* * *
One o' my pant legs had gotten turned inside out an' Ah was strugglin' ta fix it when Remy woke up. Ah was standin' on one leg. One o' my bra straps was twisted an' diggin' into my shoulder. He rolled ta the edge o' the bed an' traced my spine from top ta bottom, raisin' goosebumps on my arms.
"Not t'inking of leaving wit'out saying goodbye." Ah could tell he was a little hurt, but Ah didn't want ta worry 'bout that right then. Ah had a pain in my head that seemed ta be spreadin' down ta the rest o' my body.
"Ah cain't just be lyin' around all night."
"Friday night, chére," Remy said lazily. He snaked his arm around my waist an' pulled me backwards. My pants snarled around my legs. "What you have t' do dat's so important?"
The pain flared. It was so bad, my vision went white for a moment. Scared, Ah pushed myself away from him as if he might catch th' pain. He was still shirtless an' his skin was warm. Softer than Ah'd ever imagined. Up 'till then Ah thought Ah'd forgotten those minutes in Genosha. That touch hadn't been enough, but Ah hadn't ever let myself think it before. There had never been any hope before. Shaky, Ah pulled my pants on an' fastened 'em.
"We shouldn't..." My head was spinnin' an' my knees felt like jello, but Ah made for the door best Ah could.
He bounded in front o' me an' blocked th' way. "Never known you t' be a capo (coward) before."
"Ah'm not a coward!"
He grabbed my bare hand roughly an' held it up between us. "What's dis den? Why you runnin' out so fast?"
Ah bit my lip, hard. Hard enough ta clear my poundin' head for a minute. "Ah just wanted ta do somethin' special Ah guess. For both of us." Ah lowered my lashes an' peeked at him through 'em. His look was concern an' desire all mixed together.
"Dat's not what I mean and y' know it! Where are your powers, Rogue?"
"Would ya believe Ah've been workin' ta control 'em for just such an occasion?" Ah asked flippantly.
Remy frowned at me. "I'd believe it if it was de truth," he said darkly.
Ah threw up my hands. "Oh Ah don't know! Maybe they decided ta take a nice, long vacation an' let me lead a normal life for a change. Why d'you have ta question it? Ah'd have thought you'd be happy."
Ah pressed my hand against his chest an' he jumped like he'd been stung. But then he shook his head. "Not dat easy. 'S not normal for you. Dere's somet'ing wrong. T'ink we need t' see Mr. McCoy 'bout it."
"No!" The word came flyin' outta me. In the same moment the pain came back. Twice as bad as before. My entire spine was on fire. Ah stepped forward an' leaned against Remy for support. "Please?" Ah said in a small voice. "It's nothin', Ah promise." His arms went around me, but gently as if Ah was made outta China an' might break with rough handlin'.
"Doesn't seem like not'ing." Ah pressed my ear against his chest so Ah could hear his voice rumblin' deep inside. Somehow that made me feel a little better.
"Everythin'll be okay." Steadier, Ah stepped outta his arms an' looked at him. "Maybe y' should put some clothes on though. Someone could get ideas."
He laughed, but the sound was weak. "She's de one t' talk." He jerked his thumb at me. Ah was standin' there with my shirt off. My bra strap was still twisted. Ah reached up an' untwisted it casually, as if Ah stood around in nothin' but my underwear all day long. Carefully, Ah put my shirt on. My body felt like it was about ta crack into pieces.
Ah managed ta walk confidently outta Remy's room an' Ah made it all the way back ta my room before Ah sagged against th' wall. Closed the door, locked it (not that it made much difference with Kitty) an' began mechanically takin' off th' jewelry. Between my fight with Remy an'...everythin' else with Remy...Ah was as tired as Ah could ever remember bein'.
It wasn't that Ah didn't know what was wrong with me, or probably what was causin' it, it was just that Ah didn't want ta believe it. After all, it'd never happened before. Then Ah'd never worn the collar for that long either.
Ah'd gotten the idea from the Professor, only he hadn't known it. When he was tellin' us all he could remember 'bout bein' in that cabin he said that somethin' was blockin' his powers. That'd been why Jean hadn't been able ta find him. Everyone figured it was some kinda dampenin' field like there'd been in Genosha, but Ah'd thought of the collar Ah'd taken from him an' wondered. Took me almost a month ta screw up the courage ta test it. Ah'd fixed it up with a latch instead of a lock an' worn it between classes one day. At first Ah was sure that nothin' was happenin' an' Ah was as careful as Ah always am surrounded by so many people. But then one o' Duncan's friends had bumped into me an', overbalanced, Ah put my hand out ta brace myself on the lockers, hittin' Taryn instead. An'...nothin'. Nothin' at all happened except Taryn squealin' a little an' the boy tellin' me ta watch where Ah was goin'. He'd added "freak" for good measure, but Ah'd been too happy ta pay any attention ta him. It was hard ta take the collar off, but Ah'd promised myself only ta use it for special occasions.
The collar was the last o' my jewelry ta come off. The perfectly fitted links made it slide easily, but they also made it slippery ta hold onto, like a snake or somethin'. Underneath, my neck felt raw an' Ah tilted my head away from the mirror so Ah could see better. There was an angry, red line where the metal had been. Ah touched my fingertips ta my neck an' they came away specked with blood.
Shocked, Ah looked at the collar in my hand, holdin' it up so Ah could see better. There were tiny, pin-sized spikes on the inside. Ah was sure they hadn't been there before. Ah blinked hard as if that might make them go away.
* * *
My hands were tied, but not in dat good way. Didn't take de most observant person in de world t' see dat dere was somet'ing seriously wrong wit' Rogue. I'll admit dat it hurt dat she wouldn't tell me what was wrong. So what else was dere for me t' do but follow her back t' her room?
Swung myself out de window and de cold air cut into me immediately. Co faire (why) should it be true dat if I lived to a hundred I'd never get used t' dat cold? Too much of de bayou in me. One of de first t'ings I'd done was explore de outside of de house. De footholds were decent, obvious t' de trained eye. Didn't want Rogue t' see me coming. Never get t' de truth dat' way.
Dere was a freshly-fallen coating of snow and de trees stood out blackly against it, making de whole world seem like some black and white photograph. Right out of Ansel Adams, at least until an orange flash lit de night. Was enough t' startle me off de wall. De moment passed in a hiss of wind in my ears as I fell, but finally, I managed t' grab hold of de drain spout. De t'ing groaned and shifted from de wall a little. I scrambled t' de ground, ready t' face whoever it was. Mostly I didn't t'ink it was any kind of threat. Probably Ray or Roberto, mebbe even Amara. Dey liked messing wit' me. Probably because, wit' me around, dey weren't de newest at de Institute anymore. Ran over de position t' take: friendly but firm. No firing energy blasts at a man while he's clinging t' a wall two tall stories above de ground.
I saw de person who'd fired at me and all de words went out o' my head.
"Don't know how you stand it, mate. It's bloody Baltic up here!" John rubbed his arms. De familiar red and orange costume was gone, but he still carried de flamethrowers and de hair would be unmistakable anywhere.
"How'd y' get in?"
"How'd you get in?" he snapped back sarcastically. "Love's made you all soft and squishy." He reached out an' poked my sides.
Knocked his hands away. "Always were too gumbo ya-ya (loud) for your own good."
"No sense in getting upset, Remy. I'm here with some bizzo (business) for ya."
"Don't do dat anymore, John. Y' should know."
"Yeah, and ya never thanked me for coverin' your escape that time."
"Thank you." Bit off each word. De more he delayed in telling me what he'd come for, de more I was convinced I wouldn't like it.
He rubbed his hands t'gether. "What's say we go in where it's a bit warmer to talk, eh?"
"Don't know if I'm willing t' buy what you're selling." I folded my arms. "We talk just as well out here."
"Wowser (spoilsport). And here I am, the bearer of helpful news."
"So why don't y' just tell me instead of being so damn mysterious."
"Just thought that ya might want t' know Magneto's back in the country. Has been for a while. An' he brought someone with him. That doctor from Genosha. Magneto's got some new project he's all jazzed about."
"D'you t'ink he's after me?" T'ought of de hunt for Essex, long and bloody t'rough de streets of Nawlins. Occurred t' me dat I wasn't supposed t' have dis life, always chasing or chased. A perfect world and everyone at de Institute would only have t' worry 'bout not getting bored on a Friday night.
"Aren't we a figjam (fuck I'm good, just ask me; a braggart) now. Nah." John dismissed de idea wit' a wave of his hand.
"What, den?"
"Dunno exactly. Ever since Genosha, Magneto an' Mystique've been more secretive, if that's even possible." He rubbed a hand through his hair, making it stand up even more dan normal. "She left right after you did."
"So why you telling me dis, John?"
He scuffed his toe t'rough de snow. "Figured you'd be interested since it's hero stuff an' I guess you're in the line these days."
Found de whole t'ing oddly touching. "Why don't y' tell de others den? You could..."
"No. I couldn't," he insisted.
"But why not?" Den I remembered Mystique. De conversation we'd had on de plane t' Genosha. Was on de tip of my tongue t' tease him like he'd teased me--love had made us both soft--but I looked up t' where de yellow light from Rogue's room spilled into de night and I held myself back.
* * *
RaVeN*NYC: well, I think it's pretty obvious what's up with the powers in this part, but you tell me. But in this part we have the return of St. John! I actually feel kinda bad for him. He always comes off as kind of an idiot whenever the Acolytes fight the x-men, what with the hysterical laughing and the ineffectual powers.
Spitfireness: I've been thinking of the Massachusetts/NY thing and I didn't mean for it to be confusing. I'm assuming that Evan is living in the NYC sewers with the Morlocks and the x-men are up in Massachusetts, so when Rogue was talking about Evan under their feet, she wasn't speaking literally. Um, I think, either that or it's a mistake...
Lace123: I'm glad you like it. It's hard for me to judge the accent thing because *I* know what they're saying. Anyway, I'm looking forward to a nice long run with this particular storyline and it's good to know there are people in for the long haul. ;-)
Vagabond: you watch out or I may write a *prequel* just to make things generally confusing! Triquel...heh.
Lady MR, xgirlrogue & Lucky439: so the last part was like my little Thanksgiving offering to FF.net and now I have no excuse. May this story prove tastier than my reheated tofurky.
evolutionary spider, ishandahalf & Flyby Stardancer: I was honestly thinking that the more important thing was that he could feel the coldness, i.e. feel her skin. But since Rogue's not...well...it was also ominous. Dun dun duuun!
Neurotic Temptress: yeah, just you wait till he gets to home ec! And you'd certainly think that his adjustment was going well, but I remember when Lance tried to join up so you never know what might happen rubs hands together.
starlightz6: exactly! I mean, you can't have an x-story without the dark and eeevil forces, but sometimes the smaller conflicts are just more interesting. Speaking of which: Rogue? Remy? Fighting? I have no idea where that came from.
One o' my pant legs had gotten turned inside out an' Ah was strugglin' ta fix it when Remy woke up. Ah was standin' on one leg. One o' my bra straps was twisted an' diggin' into my shoulder. He rolled ta the edge o' the bed an' traced my spine from top ta bottom, raisin' goosebumps on my arms.
"Not t'inking of leaving wit'out saying goodbye." Ah could tell he was a little hurt, but Ah didn't want ta worry 'bout that right then. Ah had a pain in my head that seemed ta be spreadin' down ta the rest o' my body.
"Ah cain't just be lyin' around all night."
"Friday night, chére," Remy said lazily. He snaked his arm around my waist an' pulled me backwards. My pants snarled around my legs. "What you have t' do dat's so important?"
The pain flared. It was so bad, my vision went white for a moment. Scared, Ah pushed myself away from him as if he might catch th' pain. He was still shirtless an' his skin was warm. Softer than Ah'd ever imagined. Up 'till then Ah thought Ah'd forgotten those minutes in Genosha. That touch hadn't been enough, but Ah hadn't ever let myself think it before. There had never been any hope before. Shaky, Ah pulled my pants on an' fastened 'em.
"We shouldn't..." My head was spinnin' an' my knees felt like jello, but Ah made for the door best Ah could.
He bounded in front o' me an' blocked th' way. "Never known you t' be a capo (coward) before."
"Ah'm not a coward!"
He grabbed my bare hand roughly an' held it up between us. "What's dis den? Why you runnin' out so fast?"
Ah bit my lip, hard. Hard enough ta clear my poundin' head for a minute. "Ah just wanted ta do somethin' special Ah guess. For both of us." Ah lowered my lashes an' peeked at him through 'em. His look was concern an' desire all mixed together.
"Dat's not what I mean and y' know it! Where are your powers, Rogue?"
"Would ya believe Ah've been workin' ta control 'em for just such an occasion?" Ah asked flippantly.
Remy frowned at me. "I'd believe it if it was de truth," he said darkly.
Ah threw up my hands. "Oh Ah don't know! Maybe they decided ta take a nice, long vacation an' let me lead a normal life for a change. Why d'you have ta question it? Ah'd have thought you'd be happy."
Ah pressed my hand against his chest an' he jumped like he'd been stung. But then he shook his head. "Not dat easy. 'S not normal for you. Dere's somet'ing wrong. T'ink we need t' see Mr. McCoy 'bout it."
"No!" The word came flyin' outta me. In the same moment the pain came back. Twice as bad as before. My entire spine was on fire. Ah stepped forward an' leaned against Remy for support. "Please?" Ah said in a small voice. "It's nothin', Ah promise." His arms went around me, but gently as if Ah was made outta China an' might break with rough handlin'.
"Doesn't seem like not'ing." Ah pressed my ear against his chest so Ah could hear his voice rumblin' deep inside. Somehow that made me feel a little better.
"Everythin'll be okay." Steadier, Ah stepped outta his arms an' looked at him. "Maybe y' should put some clothes on though. Someone could get ideas."
He laughed, but the sound was weak. "She's de one t' talk." He jerked his thumb at me. Ah was standin' there with my shirt off. My bra strap was still twisted. Ah reached up an' untwisted it casually, as if Ah stood around in nothin' but my underwear all day long. Carefully, Ah put my shirt on. My body felt like it was about ta crack into pieces.
Ah managed ta walk confidently outta Remy's room an' Ah made it all the way back ta my room before Ah sagged against th' wall. Closed the door, locked it (not that it made much difference with Kitty) an' began mechanically takin' off th' jewelry. Between my fight with Remy an'...everythin' else with Remy...Ah was as tired as Ah could ever remember bein'.
It wasn't that Ah didn't know what was wrong with me, or probably what was causin' it, it was just that Ah didn't want ta believe it. After all, it'd never happened before. Then Ah'd never worn the collar for that long either.
Ah'd gotten the idea from the Professor, only he hadn't known it. When he was tellin' us all he could remember 'bout bein' in that cabin he said that somethin' was blockin' his powers. That'd been why Jean hadn't been able ta find him. Everyone figured it was some kinda dampenin' field like there'd been in Genosha, but Ah'd thought of the collar Ah'd taken from him an' wondered. Took me almost a month ta screw up the courage ta test it. Ah'd fixed it up with a latch instead of a lock an' worn it between classes one day. At first Ah was sure that nothin' was happenin' an' Ah was as careful as Ah always am surrounded by so many people. But then one o' Duncan's friends had bumped into me an', overbalanced, Ah put my hand out ta brace myself on the lockers, hittin' Taryn instead. An'...nothin'. Nothin' at all happened except Taryn squealin' a little an' the boy tellin' me ta watch where Ah was goin'. He'd added "freak" for good measure, but Ah'd been too happy ta pay any attention ta him. It was hard ta take the collar off, but Ah'd promised myself only ta use it for special occasions.
The collar was the last o' my jewelry ta come off. The perfectly fitted links made it slide easily, but they also made it slippery ta hold onto, like a snake or somethin'. Underneath, my neck felt raw an' Ah tilted my head away from the mirror so Ah could see better. There was an angry, red line where the metal had been. Ah touched my fingertips ta my neck an' they came away specked with blood.
Shocked, Ah looked at the collar in my hand, holdin' it up so Ah could see better. There were tiny, pin-sized spikes on the inside. Ah was sure they hadn't been there before. Ah blinked hard as if that might make them go away.
* * *
My hands were tied, but not in dat good way. Didn't take de most observant person in de world t' see dat dere was somet'ing seriously wrong wit' Rogue. I'll admit dat it hurt dat she wouldn't tell me what was wrong. So what else was dere for me t' do but follow her back t' her room?
Swung myself out de window and de cold air cut into me immediately. Co faire (why) should it be true dat if I lived to a hundred I'd never get used t' dat cold? Too much of de bayou in me. One of de first t'ings I'd done was explore de outside of de house. De footholds were decent, obvious t' de trained eye. Didn't want Rogue t' see me coming. Never get t' de truth dat' way.
Dere was a freshly-fallen coating of snow and de trees stood out blackly against it, making de whole world seem like some black and white photograph. Right out of Ansel Adams, at least until an orange flash lit de night. Was enough t' startle me off de wall. De moment passed in a hiss of wind in my ears as I fell, but finally, I managed t' grab hold of de drain spout. De t'ing groaned and shifted from de wall a little. I scrambled t' de ground, ready t' face whoever it was. Mostly I didn't t'ink it was any kind of threat. Probably Ray or Roberto, mebbe even Amara. Dey liked messing wit' me. Probably because, wit' me around, dey weren't de newest at de Institute anymore. Ran over de position t' take: friendly but firm. No firing energy blasts at a man while he's clinging t' a wall two tall stories above de ground.
I saw de person who'd fired at me and all de words went out o' my head.
"Don't know how you stand it, mate. It's bloody Baltic up here!" John rubbed his arms. De familiar red and orange costume was gone, but he still carried de flamethrowers and de hair would be unmistakable anywhere.
"How'd y' get in?"
"How'd you get in?" he snapped back sarcastically. "Love's made you all soft and squishy." He reached out an' poked my sides.
Knocked his hands away. "Always were too gumbo ya-ya (loud) for your own good."
"No sense in getting upset, Remy. I'm here with some bizzo (business) for ya."
"Don't do dat anymore, John. Y' should know."
"Yeah, and ya never thanked me for coverin' your escape that time."
"Thank you." Bit off each word. De more he delayed in telling me what he'd come for, de more I was convinced I wouldn't like it.
He rubbed his hands t'gether. "What's say we go in where it's a bit warmer to talk, eh?"
"Don't know if I'm willing t' buy what you're selling." I folded my arms. "We talk just as well out here."
"Wowser (spoilsport). And here I am, the bearer of helpful news."
"So why don't y' just tell me instead of being so damn mysterious."
"Just thought that ya might want t' know Magneto's back in the country. Has been for a while. An' he brought someone with him. That doctor from Genosha. Magneto's got some new project he's all jazzed about."
"D'you t'ink he's after me?" T'ought of de hunt for Essex, long and bloody t'rough de streets of Nawlins. Occurred t' me dat I wasn't supposed t' have dis life, always chasing or chased. A perfect world and everyone at de Institute would only have t' worry 'bout not getting bored on a Friday night.
"Aren't we a figjam (fuck I'm good, just ask me; a braggart) now. Nah." John dismissed de idea wit' a wave of his hand.
"What, den?"
"Dunno exactly. Ever since Genosha, Magneto an' Mystique've been more secretive, if that's even possible." He rubbed a hand through his hair, making it stand up even more dan normal. "She left right after you did."
"So why you telling me dis, John?"
He scuffed his toe t'rough de snow. "Figured you'd be interested since it's hero stuff an' I guess you're in the line these days."
Found de whole t'ing oddly touching. "Why don't y' tell de others den? You could..."
"No. I couldn't," he insisted.
"But why not?" Den I remembered Mystique. De conversation we'd had on de plane t' Genosha. Was on de tip of my tongue t' tease him like he'd teased me--love had made us both soft--but I looked up t' where de yellow light from Rogue's room spilled into de night and I held myself back.
* * *
RaVeN*NYC: well, I think it's pretty obvious what's up with the powers in this part, but you tell me. But in this part we have the return of St. John! I actually feel kinda bad for him. He always comes off as kind of an idiot whenever the Acolytes fight the x-men, what with the hysterical laughing and the ineffectual powers.
Spitfireness: I've been thinking of the Massachusetts/NY thing and I didn't mean for it to be confusing. I'm assuming that Evan is living in the NYC sewers with the Morlocks and the x-men are up in Massachusetts, so when Rogue was talking about Evan under their feet, she wasn't speaking literally. Um, I think, either that or it's a mistake...
Lace123: I'm glad you like it. It's hard for me to judge the accent thing because *I* know what they're saying. Anyway, I'm looking forward to a nice long run with this particular storyline and it's good to know there are people in for the long haul. ;-)
Vagabond: you watch out or I may write a *prequel* just to make things generally confusing! Triquel...heh.
Lady MR, xgirlrogue & Lucky439: so the last part was like my little Thanksgiving offering to FF.net and now I have no excuse. May this story prove tastier than my reheated tofurky.
evolutionary spider, ishandahalf & Flyby Stardancer: I was honestly thinking that the more important thing was that he could feel the coldness, i.e. feel her skin. But since Rogue's not...well...it was also ominous. Dun dun duuun!
Neurotic Temptress: yeah, just you wait till he gets to home ec! And you'd certainly think that his adjustment was going well, but I remember when Lance tried to join up so you never know what might happen rubs hands together.
starlightz6: exactly! I mean, you can't have an x-story without the dark and eeevil forces, but sometimes the smaller conflicts are just more interesting. Speaking of which: Rogue? Remy? Fighting? I have no idea where that came from.