Chapter 3:  Welcome to the X-Men

Author's Notes:  Remy and Belladonna meet Rogue and Nightcrawler!  Oh, and don't forget Beast!  Sorry, no Storm – I could have slipped her in, I suppose, but I wasn't trying to put in every character I could all at once or anything.

*   *   *

            "NON!"

            Hank McCoy approached Remy LeBeau (who had wedged himself firmly into the furthest corner of the room) slowly and calmly.  "I don't want to hurt you," he said gently.  "It's just a standard tetanus shot, perfectly routine," he tried explaining.

            "Non!  Don' y' dare get dat t'ing near me—" the boy's shaking finger indicated the needle in Hank's hands—"an' y' not gettin' me back in dat room eit'er!"

            It was Remy and Belladonna's second day at the Institute, and Charles, ever protective of his wards, had directed Hank to give both thieves a general wellness examination and update their shot records.  Belladonna had yet to undergo the procedure, but judging from the way the usually calmer older sibling was handling things, Hank didn't hold out much hope for the girl.

            Hank tried a different tack.  "Look," he said, smiling reassuringly and gesturing to his blue skin, "I know I look scary, but I don't bite, really—"

            "I don' t'ink so," the thief interrupted flatly, hysteria just touching his voice.

            Hank sighed audibly, fearing he would have to tackle Remy to give him the shot, and knowing that would do more harm than good.  Remy suffered from a severe phobia of needles and laboratories/doctors' offices, probably brought on by an unimaginable trauma in his past associated with these locations and objects.  "Remy.  Be reasonable.  Calm down."

            Remy shook his head furiously.  His accent, unmistakably Cajun, was thickening with anxiety until he was almost impossible to understand.  "I won' let y' stab me wit' dat t'ing 'less I know 'xactly what's in it an' I put de needle t'get'er m'self!"

            Well, we're getting somewhere ... slowly … "I can arrange that, Remy.  You'll just have to come back into the laboratory—"

            "Non! No labs!"

            Hank's patience was wearing thin.  He couldn't risk giving Remy a shot with non-sterile needle by letting the shot be put together outside of the lab.  "If I bring the needles out here, so you can put together the shot, how will you know I didn't tamper with them?  How will you know I didn't hand you a mislabeled bottle?"

            Remy eyed him distrustfully.  Hank put forth the best effort he could to look friendly, holding his hands palm-out placatingly.  "Relax.  I'll take you into the room for lab work and just point you towards the cabinets.  I won't get within twenty feet of you," he said encouragingly.

            There was a long pause, and Hank watched Remy's chest rise and fall rapidly, his jaw clenching and unclenching.  Finally, the boy nodded, at first slowly, then more vigorously.  "A'right.  A'right," he said, his accent still thicker than usual.  "If dat's de deal …"

            "It is," Hank said, breathing a sigh of relief.  He motioned Remy towards the lab.  "It's all right, Remy.  It's okay."  He hesitated before continuing.  "If you ever need to talk to anybody about anything—"

            Remy shot him a fiery glare as he passed by, enhanced by the strange glowing quality of his eyes.  "Don' need no shrinks neither, mon ami," he said, nervousness still strong in his tone.

            At least he's getting the shot.  At least he's getting the shot … Hank kept the mantra to himself.

*   *   *

            Belladonna LeBeau was just as difficult, but her resistance was quieter.

            "No."

            Hank sighed.  "If it'll make you feel any better, I can have Jean do the physical examination, but—"

            "No."  Belladonna was adamant, and her features were impassive.  Remy, who had refused to let her out of his sight, gripped her shoulder tightly.  Belladonna leaned into her older brother's embrace.

            Belladonna had taken the tetanus shot well enough; she allowed Hank to do the needle, despite Remy's protests.  However, she'd refused to let Hank touch her even to just apply the alcohol to clean the injection site.  Remy had had to do it.

            And now, she refused to submit to the physical wellness check beyond having Hank look down her throat and into her eyes, ears and nose.

            "I can understand your discomfort, but I have to make sure you're healthy.  All I – or Jean, maybe – is going to do is use this stethoscope—" Hank held up the instrument in question—"and check your internal organs … okay, I can understand why you'd want a girl to do it," he admitted with a smile, trying to be light-hearted and jovial.

            His attempt at humor fell flat as Belladonna repeated, "No.  I'm not lettin' anyone touch me."  Remy nodded sharply.

            Remy, Hank couldn't help noting, was still more jumpy than Belladonna even though his own physical examination was over.  He had insisted on thoroughly examining every instrument before it was used on him, and required that the same instruments be used on Belladonna.

            Belladonna was not frightened of the laboratory.  Remy was.

            A very severe phobia, Hank thought.  Fortunately, Belladonna didn't seem to be affected by it; her fear was associated with physical touch, which she tolerated from no one except her adoptive brother.  The trauma that must have led to such a fear was beyond Hank's experience to treat; he more than suspected it was sexual.

            He looked at the stone-faced pair and gave up.  "Fine, fine," he conceded.  "Just remember to do a self-examination for lumps after your menstrual cycle."

            Belladonna's smile of relief would have been priceless, if Hank hadn't felt that it was sorely misplaced relief.

*   *   *

            "So how are they?"

            Hank flipped through the information he'd gathered about Remy and Belladonna from their limited exams as he briefed Xavier on their health.  Fortunately, both had agreed to pee in a cup, as it hadn't involved any touching or probing instruments; the results had told him more about their nutrition than anything else.  "Remy is pretty badly malnourished.  I'm going to have to put him on a strict diet to bring him up to speed.  It's a wonder he hasn't begun to lose teeth," he added.  "Belladonna's malnourished too, but not to the same extent.  She'll have more leeway."  He slowly shook his head.

            "They're both severely underweight, but that's to be expected.  Remy's tall for his age.  Belladonna is a little underdeveloped for a female 15-year-old, but that could be a genetic thing …

            "Belladonna is on the verge of a bout of the common cold, but otherwise, they're in fair health.  I'll need to keep a close eye on them in the coming weeks."

            "So will we all," Xavier said quietly.  He frowned slightly.

*   *   *

            It was their third day at the Institute.  Xavier insisted that Remy and Belladonna move into the students' rooms, to help them integrate.  At first Remy had seemed reluctant, but he conceded.  Belladonna seemed a little hesitant too, but she was more open to the idea than her brother.

            Belladonna was assigned to room with Marie Darkholme (who preferred to go by Rogue at all times) and Kitty Pryde.  Although there were more than enough rooms in the X-Mansion for everyone to have their own room, Professor Xavier seemed to feel it built a sense of 'team spirit' to have classmates share rooms.

            Somehow the Professor had managed to retrieve some of the few items to Belladonna and Remy's name; among them, their break-in tools, Remy's bo staff, and Belladonna's ancient, tattered teddy bear – Monsieur Teddy.  Like their clothes, Teddy had seen many rips and tears and had had to be re-stuffed and sewn back together.  It was Monsieur Teddy whom Belladonna clutched tightly to her chest as she walked into her new room for the first time.

            The first person she saw was Kitty Pryde, and she automatically jumped as she remembered the night of their 'capture'.  "Ah!" she gasped.

            Kitty jerked up her head, gave a little gasp of her own, then looked away.  "Sorry," she said quietly.

            Belladonna walked into the room and sat down on the spare bed.

            There was an awkward silence.  Kitty broke it after a minute or so.  "Um … I'm really sorry about the other night," she apologized.  "I didn't know – I mean, I wouldn't have grabbed you if—"

            "You didn't know," Belladonna interrupted.  She pasted a smile on her face.  "Now you do.  As long as you don' touch me, we'll get along jus' fine," she said.

            Kitty smiled with obvious relief.  "Well, I can live with that!" she giggled to let out the tension.  "That's two untouchable roommates—"

            "What's this all about?" drawled a voice at the door.

            "Oh!  Rogue," Kitty said with a smile.  She indicated Belladonna, who eyed the newcomer warily.  "Rogue, this is Belladonna.  She's gonna be rooming with us.  Belladonna, this is Rogue.  She's sort of the same as you," she said.

            "Huh?" This was Rogue, who wrinkled her nose at Belladonna.  "Y' suck people's brains out bah jus' touchin' them?"

            Belladonna raised her eyebrows.  "What?"

            Kitty broke into the conversation.  "Rogue can absorb other mutant's powers by touching them, so she can't touch anyone either," she explained.  "And I can walk through walls, but maybe you already knew that," she added sheepishly.  "What's your power?"

            Belladonna smiled at Rogue disarmingly and looked at Kitty.  "I can talk to computers."

            "Cool!"  Kitty exclaimed, jumping off her bed and flipping her computer on.  "Show me!"

            Rogue snorted.  "Ah'm gonna find somethin' else to do," she said with a disapproving air, walking back out the door.

            Kitty waved without looking back.  "See ya later, Rogue!"

            Belladonna shrugged and joined Kitty at the computer, leaving Rogue's attitude for another time.

*   *   *

            Remy was assigned to a room with Kurt Wagner and Bobby Drake.  His duster and sunglasses had finally been returned to him, and both had been repaired so phenomenally that Remy could hardly tell they had been broken or ripped.  He slipped on his sunglasses nonchalantly, slung his duster over his shoulder, and put on his best confident airs before strolling up to the room.

            The first thing he saw was a furry, blue … creature with a long tail lounging on one of the beds in the spacious room, reading a comic book.  He pulled back a little, startled, when the creature lifted his head and looked directly at him.  "Well!  You must be our new roommate," he said warmly, sitting up.  His accent was German.

            Remy cautiously stepped through the doorway and made his way over to the unoccupied bed.  "I suppose I am," he drawled, throwing his duster over the bed and sitting.  "Name's Remy LeBeau.  And you are …?"

            "Kurt Wagner," he answered, although it sounded like 'Kurt Vagner' because of his accent.  He padded over to Remy on legs a bit like the hind legs of a kangaroo.  He stuck out a hand with two fingers and a thumb.  "Pleased to meet you!"

Remy took the hand with a smile and a shrug.  "Same to you," he acknowledged.  The strange hand felt bizarre, yet soft, in his own.

Kurt broke off the handshake and put his hands on his hips.  "So, what's your mutant power?" he asked.

Remy was instantly uncomfortable, but he hid it well.  He shook his head, pretending to become more interested in his fingernails.  "You'll see."

"Come on!  I'll show you mine," Kurt suggested playfully.

"I t'ought your mutation was obvious," Remy answered, raising his eyebrows.

"That's what everyone says," the elflike boy answered, grinning.  "You'd never guess what I can do."

"Den I'll find out your power when you find out mine," Remy said nonchalantly.

"You're no fun, you know that?"

"I was under de impression I made your morning a lot more interesting."

"Well, there is that …"

Just then Bobby walked in.  "Hey Kurt, wassup—whoa!"  He blinked, doing a double-take at the sight of Remy sitting on the bed.

Remy struggled to keep a straight face as Bobby's features registered first shock, then shame, then nervousness.  "I … y'know, I really didn't mean … look, man, I'm sorry about the other night.  I didn't mean to hurt your sister or anything."  He hung his head.

"Wait.  You have a sister?" Kurt exclaimed.

Remy ignored him.  Inside himself, Remy's overly protective side wrestled with his desire to 'fade' into the woodwork of the Xavier Institute.  The latter won.  "I know.  Dere's no harm done.  Belle's doin' fine," he said, waving it off.

Bobby breathed a sigh of relief.  "So, then, can we have a truce?" he asked hopefully.  "You won't come after me for revenge or anything?"

Remy made a show of inspecting the formerly torn shoulder of his duster.  "You're jus' lucky my duster's not torn any more, or I would've had to hang your guts from de roof," Remy said ominously.

Bobby looked as if he believed him, and Remy couldn't help bursting into a fit of laughter.  "Jus' kiddin', jus' kiddin'," he managed.  "Sure, truce, whatever."

Bobby laughed nervously.

"Okay, I'm trying again: Wait, you have a sister?"  Kurt repeated.

Remy, trying to compose himself, smirked.  "An' she's a knockout.  An' if you touch her, I'll kill you."

"Okay, no touch, just look," Kurt said in a joking manner.  "At least introduce me to her!"

"I dunno if she takes to de blue, furry type, mon ami."

"I'll have you know, mein freud, that this fur makes me irresistible to the women!"

"Not this again," Bobby groaned, having apparently recovered from the nasty shock Remy had given him.

            It looked as if Remy and Belladonna were going to integrate into the Institute's family just fine.

*   *   *

            "This is not a good development."  The man's voice was deep and full of power, most sinister.

            "Why don't we just go in and take them back by force, sir?"  This voice trembled very slightly, as the voice of a man trying very hard not to seem scared might have.

            "And alienate a huge faction of mutants?  I need my connections to remain loyal, not flee from me!" snapped the first voice.

            "Yes, sir!"

There was a brooding pause.  "Mahoney?"

"Yes, sir?"

"I have other matters to attend to, but keep an eye on them.  Do not alert them.  Let them be lulled into a sense of security."  A slow smile spread on the man's face.  "My experiments aren't done.  We will have them yet."

*   *   *

Author's End-notes:  Sorry about all OOCness of Rogue, which I plan to remedy by the next chapter.

I'm not sure who I'm pairing with whom, or if I'm going to include any romance at all.  There will be characters with crushes, but whether they are reciprocated or not is up in the air.

Thanks again for all the reviews!  ^^x They're a huge encouragement.

~~Vikki