Degree of Insanity - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by Jacque Koh
Last updated: 01/02/2007 02:01:11 AM

Chapter 1

"REMY!!!"

Gambit winced at the volume of the bellow. He still did not get along with Joseph, though he had to admit that it wasn t the man s fault. So what, if Magneto had appeared at the mansion as an amnesiac? It wasn t as if he had lost his memory intentionally.

So what, if the X-men seemed to accept Joseph more than they d ever accept him? Drinking had been a mistake. Almost dying of alcohol poisoning a disaster. Nothing changed, and there were better things to do than to brood over it.

"Gambit! Where are you?!"

Remy glanced down at the man from his high vantage point in the tree. He contemplated staying silent, and leaving Joseph to wander around the woods looking for him. He really had no desire to speak to the man.

The ache had mostly faded, but sometimes when he saw Rogue and Joseph together it was difficult for him not to reach for either a cigarette, or a beer. No, he wasn t being fair. Rogue had made it clear to him that she was willing to be his friend. But she wasn t ready for intimacy of any sort, with him, or with Joseph.

"Remy, please we need you at the mansion!"

Remy looked up from his book again. He could not recall having *ever* heard that timbre of panic in the man s voice before.

"REMY! Your Harley s in the garage, you ve got to be here. I don t know where else to look, Remy!"

This was too weird. Remy sighed inwardly as he marked his place with a bookmark and closed the book.

"Joseph! Stop y cryin, Gambit up here. Y could ave used de communicator." He pushed aside the leaves to look down at the man from his vantage point.

"Everything s shot to hell, Remy! We need you at the mansion!"

Before Gambit could hop down from the tree, Joseph caught him in a magnetic bubble and started to fly him in the direction of the mansion.

"Wha- Joseph, put Gambit down!" Three charged cards appeared in his hand.

"No time! Gambit, please put our differences aside. We have an intruder, she s taken down Bishop, Scott and Logan. No one knows how to handle her, she s looking for you."

"Oh, so y sacrifice Gambit f de X-Men?"

"That s not what I meant."

"Sound like dat t m-"

Gambit s voice trailed off as they came into sight of the mansion.

"Get off! GET THEM OFF ME! Ow! Get them Off! Arragh!" Scott was on the ground, frantically brushing himself with his hands as Jean held him. Jean was crying in fear and panic as she tried desperately to calm her husband.

Wolverine and Bishop were sitting near by with a glazed expression on their face. From all appearances, they were amusing themselves playing with the colorful little fishes that swam around them. The other X-Men were standing petrified on the front porch, as the source of their fear sat on the ground making little colored frogs.

Remy cursed under his breath, "Set Gambit down now, homme. Gambit take care o dis. Y stay back, an y keep y mouth shut, y hear. Let Gambit do de talkin."

"Hmph, is he the one we re looking for?" The little black and gray dog asked his mistress, as he turned to watch Gambit running towards them.

"WhO? Oh yEs, we dID coMe lOOkiNg foR Re- er rEa - reM- loBoO?" The little girl ran her hand through her blonde hair, and twisted the colored streaks around her fingers. Her eyes, one blue and one green focused on the dog beside her.

"i ForGoTT, tHey weRe so NasTy to Me?"

"Ahh, petite chere. Y grace dis mansion wit y presence." Gambit bowed extravagantly as he took her hand gently and kissed it, "What can Gambit do f y ?"

Her face lit up as she giggled, "I lIkE yoU. YoU re Not naStY tO mE. thAT s pRoBabLY WHy mY brOTher LikEs YoU."

Remy flashed a smile at her.

"Okay, okay, move it along, Romeo. Move it along."

"Pardonz moi, but y are?"

"Barnabas, I m taking care of her."

"Den perhaps you an de petite chere c n enlighten Gambit, neh?" Gambit got down on one knee before them.

"wEll my BrOther, tHE oNe wiTH ThE gARdeN, He sAiD i sHOuld coME to YOu tO FrEe mY BRotHEr. I wAS vISitINg hIm, loOKed EveRy WHeRe, evEN In tHe old lADy S cAVe But hE wAsN t tHeRE. My bRoTHer sAId I ShoULD LOok fOR yOu to gEt hIM OUt."

Gambit blinked at her for a moment, as he tried to sort though what she just said.

"Hey, LeBeau. Don t blow a fuse. Dream was caught, and Destiny said you have a part in helping us release him." Barnabas offered.

"Ahhh, give Gambit a moment t get his tools petite and he ll go wit y ." Gambit glanced at his stricken teammates before he continued, "Petite chere? C n y do somethin f Gambit before we go?"

"aHhaAA?"

"C n y let them out of y r realm? Gambit know dey were rude t y but dey are really good people. An it make Gambit sad t see dem like dis."

"OKay, bUT oNLy cAusE yoU Ve bEEn vErY nICe to mE."

"Always chere. Gambit always nice t such a beautiful petite chere."

<Jeannie, y keep everybody away from de petite.> Gambit threw the thought towards Phoenix as strongly as he could, <Remy will take her away.>

"I ll watch her." Barnabas promised as he glance at him, "But you better hurry. This was the best I could do, until one of your people decided that looking for you was a better option."

"Oui."

Gambit leaned against a post and retched as the dog placed a comforting paw on his knee.

"Sweetness," Barnabas sighed at the little girl, "I think I ve mentioned it before. But it really would be infinitely more comfortable in your presence, if you would treat gravity as a law instead of as a suggested option."

"Oh I reMEMBer thAT, I REmeMBer mY cleVER liTTle DOggIe sAYinG tHaT." She clapped her hands and laughed, "i ReMemBEr, Let S ALl JuMp Up ANd dOWN, aNd DAnce arOUnD aNd AROunD "

Gambit got his stomach back under control and wiped his mouth before he turned to look at the leader of the rescue squad.

"Are we - are we dere yet, petite?" He asked in a shaky voice, "Please, Gambit don t know ow many more o dese side trips he c n take."

"OH BUt wE aRe thERe. LoOK!"

Gambit s jaw dropped as he stared at the mansion beyond the fence.

"Y brought Gambit t de Big Easy?"

"YoU pROmISeD."

"Of course, petite." He quickly reassured her, "Y jus surprised Gambit, dat s all. Dis not xactly de safest place f Gambit t be. We best be gettin in and out o dis place fast. Gambit not de best friend o de Assassins Guild, neh?"

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Barnabas asked, "I mean, you re just a master thief, and the captors need powerful spells to hold one of them."

"Gambit been studying. When he first did a favor f de petite s brother, he studied some magic t' learn how t' break wards and stuff."

"That s quite a commitment."

"Y never know when it be useful, neh?"

"BUt oNcE yOU wALk The paTH of MagIC, yOu cAN T stEp oFF."

"Remy know petite, but Gambit be an X-men and life not be any more weird dan it is now." He grinned at her, "Now, y jus take care o Barnabas, and let Gambit go in alone t find y brother, neh?"

"BUT i wAnt to coME."

"Y make Gambit worried, petite. He don wan y t get hurt, or let de bad people catch y if Gambit make a mistake."

"Humph, but you re not a powerful sorcerer. What if they try and throw a spell at you?"

"Dan Gambit hav t move fast, neh? Listen petite, dis be best if Remy go in alone. Y c n wait f Gambit at y brother s castle, neh? If Remy pull it through, dat be where y brother will go. Oui?"

"OUi."

"Don t you need blue prints of the place?"

"Gambit know dis house, Barnabas." Remy sighed, "Dis be de house of my wife."