Fic: The Poker Game
This is an offshoot of the Aces Immortal universe created by Ithildyn and strangevisitor7, introducing a few characters that are only there for this story before they go off again to save the world...
The Poker Game
by Ninjababe
"I don’t care who he is, Maude," Joe overheard. Looking up from pouring Methos a beer, he saw the prettier partner of Standish and Black walk in with one of his favorite femme fatales. A smirking, lanky redheaded man held the door for them.
"But, Charlotte, darling. Did you see his abs? My goodness, a girl could go wibbly over them!"
"He’s standing right behind you, Maude," Charlotte replied, rolling her eyes at the other woman’s antics.
"I don’t mind, mam’selle," the man interjected with a smirk.
Methos had half turned on his bar stool during the trio’s entrance into the room. "Maude, it’s so... lovely... to see you. And so soon after your last visit."
Maude smirked at the oldest immortal. "Adam, you look particularly... non-scruffy... today."
"Care to introduce me to your," Methos coughed, "friend?"
"Remy LeBeau, meet Adam Pierson and Joe Dawson," Charlotte introduced as she nodded towards each man. "Adam, Joe, Remy LeBeau, Maude’s current business partner."
"And, what... business is that?" Methos asked with raised eyebrows.
"Nothing much, darling, just a bit of acquisitions," Maude said airily, waving a hand negligently.
Charlotte sighed. "Those ‘acquisitions’ wouldn’t be the reason for your speedy withdrawal from Los Angeles, would it? After all, the last time you visited, you said that this area was staid and boring."
"I did absolutely nothing," Maude stated innocently. "And, I have heard, from a very reliable source, that there was going to be a poker game here tonight. I wouldn’t miss that for the world!"
"Did someone say one of my favorite words?" Tony Stark asked as he sauntered into the bar, Pepper trailing behind. "I love a good game of poker."
"Mr. Stark!" Maude perked up noticeably when the multi-billionaire entered the room. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Good evening, Miss Sanbourne," Tony replied as he kissed the back of her hand. "It is a pleasant surprise to find you here."
Maude smiled, "I heard of the delightful game this evening and had to see if I could deal in."
"She always did ignore everything else when the real money came into her sphere of influence," Methos grumbled before turning to Remy. "Sorry for that, but you may have just lost her."
"Remy don’ think so." LeBeau grinned, looking totally collected.
Tony startled at the sight of the redhead. "LeBeau!"
"Stark." Remy nodded in reply.
"You two know each other?" Maude asked, looking interested.
Tony nodded. "We’ve met... professionally."
"Really?" Maude looked pensive. "Interesting."
---
By the time Standish & Black had closed early, and the staff had cleared the establishment, Edward Sanbourne and Amanda Darieux had arrived to fill out the poker table.
Maude, her eyes bright in anticipation, sat primly in her seat and asked, "What are the stakes?"
"Matchsticks," Tony replied as he pulled an economy-sized box of matches out of his pocket.
Maude looked devastated. "Matchsticks?"
"Yes. It seems a bit unfair to play for money," Tony explained. "After all, I have so much, I could play until I’ve won, and not really care. But matchsticks? We only have a set amount!"
"Matchsticks? Not money?" Maude asked, her voice soft and sad.
"Of course we’re playing for money," Amanda exclaimed, giving Tony a soft glare. "It’s silly to play for matchsticks. Chocolate, on the other hand..."
"Money it is then!" Tony exclaimed, tossing the box of matches behind him. "What are the stakes?"
"Ow! Bub, watch where you’re throwing things!"
The room turned as one to see a stocky man with an unlit cigar clamped between his teeth.
"Logan," Remy stated, nodding his head. "They sent you to check up on me?"
"Yep," the man stated as he sauntered farther into the room. "Ororo was worried, and I wanted to get away from all of the rugrats."
Remy looked peeved. "Remy is fine."
"Logan, great to see you!" Tony said with a grin. "Join our poker game."
"Depends on the stakes. I like playing, but not in your league."
"Minimum bid is one dollar, maximum, ten dollars," Ezra interjected as he shuffled the deck.
"Ten dollars? That hardly seems... decent!" Maude exclaimed, looking scandalized over such small stakes.
"This way, we can play for a good long while," Amanda replied with a sultry grin.
-----
"Well, that’s interesting," Methos muttered.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow as she looked between the poker table and the man beside her. "Oh?"
"Just someone I’ve met in the past."
"And how is that interesting?" Joe interjected from where he had propped himself against the bar.
"I met him at least six decades ago, and he hasn’t aged a day."
"But, he isn’t immortal! I didn’t feel him!" Charlotte exclaimed softly. But, obviously not softly enough as the newcomer glanced over to the bar before returning to the card game in front of him.
-----
By hour two of the poker game, Ezra and Maude were in the lead, while the others were not doing so well. Amanda looked cheerful however, while the other men looked grim.
"Lighten up darlings!" Maude exclaimed with a grin.
"You can say that," Logan grumbled as he tossed his cards onto the table. "I’m taking a bar break."
He wandered to the bar and accepted the beer Joe handed him.
"So, is it Logan... or James?" Methos asked as Logan stared at his sealed beer bottle.
"You know me?" Logan asked with raised eyebrows.
Methos nodded. "Don’t you remember?"
"My memory is like Swiss cheese. But, things are slowly coming together. I remember you, vaguely."
"World War II?" Methos asked.
Logan shook his head. "One... You were a medic in the trenches and helped members of my platoon."
"Yes, that’s right," Methos replied with a nod.
"It’s just not possible!" Charlotte exclaimed from her seat next to Methos at the bar.
"I’ve seen some strange things in my life," Methos replied. "Including Logan here, healing totally from a gunshot wound to the heart. He didn’t die. Didn’t even stop. He just jerked, then walked it off."
"But... how?!?" Charlotte asked.
Logan smirked. "Mutant, darling. Healing factor, nearly unstoppable healing factor."
"Oh... I’ve never contemplated that," Charlotte pondered. "So, you’re at least a hundred years old, but have no real memory?"
"Not really, darlin’," Logan said with a shrug of his shoulders. "But, it’s slowly coming back. Bits and pieces actually."
Charlotte gave a decisive nod. "You need to come to dinner tomorrow night."
"What? He isn’t a stray for you to take in. He’s a grown man!" Methos exclaimed.
"A grown man that needs to eat," Charlotte replied staunchly. "He’s a nice young man that could use a good meal!"
Logan smiled and replied, "Thank you, but..."
"You’re coming... tomorrow night," Charlotte interjected. "I’ll make pot roast. And, a pie or two."
Charlotte’s voice had obviously traveled to the poker game as both Tony and Ezra both exclaimed, "Hey!"
Charlotte rolled her eyes and loudly said over Pepper’s giggles. "You both ate a pie each today. Stop it."
"You know they’ll never have enough pie," Piper said between giggles.
Charlotte groaned. "They are such... boys."
Logan shrugged. "Some men never grow up." With that, he caused one claw to appear on the back of his hand and used it to pull the cap off of his beer before taking a swig. Ignoring the wide-eyed looks of almost everyone in the room, he wandered back to the game.
"You have... claws... on the back of your hand?" Ezra asked with wide eyes.
Logan shrugged. "Yeah. Pretty indestructible too... Cuts through anything. Deal me in the next round."
"Um... Sure," Amanda replied.
A few rounds later, Tony was down to his last five dollars in cash. "Pepper!" he shouted to the bar. "Let me borrow twenty dollars."
"No," Pepper said with a snort.
"No? Why not?!"
Pepper shook her head. "I’m off the clock, and you ordered me to have fun. Giving you money isn’t fun. Find your own money."
Muttering to himself about tipsy women, Tony patted himself down again. A few moments later, Charlotte came over with a sigh and handed him a roll of money.
"Hey!" Remy exclaimed, "That be cheating!"
"Not really," Tony said with a grin. "Birdie always comes through for me."
"I owed him money from our last bet," Charlotte stated with a grin as she went back to the bar.
-----
An hour later, Tony folded his hand and suddenly exclaimed, "I want to be a cat burglar!"
The whole table blinked, paused, and continued to play.
"Why, mon ami?" Remy asked, confused.
"Because, it’ll be exciting!" Tony said with a manic grin.
"You’ll lose your company and most of your money through the courts," Pepper called out helpfully from the bar.
"Nah," Tony said, shaking his head. "I know of at least two people off the top of my head that could teach it to me," he glanced at Amanda and Remy. "And, I even have a great art gallery we can steal from for practice! If we get caught, I own it, so no worries!"
"No!" Charlotte shouted out. "Tony, if you do that, I will never let you eat my pie again!"
Laying her cards down, Amanda said, "Just a second."
Everyone stared as the female immortal ducked under the table. A few moments later, she righted herself in her chair. "I’m sorry, darling, you just don’t have the feet for it."
Tony pouted as he folded his hand. "But I want to learn."
"Sorry, mon ami," Remy stated. "If the grande femme says you don’t have what it takes, you don’."
Ezra crowed as he won big. "Thank you, my friends!"
Half of the table and the bar area stiffened and turned toward the entrance. A few moments later, Duncan McLeod entered the room, causing the people who stiffened all relaxed.
"So, this is where you are," Duncan said.
"Darling!" Amanda exclaimed. "How did you find us?"
Duncan shrugged. "You weren’t at my place. Charlotte’s place was empty. The next logical place to look was here."
Methos’s snort could be heard across the room. So could his muttering, "He was logical..."
Amanda threw her hand to the table. "I fold." She then left the table and pulled Duncan into a deep kiss. "I missed you, love."
"Me too," Duncan replied, with a grin.
"Let’s get out of here," Amanda said as she pulled Duncan across the room.
Ezra pouted. "What about the game?"
"I wouldn’t have won," Amanda said with a wave as she got to the door. "Take my money and make more with it. Ta ta, all!"
-----
Finally, the game came down to the final hand. Only Ezra and Maude remained. The rest had lost their ready cash and were watching mother and son duke it out.
The round ended with Maude winning, barely, with Aces high.
Maude was giddy at her success. Until she finished counting her winnings. "Eighty-five dollars?!"
"We only play small stakes in these games," Ezra reminded his mother with a smirk.
"Eighty-five dollars?!" Maude couldn’t get over how much she had won after many hours of work.
"Well, that was very entertaining," Methos said with a grin as he got off his bar stool and stretched. After helping Charlotte and Pepper off their stools, he continued, "Until next time..."
The End
Yes, I introduced more Marvel characters to the universe... Just because, having Gambit and Wolverine show up to play poker was too good to pass up...
Comments would be adored!
The Poker Game
by Ninjababe
"I don’t care who he is, Maude," Joe overheard. Looking up from pouring Methos a beer, he saw the prettier partner of Standish and Black walk in with one of his favorite femme fatales. A smirking, lanky redheaded man held the door for them.
"But, Charlotte, darling. Did you see his abs? My goodness, a girl could go wibbly over them!"
"He’s standing right behind you, Maude," Charlotte replied, rolling her eyes at the other woman’s antics.
"I don’t mind, mam’selle," the man interjected with a smirk.
Methos had half turned on his bar stool during the trio’s entrance into the room. "Maude, it’s so... lovely... to see you. And so soon after your last visit."
Maude smirked at the oldest immortal. "Adam, you look particularly... non-scruffy... today."
"Care to introduce me to your," Methos coughed, "friend?"
"Remy LeBeau, meet Adam Pierson and Joe Dawson," Charlotte introduced as she nodded towards each man. "Adam, Joe, Remy LeBeau, Maude’s current business partner."
"And, what... business is that?" Methos asked with raised eyebrows.
"Nothing much, darling, just a bit of acquisitions," Maude said airily, waving a hand negligently.
Charlotte sighed. "Those ‘acquisitions’ wouldn’t be the reason for your speedy withdrawal from Los Angeles, would it? After all, the last time you visited, you said that this area was staid and boring."
"I did absolutely nothing," Maude stated innocently. "And, I have heard, from a very reliable source, that there was going to be a poker game here tonight. I wouldn’t miss that for the world!"
"Did someone say one of my favorite words?" Tony Stark asked as he sauntered into the bar, Pepper trailing behind. "I love a good game of poker."
"Mr. Stark!" Maude perked up noticeably when the multi-billionaire entered the room. "Fancy meeting you here."
"Good evening, Miss Sanbourne," Tony replied as he kissed the back of her hand. "It is a pleasant surprise to find you here."
Maude smiled, "I heard of the delightful game this evening and had to see if I could deal in."
"She always did ignore everything else when the real money came into her sphere of influence," Methos grumbled before turning to Remy. "Sorry for that, but you may have just lost her."
"Remy don’ think so." LeBeau grinned, looking totally collected.
Tony startled at the sight of the redhead. "LeBeau!"
"Stark." Remy nodded in reply.
"You two know each other?" Maude asked, looking interested.
Tony nodded. "We’ve met... professionally."
"Really?" Maude looked pensive. "Interesting."
---
By the time Standish & Black had closed early, and the staff had cleared the establishment, Edward Sanbourne and Amanda Darieux had arrived to fill out the poker table.
Maude, her eyes bright in anticipation, sat primly in her seat and asked, "What are the stakes?"
"Matchsticks," Tony replied as he pulled an economy-sized box of matches out of his pocket.
Maude looked devastated. "Matchsticks?"
"Yes. It seems a bit unfair to play for money," Tony explained. "After all, I have so much, I could play until I’ve won, and not really care. But matchsticks? We only have a set amount!"
"Matchsticks? Not money?" Maude asked, her voice soft and sad.
"Of course we’re playing for money," Amanda exclaimed, giving Tony a soft glare. "It’s silly to play for matchsticks. Chocolate, on the other hand..."
"Money it is then!" Tony exclaimed, tossing the box of matches behind him. "What are the stakes?"
"Ow! Bub, watch where you’re throwing things!"
The room turned as one to see a stocky man with an unlit cigar clamped between his teeth.
"Logan," Remy stated, nodding his head. "They sent you to check up on me?"
"Yep," the man stated as he sauntered farther into the room. "Ororo was worried, and I wanted to get away from all of the rugrats."
Remy looked peeved. "Remy is fine."
"Logan, great to see you!" Tony said with a grin. "Join our poker game."
"Depends on the stakes. I like playing, but not in your league."
"Minimum bid is one dollar, maximum, ten dollars," Ezra interjected as he shuffled the deck.
"Ten dollars? That hardly seems... decent!" Maude exclaimed, looking scandalized over such small stakes.
"This way, we can play for a good long while," Amanda replied with a sultry grin.
-----
"Well, that’s interesting," Methos muttered.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow as she looked between the poker table and the man beside her. "Oh?"
"Just someone I’ve met in the past."
"And how is that interesting?" Joe interjected from where he had propped himself against the bar.
"I met him at least six decades ago, and he hasn’t aged a day."
"But, he isn’t immortal! I didn’t feel him!" Charlotte exclaimed softly. But, obviously not softly enough as the newcomer glanced over to the bar before returning to the card game in front of him.
-----
By hour two of the poker game, Ezra and Maude were in the lead, while the others were not doing so well. Amanda looked cheerful however, while the other men looked grim.
"Lighten up darlings!" Maude exclaimed with a grin.
"You can say that," Logan grumbled as he tossed his cards onto the table. "I’m taking a bar break."
He wandered to the bar and accepted the beer Joe handed him.
"So, is it Logan... or James?" Methos asked as Logan stared at his sealed beer bottle.
"You know me?" Logan asked with raised eyebrows.
Methos nodded. "Don’t you remember?"
"My memory is like Swiss cheese. But, things are slowly coming together. I remember you, vaguely."
"World War II?" Methos asked.
Logan shook his head. "One... You were a medic in the trenches and helped members of my platoon."
"Yes, that’s right," Methos replied with a nod.
"It’s just not possible!" Charlotte exclaimed from her seat next to Methos at the bar.
"I’ve seen some strange things in my life," Methos replied. "Including Logan here, healing totally from a gunshot wound to the heart. He didn’t die. Didn’t even stop. He just jerked, then walked it off."
"But... how?!?" Charlotte asked.
Logan smirked. "Mutant, darling. Healing factor, nearly unstoppable healing factor."
"Oh... I’ve never contemplated that," Charlotte pondered. "So, you’re at least a hundred years old, but have no real memory?"
"Not really, darlin’," Logan said with a shrug of his shoulders. "But, it’s slowly coming back. Bits and pieces actually."
Charlotte gave a decisive nod. "You need to come to dinner tomorrow night."
"What? He isn’t a stray for you to take in. He’s a grown man!" Methos exclaimed.
"A grown man that needs to eat," Charlotte replied staunchly. "He’s a nice young man that could use a good meal!"
Logan smiled and replied, "Thank you, but..."
"You’re coming... tomorrow night," Charlotte interjected. "I’ll make pot roast. And, a pie or two."
Charlotte’s voice had obviously traveled to the poker game as both Tony and Ezra both exclaimed, "Hey!"
Charlotte rolled her eyes and loudly said over Pepper’s giggles. "You both ate a pie each today. Stop it."
"You know they’ll never have enough pie," Piper said between giggles.
Charlotte groaned. "They are such... boys."
Logan shrugged. "Some men never grow up." With that, he caused one claw to appear on the back of his hand and used it to pull the cap off of his beer before taking a swig. Ignoring the wide-eyed looks of almost everyone in the room, he wandered back to the game.
"You have... claws... on the back of your hand?" Ezra asked with wide eyes.
Logan shrugged. "Yeah. Pretty indestructible too... Cuts through anything. Deal me in the next round."
"Um... Sure," Amanda replied.
A few rounds later, Tony was down to his last five dollars in cash. "Pepper!" he shouted to the bar. "Let me borrow twenty dollars."
"No," Pepper said with a snort.
"No? Why not?!"
Pepper shook her head. "I’m off the clock, and you ordered me to have fun. Giving you money isn’t fun. Find your own money."
Muttering to himself about tipsy women, Tony patted himself down again. A few moments later, Charlotte came over with a sigh and handed him a roll of money.
"Hey!" Remy exclaimed, "That be cheating!"
"Not really," Tony said with a grin. "Birdie always comes through for me."
"I owed him money from our last bet," Charlotte stated with a grin as she went back to the bar.
-----
An hour later, Tony folded his hand and suddenly exclaimed, "I want to be a cat burglar!"
The whole table blinked, paused, and continued to play.
"Why, mon ami?" Remy asked, confused.
"Because, it’ll be exciting!" Tony said with a manic grin.
"You’ll lose your company and most of your money through the courts," Pepper called out helpfully from the bar.
"Nah," Tony said, shaking his head. "I know of at least two people off the top of my head that could teach it to me," he glanced at Amanda and Remy. "And, I even have a great art gallery we can steal from for practice! If we get caught, I own it, so no worries!"
"No!" Charlotte shouted out. "Tony, if you do that, I will never let you eat my pie again!"
Laying her cards down, Amanda said, "Just a second."
Everyone stared as the female immortal ducked under the table. A few moments later, she righted herself in her chair. "I’m sorry, darling, you just don’t have the feet for it."
Tony pouted as he folded his hand. "But I want to learn."
"Sorry, mon ami," Remy stated. "If the grande femme says you don’t have what it takes, you don’."
Ezra crowed as he won big. "Thank you, my friends!"
Half of the table and the bar area stiffened and turned toward the entrance. A few moments later, Duncan McLeod entered the room, causing the people who stiffened all relaxed.
"So, this is where you are," Duncan said.
"Darling!" Amanda exclaimed. "How did you find us?"
Duncan shrugged. "You weren’t at my place. Charlotte’s place was empty. The next logical place to look was here."
Methos’s snort could be heard across the room. So could his muttering, "He was logical..."
Amanda threw her hand to the table. "I fold." She then left the table and pulled Duncan into a deep kiss. "I missed you, love."
"Me too," Duncan replied, with a grin.
"Let’s get out of here," Amanda said as she pulled Duncan across the room.
Ezra pouted. "What about the game?"
"I wouldn’t have won," Amanda said with a wave as she got to the door. "Take my money and make more with it. Ta ta, all!"
-----
Finally, the game came down to the final hand. Only Ezra and Maude remained. The rest had lost their ready cash and were watching mother and son duke it out.
The round ended with Maude winning, barely, with Aces high.
Maude was giddy at her success. Until she finished counting her winnings. "Eighty-five dollars?!"
"We only play small stakes in these games," Ezra reminded his mother with a smirk.
"Eighty-five dollars?!" Maude couldn’t get over how much she had won after many hours of work.
"Well, that was very entertaining," Methos said with a grin as he got off his bar stool and stretched. After helping Charlotte and Pepper off their stools, he continued, "Until next time..."
The End
Yes, I introduced more Marvel characters to the universe... Just because, having Gambit and Wolverine show up to play poker was too good to pass up...
Comments would be adored!