(((Disclaimer: The X-Men belong to Marvel.)))

Golden Slumbers

Chapter 1

The town was completely dark and looked as if it had been abandoned for some time. The buildings were old and worn, lit only by the glow of a full moon. It was eerily quiet. No people, no traffic, no stray cats or dogs. Nothing at all. Just an old ghost town with no signs of inhabitance. Nobody other than the three of them. They stayed hidden in the shadows, listening and waiting. They had been waiting patiently for about fifteen minutes now. Well, other than one of them that had had enough of sitting there. He clinched his jaw, fighting back the urge to vent his anger due to the fact that the mission called for a silent sneak attack. He wasn't a very tall man, but his broad form made up more than enough for his lack of height and the look in his eyes would make anybody think twice before getting on his bad side. He was known for having a short fuse and this was no exception. His patience was wearing thin and finally he couldn't keep quiet anymore.

"This ain't my idea of a workout." He growled. "What's the bleedin' hold up?"

The two women behind him weren't too surprised to hear him break the silence. They had been exchanging glances as they watched Wolverine from behind, gradually losing his patience and finally his temper.

"Be patient, Logan." One of them said. She had long, white hair with a white uniform to match it. She was Ororo Munroe, also known as Storm (or Stormy by a certain Cajun thief). Beside her was a rather annoyed Rogue, who despite being impatient herself still had the ability to carry out a mission the way it was supposed to be carried out.

"Would yah zip it?" She demanded it more than asked it. "Ah recall this bein' yer bright idea in the first place."

"Both of you, we must stay silent." Storm put an end to the bickering before it went on any longer.

Wolverine let out an annoyed grunt, but then went back to waiting without saying another word. The wait lasted another five minutes or so before something finally caught his attention. He heard something approaching from the distance and a moment later so did Rogue and Storm. They braced themselves for whatever was coming and Wolverine almost cracked a smile, thinking it was about time. After a short wait they saw the source of the noise. A large group of soldiers armed with heavy weaponry were heading down the road in their direction. You could easily tell by looking at them that they were no ordinary soldiers. They weren't human or mutant, but looked as if they were robots. They moved as if they were human, but there was no doubt about it that they weren't. Wolverine was itching to make his move, but actually following orders for once waited for the cue from Storm and once the soldiers got a little closer Storm took to the air.

"Now!" She shouted, flying over the soldiers and unleashing a bolt of lighting into the center of them.

Within a few seconds Wolverine was already at the soldiers and stabbing his adamantium claws into one of them. Rogue followed closely behind and flew through the unsuspecting soldiers, taking out several as she passed.

"It's about time you tin cans show up!" Wolverine snarled as he tosses a dead soldier aside and began on another.

One of them took aim with its gun and fired a shot at Storm, who gracefully dodged it and followed with a forceful lighting strike that blew a whole right through it. Rogue was less successful when she tried to dodge a shot directed towards her, but quickly recovered from the blow and flew towards the soldier. A powerful fist to the chest sent it flying into the wall of a nearby building, cracking the cement from the impact. Wolverine was very much enjoying himself as he tore through the crowd of soldiers until something from behind sent him tumbling to the ground. He quickly got back to his feet to face a soldier pointing its gun at him. Wolverine let out an angry growl and prepared to attack, but before he had the chance something from behind blew it to pieces. He was annoyed to see a familiar Cajun standing behind it giving him a rather smug grin.

"You best keep your eyes open, Wolverine." He said as a card slid from the sleeve of his duster and into his hand. "Next time Gambit might not be around ta lend a hand."

"Watch yer own back, Cajun!" Wolverine scowled before turning his attention back to the soldiers around him.

Sometimes Gambit's arrogance really got on his nerves, but at the moment he felt like taking care of the enemy rather than getting into an argument in the middle of a battle. When it came to Wolverine and Gambit most of the time they weren't actually arguments, but more like Wolverine making threats and Gambit giving some kind of cocky reply in return. Whatever they were Wolverine knew he would much rather finish taking care of the current situation.

He stabbed his claws into a soldiers forehead and then pulled his hand back, watching the soldiers body collapse to the ground. Now several other members of the team were there. Cyclops, Jean, Beast and even Jubilee were joined in and fighting off the soldiers. The battle continued as more and more soldiers kept appearing as if out of nowhere, but they were being destroyed almost as quickly as they were appearing. Just as Rogue sent one flying through the air with an uppercut she heard a sound thundering in the sky that sounded very simular to jet engines.

"Now what?" She asked out loud to herself, not really expecting an answer. She looked up just in time to see sentinels approaching.

"Oh, great, sentinels." Jubilee commented sarcastically when she also spotted the sentinels heading in their direction. "That's all we needed."

"Everybody stay close together!" Cyclops called out, falling into his leader roll.

The fight continued and the sentinels were about to add to the problem. Storm struck several of them down with bolts of lightning, but the remaining sentinels were now landing and surrounding the battle area. Rogue quickly went after one and rammed it directly in the center of its upper body, the collision sending it back and crashing into a building. Now it was Wolverine's turn. As far as he was concerned the soldiers were just the warm-up act and now he was looking forward to the main event. He charged a sentinel that was unaware of his presence until he ran passed its leg, cutting through it as he passed. The sentinels injured leg gave in and it nearly collapsed to the ground as Wolverine ran around to get behind it. Without wasting any time he put all of his effort into jumping onto its back and getting a firm hold by stabbing his claws into it. Once he was in place he began climbing up its back until he reached its shoulders. The sentinel attempted to get him off, but by then it was too late and Wolverine already had his claws in its neck, causing it to lifelessly fall forward onto the ground.

Sentinels and soldiers were falling all around and a victory was looking near. Cyclops had blown the head off of a sentinel and Jean was now focusing her mind on sending it flying through the air until it rammed into another attacking sentinel, smashing a hole through it. After a moment the enemy could only be seen defeated and lifeless on the ground. Pieces of sentinels were scattered around the area, as were pieces of the soldiers and many of the buildings now had gaping holes in them from explosions or sentinels falling on them. Suddenly everything vanished. No more soldiers, no more sentinels, no more buildings. There was no more town. Instead it was now replaced by a large, empty room. The training session had come to an end. The holograms produced in the Danger Room were gone and the team turned to face a large window looking down over them. Watching them from it was Professor Xavier who flipped on the intercom to speak with them.

"That will do for today." He said, knowing the battle was plenty enough for one day. "You all did very good. Now I suggest everybody try and get some rest before dinner."

Unlike Wolverine, Gambit didn't want to take part in the training session that was scheduled for the day and he for one was glad it was over. Not that he disliked training in the Danger Room. He often found himself practicing in it when sessions hadn't even been scheduled, but today he wasn't in the mood. Although he couldn't help but smile to himself when he remembered the way he had set off Wolverine's temper.

After a moment his train of thought was interrupted by the sudden feeling of hunger. He realized he hadn't had any food all day, just a snack here and there, and was now thinking about the dinner Jean and Storm discussed fixing right after the training session had ended. As he walked down the stairs he sniffed the air and could smell something cooking in the kitchen. When he rounded the corner he spotted Wolverine and Jubilee sitting at the kitchen counter while Jean and Storm were busy cooking.

"What's on de menu for tonight?" He asked as he drifted into the kitchen to look over their shoulders. Once he got a good look at the chicken being prepared he made a slightly disgusted face, obviously not impressed by what he was seeing. "I t'ink maybe dis dinner need Gambit's touch, non?"

"No is right, now get out of here or you don't get any." Jean replied, pointing a wooden spoon at him in a less than threatening manner.

"Yeah." Jubilee quickly added. "Last time you made us all dinner it was so hot we could barely eat it."

"Ain't not'in wrong wit a little spice, p'tite." Gambit said as he made his way out of the kitchen. "You jus' gotta get used to it. Once you do, don' not'in else come close."

Jubilee silently responded with a roll of the eyes and went on blowing a bubble with the gum she was chewing. Gambit walked around the kitchen counter as Wolverine pulled out a cigar.

"Don't even think about it, Logan." Storm spotted the cigar right away. "If you wish to smoke you'll have to go outside."

Wolverine looked annoyed as he thought it over for a moment. He realized he wasn't going to change her mind, just as he couldn't change the Professor or Scott's.

"No problem." He finally replied as he stood up and stuck the cigar between his teeth. "I could use some fresh air anyway."

He walked out of the room and Gambit took his seat in his place, pulling out a deck of cards and restlessly flipping through them.

"So how long dis dinner gonna be?" He asked, looking very bored. Storm sighed to herself and looked over at him.

"We just started it." She answered. "It is still going to be awhile."

Gambit made a disappointed face and continued flipping through his cards. As the dinner cooked everybody occupied their time with casual conversation. At one point Gambit tried to show Jubilee a card trick, but she told him to grow up and refused to play along.

After about a twenty minute wait the dinner was almost ready and hungry faces were begining to gather around the kitchen. Logan had returned from the walk he had taken to smoke his cigar and Beast made his way out of the lab and joined the others after being alerted by Rogue that the food was almost ready. Rogue was now lending a hand in moving the food to the table while everybody started taking their seats around it. Gambit smiled as the food was placed on the table in front of him. It looked better to him now, possibly because of how much his hunger had grown in the last twenty minutes.

Professor Xavier came in with a smile and took his place at the table. He always enjoyed seeing the whole team gathered together for reasons other than fighting or training in the Danger Room. Everybody began dishing up their plates and the room grew loud with conversation as dishes were passed around from person to person.

It was a cold night. Thick clouds were covering the moon and the ground was covered with a thin layer of fog. Normally the fog didn't appear until the early hours of the morning, but it came much sooner this night. Gambit could see his breath in the air as he looked down from the roof of the mansion. After dinner was over he felt like heading up to the roof to have some time to himself. He sat and stared at nothing while he thought to himself. He wasn't thinking about anything in particular, just thinking.

After an hour or so passed he decided it was time to turn in. He usually stayed up until all hours of the night, but was tired and figured that there was no point in staying awake any longer so he got up and headed for his room.

Logan's fist came down, his adamantium claws cutting a thick log in two. The day was rather uneventful so he decided to get out and cut some firewood. He tossed the two pieces of wood into an already large pile of cut pieces and set up another log, cutting it in half and adding to the pile. He had been at it for awhile, tired of spending the entire day indoors like everybody else. He didn't know how they could do it. Spending all their time watching TV or reading or whatever they happened to be doing. Sure it was a cold day and there wasn't a spot in the sky that wasn't covered with dark clouds that looked as if they could begin pouring rain at any time, but he couldn't take not doing anything. He tried to sit and watch something with Jubilee, but he didn't last long.

He went on cutting until he ran out of logs and took a look at the pile he created. Wiping the sweat from his brow he turned and looked towards the mansion. He felt like he could use a cold drink so he began walking back to it.

Once he got inside he made his way to the kitchen. He didn't see anybody and thought he was better off, he wasn't really in the mood to chat. He pulled open the refridgerator and took a look inside to see what there was to drink. He didn't find anything that looked good to him so he finally settled on a glass of water and quickly gulped it down. He could hear a TV on in the other room and decided to see who was there.

Jubilee was asleep on the couch and Gambit was reclined in a chair with his hands behind his head, looking very relaxed. He was staring at the TV and looked like he was about to fall asleep himself, but snapped out of it when he saw Wolverine.

"Done already, eh?" He commented before turning his attention back to the TV screen.

"Yeah." Logan answered without offering any further conversation and walked up to the couch.

The news was on and it cut to anti-mutant protesters at a city building. He couldn't help but clench his fist at the sight of them.

"I'm so bored." Logan looked down to see that Jubilee was now awake. She sat up on the couch, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Let's go do something."

"Like what, p'tite?" Gambit asked with a smile.

"I don't know." She replied, thinking to herself for a second. "Anything!"

She talked them into it. The sun was setting as they drove down the road in Logan's jeep. Logan was driving while Gambit sat in the passenger seat and Jubilee in the back. She finally got them to give in and take her out to shoot some pool.

They pulled up to the pool hall and Gambit slipped on a pair of sunglasses to hide his eyes before following through the front door. They had been in plenty of bar fights over being mutants and his red on black eyes were a sure giveaway and called out for trouble from mutant haters. Several of the occupants inside looked in their direction when they entered the building and it appeared as if strangers were frowned upon here. Their glares were ignored as Logan led the way to a pool table and they began setting up a game.

"You break, Gumbo." Logan said, ignoring the stares still focused on them and tossing Gambit a pool cue.

"You got it, mon ami." Gambit replied as he got in position to take his first shot. "Watch and learn. Gambit show you how it's done."

Gambit started the game by sinking several balls before losing his turn. Logan was next and sank a few balls before missing a shot, giving Jubilee the oppertunity to make her move. She managed to knock the balls around the table, but failed to sink any. They payed no attention to the eyes still concentrated on them and continued to play. Soon an hour had passed. Then another...

"Admit it, Logan, you lost." Gambit looked over the table as he made his way around it.

"It ain't over yet, Gumbo." Logan replied. "Now quit yer yappin' and shoot."

Logan glanced over at the bar where Jubilee had gone to get them drinks. He had been keeping an eye on her, not sure if they would have trouble with any of the men sitting at the counter. Gambit smiled when he noticed the concerned look in his eyes.

"Relax." He said, lining up his pool cue with a ball. "P'tite can take care of herself."

Logan turned back to Gambit just as he sank the last ball, winning the game. A smug smile appeared on Gambit's face as he took the winning ball out of the table pocket and tossed it to him.

"Dat's game." His smile grew when Logan let out a low, annoyed grunt as he turned back to check up on Jubilee.

She was now carrying their drinks over to them. Logan felt relieved and relaxed a little as she reached the table. Just then he caught sight of a man approaching her from behind. The man grabbed her arm, causing her to almost spill the drinks she was carrying.

"Hey!" She shouted, trying to pull her arm free from his grip. "Get your hands off me!"

Without a moments warning the man found himself on the ground and looking up at the fist that sent him there. He grabbed his jaw that was throbbing with pain and met the gaze of a very angry Logan.

"You lay a hand on her again and I use these!" Logan growled as he held his fist up, revealing his adamantium claws.

Gambit quickly got beside Jubilee, preparing for whatever was about to unfold. He tossed his glasses aside, knowing that his eyes made no difference now and pulled a card out.

"They're mutants!" The man on the ground shouted as the entire bar burst out with angry shouts from the surrounding crowd.

"Yeah." Logan replied, ready for the attack that was sure to follow. "What of it, Bub?"

Nearly a dozen men charged towards them and pulled out weapons as they approached. Gambit glanced over at the bar just in time to see the bartender pull out a shotgun and quickly charged the card he was holding. He sent it flying through the air and it blew the gun to pieces on impact, knocking the bartender back into the wall behind him.

Logan cut a wooden baseball bat in half as it was swung at him and grabbed the man trying to hit him by the collar of his shirt. He threw the man into several other attackers, knocking them all to the ground.

Gambit easily dodged a mans attempt to hit him in the face and knocked the man uncontious with an elbow to the temple. Logan was busy fending off another attack when a man pulled out a knife and prepared to stab him from behind. Jubilee broke a pool cue over his head and knocked him out cold before he got the chance. She proudly smiled to herself before getting grabbed from behind.

"Let go of me!" She knocked her attacker back away from her and turned to face him. "Let's see how tough you are when you're not sneaking up from behind!"

Gambit kicked the man before Jubilee could react. The man slammed into a nearby table and Gambit turned to her with a smile. "Careful, p'tite."

"I was handling it myself, thank you very much!" Jubilee exclaimed while crossing her arms.

Suddenly a man flew through the air and landed on the ground near them, rolling into the wall with a loud thud. They looked over at Logan who was standing in the middle of many of the uncontious men. Jubilee took a look around and saw that they were the only ones left standing.

"Maybe we should go." She said as Logan retracted his claws.

"Where have you been?" Storm asked when the three of them walked into the kitchen.

"Took the kid out for awhile." Logan replied, walking towards the refridgerator and sniffing the air. "Milk's bad."

"And where did you go?" Storm was a little suspicious. She could tell when Logan was avoiding a conversation he didn't want to have. He would often give short answers or try to change the subject.

"You know." Jubilee answered, shrugging off the question. "Just out."

"Out?" Storm gave Gambit a knowing look and he smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"Not ta worry, Stormy." He brushed past her and joined Logan at the refridgerator to look for something to eat. She watched them dig through the refridgerator for a moment before deciding to just let it go.

"Everybody to the War Room." Scott's voice caught everybody's attention. He had entered the room without any of them noticing.

"What's going on?" Jubilee asked, turning to face him.

"We have trouble." He answered before walking out of the room without another word.

Gambit looked down at the sandwich materials he had gathered in his hands and sighed, putting them back in the refridgerator. He knew his meal would have to wait. They followed Scott to the War Room and the others were already there waiting. Rogue and Jean were sitting at the table while Beast was looking over something with Professor Xavier.

"Good, you're all here." Xavier spotted the others as they walked in. "Have a seat."

They all took their seats around the table and Gambit leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs and resting his feet on the table in front of him. "So what's de problem?"

Beast cleared his throat before speaking. "We seem to have a problem with the Friends Of Humanity."

"Yes, we do." Professor Xavier added. "It seems the FOH have abducted several mutants and are planning to make examples of them."

"Examples?" Rogue asked.

"Yes." Xavier quickly answered. "They plan to hold executions at their rally tonight."

"So then we pay the Friends Of Humanity a little visit." Logan was clearly angry. "I'll enjoy makin' em let those hostages go."

"How many mutants are we talking about here?" Scott asked.

"We don't know." Beast replied. "Only that it is a group."

"So then what are we waiting for?" Jubilee stood up, ready for action. "Let's go!"

"Not so fast, Jubilee." Xavier held his hand up to calm her down. "We need to get in and get out without alerting anybody. We must avoid any confrontation."

"You gotta be kiddin' me?!" Rogue crossed her arms in protest. "They're ready 'ta start killin' those mutants and you're worried about hurtin' any of em?"

"Yes, Rogue." Xavier calmly replied. "We don't want to cause any more problems than we already have. We just want to get them and get out."

"When will we be going?" Storm cut in before there was an argument.

"We need to get there as soon as possible." Xavier answered, turning to Scott. "We'll divide you into two teams. Cyclops will take Jean and Wolverine. Storm will take Gambit, Rogue and Jubilee. Beast will stay behind with me for obvious reasons."

"Yes, my appearance would surely defeat any chances of getting in unnoticed." Beast added. "We will be standing by if any assistance is needed."

"So let's get a move on." Gambit slid his feet off the table and got up from his chair. "We wait too long and it be too late, non?"

"I'm with the Cajun." Logan replied, getting up out of his chair. "I say we stop wastin' our time talkin' about it and go take care of business."

"Remember, no one is to be harmed." Xavier said as the team began to get up to leave.

"Sure, Chuck." Logan sarcastically replied. "How 'bout you tell them the same thing."

Professor Xavier didn't comment on Logan's sarcastic remark and watched the team as they left the room.

"Alright, everybody be ready in five minutes." Scott began giving orders as soon as they were out in the hall. He was the first to head off in the direction of his room to prepare for the mission and the others then did the same.