Can't Take It
Disclaimer – Not mine, never will be.
Summary – The X-Men have to recover after they lose a valuable asset because of the past.
Authors Note – You all know the deal, post Antarctica, it's kinda obvious.
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They each stood there, rooted to the spot. No one could speak; no one knew what to say. There had been such a drastic transformation in the mutant in front of them that it was almost impossible to tell he was the same person they knew. But then, in all retrospect, he wasn't. He was someone, and something, completely different.
"Gambit?" Jean whispered, unshed tears welling in her eyes. They had all thought him dead; Rogue had told them he was dead. They had each mourned his passing and dealt with the grief of losing a team member. And now he was there, alive and glaring at them, openly hating them.
"Phoenix." His smooth accented voice was filled with contempt, the anger evident for all. He had never called her that, he had taken after Logan, he had started to call her Jeanie, started to trust her, trust her telepathy.
"We thought you were dead." She tried, attempting to put some soothing into her voice, hoping maybe she could smooth out the anger that was directed at all of them.
"It was a possibility." Came another voice, the figure of a leather clad female emerging from behind Gambit. Hands on her hips she stood beside Gambit, his back up if needed. Her silky ice blue hair swaying beside her hips. Her face was pale and her eyes white, only the tiny dot of black in the centre to add any colour. Jean couldn't remember seeing her before, couldn't place her face or sense any thoughts from her. "After all, normal people can only survive the cold for so long."
"What?" Cyclops asked, joining Jean in the confusion. No one else had added anything, everyone leaving the conversation to the married couple. "We were told you had died, after the trial."
"I would've, if Xero hadn't found me." Gambit said, his red on black eyes flashing. "I can tell y' didn't know not'ing 'bout it. The confusion rolling of y' is enough to prove that. Which means y' believed whatever Roguie told y' and let it rest." The whole team turned to Rogue, who in turn was glaring at Gambit.
"Would someone explain this to me?" Cyclops added, leaving the floor open for Gambit or Rogue's side. Neither spoke, so Xero filled the silence.
"The skunk there left Remy to die, in Antarctica. She had hoped he'd freeze, she didn't seem to like the facts of his past." Xero told them, her harsh tone searing the air with icy cool steel. "She didn't expect you to go back for him, which you didn't. You were all too judgemental after the trail to even care. Bastards." Xero spat. Gambit didn't say anything, but did shake his head once at her, clearly indicating that he wouldn't stop her verbal belittling of Rogue, but didn't agree with it either.
"You lied? You left him to die and you lied to us?" Storm asked incredulously.
"Ah didn't see y'all running out after him, y'all didn't bother one bit to try and find him. Makes y'all as bad as me." Rogue said with a glare at Xero and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Protect y'self all y' want cher, doesn't take away the guilt." Gambit said, pity seeping into his voice.
"Ah don't have no guilt." Rogue spat back, her anger increasing.
"And that's why I pity y' Marie." She seem taken aback by his use of her first name. That was when others appeared, more figures moving from the shadows and flanking the X-Men. Logan sniffed the air.
"Yer running about with Mystique now Swamp Rat?" The Wolverine asked.
"Non." Gambit replied with a shake of the head.
"Gambit here's come home. Back to the Morlocks where he belongs." Xero said.
"The Morlocks?" Storm breathed. "But Sinister killed them?"
"No, he didn't. Gambit stopped it, had you bothered to listen to his side at the trial you'd have found that out. By getting Sarah outta the tunnels and safe to Callisto, he managed to spread the word to the other groups that Sinister was after us. It's because of Gambit we're all still alive." Xero told them, her voice softening slightly as she saw the realisation dawn on the faces of Gambit's persecutors. "Eric the Red set you all up. He played you and you fell for it. Now you gotta pay the price."
"Are you out for revenge?" Scott asked Gambit, staring directly at the Cajun.
"Non. We ain't gonna fight. There ain't no need. Y' know what happened now. Y' gotta deal with dat y'selves." He spared one glance at Storm before turning and wrapping and arm around Xero's waist. "Let's go home."
With that the two started to leave, the others following after them.
"Remy!" Storm called for him. He stopped, turning half his body while Xero moulded herself to fit in his arms against his chest. "I'm sorry, brother."
A small smile spread over Gambit's face, sadness echoing in his eyes. "So am I, Stormy. So am I."
They turned again and left. Leaving the X-Men to deal with the issues that would now separated and tear them apart.
--
Storm hadn't waited after Gambit had turned to leave, with a final glare at Rogue, the thunder in her eyes crackling, the weather witch ran after her 'brother' hoping to at least make amends with him.
"Remy!" Both Gambit and Xero stopped, turning to face the African Goddess. That was when Ororo saw them all, gathered in the shadows, still hiding away. The Morlocks had come out of hiding that once, to show their allegiance with Gambit and the pale faced female. "Please, I must ask. Will you forgive me for not looking for you? For believing Rogue that you were dead and simply giving up? I am sorry for my lack of trust in you, brother. Please, all I ask is that you consider forgiving me."
Storm had collapsed to her knees, sobbing for her mistakes and praying to her goddess that Remy would find it in his heart to at least forgive her if not trust her again. The other X-Men had followed the distraught woman out, halting at the door and watching as Remy knelt beside the sobbing woman and wrapped her in his arms.
"Stormy," he whispered into her hair, holding her against his chest as she sobbed for the death that never occurred.
"Please, brother, do not hate me." Her words were broken in her weeping, but they were heard.
"Could never hate y' Ororo, never." Remy said, pulling back and wiping away the tears on her face. "Y' always trusted me, and I always trusted you. I should've been honest wit' y' from the start. And I'm sorry for that too."
"Oh Remy!" Ororo threw her arms around Gambit's neck, this time in rejoice for his survival, something no one else had commented on. "I have missed you, I thought you dead and I missed you terribly."
The girl, Xero, was shifting about from foot to foot, her arms behind her back and her lips drawn in. Ororo watched her over Remy's shoulder, noticing the dull and hollow look in the crystalline eyes.
"The girl, your friend," she whispered quietly into Remy's ear, "she cares for you, yes?"
"Oui." Remy replied, equally hushed.
"Then you should go and take care of her, but always know that I will have a home for you, here in my heart." Storm told him, pulling back enough to look into his demonic eyes.
"Merci, Ororo." Remy said, kissing his sisters cheek softly before helping her back to her feet. "Y' never know how much dat means to me." He told her, kissing the back of her hand once before walking backwards to stand beside Xero, who instantly took the hand he offered her. They had just started to walk away again when Xero stopped and said something to Gambit, causing him to look back at Storm. He nodded once, turning with Xero as the female opened her mouth to speak.
--
Cyclops interpreted the action wrongly; believing that Xero had took this to mean Gambit would return to the X-Men by Storm's request.
"Ororo, if you want him to come home, just say." He said, watching the woman he trusted his team to, as tears still streaked down her face. "He's still one of the team." It would be hard to integrate Gambit back into the team though, with all the distrust going around, the brutality of this latest revelation would be the hardest to deal with. Dealing with Rogue, who believed she had done nothing wrong, would be the hardest.
"Remy isn't going back to you." Xero voiced from in front of Storm. "He's a Morlock again, and he's happy, he's trusted and he's home. That's what he wanted from you, and he never got it." The female turned to Ororo. "Callisto trusted you with her life, and with the Morlocks, with the passing of our leader we're at our wits end. We're extending the invitation that Callisto once offered to you. Join us? Lead us?" Xero asked, offering her hand out to Storm.
Gambit stood, a little distance away, watching the scene unravel. He would be honoured to have Storm lead the Morlocks, would be overjoyed to have his sister stay close, join his new family and home. But he would not say or do anything to influence her decision, that was hers to make and hers alone.
Storm looked from Xero's offered hand to Remy and then back to the gathered X-Men. Her brother had forgiven her, and through this Xero had offered her the position of leading the Morlocks, a team she would give her life for, just like the X-Men. But would the X-Men ever be the same? Would the team ever be able to move past the betrayals, Rogue's lying, the grief of the massacre, the revelation of Gambit's survival? Storm wasn't sure what counted as home anymore, and so she let her heart guide her as she moved - taking Xero's hand in her own and clasping it strongly. The younger mutant smiled and nodded her head.
"Welcome home." She said softly, her cold features softening and warming slightly, as much as they could considering her icy features.
"Thank you." Storm said with a smile, before looking back to the X-Men. "I am sorry my friends. But my heart and head were undecided." Wolverine wouldn't meet her gaze, Rogue was glaring and Jean, Jean was ever understanding.
"It's alright Ororo, you have to do what you think is best." Ororo silently thanked her friend, crying for the loss she was now experiencing, but celebrating her return to the Morlocks.
She started walking with the blue haired girl, making her way towards Gambit who was finally smiling again, his red on black eyes dancing. "My name's Lucy." She said softly, an arm wrapping around Gambit's waist while Storm simply took his hand as the gathered Morlocks began scattering back into the sewer systems.
"I am Ororo." She replied, slowly removing her X communicator and dropping it to the floor. "Shall we go home?"
The question was met with smiles as the X-Men watched two of the members leave, forgiven and forgiver, although it was unsure as to who was who.
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Don't know why or where it came from...(shrug)
Feedback would be nice.