Title: The House of the Rising Sun, Chapter 4
Author: Goddess Evie
Date: November 18, 2002
Genre: Romance (Remy/Rogue, Scott/Jean, Lance/Kitty), Action, Drama, Angst, AU, heck, it's got it all…just not all in one chapter. ^_^
Rating: G, and I really don't think this'll get above PG.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own X-Men of any incarnation. I am but a poor, fanatical, poor, college student who much enjoys a show so that she writes extensive (and hopefully intriguing, enjoyable, and highly popular) fanfiction to feed her insatiable hunger for anything X-Men and is poor, if I haven't mentioned that already. Also, the song lyric I use as the title doesn't belong to me either. I'm quoting the song "Shelter" by Sarah McLachlan, my absolute favorite-est artist in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!! Which is why you shouldn't be surprised when you see so many of her song lyrics as Chapter titles, though I AM trying to throw some variety in there, I swear! But, sadly, I own nothing but the plot so don't sue me cause I can't even pay for college! WAAAAH!
Summary: A short one, but necessary. Well, in this chapter, the Brotherhood finally arrives home to quite a surprise. And Remy gets incorporated into life at the Mansion. I also really meant to have Rogue and Logan arrive home this chapter, but it just didn't end up working out that way, so, you'll just have to wait until next chapter. I'm sure you won't have a problem with that now, will you? Heheh. Once again, don't know how fast I'll get the next chapter out, because it's coming up on the end of the school year so I'm starting to have less and less time. But it'll come eventually, I promise. *crosses heart, but doesn't hope to die…hopes to have the chance to write*
Chapter 5: "Shelter-give them shelter from the coming storm." (2)
Lance wasn't sure how they had made it, but finally they were home. The bus ride had been hell. They'd had just enough for tickets for all of them, but they'd gone hungry the entire time. Fred's constant complaining about starving to death had gotten old real fast and Pietro hadn't been able to keep still. He was the worst case of ADD in the history of the world. Toad had tried to keep them all amused by suggesting different games they could play, but they hadn't any cards or anything and the mind games were only fun for a couple of rounds before you were ready to quit.
Pietro had zipped off ahead of them for the boarding house the minute they'd stepped off the bus, not waiting for any of his teammates. Not that the rest of them really missed the boy. Part of his mutant gift of his speed was his tendency to get annoying real fast.
The boarding house looked different…better, even quite inviting, which was unusual. Perhaps, though, it was just the maddening bus ride and long walk from the station that made it look so good to Lance. Then again, he couldn't remember when it looked so neat and homey.
Stepping up to the front door, Lance let out a sigh as he put his hand on the knob, twisted and pulled. Finally, he was home and could relax. No more pointless missions, no more being bossed around by Mystique, no more having to baby-sit Rogue. He could shut himself off from the rest of his teammates in his room and be alone for once.
"Hey, yo, this place looks different," Todd commented, causing Lance to look around.
What he found was that Todd was right. The place was, well, clean. No one in the Brotherhood Boarding House ever cleaned. As he wandered from room to room he noticed it was all fixed up, too. No more holes in the walls, lights burned out, leaky faucets. The stains on the walls and counters were gone, the carpets looked like they'd been shampooed and vacuumed periodically, the kitchen put into order.
"The fridge is even stocked!" Fred bellowed out as he began loading his arms with food.
Lance walked into the living room where Pietro was sitting on the couch, flipping through TV channels at breakneck speed and munching on a sandwich, his feet propped up on the now spotless coffee table. Lance flopped down next to the boy with a sigh.
"This is nice. Are you sure we're at the right house?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, check your room. It's still completely the same," Pietro assured him.
"Then…how?" Lance inquired.
"How do you think?" a very annoyed feminine voice asked.
Pietro and Lance looked over to see Tabitha and Wanda standing in the entryway to the front room, Tabitha with her hands on her hips, Wanda glaring at them both evilly. They walked forward into the room, Wanda kicking her brother's feet off the coffee table roughly.
"We've been working our asses off to make this place livable and we won't have you ruining it," she growled at the two.
"Hey, we just got back. Give us a break!" Lance protested.
"And we just got off work! We were hoping to come home to a nice relaxing evening, but instead we find you guys!" Tabitha shot back.
"Work?" Pietro sniggered. "You guys have been working?"
Pietro got a double dose of evil glares from the girls. "That sandwich you're eating is courtesy of us," Wanda informed him in a sickeningly sweet voice.
"Uh, thanks sis," Pietro said, avoiding his sibling's gaze.
Unfortunately for Fred, it was that moment which he picked to enter the living room, his arms laden with foodstuffs. He looked at his teammates, gaze traveling between the girls and the guys, not liking the angry glares.
"Great!" Tabitha exclaimed. "Now we're going to have to buy groceries on a daily basis!"
"What? I'm hungry!" Fred protested, a hurt look on his face.
"Todd!" Wanda called out. "Get your slimy ass in here!"
Todd hopped into the living room to join the rest of his housemates, depositing himself into an overstuffed chair where he splayed himself until he received warning looks from the girls and sat up right.
"So, uh, what did you want, yo?" Todd asked, trying to sound cheerful.
"Wanda and I," the girls looked at each other with proud smiles, then with warningly angry glares back to the invaders of their house, "have been working all summer to clean this place up, pay off the debt of bills and make it livable."
Wanda took over, her angry eyes holding that slightly insane look, "But that was before all of you came back. We aren't going to support all of you, too."
"Especially when we have school starting in the next couple of days," Tabitha added.
"So," Wanda put on a smug smile, which only made her look all the more scary, "All of you better go out and find yourselves jobs by the end of the week."
"But how are we supposed to fight the X-Men!?" Pietro protested.
"You can figure that one out on your own," Tabitha assured him.
Pietro gave a sullen glare, but kept quiet. Looking around the room and catching the gaze of each young man to make sure she got the point across, Wanda dismissed them with, "That's all." Todd was gone immediately, as was Fred, neither one brave enough to stick around while the girls were in a pissy mood. Pietro and Lance stayed on the couch, sharing a defeated look.
"Man, they're like mini Mystiques," Pietro commented.
Lance nodded in agreement.
"We heard that," Wanda told them as she passed out of the room and up the stairs, making both boys cringe.
"Speaking of Mystique, has she been back, yet?" Lance asked, looking over to where Tabitha had flopped herself down on the stuffed armchair Todd had previously occupied.
Tabitha nodded, rolling her eyes. "She sure has. Wasn't too happy about you guys losing Rogue like that."
Both boys winced. "Please, don't remind us," Lance begged.
Tabitha shook her head. "Look. Personally, I'm glad she got away. She didn't deserve what Mystique put her through," the girl admitted.
"Yeah, well, it's too late now," Lance sighed.
"Doesn't make it any less wrong than before," Tabitha told him.
"Also doesn't mean we can go back and change it. What's done is done," Pietro replied.
Tabitha shrugged, her only admittance that he was right on that point. "So, what did happen? Mystique wasn't exactly forthcoming on that point."
Both boys looked at each other then shook their heads, neither wanting to speak about it, either. Tabitha narrowed her eyes at the boys, though whether it was out of concern or something else they couldn't be sure. Then, with a sigh, she rose and headed upstairs.
"I thought everything was going to be easier, maybe even better, when we got back," Lance admitted to his companion, leaning his head on the back of the couch and closing his eyes.
"No such luck," Pietro told him, "No such luck."
Remy was up and dressed the next morning hours before he would usually arise. He had a full day ahead of him, which dictated his early rising hour. Everyone else was sleeping in as much as they could on this, one of their last days of summer freedom. Unfortunately, he had to start school early. Since he hadn't brought any records with him, today he and Ororo were going to the local high school, Bayville High, to register him and get him signed up for classes. Remy wasn't sure how he was going to handle high school, since he'd never finished back in New Orleans, but he would do his best, since he was trying to fit in.
He was up at eight and he left with Ororo at ten, driving through Bayville in her white convertible. By that time a few of the students had risen, groggily wiping sleep from their eyes as they had dragged themselves from bed to the breakfast table to start their day. Remy had envied them, not because they'd been able to sleep in, but because they'd been able to sleep period.
With his thief instincts he had a natural sense of suspicion in unfamiliar territory, and though the Mansion was probably one of the safest places that Remy could be, and he knew it, it still counted as unfamiliar territory. He hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep because of it. His senses had been on alert all night, and he wasn't sure how long it would take for him to get used to these new surroundings. He had heard every bump, every creak; his eyes had constantly watched the shadows caused by the moonlight, his gaze flitting to them every time the wind shook the tree branches.
But that wasn't the only cause for his sleeplessness. All night, no matter how hard he had tried not to, he couldn't get her out of his head. Finally, he'd just had to admit to himself that, in the short time he had known her, he had fallen for her, totally and completely. Bella and the thieves' guild be damned, he was in love with the mysterious Rogue, and he'd probably never even see her again. Every thought had been focused on her, every fantasy. His mind had taken the freedom to create a picture of her for him to admire, whether his eyes had been opened or closed, and he hadn't tried to stop it after he had given in. In fact, he'd given it more incentive by thinking of the wonderful things he could do with her, and thinking back on those fantasies now made him grin.
"You find something amusing?" Ororo asked him congenially when they were stranded at an intersection waiting for the light to change.
Remy wiped the smirk off his face and turned away to hide the blush that seemed so foreign to his cheek as he uttered a, "Non."
Ororo hadn't said anything more, and he didn't see the quizzical eyebrow she had raised in his direction. But neither did he care, nor would he have even had he seen the expression on her face. The light turned green, Ororo focused on her driving again, and Remy watched Bayville go by as he thought of Rogue.
All too soon they arrived at the school, and Remy forced his thoughts away from the young woman who had him so enraptured and turned them to the task ahead. First, they had to get him registered, and Remy answered questions he usually wouldn't reveal the answers to under the worst torture conditions. It took all his will power to give the information readily and when he was done he felt like he'd been put through the wringer.
After that, since they had no records of his previous high school career, he had to take placement tests and those had taken him into the afternoon to finish. After that they had to wait for the results and then sign him up for his classes. When he thought he couldn't wait any longer, and as a thief he'd learned the art of patience, his assigned guidance counselor, a cheerful lady in her mid-thirties, finally arrived to tell him that he would be taking junior level classes and then proceeded to register him for the courses he'd need to take. Then she handed him a whole stack of papers and proceeded to explain what each and every one was. The sheet on top was his class schedule, the next few sheets being maps to the different levels and grounds of the school, after that had come the supply list he'd need for each class as dictated by the teachers of the class, and then a paper to explain how the lunch schedule worked and last of all, if he made the choice to utilize the public school transportation system, a bus schedule that showed him which bus to catch where according to where he lived in relation to the school.
By the time they finally left, Remy felt like his head was spinning. He remembered, now, why he had dropped out of school to take up thieving full time. His stomach was also showing signs of hunger and he rubbed it as he and Ororo returned to the car. She must have noticed, since they stopped in at a drive through before returning to the Institute.
Remy was just finishing his meal when they pulled up to the Mansion. The Cajun made sure he had all his papers and trash as he exited the vehicle and then followed Ororo into the Mansion. Ororo, for her part, didn't stop walking or even slow down as she began to give him his next instructions.
"Take some time to change into some work out clothes and then meet me by the elevator."
Remy turned off and headed to his room, ridding himself of his food packaging as he went. He'd hoped that he would have been given the rest of the day off to do whatever he wanted. But Ororo, it seemed, wasn't finished with him yet. It took him just a few moments to change from his jeans, boots and t-shirt into a wife-beater, tie string gym pants, and sneakers. He pulled his hair out of his eyes and into a ponytail as he headed down to the elevator and as he did he noticed the lack of students. Of course, it was mid-afternoon and teen-agers usually had fun to have around this time of day.
He heard laughter as he passed a door that was slightly ajar, the sounds of a television intermingling. It wasn't open enough for him to actually see into, but that didn't matter since he already had a prior destination. Still, he couldn't help being curious about the other residents of the Institute, especially when they seemed so scarce whenever he was around.
But there was a time for everything and he was bound to meet them eventually. Right now his time was Ororo's and she was up ahead, waiting for his arrival. The elevator must have been waiting because it opened the moment she pushed the button and once again Remy found himself sharing the lift with the African woman. Thankfully, she didn't wait long to explain to him what she had planned.
"We're going to run some tests," she began, but then amended her statement when she saw the look he gave her. "We want you to show off for us."
Remy grinned. He could do that.
Ororo continued to explain what would be required of him as they finished the elevator ride and entered into the metal lined halls once again. Ahead, Remy could see McCoy and the Professor waiting for them in front of a huge, circular door, metal to stay consistent with the rest of the hallway, and crossed with a huge X.
"Remy, I suspect Ororo has been filling you in on what we want you to do?" Charles guessed, turning his greeting into a question with a small inflection in his voice.
"Oui, she has. Sounds fun," he replied with a signature grin.
Charles smiled. "Alright, then shall we begin?"
The Professor wheeled off, leaving Remy standing in front of the large X door with Ororo and Hank.
"What you are about to see is very impressive. I was left in speechless awe after my first time," Hank commented conversationally.
"What is it?" Remy inquired.
"This is what we call "The Danger Room"," Ororo answered solemnly.
"Sounds dangerous," Remy cracked to hide his uneasiness.
"Not at all, actually," Hank assured. "We've set up numerous fail safes to keep harm from befalling any of our students."
"Trés bien," Remy sighed in relief.
With the hum of hydraulics, the circular, metal doors began to slide open, cutting off the conversation. Remy watched with bated breath, not sure what to expect after all the talk he'd just heard. He couldn't help feeling disappointed as he followed Ororo and Hank into a spacious room that matched the metal halls outside. Remy noticed a mirror window high up in the corner of one wall, probably heavily reinforced, he guessed. He also guessed that that was where the Professor was stationed and that it was some kind of control booth. Although, what it was supposed to control in this empty room, Remy wasn't sure.
Hank and Ororo seemed to be waiting expectantly and that gave Remy the hint that perhaps there was more to this room then his alert gaze could find. The disappointment he'd initially felt dissipated as the stark metal walls faded out and a war zone replaced them. He turned to the two adult mutants, not sure what the expression on his face conveyed and waited for his orders.
"You and I are to escort Ororo from here, through the war zone to the other side, where a helicopter awaits to evac us all out of here," Hank was pointing at the sky on the opposite side of the battlefield where a helicopter was hovering a safe distance away from the action. "We are to keep any harm from befalling her, nor should she have to use her powers to protect herself. You pick our path through the fighting and we'll both do what we can to keep Ororo safe."
Remy nodded to show that he understood, then turned to Ororo and bowed with a flourish. "Mademoiselle, if you will follow me," he threw a glance McCoy's way," and if you will watch her back."
"Gladly," Hank accepted as Ororo smiled amusedly.
Turning to face the fighting, Remy took a deep breath and headed forward into the fray.
It was late at night when Remy finally exited the Danger Room. He'd spent the rest of the afternoon, the evening and into the night in that room, "showing off" for the Professor. Many of the missions he was given he'd had to do on his own or with only one or two companions for help. Once he had been joined by Evan, Jubilee and Jean, who he was to lead through a dangerous maze. They'd all made it safely through, and Remy had put all their powers to the test. Jubilee had felt a rush of pride when he'd had her use her powers to short circuit the electronic locks that guarded all the doors in the maze.
In other missions he would only have Hank or Ororo to be his companion, and once again he would have to use his thieves ingenuity to get himself and his partner out of sticky situations. More than once he'd seen the impressed looks Hank or Ororo would send in his direction after finding a way out of what had seemed like impossible odds, and he couldn't help but grin proudly to himself at his achievements and the admiration he was receiving.
There were also the missions in which he would be all on his own, with only his own skills and mutant ability to rely on. He knew that plenty of times he had used his experience as a thief to accomplish the task set for him, and he hoped that he wasn't show casing too much of his talent so that he ended up giving himself away. But he never heard complaints or suspicious questions, just compliments and good jobs.
After spending what seemed like a week completing the missions and tasks set for him, Remy was finally allowed to be on his way. Ororo escorted him back to the elevator, leaving him with a last few words of praise and the assurance that there was food left for him in the kitchen before the elevator doors closed and she returned to where McCoy and Xavier were waiting for him. When the doors opened again on the main floor of the Mansion, Remy was only a little surprised to see that most of the lights had been turned off and the view out of the windows showed the starry expanse of the night sky. For the most part, the mansion was asleep, and Remy felt his body giving him the suggestion that that was where he should be, also.
But he was also hungry, and felt dirty from the extensive workout. So, his first stop was in the kitchen where the food Ororo had promised was waiting. He found a plate piled high in the fridge among Tupperware full of leftovers, beverages and other perishables needing refrigeration. A quick zap of the food in the microwave and Remy sat down in the expansive dining room, eating his dinner with only his own thoughts for company.
Except his mind wasn't up for much in the way of thinking. Well, except for her of course. But she was always on his mind somewhere. The session in the Danger Room had taken all his concentration and knowledge, though, and so she was really the only thing his mind wanted to put any effort into. He really couldn't say that he minded, however. Any ruminations for her cause that his mind wanted to conjure were alright with him.
He finished his food and continued onto the showers for a quick turn. The steaming water washing the sweat and work from his body felt good. It also helped to loosen muscles tense from high strain and impossible situations. He lived the life of a thief and had the body of a thief to go with it; usually relaxed and ready for anything, but when put into the right circumstances it tensed up, putting itself on high alert. The Danger Room had been the right circumstances and he knew his body would take a few hours to unwind.
Toweling off and slipping into a clean pair of boxers and a white cotton t-shirt, Remy finally padded down the hallway to his room. He didn't bother to turn on the light as he walked across to the bed and let himself flop down onto it. Tonight he was so tired from all he'd been put through in the Danger Room that it took only a few minutes before he went to sleep.
"He's…good," was all Charles could say.
He, Ororo and Hank were all convened his office, each of them sporting a cup of coffee. Xavier was behind his desk, Hank sitting on the couch set against one wall, and Ororo lounging on one of the chairs in front of Charles desk. They'd just finished with Remy in the Danger Room, and were now discussing what they'd seen.
"There were times, during the missions when he was on his own, that he just seemed to disappear," Ororo commented, shaking her head in disbelief.
"The question is where did he learn it all?" Hank put in.
Xavier shook his head. "I don't know. I haven't had a chance to really talk with him, and I won't probe his mind, not without his permission."
"Maybe he learned it from living on the street. He wouldn't be the first kid to do so," Ororo suggested.
"Sadly enough, it wouldn't be the first time," Hank's voice had a tone of agreement to it.
"That's only one possibility," Xavier told them.
"You have other suggestions?" Ororo inquired.
Xavier sighed. "Not at this moment. I just don't want to think we've got him figured out so soon."
"So then what do we do with him?" Hank asked.
"The same thing we've done with all the other students. We give him a chance. He deserves that at least and he hasn't shown himself to be dangerous in any way," Xavier answered.
"I want to put him on the team straight away. I think he's proven himself. And with Cyclops and…others absent, we need to think about adding new members," Ororo requested.
Nobody missed the slight hesitation concerning a certain missing mutant, but they decided, on some unspoken level, that it was best to not approach that subject.
"Go ahead and put him on the team. I think he'll be an excellent addition," Xavier agreed.
Ororo was going to suggest that they all call it a night when the silent alarm went off, alerting them to a new presence on the grounds. All at once they started for the front door, bodies tense and sense on the alert. As they walked into the front foyer none of them were prepared for who they would be greeting.