Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution or its characters. Just my OC, Molly Callum/Creature, and any original characters/background characters that may pop up from time to time.
The next day was a slow morning. Remy's sleep hadn't been pleasant, so he woke up around nine, which was late for him.
"Baby? You feeling okay?" Molly was sitting at the kitchen table with coffee. Breakfast had been long over with. It was just her. Remy assumed Violet was in her office.
"Feeling okay? Yeah. My mental state, not so much," He grabbed a chair and slumped over the table like a man without a country. He'd played the scene from the night before over and over again in his head the night prior. His dad working with Julien? How? Why? There had to be more to it than just money.
"I know it's upsetting, but like your mom said, we'll get it sorted," Molly said, "She called your dad earlier and he's coming over after work to talk about it."
"Well, that's a start," Remy said, "I'm not sure whether to be mad at him or what."
"Your feelings are your feelings. There's no 'right' way to feel in this situation. You had a million things coming at you at once," Molly reasoned, "We'll talk it out like adults and go from there. But I wouldn't blame you if you were mad. Julien sounds like a sleaze." Molly had heard plenty of stories about the guy.
"That's putting it lightly," Remy said, "The guy is psycho."
He was an assassin for starters, raised from birth to kill people for hire. His sister Belladonna had been a childhood friend and there had been a lot of talk about her and Remy marrying to unite the two factions, but nothing ever came of it. As for Julien, he'd never liked Remy. Not just out of rivalry, but as a person. Remy wasn't going to tell Molly, but Julien had tried to kill him in their teenage years on more than one occasion, but many men had. To say nothing of the other rippers. Julien's personality could be summed up in three words angry, manipulative, psycho. Not the greatest combination of personality traits. Remy didn't want him anywhere near his family, but that was the breaks. He knew he would do everything to keep his new family safe.
"Sorry to interrupt," The chef, a thin older man with a mustache, came into the kitchen,
"But would master Remy like some breakfast?"
"'Master Remy' would love breakfast," Remy smirked, "Bacon, eggs, and toast sounds fine. Don't trouble yourself." Hey, if the guy was there, take advantage of it.
Remy had breakfast and Molly killed time playing with her phone. After plenty of time had passed, Violet came down. "I'm sorry to keep you both waiting. Even when I try to take time off, things still need my attention. Molly, when you're ready, we can go to the spa.
Remy, you can stay here or Wethersbee can drive you around town."
"Uh, I'll think about it, thanks," Remy said. Maybe he did need to get out and get his mind off things. He wasn't sure.
"I just have to run to the bathroom and I'm all yours," Molly said, leaving the room.
"I called Henry this morning-" Violet said.
"I know, Molly told me he's coming over tonight," Remy said, "I'm still not sure about what went down last night. It's all confusing."
"I'm sure," Violet said, "Henry always has a good reason for doing things, but sometimes even he can be a bit naive. He might think it's all nothing when he could get hurt in whatever he's gotten involved in."
"Or worse," Remy said grimly.
"I'm ready," Molly said, seeing the looks on their faces, "Okay, who's funeral are we planning?"
"Sorry. We'll be back soon. Wethersbee has the card, get lunch wherever you want, Remy." Violet pat his shoulder, warm but not overly familiar. They were still on a first name basis after all.
"Thanks. Sounds great," Remy flashed a smile.
He grabbed an apple off the table to finish off breakfast and got ready. He found Weathersbee dusting a lamp near the foyer. "What's up, hommes?"
"I'm dusting."
"Nice job there. Violet said you're available to chauffeur me around for a few hours," Remy said, his spirits lifted again at the thought of going out for some fun, "And have a little fun with the credit card. Lunch or whatever."
"Whatever pleases you, I'm at your service," Weathersbee folded up the dustrag and put it in a nearby cleaning cart.
"Alright. I'm ready when you are, monsuier," Remy quipped.
Ten minutes later, Remy was riding comfortably in the back of a slick imported Italian car. Leather interior, seated five people comfortably. The kind of car a man would trade his girl for, easy. "Where to first, sir?" Weathersbee asked.
"Fabien's bar," Remy said. Everyone in New Orleans knew it.
"But...but that's in the slums! The despot! It's where the riff-raff and their ilk go," Wethersbee didn't hide his shock and disgust.
"Yeah, I know. You don't have to go inside with me, just get me there. And if it's not an option, give me the keys and I'll drive there myself and you can wait," Remy insisted.
Wethersbee sighed. "Fabien's bar it is then."
It was like any bar on its surface. Dark lighting, men drinking before noon, women hanging out looking for their next meal ticket, and beautiful stained glass windows that looked out of place. The menu was tiny, so the seating area was barely existent. Four red seated booths, eight barstools. However, it had that New Orleans charm that other places lacked. Unlike other bars, it was impeccably clean. You could eat off of the brown and white tile floor and dust didn't exist, even on the green lampshades hanging on the vaulted ceilings. The alcohol was plentiful and the jazz and blues playing on the jukebox was soft and not overwhelmingly loud, like other places.
Remy knew this was where Guild members went to hang out and get information. He'd been in here more times than he could count. Remy hoped, hard, that Jean-Luc wouldn't be around the place, but if he was, there was no getting around it.
"Is that Remy I see? Dang, kid, you never fix those eyes of yours?" A deep, raspy voice called out to him. Jack 'the knife' Samuels. Not unlike the song "Mack, the knife". Six-four, bald, and more muscled than a gorilla on steroids. White shirt, plain jeans.
Remy waved, going up to the man and the rest of the group at the far end of the bar.
Joey two-fists. Unruly dark hair and a scarred face.
Tim Smalls. Thin as a rail, olive skin.
Monty Bicardi. Huge guy with platinum blonde hair, but a teddy bear.
Alexi "Steel" Sokka. The only woman actively in the guild. (Tante Mattie didn't count, being the housekeeper.) Inuit-Japanese, She had long brown hair she wore in a braid and a noticeably muscular build. Average height. She'd joined after Remy left. Skilled with knives and shuriken, excellent at lockpicking. He'd met her in a random run in a few visits ago.
Coincidentally, these were a few of the people who didn't treat Remy like a traitor for leaving the guilds for a better offer or abandoning his roots.
"What brings you this way?" Tim asked.
"Family business. I found my real parents, but last night things didn't go so well," Remy said, "I need to know what Julien is doing and why my dad is working with him. We're gonna talk about it tonight, but I thought you all would be frank with me and not leave anything out." Remy didn't waste time chatting, getting to the point.
"Oh, Julien. Heard too much about him the past months," Jack rolled his eyes, "Glad you found your parents, but it's nothing your dad should be involved in."
Remy didn't like the sound of that, frowning.
"Besides the usual tax fraud and menacing the populace," Alexi said, "Julien has created a little side business selling cheap medical equipment for newborns to companies and private hospitals. Seems noble until you look into it, so he's got your dad fooled good, I imagine."
It was sick and twisted, running a huge risk of innocent babies leaving the world too soon for no reason. Just the kind of game with lives Julien liked playing. Remy couldn't believe Julien would be _this_ evil. Perhaps he'd gotten even more sadistic over the years. The guy had more screws loose than a Latvarian school bus in winter. "Has anything happened yet?" Remy didn't want to know the answer, but he had to.
"No," Monty said, "It's only a matter of time. We tried butting in, but we just got shooed away."
"The equipment looks new and he's got enough connections to have the hospitals fooled," Jack explained, "It's awful, but if anyone can stop it, it'd be you and the X-Men."
"Um, the team isn't here," Remy said, "But I'll work something out."
"Okay, but can we talk with you like normal people? It's been too long," Monty smiled.
"Yeah, sorry," Remy smiled back. They took a while catching up, but Remy left out that he was engaged. He didn't want Jean-Luc getting wind of that information and turning the wedding into a disaster. If he found out, he'd definitely show up. Just to be a pain in the butt, not out of love.
"Well, I need to get out of here. My driver is waiting. Mom's got money," Remy smirked, "So no going after her place, got it?"
"She's safe," quiet Joey finally spoke up, "You stay safe too, kid."
"I will. Take care of yourselves." Remy said. He'd consider inviting them to the wedding...by phone.
