So, We Meet Again... (Rogue & Magneto)

[Anna Marie Raven]

Location: a secluded spot of land within Central Park, NYC
Date: Sunday, 8 July 2012
Time of Day: Early Evening

Just the day before, a mysterious letter had come in the mail for Rogue, addressed to Anna Marie Raven, and the envelope revealed no return address. She hadn't recognized the handwriting, though there was something oddly familiar about it...

Of course, Rogue had assumed that this letter had come from Mystique, her adoptive mother, though... nowhere did the letter say who it was from.

Rogue had an odd, off-feeling about this, but... she couldn't just ignore the letter - especially if it was from Raven or Irene. And besides, she had Ms. Marvel's super-strength, near-invulnerability and super-durability - nothing and no one was going to be able hurt her... that is, if that was the author's intent.

The letter said that its author wished to meet with Rogue in private, somewhere in Central Park the next evening, just about the time when twilight would be settling in. The letter also asked her to keep quiet about this meeting - that things wouldn't end well if the other X-Men knew about it, 'not even your dashing Cajun', it had said.

Feeling quite invincible and super-curious, Rogue decided to take the anonymous person (who she was convinced had to be Mystique) up on their offer to get together clandestinely.

When the time came, Rogue left a note for her friends and taped it to the 'fridge in the kitchen, explaining vaguely that she had popped out to run some errands, and then she drove her classic Camaro into the city to meet with... well, probably Raven Darkholme - the whole thing seemed to fit her adoptive mother's M.O. to a 'T'.

But, imagine Rogue's shock and annoyance when it wasn't the familiar face she'd assumed she'd be meeting with, but the Master of Magnetism's, instead!

"Magneto!" Rogue exclaimed, not at all bothering to cover her disappointment and disbelief. "What're you doin' here?" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest and looking quite put-out.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Magneto found his lack of a cape annoying. Though the trench coat he had donned was similar, it didn't feel the same. It didn't make him feel powerful, like the leader of a movement dedicated to restoring peace for mutants to the world. It made him feel...normal. Like a human. Which in turn made him feel disgusted.

Still, he couldn't go into the public park and risk people seeing him in his costume. So the coat and hat would have to do. Still, if things went to plan, it would hopefully only be necessary for today. He knew that the letter had been successfully received by the intended recipient, and she would no doubt be on her way. All he had to do was wait.

And there she was, just as he remembered her. Though he'd expected it, he was glad that she'd come. But who did she expect to meet? An old friend? Relative? Or did she suspect Magneto himself? It seemed unlikely, but he supposed he'd find out. He walked over from where he'd been lurking to stand in front of her. "Hello Rogue," he greeted.

"Magneto!" Rogue exclaimed, not at all bothering to cover her disappointment and disbelief. "What're you doin' here?" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest and looking quite put-out.

"I came to talk," he said calmly, not allowing himself to be deterred by her displeasure. "I'm glad to see that you received my invitation." He took a few steps to a nearby bench and sat down, gesturing for her to do the same. "Please. Sit."

[Anna Marie Raven]

Rogue shot Magneto a strange look, but she followed him anyway and took a seat beside him on the park bench. It felt weird... being here with her old 'boss', so to speak, when she'd quit his team in favor of the X-Men. But, somehow... Rogue wasn't afraid. She didn't trust him, per se, but... she also had faith that he wasn't here to hurt her - Mystique wouldn't allow it, at any rate, and she was fairly certain he held the blue mutant in high enough regard to not try to kill her daughter.

"So... What d'ya want ta talk about, Magneto?" Rogue asked, curious as to why he'd come. She hoped that nothing had happened to either of her foster mothers - she'd be devastated if anything had happened to Mystique or Destiny, and she hoped he hadn't called her here to give her bad news.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Well, it appeared that the girl felt quite confident. And with good reason. Magneto knew very well what she was capable of, and he wouldn't expect her to fear him. Not that that was what he wanted. On the contrary, he was hoping that she would feel comfortable with him. It would work the situation to his advantage.

Then she asked him what the point in this was. "Well, I thought it was about time we saw each other again," he said. "There are quite a lot of us at the Brotherhood who miss you. Especially Mystique. Unfortunately, she was unable to be with us today. I would've had her come with me if I could." The truth was, Mystique was away with a group of his mutants on an operation. Not that Rogue needed to know that. Mentioning the girl's foster mother had just been...well, 'emotional blackmail' was too strong a phrase. But something almost akin to it.

"I suppose the main topic of discussion...would be why you left, Rogue," he said. That was all, though. He figured it might be too dangerous if he started going on about exactly what he meant. It probably didn't need explaining, and he wanted to give the girl a chance to speak without forcing her to. So he waited to see how she would react.

[Anna Marie Raven]

"Well, I thought it was about time we saw each other again," he said. "There are quite a lot of us at the Brotherhood who miss you. Especially Mystique. Unfortunately, she was unable to be with us today. I would've had her come with me if I could."

Rogue gave Magneto a sort of bewildered little smile and replied a bit uncertainly, "Thanks..." However much of what he'd just said was true, Rogue couldn't be certain; however, she could tell that he seemed to be making an effort to somehow reach out to her.

But... Why? What did he really want?

"I suppose the main topic of discussion... would be why you left, Rogue," he said.

Rogue opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. So... She paused, took a deep breath and tried again. This time she managed to say, "Well..."

Gosh, but Rogue felt caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, the Brotherhood had been a better family to her than the one God had given her... and on the other hand, there hadn't been anyone there who seemed to be able to help her with her powers after the whole Ms. Marvel-thing - either that, or no one seemed to have the time to try. Regardless, Rogue had done her research, and she knew that Professor Xavier was probably the only psi on the planet who could help her, and these last several months, Rogue finally felt Hope that she may one day be able to control her powers, and also... that the copied psyche of Ms. Marvel that existed in her mind may one day, finally and forever shut up and leave her alone, fading away like everyone else had.

"Ah didn't really want ta leave..." Rogue continued, carefully choosing her words, since now was probably not the time to tell Magneto that she never really approved of his methods... She didn't like hurting people - even if they were 'just humans'.

"Ah didn't really have much choice... Ah needed help that no one in tha Brotherhood seemed ta be able ta give, or else no one had tha time," she explained, sounding, perhaps, a bit regretful. But, not regretful enough to go back to that life.