The other X-men weren't even at the island when Rogue had arrived. She beat them by at least 5 minutes.

When they did arrive, they didn't see any of the others. They were well out of sight of the top of the cliff.

Xavier finally got connected to Moira's mind enough to ask her what was going on.

Moira replied that at the moment Kevin seemed to be calm, but he had been having a bad spell just a few minutes earlier.

"It's different than before, Charles," she said. "He was so confused before and upset...but now...it's like he's at war with himself.... I'm frightened for him."

"We'll do our best," Xavier said. "We'll be right there."

* * *

Morph had no sooner heard this than Kurt, Shine, Logan, and Rogue all came into the room.

Banshee was at one of their devices. He looked up.

"Oh...hello," he said. "Here already?"

"Who are your friends?" Moira was puzzled.

"Moira MacTaggert," Shine said. "Or...well, I suppose you're married now. Sorry, old habits."

"Well, you can call me that if it's easier," Moira said. "But who are you?"

"This here is Shine, and this is Kurt. Kurt's my brother," Rogue said, "adopted... And Shine's been stayin' with us for about 2 months now, tryin' to help us with some problems."

She walked up. "She and her husband done got that woman I had in my head out."

"I didn't know about that," Moira said.

"It was true. It was horrible," Rogue said. "But they got her to go back...so's we asked her to come, to help."

"Well...it sounded like you do know something about this," Moira said. "You must be a very powerful telepath. I didna think even Charles could do that."

"I'm not," Shine said. "I'm not a mutant at all." She smiled thinly. "What I have is better than that--a gift from God."

Moira and Banshee stared at her hard.

"It's true," Rogue said. "It works."

"I...don't know how to take that," Banshee said.

"If your son is in a bad way," Shine said, "do you have room to risk error?"

"No," Moira said. "But that is exactly why I don't want you to try anything too strange on him. He has been through enough."

"And he'll put all of us through more if someone doesn't do somethin'," Logan said. "Let 'er take a look, at least."

"Well...if you want to examine 'im, he's in here." Moira glanced at some kind of holding cell. "We couldn't think of anywhere else to put him to help contain his power.... He still goes out of control when he's upset...but he's not usually so upset. He's a real lamb most of the time."

Shine walked up to the wall.

"This is no good," she said. "I have to be closer."

"I wouldn't go in there," Banshee said.

"Is that charge on to control him?" Shine said.

"Not right now. He's tired," Banshee said.

"Kurt." Shine waved. "Take me in there, please. We can pop out if he starts doing something."

"Very well, Frau, but please, be careful," Kurt asked.

He did as she said.

"Extraordinary!" Moira exclaimed.

Logan suddenly sniffed.

"The others are here," he said. "They're close."

* * *

Kevin MacTaggert, in his true state, looked human. He was lying on the floor of the room, looking a little too tired to be normal.

Kurt thought he seemed upset, even though he was still.

When he saw them, he jumped up.

Orange light began to flicker around him.

"Who are you?!" he said.

Shine looked like she was perspiring, but her tone never gave it away. It was soft like a mother's.

"Friends of the X-men," she said. "We're here to help. We heard you were in pain."

Kevin seemed a little bit pacified by her tone.

"I...can't..." he said. "I can't control it... Too much power... I thought I could, but it's impossible... I mean...what is real?"

He had an accent that made it a little hard for Kurt to understand him. But he got the control and the impossible part.

"Ve all have trouble at first," he said.

"What are you?" Kevin looked at him strangely. "And why do you talk like that?"

Kurt was a bit upset. "Vell, I am German and a mutant like you."

"You'll have to excuse Kevin," Shine said. "He has hardly ever left this island and has known very little of any of the outside world."

Kevin blinked at her. "How do you know that?"

"I know a lot," Shine said. "But not enough, it seems. May I try to get a sense of what's bothering you, Kevin?"

"How?" Kevin said warily.

"If I could just make contact, it's easier that way," Shine said. "Or get closer."

Kevin hugged his sides. "Better hurry..."

Shine walked closer. Kurt had the feel as if she'd walked up to a polar bear.

[So she's Russian?]

After a moment of reaching out her hand, Shine's eyes flickered gold.

Then she sighed. "Aw...Kevin, I'm so sorry."

"What?!" Kevin sounded alarmed.

"As we get older, we begin to see more," Shine said slowly. "But it is not always pleasant, to grapple with our own existence. The truth is, you do not really know who you are, do you? Is that making you feel this agony?"

Kevin's whole yellow aura flickered, becoming brighter. "I...don't know what you mean."

"Whatever this aura is," Shine said, "this anger...and fear...it's unsettling you, isn't it? It is hard to trust when you feel so uncertain of the world. Everyone goes through it, usually. It's not something strange."

"I...don't know what you're talking about," Kevin said. "I am certain of things. I trust."

"Kevin," Shine said seriously, "it's no use pretending, not for your mother, or Banshee, or anyone. It's just as before--you must face it. But it does not have to be so horrible."

"Face...no!" Kevin suddenly exhibited rage.

Orange energy covered his body making him look inhuman, and Shine and Kurt were thrown back.

The walls contorted.

"Get out of there!" Moira called at them over the speakers.

Kurt grabbed Shine and yanked her out of the room, poofing.

Kevin opened the walls and ran out of them.

"And that's what I was afraid would happen..." Banshee said.

"What did you say to him, Sugar?" Rogue helped Shine sit up.

Shine was gasping from the heat of that blast.

"I think I touched a nerve..." she said.

"Oh no..." Moira said. "I thought you said you could help!"

"I could help," Shine said. "At least...sort of, but it's not as simple as that.... I think you have missed a few things in your treatments.... Do you ever talk to Kevin about what happened in the past?"

"No...he hasn't brought it up," Moira said.

"Oh, that's just so freaking typical!" Shine was suddenly livid.

She jumped to her feet, yanking away from Rogue. "Not a mutant in this dang world seems to want to talk about anything! The lot of you act like you just want to stay this way!"

"What are you gettin' angry about?" Logan said. "It ain't their fault."

"I forgot," Shine said. "This is the 80s.... It was taboo to talk about your problems then...not that I think the obsession over it in my time is much better, but some mid-point there ought to be good. I... Don't you get it? Kevin, your son, he's not okay with this! Why does he have to have a series of fits for anyone around here to get that? It's so very simple."

"I do not understand," Moira said. 

"He's not old enough to be patient, Moira," Shine said. "And not wise enough either. You really can't wait till you're completely healed up to start to live... You have to do your best to try from where you are, and then you grow, become a complete human being...not half of one. This is not rocket science, this is just how people work."

"Shine, don't yell at her," Rogue said. "She's just worried about him."

"Oh, I can see that," Shine said. "That's just the problem--she's way too worried about him. Well, someone had better catch up to that boy before he does something stupid." She sighed. "I hope he's not too upset now."

"Wait." Wally finally found them. "Do you want help?"

Shine looked at him.

So did the others.

"Who's that?" Banshee said helplessly.

"Her husband," Rogue said.

"Moira?" they heard Xavier calling right then.

"All right, yes," Shine said. "Kurt, if you could follow us." 

"I vill be right behind you," Kurt said.

Wally and Shine vanished in a flash, and Kurt poofed out of the room.

"Um...was I the only one who didn't get what they were doin'?" Rogue asked.

"Nope," Logan said.

"Oh, Kevin..." Moira cried... "What have I done to yer now?"

"Did anyone catch what they said to him in there?" Banshee said. "It was kind of quiet."

"Somethin' about uncertainty," Logan said.

The other X-men came charging in and then stopped short.

"Logan?" Storm said.

"Rogue?" Hank said. "You beat us here after all."

"I...picked up Logan," Rogue said. It was kind of true.

"Well, nice to see one of you came to your senses," Scott said.

Logan knocked Scott into the wall.

"Logan!" Jean said.

"If it weren't for you and yer big mouth," Logan snarled, "maybe we'd be in a better position right now. I'm goin' after 'em."

He ran out of the room.

"After who?" Storm said.

"Kevin done run off already," Rogue said. "He was powerful upset. He might leave the island..."

"We had better head him off from any of the boats," Xavier said. "Rogue, Hank, can you handle that? And, Morph, you go."

"Sure," Morph said. "We'll have everything shipshape."

No one laughed.

"What about me?" Jubilee said.

"Stay here and guard Moira," Xavier said.

"No, Charles, I want to follow him," Moira said.

"But it may not be safe," Xavier said.

"He is still my son," Moira said.

Xavier shook his head. "Very well, but...if there's trouble, you should stay back. Everyone else, let us follow Logan."

Scott was rubbing his head. "And when we do find him, I'll have some serious words for him."

"Perhaps the less said the better." Storm's whole tone didn't bode well for Scott.

Scott was as afraid of Storm as everyone else was.

"Uh...perhaps..." he said weakly.

* * *

https://youtu.be/YQWs0AYFq4k

Mystique didn't really care what was going on inside, but it was dull being out here...and kind of cold. It was the end of the day by now; the sea air in Scotland was not warm. She shifted into thicker clothes, but it didn't help that much.

She was trying to find a wall that was more out of the wind when one of the walls opened up like it was a warp gate, and a very odd-looking thing came running out of it...and then looked at her.

Mystique knew it must be the kid.

He started to come towards her.

Mystique had every justification for her reaction: She shrieked and ran for it.

Even with her injuries, she was pretty fast.

Kevin, not really having the focus at the moment to chase one target, just kept on his path.

Mystique was running toward the water, when she tripped and took a tumble several yards.

After the pain and nausea passed from that, she sat up.

Despite how much it hurt, the pain wasn't lasting as long... She must actually be recovering finally. It was more sore now than really damaged. Hank was a good doctor if nothing else. 

"Well, that looked nasty." Sabretooth's voice jarred her worse than the tumble.

Of course he would have found her.

"This sort of reminds me of how we met," Sabretooth said. 

"The part where I was running?" Mystique said snidely. "Go away..."

"But I'm bored," Sabretooth said. "And they ain't coming back."

"Listen, you meathead," Mystique said scathingly, "don't get any ideas. There's something really terrifying on this island--I just saw it. A wrong move from us, and it could...'"

She stopped as she suddenly saw Kevin coming their way, not with any real aim, but on his way toward the shore.

But when he saw them, he zeroed in on them.

"Run," Mystique said, stumbling to her feet. She didn't like the look of Kevin at all.

"What is that?" Sabretooth said. "He doesn't look so tough."

"Don't be a fool," Mystique said. "You have no idea what that child is capable of."

"He's just a little kid," Sabretooth said. "I can handle kids."

He bared his teeth. "You want to tussle?"

Mystique really wouldn't have believed what she saw next happened if she hadn't been right in front of it.

Kevin raced at Sabretooth...and then he phased inside of him.

Sabretooth got an odd look...like it wasn't really his.

"Who are you people?" His voice was not his tone either.

Mystique screamed again. She couldn't help it--it was too shocking.

Then she turned into something fearsome-looking.

That was the worst thing she could have done, because Kevin was scared enough already, but once he saw that, he just swung blindly at her and knocked her into the hillside again.

"Leave me alone! What are you! Monster!" Kevin yelled...coming out of Sabretooth, who just looked confused before falling over.

Mystique tried to scream again, and couldn't.

Suddenly something plucked her off the ground and carried her into the air.

She thought it was Rogue for a moment, but, instead, she recognized Archangel.

"Sorry to just swoop in," he said. "But that looked ugly. What on earth is that thing?"

"It... The..." Mystique sputtered.

"Warren!" Kevin yelped. "I'm frightened..."

"Kevin?" Archangel said. "What on earth on you doing like that? Where's your mother?"

"I..." Suddenly the air and ground around Kevin started to contort.

Archangel just barely evaded it by flying out of range, but the whole hillside looked like a really messed up, tie-dyed patchwork of colors that almost made Mystique throw up.

"That power is horrifying," she said.

"Well, it's a little much," Archangel said. "Who are you? You look familiar..."

Had he forgotten?

"I..." Mystique faltered. "I'm Mystique... I doubt you've heard of me."

"No, I don't think I have--" Archangel suddenly stopped. "Wait...Mystique...no, I remember. You were wanted by the police for helping Apocalypse, weren't you? Along with me and a bunch of other mutants...but I don't remember you being one of his horsemen."

"I wasn't," Mystique said.

"Then what were you?" Archangel suddenly looked real dark. "One of the ones kidnapping Psions? No one works for that monster who's in their right mind."

Mystique thought, ...He's going to know anyway.... What cruel irony--saving me, probably the person he hates the most, next to Apocalypse.

"Tell me." Archangel suddenly held her out. They were over the water now.

Mystique smiled the smile of people who know they are screwed either way.

She morphed into the doctor she'd impersonated at the time of Angel's brainwashing.

As expected, Archangel gasped in horror. "You...! You were that scientist! The one with the fake cure."

"And you were that fool with the wings," Mystique said. "Must have been quite the shock for you, realizing you just helped one of your worst enemies."

Archangel's whole expression became pure rage. "A mistake I can remedy easily enough."

He dropped her.

Mystique figured he'd do that.

She managed to turn into something like a fish part of the way down and slip under the water without breaking every bone in her body. Luckily, he wasn't that high off the ground; he'd been circling back to land.

Archangel wasn't content to just see her slip into the water. He flew down towards the edge.

"If you won't drown that easy, I'll make sure of it!" he said, shooting spiky feathers into the water after her.

[Anyone else think Hawks was just ripping off this power in MHA?]

"Excuse me!" Hank's voice cut in suddenly.

Archangel looked towards the shore. Hank, Morph, Rogue, and Jubilee were all there. Xavier had decided this was the safest option for Jubilee.

"What are you shootin' at?" Rogue called. Her accent especially noticeable.

Mystique couldn't stay under for that much longer in this form...plus she was pretty sure he'd at least grazed her, even with how deep she dove, but she heard none of what was going on above. She just swam for it.

"She'll get away," Archangel said.

"She?" Hank said.

Rogue suddenly got a weird look. "Oh no...Warren, did you find Mystique?"

"That b----!" Warren did not give you the impression of one who'd swear, so he was livid really beyond all rationality. "Yes, the one who made me into this!"

"Uh oh..." Rogue said. "I didn't think about this happenin'. We should have left her on the mainland."

"Uh...wait, is that the guy?" Morph said.

"Warren, I hope you are not taking blind revenge," Hank said.

"You stay out of this." Warren pointed his wings at them.

Mystique finally broke the surface, now in her usual form, and tried to tread water. Her head was starting to get light again.

She was hard to see for the others, against the blue water, but Warren either had the eyes of an eagle with the wings of an angel, or hatred made him more attentive.

"There!" He swooped at her.

"Warren!" Rogue said.

"Rogue, stop him!" Hank said. "And someone must retrieve her and get her out of here."

Jubilee tried to shoot at Warren.

Hank was going to jump in after, but Morph said, "Hank, you've gotta tell those boats to go. Rogue and I got this. You two run, look." He pointed.

Kevin could be seen still on the hillside, now moving sideways but towards the water.

"I believe you're right--we have no time," Hank said. "Good luck." He started running along toward the dock. It wasn't that far from here--in fact, Warren had been going to drop Mystique there before he knew who she was.

Rogue finally had caught Warren by one foot and was trying to yank him back.

"Let me go!" he said.

Rogue pulled off one glove with her teeth. "Sorry to do this to you, Warren!" She yanked him down and grabbed his arm.

Warren yelled as she started to absorb it.

Rogue's eyes went blank.

"Ah!!!" she screamed. "I hate you! I hate you all! You did this to me! You took away my life! You took away who I am!!! I'll kill you!!!"

Morph hadn't seen Rogue like this in a while, and it was scary as heck to watch.

"Mystique!" he yelled. "Better hurry if you're going to survive this."

No sign of her.

"Huh..." Morph said. "Uh oh..." 

He jumped in the water and turned into a dolphin.

Mystique had, in fact, gotten hit with one feather, and then Warren had shoved her back under the water before Rogue could stop him. Rogue had yanked him away, but Mystique hadn't come up with him.

Mystique felt kind of numb, and her efforts to swim were getting weaker and weaker...

Morph finally found her and dragged her up towards the rocks.

When they emerged from the water, Rogue had let go of Warren, and she was still yelling.

Warren drifted weakly to the ground and started crying.

Mystique coughed up water she'd swallowed.

"Ah...it's too cold for this," Morph whined, now that he was soaked.

Mystique blinked at him, then at Rogue.

Rogue started writhing and crying just like Warren.

"Make it stop... Get out of my head..."

Mystique bit her lip, then she burst into tears also, silent ones, but still...

"This is my fault..." she said, real quiet. "All of it..."

Warren looked up.

"You!" He staggered to his feet and pointed at her, staggering because he had little energy left. "You think that just because they stopped me that makes it okay?! Evil or no evil, I still hate you. What kind of person does that to anyone?! You're just like Apocalypse, heartless."

Mystique slowly stood up.

Warren glared at her.

But Mystique just smiled very oddly. "You're right, I am," she said in a strangely calm voice.

Then she almost walked right off the edge back into the sea.

Morph yanked her back at the last second.

"Have you gone crazy!" he said.

"Momma?" Rogue looked over.

"She's trying to escape!" Warren flew at her, ready to attack, even as weak as he was.

Morph pulled Mystique back and got in front of her. "Hey, crazy man, calm it down. No one's killing anyone today!"

"Stand aside, whatever you are," Warren said. "This is none of your business."

"Listen, buddy, I get it, the whole having someone else in your head type of thing," Morph said. "But killing them, it won't help! It doesn't make it any better! What's important is that you got some of yourself back... You gonna throw all that away just for one moment of revenge? Hasn't she taken enough of your humanity from you?"

Mystique shot Morph a nervous look.

Warren hesitated.

"You remember me," Morph said, "right? Morph?"

Warren finally seemed to recognize him. "Yeah... Huh, I didn't recognize you in that outfit."

"That's a new one," Morph said. "But you remember Sinister messed me up good...but I got through it, and you did too, thanks to Rogue, right?"

"Yeah," Rogue said weakly. "Warren, the evil is gone. Don't let that hatred come back and make you a monster again. Just...let it go, please."

Warren hesitated, then he made a fist. "I will not kill her, because the two of you asked, and you have helped me in the past...but I am not letting it go. She'd better not be here when I come back."

He took off into the air.

"Oh...wow...that was scary," Morph gasped. "I never saw him like that."

"Poor Warren..." Rogue said. "Even...after all this time, he's not okay."

And that could have been Rogue, Mystique thought to herself. What was she thinking before?

"You should have let him kill me," she said bitterly. "That is what is fitting, considering."

"That is no way to talk," Morph said. "Stop it, you're scaring Rogue."

Rogue did look kind of scared. "What were you doin', Momma? You weren't really goin' ta just drown, were you?"

Mystique laughed, kind of hysterically. "Oh, I probably would have just swum away. I doubt I could commit to that--I'm a coward, right? But why does it matter? Don't you hate me?"

"I think she's kind of doing that thing again," Morph said. "I wouldn't take her too seriously."

"I dunno, this is the most serious I've ever seen her." Rogue flew and landed next to them. "Momma...I don't hate you...  I mean, I don't know what I feel anymore. But you gotta stop with this, this darkness thing."

"No," Mystique said. "Rogue, I almost did that to you... I could have turned you into that." She shuddered. "I don't know...how I didn't see it...up close.... I didn't want to see it..."

She put her hand to her face. "And I said I cared about you once... I guess I really don't care about anyone."

"Momma..." Rogue was far too soft for this not to be making her feel pity. "Don't take on so like that... I mean...it didn't happen, so...and to be totally fair...you did tell me to think twice about it. Maybe deep down you didn't want to, huh?"

Rogue would never have imagined she'd give Mystique that much credit an hour ago, but seeing her like this made her wonder.

"Even if I had my doubts, I wasn't going to tell them to you," Mystique said.

"Maybe, at the last minute, you'd have," Rogue said.

"No," Mystique said.

Given her turn about with Kurt, it might not have been totally implausible, but it was to her.

"But it didn't come to that," Rogue said. "And hey, you let me go. It...it wasn't so bad."

"And those other 4 people," Mystique said, "what did I do to them? What did I do to everyone? The truth is I've brought all of these attacks on myself. Maybe karma has finally caught up with me. You can't cheat it forever, by transforming...and you can't stop it, Rogue... I should leave. I should have left ages ago."

"Right, and then it's the same as it always was." Rogue gave her a little shake. "You stop talkin' crazy, Momma. You can't be like me--I'm the one who always runs from things, and a fat lot of good it done me, you can see for yourself...but you know, I finally came back for once, and...it wasn't horrible. Maybe it's not as hard as we think--it's just hard to choose to do that. You can't give up now. Look at it, you're just finally startin' to see everythin' clearly. If you quit now, you ain't ever gonna know what you could have become."

Mystique looked up. "What can I become?" she said hollowly. "It's too late."

"If it's too late for you, why are you here, huh?" Rogue said. "Come on, you feel somethin', don't you? Ain't that why you stuck around for so long?"

Morph kind of felt like he shouldn't be here for this...but he actually was kind of stuck on the rock unless he wanted to swim away, and that seemed kind of disruptive.

"Regret..." Mystique muttered.

"Regret is a start," Rogue said. "Hey, I never thought you'd even feel that, but I've been real closed-minded about it too... Maybe I don't get why you did what you did, but...you're sorry now, right? So...all of us done things we ain't proud of."

"I..." Mystique began, then stopped.

"Just don't do somethin' crazy," Rogue said. "All right?"

Mystique shrugged. "All right, fine...at least not right now.... I can't swim off this island anyway. It was torture trying to swim for even a few seconds with that idiot throwing feathers at me."

Morph finally laughed nervously. "What a weird power..."

"Good, I guess," Rogue said. She gave Mystique a small hug. "We've settled it."

She stepped back. "We'd better get back to Han--" Suddenly she stopped, then she clutched her stomach.

"Rogue?" Morph said.

Rogue turned really pale, and then she leaned over the edge of the rock and lost her lunch.

"I...don't feel so good..." she said weakly. "What...what's wrong with me? After that energy I just absorbed I should feel stronger, but I feel weaker than before."

"Maybe you absorbed the wrong thing?" Morph said.

Rogue moaned. "I...don't get it."

"Rogue..." Mystique was concerned now. "This is not good...and we're on this stupid rock too."

"I can fly myself to the land," Rogue said. "No problem."

She straightened. "Just weird...I felt fine a minute ago..."

"Maybe it's from that." Morph pointed.

The landscape was shifting again, like some weird sliding puzzle.

"That would give anyone vertigo..." Morph said.

"I wasn't even lookin' at it..." Rogue said.

She lifted up and flew to the shore, then sank onto her knees.

"Need help?" Morph asked Mystique.

"I wouldn't ask for it," Mystique said. "But it would be lying to say I thought I could make that on my own."

"Close enough," Morph said, transforming again and helping her across.

Mystique then went up to Rogue. "Do you still feel ill?"

"Worse..." Rogue said. "It's not...it's not natural... I wasn't feelin' queasy before... It's like it just came out of nowhere."

"I have the same problem with certain foods," Morph said.

"Shut up!" Rogue snapped. "I don't. I think I might be sick again..."

"But you never get sick," Mystique said. "Not even once."

"Well, I am now!" Rogue snapped again. She suddenly rushed to the edge and was sick again.

"Food poisoning, maybe?" Morph said. "It can kind of hit like that."

"I hardly even ate anythin' today. We've been from one mission to another..." Rogue groaned. "And nothin' that woulda been spoiled..."

Mystique had a weird feeling about it, like the answer was obvious.

But there was nothing much to do about it.

"Get that doctor, then," she said to Morph impatiently.

"He's probably still at the dock..." Morph said. "I can buzz him in... Oh...shoot, my communicator got wet... I hope it still works. I didn't waterproof it."

Mystique hesitantly patted Rogue's hair.

Rogue didn't object to the gesture. "I can't be sick right now... We gotta help the others..." she said woozily.

"Maybe you should lay down..." Mystique said, totally forgetting she herself wasn't in the best of shape right now.

"Maybe..." Rogue must really have felt lightheaded. She kind of lay sideways on the dirt and sand.

"Hank?" Morph said. "You hear me?... Yeah, it's kind of fuzzy, but.... Can you come back? Rogue's not feeling good.... Rogue--she' sick.... Can you hear me? Ah, dang it.... Look, just come back. It's important..."

He sighed. "Well, I hope he got the message."

"It won't matter." Mystique pointed. "If that gets any closer."

The rippling landscape was spreading more and more, coming down towards them.

https://youtu.be/_hqW4odgkyo

[Hmm...that was a lot.... Mystique really doesn't get a break, does she? Or Rogue.]