He had seen the girl leave the institute, clearly hurting. Remy could never resist a damsel in distress. Even if this one didn't look kindly on rescuing, something about her pulled at him. He had seen the aftermath of her final confrontation with Mystique. Betrayal by a parent – not so unusual. Smashing that parent to bits – a little more unexpected. Not that Remy blamed her one bit. But when he saw her stick out her thumb once she reached the highway, he knew it was time to step in. Hurtin', feelin' guilty, feelin' shame – those were all things Remy understood well. And he understood from the slump of her shoulders and the hang of her head that she wanted to be alone. But doin' something so stupid it was dangerous – powers or no powers – was another story. Besides, she wouldn't see him unless he wanted her to. So he trailed behind her on his bike, making sure he stayed a few car lengths back.
The sky was darkening when the final car dropped her off in a neighborhood known for its willingness to let the slimy underbelly of society roam about in broad daylight. Now, though, clouds were massing and there was a mean flavor to the night air. He kept out of sight, but he could tell as she reached the club that she had sensed someone following her. Her head came up, her steps quickened, she glanced around more. But Remy was a poor thief if he was going to be spotted by a mere girl. Of course, Rogue wasn't just a mere girl. A uniquely powerful mutant, though according to Magneto, she had barely scratched the surface of those powers. And uniquely beautiful, though she tried hard not to let it show.
And he was a damn poor thief if he hadn't noticed that there was a group of thugs who had been following her less subtly than him.
"Good t'ing I decide to keep an eye on you, chere," he muttered as the men entered the club.
He skirted the club quickly, checking the exit and the most effective paths away from the building, the hardest to follow. Then he pulled a deck out and shuffled it, waiting to charge the cards until he had a better understanding of the situation.
As he walked in, he saw the waitress take a wad of bills from the smallest of the black-clad men, then deliberately turn her head away as he dumped some sort of clear liquid into what must be Rogue's drink. The man swirled it gently and smiled coldly at the waitress. Remy's eyes blazed. The sort of man who would drug a woman's drink was the sort of man he had no qualms about dispatching. But these men obviously knew who they were dealing with, he saw, as the three of them tugged their gloves up and sleeves down. They weren't going to touch the fille, he realized. So what did they want?
"Alive," the leader mouthed. And Remy realized they wanted to capture her.
He circled around a half-wall of glass block, making sure he had a clear view of the girl, the thugs, the exit, and he began to charge the cards.
Rogue was watching the entrance warily, he saw. "Good girl," he murmured. "Smart fille." And then he saw her take a long, speculative drink, and he shook his head. "Prob'ly should'a stopped dat."
The men sat down, and Remy moved closer. He could see Rogue's pupils dilating, the black nearly swallowing up the green, though he couldn't tell if it was from the drug or the anticipation of the fight to come. He watched her tense, and with instincts born of a lifetime in the Guild, he moved out of the way. "…come with us easy or come with us hard…" he overheard the guy say, and a moment later saw the table fly into the chests of the men. Before he could reach her, one of the men had skirted the up-ended table and slammed a nearby chair into the girl. He upped the charge on the cards and moved towards her, noted she was slowing as a punch sailed past the jaw of the thug nearest her. Then she was hurtling through the air and landing in a heap at his feet.
"Not sure anything about de femme be easy," he said, smiling down at her. "Well, easy on de eyes, hein?"
"You've gotta be kidding me," she said, and then she passed out at his feet just as the leader swung at her with a drink tray. He blocked it and with a quick twist, sent the man staggering back several steps, eyes narrowing as he looked at Remy.
"Now, what all you yah-hoos want wit' dis pretty lil' t'ing?" he asked, gesturing to Rogue's prone form.
"None of your business, freak," came the growl. Remy tossed a card at him and he jumped back as it exploded, arcing red flame across the room. He sent three more in fast succession, gaining enough time to pick Rogue up and move her – well, dump her – closer to the door.
"But it be bidness?" he inquired, circling with the bo-staff in one hand, the cards in the other. He kept himself between Rogue and the men. A quick jab to the face with the staff, an elbow to the head, and the largest of the three was down. The other one pulled a gun and he and the rat-faced leader advanced slowly on Remy.
"Just business, man. We need the girl, that's all."
Remy appeared to consider this, stalling. "Who'd want her? She's jus' a kid." The lean little man moved closer to Rogue, the thug with the gun watching him nervously.
"What's it to you?" Suddenly, sirens wailed, came closer.
"Dane – cops!" shouted the gunman.
"Dane, eh? I'll be rememberin dat." A quick toss of the card, and the thug had dropped his gun, yelping in pain. Remy flicked the weapon out of the way with one end of the staff, and swung the other end at Dane's knees. Instantly felled, he pulled his own gun and pointed it towards Rogue's slumped body. "Try that again and I shoot her."
Remy tskd. "You ain't gonna kill her. You need her alive." He sensed the other thug trying to sneak up next to him – he lashed out with a roundhouse kick to the throat, and the beefy man went down like a redwood.
"Alive, yeah. Unhurt – that's another story." Dane's beady eyed glittered as he staggered to his feet.
"I would not be recommendin' dat p'ticlar course o'action." He stepped in front of Rogue again. "Lest you wind up missing arms and legs and the like." He splayed the glowing cards between his fingers. "De fille be under Gambit's protection now. Walk away, homme."
"No can do." Dane shot a cold look at him. "I got orders to take the girl."
"Have it your way, den," Remy said. He flicked the cards and Dane dove to avoid them. He came up firing, and the glass block wall next to Rogue shattered, showering the girl with shards of glass.
"Not any more, Mister Dane." He selected one card from the fiery deck, tossed the rest at Dane, who disappeared behind the wall of flame. The last card – queen of hearts, of course – he threw at the door. In the time it took for the charge to detonate and blow the door out, he had scooped up the bleeding, unconscious girl in his arms and vanished into the icy rain.
Author's Notes:
Thanks to all of you who have responded to the first two chapters with such kind words and encouragement. This is my first attempt at fanfic, and I've been filing this story with a great deal of trepidation. Your reviews have me excited about continuing!
I've seen a lot of people post notes on their work about things taking place in an alternate universe, etc. Assume for the sake of continuity that this takes place after Impact, but that it's an older Evo than we see on Kids WB – a little messier and (hopefully) more realistic take on teenagers in general.