Dear Awesome Readers,

Thank you all so much for the feedback, it was incredibly helpful to me. I was also somewhat surprised that despite my worst fears, most of you felt I was moving a little too slowly instead of too fast. Very well, I had some romance planned anyway. This particular chapter was meant to add some more action, but never fear: the next chapter will undoubtedly have some Romy moments.

Again, it's really been a wonderful experience to have such excited, creative, and thoughtful feedback from everyone. It's given me yet another reason to really love writing. So my question for this week is: If you didn't know anything about the X-men, do you think you would still be interested in this story? You can even do a scale from 1-10 if you like, 1=no its totally lame, and 10= I'd love it every bit as much.

I couldn't be more thrilled that so many of you are really enjoying the story, and I hope I will continue to live up to your expectations. Just FYI, I've estimated this story will end around Chapter 30, so we've got plenty more happy times ahead!

One last thing: I wanted to address some concerns about the Logan/Rogue tiff. Firstly, let me say that Logan was in no way trying to hurt Rogue when he charged at her. He was communicating just how angry he was, and trying to intimidate her out of her intrusion. Keep in mind she's poking at some very sensitive issues for him. I also wanted to preserve his very animalistic side, as its what makes Logan who he is. If we're going to love him, then we have to accept all of him, good and bad. Also keep in mind that this tiff gives our card-chargin' hero an opening to get close to Rogue without having to risk a beating every second. I think he's got quite enough on his hands battling with Rogue's insecurities, don't you? Without giving anything away, I just want everyone to know that I love the Logan/Rogue relationship too, and I'm not trying to go around breaking hearts. ;P Take deep breaths and gimme a few chapters.

Part 17:

Remy LeBeau is not'ing if not observant. I knew full well dat daylight was gonna find Rogue on full alert, defenses on max and ready to charge in and undo all my fine progress. Wasn' about to allow dat, so I made myself unavailable.

I don' know why I chose de truck, it's probably de least impressive vehicle in de X-garage, but fo' some reason it suited my fancy. Besides, since it was really only used fo' utilitarian purposes like dump runs and haulin' furniture, it would probably be de least missed. I took to de streets befo' de sun was even peekin' towards dawn. 'Sides, I had uddah business to attend to.

I was keepin' close correspondence wit' my fam'ly back in N'awlins, hopin' dat we could find some sort o' leverage fo' getting' out o' dat Morlock situation. Belle's marriage was on de horizon and wit' de Assassins out from under de tithe time was of de essence. My job was to try an' find where de Morlocks' base was dese days. Though they were terrorizin' de organized crime world o' Louisiana, my fam'ly was convinced dat dey hadn't resettled dere. De easy t'ing to do would be to ask de Professor to use his special space helmet to find dem, but he has all dose morals and questions. I make a point o' keepin' my lives as separate as possible.

As such, I neither sent nor received communication at de X-mansion, but had messages passed through a series of connections to an unlabeled P.O. Box. Unfortunately dis mornin', business didn' waste nearly as much time as I'd hoped. Jus' a letter from Henri sayin' dat Belle was still at her father's house last we checked. Apparently she was gon' cash in every last second befo' she descended. She was so tenacious. Jus' once couldn' she be stubborn in de right way? A hole through my stomach still went ice cold when I t'ought about it too long. It wasn' right fo' Belle, dis life she'd chosen, but in de end it was her choice. I wasn' gon' let it fall on me. I gave her an out, it jus' wasn' de one she wanted.

I sent back a letter about a former truck station manager in Maryland who'd described what sounded to me like de Morlocks. Apparently dey robbed de place a few years prior and den headed north. It wasn' much but at least it was somet'ing.

As always, Henri's letter included a standard post script, "Merci wants to know: How's Rogue?" It translates to "De fam'ly wants to know if yo' gon' bring dat girl back cause we all like her and she'd make a first rate t'ief."

De answer is: "S' not yo' business so stay out o' it or I'll set de house on fire." What I wrote on de paper is "She's the same."

De rest o' de day I spent bein' patient. I wandered around aimlessly fo' a while, wonderin' how in de world I was gonna pass enough time fo' de girl to come to her senses when lady luck smiled on her favorite jack: dere on my right was de bright, homey lights o' de Monticello Gaming and Raceway center. You know dat warm, fuzzy, nearly emotional feeling you get at Christmas time? Dat's how I feel when I spot a casino. All I needed to do was kill time till 10am when dey opened and I was set fo' dis day.

I finally found a diner a few miles away and headed in fo' some coffee and pancakes. It's not my typical fare, but diner coffee and diner pancakes are a different t'ing altogether dan deir non-diner counterparts. If you haven't had dem, try dem. Today.

De waitress was even kind enough to put my tab on de house, so long as I came back to see dem. Amazin' how far a little courtesy will take you. All right, I flirted my pants off, but I didn't wan' to waste my cash here knowin' I was headed fo' a casino. Didn' mean anyt'ing by it. All in all I'm not sure I can even help it.

I walked into dat casino wit' $74.62 in my various pockets. I walked out dat evenin' wit $1200.12. Oh I had found my home away from home. Lights, slots, tables, live entertainment, lady dealers, dey even had horse racin'! Of course, I've never had a head fo' savin', so I bought a round o' drinks at de bar (to leave everyone wit' a good impression…can't afford a lot of sore feelings if yo' plannin' to come back) and den headed out to find somet'ing special fo' a special lady in de way of a peace offerin'. I know: I'm a genius. Can't believe I didn' t'ink of it earlier. Oh wait, I didn' have any money earlier.

Shoppin' fo' Rogue is not easy. She's not into any o' de fail-safes dat I've come to rely on: jewelry, flowers, candy. But hey, dat's what I like about her: she's different. It was nearly 9pm and I was jus' about frustrated when somet'ing happened. Guess it had been quiet around here too long.

Dere was a loud rumble and de ground shook under my feet. An earthquake? I heard folks start screamin', and some strange sounds I couldn't recognize or describe. There was anuddah rumble and de ground shook again. Sirens started in the distance. I dropped what I was doin' and took off toward de sound.

When I finally came upon de scene I didn' know what to t'ink. Cars were on fire, asphalt was cracked, people were panickin'…but none o' dat mattered when you noticed what was causin' all de destruction.

I've watched news releases and seen pictures since o' what happened dat day, but one t'ing dat does doesn't translate is de sheer size. I'm 6'2". Deir boots were taller than me. At first glance you jus' don't know what you're lookin' at, suffice to say it's probably de end o' de world. I learned dat dey were called "Sentinels" later. At dat moment I was frozen where I stood.

A bright light snapped me out o' it. De blue beam passed over me in about a second befo' it disappeared. I opened my eyes and saw only an expanse o' metal. My eyes followed it up, up, forever up, before meeting what I guess was its face. Indifferent lenses peered down at me and a mechanical voice boomed loud enough to make me jump.

"Mutant target identified. Acquisition underway. Do not resist. Cooperation is imperative."

What de?! Next t'ing I knew it was tryin' to side swipe me. Cooperate mon ane! I had my staff out befo' you could count to two. I used de robot's hand as a launchin' board fo' getting' up and over. I hit de ground runnin' and threw a full house behind me to cover my trail. Once I got to a safe spot I whipped out my cell.

"Hello?" I recognized Ororo's voice on the receivin' end.

"Get me de Professor!"

"Gambit, are you quite all right?"

"We got a situation here Ro', if yo' really insistent I'll tell ya about it later but right now I need you to put de man on de line!"

"Of course!" I couldn't have been more dan five seconds, but it felt like forever. I was already yellin' "come on come on!!" into de phone when he finally picked up.

"Where are you Gambit?"

"I'm near Park and 42nd, y'all better get out here fast!"

"What's happening?"

"Dere's…robots I guess…tall as de buildings! Dey're searchin' out mutants. I don't know how many but people are panickin' and it's already out of control!"

I heard him tell Ro' to put out the alarm. "We're on our way. Gambit, do not engage them until we get there. Try to locate a safe place where we can bring victims and stay put."

"I'll do my best."

"Good." De line went dead.

Ok, safe place, safe place. Outside doesn' look too safe, so what have we got o' de indoor variety? I stealthed my way around as best I could, but dere was no tellin' where dey were or if dey could see through walls.

I had my back to an alley wall and peeked around de corner jus' in time to see a woman tear by, shrieking. I pulled back around de corner fast, but she was back in my line o' sight when long steel tentacles flew out and grabbed her, lifting her off the ground and drawing her backwards. I did a double take befo' I looked around de corner again. De mech monster was dere, assuring her in its terrifyingly unaffected voice dat dere was no reason to struggle as it opened its chest cavity and began pullin' her inside, where four or five people were already strapped to the walls in hysterics.

The woman was givin' it everyt'ing she had, but it didn' make any difference. De Professor said not to engage till dey got dere…but dat screamin' was makin' my skin crawl.

I had a split second of indecision and den decided dat de Prof would probably forgive me sooner dan I'd forgive myself.

Cards in hand, I swept out into de street. "Hey, homme, you mind if I crash dis petit boum?"

De cards came out one after de uddah, explodin' pink against de tentacles until it finally dropped de girl and withdrew. Den dat beam fell on me again.

"Hostile target: mutant. Aggressive force: permitted."

The hand appendage split and retreated into the arm, revealing not'ing but a hollow barrel. He aimed it at me and I got a runnin' start. I don't know what it was shootin' at me, but I know it left steamin' craters in de asphalt, and in de end what else do you need to know? I ran in a windy path and managed to stay one step ahead o' de blasts. Finally I used as much speed as I could to build momentum befo' runnin' up de wall and using my staff to flip up onto a second story ledge.

I headed full speed back toward my foe, tossing a hail of explodin' cards befo' me. Once I got within range, I launched my staff dead on through its left eye. Though dere's some debate on de issue, I know when to play and when to get serious. I had no intention o' playin' wit' dese t'ings.

To my dismay, de t'ing took no notice o' de injury. Didn' even pause. Wasn' counting on dat. Its hand shot out to grab me again, and I dodged by jumping from de ledge back down to de ground. Unfortunately I didn' make it. One o' dose tentacles lashed out and caught me around the waist, pinnin' my arms to my sides jus' befo' my feet hit de ground. I was bein' reeled in like a fish on a hook, fumblin' around fo' my next darin' feat when I came to a jarrin' halt.

Rogue had wrapped her arms around the metal appendage, stoppin' it in its tracks. She looked back at me and raised one eyebrow.

"You know Cajun, sometimes ah think followin' directions just isn't one of yoah fortes."

With dat, she gave de tentacle a jerk and ripped it right out o' dat robot. It immediately went slack and I slid to de ground.

"A man's gotta find some way to get yo' attention, petit."

"Well, if that's yoah goal, you could try coverin' me."

"D'accord."

She started flyin' full speed toward de t'ing, and I made sure dere was an explosion blockin' her from sight every second. When she fin'ly connected, she used a roundhouse kick to the head hard enough to bust de neck. One more kick and a shove and it came rollin' off. The sound o' dat t'ing powerin' down was similar to de sound it makes in de movies when a jet engine lands. Wit' one last rumble, de robot collapsed.

Rogue turned to me wit' a glorious smile. "See, X-men are all about teamwork, sugah."

I shrugged. "Hmm. Not used to dat. Maybe I'll ease my way in wit' a partnership, hahn?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Can we at least save the day befoah you start givin' me trouble?"

"No promises."

"Drop somethin', hon?" She tossed my staff back to me and I caught it wit' a bow.

She hit a button on her communicator. "Ah got him Cyclops, looks like he's got about seven civilians on his hands."

"Are they in a safe location?"

"Not really. We had to down one of those robot thugs to get 'em."

"Find someplace now and lay low until we get to you. Tell Gambit we mean it this time, since there was obviously some confusion."

"Aye aye captain." She switched it off and den turned to me.

"Cyke says hi." I grinned. I love it when she's in a good mood.

Her face turned serious a split second later. "Ok, there's a parkin' garage about four blocks up that way. They're about as structurally sound as a buildin' can get, so let's huddle there foah now. Lower levels so we can stay outta sight."

"We got to get dem out o' de robot first."

"I'll handle that, you grab her-," she gestured to the girl I had saved earlier, now hidin' in de same alleyway I had staked out, "and start leadin' the way."

Rogue ripped open de chest cavity of our fallen enemy and I could hear her tryin' to calm everyone down. I ran over to my charge.

She looked to be in her mid-thirties, with dirty blonde hair to her shoulders. She was wearin' a purple sweater and dark blue jeans, both torn. She had skinned her knees and elbows pretty good, and de blood was quickly tryin' to stain everyt'ing it could. She had her shakin' hands clasped together against her chest. I t'ink she was probably justified.

"You ok? You hurt?"

Her frightened eyes met mine, and she jumped. I closed dem out o' habit. She wasn' de first person to feel less dan comforted by my eyes.

"I'm not gon' hurt you. I'm tryin' to help. I'm a mutant, like you."

I could hear her breathin' race as she considered fo' a moment.

"I'm Leslie."

I smiled my mos' winnin' smile. "Hello Leslie. I'm Gambit. I wish we were meetin' undah better circumstances, but I'm glad to meet you regardless."

She took a deep breath, tryin' to calm herself. "I'm not hurt, I don't think."

"I'm very glad to hear dat, but it's not safe to stay. You ok to come wit' me? We're

not goin' far, jus' gotta get out o' de streets." I kept my voice as polite and casual as I could. Tryin' to make dis whole situation seem normal somehow. It appeared to be workin'.

"Ok. Sure."

"Bon. Yo' ok. I'll watch out fo' ya. Jus' stay wit' me." I took her by de arm and we hurried up towards de parking garage. I guess Rogue had contacted Cyke, cause de rest o' de team was already dere wit' a few uddah refugees by de time we arrived.

"Where's Rogue?" Cyke's tone was in full military mode.

"She's bringin' up de rest, she tol' me to go on ahead."

"Ah'm here." She herded her group in wit' de uddahs.

"Ok, here's the plan. These things are all over the city, so we're going to have to split up to cover more ground. We'll use this as a center target, start at the outskirts of the city and work our way in."

"How thin are you spreading us? These things aren't exactly easy kills." Jubilee chimed in.

"You did insist that you were up for this, didn't you?"

"Well yeah, I mean, I can take 'em…"

"I hate to do it but we're going to have to start with groups of two."

"Two?!" Jean's eyes practically popped.

"More than enough." Logan snickered.

"We've got too much ground to cover and only so many people. We'll do tank and range strategy."

"I'm with Rogue." Logan huffed. Like hell.

"No, you're with Jubilee."

"I'm no babysitter."

"HEY!!"

"We need tanks to divert damage for the ranges. You and Rogue are both tanks. We aren't choosing dance partners here people so shut it. Colossus, with me on the south side. Wolverine, with Jubilee on west. Rogue, with Gambit. You guys stay here and protect civilians. Keep the coast clear for us. Bishop, with Jean on the east side. Beast, you and Storm take north point. Iceman, Psylocke, patrol the perimeter. Report any newcomers and try to stop any of these things that try to leave till another team can reach you."

A half dozen mouths opened to argue, but Cyke raised one hand to stop dem. "Everyone move. Keep in touch, and watch your partner."

"May the road rise to meet you, my friends." Hank said as a final adjournment befo' everyone split. All in all I'd say Team Sparkler Claw was the least happy wit' dese arrangements. I was perfectly content bein' part o' Team Gorgeous.

At first it wasn' too eventful. Rogue was patrollin' on de upper decks to see if any o' dose t'ings were comin', and I was below decks keepin' people calm and makin' sure new recruits sent by de uddah teams got in with no incident.

But all good t'ings must come to an end. I was doin' de whole hero t'ing when Rogue called me upstairs. I couldn't help but oblige.

"Gambit, we got about five of those things headin' this way. They were just circlin' foah the longest time but now it looks like they're directly on course. Ah already contacted Cyclops, he's comin' back with Colossus and called in Beast and Storm, but Ah think the robots are gonna get here first."

"Merde."

"Ah need you to get everybody downstairs mobilized. Make sure they're ready to get out on a signal. See if there's anyone who can drive a bus. If there is, get them one."

"What about you, chere?"

"Ah'm gonna try to slow 'em down."

"By yo'self?"

"Ah'm hopin' you'll move quick and then get on the top level so ah won't have to be on mah own foah long."

"I don' like it."

"Dang ah wish ah cared."

"Look, give me 15 minutes befo' you head off into de fray, ok?"

"We don't have that kinda time."

"Rogue, I don' have a communicator. I'm not 'xactly in uniform. If somet'ing goes wrong you won' know where I am or be able to contact me. Cyclops did say we're supposed to watch our partner. Give me 15 minutes to get dat stuff done befo' you head out so I can cover you."

She rubbed de back o' her neck while she t'ought it over. "Ten."

I smiled and winked at her. "T'anks." De corner o' her mouth twitched. I took off to make use o' my time.

I could've done it if I hadn't been delayed. I went out to find a bus first. In desperate times, somebody would figure how to drive it. Dat took five o' my minutes. I never did run across a city bus, but I managed to find a shuttle bus dey used fo' some youth group. Sorry youth group. I hotwired it and started makin' tracks.

Dis is where I lost time. Roads were blocked by debris, cars dat had been left, and in some cases I would have had to drive right over one o' dose sentinels, which somehow seemed like a poor strategy. I could see de parking garage, see it, but not get to it.

And den t'ings went to hell in a handbasket.

I was lookin' at de garage, tryin' to figure out if I could get to it by makin' an elaborate U-turn when there was a huge blast o' red. It sounded like a train wreck, and de buildin' began leanin' precariously.

De buildin' was gon' collapse, and all dose people in de basement. I knew it couldn't possibly do any good, but I jumped out o' de van and started runnin' back as fast as my legs could carry me. My eyes were glued to de scene, I couldn' even blink. Somehow, it was holdin' steady.

"Come on come on jus' wait!!" My voice sounded panicky even to me.

As I got closer to de buildin' I saw Colossus poundin' into a robot like a muscle clad soviet tank. His eyes met mine and he called out to me.

"Gambit, I have need of your help!"

"We gotta get de people out!"

"Look around, where would you say they should go?"

Oh yes, de Sentinel attack was in full swing. No way dey could get out without runnin' into one o' dose. But which was worse, capture or bein' crushed to death by a parking garage?

"Rogue has stabilized the structure for now. We must clear a path for the civilians, but Cyclops has lost his visor, we must find it! I will keep these troublemakers distracted while you search."

Is it so much to ask dat a man should run to his girl when he's worried about her? Why is dere always somet'ing you got to do first?

I started flyin' through de rubble like hurricane Katina lookin' foah dat stupid, hideous visor. I don' t'ink I've ever had less patience wit' anyt'ing.

Fin'ly! "I got it!"

"Get it to him! In de basement! And hurry!"

When I got down dere Cyclops was sittin' in de corner wit' his eyes shut as tightly as he possibly could. I grabbed his hand and slammed de visor into it. About dat time I heard Rogue on de second floor.

"If there's an X-man nearby that wants to give a girl a hand, ah'd be tickled pink!"

Scott turned to me, "Go. I'll get back out to Colossus."

Didn' need to tell me twice. I took off up de stairs. She was on de far corner o' de deck, stretched to her full height, arms above her head supporting de weight o' three floors of reinforced concrete and steel. I knew o' course dat she was super strong, but somet'ing about actually seein' dis in action stopped me dead in my tracks fo' jus' a split second.

Den she was hit wit a blue beam, and I noticed de Sentinel peering in wit' its mechanical eyes. I immediately found my legs again and started runnin' toward her. She was ok, but her skin was steamin' from de blast. Den one o' dose tentacles shot out around her waist. I could see dat it had pulled tight, but she wasn' budgin'. She swung one leg up and over, tuckin' her ankle underneath befo' she brought her leg down sharply, snappin' de tentacle into two pieces: one dat immediately retreated back into de robot, and de uddah which dropped its hold on her and fell lifeless to de ground.

Den annuddah one shot out, dis time wrappin' around her nose and mouth. She couldn't drop her arms wit'out de buildin' collapsin', and her eyes went wide as she realized she was in trouble.

But I was here now, and de cards were flyin'.

"Hey homme, you ever play a little game called '52 pick up'?" I split de deck, bowed dem wit' my hands, and let de barrage fly straight into its face. Befo' de smoke cleared, I jumped and used my full weight to drive my staff through de tentacle holdin' onto Rogue, pinnin' it to de floor away from her face.

It twisted and convulsed like a great metal snake, flippin' dis way and dat as de sparks flew. I looked toward de open chest cavity and noticed dat it was empty o' passengers, so I reached down and grabbed de tentacle, loadin' it fully befo' I wit'drew de staff and let it fly back to its owner. De explosion knocked de top half o' de robot off its legs, and he was down and out.

I didn' even look long enough to see it hit de ground befo' my attention was back to Rogue. I wish I could say dat my eyes were less dan innocent as dey scanned her whole body, but at de moment I was consumed entirely by makin' sure she was ok.

But den she laughed. I cocked my head to one side in confusion. "What could possibly be funny?"

"That was the coolest thing ah've ever seen in mah whole life!" She continued to giggle triumphantly.

I shook my head at her, but I couldn' help but smile. "Yo' a strange one, chere, dat's certain. But anyt'ing to entertain."

De buildin' creaked ominously, and Rogue's smiled disappeared as she exerted even more effort into holding it up. Her breath was heavy an' tiny beads o' sweat had popped out on her forehead. You had to look hard to notice, but her arms were tremblin' ever so slightly.

"You all right, petit?"

"Well," she said between pants, "Ah know it may come as a bit of a surprise, but this thing is actually quite heavy."

"T'ought you could lift anyt'ing wit' dat strength o' yo's."

"Everyone's got limits, swamp rat. Ah'm just tryin' to make shoah everyone's safe befoah ah reach mine."

I'm not entirely sho' why, but dis made me terribly antsy. "I wish I could help. I don' like jus' watchin' you struggle while I sit here wit' my hands tied." I guess dat's why.

She sought out my eyes, and her smile was encouraging as she said, "But you already did. Couldn't still be here holdin' the dang building up if you hadn't rushed to mah defense. Don't beat yoahself up. You did good."

I was not used to compliments from dis woman, nor was I prepared fo' one. So I jus' sat dere lookin' dumb and takin' way too long to come up wit' such a lame answer as, "Well…what did you expect?"

"A white horse and a suit of armor. But hey, ah'm not picky. Ah'll settle foah a leather jacket and a bad attitude."

Back to de abuse. "Not me. I got standards. I'm gonna get you into a dress if it kills me."

"Ah think foah once yoah word choices are completely appropriate."

De noises outside were dyin' down. Fin'ly a voice came over her communicator. "Rogue, the building is clear, you and Gambit get out of there."

She exhaled heavily in relief. I collapsed my staff a tucked it away. "Can I get a lift, chere?"

"Get on the ledge, close to the end as ya can."

I did as I was told, and she collected all her strength to give her burden one upwards shove. It gave her jus' enough time to grab me and get us out befo' our beloved parkin' garage came crashin' down. We met up with Cyclops, Storm, Hank, and Colossus on the ground as de last shred o' daylight began fading. Hank was busy hackin' de central processor out o' one of de defeated robots, and everyone else was waiting for orders from Cyclops, who was prompt in delivering dem.

"Psylocke and Iceman reported a mass exodus of the remaining robots. Jean and Bishop are transporting the civilians to the local hospital. Everyone else, regroup at the X-jet and get ready to head home. Rogue, Logan's not in shape to be mobile. I hate to ask, but I need you to go pick them up."

"What's wrong with Logan?"

"He's…not yet recovered from his injuries."

"All right, ah got enough steam left foah that."

"We'll be waiting on you."

Rogue took to the sky and de rest o' us followed orders. We didn' have to wait long befo' she showed back up wit' de last team in tow. Logan was still covered in gashes, lacerations, and blood, but I could tell he was startin' to feel more like his charmin' self cause he immediately lit up a cigar once Rogue put him on the gurney in back.

"Could you give yoah regeneration factor a break every once in a while, please?"

He blew out a huge breath o' smoke. "Nope." Seemed less cordial dan normal.

She sighed resignedly. "Can ah get you anything? Is there anything you need?"

"Nope." Definitely less cordial dan normal.

She sighed and turned, but looks like Logan had words after all. "Hey, Rogue…"

"What?"

"Check on Jubilee will ya?"

She put one hand on her hip, and reached out with the uddah one to snatch his cigar, which she promptly snapped in half. "Give a little get a little," she tossed over her shoulder as she went to check on Jubilee, who was uncharacteristically blanched and unanimated.

Rogue tried talkin' to her, asked if she was ok, but Jubes dodged her and went back to starin' out de window, also out o' character. Rogue looked concerned, but since we we're getting ready to take off she had no choice but to take her seat and buckle up.

De jet was abuzz wit' voices. Very few o' de X-men have much in de way o' a poker face.

"Did you see those things? I mean, did you see them?" Bobby's voice was near breaking.

"They were thirty feet tall, Bobby. Kinda hard to miss." Jean's voice was incredibly irritable, considering her usual disposition.

"Who could have sent them?" Ororo's question was laced with incredulity.

"Someone with a hell of a lot of capital. They've managed to develop their own robotic fleet and deploy them with total surprise." You could hear de gears turn in Scott's head.

"So who hates mutants enough to spend a billion dollars on their elimination?" Betsy chimed in.

"Dey weren't tryin' to kill mutants, jus' capture dem. Dat's de real mystery. Who wants a mutant collection?"

"I'm afraid I haven't the smallest notion, but I'm hopeful that once we return to the X-mansion and I'm able to analyze the processor data we will have answers, or at least clues." Hank's voice addressed us, but his eyes were already wandering as he speculated on systems, protocols, and algorithms.

Jean closed her eyes fo' a split second befo' speaking again. "The Professor is already investigating casualties and numbers of missing persons, but this attack wasn't isolated. Similar assaults were conducted in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, London, Paris, Moscow, and Tokyo. Reports are still coming in and information is incomplete."

Silence filled the cabin. What had we just been part of? At least seven major world cities filled with mutant seeking robots? Dis was…too big.

"Well…it was incredibly lucky Gambit was on the ground when it hit. We destroyed a lot of those things and prevented a lot of harm to mutants and civilians alike. We did a lot of good here today, team. The Professor will be proud." Scott was determined to stay focused on de task at hand until we were officially home and off duty. His words only cut the silence briefly, and it closed back in over his voice as soon as he was finished.

It seemed like much longer dan it really was in de somber quiet befo' Stormy finally got around to askin' me a question. "What were you doing out in the city, Gambit? No one realized you had planned to leave the school."

Sometimes de truth is more fun dan anyt'ing you can make up. "I was shopping."

Storm's eyebrows lowered suspiciously. "Shopping?"

"Yeah. Looking fo' a gift."

I waited. She bit. "For whom?"

"Rogue, of course."

De attention o' de cabin turned tangibly toward de lady o' de hour, who had assumed her stone statue stance and was avoidin' everyone's gaze by starin' wide eyed at de back o' de seat in front o' her.

De silence returned, but dis time it was electric. Only Betsy laughed.

14