Capter Two; In Which We Meet The LeBeau Twins.
Ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
'Cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep.
Kenny Rogers
One Day Later...
Sarah dabbed a bit more perfume around her neck. 'Springwater Lime'. Her boss hated the stuff.
She hesitated at the door, then shuddered and went inside. The office was completely smooth marble with red carpeting. A stolen Van Gogh was on the wall behind the desk, where everything was in its place. There was no sign of the Kingpin. She hurried in and placed the daily report in the 'inbox', setting it down in as perfect an alignment with the box's sides as she could. She was about to hurry out, when the other set of doors into the room opened.
"Good morning Ms. Jackson." The boss walked out of his penthouse bedroom, wearing his imported silk robe. He was an imposing figure, towering over everybody he came across. She hated seeing him early in the morning. At his best he was well groomed and gave only a slight indication of the evil underneath. When he'd just woken up, his wild unkempt hair gave him a look like a caveman, and his darting eyes screamed of wanting to start the morning with a vindictive act.
"Good morning Mr. Hyde." She said, not flinching or even giving a hint of what she was really feeling; a chilling sensation down her spine, and a resigned acceptance of whatever he was about to do.
He walked over to his coffee machine. "Nice dress." He commented, pouring extra-black into his 'Hitler was right' mug. She made a mental note never to wear the dress again. "Any bad news in the morning report?"
"No Mr. Hyde, everything's running like clockwork." She'd made sure of it. If anything was actually wrong than he was likely to take it out on the nearest person at hand.
The Kingpin nodded, pleased. "Well then, book an appointment to the club this afternoon, it feels like a golfing day. Oh, and move that meeting with the drug trafficker… oh, what was his name?"
"Savage Mr. Hyde?"
"Yes him. Move my meeting with him up to brunch, and please inform Mr. Poindexter of the schedule change. We have to keep all the cogs on time if we want our little clock to run, don't we Ms. Jackson?"
"Yes Mr. Hyde." She turned to leave, but he spilled his coffee on her. She bit back a scream as her legs burned.
"Oh, so terribly sorry Ms. Jackson." The Kingpin fussed. "You know how clumsy I am."
When Sarah finally left the Kingpin's office, she collapsed against the wall and breathed deeply, trying to hold back her tears.
"There there Ms. Jackson." The Kingpin's withered old right hand man stepped out of the shadows. "Here, I'll put a little spell on that." He pressed his hands on the stain and it disappeared. "Of course, he'll still see a stain, he'll kill you if he doesn't. But at least you won't have to go to the coffee club looking like…"
He didn't finish his sentence, as Sarah threw her arms around him. "Oh thank you Parker, thank you." She pulled him close and kissed him passionately.
Parker detached himself. "Not here Sarah."
"Right. Sorry." She flushed. "It's just… he's so horrible… a monster…"
"I know. I know." Parker hugged her gently, but warmly. "Don't worry darling… I'll keep you safe." He noticed her hugging the notepad to her chest. "Something's wrong isn't it? You have bad news for him. Tell me."
She shuddered. "Two of our collectors on Yancy Street were incapacitated. The people who attacked them told them to deliver a message to the Kingpin."
"What message my dear?"
She shivered. "That… New York is Avengers territory now and the Kingpin should get out."
The withered majordomo froze; his whole body stiffened as he realized. "Avengers…"Sarah cried out in pain as Parker grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against the wall.
"Don't say their name!" He snarled. "They are a story! A base lie! They are comic book superheroes for geeks to squander their allowances on! They never existed! If you so much as think that name in my presence again I'll…" He stopped and realized what he was doing. He laughed softly and stroked Sarah's hair. "I'm sorry my dear. I just… I guess I've just had a bad day too. You did the right thing telling me. I can only guess what would have happened to you if you told the Kingpin." She shuddered involuntarily at the thought, and he thought once again how lucky he was that he was playing 'good cop' to Mr. Hyde. "Now, go make his day happy. I'll deal with this little problem."
She scurried away in fear. Parker Robbin's grip on his cane tightened and he pulled his tattered red hood over his head.
Two Days Earlier...
Jacque LeBeau Set down his cards. "Royal Flush gentlemen. I hope nobody put their life's savings into the pot." He leaned over the table and picked up the betting chips.
"I say you cheated mister." Said a Texan man to his left.
"Nobody likes a sore loser." Jacque smiled. "I'm simply very, very good at what I do. Don't take it personally. I win a lot."
A large hand shot out and grabbed Jacque by the collar and the Texan pulled him so close so their faces almost touched. Jacque could smell the whiskey on is breath. "Don't play games with me Cajun boy."
A delicate hand reached out and firmly grabbed the Texan's hand. "Ah believe the whole reason any of you gentlemen come here is to play games." Charlie LeBeau said sweetly. "Otherwise this ol' place would be out of business. Now put mah little brother down, or ah take my gloves off. And let me assure you, you don't want that."
The Texan laughed coarsely, then stopped when he saw the look in her eyes. He twitched, hesitating slightly, then he put Jacque down. She didn't stop glaring. He quickly packed up his remaining chips and left.
"I didn't need your help sis." Jacque said, taking his chips.
"Regardless, ah'm the hostess of the Bon Chere Casino, so it falls to me to stop any trouble-makers from making trouble, does it not?" She smiled her sweet smile. "And that includes you brother. Understand?" She took off her glove.
Jacque got up quickly. "Woah, woah, sis, keep that thing in its glove, I'm not gonna be causin' any more trouble. Thieves' honor." He crossed his heart. She smiled sweetly, put her glove back on, and left to socialize with the regulars of the most popular casino in New Orleans.
Jacque walked in the opposite direction. His older sister ran the casino since his mother died five years ago. She used to be a mutant, and a member of the X-men, but her powers hadn't worked the way she thought they did. They'd been killing her, slowly. And when she'd died all those years ago, his dad was left in a state of feverish depression.
The stories they used to tell Jacque; they used to be heroes, saving mutants from oppression. Now their children were running a casino. It was undignified. There were barely any new mutants left to protect and the oppression had long since wilted when people began to think of mutants as myths. Jacque new he shouldn't be mad at them, but he was jealous all the same.
He was about to try his luck at the slots when something small buzzed in the back of his mind. He rushed off to find his twin sister Marie. They shared a connection; Jacque could always tell when she needed him. He had a hard time explaining it to people who didn't believe in twin telepathy. It was just… Jacque's powers allowed him to manipulate electrical energy. To that end, he saw the world as nothing but a state of energy constantly flowing from one place to another. His personal bioelectricity was so similar to his sister's that sometimes their… wavelengths got crossed. If that was the right way to say it.
He found her at the lobby, talking to Hermes.
"Jacque!" She smiled, and it was much more beautiful than his other sister's smile. "Hermes here was just telling me… oh but it's such good news for you!"
Jacque and Hermes exchanged friendly smiles and high fives. They considered themselves brothers in everything but blood; when Jubilee had started looking for new mutants to protect, Jacque found Hermes and saved him from being revealed. Back then, he was just a delivery boy for a powerful company. Now he was the best courier in the world. If you want something delivered, nothing would stop Hermes from delivering it. He acted as a go-between with the new mutants and the survivors of the age of heroes.
"What's happening Hermes?" Jacque asked.
"Good news man." He said, taking an envelope out of his pocket. "You know how you've always had me checking with the old man? How you're so sure that one day he'll snap and reform the A-team?"
The smile on Jackque's team faded, replaced with a look of shock. "You're kidding me…" He grabbed the envelope out of his hands, and tore the wrapping open. A smile dance on his lips as he read the note from the old man and held the Avengers badge in his hand. He would finally get to be a hero like his old man.
"What about you?" He asked Hermes.
He shook his head. "I'm happy with my lot in life. But… look, try not to die, okay buddy?"
"No worries." Jacque said, pocketing the badge. "This is my dream. I've been planning this day since my mother told me stories about her adventures. I can be on a plane in two hours, I have more than enough money." He looked at his sister, hesitantly. "Marie?"
She bit her lip. "Well…" Jacque's face fell, then she smiled. "What could it hurt? I'll start packing."
Jacque snuck into his father's room. The scented candles were lit around the framed picture of his mother on the side table. His father was snoring in his bed, the I.V. hanging gloomily over his head. Jacque felt guilty about leaving his father in this state, but he had to follow his dream.
He crept to the closet in the corner, and felt around on top. His hand closed around the small cylinder, and he took it down. He examined it a little, then found the secret button and pressed it. The cylinder shot out, expanding into a long metal quarterstaff.
"What do you think you are doing Jacque?"
Jacque jumped out of his skin. His father was standing right behind him, using the I.V. stand as a cane.
"I was just…"
"Leaving?" Remy snapped. "What happened Remy? Have the Avengers finally formed? Has an old enemy of mine long thought dead tried to kill you again?"
Jacque hesitated, the stood up straight. "It's the Avengers."
Remy squinted behind his long matted hair, and then chuckled grimly at his son. "You don't have what it takes."
"You don't know that."
"Yes ah do. Now give me back mah stick Jacque." He moved forward, but Remy pulled away.
"No. This is my dream. I'm taking it while I have the chance."
His father's eyes darkened. "Son, ah love you. You know that." Jacque snorted. "But you ain't gonna be a hero on my watch."
"I'm sorry if ah don't feel like being a cowardly thief." Jacque retorted.
"Oh really? If ah were not a thief, then ah would never have met your mother. Ah would have gone to the final battle and watched mah friends and family die around me, waiting to be next. Ah would never have run away with your mother and raised three wonderful children. Trust me son; it is far more profitable to be a thief than a hero. Now give me back mah stick"
They stood there for a moment, then Jacque's dad withdrew his hand. In the half-second it took for him to swing his I.V. stand, Jacque spun the staff around to block it, then his dad shifted his balance and kicked him in the leg. Jacque yelled in pain, and he took the opportunity to twirl the staff out of his hand sweep him off his feet. Jacque felt the pressure on his throat the second he landed; his dad using the stand's base to pin him down.
"Son, ah love you, so here's the honest truth; if you can't beat a geezer like your ol' man, what chance do you have against Dr. Doom and his ilk?"
"I won't be holding back on them Paps." Jacque sent an electric jolt down the stand, stunning his dad. He kicked the improvised weapon away and back flipped onto the wall, curling the static electricity to make him stick to its side. He reached out and the electrons in the carpet rejected the staff, sending it flying up to him. He caught it just in time to block another swing and shot more electricity down the weapons, freezing his dad's arms. He leapt back down and swung, but his dad tumbled to the ground, swining his immobilized arms around and tripping him up again. This time, he pinned him down by stepping on both arms.
"Doom won't be holding back on you either son." He panted.
The door opened. "Jacque?" Marie stepped into the room, her face paler than usual. He saw the suitcases behind her.
"So you're going too Marie?"
She nodded mutely.
He snarled, but let his son up. "Well, if you feel that strongly about it then fine. Go. But you remember what ah said Jacque. You ain't a hero, no matter how much you wish you were. Don't be so arrogant when you're out fighting injustice, or you'll end up on your back in the mercy of somebody much more dangerous than me." He hobbled back to his bed, refusing to look the two of them in the eye.
Jacque picked up his father's staff and left. "Come on Marie."
Marie began to follow him. "Marie. Wait."
Marie turned. Her father sat up in bed and beckoned for her to sit next to him. She sighed and sat down next to him.
"Are you sure you want to leave Marie?" He asked.
She just nodded.
He sighed. "Oh Marie, you look so much like your mother did when she was your age. But she hid all of her gentleness inside a tough shell. You're the opposite. You look so fragile all the time, that ah suspect you'll be surprised at how powerful you are." He held her gloved hands. "Now listen. You know how arrogant your brother can be sometimes. Watch out for him. Ah want to see you both home safe when this turns south, and it will."
She smiled. "Maybe it won't." She took off one of her gloves and held his hand. It was a long while before she let go. "Goodbye daddy. I'll miss you, and so will he. I wouldn't worry about him; he's a hero. Just like his father. No matter how much you wish you were just a thief."
She left before he could start arguing. "Bon chance mah little angels." He whispered, before going back to sleep.
Two days later...
Steve Redwing, the new Captain America, threw his predecessor's shield. It bounced off of four of the five goons, and he quickly snatched it out of the air and used it to block the fire coming from the fifth guy. He charged behind his shield, knocking him down.
"Yay!" Baby Susan squealed. "You knocked dem all down!"
"Good work Steve." The old man said into the speakers from outside the Danger room.
"I missed one." Steve said. "I knocked the fifth down in a tackle."
"Still not too shabby. You have no idea how many people have tried – and failed – to swing that shield. Now come on out, there's somebody here I'd like you to meet."
Steve took off his mask and wiped his forehead. 'Good work' wasn't good enough. He needed to be perfect if he could ever live up to Captain America's standard. Steve had always been an A student in school, football, and everything else he tried. If something was worth doing, he thought it was something worth doing right. Maybe he could recalibrate the magnets he used to get the shield back in his hand? Oh well, he didn't have time to practice any more. He had to go meet this guest. The idea intrigued him. The old man had never brought anybody else into their headquarters, a secret bunker built by Tony Stark underneath the Grimm Youth Center.
He came out and saw two people, both very well dressed carrying suitcases in. The man was an albino, with wild hair and mismatched eyes. The girl looked a lot like him, except she was a brunette with only a streak of white running through her hair.
The old man gestured to them. "Steve, these are the LeBeau twins. Gambit and Rogue's kids."
"This is the new Captain America?" Jacque asked the old man. "What powers does he have?"
Steve was taken aback. "I'm standing right here." He said. "And why would you just assume I have powers?"
Jacque raised an eyebrow. "You… you don't… have powers?"
"Just the shield."
"Oh." Jacque looked disappointed. "Well, I can manipulate electricity in any form, and my sister is telekinetic and kinesthetic."
Steve raised an eyebrow, but no answer was coming. "Translation?" He asked the old man.
"She can move things with her mind, and tell a lot about something by touching it." He explained.
"Wait… you didn't know what I meant?"Jacque asked. "So… why are you the leader of the group?"
"Because I said so." The old man answered quickly. "Now, Susan will show you both your room."
"It's this way!" She shrieked, pointing. "Come on! Come on! This waaaaayyyyy!"
When they left, Steve approached the old man. "Why am I the leader?" He asked.
The old man shrugged. "Being a leader isn't something you can just turn on or off. You've been this team's leader since before I got here, and from what I've seen you're a good one. It was your idea to help people in the first place, remember?"
He left to help the twins. Steve sighed and went back into the Danger Room to practice. He did remember.
One Year Ago…
Ben and Cho were walking down an alleyway with their girls. They'd just gone to see the newest Batman movie and were taking a shortcut home. "Come on guys!" Ben whined. "That bit where Spellbinder turned out to be behind the whole thing? That wasn't a twist! It's like they changed it at the last second! It makes no sense!"
"Yes, because Hollywood gets its reputation by hiring Shakespeare." Cho remarked. "At least the fight scenes were good."
"That bit where Terry had to fight off Mad Stan while changing into his Batman suit? No way. It made no sense."
"It's a fight scene, it's not supposed to make sense, it just has to be fast-paced and filled with explosives, and the audience will eat it all up."
Cho's date yawned. She was only there because her sister had insisted on a double date. She really preferred horror movies to those trashy movies about superheroes, but her sister had begged. Cho was some sort of freak genius who helped Ben with his homework.
Suddenly, seven young men stepped out of the shadows. Each one had a baseball bat in his hand and a handkerchief over their faces. "Excuse me you three, but if you could just hand us the little thief over there, we'll be on our way."
Cho paled as his date hurriedly let go of his arm and backed off. "What did you do Cho?" Ben asked, gesturing for his own date to stand back.
"I… I may have calculated the percentage of certain horses winning certain races. And my last calculation… may have been a bit off."
"Fantastic." Ben muttered under his breath. "Ladies? On my mark, get out of here and don't look back."
"What?"
"Run!" Ben charged into the two nearest guys, tackling them into the ground. Their dates ran off and Cho quickly tried to remember his karate lessons. Then his self-preservation instinct kicked in. "Help! Help!" He yelled, dodging away from the others rushing towards him. Nobody came.
Thinking quickly, Cho kicked out, down on one of his pursuer's knees. He yelled in pain, then got bowled over by one of his friends flying through the air. Ben watched his throw fly true, then took another man from under his armpit and shoved his face into the side of a dumpster. He was on the football team and the boxing team. In all of two seconds the man was down. Then he felt a sharp sting as a baseball bat connected with the back of his neck. He winced, and tried to get up, but the thug swinging it behind him wouldn't let up.
"Stay down man!" He yelled between blows. "Don't be stupid now, we just want the little thief."
The second thug chasing after Cho blocked a flurry of karate chops and tackled him to the ground. "Help!" He yelled, but the thug on top of him slammed his fist into his face, spilling his blood over the pavement.
Ben held his hand in front of his face, ignoring the pain. "Seven on two? Cowards. I hate unfair fights." He grunted, and he shot out a fist. The thug knocked it away and hit him in the gut, making him double thug behind him kicked him from behind, forcing him against the brick wall.
"Too stupid to quit." The thug with the bat sneered, raising the bat for the last blow. Then somebody else entered the alley.
"Feel the wrath of Excalibur mortals!"
"What the –" the thug only had time to widen his eyes and turn before somebody with wild hair and a baseball bat rammed into him.
Shots ran out, and the two thugs that were still conscious ran out of the alley.
"Yeah, you better un!" A Goth girl yelled, waving the smoking pistol. "This is Yancy Street! Our turf! Tell your friends! You want these two you'll have to go through us!"
Ben looked up at his saviors. Another girl was with Cho, helping him to his feet.
"Hey, thanks guys." He said.
"Not a problem." The leader of the gang stepped up. "I'm Steve, and this is the Yancy Street Gang. Nobody brutalizes innocents while I'm here."
"Yeah, or steals candy from babies. Usually." The wild looking one with the bat slowly reached into his coat and put a lollipop in his mouth, with a too-innocent expression on his face.
"Er… What's with him?" Ben asked, afraid of offending his rescuers but even more afraid of the guy with the bat.
"Oh, Alex?" Steve asked. "Just a little emotionally deficient. Don't worry, I've known him since kindergarten. He's harmless. Unless you give him a bat and point him at people doing bad things."
"Oh yes." Alex said, hugging his bat. "Did we pwn those noobs Excalibur? Yes we did! Yes we did!"
The girl who was helping Cho walked up to him and looked at his bruises. "He looks pretty bad." She said. "We should take him to see a doctor."
"Right. And how exactly would we explain those bruises to a doctor?" The Goth girl asked. "We just tell them he was involved in a mugging and I scared away the guys with my unlicensed firearm?"
"Actually, he made a bad calculation with his betting formula."Ben admitted.
"Even better!"
"What are you doing with an unlicensed firearm anyway?" The other girl asked, warily.
"We could bribe the doctors!" Alex said. "I have more lollipops. Quick, who has the highest charisma score?"
Steve looked thoughtful. "Say, Oceana." He said. "Didn't you say your new boyfriend was a nurse?"
One Year Later...
"And that was when my life started to go down the tubes." Leo said. "Well, I guess I can't complain. I mean, I'm in love. How often does that happen, right? And at least I'm not in your shoes." He patted the arm of a comatose patient he was tending to. "Sorry about the tubes comment earlier. No pun intended."
The door to the room opened and Dr. Hamilton looked in on Leo. "Well well, nurse Robinson." He said. "I never expected to see you back here. When you went away so suddenly, there were rumors of gang involvement."
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not dead." Leo smiled, looking up.
"Where were you then?"
Leo thought about the lethal weapons he had concealed in his locker; two gloves, three adamantium claws attached to each, retractable so as to hide behind the striped jacket that was a part of his costume. Possibly the most lethal weapons on the planet. All part of his new life as Wolverine. His new life where he completely abandoned his Hippocratic Oath and went through seven months of intense training, all to impress the woman of his dreams.
"I was on vacation. It's done wonders for me."
And the whole secret identity thing. He couldn't leave lying to his best friends and mentors off his list of how bad his life's gotten. Nope.
