A/N: I've hit over 100 reviews! Yay! Y'all are so awesome and thank you so much for your reviews and alerts! Also, thanks to Millantrillan for adding this to Story Alert. Yay! :D
Chellerbelle: Hehehe....yes, we shall see what happens next, as if we didn't already know. ;)
Chica De Los Ojos Cafe: Ya just can't help but think that it's her, since M &M aren't around to torment her. As for a cat fight....;D He's gotta feel pretty bad about that.
Madame Star: I know, I can't stand her either! How dare she think of Remy as hers. He clearly belongs to Rogue. :^)
Grace-Peace-and-Cat-Fights: Thanks about the story and you just can't help hating her. XD
Sonar: Yes, things are building up. They explode in this chap. :D
xdreamernumbuhfour: With her, it takes a lot to get the point across! :O
Muzik Drache: Okay. He learned about it when he noticed that Rogue wasn't wearing gloves anymore and that she was also wearing a tank top under her jacket when they met the first time at the cafe/coffee shop. Then Wanda informed him of it when they were scheming to make him her date. Why I didn't write in him asking her himself, I don't know. :)
3Blue3Moon3: Yes, I do. I hate them myself, but don't worry, more is soon to come. He might, if he can catch that wily Cajun...hehehe. ;)
Color Coated: But of course it did and yes, she is! Yeah, Remy has some 'splainin' to do. XD
Fruit Case: Hahaha....okay, I'll grant your request. :D
Lucida Lownes: Yes she is and without a doubt. Who will get the honor? Read on and see! 8D
roguey21: Oh yes, Logan plans on finding out everything. There will be trouble! I noticed that it seems to be a regular occurrence in my stories. Oh well....;)
J-TeamEdward2010: Yeah, I'm kinda following Evo-verse in where M & M disappeared, only to end up serving Apocalypse later, so she's probably not going to appear in this one. That left the only other trouble-making meddler around. ;D
Jessie07: Yes, wherever Bella arrives, trouble follows. Thanks for the awesome compliments and for adding this to your favorites! 8^D
Disclaimer: Don't own a blasted thing!
"Whaddya mean ya came ta get back what I stole from ya? I don' even know ya!" Rogue's voice takes on a disdainful tone.
"W'ile it be true we 'aven' met befo', y' still 'ave somet'in', o' should I say someone, dat's mine!" Bella spits out coldly.
"Why don' ya quit talkin' in riddles an' jus' give me some straight answers for once?" Rogue asks, her own anger rapidly rising.
"I don' know w'at 'e's tol' y', but Remy's engaged t' me. Dat makes 'im mine an' I ain' lettin' some putain come in an' take 'im fr'm me! I foug't f'r 'im long an' 'ard an' I won' go 'ome wit'out 'im." Bella snarls as she pulls out a knife.
"Remy's ya fiance?" Rogue questions disbelievingly.
"Y' deaf an' stupide, fille? Dat's w'at I said. I've been plannin' dis weddin' f'r years, ev'r since our peres signed de contrac'. Y' ain' comin' in an' ruinin' ev'ryt'in' I've worked f'r. I'll kill y' firs', but den again, I t'ink I'll kill y' anyway, jus' t' be sure." Bella smiles diabolically as she advances toward Rogue.
"I can' believe he didn' tell me." She murmurs to herself.
Logan and his group, which consists of Piotr, Kitty, Sam and Amara, search in every business and empty building, turning up nothing.
"Like, where could she be, Mr. Logan? We've totally looked everywhere!"
"We'll find her, Half-Pint. She's gotta be here somewhere." Logan states determinedly.
"Do not worry, Katya. From what I've seen of Rogue, she is a woman of great strength*. Whoever has her is going to be in for a fight." Piotr smiles reassuringly at the petite brunette.
Kitty's cell rings.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Wanda. We can't seem to find a trace of her anywhere. Anything where you're at?"
"No and it's really starting to bother me, Wanda. It's like she's disappeared without a trace."
"I know. It's really starting to worry me, too. She would've been in touch with someone by now, even if she doesn't have her cell on her. Well," Kitty can her her deep sigh over the phone. "let me know if you find her and I will do the same on this end. We're going to take a lunch break, since John's threatening to burn Toad to a crispy critter if he doesn't leave me alone. I figure maybe some food will mellow him out a bit, then we can figure out how to lose the insect for awhile so we can search without being distracted."
"Oh, okay. Just, like keep us posted and we will totally do the same."
Kitty ends the call and informs the rest of the group of Wanda's news, or rather, lack of it.
Logan scrubs a hand over his face. "Then we keep lookin' til we find her." He growls as he sniffs the air, just trying to find some trace of her.
Remy leans against a wall, deciding what course of action to take next. He is deeply troubled at this turn of events. He just doesn't understand how one girl can seemingly vanish into thin air. Sure, there was that time with Mystique, when she was under Mesmero's control, but her mind wasn't really her own then. He begins walking. Thoughts of their date last night make him smile. The surprise on her face when Wanda brought her to the table, the way they would slip into conversation easily, how amazing she looked in that dress. He smiles ruefully to himself.
"Y've got it bad, homme. Y'r goin' t' 'ave t' come clean wit' de femme." He thinks to himself as he finds himself at the docks. There are a few houseboats tied to slips. His empathy is suddenly assailed with an intense feeling of fury. He immediately spies two familiar figures out on the deck of a dilapidated houseboat, tied down further from the rest.
"Shoulda known Bella would be jealous enough t' follow me 'ere. 'Ad t' be trackin' me at leas' f'r a few days t' fin' out 'bout Rogue." He mutters disgustedly to himself. He gasps with sudden realization. "Rogue! I've got' t' 'elp 'er get away fr'm dat crazy femme." His first instinct is to run to the boat, but his years of careful training takes over.
As Bella makes her way over, Rogue tries to scramble for some kind of a plan. She remembers how she accidentally touched Amara during a session, right before she gained control. Her psyche should still be in there. Rogue smiles wickedly at Belle as she concentrates on Amara's ability and turns her entire body into fiery magma, effectively burning off the ropes. She springs from the chair as she changes back into herself and knocks Bella to the ground, causing her to lose her grip on the knife. It skitters across the floor as Rogue attempts to land a punch. Bella is too quick, though and leaps back up, brandishing another one.
"Where do ya keep all a those without cuttin' yaself?" Rogue asks in astonishment.
"Trade secret, now stan' still!" Bella commands as she moves quickly to trap Rogue against a wall. Rogue speedily moves out of harm's way and runs out the door, Bella right behind her. Rogue swings around in a classic karate move, catching Bella in the stomach.
"Ooh...y'r goin' t' pay f'r dat." Bella pants painfully as she glares hatefully at Rogue from her doubled-over position, trying to catch her breath.
"Yeah, I'm so scared." Rogue says scornfully as she scans the deck, looking for a way to disembark this floating abomination.
This enrages Bella, who straightens and lunges at Rogue, successfully knocking her over. Just as she has her knife poised over Rogue's stomach, a charged Ace of Diamonds knocks the knife from her hand. It is enough to distract Bella, so Rogue quickly takes advantage of the situation and arches her back, making Bella fall backward. Rogue lands a couple of good blows, enough to stun Bella, then she straddles her, stretching her hand toward Bella's face.
"Rogue, don'!" Remy shouts from behind her. "Y' don' need 'er t'oug'ts in y'r 'ead."
"'Ello, chere. S' it looks like y'r lil' job is ov'r. Pere foun' out fr'm Jean-Luc dat y' were up 'ere. Shame on y' f'r not tellin' me w'en y' were back 'ome. We could've been married by now." Bella attempts to give him a beguiling look, but fails miserably.
"I ain' listenin' ta this anymore! I'm goin' home. Have a good life with tha Swamp Hag." Rogue shoves herself up and rapidly exits the boat.
"Rogue, wait!" Remy calls to her, but she ignores him and keeps on running.**
"Well, now dat she's gone, we c'n get back t' discussin' w'en y'r comin' 'ome s' we can fin'ly be married." Bella attempts to press against him, but is roughly shoved aside.
"I tol' y' w'en I took de job up 'ere, dat de weddin' was off! I wasn' goin' t' marry y' den an' I ain' now. I ain' marryin' an insane femme who only wants t' marry f'r mo' control. I've 'ad enough controllin', firs' fr'm de guild, den m' boss up 'ere. I ain' takin' it fr'm y' t'!" Remy growls furiously.
"I ain' leavin' til y'r comin' wit' me." Bella states stubbornly.
"Well den, we're at an impasse." Remy replies cooly, but his mind is calculating the best way to be rid of her.
"Non, not necessarily, 'cuz de way 'm seein' is dat if I can' 'ave y', den no one else will eit'er!" Bella's expression changes to an evil smirk as she says this, making a grand leap toward Remy, who easily side-steps her advance.
"Y've los' it, Bella!" Remy shouts as he executes a kick move, making her lose her grip on this knife, too.
"Non, but y'r 'bout t'! Dere's mo' dan one way t' kill an homme." Bella snarls as she manages to knock him over and wraps her hands around his throat.
Remy moves desperately, doing the only thing he can, since she has a good grip on his throat. He reaches his hands up, engulfing her arms in a magenta glow.
Bella gazes at her arms in horror, giving Remy the advantage he needs. He takes the charge back in, but shoves her off of him at the same time. She jumps back up and attempts to throw a punch at Remy, but he grabs her arm and flings her toward the rail, causing her to hit her head and slump to the deck, unconscious.
Remy throws her over his shoulder and disembarks the floating wreck. He then takes her to the train yard, which is thankfully nearby and tosses her onto the nearest empty freight car. He closes the door and saunters away, being caeful not to be seen.
"Let 'er figure out w'ere she's goin'." He quips, then sobers.
Now for the hard part, getting Rogue to listen to him so he could explain the whole mess to her.
*Piotr is talking about her inner strength. She does not have Carol Danvers' abilities in this story.
**This isn't how Rogue would typically react, but I have a reason for doing it this way.
Here ya are. I wanted to get this out last night/early this morning, but I got stuck. Hope y'all like it. I'm gonna try my best to get the next one out tonight/early tomorrow, but we'll see how it goes.