A/N This fanfiction is warping into a conglomeration of all the X-men plots from the animated series, comics, as well as the movies. I'll be picking and choosing bits and pieces. For instance the sudden emergence of the Savage Lands is revealed through the all-knowing Cerebro. Plus, I figure Professor X knows everything he's just only letting his X-men know a little at a time. He seems to work on one of those 'need to know' basis. If you don't have a heavy knowledge-bank of X-men I suggest using the all-powerful Wikipedia as a resource for any questions you might have. Thanks for bearing with me!

Gambling: Chapter XI: Cross-country

Escaping Sinister's lair had been a little too easy. It was as if the crazed geneticist had allowed them to leave. That was the only explanation, but that didn't make any sense. Lately, not much was making sense.

It was cold flying in the lower levels of the stratosphere. Rogue had tried flying higher, but discovered the thinner air made it too difficult to breathe especially with her heavy load of arrogant Cajun.

"You know, chere, there got to be a more comfortable way you can carry Gambit." Remy's feet dangled in the air and he grasped tightly onto the glove-covered hands that held him under the armpits.

Rogue let go and Gambit began to plummet toward the unfriendly torrential sea. He didn't scream, but his eyes sure grew the size of saucers. Rogue swooped down and caught him ten feet from the crest of the waves in her arms and held him bridal style.

"Better?" she asked with a saucy grin.

"Rogue shave ten years off Gambit's life," he said with a scowl. "But yes, this position be better. Good thing Gambit got enough male pride that he not bothered to be carried by his woman." He grinned cheekily. "Gambit believe in affirmative action."

"I can drop you at any time, swamp rat," she warned.

"But then you got to deal with the ghost of Gambit, because surely he haunt you the rest of your days."

She tightened her hold on him. It would be just like him to keep true to such a vow, or was it a threat? "So where the heck are we, do you know?"

"Either the Weddell or Scotia Sea. They be between Antarctica and South America."

"How do you know we're not going to Africa?"

"Because that a lot further distance and if we going that way we gonna die."

She swallowed thickly. "Good God, I sure hope you're right then."

"Don't worry," he said snuggling against her shoulder. "We get to Argentina and Gambit can get us back to the good ole' U.S. of A."

"This is foolish. They'll be able to track us down using Cerebro."

"Gambit can find a way around that." He ran his hand up and down her cloth-covered arm. "We send them a post card from Buenos Aires, no?"

"If you don't remove your hand from my arm I will drop you, haunting or not."

"You no fun, Roguey." He squinted his eyes. "Sure wish we had some shades. This sun not too friendly with my eyes."

"That's what happens when you have devil eyes," Rogue said teasing. "They're more accustomed for darkness and sulfur."

Gambit was quiet and his lips tightened at her words. Memories of the taunts he'd received on the streets of New Orleans in his childhood echoed through his mind. Le Diable Blanc. It was like he'd been sucker punched to hear the name roll off Rogue's lips in that Mississippian tongue of hers.

Rogue realized she had struck some sort of nerve and rolled her eyes. "Don't be so sensitive. I like your eyes you stupid swamp rat."

The corner of Gambit's mouth tilted up in a half-grin. "Good to know." And just like that he was able to breath easier and relax miles above a deadly ocean with nothing between him and the waves but a pair of womanly arms and lots of air.

His eyes were drawn to the area of her wrist where the power-dampening bracelet had been. If they could find a way to replicate the bracelet's effect Rogue could be a fairly normal girl. And there might be more to the dangerous cat and mouse game he was starting. Like an ending. He always wanted to have a good ending to his story.

Rogue glanced down at him with a frown mark between her two emerald eyes. "What sort of morbid thoughts you got running through your head now, Cajun?"

"The racy kind that involve you wearing a lacey thong with some knee-high boots and nothing else," he said with a wink.

Rogue snorted and loosened her hold slightly. "Don't think I won't drop you."

oooooOOOOOoooooOOOOOooooo

Wolverine ripped through the middle of the last sentinel. When it fell to the ground in a sizzling electrical heap he stood back and surveyed his handiwork. The Danger room was littered with sentinel bits and pieces.

"Feeling better?" Jean asked over the intercom. She'd hit the button to turn off the simulation and he was once again in a bare metallic gymnasium.

Logan jumped slightly at the sound of her voice. He hadn't realized anyone was watching and he couldn't exactly smell anyone that was behind the barrier in the observation window.

"Not really. I still don't know where Stripes or Gumbo are and I'm stuck on house-arrest while Scooter dictates the next plan of action. You know I'd rather be out there looking for them. I can find them on my own."

"Like you found me?" Jean asked quietly stepping into the Danger room.

He growled lightly in frustration but otherwise didn't respond. He really wanted a cigar now.

"Hank and I consulted with Sean Cassidy. I searched his mind, but he's not hiding anything. He was as you described in your report of the mission under a mind control by someone. We don't know who yet, but hopefully when Rogue and Gambit show up they'll be able to tell us more. We discussed our findings on this so called Cure and in spite of Leech's powers don't see how mutation can be reversed. It's part of our genetic make up, not a virus."

"What about the girl?"

"The Avengers picked up Carol Danvers, also known as Ms. Marvel. She's a prominent member of the air force and will be transferred to a government hospital. I tried to look into her mind, but it's beyond me. There doesn't seem to be much of anything left. Her powers were invincibility, super-strength, and the ability to fly."

Jean stood beside him and placed her hand gently on his shoulder. "Thank you for coming back to me, Logan."

"The alternative was hijacking the Blackbird and leaving the rest of the team on Antarctica should they choose not to come with me." He looked at her hand. "But I didn't want to leave Petey there."

"They'll be fine, Logan. You'll see."

"Be interesting to see Stripes flying." He cupped his hand over Jean's and gave it a squeeze before plucking it off his shoulder. "I need a shower and then I need a beer." He started to walk away toward the door and then stopped at the threshold. "If anything happens to her, I won't be able to forgive myself or anyone that stood in my way."

"Is that what happened when you fought alongside Captain America?"

Logan stared at her blankly. "What?"

Jean smiled. "Nevermind. Forget I said anything."

"No," he said walking back in her direction. "Tell me what you meant by that statement. Do you know something about my past?"

Jean closed the distance between them and brushed her fingers lightly across his jaw. "All in due time. All in due time." She gave him a gentle pat and then walked past him. "I have to meet with someone. I'll find you later."

Wolverine watched as she walked out on him. He was supposed to be making the big exit and here she was stealing his thunder. Who was this woman? She was certainly not the same selfless doctor he'd fallen in love with upon first entering the institute.

He pushed the thought aside and focused on more important things.

Like which convenient store he'd have to drive to for beer and cigars.

OOOOOoooooOOOOOoooooOOOOO

Maybe it was unfair of her to use her powers this way. But, frankly, Emma Frost wasn't known to care too much about such things. She knew what she wanted and she'd do what she needed to get such things.

She crumpled the letter Sebastian Shaw wrote to her in his precise pen. There was no way she'd be going back to the Hellfire Club now. Such a thing seemed so trivial. It wasn't that she'd been brainwashed by the Xavier institute or by the X-men. And she now knew that they weren't called X-men after Xavier but rather for their X-factor gene. The idea of working alongside other mutants that didn't let their powers waste away or were used for purposes greed was strangely appealing.

Prior to gleaning some of Jean Grey's memories she'd been content to work alongside Shaw and the others. Prestige, power, image, and wealth were the dominating factors in her life. Jean's memories showed her what teamwork and friendship were like even if at the time Jean herself didn't have access to these recollections.

It was also what introduced her to Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops. Maybe she suffered some transference and the feelings she had for him weren't entirely her own, but she'd set her sights on the man and she never abandoned a target until it was fully achieved.

Emma tossed Shaw's letter into her waste basket and headed downstairs for the sitting room to watch the late night news. There was only one other person lounging in the room and it happened to be the object of her fascination. He looked up at the sound of her approach and visibly stiffened—in the shoulders and back, no where interesting.

"Anything good?" she asked gesturing toward the news broadcast.

"A little bit more about Worthington Laboratory and this supposed cure. If anything is going to draw out Magneto all this publicity surely will."

"Hn," Emma said sitting next to him on the couch. She turned to him so that her breasts brushed up against his arm. "Anything on your mind?"

Scott frowned and tried to inch away from her, but there was no room and she'd made sure of that.

"Our rescue mission was a failure, the Professor left us to go exploring the cosmos, my fiancée wants nothing to do with me, and I had my status as leader retracted." He narrowed his eyes. "And then there is you all in my personal space."

"I could be part of that personal space," she said with a sly smile.

"Not interested," he said and turned back to the television and pointedly ignored her.

Emma focused on the news broadcast as an interview by a Worthington Laboratory's spokesperson came on.

"What we're facing is a disease. These mutants are normal people. They're your daughter, son, brother, sister, cousin. They just have the unfortunate luck to one day in their early teen years to become different. Being a teenager is hard enough without having some mysterious ability reveal itself. Imagine your hands changing into flippers or growing a tail or wings. We can fix that with the cure we've discovered."

The news clipped showed an image of Mystique in all her blue-skinned glory side by side a photograph of a lovely blond woman. The reporter's voice took over the commentary. "This woman was one of the first. A wanted criminal driven to such hostile extremes due to her appearance and the resulting alienation from society and now that she's been cured she's been a real asset to the investigation officials have against the terrorist known at Magneto."

Scott changed the television station to a World War II documentary on the Military channel and grunted. "Hard to believe Magneto was a child during that war. I think being held in the concentration camp really warped his mind."

Emma was pleased that he was conversing with her, even if the topic was boring. "Such extreme environments often breed sociopaths," she acknowledged.

He looked over at her briefly before turning back to the program. Emma watched him as he watched the documentary. The moment he began to nod off she put her plan into action.

She entered his mind and calmed his thoughts of turmoil. When Scott's face relaxed under the effect he was quite handsome. The worry lines and frown marks often marred his features. If he wasn't so serious and brooding all the time he'd be completely irresistible in her opinion.

Emma took a deep breath and plunged deeper into Scott's mind. She expected to see images of Jean Grey and was shocked to see herself in the mind of the X-men leader.

She recognized the outfit she wore as the one Xavier's database had of her from her association with Hellfire Club. In Scott's mind she'd been wearing this outfit when they disembarked from the Blackbird on their mission prior to Rogue and Gambit's departure.

He was both fascinated by her and scared of her. When her dream self approached him he felt excited while at the same time guilty. Now thoughts of Jean seemed to enter his mind. Emma took action at that moment and inserted herself inside of the dream version he had of her.

She reached out and traced her finger from his lips down to his chest. He stood gaping at her as she pressed herself flush against him. Her other hand rested lightly on the waistband of his uniform.

Scott woke up with a jolt and jumped from the couch. He glared down at Emma with his chest heaving for breath.

"There's no need for guilt," Emma said with a coy smile. Her eyes fell from his face and rested at his crotch level that was quite a bit tighter now than it was prior to his nap. "It's a perfectly normal human reaction."

"Let's get this straight, Emma. I'm not interested in you. I love Jean."

"You may love Jean, but the part about not being interested is obviously a lie, Scott." Emma gestured toward her evidence.

Scott's hands tightened into fists at his side. "I'm not a teenager. There has to be more to a relationship than hormones. Don't intrude on my mind again."

He began to walk out of the room. "I would have left your thoughts if I hadn't already seen that I was a part of them," she called out. He paused at the door briefly but then continued on his way. Emma was at least a little mollified by the limp he was trying to hide.

OOOOOoooooOOOOOoooooOOOOO

The sound of ice being sliced filled the night air as two skaters cut figures on the frozen fountain in the front of the mansion.

"This was a good idea, Bobby," Kitty said giving the blond boy a shy smile.

"I just needed out of the mansion. I couldn't stand walking past her empty room," Bobby admitted.

"Piotr's taking it pretty hard. They're usually paired up together in training and he's blaming himself for everything."

"That's ridiculous. Rogue doesn't need protecting. She's a valuable member of the team and can handle herself."

"She did get kidnapped by Magneto and has a tendency to run away," Kitty pointed out.

Bobby bit down on the urge to defend his ex-girlfriend. The chemistry he had felt with Kitty—the principle reason behind his recent breakup—seemed to have evaporated. They were teammates and friends, but he couldn't feel the old affection he'd had for her. All he seemed to feel was friendship. And she kept talking about Piotr.

"What are we doing out here, Kitty?"

She rounded the edge of the make-shift rink and performed a double jump in the air. Upon her landing flakes of ice sprouted up into the air. "What do you mean?" she asked laughing in joy at her accomplishment.

Bobby shook his head and smiled at his friend.

"Don't worry, Bobby. We know Rogue. You said yourself that she escaped. Jean said she found her on Cerebro and that she's alive and traveling. We have other missions. We're X-men now, Iceman!"

"I know, I know." He skated past her and sat at the edge of the fountain. "This is not how I expected to spend my summer vacation."

OOOOOoooooOOOOOoooooOOOOO

Together they huddled against the wall of the cool cave. They'd reached land a half-hour earlier and Rogue was too exhausted to go any further. The powers she'd absorbed from Carol might have made her invincible to attack, but it didn't do anything to prevent the natural fatigue of a human.

Their roles had been reversed as Gambit on legs that felt like jelly due to their lack of activity in the last several hours carried her ashore. He'd found a cave not far from the shoreline. It had started to rain and shelter became of utmost importance and a damp cave was better than suffering the exposure of sea spray winds. Gambit had started a small fire and they sat staring at the flames.

"You know, Roguey, Gambit got a story to tell."

"I'm sure you've got plenty," she said shutting her eyes.

Remy chuckled softly. "True. But this story about when Gambit first got his powers. He was playing a game of baseball, just some members of the family getting together for some fun on a Sunday afternoon. Out of nowhere the bat in Remy's hands started to glow."

Rogue's eyes popped open and she stared at him with her mouth slightly gaping. "Was anyone hurt?" she asked thinking about how Cody had suffered in her unexpected change.

"Just the tree Gambit throw the bat at. It all go boom. Problem was I couldn't turn it off. Everything I touched blew up." He adjusted their position so that her head was tucked under his chin. His casual arrogance was left aside as he told her about the coming of age he'd had. He knew that the temptation Sinister had given them with the bracelet was hard for her to pass up and he didn't know much about the 'Cure' that was being cooked up, but he had a feeling it would soon be a big issue.

"That's awful," Rogue said softly.

Gambit shrugged, the movement affecting them both. "The point is Remy didn't hide from the world."

She stiffened against him. "You think I did?" Thoughts of running away and her initial run in with Wolverine flashed through her mind.

"Hush now, cheri. Gambit not talking about Rogue. Let him tell the story." He waited until she nodded before continuing. "So Remy blow up everything he touches, but notice the ground not blowing up. His clothes not blowing up. So Remy got to thinking. There must be a way to control this power. And eventually he did control it before it could control him."

There was no need to bring up his hypnotic abilities. Those powers seemed to manifest without his realization. He'd thought he was simply convincing, didn't realize people always seemed to work his way until a bit later. And as far as his agility, he wasn't sure what part of that was from exercise and what was from genetics.

"Is that it?" Rogue asked sounding annoyed.

He patted her thigh and she pushed him away while scooting about a foot to his right. Rogue wrapped her arms around herself and glared at the fire.

"That when Remy became Gambit."

"You're still Remy."

"That true."

"What's the point of this little lecture?"

"Why you say it a lecture?"

"Come on, swamp rat. I'm not stupid. You're trying to make me feel better about my decision to leave behind the opportunity to be normal that bracelet provided."

"Rogue." She didn't answer him but hunched down on herself. Gambit reached out and touched her shoulder. "Anna Marie, there is no normal. You are who you are." She turned to look at him biting her lower lip. "We shouldn't linger. In the morning we'll catch a plane and get back to the states and start our way to California."

"Why?"

"Because, I don't think you can fly that distance."

"That's not what I meant, Cajun," she said with a frown.

Gambit grinned at her. "We're X-men and we got a mission to accomplish."

Rogue nodded. "You're right."

He just wouldn't mention that their flight would have a few day lay-over in New Orleans. If he didn't settle things there'd soon be a bounty on his head and he didn't want his new friends to suffer. There had to be a way out of it all though. He might be forced to marry Bella if he didn't think of something. Maybe he could convince Rogue of another detour to Mexico with a little impromptu ceremony? Such a ceremony wouldn't be binding in the states, but it would be to the guild.

"What are you plotting?" Rogue asked interrupting his thoughts. He looked up to see her green eyes narrowed at him suspiciously.

"Just thinking, cheri. Gambit let you know when his thoughts are in order."