Gambit

Knowhere. An interstellar outpost built inside the floating skull of a fallen Celestial. It’s a place where the galaxy’s greatest protectors and most cunning criminals alike can find momentary respite on their travels across the endless void of space. And one day, not long ago, it happened to host both in the very same seedy watering hole…

“Let’s play another hand,” Gambit said from his table at the back of Starlin’s Bar. “Winner takes all. I’ll deal.”

“Ooh, look who got himself a fancy new deck of cards!” Rocket Raccoon said, raising a furry eyebrow as his companion pulled out a stack of shimmering playing cards from the pocket of his trench coat.

“A gift,” Gambit said, his lip curling up into a cunning smile. “From the Grandmaster himself.”

The other players at the table, including a stone-faced Kronan and a reptilian Badoon, began to whisper in disbelief.

“An Elder of the Universe?” said Rocket. “Those guys are nothin’ but trouble.”

“I heard they built a new domain on the edge of the universe,” the Kronan added.

“They sssay it’s sssome sssort of cosssmic theme park,” the Badoon chimed in. “They hold countlessss ssspecies captive and make them fight for the entertainment of their guessstsss.”

“What’ve you gone and got yourself into this time, Remy?” asked Rocket.

Remy LeBeau stopped and considered his friend’s question for a moment. What HAD he gotten himself into? It wasn’t an easy thing to explain, and Gambit was known for keeping his cards close to the vest. But the connection he had built with Rocket over the years was strong enough that he felt comfortable revealing a select few secrets.

“Don’ know if you heard, mon ami,” Gambit began, “but Rogue an’ I finally tied the knot.”

“Yeah, I heard,” Rocket grumbled as he took a swig of his drink. “My invite musta gotten lost in the intergalactic post…”

“It was an intimate affair,” Gambit continued, putting a comforting hand on Rocket’s shoulder. “Just us and our fellow X-Men. Nothin’ too fancy.”

“You’re not makin’ it any better, Cajun,” Rocket snarled. “Anna Marie deserves nothin’ less than a flarkin’ fairytale!”

“Oui, je sais…” Gambit replied. “But the universe, she had other plans for us. Before we could even cut the cake, Krakoa got swept up in some sorta temporal tempest that transported the entire island — and almost every Mutant on it — into the distant future.”

“The Timestream Entanglement,” Rocket said knowingly. “Yeah, us Guardians have been tryin’ to clean up the mess that thing left behind ever since. And we can barely keep up! We’ve been fightin’ our tails off across every reality, from Klyntar to Krakoa back to Klyntar and then to K’un-Lun… and prob’ly a few other places that don’t start with ‘K’…”

Rocket paused for a moment as he realized that something in Gambit’s story wasn’t adding up.

“Wait… if you were on Krakoa when it got ‘ported across time an’ space,” Rocket said, “then why the heck weren’t ya at the Hellfire Gala when Ultron attacked? We really coulda used you and Rogue… Mostly Rogue…”

“Funny,” Gambit said as he dealt another card to each of the players at the table. “But the truth is, by the time Krakoa was under siege, we were already on the other side of the galaxy.”

“Doin’ what exactly?” Rocket asked, before suddenly putting up a hand to stopping Gambit from responding. “Actually, I don’t wanna know. You lovebirds keep the gruesome details to yourself.”

“What kinda man do you make me out to be?” Gambit inquired.

“Let’s just say you’ve got quite a reputation, Remy,” Rocket replied. “And it ain’t just because you’re one of the best thieves in the galaxy. After me, of course.”

“Well, my reputation as a thief is the one that really brought me here,” Gambit said in a hushed tone. “But Rogue don’ know that part… least, not yet…”

“I’m listenin’…” Rocket replied.

“Like you said,” Gambit continued, “Anna Marie deserves only the best. An’ when our weddin’ didn’ go as planned, I thought I could make it up to her by givin’ her the honeymoon of her dreams. I got Stormy to reach out to her beau, le Roi de Wakanda, to loan us one of his fancy spaceships so I could sweep my bride off on a romantic voyage across les étoiles.”

“But lemme guess…” Rocket said, peeking over his cards suspiciously, “…you had ulterior motives.”

“You know me so well,” Gambit said, “but they ain’t as sinister as you might assume.”

“Let me be the judge of that…”

“When that nasty time storm hit,” Gambit explained, “me and Anna Marie lost more than just the perfect weddin’ day. We lost our weddin’ rings, too. They got sucked into the void, vanishin’ into time and space. It haunted me that I wasn’t able to give Rogue the symbol of my devotion that she deserved, so I started diggin’ around to see how I could get her a new ring. A better one. Somethin’ as one-of-a-kind as she is.”

“Lemme guess,” Rocket laughed, “that’s when the Grandmaster showed up with an offer you couldn’t refuse?”

“Indeed he did,” Gambit said.

“You know Rogue don’t really care about all that material stuff, right?” Rocket said, tapping the table to request another card. “All she wants is you, ya dummy!”

“That may be all she wants,” Gambit said, sliding a card across the table to Rocket, “but she deserves more. She deserves the best.”

“Even if it means makin’ a deal with an Elder?” Rocket questioned. “Do you know how dangerous that is?”

“’Course I do…” Gambit said, “…but any good thief knows that the biggest risks come with the biggest rewards. And lemme tell you, these rewards are très grand.”

“Gimme the details already!” Rocket demanded. “The suspense is killin’ me!”

“The Grandmaster appeared to me back on Krakoa in his astral form,” Gambit explained, “Said all he wanted was for me to steal some sorta mysterious contract from his fellow Elder, the Collector. Seemed simple enough.”

“I have heard rumorsss of that contract,” the Badoon across the table said.

“Do tell,” Rocket said, curious to learn what the Badoon claimed to know.

“Information like that comesss with a cossst…” the Badoon said.

“’fraid all my credits are already in the pot,” Gambit replied.

“But I happen to have an extremely rare item from Earth,” Rocket chimed in, “something practically priceless!”

“Tell me more…” the Badoon demanded.

“It’s a completely authentic signed photograph of intergalactic pop sensation Luna Snow!” Rocket said, pulling out the glossy headshot. “Get your scaly hands on this, and you’ll be the envy of all your clutchmates!”

“Deal,” the Badoon said ecstatically , swiping the photo from Rocket’s hand while Rocket silently telling Gambit that he owed him another one. “It is sssaid the Collector acquired the contract from a red-ssskinned ssstranger, in exchange for unusssual contraption that looked like a pile of tangled pipesss. He ssseemed to be convinced that he wasss going to be able to profit greatly from the deal..”

“It’s like they say: One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” Rocket said. “But I’m more curious about the deal he made with Remy. What’d the Grandmaster promise ya in return, pal?”

“A pair of wedding rings,” Gambit answered, “forged from Chronovium. Plus, we’d get to use his Grand Garden as the final destination for our honeymoon.”

“You shoulda asked for way more,” Rocket said with a shrug. “That jerk’s got endless resources.”

“Maybe so,” Gambit said. “But this job ain’t about the money. This one’s for Rogue.”

With that, Gambit dealt one last card to the Kronan, who immediately slammed his hand down and stormed away. Rocket smirked and pushed all of his credits into the center of the table with his tiny hands.

“If this really is about Rogue,” Rocket asked, “then why are ya hidin’ the truth from her?”

“To protect her, of course,” Gambit said.

“And…?”

“And…” Gambit paused and took a deep breath, “…because she never woulda let me follow through with it if she knew what I was up to.”

“Bingo!” Rocket exclaimed. “Honestly, I’m a little surprised the Quiet Council let you blast off across the universe, what with everythin’ that’s been goin’ down on Krakoa.”

“They almost didn’t,” Gambit responded. “But I convinced them that our honeymoon could also be a diplomatic mission. Me and my girl would get the joy of travelin’ the galaxy together, but we’d also be plantin’ Krakoan gateways everywhere we stopped, to help Mutants who got lost in time and space find their way back home. You think I’d be in a dump like this during my honeymoon otherwise? We could’ve gone straight to the Grand Garden, but instead, we're here because Knowhere’s got high foot traffic an’ endless sources of information. Y’know, the best kinda place for findin’ people.””

“May not have been your first choice, but hey, everybody still wins,” Rocket said. “Well, except for this guy…”

Rocket revealed his cards, showing a perfect hand. The Badoon next to him realized he had lost the round and showed his fangs instead.

“Imposssible! You mussst have cheated!” snapped the Badoon.

“That’s quite an accusation,” Gambit said sternly. “If I were you, I’d hold my forked tongue.”

“I’d call on our godsss to punish you, mammalsss,” the Badoon replied, “but they have gone sssilent. Ssso I’ll jussst have to do it myssself!”

Before anyone could react, Rocket went flying backwards, hit point blank by an energy bolt from the barrel of the Badoon’s blaster, which the reptilian rogue had been concealing under the table.

“You’re next,” The Badoon growled at Gambit, flashing his sharp claws as he swiftly stood from his seat.

“Keep your hands to yourself, lézard,” Gambit yelled, “while Gambit deals you a final one!”

Gambit quickly grabbed a handful of credits from the table, using his Mutant power to charge them with kinetic energy. He rapidly released them in the direction of the angry Badoon. The explosion they unleashed sent the Badoon scurrying from Starlin’s in terror.

“That was a sweet deal…” Rocket moaned, “…but I think… it may be game over… for me…”

Gambit looked over and saw Rocket lying on the floor of the bar. The gaping blast wound he had suffered from the Badoon’s sneak attack looked far worse than Gambit had expected.

“Hit me right in an old wound…” Rocket said. “One I got back on Klyntar… Thought the dang thing was healin’… but not fast enough, I guess…”

“Don’ you fret, mon ami,” Gambit said. “You gonna live to play another day. You got my word.”

Gambit held one of the shimmering cards he had been dealing and began to charge it with energy as well. But the way it sparkled was unlike anything Rocket had ever seen before.

“What’re you…?” Rocket started to ask, not sure if he was hallucinating from the pain.

“These cards,” Gambit said, “they were a down payment from the Grandmaster. He says they were made from Chronovium. With the right kinda charge, they can do some serious damage… or, if you’re lucky, they can undo just as much…”

Gambit knew he wasn’t telling his friend the whole truth. He had conveniently left out the part about how the Grandmaster had used his Power Primordial to repair some damage to Gambit’s frontal lobe. The process unlocked a new ability to infuse objects with a non-explosive kinetic energy, kickstarting cellular regeneration in organic matter and enhancing healing capabilities. Gambit knew full well how Rocket felt about being subjected to someone else’s experiments, and neither of the heroes currently had the time or energy to debate ethics.

He may have been holding his tongue, but not his cards. Gambit flicked one directly at Rocket. The injured raccoon didn’t have the strength left to try to swipe it away. As it the card hit its target, Rocket was engulfed in an aura of energy. And when it finally faded, his wounds were gone!

“What the flark just happened?” Rocket asked, his hands frantically searching his body for any remaining traces of the damage he had incurred.

“I saved your life, homme,” Gambit said, grinning. “Now you owe me.”

Rocket sighed.

“And that means keeping my yap shut and not tellin’ Rogue about what you’re up to, don’t it?”

“You know me so well,” Gambit said.

“Fine,” Rocket replied, “you go have your perfect honeymoon in the Elders’ weird domain. But if you mess things up — which, let’s face it, you probably will — I get to be the first to say ‘I told you so!’ Deal?”

“Sounds fair to me,” Gambit agreed. “Now, how about we play another game, just you an’ me?”

Gambit pulled a single die from his pocket. Rocket instantly snatched it from Gambit’s hand and gave it closer look.

“Not so fast,” Rocket said. “I saw one of these back on Gameworld once. It’s a Chronovium Die. It’ll roll any number its owner wants. Where’d you get your hairless hands on one of — Oh. The Grandmaster. Right.”

“If I finish the job an’ steal that contract for him,” Gambit said, “he’s gonna turn this little beauty into Anna Marie’s new weddin’ ring.”

“Can’t get more special than that,” Rocket said, nodding with approval. “Maybe your heart is in the right place after all, Remy.”

“It won’t be for long,” a voice yelled from the doorway of the bar. “Not after I rip it out of your chest!”

Rocket and Gambit turned to see the Badoon that had fled earlier returning to the scene with several of his reptilian brethren. They looked ready for a brawl.

“Guess we’re playin’ another round after all,” Rocket mused as he reached under the table and drew his oversized ion cannon.

Gambit grabbed his staff and prepared to leap into action alongside his rodent ally. But just then, he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. He turned to find himself face-to-face with his wife, Rogue. And she did not look thrilled.

“Thought we were s’posed to be on our honeymoon, Remy,” she said, “but here you are, in the middle of the night, playin’ cards and gettin’ inta all sortsa trouble with this unsavory crew?!”

“I’m quite savory, thank you very much!” Rocket said, pretending to be insulted as he unleashed a volley of cannon fire at the approaching Badoon warriors. “And it ain’t your boy’s fault. I was the one who dragged Remy into this mess, Anna Marie. Wasn’t I, Cajun…?”

“Umm… oui…” Gambit hesitantly agreed. “It was all the raccoon’s doin’.”

“I expected better from you, Rocky,” Rogue said, shaking her head disapprovingly. “Remy on the other hand…”

“I’ll make it up to you, chère,” Gambit promised, “right after we deal with these jokers!”

“Leave these cold-blooded creeps to me,” Rogue said, rushing into the clutch of reptilian rabble-rousers and dispatching them with a few swift punches.

“That’s my girl!” Rocket said, cheering Rogue’s victory.

“Non, monsieur,” Gambit said, kissing the back of Rogue’s hand. “That is MY girl.”

“And if you want it to stay that way, Mr. LeBeau,” Rogue replied, “then we’d better hit the space highway before Rocky here can pull you into more of his shenanigans.”

“Oui, Madame LeBeau,” Gambit replied with a smile. “The Grand Garden awaits…”

As the happy couple exited Starlin’s Bar, Rocket desperately wanted to come clean and tell Rogue the whole truth. But he owed Gambit, and that meant giving him the chance to pull this off on his own terms. So instead, he called after his friends to wish them well… and to ask one small favor…

“You two kids be safe and have fun,” Rocket said, touching the healed wound with a strange look of nostalgia in his tiny eyes. “And if you happen to see a cute little otter named Lylla in the Collector’s menagerie, you tell her that Rocket’s comin’ to find her, okay?”

“Anythin’ for you, sugah,” Rogue called back.

“An’ anythin’ for love…” Gambit added.