The Guild safe-house was a place the LeBeau family owned about a couple of miles within the bayou. A haven for Thieves in trouble or danger, it was tucked out of the way, only accessible by boat unless one wanted to take their chances with the alligators and other various wildlife that inhabited the area. It was an older, two-story house that looked rather rundown on the outside, but it was clean for the most part, had electricity and running water, and while there was no air conditioning, there were plenty of fans scattered throughout the rooms. Besides being a safe-house, it was also sometimes used as a prison, and it was for that purpose it was being used now.

Remy lay stretched across a bed on the second floor, staring blankly at the ceiling. He'd been given Vicodin at the clinic Henri took him to to get his shoulder and arm looked at, and while the painkiller was working right now, he knew that he would feel the multiple stitches the doctor had put in once it wore off. Henri and Emil were downstairs, while Claude was out getting supplies. The safe-house hadn't been used in awhile, and so there was no food in stock other than a few canned goods and a lot of Ramen noodles. Not that it mattered. Remy wasn't sure if he could eat anyway. There was a knot of pain and anxiety in his stomach that the Vicodin couldn't touch, and it threatened to burst if he dared to add food to the mix. And while physically he was exhausted, every time Remy closed his eyes the only thing he could see was Julien's body lying on the floor of the Boudreaux family house, Belle kneeling at his side with her brother's blood soaking into the hem of the dress she was supposed to wear to the rehearsal dinner. The hatred that shone out of her tear-stained face was almost palpable; it was like Remy could almost feel it driving into him as she glared.

Sleep wasn't going to be happening any time soon.

Even if he didn't see the vivid memory of what he'd done every time he closed his eyes, there was still the fear of what would happen to him next to keep Remy awake. His father said that they would resolve this, but what could the Guild possibly offer Marius that he would accept?

'Your son's life is now forfeit'

The words kept playing back in his mind. There was no way that the Master Assassin would agree to accept anything for the life of his son other than the head of his killer on a platter, literally, and it went without saying that Remy LeBeau did not want to die. He was only eighteen years old. He'd not even finished his second decade in this world yet. There was so much he still wanted to do. Risk his life picking on his sister-in-law during her pregnancy. Become an uncle and spoil his future niece or nephew rotten. Beat Emil at GTA.

..stand with Belle at the altar, her bedecked in white satin and lace and pearls, and clasp her hands as they spoke their vows in front of God and man...

..see Rogue safely taken to New York to be with her brother. Hear her laugh. Just see her smile again, her green eyes beautiful, even as empty as they were…

But that would never happen now. His marriage plans were destroyed. Never again would Belle look at him with love in her eyes. And Rogue? If he was….well, 'executed' was probably the best term for what would likely happen to him if the Assassins got their way, who would look out for her? Sure she had family, but New York was a long ways away and the people whose hands her care was in did not have her best interests at heart. And he'd be able to do nothing. He would be dead.

The thought briefly crossed Remy's mind to try to escape. He could do it; his mutation was powerful enough that he could blow the door that locked him in to smithereens. Hell; he could probably take out a good chunk of this floor of the house if he tried. But the single boat they'd taken to get here was gone with the Thief who was on the supply run. Remy would be stuck trying to make his way through the bayou several miles back to civilization. His jailors would catch up with him before he managed that, if the local predators didn't get him first. That didn't bother him so much as the fact that he would end up having to fight his family. Etienne was already dead; not technically at his hands but most certainly while under his watch, and Theoren would probably hate him forever for it. And while that was bad enough, Henri was his brother and Emil was almost like a brother. Remy couldn't live with himself if he hurt either one of them.

So he stayed where he was. His life might be forfeit, but he would not destroy his family any more than he'd done already. He had to either accept that this might be the end, or trust that his father could find some way out of what seemed like an impossible situation.

0-o-o-o-0

The sound of a knock on the door made Remy open his eyes, which just made him realize that his eyes had actually just been closed and he'd managed to sleep. There was no clock in this room so he had no idea how much time had passed, but the sun was still sinking when they arrived here at the house and now it was full dark outside. Both of the room's windows were open to help ventilate, and beyond them Remy could hear the sounds of the bayou at night.

"You awake, Remy?" came Henri's voice from the other side of the door. Downstairs Remy could hear the sound of the radio playing, and voices, so Claude must be back from his shopping trip.

"Oui." was the only thing Remy said in response. He'd not meant it as an invitation to come in, but Henri apparently took it as one because the older man unlocked the door to the bedroom and stuck his head inside. He didn't know why they were bothering to lock the door. They were all Thieves here; if Remy wanted to get out of here he could have made it out the window hours ago. It would've hurt like hell given the condition of his arm, but he still could've managed it. The fact that he didn't question his brother on this showed how out of it Remy felt right now.

"You hungry?" Henri asked quietly. "Claude's cooking hamburgers, if you want one." Claude was an okay cook, but Remy was supposed to have been eating prime rib tonight. The restaurant they went to served really good steak. It was just another letdown among the list of things gone wrong today.

Remy gave a brief shake of his head, and now that he was awake again he resumed his contemplation of the ceiling, not even looking at his brother. "No thanks."

A moment of silence.

"How's the shoulder?" was the next question.

"Sore." was Remy's next brief answer. He didn't say that he'd had worse, because while that was true what he would normally respond with next would be that he would live; but he didn't know if he would live, did he? By this time tomorrow he could be dead, or at least hearing his death sentence. He wasn't mad at Henri, he wasn't even mad at his father. He'd brought this upon himself; he was the one who'd killed Julien. Part of him wanted to argue that if he hadn't, that he himself could be dead instead, but it all came down to a matter of control. He shouldn't have charged the spear. He should have found some other way to incapacitate his opponent. But he didn't and so here he was, awaiting judgment.

"Can I get you anything at all?" the fact that Henri was being so solicitous was just a sign of the gravity of the situation, and Remy finally looked over at his brother. "Yeah. Glass of water, please." he said. It was tempting to ask for a shot of bourbon, or anything with alcohol in it, but unless Claude had brought a bottle back with him there was no alcohol in the house. Did he want to be sober right now? Part of him did and part of him didn't.

Henri's face was grave, and for someone who knew how to be as serious as his brother did, that was saying a lot. Remy wanted to say something, how he knew that he didn't want to be doing this or something to that effect, something to make him feel better about the fact that he was holding his own brother prisoner, but the words wouldn't come. Remy didn't even know how to joke right now. After everything that had happened over the past couple of weeks; Etienne's death, Theoren's hatred, and now Julien, it was too much. Remy was running on empty.

"Alright." Henri said, and closed the door. A few minutes later he came back with a tall glass of water, and after setting it on the nightstand next to Remy's bed, he went back downstairs without another word.

I guess he don't have much left either.

0-o-o-o-0

By the time morning came, Remy had woken up at least three times that he could now remember. Over and over he charged the spear as he fought for his life, Julien's life blood went splattering over the floor of his home, and over and over Belladonna screamed. It wasn't an easy sleep by any means, and while Remy wasn't looking forward to the coming day, at the same time he was glad to have an excuse to get out of bed.

Henri brought him downstairs and made him eat breakfast. Remy didn't want to, but it was the only way his brother would let him have another pill for the pain so he forced himself to eat. Breakfast was sausage and eggs, and it was a sign of how bad things were that Remy didn't crack a joke about Henri sneaking sausage when his wife wasn't around to see. He wanted to see Mercy right now, longed to hear his sister in law's voice, even if it was to lecture the men about the dangers of cholesterol. Would he live to see his niece or nephew, hear a piping little voice call him Oncle Remy? It felt so uncertain.

It was a quiet meal. Normally if there were two or more Thieves gathered around a table there would be jokes, chatter and general conversation, but the four young men were silent, as if they were all waiting to hear their own death sentences, instead of just Remy. The sausage was getting cold but he ate it anyway; chewing perfunctorily without really tasting it. There were no phones installed at the safe house, and with its location in the bayou there was no cell service, so there was no way for them to know what was going on out in the rest of the world until someone from the Guild came out to contact them. And who knew how long that would take? The councils of both Guilds would be meeting today, for internal meetings and finally together, to decide Remy's fate. There would be hours of debate…well, more like arguing. Yeah, definitely arguing. Everyone was going to have their own ideas on what should happen and no one would want to bend, especially not the heads of the two Guilds. His father would be fighting for his, Remy's, life. Would they even be able to come to some kind of consensus today? He didn't know. He hoped so though. It was a special kind of hell, having to sit here out in the middle of nowhere and wait.

Remy managed to force down two pieces of sausage, a few bites of egg and a piece of toast before he just couldn't do any more. He pushed his plate away and stuck his hand out toward Henri. "There. I ate. Gimme a pill, damnit."

His brother took the bottle out of his pocket and shook out two before handing them over. Remy downed them with a large swallow of water. He didn't know how some people could just swallow pills dry. And why was Henri keeping such a tight control of his medicine; was he afraid that his little brother would take too many and deprive the Assassins of their vengeance? Remy had to admit, the thought may have skittered across his mind once or twice during that long night last night, and could anyone really blame him? It would be a more merciful death than whatever his enemies would have in store for him, but ultimately he wanted to live too much to take that route. He had family, friends, a life. And he still had some hope that maybe his father could find some way to save him. He had to.

The rest of the day remained quiet and awkward. Claude and Emil played cards, much to the latter boy's regret. Emil might be a shark when it came to pool, but at poker the slightly older man had an advantage, and Remy was sure that Claude would manage to win back a good chunk of the money he'd lost at their last pool game. Emil had barely said more than a sentence or two to Remy since last night, but he could tell that this was bothering him as much as the rest of them. Remy didn't stay inside to watch though. He spent most of the day on the porch, and while he also had a deck of cards, he didn't play, or even shuffle them. Instead he rocked in the wooden chair that was almost as old as the house, and creaked if you rocked back too far. The bayou was never completely quiet, and he spent the day listening to the calls of the birds, the wind rustling in the trees, and the occasional splash of fish in the water. Once in a while he'd take a card from the deck, charge it, then flick it out over the water, watching it glow briefly before the water put it out. For all Remy knew, this might be his last day on Earth, and if it was he just didn't have the heart to spend it being reminded of what might happen to him. Besides, if a boat finally came with someone bearing the summons from the Guilds, he wanted to be here to see it, regardless of what that summons might bring.

Henri was at the other end of the porch, presumably fishing but his attempts seemed only half-hearted at best, and Remy figured that he was keeping an eye on the 'prisoner', making sure that he either didn't try to escape or give himself up as dinner for the gators. Remy really wasn't in the mood for company, but with as quiet as his brother was it was easy to almost forget he was there. Almost. He was almost through the deck when Henri finally spoke up.

"Will you stop that? You're scaring the fish."

Remy made a brief noise of disbelief. "Oh please, it's not like you're really trying. You haven't caught a damn thing all afternoon. I hope you're not supposed to be getting us dinner." He did put the rest of the deck away in his pocket though, but not before lighting up one last card and tossing it. "I don't want fish for my last supper anyway."

"Don't joke." Henri bit off, his voice harsh and angry.

"Who's joking?" Remy asked, and though part of him was, part of him wasn't. "If I gotta leave this world, I want to do it with a stomach full of Tante's fried chicken, not whatever's swimming around back here."

"You're not going anywhere."

Remy lifted a dubious eyebrow at this and looked over at his brother. "No? You think not? You heard Marius last night. They've got me dead to rights. I killed Julien, and now they want my blood. What makes you think they won't be able to get it?"

Henri reeled his line in, and looked down at the empty hook where something had managed to sneak away with a snack while he'd be distracted. "Our father will think of something. Besides, it's not like you walked into that house planning to kill the man. Julien was out of it, and you were defending yourself. They have to see that."

Remy shook his head. "No they don't. It's my word against Bella's, and do you think she's gonna tell the truth?" he asked bitterly. "With my luck, she's probably pushing to do the deed herself." Of course if that happened, any hope he might have had of anything approaching a quick and merciful death went out of the window. He knew his fiancée. Or ex-fiancee, rather. She would make him suffer, and enjoy every minute of it.

His brother made a low grumbling noise, and Remy knew it meant that he wanted to argue the point, but couldn't. The two remained silent, until finally Henri dropped his fishing pole on the floor of the porch and went back inside.

0-o-o-o-0

It was late in the afternoon when the summons finally came, in the form of Belize Marceaux by himself in the boat. There were few words exchanged; they just packed up the few things they'd brought along and headed back to the city, with Remy in one boat with Belize and Henri, followed by Claude and Emil in the other. Remy wanted to ask Belize what the decision was, but part of him didn't want to know yet. If he knew for a fact that he was on his way to his death sentence, would he have the courage to stay in the boat, and not jump overboard in a desperate attempt at freedom? The only way he could keep going was if he could still cling to the hope that he would be spared, as small as that hope was. Another part of him couldn't bring himself to speak to Theoren's father, not with having yet another death on his hands, brought about again by a lack of self-control. Instead he watched the waves made by the boat as it sliced through the water of the bayou.

They were gathered in the conference room of an abandoned office building; a property technically owned by the Thieves Guild but for the purpose of this meeting it was being deemed neutral territory. The councils of both Guilds were gathered, seated on either side of the room, with places for the leaders in the center. Marius Boudreaux and Jean-Luc LeBeau sat there waiting when Remy was brought in. Marius's face was tight and drawn, while Jean-Luc's was closed up in the usual poker face he had when dealing with some of the more serious matters of business. Neither gave Remy any clue as to what his fate was.

Belize and Claude went and stood behind Jean-Luc over on the Thieves side of the room, but Henri and Emil stayed with Remy as he stood in front of the leaders of the rival Guilds. He found his mouth was dry, but didn't feel the point in asking for a drink. It might not matter for much longer.

Jean-Luc stood and looked at his son for a moment, but when he finally spoke it again was as the Guild Patriarch, with no warmth and little emotion of any sort at all. "Remy LeBeau, the councils have debated and it has been decided that since there is no conclusive evidence either way what your motive was for killing Julien Boudreaux, we cannot condemn you to death." Remy felt a wave of relief shoot through him, so strong that he almost staggered. But Jean-Luc was not finished. "But the fact remains that you did kill the man, and in doing so you have destroyed the peace we were working to build between our two Guilds with your marriage to Belladonna. Obviously this can no longer happen, but it has been decided that a truce can still remain, but only on one condition. You are hereby banished from the Guild of Thieves, and from the city of New Orleans. You have two hours to gather your belongings and leave. If you are found within the city limits after that your life is forfeit, and any member of either guild who crosses your path is obligated to take it."

With that, Remy's father turned his back on his son. Marius Boudreaux, and the councils of both guilds, then stood and did the same.

0-o-o-o-0

Back at the house, Remy sat on his bed and looked around at the room that had been his home for so many years. The ride back here had been quiet; he'd sat by himself in the back of Henri's car with his brother and Emil up in the front, neither of them speaking but giving him furtive glances every now and then. Now they were downstairs with a distraught Mercy and Tante Mattie while Remy tried to figure out how to close an entire chapter of his life. When his father had spoken those words it had felt like he was speaking another language. No longer a Thief? No longer to be here? New Orleans was his home; he'd never known anything else. Since the time he was small he'd never been anything but a thief. Jean-Luc had taken him and helped him turn what started out as a means for survival into what was almost an art form. He'd given Remy a home, family and a community that while it could be cutthroat and ruthless, Remy excelled in what he did and couldn't think of doing anything else.

Now that was being taken away from him, and if he ever stepped foot in his home again after this it would be his death. Any member of the Guild would be compelled to kill him, even his own family. Could they actually do it? This thought created a cold sensation that crept through the fugue currently drowning his mind and heart. Remy liked to think that the people he'd loved, worked and played with for most of his life could not take his life, but he did not want that to be put to the test, and he could not bear the thought of them being punished for his sake if they were put to that test and failed to follow through.

So he could not stay. But where could he go? Obviously the answer was 'anywhere', but he didn't want to be anywhere else. Everything and anyone he'd ever known were here, and the thought of just having to abandon it all and go, with no hope of return…it was like someone was dropping him in a frozen wasteland. He couldn't think, it just seemed too much. Getting up, Remy grabbed an old backpack out of his closet and began shoving clothes into it. He couldn't sit here and do nothing, he didn't have time. Maybe he could think of what to do once he was on the road, but the only thing he knew right now was that he couldn't stay. Looking around the room again, he saw his life; the little things that added up to describe who he was and who he'd been. But he couldn't take it all; never having bothered getting a car, he was stuck taking only what he could fit on his bike. He took the bare essentials; toiletries, clean underwear and whatever favorite clothing could fit in the bag. Anything else would have to be replaced later. Not that that would be difficult. He had a bank account he could take funds out of before he left town, and it would be a good idea to do that before anyone got the idea to close it. And if all else failed, well, he was still a thief, right? He knew how to survive on his own.

But I don't want to…Remy thought to himself as he looked at his room for what he knew was the last time.

0-o-o-o-0

Downstairs he was assaulted by a sobbing Mercy. "Oh God Remy!" she cried, flinging her arms around her brother in law's neck. "I can't believe they're doing this. How can they just make you leave like this." Remy just hugged her tight, burying his face in her shoulder to keep from having to answer. He could smell the light citrus scent of the perfume she liked, and found himself wanting to cry too. He was going to miss it all. Helping his brother survive her pregnancy, the joy of seeing his niece or nephew being born, being the naughty uncle who helped get the children into mischief and spoiled them rotten.

"At least I get to leave." He said finally, and kissing her cheek affectionately, unwound himself from her embrace. "It could be worse, chere. You could be planning my funeral."

Mercy sniffed. "This doesn't feel much better. To know you'll be out there somewhere, all on your own and you can never come home…" The tears threatened again and she wiped her eyes furiously with her sleeve.

"He's like a bad penny, girl. He'll always turn up." Tante Mattie was standing nearby, trying to look as placid as always but there was a tremor to her voice that hurt Remy deep inside. She'd been one of the great pillars of his life, and to see her hurting was unbearable.

"Where…where is everybody?" Remy asked. He wanted to ask where his father was, but couldn't get himself to say the name.

"Emil's upstairs." Mercy said, sniffing again. "Henri got a phone call, he's in the office. Jean-Luc…your father is…"

"He's not here." said Henri, coming out into the hall to meet them. "He's waiting for you to leave before he comes back to the house."

Okay, now that hurt. Remy had hoped that he could see his father one more time before leaving. He didn't want his last memory of Jean-Luc to be of him turning his back on his son. But apparently that wasn't to be. He swallowed. "Alright. Fine. I guess this is it."

Henri looked at his watch. "You have an hour left."

"Where will you go?" Mercy asked.

"Well…I…" Remy said, realizing he still hadn't decided where he was going. But his brother broke in first.

"He's going to New York." Henri said.

"What? Why?" Remy asked, looking surprised.

"That was a source of ours in the Governor's office that just called me." Henri explained. "The Louisiana Mutant Registration Act was passed today in a special session of the state legislature. That's bad enough," he said, making a face of disgust, "but he overheard some people on the staff who he knows are sympathetic to the Friends of Humanity, if not outright members, and it seems that the state National Guard are going to be mobilized tonight under orders from the Governor to take mutants affected by this legislation into custody for 'registering'." The look on Henri's face made it clear to all what he thought of that. "You can't just leave New Orleans, Remy. You need to get out of this state altogether. I think the best place for you would be in New York, at that school of Ororo's. And you're taking Rogue with you."

Rogue…Remy paled in the realization that over the last couple of hours he'd been so caught up in fear for his life that she'd slipped his mind. Of course if he was leaving Louisiana, he was taking her with him. Normally he'd want to argue with his brother for trying to order him around like this, especially since he was no longer a member of the Guild, but if Rogue was going with him then there was no other place that he could think to take her than to her brother. Having someone else to think of, someone else to worry about, it helped him ignore the pain eating at him inside and he ran his hand through his hair.

"Merde. Yeah. Of course. Gotta get her out of here." Remy said. "You haven't talked to her, have you?" he asked Mercy, realizing that Rogue probably had no idea what was going on, what had happened this weekend.

She shook her head. "No. I didn't want to say anything to her before I knew whether…" she said, stopping herself.

"…whether I was going to die." Remy finished. "Yeah. I can understand that." Man, talk about your awkward conversations. He couldn't imagine being Mercy and having to tell Rogue that he was dead, or was going to die. At least that was one conversation that wouldn't have to happen. He shook his head. "But I can't drive her all the way to New York on my bike, she's not used to long trips like that."

"Not to worry. You can take Mercy's car." Henri said, then continued just as his wife was opening her mouth. "Don't you worry, I'm gonna get you that Porsche you've been wanting. It was going to be a present for after the baby's born, but you'll have it early now."

Mercy smiled. "I was just going to say Remy was welcome to the car, but thank you, mon mari."

Henri smiled faintly in response, only to have it quickly fade as he looked back to his younger brother. "You should get going." He said, tossing over what Remy recognized as the spare set of keys to Mercy's car.

Remy caught the keys, then looked to them both, unsure what to say. "Thank you." He settled for, kissing Mercy again. "Thank you." He repeated, hugging his brother. Henri hugged him back. "You call me the minute you're both safe in New York." He whispered. "Use my cell. Don't call the house phone." Remy nodded. He didn't want his brother in trouble if it got back to anyone on the Council that Henri was still in touch with the exile.

He turned from his brother and looked to the woman who'd helped raise him. "Tante…" he said, only to be surprised when she swatted him upside the head, hard. "That's for all the trouble you're going to get into without me around to keep you straight." She said, then hugged him. "Be safe, Remy. You and Rogue, you look out for each other."

Remy hugged her tightly. "Don't you worry Tante, if anyone can keep me out of trouble, I bet Rogue can." He then kissed her cheek. "Je taime, Tante." He whispered. The older woman sniffed, then pushed him away from her. "You go on, get out of here. I wouldn't put it past one of them Assassins to say he got the time wrong."

Remy wouldn't either, and resolving himself that it was time to go, turned to see Henri slipping an envelope into his bag. "Just a little extra gas money." He said. "It's a long drive to New York."

"Right." Remy nodded a little, then looked around at them, his family. "I'm sorry." He said. "I'm sorry I got us all into this. Tell our Pere I'm sorry, please." Henri nodded, and Remy turned to go. He was nearly to the door when he heard the thunder of footsteps down the stairs.

"REMY!"

He turned back only to have Emil collide with him. "I'm sorry Remy." He said, sounding on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry I was mad at you, that I didn't talk to you. Please don't go mad at me. I couldn't stand knowing you were leaving thinking I'm still mad at you, not after Etienne." Remy hugged the younger boy back. "Thank you." He whispered. That was something that had hurt, thinking that he would never be able to return home and try to make things right with Emil again. There was too much pain for this to take it away completely, but it helped, at least a little. "I'm so sorry about Etienne. I still miss him too."

Emil let go and forced a smile. "Did I hear Henri right, that you're going to New York? You beat Kurt at a few games for me, okay?"

"Sure thing." Remy said, then looked at them again, one last time "Well…gotta go." He tried to smile, but failed miserably. There was no point in dragging this out. As much as he wanted to spend every last second he could with his family, he needed that time to get to Rogue and get them both out of the city. Without another word he turned and walked out of his home for the last time.

0-o-o-o-o

Forge was listening to the news on the television in his hotel room, while ironing out the suit he'd bought for his meeting with Rogue tomorrow. One might wonder why he was bothering to wear a suit for a meeting with a blind girl, let alone iron it, but while she wouldn't be able to see him, there would be plenty of other people around that would, and he wanted to make a good impression. He was excited and scared at the same time. This would be the first real conversation he'd have with his daughter, the first chance he'd have to say more than a few words to her without Destiny around to censor him.

It wasn't going to be an easy conversation, by any means. There was so much he needed to tell her, and he wasn't sure how ready she was to hear it, especially now that he knew she had met Kurt. Whether or not she would be angry was not in question; he couldn't imagine her not being angry to hear what he was going to tell her. How could she not? But the question was, could she forgive him? And could she find it in herself to trust him by letting him into her life? When he'd started out on this mad journey he couldn't imagine her turning him away; he was her father after all, and the only family she had left, as far as she knew. But that was no longer the case. She had her brother now, and might decide that she didn't need a father. She'd been without one for this far now, right? Forge hoped it wouldn't turn out like that, but that little part of the brain everyone had, the part that rejoiced in tormenting itself, it wouldn't shut up, and whispered that he'd left it too late.

The news blathered on in the background, but he was only half listening now, caught up as he was in self torture. Robbery, murder, the accidental death of the son of a local crime lord, it was pretty much business as usual in a large city. Only the announcement of the passage of the mutant registration bill was enough to get his full attention. Forge had heard about it before on the news during his time here in New Orleans, but he'd hoped that the powers that be would see sense and not fall for the blatant fear-mongering of groups like the Friends. Apparently not, and he felt his heart sink into his stomach as he wondered what this would mean for Rogue. The bill was tailored for people like her, and it was anyone's guess how quickly it would be put into action.

Putting the iron down on the board, Forge grabbed his phone and dialed a number he was hoping to avoid calling until after he'd gotten his daughter safely away where Magneto couldn't find her. When a voice answered he just went right into it, not leaving them room to say much more than hello.

"It's me. I know what you're going to say, and for the sake of time why don't we just pretend we've gone through you lecturing me and my promising to call sooner if anything like this happens again? I'll fill you in on everything at a later time, do all the debriefings, etc, but for right now the short of it is that two years ago Magneto decided he need a pet inventor and drafted me into the role. By force. I got away recently and now I'm in New Orleans, needing to clear up some personal business. You may or may not have heard I was here anyway, I have no idea how quickly Social Services works these days on their background checks, but I just saw this business about the state mutant registration act being passed and need to know if it's going to cause me any problems while I'm here. The sooner the better." Forge paused, and the voice responded. "Yes, I'll hold."

Holding his cell phone to his ear with one hand, he went back and resumed his ironing with the other while he waited. A few minutes later his superior officer at the DoD returned. "Seriously?" Forge said in response to what the man had to say. "Why are they getting the National Guard involved?"

He listened in silence. "Yeah, I know, but we're talking regular everyday people here, even if they are mutants. I doubt if most of them have ever had any kind of training. There's no need to…" he started, but his boss interrupted.

"What? Tonight?" Forge exclaimed, almost dropping the iron on his foot in his surprise. "Listen, I gotta go. Some people that I know here are going to get caught up in this if I don't warn them. Yes. Yes, I will contact you later about the briefing, I promise. But I need to get out of here. Goodbye."

Disconnecting the call, he shoved the phone in his pocket and yanked the cord to the iron out of the wall. He didn't have too many belongings with him, it didn't take long to pack them up and stow them in the car. He wasn't going to be coming back to the hotel tonight. So much for Social Services, and doing things the right way. Forge was out of time. His boss had told him that not only was the bill going into force immediately and that the state National Guard was being sent to collect mutants targeted for registration, but that a good number of those Guardsmen selected for the duty were suspected of being members of the Friends of Humanity. Rogue was a sitting duck and he had to get her out of here.

He wasn't sure what exactly he was going to say to her that she wouldn't panic that some strange man was trying to abduct her, but he'd figure out something on the way. Or when he got there. Whatever. What mattered was that they got out of Louisiana, and to New York. He didn't see any choice now; he'd have to take her to see her brother. Kurt couldn't offer proof of the things that Forge was going to tell her; it was something he'd kept secret for far too long, but hopefully he could vouch that Forge wasn't an insane ax murderer or anything like that. He just had to get her there safely first.

Forge left his room keys on the bed and went out to the rental car. After stashing his bags and computer in the trunk, he pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward the neighborhood where the home was. On his way, he realized there was probably one more call he should make. As hard as it was to ask, after keeping everything to himself for long, he realized he might need help.

"Professor Xavier please." He said when the phone at the Xavier Institute was answered. "Yes, tell him it's Forge."

0-o-o-o-0

The sun was still sinking when Remy parked Mercy's car in his usual spot at Azalea Lane. It was a nice car, really, but he was already missing his bike. He'd loved his bike, it was a thing of beauty. It was a shame that he couldn't bring it along, but it really was too impractical for them to make the trip to New York on it, along with their belongings. Besides, it wasn't like he couldn't buy or steal a new one, right? Remy had cleaned out his bank account on the way over here, and between that and the cash Henri had given him they would be able to make the trip comfortably. Not that Remy really cared too much about things like that, but for Rogue's sake he didn't want to this to be too stressful on her.

With visiting hours being over the building was now locked for the evening, but the now former Thief made quick work of the lock. Since he wasn't supposed to be here, Remy avoided the main office and made his way quietly down the hall to the women's wing, hoping he wouldn't run into anyone along the way. For once luck was with him though, and he made it to Rogue's door without mishap. Her door was locked as well, and Remy wondered briefly whether it was supposed to be locked or if that was due to paranoia on Candace's part. It didn't matter anymore though; she would never have to worry about that bitch again. He picked the lock on this door as easily as he had the other, and closed the door behind him quietly after entering Rogue's room.

She was sitting on her bed, reading, but looked up quickly as he entered. "Who's there?" she asked.

"It's okay, chere, it's just me." Remy said, hurrying over to her bed. "Be quiet, I'm in a lot of trouble right now, and if I heard things right, so are you. We don't have a lot of time." Rogue looked like she was going to argue, but he kept going.

"Shh…we gotta get out of here. I'll tell you everything on the way, but I can't right now. I need you to pack up some things. I gotta take you to you New York, now. It's not safe for you here anymore. They passed that legislation today, and they decided to start rounding up mutants tonight."

If anything, Rogue managed to turn paler than she usually was. "Oh my god. But…can't we just go to your house, Remy? Surely we could hide there."

"No." Remy said. "I wish we could, but if you disappeared that would be the first place Candace would look for you. Besides, I haven't told you everything yet." He wished there was a better time, a better way to do this, but was there ever really a good time to do things like this? "There was a fight last night. I…I killed Julien, chere. And now I'm exiled. I have to leave New Orleans. Immediately."

Despite the emptiness of those green eyes, the sorrow and sympathy on her face was unmistakable. "Oh Remy. I'm so sorry."

"I'll keep you safe, I promise. I'll get you to your brother in New York. But you must come with me now. Do you trust me?" he asked, and right now, with everything else in his life falling down around him, it felt like the most important question in the world.

"Always, Remy." She said, and setting her book aside, Rogue got out of bed and started packing.