Chapter IX
I believe it was a sin to do you in the way I did you in.
I couldn't stop it coming from afar.
I lost the keys to the getaway car.
And every now and then I'm in this place
It's hell living when I need your face.
Don't hide, don't hide, don't hide from me.
~It was a Sin by the Revivalists
…
Boils spread up Rogue's misshapen arm to her shoulder. Trying to calm her racing, weakened heart, she submitted to the machine, which coolly stated 'critical level. Recommend immediate anti-Terrigen solution'. A vial appeared and she grabbed it. Meanwhile, the boils had reached her chest and she felt her muscles burn and contract. Calm. She had to stay calm. She raised the vial to her lips, tipped it back – empty?! 'Critical level critical level critical level' the machine screamed. She punched it desperately, but too late. Her throat seized up and she couldn't breathe. Gasping, gasping – the world faded away.
Her phone woke her up.
Sweet, cool air filled her greedy lungs. A moment later, she answered the phone without screening the number. Nothing. The line popped and hummed. She was about to hang up when she realized the sounds were actually Morse code.
O-U-T-S-I-D-E
Her arm was indeed scared with horrible boils, and she watched intently to make sure it wasn't spreading. Then she pulled on her green coat and stepped outside into the pouring rain. It was nearly four am, but that counted for little in Manhattan. She leapt off her terrace and landed outside the front door. Glancing around, she saw someone sitting at a nearby bus-stop. They suddenly stood and left. She followed.
Female, five feet tall, early forties. She wore a cheap blue rain coat and her shabby tennis shoes were soaked. From her raised shoulders and clenched hands, Rogue knew she wasn't just fighting the rain. She was anxious.
At an all-night diner, she turned in, hung up her coat, and sat at the bar. Again, Rogue followed, and they both ordered a coffee.
Darce couldn't meet her eyes. "Sorry about earlier," she said quietly into her coffee.
"Are we bein' followed?" The place was empty except for the waitress.
"Turn off your phone. Boss has eyes everywhere."
"Ah'm a friend," she hissed, keeping her voice low enough that the waitress wouldn't overhear.
"Maybe I'm not. Maybe he really doesn't want you to know what he's up to, and talking to you could cost me a whole lot more than my job."
"Ah'm listening."
"He's after Ishii."
"The doctor from Unit XP?"
Darce finally lifted her burning hazel eyes. "Some people spent a lot of resources building a case against him that went nowhere. He was given a job, a new identity, and all the protection of the people who should've locked him away!"
"That's awful… but why does Gambit care?"
She poured herself another coffee, waved the waitress away, and said: "Why wouldn't he? That man's got a heart for damsels in distress and there's more than he can rescue… Who decided to detonate the T-Bomb? Did they know how unstable it was? Did they know how devastating it would be for mutants? Maybe that's exactly what they wanted." She lowered her voice below a whisper. "Maybe the government was funding the Unit all along."
"Feel like Ah've walked into an episode of the X-Files…"
"You think the government's only bad in crazy conspiracy theories? No wonder he cut you out."
"Do you know where he is?"
"No. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Someone's got to guard the guards and if it's true… I hope he blows them all to Kingdom Come."
"Do you know if he's getting my messages?"
"Everything's relayed through Fence. Don't try to trace it."
But at least he could hear her; that was a comfort. "Do you know if Raven's with him?"
"Who?"
Rogue pretended it didn't matter and asked: "Why are you telling me this? Ah don't know enough to help or stop him."
"Because if it was Joh- I mean, if it was Fence, I'd wanna know. And because I feel really bad about screaming at you earlier. But we've got a front to maintain. Can't have Avengers suddenly showing up… I need to get home before he wakes up. Don't call me."
"Wait. Before you go, do you know where Nil is?"
Darce's face spoke of mistrust.
"Ah swear Ah'm not tryin' to trace Remy's calls. He was seein' a friend of mine and ever since – everything happened – Ah haven't heard from her."
She bit her lip. "I'll look. Keep an eye on your mail. It's the one thing he can't hack."
Alone in the diner, Rogue considered ordering breakfast and getting an early start. Was Raven hungry? Undoubtedly, she was alive somewhere, but was she happy? Had she re-set everyone's memories and gone home? According to Remy (because Raven never told her anything), her world had been on hostile terms with the Shi'ar, which made living off-planet significantly more difficult. Was living like a refugee preferable to her life here?
Suddenly, Rogue wasn't hungry anymore. The memory of their last conversation made her sick. Of course she loved Raven – she said it every day. Not with words but with actions. And of course she was proud – why else would she push so hard? Raven's problem was that she had no ambition. She'd do anything for a compliment. Rogue wanted her to develop self-confidence, and that wouldn't happen without a little tough love. Remy wanted to protect her from Nil and Sam and the Guild… Ridiculous! The girl could protect herself, she just didn't know it yet.
Where was he now? Remy had gone dark to go deep undercover… Possibly to murder a mad-scientist funded and protected by the most powerful government in the world. But why now? It was too much to lose them both. Too much had been left unsaid and undone. Why didn't he call?
Not prone to quiet contemplation, she spent the day playing guinea pig for SHIELD. Rogers was elated. He couldn't put her back in the field without a clean bill of health, and she wouldn't get that bill until she submitted to the stress tests. So she huffed into tubes, ran on treadmills, and lay in machines that photographed her organs. She'd hoped the activity would chase off the inescapable loneliness caused by their absence. It didn't.
The doctor was pleased to announce that the mist currently scarring her and rendering her sterile had simultaneously made her invincible. She might never starve or grow old. As she peered into her future, she saw Wolverine's past. Would she, like him, conquer death but remain powerless to protect those most dear?
…
Emma called shortly before five.
"Greetings, dear. Can you talk?"
Rogue dug out a worn take-out menu from her junk drawer. "Why don't you come over? Ah'll buy ya dinner."
"I'm on my way to Cambridge. Turns out, your girl declined Mr. Gordon's request. I've tracked her as far as Massachusetts, and based on our conversations, I believe she was headed to M.I.T. I'll call back in forty-eight hours unless I find something sooner."
"Ah'll meet you there."
"Rogue, that would be counterproductive. You can hardly be available for her to reach while sneaking around with me. Stay put."
"Ah got some news on Gambit and Ah don't think she's with him."
"I agree. He was last seen two days after you entered intensive care, and she rented a car ten days later. I spoke with Rachel, too. Her memory's been tampered with, but she isn't possessed. Magic, most likely. For all her supposed telepathic strength, she's a real pussy-cat with spells."
"Strange would know-"
"I've already left a message for him. You're paying for the best, darling, and you're getting it. Go Avenging and leave this to me."
She hung up feeling paranoid. If Raven hadn't left of her own free will, then someone had taken her. And if they could subdue her, no one was safe. Who would know about her telepathic best friend? About her two biggest protectors being down and out? Who would want to hurt her?
Nil.
She snatched her coat and marched straight to Darce. When the mousy woman tried to slam the door in her face, Rogue knocked it off the hinges.
"Ah know he's got her. Where is he?"
Darce handed her a crumpled invoice for a hotel in Rome which revealed 'Mr. Nicholas Fitzroy' was booked through the end of the week. Breaking the sound barrier, she arrived in time for dinner. He was eating at the hotel restaurant with some artificially enhanced tart in a melted dress.
Rogue smashed his face on the table. "What did you do to Raven?!" Without waiting for an answer, she pressed her bare palm into his face, determined to drain him dry.
Summer green eyes. Ironic he noticed them first because he rarely bothered to look a woman in the eye. But her steady, disarming stare held fast through insults and fucks. Most women gladly oozed under him. Not Raven. With her legs over his shoulders and her bottom in his hands, she eerily held his gaze. No great beauty, she nonetheless offered a wealth of information, so he initially considered her a job. She turned out to be a great lay. He wanted to consume her. Every time he thought he had her, she rose to the challenge. Passion, desire, lust – he'd been without them for too long. Then she turned into something more. This strange, sad creature with those bright, pure eyes resurrected his soul. Ensnared, he wept at the altar between her breasts, and she, not realizing her own power, offered compassion under her searing and omniscient gaze.
He fled. He was fleeing still. His heart found something too big to overcome, so he left her for the less terrifying cathedrals of Rome. Here, his nights were filled with demons in angelic guise, but sin offered such fleeting pleasures compared to the overflowing glory of love's divine.
Nil shoved her away. Re-gaining her senses, Rogue saw his face twisted in rage. Whatever misery he wanted to inflict could not exceed what she felt now. If he didn't have Raven, then the only one left on the list of suspects was Remy.
…
Upper East Side
Manhattan
Her penthouse was surrounded by SHIELD agents. Luckily, Rogue spotted them before they saw her, and she about-faced. In Queens, Fence and Darce's apartment was vacant. They'd left their furniture, but had taken all the essentials. They wouldn't be back.
Desperate, she sent a text message to Remy. She had nowhere else to turn and told him so. After a moment's hesitation, she warned him 'They're listening'. Two minutes later, he replied 'Line's secure. My place in 20'.
She headed back uptown and broke in through his balcony. Three half-grown kittens emerged from their hibernation and rubbed against her boots. Their food bowls were full – the sitter had been by recently – but Gambit's couch was shredded in silent protest of their abandonment. She sat with them in the dark and wondered who was watching her. Fence? If she apologized, would he hear? Had he watched Gambit lure Raven here and attack her? Had he provided the logistics? Suddenly, she didn't feel so bad for chasing him away. She wanted to tell his wife who he really was. Today it was Raven but tomorrow it might be Darce.
Remy teleported into his bedroom. Despite her anger, she was relieved to see him. His face brightened, too, and they met in an embrace.
"Where the hell've you been?" She was the first to pull away.
"Can't talk here. Let's-"
"Ah'm not goin' anywhere till you explain yourself."
"I'm sorry, Anna, but we've gotta move."
"Where's Raven?"
"What?"
"Ah know it was you, Remy. Ah'm sure you thought you were doin' the wrong thing for the right reason, but if you don't come clean right now, things are gonna get ugly."
"What are you talkin' about?"
He was lying. She'd known him long enough to know. By asking questions, he meant to uncover what she already knew before revealing just enough to appear innocent and honest. She wasn't having it. Not tonight.
"Don't say Ah didn't warn you." She locked her lips on his and sucked his thoughts.
He hadn't been the first one to the hospital and it bothered him. In fact, someone had had enough notice to bring flowers while he was stuck interrogating nurses. No one showed him preferential treatment. He was just another one of her superhero friends as far as they were concerned, and for the first time, he saw an advantage to marriage.
Meanwhile, shit hit the fan and mutants everywhere were dying. Deputy Hill didn't see any correlation between Dr. Ishii's work and the current crisis. She reminded him that a grand jury decided not to indict.
Remy pulled every resource at his disposal – and that was a considerably vast pool – to track Ishii down. Now 'Dr. Shiro', Ishii worked under strict government surveillance. In fact, he never left his lab. Rumors were that he'd acquired the perfect specimen: a young woman matching Rogue's description. If he'd managed to clone Rogue with her acquired super strength and flight abilities, the world would be at his mercy. Worse – what if he had the real deal? And the hospitalized, comatose body was actually a clone?
She released him and he fell limply in her arms. Like nearly everyone else, he'd forgotten Raven.
"Ah'm sorry, Remy, Ah should've trusted you."
A shadow of his personality, running through her mind, revealed that he'd been stalking her – not SHIELD. And while he'd been watching for any clue as to her true identity, he'd also been worried that she'd call Magnus or Johnny when he failed to arrive.
"Oh, you silly man!" She showered his face with kisses. He was still out cold and couldn't hear. She had to focus. Before losing consciousness, he'd been eager to move. "Who were you runnin' from?"
Again, his ghost answered. Nil lodged a complaint after she'd assaulted him in Italy. Oops. Now SHIELD was tracking her via her phone. She could dump it, of course, but then they'd know she was on the run and simply tighten the leash. Outside, vehicles were already circling the complex.
"That's our cue, lover. Where're we headin'?"
His mind was a fading column of smoke; his body, a heavy cape. She carried him with fleeting directions to Fremont County, Colorado.
Emma called several times, but she didn't dare answer. Finally, she called Emma from Remy's phone.
"Where are you, darling? Sounds windy."
"Ya might say that. Whachya got, Nancy Drew?"
"She left the campus at 2:30. Missed her 3 o'clock with a relator. Somewhere in that thirty minute window, she vanished. Her campus contact and the relator both remember her. I put it to Dr. Strange and he described it like a bug bomb. Someone detonated a forgetful spell close to New York. I was in Canada at the time and you were in a coma. That's why we remember but no one else does."
"Who could do that?"
"Wait, there's more. The spell should've worn off. By now, people should start remembering. Since they haven't, he thinks the spells been re-enforced with hexes. Powerful ones. At least two – one on her person and one on her captor. If you try to break the spell while the hexes are still in place, the insanity will be projected onto you."
"That's why SHEILD locked me up…"
"And why Rachel got so bitchy. He's given me a number of leads, most of them love spells, so I'll-"
"It ain't her boyfriend, Ah already checked with him." She paused. "Ah couldn't just sit at home, Emma!"
"Is that why the Avengers have a warrant out for you?" She sounded amused.
"Wasn't Gambit, either. He's been tracking a mad scientist whose prime specimen fits my description. We're on the way now… Strange say what these hexes might look like?"
"Something foreign on their body. Something they wouldn't routinely remove. And think before you go blasting into that lab. If he's cursed his co-workers, they'll think you're crazy, too. She might even believe it."
"Wouldn't do much good to rescue her if she ran back to him."
"Exactly. I'll ask him how malevolent the spell is and if he thinks the building's enchanted. Call you back as soon as I have something. Sit tight until then."
…
To Be Continued…
…
Author's Notes: Fence's true identity hasn't been revealed, but since his character's based on John Goodman, it's been universally accepted that his first name's John. Also, Nil's real name is still unrevealed, but 'Nil' is a nickname for 'Nicholas' and 'Fitzroy' means 'royal bastard', so I feel like it's a good fit. I know Rogue's dominated the last two chapters, but Remy and Raven will return next installment.