Halloween
Bib:
The X-Men come together on Halloween to tell spooky stories. Some being more closer to home than others.
Story:
All Hallows Eve was a noisy time in the mansion. Most of the mutants had gathered in the wreck room for a scary movie and that is when the argument broke out over which movie they would be watching.
"Now what is all this ruckus over?" Hank asked, entering the room.
Remy was sat on the two seater sofa, resting his head against his arm, slightly amused watching how fiery Rogue got when defending her movie choice.
"Sorry Hank. We're just trying to decide what horror movie to watch tonight and, well, a few of us have different opinions," Jean explained.
"You don't say," Hank said, stopping before the younger mutants.
"Mr McCoy, what horror movie would you watch? Rogue thinks we should, like, watch some Japanese movie with a creepy girl in it and it's just weird," Kitty said.
"It's not weird! Your just too chicken ta watch it!" Rogue said, pointing her finger accusingly at Kitty.
"You're films are weird! And, like, totally freaky!" Kitty snapped back.
"I see your problem and I think I have a solution," Hank said, holding his chin.
Every eye in the wreck room turned to look at Hank. Hank reached out, taking the remote and turning the tv off.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Kurt demanded to know.
"I believe the issue is that there are a tremendous amount of films to chose from and simply selecting one has brought on this disagreement. So," Hank said, making his way over to a drawer in the room and pulling out a few matches and candles, "we simply change the activity."
"What do you mean by that?" Scott asked.
Jean had stood up and made her way over to Hank. She took some of the candles and matches and began placing them around the room.
"Back when I was a boy, we used to tell scary stories in the dark rather than watching scary movies. We can take it in turns to tell scary stories. That way, the story that everyone wants tonight will be told and others will hear it." Hank explained.
"That's not a bad idea," Scott said, taking a candle off Jean and helping her light them.
"Scary stories in the dark by candle light?" Kurt said, coming to sit on the carpet beside Kitty. "Man, that does sound like an idea. But, Rogue shouldn't be allow to tell her story!" Kurt said, suddenly pointing at her as she sat back down next to Remy. "She'd have us all up every night for weeks."
"Ha, like ah'd wanna waste mah breath!" Rogue spat out, folding her arms and turning her head away from everyone.
Remy smiled as he reached out his hand to touch her lower back.
"Come on chére. Y' love Halloween," he said.
"Everyone tells a story or no one does at all," Hank said, taking a seat on the floor himself. "So, who wants to go first. Remy, I believe New Orleans is infamous for it's haunted tales," Hank said, now looking towards Remy.
"We have quite a few, oui. But not sure all be appropriate," Remy said.
"Ha, try us," Scott said, leaning back and putting his arm around Jean's shoulders.
"Alright mon ami. Y' ever heard of a Miss Marie Laveau?" Remy asked.
"No," Scott said.
Others began to shake their heads as well. Rogue had glanced his way and he met her eyes. Jean had turned the light off mentally so her face was lit by candle light. He doubted many others could see this, but her eyes were wide, obviously interested in the story.
"Miss Laveau was a Voodoo queen down in Louisiana. Many would go t' her for healin' or spiritual rituals. Dis be quite some time ago, but people still visit New Orleans just t' visit her grave. They say if y' knock on her tomb an' yell out y' wish, Marie Laveau may grant it. Folk also say they've seen her ghost walkin' round dat graveyard."
"A ghost story? You don't really believe this Marie Laveau is one or that she had magic, do you?" Scott asked.
Remy shrugged his shoulders, moving his arm to rest more comfortable around Rogue who didn't lean into him.
"Not for moi t' say. All I know is what I been told," Remy said.
"And what have you been told?" Jean asked.
"Mon tante told me dis story one time 'bout an ancestor who actually turned t' dis woman for help. There were rumour dat Laveau was a fraud an' dat she got her information off de woman she saw in her salon, but mon famille never had any of their help visit places like dat. They ensured there help be taken care of same way they were. Helped keep dere secrets that way," Remy said, smirking at Rogue who seemed to get what he was hinting at.
"Anyhow, de youngest enfant went missin' an' a letter was sent t' de famille askin' for de ransom. Mon ancêtre turned t' Laveau t' help find his son. He be desperate. He goes t' see dis woman an' pays her fee. He then says he watched as she sat there an' let her spirit go," Remy said.
"Let her spirit go? Wait, could this Marie Laveau have been a mutant?" Jean asked.
"It be possible, oui," Remy said. "It be told dat mon ancêtre followed dis spirit all de way t' a boat house where he found his son hung by his neck. They be too late t' save de boy, but they found his murders there. It be uncertain what happened next. Mon ancêtre never recovered after seein' his dead son's mutilated body. Drank himself in t' de ground an' all dat his famille could get outta him was what I been told," Remy said.
"That's, like, a real story?" Kitty asked.
"Oui, from what I'm told. But des be only tales," Remy said, noticing Kitty shiver.
"That wasn't really scary," Scott said, turning to eye Jean who just looked irritated.
Remy shrugged, wrapping his arm a bit more around Rogue.
"Never said it be. If y' after scary though, perhaps turnin' t' de Queen of fright be a bonne idée, non?" Remy said, looking down at Rogue who froze up under his gaze.
"Like, no way!" Kurt said, coming to a crouch. "I don't want to be having nightmares for a week."
Rogue glared at Kurt, then glanced back up to Remy who just seemed to be smiling down at her, waiting. There were a few frowns and eye rolls around the room at seeing the two southerners together.
"Ah do have a story and ah doubt it'll give ya nightmares unless y' really are a baby," Rogue said.
"It seems your up next," Hank said, confirming the next story teller.
Remy watched Rogue swallow and glance down at nothing in particular.
"Well, there was this girl-"
"It, like, better not be the one from your Japanese horror film!" Kitty butted in.
"No!" Rogue snapped, "She's a normal girl. She just… went through a few things."
"What happened to her?" Scott asked, seeming to relax a little more as Rogue began to set the scene.
"Well, this girl, she was livin' with her parents. She was only young when this happened. Probably about five or six years old. Somethin' like that. Her parents had decided that they didn't wanna live a normal life. The idea of workin' in an office, payin' taxes and all, it just wasn't them." Rogue explained.
"So they were gypsies?" Jean asked.
"Yeah, kinda, ah guess," Rogue said, looking a little down as she confirmed it.
Remy wondered about that.
"Anyway, they weren't the only ones who wanted ta live like this. They'd grown up with a few friends who came from tough backgrounds just like they had. Parent's who'd go mental at them for no reason, except havin' a bad day at work. Puttin' cigarettes out on their arms, beatin' em with their belts, all sorts. So they all took off ta this forest they were familiar with. Ah think they lived in trailers for sometime till they managed ta build these wood houses that they moved in ta," Rogue said.
"Did they build their houses over, like, an Indian burial or something?" Kitty asked.
"Not that ah know of," Rogue said, crossing her legs and relaxing a bit more under Remy's arm.
"They were happy. They ended up findin' a clearin' in the woods and settin' it up so that they could all sit 'round a massive bonfire an' smoke an' drink all sorts," Rogue said.
"So they were druggies?" Tabitha asked.
Rogue shrugged her shoulders.
"They were just happy. An' after settin' up this home they had, a lot of them wanted families. Most a them were childhood sweethearts, so it was a pretty straight forward thing ta want. This one woman though, she'd had her eye on this guy who she was head over heels in love with," Rogue said.
"Is this the girl in your story?" Scott asked.
"No, this is her mama," Rogue explained. "The mama was madly in love with him and wanted his attention and approval more than anything. This man though, the papa, he wanted the love of all the people in their little group. There little friendship group had grown with more people wantin' ta join em since they liked their idea of livin'. He liked that he was seen as a leader and just fell in love with his job position. He did love the mama, but his love for his community was far greater.
Anyway, he got married ta the mama since he couldn't deny there had been somethin' there and it was a good example he was settin' for the new comers who had joined their little community. The mama got pregnant and had a baby girl. The one mah story's about. The mama loved the baby girl, but she was noticin' more and more how her husband would run off ta settle in a new couple or help a lost man on his way ta joinin' them. She was becomin' a bit miserable and desperate for her husband's attention." Rogue said.
"That so," Remy asked, wrapping his arm around Rogue a little more. Rogue snorted as she felt his hand gently give her arm a squeeze.
"Yeah, it is swamp breath. Most'a the time, the little girl would be taken care of by her auntie who wasn't really interested in the life her sister and her husband had set up for themselves, but she moved there ta stay close ta her family since they were the only thing she had left. The mama began ta chase down her husband and help him with whatever work he was doin'. The little girl though, she was just as out goin' as her parents. She was friends with the other kids who'd been born in this community and kinda became a leader in their friendship group just like her papa had become a leader ta the adults.
The girl didn't have that great of a relationship with her auntie who'd wash her mouth out with soap and take her over her lap and beat her arse for bein' cheeky. She was wonderin' after her parents just like her mama had wondered after her papa.
This one night, this girl snuck outta her house and meet up with her friends. Her auntie was supposed ta be baby sittin' her since the parents were out at the tree clearin', welcomin' the new person they'd just took on. This new person was supposed ta be a sharman," Rogue said.
"What's a sharman?" Kurt asked.
"A sharman is a person who can connect with spirits. Usually, directing the spirits to the physical world in order to heal," Hank filled in.
"So, your, like, totally ripping off Remy's story?" Kitty asked.
Rogue looked annoyed at that.
"No, mah story is mah own. Now ya gonna shut up and let meh tell it or keep moanin' 'bout it?" Rogue asked.
Kitty huffed, folding her arms and rolling her eyes.
"This sharman, well, in exchange for bein' given a place ta call home offered ta help this community reach out ta a greater power that would enlighten them," Rogue said.
"Enlighten them? Now who does that remind me of?" Scott asked, smirking at his own joke.
"Magneto," Kurt filled in.
"Anyway," Rogue said, speaking above them. "The papa was intrigued by the offer and agreed. At this welcomin' gather, the sharman was gonna enlighten the community to this high and mighty power. The mama wasn't too sure 'bout this but seein' the papa so taken with the idea, she kept quiet 'bout her doubts and just went along with it. At there gatherin' a pipe was passed 'round with some kinda herb the sharman had brought with him. There were drinks passed 'round too, but one of these drinks had somethin' in them. Guess who was the lucky woman who ended up gettin' this drink?" Rogue asked.
"The mother," Jean filled in.
"Yep. And, what's worse, the papa volunteered her without even tellin' his wife 'bout it." Rogue said.
"Sounds like une sac à merde," Remy said.
"Language," Hank said.
Remy just rolled his eyes, moving himself slightly to become more comfortable.
"Yeah, he wasn't that good'a person," Rogue said, raising her eyebrow at Remy who just held a knowing smile.
Rogue shuck her head and turned to face the room.
"He had his wife drugged and set her up ta be a sacrifice for this enlightenin', only, things started ta back fire on them all very quickly," Rogue said.
"How so?" Scott asked.
"Well, guess ah should go back ta the girl who snuck out with her friends, huh? The daughter lead her friends straight ta her parents and they were all hidin' in the bushes surroundin' em. They watched this community start chantin' and the little girl watched her mama start ta go a little crazy." Rogue said.
"That's terrible," Jean said.
"Yeah, it was pretty traumatic for her. This girl watched her father pushin' her mama, and soon, he started beatin' on her," Rogue said.
"That's horrible!" Kurt said.
"What's worse is that the whole community saw this happenin'. Saw this man start violently abusin' his wife for seemingly no reason, and they just sat there. Sat there and watched it happen. They knew it was wrong. Knew they shoulda stepped in and stopped the papa who just seemed ta be off his rocker, but they didn't." Rogue said.
"What about the little girl?" Amara asked.
"She was gonna stop it. She was up, and ready ta go runnin' in there ta tell her papa ta stop it, but she was held back by one'a the boys who she'd made friends with. He told her to keep low and stay quite and it was a good thing he did too 'cause no one saw what was gonna come next," Rogue said.
"What happened?" Kitty asked.
"The mama, well, she went mad. Mad with heartbreak. This weren't the first time she'd been beaten and the whole reason why she'd ran away with her friends was ta avoid these beatin's. But there they were, knowin' her past, the same one they all shared, and no body was helpin' her. And it was her own husband who was doin' the damage. Somethin' snapped in the mama. Whether it be 'cause'a the drugs or whatever she drank earlier, ah don't know, but something surreal happened.
The fire from the bonfire started to grow and surround the mama like a shield, makin' the papa back off. The mama's eyes turned white, kinda like Storm's whenever she commands her lightin'. There was this powerful gust that came outta no where that was so strong it was knockin' down trees in the forest and throwin' everythin' around. The little girl and her friends had ta keep low ta the ground and duck for cover, hopin' for the best. The adults surroundin' the fire were tryna run as they watched the mama lift up into the air with this fire wrappin' around her. It was goin' crazy and outta control just like the weather was. There were wolves hollowin' and other creatures makin' a racket from this disturbance in nature.
The mama turned on the papa, murderous eyes starin' him down from her height. The papa had moved ta grab the sharman, but the sharman was screamin': 'This weren't supposed ta happen.' He wanted ta run, but the papa wouldn't let him. He wanted this man ta fix his wife. Fix what he'd done ta her, but there was nothin' that could be done. The mama had already suffered at the hands of her husband, chasin' after him for years, yearnin' for his affections, doin' whatever she could ta make him happy, till finally, he'd betrayed her. She wanted her revenge for all the years of her life she'd wasted on this man. This man who took away years of her life, fillin' her with false hopes, and she was about ta get it," Rogue said.
"What'd she do?" Kurt asked.
Rogue blinked a few times, noticing how the room had gone quiet with all eyes on her. Kitty was even hiding behind a cushion.
"She vanished," Rogue said.
"What? That doesn't make sense. You're missing something," Scott said, sitting forwards, as if, intrigued by what Rogue was saying.
Rogue shrugged.
"From what ah can gather, the mama opened a portal ta another dimension. She'd said a few words addressed ta her husband 'bout how he'd made her suffer, 'bout how all of them had made her suffer. Then, she raised her arms and from the embers of the flames, they grew behind her, turning from orange and red ta white and expanded ta make an unsteady oval. An oval that began stuckin' everythin' near in ta it. Kinda like a black hole, ah guess.
The children, still hidden in the bushes, cried out as they watched their parents scream and cry out as they were violently ripped away from the earth they were graspin' in ta this other world. A few of em ran ta their mama's and papa's and got sucked into the portal as well. When they did this though, it gave away the other kid's location.
The mama saw her daughter and saw her friend who'd covered her try and keep her grounded and safe. She didn't like this. Not one bit. The mama, well, all she had left was the love of her daughter. The daughter who'd been chasin' after her just like she'd been chasin' after her husband and gettin' nothin' from it. The mama realised her mistake. Realised the pain she had inflicted upon her daughter that loved her, but she was too far gone with rage of the papa's betrayal. All she saw was red and when she saw her daughter graspin' on ta her friend, all she could think was that this boy was gonna grow up ta break her daughter's heart just like her love had broke hers.
The mama tore this boy away from her daughter and throw him in ta the portal. The girl was beside herself in agony. She'd watched all the people she'd come ta see as family taken away from her, dissapearin' in ta this scary white hole. When the mama went ta reach for her baby girl, the girl backed away, terrified of her mama. Not before her mama had touched her though, grasin' her fingers just over the child's forehead.
There was some sorta shock that accord between the too. Somethin' that made them both back away from the other quickly. The little girl, she felt all her mama's pain and the essence of this crazy power that ran through her.
The mama saw her own daughter's fear of her and backed away, heart broken that she had hurt her daughter so much. Just as she was backin' away though, her time seemed ta be up. The mama was sucked in ta the same portal she had created just before it closed behind her and the daughter was left all alone in the middle of the woods in the dark."
Rogue remained quite, eventually glancing around at the faces that were still staring at her.
"Wait, what happened next?" Tabitha asked.
Rogue shrugged her shoulders.
"Ah don't know. Ah guess the little girl either collapsed in the woods or found her way back ta her auntie. The police were probably called 'cause of the disappearances, but since this community had lived outside of the closest village for so long and been known ta do whatever they want. The case was just dropped. No one really investigated the disappearances and no one really believed the little girl as ta what happened," Rogue said.
"But that can't be all that happened. What happened to her when she grew up? Did she ever find her mother again?" Jean asked.
"Ah doubt it, but ah don't really know what happened ta her after that," Rogue said.
"What do you mean you don't know? It's your story. Tell us, what happened to her?" Kitty demanded to know.
Rogue pursed her lips and sighed inwardly.
"She moved back in ta a village with her auntie and grew up havin' a normal life from there. She weren't as happy as she was when she was livin' with her mama and papa, but she just grew ta accept she was an orphan. Probably never talked 'bout what really happened ta her parents since no one would believe her anyway. She probably just got on with the life she had and decided nevah ta go back ta that forest where her entire life was ripped out from under her. She just… moved on." Rogue finished.
"Well, I like, totally think your story needs a new ending," Kitty said.
Rogue rolled her eyes at that.
"Another critic," she muttered, but she wasn't heard as Hank spoke over her and suggested Kitty tell the next story.
"No harm in someone tryna make dis girl's life a little better, non?" Remy said into Rogue's ear.
Rogue glanced up at him. He was still smiling, but there was something tipping the humour in it.
Xxxxx
A few hours later, the residents of the mansion saw themselves leaving the wreck room, most of them spoked by a few of the stories told. They each began to make their separate ways to their bedrooms or other places in the mansion.
Remy decided to follow Rogue to her room.
"So, who's story did y' tell back there?" He asked her.
"Huh," Rogue said, glancing at him questioningly over her shoulder.
"Didn't seem like y' were just makin' up any old tale. Did Irene tell y' dat one too?" Remy asked.
"Oh, yeah. She might'a. Honestly, ah don't remember where that story came from," Rogue said, turning her attention away from Remy.
Remy raised his eyebrow as he stared down at Rogue behind her back.
"If y' say so, chére. Though, I t'ink Kitty be right. There be another endin'," he said.
Rogue throw her hands up in the air, looking up to the sky.
"Why do ah even bother?" she asked.
"From how y' described this sneaky wild child, she dun't seem de type t' sit in misery. An' if y' ask moi, from how y' were discribin' that tante o' hers, she wouldn't a stayed wit' her long," Remy said.
"Oh really?" Rogue questioned, glancing at him over her shoulder again.
"Oui," he said. "I t'ink dis petite enfant decided she were gonna follow in her pére an' mére's foot steps, only make sure she ended up wit' une famillie dat actually cared an' looked out for their own. I reckon dis belle fille ran off an' made her way through famillie after famillie till she finally found de home she been searchin' for. An' when she found it, she refused t' ever see de back a it," Remy said.
Rogue stared at Remy for a while, letting his words sink in.
"Ah guess that sounds more like her," Rogue finally said, turning her head away. "But it's just a story. Not even a scary one at that. Ah knew ah should'a gone for the one with the haunted house an' the creepy ghost boy in it."
Remy laughed at that, wrapping his arm around Rogue's shoulders as he escorted her back to her room.
xxxxx
French Translations
Chére - Dear
Oui - Yes
Mon Ami - My Friend
Mon Tante - My Antuie
Famille - Family
Enfant - Child
Mon Ancêtre - My Ancester
Bonne Idée - Good Idea
Non - No
Une sac à merde - A Piece of Shit
Pére - Father
Mére - Mother
Fille - Girl
Petite - Small