Quand les hommes vivront d'amour, il n'y aura plus de misère… Les soldats seront troubadours, mais nous, nous serons morts, mon frère…("Quand les hommes vivront d'amour", Raymond Lévesque,1956)

In memory of those who died trying to save others, two years ago. Not only americans hearts are with you, but also your allies'. Know that you will always be considered as heroes.

Disclaimer : Wow, I haven't wrote a disclaimer in a long time… I usualy don't, since I think it's rather… useless to say these characters are Marvel's. It's obvious they're not mine, or I wouldn't put them on the net for free reading… Well, Josée, Louis, Antoine, Lilliane, Lydia, Matthew, Fame and Falcony (well, that makes a lot of original characters, doesn't it? Yay for me! Yay!) are really mine, but this disclaimer is about Prudence, which is one of Sinister's Marauders, but also foofighta's creation. What? *jaw falls to the floor* you haven't read her stories yet? *put her hands on her hips and clicks her tongue in dissapointment*. Well, 'Reborn', 'La Fille' and 'L'homme de la Mort' are really great, you don't want to miss these stories who really don't get the attention and reviews they should. Go on! Read this chapter first (of course), and then on to her stories! Go, go!

Once again, sorry for any mistakes… I soooooo wanted this to get on the net as fast as humanly possible!

Enjoy!

Josée watched her father from the corner of her eye as his eyes began to glow an eerie red, then her heart stopped as she noticed the strange ressemblance with Sinister's. Remington? English? As in… from England? Sinister saw her looking at her father, and talked some more.

"Dear Josée, it doesn't seem you know a lot about your father, dear child."

"Shut up, Essex." Sinister raised his brows at Remy, who took a menacing step towards him, and in front of Josée. "She don't need t'be included in dis. Dis' between you and I."

"You really think so, Remington? I rather think she should be informed of who her father really is."

"Was." Rogue took a step forward, eyes narrowed in anger. "We good guys put the past where it belongs. Behind us."

Sinister smiled. "Prue, please, show Josée what's inside her father's head." One of the Marauders walked from behind him and let the cap of her cloak fall in her back. She couldn't be more than in her mid-twenties, but she looked like she was made of stone. Her long, blonde hair was tied up high on her head, and her large, stone cold blue eyes were set on Remy. He chuckled.

"She can' get through m'psychic shield, Essex. Forget it." Prue levitated and glided to face Remy.

"I can, if you're not conscious." He didn't even have the time to blink before she drew back a fist and aimed it at his chin, smashing it in his face at incredible speed. He fell back, a little more than stunned, and the girl took hold of that moment to enter his brain. Remy yelled and rolled up in a ball on the floor.

It wasn't long after, that Josée felt her mind black out.

Then the images came.

The smell of sewers and blood, and she watched in horror her father leading a band of mutants in the Morlocks tunnels, and saw them mutilate, kill and torture the poor peaceful mutants… A feeling of dreading cold on her skin, snow twirling around her face, as she saw her father standing shirtless in the deep snow, a look of despair on his face as Rogue flew away, abandonning him to his death. Words, echoing in her head as she brought her hands to her temples, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to push away the cold woman's voice, a voice full of hatred she knew was the one of her mother…

You're honest with the people you love, Gambit. Otherwise…

… it's a gamble.

~~

He blinked three or four times before realizing he was kneeling on the floor. Images. Only images. All these were part of the past, now, a past he didn't even want to consider his. Once again, like he did when the images came haunting his dreams, he would just push them in a dark corner of his brain and forget about them until they came haunting him again, filling him with guilt… Could he, this time?

He snapped his head up, looking at Josée. She was kneeling as well, but slowly shaking her head as she came back into consciousness. Rogue was crouched next to her, rubbing her back and saying soothing motherly words, but Remy was frozen, waiting for Josée to lift her head. He knew she had seen these images, she knew about him. About his past, his dark past with Sinister, his mistakes… She lifted her head, and looked at him.

Since her and Louis were born, it has been a collective decision to keep the twins and the Summer kids in the dark about Sinister. Remy had been through enough when gaining pardon from the X-Men, they had all decided to keep that particular part of his past from his children. He had thought at first that it was for their own good. He knew now that it was for his.

He still remembered the look of fury and anger in Rogue's wonderful green eyes when she had left him in Antartica, many years ago. He could still feel, in his worse nightmares, the disgust and rejection in all her being as she dropped him in the snow.

He could feel it, see it right now, but it wasn't a dream this time. It wasn't Rogue's eyes neither, but when Josée's eyes connected with his, disgust of him written plainly on her face, his heart rose to his throat. She now knew. And she now hated him for what she knew, as Rogue did years ago. He almost moaned when he realized it wouldn't be long before Louis knew it as well.

He saw an arm in front of him, and looked up. He sighed, and took Antoine's arm, who helped him up. Rogue was doing the same with Josée, who kept looking away from Remy. Ororo cleared her throat, looking sheepish. "Gambit, they left… We should go help Cyclops and the others, don't you think?" His head was spinning. His daughter, his own daughter, hated him? He looked at her, searching her eyes, but she was carefuly avoiding his, biting her lip. He sighed.

"Yeah, we should."

"I'll stay with Louis, to make sure nobody comes here." He turned his head to look at his daughter, and she looked at him, her green eyes cold. She glared at him, and he looked away, his heart broken in half.

"I t'ink it's better dat way… Rogue, Storm, Aeros and I will go help de others."

~~

I pushed away my broken heart to concentrate on the task at hand. We followed the sounds of fighting to find them all in the main laboratory. Sinister was nowhere to be seen, but neither was Cyclops. Which left Jean, Wolverine, Beast, Nightcrawler and us, against three Marauders*. It sounded easy. But Hank had said once that as time goes by, new mutants were getting more and more powerful… Guess he was right.

I recognized the blonde girl to be Prue. She was freaky looking, her eyes unhumanly cold, long bone claws coming out of her wrists. She levitated and seemed to be telekinetic as well, and I shivered. Another one was a metamorph, and changed into a huge white falcon as big as Beast. The third one looked normal enough, a black man with entirely white eyes, but could produce energy balls the size of my car in a matter of seconds from his bare hands. Together, they formed a terrifying team, and were giving the X-Men a hard time. "Fame." I turned my head to see Antoine's face darkened. I looked in the same direction as his to see the black Marauder turn his head to Antoine and smile devilishly. He dodged a blow from the Beast to ran at the speed of light in our direction. Antoine raised his hands to bring air molecules to form a shield around us as Fame thew us an gigantic energy ball. "You traitor!" he yelled at Antoine. "But thanks to you, I'm finaly the new leader now!" The firery ball exploded against Antoine's shield, and Antoine flinched under the pressure. I left the ground and flew up to charge down on Fame, but I caught Prue's attention.

I heard her yell to the white man-bird. "Falcony! The power annihilating tank!" The man instantly turned into his bird form, leaving the ground and flying right to me. I turned to meet him and fight, but he didn't slow down, crashing in me and sending us both flying right in the big water tank. I felt the weight of the bird leave my chest, but I didn't regain my balance fast enough to fly away, and fell in the tank.

The water was cold as ice. I think my heart stopped beating for a few seconds as the freezing water soaked my uniform like a bad wetsuit, and I felt my body  temperature drop a few degrees. Then my brain knocked at the door of my conscience, and told me I should find a way to breathe again. I swam to the top of the tank to pop my head out and get out of this frozen pool, but somehow the lid had been shut. I put my hands flat on the glass and pushed. Nothing. I drew my fists back and slammed them on the glass lid. It didn't budge. My powers were turned off by the solution in the water. Sinister probably didn't know it was as irritant as chlorure for the eyes as well, and my eyes stung like crazy.

My head was spinning. I needed air. A low feeling of panic was slowly making it's way in my chest, and I banged even harder on the glass lid.

I couldn't yell, or call for held. Through my aquarium window, I could see them fighting against the young Marauders. I could see Remy, flaming cards in his hands, teaming with Wolverine to get the monstruous young blonde girl. I couldn't see Nightcrawler, who could have ported me out of here.

I felt like my chest was tearing in half. My lungs were sucking in, trying to get in some oxygen. I fought them, but my whole body shook and hurt with each spasm.

My banging on the glass wasn't getting anyone's attention. My vision was blurring, and my hits weren't more than useless taps. I couldn't even hear them : only a permanent thunder growling in my ears. Another spasm shook my body as my lungs tried another desperate attempt to bring in some air. I gave in, and opened my mouth.

The feeling of freezing water filling my lungs brought me in a state of pure panic.

I began banging on the glass again with the strenght of despair as I coughed and panicked as water filled my chest, poisonning my lungs.

Remy.

Please. Help me.

Sugah…

I saw him turn his head in my direction, but didn't see more.

I closed my eyes. It was much less painful that way.

~~

Fame's eyes rolled back in his head as he fainted, his lungs empty, and his body fell to the ground. Antoine sighed. Finaly. He walked to where Remy was helping Rogue, and fell on his knees next to Rogue's body. "What happened?"

"She almost drowned" Remy answered, his voice broken. "I got her out and got the water out of her lungs, but she ain't breathin', I can't…" Antoine reached out a hand to Rogue's throat.

"Is her heart beating? Isn't she supposed to be invulnerable?" Remy put his hand on Antoine's wrist, stopping it.

"Nearly invulnerable. She still needs to breathe." Remy's voice was hoarse with despair. Antoine tried to reach Rogue throat again, but Remy held on to his hand, almost yanking at it. "Don't touch her!" Antoine looked up at him.

"But I know CPR, Gambit. I can help."

"Ye'll go as far as chest compression with her, Aeros. But touch her skin, and ye're out fo'days." Remy was desperate. He could feel Rogue's heart beating under his hand on her chest, but it was slowing down, and there was nothing he could do to bring air in her lungs. He couldn't dare put his lips on hers; he knew he wouldn't have enough time to push some air through her mouth before her powers kicked in, and he would pass out right next to her dying body. She hadn't drowned in the water tank, but she was in the process of dying right in front of him. Tears stung his eyes, and he smashed his fist on the ground with a frustrated cry. "Dere's not'in' we can do!" He was surprised to feel a hand on his arm, and looked up to Antoine's purple glowing eyes.

"Of course there is. Your hands are gloved, tilt her head back." Was that boy crazy? He knew no mutant who could be invulnerable to Rogue's powers, but he bent down and gently tilted Rogue's head back. He looked back up to see Antoine's fist closing, and opening again, sending small wisps of purple mist flying into Rogue's half open mouth.  Remy barely had time to register the fact that the boy had incredible control over his power, but Rogue's chest raising under his hand took his mind away from that fact for the moment. Antoine repeated the gesture, and Rogue's chest raised again. Soon enough, Rogue coughed and turned on her side, gasping and spiting water. Remy rubbed her back, murmuring gentle senseless words, until she stopped coughing and got her breath back. She raised on hands and knees, her long, wet hair hiding her face, and slowly turned her head at her husband, who smiled.

"Welcome to de world o'de livin', chérie. Never scare me like dat again."

"Wha… what happened?" She sat on her heels, brushing her hair out of her face, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Ah don't mean to be rude, but Ah feel lahke Ah'm supposed to be dead raght now." Remy reached out and gently brushed her face with a gloved hand, tucking a white wet lock behind her ear.

"Y'almost drowned in de power-annilihilating tank and your power were turned off, y'couldn't break de glass… I fished'y in and got de water out'o yo'lungs, but Aeros' de only one who could make'y breath again." His face darkened, and he pulled her in his arms. "Never do dat again, Rogue."

"Ah'll try."

Antoine got on his feet, his eyes looking around them. Fame was lying on the floor, lifeless, and Falcony was fighting against Beast. Helped by Nightcrawler and Jean, though, the blue Beast was finaly able to pin the gigantic white bird on the ground and knock it unconscious. Prue's body was at the other end of the room, but Antoine could swear he saw the blonde girl stir.

His attention was taken elsewhere though, when a red blast dig a hole in a wall, and Sinister flew across the room to land roughly on the floor, a few feet away from Antoine. He quickly got on his feet, though, and glared at the hole in the wall, where Cyclops could be seen standing, one of his hand already reaching for the side of his visor. Antoine slowly walked backwards to stay out of the way, but he caught Sinister's attention. Red eyes turned to look at him, and Antoine froze in a fighting stance, ready to fight whatever Sinister was going to throw at him.

"Aeros, to think I gave you the honnor of working for me… Dear Aeros, such a waste of wonderful powers, but I cannot bear knowing I let a traitor live."

Antoine froze at his words, and he barely heard Jean's call of warning before Sinister raised both his hands, and sent him a full force energy blast. It hurt, exploding in his chest, and he vaguely noticed his feet had left the ground half a second before his body smashed in the wall behind him. He heard a snapping sound in his neck, felt a cold sensation invading his body. Then there was nothing else.

~~

Louis looked again at his sister. She had been silent the whole time their parents were gone, and he didn't like the way she kept her eyes down. They heard a big crash down the hall, though, and Josée got up on her feet. The bounds flashed again on Louis' wrists and ankles, before dissapearing for good with a snap and a flash of light. He stretched his arms to his sides and stood up.

"Do you think they got him?"

"I don't think it's possible to get Sinister, Lou. But I think he's been hurt enough to release his hold on you. Let's go help them." Josée frowned as they ran to the door.

"I hope everyone's okay."

~~

Remy watched with horror as Antoine's limp body smashed straight into the cement wall, raising a cloud of dust over his fallen body. He barely saw Cyclops shooting blasts at a runaway Sinister as he ran to the boy's limp form on the ground, Rogue following him. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Antoine, though, and slowly walked the last steps, falling on his knees next to the boy.

He was lying on his back, covered in cement dust, his arms and legs stretched in a star-like position, his palms open to the sky. There was a large black patch on his burnt chest where Sinister's blast had hit him. But what made Remy moan and close his eyes, reaching for Antoine's face, was the anormal angle of his neck, and the absence of purple glow in the dark blue, lifeless open eyes. Open eyes Remy closed with a shaking hand as Josée and Louis entered the lab, stopping dead in their tracks when they saw the scene in front of them.

Ahem. Please don't hunt me down…

*I know I said in the last chapter that they were four, but I counted again. When they met Louis and Lydia in the street, they were five, counting Aeros… But Aeros left the Marauders to alert the X-Men, and Louis killed one of the Marauders when he got captured. Now, I really suck in maths (you couldn't imagine. I'm a French and History teacher, not maths…), but that would bring the number of Marauders down to three… Sorry for my miscalculating (darn, I only needed one hand to count this, and I still screwed up… *giggle*)

Now, about your reviews…

Tammy : I like Rogue's POV as well, and I tried putting some more in this one. Hope you like the chapter as much as the others…

Nessie6 : Oh, you're almost as cruel as I am. Or not, considering I just killed Antoine. *sigh* You're the one who wanted torture, so let's see how Josée reacts to her father being an ex-Marauder, and her boyfriend (?) being killed. *evil laugh* Talk about some angst!

ishandahalf : well, that was kinda depressing, especially after working so hard on the last chapter of "Laissez". I have to remind you that the fluff story is finished, and that "Sixteen" is all about angst… Okay, Louis doesn't know about his father's past yet, and probably will, soon enough, and now Josée is mad at Remy. Mua haha ha ha ha! I'm so bad! Ah, come on, you know me! I'm never going to make it easy for our favorite Cajun! Now, I just have to find a way for Antoine's family to find out about what happened…

Warmer Than Fire : Okay, Josée found out about her father, and reacts badly. Are you still looking forward for the next chapter? *devilish grin* I love being cruel!

KatLeBeau : I find it funny how you ask so many question I cannot answer, since they've already been answered while you read the chapter. Keep reading! This is going to be very interesting.

VA-river-gal : On the edge of your seat? *evil laugh* tell me when you fall down. THEN I'll know I've written something fantastic… *giggle* Okay, don't take me seriously, I'm so hungry and I'm hypoglycemic… I need an apple…

Girlonthemoon : yay, college! And I'm out of university in 8 months… I can't wait! Glad you love my work…

Talia458 : Scott's brother? *shudders* I hate that idea. I don't think Marvel actually made Remy Sinister's son, but I also read a lot of fanfics about the idea, and I think it's just something the fans made out to explain why Sinister is so interested in him. Remy Summers? *shiver* igh. No way. Not in MY stories…

Foofighta : Oooops! I'm getting mixed up with the French X-Men names again. Tell me when I call Rogue 'Malicia'… *grin* Now, take Antoine's death as a revenge about Didier. *sticks out her tongue* Bleh! Now, the twins didn't get the red-on-black eyes, because I like green more. *grin* Yes, red-on-black may be a dominant color, but that doesn't mean kids automaticaly get it. After all, brown is a dominant color for eyes, but if kids always got the dominant genes, we'd all have brown eyes. My boyfriend's (fiance's! yay!) parent's both have brown eyes, but he got grey-blue eyes, and babies sometimes get the recessive genes from their parents. Which means it could be possible for Josée's and Louis' future kids to get Remy's eyes, though I don't think this story will go this far (hopefuly not). But hell, I'm not a genetic freak… About Aimée and Josée being friends, well, I guess it could be a possibility. After all, Aimée isn't a bad girl, and like you said, she's more than a ball of angst and melodrama, and Josée is the sweet I-fit-in-everywhere kinda child, very low-profile and gentle… I don't think anyone couldn't stand Josée, except for mutant haters, of course. I don't think they could meet, though. *grins* In a parallel world, maybe…

Me : wow, you really are obsessed! *eyes widen* Two days?

Becki : thanks a lot… Writing is another world for me, a way to fly away from my present life… Things HAVE gotten better, and some events can sometimes help find inspiration for writing. Though as you can see, it's not always very positive…