Rogue swallowed convulsively as she stared at her gloved hands. At her side, Andrea waited patiently for the girl to get her thoughts in order. Finally, after five minutes of silence, she spoke. "Ya know, iffin' it weren't for the fact that Ah met ya an' Remy, an' the way ya helped meh with mah mutation, Ah'd probably be standin' in the line fo' the Cure 'bout right now."

Andrea gave the girl a soft smile, placing her arms around her shoulders, ignoring the small flinch Rogue always had when someone touched her. "Cherie, t'ings c'n always chance, ouias? Ah believe y' woulda been stronger den dat, dat y' woulda worked fo' control o' yo' own, rather den trust de words o' some scientists. Who knows 'f de Cure even be permanent, hm?"

Rogue heaved a deep sigh, then shook herself. "Ya're right. But still, Ah know what kind of impact this'll have on the mutant community. Ah cain already see Magneto foamin' at the mouth 'bout flat-scans an' mutant-superiority."

A quick bark of laughter drew their attention to the open door of the billiard room, where they had found some solitude after the announcement of the Cure on the television. Logan stood in the open door, smirking widely at Rogue, who blushed a bit as she realised her words about Magneto had been overheard. She raised her head proudly, though still blushing, and sniffed. "What? It's true an' ya know it."

"I ain't disputing ya words, darlin'." Logan stalked into the room, nodding at Andrea as she squeezed Rogue's shoulders a last time and slid from the room. She closed the door behind her and turned to face Remy and Ororo, who were waiting patiently. Ororo raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Oh yo' o' little faith!" Andrea grinned, then shrugged. "De Rogue has no plans t' take de Cure. De fact dat she got as far as she is now wit' de trainin' gave hope. De fille would rather want control o' her own den some drug."

Ororo sighed heavily, slumping a bit. "I am relieved. Whether Rogue knows it or not, she is someone to emulate for the younger children and others who have difficulties with their mutation. Maybe they would go get this so called cure otherwise, but if they see that Rogue won't go, even though she has such a hard time, then they will think several times before going."

"Huh, din' know dat."

Ororo gave a faint smile. "Yes, well, I'll be going to meet the Professor and the other teachers. We need to make a decision what we're going to do about this."

"D'accord."


The office of Xavier was silent as the adults of the Institute stood around in contemplation. Finally Xavier broke the silence. "From what Hank has told us, the source of the Cure appears to be a young boy named Jimmy. He had the ability to shut off the mutations of those who come within a certain distance of him. They have extracted his DNA and used that to engineer the so called medicine for mutants."

Remy and Andrea exchanged a worried look before Remy stepped forward. "As y'all know w'at 'Rea an' Remy do, y' understand we have many sources. We heard noises 'bout de fact dat de Cure appears t' have been turned inta a weapon. De Magneto ambushed a criminal transport which housed de Mystique, an' de femme was shot by de guards wit' a dart loaded wit' de Cure. Dis worried many in de Underground. We been usin' our influence t' try an' calm dem, mais still many will join de buckethead."

"They weaponised it?" Logan looked murderous.

"Oui." Remy shrugged. "Don' know who gave de orders, mais someone high up gave 'em. De famille 's lookin' inta 't."

"Bot' de familles." Andrea added. "Mafamille ain't happy wit' dis decision. We ain't de only mutants in de Guilds."

Wolverine nodded at the both of them even as some of the others looked a bit uncomfortable with the thought of mutants in crime families. Xavier sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I fear that Magneto has begun gathering an army, and I suspect that he will want to take out the source of the Cure, to prevent all others to ever make something like that again."

The younger mutants frowned as they didn't get the clue, but Andrea simply rolled her eyes and enlightened them, even as the older mutants had dark looks on their face. "De magnet-man wan's t' kill de p'titgarçon who be de source o' de Cure. Prob'ly has de t'ought dat de sacrifice o' one t' safe many 's an acceptable loss."

This brought more expressions of anger.

Remy sighed as he leaned against the wall, looking at the people gathered in the office. Andrea leaned into him, her arm slipping around him under his duster. He gave her a quick smile just as his phone went off. "Merde."

Andrea smirked at him as she plucked the device from his pocket and flipped it open. "Bonjour, dis Zephyr." She paused. "Oui. Non. He next t' Zephyr. Unmoment. Ouias, Patriarch LeBeau." Her face contorted in a frown, then she flipped the phone to Remy, just as her own began ringing. "Papa?"

The rest of the office watched with thinly disguised curiosity as the two Cajuns muttered conformations and denials over the phone, then both snapped them shut at the same time. Andrea spoke first. "Magneto be havin' rallies fo' mutants. Gatherin' many o' dem who would fight t' kill de source o' de Cure an' de maker o' it."

"De Cure made on de Alcatraz Island, dat also where de garçon 's kept." Remy added. "De Guild inserted some infiltrators in de army 'f buckethead."

Andrea spoke again. "Magneto tried t' hire de Guild, he failed. We ain't lackeys, an' dat how he treated us. We professionals." She tossed her head proudly.

Their eyes bounced back to Remy as he spoke again. "De mutants be angry, an' afraid. Many o' dem ain't got pleasant experiences wit' de government, dey won' trust anyt'ing dat comes from it, no matter how pleasantly dey bring it."

"We understand dem, mais dey take 't a few steps further."

"Dey won' take non fo' 'n answer, dere won' be any reasoning wit' dem. Formin' 'n army 's in deir eyes only a logical step seeing how de Cure 's bein' used as a weapon."

"In deir eyes, de X-men be jus' as bad as de government. Y' are wit' dem or against, an' y'all ain't wit' dem. Dere is no middle ground."

It was almost as if the people in the office were following a tennis match as their eyes bounced from Remy to Andrea as the two explained all that their contacts had found and heard so far. Xavier started looking more and more tired the further they progressed, and he heaved a deep sigh as the two Cajuns wound down from telling their information and their insight into how the mutants would be reacting and thinking right now. He steepled his fingers and looked over them, taking in his X-men and their two guests. "We will have to make a plan to protect the Alcatraz Lab, we can't let them hurt the little boy. Still, we will have to try and reason with them, they can still decide to stop the path they are walking."

Andrea rolled her eyes in exasperation. It seemed like their information hadn't been drilled in enough. "Dat won' work, Charles. Dis is war. Dey won' see y' as fellow mutants, y'all will be deir enemy, and dey won' have any problem wit' comin' here an' killin' all de kids. Dey are, after all, traitors t' deir kind in de eyes o' dose mutants." Her eyes bored into him, willing him to understand the severity of the threat. "Dere is no reasoning wit' dem anymore, Professeur."

Wolverine growled in agreement, and then snorted. "And it isn't as if ya could ever reason with Magneto in the first place. The man is a driven maniac."

Remy snorted in response, then curled his arm around Andrea's waist, turning to leave the room. "Y'all c'n keep t' y' plans, 'Rea an' moi gonna get food now. Missed lunch 'cause dis."

Andrea smirked in his side as they left the room, leaving behind some baffled looks and a few grins.


Andrea gave a tired sigh as Rogue snuggled into her on the couch, watching the news. More reports came in from all over the country that clinics that distributed the Cure were being attacked, either by mutants or prejudiced humans. Magneto had even sent a video to the television to explain his 'war' to the people all over the country. The people were beginning to get afraid, both of mutants and of the anti-mutant groups, who all attacked clinics without hesitation, not caring if people were caught in the crossfire.

Remy rushed into the room, throwing himself at the feet of Andrea, snuggling into her knees and hugging her legs to him. "Save me, machère!"

"Quoi?"

He shuddered, looking furtively around, making Rogue giggle. "De petites, dey don' leave moi alone! Remy swears, cherie, he don' know what he did t' dem fo' dem t' chase him like dis."

Rogue burst into laughter, catching the attention of the two Cajuns. Remy threw her a questioning glance, making her laugh even harder. It took her a while to calm down, but when she managed it, she snorted her explanation out. "That would be John's fault, Remy. He kinda started tellin' stories 'bout the two o' ya, an' the kids decided y'all are the greatest thing since sliced bread."

"Stories 'bout us?"

"Dey t'ink we're great?"

The two exclamations left Rogue once again in helpless laughter, and the two Cajuns shrugged, exchanging baffled looks. Again it took Rogue a while to calm down, but once she did she told them about the fact that John had made up stories and told those and real ones about them as bed-time stories for the younger mutants, leading to the worship of them by the kids. Remy looked absolutely baffled. "Les' get dis straig't, de enfants look up t' us 'cause Johnny-boy tol' dem 'bout how 'Rea caught de plane in mid-air, de fact dat we helped save dem from Stryker an' 'cause he made up stories t' paint us in a good light. An' now we're deir new heroes."

"Yup!"

"Huh. Dat's new."

Andrea snorted, then broke out in laughter. "Jus' wait 'till we tell de famille. Dey be in pieces from laughter." She suddenly stopped laughing with a look of horror on her face. "On second t'ought, don' tell anyt'ing t' de famille."

Remy shuddered in unison with her and Rogue threw them a strange look, before shrugging it off. She grinned widely. "So, Remy, the kids won't leave ya alone?"

He threw her the stink eye, before sniffing. "Oui, dey be chasin' Remy all o'er de place."

"Did it ever occur to ya that they just mighta wanted to play with ya?"

"Non." Remy looked slightly embarrassed by that confession, but as the door of the rec room slammed open to admit a few of the younger mutants, he just gave a squeak and dove behind the couch out of sight.

One of the kids, a little Scottish girl Andrea recognised as being called Rahne, shyly stepped forwards, keeping her eyes down. "Miss Andrea? Would ye play with us?"

Rogue snickered as Andrea looked at her weirdly, before the Assassin straightened up. "Sure, petite. W'at you be playin'?"

The kid beamed happily. "We wanted to play 'Thieves and Assassins'."

There came some chocked laughter from behind the couch as Andrea blinked in surprise, before she grinned widely. "D'accord, Ah'll play, mais only if Ah c'n be one o' de Assassins."

The horde of kids cheered and filed out of the rec room, Andrea following them with a last grin and wink to Rogue, who broke up in laughter. As soon as the doors closed behind them, Remy bounced back over the couch, dropping down with a slouch and a grin. "So, w'at else do y' kids do here?"


Andrea straightened up from a crouch as she spotted the black, sleek car make it's way through the gates and up to the doors. Everything, from the colour to the look of it, simply screamed government.

"Miss Andrea?"

She looked down to see Rahne, who was looking a bit worried. Giving her a quick smile, she pushed the kid behind her. "Get de odders an' go inside, p'tite, we don' know who be comin'."

With a nod, the little girl scurried off, gathering the others then disappeared back into the mansion. Andrea stalked over to the front doors, where the car just drew up. She stood by the steps as the door of the car opened, and a huge, blue furred man-being stepped out. Andrea blinked a bit in surprise, but still kept her grip on a gun inside her coat. "Who be yo'?"

The man-beast blinked at her, then the mansion doors opened and Xavier rolled up, Logan at his shoulder. "Calm down, miss Boudreaux, this is an old friend of mine. I told you about him, this is Dr. Henry McCoy. He is the head of the department of Mutant Affairs."

"Not anymore." The man-beast had a surprisingly friendly rumble for his frightening countenance. "I resigned after it came out they made weapons with the Cure. I wasn't informed about it or asked about it, so I was of the opinion that they weren't worth wasting more time on."

"Y' only now found out?" Andrea snorted at him, and took her hand from under her coat, gripping her gun. Dr. McCoy gave her an alarmed look and Logan sighed, but she went on. "Even we knew offa dis b'fore long, how woulda we know wet'er y' be tellin' de truth, hm?"

Xavier only sighed. "Miss Boudreaux…"

"Andrea."

He smiled. "Andrea, I have known Hank for a long time, and I believe him if he says he didn't know. Besides, it wouldn't do him any good to support anti-mutant groups. He is, after all, not inconspicuous and rather recognisable."

Andrea snorted again, but put her gun away. Dr. McCoy shook himself, then offered Andrea a toothy grin. "Well, miss, I am Henry McCoy, but most call me either Hank or Beast."

"Andrea Boudreaux. Also known as Zephyr." She gestured to Logan. "Y' met de Wolverine before?"

"No, I did not have that pleasure."

Logan snorted. "Wolverine, also known as James Logan Howlett. I go by Logan these days."

"Yes, I heard you're quite the animal." McCoy gave a toothy grin. Andrea scoffed derisively. "Pot. Kettle. Ah'll be goin' now, de enfants be waitin'."

The men stared as she disappeared in a gust of wind. Hank shook his head. "Zephyr, old friend? Do you know who you have let into your home?"

Logan chuckled. "I worked with the Guilds before, bub. Besides, Gambit is here too."

McCoy looked alarmed. "How in the world did you get mixed up with the Guilds, Charles?"

"That would be a long story, Hank. Let's get up to my office and I'll tell you all about our latest adventure." The Professor chuckled and turned around, leading the other two men up to his office.


Remy grinned as he stalked through the mansion. It had taken some whining from the kids and one sultry look from Andrea before he had also given in to play with the little ones. They were playing hide-and-seek, or their new name for it, Thief-and-treasure. Sometimes they even named it Assassin-and-bad guy, but that was only after there had been some more reports about attacks. Right now Remy was the Thief, and he was searching for the different treasures. He could hear muffled excited giggling on his right and this led him to a cupboard, from which he extracted a little boy, Jamie, who he flung over his shoulder and brought him to the base, where the other kids were sitting. The only one who hadn't been caught yet was Andrea, and he had no idea where she could be. As he came back to the base, all the kids were giggling and trying to hide their gleeful expressions, causing him to turn his attention to his empathy, and as soon as he did, he felt like hitting himself. Aside from the gleeful and happy emotions from the kids in front of him and on his shoulder, he felt glee and smugness from above him. With a sigh he let Jamie down next to the other kids and looked up, where Andrea had anchored herself to the ceiling of the hallway. "Y' were up dere de whole time, non, chère?"

Andrea giggled and floated down, to the exited laughs of the kids. "Mais oui, cher. Y' were de one who taught moi dat hidin' in plain sight 's de best way o' hidin' after all. Ah can't believe y' din' t'ink o' it."

With a snort Remy caught Andrea while she was still in mid-air, throwing her over his shoulder to the delighted laughs of the children. He turned around and pointed one finger towards the kitchen as he marched off. "Les' get t' de kitchen, p'tites, it be time fo' ice cream!"

The kids cheered and raced off in front of him, while Remy shifted Andrea so she was held in a fireman carry over his shoulders. They quickly ended up in the kitchen, distributing small ice creams and shooing the children off to play outside. As they shooed the last kid outside, Remy turned his attention on Andrea with a mischievous smirk. "So, y' promised moi somet'ing, chère."

After they chased around the kitchen island, Remy finally managed to corner a giggling Andrea and was leaning in to claim his reward for playing with the kids when the door flew open. Logan stormed inside, a thunderous expression on his face. Andrea got one look at his face, then let her head fall back to thud against the wall. "T'ings escalated, homme?"

"Yeah." Logan growled as Remy reluctantly released Andrea from his arms and the two of them followed the feral to the Professors' office. "One of the anti-mutant groups, named Friends of Humanity, attacked a homeless shelter for both humans and mutants. All were killed. Magneto reacted by destroyin' a hospital that had refused to treat mutants. He has gathered an army, and for as far as Xavier can gather, they'll be soon headin' to San Francisco."

As if on cue, Remy's phone began to ring, and he quickly picked it up, only listening to the rapid speaking from the other side. As he flipped it closed, his face was blank. "Dat was Henri. Dey got news from de infiltrators." He looked directly at Logan. "We bettah go t' de Professeur, dis is a confirmation. De mutant-army 's formed an' ready, an' dey headed fo' Alcatraz."