11

Rogue woke up very early the next morning in her own bed. She squinted at the pain she felt in her head. Actually on her head. That made a change. Well, not really. She really had to stop waking up in her bed because she'd had the shit beaten out of her.

Rogue then went through what had happened. The last thing she remembered was hearing Gambit apologise to her. It was a bit foggy there, but she remembered what she asked him to do. She guessed he did it.

Rogue looked down at herself, seeing she was still dressed in her clothes from yesterday. She sighed, relieved at that.

Rogue felt hungry. She climbed out of bed, seeing it was around three in the morning, and headed towards the kitchen. She used the memories of Colossus to find the kitchen. Although she hadn't taken a lot of personal memories from him, she'd still managed to attain some of them. The same with Magneto actually. She'd only touched him for a short time, but she had still managed to obtain his powers and a few small memories and feelings. Her control over Magneto's abilities wasn't as strong as it was over Colossus' though since she'd managed to hold on longer to him. She was starting to remember her way around by herself though, but just needed a little help here and there.

When Rogue reached the kitchen, she actually found junk food in one of the cupboards. She took advantage of this, grabbing a bag of chips and scoffing them down. She also grabbed an ice pack and held it to her head as she sat down, eating. She could use Sabretooth's power to heal herself, but she thought it was best not too. Besides, she didn't want to poke at that man's angry psyche when she already had a headache of sorts.

Rogue jumped when she felt a hand touch her shoulder.

"Easy cher, just me." Gambit said.

Rogue slowly relaxed. She looked down at her chips, suddenly not feeling hungry.

"Did ya tell em?" Rogue asked.

"Oui," Gambit said.

Rogue glanced at him then, seeing a soft smile on his face. He looked tired. But, from that soft smile, she guessed he'd told Magneto their version of what happened.

"What you doin' up so late?" Rogue asked.

"Stole a car ta get you back here. Returned it and picked up moi bike." Gambit said.

Rogue nodded, then snorted, "Ya coulda warned meh." Rogue said, pointing at her head.

Gambit smirked, then shrugged, "Wanted it to be as painless as possible. Thought be less so if you didn't have time to realise it was comin'." He said.

Rogue just rolled her eyes and continued eating.

"What you doin' up? Midnight feast?" he asked.

Rogue shrugged, "I got hungry. Want some?" She asked, not quite understanding why she was being nice to him, but she was and it was starting to feel, well, normal. Normal to have him annoy her with touch, to argue and snap at him, for him to flirt and tease, but still look out for her. Yeah, it was kind of freaky to her that all that was starting to feel normal.

Gambit reached into the packet and took some.

"You know, Mags was gonna wake ya up early and demand to know what happened." Gambit said.

Rogue nodded, "I know what I'm tellin' em." She said.

Gambit nodded. "Best go back to sleep soon, Cherie since you gonna be havin' a long conversation tomorrow."

Rogue nodded. She felt Gambit's fingers brush down the side of her hair, down her shoulder and along her arm as he went to leave.

"Bon nuit, cher." He said.

Rogue was then left in the kitchen on her own, eating snacks.

Xxxxx

A few hours later, Rogue had gotten the rude awaking call Gambit warned her about. When she had been in the kitchen last night, she had been thinking back to her last run in with Magneto and how he had let loose on her during the training session. From Magneto's small psyche, he had told her he simply believed she could handle it as he knew how powerful she was and that her powers would not grow if she was not given greater challenges. She'd still been mad at him though for attacking her. And at Sabretooth for doing nothing to interfere. But his psyche had already expressed his dislike of her. Somehow, having talked briefly with those two psyche's last night had changed her perspective on things. Whereas, before, when she had been fearful of Magneto (which she still was a little bit), she was now just plan mad at him. She guessed she'd worked out that she now had some control over metal, so she could escape whenever she wanted and that was what eased her. Especially when that thought uneased Magneto's psyche. She could tell from his psyche that he hadn't expected her to be able to touch him and obtain his power. He was rather... on edge about that now which Rogue found amusing.

So, when she came to stand in front of Magneto, she found herself able to hide the slight fear of him she had and, instead, felt proud at her own abilities and let her anger at him drive her forwards. She did realise though that acting cocky and hot headed when she was trying to lie might not be such a good thing, so she kept it professional, even though her face and short replies made her seem pissed at him; it was the best she could do.

She stood in front of Magneto and, respectfully, told her side of the story. Magneto never showed any signs of doubt about Rogue's story nor fear of her abilities that had surprised him. Rogue took that to mean that hers and Gambit's stories matched, which she was grateful for. As for the lack of fear, she guessed he was just trying to hide it and hiding it well. What she wasn't too happy about was the amount of questions about her powers Magneto began to ask after she explained herself.

"So, you can now phase through walls and have Mr Duke's strength?" he asked.

"Well, yeah." Rogue said, feeling like she was stood in front of Mystique again when she was admiring her for having obtained a new power.

"And what of Ms Pride's and Mr Duke's memories? What have you learned from them that we do not know?" Magneto asked.

"Erm," Rogue said, thinking as she entered into Kitty's psyche. It was a fight between them. Kitty was putting up a screaming and kicking match as Rogue tried to go further passed her consciousness into her memories.

"Well?" Magneto demanded.

"Just, like, give me a moment. It's not like she's being friendly or anything," Rogue said in a valley girl accent.

"Have you entered Ms Pride's mind?" Magneto asked.

Rogue, finally, gave up, knowing if she really wanted answers then she would have to be left alone and have Emma along with her.

"I did. She's not really happy I absorbed her and she doesn't really want meh ta share what she knows." Rogue said.

"I see. And you cannot access her memories? I thought you were able to know a person's whole history if you touched them?" Magneto said, seeming to become much more interested in her ability rather than the information Kitty Pride held about the X-Men.

Rogue huffed out her nose, not really wanting to explain her powers, "I do and can, but sometimes it just takes time. Kinda like if you were asked ta remember something from five years ago. That sorta thing. You don't just suddenly remember everything, ya need time to recall."

"I see," Magento said, sitting back in his chair looking thoughtful and a bit irritated. He had wanted to know this information sooner. Yesterday morning, in fact, but Sabretooth had explained she was in the shower when he had gone to collect her and, after that, she had left for school with Gambit. Then, she had come home late and unconscious. He wasn't happy that his fears had been confirmed. The girl had touched him and could now access all of his memories. He needed to find a way to keep her silent and on his side or else all of his secrets could be exposed. He was rather surprised she hadn't tried to run from him already if she knew what he actually had planned for her yesterday. Yesterday, if it had been confirmed that she would have been able to recall his memories, he would have locked her up until he could find something to hold against her. So far, neither he nor Sabretooth had been so lucky to find that bribe. Destiny and Mystique were gone once again so he could not blackmail her over their safety. She seemed to care very little about the others here or anyone else. He had but one idea left, only he was not too sure how long that would last.

"I would like you to take that time then to recall Ms Pride's and Mr Duke's memories. Add any information that is not known about the X-Men or the Brotherhood already to their files. I will provide the laptop for you to do this and you will be able to use the printer I have here in order to add to them." Magneto said.

Rogue nodded, not much liking what he was asking her to do since he wasn't being exactly specific in what information it was he wanted. It would only make it harder for her to actually find the information he was after.

"Can you recall Sabretooth's abilities to heal the bruise on your head?" Magneto asked, sitting forwards and seeming to act concerned for her wellbeing now. It almost disturbed her.

"I can, but I'm not goin' ta use it. It might draw attention to the fact that I'm actually a mutant when I go ta school later. In fact, havin' the bruise kinda helps show off I'm not one," Rogue said, touching it.

Magneto nodded his head, agreeing with her logic.

"Speakin' a school, I best get goin' or I'm goin' ta be late," Rogue said, turning to leave.

"Before you go Rogue, there is one more thing I would like to discuss with you," Magneto said, knowing he best address his method of trying to keep Rogue away from his memories and keep her with him.

Rogue turned, glancing at him, her hand on the doorknob.

"You have no control over your own abilities, correct?" he said.

"Yeah," Rogue said, irritated.

Magneto then stood up. Rogue's grip on the doorknob tightened as she watched him walk around his desk and towards her. She felt a lock go off on the door and glanced at it. Was Magneto going to attack her? Was she in danger? Rogue questioned in her mind, realising that she still was pretty scared of Magneto.

Magneto noticed that small spike of worry and fear come from Rogue and hid his smirk. He had taken his glove off and reached out towards Rogue's face with his bare hand. Rogue gasped, moving back slightly, but Magneto had her trapped between his own body and the door.

Rogue waited for the absorption to start as his fingers lingered, but they never did. It took a long while for her breath to escape her.

"You have been trapped in more than one cage by Mystique and Destiny. Not only have you been hidden away, forced out of society, but you have also been denied the basic need of touch," Magneto said still stroking Rogue's check. He'd noticed her jaw had dropped and her eyes were wide in shock. He was definitely making an impression, he could see.

"I could free you from more than one prison," he said, removing his hand from her check.

Rogue seemed to blink a few times, coming out of her shock.

"How did you do that?" Rogue demanded to know, fearful of her powers not kicking up around this man. But this had not been the first time they hadn't worked against him. There was also that brief moment during training where he seemed to almost stop her ability.

"A magnetic shield. It is almost invisible to the human eye, but with it, I can touch you." he explained. "It may not be exactly what you are after gaining at this moment in time, but together, we could work on your control Rogue. You could be free to touch whoever you pleased." Magneto said.

Rogue was stunned into silence. Mystique and Destiny had never taught her control. Never even explained that she could gain control over her skin. Was it really possible?

Magneto smiled down at Rogue, enjoying how stunned she appeared after he had touched her. This little scheme of his may just buy him enough time to find something on her that would make her stay.

"We could start your training sessions after school. How does that sound?" Magneto asked.

Rogue's jaw opened and closed. The idea that she could learn to touch was incredible to her. The fact that Magneto could touch her whenever he pleased scared the shit out of her.

Magneto, seeing Rogue's shock and inability to form words for the first time, said, "You do not have to decide right this second, but do think about it and come back to me with your answer."

Magneto then slide the door open for Rogue and watched her almost stumble out of it. He smiled to himself, feeling like he had managed to keep his secrets for a while longer.

xxxxx

Rogue had to stand outside of Magneto's office for some time, recomposing herself. What he had said was a lot to take in. Did she really want to take him up on his offer? Learn how to touch? Was he really that generous a person to help her without asking for something in return? But, then again, he was already asking for her loyalty to his cause. She had seen, firsthand, yesterday how the X-Men and Brotherhood had sometimes wanted to use their powers freely and in public. She guessed she could understand where Magneto was coming a little bit there, but she still wasn't completely sure about the rest of humanity hating humans. But, then again, she had seen how pissed and disguised Risty had looked at Avalanche revealing himself. Would she really turn on her if she knew what she was? Rogue questioned. There were just so many questions in Rogue's head, she was struggling to think of any answers.

Then, she noticed Sabretooth appear from around a corner. She straightened up and glared back as him as he began to walk towards Magneto's office. Rogue walked away, deciding that she'd think on Magneto's offer and whether she believed in his cause later.

She ended up entering the kitchen and finding the boys all sat there, waiting for… her.

"Rogue." Colossus said, standing up from his seat. His eyes instantly went to the bruise on her head. He felt guilty instantly. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"'course she is!" Pyro said, grinning, "Shelia's as tough as a kangaroo, ain't ya?" he asked her.

"Errrr, thanks, I think?" Rogue said, looking questioningly at Pyro. Then her eyes went to Gambit who was in the kitchen, frying and chuckling at Pyro. "Did I hit ma head as hard as I think I did?" Rogue asked him, pointing at Pyro, "Or am I just goin' crazy?"

Gambit laughed at this, "Ain't nothin' wrong with bein' a little crazy, Cherie." Gambit said, "Sit dat bell backside of yours down while I feed ya, girl." He said.

Rogue raised her eyebrow at him and glared. She didn't much liked being bossed around by him. Just because he helped her out last night, didn't mean she was going to bend to all his commands. That wasn't the agreement.

Rogue found Colossus was besides her though. She turned to look up at him. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He is right. Come and sit. Eat with us. We would like to know what happened last night, if you do not mind telling us?" Colossus said.

Rogue let him lead her to the table and sit her down, her previous conversation with Magneto almost forgotten. The boys sure were doing a good job at helping her forget about her issues.

"Hey, how come you don't sit down when I ask ya to, but ya do when de big fello does, huh?" Gambit asked, pouting in the kitchen.

Rogue chuckled at his pout. She actually found it really funny. Yeah, the boys were definitely taking her mind off things.

"'cause, unlike you swamp breath, the Russian's got matters," she said.

Gambit snorted, "And makin' ya breakfast ain't?" Gambit asked.

"Nope." Rogue said, pouring herself a glass of orange juice.

"So tell us Shelia, how was ya first day of school? Did ya blow something up? Set fire to anything? Please tell me ya set fire to the principle's chair, please, please, please." Pyro said.

"Errrrr, no. I didn't." Rogue said.

"Awww," Pyro pouted sitting back.

"What did happen?" Colossus asked.

Rogue shrugged, deciding to give them a shorter version since she'd have to leave for school soon. "I made a new friend called Risty Wild. There was a food fight in the cafeteria at lunch. I went ta the woman's football game after school. The Brotherhood boys decided ta cause a scene and let the world know about mutants. I saw parts of the X-Men fightin' the Brotherhood. I hit ma head against somethin' and got knocked out. After that, I figured out that I absorbed Blob's powers and Shadowcats. Apparently, I accidently absorbed Blob after he destroyed the rafter I was sat on. Then Shadowcat touched meh by accident when tryna get meh outta the wreckage. Then Gambit got meh out and away from the school in time just before Professor Xavier could wipe our memories. It was an interestin' first day." Rogue said, nodding her head. "Nothin' about it was normal, well, expect for the classes." Rogue said, realising how bizarre her first day at school had actually been. It wasn't normal at all!

Rogue was so deep in her own thoughts that she hadn't realised that Colossus had clenched his fists after hearing about how the Blob hurt Rogue due to his careless actions. Pyro had burst into laughter and Gambit came around to Rogue's side with a plate of food. He saw how lost in thought she was. It had been quite a hell of a first day at school for her, he knew.

"Here ya go, cher." Gambit said, gaining Rogue's attention. "Eat up now." He said, before walking away.

Rogue rolled her eyes, but began to eat. For some reason, she just wasn't fighting Gambit anymore. It was strange, even to herself that she wasn't kicking up a fuss about him bringing her food and telling her to eat. But she did start eating it. The others were eating it without complaint, so why shouldn't she? They didn't seem to be going against her for eating the food Gambit cooked either.

"That's one heck of a day ya had there Sheila." Pyro finally said, wiping his tears away. "Seriously, I can't wait for the story you have ta tell tonight." Pyro cooed.

Rogue thought about that. Was her day going to be the same as it was yesterday? No, it couldn't could it?

Then, the chair besides Rogue got pulled out and she felt an arm wrap around her as a body moved to sitting in it. Gambit had joined them in eating at the table, his arm getting comfy, wrapped around her shoulders.

Rogue put her folk down, turning on Gambit.

"What do you think your doin'?" Rogue demanded to know.

Gambit had a knowing smirk on his face. "Why, eatin' breakfast with mon amis et belle femme, of course." Gambit said.

"I meant with ya arm. Move it now." Rogue said, calmly.

Colossus seemed to had lost his rage, and now just seemed irritated at Gambit's efforts. Pyro just couldn't seem to stop laughing this morning.

Gambit's smirk grew into a grin, "Whatever ya say Cherie." Gambit said as his hand began to travel lower down her back.

Rogue reached and grabbed Gambit's arm. She was going to shove him away, then, she ended up having an idea to keep his hand away from her for the morning. Rogue had grabbed Gambit's arm that was wrapped around her, then phased it through her body using Kitty's powers then into the table and unphased it, pulling her hand away. Rogue then went back to her breakfast, smiling smugly.

Gambit raised an eyebrow at the arm that was now stuck in a table.

Pyro almost fell off his chair laughing. Even Colossus had a smirk on his face.

"What they be teachin' you at dat school?" Gambit asked.

Rogue shrugged, smug smirk still on her face. "School might be hell, but hey, ya learn somethin' new every day, don't ya."

Rogue then glanced at the clock that was on the wall. "Speakin' a school, I best get goin'." Rogue said, standing up.

Gambit cleared his throat. "You forgettin' something Cherie?"

Rogue looked at Gambit, smirked, then made it look as if she was thinking extremely hard, "Hmmm, nope. Don't think so."

"Really, I think ya have." Gambit said.

"Hmmm, nope. I think I got everything." Rogue said.

"Even dese?" Gambit asked, lifting up a pair of keys.

Rogue's eyes narrowed on them. "Keys?" She questioned.

"Oui, for moi bike." Gambit said, smirking.

"Oh, right." Rogue said, her smirk now going wider. "Yeah, I guess I forgot those." Rogue said, heading over to the table and reaching to grab them.

Gambit closed his hands around them and pulled them away from her. "Not so fast, Cherie. You gotta free moi arm first, non?" Gambit said.

Rogue was still smirking. "Hmmm, no, I don't think I so." She said, enjoying this.

"Oui, I think you should." Gambit said, "if you want moi ride."

"Nope, don't think I need to." Rogue said, straightening up. "I think I can still hotwire ya bike."

Gambit chuckled, "Not if you can't find de right wires." He said.

Rogue raised her eyebrow at this. "Moved 'em yesterday while you were at school."

Rogue folded her arms across her chest. "No, ya can't move wires like that. Ya bluffin'." Rogue said.

"By all mean, go check. But when you find de wires ain't there, it gonna be more embarrisin' for you when you come crawlin' back." Gambit said.

Rogue snorted, "Not if I just take ya keys." Rogue said, reaching out and phasing the keys out of Gambit's hand.

Gambit chuckled again.

"What?" Rogue asked, not liking that chuckle.

"They ain't de keys to moi bike, Cherie. Times tickin'. You let me outta moi trap here, I'll help ya find moi keys real fast. Save you havin' to spend time lookin' for wires and keys, non?" Gambit said, sitting forwards.

Rogue pouted, knowing Gambit was right about time, but she didn't want to show herself up. Rogue leaned on the edge of the table as she said, "Here's the deal, swamp boy. I'll let ya loose, but only if ya keep those slippy hands ta yaself, and ya give meh the keys ta your bike. If ya touch meh, or don't give meh the keys, I'll phrase ya into Sabretooth's room while he's havin' a shower." Rogue said smirking.

"You got a deal, Cherie." Gambit said.

Rogue eyed him for a moment, sceptical. But then she reached forwards and freed his hand.

Gambit stood up, finishing his drink.

"Shall we?" He asked, pointing towards the exit.

Rogue rolled her eyes and the two of them walked, not touching, to the door. When they got into the garage, Rogue watched Gambit go and sit on his bike.

"I asked for ya keys." Rogue said.

"You be holdin' em." Gambit said smirking.

Rogue's face dropped. "You said these weren't your keys!" Rogue snapped.

"I lied." Gambit said smugly.

Rogue looked mad. "Stupid Cajun!" She snapped back. "Get off the bike."

"I told you, wherever de bike goes, I go too. Now, times a tickin'. You gettin' on or you gonna walk to school and get detention?" Gambit asked.

"I can make it ta school on time if ya just get off the bike!" Rogue snapped.

"Ain't gonna happen." Gambit said.

"I can just phase you off!" Rogue snapped.

"Do dat and I'll go tell de guys you were dumb enough to believe I changed de wires around and dat you had de keys to moi bike in ya hand de whole time." Gambit said.

Rogue's face dropped. "You wouldn't!" she said.

Gambit raised his eyebrow at her.

Rogue huffed, "How'd I keep you silent?" she asked.

"I told you, I'll tell them if you throw me off de bike. You gonna throw me off?" He asked.

"Well, now I can't!" Rogue snapped.

"Bon, den get on and hand moi de keys." Rogue said.

"Oh no, you ain't drivin' this time." Rogue said.

"I ain't movin' off de bike and I made a deal with ya to give you de keys to moi bike and not touch ya. Ya either get on de bike and hold onta me while I drive and you keep your side of de bargain. Or you break de bargin, drive, but then my wonderin' hands gets to be wherever they want on your body. Which it gonna be?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Rogue stomped her foot a growled. She spat out curse words as she through the keys at Gambit, took the helmet he passed her then wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I hate you!" Rogue finally spat out.

"Awww, Cher, ya wound moi. Now, hang on tight!" Gambit said, doing a wheelie as he took off out the garage.