Chapter Ten
It took three days before Remy received a viable lead from an old contact of the guild, Jacob. He was a courier and although he worked for the guild, he wasn't exclusive, so had been happy to continue working for Remy after he was exiled. With most people Jacob was pretty ruthless but over the years he and Remy had each helped the other out of a scrape or two, so Jacob was always willing to go the extra mile for his friend. Well, friendly acquaintance.
"It seems that there are a couple of mutants in Bayville who are interested in myths about an ancient mutant who went by the moniker, Apocalypse."
"Let me guess, is Magneto one of 'em?"
"Got it in one."
Remy knew that Magneto had been associated with Mystique in the past, so he had no intention going to him for help. Word on the street was that there had been a falling out between the two, but things change. They could have made up, or Mystique could be pretending to be someone else. Now that he knew that Mystique was Rogue's adopted mother, contacting Magneto for help was too risky.
For all Remy knew, Mystique could have found out about Rogue through Magneto, after all, she had lured Remy, intending to also lure Rogue, with the offer of a job.
"Who's the other mutant?" Remy asked Jacob
"A geneticist called Charles Xavier. He runs an institute that takes in mutants, helps them learn to control their powers, and he created the X-Men."
"Those do-gooders?"
"Yep."
"Okay, thanks Jake. I owe you one."
"Don't think I won't collect." Jacob said, hanging up.
Remy relayed the conversation to Rogue and they got their laptops out of their backpacks to do some research on the institute and specifically, this Charles Xavier character.
***
"What do you think?" Rogue asked as they looked through the gates of the Xavier institute.
"We can break in and get a proper look around but with all this security, I doubt they take kindly to uninvited guests."
Now that she looked, Rogue could see the security measures he meant. Though cleverly disguised, there looked to be all kinds of anti-intruder measures along the driveway.
"So we press the buzzer and see what they have to say?"
Remy reached out and took her hand. "They can't keep us here, chère. Worst comes to the worst, we can fly out and they can't stop us."
"What if some of them can fly too?"
"Look, we didn't find anything negative about this group, aside from their high school principle's grudge, and he just seems like a bigot. Plus, they were the ones who spoke for mutants at the senate hearings. I honestly think these people are genuine good guys and that if they can help us, they will."
Rogue gave him a tight smile, grateful for his reassurance but still unable to completely relax.
Remy pressed the buzzer.
"Hello?" Came a female voice.
"Yes, we'd like to see Professor Charles Xavier, s'il vous plait."
"Can I say who is calling?"
"Gambit and Rogue. He doesn't know us."
There was silence for a moment, then the women spoke again. "I'm opening the gates, just come to the front door."
"Merci, mademoiselle."
They got back on to their bike and drove towards the house. As they slowed to a stop, there was already a welcoming committee waiting for them at the door, a red-headed girl of perhaps 18 and a bald man in a wheelchair.
"Bonjour," Remy said as he got off the bike. "Professeur Xavier, I presume?"
Rogue could tell from the increased use of French that he was as nervous as she felt.
"Indeed, and this is one of my students, Jean Grey. Would you like to come in?"
They nodded and followed the man inside. It was a school day so the mansion was relatively empty, save for a feral looking man who stood in a door way and watched them like criminals as they passed. They were led into a study, where a white haired woman was laying out a tea tray.
"Stormy?" asked Remy, with wonder in his voice.
She turned to the voice and broke into a wide smile. "Remy!"
Remy let go of Rogue's hand as Storm enveloped him in a hug.
"It's so good to see you again," the woman exclaimed as she pulled away and looked him over.
"And you."
Rogue felt a twinge of jealousy as she watched them, but she had no reason to doubt Remy so she stamped it down. She recognised this woman as the one who spoke to the senate, but of course Remy had been in a coma then so while she had told him all about it, he never seen the mutant in question.
"You look well." He smiled.
"I am well. And you?"
"I'm good, thank you."
Finally she seemed to notice his companion and turned to Rogue. "Who is your friend?"
"This is ma chère, Rogue." He put his arm around her shoulders. "Rogue, this is Stormy."
"Don't call me Stormy."
The women shook hands.
"Very pleased to meet you, Rogue. I hope you're keeping this one in line."
Storm seemed to give off an aura of calm and Rogue found herself warming to the older woman.
"I try." She didn't know how much this Storm knew about Remy's thieving, so she didn't want to give anything away.
"How do you two know each other?" Xavier asked.
Storm turned to him. "Do you remember I told you about the trouble I had down south a few years ago, when the Shadow Kind de-aged me? This is the young man who helped me, only he's not so young any more."
Jean, the professor and Storm shared a look that seemed to communicate something, then they all turned back to Remy and Rogue.
"Would you like some refreshments?" Jean asked.
"We're fine, thank you," Rogue answered. Call her paranoid but just because Remy had a friend here, didn't mean that she trusted these people.
"Then please take a seat." The professor gestured to a couch rather than the formal chairs by the desk. Remy and Rogue sat side by side, holding hands. The professor's chair faced them and Jean sat in the free armchair. Storm left the room. "So, how can we help you?"
"Don't you already know?" Rogue asked. From the little silent conversation earlier, she had guessed than he was a telepath.
"I confess I did try to read your minds to see if perhaps you were a threat to the institute." He didn't sound at all upset that they had caught him out. "Unfortunately your mind is exceedingly difficult to read, Rogue, and Gambits mind appears to be shielded. All I could detect was an intention to come here from Rogue, and a good deal of trepidation from the both of you. However, I do not believe you mean us any harm, so I decided to meet with you. Please be assured though, I do not make a habit of invading peoples thoughts without permission."
Remy nodded, accepting that explanation.
"We discovered through a friend, that you are looking into a mutant called Apocalypse," Remy explained.
"I am indeed," The professors friendly smile remained but his eyes tightened. "The mutant, Mesmero, compelled a student of mine to break into the house of a friend and steal a priceless artefact related to Apocalypse. It was half of a stone designed to stop Apocalypse should he rise again. Unfortunately Magneto was tricked into stealing the other half of the stone and destroying the guardian within it. May I ask what your interest in Apocalypse is?"
Remy looked to Rogue to see if she wanted him to tell the story, but she was no wilting wallflower, although she did squeeze his hand for strength.
"If I just tell you bits it won't make much sense, so I'll start at the beginning and give you the cliff notes version." She took a deep breath. "I don't know who my real folks were or what happened to them but when I was 4 years old, I was adopted by a mutant called Mystique. When I was 13 my powers first manifested. I absorb life force, memories and powers. I think those memories, the other people in my head, is what's making it hard for you to read my mind.
"Mystique was then captured by Hydra and she traded me for her freedom, so for the next four years they turned me into a mercenary. They put a chip in my head to control me and made me absorb a lot of people. Some to the point of death so that I retain their powers permanently, not just for a little while like normal. They also taught me how to recall old powers that I had absorbed, though that takes a lot of effort. Then when I was 17 I was sent to kill Magneto but he caught onto me. His magnetic blast must have fried the chip in my head and I was able to escape from Hydra. A few months later I met Remy and we teamed up."
She stopped talking for a while but no one prompted her to continue, clearly able to see how difficult this was for her.
"A week ago we went to meet with a client who turned out to be Mystique. She's been searching for me ever since I escaped. She tried to use a power dampener on me but Remy has taught me how to override them. I defeated her but before we left, I absorbed her. I didn't want to have a copy of the woman who sold me for her own freedom in my head, so I didn't hold on for long but I had to know why she wanted me back. I somehow doubted it was any maternal instinct. I'm still not really sure what most of the memories I absorbed from her mean, but I know that she wants me to wake someone called En Sabah Nur up and I think he's the guy that you call Apocalypse.
"Remy then called some of his contacts to see if they had heard anything about this character, and one said that both you and Magneto were researching an ancient mutant called Apocalypse. We came here because we hoped it was the same person."
The professor was silent as he considered everything she had said, while Jean leaned forward and took Rogue's free hand.
"I'm so sorry," she said, meaning it.
Rogue looked down at their joined hands, then at Jean's face, as though she was insane. She pulled her hand away.
"I'm sorry. I'm not used to people touching me, even if I wear gloves. My mutation is in the skin, that's how I absorb people."
"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"I know, it's my fault. I'm a little on the antisocial side," she gave Jean a tentative smile. "Don't take it personal."
Finally the professor spoke up. "I don't wish to be rude, Gambit, but knowing the incident of which Storm was speaking earlier, why did you come to us, why not Magneto?"
"Mags is known to have associated with Mystique in the past and he might still hold a grudge for Rogue trying to kill him. I couldn't risk ma chère that way. I was hoping that being the good guys, you might overlook our... uh, shady pasts."
"And indeed we will. You are welcome to stay here for as long as you would like, providing you don't leave with the family silver." The twinkle in his eyes told them that he was just teasing.
"I make it a point of pride never to steal from friends," Remy assured him with an impish grin.
"Very good. I'm afraid that we don't know much about Apocalypse yet, but we're still looking and we will share what we do know with you.
"Fair enough."
"Now, Rogue, Jean is also a telepath and I would like your permission for us both to try and read your mind. Perhaps together we can make more sense of the memories that you took from Mystique. I believe that if you are relaxed and willing, as well as having two telepaths, we might be able to gain entrance to your mind, though I should warn you, it will probably take some time. It is also be possible that in time, I might also be able to quieten some of the noise in your head, although I cannot guarantee it at this stage."
Rogue had almost decided to say yes but looked to Remy, just in case he had noticed something she had missed. He nodded slightly.
"Okay," Rogue agreed. "What do I do?"
"Just relax, my dear. Lie down if you would be more comfortable, and Jean and I shall do all the work."
Rogue turned sideways and rested her head in Remy's lap. He began instinctively stroking her hair, soothing her, and she closed her eyes.
It felt odd to have a psychic in her head, a little like a new psyche in that she could converse with them, but unlike those she had absorbed, Jean and the professor could affect things in her mind.
Rogue's mind was the oddest mental landscape that the professor had ever seen. Rather than an empty space filled with memories, her mind was filled with remnants of people, calling, yelling, singing and making so much noise he could hardly hear himself think. Most of these psyches were locked behind a mental barrier, though it did noting to silence them, and only one wandered freely; Remy.
'This is extraordinary,' Xavier exclaimed to Rogue. 'I assume that you have had no psychic training?'
'No.'
'In that case, I must say that I'm impressed with the barrier you have created.' He looked around again. 'I must ask, is Remy's psyche out voluntarily or did he escape your block?'
'I chose not to lock him up.'
'May I ask why?'
'Because I love him.'
Before they could get any work done, the professor decided to calm the psyches in the hopes that it would make this easier. Together, he and Jean worked to put some kind or order on the chaos. Once things had calmed a little, the professor asked her if she could access the memories from Mystique. Rogue did as she was asked, and an image of Mystique joined them.
'Who are they?' Mystique demanded.
'They're here to help me stop you,' Rogue told her.
'They will make you weak! All I ever did was for you, to make you strong!'
Rogue was about to reply when the professor interrupted her. 'Rogue, will you still be able to access her memories if her psyche is subdued?'
'I think so, I can access Remy's memories without Mini-Remy being around.'
'Very well.' Together he and Jean secured Mystique in a thick metal cell and sent her to the back of Rogue's mind. 'She shouldn't bother you any more, Rogue.'
Rogue felt like crying. All Mystique's psyche had done since she absorber her, was try to excuse what she had done to Rogue, but she never listened to reason. Rogue was used to ignoring her psyches, but she had never dreamed that they could be silenced permanently.
'Now, where were we?' the professor continued.
In the end, Jean and the professor spent six hours in Rogues head, most of it spent calming or restraining the psyches. He hadn't planned to do so much in one sitting, but Rogue's mind was such a mess that he felt he had a duty to help her. With Jeans help, they did more in one afternoon than he could have done alone in two weeks of sessions. Rogue wanted all her psyches silenced, starting with those who were angry, aggressive or annoying.
The only psyche she didn't want restrained was Remy's as she explained that of all those she had absorbed, he was the only one who had wanted to be absorbed, and he helped her and looked out for her. In fact he often took it upon himself to silence the others when they became too rowdy.
Over the past few years, Rogue had absorbed around 100 psyches, an astonishing amount, and the Professor could only feel proud that she hadn't been driven insane by their presence in her mind. Despite her rough start, she was obviously a strong woman, one of the strongest he knew.
Between them, they got perhaps half the psychics locked up, the worst offenders but when Jean began to tire, he called a halt for that day, assuring Rogue that they would resume their sessions daily and continue until her mind was her own again.
Rogue blinked against the light as she opened her eyes and found Remy looking down at her with concern. She gave him a big smile as she sat up.
"Sorry you had to wait so long."
"Don't worry about it. How are you?" he asked.
"Pretty good. They decided to lock up a few of my more vocal psyches, so I feel great."
Remy smiled, visibly relaxing.
"Well, now that is over, how about we get some dinner?" the professor asked. "The students are home now so we can introduce you to them. Storm also told me that she has made up a room for you in the staff quarters, which she will show you to before dinner."
Just then came a knock and Storm entered.
"I was beginning to think you would be in here all evening," Storm smiled. "Come, I will show you to your room."
'In the staff quarters?' Jean asked the professor telepathically once they had left..
'You could see for yourself in her memories how close they are. If we refuse to let them share a room, they may leave. We both know that Rogue is in grave danger and that this is the safest place for her at the moment. While I don't necessarily agree with their choices, I cannot judge them either. Still, so that we don't set a bad example for the others, I have placed them with the adults.'
'But how do we know we can trust him? I know you were joking about the family silver, but he is a thief!'
'Storm has vouched for him, do you think her a poor judge of character?'
'No, I didn't mean... you're right, I'm sorry, professor.'
'No harm done. Never be afraid to question, Jean, not even me.'