Love Hurts

[x-polarisstar.livejournal.com]

Remy tracks down Lorna and meets Malice. He's got a clever plan but the wrong information. Things go from bad to worse.




Florida. Remy hated Florida. It was what happened when you tried to build a a family friendly version of New Orleans, and then added more guns. But his leads pushed him down here. Magneto was very good at covering his tracks. In fact, he'd been a little too good. There were holes in data, anomalies that pointed out more because of what wasn't there than what was.

It had taken illegal access to more than a dozen government databases, virtually every analyst he had links to, and a half million dollars spent like water to pull the disparate information together. The facts didn't lie. The Brotherhood was in Tampa somewhere.

He was waiting for a response from the last piece of the puzzle, scanning through documents in the quiet of a tiny bar off the tourist strips. Remy had just e-mailed Amanda that morning, still feeling the occasional twinge. Had he done the right thing? With the hurt, there wasn't anything else he could give her. But she'd been taken advantage of her entire life, and he didn't want to be the latest on the list.

Remy pushed off the thoughts wearily. This was why he'd avoided any sort of romance with the mansion's inhabitants since he'd come back. Well, that and the fact that most of them despised him, of course. Once he got Lorna home, there would be time to sort things out and make sure that things would be alright before he left again. He owed some people that much and more.

The beep from the palmpilot drew him from his distracted thoughts, and he scooped up the device. A list of buildings and registries began to scroll down, and Remy allowed himself a predatory smile.

Magneto and the Brotherhood were, operationally speaking, one of the smartest and professional cells he'd ever seen. But everyone made mistakes eventually, and left tracks that couldn't be erased if you knew where to look. He'd paid heavily for a fast and thorough search of lease and ownership records, using illegally obtained Florida state registries to remove listed developers and corporations from the list. Magneto wouldn't be dumb enough to have his home caught out this way, but they would need smaller facilities around town, and it was ironically harder to hide that kind of casual arrangement.

Finally, he'd narrowed down three or four likely spots until one file grabbed him.

"Son of a bitch." Remy said, almost admiring the audacity. There was a warehouse on record, bought two and a half years ago, under the name 'Charles Xavier'. Remy knew very well that all of Xavier's holdings were owned by the private trust corporation that Charles' had set up for the school and the X-Men. However, someone with all sorts of inside knowledge, decent forgeries, and a sloppy filing agent could easily buy under his name.

That was where he'd start on their trail.


* * * * *

Malice was nervous. She had free access to every memory and feeling of the girl whose body she'd taken. She knew how good Gambit was. The speed with which he'd found the warehouse was evidence of that even given that it was meant to be discovered. She fidgeted endlessly with her long green hair before shoving her hands in her pockets. Her attire was deliberately harmless--the simple casual style that typified her Californian upbringing. There was a healing cut on her face, another on her bare arm.

She walked to the center of the warehouse and turned in a slow circle, acquainting herself with the feeling of the building, making a mental map. She appreciated the construction company that had left behind a crate of roofing nails though they were slowly corroding with rust. She combed through their fields, using the steadiness to calm her nerves.

Bring him back or dispose of him. Instructions that assumed Gambit would take the easy route. This outing was made alone for the first time, her backup too far away to really save her but close enough to stop her from being "rescued". The final test really. God help her if she failed.

While Malice fidgeted inside, Gambit was making good use of his time outside the building. He's caught sight of Lorna through one of the gaps in the wall, himself well out of reach. There was no sign of the rest of the Brotherhood, or her telepathic handler. It was obviously a trap, Remy thought wryly. He'd rush in to save Lorna, and the telepath would use her powers to kill him. He'd done a wide circle but couldn't find a hiding spot for the other PSI. Still, there were too many spaces to check.

He spent many minutes silently walking around the building, occasionally stopping to affix something to the pavement. After twenty minutes or so, he clicked his staff open and twisted the handle. The slot opened in the centre and he turned it on. Now his staff was pumping out psionic chaff that would obfuscate his approach. He didn't have long, but he didn't need long.

For Malice, it was as if the man just melted in from the shadows, and Gambit landed softly less than ten feet away, his staff clattering down behind him.

"Bonjour."

She jumped and gaped at him silently for a moment. Danger Room session logs just didn't come close to conveying how good he really was. Swallowing hard, she shook herself and gathered her composure. "Remy. Oh, thank god, it's you. I was afraid they'd send in someone who wouldn’t listen." She held her hands out to her sides as she approached him, more a good faith gesture than anything else since she hardly needed a weapon in hand to be deadly. "How did you find me?"

"Dat would be telling, chere." Remy's eyes flickered around the building, looking for telltales of an ambush he was sure was here. He watched the way she moved carefully, looking for telltales of an imposter with both his experience and his powers. But this was definitely Lorna. A touch off, from either fear or exhaustion, but her none the less.

"Let's just say de Brotherhood is getting sloppy." Remy relaxed marginally. At least Lorna was alright, no matter what telepath was playing with her head. His gaze didn't miss the healing cuts on her arms and face either. "How 'bout you, chere?"

She looked around too, even knowing there was nothing to see. "You came for me. I'm doing better every minute." Though it was likely to get her injured, she took the last few steps between them and threw herself into his arms, hugging him desperately. "There's not much time. I've got a handler." Closer than he knew even.

"Remy worked dat out." He muttered, holding her close. Every part of him was ready for the trap, but it looked like the Brotherhood was going to try and play this subtly. Unfortunately, he also wasn't immune to that fact that after a month of worrying; of exhaustive days and nights spent searching, he had Lorna in his arms again. He stroked the side of her head lightly. "It's alright, chere. Remy found you. What happened?"

Without pulling away at all, she looked up him. "At the airport, they took me away to explain things and…Magneto is my father. He's been training me--teaching me. There's so much I didn't know before." She took a deep breath; even ready for the trap, he wasn't going to see this one. "Xavier is wrong."

Behind Remy's steady eyes, his brain snapped into furious motion. That was the key. They were going to play Polaris as a willing recruit, to dump everyone. Oh, it was an inspired play, worthy of Magneto himself. Even they didn't know that he'd already worked things out and as for his response, well, they weren't going to see this one.

"Dat right, chere? Last I heard, Magneto only had two kids." A thought squirmed uncomfortably into his head, his most recent argument with Xavier highlighted. He'd quit because he believed Xavier's methods were wrong. If Lorna believed that... but it wasn't really Lorna, he considered as he killed the thought.

"Wanda and Pietro? They're my half-siblings. My mother was my adoptive father's sister." She shook her head and pulled away, unable to talk and not use her hands to illustrate her point. "That's not really important. What's important is that we don't have much time and I need your help. We need the best and you're the best. Magneto chose me because we're blood. But I asked for you. I need you on my team."

She ran her hand through her hair, "You know me, Remy. You know that I wouldn't do this if I wasn't convinced it was the right thing to do."

"I also know dat you a little leery 'bout killing innocent people bfore you ended up wit' your pere." Remy said, close to her but still ready to respond. "Dat something else dat's changed?"

"They weren't innocent. Every one of them had crimes to pay for. Besides, the children lived." She tilted her head to the side, "I have to say, it's a bit odd for you to be questioning the choice to kill."

Ah, and the Brotherhood shows their cards first, Remy thought. They were close, and whoever had the run of her mind was damn good, but not good enough. Lorna would never ask that of Remy; she knew how dangerous the line was for him, and the pain associated with it. Remy thumbed the control on in his pocket.

"Let's say dat Remy learned a few new tricks in de last couple of months, chere." He drew his hand out and hit the button. Around the warehouse, the small buffers suddenly went active. It was like a whipcrack to a PSI, throwing out a massive amount of feedback that would all but annihilate any transmissions. He'd first seen them in the Agency, and then later at Arcade's. They wouldn't last long, but a few minutes of breaking the outside control of the telepath was all they would need. Lorna's head snapped back and she cried out, collapsing. But Remy was there, catching her before she hit the ground. "It all right, chere. Remy got you."

The fucking bastard. Her head was killing her and the collar felt white hot around her neck though that was probably psychosomatic. "What the hell are you doing? What was that?" He wouldn't hurt her, she realized. Not with the way he was cradling her so carefully. Quite suddenly, Malice knew what Lorna didn't even realize. With a purely mental chuckle, she shifted her body language to be even more fragile and pained, clinging to Remy. "What have you done?"

"Psychic inhibitors. Short term, but just powerful 'nough bastards to cut anyone dat trying to keep you on a leash." It was bitterly ironic how close he was to solving the real issue. Remy stroked her head. "It's alright, chere. You free."

"Remy, you don't understand..." Her voice wavered and cracked but lack none of her earlier conviction. "I know what I'm doing. They're not forcing me into anything." She slid her hand up to pet his cheek, face tilted back close enough that her breath feathered over his mouth. "Magneto is right. And I have to stay with him. Please, come with me. Please?"

Merde.

It was all Remy could do not to drop her. He had broken whatever telepathic hold that Magneto could have had on her, and yet, she still wanted to go back. Sick horror leaked into his thoughts. Was this what Lorna herself had decided?

"Chere, dis... you not being... why?" He stumbled over his words, looking desperately for an explanation.

"Because Xavier is wrong. We can't live beside them in peace. We can't just lie down and take it when they hurt us. Even our own kind are against us and no one is willing to tell the truth." She shifted subtly, turning his protective hold on her into something more loverlike. "These last couple months have been so hard, Remy. I haven't had anyone I could trust. Not really. They don't really trust me either." Her voice was soft and her green eyes intent.

"But..." It was almost plaintive, his voice lost. This couldn't be happening. Lorna had once mentioned how she was a little uncomfortable being his moral compass, but the fact remained that she was. Around her, he felt his own uncertainties soothed, and the choice of actions had become clearer to find the right path; making himself into the man and not the monster. Now, she'd taken every suspicion he'd felt growing over the last few months with the Professor's inactivity, the negligence, the casual dismissal of children in danger, and gave voice to the darkest parts. His throat went tight, and choked off words, stilled by his agonized confusion and the light pressure of her fingers against his cheek.

"I need you with me. Not just because you're the best but because you're you. Because I can trust you to do the right thing. And because..." She brushed her lips over his mouth, softly like they had all the time in the world, the offer clear.

Her mouth on his obliterated his thoughts. This was something that he'd only imagined in the darkest parts of the night, away from everyone and everything. She was in his arms, lips against his, a sweet agony that made everything around him fade away. It was only a moment, but the feeling of the kiss lingered, a wealth of promise unspoken between them.

"What do you want me to do?" He choked finally.

"I want you," she took a breath, licking her lips then continued, "to join us. We need everything you know. Everything you can do. I know it will be hard for you but I'll be there. We can work together and you'll have me. I know it's what you've wanted." That bit of knowledge was pure Malice who read people better than Lorna could ever hope. She kissed him again lingerly, still just a promise.

Remy's hands tightened on her, and unbidden, his own words suddenly came to mind. He had told Amanda that all she had to do was trust herself to know what the right thing to do was when the time came. Gambit had been a murderer, a monster. A man that had casually destroyed every life he'd touched and laughed about it. But this wasn't his decision.

Malice mistook the sudden change as her victory, and she smiled, threading a hand in his hair, kissing him again. "All you have to do is say yes, Remy."

And there it was.

"Non. Not for de world, chere." He said softly. It was Lorna, offering him everything he'd ever wanted. But in the soul aching pain, Gambit found something he didn't expect: Remy LeBeau. In shattering pain, he made his choice.

Malice hissed and shoved him away, rolling to her feet. "Why not? What do you want? I'm offering you what you've wanted, what you've dreamed of. How can you say no?" The EM field tightened around the roofing nails in their box, though it made not a sound. "What's wrong with you?"

"Because it's not right. And I'm not him." Remy said simply. There was barely any warning as the nail box exploded, but Lebeau was already moving. He twisted and piked, impossibly fast to avoid the cloud of nails that drove past him. Remy handsprung out and somersaulted, losing his jacket on the way. The clasps were metal, and the last thing he needed was to give her more ammunition.

Not fast enough. As good as he was, time with Magneto had taught the magnekinetic a new trick or two and the faint EM signature of his body was enough to let her train the nails on him again even as his jacket flew up to smother his head. Malice gritted her teeth, hands clenched at her sides while she concentrated, not even bothering with a shield.

The coat threw him off balance, enough that he couldn't completely avoid the brace of nails. He ignored the pain as they peppered his left arm, glancing blows that tore at him but caused little real damage. A brace of cards drove Lorna back, exploding around her in geysers of fragmented concrete. Remy kept moving, weaving, angling for his shot.

The ground exploded beneath him, rebar laid years ago to stabilize the foundation rearing up into a metal maze. The cards volley made her swear and take to the air, lessons on using all three dimensions put to use now. She could track him more easily than he could her and the very building would support her. Behind him a window exploded as the metal pane wretched itself free and hurled toward him.

She was faster than him, but Lorna didn't have all the tricks that his spatial awareness allowed. Remy jumped at the window frame, twisting so he actually passed cleanly between the iron slats and rolling to his feet. He'd cleared the sprawling cloud of debris, a card in hand and a clear shot at Lorna. There was no shield in his way, all of her attention going towards the objects in the air.

If he threw the card, he could stop it all. But all that he had was a killing blow. There was no way to do it otherwise. Remy wasn't sure he knew what love was, but he knew two people he'd gladly trade his life for.

The card exploded an inch to the left of Lorna's head.

Malice screamed, more in shock than the pain of the burn. Her next move was instinctive, aimed to protect herself more than anything. The EM world warped then drove in at him. Remy's staff drove itself through his chest from behind, punching out below his rib, covered in bright red blood.

The shock of the impact arched Remy taut like a bow string, nothing but an explosive breath breaking free. He collapsed to his knees, grabbing the staff and pulling it out with a scream. Bright blood was already dribbling from his mouth, and the clinical part of his brain was screaming that his left lung had just collapsed. He fumbled for a card, trying to lurch sideways and move through the pain.

The roofing nails ripped into his legs, the metal banding around his bones. Malice landed lightly and stalked toward him as she ripped through his body, "You had to refuse. Did you think I would just let you go? For old time's sake?" She shoved and he flew back against a wall with a sickening thud. "Why did you make me do this?"

"Figured dat you needed de practice." Remy coughed, bubbling blood. She wrenched him around like a ragdoll. He screamed as he slammed into the far wall, the right side of his face smashing cruelly and his vision going dead. She flung him back the other way, and this time he barely registered the wet pop as his face hit the concrete, pasting blood and tissue after him.

The metal in one leg snapped the bone and rushed into the break, twisting it, twining into the living bone. "I didn't want to kill you. I do love you, you know." Whether that was just a lie to make this all the more painful or not was unclear. She ripped a mass of rebar from the tangled mess on the floor and held it at ready as she walked over to where he lay. Reaching into her pocket, she took out a small key and placed it next to his hand, currently impaled by several nails. "You should have said yes." She turned and walked away, the rebar hurling down onto him as she let go.

There was a sick wet crunch as the concrete and steel landed across Remy's pelvis where he lay. He was so deep into shock that the only reaction was a widening of his eyes as the weight shattered bone and flesh. Remy's face screwed up, trying to scream and only dribbling blood. He sagged, trapped on the ground, red and black swirls at the edge of his vision. The flick of her mind, and she could finish him off. He'd failed, and the last spark of rational thought whispered apologies to Lorna and Amanda for not keeping his promise.

Malice kept walking and didn't look back. He wouldn't survive long, not after that. She would tell Magneto that he was dead...he was as good as in any case. Gambit had been a monster--giving him the quick death she'd dealt thus far would be too good for him. She pressed her hand to her good temple, her head screaming with a headache that had onset sometime after he'd said no. She was going to be sick.

After a long moment, Remy stirred. He couldn't see out of his one eye, and the shudders down his body promised of the pain to come. His mouth was full of the taste of his own blood, which trickled into the pool beneath his chin with every breath. His fingers twitched, the three good ones closing on the key that she left. He pulled it into a tight grip, before finally surrendering to the clawed blackness that reached up hungrily for him and dragged him down into oblivion.