Rogue lagged behind Kitty on the way to school. The first snowflake of winter melted on her nose, despite the month being only October. The schizophrenic weather was starting to bother her; the temperature had been sixty degrees Fahrenheit the day before. It was better than summer, at least. August was scorching, hottest on record, and Rogue had sweated it out in long sleeves and gloves. It wasn’t quite as bad when everyone else was covered up too.
“Rogue, we gotta hurry! I can’t be late to class again!” Kitty called back.
Pryde was ten yards ahead, passing by the alleyway between the rebuilt gymnasium and the maintenance area. Scott had put them through another brutal battle exercise that morning. Rogue was convinced he was transferring his anger and resentment towards Jean onto the team. Maybe if somebody died during one of these ‘workouts,’ Summers would realize the rest of the world still existed whether or not Jean Grey was his girlfriend.
Rogue walked faster for a few feet, but her pace slowed just as she approached the alley. She’d been thinking about Remy LeBeau a lot. Last Monday, while she was paying for lunch in the cafeteria, the playing card he gave her – the Queen of Hearts – fell out of her wallet and flitted under the salad bar. She felt idiotic scrambling on the floor, but she couldn’t lose it. Right now she wished he’d show up once more, waiting in the alley, like that day back in spring.
God, how crazy could she be? She was pining for the guy who took her captive, smuggled her south to New Orleans on a freight train, and lied to her repeatedly. As the tracks rumbled beneath the boxcar he sprinkled her ears with deceptions so sweet she soon began to believe them.
He held her gloved hand when they leapt from the freight car two miles north of the French Quarter. Half an hour later, as they strolled down Bienville Street, he draped his arm around her shoulders. Rogue forgot she’d been kidnapped.
Oblivious to the snow that was currently collecting on her coat, she felt warm inside. She was remembering the taste of the jambalaya they shared that night at the out of the way jazz club he took her to. In between bites they laughed and smiled at each other. When sworn enemies of the LeBeau family, known as the Rippers, interrupted the meal and attacked Remy, Rogue jumped to defend him.
One of the thugs had Gambit by the throat and was about to smash a fist into his face. Without hesitating for a second, she floored the rival gangster with a single touch from her exposed left hand. Armed with the knowledge she absorbed, she guided Remy through the bayou to the Rippers’ stronghold.
Then came the tumble down the embankment. Remy got up first and inexplicably allowed his little finger to brush her cheek. He was instantly knocked unconscious and Rogue learned the truth. He had taken her to the club because he knew they’d be discovered there; and in the midst of a fight he figured she would use her powers and subsequently gain the information he required. She had been played. Her fury was so intense, she almost left him for dead; he’d used her like everyone else. But the touch had also revealed the vulnerability that lay behind his swaggering façade. Remy wanted to get close to her. Even though it could kill him.
“Chérie…” A voice with a distinctive, light Cajun accent came from the alley.
Be careful what you wish for, Rogue warned herself. Turning, she saw Gambit’s charged red irises glowing in the shadows. “What do you want this time?” She tried to seem annoyed.
“Just saying hello, Rogue.” The rest of his features became visible as he emerged from the shade.
“I have class, you know.”
“Why are you still doing the school thing anyway? You're gonna be like Jean Grey and become a college girl? I don’t see it.” He stopped at the edge of the sidewalk.
“Well, I don’t want to end up like you - a thief who hangs out in alleyways.”
“I ain’t hanging out. Just passing by.” His breath steamed in the cold air.
“On your way to bed, I bet.” She moved in to show she wasn’t intimidated. “Big party last night?” They were so close she had to raise her chin to talk to him.
“Not very big. But there is something tonight. And I was thinking you and I might go together…”
“You mean the Hellfire Club? You want to come with me to the gala for the Professor?” She backed away and looked up at the classroom windows in the main building. “I wasn’t planning on going.”
“Well, maybe now you reconsider, chére.”
What was she doing? She should be in French class. Then again, it was likely she’d learn more French being with Remy than listening to her teacher. “Why should I?”
“Why not? We’ll have a fine time.”
“Sure we will. Why do you want to go? The real reason.” She blinked to clear her lashes of snowflakes.
“All business and no pleasure avec toi. I’m tracking somebody for the boss.”
Her forehead tightened. “You’re back with Magneto? Why?”
“Got to rest my head somewhere. Can’t be just anywhere, ‘cause there’re people who’d like to chop it off.”
“Why didn’t you come to the Institute?”
The breeze swirling around him carried the scent of spices. “You know why, chére. Not my scene. But it doesn’t make us enemies. Magneto and Xavier are like two old spinsters these days – playing chess and drinking tea every Wednesday afternoon.”
“Yeah. It’s weird. But they used to be friends, you know, long ago.”
“Well there’s one thing Magnus needs that his old pal Xavier won’t do. And that’s why I got to find this telepath. He goes by Mastermind.”
“Mastermind? Kurt told me about him. He messed up Wanda, changed her memories so she wouldn’t hate her father anymore.” Her eyes shifted from Remy to the path to the school.
“And those bad thoughts are coming back ‘cause Mister Mastermind disappeared without finishing the job,” LeBeau went on, stepping onto the sidewalk. “Since your Professor has refused to help, the boss needs this guy. There’s a girl Mastermind sent messages to named Emma Frost, and if my information is correct, she is the hostess this evening.”
The wind wound down. The only noise came from the intermittent traffic on Route 22. She looked at him again. “I’m not going to help you find Mastermind so Magneto can give Wanda another psychic lobotomy. No way.”
“There’re other reasons to locate him. He was real interested in you X-Men. Especially Jean Grey. He went through all the records on the system. And I heard him asking Mesmero about her. He wanted to find out how Mesmero was able to control another telepath.”
Something stirred in the alley behind Remy. A familiar swish sound made Rogue picture the back of Kitty’s head when she flicked her ponytail during an abrupt turn.
“I’m not sure. I have to leave…”
“You want this weird guy taking over your friend Jean’s mind like Mesmero did? Everybody’s saying her powers have gone off the charts.” Tiny ice crystals glistened on the back of his leather glove as he gently pressed her coat sleeve. “Come on, chére. What else are you gonna do tonight? Stay in and watch tv?”