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Written by Painted Eyes
Last updated: 01/02/2007 02:01:11 AM

Chapter 14

Xavier swallowed a sigh at their polarities as they came into his study, like naturally repelling elements driven to opposite sides of the room except for Rogue, preoccupied in a welter of bewildered thought, and the potentially deadly cypher that Eric had become. Joseph. His students had no idea how ironically appropriate the division was, a matter so simple they had almost overlooked it, and as fraught with threat and potential as anything he'd ever encountered. Henry was nearly beside himself with excitement and couldn't wait for them to settle to begin, though he was also uneasy leaving Remy alone despite Cerebro's attentive sensors. The Cajun did poorly when he was left alone and so, sometimes, did his MedLab.

"We have been engaged in an exhaustive analysis of Sinister's damping field equipment and, aside from a few minor modifications that we presently have an admittedly slight grasp of, found little to explain the events of recent history in the Danger Room - until today." His eyes gleamed despite his obvious exhaustion. "It seems that in our search for technologies and correlate physiology, we overlooked the one factor that has always exerted exceedingly profound effects on human scientific endeavor, and the very factor Sinister has never grasped - humanity itself. Folding this factor into the equation resulted in some unexpected and extremely provocative extrapolations. To wit: The proclivity to defensiveness or aggression incited by Sinister's equipment was apparently predicated by extant variables in the individual, subsequently their physiological reactions varied in exact concordance with that component - "

Bewildered looks, and Henry blew out an exasperated breath. "Those with existing negative prejudices found them exacerbated beyond logical restraints of civility, while those with positive prejudices, a genuine affiliation with our Cajun team-mate, remained essentially unaffected except for an intriguing and very provocative transient augmentation of their powers in his defense - which, by the way, concurrently declined in the negatively prejudiced group, which was probably why the assault wasn't quite fatal ..." An embarrassed and breathless silence he didn't notice. "Now ..."

Rogue was rubbing her forehead with her fingertips and Xavier noted the peculiar blank look that often overcame certain members of Hank's audience when he was explaining scientific theory; Bobby was staring at him in desperate concentration, Jubilee kicked her feet absently up and down as her eyes roamed with unintentional rudeness. Henry noted it, too, thus he demurred when Xavier gently took up the narrative;

"What Henry is saying is that those of you who disliked Remy were manipulated into indulging that dislike to the point of physical violence, and those of you who liked him were moved, with seemingly increased powers, to his defense - in Jean's case it was particularly acute, perhaps because much of his self-expression at the time was on the telepathic plane. Remy himself exacerbated the tendency to violence in what I'm sure we all agree now was a noble motive."

Silence coiled between them, eyes struck stealthy flashes across the room, group to group.

Scott rose, straight-shouldered and calm; "I understand that no one can be, or is being, faulted for natural likes and dislikes ... " A clear voice denying the guilt and shame that shadowed his once-sure heart, "But I've been wondering ... " He felt Warren and Bets and Bobby square up in their seats behind him and knew he'd taken the correct approach - if what Henry said was true, this was (to his profound relief) a scientific, not personal, problem, the team had been attacked and manipulated and his job was to heal that rift with logic and reason.

"How could there have been such a like/dislike predisposition among us in light of Gambit's involuntary empathy, Professor? Why were we not all prompted to either like him or hate him?"

Xavier's warm look appreciated the constructive stance, it was that selfless ability to subsume himself into a collective purpose that made him so excellent a leader. One to whom he lied smoothly.

"We know Remy has very limited control over the charm power - give him credit for being over-endowed with very human charms to begin with. We theorize that the reverse charm, for lack of a better term at present, is stress-induced and was only recently brought to the fore by the events in Antarctica. We have supporting evidence of manifestations of previously unknown capacities in feats Gambit has executed in live battlefield situations that he cannot replicate in the Danger Room."

"Or will not." Psylocke interjected quietly, and that shiver of mistrust would not be easily dispelled. Would never be if the suggestion of Sinister's continued influence on LeBeau were voiced.

"That is a legitimate concern." Xavier said noncommittally.

Logan snorted, scratching his flaring sideburns with a half-extruded clawtip. "He'd been manipulatin' us constantly, Bets, we'd've known it ..." He shook his head at their blank faces as if they were all dense as rocks. "C'mon kiddies, Gumbo's too good at pissin' us off for that, if he could charm his way out of bein' on our shit lists and doin' extra duty f'missin' sessions - standin' watch - Jeez, he hates that - damned sure he would more often than he does. We always know when he's workin' it, telegraphs like a lineman. Leastways, I can smell it."

Xavier's brows rose marginally and Jean's smile caught his eye. Logan's primal acuities were often more discerning than either of their telepathic powers, a fact the Professor did not like to be reminded of. It made him suspect uneasily that Logan could 'read' even him in some wordless picture of senses.

"So you're saying both these powers are inconsistent, unstable, or his control over them is, correct?"

"Yes, Scott, that is essentially correct, though he was not at all aware of the reverse manifestation, and we must conclude his control over that is not even rudimentary."

"So it's just another variable in an already unpredictable character, it's only another piece of the puzzle and not a solution." Scott was clearly frustrated, an angry edge rising on that side of the room and suspicions too close to the truth to be indulged.

"Personally, him bein' so unpredictable n' all is one of the things I like about 'im." Logan said with a toothy grin, daring anyone to disagree. Jean sensed Logan was stating his allegiance at the first hint of hostility, and given Warren and Psylocke's subdued but palpable animosity, she was both unsurprised and grateful.

"Keeps the place lively, gives it ... some pepper, y'know?"

"In disobedience and insubordination and unreliability? In withholding treasonous secrets?" Scott couldn't help it, he'd seen this team split and reform around the mercurial enigma that was Remy LeBeau too many times.

Logan's response was bristling quick, "In thinkin' for himself and followin' nobody blind, Slim, won't go there myself and this ain't the army, we ain't none of us signed off on our personal freedoms."

It was an old argument, and one Scott was always passionate about, "It's got nothing to do with that, Logan, it's responsibility, maturity, teamwork, a sense of what we're trying to accomplish here that's so much bigger than any one of us ..."

"Indeed, we all bring our advantages and challenges to the team ..." Xavier's words stilled Scott with resentful reluctance, but this first flare of tempers did not fade quickly, and Xavier knew there would be no easy repair of the schism.

"Personally ..." Warren intoned, "I like to know I can count on the man or woman at my back to be where they're supposed to be, doing what they're supposed to do."

"I like the enemy t'do what he's supposed t'do, too - hang up on my claws n' die - but they don't usually. And I like to know the man or woman at my back can take some initiative and pull my ass outta th'fire with some imagination."

"Unilateral initiative has no place in a team effort, Logan, surely you can under ..."

"Fuck that!" A true growl, "We'd never have lived through half the shit we have if it wasn't for uni-damned-lateral initiative, what're we trainin' for alla time if not t'suss out n' use all we've got? Gotta be flexible, be ready for anything - accidental progress, as Hank says."

"Yes, well I have said that, and it is true that we've rather bumbled into some fairly astonishing discoveries, but I can see Scott's point as well in that cohesiveness is ..." Hank trying to defuse the situation as usual but Jubilee, who had never dared speak above a sullen grumble at any such meeting of the adults, finally boiled over,

"What is it with the being in charge thing? Power-trip much? You act like you're a general or somethin' n' everybody just has t'do what you tell them like they haven't got their own brains in their heads! If you had your way, nobody would ever be able to try anything new, heck, I'll probably end up house-sitting until I'm forty-five while everybody else gets the action!"

Every eyebrow in the room was high and nobody said a word, not that they could have in the spitfire rush as Jubilee went on,

"Gambit doesn't take shit and goes his own way, but he's on our side and always has been, he doesn't have to kiss your ass or anybody else's to be an X-Man! And you can't point to a single time he's betrayed us since he's been with us!"

Logan patted her thigh where she sat leaning aggressively forward, glossy black eyebrows in a severe downstroke and her face flushed with all the unleashed righteous passion of the young. His expression was soothing, but pleased.

"Kid's got a point, there. Couple of 'em, in fact."

"We don't know he's never betrayed us, Jubilee, I consider that you like him and you resist rules and regimentation at your age, but he's an adult! He's never been honest with us, we have no idea what else he might be hiding that endangers us, either past, present or future! I have to think of all of you, I have to find some way to balance pushing you to maximize your potentials and keeping you alive, and I can't do that with a loose cannon roaming around in the ranks manifesting God knows what sort of power he's either hidden or doesn't know about!"

The Professor and Jean both stiffened, and Xavier moved to deftly turn the path of the conversation.

"Please, please, Scott, Logan ... Jubilee." To her credit the teen didn't flinch at Xavier's stern look, it was the first time Scott had talked to her like an equal and she held her head up, eyes sparking.

"It must be understood that no one is placing blame for this incident ... "

"I'm sorry, Professor, but by Jean's look I believe I'll need to return to the MedLab fairly soon." Jean inclined her head, Remy's distress faint, but there. Hank's tone was diplomatic but he couldn't restrain his impatient incredulity, "Did no one hear me say some powers were augmented? Does no one realize the ramifications? Yes, Remy has manifested a power either new or previously blocked, and yes, that poses some strategic difficulties and inherent dangers, but for the rest of us, if we can nullify the negative responses to Sinister's equipment, the possibilities of enhancing, even focusing, your individual powers are enormous! The potentials these tragic events have uncovered are truly extraordinary, all it would ..."

Suddenly Rogue shot to her feet, startling everyone; "Beast, can you put Sinister's machine back together the way it was?"

"Well ..." Nonplussed, "Logan caused it some damage, but yes, I believe I can ... however, the idea is not to reconstruct it, but to isolate the components that induce the specific synapses ..."

"No, no, Hank, you've got to put it back the way it was!" Desperately focused on him as if there were no one else in the room, "Ya hafta use it on me with Remy in the room. See what I do. If ah'm gettin' you, y'all r' sayin' it's like a lie detector separatin' those who got true feelin's for the Cajun from those that don't, even ... maybe somebody who's been influenced to think they have."

"But the isolation experiments ..." McCoy's expression spoke eloquently of his unwillingness to delay what he viewed as research of great benefit to the team, but Xavier nodded slowly. Amid the logic and scientific excitement and uncertain passions, Rogue spoke the very human heart of all this chaos. He was curious himself about this.

"Henry, if it can be done without sacrificing the equipment - because I agree that the augmentation project has to be ensured - I will agree to this. Rogue must know whether her feelings for Remy are her own or not, and Remy has to know this as well if he's ever going to be able to believe anyone can care about him without the empathic influence. All of you, no matter what your opinions, must agree that we need his trust and cooperation. Can it be done?"

"Well, of course, backtracking what we've done thus far, some ..." His voice faded away, dark eyes narrowing in sudden discomfort.

"However ... there is one other thing not being considered that could render all these conjectures moot." He felt their eyes but could not gentle his words. "Remy has to survive in order to undertake this test, and I cannot say with any certainty that he will."