"The Man Called Gambit"
by Andrew (Hades)

His past is a mystery. It could be said that no one on this earth knows the man. Even his closest friends know next to nothing about him. Though, in all fairness, he doesn?t know much more himself. Despite the shroud of secrets he bears with him, millions know of him. He is the greatest thief in the world, Remy LeBeau, the Man of Steal. Gambit. Today he is on a mission. But for who?

He was teleported into the shadowed tunnels beneath the Great Hall of the Shi?Ar Empire. He has no method of teleportation. He was sent there by the mysterious New Son, possibly the only one who has more secrets than LeBeau. Even the gender of the New Son remains unknown for a time. Eventually the New Son?s identity will finally be discovered, it?s only a matter of time. But for now...

Back to de mission. Gambit whispered from his position in the web-strewn and dusty corridor.

He looked up at the ceiling above him. The rock that was there was also the floor above. It was discolored, but not with age. Quite the opposite, in fact. The stone was new. Remy chuckled to himself.

On his last visit, Remy blew a whole threw the center of that floor big enough for an army to pass through. In fact, that's why he made the whole to begin with. The strain of charging that many tons of rock wore him out. He was pretty much useless for a few minutes. He wasn't worried, though. He wasn't going to try that maneuver again. He had a much more subtle approach in mind.

"Fast an' quiet." He mumbled in his thick accent, the "t" in "quiet" trailing off, making it sound like more like what you call a large group of singers than another word for silence.

He stood up from his crouched position and began walking. He pretty much remembered his way around from the last time. He wasn't far from the inlet cover that would grant him access to the palace above.

"Pro'lly won' even need de map." He decided.

The small corridor ran back farther "Gotta get in an' ou' wit'out bein' seen." He thought to himself as he rounded the corner. He scanned the ceiling carefully, looking for the dark metal cover.

"Dere it is!" He said, excited despite his normal stoic nature.

The light from his card glinted off something shiny. Security must have really beefed up because of the last encounter. The shiny object was a brand new lock, the likes of which Gambit had never seen. He quickly surveyed for security systems.

"Nothin' " He surmised, "but you can't never tell wit' aliens."

The alien technology of the lock yielded to Gambit's picking in under ten seconds. To a man of Gambit's profession that is an eternity.

"Eight." Gambit said, "Very impressive."

He slipped the cover back and slid his body up through the hole. He tensed as he waited for sirens and alarms to start wailing, announcing his presence to the world. It never happened. The manhole wasn't wired to any alarms. Maybe security wasn't as beefed up as he thought. He quickly surveyed his surroundings again. He was in a small room. The electric hum of some sort of machinery whined nearby. Maybe next door. This room, however, served only one purpose. To access the sewer system.

He walked over to the door and peered through the small slit that served as a window. He saw no one coming. He reached into one of his duster's pockets and produced a small mirror. He slid it under the lip of the door and checked everything. Still no one coming from either direction, one possible electric alarm on the door. In the small amount of time he had stood there, his leather duster had stopped dripping.

"Dis is too easy." He said.

He sent a small charge into the rock wall. The energy transferred from his hand to the stone in a gently glowing path. It exploded with a small and uneventful "whoomf" sound. The wall, however, was broken open, a bank of wires exposed. He bypassed the alien circuitry system with ease. The door slid open with gentle pneumatic wheeze. The Shi'Ar may have advanced technology, but their buildings bear a strong resemblance to castles. Ok, maybe high-tech castles.

"Way too easy." He said as he stepped into the corridor, right into the chest of the guardsman known as Titan. The startled size-shifter didn't recover from the shock as quickly as the thief. That is to say, he didn't recover at all. The card slid into Gambit's hand, it was charged, and then his hand was empty again. It was a motion he was all too familiar with. A sleight of hand better practiced than the most skilled magician. The card hit Titan's face with the explosive force of a flash grenade. He went to floor, out cold. Gambit quickly checked for a pulse.

"Good." He said, finding one.

The alien trooper was just as tough as Remy had hoped. The blast had knocked him flat instead of killing him. It was a gamble, sure, but what did you expect from a guy named "Gambit"? Besides, he reacted too fast to think about the consequences. All he knew is that he didn't want to be caught.

He dragged Titan's unconscious form into the access room and shut the door behind him.

"I jus' hope nobody comes lookin' for him." Gambit thought.

Titan was one of the members of the Imperial Guard, an elite group of aliens sworn to protect the throne of the Shi'Ar, and whoever sat upon it. Each of the super-powered aliens was a tough adversary. Together, they are near unbeatable. But near is a far cry from absolute, as Remy and his friends, the X-Men had proved on more than one occasion. Gambit had never gotten along well with Gladiator, the Imperial Guard's leader. Gladiator was the strongest and toughest of the Guard, he had immense strength and his skin is nearly invulnerable. He shoots beams from his eyes, when mad enough, and can blow out air strong enough to knock you around just by using his breath. Still, Gambit wasn't afraid of him. They had fought a few times before. Mostly the fights ended in stalemates. Mostly. The one definitive win belonged to Gambit. The big purple alien had charged at Remy, confident that Gambit was unable to harm him. That faith proved misplaced. Gambit hit him with a whole deck of fully charged cards. The ensuing explosion hit with the power of an A-bomb, minus the radiation. Mr. Mohawk didn't see the end of that fight, but if he had seen how funny his body looked twisted among the rubble, maybe he would've laughed. Right now, though, Gladiator was trouble Gambit didn't need. That would be true of all of the Imperials.

"Mebbe Titan is here alone." Gambit thought, but knew better. Where there was one, there was almost inevitably more.

"But what are they doing here?" He thought, knowing the answer.

They were here to protect whatever it is he was sent to steal. A showdown with the Guard would be inevitable.

"Great." Gambit thought, "jus' what I need."

To Be Continued...