Chapter 3: Bella Donna

             Rogue felt a slap against her face, and winced, consciousness beginning to slowly drift back to her in small spurts, exhaustion still settling over her from whatever she'd been injected with what had seemed like only minutes ago in reality must have been hours.

             "Wake up," another slap came, this time harder, and it hurt.  It had been a while she'd felt such pain – the smarting sensations travelling over her cheek. 

             She opened her eyes, finding the blindfold no longer there, she glanced around, eyes unfocused, she was in a small stone room, no windows, and one door near the corner.  She leaned up, her arms were untied, she glanced under her hands, she was on some kind of pile up of several old tattered mattresses.  Something about the way the room was set reminded Rogue of a basement, the walls stained with dampness, and the air stale.

             The person who had slapped her came into focus after a moment, an attractive girl, of maybe twenty was standing before her.  She had blonde hair that fell down to her waist in careless waves, that shimmered like gold in the dim overhead light.  Even in the poor lighting her eyes were so unbelievably blue they rivalled the ocean.  She was clad in a very tight red tanktop, and jeans that hugged her shapely hips.  Rogue recognised the girl at once. 

             Bella Donna.

             "So this is what's been keepin' Remy so…" Bella Donna threw Rogue a very strange look, "…amused…while he's been away from home," Bella Donna's accent – if possible – was even stronger than Remy LeBeau's, her voice was high pitched, but sweet.

             Rogue raised an eyebrow, "so this is what Remy's been tryin' to get away from for the last several months," she rubbed her throbbing head, "can't say I blame him," she added in a hostile tone.  "And before you ask, I don't know where he is."
             "Oh, I know you ain't seen him," Bella Donna gave a devilish laugh.

             Rogue yanked herself up and lunged at Bella Donna, her head was still spinning and she wasn't nearly as swift under the grogginess of what they'd given her.   Bella Donna dodged her and as Rogue missed the collision, thrust her elbow into the younger girls back.  Rogue winced and spun around, raising an arm with her fist ready to throw a punch, Bella Donna caught Rogue's wrist and twisted her arm behind her back as if she'd predicted Rogue's attempted assault.  Rogue fell to her knees.

             "Don't fuck with an Assassin, chere," Bella Donna twisted her arm harder.

             Rogue gasped and fell to her knees, still held in the grip, even her free arm wouldn't save her now, pain was seering through her arm right up to the shoulder, she felt tears of pain evade her eyes, and tried to force them back.   She hadn't experienced such pain for a very long time, she'd forgotten what it was really like.  With Miss Marvel's powers having given her a reasonable invulnerability and amazing strength and stamina, pain of the physical kind during battle seemed non-existent.

             "You gonna behave?" demanded Bella Donna, Rogue felt something cold press against her throat, she realised Bella Donna had a knife, she gulped, and felt the cold steel against the bump in her throat as she did.  Bella Donna tossed Rogue over to the pile of mattresses, "you won't be tryin' that again."

             Rogue looked at Bella Donna, surprised, the girl had the same reflexes Remy LeBeau did, she was faster than Rogue, and Rogue was reminded of the fight she'd had with Remy out in the mansion grounds the night she'd gotten Miss Marvel's powers.

             "Not so tough without your powers, are you?" Bella Donna smirked, "you're nothing more than a silly little girl."

             Behind Bella Donna, the splintered and green-paint-chipped wooden door swung open, "we found 'im, Belle," said a voice, the one Rogue recognised from earlier in her abduction.   "He infiltrated the plantation.  He was no match for twenty of us…"

             "Did you give him the—" Bella Donna was interrupted.

             "Yes…he won't give you any trouble…"

             Remy LeBeau was thrown inside, looking quite beaten up, his hair slightly tainted with blood from a head wound, one eye slightly blackened and his lip bleeding, he limped a little, holding one arm near his stomach in pain.

             "Remy!" Rogue leapt to her feet, throwing her arms around him.

             Remy accepted her embrace gratefully, and pulled her close with the one uninjured arm he had left, "chere…I'm sorry," he murmured.

             "That'll be enough of that," A masked man came in, pulling Remy away from Rogue, prying them apart, he threw LeBeau against the wall, and kicked him, Remy slid down the wall groaning, still cradling his injured arm.

             "Remy!" Rogue screamed and tried to go to him, Bella Donna soon stopped that, she kicked Rogue hard in the stomach as Rogue soared towards Remy, and Rogue landed with a thud on the floor.

             "Well well well," Bella Donna looked down at both of them, "where one is, the other sure to be – and true enough, here he is," Bella Donna gestured to Remy.  "We knew once we had you, he'd come to your rescue.  But Remy is no Knight in shining armor, are you, mon chere," Bella Donna walked over to Remy and put her hand under his chin, tilting his head up so she could look at him.

             Remy looked up at her, "Belle, don't do this, it over already," he hissed.

             "It's not over, it's not over until you give me what you promised me!" she slapped him hard on the face, and his head swung to the side, a red smarting patch on his cheek where her hand had been.

             Rogue looked at Remy, he looked so pitiful, she'd always thought he could handle himself, why wasn't he doing anything right now?  Even injured he surely could be just as formidable as Bella Donna – Rogue had seen him in action.

             Remy glanced back at Rogue, his eyes pleading with her in some way.

             Rogue wished her powers would erupt at right at that moment, never before had she wished she were a mutant more than then – for without her powers, she had no reasonable defence.

             "You promised you'd love me forever – as long as I gave you what you wanted," Bella Donna slapped him again, harder, his head swung the other way, his eyes closed tightly.

             "The lousiest lay in the Big Easy," Remy remarked smartly, his face received a third slap, and Bella Donna kicked him in the groin, he rolled onto the floor, gasping in pain.

             "Search him," Bella Donna gestured to Remy.

             The masked man – who's eyes peered out behind cut out eyeholes – began to search Remy, yanking out a pile of cards from one pocket, a handful of throwing spikes from the other, and the bo-staff that was retractable.  "That's everything," he said.

             "Everything?" Bella Donna seemed amused, "how odd, I thought a thief might have come more prepared than this…" she headed towards the door, "come, we have much to do," she said to the masked man.  The two left the room, Rogue heard three sharp snapping sounds, the door had been locked behind Bella Donna and the masked man. 

             "Remy…" Rogue rushed to him, "are you alright?"

             "I've been better," Remy sighed, he pulled himself up, wiping the blood from his lip, "most certainly been worse," he added, he looked at her, "are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

             "Yeah…"

             He wandered to the door and gave it a good looking at, as if he were studying it closely. "I was scared they would have killed you…I knew they were gonna come get you…only way they could catch me, I tried to get there before they did, it was too late."

             "Did they inject you with something?" Rogue asked.

             "Yeah, blue liquid," Remy remarked, "no doubt the same kinda drug that Pinocchio guy was selling to control mutant powers – but this stuff not only drains your powers out of you, but leaves you weak as well," he added, he looked at her, "they gave you the same no doubt, I can see you don't have the strength you used to, just by the way Belle threw you to the wall…" he sighed, "Rogue, don't fight her, believe me she's capable of A LOT of damage.  I've seen the guys who came out of a fight with her…" he clenched his teeth.

             Rogue nodded, and hugged herself insecurely.  She really wanted Remy to come over and hold her, right now he stood studying the doors, there were three lock holes, missing keys of course from the other side.  "What are you doin'?" she asked of him.

             "Just taking notes," he shrugged, he walked over to her, "we're gonna get out of here somehow," he added.  "I don't know if these locks can be picked, I never did them before," he said, "these are very new…" he gestured to the locks.

             Rogue sighed and sat on the mattresses, "we're doomed."

             "We're not," Remy limped over, still cradling his hurt arm.

             Rogue looked at him, "where have you been all this time?"

             "Avoidin' the Assassins…I tried to break it off with her three times, isn't working quite the way I planned…" he added, he sat beside her, rubbing his arm, wincing in pain.  "I think that Marcus broke my arm."

             "Marcus?" Rogue queried.

             "The one in the mask," he stated, "thing is…I need this arm for the lock pickin', I'm right handed…" he gestured to the right arm which was injured.

             "Damn it," Rogue sighed.

             Remy leaned back against the wall the mattresses were against, he rested his head back against it, closing his eyes, "I'll think of something…" he stated.

             "You'd better," Rogue sighed, she moved to his left side and rested her cheek against his left shoulder.  "Why didn't she let me go since she has you here now…"

             "Because you're her fallproof plan," Remy remarked, "she gonna use you to get to me," he sighed, "so we gotta both get out of here before she can get any chance to go through with what she plannin'," he added.  Rogue realised how much thicker his accent had gotten since he had come back to New Orleans.  With her bare hand, she reached out and took his left hand, the roughness of his hands was surprising, she'd not expected his hands to feel so callused and dry, she looked down at their hands as their fingers twined.  

             Remy opened his eyes and looked at her, her eyes were focused on their hands, he had almost forgotten this would be the first time for her – since her powers had manifested – that she'd be able to touch him without hurting him.  "Must be strange, huh?" he murmured, "Bein' able to touch me without my thoughts assailing your own," he turned slightly towards her.

             Rogue glanced up at him, "I never expected your hands to be so…"

             "Rough?" he asked.

             "Yeah," Rogue looked back down his hand, she turned it around in both of hers, studying his palm, "where did you get all these calluses from?" she asked.

             "Working out, and climbin' ropes," he shrugged, "lost my gloves," he added regretfully.

             Rogue looked up at him, "I'll get you a new pair for Christmas," she murmured.

             He smiled a little, amused at the comment, and reached out with his left hand and moved her hair from her face, "you be the best gift I could ever have for Christmas," he murmured, "c'mere…"  he pulled her close to him and held her with his left arm, the right still resting injured upon his belly.  She thought he'd kiss her, but he didn't, and it hurt her feelings that he could kiss her without worry, yet didn't.

             She closed her eyes, "Remy, we need to come up with a plan."

             "Lemme rest a little…" he murmured, a yawn escaping his lips, "then we escape."