Stars: Rogue and Gambit
Appears: Xavier, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Pyro
Cameos: Multiple, Magma, Berzerker, Iceman, Cannonball

Summary

Rogue has visions of a huge stone Mystique shattering and dropping her from a massive height above the city. She comes to where Xavier is helping her "deal with her mother's betrayal". He tells her it takes time, she says she needs to get away from it all.

On the way to school she runs into Kurt who is acting distant. She apologizes for pushing Mystique off of the cliff. Kurt walks away. Rogue turns to leave school and ends up running into Gambit. He drugs her with some sleeping gas before she can fight back. She wakes up later on a train all tied up. Gambit tells her he's helping her get free.

After school Kurt realizes that Rogue is missing and raises the alarm. Logan goes around sniffing and catches Gambit's scent. At the Acolytes base, Pyro is sitting alone watching a tape of Magneto imploding over and over as he laughs like a maniac. Logan shows up and they fight. When Logan roughs Pyro up a bit he finally tells him that the Acolytes have pretty much broken up. Colossus has gone back to Russia and he doesn't know where Sabertooth or Gambit are. When Logan leaves, Pyro goes back to watching his tape.

Gambit and Rogue talk and he tells her if she's ready to let him help her he'll untie her. She agrees, but when he does she jumps him and they fight. He tells her to absorb his memories and she'll find out that he doesn't mean her any harm, but she pulls away saying she doesn't want him in her head.

Xavier tracks the two heading south and the X-Men take off to follow them. Rogue and Gambit make it to New Orleans' and it happens to be during Mardi Gras. They eat in a little jazz club where they run into some of Gambit's old acquaintances. They get into a fight and Rogue ends up absorbing Julien. She finds out that Gambit is a member of the Thieves Guild and that Julien is a member of a rival gang called the Rippers. The Rippers have kidnapped Gambit's father and are holding him in their base in Bloodmoon Bayou.

The X-Men show up at Mardi Gras, but the miss Rogue and Gambit. Rogue offers to help Gambit, saying she can show him where they're holding his father. They go by boat and on the way they talk about what lousy parents they had and how much they have in common.

As they're sneaking up to the house, Rogue accidentally touches Gambit and realizes that he's been using her all along. She gets mad and stalks off. Gambit heads in and saves his father, who it turns out is really not a nice guy. Rogue returns to help them after all. With the memories she absorbed from some more Rippers she leads them out of the house where they meet up with the X-Men.

They all take off by boat with some of the Rippers following. A chase ensues. Most of the boats are wrecked along the way and when Rogue is dumped in the water and almost attacked by an alligator, Kurt saves her. Gambit takes out the last Ripper boat by charging it from the water.

When Gambit climbs to shore, Logan jerks him up and is going to dice him. Rogue stops him and tells Gambit she's going back with the X-Men. He gives her his lucky Queen of Hearts card and leaves with his father. Kurt asks Rogue is she's okay and she says yes as he leads her away with the X-Men.