Author's Notes: This is a continuation of my earlier stories "Vicarious" and "Veritas Temporis Filia", although this will still make sense if you haven't read those. Some of the characters used haven't been seen for some time. Hopefully they'll turn up soon, but whether or not they do, I won't alter my story to fit their cannon story lines. M-Pox is something else Marvel through out there and then ignored until Civil War II - which is currently on-going. Again, I won't alter my story to fit theirs. Enjoy!
"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
-JK Rowling
Chapter One: Legitimately Dangerous
San Pedro, Belize
Palm trees. White sand. Blue crystal water. Tourists flocked here with umbrella-topped cocktails, but it wasn't the sort of place you'd expect to find the King of Thieves and Deputy Director of SHEILD.
"Everyone needs a vacation, I suppose," said Maria Hill.
Remy peaked an eye open and caught a glimpse of her white bikini. A translucent wrap-around skirt clung to her hips and a pair of over-sized sunglasses pinched her cleavage. Her boyishly short hair tussled in the breeze, but her annoyance was clearly directed at him.
"Sit down," he said. "You're blockin' the sun."
She straddled him. His red-on-black eyes popped open in alarm, although since he lay on his stomach, the position wasn't as compromising as it might have been. Calmly, she poured sunscreen into her hands and began rubbing his back.
"Hey now," he smiled, "Here's a mission I can support."
"Skin cancer's a real danger. We all have to do our part." She gripped his shoulders, leaned over and whispered in his ear, "And we are. I know you're frustrated by a lack of progress, but science is methodical and tedious and doesn't lend itself to sweeping changes."
"No idea what you're talkin' about."
"Rogue," she growled and sat up. Her fingers moved to his arms. "That woman's one of the finest examples of heroism I've ever known. It's an honor to work with her. But you believe I authorized her illness and now stand idly by while she suffers."
"If that was true, we wouldn't be havin' this pleasant conversation and you know it. Why're you tryin' a ruin a perfectly good day?"
"Then who's been stirring up the media? Who's been leaking the stories about Unit XP?"
"Don't blame me for a few bloodhounds."
"Who drew conclusions between Dr. Ishii and the T-Bomb? This isn't the Watergate era anymore. Those sheep say exactly what they're told to say, so who told them that?"
"Ask them."
"Roll over."
He paused. "I can get the front, thanks."
"How'd you get here, Gambit?"
"Y' mean literally or figuratively?"
"Unregistered teleportation devices are illegal. Technically, that's my jurisdiction."
"Wanna arrest me on a technicality?"
"I've always thought we had a good relationship. Benevolent. Reliable. Mutually beneficial. But if you've gotten spoiled by the carrot, I've got the stick, too." She pinched the flesh under his arm and twisted. Before he could react, she stood and left.
It was a clear warning. Probably the only one he'd get. And it was enough to make him second-guess his plans for the night, but he decided to follow through. If Hill really wanted to stop him, she would've arrested him when she had the chance. If she had set a trap – well, that was foolish. There wasn't a fortress or prison in the world that could hold him. Besides, he might not get another chance. Whatever consequences arose from this heist were worth the gain.
Rogue.
The love of his life had been inflicted with the M-Pox – and just when they'd finally found each other. One of the "lucky" ones, she retained her power, gained strength to the point of invincibility, and unlike so many others, was still alive. But there were negative side effects, too: sterility, rashes, and random spells of breathlessness and fatigue. She got irritable with herself and with him: urged her body to "die already if Ah'm gonna!"
It was like a knife struck his heart every time she said it. Then he considered the alternative: she would never age or weaken. One day he'd skydive without a parachute (or do something equally stupid) and she'd be left without him. There would be no child to embody their love eternally. They wouldn't grow old together. Bizarrely, he both wanted and didn't want these things, but damnit, he wanted her to have a choice! Didn't she deserve that?
The Terrigen Mists negatively impacted mutants, but the chief component had come from an alien planet that knew the effects were unstable. Likewise, they had a temporary antidote. So where was a cure? Someone, somewhere had a cure – he was sure of it. But there wasn't money to be made in curing illnesses. And no one marched for mutants. So governments and pharmaceutical companies kept creating viruses, infecting mutants, and selling them weak medicines to prolong their suffering.
That all changed tonight. The species inadvertently responsible for unleashing the Terrigen Mist was sending a permanent antidote. If the public knew, they'd mob the station, so it was kept top-secret. The governments would demand years of trials. Meanwhile, the mutant genocide would march on, and eventually, the cure would be deemed too risky, too unreliable. It would be buried.
Maybe he couldn't save the world, but he could save her. He had to.
San Pedro suffered a terrible thunderstorm that night. Ideal conditions, really. If anyone heard an odd noise or saw a strange light, it could be easily explained away. The rain also washed away his tracks.
He knew security would be tightest at the exchange, so he didn't strike there. Instead, he waited along the train track where he knew the antidote would travel. Two decoys would be sent in eighteen-wheelers, and since they were decoys, they'd have all the security. The train had only armed guards aboard. A helicopter was on stand-by, but by the time he struck, would be twelve minutes away. With a teleporter, he'd be gone in seconds.
Then what?
Rogue would never willingly take the vial. If she knew what it was and how he'd gotten it, she'd turn him in with the medicine! Should he lie? Or sneak it into her drink? The idea turned his stomach. Of course she was entitled to informed consent, but why couldn't she consent to what he wanted?
'One hurdle at a time, LeBeau,' he told himself.
23:10. Train was due at target location in eight minutes when he overheard an SOS. Someone had attacked one of the trucks. Magneto by the description. Good, let the helicopter chase him down and leave Gambit alone with his prize. With thirty seconds to spare, he teleported to his location. In the dark, he groped for the train tracks with plasma blasts firing in his direction. Yes, Hill had been ready for him. He charged the tracks and then sprinted towards the gunfire. Metal-on-metal screamed as the train slammed on brakes, and when it finally struck his active charge, the whole world was engulfed in deafening explosion. Agents rained on him, firing almost blindly. He made quick work of them, moving steadily towards his prize.
Cart number three carried a safe welded to the floor. He leapt inside to see a woman straddling the already opened safe. She was dressed in solid black – same as him – and her vivid red hair and cat-like green eyes seemed to float like the Cheshire Cat. She smiled, slipped the container into a pouch on her belt, and dashed off. He followed, flipping over debris quickly to gain ground. It worked. He tackled her and then teleported to his safe house in New Orleans.
She kicked him as he threw a handful of charged playing cards. Bits of furniture and wood disoriented her, and the direction she blindly ran came up short at the wall. He tackled her, gripped her belt, and roughly tore it off. Struggling, she managed to unsheathe a knife hidden at her elbow. He pulled away just in time for her blade to nick his turtle-neck. Then he teleported to New York.
"Saline," said the Guild chemist. "Nothing more than saline."
Roaring, Remy punched the wall. Hill had played him for a fool. Had his intelligence been wrong? No, he was sure the train had been carrying the antidote. Either she'd moved it… Or that red-head had been a distraction he'd fallen hook-line-and-sinker.
"Fuckin' rookie," he cursed himself. "Never even looked in that goddamn safe!"
Alias, one of his field agents, said: "We knew it was risky striking in transit. We'll find the lab that's holding it. Infiltrate. Extract. Piece of cake."
"Back t' square one," he lamented.
There was a pause before Seven said, "Is it possible she wasn't planted? What if she switched containers?"
"Then she's sold it," Alias answered. "To someone with more money and less rules."
"No," Gambit said quietly. "She hasn't. Not yet."
"No one with money wants to spend money saving mutant lives," said Seven.
"She loved the chase," Gambit quietly, almost spoke to himself. "She's tryin' t' make a name for herself… Seven, find out who's comin' up. White female with green eyes and red hair. Should narrow the field. Alias, get me some black-market M-Pox cures. One of them just might be legit."
"More saline, comin' up."
Ithaca, New York
"Clear!"
The brick wall exploded and before the smoke cleared, Avengers filled the room. The dust settled. Then, a small boy operating a mobile robotic suit gingerly entered. At Rogue's signal, they proceeded to the next room, which was more clustered.
"Keep behind me, Samuel," Captain America told the boy.
Their weapons were harmless toys and the villains were paper targets, but he shook with excitement just the same. Everything looked legitimately dangerous.
"Pew! Pew-pew!" Deadpool leapt, shooting wildly with his hands instead of real guns. "Oh no!" He grabbed his throat. "They've telepathically taken control of me! Go! Save… yourselves!"
Cable smiled. "Here's the chance we've been waiting for, boys."
They circled around his limp body and fired their laser toy-guns.
"Fools!" he jumped to his feet. "Your bullets are no match for me!"
"I've got this!" Sam cried.
Deadpool spread his arms. "Come at me, bruh!"
Sam charged, gripped the red-clad superhero, and threw him bodily on the ground. The room shook from the impact.
"Wade!" gasped Rogue. "You alright?"
He gave a thumbs-up and they congratulated Sam on saving the day.
A camera man emerged from his safety spot. "Think we've got enough footage. I'll move on to interviews whenever you guys are ready."
Outside, he interviewed Sam's guardian, Raven. She looked exactly like Rogue and had her abilities of flight, super strength, and invulnerability. Everyone knew she'd come from another dimension, but instead of hiding, she embraced her shared identity and patiently made her own path.
"Our program's called 'Healing Hands'," Raven told the camera. "It gives kids like Samuel a chance to connect with their passion. We believe hope and optimism are as vital as medicine to recovery."
"Can anyone join?"
"We're trying to raise awareness for disadvantaged youths. So if anyone has a candidate, they can go to our website at –" she looked away and then back to the camera. "Sorry."
"We can edit that. Keep going."
"They can go to our website and – excuse me." She walked away. Perfect timing, really. The Avengers were ready for their promo photos and (unlike Raven) wouldn't suffer second takes. "Marie! What have I told you about talking to strangers?"
Marie was thirteen-years-old with all the impatience and misery of a little devil. With dark hair, olive skin, and ram horns, she was the dark side to Sam's fair, frail moon. A real devil stood at her side as she sneered at Raven.
"Don't pretend like you care." Marie said.
"Check your attitude, miss, or I'll check it for you. Remember what happened last time you went off with a strange man?" She saw Marie blush. "Think I wouldn't embarrass you in front of your new friend? Guess what, I care less about his opinion of me and more about your well-being."
"I hate you!" she roared. "I wish you were dead!"
Marie stormed off and Raven rounded on the man. "Get lost, Nicholas."
"Whoa, whoa, that's no way to greet a friend." He gave his best smile but she walked away. He followed. "You haven't returned my calls."
"Seemed like the best way to get my message across, Nicholas."
"Please cease the use of that name. You know I despise it."
"It's your name, isn't it? Nicholas."
Rogue had spotted them and pulled away from the press conference. She didn't care what they said to each other, but she wanted the headlines to be 'Avengers Make Dream Real For Sick Boy!' not 'Rogue-clone Clobbers Ex at Charity Event!'
Hands on her hips, Raven spat at him: "You endangered my friends!"
"No one got hurt."
"No thanks to you!"
"Actually, my contributions played a large part."
"Because Bella Donna literally put a gun to your head! You used me to get to Gambit!"
"No, dear, I used you because you're an easy lay." His cheek stung from her reply. "Strike me all you like! You can't beat the truth from my words! Judging from your behavior, I was led to believe you were manipulating me. I've been a fool, my dear. Foolish enough to discard your good opinion and foolish enough to mistake my feelings for lust. God, I wish that's all I felt for you."
"Rogue told me about that woman in Rome. Did she fall for that line, too?" she hissed. "Every word you've ever said to me has been a lie!"
Rogue took this as her cue. "Guys, let's take a walk."
His eyes flashed. "She didn't tell you everything that happened in Rome."
"It's true," she said quietly. "When Ah absorbed him, Ah saw… A lot Ah can't unsee. Ah saw his heart, too, and what he feels for you is beyond his ability to express. He's terrified. And he's seduced plenty of women tryin' to replace you-"
"You could've omitted that part," he said.
"You wanted honesty, here it is! There's a million ways to express love. Instead, you screwed your way across the globe because that's what you wanted to do. And now you're here, not because she wants you, but because you want her." She turned to Raven. "He's dishonest and dishonorable, but he loves you."
Raven lowered her eyes, collected her thoughts, and told him: "Don't call me again."
"Pleasure knowing you," he said as they left together. In the parking lot, he considered slashing the tires of her Dodge Neon. Then he had another idea. He called Maria Hill. "If the proposition still stands, let's talk."
…
To Be Continued…
…