FIC - The Reeducation of Remy LeBeau - 134 - A Chill in the Air (Adult, Xmen, Rogue/Gambit)
The Reeducation of Remy LeBeau – 134 - A Chill in the Air
Authors: vikingprincess and SciFiGrl47
Setting: Beyond the Movieverse AU
Characters: Rogue/Gambit, Xavier, Shadowcat, Dryad, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Iceman, Forge, Beast, Emma Frost
Overall Ratings/Warnings: Adult/NC17 overall (language, violence, sexy goodness)
Summary: Early in May, an unwilling older transfer student arrives at the school, putting a chill in the air and causing the girls to put on their cranky pants.
Dear Readers: Comments inspire the muse and make her happy!
PLEASE DO NOT ARCHIVE.

All prior chapters can be found here.

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A Chill in the Air


Summoned to the Professor’s office, Kitty excused herself from breakfast and went trotting off, ponytail swishing and an apple being rapidly devoured, since she hadn’t quite been finished with her normal morning caloric intake when he’d politely knocked at the doors of her mind. “New student,” she chirped to her friends as a quick explanation on her way out of the dining room.

“Been a while since we had one of those, ain’t it?” Rogue winked at Cipher, one of the most recent and least official additions to the student body at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. “Y’all, and Tim. Before that, it was Remy.” She gave the boy in question a crooked half-smile. “And that was sorta irregular, too.”

“Dis one brought adventure, romance, excitement, an’ strangeness into you’ borin’ and mundane life,” he teased, and flicked a teasing finger across her nose.

“That’s one way of lookin’ at it,” she replied demurely, green eyes sparkling. “Others might say y’ brought trouble, trials, an’ tribulation.” She paused a beat, and held in a giggle at the sad puppy eyes he turned her way. “Not me, though!”

“Dis is a relief.”

*

Moments later, apple gone and eyes bright, Shadowcat knocked on the Professor’s door and announced herself. “Sir? It’s Kitty. You wanted to see me?” ~~Did you want me to skip using the door, Sir?~~ She projected carefully, just as she’d been taught over many years.

~~That will not be necessary, Shadowcat,~~ came the reply, with a distinct feeling of throat-clearing accompanying it. Kitty wondered why that was. “Come in,” he added out loud, and she pulled the door open and bounced through, smiling at him.

Xavier smiled at her, his usual expression of welcoming affection comforting. "Kitty, this is Emma Frost. Emma will be joining us as a full time student, starting today."

The girl in the chair opposite him turned, just a bit, just enough to display a classically beautiful profile, her creamy pale skin and spun gold hair catching the morning light through the window. She smiled, a beautiful, meaningless expression that barely seemed to ripple her skin. Dressed in a delicate, sophisticated white silk blouse and elegant white trousers, with small, tasteful touches of gold at her ears and throat, makeup and hair entirely perfect, she crossed her long legs. "Hello," she said, her voice cool and low.

"Good morning," Kitty said cheerfully. Wow, this girl was gorgeous! She looked maybe as old as Remy or Bobby, a couple of years senior to the other 'oldest' girls, and her style was amazing, if sort of... blinding. And a little on the intimidating side, too! Why wasn’t someone this old starting college, instead of coming for the first time to an admittedly amazing but officially middle and high-school aged place for powerful mutants? It seemed pretty obvious that she could pass for human, if she wanted to, so... why not do that? Surely she didn’t get to twenty or so without knowing how to handle her powers?

"I'm Katherine Pryde, but everyone calls me Kitty. What made you decide to transfer here? I mean, I assume you were somewhere for school over the past year, right? Oh, and have you eaten breakfast yet? Classes start in about forty-five minutes."

Emma gave a little flick of her head, her long, straight hair swirling like a curtain around her shoulders and settling, with picture perfect precision, around her face. "I wasn't able to fulfill my potential at my last school," she said, brilliant eyes glittering with something that wasn't quite identifiable. "I have high hopes about this one." She stood, picking up a purse from the side table. It was white leather, and matched her expensive-looking white stilletto heels. "Thank you, Professor."

"Of course. Kitty, please show her around and introduce her to everyone." Xavier gave Emma a pleasant smile. "Emma, I trust you'll remember our discussion."

"Yes," she said, her voice non-committal.

"See you for Ethics Class, Sir," Kitty chirped. It was the one thing everyone had to take, every single year, though the higher-level students only met once a week, instead of three times. "Come on, Emma, this way. Were you hungry or would you rather have a quick tour?"

Emma towered over Kitty, her posture as graceful and sexy as a model on the runway. "I'm fine," she said, her eyes flicking over everything they passed. "It's a cafeteria, isn't it?"

"It's a very nice dining room that happens to have buffet service," Kitty laughed. "Actually, we use it for a lot of things, depending on what's needed. The teachers usually eat in the kitchen, closer to the coffeepot," she confided teasingly.

"You can go straight into it from the foyer, the terrace, or the kitchen. And the kitchen has an interior connection to the garage, too. Some classrooms are along here," she said, gesturing back toward the Professor's office, "and some are on the other side of the foyer. There's a student lounge there, too. More classrooms and the Library on the second floor, dorm rooms and some other stuff on the third, teachers on the fourth. Oh, and a rooftop garden." She figured she'd explain the nap room later. Someone as sophisticated as Emma appeared to be would probably think it was pretty stupid, anyways.

"I've seen the floor plan," Emma said, her head still swinging from side to side. "Boys’ wing and a girls’ wing, right? Well, that makes things easy." She gave Kitty a measuring glance. "So, let's skip the class nonsense; no one gives a damn about my grades, in any case. What is there to do for fun around here? Or rather, should I say, whom?"

Kitty's mouth dropped open for an instant, and then she laughed. Emma was even more blunt about sex than she was! Who could have imagined that? "There's not a single ugly guy in the place. Some who don't like girls, some who have girlfriends, but not a single unattractive healthy young male anywhere on the grounds. You'll have a good time getting to know them. Just... watch out for Robert. His social graces aren't exactly up to par. But he's a nice enough guy, even so."

"I'm really not interested in nice," Emma gave her a polite little smile, and for some reason, it was a very threatening expression. "I don't intend to stay in this backwater nightmare of a poor man's Hogwarts for very long, but I do like my time to be productive."

Kitty bristled at the slur on the school. "We do research here that's the equivalent of doctoral level work, thank you very much," she snapped. "Our faculty serves on Presidential advisory committees. Hell, some of our students have patents on things you wouldn't believe if you saw them... and probably wouldn't understand if you did. People who disdain education," she nearly snarled, "usually tend to suck at using their brains."

"Mine are used for far more important things, thanks." Emma rolled her eyes. "Don't be provincial. Some people enjoy being lined up in their neat little rows and spoon fed the 'proper' information. Others see no point in doing anything other than suffering through the time." Her hair swished. "I'm here because my parents desperately wanted me out of their hair, and they found someone to play baby-sitter. They don't care if the reports home are on fire, as long as I stay where I'm put."

"So you're at a school with amazing possibilities, and the only thing on your mind is who to bone? Or maybe what trouble you can get into?" Kitty laughed. "Good luck with both of those, sweetheart! You may not value nice, but the guys around here are just a little above average in what they look for in a girl. I don't think you have it."

Emma chuckled. "Oh, I do. Trust me. Teenage boys? They talk a good 'eternal love' thing, but show them an above average pair of breasts and invite them to play and they'll trip over themselves." Another sway of her hair punctuated her point. "But don't worry about your little boyfriend, I don't date children."

“I’m not child. I’m just short,” Kitty snapped. "And I don't date just one guy, either," she added with saccharine sweetness. "I think I'll just wish you good luck, and then laugh a whole lot as you fail. Since you know the floor plan, I'm sure you can find your way to your first class. I'm going to go finish breakfast."

"Enjoy." Without a backward look, Emma swayed off.

Just in case the Professor was listening in –he wouldn't, probably, but better safe than screwed by thinking too loudly— Kitty slammed up the mental barriers that all of the older students and X-men had been trained in, and thought very, very nasty things to herself on the way back to the dining room. Now, she just had to figure out a way to warn everyone else about Emma’s attitude, without sounding like a completely jealous bitch!

*

Dr. Henry McCoy, large, blue, and furry, should have looked completely incongruous in a white lab coat and wire-rimmed spectacles, but the Anatomy and Physiology students were quite accustomed to their instructor’s formidable appearance and equally formidable brains. What they weren’t accustomed to were the new, holographically generated, human bodies for dissection, which glowed faintly on the lab tables.

Forge whispered into Kitty's ear, "We adapted some of that really bizarre DR tech, so they're solid. Little projectors. What do you think?"

"Very gross and amazingly awesome," she whispered back, brown eyes dancing. "You rock, Sid!"

“As close to the semester’s end as we are,” Beast said, sounding very pleased with himself, “I felt it was time for some hands-on experiences related to the information you have been studying so very diligently for the past months. Thanks to Forge and Tim, that experience may now be obtained without the unpleasant side effects of the odors of preservative fluids and a rather substantial change of clothes at the end of each lesson.” He beamed at the class, fangs showing in the wide grin. “Kindly pair up; there are enough holograms for all.”

Rogue’s eyes were wide and startled. While the technology was astonishing, she hadn’t really expected to have the chance to dissect... people. And if she were honest, she hadn’t wanted it, either! Pig fetuses would have been just fine. Swallowing, she turned to Remy. “Partners, darlin’?”

Remy was more than a little horrified. "Look, in de thief world, body on a table takes on entirely different meanin'," he whispered back. "Jesus. Hank does know we ain't medical students, yes?"

As the students divided themselves into pairs, Hank’s eyes went to the door of the basement laboratory, one floor below the mansion’s main floor. “Well, hello, and welcome to Anatomy, Miss Frost,” he added, as the blonde bombshell strolled into class a few moments late. “Kindly be on time in the future. You may work with Piotr,” he added, gesturing to the enormous Russian.

Emma gave Piotr a look, from head to toe and back, all the way back up. "Well, all right," she said, her teeth flashing in a wide smile. "Hi there."

"Good morning," he rumbled politely. "Welcome to Xavier's. May I know your first name?" He lowered his voice a little, and smiled. "Dr. McCoy sometimes forgoes social niceties when knowledge is the prize."

"I'm Emma," she said, giving him a flirtatious look, her head tipped to the side.

Across the room, Remy's eyebrows arched. From the time she entered the room, she hadn't spared a glance for the holographic 'body' on the table. Even knowing what it was, it caused nervous stares from the teens used to Dr. McCoy's methods. Whoever this girl was, she was cold.

"Kitty says," Rogue whispered, one wary eye on Beast lest she should be scolded for being distracted, "that her parents parked her here because she kept getting into trouble. They didn't mind the trouble so much as the annoyance of it all, apparently. And she'd definitely on th' prowl." She leaned into Remy's side, a quarter-smile on her lips. "Might have t' lock y'all up," she whispered, even more quietly. "And me in there with you!"

"Piotr," Colossus replied to Emma, looking a bit dazzled. Across the lab, Kitty frowned ferociously down at the holographic cadaver she shared with Forge.

"What system are we looking at today, Dr. McCoy," she asked, voice a bit less perky than usual, and hands fisted around two of the 'scalpels' already.

"I'd like us to take a look at the breathing passages," he said, adjusting his little square glasses on his broad nose. "Lungs are one of the more easily damaged organs, especially in crushing or impact injuries. As your teammates are likely to be thrown, fall or be struck, it's important that you understand how these systems work, and how to protect them from further damage."

"Ewwwwww," Remy whispered.

“Better to know?” Rogue looked fairly doubtful herself.

Forge's fingers twitched, reaching for a scalpel. "This is not cool, Doc. Rib spreaders are not for fun."

McCoy's eyes twinkled. "And yet, you must persevere, Sid. Besides, you designed it and have tested it already. There is no need for squeamishness. Persevere," he reiterated, fangs showing in a delighted smile.

“Ain’t that always th’ way,” Rogue half-smiled, and took up her own instrument of destruction to begin delicately slicing down the ‘corpse’ in the classic autopsy V, wrinkling her nose as she did so. Rather desperately, she tried to convince herself that this was much better than a smelly fetal pig. Really.

“Think of it as a complicated machine, Sid,” Kitty advised, pulling on some rather unnecessary surgical gloves, and bending over their shared body. "You know it is, anyways!"

Piotr simply smiled, and got to work, slicing through skin and muscle to get to the ribcage. It had been a long time, but butchering had been a necessary part of farm life in Siberia. This was not so different. Courteously, he offered some ‘clamps’ to Emma. “Would you please spread the flesh, Emma?”

Kitty shot the blonde a suspicious look, fully suspecting that she was tacky enough to take that innuendo and run with it, but Emma merely shot her a superior smile, and picked up the clamps. "Is class always so interesting here?" she asked, paying more attention to him than her task, and succeeding anyway.

"Always," Piotr replied with equanimity. "That is very good, Emma; thank you. If you could pin it to the sides, to keep the incision open?"

Remy's stomach turned over, and he took a step back. "Rooogue, gross," he muttered.

"Ain't arguin' none," she pointed out, as very realistic looking fluids oozed slowly from the cuts. "And Ah swear, Remy, if y' don't help me with this disgustin'ness, won't be any snuggles later!"

"Rogue," Beast said chidingly. "The human body is not 'disgustingness.' It is beautifully fascinating! Where is your scientific curiosity?"

"Left it in my sock drawer back in Miss'ippi," she retorted at once, but laughingly.

"Dis one's body ain' disgustin'ness," Remy muttered in her ear. "Or if it is, you hide it well." He took the 'suction' system, cleaning out the ooze of blood away from her work. "Dis one'll be de nurse."

Rogue arched a brow at him. "The last thing y'all are is disgustin', but this? This here is flat out gross. In, um, a fascinatin' way," she added with more volume, as Hank peered at her over his spectacles. He harrumphed in a way that let her know he hadn't missed her second anti-cadaver judgment, and Rogue sighed as he began to stroll among the laboring teens and 'dead bodies,' lecturing enthusiastically and lending assistance where needed.

"Ain' much fo' de clinical aspect o' it," Remy agreed. "Have dealt wit' enough wounds in de field wit'out a flinch, but chere? Don' wanna be a doctor. What's de point in messin' about wit' a profession dat gets gook on you' hands?"

Rogue shrugged helplessly. "Takes all kinds? And we'd be real hard up without Hank and Lily in our corner, sugar."

Across the lab, Piotr painstakingly cracked the breastbone, and then spread the ribs of the corpse he shared with Emma.

"Well, THAT's a lovely sound," Remy said, his face a little green. He gave Rogue a bright smile. "Please don' make thin's make dat sound. Bad memories involved wit' dat sound."

"Mr. LeBeau, please put your head between your knees before you pass out," McCoy said, chuckling as he walked past.

"Bien," Remy managed, leaning over.

Emma gave his rear a glance, her lips pursing in appreciation, even as she pushed the 'flesh' of her corpse further back.

Rogue shot Emma a warning glare, and murmured, "Best cover y' ears, sug," to Remy. Then, she stuck her hands into the corpse, pleased to find that it was solid to her hands as well as the surgical instruments, and checked to be sure he'd done as she'd advised. Then, she cracked open the ribcage of their holographic corpse with her delicate-seeming, gloved fingers, and smiled angelically at the blonde bimbo.

Emma arched an eyebrow, her lips turning down in the faintest of frowns. She turned back to her own table.

"Still heard dat," Remy mumbled from under the table. "Chere, if dat don' turn you' stomach, it means you ain' broken enough bones. Dis one, dis one's broken many bones. Don' like dat noise."

Rogue chuckled. "My bones, or are we talkin' other folks pieces an’ parts? 'Cause Ah ain't got all that much experience with either one, any road."

"Stop wussing out!" Forge called to Remy, picking up one of the clamps as Kitty spread the skin aside. "I could make this easier..."

"No need, Sid," Kitty chirped, and went to town with her paired scalpels. "Why ruin the fun?"

"Sorry, Remy," Rogue said, very quietly. She kicked the side of their table, and raised her voice to threaten her beloved fiancé. "Come on out here, Remy, or Ah swear Ah'll think of somethin' wicked, then NOT do it!"

"Well, dat ain' fair," Remy said, struggling upright. He looked a little green, but he grabbed the edge of the table. "Okay. We can do dis."

McCoy, passing among the students as he lectured, extended a small jar of strongly mentholated cream to him. It looked as small as a bead in his giant blue paw. "Have an actual counter for your psychosomatic nausea, Mr. LeBeau," he offered. "Dab a bit under your nose, and it will certainly prove distracting enough to keep your stomach under control."

"It's de sound," Remy grumbled, but took it anyway. "Seen more violence den de rest o' you combined," he told the rest of the room.

"You shouldn't assume things you don't know for sure," Emma purred at him over her shoulder.

"Always good advice," Kitty chimed in, eyes fierce.

Piotr regarded her with some concern. "Katya, are you—"

"Just agreeing with Miss Frost," Kitty replied, innocent as could be.

Remy leaned over the table. "Am takin' it dat Kitty don' like our new classmate," he whispered, glancing down at the 'guts' on the table in front of him. "Ugh. Chere. Will do somethin' completely immoral t' you if you'll jus' finish dis up without dis one."

"Gal's got what she thinks is good reason," Rogue whispered back. "Tell y' later. And," she sighed, "Ah don't want t' have to do this alone. 'Sides, Hank'd just make y'all come back and finish up solo later. Y' know he would."

Across the room, Emma efficiently assisted Piotr, who was working diligently despite the cherry-red color at the back of his neck, presumably from her continued subtle, and not so subtle, flirtations.

Remy's brows arched inquiringly, and Rogue's upper lip curled in a bit of a snarl. "She's only lookin' for several someones t' seduce," she breathed, returning to Remy's first implied question. "So as she won't be bored in this here 'backwards' school."

"Dis one needs you t' withstand her advances," Remy told her in all seriousness. "No matter how hot it'd be t' see de both of ya snugglin' each other. Don' need t' fight wit' dat, she's got a better head o' hair den dis one." He considered as he worked the suction system. "Probably a better rack, too. Probably."

"Oh, Ah got plans f' her. Happens as how Ah mentioned t' Logan, real quick like between classes, that since Ah was the least likely to get hurt by whatever powers she's got, and how it might not be proper for him to go one on one with her, considering gender bias against male teachers an’ female students, and a whole lotta other logic that just made him chuckle and warm me offa breakin’ her permanent-like, how might be best if Ah was t' be her first DR partner...." Rogue smiled, slow and infinitely wicked.

Remy gave her a look. "You know what her powers are yet?"

Rogue tossed her head. "Don't much care, darlin'."

"Well, dis one does, if she kills you, dis one'll have t' kill her, an' den dis one'll get expelled, an' become a common street thief instead o' a surgeon an' den you'll end up marryin' some guy wit' some WASP-y last name." He wrinkled his nose. "Depressin', dat."

Rogue burst into giggles, but moderated her voice before replying, keeping it quiet. "How am Ah gonna marry someone else if Ah'm dead? Crazy fool," she teased. "Ain't gonna marry no one but y'all. Not ever," she whispered even more quietly. "Ah love y' so, Remy!"

"Bien, den do dis one a favor an' don' get int' any fights wit' anyone whose powers are still in de dark, oui?" He grinned. "Dis one'll get Ci t' do it fo' you. She's used t' punchin' people who might explode."

"Thank you, no," Rogue said, quite firmly. "We ain't in N'Awlins and Ah'll handle my own business. 'Sides, Logan's good with it." She smiled beatifically.

"Logan lets you run roughshod over de rules 'cause he don' know how t' tell you no," Remy pointed out. "Is dis one gonna get hit on?" he asked, eyes dancing.

"She was already watching y' fine rear," Rogue admitted, fingers flexing again, just as they had when cracking open the rib cage of their 'cadaver.' "But Ah put my markin's in place, too. She keeps on, gal will deserve everythin' Ah dish out."

Remy gave her a look. "If dis one killed everyone who tried t' hit on you, dere'd be no males left in a twenty mile radius, chere. She ain' a threat."

Rogue snorted. "Men don't try t' hit on me, Remy. 'Less y'all're livin' in some slightly alternate dimension that Ah've never visited! But Ah see gals appraisin' y'all all the time." She frowned just a little. "And that gal? Might as well have been grabbing at y' zipper."

"Dis one woulda noticed dat..." he said, considering their cadaver. "Mean, c'mon. Always notice when you do."

"Please focus on your work," Dr. McCoy told him.

"De work is gross. Would prefer no' t' do it."

"Could be worse," Kitty chirped cheerfully as she and Forge dug past ribs and flesh to expose computer-generated lungs, floating eerily once the bones and flesh obscuring them had been properly ‘removed’ and the program adjusted itself. "I mean, we could be studying diseases instead. Or parasites. Scary."

"Please don' give him any ideas," Remy told her. "An' Doc? When you decide t' pull dis nonsense, could you warn us ahead o' time t' skip lunch?"

"And have you faint instead of vomit? Neater, but just as likely to get me in trouble with the Professor," Hank told him. "Forge, don't—" He winced as something shorted out.

"Lo siento, lo siento, I got it!"

Emma grinned at Remy. "Don't worry. If you faint, I'll catch you."

"If dis one faints, please let dis one fall," Remy told her, his tone polite.

"Parasites," Kitty repeated, in an overly tragic tone. "Once they glom on, they're so hard to pry off. You pretty much have to kill them."

"Not all of them," Forge pointed out cheerfully. "Leeches can only eat an ounce or two of blood, and when they've gotten that, they fall off, kinda drunk."

"Sid?" Remy asked.

"Yeah?"

"First, ew? Second, you' from de desert. How you know from leeches?"

"Hey, I'm well-traveled," Forge replied, trying to imitate the hauteur of a Jean-Paul and failing miserably.

"Besides, leeches you can just squish," Kitty said cheerfully, tracing the path that air would take from inhalation through lungs abd back out again. "Sure, it's messy, but they don't have much spine."

"Wow, you're a violent one, aren't you?" Emma said to Kitty, amused.

"Only when it comes to pests and supervillains," Kitty laughed, though it didn't reach her eyes.

Rogue gave a silent whistle. "Ah'm thinkin' Kit Kat left out some bits, some way," she murmured to Remy. "Haven't seen her quite like this before."

Piotr gave Emma a smile. "Katya is fierce," he agreed amiably enough. "And very loyal. We have all benefited from these qualities in her."

"I'm sure you have," Emma said, smiling back at him. "How nice of you to put the best positive spin on such... adorably childish behavior."

"She's gonna stab you," Forge told her. "I'm not jokin'. She is going to cold stab you."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Not in front of a teacher, I'm not," she said.

Rogue just shook her head, and tried to concentrate on the body, disgusting though it still was.

"She can try," Emma said, her voice pleasant, and held up a hand. It shimmered for an instant, like water, and seemed to resolidify. While Piotr was still staring, she helped herself to one of his scalpels. With a smile, she rammed it at the back of her hand. "But that'll be a little hard."

Dr. McCoy looked at her with the light of discovery in his eyes. "Fascinating!" He plucked the scalpel from her, and examined it, then her hand. "Diamond? Can you convert entirely, Miss Frost, or just partially? What happens with lasers? I really must schedule some time with you to run some tests, examine your powers. Perhaps a diagnostic in the Danger Room, later today?"

Rogue arched an eyebrow at Remy. "There's one," she whispered, grinning. "Wonder what else she's got?"

With a flick of her hair, Emma went completely crystalline. She fluttered her sparkling lashes at him. "Diamond," she agreed. "And I can change at will."

"She's like dis one," Remy told Rogue. "Iffin' you remember, dis one spent months pretendin' dat de bouncy thin' was all dis one had, yes? She's a poker player, she's got an ace up her sleeve."

"Did not,” Rogue contradicted. “Y’ used the chargin' powers clear back the first whole day y’all were here, down in the base at Alkali on y’ very first mission ever. Kitty told me all about it. Besides, Ah ain't worried," she assured him. "Not 'less she can turn into nanites, too!"

"Amazing," Beast rumbled, and reached for Emma's shining skin. "May I?"

"Please," she purred with a bright, gleaming smile.

"You are entirely too over-confident," Remy told Rogue with a smile. "But you can take dat bitch t' town, should it come t' dat."

"Hope Ah won't need to," she said, and then added with painful honesty, "Well, mostly Ah hope Ah won't need to. Part of me kinda wants to. She's awful... overdone, ain't she?"

Dr. Henry McCoy, genius, super-powered mutant, Presidential advisor, debonair man-about-town, cultured patron of the arts, and all-around impressive individual, was as giddy as a school girl as he talked with Emma about her powers.

Kitty really wanted to barf.

"She ain' subtle, dat's fo' true, but it seems t' get de job done fo' her, so... who can argue?" Remy asked, his lips twitching. "Two invulnerable girls rollin' 'round in de danger room. Dis ain' gonna bode well fo' de equipment."

"Diamonds," Rogue said, with a small smile, "ain't invulnerable. Folks get sparkly stones from ugly little ones by cuttin', don't they? Fracturin'. Things like that."

Remy flicked her nose. "Close enough. Watch de very expensive walls, chere. Dis one fears de bill."

“Ah'll work it off in trade," Rogue promised wickedly.

"Hey, no offerin' non-monetary rewards t' anyone other den dis one," Remy chided. "Gonna give dis one a complex." Abruptly, he flinched, then went on, his jaw set. "Bettin' her powers are mental-based. Xavier says dis one got a brain dat's slippery an' hard t' get a read on, when he really tries, man, it's like someone's fryin' an' egg in dere. Same sensation now...."

Rogue's lips peeled back from her teeth in a fearsome snarl, half-Wolverine's, half all her own, and she slipped the bounds on the many psyches inhabiting her head enough to clutter her brain waves for anyone who was feeling... nosy. As icing on the cake, she raised the defenses that all of the active X-men had been taught against telepaths. "Pushy damned bitch," she murmured, shoulders tightening as she pretended fascination with their project. "Meant Ah'd work off whatever y'all had to pay. Though Ah'm startin' to think it could take years, if she keeps on pissin' me off like this."

"Hey." Remy crossed to her side of the table, bumping his hip against hers as he pretended to check out her dissection work. "Love you. Only you. So what does it matter if she's checkin' out dis one’s ass, yes?" He smiled at her. "You gotta trust dis one sometime."

"Maybe Ah'm just learnin' to dislike her seriously," Rogue offered, blushing. "Might not have anythin' to do with y'all, Remy." Oh, who was she kidding? This had everything to do with Remy! And quite a bit with the various effects Frost was having on everyone in the room, too.

"If it's got nothin' t' do wit' dis one, dis one gonna be very sad," Remy pointed out. "But bein' angry's a good way t' get you'self in trouble, an' you know it. Don' let her get t' you."

"Ah'm just plannin' on keepin' her claws outta you," Rogue laughed. "Anythin' else is gravy."

*

At lunch, the usual suspects gathered together to consume their meal: Rogue and Remy, Bobby and Cipher, Tim and Callie, and Kitty. Conversation was moving almost as fast as the calories, when Kitty stiffened slightly in her seat, and her brown eyes narrowed. “Oh, no. No, he is not. It’s just like putting chum in the water for a Great White!”

Rogue arched an eyebrow inquiringly. “Whatever are y’all goin’ on about, Kit Kat?” Her gaze followed Kitty’s, to where Piotr was guiding Emma through the students to a table already inhabited by a few of the other older male students, including Forge. “Oh. Well, at least none of ‘em are datin’ anyone regular-like. T’ me, that’s an improvement. Don’t,” she added, more gently, “be a dog in the manger, darlin’.”

Kitty huffed out a frustrated breath. “I know, I know. She just totally... rubs my fur the wrong way. Constantly. She’s so snooty, and looks down on Xavier’s so much, and the way Beast was acting, it was like she was some amazing thing just because she can transform her physical body. Pfft. Lots of mutants can do that!”

Callie blinked at her first sight of Emma. "Wow. She's pretty." She grinned. "Never trust the gorgeous ones. That's why I pull Rogue's hair when her back is turned."

"Brat," Rogue replied, and poked Callie gently with her unused knife.

"Everyone knows that's you," Ci pointed out.

"I blame Remy. She believes me."

"Vicious, vicious lies," Remy said, eyes dancing. "Callie, you are a horrible woman, fo' true."

"Yes, but I get to pull Rogue's hair and not die. It's worth the horrible lies."

"Big brat," Rogue clarified, and thwapped Callie on the back of the head, still quite gently.

"I'd be more interested if she changes her tactics depending on her prey," Ci said, sipping her soda. "After all, Remy's not going to go for the same girl as, well, Argo."

"She hasn't so far," Kitty snarked. "She doesn't have much actual liking for boys and men, I think. Just for power. And sex, but not affection, I bet."

"Argo's type is breathin' an' willin'," Remy pointed out. "Dis one's type is Rogue."

"Y'all are my darlin' love," Rogue purred at him, smiling shyly. "Even if y' did just put me at only fifty percent attractive to Argonaught!"

"Chere, you' incredibly attractive t' Robert; luckily, you' also extremely terrifyin' t' Robert." Remy grinned at her. "Dat automatically removes you from competition. He only likes girls who are impressed by him."

"That does explain his lack of dates," Ci said.

"Looook, he's a lunkhead, but he's a harmless lunkhead, just a bit too much ego and not enough awareness of other people or their feelings or what's happening or how his actions affect others—" Callie paused. "Okay, so he can be a massive pain in the keister, but that does not mean we should feed him to the man-eating lady who will just cause him to hate women. Because a malicious Argo would be very bad news. An oblivious Argo is trouble enough."

"She probably won't chase him," Kitty said. "I told her was dense, but reasonably nice, which, he is, usually. If egotistical. Which is where the pain in the ass part comes in. She said she wasn't interested in nice."

"That's interestin'," Rogue said, slowly. "What d' y'all bet she tries for Logan, then?"

"She'd have better luck trying to sex up a kitchen chair, so I do hope she tries," Ci said, eyes laughing. With an effort, Rogue didn’t roll her eyes. Cipher was less alert by far than she pretended to be, if she didn’t realize that Logan picked up women like dogs picked up fleas... and paid them about as much attention, once the itch had been scratched! Then again, Ci hadn't known Logan near as long as she had, and Logan didn't let her in much, either.

"Do not underestimate what a pain in the ass it would be if she actually got Argo doing what she wanted," Callie warned. "He's big, he's not bright, and he's egotistical enough to completely ignore whatever truths anyone tells him about her, because if she thinks he's awesome, then she must be a good person. And no one would cheat on a guy as awesome as he clearly is."

Kitty moaned in dismay. "That is an awful, awful thought. Why do you have to come up with these things, Callie?"

Bobby shrugged. "She has a point. Unfortunately. But don't you think maybe, just maybe, you guys are overreacting a little bit? I mean," he laughed, "she's not a Magneto or a Mystique, right?"

Rogue went perfectly still for an instant, then bit into her sandwich so that chewing would hide whatever expression might have leaked through. So far as she knew –and Xavier had confirmed it through some of his mysterious governmental connections— Mystique was still in prison. Just as the blue-skinned shapeshifter had intended, for whatever reason, when she stayed behind at Area 51. But... the woman was tricky. Heartless, manipulative, and tricky. Appearing to be in prison… even actually being in the sort of prison where she might possibly make some rather intimidating connections, wasn’t quite enough reassurance. If Emma were anything like Mystique, they could have some problems. More, if she actually wasMystique.

Remy arched an eyebrow at Bobby. "You were singin' a different tune when dis one was hangin' around you' girlfriend," he said, lips quirking. "An' bettin' you wouldn't like it one bit if someone announced t' you' face dat he was gonna give dat ride a try."

"Am I a carousel or a roller coaster?" Ci asked Callie.

"I'm the spinny teacups!"

Rogue swallowed, and smiled. Frost wasn't at all likely to be Mystique. Not if she'd been trying to poke about inside of Remy's head. Which reminded her. "She's a telepath, maybe, y’all."

"What, you're not going to say what kind of ride you are?" Bobby smiled at all four of the girls. "Maybe she's all talk."

Kitty gave him a look that said, more plainly than words possibly could have expressed, just how dumb she thought that idea was. "And maybe she's picking our brains right now," she snapped.

"I don't think so," Ci said, contemplative. "Mine is tricky to read when I focus, Rogue’s psyches scramble things quite a bit, from what I’m told, and Remy's mind is damned near impossible to comprehend, even when he's not trying. He's a slippery son of a bitch."

"And Xavier has very strict rules about that sort of thing," Callie said. "She might be able to excuse little touches as an 'oops, is that your brain?' but there's no way he'd let her do full-on excavation." She grinned at Bobby. "Ci is one of those crazy dark rides where you're floating down a river one minute and screaming your head off the next. Kitty's bumper cars, all bright lights and happy music and full contact with strategy to the madness. And Rogue's one of the old wooden coasters, it's wild and terrifying and you may die, but damn, best ride ever."

"Callie," Rogue laughed, blushing brightly, and glancing over at Remy.

He took her hand beneath the table, stroking his thumb lightly over her gloved palm. "Can attest t' dat," he purred, and she shivered, then scooted closer.

"She's not much of a rule-follower, anyways," Kitty muttered, determined to keep on the subject. "Her parents, and I quote, wouldn't care if the reports home were on fire so long as she stays where she's put."

"She could also have been lying to you," Ci pointed out.

“Bull,” Kitty said succinctly. “I was annoyed because she was insulting the school, she was smug and supercilious. There was no lying.”

Ignoring the petite ballerina, enamored of her own theory, Cipher went on. "It depends on what kind of poker hand she's actually got." She smiled. "But you know it'll be okay. Piotr's not stupid, Kit. Remy's dumb as a post—"

"Hey!"

"But he's loyal, so it'll be fine." Ci glanced at Bobby. "You. If I catch any blondes making like an Abercrombie ad with you, I will break your knees."

"I have no intention of starting a modeling career for Abercrombie and Fitch," Bobby laughed, even as Rogue ran over him with a passionate, "Remy ain't dumb!"

Remy tugged on a curl. "Siblin' talk," he told her with a wide grin. "She calls dis one ugly, too."

"It's the only thing keeping his head small enough to fit through doors," Ci said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Horrible girl. Rogue loves dis one, dumb, ugly an' all," Remy said, cheerful as ever about it. "Callie, what kind o' ride is dis one?"

She considered him. "Hmmmmmm. Carousel. Bright, a little on the gaudy side, always makes you laugh, beautiful, and a hell of a brass ring to grab."

"And got parts that go up and down," Rogue quipped, her mouth curled in a naughty little expression as she tried, very hard, not to laugh and blush at one and the same time.

“Such a bad girl,” Remy purred with approval, resting his chin on her shoulder, and the blush bloomed like a flower in her cheeks.

Bobby looked from Callie, to Tim, and back to Callie again. "I'm afraid to inquire," he teased.

"Tim is the Ferris wheel," Callie said, "the old fashioned kind with the two person cart that swings as you go up and down. Sure, seems a little boring, and no one goes on it first—"

"She loves me," Tim said, deadpan.

"Hush. But there's nothing more beautiful than that view, all velvet darkness and carnival lights, it's a ride that makes you appreciate everything else going on. And there's necking."

"Bobby-" Callie wrinkled her nose. "Log flume. It seems under control, until it drops the floor out from you, and huge chunks seem like boredom incarnate, but it brings people together, and it'll get you every time."

"I," Bobby said with a teasing hint of offended pride, "am capable of being a slow ride, not over nearly so quickly as a mere log flume."

Kitty rolled her eyes. "Aw, come on! Can't we figure out what we're going to do about Miss Super Skanky Spandex and her silicone boobs instead of joking around? Please?"

"What are we supposed to do?" Callie said, a faint smile on her face. "Take her out back and give her a little mob justice? That'll get us in more trouble than her. And other than hit on boys with no attachments, and take a gander at Remy's ass, and I'm sorry, Rogue, there is no way NOT to look at Remy's ass, she's just been a sanctimonious bitch. That's not really a hanging crime, hon."

"So. Unfair," Kitty muttered, completely disconsolate.

"It'd be a hangin' offense in Texas," Rogue argued, though her eyes twinkled. "All it takes down there is sayin' that someone needed killin', after all...."

Callie got up and walked around the table to hug Kitty. "Poor baby," she said, kissing Kitty's head. "No one understands your very real frustrations, do we?"

"It'll be okay," Cipher said. "Either she'll be sucked in by the small world vibe around here, or she'll slip up and we'll kill her."

"Let's try to find a middle ground, there," Bobby said dryly. "She doesn't look like an 'It's a Small World' type to me!"

Kitty moaned in dismay. "That is an awful, awful thought. Why do you have to come up with these things, Callie?"

"I am very good with people," Callie said, smiling. "Give her time, Kitty. Maybe this is her way of dealing. Life sucks, sometimes, and some of us deal better than others, you know?" She stood. "There's benefits to being kind, even when kindness isn't merited."

"Ah'd hope that y'all are right," Rogue said dryly. "Except that pessimists ain't never disappointed, and sometimes get nice surprises. Reckon Ah'll stick with keepin' an eye on her. Maybe two."

*

in the Danger Room, the next day

Remy collapsed, panting for breath. "Sweet God."

Kurt tumbled to a stop next to him. "Ja?" he said, grinning.

Remy gave a swipe, half hearted and long armed. "You ain' even close." He struggled to his feet, knowing that if he sat too long he'd cramp up, and leaned over to stretch. Every inch of his body was humming with stress and a faint pain. He was overdoing it. Too much of his powers, used too fast, but damn, he loved to play with Kurt on the rare occasions the fuzzy blue elf was in town. Besides, Remy was the only one who could keep up with the circus acrobat, and the German's enthusiasm was infectious.

It didn’t hurt that he'd always liked to play on the trapeze. But the latest fall had hit him hard, even into the net, and it had taken a lot of effort just to roll himself back down to the ground.

He glanced up, the Danger Room scenario a good representation of an acrobat's training arena, including a trapese, tightrope and net. "We give dis another try?"

"Depends, vere you planning to fall again?" Kurt laughed.

"You can go t' hell," Remy said, laughing. Reaching back, he tied his hair off with a firm grip, yanking the cord tight. "Ain' dis one's fault dat you got de grip o' a five year old girl."

"Vot lies."

"Yeah, yeah." Remy jogged back towards the ladder. His veins sang, a sizzle of heat and pain that made it clear; he was done. One more try, he told himself. Just one. He could do this. If he had to be in tights, he might as well enjoy himself.

Kurt beat him up to the trapeze platform, and if that wasn't a sign that he was fried, he wasn't sure what was. Still, he patted his hands on the gypsom bag and dusted them off. "Ready?"

With a hop, Kurt snagged the trapeze and started swinging. "Alvays!" he called, laughter spilling over the simulated big top.

With a hop, Remy snagged the trapeze and set it swinging. Watching Kurt's rhythm, he pulled his whole body into the movement, pushing the trapeze higher and higher until he heard Kurt's cue. With a flick of his body, he released, a flip in midair, to catch Nightcrawler's hands. He saw the flash of the other mutant's fangs, and started laughing.

That was when the program shorted.

Remy yelped as he saw the trapeze just disappear. There was only an instant of disorientation, than the familiar bamf of Kurt's powers. To his relief, he found himself hitting the ground from only a few feet, as opposed to a hundred. Still, he hit hard on his right shoulder, trying his best to roll both of them through the impact. "What de hell?" he managed, his body finally coming to a stop flat.

"Are you hurt?" Kurt said, stumbling to his feet, yellow eyes blinking.

"Nah. You?" Remy sat up. "De hell?" He glanced up, and spotted a flash of golden blonde hair in the control room. "Well, de hell she doin'," he muttered. He stumbled to his feet, his knees liquid. "Fo' serious. She canno' be dat dumb. Or dat malicious."

"Remy?" Kurt asked, shaking himself.

The doors slid open, and Emma ran in, her eyes huge. "Omigod, I'm so sorry!" she wailed. "I don't know what happened! Are you okay?"

"Don' touch anythin' in dere," Remy said, not dignifying that with a response. "How de hell you get in dere, anyway?"

Her lips trembling, she reached up to twist a finger in her long, pale locks. "I didn't know, I was just—" She bit her lip, her big blue eyes welling with tears.

"This is why you are not supposed to be in the basement levels unescorted, fraulein," Kurt replied, very gently, to the gorgeous new student, not very much younger than he was. They were certainly importing more and move lovely girls to the school. What a pity he had to be away so much, tending to the Professor's European interests.... "There is no need for such tears. But Remy may appreciate an apology, ja?"

"Remy appreciates no' dyin'," Remy pointed out. His head tipped to the side, he pushed his hair out of his face. "Don' be touchin' anythin' 'round dese parts, 'less you been trained on it." It was his own fault, though. If Scott found out they'd been using the Danger Room without someone in the control room, they'd both be in a hell of a lot of trouble. But Forge'd had other things to finish, and the girls'd had small group training with Logan, and he'd been in a mood to play. "How'd you get in dere, anyway?"

"The door was unlocked," she said, with a sweet smile.

"Uh-huh." Remy shrugged. "If ya say so."

"That seems highly unlikely, fraulein," Kurt agreed with Remy. "But accidents do sometimes happen." He flashed her a charming fanged smile, like lightning against the dark blue of his fur. "No harm done. And also, welcome to the school." He gave her a debonair bow. "My name is Kurt, and I am honored to meet you."

She gave him a wide, bright smile. "I'm Emma. Thank you for being so welcoming," she said, her eyes still glittery and moist. Remy rolled his eyes, and his shoulders. Dammit, his left one hurt. He hadn't taken a fall that unexpected in years.

Kurt chuckled, more at Remy's reaction than anything else, and offered Emma a tridactyl hand. "Perhaps a short visit to the medbay is in order. Just in case Remy's bruises are more serious than they seem. You have not seen it yet?"

"No," she said, taking his hand with delicacy and grace.

"She keeps dis up, she gonna see it more often den no'," Remy pointed out.

She gave him a sharp look. "I said I was sorry."

"Messin' about wit' stuff 'round here can get people killed," Remy pointed out. "An' you can cut out de dumb bunny act, dis one ain' buyin' it, an' Kurt's too nice t' tell ya he ain' either."

"I am always nicer than Remy," Kurt agreed, tucking Emma's proffered hand into the crook of his elbow, and resting his other atop it. "But that does not take much," he teased, fully aware that Remy simply wasn't bothering to exercise his considerable charm on Emma, for some reason. Most likely, a reason with stripes in her hair and a powerful possessiveness!

"I make one little mistake, and I become a pariah," Emma said, smiling at Kurt. Her hair swinging, she angled her body towards him.

"Mmm, yeah, an' dat mistake was bein' nasty t' Kitty," Remy told her, snagging his workout towel from the floor as they headed for the door. "Dis one don' like it when people pick on his friends. Miss Kit may no' be everyone's cup o' tea, but she's got a heart as big as de outdoors, an' she woulda been a good friend if you'd let her."

"Oh, please, did she say I was mean to her?" Emma laughed. "Such a mousy little thing."

"Katzchen is a lovely girl," Kurt disagreed. "True, her beauty is more quiet, less flashy, than most. But her dancing is most enjoyable to vatch, and she is, as Remy says, good-hearted." Also dangerously brilliant, but he rather thought he'd let Emma discover that on her own. He patted Emma's hand, golden eyes gleaming, and canted his head to meet her blue, blue eyes. "I am quite certain you are not even close to being outcaste, Emma. Students here are always glad to velcome another lovely addition to the campus."

"Until she kills 'em," Remy said, snarky still.

Emma gave him a look. "You really like attention, don't you?"

"No more den you, it'd appear."

"And now Emma knows better than to play with things she does not yet understand," Kurt pointed out. "Perhaps Dr. McCoy will give you a lovely sling to pamper your shoulder, Remy. Then Rogue will feel compelled to care for you." He gave Remy a sober look, only a second long.

Remy grinned thinly, darkly amused. "Den Rogue'll feel compelled t' kill our newest student, an' dis one hates springin' loved ones from jail."
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