Disclairmer: I do not own the X-men

Rogue woke up to Jubilee's loud snoring and rolled over on the bed, groaning and stretching. She felt her hand hit something on the side table and lifted her head to check what it was. There lay a red rose, the coupons she won, and a card which she took and recognized as the Joker. Rogue gave a slight smile and read what was written in the back of it: Thank you for the wonderful non-date night, chérie. We should do it again. Wear the same dress. - Remy.

Rogue shook her head but realized that that movement was painful. She had a terrible headache, thanks to the punch and a very bad night of sleep. She would often wake up (actually, it was a state of asleep/awake) to the sound of steps above her, to strange dreams involving red eyes staring at her, whispers, and a dark figure. In some moments, she wasn't sure if it was a dream or if it was real; her head felt too dizzy and confused to find a difference.

Opening her drawer, she searched for the aspirin and filled a glass with the water that was in a jar over her side table. After taking it, she decided it was better to shower since she still had on last night's clothes and make up. 'Ah must be looking like a panda…' she thought and confirmed it after checking herself in the mirror. It wasn't an easy process to remove the make up, but she finally managed to do it and stepped into the shower. Her body welcomed the warm water, so she just stood there for a while before actually showering, thinking about the events of the night. Rogue bit her lip when she remembered the tension that had abruptly grown between her and Remy while they were dancing. Suddenly the warmth of the water reminded her of his body pressing against hers and again the butterflies invaded her stomach, causing her to breathe faster.

"Control yerself, Marie. It was just a dance. Stop imagining stuff." Rogue thought out loud but she was sure her real thoughts were different. Of course she wasn't imagining stuff. She was a bit sleazy, for sure, but what happened there was real. Remy had felt it too and his body had responded to hers. She could still feel his heartbeat, his breath reaching her lips, his own parted lips inviting hers. An abrupt intake of air caused the water to shoot into her nose and she coughed repeatedly.

"No, no. He was just being a guy. The reaction would be the same if it had been another girl instead of meh, and he would probably have kissed her. He can't kiss or touch meh so this makes no sense." And it made no sense to keep thinking about him either, even if her mind refused to obey.

Forty minutes later, Rogue got into her pajamas after deciding she deserved a few more hours of sleep. Jubilee's snoring still sounded like a scene from The Exorcist, but Rogue didn't really care since she was too tired to pay much attention to that. She laid down and almost immediately fell asleep again, this time without any dreams of footsteps, just the red eyes. But it felt good.

The sun was in its peak when Remy finally woke up, the sound of people running outside his room and the screams coming from the open window making him groan. He put his pillow over his head, trying to drown out the sound, but it was useless. Checking the clock (and once again groaning), he went into his bathroom and washed his face. He had stayed up all night and part of the morning thinking about everything that had happened to him in the last months. It gave him a real bad headache but he couldn't ignore it anymore; especially after last night. Another groan followed that thought. Remy didn't know how or when the situation got so out of control. Maybe that was another reason that his head was still hurting. He had hit it numerous times while whispering curses at himself. His anger grew when he remembered each day was one less in a countdown to the day he would betray those who had accepted him without any questions. They would be proven wrong about him, about the man they imagined him to be. So why just keep getting more involved with these people? This was a job like any other he had picked before, and his first rule was never mixing personal life and work. He was a thief, for God's sake. The best at what he did, as a matter of fact, and the kind of behavior he was having lately didn't suit him.

Those confusing thoughts were tormenting him night and day, giving him the worst nightmares he had had in months. There was only one thing that would ease all that, but then even that was tormenting him.

Last night had been... he sighed at the word he couldn't say. That situation wasn't in his plans, but again, what was? It was the first time he lost control of everything like that. Remy flinched as he felt his heart pounding on his ears after remembering how it felt to have Rogue in his arms. It was annoying how his heart seemed to have a life of its own when it came to her, and he hated that. 'Well, maybe not hate', he thought. But he could feel something as strong as hate take over him when his heart went nuts like that.

Remy splashed his face with cold water again then lifted his head to stare at his image in the mirror.

'What are ya' doin' to yourself?' He thought, not sure of what he was expecting to happen next. Maybe his image would grin at him and give a smart answer. But all he could see were his tired eyes filled with more questions.

A cold shower and a couple aspirins later, Remy put on a pair of light jeans, a white shirt, and his usual trench coat, then went to have a walk around the mansion. He didn't really know where he was heading, but his feet took the lead. When he stopped to pay attention, he was standing in the library. It made perfect sense because it was the quieter place inside the mansion, apart from the Medical Wing (when there weren't any missions, of course).

A beautiful figure was sitting by the window, her white hair reflecting the rays of sun. Her face was serene as always, but his empathy could catch a hint of sadness and nostalgia. Remy thought twice whether or not to bother her, but perhaps she needed to talk, or just some company.

"Hey, Stormy." Remy said from the library door.

"Hello, Remy. Sorry, have you been standing there for long? I was a bit lost in my thoughts."

"Non, just got here." He said while approaching her, trying to hold back a yawn.

"Did you sleep well?" Ororo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oui."

"You don't look like you did." She smirked and Remy sighed, rubbing his eyes in the process.

"Ok, I barely slept at all." He admitted, crumbling on the opposite chair.

"What happened?"

"Lots of thinkin'… but it's nothin', really. Talkin' 'bout sleepin'… how have ya' been feelin'? Still havin' nightmares?"

"Well, sometimes. Every now and then." Her face fell and he carefully took in her expression.

"Seems nobody's sleepin' properly around here, eh?" He muttered, getting a nod from Ororo. There was a moment of silence where Remy stared out of the window, compulsively running his fingers through his hair.

"Are you ok Remy? You look like something's bothering you as well." She whispered in a concerned tone.

He thought about giving a silly answer and changing the subject, but the quick look into her worried eyes made him change his mind.

"Just stuff, Stormy. Lots o' things goin' through my mind." His gaze was lost somewhere outside again, as if he found it easier to speak without making eye contact with her.

"Things like…?" She encouraged him.

For a moment, Remy wondered if he should open his mouth, but the growing chaos inside of him provided the answer. He couldn't hold it back in himself for longer or it would drive him completely insane. He had to share it with someone. With another quick glance to the weather goddess, who gave him a delicate nod, he made up his mind.

"…The past. The past, Stormy." Remy said with a heavy sigh. Ororo never imagined he could look more tired than he did before, but now he looked weary. "It still haunts my present…" His voice was barely a whisper. "It's been keepin' me awake."

"Remy, everyone here has issues with the past. I know it's hard because I had troubles with it myself. But you can't let it bring you down."

"Ok." He said. But the expression in his face didn't change. Ororo took his hand in hers, trying to give him some support.

"You've been through a lot, haven't you?" she asked but there was no answer. Then she touched his cheek, turning his face in her direction, and frowned when she looked straight into his eyes. "You are a fun, smart, and witty man Remy, but when I look into your eyes… there is so much behind them. Too much for such a young person." She paused, trying to understand the reason he was so scarred and bitter inside. He was always gentle and funny to everyone, but looking deep into those eyes, she could see the sorrow radiating from him. Not only sorrow, but anger and fear also. "What happened to you, Remy?" She asked more to herself than to him, her voice filled with concern, knowing the answer wouldn't come. "You are an enigma, you know?" She lowered her hand but the frown was still on her face. For a second, she could swear his eyes had a humid brightness in them. Just for a second. Remy swallowed hard and tapped her knee, then shrugged.

"I've seen worse enigmas around here." He stated with the shadow of a grin gracing his lips, making Ororo grin softly as well.

"I think I know who you are talking about." She said knowingly. Remy rested his chin on his hand and went back to staring out of the window. "The fact is that we all had our bad times, some more than others. Many of the people living here had to run away when their powers appeared. However, in this Institute we find a refuge, Remy. Some come here to start all over, to leave the past completely behind. Others come for redemption from the mistakes they've made. Most come for both."

"Redemption…" Remy said under his breath, lost in his thoughts.

"Yes. That's Logan's case for example. He only recently learned about a tiny part of his past. Imagine living without most of your life's memories."

"Sounds good t' me." Remy shrugged.

"No! It's terrible. Imagine waking up one day without remembering your name or who you are. Imagine living everyday wondering what kind of person you used to be, if you ever loved anyone, if you ever had kids, if you ever killed someone, if you were a decent person. You don't remember your childhood, the name of any of your friends, the place you used to live. It's terrible, Remy. You don't have a direction, a guideline. All you know is that someone experimented on you and made you a weapon."

As soon as he heard the words experimented on, his hand automatically reached the scar on the back of his head. Ororo didn't notice as she was discreetly wiping a lonely tear on the corner of her eye.

"Now ya' said it, doesn't sound pleasant at all. I'd go crazy!" His admiration for Logan grew a lot more after imagining how it'd be to be in his place. It would be like a never ending nightmare.

"Remy, I'm not asking you to forget about your past. Just don't let it control your present. Don't let it define who you are." He finally looked at her. "The past is a good thing, just like our memories. It's like a guide that serves to remind us how we've got here, the path that we've traveled. And with that, you can decide how you are going to change your future."

Once again, deep silence surrounded them until Remy finally managed to find his voice.

"I…" He shook his head. "Merci, Stormy."

"You are more than welcome, Remy. You haven't been here for long, but I already consider you a friend." She flashed her always comforting smile at him.

"So do I, believe me." Remy's smile was a bit weaker, but not less sincere. In that moment, his mobile started vibrating and he froze.

"You're not answering?" Ororo asked.

"Hmm." He took a glance at the name on the screen and recognized it as Pietro. "Non, it's jus' dis fille I met last week. Nothin' serious, so I'll jus' ignore it." He shrugged, trying to keep his face from growing pale. Ororo was going to comment on that but a dog suddenly came running into the room.

Remy gave Ororo a 'what the heck' look, but when he looked again to the dog, it had been replaced by a redhead girl.

"Rahne, what happened? I told you not to run like this in the house." The weather witch stood, crossing her arms.

"Sorry, Miss Munroe. But you need to see what's on TV." She transformed herself again and ran to the Rec Room with Remy and Ororo rushing behind her.

There, most of the X-Men and some students gathered around the TV, facing it with shocked faces. Remy's face became a mask as he watched the reporter standing in the middle of a confusion of debris, firefighters running, ambulances, cops trying to keep everyone behind the yellow band, and other reporters trying to get a good view of the place. Ororo put her hands over her mouth and fell sitting on an empty chair.

"We are broadcasting live from where a terrorist attack happened just half an hour ago. The authorities refuse to give information about the case, but according to witnesses, it was a mutant attack." The woman proceeded to talk to a few people, who gave scattered descriptions about what had really happened. At that point, Remy was clutching his mobile in his hand, paying attention to each word, and barely noticed when Rogue came into the room, still in her pajamas and looking like she had just heard what happened.

"It is said that four men, which were mutant, came here and started destroying cars and blowing things up. The guards of a bank across the street tried to stop them, with no success. Most stores in the street were destroyed, including the walls of the bank. We still don't know if they took any money, but the police are investigating. Four bank guards were killed while trying to stop the terrorists and a few costumers had to be rescued ..."

A loud boom made everyone jump off their feet and turn to Remy with wide eyes. He had just thrown his mobile on the wall and it exploded, leaving a huge hole.

"Remy!" Rogue took his arm but he shrugged it off and left the room. She followed him and took his arm again, making him turn. The expression in his face made her let go as if she had just received an electric shock. His eyes were burning orbs, his expression one of pure wrath and his lips twisted in a grimace. Her breath got caught in her throat and she shrunk against the wall. She had to admit to herself it was a damn frightening vision. Rogue had never imagined that he could ever get this angry or look this intimidating, especially when she was used to see him joking all the time and smiling at her. 'It's still him.'

"Re-Remy…" Her weak voice sounded weird to her own ears. "Are you ok?" 'Stupid question.' "Ah mean… talk to meh." She pleaded, unsure of what to say or do. He kept striding back and forth along the corridor, only stopping to answer her.

"Didn't ya' hear it? They killed four people!" His rage only got worse and even his hands were glowing now. "They murdered four innocent people!" 'And it's my fault.' He thought with a hand on his head. His voice was failing and Rogue couldn't tell if it was just anger or unshed tears. That thought gave to her legs the impulse to get closer to him again.

"Sugah, Ah know. Ah'm really angry and upset too but you need to calm down." Since he wouldn't stop and look at her, she pulled him by his trench coat then cupped his face on her gloved hands. "Remy, calm down." She whispered and this time he seemed to listen. He took a few breaths and his eyes went back to normal. However, his face was still marked with anger.

"Rogue?" A tiny voice called her from the door of the Rec Room. Jubilee was standing there with other students, all looking worriedly at the two of them. "Is he ok?"

"Yes, he is just having a bad reaction to the news. Guess he's not used to it." Everyone seemed to accept that explanation pretty well, since they were really frustrated with the incident as well. After years of fighting mutant terrorists and mutant haters, they were used to this kind of news but it didn't make things less painful. It was normal for someone to have an out burst once in a while, just like Remy did. The students went back in the room to listen to the rest of the news and Remy was left alone with Rogue.

He was finally managing to control, and his senses were starting to work again. He could hear the voices coming from the room, taste something bitter in his mouth, and see Rogue's pale face. And he could also feel her hands slightly shaking on his face. Then he remembered the frightened look on her face only moments before. She had been scared of him, and right now she was still tense.

"Chérie." His husky voice was apprehensive but still soothing. "Desolé. Didn't mean t' scare ya' like that." He held her hands still cupping his face and apologetically stared into her eyes.

"Ah know you didn't. It's ok now." Her voice was still weak but her gaze was intense and firm.

He shook his head and hugged her. She was taken aback by his movement, but the French murmurs in her ear and the warmth that came along with it made her relax. Maybe relax a bit too much, as she rolled her eyes in delight. Rogue called herself back to reality, reminding herself of the horrible events that had just happened and Remy's angst.

Remy kept holding on to Rogue for dear sanity. The words of the reporter kept repeating themselves in his mind. Those guards were killed because of him. It was him who asked for more money. He should've known anything he asked from Magneto would come covered in innocent blood. Now, his hands were stained as well. He pulled himself from Rogue, half expecting to see blood marks on her clothes.

'X-Men, come to the Conference Room immediately. That includes Remy.' Xavier's voice resonated in Rogue's head and she repeated the words to the dispirited man in front of her. Rogue gave one final look to Remy to make sure he was calmer and went upstairs to get a robe. Remy couldn't help but wonder why Xavier called him too. There was no way the man had connected the facts. Was there?

When he arrived in the Conference Room, he found the Professor speaking in a very sad tone to Cyclops and Beast. Wolverine was standing in the further corner of the room, smoking a cigar. The Professor was so concerned that he didn't even bother to complain. Remy sat there in silence, not daring to interrupt the conversation. Soon, all the other team members arrived and took their seats, all looking either sad or frustrated. Rogue sat on his side and gave a side glance at him, making sure he was ok. Bobby sat on the chair next to Rogue's and clutched his hands as he saw her eyes constantly moving to Remy. Xavier turned to his students and spoke, trying to remain calm in front of them.

"X-Men, this attack is a shock to us all. It's terrifying how someone could do this to innocent people. Many more could have died but this terrorist group wasn't focused in killing humans. And this brings us to the main question. Why did they do it? Cyclops thinks that maybe they just wanted some sort of attention and to bring chaos, but Beast thinks they were after something or someone. I want to know your opinions."

No one answered at first but then Piotr decided to speak. "Professor, do you think Magneto has something to do with this? They mentioned the fire and I thought…"

"Pyro." Bobby completed his train of thought.

Xavier sighed and nodded. "I had the same idea. But we can't ignore the fact that there are many other mutants which can create fire or control it somehow. I don't see why Magneto would do this without any special reason. So if it was him, we have to find out what he wanted by causing that attack."

"Attention?" Logan sarcastically grunted, quoting Cyclops idea. The other man just ignored him.

"The news mentioned a bank. Do you think they were after money?" Rogue gave a try, raising her eyes to him. Remy couldn't help but feel scared at how close she had gotten.

"It's a possibility." Beast said. "But why burn down everything like that? Magneto tends to be much more objective when he wants something. He gets there, takes what he wants, and leaves."

"He is hiding something…" Betsy whispered and then looked at all the others. "Remember how they behaved at the mall? They were aiming for the diamond but they nearly destroyed half of the place. Magneto is changing his pattern. He is trying to confuse us, divert our attention. Maybe he was after the money."

"Very good, Betsy." Scott said. "Whatever Magneto's been doing, he needs money. Of course, it's only assumptions. We need to investigate and try to find any clue that leads us to him. As the Professor said, it is possible it was him, but there is also a possibility it was an independent group of mutants."

"Wolverine, Shadowcat, Gambit, and Storm, you will look for clues in the place of the attack. Search for anything, even inside the bank." Xavier said, and then focused on Remy. "I decided it's time for you to go on your first mission. Also, your bounty hunter skills will be of good use. You mentioned you are good at tracking and searching."

Remy agreed with a quick nod. "Merci, Professor. I really appreciate your trust." He couldn't be more grateful for that chance, since he just couldn't stay at the mansion and wait for the X-Men to find clues.

"That's good, Gambit. You may go with them. Good luck." Xavier dismissed them and the ones assigned for the mission left to change into their uniforms. Before Rogue left, Bobby called her name but she just ignored it. He went after her and only stopped when she told him to get a life. Lorna's eyes filled with sadness and she shook her head at Bobby's lack of sensibility.