Now that X-Men 97 has (basically) confirmed that Gambit is coming back next season, either as a Horseman of Apocalypse (Death), or in some other capacity, I wanted to write something more speculative, since it's likely we'll have to wait a while before season 2 drops, and we're gonna need all the Romy goodness to fill that gap.
Thanks again to everyone who's been reading and enjoying this fics! It's been a great creative outlet for me and I'm just glad the community enjoys them as well! :)
The voices in the distance were muddled and faded, as if her ears were wadded up with cotton balls. Her head spun and shot with pain, leaving her wondering what had happened to her to end up not knowing what was going on. Everything was a blur around her; all she could see was the hellish red hue of the lights, and blackness—darkened corners that hid the shadows well.
Testing her limbs, she tried moving her arms, but found herself bolted tightly to a flat metal table, her shackles giving a sharp screech as she attempted using her strength to break out of them.
"What the —?" she bemoaned, her voice groggy and rough.
"Ah, she rises," that deep voice that sent mutants running in fear resonated through Rogue's body in an instant. Even if she couldn't see him, Rogue knew immediately who it was.
"Apocalypse…" she groaned, still trying to use her super-strength to break her chains, "You sonovab—"
"Silence, my dear," he commanded, "You have no power here."
"What happened to me?" she demanded in her fiery tone, "What happened to the others?!"
The last thing she remembered, she was coming through the time stream. The Professor, Nightcrawler, Beast, and Magento all with her as they managed to find their way back to their own time. But they must've gotten separated somehow...
"They, unfortunately, managed to escape. But you, my glorious specimen…" he said in a way that made Rogue's skin crawl, "You shall become the next piece of my grand puzzle."
"What in the Sam Hill are you goin' on about?" she interrogated, her vision slowly blinking clearer as she started to realize she was trapped in a lab — machines surrounding her as she felt the cold metal of an inhibitor collar on her neck.
"I shall ride into a new age, and with me, I will bring about the end of weakness and depravity, with my Horsemen."
She scoffed, "You already tried that one, buckethead; or don'cha remember how the X-Men kicked yer sorry ass from here to next Tuesday, along with yer Horsemen?"
"Ah, but this will be different," he explained, stepping aside as he revealed a dark figure behind him.
Hair was as white as the first snow, and skin as black as the darkest night, they nearly blended into the darkened shadows of the red-light soaked room, but it was only when they'd directed their gaze at Rogue that her entire being was frozen in disbelief. Only then did she see those piercing red-on-black eyes that she would remember until the day she died.
"R-Remy…?" she asked
They ignored her, staying silent and in their wall of shadows as Apocalypse continued, "Death is a mere triviality for my capabilities. And now, the one you call Gambit serves a higher purpose."
She shook her head violently as she shouted back, wrestling against her restraints, "Yer a liar! That ain't Remy! It can't be!"
"Oh but he is, my dear. And soon, you shall join him, as my Horseman of Famine," Apocalypse declared, laughing as if it was supposed to be world's best hidden inside joke.
Rogue glowered at the madman, "Go fuck yerself!"
Apocalypse ignored her curt threat and turned back to Gambit, "Keep an eye on her until I return with Ozymandias."
He nodded obediently before Apocalypse left into the shadows, leaving the pair of former lovers alone.
Rogue tried to hunt for any semblance of familiarity in the eyes of the man she'd loved, leaving her feeling alone and trembling at the thought that this version of Death was no longer her Cajun man.
Her voice went quiet and soft, as if hoping that she might be able to reason with him, "Remy... is it really you?" she asked, unable to process that it was really Gambit standing in front of her.
"I am Death," he answered stoically, "I serve at the will of Apocalypse. There was nothing before him, just as there will be nothing after him," their voice was distorted, but it had that same timbre and pitch she knew belonged to Remy.
"Remy, please… it's me! Don'cha know who I am? Don'cha recognize me?" she asked desperately, her eyes watering as she spoke, "I'm yer chè…!"
She choked back when she suddenly felt his hand to her throat in a vice-like grip—hands that she had always wished to touch without bringing him any pain—as he spoke in a low and threatening voice, "Be silent."
Rogue couldn't hold back the feeling that overwhelmed her as she struggled to speak, "M-m' name is… A-Anna-Marie…"
She started to feel the hand loosen on her neck, with just enough slack to breath and enough to allow her to say, "Remy… was the only one I ever told… m' real name."
The hand started to lift away as she saw his eyes widen, not in recognition, but in curiosity.
"Remy…" she whispered, "Please… we can go home; to our family. We can go back to the X-Men and they can help you remember who you are. We can get our lives back again!"
He shook his head, "What family? What life? All there was was a black void — vacant; dark — the emptiness from which I was born. There was never anything for me before this."
"Yer wrong," she said, "You were one of us; one of the X-Men! They're our family; our home. We were each other's home. You were a hero!"
He remained silent as she continued her pleas.
"In Genosha… I thought I knew what I wanted. I thought I wanted to be a leader, to help usher in a new age for mutants, to be with someone that I couldn't hurt the same way I'd hurt you so many times. But it wasn't until seeing you — that night at the gala — that I realized that I didn' wanna go another day without you in m' life. Nothin' else mattered but you. You were all that mattered, and you died before I could tell you that I'd made my decision. You died saving thousands of lives—savin' mine!"
She could see his face wrinkle in confusion, turning his glowing eyes away from her as if to stem the wave of memories.
"I'm sorry that I made you feel like what we had was nothing, Remy! I wish I could take back what I said to you that night. But if I have to spend the rest of m' life makin' it up to you, tellin' you everyday what you mean to me, then I'll do it! Just please, come back to me!"
He peered at her from the corner of his eyes, as if afraid to face her.
Tears streamed down her cheek as she quietly begged him, "Remy…"
She didn't have a chance to reach him before the henchman of Apocalypse named Ozymandias came into the room, with Apocalypse saying, "Report to me when it is done."
Ozymandias nodded before Apocalypse left, moving about the machines around her and starting them.
Rogue turned back to Gambit, only to find his eyes had hardened once more on her.
She pleaded, sobbing, "Remy, please… don't let them do this!"
Again, his eyes remained unchanged as he watched her, unfazed and immovable. Ozymandias tilted the table up and towards the arm that was to manipulate and reprogram Rogue into one of Apocalypse's Horsemen.
"3… 2… 1…" a charging sound filling the room before firing.
A gut-wrenching scream erupted from Rogue's throat; the pain too agonizing to handle without her powers to blunt the force of it. It felt like her body was being set on fire, and she couldn't run away or put it out. Her voice echoed out into the whole facility, and if anyone had been within a mile of it, they would have heard it.
That cry.
That wretched painful sound.
As if on instinct, Ozymandias was grabbed by the collar, and the figure of Death demanded, "Shut it down."
"W-what?! Are you mad?!" Ozymandias questioned.
"Shut it down!" he commanded again, throwing the man against the wall, before saying, "I can kill you in an instant with my noxious gas. Do it! Or I will end you…"
Ozymandias didn't care to have his life cut short, and knew he was needed to accomplish Apocalypse's goals, so he was safe… for now.
"Alright!" he cried, reaching for the console and shutting down the machine. Rogue's cries quickly receded and she fainted from the shock.
Gambit turned back to the woman he still didn't recognize or know, but he knew something in him told him to get her away from here.
Rogue started to stir, feeling a chill around her. Her head spun a little, but she was feeling far better than she had been before.
She lifted herself up from the ground, looking around her. She was in a cave…? She wasn't sure. But she came to a dead stop when she saw those same glowing red eyes from before, hidden in the back of the shadowy cave.
"Remy?" she asked hopefully, her heart racing in her chest, "W-where are we?"
That same distorted voice from before spoke, "Who are you, woman?"
She was taken aback, "I'm Rogue. I'm yer chère."
She watched as he stood from where he was at the back of the cave and quietly approached her, his eyes almost unblinking as they watched her, like a specimen on display to analyze, "Why do you speak like you know me?"
"Because… I do know you. I know you better than almost anyone," she explained, "We've been close. For years…"
"In what way?" he pressed, interrogating her.
"You and I are X-Men. We were partners. We fought together; always protectin' one another. I was always there to come t' yer rescue… and you were always there to keep my head on straight."
He still didn't register it, "Then why don't I remember any of it? Or you?"
"Apocalypse is controlling you," she said adamantly, "He must've gotten a' hold of you after your death in Genosha, and he brought you back with that same machine they were gonna use to turn me into his Horseman."
He shook his head, "Apocalypse wants to start a new world. Didn't you say you wanted to lead that new world as well?"
Rogue recoiled, "Not like the way he wants it."
"Why should I believe you?" he asked pointedly.
She declared boldly, unflinchingly, "Because I would give my life if it meant bringin' you back!"
That stunned the dark embodiment of Death.
She reached her hand for his, carefully taking hold of it as she spoke, "If I could, I would go to hell and back to bring you home, Remy," she sobbed, "You wanna know who I am to you? I was the woman you loved with every beat of your heart, and I was the woman who was too blind to see that love is deeper than skin."
She started to feel his hand tighten around hers, never letting her eyes break from him, hopeful she could get through to him.
Something must've triggered a memory or something, because he could only remember how visceral he reacted when he heard her scream in pain; how something inside him told him that no harm should ever come to this woman. "I don't understand, " he said, "Why does your pain hurt me?"
She stood to meet him, "Because we're two-halves of the same whole, sugah — we always were. I just didn't know what we had until you were gone. But I won't ever let that happen again. I'm not leavin' you behind, ever again."
She stood firm as she finally heard him call her, "Chère…?"
She gasped with a sob, reaching her hand to his cheek, "Remy?!"
Suddenly, Gambit clutched his head in pain. Not knowing what was happening to him, she tried to grab hold of him, but his weight quickly overwhelmed her, making her realize she still had that damned collar on her neck.
They collapsed onto the ground together as Rogue held him, trying to comfort him, "Remy, I can help you. We can reverse whatever Apocalypse has done t' you, but I need you to take this collar off'a me. Please…"
He groaned as he looked up at her in fear, "It's… him."
Rogue's blood froze, turning back to the entrance of the cave and there stood Apocalypse, "Running away, my Horseman of Death? That won't do. You will need additional reprogramming."
Rogue stood in front of Gambit defensively with a disgusted look in her eye, "Y'all ain't comin' anywhere near him… ever again!"
Apocalypse laughed, "Really? And what will you do, my dear?" he was taunting her, "Without your strength, you are nothing but a mere mortal — a mere insect on the underside of my boot."
She raised her fists, "Maybe, but I'd rath'a die than let you play puppet with Gambit, like he's a toy to you."
"Ah, but you see… he is my toy," Apocalypse replied.
Rogue was grabbed from behind and pinned to the wall of the cave by her neck, her feet trying to reach the ground. Her bright green eyes went wide as she saw Gambit's hardened eyes again, glowing a murderous red into her soul.
"R-Remy!" she gasped, her hands coming up to his hand on her neck that was slowly pressing into her airway, desperately trying to pry his hand away.
"He is no longer Gambit, my dear. There is only… Death," Apocalypse mocked.
She tried to breathe, but soon she relented her attempts to loosen his grip on her. Instead, she smoothed her hand down his arm, holding him as she whispered, "I-I love ya, Remy. And… I'm sorry."
With a sharp metallic sound, Rogue was dropped to the ground with a thud, her body gone limp from the lack of air.
"Well done, my magnificent creation. To kill the one you love…" the titan of a mutant lauded, "You turned out to be one of my best creations — my Horseman of Death."
Gambit turned back to him and with a stone cold stare, he said with a strained voice, "The name is Gambit…"
Apocalypse looked confused as suddenly he started to choke on the noxious gas that he himself had imbued his Horseman with.
"Remember it!"
As he choked, Apocalypse had completely ignored the mutant who no longer had the inhibitor collar around her neck, as she flew straight into him, carrying him away from the cave, and with every muscle in her body screaming for revenge.
"What is this?!" he cried, choking on his own blood, attempting to punch down into her back to knock Rogue away from him.
She managed to resist his weaker than normal attacks, shouting, "This is for playin' god with my man's life, ya overgrown fossil!"
With every ounce of strength she had, she tossed Apocalypse down into the Earth, cratering him, and leaving him incapacitated… for the time being. Even if he was down for the count now, he would always recover and come back. But that wasn't Rogue's highest priority at that moment.
In a few moments, she was back at the cave, finding Gambit sitting on the floor, doing his best to fight off the control Apocalypse had over him. She approached him carefully, "Remy?"
"Chère… Go! Gambit don' know how long… he can fight it off," he said, straining to keep himself together.
Rogue was just happy to hear his familiar drawl again, before arguing, "I ain't leavin' you behind, sugah!"
She quickly moved to lift him as she flew out of the cave and, hopefully, back to the mansion, where Beast and the Professor could help him.
The mansion was still in a state when she arrived with Gambit. The property was barely being held together, but she knew she had to try.
She flew them both down and into the basement of the mansion, where luckily, she found some of the lights were on, and someone clearly was home. She walked into the lab, and found it covered in posters of all their faces, many with tags that listed them as "Missing — Presumed Dead" written over them. She found many tech devices being worked on, and was taken aback when she heard footsteps behind her.
"Rogue?"
It was the only thing she could think to say as she cried, "Oh thank God, Forge!"
"What happened?" he asked, inspecting her and the dark figure she was carrying.
"Forge, I need yer help," she explained, going into great detail about what had happened to Gambit and that Apocalypse was behind all of this.
After a few hours, Forge had managed to sedate Gambit, and started working on a prototype machine to reverse engineer what Apocalypse had done to him. From everything he'd gathered, the body that was laying on the bed was well and truly Gambit; not a clone or time traveler, but the same body that died in Genosha 8 months ago.
Forge explained to Rogue how long it's been since Asteroid M, and that for the last 6 months, the X-Men have been missing. Rogue explains where she and her group were, and how they'd found a way back to the present, but that she'd lost track of them once they entered the time stream. That, at least, gave Forge something to go on to find them again, and renewed the man's vigor to find the X-Men.
After some trial runs with his prototype, Gambit had slowly started coming out of sedation, but his memories were still not completely recovered.
"It's likely that he'll need assistance from the Professor and Hank to fully reintegrate the memories he's lost," Forge explained to Rogue as she looked on at Gambit through the glass window solemnly.
"I understand. Thank you, Forge. I appreciate how much you've done for him… for me."
Forge nodded knowingly, "Now, I'm going to see about getting the rest of our family back home."
Rogue nodded as Forge left, and she remained by Gambit's bed side.
They stayed together over the next two weeks, practically attached at the hip, as Rogue slowly helped him recover. His hair and skin had started to revert back to their usual shades and tones, and his Cajun accent became thicker with each passing day. He started to remember bits of his time in New Orleans, some from his travels as a vagabond, but he still struggled with any memories of Rogue and the X-Men, though he knew somewhere within him that he could trust this woman with his life.
After a month of recovery, Forge had succeeded in reuniting the team in the present, and everyone was finally back home. Reconstruction of the mansion had started, and everyone was pitching in their part.
Rogue would have multiple conversations with the Professor and Beast about what had happened, and they agreed to do what they could to assist with Gambit's recovery, which they planned to start in the next few days, as he was currently stable and the mansion needed some immediate assessment to begin reconstruction.
As Rogue left the lab to go help with the others with the efforts, she saw that Magneto had returned as well, helping with some of the steel beams.
She flew over to him and tentatively said, "Erik…"
"Rogue!" he gasped, reaching out for her, "I'm so glad to see you've not been harmed. I was worried when we were all separated if you were alright."
Rogue gently hugged him back, "It's good to see you too, Erik. I'm glad y'all made it back in one piece."
Sensing her hesitation, he pulled back, asking politely, "Have you been here all this time?"
She nodded, "For the last few weeks. I got pulled back to the present when we all got separated. But somehow… I ended up in Apocalypse's base."
She could see Magneto glower at her explanation, "I hope that madman committed no harm against you."
She shook her head sadly, "I'm fine. But…"
"What is it, my dear?" he asked softly, in a tone she always remembered he held only for her.
Her voice shuttered as she explained, "He… he brought Gambit back."
She could see Erik's eyes go wide, "He's alive?"
She nodded, "Apocalypse got his hands on him somehow, and brought him back using a machine that makes mutants into Apocalypse's slaves… his Horsemen. Remy had been turned into his Horseman of Death, and I barely managed to get him outta there."
"Where is he now?" Erik asked.
"He's been recovering in the lab. Forge managed to reverse whatever Apocalypse had done t' him, but… his memories have been harder t' fix."
"I'm sorry, Rogue," he said apologetically, "I would never wish that fate upon even my worst enemy."
She tried to laugh, but it came off as a sob, "Even if it meant we still had a chance?"
Erik reached for her hand in comfort, "No… I know what he means to you, and after all that's happened… I have learned that it isn't my place to insert myself between those whose love far exceeds anything I may have felt for you. As much as I had always loved and appreciated you and the strength that you've lended me, especially in my darkest moments, I know his love for you is different. You need him more than you ever needed me, and the same is true for him."
She smiled, "I appreciate that, Erik… truly."
Erik smiled as he gave her hand one last gentle squeeze of reassurance, "Give him my regards, and if he ever does restore his memories, let him know that I am no longer any threat to him or your relationship."
"I will. And thank you, Erik… for understandin'."
"Of course, my dear. For what is love if not being able to truly let it go?" he asked hypothetically before returning to help with the work on the mansion.
Rogue thought about what he'd said for a while after that. Would she ever be able to let go of Remy if she knew he was happier without her?
A week passed as the Professor and Best worked with Forge to begin the rehabilitation process for Gambit, and restore his lost memories.
Rogue would regularly watch on from a distance, giving Gambit his space to work as closely with them as needed, trying her best to take herself out of the equation so he could do what he needed to heal from all the pain and trauma that had been done to him. The man had literally been brought back from the dead, and as much as she wanted to be there for him, she knew he needed to figure things out for himself first.
What she didn't know was that Gambit still asked about her. He hadn't seen her in what felt like ages, and while Xavier and Hank explained she was still there, just helping with other tasks, Gambit got a sense that she was avoiding him. Even if he didn't have concrete memories of her, he still valued the time they had spent together these last few weeks as she nursed him back to full strength.
After that afternoon's session, Gambit decided he was going to take a walk along the grounds, which Hank and Xavier advised was probably a good idea, if only to help jog his memories further.
Pieces had started to come back more and more with each day and Gambit was starting to feel like his old self again. But there were still parts he knew weren't coming through. He remembered parts of Genosha… fragments of what Rogue had told him, but it wasn't enough for a complete picture.
He walked down by the edge of the lake, watching as the sun began setting over the grounds in the distance. A profound wave of déjà vu flooded over him as he knew he had been here before; seeing this exact view. There was something that crushed his chest as he almost struggled to breathe.
"I love you, chère. And this Cajun's heart only beats for you."
"Yer such a hopeless fool, y' know that, Remy?"
"For you, chère? Always."
"Guess we can be hopeless together then, 'cause I love y' too. Since the first time I laid eyes on ya, sugah."
Remy collapsed to his knees as tears streamed down his face, "Chère…"
"Remy?" he heard someone in the distance call to him, and he instantly recognized it, "What're ya doin' way out here?" Rogue sounded worried, like she'd been looking for him.
"I…" he stuttered, unable to speak.
Rogue approached him, kneeling beside him as she laid her hand over his shoulder, "Remy?"
She saw the tears in his eyes as he looked up at her, and it was like recognizing someone you hadn't seen in a lifetime.
"Mon coeur… I remember…" he said shakingly, reaching his hand for hers, "I remember!"
Rogue stilled, wondering if she was dreaming, "Swamp Rat?"
Remy never thought he'd be so happy to hear that silly nickname, "Anna-Marie."
Her heart stopped as Rogue almost wailed with happiness, pulling him into a hug, "Oh Remy, sugah!"
Gambit held onto her like she was his only lifeline, as he quietly begged her, "Don' leave me, chère."
"I won't… never again," she replied in equal measure, "I promise."
After some multiple minutes, Rogue slowly relinquished her hold on him, letting him have a moment to catch his breath as they sat under a familiar tree by the lake, letting him hold all the cards.
He started, "Genosha… I… so many people."
"I know, sugah. But you saved so many more of them. You're a real, honest to goodness, hero, Remy," she comforted.
He looked up at her, "Did you… really survive it? Or is this what death be like fo' us?"
She nodded, "We're alive, Cajun. Because o' you."
She could see him starting to come to terms with the fact that he had died, and what it meant to come back to life, "This all be a little much to absorb."
"And I don't blame ya for havin' a rough time with it. But we're all here for ya, Remy… every step of the way."
'Just marry the belle, and be done.'
Remy suddenly remembered… what he had wanted to ask Rogue that night in Genosha…
"Chère…?" he asked timidly.
"Hm?".
"Y' told Gambit… when he didn't have his head on quite right… that in Genosha, y' thought y' knew what y' wanted…?"
Rogue realized this was going to come up eventually, "I did. I said a lot o' things that night in Genosha t' ya… things I regret. And not because I lost ya, but I knew I regretted it the minute you told me we'd be friends and left me with my decision. I knew then and there… I couldn't accept Magneto's offer. I couldn't be what they wanted me to be, because I knew I needed you in m' life too much. I knew I couldn't last a day without y' by m' side, sugah."
Remy watched as she poured her heart out to him, "Gambit just wanted y' t' be happy, chère; that all he ever wanted."
She shook her head, "You are my home and my happiness, Remy. And if after all this, y' can find it in your heart to forgive this foolish gal, I promise I'll spend every day o' m' life makin' it up t' ya."
Remy let out a breathless laugh, "That be quite a commitment, chère. Y' sure you be up fo' that kinda life?"
She smiled, glad to just be able to have this familiar banter with him again, "If all this has taught me anythin', it's that I never know when our time may come, and I won't waste another day not tellin' you how much y' mean to me, Cajun; 'cause I sure as hell don't know if I'll ever get this chance again."
She laced her hands over his cheeks, making sure she had his undivided attention as he shifted his eyes between her vibrant emerald green ones, holding their breaths, "I love you, Remy LeBeau. I love every damn thing about cha, even the stuff that drives me up the wall bonkers!
I love how y' never treated me any differently than any other woman, even with m' powers. I love that you always could make me roll m' eyes at yer silly one liners. I love how you always managed to make everyone's mornin' with just a plate o' warm beignets. I love how you call me chère and River Rat in the same breath, and they both sound equally as endearing. And I love that you never held back showin' yer love for me, even when I did everythin' in my power to push you away.
And I wanted you to know… that I chose you. There never shoulda had to be a choice to make in the first place, but everyday for the rest of m' life, I choose to love you. And even if you can't ever forgive me… at least I know I said my peace."
A silent second, and then another, and Rogue started to wonder if she had said too much. But she didn't regret it… any of it.
Then suddenly, the silent air was broken in an instant, "Marry me, chère."
Her eyes went wide and she was certain her heart had stopped.
His hands came up to cover hers, his eyes soft with love and admiration for her, but determined, "That night… this Cajun fool was gonna ask if you'd do 'im the honor of makin' him the luckiest man in the world."
"Remy…" she gasped aloud.
"Gambit ain't never gon' not love you, chère. Even if he just needs a good few blows to the head to knock some sense, I know I only want you to be the one that brings me back down to Earth… every time."
A soft sobbing laugh escaped her throat as she direly wished she could kiss this foolish, lovesick man.
He reached for her to pull her close, pulling her into his chest, to hold her like he would never let her go, "What d'ya say, Anna-Marie?"
He could hear her softly crying into his shirt, gripping onto him as she let out a light laugh, "Nothin' would make me happier, Swamp Rat."
Thanks for reading everyone! Hope you all enjoyed it!
So yeah, my general theory was that after Kurt talked to Remy in Genosha about marrying Rogue, Gambit had planned to propose to her at the gala. But obviously, when she came into his room and told him about Magneto and his proposal, that kinda derailed his plan. I think it was foreshadowing that becoming a plot point in season 2, along with what Remy said in episode one "Rogue always comes to Gambit's rescue."
But that's just a theory!
Let me know if you liked this fic with a like/kudos, I really appreciate it!
Until Next Time…