The morning sunlight streamed through the window, waking Wolverine. For a moment, he just blinked groggily. Gradually, he became aware of a warm bundle in his arms and he smiled. Rogue was cuddled up in the curve of his body, still sleeping soundly under the blankets. The effects of her powers had worn off and Wolverine could feel the animal in him just under the surface. Unlike last night, there was none of the rage that he usually felt. Instead, the animal in him was feeling a sense of contentment towards the mate that laid beside it. Wolverine smiled.
Nuzzling her neck, he watched as she opened her eyes. Turning, she blinked at him sleepily.
"Hey," he said softly.
Rogue smiled. "Hey yourself." She closed her eyes and stretched, her body moving against him, letting him feel each muscle as they pulled under her skin. She sighed and he chuckled.
"What?" Rogue asked, curiously.
"Nothin'. Just thinkin' about how much I love waking up next to you."
Rogue looked surprised at his sweet admission.
"Ah love wakin' up next to you too," she teased. She turned over completely, so her whole body was facing him. Looking into his eyes, she reached up and pulled his head down for a kiss.
Wolverine savored the sweet taste of her lips as they slid against his. They kissed like that, soft and slow, for several minutes. When they finally parted, they were both smiling.
"So what do you want to do today?" Wolverine asked.
Rogue snuggled her face against his chest and sighed.
"Anything, as long as it's with you."
Wolverine grinned. "Anything?"
* * *
Gambit sipped quietly at his coffee, sighing as the hot liquid slid down his throat. His eyes were dull with exhaustion, but his mind was still churning. He'd gotten up early that morning to finish looking over the Professor's files on Rogue and Wolverine and something in Wolverine's file had perturbed him. The Professor had made a few short notes about Rogue having nightmares that she absorbed from Wolverine. Apparently, Wolverine had admitted to the Professor that the nightmares were about Wolverine himself being the subject of some type of experiment concerning men in military uniforms. Though Wolverine had not come right out and said that the nightmares were flashbacks of something that really happened, the Professor seemed to think this was the case. From the notes he had jotted down, Gambit could see the Professor planned on using his resources to help Wolverine find out more about it. The question now was, which sources would the Professor go to, and how could Gambit use the information for his own purposes?
Before Gambit could ponder the matter further, his thoughts were interrupted as Cyclops walked into the kitchen with Jean and Storm.
"Gambit, I'm glad you're here," Cyclops said when he saw Gambit.
"Oui, Cyclops?" Gambit acknowledged, shaking himself out of his reverie.
"Professor Xavier is going to be leaving shortly to attend a conference in Washington DC and Jean will be going with him. The Professor would like to speak with you in his office before he leaves."
Gambit nodded and stood up. For a split second, he wondered if the Professor had somehow managed to discover Gambit's rifling through his files. Then he pushed the thought down into his subconscious and strengthened his shields. He was a professional, and he had to rely on his abilities to keep him from getting caught. With a smile and an attempt at relaxation, Gambit headed for the Professor's office.
* * *
Professor Xavier shuffled the papers on his desk thoughtfully. He would be leaving shortly for Washington and he did not want to forget anything. After all, if everything went well, he would be returning with important information.
Professor Xavier looked down at Wolverine's file again. He was almost certain he had found something that would help the Canadian mutant with his nightmares. Though the Professor wasn't certain how much Wolverine himself knew about the cause of his nightmares, Wolverine having never confided that much to Xavier, he guessed that Wolverine didn't have as many answers as he'd like.
Just then there was a knock at the door and Gambit entered. Xavier smiled as the Cajun recruit stepped into his office. He was still wearing his trench coat, which he seemed to never be without.
"Hello, Gambit. Please, have a seat." The Professor gestured at a chair in front of his desk.
"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Gambit prompted, sitting down.
"Yes, did Scott mention to you that I am leaving for Washington?"
"Oui."
"Good." The Professor nodded. He straightened up in his seat. "Gambit, you seem to be a dedicated man. I've been speaking to Cyclops and we both agree that you would be a valuable asset to the team. I was wondering, have you ever given any thought to joining the X-Men?"
Gambit considered his answer carefully. It was best not to accept to quickly, he had to be cautious. "'T tell de truth, Professor, de thought of stayin' in one place too long still seems strange." He paused dramatically and took a deep breath. "But I would like to help out if I can."
The Professor smiled. "A very honest answer." His face grew serious. "Normally, there would be a period of adjustment, while Cyclops and the rest of the team showed you the ropes. However, if you're up to it, you may have a chance to start right away. Have you ever heard of a place called Orphan's End?"
Gambit frowned. "De orphanage for mutants?"
"Yes."
"Oui, Gambit seems to remember some rumors dat de head of de orphanage was a mutant himself."
"I believe that is true, that Amhal Farouk is indeed a mutant. Unfortunately, I have recently become aware that in addition to heading the orphanage, he has another agenda." Xavier took a deep breath. "I believe he may be brainwashing the children and training them to aid him in . . . less than admirable goals."
Gambit's eyes narrowed. "He trainin' dem t' fight?"
The Professor nodded.
"Tonight, Scott is going to lead the team on a mission to find out what is going on and, if necessary, remove the children from Amhal's possession."
"An you wan Gambit to go wit dem?"
The Professor nodded. "With Jean and I both in Washington, the team will be slightly short-handed. Storm will need to stay behind with the students and I think your help would be greatly appreciated."
Gambit thought it over. Though he hadn't actually intended to be at the Institute for very long, going along on one mission couldn't hurt. If anything, it could help endear him to the rest of the X-Men—including Rogue, he thought. Besides, it would be nice to get some real action again. Him mind made up, Gambit finally reached out a hand to Xavier. "Gambit be happy t' help, Professor."
The Professor smiled. "Wonderful. I'll let Scott know you'll be joining him."
* * *
Wolverine watched appreciatively as Rogue zipped up her black leather uniform. The X-Men may be a little strange, but they had nice taste. The black material hugged every curve of Rogue's body and gave her an almost dominatrix-like look. Wolverine grinned wickedly and started towards Rogue.
He was just about to wrap his arms around her when Rogue's head jerked up in surprise.
"Gambit. Ah didn't know ya'll were comin' with us."
Gambit was silent as he took in Wolverine's position behind Rogue. His empathy was picking up waves of frustration from the cranky Canadian, and Gambit suspected he had just interrupted something. He smiled.
"Oui, Chere. A little action is jus' what Gambit needs right now." The last line was delivered with a smoldering gaze that had swept more than one woman off her feet. Gambit didn't really expect Rogue to swoon, but a little flirting never hurt and after her little attack on him he figured her guilt may give him a bit of an edge.
He chuckled in amusement as Rogue quirked an eyebrow, but then just turned and left the room. She was certainly no pushover. He was just about to follow her when he heard Wolverine growling behind him.
Slowly, Gambit turned around.
"Some'ting on y' mind, Wolverine?" he asked softly.
Wolverine growled again. "What's your deal, Cajun?"
Gambit put on his most innocent look. As he expected, Wolverine just got more infuriated.
"Why, Wolverine, whatever do y' mean?"
"Cut the crap, Gumbo. What are you doing here?"
Gambit frowned. "What are you doing here, Wolverine? Xavier say you and Rogue still haven't joined de team. Gambit 'tink you de one wit de ulterior motive."
Wolverine stared hard at Gambit. His gut told him something was wrong, and this guy was right in the middle of it. He stepped up to Gambit until their chests were almost touching.
"Give me a reason, Cajun," he whispered.
Gambit stared back at him unabashedly. They stood that way for several minutes, neither one of them backing down. Suddenly, Wolverine's enhanced hearing and Gambit's kinetic sense picked up the sound of footsteps. Before either of them could turn around, Rogue's voice taunted them from the doorway.
"Not to interrupt your nice little homo-erotic moment, but you boys may wanna get on the Blackbird before it takes off. It's a long walk to Orphan's End."
With that she disappeared, leaving the Canadian and the Cajun to stare after her in stunned silence. Glancing at one another in an uncomfortable silence, they both hurried after her towards the Blackbird.
* * *
"All right, Rogue, Wolverine, get as close to the house as you can. I don't want this to be any harder than absolutely necessary, so let's make sure there really is something to the rumors before we do anything rash."
Rogue and Wolverine nodded and quietly exited the Blackbird, leaving Cyclops and Gambit to wait for their report. Gambit watched them move with perfect grace and silence until they reached the high windows that lined the ground floor. He couldn't helping smirking just a little as Rogue and Wolverine peeked in, didn't see anything, and continued their way around the house, looking for a way in. If only Cyclops knew how many similar houses Gambit himself had successfully snuck in and out of to earn himself the title of the Prince of Thieves. He could easily gotten in to this mansion as well, but he wasn't about to volunteer information about his profession to the leader of the X-Men. And so he waited what seemed like forever until his demonic eyes picked out the forms of Rogue and Wolverine heading back towards the Blackbird across the lawn.
"Well, what did you find out?" Cyclops asked in a low voice.
Wolverine and Rogue's faces were grim.
"He's got ten kids in the basement strapped into chairs. There's some kind of headset that covers their eyes and ears," Wolverine said, his voice tight with anger.
Rogue nodded. "It's brainwashing technology with audio and visual programming."
The rest of the team turned to look at her with their eyebrows raised.
"You've . . . used this machinery before?" Cyclops ventured. He kept his voice light, but Rogue bristled at the suspicious tone underneath.
"Ah was a terrorist you know, Cyclops. But to answer your question, no Ah've never used it. And neither has mah mother," she added before Cyclops could ask. "It just so happens that Ah've had occasion to use mah powers on several government agents with their hands in a lot of pies."
"The government uses brainwashing technology?" Cyclops asked, shocked.
As one, Wolverine, Gambit, and Rogue all turned to look at him with the same expression.
"God you're naïve," Wolverine muttered. Cyclops tensed and Rogue raised a hand.
"I think we're forgettin' something here, people. Ah don't know what kind of message this guy's drillin' into those kids' heads, but Ah'm guessin' that's what we came to stop."
"Rogue's right," Cyclops agreed, snapping back to attention. "We need to get those kids out of here quick before we're discovered. Farouk hasn't made it this far by being careless."
At the mention of Farouk's name, Rogue's head snapped up.
"Farouk? As in Amhal Farouk?"
Cyclops nodded confused. "That's right. Do you know him?"
Rogue nodded slowly. "He calls himself the Shadow King. Mama used to always say that someday we would take him down. Farouk is a telepath, a match even for Xavier. We could never go after him, because he could sense Mama no matter what form she took, and Ah couldn't use mah powers on him because his mind was to powerful for me to control."
"Sure would be nice to have Jeannie here," Wolverine muttered.
Cyclops glared at Wolverine's use of her fist name, but was distracted when Rogue shook her head excitedly.
"No. If he's using machines to brainwash the kids, he must not be here to do it himself. We may just have gotten lucky."
Just then alarms began to scream all around them. Spotlights went on all around the yard. The X-Men froze as their presence was announced to the world.
"It look to Gambit like our luck jus ran out," Gambit commented.
* * *
"Rogue can you absorb them all?" Cyclops whispered. They were standing in front of the Blackbird, looking with dread on the line of ten kids, no more than thirteen or fourteen standing in front of the house. They looked prepared to attack. "I don't want them hurt in a battle," Cyclops said.
"Ah can't," Rogue responded solemnly. "They're all brainwashed with exactly the same programming. It might be too much for me, and Ah don't think ya'll need to worry about fightin' me too."
Cyclops nodded in resignation. "Right. Rogue you get to the mansion and make sure there aren't anymore kids inside. Wolverine, Gambit, try not to hurt them. Take them out and get them restrained on the Blackbird."
Gambit and Wolverine nodded and moved forward, spreading out to either side of Cyclops. As kinetically charged playing cards and optic blasts fired out at the attacking mutants, Rogue ran for the house, with Wolverine covering her. Suddenly, a burst of flame shot towards Wolverine. Howling in pain, Wolverine gritted his teeth as his skin fought to heal the burns. Whipping around he dodged the next burst and then leapt at the kid to keep him distracted from Rogue.
Rogue didn't look back, knowing Wolverine could handle himself. Bursting into the mansion she ran down the hall checking each room for any other children who might be in danger. Thinking better of it, she turned and headed down a stairway towards the lower level. As she reached the basement, she saw a child lying on the floor. Immediately, she ran over to the girl's assistance.
"Hey, sweetie, are you all right?" She asked.
The child's shoulders started to shake and Rogue gathered her to her chest, checking her for wounds. Suddenly, her sensitive hearing picked up the whispers of laughter. Doubting her ears, she looked down at the girl in her arms. Shock hit her like a ton of bricks as the girl changed in her grasped and she was staring at her own face.
"If I were you, 'sweetie', I'd be worried about myself," the mutant replied chuckling.
Reaching out a hand, she clasped Rogue's face. Rogue's eyes widened as she felt a pull. Her reflexes kicked in and her powers flared to life. The other mutant's jaw dropped as the flow slowed and the ceased. With a violent shove against Rogue's chest, the propelled herself backwards, rolling with the momentum, until she was standing up facing Rogue.
"That's impossible!" She sputtered.
Rogue glared at her. "Not quite." She stood up slowly and the girl took a step back. Rogue looked her over carefully. Even when she had opened the transfer, she hadn't managed to drain anything from this mutant. Obviously, she was a shapeshifter, but she must have some other power that allowed her to resist Rogue's absorption. Suddenly, Rogue remembered the feel of the girl's hand on her face.
"We have the same powers," Rogue murmured.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" the girl snapped.
Rogue began walking towards her. "Oh, Ah think you do," she whispered.
With a scream of rage, the girl launched herself at Rogue, her body shifting again to reveal a blond girl with white eyes. As she crashed into Rogue, they both fell to the floor.
* * *
"That's the last of them," Cyclops announced.
He lifted the last child to fall in his arms and carried her to the Blackbird. Gambit and Wolverine stood behind him, breathing heavily. It had taken all their skill to defend themselves and subdue the children without hurting them, and both were exhausted. Suddenly, Wolverine stood up with a jerk.
"Where's Rogue?" he demanded, looking around. The battle had lasted no more than an hour, but it felt like an eternity. Rogue had been in the mansion the entire time, and now that the excitement was over, Wolverine's mind reverted to the safety of his mate.
"She never came out of the mansion!" Gambit shouted.
Wolverine growled. In seconds he was running towards the mansion, with Gambit close on his heels. Cyclops stayed behind with the children on the jet, careful to have things ready for a hasty retreat.
* * *
Gambit's adrenaline pumped through his system as he rounded another corner. Wolverine had taken the ground floor. On the second level, there was only one room he hadn't explored and he wanted to get this done as soon as possible. The sights that had greeted him in the various rooms had his nerves on edge. The Shadow King had been relentless in his brainwashing, and Gambit felt like he would explode in rage if he found another child strapped down to a chair.
Suddenly, he skidded to a halt in the doorway. This room was furnished much more lavishly than the others. The center of the room was completely filled by a large canopy bed, silk sheets and pillows scattered over its surface. In the center of a bed lay a young woman. She had long purple hair and wore a skimpy black leather leotard that left nothing to the imagination. Gambit was surprised to fell a jolt of erotic attraction hit him as he gazed at her. His body seemed to slow down and freeze, as though paralyzed by some unseen force. He struggled to reinforce his shields, but he was too late.
Helpless to do anything but stand there, he watched as the woman smiled and rose slowly off the bed. She walked sensuously up to Gambit and reached a hand out to his face.
"Hello, gorgeous," she purred. One perfectly manicured red nail trailed over his skin and Gambit felt an involuntary shudder wrack his body. The woman smiled wickedly.
"What you doin', petite?" Gambit asked hoarsely.
"Petite? How quaint." She trailed her hand down Gambit's chest. "My name is Dominique. We're going to have a little fun."
"Gambit not in de mood, petite. Why don you jus come wit me?" Gambit swallowed hard and tried to move, but he was rooted to his spot. The woman seemed unperturbed by his protest.
"Oh, I don't think you're going anywhere. You see, while the master is away, this is my domain." Her hand grasped the waistband of his pants. "I've found that my ability to control hormones makes me quite persuasive to handsome men like yourself. After we have a little fun, you're going to help me get the children back."
"That's where you're wrong, darlin'."
Gambit felt relief wash over him as Wolverine charged into the room. Releasing his claws, he moved threateningly towards Gambit's captor.
"Oh, goody, another playmate," the woman squealed. Gambit's face fell as Wolverine's eyes grew wide and he froze. As his eyes glazed over, Gambit heard a rumbling growl in Wolverine's chest. Suddenly his claws sharply retracted and he stepped forward and grabbed Dominique, crushing her to his chest and taking her mouth in a possessive kiss. Gambit's eyes flashed with helpless anger as he felt himself move forward to stand behind Dominique. His hands rose to her sides of their own accord as his mouth lowered to kiss her neck. He could feel her skin under his palms as his fingers caressed her flesh. Blood roared through his ears and his eyes drifted closed as he felt himself drowning in desire.
Suddenly he felt his body being roughly thrown backwards. His eyes shot open just in time to see a furious Rogue grasp Dominique's face in her bare hands. The woman had been so caught up in her little game of domination, that she didn't have time to defend herself as Rogue's powers drained her strength and powers from her. Wolverine was standing a few feet away where Rogue had pushed him, rubbing his face in confusion as Dominique's powers wore off. They both watched as Rogue threw Dominique over her shoulder. With one last murderous glare at Gambit and Wolverine, she was off, running out of the room.
For a moment Gambit and Wolverine looked at each other in perfect understanding. The shit was going to hit the fan.
* * *
Rogue growled as she watched her hand with the bottle of Tequila in it hover unsteadily over the shot glass. At first, she'd been extremely pissed to find that her healing factor put a kink in her plan to get smashed, but she'd soon discovered that it was possible to overcome it by drinking very quickly. She'd been going at it for an hour and she was actually starting to lose some of her motor control. Still, despite her best attempts at drowning her troubles, she was still pissed.
A small part of Rogue's mind floated towards her on a sea of golden liquor, reminding her that it had been Dominique's power that had overwhelmed Wolverine. After the absorption, Rogue had learned that the woman had the mutant ability to control hormones, a power particularly handy for inciting passion. Still, despite the undeniable draw of the woman's powers, a primal part of Rogue remained incensed at the sight of her mate locking mouths with the black clad harlot.
How dare he. There she'd been, down in the basement locked in combat with some carbon copy of herself, and he's upstairs nearly getting laid. And that mutant girl hadn't been and easy opponent. Rogue had never met another mutant with abilities like hers before. The fact that the mutant was shapeshifting meant she knew how to use them too. Luckily for Rogue, she hadn't had any other mutant powers tucked away. With both of their absorption powers canceling each other out, they had been forced to resort to hand-to-hand combat. Rogue smirked. Mystique had always been very strict about training, with and without the powers. She smiled drunkenly. She had so kicked that mutie's ass.
Snarling at the memory, Rogue gave up on the shot glass and tilted the entire bottle bottom up, pouring the burning liquid down her throat. At that moment, she was desperate to forget the pain she'd felt when she'd seen Wolverine kissing Dominique.
As a warm feeling spread through her stomach and chest, Rogue's mind turned to the thief. Rogue's eyebrows knitted together in a drunken attempt at contemplation. For some reason, she'd felt jealous at the sight of Gambit kissing the other woman too. This confused her. It wasn't as though Rogue herself felt some sort of claim on him, but the feminine part of her was slightly hurt to see the man who had been flirting with her suddenly with another woman. Shaking herself out of it, Rogue scowled. Since when did she give a shit about Gambit's sex life?
Closing her eyes, Rogue listened carefully for any sounds from downstairs. Her heart ached when she heard no sound of Wolverine returning. He had taken off as soon as they'd gotten back from the mission, no doubt headed to a bar. Rogue couldn't blame him.
"Damn straight you run, Wolvie," she mumbled to herself in drunken satisfaction. Even Gambit had shut himself up in his room, eager to escape her scathing looks.
Still, she thought sadly, this was the first time Wolverine had gone out without her since Sabretooth's attack, and she couldn't help but feel a little abandoned.
* * *
Gambit wiped his eyes in frustration. Life was getting way too strange, even for him. An hour ago, he had returned from the Orphan's End mission and immediately gone up to hide in his room. As much as he tried to convince himself that he just wanted to continue perusing Wolverine's file, he couldn't help but feel like part of it had been embarrassment about facing Rogue. Gambit had romanced many women in his life, some in the line of duty and some for his own pleasure. He knew how personally women took his compliments, and even though Rogue didn't act on it, he knew she liked his flirting. Not surprising considering her past.
Gambit sighed. Rogue's first romantic experience had ended in disaster and left Rogue with a natural aversion to romance. Her foster mother, Mystique, had done nothing to change that, using Rogue's powers as a method of birth control. From Xavier's files, Gambit knew that Rogue had had extraordinary control over her powers even before she'd come to the X-Mansion. Mystique had trained her well. There was every indication that Rogue would have been able to learn total control over her powers much earlier, and yet she never did. If anything, one would expect her to be hyper-sensitive to any romantic advances now that she had complete control. And yet, even now, Mystique's training shone through. Rogue had resisted his minor efforts.
But Gambit knew she had been upset by what she'd seen in Dominique's room. And as much as he hated to admit it, he didn't want to upset her. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Even his hatred for Wolverine was starting to lose its intensity. The Professor's notes were full of references to the Wolverine as a kind and protective man towards the Southern Belle. He'd given up his professional pursuits to stay with her, and even Gambit couldn't deny the tenderness he treated her with. This was not a side of Wolverine Gambit wanted to know. It made what he had to do all the more difficult.
Standing up to stretch, Gambit found himself with the urge to drift out his door and down the hallway. He knew Rogue was shut up in her room, Trying to hide from the demons of jealousy. As he thought about her, Gambit knew what he had to do. All of this emotion was getting in his way, and he needed to be sure of himself before he did anything he couldn't take back. Rogue's powers made her just as invulnerable to his empathy as it did to telepathy. If he was going to back down out of sympathy for her or a new understanding of the Wolverine he had to be sure. The only one who could tell him what he needed to know was her. Normally, Gambit would have dismissed her as a source of information about Wolverine because of her obvious emotional attachment, but if she was ever going to be in the mood to be brutally honest about him, it would have to be now, while he was gone and she was angry with him. Better to get a grimmer picture of Wolverine and be off, than to get a nice picture of him and be fooled.
Making up his mind, Gambit stood up and walked to the door. Opening it firmly, he headed down the hall to Rogue's room. It was time he used his charms to their full extent and got some serious information.
* * *
Rogue's hand released the empty Tequila bottle abruptly, watching with heavy lidded eyes as it fell the short distance to the floor and rolled away. She slowly became aware that she was swaying back and forth in her spot on the carpet. Suddenly, the realization hit her as she felt her body falling farther backward, this time without catching itself. For the first time in her life, she was really and truly drunk.
As the darkness washed over her, Rogue didn't even notice the other psyche rising through the mists of her subconscious to take her place.