Summary: Remy's past has caught up with him in the worst way. It will change him in a way he never expected. Part two of my epilogue to the Game. If you haven't read my Game series, you will have no clue what I am writing about, lol, so you might want to check that out before you read this. :)
Rated M for profanity, violence and some sexual content.
Disclaimer : I do not own the X-men or any of their associated villains, but the Siskans, the Dognan, Jael and the Outkasts are mine. Please do not use them without my permission. Thanks. :)
Updated 10-31-13 to add (break)s as need and fix fix fix.
(One)
Bedlam.
Bedlam, Henry would later think, just doesn't quite cover it.
He had been in the middle of dressing a rather serious burn – the burn specialist he had requested had not yet arrived – when he was suddenly blindsided by an urgent telepathic shout.
Henry! Jean was screaming in his mind, almost loud enough to make his nose normally had much greater control than this, but she was clearly upset and with good reason. Gambit's in trouble! He's been stabbed and he's not breathing! We're on our way down!
How long will it take you to get here? he replied with a thought, trying to keep the concern from his mind. She was only one notch below hysterical and he didn't want her to worry.
Only a couple of minutes. We're in the elevator right now. Molly's doing CPR. I don't know if it's working or not.
That's fine, Henry said, trying to maintain her calm with his own though he was very worried indeed. He was at least thankful that all members of the Xavier extended family had been routinely trained in CPR and other quick life saving techniques. Molly would know how to do this correctly. I'll be ready and waiting for you when you arrive.
"Are you okay, doc?" Henry's current patient asked, started by the doctor's abrupt shudder and wince.
"Yes, I'm fine," Henry replied evenly, retaining his austere outer image. When he was working, his poker face was always reliable, even with telepaths screaming at him from half a building away. "I was just told I have another patient coming in immediately that will need my full attention. The nurse here will finish you up."
The patient was calm and uncomplaining as Beast walked away. The reality was that in this place, everyone had received at least one telepathic message by the Professor during their stay here. It was freaky, but easy to assume that this rather busy doctor probably got them often, especially in situations like this.
Henry hadn't gone far when he heard the shouts. Being underground, there would be no ambulance giving warning of the arrival of patients, but who needed an ambulance when this sort of total chaos and screaming did just as well a job? Folks were already clearing a path and standing out of the way, nurses were already responding. If anything, all that noise confirmed just how bad this was probably going to be.
He was correct in that thought – the large double doors to the trauma bay swung open with a loud bang and he was met by the strangest sight – Remy was being floated telekinetically by Jean into the room, his arms and legs sprawled out as if he was on an invisible gurney. Molly was astride him, supported by Jean's power, pumping his chest, doing CPR. Tears were streaming from her eyes as she sobbed, her arms were covered in blood up to her elbows.
They were followed by an angry crowd - the source of the shouts - an Outkast female was being assisted along by two others, her upper body soaked in blood. She was a Morlock through and through, her malformed body covered with boney plates and spikes. She was barely conscious as she shambled on drunken feet, suffering from a severe loss of blood.
Henry was forced to decide on the fly who was worse off and figured that since the Morlock girl was at least walking, he would choose to serve Gambit first. He went to Remy's side, keeping pace as his patient was being moved along. Gambit was white, whiter than he had been when Henry had looked at him earlier. His eyes were half open but unfocused, he wasn't conscious. His upper torso had been crudely stripped - his body armor was gone and the shirt he normally wore under it had been shredded by Molly in her haste to remove it and it was hanging on him in tattered strips, only held on by the collar and sleeves. Beast could see a huge ugly bruise forming on his upper left side, but all the blood he saw there was from Molly's bloody hands as she had worked him.
"I thought you said he was stabbed?" Henry questioned, looking at Jean.
She opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by a near hysterical shriek of anguish. "Aw, fuck! What happened!? Remy! Fuck! Noes! I cain't! I cain't lose 'em both! Fuck!"
Henry turned to see Kimble standing there, having a complete and utter emotional meltdown. Normally his outbursts alone were enough to grab the full attention of the room, but he was also buck naked and drawing more than a few startled looks. Obviously he had been drawn out by the sudden racket and was seeing more than he could handle in his already fragile state of mind.
"Is that the guy with sword?" someone questioned from the nearby crowd. Kimble was always striking, and Zander even more so. Zander had made quite an impression topside and wouldn't be forgotten any time soon. Of course those here who had seen that brilliant warrior were somewhat perplexed by Kimble's childish reaction to a bad situation. He was a grown man after all.
Henry was unsure of what to do with the hysterical Siskan but rescue came quickly - Aiden came up swiftly from behind the pilot, naked himself, but oblivious or uncaring about how that might look. His only concern was his lover and he took control of Kimble quickly, standing in front of him and gently pushing him back and out of the way. He glanced once over his shoulder to see what the fuss was about and blanched at the sight of Remy laying there so lifeless, but didn't let it stop him from keeping Kimble restrained. "Keemble, calm down. You cannot 'elp 'im like disz!"
"Lets me sees him!" Kimble bawled hysterically. He was completely out of control, freaking out and assuming the worst as ususal. "I wants ta sees him! Fuck!"
"Quiet!" Aiden snapped a bit more sharply and with some authority. He didn't want Kimble to interfere with the doctor and be punished for his outburst, and at the same time, didn't want Kimble to go over the edge. If Zander came out seeking revenge, this would go from bad to worse, by the second. He pushed on Kimble again, this time releasing sparkling Morrowhiem from his hands, all the better to calm Kimble down. "Let 'Enry do 'isz job!"
"I needs ta see him!" Kimble continued to demand through his tears, though he was weakening. He was being held in place by his lover and now soothed by the Morrowhiem, remained himself. He was pushing against Aiden, but when he saw he wasn't going to get his way, fell against the Dreamer and into his arms. "Noooo...!"
Aiden held him tightly and whispered soothing comforts, not caring in the least about the odd looks coming from the crowd around him. Already they were staring and there was one hoarse whisper, questioning Kimble's sexuality. Two men hugging each other like that, it was unsettling to this mixed crowd. Some of the stares were turning from merely curious to ones of disgust and embarrassment.
Aiden didn't care what anyone thought of them, his only thoughts were for Kimble's poor breaking heart. Aiden knew well how bad this could get. Kimble had already lost his Angel, he didn't think Kimble could bear to lose another human so close to his heart.
In all that hysterical outpouring came an absolute truth - Kimble was still in love with Gambit and probably always would be. That love had smouldered some, calmed down and dampered by Aiden's presence, but Kimble couldn't picture a life without Gambit in it, he just couldn't, and it was coming out of him vibrations the Dreamer could feel. Aiden was a champ however, he knew this wasn't the time to deal with that mess and shoved his own personal jealousy aside. He managed to get Kimble somewhat calm and out of the way before he became a hindrance.
Beast watched, grateful, as Aiden got Kimble squared away. He went back to work, looking at Jean once more, "What's going on? How was he injured?"
"He was struck hard in the chest with one of Marrow's bone knives and was unresponsive!" Jean gasped, looking around at the crowd. Not only was she keeping Remy afloat, she was also doing a bit of crowd control and wouldn't let anyone get too close. "His body armor deflected most of the blow, but he went down hard. He stopped breathing."
"Molly, stop CPR," Beast ordered gently. He had a real concern - if Remy's breastbone had been shattered, Molly would have been pumping shards of it straight into his heart all this time. A quick feel showed that there was no worry there, the bone was intact, though the flesh over his heart was severely bruised. The swelling and redness was still spreading, this had been no casual blow. He used his stethoscope to listen for a heartbeat and he got one, but it was faint and erratic. The thief was also now breathing on his own, but barely. Henry looked at Jean, "Get him to table one."
"What about her?!" an Outkast shouted. It was Barley who held a critically wounded Marrow up against him. She had been badly clawed about the face and neck, mauled by a savage beast. Now that they had stopped walking, the poor girl had passed out from shock. Henry had seen Molly's hands and since Remy hadn't actually been cut himself, he had an idea just who had done the deed. It wasn't beyond her to come to Remy's aid in the most savage way possible.
Beast saved judgement for later and gestured to a nurse, "Take her to table two. Get her clamped down and start an IV. You, George," he said, gesturing to an orderly who was standing by, "Get some whole blood. Once I know Remy's stabilized, I'll be right there for the girl."
Molly wasn't quite finished with her rampage it seemed - Remy had no sooner been laid on the table when she went off again. She had been asked to step aside from her CPR duties and now once freed, was once more hell bent on her revenge.
Henry's guess had been correct - it had been Molly who had attacked Marrow. She'd had no idea who Marrow was, but anyone who attacked her beloved husband like that was going to pay and pay hard. It had taken all of Jean's telekinetic control to separate them back in the lobby and then it was only Remy's pressing need for CPR that had kept Molly stable until now. Molly was now ready for more, the fact that Marrow was still breathing meant her job was not done. She was more than ready to rectify that.
Molly came out from Remy's table area, claws out and a long deep growl leaking out of her throat. It gave Henry pause, he hadn't seen her go full blown feral in a really long time and it was very easy to forget that Sabretooth was her father. Her long gleaming claws, still wet from blood, was reminding him of that fact very clearly now, however. He did his best, trying to reason with her. He blocked her path and raised a hand. He really didn't want a brawl out here on the trauma bay floor, but he wouldn't let her do any more damage if he could help it. "Molly, stand down. This is not helping!"
She tried to sign at him, but in her anger, garbled it. She was too feral, too upset to say anything, but her intentions were clear - she was heading right for Marrow's table, murder in her eyes.
Fortunately, Jean was still there. She could see Molly was beyond words and came to Henry's aid, simply using her telekinesis like she had back in the lobby to block Molly's path and herd her away from the trauma bay and out towards the waiting room where it was more quiet. Molly fought her for it, snarling and howling garbled curses, clawing at the barrier, but she wasn't going to break loose. Jean was calm in the face of that rage. Truth was, Molly's little outburst was nothing compared to Wolverine when he went full blast and Jean had seen that more times than she had ever wanted to.
Just like Aiden had done with his own charge, Jean now herded Remy's wife out and away, doing her best to shelter Molly as well as contain her. She knew Molly was pregnant and didn't want her to come to harm. Molly didn't have her father's endurance, she was already tiring as she was eased out from the room, she was breaking down into tears and struggling less, she would probably be okay once she finally calmed down.
Henry wasted no more time on Molly once he saw Jean had taken charge of her. The moment she was removed, he went right back to work, assessing the poor stricken thief and ordering meds. He was happy to see that Remy was breathing and his heart was still beating, but he was experienced to know that his patient was still in trouble.
"His left lung has collapsed," he announced to the nurses helping him and went to work on that, hoping that was the worst of this, while all the while knowing it wasn't. "I want an EKG over here, STAT."
The nurses responded quickly and before long, the thief was put to rights - his lung inflated, IVs stuck in, meds dripping. He was breathing more easily but he was still unconscious and slow to respond. It was like he had no will for this, like he was fighting it. Henry did what he could and was simply left to wait, to see if eventually things would improve. In the meantime, he had poor Marrow to look after. The girl had been badly mauled and would need plenty of stitches. What a mess. He was going to be quite busy for a while.
Kimble wasn't the only one drawn out by the racket. Star watched closely from her vantage point nearby as Kimble freaked out and had to be held back by yet another Siskan she had not met yet. Both were grieving deeply over what had transpired and it meant something to her, something very important.
Star hadn't yet been introduced to the rest of her Siskan kin and she was thrilled to see that even more of her clutchmates had survived. She had seen their Marks and knew they were her kin. This meant that their opinions and feelings would matter to her - Siskans don't love foolishly, not the Lushna-esk like herself. Star was perceptive and wise in her way, she understood that the red eyed man, this Gambit fellow that she had met before, meant a lot to them and she guessed it was no simple Master/Siskan thing. This man had won their trust and love the same as he had done with her. Their meeting had been brief but it had left a powerful impression on her - she wouldn't see him lost. Remy was an important person and therefore had to be saved. Good thing she had just the ability to do that.
She came out of her secure area and kept to the side, out of the way where she wouldn't be noticed. Like Aiden, she was a good sneak and had her own way of melting into the background. Of course, today it was easy to go unseen - there was a lot of fuss going on, nurses and people rushing around to get stuff.
Star was quite patient. She waited calmly until Henry had gotten Remy somewhat stabilized and then when he left Remy alone for a moment to check on Marrow, she made her move. She calmly slipped around the privacy curtain and looked down on him where he lay. He had an IV running into one arm and an EKG machine scrawling its long story off to the side. He was so lovely as he lay there, so pale white and shattered, his elegant beauty not disturbed in the least by the clear oxygen mask that covered his mouth. So human and yet so very Siskan in his own precious way. She couldn't help but brush his face with her slender white hands, with skin as pale as his was now. She could see much in his shine - his body was here, but his mind was slipping away. He was giving up, quitting.
Well, she just might have a thing or two to say about that.
(break)
Remy was floating weightlessly in a sea of black, on his back looking up into an endless sky full of stars. The moon above him was full and very bright, inviting. He had always wondered what it was like to fly, now it seemed he was finding out. It was peaceful here, nice. There was no pain, no anxiety or stress, he felt free and at peace, weightless. He found himself laughing softly, drifting away.
"Nebannon..." a voice called out in a breathless whisper.
"What's dat, chere?" he answered in a hazy fog, responding automatically to what sounded like a woman's call. The word she had used, Nebannon. It was oddly familiar.
"Nebannon. It's time fer you to wakes."
Remy smiled then, amused by the moon and stars that twinkled above him. Nebannon. It was Siskan for something highly prized or someone gifted in a valuable way, someone quite beloved and priceless. Obviously this person was confused or speaking to someone else. Such a word could never have anything to do with him, the worthless scum of the earth that he was. He could ignore her and just lay here adrift. Funny how he had never taken the time to look up at the sky at night and really see the heavens above him. So wonderful it would be to fly up there into the galaxy and see what else God had made.
"Nebannon. You shure are a stubborn boy. Kimble chose ya well."
Gambit frowned and shifted a little, he was annoyed at being so disturbed by this crazy person. He wanted to stay here forever and drink in this simple peace. "Go away, fille. Leave dis boy alone."
"Not a chance. You ain't even close ta bein' done."
Remy jerked and gasped in rude surprise as he was suddenly separated from his dream back into painful reality, a transition that was as agonizing as it was jarring. The sky was gone, the peace was gone, but surely here was the source of that voice. His heavy eyes opened a crack as he took a labored, gasping breath, one that seemed to take in more liquid than air. His body was no longer floating, indeed, it seemed to be compressed under some terrible invisible and crushing weight. He was too heavy, he couldn't breathe. He was suffocating and thrashed feebly, the movement barely noticed by the one who held him now.
"Take it easy," Star whispered in his ear, her pale white lips brushing his cheek. "Don' fights it."
"Can't breade..." he gasped, his voice sounding odd and broken. He jerked again and a blurred image of his hand moved before his eyes. There was thick white tape holding in a plastic IV tube and a vague ache there came to his mind. He was in a hospital, he knew that now. With that realization came a flashback of what had brought him here. He jerked again, a response to pain that had nothing to do with a physical injury.
"Jus' relax a bit," Star said, her hands moving over him. "Calm down, now."
Remy gasped again and garbled words out in a tumble, an incomprehensible mishmash of French profanity and pain. Bright red glitter flashed brightly all around him and then he felt it, her Morrowhiem. It cascaded across his skin where she held him and it seared him with a pleasure he didn't want. Warm, erotic heat flickered in his groin, promising joy, but he feebly kicked his leaden legs, resisting it. A spark flashed behind his eyes as something inside his brain seemed to give way, rippling liquid ecstacy through every inch of his body. Still, he fought it, denying the gooseflesh that broke out across his arms, a sign of his fierce arousal. He wouldn't give in to its lure, to anything that spoke of life. No, he wanted that dark black sky full of stars. He wanted to be safely adrift and lost to this place full of pain and obligations. His body convulsed and automatically took deep lungfulls of air, fresh and deceptively sweet, like poison. Remy's anger spiked into a fury of whole new level as he realized what was happening to him. Star was healing him, the bitch.
"Arretez-donc!" he snarled with his next breath. "Stop dat, fille! You 'ave no right!"
"I gots m' reasons," Star answered him with maddening calm in spite of his obvious rage. "You gots folks countin' on ya."
Remy thrashed, this time with more strength. Of course everything was relative. The fresh air had revived him a little, but his body was still as heavy as lead and he wasn't putting up as much of a fight as he would have liked. He was breathing more easily, yet remained helpless against her. This was a waste of his time and effort, clearly. He wasn't going to beat her. He gave up his struggle then and closed his eyes on angry tears.
People counting on him - yeah, right. What could be more absurd? He was as useless as any powerless X-man could be, a man of no value. Well, that wasn't exactly true, if it was a killer you wanted. He had proven himself quite up to that task, hadn't he? He shivered as a bright hot lance of pain ripped through his chest.
"Stops fightin' me, ya little bugger!" he heard Star complain. He wasn't going as easily as she expected, something frustrating.
Elated with his temporary victory, Gambit gathered his rage and self hatred, his bitter sense of worthlessness and malicious jealousy towards those sparkling perfect ones who had never once committed a crime and could walk with their heads held high. He took that emotionally charged bomb and flung it at her, cruelly letting her feel his inner sickness. He had never done such a thing before, using his hatred and loathing as an empathic weapon, but he was beyond scruples now.
He was rewarded by a sharp cry of pain from behind him and felt it when she released her power's hold on him. His body was roughly dumped as Star retreated, she moved out from beside him in a tear filled rush, leaving a cold empty void. She couldn't get away from him fast enough, she couldn't cope with what he had thrown at her, he had hurt her deeply.
Remy was happy with his victory, but when he went in search of that star filled sky, to return to his lovely dream, he was bitterly disappointed. He shivered again and saw not his bright, beautiful, sky. No, all he saw now was snow.
"Oh, non...non...!" he whimpered fearfully, those tears leaking down the sides of his face from eyes that saw now only death. He groped out wildly for Star, but she was gone. The snow was falling faster now and it froze him, burying him alive. Before he gave in to the blinding oblivion of Antarctica, he heard the Devil laughing at him from afar.
(break)
Beast was one table over working on the poor Morlock girl that Molly had mauled so badly. Other than the blood loss, the girl wasn't as badly injured as he had first thought. Molly hadn't been that thorough in her wrath, no major arteries or organs had been damaged, though the girl would carry some ugly scars for the rest of her life. Being a Morlock and an Outkast, he wasn't sure she would exactly mind.
"Is she going to be okay?" Barley growled from nearby, eyeing the doctor suspiciously. This doctor was an X-man just like the ones who had attacked Marrow. He wasn't sure he would get an unbiased diagnosis.
Beast smiled at him disarmingly, trying to set the man at ease as he sutured a rather large gash. "She will be fine. The injuries are not fatal though she will need bed rest and care for some time. You are welcome to stay here with her as long as you like."
"That's some compensation fer bein' mauled like that! That boy deserved to be stabbed for what he's done!"
Beast smiled painfully. It wasn't his place to be an intermediary here. He hadn't been given the full details of what transpired in the lobby though he could take an educated guess. "We'll sort this all out, I assure you. For now, it would serve this girl best if we all stay relaxed and calm."
Barley growled some at that, but held his tongue. He found it hard to argue with this big blue doctor who spoke so calmly and without judgement. Beast was well aware of this, Remy wasn't the only one who knew a thing or two about charming people or at least getting them to listen. Henry had long known that a soothing voice could bring out secrets from a wounded man full of pride, just as easily as it could calm another man and stop an unwanted fight.
Beast continued his calm, patient stitching, but then suddenly paused when he heard what sounded like Remy's voice from the next bed. Excited and hopeful now, he stopped what he was doing and turned around, pulling the privacy curtain back that separated the two beds. He wasn't prepared for what he saw.
Star had crawled into Remy's bed and now lay partly under him, holding him in her arms from behind, restraining him easily as he thrashed. Gambit snarled some sort of Cajun curse in protest at her in a hoarse whisper, anger flushing his pale white face as he fought her for it. Star was one moment strong and in control, but then cried out sharply as if struck by some unseen blow. She darted out from under Remy's body, jerking way from him as though he had burned her, and collapsed to the floor, her eyes clamped tightly in anguish.
It hadn't been the sound of Beast's approaching feet that had made her flee, it had been something else. Something Gambit had done. Star coughed loudly and vomited up a puddle of gel in her distress. It shimmered and sparkled away as Kimble's had always done, a reminder that like her brother, she wasn't organic and never would be.
Remy remained on the bed, the blanket tangled around his legs and his chest heaving from the exertion of their tiny war. He sobbed once in agony and passed out, tears still dripping from his half lidded eyes.
"What on earth is going on here?" Henry thundered, outraged that Star had taken it upon herself to interfere with his patient. He hadn't been gone more than a few minutes and she had slipped in here unnoticed, something he hadn't expected.
Star was still down on her hands and knees, shaking and ill from Remy's empathic blast and wasn't too steady. Her head was throbbing and felt like it would split apart. Still she jerked in terror at the sound of Henry's wrath and wilted all the more, whining softly like a dog. If she'd had a tail, she would have tucked it between her legs in submissive contrition and piddled on the floor.
Henry ignored her for the moment, looking instead at the equipment beeping alongside the bed, fearing the worst. Just because Star had claimed to be able to heal the wounded didn't make it real. Interestingly, it seemed as though her claim was true. Whatever Star had done, it was a help. The EKG showed improvement and Remy's blood oxygen levels had returned to normal. He no longer fought to breathe. The huge bruise on his chest remained though it had lightened considerably some in color. The only problem was that the thief hadn't remained conscious. If he had been fully healed, Henry would have expected him to revive. That hadn't happened.
"What happened here?" Beast repeated, lowering his tone, Star was almost groveling on the floor at his feet in utter submission and he didn't like it. He was angry, yes, but hadn't wanted her to feel dominated. She looked like she was afraid he might hit her though he would never even consider doing such a thing.
"I wuz healin' him, but I ain't never had nobody fights me like that," Star gasped, still feeling sick though the effects were starting to fade away. She was quivering from head to toe, wiping tears of pain from her eyes as she tried hard not to outright bawl. She wasn't sure she had ever felt such a deep despair and hatred from any client. It broke her heart. "I wuz helpin' him but he hurted me back. Hurted me with his mind. I ain't never had anaone do thats ta me. I gots most of the damage inside a' him gone, but he won't lets me do no more."
Beast just smiled at her. "Now you know the heart of an X-man. They're stubborn to the core." He considered the equipment again. "At least his EKG is significantly improved. He's out of the worst of it."
Henry bent down and offered her his hand. She looked at it but didn't accept it, her face still full of fear. In trying to help one potential Master, she was afraid she might have alienated the other. She felt sick now, foolish.
"Don't be afraid," Beast soothed, his voice even calmer now. "I am not angry. I just wish you had told me what you were going to do. A little warning would have been nice."
"I'm sorry," she apologized, dropping her eyes in humiliation. She still wouldn't take his hand, she didn't deserve it. She had broken rules, crossed boundaries.
"Star, please. Take my hand. No one is going to hurt you."
She dared to look up at him, her body still trembling with hurt and shame. She expected him to be lying about being so angry, but she could see now in his shine, that that anger was gone, replaced by a strong concern for her. He still loved her, he still cared. It was enough. She slipped her tiny hand into his large blue paw and allowed him to help her to her feet.
"I kin tries again," Star offered, her voice showing her profound disappointment. "I didn't do enough. Looks at him, he's still all bruised up."
"No. I think maybe it's time for others to come and finish what you started. I thank you very much for your effort, but it's time for you to go."
"Let me stays, please!" she begged. Given enough time, she knew she could make up for this trespass if only he would let her.
Beast disagreed. "Star, the best thing you can do now is go back to your room." He gestured for a nurse and told her to take Star back to her holding cell, this time to be locked in. Star didn't fight it, she left with her head down and her shoulders heavy. Beast was sorry to see it, but he didn't have time for her now, he would check in on her later when things calmed down. Right now he had bigger things to worry about - a wounded Morlock and Remy's poor shattered mind.