Disclaimer : I don't own the X-Men. Damnit.
Somebody Else's Song - Chapter 17
RECAP: "Wolverine---"
"You know you're killin' Remy with this shit, don't you?"
She looked away then, trying to hide the tears. She wiped them away and looked back at her friend.
"That's why Ah asked you to meet me here. Ah want you to keep an eye on him. Try to keep him outta trouble when Ah'm gone."
"Rogue, we beat Carly. There's no need---"
"She'll come after him. She threatened to come after all o' y'all. Ah figure with me gone, maybe she'll leave y'all alone. But...Ah don't know Logan. I think she'll go after him even if Ah'm not with him anymore. She was in mah head. She knows how much he means to me."
"So next time we'll be ready for her. We're X-Men, Rogue. We don't run away from our problems. We find solutions. And if we can't find one, we make one."
"Yer makin' this harder than it has to be."
Logan glared at her for a long moment. Then he sighed. "Just promise me you'll be careful, darlin'."
That did it. She launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a fierce bear hug.
"If you need me, you know where to find me," Logan whispered into her hair.
They held one another a moment longer before she pulled away, "Thanks." She wiped her face, but it did no good. Her tears kept coming, but she managed a smile.
Wolverine stood up and turned to walk away from her.
"Logan."
He turned back around.
"You will look after Remy?"
"Fer as long as he needs me to," he smiled and walked away, leaving Rogue to wait for her bus. Alone in the rain.
xxxx
3 years later
"No," was the only word that Charles Xavier could utter when he awoke in a cold sweat from a very vivid nightmare. He turned his head to look at his nightstand. His alarm clock read 4:47am. It should have gone off 17 minutes ago. He lifted himself up on his elbows and examined the clock. Was he so engrossed in his frightening visions that he slept through it? That was odd - he was usually a light sleeper.
Wiping a hand across his ageing face, Charles turned in the bed and lifted himself into his hover chair. Then he left the room, his mind heavy with the premonitions that had plagued his dreams.
xxxx
"I need to speak with Charles about this Warren. Now. This dream...it was just too real."
"It sounds more like a vision to me," Warren remarked, his voice heavy with sleep.
"My power doesn't work like that. I don't have the ability to foretell the future."
"Betts, calm down," Warren spoke to he quietly. "You've upset yourself so much that you're trembling."
Betsy swallowed and shook her head as she pulled on her silk robe and wrapped it tightly around her.
"Baby, where are you going?"
"This can't wait, Warren."
"It's not even 5:00 yet ---"
"I'll see you in a while," Betsy interrupted him before rushing out the door.
xxxx
"Go back to sleep, Scott," Jean whispered as she kissed her husband lightly on the cheek. A sleepy smile spread across his handsome face as he turned over, hugged his pillow and drifted back off to sleep.
Jean watched his sleeping form for a moment, a faint smile playing at her lips. No matter what their problems were - and there were plenty - she couldn't imagine a life without him. Couldn't imagine having children with anyone else. Her smiled widened as she placed a hand on her swollen stomach. Within the month, little Nicolas would have a baby sister.
It wasn't long before her happy thoughts were interrupted by the terrible ones that she had woken up to. Flames. Death. Pain.
The images were vague, but the terror she felt when she recalled them was clear.
Leaning over, Jean pulled a blanket over Scott, covering his bare back. Then walked quietly to the other side of the room and opened the door to the nursery. Nicolas was sleeping peacefully, sucking on his pudgy thumb. Silently, Jean closed the door to the nursery and made her way out of their cozy bedroom and into the halls of the Xavier Institute.
xxxx
Betsy sat down at the island in the middle of the kitchen with a heavy sigh, her hands wrapped around a steaming cup of tea. Charles was awake. She had talked spoken with him telepathically. He was going to meet with her and Jean after he had a shower and a few moments to collect his thoughts. He had sounded rattled and though he hadn't said so, Betsy suspected that he too had been subjected to the images that had woken her only a short time ago.
So caught up in her thoughts, she didn't hear the backdoor open. It was only when a quiet voice called to her did she realize that she wasn't alone.
"Hey Betts," Bobby greeted, closing the door behind him.
Betsy turned on her stool to watch him walk over to the fridge.
"Bobby," she returned with a slight nod.
Without looking at her, Bobby opened the fridge and grabbed a small carton of chocolate milk. He opened the carton, downing the contents in two gulps. Still not meeting her eyes, he crumbled the carton and tossed it into the trashcan. When he finally looked up at her, she immediately looked away.
"Oh, for the love of God, Betts! You can look at me, you know."
Not in the mood for a confrontation, Betsy calmly looked him over, "Are you just getting in?"
Bobby looked down at his clothes. He wore dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt. A jean jacket and brown boots completed his ensemble. His light hair was gelled heavily and spiked on top of his head. Betsy could faintly make out the smell of cigarette smoke coming off of him.
"So what if I am?" he looked away.
"Where have you been?"
"Don't see how that's any of your business." He said harsher than he meant to and noticed her wince at his hasty words. Desperate to change the subject, Bobby cleared his throat and sat next to her at the counter.
"What are you doing up, anyway? It's like 5 in the morning. And it's Saturday."
"It's...psychic stuff. Charles and Jean are meeting me here in a few minutes.
She didn't offer any more, instead choosing to stare into her tea cup. Bobby took the opportunity to look at her. She was beautiful - as always. Her face was smooth, free of make-up and imperfection. Her hair, that appeared darker than usual in the dim kitchen light, was pulled back into a single braid that was draped across one shoulder. The pale pink robe clung to her generous curves and Bobby knew that more than likely, she wore nothing underneath it. Warren told him long ago of Betsy's preference to sleep in the nude. And recently, due to one of War's particularly long business trips, Bobby now knew firsthand. Shifting uncomfortably, Bobby cleared his throat again and attempted to banish the images of Betsy's smooth skin from his mind.
The temperature was rising. At least, that's what it felt like to Psylocke. She couldn't help but pick up on the arousing thoughts Bobby was having about her. And it pained her to admit that it was turning her on. Mentally shaking herself, she decided on a course of action. This thing between them couldn't go on. It would destroy both of them and Warren if it was allowed to continue.
Abandoning her tea, Betsy got up and headed toward the door without a word.
"Where are you going? Thought you were waiting on Jean and the Prof."
"I'll...catch up with them later. I have to go."
"Betts. Don't go. I'll leave."
She glanced back at him from the doorway.
"I'm about ready to crash anyway." He got up and started toward the door. "Been dancin' all night. I'm exhausted."
He was next to her now, both of them standing in the doorway. For a brief moment, their eyes met. Then Betsy looked away and started back towards her stool. One look at her backside was his undoing.
Taking two strides, Bobby grabbed her forearm and jerking her around to face him. He didn't wait for a reaction. Betsy barely had time to gasp before Bobby's lips claimed hers.
Her mind was swimming. He had taken her completely by surprise and she was a psychic ninja. After the shock wore off, Betsy relaxed in his embrace, moving to wrap her arms around his neck and granting his tongue passage into her mouth.
Bobby moaned as Betsy arched against him, desperate for more contact. And then he found himself thrown across the room. He landed hard against the refrigerator. Various magnets fell to the floor as he looked at Betsy, completely taken aback. She had been enjoying it as much as he was. Why had she pushed him away? Then he heard Jean's voice down the hall. She was headed in their direction. Before he could speak, Betsy knelt to the floor, picking up magnets and snapshots that had fallen off the fridge. He knelt down to help her. Their hands touched as they simultaneously reached for the same magnet. Betsy jerked away and stood up just as Jean and the Professor entered.
"What happened in here?" Jean asked as she walked over to the coffee-maker and switched it on.
"Oh...Bobby just got in. He's a bit pissed," Betsy explained. "And the drunken idiot walked right into the refrigerator. She stood and replaced the magnets and laid the snapshots on the counter before turning back to Jean. "I'll just get him up to his room, then we can talk." She forced a smile as she took Bobby's arm and jerked him out of the kitchen.
xxxx
"See you later," Betsy mumbled as Bobby pressed the elevator button.
"Betsy, wait."
"What, Bobby?" she sounded ready to cry.
"Can we talk about this? Please?"
"No," she turned to walk away again but he caught her arm.
"Please."
"Just...not now, Bobby. I have to go. We have work to do."
"What work? What the hell is so important?"
"I think...its Carly."
xxxx
Remy LeBeau lay on his back, staring up at his bedroom ceiling in the early morning light. He glanced over at the alarm clock. It was after seven. He needed to get up. Jean Luc wanted him to fly to San Francisco today to take care of some business. He sighed. Jean Luc's 'business' seemed so insignificant these days. After being an X-Man for so long, after fighting the good fight, the Guilds' petty goals didn't interested him anymore. It was rare now that he would even get excited by the danger of a heist.
What is wrong wit' me?
He placed a hand over his face.
You know what's wrong wit' you, Remy. De same t'ing dat's been wrong for de last three years.
He groaned. Days that started out this way always ended badly. Rogue was gone. And she had made damn sure that neither he, nor any of the other X-Men, could find her. Disgusted with himself, and life in general, he sat up and grabbed his shorts from their place on the floor. He slipped them on, then let his head rest in his hands as he sat on the edge of the bed.
Thoughts of Rogue plagued his mind. He hated days like this. Usually he could get through the day - if he had enough work to do - with only a few thoughts of her. But today was going to be one long, agonizing thought about Rogue after another.
"Remy?" A sleepy voice called from the other side of the bed. "What are you doing?"
Remy turned and managed a smile at the woman who had shared his bed for the last 8 months.
"Mornin' Bethany," he leaned over to press a quick kiss on her lips.
"Mornin'," she smiled, closing her eyes and snuggling deeper into her pillow. "You headed out?"
"Mm-hmm. There's a meeting out in California. Jean Luc wants me dere."
Bethany opened her eyes, "Will you be back home tonight?"
"It'll be late, but I should be back tonight. Go back to sleep. I'll call you later." He kissed her once more before heading to the bathroom.
xxxx
A few minutes later, Remy stepped out of the shower just in time to hear the phone ring.
"Merde," he mumbled as he wrapped a towel around his waist and headed back into the bedroom.
Bethany was sitting up in bed with the phone pressed to her ear.
"Wait, here he is," she said into the receiver before handing him the phone.
"Oui?" he asked, assuming it was Jean Luc wondering where he was.
"It's good to hear your voice, Remy."
"'Ro?" Remy grinned. "How are ya, chere?"
"I am well enough. But this isn't a social call, Remy."
"Didn't figure it was, 'specially since it ain't even 8 o' clock yet."
"I apologize for the early hour---"
"It's alright. I was up already. Gotta flight to catch."
"I think you may need to change your plans."
"And why's dat, Stormy?"
He heard Ororo sigh, obviously thinking over what she should say to him.
"Come on, 'Ro. Don't have all day."
"It's Carly."
"What?" His demeanor changed immediately. His voice was harsh, his stance rigid.
"Carly is back, Remy. She's active again and she's not being shy about it either. Charles, Jean and Betsy all felt her this morning. She's planning something huge, Remy. We need you to come home."
"I am home. I'm sorry Storm, but dis really don' sound like it's my problem. I'm not an X-Man anymore, 'member?"
Ororo sighed and then said the only thing that was a surefire way to get him home.
"Remy, we know where Rogue is."
xxxx
I'm baaaaack. :)
I know it's been ages and I'm a terrible person. I'm so ashamed of how I've neglected this fic. But Marvel is really who y'all should blame. They've all but killed my love of the X-Men. :(
Anyway, its been really hard to get up the motivation needed to work on this fic. I've been working on some original fiction as well as some fanfics that aren't in the realm of X-Men. But I decided that Somebody Else's Song will be completed before the end of September and before I post any other stories. I'm ready to finish this baby up, and I can only hope that all my readers are still with me. I hope I haven't lost too many with my insanely long absence.
So thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapters. And a special thanks to Ivyzoe for the swift kick in the pant she gave me yesterday. :)
As a final note, if you're reading this, PLEASE review. Just a quick little note saying you either like it or hate it. Just let me know that people are still reading it. I plan to have a much longer chapter up Saturday. Also, if everything falls into place, Rogue and Gambit will be reunited (sort of) in the next installment.
Thanks!
-Alyx
