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SHREVEPORT
LOUISIANA
It's late for a school night which is good because school is not in session. Remy LeBeau and Lorna Dane are a long, long way from home. The former was chosen for the mission because of his familiarity with his home state and his southern contacts. The latter was chosen because she was powerful and could use the training. As the pair walk down the street, Remy turns to her, looking at the cars parked on the side, "Chere, y'know we could prolly do dis quicker if ah lifted one of dem dere cars."
Lorna glanced side long at Remy, she had donned her charm that Wanda had made her. Her green hair changed to a muted brown that made her blend in perfectly with the surrounding populus. Not side eyes or weird looks for Lorna this time, it would seem. She sighed, grimacing faintly as she looked around at the cars parked on the side of the street.
"I don't think the Professor would approve of stealing." She murmured, biting her lower lip. Of course, if anyone had an easy time breaking into cars, it would've been her.
"And I mean.. won't that draw attention?"
"Prolleh. But ah dun think I wanna walk two miles in dis summa heat," Remy says with a grin. "Jus be borrowin' it," he reasons.
Their mission is to rescue a recent summer-pledge of a fraternity on the local campus. The mutant has only recently found out that he is who he is, and the house has recently found out that who he is is who he is, and though young Fred Kirshing doesn't realize it, his house is meeting as we speak to decide whether or not they plan to beat him for joining their fraternity and not telling them of his dirty blood.
Lorna grimaced, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I swear, Remy, you're gonna get me into trouble one of these days." She grumbled but glanced around the block, trying to see if there was a car that didn't look too banged up, or stood out oddly. She gave up after a moment, "Alright, fine. Pick one. But I'm unlocking it and starting it up. Okay? Less likely then that there'll be any signs that anything happened anyways." She's seen someone hotwire a car before.
Her hand ran through her brown hair, and she blinked at it, unused to the color again after months of wearing it green. It was a bit of a shock to her, and it showed when she bit her lower lip and let her hand fall away abruptly.
"Now we're talkin," Remy says with a grin. As Lorna fiddles with her hair and bites at her lip he raises his eyebrow towards her, sensing her discomfort. "What's wrong, chere? You chew on dat lip any more you gonna find yo'self needin' a transplant." He points out a nice sports car across the street. "Let's take dat one," he says as he moves to cross.
Lorna shook her head, huffing a breath, "I hate my hair, I'll get over it. And uhm, no. No. We're not taking that car." She hissed the last part, lurching hurriedly to try to snag his arm.
"If we're 'borrowing' one so we can help someone out, we're not taking anything flashy. Gosh Remy." She muttered, and if she successfully managed to snag his arm, she'd try to tug him toward a much more conservative looking, if not down right dowdy looking car. One that looked a dime a dozen.
"It look nice no matta what ya do. You be so picky, girl, I be tinkin' you just like t'be miserable. A default settin'," Remy says with a laugh. He looks hurt that he can't take the nice car. "Fine, you pick."
Lorna sighed, shaking her head at Remy. "I had to dye it for most of my life. Gee, I wonder why I hate it being brown.." She muttered and made her way toward the modest car she'd picked out. It was brown. Whatever make or model didn't matter overly much to her as she walked over to it like she owned it.
And under her hand, the door popped open and she slipped inside without so much as a pause. The other door clicking unlocked under her hand as she leaned toward it.
With another look of concentration, the car turned over and rumbled to life. "C'mon get in. I am so not sitting around here, waiting to get arrested."
"You mad at more den your hair, or you worked up about dis and dis alone?" Remy says as he takes the passenger seat, willing to let her drive. "We headin' ova to fraternity row." He leans back in his seat and throw his hand up over the head rest of the driver's seat. "Y'gettin' snippy wit me, youngin. Mebbe jus' a teenager tinkin' a teenager know everytin."
Lorna pulled out of the parking spot with a glance in the rearview mirror, her heart pounding in her chest. "I have never stolen a car." She muttered, shoot Remy a glance. "The most I stole anything, was some food when Raven dragged me along." She had left what money she could on the counter in a shame faced manner. Unable to stop herself.
"How do I get over there?" She asked, driving down the road with a careful sort of paranoia, constantly looking into her mirror for some kind of siren to demonstrate that she was going to get caught.
"Jus' straight down dis road," Remy replies as if he's done this a hundred times before because he has done this almost a hundred times before. "We jus' borrowin' it a couple miles, chere. No reason t'get y'panties in no bunch. Done dis so many times. Besides, dere ain't no way any cops could hold us even if dey did find us. And ain't no one gonna tink some green haired girl in New York is down in Louisiana. Trust me."
Lorna continued the drive down the road, shooting Remy glancing on and off when she was sure that nothing horrible was going to leap out at them. That no one was going to come running out of a shop or house screaming 'Thief'. She exhaled a breath, flexing her hands on the steering wheel. "That doesn't make me feel better Remy," She offered wryly.
"I just don't think it's right to go about taking things that aren't mine." She muttered, her shoulders slightly stiff. "Because honestly, Remy, borrowing without asking is stealing."
"Lorna," Remy leans over and looks to her, acting almost seriously for once. "I grew up a thief. Dis is what ole Remy do. Dis is who ole Remy is. You be hangin' out wit a guy a whole ton given you got such a high moral stance bout dis stuff." He raises his eyebrow, "Or mebbe you jus' like feelin' dirty every once in a while. Eitha way, Remy is who Remy is."
Lorna blushed furiously at Remy's words, "My brother and sister have stolen to survive. My nephew Tommy was in trouble with the authorities on and off. He's a speedster though, so he always got out of it. I've had friends and family that really don't give two figs about the law or property or anything. I don't stop them from doing what they have to, Remy. But there's a different between taking something to survive and taking something to make your life easier." She shot back, her lips pursed together.
"This is making our lives easier. If there wasn't a mutant possibly in danger, I'd say we should suck it up and walk." She huffed a breath, exhaling harshly, her shoulders rising and falling.
"Dere is no honor among thieves," Remy says quietly as he tears his eyes away from her and motions toward the side of the road. "Aiight, if dat make y'life easier, we can walk. But y'can save de self-righteousness fo' someone else." His hand drops abruptly from the back of her seat and heads for the pocket of his trenchcoat and his eyes go from her to the long wooded road that leads to the University.
Lorna huffed a breath and rolled her eyes, "Oh no. You've already me in a car and driving Remy. I'm going to at least get us there. Sooner the better and all that." She shook her head, continuing to drive down the road.
She pursed her lips, "I don't think any less of you Remy for having stolen cars before." She offered after several moments of silence. "Not even for trying to take the sports car. It likely belongs to some rich jerk who gets a new car all the dang time and wrecks them doing stupid stuff." She grumbled, and it was most assuredly from memory and experience she spoke of.
"Dats why I wanted it. Dun care of some dolt gets the hose. Workin' man in a workin' man's car? Dat kinda bothers me. Up here on your left," Remy says as he points off towards the left. "Just a few houses down on your left." The car approaches a row of large brick houses adorned with all sorts of different greek letters denoting their "heritage." "Nu Sigma," Remy says as he gives a nod.
"And I wouldn't have argued save I don't think it'll be helpful for keeping a low profile while we're down here." She added, pulling over to where Remy gestured. "Which is why I wanted to be extra careful with the car." She waved her hands and it turned off with a click after she put it into park.
She waited for a moment, her eyes closed as she pressed her hands against the dashboard and focused on the interior of the car. "I want to try to do something, hold on." She whispered. And after a long moment of silence, she leaned back and dropped her hands.
"They had some issues in the engine, I think I was able to help out with it. Not sure without looking properly, but it helps that I can sense where the metal is weaker." She flashed Remy a grin and out of the car.
Remy chuckles, "You can do dat, chere? I'm tinkin' ah need to take ya on more missions." He hops out of the car and takes a cigarette out of his pocket. The flame of his zippo lighter lights his face in orange as he looks at the brick building in front of them. And, in an instant, he goes from laid back Cajun to revolutionary warrior. In his hands he holds a metal stick about 8 inches long. He approaches the door, ready to kick it in.
Lorna waved her hand back at the car and the locks clicked gently. "Maybe, I don't know. It's something I've done with my own car. But never on anyone else's. I mean, in theory it should be the same, yeah?" She shrugged, pushing her hair back behind an ear as she glanced toward Remy.
"Hey, lemme try to unlock the door first, huh? Stealth and all that?" She hooked an eyebrow at him, wiggling her fingers.
"Magnokinetic, locks are metal.." She offered dryly, going up to the door and pressing a hand against the knob to do just that.
Remy stops mid kick and does a smooth hop in order to not fall, "Yeah, dat sound like not a half bad idea." He takes a drag from his cigarette, exhales slowly and holds his hand out towards the door, inviting her.
Lorna shot Remy a dry look, smothering a smile behind her hand. Her other went to the doorknob and there was a soft click as it unlocked. It was easy, and perhaps it helped explain exactly how her father had managed to run around the world without trouble. She opened the door cautiously, slowly, glancing over her shoulder at Remy before she ducked inside.
Remy ducks in right behind, not bothering to put the cigarette out. As they walk in, they are greeted by a staircase going up and down through the middle of the house. To the left a living room. To the right, another, but no one seems to be on this level at the moment. Suddenly there's a scream and a commotion coming from the basement. Remy flicks his wrist and his bo staff extends to its full length. "Time to get heroic, chere."
Lorna was busily looking around, taking note of the staircase and trying to figure out where they'd need to go when the scream from the basement echoed through the building. Her eyes went wide and she swallowed hard, nodding as she bolted forward on her feet. She wasn't being overly careful about stealth now, rather, struggling to find out what door led to the basement based on the sound where the scream seemed to come from.
"Please don't be too late, please don't be too late." She muttered to herself under her breath as she went as fast as she could checking doors.
Gambit uses the bo as a brace as he leaps down the steps in one jump. There's a short little hallway and then and opening into a basement meeting room, lit with candles and all sorts of creepy artifacts. Young men, presumably, in robes are standing in a circle beating up someone who has been stripped to his underwear. Remy doesn't bother to wait for questions as he unleashes a terrible backhanded strike across the face of one of the fratboys. From the sound of it, several teeth will have been broken.
Lorna followed after Remy as they found the basement and he jumped down the stairs. She didn't leap, but rather came up behind him running. As her eyes fell on the prone young man in the center stripped down to his underthings, and to the robed figures, she scowled. Her gaze leapt up to the pipes that strung along the ceiling of the basement like all good structures did.
With an exhale of concentration she threw her hands out, and with a great groan and rattle the pipes broke open, pouring water from various sources all over the group. Her next gesture was less specific, figuring that the boy on the floor wouldn't have all that much metal on him, she pushed on all the other metal that she could find on the others. Zippers, rivets in jeans, necklaces, anything and everything down to their shoes, she pushed on, hoping to shove them back.
"Oh shit!" someone yells out as Remy begins smashing with his bo staff. Taken by surprise, the fraternity boys have little chance to defend themselves and begin to run immediately. That is, until Lorna pushes some of them against the wall by their belt buckles, their zippers, and the eyelets of their shoes. The bad news is that Remy's bo staff goes flying, too. Omelette and eggs. The young man in the middle is bound and bloodied in the face. Large bruises are clearly forming all around his body.
"Sorry!" Lorna shot toward Remy as his staff goes flying, and she lets up her pressure on it, and with a wave of her hand, directs it back toward him. Then she was racing over toward the bound and bloodied young man on the floor. She knelt, and under another gestured popped the bright red painted cuffs off his wrists and ankles.
"Can you walk?" She asked, offering a hand to him.
"I think so," says Freddie. Bloodied and bruised, it's not even clear what he would normally look like. His eyes are all puffy and his nose might be broken. He puts his weary arm over Lorna's shoulders as Remy, in the background, catches the bo and fluidly slides into more vicious attacks. He's done this sort of thing before, clearly.
Lorna offered Freddie a smile, rising up as soon as she knew for certain she had a good grip on the young man's arm and under his shoulder. She kept a wary glance on the Frat boys around them, her lips pursed together. The more she looked at Freddie's injured features and frame, the more difficult it was to keep her temper, and by extension her powers.
Her breath left her in a great tremble, as if she were under a decent amount of strain. "C'mon lets get you outta here." She offered, forcing some warmth into her voice that was normally there naturally.
Lorna and Freddie make for the stairs while Remy begins backing out. As the pledge looks over his shoulder at the fraternity meeting room for what will be the final time, he sees his would be brothers all lying upon the ground in pain. Moans and cries fill the bottom floor. A split second later Remy emerges, taking a drag from his cigarette. Now finally almost cashed, Remy flings it into the toilet as he walks past the bathroom and heads up the steps. "Time t'get goin, chere."
Lorna nods as she glances over her shoulder at Remy, and then pauses in the main room. "Yeah, Remy, can you give him your jacket? I don't think it'll be so helpful to have him getting around in his underwear." She offered softly, ushering Freddie toward the door. Her gaze flickering back over her shoulder toward the basement. With a faint narrowing of her eyes, and without so much as a hand gesture, the door slams shut.
They would have to break the door down to get through, a magnetized lock wasn't going to budge anytime soon. The lights above her flickered and she had to exhale a breath to calm herself.
"Good idea," Remy replies as he shrugs out of his trench. "Tinkin' we can take dat car or make our way thru de forest to call for our pickup."
"Pickup?" asks Freddie.
"How you like New York, bud?" Remy asks with a raised eyebrow.
Lorna flashed Freddie a smile, "It's okay, you don't have to stay with us after we make sure your safe. But I promise, we're like you, and we're here to make sure you're safe." She stepped back to give him space to sling Remy's coat over himself and she glanced toward the main exit.
"I like the idea of a stolen car sitting there on these guy's front porch. They deserve that much at least." She muttered and glanced around the room. "Lets go out the back and through the woods. The less people that see us right now, is likely for the better."
Remy nods and heads towards the woods. "Sorry, bud. Pardon the reach." The Cajun reaches into Freddy's side pocket. Under other circumstances it would be very awkward, but Remy means nothing by it. He just wants to get the radio.
The call is put in and it's told that the Blackbird would be able to hover in a field about a mile away. "Y'want me to carry ya Fred? Ain't no good walkin' with no shoes. Take a load off and Lorna here will tell you about where we live."
Lorna exhaled, stilling her powers enough not to interfere with the radio. Giving off an angry amount of Electro-magnetic waves was a good way to fry their communications and that wasn't a good thing. She glanced around the main room, and started toward a door that led toward the back. "We've got a great school. It's filled with people like us. If you want to come, then you'll be safe there. Promise." She flashed him a smile.
"You don't have to though, it's your choice." She opened the back door, glancing around for shoes and finding .. rotten pizza boxes. She made a face and offered a hand toward Freddie. "Remy can carry you, or I can try to help you levitate over. Just a few inches off the ground. Nothing wild."
Remy just heaves him up over his shoulder as they reach the woods before Freddie can even say anything. As he lies, he can see Lorna. Damn, in the moonlight his face looks fucking haunting. "I don't have anywhere else to go. What do you mean like you? Like us?"
Lorna shoots Remy a look, but doesn't argue. Levitation was hard and required focus, and she wasn't exactly in the best mind. As they make their way into the woods she bites her lower lip, glancing over at the scared, beaten young man. "What, you think I'm just really good with locks or something?" She tilted her head, wiggling her fingers. "Because, believe me, I'm not." She flashed him a weak smile, but at least it was warm.
"We're mutants, like you."
Freddie sighs. Despite all his desire he knew he was a mutant. His power is a lame one, all things considered. At least to him. He can talk to and command flies. He's great at barbecues. His mistake, however, was telling one of his pledge brothers who squealed to the rest of the house. Now, he has no one. And knowing his parents, they'll be ready to throw him out too. "I don't really have a choice. I have to go with you guys."
"Up dere," Remy points. There's a loud noise emanating from above as the Blackbird makes its way out of the low clouds. Time to get the hell out of here.
Lorna offered Freddie a sympathetic look, "Well, we're going to make sure you're safe first, and taken care of. Get you some clothes. And then, once that's all taken care of you'll get the choice to stay or not. We're working on getting classes together for a full college. I just finished my Freshman year." She flashed him a smile, even as the noise overhead roared and the wind picked up.
"You're not alone Freddie." Was all she offered before it became too difficult to talk over the noise and getting on board.