Sins of the Father

Sins of the Father Chapter Forty Eight (NC-17)
Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather, Queen of Mad Plotbunnies, BUSIEST WOMAN ALIVE (tm), Prophetic Muse, Hamster Witch and Uberbeta... *squeeeeeee of PoA goodness * InterNutter, TC, Maxwell Pink and Dracena are loverly and wonderful for archiving/hosting. ProPhile: *poke * Morgan: *poke...how you doin'? * Readers/Reviewers: *glomp * *twice *

Rogue groaned, her tongue fuzzy and thick in her mouth. She tried to stretch but found that she hurt too much to truly manage it. Instead, she contented herself with a deep breath, then another. "Holy Hell," she groaned, her hand coming up a little too quickly to press against her ribs. At once, her arm, fingers, hand and back screamed in pain from the simple motion. She bit back another invective and hissed at the sting of tears in her eyes as she tried another breath, this time not so deep. Her vision was blurred as if she were looking through a Vaseline-smeared lens1, but each blink made everything just a smidge more clear. She was on her side, her face pressed against a coarse cloth pillowcase with lumpy filling. She knew she was still dressed, she could feel that much, but her boots were off. Her breath was coming easier now, less like she had nearly drowned and more like she had just awoken; all of her bones ached with that deep sort of pain most often reserved for grief or traumatic accidents.
"You awaken," a soft, almost familiar voice stated from somewhere near her feet. "I was about to slap you and see if that would hasten things."
Pain be damned, Rogue thought, suddenly sitting upright, her body now taut as a bowstring. "Agrona. What the hell is going on here?"
"I am checking on you," she shrugged, tossing her braid over her shoulder. "And I see you are now awake. Good. Dress and we shall get started." She turned away and started towards a door directly across from Rogue's feet.
"Started what?" Rogue demanded, surly. She moved into a crouch, an obvious preparation for a fight, balancing precariously on the bedding as she did so. "Agrona, I can kill you twice before you hit the floor so don't even think of fucking with me. Talk. Now."
The other girl smiled, obviously abused. "Sweet Marie, so bitchy and tough. I wonder if that's why that little greenish boy likes you so well. Ananda finds it amusing. I find it useful." She tilted her head to one side and added, "If you are going to attack me, do it now and get it over with. I need to return to the others soon."
Rogue deflated inside. She could not very well attack someone who wanted to be attacked. That was a sure sign that they were not only expecting it but welcomed it, thriving on the anger and pain that came with it. Slowly, she slid from the bed, standing lightly on the balls of her feet, not sure if she was preparing to run or lunge. "Where am I?"
"Isn't it lovely?" Agrona asked with false brightness. She swept one hand to take in the room, explaining, "Our new benefactor is very generous when it suits him. He refurbished this place just for us..." Her voice took on an almost misty tone as she added, "The lost generation, the missing ones...we needed a home and he gave it to us."
"The Professor?" Rogue asked sharply. She had heard what he had told them and bits and pieces from the others, not painting a pretty picture of the man she considered her mentor and father figure. She did not know what she would do if Agrona said yes.
She did not utter the dreaded syllable. She snorted and dropped her hand to her side. "Magneto. He is the one with foresight and vision. He is the one that saw our true nature and potential." In an almost conspiratorial whisper, she added, "He is the one who made us unstoppable."
Rogue felt a twinge of sick fear before she heard herself speaking. "I don't know how I got here and frankly, I don't care. All I wanna know is where my friends are and how to get the fuck out."
Agrona laughed lightly. "You expect a simple explanation when there is not one available for me to give. What I can tell you is," she was across the room so fast Rogue barely had time to move. Agrona grabbed her by the front of her shirt and lifted her off her feet. "Don't ever show disrespect to me again!"
Rogue snarled, her feet dangling a good foot off the floor. "You ain't as smart as you'd like to think, are ya?" She snapped her foot forward, catching Agrona on the knee with the top of her foot. As soon as she hit the floor, she caught her balance and swept Agrona's feet from under her with her leg, dropping to her knees as her captor fell. "Where. Are. My. Friends?"
Agrona did not even look winded as she stared placidly up at Rogue. "Your anger is all I need to live," she replied cryptically, smiling at Rogue's obvious moue of confusion. Her hand shot out and she grabbed Rogue by the hair, jerking her head down so that her ear almost touched the painted red lips beneath. "Submission is not weakness," she hissed. "It is strength. Bowing to the power of another, serving them as they serve you..."
Rogue grunted as she tried to turn in the other's grip, her hair pulling painfully on her scalp as she moved. "Sorry, hon, .but I ain't lookin' for someone to submit to." Gritting her teeth and steeling herself, Rogue jerked against Agrona's grip, first pushing back against her then jerking forward. Her forehead struck Agrona's with an audible smack, but it was enough. The connection was formed and Agrona's mind cracked open for Rogue, spilling it's glut of information into tangible, sensory experiences and smells. Power was the last to come. Rogue felt it like a wave, inevitable and destructive. She was linked now and could not move. It was almost as if Agrona was willing her to stay, making her stay. Rogue felt the power flood her like honey, thick and sweet and hinting at light, but soon it turned bitter. Her body bowed as Agrona let go of her hair, her limbs hung slack and her eyes rolled to show the whites. She rolled free of Agrona to lay face up on the floor, staring at the absurdly frescoed ceiling. "You..." she finally gasped.
"Yes, I am."
1 Once a popular visual effect to soften hard lines on film. Cheesecloth or gauze over the lens was also used. Now go forth and share the knowledge...