Chapter IV
I gotta get myself up off the side of the road.
Quit lying to myself and let the truth be told.
My head is heavy and my heart is empty,
But my spirit is strong and my legs are ready.
I gotta get myself off the side of the road.
~Off the Ground by The Record Company
…
Cumberland, Kentucky
The anticipated containment mission quickly spiraled into full-fledged evacuation. The extraterrestrial flora was extremely aggressive. It devoured ninety percent of the plants it came into contact with. The remaining ten percent were transformed into thorny, poisonous hybrids with needle-like seeds. Luckily, they kept it away from the water sources until SWORD arrived and secured the area.
"Lotta bears in this area," said Sam. "Ah'm sure some of them got infected. We should stay in case-"
"You're exhausted!" Raven said. "If a rabid bear comes, it's gonna eat you!"
He conceded defeat. After nearly twelve hours without rest or water, he was too exhausted to fly home, so they found a B&B. Cumberland didn't have much to offer tourists, but if she thought the locals would welcome two mutants – unmarried! – into their establishments, she was in for a shock. Sam politely set her aside as he argued with the landlady. The parlor was small and Raven was sure she would've overheard them even without her superhuman hearing, but she pretended otherwise. He pretended not to be livid.
Finally, key in hand, he led her upstairs.
"They should be proud of you," she said quietly. "You're their hometown hero."
"It's okay. Ah'm ashamed of them, too. Minin', teachin', dealin' or preachin'. Bunch of toothless hicks too stupid to offer their kids anything better."
"You don't mean that. You're tired."
"Yeah," he smiled. "Go ahead and shower. I'll get you something to wear and your clothes washed before check-out."
"How? I haven't seen a K-Mart yet."
"Let me worry about that."
Her heart flooded with something it wasn't ready to accept. He looked a little like her late husband… more so in the dark. Their personalities were opposites. But somehow, she and Sam had fallen into the same dance. They took care of each other.
When she stepped out of the shower, he'd placed a Victorian sleeping gown nearby. It smelled like mothballs. More motivation to sleep nude…
Back in their room, he'd arranged dinner on the desk – spaghetti and root beer.
"Everything's closed," he explained. "So I hijacked the kitchen… What's wrong?"
Suddenly, she couldn't catch her breath. Her heart pounded frantically against her ribs. Wheezing, she said: "I can't breathe! Oh god, I'm gonna die! I knew someone would die!"
"Here, lay down. Don't gasp like that or you'll hyperventilate. In through your nose, out through your mouth. In through your nose… Good. Better now?"
"What was that?"
"Ah think you had a panic attack, sweetheart. We need to talk."
"About what?"
"Us."
"What about us?"
"What's all this… about?"
"Sam, you're talking in circles!" She sat up. "I wanna be a part of your family and I want you to be a part of mine. I love you. What else would it be about?"
"You do?" His eyes searched hers. "We hardly know each other."
"We share the same faith, values, morals. That's what's important. I know it seems quick, but I lost everything and everyone in the blink of an eye. Who knows how much time we'll have? I won't waste it on propriety. Don't you want a family? Don't you want someone to build your life with? I do, and I want it with you."
He held her face in his hands. "You mean it? You'll marry me?"
Breathless, she nodded.
"You'll have my children?"
A grin exploded between his hands and she nodded. "I want a big family."
"We better get started then."
…
Camden, New Jersey
"I don't think this is a good idea," said Darce.
Rogue had convinced Hill to authorize her team to work with Gambit. They'd successfully tracked an associate of Joe Green, only to have that man die under similar mysterious circumstances, too. So they were trying a different route. Hitting the black market, Fence uncovered a possible supplier for the tiny murder mechanism. Tonight he would attempt to purchase an undamaged model. If this was the weapon, Rogue would apply her special skills to learn who'd been buying in bulk.
"They call it the Decimator!" Fence explained as she logged onto his internal hard drive. As a cyborg, he wouldn't have the wear a wire or stay within camera range. He came fully equipped. "Small as rice. They jam it into the sinus cavity and at code words – phmf! No more headaches."
"You're not a field agent, babe," his wife complained. "Let me go. At least I've got experience."
He puffed with fury. "I'm the man! I do manly things like chat up serial killers! Besides, you can barely work a smart phone."
"And you can't smell danger on a week-old gas-station tuna sandwich!"
"We'll have agents at every possible entry," Rogue said. "Ah'm not afraid to send 'm in. And if you want backup, what's the word?"
"Vienna," he replied, glancing at Darce. She melted a little, but her instincts proved correct.
Fence's contact had a friend who could supply. Unfortunately for him, this 'friend' smelled a rat and after an ugly confrontation with Fence, pulled the contact aside. Rogue watched from a security camera as he heaved Fence's contact onto a blade.
"Get him out!" she called to the rest of her team.
The murderer turned in time to see Deadpool approaching. "Fuck," was all he said before pulling a bullet through his own brain.
Lost. All their work – lost. The police rolled in with strobing blue lights, yellow tape, and forensics. Slumped in a booth, Rogue watched hopelessly.
"Call Hill yet?" Gambit asked.
"Ah was hopin' to have some good news first."
"Fence survived his brief career as a field agent."
She sighed heavily. "But whoever we're after knows we're after them. SHEILD can reach everywhere but they're so damn slow. All these guys have to do is keep runnin' and we'll never stop them. Ah'm sick of it! Let's do this. You and me. When Hill catches up, we'll fill her in."
"Anna, this is the end of the line," he quietly replied. "I got no more leads. Besides, you'll never forgive yourself if you don't go back to your tower."
Her eyes turned to daggers. "You don't trust me."
He was speechless. Maybe he shouldn't have said it, but he didn't think it'd piss her off. It wasn't an insult, merely an observation. Before he could explain himself, her eyes filled with furious tears and she flew away.
A buzzing in his pocket distracted him. Raven.
"Ready t' come home?"
She was weeping hysterically.
"What-?"
"Why does everyone always leave me?!"
The line died. He tried to call her back, but it went straight to voice mail. His mind was still reeling from the night's ordeal, but he thought Sam would enlighten him. No answer. Nor did he reply to any of Gambit's menacing text messages.
Across the dark parking lot, Darce cranked her little compact car. Fence looked pale and nervous in the seat beside her. He didn't see Gambit, but she did, and she wasn't happy. They left him, too.
He'd never felt so alone.
…
Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Louis
New Orleans
On a Tuesday morning, Raven had the place to herself. She hadn't meant to journey this far. She simply started running from her thoughts and her feet led her home.
Seven months ago, she'd gotten married here. Daddy walked her down the aisle as slowly as he dared. She'd worn her mother's wedding dress and Vaughn gave her the same ring her father had given her mother. Then Father blessed the happiest union the church had ever made. Afterwards, her little sisters bubbled with questions about sex. They were on a cusp of womanhood and obsessed with physical love… Something they'd never known and never would. Of course, they hadn't known that at the time. In her great arrogance of immortality, she'd relegated Oli, Meg, and their newborn to the sidelines. 'When Meg and I both have babies,' she'd thought, 'we'll have something to bond over.'
But that never happened.
She lit a candle and prayed to the bleeding figure of Christ. His anguished eyes were turned from her. She'd slept with a man who wasn't her husband and never would be.
'You were married?' Sam's voice echoed in her mind. At first, he'd been sympathetic, or at least pretended to be. But then he said: 'Ah think we made a mistake.'
Didn't he realize her eternal salvation was at stake? This never would've happened if her father was still alive. Why did 'never' and 'forever' feel so crushingly omnipresent?
She went to the organ, struck a chord, and blasted dust from the enormous brass pipes. Bones shook below her feet. And when she stopped, her mind was empty.
A beautiful tenor voice sang out, startling her.
"Praise the Saviour, ye who know Him! Who can tell how much we owe Him?"
"I'm sorry. I thought I was alone… I should've been more respectful."
"The Spirit moved you. Allow me to assist in your worship."
She played on; stumbling over the key change, but his flawless velvet voice covered her mistake. Focused on the keys, she couldn't meet his eyes, although she felt them run over her. What devil brought such desires into the house of God? Once more, Christ averted his eyes.
"Then we shall be as we should be, and we will be what we could be. Things that are not now nor could be soon will be our own."
The devil wore a small red turban over visible black curls. His skin tone was naturally vibrant, the sort of sun-kissed, ethnically ambiguous tone envied by the bored and famous. His handsome face framed black eyes and a close-cropped Van Dyke. Broad shoulders tapered to a lean body, dressed sensibly and milder than she was accustomed. In a crowd, she wouldn't pick him out. But she noticed him now. When he saw her eyes run down him, he smiled like a spider to a fly.
"Why don't we leave the Savior's sight? A healthy dose of sin will dry those pretty eyes."
…
Salem Center
"Clear the way, everybody!" Bobby shouted. "Avenger coming through!"
Rogue boarded the Blackbird with a smirk. Falling back into the X-Men comradery felt like coming home. Tragic, then, that she her homecoming was prompted by their former leader's insanity. Scott Summers, the epitome of Xavier's dream and nightmare, had gone off the rails long ago, but slaughtering his mentor had been his Rubicon. Now he led the New Charles Xavier School, founded on the ruins of the Weapon X facility. What sort of man built an empire on salted earth? Magik, Magneto, Namor, and the White Queen rounded out his mentally-stable staff.
Whenever a new mutant came into their powers, Scott had a way of knowing before anyone else, and scooping them up for himself. His most recent recruit was little Marie Bennet – the girl Gambit rescued on Fence's wedding day. Cyclops abducted her from her rehabilitation home. Whether or not she was safe or wanted to be there, no one knew. No one really had custody of the girl, and Scott's little kingdom had been granted sovereignty, which meant no country or law-enforcement agency could confront them without risking serious repercussions.
Luckily, the X-Men existed on the fridge of society.
Psylocke and Colossus were already ready to go. From the pilot's sea, Storm nodded stiffly. Her usual serenity had been broken by the burden of caring for the school and Logan's recent demise.
"Sorry Ah'm late."
"You're not the latest," said Bobby. "Still waiting on Cannonball. Do Avengers run on mountain time?"
"No, sorry." Sam joined, panting. "Thanks for waitin'."
The jet hummed through lift-off.
Rogue pinned him with a glare. She'd heard the sketchy details of Raven's sudden escape, and her mind used the unknown to paint Sam in the worst light. "She's still missin'."
"Ah don't know how Ah can help. She didn't tell me where she was goin', and she doesn't want me chasin' her."
It didn't take a super genius to deduce what had happened. Sweet Sam Guthrie had seduced her grieving... What Raven to her, anyway? Not a daughter – they were the same age, but she was infinitely dearer than a friend. This beloved person had been seduced. Later, when they'd discussed the implications, he obviously wouldn't give her something she felt entitled to. Commitment? Marriage? Who knew? The heartbreak shattered her. If Gambit could control himself until after the unpleasant details were discussed, Cannonball could, too.
Rogue wanted to break every bone in his body. She wanted to call every telepath until someone found Raven. Then she wanted to extract every detail, heal every wound, and protect that poor heart until a good man came along. And, of course, Raven couldn't be trusted to select this man herself… Who did that sound like? Mystique. Right or wrong, Rogue knew Raven needed to be alone. When she was ready to come home, she would.
Meanwhile, Rogue still had to work with Cannonball. He looked miserable and it gave her hope that they'd work things out.
"You okay?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Ah feel like Ah've eaten a box of nails."
"We've all had our hearts broken. If you need to sit this out-"
"Deploy in fifteen," Psylocke called.
"No," he said. "Ah need to work."
…
Jamaica, Queens
"Hope ya ain't still mad," Gambit smiled over an extra-large box of extra greasy pizza. "I come bearin' gifts."
"Hey, boss," Darce smiled wearily.
"Hot damn! Do I smell feta?" Fence emerged from the dark to embrace Remy. "Don't stand in the cold, man. Get in here."
Their apartment was a single room cluttered with a bed, books, and electronics. They cleared a spot, unfolded a table from the wall and sat on foldable step-stools. It was a considerable step down from Rogue's penthouse and lacked even Remy's scenic balcony, but they were newlyweds and New York was expensive.
"And peppers?" Fence clutched his chest. "Lemme get my Pepcid."
Remy handed Darce a leather-bound book. "And for de lady…"
"Memoirs of Queen Isabella of Spain."
"First edition."
She tried not to look pleased. "You didn't have to do this."
"That a 'thank you'?"
Fence re-appeared and reached for her book. "What's this?"
"Not with pizza fingers!" she snapped. "What do you want to drink, guys? I've got Moscato or Stella."
"No drinks," said Remy. "This is a business call. We've got work to do."
"You don't come in a man's house and tell him what he can't do!" Fence barked. "You're not King of Apartment 1080. If I want a beer with my pizza, I'll have one."
"And do you?" Darce asked.
"Not if I'm working… But not because you said so!"
"Raven's gone missin' and I need t' find her before the Guild does. Seven's been workin' on it, but-"
"Dunno why you didn't call me first." Fence held a pizza slice in one hand and his tablet in the other.
While he worked, Darce asked about Rogue and their mutual investigation.
"Wish I had somethin' more, but trail's gone cold."
"That poor girl…" She shook her head sadly.
"Got her!" Fence called. "New Orleans. But we didn't find her first."
Remy grabbed the tablet. The screen played someone's cell phone video of Raven singing karaoke. The image was clear enough to identify her by her signature white and brown hair and green half-jacket. She was drunk, by the looks of it, and off stage Remy saw a familiar face.
"Nil."
…
To Be Continued…
…
Author's Notes: I spent some time researching these areas… I don't know what's considered the most improvised place in the States, but Cumberland has got to be high on that list. Jamaica, Queens is my grandfather's birthplace. Much nicer than Kentucky. The song Nil sang is an old hymnal, 'Praise the Saviour, Ye Who Know Him'. I really miss X-Man-Rogue, she's a lot more fun than Avenger-Rogue, so that's probably where she'll be under my control.