A Weak Link { Erik }

[Rogue]

There was no rule that said students, teachers or residents of Xavier's school needed to stay on the property at all times. Frequently, groups of teenaged students would make their way into town, to go shopping or play around at the mall. Truthfully, Rogue wasn't the sort who took a lot of time for herself. More often than not, she was content to stay in the library, or to sit herself beneath one of the trees outside with a good book. When she wasn't being what the others considered boring, she would be training with the X-Men.

Today, she had decided to do neither. For once, the young woman had chosen to take a little time for herself. Headphones playing just loudly enough to drone out the people around her, Rogue had taken her car and left the school, intent on making a quick loop of the mall. She didn't have much need for shopping-- most of the basics were provided at the school, but when it came to pickier things, she found her didn't mind doing her own shopping.

A bag looped on her arm contained hair dye that bragged of a '100% grey coverage' guarantee that she felt like putting to the test, a few new shirts and other necessities. She was trying to decide whether or not she needed to stop in the local bath works store when she noticed something off. Her necklace, one that her mama had given her years ago, was refusing to sit normally. A touch to the silver pendant resulted in a shock, the sort one would experience when charged with static electricity.

Looking around for Ororo and assuming the 'Goddess' was playing a trick on her, she saw no sign of the woman. Unsettled, she couldn't help but speak out a little, ignoring the looks from passing shoppers.

"Whoever's doin' that, knock it off. It ain't funny."

that thread I mentioned a while back! hope it's okay!

Erik Lensherr

[Erik Lensherr]

Magneto knew that, if he was going to win the fight that was coming, the war with the humans, that he was going to need allies, mutants who were like-minded.....or on the fence enough that he could convince them to join his cause. Unfortunately, unlike his old friend Charles, he couldn't simply find mutants like they were lost puppies.

Which was one of the reasons that he'd been keeping an eye on Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters for a while now. Charles had started the place as a school to teach young mutants how to use their powers, but it seemed that more and more, he was teaching them not to utilize their gifts. And that was something that Erik wouldn't stand for.

One of the newest members of Xavier's little band was a young woman known only by the name of "Rogue." Oh, she possessed extraordinary abilities, if only she would learn to embrace them. She feared them, feared herself, but Erik would try to show her that she didn't need to, that she should learn to embrace her powers, embrace herself.

And finally, he had his opportunity. The young woman left the mansion and headed to a nearby mall without taking anyone else with her. Finally, he could have a private chat with the girl, which was the sort of thing one needed, with people like her, people inclined to run.

It didn't take too terribly long for her to realize that something was up, and at her comment, he took a step forward, moving to intercept her.

"It wasn't meant to be funny," he commented dryly. But it had certainly gotten her attention.

[Rogue]

Rogue frowned when the man stepped out in front of her. She'd been expecting a student, someone from the school, but she didn't actually recognise the man in front of her... though something in her mind told her she should have. Touching a hand to her pendant again and noticing that any strange charge which had been there was now gone, she concluded that the man was the one who was at fault.

His words only confirmed it, and her frown deepened. The man clearly either knew who she was or what she was, and just because he had seemed to be a mutant as well didn't mean they had the same things in mind.

"What do you want?" She asked cautiously, tugging her headphones off and shoving them into her pocket. She wasn't wearing her gloves-- the weather was hot enough that it would have looked odd, so she left them behind-- but she didn't exactly want to start any sort of scene. So she did her best to keep her distance, preparing herself for escape at any second.

She really never trusted anyone, anymore. Appearances were deceptive, and just because this guy looked like a frail old man, she knew better than to assume he would be easy to deal with.

[Erik Lensherr]

It was clear that the girl didn't recognize him, something that, in this case, was a good thing. Usually, his reputation preceeded him, and if that had happened here, he wouldn't have even had a chance to talk to the girl, let alone try to convince her that she should leave Charles to come join him.

He raised his empty hands to show that he meant no harm. That he had come empty-handed didn't mean anything, not with powers like his. But all he wanted to do was talk; he didn't want to try to hurt her, and he certainly didn't want to do anything that would cause her to turn on him; she was quite formidable when she wanted to be.

"I just want to talk," he assured her, staying where he was. If he stepped forward too much or if he pushed her too quickly, she would run, back to Charles, back to woefully wasting her powers, her potential. And he did hate to see his fellow mutants squandering their gifts, especially one such as hers.

Generally, at this point, he would have offered the girl a hand, to take her aside where they could talk privately, but he knew what the result of that would be. Erik lowered his hands back to his sides, watching the girl curiously. Would she be at all interested or would she simply try to leave? At this point, anything was possible.

[Rogue]

The man raised his hands, palms out, and she waited a moment for whatever was to follow. The man didn't seem to show any signs of attack-- which was fortunate, since she wasn't sure how much destruction she'd be able to prevent in as crowded a location as the mall happened to be.

"Isn't there some sort'a rule 'bout talkin' with strangers?" She shot back, hands settling onto her hips slightly. Alright, so that statement mostly applied to children, which she certainly wasn't. Still, it was the only quick retort that came to her mind...

Watching as he stood awkwardly in front of her, Rogue realised that the man was trying to decide what to do instead of offering her a hand. She could tell, from the way his eyes glanced downwards and his hands twitched at his sides, a look that she was familiar with. Whenever people knew about her abilities, they did that.

Whoever this stranger was, he knew enough about her not to offer a hand. She took a half step backward, out of caution. Sure, her identity had never been much of a secret-- Mystique never took the time to focus much on secrets, and the white streak that blazed through her hair was a bit of a calling card. Despite that, since she'd come to settle in North Salem, things had been... calm. Quiet. She had been unknown... and now, that was being threatened.

"Why should Ah wanna talk t'you?"

[Erik Lensherr]

A small smirk slipped onto Magneto's face when the girl made her comment about strangers. It was true that there was a platituded that most humans fed their children, that they shouldn't talk to strangers, but this was hardly the same.

"I should hardly say you're a child," he quipped, raising an eyebrow at her. "You're quite capable of making up your own mind without relying on such things," Erik added, offering her a little smile. It was meant to be a compliment, after all.

But then, the girl took a slight step backwards, the look in her eyes clearly one of caution. Whether that was because she'd realized who he was or she really was just that wary of strangers remained to be seen.

She asked why she should want to talk to him, and Erik offered her another little smile. "Because, I'm like you," he murmured, "And I know what it's like to be hunted, I know what it's like to have people look at you in fear and wonder what you might do to them," his voice was soft, and his right hand automatically went to his left forearm, where the number was tattooed into his skin. Oh, yes, he knew doubly what it was like to have people hate and fear him. And he didn't want to see this girl's power go to waste; she could rise above all of that....if she would just let herself.

[Rogue]

His comment about her being able to make up her own mind rubbed her the wrong way, for whatever reason. There was some sort of subtle arrogance about it; not as if he was mocking her, but mocking something around her. She could assume whoever this man was, he probably had something against Professor X... and that only made the hesitation in her mind double.

He made no move to advance on her when she moved backward, so she didn't go any further back, looking over her shoulder to be sure no one had stopped to watch the peculiar conversation taking place. Certan they weren't being observed, she looked back to the gentleman as he answered her question at last. His hand came to touch a place on his arm, and out of some sort of instinct she looked down to her own arms, but saw nothing there.

"Yeah, thanks, Ah love bein' reminded that people are afraid of me. Just what Ah wanted when Ah came out here this mornin'." Her tone was flat, unimpressed with how this man was trying to convince her that he was like her. She sincerely doubted that, hated whenever someone tried to convince her of something like that. Other mutants at the school had tried that one, but she'd yet to meet anyone who really was the same. Untouchable, uncontrolled. "Yer sales pitch needs some work."

[Erik Lensherr]

He knew that he wasn't getting anywhere when she continued to eye him warily. Erik had an excellent ability to read people, but even he had people that were harder to pin down than others. This girl....she was one of them. He wasn't exactly certain what he could say that might sway her to listen to him, and he'd apparently started out badly.

"Forgive me, that didn't come out quite the way I wanted it to," he said, inclining his head slightly. "I was trying to say that I understand what it's like not to have control of your powers, to always be worried what might happen that you might go off, that you might end up hurting people." And though he hadn't been out of control for quite some time, when his powers had first manifested, it had taken him a while to master them.

Xavier was trying to cage this girl, trying to lock up those powers, to keep her away from the world. But Erik wanted to encourage her to embrace them, to allow herself to be the one in control of her powers, not to let them control her. She didn't need to be controlled; she needed to be free.

"You are capable of so much, of rising above those who would hate and fear you, to show them that YOU are the one who dictates what others think of you." It was risky, talking to her like this, but then, it had been risky when he'd first had the idea.

[Rogue]

Rogue's eyes narrowed at the man, this old man who was so daring as to claim that he understood her? Her fists clenched tightly at her sides, her nails digging through into her palms without the fabric of her gloves to protect her skin. Her mama's voice whispered somewhere in her head, faint but memorable, in the way that she had always been.

Show him. Show him that you should be feared.

"Let's get one thing clear, sug-- You don't know nothin' about me." She unclenched her hands, if only to point a finger accusingly at the man's chest. She would have gotten closer if she trusted herself not to slip up, not to do something she would regret. Instead, she kept her feet planted, posturing clearly showing how many wrong buttons Erik had pushed, "You don' know who Ah am, what Ah do, or what Ah'm gonna do if you don't lay off."

She needed to go, needed to get away, but some stronger, angrier part of her refused to let her more sensible self go. The Rogue she tried so hard to let go of, the one who had done mama's bidding, was screaming inside of her.

"There ain't no control for powers like mine-- Ah can't turn 'em on or off. They just are. Ain't no might hurt people, Ah just will. So if you wanna walk away from me now, y'might get outta this without one nasty headache... at best."

[Erik Lensherr]

Erik watched the girl, his expression still calm, despite her body language, despite what she was saying. She was a formidable foe, yes, but he had lived through wars. The girl declared that he didn't know anything about her, what she could do, or what she was going to do if he didn't desist.

"It's true; I don't know anything about you," he agreed calmly, as though he had been talking about the weather. "I don't know what you can do or what you're capable of doing." He had only second-hand accounts, after all; he didn't know anything about this girl, not for himself.

One thing was clear, even from the brief interaction he'd had with her; she was powerful. That much he could tell, even without having experienced her powers.

"I may not know about what you can do, but I do know that you should embrace your power. If you're scared of it, it will always be the one with power, using you as a puppet. But if you take hold of the strings, if you choose to wield your power instead of letting it wield you...., you can be stronger than you ever imagined."

[Rogue]

Something snapped inside. She felt it, something buried deep down, something, someone who wanted to tell this old man what for. The external struggle was easier than the internal, and it was a battle she was quickly losing. Her hands opened, clenching again, and she could feel the burning crescents in her skin where her nails had been.

"Oh? An' which powers you talkin' about, huh? The ones Ah was 'born' with, or the ones Ah stole? Did you know Ah can do that? Ah can take someone's powers right outta their body," She felt her feet move forward, but it was hazy. She didn't want to hurt the man, just wanted to scare him, just wanted to be back at the mansion, in her room, alone. "Memories are easy, but takin' someone's entire being? Ah know Ah'm powerful. If Ah wanted to, Ah could kill you, right now, an' it wouldn' even take work."

Mama, stop. Ah don't wanna do this. She pushed the memory down, down into the depths of her mind, where it blurred between memories of life in Mississippi and flickers of Boston, siblings, N.A.S.A., things that didn't belong to her. "If yer idea of strength is that Ah should let mahself hurt people, kill people, take what don't belong t'me, then Ah ain't ever interested in bein' strong. Ah tried it once. Y'know what they called me?"

She was directly in front of the man now. She only slightly shorter than him, and if she'd really wanted to threaten him, she would have flown up to be taller, but there were people in this mall, even if they were avoiding the arguing pair, and she didn't want to draw any more attention to herself than she already had. Instead, she simply held her hand up, as though to touch him, but she had no intention of making any contact.

"A villain. The bad guy. Ah don't ever wanna be that again. So don' push me."

[Erik Lensherr]

The young woman clenched and unclenched her fists, and it was very clear that there was some sort of struggle going on inside her. What it was, Erik couldn't begin to say; that was Charles' area of expertise. But when she began to talk about her powers, Erik tilted his head slightly, to listen.

Even as she spoke, she took a step forward, but Erik held his ground, refusing to budge an inch. He knew what she could do, but not the full extent of her abilities. Then again, he didn't think even she knew that much.

He narrowed his eyes slightly at her words when she presumed to know what his idea of strength was. This whole meeting had been one big misunderstanding, and there was another one right there.

Erik gazed down at her, directly in front of him, and waited a moment mroe, to see if she'd finished talking. It wouldn't do to interrupt her; she'd been on such a roll.

"You misunderstand me," he said. "I said that you should be the one to control your powers. From what I have gathered, that's something you struggle with: control. Because you fear what you can do. It's only when you accept what you can do, yes, the full extent of what you can do, that you will be able to reach within yourself and learn to control your power."

Of course, he was just theorizing, but it sounded as good as anything else. And at this point, he doubted he could say anything that would make this whole situation that much worse.

[Rogue]

"No, Ah don't misunderstand. You ain't listening."

Her hands finally went to her pockets, shoved inside to keep herself from doing any unnecessary damage. Her eyes had decided, instead of burning into the man's own, that they would inspect his shoes. Fancy, some kind of leather. German, if she had to guess, maybe Italian. For the moment, she tried to focus on just keeping her breathing even.

"There's no way Ah'll ever not fear what Ah can do. An' there ain't any way to control it. It's in my skin. So Ah don't think you know nearly as much about me as you think you do."

Her eyes raised from the floor, finally, and she squinted at the man a moment. Those little whispers returned, the ones that urged her to do the one thing she was trying to avoid. That told her she should be afraid, that told her this man was here to harm her if she didn't harm him first. Finally, the dark voice in the back of her mind pushed her far enough."But Ah am curious how you found so much out about me."

Rogue moved quickly then, reaching out and taking firm hold of the man's face. She had to hope that the memory was close enough to the forefront of his mind for her to absorb quickly, without doing any permanent damage.

[Erik Lensherr]

From the moment Erik had started to try to talk to his young woman, nothing had gone right. He had started out badly, using the wrong tactic to try to get her to talk to him, and now, she was resolutely refusing to listen to him. Nothing he could say would make any difference now. She was a lost cause, at least for the moment.

Perhaps, if he were to know more about her, about her past, he could try again later, or send one of his followers to set the trap, but for right now, all he could do was minimize the damage that had been done through this little chat. But before he could do or say anything to that end, the girl said that she was curious how he found out so much about her. She moved quickly, before he could react, before he could get away, and her hand was on his face.

He could feel her power working, trying to take what was his, his power and his memories, and he had the briefest of flashes of the Mansion, of keeping an eye on it before a metal trash can dislodged the girl from his face. He'd reacted instinctively, without fully thinking about it, and his powers had called out to the nearest metal object, drawing it to him.

It was time for him to leave, before this situation deteriorated even more. "We will meet again, Rogue, you can be certain of that," he intoned, wrapping a forcefield around himself and flying up, through one of the mall's open skylights. That had been an unmitigated disaster, and he only hoped that what memories she'd gleaned from him wouldn't be enough to damage his plans.

[Rogue]

Rogue's eyes darted around, watching memories that were not hers to witness, seeing how the man had been spying on the Mansion long enough to find out about her, probably some of the other kids. She pressed mentally against that memory, trying to pry it for more when she was drawn back into her own mind by the heavy trash can colliding with her body, sending her away from Magneto and tumbling to the ground.

She saw red for a moment, reaching her hand upward and flexing some mental muscle she hadn't had before, some power that wasn't hers to possess, in an attempt to alter the magnetic field he had wrapped himself in. She could see it, could feel the polarity humming and buzzing around her, and she pulled backward.

She only needed him to stumble for a second, only needed him to be thrown long enough for her to reach him. She was on her feet seconds after before taking for the sky, propelling herself upward with her own flight in order to catch him by the ankle.

"Sooner than you might think, sug."

Twisting her body about, she swung the man back downward towards the mall floor, paying enough attention to try and toss him somewhere where he wouldn't hurt anyone on landing, or impale himself.