Warning: violence and torture.
Remy's nightmares were growing in intensity, and he was reluctant to go to sleep, causing dark circles to form under his ruby eyes. Xavier knew that once the memories were excepted into his conscience, they would no longer plague his subconscious with the same regularity. Hesitantly, he made a suggestion to his X-Men. Magneto had found a few dozen disks in the General's office. Some with classified information, others with video surveillance of the interrogation room, capturing hours of frustrated cruelty. They had held off on viewing the taps both for Remy's privacy and because no one had a burning desire to find out how the Cajun spent the eight weeks while in the clutches of the General. Xavier's idea was that by knowing what possible triggers were, they could carefully orchestrate bringing about the negative memories, as a way of cushioning the fall. It was a necessary evil, and had to be done. That was why a viewing of the footage was to be held that afternoon to any team mates who were willing to watch. The other X-teams were included just to be made aware of what they were up against if they should be captured.
With Remy safely tucked away in a far off wing of the base watching T.V with Jubilee, the teams gathered in the large conference room. There was polite chit chat, but over all the mood was anxious and uneasy. Storm had repeatedly voiced her disapproval of Xavier's decision to allow the viewing of the tapes, an opinion backed by Wolverine and Rouge. All three had debated weather to go, but in the end found them selves standing in silent disapproval in the back of the room. Finally Magneto entered with the tapes and projector floating behind him. He wore a sullen face, and angry eyes, having already born witness to parts of the tapes, before becoming enraged and sickened. He walked to the front of the room, the others becoming silent. As he handed over the tapes to Xavier he rest his hand sternly on his shoulder.
"Are you certain this is wise Charles?" He was answered by a heavy sigh and s solemn nod. Beast and Cyclops set up the projector then took their seats. Every one was exchanging looks of nervous apprehension. The Professor sat in front of them, head down and eyes closed, then looked up and cleared his throat.
"There should be no doubt that the footage on these tapes will be both disturbing and shocking. As many of you know, we the X-Men have been dealing first hand with the various traumas caused by what happened at that facility. Gambit has come along way the past few weeks, just as resilient and strong willed as he has ever been." He smiled briefly. "But he is by no means healed, and every time a particularly painful memory is triggered, we are left to pick up the pieces. In order to help him cope with the horrors of his recent past, we must first understand what they are. I know at least a few of you disagree with the viewing of these tapes, as an unfair invasion of Remy's privacy." A grunt was uttered from Wolverine. "But I trust that all those present here today, will use this knowledge as a way to further help and aide fellow mutants that have been through similar ordeals." He concluded with a heartfelt sigh then moved to the sides and nodded to Jean who mentally dimmed the lights and started the projector. A breath was released as the screen flickered to life.
The room was completely empty, with the exception of one steal chair, bolted to the floor, which was white, like the walls. At the bottom of the screen was a date and time.
"That's only a few hours after the attack." Rouge whispered.
For almost a minute, nothing happened, then the sound of a door opening and several sets of footsteps echoed in the barren room. Four guards appeared on screen, dragging behind them an unconscious Remy LeBeau. He was still in his uniform but for his long trench coat which was replaced instead by a strait jacket, and the Genoshin collar around his neck. The guards dumped him in the middle of the room, his head hitting the ground with a thud, laying on his side as they begin chit chatting.
"Man, did you see the guys coming in from that mission?……. Half of 'em went strait to the ER." A tall soldier remarked.
"Yeah,…..and the rest were busy carrying in the body bags." A red haired soldier added.
"Hey, weren't there suppose to be more of these freaks?" A particularly venomous sounding soldier asked.
"Yhea, a lot more,………what do you think happened?" The youngest one asked looking down at the mutant.
"Way I heard it, they all took off in a plane just before the Sentinels made it through the hanger……….Left this one behind."
"Did he do all that damage?"
"Yep,…….even with his powers gone. Took down half the boys and a few sentinels with some kinda space age gun or something."
"I'll tell you what,…..it's bad enough they got those freakish powers, but to have better weapons too!……….I'm just glade this ones unconscious."
"Yeah, but for how much longer?"
"Relax,…they hit him with like four darts,……..He's so sedated I'm surprised he's even breathing!"
"Yhea, plus he's in a strait jacket for fucks sake!…….He's out numbered and out armed!……..He can't do shit!" The black haired guard with the snack like voice taunted as he kicked Gambit over flat on his back. It was then that he was greeted with a most painful surprise, as Gambit's metal boots spun out as if he were brake dancing and caught the guard off balance, sweeping out both of his feet. The X-Man was up in a second, strait jacket undone, as he gracefully took down each of the stunned guards with out giving them a chance to call for back up. He threw the jacket to the floor, grabbed two of the guns then bolted out the door, but not before grinning at the camera and winking. Those watching couldn't help but smile, but tried to squash their false hope knowing that he never actually escaped.
The room remained silent for many minutes, before the guards began to regain consciousness. Suddenly a short, broad man entered, in a general's uniform with two soldiers behind him. He surveyed the room, then walked over to the fist soldier slowly picking himself up. He grabbed the young man and shook him hard.
"What happened?……..Where's the prisoner?" His voice was harsh and demanding.
"He,………I don't know sir,…….We were,……he…." The guard replied still dazed. The General growled and threw him back to the ground.
"Find him,……..NOW!" He barked at the men behind him. Then he got on his walkie talkie and began shouting orders as he left the room, the other guards carrying the fallen soldiers out of the room. Again the white room was empty. The mutants sat, waiting with bated breath as the seconds turned to minutes, and went on and on. After a while Cyclops advanced the tape, until an hour or more had past on screen, when finally the room became once more occupied.
They could hear the sounds of struggling, then, Gambit was being escorted into the room, by no less then seven soldiers. His arms were held behind him and a gun was at his temple. Other guards were positioned around him, all weapons pointed in his direction. From out side the door a voice echoed to release the prisoner. The guards reluctantly complied, shoving him forward, anger in their eyes, as many were limping, holding their sides with blood on their face. Gambit stumbled forward, but regained his balance before he could fall, casually strolling over to the wall, and leaning against it, arms folded and legs crossed, as if he were waiting for a bus. His breathing was heavy but even, and he appeared uninjured but for a small trickle of blood from his nose. The guards all stood between him and the door, guns locked and loaded. The General walked toward him, circling him like a shark, hands folded behind him. There was a deafening silence, the only sound was the breathing of the guards, and the foot steps of the General.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised Mr. LeBeau, you being a master thief and all……..Or do you prefer Gambit?" The man asked in a mock politeness.
"What ever your pleasure be,…….Misur…..?"
"Call me General,……and as for you, it doesn't really matter now any way, because like the rest of your freakish friends you will be known only as a number……..Prisoner 24601. Has a nice ring to it don't you think?" He snickered at Gambit who only smiled and raised his eye brows.
"And were be dese freakish amies of mine den?………I took a look around on my lil' tour of de place and didn't see no one else………..It appears to me,…….dat you bluffin,………General." Remy looked at his boots then back to the man, whose face was in a stern frown.
"Well,……….24601,………Appearances can be deceiving………….In fact, we shot down the Black bird moments after your detainment. Unfortunately several of the occupants were mortally wounded,…….so we put them out of there misery." He stated, as a matter of fact.
"Oh,…..is dat so?………cuze I could have sworn I jus heard one of yer soldier boys talking bout how dey escaped." Remy pushed off the wall, walking forward.
"If that's what you would like to believe then go ahead………But it is certainly not going to help the X-Men who survived the crash……….Especially that little southern bell we have up stares." He smiled as Gambit's eyes narrowed. " That's right, she's up there right now,………entertaining some of the boys. Even through the gage in her mouth, we can hear her calling your name, as if you could do a thing to help her." He laughed as Gambit turned away, his fists clenched. He breathed hard for a minute, gaining control, then turned back around, an amused smile on his face.
"Now I know you be lying,………cuze ain't a man here that could handle a woman like her……….She'd have your boys on their knees begging for mercy!" He scoffed and walked to the other side of the room.
"Well, I suppose you know all about that, don't you Gambit. As I recall from my research,……it was she who left you to die in Antarctica,…..was it not?" He smiled as the Cajun stiffened, but did not turn around. "And now they have abandoned you again, casting you out just as the Guild of Thieves did before them. What is it about you I wonder, that people find so repugnant. After all, it's not every day that a man's first love tries to kill him, even putting a contract on his head, while his current soul mate leaves him to die, to freeze to death in the bitter cold of Antarctica. A matter of fact, life would be a lot easier for all involved if you would just cease to exist." The General knew he'd struck a nerve.
"You may t'ink you know me Misur, but you have no idea!………..Go ahead!…..Read me some more charming little facts off yer list!………I know who I am, de question is who de hell are you!……….Gambit t'ink life was jus FINE for all involved until you decided to crash de party and play Hitler!……….What you got against us Mutants any how?" Gambit struggled to maintain his composure but then managed to gain control over his emotions, well aware of the importance of keeping a level head.
"You, and your kind, pose an eminent threat to the American people and the world at large!……….It goes against nature and God him self to allow blue skinned animals, and demon eyed freaks to pollute the homespun race!" Now the General was losing his temper.
"Is dat what it is?…….You afraid we gonna breed wit your women and spawn more little muties till de whole world is more evolved den you?………..You afraid dat soon all your high tec weapons and threats wont make a bit of difference, cause now you ain't de only ones wit power?………..Well your right!……You should be afraid,…….hell, you should be pissing in yo' pants, cause soon their will be too many of us to fight, and the world will have to except us and embrace us as their brothers and where will dat leave de small minded, bigot, shit eaters like you?……ehe?…….Yo' pathetic! Luckily, for every angry, bitter, war monger out dere, dere be men like Charles Xavier,……who keep hommes like you and Magneto from bringing about world war three!……..And one day his dream will come true, maybe not in dis life time or de next, but some day." Gambit laughed at the General, his face twisted in disgust.
"But that day is not today!…..Or the next day, or even the day after that!…….And for right now you can dream all you want but it's not going to change the fact that you're here, alone,…….with no friends to help you,…….no powers to fight with,………and no one to hear your screams!" The General was a foot away from Gambit, their eyes locked in a fierce battle of wills. Finally the General raised his hand and pressed a button on a small controller. The Genoshan collar buzzed to life, glowing yellow, as Gambit let out a muffled cry through clenched teeth, falling to his knees grabbing at the collar. Those watching the tape gritted their teeth and pound their fists angrily. They could hear the guards laughing as Gambit's body shook with electricity. Finally the General released the button, and Gambit fell forward on to his hands, gasping as he coughed up blood. The General stood over him grinning, he grabbed a fist full of Remy's hair, yanking his head back to look into his eyes.
"Is……dat……all…..ya….got?" Gambit stuttered, then spit blood into the Generals face. Instantly the General backed away wiping his face while the soldiers each were shouting.
"Go get the doctor, we don't know what kind of diseases this thing may have!"
"No!" The General ordered.
"But Sir, he could be carrying the Legacy virus!" The solder objected. The general just glared at him, then back at Gambit who was grinning up at him with bloody teeth.
"Johnson, go get me some steal wire, a pack of matches, a cattle prod, and a tool box!……….The rest of you, take turns hitting him, and don't stop!" The General's eyes were cold and merciless. He watched as the men circled around Gambit, who was now on his feet, guard up, but not for long as once again the collar began to glow, forcing him down. They were on him at once, like rabid dogs on an injured cat, raining down punches and kicks, spiting at him and tearing at his uniform. At first he managed to deflect their attack, even dislocating one of the soldier's knees, but all the while, the collar glowed, keeping Gambit curled up on the floor, rethering in pain.
"Get up Remy, get up!" Rouge shirked, tears flooding her eyes. Storm wrapped her arms around her and held her tight, while Logan was passing in the back of the room, mumbling curses. The others all turned away and then back again.
Finally, the General released the button and ordered the men to set him in the chair. Remy was haggard and covered in more blood then clothing as it had been torn from his body, but he remained conscious, spitting out teeth, and blinking to keep the blood, sweat and tears from clouding his vision. He struggled only for a moment as his wrists were pulled together behind him, before he was hit twice in the ear, then punched in the gut. He slumped in the chair, sucking in air, in dispirit gulps, while his wrists were bound together with what seemed like a mile of metal twine. When they were finished he was pushed back and a bucket of cold water was thrown on him, to rinse off the blood.
"There we go, that's better!………I like to see what I'm working on. Oh, and you do make a pretty canvas 24601,……….but I will make you a work of art!" The General stood over him with a sadistic twinkle in his eye. Gambit glared back at him, defiantly, eyes flaring in contempt. "It astounds me how almost normal some of you muties look!…..I would walk right past you on the street and mistake you for a human being,………were it not for those demon eyes, revealing your true nature!" He reached into his tool box and pulled out a long knife. Smiling he held it up to Remy's right eye, pressing the tip, into the corner and inspiring a trickle of blood. Gambit sat absolutely still, his breathing stopped, and his eyes wide. "I would cut them out of your head, if it didn't take away the one identifiable mark of your mutation!" He whispered, but still the Camera caught it, replaying his words back to a frozen audience. He waited for Remy to make a move, say something, but even as the knife cut into his skin he sat like a statue, keeping his poker face on firm. The General smirked and brought the knife up to the top of his head, then used his other hand to grab a lock of Gambit's hair, yanking it out, then using the knife to roughly saw through the auburn mane. The only reaction from the Cajun was to narrow his tearing eyes and lock his jaw. Hand full after hand full of shoulder length hair was sawed or ripped from his scalp, with only the occasional grunt or hiss released trough clenched teeth.
When that was done the solders all took turns mocking him and tossing his severed hair in his face. The General stood back, admiring his work, then picked up a pair of shears and a pair of pliers. The X-Men shuddered at the sight of his implements, many excusing them selves from the room, only to be frozen at the door as the sound of a piercing scream emanated from the screen. Remy's eyes were wide in shock, his face paled, as his whole body was shacking.
"What do you say boys,……..should we make sure this mutie can never bring any more freaks into this world?………Let him keep a little or take it all off?" The General laughed as Gambit's body convulsed before he passed out, crumbling out of the chair. "Ah, well,……it'd be too much of a pain in the ass to put a catheter in him any how!……..Wake him up, wake him up,……..I sure as hell aren't tired,……and we still have a few more tools to play with!" He rubbed his hands together, and went digging.
"Uh, sir?…….How do we wake him up?"
"Damnit Smith!…..Do I have to tell you how to take a God damn piss too?…….Just give me those matches." He grabbed the pack from his hand and lit three at once dropping them on Gambit's back. They gathered around watching as his skin burned, but still he did not rouse. "Hell, this'll get him!" He smirked as he grabbed a cattle prod and came toward the unconscious form. The X-Men watched in sickened horror as the torture continued for hours, fast forwarding through the worst of it, and pausing only when their was dialect. Each time they marveled at Gambit's ability to keep his own while cursing him for being such a smart alec. On several occasions, he would turn his cries of pain into robustly singing French nursery rhymes or Zydeco songs, irritating the General further. With every breath he had he mocked the General and his men, asking when they planned on starting the interrogation, if any one had the time, to hurry up because he was missing Saturday Night Live, if they minded the fact that they each shopped at the same store, and that green wasn't really their color.
"You see,……..It take a real man,…….to ware…..pink!……..Through,…..I tend,…..to call it Fuchsia!" He sputtered out, hoarsely, with exhausted eyes, and a permanent grimace on his face. "General!……..You look done wore out,………It be time we take a brake, non?………You be pushing 6o, oui?…..Ain't good fer yer heart to strain yo' self like dis!" He grunted loudly as he shifted in his seat, eyes sparkling through the fog of pain and nausea. The General just smirked and nodded to his men.
"Get this scum outta my sight!……..And leave on the wire,……we can't be to careful when it comes to keeping those busy little hands of his out of trouble!" he watched as The guards dragged Gambit away, then fallowed behind.
Charles stopped the tape, and the lights came on. No one had actually managed to leave the room although more then half the occupants were pressed against the back wall, the farthest from the screen as possible. Several people had tears in their eyes or looked like they had been crying, while others wore a determined and revengeful frown. Magneto stood by Charles and rest a hand on his shoulder. Silence dominated the room, until at last the Professor spoke with tears in his own eyes.
"The human spirit never ceases to amaze me……..It can be intolerably cruel, feeding off the pain and misery of others,…………and it can be remarkably resilient, able to with stand what ever the world throughs at it. Remy has always been the later of the two,……..though some times a spirit can only take so much, before it reflects back to others the damage done………Many of you are aware of Gambit's role in the Morlock massacre." He looked up at the differing expressions around him, some thoughtful, others questioning as to were he was going with the statement. "Although Gambit has never felt comfortable with confiding in me, unlike my other X-Men, After so many years of watching his behavior and hearing second hand tales of who and what he is, I believe I know and at least partially understand the man he has become. Remy is fiercely independent and reluctant to trust, always looking over his shoulder, quality's instilled in him at an early age. Then as a thief he was taught how to hide his emotion, to ware a mask so that no one may ever know his fears, his hopes, his dreams. To open up, and let others in was a weakness, to go out of his way to help others, foolish and reckless. However, Gambit's heart is bigger then he dares admit, so when he was banished from the Guild of Thieves, his home, his clan and his first love, at the tender age of 18, his heart was broken, and he relied only on his survival instincts, becoming cold and callus. Is it any wonder then, that he ended up working for a man like Sinister?………Alone, with no one to help him control his powers, and although well versed in the ways of the criminal underworld, still too naive and young to understand true evil. I have no doubt that Sinister is a hard man to refuse, and eventually his empty promises became very real threats." He paused, then sighed and continued. "Gambit is a proud, and head strong young man, whose guilty conscious is a constant echo in his mind. And although I wish he had felt secure enough to tell us the truth of his role, I can understand his fear of our rejection. He has suffered before in silence, turning his hatred inward. We must work together with him to help him redirect his anger,……..or we shall surly lose him. If he closes us out, then he will once more stop feeling, stop caring. Let us not allow him to return to his darker days." Xavier opened his mouth again to speak, but shook his head, then left the room.