Main Characters: Rogue, Gambit (Remy LeBeau), Cyclops (Scott Summers), Jean Grey, Jubilee, Chamber (Jono Starsmore), Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde), Colossus (Piore Rasputin), Polaris (Lorna Dane), Iceman (Bobby Drake), Wolverine (Logan/James Howlette), Storm (Ororo Monroe), Angel (Warren Worthington), Psylocke (Betsy Braddock), and of course the Brotherhood (Pyro, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and others)
Guest appearances: returning much to the dismay and pleasure of many of you that read the last fic, Deadpool and Mr. Pete Wisdom will be back, along with other characters that will make appearances
Pairings: Gambit/Rogue, Jean/Scott, Jubilee/Chamber, Shadowcat/Colossus, Iceman/Polaris, and others to come or be changed. I guarantee the couples will have changed by the end of this story.
I spent months developing the plot to this story and planned the entire thing out. It's also quite long and is the sequel to my other fic A Price to Charge, but can be considered independent from it. The other story is more of a backup story to why everything is happening (mainly the bad dudes)
Special thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorite, and story alerted Price to Charge. It is because of you guys that I am writing this fic!
Warning: this fic's rating might be changing later on as it progresses, well depending on how graphic I decide to make it when the scenes come. Usually I chicken out of them.
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in this story, if I did, I would forbid many of Marvel's writers from using them since they keep reusing the same stories over and over again!
Every man has A Price to Charge,
And a Price to Pay
- Uncanny X-Men 350
Charles Xavier was being pushed in his wheelchair by Scott Summers aka Cyclops into the police station after receiving a call to come immediately. He was not given much detail on what the situation was except that there was a mutant that could possibly need help.
"Are you Mr. Xavier?" A policeman asked as he walked through the doors after having spotted the handicapped man.
"Yes, I was called this afternoon to arrive here. What may I ask is this about?" Charles asked wanting more information about the mutant he was going to see soon. The policeman ushered him and Scott through the backdoor and they passed by a desk on the right side and continued to walk down a dim lighted hallway.
"There was a 911 call last night about a murder. When we arrived there we found the body and the killer in the alley. The killer was a nineteen year old girl who was covered in blood and crying over the body. She admitted to killing the person, when asked why she replied because she could feel the person dying anyways. She started talking nonsense after that about death and what it felt like and then started crying again." The policeman explained as they reached the interrogating room and found the young girl sitting in a chair in front of a metal table. Her eyes were blood shot and her brown hair was tangled and messy with strands sticking up at different angles.
Xavier observed the girl as she leaned back against her chair and he could see she was shaking. "Is there any other information you can give me?" Charles asked while never taking his eyes off the teenage girl.
"I have gotten reports that she had been traveling with two men for a while. No one has come for her so we do not know if it is true." The cop said and looked from Xavier to the girl with pity written on his face. "Her parents were killed eight years ago and she went to a foster home. However, the foster home closed three years later when five children were killed. I guess she had been wandering around since then." He added.
"What is her name?" Charles asked as his gaze finally left the young girl.
"Melody Jacobs." The policeman answered before Charles wheeled forward. Scott took a step forward to help his mentor into the room but Xavier stopped him before he could.
"I'll be fine, Scott. Stay out here while I talk to her." Charles instructed and the younger man nodded. The officer opened the door and held it while Xavier wheeled himself into the room. Melody watched him until he was across from her.
"You're going to tell me I'm crazy like the others?" She whispered as her hands traveled down to the side of the chair and dug her finger nails into the chair. "I'm not crazy. The man was going to die, I could feel it." She muttered.
"I do not think you are crazy, Miss. Jacobs. I believe you are a mutant with a gift-" Charles began to explain when she slammed her right hand on the table.
"This is not a gift!" She yelled at him. He could see tears forming in her eyes. "You have no idea what it is like! I could feel him, I can feel all of them. So close and not to their end. I don't want to feel them dying anymore."She told him. Her long finger nails trying to dig into the metal table with little success.
"I am here to help you Melody, I understand what you are going through." Charles said in a calm voice but the young girl shook her head in denial.
"You have no idea what it is like. You have no idea what it is like to feel a person die." Melody snapped at him.
"Explain it to me what you feel when you feel a person die." Charles asked, trying to understand the young girl. He had come across many mutants with different powers, but none were like hers.
"The pain, slow and agonizing. It is like it won't end. That is why I helped that man in the alley. He was having a stroke and the paramedics wouldn't have been fast enough. I ended it for him. He was free from all of it." A small smile played on her face as she leaned back.
"Just like the boy who pushed me around in the foster home. He was always calling me names and making fun of me. That was until I pushed him out the window. I didn't mean for it to happen, but he was touching me and I didn't like it. It took six minutes for him to die, all that time he was in pain and pleading. My foster parents found me crying, they thought I was sad because he died." Melody only shook her head as her eyes stared at the table like they were in a trance. "That was when it started and it won't go away." She cried and brought her hands to her head and gripped her hair.
Charles watched the girl debating the situation in his head. He wanted to help the girl. Obviously her powers were not kind to her, but he didn't know if she was mentally stable. He didn't want to bring her back to the mansion and endanger the lives of the other students. "Melody, if you could go back and change the past, would you kill that man again?" He asked her.
Melody ran her fingers down the side of her face, leaving red marks, but not deep enough to draw blood. "To end the pain, yes, I would." She replied and looked at him. She saw him nod his head slowly and the look of disappointment on his face. "You think like them don't you? You think I am crazy. All of them-" She waved her hand motioning towards the glass where Scott and the policeman were watching. "-think I'm crazy."
Melody folded her arms over one another and began rubbing her sleeves as if trying to burn a hole through them. "Not all of them." She shook her head as she began talking to herself, a small smile appeared on her face for the first time. "There was him. He was good to me. He kept the emotions away. He made me feel normal, even though his friend was a pain in the ass. Those red eyes…" She continued to babble.
"Miss. Jacobs, I want to help you with your powers, but I feel it would be unsafe to bring you into my school for both my students and yourself. What I want to do is send you in for psychiatric treatment first." Charles tried to explain, but Melody shoved her chair away from the desk and stood up above him.
"I am not crazy! I don't need someone giving me ink blots I need someone to be there for me and not think I'm nuts! You have no idea what I have been through!" Melody yelled at Charles and the door to the interrogation room opened and the police officer stepped in.
"I understand that, I will be there for you, but you need to calm down and let me explain." Charles tried again, but black sparks flew from her right hand and blasted the desk in front of him. He wheeled back as metal pieces flew and smoke rose in the small room. Scott got into the room as quickly as possible and placed himself between his teacher and the person attacking him with one hand held on his glasses.
"I am going to need back-up." The policeman said over his walkie talkie. He reached behind him for his gun, but before he could grab it she sent a blast at the police officer and sent him into the wall. Scott took off his glasses and sent an optic blast at the young girl now that she was becoming violent and sent her into the wall and knocked her out.
"I am sorry, Professor, but I didn't want her causing more harm." Scott looked down at Xavier, who only shook his head.
"I should have approached her with more caution and found out more about her. I wanted to help her, but I believe if she went through some therapy first it would help before solving the issue of controlling her powers." Charles sighed as three cops arrived and restrained the unconscious nineteen year old.
Scott watched as they carried her out of the room and would eventually transfer her to St. Marks Institute for Mental Health in downtown New York. It was the last time Scott had seen the young girl and he didn't know if Charles ever visited her again or if he called the institute to find out how she was. Her name was never brought up in the school and Scott had often wondered if Xavier ever thought of her.
5 Years Later - Danger Room Session
"Ya gotta be kiddin' me." Rogue muttered under her breath as she dodged a laser blast aimed at her. It had not been a good morning so far. Cyclops had ordered everyone to go to an early morning Danger Room session much to the annoyance of almost everyone. Normally, she did not mind, but at seven in the morning was too early.
They had split up into two groups and had to battle each other while looking out for their teammates, fighting the other team, and any lasers that the Danger Room shot out. The session was going like it normally did until Shadowcat turned on Iceman, who was on her team, and started attacking him.
"What did he do this time?" Rogue asked as she landed next to her teammate, Jubilee, who had her arms folded over her yellow jacket and had pink sunglasses covering her eyes while a pink bubble formed from her mouth before the gum popped.
"Do you really want to know?" Jubilee asked her friend as Iceman froze Shadowcat in place. This gave him a few seconds of rest before the brown haired girl appeared through the ice and continued chasing and threatening him.
"HE IS NOT GAY!" They both heard Shadowcat scream at Iceman as she tried to hit him and missed.
"I told him to leave her alone in her own world. He just doesn't listen." Polaris sighed as the green haired girl floated above the other two girls. It seemed like the fighting had stopped and everyone was watching Shadowcat chase Iceman around the Danger Room. Most of them knew this was going to cost them and they were going to have to come back for another session once Cyclops heard of this.
"What did he say?" Rogue asked again, wanting to know what ticked off the brown haired girl.
"Well, you know how you gave Kitty your Twilight books." Jubilee reminded Rogue, who nodded. "Well she has become obsessed with them and Bobby started taunting her about the books. He told her Edward was gay and the series sucked and she went berserk." She responded as Shadowcat finally caught Iceman and began dragging him by his hair.
"How far is she in those books?" Polaris asked casually, not at all concerned that her boyfriend was getting beat up by a girl that was half his size.
"She is on book two." Jubilee sighed and shook her head.
"She is gonna be really disappointed later." Rogue said before the Danger Room doors opened and Logan walked in with a cigar hanging on the side of his mouth. He wore a white t-shirt and faded blue jeans that looked like he had slept in. His hair was the same as it always was, looking ruffled up.
"What the hell is this? Thought I told ya guys if ya don't take this seriously, Cyke is gonna make me practice with ya and I don't like wakin' up this early in the mornin' everyday to train ya guys." Logan growled, his eyes set on Iceman who had been freed of Shadowcat's hold
"Sorry, Logan." Both apologized and all the younger X-Men came to stand in a group. Less than a minute later, Scott walked into the Danger Room after seeing what had taken place from above. Logan rolled his eyes knowing the younger man was now going to tell them they had even more Danger Room sessions because of the students acting immature. He knew this would take away from his time he got to fight in the Danger Room.
"What is going on here? This is not play time, this is serious. We cannot afford for you guys to be goofing off whenever you want. Someone can be seriously hurt because one of you got into a petty fight over something stupid. Now I want you all here at seven in the morning every day until I see some improvement. You are not little children; you are all young adults and need to start acting like it." Scott ordered to them and they all nodded.
Logan would never admit it, but Scott was correct on the last part. A lot of them still believed that the X-Men were invincible and nothing bad could happen to them. Out of everyone in the room, Logan knew life wasn't some fairy tale with a happy ending to each tale. He knew eventually they were going to learn this as well and hoped it didn't come at the price of one of their lives.
"Where is Gambit?" Scott asked them as he counted and realized the Cajun was missing. The younger X-Men all looked to Rogue who took a step back.
"Why ya'll lookin' at me? Ah ain't his keeper. He didn't show up and he wasn't in his room when Ah went ta see him this mornin' so Ah thought he was already down here." She told them and crossed her arms over her chest.
"He is another one, undermining my authority. I specifically told him to be here on time and he does what he wants." Logan could swear he saw a vein pop out of Scott's head when he talked. The Cajun and the X-Men leader were not on good terms, mainly with Gambit doing what he wanted when he wanted. He didn't like people ordering him around and it was one of Scott's specialties.
"Ah'll go find him." Rogue told them as waved a hand. She could hear Scott issuing orders to the other students, but ignored it. Sometimes she wondered if the older man just liked to hear his voice getting higher when he shouted. She shrugged it off as she went to go find her Cajun.
In the control room Ororo and Jean sat next to each other monitoring the field before them. It had been a few weeks since they found Jean who was still recovering her memories. She couldn't provide them the answers to why she was alive again or what happened before she was killed by Logan, but each day Scott worked with her in recovering her memory.
"So, how are things with you and Scott?" Ororo asked her red haired friend. It had been unnaturally quiet in the control room and the white haired woman couldn't stand it much longer. They would chat non-stop about everything before Jean had gone evil and was killed, again.
A small smile played on Jean's lips as she looked down with adoration at Scott in the Danger Room before she turned to Ororo. "He has been wonderful. He doesn't rush me into remembering who I am and is taking it slow. Every time I get frustrated, he always calms me down and we take a break." She sighed as she looked back at Scott who was yelling at Logan to put out his cigar. Logan rolled his eyes at the X-men leader and flipped him off instead.
"He's such a wonderful man, I feel so lucky that he is there for me." Jean sighed happily.
Ororo nodded with a faint smile. It was good to have her old friend back. She missed times when she needed to talk to someone who would understand her and no one did like Jean. It wasn't the same, but she knew overtime when Jean regained her memory perhaps things would return to normal finally.
Outside
Remy was doing a headstand on the pier out by the boat house with his red on black eyes closed. His normal tan skin looked paler than normal despite all the times he had been in the sun over the past weeks. He moved his left hand away and placed all of his weight on his right. He had learned this technique from his sister-in-law, Mercy. It was supposed to help calm and put his mind to ease. So far, it was not helping.
It all started three weeks ago, or maybe it had been sooner and he had not been paying attention. However, the signs became more obvious by the day when random objects would blow up just by glancing at them. He first thought it was just his imagination, but then it became more frequently.
Drops of sweat greased up his hair and some managed to hit the wood as he slowly switched hands and then opened his eyes. He could see it again. The molecules in the air dancing around him, brushing against his skin and waiting to be released. He closed his eyes again and tried not to think about it.
He already knew his powers had been acting up since his encounter with the strange doctor at Weapon X, but he never thought they would continue to grow. According to Ororo, of what she knew of it at least, a mutant's power usually began at puberty. His powers did, but then stop growing until a month ago when they grew unsteady. It had caused him to be sleep deprived due to one night of dreaming about charging a card and to wake up to his blanket glowing..
Remy brought his legs down onto the wooden dock beneath him and sat down to wipe the sweat from his forehead, feeling it warmer than usual. The past week he felt himself becoming fatigued from keeping his powers in line. Then only a few days ago, Scott had been ordering him around and almost caused him to lose his temper and control. If the older man had stayed in the room a minute longer he would have seen the bookshelf began to glow. However, Remy had been able to recall the charge into himself and it almost caused him to pass out.
He had thought about talking to Storm about his powers, but knew she would drag him down to the basement and he would have to face Hank who was already suspicious of him after his arm healed so fast from the battle against Sabertooth, Wolverine, and Deadpool. He knew the blue mutant doctor would want to poke and probe him. He didn't want to be some project that was studied under a microscope.
He sighed in frustration as he clenched his hands into fists. He wanted his powers back the way they were. When they were controllable and made him feel lighter. Now it felt like a great force was swirling and pounding into him. However, the most important reason he wanted them gone was because of Rogue.
He didn't have many people left in his life that were important to him. After what happened with Belladonna and Genevieve he knew it would destroy him to lose another woman that he loved. He knew she was protected by Logan and her friends, but he was worried she was not protected from him. If his powers were to slip and he caused her death… 'Non, not gonna think about dat.' He shook the horrible thought away.
He felt a gust of wind hit his bare back and heard someone land in the grass behind him. He knew there would be only two people it could be: Stormy or his lovely Rogue, and since he knew Storm had been spending her mornings with Jean since she had come back, it left Rogue. "Y' up early, chere." Remy said as he stood up and turned around.
Rogue was still wearing her uniform from the Danger Room and had her arms crossed over her chest. The white stripes of her hair were tucked behind her ear, keeping them out of the way of her emerald eyes. "Kinda had ta when we had a Danger Room session, one ya did not show up for." She responded to him and took a step closer.
Her eyes washed over his face and she noticed a few differences in him. His face was looking pale and had dark circles underneath his eyes as if he hadn't slept in days. He had his usual arrogant smile on his face that he wore whenever she was around, but it almost seemed forced.
"Forgot about dat, let me guess, stick-in-the-ass told ya to come and get me so he could tell me how I'm not a team player and all dat crap again." He sighed, already having heard the speech from Cyclops.
"He was gonna complain no matter what. It doesn't help that Kitty and Bobby screwed up the session anyways, so it doesn't matter." Rogue told him and finally stood in front of him. "Ya feelin' alright, Cajun?" She asked and placed a hand on his forehead to feel it burning up.
"So nice of y' to care, but maybe ya hand might be able to tell if ya check somewhere else." Remy grinned and took her bare hand in his. Rogue only rolled her eyes at him. She knew he was alright if he was able to flirt with her.
"Ya know Logan would be out here faster than Jubilee hearing the word "mall" if ya tried anythin'." Rogue teased him and brought her hand away from his and placed it around his neck to draw him closer.
"He's just pissed off cause he ain't gettin' any. Maybe we find someone for him he let de rest of us have some fun." Remy told her causing the southern girl to chuckle and shake her head.
Rogue stared into his tired eyes and at the dark circles under his eyes. She knew he was redirecting the conversation so he wouldn't have to say anything. He always did this whenever he was uncomfortable about a topic and wanted it to end. He was very good at it too, but she was not fooled by it like some others were. She would let it slide and hoped he knew what he was doing.
"Ya trust meh Cajun?" She asked, her tone serious.
"With my life, chere." He leaned in to kiss her and brought his arms around her waist to bring her in. She closed her eyes peacefully as she felt his lips against hers and his tongue tracing her bottom lips until she opened it to give him access.
'Then why don'tcha trust meh enough ta tell meh what's wrong?' She thought to herself.
Unknown Location
The man once known as Nathanial Essex, now known as Mr. Sinister sat in a black leather chair in front of four monitors, each screen with something different. His dark red eyes watched one screen with great interest as he brought a black glove to rest under his chin.
On the screen was an event that had taken place only weeks ago. It was when the X-Men had fought Charles Xavier, or the Shadow King some had yelled at the man. This group of mutants seemed exceptionally strong and perhaps would be of use to his master, Apocalypse. However, one mutant caught his eye more than the others: Cyclops. He watched as the leader raised a hand to his visor and sent an optic blast at the Shadow King. The power could be useful in the right hands.
He ignored as the door behind him opened, already knowing that he would be annoyed in a few seconds. Sure enough, the back of his chair was spun around and he came face to face with Famine.
"Master Apocalypse is not happy with you. For weeks you have done nothing to find his horsemen. How is he supposed to rule over when he has no generals? Once the tribe finds his new body he will rule again, but he can't if you don't do your job!" Famine snarled at him.
Sinister didn't look affected by what the horseman was yelling about, only observed his creation he made weeks ago. Famine, in his eyes, was perfect. He had hoped that after Apocalypse had taken over, he would be allowed to study Famine and it's unique powers.
"Does Apocalypse want any mutant picked off the street or does he want the best guard's possible? I could find weak mutants to put at his disposal and even with his technology that he has given me, would not be enough to create an alpha level mutant. You were picked because you are one of the strongest mutants, and that is only the best for Apocalypse." Sinister sneered at Famine while keeping his mental shields up the highest they could go.
Famine glared at him, not trusting his words. There seemed to be something behind what Sinister had said, but Famine could not figure it out. Every time something was brought up about Sinister's trustworthiness, he would always change the subject or make it seem he was working hard for Apocalypse, something Famine doubted.
"You better have a new horseman by the end of the week." Famine warned before turning around and heading towards the door. Before the horseman could reach the door, it opened and a fifty year old woman with grey hair walked through with a mad expression on her face. She ignored Famine and the stares she received and walked right up to Sinister.
"What is the meaning of this? You said you would find me a new body, I didn't know you were going to put me in a body that was about to die!" Malice yelled at Sinister, who was looking amused. She began to wonder if this had been a joke he had been playing on her, but she was not amused.
"My dear Malice, this only proves that the collar around your neck works." Sinister pointed out and Malice looked down at the black choker around the neck of the body she was borrowing. "When I found you, you were traveling from body to body because you were unable to keep control over one. The choker holds you in place and makes sure you cannot be extracted from the body you inhibit so long as the choker is in place. The elderly woman was only a test until we find a body that is more suited for you." Sinister explained to her as she folded her arms over her chest.
"What kind of body do you have in mind?" She asked him as he spun his chair around back to the monitors. She looked up at them and her eyes drifted from one to the other.
"I plan on using you as a spy. You will claim the body of one of the X-Men and report to me." He told her and didn't notice the wicked smile that came over her face.
"So that means I can have a little revenge of my own? Mainly on that southern bitch." She asked sweetly and rested her arms on the back of the leather chair.
"There won't be need to, once we're finished there won't be any X-Men left." Sinister said as the monitor to the left of him began beeping and he smiled watching the lines increase.
"What is that?" She asked noticing that all the other monitors were of mutants Sinister had been watching while this one read like an EKG machine.
"This is from a project I have been working on for a while. I was interested to see if a new drug that I developed months back would increase a mutants powers. All of the others had been failures, except this one. I've kept tabs on him ever since." Sinister told her, knowing it would do no harm. Malice's existence belonged to him and he could take it away if she dared to cross him.
"Who's this mutant?" Malice asked curiously as the lines began to increase.
"You will meet him when you invade the X-Men's home. His name is Remy LeBeau." Sinister answered and didn't notice Malice look down at him after recognizing the name. Fragments of her memory remembered the name from Rogue's mind and she knew that the southern girl had a crush on the Cajun mutant. She didn't know if they had taken anything further, but if they had, Malice smiled to herself, things would be fun once she started messing with them.
"What do you plan on doing with him, besides watching his power increase?" Malice asked him with interest. She knew Sinister would tell her what she needed to know and that would be all. He kept most secrets to himself and let things be revealed as they came. She hoped he was chatty today.
An evil grin came across her face as she imagined all the horrible things she was going to do to Rogue once she saw her again. Maybe cut off that hair. A few cuts to the face, a stab here and there, or maybe even cut off her arms. She shivered in delight at the thought. Of course this is where she began to debate herself: was it better to inflict physical pain before mental or mental before physical. She supposed that physical before mental would be affective. Torture the young girl before she sees her world come crashing around her with her loved ones dead as well. This way she could comprehend what was happening. If she killed the girls loved ones first she wouldn't care as much because her only reason for living was gone.
"You shall know in time." Sinister's response broke her thought. Malice sighed in frustration and impatience. She wasn't one for planning, only action. "No need to be upset, my dear Malice, you shall have your revenge and I shall have what I want and more. By the time this is all over, all the X-Men will be nothing but a memory to this world."
End of Chapter 1
A/N: Side note, do not own Melody Jacobs aka Threnody, she belongs to Marvel. I made her a bit more nuttier than normal. As for Famine, the only hint I will give on it will be that it is a well known in X-Men and has appeared in one or more of the cartoons. So, good, bad, why did I waste the last few minutes reading this crap?