The Cold Hearted Truth
Chapter Eight
Kaleidopy 

" Why don't they tell us what's going on in there?" Rogue twirls her finger in her hair, trying not to act so nervous. She then looks up at the clock on the wall. " Ah can't stand around like this and do nothing."

" Nothin' we can do but wait, Darlin'." Wolverine consoles her. He glances up and sees Scott coming out of the medic center. He stands up to meet him. " Cyke?"

Scott walks past his two team members and leaves through the front door without saying a word.

A minute later, Jean, Cecilia and Hank joins the two. " I'll go see about Scott," Jean leaves after her husband.

Wolverine didn't believe in being suttle. " Wanna tell us what's goin' on, Hank?"

" What ever hold Sinister has on Gambit, Charles can not break it." Hank sighs deeply before continuing. " It seems that Charles still does not have complete use of his powers and what little he does control, it isn't strong enough to break the mind link."

" What about Jean?" Rogue asks. " She's a full blown telepath, surely she can break th' hold."

" Jean has tried, but Sinister's power is too strong." Hank rubs his arm. " We have underestimated our friend Gambit, Though I do not want to admit it, but since his recent stay with Sinister, I fear I no longer know him." Beast was almost afraid to continue. " Remy attack us with some new powers we didn't know he had."

" Wha," Rogue blinks her eyes. " Are ya'll alright, Hank?"

" Yes, Rogue," Xavier smiles slightly at he enters the room in his hover chair. He was glad his students were together in these recent events. He didn't want to say anything, but he was disappointed that they had failed to remain a family in his absence. " It seems Sinister has given Remy the power to attack mentally. He attacked Hank, myself and tried to do the same to Jean. We were lucky Hank was quick enough to sedate him or I fear a lot worse would have happened. Scott is taking this the hardest," Xavier continues. " He had to put the collar around Remy's neck, while Hank held him down." Xavier notices the shocked looks he was getting from some of the X-men. " I know collaring Remy is the last thing Hank and I wanted to do, but Gambit is a very dangerous at the moment. If given the chance, I believe he would try to kill us." The professor lowers his head, he chokes back his emotions before he could speak again. " This is tearing me apart to do this to one of my own students, but until I believe Remy is no longer under the control of Sinister, you must abide by my wishes."

" What ya wanna do next?" Wolverine glances at Rogue, who returns his look. " Can't keep the Cajun tied up forever. Ya know the boy wants ta go back ta Essex."

" Well he ain't going back," Rogue suddenly finds herself shouting at Wolverine. She glances upstairs before she adds. " If Ah hafta, Ah'll sit on him. And don't ya'll think Ah want either." She stifles a laugh. " Boy needs a swift kick in th' butt ta open his eyes ta what Sinister's doing ta him."

" We have a hard decision to make, my X-men." Charles ignors Rogue's last remark. " On one hand we can keep a Genoshian collar on Gambit to make certain he doesn't have access to his powers or we,

" But that would make him a prisoner, Ah don't like it one bit."

" Let him finish Rogue."

" Or Jean, Elizabeth, Emma and myself can get into his mind while he is unconscious and break the mind link Sinister has created. Even with Remy's new powers he can not fight all four of us when we merge our powers."

" Don't like the idea of messin' in a body's mind." Logan confesses. He notices the weather outside. " How long is Storm gonna keep this up? If she keeps doing this we gonna be livin' in a boat."

Storm soars high in the darken skies as the rain she commands falls harder. She screams into the winds making her anger, hurt and frustration disappear into it.

" Storm, you are going to have to calm down." Warren flies up to meet her. " Your emotions are playing havoc with the environment."

" Leave me Warren, I wish to be alone."

Angel grabs her hand. " Ororo, you have to pull yourself together." He tells her. " The X-men are gathering inside the mansion as we speak to make plans for a defence against Sinister."

" At the moment, the X-men are not my concern." Storm flies higher leaving Angel to return to the mansion. How things got out of hand so quickly, Ororo could not decide. Her brother, is now home, but he is no longer the same man she has grown to love. Only an hour ago, she was a witness to Remy's rage. She saw in his eyes, pure hatred for all of them. Anger was beginning to take over her as well, Storm harvered a deep longing to punish the X-men who betrayed her brother, but being a Goddess, she knew she was not allowed the luxury.

She glances down at the boat house to see a dark figure sitting on the docks. Floating downward, she lands on the dock. " I see I am not the only one who needs the rain to hide my emotions. If I am interfering, I will leave."

" I don't want to talk, Ororo."

" Forgive me Scott, here I have been wallowing in my own self pity that I have not once thought what this has

done to you." Storm walks over to her friend. " If there is anything that I can do, do not hesitate to ask."

" Storm, this is something I must deal with myself." Cyclops turns away from her and stands at the edge of the dock. He stares out towards the lake.

" Scott, I know more than anyone what you are feeling, but revenge will only eat away at your soul." Storm walks up behind him, placing her hands on both of his shoulders. " If you follow through with your feelings, then Sinister will be the only winner. He will have beaten you at his own game."

" Really?" Scott swings around and stares at her. She couldn't see through his visor but if she had, she would have seen the anger in his eyes. " I can forget about what he did to me over the years, but what about the things he has done to Jean, " Cyclops looks back towards the lake, " Essex clones my wife, at one of the lowest points of my life, knowing full well that I thought Jean was dead and he uses me, again." His voice begins to grow angrier. " Jean says she doesn't hold me responsible, but I hold myself responsible for falling into Sinister's trap."

" Scott, you are blaming yourself for something that was out of your control. Sinister is the master in cloning. Just look at how many times he has cloned the Marauders. There was no way you could have known that Madelyne was not Jean." Ororo's eyes move slightly to see if she has convinced Scott. " Jean came back to you, my friend. Sinister did not preveal."

" What about Remy? Still think Sinister hasn't manipulated him?" Scott continues his outrage. " Do you have any idea what it is like to have your friends help hold your own brother down on the floor while you chain him like an animal?" He turns his back to her. " I feel so guilty that I wasn't with the rest of the team in Antarctica. I know if I had been, we would have never left him behind." Cyclops tries to hold his emotions in check. " I don't care what came out at that trial, I never would have turned my back on a team mate no matter what they were accused of,"

" Then I must also share the guilt," Storm sighs silently. " Several months ago, I found Remy in the tunnels, he had lit several candles in memory of the slain morlocks, when I confronted him about the massacre, he told me that he had read about it in Cerebro's files." She shakes her head. " I should have seen through his little charade and knew what he was trying to hide. Instead, I chose to close my eyes. If only I had acted on my first instinct, a lot of what happened never would have come to pass."

" Ororo, since when have you became a telepath?" Scott calms his temper. " As you just told me, you are blaming yourself for something that was out of your control."

" Perhaps you are correct." Storm glances back towards the mansion. " If it makes you feel any better," She smiles as Scott looks at her, concern on his face. " Remy is still asleep. Hank doubled the dosage."

" And the collar?" Scott asks. " You know Remy can open any lock."

" Rest assure he will not unlock this collar." Storm begins to smile. " Forge, himself made this collar. I am almost as great a thief as Remy, and Forge used me to try his success on the collar. It can not be open without the key."

Cyclops heads back towards the boat house after receiving a hug from Storm. " Now all I have to worry about tonight is Sinister and the Marauders attacking us."

Storm watches as he leaves, slowly she opens her hand to reveal the key she just swiped from Cyclops. " Forgive me Scott, but unlike the others, Remy has no reason to turn on me."