Dismal Angel 2010 - Episode 21

Chapter 2: Everything You Wanted

Betsy Braddock stepped into the recreation room of the mansion at two am, she couldn't sleep, and she had too many things on her mind to try. Not that it bothered her, she'd never been one for keeping decent hours, and the X-Men didn't seem to be bothered by such a thing.

Bobby Drake was in the recreation room, watching a movie on the plasma screen TV, stretched out on the couch sipping a beer. "Well well, looks like I'm not the only one who can't sleep," he glanced up at her with an icy stare.

Betsy noticed the temperature in the room drop quite a bit, but she decided not to let that concern her, even though she had so much skin exposed.

Bobby gave her a good look up and down, the woman had no modesty, she was wearing barely anything, a short satin nightgown, one she'd purchased quite recently along with a whole wardrobe of revealing tight clothes.

Despite Betsy was muscular, and tall, the nightgown still made her incredibly feminine, especially the way her silken hair hung over her shoulder touching the top her thigh.

"Is that a hint of coldness I hear in your voice?" Betsy asked, she took a seat upon one of the armchairs, crossed one log nude leg over the other, her feet bare.

"You tricked me, you harlot," Bobby muttered, "I got suspended because of you and your stupid trickery."

"No more than you deserve, more than likely," Betsy placed her hands neatly upon her lap, "when you work as a team, you don't betray your team members, not even when it's personal."

"So it's alright for you to want the Cajun dead, but for me it isn't?" Bobby demanded.

"Of course not," Betsy remarked, "I wanted him dead while we were not working as a team, it is not the same thing. At least you wait until the team has disbanded before you make such an attack. That way, you keep your honour."

"Don't start going all moralistic on me, Psylocke, I know it isn't you."

Betsy smirked a little, "you can't be too sure. However, I think by my so called 'trickery' I taught you a valuable lesson…" she got up.

"Oh and what would that be?" Bobby raised an eyebrow.

"Never give your team mates reason to doubt your own honour," she smirked. "What is it you want the man dead for? He stole the woman you feel you're meant to be with?" Betsy moved over, "oldest story in the book, is it not?"

"An old but popular one," Bobby remarked, "I can't help how I feel."

"I'm sure you can't," Betsy said smiling, "I can't help wishing LeBeau wasn't as caught up in…other things…as he should be caught up helping me looking for Sinister," Betsy climbed upon Bobby's lap in an almost catlike fashion, she let her hair brush his bare torso, and felt him shiver with anticipation. "So…what are we going to do about that, Mr Drake?"

Bobby swallowed nervously, "uh…what do you want to do about it?" he queried.

"I thought perhaps…we could use our…heads…and work together…" she chewed her lip and gained quite a seductive yet kittenish expression that made Bobby positively weak for her feminine wiles.

"What…did you have…in mind?" Bobby asked in short sputtered breaths.

"Everything you wanted will be yours…" she climbed off of him and stood up, "and…all you have to do…is keep a secret, and do exactly as I say…"

Remy had been watching Carol Danvers upon the dance floor for long enough, he'd been growing tired of waiting, he glanced at his watch, three am and she was still energetically dancing with several men, the sequins of her silver backless mini-top sparkling in the disco lights.

Remy decided to approach, and instead of going down the stairs the normal way, he swung down from the balcony, landed upon one of the dancing platforms, and leapt down to the dance floor where Carol was. He pushed his way through the crowds of dancers and made his way to Carol – who was still flaunting Rogue's body as if it were her own.

Carol noticed him right away and smirked ever so slightly, "decided to join in on the fun, yet, LeBeau?" she grinned.

"Not with you, Danvers," Remy stood, hands in his pockets, head low, trying to hide his mutant eyes beneath his bangs, this one time he'd forgotten to take sunglasses with him. "Walk with me, I want to talk," he called loudly to her over the booming music, he nodded his head in direction of the exit, and waited for her to walk ahead.

"I'm not leaving!" Carol called back to him.

"I have a proposition."

Carol raised an eyebrow, apparently interested.

Don't let her walk behind you, he told himself in thought as he watched her step in front of him and begin to walk. She might just shove a knife in your back, he kept his head low and followed her.

Outside, Remy's ears rang, Carol had stopped on the street, "what is it you want, LeBeau, and make it quick, I intend on going back in…"

"No," Remy said carefully, "we'll talk about this on the way home…" he gestured for her to continue walking.

Carol sighed, tiring of him already, and she stepped ahead, he still walked behind her, keeping close, "what is it?" she demanded.

"I told you, I have a proposition."

"Oh?" Carol asked.

"Look, we BOTH know this is Magneto's fault, right?" Remy asked.

"Allegedly," Carol retorted, folding her arms to warm herself against the chill of early morning, she hadn't brought a jacket, and her tiny sequined top didn't cover up enough to keep her warm.

"Carol, you know what's the truth, you've been in Rogue's mind long enough that you must have seen everything that she seen – you spent nine years looking through her eyes."

"Whatever," Carol rolled her eyes, "will you just get to the point before I kick your ass – again. Nice bruise by the way…" she pointed to the bruises on his face – they had been worse during the week, but it had begun to fade down now to yellow. "Can I have your coat? If I'm going to be standing out here in the freezing cold at…what…three am?"

"Three am," Remy corrected.

"Three am – then I want to be warm."

Remy pulled off his long brown trenchcoat, it was faded, and threadbare, but at least it was no longer stained with the blood of the clone who'd been shot whilst wearing the thing.

Carol slipped the coat around her, it drowned her, Rogue's body noticeably a lot smaller than Remy's. The hem of the coat dragged along the damp paving, and the shoulders hung far lower than they should have. "Say your piece, LeBeau."

Remy looked at her, into those eyes that were Rogue's – dusted with silver glitter, sparkling in the streetlights.

Remy yearned for Rogue to be there at that moment, yearned to hear her real voice, her accent, and the way she said his name. He paused, distracted by her beauty.

"LeBeau," Carol said sharply and coldly.

"Okay, proposition," he pulled himself out of the temporary reverie, "here it is. I help you find – and kill Magneto – and you give me Rogue back."

Carol laughed at this, "are you PSYCHOTIC?" she demanded. "Oh, wait, I forgot, you are, aren't you? I mean you're not exactly on all those medications for nothing," she grinned, "I'm sorry, but your proposition is bullshit…what good is revenge if I can't revel in it? Where does that proposition leave me?! Inside this bitch's body living like a multiple personality?! I don't think so…" Carol shoved him angrily, her eyes flashing dangerously. She began to walk ahead, stomping angrily, the paving stones seemed to shake as she did so.

"Carol, you CAN'T keep her body, it doesn't belong to you…you KNOW she's innocent in all this, this isn't fair to her!" he ran after her, he grabbed onto her arm and spun her around.

"I was innocent in all this too!" Carol reminded, "I was innocent until I met you! I was a cheerleader, I had good grades, great parents, and I was GOING to UCLA after graduation!! I was going to be a journalist!" she screamed at him. "You took my LIFE away from me! You had no morals, you didn't CARE about fucking with an innocent eighteen year old, all you cared about was making the big boss Magneto happy. Well mission accomplished, you did exactly what he wanted! Only YOU fucked up yourself because YOU didn't take Rogue back to him like he wanted, did you?! And when it all went wrong you went running to the X-Men like a lost little puppy looking for a new home…"

Remy clenched his fists, "I didn't KNOW, okay! You weren't all that innocent yourself either, YOU could have said no to what I asked."

"How could I?!" Carol demanded, "I was in love with you! You knew all I had to do was look into those eyes of yours and be charmed! You knew that and you took advantage! Even when you look at Rogue I STILL feel that way – but this time I'm NOT going to be fooled by your charm!"

Remy looked at her. "My god…you're still in love with me," he said in a laugh of disbelief.

"It wouldn't MATTER if I did, LeBeau! No matter how much I loved you or how much I still do – even despite after all the things you did and continue to do and how much you've tried to reform yourself – I hate you with more passion and feeling than you'll ever understand or know. And I would NEVER give you the satisfaction of giving you the only thing you've ever loved more than yourself!" she shoved him, "A life for a life, LeBeau. You took my life, now I have hers…" Carol left this at that, she yanked Remy's coat off and threw it at him forcefully, then she took off into the air and disappeared into the darkness.

Remy sighed and sat upon the curb with his head in his hands, but would not let the tears come.