"Either you go away from here right now, or one of your little buddies will be collecting your ashes for the funeral ceremony."
The threat issued from the corner of the rubble-filled room by the dark haired girl was clearly sincere. The X-Men had arrived on the scene barely twenty minutes before, to find the factory complex decimated and the surrounding buildings in flames. Cerebro had picked up signs of mutant activity in the area, and amid the desolation it was obvious who was the cause.
Gambit stepped warily into the room; Jean had been unable to get any reading, and the powers-that-be had nominated him as the most adept negotiator in a potentially hostile situation. In his darker moments Gambit sometimes wondered if it wasn't simply because he was the most expendable.
"Hey now, p'tite. Woulda brought a white flag, but 'm all out of clean handkerchiefs today. But no need to get so worked up. It's a belle day and 'tween you and me, I'd rather by out by the pool, with a drink or two in hand." Silence answered. "Name's Gambit. 'M with the X-Men, for the moment at least – we try to help mutants, as a general rule. How 'bout you?"
"Gambit? Are you friggin' kidding me?" Despite the lack of any outward sign, Gambit's nerves tightened to an unbearable pitch, and an ominous buzzing became clearly audible as he shifted his weight forward. He quietly slipped a couple of playing cards into his hand as the voice bit out, "Well, in that case, you can call me Meltdown, because that's what you'll be, buddy. Bye-bye now."
Things were clearly going from bad to worse, and soon the only options would be to take the girl out or hightail it out of there. Much as he would with a wild animal or a disgruntled member of the underworld, Gambit outwardly relaxed and leaned back against the wall; the key was not to show fear.
"Well now, it's just one o' the names I go by. More a philosophical statement really – just like in chess, sometimes you gotta let something go in order to hold on to what's really important, and sometimes you gotta risk it all to win. But if you prefer, you can call me Remy Lebeau." Laying on the charm, he continued, "And may I have the pleasure of learning your name, p'tite?"
"Lebeau? Either you really like putting your life on the line, or you have an ego large enough to eclipse the sun." Given that Gambit's surname literally meant "The Handsome", the girl could be easily forgiven for thinking that he was trying to make a fool of her, but the buzzing died down as she added, "But I do remember hearing about you guys on TV. Riding in to save the day and all that. Or yet again proving yourselves a bunch of dangerous vigilantes and the biggest known threat to the value of New York real estate, depending on which channel you watch." She sighed, "I promise I won't cause any more trouble. Just go away and leave me alone."
Secreting the cards back in his pocket, Gambit relaxed and straightened up. "Well now, we could do 'dat, but tell me – what are y' gonna do now? From the look of it, things here weren't going so great", Gambit waved a hand to encompass the shattered room and the expanse of the ruined facility beyond, and continued with a wink, "And you'd be welcome back at the mansion if y' want to take a break. Wasn't kidding 'bout the pool; big enough to sail a boat in. Well, one of dem little paddling ones at least." Seeing the girl's expression lighten marginally he continued, "Anyway, third time's de charm, or so dey say. You gonna tell me y' name mebbe?"
The girl eyed him with an odd mix of anger and despair, the look of a cornered beast, but it was overshadowed now by a deep weariness. "Lilliane. My name's Lilliane", she said as she stood up and dusted off her trousers, pushing past him as she moved out the door. Gambit shrugged to himself. The girl had clearly been through a hard time, and he wondered whether the explosion at the factory had been caused by something other than her powers going out of control; but she was just as clearly the sort who believed that attack was the best form of defence, and that would undoubtedly cause problems further down the line if she stayed on at the mansion. For now at least, the mission had been accomplished, and it would be up to the Professor how to handle the latest arrival. "Besides", Gambit thought, "Tomorrow's another day."