Summary: Remy investigates a former lover, Logan assembles his team for a return to Twilight, and Henry finally comes home.
Art for this book should be up on my home page the same time the chapters go up if anyone is interested in looking at it.
Updated 11-3-13 to add (break)s as needed.
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(One)
Remy walked into the Med Labs, looking around for where Simone was being kept. A nurse saw him standing there and she gestured to the back where the intensive care beds were. He nodded his thanks and walked briskly there, hearing voices grow louder as he got closer.
He found a small group of people around a bed with the privacy curtain drawn. Asher was there with Maylee, Henry's backup if the big blue doctor was ever away. Maylee was Fallen's foster daughter and a Dognan half breed but in this house of mutants, she fit right in. She was a lovely cat girl, her lion's face more beautiful than frightening. She was a skilled physician in spite of her youth, blossoming well under Henry's private tutelage.
A nurse stood nearby, pouring water into a cup. Max, one of Logan's security people, stood guard just there as well, his arms crossed and watchful. Remy had expected Asher to be here, it was his job to keep the distressed in line, and he had been the one who had just called him to come down. The guard was a surprise, but then Simone had supposedly been shot. What was missing here was Rogue.
Remy came to Asher and embraced him, giving him the usual kiss. Asher was a sight to behold. He was a Siskan dressed in the skin of a centaur youth, a fifteen year old at best on hooves. He was passive as he always was, his shine vibrating a serenity that few Siskans held. It made him seem saintly or holy in some way, something right in character with who he was - he was, amongst many things, a devout Christian. He carried a Grey Mark on his chest, a compliment to his light silver hair and grey and brown brindle colored pony's body. He wore no clothing, just a large silver cross around his neck and a leather bag slung over one shoulder. The satchel contained his essentials – a Bible and his best friend Smee, a ferret like creature called a Mumbler. The Mumbler was something of a chatterbox, always offering comments from the peanut gallery, though today he was out of sight in the bag, probably curled up asleep for the moment.
Remy embraced this lovely Siskan who was always a delight to hold, all the while glancing in between a break in the privacy curtain around the bed. Simone was there, trembling and small, shivering under a heavy mound of blankets. He was quiet now, his eyes closed, but there was still a sheen of wetness on his cheeks from spent tears. His shine was ragged, the boy was deeply hurting.
Part of Kimble's empathic gift to Gambit was the ability to read people's shines. A person's shine, or aura, gave off colors that could be read to interpret their mood. In this case, Simone's shine was flickering brown and grey, revealing his intense fear and shock. Nothing angered Remy more than someone suggesting these Siskans were less than real. It was easy for some to simply dismiss them as being artful imitators of the living but Remy knew better. Even Rogue who once might have felt that way had done a complete reversal now that she was with Simone. All one had to do was spend real time with them to understand.
The thief wanted so very much to let the Siskan know how he felt, that he still loved him even though he had never been let close. That he would do anything in his power to see Simone was safe and kept from harm. That seeing him all broken and sad was breaking his own heart as well. He couldn't do it, though. Simone had never let him.
Remy turned to Asher and asked, "How's 'e doin'?"
"Better than he wuz. We wants ta gives him a tonic but he keeps refusin' till his Mistress comes. He wouldn't lets me gives him a treatment neither."
Like Aiden, Asher had the Morrowhiem glitter as one of his many talents. Unlike Aiden, however, Asher's Morrowhiem was much more potent when used on another Siskan. It acted as a chemical reset and could smooth out an unbalanced or crashing Siskan. It would have been automatic for Asher to have used it on any other Siskan that had come into the Med Lab like this but Simone was a special case. He didn't always handle the treatments well and so Asher was reluctant to push it if Simone didn't want it, no matter what shape he was in.
"What happened?"
"He still won't say. All I knows is I found him all shot up in his Mistress's apartment. I don't knows fer shure that he was shot there, it shure didn't look like no fight happened there, but he wuz too messed up to go real far neither so I ain't gots one real clue what went on. I brung him here and had Neal repair him. The bullets come out and I saved them fer you guys ta looks at. He's been like this ever since the repair, not saying one single word. He should be better than this now that the injury is fixed, but he ain't. He's grievin' but I don't have one clue why, it's not like his Mistress was hurt."
"Where's Rogue?"
At the mention of her name, Simone's eyes flickered open. He was looking at the thief now, an unreadable expression on his face. His eyes were red and rimmed with pain. It was a bit surprising that he was even awake at all, most Siskans crashed under this much stress. He must be exhausted.
Gambit tried his best to reach him, sending out an empathic vibration he hoped Simone would read. / I love you, fils, I really do, no matter what you might t'ink of me. I care about you and I'm gonna do whatever I can to help you. /
It wasn't a lie, Remy loved all the Siskans and now, after the Game, there were so few of them left. They were so very precious to him and he felt that they must be protected and cared for at all costs. He could only hope Simone would understand that from his simple empathic message.
Simone wasn't getting much of anything. He just blinked at him and continued to shiver without answering, not really believing. Simone was still stubbornly shutting him out. He would need more than empty words. It would take action.
If Asher was aware that anything had just passed between the pair, he gave no sign. Instead he was answering Remy's question, "I wuz hopin' she'd be comin' along with yous. She ain't been here since I brung him in."
"Scuze' moi?" Remy barked sharply in surprise. "She call me, say dat 'e was 'ere and fo' me to come look on 'im."
"I told her to call yous when I first tol' her he wuz down here. I expected her to come along after that, but she didn't ever shows up," Asher explained, trying to keep his voice down. He didn't want Simone to be any more upset than he already was. "She ain't come down once since she was told about him. I called you myself as soon as I heard you wuz back home again."
"She call me more dan two hours ago!" Remy snarled.
Asher moved them a pace away, the thief was being louder than he liked. "He's been healed, he ain't injured no more, but she needs to be here."
"Bien sur. I'll go get 'er," Remy promised, his eyes still meeting Simone's own. He had been speaking to Asher, but the words were for the poor shattered Siskan on the bed. With that Remy turned and stomped out, having an idea already of where to look first.
His first guess was the correct one – he found her at the Bistro, seated at a small table in the back, a neat little row of upside down shot glasses stacked in front of her. She had been at this awhile and was quite drunk. Her head was down low, her eyes closed. It was a wonder they hadn't booted her out for being asleep. Perks of being a senior X-man, no doubt.
Remy had dated this girl a long time, long enough to know that poor Rogue had certain fears that she would never be able to dispel, the most potent one being that of loss. She had lost so much as a child, her whole family for one, when her mutation first broke out and she was forced to run away. Since then, commitment was so very difficult for her. If she claimed ownership of someone, that person could leave her or be taken away. It was best not to even go that far, her poor broken mind had told her, it was why relationships for her had never worked out. She never gave enough of herself to sustain them.
Well, she had practically begged for Simone and now he was hers. She had found someone who was unaffected by her mutation and was all over it. Remy couldn't complain too loudly, so far the relationship had been a good one for them both – Simone was really opening up and Rogue had been more like her old sassy self, not so sad and quiet anymore. It had been nice to see these changes, but Remy was damned if he was going to see the poor boy tossed through the wringer because the girl had still had issues to be worked out. Remy dumped himself into the seat across from her, shaking the table and the glasses stacked there.
Rogue's head snapped up with a drunken snort. She was severely trashed, her eyes unable to open fully. "Remy? S'zat you?"
"What you doin' 'ere, chere?" he asked, unable to keep the edge out of his voice. He drummed his fingers on the table, impatient now.
"Waitin'..." she slurred, too drunk to notice his irritation.
Remy arched an eyebrow at her unconventional response. "Waitin' fo' what exactly?"
She shrugged sloppily. "Ah don' know. When Ah heard Simone was hurt Ah didn't know what to do so Ah came here. Ah guess, Ah guess ta try an' figure it all out... What Ah should do..."
"What you should do? Aw, chere...!" he chided harshly, standing as he tried to control his anger. What she should have done was blatantly obvious, but what she had done instead was what she always did – she ran. She ran when it got tough and left her lover hanging. Remy had dealt with this when they had dated and it had nearly broke him. He'd had the sense to walk away, but that was an option Simone simply didn't have - he was Siskan and for better or worse he was now her property. There was nowhere else for him to go.
Remy grabbed at his former girlfriend and hauled her drunken ass to her feet, none too gently. He dug in a pocket, tossed a rumpled twenty on the table, and then dragged her along, out the door and out in the hall. He was trying to be careful though it didn't seem so to the casual observer. He was doing his best to make his point, but at the same time was trying to keep his hands from charging her clothes in his fury. He couldn't believe she had done this thing, that she had left Simone hanging like that. There was no telling what it had done to him. Like Kimble, Simone was already shattered, disjointed into three personalities, and this was the sort of thing that could shatter him further.
He dragged Rogue down the hallways and in the elevators, ignoring her mumbled, drunken protests the whole way. Folks who saw them got out of their way, there was no mistaking Remy's anger or the cause of it. All the way down to the Lab he went, never slowing, not until he had her standing in front of Simone's bed. He never even paused, not even when he saw Logan there waiting for them, leaning on crutches, the wheelchair no longer needed now, an unreadable look of irritation on his face.
Gambit walked past Logan without comment, he had no time for the guy, not just now, and brought Rogue up to Simone's bed. He yanked the privacy curtain aside. "Simone, yo' Mistress is 'ere."
Simone blinked up at her, his eyes full of pain and woe. He had been fighting his exhaustion and fear, waiting for this. Waiting for her. "Mistress...!" he gasped, his hand twitching towards her, too heavy to raise. There were no accusations of neglect, of having been left stranded all these hours. He gave no complaints. All he wanted was her arms around him.
"Oh, baby..." she sobbed, breaking down at the sight of him. She stumbled towards him and fell into his waiting arms, granting his only wish and holding him tightly. She wriggled, shamelessly getting up onto the bed and under the blankets, all the better to get that much closer. They curled around one another, arms and legs and wings. Once together, Rogue had no more uncertainties about what to do. She gave him comfort and love without hesitation. Simone sobbed once himself but shuddered with relief, happy now.
Instead of giving him the usual brush off, Simone's eyes met Remy's once more and this time with meaning. He sent a powerful vibration of gratitude, / Thank ya. /
Remy's heart soared, it was the first time Simone had addressed him this way, or even directly for that matter. He couldn't help but beam his largest smile of happiness down on the boy. / Pas de quoi, fils. Any time. /
Simone's eyes fell shut and he relaxed, having now what he had so desperately needed. Remy stepped back, unable to hide the huge smile that crossed his face. As much as Rogue had infuriated him, that one small vibration of thanks from Simone had made it all worth it.
"Toldja it would just takes some time," Asher whispered to him. "You done right ta never gives up on him. Just like I knew ya would... Nebannon."
Remy began to sputter his usual protests at the nickname he felt he did not deserve – Nebannon meant "beloved" or something "highly cherished" in Siskan. In spite of all the work he had done with his Siskan friends - getting them out of trouble and keeping them managed - he still felt he hadn't earned such a serious moniker. Unfortunately for him, the Siskans wouldn't let it go.
Of course Asher still considered Remy his Master on paper if not in practice. Remy had done much for him –– Remy had been the one to get him his cell phone and his apartment which had to be custom designed for his special needs. Remy hadn't thought twice about doing it, he handled it the same as he would have for any of his Siskans, but it meant everything to Asher who had really needed his help.
Remy hadn't gotten two words out of his mouth before Logan spoke up and cut him off. Logan had been standing there, watching all this with rising impatience. He'd had a busy day, one that never seemed to end. After Remy had left the meeting, Logan had stayed behind with Fury to try and get the man to agree that they should go right back in. The situation there had looked pretty desperate.
Fury had agreed quick action was needed, but his idea of quick wasn't the same as Logan's. Fury wanted at least a week to set up an assault team to go in there and rush the island. He also had other concerns – how would that team then get there? It's not like Frost was just going to offer them a free ride. And then how would they get back if Frost escaped? Fury didn't want that Honey anywhere near his guys, not with its addictive properties. All this would have to be ironed out.
Logan was forced to agree but he wasn't happy about it. He left, heading for the shower and a hot meal. He had no sooner got a bite to eat when he was informed about Simone. Now here he was in the Med Bay when he'd much rather be in bed getting some much needed rest.
He had been annoyed at first when Remy had come back with Rogue and brushed by him with no respect. What had happened after that had done nothing to improve that feeling. Logan was a man capable of perceiving things on so many levels. He hadn't heard the message that had been sent from Simone to Gambit but he smelled the chemical change in the thief, heard the rush of his heart as the elation took him. It bugged Logan, not because he was in any way jealous, it was the fact that he felt left out. It would have annoyed him just the same whether the message had been telepathic or empathic, it was the idea of having missed out on something. Who knew if it might be important later? Secrets, how he hated them down to his very core.
Logan growled, "Before the kid falls asleep, I've got some questions to ask."
"He needs ta rest," Asher replied to that, keeping his voice even. He could see Logan was agitated. Asher had learned early that the best way to deal with Logan was to speak in soothing, calm tones without arguing. Even now he wasn't resisting, just making his opinion heard.
Logan accepted that and didn't bicker, he simply lowered his own tone without backing down. "The guy got shot right here in house and I need to know why. I ain't leavin' till I speak to him."
Asher nodded, seeing the man was all business, and went back to the bed. At first he was certain Simone and Rogue were now asleep but Rogue's eyes opened to look at him when he came up close. Asher spoke to her, "Logan is here. He needs ta speaks with Simone 'bout what happened. It's real important in case he needs ta do sumpthin' to help keeps us all safe."
Logan grunted in soft surprise at that, appreciating that Asher understood what was on his mind without having it explained directly. Sometimes these Siskans had their uses after all.
Rogue nodded to Asher's words and whispered to Simone softly now, asking him a question. Her head was in front of his, sideways with her ear to his lips, blocking the others from his view so he would feel safe. She knew that he was still shy around people and probably always would be. He rarely spoke directly to anyone these days, it was really only to Asher and Logan that he spoke to at all besides his Mistress. He would be more willing to give details if he felt he was alone with her and not in a crowd. "What happened, baby?" she asked, knowing it would be Logan's first question.
"Leroy's dead!" Simone answered, his cry of woe loud enough to be heard by the small crowd standing next to his bed.
Logan made another soft sound at the name. The little goat man from Twilight had the same name - was it a coincidence?
Just as Logan had noticed the change in Remy's mood before, now the thief Remy caught the sudden change in Logan's own shine. What was that about? Both men knew that these days there was very little in the way of coincidence. Something much larger was going on here, they could both sense that feeling of impending action and trouble.
"Who's Leroy, Sugah?" Rogue questioned next, rubbing her cheek against his, feeling the wet of his tears against her own skin.
In halting words that Rogue relayed to the others, Simone began to explain.
Simone was unique like all the Siskans of the Game and had his own special talent. He could create doors that opened to other worlds. He had discovered this quite by accident. He had been given a horrific beating by his former Master, Ebon, when it had happened the first time. Laying on the floor in his misery, a strange lucid dream came upon him. He had seen the door shimmer into view and when it had opened, he had seen the lovely yum-yum flowers and the smelled the magic air of Twilight. It wasn't long after that he had met Leroy and they soon became fast friends.
They visited often though Simone was too shy to consider going through the door himself. It wasn't until Leroy had told him he was in trouble that Simone found the courage to help out his longtime friend and cross over.
"You never once noticed Simone was gone?" Logan asked Rogue a bit sharply. It was her job to look after him after all and it was sounding like she hadn't done the best of jobs.
Rogue squinted at him, not liking his tone. She sputtered excuses like a teenager caught by an overbearing father. "You know we been workin' on his independence. Ah been giving him chores to do while Ah work them short shifts. Ah didn't ever leave him for long."
It was true that they had been working on Simone's ability to integrate from his sheltered life and out into the world. He was no longer kept in a holding cell as he had been when he first came to be with them. He had moved in with Rogue and was learning new things all the time – how to cook, how to clean, and the use of the gym and the Solarium. Progress was slow but it had been made.
Logan seemed doubtful, he measured progress in other ways, and expressed his displeasure with an arrogant grunt. "Right."
Simone growled then, long and deep and low, a warning to Logan. He had come a long way, but he still had some feral tendencies, he didn't like that Rogue was now feeling defensive because of something he had done. He spoke again and Rogue sent along this message, "Simone says time is different there. He could be with Leroy for an hour but he'd only be gone just a couple of minutes from here. He always made sure he done it when Ah was gone so Ah wouldn't miss him and be worried about him."
Logan calmed some at that. I was true - the time he had spent in Twilight had been significantly longer than the time he had supposedly been gone. Although Simone hadn't gone far into his tale, Logan had already jumped to the conclusion that his Leroy and Simone's were one and the same. Simone had been to Twilight. "All right. What happened when he went through the door?"
Simone resumed his story – once there, Leroy explained to him his trouble. This fellow Frost had come to the island one day by himself, claiming to have come from Otherworld. Leroy was wise in many things and knew that while that was true, it was only partially so. It might have been his place of origin, but Twilight was not the first world that Frost had been to. He had that air about him, of how the strangeness of the island was not only unsurprising, but somehow expected.
At first Frost seemed pleasant and unassuming, asking questions about the island and the plant life. Leroy had been alone there for years and rather liked the company so he was eager to answer. It wasn't until it was too late that he realized his mistake. Frost was there looking for anything he could exploit and with the Honey he had hit the jackpot. It didn't take long before Frost was moving in and taking over. It started with one or two buildings but before long, there was a small town just inside the woods, built up quickly with the help of Frost's imported mutant slave labor.
Frost tried to be nice at first, offering Leroy riches, but Leroy had no use for such things, not here on Twilight. He couldn't leave so travel was no option. Leroy had been willing enough to give Frost small and reasonable amounts of Honey - enough for Frost's own personal use - but Frost wanted more. A lot more.
Frost, frustrated that being nice wasn't getting him the amount of Honey he wanted, sent his servant instead to pass on his offers – the one the others called Little Julie One Hand behind his back because he was crippled and weak. Little Julie One Hand was special and different, he had come with Frost from the first days, he hadn't been newly conscripted like most of the kids Frost was using now. The mutant kids hated him, they felt he had sold out by working for Frost and couldn't abide his presence. Somehow Frost had come to this idea that sending this weakling might appeal to Leroy in some way. It didn't work.
Logan perked up at that. "What else did Leroy say about this kid?"
Simone's soft whispers came and Rogue repeated, "Not much. This Julie kid only came to see him only a couple of times. When he did the boy was soft spoken and almost seemed scared though he tried to act tough. Later, Leroy snuck into their town and spied on them. He said he seen Julie by the small shacks where the prisoners were held. There was a girl in one of them that Julie would go and see. He was tryin' to get her to speak with him, but she never said a word. Leroy only knew she was there because Julie kept pleadin' with her to forgive him for something he done. But she never did."
Spying on the town didn't garner Leroy any solutions to his troubles. All he saw was a growing army of people he had no defense against. He didn't know what to do. He was no fighter and with his small stature, wasn't a threat to anyone, certainty not these men with their guns. He had no choice but to turn to his one true friend – Simone.
Simone wasn't sure himself what to do, once Leroy had explained his predicament. The problem was simple enough though, Leroy needed someone strong to protect the flowers. Simone agreed to help out and fell back on what he knew best – being noisy and loud. Frost's men, being in a new environment they knew nothing about, were easily frightened by Simone's impressive displays.
Simone did not have to describe his antics to this crowd. When he had first come to the Complex he had been as raw and feral as they came. He shouted and fought ferociously, letting nothing come in his way between him and those he wanted to intimidate. No one had been immune, he had gone after anyone who came close, snarling and biting and clawing at them with his hands. It was only Rogue's own loneliness that had called to him and eventually gotten him out of his shell.
For two months Simone defended Leroy and amazingly, got away with it though he was no real fighter himself. It helped that Simone was big and black and scary looking all on his own even without his noise and bluster. He did learn some things about himself – he figured out that by flapping his wings he could sort of fly, his underweight Siskan body coming to his advantage by allowing his big feathered wings to give him some lift. All the Siskans were lighter than real humans, it was part of their chemical makeup and it served him well here. He would leap about wildly into the air in big bounds, waving tree branches and shouting. His loud and boisterous displays were enough to earn him the nickname of "Demon of the Field". It was an ego boost and greatly helped his self esteem.
"Ah seen the changes in him," Rogue continued in her own words, looking at the small crowd. "Ah just thought it was because he had me now to look after him. That it was because he was loved."
"I'm shure that had a lot ta do with it anyhow," Asher was quick to reassure, hearing a tone of jealousy in her voice. She had wanted the improvements to come from her love and nothing else.
Rogue bowed her head as one of Simone's slender black hands cupped her chin and he leaned closer to kiss her cheek. What he whispered to her next was soft and low and for her alone, but whatever it was, it made her smile.
"So how did he get shot?" Logan questioned, wanting to get back on the subject. He had been patient so far, but while this tale helped him with Frost, it still didn't exactly explain how Simone had gotten injured here in the Complex.
Simone went on to say that this last trip out to Twilight he had done the usual things – shouting and flying about and all that, but this time Frost's men had had enough. The regular guards had been lousy shots with their single shot rifles and cheap handguns, something Simone had taken advantage of. He had been able to dodge and keep moving enough that he was never struck, not even close. This last time Frost had upped the ante. While Simone was keeping the regulars busy, a new recruit to the gang had crept along quiet and the first moment Simone gave an opening, the guy came out of hiding and sprayed him with bullets from a high powered automatic rifle.
Simone hadn't stood a chance. He was torn apart and bleeding, hardly able to conjure a door in time for his own defense. The last thing he had seen was Leroy trying to come to his aid and being snatched up by Frost's guards. Now he was certain Leroy was dead. Why would they even keep him alive? He stood in the way of what Frost wanted.
Logan just grinned. "Tell Simone that if he makes a door fer me, right here right now, provin' his story, I'll tell him somethin' that's gonna make him feel a whole lot better."
Rogue sat up a little as Simone ducked his head down just enough that his silver eyes could find Logan's own. The Siskan had heard something in Logan's voice that had caught his attention. He blinked at Logan, looking for deception. "No foolin'?"
"I wouldn't fuck with ya kid. Not like that."
"All right," Simone agreed and closed his eyes.
Remy stood as he was, trying to bite down a rising jealousy. Always Logan had been critical of the pet Siskans in this place, calling them little kids or perverts or whatever. But here was the harsh and judgmental Wolverine himself having a special moment with a Siskan that Gambit, who prided himself on being the Siskan expert, had extreme difficulty in reaching. Not only was Simone appearing to honor Logan's request – Remy didn't actually see any magic doors appearing just yet – but Simone had spoken to the guy directly, something he had never done with the thief, not besides that one brief empathic message. If anything, Simone should have been speaking to him, not the gruff Wolverine who held these Siskans in such low regard. It was almost unfair. Still Remy kept his hurt inside, watching the goings on – or lack thereof – with aloof curiosity.
Remy might not have seen anything, but Wolverine was certainly getting an eyeful. Logan stepped back in astonishment and turned to one side as he saw a door shimmer and then wisp into view beside him. It did catch his attention that no one else here responded to it and he realized immediately that they weren't even seeing it at all. Still, he had to ask, "Anyone else seein' this?"
"Seein' what?" Asher asked before Remy could. Asher was perceptive of many things that others were not, but even he saw nothing.
"There's a door right here," Logan answered, reaching out to touch it with his hand. As his fingers brushed the hard wood of the frame, the door swung open invitingly. Logan closed his eyes for a moment as a fresh rush of Honey scented air blew in, reminding him of his recent adventure. The door had opened out onto the field of flowers and Logan looked through. He could see Frost's men on horseback, still watching over the flowers. The same way none of the others here in the room could see the doorway Simone had just made, none of Frost's guards on the other side reacted to it either, though one passed by closely as he patrolled.
"What's that smell?" Rogue was asking, confused.
"It's Honey," Logan answered. "It's coming from the flowers right there."
"What flowers?"
Logan shook his head in irritation. This was going to be a problem.
Remy took a deep breath of the sweet scented air. He could smell the Honey as Rogue had but still didn't see the actual door though he believed it had to be there. Logan wasn't one to playact or make up stories. Gambit did take a step back however as a small fluttering brown moth suddenly winked into existence as if from thin air and came bumbling lazily towards him. He showed his superior agility by skillfully catching the moth with cupped hands, not damaging it all. "Seen dese before, though," he said, unable to keep the wonder out of his voice. "Dey always aroun' Simone's cell when 'e was in 'olding."
Logan nodded, recognizing them now as well. "Now we know where they came from. Henry will be so relieved. He was splitting his head open trying to figure out how they were getting in." He turned back to Simone. "Got any idea why I can see the door and no one else here can?"
Simone's voice was scratchy and low, his Rogue's voice so much like Kimble's own. "I ain't got one clue."
Remy just laughed. "Non, but I do."
"How's that?"
Remy released the moth, watching as it fluttered about fearlessly. "I could be wrong but mebbe it cause you already been dere an come back. Mebbe it cause of de 'Oney you drank. It did change you, just for a little little bit. Mebbe it connect you now."
"Now those are some right smart ideas there, Cajun. Goes to show there's more goin' on inside that pretty head of yers then ya let on," Logan teased, his smile more than a little ironic. It was easy to forget how smart the kid was sometimes. He looked back at Simone. "What are the chances that I can go through this door and back?"
It was an excellent question. If this worked, maybe a whole team could pass through safely – maybe even Fury's team and himself.
Simone blinked at him. "Don't knows. But you'd be takin' a real chance. Them's some real bad people there."
Logan just grinned and fearlessly took a step forward, being careful to only go halfway through the doorway Simone had made. He was reckless sure, but not completely stupid.
"Espere!" Remy challenged, amazed that Logan would be so idiotic. He had barely made it back alive just a couple of hours ago, now he was ready to go right back again, the stubborn fool. "Wait just a minute, patron!"
Logan turned as Remy snatched at him and then paused, half in and half out, at the wonder that suddenly crossed the thief's face. The boy wasn't looking at him, he was looking over his shoulder at the flowers, at Twilight itself. "Sacre merde...!" Remy breathed, his eyes open wide.
"You see it now?" Logan asked, humor in his voice.
"Oui. It so beautiful..." Remy cut off his own sentence, suddenly jerking them both down low to the ground, almost spilling Logan all the way through the door in his haste. Another guard had patrolled by and had only just missed them, the thief's quick action keeping them from being seen – or so he had thought.
"Easy, Cajun!" Logan complained, keeping his voice low. "I don't think they can see us until we're all the way in." He was only guessing of course, but the truth was, while Remy may have pulled them low and out of sight behind some shrubbery, the doorway itself was still tall and visible. The guard hadn't reacted at all and he would have if he could see the doorway itself.
Gambit slowly stood up, giving Logan an assist on the way up. He was still looking out into the strange world of Twilight, finding it lovely. The flowers and the moths fluttering about looked so peaceful. Of course, at this moment, the field was empty of mutant slave labor, they had done their chores and left for the day. He hadn't seen the town and the children being abused and mistreated.
Logan, however, had forgotten none of it. He gave Remy a gentle nudge out the door and back into the Med Labs before questioning Simone again, "Can you make this door anytime?"
Simone blinked at him and nodded. "Uh huh."
"And you can make it from there and back, too?"
"Yeah."
"Simone, buddy. Yer my new best friend."
"You can't be serious!" Rogue said sharply, getting to her feet. She had sobered some but was still woozy, slurring a bit as she challenged, "Don't you even think about takin' him anywhere!"
"You tell me, Simone," Logan argued over her shoulder. "If I told you we could get Leroy out of there alive would you go? Cause I spoke to the guy myself. He's locked up and bit bumped around, but he's still alive."
"Yes," the Siskan answered without hesitation, his eyes bright with hope. He never doubted Logan was telling the truth. Leroy was still alive. "But he already tole me he cain't leaves the island. It would kill him, he said."
"That's just fine. It's Frost I want anyhow."
"You'll still need Fury's help," Remy interjected raising a finger. "Dere's a lotta guys dere. Plus he'll get all pissed you goan' in dere wit'out 'im."
Logan just smiled his wolfish grin. "Don't you worry about that, son. I have my ways. Just give me a day or so and I'll have this all worked out."
"Bien, I wanna take a run to Boston anyhow, see if I can figure out what dat picture you found have to do wit' anyt'ing."
"Then pack yer bags, but don't be stayin' long."
Remy nodded and walked out, already on his way.