Backdated | Ororo, Remy and Sarah | early Friday morning

[x-storm.livejournal.com]

Ororo heads to Egypt to pick up Remy and Sarah - it seems Amanda wasn't joking when she said they needed a little help.

It was still cool in the Aswan morning when the car finally reached the airport. The rumbling, rust spotted sedan made little impression as it was waved through the gates, and drove quietly through the maze of runways and mobile stairs. It finally stopped out front of the ice white Lear that belonged to Frost Industries, and was X-Force's main transportation around the world. Surprisingly, the pilot seat had been occupied by Ororo Munroe for this one; a clever ruse using her contacts with a metallurgist in Aswan as the cover for the flight. Having saved his life once, the man was too happy to agree to only release his findings to Miss Munroe, to courier back to Frost's labs.

She sat sipping coffee with the co-pilot at the bottom of the stairs, as the leperous looking car pulled up. Sarah was out first, coming around to collect LeBeau, who all but fell out of his side. His face was gaunt and sunken, and neither of his legs seemed to move properly. Sarah pulled him to his feet, and stumbled him towards the plane.

Of course Ororo had been expecting Sarah and Remy to be in less-than-stellar condition... though she hadn't heard much in the way of details it was clear enough from the brief message she did get that they had had a rough time of it. She hadn't been expecting quite this bad, however, and it was a struggle to keep the worry and concern from showing on her face as the duo approached. "Everything is prepped; we are ready for departure," she said, her words clean and clipped. "Let us get you on board."

"I have never been so happy to see a familiar face in my life." Sarah breathed a sigh of relief as they managed to get Remy up the stairs and into a seat. Supporting him was vaguely like running a three-legged race, and all Sarah wanted to do was sleep for several days. "I've been stuck with his ugly mug since before the team even got separated."

"See. It's been de keen sense of humour dat has been keeping me alive at dis point." Remy said, apparently joking, but the pain had etched deep lines into his face. As he sunk into his seat, he took Ororo's hand, squeezing it tightly. It was his own typically understated way of telling her how much he really cared.

"I think I would rather trust to modern medicine," Ororo replied, rubbing a hand over the back of Remy's in a reassuring gesture. "And I will be back with the on-board first aid kit as soon as we are in the air. Just hold tight until then." She glanced up, meeting Sarah's eyes. "Both of you."

"I'm glad you threw in that 'modern' part. We've already seen the not-so-modern sketchy kind of medicine." She turned to settle back into a seat behind Remy, toeing off her shoes onto the floor. "Who would've thought after all this, it would be the doctor who would most likely kill us?"

Remy grimaced. "I was leaking poisons out my kidney into my body. Now I'm just poisoned in general and have my sciatic near shot out. It has been a very bad day." He took a small bottle of pills from his coat and took a handful from it. "It's good to see you, chere."

"And you too, mpenzi. We will talk about getting yourself into that situation in the first place later, but we will talk about it." The look she gave him all but guaranteed that. "There are beverages and food in the aft cabinet... I cannot imagine either of you have eaten recently."

Now it was Sarah's turn to make a face. "Can't while I'm flying. It still makes me nervous." She pulled her legs up to her chest, accompanied by the sound of snagging fabric as what was left of her pants ripped and pulled against bone. "If I'm lucky, I'll manage to pass out and wake up in New York."

Remy, on the other hand, was already asleep. The pain in his face lessened as he slept, his features slack. Over the last twenty hours, he'd been up, fighting off pain and fatigue. Now, inside the plane safely, he allowed himself to sleep.

Sarah sleeps and Remy and Ororo talk. How do you solve a problem like Illyana?

They were cruising over the Atlantic, the Lear moving as smoothly as a cloud leaving Africa behind. Remy had woken up a few moment before, only to find Ororo looking back into the cabin. He waved weakly at her, struggling to sit up straighter. He knew that the second they got back to New York, he'd have proper medical attention waiting, but that didn't make him not wish for it now.

The silver-haired woman glanced back at her co-pilot for a moment, murmuring to him in a low voice before removing her headset and unbuckling herself from her seat. Rising, she made her way to where Remy sat, slipping in beside him on the aisle seat. "We are well on our way. It will not be too much longer now before we reach New York."

"Bien. Oddly enough, Remy not feeling so well today, neh?" He gave her a slight smile and patted her leg as she sat down. "Got to tell you, wasn't expecting to see you on de plane, chere. You a lot prettier den de normal pilot."

"A normal pilot would not be able to cut nearly an hour off our flight time, either," she replied, studying his expression worriedly. "Your luck is finally returning, it seems."

"It's a couple of bullets too late. Did 'manda say whether or not everyone got back safely?" He was sitting on that worry for now. He'd find out soon enough whether they'd beaten the odds or not.

"She said to tell you everyone was fine. So do not worry about them." Reaching up, Ororo placed a cool hand on Remy's feverish cheek. "You could have told me. We could have helped." There was no question who 'we' was.

"Non, you couldn't have." He didn't shake his head, relishing her touch too much, but the flat refusal in his voice was enough. "Not your kind of mission, chere, and certainly not de kind of exposure dat de school can risk. X-Men wouldn't look good caught stealing military secrets from de British, neh?"

"She is our student. We would risk quite a bit." There was a fierce protectiveness in her voice that mirrored the look in her eyes as she gazed at him.

"You shouldn't. Because she could make de X-Men into de next Brotherhood. Breaking into a Russian military records storage site? Dat houses top secret materials on projects involving psychics and mutants from de fifties on? Dere's not a government on dis planet dat would believe dat de Professor isn't involved in dat if it got public." Remy sighed. "De only thing worse den de colossal stupidity of it in de first place would be attempting to defend it, 'Ro."

"And yet there you were, getting shot in the middle of the desert with only one young woman to drag you out." Ororo glanced over the seat back to check on Sarah; luckily, she was still sound asleep. "I am sure you had time to think of the failings in that plan so I will refrain from pointing them out now. Thank you for all you did for Illyana; I can only hope that from now on she will consider her actions much more carefully."

"De difference is dat if we got caught, de school wouldn't go down wit' us. Dat's de whole point of what we do, 'Ro." Remy took a deep breath. "As for 'yana, I'll be keeping a close eye on her from now on."

"She is not the only one who will need looking after," Ororo said, pursing her lips and brushing the hair back from his forehead. She would have liked to argue the point longer, but Remy was obviously in no shape for a debate, and she knew there were better ways to show her concern.

"Oui, but I'm not currently under warrant for a capital crime in de country of Russia." Remy forced himself to stay awake a little longer. There was still business to discuss. "As for Illyana, dere's some complications involved." Remy swiftly outlined the details of the deal he'd brokered with Vazhin to preserve Illyana's life.

Ororo listened, nodding but saying little in return. She and Scott had discussed the predicament, as far as they knew it, but it seemed like they would have to have another long talk upon her return.

"As far as I can think, I don't think dat you going to be able to keep her at de school, 'Ro." Remy pointed out, voicing the unspoken issue hanging in front of them.

"Illyana will stay wherever she wants to stay - she is of the age where the choice is her own," Ororo replied. "If she wishes to stay at the school we will have her... of course we will not turn her away."

"Unfortunately, dat's not going to be enough. Her presence puts you in danger, more so if she decides she already got away once and gets caught some where dat she shouldn't." It wasn't a pleasant fact, but it was the truth. Illyana's continued public stay at the school would give Vazhin a huge lever with which to influence them.

Though Illyana had gotten herself into more trouble than she could handle alone and might very well do so again in the future, Ororo didn't think throwing her out was at all an acceptable reaction. "If she chooses to stay, then we will deal with the repercussions. I do not appreciate the insinuations that we should throw her to the wolves, Remy. Whatever you think of the school, whatever you think of me..." She trailed off and shrugged, glancing out the window at the lightening clouds outside.

"I think dat dere's a time when de right solution is not constant forgiveness, 'Ro. She is an adult, and adults face de consequences of her actions." LeBeau shook his head weakly. "But I'm not thinking dat you throw her to de wolves either. If she's at de school, eventually you going to be forced to choose between doing jobs for Vazhin or forcing a showdown dat you can't win for Illyana."

Ororo was nothing if not stubborn; the worry over Remy's condition wasn't helping. "If she is an adult than she has the right to choose. Just as you had the right to choose whether to tell us of what was happening. If she chooses not to accept our help, then I suppose she is responsible for what will happen next. But we will at least give her the option of choosing... which is more than you did."

"Illyana did have a choice, 'Ro. She chose to break into a Russian military archive. De next one was either de devil's deal or a bullet in de back of de head." Remy rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Dere's 'nother way round it. Play Vazhin's game back against him. Send 'yana to de brownstone. Dat way not only does Vazhin only have leverage 'gainst us and not de school, but I can keep an eye on dat femme. Remy pretty sure dat fear at least will keep her from pushing it for as long as she's in wit' us."

"We shall see." As the seconds ticked by after her response, it became clear that was all Ororo was going to say on the subject for now. "Please get some rest, Remy. There will be time for more discussion later, after we have gotten you to a doctor." There was irritation in the set of her lips as she leaned forward again, but it was pushed aside by concern and affection as she tested his temperature with the back of her hand on his forehead. "I will bring you a cool cloth and some water. Please promise me you will try to sleep."

Remy decided not to push it. He'd deal with Illyana soon enough, likely after Wisdom took his head off for the stupidity of getting them all here in the first place. Besides, Ororo's suggestion of sleep was insidiously tempting. More importantly, he didn't want to argue with her about this right now. It was enough that'd she'd come for him. He wasn't used to that.

"Alright, Remy sleep a little. Just 'cause you pretty when you ask, neh?"

"Aha, so my tactic succeeded. It is good to know that if you will not listen to reason, bribery will still work." Leaning forward, she placed a light kiss on the Cajun's cheek. "Thank you, Remy."

"Dat's what I'm here for." Remy slumped a little bit, and risked a quick look back at the sleeping Sarah. "Dat girl back dere? Saved my life yesterday."

"Remind me to thank her." In fact, Ororo probably would thank Sarah, if it didn't make the girl too uncomfortable. If it did... well, she would find something to show her gratitude.

"Can't believe dat she did." Remy said, muttering now. The last reserves he had were gone long before, and he slowly let sleep steal up on him. "Guess dere's more dat..." His words trailed off slowly.

Waiting a moment longer to see if Remy was going to finish his sentence, Ororo tucked the blanket more firmly around him and stood again, heading back towards the cockpit. There would be time enough later to deal with Illyana and the repercussions of her actions; for now she just wanted to get them all home.