2. Chapter 2—
July 6, 17:36 Utopia
Laura closed the door softly behind herself, the device heavy in her palm, Cyclops's instructions heavy in her ears. Find Cable, retrieve the baby, he'd said. If Cable won't come willingly…won't give it up…kill him.
This wasn't what weighed heavily in her ears, however. It had been more of a sensation that something would cause herself to doubt her orders—even, maybe, disobey them.
She couldn't put her finger on it.
…
April 13, 11:05 Seattle, the future
It came to her when she was watching Logan argue with Cable, talking about the time travel, how his device was broken, how he could only move forwards in time—not back.
Not back.
But she could.
Laura inhaled sharply through her nose, her bicep flexing slightly under the time device strapped to her arm. It was all rushing together, with an almost audible click! Beast. Beast and his science team, who
referred to themselves as the X-Club, had already done this—gone back in time—to witness the origins of one of the first mutants, in the hopes of understanding more about the mutant genome.
They'd gone back a hundred years.
Laura would need only two weeks of time taken back.
Could she alter how it had happened, reach Elixir faster and throw him at the afflicted boy? Could she save Julian, the only being she'd ever met with the power to cause pleasurable sensations to her
body (as opposed to negative painful ones)?
Laura didn't understand a lot about what she felt for the boy—what she had felt—but she knew so much as to know she felt lost at the idea that he no longer existed, that he had been a casualty of the
war. The snuffing of his life had been even more shaking to her than the death of her mother; when Sarah Kinney had died at her claws, she'd paused for a moment to sob at her side, then her
survival instinct had taken over.
Self preservation.
The urge to survive had suddenly dramatically subsided at the moment Julian had ceased to exist as a solid tangible being and had become a cloud of smoke and a splatter of fragments. She'd sat in stunned
silence; catatonia; staring into the air, tears rolling down her cheeks, and had stayed that way even when an assailant had grabbed her head and twisted it viciously, snapping her neck for the second time
in a short period. She only knows this because Josh informed her later, that after the fight had finished and they'd collected the wounded, he'd had to heal her.
Apparently her healing factor had been overwhelmed.
The rest of the mission passed by in a blur for her; she felt irritated at having to wait to test this theory. Countless opponents fell to her determined claws, and finally they reached the point where everyone
was taking their devices off.
Laura was the first one; she flung off her device in a vengeance and ignored the rush of nausea that accompanied the motion through time. Everything was bright and distorted, but her goal was
clear; she walked briskly even though she hasn't quite finished materializing in the present.
"What the—" Someone in the hallway as she passed them, just beginning to flesh into reality.
She saw the door before her and her hand solidified in time to grasp the handle.
The door to the science sector of Utopia.
…
July 6, 17:45 Utopia
"Ah. Laura." Dr. McCoy didn't even turn around, didn't sound surprised to have his door flung open dramatically. He was hunched over a microscope on the opposite side of the room.
Laura couldn't speak, her nostrils flaring, her heart pounding hard in her chest. Finally she collected herself enough to speak. "I require—"
"I thought you might," Dr. McCoy said, still not turning around.
Laura blinked. He had anticipated this?
"As a doctor who has sworn an oath, I cannot give you what you desire, Laura," the doctor said, his voice grim. "You understand, of course. The paradoxes that might arise could harm many."
She swallowed. "I don't care," she managed, her voice strained. Her throat felt tight and constricted.
"I know you don't." Dr. McCoy turned around now, and his expression was that of deep sadness. "It's on the table, there. Please…I will say you broke in and took it. That it was a surplus. What
happened was not right, and I can't bear the knowledge." Dr. McCoy was referring to the fact that the boy had died due to sacrifices made by Cyclops, calling a number of the troops away at a
critical moment in the rescue attempt of Hellion and several other students.
Wordlessly, Laura moved to the table, her hand outstretched.
…
June 22 13:51 Utopia
Time slows, and sweat beads on her forehead. She reaches a hand out to steady herself, against the wall. She has time travelled two weeks back, to the day before the incident—the last time she
saw Julian in safe circumstances, on Utopia.
He'd passed her in the hall, along with Santo and Victor, talking about something. She'd been on the way to the cafeteria, for lunch; the hackles on the back of her neck had risen at the sound of his voice
(pleasantly melodious to her ears) and his scent in her nostrils (some commercial fragrance that she didn't mind, along with his own natural perspiration which she found quite agreeable).
Laura runs towards the hallway now, against the direction he will be walking, her heart hammering in her chest. She must succeed—she's been given a chance to save him—failure is not an option,
even less so than if Kimura was here to threaten her. Her boots squeak on the shiny surface of the floor—she must time it to avoid herself, or she might create a paradox of sorts.
She stops, seeing herself from behind as she pushes the door to that hallway open. She leans against the wall in wait, steeling herself.
"…don't miss math…" Santo's voice, sonorous, becoming close enough for her ears to pick out the exact words. About two corridors away, then; perhaps closer, as the Utopia hallways are constructed
well and might dampen sound quite effectively.
"They'll get the academics up and running soon enough," Julian says in response, pushing open the first door. Crrrrk. "You know Miss Frost. She was born teaching a class."
"Think she was born with something else?" Santo asks, an attempt at humor.
"Nah, she said it herself…she's had a nose job," Victor chimes in.
"You are so totally gay," Santo says accusingly.
"Wha—just because I don't obsess over boobs? I'm offended! I could be a leg man, or an ass man—"
"Definitely an ass man," Julian says, as Santo laughs.
Crrrk, the door she is watching begins to open, and she catches her first sight of him in two weeks. She freezes—her throat hurts, and there is a sharp pain between her ears, behind her eyes.
She didn't count on her sudden inability to function.
"Hey, X," Julian says, giving her a small wave as they pass her. She presses against the wall, pale-faced and unable to respond.
The group reaches the end of the hall and goes to turn, then Santo freezes.
"What the hell—" he turns around and looks towards where Laura was, but she is gone. "GUYS!" he bellows, his voice full of fear. "I THINK THIS PLACE IS HAUNTED!"
…
Outside, Laura crouches against a rock, trying to unfreeze herself. She is wasting time, but she needs to be coherent when she approaches him. Remain calm. She looks out across the water, sees
the explosion again in her mind's eye, and shivers, feeling ill.
"You alright there, sugar?" A woman's voice. Laura looks up and sees Rogue.
She still can't speak.
Rogue smiles. "Cat got your tongue?"
It's a beautiful day in Utopia; the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the wind is blowing softly.
Calm. Laura breathes deeply. "I am…fine."
She's not, but she will be. She stands up and walks away, leaving Rogue scratching her head. She doesn't have time to get caught up in idle discussion.
…
June 22 14:15 Utopia
It is a simple enough task to track the boy to the small beach on the Southern tip, playing football with his companions of earlier. Laura holds her elbows as she navigates the rocks on the beach, suddenly
uncertain as to how she will warn him of the circumstances.
Do not leave the island? You will die if you do, I have seen it? Why is she concerned about this?
Because Hellion is going to brush off her warning. She knows this, instinctively; he will not believe her.
She tries anyways.
"X! What the hell—" Santo yells, seeing her first. He hasn't forgotten the incident earlier, having seen her past counterpart in the previous hall about thirty seconds before seeing her, the future counterpart.
Going in the opposite directions simultaneously.
Is this a time paradox?
Laura ignores him, looks at Julian, who has obviously been informed of the circumstances because he is giving her a more disturbed look than usual.
"I wish to speak to you," she calls.
"Don't go with her! She's a shape shifter or somethin'! I'll bet my—" Santo bellows.
"Wouldn't a shape shifter imitate someone you like being around?" Viktor counters logically.
Julian looks thoughtful. "If you've got something to say to me…say it here," he says.
Laura pauses. Then…
"I have come from the future. I have seen you die. Do not, under any circumstances, leave the island."
The boys, all three of them, stare at her. Then Santo grins. "Looks like someone found out about your date, Keller!"
Julian flushes slightly, but looks amused. "You really think I'm going to buy that?" he asks her.
"…" Laura doesn't know what to say.
"Let's go to the other side," Victor suggests. "X creeps me out a bit. No offense, X."
The boys leave Laura standing on the shore.
…
June 22 22:57 Utopia
By that nightfall, Laura has a new strategy. She cannot go to Cyclops, or any of his 'officers' for help, seeing as what she has done is absolutely forbidden. Using the time devices for personal gain.
Laura knows that there is personal gain in this, in protecting the boy. She will admit it to herself.
But her past experiences with Julian have taught her that he is much more willing to listen to her if she catches him alone, without the influence and opinions of his friends to affect his decisions.
She waits in his quarters, a small room he shares with another mutant that she is not too familiar with (not recognizing their appearance; only their scent, which she has smelled around the
island). His roommate enters the room and goes to bed, unaware that she is lurking in the closet (amongst Julian's pleasant-smelling shirts and a few pairs of pants).
After a while, she becomes engrossed in the scent of his shirts, a habit she has developed in the past two weeks, whenever she is in Utopia and not at Angel's log cabin (where all the X-Force
operations are based from): she goes into Julian's closet and chooses garments—as they have not yet cleared out his room—and lays an outfit down on top of a pillow on the bed, then curls
beside it and pretends he is there and not elsewhere, not a cloud of smoke-
"AHH!"
Her eyelids snap open and her eyes meet Julian's astonished ones in the semi-dark, her nose still pressed against his shirt. She's been too distracted to notice the sound of his entrance, the gentle
slide of the closet door as he reached in to throw his shirt in the hamper beside her.
Julian's cry of surprise has caused his roommate to roll over in his sleep, but not wake.
"X?" he hisses after a second. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Warning you," Laura replies, a little calmer now for some reason. "You are in danger."
"Of the stalker in my closet," Julian points out ironically, one eyebrow raised slightly. Something she'd missed. She only realizes she has reached out and touched it when she feels him stiffen.
"Laura…" he says uncertainly.
She pulls her fingers back, an inch, but not all the way, and looks at him hungrily, the way only someone who has loved and lost can do while watching a video or gazing at a photograph of the
aforementioned lost one. A yearning to turn back the clock.
"You said…before…you should have told me something," she says, her voice softer than normal.
Julian looks uncomfortable, disturbed. "You're scaring me. Please…tell me why you're doing this."
"I already informed you," Laura says, a bit annoyed.
"You don't need to make up a lame excuse," Julian says, and he looks embarrassed. His eyebrows draw together. "I know how you, uh, feel about me, Laura. I don't know how you found out about Anne,
but I can't let you control my life and stop me from doing what I want."
Laura pauses. "You think I am untruthful."
"It's a pretty far-fetched story," Julian says bluntly. "Finding you, uh, in my closet really doesn't help matters. I think you'd better go and—"
"You. You are the next target," Laura interrupts.
"Target of what?" Julian looks down at her with a humoring expression.
"The Leper Queen," Laura says. "If you meet 'Anne' as you have planned, she will drop a sedative into your beverage. Her associates will rendezvous as planned and take you captive in a van; you will be tied up,
gagged, and drugged until reaching New York, the U.N. building. Shortly before release you will be injected with strain 88 of the Legacy Virus, and will prematurely explode while myself and a team are
attempting to extract you."
Julian blinks.
"Why should I believe you?" he asks after a minute.
Laura holds his gaze. "I do not lie," she says, her body language supporting this statement.
Julian considers this. Can he really imagine Laura making up a fantastic story to prevent his date with Anne out of jealousy? Does she even know what jealousy is? He knows she's got something for him, but he's
really not sure what it is—it doesn't seem to be a human emotion, anyways.
She's pretty much a robot.
"Okay," he says after a moment. She lets out a breath she doesn't realize she's been holding.
"If you weren't X, I wouldn't have found you in my closet," he adds, in answer to her unspoken question: how could he be sure of her identity? He looks amused; offended, she pushes her way past him.
"Aw, come on…I was joking," Julian says, even though she can detect the lie in his voice.
Laura—I should've told you—
KA-BOOOM!
Laura turns her head abruptly to look at him again, to reassure herself that he is still here, still breathing.
She sees his bared ribcage rise and finds it reassuring.
"It does not matter," she says softly.
Silence. Julian seems to feel awkward; he shifts. "So…what? I just don't leave the island and I'll be safe?"
"Presumably," Laura says. "I will stand watch by your door to ensure this."
Julian appears uncertain about this (in fact, he thinks he's in more danger with her nearby than if he left the island) but Laura has already turned, heading for the door.
He stands for a second after she is gone, fingering the shirt still in his hands. X seems very upset, very genuinely concerned. Is it possible that he is dead in the future?
Lightning can't strike the same place twice, he thinks dismissively, meaning that he has already had a close call when he was shishkabobbed earlier that year.
He goes to bed.
…
June 23 04:51 Utopia
She is not sure at what point of the night she has closed her eyes, but they have indeed slid shut; she awakes with a start, with a watchful feeling, like being woken to a hand clapped across her
mouth, except there is nobody else present. It is semi-dark in the corridor; the emergency lights are on, illuminating basic shapes with their soft glow. Laura can see perfectly fine in the dark, with
her enhanced vision. The sound of the overhead hall lights turning off must have woken her.
There is trouble afoot. The hackles on the back of her neck are standing straight up. Something will happen, in the next few minutes.
KAAA-BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Laura stands up in one smooth movement. Trouble. But—this was not what happened when she was at the U.N. building, trying to save Julian and Nori from being the next Legacy Virus victims (and failed).
Utopia was not attacked.
The door beside her opens, and the two inhabitants come out (in accordance with most of the other doors in the corridor. The warning sirens have started up, and red lights have lazily
started twirling in the hallway corners.
"We are under attack," Laura says apprehensively, as Julian looks at her in question.
"Who?" he asks.
"I do not know. We will have to find out."
…
They make their way to the main hall, as per emergency instructions, Laura's instincts dictating that she remain close to the boy she has sworn to herself to protect; however, this may prove more difficult
than anticipated. More explosions sound off in the distance, and the ground shakes occasionally, indicating that this is no small event.
"Holy shit," Julian says under his breath. He has just looked out one of the port-hole windows.
Laura joins him, and her eyes widen.
Sentinels.
Twenty of them in the sky.
And a Nimrod.
"I must get you to safety," she says.
Julian gives her an incredulous look. "You're on crack…I'm not leaving my friends now!"
"This is not how it happened," Laura says. "I believe my temporal displacement has affected the timeline in some way. I cannot allow the sacrifice to be for nothing." She grabs his arm; he grabs her
wrist and pries her fingers away.
"No. Spelled N-O. We stay…and we fight." His eyes are full of fury. And…a glimmer of excitement?
He wants to fight.
"Julian—" she begins to argue, but Nori and Cessily have found them, and are shrieking and pushing her out of the way, overloading both of them with information.
…
June 23 11:51 Utopia
Dawn has broken, and daylight has spread in the sky; Laura is covered with ash and soot—and blood—her hair is tangled with debris, and her clothes are shredded. To her dismay, she has become
separated from her charge; Julian took to the air and left her behind, as per Cyclops's orders to all aerial units.
Normally, Laura would focus entirely on the fight. She is…distracted now. This is not right; not only has she had to be careful that her past and present selves do not meet, but this battle should not
be occurring at all. She has the uneasy sensation that the battle is some sort of retaliation for what she has done. That somehow, events will repeat themselves.
She needs to find Julian, now, and resume protecting him.
…
June 23 12:05 Utopia
"CESSILY!" Laura calls as the metal girl snakes in an elongated form, having just defeated a Sentinel with the help of Cannonball and Cyclops. "Where is Hellion?" She has looked everywhere, moving across
the battlefield (and being shot a few times by laser beams) but cannot find the boy. She cannot smell him, either, due to the overpowering scent of BURNT and the occasional scent of charred flesh that hangs
over the battlefield in a thick cloud of smoke.
"Oh—I dunno—did you check by the library? That's where I saw him last," Cessily replies, looping back so she is beside Laura. "He should be okay, though—he's shielding himself and he's with Rogue and Wolverine so he—"
Laura doesn't listen to the rest, already taking off in a run towards the aforementioned library. Her instincts are prickling like fire; her stomach feels tight. A gut feeling, some would say, perhaps Logan.
Outside the building, Laura looks up and sees the boy in the air, sending round green bubble-like protrusions towards a Sentinel that is stationed by the headquarters building, about a hundred feet
away—but distance doesn't matter, due to the size. She can also see Rogue, armed with a pair of wings (presumably Angel's) and silver colored skin (Colossus) flying in circles around the intruding
machine, her hands hooked under Wolverine's armpits.
She lets go a breath she hasn't realized she's holding. It looks like the situation is under control.
"X!" Julian has noticed her, and lowers himself slightly. "Up for a 'fastball special'?"
Laura blinks up at him, shielding her eyes. The sun is bright behind his back.
"What is a—" she begins.
But that's not the sun.
Laura's eyes widen, and Julian twists around violently in his bubble to see what's sneaking up behind him. And the answer is a rapidly expanding globe of energy, so bright it is white, emanating from the
Nimrod that is situated in the air a couple feet away.
It swallows him whole, like his shield isn't even there; and then Laura is thrown backwards by the explosion, onto her behind.
She is pelted by shrapnel.
A fragment hits her on the cheek, softly, like a tiny insult; she closes her eyes.
…
July 6, 17:55 Utopia
Laura opened her eyes again, after a few minutes, and was confused by the fact that the sun was already much lower in the sky. Had she really sat still all day?
Then she clapped her hand to her arm as she realized that the strap holding her time device flush to her arm felt loose. A glance told the story: the object dangled from the strap, smoking
slightly. It must have been damaged in the past, and she was sent back to the present, expelled like two magnets of the same polarity being pushed together.
Slowly she got to her feet, studying the landscape around herself. Several structures appeared to be demolished, but there were signs of repair already beginning. They were successful in
repelling the attackers, then: this much was evident, by the fact that she could still see a few mutants laughing in the corner as they talked about something trivial.
…
July 6, 18:20 Utopia
Dr. McCoy turned as she entered the lab, which was thankfully still intact. He looked surprised to see her, and she realized, after a moment, that in this timeline, Julian had not been wrongfully
sacrificed to the cause—and therefore Dr. McCoy would not understand why she needs a time device repaired.
"Laura!" he said, smiling in an affable manner, wiping a paw on a towel. There was a bucket of paint on the counter behind him, with a paint roller handle sticking out; he had been working on
the wall, which on closer inspection seemed to have suffered from the attack. "How may I aid you?"
She held out the time device. "I require repairs."
Dr. McCoy's smile faded. "Is this for Cyclops's team of butchers?" he asked.
Laura paused. How convenient, a premade excuse. "Yes," she said.
"I will have nothing to do with it," Dr. McCoy said. He turned his back on her.
"No," Laura said suddenly. Since Dr. McCoy already came to the conclusion that she should alter the past, then he would be likely to agree to assist her again.
She told him, in a monotone voice—the only way she knows how—of the events she has recently experienced.
