Chapter Seven: Here Comes the Sun

In less than twenty-four hours, the Leader's plan would automatically go into action, whether or not he was still alive. Rogue doubted he was dead, completely, but knew that Phoenix was now in some sort of control. Rogue knew things about those two, knew things about the plan, knew things about everyone that people doubted she could know. Her powers were more far-stretched than they wanted to believe.

Now wasn't the time to laze about. X-Force had long ago left the conference room for their beds, trusting that Rogue and Shadowcat would remain in their quarters. Trusting where it's foolish to give.

Shadowcat was in bad condition, her fever spiking and night terrors waking her at odd intervals. Wisdom would be near death by now. Rogue had thought it would take several days for the effects of separation to get this bad. She was wrong. She was right. Normally, it would have taken several days. Phoenix was amplifying the link, making it worse. Rogue had no recourse but to speed up her own schedule. Leaving Shadowcat in her sweaty and rumpled bed, Rogue slowly returned to the conference room where they'd been questioned. Xavier remained in there.

Going over the files of the last three years, seeking clues that could have led them to finding the X-Men, but had been ignored or overlooked. Surely, there had been something. Rogue smiled out of the darkened hallway. Then, she continued on, knowing for what she searched, but not able to detect where it was.

As she turned the corner, instinct had her stopping second before she would've bumped into one of X-Force. Gambit to be clear. He stared at her, his eyes hooded except for the surprise to find her wandering the halls of Avalon.

"Gambit guess when the Rogue said not to trust her, the Rogue meant it?" He smiled a slow, lazy utterly charming smile that had no affect on Rogue whatsoever.

"Ah usually say what Ah mean."

"Can Gambit ask where you're going?"

"Gambit can ask," Rogue replied, walking around him and continuing on the corridor. With a brief flare of power, she found a suitable alternate to find, thus covering her tracks. "Would ya like to join me for some tea?"

Gambit kept his observations to himself and walked alongside her towards the cafeteria, which was right around the next corner. He knew that hadn't been where she was going, but he wasn't sure why. "Gambit would prefer cognac, but he take what he get."

With a few minutes of preparation, Rogue had her tea and Gambit had his coffee (alcohol was not allowed on Avalon). They sat at one of the tables near a window into space and spent a few minutes studying one another.

Gambit noted that she'd aged well. Her hair was longer, to her waist now, and the bold streak of white that dominated had apparently become slightly larger. Her eyes were still the smoky grey he remembered, but her skin was now naturally pale instead of augmented with make-up. She hadn't gotten taller, which hadn't been needed since she'd been tall for a girl in the first place. She had an air of confidence she hadn't had before. It made everything about her slightly brighter. Whereas before, he could restrain himself from reaching out and touching, now, he didn't know if he could handle touching.

Rogue studied him as well. She'd seen pictures of him from the Citadel's security monitors, since all mutant activity was of interest to the Leader. His hair was the same length, his body slightly leaner and harder. He had a scar cutting through his eyebrow that hadn't been there before, from the fight in Argentina, no doubt. His hands were calloused and rough from years of fighting and using them too hard. His eyes, the same color, but colder. Mentally, he was the same old Remy.

"Tell me, Remy...why did ya seek me out?"

Gambit smiled. "Remy didn't seek you out; he merely stumbled upon de belle in idle walk. Good for me, non?"

Rogue smiled. "It's not nice to lie."

"Remy don' lie."

"Magneto asked ya to talk to me."

Gambit swallowed. She'd obviously read his mind and garnered that bit of knowledge. "I t'ought you said you weren' no mind reader?"

"Ah said Ah wasn't of the caliber needed to help Shadowcat. Ah never said Ah wasn't one at all."

"What happened to you, chère, that made you like this?"

Rogue smiled bitterly. "Many things, mon sir, many things. So, how long are ya to keep me occupied?"

"Mags say it only take ten minutes."

"To scan my mind, and deduce if Ah'm a threat?"

"Oui."

"Magneto isn't as stupid as Ah thought."

Kitty rose in the dreams, seeking to protect her soul from the demons. They chased at her, wearing the faces of her friends and she didn't know what it meant. She craved something she didn't know, and in the dark that craving echoed and became stronger. A man called to her, in pain, as he was surrounded on all sides. Lightning forked out and struck at him, pain from all sides, pain that came to her by association. He screamed and she screamed with him. She hadn't known the price of freedom that he would have to pay for her. She wasn't sure she'd have done anything different.

Pete's blue eyes were in the darkness, but they no longer sparked at her. In the dark, he was still and silent. Dead. Kitty cried for him, cried to him, and cried at the shadowy figures that surrounded him. Her world was crumbling and her mate was dead. What was she to do?

"Katya?"

Voices from above and the light calling her back to reality. This was reality. It wasn't here, it wasn't there, but it was somewhere. Peter Wisdom was dead. Her fault.

"Shadowcat?"

Fingers are her arms, pinching, reminding her of the beginning, of the pain of genetic manipulation. With a wrench of her arm, she was out of the stranger's grip, the dream's hold, and wide awake and weak. Her eyes opened and she stared at the large male figure beside her bed.

"I'm sorry, Katya. I heard you from the hall. You sounded in pain." Russian accent means it could only be Piotr Rasputin, Colossus.

Shadowcat started to speak, but her throat was so dry it came out a croak. Piotr picked up the cup of water beside her bed, and sat down near her to assist her with drinking it. Her hands shook so badly she couldn't hold the glass. She was so weak that the meager hold she had on his hand that held the glass could have been a ghost. All these things, Piotr took in and noted, and worried. He was a kind man, who cared for all beings and creatures. To see such a small and fragile looking girl in such pain hit nerve endings in him he didn't know he had.

Finally, Shadowcat spoke. "Who is Katya?"

Piotr grinned sheepishly. "It is your name in my language."

"Kitty?"

"Da," Piotr affirmed.

"My name is not Kitty."

"Is that not what you were called all your life?"

"It was a nickname I had several years ago among certain people. It is not who I am. Not anymore."

Piotr nodded and set the glass of water aside. "Your real name is Katherine?"

Shadowcat nodded, pulling her legs close to her chest so that she could make herself as small as possible. Some instincts could not be curtailed.

"May I call you that? Or perhaps, Kate?"

"I am called Shadowcat."

"That is so formal. Surely, you would not mind?"

Shadowcat thought on it. "You may call me...Shadow?"

Piotr laughed. "That is not what I had in mind."

Shadowcat thought on it some more. If she was to truly remove all vestiges of mutate from her life, then acquiescing to a new name was part of it. "You may call me Kate."

Piotr nodded. "It fits you."

And it did. The last three years had not been kind to Shadowcat, and it showed. Lines of maturity were at the corners of her eyes, eyes that were as blank and cold as a cloudless day's sky. Her face was so without emotion, she could have been a statue. Looking down, Piotr noted small bruises and burns and scars on her arms. Some healed, some not. It was the large and painful looking scars that wrapped around her wrists that garnered his attention.

"What are these?" Piotr asked, gently lifting her hands and looking at the scars.

"They're from the Chamber." He looked up in question. "Where the genetic manipulation took place. It's a painful process, so many struggle, and need to be shackled. I fought the shackles and I harmed myself."

"It looks painful."

"I'm told I almost severed the veins."

Piotr nodded, and started to rise. A glimpse of scar on her neck had him staying. "And that?"

Shadowcat lifted her hand and felt the beginning a long deep scar that went from her neck all the way down her spine. "That's where the Chamber began the manipulation."

"The genetic manipulation?"

"Yes. They open my spine and started there. From there, the changes were spread throughout my body."

At Piotr's request, she turned and raised her shirt, showing him what she meant. The scar was precision straight. Ragged too. They hadn't done a good job of closing. It was still pink as if fresh, even though the operation had been done three years ago. "It hurts." It wasn't a question, but Shadowcat nodded anyways. Piotr stared at the back of her neck, before briefly laying a kiss at the nape. "I'm sorry."

"You needn't apologize for pain you didn't cause," Shadowcat said matter-of-factly, lowering her top and settling back into bed. As she did, a streak of pain ran from the crown of her head to her feet and back again. She stiffened, and bit her lip.

"What is it?"

"Pain. I'm fine. I am mutate. Pain is weakness. Mutates have no weakness." It came out so perfunctory that Piotr could tell she'd said it many times.

"Shall I call Dr. McCoy?"

"He could do nothing. I can only wait for Rogue to return."

Piotr nodded. "She is with Gambit."

Shadowcat eyed him. "How do you know?"

He ducked his head. "I heard Magneto ask him to distract her while he performed some scans."

"Of Rogue?" He nodded. "She will not like that."

"Magneto feels it must be done. He does not trust you."

Shadowcat smiled, old muscles aching in disuse. "He shouldn't."

"I trust you."

"Why?"

"I see something in you, Katya. I do not believe the others are looking deep enough."

"You see nothing."

Rogue smiled over the cards, watching as the Cajun's tell showed her that he was bluffing. Poor boy. Probably didn't even realize that when he lied his eyes glowed a bit brighter. Rogue really didn't need a tell, as Gambit's intentions were plain to a telepath, even if she wasn't a natural one.

"Ah raise ten Oreos."

Remy smiled. "Check. Show me what you got, chère?"

Rogue grinned. "Royal flush."

Remy's smile slipped away in disbelief. "Dat's the fourth one you've gotten, woman! I t'ink you cheat!"

"Ah didn't deal, Remy, ya did. If anyone is cheatin'..."

"You a devious woman, Rogue. Devious."

She laughed, and enjoyed herself far more than she had for years. She'd forgotten what she'd been doing before, and was just idling now. Magneto had finished his scans over half an hour ago. Rogue had felt them, having more experience with detecting subtle invasions than most. Rogue also sensed that Piotr was with Shadowcat, but that was something her friend could handle.

"Another game, Cajun?"

"I wish, chère. Too late for moi. Gambit got training in de morning."

Rogue pouted. "Party pooper."

Remy laughed and began to gather the cups and cards. Storm would kill him if he left a mess in her kitchen. "Time for bed for de Gambit...but if you like, chère, you can join me."

"Ya always was a charmer, Remy." Rogue smiled as she joined him at the sink and dried the cups he washed. The dim lighting of the kitchen made everything seem mysterious. Seem worthy.

Remy grinned and breathed lightly on her ear as he leaned over her to set a cup on the drainer. "I charm you, Rogue?"

"Ya charm everyone, Cajun." Rogue let him stand close, enjoying the contact that was most definitely not her mate.

Remy turned the water off and dried his hands on a towel. He wasn't playing anymore, his face serious and considering. Rogue adjusted her temperament to match. "So, you're charmed by me?"

Rogue pulled the towel from his hands, and turned from him, drying her hands as she started to walk away. "You could say that."

Remy grasped her arm, and she allowed him to pull her back, fitting her back to his front, as his head rubbed the side of her's. "Remy t'ought of you. Dese last three years. You and me, we got unfinished business."

"We always did. Doesn't mean it will get finished, now or ever," Rogue replied lightly, not letting it show that she'd thought of him as well. A girl's crush had taken three years to bloom into the only form of love she'd ever known was for herself and herself only.

"Maybe I want it to finish, chère. Ever t'ink of dat?"

Rogue turned in his arms, enjoying the play of shadows on his angular face. She leaned up, brushed her lips on his, and used his brief moment of freezing to slip free and walk to the door. Once there, she paused. "Ah've thought of it, but there are things to be done, Gambit. Things that have been done. Ah can't think of myself until all my friends are safe. Ah'm not near selfless enough to stray."

Yay. New chapter! I had serious doubts as to whether I would ever continue this story, but after recent events, I feel I'm in touch with the characters enough that I can. I hope to have a new chapter each week.