Ace of Hearts
Chapter 2
By Kanshisha Tenshi
Disclaimer: I don't own Jurassic Park, or Michael Crichton. If I had his genius for writing, I'd probably have enough money to buy both. Unfortunately, I'm not a medical person and I hate science, so I won't be making money anytime soon. Not that it matters, but I also don't own Pizza Hut.
~[ 3 ]~
Mystique frowned at her mirror. This wasn't going to be good at all. Xavier had new students, and she needed one of them. She knew Rogue would undoubtedly befriend Neutra, and Neutra would undoubtedly want to help Rogue once she learned about her. But Mystique needed Neutra for her plan to work.
Her frown turned to a glare. They already suspected. They had suspected the moment the new kids walked through the door. This was not going as planned.
~[ 3 ]~
"This is, like, so unfair!" Kitty protested. "Why should I, like, have to give up my room? There are plenty of other rooms, Professor!"
"Now, Kitty, you must take your fellow team members into consideration."
"What do you mean, Professor?"
"He means, Kitty," Ororo spoke up, "that Rogue may be better off sharing a room with Lauren."
"It's Neutra!" the girl called from the kitchen.
"Sorry," Storm called back. "As I was saying, Rogue and Neutra seem to be great friends already, and it's only been a few days. I think it would be good for Rogue to have someone so like her in her room."
"And besides," Xavier added, "after a while I don't think you'll mind being in the same room as Jean." Kitty looked up at the mention of her new roommate.
"You're right. I just think you should have, like, given me more notice. So...I get to, like, room with Jean? Cool."
~[ 3 ]~
"I'm not sure thinking is her strong point," Neutra whispered to Rogue. The paler girl had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.
"Ah'm not that fond o' her, either, but ain't that a little...extreme? Ah mean, ya've only just met her."
"I can tell if I like a person or not practically by looking at them."
"Ah guess Ah can relate."
"She was only upset about being kicked out of her room. Just indignant. I don't know that she could say the same for you. She's too perky for me. Most of the girls here are. Ororo's okay, though."
"Yeah. Hey, ya wanna ditch this place an' go have some real fun?" The two friends grinned at each other.
~[ 3 ]~
Rogue hopped onto Logan's motorcycle with Neutra right behind her. They had snuck out of the mansion armed with cash, Logan's keys, and two helmets. Strapping their helmets on, they got onto the bike, Rogue in front. She turned the key in the ignition and drove down the long driveway.
"You never told me your powers," Neutra called over the roar of the engine.
"Ah don't remember hearin' 'bout yours, either," Rogue called back. "Ah'll tell ya when we park."
They stopped at a book store.
"You like to read?" Neutra asked.
"Who doesn't?" Rogue replied, shrugging.
"Fair enough. So what are your powers?"
"Ah can't touch anyone," Rogue informed her quietly. "If Ah do, Ah drain their powers an' memories. It's like they're in mah head. If Ah touch 'em long enough, they could go into a coma or even...die..."
"That's so sad..." She looked at Rogue sympathetically, but Rogue was staring past her.
~[ 3 ]~
"What is it, Rogue?"
"What's he doin' here?" she asked rhetorically. Her voice was low and dangerous. Neutra whirled around, and saw a man walking across the street--toward them.
"Who's he?"
"Trouble."
The man's long, brown coat billowed out behind him in the late morning breeze. As he neared, Neutra noticed he wore a black headband around his head, but seemed to be attached to something hidden under his short, brown hair (A/N: Does anyone know what that thing's called?). Underneath the trench coat he wore all black. She vaguely identified a long pole sticking out from behind his shoulder. He wore gloves with the fingers cut off.
Staring straight at them, he smirked.
~[ 3 ]~
"Bonjour, chéri," he greeted. Rogue scowled at him.
"Get lost, swamp rat."
"But why would Remy wan' t' leave two belle femmes, hahn?"
"'Cause if Remy don't he's goin' t have that smirk beaten off his face," Rogue retorted. She slipped off her left glove.
"Rogue, what're you doing?" Neutra demanded.
"Remy loves a challenge."
"You're not going to fight out here in the streets, are you?"
"Aren't you gon' introduce Remy t' yo' friend, ma chéri?" the Cajun asked huskily. He seized Neutra's hand in his own and kissed the knuckles tenderly. Neutra blushed despite the look she was receiving from Rogue.
"Ya don't need t' know who she is, Cajun--"
"My name's Neutra."
"Dat be yo' real name, chéri?"
"No. My real name's Lauren."
"Remy t'ink he prefers dat name over de other." Lauren smiled at him. "J'mappelle Remy LeBeau," he whispered to her in French. Rogue rolled her eyes.
"All right, ya'll break it up 'fore Ah get sick."
"Remy would rather be yo' love interest, anyway, chéri." Neutra caught Rogue's eye and mouthed: Go for it!
"Like Ah said before," Rogue drawled, "get lost, swamp rat." She walked into the store, dragging Neutra along using her gloved hand.
~[ 3 ]~
Remy frowned. That hadn't gone well.
Maybe I should have apologized, non? He sighed, and followed the girls into the book store.
~[ 3 ]~
Rogue browsed through the science fiction section. She felt the need to read some kind of "monster" book. Neutra was on the opposite aisle, looking through the fantasy novels. Rogue looked down and read through the authors' names. She decided to read Jurassic Park. She had seen the movie and had high expectations for the book.
As she reached down to pick up the book, her ungloved hand brushed against another. She reeled back and stood up straight. A few brief memories invaded her mind, and she stumbled back. She hurriedly put her glove on, which she had forgotten to do prior to coming into the store. She looked over at her recent victim and groaned.
"Swamp rat," she growled. "Why are ya followin' meh? Leave meh alone!" She stepped forward, grabbed the book, and ran over to where Neutra still browsed.
"What's up, Rogue?"
"They've got a rat infestation here," she grumbled.
"Oh. Remy came in, then?"
"Yeah, and now Ah've got some of his worthless memories floatin' through mah brain. Tryin' to ignore them is givin' meh a headache." Neutra picked up a book and the two of them walked to the counter. Rogue continuously looked over her shoulder, but did not catch sight of the Cajun anywhere.
~[ 3 ]~
Rogue and Neutra went to only a few other stores after that, buying the necessary items: new, better-fitting black clothing and some make-up for the school year. It was only two days away, after all. They avoided people as much as they could, since Rogue was itching to see if she could steal as good as she "remembered."
Despite the fact that Rogue hated shopping, she found herself enjoying being out with Lauren. The girls were pleased to find out they wore the same size of clothing, which they celebrated by buying matching outfits.
~[ 3 ]~
Neutra was beginning to feel sorry for Rogue. From the tone of her voice earlier, Rogue didn't sound like she enjoyed absorbing other peoples' memories. Neutra assumed that it was hell trying to sort through whose memories you had. She tried her best to keep Rogue away from crowds and merchandise by herself, knowing the girl's first "instinct" would be to pick pockets and grab merchandise. Rogue had told her that Gambit, or Remy, as Neutra knew him, was an expert thief.
She wished there was a way to help Rogue.
"Hey, Rogue, it's about time for lunch. Ready to call it a day?"
"Of course."
"How about some Cajun food?" she asked, a gleam in her eye. Rogue just glared. "You have to admit, that guy was a hunk! Hot and spicy Cajun eye candy. Great new flavor, huh?" she giggled.
"Aw, knock it off, already!" Neutra giggled some more.
"I was just teasing. How about we just get some pizza?"
"As long as ya stay away from the bad jokes about the swamp rat," she grumbled.
~[ 3 ]~
Rogue nearly screamed with rage when she saw who walked through the Pizza Hut door. At noon, three teenagers had walked through the glass doors: Piotr Rasputin, St. John Allerdyce, and Remy LeBeau--three of magneto's Acolytes. She wasn't surprised that Sabertooth wasn't there; with his appearance, he would never get any pizza.
Uninformed that they were the enemy, Lauren invited the three over to sit at their booth.
"What're ya doin'?" Rogue cried, but it was too late. St. John slid into the seat next to Neutra, and Piotr next to St. John. That left only one place to sit for Remy: next to Rogue. Noticing the sly looks Neutra gave and St. John gave him, Gambit knew they had arranged the seating this way. Grumbling, Rogue grudgingly made room for him, and he sat down.
~[ 3 ]~
"So, we meet again, chéri," he greeted, grinning lopsidedly at him. As Rogue was about to glare at him--again--she noticed his eyes weren't red-on-black.
"Wearin' ya contacts, Cajun?" Remy frowned.
"Oui. An' Remy don't t'ink he like bein' called dat. He t'ink he prefer bein' called Remy or Gambit, non?" He turned to look at her, bent closer to her, and whispered: "He also sorry for de card incident, and he don't t'ink people need t' know about his eyes." His expression was sad. Neutra scowled at Rogue from across the table.
"Rogue, your make-up's smeared. How about we go to the little girl's room and fix it?"
St. John started to say, "But her make-up looks fine," when Piotr hauled him out of the booth and let Neutra slide by. Remy let Rogue by, and the girls walked to the bathroom, Neutra slamming the door behind them.
~[ 3 ]~
"What the hell do you think you're doing out there?" Neutra demanded. "Are you trying to tear him to shreds inside, or is this just a side effect of your mutation kicking in?" Rogue flinched.
She quickly came to her own defense. "He tried t' blow mah hand off the first time Ah met him! Ah have every right t' strike back."
"Yeah, well, you're okay now, aren't you? He's taken a break from fighting, but you're still going at it full-force! Give it a break just for today, will you? He's trying to be nice. You're trying to be a pain in the ass!" Rogue sighed, resigned.
"Fine, but just for today."
"Okay. So...what's wrong with his eyes?" Rogue smirked.
~[ 3 ]~
Rogue and Neutra returned to their seats, and the five of them ate their pizza.
"Remy'll pay," Remy offered.
"That's fine for ya'll's group, but Neutra an' Ah can pay for our own."
"No, no, he insists." Rogue rolled her eyes. Neutra gave Rogue a look.
Through gritted teeth, Rogue said, "Thank ya. That's very nice, s...Remy."
Until they parted ways, the teenagers ate their pizza in silence. Every so often, Neutra would look over at Remy to get a look at his eyes. Rogue hadn't told her what was wrong with them, but they looked fine to Lauren.
~[ 3 ]~
Rogue slammed the door shut behind her. Logan's reprimand for taking her bike had been worth it. She smirked to herself. Any reprimand was worth feeling free and happy for a day. She wondered if she really had been happy today, though.
She reflected on all that had happened, opening up her new book and lying on her stomach on her bed.
"Okay," she admitted quietly, "so he is kinda cute. An' that grin is startin' to grow on meh, but not by much. He's still an annoyin' swamp rat, an' I got his memories to prove it. Speaking of which..."
She closed her eyes and began sorting through her memories and his, when she stopped, frowning. Did Ah really hurt him today? Ah mean, Ah guess Ah didn't mean to offend him too badly, but he did deserve some of it. That don't mean Ah'm gonna go apologize to him...but that was nice o' him to pay for the pizza an' say sorry for the fight, even if it was only because Magneto hired him. Ah guess he's not so bad after all...
Before she could finish her thoughts, sleep overcame her. A few hours later, Neutra slipped into the room, turned off the lights, and went to bed.
~[ 3 ]~
Author's Notes: This chapter was a little longer than the first because I spent my free time during school writing the whole thing. Getting better? Getting worse? Any suggestions or questions for me? If I got anything wrong with Gambit, please let me know because I'd love to be doing this right. And if anyone knows what the heck that thing he wears around his head is, tell me so, please! Basically, just review. I'm trying to edit my chapters based on reviews. Thanks.
