Sniggers. Giggles. Muffled laughter.
Bobby, dressed in a Hawaiian grass-skirt was doing the dishes and the hula simultaneously.
"Snigger...Ahem...Where did you get that? asked Cyclops, the X-men's fearless leader. He was trying hard to keep a straight face and the effort to do so was turning his face as red as the ruby-quartz spectacles he was wearing to contain his devastating optic blasts.
"I got it at a garage sale, specially for Gambit but an opponent far more dangerous than Magneto...more devious than Mr. Sinister...more dastardly than all of you put together took me down before I could present Gambit the honour of doing the hula for you."
More snickers.
"So...ahem...ack...giggle...cough...who's the opponent?" asked Scott.
In a deadly serious and grave voice, Bobby answered," An ice-cube."
Loud explosive contagious laughter from Jubilee," Yeah right! I can just see the headlines:
The whole company of X-men erupted into laughter.
Remy amused himself by playing 'Solitaire'. He could not help feeling lonely. His favourite X-people, Storm and Rogue were still out on their shopping trip. Frankly, he had started getting a little worried about them. It was late. All the shops should be closed by now. Then again, they might have decided to catch the midnight show before returning.
Remy had other mutant powers, they weren't as flashy as his ability to charge objects but they played a crucial role in his survival. One was the ability to charm people with his web of words and the other was a heightened sense of awareness of all that was going on around him.
At the moment, he was aware of Wolverine having a work-out in the Danger Room, Bishop prowling the grounds of the mansion, Psylocke in the shower(grin), Scott and Jean having fun in bed(oops!) and other X-men hanging around in the mansion(not literally with the exception of Beast). Jubilee was zipping around in her rollerblades, delivering mail. She was headed his way now, probably to give Drake next door another copy of 'Playboy'.
The door to his room slammed open.
He scowled. "Don' nobody teach you how to knock?"
Jubilee cheerfully ignored that. "Yo, Gumbo! Mail for you! That's a first. Come on! Open it! Lemme see who's desperate enough to write to you!"
He caught the enevelope neatly as she threw it to him. "Get!" he barked.
"Sheesh...okay...okay...I'm going, I'm going...spoilsport!" BANG! The door slammed shut. He hardly heard it. His mind churned. Could his guild be in trouble? A faint whiff of perfume. The scent was vaguely familar... Belladonna? Nah! She be usin' another brand. He slit open the enevelope. With trembling fingers, he pulled out the letter. It was more of a note really. A quick glance at it crystalised the blood flowing through his veins.
Remy, Been a long time. Paris. Notre Dame Cathedral. 3 days. Do come. Believe me, you *won'* regret dis. Au revoir, mon amour! Genevieve.Genny? How can dis be? She be dead. I saw wit' my own oeils. Died in my arms...
"Bummer. Who's Genevieve?"
"...?!" Dat girl! My powers mus' be failin' me.
"What are you doin' 'ere?" Remy's voice was soft and dangerous.
"You okay? You look kinda pale. I suggest you don't crush that up yet. We'll be needing it if we're going to meet that Genevieve." Only then did Remy notice that the note was crushed up in his clenched fist.
"We? No petite. Dis don' concern you. It's too dangerous. Dis is an obvious trap. Besides, if it isn't and if Genny's alive, she be wantin' revenge..."
"You mean that Genevieve is one of those living-dead things? Wow! What are we waiting for? Let's jet!"
"You are NOT goin'. I told you before, it's too dangerous."
"If it's so dangerous then why are YOU still going?"
"I 'ave to make sure...jus' in case she's really alive..." Remy said softly, more to himself than to Jubilee.
"Okay. I'll just alert everyone to assemble at the War Room and we'll all go together." Gambit grabbed hold of her arm just as she was leaving.
"No. Dis is personal. I 'ave to do dis alone." Jubilee stared at him defiantly. After a moment of silent confrontation, he sighed and released his grip on her arm.
"Don' say I didn't warn you."
"No problem! So...who's Genevieve?"
"I'll tell you on de way."
End of Part 2