Guild Life

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

Part 8

"Hear yo' put a dent in an Assassin," Lapin whispered to Remy as they worked on completing their punishment for stealing the jet.

Pierre got up and walked to the white board to cross off another repetition.

"Had an Assassin's help," Remy whispered back with a quick glance toward Mercy, who was taking her turn at over seeing them.

"So Belladonna really helped yo' out?" Lapin asked.

"De girl came t'rough like de calvary," Remy said.

"I guess she really mus' like yo'," Lapin replied. "Standin' up wid yo' 'gainst her people, who'd of t'ought it."

Remy looked thoughtful. "T'ink yo' be right," he said. "I like her too. Bein' wid her, if yo're not flyin' yo're fallin', mos' of de time literally."

"Shush," Mercy said. "Yo' ain't supposed to be gossipin'."

"Come on Mercy, don' be such a hard-line," Lapin pled.

"Don' be such a hooligan an' I won' have to be," Mercy replied. "Yo' got off light an' yo' know it, so don' be complainin', yo' could be dead."

" 'M shushin', 'm shushin'," Lapin sighed. "One petite t'ing goes wrong an' people act like it be de end of de world."

"Work!" Mercy barked.

"Slave driver," Lapin shot back.

"Jus' let me get m' whip."

His expression appropriately remorseful Remy walked up to mark off his forty-sixth repletion and silently went back to his table.

"Why can't yo' behave, like Remy and Pierre?" Mercy asked Lapin.

When his back was to her Remy grinned smugly at Lapin.

"Kiss up," Lapin mouthed.

"I read lips too," Mercy reminded him frowning.

"Can't get rien past yo'," Lapin sighed, fighting not to grin.

"Like de fact yo' still ain't shut up?" Mercy asked. "Non, yo' can't. I t'ink mebbe I jus' erase a few of dese marks."

"Mercy!" Lapin cried.

"An' yo' still ain't quiet," Mercy pointed out.

Lapin made a zipping his lips gesture and focused intently on his board.

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

Three dark forms crept through the shadows toward the Assassin headquarters.

In the silence the crack as the second one stepped on a branch seemed unnaturally loud. Their massive leader turned to glare at the man with yellow cat-like eyes.

"Sorry," his shorter teammate whispered.

The large man yanked him close. "You better be worth the trouble screw-up," he hissed. "If you expect to come back alive."

"He's not worth anything," last member of party, a purple haired woman said.

"Your not exactly in good graces yourself Arclight," the shorter of the two men replied.

When they reached the outer security perimeter the small man pressed his hand to one of the sensors, throughout the system sparks burst from panels and circuitry fried.

The larger man barked a command into his comm. and on that signal dozens of attackers rushed the mansion.

"Well my part's done."

"Keep movin' Scrambler, you're on probation and I'm here to see that ya earn your keep."

"Look Sabretooth, this is your kind of thing, not mine," Scrambler complained. "These people are Assassins, only a handful of them have powers for me to screw with and they're primitive, they use crossbows more often than guns and I can't even effect the guns. Lasers fine, guns no, they're too simple. What do you want me to do against them?"

"I'd be happy if you died quietly," Sabretooth said. "Now move, before I do you in myself."

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

Marius nodded approvingly when he opened the door to find himself staring down Belladonna's leveled crossbow. "Good girl," he said.

"We got a plan Daddy?" she asked.

"De security been breached, we're heavily outnumbered an' at leas' one of deir guys won' stay down," Marius sighed. "We're fallin' back. Jean-Luc's a'ready gatherin' his people, dey haven' been hit yet. We'll regroup dere."

"Goin'," Belle replied.

Marius caught Belle's arm for a moment. "I don' have to tell yo'..."

"If I get de chance take some of dem down on m' way," Belle said.

"Be careful fillis," Marius finished. "Yo' only t'ink yo're immortal."

"Not m' style Daddy," Belle said grinning wickedly. "See yo' at de T'ieves', we'll compare kill scores."

Marius watched as Belle darted into the night. "Someday girl dat attitude gonna get yo' in more trouble dan even yo' can handle, jus' hope dat's day's a long time comin'."

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

"Hope yo' all ready for a fight?" Jean-Luc asked wryly, looking around at his assembled Guild. "De remainin' Assassins be one deir way here an' if I hear tell of any feud nonsense I'll have pieces of de trouble maker's hide, d'accord?"

He waited for a sign of acknowledgement from the Guild. "Yo' know where yo're supposed to be, when de Assassins get here have dem reinforce our thin spots. Mattie's got a med-station set-up in de dinnin' room, send any injured dere an' if yo' see Delores Robeaux send her dat way as well."

"Where do I go?" Remy asked.

"Go wid Henri to de east wing," Jean-Luc said.

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

Belle's head spun, her desperate grasp on the branch she'd lightly run across moments earlier was the only thing saving her from a nasty fall.

Directly below her a woman with green and white hair grinned and the waves of nausea and disorientation intensified.

Belle lost her dinner, but kept her perch.

"Yuck!" Vertigo exclaimed loosing focus.

Making the most of the momentary reprieve Belle tossed three of her knives at the Marauder in quick succession. The first went wide but the second sunk into Vertigo's back.

Belle climbed down the tree and reclaimed her weapons of choice.

She paused for a moment kneeling over the green-haired mutant's body, "Not too good at dis where yo'?" She said. "Even if I'd fallen, I still would of taken yo' down, simply by fallin' on yo'. Pathetic, yo' deserved what yo' got."

"So what do you deserve?" A voice behind Belle asked.

Caught off guard Belle spun, who she saw dropped her guard even further, "Genard Alouette? But yo're a T'ief, 'fore de Benefactress..."

The name stirred something in the man Belle faced, for a moment his expression clouded over with something like confusion. "I serve my lady," he said, his face clearing into mindless obedience, but the moment's hesitation had given Belle the chance she needed to collect herself and meet him steel to steel.

They traded blows for a few minutes before Belle managed to gain the upper hand, at the last second she reversed her knife and brought the hilt down on Genard's temple, knocking him out cold.

"Yo' goin' give us some answers," she said, as she bound the unconscious man. "If yo' can come back den so can all de others."

Once she was done Belle set off again, cursing under her breath as she fought to drag the unconscious man along with her.

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

Gris-Gris was a shadow among shadows. He'd heard the order to fall back but he wasn't ready to leave yet.

He spotted another shadowy form creeping through the mansion and raised a blowgun to his lips, a moment later the invader dropped without a sound.

Gris-Gris lowered the blowgun, smirking.

"Clever," A rough voice growled.

Gris-Gris turned to see a blond lion looming over him, smiling predatorily. He jumped back, but Sabretooth's claws still gutted him. Even as he collapsed Gris-Gris threw a bag of powder into the feral mutant in the face. Sabretooth inhaled before he thought then he paused, blinking a few times before turning to wander off in a daze, leaving the mortally wounded Assassin behind.

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

Lapin spotted the pair of girls staggering toward his position and ran out to help them. " 'Lores, yo' 'kay?" he called.

"Singer's shot," Delores said. "Did what I could and bought her here."

Lapin scooped Singer up and started toward the house, Delores following behind. "We'll get her to Tante Mattie, she'll be 'kay, you'll see," he said, then, hesitantly added. " 'M glad yo' didn't get hurt."

Delores blushed a little, glancing down with a tired smile "Dere any other wounded here yet?" she asked, her training taking over.

"Yeah, three, mebbe four," Lapin said, waiting for Delores to open the door for him. "Don' know who, but de worst news is dere be a lot of people missin'."

"Dey'll come," Delores said as she stripped off her blood soaked jacket and started rolling up her sleeves. "Marius gave permission to do damage on de way out. Most Assassins won't retreat till dey kill someone."

"Well, best of luck to dem," Lapin said laying Singer on a table.

Mattie came over and started checking the girl's injuries. "Bien work Delores, yo' bes' be getting yo'self sterile, we're goin' to be havin' a busy night."

Lapin gulped as he looked past Mattie to see another Assassin, his torso apparently ripped opened by some sort of animal. "I be gettin' back to m' post," he said.

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

"Marius, glad yo' could make it," Jean-Luc said. "We brought in Julian and de others when we got Mattie. Belle ain't gotten in yet."

Marius nodded, his expression taunt. "As bes' I can tell dere be around seventy of dem. A mutant strike team an' de res'... dey're our people Jean-Luc, de one de Benefactress took from us. Some of dem I 'member from when we were chilen, others I recognize from pictures. Dey haven' aged an' dey don' know us. Dey came back to kill us."

"We knew she took dem for a reason, we knew brain-washin' was a possibility," Jean-Luc said.

"Knowin' ain't de same as facin' it," Marius said. "I killed a chil'hood ami tonight."

"Je desole, mais we do what we mus'," Jean-Luc replied. "T'ings are ready for her. When she comes, it'll be for us, so we bes' be in position."

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

"Dey're here," Remy said to Henri.

"Good eyes cuz," Henri said. "Yo' all ready?"

One of the Thieves raised a crossbow and fired at an advancing shadow.

"Guess dat answers dat," Remy said.

After a few long range exchanges the battle went hand to hand. Fighting back to back with Henri to protect their family, Remy felt a rush of excitement, wild and strong. It felt like belonging, it felt like the pieces falling into place.

Across the yard he caught a glimpse of a man who'd gotten past their lines and was scaling the house wall. "Henri," Remy shouted pointing.

"T'ink yo' can deal wid it?" Henri asked.

"Oui!"

"Den go," Henri ordered. "I'll come when it slows out here."

Remy was already running toward the stairs. In the back of his mind he realized he was headed toward Josette's room and just as quickly he dismissed it as a consideration, he might hate his mother, but he didn't wish her dead.

He rounded the corner just in time to see Scrambler outlined against the night sky. A wholly irrational level of terror rose in Remy, freezing him in his tracks.

"Well looky here," Arclight purred stepping out of the shadows as she turned away from the room she'd been about to enter. "The little street-rat we wasted so much time hunting, the reason I got killed. I'm going to enjoy this."

The woman's malevolent voice snapped Remy out of his paralysis and he began to move to fight her, but his pause cost him. Before he could react her, Arclight's fist impacted his jaw with a sickening crack.

Reeling from the blow Remy had no chance to dodge her follow up kick. He screamed at the feel of ribs breaking and fell to his knees.

Arclight paused letting him see her intent, Remy fought back against the pain, knowing that with her strength a kick to the head could easily break his neck. Then a gun barked. Arclight fell in a spray of brains and blood. Remy found himself staring at Josette. As she lowered the gun into her lap, a look of understanding if not affection passed between mother and son.

"Still one lef'," Remy reminded himself. Concentrating on the fear Scrambler stirred in him, Remy projected it into the other mutant's mind.

Scrambler cringed back.

Remy forced himself back to his feet and wrapped himself in the fire of his power.

Scrambler threw himself back out the window screaming with terror.

A choked laugh forced itself past Remy's lips as he slumped back against the wall. "Couldn' take what yo' dish hein?" he said to himself, groaning with pain as he wrapped his arms around his broken ribs.

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

"Everybody back to de house," Henri ordered helping an injured friend retreat. "Pierre, tell Jean-Luc de wing's los'. Belize, take Paul an' start clearin' de area of any other injured."

The remaining Thieves quickly took defensible positions.

"Jus' 'member losin's part of de plan," Henri said to himself. "Nevah t'ought so many would die dough. Why doesn' she come a'ready?"

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

Belle stood in the last deep shadows of the swamp, Genard lying at her feet as she watched the battle raging on the lawn of the Lebeaus' home.

"How 'm I supposed to get 'cross dat wid yo'," she wondered out loud.

Genard glared up at her, anything he had to say muffled by the gag stuffed between his teeth.

"Guess I'll jus' have to stow yo' somewhere. De 'gators might get yo' but not much of a loss, dere be plenty of other prospects for interrogation, hien?" she decided dragging him toward a fallen tree trunk.

Once that was done Belle threw herself into the battle with a cheerful abandon, blasting through the lines to join the allied Guilds against Candra's brainwashed soldiers.

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

Candra came with the dawn, floating above the battlefield. A volley of projectiles veered off target as they approached her position, their inertia loosing out to her telekinesis.

Jean-Luc glanced over at Marius. "Some demotion hien? Leader to bait."

A smile tugged at Marius' lips as he watched Candra approach.

"Now do you see the cost of..." Candra began.

"Mercy!" Jean-Luc yelled.

"It's too late for that," Candra said.

"He meant me, yo' idiot," Mercy said as her team launched globules of a thick gelatinous substance at Candra. She laughed; reaching out with her telekinesis to deflect the substance then frowned when she felt a strong counter force resisting her efforts.

"Jus' call it de Magneto-effect," Mercy said, patting the controls to the electro-magnet she'd activated on Jean-Luc's signal.

"What was this supposed to do?" Candra asked arrogantly when her power and the magnetic field reached a stalemate.

The gelatinous material spread to form a shell along the boundary where Candra's powers became stronger than the Thieves' magnetic field. One of Mercy's team lit the substance on fire. The Thieves and Assassins fell back from the intense heat as Candra screamed and the stench of roasting flesh filled the air.

This time there was no burst of light or sound, a swirling portal into darkness simply opened, spiriting away the burning sphere that contained the Benefactress. As the portal began to close Scrambler broke from the crowds and leapt through it at the last moment. Candra's remaining soldiers stared after their fallen Goddess in shock. Demoralized they fell easily to the Thieves and Assassins, leaving them with a costly victory for the right to determine their own future.

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