Pairings: Rogue/Remy, and Jean/Scott mentions in other chapters.
Archive: It's not archived except for here. If for some reason you want to, e-mail me.
E-mail: TARGETER14@AOL.com
Disclaimer: *sigh* Not mine. Never will be mine. Though, if you feel like giving me a birthday present, oh wonderful friends at Marvel...
A/N: I GOT IT DONE! WOOHOO! *dances around the room* Oh, sorry if Remy seems a bit oblivious in this...but he's stressed! Uh...yeah. O_O
This chapter is dedicated to the following people:
MINDnSHOUL
Megan aka Crimson Cajun
KELLY LUCKY439
linkin-spike
PsychoFemale
v-man
If I have missed anyone, eternal apologies! It was not intentional! Anyways, these WONDERFUL people helped me out, and should be groveled too. This chapter, and the following one, would not have been finished without them. So, I would be really happy if in your review (You WILL review!) you could take just a second to type a thankyou for them. I know I'm thanking them. *sniffles* You gals and guys are great!
~~~~~
Raven Darkholme was not a woman prone to crying fits. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she had wept. So, to find herself at the battered, but clean kitchen table with tears running down her face twenty-four hours after the disappearance of Rogue, was a novel experience.
Via the evening news, she had heard of Sinister's raid on the hotel where LeBeau had been staying. At first, she had been full of glee- after all, that particular annoyance had been removed from her life. Then, the TV had shown shots of the blood-stained lobby, and battle-scarred hotel room. What if her 'daughter' had been there? What if she had been wounded in the fight between Sinister's people and LeBeau, and was lying in a ditch somewhere? What if she was dead or dying?
Her maternal instincts had gone into hyper drive. Since the airing of the news article, she had been sitting by the phone, downing cup after cup of strong black coffee. Her form was never constant- she changed shapes in the blink of an eye, her mind in turmoil, her mutation way out of control, the endless shifting matching the state of her mind. Raven knew that the X-Men had some way of detecting mutants and mutations, and it was highly likely that she was setting off countless alarms. She didn't care.
A fresh wave of tears sprang to her eyes, and she reached for the long empty tissue box. "Oh Rogue, where are you?" she sobbed quietly. Her little girl, missing...
"Raven?" Irene hobbled into the room, gripping her cane tightly. Her lined face was filled with concern, for both Raven and Rogue. "May I ask you something?"
Raven nodded, smearing the tears on her changing face with hands that would be soft at one stage, and coarse the next. Irene, though blind, somehow seemed to register the affirming motion, and took a seat opposite Raven. "What did you promise Essex in exchange for his removal of Remy LeBeau?"
"I told him he could use the Brotherhood, should he ever need them, for whatever he wants." Raven confessed, not questioning how her old friend knew about the deal with Sinister. "He also received a promising new mutant for those abominable tests he runs."
Irene nodded, grey head bobbing up and down. "As I thought. A very powerful gift in exchange though, for such a minor task. Why did you offer their...talents?"
"It was a guaranteed deal." Raven stood up, and began rummaging around in kitchen drawers. "He asked me if he could use them a short while ago. I said no." She withdrew a crumpled pack of cigarettes and a lighter, remnants of a filthy habit she had thought she had dropped long ago. Lighting one up, she took a long drag, and exhaled.
The elderly Irene ignored the smoke curling though the air, destined to eventually set off a fire alarm. She bowed her head, looking solemn underneath the large black glasses. "Do you believe that if Essex were to capture Rogue, he would hold her hostage indefinitely, promising her well-being if you allow him to use the Brotherhood?"
Raven froze. Slowly, her shape melted from that of a teenage boy to her blue-skinned form. "That bastard would do something like that!" she hissed, yellow eyes aglow with anger. "Blackmail. How typical of him." Her face was twisted with anger, and an odd type of fierce excitement. "Destiny, dear friend, have you had a vision?"
Behind the dark sunglasses, Irene's watery blue eyes closed, as she carefully considered what she could tell her friend without dramatically tipping the scales of fate and destiny. "There was darkness. A strange smell, and a dripping noise. I saw misshapen people, warped horribly. Black water, stained with crimson splashing under foot, the metallic scent of blood in the air, and screams. Terrible, terrible screams, piercing, echoing. Red, beady eyes peering out of unknown depths...and a fallen angel. Then, in sharp contrast, white and silver, stretching indefinitely." Irene's eyes opened, though she remained in darkness which would plague her for the rest of her life. "It was the future."
Raven- now Mystique- looked terrified. "The screaming...was it..."
"I don't think so. It sounded like there was many voices, not just one."
A pregnant pause. "I have heard rumors of colonies of misshapen mutants living underneath the city." Mystique said slowly. Her lips curved upwards in a feral smile. "The rat is in the sewers. Right where he belongs. He must have Rogue. I'm going to get my daughter back."
She ran out of the apartment, donning her Raven Darkholme disguise, and slamming the door behind her.
The soft sound of a world-weary sigh filled the kitchen. "You were there too, dear friend." Irene continued, almost conversationally to the empty room. "And while blood stained your white clothes, the Queen of Hearts burned."
* * *
"What's wrong with the girl?" Sinister demanded curtly as he flowed into the room, and imposing figure. His odd black cape swirled behind him, and Remy realised that he would have given his eyeteeth to see the piece of cloth catch in the silver doors which quickly slid shut behind him.
"Ask him." Vertigo sneered, blue eyes like ice chips.
"De woman at de apartment said she had some kinda cancer." Remy wracked his brain. "I t'ink she said pancreatic. De doctor dat diagnosed her with it is dead, died in a fire." Though terrified for Rogue- it was heartbreaking seeing her limp form splayed out on the operating table- he managed to keep his voice stable. "Can you help her?"
Sinister frowned. "A fire? How coincidental...and Raven told you she had pancreatic cancer? The woman is as skilled in the arts of deception as one can be. I wouldn't believe anything she said, without witnessing it for myself, Mr. LeBeau. Neither should you." His paper-white face was distorted by contempt. "Vertigo dear, please fetch the sonogram equipment."
As Vertigo moved over to one of the black screens inset into the wall, Sinister turned to Remy. "You might find this part a little disturbing." Without waiting for a reply, he untucked Rogue's long sleeved shirt, and oulled it back, then tugged her jeans down brutally until they were about her knees.
Remy's face became flushed with anger. "Stop dat! Leave her alone, you sick sonova bitch!" Sinister ignored him, merely smearing something jelly-like over her exposed stomach. If only her power-negating collar had chosen that instant to shut down...no such luck though.
His sense of honour kicked in, and Remy moved to the bed and sat down, back to the scene. He clenched his teeth and fists, and strained to hear what was being said.
Beep. Beep. He could hear the machines well enough. Of course, random beeping meant absolutely nothing to him, so he continued to try and eavesdrop on the hushed conversation between Vertigo and Sinister.
"...sure that's a good idea..ir? He could be...dangerous...turn on..." (Are you sure that's a good
idea sir? He could be very dangerous, and turn on us.)
"...don't think...will, not if we...eep Rogue, making sure...behaves. If he doesn't mis...break him. He'll be more useful for tests...way." (I don't think he will, not if we keep Rogue, making sure that he behaves. If he doesn't misbehave, it will break him. He will be more useful for tests that way.)
"Fine....don't like this." (Fine, but I don't like this.)
It wasn't too difficult to guess what was being said after he thought about it for a while. What are they planning for me? Remy wondered, a chill running down his spine. It has to be me they're talking about.
There was silence for a few moments. "Hmm. Interesting. Vertigo, inform the rest...auders that they have a mission...night. And send Sabre...me" (Hmm. Interesting. Vertigo, inform the rest of the Marauders that they have a mission tonight. And send Sabretooth to me.)
"Yes sir." There was a slight hiss of displaced air, and a faint stench wafted through the room. Though he had only been here a short time, Remy had already come to associate these with the opening and closing of the doors.
"Mr LeBeau."
He twisted around, red on black eyes meeting Sinister's unfeeling ones. He could see Rogue behind him on the table, and his heart twisted in his chest. How can I feel so strongly for one I've known for so short a time?
Sinister smiled unpleasantly at him. "For someone with such a fascinating mutation, you really aren't that bright, my dear boy. If you had had the nerve to look at the screen on the sonogram, you would have seen that there is not a single trace of cancer in Miss Rogue's body. You should take everything that a woman like Raven Darkholme says with a grain of salt. That advice comes free of charge."
All Remy could do was stare. "But...how can dat be? I've seen her collapse, twice, I've seen de pain in her eyes..." His mind quickly raced through the possibilities. "Sinister, why would Raven lie to me? What are she and Rogue hidin'?" he demanded.
A short, sharp, and extremely cruel laugh escaped the thin black lips. "That is not my place to tell, Mr LeBeau. If I do, how shall I keep Miss Rogue in line? Rest assured, I will find the cause of these fainting spells she seems fond of. However, there is something you must do for me in the meantime."
Something that will break me? Remy thought to himself, not daring to voice the thought aloud. "What?"
"It's nothing too important." Sinister said casually. Remy didn't believe him for a second. "I merely wish to see those fascinating powers of yours in action again. I will be sending you along with some of my...associates...to remove a minor irritation."
"And why should I bother?" Remy retorted, crossing his arms over his chest, feeling his back itch as the cloth of his bloodied t-shirt moved and rasped across skin.
"Because, I was the one who discovered that your little girlfriend didn't have cancer. I am the one who shall try to figure out what is really wrong with her." Sinister smiled. "And if you don't do this for me, I might not have the motivation to do that."
Scowling, Remy's red eyes brightened with anger, red glowing under the spikey bangs that brushed his face. "Fine. You better help her though."
The twisted creature looked far too happy for Remy's liking. "Deal."
* * *
Rogue's eyelids fluttered open. "Where...Remy!" she tried to sit up, but something around her wrists, ankles and waist pinned her down. "What in tarnation is going on here?" she yelled angrily, squirming under the metal restraints.
"How delightful to see you awake." The man who called himself Sinister came into her range of vision. "What's going on?"
"Huh?" That question was enough to halt Rogue's righteous indignation for a moment, right before she went into full-blown rant mode.
He growled, white aristocratic face annoyed. "Don't play dumb with me. A simple sonogram determined that you don't truly have cancer."
"Ah...don't?" she could hardly believe her ears. "Ah...but the doctor and momma..." Green eyes flashed like emeralds. "That bitch! She lied to me!" Rogue began to fight with her restraints again.
Sinister frowned, a dimple forming between his eyebrows, and he stepped out of Rogue's eyesight. A moment later, he returned, a printed picture in his hands. "Is this the man who diagnosed you with cancer?"
Blonde hair, smirking eyes..."That's the one."
He chuckled. "John Allerdyce, AKA Pyro. Yes, he's been in Australia the entire time you were a member of the Brotherhood, I can see how that would work. I had no idea that you had a sense of humour, Mystique." he murmured to himself. "A fire..." his voice trailed off, as he chuckled again, then seemed to remember that Rogue was in the room. "Ah yes, Miss Rogue. Your little problem. Would you mind telling me how you feel just before you have one of your 'cancer attacks'?"
Rogue made a face at him. "Why should I tell you?" she asked him mockingly. "Where's Remy?"
"Mr LeBeau is out running an errand for me. And if you don't tell me, well, it's no concern of mine. I won't be the one feeling pain, as someone extracts enough tissue sample all at once for genetic testing, when its a process that should be carried out over a large amount of time."
She swallowed, fighting the wave of fear that threatened to overcome her. "Watch me shaking." she yelled, holding her ground.
Pointed white teeth flashed. "I was rather hoping you would say something like that. Oh Sabretooth..."
* * *
Remy tugged at the high collar of the blue and magenta armor he had been given as he and the bizarre group of obviously well-trained and well-prepared mutants he was with splashed through the tunnels underneath New York.
Scalphunter, the obvious leader of the group, looked back at him and sneered. Remy glared back, red eyes glinting in the darkness, an obvious challenge of power. The heavily armed mutant just sneered again.
The heavily built Arclight saw that last look, and narrowed her eyes at Remy. Oh yeah, definitely not popular here. He thought wryly. He was trying to figure out what the relationship between Scalphunter and Arclight was. At first, he had thought they were lovers, then rivals. Now, he didn't know what to think. If he had been able to utilize his empathy, he might have gotten a better reading, but it had been decided that he would continue to wear the collar until they got to wherever they were going.
The rest of the group consisted of Scrambler, Riptide, Harpoon, Polaris, and the ever popular, Vertigo. Though he was only guessing, Remy had a strong suspicion that he had taken the place of the snarling Sabretooth. Which meant that Sinister intended to use him to control Rogue. Despite what the pale man thought, Remy was not stupid, and could see clearly that it was a thinly hidden threat that if he mis-behaved, Sabretooth would be used against the young woman. Remy fully intended to go along with whatever disgusting thing Sinister had planned. And he would not let it break him.
After all, he had someone to stay strong for.
~~~~~
BWAHAHA! Semi-cliffhanger! Next chapter- The Morlock Massacre! Anyways, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! :D Oh, and GO CREED!. Part of my birthday present this year was a ticket to their Brisbane concert, and their music helped me to write this for all of you. So, er...yeah! GO CREED!