Chapter 2: Missing in Action

Three years later

Ororo made her way silently into the slightly deserted science lab. Using the master key card that had been bequeathed to her as a byproduct of her marriage to the head scientist, she bypassed all of the security systems in the building. Feeling a bit rusty, she would have welcomed the opportunity to utilize her skills in picking locks and disarming security systems but the mission before her took precedence over her feelings of nostalgia.

She arrived at her husband's lab with the intention of surprising him. Being their 3rd wedding anniversary, she was determined to spend some time with him, despite his normal excuse of being busy with lab work. She had grown tired of spending more time alone than she did with him and decided that their anniversary would be the beginning of their efforts to recapture the romance and love that was once an integral part of their union.

Ororo had a romantic evening planned for them and wasn't taking no for an answer. She put on a big smile as she neared the corner where his lab resided. As she got closer to the lab, she could hear grunts and groans. Sure she was mistaken, Ororo turned the corner and her smile fell, becoming an o of surprise as she spied her husband engaged in a heated embrace with Diana, a fellow scientist. She stood there for a few seconds, frozen in place as she watched her husband thrusting into the moaning woman. Her unmistakable cries of completion broke Ororo out of her paralysis and she left as quietly as she arrived, her mind replaying the scene over and over. Once she was in her car and headed home, only then did she realize that the sky had opened up and all of her grief that she had yet to express was pouring down in sheets.

Pulling over to the side of the road, she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, visualizing Logan in her mind as she remembered his lessons on mediation. Once she had calmed down enough to rein in her powers, she reached under the driver's seat and pulled out a phone. She pressed a button and spoke a few words. The other party on the line responded favorably and she disconnected the call. Placing that phone in her bag and removing her "other" phone, Ororo removed the sim card and dismantled the phone, tossing the pieces out on the rain ravaged road. Rolling up the window, Ororo headed home, her mind focused on the late night trip ahead of her.

She debated whether or not to leave him a note. Deciding against it, she closed and locked the door behind her. Stashing the key in the secret compartment near the mailbox, Ororo took to the sky, headed to a place where she could begin the healing process.

She arrived at the rendezvous point fifteen minutes later than the appointed time. She knew that despite her tardiness, her contact would be waiting for her. She was right as she descended slowly from her cruising height.

"What took ya so long, 'chere?" Remy asked the woman who was closer to him than any of his blood relation other than his father.

"Needed to take the long way around to get my thoughts together so you could fly us out of here," she replied honestly as she walked to him and gave him a strong hug, "I've missed you dearly, brother."

"Feelin's mutual, padnat," he replied, turning them and leading her up the walkway into the belly of the plane. They settled into their seats in the mini X-Jet and before he lifted off, Remy turned to look at the goddess who sat, looking out of the window, her focus on keeping her emotions in check so that they could travel safely.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked, gradually pulling back on the thrust, lifting them in the air.

"Not if you want to make it home in one piece," she replied, looking over at him with tears in her eyes, one slipping through her lashes. She looked away, wiping the wetness away angrily, the peal of thunder expressing her anger for her.

Mon Dieu, Remy thought angrily, his eyes brightening briefly, expressing his own feelings about the situation. He had been getting ready to spend a special evening with his lady love when the emergency cell he carried on him rung.

Excusing himself quickly, he went into the restroom and picked up the phone. Glancing at the number, he knew that his plans had suddenly changed.

After ending the call, he headed back out and spoke to his love, telling her that he was needed at home and would call her soon. Knowing the lifestyle he had once led, Rogue gave him a kiss and bid him safe travels, knowing that when he was able, he would share details of the situation with her.

Now sitting next to the other woman he loved more than life, he vowed to make right whatever wrong that forced her to use a cell that only a few people in the world knew about and even less used.

Guiding the aircraft through the dark sky, Remy couldn't help but to look over at his quiet companion and speculate what could have happened. Though his gaze was filled with concern, it was also filled with awe and respect for the woman known to some as a goddess but to many others, a friend who would give her last to help someone in need. Now that she was the one in need, it was up to him and maybe a few others to help her get past this difficult time.

Hearing her sigh, he glanced back at her and watched as she turned to face the front of the aircraft, her eyes glowing white as she assisted Mother Nature in providing the best conditions for him to guide them to the miniscule landing strip that was bordered on either side by a swamp teeming with wildlife. Landing the plane in a safer part of the makeshift airport, he killed the engines and opened the hatched, getting to his feet and following her wordlessly. As the platform lowered, the smiling face of their father met them.

"Welcom' home," Jean Luc LeBeau greeted his children, engulfing his daughter in a tight hug. Unable to hold back her emotions, the sky opened up and the tears that she had fought came down in a steady pace, the plane's wing providing them with shelter from the onslaught.

"Tings be fine soon," Jean Luc assured his daughter soothingly, rubbing her back in a comforting manner.

After a few minutes, the rain slowed to a drizzle. Pulling away, Jean Luc gazed into Ororo's blue eyes and waited for her to let him know she was okay. She nodded slightly and without relinquishing his hold on her, he signaled to his son to drive them in while he sat in the back of the family car and cradled his daughter as he had when she was younger.