(Two)

Gambit waited patiently in line, unworried. Jus' like de lunch line back at Saint Anne's, he mused to himself, thinking of the New Orleans orphanage where he'd stayed as a small child.

Unlike Logan whose past had been blurred by abuse and mental implants, Remy LeBeau knew his all too well. He'd been a scoundrel even as that small child and it seemed his destiny was to find himself moving from one tight spot to another, sometimes with disastrous results. Those experiences had left him at odds - he was a social creature by nature, yet now found himself surrounded by many fine acquaintances, but very few true friends. Remy had a lifetime's worth of painful, ugly secrets and tended to keep them to himself, something that had at one time cost him his spot on the X-men team for a while. He had returned a year later with the proper contriteness and was now forever finding ways to try and make up for his fuck ups.

As if dat could ever 'appen, he joked to himself again. Gambit, yo' life is nuthin' but bouncin' from one adventure to de next. Never knowin' where you gonna end up.

Remy's return had placed him on the outside circle of the team and his rambunctious risk taking and refusal to be a submissive beggar of forgiveness kept him there. He chose instead to make up for his life's sins by working as much as possible on whatever missions the Professor sent him on, especially if it involved saving lives. Taking care of some inter-galactic slavers fit that bill quite nicely and for the moment wasn't the least bit concerned about where he was. It seemed to him that he and his X-men had been in tighter spots than this before and walked away. They would knock a few heads around, free some people and be home in time for X-Files.

"Lives saved for de lives lost, no matter what de cost," he muttered softly, saying the motto that kept him going. He had a tab to pay for he didn't think he could ever repay, but it wouldn't keep him from trying. He was calm and relaxed as he took in the situation at hand.

The line took them to an entrance of a medium sized room filled with more Dognan soldiers. The doorway there was framed in metal and appeared to be some kind of scanner. When someone stepped through, a red light beam moved down the doorway and scanned his body. Medical information came up on a flat screen monitor in the next room. A civilian cat man, presumably a medical officer, sat at a desk and looked over the results. He was sending the humans in two directions. It seemed like the older and less healthy ones were sent to the left where a group of soldiers led them away.

Gambit was close to the front of the line when he figured out what was happening to the men and he wasn't all that happy about it. Always prepared, he casually slid his hand into one of his deep jacket pockets. He loved this wonderful, long trench coat. It had lots of places to hide things. He always carried a pack of loose cards and his retractable bo staff hidden for times such as these. The staff was only about ten inches long in his pocket, but would snap out to about five feet when fully extended. Remy had an idea that something funky might happen when it was his turn to be scanned and wanted to be ready.

Remy advanced to the front of the line. He was halted in the doorway and scanned.

Immediately an alarm went off and flashing lights lit up the doorway above him.

Remy rolled his dark and crimson eyes casually up at the flashing lights, grinning innocently while waving his hand behind his ass. He joked casually, "Quoi? Was dat me? Aunt Charity's Jambalaya...it go down easy, but it's murder on de way out, n'est ce pas?"

The Dognan soldiers did not share Gambit's sense of humor. "Alpha!" someone yelled and two large cat men with guns came running.

Unfazed, Gambit's grin widened. He playfully tossed his glasses away with flair, no longer needing them, and spat out his gum. He whipped out the bo staff, snapping it out to its full length with a quick twist of his wrist. The staff had been custom made for him and using it was second nature.

"Go for it, Cajun!" Logan growled with a snicker, itching to get down to it himself.

Remy twirled the staff skillfully, never missing a beat and met the soldiers prepared. He moved around them quickly and efficiently, taking them down easily with sharp blows from the bo staff and acrobatic kicks with his booted feet. He moved with a feline liquid grace as if the air and the room belonged to him, his smile wide and carefree. He was confident and completely in control of himself, enjoying this to a point.

Logan stood in the doorway with a grin and let Remy have his moment. One had to admire Remy's grace, he moved about as if he owned the room itself, as if he was putting on some kind of show. It wasn't exactly appreciated by their captors and more soldiers came in response to the noise. They were armed with guns, but no one fired, not just yet. It wasn't all that unusual for a captive to kick up a fuss now and again and sometimes it was even entertaining. This was sport to them and today it looked like they were getting their money's worth.

"You wanna play wit Gambit? Pick a card!" Remy challenged and let loose with a volley of red glowing playing cards, making them appear as if by magic from his fingertips.

They exploded loudly, adding to the confusion and Logan finally jumped into the fray. The scanner alarm went off as he passed through, one obviously set to detect mutants. He didn't care. He fought vigorously, putting on his own little display of power and strength, and the bodies of Dognan soldiers started to pile up. He hadn't quite gotten to the point of being lethal, he was hoping that his display of ferocity alone might buy them a chance to escape.

Still, they just kept coming. The two X-men were soon outnumbered in spite of their efforts. Beast joined in, but things were getting out of control. It didn't take long for things to go from bad to worse - one of the cat men swung his gun wildly and by lucky chance accidently hit Remy on the head right over his eyes.

Gambit's legs buckled from the blow, but he didn't go down. He swung blindly with his staff, but was too dazed to connect. The soldier saw Remy's sudden weakness and took advantage of opportunity to strike him again. He smashed the butt of his gun again into Remy's forehead and watched with satisfaction as the thief finally fell to his knees with a pained shout, his hands over his eyes. Gambit was dazed and bleeding, no longer able to fight, so the soldier laughed and hit him again. This time, the thief went down for good.

Logan, protective as always, got to him before the Dognan soldier could do more than just stun him. Logan spun the soldier around and viciously slammed his fist into his face with a growing fury. The animal rage in him was rising and he growled once more between gritted teeth as he fought. Two more soldiers tried to jump on Wolverine and pull him down. He took care of them easily, but their replacements were right behind them. Logan wasn't liking the odds much and he decided to up the ante. He popped his claws with a snarl and slashed through the next wave quickly, sending blood flying in all directions. The rest of the Dognan men paused at the sight of it, startled by this new development.

Beast stepped back, momentarily free. He was concerned about Wolverine's decision to take this to the next level. This out of control situation was getting worse.

Logan stood over Remy, claws dripping blood as he claimed his property. "All right, who's next!?" he challenged with a wicked laugh.

Blue Sash stepped up from the crowd, wanting a turn. "Hey, you. Brave man. You, me. Play fun now." He slid off his rifle and took his shirt off. He was massive in size, well built and strong. The rest of the Dognan soldiers stood back and cheered him on without interfering.

"Yeah, we'll play. Just you 'n me," Logan growled, pulling his lips back in a wild sneer.

They circled each other, taking their positions. Blue Sash lunged and Logan countered, cutting the man's hand and drawing first blood. Blue Sash just kept smiling as if he never felt it. He jerked to the left and Logan moved to block him. Quickly now, the cat man struck out with his foot and tripped him.

Logan, well trained at this sort of thing, fell with a practiced grace, tangling his feet with his opponent's and bringing him down as well. They rolled and wrestled, each fighting for a better grip. Blue Sash managed to get his arm around Logan's neck and hauled him to his feet, picking him up off of the ground. With one hand Logan reached behind and grabbed a fist full of Dognan hair. In one quick movement, he shoved the fingers of his other hand up the guy's nose and yanked the man's head down.

Blue Sash bellowed with fury and pain as his lion's nose exploded in blood and shattered bone. He heaved Wolverine off of him and gripped his ruined face, trying to stop the flow of blood. Logan landed expertly and rolled to his feet. He was laughing now and having a blast. Fighting was a kind of release for him, an out for his animal energies.

Logan shook his head and shoulders triumphantly, loosening up, and waved his hands in invitation. "Ya like that, huh? Wanna taste some more? C'mon!"

"Brave man dead now!" Blue Sash blurted out, spraying blood with every word.

"Then let's do it, ya fuckin' pussy!"

Blue Sash roared and charged.

Logan side stepped him easily. He popped his claws on one hand and drew them across the man's belly. Blue Sash was out of control with rage and his momentum carried him into the blades. The force of it almost cut him in half as Logan's claws sliced right through him just as nice as you please. Blue Sash sagged and dropped to the floor with a twisted scream as his guts spilled out onto the ground. Logan pulled his hand up and finished the movement of his deadly dance elegantly, his eyes wild and defiant. He threw his head back and howled with the thrill of the kill. It was sometimes too easy for him to get lost in it and lose grip with his humanity. He was magnificent and horrible all at once. No one else moved in the room, they were awestruck by his ferocity. Blue Sash twitched and died unaided as his blood spread into a large pool around his body.

The moment passed. The soldier with the gold sash walked up to his dead compatriot and kicked the body, then looked away, bored. He barked an order to the medical officer who was sitting at the table. The man picked up a small gun and shot Logan with it casually as if he did this sort of thing all the time.

Logan was still standing protectively over Gambit and was too busy watching Gold Sash to fully understand what was going on. He thought there was going to be another fight. He was wrong. The tranquilizer dart struck his arm and he crumpled with a startled grunt, falling bonelessly to the floor.

Gold Sash poked him with his foot and laughed in contempt. He went to the table and picked up another gun. This one was more like a hand scanner than a weapon. He held it up to Logan's arm and burned a bar code into his hairy bicep.

Gold Sash moved next to Remy who lay unmoving on the floor. He stripped one of his coat sleeves off and ripped the sleeve of his shirt to burn a mark on his arm, too. He picked up Remy's bo staff and looked at it curiously, finding some fascination with the weapon. He found a small button on one side and the staff retracted to the small ten inch bar. He smiled, amused with Gambit's little toy.

He put restraining collars on the two mutants.

Somewhere along the line a scientist for one of the anti-mutant groups had designed special collars that blocked out whatever gifts a mutant had been given. Not many were made and they were rarely found on Earth. The Dognan seemed to have acquired one of these and copied the technology for themselves to control the alphas they harvested by accident. Gambit would not be able to charge objects with his power or Logan to heal. They were essentially pacified and unable to act.

Gold Sash looked back at Beast who was still standing. "You there! Come this way please!"

Henry gave up and shut his image inducer off. He was now revealed, a huge hulking mass of blue fur, dressed only in a pair of tight fitting shorts. Because of his fur, Beast was simply too hot fully dressed.

Gold Sash just laughed when he saw the blue fur. "You silly alphas! You fool no one. Smelled you as soon as I saw you. You want to fight me, too?" Henry just glared at him. "Didn't think so. You come now! Come here or your friends will die."

Henry obeyed meekly, coming up to him slowly. What else could he do? He reminded himself that it was better to live and fight another day. He offered no resistance as his arm was burned and a collar put on his neck. He sighed when he felt the weakness seep into his body, the collar was draining away his strength. He was still blue and furry, nothing would ever change that, but he was not as strong or as agile as he would be normally.

"Alphas too strong for slaves. Got something better for you!" Gold Sash cackled. He waved his hand and a group of soldiers came. They grabbed Gambit and Wolverine and dragged them away. Henry was towed along as well. The X-men were tossed into a holding cell and energy cuffs were placed on Logan's wrists. These powerful restraining cuffs made Wolverine's arms numb so he would be unable to pop his claws and cause more trouble. After that, they were left alone. From where he stood, Beast could hear the sounds of screaming men. The cat men were slaughtering the weak.

(break)

After a few moments, Gambit groaned and came awake slowly. He wiped at the cut on his head and winced. His head was one huge throbbing ache. He was dimly aware of movement beside him and felt familiar blue comforting hands lightly touch his face. "Uhhh...Where we at?" Remy wheezed, looking around. Through bleary eyes, he could see they were in a large metal cage attached to a wall. "Dis don' look like no 'Oliday Inn Gambit ever sleep in."

"Holding cell for the moment," Beast replied as he examined Remy's injury. "We have no way of knowing where this facility is actually located."

"Guess dis mean no decent room service." Remy was never one to be caught unprepared. He slid a small lock pick from his pants pocket with a smile. He was well trained in the delicate art of lockpicking and this wouldn't have been his first attempt at a restraining collar or cuffs. "Mebbe dis 'elp, non?"

"Perhaps, but I fear they wouldn't be so quick to let us leave alive if we cause more trouble than we already have. They seem to have an endless supply of personnel. Besides, Logan is still down."

Gambit looked over Henry's large blue shoulder. Wolverine lay in heap, his bloody hands still cuffed. The restraining collar was preventing his body's natural healing factor from purging whatever sedative he'd been shot with. Who knew how long he'd be out. He was probably going to be all pissed off about it, too when he woke up. Logan was normally crabby to begin with but confinement only made him worse. The energy cuffs were of a different design than Remy had never seen, they didn't have a visible lock. Without a pickable lock, even this talented thief wouldn't be able to get those off either. He looked up at Henry's collar, giving it a quick once over. Of course it was booby trapped. No way that was coming off without some damage. Damn.

"Dis ain't lookin' too good, homme. Looks like we in for de ride."

"So it would seem. Perhaps, if we are patient, an opportunity will present itself."