Years since Rogue's powers returned: 1
Chapter 2: A Lady Should Never be Subjected to Such Voyeurism
One Year Later:
Storm wrapped her arms around Gambit and they hugged each other tightly in the foyer of the Xavier mansion. The door closed of its own accord behind him.
"It is good to see you," Storm said when she finally pulled away, keeping her hands on his upper arms. "It has been far too long."
"It has, it has," Gambit replied warmly.
Looking at Gambit, it was hard to believe he was older than she was. He looked mid-twenties at most and had always done so for as long as Storm had known him.
"Long time, no see, Gumbo," said Logan, leaning casually against the door frame leading to the rec room.
"Ah, Logan," Gambit replied, blinking at him in surprise. "I never would have expected to find you here."
"Funny you should say that," Logan replied. "I didn't expect you to have law-abiding friends."
"I am afraid I was not so law-abiding when Remy and I met," Storm said to Logan, with a faint smile on her face.
"Oh?"
"I used to be a thief. A pickpocket."
Gambit chuckled at the cynical look on Logan's face and gave Storm a light squeeze with his arm over her shoulders.
"Only reformed thief I ever met who actually reformed for real," Gambit said, grinning at Storm. "Unless you've given into temptation after all and just chose not to tell me?"
"I have to disappoint you, Remy," Storm replied tolerantly.
"Ah well, we can't be right all the time," Gambit said with a shrug. "So, when do I get to meet this boyfriend of yours? I need to make sure he's worthy of you."
"Scare him off, you mean," Storm said.
"That too."
Storm smiled and gestured to Logan. Gambit looked at Logan, who waved his fingers at him with a sly smirk. Gambit blinked, stared at Logan, then looked back at Storm, and finally back at Logan.
"Hey 'Ro," said Logan. "The Cajun's not coming out with any smart remarks. I think we broke him."
"Not at all mon ami," Gambit said, in an attempt to cover up how shocked he was. "I was simply never expecting you two to meet, let alone start dating. So, is this a recent thing or should I be preparing for wedding bells?"
"Recent," Storm said.
"Aw shame, I was looking forward to walking you down the aisle," Gambit said, grinning at Storm. "Ah, well, there's still time."
"What makes you think I would ever ask you to walk me down the aisle?" Storm asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Hmm, good point," Gambit said, rubbing his chin in mock thoughtfulness. "I suppose it would be rather strange if I was your father-in-absentia and Logan's best man at the same time. I may have to clone myself."
"One of you is more than enough," Logan said.
"Why merci M'sieu Claws," Gambit replied, grinning winningly at him.
Logan gave a light growl and looked at Storm. "He's your friend."
"He is yours too."
"Don't remind me."
"I already did."
A few days into Gambit's visit to the Xavier mansion found him traversing the grounds. He had taken quick runs, usually first thing in the morning, and on each of them he had noticed a patch of black in the distance. Gambit felt it was about time he investigated it properly.
As he headed towards the patch of black, he noticed another building. It was a decidedly modern building, quite unlike anything else on the Xavier estate, and Gambit also decided to investigate this as well. As it happened, his attention was brought back to the black patch—which was flat and littered with tree stumps—when a localised rain storm began. He lifted his head, and sure enough, Storm was in the sky, letting loose a little rain over the dead ground.
Storm noticed Gambit's arrival. She soon finished her task—not intending to over-water the land—and flew towards him.
"Missed a spot?" Gambit inquired as she landed.
"Afraid not," Storm replied. "We have a mutant, Rogue, who has the ability to absorb life force. It used to be that it required skin to skin contact to work, but then she took the Cure, and when her powers came back, they were more powerful than ever. Now she can strip life from everything; people, animals, micro-organisms..."
"Plants," Gambit said, his eyes scanning the blackened area.
"It took a few weeks to complete the job, but she stripped this place bare a year ago," Storm said solemnly. "I have been doing my best to reintroduce life into the ground, but it is a slow process."
"Sounds like a big project then."
"One day I will finish," Storm said with a decisive nod.
Storm did not blame Rogue for what had happened, but she hated the blighted land.
"Rogue lives over there now," Storm went on, gesturing haphazardly behind her in the general direction of the building Gambit had noticed. "S.H.I.E.L.D. had it built for her after her powers remanifested and she put eighty-seven people into comas."
Gambit whistled.
"It is airtight—has to be, she has a fifty yard range and if your skin and hers are exposed within the same air supply, she'll absorb you," Storm said grimly. "All her communications are done through electronics these days."
Gambit paused, taking in what Storm was saying.
"And S.H.I.E.L.D. provided it, you said?" he asked cautiously.
"Yes. They were very generous."
"I just bet they were."
"You should go say hi," Storm said. "Anyone can walk into the visitors lounge, just ring the doorbell near the TV when you get in. I'm sure she'll be happy to see a new face."
"I may just do that."
Storm gave him a nod and went back to working on the dead earth. Gambit turned and made his way over to Rogue's home. He pressed in the button for the door with his gloved fingers and walked into the visitor's lounge, giving a low whistle as he looked around. The place actually looked nice, and not at all militaristic. If this was any indication of Rogue's living space, no wonder Storm was concerned. Gambit quickly found the doorbell Storm had mentioned, and he pressed this with a gloved finger as well.
Rogue was rather surprised to hear the doorbell ring, but pleasantly so. Unexpected visitors were always a nice change of pace and she was quick to answer it. The man in the visitor's lounge who appeared on her TV was no one she'd ever seen before. He was handsome, with shoulder-length brown hair, and was wearing a brown trench coat and a pink shirt. She couldn't see his lower half from where he was standing. The whites of his eyes seemed a little more grey than white, and the irises were a red brown.
"Hi," Rogue said enthusiastically.
"Bonjour, chère," Gambit replied, smiling back at the bright-eyed woman who appeared on the screen. "The name's Remy. I'm a friend of Storm's."
"Oh, well, nice to meet you," Rogue said. "Any friend of Storm's is a friend of mine."
"Really? Any friend?" Gambit asked with a sly grin. "What if you meet a friend of Storm's you don't like?"
"I'm sure that Storm wouldn't be friends with them for no reason," Rogue replied loftily. "So what brings you to my humble abode?"
Gambit shrugged, and decided that since Rogue was sitting down he may as well too.
"She was doing a little gardening and suggested I should introduce myself," Gambit said as he sat down on the lounge. "She told me about your powers getting, hmm, stronger."
"I tend to think of it as going into hyperdrive," Rogue said. "Dr McCoy says I now register as a borderline class five. Oh joy oh prosper."
Gambit chuckled ruefully. "Yeah those class five powers aren't all they're cracked up to be, are they? So, what do you do with yourself all day?"
"Mostly I just play computer, watch TV, read," Rogue said, waving a hand in dismissal. "All this entertaining yourself business gets really boring. Actually I'm hoping to start college classes again soon. Online, of course. Those hazmat suits are horrible; they're hot and stuffy, and there's only enough air for like, two hours anyway, so what's the point?"
"Exactly," Gambit said. "I'm quite thankful I rarely have to use one myself."
"What do you do?" Rogue asked.
Gambit shrugged. "Bit of this, bit of that. I can see why you would get bored; I'm always doing different things. I think I'd go crazy if I was stuck in a room, doing the same things day after day. How come you haven't started taking classes earlier? I think Stormy said something about you being here a year?"
"That's right," Rogue replied with a nod. "Yeah, no... Did she mention I absorbed eighty-seven people?"
"Oui."
"Did she also mention that I absorb people's minds when I absorb their life force?"
"Non."
"Well, I do, and unfortunately the impact of absorbing so many people in such a short period of time—I was in class when my powers came back—played havoc on my mind. I was having the worst time trying to concentrate on things and remember stuff," Rogue said. "There's a telepath here, Emma Frost?"
"Ah, oui, she's an old, umm, friend of mine too, actually," Gambit said. "And by friend I actually mean we can't stand each other."
Rogue giggled.
"Well, Emma was making sure I healed properly," Rogue said. "And it's been a few months now since my mental wounds healed, so hopefully I'll get the green light for going back to school soon. She was concerned that going straight into a potentially stressful situation like school too soon might reopen wounds."
"No doubt a valid concern, but it completely ignores the fact that not having sufficient mental stimuli can also be stressful," Gambit said, nodding sagely.
"I think I can see why you and Emma don't get along."
"You don't know the half of it."
"I have time. I have loads of time," she said, batting her eyelids at him. She noticed his hesitation and added: "Sorry, I don't mean to pry."
"You're just bored, huh?"
"Yep, wanna make me unbored?"
Remy chuckled.
"You're reminding me of one of my ex-girlfriends," he said. "She used to tell me she was bored and demand I entertain her."
"Oh yeah?" Rogue asked, lying down on her stomach on the lounge. "What did you do?"
"Well, the full answer to that question could get a little R-rated—" Gambit began
"Just a little?" Rogue interrupted with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
"Yeah, most of it's X-rated."
Rogue laughed.
"But hey," Gambit went on with a sly grin, "if you really want to know..."
"You're the one who brought her up," Rogue pointed out. "And for all I know you did a little song and dance for her."
"She never was very impressed with my rendition of Big Shot."
"Huh?"
"Big Shot. It's a Billy Joel song. He's basically telling someone off for their drunken behaviour the night before," Gambit said, grinning cheekily.
"Ah... Does your song of choice have anything to do with why your ex was unimpressed?"
"Could do," Gambit replied, hiking his legs up on the coffee table. "And see chère? I've just given you something to do after I go: Look up Billy Joel's music."
"I might just do that."
A pause followed. Rogue was lying on the lounge, leaning on her arms with her lower legs up in the air, drifting lazily back and forth. She felt like she should say something to keep the conversation going, and was about to ask how he knew Storm when he spoke up:
"Forgive me if I'm a bit forward," he said. "I know we've only just met, but may I come in?"
Rogue blinked at him and half sat up. "What? In here? With me?"
"Oui."
"Why?" Rogue asked, sounding stunned and surprised.
"Curiosity mainly," Gambit replied with a shrug. "I have this thing about getting into places I'm not supposed to go and it's overruling my distaste for wearing hazmat suits."
Rogue looked at him thoughtfully for a moment.
"Well," she said finally, and pointed over to Gambit's left, "there's some in the storage room over there. One of them is labelled Hank McCoy—don't use that one, but the rest of them are free game. Just make sure that it has air in it. I'm not sure how often they get checked."
"All right then," Gambit said.
He pushed himself off the lounge and made his way over to the storeroom. While he was fitting himself out, Rogue glanced around her living quarters and started quickly tidying things up. She periodically checked the screens to see where he was. Soon she saw him come out of the storeroom, wearing the hazmat suit with his coat lying over his arm.
Gambit headed into the vestibule and hid his smile when he didn't even need to ring the second doorbell before the door opened. Her face was bright with excitement, and Gambit had the impression that he'd just made her day. He wasn't sure what he felt about that; he did have an ulterior movie for going in, and although it was to Rogue's benefit, he was more doing it for Storm, whom he regarded as a sister.
"Hi," Rogue said, and gestured inside. "Welcome to my humble abode."
"Merci, chère," Gambit said through the built in radio in the hazmat suit. "So, this is it, huh?"
He glanced around as the door sealed shut behind him.
"Yup," Rogue replied, then gestured to the computer, TV, and lounge. "And this is where I spend most of my time."
Gambit's eyes flickered over it, taking everything in. There were quite a few conveniently placed USB ports, and he was quite conscious of the USB drive he was hiding under his coat. The trick was to plug it in as soon as possible without Rogue being aware. He'd hate to find out that there was S.H.I.E.L.D. monitoring going on and it was happening live.
"Well, it looks cosy," he said, leaning back on the counter, near a few USB ports and a mouse. One hand was planted behind his back and sought to plug in the drive (not an easy task in the gloves of the hazmat suit), and the other he slid around Rogue's waist. She looked startled, even more so when he drew her close to him.
"Oh, uh, yeah..." she said, "it's umm, comfortable enough, I guess."
This was quite possibly the best day she had ever since she moved into this wretched place. An unexpected visitor was always nice. A visitor who decided to don a hazmat suit and actually come in was unusual but appreciated (Hank didn't count, he was usually working). But having a guest who actually touched her? Even counting Hank's visits, there was no guarantee that there would be physical contact made. She missed human contact.
"There are certainly far worse places to live," Gambit replied, inwardly cursing the gloves of the hazmat suit and the fact that the helmet killed his peripheral vision. "Did you get to pick any of the furniture or was it all selected for you?"
"It was all selected for me," Rogue replied ruefully and as she turned to face inwardly into the room, Gambit quickly looked behind him, spotted the USB port he'd been trying to feel for, and plugged in the drive. "I wasn't in the right state of mind to make decisions at the time. The posters on the wall came from my old room in the mansion though."
Gambit looked up quickly whilst securing his coat over the drive and the USB port and took in the movie posters on the walls. Next to the poster for "The Piano" there was a painting of a landscape. The landscape looked familiar to him for some reason, but he couldn't identify the artist. The frame on the painting looked like a window frame. While he looked, he discreetly hit the side 'enter' button on the keyboard as the computer had detected the hard drive.
"What about the painting?" he inquired, and with one hand still around Rogue, Gambit skilfully led her over to the painting and away from the console.
"Ah, this was a present from a friend of mine, Pete," Rogue said, pleased at both the memory of receiving the gift and that Gambit hadn't let go of her yet. "He figured that just because there's no windows here, that doesn't mean I shouldn't be able to see the grounds."
"The grounds?" Gambit asked, then realised why the landscape looked familiar. "Ah, this is the Xavier estate?"
Rogue nodded. "The view from one of the upstairs balconies, as a matter of fact. The nicest one too. It was such a sweet thing. And everyone even got dressed up in hazmat suits just so they could come in here and give it to me in person, and hang it up for me. It was a great day."
Gambit heard the wistful tone in her voice and saw the joy on her face.
"I'm sure it was," he said. "Pete... He's one of the X-Men?"
"Yep," Rogue replied with a nod. "Piotr Rasputin, aka Colossus."
"Ah, we have met," Gambit said. "He does nice work."
"Yes, he does," Rogue said, smiling at him and sounding well pleased. "He's promised to do another painting for my bedroom when he has a chance. I have to say I'm looking forward to it."
Gambit wanted to say something about how he looked forward to getting presents too, but he suspected that wasn't the part Rogue was looking forward to.
"That's very kind of him," he said, starting to feel very awkward about the whole thing, but determined not to let her see. "How come they never bothered putting windows in?"
"Paranoid they'd get broken, I guess," Rogue replied. "Not that I'd blame them. I'm nervous someone like Sam could blast his way even through these doors, let alone glass. No matter how thick it was."
"Yeah, I suppose there are a lot of talented mutants around here," Gambit said, then inclined his head towards her. "So, care to give me the grand tour?"
"You've already seen most of it," Rogue replied with a shrug, gesturing around. "Communications centre over there, kitchen over there. Through that door is the bathroom, that door is the med bay, and that's my bedroom."
"Ah," Gambit said, glancing towards the sealed door that led to the med bay. "Personal access, hein?"
"It makes sense," Rogue said simply. "I go in there as a patient, not a doctor, so me wearing a hazmat suit in there is counter-productive. On the other hand, if Hank is working in there, but doesn't actually require my presence, he shouldn't have to wear a hazmat suit. With sealed doors on both sides like the vestibule, there's very little chance of my absorbing anyone by accident."
"Sounds sensible to me," Gambit said, noticing that Rogue's tone sounded a little more forlorn with those last few words. "So, what's the bathroom like?"
Rogue led the way with Gambit's hand still resting on her back.
"I'd say it's not that exciting, but it has a corner spa," Rogue said as she opened up the door so Gambit could take a look. "And I really like the spa."
Gambit chuckled and peered inside.
"Very nice," he said, and opted not to comment on the bra hanging over the shower wall, before noticing the washing machine and dryer. "Ah, a laundry as well."
"Yeah," Rogue said, shrugging. "Not that anything has much of a chance to get dirty around here. Food and sweat is about it. I don't even get dust in here."
Gambit turned to face her and she saw him blink at her through the clear face of the hazmat suit.
"I know this place is airtight," he said cautiously, "but surely you'd get dust?"
Rogue shook her head, looking a little sad as she shut the bathroom door. "Dust mites have life. I absorb life. Someone might tread some in here when they come visit, but they cease to live as soon as it comes into my range. The only living creatures in this room that are safe are the bacteria in my body."
Gambit raised an eyebrow. "Dare I ask what happens to your cheese?"
"It kills the bacteria in it," Rogue said. "I don't think it's changed the taste or anything, but I can't really compare it any more. Hank's a little concerned that my immune system is going to suffer, but in good news it looks like I absorb viruses as well. Technically, viruses aren't actually alive, at least not by today's scientific definition of 'living'. My powers seem to think otherwise. We're still working on confirming that."
Gambit nodded, looking slowly around the main room. It occurred to him that he may well be standing in the most sanitary home in the world.
"Well, at least you know you won't ever have a mould problem," he said.
Rogue giggled. "Yeah."
Gambit gestured to the bedroom with his free hand. "May I?"
"Why not?" Rogue asked in reply. "You've been everywhere else."
Gambit smiled and opened up the door. He was a little surprised at the large bed.
"Nice room," he said, stepping into the tidy bedroom.
"Thanks."
"I see you keep things neat."
"Well, it's not like I can go outside and go for a run when I get bored," Rogue replied with a shrug, following him in, and then she gave him a look when he sat down on her bed. "Make yourself at home, why don't you."
"Don't mind if I do," Gambit replied blithely, and patted the bed next to him. "So, what are you planning on studying in college?"
Rogue blinked as she sat on the bed beside him and eyed him speculatively.
"The tour's over and you want to stay in here and chat?" she asked. "Wouldn't you be more comfortable in the lounge?"
She had no objections to him staying, but she was very much surprised by the decision.
"If I'm going to go to all the trouble of putting one of these things on, I'm going to make the most of it," Gambit replied firmly, knowing the real reason was that he wanted to give his preprogrammed hard drive the biggest window of opportunity to download as much of Rogue's system as it could. "Unless, of course, I've overstayed my welcome?"
"Oh, no, no," Rogue assured him. "I'm just surprised. Most people can't wait to leave and take those things off. Myself included."
"I've been in far less comfortable positions," Gambit replied with a shrug. "So, college?"
"Engineering," Rogue said, unable to stop the smile as Gambit's hand found its way around her again. "I was doing a mechanical major, but I'm thinking of switching to aerospace or environmental. Or maybe I'll do a double major; it's not like I have anything better to do. May as well make myself useful and learn how to maintain everything."
"Everything?"
"Yeah, you know, air tight home, air and water recycling systems," Rogue explained. "Between that and the fact that I have to wear a hazmat suit any time I want to go out, it's like I'm living in space."
Gambit chuckled.
"Anyway, if I can learn to maintain everything," she went on, "then at least that'll be one less person I'll be a burden to."
"Now chère," Gambit said with a slight frown. "I'm sure you're not a burden to anyone."
"That's nice of you to say, sugar, but I know what I am, and right now I'm chewing up a lot of resources without giving much in return," Rogue said, thought about that for a moment, and then added: "Story of my life, I guess. I'm hoping to change that, mind you, but facts are facts. Even taking into account the fact that I spent most of this year convalescing, I've got no qualifications, and I'm not exactly in a position to get a job either."
"There are lots of jobs you can get working from home these days, though," Gambit pointed out.
"I'm sure of that, but how many of them still require you to interact with people face to face?" Rogue asked, then shook her head. "It's not the point, anyway. The point is that right now I don't have a job. I don't even have permission to go back to college yet. So right now I am a drain on resources. It's not a position I like being in, and I fully intend to stop being a burden to everyone I know as soon as possible."
"And I'm sure you'll succeed," he said, giving her a grin. "I don't much like having to depend on others either."
Rogue nodded. "So, umm, what is it that you do? I know you said you did all sorts of things..."
"It's really hard to get specific," Gambit replied, having no intention of telling her he was a thief, regardless of whether S.H.I.E.L.D. was listening in or not. "But I guess you could call me a courier."
"You guess?"
"Mostly I work for very rich clients who want to have very expensive and valuable things delivered to them," Gambit said, amusing himself with his own tale. "Sometime they just don't trust the item in question to get to them safe and sound; they want someone who will oversee the process from packing to delivery. Additionally, part of my job includes verifying that my clients are getting what they're paying for. I'm often checking for forgeries and other substitutions."
"What happens when you find one?"
"People get mad," Gambit replied with a glint in his eye. "But I've been doing savate since I was a kid, and I'm a mutant like you—I blow stuff up—so I can usually hold my own if it comes to a fight. And it has."
"Wow," Rogue said, swinging her legs slightly off the edge of the bed. "Sounds like it can get dangerous."
Gambit shrugged. "Doesn't happen that often, just enough to make things interesting."
"I guess you must do a lot of travelling." Rogue's voice was wistful.
"Oui, I've been all around the globe a few times now," Gambit said, catching her tone and figuring out how he could keep her occupied for the duration. "Let me tell you about the last time I went to France..."
Rogue listened intently while Gambit painted vivid pictures of his adventures overseas, having no idea of the heavy editing he was doing. She interrupted him once to inquire about the 'lady friend' he briefly mentioned, and Gambit quickly discovered that she loved hearing about the 'romance' as much as she did the sights. It took no effort on his part to romanticise his subsequent tales, and found himself to be somewhat disappointed when his hazmat suit alerted him that he was running low on air. Rogue looked disappointed too when he informed her.
"I should probably be going anyway," he said as he followed her out the bedroom door. "But perhaps next time I'm in New York, I could call by."
"I'd like that," Rogue replied with a smile as Gambit swiftly lifted his coat, unaware that he also unplugged his hard drive at the same time. "It's been a pleasure having you here. Thanks so much for visiting."
"You're welcome. You've been delightful company," Gambit said.
Rogue reluctantly opened up the front door.
"So have you," she said.
Gambit took her hand with his free one and pressed it to the face of his helmet, as if to kiss the back of her hand.
"Until next time," he said.
They said their final goodbyes, Rogue looking both happy and sad at once, and Gambit finally departed. When he made it back to his room in the mansion (very much relieved to be out of that hot and stuffy hazmat suit), he went to work. It didn't take him long to determine that Storm's concerns were warranted, though it took much longer to determine the best way to put an end to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s spying. He got into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s network using some login details he had acquired some time ago, from there he remotely accessed Rogue's computer and reprogrammed things as he saw fit, then logged out again.
Later still, Gambit tracked down Storm attending her plants in the greenhouse. Storm eyed the bag over his shoulder with a little disappointment.
"Leaving so soon?" she asked.
"Well, I'd hang around, but I don't care to be here if S.H.I.E.L.D. decides to pay you a visit tomorrow," Gambit replied blithely.
"I see."
"They were recording everything," Gambit said. "Everything the cameras picked up—including the ones in her bedroom and bathroom—and everything that was said through the communications; phone, internet, and hazmat radio. Every twenty-four hours, the recordings would be packaged up and sent to S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Oh goddess," Storm said, half-closing her eyes.
Gambit reached forward and pressed a USB flash drive into her hand.
"Give this to Rogue," he said firmly. "She needs to run the program today, before S.H.I.E.L.D. notices that they didn't get a packet. I did what I could to disable everything remotely, and the program on here will disable their back door. The only way they'll be able to restore everything is by direct access to Rogue's computer. And somehow I doubt they have a valid warrant for spying on her. On the other hand, this is S.H.I.E.L.D. we're talking about, so if they give you any more trouble..."
"Thank you, Remy," Storm replied, both to the help he had provided and his offer to assist them again if need be. "I appreciate this."
Gambit gave a shrug. "Anything for you, Stormy."
"Do not call me that."
Gambit grinned and then leaned in to give her a hug.
"Until next time, chère," he said, and kissed her forehead.
"Until next time," she replied softly. "And please, do not be so long between visits in the future."
"I'll do my best," Gambit said with a chuckle.
Only moments after Gambit had left Xavier's on his motorcycle, Storm arrived at Rogue's home. She rang the doorbell and Rogue appeared on the screen, dressed in her dressing gown. Storm immediately noticed just how happy she looked.
"Storm, hi," Rogue said. "How's things?"
"Good. Much improved, in fact," Storm replied. "I believe my friend Remy visited you today."
"He did!" Rogue said, her eyes lighting up with the memory. "You know, he actually came in here, hazmat suit and all, and chatted to me. We talked for hours. Okay, two hours, but that's not the point. He told me all about his travels overseas. It was great. I'm so glad you asked him to visit."
"I am glad that you had a good time, but I am afraid I have to tell you that Remy's visit was not exactly a social call," Storm said gently, and then held up the USB drive. "You need to run the program on this drive today. It will prevent S.H.I.E.L.D. from being able to spy on you anymore."
Rogue's eyes widened. "Spy on me?"
Storm explained what Gambit had told her. Rogue was suitably horrified at the news.
"You mean all this time they were... And I... Why the little..."
Storm waited patiently and listened while Rogue vented her rage. After she had calmed down, Storm headed into the vestibule where she placed the USB drive on the document holder. She returned to the visitor's lounge to inform Rogue the drive was there. Rogue thanked her.
"So, Remy was just here to check up on S.H.I.E.L.D., huh?" Rogue said, sounding a little disappointed.
"Even if that had not been a concern of mine, I still would have sent him in your direction," Storm replied firmly. "He has been a friend of mine since I was a child, and he is a friend of Logan's also. I could see you two getting along; which it seems you did."
A small smile appeared on Rogue's face, dissolving her previous disappointment.
"We did," Rogue said. "And actually, I think I'm in danger of getting a crush on him. You know, when he came in here, he actually touched me? In fact I think he had a hand on me for most of his visit. Around my waist, and back, and shoulders, and it was nice. I've missed that."
Rogue's wistful tone made Storm regret that her claustrophobia made it impossible for her to wear one of the hazmat suits.
"He often has that effect on women," Storm said.
"Yeah," Rogue replied with a grin. "I got that impression from all the stories he told about seducing women overseas."
"He told you about that?" Storm asked in surprise. Gambit wasn't normally one to kiss and tell.
"Well, he was just telling me about travelling in general. The women thing was more of a subplot, but I picked up the juicy bits from everything he didn't say," Rogue said wickedly. "He said he might see me again next time he was in New York. You think he will?"
"I am sure of it," Storm replied with a certainty in her voice that satisfied Rogue.
They chatted a little longer, then Storm departed and Rogue retrieved the USB drive so that she could run the program. She plugged it in and got it started, then watched as it installed. Comments appeared above the loading bar, informing Rogue of what exactly the program was doing, which she appreciated.
Overloading camera circuitry in bath and bedroom...
"What...?"
Before Rogue's query could go any further, the lights flickered, and she heard the whine of her power generator as it was heavily drawn upon. She thought she heard a couple of bangs from the bed and bathrooms. Rogue glanced back at the computer; the program was still running fine, and the message had changed:
Much better. A lady should never be subjected to such voyeurism.
Rogue grinned and then realised that she was more than just in danger of getting a crush on Gambit. The program completed soon after that, and she trotted into the bed and bathrooms for an inspection. Much to her disgust she spotted two cameras in the bathroom and two in the bedroom, each highlighted by a smudge of black around them. The cameras were smaller and far more discreetly placed than the ones she needed and knew about in the living room. It was little wonder she hadn't noticed them before.
The following day, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent arrived at Rogue's home. As soon as she realised who was there, she had only a dark glare and a sharp tongue for him.
"Maintenance?" Rogue repeated direly. "You're here for maintenance?"
"Yes ma'am," replied the technician. "I just need to use your computer for—"
"You know what I think? I think you're here to set things up so you can go back to spying on me again," Rogue snapped at him. "Well, you can just forget about that, and you can just forget about your precious little cameras in my bedroom and bathroom. They've been dealt with."
"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied, straight-faced.
"Suuuuuure you don't," Rogue replied snidely. "You can just turn around right now, mister. And you tell Nick Fury that if I find out even one frame of footage has made it onto a pornography site or something, I will have his head for breakfast."
"You are aware that threats against the commander of S.H.I.E.L.D. are taken very seriously," the agent replied firmly.
"Good. They should be," Rogue retorted hotly. "Don't come back unless you have a warrant. This is my home, and I have the right to defend myself. Don't think that I won't."
