Chapter Text
End of August, 1997
The world had survived.
Again.
The shattered remains of Apocalypse’s war still scarred cities across the globe. Sentinel wreckage littered countrysides. Nations argued over mutant reconstruction while politicians debated who should be blamed for yet another catastrophe.
Inside the X-Mansion…
None of that mattered as much as the man suspended in the center of the medical laboratory.
Remy LeBeau.
Gambit.
The Cajun thief floated weightlessly inside an anti-gravity chamber. Transparent force-field emitters surrounded him on every side. Blue energy gently shimmered around his unconscious body, keeping the unstable kinetic energy trapped inside him from erupting.
Every few minutes, tiny sparks escaped his fingertips.
The monitors beeped steadily.
His body had survived.
Barely.
His mind…
That was another matter entirely.
⸻
Beast adjusted his glasses while reviewing another brain scan.
His expression grew increasingly troubled.
Professor Xavier rolled his wheelchair beside him.
Professor Xavier: “What have you found, Hank?”
Beast remained silent for a moment before enlarging the image.
Beast: “Charles… this shouldn’t be possible.”
Jean Grey walked over.
Jean: “What is it?”
Beast highlighted one section of Gambit’s brain.
Beast: “Compare this with the scan we took when Remy first joined the X-Men.”
The previous scan appeared beside the current one.
Everyone stared.
The difference was unmistakable.
A section of neural tissue…
…had once been missing.
Now…
It was whole.
Professor Xavier frowned.
Professor Xavier: “That wasn’t damage…”
Beast slowly nodded.
Beast: “No.”
He enlarged the image even further.
Beast: “This appears… deliberate.”
Silence filled the room.
Jean: “Someone removed part of his brain?”
Beast: “Not enough to affect intelligence…”
He pointed toward several neural pathways.
Beast: “…but enough to interrupt the sections responsible for processing and regulating mutant energy.”
Jean’s eyes widened.
Jean: “His powers…”
Beast: “Exactly.”
He folded his arms.
Beast: “My hypothesis is that whoever performed this procedure intended to limit Remy’s full potential.”
Professor Xavier leaned forward.
Professor Xavier: “You’re suggesting…”
Beast: “…that Remy LeBeau was never meant to possess only his current level of power.”
Another pause.
Beast: “…he may have originally been an Omega-level mutant.”
Jean looked back at Gambit floating inside the chamber.
Jean: “Apocalypse restored what had been taken.”
Professor Xavier nodded solemnly.
Professor Xavier: “Which explains why his powers are now threatening to consume him.”
⸻
Hours later…
The team gathered in the medical wing.
Everyone looked exhausted.
Beast shut off one monitor before turning toward them.
Beast: “There is something else.”
Everyone looked at him.
Beast: “Patients in prolonged unconscious states have occasionally demonstrated improved recovery when exposed to familiar voices.”
Jubilee blinked.
Jubilee: “…You mean…”
Professor Xavier smiled gently.
Professor Xavier: “Speak to him.”
He looked toward Gambit.
Professor Xavier: “Even if he cannot answer…”
“…he may still hear you.”
No one moved at first.
Finally…
Jubilee stepped forward.
⸻
She smiled weakly.
Jubilee: “Hey…”
“…dummy.”
She laughed quietly.
“…You’d probably make fun of me for crying.”
She wiped away a tear.
Jubilee: “You know…”
“When I first got here…”
“I was scared of everybody.”
She looked at Gambit’s sleeping face.
“But not you.”
“You always knew how to make people smile.”
She chuckled.
“Remember when you stayed up all night with me watching terrible monster movies?”
“You kept pretending you wasn’t scared.”
“I still know you jumped during the scary parts.”
Several X-Men smiled.
Jubilee continued.
“You taught me poker.”
“You cheated.”
“You absolutely cheated.”
Another laugh escaped her.
“You showed me how to shuffle cards…”
“…how to bluff…”
“…and how to do everything with style.”
Her smile slowly faded.
“You were like…”
“My big brother.”
“You never treated me like some annoying kid.”
“You believed in me before I believed in myself.”
She lowered her head.
“I miss you…”
“So…”
“So much.”
Quiet tears rolled down her cheeks.
⸻
Storm slowly walked forward.
She stood beside Gambit’s chamber.
For several moments…
She simply looked at him.
Then she spoke.
Storm: “My brother…”
Her voice trembled.
“You saved my life.”
The room grew quiet.
“When I lost my memories…”
“When I became a child once more…”
“I believed everything I was had vanished.”
She smiled sadly.
“But you…”
“You never stopped treating me with kindness.”
Flashbacks filled her thoughts.
Stealing priceless artifacts.
Escaping impossible traps.
Laughing together beneath New Orleans skies.
Sharing meals.
Adventures.
Freedom.
Storm: “Those days…”
“…were among the happiest of my life.”
She closed her eyes.
“You never judged me.”
“You simply accepted me.”
Storm took a slow breath.
“When I lost my powers…”
“I chose to leave.”
“I believed it was the right thing.”
Her voice cracked.
“But now…”
“I wonder.”
She looked directly at Gambit.
“When you needed your sister…”
“I was gone.”
A tear slid down her face.
“You have always stood beside me.”
“But when darkness found you…”
“I was not there.”
Storm placed a hand against the force field.
“I am sorry.”
“So very sorry.”
⸻
Elsewhere…
Professor Xavier and Jean entered Gambit’s subconscious.
The moment they crossed into his fractured mind…
Pain.
Unimaginable pain.
Children screaming.
Chains.
Prayers shouted in hatred.
Holy water burning his eyes.
Beatings.
Loneliness.
Fear.
A little boy curled into a corner while adults called him demon.
Jean gasped.
Jean: “Charles…”
Another memory slammed into them.
The Antiquary.
Cruel experiments.
Training children to become weapons.
Another.
Another.
Another.
Jean clutched her head.
The memories wouldn’t stop.
Then came Apocalypse.
The transformation into Death.
Countless innocent lives.
Forced obedience.
The agony of watching himself hurt the people he loved while unable to stop.
Professor Xavier winced.
Professor Xavier: “His suffering…”
“…never truly ended.”
Jean’s eyes filled with tears.
“No wonder his mind shattered.”
They withdrew from his psyche, both visibly shaken.
⸻
Outside…
Storm found Rogue standing alone on a balcony overlooking the grounds.
She hadn’t entered the lab once.
Storm quietly joined her.
Neither spoke immediately.
Finally…
Rogue broke the silence.
Rogue: “…I can’t.”
Storm looked toward her.
Storm: “Why?”
Rogue stared at the trees.
“Because this is my fault.”
Storm gently shook her head.
“No.”
Rogue’s voice grew louder.
“He became Death because he was trying to save me!”
“I couldn’t reach him!”
“I wasn’t strong enough!”
Storm placed a hand on Rogue’s shoulder.
“He does not blame you.”
Rogue closed her eyes.
“I blame me.”
Storm sighed.
“So do I.”
Rogue looked at her in surprise.
Storm smiled sadly.
“I have carried that burden every day.”
“But Remy…”
“…would never wish for either of us to suffer.”
Storm squeezed her shoulder.
“He needs you.”
Rogue looked toward the medical wing.
For a long moment…
She said nothing.
Then she nodded.
⸻
Back inside the laboratory…
The monitors suddenly shrieked.
BEEEEEEP!
Beast spun around.
“What in the world?!”
Violent crimson energy exploded from Gambit’s body.
The anti-gravity chamber shook.
Force-field generators strained.
Electric arcs erupted throughout the room.
Gambit’s unconscious body began convulsing violently.
His hands clenched.
His breathing became ragged.
Jean gasped.
“Nightmare!”
Professor Xavier gritted his teeth.
“His powers are reacting to his fear!”
The chamber continued cracking.
Beast shouted.
“If this field collapses—”
A massive kinetic blast slammed against the barrier.
Everyone stumbled backward.
Then…
Rogue stepped forward.
Storm watched her.
No words were needed.
Rogue knew what she had to do.
She removed one glove.
Everyone stared.
Beast’s eyes widened.
“Rogue—”
She ignored him.
Walking directly through the containment field…
She gently took Gambit’s trembling hand.
Blue energy erupted between them.
Pain flooded through Rogue’s body.
Memories.
Love.
Fear.
Guilt.
Childhood.
Loss.
Everything.
She held on.
Tears streamed down her face.
Rogue: “I’m here, sugar…”
“You ain’t alone anymore.”
The violent energy slowly began to calm.
The alarms stopped.
The shaking ceased.
The room fell silent.
Then…
For the first time in months…
Gambit’s eyes opened.
Red and black.
Confused.
Weak.
Searching.
Until they found her.
Recognition.
Relief.
Love.
A faint smile appeared across his battered face.
His lips barely moved.
Gambit: “…Rogue…”
She smiled through tears.
“I’m here.”
With every ounce of strength he had left…
Remy slowly lifted his arms.
Rogue leaned into them.
The two embraced tightly.
For one beautiful moment…
Everything else disappeared.
No Apocalypse.
No war.
No guilt.
Only them.
Then Gambit’s strength vanished.
His eyes rolled back.
His body went limp once more.
He collapsed into Rogue’s arms.
She held him tightly.
“Remy!”
The monitors continued to beep.
Alive.
Breathing.
Sleeping once again.
But this time…
There was hope.
To Be Continued…