***

           Disclaimer – I *still* don't own X-Men: Evolution

           __

           Rogue walked down the hall, feeling a bit light headed. Remy had just left, dragging a babbling Pyromaniac behind him. She was sitting on the outside stairs with Remy for about a half hour, and in those thirty minutes they didn't exchange one word; she just sat there with her head resting on his shoulder and with his arm around her. It was like a Kodak moment.

           "Hey." She came to a halt when she heard Ray from behind her. Her heart started to pound harder, thinking he might electrocute her for killing his precious laptop. "Thanks for returning my laptop."

           She forced herself not to laugh. She knew if he wanted to know what happened to his darling laptop, she would burst out in uncontrollable laughter. Again. "Anytime, Ray."

           "Aren't you at least going to tell me why it's in pieces?"

"If I said it happened during a freak accident involving two squirrels and Wolverine would you believe me?"

"I'm thinking it happened during a freak accident involving you, a rogue and cards."

"A rogue?" She asked, making a face. Then she realized the pun. No wonder Pyro loved this place. "Oh. It was an accident, Ray. I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" He asked, crossing his arms. He didn't look happy. He was still mourning his laptop. "It's the Prof's fault for letting those dill weeds in here."

"Dill weeds?"

"You know what I mean." He still didn't look too happy. "I can't stand them. Especially Card-boy. I want to—"

"Fry him with your ray gun?" She suggested sarcastically. This conversation would've made a certain Australian very happy. "It was an accident, Ray. I swear. I was there—"

"I'm not going to fight about this Rogue. As far as I'm concern Gambit totally trashed my computer. And I doubt he charged up a card and it accidentally slipped through his grasp."

"It did."

"Bull. Why would he have charged up a card in the first place? Did he try to hurt you?"

"Remy would never hurt me."

"Yeah, just put you in a coma."

"Gawd Ray, you're a jackass." She spat venomously at him as she turned on her heel and left him standing there.

***

          

Click.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Click.

           "C'mon homme! Do you have to keep doin' that?" Gambit asked, trying not to raise his voice, knowing it would show his annoyance. "It's a lighter. N-not a cl-click th-thinger, Comprenez?"

           Pyro made a face at his teammate's stuttering. Usually people only stuttered if they had either a speech problem, or if they were nervous or extremely angry. So, which was it? Pyro didn't know. "What's your problem—" Click. "—Mate?"

           "Nothin'."

           "Aw, don't lie to Pyro!"

           "Don't refer to yourself in third person." The Cajun mumbled, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

           "Why?"

           "Because it's annoyin'."

           "Why?"

           "Be—" He glared at the younger male. "Because you're gettin' on my last nerve!" "That guy is gettin' on my last nerve." Well, What a convenient time to think about Rogue.

"Well then you better get s'more nerves 'cause I ain't goin' anywhere."

"You don't have to go anywhere, I will." And with those words, the cranky Southerner stormed out of the room, down the hall, out the door and into the freezing rain.

"Well!" Pyro stared, scrunching up his forehead. "It's someone's time of the month!"

***

"Do you have any threes?" Jubilee asked, arching both brows up suspiciously.

Piotr sat across from her, Amara and Kitty sat by her left and right.

"Go fish." The Russian declared, without looking up from his cards. He paused, and glanced up at Kitty. "Do you have any queens?"

Her eyes skimmed across the cards clutched in her hands. Her eye twitched. "Yes." After hesitating, for about half a second, she handed him the queen.

"Thank you, Kitty." Piotr was winning. He already had four pairs of cards, while the three girls only had one pair, or didn't even have a pair yet. He glanced up at Amara. "Do you have any twos?"

Amara now eyed him suspiciously as she glanced through her own cards. A few seconds later, she sighed, which meant she did. "I swear you're a telepath."

"Or he has x-ray vision.." Jubilee quipped up; making all the girls exchanged glances and then looked over and up at Piotr, who just blinked. "Or not." Jubilee looked over at Amara. "Give him his card, girl."

"But it's my card." She stated, making a face. "I hate this game. Why should you give up a card just because someone else has it? I mean, you have it to—"

"Shut up, and, like, give him the card." Kitty cut her off, as she impatiently looked down at her wristwatch.

"No! I refuse!" Amara threw down the cards, stood up, and stormed out of the room.

"So." Jubilee said, ignoring Amara's small tantrum. The Asian was used to it. "Colossus, you have any Kings?"

***

           "Ol McDonald had a farm but Pyro burned it down.." Pyro mumbled softly to himself as he played around with the buttons in the control room. "Hmm, I wonder what this button does!" He pressed a small blue button, with an ON label underneath it and suddenly all the monitors going across the panel turned on. "Holy--- Damn! That sonofa-brute had surveillance set up everywhere! Even in my room." He made a voice. "I hope there's not one for the bathroom.." He stuck out his tongue in total disgust. "Please tell me that's not how the old man got his jollies.." He shook his head. "Bad images." In about three seconds he sighed heavily. "This is boring. No wonder Magneto never stayed here long. It's no wonder why the guy is dead!" He laughed, not his usual maniacal laughter, which started to depress him. "Damn. I'm bored out of my skull. Quite literally.." He looked around. "What to do.. what to do.." Suddenly, a light bulb went on in his head and he grabbed his new nifty lighter out from his pocket. "Hmm.."

***

          

"What're ya doin'?" Rogue leaned against the doorframe in the kitchen, with her arms folded loosely across her chest.

           "Nothin'." Remy was going through the cupboards. He glanced at her and then went back to going through them. "What else would one do in a kitchen, Roguey?" He asked, taking out a can.

           "I thought you left." She stated simply and took a few steps forward. "Please tell me that Pyro isn't with you."

           "'Chicken Gumbo.'" The Cajun read off the can that he was holding. He made a face at it. "They make it in a can?"

           "Apparently. But it ain't better than homemade Gumbo. Tante Mattie made the best in the South."

           He snorted as he glanced down at it and then up at her. "You ever try it?"

           She shook her head. "Someone here probably bought it as a joke 'cause I'm Southern. Or Sam bought it."

           He raised a brow thinking 'first Ray and now Sam?' "Sam?"

           "He's from Kentucky, Sugah. Only been here a few days. He's really shy an' he's got a cute accent." She said, making sure to thicken her accent at the last statement.

           "What 'bout mon accent?" He asked, pondering the question himself. "You know you love 'de Cajun accent an' 'de Cajun charm." He thickened his accent, and then chuckled softly. He sounded so funny.

           "Yeah." She stated flatly as she tried to resist the urge to roll her eyes. "It's so irresistible." She couldn't help but to lick her lips, which just made Remy smirk. "So, Gumbo, there a reason you're here goin' through the cupboards?"

           "Actually, I came here to see you.."

           She almost smiled, but this was Remy she was dealing with. He once said that to a cashier at a store because he wanted to use her employee discount. "Why Remy," She mocked, gasping and placing her hand over her heart. "I'm ever so touched."

           He nodded and set the can down on the counter. "As you should be." He suddenly reached out and grabbed her gloved hand. "I wanted to talk to you."

           "Isn't that what you're doin' now?"

           Remy squeezed her hand. Uh-oh, He was serious. "I wanted to talk with you about what Jean-Luc said, an' goin' back to the Big Easy."

           "You gonna 'nap me again?" She asked, raising both brows. She pressed her lips together, making a straight line. He wouldn't kidnap her while they were both in the institute, right?

           He squeezed her hand again, as their eyes met. "Non, I was hopin' you'd come with me, chérie.."

           "You know I can't—"

           "Marie." He cut her off abruptly. "Lets go back home. We can start off better there, no one knowin' we're mutants.."

           "Excuse me, but with your eyes and my power, we ain't gettin' away with it." She laughed slightly, just picturing them trying to live normal lives with their 'gifts.' "That ain't nothin' but a daydream."

"So what?" He mumbled, suddenly sounding annoyed. "Come back with me, Rogue."

Rogue just shook her head. "I can't." Her eyes got watery; it was something she couldn't fight. "Sorry."

           "Why?"

           It was a simple question, but Rogue just hung her head. Her heart wanted to go, but her brain didn't. Leaving would just throw away all the trust she had to earn, and if something went wrong down South, she wouldn't be able to come back. Not without her dignity, at least. "I just can't, Remy. I'm sorry." She stressed the 'sorry' as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She looked up at him. "I really am."

           The grip he had on her hand loosened, but he did not drop it yet. "Me too. Guess it's too much to ask the woman I love to come with me." He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles softly. He then slowly dropped her hand, set his gloved palm on her cheek and brushed off a new shed tear with his thumb. "I'm goin' back alone then. I ain't sayin' good bye though."

           "You'll be back, right?" Her voice cracked with latent emotions. "I mean, you always come back.."

           He shook his head as he retracted his hand, "So long, Roguey." She watched him as he walked in the opposite direction, possibly using the backdoor as his escape route. 

           "Remy?"

           He glanced back at her. "Oui?"

           "What ya said.. 'bout leavin' 'the woman you love' was a very soap opera-ish thing to say."

           He smirked. "I don't know what you're talkin' 'bout."

           And with those words, he was gone. Seconds later, the alarm went off, and Rogue smirked, knowing he purposely set it off.

           "What are you waiting for?" Jubilee appeared in the doorway with her uniform on. "Gosh, you guys make the recruits do everything."

           ***

           After a week of sending Magneto's body to a lab, The Professor finally got what he was waiting for.

           "Here they are." Hank placed a large envelope on Xavier's desk. "The results of the autopsy."

           "Did you look at them yet?" Xavier asked, eyeing the envelope with arched brows as he made a steeple with his hands.

           "No, Charles." Hank admitted, leaning forward on his knuckles. "They're yours to look at. If you need me, you know how to reach me."

Xavier just watched him until he walked out of the room, and closed the door behind him. Then he reached forward and picked up the envelope. This wasn't going to be good news.

           ***

"We can't just go by one experiment, Kelly."

"I know that." The man snapped. "Which is why we need to conduct more. I have hired a group of scientists and---"

"Where do you plan on getting the mutants? They don't grow on trees."

"Well, I know a place where they do.." He placed a folder on the desk and slid it over. On the folder was a label, entitled "Charles Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters."

__

Part two completed – January 8, 2004

· A big thanks to my beta reader, hnh. :-)

· There will only be two parts for this segment.

· I'm still not going to answer reviews. (If anyone has any questions, just e-mail me.) But I still love all of you. I'm thrilled you guys like it. :D And I know someone who can lick her elbow.. Or at least, close to it. Hope this chapter was satisfaction. If it wasn't, then well, too bad

· The format for this chapter is most likely going to come out wrong, so whatever.

· I love bullets

Read and review. :)

-- Aro ^^