Chapter 3 (Remy)
My heart sinks when I watch Nori watching Pyro. She loved that poor kid like a son. I guess still loves him. He looks older, now. He must be, what, twenty? Twenty-one? And his face is hard. Angry. The withering glare he directs at Nori makes me wince, but she walks right up to him. Pyro's not especially tall, maybe 5'7, but that still puts him a good seven inches above Nori. I hesitate, and decide to linger back with Aiko for now. But I'm keeping a close eye, and I know she has her TK shield up around her-and one around us.
"Pyro, why are you doing this?" she asks. "You're going to hurt people."
"That's kind of the idea," he snaps. "Those people are hurting our people, so I'm hurting them. Or I was." He twists his mouth into a sneer. "Why are you protecting them? You think they'll forgive you? You think you can still sell some CDs, get your shitty career back? You can't."
I want to slap him, hurt him the way he's hurting Nori right now. That kid is such an asshole.
"This isn't about that, Pyro. Please."
I watch his fists clench and wonder if he's going to try to hit her. Instead, he lets out a deep breath and looks behind him. He gives a small nod, and a tall man dressed all in black, including gloves and a ski mask, joins him.
"Hello, Echo," the man says. His voice is unbelievably soothing.
"Um, hi," she says, looking up at him.
"Tell me, Echo, would it be so bad if Pyro burned down this building? I don't think it would."
"Um, I guess not," she says. Her voice sounds dreamy.
"Good, good. Now, why don't you help Pyro? He can't do it without your help."
"Oh. Okay."
Her back is to me, so I can't see her eyes, but it sounds like she's being hypnotized or something. Is her shield still up over us? I reach my hand out in front of me and find that it is. "Nori! Don't listen to him!" I yell.
She turns and glances at me, but the man in black says, "Shh, don't worry about him. Just help Pyro."
Merde. I turn to Aiko and say, "You stay here!" She nods, her eyes wide. Then I walk up to Nori-or I try to, but I run into the shield she'd put up. Usually she creates shields to surround people, but this one seems to just be a wall. "Nori! Look at me! Look at Aiko! Stop this!"
The man in black keeps whispering soothingly to her, and she reaches out and takes Pyro's hand. He picks up a manic smile and flicks his lighter. Dammit. "Aiko, I think she is brainwashed or something. You try yelling in Japanese. We have to stop her!"
Pyro shoots flame at the nearest building, a pretty white brick deal which a sign advises me is Boylston Hall. I have no idea what normally happens in Boylston Hall, but I hope it wasn't happening right now. I know brick isn't a particularly flammable building material—Nori must really be boosting his power based on the way the fire is spreading.
Aiko and I both yell and wave. I keep trying to break through the shield, but I can't. Is the guy in black a telepath? Didn't she have a shield up over her mind? Maybe she didn't—she was distracted by Pyro, and trying to telekinetically shield us. Nori's gotten better at using her powers, but she definitely has limits when it comes to multitasking.
Wait, do I have my phone in my pocket? Yes, thank God. I call the school and tell Xavier what's happening. He sounds troubled but tells me that Scott, Logan, and Hank have already left in the Blackbird and are on their way to Boston.
The man in black comes up to me and Aiko. I put myself in front of Aiko and tell her to cover her ears. Thankfully, she obeys without protest. I focus my power and charge some static electricity around myself—Xavier showed me out to do it, to block out telepaths.
"Ah, Gambit," the man says. "You used to have such a good time with the Brotherhood, didn't you?"
"Oui," I say. It's true. I did. "But—I'm with Xavier now. It's better this way."
"Is it? Wouldn't you like to come with us? Echo's having such a good time with Pyro."
"No—she—this isn't what she wants."
"Isn't it? Look how happy she is, with Pyro. Come with us."
"Yes..."
"We have to leave soon. You don't want her to get lonely, do you?"
"No."
"Lovely. It's settled, then."
I try to follow the man, but I can't. "Nori still has her shield over us," I say.
"Hmm. Interesting. Wait here. … but I don't suppose you have much choice in that matter, do you?"
"No," I agree. Aiko, still covering her ears, looks up at me as the man walks away.
She takes her hands down and says, "Uncle Remy, what happened?"
"I don't know," I say, a little confused.
Soon, the man in black returns and says, "Ah, yes. Come with us, Gambit. And little Aiko. We'll have such a nice time."
It sounds wonderful. Vaguely, I remember that I had been afraid of this man. Why? He seems perfectly kind.
There are sirens, and SWAT team members, and I dreamily follow the man in black to the helicopter that's waiting.
"Gambit, why don't you do something about those nuisances?" the man in black asks, indicating the SWAT team members. They are in our way, and I reach in my pocket and charge some cards, knocking them back. It feels good, helpful. Aiko and I take seats next to Nori in the back of the helicopter. Pyro pilots and the man in black sits next to us. He takes his ski mask off and I see that his skin is green. It's a nice color. He smiles at all of us and whispers reassurances to us. He tells me I've done a good job. His praise makes me feel warm inside.
Nori keeps looking around the helicopter. I'm not sure what she's looking for. She starts breathing heavily. I think she's having a panic attack. Her breathing gets even faster and she bursts into tears. I hold her hand but I don't know what to do.
Luckily, the man in black comes over and kneels in front of her. "Oh, dear Echo, calm down," he says. "Shh, yes, take a deep breath. Calm down. Breathe. Good girl. Good girl."
She gets her breathing under control and looks at him. "Oh, thank you," she says.
"Shh, you've had a long day. Why don't you just take a little nap?" he suggests.
"Okay," she says sleepily.
"Yes, sleep," he says.
She leans against my shoulder and almost immediately falls asleep. I put my arm around her and the man in black smiles. "Good, Gambit. Keep her comfortable." That sounds like a good job to me, and I settle in. After an hour or so, we land. Nori's still sleeping, and I pick her up. The man in black leads us out and into a red brick farmhouse. The helipad is in a barn with a retractable roof. Pretty clever.
Inside the farmhouse, we're greeted by Magneto. He gives us a cold smile, and frowns when he sees Aiko. He pulls the man in black aside and they have a terse, whispered conversation. I glance around. Aiko shouldn't be here, with Magneto. Should she? What's happening?
A tall, pale man with a red diamond on his forehead enters the room. He gives a predatory smile, and I feel afraid. "Ah, Gambit, so lovely to see you," he says. He walks up to me and strokes Nori's cheek with his thumb.
"Sinister!" I spit out. This isn't right. None of us should be here. I hold Nori a little more tightly and take a step back. She shifts in my arms but doesn't wake up. The man in black turns away from Magneto and smiles at me.
In his soothing voice, he says, "Gambit, Mr. Sinister is a friend. We're all working together. Don't you want to help us?"
"Well… yes," I say. Of course I want to help him.
"Wonderful. We're so glad that you do. You've had a long day. I'll show you to a room where you can relax."
"All right," I say, giving one last glance at Sinister before following the main in black.
He leads us to a room with a double bed and says, "Please, wait here. I'm afraid we didn't count on having little Aiko here—not that we're not thrilled to have her."
We sit quietly and wait. The room has a small bathroom attached. Neither room has windows. The man returns with a folding cot. Pyro's following behind him with an armful of bedding. "Here you go," the man in black says. "Why don't you make up a bed for Aiko? Are you hungry? We'll bring you some dinner soon."
"All right," I agree. It sounds very reasonable. I make up the cot and Aiko sits quietly on it. She hasn't said anything in a long time, and I look at her carefully. "Aiko? How are you, petite?" I ask.
She shrugs. "Where are we?"
"I don't know," I admit. She nods and says nothing.
Soon, the man in black comes back carrying a tray. He hands Aiko and I each a bowl of soup, and I ask, "Where are we?"
"Oh, Gambit, does it matter where we are?"
"I guess not."
"You shouldn't worry about things like that." I nod.
He gives Nori a gentle shake and says, "Echo, do wake up. You need to eat dinner." Her eyes flutter open and she sits up. He hands her a bowl of soup and says, "Here, you should eat this. Gambit, Aiko, you must eat as well. You must keep your strength up."
We all eat, and the man nods approvingly. He gives us bread, too, and bottles of water. "Good, good," he says after we eat everything we've been given. "I am so happy you're getting along here. Do any of you require anything else?"
We all shake our heads "no" and he smiles. "Good. Well, then, Echo, please come with me."
I glance at the man in alarm. I want to go with Nori, wherever he's taking her. He smiles at me and says, "Gambit, I need you to stay here and look after Aiko. You can do that, can't you?"
"Yes, of course," I say.
"I promise you, we will take very good care of Echo. You trust me, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Good, good. Then there's no problem, is there?"
"No."
"Good. Now, Echo?" She stands up and follows him. I feel the slightest bit of unease as the door shuts behind them, but I'm not sure why. Aiko and I sit quietly for a long time. Eventually, Aiko lies down and falls asleep. I want to wait up for Nori. Eventually, the man in black returns, carrying Nori in his arms. He looks a little surprised to see me.
"Oh, Gambit, were you waiting up for her? That's precious. But she's just fine, you see. You'd better get some sleep now."
He sets Nori down on the bed. I tuck her in and look up at him. He smiles. "Go to sleep, Gambit. You must be very tired." And suddenly, I'm exhausted. I lie next to Nori and fall asleep immediately.
I lose track of how long we spend at the house. Aiko and I never leave our room. The man in black (though he changes his clothes, I still think of him as the man in black) brings us food and occasionally takes Nori out. She's always asleep when he returns her, and when she's awake I never remember to ask her what it is she does when she's gone. Finally, one day, the man comes to our room and has us put on our coats.
"We're going on a little trip," he says.
"Where are we going?" I ask.
"Does it really matter?" he replies. I shake my head "no," and he smiles. We follow him outside and get in the helicopter. Mystique pilots this time. Pyro, Magneto, and the man in black (now wearing black again) all sit back with us. They all seem anxious, and so does Aiko, until the man in black gently suggests that she take a nap. After a few hours, the helicopter sets down in the snow. We're on the frozen shores of a lake. Sinister is already there waiting.
We all get off the helicopter. The man in black gives me Aiko, still sleeping, to hold. He asks me to stay where I am and watch Aiko, which seems perfectly reasonable. Then he leads Nori over to Sinister and he talks to her. I can't hear what he says, but she takes Sinister's hand and her eyes unfocus like they do when she uses her power. I stand quietly and watch. She starts breathing harder and she seems upset, but the man in black whispers something to her and she relaxes. After a while, something starts glowing out over the lake. Sinister smiles. The glowing gets brighter and bigger.
Several things happen very quickly: Nori cries out and collapses into the snow. The glowing stops. A red-headed woman appears on the shore. The man in black smiles at her and starts talking to her. She smiles back. The man in black says, "Gambit, stay here and look after Aiko and Echo, won't you?" I nod, and he says, "You've all been so very helpful." I feel very proud, and it doesn't occur to me to protest when the helicopter leaves without us.