27 February

Witch. -n. 1. a person, especially a woman, who professes or is supposed to practice magic or sorcery; a sorceress 2. a woman who is supposed to have evil or wicked magical powers 3. a person who practices magic as a spiritual observance, especially as associated with neopaganism or Wicca 4. an ugly or mean old woman; hag 5. a person who uses a divining rod; dowser -v. (used with object) 6. to bring or cause by or as if by witchcraft (often followed by into, to, etc.) 7. Archaic. To affect as if by witchcraft; bewitch; charm -v. (used without object) 8. to prospect with a divining rod; dowse -adj. 9. of, relating to, or designed as protect against witches

Rogue scanned the coffee shop, jumping over faces as she searched for someone specific. Most of the tables were occupied, sporting an assortment of people. Singles nursing their in-house mug of coffee, regarding a book or laptop. Couples over a small entree with their drinks, chatting and giggling amicably. A table here or there sat full with upwards of four people, all enjoying each others' company.

One person beckoned at Rogue as she surveyed the room again. She was young, someone Rogue didn't recognize. She must have been who Rogue was here to meet. Rogue wove through the crowd, joining this girl at her smaller table against the wall. When she sat, the girl did not smile.

"How are you handling things at Xavier's?" she asked without anecdote.

Rogue cast her eyes downward. "Ah'm strugglin'."

"Why?"

"Ah guess Ah wasn't expectin' how difficult it'd be jugglin' high school, homework, a social life, an' trainin' ta be an X-Man," Rogue admitted.

"High school and homework?" the girl echoed with scorn. Rogue didn't want to raise her eyes to watch her expression. "Forget about it. That's not what's important."

Rogue blinked. "What?"

The girl scoffed. "Did you forget why I sent you to Xavier's school?"

Rogue searched the table before her and bit her lip. "Ah thought – Ah thought you couldn't handle me no more," she said.

The girl leaned back in her chair and didn't reply. Rogue almost met her eyes again, but couldn't out of a creeping suspicion that she should be fearful of the one sat before her. She knew what she was capable of. Rogue swallowed, waiting, staring a hole into the resin table between them.

"I didn't send you to Xavier's to play doll house," the girl sneered, leaning forward again to keep her voice low. "I don't care about your social life. How far have you infiltrated the X-Men? How much do you know about them?"

Rogue gripped the table, as if it would help keep her steady. She was a mole? Her mother didn't cast her out because she hated her? Because she had such a worthless, uncontrollable mutant power? "You wanted me to be an X-Man?" Rogue asked in a mousy squeak.

"Let's start with the one-eye, Cyclops," the girl said slowly, as if speaking to an insipid mongrel. "Have you seen him train? He's a genius tactician, and a difficult obstacle. What is his weakness?"

Rogue swallowed. "Ah – Ah work under Storm."

"Go on."

"Mah teammates are Banshee and Dazzler."

"Can you take them down?"

Rogue's attention immediately shot to the girl's face, her eyes wide and alarmed. "What?"

The girl rolled her eyes and sighed. "Rogue, I haven't abandoned you. I'm counting on you. I need the ruthless child you were when I found you. I need to know that I can trust you in gathering the X-Men's powers."

Rogue's lips flattened into a line. She wasn't always a timid beast. This wasn't supposed to be what she was like. "Storm's afraid of tight spaces, but she's hard to get near. She should be taken by surprise before she goes airborne."

The girl nodded. "Banshee?"

"He's a strong fighter on the ground, an' his scream hurts like hell when directed toward ya."

"And how do you take him down?"

"Ah … Ah haven't tried before."

The girl blinked slowly. "How have you taken down the weather witch?"

"With Nightcrawler's abilities."

Her mouth opened in a small "o" of surprise before her expression returned to neutral. "How often do you work with Nightcrawler?"

"He's trainin' me how ta fight hand-to-hand."

The girl's eyebrows rose, and a smile slowly spread across her face. "Perfect. And Dazzler?"

"She needs sound in order ta make her powers work. She's also terrible at teamwork."

The girl tapped the table with her fingernail, eyes locked onto Rogue's. "I need information like this. I need you to take care of this team for us."

"Why didn't you tell me what your plan was?"

"Xavier is a very powerful telepath, and he has a couple more under his employ. It sounds like you need a little more time than I expected, but I need you to make sure no one knows the real reason you're there."

Rogue sat quiet for a moment. "Why am Ah takin' down the X-Men?"

"You need their powers, and we need them off our backs."

"For what?"

The girl smiled. "Work on more information on the X-Men. Be sure you're confident in what you're doing. But most of all, don't get caught."

"Ah don't think Ah'm strong enough for this," Rogue murmured.

The girl nodded. "I'll take care of that for you. The more of these mutants you take down, the stronger you'll be, and the harder you'll be to stop. I need that, Rogue. Remember to hold on long enough to keep them down. I don't care if it's permanently."

She stood, scooting her chair back with loud abruptness. "Don't call again. It could raise suspicions. I'll contact you when I'm ready."

Rogue sat dumbstruck at the coffee shop table, suddenly acutely aware of the buzz of conversations around her.