Please enjoy
Chapter 22 of
A Simple Favor:
June 2nd 2002, 10:23am, Magneto drove the rented Lexus through the streets of Bayville. He was currently in the middle lane of a three-lane highway that ran along the decent length of Bayville. Rogue was still in a trance-like state examining Mesmero's memories for intel. From what his senses could indicate, Wolverine's bike ran low on fuel. With this in mind, he turned on his right-hand blinker, indicating he was going in that direction at the next light and in his rearview mirror, he saw Wolverine switching lanes to get directly behind, doing the same.
After the turn, a few moments passed and they were at the end of the block, pulling into a gas station. Magneto intentionally chose the gas pump closest to the convenience store within the lot. As he exited the car, his positioning allowed him to keep his back turned from Wolverine, who pulled into a gas pump at the other end of the station. Though, that didn't keep him from hearing the bestial growls emanating from the man behind him.
"Checking in, we stopped for gas," Wolverine announced, much louder than was necessary as Magneto pulled his credit card out of his wallet and pushed it into the reader on the pump. "Nah, we're just diving around," he said as Magneto ferried the pump by hand into the gas nozzle; he opened the cap and inserted the nozzle. "No idea, Chuck. I don't know if there is one," he said, clearly answering a question as he waited for the tank to fill up. "Rogue seems alright," he said, followed by a very long pause.
Magneto might have assumed the call had ended, if he couldn't sense that Wolverine was holding the phone by his ear. Magneto twisted his head around when he felt the passenger-side door opening. Glancing over, he saw Rogue standing up and out of the car before she calmly walked up to him.
"I'm gonna use the bathroom and grab a bottle of water. Ya want anything?" she asked.
"No, thank you," Magneto answered, now unfortunately, looking over her shoulder, directly at Wolverine, who was holding his gaze.
Rogue glanced back before waving at the other man and yelling, "Hey, Logan."
"You alright, kid?" he asked, shouting back. His stare never wavered from Magneto's, nor did its intensity.
"I'm fine," she said, waving over her shoulder once more, before she walked past him and the Lexus to enter the shop.
"Rogue said, she's fine," Wolverine relayed into the phone, did he never blink? "Yeah, I'll keep tailing 'em," he said as the tank thankfully finished filling up. Magneto removed the pump, closed the nozzle, retrieved his credit card by finishing with the payment menu, and returned to the driver's seat of the car.
Magneto's grip on the steering wheel tightened, his jaw clenching as he glanced at Rogue. 'If only I'd taken her to the base...' The thought gnawed at him, a tension knotting in his chest as he waited for her to return.
On June 2nd 2002, 10:54am, with a bottle of water in her hand, Rogue walked the length of the convenience store after she'd exited the bathroom, considering the vast enormity of snacks this country could create. If anyone were to ask her what she was doing, she'd insist on talking about the importance of choosing a Funny Bone over a Ring Ding, but in truth, she was merely stalling. She needed a moment to herself, to try and parse out all she'd learned from the psychic mutant's memories. She felt a shudder run down her spine as a firm, implaccable face came to mind; that of En Sabah Nur, Apocalypse.
Mesmero really was terrified of the ancient mutant, it was the only reason he was serving him. If not Mesmero, then someone else would have filled his position and Apocalypse would have extracted his revenge at Mesmero's denial to serve. It was fear and desperation that drew Vincent to fulfill his master's bidding. She almost felt sorry for her fellow mutant…
She couldn't dawdle forever. Paying for her water at the counter, she exited and returned to the car. She'd been gone so long that Magneto had been forced to vacate the gas pump's stall and park in a spot on the left-hand side of the lot. Logan's bike was parked a few spots over, a helmet back over his head, waiting. Rogue gave Logan another short wave as she got back to the car's passenger side door.
'Okay, here we go,' she thought as she opened the door and entered the vehicle.
On June 2nd 2002, 10:59am, Magneto almost let out a sigh of relief as the girl climbed back into the car. He gazed at her expectantly, as she sat back next to him in the front passenger-side seat. He could be patient, now that she had returned.
"Okay, so first off, that relic Mesmero had Gambit steal is only one half of a whole," she informed him.
"Where's the other half?" Magneto asked immediately, his eyes narrowing. Though his gaze softened as the girl looked almost disappointed by the question, like she had been expecting it.
"London," she answered as she drew the seatbelt over her shoulder. "But we ain't going ta London," she told him as she strapped herself in.
"We're not?" he asked, curiously.
"Nope, cause that's what Mesmero wanted ya to do. And we ain't doing anything Mesmero wanted us ta do," she said firmly.
"Very well," he said, unable to argue with that logic as he watched her hold out her hand.
"I need your cell phone," she told him. The girl had just checked in with Charles. Surely, she wouldn't need to do so again so soon. A huff from her, caused his eyes to lock with hers. "Do ya still trust me, Max?" she asked him.
He turned his gaze away from hers for a moment. The girl had done everything he had asked of her, with little to no push-back. She'd kept his secrets, completed every task and test he'd subjected her too. He had a prisoner in the back seat, for heaven's sake, and she hadn't batted an eye at the absurdity of it all.
No, there was no question.
"Yes," he answered, pulling out his device and handing it to her. Magneto watched as she dialed the institute's number and put the phone on speaker. He nodded at her, appreciating her transparency.
"Xavier Institute, Charles speaking," his old friend answered the phone, for both of them to hear.
"Hey, Prof, you're on speaker" Rogue said, keeping eye contact with him, extending the same courtesy to her headmaster. He nodded, accepting her terms.
"... Anna-Marie, thank you for checking in," Charles said.
"Yup," she said. "Ya asked me too, so I'm doing it. How's your day going?" she asked him.
"Rather eventful," Charles answered. "We've had a visit from a friend. Do you remember Warren Worthington the Third?"
"Ah-huh," Rogue said cheerfully into the phone as Magneto rested his chin in his hand. Since Angel had made contact with Charles, that meant the X-Men knew he had Mesmero, which further meant Charles had deduced what his requested favor from Rogue entailed.
"Out of curiosity, Max. After your visit with Rogue, do you intend to fly to London?" Charles asked.
"No, I do not," he answered honestly, putting the German accent on, for good measure. Yes, they all knew the truth of it, but he should be consistent for the time being. Besides, he hadn't let up on the ruse yet, he wasn't about to start now.
"We get that doohickey back to its owner," she said, and he nodded, consenting to the course of action. "Anyway, Prof, we gotta get moving and I doubt I'll have time to check in again," she told him.
"Is there anything I can help with?" Charles asked and Rogue shook her head at him, assuring him this would remain with them.
"Nope, and thanks for trusting me ta come home in time for curfew. It means a lot that y'all can give me some space when I need ta handle things on my own, ya know?" she asked.
Magneto held Rogue's gaze as they both waited for Charles' reply. The next sound he heard was a groan from the backseat. Rogue quickly tugged off her glove with her teeth. She reached in to the backseat with her bare hand and seconds later the noise subsided. He could only hope the groan hadn't been audible through the cell phone.
"I've found…," Charles started to reply as Magneto realized he was holding in breath, "in order for trust to be earned, it must be given in equal measure," he said before pausing. "Well then," he said, letting out a breath. "We'll see you tonight, Rogue," he finished.
"Thanks, Prof," she said before hanging up the phone and handing it back to him. Both of them let out a sigh of relief. "Max, could I borrow a dose of your powers?" she asked.
"Of course," he said, moving his hand off of the steering wheel and offering it to her. His instant acquiescence was rewarded with a smile as she took his hand and held it for several seconds.
"Twenty-four," she said aloud, before immediately breaking contact. He nodded at her as he placed his hand back on the steering wheel and backed out of the parking spot. "We're heading to Long Island first," she told him. Much to his annoyance, Wolverine continued to follow them after they'd exited the parking lot. "We probably gotta give Prof some time to get him up ta speed," she commented.
"Can we afford to?" Magneto asked as he got into the middle lane.
"Not really," she huffed.
"Shall I, then?" he asked. There was a pause where he heard her sigh deeply.
"Yeah, go ahead. Lose him," she acquiesced.
No sooner after she gave her consent, his foot was pressing down on the gas and speeding somewhat as he maneuvered through traffic; weaving in and out around the cars on the three lane street.
Unfortunately, for them their tail was on a motorcycle, keeping pace. Taking the last exit in Bayville, he swiftly merged onto Route 25A and continued his path, heading at least, toward Long Island. They'd make better time once he could dispense with roads altogether.
On June 2nd 2002, 11:06 am, Rogue sat next to Magneto, her elbow up on the window, her hand resting in her palm, as she blankly stared out across the highway. Magneto was busy driving, a little too recklessly for her taste, but she had said he could lose their tail. Since he was occupied, she closed her eyes and reached out with Magneto's senses to their second location; Tibet, Makalu Peak. A bit of a distance, but having a metal map to go along with the physical one, seemed like a good idea. Mesmero was a welcomed presence in the tomb, they wouldn't be. Better to scout ahead, up the mountain at one of the highest peaks in the world.
There was stone, and stairs and- not nearly as much metal as she would have hoped. So much had been hewn from the very earth. She ventured further in, until she reached the innermost door, the one Mesmero was attempting to open. There were layers to it and she felt that one of those layers had been pulled back. Two more stood between En Sabah Nur and his freedom.
A chill swept through Rogue, prickling her skin, as the face of En Sabah Nur flashed in her mind. It was nearly inconceivable; she was normally able to parse her emotions from the others in her mind. Or at least, it hadn't caused this many problems before. But now, even in memory, Apocalypse's recalled face could send a cold, electric tremor through her body.
Mesmero's master was an imposing figure in their captive's mind, dominating every thought. He was a harsh master as well; all demands and threats, with barely an acknowledgment for progress made or effort extended. She barely understood what the ancient mutant wanted, beyond his freedom. She hoped the tomb would provide some details.
Two barriers remained. Commanding her will to continue, in her body they might stop her, but now they wouldn't keep her from moving forward, from sensing what laid beyond them. Rogue felt some sort of sarcophagus in the middle of a room, larger than a modern day coffin. It was made of metal and within that holding place was a form - a body! It was a skeletal being, she could feel the outline of it's- no, his body and-
She sucked in a breath as she felt it moving, its chest rising and falling as he inhaled. 'Apocalypse,' she realized before she started moving her senses back from Tibet and toward her own body. 'He's been alive in there all this time?' she asked herself in disbelief as she scaled back, her senses taking in an array of topical details over land and oceans. She took a deep breath as she finally came back to herself, opening her eyes.
She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the dark, Magneto had taken them into a long tunnel with dim light. Behind them she felt that Logan was still in pursuit, chasing them on his bike. Turning to look at Max, she saw his features were locked in concentration and thought better of speaking to him. Whatever this was, he had a plan and she'd leave it to him.
Instead, she closed her eyes again and considered the third optional place they may need to venture to: Egypt.
As she honed in on the location, the vast desert, she felt an abundance of sand, with micro-traces of metal within the shifting landscape. She went deeper, below the surface and found the crypt in question. Her senses passed over each wall, until she found one with a metal mechanism housed within it. There was a stone covered knob that could be turned, at the top of a set of stone stairs.
'That's gotta be the way in,' she thought as she stored that little tidbit of knowledge for potential later use. She continued her search, scanning over each surface in the first room.
'Robots?' she asked herself confused as she passed over the statue's in the shape of Anubis; at least, that's what they felt like. 'Huh?' she huffed as she lifted her hand up, and spun it around in a circular motion, pulling small bits of metal from the sand into a thin disk, forming a five inch circumference.
No sooner did she lift the disk up into the air, that the statue came to life, hacking at it with a large blade, slicing it in half.
'Alright, the Eye of Ages is protected. It's been down there for thousands of years. Ain't no reason it can't stay down there,' she told herself as the robot returned to its stone-like position. She continued to reach out, leaving the sliced disk where it landed, as she took a headcount of the robots, marking their locations in her mind. 'Each room's got a couple of 'em. No one's getting through unscathed,' she thought, satisfied; content to let sleeping weapons slumber.
Opening her eyes again, she pulled her senses back to her body, which is when she let out a gasp of shock and surprise. Rogue saw they were exiting the tunnel, a bright light obscuring her vision. She could feel that a large truck turning into the tunnel, needing the space for both lanes to make it safely through the turn, was heading right for their vehicle and Logan behind them. Horns blared, a discordant cacophony.
Magneto pulled tightly on the wheel and she felt magnetism generated from his core aiding his efforts, as the Lexus slipped past the truck, hugging the rim of the road on the right-side. Logan was forced to stop altogether on the other side of the truck, even employing his claws to create enough drag to stop in time, and still within the tunnel. Once free from the vehicle and Logan's line of sight, Magneto quickly took the first exit he saw, right out of the tunnel and drove a mere block before there were no other cars in sight. Rogue watched Max remove his hands from the steering wheel, and wave them, before the Lexus was lifted up and off the road altogether. She presumed the car had been rendered invisible as it flew through the air.
"Well, my dear," Max said, with a smug smile on his face as he turned to look at her. His expression dropped immediately. "Anna-Marie?" he asked, with a concerned voice. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered confusedly. His eyebrow shot up, a mix of surprise and concern flickering across his face
"You were using my gifts just now, I assume," he commented as he reached down and grabbed a paper napkin they had left over from breakfast stuffed in the middle console. She blinked as he deftly dabbed underneath her nose. "I've gotten the same nosebleeds in the past when I've over extended myself," he said, pulling back the napkin to show her the small drops of blood he had collected.
"I didn't realize," she said, flustered, taking the napkin from him and pulling down the passenger side mirror. Sure enough, she saw a trail of nearly dried blood, running from her left nostril.
"Neither did I, the first time it occurred," he said as he handed her two more napkins. She pulled up her water bottle and wetted a napkin. "Please take care in the future. I don't enjoy seeing you injured," he said, his tone serious. Rogue turned her head slightly, her cheeks warming as she dabbed at her nose, grateful for the napkin that shielded her face from Magneto's scrutinizing gaze. "What were you doing?" he asked her out of curiosity.
"Scouting ahead," she answered, as she dabbed her nose. Breathing in, she realized she needed to- pulling the napkin over her nose she blew into the tissue.
"To Long Island?" he asked, seeking clarification.
"Nope, we gotta go ta Tibet after we drop off the relic," she answered, keeping her eyes on the mirror as she finished cleaning off her face, ensuring no more dried blood was on her face.
"Tibet, of course," he said, his tone sounding a little off. Satisfied with her appearance, she turned to look at him, seeking clarification of her own. His eyebrow was still prominently raised as he glanced at her with an expression she couldn't exactly read. He then gestured with his head toward the back, reminding her they weren't alone. She promptly nodded, agreeing they should talk too much in front of Mesmero. "You'll lead the way, after Long Island," he stated.
"Yes, sir," she promised.
"Good girl," he said quietly, and Rogue felt her stomach do a quick somersault into a deep pit in response. His eyebrow arched yet again before he turned back toward the front window, focusing his attention on getting them to their first stop. What did that mean?
Rogue sharply turned her head to glance out the passenger-side-window, trying very hard to ignore the heat on her cheeks. She was seriously getting fed-up with herself.
'I think, perhaps, you might consider putting effort into finding a boyfriend your own age, hmm?' Max's words from March 10th replayed in her mind.
'With my powers under control, I might actually be able to do that now,' she considered. She took a breath. 'Yeah, okay, just gotta get through today,' she told herself, feeling an odd sense of relief at the thought. All of her future hopes for intimacy didn't lay with the Master of Magnetism. And he only wanted her friendship. 'But I don't even like anyone like that,' she thought, disgruntled.
'Or is it that you've never allowed yourself to try, my dear?' Magneto's voice questioned.
She blinked before glancing at Max out of the corner of her eye. But his gaze was steadfast on the front window and he looked deep in thought himself.
'I'm certain my conflicted counterpart is simply reminding himself not to be putz,' she heard again, and knew this time his voice had come from inside her mind.
'A putz about what?' she asked.
'He'll broach the subject when he's good and ready, I'm sure,' he answered. She felt her nose crunch up in sight irritation, as he failed to answer the question. 'But more importantly my dear, let's talk about you,' he said, his tone jovial and she felt her cheeks warm yet again. 'Since I've returned, would you like me to reconstruct the maze?'
'Yes,' she answered instantly, her eyes widening with excitement at the thought of the extra protection. However many barriers she could have between mutants like Mesmero and her mind the better.
'I'll need to reverse engineer the process as I have no memories of it. However, knowing I've achieved such a feat before is all the confidence I require to know I'll be able to do so again. I'll get to work.'
'Thanks, Max,' she said, smiling to herself.
'My pleasure, Anna-Marie.'