Multiversed

Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, still not mine.

Five

When Rogue and Gambit went over the schematics for Stark Towers they kept running into the same problem since Rogue's purpose in being there included getting caught: how to get back out. They both knew that once they had a person of interest in their holding cells following a successful break-in that security would be seriously ramped up. Which left her with two options: being patient and waiting them out, which is completely unacceptable to her. Or the second: doing the last thing anyone with a brain cell would try: the roof.

The roof at Stark Towers is a guaranteed way to get caught breaking in before you ever even breached the building for a simple reason: it leads directly to Tony Stark's private floors and is closely monitored by both S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security system and Stark's AI JARVIS.

But.

S.H.I.E.L.D. is more worried about her walking right out the front door than they are her jumping off the roof. Which just leaves JARVIS and Stark to deal with.

This should be…interesting.

But if she manages it Remy owes her a hundred bucks for pulling it off.

R ~ & ~ T

"Sir?" The low chiming hum of JARVIS's voice pulled Tony away from the project that wouldn't let him sleep, hence him being awake and in his lab at three-a.m.

"Yeah?" He asked, distracted as he made the design in front of him spin. It was the third model of his first attempt at figuring out a way around Rogue's mutation. A personal shield only a couple molecules thick that spread out and completely encapsulates the body. Innovative…but not necessarily practical.

Although if he could manage it he could market it for germophobes and people with severe allergies.

Of course it wouldn't let him kiss her beyond a peck…

Back to the drawing board.

"Your Ms. Rogue has made her way out of her cell and seems to be making her way up to your floors."

That brought Tony's head up from the computerized drafting board in his lab.

"Analysis?" He demanded. What is she up to?

"The roof would be most probably for an escape attempt unless she truly is here for a theft of some sort…then it would be your labs, sir."

"Which scenario is most likely?" He asked leaning back and thinking over what he's learned about the tricky woman.

"Based on my observations of Ms. Rogue's behavior, probables has an escape attempt at 93.7% likelihood."

"Good enough for me." Tony chuckled to himself. He wouldn't trust them from her perspective either. Especially with her background. "Let's see how good Rogue is."

"Sir?"

"Keep all the security protocols in place. I'll be on the roof. Let's see how much she's learned since leaving Xavier's school."

R ~ & ~ T

Rogue crept from the ventilation duct out into the cool night air. Breathing deeply she smiled a genuine smile before stretching and cracking her neck. She really should've absorbed Kitty when she still had the chance, it would make these kinds of adventures much easier.

Pleased with herself and the world in general now that she's both healthy and out of a cell, she gave her hands a quick shake before moving briskly over to the edge of the building and staring down.

"It's a long drop unless the ability to fly is one of your mutations."

The smooth voice with that ever-present hint of sarcasm came from the shadows, startling Rogue into turning with hands down and open at her sides: one holding a fireball, the other a roiling coil of ice and snow.

"Nice." Tony said with an arched brow as he moved out of the shadows, still casually dressed. If he couldn't talk her into staying there was no point in keeping her here and Iron Man isn't needed for that. If anything his suit would probably be detrimental to his cause. "I thought you might keep the powers you copy for longer than your file extrapolates."

Raising the hand with the contained snow storm, watching him the whole time, she blew out a breath making the snow flutter and whirl around them before it vanished. The fireball she expanded into a miniature Chinese dragon that roared around them before she extinguished it.

"It's more than that." She said finally, staring at him out of those wounded brown eyes. "At this point I'm probably better with some of my copied powers than the original owners are."

"Oh?" He cocked his head, studying her in that analytical way that drives her nuts. "How so?"

"When I copy a mutants power," she began lifting and cupping her hands in front of her and turned one of the rings she wore on her bared hands into a malleable, floating ball of adamantium. "It starts like this. A small ball of something but because of the copy of the mutant's mind and genetics that I get, I instinctively know how to control and use the power."

Raising the ball to his eye level she lowered her hands and made it shift:

First it was a ring again, then a detailed model of a brain, then a double helix.

"Plus where they've been doing things like trying to rule the world," she chuckled as she made the metal turn into a mini-Magneto. "Or learning to be superheroes." Next it shifted into Iceman, Colossus, Storm, even Wolverine. "I've been fighting and scraping along doing the minimum." There was one of the fighting cages, then a motorcycle. "I've had a lot of time on my hands the last five years to learn how to use all of these powers running through me."

Lastly she made the metal shift into a snowflake, then a candle flame, a lightning bolt, a playing card, and ending with a miniature statue of a snarling wolf before she shifted it back to a ring on her finger.

"That's some skill." Tony said impressed with her control.

"Yeah, some skill." She agreed her voice sad as she looked out over the New York lights. "Too bad I don't have that much insight into my own mutation."

"I'm afraid the cats out of the bag about your mutation." Tony said, brushing one hand down one of her stripes. "Coulson's report covers it."

Rogue just nodded studying him closely.

"Why am I still here, Stark?" She asked after a long moment.

"Here the roof or here with the Avengers still?"

"The second. Unless Director Fury has no intention of letting me walk out the front doors I can't figure out what I'm still doing here."

Tony laughed at her pissed-off scowl.

"You're still here because some of us – the Avengers – think that you would be a major asset to our team."

"Seriously?" She arched a brow. "An unknown mutant with a habit of bolting who broke into S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters is a major asset to the Avengers." Crossing over to the ledge she leans back and folds her arms over her chest as he moves to stand in front of her. "Please, enlighten me."

"For one," he said boxing her in with his arms as he leans forward. "You're not an unknown mutant." At her snort he explained. "Granted not much is known about you but you're not a completely unknown quantity. You've got history with Wolverine and can handle him – which is a skill worth its weight in gold around here. He knows you and knows at least part of your past, something that he's already refused to share so don't get pissy."

She just rolled her eyes at that last part.

After waiting a moment gauging whether she believed him about that he continued.

"You've already proven that you have serious skills, breaking in here isn't an easy feat and breaking back out is even harder."

"Clearly," she snarked.

Tony just rolled right over that as if she never spoke.

"Agent Coulson put together a file on you: mostly benign stuff including your illustrious cage-fighting career but couldn't find anything from before you came to Xavier's and very little after. What little he did find all points to you being a loner that's never lost a fight."

Narrowing her eyes, she stared him down something about his tone bothering her.

"But you know more than that…don't you?"

"I'm a genius with an AI at my disposal…of course I do." Tony said truthfully. "And I have a feeling you're really not going to like the things I know about you."

"Then why tell me that you checked on me."

"I like you." He said simply, chuckling a little at her "yeah-right" look. "And I want to do morally reprehensible things your rather luscious body."

"Good luck with that." She said flippantly.

"Hey." He gave her a mock-injured look. "Genius, remember? If there's anyone who can figure out a way around your mutation it's me. But getting back on point," he flicked a finger down her cheek too quick to activate her power. "From what I found out and what Logan told me…I know that if I have any chance at getting close to you I had to come clean about my digging before you found it out for yourself."

Shooting him a look from under her lashes, Rogue rolled that around in her mind for a minute. With an internal sigh she could only come to one conclusion.

"Sorry for this." She said with a quirk of her lips.

Moving quicker than he could track without his Iron Man suit, she grabbed hold of his T-Shirt and jerked him forward, planting a firm kiss on his lips.

Tony just stood there, shocked, as he felt tingles spark at his lips and spread outward, leaving him lightheaded as fireworks from the actual kiss went off behind his reflexively-closed eyelids.

Holy shit she packs a punch…in more than one way.

Letting him go she breaks the steamy kiss after one long moment as that last thought of his danced in her brain. A little wobbly on his feet, Tony planted one hand firmly on the stone ledge of his building as he waited for the little lights in front of his eyes to stop dancing.

Closing her eyes she let the day – his day – pass through her mind like a movie focusing on his thoughts of her and the information he and his hacking-buddy AI dug up on her.

R ~ & ~ T

By the time Tony regained his bearings Rogue was deep within what looked like a trance.

Probably taking my mind for a spin. He thought frivolously. Eyes popping open at some of the consequences of that, he tapped the earpiece with one finger keeping an eye on the seemingly out-of-it face of Rogue.

"JARVIS, change all my passwords as of now." He ordered, thinking of the sensitive and classified information in his computers…and his bank account balance. Not that he seriously thought she would abuse the information she got from her powers that way – she wouldn't be wearing a five-year-old leather jumpsuit otherwise – but he has too many responsibilities to take the chance.

"Yes, sir."

As his AI answered, Tony watched in fascination as a single tear tracked down one of Rogue's silky cheeks.

"Rogue?" He asked tentatively. Shit! Shit! What the fuck did she find in my memories?

"Marie." She said huskily, opening her damp, velvet-chocolate eyes. "Mah name is Marie."