Chapter 5: WHAT DO YA THINK ABOUT THAT
Once in Jean-Luc's office, Remy motioned for Rogue to take a seat. After her rather aggressive commandeering of his bike, Rogue had not said another word to him, she was even refusing to make eye contact. Remy, wasn't as bothered by her current behavior as he was by the whole episode after she'd come out of the hotel...
He had wondered what happened when Rogue absorbed someone, but never in his wildest dreams would he have guessed that Rogue would lose herself in the person she'd made contact with. The fact that he had indirectly caused that to happen to her made him sick to his stomach... actually the whole encounter made him sick to his stomach. Why had he asked her to come back to him? What was going on with him? In the two weeks he had known her he had grown to care for her... he didn't like that.
Rogue was sitting in a chair and was wringing out her gloved hands as she stared down at the floor. She looked so lost in herself. Remy was going to ask her if she felt okay, but thought better of it.
Jean-Luc breezed into his office and said to Remy in French, "And how did the mission go?"
Remy shrugged and replied in French, "Smoothly."
"Bon," Jean-Luc said as he sat down at his desk.
Rogue looked up at him. The first thing she noticed about the thieves' patriarch was the bright shining look in his eyes. It was a look she knew all too well, a look of greed. Her eyes narrowed, Remy could tell immediately that she was suspicious of him. Another thing they had in common.
Jean-Luc turned his attention from Remy to Rogue, "Bonjour Mademoiselle Rogue." he said formally, "M'son says dat yo' were successful in yo' objective." his eyebrows peeked up on his forehead, causing it to wrinkle.
"Ah was." Rogue replied cliptly, ceasing her figiting. Instead she sat up straighter and made direct eye contact with Jean-Luc.
A smile broke out on Jean-Luc's lips, "Bon." leaning forward so that his elbows rested on the desk and his head inclined toward her with the upmost curiosity, "Tell moi, Chere. How'd yo' crack Brightway? Seduce him? Lean on him?"
Rogue blanched at him and Remy realized he'd failed to point out the obvious to his father. "Ah used my mutant ability."
Jean-Luc's head tilted to the side, "Yo' some kinda mind reader?" Remy recognized the scheming undertone in his adoptive father's voice.
"Something like that." Rogue replied stiffly.
"Non," Jean-Luc shook his head and casually waved a finger at her. "Yo' wanna contract wit' de Guild, den I expect full disclosure on' what I'm gettin' int' bed wit'. What'ca got goin' on in dat belle head o' yours?" Remy watched as something shifted in Rogue. She was no longer distant. At Jean-Luc's words, something inside Rogue ignited, or reignited.
A dark look crossed Rogue's face, "Ya call yaself ah thief LeBeau, but tha kinda thief Ah am makes ya'll look like wannabes."
"An' why's dat?" Jean-Luc asked, slightly intrigued.
The smirk on Rogue's lips grew, "'Cause, ya steal material objects. Money, paintings, sculptures, rarities." Rogue shrugged, "Ah, on tha other hand, Ah steal ya hopes an' dreams, ya deepest desires." her lips curled sinisterly with her words. She held up her hand and removed the glove slowly- as if it were some sort of foreplay. "C'mere Jean-Luc, lemme graze my hand against ya. Lemme see what'ca got goin' on in that old head of yours. One touch will gimme all the disclosure Ah need. Ah'll know everything. Ya deepest and darkest secrets, how ya tick, how ya like ya eggs, name it. An' Ah'll get ah taste o' ya skillset that Ah can utilize. Here's tha kicker, Ah hold on long enough an' yo'll die." she stressed the last word.
Jean-Luc's eyes widened as he read between the lines. Slowly, he started to regard Rogue differently. The light in his eyes was back. They still shone with greed, but now they also had envy and a hint of cunning to come. Rogue was no stranger to that look either. Remy watched the two apprehensively from the doorjamb.
"Dat's very impressive, Chere. Mebbe after our X-men debacle is dealt with, yo' could find a home here wit' de Guild. You'd be very useful here." he said almost hopefully.
Remy didn't like the way his father was leering at Rogue, like she wasn't even a person. She was just a tool to him, a means to an end.
Rogue shook her head, "Ah don't exist ta be useful ta other people. 'Sides, Ah've done tha team thing. Ain' my style, Ah work ah-lone."
Behind them, Remy laughed, "Chere, de Guild is many t'ings, however, a team ain' one o' dem."
Jean-Luc glared past Rogue and at Remy, it was a warning to shut up, Remy knew it all too well. Turning a softer look to Rogue, Jean-Luc said, "Sleep on it, hein? In de meantime, what did Monsieur Brightway's soul tell yo'?"
Rogue's jaw clenched, "Mr. Brightway's got ah soft spot for young boys." she took a notepad and pen from the desk and scribbled a few words down on it, "Here's tha name o' an asset an' proof. Careful, tha man is very keen on his monthly hush money from tha Congressman."
She handed the pad back to Jean-Luc. Remy noticed that as soon as she did so, a weight seemed to lift off of her shoulders. He heard her take a deep sigh of relief. He could only imagine why.
"Merci," Jean-Luc said absently as he read over the information. 'It seems dat yo' on yo' way t'earnin' a contract wit' de Guild." he pulled an envelope out from one of his desk drawers and slid it over to Rogue. "Here's half, as agreed."
Rogue nodded curtly and took the envelope.
"M'boys will check out de information yo've provided. We'll be in touch. Remy, show de femme out." he ordered distantly as he started to toy with his computer.
Rogue stood up from the chair and exited the room with Remy on her tail. She walked fast and ahead of him, despite the fact that she didn't know where she was going. Every so often, Remy would call after her when she went the wrong way. When they finally reached the entrance hall, Remy caught her by the arm and forced her to look at him.
"Are yo' okay?" He couldn't help himself. He had to ask.
Pulling her arm from his grasp, Rogue said, "Not really. It's been less than three days since Ah was smacked ah-round by Captain Marvel like Ah was tha Hulk's favorite rag doll an' now Ah have ah child predator in my head fightin' for control o' my mind. But then again, this is practically an average Tuesday for me. So, if you'll excuse me, Ah have ah date with drinks that'll help me forget tha pain reverberatin' in my body an' tha disgustin' thoughts swirlin' 'round in m'head." she rambled off.
Remy blinked, "Lemme give yo' a ride t'where yo' stayin'." he said weakly.
Rogue laughed, "Yeah, like Ah'ma let ya'll know where Ah'm stayin'. Ya may slightly trust me, but Ah don' trust none o' ya'll. Ya could always just have me followed ah-gain." she said pointedly. Remy sputtered for a reply but Rogue cut him off before he could even start, "Save it. Ah'da done it too. Don' worry 'bout me. Ah can handle anything that comes my way." she said as an afterthought as she briskly walked through the front doors.
"Rogue, dat's a long walk!" he called after her.
"Ah could use the air." she returned over her shoulder as she ascended into the darkness of the summer night. Remy stood in the threshold of the Guild's headquarters, watching Rogue disappear down the driveway. He wanted nothing more than to follow her, not necessarily to where she was staying, but to the freedom that existed to a person like her. A person with no allegiances, a rogue.
Two days later, the Guild had successfully used the information Rogue had procured for them. With the Illinois Congressman added to the Thieves Guild pocket, they were ready to deal with their next big problem: The X-men.
Remy had managed to find Rogue at his bar, per usual. She didn't seem surprised when Remy told her that they were ready and willing for her to come aboard as a third party contractor. After a couple of drinks and a little coaxing, Remy talked Rogue into getting on the back of his bike and riding with him to the Thieves Guild Mansion.
Which lead to this moment.
There were plenty of thieves within the Guild, however, only a handful of them actually lived within the walls of the old plantation, all of those people and Rogue sat at a majestic old mahogany table in an elegant dining room that was only used for special occasions like Christmas and Easter dinner.
The LeBeaus sat on one side of the table with Jean-Luc at the head as Rogue sat by Remy and two vacant chairs on the other. Remy noted that the other six residents of the Manor were present and of them, his brother looked the most annoyed. Mercy sat to Henri's left, patting his arm calmingly as her ever present smile did little to brighten the room.
The three stooges that were cousins Theo, Emil and Etienne were all gapping at Rogue in a very unprofessional and very teenaged way. Rogue looked slightly uncomfortable under their stares and would send them a piercing glare when she caught one of them ogling her. Finally, Tante Mattie sat to Remy's left. Occasionally, Tante would lean forward and look past Remy at Rogue. She would continuously peer past Remy and at Rogue, then mutter something incoherently to herself and then nod her head like she had just affirmed a suspicion about Rogue.
Rogue looked out at them all dubiously, "How didja manage ta hold the X-men off in tha first place?" she asked incredulously, crossing her arms and squaring her shoulders, unimpressed by the members of the inner circle.
"By crossin' de line." Remy muttered, leering at his father. "De X-men are a self-righteous bunch. Dey weren't willin' t'sacrifice a teammate."
Rogue nodded and pursed her lips as she nodded in agreement, "Okay, what did they look like?"
"Dere was one wit' a visor! An' a brunette dat was runnin' through walls." offered Theo as he didn't even try to look Rogue in the eye.
Rogue snapped her fingers in front of her chest and then pointed to her eyes. "Up here, wise guy."
As Theo blushed sheepishly, Emil offered another description, "One wit'claws an' another wit' a metal body."
"Den dere was one wit' bones stickin' outta here." Jean-Luc recalled, resting his elbows on the table and his head against his hands.
Rogue nodded, "Sounds like Wolverine, Cyclops, Colossus, Shadowcat an' Marrow." she started to think more intently. "Ya say they weren't willin' ta sacrifice ah teammate? Who'd ya get, Cyclops or Marrow?"
"De fille." Remy said, leaning back in his chair.
Tapping her fingers against the table, Rogue said, "Ah see... when they come again, they won't bring Marrow. So don' bank on repeatin' that play. Wolverine will be back, 'cause ya've issued ah challenge he can't refuse, so Cyclops will be on his tail... the two got this rivalry. At this point it just a dick measurin' contest ovah ah dead telepath... Shadowcat is vital of this type of mission... so the only question is, will Colossus be back an' will they bring in anyone else?" she wondered aloud.
"I'm sure dat we can handle whatever dose Muties got." Henri said indignantly, he wasn't very found of Rogue's presence as both an outsider and a mutant. He also was unafraid to make that point scathingly clear. Remy did his best to ignore his brother's rampant double standards.
"Really?" Rogue asked in good humor. "'Cause they ain' even brought down their big guns. They got ah woman who can control tha weather. Tell me, Henri right? Tell me Henri, didja think Katrina was bad? Storm can make Katrina look like ah drizzle. Or how 'bout tha Omega level mutant who could turn every one o' ya inta popsicles? Hell, Xavier could infiltrate ya mind, force ya ta do his biddin' then leave with outta trace he was ever there."
Henri's eyes narrowed at Rogue as he muttered something offensive under his breath in French about "her kind".
"Henri!" Remy roared dangerously, coming to Rogue's defense.
Shrugging unapologetically, Henri said, "Non, I ain' buyin' none o' dis. She shows up outta de blue wit' a convenient vendetta against a common enemy? So what if she passed yo' little test, so she ain' an X-men. Don' mean she ain' gonna try an' screw us over. Jus' cause yo' an Pere are suckers fo' a pretty face an' a nice rack-"
Before Remy or Jean-Luc could silence Henri, Rogue was up out of her seat. She barreled over the table to Henri and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. She pulled him up out of his chair and away from Mercy. Rogue used her momentum to slam him against the wall and pin him here with her forearm by his throat.
"Listen ta me ya piece o' shit. Ah don' know what'ca deal is, nor do Ah care. Fact is, Ah'm ah mutant an' Ah'm tha only hope ya'll got o' fendin' off tha X-men. Ya just gonna haveta deal with that or else tha X-men are gonna come an' use what's left o' ya hair as a mop t'clean up ya family's blood. Ya underestimate them. Wolverine is ah stone-cold killah. Ah've witnessed it." Rogue whispered dangerously, "If he gets tha chance he will impale anyone in his way. You. Ya wife. Ya father. Ya brother. Me." she added solemnly, "Now, Ah'ma let'ca go, but Ah want'ca ta remember that if Ah wanted anything other than money an' revenge, Ah could easily take it without havin' ta put up with ya."
Rogue released him and stalked back to her chair. Henri stayed against the wall for a few more beats before he glanced to Jean-Luc then to Remy.
"Ah suggest ya double tha detail ya got 'round tha house. They won' stop tha X-men, but they'll slow 'em down." Rogue added calmly as she sat back down. She acted as though she hadn't nearly choked out the Guild's Heir-Apparent.
"An' jus' how we supposed t'stop 'em, if dey as deadly as yo' say?" Jean Luc asked as Henri returned to his seat. Henri cleared his throat, straightened his collar and ran and self-conscious hand over the bald spot in the middle of his head.
Laughing, Rogue replied, "Jus' leave stoppin' 'em ta me. Ya'll worry 'bout keepin' 'em busy til Ah can get ta ya. Ah'ma have my hands full, after all."
Remy shook his head, "Jus' hold 'em off? Can't say I like dat plan, Rogue." He pursed his lips as he watched Rogue's facial expressions carefully. Surely she wasn't really suggesting such a haphazard plan.
"Ya'll can knock 'em down all ya want, but Ah promise they'll continue ta get back up. Tha X-men are alotta things, but quitters ain' one o' them." Rogue said flatly.
After about half an hour filled with more bickering from the various members of the first family of thieves, they all eventually left prepared to play ball with Rogue's somewhat shoty plan.
Everyone left except for Remy, that is. He leant back in his chair and looked at Rogue carefully.
She was still black and blue from her run in with Captain Marvel, the bruises had begun to reduce in size and color, but she still looked worn out. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun and the green bandana that was her favorite accessory was slightly frayed.
Pressing a hand to her forehead, Rogue sighed and pulled absently at the hem of her gloves. "Tell me how ya have it guarded?" she referred to the package.
Remy shook his head, "Don' worry 'bout dat. Dat we got covered." he waved his hand dismissively.
Rogue looked at him from in-between her fingers, "Just tell me. Vaguely." she added in exasperation. "Ah havta make sure Kitty can't get to it if she walks through tha right wall. If she can, Ah haveta take her out first, but my primary target is Logan."
Remy made a face as he realized he had no idea which X-men she was referring to.
"Shadowcat an' Wolverine." she clarified.
"It's safe deep underground. It's protected by eye scanners, lasers, finger print scanners, a bunch booby traps, some C-4, a flood chamber an' a vault dat's suspended in de air dat only comes down t'de correct pass code." Remy explained.
Rogue nodded. "Good. Wolverine first it is."
Remy leant back in his chair and crossed his arms. He wasn't entirely sure what she meant by that. He wasn't sure how far she was willing to go. Surely she didn't think she could execute the X-men. Remy realized that was the wrong question. The question wasn't whether or not she thought she could do it, but whether or not she wanted to.
A/N: So I've been playing around with the Rogue POV version and I am gonna stick to the song titles as chapter titles in my outline. So the working title for Rogue's POV is "Southern Style" (look it up, even if you don't like country music, it reminds me a lot of Rogue), if anyone has any other suggestions, I am open to them. Hell, if I like a suggestion more I'm not opposed to changing the working title. Leave any suggestions in the Reviews (2 rules for suggestions, (1) must be a country song, (2) can't be a song that is/is going to be a chapter title).
Also, Thank You to everyone who has favorited/followed/reviewed this story so far! I really do appreciate it! :D