Rogue smiled to herself, relieved that Scott wasn't going to lecture her about staying out so late. Yawning, she went upstairs to bed.
She had trouble getting to sleep, however. While other people were around, she had other things to concentrate on, but when she was alone the other personalities threatened to take over her mind.
What most people didn't understand was that when she used her powers and touched someone, a considerable amount of that person entered her psyche. So far, she still had memories taken from David, her first boyfriend, along with most of the experiences that had made Magnus Erik Lensherr into Magneto. Not to mention she had more Logan in there than anyone else, because he had touched her twice.
And now she had St. John Allerdyce. Pyro.
Pyro was trying to take over.
St. John had always liked being in charge, and he was a bit of a bully. He didn't mind using his powers to push others around and get his way. Now he wanted control of Rogue's mind and, being the most recent inhabitant, he was also the most powerful. He was stirring up the others to cause trouble too, and Rogue was afraid of shocking the others with outbursts that simply and literally, were not hers.
She remembered what it had been like a year ago, after the incident on Liberty Island. It had taken her a few months to get both Magneto's and Wolverine's influences under control. They hadn't liked each other, and had made her mind a battleground for a long time. She had said and done some deeply shocking and inappropriate things, and had come close to losing her mind back then. Only with Jean's help had she been able to regain some kind of control.
Jean wasn't here to help her now.
And Rogue had a headache from slamming into frat boy Skip's nose.
Rogue finally heaved a big sigh and got up. She went downstairs to the kitchen to get a snack, and then wandered into the lounge. For once, Jones wasn't there watching television. Idly she wondered if his codename would be "Flix" when he grew up. Rummaging in the desk, she brought out a deck of cards and began dealing out a game of solitaire.
An hour passed with Rogue concentrating very hard on the cards in order to drown out the voices in her head. After a while she became aware of a quiet presence behind her, and without looking up she said, "Hello, Logan," at the exact same time he spoke.
"Your black five can go on the six of diamonds."
"Anyone ever tell you it's rude to kibitz?"
He grunted and slumped down into the easy chair opposite her. He took a deep breath and frowned at her. "You smell hurt," he observed.
"It's nothing. Just a little bruise from the frat boy's nose," Rogue said. At Logan's puzzled look, she clarified. "From when I head-butted him, back in the bar."
"You head-butted him?"
"Well, he grabbed me. So I head-butted him and then kneed him in the groin. Broke his nose. Then when he took a swing at me – it was such a ridiculous swing, Logan, you should have seen it! – I had time to duck and get behind him and kick him over."
"Damn!" Logan said admiringly. "Wish I could've seen that. I just thought you'd used your skin."
Rogue scoffed. "Like I'd even need to? That punch was telegraphed so far in advance I had time to duck AND get behind him. You probably would've had time to pick his pocket and buy a beer before it landed!"
Logan was startled into a chuckle. He leaned back, still grinning broadly, and reached for a cigar. "We're gonna have some fun with your trainin', kid," he promised. He reached toward her forehead. "Want me to..?"
"No!" Rogue cried. "I'll be fine! It's just a little headache, that's all. And believe me, it's good to have something to distract me from 'Rogue War II' in my head! I can always sleep next week."
Logan's frown returned. "What's wrong, kid?"
"Kinda noisy up here for sleep," Rogue admitted, tapping her temple. "I swear, every single guy in my head could wear a sign that says, 'Does not play well with others.' Pyro's having a tough time settling in."
"When did you touch Pyro?" Logan was curious. He didn't remember that.
"At the Drake's house, when he fired the cop cars. I grabbed his leg and drained off enough of his power so I could draw the flames back out of the cars. Don't you remember? Oh, no, you were too busy getting shot in the head." Rogue remembered suddenly. "For God's sake, Logan, don't ever do that to me again!" Rogue turned pale, recalling the sheer, stark terror of that moment, seeing him fall with a bullet in his head. Her hands fumbled the cards.
Logan snorted. "Yeah, well, while we're on the topic, if you ever want to kill me with a heart attack, you just go ahead and fall out of another plane!"
Rogue deadpanned, "Oh, would this be a bad time to tell you about my new skydiving hobby?"
The Wolverine growled. "Don't make me kill you, kid," he said.
Rogue chuckled and went on playing in silence for a while. She finished one game, then looked up at Logan sprawled bonelessly in the chair, smoking. "Sorry I'm not very good company tonight," she said. "I'm not good with people right after a new absorption." Her eyes were caught by the tiny glow of his cigar end. She couldn't help it; she stared. She took a deep breath in and tried to look away.
Logan shrugged. "I'm not much of a people person lately either," he said laconically. He blinked when Rogue chuckled. "What?"
"Lately?" was all she said.
Logan gave a brief snort of laughter, and then noticed her fascination with his cigar. Frowning, he took it out and glanced at it. He grunted. "Oh yeah. Pyro." Leaning forward he stubbed out his cigar. "Give me those," he said, pointing to the cards. "Ever play double solitaire?" He started to shuffle. They played until dawn, until Rogue finally felt ready to get some sleep. Logan decided to try it as well.