A/N: My very first X-Men fan fiction, featuring one of my all time favorite mutants, Gambit! (the other would be Nightcrawler). This is to be set before Gambit was caught by Stryker and imprisoned on the island. Please do not flame me to bits! I do not own X-men, just my OC and the plot for this story. -Maiden of the Heavens (MOTH)

Chapter 1

The streets were dark and only few lamps glowed brightly, from where the man sat on the stoop of a small apartment. His staff was clutched tightly in his hand, the other tucked deeply into his coat pocket, his fingers wrapped securely around a pack of playing cards. He breathed out a sigh into the chilled winter air, making his warm breath come out in a cloud, glancing up from beneath the brim of his hat, his dark green eyes burned red for a mere second. The small figure came running past him in a blur, the couple features he was able to see was the dark curls that framed around the jawline of the face and the dark rose eyes. Skidding to a stop, the figure stood. A smirk played on his lips, the figure was defiantly female. He spun to see two men halt that were giving chase to her.

She did not look like someone that would seem of that much importance to the men, with her small stature and thin frame, it looked like she could hardly pick a fight, let alone run from them like she had. The men came closer, one was burley with his nails starting to grow like that of a cat's, a growl emitting from his throat. The other was of Asian descent, and had two guns pulled out and aimed at the girl.

He stood slowly as too not put attention on himself, and he could feel the familiar warmth of the kinetic energy as it surged through the cards he now held between his fingers. His green eyes were defiantly ruby now. The men before her were Mutants, but why did they seem to want her so badly?

Without warning the man fired at the girl, and panic flooded into her dark rose pink eyes, she glanced back at the wall where creeping vines were and relief glinted past the panic.

He would not aid her yet, first to see what she could do on her own, and then he would interfere. She extended her hand forward and the creeping vines became a wall around her, taking the hits from the bullets that would have killed her in an instant, but still the leaves received damage and before the Asian man could fire again the foliage snaked around him and crashed him into the pavement of the alley, hard. His bones made sickening cracking sounds as it collided with the ground. The other man roared out in anger and lunged toward the girl on all fours like an enraged beast, panic was growing in her eyes again and she had run out of plants.

Backing away swiftly, she could only watch in amazement as the burly Mutant was sent back by a couple of playing cards, and before he knew himself, he was between the girl and cat-like mutant, glowing staff in hand. He knocked the him backwards, sending him on top of his friend. He glanced back at the girl, a smile crossing her fear-filled features.

"We better start runnin'chèri."He said, his thick Cajun accent coming through. Chèri, -darling- it was what he called all the women he ran into, but this one as he tightly gripped her hand, she did not blush. She simply nodded at him as they took off running, past the thugs that had been on her heels. The man that had acted like a wild cat starting to give chase, he was practically on top of them. Tossing and aiming five more cards from his pack, he sent the beast-like mutant crashing into a wall, the bricks crumbling on top of him.

He was not sure how far they had ran, but from how the girl was starting to lag and her slender fingers were starting to loosen from the death grip he had on her hand, he knew she had run out of energy. Finally he slowed to snail's pace and eventually leaned against a wall that was behind a restaurant, he watched in with smirk playing on his lips as she sank to the ground, resting her forehead on her knees.

He began to walk away, he was not one to make attachments, especially with the female variety.

"Wait!" She called out after him, a light French accent connected with the word that fell from her lips. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder at her. "I should at least know the name of the man, who rescued me."

He shook his head, "I am a thief, chèri. Not your hero." his words were blunt but she did not seem to care whether he was a criminal or not.

"The name is Remy. Remy Lebeau." He answered.

"Merci, Monsieur Lebeau." she said softly, and he smiled at that.

"And what am I supposed to call you, chèri?"It was his turn to ask questions now.

She walked toward him, barely reaching his chest, and looked up at him, dark rose pink meeting forest green. "Ivy. My last name does not have any importance now."

He lifted her hand to his lips and caressed a small kiss to it. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Both mutants glanced up as a husky laugh interrupted their pleasant greetings to each other, the animal-like mutant was back and so was his gun wielding friend. Remy readied his staff and Ivy quickly sent the roots of a nearby tree at their enemy, only to have her defense ripped apart into splinters. He was laughing again and charging toward them at full speed like that of a bullet train. Ivy glanced at Remy, who could only give her half of a reassured smile before she practically uprooted the entire tree, his staff glowed brightly at the tip.

Remy would be ready to defend her if he had too, he just hoped she would be able to hold her own. He looked at her, her brow furrowed in concentration, her porcelain colored skin slightly slick with precipitation, her dark curled hair never seemed to lose the frame it held around her jawline. Her dark rose pink eyes were deadly. But it was her name that defiantly filed away all thoughts of her flaws in the young lady before him.

Ivy. To her he wasn't a thief, a criminal, or a conman. And maybe, just maybe Remy would stick around just a little longer. Just to make sure, she was safe. Even though they did not know each other in the least.

A/N: Please review, but no flames! If you have any suggestions on how to better the story, please just PM me. -Maiden of the Heavens (MOTH)