tx peppa
I agree. Sure, we like fight scenes and all that jazz, but it's gotta be somewhat real to life, right?
With how many people are at this school (adults with full grasp of their powers) the same X-Men won't be going out ALL THE TIME to save the world.
As always, thanks for the review!
Pinky57
Don't worry! I'm updating this story, even if it takes a while. I'm not abandoning it!
Danielemlac
¡Gracias por leer!
Taking in a deep breath, Rogue opened her eyes and yawned. The pain in her ribs caused her to exhale as she lied there for a moment. It was well into the morning, as the sunlight poured into the bedroom. It was getting hot and she needed to get out from under the covers.
Sitting up slowly, not to anger her injury, she threw the covers off and saw a note on her nightstand. Throwing her legs over the side of the bed carefully, she glanced at the clock and was surprised that it was almost eleven. Taking the note, she opened it to see it was from Gambit.
"Ah love you." She read aloud and smiled, pulling the drawer of her nightstand out and placing it in there with the rest of the notes he had written to her over the years.
Standing up, she felt more aches in her back as she stood up straight and tried to stretch it out. She'd need to go see a chiropractor. After getting dressed, she slowly made her way down to the kitchen to see Cyclops at the bar, but with crutches.
"Dang. Ya got beat up more than ah thought ya did." She said, grabbing an orange from the fruit bowl.
Cyclops smiled. "I didn't think anything of it, but once I put weight on it going up the stairs, I pretty much collapsed." He said. "It's broken."
"Well, dead gum." Rogue said as she poured herself some coffee. "Ah'm achin' all over. Bruised my sides. No breaks, accordin' ta Hank's x-rays"
"Didn't think you could get hurt." Cyclops said.
"Neither did ah, but those were some seriously upgraded sentinels." Rogue said. "Ah'm just glad we shut tha place down and leveled it out."
Cyclops shook his head. "There's always more somewhere." He said. "I just hope they don't pop up anytime soon. I need to get this ankle healed up."
"We all need ta heal up. Everyone took a nice beatin'." Rogue said, taking a sip of coffee. "How long ya gonna be out?"
Cyclops shrugged. "Not sure. Going to talk with Hank in a bit and find out what all needs to be done to get me back ASAP."
"A'right." Gambit said, standing up and suddenly feeling dizzy. "Got up t' fast."
Some of the students chuckled as he took the marker and started to writing on the board.
"T'ese be impor'nt fo' y'all t' unde'stand." He said, writing out all the measurements. "Keep dis in yo binders or wha'eve' y' carry. It come in handy when y' be cookin' or bakin'."
Setting the marker down, he suddenly felt dizzy again. Slightly shaking his head, he tried to shake it off. Turning around he looked around the room.
"Mr. LeBeau?" A student asked. "Are you alright? You look really pale."
He nodded. "I be fine." He said as he took a step closer to his desk and suddenly fell, a black darkness filling his eyes.
Receiving a text, Rogue took another sip of her coffee as she took her phone out and saw it was from Hank.
Opening the message, she read it softly. "Remy is in my office. Apparently passed out."
Getting to her feet and ignoring her pain from last's mission, she left her coffee and her magazine on the table as she quickly made her way toward Hank's office. When she burst through the door, she saw Gambit lying on one of the beds and Hank was monitoring his pulse.
"What happened? Is he alright?" Rogue asked, walking around to the left of the bed and placing her hand on his forehead.
"The students contacted me saying he fainted, or passed out, in the classroom. I don't see any injuries to his head, but they said he hit the ground hard." Beast said, listening to Gambit's heart closely.
Rogue watched as he listened for a while. "Ah mean, he's alive. Why ya listening so long?" She asked.
"There's an irregularity in his pulse that I don't recall him having." Beast said, looking at Rogue. "Anna, I don't want to jump to conclusions, but this may be a side effect of what happened six years ago."
Her eyebrows dipped as she looked down at Gambit. "Is he gonna wake up?" She asked.
"I am not certain." Beast said. "Hopefully, he did indeed just black out and he'll wake up within the next few minutes."
"Who's watching tha students?" Rogue asked, taking Gambit's right hand and holding it.
"I believe Jean is supervising them until this period is over. All other classes will be cancelled for the day." Beast said as he walked over to a table and opened a drawer. He returned with a syringe and a needle. "I'm going to take a blood sample and see where we stand. His bi-annual is due next month, so we'll just start it early."
Finding a vein in his arm, Beast pulled the blood needed before placing a bandage on where the blood was drawn, before he walked over to his microscope and fiddled with it. Putting blood on a slide, he prepped it before placing it under the microscope and adjusted the strength in the lens.
"Fascinating." He said softly.
"What? What's wrong?" Rogue asked.
"His blood cells are still fighting off the toxin. You can see them devouring the bad cells." Beast said, looking back at Anna. "Just from seeing this, I believe he's having a flare up. Has he mentioned any kind of dizziness before over the years?"
Rogue looked down at Gambit and thought. "Not that ah can remember." She said. "He never wants me ta worry about him, so if he has, he ain't never told me."
"Mm." Gambit softly moaned as he opened his eyes.
"Remy." Rogue said, placing her hand on his forehead.
"Damn. How I end up in here?" He asked.
"Do you remember when you passed out?" Beast asked.
"I passed out?" Gambit asked in confusion. "Where?"
"In ya classroom." Rogue said.
He slightly shook his head. "Don't 'member dat." He said looking at Beast. "I 'member writin' on de board. Den I be here."
"Your students said you turned around, took one step and then hit the ground." Beast said, walking toward the bed he lie on.
"I 'member gettin' up t' fast." He said, looking at Rogue. "How long I been out?"
"Only ten minutes." Beast answered the question. "Have you had any dizzy spells over the past several years, other than today?"
Turning his head, he thought about the question. "Not dat I can t'ink of." He said. "Y' sure dis ain' b'cause I didn' eat dis mornin'?"
"Low blood sugar?" Beast asked. "It's possible, yes. I'll check that now before I discard your blood sample."
They watched as Beast pulled out a small kit. Placing the needle in it's proper hazardous box, he put a clean strip in the machine and placed a nice drop of blood on the blue dot. The machine beeped and Beast shook his head, taking the strip and throwing it away.
"You're fine in that area." He said, turning to them. "I'd like to keep you here overnight."
"Dat necessary? I'm awake, blood's fine." He said.
"But ya white as a ghost, lover." Rogue said. "There's somethin' goin' on. Ah want ya ta stay here and let Hank do his thing."
"A'right." He said, seeing the worry in her face. "I stay here."
Rogue smiled as she placed her right hand on the side of his face before she kissed his forehead. "Ah'm gonna run and get Leila for lunch. Ah'll be back."
Gambit nodded as he watched her walk out of the room.
"Ah don't know, Jean." Rogue said as she watched Leila walk into her classroom before she turned and finished her statement. "Ah think Remy's dyin'."
Jean cocked an eyebrow. "He passes out once and that's grounds for him dying?" She asked, not meaning for it to sound comical in any way.
"No, no." Rogue said as they headed down the hall. "Ah mean slowly dyin'. That stuff that got in his blood six years ago is still in there. Hank saw it. Ah'm afraid that he'll just fall over one day and not wake up."
"Anna." Jean said, as she turned to her and took her hands. "I highly doubt that'll happen. It's just a worst case scenario. He'll be fine."
"Ah hope ya right." She said, forcing a smile. "Well, ah'm gonna go check on him. Ah'll catch ya later."
"Alright." Jean said as Rogue turned and head down the hall toward Beast's lab.
When she entered, she saw Gambit sipping on some orange juice while Beast has his arm strapped up to a machine. "Welcome back." Beast said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Just finishing a test."
"One o' many." Gambit said as he watched Rogue walk around to his side.
"Ah don't care how many ya do, Hank. Ah want my husband ta be alright." She said, feeling Gambit's hand on her lower back.
"I be fine, mon amor." He said, trying to reassure her.
"I am trying my best to get to the bottom of this enigma." Beast said as he turned around and walked toward a cabinet in the back. "I'd like to do a stress test."
"For?" Gambit asked, raising an eyebrow as Beast turned around holding up some equipment with wires falling every which way.
"While you were unconscious, I heard an irregularity in your heart beat." Beast said. "I want to make sure it's nothing serious."
"Irreg'larity?" Gambit asked.
"Come with me to the gym." Beast said, looking at Rogue. "You're welcome to join us, if you like."
"Sure." She said as they all head down to the gym where Beast made everyone leave.
"Alright. I have to place these on your chest, so you'll need to remove your shirt." Beast said, holding up two wire looking things.
After removing his shirt, Beast placed them in the appropriate areas and turned the machine on.
"Let's get started." He said, watching Gambit turn the treadmill on. "Start out walking and gradually get up to a jog before running. I'll tell you when to stop."
"Okay." Gambit said, putting it on a slow speed he could walk to.
A few minutes passed and the speed increased, causing him to slowly jog then he was running after a while. When he got up to a fast pace, he began to regulate his breathing as he continued on.
Rogue stood several steps away and watched as Beast read the machine and wrote down several things in the notepad he brought along. She glanced at Gambit, who was focused and keeping his gaze straight ahead.
"Hmm." Beast said as he looked at the machine again. "Alright, you can stop."
Slowing the machine, Gambit then turned it off and stepped on to the floor, breathing heavily. "Well?" He asked, placing his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
"There is definitely an irregularity." Beast said, looking at Gambit and the Rogue.
"What does that mean?" Rogue asked, walking over and taking Gambit's hand.
"I believe this was caused from the toxin that entered your blood stream. I have been working on a reverse antidote all these years since that night. It's never been tested, but that is an option." Beast said.
"Why are ya just now tellin' us this? When did ya finish it?" Rogue asked, a little annoyed.
"It isn't exactly finished, but if that is something you want to try." He said, looking at Gambit. "Since I've started your physicals ever since you joined our group here, you've been in perfect health. Nothing at all has ever stood out to me, but six years ago." He paused. "That started a change in your body."
"Should ah be concerned about myself?" Rogue asked.
Beast shook his head. "I've never found traces of the toxin in your blood. I don't feel it's something that can be transferred. I feel like it's become apart of you." He said, looking at Gambit.
"I'm willin' t' try dat antidote. See if anyt'in' happen." He said, feeling Rogue place her hand on his chest.
"Ah don't know how ah feel about that. It ain't never been tested." She said.
Gambit smirked. "Well, it be fo' me, so I kinda need t' be de one t' test it." He said, tucking her hair behind her right ear. "Who else gonna test it?"
"It's in my lab, if you want to give it a try." Beast said. "But as I mentioned, I haven't discussed it's progress with you two, because I feel it's incomplete."
"I be willin' t' try it, mon ami." Gambit said as he took the monitor wires off his chest.
"Then let's head back." Beast said, packing up his equipment.
When they arrived back at the lab, Beast walked over to the far right corner of the room. Opening a small refrigerator, he took out a vial that contained a light orange liquid.
"As I said, I feel it is incomplete. I don't know what the side effects could be." Beast said, handing it to Gambit. "I highly recommend you stay in my care over the next twenty four hours."
Looking a the orange liquid, Gambit swirled it around a few times before he glanced at Rogue. "Here go not'in'." He said, tossing it back in one gulp. "Ugh, couldn' make it taste like strawberries or somet'in'?"
Beast smiled. "We'll work on that." He said, motioning for him to sit. "We will give it fifteen minutes to see if there are any obvious side effects, but I still want you to stay over night for observation."
"Yeah, yeah." Gambit said, waving his hand. "Heard y' de firs' time, mon ami."
"Don't be an ass." Rogue said with a light elbow to his side.
"'Ey. I be jokin'." Gambit said.
"Well, ah'm not." Rogue said, crossing her arms. "Frankly, ah'm worried sick."
"Aww, don' be worried, chere." He said, putting his arm around her. "I be fine. Y' see. Hank a smart homme. I be all fixed up after dis."
"Ah hope so." She said, giving him a little smile.
"T'ere's dat beautiful smile." He said, kissing the side of her face. "Now, le's jus' worry about our meetin' Saturday."
Rogue smiled wider. "That's another thing ah'm worried about." She said, rubbing her sore side, feeling a slight pain as she took in a breathe.
"How are you, by the way?" Hank asked. "I know the x-rays showed no breaks, but you are bruised up."
"Ah'll survive. It ain't keepin' me from doing anything." She said. "It just grabs me sometimes when ah breath in real deep."
"So, no sex?" Gambit asked with a smirk.
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Ya damn sad, sometimes." She said, chuckling. "Ain't got time for that anyway."
"Eh." Gambit shrugged as he put his arm around her shoulders. "Make time."
"Okay, well." Hank said, looking at his watch. "It's been almost fifteen minutes and you're as cocky as ever, my friend. Just stay close to the lab in case something arises."
"Will do." Gambit replied as he walked out with Rogue, his arm still around her. "We got time t' kill."
Rogue instinctively collapsed her shoulder to her neck when she felt Gambit sneak a few kisses in. "Ya know ah'm hurt, right?"
Stopping and moving in front of her, he wrapped her in his arms. "Y' don' gotta do a t'ing, mon amour. I do all de work." He said, giving her a seductive grin. "Y' know dat."
Placing her hands on either side of his face, she gave him a quick kiss. "Ya need ta be takin' it easy." She said, taking his hand and continuing to walk down the hall. "We both do."
"Party pooper." He joked as they walked down and into the kitchen.
"There'll be time for that soon enough, lover." Rogue said as they saw Storm sipping on a cup a tea and standing at the back door, watching the sky. "Why ain't ya teachin', gal?"
Storm looked their direction and smiled. "This is a free period for me." She said, turning to them. "How are you feeling, Anna?"
"Ah'm survivin'." She said, hopping up on a bar stool. "Doesn't hurt too awful bad."
"That is good to hear." Storm said, looking at Gambit. "And you, my friend? I heard about your episode."
He smiled, walking around and grabbing a bottled water from the fridge. "I be fine. Ain' not'in' t' be alarmed about." He said, reassuring the both of them.
"You passing out is something to be alarmed about." Storm said, taking a sip of tea.
"E'erbody all worried. I be fine." He said, hopping up on the bar stool beside Rogue.
"Well, we worry, 'cause we love ya." Rogue said, placing her hand on his forearm.
"Agreed." Storm said.
"Aww, y' makin' me blush." He said, smiling at them before adding a wink. "I 'ppreciate it."
Placing her hand on the side of his face, she smiled before kissing him softly. "Ah love ya." She said, rubbing the apple of his cheek with her thumb.
"Je t'aime." He replied, this time leaning in and kissing her.
Storm smiled. "Is your heart fluttering?" She asked, referring to their conversation not long ago.
"Hmm?" Gambit asked, looking at Storm and then Rogue. "What?"
Rogue smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair. "At tha moment, yes." She said.
"Well, I see this is where most of the action is at the moment." A familiar British voice rang out, causing them to see Psylocke walk through the kitchen entrance.
"Oh my god, Betsy!" Rogue said, walking over and giving her a hug. "Haven't seen ya in years, gal!"
"Yes, well. I've been rather busy." She said with a smile. "I do hope you've received the gifts I've sent."
"We did, thanks." Rogue said. "Ya didn't have to."
"Oh, I know." Psylocke answered. "But with the milestones you've managed to accomplish, I thought it appropriate. Besides, I wanted to."
"Well, we thank you." Rogue said, Gambit standing up beside her.
"And you." She said, hugging Gambit. "You are catering to her every need, are you not?"
He smiled. "Every day, chere." He said, watching as she walked over and gave Storm a hug.
"Good." She said, sighing.
"Why are you here, my friend?" Storm asked.
"I've been in communication with Charles." She said. "There are things going on in Australia that could possibly involve needing the assistance of one or two of you."
"Ah hope it isn't anything serious." Rogue said.
"Well, as of right now is isn't cause for a whole team." She said. "A young man managed to break into my home and take something very valuable to me."
Gambit raised an eyebrow. "How'd t'ey manage dat? Didn' y' sense 'em?" He asked.
"I was not home at the time. I have them on my video surveillance." She said, crossing her arms. "I was able to find out about the boy. He lives in Sydney."
"I hope there will not be a confrontation." Storm said.
Psylocke shook her head. "He doesn't carry himself as one to fight back." She said. "I think apprehending him will be a walk in the park."
"Just catchin' up ta him is the hard part." Rogue said.
"Exactly." She said. "But, he's a mutant."
"O' course he is." Gambit said. "It ain' ever easy."
Psylocke smiled. "He walked right through my doors. He can apparently break down solid materials to liquids and reconstruct them as they originally were." She said.
"Well, damn." Gambit said.
"Exactly." Psylocke said, again. "He can practically get away from anyone."
"Y' need Kitty on dis case." Gambit said, placing his hands in his pockets. "She be de right one fo' de job."
"Yes, my thoughts exactly. But," She said, grabbing their attention. "Talking with Charles, I learned she isn't able to participate in any missions for a while."
"Why not?" Rogue asked.
Betsy looked at them confused. "I suppose she hasn't told anyone." She said. "Kitty's pregnant."
"Oui, dat'll bench y'." Gambit said, looking at Rogue.
"She hasn't said a thing." Rogue said, looking at Storm. "She say anything you ya?"
"No." Storm said. "Perhaps she is early and doesn't want to announce it too soon, in the case of a miscarriage."
"Which she has had, according to Jean." Psylocke said.
"Yeah, about six months ago." Rogue said.
They were quiet for a bit before Psylocke stood up straight. "Well, I must be getting back to England. I'll keep in touch." She said, giving everyone a hug before leaving the kitchen.
"And I must get to my room. Class is almost out." Storm said, smiling at them as she walked out of the kitchen with her tea.
Rogue sighed, causing Gambit to look at her and smile. "Wha's wrong?" He asked.
"Ah'm jealous." She said, hugging herself. "Ah hate it, but ah'm jealous."
"Of?" He asked.
"Kitty." She said, looking up at him. "Ah'm jealous she's pregnant. Ah don't wanna be jealous, but ah am and ah hate it."
Pulling her close he hugged her. "It be a normal emotion, mon amour. Even wit' friends." He said, gently kissing the top of her head. "Everyt'in' be fine. Y' see."
"Wha's goin' on in here?" Jean-Luc asked, walking in with a smile.
Rogue put on a smile. "Hey." She said as he walked up to them.
His face turned serious as he looked at Gambit. "I gots t' be leavin'. T'ings goin' down dat need my attention." He said. "Henry jus' called. Gave me de details."
"Ah hope everything's fine." Rogue said, looking at him.
"Everyt'in' be fine once I get m'self home. Ain' no respect down t'ere 'less I be t'ere." Jean-Luc said smiling. "Say bye t' Leila fo' me an' I wanna be seein' her visitin' soon."
Rogue smiled as she hugged him. "We'll see what happens. Drive safe." She said as they watched him walk with his suitcase toward the school entrance. "Well, that was a quick trip."
"Praise de Lawd." Gambit said, turning to Rogue and kissing her cheek. "Leila got school fo' anot'er hour." He ran his hand up her arm.
"Remy, ya heard what Hank said." She said. "Ya ain't getting laid. Trust me."
He pouted, causing her to chuckle. "A'right. Fine." He said, taking her hand and walking toward Leila's classroom.
When they arrived at the door, they looked inside to see Rikki singing a song and showing them a book that went along with it. They saw Leila smiling and listening closely as she sat up straight, giving Rikki her full attention.
"Look at her." Rogue said. "She looks so grown up."
"Mm hmm." Gambit said looking inside as well. "Too fast."
Rogue sighed. "Yep." She said turning to him and smiling. "Ah think we did pretty damn good with her. She's smart and has a sense of humor."
"Jus' like me." He said, causing Rogue to lightly nudge his side with her elbow.
Looking in one last time, they head down the hall and back to Hank's lab.
"Good evening, Leila." Jean said, taking a seat at her desk as Leila sat on the other side. "How was school?"
"Good." She said, looking at Jean from across the desk.
"Okay, for this exercise I'd like you to tell me what I'm thinking when I say go. When I say stop, I want you to stop. Understand?" Jean asked, seeing Leila nod. "Perfect. Alright, go."
Leila looked into Jean's eyes, but glanced at the candy jar that was on the edge of the desk.
"Focus, honey." Jean said, causing her to look at her again.
Leila sighed as she looked into Jean's eyes and concentrated.
Suddenly feeling someone inside her head, Jean saw Leila's eyes turn red and black just like Gambit's. She knew what Leila was doing. She was trying to make Jean give her candy. She could feel the pull in that direction.
"Alright, stop." Jean said, playing it cool, seeing Leila's eyes go back to normal. "Can you tell me what I was thinking?"
Leila shook her head as she looked at the candy jar. "I don't know." She said, looking back into Jean's eyes, her's turning black and red again. "I want a piece of candy."
Jean closed her eyes and shook her head. "Leila, that's enough." She said, opening her eyes and seeing Leila's eyes had turned gray again. "You can't use your powers like that."
Leila's lip quivered as she began to silently cry.
"Honey, I'm sorry." Jean said, getting up and walking around to where Leila sat, placing her hand on the girl's head. "I know it's tough and confusing, but that's why you're here. To learn to control your powers and use them for good. Not for your own gain. How about we continue tomorrow?"
"Okay." Leila said, sniffing as she got out of the chair, put her backpack on and walked out of Jean's office.
Sighing, Jean rubbed her face with her hands. Leila was definitely more powerful than they had thought. She needed to inform, not only the professor, but her parents as well.
A/N: And this is where it gets interesting. Stay tuned!