Guild Life

Disclaimer: Characters and Premise are borrowed from the Marvel, I'm not making any money.

Part 5

Lapin tossed a rubber ball at the floor idly, watched it ricochet off the wall and ceiling, reached out to catch it then repeated the process. "I am bored," he complained. "We've been sitting around for days waitin' for 'nother 'ttack and rien happens."

Remy glanced up from the homework he was absorbed in. "I got plenty to do, if yo' want to lend a hand," he offered.

"I'll pass," Lapin replied. "It de middle of summer, why yo' doin' dat anyway?"

Remy made a face. "Gotta make-up for de las' five years where I didn' go to school t'all. Mais, not 'less yo' count de stuff Essex made me study de two years I was wid him. If anyt'ing 'm 'head in chemistry an' other science stuff, he t'ought it'd help m' control of m' powers if I understood what it was I did."

"Dat de guy up at your school?" Lapin asked.

"Mon Dieu, non!" Remy exclaimed. "None too fond of Xavier, me, but he ain't Sinister. Dat one be unfeeling, pure evil. Xavier might use yo' till yo're all used up, but I don' t'ink he'd take yo' 'part jus' to see what makes yo' tick."

Lapin nodded. "So what are yo' studyin'?"

"Mos'ly history an' lit," Remy said. "Hate writin' reports, have to use formal English or French, but no mixin' dem."

Lapin's expression was sympathetic. "Jean-Luc'll probably start yo' on art history an' 'lectronics. De schools don' cover dem well 'nough for what we do."

"Speakin' of dat, Jean-Luc's 'kay wid us goin' 'head on our little project," Remy said. "Even if I jumped 'head of schedule a bit."

"Now dat be good news," Lapin said. "I'll tell Pierre. Yo' figured out how to sneak out if de 'lert's still on?"

Remy looked a little doubtful. "I know Scotty'd skin me if I took off during somet'ing like dis, mebbe we should delay."

"We only got useful flight plans for a little longer," Lapin pointed out.

"An' yo' all are 'lot more laid back den Cyke," Remy said. "Probably won' be a big deal."

" 'Specially not if we don' get caught," Lapin added pragmatically.

****** ****** ******

Nimbly Belle leapt from her windowsill to a branch of the Cyprus tree several feet away. Balancing lightly she made her way toward the trunk then hopped to a lower branch, the path to the ground was nearly as familiar to her as the staircase inside.

"Goin' somewhere Belle?" Julian asked leaning back against the wall beneath her window, his dark hair and clothes blending with the night to make him nearly invisible.

"Mind your own business Jules," Belle said, blue eyes glinting angrily.

"Yo' goin' to visit dat t'ief boyfriend of yours?" Julian asked ignoring Belle's comment.

"Pah," Belle said waving a hand dismissively as she headed toward the outer wall.

"Don' turn your back on me!" Julian growled, grabbing Belle's arm. She twisted forcibly, driving her fist into his sternum, knocking the breath out of him.

Gasping, Julian lashed out, kicking Belle's legs out from under her.

Belle controlled the fall, rolling into a fighting stance several feet away, a knife in hand.

"I can play dat game too," Julian said drawing a blade of his own.

Cautiously the pair circled, working their way toward a more open section of the lawn.

"Don' either of yo' have no sense?" a deep voice asked from the shadows.

"Gris-Gris," Belle exclaimed. "He started it."

The siblings stowed their weapons quickly.

"We ain't got de resources to fight de T'ieves now, an' yo' t'ink we can be fightin' one 'nother?" Gris-Gris reprimanded. "Bot' of yo' get inside 'fore I tell your pere what yo' be up to."

"Jus' leavin'," Belle said retreating toward the shadows.

"Use de door, Belle," Julian said. "An' don' t'ink I won' be checkin' dat yo' stay in dat room of yours."

Seeing the venomous look Belle shot her brother Gris-Gris said. "Sil vous plait Belle, stay close tonight, don' give your Pere anymore cause for concern."

"Since Daddy's worryin'," Belle said walking sedately back toward the house.

****** ****** ******

Remy jumped into the back of the pick-up truck, his trench coat flaring around him, his X-Men uniform beneath if.

"Ready for trouble?" Pierre asked.

"I ain't de only one," Remy said noting Lapin's bright coppery hair was hidden beneath a dark bandanna and he was wearing a black body suit. Pierre was wearing jeans and a tee shirt. "Yo' de one who looks out of place."

" 'M still plannin' on pretendin' to be some dumb high schooler when we get caught," Pierre said.

"Yo're a pessimist homme," Remy said. "We ain't gonna get caught."

"Mais if we do, it'll be wort' de ride," Lapin added.

"Yo' bot' crazy," Pierre said, driving toward the base.

They left the pick-up a quarter mile from the fence, pulled on backpacks carefully packed with their gear and started jogging. The two fences were no obstacle to Lapin and Pierre's training. Once they were in the compound Lapin started toward their ultimate objective while Pierre and Remy headed in the opposite direction to get their distraction ready.

Pierre watched as Remy poured his power into one of the jets, eyes popping wide open as the plane began to rise off the ground supported only by Remy's will and power. "Mon Dieu, yo're really doin' it!" he exclaimed. Remy's eyes were fixed on the jet, burning brightly as sweat ran down his face.

The plane rose to a height of ten feet and people were running from all over the base to stare in bemusement. Standing in the shadows Remy was shaking, blood from biting his lip ran over his chin. "Dat's 'nough," Pierre said, his look concerned. Remy closed his eyes and the plane crashed to the ground then exploded, only adding to the general air of chaos. Pierre hooked an arm around Remy's waist and hurried the other boy toward their ride.

They found Lapin in the cockpit, waiting for them, their chosen jet's ground crew bound in the corner of the hanger and unconscious due to the chloroform Lapin had brought along with him. "It's pretty much de same as dat big simulator at de arcade," he said.

Remy and Pierre shared a worried look at that, "I know a little 'bout flying," Remy said. "More dan he does anyways."

"Dat ain't hard, or particularly reassurin'," Pierre said, giving Remy, who was still spent from his earlier stunt, a hand up. Then Pierre stepped back from the jet. "Mais, bien luck, don' kill yourselves, it's been nice knowin' yo' and if yo' do live an' Jean-Luc asks, I had rien to do wid dis."

"If we squeeze we can get all t'ree of us in," Lapin encouraged.

Pierre wavered, Lapin smiled engagingly.

"What de hell, yo' can only kill me once," Pierre said joining the other two.

Lapin started the jet and taxied out on to the airway. They were picking up speed for take off before anyone noticed them. "Alpha-two, you're ahead of schedule," the radio barked at the last minute, in the background they could here someone raving about aliens.

"Dat ain't a problem is it?" Remy asked, feeling the jet's wheels beginning to loose contact with the ground.

"Yes it's a problem!" the man snapped. "Wait for your assigned slot."

"Je desole, goin' now," Remy said as Lapin cleared the end of the run away and started gaining height.

"Who the hell is this!" the voice darkened. "Land that plane or you will be shot down!"

"I t'ink he be serious," Pierre said.

"Dey ain't gonna shoot deir own plane," Lapin said. "Yo' know how much one of dese costs?"

"Too late now anyway," Remy said philosophically as he watched the trees and buildings drop away beneath them.

Lapin cheered as they zoomed off toward the Gulf of Mexico.

"I t'ink dey're sendin' someone after us," Pierre said. "Yo' shor dey ain't gonna shoot us?"

"Trust me," Lapin said as Remy quietly took the co-pilot's controls.

"Famous las' words," Pierre yelled grabbing the mike away from Remy, who sent the jet into a series of evasive maneuvers Scott had shown him in the X-Men's Blackbird.

"I'm seventeen, I don' wanna die," Pierre yelled into the mike. "Dis was jus' a joke, stop shootin'."

Remy sighed with relief as the white trails of the missiles streaked by them.

"Don' t'ink dey listenin'," Remy said just before the second missiles exploded well short of their target.

"Gambit, that sure as hell better not be you in that plane," a rough voice growled over the radio.

"Wolverine," Remy said, snatching the mike back from Pierre. "Can't tell yo' how happy I am to hear yo'."

"Remember the comm. frequency?" Wolverine asked as another set of missiles was blown out of the sky.

Remy adjusted the radio. "Oui, go 'head," he said.

"Alter your course, 15 degrees south, on my mark," Cyclops said. "I'm going to match you and extend the Blackbird's cloak to cover you... Mark."

Ten minutes later Cyclops grimly ordered them to land the jet.

"Dere's no ground," Pierre objected.

"Be softer if I crash, dis be m' first landin'," Remy said with a shrug. " 'Sides drowning might be de best way to go. I t'ink we're in trouble."

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