Chapter 10

Present Time:

There was no shortage of fuss made at the very suggestion of bringing Gambit in.

"He can't be trusted."

"This is a job for X-Men!"

"How can we possibly know that he won't sell us out to Sinister for Brownie points?"

"Silence!" Storm commanded, frowning at them. "Really, I am certain that if the Professor could hear you right now he would be most disappointed in you. He asked us to consider offering a position to Gambit and the moment we have an opportunity to do so, you immediately dismiss the idea. Gambit is hardly the first person with a shady past who has been invited to join the X-Men before."

"Honestly? I don't think we'll have much a problem with Gambit turning us into Sinister," Rogue said seriously. "I get the impression that he really doesn't like dealing with him."

"Which only means that if the price is right, he'll work for anyone," said Logan. "Sinister. Senator Kelly. Money talks."

"Including us," said Storm.

"Storm, we haven't even finished paying off Emma's hand yet," Logan said as they heard the door bell ring. "I have no interest in getting any further into Gumbo's debt. Hell, I didn't even want to have to pay him anything at all."

"Regardless, we're a little short on time here," Storm said. "We know it's only a small matter of time before Sinister retrieves his Marauders. If we do not act now, we shall have to fight them as well. We're already shorthanded because of this morning."

Logan growled.

"I guess I'll get that," Forge said when no one else volunteered to answer the door.

"We won't be completely shorthanded," Logan turned to Rogue. "I want you to absorb everyone before we get into the next fight. Including Scott and Kitty, absorb me right after them in case that sickness is... absorbable."

Rogue nodded slowly.

"Is that really necessary?" asked Bobby.

"We're going to need firepower when we go up against the Horsemen again and Rogue has the ability to provide an army's worth," Logan said. "Which is good, because we're going to be short Scott and Kitty tomorrow, and you as well, since you'll be sneaking inside with Gambit."

Logan looked at Storm who smiled at him.

"Rogue," Storm said, still looking at Logan. "Would you mind calling Gambit and find out if he's interested. Tell him about the virus we're trying to stop."

Rogue nodded and pulled out her phone not needing to ask why her, she knew she was the one who had managed to establish a rapport with him. She dialled and waited for him to pick up.

"Gambit," he said.

"Hi, it's Rogue," she said, wondering why she felt nervous about this all of a sudden.

"Hi Roguey," he replied smoothly. "And to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We were wondering if you were interested in doing a job for us."

There was a pause and then a curious "Oh?"

"Yeah, we're trying to stop a virus that's going to wipe out half the human population," Rogue frowned. "You're familiar with Sinister; do you know of Apocalypse?"

"I think I've heard the name in passing," Gambit replied.

"Well, as far as we know, he's at Sinister's current lab. With the Marauders all stuck in MRD custody the lab is only being guarded by the Horsemen... do you know who the Horsemen are?"

"Another term I've heard in passing," Gambit considered, then snapped his fingers. "Ahh... actually, I believe I do know who you're talking about. Last time I was at the lab, Sinister had been working on... well I was going to say some freaky new experiment, but they're all freaky new experiments."

Rogue laughed, triggering odd looks from her friends.

"Angel's one of them, isn't he?" Gambit asked.

"Yeah, he's one of them," Rogue replied quietly. "Anyway, we would like you to sneak one of us into the lab while the rest of us keep the Horsemen busy. We need you to get to Apocalypse, and ahh... help the other X-Man break him into little pieces. The guy has been around for centuries, apparently. If we're lucky it'll kill him, but most likely it'll just slow him down."

"I thought the X-Men didn't kill," Gambit said loftily.

"That would be our preference, normally," Rogue said solemnly. "But like I said, we're trying to stop three billion humans from being killed by a virus he's going to order to be spread when the Legacy Cure mutates into the Legacy Virus and threatens to wipe out mutants. The Legacy Virus we have a cure for, but not the second one."

There was a long silence and the med lab doors opened again as Forge came back in with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. Forge got a lot of curious looks as he opened his mouth to speak, but then he noticed Rogue was on the phone and waited.

"You're sure about that, chère?" Gambit asked.

"I've got three words for you, sugah: horse race winners."

There was another long silence while Gambit inevitably thought of his adopted, human family, and measured that up against how certain Rogue seemed.

"Well, normally assassination isn't my thing," Gambit said professionally. "I'm a thief, after all. But for you, ma chère, and in the light of the seriousness of the situation, I suppose I can make an exception. Who did you want me to sneak in, and when did you want to act? And, of course, there is the matter of my fee..."

"We want you to sneak in Iceman. The plan is to have him freeze Apocalypse and for you to take care of the breaking apart aspect," Rogue replied, matching his tone. "We'd like to act tomorrow, before the Marauders return from MRD custody. And what payment did you want?"

Logan growled. Rogue ignored him. Gambit paused, then named his price. He felt a little awkward about it knowing that if Rogue was telling the truth, his family's lives were at stake. However, Gambit didn't feel like he could afford to just start giving out freebies. That sort of thing could ruin his reputation as a thief and the Guild would not be happy with him if they found out, to put it mildly. Rogue agreed to the price straight away.

"What, no haggling?" Gambit asked.

"Half the world's population is at risk here, Gambit," Rogue said firmly. "I hardly think it's worth quibbling over a few lousy bucks."

Gambit grunted.

"Look," he said after a moment. "Since you are in a rush to make sure you get in before the Marauders get back, what do you think about going tonight? It'll be easier to sneak in myself and Iceman in while it's still dark. And the late hour may even give the rest of you an advantage against the Horsemen too. That is, I'm assuming they get tired just like everyone else."

"What time were you thinking?"

"Three am."

Rogue looked at the rest of the team. "What do you guys think about going at three am tonight?"

The X-Men looked at each other.

"The Cajun wants the cover of darkness, eh?" Logan said. "Alright. He meets us here and we go together in the Blackbird."

"Sure," she told the thief, "You meet us here and we go together."

"Alright. I know Sinister's current lab well enough to get us in without having to do any recon first," Gambit said. "I'll see you at three."

They hung up not long after that. Rogue reiterated the part of the conversation the others wouldn't have heard.

"Guess we'd better go to bed and rest up," said Bobby when she finished.

"Yeah," Rogue said.

"Right," Forge held the flowers towards Rogue. "These are for you."

Rogue blinked and gave Forge an odd look. "Me?"

"Uh huh," Forge said. "Just got delivered."

Rogue stared at the flowers as she awkwardly accepted them from Forge's hands. "Who in the world would send me flowers?"

Forge shrugged. "No idea. There isn't even a card."

"Aww Rogue has a secret admirer," Bobby was grinning at her.

Rogue snorted contemptuously, although in truth she was rather hopeful about the idea. "Knowing my luck, it's probably just some jerk wanting to mess with my head. Or it's an apology for something and they just lost the card."

20 Years in the Future:

Rogue found Professor Xavier looking out through the window with a pensive expression on his face. She wandered over and leaned against the wall beside him.

"Thinking deep thoughts?" she asked.

Professor Xavier turned to look at Rogue.

"Yes," he said slowly. "I believe I am."

Rogue tilted her head to the side in silent query.

"We just won an important victory," he said, looking out the window again.

"Yeah, we did," Rogue sighed. "It's not over yet, though. The Marauders might not have the backing of the Horsemen and Apocalypse any more but they still have power. Worse, they've trained the average citizen to fear them. It's going to take a long time before we'll ever be truly free of Apocalypse's legacy, Maybe we never will be."

"But it is a beginning and you have freed this district," the Professor said. "Others will follow."

"That's the plan."

There was silence for a moment.

"Yet, if I succeed in changing the past," the Professor said quietly, "and prevent that second virus from seeing the light of day, none of this will happen. This victory, this battle you had been planning for fourteen years, will never happen."

"I know."

"Doesn't that bother you? All that hard work..."

"I would like to think that no matter what the future holds—or the past—that I would still do my best to make this world a better place for everyone," Rogue said firmly. "Having second thoughts about communicating with the past?"

"In a way," the Professor replied. "I can't just stand by and do nothing when something is wrong, but at the same time, I wonder if I'm doing the right thing."

"If you could go back in time and kill Hitler as a baby, would you do it?" Rogue suggested.

"Something like that. Only thing is, Rogue, I know I have killed children, or at least prevented them from coming into existence," the Professor replied gravely. "Others have taken their places, but still, I wonder..."

Rogue let out a long, slow breath.

"I honestly don't know what to tell you, Professor," she said. "I guess that's why the Hitler question is such a loaded one. Some people would kill the baby without hesitation, I'm sure. To them it's worth it to save the millions of people who died in concentration camps. Of course, one does have to wonder, if Hitler had died as a baby, what would have happened instead? Can anyone say with any certainty that the person who had led Germany in his place would have been any better? Could we have avoided World War Two? Or was it inevitable?"

"Could a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil cause a tornado in Texas?" the Professor answered.

"Yeah, that," Rogue said with a grin. "I guess that's the thing about having power, knowing when to use it and when not to."

The Professor watched as Rogue extended her bone claws in one hand.

"I wonder if I should have all the time," she said softly.

Present Time:

Gambit gathered from the not-exactly-warm reception he got when he arrived at the mansion that not everyone was all that happy about him being hired for this job. Either that, or they just hated the early morning. There was minimal talk as they loaded up on the Blackbird, although certain people weren't below making comments under their breath about sticky fingers. Gambit ignored them.

"An alarm will go off as soon as you enter," Gambit told them. "I plan for myself and Iceman to be on the other side of the compound before that happens."

"Just let us know when you're in position and we'll begin the distraction," Storm said.

Gambit glanced across at Rogue as the Blackbird took off. In addition to her X-Men uniform she was also wearing one of Cyclops' visors.

"Nice shades Roguey," he asked. "Don't really suit you though."

"I absorbed enough of Jean, Cyke and Shadowcat to retain their powers for an hour or two," Rogue replied, speaking louder than normal. "I plan to make the most of their powers in that time, so try not to take too long getting into position, Swamp Rat."

Gambit saluted. "Ma'am, yes Ma'am."

"And here we were thinking you were incapable of taking orders," Logan said blandly.

"I just love a woman in uniform," Gambit joked.

Rogue lifted her hand to cover her laugh. Gambit caught it anyway and grinned at her. Rogue saw his look and pulled her hand down quickly but she couldn't hide her smile.

"Even policewomen?" Bobby asked mischievously.

"Oui," Gambit replied.

They landed before too long. While the rest of the X-Men waited, Gambit took Bobby around to the other side of the compound. Gambit couldn't be certain of Apocalypse's exact location but Sinister's lab wasn't that big and there were only so many places he could possibly be. When Gambit and Bobby got to the back entrance, Gambit disabled the alarm and Bobby signalled to the others to move in.

With the alarm on that particular door disabled, Gambit and Bobby walked in. Gambit winced as they walked down the stairs; every step Bobby took seemed to echo. Clearly stealth training wasn't a priority amongst the X-Men. At the bottom of the stairs was a long hallway, and Gambit signalled for Bobby to stay where he was.

Gambit moved quietly down the hall and checked the nearby rooms as the alarm sounded on the other side of the compound, indicating the X-Men had begun their attack. He gestured to Bobby to catch up with him, taking advantage of the noise. They were in the Marauder's barracks, separate from where Gambit knew the Horsemen had been staying.

Abruptly, a door flew open and Riptide stepped out still in his pajamas. A few well-placed hits with his staff was all Gambit needed to disable the sleepy mutant and put him back to bed. Bobby gave him a couple of thumbs up, Gambit just smirked at him and they continued on their way.

They made it through the Marauder barracks to a T-intersection. Gambit paused and considered, then chose the left hall. Bobby started to talk but Gambit glared at him and put his hand to his mouth. Bobby got the hint. There were a couple more turns, they passed by a lot of doors, but it wasn't until they got to the end that Gambit started checking rooms again.

Finally, they found Apocalypse. He was in his own personal lab, which, in Gambit's opinion, looked like a cross between "futuristic" and "medieval torture chamber". Bobby caught Gambit's look and gave him a weak smile. Gambit nodded and carefully opened the door. Bobby stretched his arms out towards Apocalypse and started to freeze him over as quickly as he could.

"Insects!" Apocalypse's voice boomed, and abruptly he appeared behind them. "You dare to challenge me?"

A swipe of his over-sized hand and Bobby and Gambit were flung against the wall.

At the front entrance of the compound, the X-Men battled the Horsemen. Or, more accurately, Rogue battled the Horsemen. Sure, at first Storm, Logan, Forge, and Kurt were more than happy to pull their weight. Storm was quite prepared to tackle Archangel in the skies. Logan had been planning on tackling War, the only land-based Horseman whose physical touch wouldn't incapacitate. Forge, whose robotic arm could transform into a gun, had been looking forward to finally using it. Kurt thought he was going to end up teleporting the others out of danger all the time as hand to hand combat with Famine and Pestilence had proven to be a bad idea.

None of them had expected quite how easily Rogue could use their powers in combination to stay the enemy. Even Logan, who had been the one to say she had the capacity to have the firepower of an army, had been surprised by the results. She had absorbed Bobby just before he left with Gambit and then absorbed everyone else while they waited for the signal. Once she'd gotten her cue, she sprung into action.

"This wasn't exactly what I had in mind," Logan said, looking up at a furious, yet contained tornado, which held all four Horsemen and their three robotic flying horses captive.

A large chunk of hail hit the ground, joining the numerous others that periodically fell from the sky.

"I had no idea that you could create such large pieces of hail, Storm," Kurt said, eyeing the icey balls.

"I could," Storm said, her eyes on the tornado as red beams periodically flashed. "But these conditions aren't right for it. I suspect that Rogue may be using Bobby's powers to enhance their size."

"So, uhh," Forge said. "If Rogue can handle those guys all by herself, shouldn't we be looking for Bobby and Gambit and see if they need a hand?"

"I'd rather not leave Rogue without backup," Logan said.

"I think Rogue is her own backup," Forge replied.

"Sooner or later, our powers will wear off," said Storm, explaining. "Still, I do not feel right standing here... watching. Perhaps we should attempt to catch up with Bobby and Gambit."

Logan paused, then nodded. "Alright, Nightcrawler, Forge, you stay here. Storm, you're with me."

It quickly became evident to Gambit and Bobby that their plan had a pretty big flaw it in, namely, people who call themselves "Apocalypse" are either too big for their boots, or major trouble.

Apocalypse was definitely major trouble. If it weren't for Bobby's presence, Gambit might have suspected he'd been set up. Apocalypse was constantly avoiding Gambit's charged cards, either by shape shifting holes in his body or by teleporting. Bobby wasn't having much luck freezing his body either.

Gambit made another pass around the room, dodging Apocalypse's energy blasts in the process. He and Bobby almost collided and Gambit took advantage of the moment to hiss "freeze the room instead" at him.

At first Bobby had no idea what Gambit meant by that, but since he was having little luck freezing Apocalypse directly, he figured why not? He spread his arms out either side of his body and concentrated on freezing the walls, floor and ceiling.

Gambit continued on his way around the room. He shut the door and Bobby iced that over as well. Gambit was already feeling the chill and he hoped that the meagre warmth his powers generated would be enough to keep him from freezing.

As he advised Bobby, so too did Gambit change his tactics. Direct assault wasn't working, therefore the alternative was indirect attacks. Gambit started blowing up the equipment.

The indiscriminate destruction of his work angered Apocalypse and he continued to focus his attacks on the "foolish insect" Gambit. Gambit was not particularly phased by being referred to as a foolish insect; he'd been called worse.

The room got colder and colder and Bobby ran into a problem: he was running out of water. There was only so much moisture in the air that he could freeze over. Eventually the only water left was that in Gambit and Apocalypse's bodies. With no other options left, Bobby tried freezing Apocalypse again. Apocalypse took exception to this and blasted Bobby, who failed to dodge the blast in time, and once again had his ice form broken into pieces.

At first Bobby was irritated and wanted to put himself back together again, but then he stopped as a whole other idea came to him. Slowly, he manipulated his body and the icey world around him. He drew the water into him as he crawled along the floor—still in pieces—towards Apocalypse.

Gambit noticed Bobby's movement out of the corner of his eye but continued distracting Apocalypse. He was careful not to move to part of the room where he could see Bobby moving, not wanting to tip Apocalypse off.

Once he reached Apocalypse's side—not an easy task, given his tendency to teleport—Bobby began shifting all the extra water he'd collected from around the room into blocks around Apocalypse. He lifted himself up and started drawing more and more of the ice towards them. At first Apocalypse didn't seem to notice how much colder it had gotten in his immediate area. By the time he did, it was much too late. Bobby had gotten his icey chill past Apocalypse's armour and had started freezing over the water in his body. It was a definite struggle as Apocalypse used his molecular control over his body to counter Bobby's effort.

Unfortunately for Apocalypse, Bobby had the forethought to concentrate his attack on Apocalypse's head, specifically his brain. Bobby thought that if he could slow things down in there and make it harder for Apocalypse to think, he may just stand a chance. It took some time, and a good deal of concentration, but Bobby sensed his plan was working as Apocalypse fought him less and less.

Gambit realised what was happening soon enough. He opened up the door again, and then pressed his fingers against Apocalypse's armour through gaps in the ice. Concentrating, he poured as much kinetic energy into Apocalypse's armour as he could. Normally killing wasn't his thing, but if the X-Men were right about the virus then the chances were half his family would die. He wouldn't stand for that.

"This is gonna be big," Gambit said to Bobby in warning, trying to catch his eye.

As Logan and Storm made their way through the halls, they were confronted with many, many copies of Multiple Man. Their progress was greatly impeded as they attempted to make their way through the throng. Storm sent a strong wind through the hall, pressing all the duplicates to the walls. Logan grabbed one.

"Where's Apocalypse?" Logan demanded.

"You think I'm going to tell you?" the duplicate replied. "Don't make me laugh!"

The duplicate then proceeded to start laughing hysterically. Logan let him go.

"I'll tell you where he is," said another duplicate next to him. "Just... please don't kill me! I don't want to die."

Logan grabbed him and pushed him in front. "Get moving."

"This way!" said the duplicate, quickly making his way down the hall to the part of the lab where Apocalypse was staying. "You won't kill me, right? And don't let him kill me either."

Logan growled, stifling the duplicate's further pleas for his life. As they walked, Storm kept the other duplicates away. It took a considerable amount of effort to make sure the wind imposed on the duplicates but did not hinder herself or Logan.

It all happened at once.

Logan and Storm arrived at Apocalypse's door (the duplicate ran away) and when they looked in they could see Apocalypse shining brightly with a magenta light. Gambit let go of Apocalypse and threw himself towards the door. Bobby pulled himself as far away from Apocalypse as he could. Logan, realising an explosion was coming, instinctually put himself between Apocalypse and Storm. And Storm, also realising that the magenta glow meant that Gambit was blowing something up, wrapped a tight whirlwind around Apocalypse and pushed him up to the ceiling.

BOOOOOoooooooooooMMMMmmmm!

Like a rocket, Apocalypse was pushed through the ceiling as he exploded and created a huge skylight for a room that was predominantly underground. Storm's whirlwind collected much of the resulting debris, enabling Gambit and Bobby to get to safety. Then she let her winds go, the debris fell to the ground and there was silence. Not even a duplicate in sight.

"Bobby?" Storm said, kneeling down beside his half-formed body.

"I'll be... okay," Bobby replied tiredly.

Storm smiled sympathetically at him as pieces of ice slid along the floor to be reunited with his body.

Gambit glanced back into what used to be a room and then up at Logan from where he sat on the floor. The Cajun had poured pretty much all the charge he had into Apocalypse's armour and was feeling it. There was no way he was going to stand up unless he was positive his legs would hold him.

"You sure that ain't gonna kill him?" Gambit asked.

"Apparently slowing him down's the best we can hope for," Logan replied.

"So this virus..." Gambit trailed off awkwardly, not really sure how to phrase his question.

"We'll find out soon enough."

Gambit narrowed his eyes. "You do have a precog, don't you?"

"Sorry Gumbo, only X-Men can know."

Gambit snorted derisively.

Conversation dwindled while they waited for Bobby to finish reforming. Then Logan's communicator buzzed, Kurt wanted to check that everything was alright.

"Where is he?" a familiar voice bellowed down the hall.

All heads turned back the way they came to the winged figure that came running towards them. Logan immediately stood on guard, his claws extended.

"I'll kill him for what he did to me!" Archangel declared as he barrelled towards them, eyes blazing. "Where is he?"

"We've dealt with Apocalypse," Logan replied languidly. "Don't know where Sinister is. Don't care, either."

"Raagh!"

"Don't know what you're so upset about," Logan went on. "You did this to yourself."

"I did not!"

"You knew what Sinister did to mutants," Logan said, sheathing his claws so he could poke Archangel in the chest with his finger. "And you still went to him. I don't know why you're so shocked."

"My wings were—" Archangel began insistently.

"I know what happened to your damn wings," Logan replied. "You lost your wings, and then you lost your head."

"No, no you've got no right. You don't understand at all," Archangel insisted, then noticed Gambit on the floor. "You get it, right? You tell him!"

"Don't know what you're talking about," Gambit drawled.

"The Marauders told me that Sinister operated on you," Archangel said, "because of your powers."

"Funny," Gambit replied, having no intention of confirming anything of the sort. "The X-Men told me you were smart. Guess you can't believe everything you hear."

Gambit pulled himself up off the floor as Bobby finally took on his human form again.

"I know it's the truth—" Archangel insisted, pointing at Gambit.

"See if you were smart," Gambit went on blithely, "you would have asked Sinister his price for, ahem, restoring your wings."

"Money was no object!"

"But Sinister didn't want your money. He wanted your soul."

Finally Logan (carrying Bobby), Storm, and Gambit returned to Forge, Kurt, and Rogue. Logan noticed the three robotic horses lying on the ground along with a single skeleton.

"Where'd the Horsemen go?" Logan asked.

"War and Pestilence ran off," Kurt replied. "I think Famine is dead... it's hard to say, being a skeleton and all."

Logan grunted, then looked at Rogue who had a distracted tint to her features.

"You okay, kid?" he asked.

Rogue blinked, stared hard at him, then shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry Logan, did you say something?" she shouted.

"Yeah, I asked if you were okay," Logan replied, his enhanced hearing wincing at Rogue's volume.

"Sorry, I can't hear you," Rogue said, still shouting. "There are too many voices in my head right now."

"Uh huh," Logan glanced at the group. "Now I know why we don't do this that often."

"What?" Rogue bellowed.

Logan grunted and adjusted his hold on Bobby. "Someone get her inside... without any more shouting."