Disclaimer: Don't own anything 'cept for the plot and any characters you don't recognize.

AN: Hey, I really appreciate all of the reviews, but I crave more so keep 'em coming! Sorry the update took so long, I don't really have a lot of time to write, sorry! I'll try harder next time!

John and Alex were sitting at the kitchen table, drinking steaming mugs of black coffee, when Remy finally made his appearance back home. It was only 5:30 A.M., but after Alex's nightmare they both had tried to go back to sleep, yet they only got a few hours worth before they both stumbled into the kitchen, deciding that sleep was something they weren't going to catch. They shared a few incoherent words in greeting. They had been pretty much sitting in silence, sipping their hot beverages, until Remy had quietly slipped through the door.

Remy was just going to sneak back up to his room, hoping not to disturb anyone. And with his thief skills, that was entirely possible. He just hadn't counted on the houses other two occupants to already be up. He skidded to a halt in the middle of the hallway, and doubled back to the kitchen, studying his two friends. John was normally not a morning person, Remy was not used to seeing him up at this hour. Though, he suspected the coffee probably helped. Alex's auburn hair was wild and full of tangles, a result from a restless nights sleep. She was pale, with dark bags under her eyes. Remy sighed, wandering what had happened to his friend. But with her awake now, he could actually find out. He stepped fully into the kitchen, the light exposing him to its other occupants.

"Mornin'" He chirped, walking over to the counter and grabbing himself a cup of coffee. Wasn't as steamy, considering it had been sitting out for a while already, but it would do.

"Where were you?" John asked as Remy joined them at the wooden table.

"Jus' out, runnin' some errands, s'all," he brushed off the question. John gave him a suspicious look, but for now John let it go. "Alex? Petite, ya gonna tell me what 'appened ta ya?" he turned to her, concerned. His friend was awfully quite this morning. Granted, she wasn't much of a morning person either, he still found her silence disconcerting. Alex placed her ceramic mug back on the table, her slim fingers still around it. She let out a sigh.

"Can ah jus' get cleaned up first?" She looked down at her ratty and torn clothing she had been wearing since they day her and her sisters had been taken. "Ah've been in these awhile, and ah haven't had a proper shower in weeks."

"D'accord, the bathroom est de firs' door on de righ', Remy'll getcha some clean clothes," he said, eyeing her outfit. He wanted her to tell him what happened, but if she wanted to relax and clean up first he was okay with that. Alex nodded her auburn head and got up to leave. Remy stood up and placed both of their now empty mugs in the sink. "Remy'll make some breakfast, sos ya can 'ave somethin' ta eat aftah yer shower." He went over the fridge to gather some supplies, while Alex just nodded her head and headed up the stairs.

As Alex trudged up the stairs, she thought about how Remy was going to be able to help her. Sure, she had thought he would be able to, but really, what was he going to do? He was only one man. She sighed, and pushed open the wooden door to the bathroom, and started her shower. Alex peeled off her clothes and groaned when she realized that they were beyond repair. No amount of washing was going to help them. She was just going to have to throw them away, hopefully Remy wouldn't mind her borrowing his clothes for a while.

"'Ey John, can yah get some o' Remy's clothes for de fille," Remy asked, as he was currently standing over a skillet, cooking some eggs for their breakfast.

"Yeah, sure thing," John replied and headed up to Remy's room to find some decent clothes for Alex. John had been watching his friend interact with the girl earlier, he found it interesting. Remy seemed to genuinely care about Alex, which wouldn't really be unusual for friends to care about each other, but for Remy, well, it was. Remy didn't get too close with anyone, he was kind of guarded. Well, he would see how things panned out. John was also anxious to know what had happened to Alex. He didn't really know how they were going to help her.

Alex finished washing her auburn hair and she turned the water off. She grabbed one of the ivory towels and wrapped it around herself. The bathroom was filled with steam, for she had taken a long, hot shower, and the mirror was all foggy. As she secured the towel around herself, she stepped towards the mirror. With one pale hand, she reached out and wiped an area clear, just big enough so that she could see her face. What she saw was a stranger staring back at her. She gasped, running a hand over her sunken in cheeks and narrow face. She was only a shell of her former self. Her eyelids closed, and a few tears slipped through. She needed to stop, she did not cry. That was Lizzie's thing. She needed to be strong, if not for herself, then for her sisters. Taking a deep breath, she searched for the clothes Remy had promised. Outside the door Alex found black sweats and a red hoodie. She figured she'd have to at least buy some undergarments soon, since the guys most likely wouldn't have any. For now, hers would have to do. She slipped on the fresh clothes, having to tie the drawstring on the sweat pants tight so they wouldn't fall off her narrow waist. She found a hair tie and pulled up her wet locks. Well, now she was clean and feeling better, but she still had to tell Remy what was going. She gathered up her resolve and left the bathroom, gathering her clothes along the way.

Descending the stairs, Alex could smell something cooking, and her stomach growled in response. It had been a long time since she had eaten any real food. She didn't consider what they ate in that place edible. She entered the kitchen, and placed her clothes in a trash bag. She looked up. Both boys were staring at her.

"What?"

"Nothing," both boys averted her gaze, turning back to what they were doing. John noticed that Remy's clothes seemed to swallow the girl up, she was too skinny. Remy placed several plates of food on the table.

"Eat," he demanded. He too noticed how thin she looked. He would wait until she had eaten to ask her about what was going on. Alex dug into her food with gusto, relishing the taste of Remy's cooking. After she ate her fill, she pushed her plate away with a contented sigh.

"That was good Rems, thanks."

"Pas de problem," he said as he gathered up the mostly empty plates and brought them to the sink. When he sat back down, he decided it was time. "Alex, what happened to yah?" Alex gathered her courage and began to tell her story.

Flashback

It was the middle of the night, and a storm was brewing down in Mississippi. Alex was awoken from her slumber by a loud crash from downstairs. Looking across her room, she noticed that Haley wasn't in her bed. But that didn't surprise Alex too much, Haley wasn't very partial to thunderstorms, she was probably downstairs making herself a cup of tea or something. But then, what was the crash she had heard? Cautiously, Alex quietly opened her bedroom door and stepped out into the hall. She looked at the door across from her, making sure it was closed. That was Marie and Lizzie's room. Surely they were still asleep. She silently crept down the stairs, pausing when she heard muffled voices.

"We've got one, the other targets are upstairs." Still standing on the steps, Alex peered over the banister, looking into the living room. Men in camouflage and guns were swarming the room. Her sister Haley was sprawled out on the floor, a cup of tea emptying on the floor next to her. Alex had to stifle a gasp at seeing her prone sister. How was she supposed to save Haley? Was she one of their targets? Alex almost ran down the steps when one of the men hauled Haley up off the floor and over he shoulder. He then proceeded to walk out the door. Without waiting to see what would happen next, Alex turned around and quickly padded up the stairs, coming to a halt at her sisters' room.

She pushed open the door as she heard footsteps starting up the stairs. Oh God, oh God, she thought, she was gonna be too late. She didn't bother shutting the door behind her; she just raced to Marie's bed and shook her awake.

"Quick, Marie, we're being invaded. They've taken Haley; they're coming for us now. We need to get outta here, fast." As Marie jolted out of bed, Alex rushed to Lizzie's. "Liz, Liz, get up, we need to go!" she whispered. Lizzie's eyes widened as she took in what was happening.

"What about mom and dad?" Lizzie asked.

"They're not after them. Ah suppose if we get out, we can lure them outside and away from them. Maybe they won't harm them," Alex formulated, taking the leadership role of the girls. She didn't have time to go wake up their parents, but maybe they wouldn't get hurt, after all, the three of them were the other targets. Dear God, she hoped nothing would happen to them, but she didn't have time for that now. She needed to get her and her sisters out.

"An' Ah suppose we have to go out through the window?" Marie asked, resigning to their fate. Marie made quick work of opening the girls' window. It would be a tight fit, but they would all fit through. The only problem was the drop. Their room was on the second floor, and the only one of them that could fly was not with them. But they'd risk it, as long as they didn't land funny, they should get away with just some bruises. "Lizzie, you first." The two older sisters watched as the blonde crawled out the window. "Wait!" Lizzie stopped her descent. Marie concentrated on her powers, and the tree that had been to far away to grab slowly extended a thick branch towards the window. "Grab onto that, and climb down the tree. Better than the drop." Lizzie did as instructed, Marie following closely after. As Alex was about to follow the younger girls, two of them men entered the doorway, through the door she had left wide open. They started screeching into their communication devices.

"Targets have been found, they're escaping through a window. The troops on the outside can apprehend them before they get too far." Shit, they had men outside too? Dear Lord, they were screwed. Beads of sweat dripped down Alex's face as she worked out how to get away. There was nothing, god damn it! Bullets ricocheted off the walls near her, some crashing through the glass of the window. Then she finally decided to make her move. There were mutants, damn it, and she would use her gifts. She turned back to the room and sent a giant fireball at the two men, throwing them back into the hall. Then she scrambled for her exit, dropping down from the tree next to her sisters.

"What do we do? We're like, surrounded!" Lizzie nearly cried, panic setting in.

"We're mutants, aren't we? We'll do what we do best," Alex said, smirking. Marie returned the smirk. It was time to stand and fight, because they weren't going down without one. They turned towards the group of men that had dared to invade their home.

End flashback

"But there were just too many of them. Soon, Lizzie went down, and shortly after, Marie. Ah was the only one left standing, but Ah could see that as soon as Lizzie fell, the fight was as good as over. It was too long after they Ah went down too. Ah don't remember exactly what happened next, but the next time ah woke up, it was in a cell. Ah don't even know what happened to our parents! The only reassuring thing was that Haley, Lizzie, and Marie were down there with meh. Gawd, Remy, it was so awful in that place!" Alex let a few tears escape as Remy wrapped his arms around her, trying to give her what little comfort it could.

"Shhh, it gonna be okay, petite, we gonna get you sisters out, Ah promise," he stroked her hair as she cried.

"How, Remy? How are we gonna get them out? It's nearly impossible; Ah barely got out of there myself. What if we're too late? We need more help."

Remy pulled back and smiled at her.

"Den Remy get more help." Alex gave him a quizzical look.

"From whom?" John was wondering the same thing.

"Why, de X-Men o' course." John's jaw dropped. Remy was actually going to go ask them for help? Remy turned to him. "Desperate times call for desperate measure, mon ami."