The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000
Author's Chapter Notes:
*So Gambit turned out harder to write then I was expecting, but hopefully he turned out okay. Plots within plots and Sabertooth is getting up to old habits again. :)
“There’s nothing like the smell of death first thing in the morning.”
Creed took in a deep breath of the New Orlean’s air, then looked down at the body laying before his feet. He wasn’t sure who the boy was, it didn’t really matter. What mattered was he had the stench of the Thieves Guild all over him and the quickest way to get the rats out of the wood work, was to agitate them enough to attack.
“Nothing personal,” he said, smiling down at the vacant eyes staring up at him. A mutilated thief left in the middle of Bourbon Street was essentially declaring war on the Guild and the quickest way Sabertooth was going to reach his goal. Tossing an Ace of Spades on top of the body, he turned and left to go find a place to relax while the message was passed down the grape vine. They’d know who it was meant for and he had no doubt the man would find him before the night was out.
He was sitting in a small back alley bar drinking whiskey when the stench of expensive cologne made its way over and sat down next to him.
“Took you long enough. Was beginning to think maybe I was losing my touch,” he growled, downing the last of the glass.
“Sabertooth, should have known it was you,” the red eyes glared at him, “No one else coo-yôn enough to rile de Guild up like that.” The sound of a trench coat swishing as he sat down and the glow of a cigarette being lit, “So how we playing this homme?”
“I got questions, I hear you got answers. You answer them, maybe I only take a chunk out of your stinkin’ cajun hide, you don’t answer them,” Creed drew his claws along the top of the bar, carving large strips into the wood, a feral grin spreading across his face, “Well, then I get to have some fun.”
There was amusement in the thief’s eyes, “Well, it’s a nice speech, but I wasn’t really talking to you.”
The presence Sabertooth had already picked out earlier made a step closer and he swung around in his bar stool, reaching out a large fist to slam straight into his would be assailant, knocking him through the far wall, the body slumped onto a pile of rubble. Enjoying the sound of chaos and screams as the people in the bar started to flee, he turned back around, a smug smile on his face, “Thing about you and your thieves guild buddies. You all stink to high heaven. Now where were we?”
A charged card flew and exploded, sending him flying in the air and crashing down thru a table in the center of the room. He growled, standing up and cracking his neck before crouching low, smiling. “Oh yeah, the fun part!” With that he lunged barely missing the thief as he jumped out of the way. He forgot how quick Gambit could be when he wanted to. He dodged another flying charged card, tumbling to the side and landing on his feet as the explosion shot debris everywhere.
“Got me once with that damn card trick, won’t happen again,” he growled, following Gambit’s movements as he moved around the room, “Hope you got some other tricks up your sleeves otherwise this is about to get real boring.”
“Don’t worry none. I got plenty you haven’t seen yet.” Creed heard the electric spark he now recognized as an item being charged and easily dodged the blow of the glowing staff, turned and felt his fist connect, sending the cajun crashing through tables and chairs.
“Had enough yet or I need to pound on you some more,” he smirked, watching as Gambit stood up on shaky legs.
“Enough? Why we just getting started!” A spray of cards flung out, a few hitting their target knocking Creed back, the smell of his own burned flesh filling his nostrils. This Remy LeBeau was turning into an annoyance he wasn’t in the mood to play with anymore.
Picking up a table from the room, he launched it at the thief. When Gambit dodged out of the way, he was already in the spot waiting, and, grabbing the cajun around the throat, slammed him to the ground, wrenching the staff from his fingers and tossing it to the side.
“Alright I ain’t got time for this shit street rat, so here’s the deal. You tell me what game you’re running for Magneto, what he wants with the girl, and who else is involved and maybe, I won’t tear out your heart and feed it you.” He let his claws sink in slightly to the soft flesh on the neck, enjoying the smell of pain on the mutant. No fear yet, but that could be easily corrected.
A smile fell over Gambit’s face, “Ah, so you be angry the Brotherhood tried to take you out. Well, I tell you I had none to do with that. Backstabbing’s a messy business and an expensive business. Perhaps, the money high enough, I might know some things you be interested in hearing.”
Creed had to give it to him, the boy had balls. Unfortunately, he was singing his song to the wrong mutant. He squeezed tighter, the scent of blood filling the air. “Little bit more and that artery in your neck will start spewing all over the floor making a lovely mess as your life fades out before your eyes. Best not try to move at all really, might accidently slip. What’s your life worth to you?” And there it was, that delicious rank scent of fear slowly coming to the surface.
The red eyes glared up at him. “Maybe you let me up and we can talk.”
Sabertooth released his grip and walked back over to the now half demolished bar, reaching over to grab an unbroken bottle of bourbon from the other side and pouring out two glasses.
“Ain’t got all day cajun. Fucking sit and get to talking, unless you want to tumble again and this time, I won’t be so nice,” he growled, eyeing Remy as he bent to pick up his staff.
The thief walked over, one hand gingerly going to his neck to feel the deep puncture wounds there, and sat down, tossing back the bourbon before looking at Creed, “So, what you want to know?”
“Everything,” Creed said, then adding, “The short version.”
Gambit nodded, wincing as the motion caused the wounds in his neck to ache. “Well, short version is, Magneto, he’s got a plan in the works for a machine, machine to turn normal humans into mutants and he needs the girl for it. From what I know, don’t think she likely to live being stuck in it either. He knew she was in the labs, but they’re a million out there, like finding a needle in a haystack of needles. He needed a bit of help narrowing it down. That’s where my particular services came into play. The Brotherhood may have connections, but even they only go so deep. Mine, they go all the way down the rabbit hole” he said, smiling as he lit up a cigarette.
Creed stared at Gambit, reading between the lines at what the thief wasn’t saying, which was just as important as what he was. He had ties that let him gain access to Weapon X locations. He stored this little bit of information away for now. One revenge plot at a time. Apparently the Thieves Guild was a lot more connected now than it used to be if it was getting into places even Magneto’s consorts couldn’t reach.
“So I found her, wasn’t hard, but there were complications, I imagine you met them, Beast and Wolverine.”
Sabertooth felt the growl rumbling in his chest, so Magneto had known the runt was locked up in there before he sent him in. Given recent events he’d had his suspicions. That bit of information that would have been helpful going in.
Gambit looked at him curiously then realization dawned on his face, “He didn’t tell you that before he sent you in? Tis very strange, no? That’s why he sent you in the first place of course. Not many who can deal with the Wolverine.” The thief paused a moment as if thinking over things in his head, then continued, “Then Magneto started getting paranoid, I think maybe he was hearing whispers of Legacy before any of us somehow and so he sent in Wild Child after you and he sent me to Xavier’s to keep tabs on the X-men and keep them from finding the lab before he was able to get you out. When Legacy did hit everything went crazy and when it finally died down enough to finally stage a break out, well, Magneto had already heard rumors that you might have been compromised. So when Wild Child started sending out word and getting his plot together, no one seemed to be too surprised. But like I say, I stay out of that messy business.”
Remy hesitated, as if he was thinking again, and then blew out a smoke ring, watching as it hovered in the air, “I stayed with the X-men, made friends, pretended to help them find the lab, when really I was helping them find every lab except the one they were looking for and filtering out info to Magneto keeping him five steps ahead. Was easy really, too easy. Legacy helped a bit, couldn’t have asked for a better diversion, but even so, a place housing two of the world’s most powerful telepaths you’d think it’d have been more challenging. I have some suspicions, but nothing I can say for certain yet. He hid those tracks well.”
“And what are your suspicions?” Creed asked, getting a bad feeling in his gut.
“Well, maybe dey X-men in on it all too. Just one, a few, maybe all of them; enough to turn a blind eye and let me lead them around in circles. They saved a lot of mutants in the process, could have been a consolation of sorts. Maybe they figure Wolverine and Beast were strong enough to survive the lab, or were expendable, if it meant letting Magneto get the girl. Lots of mutants died cos of Legacy, lots of them still out there dying. Way I see it, maybe the X-men can see some sense in getting a few of those numbers back and maybe Magneto’s machine isn’t looking so bad right now.”
They were the same suspicions Sabertooth was having and his instincts never lied. Rogue was with the X-men now, which meant it was only a matter of time before the shit hit the fan.
“You think you could get back into Xaviers?” Sabertooth was slowly starting to piece together the puzzles and if what he was seeing was correct it wasn’t turning out to be a pretty picture. He’d need someone on the inside to feed him information and keep an eye out while he went digging, he just had one more stop to make. Then he’d get back to New York and get the girl the hell of there.
He saw understanding cross Gambit’s face and then a smile, “I don’t know, I hear Magneto’s put a heavy reward out for your hide after Mystique told him about what you did to Avalanche and the Blob. I’m wondering, I do this for you, what’s in it for me?”
He should have known that’s how the cajun was going to play this. Well, luckily Creed’s finances had significantly improved after his little raid on Wild Child’s bunker. “Whatever he’s offering, I’ll double it.”
Gambit smiled, putting a hand out. “Den I think we can reach an accord.”
Sabertooth snorted glaring down at the hand and instead grabbing Gambit’s coat roughly, lifting him in the air, eyes narrowed, “The girl’s name is Rogue and you even think about touching her, its game over. She ain’t yours! Your job is to watch, not touch. Got it?”
“Oh ya, mon amie, I understand plenty.” Creed didn’t like the calculating look going on behind the red eyes, but he’d deal with that later.
Right now, it was time to pay the boss man a visit and see just how far down this rabbit hole went.
Chapter End Notes:
*coo-yôn – stupid
*homme – man
*homme – man