June 19, afternoon, two days after Fragile

---

Rogue was in a good mood despite what she was about to undertake. Two days prior she had lost control of her powers. The collection of personas within her mind had broken free and took control of her body. She had attacked one of the students. Thankfully, Chris had not been injured. The composition of his body due to his own mutation had protected him somewhat. If Rogue had been able to manifest the powers that were connected to the personas it could have been an entirely different outcome. Thank God for little blessin’s Rogue thought grimly.

What was putting her in a better mood had actually happened just the day prior. Kyle had come to see her while she was taking things easy. It was a surprise visit but Rogue had enjoyed it entirely. The X-Factor member had come by to cheer her up and brought some flowers that looked a bit worse for wear after the long motorcycle ride from New York. They had talked for a short while but Rogue had been nervous the entire time. Talking to Kyle made her nervous. She had grown to like him a lot and mostly she was afraid she’d do something idiotic but mostly that was masked by the fear that she’d put him into a coma with the slightest mislaid touch.

Rogue took a big step yesterday. She admitted to Kyle how she felt about him and he did the same. The attraction and feelings were mutual. That had been a big relief. There had been a nagging in the back of her head that her feelings were not mutual but that had been silly. It was obvious that Kyle had been interested in her. He tried to impress her and make her feel special every time they were together. It was yesterday that the two of them became a couple. There were still worries for Rogue. She wanted a relationship and cared for Kyle but her powers forced her to keep everyone, especially Kyle, at arms length.

The task at hand was bringing Rogue’s mood down slightly. She was sitting in Emma Frost’s office. They were going to have a telepathic therapy session in an effort to repair some of the damage that had been done to her psyche. Rogue hadn’t done a telepathic meeting with Emma before and it was a bit unsettling letting a brand new person into her mind. It was necessary however and Emma was eager to help and that was really what Rogue needed. She had always seen these powers as a curse. If she couldn’t get rid of them, then she’d have to settle for putting a bridle on them and holding on for the ride.

“Ah’m sorry, Emma. Ah was miles away,” the power absorber replied. “Ah really appreciate you helping me with this.”

Rogue didn’t add ‘since Jean is away.’ That just seemed like bad manners, almost as if Rogue had to settle for second rate. That was not the case at all. Rogue was sure that Emma was fully capable; it was just that Jean and Scott were aware and the problem needed to be addressed. Or at least as close to it as possible. “So, how do we go about starting this little party?” she asked trying to sound more upbeat than she was actually feeling.

Only a mere few days ago there was a serious incident at the mansion. When former Brotherhood member Rogue lost control of her mind and body and attacked a student in one of the hall ways. With some of the heads of the school out on various missions. Emma took it upon herself to venture down to the infirmary and check out the situation for herself. Emma knew something needed to be done to sooth the minds of the mansion, With all the strays the X-Men have been bringing in it was only a matter of time before something occurred to put the students on Edge.

So Emma took the opportunity to step up to the plate and handle the situation as best she could. Luckily for her it seemed that Rogue's problem was indeed something Emma could solve for her. A mass flooding of minds in her own head, were gripping and fighting for control. It seemed simple enough just remove the excess in Rogue's mind. But of course Emma knew nothing was ever that simple in this day and age. Never the less Rogue and Emma agreed on a meeting in Miss Frost's office to start a series of telepathic therapy sessions.

As Rogue then sat across from Emma in her office and told her she appreciated her helping her out with this situation. “Think nothing of it dear” Emma said in response as Rogue then followed up by asking how should they start the session. “Well, Miss Rogue...” Emma said with a cocked head. “Do you like being called Rogue? Would you prefer something else?” Emma asked wondering she had never heard Rogue called anything else in her short time at the mansion, But thought it polite to ask if she did like always being called by her codename even in casual situations.

Once the name was settled on Emma continued to answer Rogue's previous question. “But, I think perhaps the best way to start this party as you called it, Is fairly simple. Before I go running off into your mind... Is there anything you want to tell me? Anything at all dear. Remember I am not here to judge or criticize you. I am just here to help you. So any information you would like to be forthwith would be greatly appreciated and help us get to the root of the problem much quicker.”

Miss Frost. Emma, really. It seemed a bit strange to call her Miss Frost. They were near the same age weren’t they and they were almost on the same level of authority. The swamp rat wasn’t a stickler for pomp and circumstance. She much preferred a down to earth humble approach and so far that seemed to be the route that Emma was trying to take. The blonde was trying to make Rogue feel at ease in her finely adorned office. Emma probably understood Rogue’s apprehensions about the telepathy session. If anything, they had it in common it was having the voices of others in their minds.

Emma went to ask Rogue if she preferred to be called Rogue or something else. Rogue gave that question the briefest of thoughts. For a little over half of her life the striped mutant had gone by Rogue. She had all but cast her birth name aside and could count on one hand the number of people to whom she had revealed it. Rogue didn’t identify with the moniker like some of the Brotherhood members. It wasn’t her ‘slave name.’ The mutant just related more to the idea of a rogue than the name her mother had given her. The power absorber had seen it as a term for a thief but long ago Mystique had given her a different definition to live by; one that lives on the fringe of society. From that moment it was the name she chose to live with.

“Please, Rogue is good. Ah insist,” Rogue said.

Emma then got down to business and explained that before the session was ready to begin if there was anything that Rogue would like to tell the telepath. Rogue didn’t know confession was built in but perhaps Emma wanted to give her a chance to explain things before any surprises showed up. It was a chance to clear anything up and given Emma a preconception of things to expect. “Ah’ve got nothing to hide. Everyone knows Ah was with the Brotherhood and everyone knows Ah’ve done some real bad things. When we go in, what we see is what we see,” Rogue explained. When they entered her mindscape she wasn’t going to air her dirty laundry but she wasn’t going to hide everything like a scared school girl either. “But Ah guess we’ll just have to trust each other. How often have you done something like this; helped level someone’s psychic floodplain?”

Rogue told Emma that calling her by her code name was perfectly fine as Emma nodded in agreement. “Rogue it is then, Dear.” Emma said with a smile as they got down to the crux of the situation and Rogue told Emma that she had nothing to hide, What was done in the past was done and there was no changing that. Instead telling Emma that they would just have to trust each other and handle the hurdles as they come. But in the same breathe Rogue asked how often has Emma done these psychic probing jobs.

As Emma readjusted herself in her seat and sat up a little straighter as she rebutted. “Like you? Never.” Emma said with a dry tone. “But there is a first time for everything. Usually its one body, one mind in most cases a fairly simple set of circumstances. Helping find lost memories, regressing bad memories... and others of the sort. You however are a totally different entity all together. One body... countless minds. How much control do these minds have? I fear that is unknown even to you at this point. Which is why I found it paramount to offer my assistance.”

Emma then cleared her throat as she poured a glass of water from a picture on her desk into a small glass. “Help your self.” Emma mentioned quickly before continuing with her speech. “Who knows what we will encounter in there. However I can reassure you, You are in much better hands then a fresh faced college graduate with a fancy counseling degree.” Emma added with a slight chuckle. “The girl means well I suppose. And I know I am not the easiest to get along with... We all have our checkered pasts dont we dear.”

Emma gave a slight pause before continuing “Believe me I wish my walls were not so high and guarded as they are. As I am sure you do as well. We all find different ways of coping with our myriad of problems. Some helpful, Some detrimental to ourselves and our public perception. Never the less, I am here at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and I am here to make myself a better person. Lend my talents where need be, and help mold the young mutant minds of tomorrow. I am not the horrible monster some like to depict me as. And I know you are not as well. You came here just as I did to find a better way.” Emma then gave a soft reassuring smile.

Emma admitted that a case like Rogue’s was the first one she had ever encountered. She explained that usually the instance was a single person with a single damaged mind residing within. That was far from the case for Rogue. Emma had been accustomed to finding lost or repressed memories or even hiding those memories that could have been too utterly tragic. The problem for Rogue was that she was beginning to think she was just filled up with the remnants of the minds of others. They weren’t full copies of the minds and there were pieces of many of the personalities missing. Rogue wasn’t completely sure it was a boon to her confidence knowing that she was unique in that way.

“They don’t have full control normally,” Rogue explained. “The other day was the first time any of them had been able to overpower me. Sometimes Ah’d see a glimpse of one in the mirror but they’d vanish soon enough. A lot of the personalities are fragmented now especially since their powers have faded. Ah had thought the fact they were incomplete would be helpful but…turns out there’s just too many.”

Emma poured some water and then offered Rogue some as well. The swamp rat tipped the pitcher and took a sip. The water tasted fine enough but she supposed it was all part of the dance. They each had their steps to follow for the therapy session. Frost gave a small dig at Sarah Lewis but then explained herself. She wished she had not needed to remain so guarded. They all had their mechanisms for coping after all. Rogue was about to counter but it was true. Rogue walled herself off from everyone but she was taking baby steps by becoming involved with Kyle. That willingness to change and take a chance was proof enough that they were not monsters. That was enough to give Rogue hope.

Rogue placed her glass on the coaster on the desk and leaned back in the chair in an attempt to get comfortable. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply through her nose. Rogue let her shoulders relax and tried to imagine herself becoming freer. “So, what’s the first step?” Rogue asked with her eyes still closed.

Rogue explained a little further about how her mind has been effecting her telling Emma they usually do not have full control over her, Sometimes only seeing glimpses of the others in mirrors but its all been just fragments of personalities and small minor flare ups, Nothing like what happened with Chris in the hallway had ever happened before. As Rogue then mentioned that now there were just too many different fragments running around in there. After another small exchange and some water being poured Rogue then asked what the first step was.

“The first step dear was you coming here for help. We are beyond step one.” Emma then cleared her throat and leaned across the desk looking back to Rogue and explained what the next step would involve. “What we do next... Is the tricky part. This is where you need to relax and more or less give yourself to me. I'll start looking into your mind and attempt to locate and remove this varlet fragments of your former associates and perhaps we can clear some space up there.” Emma then leaned back into her seat almost slouching.

Before sitting back up straighter in her seat. “So then dear are you ready then?” Emma said with a small smile. “I can not promise we can clear out everything damning and harmful to you and others. But we can at least get started and by the end of the day I hope you will be feeling much better... Curious thou before we get started in just a moemnt... About how many of these unwanted personalities do you think you have in there”

The first step is always the hardest. That is how the old saying went. In that case, it should all be downhill from there, but Emma didn’t go as far as to say any such thing. They both knew it wasn’t going to be an easy undertaking. Or they at least assumed it. Rogue had admitted that she needed help and sought it out. For many that was the hardest thing ever to do, to admit their weakness in something they couldn’t take care of personally. That was what she was learning about. There at the mansion she had a multitude of friends and teammates she could count on for help and support. There was a loose number of folks the power absorber could count on in the Brotherhood in cases like that but it was entirely different.

In the best case scenario for Rogue, each and every single one of the minds copied into her consciousness could be eradicated. They static and background noise had built up over so long that it was hard for her to imagine a time that she didn’t have someone else’s thoughts mingled with her own. The telepath asked as to about how many personas the swamp rat had collected. “Lordy, why didn’t you ask me to count fireflies? Let’s just say there’s ten years worth of bodies lined up on my tally,” Rogue said.

Emma’s instructions for Rogue were to relax and open up her mind. Rogue was fairly certain that the telepath could barge in at her whim but got the feeling it would be less dangerous for her fragile psyche if she didn’t bar the door. Rogue took a few more deep breaths and tried to associate opening her mind with a visual image to facilitate the process. The mental image she landed upon was quite literal. She envisioned a door opening into bright light.

When the bright light cleared Rogue was standing in the Golden Hour. She was once again in her safe place on the banks of the Mississippi River dressed in shorts and a shirt with the sleeves rolled up. It was her go-to meditation spot but the last time she attempted to seek refuge there, she had been swallowed in the flood. At the moment, the waters of the river were calm. Rogue faced the river and held her arms wide breathing in the scent of her home. “Welcome to my happy place,Emma. Ah just slipped into something a little more comfortable,” Rogue said.

Rogue joked at the question Emma asked about how many different personalities Rogue had buried in her mind, adding it was 10 years worth of any one and everyone she has ever come in contact with. “I see” Emma said with a stern tone. As Rogue began to get more comfortable and tried to relax herself. “Good dear, we wont do too much today. I would not want to over whelm you.” Emma added as Rogue tried her best to go into a mediation. Emma could see Rogue was trying to paint her a picture of her 'Happy place'.

When a scene of a dirty river bank with still waters, and Rogue standing by the edge in a pair of shorts and shirt sleeves rolled up. As Rogue welcomed her to the 'happy place' as Rogue sent the message along she tried to slip into something a little more comfortable as Emma retorted. “I guess this is where we differ greatly dear, This would definitely not be my idea of a happy place. But whatever suits you is fine dear, c'est la vie.” Emma then began to focus on looking around within Rogue's mind searching for the varlet personalities to drive out or suppress.

Emma had no idea how long the process would take or where it would lead. But she needed to stay on her guard at all times. It was unknown how much control if any Rogue had over these other people living inside her mind, At any moment a violent super villain could rear their ugly head and cause a world of problems for Emma. One wrong move and Emma could potentially move one of the brotherhood's personalities into the forefront of Rogue's mind and have them take charge. Truth is, Emma has no idea what lays ahead on the journey into the power absorbers mind.