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This story features the X-Men, which are trademarks of Marvel. All other characters belong to me. This is an unauthorized work and no profit is being made on this work. This work is copyright of me. Please ask for permission before archiving.
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She cackled. It is time for revenge she thought to herself. She looked at the strange man beside her.
"You know what I want," he said.
Their laughter echoed with sinister overtones.
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Remy LeBeau sat in his room. On his bed lay a strange collection of the things he valued most in the world. His memories. Among the collection of small items was a doll made from a wooden clothes peg. It was something his Stormy has made for him, when she had been a child and they were running around together.
Sometimes Remy missed those days. Although she had been a child Stormy was the perhaps the only person Remy had ever gotten close to in his life. He smiled as he thought back to those days. It had been them against the world.
And now here he was, against all his better judgement, living a life he was not suited to, and why? Simply because his Stormy believed in the dream. The Professors dream. It certainly wasn't his dream, it never could be. He had seen too much, been hurt and kicked in the teeth by life too many times. He was no longer capable of idealism.
So he stayed for his Stormy. His love for her demanded that he stay and protect her, as he had done when they'd first met. It wasn't a romantic love, more like the love a brother held for his sister, or the love shared by the very closest of friends. Stormy was his closest friend but still even she did not all there was to know about Remy LeBeau. Keeping secrets had started off as a necessity in his life but had now become ingrained habits.
There was a reason why today of all days he was reminiscing. He picked up a card. It was simple yet for him it was perhaps the most treasured thing in his collection. His first birthday card. He had no idea when his real birthday was, or if he'd had birthday cards before life viciously dealt him a bad hand, forcing him to live on the streets.
Only his parents could tell him, wherever and whoever they were. No, this birthday celebrated the day he'd joined the Thieves Guild as Jean-Luc LeBeau's adopted son. They had become his family, but they had been too late to save the innocent imagination and idealism of childhood. That had gone with living on the streets. The streets had hardened him until there was almost no way to soften the barriers kept around his soul.
He mourned the loss of that innocence. There would be no visions of a better world for him, he knew better. He laughed. A harsh, bitter sound.
Xavier had his dream of perfect living between mutants and flatscans, but what did he really know of either. He had been brought up with a silver spoon in his mouth, living a sheltered life that comes with wealth. He had never had to kill to survive, to eat. Never had to constantly watch his back for fear of having it literally stabbed or worse. Safe hiding places had been scarce.
His release from that had been Jean-Luc LeBeau. His adoptive father. It had taken a while for Remy to stop automatically hiding himself from everyone, and only to hide himself from those who were dangerous, but Remy had never forgotten the very early lessons of his life.
There was a knock at his door and Remy was startled from his memories.
He quickly pulled a cover over his treasures before shouting, "Oui?"
"It's me, Bobby," the door opened and Robert Drake stepped in.
"What you want?" Remy asked warily. He had never gotten on with Bobby.
"We have a training session in fifteen minutes, just checking to make sure you remembered."
Bobby grinned at the look of dismay on Gambits face, then he noticed something sticking out from under a cover on the bed.
He walked over to the bed casually, his curiosity making him ignorant of the danger he could face for his violation of Gambit's privacy. Before Remy had realized what was happening Bobby had grabbed the object from the bed. It was Stormy's doll.
"What's this Gambit? Didn't know you played with dolls," he laughed maliciously dangling the doll in front of Remy's face.
Remy very rarely lost complete control of his temper, he had learned from experience that this could be deadly to those around him, but all he could see right now, was Bobby's laughing, mocking face through shades of red.
His privacy has been invaded and violated and Remy could not control his reaction to this. His instincts took over. Instincts honed from living on the street. Before Bobby knew what was happening Remy had him, holding him tightly by the collar.
Bobby's laughter stopped abruptly. He looked into Remy's face and what he saw scared him. Remy's eyes were glowing and actually seemed to be producing sparks, but that wasn't the only part of him sparking. His whole body seemed to be glowing, and Remy's hands were burning him, but what scared him the most was the lack of emotion on Remy's face. He did not even appear to be looking at Bobby.
Bobby shouted for help, both vocally and mentally. He tried to turn into his ice form but the heat emanating from Remy prevented that. Bobby's clothes were beginning to glow and Bobby realized that they were being charged. He would be killed if Remy didn't let him go.
There was a commotion at the door and the X-Men burst into the room.
The professor called telepathically to Remy. *Remy, please, let Bobby go.*
Xavier was unprepared for the blast that hit him. It was both a mental and physical blast that pushed him back against the wall and gave him a painfully sharp headache.
Storm moved towards Remy slowly. She laid a hand on his arm. He turned and was about to blast her back too when he seemed to recognize her.
"Stormy?" he croaked, confused.
"Remy, my friend, please. Let Bobby go."
Remy turned his head and looked at Bobby as if realizing only at that moment what he was doing. His face remained expressionless but the charge on Bobby's clothes were reabsorbed into his own body and his body began to cool, no longer throwing off sparks or glowing.
He turned and noticed the X-Men for the first time. Their jaws dropped in shock. He realized the consequences of his actions and before anyone could move or say anything Remy had scrambled out of the window and away from the mansion. With a gust of wind Storm quickly followed after him.
Recovering first Hank moved quickly over to Bobby to check him over.
"A few burns, which should disappear when you take ice form," he stated matter of factly.
Bobby had now recovered from his shock and wasted no time in laying all the blame at Remy's feet, "Did you see what he did to me, he would have killed me if Storm hadn't saved me. He even attacked the Professor."
The Professors face held an expression of wonder, "Amazing. Remy actually manipulated the molecules in the air and used them to push me, and a psychic blast too, he actually blasted through my mental shields. I wasn't aware Remy had so much power. He never let anyone know did he?"
"Who cares about Remy's powers, he almost killed me," Bobby whined protestingly.
"Shut up kid. What did you do to provoke him?" Logan growled.
"Nothing, I just came in to remind him about the practice session and he went mad," Bobby said with a practiced innocent look.
Logan growled and extended his claws, "Don't lie to me kid, I can smell 'em and it ain't pleasant."
"Okay so I teased him about a stupid doll he had and he just lost it," Bobby admitted, intimidated by Logan's claws.
"I ain't never seen the Cajun lose control like that," Logan said musingly, "seems he's been keeping a few secrets too, like just how powerful he is for one thing."
Jean walked over to the bed and pulled back the cover to expose Gambit's treasures.
"Look at all these things. No wonder Remy lost control. They look like very treasured possessions. Here's a birthday card. Does anyone know when Remy's birthday is?"
Beast exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my stars and garters. It seems that our Cajun friend is capable of emitting and withstanding extremely high temperatures. The carpet where he was standing has been completely burned through."
"That's right," Bobby said, "it was so hot that I couldn't change into ice."
"I hope Remy comes back to us," Jean said worriedly.
"Judging from this episode, maybe wed be better off without him," Scott said.
"Scott," Jean exclaimed in shock.
"I suggest we leave Remy's room. If he comes back I don't think he'll appreciate the fact that we're invading his privacy again. Bobby I want to talk to you in my office now," the Professor said.
Bobby grimaced but followed.
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When Remy had been brought to his senses by Stormy's touch, his first feeling had been one of confusion. What had happened. Then he had realized, and he became scared and angry, so he ran.
He jumped onto his bike and rode off away from the mansion. He got out into the country side before he'd cleared his head enough. It was then that he realized that he'd been followed. He extended his awareness, trying to work out who it was. He grinned.
"S'alright Stormy, Gambit not mad anymore, you can come down from up dere now chere."
Storm flew down from where she had been sitting on to of one of the sheer rock faces.
"I am glad to see that my friend, and do not call me Stormy," she sat on some grass and he joined her. "Would you like to tell me what happened?" she asked calmly.
Gambit sighed, "I don't know chere. I lost my temper, ain't done dat in a long time. It never happen like dat 'fore, not dat Gambit remember much anyway chere."
"What caused your loss of temper Remy?"
"Bobby found de doll you make for me when you jus' a chile," he said simply.
Storm nodded in complete understanding. She understood how it had been a breach of a secret, special bond that they shared, and she felt a twinge of anger at Bobby.
"I am sure that after tonight he will have learned the error of his ways. Will you come back to the mansion with me?"
"Gambit not know chere. You saw dere faces, dey don't trust Gambit 'fore, dey never gon' trust him now."
Storm hugged him, one of only a few people in the world close enough to get away with it.
"Oh Remy my friend. Of course they trust you. When we battle they place their lives in your hands."
"Dey only let me stay cause a you chere. 'Sides if it weren't for you I wouldn' stay wit' dem."
"Remy you don't mean that do you? I thought that after all this time you had come to believe in the dream. Besides you know that I would not let any harm come to you."
Gambit snorted, "Gambit don' believe in no dream chere, an' you should know better. Ain't no room in life for dreams like dat, only reality, an' we both know what dat is," he sighed, "Gambit not wanna talk 'bout dis anymore chere. We go into de nearest town an' get ourselves a drink hehn?"
Storm laughed, "Very well my friend, I shall ride pillion with you."
Remy grinned as he started up his bike and they headed towards a town.
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They were close to the outskirts of a town when they encountered a car that appeared to have broken down.
"Remy stop. That person may need our help," Storm said.
So Remy stopped his bike near the car and they both approached the stranded motorist.
"Oh thank heavens you came along. I thought I'd be stuck out here forever and that would never do," the lady smiled.
"Ow can we 'elp you chere?" Remy asked.
Storm turned towards Remy, "Remy, this woman, she sounds very familiar."
"That's right child, have you not recognized me yet."
The woman's disguise disappeared.
"Nanny!" Storm whispered with real fear.
The Nanny cackled, "that's right, it's your Nanny, and you," she turned to Remy, "you are the one who stole my little Ororo from me."
"Non, you dead," Remy said wide eyed.
"Apparently not. And now I have my little Ororo back, and a new friend of mine would like to speak to you Remy LeBeau, but in a more manageable state."
Remy and Ororo were hit before they could defend themselves.
The Nanny cackled as she placed the unconscious forms of the two children into her perfectly working car.
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Remy awoke instantly alert. He was on a bed in a small dark room, with one door and a small window. He sat up quickly. He needed to get out of here. He couldn't remember how he'd gotten here. Had one of the pimps caught him, he checked himself for injuries. He appeared to be okay.
A whimpering sound alerted him to the fact that he was not alone. He turned and saw a bundle of blankets moving. He pulled them back and saw a white haired girl of roughly his own age. She opened blue cat like eyes and stared at him in confusion.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I am Ororo, who are you?" she asked him in return.
"Remy," he said, "you know where we are chere? Or 'ow we get 'ere?"
Ororo looked around, "I do not recognize this place, the last thing I remember is ..." she paused and expression turned to one of terror, "Nanny!"
That one word sparked off Remy's memories and he remembered Nanny coming towards him and them nothing afterwards.
"You were dere I remember dat but I don' know you."
"I know. I do not understand it at all."
"Never mind about dat now chere, we 'ave to get of 'ere fast, 'fore she comes back."
They walked over to the only door in the room. They tried to open it but it was tightly locked.
"It is locked, we cannot get out," Ororo said.
She had begun to panic, her fear of closed spaces taking over rational thought, "I must get out Remy, I cannot breathe in here."
"Relax chere," he said trying to reassure her, "I get you out non?"
Remy stood back and studied the room once again. He looked closely at the small window. He knew he could get out of it but could she?
"Chere, you see de window up dere, you can get up and squeeze out?" he asked.
Ororo calmed herself slightly to answer his question. The window was high up but she was agile enough to get up there and certainly skinny enough to squeeze through.
"Yes, I can get out of there if we can up to it," she replied.
Remy looked at the room again.
"You can push me up chere and den I can lift you out. D'accord?"
"You won't leave me?" Ororo asked.
"Non chere, we take care o' each ot'er now. Got no one else t'look out for us chere." Remy said solemnly.
Ororo gave him a quick hug which he returned and they moved into action.
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"Has Remy come back yet Sugah?" Rogue asked with a concerned expression on her face.
"No, and neither has Storm," Bishop replied.
"Remy will come back won't he?" she asked.
"Of course he will," Jean said reassuringly, "Storm will make sure of that."
"You think that they are okay?" Bishop asked.
"Of course, Storm would have contacted us at the slightest hint of any trouble, she has her communicator with her and it hasn't been deactivated. Maybe we should just leave her to talk to Remy." Jean said smiling.
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The Nanny faced the strange man, her heart pounding with fear.
"Where is he?" the man asked.
The nanny swallowed before answering, "He and the girl escaped."
The strange man glared at her, "And how is that possible, you told me you had them secured."
"I did, but you didn't warn me about the resourcefulness of the little brat he climbed out of a window with Ororo."
"It was your job to ensure that he could not escape. I am not a patient man and I will not tolerate incompetence, I will give you one chance to recover them."
The strange man did not explain what would happen if she failed again and the Nanny did not care to know the answer. She nodded and left.
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After their escape, Remy and Ororo had run as far as they could for as long as they could. They had stopped only when their exhausted bodies could not carry them another step.
That had been two days ago, and both had fallen into old patterns surviving the only way they knew how, both being children of the streets. Survival was a powerful instinct so they used every trick they had ever learnt in their short lives. Scavenging for food and a safe place to hide and rest became a priority, and that would be hard to do in a town the size of this one, so they had hitched a lift to the nearest big city, which had been New York.
They had found an abandoned building that fortunately appeared to be free from habitation and had found a corner well hidden to make their home. They avoided refuges for fear that they would be given over to the authorities and separated. Being together was the only thing they had that gave them any comfort and security.
Remy found that Ororo was an even better pick pocket than he was, but still it was hard to find anything. People seemed to be carrying strange plastic money that they couldn't be used by them. They had found out that having this plastic money was dangerous when they were almost captured by store detectives when trying to but food.
There were also strange groups of people hanging around, and the pair had learnt from watching them that they were extremely dangerous people.
Inevitably there were also the pimps, who were always on the lookout for young kids to press into their service.
It was late now, most of the city folk having taken to their beds.
"I am hungry Remy, we did not do so well today," Ororo said.
"I know chere, but we find somet'ing den we go settle down fo' de night."
They found some large dustbins behind a restaurant. Remy told Ororo to stand watch while he scrounged for food. He had managed to find a quite a few things that they could eat when he heard footsteps approaching, or rather he felt the approach.
"Remy," Ororo called up to him softly, fear evident in her voice.
He clambered out of the bin and joined Ororo on the ground. A group of the strange young men that he and Ororo watched out for were approaching. Their hair long and lank plastered against their skulls.
Pale faces with sunken eyes and a mean glitter. Their clothes were dirty and had definitely seen better days. He felt his stomach clench in fear.
"Hey there kids," one of the men called, "want to come and play with us?"
The men all laughed and Remy looked around frantically for an escape route. The bins were against a wall and the only way out of the small alley was past the gang of youths. They had been blocked in.
"You go away mes ami non? Leave us little kids alone." Remy stated with a friendly smile.
"Now why would we want to do that? Especially seeing as how we could be playing with you and your pretty little friend."
Remy watched as the men spread out around him and Ororo. He could feel their movements, and he could sense what they were all doing. He crouched into a defensive position and sensed Ororo doing the same. He grabbed a few shards of broken glass from the floor near him and readied himself for the assault he knew would come.
"Now Ororo," he shouted and they both ran towards the leader who stood blocking their way out of the dead end. They feinted as if to attack him and tried to dodge past him at the last minute. Ororo got past the man but Remy was grabbed from behind.
He struggled violently, but his small, thin body provided no challenge to the larger men.
"That wasn't very nice boy!" the leader said menacingly.
Remy saw Ororo at the entrance to the alley and shouted at her to run.
She looked back at him, "I cannot leave you Remy."
Over head the clouds formed at the sky rumbled.
"You tell your little friend to come here now boy and you won't get hurt."
"Non, Ororo run!" Remy screamed at her.
"Let him go," shouted Ororo.
"Or else what?" the big man laughed.
Suddenly a bolt of lightening shot down from the sky and struck the leader of the gang squarely in the chest. His face frozen in surprise as he hit the ground.
"Muties!" On of the other men shouted and fear began to take over.
Remy was dropped and he tried to make his way to Ororo when he felt a sharp pain in his side. He gasped and almost fell to the ground, but forced himself to carry on running to Ororo. The gang had run past her, leaving her untouched as they fled into the night.
When he reached her she looked at his clothes in shock, "Remy you're bleeding."
Remy hid his own pain and fear from her and said, "It's nothing chere, jus' a scratch. I get better if I get some sleep non?"
Ororo seemed to be reassured by this and they slowly made their way back to their little nest.
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The Nanny activated the tracer and followed the blips on her screen.
I will have those children back soon, she thought to herself. She would not face the possibility of failing. Not when it would cause His displeasure.
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The Professor glided into the communications room in his wheelchair.
"What is going on Jean?" he asked.
"It's Storm and Gambit. They've been missing for two days now," Jean answered concern clouding her expression.
"Storm took her communicator with her did she not, surely she would have called in if there was any sign of trouble or activated it's homing beacon," the Professor stated with a calm reassuring manner.
"That's just it Professor she has done neither, but she has not answered our calls either, and I'm beginning to worry about her and Gambit."
"Very well, you, Bishop and Rogue can use the beacon in the communicator to track them and find them."
Jean nodded to the Professor and contacted her team mates to get ready to leave.
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The Nanny continued to follow the tracers directions all the time getting closer to the two unsuspecting children hiding in New York.
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Ororo watched Remy with concern, he seemed very hot and pale to her but he kept telling her that he was fine. She was starting to think that he was not telling her the truth. The blood stain on his clothes had continued to grow. He was sleeping now and Ororo yawned, she was tired. She would sleep now and in the morning she would try and persuade Remy to let her look at his 'scratch'.
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The three X-Men arrived at the house that the Nanny had placed Remy and Ororo in when they had first been regressed to childhood. They found Ororo's communicator lying with hers and Gambit's uniforms.
"Something must have happened to them," Bishop said stating the obvious.
"The search may take a little longer, we have to configure the scanners to look for their DNA," Jean said as they returned to the Blackbird, "Let's go."
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Remy's eyes flew open. He felt an overwhelming surge of danger flood his senses. He looked around quickly. The room was clear except for Ororo who lay sleeping.
"Ororo," he whispered.
She stirred and woke, blinking her big blue eyes.
"What is it Remy?" she asked.
"We 'ave to get out of 'ere now."
"Why? What's wrong?"
"I don' know chere but I t'ink dat someone is coming 'ere, looking for us."
Ororo got to her feet quickly. Remy rose more slowly, stifling a groan of pain. He was still bleeding and he felt light headed from loss of blood, he knew this was not a good sign.
There was a noise at the door and he spun round quickly. The room began to spin and he heard Ororo cry out in alarm as the blackness sucked him under and he fell to the floor.
Ororo turned to face the intruder standing in the doorway. "What do you want?" she asked fearfully.
"I've come to get you and Remy," the stranger said.