Desperado (X-Men - ROMY)

Chapter Nine

"So, how you want to do this?" Remy asked.

"Wherever you feel comfortable and relaxed." Hank suggested.

"Great, Rogue's bedroom it is."

Jean and Hank blushed but Rogue could see through the bravado; he was terrified that this wasn't going to work. Still, it was his coping mechanism and lord knew she had enough of those herself, so she played along and elbowed him lightly in the ribs.

"In your dreams, swamp rat. Pick somewhere else or I'll strap you to the med lab table myself."

"Cher, why you always gotta be so mean?"

"You ain't seen mean yet, Gambit. Try forgetting my birthday, then we'll talk."

Remy laughed. "Even I'm not that brave, cher." He turned to Hank and Jean. "How about we meet you in the library after a quick shower?" he suggested.

"That will be fine."

It turned out that Sinister had used psychic block to reduce Remy's powers, but they were completely unsophisticated. Jean described it to him as using few tons of rubble to block a river flow, as opposed to building a dam to hold it.

"So what does that mean?" Remy asked, removing the power inhibiting collar.

"That his skills are inferior," Jean explained. "If we can remove his mental blocks, then install our own, which will be more of a network of dams rather than one huge block, I think he's going to have a very hard time reversing it."

"And you can do that, petite?"

"I have the necessary skills but not the knowledge or experience to back it up."

Remy sighed and thought for a few moments.

"Okay, I'll risk it. You can use me as your Guinea pig."

"No, Remy-" Jean tried to argue.

"It's okay, I know it's risky."

"Remy, it would be like operating blind. Even trainee surgeons have someone qualified with them, in case they mess up."

"What other choice do we have?" Remy asked. "I don't know any other psychics who are powerful enough to do what you're suggesting."

"Remy," Rogue interrupted them. She usually tried to keep quite during these kinds of discussions for fear of influencing him. After all, if he was going to join the X-Men, he had to do so of his own free will or he would just turn around and leave again sometime down the road.

Now though, she could see a solution to this problem, but it meant putting a lot of trust in Remy.

"Let's not finalise things now. There's a few other avenues we can try, so let's leave this until tomorrow, okay?"

Remy gave her a hard look, and she could tell that he knew there was a lot more to the story that she was saying. After a few moments contemplating her though, he smiled.

"What's one more day."

It had been suggested that Remy cook dinner so that the others could meet in private. If he saw through the ruse, he didn't say anything but rather seemed to enjoy the challenge, even employing Tildie as his 'apprentice'.

Which is how the X-Men now found themselves in the War Room, discussing Remy's future.

"Rogue is right," Jean told them. "To do a through job, I will need the professors guidance."

"I don't like it," Logan huffed. "If people find out that Chuck can show us the future, he'll become a popular commodity, which is why I don't think we want too many knowing his secret. Especially thieves."

"But Logan, we're doing this to free Remy and if we don't do a top notch job, then Sinister could get him back, which is exactly what the professor didn't want." Jean argued.

"I say we let the professor decide," Storm interjected. "It is his fate that is at stake and if he feels that it is worth the risk to trust Gambit, then we must respect his wishes."

Logan grumbled but he couldn't argue with such logic. "I still don't like it."

"No one says you have to," Rogue answered softly.

That evening for the first time ever since he had come to the institute, Logan initiated conversation with Remy.

"So, Ga- Remy, Rogue tells me that you visited the institute a few times. How come I couldn't smell you?"

Okay, he could have picked a better topic to start with but small talk wasn't exactly Logan's thing.

"That's easy, mon ami," he rummaged in his trench coat pockets for a moment and pulled out a silver bracelet. He pointed the bracelet at Rogue, who sat beside him and a strip of light ran up and down her body then disappeared. He handed her the bracelet. "When she wears it now it creates a tiny field of static around her and clothes which stops scent molecules escaping."

Rogue slipped it on then got up from the table, moving behind Logan. He sniffed the air as she passed.

"I can tell that you've been here, but you ain't laying down any new scent," he said. "How long have you had that?" Logan asked Remy.

"Don't know, a few years now. Sinister gave it to me."

"So you had this thing when you robbed this place?" Logan asked.

Remy shrugged.

"Why the hell didn't you use it?"

"Must have forgotten it." Remy kept his eyes on Rogue as she sat down again. Logan sniffed but he wasn't searching for Rogue's scent, he was searching for a lie. Remy obviously had this device when he broke in to steal the collar and chose not to use it.

Even in servitude, he had found ways to rebel. It had always struck Logan as odd that Gambit had so easily agreed to give up his client and help Logan get the collar back, now he realised that Remy had intentionally been laying a trail for him.

"Can I see that?" Forge asked, and Rogue handed him the bracelet.

"You're all, right, kid." Logan smiled at Remy.

"Kid?" Remy asked.

"Everyone's a kid to him," Rogue reassured him.

"Oh my god, it uses a non-linear polarity coil as it's power source," Forge began to enthuse about the bracelet. "I've only ever read about those, I didn't realise anyone had actually built one. And in miniature! This is so cool," Forge said, his dinner long forgotten as he looked closely at the technology inside the bracelet. "Hey, would you mind if I held onto this for a few days?"

"Not at all, mon ami, I haven't got any use for it, for a while at least."

"Thanks, Remy."

Logan caught Rogue's eye and gave her a brief nod. She smiled at him, knowing that finally, Remy had his seal of approval. Of course his approval was as changeable as the weather, but Rogue had no doubt that Remy would prove himself to everyone in time.