New Year, New Beginnings
This is the third and final part of my holidays trilogy. Like the prior two parts (Home to Meet the Family and Staying at Home for This Holiday) and the first several chapters of They Never Trained Me For This, this is set in 2005.
--- 0500
"All right, everyone listen up!" Scott had his hands on his hips, looking at the assembled crowd. For this mission, the X-Men and New Mutants were going to be working together. Everyone was there; he'd even needed to get some of the younger students. The hubbub died down. "Thank you."
Because of the number of people, the briefing was being held in the library. The Professor was on Scott's left, silently watching, while Logan leaned against the wall. Scott was always afraid if he flubbed the review of the plan they'd been studying for the past month, the Professor would tell him to sit, and Wolverine would take over. The original X-men were sitting to his right, the students center and left. For once, there wasn't much horseplay. "Tonight is New Years Eve. Most of us stayed up last night; even if you didn't, I want you to try to sleep today. After this briefing, we'll eat breakfast and you'll be free for the day." They'd been carbo loading like marathon runners the last few days. They'd add some fats this morning for long burning warmth with the cold weather. "Please try to stay to the Institute. If you need help sleeping, you can get sleeping pills from the infirmary, but we need to be sharp. If you think you might be groggy from them, talk to Jean or the Professor. Or you can try to talking Rogue into zapping you."
There was a twitter from the assembled mutants; Rogue stuck her tongue out. If she knocked someone out, it would be with a rubber mallet, not her powers, and they knew it. Most of the New Mutants had come back yesterday or the day before; everyone had been turning themselves into night owls over the past few days.
"Fast overview of the basic plan. We want to have a team every few pens, and some free roaming ones. Dress in regular clothes, but think cold weather. No packs- purses are going to get searched, so no one take anything too tactical." Scott paused to clear his throat. There were one or two here who might have a want for a smoke bomb. "And hit the bathroom before you go, and as you are getting close- there is no place to go. Some of you are going to be out for a while, we want the ones closest to the ball getting there around dark. Remember, you aren't going to have a lot to say about which pen you are in. Keep your comms on, everyone will have a concealed one. We'll enter through a variety of routes. We'll exit the same ways. Blend in."
Professor Xavier nodded. "We should all be well rested tonight. As you all know, this will be the first time we've gone to Times Square for New Years. I am not expecting trouble, but it is a likely target. It is estimated that one million, two hundred thousand people will be in the Time Square area. I want us to be there, in an observational capacity. If you see something suspicious, call 911 and watch like a normal citizen would, intervention is not our goal. Of course, if it is more than the authorities can handle or there isn't time, try to be as quiet as possible. We do not want a panic- a stampede must be avoided. If there is no other choice, Kurt will teleport in and then take the threat out of the area if he can. You've all had your assignments, but there have been a few changes. Jean?"
Jean rose from her seat, moving to the front. "The Professor, Rogue, Storm and Forge will be observing from the Renaissance. They will be monitoring the crowd empathetically and telepathically, and the radio communications of local and state agencies. Angel will be joining us at the the second observation post at the Courtyard along with Beast, Sunspot and Multiple." It had been decided that codenames would be used tonight as much as possible, at least on the radios. Roberto grinned sheepishly- being solar powered is all well and good, and not very useful at midnight. The idea of Jamie in the crowd didn't bother him, but the sudden appearance of twenty Jamies would probably cause a panic. "As a result, Shadowcat, you're with Nightcrawler, I'll be with Cyclops. Havok, you'll be with Wolverine and Laura." OK, not everyone had a codename. Laura hadn't liked any of the ones that had been suggested to her, and no one felt she should still be called the designation that HYDRA had given her. Scott's brother ducked his head at the stare of everyone. This was the first he'd heard about this, and he wasn't sure what he'd done to stuck on Logan's team."Gambit, you're with Ice Man- he grew up here, he can help you get around. Other than that, nothing has changed. Angel, do you have anything else to add?"
"Yes. Start nothing. There may be other watchers, who are probably on our side. Out here on Long Island, you don't see them, but you are not alone."
"Any questions?"
"Do vhe have to go to breakfast?" Kurt had been procrastinating on his German curriculum, and since all of the instructors had to have their course outlines ready no later than today, it was still the day before yesterday. Everyone knew of his predicament, eliciting another chuckle from the room.
"No. Kurt, go to bed."
One million people, over a hundred television cameras. Crowded, tight, in the heart of a city that could be called New Babylon as easy as New Amsterdam or New York. It was a great shiny big apple just begging to be picked.
Or to be eaten away at from within by worms. Tonight, they were going on pest patrol.
--- 1835
Jean and Scott were the first team of observers to get into place. They'd also be the last out. But it ensured that they'd be near the front, in the heart of the chaos. A patient man would strike here.
"Hello Jean, Scott. Happy New Years" Nick Fury leaned against the rail, smiling. "Enjoying the show?"
"Yeah, we are Colonel. You?" Scott had never really talked to the commander of SHEILD before, but the dislike was instant. The man wore bad news like his personal scent. Scott felt a tickle as Jean pushed a suggestion to relax at him.
"Working- glad to know you are just here for the show. I'd hate to have an issue with you kids playing vigilante if something goes wrong."
Despite Scott's hand in hers, Jean felt her anger flare. "When you needed us, you didn't mind." She'd already told the Professor, he was listening in on the conversation. She felt the ripple of his mind against hers, even through the crowd.
"Desperate times called for desperate measures." The one eyed officer looked at the two young people. NYPD, the National Guard, and the whole alphabet soup of federal and state agencies were on duty for this, operating with a mostly unified command structure. "Personally, I'm glad you're out here. If it all goes wrong, I like having people who know what they are doing around. But not all of my superiors would be thrilled if I had to call civvies for help." That would be pretty much the President. "If something goes wrong, lets us know what you're doing. We don't want any accidents."
Scott's tone was cold. "Accidents would be bad. I'll tell Logan you said hello if you want."
"You do that- have fun, don't do anything I wouldn't." Fury smiled around his tooth pick, tapping two fingers to his temple in a partial salute, before continuing on.
Scott glanced over to his partner. I wonder what he knows?
I don't know, he didn't let anything slip. She scowled. She sought out Logan's mind, making sure he'd been warned that Fury was about. She blushed at the reply- his words were fine, but the emotions were... primal. "Oh, he's so happy to hear this."
--- 1924
"Jus call me Remy, or Gambit. No need to be so formal." Gambit adjusted his coat. Rogue had insisted he clean it out or she would. There were some things that a fille shouldn't do, so he'd dumped his coat out. Staff, all the spare parts, an address book he didn't think he'd need, smoke bombs, lock picks... All he had left was a half dozen decks of cards and a spool of dental floss. All kinds of things could be done with dental floss, but it didn't change the fact his coat was about twenty pounds lighter. It didn't feel right.
Bobby grinned- he wasn't sure how he'd take being 'Mr Drake' to new students next fall. 'Mr LeBeau' clearly wasn't taking it well- he'd missed it the first dozen or so times. "I can't believe they put you and Kurt together, he's got to be stressing out."
Bringing a new member of the faculty into the Institute mid year was logistically complicated. Junior instructors didn't need to have roommates, even if Kurt was the only one who hadn't had one. It was that or a cot in the kitchen- the Professor frowned on sleeping on the couches, and they couldn't displace students. Some wondered if maybe it let Kurt look after his sister. Or maybe because the only way to get to it was to walk past Logan's room, or teleport. But what most people really wanted to know was where he'd been.
"Ah no, you don' get to know either. It's a secret."
"Come on, Remy, I won't tell anyone."
"Uh-uh."
--- 2012
Tabitha was hyper, even by her standards. Her roommate, best friend and teammate was running to keep with her. "TABBY! SLOW DOWN!"
"Come on, 'Mara, the night is young." Boomboom was dancing down the street. She'd been awake for almost a day and a half, and been living on coffee, black six sugars, since then. She was wired tightly enough to vibrate in a stiff wind. "There are guys to dance with, villians to stop and worlds to save!"
Amara rolled her eyes. She'd let herself be talked into pulling the leather out of the back of their closet. The long leather duster wasn't all the warm on it's own, but she could at least let a little of her power out to stay warm. Tabby wasn't even wearing that much, but she'd sworn up and down she was fine.
They'd leaned towards the crowd that was near speakers. At least it would be easy to find them- look for the dancers. Amara started laughing. She was standing out because she was uptight as Jean or Scott. Even Rogue could almost relax. If they were here to blend in, she wasn't doing it very well.
Tabitha was smiling as she started dancing with a tall, graceful redheaded man with a white cane. Leave it to Tabby to pick a blind man.
--- 2052
Kitty had grown up not too far from Chicago, so the bright lights and noise of New York didn't have quite the glamor for her that they did for some. But she'd always thought this one event looked so cool. These holding areas, not so much. She'd worn flannel lined jeans at Storm's suggestion, and thermal tights under them. It wasn't quite what she'd planned on when Jean said she'd be with Kurt, and she was already glad for it.
She giggled and glanced down at her hand. Like many of the teams, they were posing as a couple. His fingers were stroking the puzzle ring she was now wearing on her finger. Four bands of yellow, white, red and green gold, simple at first glance, but complex.
Kurt smiled when he realized what he was doing. His chin came down to rest on the top of her head. "So, vhe just sit here and wait? All night?"
"There is no place to sit. You just hang out." She let out a little purr-like noise. The hologram was smooth; the real thing was like velvet when she rubbed against his chin. She still had doubts about having him in the crowd like this. If the image inducer fritzed again, or if someone stepped on his tail, that he was a mutant. She didn't think that would be the low profile, no panic idea that they had in mind.
"Hey." He pulled her closer. "No more worrying." He gave her the 'fuzzy dude grin', the one that dazzled even through the inducer's field. "How many of these haff there been, and no trouble?"
---- 2127
"Got it, I'll check it out." Logan's com was disguised as a headset for a cellphone- The Wolverine didn't need earmuffs for ten degrees, and there was no way he was going to be seen with white earbuds in public. The Professor had though he'd felt a mind worthy of being checked out on the other side of the holding area his team had ended up in. "Stay here, and be good."
Laura snorted. This isn't my first recon, Logan. Alex chuckled at her reaction. "I think he was talking to me."
"Ah. Yes." Laura looked around. At her height, the world was mostly chests and backs. They were four, five people back from the barrier- sometimes she could see through the crowd, but mostly she just saw crowd. "Anything interesting out there?"
"Not much, just normal people. And- crap!" Alex blinked when he set his eyes on a certain person. A person who thought Laura was dead. The word was out that Nick Fury was stalking along the edges of the holding pens, either with nerves or with a plan. He was getting close. Alex grabbed Laura's shoulders, whispering. "Fury's coming." Please don't kill me.
Laura's eyes went wide at the press of his lips on hers, stiffening for a second before she realized what he was doing. She softened, wrapping one arm around his shoulder, fingers stroking the nape of his neck, while the other pressed on the small of her back. She let her eyes close to half millimeter slits, barely wide enough to see through. She could smell his body chemistry change as she kissed back. His long blond hair and jacket hood fell forward, concealing her face further. She tilted her head a little, letting their noses rub, so she could see better. It was Col. Fury. She pulled herself tighter to Havok as the intelligence officer passed deeper into the crowd.
She was fairly sure he'd have stopped if he's made her.
She deepened the kiss, feeling Alex startle slightly. They had to make it good, just in case Fury looked over his shoulder. She tickled his lips with her tongue, urging them to part a little. He was flushing, she could feel the heat in his cheeks, feel the vibration of his heartbeat as her fingers teased the nape of his neck. She could taste the mints he's been nervously chewing on....
Logan check his watch before crossing his arms. He counted to 100 silently. Then again in Spanish, French, Japanese, Russian, Lakota and Latin. Then he cleared his throat. "Fury's gone. Laura, give the boy his lips back."
Alex lept away, coming to attention. "It was my idea!" Their cover was a couple of teens, with her dad escorting. He'd been good all night. He'd seen what happened to Jamie, heard the shouting, and Multiple hadn't been doing a thing. And Scott had warned him, so had Jeanie. And Rogue and Kitty and even Storm! Oh god, Laura had really kissed him, and he was pretty sure it was her first kiss and while it wasn't his first it was pretty amazing and he didn't object when she kissed back and it had been a long kiss and a great kiss and he'd never had a kiss like that and he was going to die because Logan had seen it and-
"Good thinking bub. Now lets get out of here, the Professor wants us with him."
Laura's didn't believe it at first. As it sank in, her eyes burned with shame. It wasn't shame at having kissed Alex, that had been kind of fun. She was being pulled from the field. She'd never been pulled from the field, this was a simple mission, just observe and mingle. She could do this half asleep. She could do this asleep. She could feel the tension running up her spine. She couldn't be pulled from the field, she hadn't done anything wrong. She pushed the anger down.
Logan could read the look in her eyes. "Laura, you're doing fine. None of us knew Fury was going to be poking his nose into everything. He isn't looking for you any more, let's keep it that way." Logan set his hand on her shoulder, knowing before he did so it would be shrugged off. "Besides, we can actually see the show if we are with the Professor."
"Fine. I'll do it to protect everyone." Laura knew that the Xavier Institute would be on the wrong end of the stick if SHEILD learned she was still alive. SHEILD raiding the Institute, arresting and disappearing her friends, had become another one of her nightmares. Because it was from her imagination, they were scarier than the flashbacks. She glanced at Alex, before giving Logan her best glare, the one that could kill small rodents and char wood. "The things I put up with for you."
Laura took Alex's hand before casually making their way through the crowd. Despite the intentionally relaxed and carefree body language, she was tense under her old leather jacket. Alex could felt himself sweating places he didn't know could sweat. For once he was warm this winter. And he could feel Logan's eyes on the back of his head. Alex was pretty sure Scott was about to become an only child again.
---2208
Ray knelt down, pretending to tie his sneaker. He was next to a manhole cover, what he was really doing was testing the seal on it. They'd been epoxied closed starting a few days ago, waiting for the solvent to loosen them. He sighed in annoyance- his time with the Morlocks had taught him to go down to safety.
"Did you expect it be different than the others?" Sam looked around to be sure no one had noticed. "They got them all."
"Yeah, well, I've heard that before. They always miss something." Berserker brushed off his knee. He looked around at the crowd. The normal people who never looked down, who had know idea what lived under the streets. The upper world had turned it's back on him when his powers appeared. The lower world had rejected him for going and staying with Professor X.
"There isn't anything you can do that you aren't already. Look, even Storm and Logan can't get Even to come out. Do you really think that they'd be able to change Callisto's mind?"
"Nope. Can't changer her mind with a sledgehammer."
"It is a new year. The Professor talks like he's expecting something to change. Who knows?" Cannonball grinned at his lanky and morose friend.
"Yeah, maybe Sam." He stared at the glittering ball at One Time Square. He jumped when Sam elbowed his arm. "Hey, space cadet, you in there?"
--- 2359
The ball was falling. Such a simple thing, ugly really, metal and plastic and lights. But it a symbol.
A million people. Speaking as one. It was primitive. Primal. A pack of Neanderthals screaming back the dark would have felt at home. They would not go quietly into the night. Even the watchers joined in, mutant and normal, all human.
"Five." Scott and Jean kissed briefly, holding each other. They were still on watch for... something. If something was going to happen, now was the time.
"Four." Kitty ran her hand over Kurt's ear, tracing it gently as they kissed for the first time, not as friends, but as lovers. A long, slow, deep kiss, his tail wrapping around her leg. You could have dropped a a house on them and they wouldn't have noticed.
"Three." Laura leaned against Alex, letting his hands wrap around her, while she continued to watch. She had spotted one hundred seventy four likely places for a bomb or dispersal device, and ninety four places for a shooter or two with rifles or machine guns. Alex stared as she pointed them out to him. He know it scared some people, but it was neat in a weird way.
"Two." At the window, Rogue bared a hand, pressing it to the glass, looking down into the crowd, away from the ball. He was down there, somewhere. In the crowd, Remy looked up at the tower of steel and glass that Bobby had pointed out to him hours ago. She was watching, he could feel it. He raised his hand, reaching to her.
"One." Tabitha grabbed a handsome young man, kissing him without even saying 'hi', then his girlfriend. Amara stared and blushed- that girl was without shame.
---x
With SHEILD's presence, the Professor had suggested a last second change. The senior instructors all agreed with it. Those who would be driving out would convoy from the two hotels in a few hours. Others would be taking the LIRR out to Oyster Bay, where vehicles were waiting for them. Those who were driving would meet them there. They wanted to stick together.
It was nearly four when they finally passed through the gate. Logan was driving the X-van. Tabitha had crashed in the back, her head on Amara's shoulder, snoring and drooling. At the other end was the Rolls, with Rogue at the wheel. The external lights had come on when the gate had opened.
Few would have expected to find an old man, tired and brittle looking, curled against the door, seated on his luggage. He raised his head as the procession stopped in the circle. His eyes had seen it all. Man's in humanity to man. Mundane against mutant, mutant against mundane. Mutant against mutant. These were eyes that had looked into the Abyss, and it had looked back. He hadn't liked what he'd seen.
The man said nothing, just watching them. Charles' chair stopped a few feet away. Gambit came to stand behind the chair, even closer than Scott or Logan. This is why he'd gone away. This had been Remy's secret mission. This man had been one of those who trained Remy, or at least had used him, but not unkindly. Just poorly. The goal had been laudable, but the hate and the pain had twisted it. And nearly destroyed them all.
He'd lost everything. His children hated him, rightly so. He was feared and loathed. His students treated him with contempt, saw him as weak. His physical riches gone. His mental wealth squandered. Time wasted. A wife, dead and gone, who'd have shunned him for what he had become. Even his oldest friend distrusted him. That was clear from the way his students, his children, protected him.
All he'd had left was his anger and fear, and Gambit had stolen those. In the nothingness he found his true self, the good man. The kind man, the father. He had looked again, not into the abyss, but into himself. And he'd wept for his soul.
The old man stood. He shivered from the cold- he'd been there for a while. "I have done much to hurt you, hurt all of you. I've lied to some, manipulated others, and endangered the rest. All I can say is that I'm..." 'Sorry' sounded too trite. "I was wrong." Legs stiff and stumbling, he stepped down to where the Professor was watching, quietly.
There were murmurs that slackened slightly when the Professor raised his hand for silence. "This is a home of peace, of new beginnings. Long have you have been with me, and this house is as much yours now as it is mine. If my oldest ally has returned, can we choose to not forgive him?" He would always forgive them, they knew it. "Old friend, have you returned to us, as you were when we first met?"
"Charles... I've sinned against heaven and earth, and against our kind. I am not worthy of being called your friend. But if you would take me as your student, or even your hired man..." The man knelt, bowing his head to hands on Xavier's knee.
"You are my friend, and as a brother to me. You always were." The Professor took the old hands, twisted and scared, in his own. "Look at me. I look into your heart, and my lost brother is found. You were dead and are alive again, Magnus"
---Author's notes:
Before people get their socks in knots, NO, the Prof and Magneto are not brothers biologically. But I've got several brothers that while I share no legal or genetic bond with them, they are my brothers.
I used to have a vest that I carried about 20 pounds of gear in. I know how Remy feels about leaving it all behind. It sucks. You get used to your gear, it becomes an extension of your body, you feel less than naked without it. Best thing to do would have been to just leave the long coat at home.
Tall, graceful, red headed blind men in the Marvel'verse are probably Matt Murdock.
In the printed version of the Marvel'verse, Ray was a Morlock, and he seemed to know where he was going when he led half the New Mutants into the tunnels while they were being hunted. From these, I operate with the belief that this Berserker had been a Morlock. Maybe I'll talk about his joining the Xavier Institute.
And yes, for Magnus' return to the Manor, I cribbed from the Book of Luke. The prodigal mutant has returned, as the Professor foresaw. I would expect that all of the Horsemen saw bits and pieces of Apocalypse's mind. The Professor saw a future and felt hope; Magnus saw another possible future, and was horrified. I wonder what Storm and Mystique saw.