Chapter Eighty-Eight:
"Do you need a hand?"
"Non," Remy replied, climbing unsteadily to his feet, and instantly regretting it. "Oui."
With surprising gentleness, Mystique helped him up, allowing him to put his weight on her shoulder instead of on his ankle, which was clearly twisted. His boots were keeping his foot secure for now, but he was certain once they came off, the swelling would start.
"It doesn't look like it's sprained," Mystique observed. "Hank should be able to patch you up fairly quickly. There's a med-station in the back of the jet, so you won't have to wait until we return to the mansion."
"Remmerciez Dieu," Remy groaned. "T'ink de Doc's got some painkillers in dere, too?"
"I'm sure of it," Mystique assured him, her yellow eyes raking him over appraisingly. "Thank you for your assistance."
"Pas de probleme," Remy retorted, waving a hand dismissively. "Don' t'ink dat Marie would have been too pleased wit' ol' Remy if he'd let her mere die, hahn?"
"Perhaps not," Mystique agreed, the corners of her lips lifting in a small smile.
"Where's de chienne?"
Mystique nodded her head towards his left, and Remy turned to see Unuscione's feet sticking out from under a pile of rubble. "She's alive," his mother-in-law said, answering the unspoken question that had stirred within him. "Merely unconscious. Your exploding cards brought down the wall on top of her, weakening her psionic exoskeleton. I simply hit her in the head with some debris after that. No permanent damage, but she'll no doubt wake up with a particularly nasty concussion."
"Bon," Remy muttered, rolling his sore shoulder as he recalled being hurled into a stone wall.
Now he understood why Cyclops had assigned two of them to deal with Unuscione, the woman was almost as insane as she was dangerous. She'd been especially aggressive towards Mystique, and there was clearly some bitter history between the two women, but Remy thought it best not to ask.
He knew from his own experiences that there were some things in your past that were better left unsaid.
"How de rest o' de team doin'?" he inquired, grunting in pain as Mystique helped him over to an overturned metal crate, which she lowered him down to sit on. "Dey all okay?"
"It appears that way," Mystique replied shortly, turning her attention to their surroundings, keen yellow eyes scanning for the rest of the X-men. "Senyaka has been removed from the fight, so Wanda's team has moved on to assist Carol with Cargill, they were too evenly matched. As far as I can tell, the others are managing just fine, but don't get too relaxed, they might require backup."
"An' what 'bout yo' children?" Remy asked, pressing his fingers against his side and wincing, knowing his ribs were going to be bruised in the morning. "How are Kurt an' Marie doin'?"
"Kurt and Cyclops have joined forces with Shadowcat and Avalanche," Mystique reported, her eyes flickering to his side briefly. "Marie..." she paused on Rogue's birth name with a sad twitch of her lips, the name that Remy knew this woman had chosen for her all those years ago. "Is engaging Magnus."
"By her lonesome?" Remy inquired, even though he already knew the answer long before Mystique nodded. "Merde."
He started to rise, intending to track his wife down and help, but Mystique pushed him, none too gently, back down onto the crate. "You're not going to be of much use to her in the sky," she pointed out dryly. "And at the moment, I don't think she needs help at all. They've yet to come to blows, she's still trying to reason with the man."
The tone of her voice was somewhere between skeptical and exasperated, and it was clear that Mystique, like Cyclops, did not think there was much point in wasting time talking with Magneto at all. Of course, the shapeshifter had worked closely with Magneto for more years than Scott Summers had been alive, so Remy was of the opinion that her judgment was, at least, less because of personal resentment and more because of personal dealings.
Still, not even Mystique knew Magneto inside and out the way that Rogue did. It was doubtful that anyone could, save for perhaps Charles Xavier, but at the moment the Professor was not here, and the only one able to try and get through to Magneto was Rogue.
Good lucky, chere, Remy thought, shaking his head. Yo' sure gon' need it.
After all, as a former Acolyte, Remy knew better than most just how headstrong and narrow-minded Magneto could be when he was caught up in 'the fight', and he had doubts about whether or not anyone could ever really stop him peacefully.
But if anyone could do it, it would be his Rogue.
A burst of static came over their headsets, followed by Cyclops' controlled voice. "Neophyte's down for the count," he announced. "Cargill, too. Status reports?"
Mystique touched the side of her earpiece. "Unuscione is unconscious."
"Good," Scott said in approval. "Kamal is giving Evan and Bobby some trouble, so if you-"
He was drowned out suddenly, by the roar of a furious explosion, and Remy had to jerk his earpiece off with a curse as it shrieked in his ear, causing him to almost topple off of the crate. His eardrums were ringing sharply, and he turned his head as a shockwave of heat and light rolled across the sky, the echo of the explosion still thundering around them.
When it finally faded, he stretched his jaw a few times to pop his ears, then looked around for the source of the explosion, and, seeing nothing burning on the ground, he turned his attention to the sky overhead.
Shielding his eyes, he squinted through the haze and saw a fighter-jet racing away from a cloud of billowing smoke and dying flames, the pilot seemingly more than a little shaken by the whole ordeal. Remy couldn't blame him, that missile had gone off entirely too close to the fighter for his liking, so he could just imagine how the poor guy flying it felt about it.
As for Magneto and Rogue, though, there was no sign of either of them.
"Oh God," Mystique's broken whisper was hoarse and thick with despair. "Not again, no... please, not my baby..."
And Remy's heart positively shattered in realization.
The headset in his hands crackled, and he distantly heard Scott's voice asking Jean to try and sense them, but the words didn't have any meaning to him now.
Nothing did.
Rogue had been caught in that explosion... his wife, his beautiful, pregnant wife... it was unreal. She couldn't possibly be dead, there was just no way... she was invulnerable, unstoppable... nothing could kill her.
"She be fine," he muttered, more to himself than to Mystique. "Dere nobody in de world tougher dan dat femme, she don' die so easily. Look at everyt'ing dat she live t'rough already, hahn? If she can survive trois months in Area 51, den she can survive a li'l t'ing like an explosion."
Closing his eyes, he tried to steady his breathing, but his heart was erratic and his hands wouldn't stop shaking, so it was a futile effort. He knew he should be doing something, finding some way up into the sky to search for Rogue or looking for possible places where she might have fallen, but he couldn't move, he was frozen in place, numb and unable to process what was happening.
Jean was saying something over the headset again, and Kurt was jabbering in the background as Scott talked to his wife, his anxious murmuring half in English and half in German, so it would have been impossible to know what the furball was saying even if Remy had been able to pay attention.
Marie... he thought, the world around him slipping away. Y' can' leave me, chere.
This was the girl who had made him want to be a better kind of man, who'd stolen away his breath, and his heart, their very first meeting in the midst of battle. In the years since, she'd become much more than just a lover or a wife, she'd become his partner, his other half.
Life without her was inconceivable.
"Magnus," Mystique breathed suddenly, stepping forward.
Remy opened his eyes, following her gaze, and nearly cried out at what he saw, lurching to his feet despite the pain that shot through his injured ankle.
Emerging from the thick, swirling cloud of smoke and flames was Magneto, tattered cape fluttering out behind him, his armor singed behind the shimmering magnetic shield that he'd thrown up around himself.
And in his arms was Rogue.
Remy's heart leapt into his throat at the sight of his wife's limp form, and he couldn't seem to breathe.
Alive or dead? His mind chanted the words over and over, and he searched the frozen tableau for some sign one way or the other. Alive or dead?
Distantly, he was aware that all of the fighting had temporarily come to a halt, Acolyte and X-men alike staring up at the scene taking place overhead. It seemed that the explosion had startled them, and now they were waiting, like he was, to see if either of the two mutants swallowed up by the explosion had survived.
After all, the Acolytes may not have cared in the least if Rogue was killed, but they certainly wanted their leader alive.
Movement caught his eye, and he drew a sharp breath as his wife moved in Magneto's arms, slowly sitting up and rubbing her head. Though he was too far away to hear what Magneto said to elicit the scowl that crossed Rogue's face, Remy had a feeling it was something along the lines of 'how could you do something so stupid, you foolish, foolish child?' and he couldn't have agreed more.
From the way she was animatedly arguing back, it was clear that Rogue had not suffered any serious damage.
Which means dat de baby didn', eit'er, Remy sighed to himself.
Relief flooding through him, Remy sunk back onto the crate, practically collapsing against the wall behind it, and closed his eyes for a moment, shoulders sagging wearily. In the span of less than five seconds, it felt like five years had just been taken from his life. For a single, terrible moment he'd thought that he was going to lose Rogue and the baby...
But Magneto had saved them both.
"Mon Dieu," Remy groaned into his hands, heart still beating too fast. "Dat makes duex dat Remy owes him."
After all, it had been Magneto who made it possible for the baby to be conceived at all, through the gift of the power-negating bracelet that he'd given to Rogue all those years ago on the island.
By the time that they touched down a few minutes later, it was all too easy to hear Magneto still berating Rogue for her recklessness, and Rogue, in turn, lambasting him for putting her in the position in the first place by trying to kill a pilot who was little more than a kid with his own missile.
A missile that, Magneto was quick to point out, the pilot had fired on them first.
"And that is beside the point," Magneto said harshly, jabbing his finger at Rogue in a manner that was so paternal, Remy had to bite his lip to keep from snickering. "You are in no condition to be fighting in combat, much less running into armed missiles!"
"Ah'm fine," Rogue insisted, floating the rest of the way to the ground herself. "Don' get yo' spandex in a twist."
Despite himself, Remy snickered, earning a glare from his former boss, which he ignored and turned instead to his wife, lifting her hand to his lips, their eyes locking. "Y' sure yo' okay, chere?" he asked softly, squeezing her fingers tightly, no words needed to convey his utter relief at having her back in one piece.
"Ah'm fine, swamp rat," Rogue assured him, smiling gently as she leaned in to kiss him. "Erik made sure o' that."
"So he did," Remy observed, nodding at Magneto. "Merci beaucoup, Mags. Remy be appreciatin' dat."
"And so do I, Magnus," Mystique said, gratitude shining in her yellow eyes as she reached over to put an arm around Rogue's shoulders, which Rogue accepted with a smile, leaning into her mother's side. "Thank you."
Magneto opened his mouth to speak, when the distinctive sound of a helicopter filled the air, and all four of them looked up to see a large military chopper heading in their direction.
"Don't these fools ever learn?" Magneto growled, and began to rise off of the ground, but Rogue grabbed him by the ankle and pulled him back down. He gave her an indignant look, clearly not amused, but she wasn't looking at him.
"Wait," she said sharply, her eyes glued to the helicopter. "They're tryin' t' land, not fire on us."
"And your point is?" Magneto demanded.
Now Rogue did look at him, and with a fierce look that Emil called 'the Death Glare', but it didn't have quite the same affect on the Master of Magnetism. "Mah point is that if they're landin', they've obviously got somethin' t' say an' ya should hear 'em out befo' ya go blastin' 'em outta the sky."
"She's right, Father."
Wanda appeared from around the corner, flanked by Alex, Kurt and Tessa, the latter two moving to Rogue's side at once. Kurt hugged his sister, murmuring something in German, and then a pair of red sunglasses slipped over Tessa's eyes, scanning Rogue for internal injuries.
"Hello, Wanda," Magneto said evenly. "You look more like your mother everyday."
Wanda blinked, clearly taken aback by that, but before she could comment, her father had turned his attention back to Tessa, who was removing her glasses with a small smile. "Everything is fine," she announced, and Remy felt a weight lift off his shoulders. "The baby is perfectly healthy."
"See?" Rogue said, shooting Magneto a smug look. "Ah told ya so."
"So you did," Magneto acknowledged with the faintest tug of a smile. His eyes then focused on something past Rogue, and he chuckled. "Ah, Phoenix and Cyclops to the rescue."
Turning, Remy saw Jean floating in front of the helicopter, guiding it safely down about three hundred feet away, where Scott was waiting on the ground. The cutter-blades stirred up a gust of wind that blew dust up all around him, but the leader of the X-men didn't even blink.
The helicopter landed and the door opened as a tall woman dressed in a navy blazer and slacks climbed out, saying something to Scott, who gestured in their direction and she nodded. As he began to lead her towards them, the wind from the chopper blew the woman's blond hair across her face, and she ducked her head, clearly trying to keep it from getting too tangled, although it probably would have been smarter to wear it up in the first place.
"Amelia," Magneto said, most likely speaking into a hidden comm-link. "Tell the Acolytes to stand down until I say otherwise."
"Yes, Lord Magneto," a woman's voice came back, sounding from his belt.
Jean floated down from the sky, landing to Remy's right, just before Scott and the blond woman reached them, coming to a halt in front of them, with Scott remaining at her side, arms crossed, as if to protect her should Magneto suddenly, and irrationally, decide to attack.
But it was not Magneto that the new arrival looked to first.
"Hello, Raven," she said evenly.
"Valerie," Mystique acknowledged with a tilt of her head, face expressionless.
Kurt and Rogue exchanged a baffled look, clearly both curious as to who this woman was and what kind of history she had with their mother, but they knew better than to ask that now. Questions would have to wait until later, when they were back aboard the X-jet, and then Remy was quite certain the two would be pouncing on Mystique the minute they got the chance.
That taken care of, this Valerie woman addressed herself to Magneto now.
"Erik Lensherr, I presume," she said, holding out her hand. "I'm Valerie Cooper, with the NSC."
"The National Security Council?" Wanda asked in surprise, eyeing the woman with a hint of trepidation, unconsciously moving closer to her father, as if concerned as to what the NSC wanted with him.
"I know who you are, Ms. Cooper," Magneto replied, unfazed. "Government liaison on mutant affairs, advocator of mutant rights within Washington... I have watched you more closely than you can imagine."
"I see," Cooper murmured uneasily.
"Now, what brings you here, Ms. Cooper?" Magneto inquired civilly. "Governmental business, no doubt."
"The President asked me to speak with you, on behalf of the United Nations."
Magneto raised an eyebrow, but other than that he didn't show much of a reaction. "Continue."
Cooper reached into her pocket and pulled out a small device, then pressed the center of it, and small holographic map leapt to life over it, projecting the image of a lush island, about the size of Rhode Island, for all to see.
"This is the island of Genosha, located between Madagascar and the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean, not far off the coast of Africa," she explained. "The capitol city of Hammer Bay is one of the most prosperous in the world, and the country itself is very wealthy-"
"Wealth that has been built upon the backs of enslaved mutants," Magneto sneered.
"I take it you're aware of the civil war that has been going on there in recent months then?" Cooper asked.
"If by civil war you mean the so-called 'mutates' fighting back against their former oppressors," Magneto retorted darkly. "Then yes, I am aware of the situation."
"Good," Cooper said, nodding. "Because the United Nations would like to relinquish sovereignty of Genosha over to you, Mr. Lensherr."
Whatever Magneto had been expecting her to say, that clearly wasn't it, and the rest of them were just as surprised by the offer, but Remy rather felt someone needed to say it, they were all thinking it.
"Dey all gone mad," he declared. Magneto gave him a cool glance, and he shrugged, spreading his hands. "Remy jus' call dem like he sees dem, homme."
"Indeed," Magneto muttered, then turned his attention back to Valerie Cooper. "If I understand correctly, Ms. Cooper, you're saying that the U.N. has agreed to hand over Genosha to me and my Acolytes... assuming I wave the white flag, is that is?"
"They want a cessation of hostilities against their nations, yes," Cooper confirmed with a serious nod. "As well as a peace-treaty stating that you will never again initiate hostilities against them."
"Initiate?" Magneto repeated, a speculative gleam that Remy recognized all too well in the man's eyes.
"You would have the same rights as every other nation, Mr. Lensherr," Cooper replied, likewise understanding what he was thinking. "Including the right to defend your borders."
"I see."
"You would be able to create a mutant homeland," Cooper pointed out after a long pause. "An island nation where mutants can thrive and prosper."
"A nation in which I would be able to rule as I see fit?" Magneto challenged, and Cooper met his gaze steadily.
"So long as you aren't in direct violation of any of the U.N. charters, yes."
Remy stared at the woman hard, trying to decide whether this was all some sort of twisted military trick to capture Magneto, but her expression was serious and sincere, leading him to decide that the U.N. was clearly in need of some new leaders, because the current ones had all gone insane.
Give Magneto his own country? What kind of solution was that?
A feasible one, he heard Tessa's solemn voice inside of his head. Perhaps it won't serve to end the problem in the long run, but it could be a short-term solution, a starting point from which further negotiations could be made. And it would give Charles Xavier time to proceed with his own message of peace... perhaps enough time to convince Magneto that there is another way.
Glancing over at the dark-haired telepath, Remy pressed his lips together, but couldn't argue with her logic.
"I wonder, Ms. Cooper," Magneto requested evenly. "If you might be so kind as to allow me a few moments to consider your offer."
"Of course."
Nodding, Magneto moved past the gathered X-men, then paused, speaking over his shoulder and turning his head slightly. "It would be best if Charles were here," he murmured lowly. "But as he is not, might I inquire as to your opinion on the matter, Rogue?"
If Rogue was surprised by being called upon, it didn't show.
"Ya already know what Ah think, Erik," she replied simply. "If ya can do it right, then do it."
"And you, Wanda?" Magneto asked.
Unlike Rogue, Wanda visibly started at the question. "Me? You want to know what I think?"
"Yes."
For a heartbeat or two, Wanda was silent, staring at Magneto's back suspiciously, as if uncertain about whether or not he was serious, but she must have decided that his request for her opinion had been genuine, because she stepped forward, blue eyes as grim and intense as her father's.
"I think you have the chance to do something good, to turn Genosha into a symbol of what's possible, for mutants and humans to live together peacefully," she began carefully, her hesitance flickering. "But I don't know if you're capable of doing that or not."
Oh, dat's good, p'tite, Remy groaned as Magneto stiffened. Tick off de ol' man.
"Explain," Magneto ordered curtly, without turning around.
"Do you remember when I was nine, just before you had me locked away?" Wanda asked softly, and Remy's heart went out to the girl, a shimmer of long-dulled, but never forgotten pain in her eyes.
From his vantage point, Remy could see only Magneto's profile, but there was no mistaking the wince that crossed the man's face at the reminder of what was his biggest failure as a father. He didn't speak, which was probably for the best, because what could he possibly say to Wanda?
Somehow, 'I'm sorry' just didn't seem like it was good enough.
"I asked you why humans hated us," Wanda continued quietly, eyes never leaving Magneto. "Why we had to protect ourselves from them, and do you remember what you said? 'Because there is no land of tolerance'... Well, now you have the chance to create one."
Okay, Remy conceded to himself. I take it back... yo' good, p'tite.
As if sensing his thoughts, Rogue smiled at him, likewise impressed with Wanda's words, and he slipped an arm around her waist, drawing her closer so that he could kiss the top of her hair. After the close call she'd had, he would have liked nothing more than to scoop her up in his arms, take her to the safety of their room, and never let her go, but he knew that was a bit impractical... although certainly not without its merits.
"Perhaps," Magneto spoke slowly, and there was something akin to wistfulness in his tone. "You and your brother might come for a visit, then? After all, I'm sure both the X-men and the Avengers will want to check up on me from time to time."
"We'll see," Wanda said, surprisingly open to the idea. "If you follow through with your promise, then I'll talk to Pietro about it. Maybe we'll be able to work something out."
"That is all that I ask," Magneto replied, and he finally turned to face his daughter, suddenly looking much older than his appearance would lead one to believe. "Wanda... I truly do regret..."
"Don't," Wanda silenced him, shaking her head. "I don't want to go there, not now. Professor Xavier has helped me learn how to forgive you, I've accepted what happened and moved on. I don't live in the past anymore, and you shouldn't either. Worry about the present, instead, and the future. If you want to make it up to me, to me and Pietro, then here's where you start."
"Very well," Magneto murmured, then turned to Valerie Cooper with a genial, tired smile. "Ms. Cooper, please tell the President that I accept the U.N.'s offer."
Translations:
Remmerciez Dieu- thank God
Pas de probleme- no problem
chienne- bitch
Bon- good
Mon Dieu- my God
duex- two
Merci beaucoup- thanks very much