Impressions

"Professor! You're back!" Bobby exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell us? We'd've picked up you up."

"There was no need, Bobby. But if you'd get my bags?"

"Sure."

"And you can tell me about the new telepath."

"Telepath? You know Betsy."

The professor raised a brow. "This isn't a joking matter, Robert."

"Well, Jean says Gambit's got extra-hard shields, but he's not a 'path."

"He was trained by one at the very least. What do you think of him?"

Bobby fidgeted a bit. Then, finally, he said, "He's got a good sense of humor."

"And?"

"I don't like him that much. He's unpredictable. But he took care of Storm and I guess he can't be too bad because Rogue likes him. He's helping Hank in the med-lab this week, 'cause he and Rogue got into a major water fight in the kitchen and Scott got upset."

"Professor!" Storm exclaimed and bent to hug him, disregarding the dirt that still clung to her clothes from her work in the garden.

"I'll take your bags to your room," Bobby said as he escaped.

"It is good to see you, Ororo. You must tell me what happened." Storm's smile widened.

"Perhaps it would be better if I were to show you."

"The professor nodded and watched her memories. "Ororo, I'm sorry." Storm smiled.

"There was nothing else to be done."

"And how does your new brother fit in here?" Storm considered.

"Rogue enjoys flirting and possibly more with him. He has come to some understanding with Scott that I cannot discover. Logan enjoys sparring with him. Jean finds him fascinating because she cannot penetrate his shields. Warren despises him. Bobby doesn't know what to do with him. Hank wants to study him, but Remy refuses. He has a fear of labs and medical procedures. And Betsy ignores him." The professor sighed.

"I shall have to meet this young man."

"Do not let him hear you call him that. He dislikes being considered young." Professor Charles Xavier found himself surrounded as soon as he reached the front hall.

Hank was the last to arrive trailed by a tall, slender young man the professor had not yet met. The young man stayed back from the group. Storm wrapped an arm around his waist. He gave her a one armed hug and tugged at one of the white streamers that was free of her ponytail. She quite deliberately put a streak of mud onto his cheek. The young man rubbed at it with a gentle frown. He wagged an admonishing finger at her.

"Gambit." Scott's summons drew the professor's attention back to his X-men. The young man looked at Scott with a politely bland face. "Come meet the professor." Gambit received a little shove from Storm's winds. He frowned at her serene smile. "He doesn't bite," Scott informed the thief. "Well, not usually, but I’m sure he'll make an exception for you."

"If Gambit asks really, really nice, non?" Cajun, the professor decided as he listened to the accent. Gambit approached the man in the chair warily.

"Remy LeBeau, Charles Xavier. Prof. X, Gambit." They shook hands, eyeing each other.

"Bonjour, M. Xavier."

"A pleasure, Remy." The professor's probes bounced of the man's shields.

"Cyke obviously didn' learn subtlety fr' y', Charles." The French pronounciation of the name came out as a sneer. Xavier noted the hit with an incline of his head.

"Please forgive my curiosity." Scott had dropped his head to his hands. Xavier realized he was restraining laughter. Logan was grinning broadly.

"Not one f' holdin' grudges, me." The young man shrugged. "'Sides, mebbe dis make M. Bete let me out f' awhile. Y' check de homme f' drugs recently? He don' sleep right."

"What exactly was the punishment for getting the splint wet again?" Scott asked idly.

"That is between Gambit and myself. I must invoke client-doctor privilege."

"He beat dis po' boy somet'in' awful. Oh de torture."

"Torture? You've been holding out on me, Hank," Scott stated.

"Ain' y' ever heard him attemptin' t' sing?"

"Now that this conversation has degraded to insults, I recommend that we celebrate the professor's safe return to this planet with an edible dinner," Hank broke in.

"Well, if someone hadn't forced the only member of this team able to cook into the med-lab," Storm began.

"I've reached my cayenne tolerance level," Scott stated. "And, last time I checked, you were capable of cooking, Storm. Even if it is only rice and vegetables. And Logan can cook."

"He can grill. There is a difference."

"Y'all forget, Warren's been takin' lessons," Rogue reminded them.

"Yeah, and he's almost up to Betsy's level now," Bobby commented. The professor caught the cringe before it could show. He saw the new member watching him.

"Problem solved. Dinner will arrive in an hour from the caterer's. Here's your phone book, Remy," Jean said floating it to him. He took it carefully from her grasp. "Is that Mystique's latest cell phone number I saw?"

"Non, chere. Dat be de ol' modem number. She changed it de last time Remy hacked her system."

"Ya know Mama?" Rogue asked, hands on her hips.

"Oui, a bit. She hired Gambit once or twice."

//Gambit?// The red eyes flashed in the professor's direction.

//What?// It seemed tinny and far away, but clear enough.

//I would like to speak with you after dinner.//

//Fine. Now get outta m' head, Charles.// The professor felt the headache begin behind his eyes as Gambit's shields shut him out.

"If she hired ya why'd ya hack her, kid?"

"She hired m' t' see if it was possible. Den Remy refer her t' a hacker." Gambit shrugged. "Now, y' let dis po' man rest befo' dinner."

"Welcome back, sir," Scott said after the others had scattered.

"And just how did he manage this little feat?" Xavier asked glancing around the hall as he started moving to his room. Scott considered that.

"Mass hypnosis."

//Natural charm or psi?//

//He's an empath. That's Jean's read on things. He calls it charm.//

//Untrained except for the shields, perhaps?//

//Charge?//

//Hank calls it biokinetic. He can charge objects until they essentially become grenades. He can throw them with pinpoint accuracy. He also can fight Logan and come out ahead.//

//He's a thief.//

//Yes. We needed one.//

//Storm…//

//is out of practice. And I'm not a professional with a reputation that Logan knows about.//

//Indeed? Intriguing.//

//I'll leave you to rest, sir.// Scott shut the door behind himself.

*****

Dinner was delicious and the professor was soon caught up on most of what he'd missed. Gambit listened attentively as well. They discussed Scott and Jean's wedding plans as they savored dessert.

"Betsy and Warren have dish duty," Bobby said. "Anyone else up for a movie run?"

"I'll go with you," Jean said. "Any special requests?"

Rogue opened her moth to speak, but Remy whispered something in her ear. She flushed and stared at him. Her mouth closed with a snap. Thus, the X-men were spared another night of _Gone_with_the_Wind_. Rogue had been prevented from buying the movie for the sake of the team's sanity.

"Your choice," Scott told his wife.

"Logan?"

"Anythin' ya want, Darlin'."

"Remy"

"Don' rightly know, Chere. Sci-Fi. Ask Bones."

"I've told you several times in the past few days how much I detest that name."

"As if that will stop him?" Storm commented.

"I must retain my hope or I shall go completely mad. I am beginning to believe dat… that," Hank glared at the Cajun's smug grin, "our Fearless Leader is punishing me for something."

"Fine. We're going. See ya!" Bobby said, dragging Jean out the door.

"Hank, I've never punished you without telling you exactly why I'm doing it."

"That is what worries me most." Hank looked over the top of his glasses at Remy. "And you have preparations to finish."

"Dey're in de fridge downstairs."

"When did you complete them?"

"When y' took dat snack break wit' de Iceman." Hank nodded.

"That was a bit longer than I expected to be. But, considering the pace you were going at earlier…"

Gambit studied the leftover syrup on his plate. "Got nervous. Had t' do somet'in' t' distract m'self." Hank let that go. Scott tapped a finger against his coffee mug, consideringly.

"Remy, I'd like to speak with you privately, if I may. My office is…"

"De big one wit' de overbearin' panelin' an' de Renior over de fireplace."

"Yes."

"Sure. Be dere in a few, Charles." Logan stretched and moved for the back door before anyone noticed his smile. He pulled out a cigar. He was followed out by the thief, who wanted his own smoke. Rogue pulled a strand of hair in front of her face. She frowned at it.

"Ah don't think Ah got all the dirt outta mah hair yet," she commented.

"I have a different shampoo that you might find more effective."

"Thank ya, hon." She and Storm took their leave. Warren and Betsy cleared the table and decided to hide in the kitchen.

"If I have to call someone in to break up a repeat of the Southern Wars I'll kill both of you," Scott told Betsy.

"If I want any sort of advantage I should get to my office first," Professor X mused.

"You lost your advantage when you met him. He's on the defensive now."

Xavier raised a brow. "I take it you've had this fight?"

"Hell no. I just played mind-fuck until he called it off." Xavier stared. "Goodnight." Scott left the older man to contemplate that.

I'm getting old, Xavier thought to himself and went to his office. He settled behind his desk. He was unprepared for what actually confronted him when Remy walked into the room. He shut the door politely enough, but this was not the young man he'd seen joking earlier in the day. The red eyes seemed to glow and Xavier wondered what that meant. He stalked across the room and took possession of the chair in the center of the grouping. He settled in it and set his elbows on the arms. He stared unfazed into the professor's eyes.

"What is it you want to know?" he asked with just a hint of a Southern drawl.

"I want to know more about you and your powers."

"Your man has already done an evaluation. Tell me again. What do you want to know?"

"I want to know more than I have gathered from the others. Why do you fear the med-lab?"

"Humans."

"What about them?"

"I was seriously injured. They left me to die in a hospital bomb shelter because they knew nothing about mutant physiology."

"How did you survive?"

"Why do you care?"

"These children are my concern. I will not have them placed in any danger."

"Oh, and am I a danger, Charles?" The man's voice dropped to a sulky purr. "I could be. But as I said before, your man has already done an eval. I want to know what you are seeking."

"I have told you plainly. I want to learn more about you. Your past. Your skills. Where you feel you are headed."

"Stop pretending this is truly a school, Charles. I am not a student. I am here because Storm wants me to stay and because Rogue is an interesting woman to pursue. I will stay because I choose to. Or I will leave because I choose to. That is not your concern."

"The X-men were created by me."

"And now belong to the men and women living in this house. Do not pretend anything more, Charles. And don't ever try to undermine Summers' work with them. I warn you now because I know that is the next step. Do not attempt to re-establish your power base here, Charles." Every time Xavier heard his name his heart twisted a bit more. Every battle-nerve in his body screamed at him to level the threat in front of him. He realized he was preparing a psi-bolt to launch at the young man. He diffused the bolt. He would not attack a child.

LeBeau glared at Xavier with hostile, but not openly dangerous eyes. Gambit saw the anger swirl up. He saw the bitterness. He knew the man had problems to deal with. Major problems. "What do you mean undermine Summers?"

"You know what I mean. You will try to establish dominance and try to take all the decisions back from him. Stand down. This is his team now. You started the X-men that is true. But you have been away for a long time, from what I have heard from the others. This team is Summers' team. We both know that. Don't be a general behind your pretty mahogany desk. Don't get your people killed because you cripple your field leader."

"How dare you tell me how to run my operations. Get out, Remy," he emphasized the name.

"You may be finished, but I am not done." Gambit vaulted over the desk. He leaned close to the professor's ear and spoke to him carefully. "If you harm Summers, you will face me. You will pay for anything you do to him. Understand this. I have taken him under my protection." Then, the thief left.

//Scott. Will you come to my office please. And bring Gambit's file.//

*****

"Okay," Bobby said laying on the bench with an arm over his eyes, "is it just me or is Scott really pissed?"

"How could you guess?" Warren asked as he waved his wings gently to dry them. "Was it the last wave a sentinels that gave you the clue? Or the reaming we're going to get in the war room."

"The reamin' depends on whatever he's been talkin' to Gumbo about fer the past fifteen minutes."

"We're dead. They'll push each others buttons and we'll all get caught in the crossfire. I'm too young to die," Bobby whined.

"Shut up, popsicle."

Hank answered. "I told Fearless that were he to allow Gambit into any form of combat situation before his finger heals, again, I might add, I would force both of them into the med-lab for the longest series of tests I could come up with. This, my friends, is how the Cajun ended up watching the whole thing. He would, however, have preferred to be in the session. The inactivity is beginning to gnaw at him. But I'm not letting him out of the lab."

"That could be hard on your equipment."

"That's the oddest thing, he treats that equipment as if it's sacred." Hank shrugged. "Mysteries within mysteries."

"I got the impression he hated the lab," Bobby said. He didn't really care what he had to say, he wasn't going to move until Scott forced them into the war room.

"He does. He even attempted to bribe me."

"Bribe you? He must have been desperate. What did he offer? Twinkies?"

"No, of course not. Blood."

"What?" Warren said, staring.

"He offered blood that in his own words, could be tested to my hearts desire. All I had to do was let him out of the place. I must admit that I was sorely tempted, but the punishment was set and I know how difficult it is to get children to buckle down and become disciplined members of the team if they do not receive consistent consequences."

Warren shivered. "I think I heard Scott use that argument once right before he died my wings rainbow."

"Scott did that? I thought, well, I thought you were just making a statement or something. Or that girl Candy had convinced you to do it."

"Rainbow? What sort of statement did you think I was making? I'm a total freak?"

"Harmony and unity. The covenant of God or something like that. Sunday school seems awfully far away right now." Bobby yawned. His eyes slipped closed.

"Why aren't you in the war room?" Scott asked via the intercom. The victims, erm, teammates in the locker room jumped. They hurried to the war room and settled down in their chairs. Gambit was there, his feet up on the table, cards flipping casually through his fingers. He was staring at Charles. Xavier was staring back at him. Scott was standing half-way between them, not sure what to do to stop the tension. Logan settled into the chair to Gambit's right. He took the situation in with a glance. He punched the Cajun in the shoulder. Remy pouted at him, breaking the intense staring contest. "Now, Bobby, why don't you tell me what went wrong in there today." Bobby gulped and started talking fast.

Charles Xavier studied the young thief. Life was certainly going to be very different in the Mansion.

FIN