Rogue stared, appalled, as her new teammate attacked the flank steak. She belatedly wondered if someone would see fit to cook for him. Or if he knew how. Her own dinner had suddenly lost all appeal, after watching that Discovery-Channel like scene. Note to self; start taking meals in your own room.

"Rogue? You should eat, my dear. You've been through quite an ordeal."

She glanced up at Mystique, who apparently didn't find Sabertooth's eating habits as nauseating as she did. "It's just been…I'm not particularly hungry," she replied weakly, failing to tack `anymore' onto the statement.

"Quite all right, child," comforted Erik. "Your appetite will return. Perhaps you need some sleep."

"That's—That would be great," she agreed. It would also give her a bit of time to think through a lot of the past day's activities.

---

The room was surprisingly pleasant. It was composed of metal, as were damn near all the building materials in Erik's abode, but had pleasant paintings and was well furnished. She dropped onto the bed unceremoniously and brought her arm over her eyes.

Now what? She was ‘officially' one of the Brotherhood. Next step? She'd been promised revenge against Dr. Grey, for starters. That was a definite bonus to the benefits package. Hmm…after that, what? Stay on with the Brotherhood? She was already starting to question their manifesto.

Couldn't humans and mutants get along at some point? Humans just needed someone to hate, it seemed. Those of a different skin color, religion, and sexuality. Now the current target was anyone with a mutation. Would it pass as well, with time and education? Maybe with goodwill efforts, like the X-Men were providing?

Which brought her to yet another gray subject. What about the X-Men? She'd have to fight them, given the respective ideology of both teams. Facing them didn't feel as strange as she thought. She had no memories of them at all, and so her conscience wasn't overly burdened.

And suppose Mystique and the Brotherhood had lied to her? Entirely possible, given the gain they would receive with her joining. She was an asset with her powers and intelligence. Suppose she had been treated well by the X-Men, but had been betrayed by M., and had her memory wiped? Suppose M. had been working for the Brotherhood all along? Entirely possible, and was seeming more likely with every moment of thought she gave it.

Damn, and everything had been working out so far. Stupid brain.

---

"I don't appreciate being dragged into an alleyway by someone I just met," sniffed the blonde.

Logan grunted. "Sounds like you know me pretty well. ‘Sides, you said you weren't scared."

"I'm not a bit frightened. I just said I didn't appreciate it. Do you have any idea how much these slacks cost? No, never mind, I suppose you wouldn't," she sighed disdainfully. "I don't even see why I'm trying to help you."

"Yeah, about that. What the fuck do you know about Rogue? Ya said you knew where she was. Out with it. Now." He leaned forward menacingly, eyes narrowed and lips set in a thin, straight line.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "I would be violating her trust"—

"Fuck that! Where is she, and how do you know? Who are you?" He was seconds from losing his patience. He could feel his body tense, strung and thrumming like a live wire.

"Which question should I answer first? I'm"—

"Where's Rogue?"

"That was a rhetorical question, you cretin. I'll go along at my own pace. And my own pace does not go well in a filthy alley."

"I don't care"—

"Yes, you do. You care very much, actually." She twisted her full lips into a sneer and leaned back.

Logan's head felt like it was buzzing. Then, an assured voice spoke clearly, feeling as though it were directly between his ears, "Your escapade with Dr. Jean Grey didn't particularly go well with her, you know. Now, if you wish more from me, you'll take me to your friends, the X-Men. To a clean hotel room, which is most assuredly not yours."

In shock, he staggered back. "What the fuck was that?"

She sighed in exasperation. "That, Logan, was an example of my telepathy. My name is Emma Frost. The White Queen, to you. Now, meet my demands, or you'll not see Rogue."

---

"And you—why wouldn't we have heard of you? We would've picked up"—

Frost cut Scott off with a wave of her well-manicured hand. "No, you wouldn't. I'm an exceptional telepath. Cerebro doesn't stand against my skill. Yes, I know of Cerebro, and of the X-Men, and your school. Content with my credentials yet, or should I go on?"

"You have no qualms about going into the minds of others without their permission," Ororo said softly.

"No, I don't. I know what survival is, and what my power can do for me to assure it. I didn't come here for a lecture, nor will I listen to one. I will tell you where Rogue is, but you will listen to me first. Is that understood?"

The nodding of heads spurred her on. "To understand the current situation, you must understand the past. I'm not a philosopher, but it is the simple truth. Shall I go on, or haven't you the patience?"

Again, nodding indicated that she was to continue. "Do any of you understand Rogue's power? Truly understand it?"

Scott shrugged. "Her skin is able to drain the life force, memories, and even powers from"—

"Not that facet of it, you simpleton. I meant the mental impact of said mutation."

"She get dem in her head," Remy chimed in from his position on the floor.

"You are the mighty X-Men?" Frost asked, incredulous. "You, this group, who can't even answer my simple question?"

"Look, lady, I didn't bring you here to insult"—

"Shut your mouth, Logan. Don't ever interrupt me, is that crystal clear?"

He snarled, ready to stand, when Scott stilled him. "We're going to find Rogue, Logan. That's the most important thing. Not posturing. Please, Ms. Frost, continue."

"Thank you. Easy to see why Ms. Munroe has such a romantic interest in you, Mr. Summers." She ignored Ororo's shocked gasp and the jerk of Scott's head. "When Rogue absorbs another, she takes their memories, powers, and life force, yes. She also has to deal with the personality, or ‘voice', of such a person, in her own mind. At times, it can drown out her own. She loses ‘pieces' of herself in order to take in the new. It mixes with her own, until she's unclear as to who she is. The voice, or voices, as she was when I encountered her, wear on her mind. It quite literally drives her insane. It's an induced form of schizophrenia, this byproduct of her mutation."

"I don't see how"—

"Ms. Munroe, I was addressing the room as a whole when I corrected Mr. Logan. Are we understood? I will come to my point."

"I apologize. Please go on."

"As I said, this part of her mutation induces insanity. Now, due to your heartless neglect of Rogue"—

A wall of indignant replies and defenses rose at her choice of phrasing. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists, and said loudly, "I will say what I know to be true. If you continue to hinder my attempts to, I will leave this room and allow the lot of you to carry on blindly and fruitlessly searching for her. If I should leave, keep talking. Otherwise, shut your mouths."

Angry silence.

"Well, then. Your heartless neglect of Rogue ended up with the poor girl absorbing many, many people, and consequently being driven to the brink of madness. She handled all of this rather well, considering. However, Logan's relationship with Dr. Jean Grey brought her hard work toppling down. She felt miserably alone. She wanted out.

"And so she came to me. We worked daily together, attempting to rectify her problems and eliminate the voices in her mind. Unfortunately, over the course of two weeks, it became obvious that the voices in her mind were as deeply ingrained as she herself. They would fade over time, but in that unknown length of time she would be driven mad. Our only option was a total elimination of memory, commonly known in telepathic circles as a "mind-wipe".

"There are different levels of this procedure. At the lowest level, mere seconds can be erased from one's memory. At the highest rank, the mind is completely stripped of all memories, knowledge, and instincts. At this level, the subject becomes comatose and depends on artificial life support. Rogue and I decided that an elimination of all memories and low levels of personality, to destroy the remainder of the voices, was necessary. I left her higher levels of personality intact. This has undoubtedly left her with her own reactions and such, but no knowledge of how she came to be or any sort of personal history. She's not starting from square one. I left her with her educational information, such as reading and the high-level computer work she has attained.

"During the period we worked together, she helped me in numerous personal matters. In thanks, I donated twenty million dollars from my own funds to allow her financial freedom. She attempted to refuse me, but I insisted. She was rightfully thankful.

"In closing, I would like to add that I did what Rogue requested. I in no way took advantage of her or violated her trust or wishes. She and I had an extremely close friendship, and one that I indeed cherish. I intend to resume contact with her, given time, but she needs to gain a foothold in the world first.

"However, the truth of the matter is that Rogue is currently with the Brotherhood of Mutants. Mystique paid a persuasive visit to her and utilizing half-truths, lies, and a fair bit of charisma, convinced her to become a member of their organization. I became aware of this through Mystique's thoughts: however, I was at too great a distance to telepathically sway the situation. I allowed the lot of you to hear this because, as Rogue's friend, she must be rescued. I don't believe she will be overly delighted should she find out that she has hurt innocents—though I believe there is no such creature—to be injured by her while she was under the influence of another. I have yet to decide how to broach these subjects with her. I am fully aware that I need your help in rescuing Rogue from the Brotherhood, as I cannot do it myself. I will now accept questions and suggestions." The White Queen relaxed in her seat.

Hank tentatively raised his hand. At her nod, he began. "I know of you—you belong to the Hellfire Club, do you not?"

"Indeed I do. That is not pertinent to the current situation, though."

Hank mulled that over for a moment. "That doesn't lend much credibility to your statements, Ms. Frost."

"I am aware," she replied indignantly. "But given the current situation, you don't have much of a choice as to what credibility you attach to my testimony. It is the truth, whether you choose to believe so or not. My own organization will not aid me in helping Rogue, since it doesn't apply to them or our cause at all. It is therefore up to me, and those I would request help from. I assume the lot of you will accept my coming proposal."

"What would that be?" Scott looked hard at The White Queen.

"You will help me rescue Rogue. After we have acquired her, you will all leave. Is that understood? I will tell her of her desire to lose her own memory, and tell her of her situation at Xavier's School for the Gifted. In doing so, I will dispel any and all of the lies which the Brotherhood has imprinted on her. If she chooses to go back to the Mansion, I will respect that choice. If she chooses to join the Hellfire Club, I would be most obliging. She may well wish to simply live as normal a life as she can, however. All of her choices I will respect. As will you, in addition to my terms. Agreed?"

"No. We—we can't do that. I ain't gonna let her just fall in someone else's hands again. That ain't happenin'." Logan stood up to his full height and shook his head. "She's comin' back with us."

"In that case, you will not accompany me and those who do agree to my terms. It is that simple. If none of you agree, I will personally hire trained mercenaries to aid me. After all, none of you know her exact location. I do."

Scott nodded tiredly. "We understand. Those who agree, say aye."

A chorus of said word erupted from all those present.

Scott continued. "I guess that means we don't need to ask if anyone disagrees. I'll notify the Professor, and have Jean send the Blackbird over for immediate pick-up. We'll form a plan and follow through."