WHO: Rogue and Emma WHEN: tonight WHERE: Rogue's cabin WHAT: a discussion WARNINGS: nah
Their Saturday night dinner at the cabin had been quiet, slow moments punctuated by a gurgling baby and talk about the school or the mansion or the newest arrival. The tone had been light, pleasant, and Emma had spent much of her time between bites watching Rogue with curiosity. She was looking for something to settle the uneasy feeling she had. Rogue’s unpredictable behavior was concerning and Emma was waiting for clues as to whether the woman was slipping from the stress of a new baby and a lost love. It was a cruel thing to look for, but Emma didn’t want to be caught unaware by trouble. She thought it a mark of the life she’d led that she felt paranoid, waiting for some shoe to drop or some unexpected trouble to announce itself halfway through the meal, but life had never exactly been an easy stroll.
So far no trouble had made itself apparent, but the night was still young.
She wasn’t sure what Rogue’s grand plan was, but Emma had every intention of taking it seriously and giving it as much consideration as possible. Emma wasn’t nearly as convinced about the unity of the Displaced that everyone else seemed so hellbent on, but she wasn’t about to announce that outright. Rogue had been one of the few to show empathy toward her upon arrival and she figured if nothing else, she owed the woman an audience for whatever scheme it was she’d begun to cook up on her own. “So,” she said, the plates drying on a rack by the sink, but her wineglass freshly filled, “tell me about this base of yours.”
To say Rogue’s life had been pushed completely off its axis was a bit of an understatement. While there had always been that lingering fear that Erik would one day be sent home or that she could be gone in a blink of an eye as well, Rogue had managed to push it far down, especially after her daughter had been born. Unlike the other child that had been born in Tumbleweed, Anka Irene was purely of this world. There would be no place for her back in either world. Surely the fates wouldn’t be so cruel as to leave her an orphan. But Rogue had forgotten how much the fates conspired against her kind and tragedy was usually the end game for all of them. It was why she’d latched onto the plans Erik and her had chatted quietly about before he’d left, wanting to leave in place measures to insure their daughter’s survival and happiness in case they were both suddenly gone. Though Rogue would be doing her damndest to stay in this universe with the little girl.
“I didn’t want no dispute about territory or anythin’ so I made my own land for it.” It had seemed like such a logical course of action at the time, still did even with all of the doubts being thrown her way. “It ain’t fully functional just yet. But the basics of the structure are all in place. It’ll take a few more trips down to really get it how I’ve envisioned it lookin’.” She didn’t bother with her own wine, settling the baby into the playpen to nap for a few hours.
Sitting back down, she fixed her gaze on Emma, watching her closely and wondering if everything Erik had relayed to her months ago still held true.“But I’m guessin’ you’re more interested in the why’s than the looks of the place?”
“I would appreciate that information, yes, among other things,” Emma said with a little nod. It wasn't that Rogue’s idea was entirely bad, but that Emma didn't think it'd work with even the best planning. The Displaced were too divided, the military had too much of an upper hand, and there were too many other unknown factors for her to be sold just yet. Though she suspected this action had been taken more out of desperation and depression than solid planning. “And why are you coming to me about it?”
“Erik didn’t trust the teamwork and buddyin’ up that was goin’ on. Didn’t trust the military with all that they were able to do, especially after we got back from that lil time dip in the past. But he’d never been big on trustin’ them or anyone in this town. It’s why he created this place.” Rogue gestured around the room. And while part of that had been so they wouldn’t be meeting up in a damn tent for their get togethers, Rogue was well aware it was an extra safety precaution. “It’s off the grid completely. Back up generators. Various spells on it to keep it hidden from anyone we ain’t wantin’ inside and a couple different escape paths in a few locations inside and on the land we took on as our own. He wanted his family as safe as they could be here and this was his answer to that. But with everythin’ that happened he started lookin’ beyond Tumbleweed. We both did.”
“I wanted somewhere just as safe as here to head off to if’n it was needed. I still need to get the appropriate spells put onto the base like this house has and more installed, but its a start at least. And I know more’n one’ll probably be needed to really get any kind of safety network goin’.” But it had been a start and after sitting around and going through the motions for so long she had finally been ready to do something.
Rogue looked back at the baby, her expression troubled. “She already has four different sets of powers. I’m pretty sure she showed me another one durin’ our time in the Falklands. She ain’t been in quarantine ‘cause she was born here. They ain’t ever gotten to look at her blood or DNA but they ain’t been reactin’ to us doin’ things in the best ways for a long time now. As for why I’m comin’ to you, well. You were one of the few he wanted brought in on things. You, Damon, Albus, and Ororo.”
Emma listened, watching Rogue as she spoke. It seemed she was set to do this and Emma suspected talking her out of it would be a waste of breath. “I’d take caution with Ororo. Erik inspired loyalty in her, and I'm quite fond of her, but if you want this kept quiet, I’m not convinced that she’ll do that.” Emma crossed her arms over her chest. “I was fond of Erik, too, you know,” she added sincerely. “He approached me earlier about working on the military and I likely would have aided him. But I'm honestly not so certain about this plan, darling.” She said this all bluntly, but her pleasant tone remained.
“I worry this would only anger the military and because we don't entirely know what they're capable of, I mostly feel it would put an extra target on our backs. If this is just a safe house, a temporary space, that's something I think more manageable and something I'll help with. But if you're trying to bring me in here, I assume you want more than that.” She glanced at the baby. Emma hid her thoughts well, but Anka Irene always made her a little sad. She doubted anything good loomed in the child’s future. “If you want to take care of the baby, it makes more sense for you to make plans in case of emergency for yourself, the baby, and Hope. It's easier to disappear into the world with three than gather a base where half the idiots among us would probably first rather work with the military. There are so many liabilities among the Displaced, dear, I'm certain someone would actively work against you.” A pause. “I think it's a noble thing, to want to keep people safe, but these aren't all our people.”
“Keepin’ it to three is rather foolish too though. Hope and I got just as much a chance as any of the rest to suddenly disappear. It’s gotta be more’n that. Besides I can’t go cuttin’ Hope off from people when she’s finally made friends and wants to be around others.” It’d been difficult enough taking the girl away for a few weeks. And Rogue didn’t want Anka Irene’s life to be one of hiding and moving to stay ahead of the military. “But I get what you’re sayin’ about the rest of it.” It was a lofty idea to try and create a place for everyone and it seemed even more troublesome with all of the new arrivals. There were some Rogue definitely didn’t trust and others she didn’t know enough about to want to do much with right then anyway.
“What if it was kept to only our people?” And possibly the addition of a few others. Dash and Violet already added to their group in Rogue’s mind.
“And a few human pets?” Emma asked, smirking. She joked, but only because it was just the two of them. That sort of humor was typically frowned upon by everyone else. “I think we are too divided, too. Everyone is restless and angry and quick to blame. I don't know that many will be with you. The ones who will be with you may be talked out by others.” She sighed. “Rogue, if this is for the baby, I think what we have here is… decent. It's not great, but there's a community here and if anything were to happen to you, there are people who would step in and care for Anka Irene. Having something prepared for emergencies is wise, but I think this experiment of yours is doomed to fail. At least until the military shows their hand. If they come after us, they’ll be a uniting force. Until then, I don't know.” Emma had told Scott she wanted out of X-Men affairs and that’d been largely due to this issue of disunity among the mutants. A team didn't work when no one wanted to be part of it. “If you have ideas at making us better and a more cohesive unit, I'm all ears.”
“If’n we wait to create somethin’ for all of us to go to until the military finally shows their hands though we ain’t goin’ to get nowhere. If you don’t go lookin’ toward what might and probably will end up happenin’ then once it does it’ll be too late to do anythin’ about it when they go neutralizin’ our powers in the street and start roundin’ us up because someone can’t go controllin’ their damn temper.” She couldn’t help throw in her silent dig at Wanda. The fact the girl had caused such a huge blow for everyone had never been the issue for Rogue. It had always been that Wanda never accepted the consequences or bothered to go down and help with clean up after destroying such a big part of the town. Hours after the fact when everything had been cleaned up meant shit all to anyone who’d actually been effected.
“You already pointed out why we ain’t bein’ a cohesive unit. We don’t got a common enemy. There ain’t anythin’ makin’ us unite against anythin’. We’re all goin’ through the motions and livin’ lives that don’t require us to be around one another day in and day out. There ain’t no active group that can be seen tryin’ to take away our rights. We ain’t bein’ hunted down or thrown into life or death situations. That’s when we all come together.”
Which...she checked the mental shields Betsy had put into place for her, making sure they were still airtight and not leaking anything for Emma to pick up on. Maybe that’s what was needed. Maybe instigating something so they had a reason to unite...Rogue didn’t have Max’s memories any longer but she could have sworn that was something he’d done a time or two, or at least considered doing so. It was something she’d need to mull over further if Emma wasn’t going to help with anything.
Emma looked at Rogue sharply, because while she couldn't read the woman's mind, she could predict the darkest path to take to force everyone to work together. “Someone, eventually, will show and sew some chaos. Or the military will show their true colors. Maybe Mystique will get bored,” she mused with a little shrug. “She’s already threatened to kill me.” Emma took this sort of threat seriously, but wasn't about to run scared.
“I'm not opposed to helping you, Rogue. And I'm certainly happy to help ensure the baby is as safe as we can make her. Anything you need for Anka Irene, I will lend you. I'm just not convinced this is the way to do it. The last thing I'm interested in is a series of lectures from everyone we know and a slap on the wrist for not being acceptably well behaved as dictated by their arbitrary standards. If you want to go down this route, you need support from people that the others will stand behind. Otherwise, you're just going to be Magneto without a Brotherhood.” Logan was Emma’s first thought - he was a middle of the road mutant that everyone respected. “No one is going to rally behind me. And few will stand with you, I'm sorry to say.”
She glanced at Rogue and hesitated only for a second. If they were going to do this, she also needed to be clear on something else. “I also want to know that this is you - clear headed and that this is not a symptom of your grief.”
“She threatens to kill everyone.” The mention of Mystique though had the wheels turning once again. Getting help from that woman was the last thing Rogue really wanted to ever do but it was something she would need to keep as a backup plan in case any of the others didn’t go through quite how she wanted. “Just cause they’re lecturin’ you about somethin’ don’t mean they’re right. They think they are, but they ain’t. Jean’s been workin’ with the military for over a year now and don’t know shit. Not really. She definitely didn’t know they had a way of blockin’ telepathy while out and about until the rest of us did. Nor did she got a clue that they could neutralize our powers out and about like they did until it happened. Things might’ve calmed down a bit but it's just the calm before the storm.”
As for the rest. Well, the Brotherhood had never been where Magneto’s power had lay. He hadn’t needed followers or partners to get things done and neither would she if it came down to it. “And it ain’t grief to want to protect those I love, Emma. It’s just how life is.”
“I know,” Emma said, barely managing to tamp down her smirk at the mention of Jean’s shortcomings. “I'm not a fool. I fully expect things to go to hell or to disappear soon. Making plans isn't a bad idea, I just think you need to make a few corrections to what you're doing. To be a leader in a time of peace basically means playing the part of a politician. If you can't find someone to join your cause, you do it yourself by making allies and building bridges instead of burning them. You have to work on your image and your attitude, which I must admit, isn't much better than mine. And don't rush into half cocked plans. It's a recipe for disaster.” If nothing else, Emma was trying to buy herself some time - she didn't entirely trust that Rogue wasn't about to rush into something foolish and if she could at least get the woman to slow down, Emma hoped a cooler head would prevail. Or, if necessary, someone could step in to help.
She looked Rogue over. “My concern is that you aren't being honest with me or with yourself about what's motivating this action. You have a baby. Postpartum depression is a real thing. You lost your love, that grief now informs what you do. And with Mystique here, I worry she's stressed you into movement before being fully prepared. You created this space without consulting anyone, as far as I can tell, and now you're backtracking trying to come up with plans to make it work. It's sloppy and if you continue this way someone's bound to be hurt. I'd rather avoid such a situation.” She finished what was in her glass and set it aside. “What do you want from me here?”
“I think you’ve got a big old misconception about what my image is here with these people.” Rogue snorted, unable to keep her amusement at Emma’s comments spilling over. “I’ve been the one from the beginnin’ who was workin’ to get all of us talkin’ and doin’ things with everyone else in this dang town. I built relationships with some of the Avengers, mostly Sam Wilson. Some with Natasha. I’ve got things built with different magical groups, partially because of my work in the school but also with workin’ to get all of us on the same page when we all got thrown into Tumbleweed in the beginnin’. Any distance that I’ve had over the last few months can be easily explained away as me grievin’ the loss of my husband and figurin’ out how to raise a baby and a teenager on my own while grievin’ and doin’ all I do for the school.”
“I may not know many of the new people as well as I should, but I know every single person who’s been around here for awhile. And it's easy enough to change that with everyone who’s new.” As for the space. Well, only a handful of people even knew it existed and that it had been her. She didn’t doubt for a minute that the others would be trying to keep what she’d done locked down and in house knowledge only. “I ain’t entirely sure that I do need anythin’ from you.” Betsy would probably have her back even if she didn’t always like what Rogue was doing. “But I know you ain’t happy with how everythin’ is goin’ here and I thought I’d extend the offer of figurin’ this out together. Erik respected you to a degree. That’s more’n enough for me. I ain’t gonna lose sleep if’n you don’t want anythin’ to do with any of this though.”
Emma laughed, not taking Rogue’s amusement badly. “Don't blame me for thinking the worst when I see you snapping at people over the network. It's good you have your ties. To an outsider, you come off as… grumpy. Work on it.” She smiled. “I appreciate you reaching out to me. I'm glad to hear Erik thought well of me.” But here was the pinch - Emma didn't know if she should get too involved here. Especially since Rogue hadn't responded to emma’s concerns about her mental state. “I’d like to know more about what your endgame is. If you want to make us a home, how are you going about it? How would you make it sustainable? We'd be concealed but that also means we wouldn't have trade partners or allies. How would you feed and clothe all of these people without relying too heavily on any one person or thing? That's what I'd be considering first.” She sighed, glancing back over at the baby. “I appreciate your honesty and I'll return the favor. I'd like to be kept up to date on any developments, if just to be prepared for the fallout. Let me know how I can help and I'll let you know whether I'm willing to take such steps.”
“My husband died two months ago. I’m allowed to be snappy.” Rogue wouldn’t apologize for doing so, especially not to those she hadn’t been all sunshine and roses to. As for the rest of Emma’s questions, she held back her response. There were people here that Rogue trusted and knew would be able to take care of those pieces. It meant bolstering up the supplies that she’d already started gathering for her setup. It meant getting hold of the technology that she knew existed in the mansion and elsewhere in Tumbleweed and duplicating it down there as well.
“Thanks for considering.” She gestured toward the door, already formulating who else she needed to approach. “I’m sure you can show yourself out.”
“Of course,” Emma said with a little nod. She rose gracefully, thinking about who she needed to talk to about this in order to stop something terrible from happening. She took a few steps but then stopped. “Rogue,” she said, turning and facing the woman once more. “You've been through a lot in a short amount of time. All of us have in our own ways. Be careful,” she cautioned. “I speak from experience when I say that moving without giving things their full consideration can blow up in your face.” Emma thought of her own grief and of sentinels and of the mess that was likely waiting for her back home. Her features softened slightly. “And if you need someone to talk to about the baby or about Erik or anything else, I am available.” She turned again and headed toward the door.
Rogue didn’t reply, waiting until Emma was through before waving a hand to lock the door and turn down the lights some. She concentrated on hearing the baby breathe, on the connection that was always present between her and her daughter. There was much to contemplate and plans to adjust and make. No doubt there would be more conversations to have with the others that she knew. Rogue was well aware that Emma would probably reach out to some of the others and inform them of their talk. But she would deal with that later. For now she wanted to sit in the peacefulness of her home and remember the good times before moving forward again.