I'm baaack! And so soon eh? :-) we've reached now chapter 14 and things will soon start to unfold. Anyways hope you enjoy this one as well.
Tayrion
Not so simple livesA dark figure is sitting in a desk in a darkly lit room. He seems to be anticipating something and soon another man enters the room.
"It's a bout time Crane. You are late."
"I'm sorry Doctor Essex… I just…"
Essex interrupted him at once. "I don't care about your excuses Crane! …I hope everything went as planned." The authoritative tone in the doctor's voice caused Crane to hesitate.
"I… I…"
Essex started getting irritated. "What… happened?"
"It's just that … I thought you'd be happy if… if I also brought you the girl here… I mean I know how you realized that she might be very important, so… I thought… maybe…"
"What I ask of you… are simple things. I give you simple orders exactly to avoid such initiatives on your part. What happens then if one day I find the X-Men on my doorstep? Logan was an exception as he practically came to us and he was becoming increasingly dangerous. So it was convenient. But I do not want any more X-Men here! Am I absolutely clear? We must be very patient."
Crane lowered his head in shame. "Yes doctor absolutely."
"You do not seem to realize the importance of what we are doing here and what exactly is at stake, if some delusional heroes wannabes mess it up. The future survival of mutantkind is directly dependent on my work here. And that includes you! So if for nothing else… do this for your sake."
Crane remained silent.
Essex's voice softened a bit now. "I'm sorry if I'm being overly harsh with you some times Crane, but you have to understand that you carrying out your orders to the letter, is of grave importance. There can be no mistake."
"Again I'm sorry doctor…"
Essex let out a disappointed sigh. "Anyway… by the looks of you I'm guessing that your initiative didn't go as you planned it."
"Well… not exactly… the Cajun interfered."
Essex now sounded very surprised. "Gambit was there? What the hell was he doing there? …I wonder…"
Back in the medical facility of the mansion.
"Remy! Wake up! …Remy!"
Remy stirred in his sleep and slowly returned to the world of the conscious. Not de wake up call one would want. Logan's growls and ugly face waking me up!
As he slowly opened his eyes, he lifted his head and he smiled sleepily at Logan. "Hello mon ami. What brings you to dis lovely place and in a mood to wake me up might I add?"
Logan looked angrily back at Remy. "I think you know quite well cajun. Name Gambit rings any bells?"
Remy frowned thoughtfully. "Gambit… Hmm… Gambit… Ah… Would you be talking about de famous tief, who's probably de best in de business and always a hit with de ladies… at least dat's what I heard…" added Remy with a sly smile.
"Listen well LeBeau. Since the Professor decided to accept you despite of that, I will trust the man and not do a thing about it… yet. But I wouldn't trust you even if you were the last person left to help me."
"What exactly are you trying to say mon ami? You should be more forward with what you want to say." Said remy smiling.
Logan was apparently in no mood to joke around. "Cut the crap LeBeau! I'll be watching you. One wrong move… and I'll be on top of you before you can even blink. And that is especially true for Rogue! I'd tread really carefully from now on if I were you." Logan turned to leave but hesitated and turned to Remy one last time. "Oh… and by the way… something I didn't mention to anyone, as I don't want to seem as the crazy suspicious guy and you the falsely accused innocent one, but… it strikes me as very interesting that the guy that attacked me, did so right before I entered your store in N. Orleans. One might almost say that he stopped me from going there. Hmm… doesn't that strike you as odd?"
Remy looked at Logan without any expression on his face. "You are a truly sad, and very untrusting little man mon ami."
"Just a thought…" said Logan as he turned around and exited the room.
Remy sighed and fell back to his bed. This man is starting to really get on my nerves. Face it Remy… They'll never fully trust me. Not all of them anyway. And certainly not in time.
Ororo and Rogue had just finished a session in the danger room. Ororo seemed quite tired.
"I'm losing my form. I hadn't done a session in the danger room for quite some time, ever since I started helping the Professor with his work more."
"Well… I'm down here quite often lately…" said Rogue, "and I can safely say that you never missed a beat. I was really impressed." She concluded with a smile.
"Rogue…" started saying Ororo hesitantly. " do you want to talk to me about Remy at all?"
Rogue didn't expect Ororo to raise the subject of Remy and was caught by surprise. "I… I… don't know"
"Look… I'm not trying to pressure you or anything. Just wanted to let you know that if you ever want to talk to a woman for… you know… feminine stuff… well… I'm here." Ororo smiled warmly at Rogue.
Rogue hesitated for a while but as she saw that Ororo was about to leave, she called out to her.
"Ororo… Would you like to talk… like… now?" she asked sheepishly.
Ororo smiled. "Sure sweetie. Let's just take a quick shower and I'll meet you in your room. Ok?"
"Sure thing. Thank you Ororo."
After a while, the two women were sitting in Rogue's room talking.
"… and that's when Remy entered and… let me tell you… he totally beat the crap out of him! I mean… you should have seen him Ororo… I've never seen anyone move like that in my life! He was like a… a… ninja or something… but only much, much cooler!"
Throughout Rogue's accounting of what had happened, Ororo had a beautiful smile on her lips, amused with the enthusiasm the young woman was talking about Remy. It was very obvious to Ororo that Rogue was quite taken with Remy.
Rogue's ranting kept on. "And again yesterday. When that guy had got me in a sort of invisible grip… Remy caught me in mid air, jumped him and again beat the crap out of him. Only this time he was more like Logan… He was quite pissed off let me tell you. But then he probably let his guard down and that's when the other guy hit him. He threw Remy away like a rug doll. I was so scared when I saw him being tossed… like… 30 feet away. It's amazing how he didn't break anything!"
"Remy must be pretty amazing to have you talk so enthusiastically about him." Said Ororo smiling.
Rogue now blushed. "Well… yeah he's ok." She said sheepishly.
Ororo laughed with Rogue's reaction, to which Rogue reacted faking being offended.
"Hey!" she said with a feigned hurt look.
"Sorry sweetie, but it's obvious that you think he's more than ok…" said Ororo stopping to laugh. "As I must say it was obvious to me that he cares a lot about you. So… what's going on?"
Rogue frowned now. She remained silent for a while and then a bit irritated spoke up. "What do you mean? What could possibly go on? You know I can't touch anybody so what could possibly be going on?"
"I'm sorry Rogue… I didn't mean to upset you… If you want we'll stop talking about it." Said Ororo really softly.
"No. No… I'm sorry Ororo. I… shouldn't let my frustration out on you. It's just that…" Rogue now slowly started to get emotional. "At first… I thought that since he seemed to be interested in me –God knows why- that something could happen… you know… and I tried to… to act normal… and that everything was fine… and let me tell you for a while it was wonderful to have someone who seemed to really care about me, about who I really was, despite the fact that we couldn't touch… but… then I realized that he was acting like that because he believed that this thing would only be temporary… I mean the fact that we couldn't touch… and I'm sure that after a while, when he realized that my powers were permanent, he would get bored and walk away like everyone else…" said Rogue trying hard to refrain herself from crying and barely succeeding.
Ororo was tentatively listening to Rogue and then talked very supportively. "Sometimes I just can't understand you sweetie. You are a beautiful, smart, and very strong woman. But you seem to have a self respect the size of a peanut. Why do you give yourself so little credit? Firstly there are many reasons why someone would want to be with you, even if they couldn't touch you. But I don't think that that will always be the case. You will manage to control your powers. Remy seems to believe in you more than you do yourself, and obviously I agree with him. You should stop acting so defensively all the time. You should start to trust in yourself more. Don't be afraid of failure. The effort is way more important than the outcome honey; you should always remember that. If you try and then you fail, then at least you'll have the satisfaction of your effort. And if you open up to other people, then they'll be there to support you in your failure. There is no shame in that! I do not believe that you truly want to be alone."
Rogue was carefully listening to everything Ororo was telling her. "But Ororo… I don't think I have a choice. Even the professor doesn't know how to help me with my power." Said Rogue defensively.
"Maybe he wasn't as clear as he should have been sweetheart, but what the Professor actually meant is that only you can help yourself, in the matter of your power. You must learn how to control it, and I believe that in time when you're ready, you'll do it."
"But I don't even know how to go about it!" said Rogue.
"I think that if you look deep within you and you are ready to do so, you'll succeed. I truly believe that the answer lies within yourself Rogue."
Rogue seemed thoughtful now. "I… I don't know… maybe you're right."
"In the meantime sweetie, don't shun the people who care about you and want to help you. And I'm not talking just about Remy –as I don't know him that well- but for everyone in the team. And I really think that it would be good for you if you talked more with the Professor. In that way, I think he can help you a great deal."
Rogue remained silent. Deep inside her she knew that Ororo was right, but what was the thing that made her act and feel as she did? Why can't she be more optimistic and why can't she believe in herself and in others?
"By the way Rogue, what about Remy being a thief and all? I get that he kept it a secret from everyone?"
"No. That's fine by me. Besides he did tell me way before the others found out. I just don't see why everybody made a great deal about it at first. I mean everybody has done stuff in their past that they're not proud of. No reason to condemn someone for that. To tell you the truth… I also found it kinda cool… He seemed like a modern day pirate, but not the lame pirates, you know… the ones who were just brutes, more like an Errol Flynn kinda pirate. You now…"
Ororo smiled amused once more. "Is that so… And how do you know Errol Flynn? Aren't you a bit young to know Errol Flynn?"
Rogue's face darkened a bit again. "My dad used to watch his films."
Ororo sensing the sudden change in her mood, let it pass and didn't make any further comments on the subject.
Next day…
Hank approached the sleeping Remy and softly nudged him. Remy opened his eyes.
"Hey Hank! Is it morning yet?" asked Remy sleepily.
"Yes it is Remy. You are now officially free to leave my medical facilities." Said Hank smiling.
"Well… dat is good news indeed! Tank you for taking care of me, Hank. I almost feel as good as new."
"Now… Before you leave, since you're here, I would like to take some tests of you."
Remy looked at Hank curiously. "Meaning…"
"Nothing too serious I assure you. Just some blood and DNA samples for now. The rest we can do later on." Said Hank reassuringly.
"Huh… Is dis standard procedure?"
"Oh yes. Everybody else has done it. I have a… library you might say, of information of this type on everyone in this mansion. Professor Xavier's instructions. You know… for any eventuality."
Remy looked at Hank surprised. "Is dat so? And where do you keep dis extremely valuable library of yours?"
"Oh but right here. In my laboratory." Said Hank as it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Remy now looked shocked. "In here… But there's hardly any security in here Hank! What happens if someone wants to steal them?"
"Oh come on Remy… For someone to get in here, he must know exactly what he is looking for and where it is, and furthermore get through all the other securities of the mansion. Who could get through all these security systems?" said Hank smiling.
Remy looked at Hank dead serious. "I could."
Hank's smile disappeared. "Huh? You're kidding right?"
Remy was still looking at Hank very serious. "No I'm not Hank. I really could get through all dese security systems… with my eyes closed. Which is something I already told de Professor. We must improve de mansion's defences. Dey be very outdated. We must also put some security down here. It's not dat safe."
"But Remy you're probably the best thief around from what I heard. How many more thieves can there be at your league?"
"Dere are a quite a few… believe me, I've seen dem."
"Anyway… I don't want security and defence systems in here. They almost always mean trouble, and the work I do here is far too delicate to be around trouble. You're free to do whatever you want with the rest of the mansion though." Said Hank smiling.
"Have it your way Hank…" said Remy before adding smiling "…But don't you come crying to me if one day you find things missing in here, when de rest of de mansion is fine… Dis place is officially out of my juristiction."
Hank chuckled. "I promise I won't. You've taken your role very seriously I see."
"Well… Before no one knew about what I did, so it would be weird for me to come off and say I know all dis stuff about security systems… but now since everyone knows, I figure I'd be de best suited for making dis place more secure dan Fort Knox." Said Remy smiling cockily.
Later on…
In the mansion's garage Remy was looking at the various vehicles stored there. He was particularly showing interest in a black Harley.
"Now dis is what I call transportation…" he said smiling.
"Are you planning on leaving without even a goodbye?"
Remy turned around to greet Rogue. "Bonjour cherie… You didn't come and visit me when I was in …de 'hospital' and dat hurt." Said Remy feigning being hurt.
"I did! Twice I came and twice you were sleeping! I was beginning to think that Hank was drugging you or something…" said Rogue in protest.
Remy chuckled. "Oops… Sorry cherie. Truth be told I did sleep quite a bit while I was dere." Then smiling slyly added. "Perhaps I liked de dreams I was seeing about my special someone"
Rogue blushed and was stunned silent for a while. "So… Are you going somewhere or are you just enjoying the view?" said Rogue, quickly changing the subject and pointing at the Harley behind Remy.
"Heh… I asked de Professor if I could borrow one of de bikes here. I have to go and visit a friend of mine in de city."
"A friend or…" said Rogue hesitantly.
Remy chuckled. "A friend cherie. Just a friend. Don't you worry, your favorite Cajun will be back before nightfall." Said Remy smiling suggestively.
"My favorite ca… Gah! Remy sometimes you can be very infuriating." Said Rogue pretending to be frustrated.
Remy approached her slowly, smiling wickedly. "But you do like me. Don't you cherie?" Without waiting for an answer, Remy picked her hand and kissed it, then very quickly jumped on the bike, started the engine and turned to Rogue. "I'll be back for you cherie." He winked playfully at her and then he sped off, leaving Rogue behind wishing he had taken her with him.
To be continued…
Star-of-Chaos- Well it remains to be seen whether Remy can persuade Rogue. Regarding Mystique: You get her for a day but if she gets hurt during any of the stunts you mentioned, I expect to be compensated! We run a business here people! :-) (You know this sounds way nastier than I had first intended :-) )
Ishandahalf- I'm glad you liked the previous chapter ish. As you saw the Logan Remy confrontation again went pretty smoothly (didn't it?). And since you liked Hank, well… here he is again (for a short scene though, but hey… better than nothing. :-) )
Enchantedlight- Am I good or what? I updated as soon as I could… :-) It seems that Logan kept his promise… for now anyway… :-)
Streetwise Girl- You're right about that. We wouldn't want another Antarctica fiasco. Besides it's way too cold down there for a Cajun guy. :-) I'm glad you think this is interesting so far, because in the next few final chapters… that's when it will REALLY get interesting (that's what I think at least…)
Leann- mwahahaha Logan and Remy's conversation is over… (a bit too soon I might add :-) ) I bet that half of you expected a fight or something eh??? :-) As to what else Remy is hiding… well… I can't possibly reveal that (I mean I'm going to have to in the next few chapters, but you won't get a thing from me until then… YOU HEAR ME NOT A THING I TELL YOU!!!! :-) ) sorry… got carried away there hope you like this one…
Karakin- thanks for the thumbs up. Hope you like where this is going…
Next: Remy visits a friend. But who is that dark figure almost stalking him….? Is it Mystique? Nah… I don't think so. The figure is too big to be a squirrel….