Remy took a deep breath as he continued his search
for his sister. He heard a female voice and cocked an eyebrow curious of the
song she sang.
He followed the voice to the nursery
where he found Ally singing to a child in a crib and he smiled at it.
“Might be nice for an afternoon but I
wouldn’t want to live on the moon,” Ally sang then felt Gambit watching her and
jumped as her hand flew to her chest.
“Thought yo’ were telepathic,” he
teased her as he came into the nursery carefully.
“We can turn it off when we need to,”
Ally smiled as she watched him walk into the nursery as if he would step on a
mine.
“So dis is wha’ gon’ to happen to
Hayley,” he said as he took in the aroma of baby powder and stratigically
placed toys about the room.
Ally smiled, “What will you do when
there is a child?” she wondered aloud.
“Dere is no’ chile yet Chere,” he
smiled at her then he noticed her dog tags and the uncanny resemblance to
Hayley’s and he reached for them and touched them gently, “What happen dere
Chere?” He wondered what it was that had made Hayley so afraid of a real
relationship.
Ally sighed not sure of what to say as
she looked at his hand holding her dog tags. “Our lives were changed,” she
sighed as she touched his hand gently to release her tags and then held his
hand as she led him out of the nursery, “they need to sleep.”
Gambit nodded and let her lead him but
his worried eyes did get past Ally.
“Hayley will be all right,” she said as
she kissed him on the cheek.
“Okay, Gumbo get yer own wife,” a
voice called to them.
Remy and Ally saw Logan making his way
to them.
“Hayl’s awake,” he smiled at them glad
to have good news.
Ally returned his smile but Remy’s
smile was lost as he swept Ally’s hand up and kissed it before running off.
Ally laughed watching him skid around
the corner. She was glad for Hayley and Remy.
Logan took a deep breath, “not sure
if I like this kid.”
“He’s not a kid, he’s our age and,”
Ally sighed to tease Logan. “He’s in love.”
Logan’s mouth dropped and he pointed
in the direction Gambit left, “Him?”
Ally nodded, “this would be the first
time I have seen Hayley with a guy for more than week too.”
Logan had to light his cigar at the
idea Hayley fell in love with that Cajun thief.
“Why not I fell in love with a Canuck
who heals himself,” Ally countered.
Logan pointed at her as if he were
going to yell but touched her face and kissed her.
“Are you going to play bouncer for the
med lab for a while?” she kissed him back.
“Nah,” he said looking around, “I told
your Uncle I’d keep an eye on something”
“What?” she squinted her eyes.
“I will tell you in the morning,” he
touched Ally’s belly. “Take my other kid to bed.” He saw a quick shadow and
caught a whiff of a scent. He turned to Ally and kissed her again. “Be there
soon, darlin’”
Remy ran into the infirmary and
notice a different atmosphere. He saw Hayley sitting on the bed answering
questions like she had never been hurt and Scott was gone but the biggest
difference would be Jean’s smiling face.
Hayley smiled at the site of him.
“Hey.”
Remy sauntered up to her bed and her
now clad figure in the hospital gown and touched it lightly as he found her
hand. She wrapped her fingers around his as well. “Chere…” was all he could
choke out at the sight and touch of her. “I…”
Hayley hugged him to her and
whispered in his ear, “Me too.”
They seemed to forget the other
people in the room as they kissed lost in each other’s touch. A few applause
and cleared throats caught their attention finally.
Hayley pointed to Alex who had been
applauding, “You have been hanging around Just. Too long huh?”
Remy looked to Jean and Beast, “Does
she stay here tonight?”
“Considering how well she healed
herself, I think she will be all right,” Beast winked at them, “but we mustn’t
leave her totally alone.”
“Dat’s not a problem, mon ami,” Remy
smiled wrapping the blanket around Hayley’s body and scooping here into his
arms.
“I can walk, Remy,” she said as he
struggled a little at first.
“No a problem chere,” he huffed, “But
time to cut down on de fried chicken non?”
Hayley laughed at the comment as did
the rest of the infirmary.
Remy smiled thinking he day was almost
complete but he needed to find Rayne for that and sighed as he made his way to
the room they shared.
‘Stupid, stupid, stupid,’ Rayne
admonished herself, as she continued down the hall after her altercation with
Imp and Logan. She felt like a bad kid running from being in
trouble. She knew these people saved her life and she was grateful, but
she was still so jumpy and fearful around them. It was just that this
place looked so much like the one she was just rescued from. While she
was being held captive in that other place, she was certain that she would die
there as well. And there were times, like when that deranged scientist
Deanna was torturing her mercilessly, that Rayne had prayed for death to
release her from her agony.
Rayne sighed deeply. She thought about
what she might possibly do with her life now that she had pointed ears, claws,
whiskers, and un-naturally long front teeth. How would she be able to
make a living now? She looked down at her clawed hands. Again she
sighed. There was a more important issue at hand though. Remy was
here. She could not stay here. This place and these people were his
affair not hers. She could not take the risk that one of the guilds of
New Orleans would find out that she was here with Remy. A chill ran along
her spine. Perhaps they already knew. That would cost her dear brother
his life. Any contact with Rayne meant certain death to anyone she knew
from the not so old days in Louisiana. Such was the code of the
guilds. She had been banished from there and no one affiliated with the
guilds was allowed to have any contact with her, ever again, or their life
would be forfeit.
She could not risk her brother’s life,
not again, and never again. Remy had spies on her though and wouldn’t let
her leave the mansion. She had tried to escape once and that was a dismal
failure. Rayne sighed again. Not only did she have to find a way out of here
but she also would have to make certain that he wouldn’t have any further
contact with her. She loved her brother deeply and would never forgive herself
if he were harmed because of her.
The corridor she was
walking down dead-ended into a short cross hallway. ‘Which way do I go
now?’ She was slightly amused, thinking how the hallways were
analogous with her life right now. She once again sighed deeply
only this time she felt a biting pain in her side. Her wounds had once
been on the mend, but now they ached with renewed vigor. She knew that it
should be looked at but the thought of going to the med-lab brought intense
waves of panic. Not only that, she just didn’t care about having it
checked. She was tired. Tired of everything.
She heard a commotion
coming from a nearby room. The door was closed so she walked closer to it
and listened. She could hear voices and what sounded like some kind of
electronic game. Rayne’s curiosity was piqued but she wasn’t feeling well
and thought that maybe she should just go lie down for a bit. As she was
trying to make up her mind the door opened and a teenage girl with streaked
auburn hair walked out of the room. They both jumped at the sight of one
another. The girl crossed her arms and braced herself against the door
jam.
"Hey. Mah name’s
Rogue," Rogue knew that this new mutant was not a member of the school.
"You must be one of the mutants found at that lab."
Rayne wasn’t sure if she
was up for a discussion about that topic but she indulged the girl with a short
answer. "Oui, ah was brought ‘ere along wit’ de others."
Rogue stood up straight
and smiled, "yorah Gambit’s sistah, aren’t you?"
Embarrassed, Rayne
could only nod her agreement.
Rogue’s eyes went wide remembering her
own recent brush with death, "Oh mah Gawd, it musta been awful at
that place. Were ya experimented on like the othahs?"
By this time the other
people in the room came to the door to see who it was that Rogue was talking
to, and Rayne soon found that she had an audience. But before she could
say anything, a voice from behind some of the people called out,
"Hey, I remember you!" Rayne followed the voice, and gave
a start when she saw who it was. He was the young mutant called Bonsai
that had opened the door to her cell at the Adam’s laboratory. He pushed
his way past the others and stood beside Rogue. Then he held up his arms
and displayed the scars from where he was wounded by the terrified Rayne in a
fight at that lab. He looked at Rayne and said, "I have scars
now."
Rayne felt terribly
uncomfortable. A cold chill ran through her and ended up being a burning
sensation all along her side. She winced at the pain but shrugged it off.
She looked at the scars on Bonsai’s arms. "Ah’m sorry ‘bout dat,
really." Then her gaze went to her clawed hands. She suddenly
felt light headed and was afraid that she might pass out.
Bonsai’s brother
Kamikaze, walked over and stood between Rogue and Bonsai, "Check it,
it’s not your fault." Kamikaze said, "You were probably scared outta
your wits. Don’t mind my brother Tyrone," He punched Bonsai on the
shoulder, "He’s got a bug up his butt. He’ll get over
it." Tyrone gave him a dirty look. Kamikaze continued,
"My name is Tyler, I also go by Kamikaze, "He told me all
about the fight he had with you. Sounds like you wiped the floor with my
big, bad, bro." Tyler held his hand out to Rayne in friendship.
Rayne looked at his
hand, then his smiling face identical to the other boy but so different in
demeanor and her brow furrowed, "Tu devez etre
fou." She hesitated a moment, fighting a strong urge to run
away.
Eventually, she extended her hand and he
happily grabbed it and shook it vigorously saying, "To davy foo, to
you too. What ever that means." There was a snicker from one of the
other teens. Tyrone laughed, " This is great! I think this is
really awesome. I’d love being an X-Man!" He waved his free
arm in the air, "I’d get to see the world, and I would rescue fair damsels
in distress. Like you, pretty lady." He bowed to Rayne with a
low sweeping flourish.
Rogue coughed, "Oh puh-lease, Tylah!"
Rayne tilted her head to
the side and put a hand on her hip, "Oui, yo’ are crazy."
She smiled at the flamboyant young man, "Excusez moi, Ah mus’
go now." She felt she really needed to go and lie down. Her
head was starting to ache a little and she felt sore all over now. She
turned to leave.
Kamikaze snatched Rayne’s
wrist, "Wait!" He blurted, " Come inside a minute. You gotta
play this game with me. I need some new competition." He gestured at
the others, "These characters are pathetic." There was more
than one derisive snort from the audience. He pulled her inside the room.
"I yi yiee!,
Yo’ too rough." Rayne shook her head and tried to pry her arm
free of his strong grasp. Tyler said he was sorry and let go of her
arm. She was tired and felt ill but she went with him to the couch
where the game was. She sat down and rubbed her sore wrist.
Tyler flung himself on
the couch and explained to Rayne the rules of the game that they had been
playing. When Rayne told him that she had never played any games like
these, Tyler grinned from ear to ear, ‘easy meat,’ he
thought. Like Rogue before her, Rayne too, was destined to become yet
another vanquished foe. After a short discussion on how to use the
controllers, Tyler set the game to begin. Of course he set it at the
first level, to be fair. This particular game was one where players would
compete together at the same time.
The game began and the
cars sped off down the track. Kamikaze was good, very good. He had
excellent reflexes and hit every curve with minimum effort and maximum
gain-age. His robotic hands danced over the controller like a pianist
fingers in a concerto. He was the king of this game around here and he loved
the title.
The others in the room
watched in wonder though as Rayne, who said she had never played a game like
this before, manipulated the controls as if she had invented the game.
Rayne’s movements were fluid and perfect. She seemed to anticipate the
course and was ready with the correct response. The first level
ended with Rayne far in the lead. Tyler hopped up and yelled, "No
and way! You CANNOT have beaten me. I don’t believe it. You
cheated! You know this game." He stomped and tossed his controller
on the couch. The others chided him for being a poor loser.
Rayne set the
controller down on the table and slowly stood up. Her head was throbbing
now and all she wanted to do was find a hole to crawl into. She heard
Rogue gasp then gleefully shout, "Wolverine!"
Rayne groaned inside, ‘Is this homme
gonna follow me around day and night?’ She walked around the side of the
couch and faced Logan who was standing with his back against the door
jam. His arms were crossed over his chest. Rogue was at his side
grinning from ear to ear. Logan looked straight at Rayne.
Rayne sighed, "What
yo’ wan’ Wolverine? Did da boss tell yo’ ta keep an eye on
me?" Rayne was annoyed that she was being followed after giving her
word.
Logan un-crossed his arms, "You don’t look so good
kid. Better get yourself down to the med-lab."
Rayne growled back, "Ah’ll go where an when ah wanna
go. Comprenez? An ah ain’t goin’ to no lab!" Her stomach
turned as the ache in her skull now pounded full force. She wanted him to
get out of the way so she could go die in peace, "Get out of ma way
Wolverine." She took a couple of steps towards the doorway. ‘Why
does there always have to be a fight?’ She thought.
Rogue stepped out protectively
but Logan pushed her to the side. She grunted her complaint.
Kamikaze leapt over the couch, "Whoa, hey now, Logan. The lady
just wants to get by. Just let her by, man."
Rogue looked defensively at
Tyler, "You can’t talk to Logan like that. He hasn’t done anything
wrong."
The others in the room just
watched in dumb amazement as events unfolded.
Rayne didn’t want this
confrontation. She felt trapped and the only way she thought she could
get out was to go through Wolverine. ‘So be it,’ She gritted
her teeth and set her feet for the battle. Though, to her astonishment
and relief, Logan calmly stepped aside. Rayne wasn’t going to argue and
she headed for the door but her legs gave out and she fell.
Wolverine had smelled
something wrong about Rayne this morning at the danger room, when they were in
Xavier’s office and then again at the kitchen. His suspicion that she was
ill was verified here. Still, he was shocked when she collapsed on
the floor. He Knelt and touched her forehead with the back of his
hand. It was very hot. He knew he needed to get her to the med-lab,
especially when he saw her eyes roll back in her head.
‘Damn stubborn kid.’ He
thought as he lifted her up. He turned to Kamikaze, "Ty, see if you
can reach Jean and have her meet me in the lab, stat!" Tyler nodded then
narrowed his eyes as he tried to find Jean telepathically. After Logan
left the room, the others were still standing there silently looking at
one another.
Justice finished in the shower at a
somewhat reasonable time and took a long drink off the beer Sassy had given
him.
'One beer won't throw my concentration,' he reasoned as he picked up
the last of his workload. He removed his laptop computer from this brief case
and pushed the button as it hummed to life. He wanted to save some time in his
day tomorrow at work and he used his network to contact his computer at work.
He sighed taking another drink of his
beer proud of himself and waiting for the computer to finish loading.
Another knock on the door caught his
attention and he groaned inwardly but then thoughts of it being Storm helped
guide his feet to the door.
He opened the door to find a young blue
haired mutant Aubrey standing there with a small can and a putty knife.
"You have the room next door?"
Aubrey laughed.
Justice gave her a weak smile and nodded
still embarrassed his temper had gotten the best of him. "I take it that's
for the wall?" He gestured to the putty.
Aubrey smiled, "Yes," she
handed him the can and then the knife, "Dominick and I fixed the other
walls already and yours is the last one to fix." She smiled expectantly,
"So if you don't mind I would love my privacy."
"Sure I will do it right now,"
Justice looked at her hands for more, "You don't have any sandpaper?"
She looked at him confused. "To smooth the wall when it dries so you don't
have a lump there," Justice placed the can and the knife by the door.
"I will find some in the morning
though," Aubrey nodded, "Hey I heard you were a lawyer." She
teased him a bit.
"Do you think it's the first time my
strength has broken a wall or something?" Justice smiled remembering the
worse thing he had to replace was a pillar outside of his father's home.
Aubrey winked at him as she backed away
and closer to her own door, "Good point."
Justice shut the door and pried the can
open happy with the consistency and sighed as he began to the fix what he had
broken. He looked at his computer, which was booted up to his work computer now
and smiled. He threw his speed into high gear and had the hole closed in
seconds.
He grabbed his beer again and looked
longingly at it wondering if he should hunt another down. He sighed and simply
began to type on the portable computer anxious to get some rest for the night.
He moved quickly letting his pen travel from his mouth to hand as he used his
mouth and his ear as a penholder.
"Justice," A voice called from
behind him and he nearly jumped out of his skin but turned to face Chloe
standing there with a tray holding two filled wine glasses and a bottle of his
favorite red wine.
"Chloe," he jumped at her,
"Ever heard of knocking? I was busy with work," Justice finally took
the pen from his mouth and turned back to finish his last thought.
"I knew that Justice," Chloe
smiled, "Admit it or not." She began as she sat a full wine glass in
front of him, "You like to relax with your briefs and some wine."
"Was that 'in' my briefs?" he
joked lamely as he finished writing. He turned to face Chloe still not very
comfortable with her presence, "Thank you for the wine and thinking of
me." He looked at the floor uncomfortably, "I am sorry about what happened
earlier."
"So am I," She said simply drinking some of her wine.
Justice mimicked her movements taking a long drink. Justice looked at himself
in his pajama bottoms but naked from the waist up and reached for his robe.
Chloe narrowed her eyes, "I have seen
you more naked than that." She hoped she relayed the hurt feeling in her
voice that she felt.
Justice pulled the robe on meeting her eye
with a sigh, "we are different people now."
"I missed you," Chloe blushed
and couldn't believe it had come to this. She sipped her wine thoughtfully and
prayed for courage.
As if on cue she watched Justice pick his
glass up and take a bigger drink. "You could drink me under the
table," She teased.
"You just couldn't hold your
liquor," He smiled at the memory of carrying her home from a fancy party
but suddenly he felt warm and sat down.
"Are you all right?" Chloe
touched his warm forehead hoping she didn't give him too much.
"Fine," Justice stammered and
looked at her groggily. Her face went out of focus a little and he reached out
to see if she was really there. He saw her but things were moving in the
opposite direction he was looking.
"Yes, you are," She purred glad
it was taking effect so quickly but a bit worried about him. She sighed and
tugged at his robe, "Take this off. You are too warm."
Justice stood to help her remove it and
nodded, but with the nod he fell to his knees.
Chloe giggled not used to seeing Justice at
such a disadvantage, "Let's get you to the bed." She laughed loving
that she had control of the situation now.
Justice tried to comply as he began to
crawl on the bed. He began laugh at himself but wasn't sure why and it took a
lot of strength for him to pull himself into the bed.
Somebody was pushing a cup to his lips. 'Water?'
he thought and drank the liquid greedily as his thirst seemed to take over his
mind. He wasn't sure if he had his eyes open but felt moisture on his chest as
well and wondered how they got him to the shower.
Chloe began to giggle at Justice's
mumbling. This was working very well and after he pulled himself into the bed
he became funnier to her. Her mind raced to the poisoned wine and she wanted to
make sure it would last as long as she needed it too. She grabbed his glass
seeing he had some left and pressed it to his lips. She tried to maneuver it
into his mouth but some spilled onto his chest and Justice seemed to think that
was hilarious. She smiled at his carefree nature and watched him drink the rest
of it.
She sighed and touched his hand roughly so
see if he was out. She pushed her nail into his hand and he didn't flinch. She
took a deep breath she had come this far and didn't want to stop now. She
grabbed Justice's pajama bottoms and pulled hard and he still didn't move. She
eyed the sight appreciatively and kissed him. To her surprise she found him
returning the kiss lightly as he tugged for his sheet and began to roll over.
Chloe quickly disrobed feeling a bit heady
from the wine herself. She took her time pulling the sheet to Justice as she
climbed into the bed with him. She marveled at the site of him as he began to
snore lightly. Justice's strawberry hair stood out on the white pillow as did
his olive complexion.
Chloe snuggled to his strong chest and he
closed his arm around her waist. He mumbled something and sighed a little.
Chloe began to wonder how out he really was and laid her head on his chest.
She had missed him and his innocence of
his Peter Pan like existence. How would she live without him? She pushed the
thought out of her mind as she remembered she was the one here with him now and
grasped his manhood. Justice may have laid dormant but his body responded
quickly to her and he mumbled things as his eyes fluttered open from time to
time.
Chloe panicked and began to move quicker.
She waited for his eyes to shut again and she let her plan take effect on her
silent husband.
Remy put Hayley in the bed and laughed at
her. She was almost asleep on him and when he changed the altitude she looked
at him.
Gambit lit a cigarette, "Chere, Ah
need ta know about somet'ing." He touched her dog tags. "Rayne was
dere too."
Hayley squinted at him, "What
happened to each mutant and human is different."
"How abou' yo'?" He wanted to
know why she started throwing electricity and what Rayne might start doing.
"Remy that's a long story," She
sighed, "Can we talk about it tomorrow?" She sat up and kissed his
mouth hard.
"No, chere," he pushed her
away, "Yo' need rest."
"I'm fine."
"Ah sleep in da chair if ah have
to," he threatened as he pulled off his shirt. Hayley nodded watching him
disrobe and the thought of him not holding her wasn't acceptable,
"No, I think we both need to
sleep." She patted the bed and moved over for him. She sighed looking at
the moonlight from the window dancing on his auburn hair, "How is
Rayne?"
He pulled his pants off and grabbed his
cigarette, "Rayne needs time." He sighed. "Ah looked for her
earlier but she can smell me. An if she don’ wan’ me t’find her, ah
can‘t." He sighed and started to the bathroom.
"You think she's avoiding you?"
Hayley tilted her head.
"I know she is chere," he called
from over the bathroom sink.
Hayley smiled when she saw he had stripped
the rest of his clothing and was coming to bed naked. ‘He's not shy,’
she sighed to herself. She liked that.
Gambit groaned as he took a final drag and
put his cigarette out. Hayley rolled over and her hospital gown exposed her
butt and back to him. He sighed remembering it was a hospital gown.
"Rayne jus’ need' time. She find me
when she want," He sighed and propped up on his elbow. "Dat
comfortable Hayley," He tugged at her gown.
"No," she sighed, "It's
itchy and I hate it." Remy untied her gown and she sighed as she shrugged
it off and she rolled over and found herself eye to eye with him.
He was looking at her hard and touched her
face gently, "Chere, Gambit thought he los’ you."
Hayley wasn't sure what to make of this,
"I know, Remy." She kissed him.
Then he pulled her to his chest letting
her hair fall behind her and tickling his arm. Remy had two women in his life
now. He felt strongly for both and it didn't matter right now if they didn't get
along, it would be nice, but he needed them both there.
He
released his grasp and touched her head, "Sleep now chere. T’morrow ah
need ta fin’ Rayne an it's gon' be a busy day." He didn't have to wait
long before Hayley fell asleep and her hypnotic breathing soon lulled him to
sleep too.