Rogue suddenly said, catching Sabretooth's attention. She didn't give the man time to process what she said.
Faster than even Sabretooth could react, Rogue planted her palm above his fingers gripping Toad's neck. The man wore some wretched body suit, one that went up to his arms and neck, then wore brown gloves over it and that also covered his palms, but it left his gnarly fingers uncovered.
Light flashed from the point of contact!
She didn't hold on, she only needed a touch as her ability acted quickly and greedily. She felt her body change as she got taller, denser, hairier! She could feel her nails and teeth grow sharper, her senses keener. And his thoughts-his mind…it's basically boiled down to everyone being divided into "prey" and "stronger prey."
Sabretooth let out a surprised yelp as he fell to his knees, suddenly weak, his grip on Toad all but gone. Said mutant quickly scrambled out of his grasp, and ran away from both Sabretooth and Rogue. He jumped like desperate toad to safety.
She quickly gripped Sabretooth's right arm with both hands, turned and flipped Sabretooth over her head! She brought him down hard as she swore she could feel a snout form on her face. He landed on his back and let out a silent pained gasp. She got down to nearly all fours and gripped his covered throat!
"Ain't me we gotta worry about, sugah!" Rogue Growled as she all but inserted her newly sharpened nails underneath the portion of the bodysuit that covered his neck. Her claws dug in without breaking the skin, but she wanted to. That new anger in her, that aggression! It was intoxicating! She wanted to rip his throat out! But she restrained herself to just her claws drawing blood.
"Certainly won't catch me lackin' like this! One misstep was all it took to bring you down," she mocked with gravel in throat.
Sabretooth stared back at her with shock and anger, even a small grin as he growled back. But Rogue could tell he knew. He was fucked. Even if he didn't have the energy stolen-even if he bounced back up 100% right then and there, he still had to move a whole body part if he wanted to attack her, even if it was just his head to bite her. All Rogue had to do was move her fingers a few centimeters closer for skin contact-from there its over-her ability would steal everything he had. And she had his powers and the abilities she took earlier to react and move faster. If he pushed it, she would win.
"Well ain't you cute," Sabretooth said. When he felt her claws dig deeper into his skin, he only snarled and grinned, unfearing.
"Enough!" Mystique shouted, "Rogue, get out and cool off!"
Rogue growled but jumped back. Sabretooth was instantly on his feet. He was on all fours ready to pounce, even if it was obvious to everyone that he wasn't back to tip-top shape just yet.
"Victor," Mystique said putting the muzzle of one of the weapons their chapter pilfered to the back of his skull, some sorta laser pistol. "Mageneto warned you not cause trouble."
"Trouble?" Sabretooth said with a smirk, "I'm just measuring twice before we actually cut. That a problem, Raven?"
The sounds of clothing being ripped up caught everyone's attention.
"AaAaAaAahhh, ah just got these!" Rogue growled in frustration. Apparently she was still growing and ripped part of her leggings and her boots, revealing a very hairy set of legs. "Ah just shaved my legs too!" She whined, only to be a met with a few snickers.
"Out!" Mystique said as she holstered her pistol.
Sabretooth just chuckled as he stood up and walked back to the wall he previously occupied, only with a little energy than he'd like to display. Though, as he walked, he eyed Rogue as she left. He wasn't subtle about it either.
Mystique looked to Ink, who gave a quick nod and pushed himself off the wall and chased after Rogue.
No one had to be told to get out of Rogue's way. They had a mixed bunch, but none of them were that dumb or crazy to stop her in that state.
Rogue didn't stop for anything, not even to open the door. She just stomped the door of the church off it's hinges and sent it flying a few feet, surprising a few folks outside. They instantly got the message to leave her alone as she stomped out.
"Wait up, kid," Ink said as he rushed behind her.
"Ah ain't no damn kid!" Rogue snarled.
Ink snorted.
"At my age, everyone's a kid," Ink said. "Now, you wanna argue, or do you wanna put that power you just got to the test?"
Rogue looked at Ink. And then gave a him feral grin. Ink smirked.
What she stole didn't last long, a handful of minutes, but it was enough to get a quick work out. Nothing too crazy, just a spar with Ink to get a good sense on how Sabretooth's powerset worked.
"Oww," Rogue groaned in pain as she rubbed her cheek. When she stole Sabretooth's power, her hair grew long, giving her side bangs, her hair ran down to her waist. Or it did, she was now missing the left bang, and right one was singed. She had bruises around her body, and body suit was now in thoroughly burned and in tatters.
"You've gotten better," Ink said as he tapped out a cigarette from a carton, he was sweaty, but otherwise unharmed, some of his tattoos did look faded and worn-but were slowly getting darker, "certainly had me on my toes this time, kid."
Rogue just grumbled on the stump she created, something about shaving. Ink just chuckled and flicked the end of his cigarette with a finger-unleashing a small tongue of fire-to light it.
Ink…didn't have any abilities.
Everything he had came from his tattoos. So Rogue using her abilities on him wouldn't do anything for her. Apparently him and a different mutant had a weird a synergy. Ink was the only person the tattoos would work on, and that mutant was the only person who could give Ink his tattoos. It was just a coincidence they found each other in the same unit. When someone higher-up in the military found out, they took the two and experimented. That was all Ink would ever say about his ability's origin and of his time in the armed forces.
Using each tattoo sorta "wore" it off of Ink's skin, but it would recover with time. It would be even more effective after a long rest. But if he wasn't careful, he could wear off the tattoo permanently. Its what happened to his other tattoos.
Ink said he didn't know the official number, but he's had multiple tattoos with multiple abilities in his youth. After he joined Magneto, he wore off what he didn't need-each tat divided his energy-and kept what he needed. And over the years, he lost powers when it was unavoidable. "Better a tat than a life," he said multiple times, but Rogue swore she caught him longing a few times.
His experience was why his main duties was training every body, especially the new recruits. Even if he didn't have the exact ability before, he had a better sense on how to train new folks to use theirs. Mystique was good for people with different body types since she could step into their shoes-so to speak-and show how to use their body optimally; but if a new mutant wanted advice on how to use an ability-Ink was the go to. Rogue was a close second, though many did prefer her over Ink. Especially those who thought they had a chance to be more intimate with Rogue.
As far as anyone could tell, Ink was down to eight tattoos with powers, but he never confirmed it:
1)The palm of his right hand has a biohazard tattoo: in short it makes people sick, causes nausea from a distance if he points it at folks, if he touches people with it they start retching out their stomach contents-including bile.
2)The palm of his left hand has a medical symbol on it-the one with the rod with wings and the two snakes coiled around it: from a distance it makes people feel better, with direct contact it speeds up the body's ability to heal-which also made him the resident healer, and why he also taught first aid.
3)The back of his left hand is tattooed to look like realistic metallic scales: Makes his left arm metallic and scaly, also gives his whole body a strength boost and durability boost with his left arm being strongest and toughest body part.
4)The back of his right hand is tattooed to look like fire blazing out: allows him to shoot fire from his right hand and heats up his entire body, with his right hand being hot enough melt and weld metal.
5)On his upper back he has wings tattooed: Flight, but it wears fast, so Ink uses it to break falls or jump high, and only flies for emergencies.
6)A giant bolt tattooed on his left temple: Lets him think and react faster.
7)Lightbulb tattooed on his right temple: Lets him send telepathic messages, one way. Depending on the range it can get worn fast, up close and personal it's nice a distraction. He can discriminate and uses that creatively, such as when figuring if he's alone in a room or not.
8)His last tattoo was the phoenix tattoo over his right eye.No one knows what that one does. Ask him at your own risk, but your body will thank you for the exercise.
"Hey Ink, did Destiny really worry about Miss Marvel," Rogue suddenly asked as she looked at the church. There were people around it, some folks from the other chapter eyeing her once in a while, but she ignored it.
"Irene…as far as I know, she worried about lot of things, not just the future. Kept her up at night, she'd joke she'd never sleep since she was used to being blind. I did my best, but she was too stubborn…." he said before he took a puff from his cigarette. "Her ability 'gave her eyes to see the now,' or so she'd say. Anything further down the road and she said it was like a fighting fantasy book or those 'choose your own adventure' books. Only, she saw everything, every future, every possibility, though, she just wasn't sure what led to them. She didn't know if going back up to the surface of the ocean or talking with mermaids would be the right choice or not."
"Sorry, what?" Rogue asked confused as she turned to look at Ink.
"Oh it's from Demons of the Deep-err, never mind," he said looking a little flustered for once. "One of Irene's game books. It kept her mind off stuff. It definitely helped her be present. Mystique too. And you," Ink pointed at her with his half burnt cigarette. "But future sight is mad business to get mixed up in, it's why it was one of my first powers to go-" he pointed to a worn patch of skin on his forehead with his cigarette before taking a puff.. "Irene didn't have that luxury, but all things considered, I think she left the world happy."
"That…didn't answer my question."
"It did," Ink argued with a shrug as he took another puff and blew it out. "She was worried about a lot of things. Miss Marvel was only one of them. She wasn't even the biggest concern. But her concerns, and Mystique's, their concerns aren't yours Rogue. So don't feel like you need to own them."
"What-I-whAdOyA mean," Rogue asked in a higher pitched than she liked.
Ink just raised an eyebrow and cracked a small smile.
"Wanting to protect family is natural, it happens," he chuckled.
Rogue rolled her eyes and grumbled.
"So...What was her biggest concern?" She asked.
"Not yours, kid," Ink replied before flicking the butt as Rogue huffed in irritation. "And if your asking me, that means you couldn't read that journal either, even though Raven told ya not to."
"Mmmmmm," Rogue let out as she bit her bottom, looking exactly like a little kid who got caught doing something they shouldn't. Ink just chuckled as he lit another cigarette in a showy fashion.
"I'm telling you now, I can't read them journals either," Ink said, "so…so don't…don't even, think to…try to steal…urg," Ink let out painfully.
Rogue turned to look at Ink to see the cigarette drop from Ink's lips. He was holding his chest with pained expression and struggling to hold on to the tree he was suddenly cling onto.
"Whoa-hey!"
Rogue got to her feet and moved to the man. But he stuck his hand in front of her, and cleared his throat, and spat out some red globs.
He looked up at her…and that phoenix tattoo over his right eye danced in place before lowering down to his cheek before coming back up to it's original position, then going back down again. After it was done dancing and bouncing up and down, like, half of it was still there. And it wasn't the first time she's seen it in that state either.
"I'm fine," Ink said in a low voice and taking deep breath, "just…just indigestion."
"Ink, whadafuck does that bird do," Rogue asked in a low tone as she looked him in the eye.
"...not your concern," Ink eventually said as he stood up straighter and stretched.
Rogue just gave him worried look.
It was at that moment that Mystique and Mastermind walked out together with Sabretooth behind them. Sabretooth quickly took to the roof of the church as more members of their chapters walked out. Mystique spotted them, quirked a brow at their Rogue's appearance, and Rogue swore she saw something flicker in her eyes when Mystique spotted Ink. Whatever it was, Mystique didn't let it show.
"Ink, call the town," Mystique said.
Ink nodded and brought two fingers up to his right temple and pressed on the lightbulb. He closed his eyes and concentrated.
Town Meeting
The Abandoned Church
Now
Anyone Late Gets Latrine Duty
Ink's voiced echoed in Rogue's head, it was odd hearing a voice that skipped the ears and went straight for the head. It was there, but not.
In a matter of minutes, the entirety of Mystique's chapter was assembled and encircled Her, Mastermind, and Mastermind's chapter.
"Goody, let's begin," Mastermind said as he brought both hands up and snapped his fingers, the snap being far louder than it was possible. With fireworks, he generated an illusion above him and began explaining the plan that sounded nice and crisp to everyone's ear.
Rogue half-paid attention to the man, his fancy illusions, and to his voice, which sounded deeper and more reassuring than it was earlier. The other half of her attention was on Sabretooth who was perched on the roof.
The man was looking at her.
Using two fingers she pointed at her eyes and then pointed them at him, knowing full well the man could see well from that distance.
The man seem to chuckle and stuck his tongue out at her. She cringed at the childishness of it before she scowled. Sadly, that seemed to only amuse the man even more.
She half followed along to the plan as Mastermind explained it. After a bit, she leaned over to Ink.
"Whadoya think?"
"...it's gonna go fubar," Ink muttered with sigh, unimpressed, "hopefully it doesn't end up a soup sandwich."
"Wha-" Rogue let out, glancing on the man, confused.
"It's not gonna work," he clarified, he tapped his right temple.
She still gave him a confused look.
Ink glanced at her and rubbed down his sweaty face. Tapped his right temple again.
"Alright then." He spoke in her head. "First, I don't see the point in fighting the Avengers to begin with," Ink said, much to Rogue's surprise. "I'm not convinced all the benefits of a total victory like the one Mastermind wants are actually real. Some do exist, but we don't actually need them. We don't need this fight, we're choosing to have it."
"Then…why are we…?" Rogue asked in a low and confused tone as she looked to see Mystique let Mastermind run his little "show and tell."
Ink shrugged.
"Raven probably has different victory in mind, at least something better than what Mastermind is aiming for. Sometimes you don't need to beat the enemy to win, I think that's where Raven's head is at," Ink replied. "Second," he pointed at the illusion, "not enough info on the enemy, or of the city in general, just tons of assumptions. That's never good, especially when we're on their home turf. And third, his 'tactics' leave a lot to be desired. I could see Raven ironed out some of the plans, it was good on her to push recon, but…I don't think it'll be enough for a total victory, which I don't think is her aim. But honestly, I think, if we're following Mastermind's planning, things are gonna go wrong."
"How can you tell?" She whispered.
She saw Ink lick his bottom lip a little as eyed the illusion, he tapped his right temple.
"Back in my unit, we learned quick to judge our superiors, see if they were a professional, or an amateur who was gonna get us killed. The later acted a lot like his lordship over there," Ink nodded to Mastermind's direction, who seemed pretty pleased with himself. "An amateur talks 'strategy' or 'tactics' as the end all be all. A professional talks logistics."
"Yeah?" Rogue whispered. "They're both plannin', right? What's the difference?"
"Easy. One sends you somewhere with only guns and orders, and no consideration to food, water, medicine, or even where everyone's gonna sleep, let alone shit. The other studies what we have, what we can move, What it takes to move with lead time, and what it costs, as well as what the enemy can reasonably do, and plans accordingly with redundancies for the long haul." He nodded forward. "And a guy who calls himself 'Mastermind' definitely doesn't rings like professional to me."
"Hmm," Rogue hummed in consideration.
Ink tapped his templed again, looking at a different direction, sharing a look with Mystique, who gave slight nod that seemed to go unnoticed...
"Hopefully," he spoke in low voice, "we got time to plan something more solid, maybe an exit plan. But it looks like Mastermind is hinging his plans with only victory in mind with too many variables somehow going his way."
"Like me," Rogue said.
Ink just hissed in air as he pressed his right temple.
"Yeah," he eventually answered out loud while looking elsewhere. If Rogue had to guess, he probably found where the real Mastermind was at and let Mystique know.
It was at that point that the Mastermind everyone saw gestured to Rogue.
"And with our valiant Rogue with us, not only can we eliminate Miss Marvel, but make her power ours!"
Caught off guard, Rogue waved and smiled tightly as everybody else cheered her on.
"Yes, but fret not my friends, we all have a part to play. We can all be heroes! And I don't mean traitors like that Spider-hack who wastes his gifts saving widdles kitties from twees and help humans cwoss the widdle stweet," he said in a mocking tone to a few chuckles. "I mean, be like us, REAL HEROES!" Mastermind declared.
Everyone cheered, but Rogue swore that some of those cheers didn't seem to come from anyone.
Ink snorted in disgust as he tapped his right Temple again.
"Yeah, he's layin' it on thick," Rogue said to Ink.
"Mmm. Same ol, same ol to me," Ink said while shaking his head, tapping his temple again.
Rogue eyed him a bit.
"...Hey Ink, what's a 'real' hero?" Rogue asked. She saw Ink blink at that. He eyed her.
"...depends on the person to be honest. Everyone's got a different yard stick they measure with," Ink said with a shrug.
"Then…what's your measure of a real hero?" Rogue asked.
"..."
Almost there, Rogue thought to herself as she rode the subway. Two more stops.
She kept looking through Peter's contact list. He had oodles and oodles of names, some descriptors, but nothing that popped out at her, no matter how much she tried to "recall." Even checking the message history didn't help either, especially with so many to go through. But she had to pick someone.
Who would she call to go get Peter? She had to call somebody for Peter's sake. He was safe for now in his apartment, and what are the odds that someone breaks into his apartment…twice, in like, less than a day? Surely the odds of that we're low, right? Right?
So far the only person she had at the top of the list was his aunt, May. Rogue was sure the old woman would get a shock of a life time and be distraught, but would still care for him. Outside of her she didn't know who to call.
She thought about his Uncle but…his name never showed up on Peter's phone.
"...'Chooses to remember me,'" Rogue echoed those words as she thought about all the reasons he would be missing from Peter's phone. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and drew squares on her leg with her free hand.
She locked the phone and put it away. She was thankful to Peter's sticking powers, however they worked. It meant she could work his phone even with gloves on. Apparently, he set the thing so that she basically has to be sticking to the phone's screen in order to operate it, but it made using it darn near impossible unless you were Spider-Man. He even left a surprise inside if someone tried to hack it.
Her senses, still sharper, but calmer now, and her spider-sense hadn't frozen her again. She considered it good progress.
With a deeper breath, she took in the traincart she was in, almost like diving. There were 6 people on their train cart, everyone had more or less taken up a corner and were politely ignoring each other. It was stark contrast to their chapter where people would be chatting or doing something, even over night on watch. Though she supposed when everyone had a smartphone, there wasn't much of need to find others for entertainment or community.
The train slowed, but no one stepped out. In contrast-
"Alright litter buddies, remember, patience and don't make a mess!" A chipper voice said that drew everyone's attention.
"Wha-" Rogue let out as a girl with big bushy tail stepped in with a ton of squirrels rushing in behind her.
"Hey folks, sorry, don't worry they're train-trained-isthatthing-anywho-they won't bother anyone! I promised them nuts not to!"
"It's Squirrel Girl!" One of the other passengers said excitedly.
"In the fluff!" the girl, Squirrel Girl, said with a chortle. "Alright, little buddies, lets grab a seat!"
Rogue was then treated to a sight of girl picking an entire row of seats to herself and her small army of squirrels that sort clambered over each other, with one squirrel riding her head.
"Yo, is something big going down tonight?" Someone else asked in Squirrel Girl's direction, and none of them…seemed afraid of girl with buck teeth, ears on the top of her head, a giant fluffy looking tail, and an army of squirrels.
"Ah-nope-nothing-I'm-aware-of!" The girl replied in a such squirrelly fashion, "my buddies and I are just searching for someone! We're hitting all the usual spots together!"
"Huh, well I hope you find them."
"We so will!" She answered in chipper tone. "Right tippy toes? Hm-what are you pointing-wait-NO!"
Rogue felt something tingle in her head, was confused, before her backpack toppled over courtesy of a random squirrel beside her and some of its content spilled out.
The bottle of water, the snacks she packed-which the squirrel quickly snatched, and-oh yeah, Peter's Spider-Man Mask and his red Spider Gloves!
They were out for the whole world to see!