Choix
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters…and yes some of them will probably be OOC…and there will be some character bashing…but this is a fan fiction and as the author I am taking liberties in my writing.
Warning: There will be bad grammar throughout this story, because the main character speaks that way…so for the most part, the mistakes are supposed to be there, just letting the nit-pickers know ahead of time…their brain may hurt a little after reading this…and this is only the first chapter.
"Dark Glittering eyes,
Two little black jewels,
Lust and Hatred,
His two favorite tools," (Danielle Mitchell, Beautiful Chaos)
White completely covered all his surroundings. The ground, compacted snow and more swirls in the air around him. He stood there staring incomprehensively at the sky. His thoughts swirling in his mind similar to the falling snow caught in the blizzard like winds.
'Dey're coming back. Dey wouln' leave a teammate behind.' Remy thought to himself hopefully, but then a more cynical voice came forward. "Dey ain't coming back t' save ya. Remy's just a murdering', no good t'ief, why would dey want ya? Don't ya see, dey left ya here to die."
"Ya right, Remy should die, dat be moi punishment fo' my past." Remy said in a resigned tone.
'Non, ya can't die, what about dose who care fo' ya, huh?'
"Dey be better wit'out Remy, it's best fo' all."
'No it's not, besides ya never let abandonment boder ya dis much before. Ya don't have ta return to dose stupid X-men, just live your own life fo' once.'
"Yeah, Remy don't have ta die just 'cause dey want Remy to. Remy finally aint under anyone's control and can just live fo' Remy."
Remy's red and black eyes hardened as he turned away from the spot where he was left behind and began to walk. The snow swirled around him and his shadow disappeared. On the ground lay his communicator.
Remy could feel the Kinetic energy of people coming from a scientific base he knew was there. He slowly trekked across the frozen wasteland towards it, hoping to either find help or steal something to help. He knew Magneto's Citadel was around here, but he refused to ask him for help.
As Remy walked with the wind blowing behind him, he used his Bo staff as a walking stick to make sure the ground was solid enough to walk on. His body was on autopilot, following the feeling of energy and something more definitive that allowed him to know the base was inhabited.
His mind however was distracted, replaying the scene of his latest desertion over and over again.
They were on the Blackbird and taking off after the trial, when suddenly the loading ramp opened and Remy found himself falling backwards. He was holding onto the edge of the door when he saw Rogue coming towards him. He thought she was going to help him, until she started to step on his fingers. "Well sugah this is where ya get off." She told Remy as she ground her heel on his hand. Before he let go, he saw Warren leaning against the wall beside the panel with the controls, smirking contemptuously. Next, Remy was falling, reaching out hoping it was a joke and they would come back and get him.
Remy's distracted mind was jolted out of his reverie when the pulse of energy and feeling he was following suddenly grew stronger. He stopped and stood on the crest of a hill that surrounded the scientific base, watching the activities of the research base.
His burning red eyes quickly scanned the format plans of the building and equipment that was available. Using his increased agility, Remy ran down the snow slope, before coming to a complete stop behind a large piece of machinery. From his new vantage point he scanned the side of the building for cameras and using his powers to feel out the entities inside. From there he ducked under the roof in one of the stationary cameras blind spots before making his way towards the entrance.
At the door, Remy charged a small amount of potential energy in the doors locking mechanism, causing it to explode and the door to unlock. "Dat could 'ave gone betta' if Remy 'ad 'is tools, but oh well." Remy stated dryly, shrugging his shoulders.
Remy pushed the door in and peeked around the hallway sending his senses further out, he couldn't read anyone nearby. He quickly stole down the hallway and looked for a kitchen to fill up on food and possibly even find some other useful supplies he might need to orchestrate his grand escape off the ice-covered badlands.
While Remy was looking one of the vastly useless doors in this stupid building he heard a voice call out from the end of the hallway and running steps of the person echo in the almost empty hallway. "Hé, vous n'êtes pas autorisé de l'être. Ceci est une facilité assurée. Comment avez-vous équilibré arrivez?" (Hey, you aren't authorized to be her. This is a secure facility. How did you even get here?) The young man, most likely an intern, panted out at Remy.
Remy turned towards the other young man, who gasped when his eyes caught sight of Remy's unusual coloring. "Remy a obtenu un peu s'est tourné, pouvez-vous m'aider, mon ami?" (Remy got a little turned around, can you help me, my friend?) Remy asked as he let his charm enter his voice.
"Oui, bien sûr, de que vous avez besoin?" (Yes, of course, what do you need?) The intern asked in a dazed voice.
"Remy cherche la cuisine." (Remy be looking for the kitchen)
"Je vous prendrai, ce peut être un peu confond." (I'll take you, it can be a little confusing)
"Remy a aussi besoin de savoir s'il y a n'importe quels avions ici?" (Remy also be needing to know if there are any planes here)
"Ouais, bien sûr, nous pouvons aller voyons ceux-là après." (Yeah, of course, we can go see those after) The intern said as they continued to walk down the hall.
They walked down several hallways before coming to a stop at door. The hypnotized man pushed open the door and went inside with Remy following.
Remy went into the cabinets and pulled out the non-perishables and placed some on the counter top. "Avez-vous quelque chose Remy peut utiliser pour tenir toutes ces choses?" (Do you have something Remy can use to hold all of this stuff?)
"Oui," the other man said as he walked over towards oen of the other cabinets and pulled out a thermal lunch box. "C'est pour nos voyages dehors." (It's for our trips outside) He said as he handed it over to Remy.
"Merci," Remy said as he started to shove food into the bag and then moved over to the fridge and began to load up on water.
After Remy was finished stocking up on some of the essentials he would need for his trip back to civilization, he turned around to the young man, "Mener la façon, mon ami." (Lead the way, my friend)
"Le quel est vous avez besoin de?" (What is it you need?) The intern asked as they made their way to the supply closet.
"Oh, juste les bricoles." (Oh, just odds and ends) Remy replied vaguely.
The two men quickly made their way through the hallways again towards the supplies. Once there, Remy chose to collect a couple of useful items, such as a heavier coat, a pair of cloves, sunglasses, a map, and some rope. After that Remy increased his charm once more and asked the young scientist to lead him to the planes.
While walking to the hanger Remy continued to be on alert for other scientists. The less people that ran into them, the less energy he spent on charming them to leave.
When they finally arrived, Remy looked all the airplanes available and chose a small eight seat. He climbed into the cock pit and insisted that the scientist go back inside. "Merci pour toute l'aide." (Thank you for all the help)
Remy then leaned over the front seat towards the passenger side and reached into the glove compartment box.
"Dis shoul'n't be too difficult" Remy stated as he took out the operating manual for the plane.
"Okay, Fairchild model Merlin can travel 1750 miles. Alright," Remy then pulled out the map. "Dumont d'Urville is research station 17, de next closest is de Macquire station. Dis be roughly 1300 kilometers or 808 miles give or take. Den it be anoder 1500 kilometers from dere to Tasmania, which be about 932 miles. Altogeder dat be 1740 miles, and dis plane can go 1750. Remy just be able to make it." Remy calculated quickly before setting aside the map and pick up the operating manual again. He quickly scanned through that before putting it back in the glove compartment and turning in his seat appropriately. He inserted the key and turned on the engine before taxiing the plane out of the hanger. He drove down the tarmac, flipped the needed switches, and pulled down the steering wheel and taking off into the air.
"Please Dismus watch over dis t'ief as he makes his way drough life." Remy prayed out loud.
Remy kept an eye on the compass that was on the dash and the map. He reached cruising speed at 290 miles per hour. He switched the fight into autopilot and decided to fix up something to eat before taking a short nap.
Remy jerked awake a couple of hours later with a sense of foreboding. He shed his borrowed jacket and made his way towards the cockpit to see his status. He checked the compass to make sure that they were still heading in the right direction. Then he looked at the mileage so he could figure out where they were. After doing some quick calculations in his head he figured that he would pass over Macquire Station in about 15 minutes.
Remy grabbed a water bottle and quickly gulped down the liquid as he scanned the terrain below the small aircraft. In the distance he could make out the island that was his first and last landmark before Tasmania. His plans were to either fill up there or board a plane to Sydney, more than likely he would end up going with the latter. He had a sense of apprehension, but there wasn't anything he could do. He didn't want to risk landing at Macquire Station because he didn't know if they were alerted of his strange appearance at Dumont d'Urville.
His thinking distracted him enough, that when he came back to reality he was flying over Macquire. The change of scenery was short lived as the plane quickly flew over the island research station and continued on the path towards Tasmania.
Once the scenery became water as far as the eye could see again, Remy tried think of what he would once he reached civilization again. The first decision he had to make was where he should go. His normal or past destinations were out, because if the X-men, Magneto or anyone else decided to come after him, those would be the first places they would search. Of course, they would have to figure out he made it off of that frozen ice cap first.
He decided that he would head back to North America, because it is the last place they would expect him to relocate to. He would probably make a home n one of the French speaking societies, in order to feel a little bit at home.
However he would have to make decisions on what to do with his life. Thievery as a private business was out because his style was well known to many, and he did not want to risk the chance of being traced through past clients. Besides, there is always a chance that he could meet another Essex, and he did not want that ever.
Remy's mind continued to wander for hours, thinking about key experiences that left in this mess that he calls life. Memories of major decisions he had made flashed in his mind's eye in a slideshow like presentation.
Remy's attention was brought back to the present when he noticed the plane was surrounded by clouds. The clouds were moving with the airplane, and also slowly turning gray.
"Merde!" Remy cursed as he sat up and took control of the aircraft. "Vitus, please protect this damned soul from de storm dat is fast approaching."
The clouds went from wispy white to dark angry gray almost bordering on black. The cock pit was silent before thunder boomed loudly. The plane shook from sound vibrations.
Remy tried to fly the airplane lower, hoping if it was out of the clouds, the flight wouldn't be as bad. Rain began to fall, the sound like coins dropping on top of the metal outside of the aircraft. However, soon the pitter patter became a torrential of rainfall. The wind began to pick up, and visibility was decreasing quickly. Surrounded by clouds and being attacked by rain, Remy's control on the plane was limited.
Remy's goal was to fly lower, because the cloud coverage gave him a disadvantage of sight. Suddenly Remy saw lightening and before the roll of thunder could clap, a second branch of lightening engines failing, Remy pulled up on the wheel, trying to add resistance to the nose dive that the plane was taking.
The airplane was falling fast, however instead of heading straight down; he had brought up the nose enough so that they were cutting diagonally thorough the air. With water fast approaching, Remy tried harder and harder to level the plane. With one hand on the wheel, he reached into the bag and grabbed the rope. He zipped the bag up, and then looped the rope through the handle and a belt loop and tying it off quickly.
Before the aircraft crashed, Remy put the jacket on the steering wheel to cushion the impact.
The plane was rocking back and forth with the waves. Remy groaned, when he finally began to regain consciousness. He pushed his upper body up off the wheel and went to shake his hand to clear it. However, he quickly rethought that action when shooting pain shot up pain. "Fucking, whiplash!" He massaged his neck and induced the cells with a slight amount of kinetic energy to speed up the healing process.
When he could move his head freely and without pain, he did a quick inventory of the aircraft's condition and the state of the rest of his body. The windshield was shattered, and the airplane's nose was damaged. He looked down on himself and saw some scrapes and abrasions, but nothing looked to deep or serious. He followed the rope that was tied to his belt loop, he sighed in relief when he found the cooler. He pulled on the rope to get the bag to float over to him. He opened the bag and withdrew a bottle of water. He quickly downed the liquid, to rehydrate himself before he pushed his body out of the seat. He waded through the cold water to see if there was anything available that he could use.
The passenger area was filled with water to about mid-calf. He finally reached the tail end of the plane and rummaged through the emergency supplies. He pulled out the inflatable raft, a flashlight, flares, a backpack and a blanket. He carefully put the new supplies in his newly acquired rucksack and put the majority of the supplies inside. He swung the backpack over his shoulders and carried the bundled up raft, as he made his way back towards the cockpit.
Once there, Remy sat down in the pilot's seat. He laid the raft in the copilot seat, and slid the backpack off his shoulder and into his lap. HE unzipped the second pocket and pulled it wide open so he could reach into the hidden pocket on the front side of the open space. HE pulled out the map then put the bag on top of the raft.
He carefully unfolded the map, and spread it out in front of him. He checked if the planes deviated from its course at all, and if it did, by how much. Remy sighed in relief, the direction of the airplane was still correct. He then checked the odometer for the miles he traveled before the crash. Remy reeled back in surprise; according to the odometer he had traveled a total of 1692 miles.
Remy grinned as he repacked everything and placed it all together. He then stood back up and started to rummage through the closet in the cockpit. He finally found a tool bag in a cupboard near the door. He then went back to the control area and took out a screw driver, in order to unscrew the compass of the dash board.
He then placed that in the pocket of his borrowed winter coat before shouldering his new backpack and cooler and then carrying the raft to the planes exit. He pulled the rafts emergency and was about to throw all his stuff in it and jump on, when he smacked his head. "Stupid Remy, fo'got de oars." Remy quickly waded through the water to the back of the plane and searched for the oars in the closet. "Ah hah," Remy shouted in glee when he found them in the very back of the cabinet. He then waded back to the front and jumped out the door with everything on him.
He quickly deposited the backpack and cooler behind him, while he sat in the middle. He took the compass out of his pocket and the map out of the bag. He stared at the map, committing the details to memory before putting it in his jacket pocket. Then he placed the compass in front of him, and began to row in the direction of Tasmania.
**************
Remy pulled the oars in and placed them on either side of the raft. He wiped away the perspiration from his forehead and slightly smiled. He knew this wasn't going to be easy, but he felt pretty lucky. The wind was at his back, the sea was fairly calm, and the tide wasn't going against him. "Dismas must be happy wit' moi or somedin'." Remy said with a smile. He opened the cooler and brought out a water bottle and a can of soup. Then Remy dug around the backpack for the screwdriver and used it to partially open the can, next he charged the molecules of the soup before quickly recalling the energy. He opened the can further and drank down the food, after which he cleaned out the can with ocean water before placing it on the raft to air dry. Then Remy opened the water bottle and began to sip from it.
The combined effect of having food in his stomach and the sun beating on him was quickly draining him of his energy. His eyes were dropping and with a wide yawn Remy fell asleep.
The sound of seagulls jerked Remy awake. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and sat up in the raft. He scanned the horizon and his eyes widened. Land! He could see land. "I promise to leave offerings ev'ry day," Remy swore in jubilation. His guardian angel had finally caught up to him and was able to help in one of his dark hours.
Eventually he floated up onto land. He quickly gathered his stuff, whatever was in the backpack and cooler, and jumped out of the raft. At the last minute he turned around and grabbed the compass as a memento for this journey in his life. He then opened his sense and went towards the energy sources he could feel.
The first place Remy stopped in was a clothing store, and with a little Charm and sweet talking, he walked out with an entire new outfit for free. He also had directions to the airport. He walked quickly through the airport listening to several conversations. He was trying to locate the perfect target. However most of the people here are Australians and he wanted someone more international. Finally, he found the perfect victim. He was an older gentleman who spoke fluent French, and he was complaining about the late flight to Paris. Remy sidled up behind the rotund man and made a quick assessment of where his wallet would be. Then with practiced ease Remy hurried his pace to that of a brisk walk just short of jogging. He bumped into the man and picked his pocket, with a slight of hand move the wallet was securely placed in a pocket on the inside of his jacket. Without breaking his stride Remy continued forward.
He left the airport and caught a taxi to an internet café not far away. While in the car he took out the wallet and perused its contents. Remy smirked a little to himself, 'when Remy pick 'em, Remy pick 'em good.' He thought to himself. Inside the wallet had the French man's driver's license, quite a few credit cards and 500 pounds in cash.
At the café he quickly logged onto a computer and researched the airfare for his one way ticket to Quebec. He logged on to Messieurs Felipe's account with the airline and charged the ticket to one of the man's credit cards. He then proceeded to fill in some of his personal information; however none of it actually was real. Next he confirmed his flight for later that night and logged off the site and restarted the computer, before packing up and heading out.
Remy's overall experience at the airport was uneventful. Once he charmed the security workers, his mission was all clear. The plane was on the time; he boarded and sat down without drawing too much attention. However, his calm façade on the outside was just that, a pretense. Inside his head, he was still trying to cement down his plans for his new life. He also compartmentalized his brief, but infinitely more fulfilling, life with the X-men into the back of his mind. Right now, those memories were too raw and recent for his emotional psyche to view without possibly losing control on his shields.
Westchester, New York
Home for Gifted Students
The team that had gone to the impromptu trial had just returned, and many of the emotions were mixed. The younger team members were angry at Remy for lying to them and being a part of the massacre. There was also confusion on not only why he would participate, but also his role and his supposed choice to stay behind in that wasteland as penance.
Warren on the other hand was smug and contempt. He had finally managed to get rid of the useless, lying, street rat, and he was proud of himself. He also was curious if he had gained a new "pet" with these circumstances. After all Rouge would need someone to comfort her and support her. Not only that, but he needed to make sure she didn't feel guilty for leaving the Cajun down there, because if she did, she might tell someone it was his plan, and he couldn't have that.
Hank exited the Blackbird and made his way to the lab, so he could think in peace. He wished the professor and others would hurry home. He was unsure of the reason Rouge gave for Remy's absence and really wished the others were here to help sort this out. But he also knew that they would be disappointed in all behavior.
Wolverine and Storm were talking together, leaving Scott, the Professor and a heavily pregnant Jean to converse between them.
"I do not like this feeling," Ororo said as they entered the mansion. Logan sniffed the air and grunted in agreement.
They walked carefully through the hangars' door and entered the "basements" hallway. Suddenly, the professor broad casted a message that only confirmed their unease. 'Something is troubling many of the students here.' Then he sent out a broader message to those who were on the team to meet in his office.
Once in the office, Xavier noticed Gambit was not present. "Rouge, would you happen to know where Mr. LeBeau is?"
"Oh, he ain't here, and he ain't ever coming back that murdering traitor!" Rouge replied with a sneer.
"What do you mean by that?" Ororo asked, concern laced through her voice.
"Ah mean that we left that slimy rat in a place he can't charm himself out of." Rouge stated.
"Where did you leave him, you Bi-polar Harpy" Logan growled out. The Cajun may have irritated him, but he was just acting like the rest expected him to.
"Oh please Suga', like you actually care for him."
"Anna Marie, explain yourself!" The Professor demanded.
"Well ya see, Sabertooth," Logan growled loudly at the name, "said he knew Remy, and dat he had a dark past, and so this guy, 'Erik the Red', set up a trial. So, well we found out that he was the cause of a group of mutants called Morlocks massacre.
"Rouge, Remy has made many mistakes in his life, and I know that he feels genuinely sorry for all those incidents." The professor explained slowly.
"Besides, you have no room to talk; you were part of those Mutant terrorist groups. So what gives you the right to punish him?" Storm asked callously.
Rouge's confidence began to wane, "Why are all of you upset wit' me, Ah only did what Ah had to do. Right Warren, you agree wit' me, don't cha? You agree, it was right to leave that lying bastard in Antarctica!" Rouge cried out in desperation.
There was a quiet intake of breath at that revelation. Warren stepped forward from the corner he had inched himself into. "I do not agree with you disposal of a fellow teammate," Warren stated, the last bit gritted out, as if it physically hurt him to say those words about Remy.
"But it was your idea, you told me to leave him there!" Rouge angrily stated.
"Enough, we can settle both of your punishments after we find Remy. We need to send a search party out right away." Scott commanded. "Alright, Hank, Logan, Ororo, and Kurt, you are all coming with me, we need to hurry and locate Gambit, before it's too late. But before we go, Hank, Kurt did either of you know what had happened?" Scott asked almost pained at the thought that even more of his team, no family would turn against one of their own, even if he was annoying and immature.
"Nein, Ich war hier, Ich schwören, I mean, No, I vas here, I svear." Kurt hurriedly stated in German, before catching himself and stating it in English, with a heavy accent.
"I was there," Hank affirmed slowly, "however, I did not know of the deceitful act going on in the back. I was unaware that he was gone until someone raised concern on his whereabouts. Anna and Warren stated that he told them to leave him behind, I had wanted to turn around, but we didn't have the fuel to do so. So I made the decision to continue going. I apologize for my selfish behavior, but I just didn't know what to do. I thought it was Remy shouldering the blame and pain, and he just didn't want to be near those who were angry and disappointed at him.
"Hank, I may be slightly disappointed with you, but I cannot call your decision selfish. I just hope we find and return Remy home safely and soon.
They had scoured the land surrounding the general area that Remy was last seen. When the search turned up with no results, they broadened the search until they found a research base. They questioned the scientists there, and found out one of the interns had a confusing meeting with a young man yesterday, and when he came out of his hazy state they found a plane and some supplies were missing.
"Only Gumbo would be able to find a French research base in Antarctica without even trying." Wolverine grumbled.
"At least we know he's alive," Kurt said enthusiastically.
"Not necessarily." Hank stated, not really paying attention as he was lost in thought.
"He just had to make this harder for us." Scott complained.
The team boarded the Blackbird and headed home, to report their failure in finding their lost brother and hope the professor has better luck.
*******a couple of months later*******
Remy sprang out of bed, his breathing harsh and choppy, and his eyes wide and alert, but also slightly panicked. He looked around his room and then slowly lowered his shields to broaden his sense of feeling to the rest of the apartment. After making sure he was the only one in his dwelling he rose from the crouched position and walked into the kitchenette. He put on the coffee pot before heading towards the bathroom to freshen up.
"Remy don' dink today goin' ta be a g'day." He stated as he took in his image.
He quickly washed his face, brushed his hair and teeth before heading back into the main room of the small apartment.
All of a sudden the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck went up and his eyes dilated. He ran into the living room, grabbed his Bo staff and a backpack next to the door before running towards a window and crashing through.
He turned around in time to see his front door shatter and Sabertooth bust into the room followed by others. He slid a card, the Queen of Hearts, from his card holder up his arm, charged it and threw it back into the house, where it embedded itself in the wall before exploding.
Remy then twisted his body in a flip before landing on the ground in a crouch. He quickly glanced back up at what was his current abode, before sprinting down the street.
He pushed his way through the growing crowd and closed off his mind and ears to the growing panic that was all around him.
"Ce qu'est arrivé?" (What happened?)
"L'é tait lá dedans?" (Was someone in there?)
"Est n'importe quie a blessé?" (Is anyone hurt?)
"A n'importe qui a appelé les autorités?" (Has someone called the authorities?)
Remy's own panic and fear began to build up as he ran. And with his loss of emotional control, he lost his kinetic energy control. With each step he could feel the energy growing within causing more fear to bubble up. "Remy need ta lose dis!" He grit out to himself.
There was a growl from somewhere behind him, so he took a chance to glance behind, however suddenly he was thrown into a car by a bodily push from his right side. His instincts took control and he pushed his hands forward to catch his fall and when contact was made, all the energy that had stored up inside of him transferred to the car. He barely had time to roll away from the improvised bomb before it exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere.
Xavier's eyes opened in surprise, his mind hooked up to Cerebro active as it followed the faintly familiar pulse to its location. Two months, had been looking for a trace of Remy with Cerebro, and he had almost let himself fear the worse. But there, he had just felt it, the distinct charge that kinetic energy gave off, but not only that, when his mind finally located it target it could almost feel the protective feeling of a shield over the subjects mind.
'Scott I found him, he's in Quebec, assemble the team, it appears he is in trouble.'
Xavier disengaged from Cerebro and before turning in his wheelchair and beading down the hall into the meeting room.
The room filled quickly with the X-men team members. The thoughts swirling in their minds varied from person to person, however two distinct dark minds entered his scanning range at the same time, at this time they were both in the living room above the meeting room.
Since Remy's forced leave of absence, Rouge and Warren had hooked up. More recently their relationship has been used as a security measure because after the first couple of days, realizations began to dawn on those who had felt hurt by Remy's lie through omission. However, one the emotional high had calmed down the house quickly turned on the couple and the anger, disgust, and resentment could be clearly read in the body language the fellow students used towards them and the curt replies received.
"Alright, we know that Remy has already been located by other mutants. More than likely they are either Magneto's or Sinister's men. With that in mind, Logan, Ororo, Bobby, Hank, Kurt and I will head out to bring him back. The rest of you need to stay here and make sure Rouge and Angel stay on the premises." Scott ordered, however his voice darkened at the last command.
Those that would have complained about being left behind quickly quieted their complaints taking the duty entrusted to them seriously. Their eyes hardened, as did their faces and they walked out of the room, to spread out in the mansion and keep the hated couple in sight.
The team was anxious as the blackbird flew closer to the target. Already they could see several smoke clouds rising and the flashing lights of emergency vehicles. They landed in a barren field outside the city and made their way towards the destruction.
"Well, he sure hasn't lost his touch." Wolverine joked in his gruff voice.
"Yes, trouble does seem to follow my brother closely," Storm agreed as he surveyed the town, looking for Gambit.
Finally, they came upon their wayward teammate; however, there was a barrier of several mutants between them, obscuring their view of him.
Wolverine quickly identified Sabertooth, and his anger towards the man bubbled up. Before he could even contemplate his actions, his claws were unsheathed and he was running towards the other feral mutant.
The others that had surrounded their teammate turned too. Mystic, Mimic, Sunfire, and Lady Mastermind all lined up, squaring off with an X-man or two to battle against. With the challenge already declared, the two opposing teams charged against each other.
Wolverine and Sabertooth were snarling and growling as they used brutal strength and claws against each other. Their haphazard fighting drawing blood, the wounds, possibly fatal for others healed inconsequently for them, only for the flesh to be sliced open again.
Fire and Ice, heat and cold flowed between Sunfire and Iceman. Their attacks for the most part negating against the other's as they gauged their opponent's skills. Then Iceman solidified his body in ice before sliding at Sunfire. He used the elevated height and maneuverability to his advantage and surrounded Sunfire in a frozen prison to thick for him to blast out of.
Mystique hesitantly fought her son, Nightcrawler, she took the brunt of his verbal abuse against her and almost lost her composure when he said he was glad that she didn't raise him, or else he might have ended up like Rouge. At the mention of her foster daughter, she could no longer contain her interest in what had brought on these harsh emotions from her son.
"What did your sister do that has caused you such emotional pain?" Mystique asked as she flipped away from her previous position, where her son teleported to not a second before. The game of cat and mouse was tiring and she knew they would have to leave soon, with or without Sinister's target.
"Sie ist eine schreckliche Person, die ungerecht und heuchlerisch ist!" (She is a horrible person, who is unjust and hypocritical!) Nightcrawler yelled out, in German, disgust coloring his voice with his contempt that he felt toward his foster sister.
As mother and son talked about issues in the family, Cyclops and Storm fought against Mimic.
"How did you regain your powers?" Storm asked as she rose into the air via manipulated air currents.
"I asked the good doctor to artificially restart my powers, and he did in exchange I serve him. It's a deal he has made over and over again for various reasons." Mimic stated, but his last response was aimed towards Gambit.
Gambit flinched at the reference of his deal with Sinister. He gazed at the scene in front of him, weighing his options. If the Marauders win then he'll be dragged back to Sinister's where he could become the newest experiment subject. A shiver went down his spine at the thought. However, if the X-men win, then he might be dragged back to the mansion and have to suffer the hate and ostracism from the others. Or, he could take the cowards way out and leave while everyone is distracted.
He had almost decided to leave, when he saw Lady Mastermind causing Beast to suffer from whatever illusion she placed him under. The card was out of its holder and being charged in between his fingers within a second. After the soon to be projectile was fully charged with kinetic energy, he threw it directly at Lady Mastermind's back. She screamed in pain as the blast propelled her forward and she impacted into a brick wall.
The other Marauders, seeing their fallen comrades demise, had mimic teleport them out of the area. Beast's eyes cleared, and he gave a pain filled smile toward Gambit. Remy returned it, before turning around and sprinting away. He didn't get very far before his body crashed to the ground; Wolverine's heavy body on top of him, pinning him face down. He tried to squirm out of the tight grasp that help him, but knew it to be useless.
Wolverine was finally forced to come to the conclusion that the only way that Gambit would come quietly, would be if he were unconscious. So he pressed the pressure point near the neck, until Gambit was passed out, before getting off of him and picking him up.
With the target collected, the team returned home with a successful mission to report.
The blackbird touched down in the secret hangar of the X-men. Hank led Wolverine to sick bay in order to place Remy somewhere safe. After that, the rescue team made their way toward Professor Xavier's office in order to report the success of their mission.
The kids had seen the group, and the small smiles playing on Kurt, Ororo, Hank, and Bobby's lips. They also noticed the smirks on Scott and Logan's. The whispered speculations on the location of Remy in the mansion spread through the mansion quickly.
Warren used his eagle sharp eyes to read the words that the student's were whispering from their lips. His eyes grew cold and hard as the meaning of the happy gossip hit him. But then before panic could even enter his mind, a brilliant idea presented itself.
He whispered the plan to his pet and they both went separate ways. Anna went upstairs, while Warren headed down.
In Xavier's office the recently returned X-men were discussing not only the mission but what steps needed to be taken to deal with both the victim and perpetrators of the hurtful act.
"I say we leave them in the arctic and see not only how they like it, but also if they can survive." Logan stated gruffly, his arms crossed in front of his torso, and his legs twitching to get out of the office.
"Now Logan, you know that is unacceptable, are there any more, reasonable ideas on what kind of punishment Warren and Anna should receive?" Xavier asked calmly to the others in the room.
"I would suggest abandoning them; however no one deserves that, truly." Ororo said wisely.
"What if you punish them as you would children, to show how their acts have similar consequences, they can't just leave someone behind because they don't like them at that moment and they need to learn that," Jean suggested with a shrug. "You know grueling chores, no leisure time, continue the prohibition on laving, assign them work focusing on team work and such for a year. Who knows maybe they'll get it then?"
"I don't know if that will work, honey." Scott stated sadly.
Warren snuck into the medical bay, and sneered at the prone body laying on one of the beds. He walked towards the body and steeled himself before picking it up, and quickly heading upstairs. Once inside Anna's room he dumped the disgusting filth onto a chair she had placed in front of the bed, and she quickly tied him to it.
Remy began to gain consciousness because of the sudden rough handling and his eyes slowly blinked open However, they quickly closed, but not before his spectators saw the flash of pain in his eyes. They smirked at each other, before deciding that they should continue on with their plan.
"Now, now suga' none of that; we want to see those disgusting lying eyes as they lose their light." Anna stated with sickly sweet smile.
Remy's eyes opened and the pain and sorrow in his eyes was profound, but then they hardened and he sat there ready to take their worse, even if it killed him.
Anna crept closer in what she assumed was a sensual sashay; after all she was putting on a show for her boyfriend's pleasure. She slowly withdrew her hands from her gloves before placing them on both sides of Remy's heads.
The power was crashing and breaking the barriers Remy had erected in his mind as his strength began to dwindle, and then something snapped and the attack was forcefully pushed out of Remy's mind.
With a scream of pain Remy's body glowed and pulsed as his powers threw Anna against a wall. The psychic energy suddenly released exploded as it hit the other residents before imploding back towards the source.