Author's notes: Thanks to everyone who has added me to their favourites and/or added me to their author alerts. Special thanks to pixienerd for your lovely review. I'm glad that you're enjoying this story so far, and that you also enjoyed my other story. It seems we have a number of shared interests, and I hope I can live up to your high expectations. I enjoyed the Excalibur Comics because there was some humour in them, because they did not necessarily take themselves too seriously, and I wanted that sense of fun to carry over into my own story here. Since travelling to other dimensions was an important aspect of Excalibur canon, I could not resist the temptation of having them visit my world. Excalibur will continue to have a small but important part in this story; I'm glad you enjoyed comic Kurt's cameo.
Now on with the story;
Chapter 1 – Magion and Margali
It had been three days since Kurt and Kitty had met with Excalibur, and Kitty was beginning to worry that the meeting had affected Kurt more than he cared to admit, as he had been unusually quiet and withdrawn ever since they left. At first she had dismissed her concerns, reasoning that Kurt had been suffering from mild concussion, even though the other Kurt had assured her that he would be fine. Besides, Kitty had to admit that it had been slightly strange and unsettling, meeting herself from another world, even though Excalibur had been very friendly and helpful towards them. Still, Kitty could not help herself from worrying that the other world Kurt had said something disturbing to her Kurt, perhaps when she had been excitedly discussing her upcoming wedding with the other Kitty, Rachel and Meggan.
There was a knock on Kitty's door, which suddenly brought her out of her contemplation. She sighed, and walked over to open the door.
"Good afternoon, Kitty," said Storm, smiling at her as she entered her room, "there's a demonstration going on downstairs that be of might interest to you. Kurt's already down there watching it."
Kitty smiled up at Storm, but it was clear that Storm could tell that she still felt uncertain. Storm put a reassuring hand upon Kitty's shoulder. "It's been hard for Kurt recently," she said, "and meeting himself from another world has caused him to question many of the assumptions that he once thought he knew. But don't worry, he knows that he loves you, don't doubt that for a moment."
Kitty nodded thoughtfully. "I hope it is nothing serious," she said, "but sometimes I see him looking so sad or thoughtful, but the next moment, he hides it behind his smile. I just hope that this meeting has not shattered his confidence, it's taken so long to build it up."
Storm gave her a reassuring smile, "You should by now know that Kurt is a lot tougher than he looks. Still, it might be wise for you to talk to him, to tell him about your concerns, perhaps after watching the demonstration downstairs. I take it that you are going to attend the demonstration?"
Kitty sighed, and shrugged her shoulders. "Why not?" she asked. "Maybe it will take my mind off of worrying about Kurt, for a short while at least."
Storm gave her a mischievous grin, "I doubt very much that there is any power in this world or any other that could enable you to keep your mind off of Kurt for more than a minute or two," she said, winking playfully at Kitty, "but there is no harm in having other interests as well."
Kitty nodded again, and then followed Storm downstairs to the main hall. There was a man at the front of the hall, and this man was wearing a purple robe, and carrying a large, black bag. Many of the mutants at the Xavier Academy for Gifted Youngsters were watching him curiously, as he reached into his bag, and removed what appeared to be a small, golden necklace. Kitty thought that it looked a bit like the copper bracelet that Kurt always wore whenever he wanted to disguise his blue, furry form. The necklace that the stranger held out to the curious mutants was plain gold, and glinted slightly in the candlelight. Wolverine frowned slightly when he saw it, and Kitty suddenly had the distinct impression that he must have seen something similar before, and did not entirely like or trust it.
"Let me introduce myself to the lovely young ladies who have just joined us," said the man holding the necklace, as he bowed ever so slightly to Kitty and Storm, "my name is Magion, and I bring you powerful magic from a distant land, far to the east of these fair shores."
"Stop the showing off," Wolverine muttered irritably, "and just get on with this demonstration of yours."
Magion deflated slightly, but then straightened up, smiled uncertainly at Wolverine, and held the necklace high above his head, so that all of the mutants gathered around the hall could see it clearly. "This collar," he said, "can stop your mutant power. All you have to do is put it around your neck, and your power will be inhibited for the duration that you are wearing it."
"Why would we want to stop our powers?" asked Bobby Drake sceptically, "some of us like having our mutant powers."
Magion nodded towards Bobby, "That is certainly the truth," he admitted, "but some mutants do not. There are many applications for this necklace, from the simple use of stopping telepaths from using their abilities to cheat during examinations, to quite literately saving lives."
"Saving lives?" Kurt asked quietly. Kitty noticed that he was sitting, cross-legged, in the front row, watching Magion curiously, an uncertain expression upon his disguised features. Quietly, Kitty made her way towards him, sat down next to him, and squeezed his hand reassuringly, before turning her attention back to Magion once more.
Magion smiled sadly at Kitty and Kurt, and nodded ever so slightly, "Not all mutant powers provide the mutant with positive abilities and advantages," he said quietly, "some can have very unpleasant effects indeed."
"Wither," Wolverine grunted.
Magion nodded sadly. "A boy, no older than you, developed a mutant power that quite literally sucked the life out of everyone around him. In the end, we had no choice but to…" his voice trailed off, as he looked down at his shoes.
"Sometimes hard decisions have to be made," Wolverine explained gruffly, "and there are times when I'm the only one capable of doing what must be done."
"Exactly," Magion said, sighing quietly, "and it was after hearing about this tragedy that I set to work creating these magical collars, so that no other child would have to endure what Wither went through."
"I can understand the use of these necklaces," it was the calm, contemplative voice of the wizard-professor, Charles Xavier, "but if in the future mutants are forced to wear these objects, it will surely only be a matter of time until they are recognised as being members of the mutant community, and this could have a negative impact upon their future. There are still many people who hate mutants, despite what we have been doing to try to bridge the gap between us and the rest of humanity."
"No one is going to be forced to wear one of these necklaces," Magion explained calmly.
"For how long?" Wolverine demanded. "If everyone comes to know about the existence of these collars, then there's a real chance that we'll be forced to wear these things, regardless of our powers."
"There are worlds where this has already happened," said Kurt quietly.
Suddenly, everyone in the room turned their attention towards him. Kurt shrugged uncertainly, "I had a very long talk with a very interesting person earlier this week," he explained awkwardly, "there's all sorts of different attitudes towards mutants, in all sorts of different worlds."
There was a moment of awkward silence, in which Kitty watched Kurt closely, as he examined the necklace carefully. So Kurt had indeed discussed some really important issues with his doppelganger from the other world. She would need to try to convince him to tell her everything that the other Kurt had told him, as it was rapidly becoming apparent that their conversation had affected him deeply.
Xavier cleared his throat, and pointed towards the necklace, "This is, let us not forget, just a tool," he said, "and tools, by their very nature, are neither good nor evil, however tools can doubtlessly cause much ill if and when they fall into the wrong hands."
"We just gotta make sure that that don't happen then," Rogue said, "but these things could prove really useful when used in the right way."
Kitty turned her attention towards her roommate, and smiled sadly. Rogue's powers involved draining the powers and abilities of others, including, but not limited to, their mutant abilities. It had proven to be an extremely useful and versatile power in many different situations, but it was a power that Rogue could neither stop nor control. It had been years since Rogue had been able to risk touching people, for fear of harming them, and so she wore gloves whenever there was a likelihood that she would come into contact with others. Kitty was certain that this lack of simple human contact and affection must have had a serious affect upon Rogue, although she rarely complained about her mutant power, as it was not in Rogue's nature to talk at length about her feelings. Kitty suddenly felt vaguely guilty about all of the affectionate gestures that she had shared with Kurt while in Rogue's presence, and wondered if they could have, by their own thoughtlessness, caused Rogue to feel a certain amount of resentment towards her own mutant ability.
"As I said before, no one will be forced to wear these collars if they do not want to," Magion said, "but there are those, even in this room no doubt, who could surely benefit from at least wearing these necklaces for a short while."
"Indeed," the wizard-professor said, "and I can see no harm in allowing any who so chose to try on these necklaces." Xavier then nodded his approval to the watching mutants.
Rogue was the first to approach Magion, who handed her a necklace. She examined it curiously for a moment, and then shrugged slightly. Carefully, she put it on her neck. "Don't feel no different," she muttered. She then removed her glove. Tentatively, almost shyly, she reached out, and touched Kitty's hand. Kitty clasped her hand in her own, and smiled at her reassuringly, as nothing happened between them. Kitty had felt her powers being drained by Rogue before, but this time there was no feeling of being drained, just the feeling of holding hands with one of her dear friends.
Kitty tightened her grip on Rogue's hand, and then gently pulled her into a chaste hug. "Now you'll be able to dance at my wedding without having to worry about harming anyone," she said.
Rogue wiped a tear from her eye. Kitty knew that Rogue was not the sort of person who displayed her emotions easily, but it was clear to her that Rogue's realisation that she could safely have human contact after so long was almost overwhelming. Kitty could feel tears welling up in her own eyes just at the thought that Rogue would simply be able to safely touch others after so long.
"Look," said Rogue, obviously trying to hide her embarrassment as she wiped her eyes once more, and pointed towards where Scott Summers had removed his spectacles, and was staring lovingly into Jean Gray's eyes.
Kitty grinned as she watched them stare lovingly at each other; after all, Jean had almost certainly never seen Scott's eyes before, as they were always hidden by his magical ruby spectacles. Just like Rogue, Scott's mutant power could not be turned off, and so he had to wear the spectacles at all times, in order to avoid causing all manner of destruction with his eye beams.
Kurt grinned as he watched them, and then whispered in Kitty's ear, "Do you think now would be a good time to tell them that we've met their daughter from another world?"
Kitty returned Kurt's grin, "I'm not sure that there's ever a right time to tell someone something like that," she admitted.
"Right, I've got to be able to see for myself whether or not this really is as soft and fuzzy as Kitty always says it is," said Rogue, as she reached out and touched Kurt's arm. She rubbed his fur almost experimentally, as Kurt grinned up at her playfully.
"I'm going to get jealous if this carries on much longer," Kitty said playfully, but it was clear that Rogue merely wanted to feel human contact with her friend.
Kurt himself did not seem to mind Rogue stroking his arm, although Kitty suddenly noticed that Kurt was staring at the magical necklaces longingly.
Kitty swallowed, and grabbed Kurt's hand, as he began to make his way towards Magion in order to reach for one of the necklaces. Kitty gave him an almost desperate look as she squeezed his hand reassuringly, "Isn't it enough that you must disguise yourself whenever we are in public?" she asked him quietly. "Must you hide everything that makes you you?"
Kurt gave her a long, agonising look, and then looked down at his disguised form. "If it means that much to you," he said quietly.
Kitty swallowed, and pulled him into a tight hug, "I just want you to like you again," she told him quietly, "you've seemed so distant since we met Excalibur, it's clear that meeting the other Kurt has affected you deeply. Please, just tell me what the other Kurt told you."
Kurt smiled at Kitty uncertainly, "A lot of things," he admitted quietly, "sorry for being quiet these last few days, but he's given me a great deal to think about."
"You know that you can always tell me anything," Kitty assured him gently, "anything at all."
Kurt looked at her uncertainly for a long moment, biting his lips in the way he usually did whenever he felt unsure of himself. Then he looked down at the floor, "Excalibur, all of its members…they died," he said slowly, very quietly, "all of them, at one time or another. But from where they came from, it can be undone. Could…" his voice trailed off, and he choked slightly, "could that be done here, in this world, as well?" he asked, suddenly looking up at Kitty, desperate pleading in his eyes.
Kitty was taken aback by the comment. She knew perfectly well that the death of Kurt's family had affected him deeply, but she had never even considered for a moment that Kurt's sudden uncertainty might be caused by him assuming it might be possible to undo the tragedy of his past. She squeezed his hand gently, and gave him a small, sad smile, "Death is death, Kurt," she said, as sympathetically as she could manage, "it's sad, and it's tragic, but what happened to your family just cannot be undone. That's just the way things are in this world."
"But the other Kurt," he said, almost desperately, "the whole of Excalibur, none of them stayed dead for more than about two years. And if they could enter our world," he bit his lip again, as he stared hopefully at Kitty, "doesn't that mean that the rules that govern them, the rules that govern their world, the rules concerning even death, couldn't they also enter our world too?"
Kitty suddenly felt very uncertain. Could the rules concerning even death be stretched or even broken? Was that even possible? She turned suddenly to where Xavier had rolled up behind them in his wheelchair, and was watching them worriedly, "Is Kurt right?" Kitty asked him.
Xavier was silent for a very long moment, as he watched Kurt and Kitty uncertainly. Finally, he sighed, "There are certain rules that govern this world," he said finally, "and to my knowledge, they have never been broken. But that does not necessarily mean that they can never be broken."
"I'm not sure that I understand," Kitty admitted.
Xavier sighed again, "There are strange powers in this world," he said slowly, "although what you are suggesting has, to my knowledge, never been done, the future is not necessarily the same as the past." He nodded towards Kurt, "What has Margali said regarding your concerns?" he asked.
Margali had worked for Xavier for the last year, teaching magic to those who had the talent for it, while providing Kurt with a mentor and mother figure to help him to adjust to his new life as an X-Man. She was, after all, the only surviving member from Kurt's circus family, so it was perhaps not surprising that Kurt often relied upon her to provide him with help and advice.
"I haven't spoken to her about my concerns," Kurt admitted. "At first I didn't know how to ask her, and then I just didn't want to get her hopes up if it was completely hopeless. Then she said that she was meeting an old acquaintance at the market place, and I haven't seen her since. I'm glad she's meeting old friends, but I really wish I could speak to her about this."
Xavier nodded, "Understandably," he said, and then pointed towards where Margali was at that moment returning to the Institute, "however, it would seem that, as your Mother has just this moment returned to our abode, now would be the perfect time for you to discuss your concerns with her."
Kurt looked at Xavier uncertainly, and then made his way towards Margali. "How was your visit to the market place?" Kurt asked quietly.
Margali smiled at Kurt, "It was fine," she assured him, "there was a talk in the town square by a mutant, he was saying that all people, mutants and those without mutant abilities, were all one and the same. It was a good talk, I just wish he could have spoken louder, it could be quite difficult to hear him from the back of the crowd."
"This was the person you knew from a while back?" Kurt asked quietly, "from when our circus was still…" his voice trailed off, and he looked down sadly.
Margali put a reassuring hand upon his shoulder, "What happened to our circus happened," she told him quietly, "no one blames you, except yourself."
"But what if it could all be changed?" Kurt asked desperately, "what if what happened could be undone?"
Margali sighed, "It can't, I've explained this to you before," she said sadly, "some things just can't be changed."
Kurt stared up at her, and then shook his head, "But Excalibur," he said, clinging to her desperately, "in the world that they're from, death can be undone, sometimes time and time again. And they were in our world, which means that the rules of their world have also entered our world, surely. That means that we can undo what should never have happened."
"Oh Kurt," said Margali sadly, "Excalibur is no longer in our world, and even if they were, and did indeed leave a tear in our reality, there's a very real chance that the tear will have been mended by now."
"Then there is a chance that there could have really been a tear in our reality? A chance," Kurt persisted.
Margali sighed again, "Even if there is, then undoing the past will not, cannot, be achieved easily. These things are never given without a very high price. Even if it is possible to undo what happened in the past, the price asked will likely be far too great."
"So you're saying that there really is a chance," Kurt said.
Margali looked away from Kurt, to where Kitty was watching them uncertainly. Kitty took a step towards her, as Margali returned her attention back to Kurt, "Rules can sometimes, rarely, be bent and broken," she said uncertainly, "but only rarely, and never without effort, nothing is ever given freely. The price required for even so much as the chance to undo what has been done is likely to be too great, and with no guarantee of success."
"Even so," Kurt said, "if there's even the smallest hope of a chance, I must try to do this. Please, if you know anything at all, please tell me. I'll do anything."
"This is beyond me," Margali admitted, "far beyond my power, far beyond my magic. But I do know of someone who may be able to tell you if what you are suggesting is possible."
"Who?" Kurt asked desperately.
"Someone I knew long ago. He calls himself Narran Olorin, the storyteller. I have mentioned him before, he claims that he moves between worlds, telling tales to those who will listen. When I was younger, I thought he was talking metaphorically, but I have begun to suspect that he might have been talking literally. If anyone knows about how to use the gaps and tears between worlds to undo the past, then it is him."
"Narran," said Kurt quietly, "I think I remember you mentioning the name."
Margali smiled at him knowingly, "You met once, when you were very young, but I doubt you would remember the meeting. He was one of the few people who was not in the least bit surprised by your uniqueness."
"I have to talk to him," Kurt said thoughtfully, "just to find out if there really is a chance that the past can be changed."
Margali nodded thoughtfully, "I believe that you do," she said, "and my friend informed me that he will be in the Dragon's Head tomorrow. You and Kitty should go and see him then, there is no telling when you might get the chance to meet him again."
Kurt nodded, "Thank you," he said.
Margali looked down sadly, "I just hope that the price you are required to pay will not be too high," she said.
