CHAPTER 15

Roads and Revelations

D'you even know what yoah doin', girl?

That thought jumped inta mah mind jus' as that queasy grumblin' crept back inta mah belly fo' th' second time, feelin' like Ah was gonna lose th' lunch Ah jus' ate.

Ah walked down th' steps o' th' diner an' onta th' hot pavement outside. Th' scorchin' summer sun was jus' as sticky an' humid in mah psyche as it was in th' real world, seemed like.

What was it that Jeannie always used ta tell me?

"Your mind is like a piece of paper. You can bend it, cut it, rip it, twirl it, tear it. Make it go wherever you want it to go, do whatever you want it to do. Everything and anything is possible."

Anythin' is possible.

Ah smiled... Wondered if that still rang true.

Squintin' up at th' clear blue sky, Ah fixed mah eyes on th' blazin' heat. It was gettin' hotter than two rabbits screwin' in a wool sock. Takin' mah thumb an' mah index finger, Ah smushed down on th' li'l blindin' circle, which was causin' all o' th' roastin' weather. Down, down, down, Ah demanded, enjoyin' th' sweet drop in temperature. Even called up a li'l breeze ta cool th' mugginess off o' mah skin.

Aw, bless yoah li'l heart, Jeannie… All that trainin' actu'lly stuck.

Ah set mah left hand on mah hip, an' then glanced down at mah other hand. It was still glowin' prettily with Logan's healin' factor boppin' about. Reckon it was time ta face th' hard facts. Ah had absolutely no flippin' idea how ta transfer mah brother's power inta Ororo.

Out in th' real world, Ah talked a big game with ev'rybody, spewin' out this an' that with all th' damn confidence on Earth. But truth be told, Ah didn' even know if this cracked scheme was gonna work or not. Hate ta admit it, but Logan was right. Ah only had that one chance ta try it. An' well… We all knew how that ended…

Ah took a deep breath. Figured Ah'd cross that bridge when Ah got there. First things first, Ah needed ta find 'Ro.

"Ms. Ororo Monroe… oh where, oh where can ya be?"

Ah started tappin' mah fingers on mah hip an' looked around. Ah was standin' on a backcountry road, which was overshadowed by th' many large, shady trees on either side. It looked like it led ta th' middle o' nowhere. But it was mah mind, right? Mah rules, jus' like Jeannie said. Simply had ta make th' road go where Ah wanted it ta go.

An' make it th' color Ah want too, while Ah'm at it… Ah thought, shuttin' mah eyes an' concentratin'. When Ah opened them again, th' yellow brick road from "The Wizard of Oz" was laid out before me. Now, Ah didn' have any particular fondness fo' that movie or nothin'. Ah jus' really wanted ta see if Ah could pull it straight outta mah thoughts. Have ta admit, Ah was pretty proud o' mahself fo' doin it.

Out o' nowhere, a sharp, low whistle caught mah attention, an' Ah froze. It was comin' from th' trees ta mah right. Narrowin' mah eyes, Ah tried ta catch a glimpse o' who was up there, but all Ah could see were th' leaves dancin' in th' breeze. Ah felt th' hairs on th' back o' mah neck stand on end, an' ev'ry one o' mah senses snapped ta attention. Someone was watchin' me, spyin' on me.

"Gettin' a li'l jumpin' now, aren't you, chére?"a gravelly whisper blew so close ta mah ear that Ah actu'lly did jump a bit.

"Dammit, swamp rat!" Ah hollered, takin' a step back. "Ya scared th' livin' shit outta me!"Ah turned ta face him an' a tiny half-second hiccup caught in mah throat. Ah'd never tell Remy this, o' course, but th' sight o' him made mah heart thump jus' a li'l bit faster, made ev'ry last butterfly inside mah stomach flutter bad. Th' boy damn well knew how fine he was, but Ah sure as hell wasn't gon' feed his ego none. Even though this version o' Remy was only a psychic mem'ry, left over from when Ah'd absorbed him, it still had his charm, still had his good looks, an' still had those snarky wisecracks that he fo'ever let fly outta his mouth.

Shakin' his head, he made a soft tsk-tsk sound as he circled me. "Watch ya mouth, mignonne." Th' tone he used was stern, but Ah could tell that his eyes were laughin' at me. Ah was already plottin' thirty-seven diff'rent ways ta get back at him, th' majority o' which involved varyin' levels o' pain an' dismemberment.

"Should've stayed up there a li'l longer, sugah," Ah sassed him, hands on mah hips. "Ah could've made a joke about a priest, a rabbi, an' a Cajun stuck in a tree…"

Ah took a good, solid look at him then, an' Ah gotta tell ya, what Ah saw made mah eyes bleed. On any normal, God-given day, Gambit could walk through a room, an' easily have ev'ry person wonderin' at th' sultry je ne sais quoi in his demeanor. But th' fool that was in front o' me now? Let's jus' say he wasn't gonna be in line fo' no beauty pageants any time soon. His hair was way too long already reachin' past his shoulders an' goin' ev'ry which way it pleased. Would prob'ly need a road map ta straighten all that mess out. An' then addin' insult ta injury, th' boy was wearin' a worn-out pair o' jeans that had so many rips an' holes, was a wonder it didn' fall right off o' his frame. Telltale signs that this wasn't mah Remy. Ah swear, th' hair alone would've had me pitchin' a hissy fit with a tail on it fo' days on end.

He stepped closer ta me an' covered his hands over mine, which were still settled on mah hips. Ah'd be lyin' if Ah said Ah couldn't feel th' heat radiatin' between us. Could prob'ly start our own inferno if we wanted to. Scorch th' whole dang forest down.

Settin' mah attention back on Remy, Ah watched as he mused thoughtfully, "Is dat de joke where you an' me get carnal up in a tree?"

Ah sighed an' looked ta th' heavens. Oh Lord, help me. O' course that'd be th' direction he would steer th' conversation to. Seemed like th' boy thought o' nothin' else but sex, an' things related ta sex. "Yeah, that's real comfo'table, Cajun," Ah told him sarcastically. "Balancin' on a tree branch jus' ta let you have yoah way. Ah wouldn't mind that at all."

He threw me a crooked smile. "Always knew you were a bit kinky, mon coeur." Fin'lly noticin' mah hand, he probed, "New bling, chère?"

Ah nodded as Ah lifted th' still-glowin' aura. "Ah guess you could say that. It's Logan's healin' factor. Ah need ta bring it ta Ororo." Ah scanned th' lengthy yellow road, tracin' its windin' curves until they eventu'lly disappeared inta th' horizon. There was no one else in sight, far as Ah could tell. "Don' s'ppose you've seen her anywhere 'round here?"

Remy shook his head an' spread his arms out wide. "No one here in dis pretty li'l head o' yours but me. Jus' de way you like it." He rested his hands on mah hips once again, an' sauntered in real close. Dropped his voice ta that deep, smoky timbre he knows gets me all topsy-turvy inside, purrin' out smoothly, "Whatcha gon' do wit' me, mignonne, now dat you got me all t' ya lonesome?"

Th' boy had some nerve, constantly tryin' ta distract me from th' things Ah was in th' middle o' doin'. Ah smacked his cheek lightly, jus' enough ta make him drop his hands. "You cut that out now, y'hear? Behave yoahself, swamp rat." Ah ignored th' fake pout he was peltin' me with. Didn' care how cute it made him look. No siree. "What'd you do, Cajun, scare off all th' other psyches?"

Not that Ah was complain' much. A while back, when mah powers first popped up, mah head was pretty jam-packed, what with all th' extra people rumblin' ev'ry which way they could. Ah had ta be real careful about touchin' anybody. Spent th' better part o' a year covered head ta toe, scared o' exposin' too much o' mah skin. That was when mah head turned inta an unwelcomed jamboree, with more thoughts an' feelin's than Ah cared ta remember.

Thankfully, Forge rigged up th' power-suppressin' bracelet fo' me, an' Ah didn' have ta go through life collectin' other people's mem'ries in mah head. Well, 'cept o' course fo' a certain misbehavin' thief, who didn' listen when Ah announced Ah was takin' off th' bracelet, so he'd better not go sneakin' up on me none. Served him right ta get knocked out fo' a spell.

Th' Cajun in question shrugged his shoulders at mah inquiry, drawin' mah attention back ta him. "Like I said, chère, I'm here solo. Haven't seen no one in a while. But den, it's been a minute since ya last used ya powers, eh?"

"Actu'lly usin' 'em right now," Ah absentmindedly told him, once again assessin' th' country road Ah had created. Should have rustled up some sort o' street sign ta go along with it. Or maybe even a big ol' neon arrow, pointin' in th' right direction. Would've made things a whole lot easier. Turnin' t'ward Remy, Ah explained, "Outside mah head, Ah'm holdin' onta both Logan an' 'Ro's hands."

He chuckled beside me. "Should I be expectin' ya brother t' come chargin' at me any second now?" He glanced over mah shoulder, actin' as if Logan was goin' ta suddenly jump out an' ambush him.

"Prob'ly not. Ah left him in some cheesy diner back there."Ah motioned in th' general direction o' th' restaurant in th' distance. Kind o' seemed farther away than it should have been, considerin' Ah didn' walk that far earlier. "Logan's worried 'bout 'Ro more than anythin' else right now."

"Pourquoi? [Why?]"

Ah heard th' faint change that slid inta his tone, th' slight concern that colored his voice. Ah realized then that it'd been over a year since Ah had absorbed this version o' Remy. He had absolutely no idea what had gone on in th' past few days.

"Sugah... there was an accident," Ah said gently, takin' his hand in both o' mine. "'Ro was hurt."

His brow creased as he frowned. "But she's okay now, non?"

Ah couldn't help but look away. Even though this was merely a shadow o' Remy lingerin' in mah head, Ah still didn' like seein' any pain creep inta his eyes. He an' Ororo were extremely close, Ah knew. Informin' him that his best friend was in th' hospital, in a coma no less, wasn't 'sactly th' easiest thing fo' me ta do.

Didn' take him long though ta figure it out fo' himself. He connected th' dots pretty quick ev'rything from mah glowin' hand, ta mah lack o' answer, an' then back ta mah comment about Logan bein' worried. Ah could almost hear th' gears spinnin' in his head. He put two an' two t'gether, an' recognized how serious th' situation was.

"You need t' get Logan's healin' factor t' Ororo." His expression was tight, stiff. His words were more o' a statement than a question, but Ah nodded anyway. He gestured ta th' road ahead. "Den what're we waitin' for, chère? Let's go find her."

After takin' only a handful o' steps down th' trail, Ah admitted, "Remy, Ah need ta tell ya somethin'. Ah actu'lly don' know how ta find 'Ro. Ah mean, Ah know she's in here somewhere, roamin' about, but truthfully, Ah don' know how ta get ta her."

He stopped walkin' an' faced me. Despite havin' jus' heard th' bad news o' 'Ro's accident, he still put in th' effort ta smile fo' me. It was more o' a smirk, really, but he still joked all th' same, "Dat might be a bit o' a problem den, mignonne. But don' worry 'bout it none. I got faith in you. Let's jus' go wit' whatever you hear in ya head, d'accord?"

Mah eyebrow shot up at that. "What Ah hear in mah head?" Ah waved mah glowin' hand back an' forth dismissively, causin' it ta streak in th' air like a sparkler on th' Fourth o' July. "If you haven't noticed yet, Cajun, we are in mah head! An' Ah ain't heard a damn thing."

"Den maybe you ain't listenin' t' de right t'ing," he pointed out. Situatin' himself in front o' me, he prompted, "Close ya eyes, chère."

"What for?"

"'Cause I asked ya to."

Ah had mah doubts 'bout what he was up to, but Ah followed his instruction all th' same. Felt his hands loosely grip mah upper arms, an' then a moment later, Ah heard him scoff loudly. "Who you tryin' t' kid, belle? Quit ya peepin', an' shut dem eyes good."

"All right, all right…" Ah grumbled, fin'lly doin' what Ah had been told. Leave it ta th' swamp rat ta make sure Ah wasn't peekin'.

"Bien. Now, take a long breath." Ah heard th' sharp, steady intake o' air as Remy inhaled deeply, an' I imitated th' action. "Relax an' clear out all o' ya t'oughts… I'm gon' throw a bunch o' questions at ya. Jus' give me de first t'ing dat pops int' ya head. Comprenez vous? [Do you understand?]"

Ah nodded.

"What's ya fav'rite color?"

Mah eyes flew open, gawkin' at him like he was about as useless as a screen door on a submarine. "Ya hoodwinkin' me, right?"

Another arrogant smirk started curvin' on his lips. "C'mon now, petite. Eyes shut. Ya fav'rite color."

Ah relented an' closed mah eyes once more, replyin', "Forest green."

"Fav'rite food?"

"Fried chicken."

"Thanksgivin' or Christmas?"

"Christmas."

"Spring or fall?"

"Fall."

"Choc'late or vanilla?"

"Choc'late."

"What do you do t' decompress?"

"Chill out at a quiet lake."

"Best gift you ever got?"

"Th' baby penguin plushie ya gave me last year." Ah didn' have ta see his face ta know that he was grinnin' from ear ta ear. Could well-nigh feel th' smug satisfaction that was rollin' off o' him. Th' boy already assumed th' sun came up ev'ry mornin' jus' ta hear him crow. Like Ah said, no good would ever come out o' makin' his noggin bigger than it already was.

"Last song dat got stuck in ya head?"

"Th' annoyin' gum commercial that you an' Ah both hate."

"First place 'Ro would go to?"

"Her garden." Seconds later, Ah could have sworn th' scent o' bloomin' flowers were fillin' up mah senses.

"Chère, open ya eyes."

Ah did, an' then let out a small gasp. We were suddenly standin' in front o' a fancy golden gate, which someone had left wide open. Th' picturesque view unfolding on th' other side was burstin' with ev'ry plant, tree, an' blossom Ah ever knew, an' more than a handful that Ah didn' know or had never seen b'fore. Th' sweet smell o' nature reached out ta me, an' Ah had no problem at all answerin'. Without hesitation, Ah filed past th' gate, only ta stop short after two or three steps.

"Hello, little one."