Wow. I really didn't expect more than two or three reviews. You guys did WAY more than that. x8, in fact.
By the way, I changed the title because the other one "Nothing More" was tentative, and I wasn't too pleased with it. This suits the story much better. "Mannequin" officially means, "a life-sized dummy used to display clothes", but in this case it means "puppet".
bored247: Cool and amazing? Really? 'Cause it's not really all that special. If it was 3-D on the other hand...
Demon Flame: You love it? Thanks!
That crazy Edward Elric fan: No, I have NO idea who you are, Ar-chan. If buttons are meant to be given cheese, are cheese meant to be given buttons? I'm gonna go ponder...
Cat2fat900: Don't like Julien? S'okay, I'm sure most people don't anyway. And yes, no Belladonna. If you ask I'll explain why, but until then, thanks for reviewing!
zahraa: No, it wasn't Remy. You were supposed to get the idea that it was Julien. I don't think even Rogue would forgive him for such uncouth attitude when they first meet.
enchantedlight: Great start? Nah, I'd think a good start, maybe, but it just didn't ring to me. Well, I don't think I'd like it even if I was Tolkien. Who is great and everyone should worship him.
Chica De Los Ojos Cafe: I'm updating, I'm updating. See? Didja really think it was "very awesome"? Ooooo, thanks!
sky: Well, look forward no more, 'cause here it is! Thanks for reviewing!
Kerrilea: Already? Thanks, and I do hurry...it's just when you hurry too much.
RogueFan23: Thank you. If you see potential, then I'm willing too.
ishandahalf: Just the kind of review I like. It gives a good idea of what you like as a reader. The only thing pissing is the low-points of the chapter. Ummm...bunny on crack? Why not a duckling on the 'roids then?
stormcloud-23: It adds to the effect when you wait. How would you feel if I gave you some mystery to tell you the butler did it in the same sentence? Not well, I'd imagine.
gamro: Of course it'll be Romy! I couldn't see it being any other way! And assuming you're the same person as the signed gamro, it's getting good? There's only one chapter!
Neurotic Temptress: You know exactly what I had to say about your review! Thanks, and please do it again! And BTW, are the plot bunnies still giving you trouble.
Rogue14: Uhhh...is this ASAP?
Rogue238: Yes. Good grammar. You can check this one out to see if it stays the same, too :D
Mannequins
Part One: Capture
Chapter Two: Sparked
Reveal not every secret you have to a friend, for how can you tell but that friend may hereafter become an enemy.
- Saadi
Professor Xavier wasted no money giving luxury to his students, although it seemed to be something of rather reluctance. Kitty had goaded, pleaded, and wheedled her way into staying at the best hotel she could find in the French Quarter: the Ritz-Carlton.
After falling exhausted to her new bed from the long walk between Bourbon Street and Canal Street -- Kitty had refused to take a cab, claiming she wanted to see more of the Big Easy -- Rogue took time to consider her surroundings.
Rogue's room was lazily lit, and the soft colors of her walls and beds appeared quiet. A burning fireplace just added to the calmness of the room, and Rogue soon found herself closing her eyes, shoes and all.
"Rogue? Rogue? Rogue, wake up! It's 9:38!" Rogue jolted awake as something hit her head. She looked blurrily up to see Kitty Pryde standing above her with a hairbrush. "Jeez, Rogue, you're a mess! Why'd you sleep in your clothes?"
"Because, Kit, Ah'm tired. An' tired people lahke to sleep. Now leave meh alone," Rogue answered groggily, shifting to face away from the intruder.
"Rogue!" Kitty shouted again, and hit her harder with the brush. "Get up!"
Turning only her head to look at Kitty, Rogue gave her the best glare she could in her half-sleeping state and responded, "Remember the agreemen' we had in the rest'ran'? The one where wedo what Ah wan'? Well, guess what, Kit-Kat? Ah wanna go ta sleep!"
Kitty just heavily sighed as if there couldn't possibly be something more difficult in the world. "Rogue. If you don't get up, I'm going to stick you in a wall!"
Rogue weighed the options in her head carefully, and decided that going to a club couldn't possibly be as bad as living the rest of her life as some new decor for a hotel suite.
Calling on her reserves of energy, Rogue heaved herself from the bed and swung her legs over to meet the carpeted floor. Kitty didn't squeal or clap as Rogue thought she might, just put on an air of smugness that just made it all the more harder leave her temporary bed.
"Great! We gotta get ready, like, right now, before the masses start to arrive, if they're not, like, there already. Ooh, and I get to try out that totally cute new dress Lance got me for my birthday! This will be, like, great!" A suddenly vivacious Kitty ran from Rogue's room to get herself ready, while Rogue fell back to her pillow, hoping Kitty might forget about her and leave on her own escapade.
No such luck. The brunette valley girl came bounding around the corner a few moments later, chattering about her forgotten hairbrush. Rogue sat up quickly, thoughts of being forgotten lost. "Can' I evah get privacy in mah room, Kit? Or can yah not get enough of annoyin' me at the Institute?" Rogue snapped irritably.
Kitty seemed in no mood to argue, so she just held up her hands as if Rogue's words might cause physical harm and said in an unapologetic way, "Sorry, Miss Grumpy. Remind me to pick up your throne at the mall. I'm just coming to get my hairbrush," she held it up quickly, saying "See? Hairbrush," and left.
Rogue rummaged through her suitcase to find something that would be suitable for a club, but also emphasized she wasn't interested in anyone or thing.
Dressing herself in a dark green sleeveless dress that stopped just above her fingertips, Rogue picked out black mesh stockings and matching gloves that rode halfway between her shoulder and elbow. Her boots were also high for the protection of herself and those around her, laced in the back and dark leather.
She brushed her hair to complete smoothness and reapplied her dark make-up, deeming herself ready for the club.
Rogue crossed the sections that divided hers and Kitty's rooms and knocked loudly once, before opening the wooden doors. The younger girl was sorting through her small purse. When she looked up at her friend, Kitty smiled and teased, "Now who's just barging in?"
"Jus' thought Ah could repay the favor. Are we leavin' now?"
"Yep! All ready to paint the town red! See?" she joked, "I even have the paint!" Kitty was holding a red nail polish bottle.
"Yeah, tha's great. Can we go?" Rogue said impatiently. Her roommate nodded and threw her purse over her shoulder. They left the suite, the door automatically locking behind them.
As the duo walked down stairs, Rogue suddenly thought of something. "Kit?"
"Yeah?"
"Ah'm bein' serious, now, but...d'ya think Ah'm goin' soft? Ah mean, this is the second tahme tha' Ah said "yes" ta yah, and Ah don' even owe somethin'!" Rogue said it in one breath, and glared at Kitty, as if daring her to disagree.
"It's called, like, being friendly. Besides, I'm a totally great persuader, so it's no wonder why you agree." Kitty smiled amusedly as Rogue's glare softened, and she turned away.
"Well if we're so friendly, how come Ah gotta be here?"
"Just that reason."
Rogue opened her mouth to argue, but found no point, or reason why to argue. Although she knew Kitty was her friend, it was nice to her the confirmation from her own lips.
As they clicked into the hotel lobby and headed towards the double-doors, Kitty suddenly gasped and fell short.
"Didja fo'get somethin'?" Rogue asked, arching an eyebrow. It wasn't as if she had to ask. Kitty often forgot things, especially when she needed most to remember it.
"My cell phone!" Kitty looked a little abashed, and turned back in the direction of their suite. "Can you, like, wait her while I get it?"
"No, Ah'm just gonna go ahead. We're goin' to Sparked, right?" Without waiting for an answer, Rogue turned away from her roommate and walked away.
"Fine, but you had better be there! No skipping out on me!" Kitty called, cupping a hand around her mouth, and earning a "Shhh!" from the man behind the lobby counter.
Rogue kept walking, but answered back in no less of a voice than Shadowcat, "Ah will, Kit, don't get all huffy."
As she reached the door, the bellhops opened it for her and she acknowledged each with a nod.
The road was still bustling with people as Rogue stepped out, most of them in Mardi Gras colors. She could bet these people wouldn't go home until they had been properly hung over or vandalized something, maybe both.
Rogue was in no mood to walk to the club, so she stood at a corner, waiting for the bright yellow of a taxi to pass by. She spotted one turning the bend to her left and brought to fingers to her mouth, piercingly whistling for the taxi to halt.
It halted in front of her, and Rogue stepped in. "Club Sparked, please, sugah."
The driver nodded but made no other motion or affirmation to her existence during the fifteen-minute drive.
In Rogue's opinion, Sparked was a bit flashy. The lights that showed all around the club were bright enough to be seen clearly by day, and by night, it was hard -- if not impossible -- to miss. There were two bouncers at the door, but they didn't seem to care who they let in, as long as the patron wasn't particularly shady.
Rogue watched it for a while, even as the cab rode off behind her, until finally sucking in a deep breath and approaching the line. It was slightly large, but decreasing rapidly, even as it increased behind her, since the speed people were being ushered in was much more than the average and especially exclusive clubs. She moved at a fairly normal pace, and watched the couple ahead of her as the snuggled and talked in quiet voices. Rogue couldn't help but feel a little jealous and lonely at their obvious affection and love for each other, as well as their ability to express it physically.
She shook the thoughts from her head and removed her attention away from the happy pair to her own feet. She came here to relax, not wallow up in her own pity.
'I thought you did that normally anyway.'
Rogue looked up sharply, although she knew where the voice was coming from anyway. 'Ah thought Ah locked you away f'r awhile,' she hissed back into her mind.
'Hee, hee.' This voice was different from the last, but Rogue could pinpoint who it was. The insane pyromaniac, aptly codenamed Pyro. Can't get rid of us, sheila! We'll always come back."
'Not if Ah can help it,' Rogue focused her increasingly strong mental barriers and chained back the few psyches that broke free, and strengthened the other "chains".
"Excuse me, ma'am? The lines moved." Rogue's attention snapped back to reality and she saw that she was several feet behind the two ahead of her. Even now, they were being admitted to Sparked.
"Sorry." She said unapologetically, and trotted to the doors. The bouncers looked at her wordlessly and split temporarily so she could pass.
The inside was no less gaudy then the exterior, just more crowded. Being careful of her exposed flesh, Rogue pushed through a crowd that was large, but less so than the one that lined the streets of New Orleans earlier that day.
Sitting at the end of the bar, the young mutant rested her head on her hand, waiting for the bartender to come her way.
Rogue didn't have to wait long, and one of the two bartenders came up to her and asked what she wanted. "Some water, f'r now." He raised an eyebrow at her light request, but responded obediently anyway, filling a glass of ice water for her and setting it in front of her.
Rogue just stared at it, bored and indifferent, waiting for her friend to arrive.
"Where is it?" Kitty cried shrilly, throwing her comforter off her bed, adding it to the strewn mess on ground. She stopped as she heard a soft clunk hit the floor.
Checking through her quilt, she triumphantly pulled out a small, silver cell phone. She added it to the assortments in her purse and left, not bothering to pick things off the floor.
Setting down her now-empty glass, Rogue continued to stare at it, and grew increasingly bored. If she hadn't been stupid enough to agree to meet Kitty at the club, she would have left ten minutes ago.
She picked up the glass and began tapping it against the bar, her foot tapping impatiently. Rogue stopped as she felt a presence behind her.
It sat down next to her, and grinned as -- what was now obvious -- he noticed her watching him.
He was handsome, in a way that you would notice him, even hanging off your boyfriends arm. His skin was tanned, but not bronze, and he was muscular, but that was mostly covered by a brown trench coat, similar to Rogue's own. His russet hair was messy and fell down in front of his sunglass-covered eyes. A goatee completed his "bad-boy" look.
"Can Ah help yah?" She asked exasperated. Rogue wasn't in the mood to be hit on. Even if she wasn't ever in the mood.
His grin widened. "I'm jus' sittin' here, chèrie. What's de crime in dat?"
"Yah c'n sit anywhere yah damn please, jus' do it somewhere else," Rogue answered irritably. Her boredom was obviously affecting her temper.
"Why, chèrie? De view's so nice here!"
"Ah hear its even better ovah ta places that don't include mah personal space."
"I'm not so sure about dat. Been to a lot of places, chère, an' I t'ink dis be the best so far."
"Is that so?"
"O' course!" He held his hand over his heart. "Straight from here."
"More likely down there." She responded nastily and looked pointedly down south for an instant.
"Aw, chèrie, y' can't mean dat!"
"Ah do."
"Den let me change yo're mind. How 'bout a nice trip to th' dance floor wit' me? Be a good time, chèrie, promise."
Rogue's patience and promise to Kitty left her, and she stood to leave the club.
"Y' can' jus' leave me here! I'll be lonely!" He play-whined after her retreating figure.
She decided to grace him with one more sentence, "Then go fahnd some othah girl ta be yo're one-night stand!" and left.
He didn't bother to watch her pass through the doors, but instead turned back to the bar and dialed a number on his expensive-looking cell phone. "Papa? I t'ink Henri was right. Definitely someone y' wan' t' meet." He shut the cell's lid before his father on the other end could respond.
A woman sat down next to him, in the place where the girl was before. "Hi there." She smiled coyly as he surveyed her. Blonde, busty, and beautiful.
"Hi," he responded, giving her his own sly grin in return.
"You wanna have some fun tonight?" She asked blatantly.
"I'm a fun kind-of guy, chèrie. Y' willin' t' give it?"
"Why else would I ask?"
"Good, den." He held out his arm for her to take, which she did with relish.
"I'm Grace."
Check, Grace. His trophy for the night.
"'Allo, Grace. I be Remy, de one an' only."
Enter Remy! It was kind of obvious who he was, wasn't it? Not that I was going to lengths to hide it, but still.
If you didn't pick up on the not-so-much-of-a-hint, Henri was the guy who called his father up, and Julien was the guy Rogue beat up. And, another thing, it wasn't coincidence that our Cajun boy and Southern belle met. That's what the phone call was supposed to hint.
French Translations:
chèrie, chère: dear, darling. They don't mean different things.
Well, review! And while I do love ones that tell me what I'm doing right, I also like reviews that comment on things I could improve. I'm not saying flame me, 'cause then I get nasty, I'm saying I (again) can only improve if I know what you don't like.
Until next time!
- Kouchou No Kouken