Chapter 13
Betsy continued to hold Remy for a long time. She did not ask why he had never told the others any of this when they had first arrived, after all, who did not have secrets on the X-men, mistakes in their past they wanted to forget. The X-men did not know the story behind her encounters with Slaymaster and Mojo. They never seemed to realize what it meant to owe her sight to a monster who had ripped her soul out and tried to remold it. She still shivered when she remembered how Slaymaster had defeated her in her first 'Superhero fight'.
Remy felt the tremor and quickly tried to retreat misinterpreting it for disgust. Betsy only tightened her hold and continued to stroke his hair, focusing on her concern for him, and he soon relaxed against him.
"Why?" His voice was muffled and low. If the room had not been so silent, she would have missed them.
"What?"
"You not mad at Remy."
"No." She did not ask why he thought she would be. The answers were much too obvious.
"Don' understand."
"When I was young, I always wanted to be a hero, a war ace or a superhero. My twin brother, Captain Britain, retired for awhile, and I could not understand why but I saw it as my chance. At the time, a woman named Captain UK was around. She was me from an alternate time line but had Brian's powers. She was what I wanted to be and I asked her to help me. So, she taught me. We beat up some villains, had a grand time. She declared me ready and returned to her home time line. The first villain I met on my own was a man named Slaymaster. My brother had defeated him numerous times and I thought I would have no trouble." She paused to swallow the lump forming in her throat at the painful memories.
"'S ok. You don' have to tell me."
"Shhh." She resumed stroking his hair over his back. "He was very strong and very vicious. He hurt me badly and pinned me under a large rock. I could not move and was paralyzed with pain and fear as he stood over me and taunted me. He...he laughed and used his claws to remove my eyes."
Remy sat up suddenly to stare into her blue eyes, confusion written on his face.
Betsy shook her head when he tried to speak. "I was blind for a very long time but my telepathy made it less of a handicap. I would 'see' through other's eyes. Then one day, I was ambushed by a being called Mojo. He rules another dimension and is very powerful. He replaced my eyes and enslaved my mind, rewriting my personality, even my soul to serve him. Through me, he stole several children including students from Xavier's and began to alter them into what he wanted. I was freed before Mojo could finish his work but he left the eyes. I considered having them removed but I could not bear to return to blindness. So, I can see only through the generosity of a thing I hate above all else."
"Why're you tellin' me dis?"
"Why did you tell me about Sinister?" They were silent for a long time before Betsy asked, "Is your empathy why you said it was easier to live in the boathouse?"
"Oui, I can feel der anger. It hurts and it wears m' down, 'specially Stormy. It's de only reason Remy let you in dat first day. Could feel ya weren't mad."
"Is that the worst you had to tell me?"
"Oui, most o'de rest, you can figure. Like de femmes, t'ieving, usual stuff."
"Good. Now, we are past that and I am hungry. I vote we have breakfast and talk about other things." Remy nodded and they disentangled themselves to pick up plates from the cart. The two of sat and talked for hours about their homes and families, forgetting the mess their present lives were by remembering pleasanter and simpler times.
***************
"M' cousin 'nd I decide to do de test toget'er, 'cause we wan' go out 'nd play, not be stuck inside learnin' safe crackin'. So, 'e turn on 'is stealth field 'nd Remy charges de lock 'nd blows de safe. Den, he drops de field 'nd we turn 'nd look at our teacher. He just don' know what to say but gettin' real mad 'nd ready to skin us. Mon pere comes out a' de shadows 'nd says we passed. Poor teacher just 'bout ready to 'ave a fit 'nd says we didn' do it right. But, papa says we got it open in silence, dat means we done it right. "We trainin' t'ieves not priests here". Teacher jus' t'row 'is 'ands in de air 'nd swear he gonna go get drunk."
Betsy laughed at the latest story of Remy's childhood. "So, your cousin is a mutant as well?"
"Oui."
"There seem to be a lot of mutants in your family. Most of the relatives you have mentioned have some ability or other. It must have made it a little easier growing up with other mutant children around."
Remy's eyes turned nervous and he looked away. Then, as if coming to a decision, he raised his eyes to stare at her very seriously. "We're frien's, right?"
"I believe we are."
"Frien's keep secrets 'nd dis is an important one. It's a Guild secret but I don' wan' you wonderin' 'bout it. 'Member when de Brood took over N'Awlins 'nd was stealin' de t'eif 'nd 'ssassin children?"
Betsy's brow furrowed for a moment as she remembered that particular mission. "Yes. Wait a minute! I remember we asked the Brood Queen why she was taking over the guilds but you and Belladonna interfered, preventing her from answering, saying it was a Guild secret."
"De guilds been doin' arranged marriages for centuries 'nd, when mutants started showin' up, bot' guilds see de potential. They been actively tryin' to arrange matches to produce mutant children eva since. Done a good job too. Every t'ief in my generation 'nd all de children got an ability o' some kind."
Betsy's eyes widened in shock. "No wonder the Brood wanted them and no wonder the guilds keep it a secret. That many mutants trained as thieves and assassins...it would be a gold mine to anyone wanting to make an army."
"It's why de need peace so much righ' now. De child'en gettin' more powerful. Soon, skirmishes 'tween de families are gonna be a danger to de city itself or more."
"But, how is it that Charles has never sensed it? That large of a gathering of mutants in one place should have every alarm on Cerebro going off."
Remy smiled at her. "Non, Remy not tell. One Guild secret a year is de limit."
Betsy laughed in delight at the teasing look in his eyes. "Well, what if I decide to be stubborn and make you tell me?"
"Den you betta have somet'ing real good to offer Remy in exchange."
"Oh, really?" Her lids lowered and she looked up through her long lashes flirtatiously. "Hmmm, perhaps I can think of something."
He gave her a lazy smile in return. "Don' go startin' somet'in' you not gonna finish."
She suddenly looked away, embarrassed. Her and Warren's break up had only happened the previous day and she was already flirting with Remy, almost propositioning him? "I am sorry."
"Don' be. Wouldn' min' bein' a reboun' homme fo you."
Betsy looked at him out of the corner of her eye. It was tempting. He was a handsome man with bedroom eyes, a smoky voice, and a lean body that seemed to beg to be touched. It was very tempting and the air almost sparked with sexual tension as she met his eyes. But, he deserved better than that and so did she.
However, before she could say anything, he stood and shrugged, "Don' min' jus' bein' a frien' eit'er." He held out a hand to help her stand. "C'mon, gettin' too serious 'gain. Le's go out."
She placed her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet, much too aware of the warmth of his touch. "Where?"
He shrugged, "Dancin'?"
"But, I am not dressed for a night on the town." Her protest was half- hearted. It had been too long since she had indulged in going to a club. Jubilee used to drag her along since Logan hated the places and would not let the young woman go alone. Unfortunately, with Jubilee in Massachusetts, she only came into the city to go to plays and operas, which she did enjoy. However, she missed the loud hard music of the clubs, the press of the crowd, losing yourself in the music.
"Club's don' open for more'n an hour, got more dan enough time t'get clothes for goin' out."
She made no more protest and they were soon at Sachs, where Remy abandoned her to shop alone. Betsy was not surprised. After all, she had never met a man who enjoyed shopping and he had been more polite about it than Logan or Warren, promising he would be back in an hour. She ended up buying several outfits but the one she had picked out for the night was a deep amethyst silk dress that looked almost black. It tied around the back of her neck, leaving her shoulders and back bare and ended a few inches below the top of her thighs. It fit like a second glove, flattering her figure. A pair of heeled, black leather, high healed sandles were found and a stop at the perfume and make-up counters completed her trip. Arriving at the arranged meeting place, she noticed Remy had a few bags himself as he raised an eyebrow at the amount she was carrying.
"Y'leave anyt'ing behin'?"
She smiled. "Just the bad stuff."
They returned to the Waldorf suite and had a light dinner before separating to their respective bedrooms to get ready. Betsy had asked for a suite with two bedrooms that morning because she had not known how Remy's confessions would end up and she had wanted to be prepared in case he needed to stay away from the mansion that night. She was glad for it as she slipped into her new dress and applied her make-up carefully, leaving her hair loose and flowing down her back.
Stepping out into the empty sitting room, she closed the bedroom door behind her and was startled by a low whistle from the open balcony door. "Look bien, ma ami." Remy stood in the shadows, his eyes glowing lightly in the darkness as he took a last drag from his cigarette before crushing it under his heel. When he stepped into the light of the room, Betsy let her own gaze roam his body as he had done to her. He wore a blood-red silk shirt tucked into leather pants as obscenely tight as everything else he wore. His hair was pulled back in his usual ponytail and flowed down his back while his bangs shadowed his eyes.
Leaning on one hip, he let her look her fill until her gaze met his once again and he arched an elegant eyebrow. "Does Remy pass inspection?"
She gave him a light smile. "I think you'll do."
"Bien, le's go." Stepping next to her, he took her hand and kissed the back of it lightly before tucking it around his elbow.
They dropped the room key off at the front desk and were quickly on their way to one of the trendiest and most expensive clubs in town. Turning Betsy's silver BMW over to the valet, the two of them swept past the waiting line, right up to the bouncer at the door. He nodded at both of them with familiarity and let them in immediately, receiving a large tip from Remy and a light caress on his arm from Betsy for his trouble.
Stepping inside, Betsy leaned close to Remy so she could be heard. "Seems you've been here before."
Remy smiled and leaned down to speak directly into her ear. "Ya not de only one Jubes talks into gettin' her out o' de mansion."
Betsy felt a shiver of pleasure as his warm breath touched her ear. He was becoming much too tempting after offering to be her 'rebound homme' earlier. Trying to cover up his effect on her, she smiled playfully. "I'm surprised you would risk it. I doubt Logan would be happy to hear about it and he is not one to cross."
In answer, he leaned in closer and she could almost feel his lips touching her ear. "Some t'ings are wort' de risk, n'est pas?" Pulling back, he had a devilish smile as he pulled onto the dance floor.
Betsy continued to hold Remy for a long time. She did not ask why he had never told the others any of this when they had first arrived, after all, who did not have secrets on the X-men, mistakes in their past they wanted to forget. The X-men did not know the story behind her encounters with Slaymaster and Mojo. They never seemed to realize what it meant to owe her sight to a monster who had ripped her soul out and tried to remold it. She still shivered when she remembered how Slaymaster had defeated her in her first 'Superhero fight'.
Remy felt the tremor and quickly tried to retreat misinterpreting it for disgust. Betsy only tightened her hold and continued to stroke his hair, focusing on her concern for him, and he soon relaxed against him.
"Why?" His voice was muffled and low. If the room had not been so silent, she would have missed them.
"What?"
"You not mad at Remy."
"No." She did not ask why he thought she would be. The answers were much too obvious.
"Don' understand."
"When I was young, I always wanted to be a hero, a war ace or a superhero. My twin brother, Captain Britain, retired for awhile, and I could not understand why but I saw it as my chance. At the time, a woman named Captain UK was around. She was me from an alternate time line but had Brian's powers. She was what I wanted to be and I asked her to help me. So, she taught me. We beat up some villains, had a grand time. She declared me ready and returned to her home time line. The first villain I met on my own was a man named Slaymaster. My brother had defeated him numerous times and I thought I would have no trouble." She paused to swallow the lump forming in her throat at the painful memories.
"'S ok. You don' have to tell me."
"Shhh." She resumed stroking his hair over his back. "He was very strong and very vicious. He hurt me badly and pinned me under a large rock. I could not move and was paralyzed with pain and fear as he stood over me and taunted me. He...he laughed and used his claws to remove my eyes."
Remy sat up suddenly to stare into her blue eyes, confusion written on his face.
Betsy shook her head when he tried to speak. "I was blind for a very long time but my telepathy made it less of a handicap. I would 'see' through other's eyes. Then one day, I was ambushed by a being called Mojo. He rules another dimension and is very powerful. He replaced my eyes and enslaved my mind, rewriting my personality, even my soul to serve him. Through me, he stole several children including students from Xavier's and began to alter them into what he wanted. I was freed before Mojo could finish his work but he left the eyes. I considered having them removed but I could not bear to return to blindness. So, I can see only through the generosity of a thing I hate above all else."
"Why're you tellin' me dis?"
"Why did you tell me about Sinister?" They were silent for a long time before Betsy asked, "Is your empathy why you said it was easier to live in the boathouse?"
"Oui, I can feel der anger. It hurts and it wears m' down, 'specially Stormy. It's de only reason Remy let you in dat first day. Could feel ya weren't mad."
"Is that the worst you had to tell me?"
"Oui, most o'de rest, you can figure. Like de femmes, t'ieving, usual stuff."
"Good. Now, we are past that and I am hungry. I vote we have breakfast and talk about other things." Remy nodded and they disentangled themselves to pick up plates from the cart. The two of sat and talked for hours about their homes and families, forgetting the mess their present lives were by remembering pleasanter and simpler times.
***************
"M' cousin 'nd I decide to do de test toget'er, 'cause we wan' go out 'nd play, not be stuck inside learnin' safe crackin'. So, 'e turn on 'is stealth field 'nd Remy charges de lock 'nd blows de safe. Den, he drops de field 'nd we turn 'nd look at our teacher. He just don' know what to say but gettin' real mad 'nd ready to skin us. Mon pere comes out a' de shadows 'nd says we passed. Poor teacher just 'bout ready to 'ave a fit 'nd says we didn' do it right. But, papa says we got it open in silence, dat means we done it right. "We trainin' t'ieves not priests here". Teacher jus' t'row 'is 'ands in de air 'nd swear he gonna go get drunk."
Betsy laughed at the latest story of Remy's childhood. "So, your cousin is a mutant as well?"
"Oui."
"There seem to be a lot of mutants in your family. Most of the relatives you have mentioned have some ability or other. It must have made it a little easier growing up with other mutant children around."
Remy's eyes turned nervous and he looked away. Then, as if coming to a decision, he raised his eyes to stare at her very seriously. "We're frien's, right?"
"I believe we are."
"Frien's keep secrets 'nd dis is an important one. It's a Guild secret but I don' wan' you wonderin' 'bout it. 'Member when de Brood took over N'Awlins 'nd was stealin' de t'eif 'nd 'ssassin children?"
Betsy's brow furrowed for a moment as she remembered that particular mission. "Yes. Wait a minute! I remember we asked the Brood Queen why she was taking over the guilds but you and Belladonna interfered, preventing her from answering, saying it was a Guild secret."
"De guilds been doin' arranged marriages for centuries 'nd, when mutants started showin' up, bot' guilds see de potential. They been actively tryin' to arrange matches to produce mutant children eva since. Done a good job too. Every t'ief in my generation 'nd all de children got an ability o' some kind."
Betsy's eyes widened in shock. "No wonder the Brood wanted them and no wonder the guilds keep it a secret. That many mutants trained as thieves and assassins...it would be a gold mine to anyone wanting to make an army."
"It's why de need peace so much righ' now. De child'en gettin' more powerful. Soon, skirmishes 'tween de families are gonna be a danger to de city itself or more."
"But, how is it that Charles has never sensed it? That large of a gathering of mutants in one place should have every alarm on Cerebro going off."
Remy smiled at her. "Non, Remy not tell. One Guild secret a year is de limit."
Betsy laughed in delight at the teasing look in his eyes. "Well, what if I decide to be stubborn and make you tell me?"
"Den you betta have somet'ing real good to offer Remy in exchange."
"Oh, really?" Her lids lowered and she looked up through her long lashes flirtatiously. "Hmmm, perhaps I can think of something."
He gave her a lazy smile in return. "Don' go startin' somet'in' you not gonna finish."
She suddenly looked away, embarrassed. Her and Warren's break up had only happened the previous day and she was already flirting with Remy, almost propositioning him? "I am sorry."
"Don' be. Wouldn' min' bein' a reboun' homme fo you."
Betsy looked at him out of the corner of her eye. It was tempting. He was a handsome man with bedroom eyes, a smoky voice, and a lean body that seemed to beg to be touched. It was very tempting and the air almost sparked with sexual tension as she met his eyes. But, he deserved better than that and so did she.
However, before she could say anything, he stood and shrugged, "Don' min' jus' bein' a frien' eit'er." He held out a hand to help her stand. "C'mon, gettin' too serious 'gain. Le's go out."
She placed her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet, much too aware of the warmth of his touch. "Where?"
He shrugged, "Dancin'?"
"But, I am not dressed for a night on the town." Her protest was half- hearted. It had been too long since she had indulged in going to a club. Jubilee used to drag her along since Logan hated the places and would not let the young woman go alone. Unfortunately, with Jubilee in Massachusetts, she only came into the city to go to plays and operas, which she did enjoy. However, she missed the loud hard music of the clubs, the press of the crowd, losing yourself in the music.
"Club's don' open for more'n an hour, got more dan enough time t'get clothes for goin' out."
She made no more protest and they were soon at Sachs, where Remy abandoned her to shop alone. Betsy was not surprised. After all, she had never met a man who enjoyed shopping and he had been more polite about it than Logan or Warren, promising he would be back in an hour. She ended up buying several outfits but the one she had picked out for the night was a deep amethyst silk dress that looked almost black. It tied around the back of her neck, leaving her shoulders and back bare and ended a few inches below the top of her thighs. It fit like a second glove, flattering her figure. A pair of heeled, black leather, high healed sandles were found and a stop at the perfume and make-up counters completed her trip. Arriving at the arranged meeting place, she noticed Remy had a few bags himself as he raised an eyebrow at the amount she was carrying.
"Y'leave anyt'ing behin'?"
She smiled. "Just the bad stuff."
They returned to the Waldorf suite and had a light dinner before separating to their respective bedrooms to get ready. Betsy had asked for a suite with two bedrooms that morning because she had not known how Remy's confessions would end up and she had wanted to be prepared in case he needed to stay away from the mansion that night. She was glad for it as she slipped into her new dress and applied her make-up carefully, leaving her hair loose and flowing down her back.
Stepping out into the empty sitting room, she closed the bedroom door behind her and was startled by a low whistle from the open balcony door. "Look bien, ma ami." Remy stood in the shadows, his eyes glowing lightly in the darkness as he took a last drag from his cigarette before crushing it under his heel. When he stepped into the light of the room, Betsy let her own gaze roam his body as he had done to her. He wore a blood-red silk shirt tucked into leather pants as obscenely tight as everything else he wore. His hair was pulled back in his usual ponytail and flowed down his back while his bangs shadowed his eyes.
Leaning on one hip, he let her look her fill until her gaze met his once again and he arched an elegant eyebrow. "Does Remy pass inspection?"
She gave him a light smile. "I think you'll do."
"Bien, le's go." Stepping next to her, he took her hand and kissed the back of it lightly before tucking it around his elbow.
They dropped the room key off at the front desk and were quickly on their way to one of the trendiest and most expensive clubs in town. Turning Betsy's silver BMW over to the valet, the two of them swept past the waiting line, right up to the bouncer at the door. He nodded at both of them with familiarity and let them in immediately, receiving a large tip from Remy and a light caress on his arm from Betsy for his trouble.
Stepping inside, Betsy leaned close to Remy so she could be heard. "Seems you've been here before."
Remy smiled and leaned down to speak directly into her ear. "Ya not de only one Jubes talks into gettin' her out o' de mansion."
Betsy felt a shiver of pleasure as his warm breath touched her ear. He was becoming much too tempting after offering to be her 'rebound homme' earlier. Trying to cover up his effect on her, she smiled playfully. "I'm surprised you would risk it. I doubt Logan would be happy to hear about it and he is not one to cross."
In answer, he leaned in closer and she could almost feel his lips touching her ear. "Some t'ings are wort' de risk, n'est pas?" Pulling back, he had a devilish smile as he pulled onto the dance floor.