X-Men: A New Battle, Part 3


Summary: An X-Men: the Movie sequel. The X-Men take on the Marauders.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gambit (damn), or Rogue, or any of the other X-Men. They are Marvel's, and the movie is Fox's. I am not making any money from this (damn again), so please don't sue.
Author's Note: Fight scenes are not my forte. Also, I am not that familiar with the Marauders. Je suis désolé.

~*~


"…I thought he was so grown-up. But he was just a child himself. He is still not much more than a child." Storm shook her head. "I cannot fight Remy, Professor. I am sorry."

"Ororo, Gambit is not the Remy LeBeau that you once knew. Sinister has controlled his mind. I am sure that you would not be in a position to fight him if Sinister hadn't," Xavier consoled her. "But we truly need your help on this mission."

Storm hesitated, then finally agreed.

"So Storm, Cyclops, Jean, Wolverine, and Beast will go. Cyclops will lead. Are any of the students ready for their first mission?"

"Bobby, Kitty, and Marie are ready-" began Storm.

"Rogue still isn't completely over that flu she had last week," Jean interrupted.

Professor X tapped his communicator. "Iceman. Sprite. Prepare for your first mission. Meet Cyclops and the team by the Blackbird."

"Alright! A mission!" came Bobby's reply.

"I told you, Professor, I don't want my codename to be Sprite!"

Charles sighed. "Then what do you want your codename to be, Kitty?"

There was a pause. "Shadowcat."

The professor smiled, as did several of the others present in the meeting room. "Very well. Shadowcat, report to the Blackbird."

"Thank you, Professor. I'll be right there."

The seven X-Men were soon on their way to a lab warehouse, which Sinister's men were planning to attack.

The warehouse had good security, but the X-Men had ways of getting past such security. Beast lifted Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean, and Iceman over a barbed wire fence. Storm flew over, covering them with a thick fog. Shadowcat phased through. Iceman froze a security camera, rendering it useless until it thawed.

They finally made it into the building. "There's no one here!" Cyclops exclaimed after surveying the empty warehouse.

A tall, lanky, blood-eyed man who could only be Gambit stepped out from the shadows. "I wouldn' say dat, mon ami." He twirled a playing card- the seven of diamonds- in his long fingers. He abruptly stopped, and snapped.

Ten Marauders revealed themselves from behind various boxes.

Storm stepped ahead of her fellow X-Men. "Why are you doing this, Remy?" she demanded. "Tu es mon frére, est ce que tu te rapples?" {You are my brother, don't you remember?}

The Cajun's eyes snapped wide open at the sight of her. "P'tite! Y'growed up!"

"My name…" she told him, floating regally on a breeze, "is Storm." She held up a hand, commanding a bolt of lightning to strike right behind him.

"Merde!" he yelped. "Dat come a lil' close, neh?"

Cyclops took advantage of the distraction to shoot an optic beam at Gambit, who easily dodged it.

"Gambit suggest you don' do dat, mon brave." He quickly charged the card he was holding and flung it at Cyclops, who ducked. It missed by half an inch, and exploded forcefully against the cement wall.

From that point it was all-out war.

Jean was trying to manipulate a couple of Marauders to attack each other. She successfully got Vertigo to unleash a field on Scalphunter, bringing him down for the count. However, she didn't notice Scrambler sneaking up behind her until it was too late. He nullified her powers, leaving her limp on the ground.

"Jean!" cried Cyclops, running to her from his battle with Prizm. Sabertooth attacked and would've gutted him if not for Wolverine charging Sabertooth, claws bared. Logan got three of Gambit's cards in the arm for his troubles, but ignored them other than letting out an angry growl.

Cyclops blasted Scrambler with an optic blast, then whirled around to shoot two more at Sabertooth and Gambit. Scrambler fell to the ground, Sabertooth growled, and Gambit avoided the blast easily.

Harpoon hurled one of his namesake weapons at Bobby, who turned the energy-weapon, then its thrower, to ice. He then fell, clutching his stomach, due to Vertigo's attack. Storm shot a lightning bolt at her, then at Blockbuster, felling them both.

Polaris was utilizing the metal supports of the building well. She ripped out one and sent it toward Shadowcat, who phased through it. Shadowcat attacked the mistress of magnetism, and got a couple good punches in before she was knocked out. Beast took over where Kitty left off, and this time Polaris was the one unconscious.

Storm found herself engaged in one-on-one combat with Gambit. He did this on purpose, she realized.

"Y'French has improved," he told her, referring to her earlier well-accented sentence as he dodged a bolt and swung his staff.

"So has your English… marginally," Storm shot back, winds lifting her above his weapon.

Gambit was silent for a couple seconds, unusual when he was in a fight or any other time. "Gambit t'ink he like y'better when y'were a jeune fille, Stormy."

"Do not call me 'Stormy'!" She aimed a bolt at his chest, and he fell back to avoid it.

With a glance around the room, he noticed all of his compatriots were felled save one. Sabertooth was still duking it out with Wolverine. Gambit whistled sharply.

"C'mon, y'dumb animal, let's go back t'de base." He turned to the X-Men. "Dis fight ain' over yet," he warned.

Sabertooth snarled and followed the lean Cajun, carrying Prizm and Polaris. Gambit was half-dragging Arclight. The rest could move themselves, albeit painfully.

"I have the feeling that was only Round One," Cyclops remarked after they'd left.

Storm nodded, staring at the ground.

"What is wrong, my weather-controlling friend?" asked Beast.

"He acts like the same Remy I knew, but his eyes… they have changed. I do not like what I see in them," she said quietly.

"I don't like his eyes either. They're unnatural," growled Logan, angered by the fact that his arm still hadn't healed completely.

Bobby had been recuperating the past couple minutes. "Oh, and nine-inch claws are?" he interjected.

"Shaddup, kid."

~*~


Rogue stared out at the mansion grounds and sighed. It was beginning to feel like home now, but something was missing.

She should have been happy with her life. She had friends, she had family, she had a… romantic interest…

Bobby. She didn't feel the way she used to about him. Her heart didn't pound when her was near. He didn't make her tongue-tied or her palms sweat. She just didn't feel drawn to him like she did mere months, hell, even weeks ago. And sometimes she found him downright obnoxious. Yet everyone assumed they were a quote- unquote "thing." And everyone told her they were perfect for each other.

Everyone also thought that she had a crush on Logan. True, no one had admitted to thinking this, but it was obvious, the way they exchanged looks every time she sat next to him, or talked to him, or about him. She did like Logan, and respected him, and looked up to him as a sort of father figure. But he was too old, and she didn't feel that way about him, either. She had missed him terribly when he had left, but she was more sure now than ever that she just didn't think of him like that. Besides, he was still fawning over Jean Grey. Jean deserved so much better than Cyclops. Why couldn't she open her eyes and see what she could have?

'Everyone' sucked. They could go screw themselves. Rogue sighed. She hadn't meant that. She just got so frustrated sometimes. She'd thought that maybe, just maybe, the Institute could be someplace she'd finally fit in at. But that wasn't the case at all. She still felt the familiar distance from everyone else. Perhaps she wasn't meant to have many friends. But that thought didn't do much to comfort her.

"Hey Rogue!" It was Bobby. "We're back!"

She smiled thinly. "How was it?"

"It was so cool! I took out this one big guy, but this lady made me sick. And Kitty nearly got this other lady but she punched Kitty out first. Oh it was so cool! I wish you could've been there."

"Ah would've like ta see it."

Wolverine interrupted, shaking his head. "It was pretty nasty, darlin'."

That was when Rogue noticed his arm. She gasped. It looked like it had been slashed twice and the wound burnt. There was a thin pale line where the same thing must have happened but already healed. Why hadn't all of it healed? she wondered. "What happened?"

Logan glanced at his arm. "Damn Gambit kid. Does some thing to cards, makes 'em explode when they hit. Hurts like hell and takes forever to heal. That kid's the devil, I swear. You didn't see his eyes, Marie. Blood-red on pitch black. And completely empty." He looked straight into her eyes. "Promise me you'll never get involved with anyone like that ever, darlin'."

"Sure," she agreed, wondering why Wolverine was suddenly so protective.

"Will you come to the infirmary for a couple minutes, Logan?" asked Henry. He stared at the injury, which was still in the process of healing. "Fascinating."

Wolverine growled but followed the blue-furred man.

"C'mon, Marie. Let's get something to eat; I'm starving."

Rogue nodded passively and followed Bobby to the kitchen.