Title: Vindicator
Author: Court (remylebeau@yahoo.com)
Website: http://www.lediableblanc.com/personal/fanfic/
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Vindicator 9
By Court
Remy smiled as he lit the last candle. He and Logan had decided to come to Logan's home in the Everglades over his Texas ranch, and he was glad. It was a little like home, even had alligators in the backyard and a swamp full of chirping frogs and toads. They had been in this Florida cabin for about two months, and over the time they had learned a lot about one another, the real them, not the men they were forced to be around the X-men. They weren't afraid of being themselves when they were with each other. He loved Logan, he knew that now, and it was an odd feeling. He had come to realize that he had never really loved anyone until now. Belle, Rogue, all of them, were just relationships based on debt and need, not love. With Logan it was different, he couldn't imagine loving someone more than he did him. In a short few months Logan had become everything he needed, there was only one missing piece, and tonight he was about to finish the puzzle.
This morning was the deciding point. He had woken with Logan spooned up tightly behind him, a position that would have normally scared him, especially feeling Logan's arousal, but there was no fear. He found himself wanting to be taken by Logan, so badly he almost woke the Canadian up and begged for it. He knew then this would be the night. He would go to Logan out of love and want, not out of a sense of debt, and he wanted it to be special.
Logan had left several hours earlier to meet a contact they had watching the X-men. The contact had called last night and asked for Logan to meet him this afternoon, there was something he needed to inform him of. Remy hoped it was good news. No signs of the former team gave him hope that they had never begun the search, and would leave them alone. Good or bad news, the meeting gave him a perfect couple of hours to arrange a nice romantic evening to themselves. He had candles all around the small bedroom and rose petals scatter across every surface. The large attached bathroom was equally dressed in roses and candles, ready for a nice warm bath. Logan had told him over and over that he never owed him for anything, but he bet he wouldn't mind being paid back for the bath, especially if they shared. He looked around the room and almost danced with excitement. The clock told him he was right on time, Logan would be home any minute.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by the phone. He rushed into the kitchen towards the ring, hoping to catch it before the answering machine picked up. He expected it to be Logan, calling to tell him he was running a bit late. "'ello"
"Remy?"
Remy pulled the phone away from his ear and stood frozen in shock. Before he could regain the courage to put the phone back to his ear, Logan busted through the door in a panic, his claws unsheathed.
"Rems, we have to go..." Logan stopped in his tracks seeing Remy standing in the small kitchen, still and pale, with tears running down his face. He feared the message was too late, they had already arrived. He slowly walked over when Remy reached out the phone to him. Logan took it and wrapped his arm around Remy's waist, pulling him to his side for support. The young man looked like he was about to faint. Remy dropped his forehead on his shoulder, his tears wetting the t-shirt Logan wore. He slowly pulled the phone to his ear. "Hello?"
"Logan?"
"'Ro? What the hell are ya doing calling here? Why don't ya leave us the hell alone?" Logan cursed to himself. His contact had told him that he was sure the X-men were on the right trail, but not this close.
"Logan, please listen. I don't have much time, the others do not know that I am calling you. They will be leaving in two hours, they know where you are. You must leave. I have tried to hold them off as much as I can..."
"No, 'Ro, you listen..." Logan stopped for a moment when Remy pulled away from his embrace and walked slowly to the bedroom. Looking into the door he could see the room was lit with an aura that could only be caused by candlelight. He knew in an instant why Remy was so upset. He quickly finished his conversation with Ororo and chased Remy into the bedroom. As soon as he entered the room he cursed every X-team member he had ever met. Remy was blowing out the candles, causing a small haze of smoke to encircle the rose scented room. He slowly turned the younger man around and pulled him into his embrace. "Rems, I'm so sorry. God, this looks beautiful."
"Damn them! Why can't they just leave us alone?" Remy dropped his face into the crook of Logan's neck as the tears threatened again.
"Can't be helped now. 'Ro says they are leaving to come here in two hours. So we have to pack up and leave now. I guess we will make our way to the ranch in Texas." Logan hated to see the tears on Remy's face, he had tried so hard to make him happy the last few months, to make them both happy, and he was succeeding obviously. He knew Remy had something wonderful planned for tonight, and it probably took a lot to get Remy to this point. He hated that it was ruined. He grabbed a small tote bag from the closet and handed it to Remy. "Pack those candles up, they'll light just as well in Texas as they do here."
Remy wiped away his tears and smiled. Logan was right, they still had all the time in the world. Just meant he would have to make it all that much better next time. "Je t'aime."
"I love ya too, Rems." Logan leaned in and dropped a kiss on soft lips. "Now get packing, we need to get out of here."
***
Storm sat in the corner of the Blackbird her arms folded across her chest. She had not even bothered to put on a uniform, knowing it would anger Scott, like he had angered her. Jubilee, the newest addition to the X-men team, sat next to her, equally mad. She had heard the entire story from Ororo when she arrived at the X-mansion and found, not only, the man she considered father gone, but the only person she had considered a brother as well. When she heard why they had left she didn't blame them, she was a little ticked she hadn't been informed or taken with them, but she understood. Ever since then her and Ororo had schemed and scammed to hold the X-men back from finding Remy and Logan, and they made no attempt to cover it up.
Scott threw the Blackbird on autopilot and stomped to the back of the plane. "Listen, Storm, I would appreciate it if you would turn off the hurricane you have going around the plane. The Blackbird will fly fine through it, but the people in the towns below will probably be a little confused at the weather change. I would like you to change into your uniform as well, there is no armor in that outfit you are wearing, same with you Jubilee."
Jubilee sneered and gave Scott the finger.
"I have to agree with Jubilee on this one, Scott." Storm stuck her regal nose in the air and made sure to keep the winds blowing outside. She knew this wasn't having any effect on the towns below, but it was slowing the plane down, she could tell by the strain of the engines.
"Both of you are acting like children! If I have to make it an order I will!"
"Us, children? You are the one that is acting like a child, Scott! What is the good of chasing Remy and Logan down like common criminals? You know where they are, is that not enough? You say you want to protect them, not punish them. You can do that know, just leave them be!" Storm stood challenging Scott.
"I can't protect them in an old cabin in the middle of a swamp! I need them in the mansion!" Scott inched closer to Storm, he was not about to lose face in front of his second in command.
Jubilee joined the stand off and pushed Scott back from Ororo, which got her a look of shock from her leader. "Listen here! Wolvie and Gumbo are a hell of lot stronger than you think! They can take down that bird brained flyboy any day! They don't need your help against Wings."
"I must agree with Jubilation again, Cyclops." Storm smiled as she jerked the plane to the side with her winds, causing Scott to stumble back against the seats, almost into Bobby's lap.
"You know, I could use some help here, Bobby," Scott muttered as he regained his footing.
"I'm sorry, I agree with the ladies on this one. You should just leave them alone. They didn't do anything wrong, they wanted to leave and they did. I don't see anything wrong with that, Slim." Bobby shrugged his shoulders.
"That's rich from someone that attacked Remy in his hospital bed." Jubilee glared at Iceman.
"Hey! You weren't there, so just drop it. I'm sorry for that! I admit I was wrong. Remy was right, it was never fair for him or Logan at the mansion. I doubt it ever will be, so it's better that they left." Bobby stood and walked to the cockpit, he didn't want to be in this argument.
Jean stood with a sigh and pushed her husband back into the seat he had fallen into and urged the others to take their seats as well. "Scott, just tell them. Then they will understand why you are doing this."
"Tell us what?" Storm demanded.
Scott sighed in defeat. "The Professor has reason to believe that Warren is alive and is still seeking revenge on Gambit and Logan. He thinks Warren has received some... enhancements, again. If this is true I can't protect them where they are, they need to be under the security of the mansion."
"Why did you not tell us this? Is he working for Apocalypse again? Dear Goddess!" Ororo was instantly worried, maybe contacting them was wrong, maybe they are better off at the mansion. They have no clue where to find them now. She looked over at Jubilee and saw the same worry etched across the young face.
"We are not sure if it is Apocalypse. The Professor had a disturbing nightmare. He detected that his dream was being tampered with and confronted the attacker, only to find it to be Warren. He was different though, more powerful, and less rational. Now you know why we need to find them, we don't know when Warren will attack or what he is capable of."
***
Warren stood over the broken man he had just utterly destroyed with hardly any effort. The new power flowed through him like new blood. He had never been this strong, even before as Death. The transformation was painful, the training of his new abilities was strenuous, but this moment made all of that worth while. He was always jealous of his teammates that had power like this, the Alphas and Omegas that had so much power they could barely contain it. He was always just a flyer, never made a difference if he was on the team or not, but now that was all changed.
Apocalypse had given him strength beyond even himself and not only that, trained him in the use of those powers to a precision that he could not even defeat. He glared down at the man that had filled him with so much pain in his life, only this time with no fear in his eyes. He would never fear anyone again. "You are a fool, Apocalypse. You gave me so much power that I can kill even you!"
"You cannot defeat me so easily! If I were not weakened from Cable's assault I would crush you! You cannot break our agreement so easily, you should know that by now, Archangel. The powers I give you, I can take away!"
"Shut up! Stop calling me that! It's Angel now! I don't need you!" Warren raised his hands in his madness and released a power he was never born to wield. The room lit up like the sun, forcing him to close his eyes to the painful blinding light. When he opened his eyes again Apocalypse was gone, along with half the lab they were standing in. He looked at his hands, which were still glowing with power, and laughed maniacally. "Don't worry, I will hold my end of the bargain. Remy will die by my hands, and I will send Logan to join you, in hell!"
***
Logan pulled the truck over when Remy began yelling. The younger man had drifted off to sleep soon after they packed and started towards Texas. He was calm until a sudden nightmare took hold, one he didn't seem to be able to wake the Cajun from. "Come on, Rems, wake up, you're alright."
Remy flew forward in the seat, grabbing a hold of Logan as if he were drowning. "He's not dead."
Logan was glad he had decided to pull over, he would have wrecked the truck otherwise. He could tell Remy was terrified. He had seen a lot of Remy's nightmares, but never anything like this. "What are ya talking about, Rems? Who?"
"Warren, he's still alive, and he's coming for us."
TBC in Part 10