As The World Turns Cold

Now or Never

"Don't lose your faith in me because of the stupid mistakes I've made, Tiger. I swear to you, everything I have done since meeting you has solely been for your sake. All I want is to keep you safe." His voice cracked as he pleaded with her.

He stepped closer to her. One hand was clutched tightly in a fist at his side. The other was reaching out to clasp hers.

"I am not so great an actor that I could fake what I feel when I am around you." He smiled ruefully and squeezed her fingertips around his in a pleading gesture.

"You make me feel like I can be someone good; that I can rewrite my past with a hope for a future. You are the light at the end of the tunnel for me, Mercy." Rogue paused, inhaling a sharp breath. "I need you to believe that I would never choose to hurt you. Anything he has spoken of was something of the past, not the present I have with you."

He stepped away from her then. He allowed only enough space that she needed. Even though Mercy hadn't spoken a word to encourage him, Rogue didn't dare move more than a few steps away to ensure that he could help her if she needed him.

"If the pity party is over, I'd like to continue."

The doctor huffed. Inside he was reeling with glee at seeing how torn Mercy was. "You thought you could escape me and set her free, but you always did forget that I never took my chances with you."

A howl filled the air. Rogue moved frantically trying to push off the man that had snuck up on him. The man reared back and Rogue flinched as a knife was pulled out of his back.

The other man threw a small contraption to the doctor, let loose a manic smile, and stalked away to a group of surrounding brutes.

The doctor beamed. "I believe this is yours." He held up a tiny tracker still dripping with blood.

"We knew every place you went. Paid a few visits while we waited. Of course, I didn't tell our partygoers. There wasn't any fun in that. Their cowering is almost as satisfying as yours. Needless to say, I've been expecting you."

Rogue wiped a hand across his mouth where blood had spilled when he bit his cheek. "Bastard!" He grit out. "You're a coward. You've never been able to fight for yourself; always relying on someone else to do your dirty work."

"As least I have yet to fail."

Mercy shook with steadily increasing rage. She didn't have to guess to know who the man paid visits to. He'd had a tracker on Rogue the whole time. Where they went, trouble always followed.

And though, she was undecided if she could believe any of his rants, Rogue was still the only option she had and wanted. She needed to believe him; to know that none of the affection and hopefulness she had where he was concerned meant nothing.

"Yes, you have." Mercy spoke with a quiet voice.

"Excuse me?" The doctor laughed. "Like with putting your faith in Mr. Ashmore, you're wrong again."

"Mercy?" Rogue stiffened.

Mercy glanced at the doctor with fire dancing behind her eyes. "All you have succeeded in is fueling my doubts."

She took her eyes off of him for a moment to glance back at her companion. He was still clutching at the wound from the tracker with one hand, but his own eyes were filled with hope upon taking in the sight of her.

"You have failed in taking back my trust in him. It may have lessened, but when it comes to placing my faith in him or your words the answer is simple. I will always choose him."

The doctor lashed out in anger. "You don't get a choice," he hissed. "I control you!" His voice raised an octave and the power behind it showed the true monster that he was.

Rogue stepped closer and placed the hand not holding his wound on her back. He whispered into her ear to settle her nerves. Pride filled his voice as he spoke to her with clarity.

"Don't listen to him. You write your own story. No one has control over you except for you. You are fierce and you are brave. Anything you want, especially control, is yours for the taking. What he says holds no power over you."

He removed his hand from her back and cleared his throat. His eyes pierced through her as he lay his life down at her feet. "Say when and we'll fight alongside you. I'm at your disposal and I will fight for you until my dying breath. You deserve no less than that from all of us."

Mercy looked on in wonder. For him to offer his life to protect her had to mean something. If he didn't care for her, he would not have offered such a powerful thing. Any doubts she had of him were ready to be washed away as she found her reasoning again.

"As soon as I finish dealing with this crook we can take care of business."

She diverted her attention back to the doctor. "I'm sick and tired of hearing your voice. That annoying chuckle and the unsettling lies have to end and you along with it.

"For years you took away everything that made me feel safe; everything that made feel happy. Now you'll wish you never hurt me or the others you experimented on. You will regret your decisions for the rest of your life, though it will be a short life."

"Now?" Terrance piped up as he squared off against three of the officials who had taken out the steak knives from the dining table.

She hadn't thought about the others since running into the doctor. Now she felt more at ease knowing they were all still there with her. Terrance, however, was on edge, uneasy and ready to wipe out the enemy.

Mercy looked around at her companions. The group she came here with and the two they rescued stood in a circle around her. They were prepared to lay down their lives to help her save a world from corruption. And she was prepared to do the same for them.

Wipe out the government and save other mutants like themselves. Conspiracy theories about super-humans are proven true, but they do not need to be exploited to a government of destruction.

"Now." She uttered with finality.