Chapter 12
In the weeks leading up to John and Wanda's wedding, Tante Mattie, Jean-Luc, Mercy and Henri took turns taking care of Olivier a few times a week so that Rogue and Gambit could get back to playing World of Warcraft together. Even when they switched from headsets to speakers and microphones, it was too easy to get distracted and either end up dying in WoW, or not getting to Olivier soon enough to please him; usually the former.
Rogue and Gambit left late afternoon on the last Wednesday of September. Gambit preferred to drive at night, Rogue didn't have a problem driving during the day, and both had to stop frequently to tend to Olivier's needs as well as refuel. They both were very much relieved to finally make it to the hotel in California. After taking some time to crash, the LeBeaus visited the Brotherhood.
"Wow," said Rogue as they drove through the open gate. "The X-men have a mansion, and the Brotherhood have their own residential village."
Gambit chuckled.
"I think the Brotherhood may just have a better deal," she went on as she looked at all the neat little houses with neat little garages and lush green lawns. "Very suburbia."
"Very deceptive," Gambit said with a grin. "You'd never imagine a bunch of terrorists lived here."
Rogue laughed. Olivier burbled in his car carrier.
Although all the houses were basically identical, it didn't take them long to locate the house where Pietro, Wanda, John and Dominic lived. The familiar van parked on the driveway was a bit of a giveaway. They parked in the street, took Olivier and all his bags out, and walked up to the front door. Wanda opened it before they could even knock.
"Hey! You made it," she said, and then her eyes fell on Olivier. "Aww, hi Oli. Hi!"
Rogue chuckled while Olivier stared at her.
"Oli, this is Tante - Tante - Auntie Wanda," said Rogue, and then grinned. "I had to stop and think what the English word was then."
Wanda laughed.
"Isn't he just adorable? How old is he now?" she asked.
"Six months."
"Hate to be a pest," said Gambit, "but can we come in?"
"Hmm? Oh, right," said Wanda and she stepped away from the door. "Welcome to our humble abode. So... can I hold him?"
"Sure," Rogue replied as she stepped inside.
There was nothing much to say about the entrance of the house; there was a staircase leading up, a hallways beside it, and a double archway leading into the living room, which was dominated by the four computers inside. Three of the four desks had dual monitors sitting on them and Pietro's had six; three mounted on the wall above the other three. John, Dominic, and Pietro were all busy playing World of Warcraft and wearing their headsets. Gambit put the bags down by the door.
"Ahem," Wanda said futilely to the room. "Remy and Anna are here."
She waited and tapped her foot for a couple of seconds. Just as Gambit was about to point out the obvious, Wanda wriggled her fingers and zapped the headsets with hexbolts.
"I said Remy and Anna are here," Wanda said.
"Yah!" John, Pietro and Dominic yelped in chorus, simultaneously ripping off the headset and sending Wanda into a fit of laughter.
"Wanda!" Pietro added, turning around to scowl at her. "How many times do I have to tell you not to do that? Oh... Hi Remy, Anna. Umm... I'm kinda running an instance at the moment so..."
He turned back to his screen, gave another yell and started moving at super-speed to save his avatars from being wiped out.
"Hey," Dominic said to Rogue and Gambit after a snicker at Pietro. "That Olivier?"
"No, it's Rebecca," Gambit replied jokingly. "We had another baby and didn't tell you guys about it."
"Ooh ooh oooohh!" said John. "Remy! I have to show you this!"
"Okay..."
John turned back to his computer and logged off the character he'd been playing. Wanda rolled her eyes, muttered something unintelligible and turned her attention back to Olivier. Gambit walked over and hurriedly donned a pair of sunglasses before looking at the screen. Why some people insisted on having the brightness on their monitors set so high, he had no idea. It was a wonder more people didn't go blind. He watched while John selected - of all things - a Dwarf from the character screen.
"Since when did you play Alliance?" Gambit asked.
"You are going to love this," John said gleefully as the loading screen came up. "Bobby was the one who told me about it."
The female Dwarf appeared centre stage on the screen and John moved the camera so that they could see her from the side. He then made her run. It didn't take long for Gambit to figure out why John was so enthusiastic about it.
"Wow," Gambit said, grinning. "Those things are really flopping all over the place aren't they?"
"Yeah," John said gleefully. "I've never seen any of the Horde race girls' boobies bounce around like that, but the Dwarf women do have pretty big gazungas."
"What on earth is she wearing?" asked Rogue, peering over John's shoulder.
"Umm, a Rough Cooper Vest I think," John replied. "She's a warrior."
"It looks like a bra," said Rogue. "A chain mail bra."
Gambit snickered. "Oooh kinky."
"Seriously, the way those things are going, she'd be in so much pain right about now," Rogue said with a nod.
"Not to mention the chaffing," added Wanda. "I think this is the one thing I don't like about this game. I mean, it's one thing for the cloth wearers, and even the leather wearers to wear skimpy outfits, but mail and plate should never be allowed to be skimpy. It's just wrong."
"And lousy protection," Rogue agreed, "to say nothing about poor support."
"Oh, stop taking the fun out of it," John said.
Olivier abruptly started crying. Gambit and Rogue both looked up from the screen towards their son, wailing in Wanda's arms. Wanda opened her mouth to try and calm him, but before she could get a word out, Gambit had covered Olivier's eyes.
"He's a little light sensitive, like his Papa," Gambit said tersely. "The monitors in here are a bit bright."
"Oh... oh hell I'm so sorry," Wanda said.
"You didn't know. Where are his glasses, Roguey?" Gambit asked.
"In the bag, hang on," Rogue said, already walking over to the bags.
"Shh, shh," Gambit said as he lifted Olivier from Wanda's hold, making sure to keep the monitors out of direct view. ["Mama's getting your glasses for you so that you don't have to look at the big mean bright lights. Yes, I know it hurts, but it'll pass soon, I promise."]
"I have no idea what you just said," Wanda said. "You could be calling me a 'mean lady' for all I know."
"He's just telling Oli he'll be all right," Rogue said as she rummaged through the bag. "I don't think Oli believes him though."
["Wanda's a mean lady isn't she?"] Gambit said jokingly to Olivier. ["How dare she accidentally expose you to bright lights. The nerve!"]
Rogue giggled.
"What?" Wanda demanded. "Hey, I know you're talking about me. You said 'Wanda'!"
"Don't mind him," said Rogue. "He's just being silly. Ah ha!"
She brandished the baby sunglasses triumphantly in the air, stood and walked over to put them on her son.
"Aww don't they look so cute?" Wanda said. "Father and son, both in glasses."
"Yeah," Rogue said with a grin. "We got Oli a little suit to wear for the wedding too; then they're really going to match."
"Nah, they'll really match when Oli gets hair."
"Long hair."
"Yeah. It'll be so cute. You have to send photos. Or I have to visit," Wanda said gleefully.
["And here's lesson number one about women,"] Gambit said conversationally to Olivier. ["They're obsessed with anything 'cute'. Kittens, puppies, teddy bears... babies. You will not believe the number of women I've picked up that way..."]
"Hey!" Rogue objected.
"Have to have the talk sometime, chére."
Not long thereafter, Wanda and Rogue departed for one of the houses across the street where Martinique "Mastermind" Jason, Wanda's Maid of Honour, lived. Because she was living with John, Wanda was keeping the dresses at Mastermind's home.
"We've never been able to convince you to play WoW with us, have we?" Wanda asked in amusement after introductions were done.
"Yeah, I have better things to do," Mastermind replied dismissingly.
"Uh huh, so where were you exactly when the Sentinels attacked?" Wanda drawled.
"That's none of your business."
"Uhh so," Rogue cut in, sensing a fight was going to start up again, "where's this bridesmaid gown I'm suppose to try on?"
"Right this way," Mastermind replied, turning and sauntering up the stairs.
The bridesmaid gown turned out to be a rather sophisticated black and white number. Wanda's gown was red, scarlet, technically (as she pointed out, she wasn't called the 'Scarlet Witch' for the fun of it). Rogue's dress didn't fit her initially, but a couple of hex bolts later and it became just the right size. Mastermind had a few snarky remarks to say about the perils of pregnancy and then it was Wanda's turn to intervene before fighting broke out.
The girls and the boys were reunited an hour or so later at the community hall within the residential village where the wedding would be held. The first thing that caught Rogue's attention as they approached the hall, however, was a familiar structure around which the guys were waiting.
"That had better not be what I think it is," she said darkly as they approached.
"What?" asked Wanda.
"That," Rogue said, pointing.
"Hmm, that depends," Wanda said. "What do you think it is?"
"A death machine."
Wanda blinked and regarded Rogue in surprise. Mastermind snickered.
"Well," Wanda said slowly. "I've heard it called a few things, but not a 'death machine'. It turns humans into mutants."
"Ahh, see, I'm right," said Rogue. "It's a death machine."
Gambit looked at Rogue, then back at the machine, then at Rogue again.
"Actually," John piped up, "the X-men were wrong when they said it killed people –"
"Two words: Senator Kelly," Rogue snapped, "to say nothing of what it was going to do to me."
"Yeah, but the death rate is only five percent or something," John said. "How else do you think Mags knew it could turn humans into mutants?"
"That death rate is debatable though," said Pietro. "There was that one guy who we thought was dead, but actually turned out to have developed the mutant power to feign death."
"Feign death?" Gambit asked. "Really?"
"Yeah, if he played WoW, he'd be a hunter," Pietro joked.
"Magneto experimented with the design here," Wanda told Rogue, disgust clearly evident in her voice. "I told him not to, that it would cause more trouble than it was worth, but did he listen? Noooo. I was just a silly little girl who had no idea what was really going on here, so what happens? I get stuck looking after all his test subjects."
"Yeah, well, that thing nearly killed me," Rogue said. "I –"
"Yeah, I told them about Buckethead kidnapping you," John cut in, "and how Logan nearly died saving you and –"
"Why keep it?" Rogue asked. "Why don't you just dismantle the stupid thing?"
"Because," Wanda began smugly.
"Here it comes," Pietro said under his breath.
"It is a symbol of what happens when you don't listen to me," Wanda said, ignoring him. "I told him not to. Repeatedly. And what happens? Not only does his plan fail, but he ends up in a plastic prison. This machine is clearly proof that I'm always right, and it needs to stay here as an example to everyone, to remind them of why they should always listen to me."
"And she likes rubbing it into Magneto's face," said Pietro. "He actually did destroy it the first time he came back after he escaped from prison."
"I had it rebuilt," Wanda said gleefully. "It's plastic. That just rubs it in even more. It's awesome."
Rogue burst out laughing.
"Come on," said Wanda, heading up to the front doors. "Let's go in, shall we? Kurt's probably wondering where we are."
"Kurt?" Rogue repeated.
"Yeah," said Wanda as Pietro opened up the doors and they stepped inside. "He's the priest who –"
"Kurt!" Rogue exclaimed as her eyes fell on the blue-furred mutant sitting on a nearby chair.
In a flash, she ran over and wrapped her arms around him in a big hug. Kurt only stood up just in time.
"Rogue," he greeted, "it is good to see you again."
"I'm guessing you two know each other," Dominic said.
"Duh," said John. "I told you she was there when we met."
"Hey, how have you been?" Rogue asked as she pulled away and looked up at him. "I thought you went back to Germany?"
"I did," Kurt replied with a smile. "I came back. I understand you're married now?"
"Uh huh, oh!" Rogue said, pulling away and turning so she could see both Kurt and Gambit. "Kurt, this is Remy, and this," she went on, gesturing to the bundle sleeping in the baby sling Gambit was wearing, "is our son, Olivier. Remy, this is my old friend, Kurt."
"Pleasure to meet you," said Gambit, holding out his hand.
"And you as well," Kurt replied. "Congratulations."
"Merci."
"Yeah, yeah," Mastermind cut in. "Can we get this rehearsal on the road already? I have things to do."
Sometime later, after the rehearsal, Kurt asked if he could talk to Rogue in private. Gambit said he'd meet her at the car and took off with Olivier.
"Yes?" Rogue asked once they were alone.
"I'm not... I'm not really sure how to say this," Kurt said cautiously. "It... I... I recently learned the name of my birth mother."
"Okay..." Rogue said slowly, uncertain whether she was supposed to be happy for him or sympathising with him.
"We... it turns out we have something in common," Kurt said. "My mother is Mystique."
Rogue was rendered silent for a long moment.
"So," she said when she finally found her voice, "she abandoned you too, huh?"
"It would seem so," Kurt replied gently. "I hope one day I have a chance to ask her why."
"Every word that woman says is a lie," Rogue snapped.
"Perhaps," Kurt said, "but I still wish I had the chance to get to know her, as you did."
Rogue sighed.
"I guess I can understand that," she said reluctantly. "I never got to know my birth parents. They died when I was four."
Kurt nodded. "And – regardless of how things go with Mystique – may I consider you my sister?"
A slow smile appeared on Rogue's lips.
"Sure," she said, "just so long as I can consider you my brother."
On the day of the wedding, Rogue and Wanda prepared at Mastermind's house, while Gambit and Olivier hung out with John, Dominic and Pietro. Gambit made sure that Olivier got in a nice long nap before the ceremony, although when the time came he took a seat up the back, near an exit in case a speedy withdrawal was required.
The hall began to fill up. Gambit recognised a few of the people there as some of those whom the Brotherhood had taken back with them after rescuing them from the Sentinels. John was up the front, wearing a bright orange shirt under his black jacket that matches his hair. Beside him was his Best Man, Dominic, and his soon-to-be brother-in-law, Pietro.
Just as Gambit was wondering if this wedding was ever going to start, two more people entered the hall; Magneto and Mystique walked down the aisle like they owned the place, which, technically, they probably did. Gambit didn't remember anyone saying that they were coming, and judging from the expressions on John and Pietro's faces, they hadn't expected them either. Knowing what Kurt had told Rogue previously, Gambit noticed Kurt's face light up, and Gambit actually hoped Kurt would get a chance to talk to Mystique later – and that it wouldn't end badly.
Finally the music began. Rogue was first down the aisle and Gambit smiled as he watched her. Mastermind followed and finally Wanda graced the hall with her presence. It wasn't until the women got to the end that they noticed their unexpected guests. Wanda made a concerted effort to ignore them, but Rogue wasn't beneath shooting Mystique death glares.
The reception was held in another room in the community hall, and was decorated with fire colours; reds, oranges, yellows, black and white. The seating arrangement was informal and the food was an open buffet. Wanda and John's favourite music played throughout, although this apparently involved a lot of songs by Rolf Harris (Gambit had a few dirty things to say about Jake the Peg and his extra leg).
"Marie," Mystique said upon her approach to where Rogue was seated with Gambit.
"Don't call me that," Rogue snapped at her. "I'm Rogue."
Mystique sighed and leaned on the table.
"May I hold my grandson?" she asked.
"He ain't your grandson," Rogue said, glaring at Mystique as she moved in between her and Olivier. "You lost the chance to claim any children of mine as your grandchildren the day you abandoned me, and you nailed the coffin shut when you sold me out to Magneto and conspired to kill me."
"It's not that simple... Rogue," Mystique replied tersely.
"I'd say it is that simple, Mystique," Gambit said. "Perhaps you should move along."
"Irene was a precog –" Mystique began.
"No, really?" Rogue asked sarcastically. "I was young, not stupid."
"She said we had to leave, that your life –"
"I don't want to hear your excuses," Rogue snapped. "Go away and don't come near me or my family again."
"Now my dear," said Magneto, practically sneaking up on them from behind, "let's not make a scene. It's Wanda's wedding."
"Ha!" Mystique said scornfully as Pietro and Wanda joined them as well. "You're no more happy with your daughter's choice of husband than I am with mine,"
"Nevertheless, it is her decision," Magneto replied.
"I'm surprised you even respect that," Wanda said glaring at him, her arms folded across her chest. "What the hell are you doing here? You weren't invited."
"I know," Magneto replied calmly. "I assumed it was because you had nowhere to send the invitation. Ahh... so this in the new LeBeau."
Gambit looked at Magneto and then back at Rogue as Magneto peered over his shoulder to look at Olivier, who was quite contently drinking from his bottle.
"How fortunate you are to have a sign of his mutation so early," Magneto went on. "You'd be surprised at just how often two mutant parents can produce a... human... child."
Magneto said the word 'human' like it was something revolting he had to pick up and was trying to keep it as far away from his person as he could. Mystique pursed her lips.
"You know what?" said Pietro tersely. "I'm going to go."
He zipped off before anyone could say a word to stop him. Wanda's glare deepened.
"You are such a bastard," she said, glowering at Magneto. "That was completely unnecessary."
"That doesn't stop it from being true, my dear," Magneto replied. "Come Mystique, I believe we have worn out our welcome. Congratulations... to all of you."
There was silence from the group as Magneto and Mystique departed. Once they were out the door, Wanda shook her head and sighed.
"Umm," Rogue said tentatively, "did we miss something?"
"Pietro..." Wanda began, stopped, took a breath and continued: "Pietro ended up dating one of the girls who Magneto turned into a mutant. He and Crystal ended up having a daughter, Luna. Unfortunately, Luna... Luna was born human. Certain people are embarrassed by that fact, and made it very difficult for everyone else. Crystal eventually left, took Luna with her and we haven't seen either of them since. I'd better check on Pietro."
"Tell him he's not allowed to sulk on your wedding day," Rogue advised her with a nod.
Wanda laughed.
"I might just do that," she said.
AN:
Mastermind / Martinique Jason is comic canon. She's the daughter of Jason Wyngarde (who was apparently Stryker's son in the movieverse, go figure), and the half sister of Lady Mastermind / Regan Wyngarde.
Crystal and Luna are comic canon, but Crystal is Pietro's ex-wife, not his ex-girlfriend, and she's an Inhuman, not a mutant.