Chapter Six

Cadiz, Spain - Airport parking lot

Staring out into a vast sea of metal, glass, and rubber; Bishop wonders again if travelling like average tourists was a good idea. The sun burns brightly in the afternoon sky, turning the asphalt into a superheated hot plate. Adjusting his sunglasses against the glare of windshields, he glances to the parking lot hoping to see a sign of Neil arriving with their rental car. Turning slightly when he feels a hand pressing gently against his back, he looks down into Ororo's captivating blue eyes.

"Bishop."

"Storm." Sometimes it was still difficult to believe that he was a member of this legendary team of heroes. His entire life, he had been told stories of their legendary exploits. They were his heroes. When he had travelled back in time to stop one of their own from betraying them, he had no idea he would be included in their ranks. Staring into the eyes of their leader, he could not imagine himself being anything but.

"Be at ease, my friend. You look as though you're guarding the President."

"Excuse me?"

"She's tryin' t' tell ya t' r'lax, hon. You're freakin' the locals out." Lounging against a support pillar, Rogue peers at him through her ruby quartz glasses. Arms folded across her chest, she exudes boredom. "We're sup'osed to be tourists here, not the FBI."

"I never learned how to relax, Rogue." He smiles at her, then to Storm. Ororo merely returns his smile and accepts his attempt to lighten the mood.

"Verily. It's serendipitous that we have the chance to partake in this opulent scenery and bountiful sunshine." Beast, otherwise known as Hank McCoy, chimes in. Thanks to the portable image inducer he carries, he is able to mask his true form, that of abundant muscles and blue fur. Appearing as he is now, shorts and gaudy Hawaiian shirt, he has the opportunity to blend in with the rest of the travellers.

"Yes, the weather is quite pleasant, isn't it Ororo?" Elizabeth Braddock, however, has not quite learned the meaning of 'blending in'. More often than not, most people consider her to be aloof. A British born Asian transformed beauty, her striking purple hair merely acts as an accent to her silk form-fitting purple dress. Generous amounts of flesh offer passers-by an abundance of eye-candy.

"Indeed. A day such as this reminds me of my native homeland. Perhaps, since we are this close anyway, we could pay a visit once our task is finished here." A gust of wind catches Storm's stark white mane and whips it into the warm air. Turning her face to the sun, she inhales the scent of water riding the air and allows the sun to warm her face.

"Sight-seein'. Sure, that sounds like a blast." Rogue stands away from the pillar and picks up her duffle bag. "Looks like Neil found our car. Let's get movin' team."

"Sounds like you're ready for action, Rogue." Tessa steps through the terminal doors, a cold soft drink in hand. Squinting against the glare of the afternoon sun, she pulls her sunglasses from the top of her head to cover her eyes. "And it looks like I'm just in time for Neil." She casts a meaningful glance at Psylocke. "How fortunate."

Elizabeth glares at Tessa. Rogue lets out an exasperated sigh. "If'n you were tryin' that crap with me and Remy, you'd be gettin' more'n dirty looks."

"Ooookay, then." Hank cautiously interjects. "Um, perhaps we should go." The car comes to a halt beside them. With a flamboyant bow, he adds "After you, my gentle ladies."

Interlude

Ten years previous.

Overlooking the crowded streets of Madrid, in the elegant breakfast nook of the penthouse belonging to the recluse millionaire Toby Cambridge, Irene Adler sat quietly absorbing the myriad of sounds assaulting her senses. The most insistent, and intrusive, was that of a young pre-adolescent southern girl with an explosive temper. Sighing inwardly, Irene tried to recount the number of times this past week alone the young girl and her foster mother, Raven, had come to trading verbal blows. She had lost count. Carefully placing her cup of coffee on the table before her, she retrieved her cane from its resting place beside her and slowly got to her feet.

It was mid-summer, and the heat was becoming unbearable. The heat wasn't the only thing becoming unbearable, she thought. Rubbing her temples in an effort to ease the dull ache that had begun, she walked quietly down the hallway to the bedroom where the terrible noise originated.

"Raven, could you not leave the girl alone for just one morning?"

"Irene?" Turning away from the closed bedroom door that barred her entrance into her daughter's room, she quickly approached her dear friend and placed a supportive hand under her elbow. "The child doesn't listen. I should just leave her alone?"

"For today, yes. Leave the girl alone." Sagging slightly against Raven's grip, her voice carried with it the frustration and weariness of its owner.

"What's wrong, Irene?"

"A headache." She replied as Raven lead her to her own bedroom. "I'm afraid I'm beginning to feel my years."

"Don't be so foolish." Raven scoffed. "Would that I look as good as you at your age..."

Irene laughed. "Please, Raven. You forget to whom you speak, you were my age when..."

"That's enough, woman." Raven warned as she and Irene sat on the side of the bed. Her smile, however, betrayed the coldness in her voice. "You should lay down a while..."

"It's morning. I'm not going back to bed. I want to go out today."

"If you want." Raven moved to get up off the bed.

"No, love." Irene put a hand on her arm to still her movement. "I'm going by myself."

"What?"

"I am capable. Just because I'm a blind old woman does not mean that I cannot take care of myself." She gripped the handle of her cane with both hands. "Were that the case, I would not be of any use to you."

"I'll always need you, dear heart." Raven turned towards her and placed a hand over Irene's.

"I know."

"Yes, of course you do." Laughter crept into her voice. "Benefit of being able to see the future."

"Benefit..."

"Destiny?" A frown creases Raven's brow. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Irene stood up. "Spend the day with Rogue. You two need some quality time together. I believe she wants to go to the bookstore. You will take her."

"If you say it, then it must be true." Raven walked to the doorway, turning to face Irene as she leaves. "When will you be back?"

"Later..."

End Interlude

Present day.

"Who let Rogue drive?"

Tires screech against the paved roads leading into Cadiz as the rental car barely navigates a sharp turn. Storm throws an arm against the passenger door to stop from being thrown against it. Hank, Elizabeth, and Neil all in the back seat, flail wildly to keep from landing in each other's laps as the car squeals around another corner.

"Rogue! Watch out!" Tessa screams from the front seat. Being able to see better than those in the back is not a blessing in this case, she thinks to herself. "Car!" She throws her hands out in front of her to grip the dash pad as Rogue passes a slower moving vehicle in front of her and into the path of another car. As deftly as she had swerved the car from behind, she whips it back into its proper lane as if nothing had happened.

"What?" Rogue asks innocently from behind the wheel, an evil knowing smile on her lips.

"What! Good lord, woman!" Neil replies more forcefully than necessary.

Rogue laughs in delight as she slows the car to a respectable speed. Glancing in the rear view mirror, she catches his eye.

"I think I'd rather face Magneto than let you drive again." Elizabeth informs her.

"You're completely insane." Tessa adds.

"Not to be a bother, but could we stop? I think I left my stomach at that last turn." Hank puts a hand over his mouth and pretends to try and not vomit.

"Babies."

"Have they arrived?"

"Yes, sir. This morning." The suit stands before a figure concealed by shadows. Regardless of where he stood, it seemed that the shadows would not abandon his face. The suit thought this odd, but he reminded himself that he was paid to act, not to think.

"Excellent. Keep an eye on them. The river rat must know where the diary is, or she would not have lead the rest of her gene jokes here."

"Yes, sir."

"Leave, then. Don't fail me."

"No, sir."

We were always fighting it seemed. Either Ah did somethin' to put her off, or she would look at me the wrong way, or say somethin' stupid. Ah usually ended up tellin' her that Ah hated her; sometimes Ah actually meant it. Then Ah would just end up feelin' guilty and tryin' to make up for it. Ah don't know if she ever realized that Ah felt that way, but it seemed that Ah would always have t' do somethin' stupid an' dangerous afterwards. Did she plan it that way? Piss me off an' make me feel guilty so Ah wouldn't argue when it came time to do the nasty? Ah don't know.

Y'know what they always say, 'you can never go home again'. Thank God.

Well, Ah don't really mean it that way. Ah do love mah Ma, but Ah've been wondering what kind of person she really is. What did she want me to be? Ah've always known that her methods aren't always legal, sometimes they're down right brutal. She's the enemy. She's mah Mom. Ah love her deep down. She raised me and protected me - loved me when no one else would. She tried to kill me when Ah stood in her way. Confused? You bet Ah am. Ah should hate her, but Ah can't. Ah drove mah claws through her back afterwards, to protect an innocent.

Protecting the innocent is what we do, what the X-Men do. Is that what Ah was doin'? Or was it just the old me comin' through, actin' out of anger? She hurt me Ah hurt her. Sigh Why ain't life ever easy?

"Penny for your thoughts, Rogue." Neil sits down beside her at the small table she claimed in front of the window in the hotel's lounge.

"What?"

"Hi."

"Oh, hey Neil." Picking up her bottle of beer and picking at the label, she stares out the window past him. "We were here when Ah was about twelve. Supposed to be a family vacation, but of course it wasn't. Ah just wanted t' spend time with them and enjoy the sights. Irene was actin' weird, Momma and Ah fought a lot. It seemed like Ah wasn't part of what was goin' on y'know, Ah was just along for the ride."

"That must have been hard for you."

"Ah guess." Downing the last of her drink and setting the bottle down with a soft thud, she looks at him through her glasses. "But what twelve year old doesn't feel that way?"

"There you guys are! Tessa's been looking for you, Rogue."

"Hey, Hank."

"Hay is for horses, Rogue. I'd have thought that a country girl like yourself would know that." Elizabeth strolls into the lounge wearing a soft beige skirt and black tank top, having changed clothes for the fourth time in as many hours. Pulling up a chair between Neil and Rogue, she calls the waiter over. "I am dying for a cold drink. I'll just have a beer, please."

"Ah'll have another, too."

"How many have you had already?" Hank inquires. "You've been down here for two hours."

"Three." She replies as the waiter returns with their drinks. "What's Tessa want?"

"She wants to know if you can help her start looking for the diary. She knows it's around here somewhere, but she can't focus in on it."

"That's 'cause it's in Madrid, not Cadiz." Rogue takes a long drink, and then holds the cold bottle against her throat before continuing. "Ah remember Destiny goin' out one day by herself when we were in Madrid. She didn't go far, she was back in a couple of hours."

"Do you know where she went, Rogue?" Elizabeth asks.

"Nope. Didn't say. Ah never asked." Bringing the bottle to her mouth for another drink, she stops momentarily before drinking. Holding the bottle inches from her face, she informs her teammates, "We're not alone here people."

"How do you know?" Neil asks as he glances around them.

"Ah can 'hear' them." Setting her bottle down on the table, she stands and casually stretches. "So much for just playin' tourists."

Her teammates rise as well, watching her for a clue as how to act. Directing her friends with her eyes, she tells them where to go. Spreading out, they move to intercept their stalkers before they can escape.