Warnings: This not only contains more femslashy goodness, but also clear evidence of guyslash. So if you don't like it don't read it, or gloss over it in you head, it's that easy.
Execution
Note: "text" is conversation held in sign.
The journey back form Abrahams' compound had been silent, each member of the team absorbed in their own thoughts, and Sage welcomed the chance to process everything that she had learned. It was becoming apparent to her that Emma had misjudged the seriousness of this highly dangerous new drug, and she found herself thankful that it was her team and not the X-men who had been sent in to deal with it. The X-men would have made a mess of things.
They were out of the jeep and on their way into the townhouse when Logan put a hand lightly on her arm, drawing her attention almost fully to him, although she kept some if it dedicated to keeping watch on their surroundings.
"They've been inside. I can smell 'em," he murmured, loud enough that the team could hear, but low enough that anybody watching would think it nothing more than an overzealous body guard doing his duty, "and I think they've bugged the place. Can hear the hum of the electronics." Laura nodded slightly in conformation, and Sage was glad that, as usual, she'd had the foresight to stash some of their more obviously out of character gear.
She nodded once, weighing up their option in a heartbeat before answering, her voice as low as Logan's had been. "All conversations in character until I give the all clear," she ordered, glad that they had parked a little way off from the entrance, as it allowed them to continue moving normally towards the townhouse while they were setting this up. "Sign from here on out," she said out loud, and then switched to basic military sign. "I take it that you all understand this?"
Logan and Laura both signed the affirmative, their special forces training clearly showing through, and preceded her into the building, switching on the lights as they went. Dusk had fallen as they drove back, and it wouldn't be too long until it was full night. Remy looked at her hard as he walked in behind her, and Sage could swear that behind the dark glasses he still wore he was frowning slightly. Eventually, he too signed the affirmative, although the motions were slightly different, and Sage sighed in relief. She hadn't been entirely sure that he would understand standard sign, but obviously thieves cant was close enough that he could adapt.
Once they were inside Sage felt a lot more comfortable, although she knew they were still being watched by at least one pair of eyes. Truthfully, she expected no less from Abrahams. He was, understandably, a little on the paranoid side, and she was an unknown element despite her 'proven reputation'. He could afford to be watchful. Luckily, she also knew that the eyes of Abrahams agent wouldn't be watching them too closely at this time of day, so it was safe to sign. Luckily, the sign they were using was subtle enough that from a distance it could be mistaken for ordinary gesture.
"I'll take care of dinner, boss." Logan's voice pulled her out of her train of thoughts and she nodded, finally removing her sunglasses. She was unsurprised when Remy offered to help him in the kitchen, his normal Cajun accent replaced with a flawless British one, much as Logan's Canadian one had been. She was equally unsurprised when she and Laura ended up in there as well. It seemed not only the best choice strategically to fit their cover, but it also seemed that none of them wanted to be alone.
The heat of the day had begun to dissipate, and Sage knew that they would soon be welcoming the heat of the stove once Logan began to cook. As she watched him and Remy in discussion about what to cook with the limited supplied that they had Sage slipped her jacket off, revealing the shoulder holster and 9mm Beretta that it had hidden. For all that she normally went armed, and the jacket was comfortable enough over the gun, it was more restrictive than she was used to and she relished the chance to move freely again. She stretched, almost smiling at the interested half/glance that Laura sent her way, and then sat in one of the chairs around the table in the centre of the kitchen.
As if an unspoken signal had been given, the others in the room also began to get more comfortable. Laura slipped off her jacket, regarding both it and the holster that followed it with the faintest hint of disgust. Logan removed his outer layer, revealing the two holsters over his shoulders, the holster on his left hip and the single blade in the small of his back. He took off the shoulder harness, laying the guns out on the side like a pro, looking like his cover fit him like a second skin.
Sage knew that both Logan and Laura weren't happy with having to carry guns, there were too many bad memories attached for both of them, but she also knew what was expected of them all and what could catch them unawares. It was the reason that despite their complaints, her whole team was armed, the reason that there would be weaponry beneath their pillows and the reason that they wouldn't go anywhere alone. It just wasn't worth the risks.
A clink brought her attention to Remy's jacket as he removed it, a noise she identified as coming from the half-dozen throwing knives she knew he had secreted within it, despite the fact it wasn't designed to hold them. The small gun looked out of place sat on his hip, but the one obvious knife sheath didn't, and as he leaned on Logan to remove an ankle holster Sage smiled, knowing that the touch was more than it appeared.
In fact, as the two men began cooking she began to pick up more and more 'accidental' touches between them, a hand brushing a hip for example, or a gentle nudge to the ribs, and it only served to enlarge her suspicions about their relationship. It became quite a game for her to carry on a totally in-character conversation with Laura about the profitability of the drug and how soon they could have it on the market ahead of their competition, and watch them at the same time, and she was almost disappointed when Laura's insistent signing pulled her attention away from them.
"Why did that girl in the courtyard smell like you?" Laura asked, once she had her attention, and Sage sighed, having been hoping that this conversation could be avoided.
"She's right Sage. The girl smelt of you, and it wasn't just a passing scent," Logan added, looking hard at her, and then at Remy, who began to sign his agreement, and Sage knew that that this was what they had discussed when she was them talking on the drive back.
"And the way you reacted to the name Amniat was suspicious to say the least. What aren't you telling us about this mission?" Remy gave her a small, encouraging smile, while out loud he asked her if she would like bread or rice with the food.
"Don't give us any of that 'need to know' shit either. Anything that could shake your calm is something we need to know about," Logan continued before turning back to the meat on the stove.
"It's a fair exchange after all," Remy signed, deliberately flourishing his still-gloved hands, "one secret for another." He leant against the counter, idly spinning a knife between his fingers now, as he and Logan argued out loud about what to do with the rice that Sage had requested.
"Enough!" she signed sharply, sending some of the paperwork that she and Laura had spread out on the table fluttering to the ground. She waited until Laura had retrieved it, admiring the way the young feral bent, and then continued. "That girl is my daughter," she started, cutting straight to the point. "I gave birth to her almost fifteen years ago, during the time I spent in a harem, and then Xavier took me away from all of this." She smiled slightly at their expressions of shock and confirmation, at least on Logan's part. "And I reacted to Amniat because that is the first name that I ever went by."
Laura looked at her, a cough barely disguising a snort of amusement. "You were called peace?" she signed, her amusement clear. "That is a little ironic isn't it, Amniat?"
Sage could tell the girl was pressing her again, her unease about their confrontation earlier and the information they had gathered from Abrahams making her push the boundaries. Turning slightly so that her body blocked the sign from Logan and Remy, Sage signed, "and you were called X23, a weapon, but I am Sage now and you are Laura. Do try to remember that."
With that, she stopped signing, and accepted the plate of meat and rice that was put in front of her by Remy, whose hand brushed her shoulder gently in a sign of comfort and understanding. Laura just stared at her, obviously surprised that she had bothered to hide the reprimand from the others, and then began eating as her food was put in front of her by Logan.
The four of them ate in relative silence, occasionally talking out loud about inconsequential things, and Sage began to formulate a blocking program for the bugs which would allow them some time to talk properly. Without access to the vast resources that she normally had she knew that any program would be temporary, and only allow them maybe an hour at a time, and she would probably have to loop the bug's feed in on itself to create the windows. 'It was never easy,' she thought, mentally compiling the program.
When they had finished, Logan and Laura took care of the dishes while Sage booted up her laptop to write the program, and Remy fished a small sewing kit out of one pocket. Sage watched amazed as he removed four small throwing knives and two larger combat knives from various places in his jacket. She had known that he had some there, but had underestimated how many and the skill with which he concealed them. She continued to watch over the top of the laptop as he sewed the sheathes in properly, two throwing knives in each sleeve and the combat knives into the back for a downward draw.
About 15 minutes later she stood, laptop tucked under one arm, and beckoned to Laura. "Come Laura, let us retire to bed," she said, her clipped tone and phrasing reminding her of Shaw for a moment before she forced it down. "Good night gentlemen. I will see you in the morning."
Remy and Logan said their goodnights, and then set off to do their own final security check of the night before they too settled. Sage headed upstairs towards the master bedroom.
"Your services won't be required tonight Laura." She said imperiously for the bugs benefit, while signing at the young feral to just get some sleep because she had work to do. Laura nodded, heading off to the bathroom, giving Sage time to hook her system into the transmitters on the bugs and refine her program. She could tell that the other woman had questions for her and was almost glad for the enforced silence and the reprieve it gave her.
When Laura came back Sage was still working on her laptop and she was glad to see Laura settle down on the small cot without objection. She had now got the bugs under her control, and was making a recording of the sounds from each room, sounds of them sleeping and the entire house at rest. After ten minutes she switched the bugs over to a loop of the recording rather than have them picking up on actual sounds from the house, and a crack from downstairs made her glad that she had done so. It sounded like one of the beds breaking, and Sage could hear Logan swearing at it.
Turning to Laura, who had shot upright, instantly alert at the noise, gun out from under her pillow, she signalled the all-clear and spoke up. "Its all right Laura, it was just Logan's bed breaking as I'm sure you're aware. There is no cause for concern, so get some more sleep." Laura just nodded, for once not arguing with her, and settled back down on to the bed as Sage got up and headed downstairs. Although she knew that it was Logan's bed breaking, she still had to check it out. After all, she needed to be sure of the reasons.
Navigating in the dark was easy, and she had soon found and opened the door to the other bedroom, slightly shocked at what she saw inside. One of the beds was very definitely broken, and from the way the wood had splintered it was clearly due to Logan's incredible weight. The other now had both Logan and Remy in it, with the Cajun's feet sticking out of the bottom and Logan's arms locked around Remy's chest and waist. Sage was glad that it was a sturdier bed, and hoped that they were at least wearing boxers under the blankets.
Logan's eye cracked open, his face half covered by a curtain of white hair. "See somethin' ya like, darlin'?" he rumbled quietly, apparently not wanting to wake the sleeping man in his arms. Sage was amazed that Remy had fallen asleep so quickly. It used to take him longer to get to sleep than her, but she wasn't going to question it. He needed his sleep for what was coming in the next few days.
"There are laws against that here," she warned, signalling the all-clear although she knew Logan was already aware of it. She shook her head. "As long as it doesn't affect the mission Logan," she sighed, knowing that she couldn't really say anything, especially considering her feelings for Laura. "The bugs go operational again in just under an hour." She murmured finally, knowing he would hear her, and left them in peace, heading for her own bed and her own thoughts.
When she got back into the room she could tell that Laura wasn't asleep, and she figured that if there was anybody on her team that she should speak to it was her. She decided to put the time that her program had bought them to good use. "I know that you are still awake Laura, and I think we need to talk," she said, clearly surprising her roommate, who sat up suddenly, a confused look on her face. Sage sat on the edge of her bed and patted the empty space to the side of her. "You can sit on here with me, if you will be more comfortable."
Laura nodded, and Sage admired the graceful way that the other woman slid out of the cot and moved across the room to sit on the bed next to her. "What do you want to talk about?" Laura asked, in a tone that made Sage think that the question was really 'what have I done wrong?' The expression on her face confirmed this, as resentment warred with confusion and anger. 'Oh Emma,' Sage thought to herself, 'you really do have a lot answer for.'
"It isn't anything bad Laura. I would just like to know why you are having such a problem with my authority?" She deliberately phrased the question so that it was just that- a question and not a demand or an order. She knew that she would have to go carefully with Laura if she didn't want to push her away.
Laura stared at her for a few moments before answering, still unsettled by Sage's attitude. "I don't trust you." She said plainly. "You haven't given me any reason to. Logan trusts you, but that isn't enough. He trusted her." The 'her' being Emma Frost, Sage knew that for a fact, and she was glad that Laura opened up to her at least a little. She only hoped that she could build on that trust and get the other woman to believe in her.
"I'm not Emma, Laura, and despite our shared history I am nothing like her. I don't think you are just a weapon. I know that you are more than that. I haven't done anything to stop you trusting me, have I?"
"You are attracted to me." Laura stated, as it if was the biggest black mark there could be.
"Yes, I am. If that offends you I am sorry Laura, but I will not deny the way I feel. I spent too long doing that, but nothing will come of it unless you want it to." Sage was surprised when Laura moved closer to her, almost hesitantly, and even more surprised when she felt Laura's lips pressed against hers. After a few moments, Laura broke the kiss and pulled away, obviously surprised herself.
"You are the first person to want me and give me the option." She said, snuggling into Sage's arms. Sage found her warmth comforting, and after a minute or so shifted both of them so that they were lying under the covers. Laura offered no protest and within minutes she was dropping into sleep, leaving Sage still lying awake and thinking on her daughter.
She was starting to drift into sleep five minutes later when Laura stiffened in her arms, and she detected a slight noise from downstairs. It took her a few seconds to work out what it was, and it was only when Laura squirmed slightly and said "That's Logan and Remy," that she knew for sure. She just nodded, knowing the woman in her arms could feel it, and settled a little deeper into the covers. She was hoping to start drifting off again when Laura spoke.
"Sage?" the tone was hesitant, but clear enough, and Sage smiled slightly. She'd made it clear that Laura could talk to her, and it seemed the young woman was holding her to that.
"Yes, what is it?" she replied, glad that she could survive on very little sleep.
"Why is your daughter here?" Laura asked, and then continued, "If you gave birth to her fifteen years ago, you can't have been much more than a child anyway. Why did you leave her behind?"
Sage sighed softly and stroked Laura's hair while she put together the best answer for her. "I was only sixteen when I had her, and believe me, if I could have taken her with me when I escaped from where I was being kept I would have. I was exhausted though, and had no way of caring for her. It was better that she stay where she was." She heard Laura preparing another question, and continued quickly, "Xavier first met me a few years before I had her, but he didn't attempt to bring me to his school until a few years after I had had her. He told me that he couldn't bring her to me, but he could ensure that she was cared for…"
At this point, Laura interrupted, "As long as you behaved and did what you were told? That's why you agreed to this mission, isn't it? She knew about your daughter."
Sage surprised a smile. Laura was definitely familiar with the way people like Xavier and Emma manipulated others. "Yes. Her safety was one of the things that kept me in the Hellfire Club for so long, although as it turns out, he had no idea where she was and no intention of finding her. The only other person to know about her before today was Emma Frost, and she only found out by accident."
To her surprise, Laura tried to comfort her. "You're a capable leader. You'll be able to figure out a way to get her back. If that was the plan all along then you probably all ready know what you're going to do."
Sage smiled at this, and held Laura a little closer. The young feral snuggled back against her, and Sage found herself feeling a lot better. A lot more hopeful, she realised with the faintest tinge of surprise. She decided that, in the dark where nobody could see, she would allow herself to hope. For now, she could be Sage the woman. Tomorrow, she would have to go back to being team leader. Tomorrow was soon enough.
The next morning things were back to normal, as if the night before hadn't happened to any of them. Logan and Remy made breakfast, and if the touches were a bit warmer and more frequent neither Sage nor Laura commented. Things between her and Laura had returned, for now, to the way they were as well. The only indication that anything had happened was the fact that Laura sat just a little closer to her, and the knowing glance Logan shot them when they entered the kitchen that morning.
Things continued as normal, all of them fully back into their roles, until mid-morning when there was a knock at the door. Instinctively, they all reached for the weaponry that they had re-armed themselves with when they got dressed, and Sage was glad to see her team was combat ready. "Get that, would you?" she said to Laura and Remy. Moments later they returned, holding a small envelope.
"It's an invitation." Laura said, handing it over to her. Sage opened it, revealing an ostentatious invitation with the current days date, a time for that evening and a security phrase on it. "He said we need your name, the invite and security phrase to get into the auction," she finished.
"Good. I am looking forward to this auction. Supplies of this drug will increase our profit margin exponentially," she said out loud while dropping back into sign. "We need to plan, but they are going to be watching us closely. Logan, Laura, I will need you to act as I diversion while Remy and I plan."
The others signed their agreement, while Sage continued verbally, "Laura, we appear to have used up our supplies quicker than I anticipated. Take Logan with you and do some food shopping would you?" She deliberately set her tone so that it was slightly haughty, and slightly bored. She had a plan forming, and it depended on her showing disinteresting in anyone bar Remy.
Laura and Logan obeyed without question, Laura even voluntarily wearing the headscarf, discussing out loud the supplies they needed and via sign speculating what it was Sage and Remy were up to. Within 15 minutes of receiving the invite, Sage was left alone with Remy.
"Play along." She signed to him in thieves cant, so that there would be no misunderstanding, "and follow my lead." She leant over to him. "They should be gone for at least an hour," she purred seductively. "Come to bed with me." She made it an order, not a question, and could have laughed at the look on Remy's face.
"Anything you desire," he replied in kind, a genuine grin breaking out on his face and an arm slipping around her waist. "How are we going to work this?" he signed urgently as he led her to the bedroom.
"Once we're in the bedroom, I'll start recording. We'll need heavy breathing, a squeaking bed and other such noises. Don't pretend you don't know what I mean," she warned, and then smiled at him. "Leave your gloves on darling, you know how I like the feel of leather on my skin." She giggled, a warm, feminine sound, and allowed Remy to lead them into her bedroom. "This will give them something to focus on. They won't think that we're up to anything else," she explained.
She headed straight for her laptop as Remy closed the door and curtains, blocking them from any prying eyes. "If we bounce on the bed, we should get the right noises," he suggested, and it was clear he was having a hard time keeping a straight face. She nodded, signalling the start of the recording and the start of them bouncing on the bed.
Five minutes later and it was all they could to not to start laughing. They had made all the appropriate grunts and groans, heavy breathing and other necessary noises, providing Sage with more than enough material to loop the bugs for at least an hour as long as she mixed the sounds properly. She determined that they needed just one more thing.
"Oh, that's it… So good… you devil…" She panted, triggering the loop as soon as she finished speaking, accurately predicting that Remy wouldn't be able to keep his composure. As amusing as it was watching him choke on his own laughter, they had work to do. "It's ok Remy. You can laugh now."
"Mon Deiu, chere, dat was de most fun I've had for a while." Remy smiled, letting out a quiet but heartfelt laugh. "Didn' know y' had it in y't' fun either," he continued, amusement clear in his eyes. Part of Sage wanted to refute the claim that she never had fun, but she knew that it was true and so let it slide. She also knew that is was only in the past couple of days that she had felt comfortable enough to allow her emotions out again, but she filed that away for further thought after the mission.
"Well, things change," was all she said to conclude the matter. "Now, down to business. We've only got a limited time to plan this and a lot of ground to cover." She reached for her laptop, intending to pull up the preliminary blueprint she had also worked on last night while putting the bug-blocker together, when Remy's hand touched her shoulder.
"One t'ing I need to know chere." He asked, all the mirth forgotten, "Are we going t' get y' chile out of dere as well? Because, if so, dats got to be taken int' consideration." His eyes locked with hers and she felt strangely vulnerable, knowing that what logic dictated she say and what her heart apparently wanted to say were two different things. Eventually, logic won out.
"No. She should be safe enough with her father for now. It would only jeopardise our mission, which is to get the drug away from Abrahams and ensure that neither he nor anybody else can replicate it." Remy nodded, and Sage could tell that he was disappointed by her response, but nothing more was said on the matter.
As they discussed entry points and other pertinent things Sage found herself cursing Emma Frost for having put her in this position. She wasn't entirely sure how Emma had known where the girl would be, but she knew that the other woman had been relying on that information to make Sage form this team. It may not have been what motivated her in the beginning when she said yes to Emma, but having seen her daughter, it was slowly becoming something she couldn't ignore.
Ruthlessly she forced those thoughts into the background, turning most of her attention to the plan. Between them they decided that the best course of action was for Logan, Laura and herself to attend the auction as if nothing were happening while Remy exercised his talents as a master thief and slipped in while all the guards were distracted elsewhere. They would take Remy in the jeep with them and leave him a little way outside the compound, picking him up again when they left. It was a simple plan, as all the best ones were, but part of her had the feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong.
Once they had finished planning, the rest of the day seemed to go past in the curious mix of fast and slow time that always occurs when you are waiting for something to happen. Laura and Logan were back in what seemed like no time at all, even though Sage knew logically that it had been almost two hours since they left, but the time it took for them to communicate and refine the plan seemed to stretch on into eternity.
Finally night fell, and as they were rapidly approaching time to leave, Sage took the time to look at her team. Laura, Logan and herself were all dressed almost exactly as they had been the day before, although they were all more visibly armed now. The only differences there were the quality of the clothing, the light layer of armoured material that lined each outfit and the fact that Laura was in a skirt. Sage knew that she wasn't happy about the floor length garment, but Laura needed to appear less of a threat than her and a skirt was the perfect way to do it.
What Remy was wearing however was completely different from anything she had ever seen him in, and Sage knew that at last she was seeing the true master thief at work. He was wearing what he had called 'blacks', but looking at it she would describe it more as 'greens' or 'greys'. The 'blacks' comprised as skin-tight trousers and top that covered him from neck to ankle and wrist. The actual colouring was a mottle of dark charcoal greys, with hints of dark green and dark blue that would allow him to blend even more effortlessly with the shadows. As he moved, checking the tools spread out ready to be placed in the pouches of the utility belt around his waist, Sage could tell that the 'blacks' were lightly armoured in several places, although not enough to restrict movement.
Remy finished packing his tools quickly, they were going to have to leave in a few minutes to make it to the auction, and began to braid his hair. His black palms contrasted harshly with the white of his hair. As he flexed slightly Sage found her eyes drawn to the small flash of pale green and gold situated over Remy's heart. It was an intricate, ornate 'T', she realised, and something she had noticed mixed in with the markings in New Orleans, although not in those specific colours. Her eyes then followed the curve of his chest, drawn to the obvious muscles below the fabric.
She heard someone shift and realised that she wasn't the only one captivated by the sight. Both Laura and Logan were staring at him as well. When he noticed that attention that the others were paying Remy, Logan moved quietly behind him and took over the braiding of his hair, obviously marking his claim. Sage just smiled at his possessiveness, speaking out loud for the benefit of those listening. "Its time to go. I refuse to be late to this auction. Remy, the house is yours to look after until we get back. Logan, Laura, you're with me."
Remy nodded, voicing his assent to her orders, the pulled on the final part of his outfit, a tight black hood that covered everything but his eyes. The pale flesh left visible around his eyes was quickly smeared with dark grey paint, so that when he closed his eyes, nothing showed. After some signalling, Logan pulled away the back of Remy's top, tucking the plait down it and then folding it back over the base of the hood, effectively ensuring that there would be no chance flashes of skin or hair. Remy made the same overlap at the front and then pulled his gloves back on, fingers brushing over his belt in a final check. "I'll see you in the jeep," he signalled, and then was gone, the soft boots he was wearing making no noise.
The rest of the team left moments later, maintaining the illusion that Sage was a legitimate criminal interested in the drug, and when they got to the jeep Sage took the back seat while Logan and Laura took the front. It was only after they had left the city and were away from any possible surveillance that Remy revealed himself as sitting next to her, almost causing her to start in surprise. The blend of colours he was wearing really was effective, she found herself thinking, much more effective than true black would have been.
They spent the journey in silence and sooner than Sage had expected they were pulling up at the drop-off point. She watched as Logan stopped the jeep, and then reached into the back and pulled Remy to him, kissing the hood where Remy's lips should be. "Careful Cajun," he rumbled, "I lost ya once before an' I don't want it ta happen again." That said, Logan released him, turning back to the road, apparently focused entirely on the mission again.
Remy patted him on the shoulder as he slipped out of the jeep and into the night, and Sage barely heard the muttered "I will if y' do t' same cher." His voice was muffled almost entirely by the mask he wore. Sage smiled to herself a little, part of her glad to see her team happy for once, and glad that their growing relationship wasn't disrupting the mission.
[Gambit slipped into the shadows with ease and made his way to the entry point, senses alert for any threat of discovery. Once he'd made it to the perimeter it didn't take him long to get in. 'Amateurs' he thought, avoiding the sporadic guards and making his way to the first target.
It took the team a further five minutes to get to the compound, and the look the guard gave Laura when Sage introduced her as her PA was enough to make her want to castrate him there and then. Sage paused mentally for a moment when she realised that it might not be Logan and Remy that she needed to worry about when it came to messing up the mission, but she pushed that away ruthlessly as they entered the auction room. She could worry about that once they had done what they came here to do.
[He found the office easily enough and slipped the disk that Sage had given him into the computer, where it began downloading and erasing the data, before spreading a vicious virus to the network. While it was working he emptied the paper records out of their various containers and started a small, smokeless fire. By the time he was finished with everything, the blaze should have consumed the whole pile. Retrieving the disk he slipped out of the office and headed for the second target.
The first thing Sage noticed about the occupants of the auction room was that if anything went wrong with the mission, or if competitive emotions ran too high during the auction, they would be in a lot of trouble. The room contained a veritable 'who's who' of the rich and powerful of the criminal underworld, and Sage began compiling a mental 'kill list' just in case things did go to hell, starting with Abrahams and his scientific team, who were standing at the stage clearly ready to start, and continuing to those who were just too dangerous to leave alive. She spotted her former owner from her harem days and added him to the list, deciding then and there that if things did turn nasty she would try and get her daughter out. She owed the girl that much.
[Remy ghosted along the corridors towards the lab, noting the slight increase in guard activity as he neared the lab with some interest. He would have to be slightly more cautious from here on out he realised. Stopping in front of the door to the lab he began to work on the lock, only looking up when he heard movement inside. Looking through the glass panel on the door into the darkness he spotted a man in familiar uniform with a familiar green and gold insignia, wearing an even more familiar set of matched hip knives. "Papa…" he whispered, as he heard the first shout from the guard that his momentary distraction had allowed close to him.
The auction was just about to start when the doors to the hall opened again. Sage wasn't able to see who entered, but by the way Logan stiffened after taking a breath, and the booming laugh that rang out was enough to confirm the newcomer's identity as Victor Creed. Logan was moving even before the laughter had finished, claws glinting in the light, and Sage realised that the mission had just stopped being simple.
Grabbing Laura's arm as she went to follow Logan, Sage sent a microburst of information to the young feral, using her telepathy. It contained the kill list that she had compiled, the fact that Sage was going after her daughter and instructions to meet her back at the jeep as soon as she was finished. She had no time to feel guilty about what she'd done, which she knew was what weapon X would have done if they could, but there had been no other way, and she would just have to trust Logan and Remy to make their own way out of this as it was. As the room descended into chaos she headed for the location that she had ripped from her former owner's mind, and her daughter.
[Remy bit back a curse as a bullet tore through his arm, and was thankful that a throwing knife found its way into the guard's throat courtesy of his father before the man had been able to fire off a second shot. The damage had been done though, and Remy could hear the footsteps of the other guards the shot had alerted.
"We've got to get out of here!" Jean-Luc signed to him, stepping out of the open door and wrapping a strip of dark material around the bullet wound. "Can you walk?"
"Got to finish the mission first." Remy signed back, pulling himself upright with Jean-Luc's help and pushing down all the questions he had for his father. Those could wait. For now, he had a mission. "Got to destroy the lab," he signed, realising that the sample he was supposed to steal was already gone.
"I know just the thing." His father signed, collecting various components from the lab, including ethanol and potassium.
Sage raced up the stairs, ignoring the sounds of gunfire that was coming from both the auction room and the back of the compound. All she could do was trust in Laura and Logan's healing ability and Remy's ability to get out of trouble despite the odds. Running down the corridor she disabled the solitary guard quickly and efficiently before kicking in her daughter's door, ensuring that she was between the doorway and anything that could harm her daughter.
She came face to face with a younger, more innocent and softer looking version of herself, clutching a small, battered cradle blanket that Sage recognised as her own handiwork. "What's going on?" Amniat asked in heavily accented and slightly hesitant English, obviously wary and clearly scared.
"Its all right Amniat," Sage replied in perfect Pashto, "I've come to get you out of here." She offered the girl her hand, not expecting her to take it, and was surprised at the warmth when she did. She was equally surprised when her daughter gasped and pulled her into a hesitant but strong embrace, barely whispering "mother."
Sage flicked her tongue out and along the girl's hair, reading her DNA, and realised that this was how they had made Omega. Her daughter was definitely a mutant, and had inherited her ability to read DNA, although it was much more refined and specific. Abrahams must have been using her to help sequence the drug for maximum effect on mutants, and Sage found herself glad that she had sent Laura after him.
She returned the hub briefly, and then loosened her grip, ready to get them both out of there. Suddenly, the world went black as the lights went out and an explosion rocked the compound.
PREQUEL - REMY
Its midnight, the witching hour, although the only way to tell would be to look at a watch or a clock, because the night sky is obscured by clouds. The rain pours down in sheets, the thunder roars its anger into the darkness and the lightning barely banishes it before the world is swallowed again. Every living thing that has any sense of self preservation is tucked well away, safe from nature's wrath. Every living thing bar one.
The lightning flashes again, illuminating the rooftops of the houses, and the mansion that sits outside of town. Anybody who looked up at the mansion now would swear that its roof sported at least one gargoyle, but that isn't the case. A close look as the lightning flashes for a third time reveals that it is a man, crouched motionlessly and silently on the roof braving the storm, or perhaps revelling in it.
The wind pulls hard at the long coat that flaps open and ignored around him, like the wings of some great black bat or skulking dragon, not that the coat would do him any good against the elements, even if it were closed. The water is soaking into him through his thin shirt and trousers, turning the already black material as dark as the sky, but he ignores the rain, ignores the soaking and the cold, instead focusing on the occupants of the mansion below him.
Another flash of lightning although the radiance is unable to banish the inky darkness of his skin, nor to lend any colour to the stark bone white of his hair. The only colour on him is the red eyes which wince at the light, the only sign that he is living other than the occasional small movement of his chest. That and the slow, dull pounding in his ears that lets him know that his heart hasn't broken in two.
A frown crosses his face as a peal of laughter rings out into the night, a rich sound that is soon swallowed by the storm. What could be a tear, or simply another rivulet of rain, slides down his face unheeded. Another peal of laughter rings out, and as the storm answers with a crack of thunder he erupts into motion. As agile as a cat he is up, over the roof and flying through the air towards the nearest tree, as if driven away by the distant sound of happiness.
Settled once again in his watchful, gargoyle-like pose he looks into the place he once called home, at the people he once called friends and family, at the warmth he once shared in, and a sudden shudder rocks him before he can get it under control.
When he looks at the mansion all he can see is rubble, smouldering and broken, and when he looks at those he left behind all he can see are corpses, bloated, decayed and choked. That is his curse now, to see the death of all things and to know that he wants to cause it, to know that he could easily cause it with just one sweep of his hands and a little concentration. He could kill them all and he wouldn't feel a thing.
Looking into their lives he does feel something though, a faint and ghostly remembrance of who he was, and with great effort he relaxes both his hands and the power built up inside of him, because he isn't the killer that he was made to be, he isn't the avatar of Death, and he proved that when he walked away from Sinister. He can still remember the warmth of love, although it leaves him chilled to the core now. He can still remember what it was like to be Remy LeBeau, Gambit, although it pains him to do so because it reminds him of everything he gave up.
Finally the pain becomes too much and he slips away from the mansion and into the night like the thief he was. No, the thief he still is. Nobody has sympathy for the Devil, but there is perhaps one person who could have sympathy for him, and if she does, and with the power of faith at her hands, perhaps he can discover once again who Remy LeBeau is, and if there is anything left worth saving in him.