X-Men: A New Battle, Part 7
Summary: An X-Men: the Movie sequel. Gambit's personality has led Rogue to Sinister's laboratory.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gambit (damn), or Rogue, or any of the other X-Men. They are Marvel's, and the movie is Fox's. I am not making any money from this (damn again), so please don't sue.
Author's Note: Sorry this took awhile to get up. Things have been… stressful… and this one is kinda long. The next chapter will probably take awhile, too. Also, I would like to apologize for the blatant cop-out re: Rogue's added powers. I was too damn lazy to try and work in the whole Ms. Marvel deal.
And another note: Rogue's first boyfriend's name is David, not Cody, in the movie. This bothers the hell out of me, but I watched the movie in closed-captioning and Marie's dad calls him David. So I figured that I better keep it the same. But I don't have to like it.
~*~
Polaris regarded the girl with wary green eyes.
"Y'gon' t'let m'in, chére?" she drawled, leaning seductively in the doorway. She took off her sunglasses in one smooth motion, revealing scarlet on ebony.
"Gambit?" the Marauder gasped. "Is that you in there?"
"What y'talkin' 'bout? Y'crazy? Lemme in, why don' y'?"
"Uh… sure, Gambit." Lorna backed away slowly, then turned and ran.
"Polaris! Where are you to so hurriedly?" inquired Sinister, smirking at her uneasiness.
"There's a girl… she has Gambit inside her, or something…"
Sinister smiled coldly. "Ah. So Rogue has arrived. Excellent…"
"Oh mah Lord, where am Ah?" Marie glanced around the compound fretfully, panicking.
"Calm yourself, child," Sinister instructed, revealing himself.
"Sinister?" she yelped. "Oh mah Lord… Merde! How'd Gambit get here?"
"What is your name, child?" asked the doctor, enjoying the tortured expressions the question produced.
Ah'm Rogue.
Je m'appelle Gambit.
Marie.
How'd y'like y'name t'be Remy LeBeau from now on, p'tit?
Mah gloves-
De ace a' spades.
Ah'm all alone-
"Mah name? Ah'm- the Ace."
~*~
"I'll kill him now," Logan growled, baring his claws and lunging at the unconscious man.
"Logan, stop." Jean's voice sounded tired, frustrated. First Scott was put into the Med Lab and now this-
"You gonna stop me?"
"Perhaps it would be best if I kept him under my care," Beast spoke up.
"What? Look at what he did to Rogue…"
"What Rogue did to him," Henry corrected.
The X-Men do not deny medical care to anyone who needs it, Professor Xavier reminded them telepathically. I am sure he would not attack us if he woke under our care.
They brought their enemy down to the Med Lab and placed him on a bed next that of a sleeping Cyclops.
Ororo had been making a late-night cup of tea in the kitchen, and heard the shouts from the group as they headed toward the basement.
"Who's the patient?" she called.
No answer.
She abandoned her tea and followed them. "Who is the patient?" she asked again as she entered the medical laboratory. She approached the unconscious form and gasped. "Remy?"
"We found him like this in Rogue's bedroom. Rogue had absorbed him, and ran off," Hank explained.
"What was Remy doing in Marie's room?" Storm asked, stroking his long auburn hair as if trying to comfort the still boy.
"We do not know," said Professor X as he wheeled into the lab. "I cannot find Rogue; she has absorbed Gambit's psi shields. She could be anywhere."
~*~
Ace lay on Gambit's bed, sleeping restlessly. She'd been having Gambit's dreams.
"Y'and Lapin are m'only real friends, Bella. Y'can' do dis t'me."
The blonde assassin said nothing.
"C'mon, Bella. I don' even know what y'mad at me for. Like I said, y'm'best friend," Remy continued to plead.
"Dat's all I ever am t'y', Remy. Une amie. I jus' can' take dat right now." Belladonna Boudreaux turned and walked away.
"Bella, wait!" Remy ran to catch up with her. She stopped, but refused to look up at him. "Y'know we can' be anyt'in' else, Belle," he told her quietly. "Mon pere is de leader a' de t'ieves, an yours is de leader a' de assassins. We s'posed t'hate each ot'er, assassins and t'ieves."
"Why does dat matter? We been friends since f'ever, Remy. People got used t'it. Dey can get used t'… anyt'in'." She walked closer to him as she spoke, slyly slipping her arms around his neck. His own arms went around her slender waist of their own accord.
"Bella, I…"
"Remy, will y'shut up f'once in y'life?"
He grinned. "Yes, ma'am."
She kissed him. Things fastforwarded themselves a bit, and when he finally drew back, it was right after their engagement. This kiss was empty, merely performed for the sake of those watching.
They no longer loved each other. They were to be married for the sole purpose of uniting the LeBeau and Boudreaux families, the Thieves' Guild and the Assassins'.
"Come over here f'jus' une minute, dear sister," called Julien Boudreaux.
Fast forward again.
"Come'n fight me, LeBeau, y'salaud modifié," challenged Julien, brandishing a sward. They were outside, the dark Cajun air thick and oppressive.
"De filthy bastard is y', Boudreax," Remy spat. A sword of his own was in his hand. "Bec mon chu." {Kiss my ass.}
Julien attacked first, and Remy's sword met his with a loud clang. The thief could've taken him down in an instant, charging the sword, or a rock, or some cards in his pocket with mutant energy. But somehow that didn't seem fair.
Fair? What was fair? This wasn't. He was supposed to win this duel, he was sure of it. Then why was his stomach unguarded for that one necessary instant, why was Boudreaux preparing to strike him on last time, why was the outcome in his mind always different than the one which had occurred in reality…
Ace woke up in a cold sweat.
"Come, Ace. It is time for your operation."
~*~
"Remy, can you hear me?" Ororo asked. She sat in a hard chair next to his unmoving form. They were the only two in the Med Lab, as Cyclops had gotten up a couple hours before. She hesitantly put a hand to his pale face and frowned.
Remy was an empath, she knew that much from her short time with him. She recalled putting her hand in his and receiving a flood of emotions from him. Love. Protectiveness. Fear. But this time, she felt nothing.
"Remy?" she called again, slightly louder.
The only answer was his shallow breathing.
She sighed, and placed her hand on his. "Remy, Remy, Remy. Why didn't you stay with me, with the X-Men? We could have helped you. Protected you. Now you are… like this," she paused, becoming a little choked up. "and under the employment of Sinister. We are forced to be enemies, brother. Why? Why did you…" she trailed off.
She felt a light pressure on her hand, being squeezed in a reassuring gesture. Then it was gone.
~*~
"No, Ah don't- please- let me go! Please-" Ace struggled as two Marauders pinned her to an operating table. Sinister loomed above, looking especially menacing. She screamed.
"Shhh, child. Such carrying on will get you nowhere." His voice was cold despite the seemingly kind words. He turned to Blockbuster and Harpoon. "Secure her bindings."
They fastened her to the table with metal straps, dashing her hopes of escape. The next instant, all she felt was pain. And lots of it. She had flashes of Wolverine's memory of the admantium bonding. Then Gambit's memory of an operation similar to the one she was currently undergoing.
She passed out.
She'd been having Gambit's dreams…
He'd always been an empath, as long as he could remember. Always been a mutant. Always had the demon's eyes.
His empathy, the "charm power," started becoming a problem when he was eight or so. It was powerful, and he couldn't control it. Many a time, he'd unknowingly charmed some unsuspecting person… sometimes they took advantage of him… He had no real defense against them, then. His control of kinetics had been a minor power, a small bonus ability.
Eventually he gained some control over it. He built up shields, layer after layer, keeping as much of it bottled up as possible. After being taken in by Jean-Luc LeBeau and family, those who would prey on young attractive flesh were no longer a problem, either. In fact, his powers were coming along very well.
Until his kinetic abilities began to flare up.
When he was angry, things around hi would charge and blow up. Objects, plants, even animals. He had minimal control over this, and it required intense concentration. The power seemed to grow stronger everyday. He'd been so afraid that one day he'd reach for Belladonna, she'd begin to glow, and-
He sighed. At least now he didn't have to worry about hurting Bella. Or Henri, or his father, or Tante Mattie, or anyone else he cared about in New Orleans. Of course, he couldn't see them, either.
Just the other day, a tall man introduced himself to Remy, said he could help. Nathaniel Essex. I want to help you, he'd said. I can perform an operation that would return your powers to a normal level. I'd only require one thing as payment, one small favor-
"Chirr-eep?" Remy turned to look at the small sparrow. The small, glowing, sparrow. Three, two, one-
"Non," he whispered.
"Chirr-eep?" the bird repeated. And then was no more.
Remy turned away.
M'powers are completely out a'control, he thought. All dey do is hurt people. Dere's not'in' I can do anymore. Mebbe I should take Dr. Essex up on dat offer a' his.
~*~
"That man is our enemy, and he's being treated in our facilities!"
"Scott, please, calm down, you shouldn't be up, you'll-"
"Well, obviously, Jean, no one has been making good decisions while I've been recuperating, so-"
::Snikt:: "You saying we ain't able to do your job?"
"Logan, please."
"I believe that the professor was correct in saying that we should not deny medical care- "
"Oh, come on, Hank. That kid could destroy our school, tear our team apart if we give him a chance… He's already got Storm down there, fawning over him."
"Storm is merely concerned for her friend."
A derisive snort. "Sure. We should snap a power inhibitor collar on him, see if she still feels the same way about him… he's probably an empath or something."
"As much as I hate to admit it, and believe me, Cyke, I do, but One Eye here is right. We don't know what the kid's capable of. The second he wakes up, he'll be able to do anything he wants."
"We should at least get a power inhibitor collar on him-"
A figure entered the room from where he had been eavesdropping, by the doorway. "Y'talkin' bout Gambit, mes amis?"
~*~
She'd been having Gambit's dreams…
Long day. Dead tired. Need a good stiff drink.
"Remy, every time you come in here, you ask for a bourbon, and every time I tell you we don't serve drinks to minors."
Damned mutant bastard. They acted civil toward one another, but both knew it was only a thin cover. He smiled easily. "Je sais, je sais. Coke, den." Eight more mont's… jus' huit mont's. Den I'll get m'bourbon, den I t'ink I'll charge de counter… dat will be fun.
His drink was set in front of him. "Merci."
Somebody starin' at me…
He turned to stare back. The girl quickly looked away. Her green hood partially covered her face, but- Damn she pretty.
He quickly made up his mind to approach her. "Bonjour, chére."
"Hello," she greeted quietly. Her gaze remained fixed to her sandwich.
P'haps if I use a little a' de charm power… He slowly let some leak out.
The man who ran the diner glared at him. Along with telekinesis, he could tell when other mutants' powers were in use. "Aw, Cajun, leave the poor girl 'lone."
Remy waved him off but obediantly recalled the charm. "Shh! Remy talkin' t'de femme-"
Ace woke with a start. Strong hands were pinning her down, there was something metal, something cold and hard and metal coming down on her neck.
::Click!::
A part of her innermost being was draining away, pulling her apart from the inside, and she was only Rogue again.
No, not even Rogue. Only Marie.
She went back to sleep.
~*~
Gambit sauntered into the X-Men meeting room. Storm was directly behind him.
"Gambit don' t'ink he like de idea a' wearin' a collar much, m'sieur."
All of the X-Men save Storm prepared for battle.
"Hey, hey! Gambit don' wan' t'fight y'all."
They backed down only slightly.
"What were y'doin' in her room, kid?" Wolverine demanded.
The Cajun grinned infuriatingly. "Jus' stoppin' by t'say bonjour t'an ol' amie."
With one quick movement the older man had a tight grip on Gambit's neck and threatened his heart with three claws. "Your next words sure as hell better be the truth, else I'll personally make 'em your last."
He realized he wouldn't be able to sweet-talk his way out of this one. "Sinister sent Gambit t'get de girl."
"I'll kill you-"
"Remy didn' know it was her. He never would a' hurt Marie none," he interrupted.
Logan hesitated. "How do you know Marie, Gumbo?" he snarled.
Gambit didn't answer.
"The truth, and make it snappy, or I'll rip that pretty little head of yours clean off your neck."
"Perhaps you could be slightly more sympathetic in your inquiries, Logan," Beast suggested.
Wolverine merely growled.
"Gambit answer y'if y'let him go," he bargained.
Logan reluctantly released the Acadian's neck and sheathed his claws. "All right, Cajun. Talk."
"Remy met her at de diner. She pretty girl, Remy like her, she like him. We go out, have fun."
"If you expect me to believe that Marie fell for a bastard like you-"
"It jus' tear y'part, don' it, mon vieux? Y'precious p'tite, wit' moi-"
Professor X wheeled into the room, causing everyone to fall silent.
"Mr. LeBeau, I see that you are up. Good." He turned to the rest of them. "I have found Rogue's location using Cerebro, now that she no longer has Gambit's shields."
"Where is she?"
"She is within Sinister's laboratory."
Everyone erupted in noise, offers to rescue her, and general consternation.
Gambit cut them off. "Professeur, let me get Rogue. Dis is my fault, I fix it."
Xavier nodded. "I think that is a good idea."
"What?" Cyclops exclaimed. "Professor, I strongly-"
"Gambit would be able to sneak in unnoticed, and could find her quickly."
"Oui. None a' y'all would be able t'get in wit'out a huge commotion. Gambit get in, get de girl, get out, redeem himself."
"But Professor, we'd be letting him not only go free, but return to Sinister. We have no reason to believe that he will actually rescue Rogue and bring her back."
"Believe me, homme, dere ain' a worse punishment dan sendin' Gambit back t'Sinny and de Marauders now," he told them outright.
"How would you propose to rescue Rogue if you are on poor terms with Sinister?"
"Gambit a t'ief, 'member? He get de girl, don' worry."
~*~
"Gambit, how thoughtful of you to finally join us," Sinister greeted coolly.
"Can I kill him now?" asked Sabertooth, claws ready.
"No, I have better plans for him. Blockbuster?"
Gambit looked around but did not see the large man anywhere. He was then hit over the head from behind. Oh look, de floor, he thought before passing out.
Blockbuster snapped a Genoshan power inhibitor collar on the unconscious Cajun, and slung him over one shoulder. "Where do you want him?"
"Down in the laboratory cells. He made such a charming addition to our friend Ace. I'm planning to make it permanent."
~*~
Someone had deposited another person in a cell two down from Marie's. She didn't see what they looked like; she'd been pretending to sleep.
Finally, someone besides the walls ta have a conversation with. "Hello?" she called.
No answer. Probably unconscious. She sighed. Best to get some sleep, perhaps when she awoke the person would be up.
Indeed, he was. Marie woke up to twin crimson beads glowing brightly at her in the dark.
"Remy?" she gasped, running to the edge of her cell closest to his and grasping the bars tightly. "Remy, is that you?"
"De name is Gambit, or did y'f'get, chére?" His voice was cold and tired.
"Re- Gambit," she corrected herself. The word still left a bad taste in her mouth. "Ah'm sorry 'bout what Ah did ta ya. But Ah was scared, and Ah guessed that ya were there for Sinister, cause Ah mean Ah just found out that ya were one a' the 'bad guys' and what else was Ah supposed ta think, and…" she trailed off. "Ah'm sorry."
He didn't say anything for awhile. "It okay, chére." He let out a frustrated sigh, looking around at their surroundings. "Gambit s'posed t'rescue y'."
"Really? That's the sweetest thing Ah evah heard! Can ya-"
"Gambit in de same position y'are, chére," he reminded.
"Oh yeah. Ah knew that." She sighed heavily. "Don't ya work for Sinister? Why're ya all locked up?"
"Experiment, I guess. Same as y'. Pro'ly de same one. Y'been t'rough Sinny's 'periments afore, chére?"
"Yeah. He… Ah went through one earliah." She remembered the pain, then had a flash of Gambit's previous experiment. More pain. Then Logan's, with the Weapon X program. Even more pain. She cried out.
"Y'okay, chére?"
"Yeah, just… one a' yer mem'ries."
"Y'still got a lot a' dem?"
"A few. They're leavin' pretty fast, though."
He paused. "Y'don' like what y'see, do y'. Gambit… not a good homme."
"Remy, don't talk like that." Her voice sounded harsh and dry to her own ears. "Ya had reasons for what ya did, even if they weren't always the best ones. And ya feel bad about it. If ya weren't a good man ya wouldn't be agonizin' 'bout it now."
He didn't say anything.
"Ah always thought Gambit was some cold-blooded killer, some psychopath my team- my family- had ta deal with-"
"Je ne suis pas un monstre," he spat. {I am not a monster!}
"Ah know that, Remy. Ah'm not sayin' that ya are all that stuff. Ah'm sayin' that Ah was wrong. Once Ah got ta know ya, Ah liked ya. And Ah'm not gonna let the fact that ya're Gambit get in the way a' mah opinion a' ya."
He looked away, pensive. "Y'mean all dat, chére?" he asked slowly. "Or did y'ju' say it 'cause it sounded kinda pretty?"
"Ah meant every bit a' it."
He started fumbling with the top button of his shirt.
"What the hell are ya doin', swamp rat?"
He held the unattached button up triumphantly. "Gettin' us outta here, chére."
The button was then broken in two, and the sharp point of one half was jammed into the locking device on the Genoshan collar. Thirty seconds later it was off.
Remy rolled his head, rubbing the sore muscles of his neck. His power slowly returned and coursed comfortably through his veins. "Damn, I hate dese t'in's."
He broke the collar at the hinge and charged one half. Powers workin' fine, now all I got t'do is save de girl and get de hell out a' here, he thought, grinning. He flung the glowing collar at the bars keeping him in. It exploded.
Remy stepped through the rubble and began to repeat the procedure. "Stand back," he told Marie, who was grasping the bars separating them in a death grip.
She did so, and the barrier between them was gone. She ran and hugged Remy tightly.
"Chére…" Dis is it, LeBeau. Now or never. He raised a finger to her face, gently tucking a white strand of hair behind her ear and tracing her jawline.
She jerked back, unused to the feel of someone else's skin against her own. But she felt none of his personality entering her own and gave him a small, nervous smile. "Remy, Ah-"
"Shh." He held a finger against her lips, then drew back and merely stared at her. "Tu es trés, trés belle, ma chérie…" {You are very, very beautiful, my dearie…}
Don't start with the French, Cajun, Marie thought pleadingly. She might have some semblance of rational thought if he didn't, enough presence of mind to step back and end all this. She'd have to be insane to let this go on.
"Je veux t'embrasser," he continued softly, pulling her closer.
Damn that French. She tried not to think of how it sounded in her ear and looked at it from an analytical viewpoint, dissecting the sentence. I want… verb in the infinitive, direct object 'you'… But the French she'd absorbed from Gambit's mind was rapidly failing her.
"What does 'embrasser' mean?" she asked, not daring to raise her voice above a whisper.
He smirked slightly. "Dis."
His lips brushed agains hers, and her thoughts were torn painfully away to another time, another place…
Her home in Mississippi. Her room. It had always been a place of comfort. And now she had a boy in her room. David.
"Won't it be kinda cold?"
"That's the point, stupid. Otherwise it wouldn't be an adventure."
And he kissed her, and it was supposed to be the best moment of her teenage life. It was, at first. Then David froze, and his thoughts, his memories, his life, were all invading her mind.
But here she was, with Remy. His thoughts were his alone to know. She had a Genoshan collar on. Remy was not David.
Remy was definitely not David.
David's kiss had been a chaste little thing before it had become a nightmare. This was… well, it wasn't a chaste little thing. It had somehow deepened without her noticing, and her hands found themselves entangled in his silky auburn hair.
She pulled herself away, anxiety rising in her chest. "Remy- Ah can't-"
"I'm not gon' t'say I'm sorry, chére. 'Cause I'm not."
"Ya know ya won't be able ta touch me. Not evah."
"So we best get all de touchin' out a' de way now, neh?" He grinned, and moved to kiss her again.
"Remy, Ah'm bein' serious, heah."
He sighed and closed his eyes, one hand holding his forehead. "Chére, Remy-"
"Ah don't want any a' yer third-person bullshit, Remy."
"Bon. I," he started, stressing the pronoun, "look at it dis way. Eit'er I can be wit' y', and not touch y', or I can be wit'out y'- and I'm still not able t'touch y'. I rat'er be wit' y', chére."
"Remy, ya don't deserve ta be all chained up ta someone like me. Ya deserve-"
"Shush. Don' be tellin' me what I do and don' deserve. I don' deserve y', y'right 'bout dat, but it ain' for de reasons dat y're sayin'. Chére, I… I like y'a lot, and I don' wan' t'jus' let y'go like dat." He snapped his fingers for effect.
"Look, Remy, can't ya see this won't work?"
"Non."
She sighed exasperatedly. "Ya're impossible!"
"Dis is de first time y'been able t'touch in a long time. Y'gon' t'waste it arguin'?"
He has a point…
"I mean, y'got a very handsome Cajun-" Marie snorted. "-alone. In de dark. And y're sittin' here tellin' me why y'don' wan' t'touch me- it's a blow t'my reputation."
"Yer 'reputation' is exactly what Ah'm talkin' 'bout. Ya gonna be able ta handle a girlfriend ya can't touch?"
"Only if it's y'."
She smiled, and he raised a hand to caress her cheek. His touch was gentle, but it was unbearable torture. Knowing that this could never happen tomorrow, or the next day, or the next or the next… Was she really worried about whether Remy could take it, or if she could? His touch was so painful… tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Don' cry, chére. Please don' cry. Dis happy time, neh?" He wiped her tears away, then kissed both her cheeks, then her lips…
She tore herself away. "Just… take the collar off a' me." It hurt her to tell him that. She wanted to stay with him, touch him… but she'd just be prolonging the inevitable.
"Marie, chére, y-"
"Just do it, Cajun."
"If y'say so." He began to pick the locking mechanism with the other half of his button.
::Snap.::
"Merde."
"Remy? What happened?"
"Not'in, chére… close y'eyes for une minute…"
She did so. A sharp fizzling, crackling noise filled her ears. Oh, mah Lord, he's usin' his powers on it- he's gonna blow mah head off-
He sent the small charge from his finger to the locking mechanism, praying that his newly found control wouldn't fail him now.
The collar fell open on the cement floor.
Gambit picked it up and charged it. "Now it's time t'blow dis Popsicle stand." The bars exploded, leaving them an open getaway.
"Wait here," he instructed Marie. He left for several minutes, then returned with his coat and her gloves. "T'ought y'might wan' dese," he said, handing her the brown gloves, which she gratefully accepted and put on.
They ran out of the imprisonment area, occasionally pausing as Gambit picked a lock. Finally they found themselves in a long, dark hallway.
"We almost there yet?" Rogue complained.
"Almost, chére."
A growl thundered through the hall.
Gambit turned around. "Merde!" Sabertooth was following them. "Run!" He threw a handful of charged cards behind him. They hit, but did not stop, the monster approaching them.
They reached an exit. Gambit let loose another round of cards as Rogue struggled with the door. Locked. She pulled with all of her might- to her surprise, it came right off its hinges, easy as pie.
They ran out of Sinister's bas and into a dense woods. Sabertooth was gaining on them. They kept running, hand in gloved hand, wanting to avoid direct conflict as long as possible, until-
"Chére?"
"Hm?"
"Chére, we not- we not on de ground."
"Yeah, Ah noticed that."
"We flyin'."
"Yeah."
A note of fear crept into his voice. "How we flyin', chére?"
"Ah think that Ah'm doin' it somehow… but Ah dunno how Ah'm keepin' ya up too."
He looked back down at Sabertooth, who was staring up at them, dumbfounded. "Au revior, salaud!" he called. {Goodbye, bastard!}
The answering snarl was audible even at their height.
Gambit laughed, then turned back to the Marauder. "Oh, merde. Rogue, fly outta de way a'-"
Too late. An energy harpoon lodged itself in Rogue's stomach.
The ground rushed toward them faster and faster. Gambit steered the two of them toward a forgiving shrubbery, maneuvering the weakening girl so that she landed on him instead of the other way around.
"Marie, chére, y'okay?" he asked softly, after they'd had time to recover from the impromptu landing.
No response.
"Marie?"
She was unconscious.
He let loose a long string of guttural Cajun curses, and began trekking in the direction of the X-Mansion with Rogue slung over his shoulder. Night was falling. Every muscle in his body was screaming for him to stop, to give up. He refused to obey.
The night air was crisp and silent, punctuated only by the occasional French obscenities and rantings. He was beginning to wonder if they were lost, when-
The mansion. Merci boucoup, Dieu.
He forgot being tired, forgot being cold. He ran toward the entrance, shifting the girl to a more comfortable carrying position, one arm supporting her legs, the other her back.
Storm answered the door.
"Marie… she hurt. Harpoon… got her."
"We'll take good care of her."
"Merci."
"Remy… we could take good care of you, as well."
He shook his head. "Y'don' understand, chére. I got t'go back."
"Please, Remy. I don't want to have to fight you anymore. You could join the X-Men, we could be family again-"
"I can'. Dis hard for me, Stormy, don' make it harder."
She sighed. "Do not call me Stormy."
He grinned sadly.
"So you're just leaving her here. Like you left me here once. She will be all right, if only I could confidently say the same for you…"
He held up a hand for her to stop. "I got t'go." He looked down at Rogue's peaceful face, looking like she was merely sleeping. "Y'all take… real good care a' her, neh? Tell her… tell her I sorry and I wish t'in's could be different… but dey not. Tell her I said je l'aime…"
Storm smiled, understanding. "I will, friend. Be careful."
"I always am." With that, Remy LeBeau turned and left, disappearing into the shadows.
~*~