Chapter 2
Gambit hit the ground running, Rogue close behind him. He'd had her release him when they were over the second floor balcony, dropped and rolled to his feet, sprinting down the hall to where he knew Storm would be, to where she was in deep trouble. He felt her scream more than heard it, and was in the room seconds after. His attention immediately focused on her, he saw her being engulfed by the box of light, her body disappearing within it even as it began to contract. He made a desperate leap, grasped hold of her hand and held on, struggling to get some kind of leverage and pull her back without getting sucked in himself.
"'s gonna be all right Stormy, work with me, girl," he said, trying to make himself heard over her screams. He cried out too when the walls of the cell first touched him, they were some kind of living energy with a nasty bite. His power rose to counter it and he sent his own energy through his jacket and to the walls of light, moving his arm a little to provide the necessary impact. The slight explosion disintegrated the walls a little bit, taking some of his jacket with it. He wasn't in a position to mind, in fact all he cared about was that he now had a direct channel to the walls. He flooded his power through them, but this wasn't as effective as the explosions he had caused earlier. He dared not try anything else, though, because the explosion it would take to get rid of the thing would be enough to kill him and Storm both.
He felt Rogue beside him, trying to get her hand in to Storm, or force the energy walls apart but there was no room for her, and her brute strength wasn't doing anything. Storm's screaming was becoming more shrill, wilder, she was clutching at Gambit's hand as to a lifeline, but she was twisting and turning like a caged beast, making it harder for him to hang on. "Stormy, you got to think woman--" he was trying to say.
"It's no use, she's claustrophobic, she'll run herself down tryin' to fight it--"
"We got t' do somethin'," his eyes focused on her, his mind working, "you think mebbe, yuoof--" he broke off as Storm tugged him against the box, "you could lay your hands on dis thing..?"
Her eyes widened but she did not hesitate. Taking off her glove, she touched the box, screamed and was thrown back.
"Rogue!" He tried to twist to see her, but Storm wasn't letting him. Wolverine appeared at the door, "Get help, th' pr'fessor, anybody!"
Logan nodded and hit the alarm, then ran to Rogue, who was beginning to regain consciousness. "That thing packs a wallop," she muttered.
"What is it?"
"Don't know, sugah, Storm's trapped in there--"
Gambit yelped, reflexively trying to jerk away as Storm, unable to control her mutant powers any more and now beyond reason, began shooting lighting all around, anything to help her escape. The lightning passed through the box but it remained solid as ever, hurting only those outside if they got in the way. The box continued to get smaller.
"Storm, Ororo, Stormy, you got t' stop it girl, you must--" he said, grunting as another flash of lighting came too close. He realized she was beyond words and tried reaching directly into her mind, "Stormy, you got t' listen to me," he sent, "you got to..."
While Gambit struggled to get through to her, Wolverine's alarm had brought most of the X-Men to the Danger Room.
"What the..?" Cyclops said as he entered and dove, dodging some lighting.
He prepared to shoot his eye beam, Logan saw the move, leaped at him even as he began to fire, making him miss, "Ya gone crazy, bub?" he hissed. "Your shot would have taken them both out!" He pulled them both away as another stray lightning shot struck near, "If Storm's lightning's getting through that thing, what'd ya think your plasma eye was gonna do?"
Nodding grudgingly Cyclops pulled away, tried to asses the situation as Logan filled in the few details he had. Things were bleak. Gambit was now effectively as trapped as Storm, and while his hold on her kept her from firing the lightning directly at him, the rest of them could not get too close. "X-Men, withdraw to the periphery," he called out just as a stray bolt hit Warren and dropped him from the skies. "Rogue, Bishop, pull back! That's an order."
"We can't just leave them!" she flared.
"We won't," said Charles, appearing in the doorway, the shields on his hoverchair activated. "Cerebro's given me a reading on this box, it's some form of biotic energy, but it's solid matter, it can be grasped hold of--"
"Not directly, professor, Ah tried, threw me clear across the room."
"Jean could," Cyclops said, "She ought to be able to grab hold of it with her mind--"
"Precisely. I've already contacted her, she's on her way."
"Let's hope they can hold out that long," Logan said grimly.
Gambit was only aware of one thing--breaking through the barrier that separated him from Storm. He had to reach her, had to stop her from shooting those bolts or they were all done for. 'Have to push,' he thought, mentally cursing himself for being so rusty. He threw more of himself into the struggle, letting go of his body and emerging into the astral plane. He formed himself into a battering ram, and whispering a prayer of apology, crashed through the wall around Storm's mind. And was engulfed in blind animal panic.
For a moment there was nothing he could do but feel the terror course through him. Seconds later he started divorcing himself from it, pulling back a bit. This was no normal level of fear, not even for someone with Storm's claustrophobia. This had been induced. Grim now, he reached out a mental hand to Storm, forcing it through the fire of the panic, reaching deeper and deeper to the very center of her.
"Be still, Stormy... be still, chile, it's gonna be all right." He projected calm at her, taking hold of her battered spirit and cradling it as gently as a baby, "Don' fold, Stormy, you got a lot o' fight left in you, come back now, petite, come back..." He fought to make her hear him and fought to keep off the panic, wondering how long he could keep it up. His reserves were failing. That's when he sensed another presence, someone coming, reaching, helping, pouring strength into him. Charles Xavier.
His mental voice reached him through the vestiges of the wall, "Hang on a bit longer, help is almost here."
Gambit tried to reply, wasn't sure if he got through. He turned back to Storm, revitalized now and able to give more to soothe that battered consciousness. At last he felt some reasoning response.
"Gambit?"
If an astral form could weep, he would have done so. "Dat's right, chere, jus' hang on a little bit longer..." Her spirit flew into his embrace and they stood together, ready to weather out the rest of this ordeal.
****
"Hey, the lightning's stopped!" Jubilee said, smiling at first, "oh-oh, you think that means--"
"No, Storm has been reached, she is holding it back," Charles told them.
"Maybe we don't have to wait for Jean," Rogue said, advancing, taking hold of Gambit's limp body and refusing to think about the fact that it was so limp, "maybe we can tug..."
"No, Rogue, you'll only hurt them both," Charles said. "Jean should be--"
"Jean is here," she said, "sorry it took me so long, professor." She immediately closed her eyes, hands extended, concentrating her telekinetic abilities to try to widen the hole that Gambit had managed to maintain. "It's fighting back..." Beads of sweat broke out on her forehead. They began to see the hole get wider.
"That a girl, Jeannie, just a little bit more," Wolverine said, taking position by Rogue and getting ready to help her pull them both free the moment Jean opened the hole enough. "Just a little..."
They heard her grunt and the hole widened. "Now, Wolvie," Rogue said as she pulled. There was some resistance, then all of a sudden they both came free, the four of them ending up in a tangled heap on the floor. Rogue and Wolverine scrambled free, but Gambit and Storm continued to lie there on the floor, still unconscious, their hands clasped in a deathly grip.
Cyclops was just in time to catch Jean as she fell to the floor. "Professor?" he said.
Charles went by, said, "She'll be all right." Even as he said it, she began to stir.
"What about," Rogue said, motioning to Gambit and Storm.
"They as well, child," he said, reached out a hand and touched first Gambit's forehead, then as the young man started to come around, Storm. She, too, began reviving, mumbling things.
"Storm, it's all right," Logan said, reaching out a hand to her.
"Dat's right, chere, you gonna be just fine," Gambit murmured, his voice much weaker than usual, as he struggled to sit up.
"Gambit?" she whispered, then her eyes popped open wide, "Gambit!" She sat up quickly, making a grab for him. He held her tight as Rogue and Logan pulled back, both a little hurt.
"'s all right, chere, you're jus' fine now..."
"It was in my mind..." she said, "closing in, could not breathe, all around me..."
"Gone now, and you won out again."
"What was that thing?" Logan asked.
"An energy box, dimensional, too, from the looks of it," Jean said.
"Huh?" Jubilee said. "A dimensional box? Like, it was yanking Storm out of this world?"
"How else would you explain the fact that it was smaller than Storm when it dissolved?" Beast said.
"What I can't understand is why Cerebro didn't raise the alarm--there was precious time wasted until Wolverine hand-triggered it," Cyclops said thoughtfully.
"That's one for you, Wolvie," Jubilee said. "But today's superhero prize goes to Red. Lucky you got here in time to save the day."
"I was out jogging but when I saw Rogue and Gambit flying here at top speed, I figured something was up and came back as quickly as I could. I was already close by when Charles reached me."
Cyclops eyed Gambit sharply, "What prompted the speedy return? I thought you and Rogue were taking the day for a picnic."
Gambit looked up at the slightly accusatory note in his voice, and saw that Bishop had assumed a defensive stand. He took a deep breath, mind working at less than top speed, trying to think of a way out of this. He sensed the professor about to say something, but before either of them could say anything, Rogue cut in, "It was a dare."
"A what?"
"A dare. Gambit bet that Ah couldn't get us back here in less than half the time it took to drive. Bet me a full dinner out on the town," she said with a smug smile. "And Ah won."
"You were the first ones in the room, weren't you?" said Cyclops, unwilling to let it go.
"We heard Storm screaming," Rogue said.
"Scott, I think that's enough," Charles said.
"But sir, the fact that Cerebro did not raise the alarm may indicate that we have a saboteur, and Gambit--"
"Gambit saved my life, and my mind, Cyclops," Storm put in, rousing herself. "He could not possibly be at fault here. Look for your saboteur elsewhere."
Cyclops was about to say something else, Charles cut in. "We'll continue this conversation later. Scott, please examine Cerebro's records. Gambit, Storm, we'll go to my study if you're both feeling up to it, and we'll see what else we can piece together of this incident. Please join us, Jean." He turned and headed out to forestall any further argument. Scott watched them tensely, while Bishop attempted to pull Storm away from Gambit. She stubbornly pushed him away and took Logan's hand instead; he was helping them both up. It was surprising that Logan would be the one, but at the time she thought nothing of it. They leaned on each other, with Logan and Rogue accompanying them, and Jean followed.
Charles was already by his desk when they arrived. Logan pulled the door shut behind them and Charles sensed him go away, but not too far away. Interesting, he was setting himself up as guard. He would have to speak with Logan about that, find out what had prompted it. His senses were enhanced, and sometimes they gave him clues that others missed. "Now, what can you tell me about what happened?" He glanced at Gambit, "Nothing about a dare, either, start at the beginning."
"I had a sense dat Storm might be in trouble," he said, eyes firmly down, voice remote. Sitting close to him as she was, she felt his tension, wondered at it. The professor clearly did not believe the accusations Scott had voiced, what could be troubling him? "I asked Rogue t' get us back here fast."
"Did you tell her about your 'visions'?"
"You're a precog and a telepath?" Jean asked, her eyes narrowing as she put two and two together.
"Telepath?" Storm asked. "You did not mention that."
"Comes and goes, jus' like de other," he replied, now sounding more weary than anything else. "And no, I didn' tell her. She took my word for it." There was a touch of bitterness there. Storm couldn't blame him.
"That is how you were in my mind there at the last, breaking me out of the mental cage even as Jean took care of the other," Storm said softly, "Thank you, mon brave."
"You're always welcome, padnat," he said with a brief grin. "It was a two pronged attack, mental and physical," he said, directing it to the professor.
"Yes, I sensed that," Charles said. "Very specifically targeted at Storm, her fears."
She shuddered, "It was horrible... I could feel the cage getting closer and closer, it seemed to speak to me, telling me that it would always be closer, and I would never die... Always closed in, caged, buried alive in body and mind, forever... A living hell." She chose the words deliberately. "The payment, professor."
"Yes... Jean, what were you able to tell about the cage itself as you broke it?"
She could tell you a lot, professor, Gambit wanted to say, but didn't. The little exchange in the Danger Room had made his decision for him. They would never believe him over their darling precious Jean, trusted, spotless Jean.
'That's right, lover,' came her voice in his mind, a touch of laughter there. He refused to look at her, seething inside because she was right. For a moment he thought about saying something anyway, just to see their reactions. 'Oh, Gambit, I don't think you're that foolish, are you? I gave you more credit than that.'
'Bitch,' he thought back. They wouldn't even believe they were having this conversation, she had been talking all the while, telling the professor that despite what she had been able to do, there was little she could tell about what it really was.
"It was made of a living kind of energy, and as I said before, there was a dimensional warp quality to it. I sensed the mental attack like you did, but Gambit seemed to be handling that portion of it well enough. There was no signature I could identify."
'I could,' he thought suddenly. 'Your little prints were all over dat cage. I could show th' pr'fessor, in my mind, he'd have to believe me.'
'You say one word, I will destroy Storm.' Her voice was no longer mocking, it was cold and deadly earnest. He glanced at the woman leaning comfortably on his shoulder. 'One word. I have my mind around her heart even now.'
Storm wondered why he suddenly went so stiff. His eyes had the set, pinched look she had only seen on him once or twice, when it had seemed like they were cornered. He hated having no choices. "He handled it very well," Storm said, wanting to assure him that he was trusted, that his abilities were valued.
"Have you been training him behind my back, Charles?" Jean asked.
"No, as a matter of fact, Gambit seems less than eager to develop his mental talents."
"Maybe we should give you a reason, eh, Gambit?" she said with a strange little smile. "How about a session in the Danger Room, tomorrow?"
"So soon--"
"All right," said Gambit abruptly. "T'morrow mornin'."
"Early?" she asked.
"Early."
She smiled, "That wasn't so difficult, was it? But you'll need an obstacle to overcome, one that can't be handled through force alone." She appeared to think a moment, "Yes, I think Rogue would be perfect for this exercise."
"Rogue--No!" Gambit flared.
"But she naturally resists mental probes, and her physical indestructibility will give you a real challenge," Jean said. 'Rogue tomorrow or Storm dead now,' she added mentally, 'your choice.'
He gritted his teeth, "Rogue then." He stood. "Dere's nothin' else I can tell you, am I free t' go?"
"Of course, Gambit," the professor said, puzzled by his bitterness. "We can discuss this at a later time."
"After th' session in th' Danger Room," he said, 'After we settle this once and for all.'
'The quarry run to ground at last,' she agreed.
"You should get rest, Stormy," he said, an edge still in his voice. He gave them no opportunity to say anything else, leaving the room without a backwards glance.
"It looks like he'll be difficult," Jean said.
"I'm not sure he should be rushed like this, he is not comfortable with those mutant abilities, he should not do anything he is unprepared to do," Charles said with a slight frown. "And setting Rogue as the interference in this training exercise, considering their involvement, will only complicate matters."
"He did agree."
"Reluctantly."
She shrugged, "He doesn't have to do it, he's free to back out of it at any time."
"I'll make sure he knows that."
"Let me know if he changes his mind, that way I won't have to get up so early," she said casually. "Will he notify Rogue, do you think? Or should I?"
"I'll speak with Rogue, though I have no doubt that he will tell her everything."
"I'm sure you're right, Charles," she said. "Given tomorrow's challenge, I think I'll follow Gambit's example and go to bed. Pleasant dreams, Ororo." She nodded at the professor and exited as well.
"Do you feel as if you have missed half a conversation?" Storm asked, gazing the way she had gone.
He smiled a bit ruefully, "Yes. One I'd be most curious to know."
"Do you think it has anything to do with what I told you earlier, about Gambit's nervousness when I suggested Jean as a trainer?"
"I must confess I had forgotten that until now... If he's uncomfortable with her, why did he agree to that session in the Danger Room?"
"I have a feeling we'll only find out tomorrow."
"And I have a feeling that by the time we do know, it may well be too late." He closed his eyes, "But perhaps there's someone who knows a bit more than we, I've just summoned Rogue. It's possible that Gambit may have told her if there are any ill feelings between him and Jean."
"Possibly." She tried to keep the doubt out of her voice. Whatever was really going on between Jean and Gambit would be revealed in the Goddess' own time. It did not even cross her mind that this could have anything to do with the incident that evening.
****
Sitting atop the roof, Gambit picked up most of what they were thinking. He could turn it down, but not off, not completely, not anymore. He smiled bitterly, said without turning around, "I'm not goin' anywhere, Bishop, you may as well pull up a chair and get comfortable." 'I'm not the one you should be watchin', but it would never even cross your mind...'
'Of course not,' came her mocking voice in his mind. 'They never suspect me, especially darling, upright, self-centered, boring Scott.'
'Get out o' my head!' he shouted.
He felt her surprise as she drew back, enjoyed the momentary satisfaction. 'So the cub has teeth,' she said. 'I think I'll enjoy that. It seems you're not just a pretty face after all.'
'Who are you?' he asked, trying to pierce through her shields. His attack was powerful, but clumsy, he was clearly unskilled.
'Jean Grey. Telepath, telekinetic, mutant, X-Man, or woman.' He felt her smile, 'Mostly.'
'Who else?'
'Don't be impatient, lover. Anticipation is a wonderful game... Save your strength, though, for tomorrow. You'll need it.' He heard her laughter echoing through his mind, was struck by a sense of familiarity, but try as he might he could not trace the memory.
'Who are you?' he shouted, hand clenched in frustration. Her mocking laughter was his only answer.
****
Rogue told them what she knew, a touch embarrassed and very reluctantly, with quite a bit of prodding. At the end of the interview, Charles and Storm were left as puzzled as ever. Neither thought that sexual tension was the cause of the tension in Gambit, even if he were in the role of rejecter. It might explain the choice of Rogue for the next day's exercises, but it did not explain why Gambit agreed to it. (Convincing Rogue to participate was not easy. Made no easier by the fact that Charles could not fully believe in what he was trying to talk her into doing.) In the end what convinced her was what partially convinced him, "This is something that needs to be worked out between them. Perhaps it would be best if we allowed them to do it without further interference." She was not happy about it, but she would be there.
"We'll all see tomorrow."
Rogue was decidedly unhappy when she left the professor's. The upcoming session worried her. She did not want to do less than her best, but to ask her to fight Gambit? That wasn't fair. 'It's her eyes Ah want to claw out, not his,' she thought as she searched for him. She spotted Bishop perched by the stairs to the roof, shook her head, figured Gambit was up there. She passed right by him, swinging up onto the ladder without a glance, "If you weren't so busy passing judgement, you could try bein' fair, sugah. Y'all are so quick pointing the finger at Gambit you're gonna let the real nasty get away."
She was up the ladder, and had slammed the trap door shut before he could reply.
"How're y'all doin?" she asked as she walked up to where Gambit sat.
"Pretty as picture," he replied, "complete with a new 300 pound shadow. Adds depth do you think?"
"The big guy is hard to miss, but it ain't him Ah'm concerned about, sugah, it's you."
"I'm as perfect as can be."
"Don't go copying Hank. Just cuz he had to go meet Val Cooper does not mean you have to take up his lines. Ah asked you a question and Ah want an answer."
"Will you believe me?"
She sat down close by him, leaned her head against him, "Ah already trust you with my heart, sugah, ain't much more Ah can do." She felt him softening.
"I appreciate it, chere. God, you are de only reason I stick around dis place."
"Why stay? They want us to fight tomorrow--"
"The professor told you?"
She nodded, "He said you agreed."
He gave a jerky nod.
"Why?"
He closed his eyes, lowered his head. "I wish I could tell you, chere. It's just something I got t' do."
"Is Jean making you do this? How?"
He didn't answer. "Tell me everythin's gonna be all right, chere."
Something stuck in her throat, he sounded so lost. "It'll be fine," she said, holding him tight.
"Promise?"
"Ah promise," she told him fiercely, vowing to go through the holy hells for him if that's what it took. Why not, after all, she loved him.
****