X-men Evolution Fan Fiction ❯ Starting Today ❯ Chapter 29

 

O-o-o-o-O

Friday morning was clear and quiet. A normally empty corner of Ororo Munroe's garden was now full of people. The members of Xavier's Institute gathered together dressed in their best as they laid to rest one who had been an enemy. A simple marble headstone marked the grave of Raven Darkholme, also known as Mystique. Professor Xavier sat in his wheelchair near her grave as he spoke of the sorrow she had known in her childhood and how it had driven her to want change for mutants.

“Though she cannot be here now to see the change she wanted”, he continued, “she may be glad to know that her children continue to fight for that change, along with the rest of us here.”

He finished his eulogy and offered a chance for anyone else to speak. Not surprisingly, no one else spoke up. The Brotherhood was there, but Rogue didn't think they'd have anything nice to say about their former leader. She was standing next to Kurt, with Irene on her other side, one gloved hand with hers. She was glad that Irene had agreed to allow Raven to be buried here at the Institute. The Professor had readily agreed too, and had made the arrangements very quickly. She was a little surprised that everyone at the mansion was here, but then she guessed she shouldn't be. The Professor had said that he wouldn't force anyone to attend, but that it was a gesture of respect to Rogue and Kurt and he would be disappointed if anyone didn't show up. Even Magneto and the Acolytes were here. That one had surprised Rogue; she had thought that Raven and Mags were on the outs with each other. She supposed though that the fact that they had worked together in the past would outweigh their current enmity. And maybe he wanted to make sure that she was really dead, she thought bitterly.

The only ones that weren't there were Essex and Sabertooth; and she was very thankful for that. One, because she couldn't look at the hairy mutant without recalling her mother dying in front of her, and two, they really didn't need a fight between him and Logan breaking out in the middle of the funeral.

Remy was on the other side of the crowd and it was so hard not to look at him. She could tap into his empathy though and she felt him; sorrow and love and longing for her, and it made her just want to run over to where he was and hug him tightly. He had been supportive of her through all of this; she just wished there was something she could do for him in return, but she supposed she'd have a quite awhile when everything was finished with to think of something to do for him.

Rogue shook herself out of her reverie and noticed that people were starting to walk away. She released Irene's hand and took the small bouquet of white roses that she had in her free hand and laid them on Raven's grave. She then went back to Irene and started to escort her back to the mansion. She glanced briefly in Remy's direction and saw him give her a tiny smile and a wink as he headed towards the metal pinballs he and the other Acolytes and taken to get here. She heard the mental voice in her head. I'm sorry for your mere Chere, I'd hold you right now if I could.

Merci, Remy.

You busy tonight?

No, why?

Come dancing with me.

Are you crazy? You're about to kidnap the Morlocks tomorrow.

So? All the more reason to get out. I want to see you again. I haven't held you since Wednesday morning and it's driving me crazy.

Okay, okay. Hang on, let me ask the Professor.

Professor, can I go out with Remy tonight?

Is this business related?

Well, no, but if things don't go well tomorrow it might be my last chance to see him.....

Alright, you can go.

Thanks Professor!

Remy, he said I can go. I'll see you tonight.

Bon. Je t'aime Chere.

Love you too Remy.

The telepathy faded and she watched the rest of the Acolytes leave. She knew the Professor had asked Magneto and the others to stay after the service for refreshments, but he had declined. Probably need to finish plotting with your little mad scientist. she thought to herself. Knowing what she knew about what he and Essex were going to do tomorrow, it was hard for her to keep her mouth shut around the Master of Magnetism today. Professor Xavier seemed to sense that though and placed her and the Acolytes on opposite sides of the crowd so they wouldn't run into each other.

A BAMF sounded next to her and Kurt was at her side. “Are you okay, liebes? You look a little out of it.”

“I'm okay. I guess I'm a little surprised to see Magneto here, is all.”

Irene smiled a little. “It may surprise you, but Erik and Raven were friends, once upon a time, along with Charles. Despite whatever else happened between them, I think it is that friendship he comes to mourn today.”

Kurt stared at her a moment. “You're right Miss Adler, that does surprise me.”

“Please Kurt, call me Irene. Rogue's told me so much about you, I feel like I know you already. You have your mother's beauty.”

Kurt blushed, then looked startled. “How..........?”

Rogue chuckled. “It's taken me awhile to get used to her being able to see the future too.”

“Danke, Irene. No one's ever called me beautiful before.” Rogue could tell that her brother was truly touched.

“Well they should, young man. You are something quite rare.” She turned her head. “Rogue, if I may have a moment to pay my respects to Raven?”

“Yes, of course Irene.” The woman nodded and somehow unerringly found her way to the grave, where she stood quietly.

“They were very close to each other, jah?”

Rogue nodded, but didn't say anything. She knew from Remy that Irene and her mother had been more than friends for many years now. From the grief she felt from Irene, she understood now that they had been partners in every way possible. She wasn't used to such relationships but her foster mother was hurting and that was all that mattered.

Irene spoke quietly for a couple of minutes then made her way back to them. “Are you ready to go back now Irene?” Rogue asked.

“Yes, please. Let's go.”

The three of them made their way back to the mansion where the others were already partaking of refreshments in the formal dining room. The Brotherhood was actually behaving themselves for once; Toad had taken a bath for the occasion, and was wandering around the room nibbling at various dishes under Storm's watchful eye. Scott and Lance were having a glaring match; the latter hadn't stopped trying to get Kitty back ever since she had started dating Kurt. She was currently sitting on one side of the room with Jean, looking like she wanted to avoid the boys. Amara, Jubilee and Rhane were gossiping and giggling in the corner; Amara hadn't gotten over the fact that her favorite author was an Acolyte, and after seeing him at the funeral she had gotten out her autographed copy of his latest book to show the other girls. Needless to say they were quite jealous. She had loved it when he had given her flaming roses at the mall, but she wasn't sure what to do about his attention. It was very flattering, but her family would flip if she started dating an Australian romance novelist, and her team would flip if she dated the enemy. He was rather cute though....................

Pietro and Bobby were playing video games in the Rec room, while Wanda sat on the couch making snide comments. Rogue and Kurt walked in and Wanda looked up. “I'm sorry about your mom, guys. I mean, she was a bitch and everything, but still.”

Rogue nodded. She couldn't argue there; Raven had been a bitch. “Thanks Wanda.” She looked at the two boys. “So who's winning?”

Wanda snickered. “Depends on who you ask.” Pietro protested. “Hey, I'm totally kicking Icecube's butt here.” “Yeah well if Evan were here you'd be singing a different tune.”

“Well he's not so you just shut up and keep on losing like the loser you are.”

Wanda rolled her eyes. “Wow Pietro, that was just, such an incredible line.”

Rogue shook her head. “The level of maturity in here is just so underwhelming.”

Kurt flopped down on the couch next to Wanda, earning him a glare. Being used to his sister, he ignored it and turned his attention to the game players. “Hey, can I play winner?”

Rogue sighed and left the room.

O-o-o-o-O

After lunch, and spending the afternoon with Irene, she decided to take a nap. She woke up that evening to find Kitty gone out with Kurt. She changed into her clubbing clothes and bamfed down to the garage. She almost took her Jeep but then decided that it was such a nice night, she wanted to feel the wind in her hair and the hum of a nice piece of machinery between her legs. She looked over at Logan's bike and a grin spread over her face. He'd kill her, but what the hell...................

O-o-o-o-O

(AN: Normally I despise author's notes in the middle of a story, but it's necessary here. This is the point where everyone needs to go back and reread “Tonight” and the first two chapters of this story before continuing on, because, yes, we are now at the present. Don't worry, everyone will wait where they are while you read, no one's going anywhere. [Chaos, Rogue and Remy start up a poker game while everyone goes back and reads])

O-o-o-o-O

Saturday morning..................

Today was the day. Everything would either go right or it would all go to hell. Remy of course was hoping for the former. He had been up early this morning; Magneto had insisted that everyone spend the night at the base so they'd be on time for the pre- mission meeting. Remy sat the kitchen table playing solitaire and drinking a cup of coffee while John watched cartoons and Piotr cooked breakfast. John wasn't allowed around stoves for obvious reasons. He tended to get excited around open flames, and accidents happened when John got excited about things. They'd had a hard enough time calming him down after Mystique's funeral yesterday, when John had seen the object of his affections from afar. He had wanted to go over and talk to her, but Piotr had managed to drag him back to the metal pinballs without too much of a fuss. Being able to turn oneself into a metal giant has its advantages.

Remy looked down, saw that he had lost the game, and started to shuffle the deck for a new game. Does it count as losing when you lose to yourself? He wasn't really sure. It definitely wasn't the same as winning though. Where was his mind? It wasn't on his card game. He knew where his mind was. Part of it was on the beautiful fille sleeping across town, wishing he was curled up with her, and part of his mind was on the unpleasant job he and his team were supposed to do today. They were supposed to kidnap a group of mutants just so Dr. Essex could experiment on them; tinker with their genes and make soldiers out of them for Magneto. Fourteen mutants, one of them the nephew of Rogue's instructor Storm; none of whom had done anything wrong. It had just been decided for them that they would make good little soldiers for Magneto's army. Welcome to the new mutant draft, mon amis., he thought with a bitter mental chuckle.

Well, not if he and the X-Men had their way, he thought. No, when Mags got down to the Morlocks tunnel today he was going to find a surprise waiting for him. Instead of some unsuspecting Morlocks he was going to find some prepared Morlocks, some more than prepared X-Men, and himself with one less Acolyte. Mags could take his contract and shove it up his ass, because Remy LeBeau quit. He had a much better offer, the main perk of which was the heart, soul and body of one very beautiful Southern belle.

Remy's contemplation of his future happiness was interrupted by Magneto entering the room, followed by Sabertooth and Essex. He looked over at the two in the kitchen, then at John in the living room.

“Pyro! Turn off that television and get over here now.”

“Aw, mate! This was just getting good. Buttercup was about to kick Mojo Jojo's arse.”

“I don't care. I'm not paying you to watch cartoons. Now get over here.”

John sighed and grumbled under his breath as he turned off the TV and wandered into the kitchen. He sat down next to Remy and laid his head on his shoulder. “Remmmmy”, John whined, “Mags made me turn off me cartoons.”

Remy didn't even look at him as he pushed his head away. “I know mon ami, but what do you expect me to do about it?”

John sniffed in a pathetic manner. “Blow him up.”

Remy snorted. “You crazy, boy. You blow him up.”

Magneto rolled his eyes. He was used to this at his morning meetings. “Will you both please shut up. I'm trying to have a meeting here.” The noise died down. “Thank you. Now there have been some changes to our plans. Instead of just us going in with the knockout gas, after thinking things over I've decided that we are going to need some help. Dr. Essex, if you would let our guests in please?”

Essex opened the door and in walked eight of the nastiest looking mutants Remy had seen in a while. He smirked and started pointing to each mutant. “Let me introduce Blockbuster, Riptide, Arclight, Vertigo, Prism, Harpoon, Scrambler and Scalphunter. They've already allowed me to use my procedures on them and I can proudly say that they are a match for just about any mutant out there.”

Remy was in shock. He had to warn Rogue. She had no idea that these guys were coming. She thought that she and her friends would just be facing him and the other Acolytes today. He slowly got up from the table. “Excuse me, I just need to get something before we start.”

Essex smiled. It made Remy's blood run cold. “My dear boy, you won't be going anywhere. Vertigo, if you please.” The woman he spoke to grinned and the next thing Remy knew he felt sick to his stomach. Arclight came around the table and held him with what felt like arms of steel. He struggled but he couldn't move an inch.

“What did I tell you Erik, the boy would try to escape and warn his partner once he found out about the change in plans. Won't the X-Men be surprised when they have more company than they expected later on?”

Outwardly Remy showed no sign of surprise but inwardly he was panicking. Merde! He knows! How the hell did he know? Either Essex read Sabertooth's mind before Rogue wiped it or there had been cameras at that lab. Why the hell hadn't he checked for fucking cameras? Some thief he was. He'd never be able to show his face in New Orleans again if this ever got out.

He looked around. Sabertooth was looking at him with malicious glee. They'd never liked each other. John looked shocked, and Piotr looked sad and somewhat understanding. Out of them all, he would understand Remy's desire to leave Magneto.

Essex spoke up. “What would you like me to do with him, Erik?”

“Knock him out and put him on the truck. Then you can do what you want with him. I care nothing for traitors.” Magneto turned around and left the room.

“Aren't you wishing now that you had just agreed to work with me years ago, like I had wanted you to?” Essex was looking absolutely gleeful by this point, and Remy was feeling sick to his stomach.

“No, I'm wishing I had never met you in the first place, because the sight of you is turning my stomach now just like it did then.”

“Hmph. Still the comedian. Arclight, put him to sleep please.”

The mutant holding him let go of one arm to deliver a sharp crack to the skull and Remy knew no more.

O-o-o-o-O