Chapter 3 is up just like I promised!
Hope that was fast enough for you roguelover321!
Thanks for all the reviews. Chapter 4 will be coming soon, but sadly I have an essay for school I really should finish so I don't know when chapter 4 will be up. R&R everyone!
Explosions of Every Kind Chapter 3: Fight for Her Life
"Traitor!" Pyro's fists were heard throughout the entire base banging on the metal table. "The mate just up 'n left when the Shelia got hurt!" This time he kicked at the table's leg, "How dare he! Does the bloke think he's an X-man?"
Magneto came over and placed his hands on Pyro's shoulder that was burning with anger, and said, "Calm yourself Pyro. He'll be back, now come, we need to go over the location one more time."
He complied, but grumbled the whole way over to their projector screen where a map of Bayville and the surrounding areas' remaining power plants lay sprawled out across the white canvas. "We are going to take down the last surviving hydroelectric dam in the area," he pointed to the city two miles southeast of Bayville, "The world will soon be dark, and once again we will be living among the environment with the rule of competition, not government keeping us inline. The strong and cunning will survive; the weak will adapt our die." At that, Sabertooth let out a snarling growl in agreement, and the men filed into their appropriate metal spheres as Magneto lifted them and sent the orbs whizzing through the air, carrying his Acolytes inside.
Meanwhile, in the X-mansion's war room, Professor Xavier, Cyclops, Storm, and Gambit, who was very reluctantly torn away from Rogue's side, were discussing which strategy had the most likelihood of succeeding.
"Magneto wants t'take us back in time so the government can't screw wit' us anymore," Gambit informed them, "I believe his next target is the dam south of us."
"That could be very dangerous for anyone unlucky enough to be there," Xavier worried aloud.
"The world is out of balance, I can feel it, but this is not the way to fix it," Storm said.
Suddenly, a scaled 3-D holographic image of the hydroelectric dam appeared and rotated in the middle of the table.
"He might flood it," Gambit warned.
"If we attack head-on we could overwhelm them," Scott put forward.
"That option also has devastating back-fire potential," Xavier cautioned, "By-standers could be hurt or even killed, plus they would see us coming…" He thought then shook his head perceptively, "No, I think a rear stealth ambush would be a better decision."
Gambit decided to put in his strategical advice, "Most everyone should focus on takin' Sabertooth out 'n' a few others could hold the rest off."
Xavier turned to him with sympathy in his voice, "Our first order of business is making sure Magneto's plan does not succeed, not kidnapping Sabertooth."
"Rogue's dying!" Gambit shouted infuriated, "And y'expect me not t'worry bout that?" The anger had spread to his eyes. "I ain't an X-man, 'n' I'm goin' after Sabertooth when da time comes."
Scott stood abruptly and placed his hand to his visor as it started to glow pink. Gambit stared him down and took a card from his pocket, charged it and went into a ready position of his own.
"Go ahead, shoot!" Gambit taunted.
Storm stood and placed her hand on Scott's, "No, no fighting. In here he's not our enemy."
Through clenched teeth Scott eventually sat back down complaining in muffled whispers that, "He's always an enemy, no matter where we are."
Gambit also gradually sat back down, whispering his own curses, most of which were in French.
"Gambit," The Professor said with concern, "we cannot compromise the entire mission for the sake of one person."
He stood silently and walked out, yelling behind him once he was in the hall, "Come get me when y'take off."
"He'll endanger the operation Professor," Scott objected.
"Or save it. He cares deeply for our Rogue, and I bet out of everyone here he'll be the one to take out Sabertooth, because he's doing it to save her."
With that, Scott fell silent.
Gambit walked back to the infirmary to find Rogue sleeping in her hospital bed. Though, on closer examination he discovered she was not sleeping easily, her breathing was strenuous and hoarse. He walked over and stroked her hair, hardly being weary of her poison skin, "I promise I'll get y'better Chere." Her breathing hitched for a moment, and then a cough settled in her throat. She hacked uncontrollably and blood spewed out over Gambit's partially gloved hand. He had her drink some water and gently placed her head back down on the pillow to drift off to sleep once more. Whether she was awake enough to realize what he had said, he did not know. After he watched her fall asleep and made sure she was as comfortable as she could be, he lightly kissed her hair, not pressing hard enough to come in contact with her skin and left.
The entire team piled into the X-jet, even newer recruits. They were told of Magneto's plan as well as their mission being to stop it, they were also informed to focus on Sabertooth as much as possible. This was of little consolation to Gambit. The entire jet had a sense of awkwardness with an Acolyte sitting in the back. His effect ranged from Kitty whispering to Rahne that he was really attractive to grumbles from Kurt and Scott that he shouldn't be there.
"Going into stealth mode," Storm said from the pilot's seat.
They landed on the elevated side of the valley; where the giant barricade that kept the lake in meet the hillside. They stayed in the jet observing Magneto and his crew's behavior. Gambit's eyes immediately found and followed Sabertooth as he scaled up the large barricade, positioned himself on top, and searched for weak spots in the structure.
They were told to be patient, to wait for an opportunity of superlative attack advantage. But Gambit's mind burned with images of his dying Cherie, and he couldn't take it. He stood, anger smoldering in his eyes, "Sit down," Scott told him. He made no reply. Suddenly, his bo-staff appeared from under his trench coat and pushed Scott aside as he made a break for the door. Scott lunged after him but missed, and when he got up to pursue him the Professor told Scott to sit down and be quiet.
"So far as they know he's the only one here. We'll make our move soon."
Gambit ran fast and hard across the top of the barricade and charged for Sabertooth, knocking them both onto the hard cement. Sabertooth let out a lengthy and spiteful growl before flinging Gambit off of him and standing back up. Gambit simply back flipped out of the shove he received and landed on his feet skidding backwards, then lunged at him again. Leaping forward he let four charged cards fly from his hand into Sabertooth's chest, cursing himself for not charging them enough to cause him to lose balance and fall into the valley below. Sabertooth's hand clenched into a fist and he swung at Gambit. He blocked the punch to the face, but took in full force the one to the stomach. He heaved for another breath and let four more cards soar. While Sabertooth was temporary blinded by the smoke, Gambit whipped out his bo-staff and hit every pressure point he could come across, bringing Sabertooth to his knees, but only for a moment. He was back up and seized Gambit by the shoulders lifting him of the ground, intent on squeezing the life out of him, but first he had a question.
"Why are you going after me? Pyro's the one that scorched your girl."
"Y'can save her mon ami," Gambit tried to plea.
He gave him an eyebrow cocked looked and said, "Oh really?"
"Ye-" Before Gambit could finish Sabertooth head-butted him and sent him flying backwards with a cruel laugh. When Gambit recovered an evil sneer quivered his upper lip. He threw a spectacle of cards at him, and this time they were charged enough to knock him off the perch. Through the smoke Gambit ran and clenched his clothing right below his shoulders, both men went tumbling down into the valley below.
"Now X-men!" Xavier instructed, and the rest dashed out of the jet in battle ready positions.
Pyro, seeing this smiled because he loved a fight; always a chance to blow things up.
Jean and Kitty took Colossus. Kitty leaped, grabbing his ankles and fazing him knee-deep into the ground. He transformed himself to metal and broke the rock around him, then raised himself out of the hole. From that, he punched the ground and threw the shattered rocks at the two girls. Jean immediately put a force field around them to hold off the attack.
Meanwhile, Kurt decided to keep Pyro busy. He ported next to him, ducked, and side swept him, causing him to fall on his ass. "You'll pay for that mate!"
Pyro clapped his arms together and out soared a raging ball of fire that he chased Kurt with. That is until he teleported behind him and clapped his ears with his three-fingered hands, causing Pyro to shriek in pain. At that moment, Pyro lit the ground and created a rampant circle of flames spitting and shooting their hot breath out all about him. Choking on thick smoke, Kurt ported out of the circle to breathe. Pyro's insane Australian cackle echoed throughout the valley.
Bobby smiled hearing this, and from behind some brush quietly extinguished Pyro's circle little by little until it was nothing but a memory. Pyro's expression dropped from an ear-to-ear grin to a nasty frown. "Show yourself coward!"
Bobby rolled out from the brush into a battle pretense, then he and Pyro stood as if in an old western showdown. Without warning, both shot their opposite elements at each other and the forces met in the middle.
In the meantime, Sabertooth and Gambit had plummeted into the excess water below. The two men recovered and were back at each other's throats. Sabertooth had drop kicked Gambit the second he could clearly see him, and Gambit, being on the ground had booted in one of Sabertooth's shins. Wolfsbane, watching the fight from above decided to help. She skidded her way down the barricade in her half-wolf form to be able to latch onto the wall with her claws for traction. Three feet from the ground she leapt off the wall and onto Sabertooth's back, transforming in the air into a full wolf she sunk her teeth into the back of his neck. As Sabertooth snarled with pain, Gambit plunged his bo-staff deep into his abdomen then broke it in half and struck Sabertooth hard in the head. He reached behind him and hurled Wolfsbane off into an adjacent tree as he collapsed to the ground.
In that moment, Gambit, breathing heavily, realized he was unaware of anything else that had been going on around him. He saw Kitty and Jean shielded from Colossus as Scott blasted him into the hillside, he saw Pyro and Bobby going at it, and he saw Magneto systematically twisting and coiling the turbines into a warped mass of metal. The machinery exploded and hissed as he did so.
Xavier and Storm took the X-jet to the skies, picking up each member of the team before more damage could be done. Maneuvering her way with the jet into the valley Gambit threw Wolfsbane over his shoulder and dragged Sabertooth's unconscious body up the open incline, and they took off.
Pyro started to generate a fire replica of the jet but was stopped by Magneto, "We have accomplished what we came here to do, let them leave."
"But they've got Sabertooth and Gambit," Pyro protested.
"No," Magneto corrected, "Gambit has Sabertooth."
"You!" Scott yelled, "Because of your selfishness Magneto succeeded. You are here for him! Spy!"
"Excusez-moi! Gambit took Sabertooth by himself. And didn' ask fo' anyone's help. The only person dat helped me was her," he pointed to Rahne slumped unconscious in the corner.
"And look where that got her!" Scott argued.
"You suggestin' Gambit did dis on purpose t'the femme?" Gambit posed getting in Scott's face.
"Both of you calm down," The Professor said through gritted teeth. Both mutants on the point of fighting yet again, sat and cursed at each other from afar.
They arrived at the mansion in an uncomfortable silence. When they landed in the hanger bay The Professor announced, "Everyone change, get ready for bed, and then meet in the war room to discuss. We must plan our next move. Dismissed." Everyone loaded out of the Blackbird except Gambit, Storm, and Xavier.
"What if he is to wake up before we reach the infirmary?" Storm questioned looking down at Sabertooth's unconscious form.
"Let's just hope he does not," Xavier said to Storm.
The Professor used his telekinesis to levitate Sabertooth down the hall, with Storm and Gambit behind just incase he were to wake up. When they arrived at the infirmary Rogue was sleeping. Gambit checked the clock and it read 1:17, he hadn't realized how late it was when he had left.
Once again, he stroked her hair thinking to himself, 'this will work, this will work.' He looked at the Professor and nodded.
Xavier looked troubled; he turned to Gambit and asked, "You know the risks of this, don't you? She could permanently absorb parts of him, whether it be his mutation or appalling personality."
Gambit took this into account then gazed at Rogue once more and answered, "I know."
"Okay," Xavier accepted, "Let's begin."
Whooo! Chapter 3! Tell me what you think. And as soon as I can I promise to work on chapter 4!
R&R!
Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN XMEN OR XMEN EVOLUTION