Hi guys! I'm Back! Sorry but as much as I try to speed up the writing, it tends to be a chapter every 10 or 15 days. I'm very busy this new year, and everything is kind of hectic, but I'll try to speed it up.
This week, at last an appearance by Ororo, an old friend of Xavier's also shows up, and a very special cameo by one of my favorite mutants. A certain psychotic mercenary. :) For anyone who's not familiar with him, it's your loss. Since he's probably one of the craziest funniest characters, I tried my best to write him well, but I'm probably not that good at it. You'll have to read some original story to know what I mean.
Terribly sorry but no Romy this chapter. I was afraid you might get an overdose or something :)
But one thing's for sure. The plot finally thickens.
Enjoy.
Tayrion
A Tale Between two CitiesBOSTON
Xavier entered the large reception hall of the hotel where he was scheduled to speak about mutants and their rights. It was a subject that had quickly gained importance, after the president's speech about peaceful coexistence.
Xavier wished the hall was a bit less crowded. The flight from New York to Boston was not that smooth this morning, and his head still hurt from all the turbulence during the flight. That seemed pretty ironic to Xavier. A telepath with a headache.
He scanned the crowded, buzzing hall in search for Ororo. He had sent her a week earlier, to meet with certain influential people, and try to see how they would respond in supporting and perhaps funding, a school where mutants could learn to be responsible with their powers and not be a threat to society. The Xavier institute was still considered by the public, as a school for gifted children, not mutants. Xavier was now considering changing that.
He soon spotted Ororo talking with a well-built and sharply dressed man, who appeared to be in his 50s. It was a very familiar face to Xavier. He approached them in his wheelchair smiling. The two noticed him approaching and turned to greet him. Xavier extended his hand to the man next to Ororo.
"Nate! It's good to see you again my friend."
The middle-aged man shook Xavier's hand warmly. "It's good to see you too Charles. And I see that you haven't given up on calling me that either."
"Xavier laughed lightly. "What can I say… Old habits die hard."
"I see that you have a great taste in acquiring assistance though. Miss Monroe here has been the talk of the conference these past few days. How come we hadn't seen her in the past Charles? Have you been hiding her?"
Xavier smiled but the melancholy behind the smile could not be hidden. "No my friend. It's just that Jean Grey used to handle this affairs."
"Ah yes. Lovely Jean I remember her." His face took a more serious and sympathetic look. "From your tone I take it she is no longer with you?"
"No."
"I'm really sorry for your loss." Then he immediately tried to change the subject. "But Miss Monroe here seems more than capable of handling any situations that arise for you dear Charles."
Xavier tried to smile and continue the conversation as the memory of Jean wounded him deeply. "Ororo has informed me on the progress she's been having, but I wasn't at all surprised of the success she's been having. I'm well aware of what she is capable of doing. Anyway… tell me Nate how go your studies?"
"I must tell you Charles during these 2 years that I haven't seen you, I've come across some pretty amazing finds and some very real dangers. There is a slight possibility, that a mutated form of cancer is spreading. I can't be certain though about it, since the evidence I have are at best scarce. It's going to take some more time and definitely more research. I…" His voice now dropping to almost a whisper. "I assume that I cannot convince you to change your mind on that offer I made to you when we last met eh…?"
Xavier frowned. "I'm sorry old friend, but as important as your search might be, I cannot betray the confidence of my students."
Ororo now seemed confused. "What's all this about?"
"But I'm asking you to do no such thing Charles. All I'm asking you is to give your consent so that I might contact them. Ororo please tell me… would you be willing to aid me in my research should I call upon you for help?"
Ororo looking unsure as to what the question really was, nodded her head. "I imagine that I would do what I could in order to help you."
"See Charles... Now why are you being so stubborn?"
Xavier looked sincerely apologetic. "I'm really sorry old friend, but the privacy and safety of my students, come as my highest priority."
Nate seemed ready to interject something but then decided against it. "It's ok Charles. I understand. Who knows? I might have done the same where I in your shoes. Anyway… I better go. I look forward to hearing your speech Charles. It was nice seeing you again."
"You too old friend."
He then took Ororo's hand and very gentlemanly kissed it. "Ororo… It's been an honor."
"Thank you Nathan. I hope I'll see you again."
Nathan smiled. "Oh… Most definitely dear Ororo. …Most definitely."
With that the middle-aged man with the elegant English accent, left their company.
NEW ORLEANS
It's a dark and smelly bar. Logan passing through the doors almost fell upon two of the customers, who dashed through the door, quite scared and very obviously beaten up.
Turns out my information was right. He is here. Thought Logan smiling to himself. He hasn't changed his style.
All around there were tables and chairs broken and 2 or 3 guys laying unconscious on the floor. Logan took out one of his cigars and lit it.
In the far corner of the bar, there was a very large man tied up, suspended upside down with a rope that was tied to a large fan up on the ceiling of the bar, which caused the large man to slowly spin round and round. Logan smiled to himself.
There was another man, dressed in a dark red suit and mask, walking in circles around him obviously very frustrated. "Would you stop spinning for JUST ONE MOMENT!" In his frustration the red-masked man punched the large man, which caused to spin faster. He then looked up at the spinning fan and chuckled. "Oh… you can't. Heh… Sorry… My bad. Now… Let's get back to business. Little Nick… right now I'm very sad. Very, very sad. Do you know what my momma used to do when I was sad? … No? … Well… given that I don't remember having a mother neither do I. But… My friend Alex… she had a mother… and she used to tell her stories when she was sad. So… be a good Alex's mom and tell me the story of the big stupid oaf who went on to steal the teleportation thingy of the good courageous tiger –moi- and then… SOLD IT!" As he shouted the last part he punched the tied up man, which caused him to spin even faster again. The masked man got even more frustrated. "WOULD YOU STOP DOING THAT ALREADY!!"
Logan smirked. "I think he's out cold Wade."
The red-masked man turned abruptly to face Logan holding in his hand a fork he quickly picked up from a table near by.
Logan chuckled. "Put the fork down before you hurt yourself Wade."
Seeing that it was Logan Wade relaxed. "Are you Loco Logan? Don't sneak up on me like that when I'm on the job!"
"That's your idea of being on the job?"
Wade chuckled and turned once more to the tied up man. "No that's my idea of a piggy in the slaughter-house. Heh… heh… Can you say 'oink' little piggy? Say..."
Logan cut him off. "WADE!"
Wade immediately turned to Logan again. "Yes… right…"
They made their way to one of the few tables that were still unspoiled and grabbed a chair. Wade screamed towards the bar. "Barkeep!" As no response came, Wade got frustrated. "BARKEEP!"
"Wade… is there any chance that you knocked him out too?"
"You know… I want to say no… but the problem is that I'm pretty sure I did."
Logan sighed. "Damn… I could really use a beer now."
"Well… seeing as how the service in this joint is currently… out of service… heh… heh… I'll go with… Beer is bad! Beer kills! Now… let's get down to business. Since you just contacted me yesterday, I did not have time to do an archaeological dig type of investigation, but I did get some interesting dirt on the Cajun guy."
Logan's interest was now peaked. "Ok this better be good."
"Well, it depends on your definition of good. If by good you mean the Cajun boy being knee-deep in doodies, then… it's just nice. … Did I just say doodies?"
"Cut the crap Wade!"
"Did you just make a joke?"
Logan shot a very menacing look at Wade.
"Oook… then… not a fan of the funnies eh? …fan of the funnies, heh… sometimes I just kill myself… and I'm an assassin, heh… heh… oh the irony! Alright… Remy LeBeau has had some trouble with the authorities the past year. It seems that they suspect him of being Gambit."
Logan raised an eyebrow. "Gambit? The professional thief Gambit?"
"The same. Apparently the authorities have been trying to link him with Gambit for some time now, but they don't have enough evidence to press charges."
Logan was very intrigued now. "You don't say…"
"I thought I just did… Heh…. Anyway I haven't even got to the good stuff yet. This Gambit has stolen God knows what from many important people, so now there are those who want to catch him alive –in hopes that they will find their missing pieces-, those who just want to see him dead and some who apparently wish to protect him. I mean… the authorities are receiving pressures from every which way. There are those who want to arrest him fast and those who don't want him under the care of da police. That's why so far they're on a stalemate. Well that and the fact that they have no proof to suggest that he is in fact Gambit. All they have are eyewitnesses claiming that they saw him using mutant powers and that he has the eyes of a demon. So that's about it."
Logan was thoughtful. "This is very good indeed. How about any background info?"
"Logan you contacted me yesterday. Be happy that I found what I did. I missed Buffy because of this."
"Are you sure there's nothing else that you can tell me?"
"Look, it seems obvious to me that this kid is involved in something, otherwise there wouldn't be all this mess around him and no one would have given a flying doody about him. …Did I say doody again? What's wrong with me?"
"Fine. Thanks anyway Wade. By the way, have you heard or seen anything strange around here lately?"
"Well… Now that you mention it… I was talking to a guy the other day, and he told me that he watched American Idol but he didn't like Simon! I mean… how crazy is that?"
"Ok, let me rephrase then. Have you heard or seen anything strange concerning a mutant. Early thirties, quite tall…"
"Maybe dressing as a bunny?" interjected Wade hopefully.
"No." Answered Logan clearly irritated.
"Well… that would have definitely been strange." Said Wade almost dejected.
"So… have you?"
"Can't say I heard anything about any mutants around here, especially ones worth remembering."
"Thanks Wade I better get going."
"Good and I better get back to unveiling the mystery behind the disappearance of my teleportation thingy." As Wade got up he put his hand in his pocket and then surprised, pulled out a strange metallic thing from it. "Hey… there you are teleportation thingy. Have you been hiding in there this whole time?"
Logan shook his head and got out of the bar leaving the almost psychotic mercenary talking to his teleportation thingy.
BOSTON
Ororo is wheeling Xavier to his room, in the hotel they're staying in.
"So we'll be going back tomorrow Charles?"
"Yes. I told Scott that he'd have to baby-sit only until tomorrow."
"I've got to say though Charles, it's been worth it here. Your speech was wonderful, and the support we received for a school for mutants was amazing."
"I know Ororo. Although I never doubted your abilities, it's gone far better than I expected."
"I don't blame you Charles. I wasn't so sure about this either. Besides the shoes I'm trying to fill here are too large for me." The disappointment in Ororo's voice was obvious.
Xavier turned to her very serious. "Don't say that again! We all miss Jean and we all know what she was capable of, but you're no less capable than her Ororo. No one is expecting you to fill her shoes. Just do what comes naturally."
Ororo smiled. "Thanks Charles."
Once they were in Xavier's room Ororo seemed thoughtful. Xavier picked it up.
"What is it Ororo? I can see that something has been bothering you all afternoon. Is it Jean?"
"No Charles… It's just that I wanted you to explain… if you wanted of course… what exactly was that talk with Nathan about?"
"I guess I do owe you an explanation. You see… Nate is an expert in genetics. I met him in a conference about mutants some years ago in London. The work he's done is truly amazing. I don't think there's anyone alive that can compare with the work he's done. His main interest the past years has been evolution. And in our first meeting I think we both impressed each other. He has certainly earned my respect. Later on he confessed to me that he was a mutant."
Ororo was very surprised. "I had no idea."
"Well that's the point. In order to keep doing what he loved most, unhindered, he was forced to hide it, and I can't blame him."
"What exactly is his mutation Charles?"
"His body can adapt to almost anything by sheer will. He can control the molecules of his body, which is probably why he looks so young and fit for his age, and why his brain is like a totally different planet for me. When I told him of my mutation, he got so excited and curious. He pleaded with me to get in his mind. I barely survived the experience. I was disoriented. I felt like my brain was about to explode. Later on I tried to convince him to work with me, but when I told him about my ideas, he regrettably said that my brain was also a different planet for him. He believed me naïve and romantic for harboring such dreams and he said that being around me would probably disorient him and make him loose focus of his true passion and dream which was research and the study of evolution. Anyway… a couple of years ago when we met again I told him about you, my students. He was very intrigued and thought that by examining you and how your powers worked, would help his research. I declined."
"Was what he said true? Would that help him?"
"Maybe…But Ororo such knowledge would be devastating in the wrong hands."
"So… Don't you trust him?"
"Listen… It's true that his research has helped many mutants and humans and I do respect him for it, but I don't think that I would trust anyone with that kind of knowledge. Even the best of people."
"Does that have anything to do with the fact that you can't see into his mind?"
"I'm not going to lie to you Ororo. It is part of why I declined."
Ororo remained thoughtful for a while. "I respect your opinion Charles and you know that I'm behind you no matter what, but I still think that you should have brought this matter to our attention. We should have mad this decision ourselves, because if there was a chance that by doing that we would have helped save lives, then I can safely assume that I would have taken that risk. After all isn't that what we're all about?"
Xavier smiled gently to Ororo. "I have no doubt that you would have done so… Who knows maybe you're right. I'll have to give it some thought. But for now you'll have to excuse me Ororo but I'm exhausted."
"Sure Charles. I'll meet you tomorrow down stairs at 8:00. Good night."
With that Ororo left the room, leaving Xavier thoughtful and once more questioning his judgment.
NEW ORLEANS
Logan stood outside an 1890s type store. It was nighttime and a single lamppost lighted the street. The store he was looking at was an antique store. The large sign above the window of the store read: 'Queen of Hearts'
So LeBeau… this is your place. Classy…The street was very small. Barely large enough for a single car to pass through. Logan went around the corner of the store, to an even smaller street leading to the back of the building. There he saw a small door, probably leading into the store.
Let's see now what skeletons you got stuffed down your closet LeBeau. Thought Logan as he was about to brake in the store.
There was an abrupt sound, resembling the crack of a thunder and then Logan felt his body going numb. He crumbled to the ground feeling the numbness spreading to his head.
The last thing he heard was: "You've become to bothersome for your own good little man."
And then there was just complete nothingness.
To be continued…
Dun dun dun!
Ishandahalf- That's right Robin! It's ROMY to the max indeed! –terribly sorry to call you Robin btw :) – As for Logan he's just being Logan. But don't you think that it would be a natural reaction for someone like Xavier to slightly doubt about someone like Remy, when he's so used to feeling safe in knowing that he can get into almost anyone's mind anytime he wished. I just felt that he would react like that. Now that the plot thickens, what do you think?
leann- What? Girlie? But I'm a guy! If you're a freak for liking it what does that make me for writing it? Lol :) glad you liked it though. And as for Logan as you read in this chapter he didn't have the chance to discover many things. Or are the things he discovered enough to damn a certain red-eyed mutant? :) Let me know what you think of how this going.
Dude-of-Monte-Carlo –Thanks for the thumbs up. That was my intention from the get go. (the build up of their relationship …or whatever you might call it.) But now the real story is starting to kick in.
Next: Xavier and Remy have another talk about Rogue, and Remy makes a very personal confession to Rogue. Also… What is the fate of Logan?
And Next please write to me everything you don't like about this story. Anyone who thinks that this is not going well please write to me about it. (I'm trying to improve in this and I guess that's the only way I'm going to achieve that.) See ya