Shard
'Is there a place waiting for me?
Somewhere that I belong
Or will I always live this way?
Always stray. . .'
Steve Conte - Stray
Something smooth and warm gently touched his cheek.
Kyle Gibney shot up like a rocket and assumed an attack posture, claws ready, lips drawn back in a fierce snarl.
And then he promptly fell on his backside, stunned. His green eyes widened in disbelief at the intruder in his cave.
The beautiful woman standing before him smiled, her dark skin contrasting against her golden hair. A large M was tattooed over her right eye. "It's good to see you again, Kyle." He didn't know how to respond to this incredible apparition.
"S-Shard? But, you're dead. . ." His voice was a hoarse whisper.
Shard was dead. Even when he had known her it was debatable whether or not she was even alive. She had existed only as a hologram, a shard of a woman from the future. Yet, she had been one of the few women in his life to treat Kyle with respect and kindness, to see beyond the beast. Her brother, Bishop, had been forced to convert her 'life force' into pure energy as a weapon to stop a sick, evil freak named Trevor Fitzroy. Shard was dead. Yet there she was, standing inside the cave Kyle and his pack called home.
Her smile widened, revealing perfect teeth, "Don't you remember Physics class? First Law of Thermodynamics. Energy and matter can be transformed, but it cannot be created or truly destroyed. I reformed. I became material. I'm honestly not sure how. . ."
Kyle hadn't completed high school, he'd been kicked out of his home before he learned anything about physics. But even he knew that this was something beyond science. He was speechless.
"I realized that the only person in the world besides Bishop I wanted to see was you." She reached out and put her hand in his, helping him up from where he had fallen. It was like a dream. Was it a dream? Outside of Wendigo he hadn't seen another person in months, and now he was seeing dead people. Keep it together Kyle. He told himself, The last thing you need is to go completely nuts.
Kyle's heart was pounding. Her scent was intoxicating, her beauty beyond compare.
He suddenly remembered that he was Naked.
Kyle turned bright red and pulled a fur from his 'bed' to cover himself as Shard giggled. "I think you look better without it." Kyle blushed even harder. After an awkward moment, Kyle managed to speak, "I'm. . . I'm glad you're alive, Shard. I missed you so much. You were so kind to me." He hadn't spoken English in a long time, and the words weren't easy, especially given the circumstances.
"And you to me."
Kyle began wrapping furs around his lower body, "H-how did you find me?" A stupid question, if she could come back from the dead, finding a feral mutant in the Canadian wilderness was no problem.
"I didn't. Cerebro found you. Even then you were pretty hard to track down."
Kyle didn't know whether to curse the fact that he couldn't escape notice anywhere in the world or be thankful that it had allowed Shard to find him.
A wolf licked Shard's hand. The Wolves. "How did you get past my wolves?"
"Again, Cerebro. They were psionically imprinted to me. They accept me as they accept you."
The thought of Shard running with the pack brought a timid smile from Kyle.
"How did you get here?" He'd heard no sounds of planes or choppers.
"Teleportation." She pointed to a device strapped to her left wrist. "So many questions." She chuckled, "I guess that's only natural, considering what happened."
"There was so much we did not get to say to one another," She continued, "Having been dead has made me reexamine my existence, this gift of life. Though this seems sudden, I recognize now that we must seize the time we have been given in this world. At the risk of sounding crass I feel a deep. . . Affection for you. And I think you feel the same, or at least, you did so while we worked together."
"I-I," The words caught in his throat. He didn't know what to say, yet, he could think of a million things he wanted to say. He had indeed held deep feelings toward her during their time in X-Factor, but his swiftly degenerating mental state and physical mutation had forced him to leave the team for their protection. And, of course, she had died. But they had made an excellent team in their time, and it was among Kyle's few fond memories of life among men.
But things were not the same as when they worked together in X-Factor. He had undergone many changes, most of them for the worse.
"Things have happened. While you were. . . Dead. Bad things. Things that I did." His eyes dropped to his clawed feet. If she had contact with The X-Men, she probably knew of his involvement with Weapon X. With the Neverland death camp. The guilt clenched at his heart like a vice.
"That wasn't you. The real Kyle Gibney is a good and gentle man. So many people have exploited you for so long, manipulated your mind. I can't blame you for what happened. . ."
"But I can." He said softly, "I'll see the faces of the people I killed every day for the rest of my life. That's why I came here, so that I couldn't hurt anyone else." He held up his hands, displaying long, sharp claws, "There are still people suffering because of these. People with terrible scars. People who lost family members."
"I've heard people say that feeling remorse is proof that you can be forgiven. And you've done everything in your power to fight the darkness." Shard's words were soft, comforting, "You weren't in your right mind when you did these things. You've suffered so much. Too much. You deserve so much better." She paused for a moment, "Kyle, I never really had the chance to tell you. . . That I love you."
The words struck him like a bolt of lightning. He had never in his wildest dreams expected any woman to say those three little words that meant everything in the universe to him. It had to be a trick. What woman could love him? She was probably Mystique playing one of her sick mind games. But she didn't smell like Mystique.
His face fell. "How could you love me? I'm so ugly. . ."
"You're not ugly! You're the most beautiful man I've ever known." She ran her hand down his right cheek, "Inside and out." She smiled, "Besides, I found out that Northstar was gay." She laughed, the cheerful sound echoing through the wolves' den.
Kyle couldn't help but laugh with her. Still, gay or not, Northstar was far better looking than he was. Even Wolverine was far better looking. . . "You're too hard on yourself." Shard interrupted his thoughts, "You came out here to embrace The Wild. Why can't you see the beauty of The Wild in yourself?"
She took his rough hand into hers. She didn't resist as he pulled her close and kissed her as he had never kissed anyone before. It was rough and honest and passionate and perfect.
He was dead. That had to be it. If this was Heaven, Shard would stay with him. If it was Hell, she would turn into some kind of demon to torment him. Probably a blue-scaled demon. . .
She didn't change, she just pulled him closer into that intoxicating embrace.
So this was Heaven after all. . .
The End.
Notes:
No, she's not Mystique or Mephisto, she's Shard. Kyle deserves a happy ending.
I love a happy ending.
I consider Wendigo a person. Mystique, however, is scum.
I sincerely hope it didn't mangle my physics too badly.
The lyrics from Stray are from the Wolf's Rain soundtrack and belong to Steve Conte, BONES and Alion International Records