The Shadow King

"The Shadow King," Xavier told the two women. "It has to be."

PG and Lilith sat in Professor Charles Xavier's office, across from the man himself, along with Rogue, Jean, Emma, and Betsy.

"The Shadow King..." Lilith said in dread. She'd done her homework on the Shadow King over the years -- an omega-level telepath, among the most powerful on the planet. Trapped in the astral plane by Xavier, he'd made attempts to escape before, even successfully finding hosts (albeit briefly) before being thwarted by the X-Men and **** back to the astral plane.

PG looked at her partner worriedly. She didn't know as much about the Shadow King as her partner, but she knew enough to know that this was bad. Really, really bad.

Rogue shuddered as the color drained from her face. The Shadow King was in her mind? How long had he been there? How much damage had he done? "Oh god... the Shadow King..."

PG placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder as Xavier continued. "This would explain why none of us have been able to help you assert some sort of control over your powers, Anna Marie. The Shadow King must have buried so much of your psyche away over the years... and he did it so subtly, so gradually, that neither Jean, Emma, Betsy, nor even myself were able to detect him. He's been preparing you to become his host for years, slowly wearing down your resistance, and we were none the wiser..."

"No I'm gonna turn into a monster..." Rogue mumbled, hanging her head. "I'm even more of a danger t'everyone than I thought..."

PG gently squeezed Rogue's shoulder. "He hasn't won yet, Rogue. Don't forget, we've made incredible strides since you started working with me," she reminded the mutant.

Xavier echoed PG's sentiments "Paige is right, Rogue. I can sense the progress you two have made, and how it has strengthened you psyche."

"So can I," Jean agreed. "You might not have noticed it, but you hit the Shadow King where it hurts. If you, Dr. Stetler and Dr. Clay keep pushing back, you'll be able to break free of the Shadow King's grasp."

The other telepaths in the room voiced their agreement with Jean and Xavier; Emma in particular had snuck around in Rogue's mind out of curiosity, having a quick, discreet peek when she had the opportunity. And after coming across the dirty thoughts about her in particular that Rogue had had, well... she liked what she saw. More importantly, though, she saw a much stronger mind, one that, if it kept progressing as it had been, would not only be able to break free from the Shadow King, but fully control her powers as well.

"Of course, that does not mean the Shadow King will be easy to overcome," Xavier cautioned Rogue. "The more of your psyche you reclaim from him, the more aggressive he will become -- and you know how formidable an adversary he is."

Rogue looked up at Xavier with a newfound determination. "Yeah, well... so are we," she said firmly. She knew what she was up against now, and she knew how to beat him. "Y'all know I ain't gonna take this lying down."

After meeting with the X-Men, Rogue took PG aside in the hall to talk privately.

"Hey, uh, Paige. I just wanna say thanks. Without you an' Dr. Clay... who knows how bad this coulda ended up. I mean, I know we ain't outta the woods yet, but..."

"Don't worry about it. We're going to kick that asshole out of your mind and back into whatever hole in the Astral Plane he crawled out of," PG interrupted, her voice full of confidence and determination. "Count on it."

Rogue smiled, feeling reassured and optimistic. "Y'know, I could kiss ya right now... but, well, y'know."

PG chuckled. "Yeah, maybe some other time," she said, grinning. "We'll have to put that conversation on hold for now, though."

"Yeah, I know," Rogue agreed. "Sounds like we got a hell of a fight on our hands for the time bein'. But I'm ready for it."