His eyes fluttered slightly and his head started moving back and forth. He groaned slightly and began to slowly open his eyes. He tried to focus his vision as he looked around the room. It was dimly lit and looked like the inside of one of the larger tombs in the cemetery. Only, it had been changed slightly such that it resembled a makeshift temple. And it was cold. He no longer had his trench coat on. He couldn't help but shiver as his body awakened. As he looked around, he saw Rogue standing in a corner towards the front of the building.
"Rogue" He whispered harshly to her. She did not move, did not even look his direction. He attempted to move his arms to lift himself up and saw that his hands and feet were tied to the altar on which he lay. He moved his finger to touch the rope in an attempt to charge it up and cause it to break. But, no charge came. His face grimaced as he tried again with more resolve to charge the rope. Nothing. He lay his head back on the altar in despair as he realized that he no longer had his powers.
"Well, I see yore awake" she said as she sauntered through the door. He raised his head to look at her as she approached him. He followed her every move. "About time, cher" she said as she moved towards him.
She had removed her hood to reveal jet black hair in multiple weaves hanging all around her face and down her back. Her eyes were similar to Gambit's except that her pupils were red, irises were black and her eyeballs were red, exactly reverse of his.
"Cassandra! What you want sorciére." Gambit glared at her.
"Why Remy! You wound me." She leaned in towards his face and brought her hand up to stroke his chin. He flinched slightly as her hand made contact with his skin. She smiled at him as if he were some delicious morsel she was about to consume. "I want you, Remy."
"Why? Why me?" His brow furrowed as he questioned her.
"Because you're de only one I could neva control. Neva once did you fall under my powers. I knew it had to be you to stand beside me over my empire. You're a snake charmer, like me, de yin to my yang." She turned away from him and started to pour some potions into different urns.
"What empire? What you talking 'bout." Gambit struggled with the ropes around his wrists.
"All dis. I rule de cities of de dead. I am dey're queen." She continued mixing several herbs together.
"You ruling de dead?" Gambit thought for a moment and then understood. "Zombies. You make dem slaves."
"Now you understand, cher. Soon, I have enough in my army to take control. Won't no one be able to stop me." She turned back to Gambit with an evil smile on her lips. "After all, mon ange, dey can't kill what's already dead." She turned back to the task at hand.
"Dat crazy. You never be able to pull dat off" he argued, continuing his struggle against his bindings.
"Oh but I will. On all hallow's eve, my armies will rise and take N'Awlins over. Den, we move out from daer until de whole country under my control. Governments will pay dearly for its very survival." She sounded insane as she said this with a twinkle in her eye. "And you, Remy, you will be by my side, helping me control our enemies."
"Non! I don't love you." He realized that he sounded pathetic and he cursed himself for showing weakness.
"Ah, but you will. You will" she said as she dropped something into the potion she was making and started to stir.
"What you done to my powers?" He was trying to keep her occupied so that he could continue looking for some way out of this. He hoped that Rogue would snap out of whatever spell she was under.
"I neutralize dem for a while." She stated clinically.
"De dart you shot me wit had poison on it?"
"You could say dat. Only, it poisons yore mutant side, not yore human side." She turned to look at him and saw the concern in his face. "Don't worry, cher, it don't last forever. Yore powers come back in a while."
"How'd you do it?" Gambit questioned.
"I mastered de botanicals. Took me years to perfect it." He noticed a notebook beside her that she periodically glanced at prior to measuring something for her concoction.
"Will you show Remy how you do it?" Gambit kept struggling with his bindings.
She put down the bowl she was stirring and turned around to him. He stopped struggling and looked at her. She moved over too him and leaned over to within an inch of his face. She stared into his eyes trying to read his thoughts.
"Why" was all she said after a long pause.
"Maybe Remy don't like his powers no more. Be nice to turn dem off when I want." He hoped that he sounded convincing. In any event, at least he was keeping her distracted from whatever she was making.
She continued to look on him with a skeptical eye. Finally, she smiled. "I was hoping to hear dat from you, mon ange." She moved her finger down his chee, stroking the side of his face. "But den, you know dat don' you? I could never charm you Remy, but your charms never worked on me either, cher. Don' worry, daer will be plenty of time for you to learn my tricks later."
"What about her?" Gambit asked moving his eyes to Rogue.
She turned to look at the woman under her control. "She belongs to me. She may be useful to me later on."
"Let her go." Gambit demanded without thinking. He then mentally cursed himself for saying it, knowing he had just given her a card to play against him.
Cassandra turned back towards him with her eyebrows raised. "So, she means somet'ing to you, eh?"
His eyes stared into Cassandra's deeply, pleading with her. "Please, let her go" he said almost in a whisper.
"Why should I do dat?" She had an ominous smirk on her face as she looked on him.
"I do anyt'ing you want." He closed his eyes as he made this resolution to her.
She moved over to him and crawled on top, straddling his hips with her legs. She leaned down and began stroking his hair. She brought her lips to his and kissed him lightly. She didn't even notice the look of disgust on his face as she kissed him again even deeper.
She pulled out a knife and placed it at the collar of his t-shirt. Using her other hand to hold the shirt taut, she sliced the shirt open right down the middle. He clenched his fists and his arms tightened against the bonds that held him. She looked at him and smiled as she watched the muscles in his jaws flex.
"Anyt'ing?" she questioned as she moved her hands to his chest and pushed the ripped shirt aside.