A/N: Chapter 4 is up! Let me know what you guys think and if you're enjoying the story!
I do not own X-men Evolution!
Chapter 4: The Search
Logan searched high and low in the city, hoping to find any trace of Rogue. He's been scouting out areas for the past couple days since her disappearance, hoping to find her. Still no luck. This time he had some of the X-men help him, Jean and Scott walking around the city, while Kurt teleports in the alleys. "Anything yet?" Logan puts a finger to his ear.
"Nothing. She's not here." Scott says.
"Nothing over here, yet." Kurt responds. He sighs. "I hope Rogue is okay."
He spots shadows of figures walking down an alleyway, making him pause and follow closely behind. "Vat?" Kurt peers around a corner, noticing Gambit with two other people.
"Why don't you do this one, bayou boy." Arclight says, handing Remy the tools she was going to use.
Remy makes a face, but obliges, moving towards the downed mutant. This one made his stomach nauseous as it was a little girl. Kurt squints as he tries to catch a better look, but then moves out of the way when a pebble slips off the wall, causing Scalphunter and Acrlight took look over their shoulders. "What was that?" Scalphunter asks, Remy pausing what he was doing.
"I don't know. Lets find out. You, keep going. Put the vial in the box when your done." Arclight commands.
Remy just silently nods, begrudgingly doing what she says. "Sorry petit." He whispers to the little girl.
He places the vial in the case, setting it down and looking around. Suddenly, he hears a poof and sees a puff of blue smoke appear, then he gets teleported into the building. "Vat have you done vith mein sister?!" Kurt demands.
Remy throws his hands up. "Easy. She's safe, fo' now."
"Vat do you mean? Vhere iz she?!" Kurt looks at Remy, confused and conflicted whether to trust the Cajun.
Remy peers outside the window, Arclight and Scalphunter not back yet, then turns back to Kurt. "I don' have much time t' explain, but right now 'm de only t'ing dat's keepin' Rogue safe an' alive."
"By stealing mutants blood??" Kurt narrows his eyes.
"'S more complicated den dat. A man called Mister Sinister is having his Marauders an' me collect DNA samples o' dese mutants in de alleyways. If I don' help 'im, Mister Sinister gon' torture Rogue. He wanted t' capture y' Jean Grey and Cyclops, but he got us instead and even needed us t' help in his lil' science experiment. 'Ll been comin' heah every day so far, 'm t'inkin' Sinister needs a lot o' samples fo' somet'in, but me and Rogue are comin' up wit' a plan. Y' have t' trust me, she's much safer wit' me."
Kurt look at him a bit skeptical then sighs. "Vell, I hope you two can figure somezing out soon. Ze others are vorried about her."
Remy nods, then he sees the shadows of Arclight and Scalphunter returning. "I promise, 'll bring 'er home."
Kurt nods, then teleports away. Remy quickly exits the building unseen, grabbing the case. "'S done." He says.
"Lets go." Arclight motions to head back to the boat.
Remy peers over his shoulder then starts following the two. Kurt teleports to Logan, half scaring him. "Elf!" Logan yells.
"Whoops, sorry. Vut I have some news! And I think ze Professor should know too!" Kurt explains.
Logan looks at him, raising an eyebrow curiously. "I need to speak to the Professor as well." Says a voice emerging from the shadows.
"Spyke!" Logan says, him and Kurt looking at the teen in surprise. "What's wrong?"
"Someone's been poisoning our group." Evan says, a serious look on his face.
Kurt and Logan look at each other. Logan contacts Jean and Scott, then the group heads back to the mansion, Ororo gasping at the sight of Evan. "Evan?" She walks up to him, noticing his spikes where protruding everywhere like armor.
"Hey Auntie O." Evan gives a small smile.
"Evan, what a surprise." The Professor smiles as he wheels in the front living area. "What can we do for you?"
"Someone's been poisoning some of the Morlocks. Callisto is able to find something that helps, but it takes a while for some to recover. I just found a little girl today in the alley who's been poisoned, but no idea who did it." Evan explains.
Kurt bites the inside of his cheek, contemplating whether or not he should tell yet. Logan, the Professor and Ororo look at Kurt with raised eyebrows. "Kurt? Is there something you want to share?" The Professor asks.
"Ohh boy," Kurt breathes out. "Vell… I think I know who iz doing it, vut he has no choice, Rogue's life iz in danger if he doesn't follow zere orders!"
"Stripes?!" Logan's eyes widen. "What do you mean?! Tell us what you know, Elf."
Kurt holds up his hands. "Vell, Gambit told me-"
"GAMBIT?!" Logan's claws come ouf, his face turning to anger.
"Logan, let him finish." The Professor says, calmly.
Logan grumbles, Kurt sighing. "Gambit told me he has no choice vut to help zis Mister Sinister guy vith his experiments, othervise he can torture Rogue. He's using her as leverage I think, vut he said him and Rogue are coming up vith a plan."
"Did he tell you where their whereabouts are?" Ororo asks.
Kurt shakes his head. "No. I think he didn't tell me only to protect Rogue. Zis Mister Sinister guy sounds very bad."
Logan sighs. "Great. We're entrusting the Acolyte to get himself and Rogue out of their situation."
"Perhaps we should help Gambit next time he comes back. Was he with anyone else?" The Professor asks.
"Zey are called ze Marauders. Von vas a man vith a gun vile ze other vas a woman. Zey look like ze type you don't want to mess vith."
"Oh yeah? I'm not afraid of guns." Logan cracks his neck, growling.
"Evan, perhaps you should tell the Morlocks to look out for Gambit and the other two and to also keep themselves hidden. We could possibly help him the next time they come." The Professor suggests.
"I'll talk to Callisto about it." Evan nods.
Remy returns to the island, hoping deep down Arclight and Scalphunter didn't notice him talking to Nightcrawler. He had to tell Rogue though, but he was going to wait. What he wasn't expecting was Rogue's yelling when he came back. "Don't touch meh!" Rogue had managed the grab a scalpel from a nearby table, aiming it at Mister Sinister who was looking impatient.
"Put the scalpel down or you'll be in a world of pain." He growls.
Rogue's arms were straight out as she held the knife, Remy seeing them shake and her eyes wide in fear. He rushes over, placing a hand on her arm. "Easy, chère." He tries to calm her down, her wide, terrified eyes looking at him. "Put de scalpel down."
She shakes her head. "That creep was tryna examine meh!" She yells, glaring at the looming figure.
Now Scalphunter had his gun aimed her, Arclight using a small shockwave to shock the scalpel out of her hand. Remy puts his arm in front Rogue protectively, Mister Sinister growling. "Move boy. I'm only checking if she will be able to carry.. what were they called again… oh yes, a child."
Rogue shakes, glaring at him as she held her fists up to fight. Remy looks at him incredulous. "An' what do y' mean by dat?" He demands.
"Why, it's the next phase. By putting a small sample of your blood together and doing a couple of tests, I found some interesting results that could achieve the most powerful and perfect mutant. Now it may take a couple of tries to achieve the most powerful mutant-though I would run some extensive tests on their abilities at a young age." Mister Sinister steps closer, both southerners taking a step back.
"Are ya insane?!" Rogue yells.
"Quite possibly." Sinister grins with his sharp teeth.
"Like hell 'd let y'." Remy's voice and demeanor darkened, a scowl on his face.
Mister Sinister makes a face, grabbing Remy roughly. "Need I remind you, boy?"
Remy just growls, kicking Sinister in the torso. The large man tosses him, Remy's back hitting the wall, making him cry out and slump down. "Remy!" Rogue looks over at him, worried.
She goes to try and help him, but Mister Sinister shoves her into the wall, Rogue crying out and eyes widening in fear. He leans down to her face and speaks lowly and menacingly. "You two are my prisoners and part of my experiment. If he doesn't do as I say, I will break you until you beg for death. You are but a tool and will be fulfilling my trials."
Rogue trembles, then she glowers at his face. "He can't do anythin' with meh even if ya forced him ta. I'd kill 'im with ma powahs."
Mister Sinister sneers but then smirks maliciously. "That holding cell negates your powers. I don't see any issue."
Remy uses his bo-staff and hits Mister Sinister in the back, but his staff breaks. Arclight uses her powers and causes a seismic tremor to make him lose his footing, but Remy was nimble and threw a charged card at her, knocking her back. Scalphunter readies his gun, but Remy throws more cards at him. He wasn't prepared for Blockbusters hit though, knocking him in his ribs which throws him to the side. "P-please! Stahp!" Rogue pleads.
"Blockbuster," Sinister barks. "Take them to the holding cell. I'll deal with them later."
He releases Rogue by tossing her hard to the ground, a sound escaping her as she hits the hard floor. Blockbuster tosses them into their cage, Rogue crawling to check on Remy while she whimpers in pain. "R-Remy?" She lightly shakes him.
He groans, his eyes opening and noticing Rogue staring down at him worried. He jolts up, only to wince in pain. "Don't move, ya got hit pretty bad." Rogue puts his head in her lap.
"When I was out t'day… de one y' call Nightcrawler said de ot'er's were lookin' fo' y'." Remy says without thinking.
Rogue stares at him, surprised. "What?! Realleh?! Did ya tell 'em what happened?"
Remy nods, wincing as he adjusts himself. "I promised t' bring y' home. One way o' anot'er we're gon' get outta heah."
Rogue felt tears prick the corners of her eyes, biting her lip to prevent them from coming out. Remy noticed though and slowly reached a hand up, cupping her cheek lightly. "Ya know… yoah not that bad, swamp rat. Nevah knew an Acolyte had a heart." Rogue gives him a soft smile.
Remy chuckles lightly. "Never knew y'd be so carin' t' dis Acolyte."
"Don't flattah yerself, Cajun. Ah'm only makin' soah ya okay."
"Sure y' are, chère." Remy smirks.
Rogue just rolls her eyes but a small smile was still on her lips. She runs her fingers through his hair lightly, her eyes looking into his. Remy just stared right back at her, feeling her touch soothing and calm. Eventually he falls asleep, Rogue fixing her position to have his head nestled on her stomach. She kept her hand in his hair, letting out a soft sigh. "Stupid swamp rat." But her lips curled into a small genuine smile as she slowly falls asleep herself.
Rogue didn't sleep easy, as a nightmare unfolded in her dreams, gasping awake and drenched in sweat. She dreamt of Sinister experimenting on her and getting what he wanted, her body trembling. Remy awoke when Rogue did, alert and ready to fight but realized she had a nightmare. He relaxes a bit then winces as he sits up. "Chére? Y' okay?" He asks.
"Sorreh… Ah had a naghtmare.." She admits, arms wrapped around herself. Rogue gazes down, avoiding his eyes as she blurts the next thing out without thinking. "Ah've been gettin' them a lot recently, especially aftah… Apocalypse. That's why ah had bags undah mah eyes and was sleep deprived."
Realizing she admitted to him what he's been trying to get out of her, she pulls her knees up to her chest tight, feeling vulnerable. Remy gives her a sympathetic smile, moving closer to her. "'S okay. Wasn't dat hard t' admit, was it?"
Rogue glances up to him. "… Ah don't easily share mah feelin's… Ah always bottle them up or…"
"Or use anger instead?" Remy tilts his head, the small smile still on lips. Rogue nods. "Y' afraid, y' don' trust anyone wit' y' feelin's."
Rogue looks down at her elbow as her head was resting on her knees. "Why have feelin's when Ah can't have what mostly everyone else can? It's bettah that way fer meh…" Her voice was soft, her gaze far away, as Rogue's mind thought about Jean and Scott's relationship or Kitty and Lance's or even her brothers and Amanda's.
She closed her eyes, but they open when she felt Remy's hand on her. "Well, who said it has t' be all about touch?" He gives her a comforting smile.
Rogue was shocked by his words, seeing how her powers weren't stopping him from pursuing her. She always kept her distance from guys due to her ability, and once they knew she can't give them more, they move on to someone else, but not Remy. Remy was very persistant. He was a pain in her ass, but deep down she actually liked that he wasn't backing down. He pushes her boundaries more than anyone else has and he's never been afraid or cautious of her powers either, which is why she was staring wide eyed at this Cajun, wondering why he keeps pursuing her. "Why do ya even try? Ah could put ya in a coma."
Remy gives her his trademark smile, his facial features soft. "'Cause y' interest me, Rogue. Neve' met a girl like y', 'sides, I like a challenge. I could find ways 'round y' powers."
Rogue's hand grips her arm, her nose scrunching up a bit. "Yeah but eventually ya'll want moah. That's what every guy wants, raght?"
"Don' mean y' won' have no control over y' powers fo'ever." Remy shrugs. "Maybe y' jus' need someone t' help y' controllin' dem and get over y' fear o' touchin' people."
Rogue looks at him again, trying to find anything in his eyes, but all she found was sincerity. She looks away, biting her lip a bit. "Maybe…" She says, very softly.
Remy scoots himself a little closer to her, his red on black eyes focused on her. She peers up, noticing how close he was, her emerald green eyes staring right into his red on black ones. "But… we can't…" Rogue's voice was still soft.
"Why not?" Remy asks, his voice low which sent a shiver up Rogue's spine.
"C-cause. Yoah workin' fer Magneto." Rogue stutters which surprised her. She hated how he was making her feel right now. She's never felt so… vulnerable. Her heart raced, knowing her powers were negated at the moment due to the cell, which scared her as she hasn't touched a person in a long time.
Remy chuckles lowly. "I don' see a problem wit' dat. Seems like y' chat gets around dat wit' dat Brot'erhood loser. 'M a pretty sneaky thief, chère." He could tell his flirting was making her heart race, her cheeks were a light pink-something he has never seen on the stoic Rogue.
"Yeah, but mah team is okay with Kitty an' Lance. Ah don't think they'd be too happy if I got tagatha with one of Magneto's Acolytes. Ah can alreadeh see Logan tryin' ta tear ya ta shreds." Rogue tries to deter him, but he could tell what she was doing.
"Seems t' me y' brot'er is fine wit' me protectin' y'." Remy smirks. "'Sides, 'm not t' worried 'bout de Wolverine. 'Ve dealt wit' Sabertooth."
Rogue bites her lip again to prevent a small smile from forming. "W-well… what about Mister Sinister? He finds out we gettin' romantic, he maght just set up a bedroom fer us."
She noticed his facial expression changed as he was deep in thought, then he looks at her. "Maybe that's what we should do?"
"Huh?" Rogue blinks.
"We don' give 'im what he really wants, but maybe if we play couple, he might let y' come wit' me on excursions." Remy thinks out loud, his voice low incase anyone else was listening.
"And then we could escape!" Rogue breaks out into a smile. "Well, swamp rat, ah think that sounds lahke a plan that could work fer once."
"Hey, all m' ot'er ones were on a whim." Remy pouts at her.
"Yeah, but hopefully this one works." Rogue smiles, finding his pout amusing.
Remy smiles back, liking her smile and hoping he can get her to smile more. She always looked miserable or angry or even tired whenever he spotted her. Seeing a smile on her lips made his heart flutter a bit. "What?" Rogue looks at him noticing he was smiling at her.
"Hm?" Remy was still entranced but then shook his head. "Nothin'. Jus'… y' smilin'. 'M always catching y' wit' a frown, o' tired, o' angry. Y' got a lovely smile dough, chère."
Rogue looks away, lightly shoving him back a bit from her. "G-go back ta sleep swamp rat."
"Fine, but y' need t' sleep t'." Remy shrugs, but he still had a small smile on his lips.
"Yeah, yeah, ah know." Rogue waves her hand.
Remy lays back on the floor, closing his eyes to go back to sleep, but they open again when Rogue places a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks… fer listenin'. Ah don't always share these things, so… ah appreciate ya." Rogue says as she looked away, then she laid down with her back to him, Remy placing a hand on his cheek where she kissed him and grinned.
"Anytime, chère." He replies, then they go back to sleep.
They slept for the rest of the night without interruptions, Rogue sleeping soundly next to Remy with her back go him while he slept on his back with his hands behind his head and on his stomach.
Morning comes and Rogue wakes up to find Remy still asleep as she winces while sitting up. Her body was sore and she really wished to go home, especially so she could sleep in her own bed. A yawn escapes her, still feeling tired as she rubs her eyes, but she gasps softly when she felt arms go around her. Rogue looks down, seeing Remy still asleep, her heart racing but it calms when she noticed how peaceful he looked in his sleep. A small smile appears on her lips as she slowly moves her hand to his hair and lightly strokes it, careful not to wake him up.
She hoped they could escape soon, constantly hating how they were trapped and being used. A soft sigh escapes her lips as she sadly looks down at Remy, longing in her eyes as she could only dream of getting out of this awful place. Remy stirs in his sleep a bit, slowly opening his eyes and noticing Rogue gazing down at him with her hands in his hair. "Bonjour, chère," He smiles with a sleepy voice. "I wouldn' mind wakin' up t' dis everyday."
A blush runs across Rogue's cheeks, her hands leaving his hair as her heart picked up. "Yoah the one who grabbed meh when ah was stretchin'."
"Seems y' don' mind dough." Remy smirks.
Rogue just rolls her eyes. "Ah do when mah body is still healin'."
"Y' want me t' kiss where it hurts?" Remy playful asks, only to receive a wack from Rogue.
"N-no!"
"C'mon, Roguey, tell ol' Gambit where it hurts an' 'll make it better."
Rogue makes a face at him as he got closer to her, the two of them not taking their eyes off each other, Remy giving her his trademark grin. He inches closer to her, his hand gently moving towards hers, while she stayed frozen in her place, unsure what to do as her heart was beating in her throat. Remy slowly got closer, aware at how closer his nose and lips were to hers, and just as he was going to move forward the two jump. "It seems you two are getting along nicely." Sinister grins as he walks in front of their prison.
Remy and Rogue snap their heads up, eyes widen in shock and a bit of fear. Mister Sinister had his hands behind his back, a glint in his red eyes. "I have a mission for you, boy." Sinister opens the cage, Remy's demeanor changed as he exits.
Remy looks back to Rogue as he follows Mister Sinister, her eyes looking right at him as she wraps her arms around her knees. He didn't like the feeling he was getting from Sinister, but Remy just continues to follow him and disappears from Rogue's view of sight, a swirl of emotions stirring in her.
A/N: Till next time!