Please enjoy
Chapter Five of
A Simple Favor:
On March 7th 2002, a little after 6:30pm, Magneto sat at a table in a restaurant called Bistro Cassis. It had been a bit of a wait for the table. However, as he had been informed by the staff that they did not take reservations. And given that the line they encountered was fairly long, even for a Friday night, he was optimistic about the quality of the food they were about to partake in.
He and Rogue had been seated at a small table against the wall. Each table in the restaurant was fairly spaced apart. The soft jazz music playing in the background was pleasant and at just the right volume to grant them privacy. He had thought it might be necessary to have their entire conversation in French and was relieved that wouldn't be the case.
Magneto glanced up at Rogue, her gloved hand holding the menu in front of her.
"Do you enjoy mussels?" he asked.
"Yeah, I love seafood," Rogue answered.
"I was considering that as an appetizer," he said which she responded to with a half smile. "It's settled then," he said before she turned back to review her menu.
Soon after, their waiter came to their table.
"Good evening. I'm Alana and I'll be taking care of you tonight," said a young woman in her early thirties, perhaps. "Can I get any drinks started for you?" she asked.
"The lavender lemonade sounds nice," Rogue commented.
He usually preferred wine with fine dining. However, considering he didn't have any identification to match his current de-aged appearance (he made a mental note to correct this for the future) and given his company's inability to join him for said wine.
"Make that two lemonades and waters for the table, please" he added.
"I'll put those in. Anything else I can get started for you?" she asked.
"We'll have a full order of mussels," he said.
"No problem. And do you need a few more minutes to figure out your mains?" she asked.
"Actually, I pretty much know what I want," Rogue said, looking to him.
"As do I," he said pleasantly.
They relaid their order to Alana who promptly collected their menus and left the table. However, not before a questioning glance passed her features as she spotted Rogue's gloved hands. Alana returned a few minutes later with their drinks and a bread basket. She placed all four glasses and the bread on the table and told them their food would be out shortly. As the waitress left them again, he noticed Rogue flinch as another patron bumped into the back of her chair.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"It's kinda cramped in here," she commented.
"I found it rather spacious," he commented, raising an eyebrow. "Regardless, you should take off your gloves," he ordered as he lifted his drink. He watched fear rise in her gaze as he took a sip.
"I couldn't," she objected.
"Our waitress already gave your attire a second glance. It would be preferable for us not to draw any unwanted attention," he said returning his glass to the table.
"Hmm," she said with uncertainty.
"Besides, I am uncertain how you plan to eat mussels with those on," he added. She blinked a moment, before looking away from the table.
"Yeah, okay," she sighed, relenting. "Ya made a good point," she said as he watched her stripe them off her hands, before placing them on the side of the table, nearest the wall.
"Thank you," he said. He reached out for a piece of bread as Rogue did the same. Her fingers grazed against his for the briefest of seconds. It felt akin to static stock. Yet, from her reaction, it was as if she had been burned.
"Sorry," she said as she pulled her hand back.
"Why are you apologizing?" he asked.
"'Cause, I didn't mean to do that," she explained.
"To use your-" he asked. "Oh," he realized instantly, "because you didn't ask me first," he said, waving at her dismissively. "I wish for you to enjoy your meal. You have my consent and an apology. I should have said that from the beginning," he said. He watched her blink a few times, as she took in his words.
"It really doesn't bother you?" she asked, her voice soft.
"No. Why would it?" he asked.
"It bothers everyone else," she said with a shrug.
"Does it really?" he asked, mostly to himself.
He hardly understood why. The girl should be free, as her teammates and instructors were, to use her powers as she saw fit. He thought back to his observation of her and while she had used her powers many times, a pattern he hadn't recognized until now manifested.
"Rogue, how many times have you used your abilities outside of combat situations?" he asked.
"Hmm," she said, glancing away from him as she seemed to be counting. "Cody, accidentally. Kitty, one time, to learn some dance moves," she said as he raised an eyebrow. "Don't ask," she said in response to his expression. "And you in February," she said.
He waited a moment for her to continue but she seemed to be done.
"That's it?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yeah," she shrugged.
"Has Charles even attempted to help you?" he asked.
"He did some kinda telepathic scan," she said.
"And what were the results?" he asked.
"He said they were inconclusive," she answered.
"What else?" he asked. She just stared at him, wide-eyed and speechless. "For god sakes, Charles," he muttered under his breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He let out a sigh of his own before he looked up at her again. "Your powers are physical. From how you obtain them, to the physical manifestation of the ones you borrow. And while his telepathy may act as a tool in the assistance of your gaining control. Ultimately, what you require is practice in a calm environment. One devoid of the stresses that accompany combat. Has Charles taken any action to create such an environment?" he asked.
"Not really. But, I mean, he's busy," she said defensively.
"That's an excuse and you know, my girl," he said as he placed his left hand on the table, palm up. "If you'll permit me," he said as he gestured with his head towards his hand. She took a breath and placed her hand on top of his. He curled his fingers up to cradle hers, fully holding her hand. "I'm fine," he told her as he maintained physical contact. He felt her powers pulling at his. As he found the previous two times, he felt a slight sting, but it was more than tolerable.
"I-" she said, seemingly lost for words, as her eyes were fixed on their hands.
"Rogue, please look at me," he ordered gently. She followed his command instantly. "This does not bother me," he told her. He watched her take a deep breath as her face blushed slightly, from embarrassment no doubt. "Speaking of obtaining control, how long was the duration last time?" he asked.
"I don't know. When I woke up I didn't have 'em anymore," she answered.
"I see," he said with a nod. "And I hardly expect you to keep count during dinner. Next time," he said before he pulled his hand back.
"Okay," she said.
"Apologies for the tangent. Please tell me why we're here," he ordered as he picked up his glass and took a sip of his beverage.
"Okay," she said before taking a deep breath, her face still red. "So," she said before taking another breath. He watched her let out a frustrated groan before she reached forward and grabbed her water. "Sorry," she muttered.
"You've nothing to apologize for," he said as she took a large gulp of water. "Take your time," he said gently as she downed the glass. It took a moment, but her cheeks returned to their normal hue and she seemed to have regained her composure.
"Okay," she said as she placed the empty glass on the table. "So," she said, refocused on him, "the first time I borrowed your senses I was kinda overwhelmed by them. And once I knew I was going to need to use 'em to find your base, I thought it would be a good idea to get some practice," she explained.
"Very sensible," he commented.
"So, I'm at school. I'm sitting at lunch. I turn 'em on and the first thing I sense is a gun," she said.
"Who was in possession of the firearm?" he asked.
"Risty Wilde," she answered.
"And who is she?" he asked.
"Risty's an exchangestudent from English and she's been my best friend since I met her on the first day of school last September," she answered dryly. He held eye contact with her for a long moment and watched as she let out an irate sigh.
He watched her open her mouth to speak before he saw Alana coming out from the kitchen with their appetizer.
"Hold that thought, dear," he ordered as Alana approached the table with the mussels. The waitress set the plate in between them as well as two small plates for them to serve themselves. "Thank you," he said.
"More water?" Alana asked.
"Please," Rogue answered.
"No problem. The rest of the food will be out shortly," she said before leaving again.
"I was wondering where Raven was all this time," Magneto said as he reached forward, grabbed the spoon, and served them both a plentiful portion of mussels. "You've done me a great service by identifying and confirming Raven's location for the past seven months," he said as picked up his own spoon and prepared his first morsel.
He listened to her let out another groan, as she stabbed a mussel with more force than necessary, breaking the shell as the server came and refilled Rogue's water glass.
"Thank you," she said, rolling her eyes at herself as she stared down at the broken shell.
"So. what would you like me to do about this, my dear?" he asked, once they were alone.
"I don't know," she said, before finally taking a bite.
"You don't know?" he asked in kind, as he primed his next spoonful.
"I- I needed to talk to you about this before- I don't know what I'm asking you for yet. I need-"
"Advise?" he asked.
"Yeah," she confirmed.
"Go on," he said encouragingly.
"So, I couldn't contact you immediately, right?" she asked. He nodded. "So, I had to go to school and pretend everything was normal," she said, her eyes flaring. "That included being Risty's friend," she said before taking another bite. "A day goes by, and nothing happens," she said in between bites. "Another day went by and then another and another. And nothing happened. Since I didn't tell her what I knew, she didn't act on it," she said.
"Hence, you aren't in any immediate danger. Good. However, knowing who Risty truly is, can you bear to suffer her company?" he asked.
"That's the thing, I like Risty. I have since day one," she said. "She's nothing like Raven," she added before taking another bite.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Raven's strict, harsh, cold, distant, and really hard to talk to," she explained.
"And Risty?" he asked.
"The exact opposite," she said. "She's so open and fun and the last time we cut school, it was her idea," she exclaimed in between bites.
"Interesting," he commented as he reached for his beverage.
"Ya know, before finding out, in the back of my mind, I was always a little worried about where Raven was or when I'd see her again," she said.
"A reasonable fear," he said.
"And then, all of sudden, I know exactly where she is. I know exactly what she's doing and I- I- That didn't scare me. I was glad that I knew. And I don't think I wanna give that up," she said.
"Which is why you've come to me rather than Charles," he said.
"Uh-huh," she confirmed.
"Understandable," he said, nodding along, as he polished off his appetizer. "I can disarm her if that's what you're asking of me," he said.
Rogue opened her mouth to speak as he noticed a busboy clearing off tables. He held his hand up, telling her to abstain from commenting for a moment. They waited patiently for the busboy to clear away their finished appetizer.
"Yeah," she said, mostly to herself before glancing back up at him. "Yeah, that's what I want," she said.
"Consider it done," he said as he placed his spoon on the table.
"She might just get another one," she said.
"Then I'll disarm her again. As many times as it takes," he said.
"You'll have to stop by the school every day," she said.
"I'm aware," he said.
"And that's okay?" she asked.
"Fulfilling this request will be significantly less taxing compared with the perpetual nature of the favor you're currently occupied with on my behalf," he said.
"Yeah, that's true, ain't it?" she asked, he understood the question was rhetorical. He watched a smile grace her face as she looked back up at him. "Thank you, Max," she said warmly.
"You're welcome, Rogue," he answered, in kind. He watched the smile on her face change slightly as she cocked her head and eyed him. "Yes?" he asked.
"So, I kinda got a couple of images from ya before when you-," she explained as she held up and waved her hand a little. He glanced at her hand a moment while nodding. "Hmm, so, what's a Sentinel and why are they building them beneath Bayville?" she asked.
The question caught him off-guard, and given the girl's expression his own must have made that evident.
'Does she know?' he asked, as he took a turn eyeing her. His survey was interrupted as Alana brought out a tray of food. 'No, her reaction would have differed greatly if she knew I intended to reveal our kind to the world,' he thought as Alana placed their respective dinners in front of them. 'She's fishing,' he realized as the waitress left the table again.
Curious, he reached forward and took her hand in his again. He held her gaze, watching her suck in a breath at the contact, as he concentrated on a certain individual he had recently become aware of.
"Rogue, tell me who Bolivar Trask is," he ordered.
"Former Shield agent. He's the one who designed and built the Sentients," she answered.
"Correct," he said, releasing her hand.
"I don't know why, though," she said as she picked up her fork and scoped up some of her mushroom risotto.
"He's a human who can see the writing on the wall," he answered as he picked up his own fork and knife and cut into his salmon.
"Oh," she said as she lowered her fork back down to her plate. He glanced over at her again, attempting to read her expression. "Are you gonna," she asked as she leaned in slightly towards him, her eyes widening. "Ya know?" she asked in a whisper. It took him a moment to realize what she meant.
"No, I have no intention of killing him," he told her.
"Okay, good," she muttered, relieved as he continued to eye her. She glanced up at him before she cast her gaze firmly on her plate. She picked up her fork again. "Look, I-" she said as she played with her food, pushing it back and forth on her plate with her fork. "Sir," she whispered. "We have an agreement. I'll never say anything about your past. But I don't know if I could sit back and not do anything if I knew you were planning something new, ya know?" she asked, avoiding his gaze.
"What if I located another Nazi?" he asked her. He watched her expression shift as her head tilted the other way. She almost looked as if she wanted to roll her eyes but was restraining herself.
"That's different," she said, finally looking at him again.
"It is really?" he smirked with a raised eyebrow. He watched her eyes widen.
"Ain't they all dead by now?" she asked in a whisper.
"You'd think, but not quite, my girl," he answered. "Some of those monsters still lurk in the shadows. And should I happen upon any, I will dispose of them," he said firmly.
She sucked in a breath as she took in his words. He watched a shiver run down her spine, she shook slightly in her seat. He scanned the room, and having found none of the other patrons were paying them any mind, he turned his attention back to the conflicted girl before him.
"After what they did to you and your family, I get it," she muttered.
"You do, don't you," he said, not so much a question, but rather an acknowledgment.
"Sir," she said as her eyes darted up to his. She looked as if she wanted to ask him something but wasn't quite sure what. He allowed himself to let out a sigh.
"The last time we spoke, you attempted to set expectations. Allow me to dictate one now," he said before he leaned in slightly. "I will never intentionally make you aware of or complicit in such activities as the one you've just alluded to," he said as he watched her let out a sigh of relief. "You have my word," he finished.
"Thank you, sir," she said.
"You're welcome," he said. "And for the record, the count is still at two," he said. He watched her blink several times.
"How?" she asked as she sat back straight again. "You just agreed to do me a favor," she said.
"Yes, and you informed me of Raven's location, which if you recall, I referred to as a great service. Which it was," he said before he took a bite of his salmon.
"You literally saw her in the warehouse. You knew she was in Bayville," Rogue pointed out.
"As the cop, yes, I became aware she was observing you," he commented with a raised eyebrow. "But not to the extent you informed me of this evening. Hence, the count is still two," he repeated.
She glanced away from him a moment as she reached forward and grabbed a piece of bread.
"Ya know what," she said before she took a bite. "I ain't looking a gift horse in the mouth," she said. "If you're so set on owing me two favors, fine," she said as she picked up her fork and started to truly enjoy her dinner.
"I am, in fact," he told her.
"Why?" she asked him.
"Given our arrangement and the frequency you seem to find yourself in the line of fire, my dear, it's in my best interest for you to contact me with your concerns," he answered.
"Well, everyone needs a hobby, I guess," she said dryly.
Magneto let out a hearty laugh at that. Rogue glanced up at him as a smile appeared on her face in response to his reaction.
"I suppose that's true, why shouldn't you be mine," he said, chuckling before he took another sip of his drink. He glanced up and saw her face was once again a shade of red. She was avoiding his eyes as she took small bites of her risotto. 'Hmm,' he thought as he placed his glass back on the table. "How do I look, by the way?" he asked.
"Huh?" she asked, finally looking up at him.
"The image inducer," he said, gesturing towards his face. "I acted off memory, obviously. And I'm curious, how that measures up to the ah- accuracies your powers allow," he elaborated.
"Hmm," she said flustered as she forced herself to look at him. Somehow her face turned an even deeper shade of red. He watched her take a breath, as he became fully confident in the facts of the matter. "You didn't used ta wear your hair so long," she pointed out after a long moment.
"Initially, I programmed shorter hair and then I looked in a mirror-" he said as a look of recognition passed her face.
"Oh, you looked like Pietro?" she asked.
"The spitting image," he confirmed before she laughed. "I wanted to distract from that," he said.
"I think it worked. None of the girls said anything," she said.
"Hmm," he said.
"The long hair looks good, though," she said.
"Does it really?" he asked, amused. Her face blushed again.
"Ah-huh," she said, avoiding his gaze again.
"I apologize if that's distracting for you," he chuckled.
"It's fine. I'm fine," she said. "Can we, please, never talk about this again?" she asked.
"If you insist," he said.
"Thank you, sir," she said.
"You're welcome, Anna-Marie," he said. She blinked before her newly widened eyes darted up to his, as he smirked down at her.
"Yeah, okay," she muttered under her breath, reaching for her glass.
"It seemed only fair. You knew mine, so I learned yours," he said.
"Ah-huh," she said again. "Yeah, I get it," she said. "Not like you ain't got enough of an advantage in this whole situation, but okay," she said before he let out another hearty laugh in response. "Lord help me," she muttered.
"Rogue," he started to say.
"We just agreed that we ain't talking about this," she said. "So, we ain't talking about it," she said firmly. "Okay? It's bad enough everyone's gonna ask me how my date was," she said dryly.
"Is there anything I can do?" he asked.
"Yeah, think ya could reveal our kind to humanity a little faster? Give 'em something else to talk about?" she asked. He paused a moment as he took in her words, before he let out another laugh in response.
"Right away, dear," he said before she let out a short laugh. He held her gaze for a moment as she sighed. "I was certain you hadn't picked up on that," he commented.
"I didn't get it the first time, I got it the second time," she explained. "You seriously think that's a good idea?" she asked him.
"Our emergence is inevitable. But controlling how it happens, we'll only have one chance for that," he said.
"Okay, I get what you're saying, but it's gonna make all of our lives so much harder. Why not ride it out for as long as possible? Let another generation of mutants reach adulthood?" she asked.
"A fair point but counterintuitive for the larger picture, dear. Every day I fail to act, there is a chance a young mutant's powers will manifest and that manifestation will be caught on camera. And then we'll have no control whatsoever over the narrative," he said.
"That's what I'm not getting. What's the narrative?" she asked. He smirked as he picked up his glass.
"You'll see," he answered before taking a sip.
"Seriously?" she scuffed before a small grin came to her face. "Can I hold your hand again?"
"Absolutely, not," he chuckled.
"Oh, come on, I ain't gonna say anything. I just wanna understand," she said.
"You will," he said.
"Today?" she asked, hopeful.
"They all will," he said before she let out a groan, rolling her eyes.