* ~ *
Rogue felt the familiar dizziness as Remy’s thoughts and psyche
threatened to overwhelm her. She held firm despite the wave of crushing power
that rushed over her body as Gambit lie comatose on the ground.
Thoughts, memories, emotions… they were fighting to replace
Rogue’s own. With a deep, breath, she tried to sort them out. After all, the
young mutant was curious to find out exactly what Gambit thought of her.
“I want you to keep the X-Men under surveillance,” Magneto said
to Remy. “I know little about these new recruits of his. I want to find out all
I can about them."
He waved the comment away with his hand. "Aucun probleme
<no problem>," he said with a smile. Gambit pulled out a file,
obviously having memorized its place, and set it in front of Magnus. "But
what is dis girl's name? She's de fille Remy fought, isn't she?"
Magneto smirked and looked at the picture. "That? It's
Rogue. She's one of Xavier's pupils."
"Elle tres belle <she is very beautiful>," he
said in a whisper. "What's she doin' wit' dem?"
"Don't tell me you have a crush on the girl?" the
master of magnetism said with a small smile. When Gambit didn't reply, he
laughed. "You are taken with her, aren't you?"
"What if I do like her?" Remy asked defensively. "Would
it be so bad? After all, she jus' a girl. It don' mean Remy loves her or
anyt'ing."
"Of all the girls, you have to pick her," Magneto
chuckled. "How ironic. Don't you know what her power is?"
"Oui, t' absorb peoples powers, thoughts, an memories
t'rough skin t' skin contact," he replied. "What's so bad about
dat?"
"The problem is, dear Gambit, that Rogue cannot control
her powers. You couldn't so much as touch her without waking up in a hospital
bed."
Gambit snatched the file back from his current guardian and
looked at her information again. "It don' say anyt'ing about dat in
here," he said angrily.
Magneto rolled his eyes and tapped the second page where it
discussed the dangers of her uncontrollable powers, family, and other
information. "You were obviously too busy staring at the picture to read
anything else than the second page."
He decided to ignore Magneto's chiding. "Does she have a
petite amie?"
"You really do have a thing for her, don't you?" Magnus
asked exasperatedly. "I guess it's for our team's benefit that you have an
interest in our little rogue. I want you to get as close as you can to
her."
Rogue gasped as another memory hit her. It must have been
before Gambit moved to Bayville, for she saw all of these strange people and
places. Having never been to New Orleans herself, the mental registration of
"home" that Gambit's memories sent out was the only way she knew
this.
"Ah, c'mon, chere," Gambit said to the shapely
dread-locked blonde. "Jus' one night. Ask around. You'll never regret
it. Remy'll show ya th' night of y'r
life."
She rolled her azure eyes in annoyance with his pathetic
attempts of flirting. "I told ya, Remy. I don' date t'ieves. It's against
de Assassin's Code. 'm desole, but I still say no."
"Who cares 'bout t'ieves or assassin's? Is y'r family
gonna be on de date?"
"No!" she replied, disgusted with the idea. "O'
course not!"
"Den why should we worry 'bout what de t'ink, Belle?"
Belle grinned. "You don' give up, do ya, Rem?"
The charmer shook his head. "No."
"Okay, one date. Un <one>. An dat's it. Do I make
myself clear?"
"Very," Remy answered with a sly smile. "But 'm
sure Remy can change your mind."
The memory faded, but was soon replaced with another.
"You need a t'ief, do you... Magnus, is it?" Jean-Luc,
Remy's surrogate father inquired. "Mon fils <my son> is a
respectable t'ief, as well as one o' dese mutants you keep talkin' about. I
suppose you came here wantin' his services. But dere are many other talented
t'ieves out dere. Can I not interest you in another?"
The silver-haired man known as Magneto shook his head. "No.
I want him."
Remy looked at his father. "Non," he whisper. "Je
ne desire pas aller avec lui <I don't want to go with him>."
Magneto looked at Jean-Luc. "Is there a problem? I am
willing to pay substantially for his assistance. How does... a three thousand a
month sound?"
"I don' know..." Jean-Luc. "My boy doesn't want
t' leave his little petite amie behind. You'll have to offer a bit more. Just
un peu (a little) more."
"Ten thousand," he said testily.
"Dix (ten) t'ousand a month?! I only said un peu!" he
replied, surprised.
"Would you like me to offer less?"
"Non, non! C'est bon! <It's good.> Merci beaucoup
<Thank you very much>."
Remy turned to Jean-Luc. "Le pere, s'il vous plait me dire
je ne dois pas partir. Je suis heureux ici. Je ne veux pas partir avec cette
aberration de gris haired."
<Father, please tell me
I do not have to leave. I'm happy here. I don't want to leave with this
gray-haired freak>
Jean-Luc narrowed his dark brown eyes. "Vous pensez que je
ne sait pas cela? Mais cet homme offre beaucoup d'argent sur la table! Pourquoi
vous ne commencez pas a penser de notre famille au lieu de vous? La beaute est
seulement une fille, vous trouverez beaucoup d'autres. S'il vous plait, aller
avec cet homme. Je vous promets ne devra pas rester avec lui long. Seulement
assez long pour le garder heureux, approuver?"
<You think I don't know that? But this man is offering a lot of
money on the table! Why don't you start thinking about our family instead of
yourself? Belle is only a girl, you will find many others. Please, go with this
man. I promise you won't have to stay with him long. Just long enough to keep
him happy, okay?
Gambit didn't answer.
"Si vous plait <please>?" he begged.
"Amende <fine>."
Jean-Luc grinned and then beamed at Magneto. "See, c'est
bon! He say he will go, as long as you keep your deal."
"Yes, yes," he snapped, rather irritated. "You
humans and your money."
Remy looked at his father with hatred. "Just a
fille," he muttered. "Even if I find another like her, it still won't
matter. What about my friends and my family? Does he even care? It's not
fair..."
A shrill voice interrupted Rogue's thoughts, snapping her back
into reality. Where was she?
"There! That's the mutie I saw fighting earlier!" a
woman screamed to a police man while pointing an accusing finger at Rogue. "There
was another, a boy with glowing red eyes!"
Oh yeah, Rogue thought. Ah'm at the park, after ah kissed
Gambit.
Emerald eyes fell upon his lifeless form. Right, an it wasn't
the smartest move, either, she scolded herself. Kiss th' guy an give him what
he wants and then get his memories all mixed up in y'r head...
The officer reached where Rogue was standing and saw the boy's
unconscious body. Suspecting the worst, he cautiously said, "Miss, you're
going to have to come with me."
Great, now you're gonna be jail bait too, she thought morosely.
"Officer, it isn't what y'all think."
"I saw it with my own eyes!" the woman exclaimed. "She
sucked the life right outta him!"
Rogue groaned. "Lady, will you get a grip?" she
asked, turning to the frantic blonde. "Jesus Christ, it was only
temporary. He'll be fine in an hour or so."
"An hour or so?" the officer repeated. "What
exactly did you do to him?"
"Ah used mah scary mutant power t' knock him out,"
Rogue snapped sarcastically. "What do you think ah did?"
"Miss, I'm afraid this is a serious crime..."
Gawd, there has t' be someway outta this predicament! Unfortunately,
the only power she had against these two nutcases was her touch, and Rogue had
enough memories in her head for the moment.
"Wait..." she whispered. "Mah pow'rs! Ah've got
Gambit's powers!"
"You what?" the man asked.
"See! She's a lunatic!"
Rogue reached into her back pocket and held the queen of hearts
Remy had given her. As if in reaction to her hands, the card began to glow red
beneath her touch. She marveled at the tingling sensation in her fingertips as
the card began to hum.
"Don't move!"
The officer pulled out a gun and guarded the blonde. "Put
down your...er... weapon."
Rogue grinned. "Comme vous souhaitez <As you
wish>."
The card was thrown right in front of his feet.
"Au reviour, chere," she said just before the card
exploded and sent the two flying backwards. "Mon grandiose fin <grand
finish/finale> was pretty explosive, non?"
Rogue ran off, trying to shake Gambit and his slimy thoughts
from her head. "Gawd, now ah'm talkin' like the creep!" she whined. "Please
say he'll get outta mah head b'fore ah get back t' th' Institute!"
* ~ *
Remy LeBeau rubbed his head gingerly. "What de hell
happened?" he asked himself, realizing that he was lying down in the
middle of a grassy park.
The memory returned to him after some difficulty. He had come
here to "fight" Rogue, but it had been only an excuse to catch a kiss
from the Southern bombshell. Only the kiss had knocked him out, and apparently
his lip-locking partner had ran off without even helping him.
"Why do I get dis feelin' dat Rogue, she don' like me too
well?" Remy asked wryly.
"Oh well, dere's plenty o' time for Remy t' grow on her,
non?"
Gambit pushed himself up from the ground with a grunt. "As
soon as Remy gets home... oh, de headache! She's not'in' but trouble...!"
A smile spread across his face despite his pain. "Mais
kisser quel fantastique! <But what a fantastic kisser>!"
* ~ *
"What, like, took you so long, Rogue?" Kitty asked at
the dinner table with a wicked grin and a twinkle in her hazel eyes. "Did
you and Gambit, like, have a date?"
Rogue made a face. "Katherine Pryde, ah'd rather go on a
date with Jamie before ah went out with that creature!" she exclaimed,
receiving a crushed look from the boy. "No, offense," she said with a
smile.
She piled some more mashed potatoes onto her plate and looked
up to notice Cyclops staring at her strangely. "What in Gawd's name is
wrong, Scott?" she asked.
"Nothing," he replied. "I was just- Rogue, why
is your lipstick smeared like that?"
Her hands flew to her face. "What are you talkin'
about?"
Bobby laughed hysterically. "Ha ha, he's right, Rogue! It's
all over your face! Looks like your whole head's purple! What did you do, make
out with some one?"
She wiped the purple make-up from her lips rather forcefully. "Can
it Drake!" she warned.
Amara gave Bobby a confused glance. "But she couldn't have,
right? Her powers-"
"Bien sur pas <Of course not>!" Rogue yelled
back, angry French curses flying here and there. Her cheeks grew warm with
mortification. "I didn't do anyt'ing..." she added, trying to get
Gambit out of her head.
Kitty snickered. "Maybe she, like, kissed a certain
Cajun?"
Kurt's yellow orbs widened. "You didn't..." he
gasped.
Rogue, humiliated and enraged, ran off to her room without
another room. The door slammed behind her, but it did not stop her friend's
teasing.
"Whoa, I never thought she would-" Scott said
incredulously.
Jean smiled. "She sure did! And it's about time,
too!"
The red-head high-fived Kitty with a laugh. Leaning from her
chair, she looked through the hallway towards Rogue's bedroom. "You go,
girl!" she yelled loud enough for Rogue to hear.
"Fuck off, Grey!" Rogue shouted back rather huffily.
Bobby made hissing noises and clawed the air like a cat. "Someone's
pissed."
Kitty turned to Nightcrawler with a smile half the size of her
face. "Wow, like, they totally did kiss. And, like, don't you think they
make the cutest couple?"
"I dunno," he replied. "I don't trust him viff
mien sister."
"Oh lighten up..."
"I guess we can expect to see a lot more of Gambit around
here," Bobby said with a smirk and a few hand gestures. "If you know
what I mean."
"What do you mean?" Jamie asked, puzzled.
* ~ *