Part 3
	After what had been hours, Remy woke again. This time he 
felt strong enough to actually try and move his hands. The ache 
had lessened slightly, but the chilly, burning sensation was 
still there. Hesitantly he brought them up from underneath the 
blankets and only now he realized he was wrapped up in several 
thick woolen blankets. Staring at the back of his hands he still 
envisioned seeing the white color they had possessed hours, or 
was it days, ago?
	His hands trembled, shook viciously and he quickly buried 
them again underneath the fabric. No matter how many blankets 
were warming him, Remy still felt the ice inside his bones. How 
long had he been out there? Two nights... How had he survived? 
He should have died that first night, so why hadn't he?
	Maybe his mutant powers had kept him alive? Maybe =his 
energy= had kept him alive. Remy had never thought he would ever 
be glad to possess these powers. He felt slightly exultant for 
having survived that frozen hell but then he remembered where he 
was and who was looking after him.
	Magneto. What was the man doing here in the first place?
	Remy still wasn't sure whether he was relieved to be alive, 
or sad because he hadn't died out there. Being alive meant 
facing his dark deeds and he wasn't sure he could ever do that. 
Not after Rogue had left him there to die.
	One thing he knew for sure was that he could never go back 
to the mansion. Could never face them, especially not Warren for 
the pain he had caused.
	Remy could forgive Rogue for leaving him behind, could 
forgive her for her judgment call. He probably didn't deserve 
better after all the deaths he'd cost, and Warren would =never= 
forgive him.
	Remy had sensed his terrible pain as Warren had lost his 
wings. Seldom had he felt such agony and he'd wished he had been 
able to reach out to soothe that pain, to lessen the hurt, but 
he was the one who had caused it in the first place. He had no 
right to comfort the victim.
	Maybe Rogue had been right to leave him out there to die. 
How could anyone forgive the things he'd done?
	Unable to deal with this right now, Remy pushed it away and 
focused on his present situation, at least he =tried= to 
concentrate on the mess he was in. Apparently Magneto had a base 
in this hell and Remy stored that information away in his mind.
	But why bother? It wasn't like he was going back to tell 
the X-Men about it. That was one thing he truly regretted. Remy 
had always liked Storm and would greatly miss her.
	"Get t' y' feet!" he told himself in an angry tone. Laying 
here like this made him feel vulnerable. He was already 
emotionally messed up and the last thing he wanted was to 
voluntarily add to his own discomfort.
	"That would be an unwise thing to do," Magneto said in a 
berating tone. "You need the rest, and you're in no danger from 
me." It greatly surprised him that Gambit hadn't noticed his 
arrival.
	"Why do I find dat hard t' believe?" Remy asked and quickly 
scanned the entrance. Magneto wasn't wearing his helm, and the 
look on his face surprised him. The eyes were remarkably soft 
and Magneto's smile warm.
	"You don't trust people, do you?" Magneto countered and 
leaned casually against the wall. It would take him a long time 
to make this youngster open up to him.
	"Have no reason t'," Remy whispered and bit down the hurt. 
Suddenly he recognized the look on Magneto's face. Mon Dieu... 
was he responsible for that attraction? Immediately he blocked 
the charm power, trying hard to undo the damage. The last thing 
he needed was for Magneto to physically want him. It must have 
been his confusion allowing his charm power to flow free, but 
Remy knew he was too weak to constantly suppress them. When he'd 
fall asleep he'd lose his grip on it again. The way he was now 
he could never fight Magneto.
	"I studied your record," Magneto said slowly and drew in a 
deep breath as the crushing emotions of want and protection 
weakened. So, his suspicions had been correct. He would have to 
address this matter soon.
	But Gambit withdrawing his influence like this confirmed 
what he had suspected all along. Gambit had no real control over 
this ability. Remembering their topic he said, "Charles needs to 
secure his files in a better way."
	"What do y' wan' from m'?" Remy asked again in a shaky tone 
as ice packed memories pressed deeper in to his mind. He didn't 
want them! He didn't want to remember his failure! He knew what 
he had done and =what= he was.
	"I don't know yet," Magneto revealed as he took a step 
closer, determined to proceed with caution. "Your ability to 
charge objects and even flesh with energy is... interesting, but 
hardly of use to me." He paused briefly, "But then again, you've 
got other talents as well, haven't you?" Charles' notes had been 
incomplete on Gambit's mental powers and he had to trust his 
instincts to guide him through this conversation.
	Pretending ignorance Remy stared in to Magneto's eyes, 
trying to look unimpressed, but failing miserably. "I don' know 
what y're talkin' ‘bout."
	"You see, Remy," Magneto said and put emphasis on the fact 
that he knew his name, "My research is quite extensive. Unlike 
Charles I also use sources of a more... criminal nature." He had 
chosen to use the name on purpose as he wanted to try and gain 
the young man's trust.
	Remy's fingers touched the blanket, ready to charge it, as 
he didn't know Magneto's plans. Did the man want to use him for 
his plans like Sinister had done? No way he was going to 
cooperate and make the same mistake twice! He'd rather die. 
"What do y' wan'?"
	Suddenly Magneto's expression changed as if he'd realized 
something that had previously totally eluded him. Magneto 
remained quiet, thinking about his next step. "Are you a 
telepath?" he asked, uncertain how to formulate his question.
	"Non," Remy replied quickly, too quickly and looked away. 
He couldn't tell his enemy about the charm power.
	"You're lying," Magneto stated, correctly reading the 
expression in those red on black eyes. How to explain to Gambit 
that he didn't want to harm him?
	"Je suis honnęte!" Remy exclaimed angered, trying to calm 
himself down. Remy couldn't help resorting back to his native 
tongue, and that fact indicated how stressed out he really was.
	Magneto shook his head. "It's been a long time since I 
spoke French," he said slightly amused, "but I understand what 
you're trying to say." Was it possible that Gambit himself 
didn't know the extent of his mental powers? Magneto regretted 
upsetting the young man and suddenly noticed the hurt look on 
his face. He'd seen that look before...
	"I ain't a telepat’!" he repeated in a futile attempt to 
convince Magneto and himself.
	"But the scans indicate unusual neural activity," Magneto 
stated determined. "Are you going to tell me the truth or do I 
have to drag it all out of you?" He hoped he wasn't coming on 
too strong. Being left for dead on the ice would be traumatizing 
for everyone.
	"Why do y' want t' know?" Remy asked, feeling cornered. How 
could this 'ability' show up on Magneto's scans if even the 
professor couldn't detect it? Magneto sat down and stared hard 
at him. Remy gathered his courage and returned that stare. This 
was the X-Men's worst adversary and he wouldn't give him any 
inside information. He wasn't that dumb, even though he was a 
traitor.
	Magneto released a sigh, and shifted on the chair. "I think 
we've got a misunderstanding here. As I said before, you're in 
no danger from me." He had to reassure Remy, but realized that 
words wouldn't be enough. If he was reading the other man right, 
Gambit had been hurt too many times to trust any one.
	"Hard t' believe," Remy countered, knowing Magneto's 
reputation only too well. The man was probably thinking about a 
way to get him out of here without his base's location becoming 
known. That meant feet first, Remy realized startled. So, he was 
going to die anyway.
	"I see," Magneto murmured and pondered his next move. "Are 
you feeling any better? Your body was almost frozen stiff when I 
found you." He changed the topic on purpose, trying to back away 
from whatever had upset Remy that much.
	Frozen... why did he have to use that word? Shivers racked 
his body and Remy pushed himself deeper in to the blankets. "A 
lil' better," he admitted gingerly, uncertain why Magneto was 
showing this much interest in his condition.
	"You must be wondering why I was out there in the first 
place," Magneto said, offering bait he knew Remy couldn't 
resist.
	And before Remy knew it, he had taken it. "Oui," he replied 
softly.
	"I registered the fighting, but preferred to stay out of 
the battle." It was the truth. The battle had taken him by 
surprise, and he had still been trying to figure out what had 
happened as the fighting had stopped. Then he had witnessed how 
Rogue had dropped Gambit on to the ice. Seeing that no one was 
coming to the rescue he'd decided to take in Remy himself.
	Remy's eyes sought out Magneto's and sent him an unspoken 
question. Why had he come out of hiding? Magneto nodded his head 
as if he'd received that message and Remy shivered seeing that 
confirmation.
	"Rogue left you behind, and the others didn't come for 
you," Magneto stated honestly.
	His words tore open the closing wound. "Oui, dey left Remy 
behind," he said in a vulnerable tone and before Remy knew it he 
was talking about himself in the third person. Was he that 
upset?
	Magneto remained quiet and Remy wasn't going to enlighten 
him. An awkward silence wrapped itself around the young man and 
suddenly his charm powers lashed out, reaching out to Magneto, 
needing to know he was safe. Needed to know that someone cared 
for him, for whatever reason that might be.
	Magneto's eyes tightened and Remy trembled as those eyes 
completely focused on him. It took him a moment to regain 
control over the charm power. Remy didn't know what to make of 
Magneto's reaction. Had the other man felt him reach out?
	"You should learn to control that," Magneto started and 
seemed to search for a word to add, "Remy." The sensation had 
taken him by surprise, but he had recognized the manipulation. 
He had experienced the same thing as he had found Remy in the 
snow. However, the amount of fear in the young man's eyes 
startled him.
	Magneto's answer confirmed Remy's fear. Somehow, Magneto 
had picked up on him losing control, but how?
	"I've had too many telepaths in my mind to not register 
that. If you aren't a telepath... what are you then?" he asked 
in a soft tone and leaned in closer. He had to prevent Gambit 
from spiraling down in to fear.
	Remy jerked as far away as the blankets allowed him to, 
praying Magneto didn't have =that= look in his eyes. The 
expression that said that he was about to be claimed by the 
older mutant as his possession. At times he really hated the 
charm power for the trouble it got him in to. "Can' control it," 
Remy explained softly as his body tensed in fearful 
apprehension.
	"I figured that," Magneto said kindly, intent on taking 
away that fear. "I want you to explain it to me."
	"How? Don' understan’ it m'self," Remy whispered upset.
	"What does it do?"
	Remy desperately tried to find a way to explain it to him. 
"Charm power," he started, "Can read y'r emotions, can send dem 
back." It sounded dumb the way he tried to explain something so 
complex, but the truth was he had never thought about it that 
deeply before.
	"And you can't control it?" Magneto said with a hint of 
sadness in his tone.
	"Non, not completely," he admitted and gingerly looked up 
at Magneto. That tone had taken him aback, as if the other man 
knew...
	"I'm surprised that Charles didn't offer you his help. 
After all, this is his field of expertise." Magneto closely 
studied Remy and realized the fear was slowly receding, maybe 
because of the clinical way they were discussing this.
	Remy was tremendously relieved to see Magneto's eyes were 
lucid and didn't resemble the ones which had chased him down the 
streets when he had been a kid... when they had tried getting 
their hands on him. They had succeeded too often. Remy shuddered 
at that memory.
	"You didn't tell him?" Magneto said and laughed warmly in 
disbelief. "You managed to keep this from Charles?" The next 
moment he turned serious again as he realized that decision must 
have added greatly to Gambit's pain. "That must mean you've got 
formidable shields." Or, he added in thought, Charles detected 
it, but respected Remy's wish not to discuss it.
	"Only blockin' de charm power," Remy objected weakly as he 
couldn't deny Magneto's statement. Xavier might suspect he had 
mental powers, but didn't know for sure and Remy wanted to keep 
it that way. He needed every advantage he could get, even if it 
was a double-edged sword.
	"You really made things hard on yourself," Magneto 
concluded in earnest, but didn't explain his comment.
	"Pourquoi?" Remy asked surprised. How had Magneto reached 
that conclusion?
	"We'll talk later." Magneto got to his feet and pushed back 
the chair. First he needed to do more research concerning this 
phenomenon. But before he left he wanted to be sure Remy hadn't 
developed a fever.
	Remy silently watched as Magneto's hand gently settled down 
on his brow and he flinched at the contact, uncertain why 
Magneto was doing this.
	"You still feel cold. Get some sleep and I'll bring 
something to eat the next time I visit you," Magneto said in a 
tone that allowed no room for argument. He'd noticed the flinch, 
the subconscious response that revealed fear. They would have to 
address this later.
	"Did y' contact de Professeur?' Remy asked, as he needed to 
know that answer.
	"No," Magneto replied, still slightly mystified. "I'll 
honor your request, but I expect answers later." Maybe now that 
he'd been forced in to this situation Remy would face some of 
his problems. But he couldn't push the young man too hard now.
	"Oui," Remy whispered relieved. "Y'll get dem," feeling 
confident he would be able to make up answers that would satisfy 
Magneto's curiosity.
	"Good," Magneto stated and walked towards the doorway. "And 
I suggest you try to keep that 'charm power' under control while 
you're here." He doubted Remy could do that, but the last thing 
he wanted was to lose his control as well.
	Remy nodded his head fatigued, hoping it wouldn't reach out 
again, but what when he was asleep? Only then he registered the 
odd tone Magneto had used when referring to it. Too tired and 
cold to consider all answers, Remy choose to fall asleep 
instead.
	Magneto softly left the room and headed back to his 
computer console. 

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