19
Rogue had gone without dinner that night and found herself still locked in her bedroom when it came to the next morning where she should have been going to school.
Rogue banged on her door, calling out to be let out. She kind of figured it would be useless, but she got a response.
"What's wrong little mouse? You don't like your new cage?" Sabretooth asked.
Hearing Sabretooth's voice irritated her, but she figured she was going to work with what she got.
"Tell Magneto ta let me out. I'm gonna be late for school." Rogue called.
She heard Sabretooth chuckle. "Dumb mouse. He ain't letting you out till you do what he told you to do."
"I finished the assignment last night. I've not been allowed out to give it to him." Rogue said.
"Not my problem," Sabretooth said.
Rogue heard him then begin to walk away. "Hey, wait!" Rogue yelled banging on the door. She banged a few more times, but got no response.
xxxxx
It was an hour or so later when Rogue got a second visit. Her door opened on it's own as Magneto stood in front of her.
"I assume as you are not working, you have finished your assignment?" Magneto asked.
"Yeah. I finished it last night." Rogue said, moving to grab the laptop and bring it to Magneto. Magneto took it from her.
"Can I go ta school now?" She asked.
Magneto sealed the door shut behind him and opened the laptop. Rogue took that as a no and took a step back, away from Magneto. She didn't want to be anywhere near this awful man, but she didn't go too far. She waited as Magneto loaded up the laptop and looked through the files. Magneto's eyebrow rose at what he read.
"Ms Pride's relationship issues with Mr Alvers? Do you really believe I am interested in knowing this?" he asked.
Rogue suddenly became fearful. She shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know what it is your after. Ya just told meh ta write up whatever information I could find and ,well, that's the most important thing on Kit- Shadowcat's mind." Rogue said.
Magneto closed the laptop, but was still glaring at her. Rogue felt metal rip from her walls and attach to her wrists and feet. She became scared again. Adrenaline was beginning to kick in.
"Do not fight me. You will follow me." Magneto said.
Rogue did as she was told, following Magneto out of her room, feeling the metal also tugging her along. As they walked around the base to his office, Rogue noticed it was fairly quiet. She didn't like that. Didn't like that she couldn't see nor hear the others. She wondered what had happened to them last night after he took her away. She kept her head down and followed Magneto, knowing questioning him would only cause trouble.
Magneto forced Rogue to sit opposite him at his desk, setting the laptop up in front of her. Rogue watched him take a step, feeling uncomfortable.
"I do not believe you don't know what information I am after since you have worked with Mystique on countless missions." Magneto said, still not looking happy.
Rogue thought it was best if she kept quiet.
"I do not know why you are defying me, but this will end. You explained yourself that you will work for me in exchange for the price of your freedom. You have expressed that you would like to go to school in the freedom I am granting you which I do not have an issue with. However, what I do have an issue with is you not doing the work I have set you when I believe we have a fair exchange." Magneto said.
Rogue, again, kept quiet. Knowing that was the agreement that was made.
"As a result of you not doing the assignment I have set you, you will now be denied your freedom and you will not attend school today." he said.
Rogue wanted to stand up and scream and complain. But she knew that would only make her situation worse and she had no idea what had happened to the guys last night after she was locked up. So, she kept quiet, clenching her fist as instead.
"If you really do insist that you are unsure what information it is I seek, then I will guide you. However, you do have common sense and I would expect you to have already learned that you should have come to me with your question. What I also do not appreciate is how you lied to me and told me you were simply going shopping for clothes, yesterday, and then returning to finish your assignment. But, instead, I find out that you went straight to relaxing with the other Acolytes."
"You did say to befriend them," Rogue said.
Magneto slammed his fist down on the table. Rogue knew she shouldn't have said anything, but she couldn't help it.
"I did, but you do not put your relationships with others before the mission I set you. Do I make myself clear?" he demanded to know.
"Crystal." Rogue said, her voice quiet.
"Also, I did not appreciate the attitude I received last night from my own men! They should not have defended you and you should not have been with them, no matter how much pressure they placed on you to join them. I am not sure why my men suddenly began to jump to your defence like that, but it will not be tolerated. If you are, in any way, turning them against me, then I am warning you now-"
"No! No!" Rogue said, jumping and shaking both her head and hands before Magneto. She had no idea what had happened to the others and she hoped to God that they were alright and what she was doing wasn't going to punish them anymore then they might of been.
"I...I didn't tell them I had work to do." Rogue said.
"Gambit said you did." Magneto snapped at her, metal floating around the room.
"I mentioned an assignment that needed doing, but he might have gotten confused and thought I meant homework," Rogue said, becoming extremely scared for Gambit's safety.
She was keeping to the truth as best as she could, but if Gambit had lied for her and she didn't know what that lie was then they were going to be in massive trouble. She tried to keep her cool as best as she could.
Magneto seemed to ease a little more at that.
"You did not inform them of the assignment I set you?" he asked.
"Well, no. I kinda figured if you wanted them to know you'd tell them yourself." Rogue said.
Magneto sat back in his seat, thinking. "They were here when I informed them that I wanted you to report back whatever information you found on the X-Men before you started school."
"But they didn't realise that you wanted meh ta write up an assessment of what Shadowcat knows about the X-Men." Rogue said.
Magneto seemed to let it go. "Open the laptop and prepare yourself to enter Ms Pride's mind." Magneto commanded.
Rogue followed the commands, opening the laptop and setting it up. She had a question burning on her mind though and she couldn't help but ask it.
"What happened to em after I left?" Rogue asked.
Magneto stared at her for the longest time. About as long as it took for the laptop to load up.
"They were punished for their disobedience just like you were and they will continue to be punished until they learn from their mistake. I do not tolerate my men turning on me, Rogue." Magneto said.
Rogue wished she hadn't asked as she now felt more worried about them. She wanted to ask what punishment they'd had to endure or if they were still enduring it while she sat there, talking with him, but at the same time, she didn't think that was a good idea.
She noticed that there were still metal cuffs around her wrists and ankles. She felt very much like a prisoner and she hated it. Hated how it seemed she had just moved from one prison to another, but how it seemed to be almost worse because there were others, besides herself who were trapped here. She hated that she was almost regretting joining Magneto.
Unfortunately though, Rogue could understand Magneto's frustration at her. She just didn't want to spill information about Kitty since the girl had been so nice to her, but she guessed that what she wanted didn't really matter when it came to the mission. It never really had. Rogue was realising that, if she wanted to not feel like a prisoner, well, she was going to have to comply with what Magneto wanted from her. Get on good terms with him. Then maybe, he might drop the cuffs and return her freedom to her. Maybe, it would also ease up on the others who were being punished just because they defended her for watching a stupid movie when she really should have been doing the task that Magneto set. If she'd done his task instead then maybe they wouldn't have been punished like they were last night.
"I'm sorry," Rogue suddenly found herself saying. She hated the words that fell from her mouth and she knew a huge, massive part of her didn't really mean it, but she had to attempt to make it look like she was there to work.
Magneto seemed to snort at that.
"Enter Ms Pride's mind," he commanded.
Rogue took in a deep breath, then tried to make herself comfortable. She closed her eyes, even though she felt very uncomfortable taking her eyes off Magneto. She entered Kitty's mind though, finding Kitty's psyche looking at her surprised.
"Oh, hey, like, long time no see. How's it..." Kitty's psyche trailed off as she noticed the look on Rogue's psyche's face.
"Not good Kitty. Magneto didn't buy the information I told him. He's now forcin' ma ta dig deeper inta your mind about the X-Men." Rogue explained.
As if, on cue, Magneto's voice sounded in her head.
"Are you within Ms Pride's mind?" he asked.
"Yes," Rogue replied aloud.
"Good, now enter one of her memories where she is at Xavier's mansion." Magneto commanded.
Rogue's psyche closed her eyes, feeling defeated. Kitty's psyche had heard Magneto's voice and commands and was now grasping at Rogue's arm, pulling at her.
"Please, like, don't do this. I can't betray my friends. The X-Men, they're good people-" Kitty began to say.
"I'm sorry Kitty, but I got friends I need ta look out for too and if I don't do this, well, I have no idea what will happen to em." Rogue said, ripping her arm away from Kitty's grasp and then jumping into the memory pool that was lay out before them.
She heard Kitty screaming after her, but Rogue ignored it. She found herself stood in a room that she'd never been in before. She glanced around, seeing Kitty asleep in her bed. Her hair was a mess and she was wearing pink PJs. Rogue glanced at the calendar on Kitty's bedside table. Seeing that it was the first day when she had started school at Bayville High.
"What do you see?" Magneto asked Rogue.
"I'm in Shadowcat's bedroom, the morning I started school at Bayville High." Rogue explained.
"And? What is happening?" He asked.
"Well, nothin'. Shadowcat's just sleepin'." Rogue said, still watching Kitty in her memory. She felt horrible that she was doing this to the sweet girl. But it was her or the Acolytes.
"Move the memory forwards. I want to know what Charles knows." Magneto explained.
Rogue tried to jump through the memories, using some techniques that she'd picked up from Emma. She'd explained every step of the way what she saw to Magneto. How it was a fight to get in the kitchen because of other mutants trying to get to school. Rogue noticed some faces she didn't recognise from the files Magneto had given her, but stayed quiet about that. He hadn't, after all, asked her to identify any new mutants. Just to see what the Professor knew. Rogue found herself moving forwards and constantly explaining to Magneto what was happening. She explained how Kitty and Lance were flirting. How Lance tried to impress her. How she'd failed a science test. How, at dinner, Kitty didn't really mention anything about the X-Men. How she'd gotten into a fight with Lance after school. How she had to calm Cyclopes down so not to cause a scene.
Then, just as Rogue was stood in the school yard, watching the scene between her and Cyclops unfold, she felt someone tackle her from behind. Rogue was knocked to the ground with a weight almost her size landed on top of her.
"Rogue, what is wrong?" Magneto's voice asked.
"Like, there you are!" Kitty Pride said as Rogue went to elbow the person behind her.
Rogue wasn't surprised that the psyche of Kitty had found her and tried to attack her. She'd had this happen to her many times before when she'd tried to find information for Mystique. But, somehow, it was still surprising that Kitty had attacked her. Then again, she had betrayed Kitty first.
"You can't be here!" Rogue snapped back at Kitty's psyche.
Rogue a little scuffle, Rogue found an opportunity to open a door way and shoved Kitty's psyche into it. It had been a fight and she had won because Kitty wasn't the best of fighters, but the mental/physical fight had still effected her.
"Rogue!" Magneto demanded.
"I'm fine. Kitty just doesn't want meh goin' through her memories, is all. She's tryna stop meh." Rogue relied.
"And have you?" Magneto asked.
"Yeah, she shouldn't bother meh for a while now." Rogue said.
"Then proceed." Magneto said.
Rogue sighed to herself then continued reporting back to Magneto how Kitty had gone back to the mansion with and took a shower. How she'd blacked out after trying to save her. How she woke up in a medical bed at the Xavier mansion and how Kurt, who seemed sweet on her, had filled her in on what had really happened. How she learnt that the X-Men knew that Magneto had disabled the cameras before it could be streamed to the world what mutants really were. How the Professor believed he had changed everyone's mind, but he worried about one. The new principle. He did not believe he had finished working on his mind before he had blacked out.
Rogue had come out of Kitty's mind then, feeling extremely tired. She opened her eyes to see Magneto sat in front of her, not quite looking happy. Rogue was panting with sweat running down her forehead. It had took a lot to force her way through Kitty's memories and manipulate them like that.
"I told you that I wanted information on what Charles knew." Magneto said.
"I'm sorry." Rogue huffed out, feeling annoyed that he was mad at her, "I'm tryna find it, but it takes time. I gotta go through the rest of her memories ta try and find it. Shadowcat isn't exactly tryna help meh out here."
"I see," Magneto said, seeming deep in though.
"So Charles knows that I did interfere with the broadcast and he is wary of the principle as he does not believe that he finished the job. He also does not seem to be aware of you nor Gambit." Magneto said.
"No. I told ya. We got outta there before he could reach us." Rogue explained, still huffing.
Magneto nodded his head. "Enter her mind again." he said.
Rogue glanced at him in disbelief. He didn't seem to have any sympathy for her though, so she did it, passing an upset Kitty along the way.
The next memory she entered was the day that Kitty's mutation manifested. Rogue saw into Kitty's dream, that she was flying and then falling and then, she was in the basement with Kitty freaking out at seeing her bedding through the ceiling. Rogue kind of felt bad for her. She seemed to think there was something wrong with her.
Rogue turned her head, feeling like she wasn't alone anymore. She was right. The door Rogue had made and threw Kitty behind to keep her out appeared in her parent's basement and Kitty came tumbling out of it onto the floor.
"Seriously! Wait, where are- Why are you at my parent's house!" Kitty snapped at Rogue.
Rogue frowned softly at the girl who lay on the floor. She focused though and made a trapped door open underneath Kitty which she fell through.
Rogue continued to watch Kitty's memories, watching her sneak out to school and then get bullied and locked in her locker. Rogue had seen a glimpse of Kitty being bullied like that before and she felt bad for the girl. Then she managed to phase out from her locker and into Lance. At sports, she failed miserably at doing the long jump. She'd ran straight into Jean, not knowing who she was. But, of course, Jean followed Kitty to where she ran off to. Jean was offering her help, but Kitty was pushing her away, freaking out about how it was hard being normal as it was. Yeah, Rogue could certainly understand that. She watched as Kitty finally gave into Lance's advances and asked him how she took control of her powers. Of course, Lance got her to phase through a wall into the principal's office. She felt so happy that she'd managed to control her phasing abilities. Rogue smiled at her, happy for her as she opened the door and gave Lance a hug. He seemed happy for her too, but distracted as he headed straight for the principle's computer. She watched Kitty get shocked at Lance deciding to change their grades and how Lance stopped her from leaving. She also watched Kitty's parents come through the door to the office with Jean and how Lance trapped Kitty's father under a bookshelf. Rogue watched as Lance began to bring the building down and how Kitty's parents were pleading with her not to go. She watched Kitty phase out of Lance's grasp and walk straight into some falling rubble.
Although it was just a memory and it couldn't hurt her, Rogue was still on edge as the ground shuck under her feet. Because it was so loud as well, she didn't notice the trap door reappear near her and Kitty's psyche jump out of it and grab her ankle from behind.
Rogue gasped, trying to keep her footing as Kitty pulled at her ankle. Then, Kitty bit her. Rogue screamed out in pain.
"Rogue?" she heard Magneto's concerned voice ask as she screamed from her normal body.
Rogue tried kicking Kitty in the face, but it just made her loose her balance and fall over. Kitty pulled Rogue into the trapped door and into the whiteness where they were just floating in thin air.
Kitty began to try and put Rogue in a choker hold, but Rogue knew how to get out of it. As she did fight her way out, she felt Kitty claw at her and kick at her which hurt.
Rogue finally managed to get some distance from Kitty and imagined a metal cage surrounding Kitty. With Kitty trapped in two of her traps, Rogue flew up and out of the trapped door. She was just in time to see that Kitty had made it out alright from the rubble and managed to get Jean and her parents out safely. She walk straight into the Professor who was telling her good job and that her gifts weren't a curse.
"What is happening!" Magneto demanded to know.
Rogue filled Magneto in on what had happened in Kitty's memories.
"Why were you screaming?" he asked.
"Kitty's psyche bit me on my ankle and it bloody well hurt!" Rogue responded, making sure that the trapped door was secure.
"There does not appear to be a bite mark on your ankle." Magneto said.
Rogue thought that was weird. Was Magneto checking out her ankle in the physical world? The fact that he would have had to touch her and take her shoes off to check disturbed her. She really didn't want Magneto touching her while she was so deep into a psyche's memories.
"In the psychic plane, not in the physical world. Ta me, it's like gettin' an electric shock, but just in the mind. It hurts like hell." Rogue said.
"Have you managed to detain the psyche?" Magneto asked.
"Yeah, but she'll be back and tryna beat the livin' day lights outta meh again soon." Rogue said, "I can't keep fightin' her. I might not have any marks on ma physical body, but it still feels like-"
"Proceed," Magneto said, dismissing all that Rogue was trying to explain.
Rogue huffed, but continued watching Kitty's memories.
Kitty and her family went back to her house and the Professor discussed with them what he could offer her. A home, training her abilities so she could handle them well, and a normal life at school without anyone ever knowing what she was.
Rogue heard Magneto snort. She came out of that memory, holding her head as she felt a headache start to come on. She felt physically and mental drained and she was guessing it was because, not only was she going through memories, but she was also having to put a lot of energy into restraining Kitty. Magneto began to rage at what the Professor's exact words were to Kitty's parents. He called them lies. Called him a fool. Rogue just let Magneto get it all out of his system, enjoying the break from going through Kitty's memories.
When Magneto did finally calm down, he demanded that Rogue enter Kitty's memories again. Rogue knew her next words might get her in trouble, but she had to say them.
"Look, goin' through Kitty's memories, it's really wipin' me out. Can't we stop for the day?" Rogue asked.
"We stop when I say we stop." Magneto said, sounding dangerous again.
Rogue huffed, entering Kitty's memories again, only, this time, she was struggling to get through a full day in Kitty's memories. It might have been because Kitty's psyche had managed to get free again and attacked her from the start. Or, because the attacks from Kitty were becoming more frequent as she was becoming weaker and the prisons she made for Kitty's psyche were becoming weaker too. Rogue guessed it was all of the above though.
She went through the memories of how Kitty, Kurt and Scott had been in his car at a weekend and how Scott had used his powers to shot a bus that was falling in the air. The Professor had seemed disappointed in them when he learned of it, but Kitty didn't see much of the Professor's and Scott's conversation. Soon after this, Kitty's psyche attacked.
Rogue followed Kitty's memory to the one where Evan had asked Kitty to come and help him shot his video and to practice dancing for it when Sabretooth attacked them and the Wolverine had to step in to protect them. Kitty's psyche snuck up behind her in the commotion and attacked her from behind again.
Then, Rogue's mind went to one of Kitty's memories where she was in a car, going to the beach with Kurt and Evan when it got flipped over and the Brotherhood mutants attacked. She had to phase through Blob who had tried jumping on her, but passed out shortly after getting out from underneath him. She'd come into consciousness just as she saw some metal orbs taking the Brotherhood away. All except Toad who they began to question. Kitty's psyche was about to attack Rogue's psyche from underneath the sand when a voice boomed in Rogue's head:
"That's enough!" Magneto snapped at Rogue before she could hear what Toad's response was.
When Rogue came out from Kitty's memories, she almost fell forwards as she gasped for air. She felt like she'd swam a marathon underwater and that she was only now coming up for air. All these punches, kicks, bites and scratches that Kitty's psyche had inflicted, although, not real, still felt as if they had marked her body.
Magneto had stopped Rogue going through Kitty's memories, knowing full well where they were heading. He didn't believe he wanted her to witness what he had failed to do last time and so, had Rogue stop. He watched Rogue bend over and start gasping for air. He had realised some time ago that searching through Kitty's memories was taking a lot of concentration on her part.
Magneto sat back, examining Rogue as she seemed to finally be able to sit up straight.
"That will be enough for today," he said, having noticed the time and how long he had wasted it by going through Kitty's memories with Rogue. He was starting to understand that this girl, Kitty, that she had absorbed, may only be a pawn to Xavier and how she may not hold a lot of the information that he seeked.
Rogue nodded her head, relieved that he was finally letting her stop. She sat back for a moment, feeling sick as she felt like she'd just been crushed by Blob's full weight too.
"You may go," Magneto stated, "Take the laptop with you and write up what we have discussed."
Rogue reached forwards, grasping the laptop, then, on shaky legs stood up. She began to walk towards the door, feeling the cuffs on her legs moving her to go faster.
Rogue stopped at the door, turning to face Magneto.
"Will ya drop the cuff?" Rogue asked.
"If I take off the cuffs, will you continue to work?" Magneto asked.
"Yes," Rogue said, "As ya can see though, goin' through someone's memories like that, it takes a lot outta meh."
"Yes, I had noticed that," Magneto said, glancing back at his clock. "We have wasted a full day going over the memories of Ms Pride and we are still not finished. Perhaps, it maybe best if half your day was not taken up by school."
Rogue glared at Magneto then, dropping her hand on the doorknob. She was tired and had just gone through hell to give this man what he wanted and now he was talking about how he wanted to take the one thing that was hers away from her.
"You stop meh from goin' then ya can forget me helpin' ya!" Rogue snapped at Magneto, pointing a finger at him. "The deal was I do what you want but I also get ma freedom. You take that freedom away from meh then the deals off!"
Magneto rose from his desk, clearly not happy. But he paused when he saw the fire that was in Rogue's eye. She was serious. A part of Magneto wanted to deny her for even dare speaking to him like that. But another part of him knew, she was Mystique's daughter and she would hold true to her word. She seemed to have such a passion for attending that miserable institution which he was not sure why, but if he took that away from her then she may just become an enemy rather than an ally. He cursed himself for still not have found anything he could use against her to keep her here. She appeared to have little interest in his offer to help her touch seeing as she hadn't sort him out about that. But she had become defensive the moment he mentioned school to her.
"I did not say I would stop you from going to school," Magneto said, trying to be careful on how he phased things. "But, perhaps, having a couple of days off from school every now and again to focus on your assignments from me would not be such a bad thing." Magneto said, sitting back down.
Rogue seemed to ease at hearing that. It seemed reasonable.
"The cuffs?" Rogue questioned.
Magneto undid the cuffs around Rogue's wrists and ankles and Rogue continued to walk out of the room.
Magneto watched her go, still feeling angry that he did not have the Rogue completely under his control. He would have to find a way to change that very, very soon.
Xxxxx
Rogue was using the walls to help her keep up right. She just felt so tired, all she wanted to do was to go to her room and sleep. But she had a feeling that, if she slept and didn't work it would only get her into trouble.
"Cher!" She heard Gambit call out.
Rogue glanced up, surprised to see Gambit walking over to her.
Rogue stood up a little straighter as she took him in, feeling relived to see him and see that he was alright. Well he looked alright.
"Remy?" She questioned, glancing him up and down, but her eyes coming to hand on his concerned ones full of questions.
Gambit had been coming in from the day after having spied on the X-Men. He had spotted Risty there, but she seemed to have disappeared during the day after soon realising Rogue wouldn't be coming to school today. Everyone, in fact, noticed Rogue wasn't there and there was a little bit of worry as to why. Gambit decided to stick around the X-Men to see what he could learn. There was nothing much of interest there though, so after the school day finished, Gambit left to come straight back to the base and file his report to Magneto.
That was, until he saw Rogue almost limping back to her room from Magneto's office. He'd walked up to her, placing his hand on her lower back. She didn't look well at all and that scared him. What had happened to her while he was away? Why did she looked so relieved to see him?
"What'd he do?" Gambit demanded to know.
Rogue, working slower than normal, realised what he was asking.
"He just made me go through some of Kitty's memories. It wiped me out, but I'm fine. Anyway, shouldn't I be askin' you that? He said he punished y'all. What happened after I got locked in ma room?" Rogue demanded to know.
She had begun to lean forwards, but was finding herself off balance and dropped the laptop. Gambit moved fast though, catching it and pulling Rogue to his chest to keep her steady.
"Whoa there cher. Come on," he said, handing her the laptop back and, after she took it, he swept her up bridal style and began walking her to her room.
"Remy, what-?"
"Relax Rogue. I'm just givin' ya a helpin' hand." He said.
He was expecting Rogue to start fighting him like she usually did. But when she didn't and, instead, seemed to lean into his chest a bit more, it just made him all the more concerned. He liked her leaning into him, relying on him, but not like this. He knew she'd said that Magneto had made her go through some memories, but why was she like this? What had he done to her?
Gambit entered Rogue's room and lay her down on her bed, taking the laptop from her and placing it to one side.
"Now, tell me what happened last night cher. From de top." He said.
Rogue stared up at Gambit, finding it rather hard to concentrate when her head hit the pillow. Gambit sat close besides her though, holding her hand. Rogue suddenly felt ashamed. She felt like she'd done wrong by the Acolytes. She should have just written the damn report that Magneto wanted her to do last night rather than blow it off to go and watch a movie with them. Her actions were careless and resulted in the Acolytes getting punished because of a mistake she'd made. A mistake that Gambit had warned her about. And now, he wanted to know what had actually happened. She felt ashamed to admit the truth to him. To tell him that he was punished because she'd been selfish again. She knew it would push him away after they seemed to make up last night, but… Gambit had also told her just to tell him the truth. That that was one of the reasons why he was so angry at her as well last time. Because he had to find out from overhearing others talking about it, otherwise, he would have never knew.
Rogue glanced away from Gambit, sighing. She felt tears of frustration coming into her eyes. She was going to have to tell him and he was going to have to tell her what he'd said last night. She'd almost got them in trouble again when Magneto thought they were lying about the Acolytes not knowing about her assignment.
She did think though, if telling Gambit the truth as to why Magneto had been so pissed with her and then them, it would make him back off because he was mad at her then maybe it was for the best. At least then he wouldn't need to get wrapped up in things when she screwed up because he wouldn't be a part of it. She'd never felt more guilt or bad as she did now than when she had the Acolytes safety to worry about. So Rogue began to tell him.
"Magneto's been wantin' meh ta go through Kitty and Fred's memories since he learned I absorbed them. He wanted meh ta find out information on the X-Men and Brotherhood that he didn't already know. I… I kept puttin' it off. Last night, I asked for some money so that I could go shoppin' and he said he wanted those reports done. I said I would do em, but then… Well, I just didn't wanna do em. I just wanted ta relax so I watched a movie with yas all. I didn't realise Magneto would get that pissed when he found out I wasn't there doin' the assignment. He locked meh in here all night and I got the assignment done, but when I handed it over to him, he wasn't happy. So he forced meh ta sit in his office and go through Kitty's memories there. I've only just got out of it and he wants meh ta write up everything we learned. I never meant ta drag y'all into it. Honest! It was just a mistake. A big, stupid mistake." Rogue said, a few tears falling from her eyes.
She was surprised when she found Gambit's gloved fingers wiping her tears away.
"Shhhh cher, it be alright now, non." He said. Gambit had realised he'd seen this side to Rogue before. She was an unstable emotional wreck just like she usually was whenever she used her powers for a long time. He felt bad for her. He'd been on edge all day, worrying about her. And now, here she was, drained from Magneto having her use her abilities and upset that she'd hurt her teammates. Gambit couldn't stay angry at her. He knew she made a mistake and she did too. She never meant to get them in trouble. But, he knew, what she did didn't actually get them in trouble. If they would have just stayed quiet, they would have been fine. But, when Colossus opened his mouth to defend her, Pyro too, they'd all put themselves in the firing line in hopes to try and save her from Magneto who looked ruthless. After all, the last time Magneto went all out against Rogue, she'd ended up with a broken leg and bed ridden. In fact, Magneto was tougher on her than he'd ever seen him be on anyone else. He knew Rogue had her faults, but she didn't deserve the way Magneto tried her.
"But I got y'all inta trouble. He said he punished yas and I haven't seen any of ya's since last night. I was worried-"
"Look, I be sat here right in front of you, non? Trust me, Rogue. We're all fine. Mags just came back and bollacked us for distracting you from your work. He then got on us 'bout us not pullin' our weight with our own assignments and we all just been doin' the tasks he set us today. He didn't punish us or nothin'."
"B-but he said-" Rogue started to say, staring up at him wide eyed.
"He didn't hurt us cher. It was you we be worried 'bout. Especially when we didn't see you dis mornin'. Mags told us not ta concern ourselves over you and to just get on with our jobs. We've all been worried 'bout you and what dat bucket head was gonna do to you." Gambit said, stroking Rogue's check.
"I'm fine. I just got a headache." Rogue then went to sit up, "Actually, I need ta write up what I know." Rogue said, looking for her laptop.
"Hang on now cher," Gambit said, taking her shoulders and lying her back down. Rogue looked up, confused at him.
"I think you need a little break now, non? Maybe some sleep will do you good." Gambit said, knowing she was in no state to do anything really.
"But I gotta get it done or else he's gonna try and stop sendin' meh ta school and he might try hurtin' ya-" Rogue said, trying to get up again, but Gambit held her down.
"You will, just not right dis second. Look, how's 'bout dis. I gotta go report to bucket head what it is I learned today. After dat, I'll be makin' dinner."
"That's right!" Rogue said, covering her face with her hands, "I was supposed ta help ya last night. Remy, I'm so sorry."
"It only be a few veggies cher. Ain't de end of de world." Gambit said.
"Maybe I can help ya out tonight?" Rogue said.
"Non. If Mags catches you doin' anything, but what he assigned you, he's gonna burst a vein and you know we can't have em doin' that. Not at his age. I'm gonna report to Mags, then make dinner. Whilst I do that, you get some rest and when dinner's done, I'll come getcha." Gambit said.
"I might as well do the-"
"Non," Gambit said, pushing her back down again, "you take a nap and I'll come wake you up. Then, you do de report, non? 'sides, bucket head dun't like spellin' mistakes. You gonna be makin' a lot of em in dis state. Just take it easy for a while and then you can work."
"But if Magneto finds meh or Sabretooth grasses me up, he might-"
"Don't you go worryin' 'bout them none. You trust me, non?" He asked.
"Yes," Rogue said, with only a very little pause as she took in what he was asking her.
"Bon, de you leave it to Remy. Don't worry cher, I got you covered."
Gambit then moved to pull Rogue's shoes off. When Rogue tried to sit up once again, he placed a hand on her stomach and pushed her down. She wasn't strong enough to fight him so let him take her shoes off. She thought for a moment how much more comforting it was to have Gambit take her shoes off rather than Magneto. Gambit worked around Rogue, placing her under her covers and tucking her in. When he looked up at her face, he could already see she was close to falling asleep.
"You don't go anywhere now," Gambit said, reaching down and planting a kiss on the side of Rogue's head where her hair was. But he knew she wasn't going to go anywhere as she was already fast asleep.
Gambit left Rogue's room, taking the laptop with him just encase and headed towards the dining room.
As he was passing he found himself just in time to see Pyro walking into the kitchen, seeking out something to drink. He had a pink pinny on which Gambit was always confused at when he saw it. Pyro seemed to think that his assignments were very much like that of a house wife, so he liked to dress half the part.
"I'm famished!" he said, taking a bottle of water out of the fridge and drinking from it, "What've you been up to today, huh mate?"
"The usual. Just passed by Rogue. She's takin' a nap so don't go disturbin' her by hooverin' or somethin'." Gambit said.
"Oh, the shelia's alive is she? Where'd she vanish too?" Pyro asked, leaning over the counter that separated the kitchen from the dining room.
"Mags had her doing some work for him today. He's tired her out, but she'll be fine so long as she be left alone. So, if you see any large pussycats scratchin' at her door-"
"Oh, set them alight?" Pyro asked.
Gambit smirked at Pyro. He might not have seemed sympathetic to Rogue, but he knew, deep down, passed that mad, pyromaniac side of him, he was a good man.
Gambit then moved passed Pyro to go and speak with Magneto, hiding the laptop in the kitchen before he entered the office.
xxxxx
After Gambit came out of the office, he headed straight towards the cargo area. Magneto hadn't been too happy that he didn't have anything new to report back to him about the X-Men, but he hadn't been angry. In fact, Magneto seemed somewhat distant. He wondered if it had something to do with him torturing Rogue all day for information on the X-Men. He did, of course, ask about Rogue and how she was doing seeing as he was trying not to make it obvious how he'd just carried the poor, exhausted girl to her room and forced her to go to sleep. Magneto said she was finishing an assignment off and not to disturb her.
Gambit found Colossus in the cargo area. A few things had been broken, but a lot of things had been unpacked and moved. Magneto always did like shipping in massive amounts of metal parts. Colossus didn't look happy. He hadn't been since Rogue got snatched away from them yesterday.
"Bonjour," Gambit said, gaining the giant's attention.
He did not say hi back, but, instead, continued on unpacking a box.
"Got a favour to ask," Gambit said, watching Colossus put two metal pipes together. He still wasn't listening, "Or more, Rogue does." That got his attention.
"Where is she? How is she?" Colossus asked, standing and moving towards Gambit.
"She be holdin' up alright. Mags had her goin' through memories of the X-Men all day so she's takin' a little nap." Gambit said.
"He did not hurt her?" Colossus asked.
"No, she's just exhausted from reminiscin' all day and I'm betting hungry too." Gambit said.
Colossus looked down, his guilt showing pretty clearly. "What favour does she need?" Colossus asked.
"Well, here's the thing. Where Rogue might be taking a little nap, Magneto might have had other things for her to do." Gambit said.
"What other things?" Colossus asked.
"Nothing to concern yourself over. Anyway, Rogue needed some rest before she could do this task Magneto set her, only, if she gets found sleepin' on the job, she's gonna find herself locked in that room again for another night." Gambit said.
He watched as Colossus cracked his knuckles while making two fists. "That man!" he muttered.
"Oh, she ain't gonna be found out 'cause we ain't gonna let her get caught. Now here's the thing, dinner needs sortin' and I've got to be the one to do it. You look like you're mostly done with your tasks for the day. I'm gonna whip up something fast and go wake Rogue up after I've done that. What I need you to do is hand in your report for the day while I'm cookin' so he doesn't go lookin' for Rogue. You think you can keep de homme busy while our cherie sleeps?" Gambit asked.
Colossus nodded his head, picked up some metal and began to move towards Magneto's office. From what it looked like, Colossus and Magneto would be moving the parts Magneto wanted into his secret underground base. That would by him at least an hour or two like he wanted.
Gambit made his way to the kitchen, finding an angry Sabretooth cursing and demanding to know where the firebug had gone. Gambit shrugged as he entered the kitchen, but smirked after Sabretooth left. Pyro was playing his part nicely. After dinner was made and Magneto came in to take his plate, he asked if Rogue was in her room and if he could take her meal to her. Magneto seemed to have no problem with this and left. Gambit put Rogue's food on a tray and snatched the laptop out from it's hiding place as he headed towards Rogue's room.
He knocked before he entered, but found that the knock hadn't woken her up. He entered her room, closing the door behind him and nudged her awake. Rogue moaned as he tried to wake her, cuddling her pillow more and telling him to go away. That made Gambit smirk. She'd been so reluctant to sleep and now she was reluctant to wake up. She was rather beautiful too. He hadn't wanted to wake her because she looked so peaceful, now, as she was waking up, it was like seeing a master piece of art work being created before his eyes.
"Can't do dat cherie. Come on now, rise and shine. I got some tres delicieux food for ya ta eat." he said.
Rogue's stomach let out a groan and he chuckled. Rogue opened one eye after having smelled something that made her stomach ache. She saw Gambit stood there, chuckling down at her and became very confused.
"Remy? What you doin' here?" she moaned, starting to sit up.
"I be your humble servant bringin' you your dinner, non?" he said, placing the tray on Rogue's lap as she sat up fully.
Gambit pulled a chair over to sit beside Rogue's bed. Rogue glanced at him questioning as he sat down. Gambit only smiled at her as he opened the laptop up on his lap.
"What are ya doin'?" Rogue asked.
"What it look like I be doin'?" Gambit asked, waiting for the laptop to load.
"I don't know. That's why I'm askin'." Rogue said.
"You got a report to write, non? Thought it be easier for you just to tell moi what to write rather than struggle by yourself." he said.
"I can write a report. You don't have ta do it for me." Rogue said.
"Non, but I ain't got much else to do. Plus, I weren't liein' 'bout those spellin mistakes. De homme hates em." Gambit said.
"Really? You've not got any assignments from Magneto or anything?" Rogue asked.
"Non, I finished all mine for de day. So's Pete and John, but they be keepin' de pussycat and ole bucket head distracted while we work together to get your assignment done for de day."
"Why are ya helpin' meh?" Rogue asked.
Gambit noticed she seemed to be doing better than before. She wasn't as emotional as before, but she wasn't completely stable yet either. He wondered if that question was aimed at just this situation or if there was more behind it.
At first, for Rogue, it was just about what he was doing for her now. But then, as he paused a moment before answering her, she did begin to remember all the things he'd done for her. Right from the very start, he'd been there and done so much for her. Why? Why was one man going to so much trouble for her and barely asking for anything in return?
"We be a team, non?" he finally said.
Rogue put her head down, realising that was what he had said at the school too. That they're a team. That they all help each other out and protect one another.
Gambit tilted his head to one side as he saw Rogue look almost disappointed. Was she really disappointed? Was she expecting another answer from him?
"I got y'all inta trouble last night and it was ma own stupid fault I didn't do the report. Why are ya helpin' meh when I got everyone inta trouble?" Rogue asked.
Gambit shrugged, "You made a mistake, non? Dun't mean we aren't too happy dat you brought a crazy bucket head down on us all, but sometimes, he just expects things to come from thin air. We've all been where you've been at cher and we all watch each other's backs. So, de next time ole bucket head does try and lay into me-"
"I'll back you up." Rogue finished, staring into Gambit's eyes as if it was a promise.
"It ain't a bargain." Gambit said, realising his eyebrow. He didn't want that. He didn't want her to think of him as some tool again where she could get some sort of service out of him for a price. Usually, he didn't care about that. It was how he normally worked. How everyone normally treated him. But, from her, for some reason, he didn't want her to owe him anything or do something just because he did something nice for her. It was strange, even to him, but… he just didn't want that.
"Never said it was." Rogue said, her facial features becoming much softer as she did.
Gambit huffed at that, a small smile appearing on his face.
"So," Gambit said, seeing the screen load up, "when you can, how's 'bout you tell moi what it is I need to be writin' down. You best start eatin' soon though cherie, or your foods gonna get cold."
Rogue smiled at Gambit and began to tell him what she had learnt about Kitty through bites of her meal. Even after that, Gambit continued to type as she tried to figure out the best and quickest way to phase things. Gambit helped with that too. Come midnight, they were finished with the report. Rogue looked it over, double checking that she hadn't missed anything.
"I guess I best go give this to Magneto then," Rogue said, closing the laptop down.
"Wouldn't bother. He be asleep by now." Gambit said, glancing at her clock.
"Oh right, then I guess I'll give it to em tomorrow mornin' then. He better let meh go back ta school on Monday. I have no clue what I'm gonna say, but-"
"Just tell 'em you had a doctor's appointment. Ask Mags to write you a note too so you don't get in trouble." Gambit said.
"Won't I get in trouble anyway? It wasn't an authorised day off."
"Oh, don't you worry 'bout dat cherie. " Gambit said, smirking to himself as he knew he had already changed Rogue's file to mark her down as having an authorised absence.
Rogue wanted to question him, but didn't. She'd become tired again from having spoken so much and just from the day she had. Gambit saw Rogue trying to suppress a yarn. He smiled at her, finding her cute. He stood up and stretched, surprised at how long he had actually been sat down for. He didn't realise just how much it was Rogue had discovered about Kitty Pride and the X-Men. He guessed he could understand why she looked ready to collapse after her meeting with Magneto. Especially when she was giving him the watered down version.
Rogue watched Gambit put the chair back at her desk and take her tray.
"Thank you for tonight... And last night... And well, for every other night you've helped me out." Rogue said, pulling a piece of hair behind her ear and looking away. Gambit smiled at her.
"No problem, cherie. Gotta say, you keep dis here Cajun on his toes, non?"
Rogue chuckled at that, "Yeah, guess I do have a habit of gettin' maself inta trouble... Speakin' a which, Remy, I really am sorry 'bout what happened at school the other day. I really didn't mean for things ta get so outta hand like they did or for something ta be said dat hurt you."
This stopped him. He stood, having the tray lean against his hip as he tilted his head sideways at Rogue. He hadn't expected an apology from her. But he remembered how she had told Risty about trying to bake him a cake to say sorry. He thought she'd given up on trying to apologise, but here she was and looking pretty beaten up about what happened.
"Dat be high school for you cherie. Things always gonna spiral outta control when you place a bunch of hormonal teenagers under one building."
"Gee, thanks." Rogue said, smirking.
Gambit smirked, then stepped forwards, bringing his face closer to Rogue's. Rogue backed up a little, but couldn't go too far considering she was still sat in her bed. That smirk on Gambit's face put her on edge a little for some reason.
"If you really wanna make it up to moi, den you could go on dat date your promised me dis weekend, non?" Gambit said.
Rogue blushed. She had forgotten all about Monday night and her agreeing to go on a date with him if he lied for her. She was taken back and didn't know what to say. Well, she didn't even think she had a say in things.
Gambit chuckled at Rogue's reaction. It was fun making her blush like that.
"Wow, is de Rogue really speechless?" He said.
That made Rogue frown with her eyebrows, but she gained a smirk on her face.
"No!" Rogue said, putting her hand on Gambit's chest to push him away, "I just can't believe I agreed ta that! Musta been outta ma damn mind when I agreed ta it."
Gambit had taken hold of the gloved hand Rogue placed on his chest. Her shove wasn't harsh and didn't move him far. He managed to take her hand into his and hold it.
"Awww Cherie, you know you lookin' forward to it. And don't worry," Gambit said, bringing her hand up to his lips and kissing it gently, "I know how to treat a lady right."
Rogue was blushing again and he loved it. He knew it was a little cruel to tease her while she was tired and worn down, but he couldn't help it. He'd missed flirting with her and having his advances rebuffed. He wasn't using his charm on her, but he knew even if he was, she'd still fight him and that only made her more interesting. That strong will she had.
"Best get some rest Cherie," he said, placing her hand down on her pillow and then motioning her down by placing a hand and gentle pressure on her shoulder. Rogue, surprisingly, obliged and he thought it was to do with the fact that she was still half out of it.
"Faites de beaux reves, mon Cherie," he said, before planting a kiss on her head where her hair shielded her face.
Rogue gasped and it was a pleasant sound to hear. Gambit stood up and moved towards Rogue's door, turning her light off and closing the door behind him.