Home | Forum | Mailing List | Repository | Links | Gallery
 
 
Chapters
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
 
 
 

Always Relied on the Kindness of Strange Femmes - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by Diamonde
Last updated: 01/02/2007 02:01:11 AM

Chapter 1

Always Relied on the Kindness of Strange Femmes

It was very cold, and Gambit couldn't stay awake. I'll jus' lay down for a minute… The snow wasn't so cold anymore, and was really rather comfortable. Just as he was passing out he saw a woman with scarlet hair leaning over him, but he couldn't remember why that would be important.

Gambit was floating in a grey haze. He could hear a few faint sounds, but they were a long way away. He was feeling too warm and comfortable to worry about anything, and floated in the haze for a while longer. Or maybe it wasn't a while, he wasn't doing very well keeping track of time. Not that he was really trying. Slowly Remy became aware of something disturbing his comfort. He couldn't breath properly. The haze began to fade away as his need for oxygen slapped his brain into wakefulness. Now everything was just black, but he was awake. Lying on his back, a very large something resting on his lower chest. He forced one eye open.

There was a large black and white cat lying on him. With an incredible amount of effort Remy pulled one hand out from under the wonderfully cozy blankets and gently pushed it off. The cat gave him an indignant look, but he patted it and it settled down next to him purring. Gambit closed his eyes and listened to the purring for a while, still absently stroking. He had no idea where he was and didn't really care. He was alive, in a bed somewhere. Concentrating carefully, he tried to remember everything that had happened after the X-Men had left him.

He'd searched the ruin, but there was nothing useful, not even any real shelter that was safe. He'd been walking to keep warm, but eventually the cold had gotten to him and he'd curled up for a little nap. One he should never have woken up from. So what was he doing here? He couldn't remember anything else. No, there was one other thing. A woman's face, with brilliant red hair. She must have rescued him. But how on earth had she found him? Gambit abandoned the question as he heard someone walk into the room. A faint scent, the way of walking and a general feeling of feminine presence told him it was a woman.

"Oh, you're awake. You okay?"

He opened his eyes, half expecting to see the redhead he remembered. But no, this woman had soft golden-brown hair and a different face. More delicate. She was also smiling cheerily at him.

"I t'ink so."

"That's good." She sat down on the bed, trapping him between her and the cat and patted him familiarly on the chest. "Want anything? Coffee, food, another blanket?"

"Coffee an' a few answers 'd be nice to start wit'."

"Okay, back in a second."

She returned a few minutes later with his coffee and helped him sit up. Gambit looked at her carefully as he wrapped his hands around the nice hot cup. She appeared to be tallish, with a small build. Her eyes were wide and green, she was wearing grey tracksuit pants and a very large Nike shirt. She also didn't seem at all bothered by his scrutiny.

Satisfied, he took a sip of his drink. It was sweet and milky, not the way he usually took it, but still very nice.

"Dis is real coffee." He smiled in pleasure.

"Of course. Brazilian. Can't stand instant, not enough kick."

"Now, about de answers."

"Ask away."

"I like t' know who I wake up wit'. Who is dat?" Gambit pointed at the cat, which had gone back to sleep. The mystery woman laughed.

"That's Eddie. A real cat to go with my real coffee. Isn't he a sweetie?"

Gambit looked at the cat, and decided that although he couldn't really judge the sweetie part, it certainly looked like a real cat. It must have weighed upwards of thirteen pounds, mostly muscle, and had a rip in its left ear. Short hair, no breed other than 'alley cat'. He'd never seen a realer one.

"You have a name too?"

She looked at him assessingly, then finally spoke. "Which name would you like? I have quite a few."

Gambit thought about that for a minute. "What you t'ink of yourself as."

She smiled at him. "How interesting. Most people ask for my real name."

"Dat is your real name. How you see yourself."

"How profound," she murmured. "Alright then. Call me Vedis. What do you think of yourself as? Remy LeBeau, Gambit or something else?"

"Remy, mostly. Gambit's my working name. Mind if I ask how you know all dat?"

"I've seen you around, Remy. Me and Eddie always watch the news when the X-Men are on. Besides, I was hired to go get you."

Ah. Now we're gettin' somewhere. "By who? And why did dey wan' me?"

"Who isn't important anymore. A small operative who didn't want to see someone as talented as you go to waste. For work, nothing more sinister," she didn't notice Remy wince at that word, "but that isn't important anymore either, because the deal fell through. I said 'No money, no thief.' And there was no money. So now I have a thief but not enough cash to pay my electricity bill."

"Sorry."

"No big deal. It's not due for another week, and there's always more work."

"As what?"

"I like to think of myself as a freelance secret agent. I steal, spy, assassinate once in a while, rescue, do the occasional bodyguard thing, that sort of stuff."

"You're a merc."

"I suppose that's close. I'm nicer and less brutal than most, though. Anything else you want to know?"

"Yeah. Jus' before I pass out in de snow, I see woman wit' red hair. Who was she?"

"Me." Her features and body seemed to ripple, and the face he remembered came back. Now she was shorter and more curvaceous. She held it for a second then changed back.

"I see why you such a good t'ief an' spy."

"It is handy, although I'm not as good a thief as you without using my… extra talents."

"One more t'ing."

"Yes?"

"Where de hell am I?"

She laughed. "Generally, New York. Specifically, my spare bedroom."

"New York. All dat and I'm back in stinky old New York. Oh well, Remy not one t' look a gift rescue in de mouth. Speaking of mouths…"

She raised one eyebrow, expression amused but not inviting. "Oh? Do go on, that was beginning to sound very interesting."

"I mean I'm hungry."

"Oh, better get you some dinner then. Anything else while I'm up?"

"A shirt?"

"And spoil my view? Don't be ridiculous." She gave him a mischievous smile and tossed over a white T-shirt on her way out. Remy grinned and pulled it on. Soft and comfy. He reached out and scratched Eddie's head. He liked cats.

"Dat mistress of yours is a very cheeky, know dat? But I like her anyway."

Eddie purred without opening his eyes. Remy looked at him. This cat was no lap-cat, but it seemed to like him. But then, most cats did, the same as most women. Maybe that was why he'd never gotten along with Cyclops. Scott was a guy, which as a rule he never felt as comfortable with, and a dog person. Didn't like cats at all. Remy LeBeau was definitely a cat person.

At that point Vedis leaned back in. "I didn't feel like cooking, so it's Italian from down the street reheated in the microwave." She looked him up and down. "You look pretty good. Want to eat in there or at the table?"

"Depends. Is it as warm out dere as it is in 'ere?"

"Nope."

"Den I'll stay right here, t'ank you."

"Don't blame you." She brought him a tray and sat down at the desk next to the bed to eat her own.

Gambit was just getting started when he felt something warm and wet on his arm. Eddie was drooling and eyeing off Gambit's dinner.

"Vedis? Dis cat gonna mug me for my food any minute now."

"Eddie, get off him, ya fatso. I already fed you." Eddie looked hurt and walked down to the end of the bed, where he curled up with his back to them in a sulk. Remy ignored him and hoed in. He hadn't eaten in a very long time.

"Any dessert?"

"I've got ice-cream."

"Uh, no. Not cold. Not'ing else?"

"I'll check. But don't eat too much or you'll make yourself sick."

"Have a heart. I haven' eaten f' days."

With a bit of good-natured grumbling she got up and rummaged around in the kitchen. "There's Mississippi mud cake. It's been in the fridge but it's not that cold."

"Bring it on."

He managed to eat two large slices before the insulin made him sleepy.

"I think that'll do. You'd better get some more sleep." She smiled the sweet smile at him again and began picking up the dishes.

"Yes, mother."

"I'll ignore that. Need anything before I go to bed?"

Gambit thought about it for a second. "Yes. A bathroom."

"Second door on your right. Sleep well."

Call of nature answered, he climbed back into bed and snuggled down. Apparently forgiving him for not sharing his dinner, Eddie came back up the bed and crawled under the blankets. Remy looked out the window at the lights of what was probably Manhattan and tried not to think about Rogue or the X-Men, without much success. He hadn't had much of a choice, had he? If he'd told them before, they would have kicked him out. But now they had kicked him out because he hadn't told them. A lose-lose situation. He seemed to have a knack for them. And Rogue… he'd offered to tell her in Seattle. He'd wanted to, wanted to lose that burden. Wanted to stop hiding things. But she'd refused. Smartest move of her life.

Eddie didn't comment as a few tears fell onto his fur.

Gambit dreamed. He was in the Morlock tunnels, leading the Marauders in. Then there was the blood, the massacre… and always hovering in front of him, Rogue's face. Her beautiful eyes accusing as she repeated over and over 'You're honest with the ones you love…'

"I wanted to tell you, chere. But de X-Men were my chance for…"

"For what, Remy? Pretending to be something you can nevah be?" She faded away, so did the tunnels. Leaving only one ex-X-Man, whispering in the dark to people who couldn't hear and wouldn't care.

"…redemption." He began to cry. No one would ever forgive him. Not even himself.

"Remy?" Vedis was kneeling next to him, looking concerned. "Are you okay? You were crying in your sleep."

"No, 'm not okay. Don' t'ink I ever will be." He couldn't stop. He felt absolutely pathetic. But Vedis just climbed up next to him and held him, crooning nonsense and rocking him gently. She stayed with him until he fell asleep.

Gambit woke up reluctantly. The light was shining in his eyes. A door slammed. Eddie jumped off the bed, bouncing on Remy's stomach with all four paws and his not inconsiderable weight on the way.

He could hear Vedis' voice faintly. "Hi honey, mummy's back. Sorry, I didn't get anything for you, just some clothes for your new friend. No really, nothing for you. What meat? Your nose must be going. That bag? For me. You know how I love my diced ox-heart for breakfast." She moved around a bit, then came in to visit him.

"Good morning," she said cheerily. She'd changed. Now she had long black hair and blue eyes. Her face was china-doll beautiful instead of merely pretty, but the smile was the same.

"What's so wonderful 'bout it?" He looked her obviously up and down. "Y' look different."

"Oops, almost forgot." She shifted back to how she'd appeared the night before.

"Dat how you really look?"

"What, this old thing?" She pointed to herself, her voice sarcastic. "This is just my lounging around the house face. I don't 'really' look like anything, Mr LeBeau. I have a bod for every occasion. Now here, put these on. You're dragging yourself out of bed for breakfast." She tossed a few bags on the bed, with a little more force than necessary.

"Not if it's ox-heart."

"It's not." She left him alone to get dressed in some of the new clothes she'd bought.

'Mr LeBeau.' A touchy subject, 't seems. Maybe Vedis been shape-shiftin' so long she's forgotten what her natural form is? Or maybe she jus' don' like her normal look. Maybe not. She walked and acted like someone who had always been confident in their appearance.

Remy headed out to the bathroom to clean himself up. Ugh. Y' need a shave, Remy. But den, when don't you? He went back to his bedroom to search the bags more thoroughly. If she'd had a little foresight… yes, essential toiletries. Soon he felt much better. Cleaner, anyway. Now he just had to find the kitchen. Follow dat smell.

Vedis was cooking pancakes. Remy started to drool.

"Feeling less grumpy?" she asked, with no signs of her previous irritation.

"Yeah. An' ready t' eat."

"In a minute."

He sat down at the table and groaned. "I'm not sure I can 'old out dat long." Suddenly he felt a nudge on his leg. Remy looked down to see Eddie drop a piece of meat next to his foot and return to his bowl.

Vedis giggled. "Wow. He must really like you, he's very possessive about his food."

"I'm overcome wit' joy."

Eddie's offering was politely returned, and they had a nice breakfast, although the conversation carefully remained small talk. But they got along very well, making bad jokes and both indulging their urges to overact.

Pouring himself another cup of coffee afterwards, Remy decided it was time for a serious discussion of the important things.

"So-" He was rudely interrupted by someone knocking on the door.

"I'd better get that." Vedis got up and indicated that he should stay where he was. Remy ignored her and followed her as far as the doorway, so he could see up the hall to the front door.

She shifted into the black-haired beauty she'd been when he woke up and unlocked the door, revealing a good-looking blonde man in his early thirties. Remy glanced at the security buzzer near the door of the apartment and deduced that this must be another of the building's residents.

"Good morning, Julia." The man smiled a slightly oily smile. Remy instantly disliked him. Couldn't he see that Vedis was a lady? "Some of your mail got mixed in with mine, so I thought I'd return it." He had been right. A neighbor.

"Thank you." Vedis was being polite, but hardly encouraging. Blonde-middle-class didn't seem to notice.

"I was also wondering if you were doing anything tonight." He smiled again.

"Actually…" Vedis, or possibly Julia, looked at Remy over her shoulder. Her visitor looked past her for the first time and saw Remy leaning in the doorway. Remy looked as comfortable and at-home as he could, and gave a lazy smile. It wasn't quite eight on a Thursday morning, and Remy certainly wasn't dressed for an early breakfast date. He looked like he'd spent the night, which, of course, he had. To add to the illusion he walked up behind Vedis and rested an arm on her shoulders. The other man's smile slipped a little.

"I'm afraid we've got plans f' tonight. But I don' t'ink we've met." He held out his hand and gave the friendly smile he'd learnt from Iceman. It looked nice enough, but it always dropped the temperature between you and the person you used it on by several degrees. It was all in the eyes. "I'm Remy LeBeau."

"Tom. Tom Hutton." He shook Remy's hand weakly. Remy tried to keep from sniggering. The effect his looks and charm had on women was very nice of course, but the effect they had on men was a terrible amount of fun. What was it Jean-Luc used t' say? Tall, dark and handsome is as tall, dark and handsome appears to do. He could feel Vedis shaking with suppressed laughter.

"I'm sorry, I should have introduced you. Tom, Remy's a close friend of mine. You haven't met before because he works in Westchester. Remy, Tom lives right under us. He's a very good neighbor."

"It's a pleasure. It's nice t' know that Julie's got nice people like y'self around. I worry 'bout her here all on her own." Of course, there was a hidden threat in there if Tom chose to read it that way.

"Nice to meet you, Mr LeBeau."

"Oh, call me Remy."

"Thanks again for the mail, Tom." Vedis smiled sweetly.

"You're welcome. Uh, see you 'round, Julia."

"See ya."

She closed the door, shifted back and walked into the kitchen before letting out the laughter. "Oh, thank you, Remy. I think he'll take the hint from now on." She wiped her eyes.

"You're welcome. I owed you one f' las' night. T'ank you f' helping, and especially f' not askin' what de dream was about."

Vedis looked down at her black-and-white chessboard floor. "I understand about bad dreams," she said softly. "It could just as easily have been the other way around." They were silent for a few moments, then Remy walked over and hugged her. They stayed that way for a long time, two slightly broken people holding onto the human contact and fleeting touch of understanding, trying to keep out the loneliness. Then Remy remembered something she'd said earlier and leaned back a little to see her face.

"How did you know where I worked?"

"Uh…" Vedis blushed. "Is it really important?"

"Uh huh."

She pulled out of the hug to busy herself with clearing up. "Well, if you really must know, I was hired to steal an insignificant something from Worthington Industries a little while ago. I tracked Worthington himself for a while, to familiarize myself with his routine." Remy nodded. Standard procedure. "And it seemed to involve this big school in Westchester where the student body ran around in skintight costumes, and like I said, we always watch the news when the X-Men are on. Don't worry, I never told anyone."

"Did y' steal de 'insignificant somethin'?"

"Yeah. Only a teeny little thingy. Industrial espionage."

"Not important at all. Makes me wonder how it was wort' your while."

"Well, it was a deal worth several million to my employer. I mean, hey, a girl's gotta eat."

"Does Archangel know dat he's been robbed?"

"Well, he will very soon…"

Remy almost laughed. "How very?"

She looked at her watch. "Two hours, give or take a few minutes."

"Oh. I t'ink a subject change is in order."

"Me too." Vedis sighed with relief.

"Like: what you planning t' do wit' dis t'ief you've acquired?"

"Remy, in all honesty, I knew the guy who tried to hire me wasn't going to be able to come up with enough money. If he did, I may well have upped the price so he couldn't afford you. I don't do kidnappings, but I went out and got you anyway, because I didn't want to let you die like that. Now it's you're turn to be honest with me. Your team left you in Antarctica to freeze to death. Sure there are worse ways to go, but it's not really pleasant either, as I'm sure you discovered. Do you have a place to live right now?"

"Not exactly."

"Do you have a family you can go back to?"

"Not really." Lionel didn't count. They weren't related, and Remy couldn't stay there for very long without French contacts for the Thieves Guild noticing. He certainly didn't want to deal with that right now.

"Friends?"

"Dey're de ones dat left me in de snow."

"Well, you can stay here as long as you like. I'd be happy to have you around." She gave him that smile again. "Good friends are hard to come by, and I don't have many."

"T'anks, but I don' like t' be indebted t' my friends."

"Then pay your way. You're a very skilled man, Remy, and someone with your rep would have lots of job opportunities. There's always thieving assignments going."

Remy looked at her, and realised how lucky he'd been for the last few years. Even if their friendship hadn't been completely open, he'd had his good times with the X-Men. He'd forgotten how lonely life could be for his sort of people.

"I'd like t' stay, least 'til I get my life together. But dere's some t'ings I'd have to have out on de table, straight up. I ain't keepin' secrets anymore. I've done some nasty stuff in my life, and I'm not goin' t' lose more friends over it."

Vedis reached out and held his hand. "You don't have to tell me. It doesn't have to be a matter of keeping secrets, just privacy. You don't really want to tell me whatever it was. Did it have anything to do with me?"

"Not as far as I know."

"Then the fact that you're willing to tell me is enough. If it becomes important, I'm sure you will. I don't know why, but I trust you, and I have a few things I'd like to take my time about telling you. They have nothing whatsoever to do with you, but I would tell you if it was going to affect you. Would you accept that?"

"Yes."

"At the same time, I would be happy to listen to anything you want to get off your chest. Does that arrangement suit you? No strings, bail anytime."

"Let's give it a trial run an' see how it works."

"Okay, deal." She reached out a hand and they shook on it. Remy was pleased. He liked Vedis, and had gotten used to having a home. He didn't really feel like wandering the globe, stealing to live and always moving on one step ahead of police and worse. Besides, he really liked Eddie too. And it was a very nice apartment. Not that he couldn't have gotten one of his own, but that wasn't really a good idea. He'd either become a die-hard alcoholic or kill himself.

Vedis leaned forwards with a mischief smile and whispered to him conspiratorially. "In our new situation of honesty, I must confess to an ulterior motive. Having you here will get Tom off my back for good."

Remy laughed. "So de truth comes out. Dat's okay, I don' mind. But I better know de disguise you use. It'll look strange if I move in and don' know my girlfriend's las' name."

They began to load the dishwasher as they talked, Eddie winding around their legs begging for more food.

"Julia Adamson, up-and-coming lawyer who works in a fictional firm called Lundberg and Roberts. She is rather ambitious and has rich parents who live in California."

"You don' sound Californian."

"They're rich, she went to the classiest schools and traveled the world."

"Dat would explain it." He grinned at her. "So who shall I be? I've already introduced myself as Remy LeBeau, an' I better stay wit' New Orleans as a hometown t' match de accent."

"Mm. Must keep way sexy accent." Vedis gave him the same cheeky grin as the night before.

"Dere, dat sounds more Californian. What shall I be…" He ran through the cover stories he'd used in the past, searching for something suitable. This would be a more permanent stay, so it had to hold water and be something he could pull off flawlessly. Vedis started to offer suggestions.

"An exotic dancer? No? Okay, a private detective. No again. Umm, a model? An electrician? A mad scientist? A car salesman? Work with me. What are you good at?"

"Stealing, fighting evil villains-"

"I thought more hobby-wise."

"Cooking, pissing people off, drinking, gambling,-"

"A professional chef. It uses your Cajun background and your hobbies of cooking and pissing people off. And would handily explain why you go out at nights."

Vedis smiled, happy with her solution. Remy had to admit the idea was good, but he could see a small hitch. He sat down at the table to think his way through it.

"Jus' one thing. What's an upper-class lawyer doin' wit' a Cajun chef? We wouldn' exactly be moving in de same social circles."

"Simple. I'm rebelling against my parents' snobby attitudes. You see, Julia moved to the other side of the country to try and build her own career without their help. She wants to be independent and be a success without falling back on old money. She wants to move out of her own social circle and try new things. She'd love having a relationship with someone different the oldies wouldn't approve of, but not a gold-digger like Tom."

"Gold-digger?"

Vedis sighed and rolled her eyes expressively. "It's almost funny. He's after me for the imaginary money belonging to my imaginary parents and the connections I don't really have."

"Okay, I can be a chef. Jus' don' expect poor Remy t' do all de cooking. Now we better get down t' specifics. How did we meet, all dat."

They worked on their lives for an hour, taking notes when necessary. Birthdays, anniversary, things like that. It was purely for Tom's benefit, but making it all up was a lot of fun. They had meeting place, past together and amusing anecdotes sorted out and were moving on to current situation when a fax came through. It was the day's job list and a special attachment.

"Wow, a personal request. I'm moving up in the world."

Remy moved next to her and used his height advantage to read over her shoulder. The job description was brief and concise, Vedis, or 'the Huntress' as she was described there, was to break into a small lab in Mexico. Once inside she would destroy the computer's hard drive and backup drive, find the hidden safe, open it and steal what was inside. This would earn her a nice fifty thousand.

"Dat would pay your electricity bill nicely," he murmured.

"It's a good job too. I've worked for that organization before, and they're intentions are decentish even if their methods are a little unconventional. The possibility of this job was mentioned last time, though I never thought they'd ask for me specifically. But I think I'd better do a little research on this lab."

She sat down in front of her computer, hacked into a few databases to check up on her target and packed Remy off to organize himself in what would become his room. He was also commanded to make a list of everything he would need. They passed almost an hour that way.

Not too far away, Warren Worthington was trying not to lose his temper.

"What do you mean 'gone'? Gone as in 'around the place somewhere' or gone as in 'stolen'?"

"Uhm, we think stolen, sir."

"Oh?"

"This was in the safe…" the little scientist pushed a piece of paper across the desk with a trembling hand. It had a simple design on it, a black H in a red gunsight. And underneath that there were a few lines of small black print. It read 'You have been royally ripped off by the Huntress. Why don't you hire her to get back at the people who planned this? She probably even knows who they are.'

Archangel stared at it for a while. Millions, months of research, down the drain. He'd find this woman, and make her pay. She must be a merc, and the X-Men had a few connections in that direction…

"AH HA!"

Remy and Eddie both leapt up of the bed and ran out to see what Vedis had discovered. She was bouncing around the room with an elated expression on her face.

"Oh, I am going to enjoy this job."

"Why? What did you get on dem?"

"They're filthy in the worst way. See here…" She ran back to the computer and started pointing out relevant sections on the screen. "'Research in organic defenses', which is a known cover term for biological weapons. And down here…'human immune defense data is taken from the local population for a reasonable price, thus helping an otherwise destitute community.' They're using dirt poor Mexicans as test subjects for something that's supposed to destroy the human immune system. My esteemed clients want this stuff for their pharmaceutical company to research. In all honesty, they want an exclusive on it so they can flog it to hospitals doing organ transplants at ridiculous prices, but it'll be a step forward even so."

"You really like t' do your homework, don' you?"

"On dangerous stuff like this? Yeah. I've seen too many people do missions like this thinking they're doing a good thing, when really they're handing it to the bad guys. My backers may be more capitalistic than me, but they're not working for the army."

She got up and stretched, before wandering towards her bedroom. "Better get dressed for work. Get your list and underline anything essential, I'll try to get it on my way back."

Gambit went over his list. Most things could wait, but he underlined cigarettes three times. He really needed nicotine. And toothpaste for sensitive teeth was also pretty important, Antarctica had made them ache like nothing else. And some more cards. And a trenchcoat, if possible. He didn't feel dressed without one.

Vedis came out in her 'work face', the one with the golden cat-pupil eyes and brilliant red hair. She was also wearing a combination of black suede and black silk. She saw him looking and did a model's catwalk turn.

"Like?" She flipped her hair and strutted along in an insultingly superior way.

"Very nice."

"Thank you. Anyway, I don't know when I'll be back. Hopefully before midnight. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, use the phone if you want. There's some money in the tin marked 'tea' for emergencies and don't let in anyone claiming to be my brother. Vedis doesn't live here, Julia lives here although she's out on a case right now, you've never heard of the Huntress."

"Right. Vedis no, Julia yes but out, no brothers, who's de Huntress, never heard of her. Emergency money in de tea tin 'cause you don' drink it. Want me t' do anythin' while you're out?"

She smiled. "Could you please give Eddie dinner around six, there's some heart left in the fridge. And if you could save some of whatever you have for me, I'd appreciate it."

"Sure."

"Okay, bye Remy!" She waved bye-bye and jumped out the window. Remy nearly had a heart attack. Obviously she'd forgotten to mention something. He ran to the window and looked at the black speck heading south. He pulled his head back in and looked at Eddie. Now what to do. According to Eddie it was snooze in a patch of sun, but Remy had done enough sleeping for a few hours. She'd said he could use the phone, and there was one friend he could call. It might be a little tricky, but she would probably be able to tell him what was happening with the X-Men. Of course it would take a little preparation. He thought carefully about everything he would have to say if she wasn't the one who answered, and meticulously removed all traces of accent. Then he practiced them out loud. Once he had them all just right and had deepened his voice, he dialed the number.

"Hello, X-Factor, Mystique The Bored speaking. If you're not handsome and interesting or informing me of the death of a Summers, I will hang up on you before Forge gets here."

"Raven, 's Remy."

"Hi! Long time no see. Tough luck on… losing the job."

"T'anks."

"Don't worry Forgey, it's for me. An old buddy with unfortunate heroic tendencies. Terribly sad. Bye." There were some scuffling sounds and a loud complaining noise followed by what could have been gunshots. "I'm back. So where are you keeping yourself, handsome?"

"Met dis really nice girl in Antarctica, she gave me a lift an' let me crash in her spare room."

"You're drowning your sorrows in other women already? I'm thinking you didn't care as much about my daughter as you let on." Mystique's voice resounded with parental disapproval.

"Non, not dat sort of t'ing. She a nice girl an' a professional, same as us."

"Oh. That's okay then. So what's your new friend like? I'm starved for gossip here. The only halfway interesting thing that's come my way is some scandal with Kitty Pryde and a wet-behind-the-ears SHIELD agent. Tell me you've got something good for poor imprisoned little me."

"Only if y' tell me what de X-Men are doin'." And how Rogue is, he didn't say. Mystique was, as always, reading between the lines.

"She's a bit upset. Your fault I suppose, but I really thought I raised her better than that. She's developed this real honesty complex. Overrated if you ask me. Nobody does, though." Mystique sounded depressed. "I know all this interesting stuff, but no one ever thinks to ask me what Cyclops wears under his uniform, or what Professor X's ultra-private password is, or how to break into/out of government internment facilities, or how to make raspberry and kumquat jam. I know all those things, you know. And lots more."

"I appreciate you, Raven."

"Thanks Remy. That means a lot. You're such a nice boy. So what's this new girl like? Do I know her?"

"I'm not sure. She a sort of mercenary, bit moral, but close. Goes by de Huntress. I like her an' her cat, so I'll be stayin' here for a while."

"Huntress. I know her by reputation. Shape-shifter, right?"

"Yeah."

"There's a rumor going around that she's been doing it so long she's forgotten what she really looks like. She's very good, though."

"Dat rumor might have a bit of truth t' it. She says she says she don' really look like anyt'ing, she has, I quote, 'a bod for every occasion.' It seems like a touchy subject."

"Hm. Odd, I can't do that. I usually go back to this form as a default when I'm tired or injured. Oh well. Anything else?"

"She can fly…"

"It's thought she might be telekinetic, the way she does things, but that's an unsubstantiated theory."

"She also a nice girl who pulled my pitiful corpse outta de snow. We get along pretty good."

"That's nice to know. Hit on ya yet?"

"She's a flirt, but dat's it. De cat loves me, t'ough."

"Female?"

"No, Eddie jus' t'inks I'm a cat."

"Poor baby." Mystique didn't really sound very sorry for him.

"No, he's better mannered than some o' de people I've shared 'ouses wit'."

"Not mentioning any names, of course."

"'Course. Bishop know he a rude, trigger-happy bastard."

She giggled. "Ah, it does me good to hear a rational voice. Can you give me your number?"

"I t'ink so. Jus' don' write it down. She ripped off de Angel recently, he'll be pissed for a while, I'm guessin'."

"Oh how precious. I'll memorize it and only call if I'm really dying of boredom. What did she do?"

"Wouldn' tell. Was a bit embarrassed, I t'ink."

"Oh well, I'm sure I'll find out. Now give me the number and we never spoke. They get suspicious if I talk too long."

Remy gave her the number on the telephone and hung up feeling more stable but more depressed. Raven was great, but Rogue wasn't. And he missed her. And it still hurt that although he'd had a good companionship with the X-Men, they had never really trusted him.

Looking for distraction, he wandered over to the extensive sound system and turned on the radio.

I don't care who you are,

Where you're from,

What you did,

As long as you love me.

"Dat is not true, you little pricks." He smacked the next button to change the station.

I'll get over you

I know I will,

I'll pretend my ship's not si-inking,

And I tell myself

I'm over you,

'cause I'm the king of wishful thinking.

"Much more accurate, but still too depressing. Even de radio hates me." He left music in favour of Sally Jessy Raphael. Maybe watching other people making fools of themselves and wallowing in self pity would make him feel better.

"Wolverine, I need to find this woman. Know her?"

Logan looked at the piece of paper, then sniffed it. "Didn't leave enough scent t' last, and I don't know the logo. Sorry."

"Can you set me up with Deadpool or Maverick, then? They might know."

Wolverine gave him a level glance. "That's a pretty big ask."

Archangel sighed. It wasn't the money, it was might be done with that invention. And maybe a bit of hurt pride and embarrassment in front of the board. "Please?"

"I'll try, but no promises."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah." The Canadian grinned up at him. "We X-Men gotta stick together."

"Right." Archangel sighed.

"Aw, don't worry. We'll get your doodad back for ya."

Remy had fully explored all the rooms except Vedis' bedroom. He was now confident he could find a glass and a clean towel whenever he needed one. He had also checked out the rest of the building, and had moved onto the serious business of exploring the bookcase when she finally returned.

"Hi honey, I'm home!" she bubbled happily.

"I take it y' job wen' well?"

She shook her hair out and grinned at him. "Like taking candy from a baby, but more profitable." She threw a brown shopping bag at him. "Here's most of the stuff you wanted, afraid I couldn't find a place that sold trenchcoats at eleven o'clock on Thursday nights."

Remy fell on the cigarettes with an inarticulate whimper and lit up. He took a long drag, held it, then let it out in total relaxation. "Ahhhhh. Now dat's better…"

"Filthy habit."

"Don' care. Ain't lung cancer dat kills people like us, Veedie, 's our lives."

"Aren't we philosophical tonight?" She smiled and walked into her room to change. She returned in her 'lounging around the house face' and had crawled back into her comfortable clothes.

Remy watched out of the corner of his eye as she ate the stir-fry he'd saved for her, then grabbed her wad of money, a red ledger and a stack of envelopes. Her face changed to one he hadn't seen before, a classy-looking brunette with straight hair in a braid. Then she opened the envelopes, made little comments to herself, and wrote things down in her red book. Some letters were stuffed back into envelopes with cheques and tossed on a pile. She renewed her subscription to some sort of wildlife fund and stuck her vaccination reminder for Eddie up on the fridge. Then when she'd sorted through all her mail Vedis put most of the remaining money into a little bag and locked it in a small grey cashbox.

"Bank tomorrow, after food shopping," she muttered as she put the cashbox back into the cupboard. "Post all the bills. Make an appointment with the vet, take Remy shopping. Remember shampoo. Let Mr Evans know Remy'll be moving in, get another key, do the dry cleaning. Ooh, I better write all this down or I'll forget." She sat back down and made two lists. One was Things To Do, the other just shopping. She sighed, put her lists on top of the pile of bills and weighed it down with a coffee cup. Then she had a nice long stretch.

"Why de different face?"

"Hm? Oh, this is my 'organizing' face." She shifted back to her lazy face and wandered over to him. "Time for bed, I think. We've got a lot of things to do tomorrow and will need to be well rested."

"Soun's reasonable. I'm not getting' into de book anyways."

"I bags the bathroom first!"

"Not if I beat y' dere."

They ran. It was by no means a fair race, there was elbowing and tripping as a matter of course, and once at the bathroom door it was a wrestling match. Vedis lost, Remy was a lot larger and heavier than she was. She was also handicapped by a fit of giggles.

Remy lay thinking for a long time before he went to sleep. He was still depressed, but when he was with Vedis it didn't seem so bad. She was strangely comforting, a friend who didn't care whether he was trustworthy or not. She certainly wasn't. He could almost forget that the woman who'd claimed to love him unconditionally had left him to die. Almost. It was like the ache of losing Belladonna, he could go on with his life, but the hurt would always be there. He'd never be able to forget anything about those terrible minutes. The smell of snow and stone, the condemnation in their eyes. The laboured sound of Joseph breathing. Joseph… Remy quietly hoped that he'd suffered incredible pain. He honestly admitted to himself that he was being irrationally jealous, and didn't really care.

Remy was dreaming what all mutants dream when they're good. He dreamed of flying. Something about being so high kept the pain away, and he was free. He turned to lie on his back, staring up at the sky. So high, so much space. He wasn't really that high. So up he went, not needing to breathe, until the blue faded away into the black of space and he stood beneath the stars. The silent stars, who never judged.

Remy woke up with a sigh. He loved that dream, it always made him feel better. Refreshed and fully awake, he climbed out of bed and decided to check if Vedis was up yet. It was almost nine.

Vedis was dreaming what all genetically engineered beings dream when they're young. She dreamed of the family she never had. Parents who loved her, a childhood of her own where there were no scientists or missions that must be completed. Her world was full of possibilities, every day was a new adventure. One day she was a pirate, the next a superhero, the next an astronaut. There were no closed doors, no implanted training. She was free. She never heard the tiny voice that said 'but you're not you anymore, you're someone else. The things we experience make us who we are…'

Remy looked down at her as she dreamed. He decided that she looked so happy he couldn't disturb her, and had a shower and started breakfast instead.

The omelet was almost done when Vedis woke up. She felt crappy. That dream was so nice while she was in it, but became a slap in the face when she woke up. The smell distracted her, though, and she stumbled into the kitchen.

"Mornin'?"

"Oui, morning. Dat t'ing between midnight an' lunch." Remy grinned at her. She glared back, a look that would have pinned him to the wall if she had been able to focus.

"Ha ha. Oh, we're so witty this morning. Just gimme a caffeine fix."

"Well, someone got up on de wrong side of her bed dis morning'."

"Shaddup." She was getting blurry, shifting. Instead of Julia Adamson there sat a something that looked like… the only description Remy could think of was 'small disgruntled troll.'

"I hope you ain't goin' shopping like dat."

"This is my 'pissed off' body. I had shitty dreams. I'll be alright as soon as I eat something and wake up some more." The little troll sipped her coffee and rubbed her orange eyes with the back of one hand.

"When I looked in on you, y' looked happy." He turned off the gas and gave the troll her breakfast. She grunted.

"Oh yes, it's really nice while you're still there. It's when you wake up that you remember it's a heap of garbage."

Remy patted her purple hair in a comforting sort of way and sat down to his own food. He had lived through synchronized Storm/Rogue PMS, a troll at the breakfast table wasn't that bad.

Deadpool looked at the piece of paper and laughed.

"What a way to advertise. I'd do something like that, but then people might hunt me down and kill me…"

Archangel leaned forwards. "Well, do you know who left it?"

"The Huntress, obviously. You've got a blonde's chance in a B-grade cop show of getting the whateveritwas back, tell you that much for free." Wade took another long drink of his beer and looked out the window. These X-Men were so touchy about stolen technology. He began to think about the Huntress. He'd never actually met her and didn't know anyone who had, except Patch, who wasn't talking. But he'd heard stories.

"You know her?"

"I know of her. Way I hear it, she's the best in the business, except for me, naturally. Of course, if she's half the woman she's supposed to be, she'd be a fun one to know." He managed to convey 'leer' in ways Warren had never even thought of. "Shape-shifter. Talk about fantasy fulfillment."

"A shape-shifter? Do you know if she's a mutant?" That could make it easier, if Excalibur's Cerebro was working again.

"Maybe. Who knows? Look, in this business there's a lotta people who ain't exactly 101% average, but it doesn't pay to ask too many questions. Anyway, the Huntress is more secretive about herself than an X-Files villain, and has more technology workin' for her than Bill Gates. All I know is rumor, half of which Lance imagined to amuse me so I wouldn't rip his legs off."

Archangel winced, but this was important. "Okay, how much would it cost to get you to find her for me?"

Deadpool sprayed beer all over the table as he nearly choked. After and extended bout of coughing he finally managed to wheeze out an answer. "How much to find the Huntress? What use is money after she kills you?"

"I thought she was the best except for you."

"Hey, that was the ego talking. I could probably never even find her, let alone catch her. She's not really my type of mercenary."

At that particular moment, this secretive and highly skilled person was trying to coax Remy into doing a little clothes shopping with her.

"Come on, five minutes, I promise." She put on The Look. The bottom lip went out, her eyes went all big and hurt. Remy still stood firm.

"Chere, I can see dat look in your eye, an' de sign saying 'season clearance'. Judging by de frantic hand signals de poor suckers who already been dragged in are givin' me, I keep you out 'ere for y' own safety."

"Spoilsport. Oh well, if I can't impulse buy, I get to eat."

"Dat's fine."

They walked a few blocks to a place Remy had never been before. Vedis, however, seemed to know it quite well. The restaurant, judging by the clientele, was a favorite place for rich professionals to 'do lunch'. It was a bit contradictory as well, although the décor was classy, the staff were friendly and there was a relaxed atmosphere all the suits couldn't take away. And the smells were varied and mouth-watering.

"Julia!" exclaimed the waiter who came to show them to a table. "You haven't been in for days! But now you're back, and with new company as well. Business or pleasure?"

"A new friend. And don't give me that look, I do have male friends, you know."

"Of course you do. Here you are, usual table." The usual table was a nice one, in a corner near a window, surrounded by potted plants. It was also close the swinging doors into the kitchen, the hum of voices and crash of pots as well as frequent laughter made pleasant background noise.

Their young waiter handed them menus and hurried over to those doors. Leaning in, he called out "Julia's here! And she brought a new friend. Much nicer looking that that blonde prick who tagged along last time!" Then he was off again, bustling away to attend to another party of rich businessmen.

"I t'ink I'll take dat as a compliment," Remy murmured, as Vedis put a hand over her eyes and shook her head sadly.

"Subtlety has never been Zak's strong point. Anyway, better hurry up and chose what you want, he'll be back and nagging in a minute."

Remy scanned the menu and was pleasantly surprised. There was French food, Italian food, Japanese food, American food and Indian food, all with their own section, vegetarian and kosher options were clearly marked. According to the little story at the top of the page, the idea was to provide a place where everyone would be able to eat something they enjoyed. Maybe if de X-Men found dis place dere wouldn' be so many fights 'about where t' eat. Eating out in a large group with so many different backgrounds was a real pain, someone always sulked because they hadn't got what they wanted. Remy grinned to himself. After the first few times it had almost never been him, because they'd learned that, aside from Rogue, no one could sulk as well as he could. As a result, Storm and Wolverine had ended up eating southern more often than they would have liked. The thing was, if they didn't get their way at least one out of every three times they'd both sulk, and the entire team couldn't hold out against a combined Rogue/Remy sulk.

"Well, have you decided what you want or do you want to make my life hard?" Zak had returned, pulled out a pad and was tapping his foot.

Vedis cleared her throat. "We've got things to do today, so we'll have to be quick. I'll have whatever soup Tora's cooking today, the chicken curry and an iced chocolate."

Zak didn't bat an eye at Vedis' version of a quick lunch. "No dessert? There's your favourite chocolate mousse."

Her eyes lit up. "The yummy one with all the brandy in it? Okay, but just one helping. In a hurry."

Zak looked over at Remy. This was a mistake, because as soon as they looked each other in the eye their control shattered and they burst out laughing.

"And what, heh heh, would you like?"

"I notice you don' have Cajun food."

Zak shrugged. "We did, but the cook moved. Anything else catch your eye?"

Remy ordered mostly French food, which turned out to be nearly as good as what he ate in France with Lionel. He was watching Vedis finish off her second helping of chocolate mousse, which was so full of brandy he could smell it from the other side of the table, when a large middle-aged man in a white apron sat down with them.

"So, Jules, you going to introduce me to your new friend?"

"Jerry, this is my new roommate Remy LeBeau. Remy, this is Jerry Henshaw, owner of this place and general busy-body. He will now interrogate you and embarrass me."

Jerry looked innocent. "Actually, I heard Zak mention he was Cajun and wondered if he had any idea where I could find a reliable chef. And maybe ask a few questions, because you're like my own daughter and this is New York, you can't be too careful."

Remy's mind kicked into overdrive. He'd been a bit uncomfortable about going back to stealing, he'd given it up when he joined the X-Men. And he was supposed to be a chef himself. He was a good enough cook (not that he didn't love cooking badly if he thought it would be amusing), he enjoyed it, the place was nice, and… he was intensely curious about what it would be like to have an honest job. It wasn't something he'd ever done before. Maybe it would be worth a try, to start a new life. One where he didn't risk his skin every day or work for mad mutant scientists. Remy realised he was sick of the fast life. Settling down for a while would be so nice, and he could prove to himself that Bishop had been wrong. In addition, it did have novelty value, and regular pay.

"I'm a chef."

Vedis looked at him enquiringly, but didn't say anything. Jerry looked interested.

"Any experience?"

"Not recently, but I did live in a house wit' an awful lot o' people." That was close enough to true, he'd worked in kitchens once or twice when he was young. To steal things, but that was beside the point. And if he could feed the X-Men…

"Well, we have a lot of chefs and kitchen hands here, so nobody feeds the entire place." He turned to Vedis. "Jule, is he any good?"

"Yes. I've decided to give up cooking as long as he's in the house." She grinned at Remy.

"No, I distinctly remember saying dat I would not do all de cooking."

"But you're so much better at it than me…" Vedis went all pouty.

"Don't whine, Julia, it's not very attractive." Jerry admonished.

"I do not whine!"

"Remy? Was she whining?"

Remy looked at them both. If he said yes, she might just kill him. But if he said that she didn't, not only would he be lying but he'd kill his chances of getting a job with Jerry.

"You were, Julie." He just couldn't help himself. She knew she'd been whining.

"Fine, just gang up on poor li'l me. I can take it…" She tilted up her chin and looked hurt. Her bottom lip quivered. Neither man paid any attention.

So it was that Remy LeBeau became a chef, and put the name Gambit and all his history with the X-Men away, locking the door behind it. He always carried a pack of cards in his pocket, but he used them more for card tricks and poker games than whupping baddies. He missed the X-Men every day, and Rogue every second of every minute, but it was nice to be normal. The cooks, waiters and kitchen hands at the Orion restaurant were like one big family, which welcomed him with open arms. The fact that he had red-on-black eyes and could make peas explode in amusing ways didn't matter. The staff was so multi-cultural a mutant was merely a bit exotic, not someone to be afraid of. It was a good life, and he was content. And when he went home, there was someone like him to laugh with, a cat to love on him and the odd call to Mystique, who kept him updated on all the X-gossip.

The X-Men didn't do so well. They were without the Professor, Cyclops or Phoenix. They had surly new recruits and a serious equipment shortage. What's more, there were at least three people having emotional crises at any one time. Their lives ran like a soap opera, never enough time to slow down and see the roses, let alone smell them. Warren continued to try and track down the Huntress, with little success. Mystique knew something, according to Psylocke, but bribery, blackmail and psychic 'encouragement' failed to gain a scrap more than: "I've heard she's a kind, sweet girl and I won't tell you a thing because you'll just go make her upset."

 

GambitGuild is neither an official fansite of nor affiliated with Marvel Enterprises, Inc.
Nonetheless, we do acknowledge our debt to them for creating such a wonderful character and would not dream of making any profit from him other than the enrichment of our imaginations.
X-Men and associated characters and Marvel images are © Marvel Enterprises, Inc.
The GambitGuild site itself is © 2006 - 2007; other elements may have copyrights held by their respective owners.