Once again, the only thing I can do is apologize for not updating in forever. But hey, life happens.
Things went better than she'd expected. Better than she could have hoped.
The mansion hadn't changed a bit. The front hall still smelled like smoke and bleach. The same paint still covered the walls. But most importantly, the same pin was still used to get into the security room. Remy called this ignorant stupidity and she couldn't help but agree.
The sensors were installed, the devices planted and they were gone before anyone even knew they were there.
Mission: accomplished.
Guilt: None at all.
"Congrats chere, within the week, you will be accepted into the thieves guild."
"And what will happen then?"
"Well, if you're not against it, Remy'd like to be the one to train you up, teach you what you need to know."
"Do you really think I'd go through all this just to ditch you for someone else?" she looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Sorry swamp rat but you're stuck with me." He grinned.
"Well if you insist. Of course, we're gonna be pretty busy for a while, what with you learning all the basics and Remy helpin' you with your powers. But Remy thinks we can manage it."
"We will." She stated firmly, rubbing the side of her right glove absently, as she did every time they discussed the upcoming control sessions.
"But after a while, when we get you all trained up and you pass your tilling, things will settle down. You'll be able to pick and choose the number of jobs you do a year, which ones you want to do and all that."
"Okay great."
"Since we've got some time to kill, why don't I teach you some essentials?"
"Alright let's get started."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Just like old times." Marie murmured to Remy as they made their way stealthily across the roof of one of the warehouses in downtown Seattle.
"Whatever you say chere."
"Why are we doing this again?"
"Because that's our target. If anyone is going to rob them blind it'll be us."
"Alrighty then." She chuckled, looking into the eyes of her new best friend. The last three months had been some of the happiest of her life. Her powers were progressing fairly well under his training and she had found a new home within the guild. She pulled her own weight; doing jobs with Remy, sometimes even crossing over and lending the now apprentice Evelyn a hand gathering information. She felt like she fit here.
"They're on the move."
"How are we gonna do this?"
"We play the hero."
"Sounds like a plan."
She dropped herself down onto the roof of the truck the men were currently loading their goods into, forcing the door shut. "Kinda late for a delivery isn't it?" she purred. The leader of this unfortunate group stared at her, his eyes raking over her uniform as he sized her up. Her skintight green armor, made of the same flexible yet nearly bulletproof material that Remy's was, hugged her curves and allowed for more flexibility. Unfortunately, it left little to the imagination, though it covered all the skin up to her chin. When she had pointed this out to Remy, albeit awkwardly, he had laughed at her and agreed to hand over his trench coat to the modest girl until she could purchase her own. Not that she planned to, thought she wouldn't let him know it.
She launched herself off the vehicle, plowing into the closest of the men and throwing him into the nearest wall. Two more rushed at her on either side, crowbars held high. Oh this was going to be fun. She neatly dodged both men, slipping out of harm's way at the last second and watching as they ran headlong into each other.
Two arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders, pinning her arms to her sides as a hand slid silently down her sides. She looked back into the brown eyes of the unfortunate man who was about to become microscopic meat. His teeth flashed white for a moment, the turned red as she plowed the heel of her hand into his face. The arms released her and she pun around, ramming her foot into his face.
Remy landed next to her, his bo-staff spinning.
It was over very quickly after that.
As the last man fell to the ground he turned and shot her a wicked grin and she couldn't help but grin back as she walked to his side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she couldn't help but grin more. "We all good chere?"
"Yah sure." He rolled his eyes and turned her around to face him, his eyes searching for any sign of injury. "Remy I'm fine."
"just had to be sure chere. When that creep got his hands on you I thought he might do something', he had that feel about him."
"Nah, I got him before he could get too much of a feel." She shuddered anyways, trying to ignore the memory of his hands slowly roaming, lower.
"Good girl. Besides, Remy's the only one who can do that." He teased, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and resting his chin on her shoulder. She laughed and shrugged him off playfully, slightly surprised at the shivers he sent down her back.
"Now, back to business." He took out his palm pilot and together, they made their way through the warehouse to file room.
"Do you know what it is?" she asked fifteen minutes later as they drove southwards towards the drop point, a small microchip tucked away in a case at her feet.
"Yup." She raised an eyebrow and looked at him.
"Care to enlighten me?"
"Nope." He popped the ending and smirked when she narrowed her eyes. "Sorry chere', can't tell you quite yet. Since you're still an apprentice some things are too classified to let you in on." She huffed.
"Damn it." he laughed and took her gloved hand in his as he drove, smiling when she didn't flinch away.
"You'll pass your tilling with ease. When the time comes."
"That could be years from now."
"Possible, but unlikely. Marie at the rate you've been going, I wouldn't be surprised if the guild wants your tilling within the next month or two."
"Really?" she asked hopefully.
"Yup."
"Great."
0-0-0-0-0-0
The flight back to New Orleans was long. The private jet the guild had gotten for them to ride in had come stocked with all the amenities. This prompted Gambit to declare it the perfect time to work on her powers.
That was mistake number one.
"Just a little more, you're almost there."
"I feel like my head is going to explode."
"You say that every time."
"It's true every time damn you."
"You're getting better, just a few more seconds and you'll have a new record."
"Yippee."
"Come on. 5-"
"I hate you."
"4-"
"I hope you die."
"3-"
"I will rip your-"
"2-"
"Head off and stuff it-"
"1-"
"Into a wood chipper."
"And you're clear."
She released a breath and allowed herself to collapse back onto the couch.
"Total time was twenty three minutes and thirty-six seconds." He informed her, sitting next to her and handed her the stop watch so she could see for herself. She smiled tiredly and leaned her head back in exhaustion. Remy chuckled and passed her a bottle of water from the built in fridge.
The theory Remy proposed all that time ago had proved to be true, as they had discovered after a few trial and error runs. The key to controlling her absorption was controlling the flow of energy to her skin. Remy had likened it to a stop light at an intersection. The "light" to let the energy flow to her skin was always green. Therefore her powers were always working. If she could "turn the red light on." He said, she should be able to eventually gain control. Problem? The energy had to go somewhere if it wasn't going to her skin. So where did they put it?
So far nowhere. The energy that would have potentially gone to her skin just stayed where it was, waiting for the pathways to open again. And energy build up hurt.
Thus the reason they worked on the other side of her powers, controlling the gifts she'd absorbed. If they could channel that energy into something else, then the pain would go away. And this proved a valid idea. Only problem? Accessing the powers.
At first it had been nearly impossible, but as they practiced, certain powers became more useable. Logan's had been the first they had worked with but certainly not the last. They had managed to access all the abilities available to her with practice but discovered that his own were the most suitable for dealing with this sort of thing.
But being on a plane, they couldn't just make things explode.
This was why they were currently using Magnetos powers to release the pent up energy.
Mistake number two.
The small metal cup that had been levitating above the table crashed to the ground and Marie cried out in pain. Gambit whipped around to face her, rushing to her side as she clutched her head in pain. "Marie?" She groaned through her teeth and curled into his embrace, her eyes squeezed shut in pain.
"They're hurting them." She murmured, her eyes snapping open, and her voice sounding strained.
"Marie darling you've got to let go of it. The memories aren't real." Remy murmured, the problem finally registering in his mind. This had happened a few times before, more so at first when they had first been practicing. But lately, nothing had happened.
She shuddered as the psyche slipped away and she was returned to normal. "Damn it."
"Are you okay?"
"Fine." She said, pulling herself up and reaching for the bottle she had let fall. She yanked the top off and kicked back the rest of the remaining liquid, throwing the bottle violently into the trash when she was finished. Remy gentle guided her to a seat and for a long time they just sat, each lost in their own thoughts.
"That's the part I hate the most." She murmured finally. He didn't need an explanation, knowing from past experiences what kind of memories Erik had inside his head.
"I know." He whispered, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and just holding her until finally, she fell asleep.
0-0-0-0-0-0
"You're improving greatly. Congratulations."
It was odd seeing Magneto at the school. The lack of fighting was eerie. And don't even mention the plain clothes he always wore.
But then again, a lot had changed in the past year.
Kitty watched from the control room as the students below exited the chamber before climbing down and starting up the memory program yet again. The search results for every possible test she'd run so far had turned no stones, leaving her to believe that there was more to this particular mutant than meets the eye. The lack of data, in any system, seemed to just confirm that.
"It won't change anything."
"What does it matter?"
"It's too painful."
"I don't want to relive that day."
"Why do you put yourself through that?"
The others didn't understand. They couldn't grasp the need she felt to find answers. It wasn't a matter of closure, not for them. The memorial had served that purpose well enough for most. But not for Kitty. This pattern she had, it just opened up the wounds the other had hoped would heal with time. And for most they had.
But seeing her face, reliving that day over and over, what purpose did it serve for Kitty? Why pour salt in the cut? No the other X-Men didn't understand.
But Magneto did.
And so he watched Katherine, from the windows of the observation deck, as she ran and reran scans and scenarios.
Her face had thinned out, the last year or so had been hard. Her already petite frame had lost some of the muscle she'd had. The difference, though not as drastic as it could have been, was at least noticeable.
He'd contemplated his decision many times before today, wondering if it would have made a difference in the outcome. And now, as he sat watching, he knew he would never have been able to keep it to himself.
It was with this in mind that slipped down the stairs and into the chaos.
She didn't notice him right away, focused as she was on the panel before her, her fingers buzzing over the keys. He waited a moment, and then cleared his throat.
She jumped, "Oh hey Erik," his name left her tongue uncertainly, still uncomfortable with calling him by his first name.
"How is your search coming?"
"Oh you know, same as it always is, which is to say no progress."
"And yet you keep trying?"
"Yup."
"Why?"
"Because she was my best friend."
"And?"
"I know what happened to her, that has helped me through all this, the knowing that she's gone."
The old man nodded, not sure where she was going with this.
"And maybe, that girl, and the man, maybe they had a best friend too. One who doesn't know what happened to their friend."
He looked at her, studying the determination in her face and smiled softly.
"I understand. This is why I have come here." She cocked her head to the side, listening.
"A few years ago, back in my more…..active days, I needed to acquire a piece of equipment from a highly classified facility on the outskirts of London. They had, being a classified facility, very high tech security. I was not able to penetrate it. So I hired someone I had heard of through the metaphorical grape vine. He acquired it easily and was paid in full for his services."
"if you're suggesting I hire this guy to find out about the guy, I appreciate the advice but I am currently broke."
"I am not suggesting you hire him."
"Then what?"
"The man I hired is the same man that you are currently running through Interpol."
0-0-0-0-0-0
"The information available on him is essentially nothing we don't already know. He was from the southern part of the United States, most likely Louisiana. He had a mutation that enabled him to kinetically charge objects and change their molecular structure and force it to explode. He was about six feet tall and had a mutation in his eyes that colored them red on black. This is what we already knew."
"This is also all the data available on him through official channels."
"But there are rumors floating around in the more…..high class criminal ring. He is part of an organization called the 'Thieves Guild'. They specialize in the acquirement of certain objects, ranging from the trivial to the highly secured. They also work alongside the assassins' guild. These people specialize in the elimination, black mail, maiming and other emotionally and or physically distressing aspects of criminal life.
"That is not to say that they are some sophisticated mob or something. Both guilds are run as a sort of monarchy, with the heads of their professions leading and making all the decisions, much as a king would. Now our man is the son of the current head of the thieves' guild. He goes by many names but his original name is 'Remy LeBeau.' He was second in command, sharing the power with his brother Henri."
"Of course all of this is just a string of rumors. They could easily be untrue or blown into something they are not."
"But you don't think they are." Kitty stated.
"I believe that most of it is at least... based in fact."
"That's all i need to know."
0-0-0-0-0-0
Finally, after months of training, she was finally ready. This was it, the big one.
"Marie you ready?" Remy called from outside the door.
She took a deep breath and smiled, opening the door.
"Let's do this." She grinned, and placed her bare hand in his
Review Replies:
Darlingheart: thank you for reviewing darling!
nequam-tenshi: I do agree with you a bit, but you'll see in a few chapters why I put her there.
KITTY LOVES HAWKEYE: thank you for reviewing and please let me know how this chapters is.
Guest: well thank you for your review. Lol it made me smile.
TheWritingGirl23: yah life gets in the way more often than not but no worries, I shall not quit.