* ~ *
The phone rang at Bayville Boarding House. Almost, immediately,
Todd Tolanske dashed (or rather hurriedly hopped) for the phone. "I got
it, yo!" he called.
Wanda Maxinoff just rolled her eyes and sighed. Was he trying
to impress him? The girl shuddered. Toad was such a vile insect. She couldn't
believe she'd actually kissed him! The thought made her sick.
Pietro, her twin, smirked. "Man, I wish Mystiqque would've
taken you outta the-" he paused. "I mean, brought you here sooner. You've
got fly-magnet doing everything you ask!"
She eyes him suspiciously, but said nothing.
"Mystiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiique!" Toad sang. "It's
for yooooooou!"
The shape-shifter stormed down the stairs. "Give me the
phone, you imbecile!"
A bead of sweat traveled down Todd's brow. "Um,
it's-"
She grabbed him by the throat. "I didn't ask for you to
speak. Now go and do something useful for once. Perhaps something like taking a
shower?"
Toad soared into a nearby wall. Wanda winced, almost feeling
sorry for the poor guy.
"Hello, Mystique here," she said quite cheerfully,
given her violent outburst.
"Raven, this is Logan."
Her knuckles tightened around the receiver. The other
inhabitants of the boarding house witnessed yet another surprising change in
her mood. "What do you want?" she snarled.
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm bringing Rogue
over later today. If anything should happen- well you know. You better take
good care of Stripes." He paused. "That's all."
"But why would she come over? Is something wr-"
It was too late. Wolverine had already hung up. Mystique
growled and slammed down the phone. She turned to her "charges." A
large, unnatural smile grew on her face. "We're having company tonight
night, kids!"
Wanda's head snapped up in attention. "Who?"
"Rogue," she replied with a hint of perkiness.
Lance groaned. "Not her. We don't need another girl around
this joint. Wanda's bad enough!"
"What?!" she replied, hexing his sorry butt out the
window.
Toad smiled. "Good one, sweetums."
He realized his mistake, but the timing was a little off. "AGGGGHHH!"
he cried. "I'm sorry baby cakes!" Toad landed outside next to Lance.
Mystique sighed. "Honestly, can't you control your anger
enough to not put holes through my walls?"
She shrugged. "So isn't Rogue one of the X-Geeks?"
"Yes," she said hotly. "Rogue is an X-Man. But
not a 'geek.' Need I remind you how mercilessly she and her friends crushed you
time and time again? You pathetic fools are only kidding yourselves."
"Thanks for the self-esteem booster," Pietro said sarcastically.
Raven turned away and looked outside the window. "I don't
know why she's coming, but if any of you embarrassments do anything wrong- so
help me God- I'll-"
"Jeesh," Fred said. "We get the picture."
"Good," she retorted. She scanned the house, which
was again, in shambles. "Hmmm... on second thought, you better clean up
this mess. Pronto!"
The teenagers hurried to clean up the place, mumbling little
obscenities here and there.
Mystique caught sight of a picture hanging on the wall as she
began to walk up to her room. The picture was of Rogue and Irene- an old item
Rogue had opted to leave when she moved to the institute. The picture had
jolted many bitter memories inside the woman. She squeezed her eyes shut to cut
them off. Why does Rogue want to see me now? she asked herself. Was Kurt
serious when he told me she's dating one of Magneto's Acolytes? Even if I did
see them at the park together- it doesn't mean anything is going on between
them. She paused. It better not be true, because if it is- I'm afraid this
"Gambit" character will realize he's in over his head. At least he
will when I get through with him.
* ~ *
Remy LeBeau was no master at high-tech things, but when it came
to breaking in houses, he do almost anything. The security at Xavier's School,
however advanced it may be, would cave in mercilessly to Gambit's charm. He
gave the decoding device one final key stroke before the gate unlocked. Gambit
put the tool away with a smirk. "Dat was easy."
"Now," he said to himself as he quietly snuck into
the garage. "Gambit guessin' you put de bike here, chere."
However, when he opened the garage, he jumped back in surprise.
There, growling with unleashed claws, stood Wolverine. Remy smirked. "What
a coincidence dat you here. Guess Gambit'll jus' pick up his bike an be on his
way, non?"
"This ain't a coincidence," Logan snarled. "Could
smell a thief like you a mile away."
He threw his hands up in mock-defeat. "Never came t'
steal. Gambit can promise dat, homme. Just wanted my bike back. If dat's okay
wit you..."
The man wasn't about to let him slide. "Mind telling me
how it got here in the first place?"
Remy's first reaction was to tell Wolverine that it was none of
his business, but he really didn't feel like getting into a fight so early in
the afternoon. "I let one o' de students borrow it," he said
smoothly.
"And what student was that?" Wolverine crossed his
arms across his chest.
"Oh, jus a lil' petite by de name of... Rogue," he
said nonchalantly. "Pourquoi <Why>?"
He wasn't too happy with his answer. He narrowed his brown eyes
and pointed his claws in Gambit's direction. "I don't like the smell of
you, Gumbo. And I don't like you anywhere near Stripes."
"Gumbo?" he said with slight offense. "Is dat de
best you can come up wit?"
Logan growled. "You wanna test me, shrimp?"
"Peeshwank <runt>, dere ain't not'ing t' try!" Remy
retorted, pulling out a handful of cards and charging them up. "But if ya
wanna good fight, den you askin' de right man!"
Wolverine lunged for him, only to be interupted by someone
walking in the garage.
"Jean!" a male voice almost whined. "You know my
car is dirty! We can't go any where tonight! I gotta wash it!"
Jean sighed. "God, Scott, all you think about is that
car!"
Scott stopped and reached for his visor once he saw Gambit and
Wolverine attacking each other. "What are you doing here?" he asked
Gambit.
The red-headed girl gave the two boys a look of disapproval. "Yeah,
what's going on here."
Remy straightened up. "Jus' getting my bike back, dat's
all, chere," he told Jean with a glint in his red on black eyes. "Dough
mebbe Gambit can change your mind...?" He winked at her.
She blushed, feeling extremely giddy. "Uh- Mr. Logan,
what's the big deal? He obviously isn't doing anything wrong here."
Cyclops gave Gambit the death glare, though he obviously
couldn't see the look. Scott's glasses shaded his eyes completely. "Jean,
the enemy is on our property... again."
Wolverine nodded. "And I know this guy's got something up
his sleve!"
Gambit shrugged innocently. "You can check, but you won't
find not'ing." He dropped the charged cards on the floor with a smile. "See,
now Gambit be unarmed.
Jean nodded, smiling. "...Okay..." she sighed with a
girlish giggle.
Cyclops' eyebrows raised significantly as the cards began to
glow a little more. "Watch out, Jean!" he cried, shielding his
girlfriend. "They're gonna blow!"
Wolverine acted before the young Cajun could even respond. He
pinned the boy against the wall, two claws surrounding his neck. Logan was
obviously considering whether or not to unleash the middle one. "You got
five seconds before I skin ya, bub. Any last words?"
"Yeah," he said with an innocent smile. "Regarder
derriere tu. <Look behind you (tu was used because it's informal and shows
Gambit's disrespect.)>."
He gave Gambit a confused look, before being knocked off his
feet as the cards exploded. Jean and Scott were also caught in the blast,
though Cyclops had taken most of its force.
Remy took that moment to hop on his bike and high-tail it out
of there. No use fightin' dem now. Gotta make a good impression at least f'r
Rogue's sake. As he sped away from the institute, he frowned. Too bad I never
got t' say hi t' my lil' cherie. Oh well, guess Remy'll have t' take her out
some other night.
"Are you okay?" Cyclops asked, helping Jean up.
She nodded, smiling at her boyfriend. "I'm fine, thanks to
you."
"What was that all about?" he asked, watching
Wolverine get on his motorcycle and presumably attempt to chase down Gambit. He
turned back to Jean. "And don't look at me like that! You were totally
into him!"
She stiffened at the accusation. "Only because he charmed
me!"
"Charmed you? Where'd you come up with that?"
"Well, that's what he does!" she shouted. "And
you were the genius who had to make him blow up the garage?"
"You're the one who supported him and Rogue hanging out
together in the first place!"
Jean was about to retort when Scott interrupted her.
He shrieked and ran towards his car, which was presently
covered in debris from the explosion. "MY CAR!!!" he wailed. "That
stupid jerk ruined my car!"
* ~ *
Rogue turned the page of Demon in my View with a sigh of
relaxation (a/n: is it just me or is Evo Rogue a bookworm?). She was finally
content. Her headache was gone, and no one knew about the real events of last
night. Well, if no one was everyone excluding Kitty, Kurt, and all the people
Kurt told, which included, but were not limited to: Bobby who told Amara who
told Roberto who told Jamie Ray who told Sam who told Tabitha, and finally
Jean. Was she forgetting a few others? Probably.
She smiled wickedly. Oh, Kurt, an you thought ah was only
kidding about the electric razor thing.
Nightcrawler had been innocently watched Buffy reruns with her
and Bobby when she had slipped out and came back with her revenge. Kurt had
jumped up, screamed, and teleported out of the room with a brand new bald spot.
While she was basking in the glory of her previous retribution,
Wolverine came into the den with a frown. "We need to talk, Stripes,"
he said gruffly.
Rogue froze. Uh-oh, she thought. Let's hope Kurt's big mouth
didn't make it's way down t' Mr. Logan.
She put on her best smile and set down the book. "Sure.
What about?"
He sat down in the chair across from her. "Did you borrow
some one's motorcycle today?"
"Umm... no."
"Well, we had a little friendly visit from a certain Cajun
who claimed you borrowed his bike. And he managed to blow up most of the
garage, but that's not the point. Do ya know the kid?"
"Of course," she replied. "Isn't he Gambit? The
boy who gave me the exploding card?"
"Yeah, that's him," Logan snarled. "Smells like
trouble if ya ask me."
"Oh, well, ah wouldn't know." Rogue averted her eyes.
"It's not like we're friends or anythin'."
"That's not what Storm tells me," he replied with a
smirk. "She knows all the gossip around here. Word has it that you two are
a couple."
She sighed. "It's only gossip, Mr. Logan."
"It better be," he said seriously. "Or believe
me, I'll slice that Cajun up into jambalaya."
Rogue knew he wasn't joking. "So... uh... are ya really
takin' me t' Mystique's?"
He nodded. "If you're ready t' go I can take ya over there
right now, kid."
"Well, ah guess now's as good a time as any," she
responded with a soft sigh.
Wolverine looked at her strangely. "Why do you want to
talk to Mystique anyway? I mean, you do remember everything she did to ya,
don't you?"
Ah'm only goin' cause Kitty had t' make up the stupidest excuse
in the history o' man. She smiled up at him. "Um, it's just kinda
complicated."
"I see," Logan replied skeptically.
* ~ *
Colossus stared at the painting in front of him with disgust. "It's
still no good..." he groaned, preparing to discard the disaster.
"Looks fine t' Gambit," Remy replied, peering at the
work from over his roommate's shoulder. The model was fairly pretty in an
innocent sort of way. She had brown hair that was swept up in a ponytail and
hazel eyes. Actually, it reminded him of one of Rogue's friends. "Hey,
homme, ain't dat one o' de X-Geeks? Kitty or somet'ing?"
He blushed a little. "Yes. She's in my art class and I
thought she'd make a beautiful work of art."
Gambit let out a low whistle. "Looks like you got it bad. Mebbe
you show Kitty one o' dose paintin's an she might return de feelin'... Filles
<girls> really do go for de artistes <artists- that wasn't obvious or
anything>."
"I'd be too embarrassed..." Piotr admitted
sheepishly. "She probably thinks I'm only some bad guy."
"You two could double-date wit me an Rogue, non?"
"So what did you two do last night?" he asked,
changing the subject.
Remy smirked. "Dough Gambit wished John's words were true,
we didn't do not'ing much but talk an hold hands. Rogue can't touch people wit
out dem bein' hurt."
"You really like her, don't you?" he asked. "Our
famous ladies' man is actually falling for one girl!"
He shook his head. "Gambit never belonged t' one
girl."
Piotr shook his head with a chuckle. "Deny it all you
want, Remy, but we all know you like her."
* ~ *
Rogue rang the doorbell with impatience. Let's just get this
over with... she thought. What's a good conversation starter with her anyway? Maybe
"So, who are you pretending to be these days?" would be a good
ice-breaker.
Mystique answered the door. "Hi, sweetheart," she
said.
The goth cringed at her adoptive mother's usage of pet names. Why
is she gettin' all mushy on me now? Just cause ah know her secret now doesn't
mean she has t' act different.
"Well, are you going to come in or just stand there?"
"Ah'll come in," Rogue sighed. She turned and gave
Wolverine some sort of hand signal. Reluctantly, Logan drove off as Rogue
walked into the boarding house.
"We need to talk," Mystique said once they were
inside.
How many times have ah heard this before? Rogue asked herself
as she sat down on a half-way decent couch. "Yeah, what about? Didn't seem
like ya wanted t' talk much before."
She narrowed her eyes. "Don't even start with me. You came
here, so obviously you don't hate me as much as you pretend to."
Rogue propped her feet on the coffee table. "Believe me,
this isn't mah first pick on how t' spend mah Sunday night. Ah had no choice
but t' come here."
"And how else would you spend tonight?" Mystique
asked snidely, pacing a bit. She stopped and looked her foster daughter
straight in the eye. "Perhaps you intended to spend the evening with that
pickpocket you seem so fond of."
"Whatever Kurt said, it was a lie."
She smirked. "Ah, but I only need him to clarify my
suspicions."
Rogue looked up at her strangely. "You were that psycho
blonde chick in the park!" she exclaimed, pointing an condemning finger.
Raven chuckled. "Close, dear, but no cigar." She
shifted into the male police officer Rogue had encountered the day before. "Remember
me?"
"Y'r a lot sicker than ah thought!" she exclaimed,
rising from the couch in anger. "T' trick me like that! Ah honestly
thought ya were gonna shoot me!"
"Now why would I do that?"
"Wouldn't be
completely outta character," Rogue mumbled, remembering the time that
Mystique had tried to throw she and Cyclops off a cliff.
"That's not fair," the woman replied, offended. "I
truly do care for you. That's why I wanted to talk to you about Gambit."
"Lemme guess, you think it's a bad idea, don'tcha?" Rogue
asked.
"Well, yes-"
"See!" Rogue interrupted. "Jean an Kitty might
think it's cute, but y'r just like the rest o' them! So what if ah like him? He's
honest an kind- even Remy's got better qualities than you!" She was
surprised at the words tumbling out of her mouth. Why am ah standin' up f'r
him?
"He's a liar and a cheat," Mystique retorted with
contempt. "He works for Magneto for Christ's sake! What does that fact
alone tell you about your boyfriend's moral judgment?"
She gave her a look of death. "Yeah, well you should be
talkin'. Correct me if ah'm wrong, but you sound just like a hypocrite right
now. Why should you o' all people be givin' me advice on 'moral judgment'? You
sure as hell weren't around t' teach me life lessons like that!"
"Watch your language, young lady!"
"No!" Rogue screamed. "Ah'm sick o' listenin' t'
ya insult an berate me! You think ah'm a child! Ah can handle mah own life! You
weren't there when ah was younger- an recently ya've only been around t'
royally fuck me up!"
Mystique's voice was lowered into a dangerous hiss as she stood
inches away from Rogue. "Don't you ever talk to me like that again. You
may not think I'm your mother, but I am. I've been more of a mother to you than
the one who conceived you, so don't pull that 'you neglected me' bullshit. I've
been there, and I have a right to tell my daughter why she may not date a
certain biy. I didn't adopt you to loose my motherly privileges, did I?"
She sighed and collapsed back on the couch in defeat. Mystique
did have a point. "Then talk."
"Rogue, need I remind you that boys with his reputation
are only after one thing?"
"No, ah know that's what it seems like. But... why would
he want me if he just wanted sex?"
She inhaled sharply. "I don't know, dear. Sometimes, men
enjoy the chase. Over time, though, he will realize that without a prize, it
wasn't worth it. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Her heart sank. "...Yeah. Ah get it."
"Now, I'm not saying you aren't worth the chase. You are
an extremely beautiful young woman, and I can see why he was easily attracted
to you. However, you know as well as I do that guys like Gambit are the
hands-on type. Although I don't approve of any relationship going in that
direction, it will never even stray down that road. You simply can't be
touched, and you will never have a normal relationship because of that."
"Besides, you could do much better than a scoundrel like
."
"Yeah right," Rogue said, sinking further into the
cushions. Raven's words hadn't helped very much. "Even Scott never liked
me."
"Well, look who's he's dating," replied Mystique with
a disgusted face. "I think it's definitely safe to say that Mr. Morality
got the short end of the stick."
She would've laughed if she didn't feel so depressed.
The older woman sat down next to Rogue and put her arm around
her. "Aw, don't tell me you're mad about what I said?"
"No," she lied.
Mystique sighed. "You wanted honesty from me, didn't
you?" She paused. "Well, I honestly don't think it will work out
between you two. And that's the truth."
Anger flushed Rogue's face as she pushed her mother away. "You
have no right to even say that! How many relationships have worked out in your
case? You couldn't even sustain one with your children!"
She opened her mouth as though to say something, but Rogue
spoke first. "Ah can't believe ah'm even listenin' t' y'r advice on boys! You've
never even been married, though you've had Kurt an Gawd knows how many other
kids!"
"Rogue tha-"
She rose from the couch. "What's next? If you keep talkin'
about things you don't know about, then why birth control? Or parentin'? You
wanna talk about that?"
"Rogue, listen to me!"
"NO!" she yelled. The sound echoed through the house,
and the Brotherhood hid even farther away from the two angry women. "Ah'm
not lettin' you tell me how t' live mah life!"
"It's my life as well!" Mystique argued. "I
raised you!"
"That's where y'r wrong," she snapped, opening the
door to leave. "Irene raised me."
Mystique grabbed Rogue's arm. "Where do you think you're
going?"
She yanked her arm from the woman's grasp. "Home!"
"How?"
"Ah'll walk!" she screamed, slamming the door.
Mystique watched as the door closed right in her face. She
sighed. Wow. I really screwed up there, didn't I?
Rogue wrapped her arms around her body, trying to keep warm. She
wished she hadn't been so angry and stubborn. Maybe then she would've thought
to grab her coat on her way out.
Someone already had that in mind. A brown trench coat was lay
on her shoulders. She pulled it tightly around her body as she looked up into
Remy's sympathetic eyes. "Hey," she said softly.
"Quel est mauvais <what's wrong>, chere?" he
asked. The concern was written all over his face.
She offered a weak smile. "Nothin', just some... family
issues."
Gambit didn't pry. "You need a ride?"
Rogue nodded. "Yeah."
She shivered in the cold, January air as she climbed onto
Gambit's bike. She held onto his waist and laid her head on his shoulder with a
sigh. "Gambit...?" she said as he started up the bike.
"Hmmm?"
"...Thanks."