As Logan finished his breakfast and wandered through the mansion he noticed several of the X-Men murmuring outside the Professor's office. Cyclops was standing in his fearless leader pose with Jean right by his side. Jean looked like she was trying to reassure Cyclops while remaining uncertain herself. Storm stood off to the side. Walking up to Storm, Logan asked what was going on.
"Rogue has asked the Professor to help her find a way to control her powers."
"So?" This was hardly news to Logan. He'd assumed the Professor had been trying to help Marie since she'd gotten here over five years ago.
"Rogue brought another girl with her. Robin, is her name. She has suggested that the Professor try examining Rogue's memories to find out if her lack of control is linked to a past trauma."
Logan looked confused. "So the girl's tryin' to help. What's the deal?"
"The girl seems to be human. At least she has shown no signs of power."
"Why not ask Jean?'
Storm frowned thoughtfully. "Jean is unable to read her mind."
Now it was Logan's turn to frown. "How could a human block Jean's probes?"
"We do not know Logan. Both girls are in there now with the Professor. It has been two hours."
* * *
Two hours earlier . . .
"Well Rogue, how are you feeling?"
Marie shifted slightly in her seat. Keeping her gaze steady she simply nodded her head. Robin sat in a chair beside her.
Xavier smiled, attempting to put her at ease. "Are you ready?"
"Ready as Ah'll ever be."
"All right. Let's begin. Rogue, I want you to follow my lead. Take a deep breath, and relax. Open your mind. Keep taking deep breaths. Just relax . . ."
As Marie listened, Xavier's voice started to fade away. She began to feel like she was floating. As her mind relaxed, Xavier gently stepped inside.
Passing through the shadowy residue of Rogue's recent memories, Xavier sought out the areas of her mind that seemed different. Certain parts of Rogue's mind seemed cheery and pleasant, signifying memories that made Rogue happy. Others areas, seemed dark and isolated. These were the areas Xavier concerned himself with. Just as if it were Logan scouting a physical setting, Xavier could tell by psychic activity, which areas of Rogue's mind were active and when. As he began to weave into darker memories, Xavier felt a chill creep over him. Before he could react, a hulking figure crashed into him, knocking him down. As Xavier tried to rise, the figure aimed his fists at the ground, which began to tremble underneath him. Unable to get his balance, the Professor tried to reach out with his mind to defend himself. As he gathered his concentration, a burst of flame leapt out at him. Another figure stepped out of the shadows. Flames licked his hands as they shot out towards the Professor. Weakly, Xavier was about to call for Jean when a commanding voice rang out.
"ENOUGH!"
The two figures ceased their assault uncertainly as a new figure strode forward. A blonde woman with blue eyes glared at the Professor's attackers before turning a smile on Xavier.
"You'll have to forgive Avalanche and Pyro, Professor Xavier. They are young and restless." She turned a steely gaze on the men and then leaned down to give the Professor a hand. As she helped him rise, Xavier looked into the woman's blue eyes. She smiled.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is-"
"Mystique."
For a split second the Professor swore he saw the woman's blue eyes flash yellow. Then it was gone and blue irises were smiling back at him again.
"I'm sorry, I-"
"You cannot hide who you are in the realm of the mind Mystique. Appearances mean little here."
The smile faded from Mystique's face. Slowly her features shifted and changed. Blonde hair flowed to red, blue eyes faded to yellow, and pale skin darkened to blue. Xavier kept his face composed as he stood before the transformed shapeshifter. As they stood facing one another, Xavier noticed Mystique's form was lighter than before. This confirmed his suspicions that she was merely a psychic "ghost" in Rogue's mind. Which meant that at one point Rogue had absorbed the mutant terrorist. Mystique met Xavier's gaze with a steady stare.
"Remove yourself from Rogue's mind, Xavier. You have no business here."
"Could I not say the same of you, I wonder?"
Mystique narrowed her eyes at him.
"Rogue put me here Xavier. You are an intrusion."
As Mystique shifted to the side, Xavier suddenly caught sight of something he could have sworn hadn't been there before. There, behind the shapeshifter, was a solid stone wall. A mental block.
Mystique noticed his concentrated look. Frowning she turned to see where Xavier was staring at. Without hesitation, Xavier reached out with his mind and the ground beneath Mystique flowed upwards. She cried out in rage as the substance in Rogue's mind rose at the Professor's whim to cover her writhing form. A similar fate met Avalanche and Pyro and soon the Professor found himself free to examine the wall.
* * *
It was two hours later before Xavier opened his eyes to find Robin sitting with a calming hand on Rogue's still form. As the Professor looked over at her and smiled Robin leaned back from the prone body of her friend.
"How did it go?"
"There was a barrier in her mind of amazing strength. For a time I feared I would not be able to remove it. Still, it is finally done. Rogue should now have full access to all of her memories."
Robin let out a breath she'd been holding.
"You must be exhausted Professor. You seemed to be straining very hard for awhile."
"I ran into some unexpected trouble."
Robin seemed to hesitate before speaking up again.
"Professor, is she going to come back the same person? I mean, who knows what those memories were that were hidden?"
Now it was the Professor's turn to sigh.
"Unfortunately Robin we have no way of knowing the answer to that question. All we can do is be there for her and hope that it's our Rogue that comes back."
Beside them Rogue stirred. Suddenly she shot up in the chair. Her eyes were wild and glassy, as though she was looking at something no one else could see.
"Rogue, are you all right?" The Professor asked calmly.
Rogue whipped her head from side to side taking in her surroundings, including Robin, and Xavier. Slowly, she seemed to relax. For several moments she just sat there, silently. Xavier watched her carefully. He had known she would be disoriented at first and he knew it could take a few minutes for her to adjust. He wasn't sure how long her disorientation would last since he had no way of knowing how much memory had been blocked. As he and Robin watched Rogue looked at both of them. She still hadn't responded to Xavier's question. Finally she fixed her gaze on Robin. She seemed to be searching her face for something. Robin smiled reassuringly.
"Hey Rogue. Was it successful?"
"Why do you care?"
Robin looked surprised for a minute. "What do you mean, why do I care? You're my friend."
"Really." Rogue turned her body around fully to face Robin.
Unnerved temporarily, Robin tried to recover. "Yes, really. Rogue, why don't you touch me and see if it worked?"
"You want me to test this out on you? I've never been able to control my powers and you're willing to take the risk that I can't control it now?"
Robin nodded solemnly. Without breaking eye contact, Rogue slowly removed a glove and reached a bare hand towards Robin's cheek. Professor Xavier watched with interest as Rogue's fingers rested on Robin's bare skin. For several moments, nothing happened. Xavier and Robin both smiled. Rogue's eyes narrowed and suddenly she opened the transfer . . .