Lost Identities
By Saturnian Blonde
Standard Questionably Useful Disclaimer: Marvel owns all rights to characters, names, etc. No profit is being made from use of anything. Yet.
Rating: PG-13
Comments: See, I can get two in one day! You know, since I kinda like writing and all, if you review, then I'll get some more chapters up….
Anyways, I wonder sometimes if I am able to really get Bobby's character right. Can anyone help me with that?
Chapter SEVEN
"So what exactly did you have to come here to do?" Bobby whispered as he stretched his arms before sitting down in a chair. Having drawn straws, Rogue and Kitty had shared the bedroom for the night, and Kurt and Bobby got the pull-out couch in the living room to sleep on. Bobby was the first to wake up, and pulled a chair beside London's small cot by the window. She sat there quietly, wrapped in a comforter and staring out the window.
"Mostly, only to talk to Lena. I haven't been able to contact her since I left, and I wanted to know how some business deals went."
"What kind of business? You both sing, right?" London nodded.
"I never much liked to actually sing for people. It was Lena's idea, and it was an easy way to get some pocket change. Her ability – she's a mutant – is to 'influence and control people's thoughts through audio suggestion' as she always liked to call it."
"So that's not actually your power, then,"
"No. I always considered it a form of stealing, so I can't stand to do it, but she convinced me to. I just copy others," she said a little sadly, still not looking away from some small point in the morning sky. "So we formed a group, wrote and composed a few songs, and went to clubs for jobs. It actually worked out, and we were about to meet with someone about a possible record deal. But then I went to New York, and we left on bad terms."
"Ouch. That sucks." He said, not sure of what else to say. "So are you going to meet her today?" She nodded.
"I told her to meet me at a club tonight. I also assumed you all would want to come. We'll go hang out there for a while, I'll talk to her, and I guess it goes from there…Kitty will be pleased, I'm sure."
"Yeah, she'll do anything for a chance to dance the night away," He chuckled, and she hushed him as Kurt shifted in his sleep on the couch.
"So what about you?" She asked, looking at him. "You like to dance, or you more the wallflower?"
"Rogue's the wallflower. She's not really one for crowded places."
"Yeah, I thought of that. I know the owner, he'll look out for her. There are a couple smaller little shops around where we're going, all Goth and punk. He'll let one of the bouncer's go with her. But you didn't really answer my question." She turned around, facing him fully and pulling the blanket around her tighter. "You dance?" He smiled and looked away.
"Well… a little."
"Aw, you're so cute when you blush…" she grinned, and their eyes met. She held her gaze a little longer on his ice-blue eyes. He looked right back at her.
"You know… your eyes are weird…" He blushed and added when confusion flashed through her, "I don't mean in a bad way… one's green, the other's purple…" She looked shocked, and grabbed her purse from beside the bed. Pulling out a small compact, she held it up to her face.
"They're… you're right…" She looked at them for a moment, confused still, before setting the mirror aside. "They haven't done that before."
"Changed colour?"
"Nah, they do that pretty often. But they've never been to colours before…" He got up and knelt before her, looking at them closer.
"I think they're pretty. Certainly different, but not something as drastic as Remy's eyes, either." She smiled at that, and giggled. They suddenly noticed how close they were; London could feel his breath on her cheeks and blushed. He pulled away, an apology silently showing in his eyes.
They were saved from any other awkward conversation when the bedroom door opened and Rogue walked out, already changed and with her makeup.
"How did you sleep?" London asked as Rogue poured herself a glass of water from the kitchen sink.
"Fine. I don't think Kitty can say the same, though." She grinned widely, a somewhat disturbing sight. "I made her sleep on the floor."
"Are you guys ready yet?" London called from the bedroom door, waiting for Rogue and Kitty to get dressed so they could go.
"Just a minute! I don't know whether to wear the yellow shirt or the pink!" Kitty cried out, rummaging through the hoards of shopping bags she had picked up during the day.
"Like, what do you think?" She stood up, holding up a pink strapless shirt and a pale yellow peasant top.
"The yellow." Kitty held them up to the mirror, and must have seen what London meant, for she quickly threw it on. Checking her hair one last time, she grabbed her purse and headed for the door.
"Come on, Rogue, we're leaving…" London pleaded. Rogue stepped out of the bathroom.
"Wow, I knew that shirt would be great for you!" Rogue wore what almost seemed to be her usual outfit, but London had insisted that she try on a chiffon top she had seen in a vintage store. Over her usual tank top she only wore a thin shirt with long sleeves and a hood. It even had short gloves that could be pulled back into the sleeves.
"Ah still think ah look almost naked in it."
"Pff, only because you can see your skin through the shirt. You're fully clothed, so you're safe. It looks great!"
"Ah'll have to take your word for it." They left for the living room, and as soon as Rogue stepped through the door, Kurt whistled at her.
"Looking' good Rogue." Bobby commented.
"See, I told you it's great! Now lets go!" London urged them through the door. Bobby tried to hide a smile at London. She looked greater than Rogue. Her hair was twisted back into a simple butterfly clip, and her white shirt's transparent back displayed the vast network of vein-tattoos that seemed to spread all over her body. I wonder, do those veins go everywhere? He shook his head as if to rid himself of those thoughts, and picked up his jacket. She waited for him to leave to lock the door, and they left for the club.
"Are you sure there, like, won't be a problem with us getting in?" Kitty asked as they walked down the streets. "We're not of age, and Jean's not exactly here to convince the bouncers to let us in…"
"Don't worry, Kitty. I know the bouncer, and the club we're going to does let minors in." She pulled her coat closer, and pulled up the hood over her head.
"Oh, I can't wait to dance, there will be lots of hot guys, right?"
"Yes, Kitty," she said, shooting an exasperated grin at Rogue. They approached the door to the club, heading right up past the line-up of people already waiting.
"Hold it," One of the bouncers, a large African-American man a good couple feet taller than London, called from the stool by the door. "And where do you think you're going, Miss?" Kitty visibly recoiled from the man, but London only laughed.
"Inside."
"There's only one thing that'll get you in that club." London rolled her eyes playfully and pulled her hood down. She quickly pecked him on the cheek.
"Nice seeing you again, Annika."
"You too, Bruno." She walked again to the doors, gesturing them along. Kitty paused at the Bruno.
"Do we have to, like, kiss you too to get in?" She asked, and Bruno laughed hard, smiling. London only grabbed her arm and pulled her along.
"Honestly, Kitty, I wonder that you're not a blonde in disguise sometimes." London said as she handed their coats over to the coat check.
"Shugah, we all wonder at that." Rogue remarked dryly.
"So where can I find you?" Kitty asked, eagerly eyeing the dance floor. "Don't worry, we'll find you. Have a good time. You want anything to drink, talk to the bartender and mention 'Annika', he'll get you anything." Kitty shrieked in excitement and ran off to the dance floor, Kurt being pulled along behind him.
"Is it safe here? I mean, from…"
"Don't worry. This is a pretty safe place. You saw the size of the bouncers, and there's two at the door, one at the bar, and four more scattered around the club. If there's any trouble, which there won't be, it'll be fine. You could probably cough and one of them would make sure you're okay…"
"Alright. Bobby, wanna come get a drink?" Bobby looked to her, and she nodded.
"Go ahead, I'm gonna look for Lena. If you don't want to dance, upstairs on the balcony there's also some gaming rooms, there's probably a game of poker or something you could join in." They disappeared, and London scanned the crowd. She gasped as she saw Lena standing on the stairway, nursing a glass of alcohol and talking to another girl.
"Right." She said, making her way over to the stairs. "Lena!" she called, and she turned, frowning when she saw London. Something was up, that much she could tell. And from the looks of her, she had been drinking. She came down the stairs
"Ah, Annika," she said, taking another sip of her drink. "How nice of you to stop by." Contempt dripped off her voice as she approached her.
"I've been trying to get a hold of you since I left, what's going on?"
"Well, life passes by, but I guess you wouldn't know, since you're all settled down in New York now." She wobbled a bit on her feet, but steadied herself.
"Lena, how much have you drank?" She took the glass from her hands, setting it on a table beside them.
"Doesn't matter! We're here to celebrate! I don't know how your 'job' in the States is going, but we just got another one, and are here to party!" The girl she had been talking to on the stairs walked up to them, and Lena slung her arm around her waist.
"Annika… this is Richelle."
"Wait—you got the job?" Lena smiled smugly, throwing her blonde hair over her shoulder.
"Yupp, me and Richelle are now the newest group signed to Wind-Up Records."
"You and Richelle?" London repeated, confused. Lena leaned towards her, almost falling over.
"That's right. When you left me, I had to find someone else to take your place. And it turns out, Richelle here can actually sing, instead of just stealing other's abilities… they loved us, and signed us. And," she feigned disappointment, "Oh, I guess that means you're out on your own. Sorry."
Lena pulled Richelle away, pausing only to kiss the other girl in front of London, leaving her staring after them.
Rogue leaned against the bar, occasionally talking to the bartender, whose name was either Jake or Luke, she couldn't tell from his accent. Bobby had left to go find the others, and Rogue was trying to figure out why she didn't go find the bouncer Bruno to take her shopping, like he had promised her. Maybe it was the music, which Rogue was surprised to find that she didn't mind it. It wasn't her usual style, but there was a lot of Techno and Rave, which she was at least beginning to appreciate at this volume. It sure wasn't the company, but she actually didn't mind being by herself.
"Would chère care t' honour dis homme wit' a dance?" Rogue spun around to see Remy leaning against the bar beside her, grinning down at her.
"Remy! What are yah doin' here?"
"Perhaps lookin' fo' a mademoiselle étonnante t'danse with?" He offered a hand to her, and she accepted it, letting him pull her towards the floor.
"No, really, what are yah doin' here? Ah thought you were supposed to go down to N'awleans for something?"
"Remy finish his business early so he could be with his chère."
Rogue couldn't find anything to say to that.
A hand came down on London's shoulder, scaring her and whirling around. She gasped as she saw Bobby. The smile he had disappeared slowly as he looked at her.
"Are you okay?" he asked, looking her over. Her eyes looked scared and shocked, and he could safely guess it was from what ever Lena had said to her.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, turning her head slightly and bowing her head. Her voice wobbled slightly from something, and he pulled her chin up to face him.
"No, you're not," he could see the tears lining her eyes, hovering there, waiting to fall. He pulled her over to a table in a corner, and sat her down.
"What happened?" She was silent, looking down at her folded hands in her lap.
"Nothing. Really, it's nothing. I'm sorry." He stared at her, and she finally looked up. She smiled. "Don't worry about it. I was just shocked for a second."
"You look awfully pale, you sure you don't want to go back to your place?"
"You know, I think I should." She slowly got up, and they headed towards the doors, on the lookout for Kitty, Kurt, or Rogue.
"Kitty!" She caught her eye and waved her over.
"London, this place is great, I love it!" She said, her face flushed.
"Told you so. I'm going to head back to my apartment, you can stay here as long as you like."
"Are you sure you don't want us to come with you?" Her face turned worried, and she glanced to Bobby, who only shook his head.
"I'll head back with her." London looked at him, questioningly, but he insisted on going with her. She eventually gave up.
"You'll never guess who I saw here!" Kitty exclaimed. "Remy!"
"You're kidding." London looked around for any sight of him, and Kitty pointed to where he and Rogue were dancing in a far corner of the club. "Huh. Stranger things have happened…" When you want to leave, just get them, or at least tell them if you go. Talk to Bruno, he'll walk you home as well, or call a taxi for you."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, yes. I'm positive. You're having a great time, party on, girl." Kitty grinned and went back to Kurt, who was dancing with a very pretty girl. London turned back to Bobby, opening her mouth to ask something.
"Before you even ask, yes, I'm going back with you. I can't have you walking home alone only to get jumped by some mugger or something." He said as they walked to grab their coats.
"I wouldn't get jumped," she said laughingly, "Not without my favourite fuzzy blue mugger."
They left, briefly stopping so that London could ask Bruno and another bouncer to watch her friends and make sure they got home. Tightening her coat around her, pulling the hood up, they walked back to her apartment. Bobby wanted to break the silence, but he wasn't sure how; there clearly was something on her mind, and he could see it hurt her.
"What did Lena say to you?" He finally asked as they crossed the street. London looked away, and was silent. He kicked himself mentally, and put his arm around her shoulder. She turned to him, looking him in the eye.
"I don't know what to think about what she said." London softly whispered. "It was clear that she was drunk… but she has the ability to imbibe large amounts of alcohol and say exactly what she means to say regardless." She pulled out her keys and unlocked the lobby door to the apartment complex, smiling pleasantly at one of the inhabitants she knew as they passed. "She said things that I guess are along the lines of 'Thanks for not being there, I've found someone else to take your place.'" She swallowed, rubbing her head. She unlocked the door and led him into the apartment, turning on the lights and throwing her coat and purse over a chair.
"She actually said that?" He gaped at her. "What did she mean, exactly, when she said 'take your place'?"
"She meant that she wanted nothing to do with me, I guess. She had some other girl hanging off her shoulder like a lost puppy. She meant," her voice cracked, and she walked to the window, unable to look at him, "To take my place in the band, in her life, and in her bed."
London walked slowly over to her cot, sitting down on it and leaning against the wall, staring at some spot outside. Bobby sat down beside her, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her into a hug. She just lay there, not crying, not thinking, just waiting for the tears to come, until she fell asleep against his chest.
Ha ha ha…. Poor girl.