Next time we meet I will kill you, Mother.

The vow whispered through Rogue's mind as she crumpled the little note into a ball and hurled it aside. The box tumbled from her lap, unnoticed as she jumped to her feet and simply stood there in the middle of all her friends, body tense and fists clenched.

"Rogue?" more than one of them asked in concern.

Kurt went to pick up the collar that had fallen from the box, but Rogue stopped him.

"Don't. It's from Mystique."

The adults pushed forward at that, Hank, Ororo and the Professor looking at her with some worry.

"The note –" the Professor began.

"It only said, 'From Mother.'" She answered, knowing what he was about to say.

"Hank, I want you to find out what it is immediately."

The big blue man nudged the collar carefully back in its box before picking it up and leaving the room in the direction of the lab.

"I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, Rogue. For all she has going against her, Mystique has always appeared to have a genuine affection for you. It could very well be a simple gift." Ororo soothed with a hand on her shoulder.

Jerking away from the touch, she growled. "So she doesn't try to kill me at every opportunity, you know the saying about Greeks bearing gifts. She never does anything without a motive that's harmful to us and her using 'Mother' is a definite sign she's up to something."

"I have to agree with you both, it could be nothing but we have every reason to be suspicious." The Professor said. "Let us not allow this to spoil your day, Rogue. Hank will find out what he can about the item and then we will know how to proceed. Until then, this is still a party."

~*~*~

At last, the party was over.

An hour after opening that last package, Rogue finally found some peace and solitude in her room.

She sat on her bed surrounded by the gifts those she'd come to care for so much had given her. Gifts she could trust to have no ulterior motive. Gifts that came from the heart and were given with no strings, simply the intention to please the one they were given to.

Not like Mystique's gift.

What did it mean?

A collar.

Was the shapeshifter trying to claim some kind of ownership of her?

Pets were given collars, as were slaves.

Was Mystique trying to make some statement along those lines?

Magneto was rumored to have collars to control mutants on his side, something about them being able to subdue the wearer's free-will.

If she had put on the gift, would she have found herself blindly obeying commands from Mystique to harm her teammates?

Dammit, Hank, what is taking so long?!

And where the hell if Logan?

The second thought stuck in her mind, causing Rogue to realize once again that the man had missed her party and given her no gift.

That there was a sign as big as Hollywood's that said she was wasting her dreams in that direction. If he couldn't even be bothered to show up for her "big day" he definitely wouldn't be interested in fulfilling any of her many fantasies.

Good thing wishes don't come true.

Hers would have been completely wasted.

~*~*~

"Rogue, thank you for responding so quickly," the Professor said as soon as she entered the lab to join Hank and himself.

"I was already heading down here to see what y'all had found out when you called for me." She replied. "What have you found out?"

"From what I've been able to determine so far, I can say you were correct in assuming this collar was not simply a piece of jewelry." Hank said, turning with the wide silver circlet in large hands.

"It does not appear to be harmful, though. In fact, if it's what I believe it to be, it could prove very helpful to you."

"Could you stop with the cryptic intro and just tell me what the hell it is?"

He chuckled at her impatience even as Xavier took on that stern, about to lecture, expression.

"The compounds with which it's made make the collar a highly effective balance for the wearer's X-gene if they have one. Simply put, it's a mutation suppressor."

"Why would she give me something like that?"

"Unfortunately, I'm unable to locate Mystique to try divulging such information from her mind. We are only left with speculations. Though her reasons are selfish, she was genuinely concerned about your wellbeing the day all those you had absorbed tried to take over your body at the same time. This gift may truly be a gift to you to help control the mutation and keep you from absorbing any more people. She could be attempting to render you powerless for some reason."

"Would I really be powerless?"

"Little is known about mutation suppressors, Rogue. Those who really know the answer to that are scientists like those who gave Logan his claws and metal coated skeleton. They don't exactly provide accounts of their experimentations and results to the general public." Hank answered with some sadness at the fact.

"Does it really work?"

"We can only learn that by testing it and I admit we're all weary of doing that considering how the item came to us." The Professor answered.

Without speaking, she put out a glove-encased hand and silently demanding Hank place the collar in it.

After he did, she simply stared at it as she held it in that hand.

It really looked harmless.

It was about 16" in diameter, perfect for her neck. It was probably about a quarter inch thick and a full inch wide. The metal was silvery, but had a dull grayish tinge to it, signifying it was silver. The only break in the circle was a small separation at what she assumed was the back.

Pulling apart the metal at the separation she found that the ends were magnetic, allowing the collar to be opened with a tug and closed back once the magnets were allowed to fuse together.

Magneto.

He had to be behind this somehow, even if Mystique had appeared to have parted ways the metal manipulator. Rogue could only think of him as someone who could create such a collar.

"That is my assumption as well, Rogue, but as with everything else I can only assume." The Professor said, referring to the thought he had read.

"Should I – " she bit her lip.

"We do not think that you will be harmed if it is worn for a short period, so I believe it will be safe to try it on to see if it does work." The Professor encouraged. "We will be right here to take it off the second it appears anything may be going wrong."

With that assurance, she again pried the magnetized endings open to slide the collar around her bare neck.

The metal was cold on her flesh, but otherwise caused no noticeable reaction.

"Who wants to test this with me?" she asked, slowly pulling off her right glove.

In answer, the Professor simply moved to her side and took the bared hand in both of his.

Thirty seconds of contact between their bare skin and no pull.

One minute.

Two minutes.

After five minutes, still with no reaction from her mutation, the Professor released his hold and sat back in his chair.

"I think we can say that it does work on your powers, Rogue." He said.

"Good. I'd like to do some further testing on it now that we know that much. There's still a lot we need to learn about its composition and how exactly it is that a simple collar can manage to control a mutation as powerful as yours." Hank said, stepping forward to remove the collar.

Rogue jumped away from him, hand clasped protectively over the collar.

"Wait. I'd like to keep it on. Just for today. There's something I wanted to do today." She explains.

"There's nothing to stop you from doing anything you wish to today, Rogue. Why would you need the collar." The Professor asked brow furrowed at her statement.

"Ah…Ah can't explain it. Not rahght now, just let me keep it on tonahght."

Her slight southern-accent always made an appearance when she was nervous and this was no exception. Her "I" sounds were being drawn out into a soft "ah" sound.

The two men exchanged a look at her plea, each concerned about the collar's potential danger but knowing Rogue must have a valid reason for wanting to take the risk.

"Ah swear, Ah'll bring it to you first thahng in the morning and you can do all the tests you need." She promised them both.

"All right, Rogue, we shall wait until tomorrow to further explore the abilities of the collar. You must also swear that you will take it off immediately if you notice any form of a reaction. As unfamiliar as we are with such devices we may be powerless to help you should something go wrong." The Professor demanded.

Understanding and sharing that concern, she nodded. "I'll remove it and call for your help without hesitation, Professor."

With that, they allowed her to leave the lab and she went from the room gladly.

Her mind was whirling with two thoughts.

Fate worked in mysterious ways, was her first thought. She had thought her wish last night to be able to touch and be touched today had not been granted, but in some strange way it had been.

Thanks to Mystique.

God, the apocalypse must be coming if I have reason to thank that woman.

Shaking that thought away she focused back on her first one. Regardless of her motives, Mystique had given Rogue a way to control her mutation at least for the night to come. Rogue had no intention of questioning that fact as her focus turned to the other thought burning through her mind.

Find Logan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author Speaking: Yippee, I figured out a solution I like to the whole solution to Rogue's mutation thing! Hope y'all agree with it. Now on to what we all want – some Lo/Ro action!!!!!!