Please enjoy
Chapter Eight
Of A Simple Favor:
On March 10th, 2002, around 12:40 pm, Magneto had put a few miles between himself, Rogue, and the Institute, as he drove through the town of Bayville.
"That should be far enough, I think," Magneto said as he pulled over, into a free parking spot. "I doubt we'll have to worry about Wolverine's senses from such a distance," he said, as he pulled off his sunglasses and simultaneously used his powers to change the setting on his image inducer to match.
"God, could they have been any more eager to recruit you?" Rogue said annoyed. He chuckled as he turned to look at her. From her guarded stance, it was evident she had been holding back this comment since they left the institute.
"A mutant invisible to all matters of detection is beyond useful, my girl," he told her as she glanced up at him. "Once Charles has his confirmation, of course, he wanted to secure my services," he said as he pulled out his cell phone.
"Still," she groaned. "Kinda wish he hadn't been so-"
"Transparent?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said.
"I agree," he said with a nod. "Charles is- well his methods can leave much to be desired," he said before he tapped his thumb against the steering wheel a few times.
"Sir?" she asked. He shook his head before turning back to her.
"Would you like anything else besides schnitzel?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Hmm, something to drink, I guess," she said.
"Alright," he said.
"Wait, we ain't-" she started to say.
"Not today, dear. We have work to do," he informed her as he flipped open his phone and dialed a number to a local restaurant he knew of. "Good afternoon. I'd like to place an order for pick up," he said.
On March 10th, 2002, around 1:50 pm, Rogue was clinging to Magneto, her arms around his neck, as he flew them through the air, over a snow-covered mountain ridge. He held her to him with one arm around her waist. In his other hand, he held onto their food, which was neatly packaged into a bag.
She kept her gaze firmly over his shoulder, her face felt heated despite the fact that they were surrounded by snow. They had left the car about a block away from the restaurant. He had said it would save them time later once she needed to return home. It had been nearly a half hour of her pressed up against him and it was affecting her-
She just needed to keep distracting herself. Keep her mind off of it.
He surprisingly was wearing the jeans and the leather coat his image inducer displayed. She had been able to feel that as they flew through the air. She guessed, there was only so much the cologne could do against Logan's senses, better to have as many pieces fit into place as possible. Not that the cologne was an issue anymore, their flight had deprived him of the overwhelming scent. Now he smelled like himself- which was musky and not at all unpleasant.
This wasn't working and she was pretty sure he knew that she was flustered, as she was taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. But she had never been held by someone for this long.
"Rogue?" he asked. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered breathlessly.
"You don't sound fine," he pointed out.
"Yeah- yeah, I know," she said.
"Is this the same issue we're not to speak about?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," she answered.
"Were we speaking of it, I might feel compelled to ask if it's the image inducer, perhaps?" he asked.
"Well, since we ain't talking about this, I guess I don't have ta tell ya, that yeah, maybe, a little. But also you smell good," she said.
"Even with the cologne?" he asked incredulously.
"That kinda went away since we've been in the air," she told him. She felt her heart skip a beat as he chuckled in response.
"Did it really?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," she muttered against his shoulder.
"I'll have to apply more before returning you to Charles," he commented before she felt his head tilt slightly and his breath on her ear. "Good girl, bringing that to my attention," he uttered in her ear.
She felt her face flush even further as she clung to him. Her heart was racing beyond belief and her breaths were coming fast. She gasped as she felt him tighten his grip on her waist. She realized a moment later, he had only done so since he was lowering them.
Once her feet were firmly on the ground, she let go of him, walking a few feet away. She was glad she was wearing boots, given the ground was covered in snow. And with the absence of his heat, she was starting to cool down a little.
"Sorry," she said.
"It's alright," he said as she heard him walking towards her. "But I would like you to look at me," he said and she knew he was directly behind her again. She took a deep breath before she turned around and glanced up at him. "So, we both know you find me attractive at this age," as he reached up and she watched the image inducer fizzle for a moment as removed his helmet. "But how about now?" he asked as the inducer turned off completely. His clothes remained the same. Though his hair was white, his face clean shaven and his age restored to his late forties.
She took a deep breath, wanting nothing more than to tell him it was his younger age that was affecting her- but- they had promised not to lie to one another.
"I mean, you're still really handsome, sir," she said. He let out a sigh at that.
"I think, perhaps, you might consider putting a greater effort into finding a boyfriend your own age, hmm?" he asked.
"Scott's pretty much taken," she groaned. "And all of the other boys at the institute are just a bunch of kids. It's not like I can even look anywhere else. No human stands a chance of holding my hand for more than a second, never-the-less kiss me," she said. He raised an eyebrow.
"Is that part of it, perhaps?" he asked.
"Part of what?" she asked.
"The fact that you know I can endure your touch?" he asked.
"Oh," she said, feeling her face flush again. "Hmm, yeah, probably," she answered with a shrug.
"I see," he said.
"I've been trying to just ignore it," she said.
"I know you have," he said, raking a hand through his hair.
"And I know nothings gonna happen 'cause of my age," she said.
"It's one of the reasons, of course, but not the most concerning," he said.
"What?" she asked.
"Rogue, you understand that you're a liability to me, yes?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said.
"Do you also understand, that while we have come to this agreement, it would be in my best interest to sway you away from the X-Men, to better contain the threat you pose?" he asked her. She felt her eyes widen as she took a step back from him. "And given the fact that we seem to like one another," he said as he matched her steps, staying in front of her, "the advantage that your attraction grants me in any attempt to bring you to my side has been plaguing my mind," he said.
"What?" she asked again. "Sir, can we go back to not talking about this?" she asked. He held her gaze for a long moment. "Please?" she asked before he sighed, followed by a reluctant nod.
"My base is only a short walk from here," he said, turning away from here. "And I'll have a set of spheres for the journey back," he said as he began to walk.
"Okay," she said uneasily before she followed after him.
They walked over snow-covered terrain for several minutes in silence. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to walk next to him, so instead she trailed behind him. They walked until she saw a large metal dome, hidden within the mountain's terrain. Funny to think there was a ski resort only a few miles away.
"I apologize for upsetting you," he said.
"Hmm, it's okay, I just- I don't get where all that came from," she said.
"I'm not Charles," he said, seemingly out of nowhere. "I will not be beset with passivity as it dawns on humanity that they are a dying breed," he said as she watched his hands ball at his sides. "The inevitable laws they'll attempt to pass, the measures they will enact to keep us from usurping them as masters of this planet," he said. "However," he said as he turned back to look at her. "If the only obstacle in my path is you, dear girl, with your knowledge of my past and your proficiency with my abilities. What action am I supposed to take? Other than to ensure you stand by my side and not unwittingly aid my enemies?" he asked.
She took a deep breath as she tried to figure out what to say. He let out a huff before he resumed walking. She continued to follow him, as they drew closer to his base, trying to find the right words.
"I'm not a threat to you," she said a few moments later.
"You are, in fact," he said.
"I don't wanna be," she said.
"I know that," he said.
"I won't be," she said.
"We'll see," he said as he stretched his hand out and a circular entrance materialized on the dome.
"Magneto, don't you trust me by now?" she asked.
"I do, actually," he said.
"So, what's the problem?" she asked.
"Rogue, I'm not worried about what you'll do. You've proven your trustworthiness. I know this. It's Charles I'm worried about," he said. "There is a reason I began to wear this helmet and it started long before he and I formed our teams. He preaches to his flock and dictates the morals they must adhere to. But I know him, Rogue. Hypocrisy is not beneath him. It never has been," he said.
"That's why you asked about my mental defenses," she said.
"Yes," he said.
"'Cause you think he'll look in my mind without telling me," she finished.
"If he hasn't already," he said.
"No way," Rogue said, shaking her head. "Why would he let me go with you if he knew?" she asked.
"Perhaps, to give you more time to absorb further information," he suggested.
"Because I know you're planning to reveal mutants to the world. But not when or where. That's what you're getting at, right?" she asked.
"It is," he said.
Would the Professor really not say anything and use her as a spy? If he was willing to do that then, he'd already written her off as a traitor.
"No way, he would do that," she denied, staring up at him with wide eyes.
"You said it yourself, his recruitment attempt was heavy-handed. Perhaps, he was overcompensating, to set my mind at ease," he said.
"Then it backfired," she said.
"Obviously," he said.
"How can I disprove that?" she asked.
"You can't," he said.
"Then what am I supposed to do?" she asked.
"The only thing we can do. Prepare you to defend yourself against his abilities," he said.
"But," she protested.
"Rogue, I can't let you return otherwise," he told her. "I'm sorry, but I simply can't," he said.
"Okay," she said before she started waking again, this time she went to his side, waking beside him.
"We're going to start with the basics," he told her as they entered his base. "Given enough practice you will eventually be able to detect when a telepath is attempting to enter your mind or read your thoughts. We'll start there," he told her as he closed the entrance behind them.
"Hmm, sir, I can already do that," she said.
"When was the last time you exercised this skill?" he asked.
"The day you met me at the mall," she answered. "I asked Jean to read my mind, she did, and then I nudged her to leave and she did," she explained.
"You made that request verbally?" he asked.
"Ahh, no," she said.
"So, you had access to telepathy at that time?" he asked.
"No," she said.
"Then how did Jean know you wanted her to read your thoughts?" he asked.
"You know that thing that telepaths have when they can tell if someone's trying to communicate with them telepathically?" she asked.
"I do. Go on," he said.
"Well, I directed my thoughts at Jean. She heard it and entered my mind," she said as they walked through his base.
"Which you were able to feel?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said.
"Then you relayed whatever message you wished for her to hear," he said.
"Ah-huh," she said. "And she answered me and then I wanted her to stop reading my mind," she said.
"Which is when you nudged her?" he asked.
"Ah-huh," she said.
"Then she exited your mind, which you also felt," he finished.
"Yes," she said.
"Interesting," he said as he made another doorway and they entered what looked like a study. "Perhaps, this won't be as difficult as I anticipated," he said.
"So, where do we start?" she asked.
"We'll eat first and then we'll get to work," he said.
"Yes, sir," she said.