Jackson, Mississippi
Congressmen Albert Jonston sat down at the desk in the middle of his office. He looked down at the stack of mail and began to leaf through it. Most were bills or letters from charity organizations. At the end of the pile was a small manila envelope with no return address on it. He opened it and a piece of paper fell out.
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Jonston dumped the rest of the contents onto the desk. There was about a dozen pictures. He looked at each one carefully his eyes growing wider. Oh my god . . . He unlocked the desks upper drawer and removed a picture of an eight year old girl. He compared it to the other pictures.
He quickly picked up the phone and dialed a number. "William . . . we seem to have a problem . . . it seems that Sabine's alive . . ."
Savannah, Georgia
"Are ya sure 'bout this Gumbo?" Wolverine grumbled.
The two had been walking for over five hours. They were looking at different places that Vivien used to visit regularly. Gambit shrugged and turned down an alley. "Vivien was a night owl when I knew her. Came wit' her t'Savannah a couple o' times. She came here a lot."
Gambit tapped lightly on the door.
Wolverine watched a small piece of the door open and then close. Then the whole door opened revealing a tall, muscular man on the other side of it who towered over the two. Wolverine's eyes narrowed slightly. He definitely didn't like the 'establishment'.
"Hello Andre." Remy flashed him a grin.
"LeBeau." The man motioned behind him and two other men stepped out.
"Dat not be necessary mon ami. Just wanted t'know if y'seen Vivien around?"
"No."
Gambit gave him a wad of money. "Y'sure mon ami? It be real important."
"Haven't seen her."
Gambit watched the door close in front of him. "Now what?" Wolverine asked.
Gambit sighed. I was so sure she'd be here. Gambit looked down at the sound of a small beeping noise. He pressed a button on the small intercom. "Gambit here."
"Remy this is Jean. Ororo and I haven't seen any of the women in the pictures you gave us. We're going towards the zoo."
"She not be at de clubs either."
"We'll find her Remy"
Gambit turned the speaker off and looked at Wolverine. Then something caught his eye. He began walking towards the street.
"Remy?" Wolverine started to follow him.
Gambit opened the telephone booth and picked up the phone. He turned back towards Wolverine. "Y'got any change?"
Logan handed him a few coins. "Whatcha thinkin' Gumbo?"
"Askin' de operator f'de address of a couple of her aliases I know. Maybe we get lucky."
The ball flew high up into the air and landed at the eight-year-old's feet. "Now come on Miss Sabine. Ya got ta stop mopin' about. It ain't right foah a girl ya'lls age," the old woman said.
"Ah know Ms. Marie," the girl said sadly.
"Well go on then."
The little girl sighed and looked at the ball. She started to kick it towards the river. "Don't ya go disturbin' yoah daddy ya hear Miss Sabine!"
"Yes Marie," she shouted.
The eight-year-old watched the woman go back inside the mansion and kicked the ball as hard as she could. "Ya ain't mah momma!" she said angrily and ran after the ball.
The ball had landed by the hedge to her mother's garden. The little girl's hands unconsciously went into the pockets of her overalls and she began to walk slowly. She hated coming around here. It only reminded her of her mother. She leaned over for the ball and heard some voices coming from the other side of the hedge. She looked up into the garden.
She saw her father and some of his business friends in it. There was a man in the middle of them. He looked scared and was talking really fast. She moved in slowly to get a better look. The man in the middle sank to his knees as though praying. Then she heard a loud boom and saw blood coming down from his forehead.
The girl felt a hand clamp over her mouth as she tried to scream.
Infermary
Raven Darcholme gazed down at Rogue's sleeping body and sighed. She'd been asleep for hours but her pulse and heart rate were fine. Mystique's head turned as she heard the door swoosh open. Xavier hovered into the room. "What do you want?" Her voice was like ice.
"I came to see how Rogue was?"
"Fine." Mystique gently brushed a strand of hair from her foster daughter's face.
"What exactly were you talking about earlier?" Xavier hovered over to the opposite side of Rogue's bed.
"When Rogue was just a little girl . . . she . . . she saw somethi--"
"NOOOOOOO!" Rogue sat up in bed screaming.
"Rogue!" Mystique said.
Rogue looked at her and almost instinctively grabbed for her. Tears rolled down her face, her breathing ragged. "Make it go away momma. Please make it go away." Her voice sounded like that of a child's.
"Rogue." Mystique wrapped her arms around her, trying to comfort her. "What' wrong?"
"He's dead . . . they killed him . . ." Rogue was sobbing. "Make it go away momma. Please. "
Oh god no . . . Mystique pulled Rogue closer to her. Why here? Why now?
Sinister's Base
Liam woke up crying, again. He'd had another nightmare. There was a woman in it. She held him; made him feel . . . he wasn't sure what to call it. He just knew he never felt it here. Then he had seen Sinister cutting her open on the 'table'. He shuddered and pulled the covers closer.
The door opened and he saw two boys in the doorway. Their eyes were white and glowing. He didn't like them. They looked scary. One of them placed a tray of food on his bed.
"Sinister says that you must eat," the other boy said.
Liam watched them leave and pushed the tray off the bed. The last time he had eaten he'd woken up on the 'table'. He didn't want to go there again. His stomach began to ache. He laid down and began crying.
Savannah, Georgia
Haley opened the door of the old Georgian mansion and slowly walked in. This is interesting. Last time I saw Vivien she was into grunge and dancing at the clubs. Now she's living in a mansion? Haley turned towards the dining room. Vivien sat at the table; eating.
"Hey Vivien. How are you? I haven't seen you in years-- what's wrong?"
Vivien looked at her, tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry Haley."
"Sorry? For what?"
"No, y'don't have t'do dis!"
Haley turned around to see Remy in the doorway. She gave him a surprised look and then felt a horrible pain in her chest. She gazed down at her body. Blood was everywhere. "Remy . . .?" she said as she fell.
Gambit caught her before hitting the floor. "Hush p'tite. Y'gonna be fine."
"Am not." Haley took a small turquoise ring from her finger and gave it to him. "Give this to Professor Xavier. Tell him it's from Haley . . . Haley Carleton."
"Y'can tell him dat y'self chere."
" . . . watch out for yourself . . . and Rogue . . .Sinister's gonna come after her Remy . . . he says he has big plans for her . . . don't let him use her . . . like he did me and Shelley . . . . Oh god . . ." she groaned from the pain.
"Hush now. Save y'strength."
"One more thing . . . I . . . I killed Shelley . . . he told me to . . . I thought she'd go to a better place . . . where he can't get her . . . ever . . ."
"I . . . I understand. Now hush."
" . . . I'm so tired Remy . . . so tired . . ."
Her green eyes closed and her body became limp. Gambit closed his eyes, forcing back tears. He then opened them. "VIVIEN!" he yelled angrily. She was gone. I will find you and make y'pay. Y'and Sinister both.
"We tried Remy." He heard from behind him.
He looked behind him. Wolverine, Storm, and Jean stood in the doorway.
"I know ." He picked Haley up. "Let's get back t'de mansion. She deserves a proper burial."