X-Men #172

Publisher
Marvel
Year
2005
Month
8
LastChanged
2/3/2024 8:23:09 AM
Bizarre Love Triangle

Temptation
Summary

  In the shower, Remy calls to Foxx, saying it won't mean he loves her; she agrees: guilt-free, risk-free, physical, and they embrace.

  He wakes, in his separate bed next to Rogue's: Emma suggested they sleep together. He tells Rogue it was just a nightmare and he heads to the showers.

  That morning they have another session with Emma; she provides a telepathic platform for them, and the sit naked in a garden, Rogue feeding Remy an apple. He wonders if this is the Garden of Eden; she'd rather not get Biblical; he mentions snakes; she says it's typical of a Catholic to talk about sin; he asks what sin the Baptist girl had in mind. "It ain't no sin if y'all truly love each other," she says; he replies, "it won't mean I love you…" and she's shocked; he sees her transform into Foxx and choke him, and Emma slaps him to snap him back to reality.

  Emma decides they're not ready for this; Rogue is sure Remy wouldn't have a problem with Foxx, and Remy mumbles that he wouldn't need telepathy with her. Rogue storms out, and Emma congratulates him on insulting her. She asks if there's anything he'd like to share with her, but he walks away, saying he's taking his class on a field trip, to get away for a while.

  He takes them to a waterfall and warns them it's not the Danger Room: they can't just turn it off. Foxx likes danger; the rest of the class realizes Remy's going to make a fool of himself with her.

  The Cuckoos confer with Emma in Cerebra: something's wrong, a background noise. Rogue interrupts, wanting to know what Remy saw in "telepathy world," but Emma just gets angry.

  That night, Foxx tends the fire, and Bling tells her she's disrupting the team. She says Bling just has the hots for Onyxx, and she's jealous; Bling says no, she's the one who makes her heart flutter, and she's concerned about Remy. Foxx says that's her own business, but Bling says there's collective responsibility, and she'll tell Emma or Rogue; Foxx chokes her, and they fight. Bling says she didn't realize how much she liked Remy; she says she wouldn't be doing all this if she liked him.

  Nearby, Remy broods, thinking Foxx isn't so special, and it's not like he and Rogue suddenly are unable to touch (actually, yes it is: Remy and Rogue both lost their powers in X-Treme X-Men 18, and hers were returned off-panel before Rogue '04 #1). He says whoever's creeping up on him better have a good explanation; it's Onyxx, who attacks him, warning him he's misusing his position with Foxx. Flubber and Rain Boy are with him and agree: Remy says it's a mutiny; they say it's teamwork. Foxx shows up to help Remy defend himself; he tells the boys to stand down, and they'll act like this never happened, or things will get messy. They hesitate.

  Rogue apologizes for trying to kill Bobby and Lorna; she's been under a lot of pressure. Bobby asks her about her new powers; Lorna asks him to get some water, trying to get him to leave, but then Kurt pops in, wanting some company. They tell him not to surprise them like that; it's disconcerting, and he should install cable in his room, so he leaves. Then he's back, with water. He's been spending time contemplating the bleak emptiness of the abyss, and he wants to ask Lorna about it. Lorna thinks Alex put him up to it, but he denies it.

  Remy returns with his team; he thanks Foxx for standing with him and says what happened stays out there. Rogue is upset to see them together.

  Emma tells Remy there's no reason to shout; he insists she had no right to tell Rogue what happened "while we were telepathing," but she insists she didn't. She just provided the platform and has better manners than to look. Remy knows something's wrong, since Rogue didn't show up for their appointment, and he goes to look for her. Emma warns him something's wrong in the house of Xavier.

  Remy checks his room, but she's not there. In the hallway, Kurt tells Alex he didn't get to ask Lorna about what she saw but wonders why he's obsessing. Remy walks past and asks if they've seen Rogue; Kurt says she was with Bobby and Lorna, and Alex gets upset that he mentioned the two as one unit.

  Remy finds Rogue in the garden at sunset; he asks why she moved her things out of his room; she says the telepathy isn't helping, and being together makes their relationship even more of a mockery. Remy wants to try again and promises not to mess up again; she says he can't promise that, and all she can promise him is frustration or life-sapping death. She thinks he should get with Foxx; she won't blame him. He gets angry, saying he doesn't want anyone but her, and he goes to prove it.

  He goes to Foxx, saying he's transferring her to another class. She smells the lust on him, but he denies it; she says he's trying to get rid of her because he wants her; he notices her appearance shifting and pushes her away. She transforms to: Mystique! She pretended to be Foxx so she could seduce him, her own step-daughter's boyfriend. Remy points out she's crazy and tells her to leave; she insists she was only trying to help, to give him some physical release so he and Rogue could be happy. She transforms herself to Rogue's form and offers herself to him: "It won't be like cheating."