The Companion Picture - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by Dandelion
Last updated: 12/03/2009 06:26:08 PM

Chapter 30

Brett watched as Lee packed a few things into a picnic cooler. "Ah hope you'll have more luck with him than Ah did," she mused.

"Having trouble luring Tarzan back into his pen?" Lee teased sympathetically.

Brett rolled her eyes. "Something like that."

Lee shrugged. "I'll be honest with you, Brett. The news Lorna brought with her makes me want to high tail to the woods, too. I'm not going to try to coax him back into the house, though. We had a date and I'm making sure he doesn't flake on me."

"A date, huh?" Brett grinned impishly. "Ah think Ah'm all jealous now."

"Well, you should be," Lee remarked in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "We're heading into the woods and I don't plan to come back until I've caught crabs." She let out a high-pitched squeal of mock outrage. "Bad Lee! Bad girl!"

Brett laughed out loud. "Well, anyway, Ah figure Ah'll do a bit of cleaning t'get my mind off things."

"You're insane," Lee replied happily. "But if you want to clean this hole more power to you. I'll be ravishing your boyfriend."

Brett's light chuckle died away into a deep, harsh voice. "Now listen to me, you vulture, you want to play all sorts of games that's fine. You want to leave me out of the loop? I don't care. But don't come crying to me when I've done my job and your babysitters are food for the fish, got it?"

Lee's head snapped up and she blinked at Brett's incomprehensible change of manner. The way her friend stood had changed from Brett's casual lean against the counter to an angry and foreign stance. The expression she wore was one of irritation bordering on wrath. Oddly enough, Lee noticed that Brett's eyes had changed. Gone were the deep emerald green replaced now by a flashing color that Lee couldn't place. Her first instinct was to say they were gold, then red, then something else altogether. "Brett," she said slowly. "What are you talking about?"

"You want to get cute and latch some hanger-on to me?" Brett's voice broadened again to take on an accent that held the slightest French touch to it. "Then you best tell me. My orders are clear. No witnesses. It's your own damn fault for sending in an amateur. As far as I knew he was a witness. Now he's a dead witness. Cry me a river."

Lee could only stare.

"That's what you get for playing your stupid games," Brett's voice shifted again. "So have fun, huh sugah? And try t'get Remy to have some too."

Lee continued to gape.

Brett felt the smile freeze on her face as Lee's expression sunk in and a strange feeling washed over her. "Oh God," she whispered. "Did I…?"

"You became someone else," Lee told her furtively, still completely floored by what she witnessed.

"Well," Brett hedged. "It's okay. Ah mean, it's just something that happens, y'know?" She tried to smile reassuringly and only succeeded in making her expression look ill.

"Don't kid a kidder, Hon," Lee told her. "This isn't that regular an occurrence or I'd have known about it by now."

Brett let her hands drop to her sides. "It's okay. Really." She shrugged. "It's just… well, it seems that I've got a few things to think about. Don't worry yourself over it."

"Too late."

Brett picked up Lee's cooler and put it into her friend's hands.

"Go out and find Remy and catch some crabs. Ah'll be fine. Ah promise." She looked at Lee and silently pleaded with her to acquiesce to her suggestion.

It didn't look like Lee was going to agree as Brett turned her towards the door and gave her a nudge, but she sighed and shook her head. "Don't think this is an end by any means, girlfriend. I'll be back and you'd better be ready to talk by then."

"Go on, sugah," Brett pressed. "Ah'll be okay."

Lee did so casting one last worried glance over her shoulder as she headed down the stairs. Brett waved and succeeded in mustering up a cheery smile. As soon as Lee was out of sight Brett quickly found a chair and sat down recognizing the shaky feeling in her knees. She put her hands over her eyes hearing the words that other voice spoke echoing in her head.

<My orders are clear. No witnesses. It's your own damn fault for sending in an amateur.> Brett stood abruptly and pulled a broom from its place next to the refrigerator. She stood in the middle of the kitchen and pushed the broom around half-heartedly her eyes pointed towards the ground but not really seeing it. The voice she had spoke in was only touched with the slightest southern French accent but Brett knew that voice as well as she knew the touch of her lover.

It had been Remy's voice.

"Hey, LeBeau," Lee grinned up at Remy.

He looked down at her from his perch on the partially crumbled wall.

"Mr. Friendly, huh?"

He waved. "What's up, Lee?"

"You are," she tossed a loopy grin up at him as he groaned. "I'm here because we have a date."

One eyebrow raised sharply. "Eh?"

"Oh, the eloquence!" Lee laughed. She raised the cooler. "Did you or did you not promise to take me crabbing in the delta?"

An expression of remembrance settled on Remy's face. "Oui, I remember dat. Not the best time for such things, though, you understand, no? I must beg for a rain-check, neh?"

"Get bent!"

He blinked at her vehement refusal to accept his off-putting. "Get your Cajun ass down here and let's go. We're having crab for dinner tonight and if I show up sans crab then my name is mud."

"But --"

"But nothing!" Lee set down the cooler and crossed her arms. "You can camp out here all you want, Remy, but there is no way I'm letting you welch on our deal so get your deadbeat ass off the wall and let's go already! We're losing our light."

A grin spread slowly across Remy's face. He pushed off the wall dropping lightly at Lee's side. "You're scary."

She picked up the cooler and gave it to him forcefully. "You remember that, LeBeau," she teased. "I think I've got everything," she nodded at the cooler. "Fishing line, uncooked chicken, and some beverages for us."

He nodded. "Right, right. Dat little rowboat of yours still tethered in the delta?"

"Mm-hmm."

"So prepared," Remy sighed. "So let's go already, huh, Forrester?"

He winked at her and headed off down the path.

Lee paused for a moment and then followed, assuring herself that Remy's eyes had not just flashed in the exact way Brett's had when she had become someone else in the kitchen.

Lorna watched quietly as Magnus approached her.

"You tell me?" He repeated. "Well, it looks to me like you're playing with the local EM field. Are you recharging maybe? Or are you testing the flow to get acquainted? I couldn't hazard a guess," he shrugged. "But one thing I do know is that every time you flex your magnetic muscle I get a headache."

One side of Lorna's mouth turned up. "I wish I'd known this before when we were on opposite sides of the playing field."

Magnus shrugged again. "Things change. But that would explain the bucket."

A snort escaped Lorna before she clapped a hand over her mouth. She cleared her throat as she regained her composure. "You're funny," she remarked. "Very funny."

Magnus folded his arms over his chest. "If I had a memory for every time I heard that remark we wouldn't be here now."

Lorna smiled. "That would be most unfortunate."

Magnus paused and looked at Lorna. The expression on her face, slightly teasing and pleasant-natured, made him feel a little self-conscious.

He smiled shyly.

<Oh my God, I'm flirting with him!!> Lorna's thoughts practically shouted. <Okay, okay, so he's got a great body and killer eyes, so what? He's not the first man you've ever seen. If you're not careful, Lorna Dane, you're goingto behave in a very, very silly manner. Okay, shift into small talk.> "So,what's up there?" Lorna nodded over Magnus' shoulder to the cluster of crumbled buildings he had come from.

He turned briefly, following her gaze. "Oh. I was just exploring."

Her eyes sparkled as she teased again. "Indiana Jones?"

He smiled in return. "That's what Remy calls me."

"What's so interesting up there?"

It was Magnus' turn to tease. "I don't know. Seems like every time I go there you interrupt."

She flashed a double-daring grin. "By flexing my magnetic muscle, right?"

She raised her arms and flexed playfully.

Magnus' smiled broadened as he admired Lorna's svelte, well-toned arms. After a few moments he realized he was admiring her form a little too overtly.

About the same time Lorna realized she was showing off a little too obviously.

They simultaneously stepped away from each other and looked out at the sea.

Lorna cleared her throat. "We need to fix this, you realize. If what followed me to New Mexico follows me here it won't do at all to have us crippling each other."

"No, it won't," Magnus agreed. "Maybe we can recalibrate ourselves, as it were."

Lorna cast a sidelong glance at him. "I see where you're going. It makes sense. Let's give it a try."

Magnus turned to Lorna and held up his hands to her palms facing her.

Lorna pressed her palms to his noticing how much larger than hers they were.

"Remember," she told him lightly. "This isn't a contest."

He smiled gently and nodded.

They let their powers flare up.

Lorna felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise up and her teeth set on edge as Magnus' energy grated against her own. <No wonder Remy kept us apart while I was out of it.> She took several deep breaths and relaxed. As she felt the tension drain from her muscles she felt Magnus' energy shift from grating to caressing. She closed her eyes and felt his power change from pushing against hers to surrounding her, fitting smoothly into the areas left open. Magnus strengthened her weaknesses. She sighed softly as their energy became one.

Magnus closed his eyes against the initial pain but found it lessen as he felt Lorna relax. He felt their energies begin to combine and relaxed as well.

She filled all the holes in his armor. He felt himself slipping into her. <She completes me.> He felt his mind spiral into her, losing himself. He was uncertain where she began and he ended.

Then it stopped.

Magnus opened his eyes to see Lorna had moved away. She looked up at him a wondering expression in her eyes. He noticed a flush to her cheeks.

"I think it worked."

He nodded.

"Care for a test run?" She smiled and winked then shot into the air.

Magnus watched her go and felt no adverse effects.

"Better try yourself out, too," she called from above.

Magnus smoothly lifted himself into the air. He hovered next to Lorna and raised his eyebrows. "Anything?"

She smiled brightly and shook her head. She did feel a little envious of his technique. No dramatic gestures accompanied the use of his magnetic powers. It all seemed as natural to him as breathing. Much of what Lorna did still required conscious effort.

"It seems we're successful." Magnus remarked.

"A victory for our side," Lorna agreed. She regarded him thoughtfully reminding herself not to get too wrapped up in his crystal blue eyes. "We don't make a bad team. Maybe we should see what we're capable of."

Any excuse to spend time with Lorna sounded like a good idea to Magnus. "Makes perfect sense to me," he agreed readily.

"Well," the color on her cheeks heightened. "Why don't we make plans over breakfast tomorrow?"

"All right," Magnus tried to sound casual.

Lorna looked at him seriously for several moments. "I'm sorry I've been such a pain, Magnus," she told him quietly.

Magnus felt his heart race at the tremor in her voice, but only offered her a kind smile. "Not at all. I'm glad we fixed it."

<What a nice smile he has,> she thought. "Well, tomorrow morning, then. Remember, we have a date." She floated back towards the house. Magnus watched her go. "Tomorrow."

"Hi! I'm Remy LeBeau," Lee said brightly, watching the real thing glower into the water. "I ooze confidence, charm and joie de vivre. Envy me, you clumsy masses."

Remy looked at her briefly.

She leaned over and glanced at him. "You haven't caught anything and no wonder, your black cloud of doom is scaring everything away." She shrugged. "Don't worry, it's okay. I'll be the sole provider. I'll be thehero," she preened.

Remy looked at her again as he drew up his line and tossed three crabs into the cooler.

"Damn you!" Lee burst out in mock outrage.

Remy laughed, then leaned back into a reclined position and popped open a beer.

"No wonder you and Brett had problems," Lee mused. "You are a drag on a date." Her eyes twinkled.

"Look who's talking?" Remy shot back. "You had a thing wit' Magnus, neh? Back when he wasn't nearly as fun as he is now."

"You looking to take his place with your doom and gloom attitude?" Remy offered a toothy grim and then regarded Lee seriously for several moments. "Why you here, Lee? I mean, why you stay wit' us?"

She blinked at his rather direct question. "Because I actually like all ofyou.

And every day I stay the more I care about you all."

"Despite our lack of emotional maturity?" Remy grinned.

"I'm a patient and understanding soul," Lee replied caustically. "In all honesty, though, Remy, something that is very hard to miss is the fact that you all really love each other. That makes me wonder, and I hope you'll forgive my preaching, but, why are you out here? Why aren't you with the ones who love you?"

Remy could probably count the number of times he'd heard the words 'I love you' directed honestly at him on one hand. He looked away from Lee's pressing gaze. "I got my reasons."

She turned and silently drew her own line out of the water. A few crustaceans clung to the meat and she shook them off into the cooler. "You sure like your secrets, don't you?"

Remy snorted softly, still looking away from Lee and into the swampy grassland of the delta. "Don't know 'bout the likin', chere, but I'm familiar wit' the havin'."

"Yeah, I bet," Lee dropped her line into the water again. "Everyone's entitled to secrets, of course. I fancy myself a practical person, though. Whatever you've got bothering you, whatever Lorna's note said that spooked you, looks like a bit much to handle on your own."

"It's complicated."

"There's a big surprise," Lee rolled her eyes.

Remy was silent for several moments listening to the water slap lightly against the sides of the boat. "You t'ink people can change, Lee?"

"Depends on what you mean by 'change,'" she replied. "I think that there are saintly people on this earth and I think there are truly evil people as well. I don't think they can change. I also think that their numbers are few."

She sighed and looked up at the sky. "If you're asking me if people can set themselves on a different road; if they can recognize mistakes they've made, own up and make up for them, then yes, absolutely people can change. I also think people who have it good can get sloppy or arrogant or stupid and let everything slip away. Change happens all the time, Remy. People rarely stay the same."

<Something t'think about, anyway,> Remy mused, feeling a little better after hearing Lee's beliefs.

"I've given guys jobs on my boat who hadn't been given a lot of breaks," Lee continued. "Sometimes, it didn't work out but when it did everything was worthwhile."

"Don't you t'ink dere are some t'ings dat just be unforgivable?" Remy pressed.

Lee thought about that for several minutes. "Under some circumstances, yes. But it's never that easy." She drew her line in again. After shaking off the crabs into the cooler she closed the top and looked at Remy. "I fell in love with Magnus, remember? He didn't have the amnesia that gave him a new lease on life back then. He was ten times more intense and he was a hundred times harder to know. He believed in striking first before he ended up victimized again. It wasn't easy. He scared the hell out of me and he used his power forcibly on me, but somehow, somehow we worked through it." A smile curled her lips. "I sound like a cowed and coward woman retelling that old tale that way."

Remy shook his head. "I can understand it might lose somet'ing in the translation." He grinned. "If I told you how Lehnsherr and I came t'be friends it might sound odd, too."

"How did you two become friends?" Lee questioned.

Remy chuckled. "He zapped me with an electro-magnetic blast and den I showed him some pictures."

Lee burst out laughing. "Are you serious?"

Remy nodded.

"That's rich. Still, the way you two are together, well, you're a little out of the ordinary, anyway."

"What's ordinary?" Remy gestured to their surroundings.

Lee nodded, looking around thoughtfully. "Good point."

Brett leaned heavily on the broom handle and stared listlessly out the window. "Why did Ah decide to do this? Ah hate cleaning." She pushed the miniscule pile of dust around the floor and sighed. Her previous conversation with Remy replayed through her head.

<"Remy, Ah don't want to play this game anymore. What happened? Why'd you run off?"

"The mirror cracked.">

"Something is botherin' that man," she muttered angrily. "Something fierce." She looked up again. "He said I was usin' the parts of him…" her voice trailed off as she saw Lorna out of the corner of her eye walking along the beach out front.

Suddenly, the view from the window wasn't what Brett saw. To her eyes there was a wide-open plaza with a great fountain in the middle. Many tourists and locals milled around, listening to musicians playing for pennies or watching street performers pantomime their fantasies. Her eyes were trained on one individual. He was a thin man of average height and was so non-descript she would probably have never noticed him if she hadn't been actively looking.

Watching him move too casually across the plaza she raised the broom. She tucked the bristled end into the crook between her chest and shoulder. Tilting her head slightly, she closed one eye and looked down the handle of the broom.

But it wasn't a broom to Brett anymore. It was a high-powered rifle with a telescopic lens. She trained it onto her target. She could see him clearly now through the telescope. He was looking around, his eyes shifting everywhere.

Brett smiled. <He'll never know what hit him.> She slowly squeezed the trigger. The silencer did its job admirably. She felt the rifle kick into her and watched in satisfaction as her target whirled partially due to the impact of the bullet and then sank to the ground. She watched through the telescopic lens as the blood pooled slowly around him. "Bang. You dead."

"Brett?"

The broom clattered to the floor as Brett whirled around, once again in the kitchen of the house they had all fashioned on the Bermuda Triangle island. Her eyes met Magnus' as he stood in the doorway. His eyes moved between her and the broom on the floor.

"Lord!!" she exclaimed, clutching her chest with a shaky laugh. "You startled years off my life, Magnus. What are you doin' sneakin' up on a girl like that?"

His eyes narrowed slightly. "What are you doing playing a game of assassin?"

Brett picked up the broom and returned it to its home next to the fridge. "Ah wasn't playin'," she told him quietly. He only watched her in silence.

She looked at him and lifted her chin, an automatic response to the disapproving look in his eye. "Ah wasn't doing anything wrong."

"I never said you were…" he seemed doubtful now. "Brett, do you need me to do anything for you?" His behavior suggested deep concern and incertitude.

She smiled. "No, Magnus, not now anyway. Ah think the first thing Ah need to do is get a few things straightened out on my own." She sobered slightly. "Then Ah need t'talk to Remy." She flicked her wrist lightly. "Don't you worry none about me."

Magnus nodded and went into the other room but his concern did not abate. He had heard Brett speak in the kitchen before he had caught her attention. She had not spoken with her usual dulcet southern accent. Her voice had been masculine and had held a decidedly Cajun accent.