Chapter 9

One week later...

"Do you know why I called you in here today, Mr. Lebeau?" The Professor sat behind the desk his hands in the usual steeple position as he talked to the oldest student in his school. Remy shook his head, as he stared at the floor like a chastised child.

"I gave you the inducer so you could pose as one of the regular students to gather information, and try to show both sides of mutant society." Remy nodded his head showing that he's listening. "Then explain to me why your reports are lacking in information, and that you no longer associate yourself with the non-mutants of the school."

"I hang around with dem. Just durin' school. Sometimes." There was more to it. The professor could tell that much without prying into the young man's mind. But being patient like always, he let the conversation bring out the truth instead of asking it straight out.

"They are losing faith in you. I have heard in my last visit that you have been classified a mutant supporter, and not worth hearing out. Just a week ago they were listening to every word you said." Some anger entered his once completely controlled voice. "I trusted you to help us, and in return I would let you deal with Rogue in your own way."

"I know I just." Remy tried to explain, but no words came out.

"Why don't I tell you what I know and you fill in the rest." Without waiting for a reply the professor continued. "Sometime while we were gone, you did something to Rouge to push her away. She no longer wants to be around you, so you have decided to use Devlin as a way to get close to her again."

"Yes." Remy's face was unreadable, but reflected in the depth of those red eyes was worry and fear. The Professor waited for him to explain what he did, but he remained silent. Giving up on finding the whole truth the Prof. decided to just go on with what he needed to say.

"I can't let you continue. No matter how she acts, she is a fragile creature, who has been betrayed far to many times to begin with. So I suggest that you stay away from her." The threat was clearly heard and understood. Remy really didn't want to know what the Professor would do to him if he disobeyed. His mental blocks might be impressive, but it's no match against a mind as great as his. "And that includes the concert that you were going to take her to today."

"I can't just call it off! Let me just take her today den I'll stay away from her." The sadness behind Remy's plea got the Professor to concede to it, but there were still some doubts in the telepath's mind.

"Today is the last day. And you make sure that Rogue returns safe and sound." Remy nodded his head and left as soon as the Professor dismissed him.

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/This day can't get worse./ After thinking that every movie and TV show he ever saw flashed in his mind, and he knew he just made the situation worse.

The shrill sound that came from his cell phone made him jump, and for an unexplainable reason he didn't want to answer it. /What am I thinking?/ Flipping the phone open he didn't even have time to say hello before the person on the other end gave him instructions.

"Gambit, come to the old warehouse at five." There was no mistaking the cold tone of voice belonging to the master of magnetism. Before Remy could reply the phone clicked off.

Cursing his luck he hopped on to his bike and rode off to the designated area. As soon as the place came into sight his bike was lifted from the ground and carried onto the roof. Letting go of the bike, it crashed onto the roof, but Remy was able to jump off at the last minute and land skillfully on his feet.

"I already told yo' dat Rogue ain't ready." He kept a cool face to hide the slight fear that he was feeling being around a person who could cause every metal object in the vicinity to crash into him.

"Yes, you have been saying that for the past week, yet you don't explain why? All we need is for her to have at least some control over her powers in order for the plan to work." The looming figure uprooted some of the pipes and used them to surround the Cajun.

"She ain't in a good mental state right now. If yo' want her to join willingly..."

"Whoever said she had to be willing? If need be I will force her to, by threat or I erasing her memories. She wouldn't be as efficient anymore, but all that power at my disposal would make up for it." The cruelty behind all of this wasn't lost on Remy. Magneto's dream was great, but what he was willing to do in order to see it come true...

"She absorbed Jean, the telepath. As long as she has dat power den yo' can't erase her mind, and I think yo' won't get very far by threat either." Being the voice of reason was new. Usually he was the one doing something stupid and someone else has to convince him out of it.

"Your points are valid." Pulling the metal back he let the Cajun pick up his bike before he continued to talk. "You will have until the end of the month to convince her to join. If you don't succeed."

/Another threat?/ Sighing he waited for Magneto to put him back on the ground but instead found himself alone on the roof with no easy way down.

Deciding the only way down was riding off. He aimed his bike near the edge and was able to get it at an angle down before it made the leap into the air. Crashing onto the ground he was beyond happy that his bike wasn't damaged.

/Now I have all the time I need to get ready and have my date with Rogue. Your last date with Rogue. Can't you be nice? I'm having a bad day. Well it's about to get worse./ While he was listening to his inner self a stray cat with a death wish jumped into the street.

Swerving the bike it the tires screeched as the whole bike tilted to the on his side getting closer and closer to the ground. In self-preservation he maneuvered his body away from the crashing side and jumped letting his precious bike slide across the ground shooting sparks from metal rubbing against tar.

"Damn it!" /I'm going to strangle that cat./

"Having problems Gambit?" The cool voice coming from the shape-changing cat barely registered in his mind. But his last thought kept on repeating itself.

"Non, nothings de matter. Yo' just destroyed my bike." The venom in his tone didn't faze her and she continued her little gait toward him.

"The bike doesn't concern me. All that matters is that my daughter remains in good hands." /Let me guess another threat?/ "If she isn't then they would never find you body."

/Really original./ Taking a step to his bike he tried to lift it by the handles but the left one broke off.

"Forget the damn bike! I have another job for you." /Yippee./ "I want you to find out everything you can about a boy named Devlin Tyler. He's been going out with my daughter for the past week and I want to know everything about him."

"It could take months." /Or a day since I'm him, but she doesn't need to know that./

"I want the information by the end of the month. I'll try to convince her not to go near the guy, but if that fails then I need some blackmail material to keep him away from her."

"How exactly are yo' going to convince Rogue? Last I heard, she didn't like yo'." /Blackmail? A mutant terrorist going through all this trouble to discourage a 17-year-old normal boy from going near her daughter that doesn't even like her. That's pathetic./ "And aren't yo' overdoin' it a bit with de blackmail?"

"It is none of your concern on how I will convince Rogue, and I don't want her to be around one of those "normal" people. He's just going to break her heart." /Already did./ "That's all."

"How am I goin' to get back to de mansion?" Mystique gave him an evil smirk before she transformed back into her cat form and ran off leaving him there. /This is great./ Lifting the bike onto its wheels he proceeded to roll it back to the mansion.

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/This is not a good day./ After being left on the roof and then having his bike broken into pieces it started to rain when he was a mile away from reaching the mansion. And then when he reached the gate he found it locked and he only got static from the comm. unit. Then he parked his bike outside and jumped the wall spraining his ankle on the landing. So now limping, he was able to make three steps before he was pulled back crashing into the wall. The familiar sound of metal sliding out alerted him to who it was.

"I'm not in de mood, Wolvie." Trying to wobble away he was pushed back into the wall and he could have sworn that he heard the martyr crack.

"Well I am. I don't know what type of stunt you pulled with Rogue, but you are going to have couple body parts missing if you ever do it again. " Then Remy was carelessly flung into the mud, his back hitting the mess. Looking up he saw moon behind the feral man making him look like a wolf that just found his pray. "You got that gumbo?

"Loud and clear mon ami. I wasn't goin' near her anyways." Remy was swiftly hefted to his feet and pinned against the wall again.

"You're lying." Wolverine than took a sniff reminding Remy of his powerful nose and that he shouldn't have lied.

"I'm goin' to de same concert she is, but dat's it." Being dropped to the floor, he guessed that Logan believed him.

"And what were you going to do there?" The smell of whisky coming off Wolverine's breath made him decide not to push his luck.

"Listen to some music, meet some people." Remy kept it vague hoping that he would just believe him and then leave him alone.

"All right." Remy was given one more shove, before Logan left. /He shouldn't be treating his students like that. And what are you going to do? Go talk to the Professor? He would probably encourage Wolvie to do it again./ Remy winced at the thought of coming back to that everyday. Wobbling out of the forest area, he made it to the walkway in time to hear the creaking sound of the gate being opened.

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Devlin leaned against the wall looking up into the star filled sky. He had to walk the four miles to get here since his bike was out of service and he was still early. Glancing at his watch again he considered just going inside or leaving. When he was about to make his choice a figure rounded the corner running past the entrance of the concert to where he was standing. As it passed a streetlamp he could make out the platinum streaks, and couldn't help but smile.

"Sorry...Idiot...brother...left mah." She placed her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. "Ah'm gonna kill him."

The last words were said in a rush and he couldn't help laughing at the situation.

"It's not funny! Ah had ta run all the way from the mansion ta get here. Do ya know how far that is?" Her hands were on her hips and she scowled at Devlin who burst into more laughter after hearing her question. "So are we goin in or not?"

He nodded his head and wrapped her arm around her waist leading her to the door. /Maybe this day wasn't so bad./ Feeling like he was being watched he looked behind his shoulder and saw a blonde woman standing beneath the same street light that Rogue passed by just a couple minutes ago. The one glance at the woman's face told him who it was. /Bella.../

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"How about we go up front and dance?" Rogue just nodded her head and followed Devlin closely through the crowd. Stopping near the front she was able to spot an old friend swaying to the song.

"Risty!" The British-girl turned around and waved for Rogue to come over. They had met earlier in the day and Risty explained that she was forced to leave before, but now she's back.

"You go talk to her. I'll meet up with you in a few minutes." Before she could ask where he was going Devlin had moved into the crowd and she lost track of him.

"So was that Devlin? The guy you told me about?" Risty was now up next to Rogue hooking their arms together and leading her off to the side so they could talk.

"Yeah. Ah asked him ta come with mah."

"You asked? Made the first move. So twenty-first centaury. I'm guessing that you're no longer into a Mr. Scott Summers?" Rogue shook her head. "That's good. He wasn't good enough for you anyways."

As Risty continued to babble on Rogue half-listened to what she was saying and concentrated more on trying to find Devlin. It was weird how he became uneasy as soon as they entered the place.

"Looks like a fight is going to break out." Rogue caught onto those words and looked in the direction that she was pointing. Even from how far away they were standing she could see the familiar trench coat, and then it didn't take much to figure out who the blonde was.

"Ah can't believe it." The two of them were having an argument from what she could tell and as it started to escalate Remy pulled the girl out the exit door next to them.

Wondering what was going on she made her way through the group and out the door. She made it there in time to see them pass into a side building, probably where the performers kept all the unneeded equipment.

One glance behind her showed that Risty was following, and as soon as the other girl came into range she yanked her up against the wall next to her. Pressing a gloved hand against her lips to shush her, Rogue led Risty towards the door, which was left open.

"Bella. I already told yo' it's over!" Remy's hushed voice was hard to hear as Rogue crouched down by the door.

"Yo're my husband! We have an obligation to de guilds." Bella's high-pitched voice was easy enough to understand though.

"We are married, but by guild rules and dat's it. We were married for convenience."

"Yo' don't give me dat crap Remy! I love you, and I know yo' love me too!" From what Rogue could hear, Bella was becoming hysterical.

"I did love yo', a long time ago. Until I found out yo' were usin' me to find out about my family." There was coldness in Remy's voice that Rouge never heard before and it scared her. "I married yo' because dey told me it would stop de feud between our families."

"Yo' don't mean dat! It's because of dat girl isn't it? Dat's why yo're sayin' it! If she was gone den..."

"Yo're not goin' to hurt Rouge." There was silence for a while before Rogue heard the gun shot. An image of Remy lying bleeding on the floor flashed through her mind. Forgetting about being cautious Rogue jumped up and stood in front of the doorway.

She saw everything. Remy down on the ground, and blood on his body. Risty pulling at her arm. Bella turning, pointing the gun at her chest, and then her finger pulling back on the trigger.

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/I should have known./ Bella pulled out the gun from her jacket and pointed straight at him. /She is an assassin after all./

The bullet left the gun before he could he react and he felt a sharp pain where it connected. Falling back onto the ground he tried to figure a way out of this when his heart stopped. Standing in the doorway was his Rouge. He tried to yell, but before he could form the first syllable another bullet left the gun. This time heading straight to the heart.

/It's moving to fast. She can't get out of the way. It's going to hit her./ The thoughts moved rapidly through her mind, but he continued to think along the lines that she was a human instead of a mutant.

It was just an inch from her heart when it stopped. The metal floated in the air still rotating before it fell harmlessly to the ground. More bullets and each stopped with a power that wasn't her own. Then finally came the click of empty shells and Rouge still standing after the confrontation.

The sound also brought him back to his senses and he could feel the anger radiating off of Rogue, but it wasn't aimed at him. Also the anger was effecting her powers. The metal all around the room rose off the ground and floated around the room, crashing into the walls. /She's losing control./

"Ya leave Remy alone ya hear?" Bella was lifted off the ground and thrown into the ceiling, and fell back to the ground. The sound of bones breaking caught his ears and he knew that he had to calm her down. Getting up he walked slowly to Rogue.

"Rogue, mon chere, stop dis!" At first he thought it worked but she threw him back with her mind, and continued throwing Bella around until she was unconscious.

"Let her go Rogue! You don't want to do this!" Risty tried to get in-between Rogue and Bella but was thrown to the side crashing into some machines. The figure that was once Risty changed and was replaced by a blue-skinned woman.

"Mystique?" Remy could feel the anger dissipate into confusion and took the opportunity to talk to her.

"Yo'r powers are gettin' out of control Rogue. Yo' have to calm down." He could see Rogue's body relax as she came towards him. Her hands went to his face and then slid to his arm, which was bleeding.

"Ah thought ya were dead." Small droplets of tears left her eyes. "Ah was so scared."

"It's okay Rogue. I'm fine." He wrapped his arm around her waist and couldn't help but feel happy about having Rouge in his arms again. /Rogue likes me again. I gotta admit this day didn't turn out too bad./

"Why are ya wearin' an inducer?" His eyes widened and before he could stop her she activated it and looked up at him. Dawning realization came to her face and before he could say anything she ran out the door. Ignoring the pain coming from his leg and arm he made his way to the door in time to see Rogue take off into the sky.

It could have been the loss of blood, or maybe his body just gave up. But at that moment knowing that he won back Rogue only to lose her again, was like the straw that broke the camel's back. For at that moment he let himself slip into the darkness.

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Author's Note: This is the chapter. Love it. Hate it. Think whatever you want, but just review it. And I know I'm being a bit mean to Remy, but it's gonna get better now. Unless I find a way to make it worse.

All right! on to the reviews!

Goldyloks: Thanks for reviewing!

Star-of-Chaos: There is as reason, it's just cleverly hidden. I'll go into more detail later on.

Rose-z: Poor computer if you only show it tender love and care it would be nice. Or you could just take a baseball bat and scare it into working. Worth a shot right? And thanks for reviewing.

chinxy: You most have had a really hard time reading this chapter right? I don't mean to give him such a hard time, but if he wants it so badly he'll learn to work for it.

DemonRogue13: When Rogue realized their clothes were missing and teleported into her room, Then after she finds out about Bella, teleports back into her room and floats above her bed. I think that's it.

Aro: Now we just need to do is lock Remy and Rogue in the room and have them listen to a recording saying "It's meant to be. It's meant to be." And then maybe they will get together. Or it would drive them insane and they end up killing each other.

ishandahalf: Thanks for reviewing!

enchantedlight: Yeah but I want consistency even if it means I'm consistent in my non-consistency. Did that make sense? And about the killing. Nope no killing. Just fleeing and feinting on Remy's part.

Rogue4787: She found out! You knew she would didn't you? And bad things happened. OMG bad things happened. I think I'm just being too mean to Remy, but when they get back together it would be all the sweeter. That is if they get back together....

Lady Farevay: It wouldn't be a lot of fun for Remy would it? And sorry for your Rouge fan girl heart. It's going to stay a little cracked for a while.