Disclaimer: X-men are not mine, although my birthday's coming up soon……..
A/N: Hi everyone! I've just finished rewriting the first chapter of Figure in Black to get rid of all the mistakes. It's about 500 words longer, but there's no real difference in the storyline, just a little more action, more description of the lovely Remy and a little less rushed.
Also, sad to say, this story will only continue for a few more chapters, but don't worry, I have a sequel plotted out (if you guys are willing to read it, *hint, hint*)
So now I present to you, CHAPTER 12 OF FIGURE IN BLACK!!!!!!
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Remy gently lowered me down until I stood on my own two feet, his eyes still locked on Magneto. I slumped to the ground, too tired to remain standing. Sabretooth stood over me with his arms crossed, his cold shadow a reminder of his presence.
Remy stepped towards Magneto. "What do you want?"
Magneto swept his hand in front of him and a small table floated out to rest in front of Remy. It was made mostly from metal with clear pipes running down the side, a glass outline of a hand in the top. Remy looked at it questioningly, a slight perplexed look on his face.
"Place your hand on the mark. The machine will do the rest." Magneto said coldly, slowly moving to stand next to his podium. Fiddling with a variety of buttons and switches, he nodded slowly, indicating for Remy to proceed.
"Oh, the things I'll do for a pretty girl?" he grinned nervously, winking reassuringly at me.
Remy took in a deep breath, and placed his hand on the mark. A crimson liquid began to fill the pipes, slowly rising up towards the outline and Remy's hand. The pipes began fill, the red liquid rising rapidly.
Magneto walked across the room and stood beside me. I felt his hand rest on my shoulder as I looked up at Remy's face. His jaw clenched tightly, the veins on his neck protruding. He began to make soft choking noises and his skin had grey/green hue. I realized with a sickening feeling that I had seen this before.
"I have envied your power for a long time Rogue." He said quietly. "And now, with a sample of your blood, I have it."
Staring down at the cut along my hand, I noticed a small clot of blood from a pinprick on my wrist. Magneto moved back to his position behind the podium, placing his hand on a similar hand outline as Remy's machine. A bright light began to shine and Magneto tilted his head back, a look of pure ecstasy on his face. His other hand was outstretched, sparks flying between his fingers. He was absorbing Remy's power.
Remy eyes had rolled back in his head, tears of blood dibbling down his cheeks as the veins in his eyes burst from the pressure. Rage built up inside me, the sound of my heart beating like a drum. Before I knew it, I was scrambled across the ground towards Remy.
Pushing the back of his knees, I knocked him to the ground. He collapsed on to the floor, his hand sliding down the metal. I sighed in relief as his normal coloring quickly returned to his face and his breathing became deeper. Remy shook his head as he sat up, feebly attempting to clear his head.
Sabretooth grabbed me, gripping the back of my neck in his giant furry paws. Magneto moved to grab Remy, but hit the ground instead as Remy tripped him up. Standing up, he stepped away from Magneto, still breathing in deeply.
"Shit Marie, even your blood gives a hell of a punch." He said, rubbing his chin.
Magneto stood back up, looking very pissed off. 'Grabbing' a piece of metal, it flung itself at Remy, narrowly missing his ear as he ducked it. As Magneto looked around for more ammo, Remy grabbed at Mystiques unconscious figure, holding her head in his two hands. Magneto froze, unsure of what to do.
"You will let us leave, or Blue's head goes kaboom, alright?"
Standing up, Magneto's face remained stubborn as he appeared to weigh up his options. Sabretooth's grip of my shoulder grew tighter until his claws bit into my skin.
"Sabretooth……" Magneto abruptly halted his order as a soft 'snkit' sound was heard.
Sabretooth let out a loud roar before crashing to the ground beside me. Pulling his hand off my shoulder, I turned around to see Logan pulling his claws out of three different places in the mutant's spine.
Wiping his claws on his jeans, Logan retracted them as Sabretooth lay paralyzed, whimpering like a hurt puppy. Magneto looked helpless as he continued to divert his gaze between Logan and Remy. Sighing in resignation, Magneto lowered his head in defeat.
"Go." He muttered, dismissing us as he turned away.
Not willing to take any chances that Magneto might change his mind, Remy dragged Mystique's unconscious body over to the door. Logan picked me up, gently placing me on my feet. I stepped over Sabretooth, I could help but grimace as I saw the three holes in his spine. Logan noticed.
"Don't worry darling, he'll live." He said, gently pushing me towards the door.
I started down the corridor while Logan tried to help Remy with Mystique. Remy slapped his hand away as Logan tried to take Mystique from him.
"Are you guys comin' or do Ah need to get a babysitter?" I yelled out.
They spun around to look at me, a guilty look across both of their faces. Logan gave Remy a slight push and proceeded towards the door. I lead them to the door I had found early. Remy slung Mystique over his shoulder, his hand still wearily on her face.
I leaned against the door, the metal cool against my skin. Logan approached, indicated for me to move aside. I did and Logan delivered a quick kick just below the doorknob, shattering the lock inside. The door swung open and he stepped outside, sniffing at the air curiously.
"All clear." He growled, walking out onto the path.
I stepped out into the bright sunlight, feeling it warm my skin. Remy hadn't followed me out and I poked my head but inside.
"Come on Remy, we gotta go!" I yelled, hearing the familiar buzz of the blackbird approaching.
Mystique was propped up beside a metal box and Remy was crouching inside, fiddling around with a group of wires. Picking out a red and a black wire, he wrapped his hand around them. A few sparks flew from his hands and when he released them, they had melded together.
A loud siren began to blast in my ears and a grin ran across Remy's face from ear to ear. Stepping over Mystique, he linked his arm in mine and together, we walked outside.
My hair whipped around my face as the powerful engines of the Blackbird came to a rest on the road, right behind the black jeep. Remy wrapped an arm reassuringly around my waist and we walked quickly down the dirt path towards the jet. Logan was leaning against the stairs, his eyes still watching the compound. As we approached, Scott poked his head out of the Blackbird, motioning for us to hurry up.
I grabbed the handrail of the stairs to pull myself into the jet, I felt Remy's arm wrap around my legs. Leaning back, Remy took me in his arms and carried me up the stairs.
"You know, Ah can walk up a few steps without your help Remy." I said with an exaggerated sigh.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Scott open his mouth to agree, but after a quick elbow to the stomach from Jean, he shut it again. Remy carried me to the back of the ship, sitting me down on one of the soft leather seats towards the back of Jet.
Remy walked to help Scott secure the door as Jean came walking over, pulling on disposable gloves and red medical kit in hand. Kneeling in front of me, she pulled a cotton bud out of her kit and gently took my hand in hers. She dabbed gently at the cut, cleaning away the clotted blood that stained my hand. Remembering the blood in the machine, I pulled away. Jean looked up at my face. Shrugging in indifference, she moved on, packing her kit into one of the drawers belong her uniform.
Suddenly, the whole jet jerked sideways and I was thrown to the floor. Jean was thrown against Scott, the two of them stumbling into the locked door. Ororo was strapped into her chair while Remy was using it to keep his balance. Racing to the window, Scott went bright red with anger.
"No! NOT THE JEEP!!" he screamed at the window.
Racing over, I stared out the thick glass. Outside, Logan jumped out of the jeep as it came flying back towards the Jet. Looking up towards the compound, Magneto stood outside the door, his arms outstretched and of pure concentration on his face. The jeep slammed into the Jet again, sending another shudder through the metal frame. I was distracted as the jets engines screamed as they reached full power.
"Let Logan in so we can go!" Ororo yelled from her seat.
Scott torn his eyes away from his 'flying' jeep and ran over to the door. Prying it open, he almost fell onto Logan as the jeep hit again.
"Getoff me!" Logan grunted, pushing Scott back inside the jet. Scott stumbled backwards onto the floor as Logan stepped over him.
"Get into your seats now!" Ororo screamed from her seat as the jeep crashed again into the side of the Jet. Everyone scrambled to their seats and a mass of clicks and straps being tightened were heard as everyone prepared to liftoff. As bad of a pilot as Scott was, Ororo was worse. With a slight bump, we lifted off from the ground. Ororo eased the wheel forward and we headed off towards the clouds.
Once Scott took over at Pilot, everyone unbuckled themselves. Grabbing a spare pair of leather gloves out of Uniform drawers, I went and stood beside Scott as he maneuvered through the clouds back towards the mansion. He was mumbling angrily under his breathe, words I never thought he knew.
"Fucking Asshole……… Destroy my Jeep….."
"Scott?" I interrupted his mumbling as I stared at the clouds outside. "Why didn't he just grab the Jet?
"Couldn't" Scott said simply. "The Blackbird isn't magnetic and it's too heavy to create a magnetic field around. But I guess my Jeep was light enough…"
Leaving Scott to his mumbling, I looked around for Remy.
He had moved down to the back of the Jet, followed by Jean and her little red medical kit. I stood watching as she checked him over, checking his vital signs and reflexes. With a nod of approval, Jean stood up and walked back towards her seat.
"Don't worry, he's fine." She said as she passed me, giving me a reassuring pat on the back. Wrapping my arms around myself, I slowly went and sat down next to him. Remy smiled.
"Are yah alright?" I asked, avoiding his eyes.
Using his index finger, Remy raised my head until I was looking in his eyes. "I'm fine, mon chere. You have no need to worry."
I smiled in relief. I finally allowed myself to relax and I let out a huge yawn.
"Tired?"
I nodded, covering my wide open mouth. He gestured for me to lie down. I did, with my head resting on his lap.
"Are you sure you're alright?" I said, my eyelids growing heavier by the second.
"Hush, get some sleep." Remy said softy as he stroke my hair.
And seconds later, I was.