Hi all! Thanks again for the reviews and the alerts/favourites that keep coming in for this story. Let me just say that I'm not terribly happy with this chapter. It's a little shorter and one of those lame-o parts where you just have to get some business out of the way so that the plot can go on. Hopefully the next chapter will have more interesting interactions (like from our favourite pair of southerners maybe) but I just had to set things up with this chapter. So anyway, love it, hate it, let me know.
Disclaimer: see chapter 1
Reconstruct to Deconstruct: Sanctuary
"Remy, what are you doing here?" Jean crossed her arms and let one hip jut out.
"Jus' here to see if our damsel is still in distress, or if she's feelin' better." His arms fell to his sides and he took a few more steps into the room. Noticing the glare Anna shot in his direction, his grin got a little wider.
Jean rolled her eyes, "Honestly," she sighed. "Remy is there an actually reason why you're here? Because if you're just here to flirt or antagonize…"
"Ac'tlly, the professor asked me to come see if she was awake," he broke her off mid-sentence.
"If that's the case, then why didn't he just call down telepathically?"
Remy shrugged, "Dunno. When the man asks me to do somethin' I don't question it."
"Since when?" Jean raised an eyebrow and levelled her eyes with his.
"Jeannie, Jeannie," Remy threw his arms up and hooked it around her shoulders. "Why so suspicious all the time? You must be stressed. Too much goin' on with school an' helpin' out here. Do I gotta have a man-to-man with Scottie on how to…"
"Don't even finish that sentence!" She raised her finger at him and walked out of his friendly embrace. "You see that she's awake, now go do the rest of your job and tell the professor." She tried to sound stern, but she knew he was just being his smartass self.
He shrugged, "Can't blame a guy for wantin' to be in the company of deux beautiful femmes. Ou revoir!" He turned his attention directly to Anna, "Be seein' you later, chere." With a wink, he turned and disappeared behind the automatic doors of the med lab.
Jean's lips turned up into an amused smile and she gave a quick shake of her head. "Ass," she mumbled under her breath. "That's Remy for you; anything to make the ladies swoon."
Anna snorted, "You mean women actually fall for that kind of crap?"
"Well, Remy is known for being quite the charmer. He seems to like you, which means you're going to have a whole lot more of that coming your way."
"Wonderful," Anna rolled her eyes.
Jean smiled and sat on the edge of Anna's bed. Putting a hand on her covered knee she said, "You know something? I think you and I are going to get along just fine."
~oOo~
If Augustus Richter was nothing else, he was determined; especially when he had a mission to accomplish. Presently, he had a very important mission – to find his wife. All of the possible leads he's followed so far came up to a dead end. He needed to re-think his strategy. Think, Gus, think… he urged his brain to access everything he knew about Marie, down to the finest detail. What thought path would she have trod down when she was planning to leave? Had she been planning this for a while, or was it spur of the moment? No, I would have known if she was thinking about it beforehand. She's never been good with hiding her feelings for too long. Spur of the moment it was then. And if it was a last-minute decision, then she wouldn't waste time with any sort of elaborate escape plan, opting for a much simpler, quick-to-execute plan.
He opened up his laptop and accessed the airport website to see the list of departures. If she hopped a plane, she would have taken the first available flight. He scrolled through the destinations and mentally noted the most frequented cities. He knew she wouldn't have left the country, or at least not the continent. She didn't have enough money for that. It was all a matter of elimination now. If he had to, he would travel to and thoroughly search all fifty states until he found her, but he didn't think that he'd have to go that far. If he knew his Marie, and he knew her very well, she probably went somewhere fairly familiar. He hadn't thought far ahead enough to know exactly what he was going to do when he finally did get a hold of her, but he knew that she was going to be sorry for ever thinking about leaving him.
He shut the laptop, walked over to the closet and selected a few articles of clothing before laying them out on the bed. In his mind, he ran down all of the things that needed to be taken care of before he left. He looked at the nightstand, where he placed Marie's abandoned wedding ring. He narrowed his eyes at it, before turning around to find a bag to pack his things in. Oh honey, you've really done it this time.
~oOo~
"Ah, good to see you awake and alert!" a jovial voice turned Anna's head toward the med lab doorway. A Big, blue furry man that she didn't recognize walked in wearing a lab coat, and carrying a clip board. "How are you feeling my dear," he said as he stopped beside her bed.
"Besides like my head got run over by a truck? Fine I guess," Anna answered.
"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Doctor Henry McCoy," he leaned in slightly and winked, "but everyone here just calls me Hank." Anna just nodded in response. Hank pulled some surgical gloves out of his pocket, "If you don't mind, I'd like to give your injuries a quick once-over."
"Whatever you need to do doc," she shrugged.
As Hank examined the back of Anna's head, the professor wheeled in through the automatic doors. "Good afternoon," he greeted with a kind smile. "I hope you're beginning to feel a bit better."
"My head still hurts a bit, but the pain meds are helpin' that," she shrugged again. "I'm sure I'll be out of your hair by later tonight."
Hank finished with her head, "Looks like it's healing well." He then busied himself elsewhere while Anna and Xavier continued their conversation.
Charles shook his head, "My dear, let me assure you that there is no need to rush your recovery. You must be feeling quite shaken after being attacked like that."
"It's nothin' I can't handle," she responded. "Besides, I have to work tomorrow. It won't look good to call in sick on my second night."
"Ah, yes, Logan and Remy said that you were the new waitress at Jerry's Pub. I'm sure if I call to let him know about your situation he'd understand. After all, being jumped by four men in the street is much more serious than something like a head-cold."
"Look I appreciate everythin' you've done for me, but it's just a little bump on the head, I'll be fine."
"And what about the fractures on your ribs?" Charles folded his fingers and rested his elbows on his knees.
Anna stiffened slightly. "It's no big deal; I've dealt with it before."
"I'm sure you have."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she narrowed her eyes.
Charles sighed and relaxed his shoulders. "I have no desire or reason to deceive you, so I'll just come out with it. When Logan realized who you were that night in the bar, it raised some questions that we thought should be looked into. Given your past affiliation with Mystique combined with your sudden reappearance after such a long absence, I'm sure you understand why we felt we needed to investigate your reason for being back in Bayville." Anna nodded guardedly. "We learned a few things about you: that you lived in Flint Michigan, that your name is Anna Marie, and three years ago you married a man named Augustus Richter." He paused to let her digest what he was saying. "We also discovered that the day you left, you made a substantial withdrawal from the bank account you share with your husband and got on a plane shortly after."
"What are you guys? The fucking mutant CIA or something?"
"I assure you that we were only trying to verify whether or not you were still working with Mystique. As you probably already know, she is quite cunning and an expert at executing covert operations and we often need to dig a little deeper than normal to expose anything she may be plotting."
Anna relaxed slightly; she had to give that to him. Mystique was quite slippery and cleaver. She could use someone for her own gain without that person even being aware.
"Rest assured we are convinced that you no longer have any ties with her. Your medical examination though does raise some other concerns about your own safety." His voice was kind and gentle. "I won't ask you to divulge the details until you're ready to, but given what the x-rays have shown us, I strongly urge you to consider staying here for the next little while."
"Look, I appreciate the offer, but really, I'll be fine," Anna replied. "I can take care of myself."
"And what about your powers? You haven't used them in so many years; I doubt you're at all familiar with how they work. If you stay here, we can work with you to help you learn about your powers: how to use them, and maybe even how to control them." Xavier argued. "And then comes the question about your husband."
Anna became defensive, "What about him?"
"How do you think he felt when he discovered that you left?"
Anna bit her lower lip. Gus would be furious; possibly furious enough to come after her. But would he be able to find her?
Charles' voice softened, "I know I said I wouldn't pry, and you don't have to confirm or deny what I'm about to say, but would I be wrong in assuming that the reason you felt the need to leave so quickly was because of something he'd done to you? If that's the case, then isn't it possible, that perhaps it wouldn't be a good thing if he did manage to track you down?" Anna continued to chew her lip as she mulled over what the professor said. He leaned forward slightly and held her eyes with a compassionate gaze. "In the end it's your choice, but I could not, in good conscience, let you leave here without being fully aware of what the potential risks are. If you do choose to stay, that does not mean that you have to stay forever. Once everything blows over, and you still want to leave, you can. On the other hand though, if at such a time you decide you want to stay, you will be more than welcome to."
Anna sighed. If Gus really was coming after her, then it would be a lot harder to get to her while she lived in a well-guarded house full of mutants than in an apartment on her own. "What about my job?" she asked. "It's a little far from here. Is there a bus that goes by or somethin' that I can take there?"
"While I will not require you to pay for room and board or any other essentials, I understand that you would like your independence. I can make arrangements for someone to take you to and from work…"
"I don't wanna be a burden on anyone," she cut him off.
"I assure you my dear you will not be burdening anyone. Besides, it would be safer if you didn't have to travel alone."
Although Anna wanted nothing more than to finally do things on her own, she reluctantly agreed with the professor that here would be the safer place to be for now.
~oOo~
She hadn't uncovered too much about the man Xavier suggested she research, but combined with what he had told her about Anna's injuries it was enough to make her want to hang this Augustus by his toes and slit his throat. Her anger was further fuelled by her daughter's own naivety. Why on Earth would Anna even consider marriage at such a young age? Didn't she and Irene teach her better than that? Don't you mean didn't just Irene teach her better? She turned her anger inward for a moment. She had been mostly absent from her life because she was always off on some sort of mission. On paper, she was Anna's mother, but Mystique really didn't have much of a hand in raising her, unless you counted financial support and off and on visits as parental nurturing. If she only hadn't let her slip away; if only she would have built more of a relationship with her, maybe Anna would be at home, safe, with her and Irene and not seeking love and affection from some abusive asshole.
Suddenly, a thought struck Mystique. Why would a man want to marry a woman he couldn't touch? There was something more to this guy that she needed to find. Was he a mutant too? Did he know something about Anna's powers that no one else had been able to discover? Mystique narrowed her eyes as the cab she rode in stopped abruptly in front of a building.
"Here we are," the cab driver said. "That'll be fifty-five bucks."
Mystique handed him the money and got out of the taxi without a word. She looked up at the building, trying to think of a way to discreetly break into the third-floor apartment suit that had been Anna's home until recently. She noticed someone exiting through the main doors "Can you hold that door please?" She shouted and started running up the steps. "Thanks," she said when she reached the door, "I forgot my keys inside." The other person shrugged and continued on his way. Mystique made her way up the stairs and found the door to the apartment.
She picked the lock and entered the suite, only to find it empty. She took the opportunity to search around for any more possible evidence as to who this man was. The closet in the bedroom was open and fairly empty considering the fact that two people were supposed to be living here. That only meant one thing – she got here too late. "You bastard," Mystique seethed. He was gone to find Anna and probably try to bring her back. Her jaw clenched as she noticed a photo of the two of them on the dresser. You are not going to get anywhere near my daughter again. Not if I find you first.