NOTE: RandiRogue: if you could e-mail me, I would appreciate it if you could help me out. You mentioned the story being rushed, could you be more specific, so I can improve?

* * *

"Come on, keep going!" Marie shouted above the roar of battle. She was inside what was left of the community building, trying to get the mutants who couldn't fight onto the Blackbird. Running alongside them, she led them towards the waiting jet. Some of the mutants from the center had joined in the battle, but some were too weak or, like her, their powers were useless against the machines.

Scanning the scene for more of the young mutants, Marie saw a small girl curled up in a ball by the building. Sprinting towards her, Marie leaned down to coax her to the jet. As she leaned down the girl's body suddenly shifted. Before Marie could react, she had grown into a monster with tentacles that lashed out. Marie screamed as one of the tentacles brushed across her face. Her own mutation kicked in. Suddenly, Marie's body began shifting from form to form. Tall, short, big, little- Marie panicked as her entire being continued to remold itself over and over. Finally, Marie came to her senses enough to remember what the Professor had taught her about clearing her mind. Taking a few deep breaths, Marie pushed the girl's memories down into her subconscious. Careful not to touch her again, Marie picked up the unconscious child and ran towards the Blackbird. Once the girl was safely tucked inside, with her friends taking care of her, Marie rushed back outside. The battle was still raging strong and the robots were gaining ground.

Before Marie had gotten ten feet, a woman's body hurtled out of the sky into the ground. Shocked, Marie rushed over to find Ms. Marvel in a small crater. Pulling her out, Marie checked for a pulse. Dread settled like lead in her stomach as she realized the woman's heartbeat was fading fast.

"Ms. Marvel. Please Ms. Marvel, ya gotta wake up!" Marie frantically tried to shake the woman back into consciousness.

The woman's eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes. Groggily, she looked up at Marie.

"Who are you?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Ah'm Marie. Ah'm from Xavier's. You're gonna be ok."

"Rogue!" Her weak voice sounded frantic. Her eyelids fluttered again as death fought to claim its victim. "Rogue . . . take my powers . . . help our friends . . ."

Marie's eyes grew wide. Horror seized her heart as she listened to what this woman was saying. She couldn't be serious. Ms. Marvel's body began convulsing. Desperately trying to hold on but unable to say anymore, she beseeched Marie with her eyes. A tear slid down her face as Marie made her choice. Removing one of her gloves, she slowly brushed her finger over Ms. Marvel's face. For the second time that day, she felt the rush of her power. As Ms. Marvel's strength and power of flight filled Marie, so did her memories. Temporarily taking over, Ms. Marvel flew into the sky as Marie's body morphed again with the child mutant's shape shifting power. Forming to the mind in control, Marie shot into the sky in the body of Ms. Marvel.

* * *

Later . . .

As the weary members of the X-Men finally trooped back onto the Blackbird they each carried a heavy heart. Ms. Marvel had died in the fight. As the last of the Sentinels was destroyed, the X-Men had returned to their jet to find the body of their fallen comrade not ten feet away. The crater that held her body told them she had been struck down hard by one of the insidious robots. Her body already weakened from the long battle, Carol Danvers had not survived. Storm, Jean, and Cyclops boarded the plane with tears carefully controlled in their eyes. None of them were looking forward to bearing this news to the Professor. They had salvaged her body to bury in the mansion's graveyard beside other comrades who had fallen before her.

Wolverine and Gambit were both too new to remember Carol. However, that did not lessen the sadness they both felt on behalf of their fellow X-Men. Ms. Marvel had given her life to help other mutants. As far as either of the men were concerned, it was the world's loss. The mutants that they had saved from the community center were huddled around each other. They too mourned the loss of the brave woman who had tried so hard to save them.

Everyone was so wrapped up in his or her own grief, no one noticed Marie as she quietly took a seat on the far side of the jet. Careful not to make eye contact with anyone, Marie stared down at her hands. One of them was still gloveless. She had dropped her glove after Ms. Marvel had taken over her body. As Marie stared at her bare hand her body began to tremble. What had she done? How could she ever tell her teammates?

Horrible questions plagued her. What if they thought she had stolen Ms. Marvel's life against her will? What if they didn't believe she'd been dying, had begged Marie to use her powers? Marie was close to tears, when she heard a soft voice whispering in her mind. It was Carol Danvers. The older woman's psyche still rested within Marie, and she had come forward in her mind to comfort the distressed mutant. As Ms. Marvel's mental voice spoke soothing words of comfort and reassurance, Marie closed her eyes and tried very hard to listen.

* * *

Across the jet Wolverine saw Marie close her eyes. She looked like she was upset about something. Sighing to himself Wolverine realized he'd been right. Marie wasn't ready for battle. Even the stress of getting the innocents safely on board the jet had overwhelmed her. Logan couldn't imagine how she'd be right now if she'd actually had to fight. The poor kid was a wreck. A pang of guilt shot through Wolverine. He'd promised Marie he would protect her and yet he'd barely put up any resistance to allowing her on this mission. Now his innocent little Marie would probably have nightmares about that horrible battle. It probably hadn't helped that Ms. Marvel, a woman who new better than anyone how to handle herself in battle, was dead. Wolverine wondered if Marie had ever seen a dead body before. The panicked look on her face and the way she'd avoided everyone's eyes when they'd found the body made him think she hadn't. It had shaken her up. Wolverine shook his head and stood up. Walking over to Marie, he sat down and put his arm around her shoulders. She collapsed against him without even opening her eyes. Softly, Logan brushed his gloved hand over her hair. He was going to take better care of her from now on. If he had any say whatsoever about it, Marie would never go through this again.

* * *

Gambit watched as Wolverine sat holding Rogue. Thoughtfully, he watched the look on her face. Her eyes were closed and she seemed like she was concentrating on something only she could hear. Reaching a hand into the pocket of his duster Gambit fingered the glove he'd found on the ground. He'd seen it when the X-Men had found the body of Ms. Marvel in that crater. While the rest of them were gathering her body to take back for a burial, Gambit's keen thief senses had picked up on that splash of dark green against the ground. No one had noticed as he casually scooped it up and put it in his pocket. He'd seen that color green before. Marie had been wearing a bodysuit that exact color the first day he'd met her in the Danger Room. Gambit didn't know what had made him pick the glove up or why he hadn't let anyone see him. At first he'd intended to simply return it to Marie. But as Gambit sat and watched her across the jet he began to wonder. How had Marie's glove come off?

At first Gambit himself had been tempted to dismiss it, after all it wasn't so unlikely that someone would lose a glove in the heat of battle. But Marie hadn't been in the battle. She was just there to help with the young mutants and get them aboard the jet. Also, in the short time he'd known her he'd seen her reaction several times when she thought someone was in danger of accidental contact with her skin. Gambit couldn't imagine her not noticing a missing glove. Was it just a coincidence that it happened to be next to the body of the fallen heroine? What did Marie hear that had her concentrating so hard even as she pressed her head closer to Wolverine? Gambit didn't have the answers to any of these questions. But if any of the answers leaned the way they seemed to . . .

Gambit glanced up again as Wolverine whispered soothing words to Marie. Making up his mind, Gambit kept the glove in his pocket. He was going to get some answers.

* * *

The next morning Marie woke up early. For a long time she just lie on her bed and let her mind wander over the events of the past day. She still hadn't told anyone. At first she'd felt guilty. She felt like she had to tell them. But Carol had been very understanding. Marie smiled sadly. Carol had lived a full life and she had died the way she wanted - helping those who needed her. She was content to remain in the depths of Rogue's psyche, only coming to the front when Marie needed her. Yesterday on the jet she had told Rogue that she had meant what she said when she asked Marie to absorb her. She said she didn't want Marie to feel any guilt over it. If Marie did not feel comfortable telling the others yet, that was understandable. Carol had remarked dryly that she wasn't going anywhere, Marie had all the time in the world. As she thought back to the jet ride she remembered something else. Logan. Logan had held her all the way back, whispering soothing words to her. For a brief moment Marie had wondered if he knew. He kept telling her it was going to be ok. He said he was going to be there to protect her. He hadn't even glared at Gambit once. Deep in her heart Marie felt the beginnings of hope stir. Maybe Logan was starting to care for her more deeply. Stretching her arms over her head, Marie smiled. Life was starting to look a little better.

* * *

Logan woke up, still dressed from the night before. What a night. First the battle to save that community center, then he had stayed at the mansion keeping an eye on Marie till she was safely tucked in her bed. He had planned to spend the evening taking care of her, but she had seemed a little dazed and gone to bed early. Finding himself with nothing to do, Logan had gone to the bar. As the sunlight streamed in his window Wolverine growled and turned his head back into the pillow. He never should have gone home with the red head. Not that she wasn't a great lay, she was. Still, it was such a hassle to wake up at five in the morning in a strange room. He hadn't gotten back into the mansion until almost six. Things would be so much more convenient if he had a red head at the mansion. Logan's mind perked up at that thought. Jean would probably be up by now. Logan grinned into his pillow. He may not have a real chance at Jean, but annoying the shit out of one-eye always made it well worth the effort. With a game plan of shooting Scott to new heights of irritation, Logan launched himself out of bed.

* * *

Elsewhere in the mansion, Gambit was heading into the shower. His demonic eyes were clouded over, a sign that he had not slept well. Stripping his body of his rumpled clothes, Gambit groggily stepped into the shower and turned the water on as cold as he could take it. Turning his face to the cool spray he went over again in his mind the dilemma he was in.

He had to find out what had happened between Rogue and Ms. Marvel, but he didn't want to involve anyone else. He'd seen the way they all went on super-cautious mode around Marie. Even the ones closest to her kept their distance. Well, except for Wolverine. Gambit rolled is eyes. The man had no class. He had taken the caveman thing way too far. Gambit couldn't figure out if he really cared for Marie or not. On the one hand, he had held her protectively on the Blackbird after the mission yesterday. However, before that Gambit had caught him holding his claws above Marie's heart. Gambit didn't care what he was doing, that was no way to express one's love. In any case, Wolverine didn't seem to have the vaguest clue about what might have happened between Marie and Ms. Marvel. Even Gambit wished he knew for sure.

What if she had attacked Ms. Marvel? Sure, she seemed innocent, but Gambit had met many manipulative people in his life. Her innocence could just be a front. After all, with her ability to steal other mutants' powers, a school for mutants would be the perfect place to be. Especially with a whole team of strong mutants. Maybe Rogue had integrated herself in this place for just this purpose. Ms. Marvel's death certainly seemed natural enough. And who's to know she did it? No one could possibly keep an eye on everyone in the heat of battle. It was the perfect setup.

As the possibility that Rogue was an enemy tried to take control of Gambit's mind with logic, another side of him spoke up. Gambit found himself remembering that first day on the roof. When he and Marie had sat there and shared their mutation stories. Even now, looking back, Gambit did not regret telling Marie about Belle. That surprised him more than he wanted to admit. He never talked about Belle. Ever. Yet, he had gone and told Marie the first day he met her. Part of Gambit's powers included empathy and he had felt very comfortable in baring his soul to Marie about that particular part of his past. He had sensed that similar pain in her. If he were to go by his empathy, which had never misled him before, he would have to say Marie was who she said she was. A young woman from Mississippi tortured by a mutation that denied her any physical contact with those she cared for. But Gambit had never met a mutant who could steal another mutant's memories. What if Rogue had absorbed others besides Ms. Marvel? What if that mix of psyches made her able to fool his empathy? Making people feel instantly comfortable was usually a good sign that someone was manipulative. Again Gambit groaned in frustration. There was no simple answer to these questions. He was simply going to have to find out himself. Somehow he had to get close to this untouchable mutant and find out the truth.

The only obstacle that might get in his way was Wolverine. Even if Logan didn't show much affection for Marie, Gambit sensed that she might have enough for both of them. He was observant enough to notice she had a thing for him. The dog tags around her neck were a pretty good sign. Still, Gambit had never been one to back down from a challenge.

Smiling, and refreshed with the thought of a plan, Gambit turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Toweling himself off, he wrapped the towel around his waist and pushed open the bathroom door - and ran right into Marie.

Marie stopped so abruptly she nearly fell and Gambit had to reach out to catch her. Holding her up in his arms Gambit had a very strong sense of deja vu.

"Chere we got t' keep meetin' like dis."

Marie seemed too shocked to say anything. Without realizing what she was doing, she looked Gambit up and down. The lower half of her body was pressed too close to his for her to see his legs. The white terrycloth towel he was wearing draped around his hips was slung low enough that she could see a flat abdomen leading up to a smooth and muscled chest. His skin had a natural tan and was soft to the touch. Even with her gloves on Marie could feel the soft texture of his skin over the hardness of his muscle. As her eyes continued their trail up to his neck, Marie didn't notice Gambit watching her.

Sensing a perfect opportunity, Gambit allowed her to appraise his body before breaking in.

"See any 'ting y' like chere?"

As predicted Marie immediately blushed a charming shade of red. Stepping quickly out of his arms and standing on her own two feet once again she tried to meet his gaze.

"Maybe" she replied flippantly. Stunned by her own words, Marie carefully kept her face a cool mask of composure. Gambit grinned even wider.

"Perhaps, ma chere would like t' see de whole package b' fore decidin'?"

"Not now, Ah'm afraid. Ah need ta get a shower an then Ah was gonna run some errands." Marie as amazed at how even her voice was coming out. She was flirting!

"Surely a beautiful lady like y' self wouldn't be goin' alone? I would be most honored, Mademoiselle Marie if you would allow dis Cajun t' escort you." He gave a sweeping bow.

Marie couldn't help but wonder how anyone could be so suave while wearing nothing but a towel. Still, she slipped into her best Scarlet O' Hara to reply.

"Why suh, Ah would be delaghted." She held her gloved hand out to him and Gambit obligingly took it in his and laid a soft kiss on her glove.

"Gambit be ready at one chere."

"Ah'll be waitin'." With that Marie turned and practically sashayed back to her room.

Gambit could not stop smiling. He had never seen Marie so confident. Instead of folding under his playful advances she had met him step for step. He found that he was truly looking forward to this date.

As Gambit turned to go back to his room a thought occurred to him that wiped the smile off his face. What was with the change in attitude? Marie was usually so shy around him, now all of a sudden she's Miss. Confidence? A wisp of dread began to thread its way into Gambit's stomach. He had never formally met Ms. Marvel, but he was beginning to wonder if she'd been a confident woman with the gentlemen. Damn. Gambit mentally kicked himself. Here he thought he was supposed to be the one with the plan and Marie was wrapping him around her little finger. He was going to have to be more careful. With renewed determination, Gambit went back to his room.

* * *

When Marie got back to her room she closed the door and leaned heavily against it. Her knees felt weak and she was so giddy her hands were trembling. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Nope. She was still giddy. Laughing she ran and threw herself on her bed. Rolling onto her back she stared up at the ceiling, a grin splitting her face. She was feeling a rush like she'd never felt before. Even though she was twenty years old, her powers had always discouraged her from any kind of dating. She'd never even really flirted, for fear they would think she was offering something she could never give them. Somehow she hadn't worried about any of that just now with Gambit.

Suddenly a picture of Logan flashed through her mind. Marie sobered up. Logan. He had just started getting closer to her again. What was she doing with Gambit? Now she remembered her earlier plan. She had been going to ask Logan for a ride into town. That's why she was going to do errands. A ride into town on the back of a motorcycle necessitated her putting her arms around Logan's waist. That was a thrill she seldom got to experience and now she'd wasted an opportunity by accepting a ride from that Cajun. Shit.

Then again maybe this would give Logan a wake up call. Maybe if she started going out with Gambit every once in a while, Logan would feel possessive over her and realize he had feelings for her. A smile slowly began to return to Marie's face. Having a good time with Gambit wasn't going to hurt anyone, and maybe seeing her with Gambit would make Logan realize how grown up she'd become. As these new happy thoughts paraded through her mind Marie laughed.

* * *

1:00

Gambit was sitting on a chair in the main lounge waiting for Rogue. He was dressed in a pair of powder blue jeans, which were shredded at each knee, and a clean white t-shirt that clung to his muscles and accented the tan of his skin. His reddish brown hair was left long and loose to lie across his shoulders. Stretched out in the chair he thought over how he was going to go about this.

He had to get to know her. Maybe he was way off base thinking she'd done anything out of line. Maybe this was all an honest mistake. Maybe he was losing his mind.

Gambit ran a hand through his hair. If he were going to be brutally honest with himself he'd have to admit that it wouldn't really prove anything about Marie even if she had done something to Ms. Marvel. One wrong does not an evil person make. At least Gambit hoped so. If one wrong did an evil person make he hated to imagine what he was. Shuddering at the memory those thoughts evoked, Gambit prayed once again that his new friends would never find out what he'd done. He knew they believed in second chances, but he couldn't imagine them forgiving him that one heinous night. He knew he never would.

That thought brought a sense of pointlessness to Gambit's whole plan. How could he possibly hope to judge Marie after what he himself had done?

Still, he told himself, he was trying to make up for that. He hoped that joining the X-Men would give him a chance to in some small way relieve the guilt he still felt over that night. And maybe by protecting the X-Men like he hadn't protected others he could save his soul. If Rogue did turn out to be a threat he may be the only one who was in a position to stop her.

Gambit groaned and closed his eyes. He liked her. God he hoped she was what everyone thought.

"Whatsa matter Gumbo? All that hair givin' you a headache?"

Gambit opened his eyes to see Wolverine watching him from the hall. He straightened up in his chair. He needed to be a little cautious.

"Why Wolverine, Gambit didn't know you cared."

"Of course I care. As a matter of fact if you wanna follow me to the Danger Room I'll make sure you never have a headache again." A feral grin spread over Wolverine's face as he anticipated Gambit's acceptance of the challenge.

Gambit leveled a steady look at him.

"I'd love to mon ami, but Gambit already promised Marie he'd take her out," he drawled. He tried not to smile as he watched the enraged look on Logan's face.

In a flash Wolverine had leapt at him from across the room. Gambit launched himself up out of the chair just as Wolverine landed in the space where he'd been sitting. Spinning around he faced Gambit. The two men began to circle one another.

"You stay away from Marie," Wolverine ground out from behind gritted teeth.

"I 'tink de lady can make her own decisions."

Wolverine's claws burst from their sheaths. He took a menacing step forward, but Gambit held his ground as his eyes began to glow.

"Ah hope ya'll are gettin' along down here."

At the sound of her voice both men spun around, Wolverine quickly re-sheathing his claws and Gambit's eyes fading back to normal. Both of them smiled innocently at Marie as she warily eyed them from the stairs.

"Ya'll seem as tense as a couple a long tailed cats in a room full a rockin' chairs." Marie commented tentatively as she watched the two men. Looking from face to face she tried to figure out what was going on.

"Hey kid, how's it goin'?" Wolverine searched Marie's face for any sign of distress. He wondered if she'd had any nightmares about the battle. Before Marie could reply, Gambit interjected.

"Gambit was merely awaiting y' presence. Ma chere, y' look beautiful." Gambit said as he went to meet Marie as she came downstairs. Taking her hand in his he laid a kiss on her glove. He couldn't help but run his gaze over her. She was wearing a snug pair of blue jeans and black boots. Her shirt was a deep emerald green silk blouse that cut low in the front to reveal more smooth curves, and a sheer scarf of a slightly lighter shade of green was wrapped around her neck. His gaze faltered a little as it fell on the dogtags that still rested on her chest. Recovering smoothly he stood up and turned to open the door for her.

"Y' ready t' go?"

"Yeah, sure." Marie said absently. She looked over at Logan as she and Gambit turned to leave. The veins in his neck were huge and he looked like he wanted to kill someone. What had happened to upset him like that? Marie walked out the door still wondering. As soon as the door closed behind her Wolverine dashed to the Danger Room. He needed to destroy something so he was controlled enough to wait for Gambit. No one messed with Marie.

* * *

"What were you boys doin' before Ah came down?" Marie asked suspiciously as she and Gambit walked towards the garage.

"No'ting Chere. Wolverine and I were jus discussin' headache remedies."

Before Rogue could inquire further, Gambit stopped in front of a Harley Davidson. Rogue stopped and watched as he climbed on and waited expectantly for her to get on behind him.

"This is yours?"

Puzzled at what he considered a fairly obvious question, Gambit turned to look at her. "Yes," he said slowly. "Don y' like motorcycles?"

Rogue resisted the urge to point out that she preferred riding with Logan. "Yeah, course Ah do." She stepped closer and swung one leg over to sit behind him. Keeping her arms down at her sides she waited for him to start the bike.

For a moment Gambit wondered why she wasn't holding on, but decided not to ask. He revved the bike and they took off down the mansion's long driveway.

As the wind rushed through her hair, Rogue couldn't help but smile. She loved bikes. When they reached the road Gambit turned and abruptly sped up. Quickly Rogue grabbed his waist to keep from falling off. In front of her Gambit smiled. Let the fun begin.