A/N: It's alive! It's alive! Mwahahahaha!

Heartbreaker

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The door crashed open, illuminating the posh hotel room with the faint glow of the hallway lights. Remy clomped heavily through the doorframe, lugging a giggling, squirming Rogue over his shoulder.

"Pppssssssshhh, Ah c'n walk, yah know!"

"Sure y'can, chere," Remy grinned as he threw Rogue onto the bed farthest from the door.

Rogue's body bounced a couple of times before sinking into the plush comforter. Her face was buried in a gigantic pillow. She lay unmoving for a few seconds before murmuring something into the pillow.

Remy, hanging up his coat, turned his head toward her. "What dat?"

Slapping her hands on either side of her head, she pushed herself up onto all fours. She peeked at Remy through a curtain of tangled hair. "Ah said this don' smell lahke a Motel 6."

Remy smiled, crossing the room to sit on the opposite bed, facing her. "T'ought you'd appreciate some matchin' upholstery f'once." He flicked the switch on the lamp on the wall between them.

Rogue grinned sloppily, blinking at the sudden brightness. "Ain'tcha just a reg'lar South'n Gentlem'n." She pointed a wavering, gloved finger roughly in Remy's direction. "If'n Ah didn' know any bettah, Ah'd think ya's be tryin' ta seduce me! HAH!" She rolled onto her back, arms splayed out from her body. "That's funny! Try'n seduce meh. Good luck with that, buddo." She snorted, then giggled to herself.

Remy shook his head. Perhaps he should have been a bit more diligent in regulating his partner's alcoholic intake. He just enjoyed the way she smiled so uninhibited, truly relaxed for the first time since he first saw her walking stiffly and self-consciously through that crowded mall. He wanted to keep her smiling like that. But watching the fully inebriated girl across from him, he started worrying that he allowed her to cross the line from everything's-great-laugh-at-the-world-happily-hammered into reality-sinking-in-wallow-in-pain-depressively-smashed. He hoped she passed out before that happened, because he didn't know her well enough to be able to comfort her and his usual way of preoccupying women into forgetting their name was off the table. As long as she didn't start crying…

Sniff.

Oh, co faire? Remy cursed to the ceiling. Looking over to the girl, he saw her curled up in the fetal position, facing away from him. He stood, and after a brief moment of hesitation, sat beside her on her bed. He raised his hand and gently rubbed her back. "Shh, ma fille, s'alright."

Rogue grumbled something into the sleeves of her coat.

"Come on, beb, it's not that bad." He patted her shoulder awkwardly. "Y'got no reason t'be upset."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say.

Rogue sprang off the other side of the bed, glaring at him. "Ya don't know shit!" she yelled at him. "Don't fucking tell me Ah got no reason ta be upset! You dunno a damned thang!"

"Easy, chere, I didn' mean t—"

"Oh, stuff it! Ah know what y'where gonna say. Oh, Rogue! Silly, silly Rogue! So dramatic and excitable! She really doesn't appreciate how good she has it! She should just stop moping' and be thankful! Her powahs aren't that bad!"

"Rogue, I—"

"SHUT IT! I don't wanna hear it. Ya just don't understand. This isn't just inconvenient, Gambit. Mah life ain't just a little debilitatin'. It's fuckin' HELL!"

Rogue began pacing back and forth, pulling at her hair. Remy did not move from his spot on the bed. He simply watched her with his glowing eyes. Well, that sobered her up a little.

"People want me t'suck it up and act like a normal person," she continued to rant, "well, which person do they want? A traumatized war vet who don't remember the majority of his past? A prejudiced megalomaniac haunted by memories of a death camp? A feral rapist and murderer who gets off by licking the blood offa his fingers? Or we can just stick to the horny teenaged boys who don't pay attention to anythin' past the next ballgame. What'll it be?" She choked out the last part as Remy rounded the bed and grabbed her arms, forcing her to face him.

"Rogue, cherie, calme-toi." He spoke softly, pulling her into his arms. "Y'right. I don' know de first t'ing about how much dis hurts ya." He bent his head down, trying to catch Rogue's eyes. "But mebbe y'ain't as alone as y't'ink, hein? Maybe dere's some of us out dere who wanna help ya? Who might wanna know…" He trailed off, looking into her bloodshot eyes, sparkling with tears.

Rogue swallowed, looking into those calm, beautiful, red eyes. "You wanna know what it's like?" she began softly, almost a whisper. "You wanna hear what it's like to never feel the touch of another person's skin against your own without the pain of sucking out their life force—their very soul?"

Remy fell back onto the bed as Rogue pushed away from him. He kept his hands in his lap as he watched Rogue take an angry breath and square her shoulders.

"You wanna know what it's like to cover every inch of mah skin every hour of every day to make sure no one accidentally brushes up against me? Well, it sucks! It's hot and sweaty and itchy." She yanked off her coat and threw it at Remy. "It's annoyin' ta have ta take vitamin D supplements because Ah don't get enough sunlight and stay in mah room when everyone else goes to play in the pool!" She ripped off the over-shirt covering her green sundress. It followed the coat. "It's embarrassin' to struggle turnin' the pages of a book or ask someone to open a coke can fer me!" She ripped off each glove and flung them one at a time at Remy's head. "I wanna touch screen smartphone, goddammit!"

Remy sighed as he pulled the clothing off of his head. He set them beside him and calmly let Rogue continue.

"It's noisy! Ah don't get a moment of silence without the psyches screamin' at me how terrible Ah am or tryin' ta interrupt me while Ah'm talkin' to other people! Ah can't tell ya how many times Ah've responded to the wrong voice or started talkin' to no one in the middle of a crowded room."

Remy had to force himself from dropping his eyes as the weight of Rogue's glare bore into him. She wasn't moving now, just standing in front of him with her pale hands clenched into fists at her sides.

"And you wanna know why Ah don' eat? It's because Kitty's a vegetarian and David's lactose intolerant. Eric is kosher, Ororo won't eat anythin' not organic and Logan's never willingly touched a vegetable in his life!" She started to shake, but her voice remained strong and sharp. "Anytime Ah disrobe anywhere near a mirror, Ah can't ignore the catcalls and the cruel insults and the lewd commentary on every inch of mah body and Ah think maybe, just maybe, if Ah can stop fueling mah body, maybe Ah can starve them out!"

Their eyes were still locked, but Remy felt his hands clench into fists on the bed. He fought every instinct to move toward her.

"But no." Rogue shook her head violently, tears streaming down her face. "No, they are stronger than that. They last longer than mah body does. When mah stomach starts crampin' so bad Ah can't even see straight or if Ah pass out from standin' too quickly, the voices are still waitin' for me on the other side, excited to have me trapped in mah head." She shoved her arms out in front of her, showing her mutilated forearms. "This is the only thing that keeps them at bay. The only thing that calms me enough to push the voices back. The only thing that appeases them. And Ah'd gladly take physical pain any day over the torture Ah have ta live through in mah mind."

She stuttered to a stop and let a single sob escape her lips, causing her whole chest to heave. Remy stood but refrained from approaching her when she backed away from him, shaking her head and crossing her bare arms in front of her, hugging herself protectively.

"It's scary to wake up every mornin' and have ta remember which memories are mine. What mah name is. Who Ah am. Remember that the nightmares aren't mah own. NO!" she screamed as Remy took a step forward.

"Chere, it's alright. Let m'help you."

Rogue laughed disturbingly. "Help me," she repeated, a cruel, self-deprecating smile twisting her lips. "No one can help me. Especially not you. Not when Ah have a piece of yah in mah head tellin' me how much yah wish Ah didn't have this mutation at all. How much yah wish you could touch me."

She stepped toward him with an intensity Remy did not expect and he found himself backing up until his legs hit the edge of the bed.

"How can ya help me when Ah can feel your desire runnin' through mah body." Her voice lowered and she raised her hands to run up the front of Remy's dress shirt, splaying her hands on his chest. "When Ah know all the things you do ta me when you fantasize at night."

Remy found himself being pushed onto the bed, his back hitting the soft comforter as soft hands continued to press into his chest. He held his breath as Rogue straddled his hips and looked down at him, almost curiously.

Her words came out in a dangerous whisper. "Would you still wanna help me if you found out that ah know your secrets? That Ah know what frightens you and what," she lowered her body onto his and brought her face inches from his own, "turns you on?"

Remy couldn't help but gasp as she dug her fingernails into his pectorals. It was an erogenous zone that he didn't tell many people about.

Her nails scrapped downward, fingers catching his nipples through the fabric. A strong squeeze sent his back into an arch, pressing his chest into Rogue's hands.

"Ah know what drives you crazy." She traced her hands down his arms and grabbed his gloved hands. "You're favorite place to touch a woman." She guided his hands up her thighs, onto her hips, and continuing up the curve of her waist. They stopped on the outer edges of her breasts. His finger splayed across her ribs; his thumbs grazed the bottom swell of her chest.

She lowered her lips past his own to whisper in his ear, "would you still wanna help me if you knew you'd never have a chance to do what Ah want ya to do with mah body?"

Remy growled deep in his throat.

Quicker than Rogue could blink, Remy had her pushed off the bed and up against the wall. His body pressed into hers, his hands holding her wrists above her head. As Rogue frowned in confusion, Remy spoke into her ear, low and dangerous.

"Oh, chere, I t'ink y'underestimate me."

He pushed his knee between her thighs and rocked upward, pressing against Rogue's pelvis. She gasped loudly and arched her neck. Meeting her wide eyes, he continued, "Dere's plenty I can do t'ya wit'out touchin' yo skin." He released her hands and wrapped the gloved fingers of his left hand gently around her neck, his thumb tracing her trachea. His other hand moved to cup the side of her jaw, the pads of his fingers wrapping around to cradle the base of her head, thumb brushing her cheekbone.

Her breathing was shallow and rapid as he lowered his face to hers and breathed in her scent. He could hear the whimper in the back of her throat.

The whimper turned into a yelp as he roughly yanked her from the wall and threw her onto the bed. His body slammed into hers a second later.

"See, Chere," Remy gripped a handful of Rogue's hair and gently yet firmly pulled.

Rogue moaned as her head was forced back.

"Dere's not'in' I wan' dat yo' powers can stop m'from gettin." Remy slid his body down hers, eliciting another moan. One hand still in her hair, the other wrapped around her neck, He brought his lips to the side of her breast, where she had placed his hands only minutes before. He nuzzled his face there briefly before opening his mouth, bringing it down onto the thin fabric, biting down hard.

A sort of strangled, hiccoughy groan came from Rogue as she arched her back and flung her hands to the back of Remy's head, taking fistfuls of his hair and pressing him closer.

He released her and slowly lifted his body away from hers. He brought his hands up to gently pull hers out of his hair.

Rogue whimpered and struggled to wrap her arms back around him, but Remy firmly held them to the bed.

Exhaling a short breath through his nose, he quirked one side of his mouth in a sardonic smile. "One o' des days, y'may even wanna give it t'me sober."

With that, Remy stood, grabbed his coat, and swiftly exited the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The tiny dancers pranced joyfully as snowflakes settled around their feet.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched them. It made him smile. Rearranging the surgical tools on the tray, he reached over and shook the snow globe again, causing the snow flurries to dance around the ballerinas once more. Sighing, he stuck the earbuds back into his ears and pressed play on his iPod.

Your love is like a tidal wave, spinning over my head
Drownin' me in your promises, better left unsaid

Bobbing his head and rocking on the heels of his feet, he turned back to the test subject. "Oh!" he murmured when he realized the test subject had started to awaken and was beginning to struggle weakly at the restraints that held its body to the sterile bed.

You're the right kind of sinner, to release my inner fantasy
The invincible winner, and you know that you were born to be

He clucked his tongue and picked up a syringe filled with a special blend of anesthesia. He gently grabbed the subject's arm with his pasty, corpse-like fingers and slid the needle deftly into the subject's median cubical vein at the crook of the elbow. The subject stilled.

You're a heartbreaker
Dream maker, love taker
Don't you mess around with me!

He then grabbed a scalpel and, still bouncing to the melody, plunged it deep into the subject's chest.

You're a heartbreaker
Dream maker, love taker
Don't you mess around - no no no!

The instrumental section took the place of Pat's crooning voice. He spun in a circle, letting his white lab coat swirl around him. Taking a surgical saw from the tray, he turned back to the subject and got back to work.

Your love has set my soul on fire, burnin' out of control
You taught me the ways of desire, now it's takin' it's toll

His butt swung side to side with the strong down beats. "Bum, Bum, Bum!"

You're the right kind of sinner, to release my inner fantasy
The invincible winner, and you know that you were born to be

He used his thin skeletal fingers to peel back the skin and pectoral muscles of the test subject, nudging the detached ribs out of the way. With a soft smile, he looked down into the chest cavity and watched the human heart beat in time to the music.

You're a heartbreaker
Dream maker, love taker
Don't you mess around with me!
You're a heartbreaker
Dream maker, love taker
Don't you mess around - no no –

"Sinister!"

"WHAT!"

The woman standing in the doorway did not react to his outburst, only quirking an eyebrow as he turned around with an iPod in one bloody hand and a newly dissected heart in the other.

"I mean… What a pleasure it is to see you again, dear Tessa!" He lowered his arms and grinned a mouthful of sharp, yellowed teeth.

Tessa eyed the scientist's current project without expression before stepping forward. Her dark blue power suit clashed against the cold metallic of the walls. She held out a thick manila envelope with a manicured hand.

He took it gently, smearing blood across the crisp paper.

"You'll find everything you requested in there, including police reports." Tessa paused. " I do hope your current little game finds speedier results, Dr. Essex. The Hellfire Club is happy to assist with our affiliates, but we cannot continue to fund projects that are not directly beneficial to our goals."

"Oh, dear Tessa," he smiled fondly down at the perfectly coiffed, yet emotionless woman, "do not fret. This information will aid a great deal in obtaining the most important ingredient for my research. I promise, you will be very pleased once I get my hands on him."

Tessa offered him a disinterested "mmm-hmmm" before turning on her heels and leaving him alone in the room.

Humming under his breath, he turned back to his test subject, which had since turned cold and tinged with blue.

"Don't you mess around, no, no, no!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Her head hurt. Her tongue felt like paper and the taste in her mouth was foul. She attempted to flip over onto her back, but her limbs felt like lead. The beam of sunlight hitting her face burned her bloodshot eyes, causing her to bury her head deeper into the pillow.

She was never touching bourbon again.

After a few minutes of groaning and cursing, Rogue rolled over to stare at the ceiling. "Mah life hurts," she informed the white stucco.

She was just attempting to roll gingerly off of the bed when a sharp knock startled her, causing her to slip on the bed covers and land ass first on the carpet.

"Owww..." She decided it was too much trouble to move from the floor, so she didn't.

A moment later, the knocking resumed, followed with a clear, way-too-chipper voice, "room service!"

"Ya gotta be kiddin' me," Rogue grumbled as she stumbled to her feet. Looking around, she noticed she was alone in the spacious room.

There was another knock, to which Rogue responded with a less than polite, "hold ya damn horses! Crimeny!"

She eventually hobbled over to the door, clumsily fiddled with the locks, and yanked it open. A young man with a false smile greeted her with a large catering tray. Rogue waved him in, rubbing her face and yawning. She mumbled something that passed for a thank you as the man passed her on his way out.

It was either the smell of coffee or fried awesomeness that woke her up enough to sit at the desk in front of the breakfast tray. She frowned when she went to take off her glove and found that she was wearing nothing but her sundress. Curiouser and curiouser, she thought. Well, fiddle dee dee, I'll think about that when the hangover passes.

Lifting the lid, she found a large plate of scrambled eggs, sausage, and hashbrowns- all coated in a healthy (such as it is) layer of butter and grease. Next to the plate was a glass full of orange juice and next to that was a bowl of grits. Honest to god grits. Rogue grabbed the bowl eagerly and plopped in a large glob of butter before joyfully going to town.

About the time she scraped the last of the grits from the bottom of the bowl, the door opened and Remy entered wearing his typical sunglasses and duster. He smirked when he saw her lounging on the sizable chair pulled up to the desk. "Well, I's be a monkey's oncle. She's eatin' of her own free will!"

Rogue's mouth was too full to glare affectively, so she waved the bowl around and grinned as wide as she could. "Grits!"

Remy winced. "Yeah, I c'n see dat, chere. Here." He tossed a bottle of Advil toward her. "t'ought y'might want some o'dat."

Rogue caught it deftly and after swallowing, said, "Oh, Ah love you!"

"If I had a nickel, ma cherie." Remy chuckled as he snagged a sausage from the plate on his way to his bed.

Rogue ignored the quip, deciding instead to occupy her time popping four pills and gulping down half a glass of orange juice. She watched as Remy tossed two empty duffle bags onto the bed and began transferring his stolen belongings into one. "So," Rogue began awkwardly. "This sure don't smell like a Motel 6."

Remy paused for a brief second, staring down into his bag before tilting his head to peer at her behind his bangs. "Don't remember much a' last night, do ya?" He smirked.

"Yeah… not a lick." Rogue laughed awkwardly. "How much of a fool did Ah make myself?"

"Only a marginal amount."

"Oh. Good."

"Don' worry, chere," Remy reassured, watching her blush, "you's cute when y' bumblin' around like un fou."

Rogue threw a banana at his head, which he caught and stuffed in his coat. "T'anks!"

After a minute of silence, Remy turned to her again. "Rogue…" he began hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

He looked at her raised eyebrow and playful smile. Shaking his head, he replied, "nut'in."

Rogue scrunched her eyebrows at his atypically serious expression.

Then, quick as lightning, his boyish grin was back and he winked. "Now get y'shit. We behind schedule."

"We have a schedule?" Rogue asked as she rose from the chair and grabbed the second duffle.

"Too much world t'see and not enough life t'see it in."

Rogue grinned as she packed.

A quick shower and a few rounds of teasing banter later, Rogue was standing at the door with the duffle bag slung over her shoulder. She wore a black midriff tank top underneath a green mesh shirt. Black leather gloves, a studded belt and faded jeans completed the ensemble.

Remy opened the door and bowed, hand raised to present the hallway. "After you, ma'amselle."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

So… Over the years, I've become more and more obsessed with X-men: Evolution. While this is technically supposed to be in the Movieverse, I'm shamelessly evolving the characters into their evo personalities. Kitty was completely by accident – I wrote her before being introduced to Ellen Page's interpretation. All that being said, the situations and past events of the movieverse through X2 still apply.

I'm really happy to continue this fic. It's been on the back of my mind since I abandoned it years ago, and my endearment to it has never faded. With life being much kinder to me now, I feel it is time to revisit it. I HAD a really complicated outline for the plot… which I've since forgotten a huge part of… so let's see how we do tying all the pieces together! It'll be an adventure for all of us. If y'all have any scene ideas or suggestions, constructive criticisms, I'm always appreciative.

Somewhere in this chapter is a reference to Alice in Wonderland and Gone with The Wind. A box of Kuddos to those who recognized them.

That's all for now, folks!