Six
The locked door of the tiny Eglise Sainte Marie held no challenge for her late night visitors-especially not when one of them was a skilled member of the Thieves Guild. It had only taken the trio fifteen minutes to say their goodbyes and head towards the tiny Eglise that Kurt was certain Mickey had been referring to.
Now all they had to do was await the Assassin's arrival-not an activity Remy excelled at. As he paced Remy wrung his hands feeling more like a worried mother hen then he would ever like to admit; how Mickey planned to sneak out of the Boudreaux Mansion where all the high ranking members of her Guild also waited for her.
Rogue and Kurt had no clue the danger Mickey was putting herself in to meet with them this night. Arranged or not Remy couldn't see Julien liking his fiancé running off to meet another man-even if it was just to discuss the 'outing' of mutantkind. Without thinking Remy pulled a card form his coat pocket and began to charge and uncharge it with kinetic energy, the release and pull of his powers momentarily distracted Remy from his worries.
"You might wanna can that Swamp Rat," Rogue's dry drawl pulled him back into the present-the Gothic girl was watching his hands intently as her younger brother prowled near the alter ; "Those fireworks of yours aren't exactly low profile."
Uncharging the card again Remy slipped it back into his pocket and
looked long and hard at Rogue-she looked paler than usual and some faint lines
of strain tugged at her full purple painted lips, "You know some of dose
mutants on de TV?"
For a second both Rogue and Kurt looked taken aback by Remy's wild guess. Rogue recovered first and nodded slowly, "Yeah, Mystique helped train the Brotherhood…we grew up with those boys."
No further explanation was needed. Remy could understand the haunted look in the girl's eyes when they had watched the news broadcast-he would feel the same if he had to watch any of the Thieves he had grown up with in the same situation. Shrugging his shoulders Remy scanned the empty church around them, "Well chère…we be in de right place if you wanna pray for 'em."
"That's Kurt's thing Swampy," Rogue lowered her voice and jerked her thumb towards her brother who had already knelt in prayer, "I stopped believing in God a long time ago."
Surprised at the bitterness in her voice Remy sat down and watched Rogue-lifting and eyebrow in question; the girl seemed too young to be so cynical, "Why chère?"
Rogue's face clouded over as she looked at her hands, she seemed a bit
too interested in the grain and weave of her black gloves. She plucked at her right wrist and frowned,
"You know why I wear these all the time Swampy?"
"Non chère." Remy sighed he hadn't quite mastered his low grade empathy and now he could feel self-loathing and anger rolling off of Rogue in waves-it made him want to pull his trench coat closer and shiver, "But Remy guess dey no fashion statement."
Shadows played across her pale face making her emerald eyes shine in the dark, "Don't I wish. Nah, it's my skin you see…when I touch people I take their thoughts, memories and with other mutants I get their powers…I can't control it."
It took Remy a second to digest that factoid; it certainly explained the conflicting emotions Rogue felt about herself. Her brutal honesty made Remy feel bad for teasing her earlier in the day-after all; he had spent a good amount of time unable to touch things when his powers had manifested. It had taken time patience and Mickey's insistence that he could use meditation and visualization to control the flow of energy. The method was similar to the way Mickey tapped into her own powers and had set Remy well on the right path to controlling his-but before that…if anyone could understand the way Rogue felt it would be Remy. With a deep breath Remy stripped off his own gloves and moved his hands into the light so Rogue could get a better look.
Rogue hissed as the moonlight hit the multitude of small silvery scars that covered Remy's hands-everything from small cuts and slashes to what had to have been deep burns. She lifted her eyes to his and for the first time found herself liking the young thief, or at least this intelligent, sensitive side of him. Rogue opened her mouth to say something when Remy lifted a hand towards her face, "Chère, we all make a few mistakes in de beginning…dat's why its called learnin'. You'll get de hang of t'ings soon enough."
Despite her valiant efforts to the contrary Rogue could feel tears welling in the backs of her eyes; cursing herself and her runaway emotions she fixed Remy with her best wry smile, "And if I don't?"
"Den you're gonna hafta find yourself a very creative homme hahn?" He smirked flirtatiously and Rogue's dark mood evaporated in the face of his waggling eyebrows.
Laughter bubbled over Rogue's lips and before she knew it she was curled in half trying to keep quiet. When she looked up at Remy again his face was serious, "You should laugh more chère…"
"Why's that Swampy?" Rogue quizzed shooting him a confused look.
This time Remy moved close to Rogue's ear and whispered so that only she could hear, "Because…when you smile you're de most beautiful woman Remy's ever seen…"
A blush crept up Rogue's neck and she turned away not sure what to say-even before her mutation had raised its ugly head boys hadn't paid much attention to her. Unlike other girls she had been happier to climb trees and get dirty with the boys; before long none of the boys in Caldecott had seen her as a girl. It was the curse of the tomboy-to never been seen as anything else-and things hadn't gotten much better since those carefree days. She was about to make some disparaging comment about Remy's possibly fading eyesight when the doors to the church opened to allow a slight, dark shadow slipped in.
If Rogue hadn't seen Mickey wearing the same outfit at school earlier in the day she would never have recognized the other girl. Her purple Chelsea cut had been replaced with waist length black hair and while her eyes were still a smoky blue they now had an almond shape to match a set of more fine-drawn but forgettable features. "Mickey…" Kurt launched himself towards the girl teleporting to her side from his place at the alter, "What took you so long?"
"I had to sneak out. I can't stay long." Mickey sighed and distanced herself from the almost hug Kurt was easing her into.
As they watched the girl closed her eyes-things moved so slowly that you would have needed a time lapsed camera to pinpoint exactly what was changing but every time you brought your eyes back to Mickey's face it was a that much different. That was the difference from Mystique's all at once changes-this was more controlled and subtle. It probably took less time than Rogue spent on her hair every morning but finally the changes stopped and Mickey as they knew her stood before them once more. Remy's dry chuckle broke the reverent silence, "Dat never gets tired…every time you do dat…Merde…" he ran an absent hand through his shaggy hair, "You have any problems getting out Fantôme?"
"Julien set extra guards to circulate the grounds tonight," Rogue tried to catch some sort of expression as Mickey spoke-but she was unreadable.
Rogue crossed her arms and frowned-why would they need guards for Mickey's home? "There something you're not telling me Mick?"
"Dey know 'bout de Guilds," Remy sighed and sat back down in a pew, "Dere maman is ma Père's nouvelle t'eif."
On soundless feet Mickey took a spot next to Remy and sat heavily, "Marius briefed us on that after school today. He wants Bella and I to give him what information we can gather." She smiled thinly at the twin expressions of shock on the sibling's faces and bared her tattooed arm again, "I'm an assassin."
"What?" Even with his image inducer turned on Kurt paled and even Rogue was taken aback-this quiet girl was a trained killer?
"I'm an assassin." Mickey shrugged as if she were talking about the weather, "It's the family business."
The jigsaw puzzle pieces fell into place for Kurt, "Last night when you left the church you said it was family business…"
"I didn't kill anyone," Mickey met his eyes without flinching, "I wanted to but I didn't."
"So why does your brother have guards set up?" Rogue asked trying to steer conversation away from any of the secrets her new friend might have been keeping from Kurt-it wasn't everyday he showed interest in a member of the opposite sex that Rogue actually liked.
Without thinking Remy burst into laughter-Julien as Mickey's brother-it was too much for him to bear in silence, "Chère…have you got dat wrong. Julien be Bella's frère…Mickey just lives wit dem."
"Why don't they want you to leave?" Kurt asked quietly looking down at Mickey through a curtain of his blue black hair with soulful eyes.
Mickey shook her head and frowned but not before shooting a dark glare at Remy, "There are a lot of politics behind it that I can't explain to anyone outside the Guild…but the basic reason is he's my crazy fiancé. He thinks that threatening my father's life isn't enough incentive for me to agree to an arranged marriage-so he's settled for house arrest."
Sneaking a glace at her brother Rogue sucked in a breath, Remy looked bored and poor Kurt looked like he had been kicked in the stomach. Whatever she had expected Mickey to say in answer to her question that had definitely not been it. Suddenly having a travelling terrorist for a mother and a raving lunatic in a purple cape as a Godfather didn't seem so bad-Magneto wasn't crazy enough to attempt to force her to marry his son-not if he knew what was good for him. Besides, she seriously doubted either Magneto or Pietro wanted to sully their gene pool by having Rogue take a dive in it.
That small reminder of the past brought Rogue right back to the more important issue at hand that night-the newscast out of Bayville. Shaking her head softly Rogue offered Mickey a small smile, "Good to know I'm not the only one in the running for 'Crappiest Love Life Ever'. Now to the matter at hand…what the hell are we gonna do about people knowing that mutants exist?"
"Lay low hope t'ings die down," Remy gave a very Gallic shrug and pulled his sunglasses out of his pocket, "No point worrying bout it till den hahn. Sides, if Mickey don get back Julien will come lookin' for her…and ya'll don want dat."
Mickey nodded and began rearranging her face once more to facilitate her escape, "We can talk more tomorrow at school. If we don't have the same lunch we'll skip a class or two."
Before either Rogue or Kurt could comment she slipped back into the shadows and was gone.
*******************************
"Quit stalling Bella," Julien narrowed his eyes as he tried to step around his younger sister-it was seven o'clock and Mickey still hadn't come down to greet party guests, "I want to know what is keeping my loving fiancé so long."
Instead of frowning Bella forced herself to smile airily and bat her eyelashes at her brother, "Come on Jules…you know how girls are…she's just taking her time gettin' ready so dat no one can say you're de prettier of you."
"Somehow I doubt any comments to that effect would bother Michaela," Julien faked right and moved left just making it around the great wall of Belladonna.
He couldn't put his finger on what it was exactly but he knew Mickey had gotten his sister to buy her time. Time she could only need for two purposes-to run or to hide another man. Julien didn't know which he hoped for more; if Mickey ran he could chase her or cut pieces off of her father until she came back. And if it was another man…then he could teach the girl another valuable lesson about not cheating Julien Boudreaux. His palms itched at the thought; Probably one of those Lebeaus…I never liked the way Theo and that little Rabbit looked at her…
Julien's mind rocketed back to reality as Bella placed herself in front of Mickey's door a serious look on her face, "Now Jules…give de girl a chance. I promise she'll be down in ten minutes, go have some wine."
Launching himself forward with a snarl Julien caught his only sister by the neck and pinned her to the door, "No Belladonna you listen to me. You're going to move or I will move you. Then I'm going to open this door-I don't care what state of preparedness Michaela is in. Do you understand me?"
Pleasure surged through Julien as he caught the fear in Bella's eyes; the realization that he didn't care about hurting her if it aided him in achieving his goals. And right now his most pressing goal stood on the other side of the thick pine door. Pushing Bella aside Julien swung the door open, vaguely surprised that Mickey hadn't locked it-he knew about her little deadbolts that even that swamp trash fiancé of Bella's had pronounced 'unbreakable'. As he stepped over the threshold of Mickey's room Julien prepared himself for any of his well planned scenarios.
"You could have knocked." Mickey's dry voice caught him off guard-she was sitting at her vanity putting the last touches on her makeup.
Julien smiled wolfishly as he moved up behind her-Mickey's eyes watched him closely in her mirror. It gave him time to study the small improvements to her appearance she had made; the hair was still the same but her long purple bangs where brushed backwards to hide her mostly shaved head, her makeup was soft and understated instead of heavy and black. What Julien most heartily approved of was Mickey's simple black dress with it high neckline but well above the knee length-it clung to her body as she moved concealing and revealing at the same time.
Swallowing Julien devoured her with his eyes-very soon she would be all his-he could afford to be patient now. "I thought I'd escort you downstairs."
She rose and Julien hadn't expected her to move so gracefully in the stiletto heels she wore but Mickey did and used that grace to weave around him, "That's alright. I wanted to talk to Bella first…you know how it is…I'll meet you in the receiving line."
"Fine," Julien growled shooting a glare at his younger sister as he left the room, "I don't want to have to look for you again."
Bella shifted to the side as he past so that he couldn't accidentally brush against her-since her earlier talk with Mickey it was impossible not to see how freakish Julien's behaviour was becoming. Making a mental note to talk to her father about it in the near future Bella left out a large sigh of relief, "Merde…I thought for a minute you had really run off."
"Thank you for trying Bella." The heels of Mickey's shoes made tiny stab wounds in the thick carpet as she walked to her friend-her smile was tragic, "But where would I have gone?"
Open mouthed Bella watched as Mickey glided down the stairs and towards Julien; not for the first time she felt a shiver of fear for her friend.
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Okay I didn't expect to finish this one so soon…but I don't hear any of you complaining.
Mail Call…
Peace 215 – So was this fast enough this time? Yay…you liked the dinner scene…that had me stumped for ages. I'm so mean to Remy. And you never know what I'm going to do…I like surprises.
Star of Chaos – Yep, I think if Ish didn't fear me NOT finishing anything I'd get more threats emailed directly to my inbox…but I think she's too twitchy to type.
Pixie Flyer – I'm going to try and kill everyone who needs killing. I promise. And I'm working on the next part to "Shame and Redemption" I really am…I'm just a bit stumped on my Rogue and Remy making up once again scene…it'll be worth it when I finally get it done.
SickmindedSucker – Yeah, I think that would be the general idea but then sometimes revenge is best served cold you know. Yes I know...I dropped off the face of the world and stopped updating…I called it a vacation.
Kitrazzle Fayn - *performs CPR* Are you okay? Don't go into the light. If I knew I could kill with my writing I would stop…But I'm glad you like it.
Frozen Fire – Like I said I'm going to kill everyone who deserves it…but whether you like it or not is debatable. How was this for both Remy/Rogue bonding and cliffy? Have I outdone myself?
Angyl-Devyl - *takes a bow* High praise indeed. Thank you. You can't see it but I'm doing a happy dance because you like my banter. Welcome to my world.
VinGirl – I can't wait either…wait I'm writing it…I should know what happens! But I don't. Come on…this can't be better than everything you've written…I mean it's not exactly one of my better pieces.
Yumkio – Oooowwwww Quit poking me! Okay…how was that for R&R bonding? At least they aren't trying to kill each other in this one.
Ish – Yes I live! Barely but I live! I knew you'd love the way Rogue swept him off his feet *g* I lurve the squirrel man…it's mine. Yeah, Mattie is kind of scary in my world…and yes you can comfort Emil and his argyle socks. I hadn't really thought of Jena-Luc and Raven as a couple…but reading it again…it would work. Except that would make Rogue and Remy step siblings…ewww…no. Yes, dearest Mystique hasn't had her chance to react yet…it's coming…remember poor Freddy was captured. Yep, Mickey's life sucks…it can only get better. And I know you hate Bella with a passion…but I'm trying to make her sympathetic here…at least try to pretend you're interested. But yeah…marriage to Julien = HELL. Not so much Mutant bonding…but the Romy should make up for that.
Angelicstar2 – Thanks…Yep Rogue and the Mickster are headed towards friendship…no worries.
Writerchik1 – Maybe I will maybe I won't. Ish didn't think I'd kill off my beloved OC in the Cypher Arc and I did…so you never know if Mickey will marry Julien. Good to know you liked the way I'm developing the relationships between the characters…yay.
Mysterious Fan Girl – It depends on the OC…not to toot my own horn too much but I create some pretty cool characters. Glad you stopped to read me. Keep coming back for more.
Lonewolf – Why is it everyone thought I was dead? They tried to leave me at the side of the road but I hitchhiked home again…I'd rather have Jean have an aneurism while brushing her hair. But that's just me.
Jean1 – Yeah…that's my constant fear with my OC's is that they become Mary Sues. Thanks for the warning…I think I explained what I was going for when I said Mickey helped Remy learn to control his powers…I meant it as they're the only mutants they know and it was trial and error…anyway…yeah. Besides the only reason I could see Mickey taking Remy in a fight is that she would be aiming to kill as quickly as possible…where he would want to defend and escape…it makes your tatics very different. He'd have the obvious advantage though.
Chaos Cat – Yay…I am nothing if not interesting. I don't like all bad characters…they are very boring to write…if you haven't noticed even Belladonna isn't too bad here. Yay again! You like Mickey. And banter. Yep no love at first sight here.
Epona – I try very hard to make the interaction very real. Ireland Rocks my friend. And so does Dublin. I might be biased…because my family hails from the area…but who cares.
Bad Girl4 – Keep reading…it'll get better.
Jaquelle – Pleased to oblige you…here's the update.