Disclaimer: I do not own anything. ANYTHING!!!...except this pretty cool story ; )
A/N: Thanks for the reviews, especially Prof. H.H. and 4rogue, for the encouragement and confidence boosts. Sorry for the delay. School just started, so I'll have more time to update.
Remy sped over to Jean-Luc, who was wearily removing his tie.
"How'd it go, Pere?" he asked anxiously.
Jean-Luc glanced at him distractedly. He busied himself with hanging up his jacket, then turned to his daughter-in-law.
"Mercy," he said, "Henri will be back in 'bout an hour. He wanted me to let you know."
"Merci, Jean-Luc," she replied, peeking at Remy, who was obviously wondering about the blatant brush-off.
The elder Lebeau strode into his office, closed the blinds, and lit a fire. He settled in at his desk, but without the usual relaxation that he felt; rather, he felt the weight of all 56 years of age. Taking a deep, cathartic sigh, he cradled his face in his hands, then motioned defeatedly to his anxious son.
"Take a seat, Remy."
Instantly Remy felt a deep feeling of foreboding.
"It's bad, non."
It wasn't a question.
Jean-Luc didn't answer.
"I've got to disband the Guild," he finally said after a few minutes. He stared up at Remy with grim determination in his face, but Remy just stared.
Jean-Luc continued, "Marius ain' to happy...but you know dat. An' dey want revenge, mon fils."
Remy stared uncomprehendingly, then sputtered. "But, you can't! Dis guild has-"
"Oui...'been in our family for generations'. I know, Remy. But that's my only option." Jean-Luc said firmly but gently, as he glanced at the rest of the family, who had gathered around the door of his office.
As much as it hurt him, he refused to think of the other choice which Marius had offered: Remy's life.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Hammurabi's Code.
It was so primitive...but then again, some might argue that a generations-old guild of theives was primitive as well.
And there was no way that he would willingly give up his own son.
"You can' do dis!" exclaimed Remy, who had finally found his voice.
He implored, "Pere, I know dat dis guild means more than anything to you."
"To all of us," chimed in Mercy.
"And you can't let dis happen because of me. I'd sooner," he swallowed. "I'd sooner leave dis house forever, than make all of you lose your home. Your life."
Jean-Luc shook his head grimly. "If you do dis, Remy...I might not ever see you again."
"Non, you can visit me," he said weakly.
"Where will you go?"
"With de X-men." Remy thought back. Well, technically, they had never offered him a home to stay in, but he had bonded with a few members. Plus he would be with Rogue. And it wasn't like the Professor to leave a helpless mutant out on the street.
It was a gamble that he would take.
"I'm leaving tonight," he announced. It was settled.
Remy stared at his family with an increasingly sinking feeling that he would never see them again. He was determined to make their last day special. But first, he had to pack.
Meanwhile
Rogue sighed. She was bored. Very very bored. She had been at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters for about eight hours now, and the only thing that happened was she was on the receiving end of test after test.
She turned to the beefy nurse with the syringe in her hand, and offered out her right arm.
It was going to be a looong day.
She cleared her throat, and asked, "Excuse me ma'am. But Ah'm a bit tired. When will we be done?"
The nurse regarded her with a cool stare.
"As soon as you stop complaining and your results are in."
"But what are you testing me for? I ain't got cooties," Rogue muttered.
"We can't have you bringing in any biochemical viruses or diseases that can jeopardize the staff."
"..."
"Didn't think of that, huh?"
The nurse set aside the syringe and removed her latex gloves.
"Remember, we're not here to incarcerate you. We're not the bad guys, here."
And with that, another security guard indicated to Rogue that it was time to go. To where..she could only guess.
It would be days later before she wondered how the nurse knew why she was here.
A/N: Ok guys! How are you all doing? Thanks for the comments so far, and those who favorited me in the past few days. I really appreciate it. So I guess Remy's going back. Since this is an interactive story, please send in ideas, plot lines, etc. Thanks. -iloveromys