Marvel: Visionary’s Dawn

I've seen better days, Rogue thought, remembering when she first came to the mansion. Where she wasn't met with trust, only naked, suspicious eyes followed her steps, for she once belonged to the Brotherhood. 

That was the time Rogue decided that she wouldn't run away like she always did, from her home in Mississippi and the numerous times when things didn't go her way.

She'd seen her fair share of fights, bruises, and tears with the X-Men until she gradually became an indispensable member of the team. 

Now, with one hand on the steering wheel, driving through moonlit New York streets, she couldn't calm the worry gnawing at her.

''Should Ah go? Or not…'' She muttered, her gloved hand tightening on the steering wheel.

''Why should we trust the writing of a stupid book?'' She huffed. Storm had approached her and the rest of the X-Men, informing them that she was going to look for something called Destiny's books.

Supposedly, a series of diaries written by a precognitive mutant. There were thirteen in total, recording different predictions of different timelines, and the fates of the mutants and Earth as a whole. If misused, they could shape history itself.

Storm had decided that she'd form a team with Psylocke, Sage, Bishop, and other mutants to prevent the series of books from falling into the wrong hands.

Charles, as always, was concerned about the fate of mutants and their place in the world. Without hesitation, he approved Storm's departure from the team, and both of them extended an invitation to Rogue to join. 

Perhaps if it had been another time, she'd have gone with her in a heartbeat. However, every time she hung on the precipice of accepting, Adam's face and his troubles would pull her back.

"Damn it," She struck the wheel. A loud honk startled the car in front, it moved to the right leaving a wide berth for her to overtake

She stepped on the gas, swiftly passing through the sparsely crowded roads of Hunts Point.

"Am I really starving for touch?" She whispered, shrinking into a bubble of embarrassment. 

That moment when she touched Adam's hand kept replaying inside her head.

When her heart thumped against her chest, she was anxiously waiting for a catastrophe to happen like it always did. But, there was no surge of power, no memories or alters poisoning the fields of her psyche. 

Only warmth, comfort, and disbelief.

That moment added something to her life: hope. 

"Moma, moma…your daughter is hopeless…" 

Following the GPS directions, she parked the van next to a series of industrial buildings and warehouses.

Now, why in the world did he decide to meet here? She took her phone and looked outside the window. There was no sight of Adam. The street was dark, a neglected corner of the city where crime and runaways thrived.

Worriedly, she took her phone to dial his number. 

KNOCK, KNOCK.

Her phone fell out of her hand as she yelped, startled by Adam, who crept his way beside the vehicle, looking quite amused by her reaction.

"You're way too careless," His voice came muffled behind the raised window.

Turning off the engine, Rogue got out of the van and looked at Adam disapprovingly.

"You shouldn't do that. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest." 

Adam's smile didn't fade. "I would've caught it." 

"Really?" Rogue said, lifting her brows.

Adam's smile faltered as he coughed, hoping to ease his awkwardness.

"Well… cough, cough.. anyway, how have you been?"

"Not great.." she said, massaging her temple.

"Why, what's wrong?" He asked, reading her complex emotions through her body language.

"We'll talk about it later," she shook her head, then pointed at the ominously deserted alleys and warehouses. 

"Now, tell me, why did you decide for us to meet here?" She said, her voice probing and solemn. She was no stranger to what happened in the dark, and this place was too far from downtown, too quiet and forgotten.

Adam fell silent. Turning to his left, down the long street, there was a much smaller warehouse, fenced with wires, and two German shepherd guard dogs sprawled on the front yard.

"The men who attacked us, I traced them all the way here." His eyes never left the building as if he could see what was inside.

"What did you say?" Rogue's voice rose a notch. Of all the things, she didn't expect him to throw himself into danger.

"What do you want to do? Couldn't you tell the professor or me, we could've at least assembled the team." She continued.

"I know what I'm doing, Rogue," Adam said, measuring his words and suppressing his surging irritation despite the concern in her voice.

"No, you don't!" She caught his shoulders and turned him towards her. "You didn't even learn how to control your powers; you're not trained for this."

"I'm not the same," He shook his head and gently put his finger on her forehead.

Rogue didn't flinch or back away from his action, yet this didn't prepare her when she felt a gentle push against the deepest recess of her being.

A flash of colors blinded her eyes, then she felt light, floating, observing her physical body that was still standing with Adam's support.

Her breath caught, but was she even breathing? Was this even real? She wasn't sure, even her body looked illusory, for a moment, she began to worry.

Adam looked at her, and something flashed within his eyes. In an instant, she was back again, gasping. 

"What was that?" She asked, more shaken than she'd admit.

"I pushed your Astral projection out…I haven't reached full mastery yet, but I'm not helpless as I was before," he said softly.

She fell silent for a moment, wondering what had happened to him during her few hours of absence. So she asked, uncertain and concerned.

"What changed, Adam?"

"A lot," he replied. "I spent a long time in another plane, training… where time flows differently," He said. And yet, of all the people, their meeting felt like it happened just yesterday.

Rogue lowered her head. Silence stretched the tension between them; she didn't want him to put himself in danger. But she couldn't leave him alone either.

"What do you want to do?" She asked, breaking the silence.

Adam looked at her green eyes, hesitating. "You probably know what happened to those three men, right…" 

"What I'm about to do isn't much different." 

Rogue stared at him as if he were another person. Her heart trembled, sad and anxious for him. She removed her gloves and clasped his palm.

"You know, that's not always the answer; there are other solutions." 

Thankfully, Adam sighed in relief. It seemed there was still room for discussion instead of the rhetoric of what's right and wrong.

"You don't understand." He said gently. "Every waking moment, I see through their eyes, Rogue, I know their intentions, what they want to do."

"They're still looking for me," he pressed, while Rogue maintained her silence. "And now that I know about them, if they harm anyone, that'd be on me…. Because I can stop them… forever."

''I need your understanding, I'm not here for vengeance, only preservation.'' He looked her deeply in the eye, hoping his intentions were clear to her.

Adam took a deep breath and freed his hand from her grasp. He turned around and started walking to the warehouse.

"You can come and see for yourself. I'll let you witness their lives. Perhaps you'd understand by then." He said behind his back.

Rogue stood frozen, reason told her to stop him, yet she didn't. 

He kept walking, the distance was growing, she bit her lips and sighed.

You better convince me, Adam. 

She ran, quickly caught up with him, and lightly smacked his shoulder, clearly annoyed.

Adam gave her a sidelong glance, a small smile tugged on his lips that soon vanished, replaced by a grim countenance as soon as they arrived before the warehouse.

The guard dogs readily sprang on their feet, their eyes calmly watching for any sudden move.

Rogue's eyes narrowed. She had a soft spot for dogs, but she wouldn't mind dealing with them to get inside. Well, she had already expected a battle.

Adam wordlessly walked on the concrete-covered yard, unfazed.

"Hey! Wait!" She called for him, but he didn't reply. He walked right between the dogs, and they did nothing as they kept staring at where he was standing, head tilted at an angle, looking confused.

"They can't see us…" Adam said.

She hesitantly followed his steps, glancing at the dog's reaction, which showed no change from their previous stance. Soon, they arrived before the big sliding gate.

"What's the plan?" She asked, the gate looked too strong for her to easily break, moreover their covert operation success relied on the surprise element which would lose its purpose if they did so.

"I got it," he said. He didn't need to open his spirit vision to know everyone had gathered inside. Wordlessly, he reached with a thought.

Iron and metal did nothing to stop his actions as his perception crept like dawn's mist, quiet and cold.

He reached for their mind, effortlessly, he crept inside. He didn't have a clash against their wills, no, he silently took control over them, and they were no longer themselves.

A steady echo of steps rang behind the gate, which helped quell the visible impatience on Rogue's face as she readied herself.

Yet, nothing of what she expected happened as the heavy gate slid open. A brown haired man wearing a tactical suit stared at her.

"See, I told you I got it." The words he uttered were familiar, and a chill crept up her back as she stared at Adam.

"Don't worry!" He reached for her hand and pulled her forward. While she stared as the middle-aged man stepped aside for them to pass.

Once inside, they took an inspecting look at the wide space. The place had seen better days; it was dusty and reeking of mold and rust.

Metal cladding barely holding the wind at bay stretched along the warehouse walls.

Two long electrical lines dangled from the metallic beams, holding two neon lights fastened with chains.

Long Banners containing anti-mutant speech and slogans lay dusted on the ground, purposeless.

In the middle was a sofa, sitting on it were four men who didn't react at all to their entry, guns to their side, and boxes of Chinese takeaway rested on the low wooden table, unfinished.

Rogue was growing restless with every passing second; everything felt too eerie. Charles and Jean had done similar things like this before.

But there was something about how Adam did it, she couldn't put into words.

Am I any different? Her hold on his hand tightened as she thought with self-reproach. She had put people into a coma, she had absorbed their memories, and seized their powers for years.

The facing room's door opening cut off her thoughts as three men came out, gathering with the rest of the soulless group.

"Ah know who they are." She said, examining the banners, their wear, and weapons. "They're anti-mutant terrorists… Friends of humanity…"

"So they're not something new," he asked.

Rogue shook her head, Adam walked passed the men, and entered the room that looked like a dirty office.

Wordlessly, they started searching the place, guns, money, papers with dates of planned protests and gatherings littered the office desk.

A heavy safe was nestled under its shadows. They reached and pulled it out into the light.

Adam's hand turned into sharp claws. He tore the iron safe like it was made of paper. Inside, they found a collection of jewelry that didn't seem to be acquired honestly. And a thin stack of documents.

Rogue flipped through the paper; there was nothing detailed on it except the information about shipments being successfully delivered. And the steady income filling their bank account.

Rogue stood up, she ran a trembling hand through her long hair, this was all familiar to her, the shipments and the regular FOH abduction of mutants.

"I hope I'm wrong…" She muttered, her eyes still fixed on the documents.

Adam looked at her, worried. Perhaps bringing her here was a mistake. He thought.

Getting up, he patted her shoulder and walked out of the office.

"Come, we'll know everything soon enough." He said

They gathered before the eight men sitting obediently on the sofa, blankly staring at nothing.

A thought sprang from Adam. The men didn't react, but their memories were instantly harvested.

His eyes didn't close, but his mind sorted through years of memories in an instant.

A second later, he closed his eyes, shook, and clenched his fist. He had underestimated the harm they had done, the things they did and were willing to do couldn't come out of anything other than a deranged nightmare.

Yet, it was real, and he was a witness to it all.

"What's wrong?" Rogue asked, momentarily forgetting about the shipments, noticing how his face paled quickly.

Adam took a deep breath and looked at her. There was something in his eyes, she noticed, that revealed the horrors of what he had seen.

"Do you want to know what they have done?" He asked. 

Rogue realized from his voice that he was truly worried about what she'd see.

A slow, heavy nod was the answer. Adam sighed. He put his palm on her head and filtered through years of memories, selecting only the atrocities they committed.

Instantly, he was within her mind and poured everything without holding anything back.

Rogue eyes lost focus; she was lost within memories of murder.

Of abduction, torture, rape and pure undisguised hatred. 

One, tens, hundreds, she lost count, and all of them were mutants. 

She wanted to scream, to beg Adam to stop; she couldn't handle it, the horrors she saw clawed on her sanity, about to rip it apart.

Tears streaked down her cheeks as she shook. Adam immediately stopped the memory infusion.

She was about to fall, Adam reached out to steady her, but she pushed his hands and fell to her knees, sobbing, her hands covering her face.

Seconds passed with only the sound of her choking on her tears, before she stood wiping her face and began walking out of the warehouse, leaving only her muffled voice.

"Do what you want…"

Adam stared at her back. He regretted letting her see their deeds.

I twist and break what's around me. He sighed and followed her.

Once outside, he took one last look at the warehouse and continued his way.

BANG, BANG, BANG

Eight consecutive gun shots and the howling of startled dogs rang out behind his back.

He didn't turn around; perhaps there had been some hesitation in him before he peered through their mind, but now, he felt only cold, sad, silently mourning all the victims.

He found Rogue leaning on the van, hands wrapped around her chest, her nose red and tears constantly falling from her eyes.

"You should go home, Rogue." He waited for her to say something, but she didn't.

"I'm heading to their last shipment delivery location. Perhaps I can save someone." He turned around, feeling quite complicated.

"Wait!" She called.

Adam stopped and looked at her eyes; they were different, a reflection of what she once saw in him.

"Is it true?" She asked, forgetting that he had just sifted through their memories.

He nodded, Rogue stared long at him before she said, determined.

"I'll go with you!"

"Are you sure?" Adam's words didn't settle long before she stepped forward.

"JUST TAKE ME WITH YOU DAMN IT."

Her voice spread wide through the empty street. He didn't need to say anything else; he quickly scooped her up in his arms.

"What are you doing?" She asked, startled.

Adam didn't reply; instead, long silver-scaled wings unfolded behind his back.

They flapped once, Rogue screamed, as they instantly were up in the sky. New York was swiftly left behind.

The land blurred beneath them, yet strangely, she didn't feel any strong wind.

Hands wrapped around his neck, she looked at his face, unblinking, staring forward.

Rogue felt something settle within her heart, different from the horror she had witnessed, a moment of warmth. She closed her eyes, allowing herself a moment of rest, lulling herself to forget, even for a moment.

Yet, deep down, she knew something had changed forever; perhaps it needed that change.

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I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and the character's progressionn. Especially Rogue, I love Rogue.