Persistence of Memory
folder
X-Men - Animated Series (all) › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
57
Views:
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Category:
X-Men - Animated Series (all) › General
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
57
Views:
8,002
Reviews:
68
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own X-Men Evolution, or any of the characters from it. I make no money from from the writing of this story.
40
Persistence of Memory Chapter Forty (NC-17)
Persistence of Memory Chapter Forty (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply
A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST
WOMAN ALIVE ™, Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta… Have you seen about
six green sparkley muses? I’m missing
mine… InterNutter, TC and Maxwell Pink
are wonderful for archiving! J ProPhile wasn’t credited for the Leech
bit. Sorry! L Bad Nemain! Bad! Morgan…you there?
Readers/Reviewers: *happy pagan dance *
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Um…normal?”
“Yeah…perfectly
normal.”
“And just
what do you mean by ‘normal’?”
Jamie and
Rahne exchanged scared glances. “Um.”
Jamie said cautiously, “you know…we do homework and stuff…”
“Are you
gifted?”
Rahne
frowned slightly. “I’m good with
algebra.”
Stevens
chuckled faintly. “Are you gifted in
other ways?” It had become clear
within the first minute of the interview that these two had no idea about the
scripted questions and, being left alone with them for a few moments while the
Ororo, as she introduced herself, tended to a small emergency,seizseized the
opportunity. “I saw the video tape from
the school and you know, there’s just no easy way to say this…I think you’re
liars.”
Jamie stood
up and glowered at the man. “We’re not
lying about anything!”
Rahne
sighed at the sight of Jamie’s crossed fingers behind his back. “People think we’re weird because we live
here at the Institute. People always
hatat tat they can’t understand.”
“Like
mutants?”
“Yes,
like…No!” Rahne leapt to her feet,
horrified. “Not like mutants! Like…physics and Spam and how they get those
ships in the bottles…that sort of thing!”
Jamie used
his sternest voice when he said, “We refuse to answer any questions not on your
list!”
Stevens
raised a brow and sat back. He knew he
had them good and nervous now, and more likely to slip up. “My li
We
Well, my list is quite interesting.
Nothing like that one your…ah…teachers?…gave me. Not one thing on mine about your favorite
subject or what you do in your free time.
Let’s see…when did you first discover you were mutants?”
Rahne
barely stifled a growl. “We’re not
answering that!”
Jamie
frowned thoughtfully. “Now, Rahne, just
a minute…maybe we should.”
“What? Are ye daft?” she cried, her accent
thickening exponentially. “He’s trying
to get us to say we’re…”
“I know,”
Jamie said slowly. “We should just give
him what he’s looking for.”
Stevens
smiled broadly. “We don’t have much
time…”
“We’ll
answer your questions for a price, Stevens,” Jamie said firmly, ignoring
Rahne’s horrified expression. “Fifty
dollars each.”
Stevens had
half way expected this. He had brought
two hundred dollars in small bills for just such an occasion. After handing Jamie the requested amo he he
sat back and made a ‘go on’ gesture.
“Well?”
“No tape
recorder,” Jamie said, pointing to the black plastic device on the table
between them. “You want to know what we
have to say, you take notes the old
fashioned way.[1]”
Stevens
rolled his eyes and retrieved a notepad and some pens from his satchel. When he returned his attention to the duo,
he caught Rahne hissing something under her breath to Jamie. “What was that?”
“Nothing,”
Jamie said pleasantly, waving the query off.
“Now, you want to know when we first discovered we were mutants?” He leaned forward conspiratorially, licking
his lips. “Do you believe in aliens?”
Rahne
nearly choked on her own tongue.
“Jamie!”
“He wanted
the truth, Rahne, so let’s tell him.
I’m tired of hiding, tired of keeping this secret from the world!” He stood and began pacing. “My mother was abducted by aliens in the
early eighties. It was all covered up,
of course…they impregnated her and when it came time for me to be born, they
were disappointed that I looked human and not like a gray.[2]”
“Jamie!”
Rahne said again, following his line.
“You know that’s a lie!” She
turned to Stevens and sighed. “He’s a
little…soft in the head these days.
We’re not aliens.” She smiled
kindly. “We’re secret agents for the
government.”
Jamie
glared at her convincingly. “Rahne! You’ll have to be neutralized now!”
She shot a
fist into the air and cried out, “Wolverines!”[3]
Stevens
dropped his pen. “Now listen, you two…”
Storm burst
in. “What is going on in here?” She had heard Rahne call for Wolverine, she
thought, and was instantly on the defensive.
Her eyes snapped unmistakably and Stevens recoiled.
Jamie
innocently held out the money he had been given. “He tried to bribe us and make
us say we’re mutants.”
Rahne
nodded furiously. “He scared me!” she
sobbed, turning on the waterworks.
Storm
grabbed Stevens’ arm. “Out. Now.”
He seized
his rs ars and began stuffing them into his satchel. “There’s been a misunderstanding…”
“I’ll say,”
Storm snapped. “Where’s your
photographer?”
“With that
Irish guy,” Stevens sighed. He knew he
was screwed. “Look, I can see you were
unprepared for one reason or another…I’m more than willing to reschedule.”
Storm
paused mid-ejection. It was tempting to
accept on the spot, take the chance to keep the true nature of the Institute hidden
just a little while longer. Instead,
she said calmly, “We’ll call you.”
Stevens
nodded and shot a glare at the two teenagers.
“We can stick to the questions you gave me…”
“I think,”
Storm said, leading him to the study door where Piotr waited on the other side,
“that will be up for some debate.”
Jamie edged
towards the window as Storm closed the study door. He wondered if he could leap out before she turned around. “Storm,” he began, only to be cut off by a
crackle of electricity.
“I do not
even want to know right now. There is
too much going on to deal with your practical joking, Jamie.”
Rahne spoke
up. “I went with it, too…”
“Enough!”
Storm said sternly. “Do you have any
idea how important this interview was?”
“Then why
did we get stuck with it?” Jamie said sukily.
Storm
closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. “Go
to your rooms. I’ll speak with you
later!”
“Storm,”
Rahne said plaintively, “you don’t understand…”
“Go!”
Rogue cried
tearlessly, pacing the bank of the river.
She had long left the Institute property, following the river towards
the bay in the hopes of finding a narrow crossing, one less swollen with rain
and tide. It was no use, she
thought. She had been out all night,
her fingers were numb and her boots were starting to leak. Her clothes were torn from a tumble down a
bank fraught with brambles in the dark and she was starving. She was sure she would have at least been to
the ntowntown by now, somewhere she could find at least a vending machine so
she could get some crackers, a bus station she could get warm in and take a nap… She thought, not for the first time, of Todd
and how much he must hate her right then, how she had run off and left him with
just a letter. But I can’t go back…I
can’t take the voices, the feelings…
She collapsed onto the muddy bank and buried her face in her hands. She sobbed brokenly, rocking back and forth,
feeling the mud squish beneath her. I’m
so sorry, Todd. I’m sorry,
Professor. I’m not as strong as I
pretend to be. I’m running again…
“Rogue, you
leave the most obvious trail…”
Her head
snapped up and she scrambled to her feet, struggling to look like she was just resting
for a moment. “What the fuck are you
doing here, Lance?”
“She made
me come,” he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulderwherwhere Amara was
following amoremore sedate pace.
Rogue did
not know whether to laugh, cry or yell.
Amara saved her from making the decision. “You’re being an idiot and we’re taking you back home.”
“I ain’t
gotta home anymore.”
“Oh,
Jupiter, you’re being dense. You went
weird. So? You are not leaving me there to deal with your boyfriend
on my own!”
Lance
frowned. “Hey! I’d have to deal with him, too, you know!”
Amara
glared and continued, “I have walked through mud, water and something I very
much hope was an old burrito[4]
to get here and damn it, you’re coming back with me!”
Lance
sighed. “Look, Rogue, she dragged me
outta bed at one a.m. to follow you out here.
I’m tired, I’m cold, I’m wet and I’m really hungry. So come on…we can call a cab or Logan or
something. “You don’t
understand,” Rogue growled.
“No,” Amara
said loudly, in her best Obey Me voice, “you don’t understand. You ran off like a little girl. If I have to put up with crap, you do.”
“The voices…”
“Every time
I close my eyes,” Amara growled, pushing Lance to one side, “I see my father
casting me out of Nova Roma. I see my mother, slaughtered with the priestesses
who protected me. I see the two…things…who
tried to rape me… Voices would be a
welcome change!”
Rogue
prowled towards Amara, trying not to limp due to her turned ankle and aching
feet. “This isn’t some schizo thing,”
she snapped. “Empath…”
Amara
struck. Rogue was close enough for the
punch to have maximum effect and off guard enough to not be able to block
it. She went down like a sack of wet
cement.
Lance
gawked. “You knocked her out!”
“It’s not
fair, really,” Amara sighed, rubbing her knuckles. “She was weak from hunger
and cold. And I thing I jammed my fingers!”
“Why…”
“She wouldn’t
come with us otherwise, I know that for sure.
Let’s get her back.”
“I’m not
carrying her that far!”
Amara
shrugged. “Okay.” Out of one of her jacket pockets, she pulled
a cel phone.
“You had a
phone this whole time? We could’ve
called for help!”
“We didn’t
need any,” she muttered as she dialed. “Besides,
I’m way over my limit on minutes. Storm
is going to it it from me.” After a
moment’s pause, she said, “It’s me…what do you mean who? It’s Amara!
Look, we need someone to come get us….” Covering the mouthpiece, she
said, “Where are we?”
“Hell if I
know!”
“Where the
backyard runs into the riveshe she sighed.
Hanging up, she said, “We’ll have to drag her.”
“She won’t
stay out that long.”
“Then I’ll
hit her again.”
“I don’t
think she’ll let you…” Lance grunted and heaved Rogue carefully onto his
shoulders, making sure to have as many layers between him and her as
possible. “Why did you do this, Amara?”
She sighed
and began walking. “Rogue and I are too
much alike to let her ruin her life.”
“You did
this because…you like her?”
“If you
tell her, I’ll kill you in your sleep.”
“Amara cares
about someone?” he teased. “Be still my
beating heart!”
“Keep it up
and I won’t wait for you to fall asleep…”
A/N Okay, I didn’t get to Pietro…He’s first next time. I promise!
[1] I so did not
mean for that to rhyme.
[2] The most
common depiction of an alien—large head, large almond shaped black eyes…you
know the sort.
[3] Ever see
“Red Dawn”?
[4] That was
from some t.v. shot fot for the life of me, I can’t remember which one…
Persistence of Memory Chapter Forty (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply
A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST
WOMAN ALIVE ™, Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta… Have you seen about
six green sparkley muses? I’m missing
mine… InterNutter, TC and Maxwell Pink
are wonderful for archiving! J ProPhile wasn’t credited for the Leech
bit. Sorry! L Bad Nemain! Bad! Morgan…you there?
Readers/Reviewers: *happy pagan dance *
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Um…normal?”
“Yeah…perfectly
normal.”
“And just
what do you mean by ‘normal’?”
Jamie and
Rahne exchanged scared glances. “Um.”
Jamie said cautiously, “you know…we do homework and stuff…”
“Are you
gifted?”
Rahne
frowned slightly. “I’m good with
algebra.”
Stevens
chuckled faintly. “Are you gifted in
other ways?” It had become clear
within the first minute of the interview that these two had no idea about the
scripted questions and, being left alone with them for a few moments while the
Ororo, as she introduced herself, tended to a small emergency,seizseized the
opportunity. “I saw the video tape from
the school and you know, there’s just no easy way to say this…I think you’re
liars.”
Jamie stood
up and glowered at the man. “We’re not
lying about anything!”
Rahne
sighed at the sight of Jamie’s crossed fingers behind his back. “People think we’re weird because we live
here at the Institute. People always
hatat tat they can’t understand.”
“Like
mutants?”
“Yes,
like…No!” Rahne leapt to her feet,
horrified. “Not like mutants! Like…physics and Spam and how they get those
ships in the bottles…that sort of thing!”
Jamie used
his sternest voice when he said, “We refuse to answer any questions not on your
list!”
Stevens
raised a brow and sat back. He knew he
had them good and nervous now, and more likely to slip up. “My li
We
Well, my list is quite interesting.
Nothing like that one your…ah…teachers?…gave me. Not one thing on mine about your favorite
subject or what you do in your free time.
Let’s see…when did you first discover you were mutants?”
Rahne
barely stifled a growl. “We’re not
answering that!”
Jamie
frowned thoughtfully. “Now, Rahne, just
a minute…maybe we should.”
“What? Are ye daft?” she cried, her accent
thickening exponentially. “He’s trying
to get us to say we’re…”
“I know,”
Jamie said slowly. “We should just give
him what he’s looking for.”
Stevens
smiled broadly. “We don’t have much
time…”
“We’ll
answer your questions for a price, Stevens,” Jamie said firmly, ignoring
Rahne’s horrified expression. “Fifty
dollars each.”
Stevens had
half way expected this. He had brought
two hundred dollars in small bills for just such an occasion. After handing Jamie the requested amo he he
sat back and made a ‘go on’ gesture.
“Well?”
“No tape
recorder,” Jamie said, pointing to the black plastic device on the table
between them. “You want to know what we
have to say, you take notes the old
fashioned way.[1]”
Stevens
rolled his eyes and retrieved a notepad and some pens from his satchel. When he returned his attention to the duo,
he caught Rahne hissing something under her breath to Jamie. “What was that?”
“Nothing,”
Jamie said pleasantly, waving the query off.
“Now, you want to know when we first discovered we were mutants?” He leaned forward conspiratorially, licking
his lips. “Do you believe in aliens?”
Rahne
nearly choked on her own tongue.
“Jamie!”
“He wanted
the truth, Rahne, so let’s tell him.
I’m tired of hiding, tired of keeping this secret from the world!” He stood and began pacing. “My mother was abducted by aliens in the
early eighties. It was all covered up,
of course…they impregnated her and when it came time for me to be born, they
were disappointed that I looked human and not like a gray.[2]”
“Jamie!”
Rahne said again, following his line.
“You know that’s a lie!” She
turned to Stevens and sighed. “He’s a
little…soft in the head these days.
We’re not aliens.” She smiled
kindly. “We’re secret agents for the
government.”
Jamie
glared at her convincingly. “Rahne! You’ll have to be neutralized now!”
She shot a
fist into the air and cried out, “Wolverines!”[3]
Stevens
dropped his pen. “Now listen, you two…”
Storm burst
in. “What is going on in here?” She had heard Rahne call for Wolverine, she
thought, and was instantly on the defensive.
Her eyes snapped unmistakably and Stevens recoiled.
Jamie
innocently held out the money he had been given. “He tried to bribe us and make
us say we’re mutants.”
Rahne
nodded furiously. “He scared me!” she
sobbed, turning on the waterworks.
Storm
grabbed Stevens’ arm. “Out. Now.”
He seized
his rs ars and began stuffing them into his satchel. “There’s been a misunderstanding…”
“I’ll say,”
Storm snapped. “Where’s your
photographer?”
“With that
Irish guy,” Stevens sighed. He knew he
was screwed. “Look, I can see you were
unprepared for one reason or another…I’m more than willing to reschedule.”
Storm
paused mid-ejection. It was tempting to
accept on the spot, take the chance to keep the true nature of the Institute hidden
just a little while longer. Instead,
she said calmly, “We’ll call you.”
Stevens
nodded and shot a glare at the two teenagers.
“We can stick to the questions you gave me…”
“I think,”
Storm said, leading him to the study door where Piotr waited on the other side,
“that will be up for some debate.”
Jamie edged
towards the window as Storm closed the study door. He wondered if he could leap out before she turned around. “Storm,” he began, only to be cut off by a
crackle of electricity.
“I do not
even want to know right now. There is
too much going on to deal with your practical joking, Jamie.”
Rahne spoke
up. “I went with it, too…”
“Enough!”
Storm said sternly. “Do you have any
idea how important this interview was?”
“Then why
did we get stuck with it?” Jamie said sukily.
Storm
closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. “Go
to your rooms. I’ll speak with you
later!”
“Storm,”
Rahne said plaintively, “you don’t understand…”
“Go!”
Rogue cried
tearlessly, pacing the bank of the river.
She had long left the Institute property, following the river towards
the bay in the hopes of finding a narrow crossing, one less swollen with rain
and tide. It was no use, she
thought. She had been out all night,
her fingers were numb and her boots were starting to leak. Her clothes were torn from a tumble down a
bank fraught with brambles in the dark and she was starving. She was sure she would have at least been to
the ntowntown by now, somewhere she could find at least a vending machine so
she could get some crackers, a bus station she could get warm in and take a nap… She thought, not for the first time, of Todd
and how much he must hate her right then, how she had run off and left him with
just a letter. But I can’t go back…I
can’t take the voices, the feelings…
She collapsed onto the muddy bank and buried her face in her hands. She sobbed brokenly, rocking back and forth,
feeling the mud squish beneath her. I’m
so sorry, Todd. I’m sorry,
Professor. I’m not as strong as I
pretend to be. I’m running again…
“Rogue, you
leave the most obvious trail…”
Her head
snapped up and she scrambled to her feet, struggling to look like she was just resting
for a moment. “What the fuck are you
doing here, Lance?”
“She made
me come,” he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulderwherwhere Amara was
following amoremore sedate pace.
Rogue did
not know whether to laugh, cry or yell.
Amara saved her from making the decision. “You’re being an idiot and we’re taking you back home.”
“I ain’t
gotta home anymore.”
“Oh,
Jupiter, you’re being dense. You went
weird. So? You are not leaving me there to deal with your boyfriend
on my own!”
Lance
frowned. “Hey! I’d have to deal with him, too, you know!”
Amara
glared and continued, “I have walked through mud, water and something I very
much hope was an old burrito[4]
to get here and damn it, you’re coming back with me!”
Lance
sighed. “Look, Rogue, she dragged me
outta bed at one a.m. to follow you out here.
I’m tired, I’m cold, I’m wet and I’m really hungry. So come on…we can call a cab or Logan or
something. “You don’t
understand,” Rogue growled.
“No,” Amara
said loudly, in her best Obey Me voice, “you don’t understand. You ran off like a little girl. If I have to put up with crap, you do.”
“The voices…”
“Every time
I close my eyes,” Amara growled, pushing Lance to one side, “I see my father
casting me out of Nova Roma. I see my mother, slaughtered with the priestesses
who protected me. I see the two…things…who
tried to rape me… Voices would be a
welcome change!”
Rogue
prowled towards Amara, trying not to limp due to her turned ankle and aching
feet. “This isn’t some schizo thing,”
she snapped. “Empath…”
Amara
struck. Rogue was close enough for the
punch to have maximum effect and off guard enough to not be able to block
it. She went down like a sack of wet
cement.
Lance
gawked. “You knocked her out!”
“It’s not
fair, really,” Amara sighed, rubbing her knuckles. “She was weak from hunger
and cold. And I thing I jammed my fingers!”
“Why…”
“She wouldn’t
come with us otherwise, I know that for sure.
Let’s get her back.”
“I’m not
carrying her that far!”
Amara
shrugged. “Okay.” Out of one of her jacket pockets, she pulled
a cel phone.
“You had a
phone this whole time? We could’ve
called for help!”
“We didn’t
need any,” she muttered as she dialed. “Besides,
I’m way over my limit on minutes. Storm
is going to it it from me.” After a
moment’s pause, she said, “It’s me…what do you mean who? It’s Amara!
Look, we need someone to come get us….” Covering the mouthpiece, she
said, “Where are we?”
“Hell if I
know!”
“Where the
backyard runs into the riveshe she sighed.
Hanging up, she said, “We’ll have to drag her.”
“She won’t
stay out that long.”
“Then I’ll
hit her again.”
“I don’t
think she’ll let you…” Lance grunted and heaved Rogue carefully onto his
shoulders, making sure to have as many layers between him and her as
possible. “Why did you do this, Amara?”
She sighed
and began walking. “Rogue and I are too
much alike to let her ruin her life.”
“You did
this because…you like her?”
“If you
tell her, I’ll kill you in your sleep.”
“Amara cares
about someone?” he teased. “Be still my
beating heart!”
“Keep it up
and I won’t wait for you to fall asleep…”
A/N Okay, I didn’t get to Pietro…He’s first next time. I promise!
[1] I so did not
mean for that to rhyme.
[2] The most
common depiction of an alien—large head, large almond shaped black eyes…you
know the sort.
[3] Ever see
“Red Dawn”?
[4] That was
from some t.v. shot fot for the life of me, I can’t remember which one…