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Chapter 16 of
A Simple Favor:
On May 6th, 2002, Rogue walked with the others toward the Professor's office. Kitty had been the one to inform her that they had been summoned for a team meeting. She had said the Professor had told her telepathically. Rogue was attempting to hold back her anger. It wasn't ten minutes ago she had felt another attempt. Had the Professor tried to include her in his announcement? If so, then the construct in her mind was definitely holding up. It was alarming how many attempts had been made and she had felt every one of them. She was trying to ignore them at this point. He couldn't get past the maze, so it didn't matter.
At least that's what she told herself as she walked with Kitty, Scott, and Jean toward the Professor's office. Kurt was missing, which was concerning. And Evan. Evan was just gone. He had just left to go live with the Morlocks. She wasn't sure how she felt about it. Evan wasn't her favorite person, but he was still a part of the team, and- the way the Professor had looked at her once it was apparent he wasn't coming back. Almost as if he was expecting her to go next.
She shook her head as they entered the Professor's study. The Professor sat with Kurt and Mr. McCoy by the fireplace, while Logan leaned against the brickwork. Storm had taken an absence to go visit her sister and well, attempt to explain.
"Everyone, please have a seat," the Professor said and his order was promptly followed. Rogue sat on the couch between Jean and Kitty and Scott took the recliner. "There has been a rather disturbing development regarding Wanda Maximoff," he said. "And Magneto," he added, while his gaze lingered on her. "Kurt," he said, turning away from her and looking at him. "Please explain what happened today," he said.
"Toad stole my image inducer. He said he would give it back if I helped him rescue Wanda from Magneto," Kurt explained.
"He kidnapped his own daughter?" Jean asked in disbelief.
"Magneto did far worse than that, I'm afraid," the Professor said gravely. "With the assistance of his newest recruit, Mastermind," he explained.
The name sounded familiar but only in a vague sort of way.
'Max knows him. I probably got memories of him up here,' she thought before she refocused on the Professor, allowing that feeling to pass. The last thing she needed was to have a flashback in front of the Professor. If she required context beyond this meeting, she'd seek it out later once she was alone.
"Mastermind is a telepath who specializes in illusions," he continued to explain.
'How would an illusionist help Magneto deal with-' she asked herself. "Like he creates illusions that everyone can see or he can override a person's memories with 'em?" she asked.
"The latter," the Professor answered.
"She doesn't remember being angry with him?" Jean asked.
"No, quite the opposite. As far as Wanda is concerned, she had a rather pleasant childhood with a loving father," he said, with mild disgust. As if on cue, a series of gasps left her teammates.
'At least she ain't dead,' was the thought that crossed her mind.
"Oh my god," Kitty exclaimed.
"Professor, what are we going to do?" Scott asked.
"Can you reverse it?" Jean asked.
"It will take time, but yes," the Professor said.
"But you ain't gonna, right?" Rogue asked before she could stop herself. She watched the Professor share a glance with Mr. McCoy and Logan before he turned back to her.
"I was planning to," he said, fixing her with a curious look.
"Okay," Rogue said uneasily as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Can I have an opinion without you getting weird about it?" she asked before Logan growled under his breath. The Professor's eyes darted toward Logan, acknowledging his reaction before holding her gaze again.
"Yes, of course, you can," the Professor replied easily. "You don't seem as appalled as the others which is rather… interesting," he said.
"Okay, first off, can we not pretend you haven't used the same tactic before?" she asked as she watched his eyes widen with surprise. "Ya ain't exactly going outta your way to fix the memories you altered the night the gym blew up," she said.
"Hey," Scott exclaimed.
"It's late," the Professor interrupted. "And you all have school tomorrow. Please head up to bed," he said. The four of them looked at each other confused at the sudden dismissal.
"Alright," Logan said as he took a step forward. "You all heard him. Get moving," he ordered as Scott, Kitty, Kurt, and Jean all stood up. Rogue stayed where she was, fully aware of why the Professor was sending the others to bed. Kitty and Kurt shared a concerned glance before Kitty looked over at her.
"Rogue, are you coming?" Kitty asked as the others walked towards the exit.
"No, she isn't," the Professor answered as Scott got to the door. "Good night," he said, dismissing the others a final time.
"What's going on?" Kurt whispered as Scott opened the door.
"I don't know," Kitty replied in a hushed voice.
"Come on," Scott said as he ushered Kitty out of the room.
"Do you know what's going on?" Kurt whispered in the doorway to Jean, who was just behind him. Scott placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder and gave him a gentle push out of the room. Jean hurried out as well before Scott quickly closed the door behind him. And though she could no longer hear it, she imagined the whispering would continue until the four of them parted ways for the night.
She turned her gaze back to her three instructors. With fewer people in the room, Mr. McCoy took the recliner Scott had used and Logan sat next to her on the couch.
"Rogue," the Professor said, focusing on her, as he moved a few inches closer. "Why do you consider my actions last September to prevent Mutant-kind's emergence on par with Magneto's efforts to resolve a personal matter in his immediate family?" he asked.
Warning bells went off in her head at how he worded his question, though she didn't let it show.
"When Pietro first joined the brotherhood, he and I got to talking. I asked him about Magneto," she said, which was true. She had.
"Of course, you did," the Professor said with an unkind smile. Rogue felt her eyes narrow at that. "And now that you've established how you gained this information, outside of the use of your powers last December, please do continue," he said.
'Yeah, okay,' she thought as she took a breath. 'Just let it go, girl,' she told herself before she felt someone attempt to enter her mind. She stared at the Professor as- 'Seriously?' she asked as they promptly exited. 'Ya know, what? If he thinks I'm just gonna sit here and take this, he's got another thing coming,' she thought strongly. "Pietro and I talked on November twenty-third, two thousand after he moved into the Brotherhood house. If ya don't believe me, you could always read his mind without permission," she said pointedly.
The Professor raised an eyebrow, before he said, "Perhaps, I will. And what did you two discuss?"
"I asked Pietro if he had any siblings. He told me he had a twin sister, who was hospitalized. I asked who made that call. He said his father, Magneto. I asked why. He said 'cause she was too dangerous. I asked what made her so dangerous. He said it was 'cause she couldn't control her powers. I asked if Magneto made a habit of locking up mutants who couldn't control their powers," she said pointedly as she watched the Professor's eye widen before a look of regret crossed his features.
"Rogue-" he said.
"He said, no," she continued undeterred, her tone dry. "Just his sister, 'cause she almost killed him," she said strongly.
"She did?" Mr. McCoy asked.
"More than once," Rogue answered. "Pietro said it was one of the hardest decisions his father ever had to make but as long as I didn't try to kill him, I'd be fine," she said before she looked away from them all. "And then I-" she said as a grin came to her face as she recalled the last part. "And then I told him and his fancy hair, well we'll have ta see how long you take in the bathroom in the mornings before I make any promises I might not be too keen on keeping," she finished.
Mr. McCoy laughed softly and Logan let out an amused grunt
"You need a minute to corroborate my story?" Rogue asked.
"No, that's-" the Professor said as Logan glared at him. "Yes, alright, Logan," he said. "I apologize for my assumption," he said to her.
"Look, I- you ain't wrong either," she said.
"He's not?" Logan asked as the Professor leaned forward slightly toward her.
"I mean, I was overcompensating," she clarified, which was true. "But can ya blame me?" she asked.
"Yes, well-," he said as he leaned back in his chair.
"Chuck, she was a member of the Brotherhood for months. 'Course she knows more about 'em than the others," he said as she felt a twinge of guilt at his defense. She knew there wasn't really anything she could do about it, other than shut down the conversation and she wasn't ready to do that yet.
"Very well," the Professor acquiesced as she glanced up at Logan. He gave her a half-smile before nodding toward the Professor. "Regardless of the source of your knowledge, I would like to hear your opinion on Magneto."
"So," Rogue sighed as she shifted her gaze back to the Professor. "The impression I got is that Magneto ain't the type to have personal matters. He has his life's mission and everything he does is in service of that goal. The same way you've dedicated your life to achieving peaceful Human-Mutant coexistence," she said.
"Yes, I suppose that's true," he said thoughtfully.
"But also, like, there's gotta be a part of you that agreed with his decision to hospitalize her," she said. A look of surprise crossed his face.
"Why would you believe that?" Mr. McCoy asked.
"Yeah, Magneto put her there. But Prof, you're the one who kept visiting her for your sessions. And every time you made the same choice: to leave her there," she said. Rogue watched Logan and Mr. McCoy share an uncomfortable glance as the Professor let out a sigh.
"Look, as much as I would have liked to, Wanda was too unpredictable to bring to the institute," he said.
"'Cause she was a danger to herself and others?" she asked.
"Yes, precisely," he answered.
"Then Mystique took all that anger and rage and pointed her, like a loaded gun, at Magneto. She tried to kill him, Prof. What was he supposed to do? Die?" she asked incredulously.
Logan grunted, a smirk on his face, Mr. McCoy let out a halfhearted chuckle and The Professor let out a reluctant laugh.
"No," he said. "No, that wouldn't do at all," he said amused. "And if I were to restore Wanda's memories, how do you suppose Magneto would react?" he asked.
"Not well," she huffed. "Considering you left Wanda in the hospital all those years, Magneto would probably assume you were taking a page outta Mystique's playbook by trying to turn her into a weapon against him," she said.
"I hadn't considered that," he admitted.
"Besides, with her powers under control, Wanda's probably the most stable she's been since she was a kid. She has options now. She could go to school. Maybe even college afterward if she applies herself. She's got a chance at a normal life now. If you really wanna help her, you should get her enrolled at Bayville," Rogue suggested.
"How could he do that?" Mr. McCoy asked.
"From the preliminary scan, I completed of Wanda's mind, she does, in fact, remember me. Mastermind only changed the subject matter of our sessions. I was her tutor, rather than her psychologist," he said.
"So it wouldn't be difficult? You could get her enrolled?" Rogue asked.
"Most likely not. However, I need to consider this thoroughly. While I understand the points you've made, I honestly believe going along with this charade would be tantamount to condoning Magneto's actions."
"Prof, it ain't Wanda's responsibility to bring Magneto down. She's just a teenager. She didn't ask for any of this. Maybe you should ask yourself why you wanna reverse it? Is it to help Wanda or despite Magneto?" she asked as the Professor's eyes widened.
"Now that isn't fair," he objected.
"Chuck, who cares about fair? If it ain't gonna help the kid," Logan said.
"Then I should refrain," the Professor finished.
"So, you'll help her?" she asked hopefully.
"Hank, what do you think?" the Professor asked.
"As monstrous as Magneto's measures were, I would argue that Rogue's proposal is the path that would induce the least amount of additional harm to Wanda. The question is what is the X-Men's priority: assisting a fellow mutant or defeating our foe?" he asked.
"And given Rogue's argument, the two are now explicitly linked," he said thoughtfully. "Logan?" he asked.
"I'm with Rogue on this one, Wanda's already been exploded by Mystique. We can deal with Magneto without hurting some kid along the way," Logan said.
"Then it's decided," the Professor said. "I'll call the school in the morning and see what can be done," he added.
"Thank you," Rogue said.
"You're welcome," he said. "And Rogue, for the record, the maze is unbeatable. Whatever secrets your mind holds shall remain your own," he said.
"Does that mean you'll stop trying?" she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I already have, over a month ago," he answered as she felt her eyes narrow.
"Ya know, I can feel it, when a telepath enters my mind, right?" she asked with narrowed eyes. "So, could ya maybe not lie right to my face," she said annoyed.
"Rogue, I assure you, I haven't," he said strongly.
"Then who's been trying to get in my head?" she asked.
"I don't know," he said perplexed.
"Chuck," Logan said.
"Logan, I gave you my word the last time we spoke of this. And I have abided by that. This is someone else's doing," he insisted.
"Who?" Rogue asked.
"I don't know. Which is what concerns me," he said gravely. "When was the last attempt?" he asked.
"I felt two today. The first was about the time you were telling Kitty about this meeting, and the second was when you called me out," she said.
"Chuck," Logan growled under his breath.
"A coincidence, I assure you," he said.
"How's she supposed to believe that?" Logan groaned.
"I would have to agree with Logan, given the numerous affirmations of your suspicions regarding Max Eisenhardt, most of which are also based on coincidence and happenstance," Mr. McCoy said.
"Yes, I understand how this looks and I don't have an answer to that," he said. "At the moment," he added.
"Whatever," she sighed as she stood. "I'm going to bed," she said as she headed toward the door.
"Rogue," the Professor called out as she got to the door.
"Thanks for listening to me about Wanda," she said before leaving and closing the door behind her.