I sat next to the tub, my knees tucked into my chest. It had been several hours since I threw the exoskeleton of the gun in, and it still wasn't a liquid. I shivered, rubbing my hands together and blowing on them. Why the hell was it so cold in here?

And then I heard a foot step. It was subtle, but still there. I flipped the cloth face mask up, secured my black hat on my head, leapt on top of several different machines, and hid in the rafters in the ceiling. I quietly unsheathed my swords, and prepared myself to massacre anyone that I saw. Except, I didn't really expect him to show up.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Gambit stalked cautiously into the abandoned headquarters. He was a little weary about returning, but he supposed that if he got the chance to knock someone's head in, it wouldn't be a total waste.

He pulled out his bo staff from his inside trench coat pocket and extended it. He used it to poke and move little things, looking for whatever turned the old headquarters on. As soon as he approached the tub, he looked inside and I dropped from the ceiling.

"Back off it, Gambit." I growled at him, pointing my adamantium katana at him.

"Who are you?" He threatened right back, getting into the stance he used for fighting.

"Think about it Gam-Gam. Who else do you know with these boots...or tattoos for that matter?"

He tilted his head with a miniscule smile on his face. "Bréve-Remplir?"

I dropped the swords from his face and sheathed them. "Nice to see you again." He dropped the one end of his bo staff and held out his hand, I shook it.

"Y' too. Wha' are y' doin' hea?"

I inwardly cringed at his voice. I never really noticed how much that voice annoyed me. "I'm actually working on a project. I needed this wonderful little tub." I motioned toward it. "I really should learn the name of it."

"Wha' y' makin'?" He looked into it again.

"It's a surprise." I teased. "For Rogue."

"Chére?" I nodded. "Why?"

I shrugged. "She deserves it."

"Wha' is i'?" All of a sudden, Gambit was as excited as a puppy wanting to play catch.

"I told you, it's a surprise!"

He pouted a little. "Nee' an' 'elp?"

I pulled down the face mask and smiled. "Sure. Can you help me search for a square molding plate about this big?" I made an inch by inch square with my fingers.

He nodded, and we began to search about the room, filing through the many drawers and large cabinets full of tools and utensils. We bypassed needles, syringes, hooks, and many circular shaped objects, with one large space in the middle. Neither of us had any idea as to what they were used for. When we couldn't find anything resembling what I was looking for, we moved on to the tables and cubby holes where other miscellaneous items were held. I found something similar: an eight by one inch rectangle with a two centimeter border, leaving a half centimeter not indented. Yeah, this could work.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Ready?" I asked Gambit as we prepared to start pouring the alloy into the mold.

"Yeah."

I held the tube that led to the tub, ready to push the button and let the alloy flow through it. "You better hold that thing steady, because if you don't, you are going to get this shit all over you. And let me tell you something, this shit don't come out."

He chuckled. "I' no' goin 'nywher'."

"Pushing the button…" I took a deep breath and crossed some imaginary fingers. "…Now." I hit the small blue button and a steady stream of searing hot liquefied metal traveled through the tube and out the large needle. I gently guided the needle along the mold, letting every space fill up before moving on. It took about fifteen minutes for the mold to be filled.

"I' 't don'?" Gambit asked, still keeping his hands rigid.

"Yeah, for now. This has to solidify before I can take the next step of adding the cutonium." He nodded. "You can let go of it, you know."

"Righ'." Gambit removed his gloved hands, they had just a little shake about them.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Thi' i' really goin' help Chérie?"

"When I add the cutonium it will.

"Wha' i' 't goin' do?"

I smiled and clapped my hand on his shoulder. "Oh, you'll find out, Gam Gam. Hey, tell the Professor that it's just me fooling around up here." I waved my hand, and Gambit disappeared.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"How do I get it back to a solid without freezing it?" I inquired to Lucius Fox that same day.

His arm was holding his head up. It was propped up on his dining room table. "Miss Wayne," He sniffled. "I do not like talking business in my bathrobe." He shook his congested head.

"I'm sorry I didn't know you were sick. But this is vital; life or death, my friend!" I saw his eyebrow raised with skepticism. "Okay, maybe not life or death, but it is still important."

"I don't know! This is not my area of expertise."

I looked at him incredulously. "You're a chemist!"

"And Cutonium is a new element. One I have never experimented with. So I am sorry, but you are on your own with this."

"Why is everyone deserting me? These past few years I couldn't get a minute to myself, and now you people are all obsessed with leaving me. I don't know how much more I can take of this." What the hell was going on with the world?

"You're growing up, Andi. You don't need us that much anymore." He tried to reason with me.

"Says you. I'm more confused than ever now."

"Andrea." He said sternly, grabbing one of my hands. "You have to start figuring things out on your own. You are nineteen now, and you are plenty old enough to make your own decisions. Figure out how to get the Cutonium back into a solid, or keep it as a liquid. No one is babying you anymore. So suck it up and move forward."

My eyes were wide, jaw dropped. No one had ever spoken to me like that before. "Okay." I nodded numbly. "I-I'll figure it out." I let go of his hand and teleported back to Canada.

Lucius let out a breath. "Tough love." He reminded himself. "It had to be done, it had to be done." He recited, as if trying to convince himself of his latest deed.