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If you had twenty four hours to live just think
Where would you go?
What would you do?
Who would you screw?
And who would you wanna notify?
Or would yo' ass deny that yo' ass about to die?
-Mase "24 Hours to Live"
Chapter 6: 24 Hours to Live! Part I
Xavier Mansion
Lower Levels - Med Bay
Rogue's Infirmary Room:
11:27pm (23 hrs left)-
Rogue sat on the bed in one of the secluded rooms of the Med Bay fiddling with the engagement ring around her finger. As soon as they landed in the jet hanger Rogue was rushed to the Med Bay so Hank could perform multiple test on her to figure out if Deadpool did inject her some kind of poison and if he did, what was it? After he had completed a thorough exam and several blood tests he left Rogue in the recovery room, telling her she would be staying in the Med Bay under close supervision until her health was clear. Rogue sent Remy to their room to get her something more comfortable sleep in instead of the hospital gown she was currently wearing. She also made him bring down his acoustic guitar for comfort. He had taught her how to play when she was eighteen and she would always use his instead of buying one of her own. The other older X-Men were ordered to the War Room to formulate a plan of action. It was clear that no one, except the younger students, would be sleeping that night.
There were plenty of thoughts whirling around Rogue's mind, other than her permanent psyches, that were keeping her from concentrating on just one thought. She was thinking about how Remy had proposed to her earlier. It was charming of him to include the whole mansion in their engagement and plan such elaborate operation with them to make his proposal more perfect than she could ever imagine. It was not too long ago when Remy had just joined the X-Men and most of them were reluctant in trusting him since he was a part of Magneto's Acolytes, who on more than one occasion fought against the X-Men. Now they all had grown together over the years and learned to trust him adding him as another significant part of the X-Men family. Soon, she and Remy would be married and starting a family of their own. If nothing interferes, that is. Their lives as X-Men were always dangerous and they constantly seemed to put their lives on the line to protect themselves and the greater good of mutant-kind. Rogue had seen her share of the cruelty of humans and mutants alike. She wanted things to get better but for some reason the relationship between humans and mutants had increasingly gotten worse. In addition, even mutants were causing harm to other mutants. The world seemed to be spiraling to utter destruction by war and prejudice. Not to mention the science projects that were being conducted around the globe on mutants. Scientist wanted to know how mutants worked and since people viewed mutants as non-humans the laws of experimentation didn't apply to them and mutants were the main objects being tested on. Mutants were the new fetish for geneticist worldwide; many were being captured and taken prisoners to labs all over. Rogue had the unlucky experience of being a lab rat for Essex and his insane research. She was glad to be free the torture and she will never want herself or any other mutant to go through any the hardships she was inflicted with. Thinking of Essex left her contemplating about Dr. Marie Freeman and her involvement in Essex's experiments. Although the woman was indirectly involved in his intentions she still grew a slight animosity towards Marie. The story that Marie told Rogue only made Rogue angrier, knowing that Marie didn't even at least try to help her. Rogue killed an innocent person and Marie stood back and watched. To her that was unforgivable.
Her angry thoughts soon moved her to wonder why Remy was hiding something from her, again. There was a part of his past that he never told her about. She didn't even retrieve those memories from the few times that she did absorb him when he was he was still an acolyte. She already knew about the Thieves Guild, his training, and all the other things he did as a thief. When she visited New Orleans with Remy, unwillingly, she found out about his family with Jean Luc LeBeau, leader of the Thieves Guild, and also their enemies the Boudreaux family, who were the leaders of the Assassins Guild. She even found out about Belladonna Boudreaux a few months back when the angry woman tried to take Remy back to New Orleans against his will. Apparently Remy and Belladonna were engage to be married since they were twelve years old. The union of the Prince of Thieves and the Princess of Assassins was going to unit the two feuding families. At the wedding Remy was under a great deal of stress from being force to marry a woman he didn't love. His anger affected his powers greatly and they went out of control charging things without him touching it. The aftermath left most of the Assassins Guild members dead or greatly wounded. He fled the wedding immediately seeking help for his unruly mutant powers and left Belladonna hurt at the alter. He came in contact with Erik Lensherr, also know as Magneto, who offered to help Remy control his powers in exchange for working for him as a mercenary. When Belladonna had finally found Remy at Xavier's Mansion she demanded that he return with her to New Orleans so that they could finally be married. Of course Remy resisted and Bella put up an immense battle. Rogue ended up going one on one with the girl while Remy fought off Bella's brother, Julian Boudreaux. Ultimately Bella left defeated never contacting Remy again and Remy spent the next two weeks doing everything he could to get Rogue to speak to him. When she finally did he told her his whole life story and promised never to keep anything from her again. Rogue forgave him and told him that she would never hold any of his past demons against him; she just needed him to always be honest with her. Now this Deadpool character had come into the picture revealing more of Remy's unknown past. Deadpool had mentioned a girl named Genevieve, which received an affect from Remy that she couldn't really understand. Rogue wanted to know who this girl was to Remy and what kind of relationship did he have with her. It was irritating her that he never told her about Deadpool or Genevieve even though he promised to never keep anything from her. Didn't he trust her enough to know she would never hold anything against him? She would've asked him about it earlier but her mind was more focused on her body. The supposed poison in her blood hadn't caused any symptoms yet and she was hoping that Deadpool was using the poison as hoax to get what he wanted. The only thing hadn't bothered her up to this point was Carol.
'I can't wait till you die you stupid bitch!' Carol snapped. 'Ah spoke too soon...' Rogue groaned rubbing her temples. No one could ever figure out why when Carol talked, or any of her other psyches, it caused her so much pain. Hank and the Professor had performed many procedures to figure out how to expel Carol's psyche from Rogue's mind but they were unsuccessful.
'I'm glad that someone's finally going to avenge my death!' Carol sneered.
'Deadpool doesn't even know yer in here. How is he going tah avenge yer death?' Rogue shot back psychically.
'Anybody who is successful in killing you is avenging my death!'
'Gawd! Don't yah realize if Ah die so does yer psyche!'
'Anything is better than being in your fucked up head!'
'Urgh! Go Away Carol!' Rogue growled. Suddenly a surge of throbbing pain erupted in her head sending her head crashing into her hands.
'We hate you!'
'Let us out!'
'Let me have control!'
'You killed ALL OF US!'
'Where am I?'
"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Rogue screamed out loud. All her psyches had shattered her mental wall while she was screaming at Carol and rushed her mindscape yelling at her. She let out a shrill cry in pain and shut her eyes tight. Tears stung her eyes as she breath heavily through the ache. Her other psyches hadn't bothered her since she got in control of her powers and she wasn't adjusted to the abrupt rush of pain they normally caused. At the moment, they all were roaming her mind screaming obscenities in full force. Hank, Jean, and Remy immediately ran into Rogue's infirmary room when they heard her scream.
"Chere! Wats wrong?" Remy rushed over to her. She was currently hunched over the bed holding her head rocking back and forth. Rogue didn't hear them come in. She couldn't hear anything other than the screams of her psyches and Carol's evil laughter.
'Your boy toy is an idiot! You're dying, DUH!" Carol mocked.
"Just shut THE HELL UP!" Rogue screamed at the top of her lungs. Unexpectedly, her psyches obediently became quite relieving her of the piercing headache. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up to see Remy, Jean and Hank staring back at her with fear in their eyes.
"Chere, I just wanted ta' kno' wat had y' screamin'." Remy replied slowly. He was a little taken aback by her harshness.
"Ah wasn't talking tah yah. Ah didn't even know yall were in here." Rogue responded quietly wiping away the tears that accumulated on her cheeks.
"Was it Carol, then?" Jean asked. She was helping Hank with anything he needed in the Med Bay. This would give her extra practice for Med School and her rotations at a nearby clinic, the only medical center that wasn't bias to mutant doctors and patients.
"Yeah, and the other psyches." Rogue sighed. It had been a year since Rogue got control of her powers and had stopped being badgered by her psyches other than Carol. She wasn't used to their screaming anymore which would explain her distressed nature by their sudden manifestation.
"Non bon." Remy placed her clothes and the guitar on the foot of her bed. He walked back up to her and wrapped his arms around her trembling body not wanting to see her so upset.
"Could this be the first symptoms of the poison?" Jean questioned Hank.
"I'm not certain but it could very well be. I must wait for the test results to be positive that she is in fact infected." Hank responded. Jean nodded at his statement.
"Ah reallah don't feel sick, though. Maybe it's just stress causing mah psyches to go haywire. Ah still have control of mah powahs." Rogue confirmed as she held onto Remy.
"We mustn't take this lightly, however. Sometimes it takes poisons awhile to fully infect an individual. Jean, why don't we go and see if any of the tests are ready for analysis." Hank walked out of the room and Jean followed.
"It's been a while, Ah guess. They came all at once and Ah panicked" Rogue admitted laying her cheek on his chest as he tightened his grip around her waist.
Remy gave Rogue a kiss on her forehead, "It will be okay, mon amour." Remy said sweetly. He felt so helpless when her psyches attacked. He knew he couldn't do anything to prevent her from the pain of their torture and that made him feel so powerless and weak just watching her suffer.
"Thank ya for getting mah stuff. Ah would nevah sleep in anothah hospital gown as long Ah live." Rogue said. She released him and began to take off the hospital gown replacing it with the clothes Remy had placed at the end of the bed. He brought her a black tank top and red cotton shorts. He also brought her favorite fluffy red slippers and white socks.
"Anyt'ing fa' ma chere. Even if it's ma guitar." Remy replied.
"Well, Ah don't own one so Ah will just use yers. It's not lahke yah play anymore." Rogue shrugged. She was done dressing and she sat on the bed once again. She picked up the guitar and set it in playing position.
"Au contraire, I don' play it cause' y' always have it." Remy replied half-jokingly.
"Whatevah." Rogue rolled her eyes. She strummed the guitar strings to make sure it was in tune. Remy sat back in a nearby chair to listen to the song she was about to play. He was proud that she picked up playing skills so quickly and easily. She was almost as good as he was, almost. Rogue ran through songs in her head that she knew how to play and decided on the one he first taught her.
"Please! Non dat one. It's too depressin'." Remy protested after ten seconds of the interlude. He knew it was 'Tears from Heaven' by Eric Clapton just from the first two tabs.
"It's a nice song. And weren't yah the one who taught meh how tah play it, anyway?" Rogue continued playing humming some of the words.
"Oui, cause it was easy. Mais, it's depressin' moi." Remy frowned.
"Well, Ah'm depressed." Rogue said bluntly. However, she stopped plunking the guitar and placed it back on the bed. The thing that once always made her feeling better wasn't even putting a dent in her somber mood.
Remy went over to Rogue and cupped her chin assuring her, "Don' be depress, chere, we don' even kno' fa sure if he poisoned y' and if he did we will make sure ta' get dat cure."
"It's not even that. One of the happiest days of mah life was ruined. Ah should be so ecstatic right now! Celebrating with everyone and thinking of what day to pick for our wedding. Instead, Ah'm here, in the Med Bay, wondering if Ah will even see mah wedding day." Rogue vented angrily.
"I promise y'. Y' will see our wedding day and many more days after dat." Remy guaranteed. He was secretly hoping that she wouldn't bring up anything about Deadpool or Genevieve. He wasn't ready to be confronted about it, either. Moreover, he knew that Rogue would raise all hell about it and that wasn't good for her health or his.
"Well, even if yah do get the cure fah meh it's gonna be a long road."
"Why y' say dat?"
"Yah heard him! Deadpool wants meh to suffah! Why else would he wait 22 hours to give up the antidote?"
"Dat won' happen. I won' let it." Remy affirmed gripping her shoulders.
"Sugah, there just are some things that even yah can't control." Rogue replied acutely. Remy freed his hold on her and she looked away sadly. He knew she was right but she didn't realize how those words had made his heart drop. Someone that he loved once before died because he wasn't able to control the situation. Now it seemed as though history was repeating itself. He would make sure this time it didn't end the same way.
"Chere, don't tell me y' givin' up already." Remy looked back at her, staring intensely into her eyes.
"No, just don't try tah worry so much. Yah always seem so torn up when my psyches attack…"
"Because I don like to see y' in pain. I love y' and it kills moi every time I see y' hurtin'." Remy interrupted.
"Ah'm sorry Ah make yah worry." She sighed
"It's not y' fault." He kissed gently on her cheek.
"Remy?"
"Oui, chere?"
"How do yah know Deadpool?" Rogue asked meekly.
Merde! He was quite aware that an argument was about to commence. He wasn't intending on telling Rogue anything and Rogue was not about back down on the issue even if she might have been dying. She was way too stubborn for that. Their arguments were never pleasant occasion. All the others would usually stay clear when Remy and Rogue's voices began to rise. He remembered when they had their first real argument. It was the day they decided to move in together into a suit in the mansion. Most of his possessions Rogue wanted him to throw away and he agreed with the majority of it except his poster of the Mercedes-Benz SLK. She had absolutely lost her mind thinking he was going to throw away a poster of the hottest fastest car on the market. It was a fierce battle to end all battles and in the end she threatened to use her super strength to rip him apart limb by limb if he didn't take down the poster. The poster now occupies the wall of Jamie's room and Remy was allowed visitation rights. Another vicious argument they had was about his thieving habits. The argument ended with her pinning him down to the ground with an ungloved hand inches from his forehead in the Danger Room. She threatened to drain him dry if he didn't swear to 'Stop fucking stealing and earn his own Gawd damn living!'
Remy shuddered and sighed, "Y' don' wanna know, chere."
"Yeah Ah do! And Ah also wanna know who is this Genevieve person that he mentioned." Rogue demanded leaning back from him to get a good look of his facial expression.
"Non! Y' really don'!" Remy replied matter-of-factly.
"Oui, Ah reallah do." She pushed crossing her arms over her chest.
"Later, chere, after dis whole t'ing blows ova' I will tell y' everyt'ing." Remy assured walking away back to the chair he had been sitting in.
"Why can't yah tell meh now?" Rogue went on while his back was still turned to her.
"I don' feel like talking bout it, now." Remy sat in the chair exasperated. He didn't bother looking up at her. He knew she would use those big green eyes of hers to get what she wanted out of him and he wasn't falling for it this time.
"Well, when will yah feel lahke talking about it?" She went on not yielding from her initiative.
"Je ne sais pas! Just not right now…" His voice increasing in anger.
"Is she worse than Belladonna or somethahng?"
"Chere, let it go."
"Remy, yah promised yah will nevah keep anythahng from meh, again. Yet, here we are!"
"I kno' I did, mais I kep' dis for a good reason…"
"Is that so? Well, Ah reallah want tah hear the good reason."
"Why do y' wan' ta kno' so badly?"
"Cause' fa one yah used to know some arrogant psycho lunatic! And two yah kept it from meh!"
"I told y' I will tell y' later. Why can't y' just leave it at dat!" Remy snapped at her. Rogue just glared at him for a moment not saying anything. He was hoping that she would finally back off the subject.
"How'd she die?" Rogue asked more softly. She noticed Remy tense up at her words.
"How did y' know she was dead?" He asked slowly finally looking at her.
"Cause Deadpool said somethahng around the lines of her turning ovah in her grave if she knew yah had a new –"
"Can y' please let it go, chere?" Remy winced. If ever found Deadpool again he would make sure to repay Deadpool dearly for all the annoyance and irritation the guy had caused him in just one day.
"Ah just don't understand… why won't ya tell meh?" Rogue inquired. She got up and walked up to him making him look at her.
"It's complicated." Remy stated dejectedly staring up at Rogue standing over him. Her eyes were pleading for him to tell her the truth.
"What about us isn't complicated?" Rogue rolled her eyes.
"Exactly! Why can't we just deal wit' one t'ing at a time? You could be dyin' but all y' wan' to do is meld in ma past. Isn't wat's going on enough for y' ta deal wit'!"
"Ah don't feel sick so rahght now that ain't the problem. The problem currently is yah! This was our problem from the beginning and it's our problem now. Its lahke Ah don't even know yah some tahmes! Just when Ah think the mystery of Remy LeBeau is solved another one of yah secrets come popping out!" Rogue shouted angrily at him.
"Rogue, let it go already!" Remy ordered harshly fed up with the quarrel. He knew he would give in soon so he had to end the dispute quickly. He didn't want to hurt Rogue or cause her not trust him but he didn't want to bring up his past. More importantly he didn't want to relive it himself. He never forgave himself for Genevieve's death and he probably never will. He tried so intensely to forget the incident, which had affected him deeply at a young age, and he had in some way succeeded putting it out of mind, until now.
"Fahne!" Rogue threw up her hands in defeat. She hated when he used her codename. It always meant that he was seriously angry or worried and she knew that he wasn't worried about anything at the moment. At that instant she turned on her heels and began to storm out the room.
"Chere, où allez-vous ?" Remy demanded before she could storm out.
"Ah'm going for a walk! Ah'm not talking to yah until yer ready to grow some balls and tell meh what the hell is up with Deadpool and Genevieve! And if yah value yer life yah won't follow meh, Swamp rat!" Rogue barked without turning around. He watched her leave the room picking up a strong trail of hurt and anger, with his empathy, that she left behind. He didn't follow her knowing very well he would be putting his life in danger if he did.
"Merde!" He cursed out loud slouching down in the chair.
"Um, what's wrong with Rogue? She nearly impaled me leaving the infirmary." Remy looked up to see Jean walking into the room.
"Chere be a lil' pissed off wit' moi at de moment." Remy informed half-heartedly.
"And you just let her leave like that! Did you forget that she was in here for a reason?" Jean asked flabbergasted.
"Non, but we got in a fight and she left." Remy shrugged.
"That still doesn't explain why you let her leave!" Jean exclaimed folding her arms on her chest angrily. "Why are you guys arguing anyway? We have more pressing matters at hand."
"Believe moi! I kno'. Rogue and I were discussin' one of dem."
"Remy you should have made her stay, though." Jean sighed.
"Y' know how she is wen the femme is angry. It's comme le feu chaud wit' legs!" Remy protested.
"Comme le what? Nevermind," Jean said shaking her head. She hated when he mixed French and English. It just hurt her head more trying to decipher it, "She might be dying and we would never know it. What if she takes off to the skies and has a seizure in the air or something? She could seriously hurt herself! Go get her!"
"Mais---"
"I don't care how much you think she will hurt you. You should have never made her mad to begin with! Now you go get her and bring her back down here right now!" Jean put one hand on her hip and pointed her other index finger to the door. 'It mus' be dat time of de month for all de femmes in dis house.' Remy thought to himself as he reluctantly walked out of the infirmary room in search of his fiancé who was probably plotting his demised somewhere in the mansion.
Xavier Mansion
REC Room:
"I hate when they leave us out of everything!" Sixteen year old Rahne Sinclair complained slumping into the couch she was currently sharing with two other students of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. The rest of the younger students were fast of sleep. Rahne was left with the duty of Rachel Summers.
"Me too! Rogue and Kitty were are ages when they started to go to meetings. What's the difference with us?" Jamie added.
"Maybe they don't trust us yet?" Chloe Logan offered. Formally known as X23 but Logan had adopted her she and so she was allowed to pick any name she wanted. She picked Chloe because the name was the one that Logan, and everyone else, liked the best.
"They have to trust us by now! It's been four years since I came here. I even fought against Apocalypse when I was twelve!" Jamie added feverishly.
"But that was because Apocalypse was an all powerful being and was going to destroy the world and all that good stuff. Maybe we just have to prove that we will actually pay attention when we go to meetings?" Chloe insisted.
"Yeah, I don't pay attention in school. But teachers usually don't talk about strategic ways to kick someone's ass." Jamie added thoughtfully.
"Well, until we find a way to go to meetings we are stuck with babysitting duty." Rahne gestured at little Rachel peacefully sleeping in her swinger. She was wearing a pink onezie pajama and a matching pink bib that read, 'I Love Mommy.' The REC Room had turned into a half-nursery half-rec-room when Rachel was born. Mostly Rahne or Chloe did the babysitting and they wanted extra baby stuff so that they could hang out with other students too. The baby furniture and toys were spread all over the room. The swinger where Chloe mostly too naps was right next to the big couch in a secluded part of the room. That was where the student's studied also. The playpen was next to the air-hockey table and the changing-table was conveniently placed at the far end of the rec-room.
"All she does is sleep and eat. That's the life." Jamie sighed.
"Wait a minute! Weren't you just complaining that you don't see enough action because the adults think you're too young? Now you're wishing to be a baby?" Chloe asked confused.
"Don't try to figure Jamie out. You will just hurt yourself." Rahne replied dryly before Jamie could respond.
"Hey!" Jamie realized that he was being ridiculed.
"I smell something… foul." Chloe said sniffing the air ignoring Jamie's pouting. Chloe had super senses just like Logan so she could smell things from far away.
Rahne began sniffing but couldn't smell what Chloe was picking up. "I don't smell it."
"It's in here… somewhere." Chloe stood up and started sniffing around the room. She ended next to Rachel and pinched her nose closed.
"Oh-no! I hate crappy diapers." Jamie grimaced.
"Well, get over it cause it's your turn to change her." Rahne informed gleefully.
"No it's not! I changed Rachel a couple of hours ago." Jamie protested.
"That was this morning. It's midnight now. Chloe and I changed her all day long. So now it's your turn." Rahne replied and Jamie groaned. Just then Marie Freeman walked into the REC Room.
"Hello." She politely greeted. She had spent most of the day in her room not wanting to get lost in the huge mansion.
"Hi Dr. Freeman," Chloe smiled as she handed Jamie a diaper. Jamie mumbled something in return.
"Do you know where I can find Professor Xavier? I still haven't gone to my apartment to gather any of my belongings, yet." Marie asked the three teens.
"Ugh… they're in a meeting… no one told you what happen?" Jamie asked her. He peeked in the diaper to make sure Chloe smelled right. He confirmed her findings.
"No, is there some news on my kidnappers?"
"Um, kind of… Let's just say that things are more complicated than they were before." Rahne told her. Jamie turned away from Rachel and looked at Marie surprised. He would have thought that someone had already updated her about the imminent transaction between the X-Men and Deadpool by now. Maybe news didn't travel around the mansion as fast as he thought.
"What do you mean? What happened?" Marie pressed them to tell her.
"Well, to make a long story short some dude named Deadpool wanted you and those fake-me-out ninjas back but we weren't going to give you up so he shot Rogue with a poison and he is the only one with the antidote. The poison will kill Rogue in 24 hours so we have approximately 23 hours to turn you over in exchange for the antidote…" Jamie began to explain.
"Not really… He said we have to return in 22 hours so you have to subtract two hours from your original calculations." Chloe corrected him.
"Oh yeah! Basically, 8pm tomorrow is our deadline." Jamie concluded. Marie felt the color drain from her face. She knew by staying among them she would put someone in danger but she stayed anyway. Now, someone might die because of her and the unfortunate part was that it would be Rogue.
"Can you take me to the meeting? I need to talk to Xavier immediately!" Marie knew that she couldn't let them waste any more time.
"I will take you." Jamie offered placing the clean diaper back in Chloe's hand. He looked back smiling at the girls, "Be right back!"
"Not so fast you little weasel! Marie let Chloe take you. Jamie has a diaper to change." Rahne took the diaper out of Chloe's hand and shoved it into Jamie's chest. Chloe walked out the room with Marie while Jamie glowered at Rahne.
"This isn't fair! I'm sixteen. I should be out partying or watching a movie with a hot girl. I'm an X-Man. I should be fighting bad guys and saving the world. Hell, I'm a guy! Guys don't change diapers." Jamie exclaimed angrily.
"If you want to get paid you will." Rahne threatened holding her hips. Jamie reluctantly took Rachel out of the swinger and placed her in the changing table on the far wall.
Xavier Mansion
Somewhere:
Rogue had been wondering around the mansion for the past twenty minutes trying to calm her nerves. She couldn't believe that Remy would keep something from her. Whatever the secret was it had to be big due to the fact that he still wouldn't tell her after she protested. She decided not dwell on the argument for the time being. Thinking about it would just make her even angrier.
She drifted through the mansion until she found herself in the kitchen. Sitting one of the stools at the counter she realized that she was extremely exhausted. The day's events of running around were finally catching up with her. Unfortunately for her the psyches picked that exact moment to occupy her mindscape, screaming for control that only caused a ringing headache to return. Rogue groaned slightly and rubbed her temples. She got up from the counter and looked all over the kitchen cabinets for any type of aspirin. She searched through an array of different types of medications until her eyes finally came across a bottle of extra strength Tylenol.
"This will have tah do." Rogue sighed taking the bottle from the cabinet. She also took a glass from another cabinet and went to the sink to get water. She opened the faucet and placed the glass under the spout letting cold water pour into the empty glass. Out of the blue a tingling sensation in throat rose forcing the air out of her lungs. Cough-Cough! Rogue was sent into a fit of coughs. When she finally stopped coughing she noticed her chest felt slightly congested and her throat felt a little sore. She could feel the flushness of her cheeks rising with the heat of her body. It was if she had acquired a cold out of nowhere. She definitely wasn't feeling sick a few minutes ago. Looking down Rogue realized that the hand holding the glass was halfway phased through the sink. She let out a little gasps and jerked her hand out jumping away from the sink in the process.
"Why do Ah have Kitty's powahs?" Rogue pondered aloud looking at her hands intensively. Without any warning tingling erupting her nose and she let out a loud sneeze. Rogue looked around shockingly as a cold breeze attacked her bare skin causing her shiver. She had somehow teleported outside into the gazebo that over looked the lake. She would always go to that spot to clear her mind but she did not want to be there now. It was the beginning of winter and she was in a tank top, shorts, and slippers. She let out another sneeze and clouds began to form in the sky. Almost immediately freezing rain began to down pour from above.
"Oh gawd!" She quickly ran to the back door of the mansion and let herself back into the kitchen. She was dripping wet and cold from being outside and needed to get dry and warm fast. She also needed to get to Med Bay to tell Hank about her powers. It seemed as though all her psyches were trying to get control since she was in bad health. She was hoping not to let out any of her more dangerous psyches like Juggernaut or Sabretooth. Rogue sneezed again and red lasers shot from her eyes. The beams shot toward the far wall burning two holes that formed a window into the dinner room. Rogue began another coughing fit shooting more laser beams in the process. She looked around fearfully seeing all the gapping holes in the kitchen walls. The door leading to the dining room had been blown clear off its hinges and was lying on the ground in shattered pieces.
"What the hell is wrong with meh?" Rogue whispered in disbelief. She ran up the stairs and entered the 'Couple Quarters' which was the wing of the mansion where everyone who were seriously dating or married stayed. The rooms in that section were bigger in size and more secluded from the younger students' wing. Sniffling and shivering Rogue entered her room and went to her dresser to look for some new clothes.
"There y'are!" Remy announced walking into the room. "I've been lookin' fa y' all ov- Chere! Y' soakin' wet!"
"Yeah, and Ah-Ah don't f-feel good eith-th-thah." Rogue managed to say through chills. Remy rushed over to her and put his hand on her forehead.
"Y' burnin' up, chere. Go sit on the bed and I will find y' some dry clothes." Remy moved her out of the way and began to shuffle through her clothes.
"Rems hurry! Ah don't think Ah can hold off this sneeze any longer." Rogue obediently went over to the bed and sat down.
"Huh? Why would y' need to hold off a sneeze?" Remy asked still looking through her stuff.
"Because every tahme Ah do Ah … Ah … oh no…" Ah-choooo! (BAMPF)
"Bénissez-vous, chere." Remy pulled blue track pants and a white t-shirt, "How is dis, chere?" He turned to the bed holding her clothes up as a display only to find her gone.
"Chere? Merde, where'd she go?" Remy frowned. He jadedly left the room in search of his fiancé once again.
Xavier Mansion
Lower Levels - War Room…
Everyone in the room sat at the long oak meeting miserably. They never had been in such a predicament in their lives. They definitely weren't going to let Rogue die or hand over Dr. Freeman to an enemy. They just had to figure out how to get around it. They were hoping that Hank could decipher a cure for Rogue so that they didn't have to depend on Deadpool's antidote. Currently everyone was talking amongst themselves. Bobby, Ray, Roberto, Jubilee, and Tabitha were conversation quietly in the middle of the table. Kitty, Scott, John, Piotr and Kurt were at one end of the table near the door. Xavier, Ororo, and Logan were near the computers trying to obtain files on Deadpool.
"We could get Mystique to pose as Dr. Marie and make Deadpool think that he has the really thing?" Bobby offered.
"No good. We can't trust Mystique as far as little Rachel can throw her." Roberto shot him down.
"Yeah, besides how the hell will find her to begin with?" Ray added.
"Oh she will come if she heard that Rogue was dying." Bobby replied.
"Good point." Ray nodded.
"It would be cool if we had one of those batman signals. You know one that they shine in the night sky. But only it said 'Help! Rogue or Kurt is dying.' That would get her here in no time." Roberto joked. All three boys laughed lightly.
"Here's a plan," Jubilee said wryly. "You three are not allowed to speak for the remainder of the meeting."
"What! Why?" Bobby whined.
"Because you guys don't know how to take things seriously." Jubilee snapped
"Sorry." They all replied in unison.
"Did you find anything on Deadpool?" Ororo asked her husband after a while.
"Nope, this guy doesn't even exist apparently. No records of him in the United States." Logan groaned. He felt as though he let Rogue down. She was like a daughter to him and he let her get hurt once again. Like Remy, he was planning to do things to Deadpool that would have even Satan crying for his mother.
"We will keep trying." Xavier sighed. He could sense the overwhelming guilt in the room. He too felt guilty that Rogue was made victim by an attacker yet again. He just hoped that this time wouldn't break her spirit. When she had returned from Essex's Lab she was in a fragile state. She never wanted to be alone and usually stuck close to Remy or Kitty for comfort. It took her a long time to heal and begin to feel safe. The Professor was content when she finally did but now Rogue's metal was being targeted once more and didn't know how she would hold up this time.
"I feel like just zitting here iz not accomplizhing anything!" Kurt complained.
"I know what you mean. But what do you suppose we do?" Scott asked him wearily.
"I don't know! But my schwester might die if ve don't do zomething quick!" Kurt frowned.
"Did you find it weird that Remy knew Deadpool?" Piotr asked John.
"Yeah, mate. He never told us about Deadpool fella." John answered.
"They way Deadpool talked about Rogue, in fact women in general sounded similar to the way Remy used to talk before he met Rogue." Piotr went on.
"Now, that I think on it, you might be right!" John nodded intuitively.
"Are you saying that maybe Remy might have picked up his flirtatious nature from this guy?' Scott raised an eyebrow.
"Or vice-versa." Piotr shrugged. He looked at Kitty who had been staring at the door, as if she waiting for something, for the past fifteen minutes. "Kitty, what are you looking for?"
"What is taking so long? Shouldn't Mr. McCoy have a diagnosis by now?" Kitty asked no one in particular. She extremely worried about Rogue. They had been best friends for five years now and she thought of Rogue like the sister she never had. The two of them were different as night and day but this only allowed Kitty to realize that there were people different from her. She also helped Rogue open up and with the aid of Remy they finally succeeded in persuading her to get rid of her Goth attire. Kitty smiled at the memory…
(You know there had to be one in every chapter! FLASHBACK!)
Two Years Ago…
Kitty and Rogue's room
"Ah can't believe Ah agreed to this!" Rogue cried. She had been hyperventilating while Kitty and Remy were packing all her clothes and shoes in garbage bags.
"Like, come on Rogue! You're nineteen. This phase should be over by now." Kitty told her while gleefully throwing Rogue's black combat boots into the garbage bag.
"It wasn't a phase. It was a way of life!" Rogue protested. She was sitting on her bed helplessly watching as Kitty and Remy rummage through her things and throw away anything that was black or could be considered gothic. This also included her make-up and jewelry. She was currently wearing a pale yellow T-shirt, black gloves, blue jeans, white socks and sneakers. The only clothing they allowed her to keep.
"Whatever! I'm not like saying you're way of life is bad. It's just that you need to try new things. Like pink!" Kitty shrugged. She took her hand and swept all her make-up off the table into the garbage bag.
"PINK!" Rogue gasped.
"Pink." Kitty affirmed.
"Ah thought yah loved meh." Rogue crossed her arms looking at Remy accusingly. Using guilt would be her last chance in saving her clothes.
"I do ma chere." Remy replied. He looked at her hesitantly. She looked so miserable and those big green eyes were pleading to him, almost hypnotizing.
Kitty hit him on the arm bringing him back from his trace, "Like don't fall for it, Remy. She will suck you in if you let her. Be strong. Like anyway she promised that we could do it and X-Men never go back on there promises. That's like a rule somewhere."
"Kitty Kat's right chere. Y' did give y' word." Remy pointed out returning to his bag.
"Ah was drunk! Yall tricked meh." Rogue pouted. The other night was New Year's Eve and Rogue, among other students, had snuck in alcohol into the institute and had a party of their own while the adults were celebrating elsewhere.
"We like had to. It was the only way to get you into new clothes." Kitty said as she put the last of Rogue's shoes into the bag and tied it.
Remy was about to open Rogue's top drawer but Rogue jumped up from her seat and belted over to him slamming the drawer shut. "Don't even think about it!"
"Why? Is y' diary in dere?" Remy looked at her confused.
"No, it's her underwear drawer." Kitty rolled her eyes.
"Vraiment! Can I get a peek, chere? Please!" Remy asked smirking mischievously.
"Not in yer lifetime, swamp rat!" Rogue snapped.
"Dat's okay. De view of it on ma floor is bien mieux." Remy teased. Rogue turned pale from his comment. She hadn't told anybody that she and Remy were having sex. If Logan found out Remy would be sent to an early grave.
"Whoa, Rogue. Like you never told me that you and Remy were bumping and grinding already." Kitty uttered still surprised from the sudden revelation.
"That's cause Ah didn't want anyone to know." Rogue said through teeth giving Remy a death glare. Remy moved his hand through his hair and looked away whistling.
"Don't worry, I won't say a word. Like I don't mean to but in or anything but how are you guys doing it? You still can't touch." Kitty indicated.
"Dere be ways around dat, petite." Remy winked. Rogue's cheeks turned a bright red.
"Cool! I'm like so totally happy for you Rogue!" Kitty squealed giving Rogue a big hug. She then turned to Remy, "Let's hurry up and take this stuff to John."
"Whoa! Wait, why are yah taking mah stuff to John?" Rogue asked suspiciously.
"Well, um…Run for it Remy!" Kitty ordered looking at Rogue sheepishly. Remy swung both garbage bags over his shoulder and left the room hurriedly.
"Kitty, what are yah planning?" Rogue eyed her angrily.
"Like, we had to make sure you wouldn't go digging for your stuff in the garbage. And we wanted to be certain that you actually buy clothes when we took you to the mall. So John is going to like… um…burn your old ones." Kitty said the last sentence while walking out the room.
"WHAT?" Rogue screamed. Kitty bolted down the hall to escape Rogue's wrath with Rogue hot on her tail.
20 Minutes Later…
In the back yard
"It will be okay, chere." Remy patted Rogue's back reassuring her. Rogue just stared blankly at the barn fire in front of her that had once been her clothes.
"We come here today to mourn the passing of Rogue's gothic clothes…" John began mocking a priest at a funeral.
"Shut up, John." Kitty snapped at him.
"Sorry, sheila!" John replied lifting his up in his hands in defense.
"Okay, time to go!" Kitty cheered grabbing Rogue's hand and pulling Rogue with her.
"Where?" Rogue growled not in the mood to do anything anymore.
"Like to the mall! We have to buy you all new non-gothic clothes." Kitty announced.
"Ah don't have the money to buy a whole new wardrobe." Rogue tried to resist her pull.
"Not to worry. Remy also made a promised like when he was drunk. He's funding this shopping spree." Kitty beamed.
"WHAT!" Remy screeched.
Rogue looked over at him with a glint in her eye, "Hey, sugah, fork ovah the credit card! It feels so good to have company in misery."
"Not to worry, Rogue. He's coming with us!" Kitty informed. She began toward the garage pulling a more willing Rogue.
"Merde." Remy muttered reluctantly following behind them.
(And Scene! End flashback… whatever!)
Kitty sighed at the memory. After the shopping spree Rogue was much happier than she thought she would be. They both had other fun times together and Kitty wouldn't trade it for the world. When Rogue went missing for a month Kitty didn't know what to do. She literally went insane with worry and almost all her hope was lost. When they finally found Amara and she told them where Rogue was Kitty felt a new hope that she had been wishing for. She still can vividly see the image of Rogue in Remy's arms when they finally rescued her. She was battered and weak but she was still holding on. Kitty always admired Rogue for her perseverance. She had gone through so much more than Kitty could dream of dealing with but she always seem so strong and eventually got through it. But how much could a person take before they break. She didn't want to lose her friend and it always seemed as though she has to hold on tight to make sure she didn't lose Rogue.
Remy rushed into the War Room pulling Kitty from her thoughts, "Mes amis, have y' seen Rogue?" Remy asked anxiously.
"Shouldn't she still be in the Med Bay?" Kitty asked him.
"Non, she left a while ago. I had seen her in our room. She was soaked and runnin' a fever. I turned around for une seconde and she vanished!" Remy replied hurriedly.
"That's veird!" Kurt frowned. At that moment Marie and Chloe entered the room.
"Professor Xavier, I must talk to you, now." Marie told the Professor as she walked into the room.
"I assumed you have heard about the pending circumstances." Professor Xavier nodded toward her.
"Yes! I have to surrender myself. I will not let someone die because of me!" Marie cried.
"Calm down. We are not going to let Rogue die!" Xavier assured her.
"Dad! Jamie, Rahne, I want to come to meetings!" Chloe protested walking up to Logan with clenched fist.
"Not right now Chloe, we will talk about this later." Logan groaned.
"You need the antidote! I'm the only way you can get. I will surrender myself and Rogue will be saved." Marie stated.
"We don't know that. We don't know if we can even trust that guy." Logan highlighted.
"What is taking Mr. McCoy so long?" Kitty moaned.
"Kitty, patience is a virtue!" Piotr gave Kitty a half smile. Kitty glared at him in return.
"I'm getting a little hungry." Bobby complained.
"What did I say about talking Robert Drake?" Jubilee snapped. Bobby gulped.
"While you were looking for Rogue did happen to see if Rachel was still sleeping?" Scott asked Remy
"Non, the bébé's diaper was being changed so I ran the otha way." Remy admitted.
"But you can't sit back and just watch Rogue die!" Marie exclaimed. Before Xavier could reply back to her Jean and Hank walked into the room bringing everyone's attention to them.
"What did you find?" Kitty jumped out of her seat and walked up to them.
"Well, we are certain now there is a toxin in her blood stream." Hank confirmed sadly.
"How bad?" Remy asked.
"Bad." Jean confessed somberly. Remy felt his heart drop at her words. Kitty could feel a lump form in her throat. Everyone in the room fell silent at the bad news.
"Where is Rogue?" Hank asked looking around.
"I don' kno'. I been lookin' all ova de place fa her." Remy replied somberly.
"She couldn't have gotten too far." Jean said. Right on cue a BAMPH sounded above them. Someone came crashing down onto the middle of the table. Everyone looked to see Rogue appearing very miserable. She looked as though she had been in a shower with her clothes and slippers still on. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes seemed swollen.
"Ouch!" Rogue groaned. She looked around and saw everyone staring at her sudden appearance. "Hi." She greeted nasally.
"Rogue did you just teleport into the room?" Kurt asked her.
"Yeah." Rogue nodded uneasily.
"Okay, just making sure." Kurt replied still in shock.
"Professor! Something's wrong. Ah have no control of any of mah psyche's powahs!" Rogue said to him sounding very congested.
"Rogue you sound horrible!" Kitty exclaimed. Rogue was about to say something but she started coughing hysterically. All the metal in the room started swirling around her in mid air. She then phased through the table and fell to the ground.
"Ouch!" Kitty ran over and reached through the table where she fell and pulled her up.
"Rogue, when did this start?" Professor asked rolling in front of her.
"A few minutes ago. Everytahme Ah cough or sneeze Ah teleport, or phase, or shoot laser beams." Rogue informed.
"Laser beams?" Scott asked.
"Yeah, by the way we are going tah need tah remodel the kitchen." Rogue said awkwardly.
"That can wait." Ororo told her.
"Is dere any way y' can help her get control?" Remy asked the Professor.
"I don't know. She seems in control. The other powers come out when she coughs or sneezes. That very knew to me." Xavier folded his hands still looking attentively at Rogue.
"I had that problem when I was sick. I phased uncontrollably." Kitty stated.
"Yeah, I teleported whenever I sneezed when I had the flu." Kurt added.
"I think all mutants lose control of their powers when they are sick. Maybe Rogue is losing control of all her psyche's powers at the same time." Jubilee offered.
"That is it exactly." Hank stated, "Let's get Rogue dried up and then I will explain what is happening."
Rogue moved slowly from the table with Kitty's help. Whatever poison was working fast at destroying her body. Her joints were beginning to ache and the congestion in her chest was making it harder for her to breath. Being dripping wet wasn't helping either. She let out another sneeze teleporting her and Kitty out the War Room into the Library.
"Hmm, like this is going to be a difficult process keeping you in one room for a long time." Kitty said to her looking at her surroundings. Rogue nodded wearily before sneezing and sending them to another destination in the mansion.
20 minutes later…
"So what is the verdict?" Rogue asked Hank. She was currently sitting between Kitty and Kurt, both holding one of Rogue's hand. Kurt would teleport her back if she sneezed and Kitty would prevent her from sliding through her chair if she coughed. Rogue had on dry clothing that she finally retrieve from Remy and changed into after five minutes of no sneezing and coughing.
"Unfortunately, Rogue is infected with a real poison. It's called Abrin. The poison is made from grinding a plant seed only grown in the tropical rain forests of South America. Abrin is a highly lethal pollutant and it's usually used for biological warfare." Hank stated cautiously. (AN: Abrin exists. It's also very deadly. I'm just changing how it works to fit the story.)
"There are different ways the toxin can be acquired." Jean went on, "The way it affects the body depends on how it is attained. Since it was injected it will affect your lungs, brain, and heart. Right now you will feel like you have the flu. In mutants the flu usually affects your control over your mutation that's why you have been having trouble with your powers."
"Um, I don't want to hear anymore about the symptoms. It would just make me more nervous." Rogue affirmed calmly. Inside she was extremely scared for her life. She looked across the table where Remy was sitting. He stared back at her trying show hope in his eyes but she knew he was worried. She could see right through him.
"Very well, then." Beast nodded at her wishes.
"So how do we stop it?" Logan asked looking at Rogue.
"According to my research there is no known cure." Beast replied miserably. A melody of gasped could be heard throughout the room.
"Wait! How the hell does Deadpool have one then?" Kitty exclaimed wide-eyed.
"I'm not certain. My thought is that he brought the toxin on the black market in Brazil. There has been much of talk of the Black Market down there." Hank replied.
"Den we go ta Brazil and buy de antidote." Remy announced. He had no attention of buying the antidote. He was planning on taking it.
"I'm going with you! Brazil is my home country and I'm the only one here that can speak Portuguese." Roberto insisted.
"Are you sure?" Tabitha asked her boyfriend carefully.
"I will do anything at this point to help Rogue." Roberto replied giving her a reassuring look.
"I will go along also to ensure that you obtain the correct substance, Jean will be in charge of Rogue." Hank informed the others.
"What about Deadpool? What if you guys don't come back in time and he comes knocking at our front door?" Jubilee asked nervously.
"We will figure out a way to deal with him." Scott guaranteed her. However, he two was concerned about the critical circumstances.
"Gumbo, before you go can you give any information on Deadpool or how we can get some files on him." Logan said to Remy.
"Oui, search under his real name, Wade Wilson. Don' look de homme up in America either, y'll find not'ing. Look in Paris, France." Remy advised.
"Got it, bub." Logan went back to the computer to start a different search with the new information he just received.
"Ah think Ah need to lie down." Rogue got up from the table and left the room hurriedly. Everyone stared after not knowing what to say.
"Poor girl. She has a lot to deal with right now." Ororo sighed.
"This is all my fault." Marie began to sob.
"It's not y' fault. It's dat hybride Deadpool doin'!" Remy slammed his fist into the table and then left the room going after Rogue.
"We will get everything prepared and leave in 30 minutes." Hank said to Roberto. He then looked solemnly toward all the X-men, "We mustn't waste too much time. Rogue's life is in the balance and it's up to us to save her."
"Everyone is dismissed until further noticed." Xavier informed.
Xavier Mansion
Rogue's Infirmary Room:
Remy walked into the Infirmary room where he hoped Rogue would be. Sure enough she was there standing in front of her bed intuitively gazing upon the analog clock upon the wall across from her. Remy stopped in the middle of the room trying to figure out why she was looking at the clock.
"Ah told yah Ah wasn't talking tah yah." Rogue said him sensing his presence in the room.
"Dats to bad, chere. I'm here anyway." Remy shrugged staring at her. He could tell that she didn't mean what she said.
Rogue sighed and looked at him. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't see a reason to still be mad at him. She turned her attention back to the clock, "Have yah evah played this game on called the Death Clock?"
"Non, can't say I have." Remy replied scratching his goatee.
"It's a game where yah type in yer age, sex, and some othah info about yaself and the clock calculates the exact age and time yer going tah die. Then it starts counting down fa yah by the second." Rogue explained with cynical laugh.
"Dat sounds creepy, chere."
"It is. Ta know that exact time yer going ta die. It's just so damn creepy." Rogue replied pessimistically.
Remy walked up to her and turned her to face him, "Don' t'ink like dat, chere. I will never let anyt'ing happen ta y'. We've been thro' too much fa me to let y' die from some stupid poison."
Rogue's facial expression immediately turned from wry to fear. "Rem's Ah don't think Ah I can do this! Ah'm so scared." Rogue confessed timidly.
"I kno'. We are all scared. But I kno' y' chere. Y' neva give up. Y'er strong and y' don't let anything push y' around." Remy grasped her hand tightly.
"Ah'm so tired of being strong." Rogue replied weakly. She felt tears fall from her eyes that she was trying to hide since her powers began acting up. Remy pulled her into his embrace and let her cry freely on his shoulder.
"Y' need some rest, chere." Remy said after Rogue had quiet down. Rogue nodded and got into the bed. Remy cuddled up next to her.
"Rems, promise meh yah will be careful out there." Rogue said through quiet sniffles.
"I will, mon amour. And y' promise me dat y'll hold on till I get back." Remy kissed gently on her cheek.
"Ah will try." Rogue answered back.
"Vous savez je t'aime, bien?" Remy asked in French while he stroked her hair.
"Of course, yah nevah forget tah tell meh. Ah love yah, too." Rogue smiled. She could feel the tears forming in her eyes once again. She leaned closer to Remy closing her eyes. Remy watched her struggle to fall asleep. Every time he would make slight move she would jump and hold him tighter. He could see the sweat forming on her brow from her rising fever. Every once in a while should whimper as if the act of sleeping pained her. He couldn't help but hold her tight not wanting to let her go.
After a few minutes Hank walked quietly into the room. "Is she asleep?" He asked Remy knowing well that the man was awake. Remy looked up at him and nodded.
"The jet is fueled and ready for our departure." Hank informed him.
"She's in pain, Hank." Remy told him dolefully.
Hank frowned and walked closer to the bed. "Jean will be in momentarily with an ivy drip. I put some drugs in it to make her as comfortable as possible. We also have a ventilator on stand-by…"
"Ventilator?" Remy interjected worriedly. The sound of a ventilator did mean anything good.
"Indeed, when her breathing becomes labored she will need a ventilator to help her get more air into her lungs." Hank explained slowly.
"Mon Dieu!" Remy cringed and look down at Rogue's sleeping body. He heard her shallow breathing as she struggle to take quick breaths through her congestion.
"We are leaving now, Remy." Hank announced shyly. He could tell that Remy hated leaving Rogue but they had to get the antidote as soon as possible and the more they waited the less chance Rogue would have in surviving. Remy nodded and hugged Rogue for one last time. As he was releasing his hold on her she moaned and grabbed firmly unto his shirt.
"It's okay mon amour." Remy whispered into her ear. "I will be back wit' de antidote and make sure y' don' hurt no more. Jus' hold on fa' as long as y' can. Don' give up on moi, chere. I need you." Remy gently removed her hand from his shirt and laid it on the bed. He swept a strand of platinum hair from her face then leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Je t'aime." He whispered on final time before walking out of the room with Hank. They met and Kitty and Jean the hallway. Kitty had a miniature basin filled with water and a small white towel. Jean was wheeling an Ivy stand and carrying multiple medical supplies.
"Are you guys leaving now?" Kitty asked them. She had to decide to help Jean with anything possible. She also wanted to be there for Rogue since Remy would be gone for a while.
"Oui, petite." Remy nodded. Kitty noticed he didn't have his usually smile or glow in his eyes. Instead he looked dully ahead not really concentrating on anything in front of him. She figured he was destroying himself with worry.
"I will take good care of her, Remy. I will be by her side every minute until you get back." Kitty assured him.
"Merci, Kitty Kat." Remy thanked her and kept walking down the hall toward the jet hanger with only Rogue's well-being on his mind.
PLEASE REVIEW!
I didn't get to proofread because I'm going home for x-mas like right now! SORRY! My mom is going to kick my ass! I will try to update as soon as I can…
Next chapter- 24 Hours to Live: Part Duex