Chapter Seven
Life at the mansion continued as normal. Rogue began to go out with the girls more often, and Remy had at least two nights out per week, though Rogue noticed that he never seemed to stay overnight with his lady friends any more. She didn't think much about it and knowing Remy, she certainly didn't think that he was just keeping up appearances and actually drinking alone, or sometimes going into the city to gamble on those nights.
Their relationship jogged along much as it used to, aside from the occasional longing glance when they thought that they were unobserved.
Psylocke, also known as Betsy Braddock, joined the school as its resident psychic. She wasn't a very skilled psychic but it was better than nothing. She was also able to teach English and History, which was very welcome.
Rogue, Pete, Bobby and Kitty each also took on more teaching duties, since they were still short staffed. They only taught academic subjects to the youngest kids though, because they simply weren't qualified to teach the older ones. They were however, much more useful in the rooms below the school, helping all the children with with danger room sessions, or to learn how use and control their powers.
Storm was thankful for the help, even while she felt guilty for imposing on them and their own studies.
Life was fairly quiet at the moment. Since Magneto had been stopped, there was little in the way of mutant attack on humans, and the mutant haters got to see justice served as Magneto and his army was tried and sentenced.
When news broke that the cure wasn't permanent, many mutants appeared on television telling stores of never having being accepted, never benign understood and just wanting to be normal. They painted a very sympathetic picture, and it was hard for the hate groups to summon up enough ill will to grow any further.
Numerous lawsuits were filed against the pharmaceutical company, both from mutants for whom the cure had failed and surprisingly, even mutant hate groups. There was also talk of criminal charges being brought (though no one was really sure who at Worthington Pharmaceuticals deserved to be charged) and even an investigation into the FDA, who had approved the cure.
All the while that the humans were fighting amongst themselves, the mutants were fairly safe. Everyone knew that this calm couldn't last forever, but they were grateful for an opportunity to catch their breath.
Christmas came and went, and once again all the staff were saddened by how many students stayed over Christmas, either because they couldn't or didn't want to go back to their families.
Although she usually blocked out all thoughts of them, Rogue couldn't stop thinking about her family this year, wondering what they were doing, especially on Christmas day.
She knew that the X-Men and the school were her family now, she just wished that she didn't still think about her own family so much.
Her powers were almost totally under control now, aside from surprises that caused them to switch back on, almost as an instinct. Remy was working on that, and some of his methods were nicer than others.
First he's had her shake hands with everyone in the school, saying that she needed to get used to touching other people and they needed to get used to touching her. What he didn't tell her was that Bobby, Kitty and Storm were wearing a hand buzzer, which gave her a small shock as she touched them. Her power snapped back on as she shook Storms hand, though thankfully she was already pulling away because of the shock, so no harm was done. It was the same when she shook hands with Bobby a little further down the line but by the time she got to Kitty, she was prepared and while she didn't like the shock, her power didn't switch on.
After that it was a free for all. People burst balloons in her vicinity, jumped out of doorways at her, hid fake spiders in her cereal, and generally made her life a living hell for a while. Thankfully, when Storm finally ordered the pranks to stop as Rogue didn't need them any longer, they stopped. Well, Bobby did put a toy tarantula in her bed, but after getting a week of extra danger room sessions, he didn't try anything else.
Now the only time that she couldn't control her powers was in bed, and while they were always turned off at night, each morning when she woke up, her skin would feel tight and stretched, a sure sign that her power was active again.
'X-men, please report to the war room,' Rogue heard Betsy's voice in her head and headed down to the basement. Shortly after she arrived, the room was full, save for Logan who was still off wandering.
"I have some odd news," Storm said, clearly upset about something.
"Odd?" asked Bobby.
"I don't know what else to call it," Storm confessed, then took a deep breath. "Betsy was experimenting with cerebra this morning and believes that she made contact with Professor Xavier."
The collective gasps around the table showed that Storm wasn't the only one who didn't know how to handle this news.
"On the astral plane?" Remy asked.
"Oh no, if it was him, he's on this plane, and very much alive." Betsy said.
"What makes you say 'if'" Rogue asked. Betsy wasn't a powerful telepath and so she had only had limited success using cerebro before now. She wasn't offended by the question.
"I don't claim to know the professor like you all do, indeed I only met him once, but the man that I knew wasn't insane."
"The professor is insane?" Bobby asked.
"I don't know." Betsy rubbed her temples. "I'm still getting used to Cerebro, but the mind I encountered definitely believed that it was Charles Xavier and was definitely... off."
"As in crazy?" Kitty wanted conformation.
"I'm not a psychiatrist but yes; unstable at best, insane at worst."
"Is he a telepath?" Pete asked.
"Oh yes. He tried..."
"Tried what?" Rogue urged.
"Tried to kill her," Storm finished for Betsy.
Another round of gasps circled the table.
"He tried to follow the mental link I'd made back to me, but without the powers of cerebro he was unable to."
"And you're sure he wanted to kill you?" Remy checked.
"Absolutely."
No one knew what to say to that.
"We know his location," Storm said after a few minutes. "He's on Muir Island."
"We have to go get him!" Kitty said, standing.
"Not so fast," Storm said firmly. "Whether or not this is the professor, he's clearly dangerous. We need to think this one through."
"I'll go," Gambit volunteered. "Psychics can't get into my head, unless I want them to."
"That's what I was thinking," Storm agreed. "Plus we'll need Betsy. She's not as strong as the professor but she's been working on her mental shields, and she's the only one who stands a chance of being able to help him. Because of that disparity in power, I'm not certain that we will be able to help him while he's conscious, which means Rogue needs to go too. You can incapacitate him without hurting him, plus you already have strong shields to prevent telepathic intrusion but if that isn't enough, you can borrow Remy's powers, which will offer you even greater protection."
Rogue nodded. She didn't care how dangerous it was, if there was a chance that the professor was alive, she was taking it.
"Why can't we all go?" Bobby argued, clearly feeling as Rogue did about their former mentor.
"First, because this is still a school and we have to keep some semblance of order around hers. Second... I'm sorry, but I just can't risk all your lives. Not all of you even have very good mental shields but since it was the professor who taught you to protect your minds, he can probably get around those shields anyway."
"Plus we need a team B, just in case plan A doesn't work," Rogue said softly, though everyone was thinking it.
Rogue piloted the Blackbird to Muir Island, but circled the island when she got close rather than landing. Betsy used the time to search the island for minds, finding only one conscious mind, the one which believed itself to be Charles Xavier.
"We're on our own," Betsy finally declared, "but he knows we're coming."
Rogue landed the jet and they cautiously headed out, when Rogue groaned and put her hands to her head. Gambit immediately touched her cheek, transferring some of his powers to her.
"It's okay, chère, you'll be fine now."
Rogue straightened up and the professor didn't enter her mind again.
"Thanks."
Betsy directed them into the facility, which was basically a giant hospital and research facility for mutants. Every now and again she paused to clutch her temples, which Rogue and Remy took as a sign that the professors attacks were working on her. Thankfully she seemed to be winning for the moment.
They had discussed what to do once they found the professor and had decided that Remy and Betsy would distract him, while Rogue crept up and absorbed him. Unfortunately, nothing went as planned.
The professor was ready for them, so ready in fact that he was leading them on a goose chase throughout the facility. After an hour or so of following and backtracking, Betsy finally warned them that they were getting close, that he was in the room at the end of the corridor. They were in the hospital wing now, and Rogue couldn't figure out why he would wait for them here.
"You can come in," they heard Charles call, and all three stepped into the room. "Ah, how good of you to join me, I was getting rather lonely all by myself."
All around the ward were unconscious mutants. Some were in their beds while others had collapsed on the floor.
Gambit began the attack, launching his playing cards at Charles, but a little to one side so that the man would have to turn away from the explosions. Betsy tried to enter his mind and make him weak, while Rogue quietly stepped in the other direction.
"You'll have to do better than that, my old friend," Charles told Remy.
"I can do much better than that." Gambit let fly another series of cards, these ones aimed at the professors chair.
Both Rogue and Remy were too focused to notice that Betsy was now standing stock still, clearly no longer a part of the fight.
Gambit let lose another barrage of cards, then another, while Rogue slowly made her way up behind Xavier. She reached out to touch him when suddenly a wrist grabbed hers.
"Betsy?" Rogue realised too late that the professor did have a reason for leading them around the facility; to give himself time to break through Betsy's mental shields.
Betsy threw her away from Charles and she landed on her back. She got straight back up and ran at Betsy again. She didn't want to hurt the other woman, but she did need to stop her. Unfortunately Betsy was also telekinetic and able to put her considerable brains behind her inconsiderable muscles, resulting in Rogue being battered around like a rag doll, as was Remy when he came to Rogue's aid.
Gambit grew more reckless with his cards but it didn't help, so finally he looked at the professors chair and charged it. He didn't want to kill the professor, but he had to protect Rogue, not to mention Betsy.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Xavier warned. He pointed over his shoulder to where Betsy now had an unconscious Rogue in her arms. "One word from me and Miss Braddock will snap her neck like a twig."
Gambit de-charged the wheelchair.
"A very wise decision," Xavier smiled. "Now to decide what to do with two mutants who can protect themselves from me."
"Let us go," Remy pleaded.
"So that you can come back with reinforcements? I don't think so."
Betsy threw Rogue to the floor and advanced on Remy, easily dodging his charged cards with her telekinesis. The fight was long, but Remy was eventually worn down, and he was knocked out when Betsy got close enough to strike him.
"Well, my dear," Xavier said to Betsy. "Perhaps you could stay and keep me company."
Betsy didn't answer. She couldn't because she didn't have any free will.
"Let's get out of here," Charles suggested. "I'm feeling rather famished."
Betsy followed along behind him, like a good little slave.
No one noticed where Rogue had fallen, prone on the floor, her face resting on the arm of a patient who was dressed only in her hospital gown, and who was now slowly being drained of life.