Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, or any of its original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.
Foolish Games
(Playing for Keeps Part II)
By
Moonchampion
Evan Daniel and Scott Summers coasted on the boardwalk on their roller blades ahead of the others. The two teens exchanged a brief smile as they continued to move as fast as their legs and roller blades would carry them. Meanwhile, the remaining students simply cruised steadily behind them. Eventually, the kids decided to take a break and find something to drink and cool down.
The seven teens all sat down and started to remove their roller blades. As they removed their gear, several conversations started to begin. All of the conversations were silenced, when Alex made his announcement.
"Everyone look!" he exclaimed as he pointed towards a girl running towards the ocean.
The girl was quite beautiful, but there was something different about her. The young woman was wearing a black bikini and a large straw hat on her head. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses. The girl stopped and turned to look behind her. Then, she moved her hands gesturing for someone to come forward.
"Hey, good eye, Alex," said Evan as he moved closer. "I guess there's hope for at least one of you Summers turning out normal."
"No, not the girl! Him!" said Alex as he continued to point in the same direction. The others refocused their attention to find a large dark-skinned man. He had to be well over seven feet tall, and he had a wide muscular build. However, the oddest things were the curved tusks protruding from his back.
"Never mind, I spoke too soon," chimed Evan.
"He's a mutant!" exclaimed Kitty in disbelief.
"Yeah, and he's not trying to hide it," added Jean.
"Why should he?" said a voice from behind. The teens all turned to find Remy leaning against a column with a pair of dark sunglasses over his eyes. "He don' have nothin' to be ashamed of."
"Remy," said Rogue as she took a few steps towards him.
"We never said that he had anything to be ashamed of," said Scott stepping towards Remy, "but drawing to much attention to himself like that could be dangerous."
"I doubt dat," replied Remy. "Especially, here in Genosha. The locals take to mutants pretty warmly. De rest of the world should take notes."
"What are you talking about?" asked Scott.
"Here in Genosha, mutants are treated like regular human beings. De people here ain't scared of mutants like him," began Remy, "or us."
Everyone's eyes fell upon Remy. He allowed his gaze to fall upon each of them as they continued to watch him. How could he have possibly known that they were mutants? Kurt's holographic inducer was still functioning, and no one had displayed any of their powers. So, how is it possible that he knew that they were mutants?
"You're a mutant?" asked Rogue as she stepped past Scott.
"Yeah, Rogue. I'm a mutant just like you," he responded. Rogue felt his words wash over her like a small wave a relief. It made her feel that the burden of revealing she was a mutant to him was lifted. This had to mean that whatever interest he displayed in her was more than superficial. He wouldn't be running off because she was a mutant. However, did he know anything about her powers?
"You mean ve can walk around like ve really appear?" asked Kurt. "Ve don't have to vear disguises?"
"Das right, mon ami. No one will bother you," answered Remy.
"Cool!" Kurt tapped the controls of his holographic inducer on his watch. His pale skin shimmered and was replaced by his normal blue fur. Kurt pulled his sunglasses from his shirt pocket and put them over his eyes.
"Kurt! What are you doing?!" said Scott. He quickly moved towards Kurt and grabbed his arm. Then, he tapped the control on his watch. Kurt's blue fur and hair were immediately replaced with the pale skin and brown hair.
"Hey! Vat gives man!" cried Kurt as he pulled his arm away from Scott. "Remy said ve didn't have to hide our mutations."
"I know what he said, Kurt," said Scott, "but we still should run it by the Professor first."
"Oh come on, man! You don't care!" protested Kurt. "You don't know what it's like to have to hide what you truly look like. It's like I always have to wear a mask. But you vouldn't know, vould you? After all, you're normal." Before Scott could respond, Kurt disappeared in an explosion of brimstone.
"Kurt wait!" called Scott, but it was too late. Scott clenched his fist tightly and tried to contain the frustration in his voice. "Listen, I'm headed back to the hotel. Maybe Kurt went back there. I really need to talk to him, and let him know that I do understand."
"Scott, you want us to come with?" asked Alex as he took a few steps after his brother.
"No, Alex. This is something I want to do alone. You guys go ahead and have some fun. I'll see you later." Scott continued up the boardwalk towards the hotel, with his head hanging somewhat low.
"You what's wrong wit him?" asked Remy.
"As you know, Scott's a mutant. However, his mutation want allow him to ever see the world like we do," answered Jean. "Those glasses are what keeps his mutation in check. Without them, whatever he looked at would be… incinerated." Jean's voice began to trail off. She brought her hand up against her temple.
"Are you okay, Jean?" asked Evan.
"Yeah, just a little dizzy," she said. Then, Jean appeared to be losing her balance. As she began to fall, Evan and Alex caught her. Jean shook her head trying to shake off the dizziness.
"Come on, we better take you back to your room," said Alex. Evan and Alex put Jean's arms over their shoulders as they started to help her back towards the hotel as well. Kitty followed them carrying everyone's roller blades across her shoulders.
"I guess I better be going too," said Rogue. She waved at Remy, and then turned to leave.
"Rogue wait!" said Remy. He walked to her and looked deeply into her eyes. "Let me help."
"What?" said Rogue, obviously confused by his words.
"I can help you and your friends, Rogue," he explained. "Or at least I know someone who can. My uncle is a geneticist. He thinks he found a way to make mutants like us normal."
"What? I don't know Remy? Maybe I should tell the Professor….," began Rogue.
"No!" interrupted Remy. "Rogue, you can't tell anyone!" Remy saw the confusion began to form in her eyes. The last thing he wanted was for the confusion to become suspicion. "Because it's not a definite t'ing yet. It wouldn't be right to get everyone's hopes up, would it Cher?"
"No, it wouldn't," said Rogue. Remy could see the understanding in her eyes. "But there's really only one way to be sure?"
"How?" asked Rogue.
"Nah! Forget about it Rogue. Maybe I shouldn't have said anyt'ing," said Remy as he began to turn away.
"Remy please! If there's a chance…" began Rogue. Remy turned to see that Rogue was hanging her head in disappointment. She was obviously upset. "Remy I haven't been able to touch another person without actually harming them for years. Please, Remy… if there's a chance that I could touch someone again… if only for a second, I…."
Remy walked over and grabbed Rogue's gloved hand. He slowly lifted it up. Remy grabbed the glove with his other hand, and began to pull the glove off. He felt Rogue try to pull away slightly, but held his grip firm. Then, he looked into her eyes and the resistance stopped. "Do you trust me, Rogue?" he whispered. After looking into his eyes she noticed they had changed once again. He had taken off his glasses, and again she stared at his eyes. The eyes were a shade of red, and the white of the eye was now black. As she lost herself in the gaze of his eyes, her only response was a nod.
Remy continued to pull the glove off. Once he had removed the glove, he pulled her hand towards his lips. He kept his eyes on her, but briefly glanced at her hand. When he did, Rogue quickly pulled her hand away. "What are you trying to do?!" she exclaimed.
"I'm tryin' to show you dat I'm serious, Rogue," he said softly. He lifted his hand to brush a lock of her away from of her face. "I've never met anyone like you, Rogue, and I can't help but feel dat you're worth the risk."
"Remy, I don't want to hurt you," said Rogue as tears began to form in her eyes.
"Den, help me Rogue," he whispered.
"How?" she asked, her voice starting to crack.
"I need a lock of your hair, and your friends as well," he said. "My uncle could experiment on the samples, and once he's found a way make us normal, you won't have to worry about hurtin' me."
Rogue looked into his eyes, and then glanced at the sky. The sun was beginning to set. She ran her hand across her eyes to wipe the tears away. Then, she looked back at Remy, and into his dark eyes. "Okay."
A smile began to form on Remy's face. "I'll meet you in the courtyard of the hotel later tonight," he said. Rogue nodded as a smile of hope began to appear on her face. He placed his gloved finger on Rogue's lips. She could feel the heat from his finger against her lips. She closed her eyes and pursed her lips against his finger. "It won't be long, Cher," he whispered. Then, he lowered his hand to his side and smiled as Rogue started off towards the hotel.
As the door opened, Scott found Kurt gazing out the window at the setting sun. He rested his chin on his folded arms at the windowsill. He had turned off the image inducer and barely moved to acknowledge Scott's presence.
Scott walked into the room and grabbed the wooden chair that was seated at the desk. He pulled the chair out and turned it backwards. He folded and rested his arms on the back of the chair as he sat in the seat backwards, with his chest against the back of the chair. Both of them simply sat in silence as the sun continued to set.
Scott was the first to break the silence with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Kurt," said Scott. "I know that you're angry because of what I did, but I was only trying to…."
"Protect me. I know," said Kurt. He sat up and turned his attention to Scott, still a little upset over what had happened.
"That's what I keep telling myself," said Scott. Scott sighed and stood up. Then, he walked towards the bed, and sat down next to Kurt. "Kurt, we're more alike than we both realize. I know that most of the time you have to use a holo-projector like a mask to hide what you look like in public, but I can never go a day without my visor. Everytime I open my eyes, I'm constantly reminded that I'm a mutant. Even though the people can't see that from the outside, I'm always reminded of what I am because of these," said Scott tapping his glasses. "This is my mask, Kurt."
Kurt was gazing up at his friend. This was pretty hard for Scott to admit. "I guess, I was even a little jealous that you didn't have to mask your appearance here on the island, and I'm sorry."
"No man," said Kurt. "You're right. I should have at least checked vith the Professor first. I guess I just got so excited that I vasn't thinking. And I'm sorry that I took it out on you." Kurt extended his hand, with his thumb and two fingers open. "Friends?"
Scott stood up and took his hand. "Yeah, friends." The boys released each other hands and started to embrace in a hug. However, after a few seconds of considering it, the both shook their heads. "Come on, let's go tell the Professor what we've learned," said Scott as he walked towards the door.
"Hey Scott," said Kurt as they exited the door, "now that ve're friends again, do you think you can let me drive your convertible vhen ve get home?"
"Don't push it, Elf," called Scott from the hallway.
Remy entered the small library and gazed at the books going around the wall. He paused before going into the room. For some reason, this was the only room in the entire mansion that frightened him. The teenage Cajun backed out into the hall, hesitating to go in. Finally, after mustering up enough courage, he entered the room. Remy walked halfway into the library and turned to face the bookshelf on his right. He reached out and pulled the book The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin from the shelf. The shelf immediately began to slide forward and then to Remy's left as it revealed a hidden entrance.
Remy placed the book back on the shelf and ventured through the doorway. As the bookshelf slid back into place behind him, Remy continued through the dimly lit corridor. Upon the stone walls were torches that continued to flicker as Remy walked deeper into the corridor. Remy eventually came to a dead end. The only other option was to turn back. Then, Remy noticed a single hole in the stone wall in front of him. He placed his eye next to the hole as if attempting to peek through it.
As Remy placed his eye level with the hole, a thin red beam poured through the hole and into Remy's eye. The beam moved up and the down, apparently scanning his eye. After the beam completed its scan, it cut off and the stone wall parted directly down the middle. Each half of the wall slid apart from each other, revealing a lab that could be nothing less than state of the art.
Remy walked into the lab. The walls were all reinforced with some dense metal lining. The room was extremely well lit, and appeared to go on forever. There were dozens of machines, chemicals, tubes all over the room. There were even isolation booths and examination tables. On one wall, there were several freezer lockers, which could have been used to preserve bodies, and as far as Remy was concerned that wasn't a far off possibility.
Remy jumped as he felt a hand grab his shoulder. Once he turned, he found himself relieved that it was Dr. Essex. The doctor was wearing a white lab coat and had a devious look in his eyes. His slick black hair was laid back, his eyes seemed cold and evil. A wicked smile began to spread across his face as he leaned in closer to Remy.
"Well?" asked Dr. Essex. "Where are the samples?"
"Sorry, Unc. Don't have'em yet?" replied Remy.
The smile on Dr. Essex disappeared, and whatever was left of Remy's confidence disappeared with it. Dr. Essex grabbed Remy's shirt and lifted the boy into the air with one hand. Remy's hands held tightly onto the arms of Dr. Essex. As the young boy peered down into his uncle's eyes, he could see the fury burning behind them. It almost seemed that his eyes had turned completely red.
"I give you one simple task, and you can't even do that right!" roared Essex. "I should have left you on the streets back in New Orleans! You incompetent little rat!"
"Calm down, Unc," cried Remy. "One of the girls is getting' the hair. I'm supposed to get it tonight! Trust me, I'll have it tonight!" Remy closed his eyes bracing himself for whatever may be have been coming. However, he felt the pressure on his shirt lessen and felt his feet touch the ground. He opened his eyes to find the smile once again on the face of Dr. Essex.
"Good. Excellent," chimed Dr. Essex. "It appears I underestimated you." Dr. Essex turned away and began examining a chart that lay on a desk nearby. After a few seconds, when Remy started to leave the lab, Dr. Essex called after him. "You know I didn't mean to scare you, Remy. Right? I apologize for losing my temper. It's just that this experiment is very crucial and I don't want anything to go wrong."
Dr. Essex turned to face Remy, and saw the sad expression on his face. He sighed and walked towards Remy who almost seemed to take a step back. Dr. Essex reached out for the boy and pulled him into an embrace. "Listen, Remy," began Dr. Essex, "I've taken care of you for years. When you ran away from home, from your father, I took you in and raised you like you were my own son. I never chased you away because you were different and had powers. I helped you learn how to control them, and use them at will."
Dr. Essex released Remy from the embrace and looked into his eyes. "The only one you can really trust is me, Remy. Have I ever let you down?" The boy paused for a moment, and then shook his head. "That's right, and you've never disappointed me. Now, go and get the samples, but be careful. The red head, Jean Grey, almost discovered who you were." Remy looked up at his uncle completely surprised. "Don't worry, I took care of her directing a large beam of theta waves at her brain. She was overwhelmed and could only compensate by passing out."
Remy turned away slightly disappointed that he had almost been detected. "Listen, Remy," continued Essex, "stay away from the red head, and stay away from Xavier. Just get the samples and return here. Understand?" Remy nodded, and Dr. Essex ruffled the boy's hair with his hand. "Now, go."
Remy left the laboratory leaving Dr. Nathaniel Essex alone. A smile began to spread across his face as he reveled at the idea that he was only moments away from possessing the genetic samples of Charles Xavier's X-Men. With the samples in his possession, the possibilities were endless. With the genetic material in his hands, he could literally create an army of super mutants that would do his every bidding, including handing him the world on a silver platter.
Rogue slipped silently slipped out of Scott and Alex's room and pulled the door quietly closed behind her. As the door shut without a single noise she let a sigh of relief escape her lips. She looked down at the two locks of hair in her hand, one brown the other blonde. Just as she started to tiptoe back to her own room, which she was sharing with Kitty and Jean, she heard a door open behind her.
"Rogue?" Rogue turned around to find Professor Xavier rolling into the hallway from his room. "Rogue what are you doing up so late?"
"Well, I… I…" began Rogue. "I was hungry." Rogue rolled her eyes at the stupid excuse that escaped her lips. She looked at Professor Xavier, who was now staring at her with his lips pursed.
"I told you that it's not a good to eat so late at night," said the Professor. Then, he let a smile spread across his face. "Follow me, Rogue. I want to talk to you about your new friend."
"You mean Remy? How do you know…?" began Rogue, but she stopped when the Professor raised his hand.
"Scott and Kurt told me about your friend," explained the Professor. "Now, I understand that this boy, Remy, is a friend, but we have to be careful who we associate with. The next time you see the boy, I would like you to introduce him to me."
Rogue started to protest, but decided she didn't want to raise any suspicions about why she was being so protective. She simply nodded at the Professor's request. A smile spread on Professor Xavier's as he said, "Good night, Rogue."
"Good night, Professor," said Rogue. She slipped back into her room and placed the last two locks of hair in a sandwich bag with the others. As Rogue got dressed, she found herself pausing occasionally at the loud snores emerging from Kitty. After finally getting dressed, Rogue slipped back into the hallway. At the end of the hall was a tall window. Rogue walked towards the window, and peered outside. It was a long way down from the penthouse suite, and no fire escape. She would have to go out the front door, and down the elevator.
Rogue turned and started creeping towards the front door. Then, she paused as she heard some rumbling in the kitchen. There was a brief clatter. "Aw crap!" groaned Logan. With him in the kitchen, there was no way she could sneak out. Rogue listened for a while and heard Logan coming directly towards her. Rogue backed away from her approaching mentor. At any second, he would be turning the corner. As Rogue continued to back up, she felt a hand come around, and clasp over her mouth.
"Shh! It's me Cher." Rogue paused and looked at the gloved hand. Some of the gloved-fingers were cut, but Remy wasn't making any contact with her skin. She turned around to find the teenage Cajun, in a brown trench coat, standing next to the now opened window. "Come on," he said nodding his head at the window, "Trust me."
Rogue shook her head, but then she heard Logan coming closer. Without a choice, she followed Remy's lead. He took her into his arm, and leaped out he window, managing to pull it closed after exiting it. Logan turned the corner and heard the windows slam shut. He looked at the window as he carried the box of pizza in one hand and the slice he had been chewing in the other. "Must be the wind," he said as he disappeared into his own room.
Meanwhile Rogue and Remy continued to fall through the night sky. Remy felt Rogue clutch tightly against him. The Cajun smiled as he reached for a small wand under his trench coat. With a simple flick of his wrist, the wand extended into a staff. As the staff extended, Remy aimed it towards the ground. When the staff hit the ground, the teens' descent halted with a jerk, and they began to fall towards the side. They found themselves being thrown into a tree. After grabbing some branches, the two found their way to the trunk of the tree where they were able to climb to the ground.
"Some ride, eh Rogue?" asked Remy as he looked at Rogue, who was busy pulling small twigs and leaves out of her hair.
"How did you get up there?" she asked, after pulling out the last few leaves.
Remy only managed a smile, and said, "A gentleman never tells." He walked closer to Rogue and looked down into her eyes. "Cher, I hate to ruin the moment, but…." Rogue nodded and raised the sandwich bag filled with the hair samples. Remy grabbed the bag, and Rogue noticed his face light up. "Now, I'll give dese to my uncle, and he can start workin' on the cure right away." Gambit allowed one of his gloved fingers to caress Rogue's cheek. "You did good, Cher."
As he started to leave, Rogue called after him. "Remy! When will I see you again?"
"Soon, Rogue. I promise," he replied. Then, he continued to walk out of the gate of the hotel courtyard. Rogue bit her lip, debating whether to sneak back into the penthouse. "I'm sorry, Remy, but I can't wait that long." Rogue glanced back up at the penthouse window, then she decided to follow her heart. And her heart led her out of the hotel courtyard and after Remy.
TO BE CONTINUED…