Chapter Text
Chapter Five: Never Judge by First Appearances
Rogue walked the streets of New Orleans aimlessly but didn't know where she was going and nor did she care. Feeling the pangs of hunger start to creep up on her, she went looking for a place to eat. She turned down the next street and found a quaint little place and entered. It wasn't much to look at, but she sat down at one of the tables and picked up a menu.
It had been a long time since she had any real Cajun food, and she thought a big bowl of Jambalaya would hit the spot. The waiter came over promptly and took her order.
She just sat there for a while, taking in the atmosphere. It wasn't a class establishment, but it was clean, simply decorated, but there were no pictures on the walls and it was painted a drab yellow. She noticed some guys were sitting at the bar. One looked her way then turned back. He was saying something to one of his friends, but she couldn't hear what it was. Then laughter came out of all three of the guys. She wondered if they were laughing about her. If they were, she didn't care. All she wanted was to be left alone.
Soon her food came, and she dug in. She hadn't realized how hungry she really was until now and soon made short work of her meal, washing it down with a glass of iced tea. That's when one of the guys from the bar approached her table.
"Hey, sweet t'ing," he said, leaning his hand on her chair. Rogue didn't answer him, hoping he would just go away. "What? Can't talk?" Still she said nothing. This guy was making her nervous and in a bad way. "My name's Julien. What's yours?"
"None of your business," she said, as she wiped her face with a napkin.
"Ah, come on, chere, don' be like dat. I don' bite...not unless you want me to." He had a look in his eye and smirk on his face that made her want to smash something heavy right into it.
"Would you just go away and leave me alone!" she shouted at him. Some guys just wouldn't take a hint, so she got up out of her chair in an attempt to leave when he grabbed her arm.
"Ain't no fille in dis town turn me down," Julien said, with a gleam in his eye that gave her an uneasy feeling. "Remember dat!"
She snatched her arm back, releasing herself from his grasp. She heard his buddies over at the bar laughing and making snide comments, but she just ignored them and went on her way.
She walked down several streets, not really paying attention to what was going on around her. She was so pissed off at that guy's idle threat. What was he going to do? He couldn't touch her, not without her powers kicking in, and something told her she didn't want that guy's thoughts swimming around in her head.
The sun had gone down hours ago making the sky unusually dark. Suddenly, Rogue was aware of every little sound, and the streets were barren that night. If she heard the sounds of people, cars or the usual noise of the city she wouldn't have been so paranoid of the somewhat deafening silence.
She turned down a side street when she felt that someone was following her. She kept going trying to ignore the feeling. Suddenly she heard a noise, like the click of metal. She turned looking around but saw nothing. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly and closed her eyes for just a second. Before she knew what was happening, she felt something or someone grab her from behind. She tried to scream but whoever grabbed her had gloves on. Damn, she couldn't even knock him out with her power.
She tried to scream, but her attacker's hand was so tight around her mouth she thought she would pass out. She struggled to get out of the embrace that held her, and with her legs free she rammed the back of her foot into her assailant's groin. She was freed momentarily and tried desperately to catch her breath. Stumbling to stay on her feet, she grabbed onto the side of the building looking back briefly to see her attacker. She quickly took off her glove as he raised his head to look her in the eye.
"You!" she said angrily. "How dare you attack me!"
"How dare you blow me off!" he shouted at her. It was Julien, that asshole from the dive restaurant. He quickly pinned her to the wall before she had a chance to react. "I'll show you what happens to filles dat reject me."
"Oh really, well, ah'll show ya what happens to losers who manhandle young women," she shouted at him while struggling to break free.
"Shut up!" he shouted and slapped her across the face. This only made her angrier, and with her legs free she kicked him in the midsection.
Julien fell to the ground writhing in pain. "Damn you," he said and grabbed her leg, making her lose her balance, and she fell to the ground. The butterfly necklace that rested round her neck came loose and fell on the ground. It landed a few feet away from her, but she could see it shining in the dim light the quarter moon gave that night. "You gonna pay for dat."
Rogue ignored Julien's words, and instead crawled the few feet to retrieve her most prized possession.
"Hey, Julien, ain't nobody tell you dat no way ta treat a belle femme?" Rogue heard the voice of a young man not much older than herself. She grabbed her now broken necklace and slipped it in her bag.
Rogue looked up to see a shadowed figure with glowing red orbs. The sight scared her more than being attacked by Julien, but she would fix that soon enough.
"Stay out a dis, LeBeau," Julien shouted, and grabbed Rogue once again holding her to the ground. She struggled to break free, but he was too strong.
"Let 'er go, now," he said, coming closer to them.
Rogue managed to get her ungloved hand free and touched Julien's face while he was distracted by the stranger. She hated to resort to using her powers, but he gave her no choice. Julien let out a yell before losing consciousness, and Rogue slid herself out from under him. All the while, she was trying desperately to catch her breath.
The stranger walked up to her and looked over where Julien lay. "Out cold," he said, and then drew his attention towards Rogue. She could see his face clearly now. He had a handsome, rugged face, but there still was a certain amount of gentleness. His red on black eyes were no longer frightening, more intriguing.
Ah know those eyes, she thought to herself, but she couldn't place where.
"You alright, Chere?" he asked in a gentle voice. "He didn't hurt ya, did he?"
"No, not really," she said as he helped her up. She noticed for the first time his black t-shirt and black leather pants and the worn old brown trench coat he wore. He looked like some kind of hood, but why would he try to help her? Well, unless he wanted the same exact thing from her that unconscious thug lying in the alleyway tried to get out of her. "What do you care?" she asked sharply, becoming defensive.
She had images running through her head, and she realized that guy was no ordinary thug. He was a trained killer.
"Just don't wanna see a belle femme like yourself become his next victim," he said. "So, you mind telling me what you done to him."
"Don't know what you're talkin' about," Rogue said, picking up her bag and attempting to flee the alley.
He grabbed her arm but gently. "I know you done somethin' to him," he said, his voice was insistently but not threatening. "You gonna make dis easy and tell me what it is?"
"Let go a me, Gambit," she said defiantly. Where did that name come from? She wondered, only one place, Julien's memories. So, he knew this guy. He looked at her surprised, which was no wonder to her.
"How you know dat name?" he asked, as she snatched her arm back. She walked swiftly away from him, but suddenly he was in front of her blocking her way. He was holding some kind of pole in his hands and twirled it twice before planting it in the sidewalk and leaning on it slightly.
"How did ya do that?" she asked.
"You got your secrets, Chere, an' I got mine," he said and his words only made her angrier. She attempted to get away from him, but he matched her step to step.
"Would you go away and leave me alone?" she snapped, giving him her famous death stare. "Bad enough ah had one stalker tonight. Don't need another one."
"Non, Remy no stalker, just thought you need a bodyguard." His words made her roll her eyes. She was no delicate porcelain doll, and took offense at his implying that she was.
She looked up at him just then, fire in her emerald green eyes. "Ah can take care of myself, thank you."
"Don' look like it to me," he said, backing her up against one of the buildings she was attempting to pass. "Dat guy, Julien, I know what he was plannin' to do, but Remy don' be like dat. Dis a dangerous city. Not safe for femmes ta go walkin' alone."
"Like ah said," she said, pushing him away from her. "Ah can take care of myself."
She walked off a few feet away from him. She could hear his laughter in the distance. "Sure, you can," he said. She turned back for a second and realized that he had disappeared, but he was right about one thing. It was too late at night to be walking around, and she would have to find some place to stay.
Somehow, she knew exactly where the closest hotel was. It was in Julien's memories that she absorbed, but so was his attitude. She felt bad for the way she treated that guy Remy, that's what he called himself, but in Julien's memory she had picked up the name Gambit. They were sworn enemies. That much she knew.
She had knocked Julien out and Remy knew it, but she couldn't tell him how she did it. That would have been revealing too much, and she didn't want Remy to think ill of her. She didn't know why she cared so much, and she was, in a way, on the run and didn't want to make ties with anyone.
Finally, she came to a small establishment. It wasn't fancy, but hopefully they had a vacancy. She just wanted a nice soft warm bed and a hot shower. Then tomorrow she could decide where to go from here.
She entered the lobby, or what she thought would pass for a lobby. It was a simple and small room, with white washed walls and basic block tiles on the floor, no carpeting. The front desk looked like it had not been painted in a while.
"Ya wanna room?" the man behind the counter asked before Rogue had the chance to speak.
"That would be nice," she said in a sarcastic tone.
"We got a few vacancies," he said, "but ah need ta see the cash first."
"Sure," Rogue said. "No problem." She reached into her bag and took out a few bills. "This enough?" She had two hundred dollars waving in the guy's face.
"Yeah," the man said. "Nice doin' business with ya."
He handed her the room key and directed her to the last door down the hall. She walked in and took in her surroundings. It was an adequate room, and the walls were painted a pale cream to slightly contrast the beige carpet and off-white furniture that consisted of the dresser chest, bed and nightstand. There wasn't anything unique that stood out. It was a plain design of painted wood that worked more for durability than character.
She quickly closed the door and walked over to the bed and plopped down on it. She was exhausted, and her bones were stiff from sitting on that bus for hours, but she wouldn't be able to relax until she took a shower to ease her aching muscles. She thought that a nice hot bath would do the trick, so she got up and walked over to the bathroom door and opened it. There was a tub, but it was small. She grabbed her bag and walked into the bathroom and turned on the water and was happy to find a bottle of bubble bath and poured it into the tub and got undressed.
Slipping into that tub was the best feeling she had in days and made her forgot about everything. The night of the party was just some weird nightmare she had. This feeling of warmth was the only thing that was real. She didn't know how long she had been in that tub, but she was starting to drift off. Besides that, the water was starting to get cold.
She reluctantly dragged herself out of the tub and dried herself off with one the towels that she found hanging on the rack. She used another one for her hair. She left home in such a hurry that she didn't even think of taking her hairdryer or any other personal items. She towel-dried her hair as much as possible and used the small comb that she always carried in her purse.
She put on her nightshirt and walked over to the bed, laying her bag next to the nightstand and crawled under the sheets with the only thought in her head was of a good night's sleep.
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Back in the lobby of the hotel, the night clerk looked up from his desk to see a young man enter through the front door. He looked surprised and stood up from his chair to greet him.
"Remy LeBeau, what are ya doin' here this time a night?" he asked in surprise. "Business slow?"
"Hey, Lucas, can't Remy jus' come for a visit?" he asked. His eyes carefully scanned the area. "Gotta ask a favor."
Lucas didn't look happy by the request. "Remy, I gotta deal goin' with the Thieves' Guild. Ya ain't here ta shake me down for more money, 'cause if ya are ah'll take it up with Jean Luc."
"Ain't not'ing like dat, Lucas," Remy said, trying to reassure him. "Dis one's personal." Lucas looked intrigued. "I saw a young woman come in here not too long ago. She get a room?"
"There was a girl came in not too long ago," Lucas said. "Paid cash up front."
"How much?" Remy asked, looking him straight in the eye.
"A hundred," Lucas said, but looked away from Remy steel gaze.
"You lyin', Lucas," Remy said. "How much she give you?"
Lucas saw Remy pull out a card. His eyes grew wide with fright as the card started to glow bright. "Okay, okay, two hundred."
The light from the card slowly died down until it fizzled out. "Dat's better," Remy said. "Now give me three hundred."
"Three hundred," Lucas said sharply. "Why?"
"Two hundred belongs ta dat girl, and anot'er hundred for lyin' ta me."
"Remy, come on," Lucas pleaded. "Ah'm tryin' ta run a business here, and it's been slow. That's the first real customer ah had all night."
"Not my problem, Lucas, now hand the money over, or you're gonna be payin' for improvements."
"Fine," Lucas said and stomped behind the counter to the hidden cash box. He pulled out three hundred-dollar bills and handed them to Remy.
"Where's her room?" Remy asked.
"At the end of the hall," Lucas said.
"Nice doin' business wid you," Remy said as he started to walk towards the hallway. "Oh, and, Lucas, as long as dat girl stayin' here she stays for free."
"Sure, Remy, whatever ya say."
Remy walked off down the hallway to Rogue's room. He had a master key that he had gotten off of Lucas months ago. He quietly unlocked the door and let himself in.
The room was dark, but he could see just fine. There she was fast asleep. He approached her with caution. Looking at her made his heart skip a beat. She truly was an angel. He stroked her hair gently which caused her to stir slightly. Damn, she was beautiful. She turned over on her side facing him moaning slightly in her sleep. Oh, how he wished he was the one who had made her make that sound. To him, it was like an angel singing.
He looked around just then to see where he could put the money, where she would be sure to find it, but a place not too obvious. There, she had a backpack. He picked it up and rifled through it. He found a small box and opened it. He found that it was full of cash. This girl must not have been a typical runaway, not carrying a stash like that, but she was young, no more that sixteen he would guess. Whatever sent her running must have been bad. After what happened with Julien, any other teenage girl would have been on the first bus home, but something told him she was anything but typical. Something inside him wanted to protect this girl, but he didn't know why.
He put the box away after placing the money inside. He was about to leave when he heard her whimper in her sleep.
"No, don't touch me," she mumbled in her sleep. He looked back to see a look of fear on her semiconscious face. He walked back over to her. He knew any second she could wake up, and he would be caught. She would probably scream seeing a strange guy hovering over her, but he couldn't stand to see her having a nightmare, not if he could do something to sooth her anxiety. "No, please, don't," she whispered in her sleep. He wondered about what awful thing could have happened to her.
His half-gloved hand brushed slightly against her face, the skin of his small finger barely touching her. Some sort of static electricity passed through him, making him suddenly weak. What had just happened? Damn, it must have been the same thing that happened to Julien when they were in the alley. He didn't know what it was, but one thing was for certain, this girl was like him, a mutant.
That was another reason for him to take on the task of protecting her. If either the Thieves or Assassins got their hands on her, he knew the outcome wouldn't be good.
He staggered to the door, careful not to make any noise. "I'll be seein' ya, Chere," he whispered as he closed the door behind him. He walked back to the lobby to see Lucas look up from his newspaper and look straight at him.
"She didn't see you, did she?" Lucas asked him as he leaned against the counter. "Didn't hear no screamin' comin' from down the hall."
"Naw, she was asleep," Remy said, looking back towards her room. He looked over at Lucas with a serious look on his face. "You gotta do me anot'er favor, Lucas."
"Awe no, Remy," he protested. "You done near took all my profit for tonight. What you expect me ta live on?"
"You do dis, I'll see you be takin' care of," Remy said, slowly getting his strength back.
"Alright, what ya want me ta do?" he asked, letting out a deep sigh.
"Just keep an eye on her," he said in a low voice. As far as he knew no one else was around, but Remy learned long ago that he couldn't be too careful. Let me know when she leave and try ta find out where she go." Lucas groaned at the request, but then he saw Remy shuffling his cards. "You know how ta contact me."
"Fine with me, Remy, but what dat girl ta you? Or should ah ask?"
"Just do it, Lucas," Remy said as he reached the door. "Anyt'ing happens ta her, it's your hide." With that he walked out into the night, the only thought in his head was her, a girl he didn't even know the name of.