The Sinister Solution
Chapter Twenty-Five:

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Gambit

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It was all coming together. Within the hour, he would be married to Anna Marie and they'd finally be starting their life together. Of course, she was a bit peeved at him and worried that she wouldn't quite fit into her white wedding gown. They were expecting their first child in four months. It was truly a miracle, because if Rogue hadn't mastered her mutant powers, then a child would have been impossible.

"This is a joyous day," Shiro said. He dashed his knuckle under his right eye, wiping away an errant tear. "I am so happy for you both," he said, voice cracking with emotion. "I am honored that you have chosen me to stand at your side for this."

"Of course," Remy said, hooking his elbow across Shiro's neck and hugging his best man to his side. "We been through a lot, us three, non? Ain't no one know us two better than you, mon ami."

"If you're struggling with naming your child, remember that Shiro is a great name for male or female," Shiro said with a grin.

Remy laughed and released Shiro from his embrace. "Nice try, Sunfire." He tugged at the sleeves of his tux. "We were thinking Oliver for a boy or Rebecca for a daughter."

"I suppose those are nice American names," Shiro huffed. "But, you're really limiting your options." He glanced over at Bobby who entered the lounge room with them with an arm load of beer and water bottles.

"I brought both so you can choose," Bobby said. He set the drinks on the small table in the center of the room and then plopped himself onto an armchair.

"I don't need to be drunk on my wedding day," Remy said. He took one of the waters and tossed another to Shiro.

"Did I mention that Mystique is here?" Bobby asked.

"Oh second thought," Remy said, reaching for one of the beers.

Shiro drank from his water. "I am surprised she was invited. She's been enemy more often than ally, and never would I consider her a friend."

"It was Kurt's idea," Remy grumbled. "She is Rogue's foster mother and ever since Kurt returned from Heaven, it's hard to ignore him when he goes all preachy about the importance of forgiveness."

"That's because Kurt is a saint," Bobby said. "The rest of us mere mortals simply do the best that we can." He closed his eyes and let out a happy sigh. "I caught a glimpse of Lorna when the girls were out taking photos."

"Rachel let you out there?" Remy asked in surprise. Their former teammate had surprised the two of them by offering to do the photography for their wedding. With her powers of telepathy and telekinesis she always seemed to capture the perfect moment at special occasions.

Bobby smirked. "I bribed her," he answered. "Though, I'll be grading her papers for the next six weeks." He propped his feet on the ottoman in front of him. "It's totally worth it. Lorna was gorgeous."

"I suppose Rogue and Wanda weren't half bad?" Shiro asked sarcastically.

"I'm in the dark on that," Bobby confessed. "They weren't included in the deal and Rachel wouldn't let me peek at them."

The three old friends reminisced and joked about the past. They hadn't realized how much time had passed until there a slight scent of sulfur and Nightcrawler popped into the room amongst them. "Are you ready, gentlemen?"

Remy waved his hand in front of his nose to fan away the odor. "Was that really necessary?" he asked.

Kurt smirked. "Time is of the essence. Dazzler is ready to start the music for the procession and I need you three at the front for the ceremony."

Bobby frowned. "I thought I was escorting Lorna."

"You escort her after the ceremony," Shiro reminded him. "Do you remember nothing from the rehearsal yesterday?"

Bobby scratched the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. "I didn't get much sleep last night. I was babysitting the twins for Warren and Betsy."

"I bet that was a long night then," Remy said. "Let's go, mes amis!"

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OoO

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Rogue

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"This is really happening," Rogue whispered excitedly. She stood arm in arm with Logan, ready to start the walk down the aisle to join Remy at the alter.

"Yes, it is, darlin'," Logan said. His dark hair was more white than dark now, but his bright blue eyes were as sharp as ever. "Your mama showed up."

"Really?" Rogue said, slightly surprised that Mystique arrived. "Well, I suppose it's to be expected. No one wants to disappoint Kurt."

Logan chuckled. "Ain't that the truth." He looked over at Rogue and smiled crookedly. "You ready?"

"Yes," Rogue said. She and Logan walked down the aisle with Dazzler playing the wedding march on her keyboard. Dazzling light shot all around her as sound converted into a light show. She could see Mystique sitting on the front row, tears of happiness in her eyes. Laura, Julian, Josh, Sooraya, and Hank sat next to her on the bride's side. Several members of the Thieve's Guild — his father Jean-Luc, Ajna, Zoe, and Claude sat on the groom's front row.

The chairs were full of so many friends — X-men and Avengers alike. Rogue's entire Avenger's team were attendance as well as Wanda's brother Pietro.

Kurt stood at the front ready to ordain them. Remy looked so handsome waiting for her with an eager smile with Shiro and Bobby at his side. Ororo stood as the Matron of Honor, with Wanda and Lorna alongside her.

"Who gives this woman away?" Kurt asked.

"I give her away," Logan said gruffly. He guided Rogue's hand to Remy and then moved to stand next to Bobby with the groom's men.

"We are gathered here today to unite this man — Remy Etienne LeBeau to Anna Marie Raven," Kurt said.

The wedding ceremony was a happy occasion. The cake and champaign afterwards were greatly enjoyed. When Rogue tossed her bouquet, Laura caught it and then realizing what it meant, she quickly shoved it at Clarice. Realizing his girlfriend had caught the bouquet, James "Warpath" Proudstar snatched the garter belt out of the air.

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OoO

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Hellion

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It was a nice, late spring day. Julian was outside with Laura, Josh, Quentin, Sooraya, Victor, Santo, and Cessily. The young X-men were enjoying a picnic during their lunch break. Their teacher, Ororo, had dismissed class early due to an unexpected visitor.

"I really don't like that guy," Quentin complained.

"Which guy?" Victor asked. "You can't still be cross with Paras. He can't help that Roxanne asked him out, or that he agreed." He chuckled. "He is rather handsome," he said with a sigh.

"Ugh!" Quentin scoffed. "I'm not talking about Bling! She can do whatever she wants! I'm talking about T'Challa! He just prances around the place like he's some sort of king!"

"He is a king," Laura argued. "And if he and Ororo want to give their marriage another shot, I think that's good."

Julian reached for Laura's hand under the table and squeezed it in reassurance. Her father and Ororo had dated for several months, but with his ailing health, it became apparent that Logan had given up on both life and love. He'd pleaded with Ororo to try reconciliation with her ex-husband. He felt that it was pride keeping the Wakanda King away.

"If it gets us out of class fifteen minutes early, I won't be complaining," Julian added.

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OoO

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X-23

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Laura rubbed her fingers over her lips, trying to process the meeting's significance. Logan had called her into a private meeting with him and Natalia Romanova of S.H.I.E.L.D. The former Russian spy had news that made her stomach churn.

"We're forming an extraction team for Arcade. We thought you might like to be on it, Laura. Jennifer Takeda will be part of it," Natalia said.

"Just how big is this extraction team?" Logan asked. "I'd like to have a few of my X-men accompany Laura."

"I have my own team I'd like to take," Laura said.

"We can't just…," Natalia started, but Logan held his hand up to stop her.

"I know what Arcade is capable of and I have a team that I know can defeat him," Laura said. She might have told Julian that she'd steer clear of killing, but once facing Arcade she couldn't say that her friends would let him live.

"Just who might this team consist of?" Natalia asked. "I will entertain this notion and run it by Fury."

"Who's to say we haven't gleaned the information from you already?" Julian said, stepping out of the shadows.

"Dammit. I hate telepaths," Natalia complained. "Fine. Who's the team? And maybe I won't run it by Fury."

"Might be best if you don't know," Laura said. "I appreciate you coming by to share this news with us. Give Jennifer my apologies and let her know that I have a friend that can cure her of her radiation curse should she so wish it."

"I will pass that along," Natalia said. She stared down at Logan. "There's a reason I never crossed you, Wolverine." Her dark eyes shifted between Laura and Julian. "Your friends are always so uniquely talented."

"We're survivors," Logan said. He coughed up a bit of phlegm and hit his fist against his chest. "Until we're done surviving."

The Black Widow left shortly afterwards, leaving Wolverine with Laura and Julian.

"So, tell me of this team of yours," Logan said.

Laura smiled thinking of her allies. She'd bring along Hellion, Elixir, Dust, Magik, Warpath, and Daken. "It will be a group of seven," she said.

"Eight, I'm coming along," Logan said.

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OoO

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Wolverine

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One hundred and twenty-nine years had passed since that wintery evening in 1886 when James Howlett was born in Alberta, Canada. His childhood had been spent in constant sickness until his mutant powers developed. Then, over one hundred and fifteen years passed without so much as a runny nose. Who knew how many more decades might have passed if he'd taken Elixir up on his offer to correct the malfunction in his healing.

At least he had seen the monster that had tortured his daughter and killed so many of her friends meet a nasty end. It was bittersweet that he died in the arms of both his daughter and son.

Now, he found himself in a mist so deep that he could neither see nor hear anything around him.

"Finally," a familiar, feminine voice called out to him, crystal clear within the nothingness. The mist began to dissipate and a woman stood before him in a drab robe. She pushed back the hood and a shock of bright red hair spilled over her shoulders and her green gaze pierced him straight to the heart.

"Jean?" Logan whispered, his voice stolen away with emotions so intense he couldn't begin to recognize them.

"I've been waiting for you, Logan," she said. Jean held out her hand to him. "Come along with me. I have so much to show you!"

Without a second's hesitation, Logan took Jean's hand as she led him towards his next and final adventure.

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OoO

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X-23

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With fresh white daisies in her arms, Laura approached her father's grave. She paused near the memorial stone when she realized someone had already laid fresh flowers at the grave. They were nearly scentless white chrysanthemums — the traditional flower for a Japanese funeral.

"It's funny," Daken said, from the lower bough of the tree over the grave. "I couldn't talk to him in life, but now that he's dead, I have so much to say."

"You've gotten skilled at masking your scent," Laura commented. It was only now that she was practically underneath the tree that she could smell him.

"I need some sort of challenge," Daken said. "Hide and seek with you is a good as any."

"I suppose so," Laura said. She traced her finger over the engraving on her father's memorial stone. It was hard to believe that he was truly gone. "I always thought that no matter how many friends I would lose with this power of mine, that he would always be there."

Daken jumped out of the tree, landing softly alongside Laura. He laid his arm across her shoulders in a protective way. "You and I will have each other, sister," he said quietly. He let go of her shoulders abruptly and grabbed her hand. "What is this?"

Laura stared down at the promise ring that Julian gave her three days before. "It's from Julian."

"You are too young to marry," Daken growled.

"I'm nineteen, nearly twenty," Laura argued. "Besides it's a promise ring, not an engagement ring."

Daken dropped her hand and throw both his hands into the air in frustration. "A promise ring? What? You're not good enough for that scoundrel to give an engagement ring to?"

"I thought you just said," Laura started, knitting her brow in confusion.

"I know what I said!" Daken interrupted. "Come on, let's go. We're going to have a talk with this Mr. Keller and demand why he didn't propose to you." He grabbed Laura's wrist and started to draw her away from their father's grave.

Laura burst into laughter and yanked her arm out of Daken's grasp. She sat on the ground next to the grave and continued to laugh. She patted the grass next to her. "Sit and calm yourself, Daken. Julian and I will move in our own time. There is no need for you to serve as father and scare him away."

"If only I could scare him away," Daken complained sitting next to her.

"Not even Mephisto himself could scare Julian away from me," Laura said with a sigh. She toyed with her promise ring and smiled. There was still much unrest in the world and it would never be peaceful, but she was happy. The mutants were divided into three separate groups — those under Cyclops, Storm, and Mystique. Those groups were harmonious for the time being. Apocalypse and Sinister still lived, waiting for their next chance to reek havok. While both claimed to no longer be threats, she knew that reality would be short-lived.

"Rogue and Gambit had their son last week," Laura said.

"Oh yeah?" Daken asked. He elbowed her in the ribs. "When can I expect a nephew or niece?"

"Oh ho!" Laura laughed. "Now you want me and Julian married and making babies, is it?" She shook her head in amusement. "Why don't I ask you the same regarding Illyana?"

'Hey, Laura, you coming back anytime soon?' Julian projected into Laura's mind. His telepathy had improved a great deal over the past few months. 'These kids are driving me insane!'

He was of course referring to Warren's twins. Julian and Laura had made a bet, seeing who could best the other in a sparring match the day before. Loser was to offer Warren and Betsy an evening of babysitting. Julian hadn't had a chance, but she respected his willingness to try.

'Soon. I'm explaining to Daken about the promise ring,' Laura answered.

'Take your time,' Julian answered.

"You still in there?" Daken asked, waving his hand before Laura's vacantly staring eyes.

"Yes, I was merely speaking with Julian," Laura explained. She tapped her temple. "Who needs to spend a fortune on a cell phone when you have telepathy?"

"You're joking now?" Daken rubbed his forehead. "The world has gone insane."

"Nope," Laura argued. "The world is finally as it should be."

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FIN

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A/N: Thanks for reading this story and joining me on this adventure. I was able to wrap up all my favorite Marvel pairings with this story and give it a semi-happy ending. I don't know what's going on with the comics right now with all the changes. I'll be waiting to pass judgment until after a few months. I simply hope someone takes over X-23's storyline that decides to have her interact with Julian and Daken a lot. Those are my favorite moments in comics over the past five years. It is also my hope that Rogue and Gambit finally work out their differences.