Chapter Twenty-Five
The afternoon was fading into evening, and Remy was walking slowly around the grounds of the school, at the edge of the large lawn near a line of trees. He was well rested, well fed, completely sober…and bored out of his mind.
A group of students were playing basketball in the front court, and he could hear them laughing and chatting, enjoying the remainder of their weekend, before another dreaded Monday was upon them. Other students were wandering around or hanging out in small groups, but Remy had not seen any of the adults in a few hours. He guessed they were down in their 'top secret' labs doing whatever 'top secret' stuff that a 'top secret' mutant activist group does. He had seen Kurt disappearing and reappearing around the mansion, keeping an eye on the kids while Storm and the others were wherever. Remy figured they knew better then to ask him to baby-sit.
Fortunately, however, Remy had also not seen any sign of the cigar-smoking guy from last night. He was not sure what the guy's deal was. He did not really seem like the 'teacher' type…but then neither did Remy and they let him stay. Maybe he could just buy him a round one night at that little dive down the road and make up for the whole "calling-the-wolfie-guy-with-muttonchops-an-asshole" thing.
Unfortunately, now that he thought about it, he had not seen Rogue today either. She had completely brushed him off last night, and she was apparently dating the Ice kid, but that did not need to stop him from throwing a little Cajun mojo at her.
Remy strolled on, shuffling his worn deck of cards lazily, and mostly looking at the ground. He sighed and leaned over to pick up a few small stones. He casually began to toss them into the trees, and thought about the training sessions Storm had arranged for him next week. He was not sure whether or not he was looking forward to his turn in the Danger Room, but so far it sounded like the best bet he had at learning to control his gift.
Gift…he thought with frustration. He held one of the stones between his thumb and forefinger and stared at it with a frown. He let the small rock fall into his palm and he closed his fist around it.
After a moment, he felt the stone growing warm in his grasp. When he opened his fingers, it was illuminated with a dull light, and was quickly becoming brighter. Remy waited, watching the stone surge with energy, as his eyes began to glow a deep red. Finally, he threw it into the air a moment before it exploded.
The noise reverberated through the quiet landscape, and Remy glared at the whips of smoke left by the small blast.
Gift, my ass, he thought and began the trick again. He closed his fist around another stone, and a sudden voice made him turn around quickly.
"Hey," Rogue called as she walked toward him, "Some people are tryin' to study around here."
Remy grinned, broadly, as she approached. She was dressed in a simple black shirt and pants, and wore a matching pair of long black gloves on her arms. She was holding a large book against her abdomen, and Remy nodded apologetically.
"Sorry about that, chére," he replied, "I didn't mean to startle you."
Rogue frowned slightly as she noticed the strange glow in the man's eyes. Then, she smirked and walked past him.
"No harm done," she said, and did not turn as she spoke again, "But you might want to get rid of whatever you're holdin' onto…"
Remy froze, and looked down at his fist in sudden panic. He let the stone drop from his hand, and with a very ungraceful side step, barely avoided the much larger explosion. He fell hard to the ground, and coughed as dust billowed up from a hole that had appeared where the rock had landed.
He sat stunned for a moment, and then heard quiet laughter from behind him. Remy rubbed his head, as the red light faded from his eyes.
"Merde," he said, "That was…a little…to close…to the merchandise…"
He heard Rogue laugh again, but this time she was standing next to him.
"Merchandise?" she said sarcastically, and Remy nodded.
"I consider any part of my physical being to be valuable merchandise, chére, that I have no interest in losing," Remy said with exaggerated solemnity, and then held his palms up and grinned, "Especially my hands..."
He glanced up and gave her an embarrassed shrug. Rogue smirked again, and held out her own hand to the fallen man. He took it gratefully and she helped him stand.
Rogue watched him curiously as he dusted the dirt from his clothes, and noticed that some of his playing cards had spilled from his pocket. She bent down, picked them up and Remy smiled appreciatively as he took them.
"Maybe rocks aren't the best things to direct your powers into," she said as he shuffled the recovered cards back in with the others.
"Yeah," he agreed, "I think you're right…I guess that's what I'm gonna learn in training, no? What is best? How to control this thing a little better? How to keep my hands from blowing things up? Find out…where my energy is best spent?"
With the last few words, Remy flashed Rogue a flirtatious, but still cautious, grin. He could not help but tease her, but he also did not want her to complain to her good friend the wolf-man about the 'overly friendly' Cajun.
Rogue rolled her eyes and turned to walk away, but was still grinning in spite of herself. She heard him following her but did not look back. She figured his friendly bantering was just how he usually interacted with people (especially women), and since he was now in a place that lacked many people his age, he took every chance he could to get some adult conversation.
She came to a long stone wall, a place under a row of small trees that flowered in the spring, where she liked to go when she need some quiet time. Somehow, she doubted her little haven was going to be very quiet today.
Rogue hopped gracefully onto the wall and sat with her legs crossed comfortably and the text book open in her lap. Remy paused before he reached her, wondering if his continued presence would be an annoyance to the belle, but decided to risk any unpleasant reaction.
He walked over to the wall and leaned casually against it close to where she sat. The top of the wall reached a little past his waist and he rested his elbow on the stone surface, a few feet from where Rogue was sitting. She gave him a passing glance and then directed her eyes back to the book.
After a few peaceful, quiet moments (which were driving the bored Cajun insane), Remy sighed and looked over at Rogue curiously.
"What are you studying?" he asked, not entirely interested in the topic as much as he was in engaging her in conversation.
Rogue glanced up quickly, "Oh…um…chemistry…"
Remy nodded, "Oui…that's like mixing chemicals to see what happens or making potions…"
Rogue gave him an amused grin, "No, not quite. It's organic chemistry. More like, studying which chemicals in our bodies let us do what we can do."
"Oh," Remy said significantly, and then chuckled, "That's what kind of science they teach here. Chemistry…seeing what chemicals make us…tick…got it."
On the word 'tick,' Remy grinned broadly, almost obnoxiously, as he tried to get a reaction out of the girl. Rogue rolled her eyes again and shook her head, but inwardly was still amused. He may be annoying, but anything was better than studying right now.
"No," she said, trying to sound serious, "We're studying how differences in body chemistry bring out different abilities in mutants."
Remy sighed and his smiled faded, "Oh…personally I think the first topic sounded like much more fun…"
For a few minutes, neither spoke, Rogue reading (or trying to read) and Remy drew out his cards again and began to shuffle. Rogue was quickly learning that he did this when he was thinking. The only sound around them was the rhythmic shuffle and snap of the deck, and Remy was frowning slightly.
He was thinking again about the training session he was scheduled to have, and found that the idea made him more and more nervous. These people actually wanted to have him blow things up so he could learn how not to blow things up. Sounded a little weird, but, hey, he was a mutant now, he was all about weird.
"So, do you get to try out that Room with us?" Remy suddenly asked, and Rogue glanced up in surprise. She shook her head and hesitated a moment before she replied.
"Um…no, not right now," she said, fingering the corner of one page nervously.
"Why is that?" Remy asked. Rogue gave him a sharp glance, and took a deep breath before continuing. She reminded herself that he was not being facetious; he had no idea what kind of powers she possessed. She debated whether or not to explain to him, but decided it was better to be honest, considering he would most likely learn from another student what she could do if she did not tell him herself.
"Well…" she began, meeting his gaze with quick, fleeting glances, "My powers…aren't exactly the kind the Danger Room can help with."
"Oh…" Remy said, obviously still confused, but trying not to show it. Rogue smiled apologetically for being so cryptic and continued.
"You see…" she said, turning to face him a little more, "When I touch someone…anyone, with any part of my skin, I…I absorb their body's energy. With mutants, I get a bit of their power for a little while and with regular people…well, they can be more badly hurt…"
Remy was nodding as she spoke, and did not look the least bit disturbed by her revelation. He regarded her curiously, not himself understanding why she was so shy to talk about her powers, but wanted to know more about them. Truth be told, it was not just her power he wanted to learn more about, it was his own and everyone else's, but she was the one who was here now.
"So," he said, "If you touched my arm or my hand, without your gloves…you would absorb my powers right out of me?"
Rogue nodded, a strange mixture of sadness and bitterness on her face. She expected him to back away, be afraid to be near her, but he just shook his head and sighed.
"Sounds like you and me got similar problems, chére," Remy said, rotating the deck of cards in his hand slowly. Rogue frowned and looked up at him with surprise. That was not the reaction she had expected from him.
"What do you mean?" she asked and Remy tilted his head in thought.
"Hmm…" he said, "I guess it's more like we have opposite problems…"
"Opposite problems?" she said questioningly and Remy nodded.
"Well, yeah," he said, meeting her gaze with honest sincerity, "I gotta problem with energy coming out of me, you gotta problem with energy being pulled into you. Kind of the same but different, no?"
She stared at him blankly for a moment, and slowly realized he was right. She had always considered her powers to be completely unlike every other mutant in the world, but really she just had a "reverse" of power. A lot of mutants could draw energy out of themselves, like Cyclops or Bobby…or the man in front of her. She simply drew energy in from elsewhere…not entirely unlike Storm, who drew her power from the environment around her. A power that was still dangerous…but not uncontrollable…maybe she was not so different after all…
As Remy looked over at her, he saw a strange smiled spread over Rogue's face. She met his eyes, held them for a long moment, and Remy blinked in surprise at the intensity he found there, a new light that long been hidden from the world.
Had the Professor been there, he would have given it a name.
He would have called it hope.
Rogue's smiled lit her face, as the world was growing dim around them. She jumped down from the wall and stood a moment in front of Remy, looking up at him with gratitude.
"I…I think…you're right…" she said, and then smiled again, "Thanks…"
Rogue ran off across the field, wanting to find the Professor…wanting to talk to Storm…wanting to tell Bobby most of all…that she found something inside of her she thought she had lost. If the Professor had told her hope, she would have said he was right.
As she headed toward the house, she left Remy standing utterly confused next to her forgotten text book. He scratched the back of his head and frowned, not entirely unhappy but still disappointed at her departure. He was not sure what he said to make her react like she did, but at least she looked happier.
That's right, LeBeau, he thought, with smug amusement as he strolled toward the house, Way to brighten the day of a beautiful lady...just keep doing what you do best. Maybe your luck will improve…
***
Author's Note: P.S. to Remy/Rogue fans – You asked for it…I know there's no bells and kisses yet, but who knows…this is only book one after all. :-) Of course, she did just run off to Bobby…