Author's Notes: Thoughts are signified by 'these'. Emphasis and the voices in Rogue's head are in italics. Telepathic conversation is underlined.
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"Would you like to tell me what's bothering you, Scott?"
The field leader of the X-Men looked up at his mentor and shrugged. "It's only been two days since Rogue's last call and I'm already worried. It's driving me to distraction a bit, and Jean isn't too happy about it having been on my mind constantly since then."
Scott sighed and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. He had come to Xavier's office to get an assignment, but the older man had been on the phone until a few moments ago.
"Would it help if the next time she calls you asked her to check in more than once a month?" Xavier asked.
Scott sighed and ran a hand through his hair, mussing it a bit. "I don't know. I just can't help feeling that she's our responsibility, and she's out there all alone. I guess I'd feel better if I at least knew where she was."
"Have you asked her?"
"No," Scott answered. "I didn't want to make her mad and risk her not calling at all anymore. You never explained why you can't use Cerebro just to check up on her."
Xavier frowned momentarily before answering. "Do you remember those notes she left?" At Scott's nod, he continued, "In the one she wrote to me, she confessed to having touched me when I was unconscious in the infirmary. It certainly explains the strong mental block she had before she left, and I assume it masks her from Cerebro as well."
It was Scott's turn to frown. "Don't you think after all this time your power would have faded?"
"I don't know, Scott. Until it becomes necessary, I'm reluctant to track her down when we know she wants to be left alone." When Scott would have argued, Xavier put on his best commander-in-chief attitude, "Right now I need you to go pick up the mutant I've been tracking. Take Storm with you." Softening somewhat, he added, "If Rogue ever misses a call-in, we'll see if we can find her."
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Logan quickly ducked away from the meaty fist intent on smashing in his nose. Having successfully dodged his opponent's blow, Logan delivered a blindingly fast left hook to the man's jaw, throwing his entire body weight behind it and knocking the man out. Their fight had lasted fifteen minutes, much longer than it needed to, but Logan had learned his lesson in Laughlin City.
He didn't end fights too soon or let any hits touch him that would seriously injure regular humans. And he never popped his claws in front of anyone. He tried not to do anything that would brand him a mutant. The bars that had fight cages and paid a decent amount to the night's winner were few and far between. He didn't want to have to cross any of them off his circuit like he'd been forced to do with Laughlin City.
Logan had a small cabin he had built in the Canadian wilderness ten years ago, but he had lost almost all of his other earthly possessions when his camper had exploded. He was trying to rebuild his savings from scratch with prize money. In the eight months since he had left Westchester County, he had earned a lot, almost the full amount he'd had before. Of course, that didn't take into account all the possessions he'd had in the camper and the camper, trailer and motorcycle themselves.
The camper had seen better days, of course, but it had served him well in the times when he was traveling and there weren't any motels handy. And the motorcycle had been his pride and joy, having restored it by hand practically from a hunk of scrap metal. He had Scooter's motorcycle now, of course, but it wasn't the same. He had taken the machine to piss off the strait-laced man and because he'd had no other mode of transportation, but he wasn't a thief.
When he went back, and he knew he would to tell Xavier how his search went at the very least, he would return Scott's motorcycle. He was determined to have his own mode of transportation by then. He also needed to have the means to support himself before he considered going back to the school.
He had thought about going straight to Alkali Lake from Xavier's, but he knew if he learned anything he'd want to compare it to records Xavier was sure to be able to get access to, and if he didn't, he would immediately want to go and confront Xavier to find out what else the telepath knew. Either way, he would be going back to Salem Center straight from the abandoned military base, and he didn't want to have to depend on anyone else financially when he did.
Logan exited the fight cage and collected his winnings for the night from the manager, heading to the bar for a few beers before he left. The men who ran these fight nights were more welcoming if they knew you spent at least a part of your winnings in their establishments.
As he nursed a beer at the bar, Logan scanned the rest of the interior. There was a pay phone near the men's room, and he thought briefly of calling the mansion. But he had avoided calling so far. He wasn't comfortable with small talk, and the way he had left had been a little awkward. Who would answer the phone if he did call? What would he say?
Logan finished off his second beer of the night and headed out, leaving a generous tip on the counter. There was a motel down the road about two miles and if he turned in and got an early start in the morning he could make it to the next fight bar by tomorrow night.
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Accepting the disposable cup of mocha handed to her, Rogue smiled as Wanda sat down across from her. The small table had been the only one available when they had reached the mall, so Rogue had given Wanda her order and sat down to wait for the other young woman. It gave her time to think about the oddness of the situation. Here she was, a twenty minute drive from Xavier's school, about to have a caffeinated beverage with the daughter of the man who had tried to kill her.
Rogue decided to come right out and ask one of her greatest fears about her new home. "Are you sure you're okay with me being at the mansion?"
"What do you mean?" Wanda asked, stirring cream into her coffee.
"Magneto is your father; I would understand you hating me because I was part of the reason he went to jail."
Wanda shrugged, "If it wasn't you it would have been someone else, it's not like you chose the power you have. And you have to understand that Pietro and I only learned he was our father a few months before he went to jail. That's why we have a different last name. We were adopted when we were very young. We aren't devout Brotherhood members, we just happen to live in the mansion."
Rogue let a relieved sigh escape.
"In fact," Wanda continued, "Pietro and I have been approached about joining another group called the Avengers. But I don't have total control over my powers and I don't want to be part of a group like that until I do. And Pietro and I don't want to be separated."
Rogue nodded, unable to keep from feeling a bit jealous that Wanda had the hope of controlling her powers. She was also envious that Wanda had family that wanted to stay close. She knew Mystique's work undercover as Senator Kelly was important, but she couldn't help wondering what it would be like if Mystique had been able to stay. Trying not to feel sorry for herself, Rogue decided to learn more about her other housemates.
"What about the others?" she asked. "Are they more involved in the Brotherhood? None of them were there during the Statue of Liberty… event."
"Avalanche is, but he was on another mission for Dad at the time. Gambit comes and goes, he's a thief and more of a mercenary than an actual member of the group," Wanda paused. "Piotr, well, I don't know why he's with us. He's exceptionally strong and can turn himself into living steel, but he doesn't believe in my father's cause. I think Dad has something on him, but he doesn't trust me or Pietro enough to talk about it."
Rogue made a thoughtful noise and decided to change the subject slightly. "Do any of you have jobs outside of the Brotherhood?"
"Well, like I said, Gambit's a thief. Piotr isn't here legally as far as I know, and Avalanche restores old cars, gets a pretty good price for his work, too. I was fired from my last job because my control slipped for a moment and my boss found out I was a mutant. So unless I want to change my name, it won't be very easy to get another job. And Pietro has a hard time finding something he can do. Because of his power, he likes to be moving as constantly as possible, so he's never found anything that doesn't bore him inside a week. He's between jobs currently."
When Wanda picked up her cup and sipped her coffee, Rogue quietly began the story of her life in New York. By the time she had shared her tale, they were both finished with their beverages.
The two young women spent hours in the mall, talking and getting to know each other more than they actually shopped. But Rogue did go back to the mansion with more clothes to add to her meagre wardrobe and more of a sense of belonging. She and Wanda were very different, but they did have some things in common, their relatively recent reunions with long lost parents not the least of it.
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"Senator Kelly's office."
"Yes, this is Councilwoman White," Rogue said in her best "official" voice. "I have an appointment to speak with the Senator."
"Of course, Councilwoman," the secretary replied. "Just one moment please."
While she waited on hold, Rogue leaned back in the swivel chair in Mystique's office in the Brotherhood mansion and gently moved the seat from left to right with her feet. Idly she wondered if she could call Scott from this very phone in just under a month. She'd have to ask Mystique if the security of the line extended to all calls or just ones made to Senator Kelly's office.
"Sorry for the wait, Marie," Mystique's voice finally came on the line. "I was talking to a private investigator I've got looking for various privately-funded labs."
Rogue vaguely wondered if Kelly's office was soundproof enough for the secretary not to hear her mother's voice suddenly coming from inside.
"That's okay, Mama. I know what you're doing is important."
"We've been over this before, my daughter, it isn't as important as you." Mystique paused only a moment before moving on. "How are the others treating you?"
"Wanda's great," Rogue replied. "She and I have been getting along the last three days like a house on fire. Pietro is giving me a chance because I'm her friend. Avalanche pretty much keeps himself busy in the garage, and Piotr is always somewhere quiet with his drawing tablet. He sits with me sometimes in the library when I'm reading to appease Erik."
"How are the voices?" Mystique asked gently.
Rogue sighed, "It takes more time in the DR and gym to quiet Wolverine than it used to, but controlling he and Erik to a certain degree makes it possible for them to control the others most of the time." She paused for a moment before admitting, "The nightmares are getting worse, though."
"I'm sorry, Marie," Mystique said. "We will find someone to help you."
"I hope so," Rogue replied softly.
There was silence for a moment before Rogue decided to risk the subject of contacting the X-Men.
"Is this line secure for all outgoing calls?"
"Yes, but why?"
"Ever since I left Xavier's, I call in once a month and talk briefly with Cyclops."
There was silence on Mystique's end, and Rogue was afraid she had made her mad.
"It's only to let them know I'm okay, so they don't try to find me."
"What happens if one of them does, now that you're so close?"
Rogue answered honestly, "I don't know. I'll deal with it if it does happen. But I'm not going back. I don't belong there. And as long as you want to try to be a family again, I want to stay where I can talk to you."
"Thank you for giving me the chance," Mystique replied, a distinct quiver in her voice. "There's... there's something I want you to know. I have two sons."
"I have two brothers?" Rogue questioned, her interest peaked. "Are they somewhere close by?"
"No," Mystique quickly answered. "The first is Graydon Creed. He's completely human and he hates mutants, he'd kill you in an instant. The other is Kurt Wagner. He also goes by the name Nightcrawler. He's blue and has yellow eyes like me, but he has a tail and cannot change his appearance. I gave them both up when they were very young."
"Wait... Creed, as in Victor Creed?"
Erik had told her the aliases of his other accomplices some time ago.
"Yes, Sabretooth is Graydon's father. I was undercover about forty years ago as someone Sabretooth was involved with. When Graydon was born, I sent him away to be raised at a boarding school. Somehow he found out the truth about his parentage and has sworn to kill his father and me."
"And Kurt?" Rogue asked, still reeling from what Mystique was revealing to her.
"I was living as the wife of a wealthy German count ten years later when I got pregnant by another mutant. When Kurt was born, I had a difficult delivery and slipped, showing my true form. To save myself, I abandoned him. He was raised by circus performers."
'And I'm supposed to believe that you won't abandon me when I'm not even really your own flesh and blood?' Rogue thought miserably.
She loves you, my dear, Erik reminded her. And she has kept track of her sons. If circumstances had been different, maybe she would have kept them both.
Into the phone, Rogue said, "I'd like to meet Kurt someday, if that's okay."
"Maybe someday," Mystique answered quietly. There was a long pause before she continued, "I have a meeting I have to get to in a few minutes, Rogue. Can you call me the same time next week?"
"Alright."
"I... I love you, Marie. Don't forget that."
Rogue smiled slightly at the assurance and hesitated only a moment before answering, "I love you, too, Mama."
"Thank you for that," Mystique said quietly before hanging up.
Rogue set the receiver back in its cradle and got up. She, Wanda and Pietro were supposed to do a joint session in the DR in an hour and she hadn't eaten lunch yet. On the walk to the kitchen, Rogue removed her gloves. She didn't like to handle food with them on whenever possible, and the others had been planning to eat while she was on the phone. She thought everyone would be safe from her.
Unfortunately, her timing was slightly off. Piotr was just coming out of the kitchen as she walked in, and they accidently ran into each other, Rogue's hands automatically latching onto his arms to stop herself from fully crashing into him. Her bare hands touched his bare arms.
And nothing happened.