Marvel owns the X-men,
Marauders, Sinister, ( who I swear is my boss in human form ) and everyone else you may
know in
this story. This said, now I don't have to worry about being sued.
The Cold Hearted Truth
Part Two
Kaleidopy
THE MANSION
" Since my return, I have had a long detailed talk with Rogue, and I have already
gotten to the root of the problem." Xavier
looks at Rogue, " I know you are feeling guilty for leaving Gambit but something
strange has just happened. I know I told you
that I supported your decision to bring Remy home, but I can no longer determine his
location. I,"
" Oh mah Gawd, is he,"
" He's still alive Rogue, but something has a presence that is too powerful that I
can not reach."
" It's Sinister."
" WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!"
" Warren stop," Jean commands him with a telepathic thought. " Scott told
me he was bringing them."
" Be glad I no longer have my metallic wings, Marauders," Angel glares at the
two newcomers. " Or you both would be dead by
now."
" I know you have reasons to hate the Marauders, but Vertigo and I are no longer
members."
" Where have I heard that one before," Angel glares at the ex-Marauder. "
You and LeBeau must be reading the same book."
" Prism, you made this deal with us, I want Sinister's contacts, his bases and his
hidden agenda."
" Fearless Leader, being the gracious hosts that the X-men are known for, shouldn't
we allow our guests a chance to rest and
clean up before you bore them with one of your long speeches."
" HANK!"
" Scott, he is right." Jean walks over to Vertigo. " Come with me and I
will show you to your room. I can see that you need to
rest. Perhaps you care to talk in private. We will leave the others to their
business."
" Go with her," Prism tells her. " Phoenix will protect you from Sinister.
He can not get you here. I give you my word."
" I trust only you, my husband." She quickly leaves his side and joins Jean
upstairs.
" Husband?"
" Yes, one of the main reasons we fled Sinister. Essex didn't know about our
relationship until it was too late. He was outraged." Prism begins his story.
" He considers us a failure in his research because Marauders are not suppose to have
feelings. He programmed us to be heartless ruthless killers. So in his eyes and in the
Marauders eyes, Vertigo and I are traitors."
" And if I know Sinister, and I do," Xavier cut in. " He wants the both of
you destroyed, am I correct?"
" Yes, Mr. Xavier."
" How are you so sure that Remy is with Sinister?"
" Because Gambit is a Marauder."
" Ah'm warning ya, Warren."
" You know something Worthington, I am getting tired of your blabbering mouth."
Wolverine walks in smoking a cigar. " Seems
to me that you and Cyke have always put me and the Cajun down and I am sick of it. You
think you are so much better than
we are, well you ain't" He looks over at the professor. " Chuck why don't you
tell your two choir boys the real reason you
wanted Gambit and me as your X-men."
" Gambit, just like Wolverine can get into places that none of my other X-men
can,"
" Stop sugar coating it, " Logan glares at Angel and Cyclops. " In other
words, Xavier needed someone besides myself who
wasn't afraid of getting their hands dirty, something that the two of you would know
nothing about, if you get my meaning.
Gumbo did a lot of things for the professor that only he and I knew about."
" What?"
" What the matter Summers, jealous? Teacher's pet don't know everything?" Logan
laughs at him. " Seems the black sheep of
the X-men are a lot more valuable to this team that the two of you are willing to admit. I
ain't about to bend over backwards to please the likes of two pampered Xavier wannabees
just to prove my worth to this team." Wolverine pulls out another cigar and lights
it. Slowly he takes a big puff and releases the smoke before walking out of the room.
" Both of you can kiss my,"
" Logan, that is not necessary," Storm clears her throat but even she was having
trouble hiding her approval of Wolverine's
remarks. She glances at Rogue, whose back was turned from the others, it was clear to
Storm that Rogue was trying to cover a
laughing fit.
" Sorry guys," She turns back around. " Ah had something in mah eye."
" You were saying, Professor." Storm finally regained her composure.
" I believe Prism was about to tell us about Gambit."
" You mean ask a Marauder about a Marauder,"
" That's it,"
POW
" Rogue!"
" Goddess child, control yourself." Storm grabs the Southerner and holds her
from behind, careful not to touch the younger
woman's skin.
" I warned ya, Angel."
Scott helps Warren to his feet, noticing the gash on Angel's cheek, " Rogue, X-men do
not attack each other out of anger."
" Ah'll smack him upside his ugly head if he calls Remy a Marauder again."
" LeBeau isn't a Marauder, never was."
" No he just got all of you together and led you down to the morlock tunnels,"
Angel glances over at the angry woman glaring at him. " Rogue, I gave you the first
one, don't make me hurt you."
" Are ya drunk, ya couldn't even hurt mah shadow."
" Look, I don't know what you two are arguing about, but LeBeau never formed the
Marauders. Who said he did?"
" Remy did," Rogue suddenly turns her attention to Prism. " He said he did
it as a job for Sinister."
" And you fell for that?" Prism slowly sat down in a near by chair, running his
hand through his hair he slowly looks at Xavier. "Let me explain this the best way I
can." He glances at Angel. " Maybe you better sit down yourself."
" I would rather stand. I could careless what a stinking Marauder has to say about
another Mar----"
" Rogue,"
" Ya gotta death wish,"
" Alright, Rogue, I promise I will not say another word about Gambit." Warren
says. " In fact, the less I hear his name the better I like it."
" Prism, please continue, " Xavier tells the man. " I promise you that you
will not be interrupted again, and the one who tries will answer to me."
" As I was saying Remy LeBeau was never a Marauder. Sinister would never allow that
boy in harms way." He looks at the
professor. " LeBeau is Sinister's greatest experiment. To make a long story short,
LeBeau has memory implants. Sinister planted the morlock massacre, and several other
memories into LeBeau's mind in order to control him."
" Memory implants, then he was innocent."
" Eat crow Warren,"
" But how did those memories come to surface?" Xavier interrupted his two
students.
" It started in Seattle when Essex tracked LeBeau there. He wanted the boy back, but
LeBeau wanted to stay an X-men,
something Sinister refused to allow. Once Essex triggered a word sentence, it started a
chain reaction." The man continues. " All he had to do was wait until LeBeau
remembered the false memory of the Morlock massacre, and the fear he would have of
losing the life he had built with the X-men. With each passing day, the implanted memory
became more and more powerful until
it was all LeBeau would think about. He had no idea that the memory that controlled his
life was a plant."
" I knew my brother was innocent." Storm smiles proudly. " I only wished I
could have found him. I have searched Africa and
most of Europe for him and I can not find him anywhere."
" When did you look?" Cecilia asks. " You were always here at the
mansion,"
" Do you really think I care so little for the man who saved my life that I would not
give mine up for his!" She asks the woman. "
Every night, I have been searching since the others returned from Antarctica but I have
been successful. I had no intentions of telling anyone, not when I blamed every X-men at
that mock trail for leaving Remy behind."
" Ya held your emotions well, Storm." Rogue put in, " Ah only hope ya'll
forgive me for what Ah'm 'bout ta say," She closes her
eyes as tears slowly falls down her cheeks. " Ya see, Ah left Remy in
Antarctica."
SINISTER'S BASE
" You allowed them to escape."
" Boss, we had them but the X-men showed up, you told us never to attacked them
because,"
" That was when LeBeau was with them, and since they have no need of him,"
" You mean,"
" Patience Scalphunter, the X-men will be yours for the taking." Sinister walks
down a long corridor with the leader of the
Marauders by his side. " You and I both will have our revenge on Xavier's dream
team."
" What of LeBeau? You think you can get information out of him?"
" Not willingly, but I have methods of getting what I want from him."
" Boy might be trouble, Boss. If he should ever learn his true identity,"
" If LeBeau ever learns the truth, I will hold you personally responsible."
Sinister suddenly grabs the Marauder leader up by the throat and slams him against the
wall. "I have plenty of ways of making you scream." Sinister bares his teeth at
the Marauder. "Care to find out!"
" No Boss, you made your point."
" So be it." He drops Scalphunter down to the floor and walks off. " Gather
your team and make them ready for an attack. I
want the X-men dead before the end of this week."
" Does that include Summers and his wife?"
" You know the answer to that one." Sinsister adds before leaving. " Inform
Creed that I have need of his services again."
SPACE " I would never question thy reasoning, Corsair."
" I am following my gut instincts, Raza." The only human on board the ship tells
his comrade. " It has been several months since I have heard from Scott or Xavier. I
think something serious is wrong."
" Patience Captain, we should be within Earth's atmosphere in about three
seconds." Ch'od flips several switches near the
cockpit. " Cloaking device is now activated and working. We will remain invisible and
off of the human's radar."
" Any word from the Mansion?"
" Nothing Bishop, all radio frequencies are dead." Ch'od answers the X-man. He
glances over his shoulder. " Mind telling us
why you were hanging out with Deathbird?"
" It's a long story," The former member of the XSE answers. " I am just
anxious to get back home and rejoin my friends and
companions."
" The look on Deathbird's face when we rescued you and dumped her on that planet was
priceless. I haven't laughed so hard in years," Corsair forced a laugh. " Took
my mind off other things,"
" Corsair, I am sure Scott and Alex are just fine."
" Always the optimist, aren't you, Mademoiselle." Corsair wraps his arm around
his lover's waist. Hepzibah lays her head on his
shoulder as both watch The Starjammer enter the New York coast line. "The things
Bishop has told me about Alex. Why would
he turn on his own brother and friends?"
" Coming up on the Mansion, Corsair." Ch'od yells to his Captain. " What
the,"
" What is going on?"
" Either El Nino is dumping a major thunderstorm on top of the Mansion," Bishop
answers. " Or Storm is very ticked off."