It feels inevitable that that memory won’t come up in some way, probably shared at the worst possible time.

She smiles gently and nods. Normally, Rogue wouldn’t be comfortable announcing her mutant status to a complete stranger, never mind sharing what it is she does. It’s bad enough that, if any records from the Cure centers survived, she’s probably on a list somewhere. A giant red bullseye about a mutant who can steal the powers of other mutants, along with potentially sensitive memories that they otherwise might not want to share.

But Laura’s a child, and a mutant child at that, and it doesn’t feel like quite the same thing.

“You’re right. I… um.” It’s not as easy as saying she’s telepathic or can shoot laser beams from her eyes. And she doesn’t want to scare Laura off either by saying that her skin will hurt her.

“When I touch people — skin-to-skin — I borrow their powers. It’s why I wear gloves.” She lifts a hand, wiggling her fingers.

If she wants to get technical, she could probably call herself a power mimic. Sort of. With some extra bells and whistles. “But I don’t do that without permission.” It’s added so Laura doesn’t think she’s going to intentionally try to take her abilities.