………………………………...
The torture had lasted all day and well into the night, before the General finally grew weary of the sounds of muffled cries and the stench of sweat and blood mixed with vomit and urine. He had wanted to humiliate the man, to drag him threw the dirt and hear him beg for mercy. With every harsh blow and pain filled scream, he felt his frustration released. Finally there was nothing more to do. No more threats to be carried out, no more pleas for mercy to be snickered at. The mutant lay naked, bound and gagged, with three times the number of burns, bruises and abrasions then he had started off with that morning. The General had done to him what he had learned during Vietnam, things that would leave permanent scares. The body of the mutant was still besides shallow wheezing breaths, it's demonic eyes were closed. The General knelt down beside the mutant, wiping his bloody hands on the torn remains of Gambit's pants. With a disgusted look he sneered at the young, pathetic man, feeling powerful.
"Not so cocky now, are you Mutie!" He snickered. Then rose to his feet, and looked at the other high ranking officials. "Well, shall we have something to eat then?…….Guess we ran a little late tonight!" he laughed as did the others, leaving the broken and battered heap of flesh to be cleaned up by a handful of solders and a doctor.
"My God!………Alright,….. You…., remove those electrodes and try to stop the bleeding from that area……..Are those,……are those burns or whip lashes?" The doctor felt a wave of nausea as he looked down upon the badly mis-treated body of the young man.
"Both,……electrical whip." A solder shrugged nonchalantly.
"Why didn't they just kill him?" The doctor whispered softly as he removed the ball gag from the mutant's mouth, causing the young man to release a mumbled moan that broke into a whimper. Suddenly the doctor realized that he was not treating a mutant, some evil creature with no heart or soul. The tortured body lying in his arms was a person, a human being capable of love and hate, of good and bad. And just like that, the mutant vs. human issue stopped being black and white and started showing the whole spectrum of color. The doctor swallowed hard as tears of guilt and remorse appeared in his eyes. What had he been thinking?
Hours later or perhaps even days, Remy opened his eyes as conscious thought slowly took hold of his mind. Pain was the first thing he sensed and it out weighed any and all other thoughts for at least 20 minutes until he could finally think with the pain. It was every were and every thing, pain! Hot, stinging, throbbing, piercing, numbing, freezing, blinding pain, that threatened to swallow him whole. He tried to fight back the tears that pooled in his eyes, but found he couldn't so he let them flow, silently cursing his weakness. Then in an effort to move, a whimper was released, then another, until he was crying, not loud but enough for his busted bottom lip to quiver and a helpless sound to emanate from his throat. Remy felt utterly beaten, starved and exhausted, finding no relief in his dreams he lay in his cot with his eyes half open wishing he were dead.
Foot steps echoed in the hall way and Remy's breath caught, feeling a sense of fear he normally was strong enough to over power, but in this state it only served to increase his cries as he desperately fought back against the over whelming tears. The cell door opened and the young guard that had bandaged his wrists earlier appeared, kneeling down next to him. He looked over the exposed mutant in horror at what had been done to him. He felt sympathy for the young man and disgust at what he had been subjected to. Gambit had some how gained control over his emotions and was now eyeing the young guard suspiciously, tears still staining his cheeks. Once again the guard's blue eyes met with his own and a feeling of need took hold. How badly he craved human affection, the feel of gentle, loving hands embracing him, holding him. Even with out the empathy, he needed touch like a drug, and he would have done any thing to get it. Another tear escaped his eyes as the guard reached out to touch him. Instinctively he flinched away, mimicking the sound of an injured animal. The guard stopped, pulled back, then set his hand on Remy's face, letting his thumb wipe away the tears.
"I,…….I'm sorry…….I know it must hurt something awful!……..The General wont let the doctor give you any pain killers…….Would,……would you like a blanket?" His voice cracked as he fought back his own guilt and remorse. Remy opened his mouth to speak but found it to painful, nodding instead. The guard offered a weak smile and stood up, locking the cell behind him.
Gambit again fought back the urge to cry, forcing his tears away. He had to be strong, he had to hold on. They would come for him, he knew, they promised. Rouge said she would never abandon him again, she loved him. But it hurt so bad, and he was so alone. The word flashed though his mind, as it had a hundred times the day before. He had said the word that day, had screamed it repeatedly but, with the ball gag in his mouth the word was no more then a vague, incomprehensible cry, and the mind swipe lay dormant just out of his reach. He swallowed hard as his decision was made, he needed to escape this pain, even if it was only his mind running away and leaving his body to take the heat. It was a cowardly thing to do, but at the moment he didn't care. At the moment he would have sold his soul to the devil to escape this reality.
The guard walked back in, laying the blanket over Gambit's batter form. He rose to leave but Remy raised his bound hands together, gripping his sleeve. The guard looked down startled at the weak mutant and saw the desperation in his eyes.
"Si Vous Plate!" Remy coughed, his vocal cords strained from screaming. "Please tell mon amies dat I'm sorry!………Dat I had to get away!" His whispered voice broke into a sob as the confused young solder stared down at him. With a final heavy sigh, Remy looked to the ceiling and let go. He whispered the word under his breath and just like that, he was gone, buried far away beneath all the pain and fear, taking every thing with him until their was only blackness.
The solder's eyes grew as he saw the glow of the mutant's red eyes become faded and dull, his breathing slower, his face becoming emotionless. His body became limp and he looked dead, except for the deep unconscious breathing. Cautiously, Copper nudged the mutant's body, then a little harder, still getting no response. What just happened? Feeling a serge of panic, the guard ran out of the cell to tell the doctor, leaving the comatose man in his cage.
………………………………...
Most of the X-Men had just returned to Camelot after a successful rescue mission, when they felt the Professor's weary voice in their heads.
Welcome back my X-Men. I am glad you are all accounted for. Please meet me in section A/B lounge. Thank you.
As they piled in to the plainly decorated but comfortable room, every one exchanged glances at one another before sitting down. Section A was their home with in Camelot shared with Excalibur, complete with lounge, kitchen, workout room, laboratory and bedrooms. The kitchen, lounge and work out room was all shared with section B, that housed X-Factor and X-Force, whose members were already there. As they took their seats, exchanging nods and hand shakes, Magneto entered, accompanied by Mystique, sending a slightly uncomfortable vibe through the room. They were fallowed by Banshee and the White Queen, who lived in section C with Gen. X. The Professor cleared his throat, drawling every ones attention.
"Yesterday morning, I awoke from a hellish dream, an empathetic cry that pierced the Astral Plane. It was too brief to track down it's origin, but was incredibly strong. The cry was composed of graphically violent images and a sensation of pain and agony, the likes of which, I have never experienced before." He paused, for a moment, sighing as he dropped the other hammer. "I believe this cry was an unconscious plea from Gambit, though I am uncertain of his whereabouts. He is in great distress and I feel it is urgent that we locate him, before……." His voice trailed off. A soft sob filled the silence as Rouge buried her face in her hands, Storm wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder. The young women was wrapped in her lover's trench coat, still strongly scented with tobacco and French cologne, but his masculine musk was strongest of all. She wore it on every rescue mission, hopping that when she found him, she could place it back on his handsome broad shoulders where it belonged. Even at night she wrapped her self in it, pretending It was his arms around her and not her own.
"Shh child. At least we know he is alive." Storm's own voice was filled with tears and she rocked the younger women in her arms.
"Professor,…..are you certain that the cry was from Remy,……..Is he an Empapath?" Jean asked in subdued shock.
"Yes Jean, I'm almost positive. I had suspected that our young Cajun was an Empapath from the moment I met him. It is the source of his 'charm power' as he calls it and enables him to read people's emotions in such an uncanny way. Though in general he chooses to ignore it, probably due to inadequate training when it first developed. That is why his psi- shields are so strong, to barricade him self from what must feel like a title wave of emotions……..…I had not considered what the mind sweep would do to his shields." The Professor frowned.
"Can you tell if he has activated it yet?" Psylock asked in curiosity.
"No, I can't,……but it would surprise me if he hasn't ." Charles sighed. "Remy may be a proud and stubborn man,……..but there is only so much pain one can take."
"There are only three more prisons listed……..If we recruit more people we can hit all three by the end of next week." Cable suggested, stroking his chin.
"I'm afraid we will not find him in one of the prisons." Xavier explained.
"Then were would you have us look Charles?" Magneto asked in earnest. They were all staring at him, waiting for his great plane, but he didn't have one. In fact, he hadn't the slightest idea were Gambit was other then some where in North America.
"Ummmm………Excuse me,….Professor,……I think you should hear this!" Jubilee stood in the door way with her arm around a young, mousey brunette, who eyed the group nervously.
"Sarah,…….do you have something to tell us?".…….….Emma Frost's voice was gentle and calm as she approached the young girl who had, until a few weeks ago, spent her entire life in a government research center. As the girls nervousness increased, a strange buzzing, like static from a radio could be heard. The girl's mutation enabled her to receive and transmit radio signals, like a human walky-talky. She was also able to record audio from the frequency's she picked up, then later play them by opening her mouth. Emma set a hand on the girls other shoulder, and let comforting thoughts wash over her, relaxing her.
"Go ahead lasse,……we wont bite." Banshee smiled.
"I,…….I over heard two men,…….they talked of the one with Red eyes,……..the one called Gambit.' She kept her eyes to the ground as she spoke, still buzzing off and on. Rouge's head shoot up at his name, but Xavier held up his hand for them to remain silent.
"Yes my dear,….please go on." Charles said with a comforting smile, biting back his urgency.
"Can you play for us what you heard?" Emma suggested. The girl nodded, and closed her eyes, then opened her mouth allowing static to fill the air waves. A moment later, they heard the voices of two men.
"So Sir, where are you headed after here?"
"I'll need to make a quick stop in Atlanta, to asses the damage done to our mutant containment facility down there."
"Was there another attack?"
"Yes, and the Pentagon is not pleased. Damn paper pushing, bureaucratic pussies!……Every time we hit a minor set back, the higher ups threaten to pull the plug on the whole operation!. They have the God Damn liberal press spilling top secret information, and mutant rights activists calling it a government conspiracy!…….These people have no idea of the threat these freaks pose to America and the world at large!……If I had it my way, I'd destroy every last one of em!"
"Sir, I don't understand how so much information got out?"
"I'll tell you how!…..The same way the targets managed to escape just before we closed in during the initial operation! The same way the mutant terrorists know were are hidden bases are, and the prisons!…….The whole mission was spoiled by one man, one fucking freak, managed to sabotage years worth of planning!…….And when I get back to North Dakota, he's going to beg me for death! Up until now, his pain will seem like a pleasant dream, compared to the night mare I have in store for him. Mark my words Lieutenant, I'll wipe that smug grin off his face and make him whimper like the dog he is, that they all are!"
"Sir, are you talking about…."
"GAMBIT!…………The only X-Man we have in custody!…….Ready the chopper!…….Lieutenant Peters!"
"General!" The frequency died, and the girl closed her mouth and hid her face in Jubilee's shoulder, who was biting her lip, with tears in her eyes. Each person shifted in their seats, some shaking with rage, others with fear. And some just hung their heads in despair. The Professor moved closer to the girl, taking her hand in his.
"Darline,….….do you remember any thing else the men said." She lowered her eyes again and shook her head.
"That's alright my dear,…….you have been very helpful!………Jubilee, please take her back to her room,……thank you." Once the two girls left, he turned to face the others, knowing what would come next.
"The Cajun ain't a dog tah get beat!…….. He's in North Dakota!………Fine!……..Lets go get 'em!" Wolverine growled, cracking his knuckles.
"I believe we should start by systematically destroying each government base located in the state. That way they will not remove him from one to another." Magneto stated.
"But then they'll know we're coming and they may relocate him to another region entirely." Cyclops mused.
"It don't matter how we do it,….as long as Remy's still in one piece, cause I swear to God,…….when I find that General,……..I 'm gonna show him the real meaning of pain,….till HE begs for death,……then I'll let Remy have 'em!" Rouge's voice was cold and sharp, her fists clenched.
"What if the base is top secret, or under ground?……..It is possible, the base is not on the list we received." Bishop asked.
"Bishop has a good point. It's easy enough to hack into the government's data base, but there are some things, like hidden military bases, that will not be listed as such. They will be coded as one thing or another, and……I'm afraid decoding any and all files containing information on the Dakotas will take some time." Beast sighed.
"And time is one thing we don't have!……If this General character knows Gambit's the one who warned us,……it's only a matter of time till he.….."Havoc stopped when he saw Rouge's emerald eyes, dispirit and filled with dread. The Professor sighed.
"It is late,….and I'm sure your all exhausted. Let us reconvene here tomorrow morning, and plane our strategy. It is too late to do it now." He turned to leave but was stopped by an angry Southern Bell.
"NO!…….You heard what the girl said!…..You even felt his pain your self!……We can't just go to bed when he's out there some where getting tortured!…….We can't just leave him there!" Her voice broke into a sob The Professor reached out to her as Bobby stood behind her holding her shoulders.
"Rouge,…..we will find him and bring him home. Then he will be safe in you're arms. Soon child, soon." The Professor sent her sedative thoughts, allowing her to ease into sleep as she lay limp in Bobby's arms. He scooped up sleeping beauty and walked out the door. The Professor turned back to their troubled expressions. "Tomorrow we shall begin are search for Remy,………He will be rescued from what ever hell he has been imprisoned and we shall help him mend and heal and become the man he once was." He turned again to go.
"And the General?" Storms words were fiercely powerful.
"The X-men are not about revenge,……but I trust justice will be served!"