Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I making any money from the X-Men
characters. Thank you to Corrinth for the use of her character Dr. Ilehana
Xavier. I do own Blaze, and appreciate authors not using her without
asking.
A/N: Reviews always welcome!
Scene 24
"How did it go?" The well-dressed, middle-aged woman asked, straightening out her suit jacket and standing as the man entered the room.
"I'm not sure if they want to believe me or not, but that is besides the point. Their heritage and their destiny have been revealed to them, they cannot fight it." Garthen Doking slumped into a heavy chair and put his fingers to his sweaty forehead.
"You should have more faith in the legend, Garthen." Elizabeth Bartholomew quipped back as she fetched a glass of water for the exhausted man. "And have relied on your mutant powers less. This persuasion you employ exhausts you too much."
"And that is why you are Amentha and I am not, Elizabeth." Garthen rebuked the woman. "Until the Dark Elements are ripe for unleashing on the world, I will use every tool available to me, no matter the cost..."
"Then you will be glad to know the final preparations on the arena are completed. Training may begin as soon as you deem fit, traveller." The woman left, closing the door quietly behind her and leaving Garthen to his thoughts.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Gambit really needed to stop thinking so much. He never had been much good at it. But now his thoughts whirled in circles and troubled his dreams at night. Blaze; disappeared where he couldn't find her or protect her, didn't even know he existed. Rogue; the only X-man who had shown his any real friendship now hated him for driving her boyfriend away. Electra; still an old flame, no matter how they had parted, now lying slowly dying on a slab in the infirmary. Remy hit the button on the lift with a vengeance, Electra would not die alone.
The infirmary was quiet, even the ceaseless monitors bleeped in a subdued tone. The screens that had prevented Blaze from seeing Remy in his illness had been tidied away. Electra lay still on her bed, sheet tucked in tight around her chest and arms hiding the restraints the X-Men had employed to stop her from injuring herself during frequent fits and convulsions. Sat at a desk across the room, Ilehana pulled her long blonde hair back with her fingers and lashed it tight again with a hair tie. The screen in front of her showed the scientific paper she was writing entitled 'Ecology of the Black Forest.' There was no sign she even knew Remy was there.
He went to Electra's bedside, pulling up a chair to sit on silently. Elbows on his knees he touched his fingertips together in front of him and leant back. For a while he just sat there, watching the rhythmic movement of her breathing, the unconscious twitch as her electric power spasmed her muscles, wondering what would have become of himself if he had submitted to Jacobi's offer of use of the mutation accelerator. Did all mutants crave such augmentation of their powers? Did less powerful mutants fear the more powerful in the same way ordinary humans feared all mutants?
A gasp for air broke into Gambit's pensive mood, Electra's blue eyes swung open, unseeing at first then focusing slowly. Unthinking Gambit gasped her reaching hand, and received an electric shock for his trouble. But he didn't let go; instead moving closer so she knew she really wasn't alone.
"'S okay Electra. I'se here."
"Gambit?" She barely whispered his name; her strength was gone. "I'm dying, aren't I?"
"Yes." No point lying to her. She turned her head on the pillow to look at him, blue lightning streaming out behind her to taunt the roof and caress the monitors.
"You will kill the ones who did this to me? Magneto and Mystique. You will fight them?"
"Yeah, sure. Rest now Electra." Maybe he would, someday. Assassinations weren't really his thing, but maybe just this once.
"No." She shook her blue-haired head making sparks fly. "There's something you need to know..." Gambit was filled with dread, why did he have to be the one she gave her deathbed confessions to? Where was the blue elf when you needed a saint? "When Jacobi started building his army, I searched him out... Made myself useful, worked my way into his inner circle... I told him about you, Gambit. I told him you were the best. And... I told him the only way to get you would be to kill Blaze, that she had you under her thumb, that she'd be better off dead."
Remy didn't say anything. He didn't have anything to say. He let Electra's hand fall from his grip. Everything he and Blaze had been through, the attempts on Blaze's life every five minutes, the constant attention from Jacobi's minions... Everything that drove him to hide out in prison so Blaze would be safe... All because of Electra.
"I was hurt, Gambit!" Her voice cracked with pain, husky with the drawing in of death. "You broke my heart when you left me for her. Whatever you two call your relationship, friendship, whatever, it took you away from me... I know that's no excuse...and I am sorry, Remy..." She shut up, breathing heavy, monitors bleeping frantically all around and blue electricity streaking through the air.
"Jennifer." Remy steeled himself and took her hand again, bracing for the electric shock. It didn't come, and in the same instant the monitors toned out her flat line. She was gone. "I'm sorry too..."
Someone put a hand on his shoulder, guiding him away from the bedside. Short moments later, Ilehana turned back to Gambit and sighed.
"Tough luck," There was heavy sympathy in her voice. "C'mon, we could both use a beer."
A/N: Reviews always welcome!
Scene 24
"How did it go?" The well-dressed, middle-aged woman asked, straightening out her suit jacket and standing as the man entered the room.
"I'm not sure if they want to believe me or not, but that is besides the point. Their heritage and their destiny have been revealed to them, they cannot fight it." Garthen Doking slumped into a heavy chair and put his fingers to his sweaty forehead.
"You should have more faith in the legend, Garthen." Elizabeth Bartholomew quipped back as she fetched a glass of water for the exhausted man. "And have relied on your mutant powers less. This persuasion you employ exhausts you too much."
"And that is why you are Amentha and I am not, Elizabeth." Garthen rebuked the woman. "Until the Dark Elements are ripe for unleashing on the world, I will use every tool available to me, no matter the cost..."
"Then you will be glad to know the final preparations on the arena are completed. Training may begin as soon as you deem fit, traveller." The woman left, closing the door quietly behind her and leaving Garthen to his thoughts.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Gambit really needed to stop thinking so much. He never had been much good at it. But now his thoughts whirled in circles and troubled his dreams at night. Blaze; disappeared where he couldn't find her or protect her, didn't even know he existed. Rogue; the only X-man who had shown his any real friendship now hated him for driving her boyfriend away. Electra; still an old flame, no matter how they had parted, now lying slowly dying on a slab in the infirmary. Remy hit the button on the lift with a vengeance, Electra would not die alone.
The infirmary was quiet, even the ceaseless monitors bleeped in a subdued tone. The screens that had prevented Blaze from seeing Remy in his illness had been tidied away. Electra lay still on her bed, sheet tucked in tight around her chest and arms hiding the restraints the X-Men had employed to stop her from injuring herself during frequent fits and convulsions. Sat at a desk across the room, Ilehana pulled her long blonde hair back with her fingers and lashed it tight again with a hair tie. The screen in front of her showed the scientific paper she was writing entitled 'Ecology of the Black Forest.' There was no sign she even knew Remy was there.
He went to Electra's bedside, pulling up a chair to sit on silently. Elbows on his knees he touched his fingertips together in front of him and leant back. For a while he just sat there, watching the rhythmic movement of her breathing, the unconscious twitch as her electric power spasmed her muscles, wondering what would have become of himself if he had submitted to Jacobi's offer of use of the mutation accelerator. Did all mutants crave such augmentation of their powers? Did less powerful mutants fear the more powerful in the same way ordinary humans feared all mutants?
A gasp for air broke into Gambit's pensive mood, Electra's blue eyes swung open, unseeing at first then focusing slowly. Unthinking Gambit gasped her reaching hand, and received an electric shock for his trouble. But he didn't let go; instead moving closer so she knew she really wasn't alone.
"'S okay Electra. I'se here."
"Gambit?" She barely whispered his name; her strength was gone. "I'm dying, aren't I?"
"Yes." No point lying to her. She turned her head on the pillow to look at him, blue lightning streaming out behind her to taunt the roof and caress the monitors.
"You will kill the ones who did this to me? Magneto and Mystique. You will fight them?"
"Yeah, sure. Rest now Electra." Maybe he would, someday. Assassinations weren't really his thing, but maybe just this once.
"No." She shook her blue-haired head making sparks fly. "There's something you need to know..." Gambit was filled with dread, why did he have to be the one she gave her deathbed confessions to? Where was the blue elf when you needed a saint? "When Jacobi started building his army, I searched him out... Made myself useful, worked my way into his inner circle... I told him about you, Gambit. I told him you were the best. And... I told him the only way to get you would be to kill Blaze, that she had you under her thumb, that she'd be better off dead."
Remy didn't say anything. He didn't have anything to say. He let Electra's hand fall from his grip. Everything he and Blaze had been through, the attempts on Blaze's life every five minutes, the constant attention from Jacobi's minions... Everything that drove him to hide out in prison so Blaze would be safe... All because of Electra.
"I was hurt, Gambit!" Her voice cracked with pain, husky with the drawing in of death. "You broke my heart when you left me for her. Whatever you two call your relationship, friendship, whatever, it took you away from me... I know that's no excuse...and I am sorry, Remy..." She shut up, breathing heavy, monitors bleeping frantically all around and blue electricity streaking through the air.
"Jennifer." Remy steeled himself and took her hand again, bracing for the electric shock. It didn't come, and in the same instant the monitors toned out her flat line. She was gone. "I'm sorry too..."
Someone put a hand on his shoulder, guiding him away from the bedside. Short moments later, Ilehana turned back to Gambit and sighed.
"Tough luck," There was heavy sympathy in her voice. "C'mon, we could both use a beer."