I'M BACK BABY! YEAHH!! Okay, I'm gonna make this uber short because I really wanted to post this chapter tonight. I'm sorry for making you all wait so long, but I was sightseeing in Europe the entire break, so it was just a wee bit hard to update. But I'm back and raring to go (Unfortunately so is my workload… Meh, I'll learn to juggle it all)! I hope everyone had a wonderful break as well! Let me know (in your reviews, in a message, whatever) where you went or what you did! It's fun to share those stories.
Ok, So here's my extremely fast response to all of your awesome reviews that make me so happy. InTHEgrid, YAY! Smiles all around! And GIVE yourself that much credit because your reviews ARE that good! Jeesh, do I really have to spell it out for you? You R-O-C-K at reviews!!! Also, yes I did see the X-Men movies, I love them all. You're are right on the mark for guesses! I mean, for as much info as I've given you as of this date, you're getting sooooo close! Roguechere, I think I'm getting the shaft:O Noo! Ok, well does this chapter make you happy? If not, please don't send the hitmen after me! Just tell me what you want done and all do it, I promise! Oh, I want to live! Remy'sRose, Thank you, and DAMN! Cooltangarine, I hope the confusing is …good?! If it's just cause I'm holding out on you guys then yes, I know I piss a bunch of people off. But it has you coming back for more, right? Blackagenda, I did it! I updated! I updated!
Remember to review! The more reviews I get, the faster I tend to update!
Onward and Out!
Professor Horatio Hufnagel
DISCLAIMER: You know the drill, it all pretty much belongs to Marvel ...I'm just the puppeteer (dance puppets, dance!)
No matter how long they had been gone, the mansion still seemed like home to her. Maybe it was because she had never known a safer environment, nor had she ever felt more comfortable with her powers anywhere else. Or maybe it had to do with the fact that a welcoming committee with ten or so of her closest friends were all waiting for them on the front steps. Quite obviously, she never felt more loved than she did at Charles Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters, and it made her heart sing.
Rogue waved to everyone from the passenger seat of their red convertible, as she and Gambit cruised past the rod-iron gates and up the extended driveway. The car rolled to a gentle stop, and she flung the door open and ran to the crowd with open arms. Logan, Ororo, Jean, Scott, Bishop, Kurt, Jubilee, Kitty, Piotr, and Bobby; she made sure to hug each and every one of her family members; she missed them all so much.
"Hey kid, you'd think you hadn't seen us fer years." Logan commented as Rogue collided with the burly man's chest, nearly rocking him off of his feet.
Gambit killed the motor and fiddled with the keys to pull them from the ignition. He then jumped over the convertible's closed door and strode confidently over to his comrades, receiving a bombardment of gruff handshakes, slaps on the back, and hugs from the females.
Ororo lightly pecked him on his cheek. "Welcome back, big brother."
"The mansion just isn't the mansion without you two." Kitty piped up.
Whether it was her intension or not, she had just given Bobby Drake the opportune set-up he had been waiting for. "Yeah. Instead of listening to you both bicker back and forth, we actually have to pay attention to Cyclops when he talks."
It didn't come as a shock for Scott to hear sniggering, and it definitely wasn't uncommon for everyone to make jokes at his expense. Sure, he was often criticized for being too strict or too demanding, but the fact remained that no one else could do the job half as well as he does. It takes a conscientious and astute man to make a leader, even if it means laying down a few laws ('few' being a relative term). Anyway, he was learning to let each pot shot roll off his back. Who's to say that he doesn't have a sense of humour?
"Ha-ha. Now let's get your luggage inside so we can catch up over coffee. I know we all have things to fill you in on –"
"Likewise." Rogue smiled at Scott.
"Good. Then it's settled. Bobby, instead of listening to me talk about mansion business, -because I know how much you would hate that- why don't you help carry in the luggage?"
At that, everyone laughed.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I stepped right into that one…" Bobby snarled in contempt. He then lowered his voice and garbled bitterly. "Great, now Cyke is scoring off of me. Stupid, friggin' –"
Rogue followed on his heels, all the way to the trunk. But as Bobby yanked one of the navy cases from the car, he nearly fell face first onto the asphalt. "Man, what do you have in here, bricks? It's really heavy!"
"Well, we are temporarily movin' in, yah big baby. Here…"
Rogue reached across Bobby's midriff to grab the suitcase's plastic handle, pulling the luggage towards her with superhuman strength. But it didn't take long before a hand grabbed next to her own, trying to yank the suitcase away.
"Remy'll take it."
" S'all rahght, sugah, Ah got it." Rogue flashed Remy a quick smile and proceeded to step towards the mansion doors. Although her intentions were to keep on going, she didn't make it very far; the stubborn Cajun was still attached.
" 'Said dat Remy'd take de suitcase. Le' go."
Rogue stood for a moment. Slowly but surely, her jaw clenched and jutted forward, an overt warning that one would've most definitely recognized from the many years of living with the hot-tempered southerner. It was as plain as a red light flashing the word "Danger" in your face. Yet it seemed Remy had either missed that lesson or chose specifically to ignore it, because he clearly had no intension of backing down.
"Yah can't order meh around lahk that." She warned.
"Le' go."
"No." She argued indignantly. "Ah'm strongah than you are."
Rogue and Gambit had gotten themselves into a staring match, and neither one was prepared to give in. Her hand was itching to yank the luggage out from his grip. But just as her fingers stiffened around the handle preparing to pull, a high-pitched humming sound filled her ears. Suddenly it had all evolved into a risky game of 'Chicken'.
"You wouldn't dare."
Neither moved, nor batted an eyelash. It was only when Rogue felt the blistering heat through her gloves that she decided to steal a glance downwards. The case was now shining bright shades of fuchsia and red.
She knew he would never hurt her, of course. That was what this whole dispute was about. But Rogue wouldn't put it past Gambit to push her out of harms way and take the full brunt of the blow himself, just to prove his point.
Rogue let out an exasperated sigh and relinquished control over the baggage, raising the white flag to Remy. Almost immediately the humming stopped and the blinding glow faded back into the original dark navy material.
No one was foolish enough to question Gambit as he angrily pushed past the crowd of X-Men, hauling the awkwardly heavy luggage inside.
"Gone! They stole everything!"
Joseph gestured to the empty tables and chairs, the last few furnishings that remained standing in the particularly barren room.
Beast wheeled the Professor into the vacant space and blinked in disbelief. "Oh my." He then bent down and grabbed one end of a lone extension cord, holding it up so that the head with the prongs slumped over his large hand. "It seems that they did not take absolutely everything." When Joseph glared in his direction, Hank uneasily cleared his throat and set the cord back down on the floor, apologizing under his breath. "Too early, I suppose."
"You say that you stored all of your equipment down here?" The Professor asked.
"Everything from my Z'Nox equipment, to some of the Shi'Ar technology you lent me, sir. And, all the upstairs furniture in the house was left untouched."
Xavier released a mindful sigh. "Any thoughts as to who would require the aid of such powerful machinery?"
"No," Joseph stated simply, crossing his arms. "But maybe their motive was something different, something along the lines of revenge. If you ask me, only a professional thief could have broken in so skilfully –"
"If you are implying that Gambit had something to do with this, then I am afraid you are severely mistaken. I know firsthand that when this robbery took place, he was with Rogue, and I highly doubt he would be so fickle as to rob you." Hank spoke tersely to Joseph. Although the man was more than capable, Beast couldn't see the present-day Gambit acting so rashly over water under the bridge. Even just thinking about accusing him disturbed Hank to the core.
Joseph shifted uneasily. "So… they're still together then?"
"Rogue and Gambit?" Xavier asked the question to which he already knew the answer. "Yes." His voice was soft and caring, considerate of Joseph's feelings.
When Beast spoke the second time, his voice was softer, too. "You've lost touch with us, Joseph –Well, aside from today. Your presence is always welcome at the mansion."
"And my offer for you to return to the X-Men still stands." Xavier added.
"Thank you both, but I'm fine right here. Truly, I am. I just… it's just that…" A short pause, then Joseph switched back to his reformed conversation voice. "I appreciate both of you taking the time out of your busy schedules to check this out for me. Please call if you have any leads. I'll show you to the front door."
Xavier looked up at him, searching for some trace of regret, anger, pain, anything. But Joseph had erected an emotional wall (not just a magnetic field) to shut out anyone and everyone, and the Professor was no exception. Xavier nodded once in recognition of the silence, and wheeled towards the door with Dr. Hank McCoy by his side. However, Charles couldn't bear to simply leave without trying to offer everything in his power; it just wasn't in his nature to do so. Glancing over his shoulder, he called out, "And maybe you will decide to come visit us soon? We are all looking forward to your visits in the near future."
"Professor?"
"Yes?" For this, Charles swivelled around to face Joseph.
"Rogue and Gambit …are they happy? Together?"
The Professor blinked and gave a sympathetic smile. He knew he would have to hurt Joseph. It was just the way things were. "Yes."
"Oh, REAL MATURE, MARIE!"
"WELL WHAT THA HELL DO YAH EXPECT ME TAH DO? YA WON'T LISTEN!"
"AND THAT JUSTIFIES CALLIN' REMY NAMES?"
Kitty Pryde sat on the final step at the top of the stairs, hugging the banister, listening to the hate-filled words being passed between Gambit and Rogue. Their voices easily carried through the closed doors of their bedroom, and into the residence corridor.
"IT'S HUMILIATIN' FOR Y'ALL TAH TREAT ME LAHKE THAT, IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY, NONETHELESS! AH CAN TAKE CARE OF MAH SELF, YA KNOW!"
" 'PARENTLY NOT, CHERE! Y'BUSY LIFTIN' HEAVY SUITCASES AFTER HANK SAID NOT T' –"
"AH HAVE SUPER STRENGTH, FOAH GOODNESS SAKE!"
She was so wrapped up in the fight that Kitty jumped when Jubilee placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder.
"Hey Kit, it's just me." Jubilee knelt beside her.
"They've been fighting for over an hour now… I think this… this might be it."
Jubilee frowned. "What do you mean by 'it'?"
Kitty bit the inside of her cheek and muttered the following so quietly, it was a surprise Jubilee heard it at all. "You know… divorce."
She also wasn't prepared for Jubilee to outright laugh at the idea. "Them? Over? Nah, they're always like this. You obviously didn't live with them for very long. We told you that they started off hating each other, remember? And besides, it's healthy for married couples to fight –"
"DON'T BABY MEH!"
" 'WILL IF Y' STOP ACTIN' LIKE ONE!"
Jubilee and Kitty cringed at the particularly loud outburst from the room down the hall. " –so they must be really, really healthy."
Just then, the girls heard someone bound up the stairs towards them. Jubilee scooted over, pressing herself against the banister as much as she could, in order to clear the way for Ororo. The goddess stopped at the top of the stairs and looked down at the two girls with apprehension.
"You both might want to clear out of here before a real fight breaks out. This is not going to be pretty." Once she slipped past them, she continued towards the quarrelling couple's room and rapped on the door. It opened a sliver, and Storm spoke towards the crack. "Rogue, you have a phone call. It's Mystique. She says it is urgent."
Rogue let out a defeated sigh. "Thanks Storm. Ah'll take it."
Rogue then closed the door and headed over to the phone that sat atop the nightstand, next to the bed. As she picked up the receiver, Gambit, who was leaning with his back against the window frame, moved over a foot and slid down into an armchair by the wall as noisily as possible. "Saved by de bell, eh chere?"
Rogue covered the mouthpiece with her hand to shush Gambit, and then let go to deal with her mother on the other end. "What is it, Mystique?"
Silence ensued for a moment or two, but then Rogue began picked up the conversation.
"Okay, so? …Ah– No!" Remy listened carefully to the broken conversation from his wife's end. "Yes Ah know for sure! …Couldn't have been him, he's been with meh all a' this tahm! Foah weeks! …Yes! …No! 'Course not! Ah'm sure! …Ah'm sure, momma!"
"Whuz dat all about?" Remy addressed Anna when she had said goodbye, placing the receiver back in the cradle.
"Irene's diary's been stolen…" Rogue's sentence trailed off into a big gap of silence in the conversation.
He knew that wasn't it. With Mystique, it was never that simple. There was always an accusation, with fingers pointing straight towards Remy. He raised his eyebrows towards his hairline. "…And?"
Rogue repositioned herself so that she was sitting on top of her hands to stop their fidgeting. "…and she thought that maybe …you …took it."
There it was.
" –But yah heard Ah told her that was ludicrous! Ya've been with meh foah days!" She rushed to finish her sentence to calm Remy down. It didn't do much good, though. In a split second, the ragin' Cajun jumped up on his feet, walking the length of the room towards the door.
"Whuz dis, 'Rip on Remy' day? 'M goin' for a drink."
Rogue eyed him with daggers. "But we're not done here yet!"
"Oh yes we are! F'r t'night, at least. Remy had it wit' arguin'."
"FAHN!" She fumed. Anna Marie hated losing power in conversations. She always needed to be in control. Her powers, combined with the upbringing that Mystique had instilled in her, always perpetuated this need. Actually, she and Remy were both very similar in personality; and that's why they butted heads more often than not. Plus, she knew that when he was stressed, he would take a ride on his motorcycle to calm himself and gain control of his nerves.
He was barely out the door before she yelled back at him, "AH HOPE YAH KNOW WE BROUGHT MAH CAR!"
Jean reached below Nathan's dressing table with one arm, her other arm pressing the toddler against her side to stop him from squirming. Realizing the shelf below was just as empty as the top, Jean repositioned Nathan on her hip and carried him out of his room into their adjourning bedroom. Scott was sitting up in bed, sifting through papers in a manila envelope. The bed was littered with files on Shi'Ar technology specs, and blueprints from Professor Xavier's old Z'Nox psi-shielding chamber. Jean cleared her throat to catch her husband's undivided attention.
"Scott, could you run out to the store and pick up some diapers?"
He picked his head up from the sea of papers. "Right now?"
"It's kind of an emergency. Nathan needs a clean diaper –" Jean turned her head towards her son and repeatedly rubbed her nose against his, continuing to speak to him in a cutesy singy-songy voice, " –because we don't want Nathan to be a little stinky-poo, now do we?"
"Alright." Scott put his work aside and slid off the side of the bed, grabbed his car keys from his nightstand, and headed down the stairs of the boathouse towards the front door.
"Thank you, Scott! Nathan, say thank you to daddy!"
"Tanks dada!" Nathan called out of the room after his father.
Scott was just about to slide into the driver's seat of his car, when he had this inkling that something was different. He looked all around him, inspecting the entire driveway when it struck him.
"Okay, who stole my motorcycle?"
SNEAK PEEK: (may be subject to change)
"You shouldn't have to go through this alone."
It wasn't anything Rogue hadn't heard before. "Ah'm not. Ah have Remy."
"Yes, but ...I mean, maybe you need all of your friends' support at a time like this." Jean tried to clarify.
"Ah don't need tah feel lahk a walkin' disease! Gettin' special treatment an' pitty doesn't make it any easier."
AWW C'MON! I gave you a SNEAK PEEK! Now you have to review! I tried sooo hard to be really nice this time, too! It's dialogue! That's the good stuff!
That's it. It's right there calling to you. Click it. Click the "review" button.