Getting Warmer Rated "T" for some suggested nudity, swearing and blowing the holy cowbells out of everything I can get my fingers on...
Happy Labor Day Everyone!! This is by far the most Laborious Labor Day I have ever had. My husband and I just moved in to our first home and boy was that challenging. But, despite all the heavy objects and 60 boxes (and we don't even have kids yet!), we managed to get it all in and half of it unpack without a hitch.
Until last night, that is… When, in the midst of putting dinner on the table, I kicked my gi-normous cedar chest and broke my baby toe. My baby driving toe no less. And let me tell you, I don't think I've ever been in that much pain before. I actually cried.
So now, my toenail part points straight downward and kind of flops around a bit while the knuckle part points a little upward and out away from the rest of my foot. It's not fun to try and walk on, but oh well. And of course I'm not going to the doctor because it's not like they can cast a pinky toe…
Anyhow…
This is the fourth chapter thus far and things seem to be going very well so far for me. I think I'm going to combine the original fourth and fifth chapters to make one very long one instead of my shorter stuff.
I don't own anything (BESIDES my incredibly large collection of comic books, action figures, cartoons, etc.), but the ideas (although shared by a few) are all mine. I take full credit for the plot. I love plot! Don't get me wrong I also like mindless fluffy drabble and not so fluffy, steamy drabble, but yeah… where was I??
Oh yeah! I wish to thank Arian and SkyRogue especially for their kind and lengthy reviews. I LOVE long reviews. And thanks again to everyone for all your words of support for my cousin.
Love and light,
Wiccamage
P.S. Author's note: IMPORTANT! While I will NOT be making this story a higher rating, I WILL be posting this story in its entirety (WITH THE MATURE SCENES) to my live journal/website whenever I get one. I will also try to post it to Adultfanfiction or whatever that website is, because there is hardly anything good on that site that has a plot…
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Chapter 4
From the darkness, a pair of glaring red eyes blinked rapidly as Remy Lebeau became accustomed to his new surroundings. Immediately after the fight with Apocalypse, Remy had hidden himself under the front panels in the alien ship while the mega mutant had been distracted. Now, Gambit just had to find Rogue and escape without being detected.
Yeah. Cake.
Apocalypse and Mesmero had exited the transporter a little earlier, but realizing that his new foe would probably have many guards around, Gambit had opted to stay inside the cramped console and formulate a plan. Although, it was surprisingly difficult to do so given his contorted position - good thing the ride was short…
He had watched through a crack in the panels as Mesmero carefully lifted a still unconscious Rogue over his shoulder and exited behind his weakened master – thankfully leaving the transporter open to provide Gambit with a hassle-free exit.
After quietly extracting himself from the tiny encasement, Remy noiselessly headed for the same stone doors from which Apocalypse and Mesmero had exited. As his feet silently hit the stone floor, the only evidence the thief left behind was in the dust, which briefly stirred from its centuries of sleep before settling back down for another long nap.
At the end of the hallway, Gambit pressed his hands against one door and felt the stone's rough texture and cool temperature sweep across his fingertips. The door felt similar to red sandstone, grainy and harsh as it scraped across his dexterous digits as he coaxed the door open slightly.
The doors reached up about 10 feet and Gambit quickly deduced that they were made entirely of sandstone, and therefore proved to be one of the heaviest damn things he had ever encountered.
Securing his footing, Remy pushed hard and low on the door and it slowly creaked open by mere centimeters at a time. After a few minutes of this one-way tug-of-war he pulled out his staff to use as a lever against the other door and with his combined pushing and the employ of his adamantium tool, he managed to open the door just enough to peek his head through.
As he extended his head around the door, he was assaulted by the stench of must and ancient, untouched air. 'Like an old museum and a nursing home,' he mused silently as he crunched up his nose.
His eyes, however, were all business as they followed the rows of hallways and doors decorated with Egyptian markings and ancient runes. The vaulted ceiling extended about twenty feet up in an exquisite display of beauty and grandeur. On any other occasion, Gambit would have stopped to admire the breathtaking display of architecture, but this mission had nothing to do with a meaningless hit off some old millionaire.
As he perused the halls stealthily, he noticed that there didn't seem to be any guards around, so he carefully slid through the door and kept his back against the wall. To his right was a long, straight corridor filled with more doors and halls, and to his left was an adjacent hall a little ways down. The intersecting hall on the left cast a beacon of faint light, and indicated to Remy that he would most like find Rogue in that direction.
Racing silently toward the light, Remy forced himself to slow when he reached the end of the corridor and he snuck a glance around the corner. The hallway before him was much different than the one he had just occupied though, and this time Gambit stopped to marvel at the incredible sight before him.
The walls themselves seemed to be comprised of several layers of different types of rock and stone. The black and gray pebbles on the bottom layer indicated that it was most likely granite or some other type of sedimentary rock, and four feet up from there was a limestone paneling which seemed to cover yet another layer of granite. The limestone was again covered in more symbols and ancient languages, and most of the images seemed to be depictions of various battles and conquests.
Prying his attention away from the sight, Remy followed the remainder of the wall and found another hall covered in layers of the red sandstone. The ceiling in the new hallway was again vaulted, but unlike the first, it was much more massive and reached about forty feet in height. The walls and ceiling combined at the top to form a cylindrical type of framework with various stone balconies occurring every 15 feet or so.
A few columns of black marble supported the balconies, and the light Remy had noticed earlier was emanating from long torches hanging along the great hall.
The echoing of heavy footfalls quickly brought Remy out of his trance however, and the thief quickly hid himself behind a nearby marble pillar. Unnoticed, Gambit watched as two mechanic/stone guards—slightly smaller than the ones at the temple in Tibet—lumbered towards the hall he had just occupied and ended up standing directly in front of the doors leading to the transporter.
"Merde," Gambit sighed, taking care not to attract any attention. Turning back toward the main hall, the Cajun considered his options as he watched the dust settle around the guard's footprints. He smirked slightly as he checked his own invisible trail—just one o the main joys of being a thief.
As he turned back to the hall, he checked the number of footprints and counted at least six different sets. Most of which, he noted with a raised eyebrow, were leading to an adjacent corridor across from his position.
Watching and listening for any sign of movement, Gambit took a deep breath and sprinted across the sea-like hallway while being extra cautious about his own footsteps. As he followed the footprints and kept an eye out for the guards, Remy turned down the first hall to his right and took a flight of stairs down to the lower levels of the enormous temple. When the tracks immediately began branching off into other corridors and rooms, Gambit crinkled his nose in disgust and muttered, "Dis gonna take some time."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Are-we-there-yet?!" Pietro asked again.
"NOO!!" Jean, Beast, Storm and Blob shouted in unison. It was probably the hundred and first time the speed demon had asked the very same question and the occupants of the small jet didn't know how much more they could take. Even Storm, the ever calm, collected one, was seconds away from seeing if the boy could fly on his own…
"Dude, Pietro, cool it man. It's getting old," Blob sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Yeah-well-I'm-bored," Pietro replied as if that alone gave him all the rights in the world.
"Why don't you read a magazine," Beast replied calmly while pinching the bridge of his nose again. It was much easier fighting these guys than trying to put up with them.
"Cause-I've-already-read-them-all," he retorted, "Twice."
Beast growled.
Pietro then zipped up to the cockpit where Storm was flying the ten-passenger jet. Jean sat in the co-pilot's seat.
"Can't-you-two-girls-make-this-bird-go-any-faster?" Pietro whined again.
"No!"
"Humph!" Pietro crossed his arms and pouted. Then, his mouth got the best of him as he muttered, "Stupid-girls. Can't-even-fly-a-stupid-plane. This-is-man's-job-that's-the-problem."
"Oh dear." Beast could be heard from the back of the plane as he clicked his seatbelt on.
Wide-eyed, Freddy quickly followed suit, although he had to use two seatbelts tied together to get them to fit.
In the cockpit, Storm had officially lost it. Her eyes were going white at a rapid rate and through every window the plane's occupants witnessed the weather going from bright and sunny to "Oh my god, the sky is falling!"
"Ahem," Jean cleared her throat and spoke directly to Storm as if Pietro was no longer behind them. The boy was indeed standing there, but the ever-growing hurricane outside the plane had caused him to freeze all actions and, thankfully, all speech.
"Storm, while I would be, and AM, completely willing to let you hit Quicksilver with a lightning bolt during any other time, I think you'd better let me handle this one," Jean stated simply without ever gazing at the mutant in question.
Pietro's eyes went wide and before he could even finish, "Oh sh—," Jean waved her hand and the boy went flying backward into a row of seats at the very back of the plane. He hit the cushion with a loud thump and an "oomph!" as the breath was knocked from his lungs.
Freddy looked back at his teammate just in time to see the seatbelt buckle clamp down – hard – over Pietro's waist while three airline blankets floated down from the overhead bins. One blanket tied itself tightly around each arm while the third rolled itself into a long rope-like state and promptly shoved itself in Pietro's mouth, tying rather roughly around the back of his head.
Freddy turned back around in his seat, wide-eyed.
"Does this mean I can't have any peanuts?" the boy asked.
"Oh dear," Beast muttered again as he hid his head in his hands.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile on the second plane!
Wolverine, Sabertooth, Avalanche and Cyclops: mortal enemies working together for a common cause. While Professor Xavier would normally leap (well, if he could leap) for joy about this astounding breakthrough, right now it was all giving him a severe headache.
The only person on the plane (besides himself) who was behaving was Mystique, and whereas she was a stone statue at the moment, it wasn't saying much.
Wolverine was flying the plane with Sabertooth in the co-pilot's seat, but between the two of them the plane was lurching and jerking enough to make Mystique sick and as Xavier looked back at her statue, he could swear it had the slightest green tint.
He rubbed his forehead again and tried to massage the growing headache away.
"I could take you anywhere, anytime Summers," Avalanche stated again.
"Why don't you put your money where your mouth is then Alvers?" Cyclops taunted, "Oh wait that's right, you don't have any."
Ouch. Low blow…
"Just because you have everything taken care of for you – you wouldn't last two minutes on your own," Lance retorted.
"Oh I'd last all right, and I'd last a lot longer than you."
"Oh yeah? Like when Mystique dumped you out in the desert and your wittle girlfwend had to come and save you? I heard you cried like a little baby."
"You want a piece of me Alvers, bring it on. I could take your ass right here – no powers necessary," Cyclops came back, standing up from his seat across the aisle.
"Oh yeah?" Lance asked.
"Yeah!" Scott shouted.
Professor Xavier rubbed his temples again.
This was going to be a long flight.
Up front, Wolverine and Sabertooth weren't doing much better.
"Creed if you don't get your filthy hands offa me…," Wolverine growled again.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Logan. I'm not touching you," Sabertooth grinned. One hand hovered over Wolverine's arm and the other over his head.
"You don't have to touch me I can smell your filth everywhere I go. How long's it been since someone gave you a bath? I don't think licking yourself is working."
A really long flight…
Sabertooth snarled, "At least I don't go around playing with little kiddies all day. They've got you neutered. Tell me Logan, how long's it been since you did manly things? Watched a little late night television or had a good lay? You probably haven't been with a woman since what… the fifties?!"
Sabertooth roared with laughter as Wolverine released the plane's steering system and started to lung for his archrival. Meanwhile, the plane also lunged dangerously.
"ENOUGH!!" Xavier shouted for the second time. "If you ALL do not stop this incessant bickering I swear I will fry each of your synapses, leaving you a pile of drool, and I will fly this plane home myself!!" he threatened.
"Sorry, Professor," Scott hung his head in shame.
"Yeah, sorry Chuck," Logan resounded.
There was a blissful few minutes of silence before Xavier heard a small whisper from the cockpit.
"I'm not touching you…"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Glaring at the dusty footprints, the Cajun decided to pick out the ones that were closest to Mesmero's size and followed them — after all, he HAD been the last one with Rogue, so he very well could have taken her to a dungeon down here. God knows what they had planned for her.
Gambit grimaced at the thought. The poor girl had gone through so much already and now she was probably sitting alone and frightened in some mucky, disgusting prison cell. He could only imagine what kind of unspeakable things Apocalypse would do to Rogue.
The maniac would probably torture her for information, or whatever it was he wanted with her, until she couldn't take it anymore and finally broke down completely. Apocalypse had limitless resources at his fingertips. He could use any number of powers on her – ice, fire, optic blasts, telepathic probes, brute strength or good old fashioned devices like whips and starvation and Chinese water torture. Gambit shuddered and shook himself out of the disturbing thoughts.
But, one good thing that came from the horrible thoughts: it strengthened his resolve to find Rogue and rescue her. He would save the girl even it killed him.
Okay, maybe not if it killed him. She was just some femme, right?
Right?
After shaking off the odd sensation that tickled his insides, Gambit quickly resumed his task. He followed the footprints to the next hallway on his right and entered a shorter, smaller corridor running perpendicular to the last. Noticing that Mesmero's miniscule feet disappeared behind the first door on the right, Gambit put his ear against it and tried to make out any discernable sounds. Hearing none, the Cajun gathered his strength (as he recalled the weight of the first doors) and pushed fiercely on the door, intending to barely open it a crack.
To his surprise however, this door gave easily and Remy was unable to slow his inertia quickly enough as he tumbled into the room. Anticipating an attack, he quickly pulled into a ball and rolled across the floor once before springing up with his staff extended.
What he saw however nearly made him drop both his jaw, and his weapon…
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tada! So another chapter complete and now it is 6:20 a.m. and I must be off to work. Thanks again for the wonderful reviews. Sorry there wasn't much Remy in this chapter, but the whole story IS centered on Rogue and Gambit, so I promise there will be much, much more with them.
Again, sorry for another short-ish chapter. I need to write more, but it's either short chapters or long periods between updates...
Hope you enjoyed and please review!
Love and light,
Wiccamage