`General Information

Codename:Gambit
Name: Remy Lebeau
Nickname(s)?: Cajun, Thief, Gumbo, Swamp Rat, le Diable Blanc
Alias(es)?: Robert Lord
Birth date: August first, 1980
Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana
Age: 28
Immediate Family:Jean-Luc LeBeau (foster father, deceased), Henri LeBeau (foster brother, deceased),



`Identifying Features

Height: 6'2
Weight: 179 lb.
Hair Color: Brown--darker in winter, and more red in the summer
Eye Color:Red irises, black sclera.
Special Features: See above.

`The Powers

Power(s) description:

He can change the potential energy inside an object into kinetic energy, causing the thing to explode. This ability is activated by touch, though with practice he may be able to 'charge' an object simply by looking at it. This ability to manipulate energy gives him incredible amounts of stamina, enabling him to keep fighting for a long time with less fatigue than might be expected. He is also skilled with throwing weapons--small knives, darts, playing cards, that kind of thing--and in hand-to-hand combat with his telascopic bo staff. He is also possessed of a very subtle hypnotic charm that causes the weak-minded to be attracted to him, and more agreeable to what he says or suggests. This same ability also grants him the protection of a 'static' barrier around his mind, barring access by all but the very strongest of telepaths. All others will encounter a very unpleasant 'feedback' that generally discourages further prying

Power Flaws: As of now, Gambit must touch the object he wishes to charge, and it must be solid, nonliving tissue. (He may be able to charge living flesh, and possibly just by looking at it, with a few years of practice.) Larger or denser objects take longer to charge, and are more tiring for him. He is granted no protection from his own explosive power, either--should he happen to be distracted, and detonate an item without letting go of it he'll wind up missing fingers. He has no physical protection from...well, anything, really. If you're quick enough to hit him, you can beat him to a pulp fairly handily. Also, stronger minds are immune to his charms. His eyes must be hidden by sunglasses when he is out among humans, as their color tends to horrify civilians and outs him immediately as a mutant.





`The Psyche and The Past

Likes(please include a color):

The color red, Rogue, teasing Storm, picking fights with Wolverine, gambling, alcohol, women, driving fast, basketball, pool, showing off, money.

Dislikes:

Losing at anything, not being trusted or taken seriously, being shot down by women, hangovers, being reminded of his past transgressions, the fact that he had to give up smoking.

Fears:

Being the cause, even unwittingly, of mass slaughter a second time; the extermination of all mutantkind, losing someone he cares about.

Strengths:

His mental shield makes it impossible for his mind to be read, thus making it impossible for someone to know what he's planning and react accordingly. He also, shamefully enough, has some insight into how criminals think, given that prior to joining the X-men he made his living as a thief. He's also good at thinking on his feet, and can talk his way out of just about any situation. He can also play possum if need be; he is not too proud to appear injured--or even be injured--if he knows he can turn it to his advantage. People tend to underestimate him, which can be a lethal mistake on their part.

Weaknesses:

He tends to act without thinking when the issue at hand involves one of his loved ones. Also, he prefers to just go ahead and do things, not wanting to confront others about them. Tends to be more secretive than his teammates like.

Ambitions?:

To find out who he really is, to be able to have a relationship with Rogue, to help the Professor's Dream be realized.

Personality:

He tends to come across as overly confident, even cocky, and in many ways he is--but also it is a ruse to make enemies underestimate him. He lives by the rule of 'never lose your cool'--never appear to be thrown off-guard or surprised by anthing, simply by virtue of having thought two or three steps ahead. He is a keen watcher of people, and very clever at manipulating them. If he can, he'd much rather touch all the right buttons to drive his opponent into a self-destuctive rage than have to finish them off himself. Around women, he is all charm and smooth-tongued as Eden's serpent. Chivalry is not dead with him, either--he abhors violence against women and children; that is one of the surest ways to make him angry.

Like anyone, though, he has his doubts and weaknesses. sometimes he is prey to depression, primarily due to guilt about his past, the fact that the woman he loves, he can never even kiss. He fears deeply being rejected, as he apparently was by his birth parents many long years ago. If they could not find it in their heart to love their son, how in God's name can he expect the same froma stranger? Sometimes he wonders if he has any intrinsic worth at all. He has issues with trust--incidents from his past left him somewhat leery of outsiders. He also has problems opening up to people--he's been burned in the past by those he should have been able to trust.



History:

The child who would be called Remy Etienne Lebeau was found abandoned at three days old, on the steps of a hospital in downtown New Orleans. The security camera tape of that night has long since been destroyed, so no one knows who brought him there or why his parents left him, though it is strongly suspected that it was due to his obvious mutation--his horrifying red-on-black eyes. He was taken in by the pediatric nursing staff and cared for, with a view to adopting him out when he was old enough. Having got wind of the arrival of a child with red eyes, however, the Patriarch of the New Orleans chapter of the Thieves' Guild ordered him kidnapped and brought to their headquarters, to be given over to the care of the Antiquary, an ancient Guild magician and historian.

Jean-Luc Lebeau, the patriarch, seeing how the Antiquary treated the child as just another treasure--and part of a collection of children, to boot--had the baby stolen back from the possible pedophile and placed in the care of a small band of thieves headed by Fagan, an outcast of the Guild. They raised little Remy, and taught him to steal and fend for himself. When Remy was eight years old, he met his first love, Belladonna Boudreux; daughter of the patriarch of the Assassin's Guild. They only grew closer with time--fortuitous, as at eighteen they were to be married in an effort to unite the warring Guilds. At ten, Remy tried to pick the pocket of Jean Luc himself, but was caught. The man was so impressed with his skill--and recognized the boy by his distinctive eye-color--that he adopted Remy into his own family. Remy's powers manifested in his early teens, though he tried to hide them from his human family.

At fifteen, he and his 'cousin' Etienne had their ritual initiation test into the Thieves' Guild. They were assigned to steal from a mutant named Candra--she captured them, and sold them to a child-slave trader called the Pig, who planned to sell them as soldiers. Remy used his powers to escape, but Pig caught them. Gambit then discovered what would become his signature attack--he picked up and charged a playing card Etienne had dropped, and hucked it at Pig, taking an eye out. He escaped from the headquarters by diving into the sea; he was rescued by the Guild, but his cousin drowned.

Later on in the predicted attempt to unify the Guilds, he married Belladonna Boudreaux, the granddaughter of the Assassins' Guild's then-patriarch. After the wedding, however, he was challenged by Belladonna's brother Julian to a duel for her honor. He killed Julian in self-defense, and in the interest of preserving the newfound peace was exiled from New Orleans.

From there Gambit wandered the world, making his way as a master thief. Eventually he found his power was too great for him to control. He sought out a mutant called Mister Sinister for help. Sinister surgically modified Gambit's power, decreasing it significantly by bringing it to a manageable (but still considerable) level. In exchange, Gambit was to run various missions for Sinister, one of these being what would come to be known as the Morlock--or Mutant--Massacre.

For this mission,Gambit led a group of mutants into the sewer-tunnels under New York, the goal--apparently unbeknown to him--being to eliminate a group of disfigured mutants called Morlocks. He was unable to stop the slaughter, but did succeed in saving the life of a single small girl, a Morlock called Sarah, who would later become Marrow, the leader of the mutant terrorist group Gene Nation.

Not long after, he encountered Storm, age-regressed and essentially helpless, and helped her escape the Shadow King. He then saved her from Nanny and the Orphan-Maker, helping her fend them off. She in turn brought him to the Institute and sponsored his joining the team. He has been a proud X-man ever since.






`The Audition

Sample Post:

Ah, another mission. There was simply nothing better than the adrenaline rush that came with leaping out of the Blackbird, landing among chaos and screaming, humans crying and running and throwing things in various directions. Danger, mmm, the greatest high in the world.

Almost as good as nicotine.

There, the plane was hovering, the hatch descending, and already cries of terror could be heard. Ugly roars from what must be their enemy filtered through the smoke--fire? No, better--explosions.

Already the other X-Men were galvanized, Cyclops leading the charge into the fray and firing optic-blasts ahead to hopefully clear the way. Storm swept in behind them, clearing the air with gusts of wind. Gambit fished into his pocket for a card. Ha, the Queen of Hearts. Lucky. It took only seconds to charge it up, and run to flank the others.

"'Ey! Why'd ya start d'party widdout us, mon ami?," the Cajun called, hurling the paper projectile toward the leader of the two troublemakers--some sort of hideous reptilian beast thing. Oddly enough it was somehow bipedal, and had ordinary humanoid hands terminating in inward-twisted claws. It turned its misshapen head toward him in response, crocodilian jaws opening to hiss in anger. It wasn't quick enough to dodge his calling-card, though--the card struck it in the jaw, tearing bloody gouges across its face. Panicked and now half-blind, the thing soon fell victim to Wolverine's claws and Storm's lightning strikes. Gambit, Rogue and Cyclops set off after the other, who had made a beeline for a nearby fence. Just a tap of Cyclops' visor had the poor mutie howling in pain as the laser burned his hands, making him drop the fence and tumble to the ground. The other three were on him quickly. Gambit was about to haul him upright, when the boy whipped around and slashed at him with a concealed blade-thing. A stinger? Yes; it came from under the boy's shorts; it was the tail of a scorpion! He whipped out at them with it again, but this time Gambit was ready. Bo-staff in hand and extended, he pinned the tail harmlessly aside as Rogue drained away the boy's energy, rendering him docile and harmless. Whew--now just to get the kid loaded back into the Blackbird and home to the school for examination and questioning. All in a day's work for the X-Men.



Code Phrase(hint; Creating a Character): Never let anyone bring you down.



`The Player

Player Alias: Maiya, or Emma; whatever you like to call me.
Member Age: 21
Why do you like x-men?: C'mon, what lonely outsider kid hasn't sometimes dreamed of having way-awesome superpowers?