Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting. I had some major writer's block! But I'm back now! I was trying to force myself to continue to write what happened the same morning we left off from. But nothing fun or interesting was coming to me. Just a lot of awkward small talk and maybe a few more reveals for Charles and some arguing about their relationship. But that all seems so old hat at this point. I just want to be past that already and so does Rogue, Magneto, and Charles (more so the reveals for him, he would continue arguing about the relationship if he thought he could convince Rogue to stop seeing Max) for that matter. So, moving on...
Please enjoy,
Taunting Repartee
Chapter Sixty-Seven:
On Wednesday April 10th 2002, Magneto stood in a hallway outside of Emma Frost and Graydon Creed's apartment. Staring ahead at the wooden door in front of him, he lifted his hand up and knocked on the door. Within a moment, the door opened to reveal Emma Frost.
"Good evening, Emma," Magneto said.
"Sir," she said with a slight nod as she opened the door to let him in.
"Thank you," Magneto said as he made his way through the door.
"Mr. Creed," Emma said surprised.
"Hey," Victor said with a smile as Magneto watched the two of them hug. "Em, how many times I gotta tell you call me Victor, or hell dad?" he asked. Emma let out a laugh in response. "That boy of mine pop the question yet?" he asked.
"He's thought about it," Emma said with a smirk. "But he wants the damn internship to be over, and he wants to start his career before we talk about marriage: which I understand. Plus, we're only twenty-four. We're not really in a hurry to start a family yet," she explained as they walked further into the apartment and into the dinning room
"Yeah, you don't wanna rush into something like that," Victor agreed as he and Magneto sat down at the dinning room table.
"How long did you and Raven wait before starting a family?" Emma asked. Victor let out a short laugh.
"We were both over a hundred before we had Gray," Victor said.
"No, I don't think we'll wait quite that long," Emma said with a small smirk as Victor let out another laugh. "Can I get either of you something to drink?" she asked.
"Water, if you would be so kind?" Magneto said. Emma nodded.
"You got any beer?" Victor asked.
"Blue moon?" Emma asked.
"Hell yes," Victor answered happily. Emma let out another soft laugh.
"I'll be right back, and Graydon should be home any minute," Emma said as she exited the room.
"I really like that girl," Victor commented to Magneto. "She's good for Graydon," he added.
"She most certainly is," Max agreed. "They're very happy together," he said with slight smile. Victor nodded.
"Anything going on with your kids?" Victor asked.
"Actually, Lorna just introduced us to her boyfriend," Max answered. "Do you remember Scott Summer's brother?" he asked as Emma re entered the room.
"The blond kid?" Victor asked as Emma handed him his drink. "Thanks" he said.
"Thank you, Emma," he said as he took the glass of water out of her hand. "Yes, that's the one," Magneto answered.
"How the hell did that happen?" Victor asked with a laugh.
"How did what happen?" Emma asked as she sat across from the two of them.
"My daughter Lorna, and Scott Summer's younger brother, Alex Summers, are dating," Magneto answered her. "Apparently, they go to the same school and share similar interests," Magneto answered.
"Small world," Victor chuckled before he took a sip of his drink as they heard the front door opened.
"Graydon," Emma smiled as he entered the dinning room a moment later.
"Hey," he grumbled: clearly in a bad mood.
"The meeting didn't go well then?" Emma asked as he took a seat next to her.
"No, the meeting went great," he said. "We brain stormed about the possible ways to influence congress to enforce some sort of registration for mutants. Because of what a potential menace they can be we need to know who they are and what they can do," he said annoyed.
"Is this something we should be worried about?" Magneto asked.
"Right now it just a group of young professionals talking in an empty office after work. They plan to start contacting congress members to get a feel who might be willing to support the legislation. It's going to be done quietly, staff members talking in whispered around the office: hypothetical conversations about the importance of such a bill," he said bitterly as Emma put her hand on his arm, rubbing slightly. Graydon took a deep breath. The boy was clearly trying to hold back his anger.
"Then they're going to start drafting the legislation, behind closed doors before the real conversations start, before any real support is gained for the bill. I'll get a copy as soon as it's done and a list of the congress members who support is supposedly in favor of the bill, and we'll stop this bill for ever making it onto the floor," Graydon said.
"Thank you, please do," Magneto said. Graydon nodded.
"It just pisses me off," Graydon exclaimed.
"I know, darling," Emma said gently. "But you're doing good work," she said.
"I know," he sighed before he ran a hand through his hair: taking a deep breath. "How was your day?" he asked with a forced half smile.
"It was good," she said with a sad smile.
"I'm glad to hear it," he said before sighing again
"Love you," she said.
"Love you, too," he said before they kissed. "Sorry," he said before he turned to the two men at the table. "I always get like this after a meeting. Can't express it there, so, this is how I get," he said. "So, what's going on? Why are we here?" he asked.
'Emma, if you could please establish a psychic link between the four of us,' he ordered.
'Yes, sir,' she said.
'There is quite a bit that has happened since you have all last spoke to Rogue,' Magneto started to say as Graydon let out a sigh. 'There are certain facts that have come to her attention that she has been meaning to bring to inform you all of, but she has yet to do so for various reasons. So, I will take the liberty and spare her that task,' Magneto started to say.
'And that is the situation as of today,' Magneto finished explaining. 'I know Charles, will be increasingly diligent to ensure she is safe while in his home but I would like to supply her with some additional security for her while she is elsewhere. Victor, that is where you come in. I would like to get you a position at the school: maybe a security guard. Someone who could roam the halls freely without too much notice be taken to them,' he said.
'You'll need an image inductor, of course, as well as an alias. I will have those created later tonight. Emma, your psychic blocks are among the best I have ever seen. Since we can't place those blocks in Rogue mind. We can at least put those blocks up in Victor's mind to keep him in a position to protect her if the need arises,' he said.
'I'm not gonna be able to watch her the entire day. Someone's gonna take notice of the creepy new security guard staking one of the kids,' Victor said.
'You could play it off, that you don't trust mutants,' Graydon suggested. 'Then you can just keep an eye on all of them,' he said. It wasn't a bad idea.
'Principal Kelly, already has a strong dislike for the mutant students. He might appreciate the ally,' Magneto said dryly.
'If we stage a conversation during your last interview for the job, with Kelly himself, it could work. You play into his distrust and get him to supply you with all the free roam you need to keep tabs on Rogue throughout the day,' Graydon said.
'I could help with that, if you need me to,' Emma offered. 'Ensure the conversation heads in the right direction,' she said. Magneto nodded to her.
'We'll also need Kelly to be under the impression that this is not Victor's first interview; that he has been vetting him for at least a month,' Magneto added.
'I'll just need about ten to twenty minutes with him before the interview starts,' she said.
'That will not be problem. Any objections, Victor?' Magneto asked.
'How soon could I start?' Victor asked.
'I'll get the documents drawn up tonight, along with a resume,' Magneto said.
'Is there any chance the interview can be on a Saturday?' Emma asked. 'My administrator is starting to lose patience with me and all the absence days on my record,' she explained.
'This Saturday,' Magneto said. Emma nodded. 'Then it's settled,' Magneto said.
Rogue sat at dinner with her family on Wednesday night. The usual amount of chatter and laughter filled the room. Rogue was biting into a dinner biscuit as she held open a Russian to English dictionary in the other hand.
"Hey, Rogue," Kurt said to her. Rogue glanced up from the book for a moment to look at her brother. "You've been studying non-stop all week. You should take a break," he said.
"I plan to, just not right now," she told him before she looked back down at the book. It was then her cell phone rang. "Excuse me," Rogue said as she placed the book on the table, grabbed her phone out of her pocket and stood up. The Professor and her made eye contact. "Hey, Dad," she smiled into the phone as she answered. The Professor turned back to his conversation with Hank as she walked away from the table. "How are you?" she asked.
"I'm great, kiddo. How are you?" Victor asked.
"I'm good," she answered as she walked down the hall and mostly out of hear shot of the dinner table. "What's going on?" she asked.
"Turns out Graydon gonna be in town this Friday," Victor started to say.
"Really?" Rogue asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, and I know we're supposed to play pool tomorrow night, but I was wondering if you wanted to push it off one day and have Graydon come with us? Well probably Graydon and Emma," he added.
'Max, what are you up to?' she asked herself as she sat down on the floor. "Yeah, that sounds like fun," Rogue said with a smile. "Fuck, how long has it been since the three of us were the same room together?" she asked.
"Too fucking long, kiddo," Victor answered. "We're gonna have ta start making a habit of doing shit like this," he said.
"Yeah, definitely," she smiled. "Oh, can I bring Kurt?" she asked.
"Yeah, I guess," Victor said: he sounded a little confused.
"Him and Gray haven't really had a lot of time to get to know each other yet, and this would be great chance for them to spend some time together," she explained.
"You going out with this kid of something?" Victor asked.
"What? No," Rogue exclaimed. "Holy shit. How have I not told you this yet?" she asked herself.
"Told me what?" Victor asked.
"Kurt is Raven's son," Rogue said.
"My Raven? Your Mother?" Victor asked.
"Yeah," Rogue told him.
"Get the fuck outta here," Victor exclaimed.
"It's true," she said.
"Which one he is again?" Victor asked.
"The blue one," Rogue laughed.
"Course he's- Holy shit," Victor exclaimed. The was a brief pause. "Fuck," he exclaimed. "How old is this kid?" Victor asked in a panic.
"Relax," she said strongly. "Kurt ain't your son. I checked," Rogue said.
"You're sure?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm positive," she said. She listened to Victor take a deep breath.
"Fucking give me a heart attack, why don't ya?" Victor said.
"Sorry, Dad," Rogue said with slight smile.
"It's alright...," he said before he let out a soft laugh. "Small fucking world we live in," Victor said.
"And only getting smaller," Rogue said with a sigh. "I gotta back to dinner, but we'll talk Friday right?" she asked.
"Yeah, Friday around four, I'll give you a call to finger out where we're meeting up," Victor answered.
"Okay," Rogue said. "Talk to you then," she said.
"Later, Kiddo," Victor said before they both hung up. She started to walk back towards the dinning room when her phone rung again. Rogue looked at her phone. The number on the caller ID was restricted.
"Hello?" she asked into the phone as she answered it. "Who is this?" she asked.
"Tell Magneto," Irene started to say enraged as Rogue eye's widened, "that he could surround you with an army of bodyguards and it still would not keep me from taking you if I so desired," Irene finished strongly. There was a brief pause: as through Irene was waiting for her to comment. She choose not to: not wishing to prolong call phone and the line went dead. Rogue took a deep breath as she closed the phone: her hands shaking. Rogue leaned back against the wall as she closed her eyes for a moment. She took a few deep breaths.
"Kid?" she heard Logan ask. She opened her eyes to Logan standing a few feet away from her.
"I'm fine. It was just another one of Irene's scare tactics. I'm fine. I don't wanna make a big deal out it. I don't hold a meeting to talk about one stupid phone call," Rogue told him annoyed.
"Alright," Logan said nodding.
'Anna, if you do wish to talk about Irene or any of it really, it does not need to be an elaborate meeting. You can just talk,' the fragment of Max said.
'It's nothing I haven't said already. Just more of the same,' she sighed.
"You look tired, kid," Logan said.
"I know," Rogue sighed. "I am tired," she said.
"Try going to sleep before three a.m. tonight, alright?" Logan asked.
"I've been trying, but I can't fall asleep," Rogue exclaimed. Logan nodded.
"This goes on for a few more days and we're going to need to talk to Chuck about it. You can't keep running on three hours of sleep a night. You're gonna crash," he told her.
"I know," she sighed.
"Have you tried meditating?" Logan asked.
"A couple of times. It helps me relax a little, but it's not helping as much this week. Not since Sunday. Hell, Max being the same room wasn't really helping as much as it usually does," Rogue muttered. "I just- I feel on edge all the time. I'm trying to do everything I can to not piss Irene off, cause I don't wanna see her. I don't wanna give her a reason. Fuck, nothing feels safe anymore. Not even doing exactly what she asked me to. I'm devoting all my time to it. And it still doesn't feel like- I don't understand the rules of this blackmail," Rogue said.
"Rules?" Logan asked with a raised eyebrow.
"With Magneto the rules were so clean cut, so direct. I couldn't tell anyone we were talking. I couldn't tell anyone I was being blackmailed. I couldn't tell anyone how much danger we were all really in back then. And if he gave me a direct order, I had to follow it if I couldn't convince he shouldn't be giving me the order in the first place. That's it. And he fucking loved it when I found loophole with any of the rules. He would smile and be impressed, alter his language, change his mind about something. As stubborn as he can be, I'm twice as fucking stubborn. You all have no idea what I talked him out of doing to the x-men. I completely change the direction he wanted to take mutant- human public relations in. A fucking one-eighty on that shit," she said.
"Half the time, if I'm being honest with myself, with him I was having fun. It was scary but that fear is fucking nothing compared to what Irene's putting me through. If I knew what she wanted, if I knew what this was leading all up too. If I knew what she's was gonna do, or ask me to do next, I would feel so much better. It's just- Nothing feels certain or stable right now. Every time I close my eyes I half expect to open them and found myself back in my old bedroom in her house. With her telling me that the effort I've displayed wasn't good enough and now someone has to die cause of that," Rogue said as tears ran down her face.
"It has always been so hard to please her," Rogue cried. "I always felt like nothing I ever did was good enough for her and now there a life on the line if I don't appeased her ridiculously high standards. Everything I've come to feel is safe these past few months, this family, being in one of those rooms telepaths can't effect you in, having private conversations- I feel like she watching me all the time Logan, and I have no idea if I'm right or not. Doesn't matter that I'm in a bathroom or a room with no windows she can see me, and she might be watching me, and I just-" Rogue said, cutting her self short. "I don't know what I'm gonna do."
"Rogue, I don't kno
w how yet, but we're gonna find a way to beat her," Logan said. Rogue let out a sigh at that.
"I know you all will try your hardest. I don't know if that's gonna be enough but, it still means the world to me, even if Irene does win," Rogue said earnestly. Logan let out sigh as he glanced away from her.
"We'll figure something out," he said sadly. Rogue smiled at that. "I'm gonna tell Chuck about the sleep thing," he told her. "Probably should have told him already," he said.
"Probably," Rogue agreed before she let out a sigh. "Our foods getting cold," Rogue told him.
"Yeah, alright," Logan said before he turned around, and started to walk into the dinning area. Rogue took one more deep breath before she followed him back into the dinning room.
"Is everything alright?" the Professor asked as she put her cell phone back her pocket.
"Yeah, everything's fine," Rogue smiled as she made her way back to her seat. "I'm just gonna hang out with my Dad Friday instead of Thursday," Rogue said as she retook her seat. "Kurt, do you wanna come play pool Friday? Graydon and Emma are gonna be there," she said. That brought a smile to her younger brother's face.
"Yeah, I'm in," Kurt exclaimed.
"Alright," Rogue said with a smile: she glanced up to see Logan and the Professor looking at each other: but they weren't speaking. Rogue let out a sigh as she picked her book back up and opened to the page she had been on. She was only a third of the way through with it and she wanted to finish it before Friday. It was going to be another long night.
Thank you all for reading! Please review!?
I just finished another 10 hour day with my three hour daily commute. :Deep breath: which is why I will be responded to reviews from the last chapter and this chapter on Sunday :) Please let me know what you thought? :)