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Chapter 12 of
A Simple Favor:
On March 15th 2002 around 4pm, Magneto sat, at his desk within his base, reviewing the documents Ivan and Georg had created for him, and found himself rather impressed. The documents were extensive, exceedingly so. Ivan had also left very detailed instructions about where he needed to deposit the duplicates. He scanned over the list and stopped as he got to Rogue's previous high school, the note simply read 'wherever you took them from.' And he found himself chuckling as he heard his cell phone ring. He summoned the device to his hand, saw the Institute's number, and flipped the phone open to answer it.
"Bonsoir," he said.
"Hey, Max," Rogue said, he could hear the smile in her voice.
"How are you today, dear?" he asked.
"I'm okay," she said. "I have some good news," she said.
"Oh?" he asked.
"Raven took the hint. She hasn't replaced her gun," she told him.
"One less problem for us to contend with," he said relieved. "I have an inquiry of my own, but given our agreement, I'll refrain from asking."
"Yeah, so, I'm pretty sure the answer to your question depends on your next answer to mine," she said.
"Which is?"
"How'd it go in Siebria on Monday?" she asked. He paused a moment- confused about how she knew- Well, she could have guessed about his next course of action, certainly. But to know the date he ventured there was-
"Very well," he answered.
"Then everything's fine. 'Cause we both doubled down," she told him.
He considered that a moment. Charles said something to her, he must have and she- What had she done? No, he was right, he couldn't ask outright, that would involve collecting information from her about the X-Men- something he had promised never to do. It still would be better to know. Perhaps-
"Is that all you're willing to share?" he asked.
"Yes, sir, it is," she told him.
"Very well, then," he said. "Did you start the book?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, actually, I finished it," she said.
"That was rather quick. What did you think?" he asked.
"I see why you liked it and I did too but I feel bad for his fiancé. The man she wanted to marry got sent to prison. What was she supposed to do? Stop living? She didn't think she would ever see him again," she asked. "Also, what that judge did, was not okay. He knew Dantes was innocent but he wanted that promotion so badly that he-"
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," he quoted.
"Says the master of magnetism," she smirked.
"Fair point," he chuckled.
"I don't know," she said, with a slight laugh in her voice. "I just- I know it's not how the world actually works," she said her tone turning more serious, "but I think if you take a vow to uphold the law then you should be morally compelled to keep your word and do what you've promised," she said, her tone becoming slightly agitated.
"Unfortunately-"
"Yeah, I know," she said before she let out a huff. "It ain't the world we live in and expecting it to be would just be naive," she said as he found himself rather pleased with her outlook on the matter.
"What did you think of the Dantes himself?" he asked curiously.
"I kinda feel bad for him. He didn't do anything wrong when he was younger. He didn't deserve all those years of imprisonment, ya know? But he just couldn't see past it and once he was free and had the chance to live he was so obsessed with vengeance that it ruled his life. Everything he did was in service of his life's goal and he hated every second of it. That's just… sad," she said. "No one asked him to do any of it. No one was- He could have done anything else with his life- anything else at all- but,"
"He couldn't," Magneto finished.
"Nope," she said. "I just- I almost feel like if he had just strived for balance things would've been better," she said. Now, that was interesting.
"What do you mean by balance?" he asked.
"Well, he was obsessed with his life's goal and nothing else could get in the way of that, right?"
"Agreed," he said, thoughtfully.
"But before he was put on that path he had other aspirations. He wanted a family, children, friends, happiness, and once those things weren't being kept from him by force. I don't know, they'd been deprived from him for so long it's like they lost their value. Like, his life's mission was so paramount that the desires of his younger life seemed almost petty to his older self. Like- it was beneath him to value those things anymore- But I think that's just a response to all the trauma he endured, ya know?" she asked.
"A riveting analysis, dear," he commented.
"Yeah, of Edmond Dantes and definitely not anyone else I know," she said as he could hear the smirk in her voice. He pulled his head back and despite himself let out a long laugh in response.
"Well, as long as that's apparent," he chuckled a moment later. She immediately laughed in response. "Speaking of things better left unsaid," he said as she continued to laugh. "Perhaps we should talk about what didn't happen," he said.
"Ugh," she groaned as her laughter ceased. "Do we have to?" she asked.
"Afraid so, dear," he said.
"Why?" she moaned.
"In the interest of clear and open communication between us out of the mutual respect you and I share for one other," he explained.
"Okay, fine," she huffed.
"I was relieved, Anna-Marie, that you made the right decision," he said.
"Wait, didn't you- I thought- Didn't you want to?" she asked him.
"No," he said firmly.
"Then why to you?" she asked, her tone confused and hurt perhaps- but this needed to be said.
"The fact of the matter is, dear, your powers have limited the options you perceive for yourself. And through mine, you found hope of expanding them once again. I believe what's been affecting you so strongly is the anticipation of what might happen between us, rather than the temptation of engaging in the act itself. I put that to the test, by giving you the chance to act on your desires. And once faced with the reality of what you were starting, I'm glad to say you made the right decision," he said.
"Oh," she said, half disappointed- half relieved herself. "Hmm," she said, and he could tell she was considering what she had just told him. "You really didn't want to?" she asked, disappointment winning out.
"Rogue," he said with a sigh. "Given your age, there is only one acceptable answer to that question. Hence, there is only one answer I can give you," he said.
"For now," she said, a twinge of hope in her tone.
"I will repeat myself if need be," he said firmly.
"Yeah, okay, I get it," she said dryly.
"You have three favors at your disposal," he reminded her.
"Yeah, and being around you ain't gonna stop affecting me, and calling in that favor to do what? Keep borrowing your powers, keep touching you- it's," she said before sighing. "It's fine- I'll just- I'll wait," she said.
"Rogue," he said firmly.
"That ain't what I meant," she exclaimed quickly. "I just- I mean-," she said fluttering before she let out a sigh. "I'll be patient and try not to worry about any of that. There are plenty of people my age who are single, right? Maybe it's better. I can just focus on school and being an X-Men, ya know? Maybe, I don't need any more drama this year," she said.
"On that last point, we're certainly in agreement," he said.
"Okay," she said. "So, this'll probably be the last time I call you for a while," she said. Damn it, that wasn't his intention. He-
"Unless you're in trouble and you need my assistance," he said.
"Yeah, okay," she said, though, from her tone, he doubted she meant it.
"Rogue," he said.
"You don't have ta say anything else. The threat's contained so yeah, mission accomplished," she said dryly as he held back a sigh, he raked a hand through his hair. She was pulling back completely and he had no one to blame but himself. "It's fine, I get it," she said bluntly. He needed to correct this and correct it now.
"Anna-Marie, listen to me, I like you," he said strongly before he heard her suck in a breath. "It's been a very long time since I've enjoyed another company as much as I enjoy yours. Your intelligence, your wit, and your compassion, all of it I find endearing," he told her. "Can we remain friends? Please? Even with this hanging over us? Is that an option?" he asked.
"I-," she said as he listened to her take a deep breath. "I- hmm, I really liked the Count of Monte Cristo. Are there, hmm, any other books you could recommend?" she asked.
He allowed himself to let out a sigh of relief.
"Keeping with French novels, I was wondering if you've read Les Misérables?" he asked.
"Nope, can't say that I have," she said. "I've heard of the musical though," she added.
"They've adapted it multiple times, I believe," he said.
"Prof's probably got a copy I can borrow," she said.
"In French?" he asked.
"Not likely, she said.
"Then I'll send it to you," he said.
"Wait, really?" she asked pleasantly surprised.
"The English translation is still, by its nature, an adaptation. Given your fluency, I see no reason why you shouldn't enjoy the material as it was written," he said.
"Hmm, okay," she smiled and he could tell by her tone she was pleased.
"You'll call me once you've finished it?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said. "Hey, have you read Dracula?" she asked.
"Bram Stroker's novel?" he asked.
"Ah-huh," she confirmed.
"I haven't, actually," he answered.
"So, the cool thing about the novel is that it ain't written from one person's point of view. The book's made of journal entries, letters between characters, newspaper articles, ship's logs," she explained.
"Really?" he asked, intrigued by the concept.
"It's one of my favorite books 'cause it comes off like someone was investigating what was going on and had to find all the materials and then piece it all together," she said excitedly.
"I'll purchase a copy," he told her.
"Really?" she asked.
"Absolutely," he said.
"And you'll call me when you finish it?" she asked.
"I will," he promised.
"Okay," she smiled.
"Alright," he said. "I'm afraid I have to go," he said.
"Me too, I have a danger room session in like ten minutes," he told her.
"Take care, Anna-Marie," he said.
"You too, Max," she said.
"Till next time," he said before he heard her hang up the phone.