Archive: Sure, just ask me first at smokhea@aol.com
*Special Note*: Sorry, sorry, sorry, I know I'm really late. This chapter was just pissing me off like you wouldn't believe, but now it's complete.
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Chapter 18
Digging Deeper
(Canon)
He stood in the shadows of her mind as dozens of transparent, doe-eyed people walked by him like he didn't exist. He brought his staking hands to his face and noticed that he was still loosing his substance as the hours past. He knew that he wouldn't have enough time to complete his work if he did not start immediately.
While he still had the strength, he began to cultivate his mutant powers. He stood in front of one of the many locked doors in her mind, ready to begin his task. Through the cracks on the door, he saw a still image of a young Rogue with a collar around her neck, naked, and clutching her body for warmth.
He shot a blast from his hands with the intention of blowing the door down to mere ashes; however, it did not budge. If it was because the door was too strong or he too weak, he didn't know.
He repeated the destructive action one blast at a time for hours. Eventually, he stopped the continuous process to examine his work. The image he saw between the cracks on the door had changed dramatically.
Rogue was no longer alone; there was a man now next to her, also naked. The man looked familiar to Canon, but he couldn't place the face. This man was really old, with full white hair, and was also wearing a collar around his neck. His hands were wrapped in some type of metal fist glove, so he couldn't use his fingers.
Canon watched at the old man approached Rogue's shaken frame, his old eyes tracing the bruises all over her body.
"Rogue!" He growled in a dry voice desperate for water.
She did not respond, instead she sulked into her lap.
The old man did not give her a chance to mope. "Quit yer winin'!" He grabbed her arm and yanked her up. "Let's get goin'…" But it was too late.
Canon watched the scene unfold as the two were surrounded by a group of men. He waited with an evil grin, anticipation what would happen next, but then…the image froze.
He cursed silently, but eventually smiled at the sight before him, knowing that his hard work had paid off. Full of contentment, he walked deeper into Rogue's mind in search of another door to smash partly open, before his time ran out.
(Scott)
Scott approached the security room, stopping only to type in his code in order to open the door. He found the sheets Logan had left for him on one of the tables. Moving toward the main computer, he began to type in one of the codes from the sheets in order to access a confidential file.
The computer screen flashed: Access Denied
Confused, Scott sat back in his chair. "Computer. Why can't I access confidential file 89-2?"
You have typed in an incorrect code.
How is that possible? Scott wondered to himself. Consciously, he began to re-enter the code for the same file.
Again the screen flashed: Access Denied.
"Computer, what's wrong with my security access?" He asked impatiently.
You typed in an incorrect code.
"Isn't the code for file 89-2: 875-65-59489?"
That is an incorrect code.
It was obvious to Scott that Logan had set an incorrect password. Screwing up a password is near impossible, but Logan managed to find away to do it. "Fine." Scott grumbled. One bad password isn't too much trouble. I can leave it for now and fix it later.
Angrily, he began to type in the password for another file on the list.
For the third time the computer flashed: Access Denied
"Computer, Why can't I access file 24-C?"
You have typed an incorrect code
He was livid. "But I typed in code 879-54654-5464?!"
That is an incorrect code.
Shit! Something isn't right here.
He then proceeded to go over random codes on the sheets. To his horror he found that out of the 25 codes he checked 10 were incorrect. He was pissed of knowing that there were 125 codes to go through. That would mean that roughly 40% of the 125 codes are incorrect. What the fuck was Logan thinking?!
"Computer, I want to renew the security codes that I can't access."
You do not have the authority to override set passwords.
Rubbing his hand over his face he asked, "Computer, besides killing Logan, what do I have to do to fix this mistake?"
By shutting down the security system, you can re-type in new passwords.
Only Xavier has the authority to shut down the system, and I'm not going to let him know about this. Anyway, shutting everything down wouldn't be safe. "Is there any other possible way for me to change the codes on my own?"
Yes. It would involve you overriding all pre-existing codes and re-entering them one at a time, which will keep the full system up.
"How long will that take?"
This action may take approxment 41 hours to complete.
Scott's head fell toward the desk in hopelessness. "Can this day get any worse?"
Yes. Anything is possible.
Scott lifted his head from the desk unamused. "Computer, shut up."
A Lot of Advice
(Ororo/Jean)
Jean sat in the living room skimming through a novel she plucked from the bookshelf. She was only buying time, waiting for her best friend to make an appearance. Abruptly, she looked up from her book as Ororo entered the room.
"Finally!" Jean exclaimed tossing her book aside. "It seemed like I was waiting an eternity for you to finish meditating."
Ororo shook her head playfully as she sat beside her friend. "Oh come now. I did not mediate for so long."
"It's been eight hours, 'Ro."
Blushing slightly, Ororo sat back into the sofa. "It was so relaxing. If you had not sent me a mental message, I might still be in my room." Her expression changed when she remembered the intensity of Jean's telepathic message. "So what is so urgent that you had to talk to me?"
"Nothing." She answered running her fingers around the couch cushions.
"Anytime you're ready to tell me your problem…"
She looked up, eager to begin her tale. "It's not a problem really. It's just that if I see Betsy today, you will have to keep me from lunging at her."
Jean had succeeded in capturing Ororo's full attention. "What has happened now?"
"What do you think?" She responded crossing her arms. "If it involves me being angry at Betsy, it can only mean one thing."
"No way!" Her mouth dropped open in disbelief. "She is hitting on Scott again? Are you sure? After all she is dating Warren."
"Yeah, well I'm not so sure she is still dating Warren." She lowered her eyes. "And I don't really have evidence that she is going after Scott."
"Then why are you so suspicious?"
Jean met Ororo's gaze showing conviction. "Scott was late coming home last night, remember I had that special evening planned? I wasn't upset, until I smelt her perfume all over him."
"That does not mean anything." Ororo didn't believe her own statement let alone Jean. "Okay, maybe it means something, but you should not assume the worst."
"Then what should I do?"
"Here is an idea." She placed her hand over Jean's hand, rubbing it back and forth. "Why don't you discuss what you are feeling with your husband?"
Jean cracked a smile. "It's that easy, huh?"
"Yes it is." She squeezed her hand. "You are the one that is making it more difficult then it has to be."
Jean nodded her head, accepting the words of wisdom that escaped the lips of her dearest friend. Maybe she can help me with another problem I'm having. "Would you do something for me?" She waited for Ororo to nod her head. "Get Remy off my case. He's screwing around with me, and it's getting on my nerves. I know how close you two are, so can you talk some sense into him?"
What is Remy up to now? Ororo wondered what Remy's motivation for irritating Jean was. "What has he been doing to you?"
She bit her lip. "Nothing that I can share. I just need you to do me this one favor, best friend of mine."
I have been doing her a lot of favors lately. "I am sorry Jean. It seems to me that Remy isn't too keen on taking my advice of late." There was a sting to her tone of voice.
Jean's ears perked up at the thought of what could have caused a tiff between her and Remy. "Really? What's been going on with you two?"
"Nothing that I can share." She answered smugly. Jean laughed in response.
Ororo took the opportunity to fill Jean in on the information she requested the day before. "I finally had the chance to speak with Logan."
"Oh, that's nice." Her expression was that of indifference as she picked lent from the couch.
"I thought you would be interested in what he told me."
Jean looked up at Ororo as if she grew an arm out of her head. "Huh?"
She rolled her eyes. Leave it to Jean to only care about Logan when she didn't have to worry about Scott. "Never mind."
Jean shrugged it off and picked up her novel from the floor. There was a long awkward moment in which neither friend had anything to say to one another. Jean couldn't remember the last time that had happened in their relationship or if it had ever happened at all. "So what's going on in your life?"
"Excuse me?" She asked surprised.
"We've been friends for a long time, 'Ro. We would always talk about everything. But recently I feel like our relationship is becoming one sided—don't think I haven't noticed."
Here I am getting annoyed with Jean's ranting about her own life when in actuality it's partly my fault. There's a lot I haven't been sharing with her. She smiled warmly.
"You know I'm always here if you need to talk right?" She asked sincerely.
"I know." Though I must admit that talking to Jean about Logan—his old crush—is the very last thing I want to do. It's probably best for the both of us that I keep my relationship a secret a little while longer. I hate the fact that I can't share my happiness with Jean or Remy.
"Anyway, I have to go clean the furniture in the family room." Jean said jumping from the couch and placing the book on the coffee table. "Thanks for the talk."
"Anytime."
Ororo sat alone in the room. She picked up the novel that Jean was reading. She could tell by the cover of the book that it was science fiction. Jean must have really been bored if she was reading this. She hates science fiction. She mused to herself.
"Good afternoon, Roro."
Startled, she looked up from the book just as Betsy walked through the door, relaxing on the couch across from her.
"Hello, Betsy." She scanned Betsy's demeanor and was shocked to see her in a positive mood. "Wow. You seemed to have done a 180 from yesterday in the war room."
She wiggled her eyebrows. "You noticed, huh."
"It is pretty hard not to. What was wrong?"
She pulled her loose ponytail over her shoulder and started to braid it. "Warren and I broke up."
"Oh." Ororo said showing remorse; though the smile on Betsy face and her uncaring attitude was throwing Ororo off. If they broke up, why is she so happy? "So today you two got back together?" That's probably why she is so happy now.
"Nope. I just got over it." She tossed her braided ponytail back over her shoulder.
"Really? How?"
"I had a conversation with Scott. You know, he's really great at consoling people and making them feel better."
Crossing her arms, she raised her eyebrows. "Is that so?"
"Uh huh." Pulling a lime-green lollypop from her pocket she asked, "Have you seen him around?"
"I think he might be going over some new passwords, or something." She mumbled.
Betsy pouted not disguising her disappointment. "In that case, I better not disturb him." She got up from her chair and headed towards the door placing the lollypop in her mouth.
"Where are you headed now?"
She turned around taking the candy from her mouth so she could speak. "To the family room."
Oh boy! "If I were you I wouldn't go there."
Betsy took her statement as a challenge "Why not?"
"Jean's dusting and she's not in the mood to see you."
"Why?"
"I do not know, Betsy. Why don't you tell me?"
Betsy smiled. "Oh that." Don't tell me that Jean found out about the kiss. I thought Scott said he would keep his mouth shut…unless Jean read his mind and found out herself. If she did, that would totally go against what Scott said of her respecting his privacy. "How did she find out?"
"She smelled your perfume on him."
"Huh?" Betsy did a quick scan of Ororo's mind so she wouldn't let more slip then she had too. Soon it became clear that Jean didn't know about the kissed that they shared, only that he smelled of her perfume. So really, Jean doesn't know anything. "Yeah well, I'll walk in the other direction. Only because this shirt cost a small fortune and I would hate to have it torn."
"Good idea."
But instead of leaving, Betsy remained. "You're not leader anymore are you?"
She sighed only because she didn't want to speak about it. "No, I'm not."
Shit! I've only been away a couple of weeks and I missed her demotion. "Did I miss a meeting or something?"
"Nope." Ororo was uninterested in continuing the conversation. She checked her watch, mentally counting down the minutes until she would leave to meet Logan later on in the night.
"Don't worry…you still have time."
Ororo looked up meeting Betsy's sly grin. "What do you mean by that?"
The ninja placed the lollypop back in her mouth then turned around and left the room.
"Betsy? Betsy!" Ororo yelled, however she did not get a response.
(Logan/Rogue)
Logan laid on his back on a bench, lifting his limit of weights. He stopped counting after 500 reps, but continued lifting with the same energy as if he had just started.
After the morning he had, he was looking for any way to release his anger. He thought it better to release his fury in a vigorous workout instead of beating Remy's face into a bloody plump. However, even after hours of working out, he wasn't able to calm down. Logan knew he would have to get his emotions under control before meeting Ororo later on in the night…finally.
"Logan! What the fuck did you do?!"
Logan placed the weight on the rack and sat up to see Scott's angry expression. "I'm not in the mood, Cyke."
Scott did not listen to his response. "These passwords don't work. I can't access the private files."
"What are you talkin' about?"
"I followed the numbers on the paper that you should have typed in last night and the passwords don't work." He said waving multiple papers around.
"That's impossible." Logan said wiping the build up of sweat from his face with a towel.
"Then why the fuck can't I gain access? Are you sure you went over all the codes?"
"Yeah I'm sure…" He paused a moment rethinking the events of the night. That was the night he and Ororo were supposed to make love for the first time. Shit! "I was in a rush. I might-a messed up on a few numbers."
Scott's fists tightened with Logan's confession. "You messed up on way more than a few. Do you know how much shit we have to go through to fix this?! It's going to take triple the amount of time it would have taken to install!"
Logan took deep breaths, trying to prevent himself from bursting in rage. "Fuck! I screwed up! What do you want me to do about it?"
Scott pulled his hair in frustration. "Remy's getting people drunk, Bobby's breaking expensive equipment and you are messing up on codes! I swear you all are doing this on purpose!"
Everything is a conspiracy to him. "My mistake…"
"Mistakes costs lives…"
"…'And a shit load of money'. I know I know." He rubbed his eyes trying to think of a solution to the problem. "I'll fix it, just give me a couple of…"
"Forget it, Logan! I'll handle it myself. I can't afford another screw up." He turned around and stomped away. "Thanks for fucking nothing!"
"Yeah, well you're welcome, ya li'l shit!" Logan called after him.
Really he had no reason to be mad at Scott and Scott had every reason to be mad at him, but he just didn't care. Any relaxation Logan might have felt after the long work out had disappeared.
Logan heard Scott speak, "Don't make any plans tomorrow. Remember we have the basketball game. Spread the word."
Who's he talking to? Logan wondered.
"Ah hear yah!"
He then noticed Rogue leaning on the doorframe, dressed head to toe in a gray sweat suit, and wondered how long she had been standing there. It was then that Scott exited the room.
"Woow. What's he so mad about?" She asked casually.
He gave a cold stare, wanting her to know that he wasn't in the mood for any long conversation. "What are you doin' here?"
She stepped inside the room. "You said we were goin' to do karate tonight."
"Didn't I tell you I wasn't in the mood?" He growled.
"Well get in the mood." She ordered without a hint of humor. "You made a promise."
He went back to lifting weights. "I didn't promise you shit."
"You're such a grouch. Don't take your frustrations with Scott out on me."
He put the weights back on the rack. "You still here?" He asked picking up some dumb bells.
She smiled. "Okay, let's try it this way. Either you teach me karate or Ah drain you and teach mahself." She walked closer to him taking her gloves off in the process. "You've got 10 seconds to decide."
"You want a lesson that bad, darlin'?" He dropped the dumb bells to the floor and got up from his seat. He looked her over cracking his knuckles as sweat poured from his body. "I'll give you a lesson." He backed her up onto the mat and put up his fists giving her a deadly stare.
She put back on her gloves anticipating his assault. What have I gotten myself into?
(Scott/Betsy)
Betsy made her way to the lower floor on the mansion where the X-men conducted all of their official business. She told herself that she would leave Scott alone to finish his work, but something kept on tugging at her to seek him out anyway. Pushing in the codes to the security room, she waited until the doors slide open.
Scott was huddled in the corner going over rows of numbers on his computer screen.
"Hey, Scott. I was thinking about last night and…"
"This isn't the time, Betsy." He cut her off without looking up from the screen. "I'm swamped with work."
She stepped in the room as the doors closed behind her. "You want any help?"
"Nope." He answered rustling some papers while typing on the keyboard.
"You need any help?"
He stopped typing and looked up from the computer to her smiling face. "It's not as fun as killing Sentinels, Betsy. I have to go over thousands of numbers manually."
She crossed her arms in mock anger. "Hey, I'm no slouch. I can do manual labor."
Telepaths have great memories, she can really be an asset in helping me with all these numbers. He returned her smile and gestured for her to approach him. "Get over here and help me go over these codes. I'll tell you everything, just type in what I say and double check it." He got up from the chair so that she could sit in font on the computer.
"No problem." She sat ready for him to start calling out the numbers. She smiled to herself, happy that she was able to spend some quality time her favorite X-man. "So how have you been…"
Scott cut her off with his hidden stare. "More work, no talk." He ordered tapping on the computer screen.
Betsy straightened up in her chair willing to obey his command.
Minutes of intense typing were interrupted with the sound of the sliding doors opening.
"Hi, honey." Jean said before realizing Scott wasn't alone. He was bent over Betsy's shoulder, dictating numbers to her.
He looked up from the computer screen and acknowledged her with a slight nod. "Jean."
She stepped closer to the couple, unsure of what was going on. "What are you two doing?"
"Going over some codes." He mumbled turning back to the computer screen.
Jean watched as Betsy started typing numbers on the keyboard. She looked back at her husband. "I wanted to talk to you…"
"It'll have to wait. I have to get this finished as soon as possible."
"Do you need any help?" She asked eager to join them.
He shook his head. "Two people are sufficient."
She smiled. "But three would be…"
"Jean, I'm very busy." He cut her off with a stern voice.
"I know but…"
"We'll talk later." He stated firmly.
Jean couldn't help but notice the smug expression on Betsy's face even though she was still focused on the computer.
Without another word she turned around and exited the room, shutting down their psy-connection in the process.
Scott let out a huge sigh. He wanted to go after her, but he didn't trust himself enough to have a decent conversation.
Betsy turned away from the screen to see his troubled expression. "Why are you so angry with her?" She asked trying not to sound too nosy.
His expression turned back to that of typical leader. "What did I say, Psylocke?"
She grinned. "More work, no talk." He nodded in agreement as she went back to typing in the numbers, trying to control her satisfying smile. Who'd a thought, manual labor could be so fun!
(Bobby/Remy)
Remy strolled into the Rec. room, his hands filled with junk food. Bobby looked up from the couch just as Remy sat beside him with a crocked smile. He placed a bowl full of pretzels, another bowl filled with chips on the coffee table, along with other smaller packaged snacks.
Bobby glanced at him every so often. Look at him over there with that stupid grin looking so happy. I guess I would be that happy too, if I'd just got laid.
Remy turned to Bobby pointing to his watch. "It's 9:00pm. I wan' t' watch somet'ing on TV."
"Yeah well, I'm watching something now." He answered keeping his eyes on the television.
Remy shoved a hand full of potato chips into his mouth. "Just put it on the sports channel."
"Sorry, man. I got the remote so I control the TV."
Doesn't look like he's goin' t' budge. "A soccer game is on." He said knowing those five words were enough to temp Bobby.
Damn! He knows how much I love soccer. "Who's playing?" He asked, trying in vain not to sound too interested.
"Who do you t'ink." Remy watched as Bobby's eyes widen in shock. "Dat's right. Our teams are finally battling it out!"
Shit! Finally! He couldn't help but get excited.
"Dis is goin' t' be one for de ages. Last chance t' change sides, Drake."
"Forget it. I have every confidence that my team with kick your team's ass!"
"Den it's on!" Remy yelled as Bobby changed the channel to the game. He pulled out an ice cream sandwich from his pocket. "Ummm-ummm." He opened the package; the ice cream was partly melted. "I like dis when it's a li'l warm." He took a bite of it and could feel Bobby's icy stare. "What?"
"You're eating my ice cream sandwich. I was saving that for a week."
"Hey, I don't see your name on it."
"It's right there." He pointed to his name scribbled in black ink along the white package.
Shit, he's right. "Well, next time write legibly."
"Always taking stuff that doesn't belong to you." Bobby mumbled looking back at the TV.
Remy cracked a smile. "You still talkin' 'bout de sandwich, or is dere somet'ing else on your mind?" He asked suggestively, however Bobby remained silently pouting. "Here, have it." He said pushing the half-eaten sandwich under Bobby's nose.
"After it's been in your pocket, for who knows how long, and you slobbered all over it? Hell no!" He slapped Remy's hand away.
"Den stop your mopin'."
An idea popped in Bobby's mind as the soccer match was about to start. "Why don't we make this game a little interesting."
"Are you t'inking about makin' a bet wit' de devil? What makes you t'ink you can defeat de dark side?"
He always has to be so dramatic. "You wanna bet or not?"
Of course I wanna bet. But Remy already knew what Bobby was leading to and he wasn't sure if he wanted to follow. "How far are you willin' t' dig into your pockets?"
He rubbed his hands as he spoke, "If my team wins, you have to cough up…325,000 grand." If I win, my plight for cash will be over!
Remy gave a low whistle in response.
"What? Too rich for your blood?"
Remy acted as if he had been offended. "Oh please. It's jus' dat you don't have dat much money t' put up."
Fuck! He tried to think of anything he had that was worth money. "I'll put up my comic book collection."
He shook his head. "Your collection is only worth $500.00 max."
"How do you know?"
He shrugged indifferently. "I got it appraised not too long ago."
Bobby didn't even bother ask Remy how he knew where the collection was hidden and how he figured out the combination lock, in order to get the it apprised. Remy is always getting into stuff he has no business getting into.
He rubbed his chin contemplating Bobby's offer. "De sentimental value of your comics is t'rough de roof, I'll give you dat. Why you so desperate t' give up your comics?" He asked playing dumb.
"Who says I'm going to lose my comics?" He asked showing confidence.
He does have de mind of a gambler. Remy mused.
"So what? We making the bet or not?"
"$325,000 against your comic book collection? Although dat seems tempting, I'm goin' t' have t' decline."
"Why the hell would you do that?"
Shrugging casually, he replied, "I don't feel up t' it."
When does Gambit ever feel like not betting? "Quit being a pussy."
"You mus' wan' de money really bad, huh?" Remy said cracking a knowing smile.
"Give me a break." He answered, rolling his eyes. "Who couldn't use an extra $325,000 grand in the bank?"
"$325,000 seems a li'l too specific."
"Would you feel better if I'd asked for an even $400,000?"
"I don't know." He pondered, cramming a handful of chips into his mouth. "It's too late now t' t'ink about it."
"Forget I even asked." He mumbled in frustration, turning back to the television. "Let's just watch the game."
"I'm way ahead of ya!"
Their eyes were glued to the screen to witness the first kick.
*
Rogue stayed on the floor mat, spread like a starfish, while Logan stood over her.
"You had enough?" He asked hoping her answer was no.
"Kiss mah ass, Wolverine." She snapped, jumping up from the floor. "You just got lucky."
"That means I've been lucky five times." He stated, as he circled her, shadow boxing at the same time.
"You fight dirty." She complained following him with her eyes.
He stopped to take pity on her. "I thought you could handle it."
"Still doesn't give you the right to treat me like a fucking punchin' bag. Ah'm still a woman, you know."
"After all the men you absorbed in your life, are you still sure about that?"
Low blow, but true. "What's your problem, Logan?"
"Hey, you're the one who wanted to know karate."
"Yeah. Ah wanted to know how to use karate, not get mah ass kicked by karate."
"You take what you can get." He wasn't in any mood to apologize. "I warned you that I wasn't up to teachin' you t'night."
"But Ah wanna know why. Ah know it has somethin' to do with Remy."
"Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong." He warned, pointing his finger at her.
"Follow your own advice, oldie. You're the one who always butts in on mah relationship with Remy."
"I'm doin' it for your own good. You should be thankin' me." His thoughts wondered briefly to a comment Remy made to him earlier in the day. "Why didn't you tell the Cajun that you were havin' lessons with me the last time?"
"Ah'm not tellin' you shit!" She answered pushing her long hair behind her ears. Her hand movement caught his attention as his eyes followed the red shine on her bracelet.
"When did your diamond bracelet turn into a ruby bracelet?"
"Kiss mah ass!"
Logan's face darkened as he stood into a defensive position. "Put your fits up. We're goin' at it again."
"What…" She tried to reply. However, a quick foot sweep to her leg knocked her off balance.
*
The soccer game reached the halfway point and Remy's team led by one goal.
"Aren't you glad you didn't bet against me?" Remy asked all too pleased with himself.
"Yeah, I'm thrilled." Bobby mumbled, clearly irritated.
"T'day seems t' be my lucky day…like not'ing could go wrong. You were crazy t' want t' bet me."
"Yup. Must have been." He grumbled.
"What's takin' Rogue so long?" He asked no one in general.
"Rogue?"
"Yeah, she's doin' somet'ing wit' Wolverine. I wanted t' take her out later."
Bobby focused his eyes back on the television to keep from obsessing on Remy's smiling face. Well I guess taking her out tonight is nice. After all, he did fuck her. Better late then never...
"Hey, wait a minute." Remy said, getting Bobby's full attention. "Weren't you supposed t' be givin' me some major competition for Rogue's affection. Not t' shit on you, but if you have been given me competition, I haven't noticed."
Bobby took a deep breath. "I guess I should have told you. I'm not in the running anymore."
"What?" Remy pushed the mute button on the remote to make sure he had heard Bobby correctly.
"I'm stepping back. You don't have to worry about me."
"Is dis some kind of new strategy?" He asked with natural suspicion.
"Yes. It's the 'I'm not after Rogue' strategy. Knock yourself out, Gambit."
He let Bobby's words sink in before he responded. "I would say dat you were a worthy opponent, but I'd be lying."
"Gee, thanks."
"Since we are at an understandin', I've got t' ask you somet'ing. I've known you had deep feelings for Rogue, probably even before you were aware of it. But you never acted on your feelings. What were you t'inking?"
For some unknown reason, Bobby decided to engage Remy in conversation. "Haven't you heard the phrase: If you love something, let it go…"
"Let it go?" He laughed loudly shaking his head. "Dat's got t' be de dumbest t'ing I've ever heard. Mon pere always said: If you love somet'ing, you fight for it. You see dat's why your relationship wit' Rogue has never gone past de friendship stage."
Bobby fought the urge to crack the remote over Remy's big fat head.
"You've known her longer den I have; you two should have already been on your third breakup. It's because you didn't wan' t' take de risk—you were afraid of gettin' shot down. But you know what? Life is filled wit' risks. You should have went for it."
"Excuse me if I don't seem in the mood for your little advice on what I should have done."
Remy shrugged. "No offence taken."
Bobby got up from the couch without a word and headed toward the door.
"Where are you goin'? Don't you wan' t' see de end of de game? Your team could still win."
"Nope." He said pausing at the doorframe. "I've had enough suspense for one day."
"You sure? Dere's still a couple of hours left before de day is officially over." His eyes twinkled as he spoke. "Hey, Bobby." Remy added before he could leave. "Honestly, dere's no way in hell you would have been able t' be wit' Rogue…you're too normal." He was surprised that Bobby stayed to listen to his rant. "She's a nutshell—all dose voices runnin' around in her head. Consider yourself lucky dat I'm de one dealin' wit' her."
"Remy?"
"Yup." He answered, mouth filled with chips.
"Just don't fuck her up anymore than you have in the past."
"I can't make any promises." He smiled licking the salt from the chips off his fingers. "Hey, if you really loved her you wouldn't be walkin' away from her."
"Fuck off." He said turning to leave.
"Hit de lights on your way out, will ya?"
"Hit it yourself." He replied walking out of Remy's view.
"Touchy." Remy focused back on the television. Wit' de luck I have today, I should have played de lotto..
*
Logan wiped the beads of sweat from his brow.
"What's wrong, Wolverine? You don't like the taste of the mat?" She asked cracking her knuckles with ease.
Logan was down on one knee, trying to recover from a hard punch to the stomach. "You're relyin' too much on your powers." He grunted.
She rolled her eyes tugging at her gloves. "This comin' from someone who would have been dead a thousand times already, if not for his healin' factor."
Inhaling deeply, he stood up pointing at her. "My healin' factor has saved your ass a time or two as well. And there may come a time when I'm not here to offer it to."
"You don't see me worried do you?"
Finally he managed to build the energy to start the third round. "No more playin' around. Activate your bracelet."
"Why?" She asked, clasping her fingers behind her back.
"If you're gonna learn the skill of martial arts, I want you to focus totally on it without relying on your strength and durability."
"Hell, no!" She stepped back. "You can teach me with mah powers."
Logan shook his head almost tempted to laugh at her antics. "If I knew Beast was working on your nullifier I would have told him not to waste his time. He could have better spent his days workin' on a cure for the legacy virus."
"Hush up!"
"It's only a matter of time before Gumbo realizes that you are just wearin' that thing for jewelry."
Rogue hated the fact that he thought he knew everything about her. "For your information…Ah used the bracelet last night!" The look on his face was worth her blurting out her secret.
"For real?" He gave the impression that he was uncertain she was speaking the truth.
She waved her wrist in his face. "That's why the bracelet changed color. It has already been activated."
"Get out of here!"
"Not only did Ah use the bracelet, but Remy was with me and Ah spent the night in his bed."
Rogue wasn't use to Logan looking shocked. "Shut the fuck up!"
"It's true!"
His face turned serious, as he looked her over. "He didn't fuck you did he?"
"No he didn't fuck me. All we did was sleep together."
"So you touched him?"
"Uh-huh. Ah can't get over how smooth his skin felt."
No wonder Gumbo was so happy this mornin'. "He must have went crazy when he touched you." The look on her face clued him in that something wasn't right. "What?"
"He didn't actually touch me." Shit! He's goin' to have a field day with this. "Ah didn't let him touch me."
"So you slept by his side and you didn't let him touch you? You know what sleepin' next to a girl you can't touch feels like for a man? It can drive a guy insane. You were leadin' him on."
"Oh, so you're sayin' that Ah should have jus' let him fuck me?!"
"No, I'm sayin' that you shouldn't have let him sleep beside you if nothin' was goin' to happen. Why did you do it anyway? Why couldn't you just sleep in your own room?"
Because Ah was too scared. "No reason."
"Oh there's a reason. You just don't want to tell me." He paused for her to speak, but she kept her mouth shut. "So what's the deal? You get off on leadin' men on?" He asked, but she wouldn't look him in the eye. "Or is it somethin' else? Somethin' that you're not even sure of? You don't even know what you're scared about."
"You know somethin' Ah don't, Logan?"
"I don't know. You tell me."
She looked down at her gloves, twisting her fingers. "Haven't got anythin' to say."
He was beginning to grow impatient with her attitude. No more games. "You really want my help, Rogue?"
The look in his eyes convinced her that he knew more than he was letting on. "Yea…Ah do."
He stepped directly in front of her demanding her attention. "Then turn on the bracelet."
She looked at her timer. It was 9:52pm. She reasoned that she was officially two minutes passed the 24-hour rule of when she first activated the bracelet. However, she did not turn it on.
She returned her hands to her side. "Ah…Ah can't." She whispered, eyes focused on the floor.
"You can't or you won't?"
She looked at him in a flash. "Doesn't make a difference which one Ah am. Ah'm not turnin' it on!"
"You know what your problem is? You have problem with intimacy. You spent so long avoidin' others, you don't want to be touched anymore."
"Yap, yap, yap..." She said mocking the movement of his lips with her hand. "Ah can't believe you are tellin' me that Ah have a problem with intimacy. You, who can't have a long relationship with a woman because you're still hung up over Jean!"
It took everything he had to keep from giving her a quick punch to the jaw. "Watch what you say!" He growled.
"Whatever, you know Ah'm right."
"Did you hear that from Remy? That fucker doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut."
"Remy? Who cares about Remy? You can't hide from me, Logan. Ah know what you feel because you've been inside me."
"You haven't touched me in a very long time, sweetheart! A lot has happened since then."
"Yeah, well some thangs never change." She turned to walk away, but he caught her arm and pulled her back.
"Turn on your bracelet." He ordered.
"No!"
"Quit actin' like a brat! You turn that shit on, or I'll do it for you. Either way it's goin' to happen."
Before she could give it any more thought, she yanked her arm away from him and pressed the activation button. "There, you happy now?!" Her bracelet changed from red to green and gave off a long beeping noise. She looked up at Logan as her vision began to blur, then everything went black…
Rogue woke up on the floor to see Logan over her. "You okay? What happened?"
"Ah…Ah don't know." She tried to pull herself up but was too weak. "Ah felt weird for a moment."
"Did that happen the first time you used it?"
"No." She sat up and shook her head. "Ah'm fine now. Jus' kind of dizzy." He grabbed her arm and yanked her up from the mat. "Not so ruff!"
"Sorry. I have to get use to a delicate Rogue." He said flustered. "Let's get goin'."
There was a flash in her mind, reminding her of something from her past:
Let's get goin'…
His words sent an unexplained chill down her spine. She looked at Logan with wide eyes. Something in his words triggered a deep memory, but she wasn't able to place it. "Ah can't stay here."
"Now what's your problem?"
She could feel her heart begin to pound in her chest. "Ah don't know. Ah jus' can't stay here…" with you.
"So you're goin' to run off again?"
"Ah have to go." But Logan was standing between her and the door. She knew she wouldn't be able to leave unless he let her.
"The Cajun's wastin' his time with you and so am I." He stepped aside allowing her the path to make her escape. She brushed passed him. "Have a nice life alone with your middle finger."
Fuckin' asshole! "I will! And why don't you go back to your regular schedule of jerkin' off to images of Jean."
That pissed him off. "The next time you come back you better apologize!"
"Hell would have to freeze over before Ah'd apologize to you for anythin'!"
These kids don't have any fuckin' respect. "I wash my hands of you! Don't ask me for nothin'! Fuck you and Remy!"
"Eat shit and die!" She responded with her middle finger in the air as she left the room.
Rogue always has to have the last word. He went back to lifting weights.
*
Rogue speed walked down the halls searching every room she passed. The darkness creeping through the windows only added to her uneasiness.
Ah've got to find Remy. Somethin's not right with the way Ah feel.
Every so often she looked behind her as if expecting to catch someone lurking in the dark corners. She quickly stuck her head in the living room.
Sitting on the couch was Bobby. He looked up just as she stepped in. "Hey, Rogue…"
"Have you seen Remy?" She asked barely looking at him.
Bobby settled back in the couch and mumbled, "I think he's still in the rec room."
"Thanks!" She was about to leave but turned back when she remembered something, "By the way, Ah managed to get the money for you."
"You did?" Bobby jumped from the couch to face her. "How did you get your hands on that kind of money?"
"You know that Irene left me a pretty large inheritance. Ah jus' dipped into it."
"That's great! I'll make it up to you I swear…" But something didn't quit add up. If she could get her hands on that kind of money, why didn't she mention it to be earlier. Bobby examined her expression and could tell right away that she was lying. "You got the money from Gambit didn't you?"
Shit! She decided that it was easier to confess then fabricate a story. "Don't worry. Ah never told Remy what the money was for."
"I'm sure you didn't say anything to him, but he found out what he was for didn't he?"
She nodded her head.
That's why he didn't want to bet me on the game. He wanted to look good in front of Rogue. "Didn't I specifically tell you not to get involved?"
"Ah know but…"
"I don't want to hear it." He snapped. "You couldn't just do me that one little thing."
"Ah'm sorry Bobby. Ah was only tryin' to help yah."
"Just leave me alone. And tell Gambit I don't want his money." He brushed passed her leaving her in the living room by herself. Every part of Rogue wanted to go after him and work everything out, but she couldn't; she had an urge to find Remy.
Rogue ran through the mansion in a panic that even she didn't understand. She turned the corner into the Rec room to see Remy standing in front of the TV with his back toward her.
Relief flowed through her body at the sight of him. "Oh Remy!"
He turned around in time to open his arms as she jumped into his embrace. "Dis new cologne really works." He was taken a back with how emotional she seemed. "What's wrong?"
Rogue pulled away from him, prepared to tell him about how weird she felt. However, she didn't have anything to say. The feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach had seemingly disappeared; it all seemed to be a dream. "Nothin'. Ah'm fine, Ah feel good."
He took her answer at face value. "I can't say de same. My soccer team lost. Can you believe that? Dey were ahead by two goals and blew it!"
"Oh, too bad." She laughed, slapping his shoulder lightly. The green light of her bracelet caught his attention.
"You activated it?"
"Uh-huh. Jus' a few minutes ago."
I wonder what caused her t' turn it on…"Dat's great!" He said not able to contain his excitement. He decided to inform her of his special plans for the evening. "Why don't me and you go out…"
However, her mind was already set on spending the night at home. "Ah really don't feel like leaving the mansion…"
"Why the hell is the trash not at the dump?!" Scott asked as he stormed into the Rec room.
"Ohh shit! I knew I was forgettin' t' do somet'ing." He said slapping his hand to his forehead.
"Do it now!" He demanded.
Remy nonchalantly looked at his watch, "Hey, dere's no rush. It's a bit after 10:00."
"The dump closes at 12:00am. If you don't make it there on time we have to sit another week with the stench in the garage." It didn't help Scott's anger to see that Remy wasn't paying him any mind.
Remy pulled Rogue to sit with him on the couch and proceeded to whisper something in her ear.
"Ah said no, Remy." She whispered to him, smiling flirtatiously. "It's too late now."
"Don't worry. I'll have you back in bed before you can say 'fuck me hard'." He joked; she laughed slapping the back of his head.
That's it! Scott charged to the couch standing over him. "Get the fuck up and take out the trash!"
Remy didn't mind the crazed look on Scott's face; it was Rogue's taunting giggles that pushed him to the edge. Call it having too much pride, or the male ego, but he didn't like being ordered around like a boy in front of a woman. "Don't order me around like dat."
"I asked you yesterday and reminded you today to take up the trash and it's still not done! It seems like the only thing you respond to is a direct order or anything in a skirt!"
Rogue laughed again then looked down at her jogging pants. "Actually, Ah'm not wearing a skirt…" she replied to deaf ears.
Remy jumped up standing too close to Scott for her comfort; especially since they both seemed like they were reaching their boiling points.
"Den I suggest you shave your legs and put on a kilt, 'cause dat's de only way I'll be takin' out de garbage t'night."
It seemed to Rogue that Scott was about to take another step toward Remy so she stepped in between them. She placed a gloved hand on Scott's chest and the other hand on Remy's chest.
"That's enough you two; no need for this macho crap. We all know that between the three of us, Ah have the biggest dick here." Her attempted at trying to lighten the mood failed as Remy leaned in closer.
"Remy." She whispered to him.
He noticed the light of her green bracelet peaking out through her long sleeve. Without being too obvious Remy stepped back knowing that Scott would wonder why Rogue would not use her super strength to separate them. Remy sat back down on the couch trying to regain his composure.
"Ah have an idea." Rogue said to Scott. "Why don't Ah accompany Remy to the dump? That way we can leave now before it closes. What do you think, Remy?"
He looked at Scott with a challenging stare. "Okay, fine." He smiled at Rogue, his carefree mood suddenly returning. "Sounds like a plan."
"Good! Ah'm goin' to mah room to change out of mah workout clothes." She left the two men alone and called out behind her, "No more arguing!"
Scott looked at his watch. "If you leave now, you should be back by 11:30 the latest. That's 11:30 PM!"
"I'll do my best t' be back on time." He rubbed his chin clearly amused with something. "Hopefully de car won't run out of gas."
Scott was about to respond when Rogue re-entered the room.
"Remy, follow me, please?"
"Sure t'ing." He answered and followed her out the room, stopping only to give his leader a teasing smile.
An exhausted Scott plopped down on the Rec. room sofa. "I really need a vacation."
*
Remy strengthened out on Rogue's bed as she was changing her clothes in the bathroom.
Throughout her stay in the bathroom she asked him little questions, just to make sure that he was still in her room. His low voice coming through the door assured her that he didn't leave.
She emerged from the room and Remy gave a long high whistle. She was wearing a pale yellow sundress with spaghetti straps. The material had a flower pattern and reached above her knees. "Aren't you a li'l too dressed up for de dump?" Not dat I'm complainin'.
She was too wrapped up looking at her image in the mirror to hear him. "Ah bought this dress so long ago, but never trusted mahself to wear it out in public." She said as she ran her hand against the exposed skin of her arms.
Remy noticed that she still wore her gloves. Looks like she's still sensitive 'bout bein' touched. He got up from the bed and stood behind her. "You look beautiful, Rogue."
"Thanks, sugah." Fiddling with her short yellow gloves she asked, "You think maybe these gloves look stupid with the dress? Ah don't want anyone to laugh at me."
"Anyone dat dares t' laugh will get a pop in de mouth, courtesy of yours truly."
He paused a moment rethinking his statement. "Except if de person laughin' is a woman. You can pop 'em in de mouth yourself."
Rogue laughed pulling him toward the door. "Shall we go?"
"We shall." He said giving a little bow.
"Ah've never been so excited to go to the dump."
Looking like dat we have t' do more den jus' go t' de dump. "Somet'ing tells me dat dis night will be a hard one t' forget."
Hand and gloved hand, they walked out the room and down to the garage.
******
Author's Note: This took a long time coming out b/c the next couple of chapters will have some cliff hangers and I wanted to write a lot of chapters at once so there would be faster updates. However, because of exams I didn't write as much as I hoped (plus I started a new story) but exams are over so…
Jean 1: The only reason I wrote Logan as being difficult to read using empathy is because I needed an excuse as to why Remy couldn't tell he was dating 'Ro. But Remy can read Logan; it's just that he prefers not to b/c Logan's emotions are too raw and would be difficult for him to control. Plus I also wanted Remy to have some limitations with his empathy, so he can't read Rogue, and it takes more focus for him to read Storm, since she is good at controlling her emotions.
Slugzilla: More positive Rogue/Bobby? Nope. I'll clue you all in that after a couple of chapters every X-men will be pissed off at everyone else, for good reason.
Sandra: What will happen if the bracelet is red? That's a really good question…
And thanks for all the reviews (200+ wow!), especially the new reviewers who actually read through all these chapters at once :0) I'll soon be editing my older chapters for future readers…
Plus, the basic skeleton for ch. 19 is complete, so it shouldn't take too long to update.
Next Time: Remy is set to show Rogue a good time with unexpected results and Scott waits up for the southern couple with 'Betsy the instigator' keeping him company (and why is he mad at Jean?)…