Rogue gets into when sheruns into a certain assassin. Will this be the end of Rogue, or will someonecome to her rescue? Rogue and Gambit's"first meeting"? Well kind of. I hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter Five: Never Judge by First Appearances

Rogue walked the streets of New Orleans aimlessly but didn't know where she was going and nor did she care. Feeling the pangs of hunger start to creep up on her, she went looking for a place to eat. She turned down the next street and found a quaint little place and entered. It wasn't much to look at, but she sat down at one of the tables and picked up a menu.

It had been a long time since she had any real Cajun food, and she thought a big bowl of Jambalaya would hit the spot. The waiter came over promptly and took her order.

She just sat there for a while, taking in the atmosphere. It wasn't a class establishment, but it was clean, simply decorated, but there were no pictures on the walls and it was painted a drab yellow. She noticed some guys were sitting at the bar. One looked her way then turned back. He was saying something to one of his friends, but she couldn't hear what it was. Then laughter came out of all three of the guys. She wondered if they were laughing about her. If they were, she didn't care. All she wanted was to be left alone.

Soon her food came, and she dug in. She hadn't realized how hungry she really was until now and soon made short work of her meal, washing it down with a glass of iced tea. That's when one of the guys from the bar approached her table.

"Hey, sweet t'ing," he said, leaning his hand on her chair. Rogue didn't answer him, hoping he would just go away. "What? Can't talk?" Still she said nothing. This guy was making her nervous and in a bad way. "My name's Julien. What's yours?"

"None of your business," she said, as she wiped her face with a napkin.

"Ah, come on, chere, don' be like dat. I don' bite...not unless you want me to." He had a look in his eye and a smirk on his face that made her want to smash something heavy right into it.

"Would you just go away and leave me alone!" she shouted at him. Some guys just wouldn't take a hint, so she got up out of her chair in an attempt to leave when he grabbed her arm.

"Ain't no fille in dis town turn me down," Julien said, with a gleam in his eye that gave her an uneasy feeling. "Remember dat!"

She snatched her arm back, releasing herself from his grasp. She heard his buddies over at the bar laughing and making snide comments, but she just ignored them and went on her way.

She walked down several streets, not really paying attention to what was going on around her. She was so pissed off at that guy's idle threat. What was he going to do? He couldn't touch her, not without her powers kicking in, and something told her she didn't want that guy's thoughts swimming around in her head.

The sun had gone down hours ago making the sky unusually dark. Suddenly, Rogue was aware of every little sound, and the streets were barren that night. If she heard the sounds of people, cars or the usual noise of the city she wouldn't have been so paranoid of the somewhat deafening silence.

She turned down a side street when she felt that someone was following her. She kept going trying to ignore the feeling. Suddenly she heard a noise, like the click of metal. She turned looking around but saw nothing. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly and closed her eyes for just a second. Before she knew what was happening, she felt something or someone grab her from behind. She tried to scream but whoever grabbed her had gloves on. Damn, she couldn't even knock him out with her power.

She tried to scream, but her attacker's hand was so tight around her mouth she thought she would pass out. She struggled to get out of the embrace that held her, and with her legs free she rammed the back of her foot into her assailant's groin. She was freed momentarily and tried desperately to catch her breath. Stumbling to stay on her feet, she grabbed onto the side of the building looking back briefly to see her attacker. She quickly took off her glove as he raised his head to look her in the eye.

"You!" she said angrily. "How dare you attack me!"

"How dare you blow me off!" he shouted at her. It was Julien, that asshole from the dive restaurant. He quickly pinned her to the wall before she had a chance to react. "I'll show you what happens to filles dat reject me."

"Oh really, well, ah'll show ya what happens to losers who manhandle young women," she shouted at him while struggling to break free.

"Shut up!" he shouted and slapped her across the face. This only made her angrier, and with her legs free she kicked him in the midsection.

Julien fell to the ground writhing in pain. "Damn you," he said and grabbed her leg, making her lose her balance, and she fell to the ground. The butterfly necklace that rested round her neck came loose and fell off and made a faint sound as it hit a block of concrete. It landed a few feet away from her, but she could see it shining in the dim light the quarter moon gave that night. "You gonna pay for dat."

Rogue ignored Julien's words, and instead crawled the few feet to retrieve her most prized possession.

"Hey, Julien, ain't nobody tell you dat no way t'treat a belle femme?" Rogue heard the voice of a young man not much older than herself. She grabbed her now broken necklace and slipped it in her bag.

Rogue looked up to see a shadowed figure with glowing red orbs. The sight scared her more than being attacked by Julien, but she would fix that soon enough.

"Stay out a dis, LeBeau," Julien shouted, and grabbed Rogue once again holding her to the ground. She struggled to break free, but he was too strong.

"Let 'er go, now," he said, coming closer to them.

Rogue managed to get her ungloved hand free and touched Julien's face while he was distracted by the stranger. She hated to resort to using her powers, but he gave her no choice. Julien let out a yell before losing consciousness, and Rogue slid herself out from under him. All the while, she was trying desperately to catch her breath.

The stranger walked up to her and looked over where Julien lay. "Out cold," he said, and then drew his attention towards Rogue. She could see his face clearly now. He had a handsome, rugged face, but there still was a certain amount of gentleness. His red on black eyes were no longer frightening, more intriguing.

Ah know those eyes, she thought to herself, but she couldn't place where.

"You alright, chere?" he asked in a gentle voice. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, not really," she said as he helped her up. She noticed for the first time his black t-shirt and black leather pants and the worn old brown trench coat he wore. He looked like some kind of hood, but why would he try to help her? Well, unless he wanted the same exact thing from her that unconscious thug lying in the alleyway tried to get out of her. "What do you care?" she asked sharply, becoming defensive.

She had images running through her head, and she realized that guy was no ordinary thug. He was a trained killer.

"Just don't wanna see a belle femme like yourself become his next victim," he said. "So, you mind telling me what you done to him."

"Don't know what you're talkin' about," Rogue said, picking up her bag and attempting to flee the alley.

He grabbed her arm but gently. "I know you done somethin' to him," he said, his voice was insistent but not threatening. "You gonna make dis easy and tell me what it is?"

"Let go a me, Gambit," she said defiantly. Where did that name come from? She wondered, only one place, Julien's memories. So, he knew this guy. He looked at her surprised, which was no wonder to her.

"How you know dat name?" he asked, as she snatched her arm back. She walked swiftly away from him, but suddenly he was in front of her blocking her way. He was holding some kind of pole in his hands and twirled it twice before planting it in the sidewalk and leaning on it slightly.

"How did ya do that?" she asked.

"You got your secrets, chere, an' I got mine," he said and his words only made her angrier. She attempted to get away from him, but he matched her step to step.

"Would you go away and leave me alone?" she snapped, giving him her famous death stare. "Bad enough ah had one stalker tonight. Don't need another one."

"Non, Remy no stalker, just thought you need a bodyguard." His words made her roll her eyes. She was no delicate porcelain doll, and took offense at his implying that she was.

She looked up at him just then, fire in her emerald green eyes. "Ah can take care of myself, thank you."

"Don' look like it to me," he said, backing her up against one of the buildings she was attempting to pass. "Dat guy, Julien, I know what he was plannin' to do, but Remy don' be like dat. Dis a dangerous city. Not safe for femmes ta go walkin' alone."

"Like ah said," she said, pushing him away from her. "Ah can take care of myself."

She walked off a few feet away from him. She could hear his laughter in the distance. "Sure, you can," he said. She turned back for a second and realized that he had disappeared, but he was right about one thing. It was too late at night to be walking around, and she would have to find some place to stay.

To Be Continued...