X-men Evolution Fan Fiction ❯ Starting Today ❯ Chapter 5

AN: The third season Evo script has been given to Pyro to use for a barbecue. I've got my own agenda and don't have time to follow theirs. By the way, we're still in flashback mode.

Wienie roast anyone?

O-o-o-o-O

Remy's brother Henri had once convinced him when they were younger not to sweep under his bed; that if he sat and watched the dustbunnies under his bed that they would turn into monsters. Remy was young and stupid enough at the time to believe him and spent almost three hours on one occasion, waiting for them to transform. It had to have been one of the most boring moments of his life.

Remy wished he were having that much fun now.

Awaiting the evolution of dust bunnies had to be more interesting than listening to Magneto rant about mutant superiority and Pietro cower from his psychotic sister, which is what he has been doing all week since that last battle. Colossus and Pyro were both closeted in their rooms most of the time; the former buried in his endless Russian novels and the latter dividing his time between drooling over some walking flamethrower that lived at Xavier's and working on his latest bodice ripper. You wouldn't think it, but St. John Allerdyce had started a promising career as a romance novelist before working for Buckethead, and he figured that working towards mutant superiority and world domination shouldn't get in the way of that. Remy wasn't into the genre himself, but whatever kept Pyro (and his lighter) out of his hair was fine with him. Sabertooth he hadn't seen much of at all, and that suited Remy even better than not seeing Pyro. The less any of them saw of that one, the happier they all were.

Pretty much the only bright spot of his week had been seeing his little Goth girl take down Juggernaut on TV. Watching the massive mutant get his ass kicked by a Southern Belle after the collective efforts of the rest of the X-men failed made him smirk. Damn, what a woman. Remind me not to piss her off though. Memories of her delicious features had fueled his fantasies over the past few days, but a woman who could hold her own in a fight truly turned him on, and this new facet of her character promised to give a new edge to his imaginings. Remy had a vivid imagination and liked to use it extensively. The fact that his current fantasy girl could not be touched hardly fazed him at all, it simply presented a new dimension to work in. Images of silk and a feather made him consider buying some new sheets for his apartment in town. But that would imply that he was serious about bringing his fantasy into reality, wouldn't it? Well it's not like it would be the first time Remy has fraternized with the enemy. He thought to himself with a little smile, thinking back to his ex-girlfriend Belladonna. She wasn't a mutant, but among humans you didn't find people more dangerous than the Assassins Guild. Human or mutant, Assassin or X-Man though, every femme was a sucker for a handsome face, and they didn't come any more beau than Remy. He wasn't considered the King of Hearts for nothing. The ladies were always happy to grace his arm and later, usually his bed as well.

The past few months since he had moved to Bayville hadn't been too interesting though, socially. He'd met some cute girls, and been on a couple of dates, but nothing worth spending any time or effort over. Now Rogue was another matter. He could see her very easily being worth a little time, especially considering how many times he's had to clean his gloves after daydreaming about her.

Speaking of gloves, he needed some new ones. Any excuse to get off this base is a good excuse , he thought. Time to hit the mall.

O-o-o-o-O

"Isn't there a law against trying to hold Mardi Gras north of the Mason Dixon line?"

"Not the last time I checked, Rogue".

"Well there should be. Some things are just blasphemous. Like wearing an Nsync shirt to a Manson concert." Rogue was annoyed. She and Kitty had been wandering the mall for the past couple of hours, looking for costumes for the pseudo-Mardi Gras party that the school had decided to hold. She had found her own costume, but Kitty still couldn't make up her mind about hers.

Somehow the kids at Xavier's had managed not to get expelled from school, probably due to how they had handled the situations with the Sentinels and Juggernaut. I'm sure it wasn't for lack of Kelly trying , Rogue thought to herself, thinking of Bayville High's anti-mutant principal. He had done everything he could in the past week to make life as miserable as possible for the mutant population of the school, throwing out harsh punishments for minor and sometimes nonexistent transgressions.

"Remind me again why I have to go to this thing?"

"The Professor doesn't want us to appear to be backing down or hiding because of all the anti-mutant behavior in town and at school. Besides, it's Mardi Gras, Rogue; one of the biggest parties of the year. And as for it being north of the Mason Dixon line, unless you already have plans to be in New Orleans tomorrow night, this is about as close as you're going to get to the real thing." Kitty said as she looked over different dresses on the rack.

"I wish you'd hurry up and pick something, Kitty-cat. I feel like I'm losing brain cells every minute I spend among these Barbie dolls in the mall. What are you looking for, anyway?"

"Dunno. Like I'll know it when I see it. I just don't want some kiddy costume. I want something..exotic."

"How about this?" Rogue held up a genie costume. It had the gauzy, baggy pants, tight top with gauzy over shirt, and a lamp to go with it. And it was pink.

A smile appeared on Kitty's face. "That will work."

O-o-o-o-O

Remy LeBeau, since when did you become a stalker? , The young man asked himself as he made his way through the mall. Since about 15 minutes and one store ago; he thought with a smirk. Fifteen minutes ago he had been perusing gloves, minding his own business, when a sweet Southern voice grabbed his attention. It was rare enough that he heard them these days that he always noticed when he did, but this one caught him in particular. It was low, kind of husky, and when he looked up to connect it to a face, he found himself seeing the face that was now connected to some of the more erotic fantasies he's had in a long time. Hello again, Chere.

There she was, looking as lovely as when he'd seen her a week ago. And now he had a voice to connect to that face, to have whisper and moan all the naughty little things he'd wanted her to say in his visions, but couldn't because he didn't know what she sounded like. He wanted to approach her, but they were in the middle of a store and she was with one of her teammates, a pony-tailed girl-next-door type that he vaguely remembered from the battle. A confrontation in the mall would get him in trouble with Mags, and besides, he wanted to find out a little bit more about her before approaching her, get a little grasp on her personality. What he'd heard so far since he followed the girls from the last store gave him the impression that she was intelligent but sarcastic, with a bit of a temper. An intriguing mix, one he'd like to pursue a little further. He'd been debating how best to do that when Rogue brought up the upcoming festivities. Mardi Gras, eh? The girl's right, it's sacrilegious but it's perfect. No one will recognize me with a costume on, and I can spend a little time getting closer to this little Southern sweet. Au revoir for now, Chere. We'll meet up soon.

With that Remy faded into the crowd of the mall and went to find himself a costume.

O-o-o-o-O