Rebuilding [For Remy LeBeau]

[theycalledmeacurse]

A different universe. It kept Rogue up at night, thinking of all it represented. A fresh start, she’d been assured, a chance for her to have a life unravaged by war. But it wasn't really a fresh start for her, not when everyone she had ever known was different in countless ways and had no idea what she’d been through. She was stuck here, left to remember everything that had happened and somehow find a way to cope and move on.

She had ended up at the mansion purely because she had nowhere else to go. Xavier's had been her home before it had become her prison, and there were few places for a mutant as 'dangerous' as her to safely live, not when she had never fully mastered control over her powers. And the staff had welcomed her. She'd explained what she could, and then she had begged the telepaths not to look into her mind, as much as they were able to keep from doing so anyway. She didn't want these people to see what had been done to her, what she had been made to do, or the horrible minds that now shared space with her own. And she didn't talk about it, just pretended that she was okay, that it was nothing to resume a normal life in a world that wasn't war-torn and as broken as she was. That seeing the students roaming the halls didn't remind her of all the children who had died on her watch, that it didn't kill her inside to spend her days surrounded by people who didn’t know her, just this universe’s version of her.

Before long, she had started to break from it all. Every night she’d roamed the mansion halls, checking on the secret passages, making sure windows were secure, remembering what had been changed when those monsters had taken her home away from them. And she was so angry and in so much pain. Her emotional state was starting to echo Logan's and Erik's, and she didn't hold to any illusion that the others would ignore it forever. But she had decided to let it go as long as possible.

She should have known that there would be a plan. A project to help her, give her a purpose again and a chance to get away from this place that was familiar but haunting. So three weeks into the new universe, she was presented with an opportunity – to help oversee the founding of a new school for mutants. Find the best location, oversee the construction and design, gather a staff… It would take time, but time was all she had now. And she would have a chance to literally build a new life for herself.

Only she couldn’t do it alone. It was a monumental task ahead of her and she didn’t know quite where to start.

Comments

[callmegambit]

So it was that the morning she was to leave, when she was ready to go, she was greeted by a man in sunglasses and a suit, and with a smirky grin. His suit was cut to the nines, and fit him like a second skin, leaving little to the imagination, even by X-Men standards. And he knocked on her door with a bouncy step.

"Hello, chere'. Ready to go? Dis ship for parts unknown is ready to rise." The accent was pure slick Cajun.

Remy had been looking for a reason to get out of the mansion, where he didn't quite fit, and he had leaped at this one. Go out, with this pretty new stranger, and find other places that would be good for schools and fun.

[theycalledmeacurse]

Of all the people she'd thought might be on the other side of the door, he'd never crossed her mind. Seeing him standing there, alive and smiling, it-- She wanted to cry and kiss him at the same time. Except she couldn't. This wasn't her Remy, this was a stranger who was apparently going with her. There'd been mention of someone going along, to help and keep her company, but no one had said...

Why should they have? For all the things Rogue had told them about her other life, Remy had never factored into it. Talking about losing the love of her life was painful and she didn't need to rehash those memories with people who couldn't begin to understand.

"Sure, sugar," she replied in her smooth southern drawl, the words coming out duller than they might have with anyone else. Her gloved hand tightened around the bag she was holding and she nodded stiffly. "I'm all set. Let's get going." She took a deep breath before walking past him, the boots beneath her jeans tapping on the hardwood floor.

[callmegambit]

Seeing her, Remy grinned, eyes taking her in and being all too glad to see her. She was new, and different, and he wanted to know more. There was something about her, something compelling.

He smiled as he nodded to her, those glowing eyes intent on hers. Watching her pass him, he shook his head. That was one hell of a woman. He followed her, grinning. "The X-Van is ready, and running, and full of gas, snacks, and maps."

He chuckled, thinking ahead as they walked downstairs and toward the front door. "Would you like to drive, and me navigate, or vice versa?"

[theycalledmeacurse]

If Rogue knew what he was thinking, that history was already beginning to repeat itself, she'd have hightailed it right out of there and left him in a cloud of dust. It wasn't her intention to have anything but simple companionship with this man until he moved on to another project, and she would be determined to make sure that's how things stayed.

She tried not to watch the students who milled about, some moving at a leisurely pace while others rushed off to their next class. It was better to keep them at the periphery of her vision, lest she see another face that was eerily familiar. Glancing over at his question, she was quiet for a moment, considering her options, before deciding, "I'd prefer you drive, if you're alright with that." She just wasn't sure she had the focus for it right at that moment.