Chapter 16
Betsy sat at the large console in the monitor room and checked that everything was in order. She then set up the computers to let her know if anyone was approaching the room's door before beginning her research. Bringing up a search engine, she sent it through the mansion files to find every reference to Carol Danvers and Mister Sinister. There were still questions to be answered and Betsy had a suspicion that those two names would either provide her with answers or ammunition. The search engine finally displayed two lists and Betsy began to work her way through them.
Several hours later, she was staring at the computer screen in deep contemplation over what she had just read.
Carol Danvers had been a super heroine known as Ms. Marvel with flight, super strength, and invulnerability. She had been a close ally of the X- men and the primary opposition to Mystique's villain team at the time. Rogue had still been with the shape changer during this period. Rogue and Ms. Marvel battled several times and, each time, Rogue would absorb a portion of Ms. Marvel's power but still be defeated by the strong willed woman. Eventually, Rogue in an apparent need for vengeance lured Ms. Marvel into a fight on the Golden Gate Bridge. Somehow during the fight, Rogue permanently absorbed Ms. Marvel's powers, giving her the flight, super strength, and invulnerability she enjoyed to this day, then threw Ms. Marvel's body off the bridge believing her dead. Ms. Marvel's mind and will were apparently very strong as what was left of her continued to fight, trying to take control of Rogue's body. This, along with the fact that a remnant of each of Rogue's victim's psyches remains in Rogues mind, led to severe mental stress which brought Rogue to the X-men. According to the files, Xavier erased the other psyches, leaving Rogue alone in her head.
This fact was false and Betsy knew it. Ms. Marvel was not a remnant and therefore was not erased. She was suppressed but managed to surface several times over the following years until, with Magneto's help, Rogue's personality was able to rid the body of Carol's effectively killing her.
Even more disturbing, however, was the fact that Carol Danver's mind and body did not die on the bridge. Instead, she was, through unknown means, transported to space and changed into Binary, effectively a living star. When she returned to Earth, Carol came to the X-men to see old friends. Carol, of course, became violently angry upon finding Rogue in the mansion and attacked. She was quickly opposed by the X-men and told to forget the incident and leave Rogue alone. This infuriated Carol but the X-men stood in opposition to her and she refused to fight her previous allies. She left and had since joined the Avengers. There is no evidence in the files of further contact between Carol and the X-men.
Mr. Sinister's history with the X-men was even more disturbing. The man had run the orphanage Scott and Alex Summers grew up in. It was also the same place Grayden Creed had lived. Worse still, it was during Scott's years at this orphanage that he had lost control of his powers due to Sinister's experiments. The emotionless geneticist was a high caliber psionic able to manipulate the mind and powers of others. It was most easily done with children or with unconscious victims, of course but the possibilities were still endless. All in all, it provided a picture that both relieved and scared her.
Betsy was still deep in thought when the computer beeped letting her know someone was approaching. Distractedly, she cleared the screen of her research before turning to the opening door.
Remy stepped in with a tray, a small table, and a smile. "Bon soir, chere. Come bearin' gifts."
Betsy smiled in return, pushing her thoughts to the back of her mind as his happiness washed over her. "I see your talk with Ororo went well."
"Oui, tres bien. She not completely happy wit' Remy's 'splanation but she t'ink we all done 'nough wrong through dis, she ain' gonna judge no more."
"That is wonderful news." Betsy's smile grew as she took the cup of coffee he offered her.
Remy finished setting the tray and table up then pulled one of the computer chairs over to sit on the other side. "Oui. Remy didn' t'ink she eva talk ta him 'gain. T'day was tres surpise."
"I know."
He lifted an eyebrow at her before teasing, "What, you an 'mpath now too?"
The question confused her as she answered, "No, but when you leave the link on..." She stopped as she saw his eyes widen in horror and she quickly set down her coffee, grabbing his hand as he rose to leave. "Remy, what?" The link was still nowhere as intense as the previous night but she could fell his fear and horror anyway.
He did not look at her but he did not pull his hand away from either. "Je suis desole. Remy turned it off, he promise."
Betsy's eyes widened. "You mean you didn't know I could still feel your emotions."
"Non, didn' know. Turned it off."
His voice sounded so lost and upset, Betsy immediately stood and held him tightly. "Remy, how many times do I have to tell you, I am not angry. You are an empath, you should know this."
He hugged her back tightly. "Jus' worry. Don' wan' you to get controlled by de empathy. Wan' dis ta be real, wan' ta keep de frien'ship. Mus' be gettin' real tired o' Remy doin' dis, huh?"
She pulled back and stared into his eyes. The emotions along the link had been getting stronger since they touched and she caught a fragment of a thought, something she was sure he had not intentionally sent her. "I know you are afraid I am going to leave you or send you away." He opened his mouth to protest but she quickly pressed her fingers to his lips to quiet him. "I understand, Remy. Everyone you have let close has either left you or exiled you so it is easy to stop believing anyone will stay, easier to try to be alone. You are not alone and you have my permission to read my emotional state anytime you want if it will help you believe that. You are not manipulating me."
Remy continued to stare into her eyes as he placed a soft kiss on each of her fingers. "Merci, chere, you keep tellin' Remy dat. One day, it get t'rough 'is thick skull."
"I thought Logan was the one with the thick skull."
He laughed with her, remembering the earlier conversation. "Right, now Remy 'member. You stubborn, de Wolverine hard-headed...what does dat make Remy?"
"Resilient. Now, since we are friends I will not hesitate to ask you, can I please get back to my coffee before it gets cold?"
As they parted to sit back down at the little table, Betsy noticed that the link lessoned in intensity and she was barred completely from his thoughts once again. She added it to her large list of things to ponder later as she sipped the coffee. It tasted wonderful and she looked at Remy suspiciously. "This did not come from the mansion kitchen."
"Non, went out ta get somethin' decent."
"On your bike?"
"Non, ya t'ink Warren gonna notice a few extra miles on 'is Mercedes?"
Betsy laughed happily. "You took Warren's car?"
"Oui."
"Well, tell me, did you do anything else to it?"
He smiled innocently. "Nothin' much, 'cept stop by a contact of mine. He's a good artist 'nd now Monsiur Worthington can 'splain why 'e drivin' a car reported stolen 'nd registered in Jean's name."
"You didn't!"
"Oui, 'nd wit' great pleasure."
Betsy sat at the large console in the monitor room and checked that everything was in order. She then set up the computers to let her know if anyone was approaching the room's door before beginning her research. Bringing up a search engine, she sent it through the mansion files to find every reference to Carol Danvers and Mister Sinister. There were still questions to be answered and Betsy had a suspicion that those two names would either provide her with answers or ammunition. The search engine finally displayed two lists and Betsy began to work her way through them.
Several hours later, she was staring at the computer screen in deep contemplation over what she had just read.
Carol Danvers had been a super heroine known as Ms. Marvel with flight, super strength, and invulnerability. She had been a close ally of the X- men and the primary opposition to Mystique's villain team at the time. Rogue had still been with the shape changer during this period. Rogue and Ms. Marvel battled several times and, each time, Rogue would absorb a portion of Ms. Marvel's power but still be defeated by the strong willed woman. Eventually, Rogue in an apparent need for vengeance lured Ms. Marvel into a fight on the Golden Gate Bridge. Somehow during the fight, Rogue permanently absorbed Ms. Marvel's powers, giving her the flight, super strength, and invulnerability she enjoyed to this day, then threw Ms. Marvel's body off the bridge believing her dead. Ms. Marvel's mind and will were apparently very strong as what was left of her continued to fight, trying to take control of Rogue's body. This, along with the fact that a remnant of each of Rogue's victim's psyches remains in Rogues mind, led to severe mental stress which brought Rogue to the X-men. According to the files, Xavier erased the other psyches, leaving Rogue alone in her head.
This fact was false and Betsy knew it. Ms. Marvel was not a remnant and therefore was not erased. She was suppressed but managed to surface several times over the following years until, with Magneto's help, Rogue's personality was able to rid the body of Carol's effectively killing her.
Even more disturbing, however, was the fact that Carol Danver's mind and body did not die on the bridge. Instead, she was, through unknown means, transported to space and changed into Binary, effectively a living star. When she returned to Earth, Carol came to the X-men to see old friends. Carol, of course, became violently angry upon finding Rogue in the mansion and attacked. She was quickly opposed by the X-men and told to forget the incident and leave Rogue alone. This infuriated Carol but the X-men stood in opposition to her and she refused to fight her previous allies. She left and had since joined the Avengers. There is no evidence in the files of further contact between Carol and the X-men.
Mr. Sinister's history with the X-men was even more disturbing. The man had run the orphanage Scott and Alex Summers grew up in. It was also the same place Grayden Creed had lived. Worse still, it was during Scott's years at this orphanage that he had lost control of his powers due to Sinister's experiments. The emotionless geneticist was a high caliber psionic able to manipulate the mind and powers of others. It was most easily done with children or with unconscious victims, of course but the possibilities were still endless. All in all, it provided a picture that both relieved and scared her.
Betsy was still deep in thought when the computer beeped letting her know someone was approaching. Distractedly, she cleared the screen of her research before turning to the opening door.
Remy stepped in with a tray, a small table, and a smile. "Bon soir, chere. Come bearin' gifts."
Betsy smiled in return, pushing her thoughts to the back of her mind as his happiness washed over her. "I see your talk with Ororo went well."
"Oui, tres bien. She not completely happy wit' Remy's 'splanation but she t'ink we all done 'nough wrong through dis, she ain' gonna judge no more."
"That is wonderful news." Betsy's smile grew as she took the cup of coffee he offered her.
Remy finished setting the tray and table up then pulled one of the computer chairs over to sit on the other side. "Oui. Remy didn' t'ink she eva talk ta him 'gain. T'day was tres surpise."
"I know."
He lifted an eyebrow at her before teasing, "What, you an 'mpath now too?"
The question confused her as she answered, "No, but when you leave the link on..." She stopped as she saw his eyes widen in horror and she quickly set down her coffee, grabbing his hand as he rose to leave. "Remy, what?" The link was still nowhere as intense as the previous night but she could fell his fear and horror anyway.
He did not look at her but he did not pull his hand away from either. "Je suis desole. Remy turned it off, he promise."
Betsy's eyes widened. "You mean you didn't know I could still feel your emotions."
"Non, didn' know. Turned it off."
His voice sounded so lost and upset, Betsy immediately stood and held him tightly. "Remy, how many times do I have to tell you, I am not angry. You are an empath, you should know this."
He hugged her back tightly. "Jus' worry. Don' wan' you to get controlled by de empathy. Wan' dis ta be real, wan' ta keep de frien'ship. Mus' be gettin' real tired o' Remy doin' dis, huh?"
She pulled back and stared into his eyes. The emotions along the link had been getting stronger since they touched and she caught a fragment of a thought, something she was sure he had not intentionally sent her. "I know you are afraid I am going to leave you or send you away." He opened his mouth to protest but she quickly pressed her fingers to his lips to quiet him. "I understand, Remy. Everyone you have let close has either left you or exiled you so it is easy to stop believing anyone will stay, easier to try to be alone. You are not alone and you have my permission to read my emotional state anytime you want if it will help you believe that. You are not manipulating me."
Remy continued to stare into her eyes as he placed a soft kiss on each of her fingers. "Merci, chere, you keep tellin' Remy dat. One day, it get t'rough 'is thick skull."
"I thought Logan was the one with the thick skull."
He laughed with her, remembering the earlier conversation. "Right, now Remy 'member. You stubborn, de Wolverine hard-headed...what does dat make Remy?"
"Resilient. Now, since we are friends I will not hesitate to ask you, can I please get back to my coffee before it gets cold?"
As they parted to sit back down at the little table, Betsy noticed that the link lessoned in intensity and she was barred completely from his thoughts once again. She added it to her large list of things to ponder later as she sipped the coffee. It tasted wonderful and she looked at Remy suspiciously. "This did not come from the mansion kitchen."
"Non, went out ta get somethin' decent."
"On your bike?"
"Non, ya t'ink Warren gonna notice a few extra miles on 'is Mercedes?"
Betsy laughed happily. "You took Warren's car?"
"Oui."
"Well, tell me, did you do anything else to it?"
He smiled innocently. "Nothin' much, 'cept stop by a contact of mine. He's a good artist 'nd now Monsiur Worthington can 'splain why 'e drivin' a car reported stolen 'nd registered in Jean's name."
"You didn't!"
"Oui, 'nd wit' great pleasure."