Dismal Angel 2010 - Episode 23

Chapter 4: My, My

That next night, all the X-Men – save Carol Danvers – arrived to the dining table. The X-Men always ate an hour later than the students, as it gave them a chance to talk amongst themselves without prying ears honing in on private conversations.

"Kitty!" said Logan in an almost cheerful way as Kitty Pryde limped into the informal dining hall, where the X-Men were dining. "Surprised to see you up and out of bed so soon," he said.

Kitty smiled a little, noted the scent of beer in the air, and sure enough, there was a bottle of Budweiser beside Logan's plate, "couldn't keep me there any longer, it's SO boring lying in bed…" she mumbled, there was a seat across from Remy LeBeau, and she took it happily, reaching over for a large bowl of mashed potatoes. She glanced down at the other end of the table to where Piotr Rasputin was sitting between Ororo Munroe and Jean Grey and she smiled gleefully at him. He looked up and returned the smile, his cheeks flushing ever so slightly.

"Everything squared now then?" Remy asked, unheard over the commotion of all the X-Men's discussions.

"I guess," Kitty's eyes twinkled, but then she looked towards Remy, sullenly, "but, y'know…" she trailed off quietly.

"I know," Remy nodded, understanding. He knew what she was thinking – despite he was no telepath. She was concerned about how Piotr would react when he learned of her pregnancy.

"My, my, Kitty," Betsy remarked, she was two seats away from Kitty, she looked up from her plate of steak and vegetables, "you should have eaten in your room, imagine coming down here in your condition."

Kitty's eyes widened and her cheeks paled as she heard the words, "Uh…uh…"

"Her ankle isn't as bad as it could have been," said Hank, luckily missing the point of Betsy's humour. "Nice clean break, it's in pain, yes, but she'll survive, she's a trooper," he smiled towards Kitty adoringly, he'd always adored her since she was a student.

Kitty forced a smile towards Hank, but inside her heart was beating furiously like a drum.

"Well, that's always good to know," said Betsy ever so politely that everyone except from Kitty and Remy seemed to miss the cold sarcasm.

Kitty grabbed a corncob from a tray on the table, and spooned herself out some peas, she leaned over the table to do so, and whispered to Remy at the same time, "you were right, she is a bitch."

Remy gave her an expression as if to say 'I told you so', and idly pushed his own peas around on his plate with his fork, he wasn't hungry, and he had more important things on his mind.

"Where's Carol?" Kitty asked, looking around and seeing no sign of her.

"Not sure," Remy sighed, "I tried to follow her this afternoon but lost track. I don't see the point anymore, to be honest," he added crestfallen.

Betsy glanced over towards Kitty and Remy, "I'm sure Rogue – oh, I mean CAROL – is out there somewhere having a whale of a time being the belle of the ball," she commented with a knowing smirk towards Remy in particularly.

Kitty caught the icy stare Remy returned towards the woman, "what's wrong?" she whispered.

"Later," Remy uttered, he dug his fork into his steak angrily, but did not make any more progress towards eating it.

"I wish Carol would tire of using Rogue's body already," Hank sighed, "her behaviour is quite erratic and promiscuous…"

"From what I heard, Rogue's behaviour is certainly not virginal either," Betsy remarked.

Kitty was trying so hard to avoid opening her mouth to insult the woman that she shoved a huge forkful of mashed potatoes – more than her mouth could handle – and began to eat.

Remy was gripping his steak knife a little more hostilely than he should have and Kitty glanced over to him.

Don't do anything, she pleaded with him in thought, she knew he wasn't telepathic so she hoped that the look on her face might be enough to beg him not to do anything at the table. It wouldn't look good. Betsy seemed to already have everyone else enchanted with her manner and her beauty and her way with words, and any move made by Remy would only give them further reason not to trust him. Kitty tapped his leg lightly under the table with her good foot, and gave him a meaningful look.

"For a time Rogue was a little licentious, but that was in her youth, come on, Betsy, we all go through strange stages in our teens, don't we? I know I certainly did," Hank replied.

"I'll bet you did you," Betsy smirked at him in such a seductive way.

Kitty wanted to scream at them all. She's playing you all for fools! She thought desperately as she looked around. She knew saying anything would risk the secrecy of her pregnancy. She did not want something like this to come out over dinner. She needed to tell Piotr first, then the others could know.

Remy stabbed his meat ferociously with his steak knife, and he gained a few glances from the others at the table, but no one said a thing. Remy had not raised his eyes from the table for two minutes now, it was almost as if he were trying to stare-out a pepper shaker nearby.

Kitty said nothing, she put more potato into her mouth despite she'd barely swallowed the first mouthful, eating was a good excuse for not speaking.

"My, my, Kitty," Betsy said once again, "slow down, you might give yourself indigestion, dear," she smirked a little, "one would almost think you're eating for two."

Kitty dropped her fork on the table, "I've had enough. Excuse me," she said, she got up and limped her way towards the exit of the dining room.

"What's up with her?" Logan asked curiously.

"Hormones, more than likely," Betsy shrugged nonchalantly and began to eat again.

Remy said not a word, he got up, "please excuse me, I need a cigarette," he remarked coldly and left, following Kitty's trail.

Kitty was in the foyer, standing near tears near the mirror, she was looking at herself as if to question why this was happening to her.

Remy looked at her, "kill her, Kitty, if you don't, I fucking will," he uttered, and he opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch.

Kitty sniffed back her tears and followed him outside, "what can we—"

Remy grabbed a small flowering plant pot from it's small shelf on the porch, charged it up, it glowed against the evening light. He hollered something in French, Kitty hadn't heard correctly, but she was almost positive it might have been several choice swearwords, threw it towards the pathway where it exploded, shattering into thousands of pieces.

Kitty came up behind him and put her hand on his back, "Remy."

"Don't…" Remy pulled away, "I'm angry and I don't want to accidentally hurt you…" he clenched his fists. One of the other little plant pots on the shelf spontaneously seemed to explode, the porch was dusted in moist earth, and sprinkled with shattered pieces of terracotta pot.

"Remy, what's going on…?" Kitty asked. She'd been so caught up in her own dilemma she'd forgotten to ask him if everything was alright these past few days. She hadn't noticed that something was wrong – well, she'd known something was wrong with him regarding Carol. But something else seemed to be wrong now, for there was a different tension in him that she hadn't seen before.

"Nothing, okay? Nothing!" he said, his voice sharp.

"Don't speak to me like that," Kitty smacked his arm, "I'm the only fucking friend in this place you have so don't start getting all pissy with me! If you have a problem, talk to me, but don't fucking yell at me," Kitty's eyes were tearing up, perhaps it was the hormones that made her feel so emotional, she was unsure, all she knew was she didn't like the one in Remy's voice when he spoke to her that way.

Remy moved away, he sat down on the porch steps, head in his hands, "I'm sorry…I know it's not your fault…" he sighed, his voice low and grouchy.

"Remy…what's wrong?" Kitty asked softly as she sat beside him, she winced at the pain in her ankle.

Remy turned and looked at her, he shook his head, "you don't want to know, Kitty. Because it's so…fucked up…and…it's just…"

"Huh?" Kitty asked.

Remy sighed, "never mind," he looked away.

"I really want to know…" Kitty touched his arm.

Remy stared into the distance, "I followed Carol to that nightclub a few nights ago…" he replied.

"What nightclub."

"THAT fucking nightclub. Asylum."

"Where…Rogue…was--?"

"Yes," Remy uttered, "And when I got there I lost her, because I saw a few of the students in there…when I went back in I couldn't see her, so I searched the place…"

"And?"

"I found her," Remy sucked in a breath, his voice had begun to sound overemotional, and he seemed to be struggling with the words.

"And…?" Kitty swallowed, she was sure she wasn't going to like what he was about to say.

"She was in a bathroom…with that guy…the guy who hurt Rogue. The Guy who—" he swallowed, and a tear had fallen down his face, he moved his hand and wiped it quickly away, "the guy who raped her…"

"Oh no…" Kitty whispered, she felt a horrible sickness rising in her stomach, she thought it might be the smell of steak coming from the mansion, which had always made her eve so slightly queasy in the past, but now the smell seemed to be so strong it was overpowering.

"She was fucking with him Kitty…she was…literally…I mean…skin-to-skin…fucking with him…I saw it in the mirror of the bathroom…"

"But…that's…" Kitty tried to hold back her sickness.

"Impossible, right?" Remy looked at her, his eyes glittering with tears, "but I saw it with these eyes, I saw it, Kitty…I wasn't imagining it…they were…"

The nausea overcame Kitty and she turned away from Remy just in time and bobbed forward as the vomit came. She retched for a moment, then a second wave came up.

Remy made a face, "oh, that's…real pretty…" he reached over and moved her hair away from her face, her hair was short, but a few stray strands were liable to get in the way of her mouth, "you okay?"

"I don't know…it just—" another wave of nausea came over her, she threw up on the porch steps, it was not a pretty sight.

Remy waited until she was finished, then he helped her up, "Kitty…you should go inside, I'll go get a mop and clean this…up…"