CHAPTER 3:
INVESTIGATION
The smell of blood put a smile on Lyla's face. She hates to admit how alike she is to her biological father, but, in instances like this, she understands.
Perched on top of a rooftop in downtown Bayville, Lyla overlooked Malakai stepping out of the shadows.
Her, Malakai's dark eyes pulsed with excitement, as she tapped the boy on the nose with her gloved finger, "You bombed our party."
The prey in question hung upside down wiggling to get free.
Malakai wiggled her finger with a shake of her head, "I wouldn't do all that if I were you. You see, my partner could easily lose her grip and drop you."
He stopped immediately.
"You bombed our party, why?" Malakai asked again.
The boy didn't answer.
Lyla hoisted him up pushing the slack on the rope under feet.
"If you don't speak, she will raise you higher. I learned you are afraid of heights, aren't you, Dylan?"
His eyes widened with shock. He realized how dire his current predicament truly is.
"What say you?"
Once more, he chose silence.
Unbothered, Lyla pulled again.
Malakai leaned against the brick wall, checking her manicure, "I have all night Dylan. You, you do not. I would save yourself and talk."
Sweat mixed with the blood on his soft cheek. Pretty soon, tears will add to the mix.
"Wait! Wait!" Dylan started wiggling some, "I'll talk! Just, wait!"
He sighed, "I was hurtin' for some cash. Money was wired to my account with instructions to take a bag to some party. I would disguise myself as a bartender and drop the bag behind the bar. That was it!" Malakai glanced at the rope to see if he was telling the truth. Seeing as he hadn't moved she moved on, "Alright, how did you know it was a bomb?"
"I didn't know it was a bomb. I was instructed not to look in the bag."
Lyla pulled.
"Okay! I looked in the bag! I am curious!"
Lyla listened to his heartbeat and concluded she won't kill him. He's a stupid kid trying to earn extra cash. It wasn't her place to judge him on that, it's her place to catch the bastard who's too much of a coward to do their dirty work.
"You left the bag on the ground and left?!"
"I panicked!"
He cried, tears finally emerging.
Lyla heard enough.
She, slowly began to put him down, when a gust of wind blew past Malakai's ear straight into their prisoner.
Wonderful, Lyla grumbled to herself. When the rope began to slip from her hands.
Shit.
She grabbed it last minute and planted her feet on the ground, making sure she doesn't get thrown over the side. Sure, she will easily survive but she is in no mood to put herself back together. It's an annoying process.
Tying him to a satellite dish, Lyle peered over the side, "let me guess, a sniper?"
"Yup!" Malakai shouted back.
"Yah know, yah don't have to shout, Ah can hear yah perfectly fine."
She didn't want to kill him but the Queens will be okay with this outcome so they could move on.
"Call the cleaners, get this mess sorted out."
"And what are you going to do?" Malakai asked.
"Tell my sister the wonderful news."
Rogue watched Remy sleep.
Odd gesture, staring at someone in their vulnerable state but she can't help it, he's too gorgeous. His strong jaw relaxed as his chest calmly rose and fell. Lazy, he brushed his long hair off the bridge of his nose and then went to reach for her on her side of the bed.
"Y' watchin' me mon cheri?" his voice husky from sleep.
Moving over the bed, Rogue nodded, "Ah am."
"Plottin' how is y' gonna kill me?"
Rogue snorted.
Though, she's thought about it a few times. Look at him reader, he's a gorgeous man. Strong body due to the training of becoming a thief, perfect teeth when he smiles, shaggy auburn-brown hair, and beautiful eyes. Well, reader, you can't see the eyes, but when you do, they're hypnotizing.
Draws her right in every time.
She's a jealous girl not only because he's gorgeous but because he's an attention whore. A charming dick and each time he steps out of line Rogue plan his death.
"Right now, Ah ain' plannin' yah demise." She smiled.
He palmed her thigh and yanked her under the covers with him, "Good to know mon amour, now let's get back to bed."
She didn't have to be told twice. Resting her head on his chest, Rogue took a deep breath, contempt.
A whisper of a knock landed on her door and she prayed it was a nightmare.
"If yah dyin' talk to Pietro!" she mumbled throwing her covers over her head.
"Uh…Rogue…"
Remy snickered and kissed her forehead while she began to repeat herself, "If yah dyin'."
"Ya sister is here."
Oh, you gotta be fuckin' kiddin' me! She shouted in the depths of her head. Lyla is always a cock blocker. For once, she would love to spend time with Remy alone without a crisis.
Throwing her covers from over her face, she growled, "Ah'm gonna kill her."
Remy turned on his side, "make it quick honey, I'm gonna miss y'."
Okay, she retracts her earlier statement. Rogue is plotting his demise.
She threw on a robe from her side of the bed and slammed the door on her way out of the room. If this isn't important Rogue will happily kill her little sister and then wait for her to come back to life and kill her again.
Refusing to turn on any lights, Rogue made her way down the creaky old steps toward the living room. Once hell freezes over when she and Lyla makeup, she'll have her renovate mama's boarding house. Until then, Rogue will make due with simple fixes here and there where she doesn't have to spend a fortune.
In the living room, void of light, Lyla sat on the leather brown couch, her arm spanned on the back of the couch. Her creepy, unsettling, and emotionless honey-brown eyes followed Rogue into the living room. They, Lyla's eyes creep her out. It reminds her of mama's coldness and Victor's tenacious anger.
Her back pressed against the cool fireplace, and Rogue crossed her arms.
"We found the bomber."
"And yah came all this way to tell me?" Rogue snapped.
"The bomber went to BAU (Bayville University)."
"Ah'm guessin' he ain' no bigot?"
Lyla nodded.
Smart. Whoever hired the kid knew that they're impressionable. They're easily talked into making more money for reasons unknown. Use a kid, wave cash in his face, and try and kill him at the party to keep their hands clean. In this case, the kid survived.
"And yah killed him?"
"No."
Confirms it, then.
The mastermind behind the plot wanted to tie up loose ends. Poor kid never saw it coming. They never do.
Lyla threw her letterman jacket, from her soccer years, on. If memory serves Rogue correctly, Lyla was one of the best soccer players in the U.S. to the point she was invited to play in the Olympics. Of course, Irene and Mama said no. they made an argument about Lyla being better than every human on the team and she can do much better.
Of course, at the fruitful age of 14, Lyla believed them. And she came to the realization they were wrong.
Shocker.
"Yah don't know who hired him?"
"The who is yah alley? Ah figure out the where." Lyla made her way out the door but paused, "Tell Remy Ah said hi."
Rogue rolled her eyes as she watched her little sister make her leave.
Tomorrow.
She will share what she has learned tomorrow. Right now she has a Cajun upstairs in desperate need of attention.
Children running around and out of school for the day made Rogue grumble. She wished the meeting could take place between her and Xavier. No one else had to get involved. She could get out, no fuss, no muss. Yet, she keeps forgetting Professor Charles Xavier is a petty bald snake.
Yeesh, sorry reader, Rogue doesn't hate kids. Quite the contrary. She loves kids. Rogue and Remy talk about having two, a boy and a girl. When the time is right, of course. Children running around the grounds is the issue. The issue is dealing with the people who teach said children. The X-Men develop these young minds and she couldn't feel sorrier for them and their parents. But, she digresses.
Stepping on the doorstep of the double glass doors, Rogue shoved her hands in her bomber jacket pockets. Which reminds her, she needs a new one. The current one still smells like beer from the bar fight a few weeks back.
"Rogue!"
"Jesus, Kitty!" Rogue shouted back, hating when she and Kurt popped out of nowhere. No warning.
She, Kitty giggled. Grabbing hold of Rogue, they phased down to the professor's office.
They aren't by any means close. However, she tolerates the valley girl from Flint, Michigan because she and Lance Alvers are dating. Someone needs to support them and it's not the X-Men. Kitty's afraid they won't understand and she is right. They don't or won't. The X-Men are hypocrites, constantly re-writing the rules to justify when they break them.
As long as Lance knows when to shut off his feelings for Kitty during a mission and or a clash with the X-Men, then she doesn't care what they do behind closed doors.
Arriving in the office, she wasn't surprised to see the A-Team X-men splintered around the room. Her favorite 'it' couple sitting on the couch, smiling up at her. Deep down she knows they're talking shit in their minds.
It's their weird telepathy bond.
"Rogue," Jean started, earning a roll of Rogue's eyes, "It's so good to see you."
Rogue walked deeper into the room draping her coat over the side of the lone couch.
Jean Grey, also known as Ms. Perfect, is the daughter of a doctor and one of the most powerful mutants in the world. In high-school, she was the valedictorian, captain of the soccer team, cheer team, and debate team. On top of being perfect already, she continued and became the school's president and homecoming queen, along with participating in every school event. At the X-Mansion she's the biggest role-model by becoming a straight A-student and the co-lead of the team incase Scott is indisposed or dead.
One could hope, huh?
"Yah can cut the act shugah."
Jean kept the smile on her face, shaking her head, "Rogue, dear, I am not kidding. You know I have no quarrel with you."
"Tis is true."
Their issues were settled years ago after she kissed Duncan under the bleachers. Which, we do not speak on readers. Let's move on.
"What's this meetin' about Stripes?" Logan asked hopping on top of Xavier's desk.
Rogue took a moment to pour herself some tea as well as drown it with sugar and honey. Last time it was just too bitter.
"As y'all know, Xavier and Ah talked last week."
The others watched her take a sip of her tea, waiting for her to continue.
She did not.
"Okay and what happened?" Evan Daniels asked from behind her.
Porcupine is what she calls him.
His powers involve him having bone spikes poke through his skin. Quite gross, if she's being honest.
Daniels is impatient to the point he almost blew up her brother because he didn't trust Kurt. A long story reader. If you want to catch up season 1 of their evolutionary journey*. He is a free thinker. All he wants to do in life is skateboard and pick up chicks. Simple life for a basketball star.
"Oh right, what am Ah thinkin' Ah have new information for y'all."
"How'd you get it?" Cynical Cyclops, untrusting as always.
Pretty boy, Scott Summers, aka the field leader of the X-Men poked his bird chest out, with a huff. She can't believe she ever had a crush on the guy. (Again season 1).
"Ah thought Xavier was gonna be here," She chose to ignore him and his stupid ass questions.
Scott whispered, "Professor Xavier to you."
"Ororo and Chuck are away in D.C. Kurt is in Germany visiting his family so this is who ya got kid," Logan grunted.
Rogue mentally cursed, "The bombing happened in Miami, we all know. Someone hired a student from BAU to commit the act"
"Why not use a student closer to the situation?"
"To cover the mastermind's track."
Evan rubbed the back of his neck, "Was he supposed to get out alive?"
Awe, look at the X-Men asking the right questions for once.
Instead of answering him, Rogue" continue past his question, "We tracked him back to Bayville and learned he was under strict instruction not to open the bag left at the bar in the hotel."
"Like, when you tell someone not to do something—"
"—they're going to do the opposite." Scott finished for Kitty, "Where is the bomber now?"
Rogue decided to take another sip of her tea.
Logan perked a brow, "well?"
"Now will y'all look at the time," She glanced down at her empty wrist and gathered her jacket.
Scott narrowed his eyes, "he's dead isn't he?"
"Yup."
"You do it?"
"Nope."
Kitty snapped her fingers, "listen, it like makes sense. He wasn't supposed to live. Like the mutants at the hotel, he was supposed to be blown to pieces but he left after he saw what was in the back-pack. Since he was already paid he thought he was free and came back here?"
Rogue came up with that conclusion two seconds after Lyla mentioned it to her but good on them for figuring it out.
"Sorry to bother you Mr. Logan, but you need to see this!" one of the students, Amara Aquila, Selene's nice clicked the TV on behind Xavier's desk.
Wasn't the picture behind him a portrait of himself? And now it's a television, what in tarnation.
"Good afternoon, I am Trish Tilby coming to you live outside of a mutant recreation center." Her eyes were dimmed and filled with tears. "Or what was a recreation center. 10 children, mutant and human were killed this afternoon, 25 more injured. The investigation is ongoing. Janet."
Janet, a blonde haired and blue eyed bombshell sighed, "tragic news indeed, we will take you now to Senator Robert Kelley."
Growling not in the mood for bigotry comments, Logan shut off the screen and then turned to Rogue.
"Where do we start?"
Rogue smirked, "We will start with the college talk to anyone who knows Dylan Hodge." She didn't want to mention the kid's brother is a known mutant hater who tried to kill one of her friends more than once. There are plenty of suspects out there.
The X-Men are to go after Robert Kelly while she and her team pay Cameron Hodge a visit.
"Let's catch this sonabitch so we can go back to hating each other like regular rivals do."
BAU: Bayville University
*Season 1 of X-Men: Evolution: Middleverse
