Emeryld turned her topaz and jade eyes back to the squirming man, "Ye have to give Sinister credit. He did a fine job: the face, the body, the power, the charm, the charisma... but he made you too much like himself. He forgot t'hide the eyes that make me think of Hell, the darkness that lurks inside, that cannae help but seep out and hurt with cold cruelty. Ye are like your father, Remy LeBeau, no matter how hard ye try to be. Ye are and ye always will be!"
"Y'forgot de guilt and de pain..." Gambit whispered, before the cell door was blown open by a beam of red hot energy.
A voice cut through the room like a hot knife through butter, "Pain I can definitely guarantee you, LeBeau."
***
Rogue floated in a bed of water. She had been placed in a hydro-aquatic suspension chamber, and was currently drifting slowly back into consciousness. A mask had been fitted over her mouth and nose, delivering fresh oxygen, and there were wires suctioned to various parts of her anatomy. She was only vaguely aware of her surroundings, for at the moment, she was more concerned with the pain that flooded her being.
Her face was numb, her limbs ached, and she felt bruised from the inside out. She was glad for the weightlessness, because she knew any amount of weight might force her to collapse in agony. Shadows still pulled at the edges of her mind but she was becoming more and more alert. She blinked, finally opening her eyes and silently screamed.
The world was black, completely dark. She was blind.
In a fit of panic she lashed out, pulling wires and tubes off, ignoring the pain that it caused. She ripped the mask from her mouth and thrashed against the glass that encased her in this water world like some sort of figurine in a snow globe.
Sinister observed all this from afar with deep intrigue. Tilting his head he watched as his patient writhed and thrashed in a vain attempt at escape. He almost laughed to himself at the amount of fervor at which she fought. She had a fire in her; a spark that might be set ablaze if he fed it right. No wonder she had been so properly named Rogue.
Soon her efforts slowed as she realized her mistake had been cutting off her oxygen supply. With a jagged grin Sinister pulled a lever, slowly draining the water in the chamber. He moved to the glass case where she lay curled and shivering at the bottom.
"Time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty," he said, tapping on the glass.
Her head snapped up at the noise, and she turned blindly toward the sound of his voice.
"Why can't ah see!" she demanded, banging again on the case.
"Plucky little thing, aren't we?" Sinister laughed. Rogue stiffened and seemed to draw away suddenly. She huddled herself away from the front of the glass. She whimpered quietly and became still, only shivering occasionally.
"Y-you're not gonna hurt me any more are you?" she whispered, her voice was oddly small and frightened. A harsh contrast to her demanding outburst only seconds ago. Rogue broke into small sobs, her salty tears staining the bandages that covered her eyes.
Sinister was fascinated. He answered her in a paternal manner, he almost seemed concerned and human?
"Now what's the reason for those beautiful tears, child?" he said, touching the panel before him that let the glass casing rise, leaving her uncaged. He moved closer and took her chin in his fingertips, "I've healed you--I'm not going to hurt you."
"Why--why can't ah see?" she asked timidly.
"The blindness is only temporary. I'll take the bandages away soon, when I'm sure you're face has healed properly."
"Healed? What happed to mah face?" she asked, suddenly reaching up to feel the bandages over her eyes. She winced at the sharp pain that her fingers had elicited and screamed in both fear and pain. Her voice carried, not muffled by water filling her lungs this time.
Her face turned hard, lips dipping into a scowling frown, as she straightened and growled venomously, "Ah'll kill him."
"Kill whom, Rogue?" Sinister asked, prodding an answer from her.
She lifted her head, "Rogue?"
"Yes, Rogue, whom are you planning to kill?"
"Why would ah want to kill anyone?" she asked suddenly, staggering backwards. "an' don't touch me!"
"I'd be careful if I were you. I've taken a great deal of effort and care to heal you. Don't ruin things by doing something brash and stupid. Please calm down." Sinister said calmly. "Don't do something you may regret."
"How could you make him do it, Sinister?" she spat, her voice full of hatred.
Sinister noted as her personality seemed to change again, then he simply pushed another button on his control panel to stop her from escaping. An energy field surrounded her, one that wouldn't harm her much, but would prevent her from escaping.
Rogue dropped to her knees silently staring into space. It was as if the life in her was simply gone. The flame blown out like a candle. She rocked back and forth, holding tight to herself, singing a soft harmony, **Hush little baby, don't say a word... Mama's gonna
buy you a mockingbird...**
Sinister observed, standing silent for a number of minutes before turning to his computer console. He pulled a small microphone close speaking as he called up a file, "Take note of Rogue's current condition. Physically she is recovering well and at an accelerated rate
than expected. Her inception analysis is positive. As for her mental state, the hypothesis is as follows.
"She seems torn among 3-4 states of mind. It is as if her personality has fractured into facets due to trauma. One side is defensive--eliciting a highly probable asset. The second is docile and fearful, still very wounded. The third is only explainable as her rational, logical reasoning, self. The fourth seems the most interesting indeed. It seems an almost empathic sense--as if she already knows of the inception and had immediately taken to nurturing it. Test and results will follow. Take note."
When Sinister turned back around, Rogue had torn away the bandages. Her face was masked behind a veil of her damp hair. He met Rogue's piercing emerald stare, that bore into him with cold, savage fury.
***
"Where is she?" Cyclops demanded, letting out an optic blast that just missed Gambit's bowed head. Gambit lifted his head up to see Cyclops and the other X-men in his wake. Iceman and Wolverine had freed Beast and Psylocke, and joined the others collaborated in the cell.
"Where is she!?" Cyclops rapped again, as Emeryld spun on Cyclops and slashed at him with her nails.
"Duennae touch him!" she roared with protective snarl, crouched and ready to pounce if her mate was threatened again.
"Serina, stay out of this!" Cyclops warned, blasting her with a low frequency blast.
Emeryld leapt for Cyclops' throat as Wolverine caught her by her hair yanking her back mercilessly, "Ain't yerbone t'pick with him, girl. If ya were less panther an' more human now, ya'd think twice 'bout what yer defendin'."
Serina hissed and fought for a few moments in his grasp, before calming a bit from her ferral rage. As her thoughts became moreor less her own, she relaxed and turned away.
Cyclops turned on Gambit again, clipping the cajun in the leg with one of his optic beams. "Now, where is she!?"
Gambit let out a cry of pain as the blast seared into his thigh.
"She wit' Sinister," he snapped back with a hiss of pain. "I got no control over what's goin' on now. I never did."
"You had a choice. You always have a choice!"
"Looks like you chose wrong, Bub. I don't usually side with Summers, but y'gotta admit it don't sound too good fer ya, Gumbo."
"Did I choose wrong, Logan? Was it wrong t'choose savin' your daughter's life? Guess, whatever y'choose is wrong, when you got to choose b'tween de two most important t'ings in your world," Remy seethed, as Wolverine's claws inched closer to his throat. He ventured a glance at Emeryld who refused to look him in the eye. Gambit didn't flinch as two of the three of Wolverine's claws popped out with a familiar 'snickt' sound, and pinned him to the floor.
Wolverine gazed at Serina, and backed away with no words save a guttural growl. Eight sets of eyes bore into Gambit's very soul, but none of the stares were as terrible as that which belonged to Scott Summers. He was in no mood be quite as merciful as to only stare.
Cyclops lunged at Gambit, snatching him by the collar, and barking into his face, "World!? Your world is about to end, you BASTARD! You're going to pay for what you've done..."
"Scott, please!" Phoenix implored, tying to reach out for his thoughts and calm him down. But Cyclops' mind for the first time ever was closed to her: a blank slate. She didn't even know the man that stood raging before her.
"No, Jean, this tears it! I'm tired of being calm and collected. I'm tired of giving this no count thief the benefit of the doubt. I'm tired of his excuses and his smart comments. We should never have accepted him back after we found out he was a Marauder for Sinister. After what he'd done to Warren... He's had his second chance and he blew it. BIG TIME," Cyclops' fist hit Gambit's face, then he threw the younger man to the floor.
"I ain't scared o' you, Scott," Gambit said through gritted teeth. He slid himself up the wall, propping himself to stand against it.
"Well, you damn well should be," he shot a red-hot beam of energy to Gambit's chest. "You really got yourself into hot water this time, LeBeau!" Cyclops roared then kicked him.
Meanwhile Beast held Iceman back from joining the brawl.
"Let me go, Hank! I'm gonna kill him, I'm gonna rip him to pieces!" Bobby bellowed, completely iced up as he struggled against Beast's grip. "I'm gonna encase his no good carcass in ice!"
"Robert, please be sensible!" Beast urged logically.
"Sensible!? Was what he did to Rogue, sensible!? He's DEAD!" Iceman kicked and fought all the harder but Beast would not let his grip loosen for a moment. Bobby resolved into wordless rage.
The others only watched in menacing silence, each awaiting what the outcome would bring.
"You've hurt my sister for the last time!" Cyclops rumbled.
Gambit laughed. "Ha, you didn' care 'bout her b'fore you found dat out!"
Cyclops yanked Gambit's head up and leaned close to his face, "Well, it just got personal. I lost Alex to that monster and I'm not about to lose Audra!"
"So, guilt be what's drivin' you. Determined men can go far, mon ami... I'd know. But let me tell you somet'ing, Scott... love, love drives a man farther dan guilt ever will. Bobby dere, he got more o' a chance'a hurtin' me worse... b'cause he loves Rogue. Y'can see it in his eyes, in his manner... you, you doin' dis outta guilt, b'cause you didn' realize how much she mean' to you b'fore..." Gambit choked
Iceman seemed to stop his struggling, at this statement, while Cyclops' eyes narrowed behind his blood-red visor. It never looked so menacing to Remy before than it did at that moment. Soon, he thought to himself, his blood of that very color would be spilt.
Remy laughed painfully, in spite of his hidden fear, and gave Scott his most disarming signature grin, "Bang, I'm dead, non?"
A hand suddenly fell on Cyclops' shoulder, "He's not worth it, Scott."
"He deserves to die! I thought you'd understand most of all, Warren. After he had you crucified in the Morlock tunnels--"
"It's because I understand it all too well, that I know you can't kill him. Deserving or not, it won't solve anything, Scott, it'll only make things worse. Do you want to be like him?"
"I'll never be like him."
"You will if you kill him. Killing Remy will make you even worse than what he is now. You're not a killer, Slym. You've hurt him, now's the time to leave him to lick his wounds, and let him live with what he's done. It'll eat him up inside, worse than any damage you do to him physically. He's not worth risking your soul."
"You're an X-man, the very first of us, and our first rule is that we don't kill," Phoenix added. "I know you, Scott, and you can't do this, because it isn't you."
"Leave him. He's not worth it," Archangel repeated quietly. "Let's go find Rogue and bring her home."
Slowly, Cyclops looked up at Archangel and Phoenix, and then to the others. They nodded in agreement. Cyclops let Gambit drop and nodded, "Let's go."
As they filed out, Iceman cast a deadly stare at him lying on the floor.
"Pleasant dreams, love, " Emeryld purred, murderously as she stepped over him, none too carefully, and disappeared after the others. One of them remained in the cell with him. Thunder rumbled angrily overhead and Remy pulled his head up to face Storm's eyes.
"How could you?" she whispered her voice quivering.
"Stormy... I--"
" You were the kindest man I had ever met. You helped me when I couldn't make it on my own as a child. You provided for me and became the closest of my friends. And now you've betrayed us twice.
"You swept Rogue off of her feet and touched her heart. She loved you and finally learned to trust you, as I always had. Never had I expected to see you do something this vile. Something this despicable and terrible... as far as I am concerned, Remy LeBeau, you are dead to me." With that Storm turned on her heel and disappeared from the cell.
***
Gambit rested his head on the floor again and lay massaging his eyes. He held both hands over them, pressing his fingers into his closed eyelids and applying even pressure--hoping, praying it would purge the tormenting scenes from his mind. Of course, he knew, it wouldn't. He was left drowning in a sea of memories and guilt again. A cloud of ghosts that would demolish any chance he'd ever have at peace.
"How do you chose b'tween de two most importan' parts of your world? How do you choose when y'forced to sacrifice part o' your soul?" Remy wondered to himself aloud, "Y'been caught in de Catch 22 dat Sinister warned you 'bout, an' what did you do? You let one go an' pray she was strong 'nough to survive..."
"Well, she wasn't," a voice answered from the shadows beyond the cell door.
Gambit had known the eyes were watching him silently in the darkness, but he hadn't cared to acknowledge them until now.
"Leave me be! I done what y'wanted. I don' want not'ing wit' you Marauders no more. Leave me... NOW!" he jumped to his feet and growled to the figure with the familiar voice. The 1 only moved closer to the dim light, revealing a cloaked form.
"She wasn't strought enough to survive, Gambit. Because of you she's dead!"
Gambit's head snapped up, "Non, she still 'as to be alive. She too valuable to Sinister, he wouldn' let her jus' die. Show yourself,menteur! (liar)"
The figure stepped closer. It was a feminine form, that much he could tell, but her hair and face was hidden by shadows cast by the black hood of her cloak. Through the shadows pierced two jewel-like emerald orbs.
Two very familiar eyes--eyes that belonged to...
She pulled the cloak off and threw it to the floor. Gambit wanted to cry out when he saw the tatoo-like scar that covered the left side of Rogue's face. It was worse than the garish mark that donned Psylocke's face because it was distinctive of something only he himself could inflict on a person. It was his card: the Ace of Hearts. The explosion of heated energy must have grafted it with her skin when the card had discharged.
Remy fell to his knees and reached out, trying desperately to swallow the lump that was caught in his throat. Finally he managed to whisper, "Oh, Rogue, what 'ave I done to you? Your... your linda cara (gorgeous face)... de card..."
"Rogue?" she purred, "There is no Rogue because you killed her. All that's left now is Scorn."
"Scorn?" Remy said, as if he didn't understand. The word tasted bitter on his lips. The very name described how she must feel after what he'd done: a woman scorned. He didn't like it. It didn't suit her. "Rogue, I'm so sorry... I..."
Her head lifted at the mention of her usual name for the first time since she'd entered the cell. Rogue stood watching him with curious eyes. Eyes like a child who had just discovered something for the first time, "Are you really, Remy?"
"Oui, more dan I can ever express, Chere."
She frowned at this, her eyes narrowed and glowed with a menacing luminescence.
"You stole mah heart," Rogue growled stalking toward him, forcing him to back toward the corner, "An' ah want it back."
There was an evil glitter in her emerald eyes as she grinned suddenly. He was pinned against the wall. Gambit could have sworn there was a twinkle of crimson in those eyes that had always reminded him of jewels, "Chere--"
Rogue leaned in dangerously close, "Maybe ah'll just steal yours instead... beatin' straight from your chest."
Remy swallowed and opened his mouth, "Ma amant--"
Rogue back handed him hard. And with her mutant strength, it almost tore his head from his shoulders. Gambit cried out as he felt the bones snap in his jaw. He wavered, his knees screaming to give out as he slid down the wall.
Her face softened suddenly; watching as the blood welled from his mouth and stained his lips. Tears sprung to her eyes, "Oh God Remy, ah--ah'm so sorry..." She covered her mouth with her hands, realizing she's probably shattered most of his jaw. Reaching up, she moved to gently take his chin in her hands.
Gambit grimaced in obvious pain, but he didn't utter a sound.
"Ah didn't mean to. Ah'm sorry--" she whispered, then her demeanor changed again, "...sorry ah didn't kill you." Rogue kissed his lips then, ignoring the whimper of pain that escaped when she aggravated the shattered bones in his jaw.
Gambit--eyes clenched--waited to feel the life completely drained from his being. Waiting for himself to fall to the floor, dead. Instead he watched 'Scorn' draw back laughing maniacally.
"Scared ya didn't ah?" she grinned, releasing him yet remaining close, "Forgot t'tell you that Mistah Sinister curbed whatevah kept me from controllin' mah powers. Guess that's an ace up mah sleeve. So, tell me somethin' lovah--"
"Anyt'ing," he choked out painfully.
"D'you remember th' first time you turned that incorrigible charm on me?" A nostalgic glimmer shinned in her eyes. Her personality softened again as she stroked at his collapsed jaw line.
Remy shook with each touch, barely capping the urge to cry out from the pain that stabbed. Talking hurt, his words slurred a bit, speaking through broken bones. Yet, he spoke without a second thought, "How could I f'get?"
"Tell me about it," she whispered, butterfly kisses brushing his lips, her warm breath on his throat.
Gambit's face went blank suddenly. He searched his mind, failing to recall the day he'd remembered a million times before. A day he cherished. It was gone.
"What's wrong, Sugah?"
Remy looked up into her eyes, unfamiliar tears gathering in his own, he choked out, "I-I can't r'member. It's not jus' somet'ing I'd f'get... I wouldn'..."
"Ya can' t remember b'cause ah took it back. That day was a part of mah heart that ah gave you; no strings attached. Well, you abused it, so ah took it back. And ah'm gonna take 'em all back an' leave you the empty shell of a man you always were b'fore you stole every piece o' me bit by bit.!"
The woman he knew had vanished again, her face twisting with hatred, as she tightened her grip on his face.
"GAH!" he winced, sucking in a quick breath.
"Oh! Did that hurt?" Rogue's face was a mask of mock concern, " Ah'm sorry, darlin', did ah f'get to warn you? Love hurts. An' ah love you t'death."
Now... On to........... Assets 6
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