**A/N: I was going to place this under X-Men: Evolution fanfiction since that's what birthed this whole thing. However, since all the main characters are OCs I figured it best to just leave it as generic X-Men fanfiction. Anyway, this whole series will be recaps of what goes on in the X-Men role play my husband runs: entitled X-Future.
As I stated, the most basic plot of X-Future is "What becomes of the children of the X-Men thirty years after X-Men: Evolution ended?" and so our canon is mostly based on the show. However, elements of the main comic book canon were also bound to seep in, with some exclusions and manipulations. We even threw in some of our own major events. Because of this, we took the Marvel encoding of X-Men: Evolution (Earth-11052) and Mainstream Comic (Earth-616) and created our own for X-Future (Earth-11616).
So, to ease everyone in to the world of 11616, I present to you now the history of all the major players throughout the thirty years between X-Men: Evolution and X-Future.
Legal Stuff: X-Men is the property of Marvel Comics and each individual original character remains the intellectual property of the players that created them.**
Welcome to the future.
It's been thirty years after the events depicted in X-Men: Evolution. A new generation of students is at the Xavier Institute, but not everything is how you remembered it.
After defeating Apocalypse, the X-Men's number one enemy Magneto dismantled his Acolytes. He instead brought them in to the Brotherhood of Mutants in hopes that they would demonstrate the leadership and competence his son Quicksilver and the other Brotherhood members desperately needed in order to become worthy warriors for Magneto's cause. His cause being the mutant domination over humanity.
Both Colossus and Gambit saw the error of Magneto's ways after teaming up with the X-Men to thwart Apocalyse's World Domination threat. Instead of joining the Brotherhood with Pyro, Sabretooth, and Mastermind, Colossus joined the X-Men in their attempt to convince humanity to peacefully co-exist with mutants. Within the year he was able to bring his eight-year-old sister Illyana over from Russia in order to train at the institute.
Gambit, on the other hand, was unsure what to do with himself. He knew he didn't believe in Magneto's agenda any longer; or at least his way of achieving it. However, he also wasn't sure he was ready to "go straight" by joining the X-Men. He had severed ties with his father and the Thieves Guild, and knew he wanted to avoid going back there. The nineteen-year-old ended up wandering the globe for about two years, but always made it back to New York at least once every couple of months in order to check in on Rogue.
The girl had grown from simply someone he was attracted to and wanted to use in to someone who truly amazed him. He had fallen in love with her, and knew there could never be anyone else as long as she walked the Earth. It was because of his desire to be with her that he finally hung up his nomadic ways and officially joined the X-Men two years after abandoning the Acolytes. He and Rogue had an odd courtship of him attempting to woo her, and she avoiding his advances – even though she was in love with him too – simply because they could never have a physical relationship with her powers.
Not only did Colossus and Gambit abandon the Acolytes, but Lance "Avalanche" Alvers also questioned Magneto's ways and left the Brotherhood in favor of trying to join the X-Men for a second time. Much like Gambit, Lance's decision to join the X-Men was largely influenced by his desire to be with the woman he loved: Kitty Pryde.
Even though Lance had shown his gallantness on multiple occasions while battling against the X-Men, and truly showed his worth while battling against Apocalypse, Scott still had his concerns. Lance had tried to join the X-Men once before and it didn't work out then. Cyclops doubted it would go any different this second try. After a few months, Lance again caved under the constant prejudice and ridicule from Scott. In a case of history repeating itself, Avalanche again abandoned the X-Men; this time also abandoning his girlfriend Kitty when she refused to leave the Institute with him.
Kitty gave up on trying to rehabilitate Lance after that. Despite his attempts to keep up a romance with her, she no longer desired to be with him. They had limited interaction in school over the next year and when Lance graduated he quickly dropped all contact. No one has a clue where he has been over the past three decades.
Laura – or as she's better known, X-23 – returned to the Xavier Institute shortly after the Apocalypse battle in order to spend the rest of her teen years with Logan, who was part father and part older brother to his clone. After Gambit joined the X-Men, a time traveler named Bishop arrived from an apocalyptic future where mutant genocide and concentration camps are prominent. While on his mission to the past to try to prevent his present from happening, he and Laura got close. They had a short romance before they both realized he didn't quite fit in the modern era. He was needed back in his own time. The two parted on good terms; although Logan had a few choice words for the time traveler. Before Laura's 19th birthday she gave birth to their son, whom she named after his father: Lucas. It was hard to determine if Logan was excited or displeased by the birth of his nephew/grandson (depending on how one considers Wolverine's relationship with his clone) considering how young Laura still was. He quickly took charge as the patriarch of his family and helped Laura raise Lucas.
A year later, on Jean Grey's twenty-second birthday, her powers went horribly array as they once again advanced far faster than she could handle. When Professor Xavier used his own telepathic abilities to try to control Jean's he discovered that it wasn't simply her powers evolving. A cosmic entity that called itself the Phoenix Force had chosen Jean as its host due to her superior abilities and unlimited potential.
Shortly after, an alien race known as the Shi'ar arrived on Earth; knowing that Jean was the manifestation of the Phoenix. They begged for her help to protect the M'Kraan Crystal: a stone that was the nexus of all realities. Its destruction would mean the end of everything. Jean agreed to help, along with a small group of X-Men. On their journeys, Kitty met up with an alien race that resembled cat-sized dragons. One in particular became very attached and devoted to Shadowcat. It wished to follow her back to Earth and has remained as her trusted companion. She named him Lockheed, after the company that built the X-Men's jet Blackbird. Scott also met up with a space pirate named Corsair, who ended up being his alien-abducted father whom Scott had long-thought died in the plane crash that jumpstarted his optic blast mutant power.
After Jean saved the M'Kraan and returned back to Earth, the Phoenix –never before knowing the sensation of human feelings – was quickly corrupted by emotions. The corrupted Phoenix took over control of Jean's body and called itself the Dark Phoenix. She wrecked havoc not only on Earth, but across the universe, including devouring a star and one of its inhabited planets. Seeing this corruption, the Shi'ar returned, but this time to destroy the Dark Phoenix; with Jean as collateral damage.
The Phoenix Force witnessed the X-Men valiantly fighting to spare Jean's life and realized its wrong-doings. Moved by the love Jean's friends had for her, the Phoenix Force abandoned Jean as a host. Having his true Jean Grey back, Scott took no time to propose to her. Not even a year after Jean's near-execution due to the Phoenix - at the age of twenty-five - Jean and Scott wed.
As he aged, Jamie "Multiple Man" Madrox became less and less of an awkward teenager, but he never seemed to shake that semi-dorky, All-American Boy Scout attitude. His kindness and minor naiveté won over his fellow New Mutants recruit Amara "Magma" Aquilla. He escorted Amara to Scott and Jean's wedding and the two continued dating after that.
A year later a mysterious woman who bore the Phoenix Force arrived at the institute; causing all of the X-Men to be on edge. It kept a while for the woman to convince the X-Men that, unlike Jean, she had full control of the Phoenix. She introduced herself as Rachel Summers; Scott and Jean's daughter from an alternate reality. Rachel's version of Jean was not simply a host for the Phoenix Force, but she had completely merged with it. In doing so, the Phoenix was no longer capable of being corrupted by emotions and became inheritable, just like any gene. Rachel's ability to use the Phoenix Force's power was just as much a mutant manifestation as her telepathy – which she also inherited from her mother. Scott was still weary of this supposed child of his, but Rachel became a member of the Xavier Institute's faculty as a Junior Professor.
Over the same eight years that had passed since destroying Apocalypse, Storm, who was only in her early twenties when she started teaching at the institute, grew close to young Kurt Wagner – aka Nightcrawler. While Kurt was a student they didn't explore their budding feelings, however, upon Nightcrawler's graduation the two finally started dating. A few months after Rachel joined the X-Men Ororo and Kurt got married.
Two years later, a full decade after their battle with Apocalypse, the X-Men witnessed one of the greatest tragedies they would ever know. The event would forever be known among them as The Reaping.
Magneto had come up with another scheme to once and for all assert mutant domination upon the world; a dangerous plot he was driven toward by his son Quicksilver. The Master of Magnetism had come across a mysterious artifact that had the ability to absorb the life force of a mutant and fire out a blast of energy that seemed to disintegrate all living matter within the blast zone. With this powerful weapon in his possession, Magneto then kidnapped Rogue as the power source for the artifact. Magneto was able to convince Juggernaut to aid him with little more than the promise of revenge against Cain's half-brother Charles Xavier.
Having all his pawns set up, Magneto readied to take his New Brotherhood to Washington D.C. for the attack. Wanda begged him to not follow through with the plan, pointing out the number of innocents – both human and mutant – that would perish. Magneto coldly responded that sacrifices were necessary to "further the cause". Magneto planned for the entirety of the American government to be wiped out in the attack so he could then fill the governmental void as a sovereign; reigning over the Free World as a benevolent king to all mutants, and a strict dictator over homo-sapiens. Horrified by how much her father had been corrupted over the years, Wanda refused to participate and left the Brotherhood with her younger sister Polaris – who had lived a sheltered life with her father, but never joined the Brotherhood.
Undeterred, Magneto marched on the Capital with the rest of his New Brotherhood, which consisted of: his former Acolytes Pyro, Sabretooth, and Mastermind, his son Quicksilver, Pietro's fellow original Brotherhood member Blob, as well as three newer members. These consisted of Burner as a second pyrokinetic, a teleporter named Vanisher, and Paralyzer who could generate powerful fields of bio-electromagnetic energy. Rogue was forced to join the D.C. raid by Juggernaut.
Having discovered Magneto's plan, the X-Men sent a team to intercept the attack. Hoping to be able to reason with his former friend, Xavier lead the team himself, bringing with him Cyclops, Jean Grey, Gambit, Shadowcat, Iceman, and Wolverine.
The X-Men and New Brotherhood engaged in a fierce battle, but no one was able to spot either Juggernaut or Rogue. Magneto had forced Rogue to absorb the majority of Juggernaut's life force, leaving him just enough to survive the contact with her; although he was left unconscious. Having absorbed the life force of such a powerful mutant overwhelmed Rogue and she too fell in to a coma. As his enemies were distracted in battle, Magneto flew to the hub of the city. The fighting almost instantly stopped as soon as he was seen hovering high above the D.C. landscape with an unconscious Rogue and a weird device in his arms. The artifact was a strange orb with three staff-like protrusions. Before anyone could react, Magneto touched one of the staffs to Rogue's forehead; completely draining her Juggernaut-empowered life force as the device powered up. When Magneto dropped Rogue's limp body, Gambit's rage forced him to lose control. He grappled his opponent Mastermind and charged the villain's entire body with kinetic energy before hurling him towards Vanisher. The bald mutant teleported away at the last second before Mastermind detonated. While Gambit sprinted to the falling Rogue's side, Magneto was distracted enough by his ally exploding for Jean to levitate herself and Xavier up to reason with him.
Despite Xavier's pleas to abandon his plan, Magneto fired the artifact at the city. Without hesitation, Jean and Xavier focused all of their power in to containing the blast, unfortunately trapping the three of them inside the miniscule blast zone. All eyes were on the sky as Magneto, Xavier, and Jean disintegrated within seconds of the device going off. A moment later, Vanisher teleported the surviving Brotherhood members away.
Shadowcat caught up with Gambit as he let out a horrid wail. Rogue lay limp in his arms and everyone knew that she was gone forever. Kitty attempted to sooth the Cajun as he cradled his lost love; giving her their first and last kiss. Having found the artifact that Magneto weaponized, Cyclops – also grieving the loss of his love – placed a hand on Remy's shoulder. They knew the artifact needed to be destroyed and so Gambit charged up the device before throwing it in the air. Just as it exploded, Cyclops hit the shrapnel with a fully-powered optic blast.
The surviving X-Men returned to the mansion with heavy hearts and only Rogue's body to bury. There was a service, and the Memorial Fountain – which had a statue depiction of Rogue, Xavier, and Jean atop it – was placed at the entrance of the institute. In honor and memory of her mother, Rachel changed her last name from Summers to Grey.
Within the shadow of The Reaping's tragedy, some cause for celebration arouse. Ororo soon after announced her pregnancy and as the first anniversary of The Reaping approached she gave birth to her son Luke. He bore the same demonic appearance as his father, but with jet-black fur instead of his father's blue. Although the couple was elated with their new family, their joy wouldn't last long. A mere four months after Luke's birth Storm heard concern about her native Africa.
Reports of natural disasters started popping up all over Storm's native continent, concentrated mostly in Egypt. Worried about her homeland, she led a team of x-men consisting of Colossus, the British mutant Psylocke, and Magneto's youngest daughter Polaris. None of the squad members seem to remember what happened while on their journeys, but they do assume there was a massive fight where they were all knocked out. When they awoke they discovered that Storm was missing and that they had no recollection of what occurred. In fact, the only reason they had to believe they were even in a fight – aside from waking up on the ground – was the extensive damage to the village and the injuries they had sustained.
The trio spent nearly a week searching for their team leader, but the only traces of Storm were the tattered remains of her cloak and the locket Nightcrawler gave her on the day Luke was born. With the natural disasters ceasing and no further leads on Ororo's whereabouts, the squad returned to the mansion with heavy hearts.
Not believing his wife was truly gone, Nightcrawler lead a team in an attempt to find out what happened to Storm. His search party team consisted of Psylocke – who felt terribly that she wasn't able to help Storm while in Africa – and Spyke – Kurt's former classmate – who returned from the hidden clan of mutants known as the Morlocks. Spyke refused to re-join the X-Men officially, but he was just as determined as Nightcrawler to find answers about his aunt's disappearance. Although Kurt trusted his son being raised at the institute, he couldn't bear to be away from his only remaining family for terribly too long. He proceeded to spend half of his time at the institute raising Luke and the other half checking in on Spyke and Psylocke in their hunt for Storm.
The stress of trying to track down Ororo and raising Luke was beginning to be too much for Nightcrawler. A new X-Man, a woman named Alison Blaire, decided to help ease Kurt's burden. Her ability to transform sound in to light seemed to sooth the baby, and so she would routinely calm the child by singing to him and creating mini light shows. Kurt appreciated the help, and saw how much Luke seemed to love Dazzler. The two became close as the months passed, and in one night of weakness the two got together. The next morning Kurt felt nauseous with guilt over seemingly giving up on the hope that his wife was still alive. The two decided it was best that they didn't explore their romantic feelings any longer; however Dazzler did discover she was pregnant. About a year after the squad was attacked in Africa, William was born. Unlike his half-brother, William did not take on his father's physical mutation, although he did appear to be a bit more flexible than the average human.
The same year Storm was abducted yet another tragedy struck. Eight-year-old Lucas first demonstrated his mutant powers. Realizing that he mostly inherited her powers, Laura feared that both Hydra – who had created her in the first place – and the revived Weapon X program – who gave Wolverine his adamantium skeleton – would abduct her son. Even with Logan swearing to keep his family safe, Laura was always nervous of the sadistic organizations finding them and experimenting on her son. Logan awoke one morning to discover that Laura had whisked Lucas away in the middle of the night. The two went on the run for the next five years.
~x~x~x~
After The Reaping and all ties were severed between Wanda and Pietro, Wanda spent the next year and a half trying to do whatever she could to make up for her family's wrong-doings. Although her sister Polaris had decided to join the X-Men after their father's death, Wanda didn't feel comfortable doing the same after their long history of battling against each other. She acted as an independent, much like Warren "Angel" Worthington III had done in the past.
Seeing her attempt to make amends, as well as her vast potential, Nick Fury and the Avengers extended her an invitation to join. She happily accepted. That night, while out drinking and celebrating, she came across her old Brotherhood teammate Toad. He too didn't want any part in the plot Magneto had that eventually lead to The Reaping. Unbeknownst to Scarlet Witch, Todd had also abandoned the Brotherhood after the tragedy. Although she never did enjoy Toad's company, Wanda eventually agreed to have a few more drinks with her former ally. Throughout the night Toad admitted to falling in love with Wanda the moment he saw her, and that he still did love her.
Drunk and feeling good about joining the Avengers, as well as for the first time truly seeing how sweet Todd could be, Wanda agreed to spend the night with him. Elated and thinking he finally had a chance to have everything he ever wanted; the diluted Toad woke up the next morning and instantly went to the Xavier Institute. Wanting to prove to Wanda that he could "go straight", and to make sure he had a job to help provide for the two of them, Toad begged Wolverine – who had taken over as the Headmaster of the Institute – to give him a chance. Logan refused to let Toad become an X-Man, but he did offer a job as the school janitor. Toad accepted and blissfully went back to Wanda's to tell her the great news.
Now sobered up, she told him that she was indeed proud of him, but refused to have any further romantic contact with him. She regretted the night they already had together and didn't wish to pursue it any further. Todd was heartbroken and nearly gave up on his new job, but quickly reasoned with himself that if he held down the job for a few years – maybe even be able to join the X-Men – that perhaps Wanda would change her mind and give him another try.
Nearly two decades later and Toad is still simply the school's janitor. Wanda still wants little to nothing to do with him. Yet, he still holds his flame for his one-true-love. The main reason he never gave up was that about a month in to her Avengers career Scarlet Witch discovered that she was pregnant. Her and Todd's daughter Joyce was born with her father's flexibility, extendable tongue, and an odd skin mutation that gave her a bright green tint. Wanda kept Joyce in her custody and the girl soon learned to resent her father, despite his constant attempts at spoiling his beloved baby girl. But Todd's faith marches on that one day he'll win the love of both Wanda and their daughter.
~x~x~x~
When Magneto had kidnapped Rogue, Xavier personally went to Emma Frost to plea for her assistance in finding the abducted X-Man. Over the near decade of battling against him as a member of the Hellfire Club, Emma had grown to greatly respect Xavier. Her decision was an easy one. She quickly agreed to assist the X-Men in their plight since she had become tired of the Club's illegal activities and harsh methods anyway. Leaving her title of "White Queen" behind, Emma did all she could to find Rogue and prevent Magneto from executing his latest plot. Although The Reaping still occurred, Scott did extend an invitation for Emma to become an official X-Man as thank you for her help. She agreed and soon became close to fellow X-Man Bobby "Iceman" Drake.
~x~x~x~
Twelve years after joining the X-Men, Colossus began to realize that the school was quickly becoming over crowded, and there were still tons of new mutants being discovered by Rachel and Emma daily. For his thirtieth birthday, the X-Men gifted Piotr enough start-up cash to open up another branch of the school. He and fellow X-Man Jubilee travelled to California to open up the Colossus Academy on the old Alcatraz Island. The duo was barely on the West Coast four months before returning home to join in on the celebration of Emma and Bobby's nuptials.
~x~x~x~
Two other X-Men that got close over the years were Gambit and Kitty. When Xavier died, he had willed control of both the mansion and the X-Men to Wolverine and Shadowcat. The two took over as the headmaster and headmistress of the institute. As part of her new duties as leader, Kitty held group grief counseling. While the meetings did seem to help most of Xavier's former students, two in particular shied away from the sessions. Cyclops fell farther and farther in to a depression after becoming widowered; until he finally left the X-Men all together. Gambit, on the other hand, spent most of his time alone on the mansion's basketball courts, or finally getting back in touch with his father and the Thieves Guild. Concerned and nervous about losing yet another teammate, Kitty extended as much help as she could to the Cajun as they shared in their immense grief over losing Rogue – who was Kitty's best friend. The two became closer, and in return for her friendship, Gambit tried cheering Kitty up whenever the stress of running the Xavier Institute became too much.
Over the next three years their friendship blossomed in to a romance. Gambit realized that he could indeed love someone other than Rogue; although his heart would always hold a place for his Anna Marie. A year after Bobby and Emma got married, Kitty and Remy followed suit. Kitty then discovered that one of Remy's wedding gifts to her – unintentionally – was a son. Nine months later they had Chayse; nearly a year after Emma gave birth to Bobby's son Nicholas. The two boys were both raised at the institute and became fast friends as well as surrogate brothers.
~x~x~x~
While back on the East Coast to witness Gambit and Shadowcat's wedding, Jubilee met up with Weapon X member Chris "Maverick" Nord. The two had a weekend fling before she returned to the Colossus Academy. Shortly after, she realized she was pregnant, but didn't bother trying to track down her son's father. Instead, she raised Alister by herself at the academy with some help from her good friend Piotr; barely telling Alister anything about Chris.
Later that same year the X-Men all journeyed down to Amara's native Brazil. Along the sandy coastline Magma and Multiple Man married after a long, six-year courtship. Unlike many of their fellow X-Men, the couple didn't return to the institute. Although they remained on the official roster of active members, they bought a gorgeous home on Long Island and prepared for life as a mostly-normal, married couple. Because there were so many other readily-available X-Men, the two were rarely called upon, and they enjoyed their finally-quiet lives. After two years, Amara gave birth to a little girl that looked nearly identical to her. Jamie instantly started to spoil his little Amelia; foreshadowing his future fate of almost never leaving his precious Lia's side.
~x~x~x~
After the near-devastation of The Reaping, Warren decided that he could no longer live on the sidelines and in fear of his father's reaction to his joining the Mutant Cause. He came to Wolverine and Shadowcat in request to become a full-fledged member of the X-Men. The duo welcomed Angel with open arms.
Being disowned by his father stung more than Warren realized, and he again withdrew from society. Rachel Grey consoled him, and helped him find his own self-worth outside how his father and the world saw him. The two of them started dating. After a few months, the two amicably parted ways, but not before Rachel became pregnant with their daughter Annika. Although Angel and Phoenix never reconnected romantically, they still raised Annika at the institute as a happy family.
~x~x~x~
Another former Acolyte who decided to abandon the Brotherhood was Sabretooth. After seeing the devastation of The Reaping, Sabretooth realized that Magneto's agenda and tactics were no longer his style. His only remaining desire was to defeat Wolverine in battle, and so he left for the Canadian wilderness. Two years later he came across Boom-Boom; a young mutant who started off with the X-Men, joined the Brotherhood for a brief time while she was in high school, and then abandoned both groups right around the time Apocalypse attacked. Tabitha had kept her laze fair attitude and instantly connected with the feral ruggedness of Sabretooth.
Their courtship was brief, but it resulted in Boom-Boom's first child. Both of Hunter's parents kept in touch, and with no ill-will towards the other. Once he started school the duo agreed on joint custody of their boy. Hunter would spend the school year with his mother, but all of his breaks would be spent camping in the Canadian wilderness with Sabretooth. The arrangement lasted for about fourteen years.
Boom-Boom did have another son three years after Hunter; this time a result of a random drunken hook-up. Although Tabitha had matured over the years, being a single mother raising a mildly-feral child (thanks to Sabretooth's genes) overwhelmed her at points. On one of these nights, she had shipped Hunter off to his father for a weekend and went on a binder. That's when she ran in to Wade "Deadpool" Wilson. His lady-killer charm actually worked on the drunken Boom-Boom, and the resulting night lead towards Draco's birth.
Although Hunter wasn't overly excited to find out that his mother was with someone other than his father, he still madly loved his kid brother and was insanely protective of his family. He hated having to leave the two of them alone whenever he went camping with Sabretooth, but he loved returning and having long conversations with Draco about what they did over the school break.
~x~x~x~
One last Brotherhood member who deserted Magneto's cause after The Reaping was the mutant's former second-in-command Mystique. She and Magneto were already on rocky terms after he abandoned her following the explosion of Asteroid M, and then again when she was frozen in stone after releasing Apocalypse. However, she believed that Xavier's methods were too gentle, and had rejoined the Brotherhood for a third time. There was little to no loyalty towards Magento in her decision, simply a true faith in his methods.
However, she couldn't agree with the tactics Magneto was going to use in Washington D.C., claiming the sacrifice of innocents and political allies outnumbered the destruction of their enemies. Magneto refused to listen to her, and so she walked out on the Brotherhood once more. After The Reaping she was hesitant to return to the organization a fourth time. She was infuriated that her foster daughter Rogue was used as the sacrificial power source, and if Magneto hadn't died during the attack she was certain to kill him herself. However, she and Pyro had started up a romance a few months prior and she missed him dearly (although, she did question his blind following of Magneto's plan). After his father's death, Pietro took up the mantle of leading the Brotherhood, but some of the senior members questioned the boy's leadership. Pyro stepped up as a co-leader of the group. With her lover and her former student being the ones in charge of the Brotherhood, Mystique hoped the organization's methods would change and wearily re-joined one last time.
A few years passed and neither Quicksilver nor Pyro seemed to try to switch off of Magneto's master plans. When Mystique discovered she was pregnant she realized she couldn't continue this route to better the Mutant Cause. Without so much as a Dear John letter, Mystique disappeared in the night. When she gave birth to Devon she still feared her reputation would have the Brotherhood, the X-Men, and the anti-mutant terrorists The Purifiers all after her; threatening the life of her baby. With a heavy heart and painful memories of having to give up Nightcrawler nearly thirty years prior, Mystique dropped Devon off upon the steps of the Cathedral Basilica of St. James. Before leaving the Cathedral, she prayed that he would receive a better life than she could give him. She then fled down to Brazil in hopes of starting over.
Two years of living in Brazil under a new alias and claiming to be human, Mystique came across a former student of the Xavier Institute. Roberto "Sunspot" da Costa quickly fell for Mystique without having any inkling that she was one of his former foes. They had a whirl-wind romance that included her having a second son. Feeling in a much better place than she did three years prior, Mystique kept Filipe, finally able to indulge her maternal instincts. She and Sunspot raised their son for a few years before they parted ways. Mystique happily continued her little family with Filipe, making sure he never went down the same path she did. She taught him that violence wasn't a solution; instead, he should find non-violent ways to deal with his problems and always consider the consequence of his actions.
~x~x~x~
Throughout her adolescent years, Illyana Rasputin grew in to her powers as Magik. However, her skill and potential in regards to sorcery piqued the interest of some denizens of an alternate plane known as Limbo. She was kidnapped and trapped in this demon-infested world. It kept a while for the X-Men to be able to find a way to rescue her. In the meantime, she survived by learning how to tap in to the natural magical essence of Limbo. By the time the X-Men reached her, Illyana had usurped her captors and took over as the leader of Limbo.
She returned to Earth, but as months ticked by she became frustrated that on her native plane her sorcery was so much harder for her to wield. Shortly before The Reaping, on Magik's eighteenth birthday, one of her Limbo subjects tracked her down and begged for her return to squash a coup her former captors hoped would return them to rule. Colossus begged for his kid sister to stay with the X-Men, but she informed her brother that it was her duty now to protect the Limbo inhabitants. With a simple kiss goodbye, she followed her servant back in to the alternate plane.
While back in Limbo, Illyana felt herself become stronger as her sorcery became an easy extension of her own will. Once the rebellion was stopped she returned to Earth, rejuvenated and feeling better than she had in months. Her only sorrow was not being able to say goodbye to the ones lost during The Reaping.
Once home, Magik discovered her sorcery was again draining for her to use. Over the course of the year she would become weak after wielding it for an extended period of time. When she was again called upon to help save her Limbo denizens her sorcery had become so tasking that any use of it caused her to faint. Colossus was concerned that she wouldn't be able to defend her throne on her own this time and sent a small team of X-Men with her. However, once back on her alternate plane, Illyana's powers became effortless yet again. Her clan of X-Men was barely needed as she easily squashed the uprising.
They returned to the mansion victorious and with great tales of Illyana's brilliant leadership. Magik was rewarded by continuing as her group's squad leader. Before the end of the year she had to give up her prized position when she once more became too weak to wield her sorcery. The drain on her lifeforce whenever she used her powers became so great that she physically became frail.
Over the next three years the cycle repeated. Magik would be called back to Limbo where she would regain strength and her sorcery would become easier and more powerful. However, the more she used her powers in Limbo, the faster her sorcery would drain her while back on Earth. Eventually, it didn't even take a month after returning for Magik to become so frail and ill that she was nearly bedridden by her weakened state. Concerned for his sister, Colossus begged for Beast to watch over her and find out what was wrong. He also forbade Illyana from returning to Limbo, fearing it was poisoning her. Sadly, Piotr was right about the poisoning, but not in the way he thought. Both Magik and Beast realized that she had grown so dependent on using the natural magic aura of Limbo to power her sorcery, that the massive magic void in Earth's atmosphere was what was draining her. It was actually Limbo that was keeping her alive, not what was killing her.
With a heavy heart, but his sister near death, Piotr agreed to let his sister permanently live in the realm of Limbo. A small team of X-Men accompanied Colossus in escorting his sister to her palace. As soon as they passed in to the Otherworld Illyana began to recover, feeling more fit than any of them by the time they departed for home three days later.
Still worried about his sister being alone and unprotected in Limbo, Piotr pleaded with Beast to travel in to Limbo in order to help Illyana build a proper stronghold that would never fall to the rebels who still rose up on occasion in attempt to expel Magik from their lands. Always excited to participate in knowledge-advancing opportunities, Hank easily accepted the offer. Although she was upset that her brother still didn't trust that she was a strong and competent leader, Magik welcomed the company of her former teacher.
While helping her build a safe haven in Limbo the two transitioned from Teacher-Student to colleagues to friends and eventually to lovers. However, their relationship wasn't the only thing to suffer a transformation. The natural magic and chaos that flowed through the very essence of Limbo made Hank more and more feral with each passing day. Shortly after realizing she was pregnant, Magik had to fight her lover, who abruptly broke in to an animalistic rage. Her only means of stopping Beast's frenzy was to create one of her stepping discs in order to teleport him back to Earth. Much like her strength returning while in Limbo, Beast almost instantly regained his humanity while back on his native plane.
Fearful of completely losing control of himself, with a heavy heart Hank swore to never return to Limbo. It saddened Magik to lose her potential consort and father of her child, but she understood. Unfortunately, she could no longer survive outside of Limbo for more than a few days, and so their romance reluctantly ended.
Magik was in Limbo when she gave birth to their daughter Sasha. Knowing how weak she, a non-native, became outside of Limbo, Illyana feared her Limbo-born daughter would not survive on Earth, and decided to raise the child alone. Still in love with Hank, and wanting their daughter to have no ill-will against her father, Magik made sure to tell Sasha great tales of Beast, as well as explain the noble reason why he had to stay away from his family as much as it pained him to do so.
~x~x~x~
Over the course of the four years Spyke and Psylocke spent searching for Storm the two got extremely close. After a year of constantly traveling together on their mission, they started dating. Their relationship accumulated in the birth of their son Roscoe.
Having not found any new clues on Storm's whereabouts over their four year mission and courtship, once Psylocke became too pregnant to continue on, the search team was dismantled; much to Nightcrawler's dismay. Once Roscoe was born the duo parted ways. While Elizabeth wanted to keep Roscoe in Britain where he could receive a better education, Evan wished to finally return to his home in the United States. They agreed to raise their son in England, but Evan would watch Roscoe over school breaks. Both parents spoiled the boy. Psylocke's family was wealthy and able to always provide for Roscoe so he'd never want, but he'd have to be constantly learning or training his fighting skills; meanwhile, Spyke would allow his son to indulge in his youth, learning how to do such things as skateboard, play basketball, and that a little rebellion isn't always bad.
~x~x~x~
After five years on the lam with his mother, Lucas Kinney was captured by the Weapon X program. Although she fought gallantly and requested aid from both Wolverine and the X-Men, Laura could do nothing to get near her son. For a year Weapon X – who simply referred to Lucas as "X-24" - tortured the thirteen-year-old with harsh experiments, testing both his powers and body. Laura's resolve never wavered even after her multiple failings. Eventually, she was able to track down and rescue her broken son.
Terrified to discover that her greatest fear of her son becoming a lab rat came true, Laura decided that she couldn't risk anyone getting their hands on Lucas again. Although the alternative was nowhere near ideal – especially considering how hellish it would be for him simply being a mutant – Laura decided Lucas would be safer in the future, being raised by his father. The two said their tear-filled goodbyes before Bishop brought his son eighty years ahead in time.
No longer needing to be on the run, Laura found her way to Colossus' school in California and became a teacher there.
~x~x~x~
The years rolled by without any other major incidents for three years. Then, one night, while terrified by the darkness of his room, Jubiliee's son Alister discovered his ability to create energy globules (or "fireworks") exactly like his mother. Soon after his powers activated, the once-shy eight-year-old became a prankster, using his fireworks to cause mischief for students and teachers alike all over Colossus Academy.
Colossus started off as simply a friend and college of Jubilee's, but when Alister started causing trouble the Russian had to step in as a strict authority figure for the boy. This quickly turned in to a stern father figure that Alister learned to respect and love. Jubilee too learned to love how well Colossus handled her son. The two bonded even more and began dating. A few years later the two married and Alister gladly accepted Piotr as his father.
The same year Alister's powers manifested, so did those of a very powerful mutant in London. At the young age of seven, a girl by the name of Noelle Firada discovered her powers when she began to literally play with her shadow. Her ability to manipulate the shadows – including her ability to give them tangible form – caught the interest of the Hellfire Club. Wolverine and Shadowcat managed to have the X-Men intercept the Club's attempts to abduct the girl, but it was Noelle who ended up the savior of the day.
Due to how powerful the girl was, the X-Men sent a small squad in to Limbo to request Magik for her assistance. Having the squad stay in Limbo as guardians of five-year-old Sasha, Magik agreed to cross back over to Earth. However, she had been away from her native realm for so long that the drain on her was faster than anticipated. Illyana fell victim to one of the Club's attackers, only to be saved by young Noelle. The girl physically grabbed the assailant's shadow, tripping the villain and allowing Illyana enough time to escape. Having defeated the intended kidnappers, Magik and her small group of X-Men convinced Noelle to come with them to the United States and learn to train her powers in the protection of the Colossus Academy. After being widowered two years prior, Noelle's father lost all drive to truly raise his daughter, therefore making both of their decisions easy. Noelle quickly settled in to her new home in California.
~x~x~x~
Once again three years more-or-less quietly passed before yet another tragedy befell the X-Men. Twelve years after the unexplained disappearance of Storm, similar reports of natural disasters cropped up around Brazil. Unusual seismic activities destroyed large portions of Magma's homeland and she was determined to find out what was wrong. Nervous about Amara heading out alone, Jamie convinced his wife to take along their former classmate Cannonball as well as a new recruit: a Spanish mutant codenamed Empath. Jamie also insisted in accompanying her, but she reminded him that doing so would leave seven-year-old Lia alone. Reluctantly, Jamie settled for sending one of his Dupes with Amara as she journeyed to Brazil.
In a nearly identical manner as the Africa Team lead by Storm, Magma's squad was attacked. When Empath and Cannonball awoke they found the Dupe killed and Magma inexplicably gone. As with the mission in Africa, once Amara vanished the natural disasters ceased. The men spent the better part of the next week trying to find any trace of their lost leader before returning to the Institute.
Using the memories that flooded his mind after his Dupe was killed; Jamie left his daughter in the care of another Dupe and headed down to Brazil in his own search for answers. Much like with Nightcrawler, Multiple Man hated the idea of being away from his only remaining family, even if it were to find the love of his life. After a month of fruitlessly searching Brazil, his longing to hold Lia in his actual arms became too great and he reluctantly went home to his daughter. However, he vowed to find out what happened to his wife, and every year around the anniversary of her disappearance he would spend two weeks in Brazil trying to find any clues.
Fearing losing the most important thing remaining in his life, Jamie never again left Lia's side. Whenever Jamie had to go to work or on a mission he made sure to leave her in the care of one of his Dupes. Even a simple trip to the grocery store required a Dupe guardian. Although she felt smothered, Lia grew to accept her "multiple dads".
~x~x~x~
The next few years saw the walls of both the Xavier Institute and the Colossus Academy swell with new recruits as the next generation of X-Men saw their powers manifest. Twenty-seven years after the original X-Men defeated Apocalypse; at least six of their children became second-generation students of Charles Xavier's teachings. The fresh blood among the students required the same of the teaching staff.
Luckily, Bishop felt it was a good time to send his son home; feeling he was fully trained. Lucas found his mother as a teacher at Colossus' school, but missed living at the Institute on the East Coast. After a brief, joyful reunion, Lucas left his mother and traveled back to the home he once knew. Kitty, surprised to see how much Lucas had grown, welcomed him with open arms and offered the twenty-four-year-old a job as a professor. Lucas happily accepted the position and soon discovered that nothing brought him more pleasure than helping shape the minds of the next generation of mutants.
Thus starts a new school year at the Xavier Institute, nestled just outside of Bayville in New York State. A new crowd of students have settled in, and more are sure to follow suit. One thing is certain. The lives of these children will never be boring.
**A/N: Alright, I know it got a bit jumbled in there with the jumping forward and then back in time and such. It's so hard to figure out how to explain what happened in the lives of thirty people all at the same time! Hopefully I didn't lose any of you. Any thoughts? Including critiques on an easier way to organize the above information so it flows smoother and doesn't need as many "scene breaks". I'd love to hear any constructive criticism because it helps me become a better author for you.
And if you're new to my works and wish to find out more, I have a blog that I (attempt to) update every Sunday around noon ET. The link is:
The Rogues Scribe. Blogspot. com **