Chapter Twenty-Seven:

"Well... I hope you guys had a good time," Rebecca Malloy said as she helped Mary lug her bags to the car.

Mary grinned, "Everything was great. I have to call my grandmother when we get back to the school. She wanted to know all about my first trip to New York City. I don't know if I'm gonna tell her about the Trolls though..."

Gambit slammed the trunk of the car shut and dusted his hands together. He did not look as excited about returning to the doldrums of the mansion as Mary, but now that word of him was headed to New Orleans, he knew the city might no longer be entirely safe.

He leaned back against the car and lit a cigarette as the ladies chatted. The morning sun was bright and warm. Gambit glanced upward at the passing clouds thoughtfully, taking a moment to enjoy the pleasant weather before the long ride back to Westchester.

Gambit tilted his head slight and frowned. There was someone watching them from the door of the house. Taking another casual drag from his cigarette, Gambit wandered over toward the front steps and grinned obnoxiously.

"Hello, ami," he said to the mutant crouching nearby, "Have you come to wish us a fond farewell?"

Toad scowled up at the Cajun and shifted a step back into the shadowy doorway.

"Just makin' sure you're leavin' first," Toad said and then added with a sneer, "Makin' sure you're not trying to talk Pyro into goin' back with you..."

Gambit sighed heavily and shook his head, "Ami, do you really think I'm some kind of recruiter sent here by the good Professor? I'm not exactly the poster child for his X-Men..."

Toad shifted his attention back to Mary and Rebecca. He tried to ignore Gambit, but the other mutant's banter did not end easily once it had begun.

"... And, besides, the boy does not seem unhappy where he is," Gambit continued as he smoked, "He is learning, no? With the help of our good friend and her brother. Why would I try to sell Pyro something he's already tried and disliked?"

Toad glanced at Gambit again with a measure of surprise. He knew the Cajun was still fairly new to Xavier's ranks. He had not been involved in conflict with the Brotherhood before the fight in Chicago. But, despite his attitude, Gambit was one of the X-Men and, as long as that was true, then he was an enemy.

"What about her?" Toad said, gesturing toward Mary with a jerk of his head.

Gambit made a dismissive noise as he blew smoke from his lips.

"She was just here for the Trolls," he replied, "She had a vision of them, and that's why we are here. It's bizarre, ami. The things she can see. Not only the future. She has a knack of finding things that are lost. It's almost like she's watching what you did in... um, rewind, you know... before you lost whatever you are looking for..."

Toad stared at the Cajun blankly as he spoke, uncertain how to take his words or figure out why the X-Man was telling him this. Toad remembered Mary from the hanger of the Sentinel. He remembered the threatening cold reaching for Magneto (and Xavier). He remembered the strange light that had forced the cold to retreat...

"The visions, though," Gambit continued, "She is hit hard by them. Doctor cannot explain them. I think Mary is more of a challenge for Xavier than he will admit. There's something he is hiding, I think. Something he doesn't want her to know... guarantee..."

"What? Are you a bloody mind shrinker now too?" Toad asked cynically.

But, Gambit did not look amused by the other mutant's dig. He snuffed the cigarette out against his shoe and discarded the butt onto the pavement.

"Remy don't need to be," Gambit said soberly, "He has seen enough strange things in his past to know how the 'grown ups' look when they are worried. Jus'like dey in his family used to look at him back on the Bayou. Remy jus' hopes fear doesn't take dem in de X-Men before dey find out de truth."

Gambit's accent got heavier as his mind wandered back over his own memories. Then, as if his worries had suddenly been forgotten, he turned toward Toad and grinned again.

"You see why Remy needed a vacation, no?" Gambit said.

Toad frowned at him with confusion for a moment. Before he was anywhere near forming a reply, the ladies approached them from the driveway.

"Ready to hit the road?" Rebecca asked, and then made a mock attempt to whisper, "I stowed some 'supplies' with your luggage. Sebastian won't notice that some of his whiskey is missing until you guys are long gone."

Gambit extended his arms grandly and embraced Rebecca with exaggerated appreciation.

"Merci! Merci!" he announced, scrunching his eyes shut as if he were close to tears, "Merci beaucoup, chere! Remy shall never forget your kindness... at least, not until the bottles are empty and he thirsts once again!"

Rebecca shrugged him off comically, "Yeah, sure, whatever, you mooch. I was encouraging Mary to let you imbibe yourself into unconsciousness so she could have a nice, quiet ride home."

"Pas un problem pour moi," Gambit said with a shrug.

"Unless Storm's there when we get back," Mary added, "Then, Remy's gonna have a huge problem."

"Ah, c'est vrai," Gambit agreed, sounding distraught, "And so I shall resist and endure. I was just telling mon ami Toad ici about the horrible conditions we must endure at our educational prison..."

"Oh, please..." Toad muttered, shifting uncomfortably as their attention turned toward him.

"Oh, mon ami!" Gambit bantered on unstoppably, "Remy will miss you most of all!"

"D'you ever shut up?" Toad replied with a new sneer.

"Come on..." Gambit pestered, his arms extended, "Give us a hug..."

"Will you get the bloody hell away from me!" Toad shouted back with annoyance, as the Cajun's hands reached out toward him. Gambit laughed aloud and clapped Toad once on the shoulder, as if they were the best of pals, before turning back toward Mary.

"Hurry up and call 'shot gun', chere," Gambit said with a grin.

Mary frowned, "Um... okay. Shot gun. But there're only two of us..."

"Oui!" Gambit exclaimed as he sprinted toward the car, "That means I get to drive!"

Rebecca chuckled again as Mary watched her travel companion run off with amusement.

"Where did you say the whiskey was?" Mary asked with a weary grin before following Gambit down the driveway.

Rebecca waved and called out for them to have a safe trip. She turned to head back into the house, but paused and looked at Toad curiously.

"You guys sticking around for a bit? I didn't see Mystique packing her bags yet," she asked and then considered something for a moment before continuing, "Does she have bags? Or does she just do the shape shifty thing for clothes on the road?"

"Bags," Toad confirmed with obvious distaste, "She could fake the clothes and all, but her hide's not insulated against the weather."

Rebecca nodded and then asked, "So... what'd you think of Pyro's session yesterday? I didn't really get a chance to ask you guys before you disappeared."

"Magneto was pleased," Toad replied.

"That's good," Rebecca said matter-of-factly, folding her arms over her chest.

Toad scrutinized the firestarter for a moment before asking a question of his own.

"Can you do what he did?" he queried.

"What?" Rebecca asked, "You mean with the concrete?"

Toad nodded, and Rebecca shrugged.

"I have before," she admitted, "Guess I still could. I mean, after the Sentinel, it's obvious that I could but... it's not like I usually have a reason to go around and explode brick walls."

"What about th'other things?" Toad prodded, "Like autos and all. Ever need to use it on things like that before?"

Rebecca glanced at her feet, hesitating to a give Toad an answer, but quickly smirked.

"Oh, sure," she said with forced humor, "Cars are easy. Little heat on the gas tank and boom. But, again, not something I usually make part of my day. Unless Sid's being especially annoying..."

Toad grinned slightly, more at the idea of Sid's woes than at Rebecca's wit. He shifted his eyes back toward the driveway, in the direction that Mary and Gambit drove away. Rebecca followed his gaze and then looked back at him again.

"Well, anyway," Rebecca said with a sigh, "Overall, the unexpected visits worked out, huh? No Sentinels... no gunfire... no physical conflict... at least among the guests. And a big Troll-back slash-Disco bonus. Not too shabby. Even Gambit and Mystique managed to drop that little tiff they had earlier..."

"Yeah..." Toad said, "...but Gambit's not normal..."

"Well...yeah," Rebecca replied quickly with a grin.

Toad scowled again and shook his head, "No. I mean he's not normal for an X-Man..."

"Guess that's true," Rebecca agreed, "Have any luck with your list?"

"Some..." Toad replied but did not elaborate.

"That's good," she repeated her previous sentiment, leaving the conversation awkwardly open-ended.

Rebecca shifted from foot to foot for a minute, and then sighed audibly and offered her guest one more friendly grin.

"Well..." she said, "I'm gonna head up and see if breakfast is ready yet..."

She leapt up the front steps and moved past Toad into the house. The green mutant continued to crouch near the door and stare down the driveway. Magneto's list and the information he had gatheredwere not the only things on his mind at the moment...


"Start spreading the news..." Remy sang, "I'm leaving today..."

He frowned and continued, "Um... something... something... New York, New York!"

Mary grinned and shook her head, "Aren't you tired of singing that yet? I mean, it was funny on the way in but..."

"I keep telling everyone that I do take requests..." Remy reminded her chidingly, "But mostly people request broadcast entertainment..."

With a quick motion of his hand, Remy clicked on the radio and the comforting sound of prefabricated, studio-constructed melodies filled the car. He frowned as they approached one of the bridges and noticed the signs for upcoming highways.

"Do you have the directions for the way back?" Remy asked.

"I think so..." Mary said and searched her pockets for a moment before she found the map of the route back to the mansion.

As she passed the notes to Remy, she noticed another small piece of paper flutter to the floor. She frowned and picked it up. It was more crumpled that folded, as if it had been shoved into her pocket as an afterthought. She flattened it against her leg and regarded it curiously.

"What is this?" she asked aloud.

Remy glanced away from traffic for a moment and shrugged, "Nothing of mine, chere."

The note had been hastily written but it was definitely not her handwriting.

It read, 11-B, 109 S. Ascher St, NY.

An address? Mary thought, I wonder where this came from. Maybe somebody stuck the note into my jacket by mistake...

"Maybe I'll show it to the Professor..." Mary finally said aloud, "When we get back..."

...Maybe there is something there he needs to see...