Dr. Henry McCoy adjusted the two IVs in Emil's arm. None of the X-Men had any idea who the red-haired stranger was, but the doctor in Hank refused to do nothing to help the young man. The IV in Emil's right arm contained antibiotics to make him get better. The IV in his left arm contained liquid nutrients designed to help the antibiotics work.
Standing on one side of the room were Logan, who had carried Emil into the mansion, and Jean Grey. Seated between them in his hoverchair was Professor Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men and the man Emil had gone to New York to find. The four X-Men were waiting for Emil to wake up.
Hank looked down at his young patient, a frown furrowing his furry blue face. He lightly ran a blue clawed finger over Emil's sleeping, still face. "He is so young."
Jean joined him, only on the other side of the bed. A soft smile spread across her features. She studied Emil's face for a moment and absently wondered what color his eyes were before commenting to Hank,
"On the one hand, he looks almost innocent, but beneath that, there's worry, pain and desperation that shouldn't be seen in one who looks as young as he does."
"What I wanna know is who he is and what he's doin' here." Logan growled from his position leaning against the wall by the professor.
Professor Xavier glanced sharply in Logan's direction, but said nothing to the stocky man. Instead, he moved to the foot of the bed and addressed Hank.
"Do you think he will wake up sometime soon, Hank? I would like to talk to him and find out the answers to Logan's questions as well as a few more."
Hank studied the monitors hooked up to the IV's. "Once the antibiotics start to work, and he gets more nutrients in his system, it shouldn't be too long. I can answer one question for you, however, our young friend here is not a mutant."
"Now I really wanna know who he is and why he's here." Logan muttered, popping a single adamantium claw with a loud SNIKT. He retracted the claw when he saw the look Jean was sending him. Logan was the one, after all, who had not sensed any danger from the stranger, which, in Jean's eyes, meant that he didn't have the right to be so touchy about the young man.
"Logan, relax." Jean said quietly, her green eyes flashing. "Hank said he'd wake up soon. And we don't need to scare him with your claws when he does wake up."
"Sure Jeannie. Whatever ya say." Logan replied with a slight grumble.
Two hours later, Emil groaned, coughed and opened his eyes weakly. His trip from Louisiana had taken a lot out of him. Before his eyes focused, he became aware that there was a needle stuck in each of his arms. This fact alarmed him but he resisted the urge to pull them out. He blinked his eyes a few times and finally focused them on the man standing beside the bed he was lying on.
The appearance of the large man alarmed Emil more than the needles in his arms did. He spoke in fragments, his voice scratchy, as he looked at Hank with wide eyes.
"Fangs. Claws. Blue fur. Blue fur? Oh mon dieu…"
The realization that the man standing by him looked like a blue monster out of a video game hit Emil and in true thief fashion, he glanced quickly around the room, looking for any means of escape. He found one, but it was being blocked by a short stocky man who somehow frightened Emil more than the big furry blue guy did.
Emil noticed there were two other people in the room, a tall red haired lady with a kind expression on her face, and a bald man in a chair that floated on air. The bald man had a gentle expression on his face as well, and that, combined with the fact that the blue guy didn't look hostile, calmed Emil down some. He relaxed and looked at them, his blue eyes studying them and everything in the room as he waited for one of them to say something. He discovered he was in a hospital room of some kind, but he didn't think it was in an actual hospital, so he relaxed even more. Being a thief, and a wanted criminal, he couldn't be too careful. If the police got hold of him, he'd be facing a long time in a state penitentiary somewhere.
"Ah, I see you're awake. How are you feeling?" The furry blue man asked, smiling kindly at Emil. Emil thought the man looked funny when he smiled, because of the fangs, but he didn't say so. Instead he coughed and raised an eyebrow.
"Tired. Sore. But I do kinda feel a bit better. Where am I?"
"You're in the MedLab at the Xavier School in Westchester, New York." Jean informed him.
Emil coughed again as the information registered. "Oh. I remember sittin' under a tree." He said quietly. "I was so tired…"
"Oh my stars and garters!" Hank suddenly cried out. "Where are our manners! You should at least know who you're talking to. I am Dr. Henry McCoy, but I am known as either Hank or Beast."
Emil looked at him with a tilt of his head. "You a doctor? Whoa…"
"A world-renowned doctor at that." Jean commented. "My name is Jean Grey. And this," she said, motioning to Logan, "is Logan, also known as Wolverine."
Logan and Emil exchanged glances and Emil couldn't help feeling immense fear. He had a feeling that even Gris-Gris wouldn't mess with the short, burly man. Because Remy didn't speak of the X-Men very often when he was in New Orleans, the names didn't mean anything to Emil.
The bald man in the floating chair cleared his throat. Emil and the other three people in the room looked at him.
"And I am Professor Charles Xavier." He said, smiling at the red-haired young man before him.
Emil froze and stared at the Professor. "Did you say…Prof…? Wait…you're…X-Men?"
"That's right." Jean told him with a frown. "How did you know…?"
"How did I manage to do dis…?" Emil pondered quietly. He was startled out of his thoughts by Logan, who couldn't resist showing a little adamantium to make his point. The claws on his right hand appeared with a SNIKT and he snarled at Emil.
"Answer the lady's question, bub!"
Emil's eyes widened in fear when he saw the claws. "Oh mon dieu!" he whimpered, his voice an octave or so higher than normal. "I…uh…okay! Yeah!" He looked at the Professor and continued normally, "I was sent here to find you."
The Professor nodded. "I see. And who exactly are you? Where are you from? And why were you sent to find me?"
Emil, glancing nervously at Logan's claws, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm Emil Lapin, an' I came here from Nawlins. I'm a friend of Gambit's."
"From the Thieves Guild?" Hank asked, his curiosity getting the best of him. This was the first time since Remy's brother Henri had shown up at the mansion that any of them had ever seen another member of the legendary guild Remy was part of.
"Oui." Emil replied, nodding. "Professor, I was sent here to ask you a favor…" His voice trailed off and he bit his lip. He didn't really want very many people knowing what was going on with the Guilds in New Orleans.
The Professor nodded again. "We'll talk privately in a few moments."
"Merci." Emil said, a ghost of a smile crossing his face.
"Before you and the Professor talk, would you mind if I examined you? You are very ill and I would like to make sure the antibiotics are working as they should." Hank said.
Emil nodded again. "Okay…"
Down in New Orleans, Gris had taken the bandana out of Theoren's mouth as well. He and Tante Mattie were talking quietly while the assassins had a conference on the other side of the room.
"Did Emil really go to New York?" Theoren asked, hope in his voice.
"Dat he did. I jus' hope he made it, an' can find Professor Xavier." Mattie replied.
"He's so sick, Tante. He shouldn' have gone."
"Je sais, chil', but dere was no other choice. I couldn' go myself an' leave him here to fend for himself 'gainst dem." Mattie explained with a sigh.
Theoren returned the sigh, the hope fading out of his voice. "I understand. Mais, now dat Gris knows dat, who's to say he won' jus' kill us all right now? An' if he doesn', what if Remy doesn' get here in time, or what if de Professor doesn' send for him at all?"
"Dere's no sense in playin' what if, Theoren." Mattie scolded slightly. "Jus' have faith dat it will all work out in de end."