Guild Life

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

Part 7

Jean-Luc stood in the doorway behind Remy and watched as the boy sitting on the steps filled the early morning sky with explosion after explosion.

"All bettah?" he asked.

"Dis is de mos' I can do, ain't anywhere near bettah," Remy said without looking away from his fireworks display. "Every time I turn 'round someone's screwing wid m' powers, makin' me weaker, more vulnerable. 'M sick of it!" The card in Remy's hand flared with his temper, barely leaving him time to throw it.

The dark anger simmering behind Remy's eyes worried Jean-Luc. He crouched in from of the boy gripping his shoulders. "Yo' talk to your Oncle 'bout what wrong," he said.

Remy shrugged free and turned away so he could go back to blowing up cards. "Rien's wrong. I dealt wid her, even widout m' powers," Remy said. "All de work wid Logan paid off. 'M delighted. An' yo' say it be coincidence she leave usin' Essex's method of travel, ain't worried in de slightest."

"Your lyin' Petite," Jean-Luc said quietly. "It's a'right dat yo're scared an' angry, but yo' ain't tellin' me de whole story, talk to me."

"I ain't scared!" Remy snapped sending a card into the ground a few feet away and showering them with dirt when it blew.

"Remy, cut dis out!" Jean-Luc exclaimed grabbing the boy's wrists. "It's been four days an' yo' all over de place. One minute yo're in your room wid de door blocked up de next yo're screamin' mad at one of us, don' mattah if it be me, Mattie, Henri, Mercy, Lapin or who evah crosses yo're path at de wrong moment. I don' understand what's goin' wrong in your head an' 'm not lettin' yo' go till yo' 'xsplain it to me."

"I. Lost. My. Powers." Remy said very slowly and clearly.

"An' I busted up m' knee once," Jean-Luc said quietly. "I've been watching yo' petite, yo're getting bettah everyday. Dis isn't permanent an' yo' know it. If it were I could understand how yo're acting but it just an injury, its not going to last. So explain to me why yo're so bothered."

Remy tried to jerk his hands fee and found them securely restrained. "Let me go," he said coldly.

Jean-Luc sighed, relaxing his grip and sliding his hands up to rest loosely on Remy's shoulders again. " 'M worried 'bout yo'," he said. "I want to understand how I can help yo' deal wid dis."

"Yo' can't," Remy said jumping up and pushing past Jean-Luc.

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

Julian looked Candra up and down disdainfully. "I a'ready shot yo', don' dat give yo' your answer?" he asked.

"It's too bad," Candra replied. "I always thought you had promise. I was looking forward to the time when you'd take over your Guild. Oh and I would have seen Belladonna in a proper match, with someone worthy of her. But you're allies with the Thieves now, maybe you don't mind her current choice in suitors.

Inwardly Candra grinned at the anger fueled flush that spread across Julian's face. "In fact they're together right now, very much together," she said giving Julian a significant look. "I'm sure he'll walk her home after they're done."

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

Belle scowled at her singed shirtsleeve. She'd greeted Remy in their typical style of semi-playful ambush and had barely been able to avoid the fully charged card he'd thrown in response.

"Little jumpy tonight?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

" 'M sorry Belle," Remy said. "Having a bad night, bad week, 'kay?"

"Yo' look it, cher," Belle said frankly.

"Didn' ask your 'pinion," Remy said.

"Yo' should of," Belle replied. "Come on, got a place I like to go when 'm feeling frazzled."

Curious Remy followed the lithe blond across the city's rooftops to a small church. A statue of an angel stood in a recessed alcove beneath the steeple and Belle quickly knotted the church bell's pull rope around a convenient bit of iron work and swung across to the shelf at the angel's feet. Remy duplicated her path then the two of them spent a few minutes maneuvering to get comfortable in the limited space. They ended up with Belle sitting between Remy's knees, leaning back against his chest.

Remy tilted his head back, looking up at the angel's outspread wings above them while he toyed idly with Belle's multitude of braids.

They sat there together in silence until the sun came up.

"Belle, yo' evah t'ink 'bout what your family does?" Remy asked quietly.

"Yo' mean killin'," Belle said. "Some, de way I figure it, we ain't cheap, anybody someone's willin' to spend dat much to get rid of; dey probably deserve it. Not dat I've done it yet. Dere aren't many femme Assassins, Singer and I had to do some damage 'fore anybody'd take us serious an' I t'ink Daddy might be puttin' off m' original sanction."

"Mais yo' don' check," Remy argued. "Yo' don' know dey deserve it."

"We bes' get," Belle said. "People bound to be gettin' worried."

Remy grabbed the bell rope from where they'd hung it over the angel's arm, letting the subject drop.

"How'd yo' get to town?" Remy asked once they'd gotten down.

"Rode in wid Delores. She and Lapin were happily flirtin' when I lef'," Belle said. "Mais, she knew I was lookin' for yo', she won' have waited for me."

Several minutes later Belle's expression turned impressed when Remy pulled out the keys to Henri's motorcycle.

Remy grinned a little. "Henri's don' know it, but Jean-Luc gave me a few pointers 'bout pickin' pockets too. Dey work bien."

"Very bien," Belle replied mounting up behind him.

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

When Belle climbed in her bedroom window she found Delores crashed out on her bed. With an evil grin the blond girl went to the bathroom and moments later returned with a dripping wet washcloth.

Delores woke up sputtering with outrage. Belle just laughed.

"You're in a good mood," Delores said shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "What you get up to wid your t'ief-boy dat took all night?"

"Jus' sat," Belle said smiling a little. "Remy was upset 'bout somet'ing or other, took him to m' quiet spot, t'ink it made him feel bettah."

"Sounds like you care 'bout de boy," Delores said. "T'ought dis was all a game, dat you just wanted to see how far he'd take dis Romeo and Juliet crap."

Belle shrugged. "Remy's fun to be wid, he ain't scared of rien, he 'kay wid me bein' jus' Belle. All m' life everyone defines me by m' family. Sometimes I get tired of bein' Belladonna Boudreaux of de Assassins Guild. I can laugh wid Remy, he ain't scared of offendin' me or what m' daddy might do to him."

"Oh Merde! Dat's why I was waiting for you," Delores interrupted. "Julian and 'bout six of his friends are going to ambush Remy, it's probably already happened."

A look of alarm on her face Belle dove back out the window, she tore down the tree and hit the ground running.

She knew where they would be, where the best spot for an ambush would be and Delores was right, Remy would have already gotten there.

The first thing she saw as she came on the site was Henri's bike, laid out in the road, the front tire shot out. Then she heard the sound of fighting in the swamp off to her left.

Remy stood in the center of the group, using both explosions and bo staff to hold off the seven assassins. Belle paused for a moment to appreciate his grace and speed as he twisted to throw a lightly charged card, knocking away two of his assailants then warded off the knife of third with a sweep of his staff.

"Handsome an' dangerous," Belle said to herself approvingly as she moved to join the fight.

With Belle standing at Remy's side, bare steel in her hand, the fight paused.

"Get out of de way Belle," one of Julian's friends said.

"Or we'll go t'ough yo'," Julian added receiving startled looks from his followers. "I won' see yo' consortin' wid dis t'ief trash no more, no mattah what it takes."

"Dat de way yo' want to play it Jules?" Belle asked. "If Remy don' walk 'way from dis, I swear none yo' will."

Several of the Assassins wavered. Like magic a fan of glowing cards appeared in Remy's hand. " 'M pretty shor I could kill yo' all m'self, if it came to dat," Remy said quietly. "Don' like to kill, me, but if it's a choice 'tween me or yo', it gonna be yo'."

"Not likely T'ief," Julian said. When the Assassins advanced Remy threw his cards into the ground at their feet, tossing about half of them to the ground several feet back.

Belle's thrown knife embedded itself to the hilt in the shoulder of one of their attackers. Before anyone could take advantage of her momentarily unarmed state a second knife sprung to her hand.

Remy started as his bo staff passed through one of the Assassins without resistance. The other teen grinned at him and launched a strike of his own.

At the last second Remy brought up his staff to block and felt a measure of satisfaction and relief as their weapons clashed. In that moment the Assassin shrieked and fell, a deep slash across the breath of his back.

"Careless of yo' Fifelot," Belle commented, his blood dripping from her knife.

Remy faced off with Julian as Belle turned to her opponent. The three Remy had blasted at the start of the fight were shakily climbing to their feet, staring at their bleeding compatriots.

Julian drew a sword and Remy shifted his grip on his staff preparing to meet him.

Belle dove under her opponent's blow and rolled to her knees at his feet, her blade sinking into his gut. As he fell she turned to the other three, drops of blood sprinkled across her face like a grotesque parody of freckles. "Pick up your friends an' take dem to Tante Mattie 'fore dey bleed to deat'," she said.

A dark haired Assassin nodded and they moved to follow her orders.

The ringing of steel on adamantium filled the air as Remy and Julian fought. The edge on Julian's blade kept Remy wary but with his staff he had a longer reach.

They traded blows rapidly. Julian sliced viciously at Remy who jumped back, letting him cut harmlessly at the empty air. The force of the swing opened Julian's guard as it carried him off balance and Remy risked committing himself fully to a blow, knowing if Julian dodged he'd be the one who'd be vulnerable to attack.

The weighted end of Remy's staff cracked resoundingly against Julian's skull and Belle's brother collapsed bonelessly to the ground.

"I t'ink I hit him too hard," Remy said staring down at Julian's limply sprawled body with concern.

"Not possible," Belle snorted. "De boy's head be much too hard for dat. Now get yourself home, I'll deal wid dis."

"Yo' shor ma Belle?" Remy asked.

"Cher, yo' jus' worry 'bout what Henri's gonna do when he sees his bike," Belle replied. "Now git."

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

Jean-Luc hung up the phone with a sigh. "Marius is damn mad," he told Henri. "Four of his bes' up-an'-comin' seriously laid up."

"Dey 'ttacked Remy!" Henri protested. "Did yo' see m' bike? Dey were shootin' at him!"

"D'accord, an' Marius' own fille did more damage dan Remy," Jean-Luc said. "Dey're still waitin' for Julian to wake from de cracked skull an' Fifolet might be crippled. Marius can't do anyt'ing less he wants Belle to suffer de same punishment, but dat don' make him any less upset."

"Who cares," Henri said. "We punish Remy for takin' off and everybody jus' forgets all de res'."

"Firs', I care," Jean-Luc said. "Dis alliance ain't 'xactly set in stone. An' second, I ain't punishin' Remy for takin' off. De boy's more stable dan I seen him since de Benefactress' 'ttack. I don' know him well 'nough to know what he needs to pull hisself together. Still t'ink he should talk to me. De way he reacted, dere's somet'ing else goin' on. I even called Xavier," Jean-Luc's expression twisted with disgust. "He says if I can't deal wid Remy I should send him back early."

"Yo' ain't goin' to?" Henri asked frowning.

"Non," Jean-Luc said. "If Remy gave de word, I wouldn' send him back t'all. Don' care for dis 'post-human' stuff none. For de last century de Guilds have managed to do a credible job of raisin' de mutant chilen born every generation. I figure we got as much, if not more, 'xperiance in dealin' wid dis type of t'ing. All I wanted to know was if somet'ing had happened to Remy and he acts like 'm incompetent."

"Northerners," Henri said with a shrug.

"Non, arrogant son's of bitches be de same no mattah where dey come from," Jean-Luc replied. "Jus' now I hate havin' to rely on Remy's judgment 'bout what's best for him, 'cause I can see his judgment ain't too sound at de moment, but I'm not bein' given much choice an' he does seem bettah."

"It'll work out," Henri said reassuringly.

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