DISCLAIMER: Nothing is mine, except for the plot. Anything in Marvel universe is not mine. Never had, never has, never will, never would.
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Rogue was seated in the midst of photo albums scattered on her bed. In her hands were some of her favourite pictures of them: Remy, Jeremy and herself. She stared longingly at one of the pictures taken at one of Jeremy's birthday parties when he was younger. Remy was on the right and she was on the other side, with their beaming baby boy sandwiched in between.
'We were so happy, Rem. Whatever happened to the smiles?' Rogue thought wistfully as she caressed Remy's face on the glossed paper with a soft finger.
They died the day you decided to be a difficult freaking bitch, a small voice in her answered.
She lowered her head and a tear glistened as it dropped onto the photo.
'If only I could turn back time…' Rogue thought for the umpteenth time, 'If only…'
(!#$&Flashback of The Day&$#!)
"Come on chere, we don't have time," Remy urged as he dodged a falling beam. The rapidly collapsing building shuddered again, throwing Rogue off her feet.
"NO! You go first! I'll be right behind you!"
"NON #NO# Rogue. We'll come back for him. Je promets #I promise#."
"NO! I WILL NOT LEAVE KURT HERE, YOU HEAR ME!" Rogue shouted at Remy, fury burning clearly in the eyes of her soot-covered face.
"BUT HE IS DEAD, ROGUE! DEAD!" Remy had reached the end of his patience. The fuse had completely burnt out and Remy shook with barely bridled rage. He stormed over to Rogue, roughly seizing her arm and pulled her away from Kurt Wagner's lifeless body.
Rogue squirmed under Remy's vice grip and snatched her arm back. Quickly, she grabbed Remy by his neck and he was thrown to the far end of the room.
"Stay away from me," Rogue hissed venomously and she ran to Kurt.
Rogue dug her hands into the piles of rubble that buried Kurt underneath. She worked at them furiously and speedily, never feeling the pain or the burns her hands were subjected to.
Creeeaaak.
A metal beam screeched as the stress of a huge concrete piece proved too much. Steel reinforcements jutted out of the falling concrete precariously. It slowly but surely slid off the smooth beam, regardless of circumstances. Rogue, however, remained oblivious to the danger that hovered above her.
"Chere! Get out of the way!" Remy screamed from across the room as he pulled himself off from the crates he had fallen into when Rogue sent him flying. He watched with growing horror and scrambled madly for her.
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"Guys! Wait up! We're missing three X-Men!" Jean Grey alerted the team as she did a quick head count again.
"Rogue, Remy and Kurt. I think they're still in the Shaw Building."
"What!"
"Popsicle, you'll lead the team back to Blackbird. Half-pint and Wolf, fire up the engines and prepare for takeoff. Cyke and Red, keep a lookout for dangers," Logan barked and turned a hundred eighty degrees. He turned his upper torso to face them and growled, "Anyone who decides to be smart will have Danger Room sessions with me personally and 3 months of SNIKT Simulation 25." With the little forceful suggestion out of the way, Logan tore out of the marsh.
"Come on people, let's get moving. You heard the Canadian."
Everyone filed in pairs and trooped through the wetland and up into the waiting Blackbird.
Jamie Madrox, a new recruit, nudged his partner, Sam Guthrie. "What's Simulation 25?"
"The toughest programme in the Danger Room, where you will face all mutants, good or evil, through all sorts of terrain," Sam said as he remembered the harrowing experience.
"Sentinels?"
"Sentinels too." And Jamie, understandably, shuddered too.
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Logan kept running, occasionally using his heightened senses to keep track of where he was. He brandished his claws around, slicing plants, trees and anything that blocked his path.
There it was, the Shaw Building. He stopped for a moment when an ear-splitting scream pierced the stuffy air. He tensed before dashing off even faster towards the building as he prayed.
"Lord, please let them be alright…"
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"Come on Remy. Stay with me! Stay with me! Please!" Rogue kept crying as she gripped Remy's hand tightly. With the other hand, she ran it tentatively across his savagely torn body. She felt her stomach lurched and twisted when her fingers brushed against one of the reinforcement rods that punctured her beloved. (A/N: Imagine the scene after Neo and Trinity crashed into a building in Machine City in The Matrix Revolution.)
"Sugah, I'm going to remove the rods all right?" Rogue whispered into Remy's ear.
Remy gave a very small nod. Rogue closed her eyes and called up for two psyches: Shadowcat's and Blob's. Concentrating solely on the two, she got down to work. She relaxed her tense body and freed her mind of all worries and anxiety. She tapped into intangibility and inhumane strength.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and gripped as many rods as her two hands could. Quickly and smoothly she phased the poles and bent them away from Remy. She repeated for another handful until they were a safe distance from the dripping red poles.
Rogue pressed her hands on the wounds and the remaining wounds were held down with psyche Jean's telekinetic power. Warm blood seeped between Rogue's fingers, and she added pressure onto the wounds to stem the profuse bleeding faster.
"Rogue…" Remy's voice was so soft it was like a gentle breeze and he coughed, thick crimson liquid trickling down his chin.
"Hush sugah. Don't talk. Just rest okay? Help will be here soon," Rogue said as she tenderly cleaned up Remy's bloodied face. Psyche Jean had taken over where Rogue's hands were.
"Non #no#…chere…" Remy gasped painfully, "Listen…to me…get out…while…you still…can…"
"No. Please don't make me, Rem. Look, I'm – " Rogue replied vehemently but Remy cut her off with a steely ruby-onyx gaze.
"Go…chere...if you…love me…Do it…for me…chere…s'il vous plait #please#…" The pained look in Remy's orbs made Rogue's small lips quiver. She was torn between staying with Remy and granting his wish.
"Jeremy…still…needs you…Rogue…"
Jeremy! She had forgotten all about Jeremy! With everything that were happening, it had completely slipped her mind that any decision that she made would have an impact on Jeremy and his life. And losing his pere when there was a chance that he could be saved would devastate him for the rest of his life; something no sane parent would ever want for their baby.
"Rem…please…please hang on for Jeremy…for us…" Rogue pleaded desperately, hoping that somehow, her plea would give him strength to continue fighting.
"Chere…" Remy rasped and coughed violently, waves of spasms crashing throughout his torso. Rogue could only watch helplessly and stroke his hair while waiting for his coughing fit to subside.
A heavy breath of air burst from Remy's lips. "I can't…do…this…for…much…longer…chere…"
Rogue sighed and slumped her shoulders in defeat. She knew she was fighting a losing battle with Remy but she had to try. She just had to or her guilt would eat her up to the point where there would be no return.
No! You are not letting him go just like that, a voice screamed in her head.
Yes she will. He's too…damaged. He'll never make it far, another voice countered.
But at least Jeremy gets to spend some last moments with Remy. You know she would too.
True, but I am not going to let her hurt him any further in expanse for something as selfish as that.
Are you saying I am being…When you love someone so much, you will let him leave; even if it kills you.
Another tear dropped. Rogue knew what she had to do.
"What am I supposed to tell Jeremy?"
"Just…tell…him…the…truth…" Remy closed his eyes tiredly. The pull into the realm of oblivion was getting stronger and Remy could feel his soul drifting towards it.
Rogue caressed Remy's cheek and called out softly with a racing heart. "Rem…"
Remy opened his eyes lethargically and Rogue felt her breath hitched. His eyes were a little glazed and he looked at her as though he was staring out in space. His breaths were becoming shallower and he seemed paler than before.
"I…will…be…watching…over…you…et #and#…the…petit #little one#." Remy coughed again, expelling a mass of blood clot. "Je jure #I swear#."
Both husband and wife stared at each other, lost in the moment and solemnity of the truth.
"One last kiss, sugah?"
Remy nodded his consent. Despite the sudden surge of liquid pain in his veins, Remy pushed himself up with some help from Rogue.
Rogue bent forward until her velvet lips were within an inch to Remy's lips when Remy say forth the three sweet little words, "Je…t'aime… Rogue #I love you, Rogue#."
"Je t'aime aussi, Remy #I love you too, Remy#." And their lips met for the last time.
Remy inevitably grew limp in his wife's embrace and wilted away to the world of the deceased.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Rogue screamed in anguish, her tear-streaked face facing heavenward. Clouds gathered and darkened, reflecting the unleashed sorrow. Lightning cracked across the black clouds and they opened up. Torrents of rain splattered down to earth, drenching both Southerners. Claps of thunder rumbled and streams of rain kept falling as if the Heavens too, were crying for the befallen soldier, who was a son, a father, a husband and a friend to many.
Rogue sobbed into Remy's blood-caked chest and rocked back and forth, as if hoping to will back some life into him, however implausible.
Je t'aime, Jeremy #I love you, Jeremy#. Those were Remy's departing words.
(!#$&End of Flashback&$#!)
Rogue cried into her hands, her fragile heart shattered again. Her tears flowed unchecked and she fought to control the overwhelming emotions.
'I can't lose control again!' Rogue thought frantically.
She fought mentally with all that she had, forcefully reminding herself that she still had a son to live for. Her opponents retaliated even harder and Rogue felt swamped.
'Get off me, you frig!' Rogue screamed at an opponent that had clung to her. She put up a fierce struggle, vigour, anger and sorrow fuelling her.
'HELP! SOMEONE! PLEASE!' Rogue cried but no one could hear her, not even Jean, the residential telepath. Unknown to the Rogue, her enemies, the raging emotions, had built a shield so strong around her mind that she was literally sealed off from anyone.
Her breathing laboured and spots were dancing in her vision. She felt the walls of her mind closing in on her. Still she fought, although feebly now.
'What is happen- ' The last word died on her lips and her eyes shut close.
(!#$&In Rogue's Mind&$#!)
A hand patted gently on Rogue's cheek. It hit a little harder when Rogue did not stir from her slumber.
"She sure is stubborn," a voice murmured. Another few seconds passed and the hand stopped its patting motion.
"Time to change tactics." With that, a pair of thin lips proceeded to place a loving kiss on Rogue's forehead.
"Ugh…my head…" Rogue moaned as she slowly stirred awake.
"ARGH!" Rogue screamed when a face was in hers. "Etienne? What are you doing here?"
Etienne pouted childishly and said in a mock wounded tone, "I know I'm not as deviously handsome or as charming as Remy. But am I really that ugly that you had to scream?"
"Aw Etienne, don't be like that. You just surprised me, that's all." Rogue looked around, noting the blank walls and its slightly elongated spherical shape.
"Where are we and where's everyone?"
Etienne looked down, avoiding any eye contact with Rogue.
"Et?"
There was no answer.
"Let me ask you again: Where is everyone?" Rogue asked in a calm voice but undoubtedly lay a certain viciousness beneath the surface. The stifling atmosphere crackled dangerously with burning cold rage and nervousness.
Still, there was no answer.
Rogue has had enough. Her impatience had run out.
"ETIENNE MARCEAUX!"
Etienne jumped back a little in fright and a smooth yet familiar voice sliced through the stuffy air, "We're in your head, chere and everyone else is walled up at the back of your mind."
Hope glimmered in Rogue's eyes and she called out, "Remy? Is that you?"
Silence.
"Remy sugah. Where are you…" She called out again, refusal to lose hope evident in her posture.
Silence.
"Come on out, Remy. I know you're in here somewhere," Rogue bellowed into the open space as she looked around in hope of catching a glimpse of her dead husband.
"Chere…"
"Wha - " Rogue did not finish speaking as she whirled around wildly, eyes darting all over in search of the source of the voice.
"Chere…"
"Damn it Rem! Where the fucking hell are you!"
"Chere…"
This time, Rogue balled her hands into tight fists and dropped to her knees – hard. She squeezed her emerald orbs shut and rubbed her fists against her eyeballs lethargically. She had begun to lose hope as fast as she had dared to hope in the first place. With each passing second of silence, she could feel the proverbial ache creeping into her fractured heart again.
"Chere…"
Rogue refused to respond, instead, choosing to let the voice be.
"Chere…" A finger slid gently down Rogue's spine and her cold skin tingled.
"Why are you doing this to me? Haven't I suffered enough?" Rogue muttered as she choked out the words. She shivered as if the temperature had dipped.
"Chere…look at me…"
"No…"
"S'il vous plait #please# chere…"
"Non #no# Remy. I can't die all over again."
Remy sighed. He should have known that once his wife had made up her mind, there was nothing he could do to change it.
"Alright chere. I won't make you."
Instead, he placed his fingertips against Rogue's temples lightly and closed his eyes.
(!#$&Back to the present&$#!)
"Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?" Jeremy asked as he rapped on the door. He waited for another few seconds. "Mom?"
No answer.
"I'm coming in Mom," Jeremy said and he pushed open the door.
"Mom? Where are you?" Jeremy knew that his mother had to be in the room because he would have heard her if she had gone out of her room.
Jeremy walked around the spacious room, sticking his head into corners and enclosed spaces. 'Did they have to have such a huge room for sleeping?' Jeremy thought as he continued his quest.
He had checked out his mom's walk-in closet, the bathroom, the storage space, the small den, her favourite corner and she had yet to be found. Jeremy cursed his bad luck mutely and was heading out the door when he tripped carelessly. His knees smacked onto the floor hard and Jeremy fell against Rogue's king size bed.
"Frigging fucking asshole," Jeremy swore softly, knowing that he'd get a bump on the head if his mom heard. He pushed himself off the bed awkwardly when he felt his hand press on something soft and…cool.
"MOM!"
Jeremy clambered to his feet and tried to rouse Rogue.
"Mom. Wake up."
"Come on, Mom. Please wake up."
"HELP! SOMEONE, I NEED HELP HERE!"
Again, Jeremy shook his mom vehemently, in vain. Seconds passed and there was still no sound of help stampeding down the corridor or any sign that Rogue was awaking.
"Wake up Mom. Why won't you wake up?"
(!#$&In Rogue's Mind&$#!)
"Where am I?" Rogue remarked as she surveyed the place.
"We're in your subconscious, chere."
Rogue snapped her head around angrily. She was furious at him for invading her privacy, for shoving his dead ass into her face, for making her guilt-trip herself, for exploiting her weakness, for doing whatever the hell he wanted without giving a rat's fuck about her.
"You're wrong chere. I'm doing this because I still care for you."
"What do you know about caring for others! You don't do things for no reason, Remy. I know you."
"Then you would know why I'm doing this, chere."
"Hell yeah! Come on, spill it. What's the real reason?"
"Chere," Remy tried to cajole, moving discreetly towards her.
"Stay back! I don't need your slimy self near me!"
"Chere…"
"I said stay back, didn't I?" Rogue rebuked and teleported away from the place.
Remy sighed and muttered, "Why is chere making things difficult?" and gave chase.
(!#$&Back to present&$#!)
"Damn it! Where is anyone when I need help?" Jeremy said as he stroke Rogue's face, tracing small circles on her cheeks.
'Why won't you wake up Mom?' Jeremy thought as he looked around her room. Suddenly, it occurred to him that there was an intercom in every X-Men's bedroom in case of emergencies. He scanned the room briskly, locating the small square object near the bedroom door. He picked up a photo album and flung it towards the intercom, trying to jam the communication button. It broke.
In frustration, Jeremy screamed "SCREW EVERYONE!" and hung his head.
(!#$&At the Med Lab&$#!)
Henry 'Hank' McCoy was at his workbench where racks of test tubes, vials, innoculating loops, a microscope, a Bunsen burner, tongs, pegs, slides and glass covers sat neatly organised. He was running two experiments at the same time.
There were small movements as Hank dropped twenty drops of Benedict's solution into a few test tubes in front of him. With that, he stirred the content and placed them in a boiling water bath. While waiting for the chemical reaction to kick in, Hank started on his bacteria analysis.
Deft fingers quickly stroke a streak of bacterial culture onto a microscope slide and flamed. Once dried, a drop of red safranin was smeared onto the dried culture and placed on the microscope platform. A few turns of the coarse and fine knobs and the view came into focus.
A quick glance at the water bath and Hank carried on with his work, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony playing softly in the background.
Suddenly, "CRASH!"
'What was that all about,' Hank thought and rushed over to the patient ward.
Jeremy groaned as he felt a huge headache coming on. He looked down at Rogue and that was when he realised that he was no longer in his mother's room.
"Mr McCoy? Are you there?"
"Jeremy?"
"Help! Mom's not waking up. I don't know why."
Hank crossed the distance between them in a few big strides and proceeded to take over caring for Rogue when his hands passed through the LeBeaus.
"What!"
Jeremy looked up at Hank with frightened eyes, and Hank looked at them in shock. He tried again. There was nothing to the touch.
Gears spun and whirled in Hank's head as he contemplated what to do next. A clipboard slipped to the floor and something clicked in Hank's mind.
"Jeremy, try to move the clipboard."
Jeremy twisted a little and flicked the clipboard. It sailed smoothly down the cold tiled room.
Meanwhile, Hank was pacing about the room, trying to comprehend the phenomena that just happened. 'Jeremy can phase, in a way. But why does it happen when I touch him and otherwise with the clipboard? Selective phasing?' Hank thought as hypothesis after hypothesis churned in his brain.
"Mr McCoy, what do we do? Any idea how this happens? One minute we're in Mom's room and next, here we are. The thing is - "
"Where did you say you were in Jeremy?"
"In Mom's room. Why?"
"Later." Was Hank's curt reply as he bounded out of the room and into the elevator, fingers drumming impatiently on the floor panel. Once the elevator got onto the living quarters floor, he shot out and thundered for Rogue's room.
Hank slammed the bedroom door opened, rushing over to the LeBeaus. Jeremy was still cradling Rogue on the bed and his head was bowed. Both seemed to be unconscious. Gently slipping his huge furry arms under the boy and his mother, he carried them down to the infirmary carefully.
Charles, thought I should inform you that there is something wrong with Rogue and Jeremy. I don't have much detail for now but will inform you when I have more, Hank sent a telepathic message to Professor Xavier.
By the time Hank reached the medical ward, the LeBeau illusion was gone. However, the stench of burning material hung in the air. 'Oh my, I did not turn off the boiling water bath,' Hank moaned at his forgetfulness and quickly killed the flame.
Placing Jeremy slowly onto a bed, he pried Rogue off from Jeremy's firm grip and placed her on another bed. Quickly Hank hooked up a heart monitor and another machine to monitor Rogue's brain activity. After a quick check over of her vital stats, he deduced that Rogue was physically healthy with the exception of being in a very deep sleep and having very erratic brain waves.
'Hmm, I wonder why…'
Jeremy was also well and that he was merely resting from exhaustion. Hank tucked the blanket around Jeremy and went to clear up his botched reducing sugars experiment; the thought of illusive Jeremy weighing heavily in mind.
Hank plopped down in his chair, staring out at the small garden in the Institute's back yard. In his mind's eye, he saw two cosy Southerners with their hands clasped and foreheads touching, lips slightly parted and barely moving. It was he who first knew that there was something more to the flirt-and-fight relationship between the two when he caught a glimpse of them together in peace. Sighing sadly, Hank turned away from the window and started typing an email to a Dr Moira McTaggart about her takes on the illusive Jeremy.
Hank, how are Jeremy and Rogue?
Both are well and healthy, Charles except Rogue's in a coma and her brain waves are surprisingly hyperactive.
Lilly: Wow! You really have an issue with Rogue, don't you? That's a rarity. Anyway, thanks for reviewing. Hope you'd review this chapter too. Thanks
Everwing: Aw, thanks so much, hon. I feel so loved…LoL…
BlkDiamond: Hey, my first reviewer! Thanks so much for the reviews for my first story, I Hope You Dance, and the last chapter. You'll have to continue reading to find out what's Jeremy power(s), assuming that I include it/them into the nextchapter c'',)
RemoteControlled: Rogue-bashing? Wow, I've never thought of that angle. Should try to squeeze that into one of my stories..LoL..Remy's fatherly love huh? Jeremy will come after you for that, hon…LoL…
Author's Note: What the hell is going on with Jeremy? Is that whacked phasing his power? Care for a guess anyone? (grins) And what is going on in Rogue's toughly-guarded head? Well, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for the answers in the forthcoming chapters.
Meanwhile, have fun guessing and don't forget to leave me a review or two! Thanks!