Chapter 4
Part I
Dice had a day to herself, since she could hardly expect the entire Institute to drop what it was doing for her. She explored the grounds for some time, acquainting herself with the property. The school was mostly empty--at least the part she saw. Downstairs the X-Men were having a briefing. All of the adult mutants were there. Some of the children were out on a field trip, and the rest had been lucky enough to go home for the summer. More and more of Xavier's students were being sent by caring parents, who wanted their children to be in command of their powers. In the past his enrollment was almost always runaways, or castaways like Dice.
She found herself sitting on a bench outside with one of Kurt's books. He was an avid reader of Christian literature, but his sci-fi collection was also rather impressive. Dice hadn't been able to do much reading on the streets. She basked in the sun and lazily read her way through a Nebula Awards collection. Suddenly the wind picked up, rifling her hair and the pages of the book. She looked up as a long, thin black shape rose into the sky and vanished. Dice was shocked for a moment, mouth open.
Part II
When the time had come to decide who would go and who would stay at the mansion, everyone looked at Remy. He was sitting at the end of the table, and had been playing idly with his cards during the entire briefing. Remy stared through the table as he shuffled. He looked up at the silence to find everyone staring at him. "Quoi?" he asked softly.
Remy stood to leave; he were no longer needed in the meeting. As he walked out, Logan looked down at the table where he'd been sitting. A single playing card lay there, face down, and he picked it up. The Ace of spades; the card of Death. Logan swallowed and turned it back over.
Part III
Dice asked about the jet; Xavier thought she took the news rather well. As she walked away, she stopped and turned back.
"Um...Professor?"
He looked up at her. "Yes?"
She hesitated; the tips of her ears flushed pink. "I, I was wondering. Uh, it's been a while since I left school. But at Agecroft I was the fencing champion. I...I'm really rusty."
Xavier chuckled. "We have a few students interested in swordplay, my dear." He smiled fondly; fencing had been one of his favorite diversions as a young man, before he lost the use of his legs. "And...is there anything else?"
"I could use some practice to bring me back up to speed on my hand-to-hand. Since you seem to have an abundance of combat-ready residents here, that shouldn't be a problem."
Charles tilted his head curiously. "Which disciplines?"
She blushed very prettily. "Well, tae kwon do and Chinese kickboxing, mostly."
"Very impressive, Dana." He made a gesture that Dana didn't quite know how to interpret. "You're very modest about your abilities. But I think with some time and refinement, you could be a very valuable addition to our team."
"I...I think I'd like that, Professor Xavier."
Part IV
Remy sat on the couch in the rec room, swirling his fingertip around the lip of a glass. It shrieked shrilly, reverberating under his hand. Rogue would've taken it away from him.
"How old are ya, Sugah? That you gotta do kiddie shit like that?"
He lit a cigarette and sat back on the couch. The television muttered across the room; he had no idea what was on. Remy sucked hard on the cigarette and tapped ash into his empty glass. He finished it quickly and lit another from the butt--he had never been much of a chain smoker, but at the moment it seemed appropriate. The numbness was beginning to wear off.
"Now Remy, you know I don't like smoking in the house," Xavier chided gently. Remy looked up.
"Oui." He stubbed the cigarette out on the back of his hand. Xavier flinched slightly, but Remy seemed unaffected by the pain. It left a small black circle on his hand. A slight tang of burned flesh rose into the air; Xavier's nostrils quivered.
"Are you going to let me in, Remy?"
"J'ai besoin d'aide, Prof." //I need help.// "Mais Remy don't want to let you inside his head, see."
Xavier nodded. "Your shielding indicates as much. I have always been at a loss when it comes to accessing your mind." He cocked his head slightly. "What are you afraid of, Remy? What do you think I'll do to you?"
"Nothing, Prof." Gambit fidgeted. Charles smiled sadly; Remy was never still. "I'm not afraid of you. Vrai, I know what you could do to me. You could leave Remy drooling et counting his toes for excitement." He looked at Xavier, who shivered slightly. The younger mutant's eyes had changed over the years, and now the black sclera were nearly invisible around the glowing red irises. "Dat might not be so bad, considering. But I's more afraid of what de good Prof might see, neh?"
Xavier nodded. "I understand, Remy. It won't hurt to talk, though." He seemed distracted for a moment. "Something happened last night. With Dice."
Remy leaned back into the cushions with a sigh. "Oui. She came to my room." He looked at Xavier defiantly. "I was going to kill myself." But the Professor said nothing. "I was sitting on de edge of de roof, feelin' sorry for myself. She couldn't sleep--said she could feel what I was feelin'. Heard my thoughts, when she got closer. Dat be some freaky shit, Prof. De girl's so young...and she be too much like my Rogue for my comfort, ne c'est pas?"
"There are certainly parallels."
"Dere be more dan parallels, Prof. Those eyes!" Remy chewed his lip. "And she offered to make it all go away for a while. I couldn't say no...I was hurtin' too bad, see. She took de gloves off and touched me."
"She didn't hurt you."
"Non. She, she can control de power, can't she?" Xavier nodded. "I thought so. Damn. But I had dis flash. I tried to kiss Rogue dat one time, when I had dat dream, you remember? And I watched my body dying. She din't know what was going on, couldn't get away from me...It hurt, Prof. It hurt so bad." He shuddered powerfully, then forced himself out of his seat.
"And you've been hurt by the ones you love before."
"Oui. Not on purpose, non. Jean-Luc tried his best. Et...mais non. I don't want to talk about it, Prof."
"I understand." Xavier looked up at him kindly. "You're a little better now. I can tell. I think you're going to be all right, Remy, if you just let us help you."
"I don't want to die anymore, if that's what you mean..." Remy looked pained. "What about Dice? I. I mean, de girl needs friends, Prof. She wants to be my friend. But I don' know."
Xavier smiled. "I think you and Dice can help each other, Remy. I really do. Don't shut her out because she brings up old memories. Sometimes being reminded of things is the best way to deal with them."
Remy shook his head slightly. "I try to keep dat in mind, Prof."
Part I
Dice had a day to herself, since she could hardly expect the entire Institute to drop what it was doing for her. She explored the grounds for some time, acquainting herself with the property. The school was mostly empty--at least the part she saw. Downstairs the X-Men were having a briefing. All of the adult mutants were there. Some of the children were out on a field trip, and the rest had been lucky enough to go home for the summer. More and more of Xavier's students were being sent by caring parents, who wanted their children to be in command of their powers. In the past his enrollment was almost always runaways, or castaways like Dice.
She found herself sitting on a bench outside with one of Kurt's books. He was an avid reader of Christian literature, but his sci-fi collection was also rather impressive. Dice hadn't been able to do much reading on the streets. She basked in the sun and lazily read her way through a Nebula Awards collection. Suddenly the wind picked up, rifling her hair and the pages of the book. She looked up as a long, thin black shape rose into the sky and vanished. Dice was shocked for a moment, mouth open.
Part II
When the time had come to decide who would go and who would stay at the mansion, everyone looked at Remy. He was sitting at the end of the table, and had been playing idly with his cards during the entire briefing. Remy stared through the table as he shuffled. He looked up at the silence to find everyone staring at him. "Quoi?" he asked softly.
Remy stood to leave; he were no longer needed in the meeting. As he walked out, Logan looked down at the table where he'd been sitting. A single playing card lay there, face down, and he picked it up. The Ace of spades; the card of Death. Logan swallowed and turned it back over.
Part III
Dice asked about the jet; Xavier thought she took the news rather well. As she walked away, she stopped and turned back.
"Um...Professor?"
He looked up at her. "Yes?"
She hesitated; the tips of her ears flushed pink. "I, I was wondering. Uh, it's been a while since I left school. But at Agecroft I was the fencing champion. I...I'm really rusty."
Xavier chuckled. "We have a few students interested in swordplay, my dear." He smiled fondly; fencing had been one of his favorite diversions as a young man, before he lost the use of his legs. "And...is there anything else?"
"I could use some practice to bring me back up to speed on my hand-to-hand. Since you seem to have an abundance of combat-ready residents here, that shouldn't be a problem."
Charles tilted his head curiously. "Which disciplines?"
She blushed very prettily. "Well, tae kwon do and Chinese kickboxing, mostly."
"Very impressive, Dana." He made a gesture that Dana didn't quite know how to interpret. "You're very modest about your abilities. But I think with some time and refinement, you could be a very valuable addition to our team."
"I...I think I'd like that, Professor Xavier."
Part IV
Remy sat on the couch in the rec room, swirling his fingertip around the lip of a glass. It shrieked shrilly, reverberating under his hand. Rogue would've taken it away from him.
"How old are ya, Sugah? That you gotta do kiddie shit like that?"
He lit a cigarette and sat back on the couch. The television muttered across the room; he had no idea what was on. Remy sucked hard on the cigarette and tapped ash into his empty glass. He finished it quickly and lit another from the butt--he had never been much of a chain smoker, but at the moment it seemed appropriate. The numbness was beginning to wear off.
"Now Remy, you know I don't like smoking in the house," Xavier chided gently. Remy looked up.
"Oui." He stubbed the cigarette out on the back of his hand. Xavier flinched slightly, but Remy seemed unaffected by the pain. It left a small black circle on his hand. A slight tang of burned flesh rose into the air; Xavier's nostrils quivered.
"Are you going to let me in, Remy?"
"J'ai besoin d'aide, Prof." //I need help.// "Mais Remy don't want to let you inside his head, see."
Xavier nodded. "Your shielding indicates as much. I have always been at a loss when it comes to accessing your mind." He cocked his head slightly. "What are you afraid of, Remy? What do you think I'll do to you?"
"Nothing, Prof." Gambit fidgeted. Charles smiled sadly; Remy was never still. "I'm not afraid of you. Vrai, I know what you could do to me. You could leave Remy drooling et counting his toes for excitement." He looked at Xavier, who shivered slightly. The younger mutant's eyes had changed over the years, and now the black sclera were nearly invisible around the glowing red irises. "Dat might not be so bad, considering. But I's more afraid of what de good Prof might see, neh?"
Xavier nodded. "I understand, Remy. It won't hurt to talk, though." He seemed distracted for a moment. "Something happened last night. With Dice."
Remy leaned back into the cushions with a sigh. "Oui. She came to my room." He looked at Xavier defiantly. "I was going to kill myself." But the Professor said nothing. "I was sitting on de edge of de roof, feelin' sorry for myself. She couldn't sleep--said she could feel what I was feelin'. Heard my thoughts, when she got closer. Dat be some freaky shit, Prof. De girl's so young...and she be too much like my Rogue for my comfort, ne c'est pas?"
"There are certainly parallels."
"Dere be more dan parallels, Prof. Those eyes!" Remy chewed his lip. "And she offered to make it all go away for a while. I couldn't say no...I was hurtin' too bad, see. She took de gloves off and touched me."
"She didn't hurt you."
"Non. She, she can control de power, can't she?" Xavier nodded. "I thought so. Damn. But I had dis flash. I tried to kiss Rogue dat one time, when I had dat dream, you remember? And I watched my body dying. She din't know what was going on, couldn't get away from me...It hurt, Prof. It hurt so bad." He shuddered powerfully, then forced himself out of his seat.
"And you've been hurt by the ones you love before."
"Oui. Not on purpose, non. Jean-Luc tried his best. Et...mais non. I don't want to talk about it, Prof."
"I understand." Xavier looked up at him kindly. "You're a little better now. I can tell. I think you're going to be all right, Remy, if you just let us help you."
"I don't want to die anymore, if that's what you mean..." Remy looked pained. "What about Dice? I. I mean, de girl needs friends, Prof. She wants to be my friend. But I don' know."
Xavier smiled. "I think you and Dice can help each other, Remy. I really do. Don't shut her out because she brings up old memories. Sometimes being reminded of things is the best way to deal with them."
Remy shook his head slightly. "I try to keep dat in mind, Prof."
