Ace of Hearts
Chapter 10
By Kanshisha Tenshi
~[ 3 ]~
It was unnerving. Professor Xavier had silenced the rage of the psyches not too long ago, but there had still been a sense of being with others. She had never felt alone before; now her emptiness threatened to overwhelm her. It was enough to frighten even Rogue.
She couldn't wake up yet. She commanded her body to awaken, but it refused to respond. She was trapped in an endless expanse of darkness.
Am Ah in a coma?
::No, Rogue. You--we--are unconscious, kid.::
What? Who's there?
::It's me. Your name's Marie? That's pretty.::
...Lauren?
::That's right.::
How did ya get int' mah head? Am Ah dreamin'?
::Not that simple, kid. You won't be getting rid of me that easily,:: the voice chuckled. Realization struck Rogue and she nearly doubled over...mentally.
Ah absorbed ya? But Ah don' remembah touchin' ya!
::Whoa, whoa, calm down, kid. You don't remember because I touched you while you were sleeping.::
Why the hell would ya want meh t' absorb ya, Lauren? she shrieked. Ah just ruined ya life! She could sense the other girl's mental self shrug, and suddenly the darkness became a large, hazy room. It was there, but barely.
::Thought it was getting a little dreary. It's not my mind, so you'll have to, ah...solidify it.:: She did so. ::See? I told you we'd be roommates. Now it really feels like we are.::
Ah've got all ya memories...Lauren!
::Yes?::
Ya like Pyro! An' ya don' just neutralize mutants' abilities...
::What do you mean?::
Haven't ya ever analyzed yaself? Sugah, ya can stop people in their tracks! Ya can cause body parts t' stop workin'...ya nevah noticed?
::No.:: She paused, as if listening. ::Your boyfriend's waiting for you in the real world. You can have control of your body back. I'll be right here if you need me.::
He's not mah--
A bright flash of light enveloped the ephemeral room as Rogue's eyes fluttered open and daylight flooded in.
~[ 3 ]~
"Chére? Y' all right?"
"Ah'm fine," she mumbled. "Just got a headache."
"Dat can be fixed. So yo' feelin' all right?"
"Duh, swamp rat. Ain't that what Ah just told ya?" Gambit chuckled.
"You had quite a night, petite." A cold shiver ran down her spine as she looked over and saw Lauren's comatose form on the bed. Rogue was still tied in the chair, but at the opposite end of the room. Gambit was kneeling in front of her.
"Is she--?"
"She's alive, chérie." He frowned. "But she non gonna move--or t'ink--fo' a long time."
"Ah put her in a coma," she croaked.
"You stay home from school, non? Gambit tell ol' Magneto non t' bot'er you. You jus' res' some." He stood up. "Gambit see you after school, chére."
She started to protest, to say she could handle school, but knew he wouldn't let her. She was, as much as she hated to admit it, at their mercy. They had the means to cut the ropes to get her to school, but that didn't mean they would set her free. They knew as well as she did that she'd run, and they weren't about to let that happen.
An' Ah'm real hungry, too...
::Not to mention that bathroom looks pretty good to me right now. Sucks, doesn't it?::
Rogue groaned. It was going to be a long day.
~[ 3 ]~
Gambit wasn't having a good day, but he imagined Pyro must have been going through hell. The girl he liked--gone. The X-Morons--bothersome. Scott had tried to intimidate all three of the Acolytes into giving out the location of their base.
"Don' even try it, X-Man. You'll get suspended if you start anyt'ing. At least Gambit know how t' charm his way outta trouble. He don' t'ink you dat lucky, mon ami." Scott had paled a little, until Logan came. The other X-Men gathered around.
"Where's Stripes an' Neutra? You've got twenty seconds until yer Cajun ass is shiskabob, bub."
"Don' t'reaten me, petite homme. De filles are fine. Dey non gon' get hurt." It wasn't entirely a lie; just because they were already hurt didn't mean they'd get hurt any more in the foreseeable future. Magneto was a psycho, but he wasn't a masochistic psycho...maybe.
"I want 'em back today, Gumbo," Logan snarled, "or you'll be sharpenin' my claws with your face."
"Whatever," he mumbled.
~[ 3 ]~
"Like, did you see those Acolytes we interrogated?" Kitty asked of Jean at lunch. "That Cajun--wow, like, so hot! And the Australian? Totally on fire. But that Russian..."
"Yeah, they were pretty cute." Scott shot her a look under his ruby glasses and she giggled.
"Too bad they've kidnapped Rogue and Lauren, huh?" Scott said bitterly.
"Ja. Mein poor zizter..."
"We'll get her back, Kurt."
"I hope zo."
~[ 3 ]~
Gambit sped home on his motorcycle, anxious to see his Rogue. He knew the X-Men wouldn't follow him...today. But they'd have to let them know Rogue was okay somehow or they'd find the hideout and save her. He wouldn't let them. He'd prevent it by any means necessary. He liked living with his Roguey.
He ran up the stairs two at a time and ducked into Pyro's room, where she was sleeping in the chair. He smiled.
He sat on the bed and watched her, but was soon consumed by his thoughts.
Neutra had mentioned a gift for him coming soon. Was this it? Did she wait this long so she could learn better control for her powers to give to Rogue...?
She really is an angel.
~[ 3 ]~
Rogue woke up slowly, finally sensing someone's presence in the room. She and Lauren had just finished a pillow-fight when Lauren told her there was someone with them. Rogue noted that she was certainly going insane for pillow-fighting with the voice in her head.
::Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad.::
Ya're right, but it's still crazy.
She opened her eyes and saw Gambit staring into space, on the bed.
::You can touch him now, since you control my powers.::
Is that why ya did it? Why ya forced me t' absorb ya?
::The main reason, yes.::
Ya're crazy.
::I know. It seemed like a good idea at the time, though.::
A stupid idea.
::But a good one nonetheless.::
"Welcome t' de world o' de livin', chére."
"Thank ya."
"Head still hurtin'?"
"No, it's okay now."
"Dat's good. Lauren, how are you, petite?"
"Ah'm fine," she said through Rogue.
"Dat's good, too. Mind if Gambit join de two o' you?"
"Go ahead," she said.
Shouldn't that be a mutual decision, sugah?
::He doesn't have to know.::
Aren't ya forgettin' somethin'? He's the enemy!
::You should've considered that before coming back to his place.::
Don't remind me.
::Too late.::
"Chére? You still wit' me?"
"Yeah, just talkin' t' Lauren."
"Okay. Dis is gon' get real confusin' tryin' t' figure out who 'm talkin' t'."
"Don't Ah know it! Hell, Ah'm confused by it. Ah'm not sure who Ah am anymore."
"You Gambit's belle femme, chére. Dat's all you need t' know."
"How do Ah know ya're not gonna cheat on meh...with mahself?" Gambit chuckled.
"Gambit non cheat on you, petite. He know better."
"He'd bettah."
~[ 3 ]~
Pyro listened to the conversation numbly. Gambit just had to be the first to talk to Lauren. He'd heard the entire conversation with a feeling of failure seeping through every fiber of his being.
"Besides, Remy t'ink Lauren has a t'ing fo' St. John."
His heart beat faster.
"Oh, she does. We share a mind now, an' Ah saw her memories. She's all fo' him. But Ah took that away from her," she said sadly. "Now instead o' me nevah touchin' anyone, it's her..."
Pyro turned and stalked out of the house, his mind racing.
~[ 3 ]~
Author's Notes: So you liked the poem? Good! I actually wrote about a chapter and a half today in school but decided to just finish writing the other half of chapter 11 in school tomorrow. Sorry you'll have to wait, but I'm a professional procrastinator and I'm damn good at what I do. I'm so glad people think this is a good story so far and like where it's going. I think I have a few more twists up my sleeve. Lauren's not quite dead, and another character will come back into focus. I can't believe nobody mentioned him in their reviews! Oh, my gosh! There's Repro and Aspire that haven't been in for probably the past four or five chapters. Good luck guessing which one makes a guest appearance soon and what Aspire's powers are. ;) I love my futile attempts at cliffhangers and puzzles...
So has anyone seen the movie Daredevil? Anyone got the soundtrack? Heard Evanescence's song featuring Paul McCoy of 12 Stones entitled "Bring Me To Life?" It comes into the movie when Elektra's tearing up those sandbags dropping from the ceiling.
Oh, and any Gundam Wing fans? You'll be surprised at how many American voice actors are involved in the same shows as each other, X-Men: Evolution included. For instance, the guy who played Quatre Raberba Winner also does the voice of Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler. I think it's the guy who plays Duo who also does the voice of Logan/Wolverine.
If you have any questions, comments, issues, suggestions, or just want to talk, e-mail me at cosmos120@hotmail.com or IM me on AOL Instant Messenger: SeraUchu is my screen name. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and another is forthcoming tomorrow, so...um...stay tuned! (By the way, :: indicates when Lauren is talking to Rogue.)
