Disclaimer: Marvel's, not mine.
Note: I know I said the X-Men would not be in this, but I lied. This story is being made up as I go along. Also, thanks for the to the few that reviewed, it is much appreciated!
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Professor Xavier prided himself on his students. All were hardworking, diligent students, eager to learn more about their powers. As Rogue entered his office for their weekly discussion, an effort to solve the mystery that was her power, Xavier evaluated her status so far.
"Rogue I would like to take this moment to just say what an excellent job you have done so far at this university. You are in your third year, earning above average grades, dealing with a strong mutant power, whilst still holding a great attitude towards your studies and peers.
"Thanks professah, ah guess ah have been working pretty hard, " Rogue sighed. "Ah just wish ah had this darn power under control.
"I know Rogue, but you are making progress, I foresee that you will someday soon, the professor comforted.
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Outside, Remy leaned against the door frame, listening in on their private conversation. He knew Xavier could not detect him, his mental shields were too strong. The enhancement of his powers was the only good side effect of the debt he was in. But he would do anything within his power to avoid confrontation of paying that debt.
Over the last couple days he had allowed Rogue near him, talking with her, learning much about her, without displaying much in turn about himself. He knew it was an unfair trade, but he hoped she would tire of him and move on, so he would not have to hurt her. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, she was quickly becoming a drug of sorts, when she wasn't around, he fell into a lonely depression, craving her immensely.
Suddenly a searing pain shot through his head, cursing, he slid to the ground, hands over his head, holding in a scream for fear of giving away his position. Unknown to Remy however, every telepath on campus had felt his pain, each in turn collapsing with a terrible headache.
"Professah, what's wrong?" Rogue cried in frustration. Seconds ago he had simply cried out and slumped over. Slowly he sat back up.
"Someone just let out a lout psychic scream. I have not seen that sort of telepathic power in anyone at this school. Their pain was unbearable.
Rogue could only look at the floor.
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"So who is the tall, dark and handsome you've been hanging out with so much lately Rogue?" questioned Ororo, as she swept her long, white hair up with one graceful motion.
"Huh? Oh, that's Remy, a new friend o' mine. Y'all will meet him tonight," Rogue stated as she double checked herself in the mirror of their shared bathroom. "He's a little shy, but ah think y'all will like him.
"I'm sure we will Rogue. Now, lets go dancing, shall we?
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It was pouring outside, and the dim weather was wearing on Rogue, making her a tad irritable as she entered the club. Remy's attitude during the night increased her uneasiness, if only because he was not the Remy she thought she knew. Throughout the night, he danced and flirted with many women, including Rogue and her friends. A smile constantly played on his lips. She knew she should be glad that he appeared in better spirits, but she missed the Remy she had grown comfortable with. This new Remy got too close, pressed limits, made her jump, afraid she might knock him out with her powers. Rogue retreated to the bar, signaling the bar tender for a drink.
"What's de matter chere? Y'look tired, de night hasn' even begun by Remy's standards.
"By Remy's standards huh?" He had been talking in that damn third person all night long. "Well, ah'm not tired sugah, ah just needed a drink.
Remy bent down, his lips a centimeter from her ear. "Y'sure dats all y'need chere?" he asked huskily, while his other hand roamed up her thigh.
Knocking his hand off, Rogue stood up to face him. "What is going on with ya Cajun!? Ah've never seen ya act like this!
"M'sorry Rogue, would y'rather I moped around all depressed like? Somethin' is changin' in me Rogue, somethin' I think dat y'started, somethin' y'seem to always start, no matter the time. So, m'sorry if I was happy for de first time in five years!" With that, Remy stormed off, back to the dance floor.
Startled, and confused, Rogue ran. She ran out the alley. She ran through the streets. The rain soaked her thin frame, as she collapsed on a nearby bench. Pulling her legs to her chin, she rocked back and forth, contemplating her situation. It seemed her and Remy had reversed sides for one night. For once he was happy, while she felt sick, her mind, for the first time in all her years of strength, succumbed to the darkness, allowing all her previously absorbed voices to be set free.
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It takes a lot to break a man. Five years ago, Remy accidentally killed his best friend when his powers went haywire. This turned his lover, Belladonna, and his family The Thieves Guild away from him, effectively sending him to Essex. Essex, helped him tame his powers. Essex helped him learn about revenge. Revenge on a time that was not his, a life that was not his. It was within that year that his projected mission began to fade, swallowed by the time barrier. It was that year that he lost his soul. It was that year that he first saw Rogue.
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Remy knew he should go find Rogue. He hadn't seen her for nearly two hours. Granted the club was huge and overcrowded, but a slight sense of unease overtook him. He sauntered over to the table where Jean and Scott were getting cozy, and grabbed his trench coat.
"Where are you off too Remy?" Scott questioned.
"Yeah, the nights still young, isn't that what you have been claiming all night?" Jean teased.
"Just getting a breath o'fresh air mes amis." With that Remy went off on his search for Rogue. Stepping outside, he hoped that she hadn't been out here the whole time. It was pouring down rain. After about thirty minutes of searching he came across a figure huddled on a bench, unmoving. He could see the rise and fall of her chest, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Pulling out a cigarette, he lit it with the tip of his finger. "Y'know chere, y'going to get a bad cold sittin' out here in dis rain." With that he took his trench coat off and placed it over her shoulders.
"Careful LeBeau, you don't want to get hurt all over again." It wasn't the words that scared him. It was the lack of her southern accent, and her unwavering calm that frightened him.
"Rogue, chere, dat y'?" Rogue then began to lift her head up, her damp hair clinging to her face, her now red on black eyes piercing into his own.
Remy dropped the cigarette he was holding, and backed up a step. Rogue simply stayed put. "You know LeBeau, its funny, I never told you what my powers were, yet the day you kissed me, you knew to only hold on for a second. What de fuck is happenin' t'me?" Rogue's emotions were ranging everywhere, as tears began to form uncontrollably.
Remy stood motionless. He knew this would happen. He knew that he would hurt her. The smile he had carried all night disappeared, as he fell to his knees.
"Chere..I..IÉfailed.
Rogue looked up then, right into his lifeless eyes. She watched his body begin to shake, as he wrapped his arms around himself. A swell of pity overtook her, as she began to reorganize her thoughts. Rogue unfolded her legs, and slowly crawled off the bench towards his crumpled form.
"Remy?" No answer.
"Remy, ah-" Ah froze then, swallowed by a single moment, unable to speak.
Remy looked up, contemplating Rogue's pause.
"In another life chere, we woulda been great.
Sad eyes met sad eyes, both red on black, both carrying the same pain.
"Just know chere, dat I woulda loved y'in dat life. Your tres belle eyes make me want to live again chere. But I won' take y'down wit me.
With that Rogue fell unconscious, her last conscious moment was being lifted by strong arms that whispered "M'sorry," and smelled of sweet spices and cigarettes.
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I knocked Rogue out wit my telepathy n'carried her back to her apartment. Ro' wasn' home yet, so I let myself in, layin' Rogue onto her bed. I unbuckled her high heeled shoes, and wit trepidation, took off her wet dress and hung it over her door. I lay a blanket over her sleeping form, but was unable to leave her side. She was so beautiful. She was always beautiful. I wanted so badly t'tell her who I really was. Dat I had known her once, a long time ago, dat we had loved each other. It had been m'choice to come here dough. I knew I coudn' bring her down wit me, yet I searched her out anyway. With one last sigh, Remy placed a bare hand on Rogues cheek, and smiled.
"Je t'aime toujours, ma belle.
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Rogue watched the night city from the balcony she now shared only with herself. It had been a year since that damn swamp rat had knocked her out and left her alone. Dressed only in a jade silk robe, she headed back into the spacious, empty loft, smiling at the remembrance of her mother's insistence. Her mother was a wealthy psychiatrist, and had insisted on giving Rogue only the best, especially when she moved to New York to be closer to her only child. It wasn't that Rogue took it for granted, she adored her apartment, but it was beginning to feel rather lonely, and she was wondering if she should find a place with Ororo again. Jean had moved in with Scott, engaged to be married in the following months. Ororo herself was in a deep relationship with someone as well, but Rogue could not settle down with any one man, even if she had learned to control her powers.
Her powers. When she had woken up from whatever Remy had done to her, she had received a strange sense of knowing, she had an idea of how to control her powers. Excitedly, Rogue had run to the professor, and together they had solved her mystery. Rogue couldn't help but think that it had been Remy's final gift to her. Perhaps she couldn't settle down because she was waiting for Remy to return. She hadn't of even known the man that well. Rogue was woken from her reverie by the phone ringing. She stared at it silently before finally picking it up.
"Hello?
"Hey Rogue, what are your plans tonight?
"Uh, hi Jean. Well, actually, Ah wasn't really-
"Good, because Ororo, Mikel, Scott and I were planning on hitting up that local Jazz club, and we found the perfect date for you an-
"Jean, that's real nice an all, but Ah was just planning on staying in tonight.
"You can't be serious Rogue! It's New Years Eve! Look, I already promised this guy you would show up, I can't change my plans. Besides Rogue, you love this holiday!" Jean effectively moaned.
"Fine girl, ah'll go," Rogue laughed, although inside she was already dreading it.
"Great! Stop by my place around 9:00!
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The evening hadn't turned out so bad. The dancing relieved her nerves a bit, and Todd, the man they had brought along for her, wasn't so bad. Something felt out of place though. A feeling at the back of her neck, a tingling within her mind. Maybe it was just the alcohol speaking. She continued dancing, the feeling never leaving, yet her body seemed unable to stop dancing.
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A couple booths away the man took a slow drag of his cigarette, watching his target closely. He wanted to approach her, he was here to approach her, yet his legs felt like dead weights beneath the table, and for now he was simply content to just watch her. Her curvaceous form gracefully moved with the forms around her, molding and moving to exactly the right rhythm. She wasn't flirting with any single person, but he noticed a blond haired boy kept an intent eye on her, following her around like a puppy. Remy smirked. At least that man had the courage to be near her. But that man hadn't left Rogue a year ago. He had spent that year searching, trying to remember his mission, his reason for being here. Like a blinding, sinful light, the memories had washed over him one night, and it was then that he wished to completely forget. He was here to save the future lives of the X-Men. But the X-Men did not exist in this time. He was here to save Rogue. Rogue, his only hope and connection to a life now completely lost. With a quick flash of movement Remy slipped out of the booth, putting out his cigarette. His red eyes gleamed as he moved through the crowd.
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Rogue, out of breath, moved off the dance floor, and leaned against the wall. To her left she noticed a sign that read: Roof, with an arrow pointing upwards. She smiled, and headed up the stairway. Making her way through the top door, she inhaled the crisp, cool air around her, shivering a little in her halter top. ÔDamn, Ah shoulda grabbed my jacket' she thought. Not wanting to head back down just yet, she leaned against the edge of the building.
"S'funny how we always meet on rooftops, isn' it chere?" his warm voice attacked her ears, as she swung around.
"As far as Ah can remember, this is only the second time Cajun," Rogue replied coolly.
"In your life, yes chere, dat's true. But in Remy's time, you and him met on de roof on more dan two occasions," Remy was taking a huge risk at releasing this information to her, but there was a time when he had loved to gamble.
"Your time? Remy, where have ya been all this time? Y'all are making no sense to me!
Remy slowly approached her, removing a glove from his left hand in the process. "Chere. Rogue. If y'absorb me, everthin' will become clear.
"Ah learned ta control mah powers Remy. Ah can't help but think that y'all were responsible for that." Rogue ignored his offered hand, her head turned to the side, avoiding his eyes.
Remy smiled. "Dat's good intuition chere, and if y'absorb me, y'will know de entire story.
Rogue looked at his eyes then. "Why can't ya tell meh yourself? Y'all disappeared for a year, it's the least y'all can do!" Rogue screamed in his face. A rage was filling the southern belle, and she held no pity for the man in front of her now.
"Rogue-
Rogue slapped Remy's hand away. In the distance she could hear people counting down to midnight, and in the last final seconds of the year, she stared once more into Remy's eyes. She saw a strong will, but a broken one, one that had given up on trust long ago. The sacrifice he offered with one bare hand overwhelmed Rogue.
"Ya hurt meh Remy." And with that Rogue ran from his side once more.
Without facing her, without running after her, Remy's eyes filled with rage and frustration. Her damn stubbornness followed her everywhere it seemed. Pulling a cigarette from his coat pocket, Remy placed it between his lips, but did not light it. His hands burned with kinetic energy, as his mind rapidly searched for Rogues'.
He would not lose her, not again.