A/N: I'm baa-aack! Just uploaded chapter 3, and now I'm starting this. Time to answer reviews! Yippee Skippy!
SorrowRain: the bad layout isn't my fault, FF.Net keeps screwing it up. Argh! I think it has something to do with that upgrade they're doing. =/
Ishandahalf: You guessed it—she's off to England!
Gub-man: It's not a ritual, exactly. You're on the right track, though.
Thanks for all the reviews. You all get free holowatches!
Now, on with chapter 4!!
… Indicates telepathic communication.
It was almost eight o'clock when Rogue finally made it back to the mansion, weary, dejected, and hungry. She trudged through the living room (which was currently occupied by the New Mutants watching TV) and headed straight for the kitchen. Suddenly Bobby stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
"Hey Rogue!" he said. Rogue, however, was in no mood for conversation.
"Move it, Icecube!" (A/N: I loved when Wolverine called him that at the end of the X23 episode, lol! J) She tried to get around him, but he wouldn't let her.
"The Professor told me to send you to his office as soon as you got in."
Rogue scowled, but turned and headed for the Professor's office. She couldn't think of a reason why he would want to see her. Could he have found the Eye? Rogue's heart pounded against her ribs. How could she explain a stolen ruby in her bedroom? She couldn't tell him about her *other* job, that was sure.
She tried to convince herself that he couldn't possibly know about the Eye. Yet with every step she took, it became increasingly difficult to get the thought out of her head. Her head was filled with a vision of the Professor sitting at his desk, a look of extreme disappointment upon his face, with the Eye sitting in front of him. He was looking at Rogue like a criminal. Rogue had to shake her head to get rid of that awful image. The thought of the Professor thinking her a thief churned her stomach. She didn't think she could stand disappointing the Professor like that.
With a start Rogue realized that she was standing in front of his office door. She lifted her hand to knock.
Come in, Rogue, he said in her mind. She pushed open the door slowly.
"You wanted to see me?" she asked.
"Please, have a seat."
Rogue nervously settled into one of the chairs opposite the Professor. She was having a hard time keeping a façade of calm upon her features.
"Do you know why I called you here?" he asked. Rogue shook her head. The Professor reached into one of his desk drawers. Her heart rate doubled—this was it. He was about to pull out…a piece of paper? Relief flooded through her.
"Recognize this?" he asked, pushing it towards her. It was her last science test.
"It's mah science test," she said.
"Look at the grade," he commanded. She did—it was a 63. Her short-lived feeling of relief was replaced by a feeling of foreboding.
"Would you mind explaining why, with grades like this, you decided to go to the mal on a *school* night?"
Rogue floundered, unsure how to answer his question.
"Ah…uh…had a …project…to take care of," she said lamely.
He cocked an eyebrow. "Really? What kind of project?"
"Extra-curricular?" she tried. She didn't like the look he gave her in response.
"Let me guess," he said, "By 'extra-curricular' you mean 'having nothing to do with school,' and by 'project' you mean 'wasting money on things you probably don't need, but want anyway.' Correct?" Rogue nodded. "Well I don't mean to be rude, but isn't that just a bit immature?" He leaned forward in his chair. "Rogue, I would expect someone as intelligent as you to realize the importance of studying, especially with grades like this."
Rogue shifted uneasily. She had not expected this line of questioning. The Professor sighed.
"Why do you even *have* grades like this? I know you're smarter than this."
Rogue shrugged. "Ah just haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately, that's all."
"Well try to get more sleep from now on, alright?" Rogue nodded.
"Can Ah go now?"
"Feel free," he said, fishing through one of his drawers for a pen. When he looked up a second later, she was gone. "Nice to know I'm so popular," he muttered.
Rogue had headed straight for the kitchen, and was now munching on a cheese bagel. She had spent most of the return trip from Ms. Young's house thinking up a solution to the Keystone problem. It seemed that there was only one solution: she had to go to England, and she had to do it without the X-men knowing. Fortunately, that wasn't overly difficult for someone in her line of work.
When she finished eating, Rogue went up to her room to contact the Collective. Thankfully, Kitty was downstairs helping Scott with his homework. Rogue pulled an ordinary-looking ballpoint pen out of her backpack. But this was not an ordinary pen. It was actually a Morse-code transmitter. She began clicking the top of the pen.
"Keystone in England…awaiting further instructions."
Rogue put the pen back in her bag…there was nothing left to do but sit and wait. She pulled out her homework and started trying to make sense of it. Somehow she seemed to have forgotten everything her teacher had ever said. Cursing with frustration, she put down her homework, and got out a book instead. She then settled down on the bed and began to read.
It seemed like only a few minutes had passed before the phone rang. Rogue walked over to Kitty's nightstand and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Would you like to be a part of our survey?"
That was the signal she had been waiting for.
"No thanks," she said, and hung up the phone. She grabbed her coat on her way out the door.
Where are you going? the professor asked.
The library. Ah need to do some research for school. Well she *was* going to the library…even if it wasn't for school.
Be back by eleven.
She decided to walk, since the library was only a few blocks away. It was a clear night, and Rogue was not the only one out. Every now and then she would pass a couple out for a moonlit stroll. Lone joggers patrolled the street, marching to the beat of a song only they could hear.
A chilling breeze swept through the air, ruffling Rogue's coat. She pulled it tighter around herself, and quickened her pace. The library was in sight: a large, brick building with no personality save the graffiti covering one of the walls. It was such a mundane building that no one who saw it ever gave it a second glance.
Rogue stepped inside, pausing to relish the warm air. The inside of the building had slightly more personality than the inside. A blue carpet blanketed the floor. Several dozen bookshelves took up the room. A small circulation desk sat in the corner, manned by a woman who appeared to be half asleep. There was a staircase at the far wall, next to an elevator. Rogue took the elevator.
There were only two floors in the building, and therefore only two buttons. Rogue punched them both simultaneously, but the elevator remained stationary. A female voice said, "Voice identification."
"Rogue."
"Voice identification confirmed. Proceeding to CIA headquarters."
A/N: I bet y'all didn't see THAT one comin, now did ya? There you have it, boys and girls: Rogue is a member of the Central Intelligence Agency. Cool, no?
I humbly await your reviews. If you review this time, you get a free pair of ruby quartz sunglasses!!