Chapter 3: New Mission

Logan sat down next to Rogue at the kitchen bench while she ate a late breakfast. She had deliberately delayed, not wanting to socialise with them after last night.

"Slept in?" Logan asked, knowing full well she hadn't.

"Something like."

"Look, Rogue -"

"Ah don't want ta hear it."

"You don't know what I'm going to say, so how do you know if you don't want to hear it?"

Rogue sighed.

"What? Ya gonna to reiterate what a big mistake Ah'm makin' gettin' involved with Remy?"

"Don't have to. We both know you're not stupid, Rogue. You already know what the risks are in getting involved with him. You made that clear last night with your 'of course I'm going to get hurt' speech. Which, I might add, is probably not the best attitude to have going into a new relationship."

Rogue looked at him, then cracked a smile.

"Yeah, probably not. But Ah'm not gonna absorb him either, Logan. Ah know it'll probably answer all the questions everyone's havin' about why, but Ah want ta get ta know him the conventional way. Absorbin's too easy. Takes away all the mystery, and Ah want the mystery."

Logan nodded slowly.

"Okay."

"Okay? No lecture?"

"Make no mistake, Rogue, I don't like the guy, and I'd rather you dated someone else. But as long as there aren't any security breaches and he treats you right, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Just don't tell him that."

"Okay," Rogue grinned at him. "Thank you."

There was silence for a moment.

"He's umm, picking me up again. This Friday. At six."

"He doesn't waste much time in arranging dates, huh?"

"No."

"We'll have the gates open for him this time."

Rogue chuckled.

"Ah'd appreciate that."

Later that day, Logan was in the med lab where Professor Xavier's comatose body lay. Abruptly his perceptions altered and he could see himself and the Professor (from twenty years in the future) standing in a field of white.

"Chuck."

"Wolverine," the Professor paused. "Is something amiss?"

Logan shrugged.

"We're all been a bit on edge since last night. The Rogue's started dating Gambit."

"Ahh."

"Don't suppose you happened to know if the guy's gonna be trouble?"

Professor Xavier smiled.

"I think that Gambit is synonymous with 'trouble', but for now we have much bigger fish to fry."

"Well, that sounds encouraging."

"The MRDs are looking to increase funding," said Logan at the meeting he called soon thereafter.

"There's a big surprise," Bobby said cynically.

"Problem is they get it. And they continue getting it. It starts off innocently enough, they just want to improve their response time to incidents of mutant violence. What really ends up happening is that mutants start being kept in concentration camps and anyone identified with the x-gene is chemically rendered sterile."

"Well, that's harsh."

"Genocide much?"

"Thing is, according to Chuck, most of these so called incidents of mutant violence are setup. But not by the MRDs, or Senator Kelly. There's a third party involved. They call themselves the Friends of Humanity."

"That sound very cultish, if you ask me."

"No one did."

"They start off their campaign by acts of vandalism and attacking random mutants on the street," Logan went on. "Naturally someone always ends up calling the MRDs in. The more calls they get, the thinner their resources, the bigger the threat they imagine us to be and..."

"It all snowballs from there," Nightcrawler nodded.

"Wait, attacking mutants on the street?" Rogue questioned. "What kind of team sizes we looking at here?"

"Chuck didn't give me those kind of numbers. Why?"

"Ah think Ah may have encountered one the other day. Except well, the guy Ah absorbed just saw some guys beatin' up on a mutant - well trying to beat up on him - and decided to join in on the 'fun'. Only the one guy got away and he called the MRDs. If that's what their current response time is like, though, Ah don't wonder why they're pushing for more fundin'. It was kinda crappy. We were there for ages before they got the roadblocks up and started searchin'."

"We?" Emma inquired, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised.

"Uhh, yes, well, that would kinda be how Remy and Ah met."

"He was getting beat up on?"

"More like, they were trying ta beat him up, but havin' their butts handed back to them instead. Albeit, Ah missed the beginning of the fight, but Ah really don't think any of the seven thugs managed to get anywhere near him. He really is quite good."

"Wait... let me get this straight," Scott said. "You and Gambit got together because you came to his rescue?"

"Well, it seems unsportin' of me ta just stand by and watch. Even if he didn't really need muh help."

Silence.

"What? Like any of ya would have just stood by without lendin' a hand, no matter who the mutant was. See, this is why Ah didn't tell ya'll, and if it weren't for the fact that Ah thought it might have some bearin' on our new mission, Ah still would have kept muh mouth shut."

"Don't worry Stripes," Logan said. "There's just been some idle speculation on how you two met. Apparently no one considered that you might have gone to him."

"Well, Ah did. And then he took me out for drinks and gave me a lift home."

"And asked you out on a second date," Emma commented.

"Guess Ah made a good first impression. Besides, as ya'll may have realised Ah didn't really expect him ta show."

"Well, of course he showed up, Rogue. He's being -"

"I don't suppose the guy you absorbed had any useful information?" Logan interrupted, looking to avoid another argument.

"Ah only held him long enough to render him under for a few hours," Rogue replied, shaking her head. "Besides, as Ah said, he just saw a fight with a mutant and wanted ta join in. Usual anti-mutant propaganda. Nothing about the Friends of Humanity - Ah would have remembered something like that."

"Pity. They're very secretive. Chuck has no idea who the leader of the group is in his time, let alone ours."

"So we have to find him and nip this in the bud ourselves?" Storm asked.

"Exactly. The only clue Chuck could give us is that there is going to be an incident at the Black and White Ball in two weeks."

"Really?" Emma inquired. "I'm going to be there."

"You are?" Kitty asked.

"Yes, of course I am darling. I get invited every year."

"Well, that's one down then," Logan nodded. "Chuck wasn't too specific on what the incident was going to be, but 'something' involving a mutant is going to happen to tip the hand of those making the funding decision. Additionally, someone involved with the Friends of Humanity is going to be there. Which is why Chuck wanted you there, Emma."

"Naturally."

"The other person Chuck said had to be there is, you Rogue."

"Me?" Rogue asked is surprise. "Are ya sure? Ah mean, Ah don't exactly do crowded social functions all that well. Let alone dance."

"I'm sure. Chuck was very specific about you being there and looking beautiful. So I guess you have two weeks to learn how to dance."

"Lookin' beautiful? Uhh, okay," Rogue said. "Why?"

What was with people wanting her to get dressed up these days?

"I have no idea. Chuck wouldn't explain. Said it would make sense after."

"Guess that means I can't get her in as a waitress then," Warren commented. "I'll see what I can do about wrangling another invitation. Can't go as my date, not with Dad being there. Besides, I already asked Storm."

Storm smiled faintly.

"And I already invited Scott," Emma added smoothly.

"Wow, does everyone go to this thing?" Kitty asked.

"Everybody who's anybody, dear."

Kitty bristled at the implication that she wasn't worth noticing.

"Ahh Gambit, how'd the date go last night?"

Gambit looked up from the table as his friend - if that was really the right word for him - Andy joined him.

"Pretty good," he replied. "Although I noticed that a certain bottle o' champagne mysteriously went missing somewhere in between setting it up and picking up my date."

"Really? Imagine that."

"I don't supposed yo' happened t' it?"

Andy shook his head with a smirk.

"Huh," Gambit grunted, then pulled a wallet from a pocket in his trench coat.

"Hey!" Andy objected, his hand moving his back pocket to discover it empty. "That's mine."

"What a coincidence," Gambit replied, opening it and going through his cash. "Let's see. This should cover the cost of the bottle. This should cover the refund for what I paid yo' t' keep an eye on t'ings. And this covers my fee for making me go t' all the trouble o' picking your pocket, no?"

He pulled out pretty much all the cash Andy had in his wallet and tossed it to him.

"Gambit -"

"Here's some advice, and as I'm feeling generous t'day I won't even charge yo' for it. If yo' wanna play wit' me, yo' have t' remember somet'ing very important, mon ami," Gambit said casually as he pulled out a deck of cards and fanned them. "I'm the one holding all the cards."

Andy's eyes widened as he saw the magenta glow that meant Gambit had charged them, and promptly ran off. Gambit chuckled, decharged the cards and put them away.

"It's nice to see some things never change."

Gambit glanced up at the green-clad woman before him.

"Vertigo. Would dis be business or pleasure?"

"Business, of course," Vertigo replied.

"Typical. What does Sinister want dis time?

"Just some information, and then you're debt-free."

"He wants t' waste his last favour on intelligence gathering?"

"He doesn't consider it a waste."

"No skin off my teeth. Yo' tell Sinister, after dis, he can no longer afford me."

"It's nice to know we have such a good working relationship going here."

"What information he after?"

Vertigo handed him an envelope.

"I'll meet you here at this time on Saturday in three weeks from now to pick it up."

"I'll be here."

"I'm sure you will," Vertigo replied smoothly.

Gambit, watched her leave. Once she had exited the diner, he opened up the envelope and pulled out the paper inside. His face was expressionless but a horrible sinking feeling filled his stomach as he realised exactly what was being asked of him.