Chapter Four: Ante Up
Rogue looked at her watch, it read 1:57 pm. She and Remy had been at the cemetery since just after 1:00 pm. They wanted to be in place before Fury arrived. Rogue fought back another spat of nervousness when she thought about her upcoming meeting with the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.
When Rogue had asked Mystique and Irene if she could meet one of her friends and hang out with him for the day, her foster mothers were surprised. They did not know that Rogue had made a friend in New Orleans.
"His name is Trevor Mullins. He is around 12 or so. I met him in the hotel lobby. He was here visiting some of his relatives from out of town. His relatives are all older than him and he was bored so his dad let him explore the lobby, which is when I met him. I didn't want to disturb you, so I went downstairs to have breakfast. I ran into Trevor and asked if he wanted to eat with me. He had to leave after breakfast, but he is coming back a little bit later to hang out with me today. He wanted to show New Orleans from a native's perspective, not just a tourist's view. Come on, wouldn't it be nice if you two could extend your adult time through today?" Rogue asked.
Mystique and Irene had agreed to let Rogue hang out with 'Trevor' if he first came up to meet them.
"That is cool. I'll bring him upstairs when he comes by. In the meantime, can I go downstairs to the pool?"
"Yes, Rogue, you may. However, we want you back by noon so we all can have lunch together. Then you can introduce us to your friend," Irene replied.
"Okay, thanks," Rogue responded.
Once Rogue got to the hotel lobby, instead of heading to the pool area, she left via the front exit. She quickly headed to the vicinity where Remy was working last night, hoping that she might run into him. She looked around for about half and hour, but she was unable to find him. Just as Rogue was turning to head back the hotel, she literally ran into Remy.
"What are you doing back here, Rogue?"
"Looking for you, Swamp Rat. I have another task to perform. Do you want to hang out with me today?"
"What do I have to do? Is it anything like last night?"
"Well, first you have to meet my foster mothers. Then I have a 2:00 pm appointment at a local cemetery. After that, you can come up with something to do."
^ Life is certainly never boring around this girl. ^ Remy thought. "Sounds like we have plans for today. What time do you want me to meet your mothers?"
"Stop by the Chateau du Voyage at a quarter till 1:00. Do you know where that is located?"
Once Remy assured Rogue that he did indeed know where the hotel was, they continued to make their plans until it was time for Rogue to return for lunch. When Rogue arrived back at the hotel, she made a quick detour to the pool and jumped in for a quick dip, before resuming her trek to the suite.
Mystique, Rogue and Irene had just finished their lunch from the dining room, when there was a knock at the door to their room.
"I'll get it," Rogue called out.
When Rogue opened the door, it took her a second to recognize Remy. He was wearing sunglasses on top of his head, but his eyes were not their usual red and black. Also, he was wearing clothes that were preppier than she was used to seeing Remy in. Rogue smiled and rolled her eyes at him when he conspiratorially winked at her.
Rogue introduced 'Trevor' to Mystique and Irene. After he answered their questions, they gave permission for Rogue to hang out with him.
"Why don't your eyes look normal? I mean why don't they look like they normally do?" Rogue asked.
"As you pointed out last night, my eyes are a distinguishing characteristic. I have a device that can make them appear like regular brown eyes. I am also dressed differently than usual to further differentiate 'Trevor' from the real me. I don't want your mothers to remember what I look like, just what 'Trevor' looks like. By the way, good job of coming up with a different name for me. If you had used my real name, I would not have met them. The less people know about me, the better of I am."
"I figured that it would be best if I did not give your real name. They might decide to research you, and I did not want them to find out about your thieving ways. I am sure you have a few pick pocketing charges in your criminal history."
"Cher, I am wounded that you think that this thief has ever been caught. I am much too good for that. You shouldn't roll your eyes so much, you might strain them."
They continued to bicker back and forth on the way to the cemetery. Once they were there, Remy pulled out the walkie-talkies that he had managed to procure before meeting Rogue at her hotel. Remy took up his lookout position while Rogue walked further into the cemetery.
Rogue was brought back to the present time when she heard Remy over the walkie-talkie.
"Repeat, I see activity at the front entrance of the cemetery. There is a man with an eye-patch and a toothpick in his mouth heading toward you. Get ready, Rogue."
"Understood, Remy. Thanks."
Rogue slowly turned around to face the oncoming man. The description that Remy had given of the man fit what Rogue had heard Mystique depict Fury as looking like. She took a deep breath in preparation of the impending meeting.
Nick Fury looked down at the girl who had orchestrated this cozy little get-together. She was how Forrester, his New Orleans agent, described her, "cute-as-a-button in overalls and a cap". It was hard to believe that this kid had any knowledge about him and S.H.I.E.L.D., let alone set up a meeting with him through one of his agents.
Nick waited a few minutes, and when it was apparent that she wasn't going to say anything first, he decided to speak. "So, kid, why did you want to meet with me?"
"I have a proposition for you, Mr. Fury. I will give you some inside information about certain plans within some factions of the mutant community. Where the information comes from is my own business, so don't even bother asking me how I know the things that I do. In return, I want you to continue to keep the existence of mutants under wraps and to treat the mutants you do come in contact with fairly. However, if you ever use information that I have given you to plan an incursion against harmless mutants, I will not be very pleased and act accordingly."
Nick stared expressionlessly down at the child. Inside, he was astonished at her maturity and conviction. He believed she would try to retaliate some way if she ever perceived a betrayal on his end of the bargain. ^ I wonder if she really can give me some inside information about mutants. ^ It is hard to get a human informant within the mutant community. It was harder still to find a mutant that had knowledge of other mutants (they usually believed that they were the only one in the world that was different), let alone one that had any idea of what was happening in the wider world of human and mutant current events. ^ I don't have a problem with using intel provided by a child, especially one that approached me. However, how do I know that she can be trusted? ^
Rogue waited while Fury processed her proposal. From what Rogue knew of Fury, he would have more of a concern with trusting the information provided by her, rather than the fact it was a child that was offering the information. She was prepared to answer the questions he asked, provided that she did not have to divulge too much personal information about herself or where her information came from. Rogue was not prepared to hand over her family to the government, just to make sure that they did not do too much damage in their quest for mutant rights.
"What kind of information will you supply?" Fury asked.
"I won't just start giving you names, places and powers of all the mutants I know of, but I will provide you with information concerning mutants that might become a threat to lives, commerce, the governments of the US or other countries, etc. I will also serve as a person you can contact with specific questions about rumours or people you have heard of. Again, there is no guarantee that I will answer all of your questions or tell you everything I know, but the information I do provide will be truthful and accurate. Face it, Mr. Fury, you need someone on your team that has knowledge of the mutant world and is willing to impart some of that intelligence to you."
"If I agree to your terms, what information can you give me now?"
"I have a name of a mutant that has the potential of becoming a thorn in your side. I also have some of his preliminary plans and his basic agenda. Do you want me as an informant or not?"
"Yes, Rogue. However, do not think that I will allow you access to confidential information that S.H.I.E.L.D. has. You will not be given any security clearance so if this is an attempt to get into my organization in order to act as a double agent, don't bother."
"I won't bother because that is not what I am here for. Let's just say that I expect that these next few years are the calm before the storm; I want to help you brace yourselves for the impact. Mutants aren't always going to be hidden in this society, one day the world will know of them. Hopefully, the information I give you will lessen the blow that humanity and mutantkind will be dealt once their existence is made common knowledge. I also do not want a war to erupt between mutants and humans. We all have to share this world and we all deserve to live under the same sky and breath the same air. One race does not have the right to try to enslave the other, and I think that radicals from both sides will believe that this course will be the only option, thus takes steps to ensure the subjugation of the other race."
Fury was surprised at her eloquence and her grasp of the possible perils of human-mutant relations. His mission was to categorize the potential threats from both humans and mutants, and deal with them appropriately. Nick's job would be much easier if he had an informant from the mutant side whose goals were similar to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s.
"Acknowledged. Now, tell me about the possible mutant that might emerge in the next few years as a threat."
"His name is Magneto. He believes that humans will not be able to handle the existence of mutants and that they will try to either eliminate mutants or enslave them. Magneto is prepared to instigate the first strike against humanity, rather than wait for them to assault mutants. He is gathering associates and allies in anticipation of the eventual conflict. However, he is in the beginning stages of his plans so he is not a threat as of yet. Maybe in 5 or 10 years, but not now. I will continue to provide you with information on this man as I gather it."
"Thank you. Now, lets make arrangements for you to deliver your future information to one of my associates."
"No, I will deal with only you directly. I can send the intel to you through other means that face-to-face contact. I can't keep meeting you at various locations; it will become suspicious. I can mail the information to a pre-determined location or I can send it via a computer. I can also phone it in if you provide me with a calling card. It would be best if you don't contact me, just wait for me to contact you."
Rogue and Fury hashed out the details of their future communications and then parted ways.
Rogue met up with Remy after Fury left. Remy said he wanted to go out to eat at a local restaurant. Rogue called back to the hotel and check in with Mystique and Irene and to seek approval for her to continue to hang out with 'Trevor' and eat out. Thus given permission, Remy and Rogue went to grab a bite to eat. It was the start of a friendship that would endure throughout the ensuing years.
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A/N: Okay, sorry that it has been so long since my last update. Hopefully, I will be able to crank out another chapter this week.
Thanks for all of the reviews that you guys have given. It has encouraged me to continue to write this story. Really, the only reason I began this story was to try to get other authors to include some of the characters that I introduced in the first couple of chapters of the story, especially Jono and Sage. I hadn't really read too many Evo fics with these X-Men used so I thought I would try it.
Caliente-are you the same Caliente from the ComiX-Fan website?
For all of you that are thinking that it was just too easy for Rogue to become Fury's informant, you are not wrong. That will be addressed in the next few chapters, but not all at once. Next chapter will kinda gloss over the next few years of Rogue's life. What will be discussed in detail will be the emergence of her powers and her first meeting with the X-Men (basically a retelling of Season One Episode Three: Rogue Recruit). Warning, the episode will be skewed to fit within the fic, so be prepared for some inconsistencies.