Hi! I can't stand it when people have cliffhangers, I feel bad that I did it to you guys. To make up for it, here's what y'all have been waiting for: Remy's past revealed!
THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO ALL YOU LOYAL READERS OUT THERE!
Thanks to: abril4; ishandahalf; Allie-Allie; xmengirlzrule; Chica de Los Ojos Cafe; FrickyDarlin'; Kitrazzle Fayn; Chilean Rose; Silent Doom; heartsyhawk; GothikStrawberry; enchantedlight; PyroManiac; sleepy26; GambitGirl2008; Lady element;Chuckles123; Banana Panda;Zoken; Rogue Elf; and Lanceishot;who allhave reviewed my story since it's beginning. Thanks guys!
You guys always make me feel better, no matter how crappy the day has been.
Shout out to all those loyal readers who don't review: HOPE YOU LIKE THIS CHAPTER!
-Chapter 8 -
A Stroll Down Memory Lane
She felt herself overcome with emotions as the memories swirled around her. Orphanage, adoption, marriage, baby, exile. . . She felt herself stomach clench as wave after wave of nostalgia hit her, pulling her into the memories.
New Orleans General Hospital / New Orleans / 1983
A small, newborn boy lay in his cradle inside the hospital nursery. Peering in the widow is a young girl. The girl is staring at the baby in wonderment. Suddenly, her look of wonderment turns to sheer terror. She backs up to the wall and minutes later she runs out of the hospital.
/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/
Two doctors are standing over the child talking. Snatches of a conversation are heard.
"Poor child."
" . . .don't know the mother?"
"What's going to happen to him?"
". . . orphanage or foster care. . ."
"I've heard people call him le diable blanc."
"It's his eyes . . . pupil and iris are blood red and the rest is black."
"Dr. Essex . . . secret?"
"He may be one of those . . . mutant children . . ."
". . . studies?"
". . . nurses. . . named him."
"What . . .?"
"Remy."
/ New Orleans orphanage / New Orleans, Louisiana / 1992
Ms. Pavlov glared down at the child in front of her. "Ah swear, if ya run away from here again, Ah'm gonna beat cha wit' in an inch o' your life, Remy!"
A normal child would have been scared of such a threat. The brunette boy just scoffed. "Non! Ya'd lose ya license t' take care o' all dese kids if ya even laid one hand on me!"
"Damn de rules. Ah'm gonna lose my license anyway if dey ever come for an inspection an' you're gone. Ah'm surprised dat Dr. Essex hasn't turned me in, all de times he found ya an' brought ya back! Dat homme may be nice, but he's crazy. Hell, Ah nearly fainted when Ah heard he tried t' adopt ya. "
A shudder racked the boy's skinny frame at the mention of Dr. Nathaniel Essex. The doctor had found Remy on quite a few of his escape attempts. Remy could never remember much of what happened while he was with Dr. Essex and it made him afraid of the man. "He tried t' 'dopt me?" He asked, his voice trembling. The woman didn't seem to notice the change in his demeanor.
"Don' get ya hopes up. He's always tryin' to adopted kids, I heard he looks all over de world for 'em, but he never gets 'em, poor man." Suddenly, she remembered where the conversation had started. "No mo' runnin' away. Now, git t' ya room an' cover up dose eyes, ya damn diable!"
His small hands clenched into fists. "I ain't de devil; I just look like 'im!" He shouted to her departing form. With more agility then children possess, he climbed out the window and ran into the city.
/ City streets / New Orleans, Louisiana / 1993
The young boy pulled his ill-fitting jacket closer. This man looked promising; he was walking down the street as if he owned it, dressed in expensive clothes and the watch on his wrist was a couple hundred bucks, easy. Fixing his glasses, Remy walked towards the man.
He was doing perfect. His speed wasn't too fast or too slow; he didn't make eye contact, and was just the right distance from the man as they passed. Surreptitiously, his small hand went into the pocket and-
"Not bad, boy, but ya never stood a chance." He found himself staring face to face with the man, who was tightly grasping his wrist.
Remy blinked. Was this man just praising his attempt to pickpocket him? "How'd ya know?"
The man let out a hearty laugh. "Can ya keep a secret?" Remy nodded and the man leaned closer. "Ya just tried to steal from Jean-Luc LeBeau, de leader of the Thieves Guild."
Remy's eyes widened. He turned to run, but Jean-Luc stopped him. "Slow down, chil'. Dat was a quite a gambit ya took dere. You're gutsy, I like dat. Where ya from?"
"Around." The man raised an eyebrow. " I ran away from de orph'nage last year. Ain't been back since. If ya try t' take me back, I'll run again."
The man looked interested. "Orphanage? How come?"
This was just the opportunity Remy needed. Within seconds he'd have the man running, just like everyone else did. "My mere didn' want me. Nobody does. Dey call me Le Diable Blanc." With a smirk Remy pulled off the sunglasses, waiting for the resulting gasp and hurried retreat that always followed.
It never came. Jean-Luc was staring at him with fascination. "Do ya want a family?"
Remy's heart began to race. Does he mean what I t'ink he means? . . . .
/ Thieves Guild Headquarters / LeBeau Mansion/ Bayou, Louisiana/ 1996
Remy was cowering in his room. He covered his ears as the shouting got louder. He couldn't understand why Henri was so mad. He hadn't tried to make the cup explode; it just happened. He wasn't even sure how he did it.
"It was a mistake t' adopt 'im, pere. So what if he's a good thief? Imagine what would happen if de Assassins found out ya adopted a. . .a. . . mutant!"
"Ya hold your tongue when ya speaking t' your father. An' just t'ink what a great thief he could be if gets dis mutation under control! T'ink of de possibilities, son."
"I am an' all I can t'ink of is de various ways we're gonna die! Ya can't leave 'im stay here!"
"I'm de head of de guild an' dis family, Henri, so I suggest ya leave de decision making t' me!"
"Fine! If ya want dat diable blanc as your son, den do it! But it'll be your fault when everything falls apart."
Remy felt anger swell in him and unbeknownst to him, when he placed his hand on the door, it had begun to glow pink. He began a mantra, "I ain't de devil, I ain't de devil . . ."
BOOM! The world went black as the door exploded.
/ Thieves Guild Headquarters / LeBeau Mansion/ Bayou, Louisiana/ 1999
"I hafta do WHAT!"
Jean-Luc narrowed his eyes at his son. "Don't talk to your pere dat way! I told ya many times about the peace pact between the Thieves and Assassin Guilds. De only way we can do it is a inter-guild marriage and child."
"But why me? Henri's nineteen, I'm only fifteen!"
"Henri is married t' Mercy an' I'm not gonna break dat up. Ya gonna be sixteen in a few short months, son. Ya are de same age as Belladonna Boudreaux. We have agreed dat de two of ya will marry when ya both reach sixteen. Ya are expected t' have the chil' by de time ya both are seventeen."
"But Pere!"
"It's for de good of de guild Remy!" The older man's voice softened. "Please, son. Remember all I've done for ya. Ya adopted ya, got ya off de streets. I trained ya t' be a master thief." Remy began to walk out of the room. "I help ya keep your mutation a secret."
Remy stop, his back stiffened, but he did not speak. Instinctively, his fingers brushed over a fading scar on his temple from when his powers first manifested. "I took ya t' dat doctor, Essex. He helped ya control ya powers and he gave ya dat holographic watch t'ing to hide ya eyes. Please, Remy. Do dis for me." Remy bowed his head in defeat.
/Boudreaux Estate /Belladonna and Remy's 'home'/ 2000
"I HATE YA REMY LeBEAU!" Belladonna's screams could be heard through out the house.
Remy sat outside the room, unfazed. He heard those words on a weekly basis. Thoughts filled his head as his wife gave birth. Mon dieu, we're sixteen, forced into a loveless marriage an' told t' make a kid. A clock struck midnight. Okay, so I'm seventeen an' minutes away from being a pere. Ha, most guys try NOT t' get dere girlfriends pregnant when dey have sex for de first time. Me, I lose m' virginity t' make a baby. He buried his face in his hands. Dieu, forgive me for bringing a chil' inta dis mess I call m' life.
A baby's cry filled the room. The sound of the midwife shouting, "It's a girl!" filled Remy's ears. A girl. He had a daughter.
/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/
Several hours later he found himself in his bedroom. Belladonna was sleeping, resting from the strain of childbirth. Remy sat in a chair holding his daughter, Angelique Mathilda LeBeau. Remy cringed at the middle name, but Bella had been insistent.
"Bonjour mi petite ange." He whispered. He had been dreading the birth of this baby. Neither of them wanting marriage or parenthood, he and Bella were constantly fighting, saying the baby would not be his/her responsibility because it had not been their choice.
But sitting here, with his daughter in his arms, Remy could feel nothing but love fill his heart. Surely Bella felt dis same way. Maybe we can make dis marriage work after all.
Her little eyes began to flutter open for the first time. He felt his heart sink; he should have known he could only keep his mutation a secret for so long. What would happen now? I'll never leave ya, Angie. No matter what happens.
/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/
"I'm officially terminating m' end of de peace pact. De Assassins Guild will no longer be on friendly terms wit' de Thieves Guild." Mr. Boudreaux picked up the peace treaty and proceeded to rip it in half. "M' daughter Bella also wants de marriage annulled an' refuses t' be called de mother of dat abomination." He sent a disgusted look towards Remy, who was holding the sleeping, three-day-old Angelique in his arms.
Remy sent him an equally disgusted look. "She is Angelique's mother, even if she doesn't want t' be, so she'll just have t' live wit' it. I ain't gonna lie just t' make all of ya feel better."
Belladonna flew out of her chair and screeched, "Ya will not go 'round tellin' people I'm de mother of . . . of . . . Satan's spawn!"
Remy stood up as well, his unusual eyes uncovered and flashing with anger. "Cherie, ya better be talkin' bout yourself, cuz I ain't no devil."
"I've changed m' mind, Jean-Luc. Not only do I want our children divorced, I want your chil' to be banned from N'awlins, for Bella's safety. His kind don't belong wit' civilized people." Said Mr. Boudreaux with fear at the look of anger on Remy's face.
This was more than Remy could take. "M' kind? M' KIND? Why don't I show ya just what 'm' kind' can do?" He had pulled a playing card out of his pocket, which was beginning to glow a reddish-pink.
"Remy!" Said Jean-Luc harshly. "Ya already caused enough trouble, don' start more." The man heaved a sigh. "He's right, Rem. I t'ink ya should leave de city. It'll just cause problems if ya stay."
Remy stood rooted to his spot. His father had just turned his back on him! He smashed the watch his father had bought from Essex on the table, pieces flying everywhere. "T'anks, father. I'll make sure I nominate ya for parent of de year." Remy said, venom dripping from his sarcastic remark. With one last glare at all the people in the room, Remy walked out and never came back.
/ Apartment/ New York City, New York/ 2002
Angie lay sleeping on the bed with Remy sitting beside her. Tomorrow she would forget that he had yelled at her, but he wouldn't.
Remy didn't try to stop the tears as they leaked out. The anxiety and pressure of being a single teenager father was starting to grate on his nerves. Despair and self-pity washed over him as he berated himself, convinced he was a bad father. He felt so lost, like he was sinking deeper and deeper under the water. If someone didn't help soon, he might not make it back to the surface.
/ Xavier's School for the Gifted/ Bayville, New York/ present time, 2005
Rogue took deep, steadying breaths as the aftereffects of absorption wore off. The despair of the last memory still lingered, causing tears to form in her eyes. I didn't know it was possible ta hurt that much. God, Remy you're so much stronger than ya look.
Remy still lay unconscious on the bed. She traced the faint scar on his temple with gentle fingers. He looked so peaceful that Rogue almost couldn't believe those memories really belonged to him. It certainly explained why he didn't like to talk about his past; it brought up to many awful memories.
Rogue placed a loving kiss on his forehead and grabbed a blanket to cover him up. She turned off the light and set the alarm clock. She wanted to wake up before the others noticed she wasn't in her bed.
Snuggling under the blanket, she rested her head on his chest. Rogue drifted into a light sleep thinking of ways to show Remy that she wouldn't be like all those people in his past.
She wouldn't leave him.
Well, hope that answered all your questions 'bout Remy's past. I'm guessing some people thought something tragic happened to Belladonna, but nope, she was just a bitch.
'Til next time- Takimi/Romy
