I have the BEST news! Okay, maybe just for my family and me, but still! My sister's pregnant! I'm gonna be an aunt! YAY! I think I gotta do the Aunt Dance"! Check out my profile and/or homepage for details. Not that you care. It's just I care. A lot.
But, sadly, I do have a fan fiction, so I can't just rant about my soon-to-be niece/nephew
So there are reasons why I took so long to update! Let's make a list:
1. I went to my Aunt's house for a week and a half.
2. I was planning out exactly how I wanted the story to come out. Y'know, so I have it down to most of the important details.
3. I'm lazy.
4. This actually wouldn't be here, but something happened to my document to make it go crazy, and it put an extra 1 to 3 spaces between characters. This meant that I had to re-type the entire thing, since that was quicker and easier for me to do.
5. And this shouldn't be here either, but the little fucker/document decided to close itself off before I could save it. So I abbreviated the part that didn't get saved into something like two sentences.
But before start, yes, I am the same Kouchou no Kouken. I just changed the language A.K.A. it means the same thing, but in French. Here's what it should actually look like: Le Rossignol de la Soirée, but accents aren't allowed in pennames at So, Le Rossignol de la Soiree will have to do. But I'm still the same E.V.A.N., cross my heart.
Mannequins
Part
One: Captured
Chapter Three: Manifested
One should expect that the expected can be prevented, but the unexpected should have been expected.
- Norman R. Augustine
When she had left Sparked, infuriated by the man -- apparently named Remy, as the girl cooed no-so-softly into his ear -- she could almost feel the words he'd spoke with such and irritating smirk all but painted on his face dig under her skin like parasites.True to her word, Rogue had not entirely left the club, just lingered outside in the chilly air, waiting for her roommate to grace the young X-Man with her presence. But not five minutes later, Remy was striding out with some girl. The blonde was woefully unaware -- or perhaps woefully aware -- that he didn't think of her much more than the best way to pass the night. And had Rogue been stupid enough -- not that anything could've happened -- she would be that nice new notch on the bedpost. But the Coup de Grâce had been when he gave her a gaudy wink as he passed.
Few people ever showed a romantic or even sexual interest in Rogue, and those that did always gave up after a few of her cutting glares and acidic remarks. But this man persisted to the point where she had to get up and leave, and wait outside, where it was too frosty for comfort. It didn't help that Rogue was already irate when he attempted to poorly smooth talk her.
The mutant girl continued her brisk walk down the sidewalk, mumbling apologies to the few she bumped into.
"Rogue?" Kitty's voice halted her. She looked up from the ground, where she was busy burning holes. "I thought I asked for you to wait for me," she cried, sounding more impatient than angry.
But she was in a mood to argue, so Rogue just hissed right back, "An' Ah did, fer an hour! But tha' damn, insuff'rable Cajun..." Rogue trailed off, unwilling to return to the nights events.
And like a snap of the fingers, Kitty's impatience had flipped to curiousty. "Cajun? What Cajun? C'mon, specifics! This is Cajun Country, there's no shortage! Like, what happened?" Her voice sped up and increased in volume as her excitement piqued, apparently haven forgotten Rogue's abandonment of Sparked. "Go on!"
Rogue sighed, and pushed past Kitty. "Nothin' happened," she called back behind her
Kitty trotted right back to her. "Yes, something happened! C'mon!" She nudged Rogue with her hip and elbow. "I know something happened! I can feel it, deep down in my bones, so there's no use hiding it. Tell me!" She paused and her face scrunched, as if she was thinking about something disturbing. "You don't...like this guy, do you?" She gasped, "Ewww! I bet that's why you left without me! You probably had the whole thing staged, didn't you? What, did you meet him during the parade? Or has it been going on longer?" She gasped again, "I can't believe you never told me!"
Rogue blinked and stared. "What? Kitty, have ya gone crazy? The guy was a complete stranger who was hittin' on me! Am I supposed ta fall head ovah heels in love with a guy Ah just met? Not ta mention he was a complete idiot!"
"Sorry, sorry... But you gotta admit, it was flattering, right?" she smiled primly and dragged Rogue back in the direction of the hotel before she had the chance to respond. So maybe she really had forgotten about Sparked.
Rogue had been wrong to think that they'd just go back to the hotel. Mournfully wrong. Instead, they began a long, long night of club hopping. They never stayed at one for more then a half-hour, when Kitty declared them all dead-beats -- although they all seemed uncomfortably crowded to Rogue -- and pulled her off into the next club
When Kitty finally called it a night -- mainly because the clubs were getting emptier and emptier, faster and faster -- she apparently decided that she could get in one more crime-against-her-supposed-friend before they went back to the hotel. So stepping out into the brisk night air, Rogue and Kitty started to walk -- or trudge, in Rogue' s case -- back to the hotel.
Her limbs and muscles weren't listening to her properly, and she lost count all of the times she knocked painfully into some hard metal object she could have easily avoided at a better, less-exhausting time.
"Rogue?" Kitty's voice, unnaturally quiet and subdued, met her ears, and Rogue turned to her roommate. "Are you - " she paused, and seemingly searched for the right words. "You seemed really, I dunno, sad or something tonight. Is something bothering you?" Leave it to Kitty to be able to tell her something was up with her friend.
Sitting alone at a bar while her friends were enjoying themselves was something that was expected of Rogue, regardless of how she was feeling. But she knew of only two people who would be able to detect her moods: There was Kitty, who spent the most time with her out of all the X-Men. And then there was Logan who, besides being so much like her, shared a special sort of bond with her. Sometimes he could pass as a fatherly sort of man to Rogue, but he lacked so many things that fathers had -- namely consistency. Instead, it was more like he was the proverbial older brother: protective, understanding, but outwardly detached.Even Kurt didn't always see how she was feeling, unless she showed it on her face. He may have been more of Rogue's brother than Logan, but Rogue hadn't really shown any side to him than the other X-Men, besides her caring, sisterly features. Both Kitty and Logan only understood how she felt either by sharing a room with her (and maybe secretly reading her diary) or by similarities in their personality.
Nevertheless, even if Kitty knew something was troubling Rogue, she still felt that it was too much to tell her. She had been dealing with psyches for years now. No need to worry Kitty, or come off as weak. "Nothin's wrong, Kit. Ah'm jus' tired, since we spent a good four hours club hoppin'."
Of course, Kitty wasn't convinced. "Listen, Rogue. The Professor asked me not to ask you unless it seemed important, but... is it the psyches? He said that you said they've been bothering you more lately." She stared at Rogue expectantly and quickly apologizing to man knocked into.
Surprised wasn't the right word for that moment. More like unreal. Since when did the Professor tell the other students what she told him during their private and confedential meetings? The abnormalty she felt of situation quickly turned to anger. But even as Rogue opened her mouth to say, "How d'ya know?" Kitty had already picked up on her outrage and said placidly, "He hasn't told anyone else, Rogue. He just told me for a reason.
"You wanna know the truth?" Rogue walked silently, her fury still there, but kept under wraps. "The truth is," she continued "we're only here because of you. I really haven't been planning anything. It's just what the Professor told me to say in case you got suspicious. He thought that maybe it might help you control, um, them if you had some time away from all the dangers and stress of typical X-Men days."
"Well, it's not. In fact, Ah think it's just been gettin' worse. Ah don't know, maybe it's just somethin' internal, ya know? Yeah, sometimes havin' people like Scooter or Jean breathin' down your neck doesn't help any, but truthfully," Rogue couldn't help but keep the bitterness out of her voice "Ah'm not sure if Mardi Gras was the best place ta go fer some peace and quiet." Even if she was still slightly resentful of the Professor for telling Kitty, her anger had pretty much been replaced by fatigue, and not all because of her lack of sleep.
"Yeah, I know, but me and the Professor thought that maybe if you were close to home it might help. I mean, not Mississippi, 'cause that might've brought, you know, mother issues to the surface, but South. Besides, I think Mardi Gras is fun!" Like her roomie, Rogue was able to tell that it still bothered Kitty that she didn't seem to be having fun, or that the psyches still screamed at her on a day-to-day basis. Her friend seemed rather apprehensive beneath her bright exterior.
"Fun fer you maybe. Your inta that kinda solicializin'. Ah'm not."
"Tell me about it. I was trying to, like, get you to dance! Or have fun! Or at least talk to the guys who approached you. Yeah, I saw them. And let me tell you, girl, that if some guys that hot went right up to me I wouldn't have wasted the chance!"
"Uh, Kit? What about your, Ah don't know... boyfriend? The name 'Lance' ringin' any bells?"
"Well, it's not like he can see me, is it?" Kitty said slyly.
Rogue mock-gasped, "Kit! Ya keep actin' lahke that, and Ah'll be ashamed to know ya!" The southerner smiled. It was rare when she and the valley girl had fun conversations like this, which excluded Rogue's biting brand of sarcasm. "An' fer your inf'rmation, Ah did talk to some of those guys." Her mind flashed back to the Cajun she had met earlier in the night.
The look on Kitty's face made Rogue wish she had a camera. Her eyes bugged and her pupils dilated, giving her a bit of an insect look. The brunette grabbed Rogue by the arm and stopped her. "Get out! Really! What did you say!"
She tilted in conspiratorially, "Ah tol' them to go screw off." Rogue leaned back with a smirk warping her pale face.
With a disgusted noise, Kitty crossed her arms and glared at her friend. "I hate you! And here I thought you actually did some flirting! Ha! I bet don't you even know what flirting is!" She seemed eager to forget about their recent conversation.
"Excuse me? Ah know exactly what flirtin' is, Ah thank ya." Rogue remembered with disgust her poor attempts to flirt with Scott when she still had a bad crush on him.
"Of course you do," Kitty patted her friend on the shoulder, and began walking again, with Rogue following suit. "You just lack the capabilities of doing so."
The Mississippi girl reached up to scratch beneath her eyes. "And what if Ah do? Ah've seen you and Avalanche flirt. You're awful! Gawd, sometahmes I just gag on all o' the desperation in the air."
Kitty's playfully smack Rogue. "I am not desperate! You must be listening to Lance more than me."
They both laughed, agreeing, but Rogue suddenly stopped and itched below her eye fervently. "Mah eyes... they're burnin'."
"Rogue..." Kitty said apprehensively, "Your eyes... they look weird," she stopped, and fear crossed her face "Oh my God! Look down!"
"Wha-?" She stopped as her entire vision flashed into crimson, and in that instant she heard the familiar voice of Cyclops whisper "Look out!"
As if hearing the voice, Kitty dove for the cement sidewalk, and those who were near the destructive blast hit the ground and covered their heads, joining in her scream.
Rogue cried out in what sounded like fear and pain. Crushing her eyes together with more force than it would naturally ever take, she brought her hands up to cover them, and fell to one knee.
It wasn't until more than a minute had passed when people began to move again. Some looked up, others asked their friends if they were alright, and the more daring got up slowly, among these was Kitty. She was breathing heavily, as if she had tried to outrun the blast, rather than just falling to the ground.
Without another word Kitty grabbed Rogue's arm and walked as fast as possible without tripping her friend down on the sidewalk, and even though some people Rogue had nearly decapitated tried to stop them, they only gasped as their arms went straight through.
Once they made it safely into the hotel, Kitty ran to the elevator, ignoring the hotel workers orders to slow down, and punched the number to their floor in. She tapped her foot impatiently. She needs to call the Mansion, to tell Professor Xavier...
Her cell phone! How could she forget? The Professor stressed how important it was to have her phone in case something happened. The elevator stopped and its door opened before Kitty could make a move for it. Oh well, she thought, I'll just use the hotel phone.
Carefully leading Rogue out of the elevator, Kitty jolted as they turned the bend and accidentally led Rogue into a security guard. Her friend whispered an apology, and the guard looked at her strangely -- most likely because Rogue was still covering her eyes -- but kept on his way.
Kitty continued to lead Rogue to their suite door, but stopped short. On the floor, right in front of their door, was a brown package. Even from where they stood, Kitty could clearly make out the typed block letters that labeled "Rogue".
"Stay here, for a sec, okay?" Kitty asked, and left Rogue there without waiting for a reply.
She wondered what Scott would do. This obviously wasn't normal mail, and it might be dangerous. Anthrax, or something. She considered phasing its contents out of the brown packaging, just to be safe.
"Uh, Kit?" She heard behind her. "Since Ah'm a little eye-impaired right now, mind tellin' meh what's happenin'?"Kitty didn't answer, but she gave up her caution and ripped the package open. Inside lay a two eyeglasses, each with ruby-quartz lenses.
"Pa?" Henri LeBeau asked tentatively. "We got some news on de mutant girl, Rogue."Jean-Luc LeBeau waved his hand to continue, sitting behind his desk.
"It seems dat de she got a new power, but we ain't never seen her use it before.
"It's similar t' de X-Man Cyclops' optic blast, but we can't know if dat be de exact same one, or one her own powers."
"When did y' see dis?" Jean-Luc asked, his eyebrows rose in interest.
"A couple o' hours ago, on de corner of Dauphine an' Bienville. Emil says dat dey acted like it was dey never seen de power b'fore. He tailed dem till dey returned to deir hotel, de Ritz-Carlton. He captured one of de hotel workers an' posed as one. Den he looked f'r deir suite in de hotel logs, and went up t' it. Didn't see dem, so he t'ought dey were already in deir hotel room. He listen'd at de door an' heard 'em say dat Rogue was goin' t' leave New Orleans t'morrow, and dat de ot'er mutant she was wit', Shadowcat, would be stayin'. He couldn't hear anyt'in' after dat."
"Did dey say when or where dey were leavin'?"
"De girl, Rogue, said dat it should be soon, but dat was it."
"Find when she's goin' t' leave an' at what airport, and make sure she doesn't. We can't afford t' lose her."
"We will."
--
Done! Forgive me if I mutilate accents. I'm a bad, bad person. I'll try my best to get the
A note to all those concerned: The reviewing page is NOT a message board. Unless you have something to say about the fan fiction, do no, I repeat DO NOT, write something otherwise. Especially to another author. That's plain rude.
Two more things:
1.The optic blast was supposed to take place at the hotel. But when I got to thinking about the hole in the wall it would create, the scenario kinda followed like this:
Kitty would dive for the ground, and Rogue's optic blast would demolish the wall behind Kitty. The security guards, hearing the blast, banged on the door and threatened to break it down. Kitty opens the door with Rogue still covering her eyes (obviously closed now), and the guards ask if they can look through the rooms. Kitty hears sirens and panics and then...
I don't know what I should've done. See, I can see Kitty closing and locking the door, but the time it takes for the guards to break the door down, I think Kitty wouldn't even be out of the room (there's a bunch of 'em). So if that all works out, she would then grab Rogue (who's still covering her eyes) and phase down of the house. The guards wouldn't see this, but continue to search the rooms for a bit. The roommates, safely outside, would make a run for it. Then I didn't see how anything would follow after that. It just wouldn't fit.
2. Rogue isn't jealous of Grace and Remy. So get that thought out of your head. And since this was another part that got deleted when the document closed down, I refuse to rewrite why. And can anyone pick up why I chose the name "Grace"?
Thanks to: bored247, Chica De Los Ojos Cafe, enchantedlight, Fingers905, Friend to All, GWFreak315, Chained2aMask
Ishandahalf: Kitty shouldn't be a fluff-brained ditz. In the comics (and some of the series) she's a genius, actually. Hacker to boot, too. I figure tat takes some spunk. And Remy wasn't affected by their meeting for two reasons... which would spoil some things if I tell you -- not a lot, though. And you ask so many questions I can't answer without just about handing you the plot!But a hint: This is the Thief's Guild. All standard rules apply. ;) If that helps you any. Me being cryptic and all. And BTW, did you get the reference I made to you? Look hard.
bored247: Ahhhh... I update as soon as I can, but sometimes... things just tend to happen, y'know?
Rogue238: Grace was there for two things (the whole #2 thing strikes again): 1. Ending the chapter. I was going to end it by Remy sitting down next to Rogue and introducing himself, but I decided since it was so long since I updated, I'd cut you guys some slack. And I was on a roll! 2. To show that Remy is the guy that Rogue met before they got serious. In the comics, I mean. A ladies man. And thank you SO MUCH for the criticism (no sarcasm intended).
SickmindedSucker: Cool name, dude. Well, Julien is kind of a pushover. I mean Rogue did take him out in "Cajun Spice", didn't she? Yep. And besides, for an assassin, I think he used a bazooka too much. That says something about his skills on hand-to-hand combat. And in the comics, it was said (by Remy) that he was more of a politician than a fighter. Not to say he wouldn't be good against your average homo sapiens. And Rogue's attitude towards the male species is something tat developed from her inability to get close to it. Erm, them
Nettlez: Thank you. I mean it. It's very important to me that the characters seem really real. That's just what X-Men: Evolution conveyed. They weren't just superheroes/mutants who could do no wrong coughSupermancough. They had their doubts, and their flaws. Y'know, teenagers. They even belonged to cliques. ;P
Shira's Song: Well, I've said that line once or twice in my life, so I didn't see the harm in putting it there (I mean the sleep line). How Kitty managed to get her and Rogue to go on vacation was revealed this chapter, thanks to you. I'll explain why he was impressed by her later (if I remember, that it). And, yes. I was very proud of the "Check, Grace" line, so thanks! And how do you enjoy my style of writing
rainbowgirl: Thanks! Rogue isn't supposed to come off without her flaws. She has them, and the writers of X-Men: Evo just love to flaunt 'em (you know, the whole angst-y, gothic teen thing (even thought Rogue isn't a teenager anymore)). But I don't understand what you mean about them getting happy. This fiction isn't about Rogue finding happiness. I mean... look at the summary!
- E.V.A.N. B.