Please Enjoy
Chapter 19 of
Taunting Repartee RM'd
You're My Best Friend
Later that day at Bayville High School, Monday morning, Rogue walked up to her locker. Kitty, Jean, and Amara had spent most of the ride to school singing her praises; commenting on how well the Danger Room session had gone that morning. And while she appreciated it, although Scott clearly hadn't, that hadn't given her any time to think on the way to school.
As she opened her locker, she tried to turn her thoughts back to her conversation with Irene and the information her foster mother had confirmed.
She blinked as a red hard-covered book caught her attention. She pulled out the book, that hadn't been there Friday morning, and took a breath as she read the cover: "The Art Of War". Rogue flipped the cover open and on the first page she saw a note: "So very proud of you. Love Irene."
Rogue almost snorted in response.
"Morning, darling."
Rogue looked behind her locker door and greeted her friend with a smile.
"Hey, Risty," she said.
"How was your weekend?" she asked, as Rogue closed and slid the book into her backpack.
"It was alright," she answered as she transferred a few additional items from her locker into her backpack. 'Eventful,' she thought, with mixed feelings.
"I meant to ask Friday, did you hear from the poacher again?" she asked.
"A couple of times," Rogue shrugged.
"A couple?" Risty asked. Rogue glanced at Risty and saw concern in her expression. How could she put this?
"So, it turns out my older brother went to the other prep school too," she said as she closed her locker and swung her bag back over her shoulder. "I didn't know that," she explained as they started to walk toward Rogue's period classroom. Risty's was further down the hall for her first class, and her friend liked to keep her company as they walked. "Graydon showed up this weekend to try and talk me inta switching schools. I haven't committed to anything, but Kurt finally got ta meet him," Rogue explained with a shrug.
"Yes, at least, there's that," Risty said, her octave lowered. Rogue blinked at her friend's reaction.
"Hey, I ain't going anywhere anytime soon," Rogue said. Risty met her gaze, a smile coming to her face before she looped her arm through hers.
"That's a relief," she said, squeezing her arm as they got to Rogue's classroom. "I'd prefer not to transfer schools in the middle of the semester," she said. Rogue blinked again. There was no way she had heard her correctly.
"Huh?" she asked, as Risty's arm slipped from hers.
"See you at lunch," she said as she walked forward into the sea of students making their way to class, oblivious to Rogue's question. Rogue felt an arm hit her back, another student brushing past her and with a sigh, she headed into the classroom.
Taking a seat, she opened her backpack and situated herself for the class, as she pulled up her own memory.
'That's a relief. I'd prefer not to transfer schools in the middle of the semester,' Risty's words repeated in her mind.
No, she had heard her correctly.
Rogue glanced up at the clock, suddenly eager for lunch and the chance to continue their conversation but knew there was little else she could do but wait.
As Rogue's eyes wandered down, at her back bag and the bright red book Irene had given her. She reached in and retrieved it. It was thin, a glance at the table of contents told her it was only sixty-six pages. She could tackle that in a day. Knowing she had a few minutes, she opened up to the first chapter and began reading.
'Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.'
The morning seemed to drag and her lunch period hadn't come soon enough. Though it had given Rogue time to read. She had gotten through most of it, but hadn't fully comprehended it.
No, that wasn't the right way to put it.
The issue was several chapters were oriented within the timeframe it had been written; much of the advice was about moving large armies, where to camp, and how to read your enemies' movements to guess the state of an opposing army. It just didn't apply to a group of mutants who lived in relative peace.
But Irene had to have given this to her for a reason, right? Maybe she hadn't read it with the right frame of mind? Risty's comment had been distracting.
'Okay, let's try this again,' she thought as she flipped back to chapter one. Maybe there were some tenants that could apply to the present day and her position as an X-Men? Mr. McCoy seemed to think so and he was one of the most intelligent and well-read people she knew. 'All warfare is based on deception,' she read.
That stuck out to her. Hadn't Erik told her something similar? Maybe not word for word-
Rogue took a breath as she felt her mind pulling at her. She glanced around, her lunch period had only started, and there weren't many people around her. And while she knew it wasn't the best idea, it would take only a moment to-
"Ensure your opponent is in the dark of your intentions," Erik advised, as she slipped into her memory. Suddenly she was sitting across from him, a chess set between them.
"Huh?" she asked, confused. She hadn't said a word in several minutes. She was just focusing on the board.
"You're going to move your pawn here," he said, pointing out the exact square where she intended to move and she felt her eyes widen with surprise. "And then block my rook with your bishop here," he said, pointing yet again to where she meant to.
"Wait," she exclaimed as she glanced up at him. "How didja know?" she asked.
"You're telegraphing your moves with your eyes, Anna-Marie," he told her. She replayed her strategy in her mind, looking down at the board, and suddenly became very conscious her eyes were moving in time with her thoughts.
"So, I gotta stop doing that," she huffed, as she forced her eyes to remain still.
"If you ever hope to put my King in check, then yes," he said. She glanced up at him, his tone was dry but his eyes were warm.
"Okay," she said, with renewed resolve. A smile crept along his lips before he flexed his wrist, and the pieces returned to their starting positions.
"Again."
"Earth to Rogue," a voice stated. Rogue blinked and glanced up to see Risty, snapping her fingers in her face. "Where do you go?" she asked in a hushed voice.
Rogue blinked a few more times as she fully came out of her own mind and adjusted. She quickly recalled she was sitting in the quad, during her lunch period. Blinking one last time, Rogue saw Risty sitting across from her, settling, now that her mind was back in the present.
"Hey," Rogue said, her eyes focusing on Risty. "Ah- guess I spaced out there," she said, a weak laugh leaving her as she tried to play it off. Risty gave her a look, like she knew something else was going on, but wasn't going to pry. "Thanks for snapping me outta it," she said. She really needed to stop looking at memories while she was at school, no matter how tempting it was.
"What are friends for?" she asked with a shrug.
"Hey, about what you said this morning," she said, closing the book.
"Oh, that," Risty said, her tone tentative, her eyes scanning over the red book she had in front of her. "Are you hungry?" she asked, attempting to change the subject.
"Hmm, yeah, I guess," Rogue said, shrugging slightly, knowing it was better to go along with her friend's borderline obsession with ensuring she'd eaten a proper meal. Her breakfast had been small. Lunch was probably a good idea.
"Be right back," Risty said as she stood, rushing away from her.
A few minutes later, after Rogue and Risty were situated with their lunches, she swallowed a bite of apple as she turned her gaze to her friend.
"So, why would you transfer schools if I did?" Rogue asked. Risty averted her gaze, attempting to avoid the question for the second time.
"There's something I haven't told you," Risty said. Rogue felt her curiosity tempered by empathy, at her friend's downtoward expression.
'I'm hiding stuff from her too,' she reminded herself. 'Maybe I should let it go,' she considered. "Risty, if ya don't want ta, ya don't have ta-" she started to say.
"No, I've been meaning to tell you," she said. Rogue held her gaze, silently asking her to continue, if she wanted to. "So, I was only supposed to stay in New York for one semester," she said as Rogue felt her eyes widen.
"What?" she asked.
"I've been- … my parents- …," she said, stumbling over her words. "You know how I come from money?" she asked.
"Ah-huh," Rogue said.
"Well, I've been traveling frequently. You know, broadening my horizons and all," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "And I was supposed to be in Washington already. But it's been such a long time since I made a real friend, I didn't want to leave," she said.
"Risty," she said, surprised and touched. She felt the urge to reach out and take her friend's hand but restrained herself. She blinked. "Wait, Washington State or D.C.?" she asked.
"D.C.," she answered.
"That's where my brother lives," she said.
"Oh," Risty said, her eyes lighting up. "Really?" she asked.
"Ah-huh. But I ain't making a decision. Not anytime soon," she reiterated.
"Well, if you do decide to go, then I'll transfer too," Risty said excitedly. Rogue felt her eyes darting back and forth, new implications flooding her mind and yet another person's situation she had to take into consideration when weighing her prospects. "It'll make my parents happy," she said. She blinked.
"I ain't getting ya in trouble or anything, right?" Rogue asked.
"No, no, no," she answered quickly. "It was a bit ambitious changing schools every semester. I've liked staying here for a whole year," she said, her gaze shifting away from Rogue's for a quick moment before returning. "If you do go to Washington for your Senior year, I'm sure I could get my parents to sign off on my transfer for my Junior year," she said.
"And if I don't?" she asked.
"I'll stay here in Bayville," she said, shrugging kindly before the bell rang.
Rogue blinked with surprise. She guessed she was in her mind longer than she had realized. She had barely eaten, but there was nothing for it now. However, she still needed to throw out what they weren't going to eat. She stood to start doing so.
"Rogue, don't worry, I'll clean up," Risty offered.
"Ya sure?" she asked.
"My classroom's closer than yours. Go. Don't be late," she said. Rogue felt a swell of warmth. God, Risty really did care about her.
"Thanks, Mom," Rogue smiled, jokingly.
"You're welcome, my darling," she said in a sing-song tone.
As she made it to the quad's school entrance, she felt her eyes widen as she stopped dead in her tracks. 'Wait, how many times have I called her mom?' she asked herself.
It was a lot. A bad joke that took on a life of its own. But what if it wasn't a joke at all?
"No," she muttered in disbelief. She knew her mother might've been closer than she knew, but not Risty, right? Not the exchange student who only showed up in Bayville after Mystique had left the brotherhood. With no parents… living on her own… completely autonomous… with no shortage of funds and the constant offer to spend them on her…
Rogue felt her breath quicken.
She had to be overthinking this, right?
Rogue glanced back at Risty, who was still cleaning up after them. Risty started to look up, in her direction and Rogue quickly turned her gaze away and rushed into the school.
'God, please, no,' she thought distressed as she rushed down the hall to her fifth-period class.
She desperately wanted to dive into her mind, review her memories, and disprove her suspicions. But she couldn't afford to make another scene at school. No, she would have to wait until she got home.
She sat down at her desk in her next classroom, waiting for class to start. Her foot was tapping against the floor rapidly and her heart was going a mile a minute. The shock of it wasn't doing her any favors. God, she needed to calm down. Maybe she could distract herself?
She pulled out the book again and picked up where she had left off.
'All warfare is based on deception,' she reread. 'Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.'
She snapped the book closed. No, that wasn't helping, not at all. Rogue laid her arms and head down on the desk. She squeezed her eyes shut and felt them burn as tears formed in the ducts of her eyes.
No, no, she wasn't going to do this; crumble into a heaping mess. This wasn't new. Her mother had been manipulating her since she was a child. That hadn't changed, but she had.
'Confirm your fear and adapt to the situation,' Erik's words replayed in her mind.
She lifted her head up and wiped her cheeks clean as she flipped the book back open, picking up again where she just left off.
'Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder and crush him.'
Rogue avoided Risty for the rest of the day. The few times she had seen her in the hallways, she managed to duck out of her line of sight, undetected. She was relieved when the school day came to an end, when Kitty and Kurt had met her at their lockers and they had exited the school together.
Once they, Scott and Jean were all gathered in Scott's car, Rogue had pulled out her copy of "The Art of War." Her reread was much more productive than her first attempt. Many of the passages stuck out to her with relevancy.
The sound of a motorcycle delayed her in her task as they exited the school's parking lot. She glanced behind the car to see her Uncle was now following the car. She gave him a wave before looking forward at Jean in the front seat. She had her fingers on her temples.
'Guess Prof's worried about a repeat of Friday,' she realized. She blinked. "Did Logan follow us to school this morning too?" she asked.
"Yeah, you, like, didn't notice?" Kitty asked. She shook her head no.
"Rogue," Jean said. She glanced up to see Jean had turned her head to look at her from the front passenger seat. "The Professor said you shouldn't take a bus home for a while," she said.
"And you and me gonna be in the same car?" Rogue asked.
"Yeah," she said.
"Got it. Thanks," Rogue said as she felt a tinge of guilt. A lot of effort was being expended on her account and she couldn't even explain why it was futile. Magneto was going to see her when he- well, when both of them wanted him to. 'They're just tryna protect me,' she thought as she held in a sigh. 'And I'm doing the same,' she rationalized. She shook her head as she opened the book back to chapter three.
'Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory.
1. He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.
2. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces.
3. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks.
4. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.
5. He will win who has military capability and is not interfered with by the sovereign.
Victory lies in the knowledge of these five points. Hence the saying; if you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself and not your enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle,' she read.
'Huh?' she thought with a huff. 'Yeah, okay,' she thought as she reread the last line a second time, allowing it to resonate. She wasn't the same naive girl she had been not too long ago when she first came to Bayville. She certainly wasn't the same little girl who was oblivious to her mother's keeping things from her as a child. 'No, I ain't,' she thought strongly.
Once Scott had parked in the garage, she'd practically jumped out of the car, as Logan pulled in directly behind them.
"Thanks for the ride, Scott," she called back as she rushed through the garage.
"What's her hurry?" she heard Logan ask.
"Don't know," Kitty answered.
"You're welcome," Scott called back, his tone sarcastic. Rogue ignored it all, as she marched out of the garage, down the hall, and into the main lobby of the mansion. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Professor, entering the room from the kitchen, with a steaming cup of tea.
"Good afternoon, Rogue," he said pleasantly.
"Hey," she said, not stopping to engage with him as she made it to the staircase.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Ain't sure yet," she answered as she stalked up the stairs.
"Rogue?" he asked, his tone shifting. She turned back to look at him from the top of the railing.
"I might've found another one of Mystique's personas," she said as his eyes lit up with interest. "But I need ta look at some memories first ta be sure. I'll fill ya in after the debriefing," she said.
"Who's memories?" he asked.
"Not Magneto's," she answered immediately, remembering her promise.
"Very well then," he said, his expression softening. "I hope you have a productive training session," he said before he moved his free to the control on his chair. "I'll be in my office should you wish to speak before four," he said as he began moving in that direction.
"Thanks, Prof," she said before she turned away from him.
"She alright?" she heard Logan ask.
"She's fine," the Professor answered. "And don't forget to set an alarm," he called out a moment later, as it seemed the thought had occurred to him.
"I won't," she yelled back as she picked up the pace, running toward her bedroom. She only had so much time and she would need every second of it.
A while later, Rogue laid on her and Magneto's bed, where she had just viewed multiple memories in mass, using the accelerated pace she was capable of to her advantage. And while there were several suspicious statements Risty had made throughout her time in Bayville, above all, one stood out among the others, confirming her fears:
"We haven't done this since you were nine."
Rogue had been half asleep, utterly oblivious as Mystique had driven her around helping her relax and recharge. God, she was lucky her mother loved her. If someone with Mystique's abilities used that level of deception, to get that close to her…
She felt a shiver run down her spine.
But with this new information, and now that the shock had worn off, she felt conflicted. The same way she had when her mother had shown up at her interview with Magneto, which in hindsight Rogue understood Mystique had learned about from her. On the one hand, there was the violation of boundaries, pretending to be someone she wasn't to get close to her. But on the other hand, there was what she had used that connection to achieve: taking care of her, feeding her mostly.
Rogue held her cards close to her chest. She'd never told Risty much of anything about the X-Men or the fact that she was mutant. Could Mystique have learned anything about the X-Men because of their friendship? How often had Mystique been at the institute as Risty?
"There was that first time," she recalled. But the Professor had kicked Risty out pretty quickly, as the visit had been unscheduled. There was that house party, half of Bayville High's students had been there. But she didn't recall seeing Risty. It would've been the perfect opportunity for her to exploit. "Unless Mystique's the reason the party happened?" she asked herself as she felt her eyes widen. "Shit," she muttered under her breath.
Logan and Ororo had both been absent. The Professor had gotten a late-night call, drawing him away from the institute, leaving Scott and Jean in charge. She remembered when they had decided to throw the party, but not whose idea it had been. She needed a quick refresher. It should only take her a minute to recall.
"So, since we have the mansion to ourselves, I was, like, thinking, like why not throw a party?" Kitty asked as they stood in the hallway, by Kitty's and Rogue's lockers in Bayville High.
"Yeah, while the Professor's away," Evan said, as she heard Kurt was doing a cartwheel behind her.
"The kids can play," Kurt exclaimed.
"And play it loud," Kitty finished before cheering, as she used her hip to close her locker, laughing and dancing in anticipation.
"Yeah," Kurt exclaimed as he high-fived Kitty.
"Reality check, people," Rogue said, as she turned to address the group. "Scott and Jean?" she reminded them.
"Oh, yeah," Kitty sighed, the boys lamenting as well.
"Yes, it's a problem," Kurt said before his face lit up. "But what are X-Men if not problem solvers, right?"
A loud beeping noise pulled Rogue out of her mind and back to the present. She reached out and pressed the button on top of her alarm clock, which now read: 3:52 pm, ceasing the noise.
"Okay, so it was Kitty's idea. She talked to us about it after sixth period and she had Computer Lab with Risty during third. Risty could've planted the idea in her head or maybe she just took advantage of the situation?" she asked herself.
Rogue stood and quickly headed out of the room.
She knew what she needed to confirm next.
Rogue joined the others in one of the larger common areas. Not typically where they meet for debriefings. She'd heard Scott mention this was an informal debriefing, more of a questions session than a breakdown of the Danger Room's morning mission. However, her success that morning was the furthest thing on her mind. She easily spotted Kitty in the crowd of students; she was speaking with Amara and Jean. She was about to make her way over to them when the Professor entered the room.
"Good afternoon everyone. Please find a place to sit," he ordered and those in the room moved to follow the command. Rogue let out a short sigh. That seemed to catch the Professor's attention as he moved up to her. "The issue you brought to my attention earlier, were you able to confirm anything?"
"Ah-huh, but I kinda need t'absorb Kitty to confirm something else," Rogue answered. He gave her a nod before looking at her roommate.
"Kitty," he said, gesturing her over to them. "Rogue's been investigating an important matter for me, with the use of her abilities. And it seems your memories might be the linchpin she requires. Would you mind obliging us?" he asked.
"Yeah, totally," she answered immediately, with a smile. It quickly faltered as Kitty looked at her. "But, like, don't lay me out, okay?" she asked as Rogue stripped off her glove.
"I won't," she promised, smiling at her roommate, trying to reassure her. Rogue lifted her finger up at the same time as Kitty to take the smallest possible dose she could. She only needed an updated copy of her mind. She touched her for barely a second before pulling back. "Thanks," she said.
"Thank you, Kitty," the Professor said before turning to look up at her. "Regarding the debriefing and your performance, a single word comes to mind," he said before leaning forward slightly. "Flawless," he said and she smiled in response, even as she heard some whispering around her from the others. "Why don't you go to my office, finish up your investigation and I'll join you after I'm done here," he said, his wording suggested it was a question, but she knew he was prioritizing this and giving her out from the meeting to focus.
"Thank you," she said. "I don't think I was gonna be able ta concentrate anyhow," she admitted.
"Neither did I," he said kindly. "And while we're at it, we'll have that review of your powers Erik kept interrupting," he asked and she huffed at that, a smile on her face.
"Thanks," she said.
"I'll see you shortly," he said. She gave him a nod before she turned to leave the room. She heard even more hushed whispers from the others in the room as she headed toward the door.
Rogue disregarded it as she marched out of the room.
She didn't have the time to consider the other students' opinions of her, not at the moment, not when she was trying to ascertain just how much of a liability she had been to the X-Men.
It didn't take long for her to get to the Professor's office. As she opened the door, she was surprised to see her Uncle sitting on a recliner with a newspaper.
"Hey, kid," he said, his face obscured by the paper.
"Hey," she said as she walked in, closed the door behind her, and took a seat on the couch in front of the fireplace. She's most likely to end up laying down. She may as well be comfortable. "Prof asked ya to keep an eye on me?" she asked.
"Yeah," he grunted.
"Thanks," she said as she laid back. "Hmm, sorry if I make any weird noises. It just kinda happens," she said.
"Yeah, I've seen it," he said. She blinked. Right, he probably had by that point. If not in the diner yesterday then maybe last night. "Don't worry about me, kid. Just focus on what ya gotta do," he said.
"Okay, thanks," she said before she took a breath, closed her eyes, dived into her mind and pulled up Kitty's memories. She knew the exact date and time she needed to get to. Only took a moment to slip into the memory.
Kitty Pride let out a long yawn, sitting in the computer lab, as she scrolled frantically through her code. She was attempting to get the multiplayer function of her interacting with multiple computers, three to be exact, the project was due in a week and she needed to get this tested to move on to the next step. However, waking up at 3:00 am hadn't done her any favors. There had to be a line of code she mistyped. An easy fix, if she could find it and if the computers weren't starting to smoke.
'Oh man, don't do this to me,' she exclaimed in her mind. 'Just stay on a little-' she thought as her eyes frantically searched through the code. "Longer-" she muttered before all three computers turned off, ruining any progress she may have made that day.
"Kitty Pryde; I am amazed," her teacher commented as she walked up to her. "Most people can't program such complicated game protocols without crashing their computer. You, on the other hand, have managed to crash three," she stated a little too dramatically. The entire class laughed.
Kitty turned her chair to face her teacher, her expression unphased by the public ridicule. No one else was even attempting something this advanced and once she did get it to work, the A would be totally worth it.
"Sorry, I didn't get much sleep," she explained before her attention was turned toward Risty and Arcade, who were making a lot of noise on the other side of the classroom.
Rogue sped up the memory, waiting for any side that Risty might speak with Kitty. That didn't occur until after Kitty was leaving the classroom.
"Hey, Kitty," Risty asked as she ran to catch up with her. "Anything fun going on this weekend?" she asked.
"Nothing. My ear's been to the ground all week, but the party circuit is dry," Kitty answered.
"Hmm," Risty said, as she rubbed her chin. "You know, if only we knew someone whose parents were gone for the night. We could throw our own party," she said as she walked ahead of Kitty and opened the doors for her.
"Hey," Kitty exclaimed excitedly. "You know something?" she asked.
'Great and now I gotta look at Arcade's memories to see what she got,' Rogue thought. 'This shouldn't take long,' she told herself.
Rogue pulled herself out of Arcade's memory but didn't bother opening her eyes. She had all the intel she required. She just needed to think-
"Chuck," she heard Logan ask. "Is she always this?"
"Defenseless?" the Professor asked. "Yes, I'm afraid so," he answered. "I've encountered similar problems when I astral project."
"Anything you could do about it?" he asked.
"Aside from watching over her, at the moment, no," he answered.
"And she's been doing this for weeks now?" he asked.
"While in the safety of the mansion," he said. "I'll speak with her," he said. "When she's ready," he added quickly. "Currently, she's performing a service as an X-Men. One I greatly appreciate. So, she can take as much time as she requires, to both engage in her investigation and also to consider her findings," he said.
"Thanks," Rogue muttered before letting out a huff.
"No, thank you, Rogue," the Professor said.
"Okay," Rogue said as she sat up. She had no idea how much time had passed, but one look outside and she saw it was dark out. Logan had been reading his newspaper and the Professor a book. Both of them closed their respective media and gave her their attention.
"Wherever you'd like to begin," the Professor said.
"So, you know my best friend, Risty?" she asked.
"No," the Professor said, his expression filled with compassion. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah," she huffed. "I-" she started before she let out another huff. "Can I be honest with you?" she asked.
"Always," the Professor said strongly, his tone conveying empathy and concern.
"I ain't sure if I'm mad at her over this. Which I know has gotta sound insane but-" she said before taking a deep breath, "in her own way, she was taking care of me," she said.
"How do you mean?" the Professor asked
"Risty showed up back when I couldn't think straight," she said.
"I'd had some thoughts about that, but we'll come back to them. Please go on," he said.
"We became friends and she just kept feeding me and askin' me how I was an' helping me with my homework an' driving me around," Rogue said before shrugging. "Risty's the only person I told about my meeting with Magneto," she said before she saw confusion on their faces. "I told her like it was another college prep school that wanted to recruit me," she explained and the Professor nodded.
"And she offered to drive you and obtained more appropriate attire?" the Professor asked.
"Yeah," Rogue confirmed. "But I thought Risty was human, I didn't wanna put her anywhere near Magneto," she explained.
"That was considerate of you," the Professor said. "What else do I need to know?" he asked.
"She did get into Cerebro," she said as Logan growled under his breath.
"You don't seem too concerned by the breach," the Professor noted.
"I mean- she did this whole song and dance with Arcade about game characters and she got him to download a file for her. So, now she knows what each of the new students' powers are," she said.
"And that's all she obtained?" he asked.
"Ah-huh," she answered.
"I agree, it's not that bad," the Professor said.
"Chuck?" Logan asked.
"It's not ideal, but it could've been worse," the Professor said. "So, the problem is laid out, the threats identified. What would you like to do about this? I assume you have a plan?" he asked.
"Ah-huh," Rogue smiled.
"Very well. Let's hear it," he said a small quirk of his lip that he kept down, but Rogue detected a small glimmer of what she interpreted as pride. Logan set his newspaper down, leaning forward.
Rogue's elfin grin widened.
"So, here's what I'm thinking."
