"I am getting the impression you wanted to talk to me in private." Professor Xavier commented, positioning his hoverchair beside Emil's bed. He smiled kindly at the young thief.
"We t'ieves don' like bein' conspicuous, Professor." Emil replied. "An' de less people know what's goin' on, de better, even if it doesn' involve dem."
"So what is this favor you came all the way from New Orleans to ask me?" the Professor asked, deciding not to beat around the bush. He knew something very important had brought Emil to New York, and he had an idea that it would be best to get it taken care of as soon as possible.
Emil coughed for a few minutes before replying to the Professor's question. First, he had to find out what exactly Xavier knew. "How much has Remy said 'bout de Guild unification?"
The Professor thought about the question for a moment. "Not much, just that the Thieves and Assassins Guilds have merged into one. So this has to do with them?"
"Oui. Dere are a lot of problems in de Guild. We've been havin' problems pretty much since de unification. Dey don' like us, we don' like dem, although we do try more den dey do to make de peace work." Emil explained, pausing from time to time to cough. "T'ings have been getting worse an' worse lately. In fact, your callin' Remy couldn' have come at a worse time. When I left, de assassins had beaten up de t'ieves an' tied 'em up in de basement of our safehouse. Dey even have Tante Mattie, an' dey're plannin' on killin' ev'ryone."
Professor Xavier let the information Emil was giving him sink in. He was starting to realize what Emil had come to ask him, but he let the young man continue without interrupting him.
"I'm too physically weak right now, b'cause I'm sick, to be able to stop dem. Dat's why Tante Mattie sent me here, rather than come herself. I t'ink she would have, but it wasn' in de best interests of de Guild. It all boils down to de fact dat right now, dere is only one person who can stop de assassins."
"Remy." Professor Xavier filled in.
Emil nodded and let out a deep, tired sigh that the Professor couldn't miss. "Oui. Professor, we realize dat Remy's important to de X-Men, an' we know dat you need him, mais, we need him too, if de t'ieves are gon' survive dis week. If de assassins succeed in killin' de other t'ieves, Remy an' I will be de only ones left. Dat means more to me den it does to him, I know, but still."
The Professor looked at Emil sharply. "Why does it mean more to you than to him, Emil?" he asked.
"Right now, dere are seven people in de Guild who are t'ieves. Five of dose people are descended from original members of de New Orleans T'ieves Guild. De other two were either adopted into de Guild or transferred into de New Orleans Guild from another one. Remy was de adopted one, dat means he's always been an outsider. I know de Guild means a lot to him, mais, I don' really know how much."
"You are one of the five descendants." Xavier commented.
"Oui." Emil replied. "Please, Professor Xavier, I know de mission you have him on mus' be important, but is dere any way for you to get him to come back so he can go down to Nawlins an' stop de assassins? I wouldn' have come all dis way, 'specially when I'm sick, if lives weren' at stake. De Guild prophecies have always said dat Remy would lead a unified Guild to de resurrection. Right now, de Guild is unified, mais it won' be if de assassins kill all de t'ieves."
Emil finished speaking with a coughing fit that left him exhausted. Breathing heavily, he leaned back in the bed with a groan, closing his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to go to sleep, but he also had to wait for the Professor's answer.
Xavier reached over and put a hand on Emil's arm. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern in his voice. He didn't want to use his telepathic abilities, because he wasn't sure if Emil knew he was a mutant. He didn't want to chance it when he had only met the boy an hour ago.
Emil swallowed painfully and opened his eyes, the expression on his face telling the Professor just how emotionally drained he was. He probably didn't realize it, but his feelings were coming across to the Professor very loudly. His pain, exhaustion and fear were radiating from him in waves the Professor couldn't ignore.
"I'm sorry, Professor." Emil said. "I'm jus' tired."
"I understand. Why don't you get a little rest and I'll consult with the rest of the X-Men regarding your favor. I'll come back in an hour or so and let you know what we can do, okay?"
Emil nodded. "T'ank you Professor." He said, closing his eyes again. He really was very tired.
"Oh mon dieu…" Theoren whispered.
Between them, Gris, Fifolet and Questa were beating a glasses-less and already very beaten Genard, who, at that moment, was wishing he was dead. Bella Donna, Tante Mattie and the other thieves watched on in horror. The bandanas had all been removed from their mouths, so they could talk. They didn't talk much though, for fear of what would happen to them if they said something that angered Gris.
Bel looked at Theoren. "I'm sorry…" she said. "If I could stop dis, I would."
"Don' take dis de wrong way, Bel, but it wasn' all dat long 'go when you would have helped dem." Claude replied. "Why de change of heart all of a sudden? You forget who you are?"
Bel started to glare at him, but rethought her actions. "No, I didn' forget who I am, but I happen to know how important de prophecies are, an' I know what dey say. De unification is s'posed to succeed. An' all dis isn' helpin' any."
"So what do you t'ink we should do 'bout it, chil'?" Tante Mattie asked. "'Side from pray, of course."
"I don' know, Tante. I wish I did." Bel replied with a sigh. She felt really powerless, more powerless than she ever had in her life. As a little girl, she was the daughter of the leader of the Assassins Guild. When she grew up, after her father died, she was the leader of the Assassins Guild. And now, barely twenty-five years old, she was viceroy of the Unified Guilds and felt like the world was falling to pieces. It was a horrible feeling, the feeling of helplessness. She hated it.
"We can' stop dem." Mercy commented. "We don' have de strength. An' I'm startin' to t'ink dat if one of us doesn' say somet'ing to tick dem off, dey're gon' kill Genard. Dere has to be a way out of dis…"
"There is." Zoe replied. "And their names are Emil Lapin and Remy LeBeau."
"Emil? Emil, wake up." A kind voice penetrated through Emil's dreamless sleep, and he woke up. It took a lot of effort, but he managed to open his eyes, a searing pain rushing through his head when the brightness of the light registered. He coughed and blinked a few times, finally focusing his eyes on the person standing beside his bed.
He had been expecting to see Dr. McCoy, or the Professor, but he got the shock of his life when he saw the last person he thought he would see.
"Remy?! What? How?"
Remy smiled down at his friend. "Emil hush. De professor called me, probably jus' after he left you, an' told me to come back immediately, so I did. De Blackbird flies very fast, needless to say. When I got here, he told me what you had told him. I'm goin' back to Nawlins as soon as Logan finishes fuelin' up de jet I'm takin'."
"Great!" Emil's eyes lit up with relief and hope, and he started to get up, but Remy stopped him with a firm hand on his chest, pushing him back down.
"Where do you t'ink you're goin'?" Remy demanded.
Emil was confused. "Back to Nawlins wit' you, where else?"
"No you're not. You are stayin' right where you are, in dat bed. An' you will not get out of dat bed without Hank's permission, until he says you can. You got dat mon ami?"
"Aww, but Rem…" Emil started to protest, but he was cut off.
"No buts, Emil." Remy said firmly, then softened his voice. "I want you to stay here an' get better. Dis is de closest t'ing to a real hospital you can go to, an' you need de care Hank can give you."
"Remy…" Emil said, worry in his face and voice. He hadn't liked leaving the others in New Orleans, and wanted to get back to them as quickly as possible.
"I know you're worried, Red." Remy said quietly. "So am I. An' when it's over, I'm gon' take de others back up here wit' me to get some peace an' quiet. When Hank says you can go, we'll all go back home an' see what we can do 'bout fixin' de unification, if for no other reason den b'cause Tante Mattie will insist on it."
Wolverine knocked on the door and poked his head inside the room. "The jet's ready when you are, Cajun."
Remy looked at his teammate and nodded. "T'anks, Logan." He turned back to Emil and said, "I'm gon' go now. I'll be back as soon as I can. You do what Hank tells ya, okay?"
Emil nodded as Remy started to leave the room. Just before Remy got to the door, Emil said,
"Hey Rem?"
Remy paused at the door with Logan and raised an eyebrow at his friend. "Oui?"
Emil's eyes were filled with worry, concern and hope, all of which was overshadowed by the pain and exhaustion he was feeling. "Be careful."
Remy nodded. "I will."