The lesson went well. Wolverine started by assessing her current level, and was relieved to find she hadn't learned all that much from Scott yet. Good. That meant he wouldn't have to un-teach her before he could start teaching her. Rogue had good instincts, he discovered, and quick reflexes. She was taller than he remembered, and she used her height gracefully and well.
Rogue found that while she was fighting with Wolverine, it kept her whole brain involved and she didn't have any thoughts left for her mental inhabitants. This gave her such a sense of relief as she hadn't felt for several weeks! Not even meditation gave her this kind of peace. Plus, the healing factor that Logan had so recently refilled was working to her advantage. Every blow of his that landed only bruised her for a couple of seconds and in fact increased her adrenaline level. Now she knew why, when he was cage fighting, he would take several blows before striking his first one.
The world seemed to narrow around them. Kick. Block. Punch. Roll. Attack. Block. Punch. Kick. Logan explained a few basic moves, but she found that it felt more as if he were reminding her than showing her for the first time. When he realized she still had his own memories of how to fight, he just started the straight sparring. Less than one-quarter-strength, of course, and he started very slowly. So slowly, in fact, that Rogue teased him during a particularly lengthy pause by offering him a big, catlike yawn that showed all her teeth.
The animal inside Wolverine responded to the challenge, and he speeded up and increased the force of his attacks. Fewer and fewer of his blows were landing, though, the longer they fought. More of Rogue's blows were. Logan did let several of them through on purpose, but she also managed to surprise him a few times.
Finally, he called time. He tossed her a water bottle. "Here, drink this. Let's take a break before round two."
Rogue drank half of it in one gulp, then grimaced. "Ugh. You could at least have gotten it from the fridge, Logan. Warm water is nobody's friend."
He frowned. "I did get it from the fridge. What's the prob– " he glanced up at the clock and blinked. "Uh, Rogue? You don't have another session this morning, do you?"
Rogue shrugged. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, if you do, you've missed it. It's two in the afternoon."
"What?" Rogue glared at the clock, daring it to tell her the truth. It was almost 2 PM. They had been fighting for 5 ½ hours. "Holy shit!" the unladylike exclamation escaped her lips before she knew it.
Logan laughed. "I did think you'd made a lot of improvement for only one session, darlin'! I guess they're right: time flies when you're having fun."
The two of them found Nightcrawler in the dining room, also having a late lunch. "Hey, elf," Logan greeted. Rogue said a smiling hello and slid into a spot opposite Kurt at the table.
"Guten Tag, Rogue, Wolverine. Are the two of you ready for our second flying lesson today?"
"What, Storm's gonna get me up there again with you guys? What are you all, gluttons for punishment?" Logan joked as he filled his plate with what was left of the lunch buffet. "Hey kid, you gonna eat, or what?"
Rogue snorted. "Depends on whether or not you're going to pilot today! I'd rather not have to lose it later!" she retorted. Logan gave her a broad grin, and Kurt laughed aloud.
xxx xxx xxx
That evening, Xavier called Rogue to his office. Logan tagged along, knowing that she might want him there… and quite plainly, he was curious. Wondering if Xavier had spoken to Bobby yet, his question was answered by the sight of a slightly nervous and sullen Bobby already sitting in one of the armchairs.
"Ah, Rogue. Logan. Please come in. I have explained your plans to Bobby, and he is willing to help you with your experiment, Rogue."
Rogue took a seat on the couch next to Bobby's chair and gave him a friendly smile. "Thanks, Bobby. If this works, it'll be a big help to me."
Bobby, still a little petulant about their break-up, nodded back impatiently. He glanced at Logan, who was settling himself onto the couch next to Rogue. "I still don't understand why she can't experiment on him first. I mean, he's the one with the healing thing. I'll probably end up in a coma!"
Logan started to say something, but Rogue put a restraining hand on his arm. "I won't hold on that long, Bobby. Just a few seconds – after all, that was pretty much the length of our kiss. And I can't experiment on Logan because if it does work then he'll be gone from my head. I can't afford to have him gone."
"Oh, but you can do without me very well," Bobby said sarcastically.
Professor Xavier gave him a sharp look. "Bobby, you will remember I told you that there are aspects of this problem that you are not privy to. You told me that was all right. Have you changed your mind?"
Bobby subsided, shaking his head meekly.
Rogue leaned over to him. "Bobby, it's not like that. It's just that you and I didn't touch for long enough for you to become a strong presence in my mind. It wasn't until a couple days after that kiss that I even realized you were there at all."
Logan smirked at Bobby's affronted expression. "Yeah," he said innocently, remembering something Rogue had told him earlier. "Apparently there's so little of you there that me and Magneto both call you 'Blurry Bobby' up there."
Iceman glowered at him, and Logan's smirk became a full-fledged grin. Rogue rolled her eyes and sighed. "If you want to stay, Logan, please stop helping me!"
Logan acquiesced, contenting himself with exchanging amused glances with Xavier.
"All right, so what do you want me to do?" Bobby asked Rogue, but she had closed her eyes and was breathing deeply, and didn't answer.
Rogue had to meditate for a few minutes to put herself into the proper state to converse with her mental tenants, and then it took a few more before she even found her mental Iceman. "Hey, Bobby," she said. "I'm going to try and put you back, all right?"
Her mental impression of Bobby glowered at her just as the real one had done a moment before. Closing her eyes, she reached out and touched the Bobby in her head at the same time her body reached out and touched the one sitting beside her. Concentrating hard, she just pushed, with all of the mental strength she possessed, and suddenly Blurry Bobby was gone.
Bobby Drake gasped at the sensation, and quickly pulled his hand away from Rogue's before the pull could start up again. Rogue's eyelids fluttered, and she started to go limp. Logan caught her and pulled her up against him. "You all right, darlin'?" he whispered.
Rogue nodded, eyes still tightly closed. "It worked," she said. "I can't find him now."
"That's because I'm right here," Bobby said. "You pushed me out! You didn't even give me a choice."
Rogue opened her eyes and sat up. Logan kept his hand on her shoulder as she told her ex-boyfriend, "As another of my mental pals told me, it should be up to me who I have living in my own head, Bobby!"
"Do you remember anything?" Xavier asked Bobby curiously.
Bobby shook his head, eyes clenched shut. Then they popped open and he stared at Logan. "Yes. Yes, I do! I remember you, fighting with John all the time! And there's this old guy in a tower…" he shut his eyes again, then smiled. "And some kid who's always playing with Rogue's underwear…" He opened his eyes and blushed. He knew what she looked like naked! He couldn't meet her eyes. His were drawn, inevitably, down toward her cleavage. He couldn't help himself. He stared, now knowing what her breasts really looked like! He had never expected to find that out, never!
"Bobby!" Rogue said in an outraged tone.
"Kid, you'd best be keepin' your eyes in your head, or I'll be takin' 'em out." Logan growled.
With an effort, Bobby raised his eyes to look at Rogue. "Sorry. Sorry. It's just that… well, this is weird. Now I know what it's like for you in there. Why didn't you ever tell me?"
Rogue smiled sadly. "Bobby, I tried. What else could I have said? You didn't believe me."
"How much do you know?" Xavier asked.
Unfortunately for Rogue's experiment, Bobby knew a lot. A LOT. As he told more about what he had learned during his sojourn inside Rogue's mind, Rogue and Xavier exchanged worried glances. They were both thinking the same thing, but it was Logan who put it into words.
"Well, there's no way she can be trying this with the others, Charles. They'll end up knowing as much about this place, you, and me, as Rogue does. I'm not having Magneto privy to all my little secrets. Bad enough he can work me like a puppet on a string, but – " he broke off as he began to lose his temper a little.
"I agree, Logan. It's utterly out of the question. I'm sorry, Rogue."
Rogue shrugged. "Well, I kinda half-expected it not to work anyway, but hey – at least this saves us trying to track down Erik and John and trying to parley with them. We'll just have to go to plan B."
"What do you mean, you were expecting it not to work?" Bobby demanded. "You mean you were just planning to touch me for kicks? You could have really hurt me!"
"Bobby, you may go," Xavier told him mildly. "Thank you for your time."
Bobby got up and left. Just as he closed the door, Xavier cocked his head and closed his eyes for a moment. "There," he said when he reopened them. "Now Bobby will not remember anything that happened in here today. He'll think I wanted to speak about his schoolwork."
"Good one, Charles," Logan said. He looked over at Rogue. "All right, darlin', what's plan B?"
Go on, review! I think this is the halfway point, so tell me what you think.