"That's her," Remy said as the dark silhouette of a helicopter
appeared. It began to jerkily descend and Rogue half wondered if the
pilot knew how to fly.
When the craft landed, Remy opened the door for Rogue, who stepped in,
ducking her head to keep from hitting it on the ceiling. She sat down
on the floor and Remy crouched down beside her.
"Why aren't there any chairs?" Rogue asked.
"To conserve room," Remy said.
"For what?"
"Weapons and stuff," the pilot blurted out, answering for Remy. She
turned around and when Rogue saw her, her eyes widened.
"You're-you're." She stuttered.
"A kid?"
"Mmm hmm."
"Ororo Munroe grinned as she turned around. She was a medium height
kid who looked to be a couple of years younger than Remy. She was
extremely beautiful, if not exotic looking with dark brown skin, Long,
white and silver hair pulled back into a ponytail, and incredibly
innocent blue eyes, an unusual combination of features to say the
least. "So?" she asked innocently. "What's wrong with teenager flying
a chopper?"
Rogue whirled to face Remy instead of responding. "You have a KID
piloting us?"
"She's not too bad for a sixteen year old," Remy said. "Thing is,
she's got lots of other abilities that we might need."
"Why?"
No sooner had the words left Rogue's mouth than bullets began to ping
on the side of the chopper.
"Folks," we're liftin off," Ororo declared gleefully. "It looks like
we won't be able to stay for the party." The helo began to rise into
the air as Brotherhood gunmen from down below fired their AK-47's in
vain at them.
Remy leaned forward, " 'Stormie, you might want to hurry it up. One of
'em at least is probably packin' a rocket launcher, knowing Raven,
maybe even a Stinger."
"Gotcha Remy-man. And don't call me that." Ororo's smile disappeared
and her eyes went white while outside, dark clouds began to form over
the firing pursuers down below and a fog encompassed the immediate
area, making visibility near zero. Of course Ororo, or as her fellow
Thieves Guilder's called her, Storm, had a natural attunement with
nature itself, so she could sense her surroundings somewhat and
successfully navigate through the fog. As a farewell goodie, she made
a mini-monsoon that drenched the Brotherhood thugs on the ground.
"Oh great," Rogue muttered, "a storm. Please tell me she can handle
storms."
"You don't have to talk about me like I'm not here," Ororo remarked
flippantly. She was back to normal now, her regular eyes and
infectious smile having returned.
"OK then. Do you know how to handle crappy weather?"
"Yeah. I've been doing good enough so far, haven't I?"
No answer. Rogue merely leaned her head back, wondering just what kind
of organization this Thieves Guild was.
***
Kurt Wagner took down his two rapiers that hung on the wall of his
study. They were his preferred method of assassination. While Kurt was
proficient in the use of long range sniper tactics and weapons, he
never found it appealing. It took a little of the thrill out of it
when all you did was pick off an unaware target from long range. The
challenge was getting close enough to assassinate with the swords. It
took skill in many cases, much more skill than your average assassin
had. Once, Kurt had been hired to kill a politician in some poor
European country whose name he couldn't remember. Apparently, the guy
had ruffled a few criminal feathers with his talk about ridding the
streets of crime and drugs. Kurt had penetrated the clever outer
defense system that the politician had set up around his home, evaded
many of the guards, who couldn't even see him in the darkness, and
teleported right into the politicians bedroom, decapitating both the
politician and his beautiful wife in a single, deadly stroke. Had he
used the conventional tactics, he would have been able to kill the guy
no sweat. Simply set up a position that provided a direct angle to the
target's bedroom window, wait till he passed within the crosshairs,
and pull the trigger from the safety of half a mile off.
The thing was, Kurt didn't see much challenge or excitement in that
and aside from the money, those were the two reasons he was an
assassin in the first place.
His mother had called, something that was unusual for her. And she
wanted Kurt to kill one of the meddlesome Thieves Guilder's. It was
going to be hard to care of this one though, Kurt reflected. Remy
LeBeau was almost like a legend. Assassination attempts on his life
had been numerous times in the past, but the wily thief had always
managed to escape. Kurt himself, although a member of the Assassins
Guild, did not share the same core hatred for Remy that most Assassins
of the Guild had because he simply hadn't run into the wily thief all
that often. No matter, the lack of hatred as an incentive was more
than compensated for by the money.
3 BILLION big ones. That had to be his biggest payoff. It also was an
indication of just how difficult his job would be, how much Kurt would
have to rise to the challenge.
He hefted the two swords, enjoying the comfortable weight they had and
the ease with which he could maneuver them. He practiced a set of
sword drills briefly, and then did a couple of teleports, porting
outside the five story window and porting right back before he began
to fall. It was an invaluable mutant asset, being able to teleport.
Unfortunately, there were other mutant 'assets' he had that weren't
quite so valuable. Kurt looked like a demon. A child's worst
nightmare. His skin was a dark shade of blue, with a thin layer of
equally blue fur sheathing it. His eyes lacked pupils and glowed an
unnatural white. His ears were elongated back, resembling those of an
elf somewhat. Each hand consisted of one opposable 'thumb' and two
strong fingers were there would normally be four. His feet likewise
consisted of a thumb like appendage and two powerful opposable toes.
The last thing was his tail. It was forked, just like one would
imagine the devil's to be and prehensile, like a monkey's. He could
use it like another arm and grasp things with it. He could even anchor
it on a beam or something and suspend himself from it.
The blue skin and eyes he had gotten from his mother, Raven. The rest
were unique to his particular mutation. While Kurt did not possess
Raven's ability to morph into a form that looked normal, he did happen
to have the next best thing, a little device aptly named the image
inducer. Basically, it gave him a holographic disguise that looked
normal.
His door swung open suddenly, causing his fur to bristle and his head
to turn. In the doorway stood a beautiful, twenty-ish young woman, her
features grim and serious. She wore a form fitting purple bodysuit and
had a large sword strapped to her back. Gleaming blond hair hung from
an ponytail, swishing against her back as she walked towards him.
"Belladonna," he began genially. "I'm glad you could meet me."
"If what you say is true, then the feeling is mutual," she said.
"It is. Oh, it is alright. Apparently, our friend Remy LeBeau has
managed to earn the wrath of Raven Darkholmme, and she is willing to
pay quite handsomely to the fellow who can engineer his demise.
"3 billion dollars was the figure I heard. Is that true?"
"Yes. Naturally, you will receive half upon completion-"
"I don't want the money." She cut in. "Remy killed my brother and
disgrace me and my family. Seeing him dead will be enough reward." She
paused for a moment before turning a critical eye upon him. "Why, by
the way, did you let me in on this? You could have simply done it
yourself without having to worry about the added complications of a
partner."
Kurt smiled clasping his hands behind his back. 'True," he
acknowledged. I could have done so but my chances of success are
increased with a partner. From what I've heard, Remy LeBeau is a very
elusive man. Probably why he's stayed alive all these years. With my
skills, your skills, and your hatred of him, we've got a better chance
of pulling it off."
"Sound reasoning," Belladonna commented. "Do you have any idea where
he is?"
"Last I heard, he got a helo ride out of here, probably out of New
York."
"Tracking him will be next to impossible."
"Tracking? My dear Belladonna we have no need of that. I think that we
both know where Mr. LeBeau will go."
After a few seconds, understanding dawned on Belladonna's face. "New
Orleans."
"Yes."
"Its stupid. That's his home turf. That's where the Thieves Guild is
headquartered. They have God knows how many eyes and ears lurking
about the place. We'd be slaughtered upon arrival.
"The image inducers I have can help with that," Kurt said. True, we'd
be fighting him on his 'home turf' but that's what makes it
challenging. You can't expect a walk in the park job for 3 billion
dollars after all. Besides, There will be backup should things go
wrong."
"What kind of backup?"
"You'll see.
***
Remy reached over and jostled Rogue awake as they neared their
destination. She had fallen asleep on his shoulder about halfway
through the trip, which he wouldn't have minded had Ororo not been
tossing speculative glances back at the couple
"Wha-wha," Rogue muttered, furiously blinking her eyes. She looked
over at Remy, and her eyes went wide. She had been close to him. Too
close. She recoiled almost pushing him away in her effort to create
distance between the two of them. She said nothing, and while her face
was red, Remy didn't think it was entirely because of embarrassment.
"Were almost there," he said cheerily, trying to defuse the awkward
situation.
"Almost where?"
Thieves Guild Headquarters," he said. "You'll like it."
"How would you know?"
"Everyone else does."
"Who's everyone else?"
Remy paused. "When we land," he said, "I'll introduce you."
A/n sorry about the delay, but ff.n's been screwy. It wouldn't let me upload for a while
appeared. It began to jerkily descend and Rogue half wondered if the
pilot knew how to fly.
When the craft landed, Remy opened the door for Rogue, who stepped in,
ducking her head to keep from hitting it on the ceiling. She sat down
on the floor and Remy crouched down beside her.
"Why aren't there any chairs?" Rogue asked.
"To conserve room," Remy said.
"For what?"
"Weapons and stuff," the pilot blurted out, answering for Remy. She
turned around and when Rogue saw her, her eyes widened.
"You're-you're." She stuttered.
"A kid?"
"Mmm hmm."
"Ororo Munroe grinned as she turned around. She was a medium height
kid who looked to be a couple of years younger than Remy. She was
extremely beautiful, if not exotic looking with dark brown skin, Long,
white and silver hair pulled back into a ponytail, and incredibly
innocent blue eyes, an unusual combination of features to say the
least. "So?" she asked innocently. "What's wrong with teenager flying
a chopper?"
Rogue whirled to face Remy instead of responding. "You have a KID
piloting us?"
"She's not too bad for a sixteen year old," Remy said. "Thing is,
she's got lots of other abilities that we might need."
"Why?"
No sooner had the words left Rogue's mouth than bullets began to ping
on the side of the chopper.
"Folks," we're liftin off," Ororo declared gleefully. "It looks like
we won't be able to stay for the party." The helo began to rise into
the air as Brotherhood gunmen from down below fired their AK-47's in
vain at them.
Remy leaned forward, " 'Stormie, you might want to hurry it up. One of
'em at least is probably packin' a rocket launcher, knowing Raven,
maybe even a Stinger."
"Gotcha Remy-man. And don't call me that." Ororo's smile disappeared
and her eyes went white while outside, dark clouds began to form over
the firing pursuers down below and a fog encompassed the immediate
area, making visibility near zero. Of course Ororo, or as her fellow
Thieves Guilder's called her, Storm, had a natural attunement with
nature itself, so she could sense her surroundings somewhat and
successfully navigate through the fog. As a farewell goodie, she made
a mini-monsoon that drenched the Brotherhood thugs on the ground.
"Oh great," Rogue muttered, "a storm. Please tell me she can handle
storms."
"You don't have to talk about me like I'm not here," Ororo remarked
flippantly. She was back to normal now, her regular eyes and
infectious smile having returned.
"OK then. Do you know how to handle crappy weather?"
"Yeah. I've been doing good enough so far, haven't I?"
No answer. Rogue merely leaned her head back, wondering just what kind
of organization this Thieves Guild was.
***
Kurt Wagner took down his two rapiers that hung on the wall of his
study. They were his preferred method of assassination. While Kurt was
proficient in the use of long range sniper tactics and weapons, he
never found it appealing. It took a little of the thrill out of it
when all you did was pick off an unaware target from long range. The
challenge was getting close enough to assassinate with the swords. It
took skill in many cases, much more skill than your average assassin
had. Once, Kurt had been hired to kill a politician in some poor
European country whose name he couldn't remember. Apparently, the guy
had ruffled a few criminal feathers with his talk about ridding the
streets of crime and drugs. Kurt had penetrated the clever outer
defense system that the politician had set up around his home, evaded
many of the guards, who couldn't even see him in the darkness, and
teleported right into the politicians bedroom, decapitating both the
politician and his beautiful wife in a single, deadly stroke. Had he
used the conventional tactics, he would have been able to kill the guy
no sweat. Simply set up a position that provided a direct angle to the
target's bedroom window, wait till he passed within the crosshairs,
and pull the trigger from the safety of half a mile off.
The thing was, Kurt didn't see much challenge or excitement in that
and aside from the money, those were the two reasons he was an
assassin in the first place.
His mother had called, something that was unusual for her. And she
wanted Kurt to kill one of the meddlesome Thieves Guilder's. It was
going to be hard to care of this one though, Kurt reflected. Remy
LeBeau was almost like a legend. Assassination attempts on his life
had been numerous times in the past, but the wily thief had always
managed to escape. Kurt himself, although a member of the Assassins
Guild, did not share the same core hatred for Remy that most Assassins
of the Guild had because he simply hadn't run into the wily thief all
that often. No matter, the lack of hatred as an incentive was more
than compensated for by the money.
3 BILLION big ones. That had to be his biggest payoff. It also was an
indication of just how difficult his job would be, how much Kurt would
have to rise to the challenge.
He hefted the two swords, enjoying the comfortable weight they had and
the ease with which he could maneuver them. He practiced a set of
sword drills briefly, and then did a couple of teleports, porting
outside the five story window and porting right back before he began
to fall. It was an invaluable mutant asset, being able to teleport.
Unfortunately, there were other mutant 'assets' he had that weren't
quite so valuable. Kurt looked like a demon. A child's worst
nightmare. His skin was a dark shade of blue, with a thin layer of
equally blue fur sheathing it. His eyes lacked pupils and glowed an
unnatural white. His ears were elongated back, resembling those of an
elf somewhat. Each hand consisted of one opposable 'thumb' and two
strong fingers were there would normally be four. His feet likewise
consisted of a thumb like appendage and two powerful opposable toes.
The last thing was his tail. It was forked, just like one would
imagine the devil's to be and prehensile, like a monkey's. He could
use it like another arm and grasp things with it. He could even anchor
it on a beam or something and suspend himself from it.
The blue skin and eyes he had gotten from his mother, Raven. The rest
were unique to his particular mutation. While Kurt did not possess
Raven's ability to morph into a form that looked normal, he did happen
to have the next best thing, a little device aptly named the image
inducer. Basically, it gave him a holographic disguise that looked
normal.
His door swung open suddenly, causing his fur to bristle and his head
to turn. In the doorway stood a beautiful, twenty-ish young woman, her
features grim and serious. She wore a form fitting purple bodysuit and
had a large sword strapped to her back. Gleaming blond hair hung from
an ponytail, swishing against her back as she walked towards him.
"Belladonna," he began genially. "I'm glad you could meet me."
"If what you say is true, then the feeling is mutual," she said.
"It is. Oh, it is alright. Apparently, our friend Remy LeBeau has
managed to earn the wrath of Raven Darkholmme, and she is willing to
pay quite handsomely to the fellow who can engineer his demise.
"3 billion dollars was the figure I heard. Is that true?"
"Yes. Naturally, you will receive half upon completion-"
"I don't want the money." She cut in. "Remy killed my brother and
disgrace me and my family. Seeing him dead will be enough reward." She
paused for a moment before turning a critical eye upon him. "Why, by
the way, did you let me in on this? You could have simply done it
yourself without having to worry about the added complications of a
partner."
Kurt smiled clasping his hands behind his back. 'True," he
acknowledged. I could have done so but my chances of success are
increased with a partner. From what I've heard, Remy LeBeau is a very
elusive man. Probably why he's stayed alive all these years. With my
skills, your skills, and your hatred of him, we've got a better chance
of pulling it off."
"Sound reasoning," Belladonna commented. "Do you have any idea where
he is?"
"Last I heard, he got a helo ride out of here, probably out of New
York."
"Tracking him will be next to impossible."
"Tracking? My dear Belladonna we have no need of that. I think that we
both know where Mr. LeBeau will go."
After a few seconds, understanding dawned on Belladonna's face. "New
Orleans."
"Yes."
"Its stupid. That's his home turf. That's where the Thieves Guild is
headquartered. They have God knows how many eyes and ears lurking
about the place. We'd be slaughtered upon arrival.
"The image inducers I have can help with that," Kurt said. True, we'd
be fighting him on his 'home turf' but that's what makes it
challenging. You can't expect a walk in the park job for 3 billion
dollars after all. Besides, There will be backup should things go
wrong."
"What kind of backup?"
"You'll see.
***
Remy reached over and jostled Rogue awake as they neared their
destination. She had fallen asleep on his shoulder about halfway
through the trip, which he wouldn't have minded had Ororo not been
tossing speculative glances back at the couple
"Wha-wha," Rogue muttered, furiously blinking her eyes. She looked
over at Remy, and her eyes went wide. She had been close to him. Too
close. She recoiled almost pushing him away in her effort to create
distance between the two of them. She said nothing, and while her face
was red, Remy didn't think it was entirely because of embarrassment.
"Were almost there," he said cheerily, trying to defuse the awkward
situation.
"Almost where?"
Thieves Guild Headquarters," he said. "You'll like it."
"How would you know?"
"Everyone else does."
"Who's everyone else?"
Remy paused. "When we land," he said, "I'll introduce you."
A/n sorry about the delay, but ff.n's been screwy. It wouldn't let me upload for a while
