Chapter 8

Part I

The anonymity of the masses eased Dice's distress. She could relax, buoyed by their emotions. A young woman taking her puppy for a walk; a couple in business clothes kissing before the parted for work; a man in a coffee shop pocketing the phone number of another young man. There was unhappiness in New York, but it was quite simple to filter it out. She walked aimlessly, enjoying the nice weather and trying to forget that she had just tried to kill the one person in the world she truly loved, and who truly loved her.

People looked at her oddly. She figured out why when she walked past a mirrored window; her eyes were glowing palely green. Dice bought a pair of sunglasses and put them on.

When the hands closed around her she was totally caught off-guard. She screamed against the hand over her mouth and tried to activate her powers, but a needle prick sent her spinning into unconsciousness. She didn't even feel the metal collar snap around her throat.

Part II

"I can feel her, Logan. Like she's part of me now. I sense her." Remy closed his eyes against hot tears. His throat worked. "She's trying to lose herself. She's not far away." He looked at Logan. "Help me find her, mon ami."

"I will, Cajun."

"I think I love her, Logan."

"I know." They split up, each taking a separate route to try and find Dice. Logan was following his senses; Remy was following the feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him Dice was near.

And then she vanished from his mind. "Logan, she's gone," he said frantically into the radio.

"Where was she?" Remy gave Logan his best impression of her whereabouts, and they both took off through the streets.

Remy was so preoccupied, and weakened from his recent ordeal, that when the weight of the man in the black trench coat bore him to the ground he didn't even have time to protest. Collar and injection followed, and he fell limp. His attacker threw him over his shoulder and walked down the alley.

Logan's radio suddenly went static. "Remy? Rems? Cajun?" He shook the radio. Changing the channel, he called back to the Institute. "Betsy, Remy's radio went dead," he said. "Can you find him?

"Remy's mind is closed to me," she replied. "He has either raised his shielding...or he has been rendered unconscious."

"Shit. Thanks Bets. We may need backup down here...could you get the Ready Room computer running on the tracking devices in Remy's radio and belt buckle?"

"Sure thing, Logan. Be careful." He signed off and put his communicator back into the pocket of his leather jacket. "Remy, you poor, stupid bastard," he murmured to himself, "you always manage to get into trouble."

Part III

"Sodium pentothal is not a foolproof formula, my dear. But for someone who has never been exposed, it is a fairly effective truth serum. Of course I have other means of obtaining the information I want if it doesn't work."

Dice looked up at the stranger. "What?"

"What's your power, girl?"

"Oh, yeah. That." She giggled. "All I can do is make people feel better. I'm like the human happy pill. Xavier calls it broadcast empathy." Dice laughed until she felt sick. "I can't even get my absorption right, I'm afraid. And since you touched me, I guess this collar does something about that."

"Tell me everything you know about the X-Men."

Dice shrugged, a lazy smile crossing her face. "Nothing."

Her captor frowned. "Do you know who I am?" he asked.

"Nope."

He looked at one of the guards. "Is Frank bringing the other one?" The guard nodded. "Good. Maybe that one will be more useful to us. Damn it! Had to pick the one mutant that doesn't know a thing."

"I'm the new kid," Dice said helpfully. Her captor growled and backhanded her. She laughed through the tears of pain as she lay on the floor, hands bound behind her.

A thuggish-looking fellow arrived some minutes later, carrying Remy's unconscious body. He dropped him roughly to the floor. "Rems?" Dice asked.

"You know this mutant?"

"Yeah. We've got this weird bond thing. I can hear his emotions...I think he can hear mine. It's really fucked up. His girlfriend just died. He's sort of a train wreck, actually."

The strange man bent down and injected the antidote into Remy's arm. The Cajun's head lolled and he woke slowly. With the dampening collar on, his eyes glowed far less brightly than otherwise. "Give him the pentothal."

Remy blinked. "Je me sens faible." //I feel weak.//

"Speak English."

"Anglais? Mais Daniel, vous parlez francais, ne c'est pas?"

Daniel--that was apparently his name--slapped Remy hard across the face. "Come on, Remy. Quit fucking around."

"What you want, Daniel? I was having de most wonderful nap. I had dis dream..." he looked toward Dice, "You were dere, Dice. Oh, were you dere." He chuckled lasciviously. "But no worry. I still respect you."

Daniel grabbed a fistful of Remy's hair and wrenched his head towards him. "You're going to tell me what I want to know, Remy."

"I got a good recipe for spicy gumbo I could give you." Daniel growled in frustration and stalked over to Dice.

"I swear to God, Remy, I'll kill her." He flicked open a switchblade and pressed it to her throat. She laughed hysterically, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I don't want to die, Remy," she said.

His eyes grew large, and he inhaled. "Don't," he squeaked, his body shaking in fear.

"Are you afraid, Remy? Do I scare you?" Daniel laughed. He looked at the two empaths and a connection was made. A wicked gleam entered Daniel's eyes.

Part IV

Remy was sobbing; Dice was nearly unconscious with pain and loss of blood. Daniel had tweaked their collars to give maximum transmission without giving them back any of their other abilities. "Well, Remy, I think that's all I need. You and your little girlfriend have been very helpful."

The Cajun's nose was running and his eyes were puffy. "You're a fucking animal, Daniel. Va bouffer ta merde." //Eat shit.//

"Sugar mouth. So how long did you wait after the funeral before you shagged this little whore?"

"Fils de pute!" //Son of a bitch!// Remy snarled, saliva frothing on his lips. The sodium pentathol was wearing off. He lunged forward at Daniel, only to fall on his face.

"That floor taste good?" Daniel laughed. "You're not really worth keeping alive. And I can't have you getting away to tell the X-Men what I know." He stroked his goatee thoughtfully. "Boys, do what you want with them. Just make sure they both end up dead." Daniel turned and left the two mutants with the guards.

Part V

Logan met the others when the Black Bird touched down. "The tracker died a few minutes ago, but we think we've got a lock," Scott said. "The only access is through the sewers."

"I hate the sewers," Logan growled.

"I don't think any of us like them, Logan. But Remy's down there, and he's in no shape to take care of himself."

"Let's go get him, then. I'm tired of waiting around."

For once, no one commented on Logan's impatience.