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Chapter One of
A Simple Favor:
On December 24th 2001, Rogue shrugged off the coat Scott had graciously allowed her to borrow on the walk from the subway back to their hotel rooms.
"Thanks," she said with a slight smile as she handed his coat back to him. She felt a brief static shock from the metal buttons that lined the coat which caused her to jump slightly. 'Damn magnetism,' she thought as she fought Magneto's powers back under control.
Her eyes closed briefly as she felt every single piece of metal in the building from the kitchens in the basement to the top of the penthouse in the twentieth room. For a moment, it was almost as if she could see a map of their location all coded in metal. It was all too much. She focused his powers on the metal in her own steel-toed boots. And once she established her mental focus she cleared her mind and switched his senses off again, thankful she had that option.
She felt a slight pain in her temple she fought to ignore. She hadn't had access to powers like this, since Storm. No, Ororo couldn't sense the world around her through the weather. This was something else and honestly too much for her to handle. But, silver lining, they would fade soon enough. She just had to wait it out.
"No problem," he said uneasily as he took it. She saw concern on his face and swiftly shook her head, telling him she was fine. "So, meet you at the breakfast buffet?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah," she smiled. "Nothing like cold waffles and scrambled eggs at seven in the morning," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Hey, we'll have lunch back at the institute," he offered.
"Yeah, I know," she said as she fished in her back pocket for her room's keycard. "See ya in the morning," she said.
"Yeah," he said with a smile before he turned to walk to his own room further down the hall. She inserted the key into its slot and grimaced as the card reader flashed red.
"What?" she asked, confused as she pulled out the card. 'Damn magnesium,' she exclaimed again as she realized why the card wasn't working. 'Great, now what?' she asked herself as she considered her options.
She rolled her eyes at herself, not liking either solution she had thought of. She was too embarrassed to have to go and get Scott and what could she tell the front desk? Yeah, sorry, my borrowed mutant powers demagnetized the card?
Neither option really worked.
Frustrated, she banged her gloved fist against the door. Rogue's eyes blinked twice as the card reader flashed green and the door popped open.
Wait, had she done that? With Magneto's powers? She shook her head as she decided it didn't matter.
'Oh, thank god,' she thought, relieved as she quickly opened the door and entered the dark room. Her eyes adjusted to the dark as she turned to close the door behind her. She reached towards the wall searching for the light switch.
"Allow me," a male voice said before the lights turned on.
Recognizing the voice, Rogue turned around, wide eyed, to face its source. There, sitting leisurely by the window, sat none other than Magneto, the master of magnesium, himself. He wasn't in his uniform, as he had been when they had fought earlier that night. No, he was now wearing normal clothes: a red sweater, simple black pants, and boots.
"Good evening, Rogue," he said calmly from his seat. "I took the liberty of making us some tea," he said as he gestured towards the table in front of him where two foam cups were present. She could see steam rising from them both as she instinctively moved back, her back hitting against the door.
"Well, at least what I could muster from the room's meager accommodations," he added with a slight smile as her hand reached behind her to grip the doorknob. Her eyes widened as she realized the doorknob wasn't moving an inch, despite her attempt to turn it.
"Hmm," she mumbled, at a loss for words.
"Come and sit," he ordered as he gestured towards the second chair across from Magneto's current location.
But she didn't move, she stayed precisely where she was, not sure what she should do. Should she try his powers again? Maybe scream for Scott? Or dive out the window and flee? Her mind was running a mile a minute as she tried to figure out what to do. And as she did, inactive was her course of action.
"You're frightened. That's understandable," he said with a nod. His gaze took to an amused expression as he sat and studied her. "I can practically see the gears of your mind turning. Allow me to ask you something, Rogue, did I make Mr. Worthington tea?" he asked.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"I lured the Angel to that church with the clear intention of abducting him, did I not?" he asked. She hesitantly nodded in response. "And though you and Mr. Summers foiled that attempt, did I bother with niceties?" he asked.
"I mean, no, I guess not," she answered.
"Then if I was here to kidnap you, I simply would have done so by now, wouldn't I?" he asked.
Rogue blinked a few times as she took in his argument, not liking that it made a sort of sense. Though, there was one point he hadn't remarked on.
"Or you're stalling," she said.
"And what would I be waiting for, my dear?" he asked curiously.
"For your powers to fade," she said. She watched his face light up with interest.
"You still have access to those?" he asked in disbelief as she watched him stretch out his hand. "It's been nearly three hours. That's rather impressive, Rogue," he said as metal seemed to appear from nowhere, a small stripe of metal formed on the table in front of him. "Come and show me, girl," he ordered as the second chair pushed itself out from the table.
She took a deep breath, not liking how unthreatened he was by the idea of her having his powers. She had held her own during the fight, hadn't she? He was the one who had fled, not her.
His eyes caught here again as he gestured towards the metal stripe with his head.
With another deep breath, she unlatched her hand from the doorknob and brought it before her. With a wave of her hand, she lifted the metal into the air and before she could tell herself not to, she launched it directly at his smug face.
With a chuckle, Magneto raised his hand and caught the metal harmlessly before it inflicted any damage. "Well done," he laughed. "Now, would you please join me? The tea's getting cold," he pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess," she said. And with a sigh, she forced herself to move away from the unusable exit and towards the table.
"Thank you," he said as she unceremoniously dropped herself into the seat across from him, her arms crossing over her chest.
"Why are you here?" she asked as he reached forward and lifted his foam cup to his lips. She watched him take a sip before his face contorted with displeasure.
"We need to talk," he said as he returned the cup to the table. "About what you're not going to tell Charles," he said.
"And what ain't I gonna tell Prof about?" she asked.
"This conversation, for starters. As well as anything you've learned about me through the use of your powers," he said.
"I didn't learn anything," she said.
"Yet, perhaps, but it's only a matter of time before some of my thoughts cross your mind," he said.
"I don't- I don't have ta look," she said.
"I've gathered that much. However, my understanding is, some memories find there way into your dreams with or without your consent. That's how Charles became aware Mystique is Kurt's Mother, correct?" he asked.
"Well, yeah, but," she said.
"I can't have that," he said bluntly. "My secrets must remain my own."
"Okay, but- I think I saw that memory because it was traumatic for Mystique," she pointed out.
"I can assure you have many memories of a similar nature. It's simply a matter of time before you gain this knowledge," he said.
What was she supposed to say to that?
"Hmm, okay, so what are we gonna do about that?" she asked. And why was this her problem?
"That's what we're here to discuss," he said. "They're your abilities, my girl. What would you suggest?" he asked.
"I don't- I don't know-" she exclaimed.
"Rogue, take a breath," he ordered. "Again, if I wanted a quick solution, I would have already taken it. Yes?" he asked before she nodded again. "Then we're here to discuss alternatives. Breathe and tell me your thoughts on the matter," he said.
"I-" she stumbled. She didn't know. "I- well, what've you done before?" she asked.
"Before?" he asked.
"I mean- have you ever, I don't know- been in this-"
"In this situation before?" he finished her question. "If you're asking me if I've ever had a teenage-girl gain access to my innermost thoughts and memories, thus becoming a liability to my entire life's work and mission to protect mutant-kind. While, said threat, is herself a young mutant whom I would rather protect than threaten. Then, no, you'll find this is new territory for me as well, my dear," he said.
"Oh," she said quietly. "Wait, you've threatened me before," she said as she sat up straighter.
"On Asteroid M?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said.
"As did Mr. Summer and his younger brother, if you recall," he pointed out. "Would you consider that to be Mr. Summer's usual nature?" he asked.
"No way," she said.
"Nor is it typically in mine to hurt young mutants. The enhancer was a temporary experiment gone awry. The effects of which have thankfully passed," he said.
"Okay," she said uneasily as she sat back again. "So, what are we gonna do?" she asked. He sat back in his seat, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture.
"I don't usually lose sleep over difficult decisions. I've made many in my life and I've certain there are countless to follow. Though, I found myself wishing to discuss this one first. And there's simply no one else but you to discuss it with. To put it bluntly, my girl, I'm open to suggestions," he said.
She huffed in response and he let out a short chuckle. She felt a slight sense of deja vu at his statement and wondered if he had dealt with something similar before, despite his comment to the contrary.
"I don't know what to say to that," she said. "You're here to threaten me?" she asked in disbelief.
"I'd rather not," he said.
"But if you have to, you ain't gonna lose sleep over it, right?" she asked. His head tilted slightly in response, but he wasn't disputing her calm. "What am I supposed to say to that? I don't want you threatening me," she exclaimed.
"This was not my first choice in tonight's activities, I assure you," he said. She just stared at him as a sense of deja vu grew in her mind.
She broke eye contact with him and closed her eyes for a brief moment. Though she instantly regretted it, as an image flashed in her mind. She saw a man in his mid-forties, in a jail cell. He had a noose hanging around his broken neck. He was certainly dead. Very very dead.
Had- had he killed someone? Is that what she was seeing?
'I- I can't,' a male voice called out in her mind. 'I don't have the courage.'
'But you have all night, Herr Doktor, and a rope that's more than strong enough for the task. Use the roof-beam though. The pipes won't take your weight,' another male voice said, she recognized it as Magneto's, but younger. His voice was so harsh. There was no remorse or sympathy for the man as he ordered him to kill himself.
She blinked, shaking her head, as she tried to get the image out of her mind and Magneto's voice out of her head. But she couldn't. The copse's bloodshot eyes seemed to stare into hers, the image burned deep inside her mind.
"Rogue," Magneto said. She blinked a few more times before she could focus back on him. Her breaths were shallow and her heart would not slow down. All the while, Magneto's inquisitive gaze stared intently at her. She realized he hadn't broken eye contact. "What did you see?" he asked.
"I didn't, I didn't see anything," she answered panicked, her voice shaking.
"Rogue, please don't lie to me," he ordered gently. "I won't do you that disservice. I'll ask you to pay me the same respect," he said. He didn't sound angry, more disappointed. Somehow that was more terrifying.
"I'm- I'm sorry," she said.
"You're frightened. Nearly out of your mind, from the looks of it," he pointed out. He let out a sigh as he raked a hand through his hair. "I believe you're starting to understand the necessity of this conversation, yes?" he asked. She nodded quickly in response. "Good. Now, take a breath, drink some tea, and compose yourself," he commanded.
She nodded as she reached out toward the cups. Her mind flashed to the rope, realizing he must have given the man the means of his own death. She reached even further, bypassing the cup he had laid out for her, in favor of the one he had already drank from. She quickly pulled it back, cupping it with both of her hands. Her eyes darted to his as he let out a soft chuckle. He was looking away from her, out the window.
"I can't fault you for that," he said before he met her gaze. "You're going to be a good girl and
tell me what you saw, hmm?" he asked. Rogue felt her stomach do a summersault at his statement.
"Yea- yeah," she staggered before she let out a frustrated grunt, not at him, but at herself. She needed to get a grip. Freaking out wasn't helping anything and she-
She forced herself to take a deep breath and then a small sip of tea. Followed by another deep breath and another sip of his tea. The drink was Earl Grey and it wasn't nearly as bad as his reaction had indicated. Maybe she was just more tolerant of mediocre tea? She shook her head. It literally did not matter. She continued her pattern for several minutes until she felt- not at-ease, but- composed, yes, composed was the right word.
"Okay," she said as she placed the empty cup back on the table between them.
"Better?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," she nodded, the formal title slipping out.
He raised an eyebrow before he said, "good. Now, tell me."
"There was a jail cell, rope and-"
"A dead Nazi," he finished.
"Nazi?" she asked.
"Doctor August Hirt. He ordered the deaths of one hundred and fifteen individuals the Third-Reich deemed as inferior," he explained as her eyes widened. "He had intended for me to be among them, though he was not permitted to take me," he explained.
"Take you from where?" she asked. He held her gaze for a moment before he stretched his arm forward and rolled up his sleeve. There she saw a number etched onto his forearm- 214782.
"Do you know what this means?" he asked her.
She sucked in a breath as she felt a sharp pain in her own arm. She gripped it tightly as her eyes closed and another flash overtook her. She was sitting in a large dimly lit room, tortured screams emanating around her as she felt a piece of metal rip through her skin. 'Be still, boy,' the blonde man standing over her demanded.
She blinked, pulling herself out of his memory, as the pain in her mind subsided. Her eyes darted back to his.
"Lot of traumatic memories, huh?" she asked sadly.
"In abundance," he answered dryly.
"And that's why you killed Dr. Hirt 'cause he tried to kill you?"
"Indeed," he said.
"And we're having this conversation because you don't want to kill me?" she asked, a shiver running down her spine.
"Not in the slightest," he said firmly.
"Okay," she said with a nod.
"We need an alternative," he said.
"Right," she said. Oddly enough, she felt her fear of him subsiding slightly. His clear affirmation of his lack of desire to hurt her- was- well, she believed him.
"In less than a day, you're more than capable of implicating me in murder. Precisely, what I was afraid of," he said.
"I mean- I just saw his body. You didn't have ta tell me his name," she pointed out.
"Perhaps," he said his eyebrow raised once more. "But Charles most certainly would have delved into your mind to search for such details. As he did with Mystique's memory," he reminded her.
"Oh, right," she said. "Okay," she said. "Hmm," she said as she tapped her foot against the floor. "I promise I won't say anything," she said.
"Because you're terrified of me and what I'll be forced to do to you should you speak up," he said.
"Not really," she shrugged. "I think," she added.
"My dear, I'm finding it rather difficult to follow your train of thought," he commented. She blinked again, not sure how to respond.
"Hmm," she said, stalling herself this time. Suddenly a thought came to her. "Okay, okay," she said with a smile. "What if, I ain't telling Prof about any of this, not out of fear but because I'm doing you a favor?" she asked.
"A favor?" he repeated back.
"Yeah, you came here tonight and asked me not to tell Prof anything. And I've agreed to your request to do you a favor and someday you'll return it? Would you be okay with owing me one?" she asked.
"Would I be alright with the concept of owing you a favor?" he asked as a smile came to his face. "Yes, absolutely," he laughed before he raked his hand through his hair. "A simple favor?" he asked as he let out another laugh. "What an elegant solution," he commented. "If I recall, Mystique hit a bit of a wall when it came to helping you gain control over your powers. Has Charles faired any better?" he asked.
"Not really," she shrugged.
"Then perhaps one day, upon your explicit request, I'll try my hand at the task and see where that leads us," he suggested.
"Seriously?" she asked.
"Yes," he confirmed.
"Okay," she smiled.
"Alright," he said before he held his hand out to her.
"But, okay- but what if I gain control over them?" she asked.
"Then you'll have to ask me for something else, won't you?"
"And I get to decide what that is?" she asked.
"I dictated the particulars of my favor. It's only fair if you are allowed to do the same," he answered.
"Okay," she said before she took his hand.
"Then we have an understanding," he said as he gave her a firm handshake. "Thank heaven," he said relieved as he pulled his hand back. "Oh, you'll require a way to contact me," he said as a phone number popped into her mind.
"Like you're cell phone?" she asked.
"You know the number?" he asked.
"Yup, pretty sure, I do," she said.
"Wonderful," he said as he stood and she stood as well. "Well, this conversation did not go as expected. I'm pleasantly surprised to say as such," he commented. "Thank you, Rogue," he said earnestly.
"You're welcome, Magneto," she said. He held her gaze for another moment before heading to the door.
"Don't hesitate to contact me," he said as he opened it.
"I won't," she said. He gave one last smile before he slipped out of the door. She stood waiting for the door to close. After a long moment it finally did and let out a breath of relief. 'He left really quickly, right?' she asked herself. 'I believed him, so maybe he just believed me too,' she rationalized. 'Unless he's just waiting outside. No, he can't just stand outside my room all night. No, no, he decided to trust me. That's all,' she thought. "Right?" she muttered to herself. She marched up to her door and opened it. She quickly glanced both ways and saw no sign of him. She shook her head at herself as she closed the door.
Sleep. She needed sleep and she needed it now.
She walked over to the foot of the bed where her duffel bag was. After unzipping it, she bent over and reached in. As she pulled out her pajamas, a thought occurred to her. A way to calm her paranoia. She closed her eyes as she allowed his metal senses to reactivate. She scanned the room with his powers, she could feel the metal in her steel-toed boots, the zipper on her bag and her jean, and the zipper and buttons on the pants of the person standing five feet from the left to the door inside her room.
Internally, she let out a scream in her mind.
'Don't look, don't look, don't look,' she told herself as she calmly as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. 'He can turn invisible?' she asked herself in disbelief as she sat on the edge of the bathroom sink. 'Okay, okay, breath,' she told herself. 'You knew he left too soon. You knew it. Trust is gonna take time. You just gotta show him that ya ain't gonna call Prof the second he left the room. That's all,' she thought. 'He'll see I intend to keep my end of the favor and… he'll go away… eventually,' she thought. 'God, I hope so,' she thought.