Author's Note:

Wow, Chapter 10, guys! Well, down to business... now that we've reached this landmark chapter, with 5 reviews, I need your imput. Do I even continue this, or should I focus my energies on other stories? I have a Twilight one and a Vampire Diaries one (no hating anyone who is anti-Twilight, I have my critiques of it), so just let me know, and I won't be offended. I'm just disheartened. So say it in a review or a message, but let me know, okay?

None of this is in Danielle's POV, but we're bringing in the Acolytes. The story's eventually gonna shift in that direction, okay? Okay.

"Dirty Little Secret" by The All-American Rejects

I'll keep you my dirty little secret

Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret

(Just another regret, I hope that you can keep it)

My dirty little secret... who has to know?

By the time he got to the boarding house, almost everybody had arrived. Toad sat on the front porch steps, a seriously annoyed look crossing his face when he saw Pietro stop two feet away.

"Yo Pietro, what's with everyone crowding up the living room?" he asked, the question almost a whine. "They won't even let me go inside!"

"Magneto's coming," he snapped. Toad's eyes widened and he made a break for the woods.

"I'm outta here!"

Pietro didn't even look after his former comrade and walked into the house. Surely enough, the house was more full than usual and twice as chaotic. He easily dodged a fruit bowl thrown in his direction, but then the bowl was closely followed by a series of butchering knives, and he had to run up the stairs to get away.

"Hey, hey, hey!!" he yelled, catching the last one a foot away from his chest. "Stop trying to kill me for a second, alright?!"

The culprit, Pyro, grinned cheekily from the kitchen entrance and saluted. "Yessir Quicksilver, sir!" he said, his Aussie accent strong and proud. For a moment he stood straight like a soldier awaiting orders, but broke into hysterical laughter only a second later. Pietro groaned and flashed to the living room: he could only handle the mutant's insanity for so long. Colossus stood against a wall, arms crossed and his body completely metal-plated. He looked at Pietro, then went back to staring somberly out the window. He wasn't one for words.

Mere moments after he entered, the trench-coat clad Gambit leaped in from the window and threw himself on the couch. "Did I miss anything?" he asked, folding his arms behind his head and propping his legs on the table. "Boss-man here?"

Pietro sighed. "My father should be here soon," he answered. "We were just at the high school."

"Ah, so he's made himself known, has he?" Gambit pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket and started shuffling them. "Moving things forward a bit quickly, don't you think?"

"She didn't see him. He's doing this creepy stalker-thing until he finds the right time."

"Which will be when, never?"

"Soon."

Gambit immediately sat up straighter at the sound of his employer's voice, but didn't apologize for his comment. Magneto walked in to the living room, helmet hiding his face, as always. He'd abandoned the cape for the occasion, but otherwise, he looked exactly the same as he always did. Gambit smiled to himself and put his deck back in his pocket.

Magneto looked around at his followers, acknowledging their presences with a glance before crossing his arms and demanding reports.

"Pietro?"

"She imprinted on Pyro as planned," Pietro promptly responded. "That Berzerker kid and the blue-furred freak won't leave her alone for two seconds, but she wants answers, so she'll come to us."

"Good. Colossus?"

"The doctor did as I told her, so the Rogue hasn't found her sister yet," he responded, voice devoid of emotion. "I highly doubt anyone will figure out what happened."

"Let's be cautious; she's most likely told the Professor of her findings, so it won't be long before he starts to ask questions. Gambit?"

"Nothing new to report."

There was an uncomfortable silence. Nothing to report? He had to be borderline insane to think Magneto would settle for such an update, especially considering how vital his job was to the mission. Magneto focused on him for several seconds and then nodded.

"John?"

Pyro had silently come to stand by the door, but now he grinned. "Yes?"

"Make contact with the girl. Show her the potential your powers have given her."

If possible, his grin widened. "Yes, sir. Anything else?"

"No. I'll be back in two days to check on your progress."

With that, he left the room. Gambit got to his feet and left with a teasing wave out the front door, closely followed by a laughing Pyro and a silent Colossus. Once they were out, Toad jumped in through the window.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starting to consider joining SHEILD with Lance and Blob," he muttered grumpily, perching himself on the back of an armchair. "At least they don't have to worry about being set on fire by some maniac."

Xavier Institute

17:18

Punctuality is something few mutants take seriously, and as Rogue waited at the rendezvous point in the forest surrounding the Institute, she found it to be no surprise that he wasn't an exception.

After seating herself on a log, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and checked the history. Yeah, if he had called, she would have heard it, but she was feeling anxious. What if something had happened? What if he'd forgotten? What if he'd decided to stop helping her with--?

The snapping of twigs signaled his arrival.

She jumped to her feet and whorled around. The brown-haired, red-eyed Gambit emerged from behind a tree, his customary mischievous smirk plastered on his lips… and what beautiful lips they were. Pushing those thoughts away, Rogue crossed her arms and cleared her throat.

"You're late."

He chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sorry to break it to you, chere, but you're early. We said six o'clock."

"We said five."

"Alright then, my sincerest of apologies." She huffed and rolled her eyes: it was always the same thing. He stuck his staff onto the sling on his back and stepped forward. "I hope that you find yourself well?"

She shrugged noncommittally. "Everythin's pretty much the same. Everyone at the Institute wants to know where I've been the past two months."

"What have you told them?"

She shrugged again. "Nothin', really. I told the Professor about lookin' for my birth parents, but not about everythin' else."

"Good, chere." He reached forward and placed a hand on her hair. "I know you don't like lyin' to them, but we have to. You understand that, right?"

She pulled away from his touch, albeit reluctantly, and sat on a log. "Yeah, I get it," she muttered. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

He sat down a foot away from her on the log and squeezed her shoulder. When she didn't protest, he took a chance and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him. To his surprise, rather than stiffen or pull away, she closed her eyed and rested her head on his shoulder. He was wearing the trench coat, so it was safe for her to be close to him, but even so, she was always hesitant to let anybody get close--physically or emotionally-- which meant he should have stayed quiet. Of course, he didn't.

"Do you want to--?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Remy." He sighed. She bit her lip, immediately regretting brushing him off. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just been a long couple of days, and the way things are lookin', unless I can read Magneto's mind, I'm never gonna find my family."

A short silence passed, and Gambit was the one to finally break it. "Look, chere, maybe we could get some help from one of your--"

"I'm not getting anyone else involved," she stated firmly. "They'd just tell the Professor about it."

"Then maybe--"

He stopped at the sound of approaching footsteps. Before they could completely detach from each other, two teenagers stepped into the small clearing, weird smiles on both of their faces. Weird because Ray never looked nervous and Danny had something that looked like a mix between a grimace and a laugh breaking out on her face. Both stopped upon seeing the two and their expressions went blank, but after a short, shocked silence, Ray was the one who knew how to react.

"What the hell, Rogue?" he exclaimed, looking between her and Gambit. "Why are you talking to this Acolyte?!"

"Back off, Ray," Rogue warned, stepping forward. "It's none of your business!" He balled his fists and kept his eyes trained on the smirking Gambit. Sparks started to form on his fists and his eyes turned a brighter blue, but he didn't attack yet.

"You heard her, Sparky," he mocked. "Back. Off."

"Shut up!" Danny snapped. Strangely enough, her tone was more annoyed than hostile. "You're both being idiots!"

Rogue looked at her roommate. The girl was pretty, that much she had noticed when she'd found her in the park, but this was the first time she saw her in daylight, and it made a considerable difference. While she had looked pale and unkempt with wild black hair and light brown eyes that held a yellow tint, she now had a healthier-looking skin tone, and while her hair was still wild and black, her eyes shined a solid gold. She narrowed her eyes at Rogue, then looked at Gambit. Why Rogue felt as if she was waiting for this girl to spring, she wasn't entirely sure, but when the newbie opened her mouth, she was braced for attack.

Danny grabbed Ray's wrist, and like a blanket being thrown over a fire, his powers calmed down. "Let's go," she said, pulling him around the unlikely pair. "She knows what she's doing." Rogue stared in surprise, but Danny avoided her gaze. For a moment Ray looked like he would protest, but she slid her hand down into his and squeezed it lightly. "Trust me." He tried to read her face, his eyebrows knitting close together as the two seemed to speak without saying anything out loud.

Why would anyone trust her? Rogue thought, but Ray set his jaw and followed without another word. Both Gambit and Rogue looked after the two walking away hand in hand, silent and thrown by the strange turn of events. Finally Gambit let out a breath and laughed.

"Well, that's not something you see every day," he said, crossing his arms. "I always thought of Sparky as more of the stubborn type. Who's the new chere?"

"My roommate, Danny," she answered, sitting on the log again. "The Professor and Recruits picked her up in Puerto Rico this week."

"And what does she do?" He sat down next to her again.

"Apparently she's a mini-telepath."

He nodded, but knew there was more to it than Rogue let on. "And…?"

Rogue rolled her eyes. "She can touch me, alright?"

His eyes widened, but then he grinned. "You know, chere, this is quite convenient. Weren't you just saying you need a telepath?"

"We don't need her."

Rogue immediately regretted the bitterness in her words. The kid hadn't done anything to harm Rogue or Remy, but to hear him speak so highly of her so quickly stung. He caught onto it faster than she expected, though, and in the blink of an eye, she was jerked back onto his lap and arms. At first she struggled, but he held her for a couple of seconds, and she reluctantly stilled.

"I thought we were past this stage, chere?" he whispered into her ear. His lips grazed her ear lobe through her hair, and she immediately started to push at his arms.

"Stop messing around, Remy!" she snapped. Once she managed to get away, she stepped several feet away, putting some good distance between the two. Despite her panic, her body felt warm, and the tiniest area he'd touched tingled, making her want more of his hands, arms, lips... "It doesn't even take half an inch of skin for me to knock you out!"

"I know that, chere," he said calmly, holding up his hands in a peaceful gesture as he got to his feet.

"Then stop messing around!" she exclaimed exasperatedly. "I can't give you want you want!"

"You already know what I want," he stated, stepping forward, "so stop making this into something it isn't." She glared at him warningly, so he stopped moving closer. "Chere, please."

She didn't say a word and walked away. He watched her go with resignation: she was one that you could only push so far without scaring her off. At least she hadn't shut him out completely, that much he could tell, and it was a relief. With a shrug he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Be good boy and tell your daddy dearest I have some information, Pietro."