“You can tell me exactly what’s going to happen. You just have to look.” Logan’s voice was still the same, low and calm. It was utterly lacking in inflection. The other children, huddled together behind Max and Elizaveta, shrank back uncomfortably.
“I-I’ve tried,” Elizaveta whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks.
“Try again.”
Max growled, but Logan ignored him.
“It’s always the same. Nothing changes, no matter how many times I try to see.”
“Elizaveta?” the professor queried. “Do you have control over your visions now?”
“Not really.” The girl continued speaking in a whisper, her eyes fixed on Logan as he stood watching her silently. “I can think about a person now and get a look at something in their future, but I can’t decide what I’ll see. And I can’t always figure out when it is that the vision happens. It started when I first got here. Today was the first time the visions stacked up like they did…one after another until I almost couldn’t keep up.”
There was a murmured consultation between Hank and Xavier. Bits and pieces came through clearly only to Logan and Max with their enhanced hearing.
“The trauma of her parents’ death must have triggered further development of her gift,” Xavier was saying.
“Are you sure?” Hank murmured back. “What about what we discussed before? Mightn’t it have been Rogue’s influence?”
Logan quickly turned from Elizaveta and approached the laptop where it sat on the kitchen table. He shouldered Todd out of the way and swiveled the computer toward him. “What are you talking about?” he demanded.
Both men flinched, startled at the sudden intrusion into their conversation.
“You never used to be able to hear us whispering via webcam,” Hank observed mildly, smoothing his hands over his ruff to settle the fur that had risen involuntarily in surprise.
“More evidence,” Xavier sighed.
“Of what?” Logan barked.
“Rogue’s mutation. It appears to have a tertiary ability that remained unnoticed until recently.”
“Yes,” Hank picked up the explanation. “After your email asking about the abilities that Rogue had acquired, we began graphing the abilities of mutants with whom she has come into contact. With some exceptions, those mutants have become stronger after an association with Rogue.”
“What?” Logan breathed.
The professor coughed. “It appears that Rogue is able to enhance other mutants’ abilities.”
“How does she do that?” Todd asked, surprise evident in his tone.
“Well,” Hank rumbled thoughtfully, “we’re not sure. But it appears to have been selective.”
“Explain,” Logan growled, the muscles in his arms and legs twitching in protest as he resisted the urge to pace the room and remained in front of the webcam.
“You have to understand, Logan,” Hank said, trying to placate him. “There’s just still so much we can’t figure out about Rogue, but we have been able to determine that none of the Brotherhood’s abilities have been influenced. Sabretooth, Magneto, and Mystique appear to be no stronger than they were. But people here at the mansion with whom Rogue became close showed remarkable growth in the use of their abilities. We never thought to look to an outside source as a catalyst in their progress because…well…they were mostly teenagers. We assumed it was a normal part of their development as they grew older.”
“So what makes you think Rogue had anything to do with it now?”
“The idea came to me as I began looking into the recent changes in you, Logan. To begin with, it seems that your healing ability has become incredibly advanced, something I had first noticed when you were able to withstand the Phoenix. I only saw her face for a few seconds, but it appeared that she was puzzled when you were able to recover so quickly. Given everything that was going on then, I never discussed it with you; I assumed it was a natural adaptation of your healing - that it would become more…robust, for lack of a better word, as you encountered more injuries, much like an immune system becomes stronger after fighting off illnesses and infections. Then, since you and Rogue were on your own, your feral traits became quite pronounced, which I initially attributed to the mating instincts of those like us. But I had to wonder why those two enhancements only took place in the last few years when you, conceivably, have had decades for your abilities to advance.”
“I thought you said you figured it was just my healing getting a workout and mating instincts kicking in.”
Todd interrupted. “I’m sure this is all fascinating, but isn’t there something more important to discuss right now? Like how to find Rogue?”
“Indeed, you’re right, Todd,” Xavier said. “But as Hank’s theory involves Rogue’s mutation, which may give us some clues as to who took her and why, I think we need to arm ourselves with as much information as we can right now.”
“Fine,” Todd said sullenly. “But can’t he make the explanation faster?”
“I shall certainly try,” Hank said, inclining his furry head in acknowledgement. “So, to continue, Logan, yes I had been content with that explanation, but as we were looking at mutations Rogue had apparently acquired here and I began plotting them on a rudimentary timeline and making notations in the other students’ files, I began to notice a pattern. All of those who were close to Rogue at one time or another - and by close, I mean emotionally rather than physically - showed remarkable improvements in the use of their gifts. Bobby was never able to encase his body in ice despite years of working with the professor, and within a year of meeting Rogue, he suddenly gained that ability. Likewise John had never been able to maintain multiple flames, Kitty had never been able to phase with another person. And Jean, after almost twenty years of stability, suddenly became so strong that barriers the professor had put in place crumbled.”
“Are you saying the Phoenix was somehow Rogue’s fault?” Logan’s voice dropped to a menacing growl.
“I’m not blaming Rogue for it, no, but I can’t deny that she may have had an influence on the situation. She and Jean became quite close and spent a lot of time together in the medlab when they were waiting for you to wake up after the Statue of Liberty. The bond that formed between them then may have resulted in Rogue unknowingly enhancing Jean’s abilities.”
“All right,” Logan brooded. “Let’s say you’re right and Rogue has been boosting other mutants' powers. You’ve always said that there’s an evolutionary reason for how and why our mutations work the way they do. What’s the reason behind this?”
“Defense,” Hank said simply. “Rogue’s mutation seems to be about offense and defense, as we discussed before. I think the key to understanding this part of her mutation is in noting who has been affected. Only the people who were emotionally close to Rogue, people she could trust - or thought she could trust, as we all know about John’s sudden defection - and people she cared for or otherwise wanted to protect. It’s almost like assembling an army, Logan. Magneto had to go looking for strong mutants. Rogue’s ability allowed her to create them.”
Tossing aside his shock, Logan circled back to the conversation’s original point. “So you think she’s affected Elizaveta’s mutation?”
Hank nodded. “That seems the most likely explanation at this time.”
Again, Todd interrupted. “If Rogue is such a super-mutant like you’ve been saying, why was anybody able to capture her?”
They all fell silent, unable to answer the question. Finally, Logan grudgingly admitted, “She’s been having trouble usin’ her abilities the last few weeks. We thought it was just because she’s gotten out of practice, and we know that her mutation doesn’t work all that well when she’s scared.” The last word was a growl, the thought of Rogue being frightened and helpless more than Logan could handle.
“What kind of trouble?” Xavier asked. “Loss of control?”
“Well, no. More like she hasn’t been able to use ‘em at all.”
Hank drew a sharp breath. “That doesn’t make any sense, Logan. There’s no reason for her mutation to abandon her. First, in an evolutionary sense, it’s counterproductive, and second, I don’t think it’s possible without there being something physically wrong.”
“Yeah. Well, work on that, would you, Hank? And, Chuck, if Rogue’s been enhancing abilities, shouldn’t you somehow be able to get in Elizaveta’s head and help her see what we need to see?”
Max growled.
“My abilities remain unchanged,” the professor said. “Hank has surmised that Rogue must have believed I would be more threat than help if I became any stronger. I have never been able to read you and Rogue like I do others, and she undoubtedly saw that as beneficial.”
“So we’re on our own with the visions?”
“I’m afraid so, yes.”
Logan looked over his shoulder at Elizaveta. “You said that every time you tried to see Rogue, it’s the same vision?”
The girl gave a small nod.
“What did you see?”
“The same one I’ve been seeing since I got here. The one of you hurting Miss Rogue.”