Forgetting to breathe (only mortal)

Hands are what make a man. they build, they write, they hold a child, they caress, they punch, they soothe and cure. And his killed. It seemed as if they would taint whatever they would touch from that moment on. Watch a man's hands, and you can see right into his soul.

Rogue took his hands away from his lap, holding them tight. "Ya okay sugah? Ah thought ya might stay on that pavement for good." Remy peered into her eyes, those green orbs full of concern, just for him. Her skin was soft in his touch, warm in his hands.

"Remy will be up from dis bed in no time," he said with smirk. A thief is always good at lying. How could things ever be alright?

Earlier that day.

Where to start?

Maybe in that street, where we left Remy to defend his life. Or at the Mansion, where Rogue had just got up, walking the corridors and down to the kitchen for breakfast. Or maybe with Logan in the Danger Room, trying out his nerves on a new session. Or again, the Professor in his study, who was discussing with his mutant friend Beast before he caught on to something disturbing. What ever way it started, each thread will lead to the other, and together they'll spin the web of Destiny.

"Henry, can I call you back. I need to check Cerebro, something is amiss. I have a strange feeling on my mind."

Henry McCoy's deep voice came out from the phone. "Please do so, Charles. I still need to pack a few things before I leave. I'm heading out in an hour. I'll call from the airport. We can never too careful."

"Good. We'll see you tonight, then, my friend. Take care util then."

Charles Xavier hung up, a puzzled expression on his face. Something needed his attention; he could faintly hear some sort of cries a long way away from the Mansion. He calmly put his papers away before wheeled himself out of his study and into the Victorian corridor.

"Good Morning Professor!" Kitty Pride greeted, beaming, "Coming down for breakfast with us?" She was still in her pyjamas, looking a little sleepy.

Xavier shook his head. "Maybe another time Kitty. I need to check Cerebro urgently," he replied still making his way down to the lift that would take him down to the lower levels. "You should hurry up."

"Can I, like, come with you?" Kitty asked, looking a little worried with the Professor's own expression. She'd followed him down.

"Don't worry, an Old Man can still go about on his own. You have to hurry up for school," he told her good naturally, giving her a warm smile in appreciation.

Kitty was about to say he wasn't old, but now he mentioned school. "Oh, yeah." Kitty pinched her lips, only remembering now that she needed to be off soon, her eyes wondering away as she thought about the day ahead. "Right, school," she said leaving the professor in with her thinking.

The Professor watched her walk off, her spirit carefree, except for a science essay she had forgotten to complete over the weekend. He pushed the button calling for the lift and waited patiently for it to arrive.

Logan wiped the dripping sweat from his forehead with a small towel as he left the Danger Room for the lockers. His hair clung wet to his skin and he wrapped the towel around his neck.

"Good morning t' ya, Charles. Got nothing new?" he asked as the Professor came out of the lift at the end of the shining white corridor.

"Good Morning Logan. Beast will be arriving tonight, at seven thirty," Xavier said serenely.

"Good, found something, has he?" Logan walked at the side of the Professor that was making his way down to Cerebro. "He found out what was stolen?" They had refused to talk about this in front of the kids, there were things they didn't need to know.

Beast had infiltrated the R.U.N laboratory shortly after an important mutant attack had been directed on it. The affair had been surprisingly hushed by the government, even more so when elected representative were searching for any excuse to accuse mutants. No information to the press was leaked.

"Yes, and I'm afraid it isn't good news, Logan." Xavier paused in front of Cerebro's entrance, turning to face his friend. "An scientist, with a rather bad reputation, seems behind all this." The Professor held his chin his hand in thought. "At the beginning of September as we tried to stop Mesmero from releasing Apocalypse, this scientist tried to procure himself with a most unusual toxin, called Gemini X32, but had his request refused."

"So, the Doc sent a mutant to steal it?" Logan asked scratching his morning beard in thought. "What worries me most, Wheels, is that the bub wanted it that bad."

The Professor turned back towards the massive steal doors. "Yes, it worries me even more, Logan, that the toxin tightly related to human cloning experiments."

"Good Morning Charles," a feminine voice spoke out as Cerebro took a retinal scan from Xavier. The computer slid the metallic door open, letting the Professor roll out on the bridge that led the heart of Cerebro itself. Bluish lights were switched on as he advanced along, lighting the spherical room up with a cold hue, the metallic sheets set around the room reflecting it softly.

"Charles, I gotta ask ya," Logan said walking up behind the Professor into the room. "I think Rogue needs some air, outta the Mansion, for her good, and away from the Acolyte Gambit."

"You worry about her deeply."

"Course I do," Logan barked out. "Gambit is a thief, a criminal. He's always around her, can always smell his tobacco breath itched somewhere on her. And I'm gonna slit his throat if he continues." On cue, he released his adamantium claws with a 'SNIT', his fist clenched. "Bucket head will just have t' do without him."

"Magneto might not approve your rash action on his employee."

Logan put the deadly blades away, sliding them back in his forearms. "Remind me why we keep his goons in the Mansion?"

"I proposed," Xavier told Logan reaching out for the metallic cask that would enable his telepathic powers more range. "So we could keep a better eye on his doings, and maybe, enable the Acolytes to familiarise with the X- men, and, in the end, join us." He let it fall over his bald head and started switching it on, the device lightly humming.

"Yeah," Logan scoffed. "Anyway, I'll be taking Rogue out this week, as she doesn't have school anymore, maybe I can actually make real progress in hand to hand combat..."

"Rogue might have been expelled of Bayville High, but I intend to teach her the basics myself, and Ororo has agreed to go over her French and History, you may take her for Physical Education class, if you so wish."

"PE, you mean," Logan scoffed, wiping his forehead with the towel once more. He was about to add something the door to Cerebro slid shut, the lights dimming. "All she needs to do is zapp us with her powers to know the stuff," he reckoned.

"I would prefer that she learns like the other students her age. Please don't move, Logan," the Professor instructed. "And as for Mystique in her mind, the more she is around us, the faster we will able to come to her aid if the necessity arises," he continued on. A couple of metallic sheets were now shifting across the room rapidly.

"Right on Wheels, but I was thinking more about some kind of excursion for the Kid..." Logan trailed off, something was wrong, he could smell it off the Professor. "What's up?" Xavier was tensing up, not his usual pose.

"An attack, down town," the Professor replied, his voice suddenly solemn.

ooooooo

Remy didn't feel the freezing air, nor the sharp pain in his chest from where blood was now seeping. His staff tight in his grasp, he made it fly over his head and towards his attacker. His eyes burnt like torches, his fingers sending courses of energy at anything that touched them.

However, he saw Psylocke's foot shooting towards him too late, and it connected with his chest. He went sprawling backwards in some trash that had been left in the street. This didn't slow him down, on the contrary.

Gripping a broken chair's foot, he sent it, sparkling pink at Psylocke right between the eyes. She gasped and only avoided it by a graceful flip backwards. The street behind her exploded with light. Remy was glad to see that she staggered to regain her balance from the blast, and took his advantage.

Thrusting the end of the staff down in the ground, he lifted his body, sending his boot right in her face. Her body jerked away from the blow, falling to the ground. Remy didn't have time to contemplate her bloodied face, or her deadly glare. He didn't stop there, though, as he lifted his staff, and brought it's point towards her lying form.

She rolled away just in time, the staff creating sparks as it hit the street's floor.

Her own pink energy blades in hand now, she swung them merciless towards Gambit's form. His staff, however, struck her arms away.

Death watched, a silver watch in hand, looking down at it every so often, still in his twenty year old form. He hadn't even used his powers yet, he was never for rash decisions. They couldn't be far away now. He glanced back up only in time to see three fiery cards released from Gambit's hand, shooting towards him.

Without another minute's hesitation, he brought his pale hand up, his fingers spread out.

Barely an inch away, the cards suddenly turned to dust, the energy that had contained them blinking out. Death hissed, it had been a close call. He was rather glad that Psylocke was taking care of the thief for the mean time. However, he felt a slight excitement course through him when it would be his turn. None could resist his power. But not yet... his time would soon come.

He winced a little, when he saw Psylocke's psychic blade slice through Gambit's arm, releasing his grip ever so slightly on his staff. Psylocke kicked it out his hand. It clattered away to the ground.

"They're late," Death said aloud, closing his watch shut with 'CLIP'. He hid it in the folds of his black overcoat. "Try to not dispose of him too quickly, Psylocke, we need him alive for the moment." With these last words, he slipped away, leaving the two mutants in their deadly fight.

Before Psylocke knew it, Gambit had grabbed the front of her coat, and his kinetic energy had taken hold of the whole material. His scarlet pupils coursing with fire. Her own eyes became round when realisation hit her, her mouth open in a silent but useless protest.

Remy didn't spare her another glance, still in his momentum, with a circular movement, he thrust her away as far as possible, her body flying through the air. She was dead before she hit the ground.

Gambit eyes looked the opposite way, his back turned on the sight. He stood stoic, pushing the sounds and other senses away. He didn't want to feel. It quickly sunk in what he had done, and he didn't dare look behind, afraid of what he would see.

He slowly turned around, looking down on what was left of the mutant Psylocke. He seemed to forget to breathe at that instant.

The sound of a jet was now covering everything, and Gambit was forced to look up to the grey sky.

"Putain de merde," were the only words that escaped his lips. The X-jet was presently hovering over the nearby buildings. This is all about Rogue and Sinister, not I.

Rogue was safe, at the Mansion, protected by the other mutants, but not if she was here right now, in that jet, ready to jump down into the grasps of Death.

It had been a trap all along, a lure to make the X-men come out, where they would split out; where Rogue would be the most vulnerable.

Gambit was taken out of his thoughts, for a form dropped from a balcony above, bracing itself against her fall, cat like. Cold eyes peered between purple locks, her psychic blades in hand once more.

"This isn't finished, Gambit."

Remy didn't have time to register what was happening before pink psychic blades plunged in his skull from another form that had crept up on him, from behind.

oooooooooo

Rogue inserted the piece of technology in her ear, pushing her hair away as she did so, then pulling her black gloves on quickly, the tips of her fingers still left bare. She was wearing her new uniform, however, she'd had no time to contemplate it. She strapped the image inducer to her wrist, and programmed it. Her appearance changed from the Goth to the one of a light haired freckled girl.

Worry was slowly creeping up on her, she didn't want to show that she was concerned for the Cajun... Worried what was about to happen, worried for Gambit that was somewhere out there. But she pushed them back, and looked up at Logan at the front of the Jet, instructing them on some last details.

"Hey, Rogue, I can always phase you if something goes wrong," Psyche Kitty offered.

"N' blow somethin' up," Psyche Remy added. Rogue could feel a smirk in his voice (if psyche do smirk)

"If you feel, at any time, that you're facing too much for ya, retreat immediately. Don't fool around by trying to be heroes. Understood Kids?" He pulled out his own device, a microphone, putting the ear piece in place, he tapped it a couple of times, making sure it worked. "One two three, checking... checking."

"... Checking." Rogue heard his voice in her own ear, as if he was just next to her.

"Any questions?" he asked, looking over the heads in the Jet. Jubilee was wearing that flashing pink lipstick again, he noted. Kitty was peering up at him expectantly at the side of Jean, both seated right at the front.

"Dude, don't we get lunchboxes with those ear pieces?" Pyro asked from the back. Logan rolled his eyes as he heard Cyclops gritting his teeth from next to Iceman, gripping the side of the seat.

"Just be glad that I don't throw ya off the jet, glow worm. Nightcrwler should be back any time now..."

On cue the air was suddenly filled with the smell of brimstone, Nightcrawler teleporting in the aisle. "Ze four poles are up, Mr Logan."

"Okay, we're off then..." Logan paused before saying, "Good luck Kids."

Ororo at the commands of the Jet, made the plane veer to the left, slowly lowering it to the ground. There was a loud noise of the hovers igniting as the door fell open. Logan and Cyclops were the first to jump to the ground. Scott had his hand to his blasters, however his hand stilled as he surveyed the scene.

To his left, a whole house had been torn apart, flames were still licking the stone, smoke raising in the cold air. People were littered across the street. Two cars had run one into the other, and they were still blazing red, doors laying several meters away from the burning carcasses.

"Iceman, see to the fires!" Cyclops yelled over beating sound of the jet. He left way for Bobby in his ice form, quickly extinguished any flame, his arms raised, threads of cold leaving a trail of frost behind.

The girls jumped down behind them, Jubilee rushed to the side of an old woman, checking for a pulse, asking her, at the top of her lungs, if she could hear her. Jean had ha hand against her temples, scanning the whole area with her telepathy, and with her other hand raising people softly from the ground, making them hover towards the jet, and inside onto beds. Colossus was gently lifting people into his arms, taking them inside as well, while Nightcrawler teleported all over the street, leaving black smoke in his wake.

Meanwhile, Logan had split up the Kids. But before Rogue could leave with Magma, he had caught her arms, lifting the microphone away from his mouth.

"Rogue, be careful." He usual gruff voice was gone, replaced by a fatherly tone. His eyes held concern for the younger mutant. "Can you... would ya absorb me if I asked ya?"

The question took her aback, and unconsciously, she took a step back, away from the older mutant. "Logan, Ah'm not a kid. Ah can take care of mahself. " It was useless, she knew that after the previous days' events, Mystique's attack, the Sentinel, her breakdown in the Danger room, he was worried for her. She hated it.

"Ya always had to go through more than the average. But if ya can control the powers ya absorb, I want ya to have mine. Know I can't always be there to protect ya, Rogue..."

ooooooo

Rogue left with Magma one way, as Logan went in another direction accompanied with Kitty, while Iceman and Cannonball going North.

"Ya see the mutant, ya inform the others and we regroup," Logan's voice echoed in their ears. "Don't try anything else."

"So, this is it," Magma said as Rogue and she went down a street, inspecting it carefully, leaving the Jet and their fellow X-men behind. Flames danced across her arms, her eyes had turned to a fiery orange. "Gambit and some mutant are fighting out here somewhere. And what are we meant to do?"

Rogue felt her temper rise. "Weh inform the others. Now shut up, will ya?" Didn't the darling princess remember they were trying to be discreet?

"Don't get all Scott like on me, Rogue." Rogue whipped around, facing the younger mutant, her green eyes flashing dangerously. "You go missing a month and pop back up like nothing has changed," Amara went on.

"Sugah, if Ah was Scott," Rogue hissed. "Ah would have given ya some Danger Room sessions. But Ah'll be the punching ya in the fahce." She didn't know where the anger was coming from. Rogue knew that Magma didn't deserve her wrath. They were losing time, didn't Amara see this? Something told her that Gambit might be in more trouble than anyone knew about.

She felt her insides curl as she spotted the building when she'd jumped down on the X-Jet. The Bank, where she'd first met Death, stood not far away. She'd shivered at that thought. Was it only a coincidence that the attack had been targeted here, of all places?

Amara glared back, Rogue had remembered her more timid before she'd left. "You can't punch me, you'd get your fist smothered," she reminded Rogue snidely.

Rogue nearly laughed to herself, did Magma think her inoffensive? If only she new. Her gaze slowly rose to the sky and the roofs. Something was up there. They continued on through street, until Rogue decided to take things her way.

Metal screeched as she pulling down an iron ladder from a balcony. Two by two she climbed it, rattling under her weight as she went up. "Continue down there, Ah'm going up fo' a bette' look."

Magma shrugged, refusing to talk to the Goth, walking away.

Rogue climbed the next ladder that went from the first balcony to the second, until she reached the last floor, climbing the metal bars stuck in the dusty red brick wall, last ascent to the top. She finally jumped over the railing and onto the roof. The wind up here was colder, and it bit her skin without mercy, wiping tendrils of white and auburn hair across her pale face, only, they appeared as light coloured bangs with the image inducer. Her eyes surveyed the view. Smoke was still slowly rising from the nearby street, joining the grey canopy of the sky above.

She shivered, but not from the cold. She wasn't alone on the roof. Her back turned towards Death, she glanced around at him, only slightly turning her head. It was enough to make out the looming figure of Death.

Was it even safe to breathe? "Can Ah help ya?" Rogue asked, her voice harsh to her own ears.
Tadaa! Another chapter! I'm reeealy overdoing myself, well, not really, actually. Anyway, the point is I managed to update in less than a week, which is record. This is actually a kind of second part/continuation of the previous chapter. And they'll be a third part, explaining the small bit at the beginning of this chapter (got that?)

Thanks so much for the reviews, always always appreciated. Remarks, questions, pointing out my awful syntax and grammar are all welcome! Anything really that can get this story going on for the best.

It's kinda late here in France, so i'll leave replying to reviews for another time (yawn yawn). Good night to you all.

Update:

IvyZoe: you suddenly made me doubt. But no, you read well. Death speaks of a mistake, clones of Psylocke are running about (seems Sinister got his personal army after all), and we might suppose that, rogue is in fact... not really Rogue. But we'll find that out a little later on. Oh, don't worry, Remy doesn't feel dirty because of his hands, but because he used them (and his power) to kill. So just lighting a cigarette with his powers, after have killed someone is just, sick. Imagine, you've got this knife, you killed someone with it, and then you chop carrots up a day later with it. That kind of sick.

MsRogueLeBeau: That's the spirit!

Rogue's tale: it takes four hours to read it? Really? I'm glad you're hooked up. Fortunately, or Unfortunately, actually, Remy is not going to be framed, but he is going to be beat up a hell of a lot. Sighs.

Star of Chaos: Sinister has been playing with powers above him, just wait and see when Apocalypse will be pointing the end of his crooked nose......

Crysala: another nice review! Stay tuned it! ;

Ishandahalf : he blows up the cafe, but after if goes and kills Psylocke (one of them anyway) in a kind of gore way. But well, it was his life or hers.

Thanks again, already working on the next chapter.