A/N: We're back! It's been over a year, but Cree and I are once again working on Angel Wings and Devil Eyes. We appreciate all the lovely reviews we received from everyone and apologize that it took so long to get this chapter out. Life gets in the way sometimes. But don't worry, we're already working on the next chapter. Enjoy!
The trip on the Blackbird had been full of tense silence for the hours it took the supersonic craft to fly to the Antarctic gateway to the Savage Land. There wasn't much mission info to go on so what plans they had were, by necessity, simple and flexible and there was no need to discuss them. Not for this group of veterans. Warren sat in a cushy seat towards the back of the plane, Remy next to him in the window seat. As a flier (and pilot) himself, Warren didn't really like not being in control of the flight. It was sort of like being used to driving and suddenly finding yourself a passenger in someone else's car. Not a problem, but slightly uncomfortable.
Remy could feel Warren's tension and he did what he could to keep Warren's mind off his lack of control. Remy wasn't a genius, but he wasn't stupid either and wondered if Warren also feared having no control in relationships? Across from them, Rogue sat, arms crossed, glaring at them, angry and hurt. Remy tried not to be obvious in his soothing attempts, so as not to add fuel to Rogue's fire. "Y' ok Ange?" he whispered softly.
Warren nodded, leaning his shoulder into Remy's. "I just want to get there."
"When we do, you don' have ta be all brave. No one here gonna judge ya if you have issues wit' Sauron. An' if dey do...who cares? Jus' stay wit' me. I'll protec' ya. Promise."
Warren nodded again and leaned his head on Remy's shoulder, falling into a doze.
Betsy watched this from her corner in the very back of the Blackbird, across from the two lovers. Her lip curled slightly. How dare he be happy! He should be in despair because she'd dropped him. Instead he'd found someone who actually cared for him. She'd have to do something about that...
Remy had gently kissed Warren's temple and fell into sleep himself. He woke up when the Blackbird landed with a thump. Why was his arm asleep? Then he looked down and saw Warren. "Hey. We're here. Anyone tell you dat you drool when you sleep?" he teased Warren, brushing blonde hair out of sleepy eyes.
Warren chuckled. "No, because I don't. It would ruin my reputation of being perfect."
"Tell dat to my sheets and shirt," Remy teased.
The X-Men made their way quickly through the ice tunnel that led to the hidden Savage Land, Logan and Jean staying close to Storm to get her through without her claustrophobia overwhelming her. For the same reason, Warren walked with Remy's hand in his, keeping his eyes straight ahead. He could see light, he wasn't trapped. Poor Ororo, though. She had it way worse than him.
Keeping his hand laced with Warren's, Remy squeezed it gently every so often in reassurance. He sent out what little he had to offer in the way of calm with his limited empathy. He also made a mental note to ask Tante about some stones to help Warren and Storm with their respective fears. Rogue walked behind Storm and Warren, still sulking but feeling bad for Ororo. She was feeling sorry for herself, and jealous of Warren for having something she had wanted so badly.
As the X-Men emerged into the jungle heat of the Savage Land, they only had to wait a few moments before Ka-Zar and his companion saber-toother tiger, Zabu, emerged from their concealment in the thick ferns. He nodded to the X-Men regally. "Thank you for coming to help." Scott nodded in return and walked up to shake the Jungle Lord's hand. "We always try to help our friends, Ka-Zar. Let's get to where you're camped and you can give us any details you have."
Remy followed Scott, still holding Warren's hand. As they reached the camp site, Remy made a show of wiping off a seat before allowing Warren to sit. Rogue recognized the gesture, as he had often done that for her. It was exaggerated, yes, but the gesture was still nice.
Warren blinked in surprise before taking a seat. When Remy sat next to him, he turned to his lover and raised one perfect blonde eyebrow before turning his attention to Ka-Zar. The Jungle Lord wasted no time in updating his allies on the situation. Several villages had been captured and forced to labor on a building project. Instead of a palace this time, most of the labor was being done underground in a mountain. Ka-Zar knew of no minerals or gemstones that could be the target of mining, though that of course didn't preclude the motivation, but everyone agreed that a more plausible explanation was that Sauron wanted a place that was more defensible than what he'd had in the past. As usual, he had the Mutates serving him by controlling the villagers. Warren knew it was uncharitable but wondered just how often this had to happen before the natives figured out some better security measures for their tribes.
Remy also listened intently, wondering if Stormy and Warren would be able to handle this. If coming through the previous tunnel was any indication, they had that factor to consider as well. "Ange," he whispered again. "You still ok?"
Warren nodded, thinking Remy had probably noticed his tensing up when Sauron's name was mentioned. "I have my team, my friends. I can face this with your help."
Rogue was, in a way, happy to hear the news. Her physical strength would be useful and she could use it as an excuse to break things. As she listened, she felt herself getting itchy. She was ready for that fight now. Watching Remy acting all concerned about Warren was intensifying that. Despite her impatience, she was still aware of stragey and tactics.
"Why would Sauron build underground? He's a flier, like Angel. Wouldn't he want some sky?"
Hank nodded sagely, "The difference is that unlike our fine feathered friend, who is rather avian in nature, Sauron is rptilian. Many flying reptiles, in the form of pterosaurs and such, nested in caves, not trees. Thus, a lair built within a mountain is not a hardship for one such as he."
Rogue nodded, getting to the more important question, "So when do we start busting skulls shuga?"
Ka-Zar looked up at the sky significantly and as the assembled mutants followed his gaze, they realized that night was falling. The Savage Land, for all of being located in Antarctica, defied scientific explanation when it came to it's tropical day/night patterns.
Scott nodded, "Right, we can't fight this particular battle in darkness, we'll end up hitting the people we've come to help. Let's get some rest and head out a bit before dawn. That should give us the advantage."
As the group broke up to prepare for sleep and eating, Rogue sat on her stone and watched everyone. Great, Rogue thought. I gotta watch a whole night of those two. Scott and Jean were together. Hank and Storm seem ta be all chummy. And Logan...Logan's off doing his wild man thing.
Betsy was having similar thoughts and was in fact surprised when the two men she watched only settled down next to each other, not doing anything except exchanging a rather chaste kiss. She would have expected a slut like Warren to beg or at least for Gambit to demand what was his due for taking the whore in. Others though, were thinking very different thoughts. Scott hoped that this time things worked out for Warren and Jean and Hank agreed with his sentiments in their own ways. Storm wasn't sure what to think about two friends apparently being gay but was willing to give them a chance and Logan was glad that each now had what they needed in the other.
As was their habit, Remy lay on his back, Warren's head on his chest, and soon the Cajun was out. Warren's breathing was music to him and he kept a hand on his lover's back, between the shoulder blades where the wings began. His chin laid on Warren's head, so he could smell Warren's cologne and shampoo.
The few X-Men who didn't arise on their own in the dark predawn hours were quietly roused by the more morning-loving of the team. This meant that Warren almost broke into giggles by the third time Remy brushed his hand away and tried to roll back over. He leaned over, his mouth up close to the Cajun's ear. "If you don't get up, I'll let Logan try to wake you."
Remy opened one eye and glared at Warren. "You would too." They were so different, him and Warren. Night owl and morning lark. Blonde and auburn. Devil and well...Angel. And yet they somehow made it work. "At least tell me dere is coffee...or at least caffiene." Remy had quit smoking, but he refused to let go of his three cups of coffee.
"You think Scott would go anywhere without coffee?" Scott didn't have a problem with mornings but he did have a rather large caffeine addiction, to the point of keeping hidden stashes of beans just in case the last person to use up the house supply didn't go directly out to get more. Warren chuckled as he fetched a large mug for Remy.
Remy practically grabbed the mug from Warren, glaring again as Warren laughed at him. "Least someone understands how important caffeine is for starting so damn early. Besides...like you have no vices?" As the brew made its way through his system, Remy began the process of waking up. He had never been a morning person. Thieving was best done in the dark, under the light of the moon.
Warren smiled and shook his head indulgently. He poured another cup and sipped it slowly until he handed the remaining two thirds to Remy who had already made the first portion disappear. By this time everyone was up and ready to start out so they all followed Ka-Zar, being certain not to make any sounds. They all hid in the thick underbrush at the treeline about two hundred yards from the rock face of a mountain that was obviously being built into.
Rogue had been quiet as she sipped her own coffee and watched Remy's own coffee ritual. She knew he liked it strong and, when he could get it, he loved the chickory brew that he could only get back home. She knew he liked it with just a little milk and slightly sweet. Amazing how much she knew and yet there was so much she hadn't known. She kept her distance from the couple as well as from everyone else, yet still staying with the group. "What's the plan, Cyke?"
Cyclops looked down to the small encampment where the Mutates were only just starting to stir. "The Mutates are apparently at full strength, but our priority isn't to fight them, it's to free the villagers. We'll split into two teams. Team One will draw the Mutates' attention, create a diversion. While that's happening, team two will get all the captives out of there." He indicated the fenced-in enclosure set up a little ways down from the main cave leading into the mountain. "I want as few people as possible on Team Two, so only whoever's going to be of better use there than in the diversion. Team One: Ka-Zar, Storm, Phoenix, Gambit, Wolverine, Rogue and myself. Team Two: Angel, Beast, and Psylocke." Warren nodded to himself, knowing that this was the best distribution of the resources they had available. Of the three on team two, he couldn't fight effectively against any of the Mutates except Sauron and no one wanted them near each other, himsef included. Betsy could have been of use to Team One, but her shadow skills were more important to extracting the captives and Warren trusted in her professionalism while they were working. Ka-Zar luckily didn't have to go with Team Two because by now most of the villagers knew the X-Men.
Remy sighed softly. On the one hand, he knew his powers made him a better choice for a battle than a rescue, but he didn't trust Betsy one bit. And having to work with Rogue...well, who said this was supposed to be fun? He whispered to Warren, "You need help...yell fo' me," before heading off with Scott and the others. Once the diversionary fight began, Remy lost himself in the phsyical activity, but always kept one ear out for Warren.
Angel flew silently into the sky as Beast loped furtively towards the enclosure and Psylocke stepped through the shadows to appear inside the enclosure itself, on the inside of the locked door, to get a feel for what they were up against. They had all been on this type of mission often enough to know their own roles. Psylocke got the lay of the land, Warren was to divebomb any possible resistance while Beast took care of the security and locks (what little there might be in this case). Then, depending on how much resistance there actually was, one or more of them would lead the captives to the tree line and back to their villages while the others, if needed, would keep the bad guys occupied. As they already knew where the Mutates were, the only guards there might be were the few natives who chose to work against their countrymen.
Unfortunately, no one had noticed the small cave that opened into the enclosure itself. It was there that Brainchild was doing experiments on the few natives not being used in the work force and that Sauron used as a chamber to feed off the lifeforce that he needed to survive as himself.
Working with Rogue hadn't been as difficult as Remy had feared. Both of them were too focused on distracting the mutates and keeping out of Vertigo's way to bother with each other. Wolverine was enjoying the battle, grinning as he slashed his way towards Lupo. Storm rode the skies, throwing bolts of lightning down to drive her opponent away. Scott and Jean worked as a well oiled team, Jean mind-linking them all as she fought.
In the heat of the moment, Remy assumed Warren was alright. After all, he had been doing the X-Men thing since he was a teen, as well as on his own and in various teams. He tripped at one point and Vertigo took her chance. Luckily, Stormy saved his sorry behind with a well placed wind so Remy could recover. Vertigo hit her head on a rock outcropping and was down. This helped enormously as now the X-men could focus on battling without trying to control their rebelling stomachs at the same time.
Team Two's plan succeeded. Beast easily tore the wooden door out of its place in the stockade and Warren divebombed most of the guards while Psylocke used her psi-knife on the few that were left. As Beast started leading the now-freed captives to the treeline, Warren took the place of rearguard and Psylocke disappeared into the shadows for more reconassence. It was then that she found the cave.
Keeping inside the shadows, Psylocke smiled as she saw Sauron drain a victim for extra strength and then take off to fight the interlopers. If something distracted Beast and the running villagers, Sauron could take out Warren. Just what the little slut deserved. Putting thought into action, Psylocke stepped through the shadows to where the fight between the X-Men and the Mutates was taking place. Seeing Vertigo just starting to come to, Psylocke took the woman with her in the shadows and dropped her off right at the treeline, just as the first runners began to arrive.
It worked well. Vertigo was probably the most deadly foe in the Mutates and Beast struggled to contain his own nausea as the natives around him succumbed and dropped to the ground. Warren saw what was happening and lept into the air to offer more timely aid. As he cleared the level of the high stockade, two clawed hands grasped his face from behind him and he felt his energy flowing out of him and into the monster. His head lolled back and he wasn't aware of Sauron easily carrying him higher into the sky.
Something told Remy to look up and when he did, he was nearly sick. He yelled to the others and Logan swore. Rogue took off after Sauron while the rest of the X-Men abandoned the immediate battle to go help the natives. Unfortunately, this just meant that they also fell under Vertigo's influence once again. Remy immediately wished he hadn't drunk that coffee and then fell with a thud. Scott was similarly affected, as was Ka-Zar. The other Mutates now had the advantage and scooped up the dizzy villagers and headed back to their own camp. Remy tried to stand and managed to yell out Warren's name before emptying his stomach. The few X-Men who were still standing managed to take Vertigo down through teamwork but by then only a fourth of the original captives, those who'd managed to make it into the trees despite their nausea, were still free.
Rogue, when flying against Sauron, was hampered by the fact that he had an unconscious Angel in his hands. If she struck at Sauron, Warren would fall and while her mutation could cancel out Sauron's, it would have the same effect. Storm flew up to assist with a bracing torrent of ice, but it was too late. By that time, Sauron had managed to bring Warren to a tiny cave, just big enough for two so Storm and Rogue couldn't follow. Then, shockingly, Sauron took two steps back and both he and his hostage fell into a hidden crevasse. By the time Rogue and Storm fit into the cave to look down into the crack, there was no sign of either their friend or their foe.