Four of a Kind - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by Keith Chism
Last updated: 01/02/2007 02:01:11 AM

Chapter 1

The room is cold steel. The air smells of death. The being residing here does not notice. This is home.

Sinister walks down the corridor, his eye's glow bright as he passes through a shadow. Stopping at one room, he walks in. On the table lies a man. Or what is left of a man. His body deformed, blood pouring out of wounds that won't heal. The man gives Sinister a stare that would bring tears to anyone.

Sinister sighs. Pathetic. The time approaches, and I must have a back up plan, if the "chosen one" fails. Sinister looks once again at the man. "I was once like you, did you know that? I was weak, inferior. But I had visions, visions which indirectly made me what I am today. But you, like all of your kind now, are only pawns to those superior to yourselves. If I had it in me, I would pity you." Sinister smiles, and with a low growl that would send chills up the spine of the bravest, he... chuckles.

Sinister walks into a large dome shaped room. "Computer-- begin holoimaging section 328." All around him holographic projections of the Xaiver Institute for Higher Learning appear. Sinister continues to walk through them and with almost slow motion movement, he comes to rest in a large metallic chair at the center of the room. The key lies within those confines... somewhere. "Computer-- scan for bio signatures and lock on."

What first catches Sinisters eye makes him smile. Remy LeBeau is standing on the pier over looking the the lake. Ah, Gambit, my dear Gambit. What is on your mind now? Are you still upset over your part in the massacre? A disappointment to be sure. Sinister begins to command the computer to search for more bio signatures when he sees a figure approaching Gambit. ...Rogue..., another disappointment. So much potential, so much. But even I alone cannot bring that potential to the surface. Perhaps.... Sinister does not finish his thought, instead he watches as the dance is danced once again between the two young mutants.

Rogue walks onto the pier, her hands to her side. Here we go again. ... No, not this time. If he wants to play the game, he can play it by himself. Rogue continues to walk towards Gambit, who has been aware of her presence for some time.

"Hello Rogue."

"Remy." Rogue walks beside Gambit, never looking at him. Both are now staring out at the lake.

"Quite a view, eh chere?"

"Actually... no. I've seen a lot of things in my life, ah'm afraid that this lake doesn't qualify as "quite a view".

"heh..." De girl has something on her mind Gambit pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his coat, giving the pack a slight jerk he pulls out one of the cigarettes, and with a snappy tone "...so, what would you consider "quite a view"?"

Rogue sighs and looks at Gambit with a slight frown. "Remy... I'm sorry for leaving you in Antarctica. I..."

Cutting Rogue's statement off, Gambit lowers his head slightly. "You know it wasn't all your doin' chere. You absorbed my memories... my guilt. It was me. I wanted t'be left dere to die."

Rogue turns to face Remy. "Maybe. But the effects of the kiss didn't last long. Ah should have came for you as soon as I could."

Remy knows that Rogue doesn't like him smoking in the first place, so he decides not to inhale. Blowing the smoke out the corner of his mouth, Gambit squints his eye's as he glances at the sunrise. "Wolverine tells me dat you did come lookin' for me."

"Yeah, I did. But it was far to late." Rogue grits her teeth and looks toward the sky. Bringing her eyes to rest on Gambit once again. "... I love you, Remy LeBeau. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you."

Looking at Rogue with an agreeing gesture, Gambit gently touches Rogue's face. Softly sliding the gloved fingers from her temple down her cheek to the bottom of her chin. "I know, chere... I know." Gambit turns and looks toward the mansion. "I need to go for a bit. We'll talk more later, eh?"

Rogue watches as Gambit steps on the half smoked cigarette, raising her head and in a hushed tone. "Yeah... sure."

His boots clap against the wooden boards as he walks down the pier. Coming to a stop he turns to see Rogue now with her arms crossed staring into the sunrise.

"Rogue?"

Rogue drops her head slightly and turns to look at Gambit. "Yeah?"

A smile comes to Gambit's face. "I love you too." Still smiling Remy turns and resumes his course.

Hell's Kitchen, New York City

"You're going after him?! Why? If I remember correctly he just made a ass out of you not a week ago!"

Always the direct one, aren't you? Cable finishes buckling his boots. "Look Irene, it's something I have to do."

"Oh, that's a good explanation."

A small figure approaches from behind. "You should not do this Askani'son. Your survival is a must..." Cable cuts him off.

"So I've been told Blaquesmith. Sinister cannot be trusted. He claims to want Apocalypse dead, but to rely on something he says is foolish. I have to know exactly what his agenda is. And deal with it accordingly. I have to go." With out hardly a thought, Cable telekinetically brings his Psi-mitar to his side.

Irene steps in front of him as he heads for the door. "So you're going to go after him alone?"

"No." Walking around Irene, Cable gestures toward Blaquesmith. "I'll be back soon."

"He's lying."

Blaquesmith turns to look at Irene. "Why would you say that?"

"Come on. If Cable truly wanted to know what Sinister had planned he would have went after him long before now."

Blaquesmith's large eyes blink. "Do not presume to understand Cable's motives, child. He has been a warrior all his life. Clarity is something that he has mastered. Do not dismiss his explanation simply because you do not understand it."

Irene's forehead wrinkles has she watches the small mutant walk past her. "Whatever. He's still not telling us everything."

As he walks down the back allies Cable thinks of things to say to her. Our last... talk did not go well. Perhaps this mission will give us time to sort things out. Coming to the edge of a building were his traveling companion had been instructed to rendezvous. "Are you ready?"

Domino steps out of the shadows. "Always."

Cable looks over Domino who is carrying a variety of weapons. "You brought the jet?"

"It's on the roof."

"Good. Let's go."

Domino raises an eyebrow as she watches Cable start up the fire escape. "You're welcome."

Maybe things are starting to get better. Remy LeBeau walks the corridor leading to the Danger Room. My most... shameful secret is out. And she still loves me. If we can over come dat, then de rest should be easy. Right now though, I need to use de danger room to run a simulation. De 'New Son' has got me set up to take something from a very high tech "warehouse" in Russia. Nearing the Danger Room, Gambit feels a slight chill. "eh?" Turning, he looks down the corridor. He sees the florescent lights go out one by one, leaving nothing but darkness behind. Instinctively Gambit draws cards out of his trench coat. "All right.... who's dere?!"

Getting no response, Gambit throws a hand full of charged cards into the darkness. Expecting the cards to light up the area when contact is made. He watches as the cards are swallowed up by the darkness.

The corridor almost completely dark, Gambit grabs his staff and attempts to open the door to the Danger Room. He quickly enters the code to unlock the door, but only receives a slight electronic beep for his efforts. Feeling something touch his leg, Gambit bolts into the air and lands against the corridor wall. With one hand full of charged cards and his staff in the other, he stands posed, ready for anything. "De boogie man want to fight Gambit? Den bring it on."

Suddenly Gambit is surrounded by darkness, feeling a slight touch to his neck, Gambit quickly makes an offensive move at the darkness, hoping to make contact with his foe. But his efforts are in vain. The hold on Gambit's neck is so tight that it causes him to drop his cards. Feeling his whole body become suddenly cold, he realizes that he can't move.

Helpless against his unseen advisory, Gambit simply scowls. "What? No "boo"?"

"As conceited as ever, aren't you Remy?"

"You?! Great. Just great. What do you want now, you son of a bi--?"

Sinister's eye's light up the dark with a red glow, reveling that it is his tentacles surrounding Gambit. With liquid movement Sinister pulls Remy closer. "What I "want" my dear boy, is for you to fulfill your part in the play which I wrote."

A frown settles on Gambit's face as Sinister smiles. "Tell me something Gambit. How much do you... "love" Rogue?"

The frown that Remy was wearing is quickly replaced by a look of sheer terror.

The Pontic Mountains, Turkey

A slight breeze whistles over the edge of the cliffs as two shadows appear. They have been hiking for two hours from the spot where they had landed their small air craft. It took them a little under two hours to make the transatlantic flight. And to say it was a quite trip would be an understatement.

She hasn't said a word since we left New York. Cable lowers his head slightly and looks out of the corner of his eye at Domino who is behind him. Neither have I for that matter. Cable grits his teeth. Oath. Check yourself Nathan. This isn't the time to have this on your mind. And as he has done time after time. Cable blocks the emotions that raced through his mind. Replacing them with thoughts of nothing but what lies ahead. He stops at the side of a completely vertical cliff. "Up there."

Domino glances at the steep rock. "What are we waiting for then?"

Cable telekinetically lifts them to the top of the ledge, which looks identical to the one they had just came from.

"I don't see anything Nathan."

"You will."

Cable grabs his Psi-Mitar which strapped to his back. Plunging the spear deep into the rock, he begins to release telekinetic energy into it. With an almost uncanny precision, the rock explodes in a circular pattern revealing a steel door behind.

Domino looks suspiciously at Cable, wanting to know exactly how he knew this door was there. But she holds back on asking him. Partly because she knows he wouldn't say, and partly because she's not sure she really wants to know. So, instead she walks up to the door. "No lock of any kind, no latch for that matter. Looks like we do it the hard way." Reaching to her side, Domino pulls up a large plasma rifle.

Cable looks as Domino aims the weapon. Dropping the blocks that he had held in place with a passion. "Dom, before we go in, I need to say som...."

"If you wanted to talk Summers...." Domino fires the bulky weapon. The steel door twists and turns, then finally buckles under the strain of the weapons energy. Her hair falling back in place from the back draft of the released energy. "... you could have talked on the way here."

Glancing at Domino Cable grits his teeth both at her snide remark and at his own stupidity for not talking sooner. Giving a somewhat sarcastic nod, Cable turns and begins to walk into the pitch black hallway. His eye getting brighter with every step. "Let's get this over with."

Continuity? The Cable parts are placed after Cable 1999. As for Remy and Rogue. After Gambit 1999, but without the last page of the book.

I would like to thank my editors Karolina Phillips and Keri Wilson for their words of wisdom. Helped me out a lot.