WHO: Rogue (616) + Erik Lehnsherr WHEN: after Marie’s statue is destroyed WHERE: hallways by where the trial is happening WHAT: Rogue tells Erik about Marie being smashed to pieces and then gets to deal with trying to get Magneto not to go postal. WARNINGS: not really no!
Marie had been destroyed.
Rogue wasn’t able to comprehend what was being told to them at first, partly because she didn’t want to believe it but also because it meant that Jadis’ people had managed to effortlessly get into and out of Mount Weather. But the images of Marie’s statue broken outside of the main entrance with the giant beast standing proudly beside them were hard to discount. An array of emotions slammed into her, a sense of loss she couldn’t quite explain giving way to a blinding anger that she’d only ever experienced once or twice before in her life.
But she pushed them down, tried to bury them as she listened to the chatter happening around her while attempting to figure out what she was supposed to do next. Calling out mentally for Jean or Rachel would have been the smart thing to do, even reaching over for her Momma or Raven who were near, or getting to Logan to see if there was some kind of plan in the works because there was simply no way the X-Men were going to be able to sit back with what had just happened. Marie was one of theirs and they never took kindly to any of them being killed.
Her gaze snapped to the door that led out to the hallway, remembering that Erik had headed out that way after he’d gotten the wand from Jadis. She was all too aware of how angry he’d been the last few weeks since they discovered Marie, she remembered Raven’s warnings to her before they’d gone searching for Marie even. There was no way Rogue could see him taking Marie’s destruction well at all.
A quick look at the number of people in the room, the metal that seemed to be everywhere, and she was heading out the door and glancing down the hallway, hopeful that he hadn’t heard the news just yet. She was at his side as soon as she spotted him, reaching out to touch his arm as she tried to figure out where would be a good place to even have this conversation.
“We need to talk,” she told him, looking him over to see if she could spot anything that would say he’d already heard the news.
For once, everything had gone according to plan. Erik hadn't made his own rules, he hadn't taken the wand for himself, he hadn't destroyed it without permission. He'd taken it and he'd given it to Edmund to do what he thought best. Jadis was contained, for the time being, and Erik's services no longer seemed necessary.
He could have left, he could have gone down to the forge, but he considered himself to have a personal stake in all of this. So he lingered, just outside the room, out of the way but vigilant.
When Rogue touched him, his gaze flickered down to her hand and then back to her eyes.
"What's gone wrong?" he asked.
She glanced down the hallway at all of the people who were nearby waiting to hear any news about the trial and then back again at the door. Jadis was still in there, contained for now, and there were the rest of the people inside of the room as well. Far too many around for Rogue’s liking.
“Not here,” she urged, tugging him to walk with her down the hallway and away from the crowd. It wouldn’t get them away from all of the metal but at least getting him away from people would help limit the amount of injuries that might happen.
Erik glanced over his shoulder before falling into stride beside her. Her voice was lowered, she was actively trying to get him away from other people — he knew an attempt to contain him when he saw it.
It was only after they turned a corner that he stopped, grabbing her arm.
"What's gone wrong?" he asked again, and this time he wasn't about to let her get away with not answering.
Rogue sighed, fully aware that this was about as far as he was going to willingly go with her. “I don’t exactly know how, which is frustrating in its own light considering how easily they were able to get in and out without anyone,” she started before forcing herself to pause. She knew what she said wouldn’t make any sense to him and now was definitely not the time to be a jumbled mess. “One of Jadis’ group got into the Mountain. They got Marie’s statue and brought her outside before anyone could do anything.”
Her voice didn’t want to work for a moment and she took a breath before locking her gaze with his. “They destroyed Marie,” she told him, voice breaking slightly as the loss she’d felt before swept through her again. “Smashed her to pieces.”
On the surface, Erik didn't react.
There were subtle cues. He blinked once, like he was warding off tears. His breath hitched slightly. Rogue knew Magneto well enough to know that whatever was happening inside his head had to be a hurricane in comparison with his seemingly calm exterior.
Something nearby creaked. The metal around them was shifting, warping, barely noticeable. Door hinges were grinding together. For all that Erik claimed he couldn't control gravity the way Rogue could, everything felt heavier, tugging down toward the ground.
Without a word, Erik turned on his heel and continued down the hall. He would destroy every single one of Jadis's minions himself.
Rogue had known how he might react, had witnessed her own version of Magneto shift so effortlessly into what she coined as ‘battlemode’ after another mutant was hurt more times than she liked, but it still threw her for a second to see it happening in the man who’d been standing in front of her seconds ago.
Sighing she headed off after him, pretty sure she knew something of what he was thinking of doing. She couldn’t discount the desire to jump right into it all and unleash hell on those who’d hurt Marie because she desperately wanted to do that as well. But jumping right into things without a plan would only get other people hurt, could get Erik hurt, and she didn’t want either of those things happening.
Rogue managed to get ahead of him, stopping in front of him. “I’ve got enough of you up in my head to know what you’re probably thinking right now, Erik, and you rushing out there ain’t the answer to this. You’re powerful, there’s no discounting that, but we’re even more powerful if we all work together.”
Erik only stopped to avoid crashing into her, and it took him a moment to actually look at her instead of past her. "Get out of my way, Rogue."
He'd assisted in battles here before, but it had never been personal. With Marie's murder — and for all intents and purposes, that was what this was, murder — the control he had over his anger had simply snapped. He'd followed the rules up until this point. He'd played nice until this point.
Not anymore.
“No. You going out there by yourself ain’t the answer right now. We’ve got no idea what we’re even up against.” She hated that she needed to be the rational one right then, skin itching to borrow some power and set loose on those who’d hurt Marie. But breaking from the procedures that were set in place for attacks on the Mountain would lead to more chaos than was already brewing. “I know that you’re angry. God, I’m furious. I want nothing more than to go out there and destroy the lot of them, but there ain’t no telling what they are or how many there are. Going out there blindly on your own is gonna get you hurt or killed.”
Rogue had to believe that Marie wouldn’t want that for any of them. “I’m not saying we won’t go out there and attack, that when we do you can’t unleash hell on them. I’m just saying not on your own, not until we know more about what we’re dealing with.”
Erik was close, probably too close, forcing her to look up at him as he loomed over her. How easy would it have been to touch her, to force his powers and his thoughts upon her so she agreed with him? His hands twitched at his sides, fingers clenching tightly. Together they'd leave Mount Weather and crush the armies of the White Witch.
He almost did it. He got as far as lifting his hand, but he stopped before he made contact. "We find the others," he said quietly. "We learn their numbers, and then we destroy without mercy."
Her gaze flickered to his hand, having a good idea of what he’d contemplated doing — bits of his thoughts still lingered in her head from the last time she’d absorbed him — before looking back at him. “Thank you,” Rogue murmured, partly because he’d agreed to wait and also because he hadn’t forced her to do something she didn’t want to. “And we get all of her. Every last bit of Marie.”
Because the girl didn’t deserve to end up as dust outside the doors. She’d get a proper burial when it was all over.
Erik nodded. He touched her then, but it was only to rest his hand against her clothed shoulder. His fingertips were shaking. "None of them will survive this," he said quietly. "Adaar's been commissioning a cell to hold me if I prove uncooperative."
Perhaps she'd have reason to use it.
“I kinda doubt that destroying those who side with Jadis is gonna be seen as uncooperative, Erik,” Rogue told him, laying her hand over his to still his movement. Though it was nice to know that someone was coming up with ways to contain any problems people could end up becoming. “And don’t worry. You cross a line and I’ll do what I need to knock some sense back into you.”
She smiled then, trying to lighten the tension she was feeling even though she meant every word of it.
Erik's attention drifted to their hands. He had to keep reminding himself that unlike Marie, Rogue was actually able to control her powers and her skin could touch his. It didn't stop his breath from hitching for a moment when they made contact, but he slowly relaxed.
He turned over his hand, curling his fingers around hers. His mouth twitched, though he didn't quite smile. "I look forward to you trying to stand in my way."
“Just remember that I’m much more versatile and unpredictable than you are, sugar,” Rogue reminded, before tapping her temple. “Plus I got you up here but you ain’t got a clue what I might be thinking. Probably a bit unfair, but well, be proud of your gifts and all.”
She gave his hand a gentle squeeze before looking him over. “You feeling a bit less...ragey, though?” Probably not by a lot, but anything had to be better than he’d been a few minutes ago.
"No."
It was a tradeoff. Erik was no less angry, but he wasn't going to go out and destroy everything in sight. Instead, he was channeling all of that energy now, using that rage to fuel his plans, refining it into action. He was at his most dangerous when he found the place between rage and serenity, when he wasn't simply lashing out in anger but found a purpose for it, a balance.
He squeezed her hand tightly, using it as an anchor to calm the tremor of rage in his fingertips. The metal around them had stopped warping, at least.
He lifted her hand, lightly pressing a kiss to her knuckles. Not many people got anything near affection from Erik, but Rogue had earned it. "Don't worry about getting rid of me. This is for Marie."
Releasing her hand, he patted her shoulder on his way past her as he walked by. A metal railing on the wall that had twisted out of place suddenly snapped back into shape.
Rogue knew that she would always worry about that. She’d learned long ago that when she didn’t worry about Magneto crossing a line that someone ended up being executed and she was stuck with wondering how she could have prevented it. Even now when the deaths of Jadis and her followers were more than earned she’d watch and be as ready as she could be.
His rage might not have lessened any but he wasn’t running out into the thick of everything so she was going to count that as a win. Even if she couldn’t help but wonder what exactly was going on in Erik’s head as she headed back toward the trial room. She needed to learn what was happening now, what plans were being set into motion, and figure out how best to help.
All the while remembering to watch and wait to intervene if necessary.