Sighing, Remy lied on his back, his arm bent up under his head on the pillow. He twirled the wrinkled card in his hand, holding it up in front of his face, as his eyes gazed in wonder of it; it was the card he left in Elizabeth's casket. He got it in a box addressed to him on the doorstep of the Institute a few days after her funeral. He had been suspicious that someone had violated her casket. It was pretty obvious; considering the card had been locked away tightly with her. He wanted to show it to Brian; to investigate; but he knew exactly what Brian would do. Accuse him. His red eyes moved up to look up at the ceiling, as another memory played through his head…
*~*~*~*
"What brings you here, Gambit? Aren't you with those X-Men?" Vargas asked, leading the way through the large room.
Remy didn't struggle against his two restraints; the largely built men that held onto his arms, nearly dragging him, following Vargas. "They don't even like me; don't trust me. I haven't been around them for ages, mon ami." He lied.
His intentions were hidden; he wanted revenge. Revenge against the one who murdered his love; his heart; Elizabeth. But, he knew Vargas was a little suspicious.
They stopped in the middle of the room, as Vargas wrapped his fingers onto a large white sheet, covering something; a figure it seemed to be. "Well, since your ties with the X-Men have been severed for some time, as you claim, you shall be the first to witness the unveiling of my work. A message for the X-Men." Vargas' mouth sinfully widened with a grin.
Remy tried to hold back his rage; to make it unknown. He wanted to keep with the role, to make the assassination easier. But, as Vargas pulled off the sheet, his breath caught into his chest, as he let it out in a silent gasp. Betsy, his mind said her name, as if it flowed from his mouth. "She was known as Psylocke. She fought well," Vargas tilted his head, at Remy's gaze to the statue, "You knew her?" He asked.
Remy was released of the guards' hold, as he took a step forward to the statue. She was posed; standing, feet together, her arms extended; crossed over each other; while one hand gripped onto the familiar weapon of her choice; her katana. "She was an excellent fighter." He heard Vargas add.
Remy grunted, his eyes fixated on the eyes of the statue; white; so empty, yet, so alive. It brought chills down his spine. He felt a source of energy emerging from the statue. He slowly, and hesitantly raised his gloved fingers to her lips, gently stroking them, "She was a better kisser. She loved to dance." He mumbled.
Vargas let out a laugh at Remy's comments, "It seems you knew her well."
Remy's eyes moved to look at Vargas, his brow narrowing with rage, as he was suddenly reminded of his motive. Before he could move, the doors to the room burst open, "Vargas! We're under attack!" The guard shouted.
Remy turned, as he heard the loud crashing of thunder, and bolts of violent lighting bursting through the door. Stormy, he thought with a grin.
Vargas grabbed onto his sword from the holder on his back, as he rushed out the door. Remy followed quickly, anxious to get his hands on Vargas, and finish a good fight.
Remy recognized the dead guard at the door; seeing the three holes puncturing through his chest. Logan was somewhere nearby. He turned to the door, seeing Rogue fly into the doorway, and settling onto her feet. "Chere!" He bowed.
"Remy! What're you doing here?" She gasped.
"Same reason you're here, petite!" He told her, taking out his deck of cards.
"Help Logan and Storm outside! Leave Vargas to me!" She growled.
He grabbed onto her arm, "No! Look what he did to you last time! It's better if I take him down!" Remy stopped her.
Rogue snatched her arm out of his grip, the tears of rage building within her green eyes. "Get a clue Gumbo! I'm pissed! With the way I'm feelin' right now, no one will dare mess with me!" She hissed.
With that finished, Remy watched Rogue fly towards the room that Vargas had hid into. Logan rushed into the foyer, and looked around, "Where is she?" He demanded of Remy.
"She flew into that room. But there's others in there besides just Vargas!" Remy told him.
Logan rushed into the room after Rogue, with Remy following. Remy threw a series of charged cards towards the guards that rushed after Rogue. They blew, causing the guards to fly away, into the walls. Logan glared at Rogue, as Remy stood at his side. They watched with horror, as Vargas stood in front of her. Her body was morphing; shapeshifting. Her short hair grew to her waist, turning to a dyed purple. Her body shifted to resemble Elizabeth. The crimson red mark appeared over her left eye. "You killed Psylocke in body, Vargas. But not in spirit! And we're both here to kick your ass!" She screamed out, as she punched him with all of her superhuman strength.
Screaming, Vargas flew back through the wall, leaving remnants behind him. Rogue furiously flew after him. He stood to his feet warily, and attempted to lunge at her with his sword. She dodged it, and grabbed onto his fist. She threw a kick into his groin, causing him to bend down, hovering from the blow. She twisted his arm around, smiling with satisfaction as she heard the crack of his arm breaking. She threw him onto his stomach on the ground, causing him to drop the sword.
Logan and Remy were so overtaken with shock at the sight of Rogue actually morphing into Elizabeth, that they stood, watching in horror. "What the hell just happened?" Logan gasped.
They watched Rogue pick Vargas up by his arm, screaming out her rage, as she threw him into a wide stone column, nearly taking the whole place down. "I have no clue, mon ami." Remy answered.
Suddenly, as if it happened in one swift movement, Vargas was on his back, against the rubble of the column, looking up at Rogue, as she planted her foot to his chest, holding the sword above her at him. "Do it Rogue." He grinned. "Or, are you too yellow?" He remarked.
"Look at me. Remember the names, Vargas. Remember exactly who killed ya! Rogue and Psylocke!" She screamed. With that, she shoved the large blade deep into his throat.
*~*~*~*~
Turning to his side, staring out the large balcony window of Elizabeth's old room, Remy shook his thoughts of the memory. What if she still lived on? How did the card come back to him? They had left the building almost the second after Rogue had finished the killing of Vargas; he kept the fact that Elizabeth's statue stood in the room a secret from everyone. He suddenly wondered the fate of the statue. Surely the police had confiscated it after they arrived to the scene. He looked up at the door as he heard a knock. "Come in." Remy called out.
The large brown wooden door opened, as Brian peeked into the room. "Hungry?" Brian asked. "Dinner's being served downstairs."
Remy sat up, throwing his legs over the side of the full sized bed, shaking his head. "Come in, Brian. We have to talk 'bout somethin'." Remy's voice was so laced with urgency, it made Brian curious.
Brian walked into the room, and grabbed the chair at the desk, placing it in front of Remy. He sat, waiting for what Remy had to say. "I came here to tell ya somethin'. I got this in the mail a few days after Betts' funeral." Remy pulled out the card, exposing it to Brian.
Brian stared at the card, taking it from Remy's hand. "Is this?"
Remy nodded, "The one I left her."
Brian looked up at him, "But, how? If it was locked away in her casket—" Brian stopped, his eyes widening with shock, "Did you?!"
Remy immediately shook his head, holding his hands up defensively, "No! I would never! But, that's not the only thing, mon ami! We have to check the crypt. If this got back to me, then there's probably some answers to some questions in my head about what I saw when Rogue killed Vargas."
Brian crossed his largely built arms across his chest, sitting back in the chair, "What'd you see?" He asked.
*~*~*~*
Wanda folded her hands over the coffee mug, as her and Rogue sat on the porch table in the atrium of the Institute. "I've had dreams about her, Rogue. A couple of days after she died, she came to me in a dream." Wanda nervously spoke.
Rogue gulped the coffee in her mouth, looking at her friend, "What happened?"
Explaining, Wanda's mind looked back into the dream….
*~*~*~*
"Wanda. Wake, luv." Her voice flowed over her, with such warmth.
Wanda opened her eyes, and let out a gasp of shock, as Elizabeth's eyes locked onto hers, smiling. "Betsy? You're alive?" Wanda breathed.
"Sit up, luv." Elizabeth told her, as she helped Wanda sit upright.
Wanda pulled herself up, and looked around her. Everything was white; nothing else. Just, pure white. It brought a sudden peace and calming over her. "Am I?" Wanda couldn't finish her sentence.
"No, you're not dead, luv. Although, me? Quite." Elizabeth smiled.
"Where am I?" Wanda asked, as she and Elizabeth stood to their feet.
"You're just dreaming, Wanda. But, I am definitely here." Elizabeth explained.
"But, why me?" Wanda asked.
Elizabeth grabbed onto Wanda's hand gently, "Because, luv. You'd be the only one who'd know that this is real. Rogue would think of it as only a dream, and nothing more. That my soul never really visited her. Remy and Brian would think of it as a cruel nightmare." Elizabeth spoke her last sentence with a coy smile.
Wanda's eyes filled with tears that she had thought she cried out over her dear friend's passing. "Oh Wanda," Elizabeth lifted her hand to wipe the tears that fell from her eyes and onto her cheeks, "I know that you've felt lost without me there for you. But, I will always be there for you. Don't let the rage overcome you again. We've worked so hard, Wanda. Don't give up now." Elizabeth gently told her.
Wanda threw herself into her friend's arms, hugging her tightly, "I won't let you go." She sobbed.
Elizabeth let Wanda's head rest into her shoulder, as the gothic mutant sobbed. Elizabeth lifted her hand, rubbing her black hair, "I know, luv. But, we move on."
Elizabeth wanted to cry; but, she couldn't. She tried so hard to, to let Wanda know that she wasn't alone in the tears; but she couldn't. "Please, don't leave me alone. You've pulled me through anything, Betts." Wanda sobbed.
Elizabeth pulled away, looking at Wanda, "Wanda, you're not alone. I'll always be with you. Rogue will need you also, just as you would need her. You can support each other through this pain. And so will I. Just remember; souls live on forever, Wanda."
Elizabeth turned, looking at the small beam of light heading towards her. "I must go, luv. I'll always be here." She reluctantly let Wanda go.
Wanda tried to run after her, but remained still. She only watched, as Elizabeth walked towards the beam of light. She let out a sob, as Elizabeth turned to her, "Oh, and tell Rogue, Brian, and Remy one last thing…" Elizabeth called out to her.
Wanda gasped as she saw hands reach through, grabbing onto Elizabeth, "Betsy! Behind you!" Wanda screamed out.
Wanda clenched her fists, attempting to use her powers to stop the two hands, but couldn't. She screamed out, as she saw Elizabeth grabbed, and pulled through a mysterious yellow orb. "Betsy!" Wanda screamed out after her.
*~*~*~*
Rogue raised an eyebrow suspiciously at what Wanda just told her. "Hands? I really don't think I recall hearing, walk to the hands! I always thought it was walk to the light!" Rogue told her.
"Yeah, me too. So, I called Agatha about it, which what she told me, is even weirder." Wanda shuddered, and looked up at Rogue, "She said that the dream was definitely real. But, the hands can very well symbolize that her soul was snatched before she could possibly have crossed over." Wanda leaned forward, as Rogue gasped, "Rogue, Betsy's soul could very well be living in something or someone else!"
Rogue shook her head, refusing to believe the possibility, "Wanda, Betsy died. We buried her in England. I want her back as much as you—"
"Rogue! Believe in the impossible! I mean, what if someone resurrected her? We've heard of mutants who can do that!" Wanda snapped, trying to snap Rogue out of reality.
Rogue's eyes moved up to look at her. Wanda's eyes seemed sincere; seemed so hopeful. "Let's fly out to Britain, and at least talk to Brian about it. Maybe he saw something, or may know at least something about all this! I mean, if Agatha believes that this could happen, why not? Wasn't Betsy and Brian's Aunt Roma a sorceress that can resurrect and heal?" Wanda pleaded.
Rogue nodded, "Yeah. But she wouldn't do something like that. She would let Betsy rest." Rogue stopped to think. Brian would very well beg his aunt to bring her back. But, would Roma go so far as to do it? "Alright, let's fly out to Britain. Let me go get Logan." Rogue stood up, and walked into the Institute, followed by Wanda.
*~*~*~*
The statue stood; it was left in the building that Vargas had resided in, and died in. The room was empty and abandoned. Suddenly, cracking could be heard from the statue. The hand that was free of the katana sword, began to crack. The pieces fell to the floor, leaving a mobile hand stretching its fingers free of the stone. If any live person were to be in the room, the slight groans could be heard from the statue, as it continued to crack, with pieces falling to the ground, leaving a live person underneath. Suddenly, the remaining stone pieces flew off, with a burst of telekinetic energy from the body.
Kneeling down, gasping and coughing for air, the long purple hair flowed over the shoulders, as the body tried to gain composure. Gripping onto the sword's handle, slowly, the face looked up. The crimson red mark over the left eye glowed furiously, as the pupils searched around her. "I'm….alive?"