Part 5: Some People

-Gambit, could we get some lights in this hallway for cryin' out loud? Ah cain't see a thing.-

-You know, yo' de first person who t'ought o' dat. Lemme see here…-

De files down here were a little mo' extravagant, but ev'rybody knows how I love a challenge. O' course, lights weren't dat hard ta find. On dey went, an' den I could see t'ings on de monitors agin. Dere was de belle, dere was de brute, and now slowly out came anuddah. A dark figure slunk behind Rogue, keepin' close ta her, an as soon as we got a clear view, I heard dis Mystique stop breathin'.

"Dat mus' be him den. Well, I c'n certainly see where he gets his blue from."

"Do not speak that of which you know nothing."

"I see. So yo' one o' dem superiority complex femmes, huh?"

"That is not for you to decide. I am a 'femme', as you say, who requires others to mind their own business."

"You know, I never said de blue was a bad t'ing. Don' need ta get all defensive."

She didn' answer me, jus' kept watchin' de screen. I looked too. Can' help but be interested in Kurt de first time you see him. I liked de tail. He always did have a nice tail. 'S what makes his whole look work. A la my trench coat. 'S de perfect accessory. Wit'out dat, you jus' got anuddah Blue Kid on de Block.

-You got these doors open yet er what, Gumbo?-

-I'm workin' on it. Can' rush a fine art. All dese doors, dey ain't all in de same file. Dey're spread out, an' dey all have dere own locations. Jus' gimme a lil time.-

-I would if I had some.-

-You don' know it yet, Wolvie, but you an' me, we gonna be great friends.-

-Says you.-

-Gambit, this is Psylocke…-

-I could never mistake you fo' anybody else.-

-What's the story down there?- No rebuke. None at all. Hmmm….

-Well, generally speakin', I liked it a whole lot better when me an' you was sharin' a control room. Mine's jus' lackin' dat feminine touch.-

-You're incorrigible, Cajun.-

-But yo' startin' ta like it, I t'ink. We've got Kurt, an' we've got jus' a few mo' t'ings ta wrap up fo' we regroup.-

-Well hurry it up, keep in touch, and Gambit?-

-Qu'est-ce que c'est? (What is it?)-

-Be careful down there.-

N'ai jamais peur. (Never fear) Suddenly, I felt quite refreshed. (An' Rogue's sittin' here jus' glarin' at me. Like the fact that I ever had any feelin's fo' anybody but her means I cheated. Cain't win sometime. But I got ta be true ta da story.)

"Why do you smile?" Mystique asked. It occurred ta me dat she had no idea we were all communicatin' on mind, so ta speak.

"Mind yo' own business." I turned an' grinned at her. She looked like she didn' know whether she should be amused or offended. Good. Fo' all her pomp and circumstance, it seems ta me dat I c'n always get her right where I want her. I turned back around and got back ta de cell openin'. T'anks to dis an' all de uddah missions wit' de X-men, I t'ink I'm gonna have de worst case o' art'ritis de world has ever seen. Unless o' course, I give up hackin' an' find some uddah use fo' my hands. De possibilities are endless. Anyway, ta avoid de distraction o' de narrator, I did finally get all de cells opened up, an' all de lil mutants came scamperin' out. An' surprisingly enough, except fo' a few adults or teenagers here an' dere, most o' the inmates turned out ta be quite small. Most of dem were children, a few of dem toddlin' out. As I watched on de screen, I started ta lose my sense o' humor. All de t'ings I had seen here gave me some idea as ta what dis place was fo', but de fact dat dey were doin' dis to a bunch o' little ones…it was extremely soberin'. As a matter of fact, it was startin' ta make me real mad, t'inkin' about what sort of people did dese kinds o' t'ings. I knew a man like dat once, an' to dis day I don' care much fo' rememberin' him.

"Mystique, you c'n operate de doors, so you gonna be in charge o' dis. I'm goin' out dere."

"Very well." She was gon' be fine wit' whatever I asked o' her, as long as it wasn't her goin' out dere ta face Kurt. I couldn' help but wonder how long she had let her own son stay in here. An' den she had de nerve ta call Rogue a bad daughter. Kinda cleaned out my capacity fo' sympathy. I turned an' walked out, determined dat if I didn' have somet'ing nice ta say, den I jus' wasn' gonna say any'ting. I went out inta da hallway, an nearly tripped over a boy dat didn' look a day over six. He looked up at me all round eyed. He had a face jus' like dem cherubs in all de paintings, but den had purple scales startin' at his neck and den travellin' all de way down ta his wrists and ankles. Almos' like a walkin' oxymoron.

"An what's yo' name, homme?" He jus' looked up at me. I tried ta smile at him.

"You ain't gotta be afraid of ol' Gambit." He looked at me fo' one more second, an' den pulled somet'ing from around his neck. He looked closely at it, an' den said,

"G….1….4…3…1…6…7…6….5."

"What's dat?"

"That'sssssss my number." A forked tongue flitted out from between his teeth as he talked, causin' him ta linger on the "s".

"But I asked fo' yo' name, little one." He looked back up at me, confused, an' den started again.

"G….1….4….3…." De man I had identified as Kurt came over.

"He vas born here. Ve only have numbers, for it makes it easier for our captors to pretend zat ve are not human. Only Gott knows zese children's names."

I squared my jaw off, an' looked back down at G14316765. He looked up at me like he was waitin' fo' me ta say somet'ing else. I picked him up as gently as I could.

"Well, petit homme, Gambit's gon' have a hard time keepin' up wit dat one. We gon' have ta come up wit' a nickname fo' ya. You got any ideas?" He looked suspicious of me, like he wasn't sure what I was tryin' ta do.

"What about Gambit?"

I couldn' help but laugh. "You got style, little one, but I don' wanna lose the franchise. Why don' we just go wit' my favorite winnin' card and call you Jack?"

He t'ought about it. "Jack….I like Jack."

"Den Jack it is. Now Jack, we gon' try ta get all you out o' here, an 's a big job, so do you t'ink you c'n give a fella a hand?"

"Where are you taking ussssss?"

"Some place dat I t'ink you'll like."

"Sssssssure." I set him back down an took hold o' his hand. De uddah's were all lookin' around wide-eyed, an' mos' o' de uddah children were hangin' around Rogue, who was lookin' carefully over each one, an' tryin' ta smile wit' tears in her eyes. But Logan, he was standin' in a corner, pale as a sheet, an' I couldn' help but wonder. You understand Logan. I had already gotten a fairly good impression o' him, an' cowerin' in front o' children was nowhere in it. But den I saw he wasn't lookin' at dem, really. He was lookin' at de tags. Each child had a tag wit' dere number around dere neck. A hand went ta his chest, an' I saw dat he had somet'ing similar. He was jus' froze den, starin' off inta space. I walked over ta him.

"Wolverine, what should we-…"

"We have ta get them out of here. We can't leave even one. Not even one!"

Rogue looked back over her shoulder at his tone. His look was wild, like some kind o' trapped animal. Sweat was startin' ta pour down his face. She stood up from where she had been kneeling, her eyebrows knit wit' concern. She has a tendency ta look real gentle when she's concerned. Very disarming. An' tres belle.

"Logan, are you all right?"

He didn't answer her, he just held tightly to the tag around his neck. I was startin' ta t'ink dat dere must be much more ta dis homme den I had at first suspected. But den, seem like most o' de people I run wit' have some dark, forbiddin' past. Myself included. But most of ours are just filled wit' regret, or a little legal interpretation here an' dere, but de t'ing about Logan is dat dere is no dark, forbiddin' past, cause dere ain't no past. Jus' flashin' memories of horror wit' no explanation, no answers. De man can never find peace. Now dat I c'n sympathize wit'. Course I didn' know any'ting about it yet, so I jus' stood dere, an' watched Rogue, who seemed ta have some idea about what she's supposed ta be doin'.

She walked toward him slowly, no sudden movements. Lil' Jack was jus' hangin' onto my hand, an' watchin'. She put a hand up ta his face, ever so gently, an' talked ta him.

"Sugah, ah cain't imagine what must be goin' through your head right now. But if there's somethin' there that wasn't befoah, then it's a good thing. We'll talk to the Professor and Jean and they'll have more answers foah you, ah promise."

"Jean…" He said, almos' dazed like.

"Yeah, Jean. Red hair, green eyes, smiles a lot? She always takes care o' you. She's on her way to us right now. But we need yoah help. Ah know it's hard. This night hasn't been mah cup o' tea either, but we gotta hold it together foah just a little longer, all right? Ah'm right here, and ah'm gonna make sure yoah all right. But ah'm also not gonna let you embarrass yoahself, cause you get real grumpy when that happens." She smiled disarmingly at him, an' I watched some o' de tension drain out o' his shoulders.

"Come on now, honey. Ah need ya. All ya gotta do is stay with me." Logan took a breath, and nodded. He started comin' back ta life a little. I felt little fingers tap my arm. I looked down, an' Jack crooked a finger ta make me come closer. I leaned down, and he whispered in my ear.

"Ssssssshe'sssss pretty." He immediately looked embarrassed.

"Yeah, garcon, she is. Doesn' take long ta notice dat." Kurt stepped up on de uddah side o' me.

"She must be von of Gott's angels. She just doesn't know it yet."

Finally, she turned her attention away from Logan and back ta de rest o' us.

"All right, Wolverine and ah are goin' ta lead the way. Gambit, ah need you ta keep them together, and watch our backs. Can ya do it?"

"I c'n do anyt'ing you ask o' me at dis moment, chere." So we'd jus' had a change in leadership, I see. Fine by me. She's cute when she's serious. She turned ta Kurt.

"Can ya help him?"

"Vill you need my help, fraulein?"

"Ah'll need all the help ah can get, if yoah willing."

"Zen you need only to ask."

-All right Cyclops, we're headin' yoah way.-

-We've been trying to get to you guys, but Psylocke can't access the lower level security doors, and Gambit isn't letting us in from the auxiliary control room. He's not responding.-

-That's cause he's not in the auxiliary control room.- Yeah, I had been avoidin' Cyclops. I didn' know what I supposed ta say. Apparently Mystique had let her "daughter" in, but wasn't so inclined to favor de rest o' de X-men.

-Well where the--

-He's with me, and we're comin' that way, so can we discuss this at a more opportune moment?-

-Sorry to interrupt, but may I say something?-

-What is it, Psylocke?-

-Ok, you guys can't get out of the office/murder hole area, because I don't have access to the doors. But the security guards that were after Rogue got into the lab area, mysteriously, but apparently couldn't get any further. Rogue, Wolverine and Gambit are in the holding area on the other side. So you've got twenty-odd armed personnel in between you guys. Not only is that funny, but you've got another wave coming behind you, Cyclops. Maybe a game plan is in order before we have our little rendez-vous?-

-Was dat French? French I heard over de telepath? From someone uddah den Remy? My heart is touched.-

-SHUT UP Gambit. Get off the line.-

-Was dat Jean Gray? Cause you have not been very sweet ta me today.-

-Can it. All right, if we open the security doors to the lab, then my group is gonna get sandwiched. I'm not in the mood to risk that. Wolverine, what's the capability of your group?-

-We're fine, ah'm the only one who's injured at all at this point.-

-Where's Logan?-

-Indisposed at the moment, ah'm just takin' up the slack. Who all do you have with you? Ah missed the whole regroup thing that happened while ah was bein' shot at earlier.-

-Bishop, Storm, and Iceman are all still out on the grounds. I've got Jean and Colossus. I'm the only one with any injuries.-

-Well then ah guess you and ah get ta sit together on the way back. Ok, we'll take the lab crew, you just watch yoah backs. We'll get to ya as soon as we can. Y'all be careful.-

-You too.-

"Wolverine, Gambit, we're gonna change the plans a little. First, we're gonna go kick some ass. Then we're gonna come back and save the day. Any questions?"

"When do I get ta kiss de girl?" She looked at me strangely.

"Do me a favor, Cajun. Don't say things like that when ah'm tryin' ta do somethin' important."

"D'accord."

"Vat vill you have me do?"

"Watch out foah the kids until we get back. Logan, you comin' or stayin'?"

"What kinda question is that?"

"Glad ta see yoah feelin' better. Come on boys, we've got work ta do." She looked up an' found the camera. She waved a signal an' went over ta de door. I guess Mystique got de picture, cause a few seconds later, it opened. We walked inside what we all understood now ta be an elevator, an' Rogue smiled reassuringly at Kurt before de doors closed on us ag'in, an' we were left in darkness.

"You ever been bowlin', Gambit?"

"Dat's an interestin' question fo' dis exact moment."

"Well, ah was just thinkin' how they're gonna be right on the other side when these doors open…"

"I love that trick." Wolverine said, a trace o' his biting sense o' humor returnin'. He grabbed a hold o' my jacket lapels, which didn' please me none.

"Don' man-handle a Cajun boy, Wolverine."

"Get against the wall and try not ta sass me anymore tonight, gumbo. You'll thank me later. She needs some space."

So as to avoid further unpleasantries, I jus' brushed him off an' silently planned ta get a neutering appointment fo' him come Monday. As the elevator shuddered to a halt, Rogue lifted herself into de air, layin' horizontal, wit' her hands crossed over her chest. Looked like she was layin' in a coffin in mid air. Me an' Logan jus' sat still. When de doors reopened, dere were our complimentary twenty guards on de uddah side, not ten feet from us. Dey started ta rush at us, but Rogue started spinning at a speed dat made her look like a blur. One long, floating, an' very shapely blur. I didn' even have time ta fully appreciate de moment fo' she spun right out o' dere and knocked everyone close enough across de room wit' dose super strength powers she's got. My jaw jus' dropped. Wolverine started chucklin', and said ag'in,

"I love that trick." SNIKT. An' den he rushed out inta de fray, since Rogue had left us a nice openin'. Much as I like ta watch dat man at his work, I had some uddah plans. Dey don' call dis ol' boy Gambit fo' not'ing. Cards came out, an' den my hand went behind my back. I walked out slowly, like I was takin' a walk down de street. Half o' success is jus' presentation, n'est pas? At dis pace, it didn' take me long ta get surrounded.

"Hold it, freak!" Dey poined dere lil weapons at me. Isn't dat jus' cute?

"Hold what?"

"Hands above your head if you don't want 200 rounds of lead in your brain, and don't make the fatal mistake of trying my patience."

I sighed. "Well, if dat's really what you want…." I lifted my hands, loaded wit' glowin' cards.

"Wuhhh?"

"Well dat's gonna make a nice epitaph, mon ami." An' den I released dem. I hummed a brief chorus o' "Where have all de flowers gone?" as a salute befo' I went on 'bout my business. Bout den I heard anuddah howl from Wolvie. I rushed over dere, but Rogue got dere first, much as dat wounded my pride. But den, she was nice ta watch. Unfortunately, a lil too nice. She's a big leg fighter, mos'ly. I've always considered myself a legs' man. Girl could move. Yes she could. How long had it been since ol' Remy had a smoke anyway? Well, as I was sittin' dere, I guess I got de drop from behind, cause suddenly, I felt a sharp, vibratin' pain all de way down my right side. I couldn' help but cry out, partially from surprise, an' partially cause dat hurt. Next t'ing I knew, I was soarin' t'rough de air, an' I thought to myself dat dis had been a really stupid endin' to Remy LeBeau. I had always expected somet'in….je ne sais pas (I don't know)…a lil more dramatic. Den a sweet lil voice snapped me back inta reality.

"Danged if y'all ain't gonna be the death of me yet! Stronger sex indeed!"

"Was dat a request or an offer?"

"Ah would kill you, Remy LeBeau, if ah didn' have anythin' better ta do right now."

"I could t'ink o' worse ways ta die."

"So could ah, swamp rat. But since yoah recovering so quickly…" An' den she dropped me. Ah landed wit' a very unbecomin' thud.

"You brought dis on yo'self, Gambit, an' you know it." I said ta myself 'fo I got up ta face my rivals ag'in.

"Whichever one o' you tazed me, hommes, owes me money. BIG money." Dey charged 'fo I could get ta my pockets, so I jus' had ta make do. Not ta be immodest, but I'm really pretty good at dat. 'Sides, I'd been needin' a good work out. I set up my mental boundaries, an' den I watched to see who would break it first. De man to my front. How very easy. Dat identified, I swung myself down an' did a very well timed front hand spring, an' as I swung my bottom half back around I connected wit' de homme's face, bringin' him down an' landin' on him full force. No sooner dan I had regained my balance dan I swung my elbow back an' felt de unfortunate snap of an ill-fated nose. Brought my fist fo'ward ag'in an' knocked somebody over wit' de force o' dat blow. Den I turned as quick as a could an' caught de fist dat had been meant fo' my pretty lil' skull.

"Not much honor in hittin' a man from behind, mon ami. But den, I guess if yo' afraid ta face him…" I punched him in de stomach an' he doubled over. I brought my knee up sharp an' de man went over backwards. Damn I'm good. I gave de next one a drop kick. Dangerous move, but den, who do you t'ink dis is? I swung myself back up in record breakin' time. Impressed? Me too. Once I had my feet I went back to business. Unfortunately, none o' us knew about what was goin' on upstairs, and dey were havin' an interestin' time up dere.

From what I gather, dey were up in de office like t'ing and Jean was basically hidin' in de cubicles an' t'rowin' t'ings wit' her mind, while Cyclops tried ta back Colossus up. Cyclops was blastin' away an' didn' see de blow comin' from behind. De timin' was jus' unlucky. He had jus' opened up anuddah round when de blow fell, and diverted his gaze to de floor, which collapsed once hit wit' a full strength optic blast. I didn' see any o' dis. I was downstairs feelin' like Chicken Little. I had jus' gotten a second ta look around an' see what had become o' mes companions when de ceiling caved in on de pretty one.

"ROGUE!" I tried ta get over dere as quick as I could, but someone grabbed me by de scruff o' de neck. I turned around ta deck 'em, but my fist got caught, an' to my surprise, it turned out ta be Wolverine.

"Might wanna give her a minute, bub." I opened my mouth ta teach him some o' de artful language I learned in de t'ieves guild when I heard a rumblin' come from under de rubble. Finally I see her come blastin' outta dere, green eyes shootin' daggars every which way.

"All RIGHT! THAT'S IT! SOMEONE'S GONNA GET IT!"

"Someone call CNN." I said under my breath.

"More like someone call SCI-FI." Wolverine quipped. She flew up through de hole, an' from dat moment on seemed like she was everywhere. Turned inta de angel o' death. Didn' take to long to finish up after dat. Actually, as it turns out, we were all pretty grateful for de hole in de ceiling, cause dat meant we didn' have ta worry wit dose security clearance doors when we went back to get les enfants. It seemed like after de last battle, whatever security as was left lost it's nerve, cause we didn' see too many more o' dem. De next difficult t'ing was de conversation between Rogue an' Cyclops. I t'ought she was pretty brave. When we were done wit' what needed to be done, she walked up to him, squared her shoulders off, an' opened up bluntly.

"Mystique is here."

"What?!"

She took a breath, an' said it ag'in. "Mystique is here. She's been controlling the auxiliary control room foah us."

"Is this a confession Rogue?"

"You know ah wonder if it even matters what ah say at this point. Maybe ah could convince ya that ah had nothing ta do with this, but no matter what ah do or how hard ah try, that's the first possibility that comes ta mind, isn't it?"

"Considering our past histories, I find it a little interesting that Mystique shows up on a mission where we've already been pushed to the very limit of our resources, a top secret mission no less, and decides to help us. I find that very suspicious indeed. And I find you very suspicious also if you must know."

"Maybe ah should know, Cyclops. Maybe ah should know what my leader, the man ah've been riskin' mah life foah really thinks of me."

"I believe you came here because you needed help. That much I think is true. But once you've gotten what it is you came for, then what? Back to the Brotherhood? And what all will you take with you?"

"Then why do you let me come on the missions?"

"Because we need you. I've never seen a mutant with powers quite like yours."

"Well dammit Scott you cain't have it both ways! You cain't need me and keep me at arms length. All o' you! Ah am not a pawn."

"Answer the question then. Lets just say that right now you got control of your powers, control of your mind, what would you do? What exactly do you believe in?"

"You wanna know the truth Scott?"

"Preferably."

"Fine. Ah don't think ah can go home. Ah don't know that they can forgive me foah what ah've done ta them, and ah don't think ah can forgive them foah what they've done to me. Ah don't know what ah believe in. But ah don't believe in usin' people. That said, ah wouldn't stay here with any o' you either! Yoah not that different, really, from the people you hate sometimes. You both tend to forget that just because you don't like someone doesn't mean they're not a human being. All o' you sit around bitchin' that you cain't trust me, well ah cain't trust any o' you, either. Ah'm terrified ta know yoah watchin' mah back cause half o' you are just as eager ta put a knife in it. So there's yoah answer Scott. Ah'd rather be alone than with ANY o' ya, Brotherhood or X-men!"

Scott didn' have a ready comeback fo' dat one. Neither did anybody else. 'Cept one.

"What a tragic picture you paint, Rogue." Mystique said as she emerged through the hole in the floor.

"And so the truth finally comes out. Just what I didn't want to believe about you. You are, in fact, a traitor. A detriment to the cause. A daughter of mine."

"Ah ain't yoah daughter. Ah've had a lot o' time ta think about a lot o' things, and what a mother should be, and you ain't it."

Mystique wasn' used ta Rogue reactin' this way. She figured she'd get quiet an' confused an' den cry. She'd always been able ta make her cry an' obey. But looked ta Gambit like de femme had figured some t'ings out.

"What are you saying? What have I done to deserve this? Did I not give you a place to stay? A family?"

"More the one than the other. You found me sleepin' on a park bench and prayin' ta die. And you know what? You woulda kept on walkin' except foah that you figured out ah was a mutant. That ah had potential."

"You do not realize what a gift that really is. How many people cry out for help and in truth can be no more than what they already are. In you there is so much more than what you have become!"

"And what have ah become? You want the truth from me? Ah'm tired of hatin' people. Of believin' people deserve ta die or that ah'm better than them because o' somethin' they can't control. Ah've been on the receivin' end o' that one foah too long to believe in it ever again. Ah was only there because of the illusions you gave me about havin' a family, about bein' loved and cared foah. But ah'm not blind any more, Mystique, and ah can see exactly what you are, and ah don't want anythin' else ta do with ya."

Mystique was quite visibly put back. "You don't know what you're saying, daughter."

"Aren't you the slightest bit afraid that yoah wrong? Ah think ah do. The only thing yoah about ta lose is a recruit. That's all ah ever was to you anyway. Ah was never yoah daughter. Just like Kurt was never yoah son."

"Vas?" I t'ink she forgot dat dey weren't de only two people in de room. De rest o' de X-men were just sittin' there all tense, lookin' like dey were either really confused, or waitin' fo' Armageddon ta come. Maybe a combination o' de two. But Kurt stepped out o' de shadows, an' fo' de first time durin' dis whole t'ing, Rogue looked like she lost her nerve.

"Kurt, honey, ah didn't mean ta say what ah did."

"Vat did you say?"

"Oh Kurt ah'm…"

"I can reveal myself. I will not fear my own flesh and blood."

Kurt just looked at her strangely. I kept waitin' fo' someone to say dis wasn' de time or de place, cause it jus' kept getting' worse an' worse, but nobody looked like dey wanted to get involved. An' poor lil Remy had to sit dere an' watch dis wit' trepidation, wit'out even a super-sized bucket o' popcorn ta keep me company.

"Kurt, I am your mother." She held her jaw rigid. Kurt jus' kept starin'. Well, what are you supposed ta say to dat? What would I have said? Je ne sais pas.

"I have had so much zat I wanted to say to my muter, if ve vere ever to meet. But now, at zis moment, vat I vant most is to hear vat she has to say to me."

She turned livid. "I have nothing to say to you. I have already paid for you with my life, and I owe you nothing."

The words cut de man deeply. Dis wasn't de happy reunion I guess he had dreamt about. Dese people sho' did challenge my reputation fo' emotional detachment. I walked over a put a hand on Kurt's shoulder. He shrugged me off.

"Zen why are you here?"

"Protecting my investment. Don't read too much into it, Kurt dear. You may have my eyes, my gifting, but your face is your father's, and I forgot him long ago."

"How can you pretend to care so much foah me and then be so cold to him? Do you even care what he's been through? What you've put him through? What you've put me through? You remember so vividly every offense ta you, but it's so easy for you to forget the lives you take and ruin!" Rogue was getting mad ag'in.

"Like mother like daughter. Do you truly still find it so easy to blame others for your mistakes?"

"No. It was mah fault. Ah should never have left that bench. But there's one mistake ah'm willing ta let fall on someone else, and that is Carol Danvers. You did that."

"I did not know the effects would be what they were."

"You had no idea what the effects could be! But you were willing to risk it. You were willing to risk me. And you lost me. You have no one to blame but yoahself. Don't you ever call me traitor again. That's yoah game, not mine. So now you've lost a daughter and given away a son. Well if you…."

"Rogue, please. I have only one zing to say." Rogue stopped an' looked back at him, pain dancing in front o' her eyes ag'in. Still de fearless X-men said not'ing.

"Muter, do you have faith?" He addressed Mystique.

"Religion, Kurt, is nothing more than the blind leading the blind, and a source of comfort to the weak."

"Nien, fraulein. You are wrong." He walked towards her, an' she actually backed away, like a cat in a corner. He placed his hands on bot' her shoulders.

"Gott is perfect. Ven ve have faith in him, ven ve love him, zen ve too vill try to be better. Gott vould forgive you for all you have done. And because I love him, so vill I. But I am not perfect, so it vill take me longer. You have done more wrong to me zan de rest of ze world put together, but vatever you choose, vatever you do, you vill always be my muter." He tried to take her a in a hug, but she pushed him away, visibly shaken by the power an' wisdom o' dose words. He walked over ta Rogue, who looked at him with awe. Mystique had given him nothing, an' yet he could do what she could not.

"Vere Gott closes a door, he opens a vindow. Vere he has taken my muter away, he has given me a sister. If you vill have me, though ve are not bound by blood, zen you and I shall not have to be alone anymore."

He watched her. We all watched her.

"Ah don't know what kind o' sister I'll make, sugah. But ah suppose it's like the good book says, 'Freely you have received, now freely go and give'."

He smiled, "Ya, fraulein, it does say zat."

"We need to get out of here. You can discuss it all you want at the mansion, but this isn't the place." Finally, Scott, as usual. Rogue looked at Mystique, but Kurt wouldn't look back. I could see all the t'oughts an' all de t'ings she wanted ta say, but in de end all dat came out was,

"Goodbye, momma." Kurt took her gloved hand in his, an' they turned ta follow de rest o' dem out.

"Rogue, I never meant…"

"You didn't have to. All ya had ta do was not love us."

'Bout den I felt a little pull on my jacket dat was startin' ta be familiar. I looked down at de straggler.

"You got somet'in on yo' mind, Jack?"

"What were they talking about?"

"Dat's a long story dat I t'ink you should probably ask her about, not me."

"Are we going now?"

"Oui, petit homme." An' so we did, and thus concluded my first mission wit' de X-men. An' when we got back, I threw my own self une petite boum (a little party). I invited my two meillures amis (best friends), Mr. Jack Daniel an' Captain Morgan. Dey always know how ta calm a man's nerves. You see, a strange t'ing was happenin'. When we got back outside, Everyone was glad to see us, an' everyone got checked over. Wolverine pulled Jean aside an' seemed like dey was havin' a serious conversation, an' it wasn't wasted on Scott, who scowled at dem de whole time. De t'ing dat worried ol' Gambit was dat Betsy came out an' gave me a kiss on de cheek. Dat's very ambitious. De strange t'ing was, de whole time I was watchin' Rogue, worryin' 'bout Rogue, thinkin' 'bout Rogue. Dat was de first time I realized dat maybe I was startin' ta have a problem.