Gambit exhaled deeply, the cigarette smoke curling away from his lips to swirl in the freezing wind. The cold was chilling him to the bone, but he made no move to tighten his coat as he watched Rogue and Wolverine drive up to the abandoned military facility. Part of him ached to run down and warn them. No, not them. Her. Rogue.
Despite her devotion to the murderer Wolverine, Gambit had never been the type of man to allow harm to come to a woman. Regardless of whether they deserved it or not, Remy LeBeau was too much of a gentleman to hurt a lady. Shaking his head, he called up memories of Rogue, her feline eyes lit up with rage as she attacked him, her dismissal of him when Wolverine walked in to find them entangled in a lover's embrace on her bed. He thought of Alexandra, and the horrific circumstances surrounding her death. This had to be done.
As he watched the couple enter the building, he raised the two way radio to his lips. His fingers hesitated over the call button for a split second before he steeled himself to press it.
"Dey're here."
There was no response other than a muffled "received" on the other end, and Gambit charged the device, allowing it to disintegrate in a tiny explosion which was quickly lost to the fierce Canadian winds.
As he was about to turn away, images of what Kroker might have in mind for Rogue flickered through his mind. Stopping, he cast one last look at the facility. This was it, he thought. The decision had to be made now. It was too late, he scolded himself. Just walk away. A voice in his head taunted him that it was never too late. In one fleeting moment, the Cajun Prince of Thieves made his choice . . . and walked away.
* * *
Wolverine and Rogue both entered the facility slowly and carefully, noses twitching and searching for any scent that would alert them of another's presence. Finding nothing, they ventured further inside. Wolverine's mind raced as he struggled to find something, anything, that would give him some clue about what happened here. The key to his lost memory. As he wandered into another room, Rogue watched him go. Shaking of the urge to follow him, she let him go his own way, choosing to wander into the room that opened up on the other side. She knew Wolverine had to concentrate if he was going to recover his memories. Besides, she figured, some things were best experienced in private.
* * *
Walking into the other room, Rogue looked around at all the cabinets. Searching through them, she turned up nothing. The middle of the room was occupied by a large table, covered in dust. Shrugging, she moved into the next room. It was pretty much the same as all the others.
"Didn't ya'll ever get the urge for a change of scenery?" she whispered to herself.
Suddenly, Rogue's ears perked up. Her supersensitive hearing screamed at her that someone else was in the next room. Body tensed in preparation for a fight, Rogue moved into the next room. There it was again, a sound just to her left. Approaching the direction of the noise carefully, Rogue wondered if the rooms all connected, and it may just be Wolverine approaching from a different direction. Just as she was about to call out to him, Rogue's eyes widened. A scent wafted to her nose, a medicinal scent like a hospital mixed with something else. Realization slammed into Rogue, just as a hulking figure moved into the light and terror choked off any attempt to scream. In one earth-shattering second, Rogue watched as Sabretooth straightened up to his full seven feet.
"Scream for me," he whispered.
* * *
Wolverine suppressed a growl of frustration. Nothing. Not a damned spark of a memory. He glared around the room as if accusing it of deliberately hiding his past. Shaking it off, he stalked into the next room. At first, it seemed the same as any other, but then Wolverine's eyes caught the far wall. Unlike the others, it seemed to be made of glass. Slowly, Wolverine walked over for a closer inspection. Before he could reach it, his keen hearing picked up the sound of a body hitting the floor.
"ROGUE!" he roared.
His adrenaline raced through his system as he spun around to run in the direction of the noise. Before he could move an inch, the sounds of shattering glass broke the silence. Wolverine had just enough time to turn and see a large robotic head looking at him from behind the space where the window had been, before a giant metallic hand reached out and wrapped around him. He howled in fury as it pulled him from the room.
* * *
Tears of fear streamed from Rogue's eyes as Sabretooth's body knocked her to the ground. The memory of her rape shot to the forefront of her mind and for a minute she was lost, unable to tell what was happening now and what had happened then. Sabretooth leaned down and inhaled deeply, relishing the scent of her terror. He gave her a toothy grin as he noticed her eyes.
"Love the eyes, girlie," he sneered. "Glad to see it was good for you, too."
Rogue gasped as his hand closed around her throat. He leaned down even further, until his lips brushed her ear when he spoke.
"Feel familiar?" he crooned
Rogue's face turned red as her eyes rolled back into her head. All hope of using her powers against her attacker was gone, as she found herself held down under his bodysuit-clad form. She was trapped in her worst nightmare, all rational thought eradicated as she felt his clawed hands move down her body.
"NON!"
Sabretooth's head jerked up and he eased his grip on Rogue's neck in surprise as a Cajun accent spoke up from the doorway. Before he could recover from the shock, a boot caught the giant in the chest, sending him flying off of Rogue's body. An series of explosions flew at him, forcing Sabretooth to raise his hands to protect his face. Rogue fought to get past her terror-induced inaction and struggled to get farther away from him. She moved towards the sound of the voice, towards the source of the explosions.
Gambit knelt down and quickly slid an arm around her, helping her to stand. Without hesitating, he placed his hand against Rogue's cheek. In her heightened state of panic, Rogue's powers flared up, stopping when Gambit quickly jerked his hand away. Rogue straightened as Gambit's fury and strength flowed into her, pushing her fear away in the rush of emotion. She looked into his eyes as his memories swarmed around her head. Firmly pushing them away, Rogue locked them into the depths of her mind, her head clearing as she finally understood exactly who her savior was.
Any conversation was cut off, as Sabretooth howled and charged. Gambit and Rogue sprang apart. Quickly, he hurled another barrage of explosions at Sabretooth, trying to keep the larger man off guard. Rogue watched as Sabretooth stumbled. The world seemed to slow down around her as she let Gambit's clear-headed confidence sweep through her. Her eyes flashed as she dove for Sabretooth's hunched form, her hands going straight to his face. With every ounce of her being, she concentrated on his strength, felt it flowing into her. Mental blocks slammed into place as she fought to keep his memories of coming through the transfer. After a few seconds, she could feel them stop, only the strength flowing into her now. As she felt him fall to his knees, Rogue pulled back, leaning down to brace her hands on her knees. Gambit slipped a knife out from inside his coat. He moved forward, prepared to cut Sabretooth's head off, but Rogue held up a hand.
"No," she said hoarsely.
Gambit stopped, looking up at her.
"Ah don't want him to die. Not yet." She looked through glazed eyes at the beast who had nearly cost her her mind and her life. "Later. Ah want him to suffer first."
Gambit nodded, slowly replacing his knife.
For a second they both stood there, their ears ringing in the aftermath of their fight. Finally, Rogue looked up at Gambit.
"Ah don't believe Wolverine killed—"
"Don say it, Chere," Gambit interrupted. He took a deep breath. "Gambit don wanna hear it."
Rogue looked at him silently for a moment. "Why did you help me?"
Gambit snorted. "T'ought you'd have all de information y' needed in y' head now."
Rogue shook her head slowly. "Ah don't look at memories unless Ah'm invited. The only reason Ah saw anything at all was because you were projecting when Ah touched you."
Gambit sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Gambit tried to convince himself dat it wasn't just de Wolverine who deserved to be punished. It worked too."
"Why did you help me?" Rogue asked again.
Gambit looked her in the eye. "Let's just say, 'tieves don trust anyone."
Rogue smiled. Suddenly, she swore she heard a crash from the other end of the facility. Her eyes widened.
"Wolverine!" she said, panicked.
Turning, she moved to leave – and froze.
"Hello, my dear."
"Kroker!" Rogue gasped. Her eyes narrowed. "It was you. You hired Gambit. You . . . she choked on the words as she gestured back towards Sabretooth. "You brought him back," she whispered.
Kroker smiled and nodded.
Rogue's hands clenched into fists. "What are you doing here? You already failed, Gambit broke your bargain!"
Kroker chuckled. "Child, you misunderstand. Gambit was not hired to kill you, or Wolverine. He was hired to lead me to you."
Rogue turned to look at Gambit, a war of emotions on her face. She'd seen images in his head of Alexandra Davies, knew he believed Wolverine murdered her. She'd known he was here to get revenge. But Kroker?
Gambit returned her gaze, unblinking. "I changed my mind about you."
"Yes," Kroker agreed. He smiled as Sabretooth groggily stood up and, snarling, moved to stand behind Rogue and Gambit.
"You see," Kroker continued, grinning at Gambit. "Mad scientists don't trust anyone either."
* * *
Wolverine struggled in the Sentinel's grasp. His claws unsheathed and he tried to twist around to drive them into the hand of the sentinel. The Sentinel tightened its grip, stopping all movement and making Wolverine grateful for his adamantium laced skeleton. He growled as the pressure cut off his air supply. He was just starting to see stars when suddenly the metal hand around him shook, as something rocketed into the giant robot. The vice-like grip eased up, dropping Wolverine to the ground. He shook his head to clear it as his healing factor raced to keep him from feeling the effects of oxygen deprivation.
A resounding thud, told him the Sentinel had been hit again, and Wolverine looked up to see a man propelling himself through the air at a blurring speed. He hit the robot again, and this time the Sentinel began to topple over. Wolverine leapt off the ground, and threw himself into the metallic leg, just as the other man hit it again. The Sentinel fell to the ground with a resounding crash. In seconds, Wolverine had sprinted to the head of the robot, and used his claws to sever the head. The robot stopped moving.
"Nice of you to join in."
Wolverine snapped around to look at the stranger.
"Who the Hell are you?" he demanded, claws still extended.
Jean-Paul gave him a critical once over before answering.
"Jean-Paul Beaubier. Remember me?"
Realization dawned on Wolverine as his mind cleared and his adrenaline slowed. "The guy Gambit was impersonating."
Jean-Paul nodded. "Where is this Gambit, anyway?" he asked looking around.
Wolverine growled. "He's here?"
"Are you always this observant?" Jean-Paul asked, sarcastically. Wolverine glared at him and he sighed. "Yes, he's here."
"Rogue," Wolverine said suddenly.
As he took off at a sprint, Jean-Paul threw up his hands. Taking off, he grabbed Wolverine and hurtled them both up and back through the window Wolverine had been dragged through, putting him down when they reached the top. Wolverine nodded his thanks and wordlessly, they both ran in the direction Rogue had gone.
Suddenly, Wolverine's nose twitched as his eyes glazed over.
"Sabretooth," he ground out.
"Who?" Jean-Paul asked, bewildered.
Wolverine didn't answer, but he didn't have to. Jean-Paul looked ahead and through a doorway he could see a young woman and the man who'd stolen his name standing in front of a man who, amazing as it may seem, looked even more beastly than Wolverine. The way they were staring at something in front of them alerted Jean-Paul that something was wrong. Before he could warn Wolverine, the other man burst into the room.
* * *
Gambit's kinetic sense was the only thing that saved him and Rogue from being skewered. Grabbing Rogue, Gambit threw them both to the side, cushioning Rogue's fall with his own body. In shock, they both watched as an enraged Wolverine pierced Sabretooth's heart with one set of claws, the other one going through his neck. It was seemed like seconds, Sabretooth's head had been cut off, Wolverine continuing to mutilate the body. Another man, who had run in behind him, froze when he saw Kroker.
"Wonderful," he muttered.
Gambit looked down at Rogue, who was watching Wolverine pulled his claws out of the remains of Sabretooth's carcass.
"I'm sorry, Chere," he whispered. "Gambit know you wanted to do it yourself."
Rogue shook her head without taking her eyes off the body. "Ah can live with it. As long as Sabretooth doesn't."
"Wolverine," a voice cut in.
Wolverine froze, the berserker rage beginning to ebb away. Breathing heavy, he stood up and turned to face the speaker. When he saw Kroker, his eyes narrowed.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
"Why getting my revenge," Kroker replied.
"What the Hell is that supposed to mean?" Wolverine snapped. Beside him, Jean-Paul remained silent. Things were getting a lot weirder than he'd bargained for. It was best to just observe at this point.
Kroker's eyes took on an eerie light as he smiled. "Revenge," he whispered. He took a small step closer and Wolverine tensed, bloody claws held ready. "You and your miserable partner destroyed my life. Destroyed my work."
Jean-Paul figured at this point that he really didn't need to observe any more. He was just about to use his superspeed to take out the crazy man, when a rumbling heralded the arrival of a new threat. The walls around them collapsed under the weight of the headless Sentinel he and Wolverine had taken out.
"Wonderful," Jean-Paul said again.
Wolverine watched in disbelief as the Sentinel stopped beside Dr. Kroker.
"That's impossible," he mumbled.
"No," Dr. Kroker said gleefully. "You see, Wolverine, you cannot destroy my Sentinel. You can run, but you won't get far." He cast a fleeting glance at Gambit and Jean-Paul. "Not even your new friends can help you now. You'll stay here." His voice lowered to a whisper. "You'll be my new experiments. I'll start a new practice."
Wolverine growled and moved to attack the Sentinel, but a cackle from Kroker stopped him short.
"You can't destroy it, Wolverine. Even if you tried, I will command it to fire on your beloved Rogue. I know it won't kill her, but it will hurt a great deal. And you'll never get out of here in time to save all of your lives anyway. Perhaps, if you're a good little mutant, I won't experiment on your mate. I'll just kill her," he laughed.
"Over my dead body."
Kroker stopped laughing as the Sentinel shimmered and disappeared.
"What—?"
Mystique and Mastermind stepped into the room. Mystique held an odd device in her hand and Mastermind was smiling.
"How? Where's my Sentinel?" Kroker babbled.
"Your Sentinel is destroyed, Kroker," Mastermind informed him. "What you saw just now was simply a trick of the mind." She grinned. "An illusion if you will."
"That's not possible," Kroker choked. "The Sentinel cannot be destroyed. Even if you cut its head off . . ."
It was Mystique's turn to smile as she held up her device. "In addition to releasing the mutants you held in captivity, my daughter also stole your Sentinel blueprints from your computer. Very clever putting the main switchboard in the ankle of the robot." She smirked. "A robot with an Achilles heel."
"No," Kroker whispered. He fell to his knees. Wordlessly, Mystique walked up to stand in front of him. Removing a gun from her belt, her form shimmered as she changed her form to Sabretooth's furry visage. Kroker's mouth worked soundlessly as she raised the gun.
"You tried to use my daughter's rapist to destroy her," she said quietly. "It's only fitting that you meet your end the same way."
The shot echoed through the complex as the last of the villains surrendered to death.
* * *
Gambit's eyes were steady as he looked at the Wolverine. The murderer was standing not ten feet away, watching as Rogue embraced Mystique and Mastermind. It was a happy reunion, and Wolverine seemed loathe to disrupt it. Gambit's hands slowly reached into his coat pocket to finger the deck of playing cards he always kept with him. It would be so easy. So easy to charge the deck and send the explosives hurtling towards Alexandra's killer. No, he thought to himself. Not here, not now. His perfect revenge was already ruined. Kroker was out of the picture and Wolverine wasn't an enemy that could be taken down without a plan. He released his cards and withdrew his hand from his coat. He would wait. He would—
Suddenly, Gambit's train of thought was cut off as something hit him hard from behind. His kinetic senses didn't even have a chance to register the movement, as Jean-Paul hit him at superspeed, sending him flying across the room. In seconds, Rogue was at Gambit's side and Wolverine had put himself between the two men.
"What the Hell is your problem, Jean-Paul?!" he shouted.
Jean-Paul glared at Gambit. "That's for taking advantage of my sister."
Gambit groaned. He'd always suspected God hated him, but this was just too much.
"Merde, mon ami. Y' sister's a grown woman."
"She's sick!" Jean-Paul insisted. He didn't really feel like pointing out to all these strangers that Aurora had a split personality. Aurora may have slept with Gambit willingly, but he was betting Jeanne-Marie was quite upset about it. He turned to Wolverine.
"And what's more, how is that any of your business? You came here to get answers to your past, I came here to defend my sister. What the hell makes you—"
"How did you know why I came here?" Wolverine asked abruptly.
Jean-Paul counted to ten. If he got interrupted one more time, someone was going to pay dearly for it.
"Why else would you be at Alpha Flight's old headquarters?" he asked patiently.
Wolverine's mouth worked soundlessly. Alpha Flight. Weapon X. The government.
Jean-Paul noticed his look of concentration. "Try the basement," he suggested. "That's where they—"
Wolverine was already off and running. Jean-Paul threw up his hands. "I give up. Who cares what else I was going to say. That's what you get for helping cranky beastmen."
Rogue smiled. She walked away from Gambit, who had gotten to his feet without her help. Gambit watched her approach the other man and decided this would be the perfect chance for him to leave. Just as he was about to make his exit, Mastermind stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"We need to talk, Gambit," she said quietly. "I have a confession you should hear."
Seeing the serious look in her eyes and sensing the guilt radiating off of her, Gambit nodded. Together, he and Mastermind followed Mystique out of the room.
"Thank you for helping Wolverine, Jean-Paul," Rogue said, stepping up to stand beside him. Almost as an after thought, she added, "Ah don't suppose you're a professional superhero."
"Not anymore," Jean-Paul said suspiciously. "Why?"
Rogue casually shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing. It's just Ah happen to know of a team that's hiring . . ."