The Wanting Comes in Waves

Remy opened his eyes with a start and glanced around him. He was in a cage. The metal bars seemed illuminated in the void that surrounded him. He turned left, then right, in both directions seeing nothing but endless black. The blackness seemed to carry on for miles. Remy wouldn't have been surprised if it went on forever. He felt a growing sense of dread as the minutes wore on. Eventually, he felt as if he had been there for hours. Finally Remy came up with an idea, mentally scolding himself that he didn't think of it sooner. He reached down to the side of his duster and searched the pocket, looking for a deck. Finding nothing, he slightly hesitated, then reached for the other pocket. It was empty as well.

"Merde," he breathed as he glimpsed around, trying to find anything he could to blast himself out of this cage. There was a nagging feeling in the back of his brain that told him if he didn't fight to get out of there, then he never would. And he knew that couldn't stay here in this horrible place.

He took off his gloves and extended his fingers in the direction of the cage. He grasped onto the bars tightly, closing his eyes and bracing himself. He knew that blasting an expanse as condensed as this would have its collateral damage. He willed the energy to course through his body and collect itself at his fingertips, but nothing happened. Remy quickly let go of the bars, his mind facing the jarring thought that his powers didn't work. He wasn't going to get out of here.

"Remy?" a voice called, and a small ball of emerald light silently floated over to the cage. It bounced and bobbed in the air like a feather being carried by the wind.

His voice went thick at the sound of the voice, recognizing its owner. "Rogue?"

"Why did ya leave me, Remy?" the haunting voice questions.

"I didn't leave ya, chère," he replied. "You left me."

Suddenly the scene changed dramatically. He was in an empty field and the full moon loomed over the hills. Tall grass swayed in the cool breeze. She was standing in front of him. Her bare fingers reached up slowly and she softly ran her fingers down his cheek. Before he realized it, his hand jerked up and grasped her fingers tightly. He watched her squirm under his crushing grip. He merely sneered and seized her opposite wrist in his other hand. He looked down at his hands and gasped.

"No."

His hands were completely black. He looked into her eyes and saw a black figure reflecting back at him through her irises. His shock of white hair blew about lazily in the soft wind. Suddenly, Remy's mind clicked completely. He grinned at her, but the malicious gleam in his eye made it look more similar to a snarl. He quickly wrapped his hands around Rogue's neck and began to squeeze.

"You left me, Remy. Ah wasn't the one who left," she gasped as he throttled the last amounts of air out of her lungs.

Remy awoke with a start and sighed, running his fingers through his hair. A dream. It was another fucking dream. This was the fourth time that this dream had plagued his sleep, and every time it would end the same way, with the same gruesome ending. His skin crawled at the thought of it. Sighing, he climbed out of bed and ambled over to his closet, grabbing a change of clothes and a fresh towel.

He stayed in the shower for almost an hour, letting the scalding water pelt his skin until it was red. He rubbed his aching head, knowing he would need some aspirin very soon if he was going to conquer this headache. His hangover was especially aggravating him, seeing as before walking halfway back to the mansion before Bobby and Emma picked him up, he had managed to buy a pint of bourbon at the corner store and was nursing it when they found him stumbling down the street.

The memories of the night came back in a flash, and Nyx's face flashed through his mind. He mentally kicked himself repeatedly for what he had done. Emma said nothing more on the car ride home and Bobby, feeling awkwardness in the air, turned up the radio and bobbed his head to the beat all of the way back to mansion. Upon returning, Gambit simply climbed out of the car and fumbled all the way to his room. He barely made it to his bed before he passed out.

But now, being completely lucid and sober, he had to face the consequences of his actions. He vaguely remembered Emma telling him that Nyx had left. When they got back to the mansion at four in the morning, she wasn't there. Emma purposefully marched to the room that belonged to Kitty and Nyx. She peered in quietly and saw that only one bed was occupied. Nyx had not spent a night away from the mansion since she moved in and Emma couldn't help but assume that whatever happened with Remy last night had led to her sudden absence.

She was fuming last night, but surprisingly, as he left the bathroom feeling slightly recuperated, she just stared at him as she passed him on the hallway. He shrugged it off. Remy deposited his dirty clothes in his room to wash later before he made his way downstairs. When he walked into the kitchen he stopped short.

There was Nyx, perched on the kitchen counter, peeling a slice of orange and then popping it into her mouth. "Morning," she mumbled through a full mouth when she noticed him.

"Mornin'," he replied hesitantly.



Nyx opened her eyes slowly and for a millisecond, she didn't know where she was, but then the events of the previous night came back to her in a flood. Grimacing, she turned her head to the right and saw the blond slumbering beside her. She took in his features and concluded that, despite the swollen muscles, he actually looked quite boyish. Not her type. She cautiously lifted the bed sheets off of her and nimbly crawled out of his bed without waking him. She gathered various articles of her clothing and threw them on. Then, she checked the pocket of her skirt for some money for a cab, and found nothing. She contemplated taking money from the blond's wallet for cab fair, but decided against it. Today, she felt like flying back to the mansion in hopes that it would clear her hair.

She walked over to the window; unlatched and opened it quietly. Looking up to the sky, she checked the horizon, and finding decent cloud cover, lifted her arms. Her eyes turned black in a second and she shot through the window and up in the air, above the New York smog so she wouldn't be spotted.

As the wind whipped her hair back, she mulled over the events of last night. She tried to replay all the events that led up to Remy's off-color behavior. He seemed to be enjoying himself, and she was definitely enjoying him. But it had stopped so suddenly. She felt a chill run down her spine as the look in his eyes cemented itself in her mind. When she had seen the sheer confusion flash across his eyes she was certain that it was not she that he was thinking of, it unnerved her. Still, what unnerved her more, was how it got to her. How many years had she successfully kept her ironclad walls around her, successfully keeping people out? And he had created a fissure in the walls in less than a minute. She knew had to careful around him from now on.

When she saw the Mansion come into view, she lowered her altitude and softly landed on the dewy grass. She was thankful that the foyer was empty when she entered the house, and she crept upstairs to her room noiselessly. She tip-toed into her room and grabbed a change of clothes then headed to the shower.

She showered quickly, the steam helping to clear her head. She click the water off and climbed out, quickly toweling herself dry, then slid on a black tank and gray sweatpants. She deposited last night's outfit in her quarters before making her way down to the kitchen. Looking at the clock that read 6:30 AM in flashing red letters, she then wasn't surprised that she hadn't encountered anyone since she returned to the mansion. Who would purposefully wake up this early on a Sunday?

She set up the coffee maker and then grabbed an orange out of the hanging fruit basket over the sink. She hoisted herself onto the counter so she could enjoy her orange. She had just popped a slice of the sour fruit into her mouth when he walked into the kitchen.

This was it, she though to herself, time to play things cool or make a fool of yourself.

"Morning," she mumbled to him through a full mouth.

"Mornin'," he replied, she detected the hesitancy in his voice.

Nyx thumbed in the direction of the coffee maker. "I made coffee."

He groaned and rubbed his forehead. "T'ank God."

She smirked at him. "Someone a bit hungover?"

He shook his head. "Y' have no idea."

This fact calmed her slightly, maybe he had completely forgotten about last night. She opened her mouth to speak when a deep timber reverberated through her mind. Nyx, could you please join me in my office? I would like to speak with you.

She sighed. "Geez, does that guy ever sleep?"

Remy looked at her curiously. "Who, chère?"

"The Professor," she replied as she hopped off the counter. "He wants to see me in his office. Hope I'm not in trouble," she added jokingly.

Remy smiled at her and handed her a mug of coffee; black, the way she liked it.

"Good luck, chère," he told her.

"Thanks," she said as she exited the kitchen.



The heavy oak door clicked open when Nyx raised her hand to knock. She poked her head into the sprawling office and looked around; floor to ceiling bookshelves covered three walls, while the last wall was covered with pictures of the Professor with various students, his diploma, and other images. A strong oak desk, the same stain as the crown molding on the ceiling, was set directly center of the room.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Nyx asked into the seemingly empty room.

The Professor hovered by a window facing the eastern side of the mansion. He turned when he heard her voice and smiled at her. "Yes, Nyx, do come in."

She walked in and stood awkwardly by the door until the Professor motioned for her to take a seat in front of his desk. She settled in and smiled at him. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to congratulate you."

"Congratulate me?" she asked. "For what?"

"For becoming an official member of the X-Men," he said as he opened a drawer at the top of his desk and pulled out a folded black lycra body suit, a golden X was emblazoned on the chest of it, over the heart.

She reached out and took the uniform from him. Fingering the stiff material, she looked up at him and smiled broadly. "Wow, I don't know what to say."

He merely shook his head and drew his fingers together in front of him. "No need to say anything, we're glad to have you."

Suddenly, a monitor set atop his desk began to blink red and beep furiously.

Nyx looked at the monitor curiously. "You need me to go?"

"This is an alert, it seems someone is in need of the X-Men's assistance. Why don't you head to the debriefing room? Everyone will be along shortly."

Nyx nodded and made her way out of the office, taking a left to board the elevator that would take her down to the basement of the mansion, where the debriefing room was located. She smiled softly to herself and absentmindedly began to finger the material of the uniform again. She held it up and left it unfold before her as she studied it. Just then, the elevator door clicked open and Nyx was suddenly facing Kitty and Piotr.

Kitty squealed and rushed into the elevator. "The Professor finally gave you your uniform!" she said, oozing excitement.

Piotr followed behind Kitty and gave Nyx a meek nod. "Velcome to ze team."

She beamed up at them both. "Should I feel this excited? Only thing I got was a cheesy uniform."

Kitty snorted and jabbed Nyx with her elbow playfully. "Please, now you're a designated badass, just like yours truly."

Nyx raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Sorry to say, Kit, but there's not a thing about you that's badass."

Piotr let out a laugh in spite of himself and Kitty glowered at him. "Don't take her side, Peter!"

He held up his large hands in mock defeat. "She does have point, though. You are no, how you say?, badass."

Kitty threw up her arms and gave an exasperated sigh. "Gosh, you guys are a total self-esteem killer."

Nyx chuckled and wrapped her arm around Kitty. "Don't worry, dearie. Auntie Nyx will personally tutor you in the art of badassery." Nyx kept her arm wrapped around Kitty's shoulder as the three exited the elevator and headed into the debriefing room. Ororo, Jean, Bobby, Emma, and, of course, Scott were already there.

"God, you guys really respond to the alarm, don't you?" Nyx asked as she unwrapped herself from Kitty and settled into a chair around the conference table. "Where's Remy?"

A voice responded to her inquiry from the door. "Righ' here, chère. Y' miss me, already?" He teased as he took a seat next to her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Don't flatter yourself, boy," she scoffed.

Emma's eyes shot from Nyx to Remy, then back to Nyx. Her gaze settled on the girl. Are you okay? she projected into Nyx's mind.

Nyx shot her a startled look and then thought: Geez, I can't get used to you telepaths. Why wouldn't I be okay?

About what happened last night...?

Nyx grimaced. Nothing happened last night, let's forget about it.

Emma shot her an incredulous look, but nodded slightly, ending the conversation.

After that, the Professor hovered into the room and took his spot at the head of the table.

"What's the problem, Professor?" Scott asked quickly. Nyx mentally rolled her eyes at his need to please.

The Professor knitted his hands together in his lap and looked around the expanse of the room. "We have a hostage situation, X-Men. A dear friend of mine is being held against his will, along with other various scientists. It is our duty to retrieve them."

The group listened intently as the Professor enlightened them to the problem.

"Speed and stealth will be key in this mission. We need to get in and out without alerting our presence. Nyx, you and Gambit will be in charge of retrieving the hostages. The rest of the team will be dispatched throughout the warehouse as your backup. They'll be your defense if anything goes awry."

After a few more bits of information on the situation they would be putting themselves into, the group was released to suit up and make their way to the Blackbird. Nyx couldn't quell the ball of excitement building in her stomach for her first mission.