X-Men Fan Fiction ❯ Seven Deadly ❯ Wrath ( Chapter 7 )

Seven Deadly

A X-Men Fanfiction

Written by RogueMoon

 

Chapter Seven

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WRATH: Inordinate desire for revenge; uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger directed both externally and internally; Crimes most often born of Wrath include murder, assault, genocide and suicide

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Three weeks ago Remy held a glass of red wine in his hand and clinked it against a similar glass held by the Devil as the ball dropped in Times Square. He shared a toast with his employer, his savior, his father, his friend. Exchanged wishes for a fruitful future and indulged in making resolutions.

It was time to make good on his.

Gambit stood in the middle of the destruction. The remains of the mansion's above ground levels scattered around him, a burning skeleton of support beams and window frames. Wood and metal twisted and torn, charred and still smoking.

It was like being back in Seattle. He smiled and lit a cigarette as the Marauders pulled the bodies of a half a dozen X-Men from the ruins. They weren't dead, just unconscious and injured. He didn't want them dead. Not like that, anyway. He wanted to savor the moment.

Power inhibitors were locked securely around their necks and hands cuffed behind backs. Wings once white and now painted a dull gray with soot and smoke shifted as Warren began to come to. A chain was hooked to his collar, tying him to the other five. Harpoon took great pleasure in dragging the group out of the rubble, glass and metal and wood splinters embedding in and cutting their bodies. Blood flowed freely.

It was a beautiful sight.

Gambit moved to the elevator shaft, sealed with heavy steel doors when the mansion blew up. The others were down there, trying to figure out what was happening. Who was attacking them. The topside cameras were all taken out, they'd have no clue.

Vertigo and Grey Crow waited at the door to the Morlock tunnels, securing the only escape route Gambit hadn't been able to blow up and collapse. Once the rest of the Marauder's were below ground and engaging the enemy, they would get to join the fray.

The Cajun knelt down and brushed his fingers lightly across the metal, a glowing smiley face burning a hole through the doors. A million minute explosions that acted like a cutting torch. Blockbuster caught the disc of steel before it could fall more than a few feet. It would not hit the bottom and alert the X-Men that they had cut through.

Clamps were attached to the outside of the hole and a cross pole with a metal cable laid over it. Gambit was the first to slide down, what little light filtered in from above enough for him to see perfectly. His eyes like a cat, nightvision revealing every little thing. Cards tossed as he went taking out the cameras before they could catch sight of him. He slowed his decent just before he hit the top of the elevator car, allowing himself to land lightly and without giving his presence away. He knew every security detail the X-Men used.

Harpoon was next down the line, followed by Arclight, Prism, Scrambler, Riptide and Malice. Blockbuster stayed up top to guard the current captives. Malice inhabited the body of a Jean Grey clone. A body all to herself, no mind to fight for control against. Gambit idly wished that Sabertooth was with them. He would have loved the slaughter to come.

Dismissing the thought, he lifted the ceiling panel to the allow entrance to the car and with a flick of his wrist, two more cards took out the cameras within before he flipped down into it.

The X-Men would know where they were, by virtue of the cameras going dead. But they still wouldn't know who was doing it. Malice had them mentally shielded, that was her main job and she was doing it beautifully. The others entered the car. They were pressed against the side walls as the lights blew, plunging them into darkness. Another smiley face melted a hole in the doors and light filtered in through the smoke.

He could hear the X-Men waiting just beyond the opening. He tapped Riptide on the shoulder and the man stepped into view, launching his shurikens in a lighting fast volley before spinning back against the wall to be replaced by Prism as the counter attack struck. As expected, the X-Men fired back with their energy weapons. Cyclops' eye beam, Jubilee's fireworks and Bishop's guns.

“Guess you were right about me, pup,” Gambit chuckled to himself, the sound covered by the noise of the fight.

Prism spun back to his spot against the wall and Arclight jumped through the entrance, the sound of bone breaking telling him that she successfully hit her target. Riptide was the next through, body spinning and shurikens launching, covering Scrambler and Prism as the left, spreading out in the hallway beyond and engaging the enemy. Smoke and noise concealed Gambit's own exit, Malice on his tail as they moved away from the fight. The others could handle themselves in the tight confines of the underground complex.

Gambit and Malice entered the air ducts at the nearest intersection of halls, cameras taken out with a glance and a soft pop. He could have blown the whole complex up, but that would have denied him his vengeance. Sure, the X-Men would have been dead, but they wouldn't have suffered. And they needed to suffer.

Malice touched his leg and he stopped moving. A brief brush against his mind and he got the image of Wolverine sniffing about below them. He looked up and growled. Six adamantium claws pierced the vent in front of the Cajun. Six adamantium claws began to glow a familiar fuchsia. The claws disappeared as the vent collapsed, Gambit and Malice tumbling gracefully to the floor below. Logan's claws still glowed, the light pulsing slightly, matching the eerie glint in the Cajun's eyes as he smirked, “Bonjour, mon ami. Fancy meeting you here.”

“What's going on, Gumbo?” Logan's eyes moved from his claws to Gambit to Malice, clearly confused at the sight and smell of Jean as she leaned against the Cajun's back, arms wrapping seductively around his body.

Gambit chuckled ran his hand over one of Malice's arms, it was clearly sexual, “I've been thinking long and hard how ta go about dis. How ta kill de unkillable Wolverine.”

Logan snarled and launched himself at the two, stopping in midair as Malice lifted a hand.

“And I figure de only way ta kill ya is ta make sure dere be no cells left ta regenerate. I'd prefer ta do dis in front o' de others. But its probably best ta get dis out o' de way now.”

Malice closed her hand into a fist and Logan dropped to the floor, blacking out. His body began to glow and Gambit knelt next to him, eyes focused as the body before him began to disintegrate faster than it could heal. A million explosions, one for each living cell, carefully set off in quick succession. Destroying layer after layer until all that was left were the bones inside the metal skeleton. Gambit placed his hands on the metal and focused on taking out the cells inside it as well. Not a single living cell could be left to regenerate. It was unfortunate he couldn't take back cell samples for the Devil. But it had to be done like this. Nothing left to chance.

Malice still lay draped over his back, shifting slightly as the sounds of battle began to move toward them. He extended his senses and felt the skeleton over one last time. No living tissue gave off that distinctive tingle he associated with it.

He stood and grabbed Malice by the wrist, leading her down another corridor. Away from the fight, toward the Danger Room controls. Cameras and sensors destroyed before they could catch sight of the two.

Malice brushed the mind of Blockbuster, Vertigo and Scalphunter. The first grabbed the line of prisoners and began bringing them down while the other two entered the complex to join the fight and herd the rest of the X-Men to the Danger Room. She could feel Xavier in the control room with Doctor McCoy. The professor was trying to launch attacks at their minds now. But Malice was holding him back. The Devil was helping her on the Astral plane. Gambit could feel him brushing against his mind, pleasure and smug satisfaction at what he saw through his son's eyes.

He didn't bother being subtle with the control room. He lit the door up and let it explode. He and Malice entered to find Xavier tossed from his chair, unconscious and bleeding from a gash near his right eye. His head had collided with the hard edge of the computer banks. Beast was struggling to stand. Two inhibitors floated in and secured themselves to their captives. Cuffs followed, binding Beast's hands wrists behind his back as Gambit manually attached a chain to the collar and linked him to Xavier's dead weight.

The glass separating the control room from the Danger Room shattered with a thought and Gambit hopped up on the ledge, lighting a cigarette as he watched the rest of the X-Men herded inside like cattle to the slaughter. Malice manipulated the controls and the room began to shift, joining the battle on the side of the invaders. The X-Men were captured with relative ease once the room came alive.

Each collared as they collapsed to unconsciousness and then bound. Blockbuster dragged the others in to join their fellows and Scalphunter brought the heavy skeleton, the only remains of the great Wolverine. Grey Crow had expressed the desire to take the remaining metal for himself once this was over. Gambit was still debating if he would let him or not.

He hopped back into the room as Malice lifted Xavier and Beast down to the floor to join the others. The temperature below him dropped and the snow covered remains of a once majestic citadel appeared around the X-Men. The ceiling of the trial room open to the elements as the wind whipped through, chilling the inhabitants and waking those who now stood chained to the walls.

They had presumed to put him on trial and judge him. It was time for them to be judged.

He landed in a drift of snow and felt nothing of the cold, his body glowing lightly, keeping him warm as he walked to the group. He approached Jubilee first. She was only just starting to come around.

He broke her neck before she could register what her eyes were seeing. He had promised to make her death quick, after all. If only to himself.

Gambit sat in the judges' chair and waited until they were all awake, got a good look at him. At who he was with. At the metal skeleton at his feet. He smiled at their shocked and betrayed looks and opened a tesseract. The Devil walked through, hands behind his back as he looked the captives over.

“Sinister. What have you done to Gambit?” Cyclops hissed out, rattling his chains as he tried to lunge at the man.

The Devil chuckled and placed a hand to his chest, looking quiet innocent, “I? I have done nothing to Remy. I am just a witness at this trial.”

Gambit stood and banged the gavel on the counter top before him, grinning like a madman, “I call dis trial o' de X-Men ta order. Prosecution, step forward and present de charges”

Malice approached, turning around and leaning against the bench, “Prosecution sets forth that the X-Men did willingly and knowingly betray the trust of Gambit. Did willingly and knowingly fail to give him the second chances that they keep spouting to each other about. Did willingly and knowingly leave him to die in the cold of Antarctica for a crime he didn't commit. Furthermore, we bring charges against the X-Man called Rogue for deceit and the callous breaking of Remy's heart.”

Gambit twirled the gavel and kicked his feet up, “Defense, step forward and present your intent.”

Scrambler approached and bowed to the bench, “Your honor, we intend to prove that only a fraction of the X-Men are at fault and the rest should be spared for their lack of participation.”

Gambit nodded and gestured to the rest of the Marauders, “Jury, you may take your seats. Prosecution, you may begin.”

“Stop this Gambit!” Xavier's voice caught the room's attention, “I do not know what happened in Antarctica, but this is not the way to address it. You have murdered three people already-”

“Five, actually,” the Cajun interrupted casually. “Dat secretary... never did get her name, Dazzler, Stormy, Wolvie and Jubilee.”

The X-Men practically choked in shock, all eyes falling to the body of the little Asian girl laying peacefully to one side.

Gambit shrugged, “De only one dat suffered was Logan and dat couldn't be helped. He was in de way o' getting' at de rest o' you and he don't die easily. Had to explode his cells one by one. Dat took quite a bit o' effort.”

“Remy... sugah,” Rogue looked at him, horrified, disbelieving.

“Oh, cherie,” he smiled down at her, leaning forward, “Don' you worry none. You goin' ta suffer de most.” He looked over at Malice, taking her hand and kissing it, “You still have de floor, mam'selle.”

She smiled back and kissed the air in turn before looking back at the X-Men, “I'd like to call Mr. Sinister to the stand in his professional capacity as a doctor.”

“De court calls forward M'seiur Sinister to de stand.”

The Devil walked to the bench and sat down.

“Do ya swear ta tell de whole truth and all dat jazz?”

“I do.”

“Prosecution, you may proceed.”

Malice moved with a seductive strut to the witness box, sitting on the edge and turning to smile at the Devil, “Mr. Sinister, you found Gambit in this cold wasteland and acted as his attending physician following his rescue, correct?”

“Absolutely.”

“Please tell the court in what condition you found Gambit.”

“I found him huddled against the remains of the citadel wall. Frostbite had already settled in and he would have died within hours had I not retrieved him.”

“Were there any other complications?”

“Yes.”

“Please give a full description, including the treatment in the weeks following. And please keep it to layman's terms so everyone can understand. Not all the X-Men are as learned as Mr. McCoy and Mr. Xavier.”

The Devil leaned forward and steepled his fingers, a pleasant smile on his black lips, “Certainly. As already stated, Remy was suffering from exposure and frostbite had settled in. He nearly lost his right hand and the toes from both feet. I had to spend three days of constant treatment and stimulated regrowth of tissue to keep him from losing them. He did lose his hearing, his eardrums having shattered and his eyesight suffered as well. He was lucky not to be blinded. I conducted laser surgery on his eyes to restore his sight to its previous condition, followed closely by surgery to replace his eardrums with ones I grew from his cells. It took weeks for him to recover enough that whispers wouldn't cause him pain.”

“And why do you think he suffered from so much, in your professional opinion.”

“I believe it was because he was left to die. He had no supplies. He wasn't even wearing a shirt. There was nothing but the ruins of the citadel to keep the elements from getting to him. I believe the only reason he survived as long as he did was because of his ability to charge himself with biokinetic energy. It would have kept him warm for some time. A couple days at least.”

“And how long after he was left to die did you find him?”
“Truthfully, I don't know. More than a couple days, though. Else he wouldn't have been suffering the way he was.”

“Thank you, Mr. Sinister,” Malice said, lowering herself from the stand and walking away, “No further questions.”

Gambit looked to Scrambler, “Defense, the witness is yours.”

Scrambler straightened his tie and jacket and approached the stand, “You are an accomplished telepath, are you not, Mr. Sinister?”

“I am.”

“And when you found Gambit, were you able to read his mind?”

“I was.”

“And when you read his mind, were you able to see who had done this to him? Who left him to die?”

“Yes.”

“And who was it. Specifically.”

“Erik the Red also known as Magneto, Joseph, Warren Worthington III, Elizabeth Braddock, Hank McCoy, Maggot, Spat and Grovel and Rogue.”

“So only six of the X-Men were actually there.”

“Yes.”

“No further questions,” Scrambler bowed to the bench again and walked off.

Gambit waved at the Devil, “You are free ta leave de box, M'seiur.”

The Devil nodded and stood, amusement painting his face as he moved away. The judge turned to the Jury, “You've heard de statements and de testimony, please deliberate and give your verdict.”

“Hey! Don't we get to testify!” Warren yelled, followed by the others backing him up with their own cries of unfairness.

Gambit tilted his head as if thinking, “Hrmm... Non. Ya don't.” He looked back at the jury, “Ya got a verdict for me?”

Scalphunter stood and nodded, “We do. We find the X-Men guilty as charged. We sentence them to suffer in any manner you see fit. Furthermore, we sentence the X-Man called Rogue to suffer the most. To be the last to die.”

Gambit banged his gavel against the bench and then tossed it into the air, letting it explode above him before jumping to the floor in front of Warren, “We'll start wit' you. My self-righteous defense dat walked out on me 'cause o' mistake I made. Oh, poor you. Lost your wings. Other people suffered dat night to.” He grabbed Warren by the collar and detached him from the others, dragging the man to the center of the room and chaining him to the floor.

Gambit then turned his attention to Rogue and met her eyes as he grabbed the first of Angel's long, elegant primary feathers and pulled it out, charging the tip to make it pop off easier, “She loves me.” He pulled a second one, “She loves me not.”

The X-Men screamed at him, begging and pleading for him to stop as the the Marauder's watched with glee. He kept pulling feathers, his voice in sing song as he played the ages old game, eyes never leaving Rogue's. Warren's voice was raw as the final primary was tugged from his bloodied wings and Gambit spoke with a voice full of pain, “She loves me not.”

He dropped the feather and patted Angels' head, looking down at the man and running his fingers through the blond hair, “Figures. I give my heart ta her and she don't return the sentiment. Should have known, all dose times she ran from me. All de times she refuse ta believe dat dere be ways around her little problem. Plenty o' ways ta touch, but she wouldn't believe me. Never really did trust me.”

Warren's body convulsed and then fell limp, lifeless. His heart had popped a bit more forcefully than Gambit had intended. Remy released his chains and Harpoon dragged his body to lay on top of Jubilee's.

The Cajun lit a cigarette and took a drag, looking over the group, “Who's next... Oh! I know!” He sauntered over Xavier and sat down on the crippled man's lap, taking his head between his hands. “You tried, Professor. Tried ta make de world a better place, tried ta make me a better person, tried ta teach de X-Men tolerance and still dey left me dere. Left me ta die for a massacre I didn' commit. For a massacre I tried ta prevent. Ya tried an' ya failed.”

“Gambit, do not do this. Do not continue on this path,” the professor tried to plead with him.

Gambit just shook his head and smiled sadly at him, “I truly am sorry ta disappoint ya. But we all gotta play de hand's we're dealt. And de X-Men, dey dealt me dis hand.”

Xavier's heart went pop. His body went limp. Cyclops screamed, struggling against his bonds, choking himself and drawing blood as the chains bit into him with from the strain. Jean broke down crying, sobbing into the floor. The others just stared in disbelief.

Remy walked along the line of prisoners, popping the hearts of those he didn't care to let suffer too much. Those who didn't leave him to die. Bishop growled at him, his lifetime of suspicions confirmed before his heart went pop, the inhibitor keeping him from absorbing the energy. It was all so elegant, Gambit thought as he walked the line. No harm to the rest of the body and very little pain before they died. It was merciful and quick. Better than the death they had left him to.

The Devil didn't try to stop him. He would harvest the genetic material and clone any he wanted to continue to propagate.

Only three remained alive: Hank, Betsy and Rogue. Joseph and Maggot hadn't been among them. He could take his revenge on them later, if they weren't dead already.

He drug Hank to the center of the room next, chaining him over the pool of freezing blood from Warren's punishment, “How ta make you suffer what ya need ta... Ya see, M'seiur Bete, I put a lot o' thought into how to make everyone pay, what would make dem suffer de most. But I wasn't sure what would be right for you... for de longest time, I couldn't figure out how to really make you suffer. Den it came ta me. You've fought so hard to keep your bestial side at bay. I'd kill ya by making you dat animal you're so afraid of. Well, M'seiur Sinister will. I'm no spook.”

Beast glared at him as the Devil stepped forward, placing a hand on the man's head, “It is truly a waste, Doctor McCoy. Your intellect will be sorely missed, but my son wishes for you to suffer and I have not the heart to deny him his vengeance.”

“Son?” Hank looked in shock between the two as Sinister chuckled.

“Oh yes. I would have thought you'd have figured it out long before this. You have had access to my genetic material before. And all these years with Remy's... well, I suppose I gave you too much credit if you never cross checked his with your database. Goodbye Doctor McCoy.”

The Devil entered his mind, forced his way in and unchained the Beast that waited in the darkest recesses of the scientist's mind. He submerged the personality, the humanity of the man before him and ruthlessly tore his memories from him.

Only a slobbering, blue animal remained when he pulled his mind from the other. The Devil patted his head like one would a dog and released the chains, removed the inhibitor, “Be a good boy and sit in the corner now, Beast.”

The animal lopped away, doing as it was told, growling at the Marauder's who dared to get to close, only physically resembling the man it had been.

Gambit watched him before looking back at the Devil, a question in his expression. The Devil smirked, “I never got to buy you a dog, indulge me.”

Remy laughed, “I ain't walking him.”

“He can walk himself.”

Rogue and Betsy were both still now. Just staring at him, minds dull with pain and disbelief and despair. This was a slaughter. And there was nothing they could do.

Gambit targeted Psylocke next, dragging her to the center of the room, chaining her as he had Warren and Hank.

She didn't resist. She was too numb. She hadn't felt this way in a long time. Completely helpless. Gambit's hand fisted in her hair, forcing her to look at him. He pushed his cigarette against her forehead, burning her as he put it out, “I think I'd just like ta see you dead, Betts. You spiked me with dat knife o' yours, so I'm goin' ta stab ya with one in return. Make ya choke on your own black blood.”

He held his hand out and Scalphunter stepped forward, using his metal manipulation to break off one of Logan's claws and create a handle for it before handing it to his leader. Remy traced the edge against Betsy's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood, before plunging it into her right lung. He pulled it out and stabbed into the other lung. The knife left her and he dropped her head as she began coughing up blood, the thick red liquid flooding her air ways, drowning her from the inside.

It took her ten minutes to die. Rogue could only watch, eyes glazing over in numb horror. She was the only one left.

Remy moved to sit in front of her, hand lifting to cup her cheek. She tried pulling away, to keep him from touching her, but he would not be deterred. His grip hard and bruising as he coo'd sweet assurances to her, “Aw chere, it'll be okay. Shhh... just stay calm, okay. Dat's a good girl.”

She spit in his face.

He flinched and wiped the gob away, “Now, now, chere, dat ain't nice.”

“I ain't your chere.”

He smiled sadly and smoothed her hair back with his other hand, putting the knife down so he wouldn't cut her prematurely, “Non. You ain't my chere. Not anymore. Maybe not ever. But I was yours, petite. I loved you. Still love you, actually. Gave you my heart, only ta have you destroy it. And it hurts, petite. It hurts so much.”

He rested his forehead against hers, keeping her from moving with that bruising grip on her cheek. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, pulling away before she could bite him, “We could have been wonderful together, petite. If you would have just trusted me.”

“You weren't honest with me.”

“I tried ta be. Tried ta show you what happened. Funny how when I ask ya to touch me and take de memories ya need ta, you refuse. But when everyone is accusing me o' being a bad man, ya don't even hesitate ta pull de memories and judge me. Ya never loved me. Never trusted me. Ya jus' used me. Ya knew I'd be dere for ya. Be waiting for ya ta come back ta my arms after you ran off and destroyed whatever relationship ya had with de flavor o' week.”

“That's not true...”
He chuckled bitterly, “Sure it is, chere. And ya know it. But dat's okay. Ya won't be able ta hurt me anymore after today.” Gambit lifted the knife and placed the tip over her heart. “I'm going ta bleed ya out. Drain ya life, de way ya drained my heart. Goodbye Rogue.”

He pressed the blade into her skin and through the bone, slicing downward. Remy dropped the knife and wrapped his arms around her as she died. Holding her as her spirit left her body. Holding her long after she went cold and stiff.

When Gambit finally stood, he picked up the knife, Wolverine's claw, “Computer: End simulation.”

“Antarctic Trial Ended, Gambit.” The snow disappeared, leaving the Marauders in the middle of the Danger Room, the bodies of the X-Men around them. Beast whined in confusion and scooted closer to the Devil, who rested a hand on his head in comfort.

Gambit removed his trench coat and dropped it on the floor, placing the Joker on top of it as the Devil opened a tesseract portal. Scalphunter drug Wolverine's skeleton through it, the others picking up the bodies of the X-Men the Devil wanted to keep samples.

It didn't take long for the clean up and only an hour later Gambit stood alone in the Danger Room, tesseract open before him. Waiting.

“Cerebro: Initiate Self Destruct Sequence: Last Stand, si vous plait. Authorization: Gambit.”

“Self Destruct Sequence: Last Stand initiated, Gambit. Self Destruction in Thirty Seconds.”

Remy stepped through the portal.

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End