Part 6 
	“Are you ready to leave?” Magneto felt uneasy as he studied 
the uncharacteristically quiet young man who was stalling time. 
It was so obvious that Remy didn’t want to leave that Magneto 
almost reconsidered his decision to take him back to the mansion 
today. 
	“Don’t even think about using your empathy on me,” he said 
in as serious tone as he could muster, avoiding the term charm 
power on purpose. Remy had to start making that distinction as 
well. 
	“Is dere really no way out for m’?” Remy asked pleadingly. 
His entire being rebelled against this decision. It was madness 
to return to the mansion. They wouldn’t probably let him in, 
anyway. Why put himself through the rejection then? Maybe he 
could sneak away after Magneto had left. 
	“What will you do once we’ve reached the mansion?” Magneto 
asked, offering him a chance to speak his thoughts out loud. 
“Whom will you approach first?” 
	“Don’ know,” Remy admitted. “Don’ wanna see any of dem.” 
	“You must have been friends with someone before…this… 
happened.” 
	“Non, dey always tried t’ avoid m’,” Remy whispered tired, 
looking down at his sweats and blanket, which was still wrapped 
around his form. “How do y’ plan on taking m’ back anyway?” 
	Magneto walked up to him, extended his arms and created a 
sphere around them. The next moment their feet lost contact with 
the ground and the ceiling opened. 
	Remy shuddered, suddenly seeing a world of ice all around 
him. A blinding whiteness engulfed him, thought the cold 
thankfully didn’t touch him. “How long will dis take?” he asked 
through chattering teeth. 
	“A few hours,” Magneto replied and looked down at the man 
sitting at his feet. He’d almost closed his arms around Remy’s 
trembling frame urged on by concern. Yes, he would stick around 
a little longer, just to be certain the X-Men wouldn’t smash the 
door closed in Remy’s face. 
	Staring at the icy continent Remy’s eyes started to water. 
Why had Rogue left him behind in this cold? Had she wanted him 
to die? Her action had made him doubt she ever truly loved him. 
	No matter what state someone was in, you just didn’t leave 
him out there to die! 
	“Why don’t you try and rest a little? There’s nothing you 
can do until we get there,” Magneto suggested. 
	“Y’re right,” Remy had to admit and closed his eyes to 
banish out the white blanket covering the land. 
	Hours later they arrived at the X-Men mansion and Magneto 
descended at a safe distance from the house. He didn’t want to 
be found out while taking Remy home. Looking down at his feet he 
realized the young man had fallen asleep again as exhaustion had 
overwhelmed him. “Wake up,” he said softly and sat on his heels. 
	Remy’s eyes opened slowly and after searching his 
surroundings he realized where he was. In the distance he 
noticed the mansion’s outline and his resolve began to weaken. 
“Dis is a bad idea,” he told Magneto who smiled weakly in 
return. 
	“You’ve got to try this,” Magneto said gently and helped 
Remy back to his feet. The younger man swayed momentarily, but 
then regained his balance. 
	“What if dey don’ even let m’ in to de house?” Remy asked 
and pulled the blankets closer. It was the middle of night and 
the temperature had almost dropped to freezing point. He could 
almost =smell= the snow in the air. 
	Magneto pushed him in the right direction and said, “You’ve 
got to walk alone from here.” 
	Remy sighed deeply. As far as he was concerned this was 
stupid. Storm and Warren would object to his presence. 
	“Believe in yourself,” Magneto said softly, “and give them 
the time to understand what really happened. Make them see that 
Sinister tricked you.” 
	“Don’ know how,” Remy whispered, but took a step closer to 
the mansion. 
	“You’ll find a way.” Magneto watched him take another step 
and nodded his head. “You can always use your empathy to show 
them.” 
	“Jamais!” Remy snapped suddenly. 
	Surprised at the vehemence of that remark Magneto raised an 
eyebrow. 
	“Dey’ll t’ink I’m manipulating dem and dey don’ t’ink very 
highly of m’ t’ begin wid.” Remy’s expression turned dark. 
	“You =will= tell Charles or Jean and get help?” Magneto 
wanted to know for certain. 
	“Peut-être,” Remy replied without commitment. He didn’t 
especially like the idea of them knowing about his mental 
abilities. 
	Magneto let the remark go by unnoticed and took to the sky 
again. “I wish you luck,” he said as he vanished from Gambit’s 
sight. 
	Slowly, Remy started the long walk towards the mansion. 
	Inside the house, Jean tossed and turned in the bed. Scott 
was holding her tightly in his arms but the unease floating in 
to her mind caused her to wake up. Something was wrong! A very 
disturbed mind was subconsciously reaching out to her and 
distressed she sat up, pushing down Scott’s arms. 
	“Jean, darling?” Scott muttered in his sleep as his wife 
slid off the bed. Immediately awake he scanned the room for a 
possible intruder. 
	“You can go back to sleep,” Jean whispered absentmindedly, 
once more concentrating on the sensation. She slipped in to a 
robe and flipped back her hair. Something was compelling her to 
go outside. 
	Scott observed her expression and sat up as well. “What’s 
wrong?” 
	Reluctantly she faced him and said, “I need to go outside.” 
	“Why?” Scott pushed the blankets away and quickly slipped 
in to his pyjamas bottoms. “Did you have another bad dream?” he 
whispered eventually, remembering the moment Rogue had told them 
that Gambit had died in Antarctica. His face hadn’t revealed his 
confusion, but Jean hadn’t hidden her emotions and had cried 
softly. He’d never understood why she liked the Cajun that much, 
but he accepted it nonetheless. 
	At nights like these he still wondered whether he had made 
a mistake in taking Rogue’s word for it, but she loved Gambit 
and would have saved him if there had only been a spark of life 
left inside Remy’s body. 
	“No,” Jean replied quickly. There hadn’t been any bad 
dreams tonight, just a strange awareness dancing on the edges of 
her mind. But she remembered the dreams quite vividly and she 
still had a hard time accepting that Gambit was dead. 
	Dead. They had lost teammates and loved ones before, but 
she wished she’d had a last chance to talk to Remy. She‘d seen 
the horror in his eyes as they had looked at him, knowing he’d 
led the Marauders in to the tunnels. Remy’s eyes had been filled 
with pain and regrets and she’d felt the accusation the others 
had aimed at him. 
	Oh, the anger and hurt that had emanated from Warren still 
scared her even now. Warren thought Remy solely responsible for 
the loss of his wings. 
	“Jean?” Scott said softly, trying to capture his wife’s 
attention. 
	Jean shook her head and opened the door. Quickly she walked 
down the corridor and in to the garden. Something was drawing 
her closer and she couldn’t resist the urge to follow. 
	Cursing softly Scott grabbed a sweatshirt and followed his 
wife. It had grown chilly during the night and Jean would catch 
a cold if she stayed out too long. “Jean?” he halted, looked 
about and saw her disappear in to the garden. 
	Jean focused her senses and wished the professor were at 
the mansion. She couldn’t pinpoint the source, but continued to 
walk any way. 
	“Jean?” a soft voice suddenly whispered. 
	She froze in her tracks. “I know you,” she whispered in 
return and felt like she had been blind the entire time. How 
could she not have known who had been calling her? “Remy?” 
	“Wasn’ sure I’d be allowe’ in de house,” Remy whispered and 
stepped out of the shadows, tightly hugging the blanket. His 
eyes were emotionless and he did his utmost to control his 
mental powers. Although his shield was still up he knew Jean 
could sense some of the turmoil he was in. He hadn’t consciously 
called her outside, she had just been the first one to wake and 
detect his presence. 
	“Is it really you?” Jean choked out and raised a hand to 
touch his skin. This couldn’t be! Rogue had assured them Remy 
was dead! 
	“Oui, sorry t’ say it’s m’,” Remy stuttered, slightly taken 
aback by the relief and joy he sensed in her mind. He hadn’t 
expected a warm welcome, but Jean was truly relieved to see him 
alive. 
	“How?” she stuttered and took a step closer to him. Then 
she rested her hand on his and he trembled at the contact. 
Finally she realized he was really standing in front of her, 
alive! 
	Remy lowered his eyes, remembering Magneto’s words. “Don’ 
know m’self.” He would have to come up with something better 
later, but this would do for now. 
	“Remy!” Jean exclaimed and before Remy realized her 
intentions she had caught him in a warm hug. Confused, he 
wavered to return the gesture, but couldn’t help but relish her 
genuine relief. Then another form appeared behind her and Remy’s 
hands tightened in to fists. 
	“Gambit?” Scott said baffled. After establishing eye 
contact Scott shook his head in confusion. Only then he noticed 
Jean was still hugging the Cajun. “You’re not dead?” It sounded 
stupid, considering the man was standing right in front of him. 
	“Remy’s still alive, oui.” 
	“But Rogue told us you’d died in Antarctica!” 
	How could he tell them that Rogue had left him there? His 
guilt was still too overwhelming to point a finger at someone 
else. “I survived,” he said eventually. “She made a mistake.” 
Then he pushed himself away from Jean and shivered in the cold 
night. 
	“You’re cold!” Jean said and pulled him inside the house. 
	Remy knew better than to protest her action and sank down 
on the sofa the moment Scott closed the door behind him. Some of 
the cold vanished, but the room still felt too chilly for his 
personal taste. He didn’t know what to say, so he remained 
silent. 
	Scott studied the Cajun and saw the dark circles underneath 
the alien eyes. Gambit’s body trembled fiercely, but the younger 
man hardly seemed to notice it. “I think you owe us an 
explanation,” he stated, wondering how Remy had managed to 
survive the cold. 
	Remy however, assumed Scott was asking about his 
involvement with Sinister and cringed mentally. No matter how 
hard he’d try to convince them, they would never again trust 
him. Tricked by Sinister. Magneto had made it sound that simple, 
but as he sat here, he knew those words weren’t enough. It was 
Jean though who provided him with a way out. 
	“Scott! Can’t you see he’s cold?” Sitting down next to him 
she smiled weakly. “Hank should have a look at you and… no 
arguments!” she stated. 
	“Non,” Remy objected, “No need t’ wake ‘im now.” 
	“ First thing in the morning then! Remy, we’ll walk you to 
your room.” Jean noted Scott’s impatient look and silenced his 
unspoken objections. “We can discuss this in the morning!” 
	Resigned Scott nodded his head. He also wanted to talk to 
Rogue as quickly as possible. 
	Jean opened the door to his room and walked next to Remy as 
she listened to the murmurs in his mind. Had his shields 
weakened or was he allowing her in? Sensing the terrifying cold 
in his mind she pushed him down on to the bed. “I’m glad you’re 
back.” 
	Remy lay down and stared at the ceiling. He felt out of 
place here. “Y’ be de only one, chere,” he whispered softly. 
“Scott wasn’ t’rilled t’ see m’.” 
	“We thought you were dead, Remy. Scott needs some time.” 
Jean closed the curtains and sat down, studying his eyes in the 
dim light. “Something about you has changed.” 
	Remy avoided her eyes and shivered underneath the blankets. 
The room was too cold! “Didn’ t’ink y’d let m’ in,” he revealed 
in all honestly. 
	“Why?” she asked mystified. 
	“’Cause of de Marauders and Morlocks.” Remy closed his eyes 
and wished he were back on Magneto’s base. 
	“It’s not our place to judge your former actions.” Jean 
slowly nodded her head. “We’ve all been manipulated before.” 
	“But… Too many people died ‘cause of…” Remy objected. 
“Storm must be really mad wid m’ an’ Warren…” 
	Jean’s smile faded, but instead she patted his hand 
underneath the blanket. “I’ll talk to them.” 
	Remy turned on to his left side facing away from her, 
realizing how stupid it had been to come back here. 
	Magneto gained speed and height after he’d watched Jean 
pull Remy inside. He ’d check back on Gambit in a few days, just 
to be sure the young man was coping with the new situation. 
Looking back, he knew he’d done the right thing in forcing Remy 
to make a decision that quickly. The hardest part however was 
still to come. Remy had faced Jean and Scott, but the real test 
would be stepping up to Storm and Warren. 
	
		
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