Are you Ready to Rock? Are you Ready to Roll?
Cuz guess who's back, back, back, back again!
Yeah!
Ok. Yes that was entirely too random. But I really am here. I am trying to rush things because I took so long on the last chapter. First order of business...*looks at chart that magically appeared in hand* Oh yes, my apology.
Hem. Hem. First and foremost I have to apologize to Girl Number 1. Yes. I severely misinterpreted her comment about the Gambit/Summers issue. That was just a false alarm. Turns out the "not a test" banner on my last chapter was a test. Hee Hee. Funny huh? So it turns out that I mislead a whole lot of you. So if any of you were pelting poor Girl Number 1 with threats and screams and questions quit immediately. In fact if you are one of the people who went after her for saying that, apologize. I am the slightly air-headed person who misinterpreted the comment. *hangs head in shame* I deserve one hundred lashings with a wet noodle, at the hands of the Mary Sues, don't I? I am sorry to all of you who believed the mistake I made. And I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo terribly sorry Girl Number 1!!!!!!!!!! Can you find it in your heart to forgive this terribly sorry and misinterpreting girl? *makes a puppy dog face*
Ok second on the list...*checks list* Oh that...
Ok. Second apology. I am terribly sorry my last update took forever. I have a lot of legitimate excuses really. But I am not going to bother you with them. But I feel inclined to point out that I did say "ALMOST" religiously.
Next item of business...Oh yes. I have an announcement to make. Don't worry, I can vouch that this is true since it comes from me. I have chosen to send Steffiny-Stacy directly to the round file. (authoress's code for garbage can). She was way too close to being a Mary Sue for comfort and she did not have any real point. I also have made some changes in Carmen and Angelique. Said changes will be revealed as the characters are. That does not include the semi-cameo Carmen has in this chapter or Angelique's in chapter ten.
*checks off all completed items on list.* OH! I have to update my family profile! It now includes a new baby! Dobby Nicholas Trouble is(are) his name(s). He is a little striped kitty with gorgeous markings like a real tiger only he is black and gray. He is named after Dobby the house elf in Harry Potter because he has ridiculously ginormous ears and big silly green eyes. And he is a little handful of mischief. But its a good thing people don't think I have suicidal tendencies (don't worry I don't and never will). He has scratched my arms and shoulders up so much while he climbs on me and we play. I love him so much though so the cuts are worth it.
*looks at list* Shout outs next!
Little Byrdie: Ok. I have an announcement for you. Don't worry. Remy and Scott are NOT brothers. I made a mistake and misinterpreted Girl Number 1's comment she made to me. But when I first saw that, I cried. Actually I think I might have had a heart attack or something. Anywhoozles, I am glad you like my story. I am also glad you think it is funny. Yeah. You really do need to stay away from sugar and coffee. But I go nuts on the stuff so I can't really talk...*grins insanely and surreptitiously hides giant Cappuccino mug*
Girl Number 1: I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry! I feel so stupid! I misinterpreted your comment! I feel like I am having a blonde moment! (No offense to any blonds) I am not even blonde though...my hair is Auburn. Alix is blonde not me! Forgive me, Please! Anywhoozles, yeah, the OC's are not going to come in for a while. Carmen has a semi-cameo in this chapter and same goes for Angélique in chapter 10. But nothing major for a while. Steffiny-Stacy is not really a loss. She didn't fit in at all. I think I over accessorized by creating her in the first place. I won't mourn the loss so don't feel too sorry. I am glad you liked this chapter and as to your ideas about Remy and Rogue and Mystique...An artist never gives away insight to their masterpieces before they are finished...*smirks* you will just have to wait and see...
SperryDee: Did I spell your name right? I again must state that Remy and Scott are not brothers. Sorry. I didn't mean to ick you out. Anyway, I am glad you like this story.
ishandahalf: I agree, they are all so adorable! Aren't they just the bees-knees? I love writing this! I'm glad you like the pre-pubescent Romyness. Or should I call it pre-kindergarten since Remy will have to go to (dun, dun, dun...) kindergarten if he is still a little kid at the end of the summer! Will they remember? Hm, interesting question. You know I haven't really decided yet, honestly. There are pros and cons to both. But even if they don't remember the "older" kids do. And then there's the pictures...But on the other hand, if they do remember, I could do a lot of fun fluffiness...I guess you will just have to wait...Don't worry. Things won't get too Romantic while they are little kids. I know when enough is enough. I also know that they're innocent and sweet and why ruin that with bad things. But all the same, Remy and Rogue make an adorable couple at any age. So is this fast enough for ya? Just how fast do these bunnies of yours go anyway?
Howlerdrode: Oh so this is the funniest chapter yet huh? Well I am glad to hear it. I am pleased that you like all the action and super glad that you didn't need to borrow your friend Steve's glucose meter. Uh...what the blood-moon-bayou is that anyway? You are curious as to how Forge is so brilliant yet makes so many mistakes? Duh! Everyone makes mistakes. Heck According to the Ellimist, Rachel, warrior princess/mall rat herself was a mistake of nature! Sabotage hmm, interesting concept. But I am afraid that Ellimist and Crayak can't touch the mutants. Its one of the rules of their game set by Noitoma (I do believe if you are a true enough Anifan you know who she is...) Though, those meddling fools have been toying around with a few of my other story ideas. Blast them! *sighs* For the bazillionth time, I KNOW THE FREAKING ANNOUNCEMENT WAS WRONG! Sorry I know I shouldn't yell...Ok now one-second dude! When I misinterpreted the comment I did think the world was ending thank you very much! And I am not an idiot, I did not think the sky was falling! And MY NAME IS NOT CHICKEN LITTLE!! Tis Heartsyhawk, so there! *"maturely" sticks out tongue* So who is this Maria Anna Darkholme person anyway? If you mean Marie, oh yeah, she's worse than any of the 'ssassins (as everyone's favorite little Cajun would say). Much worse. But she doesn't really know to much about the guild war and junk like that...She is on'y free afte' all... As for the incredibly civilized way the free an' fo' year olds talk...CUT ME SOME SLACK will yah? I'm still a newbie-no matter how many people like this! Its been a little while since I was that young and even though I remember my little sister's infancy slightly, that was a while ago too! I promise it will get better with time, just like my accents. (Only don't ever count on me attempting Colossus' Russian accent. I will not ever get the Russian accent down or Kurt's German one so bear with me on this one and pretend that they are speaking with their accents.) DUH! Of course Scott is destined to always be an idiot! What else could he possibly be? (though it is not entirely his fault. He does have that brain damage after all...) Hee-Hee-Hee! Crystal? As in the inhuman? Hm, Pietro might like that...Isn't she the one that he ended up married AND divorced to? And if I recall correctly, they have a daughter named Luna...That could be fun to work with...ACK ALIX STOP STRANGLING ME!!!! X_X (I be a dead fille!)
Boston Dudette: Hilo and welcome to the magical world of me! Ok, the reason I did not go into great detail about the de-aging thing was because it was just an instantaneous poof-like transformation. There was no visible transformation that could have been watched. One minute they were sixteen-nineteen years old, the next they were one-four years old. And Besides. Forge's creations scare even me*shudders*. Trouble (the mouse) is behaving most efficiently! Thank you for asking/stating. *Smiles*Yes, I must agree with you, even as toddlers the love-hate relationship Rogue and Remy have is working for them. My funny lines are my spécialité. One of my favorite quotes is "the person who can laugh at themselves will never cease to be amused." Don't know who said it but they are definately right. I love writing my funny lines because they make me laugh. Sometimes my friends and family believe I am possessed or something when I am rereading my own work or even typing and I burst into hysterical laughter at random moments. Lets see, I will work on the less is more thing now. Thank you for the suggestion. I had already decided that the French would be cut a bit since they're little kids now and don't need to worry about hiding arguments behind fluent French. As for the accents, I apologize but I can't take them away and in good conscience do that. Its part of who they are. Doing that would be like taking Harry Potter's wand and scar away from him. Or Jean's red hair and preppy-ness. Or Rogue's white striped hair. Or Scott's shades. Or...I think you get the point. Sorry. Anywhoozles, glad you liked so much of the story. I will keep it coming for as long as I can.
*looks down at list* Oh joy! One last thing! *sarcastic* And its everyone's favorite part of reading or writing any story...The Disclaimer! Joyous occasion!
Disclaimer: Hmmm. Somehow the words "Heartsyhawk" , "owns", and "X-men Evolution" do not fit into a single sentence unless "does not" is in between the first two words and you drop the 's' after "owns" . They do have a lovely ring to them though...And that is the precise reason we must all hunt my elusive pink sock. My sources confirm that the little bugger has been spotted in Albania...but who knows, it may have moved...Just a confirmation. Heartsyhawk does not I repeat NOT own X-men Evolution or any of the other corporations/products/companies mentioned that are real entities...YET...
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"Ok-so-are-we-all-agreed-on-going-to-Babies-R-Us?" Pietro asked impatiently. "I-don't-exactly-have-time-for-too-much-lolly-gagging! I-have-about-four-dates-lined-up-for-tonight!"
"Well, you'll just have to cancel them, Pietro." Lance grumbled. He was upset because he and Kitty were supposed to have a date tonight which obviously was postponed.
"Well-excuse-me-Mr.-Grumpy-Guts!" Pietro scoffed. "But-not-all-of-us-have-the-issue-of-their-girlfriend-being-an-infant-now-do-we?!"
"Well at least he has a steady girlfriend." Wanda snapped. She was fast becoming irritated with the two boys who were supposed to be best friends, bickering like they were the toddlers.
"HEY! Whatever-happened-to-not-getting-into-each-other's-romance-lives? Huh-sis?" Pietro snapped at her.
"What Romance life?" She snorted. "You are not romantic. You pretend to be, when you are with those idiot twit girlfriends of yours but I doubt you even remember the names of ten of them from more than a week ago."
Pietro gaped and opened his mouth and then shut it. "Oh-like-you-are-so-much-better! You've-never-even-been-on-a-real-date-have-you?"
"How should I know why father never let me date?" Wanda snarled at her twin. Her fists were balled up and glowing an eerie blue. "And just because I haven't had a hundred or more people date me does not mean I don't have Romance! And its none of your business!"
Piotr stepped bravely in between the two fighting siblings. He converted to his metal form and pushed them apart. "Really, you both need to calm down. You two are acting as if it is you who have gone back fifteen years."
The twins continued to glare at each other but with Lance restraining Pietro and Amanda with her hand on Wanda's shoulder, neither dared act.
"Ok, so, like, now what do we do about the shopping thing? Something tells me that with all the anti-mutant hysteria now a days, we can't really go as one big group. We'll be kind of conspicuous if we are recognized mutants walking around with twelve little kids." Jubilee wondered aloud.
"Yeah, somebody will probably start rumors about kidnapping." Evan grumbled. "Man, why did I leave the Morlocks? We never had these problems!" He shook his head. Everyone in the room gave him a dirty look.
"Look maybe if we split up inta li'l groups we'd be less conspicuous." Sam suggested. "We kin all come up with an excuse o' somethin'," he drawled in his Kentucky accent that was fading more and more with time, unlike Rogue's which flared up in full blossom at each emotional surge or whenever she was using what some of her housemates affectionately nicknamed "her version of Southern Charm". And Remy's accent, he was too...him for the accent to fade. A few of the kids had tried to break his accent and he was so stubborn he got out of the accent alright. And he refused to speak anything but French for two weeks. It nearly drove the kids crazy, so they gave up. Remy LeBeau would just always sound like he had just strutted out of the bayou.
The teens looked at each other, pondering Cannonball's comment. Usually he was so shy and distant, he seldom gave any suggestions for anything. The idea made sense. Of course, some of them were slightly obvious, like Pietro with his white hair, Jean with her flaming hair, Scott with his shades, Rogue with her stripes, and Remy with his exotic eyes. But fortunately the professor had given them image inducers like Kurt's si they could freely enjoy being in public without ridicule. Of course Jean refused to wear hers saying she loved her perfect red-hair too much. And Rogue felt it was the coward's way out and besides. Her stripes were part of her gothic image. She felt weird to cover them up. Scott accepted as he always wanted to be normal. And Remy accepted because he didn't have to much luck flirting if he was frequently being mistaken for the devil with his demonic eyes. He either had to wear shades inside to protect his eyes from the bright light of the indoors, due to the sensitivity of his eyes to light, or wear the inducer which acted as sunglasses too. And heaven forbid anyone ever mistake him for being some relation to Scott ever again. (Tee-hee. Wonder who that was...)
For a few moments the older kids discussed something or other and the little kids wandered into the next room, where they found a very large TV. And of course, to little kids, being little kids, TV=cartoons. They all sat intrigued by the plasma screen TV that stood at least twice the height of Remy who stood the tallest of the group. (Which is not saying too much because they are only toddlers.)
At that moment all ten of the kids who could understand what this was, (Toad and Amara are only one and one and a half respectively so they didn't quite grasp the concept) decided they had died and gone to heaven. Actually Fred's exact words were. "If this is to'ture (torture), chain me to the wall!"(A/N: Reference to Disney's Oliver and Company. Don't own that movie.)
Rogue climbed on the coffee table and retrieved the remote. "Ah found the clickeh (Clicker[baby talk for remote])! What's on?" She dropped to the floor and accidentally knocked Remy down because he had been holding out a hand to help her down.
"Ouch." He complained as she climbed off him and pulled him up. This threw off her weight so both of them toppled over again, laughing. They righted themselves and just stayed on the floor in front of the TV.
"Sowwy (Sorry) Wemy (Remy). Ah di'n' (didn't) mean ta huwt (hurt) yah." She flashed him an adorable three year old's I-didn't-mean-to-do-it grin. He smiled back at her.
"N'y a pas de quoi, Marie. (Il n'y a pas de quoi. {its not a problem/ don't worry about it})" The age-reversed Cajun's French was still fast and fluent but more at the level that a non-native French speaking person could possibly translate. "Mais, Remy's name ain' 'Wemy'. It be Remy. Wit' a "R"."
Rogue shrugged and pushed a few buttons until the screen came on. "Aws (r's) are hawd (hard) ta pwonounce." She said non-commitedly.
"Nuh-uh!" Remy chuckled. "Remy kin teach y'. Say R."
"Aw" Rogue sighed.
"Non (no), R. Punnounced (pronounced) Arah." He corrected gently.
"Aw-r" Rogue forced. She looked quite pleased with herself. Looking at her you would think she was a thief who had just discovered a secret passage into the Louvre. "Aw-r. Aw-r. Are. Ara. Awra. Awrah. Arah! Ah kin do it!" She squealed.
He nodded. "Now say Remy's name."
"Remy's name." She smirked at her own wise comment.
"Dat not what Remy meant, p'tite. (petite)." He smirked at her and she giggled. (A/N: I know Rogue doesn't giggle but she's three. I have yet to meet a three-year-old who doesn't giggle when they've out smarted somebody. Especially somebody older.)
"Ah know that." She rolled her eyes. "But yah told meh ta say "Remy's name". That's all Ah did." She batted her eyes innocently.
"Y' kinda 'mind (remind) Remy o' Belle. She be m' gillfriend (girlfriend) an' 'm (I'm) gonna marry her someday. But she likes teasin' Remy too."
Rogue shrugged impishly. She pushed a few random buttons on the remote to change the channel.
"Look for "My Little Pony" Kitty chirped.
"No, that's stupid!" Kurt whined. "Me wanna watch "Gargoyles"!" The little blue boy bounced around as if he was hyper.
"Gahgoyles? (Gargoyles)" Bobby cried incredulously. "No! We gotsa watch the skatin' peebles (peoples) at the limp-icks (Olympics)!"
"Look, kid, not gonna watch a dumb 'dult (adult) show." Tabby whined. "An' if we are, we gotsa watch "'Brina the team-age itch. Or Cl'issa 'Splains it all. Ohhhh! Me know, me know! The Flower Rangers! I like the pink ranger!. (Sabrina the teenage witch and Clarissa explains it all. The "Flower Rangers" is Tabby talk for Power Rangers. And what little girl didn't like the pink ranger? Other than me...I have always hated pink. I was more into the Yellow ranger myself, and then there was the blue ranger...)
"Those are ok. But I wanna see " the Muppet Babies"!" St. John cheered happily.
"That show is stupid," Scott chided. "Mom says that little kids should only watch ed-ick-cake-in-shull (educational) shows on TB (TV). So I think it would be good to watch Barney the Dime-o-sort. (Dinosaur)." All the other kids gave him a disgusted glare.
"Can we watch the food channel?" Fred pleaded as they passed it. Everybody shook his or her heads at once.
"Guys!" Jean snapped arrogantly. "It isn't even our TB (TV)! We gotsa ask for pemission. (permission)." Then she paused and pondered. "But if we can, we hafta watch Full House. None of yours were any good. Its lucky for you that I am so much betterer and smarterer than all of you." Her little speech caused a large number of angry protests and several toddlers were plotting her death. Remy stood up and walked around her in circles a few times.
"What are you doing?" She asked with no reply. "Stop circlin' (circling) me! Its creepy."
"Remy just tryin' t' see if y' got 'nuff (enough) meat on y' t' feed t' de gators. Got dis one in m' back yard...but y' too skinny. Besides, Remy bet y' taste de way y' act." He paused dramatically. "Nasty."
Jean burst into tears and covered her face with her hands. She sat on the couch sobbing.
"Remy wouldn' feed her t' Spot an'ways (anyways). She'd prolly make him sick." Remy laughed and turned to Rogue. She had just had a lot of requests and A) she did not like any of them. and B) she was now terribly confused. Remy saw this.
"Hey you guys, quit! Y' confusin' Marie!" He glared at all of the others. It was almost as if he was daring them to dispute what he said. He turned to his frustrated friend and grinned. "We gonna watch what she wants."
Rogue smiled and dared anyone to dispute it. Nobody did, so she pressed the buttons to change the channel. Many shows none of them had ever seen flashed by.
"News, icky. Weatheh (weather), borin'. Wheel o' Four-shin, who wants ta watch this junk?" Rogue grumbled. "Where are theh (they) hidin' the cahtoons? (cartoons)" She scowled at the TV as if it was deliberately keeping her away from what she wanted. She turned the channel again. They watched a few moments of some soap opera.
"Ewww!" All the kids chorused together. "Their kissin'!" Rogue switched the channel to the TV guide.
"That was gross! Whah (why) would anehbody (anybody) eveh (ever) watch that stuff/" Rogue wrinkled up her nose. "But theh (they) did look so stupid!" She giggled. "They were both lahke (like)...Remy..." She turned to Remy smiling with her arms open.
"Marie..." he drawled in the same tones the guy on the TV show had addressed the girl in his arms.
"Kissy, Kissy, Kissy, Kiss." Rogue burst into a fit of giggles. "Growed ups are so weird. Whah do they want that icky stuff?" She grinned. She changed the channel once again.
After a maximum of four seconds of "Eh-Oh! Tubby Custard!(note: Teletubbies)" Rogue changed the channel. Click. "What should we do Boots? Who knows how to get to the big mountain?" "The map! Check the map!" "Great idea Boots!" "I'm the map, I'm the map, I'm the map. I'm the-" (note: reference Dora the Explorer)click. "Ah thank naht. (think not)." Rogue rolled her pretty big emerald eyes.
"Oh its full house!" Jean squealed. "We gotta watch it! Hey put that back on." She whined as everyone ignored her.
"Ohhhh, Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" Click. "Hey that looked funny!" The pint-sized version of Pyro protested. (Phew say that ten times fast. Do I have to name the show? Fine its Sponge Bob Square Pants. There will be a unit disclaimer at the end for all cartoons and shows mentioned.) Rogue sent him a withering glare and he grinned uneasily and quieted down. Apparently, through unclear terms, the group had unanimously decided that Remy and Rogue were the leaders of the packs. So nobody (with the possible exception of Scott and Jean) was questioning their authority.
"When did all dese shows start?" Remy pouted. "Remy knows dat he don' watch dat much TV but he don' even rec'nize none o' dis."
"Maybe these peebles gots mo' chammels than we gots at home." Rogue shrugged. She groaned in disgust upon finding commercials on the channel she had just changed to. "Who in theh (their) rahght (right) head would wanna go s'port the Yankees?" Rogue looked extremely offended. "Back at home, everybody s'ports the Bulldogs! Dumb ole' Yankees." She stuck out her tongue. (hah-hah-hee-hee)
When the show came back on, Rogue practically screamed and threw the remote. She covered her eyes and whimpered loudly.
"What's wrong, Marie?" Remy asked, concerned for his friend.
Rogue pointed in horror at the terrible thing on TV. It was, ugh! Almost too horrible to type! It was, one of those awful Barbie movies! Kitty squealed in delight and bounced up and down hyperly.
"Lets watch it, pleeeeeeeease?!" She begged. All the boys were cringing in terror, but Jean looked interested, and Tabby seemed amused.
"Non! Look it. Marie don' wanna watch dat! An' Remy don' blame her." With that he furiously changed the channel while pulling the poor trembling girl close to him. The next show was lots of people in red bathing suits and on a beach.
Remy sat looking transfixed at the screen for a few moments. "Remy's frére (brother) watches dis. It be called "Bay Wash"(Note: Baywatch) ou (or) somet'in'. Dunn (don't) know why but Henri an' Papa like it a lot."
"Kinda borin', huh?" Rogue shifted her position so she was leaning on Remy's shoulder. "All theh (their) doin' is rescuin' peebles (rescuing peoples{people})."
Remy shrugged. "Yeah. But it 'minds Remy dat its de summer an' Remy's parents gotta take Remy swimmin' soon." He smiled. "Maybe de people here kin take us instead!"
Rogue instantly tensed up. Her eyes widened in what was unmistakably fear. "What wrong?" He asked her, confused.
"Uh, Ah can' swim good." She looked at her feet. "An' Ah realleh (really) don' like the wateh (water)."
"Why not?" He tilted his head to the side. Didn't all kids love the water?
"Ah almost drowneded when Ah was a babeh (baby). It was scary." Rogue widened her eyes as if begging her friend to understand. "Ah can't swim. An' the wateh (water) still scares meh."
Whatever she was expecting, his reaction was the opposite. To her surprise, Remy burst out laughing. She huffed and pushed him so that he fell away. "Don' laugh at meh!"
He chuckled again but stopped when he saw the hurt in her eyes. "Remy sorry Marie. Just dat, Remy t'ought dat all kids could swim. Heck, Remy bin doin' it since he was two at least. Neve' met no one who couldn' swim befo'." She relaxed and tilted her head.
"Realleh (really)? Ah neveh met a kid who could swim afore (before). Back home, nobody mah age knows how."
"Remy could teach y' if y' want, Chérie." He gave her one of his trademark irresistible grins that were at least 50 times cuter than when they were fifteen years later.
"Could yah?" She smiled.
"Remy don' lie. At least not t' filles. (girls)."
Rogue nodded and then looked back at the TV. She changed the channel one more time and gave a squeal of delight. "Scooby-Doo! Ah love Scooby-Doo!" The other kids decided that they liked her taste and got comfortable. After five minutes they all grumbled when it was over.
"That was awesome!" Scott cheered.
"Yeah," Kurt agreed while nodding his fuzzy blue head in excitement. "Who vould have thought that the swamp thing was Mr. Smith though?"
"Anybody, duh!!!" Jean rolled her eyes. "But I liked how Daphne was so pretty! She's the best of all the Mister E ink (mystery inc) people."
"Nuh-uh!" Tabby stuck her tongue out. "She always gits cab-sured ( gets captured). Me think she a idiot!" Jean rolled her eyes.
"As if! Its not ever her fault! Dumb old Velma and Shaggy and Scooby get her caught. But isn't Freddy dreamy?" She sighed. (Remember she does have an older sister who probably talks about boys all the time.)
"Nope." Rogue glared at the other girl defiantly. "And the Swamp Thing wasn't even scary after Ah sawed the episode fo' the sixth time either. But it was so cool! Ah always wanted a doggy!"
"You're wrong!" Jean snapped. "The Swamp Thing is icky and VERY scary."
"It ain't even realistic..." Rogue grumbled.
"Was too!" Jean whined. "Just ask Remy. He lives in the Swamps. Go ahead Remy, tell Marie all about how the Swamp Thing looks like the real monsters in the swamps. Tell her." Jean gave him an annoying know-it-all style grin.
"Don't be dumb red head!" Rogue snapped. "Ah live in the same Nick of wood (nick of the woods) as he does. Ah ought ta know."
"Well lets let him tell it like it is." Jean said nastily.
"Well, Jeannie, since y' asked..." Remy paused dramatically. "Y' 'bout as wrong as y' kin get an' still have said somet'in'." Jean's jaw fell open.
"But...I'm never wrong! There's got to be some mistake. Leave it to you to take her side!" Jean wailed.
"Remy not takin' her side." The older boy said calmly. "Jus' tellin' de trut' silly. An' if y' listened earlier, Remy said he don' lie t' filles (girls). So dere."
"Hmph. I bet the dumb ole' (old) Swamp Thing doesn't even exist." Jean pouted.
"He does so!" Remy and Rogue yelled at the same time. They turned towards each other and grinned wickedly. Both of them knew that there was no such thing as any Swamp thing, but they wanted to see how far they could push Jean into believing it.
"How can y' not know 'bout de Swamp T'in' (Thing)?!" Remy asked as if mortally wounded by this fact.
"All kids gotta know bou' (about) the Swamp Thing." Rogue declared with a perfectly straight face.
Jean shook her head, a little nervously. "N-n-no. But you two are just joking, r-r-r-right?"
"The Swamp T'in' 'bout as much a joke as playin' dentist wit' a gator." Remy nodded seriously.
"Yeah, he's mean an' vicious an' everythin'!" Rogue said enthusiastically.
"He gots real big shiny teef (teeth). An' a bazillion scales an' nasty claws." Remy said in an awed whisper.
"An' a long bushy tail, with ho'ible (horrible) yeller (yellow) eyes an' he makes a evil soundin' noise if y' come near him."
Remy nodded in agreement with his friend. "An' he likes t' try an' eat up li'l kids wit' red hair." Jean's eyes widened in fear.
"You two are lying!" She said, sounding as if she was trying to sound like she was trying to convince herself.
"Nope. If y' don' believe us...y' could always go ask Corey Swiss (based on a kid I hate. "Corey Swiss" does not exist but picture him as an obnoxious red head much like our little Jean. Even though the kid this one's based off has dirty blonde hair...)...Oh wait...y' can't..."
"W-Who is that?" Jean asked nervously.
"Oh just a kid wit' red hair dat di'n' believe in de Swamp T'in' neit'er. (neither). He wented down t' de Bayou..."
"An' they neve' sawed him neve' again." Rogue finished mysteriously.
Jean burst into tears and threw herself into the corner of the room, weeping hysterically.
Remy and Rogue burst into identical, evil grins. "That was so awesome!" They said simultaneously.
"She believed it!" Rogue giggled.
"De look on her face!" Remy chuckled.
"Uh, by the way what were yah scribin' (describing) ta her anyway?"
"So yah know dat Remy wasn't tellin' her bout de real Swamp T'in'?"
"Duh! Who wouldn't" Rogue scoffed.
"Well, Remy was talkin' bout Spot. How bout y'?"
"Actually, Ah was describin' mah Auntie Ahrene's (Irene's) kitty cat. His name is Boots an' he's evil. Ah hate him! Cats are dumb!" She scowled. (A/N: I must say that I love kitties! But Rogue made it quite clear in "The Cauldron Pt. 1" that she hates them. You know, when she told Mystique who was a cat to "shoo" and then she told Evan, Kitty, and Kurt "Ugh, Ah hate cats"?)
Remy laughed and grinned. "We make quite a team!"
"Yeah." Rogue smiled. Then she frowned slightly and whispered in his ear. "Yah were jus' jokin' 'bout Spot likin' ta eat red heads right?" Remy's eyes traced the small girl's face up to the bright auburn hair that looked red depending on the light.
"O' course." He nodded and gestured to his own copper hair. "He only tries t' take a bite outta y' if wake him up or try t' poke his eye wit' Papa's bow staff." She gave him a questioning glance and he rolled up his shirtsleeve. He pointed to a nasty scar. "Got dis de first day Remy got t' his new home. Saw him sittin' on de shore o' de River. Remy was playin' wit' one o' de bow staffs from de house. So Remy poked the gator cuz he looked dead t' Remy. Lets just say dat he di'n' like it much. So as comp'sation, (compensation) he tried t' eat Remy's arm off."
"Were yah real scared?" Rogue asked. "Did it hurt?" She still seemed interested in gory creepy details even as a three-year-old. "Did yah bleed all over?"
"Nope, nah, not really, and yep." Remy answered grimly. His friend's eyes widened as she regarded him like some kind of hero. "It was awful! Remy jus' whacked him wit' de staff till he let go. Den de gator crawled back int' de river an' Remy went back in de house." He shrugged as if this was no big deal. But inside, he was reliving the memory...
~~~~~~~~~~ (flashback)~~~~~~~~~~
A tiny child sat on the bank of the Mississippi River. He was playing with a bow staff he had removed from his new father's pocket upon arrival at the Thieves Guild Stronghold manor. Jean-Luc LeBeau prided himself on its expert use. Remy so badly wanted to wield it like his new adopted father did. He was teaching himself how to use it so that he could make Jean-Luc proud. And then maybe Henri wouldn't poke fun at his eyes and that mean bully Julian from the Assassins Guild would think twice before calling him a useless pipsqueak It wasn't his fault that he was shorter than the other boys around here. They were all at least seven or eight years older than he was anyway. And that pretty little girl Bella, well she was petite. But she didn't count because she was a year or so younger than Remy was anyways. And Remy didn't want to be useless. He was only four! How much could they expect from him?! He wasn't born into the guild life like they were! He'd show them useless as soon as he got some decent training.
All of a sudden, the light from the sun pulled the scowling four-year-old's attention to a gigantic monster. "A gator!" The boy thought. "If Remy could kill it, maybe then people wouldn't think Remy is useless!" Smiling he hurried over to it. When he noticed its size he gulped. "Its gotta be at least sixty-eleven times bigger than Remy! Maybe it wants t' be Remy's friend. Den he could protect Remy from de older boys. But Remy think it be dead."
The little boy unleashed his father's staff to its full height and gently prodded the creature in the head. Then the snout. Finally he lost all patience and jabbed the bow staff right into the monster's eye. "Wake UP!"
And wake up it did. It growled and lunged at the boy. The gator caught the kid by the arm and yanked like a dog on a bone.
A blood-curdling scream filled the air of the otherwise peaceful Bayou. Jean-Luc cursed his luck and rushed out to the yard his new son had been playing in. That boy had only been there for three hours and already he was causing more trouble than he was worth. Marius Boudreaux followed chuckling, with his young daughter Bella on his shoulders and Julian faithfully trailing at his heels.
"Boy, What de Sam Hill d' y' t'ink y' doin'!?!" Jean-Luc hollered at Remy who was trying to beat the gator over his head with an awfully familiar looking bow staff. Jean-Luc subconsciously reached into his pocket even though he knew his weapon wasn't there. "Son of a Brisket, boy!" He wanted to swear in annoyance at the child but he kept his temper in check in front of Marius, Bella, and Julian.
He rushed over to his newly adopted son whilst he called for Henri to bring out a gun and Mattie to hurry out here.
He reached the screaming four-year-old and removed the bow staff from his grasp. He slammed it over the gator's head and the monster released the boy and slunk back into the river. Jean-Luc LeBeau cursed at the sight of the whimpering four-year-old. "What the devil is wrong wit' y' Remy?! If y' a LeBeau, y' bette' start actin' de part!"
"Remy sorry." He cast his small red and black eyes down. "Was jus' tryin' t' make y' proud o' Remy." Jean-Luc smiled and then caught sight of the blood that was seeping down the child's left arm.
"Dieu! (God)! We bette' git y' t' y' Tante."
The smiling face of Tante Mattie came into view. But her warm grin disappeared as she saw the young boy, who was trying desperately not to cry in his pain. She knew this boy would fit in right perfectly at the LeBeau home. A baby of four and already had too much pride to cry in front of a baby girl, his arch rival, and two grown men, one of whom happened to be his father. She shook her head and scooped the child up into her warm embrace.
"'Ello Tante Mattie. Remy fighted a ginormous gator! An' guess what?! Remy t'inks he winned."
"Did y' now? Well looks like he took a bite outta y' left arm as a prize chile (child). Lets git y' cut cleaned up so dat y'll heal right quick." The kindly woman washed the wound and tutted. "Dis is gonna need stitches. C'mere petit. Let dis ole' woman fix y' arm up proper." And she fixed his arm with fourteen stitches (cuz 13 is bad luck). Then she stepped out of the child's room and turned to Jean-Luc. "Boy, what were y' t'inkin'? He's only a chile (child)! How could y' let y' own son go play wit' de gators." She brandished her kitchen broom at the man who cowered back. "What de Sam Hill were y' doin' dat was mo' impo'tant den y' y' four year old fils huh?!"
"Um, dere was a tres (very) important business decision t' take care of between me an' Marius." The man said sheepishly.
"Well y' an Marius owe de boy an apology. Y' mean de world t' him Jean-Luc LeBeau! An' y' almost let de cher die."
"But, Mattie, twas fo' bot' de guilds." Marius tried to explain.
"Hang de guilds!" The older woman snarled. "Bot' o' dem! De deux o' y' are always fightin' dis guild war. Don't neit'er o' y' stop an' t'ink none 'bout y' familles (families). Jean-Luc, y' got Henri, an' poor Merci, an' y' wife, an' m' family involved in dis. Ain't dat 'nuff? Non, of course not! Y' got y' two-year-old daughter in trainin' an' den as if it weren't bad 'nuff, y' bringin' y' family int' dis, y' go an' take a poor orphan off o' de street an' tell him y' want t' be his pére an' de pauvre boy believes y' an' is desperate fo' y' approval when all y' want him fo' is Theivin'." Then the older woman took a deep breath and turned to the other man who was trying to slink away unnoticed.
"Where are y' goin' Marius!? Y' just as bad if not worse! Y' got y' whole family int' de killin' business! I heard dat sweet li'l two-year-old up on y' shoulder be already trained in de "art o' killin'" as y' call it.
"Yep, Belle here kin use six diff'rent weapons, sixty diff'rent ways." The head
assassin swelled with pride. "Someday, she gonna be m' best assassin."
"Dat may be so, Marius, mais look at how brave li'l Remy handled dat Gator." Jean-Luc grinned in a fatherly fashion. "Remy got de guts. Jus' need t' work on his brain an' speed. Den he'll be de best t'eif dis side o' heck. Did I ever tell y' how I took interest in de boy? Non, don' t'ink I did. Well, de li'l scamp was able t' pick m' pocket. D' y' know how great a t'eif dat declares?"
"Maybe its just a mark dat says y' loosin' y' touch, LeBeau. Come now, Julian, Belle, t'is time t' take leave." The man reached into his coat pocket and then pulled out his hand while wearing a bewildered look. "Julian, did I give y' de keys t' de car?" The young boy shook his head.
"Lookin' fo' dese?" The four-year-old opened his bedroom door and dangled a set of car keys in front of the older man's face.
"Loosin' m' touch indeed." Jean-Luc chortled.
"Bloody Thieves," Marius snarled and grabbed his keys.
"Father do we really want this" Julian wrinkled his nose while he thought of an appropriate adjective for the beaming four year old. "This...this...waif to marry into our family?"
"Ain't like we got much choice, Julian." Marius scowled. "Wit' Raven pullin' out wit' her fille (daughter) t' give her private teachin' , an' de gen'ral danger level o' our job, our numbers be thinnin'. Dat an' we need de marriage fo' peace between de guilds. But he is...despicable. A horrid li'l street rat marryin' m' fille (daughter). Imagine. Who'd have eve' taught dat dis scruffy li'l piglet would end up wit' our Belle angel."
As they turned to leave, Remy stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry at their retreating backs.
~~~~~~~~~~(end flashback)~~~~~~~~~~
Remy shook his head to clear it of the memory. He felt slightly guilty about what he had told his friend, but it was true. He hadn't been scared-he'd been terrified. And it didn't hurt-it had felt like his arm was being pulled clear off! And he had told the total truth about the blood. He had bled all over. In fact, the hall and kitchen and his bedroom rug still had the blood stains in them.
But still, now Marie was looking at him like he was some sort of a hero.
As he was considering telling her the whole story, Lance hurried into the room. "So this is where you little rascals went. You had us worried for a few minutes." He mentally counted the kids. He had heard screaming and crying and had wisely decided that those noises were trouble when combined with toddlers. "One, two, three, four...six...nine...ten...eleven? Uh, weren't there twelve of them? Pietro? Who's missing?"
The speedster looked at the kids. "Hm, Blob-Drake-Toad-Magma-Pryde-Pyro-Nightcrawler-Boom-Boom-Summers-Gambit-and-Roguey. We're-missing-Grey." The albino six-teen year old zipped through the group to the front, where Lance and the mini-mutants were congregated.
"Where's Jean?" Lance asked Rogue before she could assault Pietro for not calling her Marie as she had requested.
The girl rolled her pretty emerald eyes and pointed to the corner where Jean had taken refuge.
"What on Earth is her problem?" Lance asked in irritation.
Rogue beckoned him to kneel down so she could whisper in his ear. "I think she missed her nappie taday. (nap today). She's realleh crankeh (cranky)."
Lance hid a grin and the little girl smiled. "What?!" She asked. Of course, she was looking like the picture of innocence. "Its true!"
"I have an awesome idea kiddos! How do you like to play pretending games?" Lance grinned as all the kids grew excited and cheered. "So does that mean you like my idea?" All 12 of the kidlets squealed in response.
"Lets play!" Tabby cheered and grinned a maniacal grin that was much reminiscent of Pyro around fire or flammable objects.
"Alright then, squirts. Why don't we go play pretend at a really nice store? Its called Baby's R Us."
"I've been there!" Scott said excitedly. "When Mom and Dad were getting ready to have my baby brother Alex we went! They gots everything!" The boy's face lit up in memory of his family.
"Great. Well, all of us are going to pretend we are from different families. And if you guys behave really well, and play the game so well that other people think its real, us older kids will get each of you a special treat. How does that sound?" Lance's heart warmed at the sound of the exuberant cheer he received from the children.
"Good then its all settled. We'll separate you into different cars. The uh...adult who is with you will tell you about the game, Okay?"
"Yep." Scott smiled.
As Lance led the toddlers down to the garage, Pietro, Wanda, and Amanda shared a glance. Lance would make such a great parent someday. It was almost scary how it almost seemed second nature to the nineteen-year-old to be leading a horde of kids between the tender ages of two and four (Wanda was carrying baby Toad and Jubilee had little Amara in her arms). On the way out the door, Wanda grabbed the money from the accessory box which the professor had set up as a fund where the students could buy things that benefited multiple people without spending allowance money. She also grabbed some money from the box for shopping and grocery purposes. A shopping spree for baby stuff would not be cheap.
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So how was it? Love it? Hate it? I regret to inform you that if you wish for the trained assassin penguins to peck me to death your wish can not be fulfilled. The penguins were offended as to how they felt their services were not needed so they have traveled on to a place where angry mobs are abundant. When the union required that I either pay them for their grievances and double the pay I gave them in the time of no service or find a new set of minions. Well guess what I chose? This week only, I am dealing with Irish-Step-Dancing-Mimes! Oh joy!
Please note that I am taking auditions for new minions... Well y'all review now! And I don't want any bad news because the mimes need to be fired. They are scaring away even my own family. So only good news this time please! Unless you have a pressing matter that can't wait.
Okay sorry that this took so long. I am changing so that it is once every other week. Sorry. But prison-I mean school has me really busy and I just can't do once a week and do well in classes or keep up with the semi-pathetic social life I actually have. Trust me, you want me to be social, my friends are loons and they inspire me to write. I love them all and they are wondering what new entity is trying to take their place so I have to spend time with them. But don't lose hope my friends. I value all my readers as friends too so I won't be forgetting to do my story.
I must apologize again for the fact that this took so long. Also, I know I mentioned Carmen having a cameo in this chapter but I goofed. Next chapter I promise.
And one final apology to Girl Number 1!!! Forgive me please? (Is it just me or do I spend much time apologizing and groveling?)
Okay, I never got a response to last weeks question about Pietro and Sonic. This makes me sad but oh well. This weeks question is...
"Why does every member of the Brotherhood, and most of the X-Men, never have problems with their powers? The only ones to my knowledge that ever did not have total control at any given point were Jean, Evan, Kitty (ONE TIME ONLY BIG WHOOP!), and of course Scott and Rogue who never really had control to begin with. I would think it would be like riding a bike you know, how once you have it, you have it down for a nice long time, but you have to have some trouble at the start right? Anyone out there have any ideas?"
Ok. Yep. You read so now it is time to review. Thanx a mega bundle! By the way...Happy St. Patrick's Day!
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Chapter 8 completed March 17, 2004