Chapter Text
Darkness.
A thumping in his head.
Gambit clenched his teeth together. Did he have too much to drink last night? The pain in his head felt different from a hangover. His consciousness slowly came back to him. He forced his eyes open.
At first, everything was a haze. His eyes slowly focused on seeing his beloved wife tied to a brick column, unconscious. “Rogue!” He instantly tried reaching out for her but was stopped short.
He glanced back. He was bound to a similar column himself. He sat on the cold brick ground just like Rogue was. Did whoever captured them really think a pair of cuffs could hold him?
A chorus of groans came from the other side of the room, drawing Gambit’s attention. Rogue slowly started to wake up. “R-Remy?”
“It’s me, Chere. Are you ok?”
Rogue shook her head awake. She gazed up at the ceiling. “Where are we?”
“Better question. Who are you?”
Gambit heard his own voice, but he hadn’t spoken. He gazed over to his right to see…himself? Was it him? The man was slightly younger than himself and dressed in a white suit with a purple cloth draped over his shoulders. His hair combed back like he was about to head out on the town with a lucky lady.
“What in the-” Rogue’s voice drew his attention again. “Who are you?”
Gambit looked in the same direction as Rogue and yet another Rogue (97), this one dressed like his Rogue had been on their very first date. Both of these clones were bonded just like they were.
More similar voices cut in.
Against Gambit’s better judgment, he looked in the opposite direction to find three more Gambits and Rogues. For some strange reason, the youngest Gambit (Evolution) wore a black and red version of his X-Men uniform with a bowl cut. The next Gambit (W&X-Men) looked like a much more sinister version of himself in his traditional thief attire. The last (Thief) Gambit looked similar but less evil. In comparison to the other Gambits, Remy felt a bit underdressed; then again, he was on his second honeymoon before he ended up here.
As for the other Rogues, the youngest Rogue (Evolution) appeared to be some Goth. Never imagined that look on his chere, but he wasn’t exactly complaining about it neither. Something about her still screamed Rogue. The second one had her hair tied back in a ponytail and wore an oversized brown coat. The last one looked something like Rogue when she was a member of the Brotherhood, except with her current hairdo.
None of this made sense. How did he and Rogue get here? They were just in Mexico to hide out and enjoy a second honeymoon, but now they were in a brick room surrounded by doppelgangers.
First things first, he needed to get rid of these cuffs. All he had to do was charge them a bit, and he would be free—or at least that’s how it was supposed to go. His powers weren’t working. As he glanced around the other Rogues and Gambits, he noticed he wasn’t the only one. All of them had collars on their necks.
So they weren’t dealing with some amateur, of course not. Whoever was behind this managed to get the drop on all of them—or maybe just him and Rogue—and copied them a bunch of times to confuse them.
Various shouts of confusion and worry for their partner filled the room. None of it made any sense, and the familiar voices coming from every direction made it impossible to tell who was talking to who. Plan B, then. Gambit slipped a lock pick out from under his glove. Rule one of being a thief was being prepared, and whoever took them didn’t even bother to check for something so basic.
“Good morning, Rogue and Gambit. I see that you all are finally awake,” a voice blared from the ceiling, cutting off all the voices.
“I have been waiting for quite a while for this day to come. Allow me to introduce myself. I am James Rollock, the second. I am a geneticist who studies mutation. And your particular power sets have drawn my interest.”
Gambit looked at his Rogue. He could see it in her eyes just like she saw it in his. Some nutcase like Minster Sinister had captured them. Gambit wouldn’t let this wacko get away with whatever he had in store for them.
“As you can see, you aren’t the only Rogue and Gambit that exist. Each pair of you came from one earth or another throughout the multiverse.”
“What are you goin’ on about?” (Evolution) Gambit spat out.
So, the kid wasn’t familiar. Gambit hadn’t considered why they didn’t all feel exactly like himself the way a clone would. They were his and Rogue’s varieties. It's not something Gambit was sure he wanted to deal with again after facing New Son all those years.
“As I said, you all come from the multiverse. A different earth with different possibilities,” James continued. “To get a better scope of your mutations, I took a sample size of Gambits and Rogues to test you in this facility.
“With this maze so far underground, None can reach you. Your only hope for escaping is completing it with your interesting power sets. Should you fail, you shall die or become my permanent lab rat.”
Gambit glared up at the ceiling. No way he was letting that happen.
“You’re insane!” Nearly every Rogue yelled as one.
His chere was strong will no matter the universe. He would get them out of here. He was just about finish picking the lock when-
“Your trial begins now.” The top of the walls around the room opened up. Water burst forth, filling the room like a well-planned trap for a thief. “Escape this room alive.”
“And how are we supposed ta do that with our powers cut off?” (97) Rogue questioned. The woman was desperate like the rest of her doppelgangers. None of them had their super strength to break themselves free.
“I believe I left your Gambits with a way to save you both if he is so inclined.”
So the lock pick wasn’t left there for no reason. Another test. Gambit stilled himself. He needed to stay focused so he and Rogue wouldn't become drown rats. One more movement and-he snapped off the cuffs in perfect timing with the other Cajuns.
Next, he went for the collar. He would blow a hole for them to escape as soon as he was free. A shock ran through his body that took everything he had not to collapse completely. He gasped for air.
“Free the girls first, and then you can regain your powers. After all, I need data on each and every skill you possess.”
Gambit gritted his teeth. These rules were getting annoying. It would have been easier to free Rogue with his powers, but oh well. Gambit couldn’t waste time with the water rising to his wife’s chest.
He ignored his own pain and headed behind Rogue. The water slapped against his back. “Hang on, Rogue. I got this.”
“I know you do, Remy.”
Rogue had stopped struggling the moment Gambit had gotten himself free. He loved the trust and faith she had in him. And Gambit wasted no time undoing her locks even as the water seemed to rise faster than before.
Once Rogue’s cuffs were off, he went straight for her collar. Her powers would be more useful than his if worse came to worse. The collar came off within two clicks. Less secure than the cuffs were.
Rogue spun around and grabbed Gambit’s collar with both hands, snapping in two. “There you go, sugah.” She gave Gambit a quick kiss on the lips to show her appreciation.
Gambit wished it could last longer, but time wasn’t on their side. He took her hand and pulled them both onto their feet. He checked on their doppelgangers to see they, too, had managed to free their Rogues except-
Evil (W&X-Men) Gambit was unconscious in the water. His Rogue mumbled and apologized as she tried to keep his head above the water. Poor guy must have brushed his fingers against Rogue’s skin when removing the collar.
“Make a hole for us. I’ll go help them,” Gambit told her.
Rogue nodded in agreement.
Only before Rogue could, an explosion went off in the wall before him. (Thief) Gambit pointed to the hole he had made. “Dis way!” He and his chere went running through.
“Did he do that without even touching the wall?” another Gambit questioned.
“Worry about it later.” Gambit helped (W&X-Men) Rogue carry the unconscious Gambit out of the water-filled room on their shoulders.
The hallway they entered was completely dark. Each of the conscious Gambits pulled out a card that they charged to light their way. The group moved carefully but fast as the water followed them out of the room they were just in.
“Anyone here have the slightest idea where we’re goin’?” (97) Gambit
“No. But it’s better than drowning back there?” (Evolution) Rogue
Gambit glanced around through the darkness. He could see his Rogue had made it by his side. It was easy to tell her apart from the others due to her more casual clothing like his own. The question was how would they find their way out of this place in one piece.
“Hold on.” (Thief) Gambit ordered the group.
“What is it, sugah?” (Thief) Rogue
(Thief) Gambit held his glowing card higher to show the metal door in front of him. He turned halfway toward the group. “We found our way out; we jes' need ta unlock it.”
His (Comic) Rogue stepped up. She punched her fists into her hand. “I can handle that.”
(Thief) Gambit raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’re tryin’ to punch zis thing open, Chere. It’s solid steel.”
Gambit could guess that the other Rogue didn’t possess the same super strength that his chere had.
Rogue pointed at the other (Thief) Gambit. “You saying I can’t?”
“Sorry, Chere. But we don’t know how long we’ve been out. Even if you absorbed super strength before, it would have faded by now.” (Thief) Gambit pulled his lock pick back out. He moved his card around to locate the lock. Right when he was about to start-
The door soared off its hinges and into the wall across from them.
Gambit couldn’t help but smile. That’s what the man gets for underestimating his wife. Out of sheer curiosity, Gambit looked to see how many of them had their jaws dropped at the sight. Almost all of them. Only (97) Rogue and Gambit seemed to understand the situation easily.
Rogue put her fists on her hips. “There, it’s open.”
(Thief) Gambit looked up at her as if he had seen the woman for the first time. “Guess dat strength didn’ wear off after all.”
“Not at all, sugah.” Rogue jumped down to the new set of halls.
Gambit smirked. This might be more fun than he thought. He winched. At least if this damn headache would go away.