Thieves Gambit
A few weeks after rescuing Storm from Shadow King and bringing her home to the X-Mansion, a small quad of Mutant Response Division soldiers were chasing after a young mutant girl, Amara, who had lost control of her powers and began to close in on her...until Logan and Blade had jumped out of the shadows and defeated the MRD troops with extreme ease. After they had defeated the MRD's, Wolverine had placed a hi tech collar around Amara's neck...which helped the young teenage girl control her powers and cancel out her magma/fire like form.
However...unknown to Wolverine and his Vampire ally, they were completely unaware that the entire battle was being recorded by a remote MRD drone and the footage was being sent to an apartment building, where an Asian woman was holding a meeting with expertly trained thieves from around the globe.
The woman stated while pointing towards the collar. "As you ladies and gentlemen clearly see...the X-Men have built a state of the art collar, which can suppress the powers of the Mutant wearing it. The people I represent are willing to pay 10 million dollars to whoever steals it and brings it to me."
A man with a clear British accent stated with a dead panned look on his face. "So let me and mates get this right, luv: you want us to risk our lives to steal a measly neck collar from the X-Men for 10 million dollars?"
The British man and his friends would burst into a fit of laughter, with a woman speaking in an Algerian accent. "Yeah, right. Dream on lady!"
A different man speaking with an Australian accent added once they were finished laughing. "You and your people are out of your bloody minds. We're not going to risk our lives fighting the X-Men for a stupid puny trinket."
The Asian woman, Dr. Sybil Zane stated while glaring. "I was told that the Thieves Guild actually had thieves in it...apparently I was mistaken."
But before she could leave the apartment, that was when a man with a Cajun French had spoken out. "Now don't be so hasty, Cher." Making Zane and the other members had turned to see Gambit, casually laying down on a couch in the back of the room. "Now these folks probably don't have the stones for a job like this...but I certainly do."
The other Guild members simply rolled their eyes and began to leave the room, as they wanted nothing to do with a job involving the X-Men, which gave Zane and Gambit the privacy they needed to discuss terms.
Later at the X-Mansion
After dropping and seeing Amara off at the airport, Blade and Logan had returned to the X-Mansion and entered Forge's lab, where their friend and teammate was working on a 'special project' that the Raccoon Daywalker asked him to work on.
Forge stated casually while greeting friends and team leaders."Hey guys. So how did the collar work out?"
Blade stated casually with a rare small grin on his face. "The collar worked perfectly Forge, just like you said it would."
Logan stated with a frown on his face. "Those damn Mardies are getting out of control! They attacked a random kid and forced her to lose control of her powers!"
Forge asked while dropping his tools on his work station after hearing that shocking revelation, "What?! The MRD's attacked a kid in public? Why?"
Logan stated while shaking his head in disgust at how out of control the situation with the Mutant Response Division was becoming. "Because Kelly wants to convince the world that no matter how old we are, Mutants are a threat...and they targeted a teenage girl just to prove it."
Blade asked while glaring with great contempt for the Mutant hating senator. "Forge...the thing I asked you to work on. Is it nearly finished?"
The team mechanic answered honestly. "It's almost done, Blade. I'll have it ready first thing in the morning."
The raccoon vampire hybrid stated while sighing softly. "Thank you, Forge. I really appreciate it."
Logan asked softly as he knew what the 'secret project' was, along with Selene and Amelia. "The cravings are getting worse...aren't they, Blade?"
His friend and co-leader answered while lifting up his jacket and showing his belt...with the blood dispensing device missing. "Yes...I was so tempted to feed on those MRD soldiers. If you hadn't stopped me when you did, Logan, I would've bled those bastards dry."
Forge stated with sympathetic eyes, especially since his Daywalker friend was completely unaware that the dispensing device that his mentor and friend, Noah Van Helsing had made for him was damaged during the battle against Shadow King possessing Storm...and how he'd been struggling to fight his vampire side's thirst for blood the last couple of weeks despite having I.V bags of blood in the fridge in his room that Forge had built for him. "Well, the dispenser is nearly finished. I just need to make some last minute adjustments, so the tubes won't break and blood won't leak out."
After thanking Forge for promising to have the dispenser ready and complimenting his work on the collar, Blade and Logan had went down to Charles' chamber while Emma, Hank, Kitty, Forge and Bobby turned in for bed while Selene and Amelia were training in the Danger Room to stay in fighting shape before doing the same thing.
Blade and Logan looked at Charles with doubtful looks before Logan spoke 1st. "Blade and I are doing our best here, Chuck. We really are. And while Blade and I are working well together as co-leaders, there's kids out there who are struggling with their powers."
"And we...just can't help them. Not like you could." Blade finished for his teammate and co-leader. "Well, I'm getting some sleep, Logan. See you in the morning."
"Good idea. Night, half breed." Logan said before looking at Charles. "Night, Chuck." Before they both left the chamber to turn in for the night.
However, before the two on/off allies had turned in for bed...they had smelt smoke coming from Forge's lab and glared in shock/anger as the drawer that Forge had placed and locked the collar in was blown open. Thankfully, the blast was recent and thanks to their enhanced sense of smell, they had picked up Gambit's scent and trailed him to the warehouse where he was meeting Zane, who handed him the briefcase carrying his payment after giving her the collar.
After they had confronted Gambit, while avoiding his exploding card power and burnt the money, Logan offered Gambit a 'bigger payday' if he had stolen the collar back for him and Blade.
Gambit demanded while crossing his arms. "And what makes you think I'll agree to this?"
Logan asked with a smirk on his face and nodded to his friend/co-leader. "Did I, uh, mention that my friend is half vampire and is very hungry for blood? His cravings have been getting to him for weeks and I've been able to stop him from feeding on live humans. And he's never fed on mutants before. But because you stole from us, I think you'll have the honor of being the first mutant he's ever fed on."
It was then that Blade revealed his vampiric traits to Gambit and snarled while grabbing him by his throat. "If you even think about screwing us over...I'll bleed your fucking greedy ass dry...with no remorse!"
Gambit, who stared greatly stunned and shocked, as he couldn't believe that he was being threatened by a real vampire, turned to Wolverine and stated simply and a bit nervously."You've... got a deal."
Logan stated with a grin on his face. "Thought you'd see things our way."
Gambit then led Wolverine and Blade to a warehouse...which was a top secret MRD facility and once they sneaked inside, Logan glared angrily after identifying the male scientist in charge of the facility. "Son of a bitch. It's Bolivar Trask."
Blade asked while turning to his friend and co-leader. "Whose he?"
Wolverine answered honestly. "He's Kelly's head scientist in charge of the Sentinel Program. He's the same man who built the robot that attacked Rogue and Angel."
The Raccoon Daywalker asked while glancing towards the woman who hired Gambit to acquire the collar. "What about the woman?"
His friend and co-leader replied, showing he didn't recognize Zane. "I've never seen her before. Kelly must've just hired her."
After they had formed a plan of attack, the two allies had leaped down from the catwalks and battled the Sentinel Prowlers that Trask had activated, getting a bit bruised that healed up quickly thanks to their healing rafters... and their clothes getting shredded.
While Wolverine and Blade battled the Mutant killing robots...both Trask and Zane were equally interested in the Raccoon Daywalker, as they had never seen a creature like him before and decided to acquire a DNA sample to study him.
"Interesting. That raccoon creature is nothing like any mutant I've seen before." Trask said as he watched Blade fight.
"Yes. And his speed, strength and skills with that sword and those other sharp weapons... and those glowing eyes and his fangs are...very unusual for a Mutant. Let's take a sample of his DNA. Whatever he is could prove very useful for our other projects." Zane said with an evil smile while watching Blade closely.
After the first two Prowlers were destroyed...Blade had winced/groaned in pain, as he felt two syringes landing directly behind his neck and Zane had swiftly removed them before escaping with Trask. While the final Prowler was fighting Wolverine and blade, Gambit left, not wanting to get drained by a blood-craving vampire.
After the Prowler was finally destroyed, Logan and Blade returned to the mansion...where their friends were stunned/surprised by the state they were in. "Blade, what happened?" Amelia asked with concern.
"Let's just say that you X-Men need better locks, Amelia." Blade answered while looking at Forge.
"Anyway, Blade and I are going to get some rest." Logan said while dropping the collar on the table. "We've both...had a very long night."
"Wake us in a few hours, will you. After all we've been through tonight, the only thing I want is to sleep." Blade told Selene, who nodded.
"Of course, Blade. You and Logan both look like you could use the extra rest." Selene said with a smirk. "By the way, the blood despenser you asked for is on the nightstand in your room and it's already filled with fresh blood. You should fill your cravings first before you sleep."
"Good. The sooner I get by cravings under control, the better." Blade said with a smile before he and Logan went to their rooms to rest up for a few hours.
There you go, my dear friends. The Thieves Gambit episode is complete. Next is the Wolverine and Blade vs Hulk episode, and after that the Time bomb episode, with extra romantic moments with Rogue and Domino. Rate and review. See you next time, my dear friends.