Chapter Seventy-Two:


In the Professor's private office, Rogue was having a similar reaction.

"When... where... how?" she stammered unintelligently, too shocked and dazed to comprehend what Charles Xavier was telling her.

"It was a December weekend in Ontario twenty-one years ago," Xavier explained in that soothing tone that was a combination of his naturally rich tones and the calming touch of his psychic powers. "I'll leave the exact circumstances to Raven and Logan, should they chose to discuss them, and as for the how, I don't think you really need or want me to answer that."

"Yeah," she said weakly. "Ah'll pass on that." She shook her head, trying to make sense of what she'd just been told, and failing miserably. "Ah jus' don' understand... why would they ever... Ah mean, Ah thought they hated each other."

"They were friends, once," Xavier explained slowly. "And sometimes friendship turns into something more, whether it lasts or not. You are a byproduct of that friendship."

"Aww, thank God ya didn' say Ah was a byproduct o' the somethin' more," Rogue groaned. "Ah'd have been sick if ya did."

The Professor merely pressed his lips together in silence, trying to refrain from smiling.

"So Mystique knew Ah was Logan's kid all along?" Rogue asked in disbelief. "Ah mean, all that time Ah was fightin' ya'll when Ah was wit' the Brotherhood, an' all that time Ah was livin' under the same roof as him... an' she knew he was mah... mah..."

"Your father?" Xavier finished for her. "Yes, she did."

Rogue was quiet for a long moment, letting that sink in, and then she exploded. "She should have told me, dammit!" she cried furiously. "Ah had the right t' know who mah parents were, t' know where Ah came from!"

"From what I have gathered, Rogue," Xavier said gently. "Raven always intended to tell you she was her mother, once you were settled and secure with the Brotherhood. But you joined us before she ever got the chance, and I suppose after that she felt that you had betrayed her."

"Didn' it ever occur t' her that maybe tellin' me the truth might have won me back?" Rogue demanded, then winced, shooting Xavier a sheepish glance. "Not that it would have, mind ya."

"I think perhaps she knew it wouldn't have been enough to make up for all of the lies and deceit," Xavier reasoned. "And she knew if she had told you the truth, you would have wanted to know about your father."

"So?" Rogue grunted, not yet ready to let go of her anger. "Not like Ah coulda guessed that he was livin' under the same roof as me the whole time."

"No," Charles agreed evenly. "But Logan might have guessed."

Rogue raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "How do ya figure that?"

"As soon as Raven revealed that you were her daughter," Xavier informed her. "Logan began to put the pieces together. He knew when your birthday was, of course, and he knew when he had been with her... it didn't take him long to figure out the truth."

"How...?" Rogue began, then trailed off, biting her lip anxiously.

"How did he take it?" Xavier asked knowingly, and Rogue nodded silently. "He was angry, and rightfully so I would think. It's... it's not an easy thing, to learn that someone you once cared for kept a child from you for so many years..."

There was something... personal in the Professor's tone, and in his words, and Rogue frowned, wondering just who this woman was and when Xavier had found the time to father a child. As soon as the thought had entered her head, though, she mentally smacked herself. One did not think such things when sitting across from the world's most powerful telepath.

Xavier smiled, albeit sadly. "Her name was Gabrielle Haller, and my son's name is David... most of the time."

"Most of the time?" Rogue echoed.

"David has split personalities," Xavier explained quietly. "Three of them, to be exact. One of them so dangerous that we had to place him in a stasis tube on Muir Island, until we can find a way to heal his broken mind."

"Ah'm so sorry," Rogue whispered. "Ah... Ah didn' know."

"Not many do," Xavier replied. "Scott and Jean, of course, it would be hard to keep something like this from them, and Ororo, Hank and Logan, as well, but the others have never even heard David's name mentioned."

"Why tell me, then?" Rogue asked.

Xavier smiled at her. "I thought it might do you good to hear it."

"Thank ya," Rogue said softly. Charles Xavier hadn't changed much in the years that she had been gone, and she took comfort in that. He was older, yes, and the lines around his eyes and mouth were a bit more drawn, etched with fatigue, but his eyes still sparkled with unprecedented intelligence.

It was his voice that she had missed the most, though, that calming and silky voice that always seemed to put her at ease. There weren't many people who could calm her down when she got really worked up, but he was still one of them.

"You're most welcome," Xavier responded, then folded his hands in front of him. "Now, Lance tells me that you and Remy have been living in New Orleans for the past few years, how have things been going for you?"

"Ah've been good," she assured him with a small smile. "Remy is a wonderful man, an' his family accepted me as one o' their own from the start. They've taken real good care o' me these past few years."

"And you have been happy, yes?" Xavier prodded gently.

Rogue nodded, her smile growing into a full grin. "Happier than Ah can ever recall bein' in mah whole life, Professor. Remy is everythin' Ah could have ever asked fo'... bein' wit' him makes every day seem brighter, ya know what Ah mean?"

Xavier gave her an affectionate look. "It's good to see you smiling, my dear," he told her sincerely.

"Thanks," Rogue blushed, chuckling to herself. "Ah can' seem t' stop smilin' lately. The students are gonna think Ah'm nuts if Ah walk around the mansion grinnin' all the time."

"I assure you, it is a sight for sore eyes," Xavier promised her. "One that I, for one, will not soon tire of."

Despite herself, Rogue felt her heart swell at those words. She had missed him, this man who had been part-mentor, part-parent during her troubled teenage years. She had missed all of them, even Jean. When the redhead had embraced her on the front steps, only then had Rogue truly realized, with surprise, just how badly she had missed the older girl.

It was ironic, really, considering how rarely they had gotten along during their youth, but logic didn't have anything to do with it. Jean had been a comforting and stable presence at the Institute, and in her life, even if she had been an irritating one at that. But now that Rogue had let go of her bitterness, now that she allowed people to get close to her and allowed herself to get close to them in return, she found that she rather liked Jean Grey.

Jean Summers, she corrected herself with a ghost of a smile. Nathan was a beautiful baby, who would no doubt grow up to be as handsome as his father, but he really did have Jean's eyes. Soft green, a few shades paler than Rogue's own emerald ones, that always seemed to sparkle with confidence and intelligence.

She was looking forward to his terrible twos, to see if Scott got as frazzled as Henri had with Jacques.

A stab of sadness cut through her happy thoughts, and she wondered if Remy had called Jean-Luc yet to let him know that they had reached Westchester. She hadn't gotten the chance to speak with her father-in-law or any of the other members of their family since leaving New Orleans, and she desperately wanted to hear Mercy's voice, to fill her sister-in-law in on all the new developments that had turned up since running into Lance in Charleston.

She could have really used some of Mercy's advice right about now.

"I'm quite sure that Kurt and your parents will feel the same way," Xavier added, referring to his delight at seeing her smiling and happy.

The hair on the back of her neck tingled at hearing Mystique and Logan addressed as her parents for the first time, and her stomach tightened with a wave of anxiety. "When are they gonna arrive?" she asked, shifting in her seat.

"Sometime tomorrow," Xavier replied. "Are you nervous about seeing them again?"

"Is it that obvious?" Rogue said with a pitiful smile. "Ah ain't got a clue what Ah'm gonna say t' them, any o' them. Ah mean Kurt an' Ah, we've always been close, so Ah'm not worried 'bout things bein' awkward wit' him, but how am Ah s'posed t' greet Logan knowin' what ya tol' me?"

"I suppose you should simply greet him as you would have if I hadn't told you," Xavier said slowly. "I know that Logan has missed you a great deal, Rogue, and learning that you are his daughter only furthered his grief when we thought you were dead. I imagine all he'll want when he lays eyes on you is to hug you. He won't pressure you for anything more than you're ready to give."

"Ah know," Rogue sighed, rubbing her temples wearily. "An' believe me, Ah wanna hug him. Lord knows Ah've thought 'bout it enough over the years, how much Ah jus' wished Ah could have had one more minute wit' him t' tell him how much he meant t' me an' all. It's jus'..."

"You're confused," Xavier finished knowingly. "And rightfully so."

"Logan's not even the real problem," Rogue murmured. "It's been four years, an' Ah still ain't sure how Ah feel 'bout Mystique. Ah mean, she used me, she lied t' me, she manipulated everythin' that Ah... an' then Ah find out that she's mah mother." She shook her head, letting her white strands fall across her face. "Ah thought Ah'd come t' terms wit' that, but now y' tell me that she didn' jus' keep the truth from me, she kept mah father from me, as well..."

"Logan has forgiven her," Xavier pointed out gently. "I'm sure you will be able to do the same. After all, she is your mother, and regardless of the tension between you two in the past, Raven does care for very much, Rogue."

"Ah know," Rogue sighed. "Ah've always known that. Ah've got a piece o' her in mah head, 'member? An' yo' right, Ah'll get past all this, Ah jus' need some time t' let it sink in an' all."

"But?" Xavier asked knowingly.

"How the hell am Ah s'posed t' tell them 'bout Remy?" she groaned. "Oh Lord, Mystique's gonna shift in t' a bear an' maul him t' death, an' Logan's gonna shishkabob him, Ah know it. An' then Kurt'll probably 'port his remains out over the ocean or somethin'!"

"I think you might be getting a little carried away," Xavier said, unable to hide his amusement.

"Ya have met mah family, haven't ya, Professor?" Rogue demanded dryly.

"What do you want me to say, Rogue?" Xavier raised an eyebrow. "That I'll use my powers to temporarily still their brain waves if things turn ugly?"

"Would ya really?" Rogue asked hopefully.

"No," Xavier apologized with a smile, and she sighed in defeat. "But if it will make you feel better, I will have Piotr, Jean and some of the others on hand in case it becomes necessary for us to intervene."

"Thanks," Rogue nodded. "Ah have a feelin' Ah may hafta take ya up on that offer. O' course, maybe Ah can play Mystique an' Logan off o' each other, get 'em t' blame one another instead o' goin' after Remy."

"I doubt it," Xavier informed her with a faint smile. "Logan and Raven have grown close over the years, mostly because of you, in fact. They bonded a good deal over the child they thought lost, and somewhere along the line it became something more."

Rogue felt her face pale about three shades, and she suddenly felt like she might be ill. "Oh God, they aren't... tell me they're not..."

Xavier cleared his throat loudly, no doubt picking up on the frightening scenarios entering her head. "No," he replied. "They are not together, in that sense. But they have laid their hostility to rest, and they've rebuilt some of their old friendship."

"Huh," Rogue mused, curling a strand of her white streaks around her finger absently, a bad habit she had picked up from Bella. "Never thought Ah'd see the day that the two o' them got along."

"Stranger things have been known to happen," Xavier pointed out, his eyes twinkling wryly. "After all, I'm sure you haven't forgotten some of the unique perks of being an X-man."

"Ya mean like bein' chased by dinosaurs from another dimension?" Rogue drawled. "No, it would be hard t' fo'get somethin' like that. Remind me t' smack Forge an' Kurt fo' that one now that Ah can do it wit'out drainin' 'em both dry."

"Ah," Xavier murmured. "I was wondering when we would get around to that. I trust that you have made the most of Magneto's gift?"

"Ah owe him, big time," Rogue said simply, letting her fingers dance across the smooth surface of her bracelet. "He gave me the most precious gift o' all."

"I have to admit," Xavier said. "I was surprised, pleasantly so, to hear he had given it to you without any strings attached."

Rogue chuckled. "Ah can' blame ya. It came outta nowhere, really. Remy always wondered if maybe he'd done it, intendin' t' try and bribe me in t' rejoinin' his side, but Ah don' think that was it."

"No?"

"No," Rogue shook her head, her gaze lowering. "Ah have his memories, Professor, Ah know what they did t' him..." She didn't bother to clarify who 'they' were, even without his powers Xavier would have known, after all, once upon a time he and Erik Lensherr had been the best of friends. "An', well, Ah reckon maybe he knows somethin' 'bout what it's like t' be trapped." She lifted her gaze to meet Xavier's, despite the tears she felt welling there, and smiled weakly. "An' he knows how beautiful it is t' be freed."

The Professor was silent for a long moment, studying her appraisingly, and she swallowed uneasily under his scrutiny. But Xavier's lips curved up into a slow smile, and there was something akin to pride in his eyes when he spoke again. "There aren't many people who can understand Erik," he observed evenly.

"He's not exactly an' easy guy t' understand," Rogue agreed. "But it's kinda hard not t' sympathize wit' him when Ah've seen the nightmare that he lived."

"His experiences are what motive him in his quest for mutant superiority," Xavier sighed. "He believes that humans will inflict those same horrors on us, unless we seize control while we can."

"Sometimes Ah'm not so sure he's wrong," Rogue confessed softly, thinking back to her own hellish experience at the hands of Trask. "Ah don' agree wit' his methods, Ah still think there's a chance fo' humans an' mutants t' coexist, but he's right 'bout one thing- we hafta be prepared fo' the worst."

"I'm afraid you have a point there," Xavier said wearily. "And with the public's current position against mutants..."

"There's still time t' help 'em see the light," Rogue assured him, laying a comforting hand on top of his own. "An' if anyone can do that, it's ya'll, Professor."

"I certainly hope so."

"Ah know so," Rogue smiled confidently, but her smile flickered as her own words caused her thoughts to drift to an entirely different, but no less important, problem.

Noticing her expression, and perhaps picking up on the sudden change in her mood, Xavier frowned, eyeing her with concern. "What is it?"

"Ah..." Rogue swallowed. "Ah reckon Hank's done tol' ya 'bout what happened t' me at Area 51? What Trask did t' me, how Ah acquired mah new powers an' all?"

"Yes, we had a long discussion on that subject not long after he, Evan, Piotr and Mr. Dukes joined us," Xavier replied carefully. "I must say, I was surprised to note the lack of clutter inside your head. From what Hank had to say, I was expecting to find a disheveled mind."

"Ah've got Tessa t' thank fo' that," Rogue responded. "She put Carol back in her own body, not long after we got t' New Orleans. She reckons that's why ya'll couldn' find me on Cerebro. That an' she woke mah latent powers wit' a power-boost."

"Pardon?"

"It... Ah'm not gonna be good at explainin' this, Prof, so ya better check in wit' Tess," Rogue cringed slightly. "But she can jump-start a mutant's latent powers, as well as identify and track down mutants. She's a supercomputer."

"A supercomputer," Xavier echoed, a twinge of curiosity catching her ears.

"Yo' gonna hafta talk t' her fo' anythin' more," she told him. "Her powers are kinda complex, at least t' mah ears, an' she'd be better at explainin' 'em anyway."

"I think I might like the chance to discuss them with her," Xavier nodded. "But, please, continue with your story."

"Right," Rogue bit her lip, trying to organize her thoughts. "See, the thing is... Carol an' Ah, we know each other better than two people can ever know each other, better than they should ever know each other. Trask raped our minds, an' our souls, that day in his lab. An' we hated one another fo' it, but... Ah guess over time we jus' got t' realizin' that neither o' us wanted this, an' neither o' us wanted the other t' suffer. We parted on good terms, an' Ah still visit wit' her once a week over our rapport-"

"You can maintain contact with her?" Xavier asked in surprise. "Across all the distance between you, despite your lack of telepathy?"

"Yeah," Rogue nodded. "We're bonded, probably fo' life, or at least that's what Tessa thinks. An' then Ah've got mah share o' telepathy stored away, ya know. Any power Ah've ever absorbed... it's all filed away waitin' t' be used, an' Ah can control 'em all, more than one at a time if Ah want."

"My word," Xavier murmured. "That possibilities..."

"Now ya sound like Hank," Rogue quipped, well able to imagine the blue-furred scientist's reaction to hearing about her new degree of powers. "If ya'll wanna run tests or do psychotherapy or whatnot, Ah'm game, but right now Ah'd really like t' try an' help Carol."

"You want to attempt to awaken her from her coma?"

"Yeah, Ah do," Rogue confirmed, feeling her throat tighten anxiously. "Ah... we know where she is, Prof. The bright side o' livin' wit' a bunch o' thieves fo' four years is that we're real good at gettin' our hands on what we need. Tessa an' Ah saved a kid from a bunch o' Trask's boys- turns out the kid ended up at the safehouse with Lance an' Kitty, by the way- an' she lifted a disk from one o' them. Carol's been moved t' a military hospital in Michigan."

"Rogue, you know we don't like to get involved with the military unless-"

"The security is pretty lax," Rogue cut him off quickly, trying to make him see how easily they could do this, and how desperately she needed to try. "Remy, Lucas, Tess an' Ah could get her out by our lonesome, if we hafta. We'd have gone a long time ago, but Ah don' have the means t' wake her up."

"And you think I do?" Xavier inquired calmly.

"Ah sure as hell hope so, because yo' the strongest telepath on the planet, ain't ya?" Rogue forced a smile. "An' Ah promised Carol Ah'd find a way t' save her."

"It's that important to you?"

"She saved me, Professor," Rogue said quietly. "Just as much as Remy saved mah life by breakin' me outta that cell, Carol saved mah sanity by lettin' Tessa put her back in t' one. She's spent the past few years trapped inside o' her own body, livin' in a world that's nothin' more than a good mirage when ya get right down t' it."

"Very well," Xavier said after a few moments. "After the others all arrive and things settle down a bit, we'll assemble a small team to infiltrate the facility and see about reviving Ms. Danvers."

Rogue swallowed hard, tears stinging her eyes. "Thank ya," she whispered gratefully. "Thank ya so much, Professor, Ah... Ah can' tell ya how much this'll mean t' Carol, how much it means t' me."

"I'm happy to help," Xavier assured her with a smile. "Now, I suppose you might like to go ahead and get settled in your rooms. I'm sure that those explosions I've been hearing in the distance for the past few minutes are the work of Tabitha and Amara, so I should go and determine how much of my estate is still standing."

Rogue laughed, wiping at her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "Tabby always was a bit o' a loose cannon," she murmured as she rose to her feet. She started to head towards the door, then stopped, turning back to face him. "Ah'm really glad that Ah found ya'll," she told him. "Ah... well, Ah missed ya'll, a lot."

"We missed you, as well, Rogue," Xavier replied. "And we're very glad to have you back."

Flashing him a smile, Rogue reached for the doorknob.

"Rogue?"

She turned back to him, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.

"There is one more thing," Xavier said, maneuvering his hoverchair out from behind his desk. "A personal question that I've been meaning to ask you ever since you arrived."

"Shoot," Rogue nodded.

Xavier fixed her with a serious, appraising look. "Are congratulations in order?"

Startled, Rogue could only gape at him in disbelief, and Xavier leaned back in his hoverchair, smiling as he folded his hands in front of him.

"I thought as much."

Rogue sighed, shaking her head. "I hate telepaths," she muttered under her breath.


A/N: I know, I know, you all want to kill me for that cliffhanger, but I think most of you probably know the answer by now anyway ;) I think I'll be able to get a new post up later this week, so check back for a new update soon :)