Ororo Munroe was asleep, of that much she was certain. But if that was so,
why did everything feel so real?
In her dream state, she was standing in the throne room of the Starlight Citadel, about to be addressed by the ruler of this wondrous place... and all places for that matter; the Supreme Guardian of the Omniverse, an immortal known only as Roma.
No matter how many times she was here, Ororo thought that she would never get over how big the room seemed. It was probably the only place in any dimension that actually was larger on the inside.
Roma cleared her throat and Ororo's attention was immediately placed back on her hostess. She was a pretty woman, by current Earth standards, who appeared to be in her early twenties with dark eyes and waist-length black hair that was almost always pulled back in a ponytail, revealing her pointed ears. Although, to compare her to earth women would have been a greater insult than telling someone they were fat. Today the Supreme Guardian was outfitted in long black robes with gold trim, accenting her pale skin.
"Ororo Munroe, do you know why you were brought before me today?" she asked.
"Actually, Roma, I do not." Storm answered truthfully.
Before Roma could explain, though, another woman, equally as beautiful entered the chamber. She was dressed in flowing white robes, as she had been on any other occasion the X-man had seen her. She had white, shoulder- length hair and was the picture of professionalism. Her official title was Omniversal Majestrix, which meant that she was responsible for maintaining order throughout all dimensional planes, and she was Roma's right-hand man, so to speak. She was addressed as Her Whyness. Her name was Opal Luna Saturnyne.
Ororo, and just about everyone else in the room, bowed as she came into the room, the Captain Britain Corps she kept as guards falling into the background.
She motioned for them to them to get up and she, in turn, dropped to her knee, bowing, to superior before coming back to a up-right position.
"You summoned me, m'lady?" she asked.
"Yes, Saturnyne. This is Ororo Munroe of Earth 616, I believe you've met?" Roma introduced, gesturing at the weather-witch. Saturnyne nodded. "Excellent. Then I trust you will accompany me in showing her a few things that should occur on her world?"
Saturnyne looked at Roma with a face of shock. Obviously, the Supreme Guardian's lieutenant was had not been aware of her boss's intentions.
"If I may remind the Supreme Guardian," she started, "that prior attempts to move a planet forward of this sort have almost always resulted in the being losing their sanity and only manages to worsen the situation."
"I am aware of that, Saturnyne, but I believe that she can handle it."
"Excuse me, Your Majesty?" Ororo interrupted. "But may I ask what you're talking about?"
"M'lady wishes to show you what your future is supposed to look like." The Majestrix answered in a flat tone.
"Oh." Storm fell silent.
"Come," Roma motioned for the two white-haired ladies to follow her. Saturnyne stayed by her side and Ororo trailed behind. They traveled into a room that the X-man had never been into and let the door slide shut behind them.
The Supreme Guardian motioned at something on the wall. Sighing, Saturnyne complied and went about typing 'Earth 616' into a panel keyboard.
"May I ask what Your Whyness is doing?" the dark skinned mutant asked.
"I'm bringing up your world," Saturnyne replied, then once again turning to Roma, "Are you sure about this, Roma?"
She nodded. "I am, my friend. If she shows signs of not being about to handle this we can always shut it down, but I am confident that my trust in her is not misplaced." Saturnyne hit a final button and the room in which they stood fell into darkness. "2010." Roma commanded.
As soon as she had spoken the word, the room around them transformed from blackness to the living room of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, Ororo's long-time home. Around the room sat the young men and women Ororo had come to think of as family.
Jean and Scott, her first students, were seated on a couch next to Rogue and Gambit on a couch. In Scott's arms was a small red-haired girl, maybe two or three at the oldest. Likewise, Rogue and Remy each held a baby, the one in his arms was dressed in a green dress and the one in hers was in green overalls. Probably twins about 15 months old judging by how much the children moved. Looking to the right, she saw Kurt with Kitty on his lap, sitting on the floor. Bobby and Jubilee were next to them, talking quietly to their older friends. Jubilee was holding a baby that looked a little younger then the twins.
Ororo got the feeling as if everyone in the room was waiting for something to happen. There was a tension in the air as if something had gone wrong, but it was also filled with an air of hope.
Finally, the conversations became clear so that she could understand what was being said.
"I don't get it!" Bobby announced to everyone in the room. "I love my son to death, but I wouldn't want my wife to risk her life over a baby."
"You'd understand if you were in their position," Jean said, fixing what Ororo realized was her daughter's hair.
"Still, she could be dead right now for all we know."
"Don't think that way!" Rogue scolded.
"If she were dead, we'd have gotten a phone call by now." Scott reasoned.
"Mommy?" the girl in Cyclops' lap asked. "Auntie 'Roro's gonna be okay, right?"
"Of course." Her mother answered.
"Good 'cause she promised to play Mo'ply with me when she got home."
"Monopoly, Rachel." Scott corrected.
"Yeah. That." The girls replied. "She said I could be the racecar."
The adults chuckled and went back to their conversation.
"The doctor told her before they even tried to have kids that it was a risk to her health, didn't she?" Jubilee asked.
"Yes, but they wanted a child so badly, she just didn't care." Kitty confirmed.
"And now it could be costing her, her life," Kurt added. A silence came over the room.
"Who are they talking about...?" Ororo turned to ask Roma and Saturnyne. The Supreme Guardian just put a finger over her lips and motioned toward the doorway.
The occupants in the room, both the real ones and the observers, turned when they heard the front door shut. At the doorway suddenly appeared Logan, carrying a suitcase that he quickly put down.
"We're home!" he announced. "All three of us!" he added, motioning to the woman following him and the newborn in her arms. The lady had dark skin, white hair, and blue eyes...
Ororo gasped. "Is that- is that me?" she asked.
Roma merely smiled and Saturnyne just looked away, still upset that they were even showing her these things.
"You sho had us worried, Stormy!" Gambit said, catching sight of the woman.
"Yes. They told us you probably wouldn't make it through last night," Jean agreed.
"Auntie 'Roro!" Rachel yelled, running to hug the weather-witch's legs. Before she could, though, Logan caught her and picked her up. "Uncle Logan! Put me down!" she laughed. "I want to hug Auntie 'Roro!"
"Not right now, little red. Aunt Ororo needs ta rest. She just got home from the hospital." He explained.
"Nonsense." The Ororo of that time commented. "I always have the energy for her." She held out the arm that wasn't holding the baby and Logan put the redheaded girl in it. Ororo sat down.
Rachel went to poke the baby's arm, "What's it's name?"
Ororo laughed. "Her name is Laura."
"Laura..." Our Ororo whispered the name, her eyes transfixed on the sight in front of her.
"Roma..." Saturnyne started.
"She's fine." The Supreme Guardian stated.
"I don't think any of us slept last night," Jean said. "We were all worried sick about you."
"With good reason," Logan stated. "The doc told me 'Ro only had a 40% chance a livin' through the night." He leaned down and kissed the top of his wife's head. "But she did. Both of 'em did."
The redheaded girl got down off her lap. "I'm going to go get the Mo'ply board!"
"Monopoly." Her father once again correct.
"Right. That." She left the room. They laughed and the scene faded.
"Ready to see another?" Roma asked the mortal woman in front of her.
"Give me a moment." Ororo replied, rubbing her temples. She had to admit, the idea of being married to Logan and having a baby did have it's perks, but still... "Alright, Your Majesty. I am ready."
"Good. 2014."
Once again they we were engulfed in darkness before another image came about. This time the scene that greeted them was peaceful, unlike the worrisome picture they had seen before.
Five children were running around the yard, playing what looked like tag.
Five women sat under tree, keeping a watchful eye over them. Three kids were with the ladies, two babies and a two-year-old little girl. One baby, laying in Jean's arms, had blonde hair and was wearing a blue jumper. The one sleeping in Jubilee's arms had black hair and was wearing a little yellow dress. She was smaller than the other one, but she looked a little older. The third child was a little girl with white skin, blue hair, and gold eyes. She was playing patty-cake with her mother, Kitty, over and over.
"Run! He's right behind you!" a red-haired girl yelled. Ororo recognized her as an older Rachel from the other 'vision'.
A girl with darker skin and bluish-black hair ran a little faster, smiling as she tried to escape her pursuer, a boy with very short brown hair.
"Come on!" The auburn-hair girl next to Rachel yelled. At closer inspection, you could see her red and black eyes. That must be Remy's child, she reasoned.
"That's it!" Rachel extended a hand and suddenly the running girl flew through the air and landed gracefully next to her, tagging the tree. "We win! All our girls touched base!"
"That's not fair!" A boy with brown hair cut into something like a messy bowl cut. He had green eyes. Ororo figured that he must be the other of Rogue and Remy's twins. "You used your powers, Rachel! You're the one who said we couldn't in the first place!"
"Did not." Rachel argued. "You're just mad because we won, Jason."
"That's not true! I'm mad because you cheated! If you had won fair and square, I'd be fine with it, but you didn't!" 'Jason' yelled.
"Yeah! You can't do that!" the other boy agreed.
"Shut up, Aaron!" the darker girl yelled. Ororo was a little surprised to see such a small child using the phrase 'shut up'. "You two dummies leave her alone!"
Rachel put a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Laura. We'll just go play something without these stupid boys."
"Laura?" Ororo muttered.
Saturnyne continued to watch the weather-witch for any signs of an emotional break-down.
"Come on, Jenny, come on Laura." Rachel commanded. The two younger girls followed her over to play by their mothers. Jenny went and sat down by the blue haired two year old.
"Hey, sweetie. Is everything alright?" Jean asked, sensing more than actually seeing her daughter's anger.
"Since you asked, no. The boys are being sore losers." The oldest child stated.
"Well, just stay away from them, then."
"Aunt Rogue," Laura started. "It's worse than that! Jason called Rachel a cheater!"
"I'll talk to him," Rogue said. Then motioning to Laura and Rachel. "It's so cute how ya'll are always watchin' each other's backs."
"Of course we do!" Rachel stated, throwing her arm around the other girl's shoulders.
"Yeah, she's my best friend!" Laura agreed. And then the image faded.
"No offence, Your Majesty," Ororo started. "But what was the reason for showing me that particular event?"
"You shall see," Roma answered. "2026."
The room changed again. When the darkness cleared, she could easily see they were once again in the living room. On the couch were two teenagers, a red-haired girl and a boy with brown hair and green eyes. He was laying across the couch and his head was resting in the girl's lap. She had her head laid back and both were watching the TV along with another teen boy who had light brown hair and was sitting on the floor closer to the glowing box.
They all just kind of sat there for a while, the two on the couch enjoying each other's company and the one on the floor enjoying the TV.
Suddenly a scream could be heard throughout the mansion.
The couple on the couch looked toward the door. Seconds later, a girl with bluish-black hair burst into the room with murder in her eyes.
"RACHEL SUMMERS! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
The boy on the couch sat up, giving the redhead enough room to do a back- handspring off the back of the couch, putting the piece of furniture in- between herself and the yelling girl.
The bluish-black haired girl advanced toward the couch, standing directly opposite from Rachel. "Get over here so I can kill you!"
"What are you yelling about this time, Laura?" Rachel asked, dodging the hand that reached for her shirt collar.
"They're... fighting?" Ororo muttered.
"Don't act stupid! You know what you did!"
"No I don't!"
"You know," the boy on the couch stated, "if you'd just tell her, you'd save a lot of time and energy."
Both girls glared at him. "Stay out of this, Jason!"
"Jeez... I was just trying to help you two act at least decent to each other..." he muttered.
"No amount of help could make those two get along, my friend." The boy on the floor said, finally turning his attention from the television set. "They have Uncle Scott and Uncle Logan's tempers and they'll fight for the rest of their lives."
"Aaron, dude, are you TRYING to get on your girlfriend's bad side?" Jason asked.
"If he is, it's working..." Laura commented dryly, crossing her arms and turning to glare at the boy on the floor.
Aaron stood up and wrapped his arms around Laura's waist. "Of course I'm not." He kissed the top of her head.
Laura looked up at him suspiciously but put her arms around his neck anyway. The image faded away...
"What happened between them? They seemed like such good friends as children, but then they seemed to be the worst of enemies when they were older," Ororo asked.
"As is often the case with mortal beings," Saturnyne replied.
"I suppose," Ororo sighed, knowing that was the best answer she was going to get out of either higher being.
"Now that you have seen one of the many possible futures, and I may add, are still sane enough to discuss them," Roma started, smiling at her lieutenant, "I expect you have many questions. I shall answer the ones I can."
"What am I supposed to do?" Ororo asked.
"That," Roma answered, "is entirely up to you."
"You want me to make sure these things happen, though? Is that right?" Ororo watched Roma's face intently, hoping to find a clue in her eyes.
"It is..." The black-haired woman trailed off, trying to find the best words. "It is the most peaceful and most prosperous possibility for your world."
"I see..." the mutant replied. "How am I supposed to make sure it happens this way?"
"Just make sure you don't do anything to prevent it... like moving away... and everything will turn out fine." Roma answered, glad the weather-witch had asked a question she was prepared for.
"That I can do." Ororo said, smiling.
"Then I believe that it is time for us to return you to your planet." Roma replied.
Ororo bowed once more. "It has been an honor to have once again been your guest."
-
Ororo sat up in her bed, the dream still on her mind. Or had it been a dream...?
She got out of bed and headed towards the kitchen. Right before she got to the stairs, she saw Logan.
"Good morning, Logan," she greeted, going up to him and kissing his cheek. She went down the stairs, leaving behind a very stunned Wolverine.
'I don't know what gets into that woman sometimes...' he thought, shaking his head, smiling, and following after her.
In her dream state, she was standing in the throne room of the Starlight Citadel, about to be addressed by the ruler of this wondrous place... and all places for that matter; the Supreme Guardian of the Omniverse, an immortal known only as Roma.
No matter how many times she was here, Ororo thought that she would never get over how big the room seemed. It was probably the only place in any dimension that actually was larger on the inside.
Roma cleared her throat and Ororo's attention was immediately placed back on her hostess. She was a pretty woman, by current Earth standards, who appeared to be in her early twenties with dark eyes and waist-length black hair that was almost always pulled back in a ponytail, revealing her pointed ears. Although, to compare her to earth women would have been a greater insult than telling someone they were fat. Today the Supreme Guardian was outfitted in long black robes with gold trim, accenting her pale skin.
"Ororo Munroe, do you know why you were brought before me today?" she asked.
"Actually, Roma, I do not." Storm answered truthfully.
Before Roma could explain, though, another woman, equally as beautiful entered the chamber. She was dressed in flowing white robes, as she had been on any other occasion the X-man had seen her. She had white, shoulder- length hair and was the picture of professionalism. Her official title was Omniversal Majestrix, which meant that she was responsible for maintaining order throughout all dimensional planes, and she was Roma's right-hand man, so to speak. She was addressed as Her Whyness. Her name was Opal Luna Saturnyne.
Ororo, and just about everyone else in the room, bowed as she came into the room, the Captain Britain Corps she kept as guards falling into the background.
She motioned for them to them to get up and she, in turn, dropped to her knee, bowing, to superior before coming back to a up-right position.
"You summoned me, m'lady?" she asked.
"Yes, Saturnyne. This is Ororo Munroe of Earth 616, I believe you've met?" Roma introduced, gesturing at the weather-witch. Saturnyne nodded. "Excellent. Then I trust you will accompany me in showing her a few things that should occur on her world?"
Saturnyne looked at Roma with a face of shock. Obviously, the Supreme Guardian's lieutenant was had not been aware of her boss's intentions.
"If I may remind the Supreme Guardian," she started, "that prior attempts to move a planet forward of this sort have almost always resulted in the being losing their sanity and only manages to worsen the situation."
"I am aware of that, Saturnyne, but I believe that she can handle it."
"Excuse me, Your Majesty?" Ororo interrupted. "But may I ask what you're talking about?"
"M'lady wishes to show you what your future is supposed to look like." The Majestrix answered in a flat tone.
"Oh." Storm fell silent.
"Come," Roma motioned for the two white-haired ladies to follow her. Saturnyne stayed by her side and Ororo trailed behind. They traveled into a room that the X-man had never been into and let the door slide shut behind them.
The Supreme Guardian motioned at something on the wall. Sighing, Saturnyne complied and went about typing 'Earth 616' into a panel keyboard.
"May I ask what Your Whyness is doing?" the dark skinned mutant asked.
"I'm bringing up your world," Saturnyne replied, then once again turning to Roma, "Are you sure about this, Roma?"
She nodded. "I am, my friend. If she shows signs of not being about to handle this we can always shut it down, but I am confident that my trust in her is not misplaced." Saturnyne hit a final button and the room in which they stood fell into darkness. "2010." Roma commanded.
As soon as she had spoken the word, the room around them transformed from blackness to the living room of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, Ororo's long-time home. Around the room sat the young men and women Ororo had come to think of as family.
Jean and Scott, her first students, were seated on a couch next to Rogue and Gambit on a couch. In Scott's arms was a small red-haired girl, maybe two or three at the oldest. Likewise, Rogue and Remy each held a baby, the one in his arms was dressed in a green dress and the one in hers was in green overalls. Probably twins about 15 months old judging by how much the children moved. Looking to the right, she saw Kurt with Kitty on his lap, sitting on the floor. Bobby and Jubilee were next to them, talking quietly to their older friends. Jubilee was holding a baby that looked a little younger then the twins.
Ororo got the feeling as if everyone in the room was waiting for something to happen. There was a tension in the air as if something had gone wrong, but it was also filled with an air of hope.
Finally, the conversations became clear so that she could understand what was being said.
"I don't get it!" Bobby announced to everyone in the room. "I love my son to death, but I wouldn't want my wife to risk her life over a baby."
"You'd understand if you were in their position," Jean said, fixing what Ororo realized was her daughter's hair.
"Still, she could be dead right now for all we know."
"Don't think that way!" Rogue scolded.
"If she were dead, we'd have gotten a phone call by now." Scott reasoned.
"Mommy?" the girl in Cyclops' lap asked. "Auntie 'Roro's gonna be okay, right?"
"Of course." Her mother answered.
"Good 'cause she promised to play Mo'ply with me when she got home."
"Monopoly, Rachel." Scott corrected.
"Yeah. That." The girls replied. "She said I could be the racecar."
The adults chuckled and went back to their conversation.
"The doctor told her before they even tried to have kids that it was a risk to her health, didn't she?" Jubilee asked.
"Yes, but they wanted a child so badly, she just didn't care." Kitty confirmed.
"And now it could be costing her, her life," Kurt added. A silence came over the room.
"Who are they talking about...?" Ororo turned to ask Roma and Saturnyne. The Supreme Guardian just put a finger over her lips and motioned toward the doorway.
The occupants in the room, both the real ones and the observers, turned when they heard the front door shut. At the doorway suddenly appeared Logan, carrying a suitcase that he quickly put down.
"We're home!" he announced. "All three of us!" he added, motioning to the woman following him and the newborn in her arms. The lady had dark skin, white hair, and blue eyes...
Ororo gasped. "Is that- is that me?" she asked.
Roma merely smiled and Saturnyne just looked away, still upset that they were even showing her these things.
"You sho had us worried, Stormy!" Gambit said, catching sight of the woman.
"Yes. They told us you probably wouldn't make it through last night," Jean agreed.
"Auntie 'Roro!" Rachel yelled, running to hug the weather-witch's legs. Before she could, though, Logan caught her and picked her up. "Uncle Logan! Put me down!" she laughed. "I want to hug Auntie 'Roro!"
"Not right now, little red. Aunt Ororo needs ta rest. She just got home from the hospital." He explained.
"Nonsense." The Ororo of that time commented. "I always have the energy for her." She held out the arm that wasn't holding the baby and Logan put the redheaded girl in it. Ororo sat down.
Rachel went to poke the baby's arm, "What's it's name?"
Ororo laughed. "Her name is Laura."
"Laura..." Our Ororo whispered the name, her eyes transfixed on the sight in front of her.
"Roma..." Saturnyne started.
"She's fine." The Supreme Guardian stated.
"I don't think any of us slept last night," Jean said. "We were all worried sick about you."
"With good reason," Logan stated. "The doc told me 'Ro only had a 40% chance a livin' through the night." He leaned down and kissed the top of his wife's head. "But she did. Both of 'em did."
The redheaded girl got down off her lap. "I'm going to go get the Mo'ply board!"
"Monopoly." Her father once again correct.
"Right. That." She left the room. They laughed and the scene faded.
"Ready to see another?" Roma asked the mortal woman in front of her.
"Give me a moment." Ororo replied, rubbing her temples. She had to admit, the idea of being married to Logan and having a baby did have it's perks, but still... "Alright, Your Majesty. I am ready."
"Good. 2014."
Once again they we were engulfed in darkness before another image came about. This time the scene that greeted them was peaceful, unlike the worrisome picture they had seen before.
Five children were running around the yard, playing what looked like tag.
Five women sat under tree, keeping a watchful eye over them. Three kids were with the ladies, two babies and a two-year-old little girl. One baby, laying in Jean's arms, had blonde hair and was wearing a blue jumper. The one sleeping in Jubilee's arms had black hair and was wearing a little yellow dress. She was smaller than the other one, but she looked a little older. The third child was a little girl with white skin, blue hair, and gold eyes. She was playing patty-cake with her mother, Kitty, over and over.
"Run! He's right behind you!" a red-haired girl yelled. Ororo recognized her as an older Rachel from the other 'vision'.
A girl with darker skin and bluish-black hair ran a little faster, smiling as she tried to escape her pursuer, a boy with very short brown hair.
"Come on!" The auburn-hair girl next to Rachel yelled. At closer inspection, you could see her red and black eyes. That must be Remy's child, she reasoned.
"That's it!" Rachel extended a hand and suddenly the running girl flew through the air and landed gracefully next to her, tagging the tree. "We win! All our girls touched base!"
"That's not fair!" A boy with brown hair cut into something like a messy bowl cut. He had green eyes. Ororo figured that he must be the other of Rogue and Remy's twins. "You used your powers, Rachel! You're the one who said we couldn't in the first place!"
"Did not." Rachel argued. "You're just mad because we won, Jason."
"That's not true! I'm mad because you cheated! If you had won fair and square, I'd be fine with it, but you didn't!" 'Jason' yelled.
"Yeah! You can't do that!" the other boy agreed.
"Shut up, Aaron!" the darker girl yelled. Ororo was a little surprised to see such a small child using the phrase 'shut up'. "You two dummies leave her alone!"
Rachel put a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Laura. We'll just go play something without these stupid boys."
"Laura?" Ororo muttered.
Saturnyne continued to watch the weather-witch for any signs of an emotional break-down.
"Come on, Jenny, come on Laura." Rachel commanded. The two younger girls followed her over to play by their mothers. Jenny went and sat down by the blue haired two year old.
"Hey, sweetie. Is everything alright?" Jean asked, sensing more than actually seeing her daughter's anger.
"Since you asked, no. The boys are being sore losers." The oldest child stated.
"Well, just stay away from them, then."
"Aunt Rogue," Laura started. "It's worse than that! Jason called Rachel a cheater!"
"I'll talk to him," Rogue said. Then motioning to Laura and Rachel. "It's so cute how ya'll are always watchin' each other's backs."
"Of course we do!" Rachel stated, throwing her arm around the other girl's shoulders.
"Yeah, she's my best friend!" Laura agreed. And then the image faded.
"No offence, Your Majesty," Ororo started. "But what was the reason for showing me that particular event?"
"You shall see," Roma answered. "2026."
The room changed again. When the darkness cleared, she could easily see they were once again in the living room. On the couch were two teenagers, a red-haired girl and a boy with brown hair and green eyes. He was laying across the couch and his head was resting in the girl's lap. She had her head laid back and both were watching the TV along with another teen boy who had light brown hair and was sitting on the floor closer to the glowing box.
They all just kind of sat there for a while, the two on the couch enjoying each other's company and the one on the floor enjoying the TV.
Suddenly a scream could be heard throughout the mansion.
The couple on the couch looked toward the door. Seconds later, a girl with bluish-black hair burst into the room with murder in her eyes.
"RACHEL SUMMERS! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
The boy on the couch sat up, giving the redhead enough room to do a back- handspring off the back of the couch, putting the piece of furniture in- between herself and the yelling girl.
The bluish-black haired girl advanced toward the couch, standing directly opposite from Rachel. "Get over here so I can kill you!"
"What are you yelling about this time, Laura?" Rachel asked, dodging the hand that reached for her shirt collar.
"They're... fighting?" Ororo muttered.
"Don't act stupid! You know what you did!"
"No I don't!"
"You know," the boy on the couch stated, "if you'd just tell her, you'd save a lot of time and energy."
Both girls glared at him. "Stay out of this, Jason!"
"Jeez... I was just trying to help you two act at least decent to each other..." he muttered.
"No amount of help could make those two get along, my friend." The boy on the floor said, finally turning his attention from the television set. "They have Uncle Scott and Uncle Logan's tempers and they'll fight for the rest of their lives."
"Aaron, dude, are you TRYING to get on your girlfriend's bad side?" Jason asked.
"If he is, it's working..." Laura commented dryly, crossing her arms and turning to glare at the boy on the floor.
Aaron stood up and wrapped his arms around Laura's waist. "Of course I'm not." He kissed the top of her head.
Laura looked up at him suspiciously but put her arms around his neck anyway. The image faded away...
"What happened between them? They seemed like such good friends as children, but then they seemed to be the worst of enemies when they were older," Ororo asked.
"As is often the case with mortal beings," Saturnyne replied.
"I suppose," Ororo sighed, knowing that was the best answer she was going to get out of either higher being.
"Now that you have seen one of the many possible futures, and I may add, are still sane enough to discuss them," Roma started, smiling at her lieutenant, "I expect you have many questions. I shall answer the ones I can."
"What am I supposed to do?" Ororo asked.
"That," Roma answered, "is entirely up to you."
"You want me to make sure these things happen, though? Is that right?" Ororo watched Roma's face intently, hoping to find a clue in her eyes.
"It is..." The black-haired woman trailed off, trying to find the best words. "It is the most peaceful and most prosperous possibility for your world."
"I see..." the mutant replied. "How am I supposed to make sure it happens this way?"
"Just make sure you don't do anything to prevent it... like moving away... and everything will turn out fine." Roma answered, glad the weather-witch had asked a question she was prepared for.
"That I can do." Ororo said, smiling.
"Then I believe that it is time for us to return you to your planet." Roma replied.
Ororo bowed once more. "It has been an honor to have once again been your guest."
-
Ororo sat up in her bed, the dream still on her mind. Or had it been a dream...?
She got out of bed and headed towards the kitchen. Right before she got to the stairs, she saw Logan.
"Good morning, Logan," she greeted, going up to him and kissing his cheek. She went down the stairs, leaving behind a very stunned Wolverine.
'I don't know what gets into that woman sometimes...' he thought, shaking his head, smiling, and following after her.
