Stupid, stupid, stupid…
Remy couldn't believe how stupid he'd been. With hindsight being 20/20, Remy realized his mistake instantly. He should have told her everything. Absolutely everything, especially when he found out his phone was gone. He felt even stupider for falling asleep in that damn meeting and giving Storm the perfect opportunity to search his pockets. Jesus, the Weather Witch had been sitting right beside him, opposite of Rogue the entire time.
And he'd stupidly fallen asleep, not suspecting for a moment that anyone would search his pockets. Thank God, Rogue had kicked him when she noticed he was sleeping. Who knew what else Storm could have gotten her hands on had Remy slept any longer.
Furious with himself for getting caught in the stupidest predicament, he angrily kicked a chair across his cell, letting it crash violently against the see-through walls.
"Hey!" Forge exclaimed from the outside of Remy's cell. "You're not getting out of there, so there's no point in breaking stuff."
"Désolé," Remy muttered darkly.
"Frankly, you're lucky Logan decided to keep you here. The way you played Rogue, he was ready to ship you off to some God forsaken place like Antarctica."
Rage boiled through Remy's veins. "I didn't play Rogue!" he shouted furiously, pounding his fists angrily against the cell walls.
"Yeah, whatever," Forge replied crisply, turning his back from Remy's cell and ignoring him.
"I didn't," Remy said again quietly, letting his hands slide down the wall in despair.
It was no use. Here in the catacombs of the mansion, he was perfectly contained. He'd investigated every inch of his cell for a way out and it was hopeless. The chair hadn't even made a dent, let alone a scuff against whatever the damn walls were made of. The room was practically seamless and entirely see-through. Forge could see everything he was doing, not to mention all the high tech surveillance cameras could as well.
And as for his mutation and blowing himself up an exit?
Useless.
The room seemed to contain some sort of energy field that prevented Remy's mutation from doing anything grander than cherry bombs. Forge only looked on with great interest from the outside when that was all Remy could muster. Normally, the overly chatty man would have been talking Remy's ear off explaining all the brilliant mechanics of the cell, but now that Remy was declared a vile traitor, Forge barely spoke to him. He monitored Remy mostly in silence, only speaking up when Remy's anger got the best of him.
Remy knew the only reason he was still being detained in the mansion was because Logan wanted answers, otherwise he'd probably be dead somewhere. The stupid idiot leader of the X-men hadn't even let Remy explain before yanking him off to 'jail' as it were. Guilty until proven innocent—the story of his life.
Remy didn't want to think about Rogue right now. He'd seen her heart shatter into a million pieces before his eyes and he hadn't been able to do a thing. No, Logan had snapped his fingers, and the shackles were on.
One minute he was desperately trying to explain to the love of his life that he wasn't calling Senator Kelly, and then the next minute, he was here in this cell. He'd give anything, anything at all, to see her right now. The idea of Rogue believing he'd used and betrayed her was horrible. Absolutely horrible. He'd never been more honest with his emotions and intentions in his life than he had been with her. He loved her.
And right now she thought everything between them was a lie.
That last night had been a lie.
Having no solution to the problem at hand, Remy sat down on the floor on the far side of his cell and buried his face in his hands.
He lifted his head up inquisitively when Forge's communicator sounded off. Forge glanced nervously at Remy before turning away to answer. Remy cocked his head sideways, studying Forge's mannerisms. The man was obviously nervous talking in front of him.
Remy smiled to himself. Forge wasn't a fighter or a guard. He was the scientific mind of the team. He had no field experience with withholding information and had no idea how to lead a conversation in secret without revealing anything. All Remy had to do was listen, and what he couldn't get from listening, he could easily trick out of this man later. Finally, there was a silver lining to Remy's cloud.
"Is… is you-know-who going to be safe there?" Forge asked, speaking quietly into his communicator.
Remy rubbed his temples. It was almost painful listening to Forge try and be inconspicuous. This was going to be too easy.
"Wow. At his place?"
Hmmm. So, Logan was removing Rogue from the mansion to a man's house instead, most likely someone Forge recognized—a team member. It bothered Remy to no end that Logan was acting solely on Remy being the traitor and letting his guard down. Rogue was in serious danger. Logan thought Rogue's whereabouts were now safe and undisclosed with Remy out of the loop, but Remy wasn't the traitor. That person was still at large and could be very aware of Rogue's hiding place.
"He's coming down?" Forge asked anxiously. "Should I tidy up? Uh, okay. Bye, Kitty."
Remy shook his head. He'd have to speak with Logan about getting Forge properly trained in the future. The man was tome of information spilling out the sides. Remy now knew that Kitty also knew where Rogue was, and that Logan was coming down to see him. If Remy had been a real enemy to the team, Forge had just made Kitty mark number one when he escaped.
Remy straightened up and readied himself to meet Wolverine. He had very little time to prepare in outwitting both men, but never the less, Remy was going to try. After all, Rogue's life was on the line and he'd always been a good talker. Soon, Wolverine arrived.
Logan walked up to Remy's cell and stood menacingly in front of him. "Normally, we'd be doing this the easy way," Logan growled. "But since Rogue's mutation don't work on you and Emma can't get a proper psi-scan, we get to do this the hard way."
When he said 'the hard way', a set of claws flashed dangerously from his knuckles.
"You took her out of the mansion on account of lil' ol' me?" Remy asked pleasantly.
Logan turned a sharp glare towards Forge, and just as Remy predicted he would—Forge panicked. It was no secret that Forge often became flustered and nervous around Wolverine's menacing presence.
"I never said a word to him about her going to Warren's!" Forge replied hastily.
Remy smiled. "Just like a song bird," he commented. "You're gonna have to train him on that."
Logan turned fiercely back towards Remy, no longer bothering to hide his anger. "Alright, Bub. You're gonna tell me exactly what you and the MRD are up to. Believe me—I can make you sing like a songbird."
"That's a good threat, but I only have one thing to say to that," Remy replied. "If I was the traitor, then believe me when I say, you never would have caught me. And Rogue? Well, she'd have been in the MRD's hands ages ago."
Remy didn't even flinch as Logan's claws scraped dangerously up against his cell.
"And since we're makin' threats," Remy continued. "If anything happens to her, I'm coming after you personally."
Logan let out a low, guttural growl. "I've been wantin' to make Cajun kabobs out of you since you first laid eyes on her," he replied. "Forge, open pretty boy's cell."
"W-what? Are you sure?" Forge asked, clearly uncertain.
"Do it!" Logan raged.
"Forge, leave it! Do not open that cell." Beast's voice boomed in alarm from the lab's doorway, arriving just in time. "Honestly, Logan. You're playing right into his hand. You've seen his agility in training. Once that door is open, he's gone."
Remy swore silently to himself. He'd almost been free. If Hank McCoy hadn't arrived, Remy would have been half way to Warren's by now. Wolverine's anger and eagerness to tear him limb from limb had been the perfect fodder for Remy's escape. There was no way he'd be getting the chance to do that again.
Hank was pulling Logan away from Remy's cell.
"Another day, Logan," Hank reassured calmly.
Logan begrudgingly retreated, leaning against the back wall and giving the floor over to Hank. Hank pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Remy's cell, with a clipboard and notes, no less.
"Are you comfortable, Remy? Is there anything we can get for you?" Hank asked politely.
So, now it was the 'good cop' routine.
"Thanks for asking, Hank," Remy replied pleasantly, going along with the friendly facade. "I'd really love to see Rogue right about now."
Hank's face fell when he realized he wasn't going to be making any better progress with Remy than Logan had.
"I'm sorry, Remy, but under the circumstances, that won't be happening."
"I've a right to square things with my wife," Remy answered.
"How about you try squaring things with us first?" Hank asked.
"Okay." Remy smiled. "Firstly, I'm not the traitor. That square enough for you?"
"Remy." Hank sighed on the edge of frustration. "Senator Kelly's number is on your phone. Not to mention your lab results and medical tests have disappeared from the lab. Stolen, I would say."
"S'no one's business but my own concerning my mutation," Remy answered, folding his arms across his chest.
"So you admit you stole your medical file from the lab?"
"Can't steal what already belongs to you, mon ami."
"Fair enough. Would you like to tell me why you took those files?"
"Non, not really."
Hank's face tightened and Remy could see the patience starting to wear down.
"How is the cell holding up for you? Forge tells me the best you can do is make little charges," Hank continued, changing tactics.
"It's your cell. You tell me how it's holding up," Remy replied back in a rather snotty tone.
"Okay, Remy. I will tell you how it's holding up. We've tested this cell on the entire team's mutations in an attempt to suppress all levels of mutation."
"Yippee," Remy remarked drolly.
"So far, you're the only mutant able to use your powers within the cell. Do you want me to tell you now why I think you took your files?"
Remy gave Hank as slow nod. Suddenly he didn't like where this was going. He'd been stupid yet again, and had acted carelessly. He should have known there was a reason why Forge had been so intrigued by the cherry bombs he'd been setting off in here.
"I think, Remy, that you are in fact a very powerful mutant. I would go as far as to say that you would be classified as a level one threat to the MRD. You play down your mutation on purpose, keeping it under wraps," Hank spoke calmly and evenly. "Thanks to what Rogue's told us, we've confirmed that the MRD is collecting powerful and unique mutants to exploit as weapons. And you, you've been working for them as a free agent. A highly dangerous mutant right under their noses all this time. Isn't that right?"
Bingo… except for the working for the MRD part. Remy knew better than to say a word. If the government found out the degree of Remy's mutation, his clemency would be gone. He'd been keeping his mutation undercover since the beginning. It had been one of his father's requests that he'd actually followed through on without argument.
"So here's the deal, Remy," Hank said, leaning closer. "You tell me why the Senator's number is on your phone and exactly what you're doing with the MRD, or I'll anonymously tip them off as to just how powerful you really are."
"That info is gone, homme." Remy smirked. "Blew up the minute those files were in my hands."
"Forge has new data concerning you and concerning this cell. Far superior information than what we accumulated from your last tests," Hank answered. "Now I suggest you start talking."
Remy let out a low whistle. He had to hand it to blue and fuzzy. The man had trapped him quite nicely. It was nice to see someone was capable of doing their job around here.
"I'm not trying to turn Rogue over to the MRD," Remy began, almost pleading. "I'm not working for them, and I'm not the traitor. I'm telling the truth."
"The Senator's number, Remy," Hank reminded him sternly.
Remy sighed. He had very little options right now, and Hank wasn't the man to trifle with. He was also Remy's best shot at convincing he was innocent.
"I got a contact on the inside," Remy admitted.
"Who is it?"
"I won't say."
"How do you know you can trust this person?"
"Because I just can."
"How?"
"Because!" Remy snapped. "This person's entire future hangs on this job!"
"Your family is threatening someone, blackmailing them for information?"
"Non!" Remy cried. "Listen, the longer you keep me in here, the longer the real traitor is still out there. And to be honest, I don't much like Rogue being out with Warren by herself, especially with the way his father looks at her!"
"What?" Logan asked, poking up from his corner.
"I said: the longer you keep me in here—"
"About Warren Senior! When did you see him looking at her?" Logan demanded harshly.
"At that conference," Remy admitted. "His eyes picked her out immediately. I noticed him staring at her and asked her about him. I didn't like the way he'd picked her out of that crowd."
"My God, Logan," Hank exclaimed. "She absorbed him, remember? He would know full well about her mutation and just how valuable it is."
"He'd also remember she was with the Brotherhood, acting as a terrorist then," Forge piped up.
"And he's got influence with the MRD, being Kelly's main financial backer," Logan added. "Question is: if Warren Senior's our guy, how is he getting his information?"
It came to Remy easily. It was the oldest trick in the book. Again, he felt nothing but stupidity for not thinking of it sooner. It made perfect sense.
"Mon Dieu." Remy breathed. "He's set Warren Junior up. Angel's the traitor and he doesn't even know it. I'm willing to bet Senior's secretly planted a bug on Angel's clothing. That's why the MRD hasn't actually shown up here to attack. Warren Senior doesn't know where our base is, but he does get to listen in on every meeting, giving him information on where to set up the outside attacks!"
"That actually kinda makes sense, Logan," Forge answered. "The perimeter security is set up to monitor and detect trackers, but I never thought of something as old school as microphones."
"Again, why you and I need to talk security," Remy muttered.
"Forge, call Warren and Rogue now!" Logan commanded briskly. "Hank, assemble the team immediately!"
Hank was out of the room in seconds as Forge dialed the communicators on his computer.
After several tries, Forge looked up from his computer, panicked. "Logan, they aren't answering."
"Let's go, Forge. We've wasted enough time already."
"What about me?" Remy shouted, banging on his cell as they headed towards the door.
"I still don't trust you, Cajun. Who knows how you're really involved," Logan answered from the doorway.
"I'm involved 'cause she's my wife!" Remy snarled angrily. "Damn it, Logan! You can question my loyalties to anyone, anyone but her!"
"Sorry, Gumbo," Logan replied. "Too many unanswered questions."
"Bon Dieu!" Remy screamed in frustration. "Doesn't anybody here trust me?"
"I do," a new voice answered.
Remy turned to see the new man standing in the center of the room. Remy stared at him in shock. Where the hell had baldy come from? Both Logan and Forge blocked the entrance to the room. Unless the man could teleport, he'd simply appeared out of thin air.
"Professor," Forge breathed in awe.
"It's about time, Chuck," Logan clipped sarcastically, making his way towards the man. "Would have been nice of you to show up sooner and vouch for Gumbo here."
"I'm sorry, Logan, but I am busy saving the world in the future too. I can't be both places at once," the Professor answered back in an equally sarcastic tone. "Forge, please let our Southern friend out."
"Sure thing, Professor," Forge answered, finally releasing Remy from his prison.
"You know, Logan," the Professor scolded, "I told you in the beginning he was a needed member of the team, not a traitor."
"Yeah, well you haven't had to live with him."
The Professor laughed. "Logan, Logan," he chided. "You're too involved in Rogue's life. She can hold her own with boys. You know, this never would have happened if he just would have married Kitty."
"I don't want Kitty!" Remy scowled, caring less that these were the first words he ever spoke to the illustrious, highly revered Charles Xavier.
"I know," Xavier said, turning his attention kindly towards Remy. "It's why the entire course of your future changed, giving me one hell of an outcome to face. Two less X-men makes things a challenge."
"What?" Remy asked stupidly before the man vanished. "Wait! What the hell does that mean?"
Logan grabbed him by the shoulder. "Get used to it, Cajun. Chuck has a tendency to do that, usually at the most inopportune times. Right now, we've got more important things to do."