will1@earthling.net

 Interlude: 

 Brown and White and Remembering

 by Phil Hartman

 DISCLAIMER: They're all Marvel's. It's
all fiction. No money is being made off of
this. 

 NOTE: AU; set between "Light the Turn"
and the fate of Cassandra Nova in this
timeline; also, why the heck Rogue
has magnetic powers and can be touched ;)
Betsy has a small appearance
here, hence why this is an interlude.

---------------------------------------

 The devil had come up to Westchester,
and Marie LaVonne was NOT happy.

 "It's insanity. Bring the monster what
turned loose those Sentinels into our
home?" Rogue muttered, sitting on an
outcropping of rock as she watched the
sun sink in a flare of red and purple over
the western horizon.

 "Now chere, I sure de Professeur ain't
gonna let nothin' hurt de kids," her lover
soothed as he settled in beside the 
"Magnetic Mississippi Marauder."

 Marie smirked bitterly at Remy LeBeau
and sighed. "Ah know. An' Betsy an' Warren
are comin' back, an' Ororo an' company are
gonna try an' get back soon ... feels like
things are workin' out again," she said.

 It wasn't so much the presence of that
"Cassandra" creature at the mansion that
bothered Marie. It was being diverted from
going home to her son that was really pulling
her chain.

 #Charlie's at that age where he wants to
pull away, and I understand that - but I want
as much time as I can with him. And then Raven
goes and dumps this stupid diary quest on us,
and we have to fight all sorts of weird threats.
THEN, just when Remy and I get back together,
and we get to go home for a while, we get a call ...#

 Betsy's resurrection after being killed by the
mysterious Vargas only days earlier (and that
had inspired more than a few dark jokes about
quick turnarounds, Marie admitted) had been
welcome, but it'd also allowed Betsy to regain
her precognition - and, with Franklin Richards
and the older Summers children, foresee a 
massive Sentinel attack against Genosha.

 Fearful that the Sentinels might attack the
X-Mansion's residents - including her son,
Charles Xavier Lehnsherr - Marie had asked 
Storm to let her and Gambit return to Salem
Center until the threat passed. Ororo had kindly
let them go, as much for the two reunited lovers
to spend some time together as to let Marie check
on "Little" Charles' safety.

 #'Little.' Boy's 13, stands almost 5 and a half
feet now. No wonder 'little' doesn't describe him
well anymore,# Marie thought with a sad smile.

 Still, as self-reliant as Chuck was, Marie 
wanted to savor a little bit more of his 
childhood. She, herself, had been only 19 when 
she'd given birth - feeling betrayed and terrified, 
fleeing what she'd thought was a lopsided 
relationship ...

 #But neither Erik nor I were innocent. I threw 
myself at him after he changed my absorption
power to magnetism, and then I ran away like
a scared child when Raven told me about his
past ... I had no idea he'd see it just like Magda
fleeing him all those years ago. And to top it
off, I ran to the X-Men ...# Marie remembered,
shaking her head.

 It hadn't been an easy relationship at first.
True, the "great and terrible power-sucking
Rogue" was gone, replaced by a vulnerable,
extremely pregnant mother to be. And "little"
Charlie - named in gratitude to the merciful
owner of the mansion where Marie had ran
to - did receive kind treatment from the
X-Men.

 #But trust has to be earned. I knew that.
So, as soon as I could, I got up, started
bottling breast milk and trained with the
team in the Danger Room. I don't know who
I shocked more, the Professor for my
determination or myself for not begging
off on training,# Marie thought, smiling.

 Her decision to make the best of the X-Men's
hospitality had been as much learned instinct
as it was an effort to protect her newborn son.
Mystique had taught Rogue to recover quickly
from injuries, or as quickly as one could, and
to depend on only herself, when all was said
and done. Loyalty to one's group was admirable,
but when you were alone with threats all around,
you had to be able to protect yourself.

 #And your loved ones,# Marie thought, another
pang of worry going through her at the memory
of Charlie as a baby and a toddler. She still
shivered at the fear she'd felt only weeks after 
joining the X-Men, as she'd recovered from Viper's
energy blast ...

 #I thought my magnetic force field made me the
ideal choice to save Wolverine from that bitch
Viper's ray gun. She'd poisoned the others at
Logan and Mariko's wedding, but my weird
genes made me resistant to the toxin, so
I went after her with him ... I learned I needed
a LOT more work on my powers, the hard way.#

 Logan had been grateful, and the other X-Men,
both impressed and a little surprised that Marie
(she'd revealed her real name early on to them
out of a desire for honesty) would risk her life for 
one of theirs. And then, SHE was one of theirs.

 #Ororo was a little bothered that I'd risk 
orphaning Charlie, but I told her I'd trust him
with them. I didn't have a death wish, just an
acceptance of them. 'Trust cuts both ways,'
I told her ...# Marie thought, remembering another
person whom she'd trusted. 

 She held her hands over her heart and smiled 
wistfully as she looked northeast. Marie 
had known, even in her early 20s, that there
was a chance that Charlie's father might look for
them. And she'd felt guilty about leaving Erik;
of all people, she should have known that Raven
would try to manipulate her, to try and steal
away the child Marie was carrying. 

 But it hadn't been until after Erik had learned 
about Pietro and Wanda - and their children, 
Pietro's daughter Luna, by Crystal of the Inhumans,
and Wanda's daughter Talia, by Kurt Wagner, and
later Thomas and William, by the Vision - that the
Master of Magnetism had held out hope that his
most recent paramour might be alive, much less
have successfully borne their child ...

 #I learned my lesson after the Viper affair. I
stayed at home and worked as Xavier's 
housekeeper; I couldn't risk orphaning Charlie,
no matter how much I trusted the X-Men. But the
Professor knew I'd go stir-crazy just acting
like a hausfrau. That was how I started teaching 
the first team of New Mutants,# Marie thought.

  Most of the teens had been right around Marie's
age or only years younger - close enough to her
in age, if not experiences, to relate to her. She'd
taught them self-defense and escape skills, but had
had the presence of mind to ask Xavier whether
she should teach them the darker arts Raven had
passed on to her.

 #Raven never actually *asked* me to kill. She
always tried to keep me from the darkest 'work'
she did. But she made sure I could watch my back
and get out of dangerous situations. I figured if
the Professor wanted me to teach the Mutants
that stuff, I'd be polite enough to ask. He didn't,
so I didn't teach them,# Marie thought, shrugging 
inwardly.

 The Mutants had gone gaga over Charlie, and Marie
had finally been able to enjoy a few nights out on the
town without feeling guilty about asking one of the
X-Men to babysit. (Logan and diapers? Still some
of the funniest memories the team shared over
beers.)

 Sam Guthrie, especially, had bonded with Charlie,
given that the then-gangly teen was so far from
his own gargantuan clan (and, Marie suspected,
she and Sam got along well because they were two 
of the few Southerners in all of Westchester).And
Charlie had been the same age as Karma's brother
and sister, so he'd delighted in having playmates.
After Xi'an's disappearance, Marie had taken care
of Leong and Nga, and she still had a special bond
with them.

 It'd been one hectic afternoon, between wiping
noses and calming Rahne's horrified shock at
glimpsing Roberto and Amara making out, that
Marie had answered the front door.

 And standing there was a white-haired man with
Charlie's eyes, and one of the few absolutely 
shocked looks the Master of Magnetism had ever 
sported.

 #He'd turned over a new leaf, or so he said. Charlie
loved him - blood calls to blood - and I thought if
the X-Men had given Erik the benefit of the doubt,
why not me?# Marie reflected, sighing.

 Things had accelerated rapidly at that point;
Marie and Erik shared several long nights talking
and forgiving and confessing. After Xavier's
health had worsened, Marie had had to deal with
Erik's growing assumption of responsibilities
around the mansion, which had set Scott off ...

 #Those two - I never understood *why* Scott
detested Erik so much! He still does - at least old
One-Eye doesn't take it out on Charlie - but Erik
never thought badly of Scott. At least not until
X-Factor ...# Marie thought, shaking her head.
 
 The "Trial of Magneto" had worried Marie
terribly; she and Erik had finally gotten together,
as equals, and then Raven had had the audacity
to attack Erik at a Holocaust memorial - as
a federally-authorized law enforcement official?
The sheer hypocrisy of "Freedom Force" had 
left Marie disgusted with her foster mother, and
things had never been the same between them.

 #Of course, if I'd know how things would end
up between Erik and I ... but I was still focused
on my 'family.'  Those were hairy times - Asgard, 
even if I didn't go, scared me. The Mutants were like
younger brothers and sisters ...# Marie remembered.

  She'd sat up with Jean, Rachel, Charlie, Leong and 
Nga, waiting for the Mutants and the X-Men
to come home, and then Jean's water had broken. 
Marie had been honored to help bring Nathan into
the world, and she and Jean became good friends.

 #That was why X-Factor set a lot of teeth on
edge, since neither Scott nor Erik would just pick 
up the damn phone and talk. The World Court said
Erik was a different person, didn't they?!# Marie
thought angrily.

 It sank into bitterness as she remembered what
had come next.

 #He changed. He became the Master of Magnetism
again, and got tangled up with the Hellfire Club,
and Illyana's problems overwhelmed any time
we had to just sit and TALK ...# Marie reflected.

 Illyana had saved the world by killing the
Beyonder - he was going to kll the Mutants, she'd
snarled before locking herself in her room, despite
Kitty's tearful pleas, and Erik had been inflexible
in his outrage at the Siberian's vigiliantism. That
had set off shouting matches between Marie and
Erik, and he'd pretty much treated her like a
housewife ...

 #It's one thing for me to *choose* to be a
mother and wife. I even liked the change of
pace from spy and sneak to mama. But to have
some overblown windbag sexist TELL me what
'my place' is - bullshit. I don't take that from
anyone,# Marie thought, her lip curling in
disgust at the memories.

 The Morlock Massacre had worsened things;
Erik became consumed in running the mansion,
and the wartime atmosphere grated on everyone's
emotional state. Marie had made liberal use of
the non-training programs in the Danger Room,
to give Charlie and the Mahn twins the illusion
of trips to the park or the beach.

 But that hadn't been enough for the young Southerner.
She missed her friends in the X-Men, so she'd been the
one to secretly call Jean and meet with her for tea 
at the Grey home in Annandale, bringing Charlie,
Leong and Nga to play with Rachel and little Nathan, 
and try to heal the rifts caused by X-Factor's
existence.

 #I also focused on making sure someone was
there for the New Mutants. Amara left to
join the Hellions, and Erik didn't care, and then
Xi'an became fearful for Leong and Nga, so
she took them to Brooklyn - at least we could
still meet for brunch, and let the kids play
together. But things got so damn toxic at
the mansion, who could blame her for leaving?#
Marie rememered sadly.

 The fights between her and Erik had worsened,
almost echoed by Illyana's descent into darkness.
Without Kitty around to talk to, the teleporter had
grown colder and crueler, snipping at her fellow
New Mutants. 

 Dallas hadn't made things any easier. Marie had
had to go tearing after her students, leaving
Charlie with Jean's parents (John and 
Elaine still were two of Marie's favorite 
people), while Erik had gone to the Hellfire
Club to try and use Cyberno to find the Mutants.

 #I still think he had eyes for more than their
cheap knock-off of Cerebro. But Emma's never
confessed, and her White Queen days're behind
her,# Marie admitted, closing her eyes and
letting the magnetic fields flow around her,
trying to pay attention instead of walking
down memory lane ...

 But introspection came easily to the once and
former Rogue. It was one of the few ways
she'd kept her sanity in the dark hours after
Dallas. 

 #I saved Doug - boy almost got his chest
blown open by that freak Ani-Mator - and
Illyana got crazy, sending the nutbag to
Limbo. I was about ready to ground all of
them until we heard about Dallas ...#

 The X-Men had rebuilt themselves after
the Massacre, but Storm had insisted that
Marie remain at the mansion. "You have 
grown so very much, Marie. You are the rock 
upon which we stand - the children depend 
upon you. Magnus needs you as much as 
we might. Please, stay the course,"
Ororo had asked, one night after the team
had fought the Marauders in San Francisco.

 #And who was I to turn that down? Hell,
I was tired of fighting anyway ... and then
we saw Forge open that portal to who knew
where ...#

 Illyana became unmanageable after that,
and many of the Mutants grew ever more
defiant. They wanted to *do* something, to
strike - to rail against an unfair, cruel world -
and it had been all Marie could do to keep the
peace between the "war" faction (Dani,
Roberto, Illyana) and the "peace" group
(Sam, Rahne, Doug). Poor, confused Warlock
had been stuck on the fence, while Morph
had retreated into sarcasm instead of
humor, and Charlie had had nightmares ...

 #And where was Erik? Down in Manhattan,
sipping martinis with tarts and plotting
'quiet' world domination again. And I let
him hang out with the Hellfire Club ...#
Marie thought, frowning at what she thought
was her own naivete.

 Inferno had been the straw that broke the
camel's back. Illyana's deaging and return
to innocence had been a miracle, but Erik
and his fellow Lords Cardinal had been
incensed at the "loss of a commodity" - 
even if Erik had been more humane about
it - and Marie had felt burned by the X-Men's
return from the dead without telling her
about it ...

 #And then the mansion blew up, and the
Mutants merged with the X-Terminators - 
not a problem, just a surprise - and we
all met in this big mess ...# 

 When Erik had dared to *tell* Marie that
he was going to sponsor Charlie for Black
Knight status in the Lords Cardinal, she'd
had it. She'd almost killed Selene, and had
savored the screams of feedback from Emma
when the White Queen had tried to "calm"
her during their fight amidst the mansion's
ruins. 

 But Erik hadn't lifted a hand to her. He'd
just watched, almost *amused,* only
angering Marie worse, while she'd listened
to Charlie crying for his parents to stop
fighting, even safe as he was in Warlock's
arms ...  

 ... and then, finally enraged, Marie had hauled
off and *slapped* Erik, screaming almost
incoherently that she would die before she
let him corrupt their son, and what in the HELL
was he thinking, joining with the same kind of
monsters he'd sworn to never again follow?

 #That did it. He just looked ... broken, like
he'd been mind-controlled up to that point,
and he left. He just *left,* even without
Selene or Emma, and Sebastian ...# Marie
thought, shaking her head.

 The Mutants left as well; they respected
Marie, but they were all college-age by that
point, and there *was* no School for Gifted
Youngsters at that point. They left - minus
Morph, who was tired and disgusted with the
angst - and Marie had been left alone
with Charlie.

 #I didn't want to hang on X-Factor's kindness,
and I was pretty sick of the whole 'mutant
thing.' I was even tired of dealing with Erik.
So, I tapped into some leftover savings from
my Brotherhood days - never put your eggs
in one basket, Raven taught me - and I bought
a car and supplies ...#

 Marie and Charlie had set out on what eventually
became a road trip across the South. Hair dye,
and Charlie's growing awarness of the need for
self-control over his powers, had hidden their
respective aspects of their mutations.

 #I felt free for the first time in *years.*
Just me and my boy, no man troubles or
squabbling teenagers or world-shaking threats ...
I was even ready to settle down somewhere
and just raise Charlie, away from all the 
craziness ...# Marie thought, smiling at the 
months - more than a year - that she and her
son had spent, bonding on the road.

 Then she'd heard about Mystique being
killed. 

 It had been the same day she and Charlie
had pulled in to New Orleans, during a 
certain Mardi Gras.

------------------------------------------

 How could one woman embody both a wild
spirit and the core of responsibility at the same
time?

 #That's the question about Rogue,# Remy
LeBeau reminded himself as he watched his 
love gaze into the west, occasionally looking 
around in anticipation of a welcoming committee 
or the awaited Sentinels.

 He'd been 27 when they'd first met; it 
had been more of an accident than anything 
else. Then strictly "Gambit" - Remy had wanted
to forget about LeBeaus, guilds, debts, wives, or
charnel pits below Manhattan - he'd been running
across the South and lower Midwest with a strange
black girl with white hair and blue eyes ...

 #Ah, Stormy. That was a relationship I could
handle - the little sister I never had. No 
awkward questions, no demands except 
watching each other's backs,# Remy thought, 
smiling. 
 
 But then they'd encountered Nanny, and the
Orphan-Maker, and the sudden, surprise help
from the skunk-haired woman with the magnetic
powers. And Remy LeBeau had come out from
the smart-alecky shell of Gambit.

 #Wasn't like I could continue the old games with
Stormy - she'd grown up in her mind, if not
her body, after we fought Nanny. And Rogue was
something different. She stood on her own - she
could take me or leave me. I like a challenge ...#
Remy reflected.

 "Challenge" was putting it mildly. Rogue gave
Gambit - not Remy - a comrade's respect, but
she never opened up. And even though she and 
her son, Charles, rejoined Storm to start 
rebuilding the X-Men, it was obvious that the
magnakinetic woman was doing so out of respect
for the mysterious woman-child whom Stormy
had become.

 #I didn't put two and two together until they
mentioned the Morlocks ... and I wasn't sure
WHAT to say. 'Hey, cheres, I gathered the
band of murderers who slaughtered your
friends and crippled your teammates, even
though I didn't know what it was for'? That'd
go over really good,# Remy thought, shaking
his head.

 Still, he'd vowed to protect Stormy, and he
felt something for Rogue, and Rogue's son
Charlie seemed to like Remy (after a while;
the boy redefined "overprotective," but
Remy could understand a son's love for his
mother). And after they'd gone to New York,
it'd really been too late to turn back, even 
as Remy's apprehension had grown.

 These were, after all, the people whom he'd
helped - even unwittingly - to scar deeply.
Thieves were thieves, but what the Marauders
had done had been just as crippling to the X-Men
as it had to the Morlocks. 

 #I suppose it was how Rogue opened up to me
that made me decide to spill my guts, between
New Orleans and our first fight with the 
Shi'ar,# Remy remembered, looking at 
his feet.

 X-Factor had been visiting, so of course Angel
had been on hand, and Excalibur and the returned
New Mutants stopped over to celebrate the rebirth
of the X-Men. So Remy had had a full audience when
he'd confessed ...

 #Ah, chaos,# he thought, smirking bitterly.

 Storm - just reverted to adulthood thanks to
Amanda Wagner's magicks - had been patient,
and even understanding as Remy had shed tears he'd
thought he'd cried. Rogue - Marie, after that point -
had embraced him, and said she'd understood.

 Most of the others were either quietly accepting or
neutral. Even Nightcrawler and Shadowcat,
who had had the most reasons to loathe Remy,
seemed to forgive (Colossus had been semi-retired
at the time, staying in the Savage Land to get to 
know his son, Peter, by Nereel).

 #Of course, I was appealing to the angels of the
X-Men's better natures ...# Remy thought
ironically.

 Warren Worthington had ... not received the news
well. (The word "pincushion" still gave Remy
shivers, even years later.) When Lila Cheney had
whisked Remy away with Storm, Forge, Jubilee,
Wolverine, Psylocke and Banshee, the Cajun had
been relieved to be away from X-Factor.

 #But was it really a desire to clear my head and
rethink my relationship with Rogue? Not like I
got much time to do that, between the Warskrulls
and the Shadow King and the Upstarts ...# Remy
thought.

 And then there'd been Magneto and the Acolytes.
What had seemed to be Magnus' effort at ending
human-mutant conflict by giving mutants their own,
seperatist state in orbit above Earth had really been
about custody of little Charles Lehnsherr, and Remy
had found himself ironically ready to fight alongside
the X-Men to protect the boy.

 #What could've been a fight ended up in a big chat,
though. Rogue never said what she and Magnus told
one another, but they stopped fighting, and she and
the big M've shared custody of 'Little' Chuck ever
since,# Remy thought, glancing at his love.

 Rogue - Marie, even as strange as her real name
sounded to the Cajun - smiled over at him, and
got down from the rock she'd been sitting on to
walk over to him. It'd been like that ever since
2001, and she and Magnus had settled their 
business over Charlie - she and Remy had had
an understanding.

 #We let each other go when we need space, and
come back together when we need each other. I
don't pretend to be Charlie's father, so he doesn't
resent me, but if the boy wants to talk, I'm there,#
Remy thought.

 That had been thorny, at first; Charlie had still
had hopes that somehow Marie and Magnus would
get back together, and the Cajun's presence hadn't
helped matters. But after the custody arrangements,
the boy had seemed to accept the fact that his parents
weren't going to ever reunite. And for all of the
grumpy moments and crossed arms, Charlie had
slowly let Remy grow on him.

 #We have our understanding. He's not a bad kid, 
and I can handle being the stepdad. Parenthood can
come later. And I don't try to TELL Rogue 
anything - I  respect her. That was why she 
trusted me this last time, to let me go after 
the Madripoor set ...# the Cajun thought, 
admiring Rogue's walk.

 And her curves ...

 ~LeBeau. Pay attention to the *other* local
surroundings, hmm?~ a wry, teasing British
woman's voice rang in Remy's mind, as he
rolled his eyes.

 ~Psylocke. I be a little more professional
than that, oui?~ Remy thought, playing up
his accent to a derisive snort from the
recently-resurrected Betsy Braddock.

 ~As if. Tell Marie we've moved Charles and
the other students to Avengers Mansion - there's
no telling what this 'Cassandra' creature
might be capable of. The Ecuadorian authorities
have been informed of the Master Mold in
their jungle, also. We still haven't detected any
sign of Sentinels headed for - wait -~ Betsy
sent, her mental voice suddenly wavering.

 "Betts? Wha -" Remy muttered, blinking at
the sudden - confusion? - he felt/heard from
his teammate -

 - and then the psi-link just cut out. 

 "Damnit! Ah can't sense her at all - ah
TOLD Storm we should've gone t' the
mansion instead of tryin' to head off the
Sentinels!" Rogue snapped.

 "Easy, chere. Dey got Scott, Jean, de
Bete Noire, Betts an' Wings, an' de Professeur.
An' de children are safe wit' de Avengers.
Nothin' to worry 'bout, non?" Remy tried
to soothe, putting an arm around his
lover.
 
 Then the distant roar of jet engines made
them look up, as a trio of misshapen things
headed northeast. 

 "Time t'make the doughnuts," Marie growled.
She magnetically lifted Remy and they rocketed
after the Sentinels, as he prepared his gear.

 "Big things, ain't they?" he asked over their
comlink - no sense in trying to speak at the
speeds they were pushing, even with Rogue's
magnetic shield.

 "Bigger'n most - that's one down," Rogue
replied, firing a mammoth magnetic pulse at the
nearest Sentinel. The behemoth crackled with blue
energy, its boot-jets sputtering as it fell into
the Indian Ocean, and the couple closed on
their targets.
 
 "Throw me!" Remy said over their comlink.
Marie looked at him like he was insane, but
she complied - after they were closer to
the Sentinels - and he fired a grappling hook
to latch on to the Sentinel's boot.

 Between the sudden shock of acceleration and
the reeling in of the grapple's line, Remy almost
slammed into the Sentinel's leg (at least it was
further up on the leg than the jet flame itself).
He managed not to cough when he landed, and he
charged a stick of dynamite with adhesive before
planting it on the Sentinel's leg.

 And then it was time to go -

--------------------------------------------

 She really should've trusted him more, even
after watching the Cajun pull off more insane
stunts than charging up dynamite and falling
thousands of feet.

 #Trust is a wonderful thing,# Marie reminded
herself, smirking as she raced after Remy and
caught him.

 That had been the basis for their relationship;
he'd had the courage to face the X-Men about
his connections to Sinister and the Marauders,
and he'd always been there for them, so she
trusted him.

 #And he's never demanded me to be a little
woman. A big plus there - Erik never got
that I'm my own person. I had my child,
I've had a 'big family' through the X-folks,
so why burn up more of my youth getting
pregnant and barefoot?# Marie thought,
racing back toward the last remaining
Sentinel.

 "What you wanna bet it's adapted to
our powers?" Remy called over their 
comlink, holding on as Marie jinked
and juked to avoid the Sentinel's
point-defense energy cannons.

 "Good chance. Modem dump?"
she replied.

 Remy's grin was all the response
Marie needed, and she returned it
as he grabbed another stick of
dynamite from his coat. He charged
the explosive, then handed it off to
Marie, who magnetically hurled the
bundle toward their target's head.

 The Sentinel's anti-power field
disrupted Marie's magnetic tendril
but the dynamite fell near the 
Sentinel's neck and exploded. The
X-Men watched, satisfied, as the
decapitated third Sentinel plunged
into the ocean.

 "Carrier wave delivers the explosive
and masks your biosignature, keeping
the Sentinel from being able to disrupt
the explosion," Marie said over the
comlink. She and Remy exchanged smiles,
and Marie started to concentrate.

 "Uh, chere - you ain't gonna pull dat 
trick Vindicator taught you, are you?
I mean, we could call Illyana -" Remy
asked, tensing his abdominal muscles.

 "The kids are safe with the Avengers.
Ah ain't about to draw them out to the
mansion until we knew what we're gonna
do with that Cassandra creature," Marie
replied, focusing.

 She aligned them, then, with the Earth's
magnetic field, stopping their rotation
with the rest of the planet, and Remy tried
not to vomit as they were hurled along -

 #I really do enjoy this relationship too
much sometimes,# Marie thought with
a grin.


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 tbc ...
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