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Chapter Seven of

Taunting Repartee- RM'd

Don't Stop Me Now

Rogue was awoken by the annoying sound of her alarm clock. She turned over in bed with a sigh as she pressed the snooze button. She glanced at the time. It was 5:30 am.

'Why am I up so early?' she thought. She heard the Professor's voice ring in her head.

'X-Men, please report to the danger room in fifteen minutes.'

'Oh, yeah,' she thought as she got up. 'That's why,' she thought as she let out a yawn. She had trouble falling asleep last night. Laying in bed, tossing and turning, she'd finally realized why- Eric had spent weeks helping her instantly fall asleep and without his assistance, she was having trouble doing so on her own. Once she realized that, she'd made a conscious decision not to call him to the front of her mind. They hadn't spoken since the other night, since before she met with Magneto. And Eric wasn't coming forward either. She guessed, dealing with one Master of Magnetism at a time was about her limit.


A short while Rogue stood in the Danger Room with her fellow X-Men for their early morning session. She and her teammates had been told to stand just in front of the room's entrance, which meant whatever this was, was going to take up the majority of the Danger Room.

"Good morning everyone. For today's exercise you'll be split into teams of two," the Professor said. Rogue glanced around at her teammates. They had already been paired off; her and Kurt, Kitty and Evan, Scott and Jean.

"Given this departure, and for the sake of competition spirit, the winners of this exercise will be given a prize," he informed them as delighted faces stared up at their teacher. Okay, she was awake now and ready to win something for her and her brother.

"What's the prize, Professor?" Kitty asked gleefully.

"You will win five of these," Mr. McCoy said as he held up, what looked like index cards. She could tell there was something written on them, but from this distance, she had no idea what.

"And those are?" Rogue asked.

"'Get Out of a Danger Room Session' card," Mr. McCoy answered. Rogue blinked before a smile appeared on her face.

"No questions asked? We just turn one of those in and we're not in trouble if we miss a session?" Rogue asked.

"That is correct," the Professor.

'I want those,' she thought to herself, now fully invested in their exercise.

"Your objective?" Mr. McCoy asked as he stepped up to the control panel. "Successfully navigate the maze before you within a fifteen-minute timeframe," he said as he pushed a button and large metal walls began to rise up fro the floor.

Rogue kept her gaze unblinking, as she watched the walls rise, taking a mental image for later use. There were three entrances to the maze and given the order they had been told to stand in, she knew which she and Kurt would enter from.

Once she had what she needed, she looked over at the other teams and saw that Scott was still staring forward as the walls rose. Perhaps he was considering something. He only turned to look at Jean once the walls were above his eye level.

"No sweat," Evan said, grinning at Kitty, who nodded at him. No doubt the two of them were planning to run straight through, using Kitty's powers to their advantage. Too bad they hadn't realized there was a large opening in the middle, which had to be some sort of trap. She made a mental note to avoid the middle and stick to the far right-hand side of the maze.

"Inside the maze, you'll encounter certain obstacles you'll have to overcome," the Professor added. There it was.

"With some assistance from our junior technicians," Mr. McCoy added, pointing to Bobby and Jubilee, who were standing in the control room.

'Oh, so four teams of two,' Rogue thought as Bobby gleefully said; "Our turn to torture you guys for once."

"Prepare to suffer," Jubilee smirked before she and Bobby high-fived. Rogue couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"With pre-programmed holograms that have been approved by yours truly," Mr. McCoy added.

"Oh man, don't tell them that," Bobby complained as Kitty, Evan, and Jean laughed.

"Do your worst, Drake," Scott said confidently as Rogue looked up at Jubilee and Bobby, their actual competition.

"Yeah, I think we can handle it," Jean added as Rogue looked over at her. If Jean read either of Bobby's or Jubilee's mind, she'd have a bird's eye view of the maze. Though, reading a fellow mutant's mind wasn't really her 'go to' course of action. She'd rather use her telekinesis in a fight.

'Gotta make sure she doesn't realize what she should do,' Rogue thought as Kitty said "Totally," smugly.

"Before we begin, you'll have three minutes to confer with your teammate on strategy. That time starts now," the Professor said as she pulled Kurt's fragment up from the back of her mind.

"Oh man, they almost go all the way up to the ceiling. I don't know if I can port up and scout ahead," Kurt said sadly to her.

"Don't worry about it. I gotta plan," Rogue told him. "Scott used his time to memorize the first three or four turns of the maze at their end. After that, him and Jean are gonna have ta use trial and error. That's gonna take time they don't have. Kitty and Evan have the greatest advantage for mobility with her powers, but we're still gonna beat 'em," she explained.

"How?" Kurt asked in disbelief. She knew Kurt would blindly teleport a set distance, but rarely did so due to the danger. With her, there wouldn't be any.

"Yeah, how?" Scott asked. Rogue turned and saw that everyone was paying attention to them, rather than speaking with each other. Good, exactly what she wanted. If they were too busy listening to her, they couldn't come up with anything better and three minutes was a short window. Just enough time to explain her plan to Kurt.

'Okay, little brother, gonna need ya help translating here,' she requested internally.

'You got it, Rogue,' Kurt's fragment said.

'Kurt, do you trust me enough to let me lead you through this maze?' Rogue asked internally. Kurt's Fragment quickly translated her sentence into German and she repeated his words aloud. His eyes widened for a brief moment as he realized she was speaking German, but he quickly recovered with a determined expression.

"Ja," Kurt answered with an assertive nod.

'Then take my hand, stand by my side at all times, and teleport exactly ten feet straight ahead every time I say port,' she thought. Again, the fragment provided her with the translation and she relayed it aloud.

"Aye-aye commander," Kurt said as he reached forward and took her hand in his. They walked up to the entrance of the maze, hand in hand.

"The shortest distance between two points is, totally, a straight line," Kitty said. "But you have to watch my back. I can't block everything," she told Evan.

"Kitty, don't let them psych you out. Just keep us phrased and we got this," Evan said. Their contradictions were evident. They were going to get stuck in the middle, fighting a horde of holograms. She turned to see Scott and Jean looking intently at each other, no doubt speaking telepathically. Had she figured it out after all? Why the Professor put her and Scott on a team? The advantage they could exploit?

"On your mark," the Professor said as the others scrambled to get to their entrances.

'Nope, definitely not,' she thought as she turned to look at her partner and he smiled at her while giving her hand a good squeeze.

"Get set," the Professor said as she returned his expression before they both nodded at each other. She pulled up the image of the maze in her mind as she stared straight ahead. They were ready. "Go," he called out loudly.

With that, she and Kurt took off, hand in hand. They ran about twenty feet, venturing into the maze, when they came upon their first wall. Rogue lined them up, ensured they were in the correct spot, and said "port."

In a puff of smoke, they were past the first three turns of the maze, well ahead of their competitors. Rogue walked ahead fifteen feet, Kurt staying by her side before she said, "port."

They were now past the fourth and fifth turns, avoiding the middle of the maze, which was an open area, no doubt designed to stall anyone with holograms who entered it.

Though it seemed that wasn't stopping Bobby and Jubilee from throwing one at them anyway, as they saw Blob seven feet ahead of them, whose sheer size alone was blocking their path. Her intention had been to teleport twice in rapid succession down this hallway. That wasn't happening now.

"Oh, great," Kurt commented.

"I go right, you go left. We meet up right behind him," she ordered.

"Got it," Kurt said as their hands separated.

They both ran forward. Rogue launched her arms downward, pulling herself into a summersault, spinning in the air before she vaulted off of Blob's left shoulder. As she spun past their obstacle, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kurt kick off the wall, flip, and slide over Blob's right shoulder. They reached for each other's hands as they landed and ran together towards the next wall. Rogue stopped them two feet before the wall and they both knelt to avoid the swing of Blob's arm.

Rogue felt the makeshift wind against the back of her neck as she said, "Port."

They were past the sixth turn of the maze. Only a few more to go as they stood and ran down the next-

'Oh, god,' she faltered as they came face to face with Magneto. Her breath caught in her throat as she froze. Talking to him was dangerous enough but the thought of fighting him was ludicrous. 'It ain't real. It's just a holo-' she told herself as Magneto reached his hand out. She gasped as she instinctively put herself in front of her little brother and cried out as she was hit with a low-grade electrical current. It was nothing compared to what the real master of magnetism could do and surprisingly that thought helped center her. 'It's just a stupid hologram.'

"Rogue," Kurt exclaimed as she felt his hand on her shoulder. She blinked and they were behind Magneto. "Which way?" he asked as they were at a fork in the maze, having to choose between left and right.

"This way," she said, grabbing his hand and they ran to the left. She pulled up the maze in her mind, having to compensate for the distraction as she ran down before turning into a circular nook that was supposed to be a dead end. She took a step back, pressing them up against the wall behind them before saying, "Port."

Once they were on the other side of the circular section of their side of the maze, Rogue glanced left and right to see they were flanked by two holograms, Blob to their left and Magneto to their right. The way forward to her next planned location was currently being blocked by Magneto and although it didn't hurt as much as it could've she had no desire to be shocked again.

She'd have to adapt and fast as they were closing in on them. They'd have to run instead and follow the intended path of the maze, at least for a short period, she realized.

"Oh man, how come they're throwing all the holograms at us?" Kurt asked as Rogue reached into her belt and pulled out a throwing dagger. She usually saved these for projectiles but knowing Magneto was only a hologram, she doubted the Professor would hold it against her using one on him.

"'Cause we're winning," Rogue said as she started to run, pulling Kurt with her as they ran left. With a flick of the wrist, she threw the dagger at Magneto- the hologram reached out with a hand and attacked the dagger, instead of her or Kurt. "Duck," she ordered, both of them crouching down, avoiding another of Blob's attacks before running down a curved corridor. They were in the outermost ring of the right-hand side of the maze and still making good time.

After about thirty feet, she skidded and pulled them to a halt.

"Come on. We're almost at the end," she said as turned until they were directly up against a wall. She tried to block out the sound of the hologram behind them. In a few short moments, it wouldn't matter. "Port," she called.

He teleported them once again and she let out a sigh of relief as they could now see the finish line. Kurt let out a short laugh as he squeezed her hand.

"Port," he said this time, and in a puff of smoke they reappeared at the end of the maze. Once they were there, they let go of each other's hands to pull them up and high-five each other. The grin on her little brother's face was infectious and she couldn't help but smile at their victory.

She glanced up at the control center and met the Professor's gaze. He nodded at her as he mouthed the words, "well done."

"Oh man," Kurt said as she smiled up at the Professor. "They're not even halfway through, are they?" Kurt pointed out as she looked back at him.

"Nope, I think we got a couple of minutes until their time runs out," Rogue agreed as she sat crossed-legged on the floor.

"Spike, you're supposed to have my back," she heard Kitty exclaim from within the maze.

"Why didn't you phase us?" he yelled back.

"Because I need to breathe," she said as her voice rose before she let out an actual scream. Rogue winched as she heard her roommate's anguish.

"Brutal," Kurt said, shaking his head.

"Ah-huh," she agreed.

"Thanks for taking that hit, Rogue. That looked like it hurt," Kurt said as he joined her on the floor.

"I'm fine," she said, shaking her head dismissively "Better me than you, little brother," she muttered, relieved he didn't get hurt. It was something that she'd heard Graydon say to her countless times, and it was kind of nice to be able to say it to someone else.

"Little brother?" Kurt asked.

She blinked. Oops. That had slipped out unintentionally.

She turned to look at Kurt who was confused but waiting for her to explain. She had told herself she needed to tell him. Maybe it was subconscious? Either way, she had her opening. The question was should she take it?

"So, hmm, ya know how Mystique is your birth mom?" she asked.

"How could I forget?" Kurt laughed.

"Well, she kinda …adopted me," she said as she brushed some of her hair before her ear, while she watched Kurt's eyes widen.

"When?" he asked.

"I was four," she answered nervously. "I lived with her for a while. Years, actually," she admitted. She rubbed her hands against her legs as if trying to brush off her nervousness.

"You're my sister," he exclaimed in disbelief.

"I mean, not by blood or anything. But yeah, if ya want me to be, then yeah, I guess I am," she shrugged, trying not to make a big deal out of it, trying not to put any pressure on him.

She watched Kurt blink this time as he registered what she had just told him before a large smile appeared on his face. Before she knew it, he was leaning forward and pulling her into a hug.

"I have a sister. This is incredible," he exclaimed happily as she gladly returned his hug, trying her best not to get misty-eyed. She rather failed. "Oh man, why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked as he pulled back.

"I- after everything Mystique's put me through, I kept telling myself that she wasn't really my mom. And if she ain't my mom," she said.

"Then I couldn't be your brother," he said, nodding in understanding. "So, what's changed?" he asked.

"Yesterday, she really came through for me. Acted like she was my mom for once. I mean, it's Mystique, so it was still kinda messed up but- I don't know, I'm glad she was there for me. Made me start reevaluating things, I guess," she shrugged.

"Well, thanks for telling me," he said, reaching over and taking her hand. She gave it a squeeze returning his smile with one of her own.

'Now, how do I tell him about Graydon?' she asked herself before her attention was drawn back to the maze as she heard their teammates struggling.

"Scott, this way," Jean called out.

"We already tried that way," Scott said, sounding frustrated.

"No, we didn't," she argued. Given how well she could hear them, she estimated they were lost in the circular corridor that mirrored the one she and Kurt had navigated on the right-hand side of the maze. If they weren't careful they would get pinned down there by holograms.

"Come on," Scott yelled frustrated before she heard his optic blast hit something.

"So," Kurt said as she looked at him again, "do you think they're going to make it out in time?" Kurt asked.

"Nope," Rogue said dryly.


Several minutes passed before the time limit was reached. The walls had been lowered and her dejected teammates assembled for debriefing in the control room that overlooked the Danger Room.

"Where to begin?" the Professor asked. "I'll start with Iceman and Jubilee," he said, turning to look at the pair. "Defeating two out of three teams was no small feat. As a result, you'll be awarded two cards each," he said as Mr. McCoy stepped forward and handed them their prize.

"Yes," Bobby exclaimed before he and Jubilee high-fived.

"Well done to you both. This type of training session will be a recurrence and I imagine your skills will continue to improve with practice," he said.

"Who's next?" the Professor asked as he turned towards those of them who had navigated the maze. "Spike and Shadowcat, over the past few weeks I noticed you two have issues effectively communicating with one another. I thought pairing you up would give you an opportunity to work on this communication and come together as a team. Unfortunately, the opposite occurred. You will continue to be paired together and I expect you to work on this," he said.

"Yes, Professor," Kitty and Evan said simultaneously. Rogue felt her lip twitching up, at their best display of cohesion all morning. The Professor's eyes darted to hers briefly, it seemed they both had the same thought.

"Scott and Jean, I understand if you two felt as if you were handicapped for this exercise. However, I chose these teams with care and an even distribution of abilities. You had the tools you needed to successfully navigate the maze. Unfortunately, you did not utilize them. Of course, you were intentionally distracted," he said as his eyes darted to hers for another brief moment before looking at Scott and Jean, "and that should be taken into account. However, I did expect better from you both. We'll run this again on Sunday," he finished.

"Yes, Professor," Scott said bitterly, and Jean with a sad but accepting sigh.

"I'll like you both to contemplate what tactic you could have used to have the same advantages as your competitors," he said.

"Yes, Professor," they said in unison.

"And in the meantime, no one is going to explain it to you," the Professor added firmly.

"Yes, Professor," Rogue said, her turn to speak.

"Good," the Professor said as Scott glanced over at her. She could tell he was livid and she just gave him a shrug.

"Moving on to Kurt. When part of a team, there is a time to lead and there is a time to follow. During a battle, due to time constraints, it's not always possible to explain every facet of a plan to those who must enact it. Rogue could not explain the developments she'd made with the mental aspects of her powers. The training she's undergone this last month and why she knew precisely what needed to be done to secure victory. Instead, she asked for your trust, she asked you to follow her, and you did. The teamwork you displayed today was superb. Well done," he said before he nodded to Mr. McCoy, who walked over and handed Kurt the cards.

"Thank you, Professor. How could I not trust my sister," Kurt said warmly.

'I gotta call Graydon today,' she told herself as she smiled at her little brother. She tried to ignore the looks of confusion from everyone else.

"You've finally told him," the Professor said pleased, his tone insinuating they had spoken of this before.

"Yeah," Rogue smiled.

"We both knew you would in your own time. I'm pleased to hear that day has come," he said warmly before he gestured to Mr. McCoy who walked forward and handed her her prize.

"Thank you," she said to him, holding the small cards in her hand. She was going to put these to good use.

"Rogue," the Professor said, calling for her attention. "It's only been two short weeks since you took up the subject of strategic management and yet the tactics you employed today would rival that of a seasoned leader," he said. Rogue tried her best not to look at Scott. She could practically hear him seethe next to her. The comparison wasn't lost on either of them. "Your understanding of the parameters of the challenge was immediate," he continued. "The conception of your plan instantaneous and the implementation of your strategy, for lack of a better word, flawless," he praised as she heard Scott hold back a frustrated grunt.

"Even though I froze there for a minute?" she asked.

"Rogue, it was seconds at most and despite your fear, you placed yourself in front of Kurt, protecting your teammate from harm. I stand by my assessment," he said as Rogue felt Kurt's hand on her shoulder. "As the X-Men continue to grow it is my intention to splinter our roster into multiple teams. Continue to progress in this direction and I could easily see you leading one of these teams. Well done," he finished warmly.

'Oh, he does not want me joining Magneto,' she couldn't help but think as she smiled at him. "Thank you, Professor."

"We'll discuss the rest at our meeting this afternoon," he said, nodding at her. "Thank you all and have a good day at school," he said, effectively dismissing them. Her teammates headed for the exit, Scott still looked livid, so she hung back, intentionally aiming to leave last.

"Hank, I thought I said you had removed Magneto," the Professor said in a hushed tone, still she heard him.

"I thought I had, Charles. The settings must have reverted back," Beast said.

"Run a diagnostic, please, figure out what the problem is and remove him," he said.

"Of course, Professor," he said as Rogue finally left the room.

Okay, Magneto was not supposed to be her problem this morning. Good to know. And Mr. McCoy was usually reliable when it came to programming. If he said he removed him, he had. A system glitch seemed to be coincidental. But if it wasn't an accident, then someone would've had to intentionally re-add him. But that seemed- It seemed too petty for Magneto to have done himself. But who else would have a motive to mess with her like that?

She shook her head.

Maybe she was overthinking it. Maybe it was just a system glitch.


As Rogue walked into the kitchen, a hush overtook the room, before normal conversations took its place. It may have only been a moment, but Rogue knew she had been the topic of discussion. She kept himself from rolling her eyes as she picked up the phone off of its receiver. She dialed a number as she excused herself from the kitchen to gain some privacy.

"Hello?" a woman with a posh voice answered.

"Hey, Emma," Rogue said warmly.

"Anna-Marie," Emma said, her tone brightened. "It's so good to hear from you, darling. How are you?" she asked.

"I'm okay. How are you?" she asked.

"I'm well, thank you for asking," she said before taking a breath. "Calling to speak with Graydon?" she asked, with an apologetic tone.

"The law firm's keeping him busy, huh?" she asked.

"Always. All he does is work. I barely get to see him," Emma complained.

"You two got any vacation time coming up?" Rogue asked, fishing, seeking a segue to bring up why she called.

"No, but we have a business trip this weekend. I'm actually looking forward to it. I get to see him for more than an hour," she said. Rogue smiled at that.

"Work sending y'all anywhere good?" she asked.

"I'll let you know when I find out," she chuckled. Rogue blinked at that. Emma worked at a school, no way they didn't tell her where they- Rogue felt her eyes widen- this trip wasn't for her school- Magneto was sending them somewhere, she realized.

"Well, if you're anywhere near Bayville, New York, think y'all can stop by?" she asked.

"I doubt that's where-"

"Just if ya are, promise me?" she asked, interrupting her. She listened to Emma let out a sigh.

"Alright, Anna-Marie, if by some miracle Graydon and I are anywhere near Bayville, New York, I promise we'll make time to come see you," she said.

"And Kurt," Rogue added.

"That's what this is about," Emma said before she let out a sigh.

"I haven't told Kurt about Graydon yet 'cause I don't wanna tell him about a brother who doesn't have time for him, ya know?" she asked.

"Darlin, I understand, but we can't abandon our responsibilities at the drop of a hat," she said before she paused to suck in a breath. "Which is why you were asking about vacation time," Emma realized.

"Yeah," Rogue said.

"It might not be as fast as you like, but I'll see what I do," she said.

"Thanks, Emma. I'm really looking forward to seeing y'all on Saturday," Rogue said. Emma let out a laugh in response.

"You're hilarious, darling," she said warmly. "And woefully optimistic," she said, dropping her tone. "I need to get ready for school. As do you, I'm sure. Talk soon?" she said.

'Sooner than ya think,' Rogue thought before she said, "I'll try to call more," she promised.

"And I'll try to get that boyfriend of mine on the phone when you do," she said. "Bye, darling," Emma said.

"Bye, Emma," Rogue said before she hung up the phone.

Rogue took a breath and considered what she knew. Was she jumping to conclusions? Emma worked for a high school in Washington D.C. Any type of trip for her students would require parental consent forms and advance notice. There was no way it was for her day job. Graydon's law firm kept him busy but that was with paperwork, not business trips to unknown locations.

'I didn't know till yesterday that they were working for Magneto,' she thought. No, this wasn't farfetched. Magneto probably wanted them to talk to her next, and see if her brother could get a yes out of her. Make her look forward to living with them, to being a family again. He was asking her to give up her ties to the X-Men by ensuring he was providing her with a suitable substitute, members of her family she'd known for far longer than any of the X-Men. It was- it was a really good move actually.

Rogue let out a sigh of relief. She knew when Magneto was going to seek her out again. She actually knew when to expect him. Okay, she would work with that.

And it meant she could safely put off telling Kurt about Graydon. Just for a couple of more days.

'Yeah, yeah this works,' she thought.


Later that morning, Rogue opened her locker and couldn't help but smile. Inside she found a bag with freshly laundered clothes, her backpack, her jewelry, and her belt. She wasn't seeing Magneto until tomorrow and her wrists and neck felt a little exposed without her jewelry. There was something about wearing the same jewelry every day that sort of made it feel like it was a part of you. She really got attached to the straps of leather and metal she wore day in and day out. Enough so, that she pulled the items out of the bag and returned them to their rightful places in her ensemble.

"Thanks, Mom," Rogue muttered quietly to herself as she finished snapping her choker into place.

"For what, darling?" Risty asked. Rogue couldn't help but smile as she turned to see Risty standing next to her.

"Not you," she laughed.

"Are you sure?" she asked. Rogue let out another laugh while rolling her eyes. "So you did go shopping after all," she said, noticing the bag in her locker.

"I didn't. My mom did. She brought me clothes for my interview," Rogue explained.

"That was an option?" she asked.

"It was news to me too, Risty," she said.

"How did she find out?" she asked.

"No idea," Rogue said, shaking her head.

"Oh," Risty said, her voice dropping. "You did say she has boundary issues," she said.

"Yeah, and she does but-"

"But?"

"Yeah, I should be angry at her, I know that. She pretty much stalked me, but- I don't know. Ya saw how much of a mess I was yesterday. I'm kinda glad she was there for me," she said.

"Don't let your mum hear that it'll go straight to her head," Risty said, linking her arms with hers, her head tucked down and out of sight.

"Don't I know it," Rogue said, rolling her eyes. "Thanks again for offering yesterday," she said, looking down at her friend and trying to make eye contact.

"Of course, darling," she said before she broke away from her, almost as quickly as she had linked their arms. "I need to use the lady's room," she explained, walking in the opposite direction. "See you at lunch," she waved over her shoulder.

"Okay," Rogue said with a raised eyebrow as she watched her rush away. 'That was weird, right?' she asked. She blinked before she realized no one was going to answer her. She rolled her eyes at herself before she marched to her next class.

Maybe Risty was just having an off day? Risty was always going out of her way to take care of her. She felt like returning the favor, being a good friend in return.

'I'm gonna buy her lunch today,' she decided.

Nothing was going to stop her from cheering up her friend or at least trying to.