Chapter Six:
"Twenty-five...twenty-six...twenty-seven..." Gambit counted aloud as he thumbed slowly through his thinning deck of cards. He looked sadly at the incomplete suits, passing through his fingers like four small armies who have had casualties among their ranks.
For the first time since leaving New Orleans, Gambit felt genuinely homesick. Not for just the city in particular, with its endless days and bright shining nights, but for the entire life he had before his mutation appeared. He may not have always played with a full deck, but at least all the cards were always accounted for.
His wild nights may have had their hazardous, but at least there was the soft, blurring effects of alcohol to make the passing time enjoyable. Now, he sat in a dark cell, stone sober, wondering why son dieu had cursed him to this end.
Oh, oui, he thought sarcastically, Punishment for all the booze and women…
Gambit glanced around the narrow room at his fellow prisoners and sighed unhappily. The green mutant from the Brotherhood, who had grudgingly introduced himself as Toad, was stalking around the room and searching for a way to escape. Gambit had been quietly amused when Toad had begun scaling the walls and ceiling to examine every corner of the cell, and the English mutant cursed loudly in frustration.
Rebecca, on the other hand, was sitting with her knees to her chest against one wall, pressing her fingers experimentally against the surface. When Gambit asked her what she was doing, Rebecca had grinned and created a small flame in her palm. The light of the small fire made Gambit crave a cigarette, only adding to his discomfort and depression at his present situation.
"One...two...three..." he began again until Toad shouted from near the front door.
"Will you shut the hell up?" he yelled to Gambit who grinned and held one card up into the air.
"And now..." the Cajun announced dramatically, "En francais! Un...deux...trois...quatre..."
"Oh, Christ, I should've fucking killed him..." Toad mumbled and Rebecca chuckled.
She placed her palm against the cold surface of the wall again, and focused her power through her hand. The wall grew warm, actually began to glow slightly as the energy flowed out of her, but no matter how hot she made it, the substance would not burn...it did not even show signs of melting. When she concentrated, she had been able to melt plastics and metals, but the strange walls were unyielding to heat.
Rebecca stood and stretched her arms over her head. It had been hours, and they had not had heard so much as a footstep from the hall outside. At least, she assumed there was a hall. They could very well be in a box in the middle of the wilderness for all she knew. But, she doubted someone would go through all the trouble of building a giant robot to capture them without leaving someone to make sure they did not escape.
Toad was crouching next to the dark control panel and she wandered over towards him. She folded her arms, watching him curiously for a moment before speaking.
"Any luck?" she asked, and he looked up at her quickly with surprise. His eyes were wide for a moment before he frowned turned glaringly back to his work.
"No," he said simply, and ran his fingers along the edges of the doorframe. Rebecca knelt down next to him to watch what he was doing, and Toad frowned with annoyance and shifted a step away from her. Between Miss Curiosity and the Singing Cajun, he struggled to focus on what he was doing.
"No other ways out?" Rebecca asked and Toad sighed angrily.
"No," he replied again, and she nodded.
"What kind of weaknesses does this door have?" She asked and he turned his head to glare at her.
"I don't know. I didn't build the fucking thing," he said harshly, and took a breath before continuing in a more controlled voice, "That's what I'm tryin' to find out..."
Rebecca had not flinched as he shouted at her but inwardly was shaken by his sudden ferocity.
Toad glanced at her quickly once more, his action seemed almost nervous, and he shifted away from her again. Rebecca was used to that reaction, after people had seen what she could do. She stood and headed back to her cot. Toad paused as she walked away but did not move from where he crouched.
Gambit looked over at Rebecca with tired amusement as she sat down heavily. He glanced over at Toad, before shuffling the remainders of his deck loudly.
"Too bad we don't have a credit card..." he said thoughtfully, and Rebecca looked at him with a frown, as he continued, "No, I'm serious. This one time, back home in New Orleans, I met this beautiful woman one night, who naturally invited me back to her hotel room, mais neglected to tell me about her jealous husband driving in from Baton Rouge. Luckily, when the bastard suddenly appeared outside her room, I was able to escape through one of those doors that join two rooms together, you know? All I had with me was a pair of socks and my credit card, with which I escaped certain morte by opening the lock on the shared door. The people in the next room were very understanding..."
Rebecca tilted her head, and noticed Gambit shuffling his cards.
He sighed nostalgically, "That was a good night..."
Toad rolled his eyes, wondering how difficult it was to rip someone's voice box out. Rebecca frowned thoughtfully and then grinned before reaching over and plucking the seven of diamonds from Gambit's grasp.
She examined the card curiously and walked quickly over to the door. Gambit jumped off his own cot and followed her. Toad turned his head to the left and right as they settled on each side of him and he growled viciously.
"What are you doing?" he asked and Rebecca held the card toward the nearly invisible crack between the door and the wall.
"I'm wondering if Remy just had a good idea..." she replied. Toad scoffed loudly but decided to listen to Rebecca's suggestion anyway. He needed a good laugh.
Rebecca carefully forced the thin card into the tiny gap. It stuck about three-quarters of the way out of the wall. Both men were frowning and Rebecca grinned.
"If Remy can charge this card...like he did before..." Rebecca explained with growing enthusiasm.
Gambit nodded, "I guess I could do that..."
"Then it might disrupt the door enough to let us open it..." she finished, and the Cajun nodded again.
"I could get a lot of energy in just this one..." he agreed.
Toad shifted a step back and glared at both of them, "No fucking way."
"Oh, come on, ami, what the hell else have we tried..." Gambit said and grasped the card firmly before Toad could stop him.
"Hey!" Toad shouted reaching for Gambit's wrist, "You can't do that..."
Gambit pushed the other mutant's arm away, "Too late...I can't let go of this thing now or it will explode!"
"Oh, bloody hell, you idiots, if she can't melt the walls what makes you think your little explosions will do shit!" Toad shouted viciously. The card began to glow brighter under Gambit's fingers.
"Well, it's better than any idea you've had so far!" Gambit shouted back.
"My ideas don't have you blowin' us up!" Toad shouted again.
"Um...guys?" Rebecca said, her wide eyes fixed on the quickly charging card, and she moved away from the door.
"No? Well, then what's your idea? Wait 'til some robot comes for us again and lick it to death?!" Gambit shouted, not hearing Rebecca's worried tone.
"Guys?" she asked again as the card glowed white with power.
"Fucking french bastard..." Toad growled and crouched as if he was ready to pounce on the Cajun.
"Very original..." Gambit spat back, absently releasing the glowing card, "I'm glad you English are such..."
"GUYS!" Rebecca screamed and both men turned to glare at her for the interruption. Rebecca pointed at the glowing card angrily and the other two barely had a moment to duck before the seven of diamonds met it fiery fate.
Rebecca raised one hand toward the exploding card and redirected the resulting flames away from herself and her 'bunkmates.' The force hit the cots beyond, burning the rough blankets on each to ash.
As the dust settled, Toad and Gambit both sat up slowly and looked at the front door. There was not so much as a dent in the solid material. Rebecca coughed as the ash fell around her and she heard Toad speaking first.
"I hate you," he said, glaring at Gambit viciously.
To the green mutant's increasing anger, the Cajun just chuckled through his coughing and agreed.
"Oui...You and every man in the great state of Louisiana, ami," Gambit said with a grin.