When you're so young, logic twists in strange ways. Graydon an' Ah played tag an' everythin' was base ta me. All Ah had ta do ta be safe was touch it an' yell ("Base! Base! Base!"). An' Graydon, usin' all th' gravity that bein' three years older would allow him, would try ta explain, patiently an' logically, why what Ah was touchin' wasn't the predetermined base at all. An' also, why Ah was out.

Ah'd lost every single time.

Graydon never asked Mystique ta mediate things for him any o' those times, only wrinkled his forehead in a grownup way an' explained things. Even if he had ta try th' explanation eight different ways. He never raised his voice ta me.

Stretchin' my arm over Remy's stomach, Ah brushed Graydon's hand with my gloved one. In th' dark, he jumped, like one o' those dogs that's been hit too much in its life ta ever be quite normal. "It's okay," Ah murmured, not sure if he could even hear me.

"Who are you?" he repeated.

"It's Rogue," Ah said, not even sure if he'd remember me at all. "When we were kids, your mom would bring you sometimes."

"My mom?" he asked it dully, workin' over th' words like they were a curse. Growin' up with Mystique full time musta been somethin' else. Ah didn't like ta think of it.

"It's okay if ya don't remember me."

"I remember," he said faintly. His voice was thick.

"Not t' break up th' reunion, then, but d'you have any idea how to get out?" John asked pointedly.

"They made this place for me," Graydon explained. "Because I was a freak. But I made some of the rest of it myself." It was pretty obvious that his mind was wandrin'. "It never went down so far before. Like roots." That weird phosphorescent glow started up again, dimmer this time, but seemin' like absolute sunshine after th' pitch dark from before. Ah could see that Remy, John an' Kitty were all sittin' up, watchin' everythin' Graydon did with exhausted fascination. Their faces were covered in dirty streaks that looked gray in th' strange light.

He pressed his palm flat against th' wall an' bright streaks veined out from underneath his hand. They grew longer an' wider until they met. At first, th' light burned my eyes an' Ah blinked furiously against it. Even when Ah got more used ta it, Ah still had ta shade my eyes with my hand an' peek out under my lashes. In th' light there was another stairway leadin' up. Ah coulda cried, Ah was so relieved. We all scrambled ta our feet, pitchin' forward on tired legs.

"Come on, Graydon!" Ah shouted. His face was pinched. "We cain't leave ya down here."

"This is mine." Th' way he explained it, there was that same calm as when he was explainin' th' rules in tag.

"Not anymore," Ah told him firmly, grabbin' hold o' his wrist an' takin' him with me. There was a loud noise behind us, like a hundred trees fallin' over all at once. Somethin' scraped my heel an' bounced off.

"It doesn't want to let me go," he told me.

Ah ignored him, pushin' up toward what Ah hoped was freedom. It was hard ta fly an' th' space seemed ta me ta be gettin' longer an' lower. Stretchin' like taffy. Ah gritted my teeth an' forced myself ta fly faster, skimmin' th' ground almost. Ah was movin' so quick that th' wind stung in my eyes. Th' light that'd seemed so welcomin' an' wonderful a few moments before just glowed hotter an' hotter. Th' walls turned bright red like embers. Sweat pricked on my skin an' got blown dry almost instantly. Graydon fretted his fingers at my wrist, tryin' ta free himself.

"Stop," Ah managed ta gasp before somethin' hit me hard, square in th' middle o' my back an' sent me slammin' into th' floor. A stair caught me smack under th' chin an' although Ah didn't bleed from it, my vision fuzzed with stars for a second. Th' steps felt sticky, as if they were meltin'. My legs refused ta move at first an' Ah felt a sob rise from deep in my stomach. Only Ah never let it out. Instead, Ah held tight ta Graydon an' staggered upright, slippin' a little. Th' stairs felt like they were gettin' less solid every second.

"Ro..." Kitty's voice seemed so far away. An' th' end o' my name was swallowed up in a terrible crashin' sound. Ah'd never moved so fast before. Th' ground was collapsin' under me an' my legs were movin', burnin' muscles. Ah dashed, takin' th' narrow stairs three an' four at a time, pushin' myself until, at last, Ah felt th' ground crumble for good an' Ah jumped, spreadin' my body out like a cat does. Too tired for words or flight, pullin' Graydon alongside me, his weight danglin' from my right hand. Ah screamed, sure that if Ah was gonna hit th' bottom of th' house Ah'd go out in style, with an angry noise in my mouth.

No one was more surprised than me when Ah hit th' slate floor in th' moonlit kitchen. Two-thirds o' me was still hangin' over th' edge an' Graydon's weight was draggin' me down fast. Ah remember thinkin' what a funny way it was for everythin' ta end. That was right before someone's hand circled my upper arm an' another caught me under th' shoulders. Ah looked up into Remy's face. Th' dirt Ah'd seen before had combined with sweat ta make muddy patches. He smiled.

"Almost dere," he whispered.

But then, Ah could see his arms shakin' an' Ah could see Kitty an' John behind him, holdin' on so he wouldn't fall, even though they were both so tired they seemed ta tremble in my vision. Reminded me of that fairytale with the sticky goose an' th' chain o' people cemented together. Th' melancholy princess up in her tower, laughin' at th' sight. With effort, Ah managed ta raise Graydon higher outta that deep, dark hole. He'd passed out again an', somehow, seein' that he was dead weight made him heavier than he'd been before.

"Get him," Ah gasped.

"If one of us lets go t' get him, sweetheart, the other two won't be able to hold you up, yeah?" John panted.

"Th' three o' you cain't hold us both forever. Please."

Reluctantly, John detached himself from th' end o' th' line. Ah lifted Graydon up as far as Ah could an' John caught hold o' him. Kitty an' Remy slid forward on th' tiles.

"Remind me to live in a one-storey house," Kitty managed weakly.

"Fly, beb," Remy whispered. He sounded desperate. Sweat rolled down his chin ta splash invisibly in th' dimness.

Flyin' is like any other physical activity: ya just cain't do it when you're bone tired. But Ah knew he was right. None of 'em were in any state ta pull me all th' way out. Ah closed my eyes an' then kicked at th' air as hard as Ah could. For a terrible moment Ah wasn't doin' anythin' but fallin'. Dizzy. Ah wasn't ready ta give up. My muscles ached an' shook. My limbs flailed. So it wasn't th' most graceful thing when Ah burst outta th' doorway an' landed hard against Remy's chest. He toppled under me. His arms tightened an' his breath stirred my hair.

About then, th' house alarm started ta ring shrilly. Ah rolled onto my back, th' slate feelin' blissfully cool against my sweaty skin, even through my shirt, an' Ah started ta laugh. Even though my stomach muscles hurt with it.

"Base," Ah croaked.

* * *

Dere's a knack t' getting arrested.

De knack is not t' care one way or de other. Dis is more complicated dan it sounds. Back when I worked wit' Magneto, those days dat seem more and more like somet'ing I dreamed up t' keep myself entertained, I'd already perfected de fine art. Walking dat line between arrogance and deference. Respect is de most important t'ing. Wit' cops or wit' megalomaniacs de principle t'ing is t' present yourself strongly enough dat subduing you seems like an accomplishment worth mentioning, but not so strongly dat dey become resentful. De balance of power must be maintained between de authority and de transgressor.

And someday, all dis and 35 cents will buy me more dan a phone call. Ought t' write a book and just wait patiently for de honorary degrees t' roll in. T'ieving 101: De Philosophy of Larceny by Msr. Remy LeBeau.

John was looking a little green around de gills by de time we'd been tossed into de holding cell. Dey charged us wit' breaking and entering for good measure, but didn't have space other dan de holding area. Typical. Graydon was sitting in de corner and de sulky look on his face wasn't doing much for my good mood. Kitty and Rogue were off wit' de rest of de women.

I slid onto de bench next t' John and tapped his knee lightly. "Y' okay?"

He rubbed a hand t'rough his hair, his fingertips gray wit' traces of fingerprinting ink. "Knackered. Bloody knackered. Nothing that a month of sleep won't fix." He tossed an annoyed look in Graydon's direction. "What's with Little Lord Fauntlroy over there?"

"I told you not to take me with you," he spat.

Meanwhile, we were attracting all sorts of de wrong kind of attention from everyone around us. I stood and grabbed Graydon's arm roughly. "Mebbe y' want t' ret'ink what you're saying, mec (dude)." After all we'd risked, de urge t' hit him was nearly overpowering.

He set his jaw and stuck his chin out stubbornly. "Go ahead."

Released his arm. "Not worth it."

"Y' said they built that place for you?" John asked.

"Not all of it. Some of it was me. I wanted to hide and it let me do that. I controlled it."

Couldn't help but wonder at what might make a person feel dat dey needed t' retreat so completely from de world. No matter what problems I'd had wit' de eyes, not'ing was worth such complete isolation. Knew dat whatever had happened t' make Graydon like dat must've been somet'ing terrible.

"Yeah?" John breathed gently.

Graydon's eyes were hard. Boring into us. "I've never been anything except a test subject to anyone I've ever met. My parents waited years, but I never let them see what I could do. They tossed me out because I wasn't useful to them. I was a fucking defective tool."

T'ought briefly of Jean-Luc, but dere was no comparison in de end. For all dat my father was a taskmaster, dere was always dat grudging love. Affection was a liability, dat much he knew, but dat didn't stop him from feeling it. Couldn't t'ink of anyt'ing t' say and I looked at John helplessly.

"I remember Rogue," Graydon said, trembling over de words. "There weren't many kids I was allowed to see. I remember her funny hair and how she didn't know what a smurf bite was." He lowered his head and his eyes were shadowed for a moment. Den he looked up. "How do we get out of here?"

Allowed myself de luxury of a good laugh. "Dat was a quick turnaround."

"I don't like being penned up." Looked at him questioningly. "Involuntarily!" he insisted defensively.

"I'm not the expert like Remy," John piped up, "but isn't it better ta wait this one out?"

"Don't t'ink I like what you're implying, mon ami."

"What d'you think I'm implying, mon ami?" John shot back neatly, doing his usual hatchet job on my accent.

"Dat I've been caught more dan you."

"Meant ta do more than imply."

"If not for de Federal prison system, we never would've met." Threw my arm around John's shoulder and squeezed until he squirmed.

"Thrill's gone, darlin'," he drawled.

De door t' de holding cell opened. "You three." The guard jerked his chin at us. "Your bail's been posted."

"Did you arrange this?" Graydon asked wit' a certain grudging respect.

"Non."

"Then who..."

"De suspense might kill us," I said solemnly. "Good t'ing it won't last long."

* * *

It's been an ugly couple weeks and if there's a moral to the past 14 days, the moral is: "I hate floppies". After accidentally deleting one story (not this one) and then having another disk die on me (why, yes this story WAS the only thing on it, how perceptive of you!) I've come to severely mistrust the little buggers. Boo.

Oh, and I may as well give advanced warning: I'll be on vacation starting July 11. I'm pretty sure I'll have another chapter out by then, but I just thought I'd let y'all know. I'm sure I'll be writing, but I don't think they're so much with the internet cafes up in the Norwegian fjords.

Lucky439: More? I gotcher "more" right here! You like?

Christy S: Your suggestion is duly noted. I'm fairly reluctant to make anyone a total villain on principle. If I have a credo, that's it. I'm intrigued by Graydon generally, his relationship with Rogue specifically. That he's fairly underdeveloped as a comics character (among others coughPyrocough) only makes him more fun to mess with.

ishandahalf: I constantly fall over and run into stuff. I've got a big ol' scar on my left knee from where I tripped myself with my own jumprope when I was 8. And a slightly smaller one on my right knee from where I banged myself creekwalking when I was 12. I've walked into poles (no foolin', poles), run face-first into the side of a pool (but that was only half my fault!) and I've been hit with a cricket bat. It's honest-to-goodness comedy gold at this point...

this is sex: Thanks!

Chaos: FF.net has been freaking out more than usual lately. You wouldn't believe how many days it took me to even post the last chapter! Augh. And then who looks like a Mary-come-lately/no-posty? I'm glad you're enjoying it though.

Panther Nesmith: I'm honestly surprised when people know about Graydon. I guess he was kind of a big deal on the dearly-departed old X-Men series. Since it was so Wolvie-centric and all (not that I have a thing against Wolvie, I'm just sayin'). Anyhow, I'm hoping to take him in interesting directions.

Lace123: Graydon is Mystique and Sabertooth's son (ew...Victor Creed, just...eew). IIRC, they were convinced that any son of theirs would be a super mutant. So they brought him up (in part) with Rogue. However, he turned out to be disappointingly normal. But superbad childhood = founder of anti-mutant hate group.

Eileen Blazer: I had no idea that Graydon (of all people) would be this popular. I'm pretty selfish as a writer and I like to write about the stuff that interests me, but it's great to know that others share my interests as well.

Flyby Stardancer: I didn't know about Gloria! How interesting. I'm guessing they didn't do too much with that? Mystique is like, supermom! Only somewhat evil and neglectful, I guess. Who would've thought she, of all people, would have so many kids?

Yumiko: Um...ta da? Your anxiousness to know what comes next warms my cynical heart.