(((Disclaimer: The X-Men belong to Marvel.)))
Golden Slumbers
Chapter 7
"Are you sure they're going to be okay?" Alice asked for the fifth time.
She sat in the War Room with Storm while they waited to hear from the others. It had been nearly half an hour since they left in the Blackbird and they were both concerned for their safety. The news broadcast covering the riot had ended shortly after their departure so they had no idea what was happening.
"There is no need to worry." Storm assured her. "We have dealt with simular situations in the past and have always managed to deal with them."
"Why do they hate mutants so much?" Alice asked, talking to herself more than anybody else. "I wish they would just leave us alone."
Beast ducked a bottle as it flew over his head. Then he jumped up and grabbed onto a light pole, swinging from it and landing on the ground behind his attackers. With one swift move he knocked their weapons out of their hands and they took off running. It didn't take long for another group of men to come at him. He dodged a mans attempt to hit him with a baseball bat and yanked it out of his hands, breaking it in half before grabbing the man and lifting him over his head. He tossed him into another group of rioters and they fell to the ground in one big heap.
"Get that mutie!" A man in the crowd shouted, firing his gun in Beast's direction.
Beast effortlessly dodged the shot and flipped out of the way. The man kept him in his sight, but before he had the chance to fire again a small explosion blew the gun out of his hands. He looked over just in time to see a glowing object hit the ground next to him and blow a hole in the road.
"Where you goin', mon ami?" Gambit called out, charging another card as he watched the man run in the opposite direction.
Gambit turned his attention when gunfire hit the ground around him and he quickly whipped around, throwing the card in the shooters direction. It landed in front of several armed men, blowing them back against a parked car and denting the side of it from the impact. The dazed men climbed back to their feet and ran away. Then he spotted somebody running towards him out of the corner of his eye and ducked as the man swung at him. He flipped the man over his head and sent him flying through the air, crashing into another group of FOH members.
Just ahead of them Wolverine sliced a gun in half and hurled a man into a wall. He turned around just in time to see Jubilee blow a hole in the road and scare several rioters away, almost smiling at the sight of so many grown men running away from one teenage girl, although he did know that she wasn't just your average teenage girl.
He saw a man near her pull out a gun and raced towards him, diving through the air and tackling him to the ground.
"Bad move, Bub." Wolverine growled as he pulled the man up from the ground and threw him across the road.
The man hit the street with a loud thud and rolled into the gutter. Wolverine was caught off guard when he hear a gun shot and felt a burning pain in his arm. He clenched his teeth and grabbed his bleeding wound, turning around to face a man with a rifle pointed at him. He dove to the ground and dodged the next shot, rolling to his feet and wasting no time as he charged towards the gunman. The man fired again, but once again missed and Wolverine cut through the barrel of the gun before kicking the man and knocking him to the ground. Then he glanced down at his now healed arm and wiped the blood off.
Gambit extended his staff as he flipped through the air, landing in front of a group of Friends Of Humanity and knocking their weapons out of their hands. Within seconds they were all on the ground and he looked over to see how Beast was doing.
Beast was fending off the mob and lifted a man off his feet by the collar of his shirt. He threw him into the group surrounding him and watched as they took off running.
"Looks like dey had enough, eh?" Gambit asked, walking over to join him.
"Yes, they appear to be retreating." Beast replied.
The crowd was scattering and fleeing in all different directions. They stood and continued to watch until Wolverine and Jubilee approached them.
"Guess we're done here." Wolverine said, crossing his arms in front of him and watching the remaining rioters disappear.
"Stop right there!" They heard a voice shout from behind them.
They all turned around and spotted several police officers heading in their direction with their pistols drawn.
"You gotta be kiddin' me!" Jubilee exclaimed. "We stop the riot and now they wanna arrest us?"
"Don' worry, p'tite." Gambit replied as he pulled a card out of his duster. "We not stayin' around ta hear what dey have ta say."
Without hesitating he charged it and sent it flying through the air. A large explosion errupted a safe distance in front of the officers, only close enough to distract them.e air. A large explosion errupted a safe distance in front of the officers, only close enough to distract them. The four of them took the oppertunity to escape and made their way into a deserted alley.
"Now what?" Jubilee asked.
"Now we go home." Gambit answered.
They started walking until Wolverine held his hand up, signaling for them to stop.
"What is it?" Beast asked with a puzzled expression.
"We ain't alone." Wolverine replied after sniffing the air. Then he directed his attention towards a dumpster just ahead of them and brought out his claws. "It would be a good idea ta come out now... While ya got the chance."
After a short wait a figure emerged from behind the dumpster...
Storm and Alice both turned to the large screen in the War Room when they heard a beeping noise that indicated an incoming message. Storm quickly pressed a button to take the call and Beast's image came up in front of them.
"Hank, is everything alright?" Storm asked.
"We are fine." He answered. "However, we do have another problem."
"What's wrong?" She asked, her nervousness evident in her voice.
"The Friends Of Humanity have once again taken mutant hostages." He replied. "Apparently they were taken during the riot. We found someone who had managed to hide and avoid capture, but he informed us that they have others."
"Did he know where they have taken them?" She questioned.
"No, that was all the information he was able to give us." He answered. "We got him to safety and are attempting to track down the remaining FOH in the area as we speak."
"Good." She replied. "Be careful and keep us updated. Good luck."
"I wish there was something we could do." Alice said after the screen went blank.
"Let us hope all goes well." Storm replied. "That is all we can do for now."
"They have a hard time learnin'." Wolverine remarked from his seat in the Blackbird. "You think they'd a learned their lesson by now."
"I don't think they're ever gonna learn their lesson." Jubilee replied. "Every time we turn around they're after more mutants."
"You see anyt'ing yet, mon ami?" Gambit asked from his seat in the back.
"Not yet." Beast answered. "I can't find any traces of--"
He stopped when he spotted a group of people in the street below them.
"What's wrong?" Jubilee asked.
"I believe we may have found our targets." He replied. "There appears to be some kind of gathering taking place directly beneath us."
"So fly us down for a closer look." Wolverine said, clearly ready for another fight.
Once they got lower to the ground they could see that the group consisted of Friends Of Humanity members and lowered the stairs as soon as they touched down. They started out of the jet and gunfire was immediately sent in their direction. Wolverine grabbed Jubilee and dove out of the way while Gambit crouched in a defensive position and pulled a handful of cards out. He quickly threw them and the explosions took out several of the shooters on impact.
"Help us!" Their attention was caught by a scream coming from the crowd. Wolverine was the first to spot the woman who had called out to them.
"There they are!" He pointed to a small group of mutants that were in the center of the mob.
"We must get to them without any of them getting hurt!" Beast shouted.
"Hope that don't go for the Friends Of Humanity too." Wolverine replied as he plunged into the crowd with his claws out.
Gambit released another charged card and blew the gun out of a mans hand as Beast made his way through the mob. He reached the mutants and jumped towards the gunmen guarding them, knocking them all out of his way as he cleared a path for them to escape.
"Get to the jet!" He shouted, continuing to ram through the crowd.
The mutants ran as fast as they could and Gambit threw more cards to cover their escape. Jubilee led them to the Blackbird and made sure they were all safely inside before returning to the battle.
"Come on, they're all inside!" She called out to the others. "Let's get outta here!"
Just then Beast let out a cry of pain and collapsed, grabbing his leg as he hit the ground.
"Beast!" Wolverine exclaimed, slashing his way through the crowd to get to him.
Gambit dove over the hood of a car as gunfire trailed behind him and tore the vehicle apart. He kept his head down while shots continued to hit the side of it and glass poured down on him. Then he put his hands on the car door in front of him and held them there while it charged. It was only a minute before the entire car was glowing and he ran out from behind it.
Wolverine was almost to Beast when the powerful explosion shook the ground. The force knocked him off balance and he stumbled, putting his hand down in front of him to keep himself from falling. He turned around and saw the smoking crater in the road, the side of the building near it burnt and cracked. Then he glanced around at the Friends Of Humanity as they fled the scene.
One of them was running away when he was suddenly grabbed and slammed against a light pole.
"Where you off to?" Gambit glared into the mans eyes as he pushed him against the pole, holding him by the collar of his jacket. "We not done here yet."
Wolverine ran over to Beast and knelt down beside him, looking over his leg to evaluate the injury.
"You okay?" He asked.
"I'll be fine, Logan." Beast replied. "It seems I wasn't fast enough to dodge that last shot."
"Guess not." Wolverine commented as he finished his inspection. "Doesn't look too serious, we'll be able ta patch it up."
"Beast, are you alright?" Jubilee asked, rushing over to join them.
"He'll be fine." Wolverine answered first. "Give me a hand, let's get em to the Blackbird."
Beast put an arm around each of their shoulders and they hoisted him up to his feet. He leaned heavily on Wolverine to compensate for his hurt leg and they started for the jet.
"Where is our Cajun friend?" Beast asked.
They stopped walking and looked around, searching the now empty street for Gambit.
"Uuh-oh." Jubilee was the first to see him.
"I'm sorry, let me go!" The man pleaded, but Gambit kept a firm grip on his jacket.
"So now you sorry, eh?" Gambit replied.
The man looked down at his jacket in shock as it began to glow.
"Gambit, stop!" He turned when he heard Jubilee's voice behind him.
"You know you can't do this." Beast tried to reason. "You know you will never be able to return to the team if you kill him."
"Den consider dis my resignation." Gambit replied, turning back to the man. The jacket grew brighter and brighter as he pushed him against the pole even harder. "Bang, mon ami. You dead."
Suddenly the charge faded and he pushed the man aside. He stepped over to the others as the man ran away and took Jubilee's place under Beast's arm to help support him.
"We done enough for one day, non?" He remarked.
"Indeed we have." Beast agreed as they made their way towards the Blackbird.
Gambit slowly lifted an eyelid and glanced up when he heard someone clear their throat. He let out a yawn and sat up on the couch he was sprawled out on, smiling as he looked into the green eyes watching over him.
"Welcome back, Chere." He continued to grin while Rogue stood in front of the couch with her hands on her hips.
"What in sam hill are ya doin' sleepin' in the middle of the day?" She asked with an emused smirk.
"Jus' waitin' for you ta get back." He answered as he got up from the couch. "Miss me?"
"You wish, swamp rat." She replied.
"Don' worry, Chere, you don' gotta say anyt'ing." He said, shooting her his cockiest smile. "I know you miss me. T'ings must a been aweful boring wit'out Gambit around."
"You kiddin' me?" She teased, rolling her eyes while she turned to leave the room. "If anything Ah enjoyed havin' a vacation from yah."
"How de mission go?" He asked, still smiling to himself as he followed her out.
"It went fine." She answered.
"Good." He replied, drifting through the living room door close behind her. "Glad you come back in one piece."
"There you are! We've been looking all over for you guys..." They both looked over when they heard Jubilee. She was standing in the next room, along with Storm and Jean.
"You need somet'in, p'tite?" Gambit asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The Professor wants to see you in the Danger Room." She replied.
"I believe he wants an update on Alice's progress with her abilities." Storm added.
"Den I best not keep 'em waiting too long, eh?" Gambit boasted as he made his way out of the room. "He in for a pleasant surprise."
"Has she really gotten that much better?" Jean asked once he was gone.
"She has made quite an improvement." Storm replied.
The Professor sat in the Danger Room and watched while Gambit and Alice demonstrated the progress she had made with her powers.
"She got a lot better since you been gone." Gambit said with a grin as a card slid from the sleeve of his duster and into his hand. "Observe."
He looked over at Alice and waited for her to nod before throwing the card into the air without charging it. Professor Xavier watched as Alice focused on the card and it began to glow in midair.
"Now, p'tite." Gambit crossed his arms in front of him and continued to watch the card.
Right on cue the card exploded and left a cloud of smoke in the air above them. Gambit and Alice both smiled and turned to an astonished Charles Xavier.
"I have never seen such a degree of progress in such a short period of time." He commented, looking quite pleased at the display of her control.
"Impressive, non?" Gambit was clearly satisfied with the demonstration.
"It truely is." Xavier replied, smiling at Alice. "I hope you can learn more during your stay with us."
"Me too." Alice smiled back.
"You t'ink we can have a minute, Professor?" Gambit's cheerful expression suddenly vanished.
"Of course, is there something wrong?" Xavier asked.
"Jus' need ta have a word wit' Alice is all." Gambit answered.
"Very well." Without another word Xavier left the room, leaving the two of them alone.
"What is it?" Alice asked, noticing the concerned look in Gambit's eyes.
He crossed his arms in front of him and just stared at her, thinking of what he was going to say for a minute before he finally spoke up and broke the silence. "I t'ink maybe it's time you go home, p'tite."
"What?" Alice was obviously stunned by his statement.
"I t'ink you should go back to your family." He replied.
"You don't want me here anymore?" She asked as a hurt expression appeared on her face.
"Non, p'tite, dat's not it at all." He answered, letting out a heavy sigh. "You always welcome here." He paused before continuing. "But you got a family back home."
"I told you I--" She began to argue, but he cut her off.
"You gotta quit blamin' yourself." He interrupted. "What's done is done. Dere ain't not'in you can do 'bout dat."
She looked away from him as a tear ran down her cheek. "How am I supposed to face them again?"
"You gotta try." He replied. "If you don' you gonna regret it for de rest a your life."
Alice fought back her tears and didn't say anything for a long time, thinking things over in her head while Gambit quietly waited for her response.
"What if he's dead?" She finally managed to ask. "What if they hate me? Then what?"
"Dey not gonna hate you, p'tite." He answered. "You jus' remember you always got a home here."
"Always?" She asked, attempting to smile the best she could.
"No matter what." He replied with a grin.
"What a delightful idea." Storm commented as she watched Jean and Rogue finish setting up their picnic. "It will be nice to have one last meal together before Alice leaves."
"I don't see why she even has to leave..." Jubilee pouted.
"The kid's got a family waitin' for her." Logan replied. "Can't expect her ta just stay here when she's got a home ta go back to."
"I guess." Jubilee mumbled, quiet enough that Logan was the only one to hear her.
"Here comes the guest of honor." Rogue announced when she saw Alice approaching with Gambit and Professor Xavier.
"I hope you like apple pie." Jean said once they reached them.
"I must say, Jean's pie is exquisite." Beast declared.
"Sounds good." Alice replied with a smile as they all took their seats around the food.
"Let's dig in." Scott spoke up, reaching for the food...
Alice tried to relax while the wind blew through her hair. She had said her goodbyes to everybody at the mansion and now she was on her way to do something she never thought she would be doing. She kept a tight grip around Gambit's waste as they sped down the road on his motorcycle. They were on their way to her house and she didn't know what she was going to do once she got there.
She had no idea what to expect. She didn't know if she would be welcomed back or turned away at the door. She was hoping her family would be happy to see her, but she knew it was very possible that they wouldn't be. She didn't know if she would be forgiven for what she had done. She knew she could control her powers now and there was no risk in hurting anyone again, but by now it could be too late and it might not make any difference. For all she knew her brother was dead and her parents hated her.
She felt her chest tighten and her heart begin to race when they turned onto a familiar street. She looked around as they drove down the road, taking in the sights of her old neighborhood. They were almost there. She peered ahead and let out a deep breath she didn't realize she was holding when she saw her house. It was just as she remembered it.
"This is it." She said as they got closer to it.
Gambit pulled over to the side of the road and parked in front of the house, taking a look at the house in front of them. Alice hesitated for a moment before she climbed off the back, keeping her eyes on the house while Gambit got off and stepped over to stand beside her.
"You ready, p'tite?" He asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be." She replied, trying to hide her nervousness and failing miserably.
"Don' worry, Gambit here wit' you." He assured her, pulling a pair of sunglasses out of his duster pocket.
"You don't need to wear those here." She said as she put her hand on his arm to stop him from putting them on.
"You sure?" He asked.
"I'm sure." She answered with a smile.
He looked at her with a puzzled expression, but a second later it was replaced by a grin and he slid them back into his pocket.
"Shall we?" He held his arm out for her to take and she smiled back, hooking her arm through his.
They slowly walked towards the door and Alice let out a heavy sigh once they reached the porch. Gambit gave her an encouraging smile and stepped aside to give her space, leaving her to face her fears. She reluctantly lifted her hand to knock on the door, but before she had the chance to it flew open.
"Alice?!" A young man exclaimed as he grabbed her and swept her up in a hug.
Gambit watched the man that could have only been a couple of years older than her lift her up off the ground in his tight embrace.
"John, you're okay?!" Alice sounded shocked and took a step back to get a good look at him once he lowered her back to the ground.
"I'm fine, are you okay?" He asked. "Where have you been?"
"You're really alright?" Alice ignored his questions as she burst into tears, relieved to see that her brother was alive and well.
"I'm fine, Sis, don't worry about it." He answered, pulling her into another hug. "We've all been worried sick about you."
Gambit smiled to himself and crossed his arms in front of him, leaning back against the wall behind him. He watched the joyful reunion take place and could see the relief on both of their faces as they exchanged stories of what had happened to them. He explained his recovery and she explained how she was taken in at the mansion. Just then her brother realized Gambit was standing by them and looked over at him.
"Who's this?" He asked, obviously startled by the sight of his red on black eyes.
"Remy's de name." Gambit introduced himself as he offered a hand for him to shake.
"He saved me." Alice spoke up. "More than once."
"I'm John." Her brother hesitated, but finally reached out and shook his hand. "Thank you for helping. I don't know what we would've done if something happened to her."
"My pleasure, mon ami." Gambit replied.
"Where's mom and dad?" Alice asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
"They're in town, they'll be back soon." John answered. "They're not gonna believe this! We've been looking for you ever since you disappeared. Come in, let's get inside."
"Do you want to come in for awhile?" Alice asked, turning to face Gambit.
"I should probably move along, p'tite." He replied with a smug smile. "Dey be missin' me back home, non?"
"Are you sure?" She insisted. "Just for a little while."
"Really, it's no trouble." John added. "It's the least we could do."
Gambit was going to turn them down again, but gave in and followed them into the house.
The two of them stood outside the mansion as the sun began to set. Logan puffed on a cigar while Storm stood a safe distance away from the cloud of smoke he was producing. They were occupying their time with casual conversation when they heard the roar of an engine. Logan picked the sound up first, but Storm heard it shortly after. Gambit was pulling in when he saw them standing at the front of the mansion and drove over to join them, parking just at the edge of the yard and hopping off his motorcycle.
"Did everything go well?" Storm asked as he walked over to them.
"Fine, Stormy." He replied. "We got not'in ta worry 'bout."
"Folks checked out, huh?" Logan spoke up, finishing off the last of his cigar. "No problems with her bein' a mutant?"
"Non, she got a nice family dere." He answered.
"Good." Storm said with a warm smile. "I'm glad."
"Me too, Chere." He replied.
They stood out in the lawn and talked for a few minutes before they decided to head inside. As soon as they stepped through the door they were greeted by Jubilee, who wanted to hear all the details about Alice's return home.
THE END