Chapter Fifteen:
Remy approached the King of the Trolls once again. However, the creatures did not seem to notice him beneath the unearthly glow of the shoes. The trolls were captivated, and their eyes filled with greed as the Cajun offered up Mystique's 'magic' high heels.
Using the control he had learned during his training in the Danger Room, Remy focused the kinetic energy of the objects in his hands with care. He could feel the power growing and marked his targets without letting his gaze slip from the Troll King's face.
"I want them," Relish repeated, reaching his clawed fingers out eagerly toward his prize, "Give them to me."
Remy shrugged and began to smirk, "Very well, ami. Whatever you say..."
With a quick flip of his wrists, Remy sent the shoes flying in opposite directions across the crowded nightclub. There were scattered cried of distress, both from the frightened patrons, and the mob of Trolls, who reached their arms in the air in a futile attempt to snatch the shining treasures for their own. For Trolls are known for their greed and are easily blinded by it. So, it really should not have been a shock for them when they were blinded a second time...
Each charged shoe impacted one of the many large lamps overhanging the dance floor. The resulting explosions caused a flash of bright light in the shadowy room, which made everyone... Trolls, mutants, humans, miscellaneous... cover their eyes in surprised pain. Bright orange and red sparks burst from the damaged lights, showering down on the crowd, who once again began to flee in terror.
Remy forced his way back to the bar, reaching out for guidance and rubbing his eyes in an attempt to get rid of his own attack's afterimages. He cursed loudly in that beautiful language known at francais. He was really hoping some of the women he was inadvertent grabbing would not understand the words and just think he was trying to be romantic.
He let out a loud oof as he ran into a stool near the bar. Then, he noticed a familiar voice laughing with amusement beneath the confusion around him. When he finally got part of his vision back, Remy realized Mystique was sitting less than ten feet away, still in the same place she had been when he had taken her sacrifice of fashion.
"Nice work, X-Man," she said with a wicked grin, "Now instead of just getting robbed, we'll probably all be trampled and killed as well..."
Remy nodded with guilt and sighed, "Oui...Je sais... Seemed like a good idea when I thought it... mais, it is good to know that Remy can still make a room go crazy, no?"
"Crazy," Mystique repeated in agreement, and then smirked again as she stared over his shoulder, "They certainly to seem to have that look..."
Remy frowned and turned to see what she was talking about. The Troll King had apparently recovered his vision and was now shouting orders to his troops. Remy felt all the blood rush out of his face when he heard the Troll King's words.
"Forget about the rest of this rabble, you fools!" Relish roared above the din, "Bring me THAT MAN'S HEAD!"
The Troll King leveled one horridly long finger at the offending Cajun. Remy spun back toward Mystique, and bowed politely.
"Pardon, Madame," he said quickly, "Remy hates to be rude but..."
Without another word, the X-Man called Gambit sprinted toward the back of the club, not only to put space between himself and the Troll King, but also because he spotted some familiar allies...
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Among the patrons on the crowded dance floor, only Harmony had not flinched when the bright explosions began above them. In many ways, the Trolls were lucky they had not gotten a chance to try to take her shoes by force. Despite her very capricious outlook on life, she was still a vampire. A vicious and now very angry vampire, who had not taken the creature's threats lightly.
Pyro had ducked when Remy threw the shoes, but took quick advantage of the sparks showering down around them. He plucked on from the air before it snuffed out, and used his powers to create a small flame in his hand. He stood up slowly, not really paying any attention to the crowd shoving around him. His entire focus had shifted to the blonde girl he had been dancing with. He could feel fury coming off of her like... well, like heat.
"They..." Harmony began slowly, her voice shaking with rage, "...wanted... to steal... my shoes..."
Pyro frowned and glanced around anxiously, "Don't worry, Harm. I won't let anybody touch..."
"They..." Harmony began again, barring her teeth, "...wanted... to steal... MY SHOES!"
"Um...yeah," Pyro said, taking a nervous step away from her, "But they won't now cause..."
"They wanted..." she began a third time, "...to steal... my limited edition, one of a kind, eight hundred dollar, worn by Gweneth Paltro, PRADA SHOES!"
"Eight hundred dollars just for shoes?" Pyro asked and then jumped as Harmony whirled toward him with outrage.
"Do you know how many people I had to kill to get these shoes?" she asked him, or at him.
"Uhhh..." Pyro managed nervously before she ranted again.
This time, she addressed her interrogation to the entire room.
"Do any of you realize how many old and sweaty security guards I had to suck dry in order to get THESE SHOES!?!?"
She did not wait for an answer. Harmony's face shifted into the grotesque mask of a vampire and she lunged toward the first Troll she could find.
Pyro was left standing alone on the dance floor, abandoned by the rest of the crowd and his 'date,' but he did not seem to mind. He simply stared after the blonde vampire dreamily and sighed.
"She is so hot when she's angry," he muttered to himself until someone grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and drug him toward the bar.
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There was a bright flash from above the dance floor. When the crowd began to panic, Toad glanced out from behind the stage to see what had happened. He heard the head Troll shouting angrily and calling for someone's head. Toad did not need anyone to tell him whose head the creature was referring to, and he chuckled with amusement.
"Oy!" Toad called back to the others, "They're gonna cut off the Cajun's head! Gotta camera, anyone?"
The rest of their little group began to gather around him for a peak at the chaos... except for Oz, who calmly got to his feet and walked to the rear of the stage.
"Whoa..." the mutant named Lance said with a grin, "Those are some pissed off Trolls..."
"Oh, great..." Rebecca said with a sigh, "The whole mob of them are after him. Now what?"
"I just told you w'ot," Toad shot back, "...Though video would be better."
"Can do," Oz said, dodging the last few fleeing clubbers. He had a small camera in one hand and a tri-pod in the other. He did not notice Mary and Rebecca's horrified expression as he began to set up the tape.
"Disco, you idiots," Nancy suddenly growled. The others looked at her dumbly, before she rolled her eyes and continued, "We need disco... Jesus, don't you people study any of the ancient texts?"
"Oh, sure, right after my anatomy final," Rebecca replied angrily and got to her feet.
Nancy glared at her and stood up next to her, "Listen to me! Aggression doesn't work with Trolls..."
"And you're saying disco will?" Rebecca shouted back.
"Yeah, Miss Ignorant! It will!" Nancy argued, ignoring worried prompts from the others to quiet down. Some of the Trolls were starting to notice their hiding spot.
"Uh...hey, chickas...you wanna keep it down?" Lance asked nervously.
"No, no," Oz said, peering through the camera's eye piece, "Wait...this is good stuff."
Toad glanced back at him and laughed, "You're one cracked werewolf, mate..."
"Video postcard," Oz explained with a shrug, "To send back to Sunnydale."
Meanwhile, the verbal cat-fight continued...
"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Rebecca shouted again.
"YOU'RE the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Nancy retorted.
"What the hell does that mean?" the firestarter asked loudly.
"I guess you're too stupid to know," the witch fired back.
"What kind of witch studies the art of DISCO, anyway?" Rebecca asked, flailing her arms with frustration.
Nancy's eyes blazed, "The same kind that's gonna kick your..."
"I think she's right," Mary said suddenly, stopping the argument dead. Her voice had been calm and low, but somehow it had been powerful enough to stop their debate.
"What?" everyone except Oz echoed, who threw them a thumbs-up for choreography.
"I think Nancy's right...about the disco..." Mary explained, glancing at each of them in turn, "My vision... I heard it in my vision... It's the only part that has not yet been fulfilled..."
Her words created a strange calm among them, and left no room for argument. Toad shifted uncomfortably under her brief gaze, but her affect seemed to help sort out his confusion. If he had ever thought to talk to the others about it, he would have discovered each of them had experienced the same thing when Mary's eyes had fallen on them. A quick calm, a sudden resting of their nerves, and a new focus on what needed to be done.
Toad was the first one to reply, "So... Where're we gonna find disco?"
As absurd as those words could have been, they did not sound at all abnormal when he said them. Mary's brief speech seemed to give them sense.
"There's a CD jukebox behind the bar," Oz replied, "I'm pretty sure there'll be a 70's album in there..."
Rebecca nodded and gave Nancy an apologetic smile. The witch folded her arms and shrugged, accepting the act of contrition completely, grudge forgotten.
"He's right," Lance agreed, "They have a retro night in here every other Saturday..."
"We'll have to mark it on our event's calendar," Rebecca said and then glanced toward the bar, "We better get over there...quick... before Remy looses his head..."
Lance ran out first, followed quickly by Nancy and Mary. Rebecca was on their heels, before she heard some bark angrily from behind her. She glanced back and grinned when she spotted Toad dragging Pyro off the dance floor by the back of his coat. The young man looked a little 'twitterpated,' as the Disney folks would say.
"Becca!" Sid's voice suddenly called from the bar.
"Hey!" she greeted her brother happily, "I thought you were supposed to be baby-sitting our little Cajun. He seems to have run amok!"
"Yeah, no shit," Sid replied as he walked up to her, and then smiled broadly and pointed, "Why... here comes the great gambler now!"
Remy stumbled up beside them and embraced them both with comical relief.
"Mes amis!" he announced grandly, "Remy is so glad to see you! Remy thinks he really needs your help..."
"Why are you talking in third person?" Sid asked and Rebecca answered, "That's what Remy does when he's nervous," To which Sid replied, "Oh, I see."
A sudden battle cry made them all jump. The trio were the only people left unhidden, and to their utter surprise (well, at least the twin's surprise), a legion of Trolls were charging toward them.
"Uh, oh," Sid said, bracing himself for a fight, "Where is everybody else..."
Before he could continue, Harmony sprung out of nowhere and began pummeling the first wave of attack. Her growling voice brought down the curses of a hundred upscale designers. She knocked one of the creatures over the bar in her rage. She slammed the creature's head into the wall and roared triumphantly as it passed out.
Rebecca and Sid exchanged glances, which spoke the same thing.
We get the feeling that somehow this is our fault.
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Author's note: I know it has been a long while... I've had weddings, and meetings, and framing, and customers, and clients, and cleaning, and cooking, and watching of TV, and politics, and debates, and for a week or so I was kidnapped and waiting for Mel Gibson to pay my ransom and rescue me....
Okay, I made that last one up, but seriously...seriously... look how serious I am, angry eyebrows and all. I've been really busy. :-( HOWEVER, I promise this painful little fic will all be over soon! Gotta admit though...the Trolls have been very patient...
-- threatening growls --
But...not THAT patient... heh heh h'ohhhhh boy I'd better get writing again...
