Gambit and Rogue
"Gambit of Steel"
By Maru Tamehana (30/5/2019)
(21/6/2019)
He busted into the warehouse. Holding out his steel-cased Bo staff, the end of it flickered, and all the laser fire was suddenly drawn into it – absorbed, like.
"Now, this is better," Gambit said to himself in that thick French accent, examining the smoking end. "Coulda done with something like this in my more gambling days, chere."
"You won't live long enough to remember them," he heard – he felt a sudden wave of pain go through him, before realizing he had been roughly booted in the face. He came back up swinging, and swept the guy's legs out from under him, and smacked him in the head with panache.
He spun and flourished the staff back to rest with panache, looking at his downed victim.
"Don't count your cards before you play, mon ami." And left one there for him. There was an explosion as he closed the door. That was one thug that wouldn't be bothering anyone for a while.
I wonder what Rogue would think of that? He thought briefly – and then tried to put the image of the southern mutant woman out of his mind. Those features could make a man want to die for her. Or do foolish things, in any case.
There was someone waiting for him. The shock that went through him told him who it was before he even spoke.
"Why hello, sugah" she said with a smile at those charming lips. "Thought you left me behind?"
Actually, yes. He thought – but didn't say it. He just smiled back, in what he hoped was a disarming manner. Woman had a temper.
She took the guard out from behind while Gambit had him distracted, grabbing his face between her bare hands, before replacing the gloves on them. Not long enough to take any thoughts or memories, but enough to take the life out of him. Rogue's power had an unusual ability, it could steal powers, but on an ordinary person who didn't have powers, it simply drained them of life. She had to be careful not to do any real damage, but it rendered a person unconscious very quickly. She sometimes felt icky about it, but Gambit was quite impressed by it.
"I ain't ever seen anyone do what you do, cher," he said charmingly, leaning on his staff with a smile.
"Oh yeah?" she was suspicious and sardonic. "Well don't count your cards just yet, we're just getting started." Replacing the gloves on her hands.
And then with one fist, she had blasted through the wall.
An expression cross Gambit's face, half-resigned. "That was my line, cher," he said quietly to himself as he followed through the smoke and rubble.
Don't even make sense, really. You always count cards if you know how. He thought, ignoring his own statement. He paused. Well maybe it makes sense. Depends.
He argued this with himself as they proceeded with – now – their mission.
They inspected the shipping crates, recently acquired by the looks of it. It was a loading dock, which had been pulling in shipments from the river. Gambit inspected one of them that looked like it had arrived recently, and motioned to Rogue.
She gave it a tug and lifted the entire crate into place, while he looked around under it – looking for signs. How long it might have been there, things like that. There was another door.
Barrels of unidentified substance had also been stored there, and neither of them could identify it. The next thing Gambit inspected, but learned nothing of. Rogue inspected one to confirm his mystification.
"Ew." She wrinkled her nose at the barrel.
"Strong, southern gal like you – what could you be afraid of?" he said, staff laid across his shoulders, and led the way.
She put her hands on her hips, but joined him. "You'd be surprised." She said.
"I make it a point not to argue with a lady who can stuff me into a barrel."
"Very wise, Gambit," she told him, and pinched his ear a bit. And she could tell by his face he didn't mind.
The men in the next room were playing cards, listening to the radio.
"Mind if I cut in?"
A card suddenly appeared on the table, cutting sharply into the wood – somehow. It began to glow. They were all astonished, as a figure had appeared in the doorway, and they were utterly unprepared when the card exploded.
He flicked the deck between his hands, tsking. "People are so unprepared for the ordinary things these days."
He paused at one. "You shouldn't gamble – it'll shorten your life." And took the deck in his pocket and placed it in his own. "Free ammo, mon ami."
Rogue rolled her eyes. "You could turn this whole place into an explosive, Gambit."
"An' you could pull it down around our ears, darling' o' mine. So we're even."
"Don't call me darling. I haven't forgiven you yet." She said hotly.
He looked at the next card he drew, held it up with a smile. "Jack o' spades. I knew it." And flicked it. It demolished the entire wall.
On the other side, more cards came flying out of the rubble and debris cloud, already glowing, striking and exploding on the men before they could even get a shot off. Gambit did like to play with his luck. Body armour or not (whatever that chest-piece was), bullets and lasers were dangerous, and he was as mortal as any other man, mutant or not.
There was a lot of noise, but the two experienced and powerful mutants quickly dealt with the resistance – Gambit had his usual flair for the dramatic, and Rogue made a point of telling him to be more careful.
He spun his staff. "Not to worry, darlin'. Next thing, I'll have Forge install one of those magnetic doo-hickeys. I've been looking them up for my card tricks – reckon it might work if future-boy can pull it off."
(*)
Sneaking deeper into the compound.
They waited for a moment, breathing shallowly as the guards passed overhead. Steam and cold rose from the gridded floor, and their breaths were a cold frost as they exchanged glances in the close quarters.
Despite that, there was no way he could be in such close quarters with the rogue mutant woman, and not feel warm. He kept that to himself, however, no need for her to know these things.
Woman's intuition and what-not be damned.
They needed to find the prisoners before their leaders got wise and started doing something unsavoury, like shipping them off to another location before Gambit and Rogue could find them. That would not be good at all.
(*)
They found the room they were looking for but it wasn't unguarded.
Small robots with waving tentacle arms appeared. "Ah – now these things are looking for a fight." With cracks of his staff, and glowing card whisking in every direction, he and Rogue fought them off. Of course, the gal had no problems handling them – but they gave off nasty electric shots – so she stomped them with her feet or threw those big crates on top of them to be safe, before they could jolt her with one of those.
Little transistor powered things were powerful.
Then they found the man running the place.
He threw his staff and cracked the gun out of the officer's hand before he had a chance to get a shot off, Gambit had seen him lining up a shot on Rogue and didn't like it. He didn't know how tough Rogue was (plenty tough in his experience) but was no call to go shooting at a lady.
"Thanks," she said, as she flew back in, putting hands on her hips. She had already taken care of the other thugs, tying them up with one of those tentacle arms and whipping them out to splash in the river. He had seen it and laughed, watching them try to swim. Served 'em right.
"Nice panache, lady," he complimented her. She winked back. Didn't seem to hate him so much now.
He crashed his staff through the computer screen. This place was full of explosive barrels, it'd go up like a wick.
(*)
They spotted a square package-like device inside the warehouse. "Ah knew it," Gambit said disgustedly. "They musta set it as soon as they knew we was here."
"What is it?" she said, flying over to it, although she already had a good idea.
"A bomb."
"Do you know how to disarm it?"
"Sure do, chere."
And he left a card in it. Unlike the others, only the tip of it seemed to be glowing. There was a sudden puff of smoke, and then the lights on the device had died
"Professor briefed me before I came here," he tapped his head, at her skeptical look.
(*)
They found the children. Huddling in crates and cages.
She twisted the bars and pulled the entire thing free in an explosion of rubble. The first thing the children saw was the smiling, beautiful southern woman holding out her gloved hand. Gambit not far behind, twirling his staff.
They partitioned the children, organizing them to lead them out. They were all pretty quiet, their eyes large, a look the two mutants had seen many times before. Kid trying to figure out how their world had changed. One of them was just an infant, coddled in the arms of a young girl. She couldn't run and carry the infant at the same time.
Gambit was about to pass it to Rogue.
"I can't pick her up, sugah," she said sadly, in that coaxing southern accent. "She might try to touch mah face."
But she picked up a younger child, after admonishing her her skin was dangerous, and they busted out of there while Gambit carried the infant, and the others followed.
Suddenly more robots and guards appeared to head them off. How were they planning to survive that little explosion? He wondered.
"I'll hold them off, you lead them out of here, chere!" Gambit instantly plucked a brace of cards, and got ready to fight the in-coming guardsmen.
They made contact with the Professor as they existed the warehouse, he responded quickly, alert to his X-Men as he had given him these missions.
"Cyclops has brought one of the X-Planes to you. Get the children on board, and meet us back at the mansion."
They quickly did that, boarding with over a dozen children, counting every head to make sure they hadn't missed anyone.
Gambit got into the pilot seat. "Always wanted to fly me one of these."
"Do you know how to fly it?"
"Shure, darlin'. At least – in the simulator…" he added in an aside to himself. Rogue gave him a look, and got every else buckled in before herself.
"Alright, hol' on, kids, we're busting out o' here!" he said.
Gambit had a small drive that Beast had given him – it had automatically downloaded everything from the computer before he destroyed it. He had half a mind to do what Rogue said, and let that bomb go off while they were a good ways away.
"They was goan to give these kids to Stryker and Gyrich, turn them into their little guinea pigs, turn em into weapons."
"Disturbing news," Xavier responded over the radio. "But well done, Gambit. And Rogue. It seems you two make quite a team."
Rogue crossed her arms. "Don't let it go to his head, Professor."
Gambit smiled as he piloted the X-Plane for home. This beast sure handled fine.
"Looks like we're bring home some kids, Professor." He said.
Rogue punched his arm. Nearly toppling the plane out of the sky in the process.
THE END