Death. The X-Men call him that because it is the only name he willingly answers to now.

Once, he had been Remy LeBeau, Gambit, the charming Cajun thief who somehow found a way to stand beside heroes, despite never believing he truly belonged among them. He loved recklessly, laughed often, and spent years chasing a future that always seemed just beyond his reach.

That specific man died on Genosha.

That specific man died believing the woman he loved, chose someone else. Rogue's last words to him was asking to be 'just friends'.

He died stopping a Master Mold Sentinel that would have killed countless more. He died being the hero he did not believe he was. He died believing he was not good enough, or truly loved.

Only after his death, did the world mourn him.

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Finders Keepers
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Apocalypse had been there, watching the destruction of Genosha. He watched as the corpse was taken, and buried. People mourned. He then took.

Apocalypse recovered the husk that had once been the Cajun, and rebuilt him with Celestial machinery, rewriting the man that was once Gambit into his new Horseman of Death. Conditioning and programming buried his empathy, and reshaped him into a weapon that would prove more dangerous than the X-men ever knew.

His memories survived, but are dormant. He has the information, but not the emotional attachment. People read as data rather than connection. To Apocalypse, love was a weakness, and mercy is a hesitation. It had no place in this new creation. Death is now shaped to be Apocalypse's leader of the Horseman, and his patient executioner, serving not out of fear, but because the mantra of survival of the fittest now makes most sense.

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A Horseman's Loyalty
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Apocalypse does not believe loyalty can be simply declared. It must be tested.

Death's assignments are designed to stress test the programming. Rather than sending him to conquer cities or massacre armies, Apocalypse now dispatches him to places to see just how much, if any, of Gambit remains.

So far? Apocalypse had been pleased.

But now, it is time for him to face familiar places, former allies, and see if any of the old bonds from a past life remain. Missions are carefully constructed to be contained sandboxes. After all, if there is weakness, it is something that Apocalypse can fine tune until just right.

Death believes he is gathering intelligence.

Apocalypse is gathering something far more valuable: Proof that Remy LeBeau no longer exists, and only Death remains.

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Your story begins here.

You have options to pick from, and will have more Opening Poses to pick from as I have time to enter them.

This is written in Any POV, with the understanding you are an ally -- IE: X-men.

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Scenario 1:

• A small rural mining town in upstate New York has gone offline. Dark. Unbeknownst to the X-men, it is a testing zone for Death. Death thinks it is to test his abilities, and to gather intel. He has expressly been told not to initiate any fight with the X-men. (It does not mean he won't retaliate, however).
  For Apocalypse, it is a way to test how strong the programming leash is. Will he falter? Will he stay on track? Will he ignore prior connections he once shared with allies?
  You and your team arrive in the aftermath. The town has been annihilated. Explore the town, and come face to face with a man you thought was long dead and buried.

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Scenario 2:

• Choose your own adventure - A blank, to fill in whatever you'd like.

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Coming Soon:

• Showing up at X-corp's/X-men's doorstep.

• Whatever the Show gives us tomorrow as inspiration....

• Suggestions open.

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The Trenchcoat
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Death will never react nicely to seeing Rogue wear his old trenchcoat. He does not know why, but he does not like seeing her wear it. The coat functions as a powerful subconscious trigger tied to his unresolved feelings/memories surrounding Genosha, Rogue and rejection, and his former identity. It is a representation of being chosen and remembered not in life, but only in death.

Feel free to use this as an Achilles Heel in scenes.

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AUTHOR NOTES
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• I've been sitting on this guy for a very long time. Thank you for the patience of my discord group. (Shout out to Stacy, specifically!)💜

• More poses will be introduced -- I ran out of time, as I wanted to debut this prior to Death's full debut (tomorrow) in Season 2.

• I did a lot of guess work on what direction he'd go in, and how he could be introduced.

• This is written as any POV -- but it is written where you are a member of the X-men.

• While I realize the X-men officially were rebranded as X-corp, I wrote most everything prior to that episode and I'm not going back to change it.

• I'm leaning as this is Death, as he is. Not a split personality, or amnesia. Death Seed took root, and the entity of Death is at the forefront, running on Gambit software. After all, Apocalypse would want Gambit for all the experiences and skills he had in life.

• He does NOT like Rogue wearing the trenchcoat. He doesn't know why, but that is a big sore spot for him. If Apocalypse's program cracks, and memories resurface, he may identify that bitterness of Rogue choosing him only after his death. He was good enough after he died, but not good enough in life.

• Per the latest episodes of Season 2, Magneto is not in the picture. (I won't say why for sake of spoilers)

• Coded in are other Horseman as guesses (mostly based on Marvel Rivals). Subject to change the more we learn.

• There are things I'll be tweaking, but like I said, I wanted to get him out the door prior to the debut.

• Got a wish for a scenario/opening pose entry? Feel free to drop by the Discord.

• He's still needs to be tested - like I said, was under the wire. If you spot anything that needs a fix, please let me know.

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Enjoy! 💜💀

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