See? I'm not completely incompetent! I'm updating! Actually, I would've had this out a few days ago, but it wouldn't load for some reason.

Alright, this is kind of advertising, and I said I wouldn't (to myself), but I think everyone needs to know:

ATTENTION: Go to this petition: www . petitionspot . com / petitions / romycajun and sign, now! Save the Cajun and Romy!

And the most important news of today (perhaps ever): I'M AN AUNT! That's right, folks, finally, as of the 16th... well, here, from my diary:

As of 7:15 today, I am an Aunt! I am the loving auntie of a bouncing baby boy, Gavin, who is 7 lbs. 07 oz. and has a round head with a 14" circumference. He is 20" long, good size for a baby, and was born with green eyes, which within a few hours changed to blue-green eyes (added 2/21: but have steadily turned more green). He has dark hair, and his mothers cleft chin and mouth, and his fathers upturned nose. His mother was in labor for about 35 hours. He is an A+ (positive) blood-type. They tried to take baby's blood three times but it kept clotting. Birthmark on his little right leg. Long fingers of a newborn, and fairly large feet. Also, he's the most beautiful baby ever.

I don't think I'll hold you up any longer, I'll just get right to it.

Mannequins
Part Two: Watching
Chapter Six: Missing

If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.
- Moshe Dayan

Three days. Actually, three and a half days. Rogue was definitely back at the X-Mansion. No question. So why hadn't she called?

Kitty flickered her eyes to the phone nervously. She didn't need to call. Rogue was fine. She was safe. She was just being bombarded with tests by Mr. McCoy, like she said would happen. She was just resting. The plane made it safely to port at New York. It didn't crash and burn. It wasn't hijacked. Rogue was fine. She was safe.

Kitty picked up the phone and dialed the number. Screw long-distance bills. It wasn't like the Professor wasn't über rich anyway.

Only a few rings and someone picked up the phone. "Hello, you've reached Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. How may I help you?" Good. The Boy Scout Scott wouldn't prank her.

"Hi, Scott?" she asked nervously.

"Kitty?" asked the X-Men leader, surprised. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing. It's just Rogue said she'd call me when she got there, and I haven't heard from her, and I was just worrying... Is she okay?"

"Rogue? What are you talking about? Isn't she with you?" Scott inquired, surprised.

Kitty dropped the phone. She burned up! She was kidnapped, murdered! Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God-- "Kitty? Kitty, isn't Rogue with you? Kitty!" She scrambled for the phone. "Scott! Oh God, no she isn't! She went back-- the voices!-- the blast!-- I didn't want her to!-- Oh my God, oh my God! Something's happened!"

"Shadowcat!" Cyclops barked, voice of a leader. "Calm down! Now, what happened?"

The years she spent with the X-Men has trained her for that voice. That voice was battle-ready voice. Kitty calmed instantly, her terror and guilt was only a tingle in her gut. It seemed silly now. "Is the Professor there? I swore I wouldn't say anything to-- "

"Shadowcat, this is important. If Rogue's missing, then we can't risk anything. What happened?"

"Alright," Kitty swallowed, hoping Rogue wouldn't be too mad. "We were walking back to the hotel and suddenly Rogue gets your optic blast. I mean, totally unexpected. Not like the time when she lost control of the voices, and-- well, you know. Anyway, no one was injured, but I had to rush her back to the hotel. And then we got back to our room, there was -- get this -- a package with two of your glasses. Ruby-quartz.

"Well, Rogue was really scared -- don't tell her I told you, though. She said that she had to get back home to the Mansion, and she didn't want me to say anything to you, because -- um, I can't tell you. But she didn't want me to say anything, and when go to the airport, and she gets on. I mean, I thought that she'd get back fine, but she never called, and now she might be-- "

Cyclops interrupted her before she could start hysterics again. "Alright. Shadowcat, I'm sorry, but there's not much we can do right now. The Blackbird is down in Japan, for some peace talks. Only a few of us are still here. I'll call them, and we'll form a plan."

"Alright. Thanks, Scott." She almost hung the phone up, but he interrupted her.

"Oh, and Kitty?" he asked. "Don't leave your hotel room, and stay on guard. Somebody might be after the X-Men. Wait till we get there, okay?" Kitty didn't answer. She didn't like being helpless, and what he said sounded exactly like what Rogue said before she--

Cyclops listened for Kitty's answer, but she was silent. "Kitty?" he repeated. "Okay?"

After a moment, she answered. "Yeah, Scott. I'll stay. But get here soon. Bye."

"We will. Good-bye Kitty. Stay safe," he hung up, a slight smile tracing his strong face. Beneath Scott's ruby-quartz glasses, his eyes flickered yellow.

Rogue rubbed her wrists ruefully. After four days, her captors finally released her bonds, under the warning that she caused any trouble, she'd be locked up in a cell, a real one.

Not once in the past four days had she been let alone by Gambit. The only place he didn't follow her -- thankfully -- was the bathroom. The first time she was in it, Rogue checked for hidden cameras thoroughly, using the skills taught by Mystique and Wolverine. The bathroom was large and windowless, but there were few places to hide a camera that would give a full view of the room. She went as far even to break the mirror with a plunger, -- which didn't have a camera behind it -- at which Gambit banged in and tackled her. In a sign of -- perhaps -- trust that surprised her, the mirror was replaced while she slept the next day. She thought suspiciously it had more to do with Gambit's vanity than faith.

After concluding that there were no cameras in the bathroom, Rogue tried fruitlessly to remove the metal collar.

From what she had seen in the mirror, and what she felt, it was seamless and hingeless, as if it was never snapped on her neck. It was constantly cooler than her skin, never absorbing her body heat. It whirred and clicked, so it had to be mechanical. It was lighter than Rogue would have judged if she wasn't wearing it. The icing on the cake? It just wouldn't come off.

Rogue never gave up trying to unlock it, but she spent less time doing so -- mostly because she had a time limit going to the bathroom, and she wasn't going to waste it all trying to remove the collar.

On the evening (or so the clock said) of the third day, Rogue spoke to Gambit. It was momentous, in her book, considering last time she talked to him he had barreled her over in the bathroom.

All she said was "Ah want these damned things off," and shook her cuffs.

And all he answered was, "But dey look so good on y', chère."

She got her wish -- but she suspected that it had less to do with their graciousness, and more as a message: You can't get out. Your hands might be free, but you'll never be. Whether it was meant as an insult, threat, or both, she didn't know. But that didn't concern her; her hands were unbound and that would be a good thing. Except that she was prisoner with a guard who was to hormonal for his own good and who also shared a room with her.

Rogue tried not to think of that, although with his slight snoring, it was almost impossible. Instead, she diverted her days to plotting escape routes, and reviewing what she knew of her kidnapping.

Escape seemed fairly hopeless, even with her new, unbound hands. The windowless, but elegant, room wasn't monitored, save for her thieving, slick guard. The door, Rogue discovered, remained unlocked during Gambit's waking hours. But even if Rogue did manage to escape Gambit, where would she go? She didn't know anything about the place she was in, except for her personal little dungeon. Her powers would have helped her escape, but the stand-in choker necklace prevented that possibility. And she didn't even know where she was besides that. The best Rogue assumed was Louisiana, considering the Thieves she had met were all Cajun. When she discovered that coming up with escape plans only made her more hopeless, she amused herself by studying Gambit and coming up with scenarios in which she beat him bloody and bruised.

Although Gambit was her only guard, he really paid very little attention to her; except trying to get her to talk through insults, cajoling, or innuendos. He spent his time playing solitaire or reading (her captors seemed to think it best she had no connections to the outside world, so television or radio was out of the question). The only time he wasn't sitting or pacing dutifully in the Dungeon (Rogue refused to think of it as her or his or their room, so instead settled for the Dungeon), was when he was in the bathroom or when Jean-Luc called for a report on her doings. Henri took over for him then.

Gambit's character was easy to judge. He was conceited, juvenile, spoiled, and cocky. Rogue didn't see any good qualities in him; it may have been that he had just not shown her any, or that he didn't have any. Rogue decided resolutely that it was the latter. Gambit also didn't like being rejected, she noticed. Any silent rebuffs on her part were met with a half-hour long sulk before he started another game of solitaire. Sometimes Gambit was infinitely patient; other times, he was not. His moods swung rapidly, at which the likes of Kitty would be put to shame.

Kitty...

Rogue had no clue what the others were doing. By now, at least Kitty knew something was up. By now, the entire Mansion knew Rogue was missing. By now, some angry mutants should be storming through the elaborate oak door and -- she shunted from this thought -- rescue her. There was no way some back-water swamp rat thieves could stand against the new, expanded X-Men. What could they do? Steal their underwear?

Rogue glanced back at her captor, or, more accurately, his eyes. It was obvious now he was a mutant. She couldn't guess his powers, and wasn't about to ask.

"Like what y' see, chère?" Gambit asked suddenly, pleasure obvious in his voice.

Oh, damn. She'd been caught staring. But never say that Mystique didn't teach her the art of quick comebacks in the face of the menfolk. "If Ah say yes, will ya put a paper bag ovah ya head? No holes." If Ah say no, she thought wryly, will ya go ahead an sulk an hour?

Gambit didn't respond, -- apparently Jean-Luc hadn't taught him quick comebacks in the face of womenfolk -- just frowned and went back to his half-finished game of solitaire.

A' course ya will. Rogue settled down against the headboard of her -- no, the bed, and closed her eyes, hoping his sulk would last at least an hour.

"Y' know, chérie, I'm sick a' playin' solitaire. How 'bout Hearts?" She opened her eyes and glared at him. He was unperturbed.

It was against her better judgment, but... "Ya need three fer that, moron."

He grinned, too pleased that Rogue had responded to one of his advances -- not quite the response he had in mind, but it was better than continual silence. "Den we play Old Maid, how's dat?"

She turned away, and Gambit nearly sighed. She was probably the toughest girl he'd ever... well, flirted with was the farthest he'd gotten with her, and that was one-sided. It was as if she didn't even want him. He had almost thought that she maybe didn'tbut brushed that notion off. There was no femme in the world that didn't want Remy LeBeau, once they'd seen him. She was just playing too-hard-to-get. In fact, if he hadn't kidnapped her, then she would've succumbed to his charms long before this.

How do Ah escape... ? Once again, Rogue's mind returned to the question that had plagued her for too long. She knew what she couldn't do, and what she could. But she hadn't thought of one thing: espionage. She glanced over at Remy, who was still picking at his cards. Would it work?

Only one way to find out."Yeah, sure. Ah'll play," Gambit's head shot up and his mouth dropped open, watching her wide-eyed as she stalked over reluctantly to the mahogany table he played at.

"Y'..." he stopped, seemingly still in stupor. Was is that much of surprise? Probably, Rogue concluded.

"Y' will?" Gambit finally said. His surprise turned to suspicion. "Is dis a trap?"

Rogue stopped and snapped her fingers. "Aw, dang, ya found me out," she drawled sardonically. Aw, dang, he found me out, she said to herself honestly.

He snorted and turned back to his cards. "Old Maid, huh?" Gambit asked after a moment, still wary.

"Nah, we're playin' poker. Winner releases loser inta the wild." She sat down on a chair across from him. Had she even been on this side of the room?

"Y' know, I'd actu'lly take y' up on dat offer, but mon père would blow a lid. So instead," Gambit said definitively, "we'll bet clothes."

Rogue rose a sculpted eyebrow and made to stand. Before she was halfway off the chair before he grasped her wrist. "No strip poker, I get it. Den we don't bet, huh?"

Rogue sat back down slowly. "Well," she said after a long pause, "ya settin' up 'r not?"

Gambit grinned and started shuffling an entirely new deck.

"Robert Drake, you come back here, right now!" Lorna Dane cried after her boyfriend.

"Only if you can catch me!" Bobby crowed.

Scott sighed, and wished he could rub the bridge of his nose. "No running in the halls!" he shouted after the new couple. But they were already gone. Deciding they weren't priority, he instead turned to Logan, who had just left the X-Jet from their mission. "Wolverine!" he called. Logan glanced at the leader, and Scott came over to him. "I need those mission specs from Lothland City. Actually, Logan," he added, "I needed them two weeks ago."

"I've got better things to do, kid," the taller/shorter man grunted.

Cyclops sucked a breath to lecture Wolverine -- however futile -- but he was interrupted.

"Phone for you, Cyclops!" Iceman called from a little distance, waving the cordless around. Scott thought he could hear Lorna's shrill voice somewhere in the X-Mansion.

The X-Men leader rubbed circles into his temples. "Who is it?" he sighed.

"Kitty. She sounds kind of hysterical. She kept going,"--Bobby tuned his voice higher--"'It's been a day, it's been a day!' I think she jumped off the deep end."

"I can hear you, Robert!" Kitty cried from the phone.

Cyclops took the phone from Iceman before he could retort. He brought the phone to his ear. "Yes, hello, Kitty?"

What have you been doing! Haven't you done anything yet! Every second could mean her life, Scott, and if you've been sitting around-- " The valley girl's piercing voice came for the other line. Bobby was right -- Kitty sounded hysterical.

Scott tried to talk over his teammates voice. "Kitty, Kitty! Slow down! What are you talking about?"

From the other end, Kitty froze. "Scott?" she breathed, shaken.

"Yes?"

Please say yes, please say yes... "Were-- were you here yesterday?"

"No... " Scott answered, confused and wary.

Kitty slid off the edge of the hotel bed, and on the floor.

"Kitty?" No answer. "Kitty, what are you doing? Shadowcat, answer me!"

If Scott wasn't who answered the phone, wasn't who assured her they'd rescue Rogue, then there was only one other person who could've answered. One shape-shifting, devious, and evil mutant. But what could Mystique gain from posing as Scott?

Kitty wouldn't let hysteria overwhelm her. She owed Rogue that. Shadowcat took a deep breath. "Scott?"

She could hear his sigh of relief from the other end. "Yes, Kitty?"

"Rogue's missing. Don't panic, but it's been for several days... "

Calmly, evenly, Shadowcat retold the past few days once more.

Phew! Done there!

Couple (several) things:

1. Let's see... two references there: one to comics, one to movies.

2. I wanted to see how many times I could get away using "hysteria" and its tenses.

3. Yay! Kinda-character development!

4. Gambit being a baby! Yay! I mean-- boo!

So... I think that's it, except for... shoot, I can't think of anything more to say. Wow. That's a new one, ain't it?

- E.V.A.N.

February 22, 2006