Disclaimer: Well, I decided to take some classes on hacking (yes, they do have those) to learn some new tricks; I'll let you know how they go…
A/N: Well, it hasn't been six months, at least. I'm impressed with myself. I hope you guys (those who are still with me) enjoy this chapter. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all! I really appreciate everyone who has stuck with me, so I dedicate this chapter to each and every one of you. Enjoy!
"…"- conversation
'…'- thoughts
(…)- extra facts/actions (some)
((…))- author's/my own thoughts
'blah…' -telepathy/what people say mentally
Chapter 56: Remy's Chronicles: Rescues, Part 4
Hallway #10, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – May 17, 2:35 AM
Remy's group, now numbering fourteen strong, next found hallway #10, which when they got inside they found to contain Sam and Tabitha, both of whom were screaming themselves hoarse. However, when Logan went to remove the door to Tabitha's cell he saw a glint of red on the bars. On examining it more closely, he saw that it was red adamantium.
"Hell," Logan muttered and explained the problem. Although he had adamantium claws that could cut through anything and anyone that came in their way, he and Hank had been doing research on his claws. Hank had found that there was a kind of adamantium stronger than his claws, and that was red adamantium.
"Apocalypse sure picked a nice defense system for Boomer's cell," Logan commented, pointing a finger at Tabitha.
Kurt walked up to the cell and after examining it said, "I think that I can teleport inside, taking people vith me and ve can free Tabitha from inside the cell. Then, I'll teleport back out with Tabby and the others." Remy nodded yes and, grinning, Kurt took Bobby, Evan, and Logan inside Tabby's cell with him, leaving behind a cloud of brimstone smoke. Working quickly, the three managed to free Tabby and bring her back out.
"Where's Sam?" Tabitha asked as she opened her blue eyes and looked around. When she saw Remy in front of her she smirked, "Gambit, nice to see ya; too bad I look like shit though."
Remy chuckled and replied, "C'est bon to see tu again aussi, petite. C'est bon si (Is it okay if) Remy heals tu?" Remy removed a glove and moved until he was in front of Tabby. She looked up at him, seriously thinking about whether or not she was walking into a trap, but on seeing Logan behind Remy nodding yes she shrugged and smiled at Remy, which he took as a yes. Remy healed her, and then went on to see Sam, whom Kurt, Hank, and Amara had just retrieved.
"Tabby," Sam murmured as he opened his eyes and on seeing Remy demanded, "What'd you do with Tabitha, Gambit?!" Sam was too busy to notice that Tabby had heard him and was quickly making her way towards her boyfriend, grinning widely.
"Sam! Thank God you're alright!" Tabby yelled as she pushed past Remy and threw her arms around Sam, who, startled that Tabby was in his arms, took a minute to return the hug, but when he did let a relieved sigh escape him.
"Tabby, I thought that you were," began Sam but Tabby put a finger to his lips, stopping more words from escaping his mouth.
"I know." Tabby murmured feeling love and relief for her boyfriend well up inside her. She then stood up on her toes and pressed a kiss to Sam's mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck. Sam returned it with fervor and both took no notice of Bobby and Jubilee, who were whistling, or of Logan, who was watching them suspiciously.
When they broke they grinned at each other and Tabby turned to Remy, who had been watching the scene with interest. "Hey, Gambit; think you can heal Sam?"
Nodding, Remy moved to put a hand on Sam's face and Sam, after getting a reassuring nod from his girlfriend let Remy heal him, relishing in the feel of his energy returning to him. Remy, on finishing, put back on his glove and stepped aside to let Evan tell Sam and Tabitha what was going on and that Apocalypse was back.
"Are you serious?!" Tabby questioned with an unbelieving tone in her voice. When Evan nodded yes she continued, "Then I guess we'll just have to kick his ass back to where he came from, right?" On getting a chorus of agreement, she grinned, and as she and Sam joined the group, Remy phased them all out of hallway #10 and set out for the next hallway.
Hallway #15, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 2:45 AM
On arriving in hallway #15, Remy started on seeing Leon in a cell, screaming his lungs out. "Damn, Remy didn't know dat Apocalypse imprisoned the Brotherhood aussi," he muttered, quickly making his way over to Leon's cell. Motioning Kurt and Tabitha over he explained to Tabby what she had to do once inside with the collar, and when Tabby agreed without hesitation Kurt teleported them inside Leon's cell.
Once inside, Remy used Betsy's telekinesis to hold Leon still and Tabby, seeing the small keyhole in the collar, created a miniature bomb. She placed it inside the keyhole and, one small pop later the collar came off, now in two pieces due to the force of its landing.
Leon slowly opened his eyes and on seeing Remy said, "Remy, thank God you're here! Magneto imprisoned Todd, Fred, Opal, and myself because we were attacking some invisible force and he thought we were goofing off… wait a minute, what're you doing here?"
Remy grinned, knowing that the "invisible force" had most likely been Lance and Kitty replied, "Well, Leon, Remy's here to rescue tu and all the other mutants so date we can take down Apocalypse, who's been controlling Magneto from the start of his new plan, somethin' dat Remy can't ignore. Remy wants to know si tu will let Remy heal you and si tu are with us when we go up against Apocalypse?" Remy took off his glove in preparation for Leon's answer.
Leon gave Remy what seemed an incredulous look, having heard from Todd about the battle he had fought with Apocalypse years ago and knowing that he had a chance to make history by helping to defeat the mutant once more. "Remy, of course I'll help. Come on, think: I wouldn't be the master poker player that I am if I didn't take risks, right?" Remy laughed at hearing this, knowing that Leon liked to call himself a master poker player, if only because he had been beating Remy at the game lately because Remy had been distracted… that Rogue femme was just too irresistible.
"Right, homme," Remy said and, after healing Leon had Kurt teleport them out of the cell. Once outside they were met by Jubilee and Amara, who were holding up Lynn, whose skin was very pale.
"Lynn!" Tabby exclaimed, crossing the hallway to kneel in front of her friend, cursing the fact that all of the X-Sword team had to deal with this mess as well as the older mutants. Lynn stirred on hearing Tabby's voice and opened her cerulean-blue eyes, which widened on seeing her friend.
"Tabitha! Man, am Ay glad ta see ye!" Lynn exclaimed, trying to move to give Tabitha a hug but as soon as she tried to stand on her own collapsed from exhaustion. Leon, who had been entranced by Lynn's eyes the moment he saw them, dove and managed to keep her from hitting the floor, earning him a grateful look from Lynn.
"Remy, can you heal her?" Leon asked his friend, who, grinning over what Leon had done nodded and moved to heal her. Lynn saw him coming and tried to move away but Leon didn't let her move.
"Listen," he said softly, Lynn turning surprised eyes to him, "Remy's my friend; he'd never hurt you; all he's going to do is heal you so we can fight Apocalypse and rescue the others; all right?"
Lynn looked into Leon's own blue eyes and on realizing that she could trust what he said allowed Remy to heal her. Once Remy had finished, he got to his feet and moved away to go and stand beside Artie, Dorian, and Jaime, who were talking telepathically while watching the entrance to the door.
Lynn got to her feet and, looking at Leon whispered, "Thanks… um, what's your name?" Leon, looking sheepish, told her his name. Lynn looked at him again and said, "Thanks Leon. My name's Lynn." Lynn stuck out her hand for Leon to shake (which he did eagerly; a little too eagerly for Logan's tastes) and from then on the two became friends; or as close to friends as an X-Men member and Brotherhood member could get under Logan's gaze.
Hank then stepped up to the plate and, after explaining what was going on, Remy and his group, now eighteen people strong, left for their next destination.
Hallway #12, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 2:59 AMUpon reaching hallway #12, Remy's group was starting to get a little antsy. Callisto and Façade were concerned with finding more Morlock members and making sure that they were okay. Evan, Forge, and Logan (although the latter would never verbally admit it) were concerned with finding Ororo and making sure that she was safe. Amara was hoping to find Ray; Bobby and Jubilee the rest of their team; Leon wanted to find Todd; Lynn wanted to find the rest of her team; and everyone else was hoping to find everyone else safe and willing to help fight Apocalypse.
Once inside the hallway, Lynn saw Rex in his cell, screaming in pain and ran over, preparing to grab the bars and try to rip them off their hinges. However, Bobby stopped her in her tracks when he created an ice shield, effectively stopping her from reaching the bars.
"Slow down, Lynn. The bars are crackling with electricity and if you touch them then you're going to get electrocuted," he advised, moving to stand in front of Lynn.
Lynn huffed and crossed her arms, not taking kindly to being told what to do. Don't get her wrong, Lynn is very good at following orders; orders from Rex and Tyne, that is. She has trouble following any orders from Bobby, if only because she thinks her ice powers are superior to his, and therefore he should be taking orders from her, and not vice-versa.
Amara, on seeing the tension, stepped up to Lynn and giving a look that told Bobby to go and help free the other prisoner she told Lynn, "Lynn, Bobby's right. Logan ripped off the bars to Kurt's cell a little while ago and he was almost electrocuted; he only survived because of his healing factor. Plus, you are my apprentice in the American fashion world; I need you, wouldn't you say?" Amara winked at Lynn, earning a grin from the ice-breathing mutant. Lynn nodded in agreement and, watching Amara dissolve Bobby's wall pulled down her goggles and launched a breath of ice from her mouth at the bars, hoping to freeze them solid.
Once the bars were frozen, Lynn rammed them with her shoulder, causing them to break apart and ran into the cell, Amara following. Lynn knelt in front of Rex and, gripping his shoulders, forced him to stay still so Amara could concentrate on taking off the collar. Amara, flaring up, sent a small stream of intensely hot lava at Rex's collar, being careful not to burn him, and managed to burn the collar off, watching as it fell to the floor of the cell in a melted metal mess with satisfaction.
Rex opened his eyes and, on seeing Lynn said, "Lynn… glad to see you." He then groaned and placed a hand on his forehead to try to stop the headache he knew was coming from taking over completely. He let Amara and Lynn help him to his feet, knowing that he was too weak to stand on his own. As he hobbled out of the cage, he saw a man with metal wings leaning against the side of the cell opposite his own, yelling at Logan and Hank.
"I will not let that thief touch me!" Warren exclaimed, not liking the fact that he had no clue where his girlfriend Betsy was and that Logan and Hank, two of his most trustworthy friends, were trying to get him to agree to let Gambit heal him.
"Warren, the Cajun's with us," Logan said, his patience already wearing thin as he thought about how much Ororo was suffering and feeling guilty that he had no clue where she was.
Warren regarded Logan with his eyes, now a dark blue instead of their usual bright hue, and said, "Logan, how in the hell can you trust this thief when he attacks the Institute on a monthly basis and almost killed you in numerous battles?!" Warren then shifted his glare to Hank and continued, "And Hank, listen: I know you trust a lot of people but think: Gambit's no good; come on, he nearly took off your hand one time in battle. If it wasn't for me, you'd be missing your right hand!"
Hank looked at Warren and replied, "You have a point, old friend. But remember that although bad blood exists in the past our job as X-Men is to create a peaceful future, even if that means that you have to swallow your pride and accept Remy as being on our side; understand?" Hank's eyes stared into Warren's and he could see that Warren was battling with himself over the issue that Hank had presented.
Warren sighed and after running a hand through his hair said, "You are, of course, correct, Hank. I guess I have been holding onto my pride for too long. It's just that I'm worried about Betsy. I haven't seen her since we were captured by Mystique days ago." Warren then stuck out his hand towards Remy, who had been watching the action and continued, "I'm sorry Gambit. Hank's right; I should be looking to the future and not to the past. Welcome."
Remy, grinning, said, "Merci, homme. Now, just let moi heal vous and we'll be on our way." He then took Warren's hand and transferred energy to Warren, who closed his eyes and felt at peace as his injuries and scars healed. Once Remy finished he turned and saw Rex, who told Remy that he needed to be healed as well. Remy granted Rex's request and, on finishing, put back on his glove, turning to face Warren. Warren was flexing his metal wings relieved that he could stretch them once more instead of not being able to move them at all.
Remy then explained what was going on and when Warren heard Apocalypse's name exclaimed, "Are you sure he's back, Gambit?"
Remy nodded solemnly and replied, "Remy sure, homme. Remy saw him avec his own eyes." He had recreated Rex's drawing tablet and pencils and given them to Rex, who had instantly began drawing plans he was going to use against Apocalypse.
Warren sighed and said, "All right… I guess all that we can do is fight and beat him again, like we did last time, right?" On getting a chorus of agreements, Warren grinned himself and Remy moved the group onto the next hallway.
Hallway #11, Asteroid Evolution, Orbit of the Moon, Milky Way Galaxy- May 17, 3:10 AMOn reaching the next hallway, it took Remy a little longer than usual to disengage the entrance to the hallway but once inside Logan instantly stiffened.
"Lex's in here," Logan said, rushing forward past the other cell and to where Lexie was, worried to death about his daughter. Hank and Warren followed him, Kurt bringing up the end. As Amara ran towards Lexie's cell, she looked into the other one and felt her breath catch in her throat.
"Ray," she whispered, not believing her eyes. In front of her was Ray, who was screaming in pain from the mental torture he was forced to endure. Amara stood there, frozen, and it wasn't until Tabby and Jubilee threw their arms around her shoulders that she moved.
"Well, if it ain't Ray," Tabby said innocently, looking at her nails. "You know, 'Mara, you should go and rescue him; we'll keep watch to make sure no one enters and interrupts your private time with him."
Amara flushed scarlet and opened her mouth to reply but Jubilee chimed in by saying, "Tabby's right, 'Mara. You should be the first person that Ray sees when he opens his eyes. After all, he's only had a crush on you for years, but you ignored him and went after a guy, whom we warned you was bad news. Look what happened: the guy almost raped you and yet Ray, who was dating Tabby at the time, followed you on that date and saved your ass when you were unconscious. He risked his life for you, and you never thanked him; now's your chance." With these words, Jubilee shot streams of fireworks at the door of Ray's cell, and in a few minutes, the door broke down. Once the bars were down, Amara still didn't move, too terrified of going in and admitting to Ray that she liked him as more than a friend. However, she didn't have a choice as Jubilee pushed her in, and made sure that she was in front of Ray, while Tabitha went to take off Ray's collar.
Once the collar came off, Tabby stomped it to bits and watched as Ray's light blue eyes slowly opened and focused on Amara. Tabby and Jubilee then crept out of the cell to go and help Logan and his crew rescue Lexie.
"Amara?" Ray asked, slowly getting to his feet. He wanted to make sure that he was really seeing Amara; he wanted to make sure that she wasn't an illusion. On getting no reaction from Amara, he tried again. "Amara, is that you?" he questioned, trying to lift a hand to touch her face; to prove to himself that she wasn't a figment of her imagination. So imagine his shock when Amara suddenly launched herself forward and threw her arms around Ray, making sure not to throw him completely off balance.
"Ray, I'm so glad to see that you're okay," Amara whispered, having finally gotten her senses back after seeing Ray lift a hand in preparation to touch her face. "I was so afraid that I'd lost you…"
Ray just stayed still, not believing what he had just heard. Then, slowly, he brought his arms around Amara, returning the hug and replied, "Me too 'Mara; me too."
They stayed this way for a few minutes, each reveling in the others' company and apparent safety. They broke apart when they heard someone clearing their throat. Both looked up into the grinning face of Tabby.
"Well, glad you two hugged and made up," she quipped, earning her a glare from Amara. Tabby ignored the look and continued, "Amara, help Ray out here, will ya? We need to help Logan rescue Lexie; seems Kurt can't teleport in and the door's made of red adamantium and charged with a high voltage of electricity."
With these words, Tabby turned on her heel and made her way over to Lexie's cell, where Hank and Warren were desperately trying to contain an angered Logan from trying to slice his way through the wall and create a tunnel into Lexie's cell. Amara let Ray lean on her for support but before they left the cell, Ray stopped and turned to face Amara.
"Amara, I know that I've been a jerk in the past, but I just want to say that I," Ray began to apologize when Amara stopped him by putting a finger to his mouth, startling him.
"I know. I just want you to know that you saved my life when that loser who I chased after all those years almost raped me and I wanted to say… well, thanks. I also want to say that I feel the same way," Amara said and then to the surprise of both herself and Ray leaned up and kissing him soundly on the mouth. Ray responded, stroking Amara's hair for a minute until they had to part due to lack of air.
"Does this mean we're together?" Ray asked Amara, a crooked smile on his face. Amara nodded yes and Ray gave her another kiss and hugged her. "Now that that's settled let's go and help free Lexie." Amara nodded and they left the cell nonchalantly, trying to act as if nothing had happened, but their fellow X-Factor members knew better and shot grins at each other.
"Let me go! I have to rescue Lex!" Logan roared, trying to break free but was unable to, not when Hank, Warren, and now Bobby, Rex, Leon, and Evan were holding him back. On seeing Amara and Ray making their way over, he snarled, "Crisp! Can you absorb that electricity?"
Ray looked up at Logan and nodded yes. He slowly moved away from Amara so that he was in front of the bars and, sticking out both hands concentrated, closing his eyes. To the amazement of all watching, the electricity on the door crackled, and, slowly but surely moved off the bars and into Ray's outstretched hands. Ray began to glow pale blue as all the electricity flowed into him, seemingly healing all of his injuries and restoring the energy that had been lost. When he opened his eyes, he realized with a start that the bars had completely disintegrated, leaving a gaping hole where they had once been Logan broke free and ran inside the cell, quickly slicing off Lexie's collar and bringing her out of the cell bridal-style.
Ray looked at his hands, which were still glowing pale blue, and knew that he had evolved beyond his previous level, as he had never been able to absorb the amount of electricity he had just absorbed before. Logan, meanwhile, was anxiously watching Lexie, waiting for her to wake up. Lexie moaned and opened her eyes to see the worried black ones of her father.
"Dad?" Lexie croaked glad to see her father but not letting on that much. Logan nodded and sighed with relief as she smiled at him. However, as Logan helped Lexie to her feet she sniffed the air and said, "Where's Pietro?"
Logan started, as did Remy, who slapped a hand to his forehead, having known about Pietro and Lexie for a few months. Logan glared at his daughter and growled, "What do ya mean, Lex? What does Maximoff have to do with anything?"
Lexie sighed, closed her eyes, and opened her mouth to say something when Remy interrupted, saying, "Later, monsieur Logan. We still have more cells to empty 'fore meetin' up avec Rogue et her group; bon?"
Logan glared at Lexie and, without looking at Remy said, "Fine… we'll talk later kid." Remy then explained the ritual of hall traveling for Ray and Lexie and they all left for the next hallway, catching a grateful look from Lexie as he left the hallway.