"Hey Rogue." Kitty grinned as the southerner walked in and handed her a mug of coffee. Rogue smiled at her.
"Morning girl. Where is everyone?" She sat at the breakfast bar in the slightly sterile stainless steel kitchen and looked around.
"Beast hasn't emerged from the lab, the Professor and the others are talking with Moira about tracking Jean. I'm on drinks duty. Haven't seen Remy or Wolverine though."
"They're around." Rogue muttered as she grabbed a croissant from the sideboard. She suddenly looked up at Kitty with a grin on her face, "Actually Miss Pryde I do believe this is the first time that we've had a chance to talk, I meant to ask you about a certain Russian?" her grin grew as Kitty's face reddened, both of them momentarily forgetting the dire situation they and their team mates were in.
"Well, um, he's actually on his way here." Kitty sputtered and took a sip of her coffee. Rogue choked slightly as she sipped hers and stared at the girl in shock.
"What!?"
"Well we met up in the states just before the Seattle incident and he's decided to join the X-Men. The professor decided we could do with him here."
"Do they others know?"
"Not yet, they will, me and Logan go to pick him up in an hour I think." Kitty grinned a little. Rogue blinked, trying to figure out in her mind the hours and days she had lost in various incidents over the last couple of weeks.
"this is all a little too much tah take. Mah little Kitty frolicking with a former enemy!" she joked.
"Me? What about you – everyone knows Gambit slept in your room last night." Kitty grinned as Rogue eyes widened and she sputtered on a mouthful of coffee.
"What? How?"
"He left his door open, when we all came past this morning it was empty and obviously not slept in – your door however had a rather angry Logan standing outside of it."
Rogue's head fell into her hands and she growled, "Gawd is nothing secret in this house. You all know nothing happened right?"
"Well yeah, we kinda figured what with your powers back and all. But seriously Rogue, you and him are obviously an item, aren't you?"
Rogue shrugged, where they? She wasn't sure now. "ah think maybe that's something that we should leave until after this whole mess is done with." She said a little sadly, disappointment in her own powers and frustration in events out of her control seeping into her words. Kitty patter her shoulder and then gulped her coffee down.
"Come on, the others will probably have news for us on either your leg or Jean."
Rogue followed her out of the kitchen, the weight of the problems they faced bearing back down on her, the chat with Kitty had been a blessed relief from the stress of the recent events. She had a feeling that she wasn't going to be getting much more relief from here on out.
"Ah girls, good morning!" Beast came up behind them as they entered the meeting room that the others were sat in, they both smiled at him as he bounded through the door.
"He's happy, that's good right?" Kitty asked Rogue, Rogue just shrugged.
"Girls, Hank. Thank you for joining us." The Professor spoke as they entered, Rogue frowned slightly seeing Remy already sat in the room, why hadn't he been in the kitchen? He looked up at her and gave her a half hearted smile, something was wrong she realised.
"Ok, well we've had a long night and I think a few things have been discovered. Firstly, we can trace Phoenix from here, she is currently in France and Scott and myself will lead a team this morning to see if we can communicate and return with her to this facility. Moira will be setting up a room in which we may be able to hold her. Storm, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler and a new member will be joining me and Scott in France." He stopped as Kurt, Remy, Scott and Ororo looked at him confused, "I have asked Piotr, also known as Colossus to join the team and he has accepted. Logan and Kitty will pick him up shortly."
Rogue watched Remy's eyes brighten at this news, she smiled at him and he winked back. She turned back to the Professor who as looking closely at Scott, who normally would have been protesting at this point. He was looking at the table in front of him, fingers tapping betraying his attempts to hide his impatience. The Professor nodded and turned back to the group with a slight frown on his face.
"Now, I believe Beast has some news on the chip in Rogue's leg?" he looked up at the blue furry scientist as he spoke and Hank nodded at him.
"Indeed I do, the file is most enlightening. It appears that, unlike the chip in Remy's head which was designed to limit his power and keep track on the errant Cajun, the chip placed in Rogue's leg is of an entirely different function." He looked over at Rogue and smiled, "Luckily my dear, mad as he may be, Dr Essex is not careless. He realised that the nature of your powers meant that if he tride to implant a chip directly onto you cerebrum, as he did Gambit, even the slightest mistake could render your powers either inactive or dangerously uncontrollable. In putting the chip in your leg he can manipulate the nanbots he has placed in your system to a better extent-"
"What?!" Rogue and Remy jumped up at the same point at the mention of nanobots, Rogue looked furious, but Remy – well he looked terrified. Everyone turned to him in shock, he looked around and then back at Beast.
"Please tell Remy you didn't jus' say nanobots." He asked, his voice low and spoken through gritted teeth, he refused to look at Rogue who was thowing him very confused glances.
"I am afraid I did indeed say nanobots, Rogue's system is infected with them. I have yet to ascertain the extent to which they can affect things as the Phoenix's intervention appears to have rendered some of them useless. But it is clear that they were put in her system to control and manipulate her powers – her original powers only. This is why she can still control the borrowed powers even when her own appear to not be working. The different nature of the powers means that different parts or the brain are used, it's all rather interesting –"
"Hank can ah stop yah there – Remy what do yah know?" Rogue held up a finger to silence Hank and glared at Remy who was still stood up, hands gripping the table tightly. He looked at her, eyes wide, everyone stayed silent. He looked around as if suddenly remembering they were all there and he sat back down, head in hands looking like he had just been handed a death sentence.
"Look, Remy don't know much about what dey do or anyting." He started and then stopped, he looked up at Rogue as she stayed standing and staring at him, "But dey not always work, everyone Remy knows dat Essex put dem in – dey now dead. Tings went wrong, the nanobots weren't working properly. Remy jus' remember Essex being more dan a bit pissed whenever another body was bought back." He wasn't looking at her now, he didn't see her face grow pale or Storm place a comforting hand over hers and then look at Remy.
"Could it not be the case that he has improved them since you last knew him Remy?" Storm asked gently. Remy nodded slightly.
"Oui could be." He didn't sound at all convinced.
"The files do mention previous errors in programming and design. The notes also mention that these nanobots have a high success rate – Sinister has placed a high value on our Rogue here, I do not believe he would risk her life."
"Yah mean the others were practise runs for me?" Rogue sat down looking sick, she stared at her hands.
"It is possible, yes." Hank said quietly, aware how upset both Rogue and Remy were, he looked at the Professor who motioned for him to take a seat.
"Hank will continue to look into this with the help of the facilities on Muir Island. Rogue I am forced to ask you to remain here until we can figure this out. Kitty and Logan I believe it is time to go pick up our Russian friend. On your return we will leave for France. Remy you have the choice – you can join us or remain here with Rogue and Hank."
"Remy stays here." The Cajun muttered, still looking at no one. The professor nodded. They all departed the room with the exception of Rogue and Remy. She stared at him.
"Remy it'll be ok, they'll find out how to get rid of them." She tried to smile, but it faltered and turned into a worried grimace.
"Don't worry bout Remy chere, you just worry bout yourself." He raised his head, but didn't smile. They stared at each other in silence.
Rogue sat in her room reading through the copy of the file Hank had given her. She was a quick student and science was a favourite, but this was way beyond anything she'd ever heard of. She could hear noises from Remy's room, but she was determined not to go and take a look. That boy was pure temptation and right now she was desperately lonely and scared – things that almost always led one to act upon impulse rather than think about things carefully. The only way she could see this getting more complicated was if she were to do something stupid like kiss him.
Putting the file down, she gave up the pretence of reading it and closed her eyes as she lay back on the bed. Her head continued to pound with the released psyches, though it appeared that no one was trying to take over. For a couple of days it seemed like every time she walked past a mirror her eyes were a different colour.
