Disclaimer: The X-men do not belong to me.
The museum was dark, save for the occasional red line of the laser security detection system that was protecting the pieces, and the flashlight of the guard who did his rounds on the hour. As the guard sat at his station, watching television and eating a sandwich, a figure slipped by, barely rustling behind the man. As "The Simpsons" blared on the screen, the dark stranger padded gently on, before stopping in front of a painting and pulling out a knife.
"Too easy." He cut the painting out from its frame and moved on to it's neighbor, which was guarded by a laser system. Pulling out a small kit, he quickly disabled the system and sliced the painting free.
Over in the guard's station, a light began to blink. The guard turned and fumbled for the phone.
"Yes, Police? Someone has just tripped the security system on one of the paintings here at the Art Museum."
The dark man had just finished placing the rolled up canvasses into a long, slender tube he had hidden in his coat. He heard a clattering noise behind him, as the upper window of the museum clanged shut. Someone else had been there. He heard the sirens approaching and knew immediately that he had been set up.
"Merde!" He closed the canister and headed towards the open window, climbing up only to find a yellow rose sitting on the outside ledge, the window itself sealed shut.
"Assasins..." He jumped back to the ground and moved towards the front stairs. He leapt over the balcony and landed gently on the marble floor below, only to be confronted with two armed police officers, guns drawn. He reached into his coat pocket without thinking and hurled two charged playing cards at the officers. The cards exploded, sending the police officers sprawling onto their backs.
"Desole, Mes Amis." He tipped an imaginary hat and turned the corner, smiling. When he realized that he was now facing ten armed officers, his smile faded.
"Merde..."
The room shuddered and the tiles shrunk, replaced by a pink glow. The machine came to life.
"Active mutant signature located."
As the information streamed through the helmet, Xavier concentrated on the mutant in question. It seemed as if he had gotten himself into trouble. Cerebro shut itself down, and he sent a message to his X-men.
"Cyclops, Wolverine, and Rogue. Assemble in the war room. You're going to New Orleans."
"So Scott, you ever gonna teach me how t' fly?"
"I don't know, you don't really come across as the flying type...Maybe some day."
Rogue was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, with her feet up on the control panel. Wolverine was in the back, smoking a cigar.
"Logan, you gonna put that out? It smells like someone up and died in here."
"No." Even though he said no, he grudgingly extinguished the cigar and leaned back in his chair. Cyclops laughed. He knew that if he had asked about it, Logan would have most likely given him the middle, er, claw. He guided the jet down, landing it gracefully on the still waters of the bayou. After powering down, he turned to his teammates.
"Ok. Let's go over this again. I'm going to go in and pay the guy's bail. You two will be..."
"Stealing the jet and leaving you here to die." Logan received a smack on the back of the head from Rogue.
"We'll be waitin' for you in th' bar down th' street. When you and the boy get there, we will try to talk him into joining us. We have an active comm. Link open in case something goes wrong."
"Right. But it shouldn't. This is just a routine mission. Ok, I'll se you in a few."
The top of the jet slid open and they climbed out, heading in two different directions.
The man sat in the dingy cell, tossing playing cards lazily onto the center of the cot across the cell.
"Dis is great. A simple job and Remy gets ratted out by de assassins. Wait until dis gets out. Dey gonna have a field day wit dis."
He stopped tossing the cards as the guard approached his cell.
"LeBeau, you've made bail. You're free to go."
"Who paid it? Jean-Luc?"
"Some guy name Summers."
"Remy don' know any Summers."
The guard slid the barred door open.
"If you know him or not, I suggest you thank him."
Remy collected his cards and tucked them into his pocket.
"Oui. Remy be sure to do dat."
He walked out to the lobby, where a man wearing a leather jumpsuit and strange glasses stood.
"You be dis Summers?"
The strange man offered his hand.
"Scott. Nice to meet you."
Remy eyed him and then accepted the handshake.
"Nice glasses you got dere, mon ami."
Scott hated it when people pointed out that he had to wear the visor.
"Thanks. If you'll come with me, there's something I'd like to talk to you about."
"Remy don' need t' find religion, if dat's what dis is all about."
"No, Mr. LeBeau, this is not anything like that. My friends and I would just like to ask you a few questions. We have an opportunity available to you that you may be interested in."
Remy didn't like to make a habit of going places with strange men in leather, but he figured that since the guy did bail him out, he owed him at least that.
"Ok. But if t'ings get weird, Remy's not sticking around."
"That's fair."
"Here you are, handsome." The waitress placed the beer down on the table and gave Wolverine a wink.
"Be sure to call if you need anything."
He looked down at the paper coaster that the beer was on. There, in red ink, was a phone number. Across the table, Rogue tried her best to stifle a laugh.
"I'll be sure to do that. Thanks."
The waitress walked away, looking back with a smile.
"Logan, you're such a ladies' man."
"Shut it."
She smiled. He had such a way with words. She lifted her icewater to her lips, and looked around the bar.
"Ya think Scott ran into some trouble?"
"He would have said something," Wolverine tapped his earpiece.
"Yeah... Logan, I gotta ask you a question."
"Shoot."
"D'you think that... What's your opinion on, uh, on Bobby? And me?"
"Kid, you don't want me to answer that one."
"Right... Well, its just—"
"Scott!" Logan waved his arm in the air to get the attention of his teammate. Scott was a little bit confused at first, it was not at all like Logan to make things easier. Usually, he would have sunk back into the booth and made Cyclops look like a moron as he searched the bar for him. But the Wolverine also hated opening up. Even to Rogue. Cyclops and the young man behind him made their way to the booth. Cyclops slid in next to Rogue, and the man took the seat next to Logan. Judging from his looks, he was about Rogue's age, a year older at the most. Logan sniffed the air, trying to get some idea of the guy's life.
"Remy LeBeau, codename Gambit, this is Wolverine." The two men nodded at each other, and Cyclops continued. "And this is Rogue."
Remy looked at the girl seated across the booth from Wolverine.
"Un Ange...", he muttered.
Wolverine and Scott didn't know any French, and so they disregarded the comment. Rogue, however, understood it and blushed, stuttering.
"It...it's nice t' meet you, Gambit."
"Non, chere... Call me Remy."
She looked up at him, noticing for the first time his eyes. They were startlingly beautiful. The whites of them were black, and the pupil and iris were red. She looked into his eyes until Wolverine cleared his throat and kicked her under the table. She jumped and cursed.
"Dammit, Logan! That hurt. You've got metal on your feet you sonofa—"
Cyclops interrupted her before she could finish.
"So, as I was saying, the Xavier institute will not only help you develop as a mutant, but also-and perhaps more importantly, as a member of the team. We operate as a school, through twelfth grade, and the graduates are offered the chance to stay on. Rogue graduated last year and has since become a full time member of the team and an assistant in the younger classes. Given your age, you would be offered a position as well. Your room and board is covered, and you will be given an allowance of spending money each month."
Cyclops hadn't noticed that Logan had mockingly fallen asleep at the table, that Rogue had finished her water and started on Logan's beer, or that Remy wasn't really paying attention to him but was instead watching Rogue and nodding occasionally.
"So, would you like to come with us to New York?"
It took Remy a minute before he realized that he had been asked a question.
"Uh, was dat again?"
"Are you coming with us?"
"Oh. Yeah, Remy'll go."
Alkali lake had been changed, in a matter of seconds, to Alkali sea. The dam burst and covered the entire valley with water. Wildlife had been destroyed, as well as the lives of the mutants who escaped on the jet. Their good friend, Jean Grey had sacrificed herself to save the rest of them, choosing to let the water swallow her whole. The water in the spot where she had died began to boil. Birds scattered as the water spat up at them, and the treetops poking out of the water began to shake.
A/N: Review, please!!! I'll get the next part up ASAP.