"So, I'll be going now. Don't hesitate to drop in on me again sometime, Rogue."
Rogue didn't blink. Didn't react. She was still making puppy eyes over at Gambit.
He smirked at me.
So, yeah. Time for me to make leave a tree and leave …
"Can someone show me the door?"
"We could use your help, Kyle." Cyclops gave me a total dead-on serious expression.
"Wait a second? Two seconds ago you were all 'I don't trust you 'cause you won't let my hot mind reading girlfriend x-ray your mind' and now you want me to sign up with you?"
Rogue paused from her mindless Gambit adoration to look over at me. "Y'all think she's hot?"
"My undisputed hotness is not an issue, Rogue." Emma's lips twitched in a smile. "Cyclops, darling, why don't you let me handle this?"
"Emma—"
"Scott, darling, you are an undisputed master tactician, but this is not your area of expertise. It's mine. Trust me."
Wolverine snickered. "This definitely ain't my scene." He glanced over at me. "See you around, kid."
"I doubt it. I'm leaving."
Wolverine looked at me. He looked over at Rogue. He looked back at me. "Yeah."
Cyclops turned to the Beast. "Hank, let's see what you and I can find out about Rogue's attackers. We probably want to beef up our perimeter security. I don't want anyone going out alone until these people are neutralized."
"Of course, mon capitan!" The Beast raised one giant hand to his head in a mock salute. "I am at your service!"
"And Gambit shall take his Rogue out to dinner, no? She will be safe with him."
"Ah'm never safe with you, Remy," she said softly. She looked over at me. "And Kyle? Sugah? If'n you do go, y'all come see me before you leave?"
"Sure, Rogue." I would probably have said the same thing if she'd asked, "And y'all wouldn't mind cutting your arm off for me either, sugah?"
Oh boy. I had it bad.
"Kyle, let's go discuss this upstairs in the business office." Emma slipped her arm through mine as though we were about to head out onto the dance floor and led me out of the infirmary and into an elevator where she took me into an elaborate library.
Books lined the walls. Where there weren't books, there were photos and diplomas. I recognized Cyclops as a teenager standing with four other kids—including a stunning redhead. There was something familiar about the big lug standing beside him in the picture, too …
"The first class of X-Men," Emma said by way of explanation. "Cyclops has been here since the beginning. It's been his entire life. Would you like something to drink?"
"Some water would be fine, actually."
She nodded. "Would you like some ice?"
"Please." I turned and looked at the rest of the pictures. There were a lot of them—and quite a few had little plaques under them indicating a date of death.
"Being an X-Man is not always an easy occupation, Kyle," Emma said, handing me a small glass filled with water and ice. "We have lost many valuable friends and colleagues over the years."
"And this is your recruiting pitch? Join the X-Men and quite possibly die?" I took a sip of my water.
"You wouldn't be an X-Man, Kyle. Just an … associate."
"I see. So it's a mutants only club?"
"I wouldn't say that—some of my best friends are humans." She smiled at me in a way that can only be described as frosty. "Why are you here, Kyle?"
"Didn't we already have that discussion?"
"I mean in New York."
"I needed something. This was the only place I could get it."
"I see." She took a sip of water. "Before I joined the X-Men, I was a member of a less … benign organization. The Hellfire Club. I know quite well that magic exists. You know who Stephen Strange is?"
"Yes."
"Have you ever heard of Baron Mordo?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Baron Mordo was Stephen Strange's greatest rival in the mystic arts. He was not a nice man at all. He also favored green. So when a young sorcerer shows up at my doorsteps with dark hair, green eyes, and a preference for the color green I find myself wondering if he might be related to Baron Mordo."
"I'm sorry. You're suspicious about me because of my hair color and that I'm wearing a green jacket? Maybe paranoria IS a mutant trait after all …"
"You haven't told us why you are here, Kyle. That tends to suggest that you're up to something we might not quite approve of."
"My plans have nothing to do with mutants."
"But you have plans?"
"Doesn't everyone?"
"Are you a good man, Kyle?"
The question made me pause.
I could lie to her. I could explain to her how everything I wanted, everything I had planned, was entirely justified. I could tell her my life story …
But in the end, the answer was much simpler than that.
"I used to be."
I took a sip of water and there was quiet for a time.
"What will it cost us for your help, Kyle?"
"A million dollars."
Yeah, I know. The Dark Elf only wanted a quarter million, but it's not like these kinds of chances come along every day …
"This is a school. Do you think we're made of money? One hundred thousand."
"You've got equipment down there Star Trek would envy. 750 thousand."
"And it costs a lot to maintain. Two hundred thousand."
"And think how much you'll save by not having to rebuild it after fighting those X-Terminators. 500 thousand."
"There's more than money here, Kyle. There's Rogue. She could use your help."
"She can take care of herself. I saw her pick up like 500 pounds of concrete like it was a paperweight."
"She's quite a formidable young woman. But then again those … X-Terminators as you called them are quite dangerous." She steepled her fingers. "And you're infatuated with her."
"I just met her."
"I'm more than just a telepath, Kyle. I'm a woman. And a rather beautiful one, if I say so myself. I know when a man is interested in a woman." She gave me a slow smile. "And don't think she hasn't noticed it, either. She's quite flattered."
"I find that doubtful. As soon as Gambit walked into the room I might as well have been invisible."
"Remy and our Rogue have quite the history together, Kyle." Her eyes turned hard. "If not for Rogue's … condition, Gambit might have tired of her and moved on long ago." She shrugged. "Or perhaps he would be happily domesticated. It's hard to say."
"Rogue's condition?"
"Her mutation. Rouge can absorb memories, powers, and abilities with skin to skin contact. Unfortunately, she can't control it. Knowing that a single kiss could put them into a coma tends to dampen most men's ardor. So in spite of her beauty, Rogue has not had that much experience with the opposite sex. Something that Remy is quite aware of, and uses to his advantage."
"I see." I took another sip of water.
"I cannot promise you Rogue's heart, Kyle. However, I think your chances of winning her affections are higher than you might guess. And it would do Gambit no harm to suffer the pangs of jealousy that he has so often caused her to experience." She smiled.
"Doesn't exactly sound like a lot of fun for me, though. Make the guy she wants jealous while knowing she's never going to look at me twice isn't my idea of a good time."
"Faint hearts never won fair maidens, Kyle. If you don't try, how will you ever know?" She paused. "And three hundred thousand. That's my final offer."
"Three hundred thousand in cash."
"In cash." She took the now empty glass from my fingers and gave my hand a squeeze. "Do we have a deal?"
"Three hundred thousand in cash and the X-Men agree to stay out of my business once our deal here is done."
"As long as our interests are not threatened, I have no problem with that." Emma offered me a cold smile. "I would not advise betraying me, Kyle. The X-Men may play nice, but I have some very bad habits left over."
"You're a very scary woman, Emma."
"I can be, Kyle. I can be. Shall we go tell the others you've decided to stay?"
"Sure." And then I could go back to eating my heart out over Rogue …