Chapter Nine
"Be careful, Rogue," Remy warned.
"If you're so worried about this client, why are we meeting her?"
"Just because she doesn't have a past doesn't mean she won't be a good client, we just have to be careful at this first meeting is all."
"So then what will you do? If we can't trust her to pay up, what's the point?"
"The point is I get to question her. I'll know if she's lying and if she is, we say no."
Rogue nodded her understanding. They were both dressed in all black, Remy had his contacts in to hide his eyes while Rogue's white hair was hidden under a baseball cap. They had to keep their guard up, which is why they had scoped out the meeting place (a disused warehouse) the day before and now had arrived two hours early.
They were standing behind a stack of boxes in the warehouse, waiting for any sign that the client was here. They looked at each other as they heard the door open, then the sound of heels clicking across the concrete floor.
"Hello? Mr Gambit, are you here?" A British accent rang out.
Remy signalled to Rogue and as he stepped out, she quietly made her way behind the client, first to make sure that no one else was with her and second, so that she would be trapped between the two of them if she wasn't who she appeared to be.
"Right here," she heard Remy say, pausing about ten feet from the woman. "So, what can I do for you?"
"I was under the impression that you worked with a partner."
"I work with more than one when I need to. Why the interest?"
"I like to know what I'm getting for my money."
"And I like to know who I'm working for. The name you gave me is an alias."
She raised her eyebrows, surprised and irritated that he had figured that out. "Very well, my real name is Lady Alice Daniels, you can see my passport if you would like."
Remy didn't step any closer but smirked. "Passports can be faked too, just like everything else."
Alice didn't speak again and the pair just watched each other, sizing each other up. Finally Alice couldn't keep silent no more.
"Well, do you want to know what this job is or not?"
"Not," he said, taking a step backwards. "You haven't said one true thing since you got here so, sorry sister, but you'll have to find yourself another thief."
Without warning, Alice launched herself at Remy. They fought for a moment with neither getting the upper hand, both very skilled fighters. Remy pulled out a card and charged it. She activated something in her handbag and suddenly her form became her normal form, blue skinned, yellow eyed and red haired. Although his powers worked with a dampener on, Remy was momentarily struck dumb by the change in her appearance, and she took her opportunity to hit Remy over the head, knocking him unconscious.
"You think that you can keep my daughter from me, you filthy thief! You will tell me where she is before we are done, or I'll make you wish that you were never born!"
He couldn't hear her, but Mystique had been searching for her daughter for a year with no luck, and she was starting to get desperate. It was quite by chance that she overheard the brotherhood talking about a mutant with white streaks in her hair, as well as the ability to fly and shapeshift. It had then taken her a while to find a phone number for Gambit, her daughter's supposed partner, but eventually she was able to break into Magneto's hideout and find it.
She had hoped that Rogue would accompany Gambit to this meeting. She had found out all she could about him and it seemed that he was working with a female partner these days. As much as she hated the thought of her daughter with this degenerate, she prayed that Rogue was with him because if not, it would mean that Mystique would have to keep searching.
She began to tie Gambits wrists when from nowhere, she was thrown away from him. She turned back to see her daughter, standing over Gambit, and looking ready to explode.
Rogue had been by the door when Mystique attacked Gambit, but she knew well enough not to rush in. Her secrecy was the biggest advantage she had, so she silently made her way over to them, although it was hard to remain quiet once she saw Mystique take her true form. She had hoped to never see her mother again. She already had too much blood on her hands and she didn't want any more and if she met her momma again, she wasn't sure that she could leave her alive.
She realised that Mystique had a power dampener with her. Rogue expected it really, because if she had done her research into Rogue, she would know how powerful her daughter was these days. As athletic and skilled as Mystique was, she was no match for Rogue, not any more.
She didn't care about her powers right now though, all she could think about was destroying this woman who had hurt Remy, once and for all. Mini-Remy was yelling at her to get her emotions in control but she ignored him. After seeing Mystique knock Remy unconscious, it was all she could do not to rip her to shreds on the spot.
Coming up behind her, she launched a kick at Mystiques rear that send her flying ten feet across the room. She smiled coldly as she realised that even with the dampener, she still had her powers. Maybe not full strength, but more than enough to kick her mothers ass.
"Hi Momma," she snarled.
Mystique turned to face her, looking shocked. "You're here!"
"And so are you. Now you have two choices, leave me and Gambit alone forever, or die for handing me over to those sadists!"
"Anna-Marie, I had to do that, please let me explain!"
"You did it to save your own skin and you know it! They made me absorb you first, remember, Momma?" she spat the name like it was a curse, "so don't even think about lying."
"NO! Please listen! Irene said that you had to go through that, that Hydra would make you stronger. I didn't want to lose you but she insisted."
"And it had nothing to do with saving your own skin, of course."
"I know how it looks, Rogue, but please, listen to me. I love you. I have been searching for you ever since I found out that you had escaped from them."
"If you really loved me, if you really wanted what was best for me, you would never have handed a frightened, 13 year old girl who idolised you, over to them in the first place! And if you were really sorry, you wouldn't have left me there for almost five fucking years!"
"Language, Anna!"
"My name isn't Anna no more, and you ain't my momma either. Now this is your last chance. Leave now."
"I'm sorry, Rogue, but I can't do that." She actually did look sorry for a moment, but then she launched herself at Rogue, who flew up, out of her reach.
"What- but- how-"
"I learned a few new tricks since we last met, Momma. I got myself a neat little gizmo that helps me override that dampening field." It wasn't the truth. In fact Rogue didn't even know why she was suddenly so good at using her powers; she was weaker, but she felt in full control of all her gifts. If she had to guess, she'd say it was her rage fuelling her. Regardless of why though, Rogue didn't want to tell even the smallest truth to this woman.
She flew down towards Mystique, who seemed frozen with shock, then put as much force as she could behind the blow she delivered. Mystique was thrown through boxes and pallets until she hit the warehouse wall, then fell to the ground, unconscious. It was a good thing Rogue didn't have her full strength really, because a blow like that could have killed Mystique and Rogue still needed information.
Next Rogue stamped on the dampener with as much force as she could muster, then she picked Remy up in her arms and went over to Mystique. She gently lowered Remy to the ground, took a knife out of her tool belt and slit a shallow cut across Mystiques neck, ear to ear. This was an intimidation tactic that she had been taught by Hydra. Then she placed Mystiques hand flat against the floor and drove the knife through it, into the concrete beneath.
"That's for hurting Gambit," she told her mother.
Although she really didn't want the woman in her head, she knew she needed to find out what was happening, and so she removed one glove and gently touched her mothers cheek. She was rewarded with a flood of memories but just filed them away for the moment. Right now her priority was Remy. That blow to his head had been hard, but probably not fatal since Mystique seemed to want him alive. At least she hoped so.
Cradling him in her arms once more, she left the warehouse and turned back. She used the powers of a mutant who could create earthquakes and reduced the building to a shell. She felt that should be sufficient warning enough to Mystique, so took off with Remy and flew them back to their apartment.
***
Remy awoke in Rogue's arms, flying over the Chicago skyline, back to their apartment.
"Thank God you're awake," Rogue said. "I was so worried."
"What happened?" Remy asked. He had a splitting headache and could only remember a little of what had happened.
"That... that was my momma."
"Mystique?" Had his eyebrows risen any higher, they would have been in his hair line. "She gave you to the military?"
"Hydra," she said. "She gave me to Hydra. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I thought that... well, if I didn't use their name, they weren't real."
Rogue touched down on their balcony, sat Remy on one of the chairs and quickly picked the lock on the balcony doors before helping him inside.
"I'm fine," Remy assured her, though he liked that she fussed over him.
She prodded his head, got him some pain killers, then she sat on the coffee table in front of him and asked him to follow her finger with his eyes. Remy had finally had enough of being taken care of though, because Rogue was under threat. He grabbed her hands and held them tightly in his own.
"I'm fine, Rogue," he repeated. "Now tell me what happened while I was out?"
"I don't really know. She wants me back for something, wants to use me but I don't know why?"
"Did you absorb her?"
Rogue nodded. Remy moved her from the coffee table until she was sitting beside him on the couch.
"So tell me what you saw."
Rogue nodded and began to try and sift through the memories she had taken.
"Something about a man called En Sabah Nur. She, Irene and another mutant with tattoos on his face, want to wake him up."
"What does 'wake him up' mean?"
"I don't know. Maybe I absorbed him once and they need me to wake him up from his coma or something?"
"Do you remember absorbing someone called that?"
Rogue shook her head.
"Did Hydra ever mess with your memories?"
"I don't think so. They put this chip in my head but I don't remember ever missing any time or anything."
"And how serious is Mystique about this?"
"Very. She said she'd been searching for me ever since I escaped. In fact, I think this might be the whole reason that she adopted me."
"How could she know the future?"
"Irene, she's also called Destiny. Mo- She said that was why she gave me to Hydra, because Irene said it would make me strong."
"She really believes that quack then?"
Rogue nodded. "And more than that, she loves her. She and Irene raised me together, though mostly Irene, 'cos Mystique was away a lot."
Remy shook his head in disgust. How could two people raise a child, then hand her over to a group like Hydra? He could only conclude that Mystique and Irene were sociopaths, unable to love anyone else or feel empathy. He was absolutely certain that Rogue was just as lovable when she was younger as she was now, so it would take an immensely selfish and cruel heart to ever seek to cause her pain.
"Anything else about this man they're waking up?"
"I don't... I get the impression that he's old, like hundreds of years old, but I must have that wrong."
"He could be that old, like Sabretooth, lord only knows how old he is. Maybe he's a healer. Even Mystique is said to be over a hundred years old."
"Maybe," Rogue didn't sound convinced. "And there's something about the word apocalypse. I think it's related to this En Sabah Nur character but I don't know if that means he'll bring about an apocalypse, or prevent one, or… I just don't know what to make of it. The whole idea of the world ending is a little ridiculous."
"I'll see what I can find out." Remy said, taking her into his arms.
"How?" she asked, though her words were muffled by his chest.
"I still have contacts. Maybe they can't help, but maybe they can. I also suggest we get out of here now, tonight. Mystique knows you're here now, and it doesn't sound like she's going to just give up."
"Then let's pack. I want to get as far away from that woman as humanly possible."
"Or mutantly possible," Remy smiled.
***
They left their car, it was only a junker anyway, and Rogue flew them to Toronto. The idea was that if they flew, they wouldn't leave any scent that could be tracked. It was about 400 miles though, further than Rogue had ever flown before and she had to take a break after almost 200 miles, then again every hundred miles after that.
They arrived in Toronto at 6am, before the sun was up, so they found an all night diner and ordered some breakfast.
Remy had turned his work phone off since Mystique had called him on it and he didn't want to take any chances, guild phone or not. He had a private phone (in a fake name), which he now used to access the internet and look up local apartments and short term rentals in the area. They stayed in the diner until 9am, then Remy called a few places and arranged a rental for that afternoon. In the meantime, they headed to the motor district and Remy bought a second hand Kawasaki bike. Finally they headed to a coffee shop not far from the apartment that they would be renting, and waited there until they could check in.
It was at times like this that Remy wished he still had a house, a home, somewhere that you didn't have he check in or out of at set times, although holiday apartments were generally easier about that than hotels were.
They were both tired but Rogue especially so after flying so far. Regardless of all the coffee they had ingested, by the time they were in the apartment, Rogue dropped her bag by the door and lay down on the couch to sleep. Remy picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, laying her on the bed.
He turned his work phone on, knowing that it couldn't be traced (and praying that that hadn't changed for some reason) then he placed a few calls to trusted friends and clients, asking about this En Sabah Nur character. He knew it would take them a while to get back to him, so he headed into the bedroom and lay beside Rogue on the bed.
He didn't turn the power inhibitor on, in fact he figured that Rogue wouldn't want anything to do with the blasted machine for a while. Besides, it was likely that it would even work any longer. He was pleased that she'd been able to override Mystique's dampener when she needed to, but that could mean the end of their intimate relationship. He would miss it, but it didn't change how he felt about Rogue.
Right now, he just prayed that he could keep her safe.