Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men. Just Violet Jones and other OC's respectfully.
2023, date unknown...
Logan Howlett didn't know Violet Jones, but boy he did know a lot about her.
He considered Peter Maximoff one of his closest friends, and if there wasn't one person who was the apple of the speedsters eye, then he was probably one of Peters closest friends too. He only knew of Violet Jones from the amount of stories the younger man would tell about her. All the antics they got up to when they were teenagers, how she didn't run when he told her about his powers, how relieved he was when she told him about hers.
Though Peter wouldn't say it, Logan wasn't dumb, he could tell there was something else there. The younger man's eyes would light up when he spoke of her, his smile would get soft and small. Quicksilver was in love.
One day he asked him, "When can I meet her? This mysterious Violet?"
Peter went quiet, something unusual for him, clutching the whiskey they shared with a death grip. "We haven't spoken in years, I don't even know where she is."
Logan kept his mouth shut about her after that, in fact, any mention of Violet stopped after that. From what he gathered, she seemed to be as in love with Peter as he was with her.
Apparently, Violet Jones was known to most of the X-Men in the mansion, except him. He questioned Xavier about her and he was met with a grim look and a sigh. "Peter has told you about her?"
Logan nodded, his mind immediately believing that she had died in the many missions the X-Men, another causality in the ongoing war between humanity and mutants. But when Xavier spoke next, his jaw nearly dropped, his heart sinking for Peter.
"She is Nova."
Nova was one of Magneto's most powerful allies. She wasn't properly apart of the Brotherhood of Mutants, but she was a firm supporter of Erik's cause. She was properly apart of it when she was in her twenties and thirties, with the ability to bend the sun's power, soak up the suns rays around her and expel them as solar flares while also shaping them into anything she wanted. It was said that she made the blood of an old X-Men boil to the point where he began to melt from the inside. Her name was never said, for she seemed to go by her alias all the time, saying her human name was something she never wanted to hear again. Logan was certain he never wanted to be face to face with her. Ever.
And yet he was here, in some undisclosed bunker filled with mutants old and young, previous X-Men and old members of the Brotherhood. Everyone was here for one reason, get rid of the Sentinels. These robots were designed by Bolivar Trask, a man in the seventies who experimented on mutants, Mystique included, and used her DNA to help create the Sentinels who could rapidly change their DNA to become invulnerable to any mutants attacks. Many had been lost to them, Logan was pretty sure he heard Wanda Maximoff's name in the roster, so it wasn't surprising to see Peter there, standing next to his estranged father, looking like he had seen better days.
When Logan saw Violet Jones however, she was unmissable. Her stance was hard, strict, calculating. As she talked with Storm, her orange coloured eyes almost looked like boiling magma had replaced her irises as they burned with a hot intensity Logan felt was her default setting nowadays. Her hair, something Peter had told him was like, "a mess you didn't want to control" was dead straight, a few grey hairs here and there. Like everyone she was in a suit, but it was a strong contrast to the original X-Men uniforms. Most of the brotherhood had their own suits, and she was no exception. Her suit was much like her eyes, a bright orange, the top part a metallic material while the pants were made of a flame retardant material respectively. Black lining decorated the full suit and black boots and gloves finished it off. Logan was not a fashion person, but seeing her looking the part made her look more terrifying.
But to Peter Maximoff, it was like seeing an angel.
Logan watched as Peter blinked at her, like he was seeing a vision of his past. The older mutant rolled his eyes impatiently, elbowing Peter's back in an effort to get him to actually move and act like the forty something year old man he claimed he was(it still, after years of working with the man, felt like he was a sixteen year old trapped in a forty year olds body). Peter glared at him, but eventually sped up to the woman who flinched when the wind blew her hair back, something Logan didn't think she could do. He wondered if he should get closer, to possibly rescue Peter if he said or did anything idiotic. Logan got closer.
Watching Violet's face turn from angry confusion, to confusion, to pure shock. "P-Peter?" She breathed.
"Hey, Vi." it wasn't said happily, Logan could tell that much. It felt like Peter's mind not being able to comprehend that he was finally meeting the love of his life again, the amount of years he had spent without her, and all, the things he wanted to say to her. His mouth couldn't convey his thoughts, a flaw he always had.
"It's been awhile." she said, her voice taking a careless monotone.
"Seriously?" He chuckled, holding his arms out incredulously. "No hug?"
Logan chuckled slightly, that kid was wild.
"I've outgrown hugs."
"No one outgrows hugs." he countered.
"Peter!" she snapped, exasperated. The man seemed taken back by the bite in her voice. "A lot has changed, okay! You can't just expect me to go back to being the way I was!"
"Nova!" a voice neither Peter nor Logan recognised. Logan, who had been leaning against a doorframe, stood to attention as a man walked up to her, slipping his arm around her waist and hugging her close to him, something she had refused from Peter. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah." she said, still no change in emotion, good or bad. She turned to Peter, who was back to his blinking, shocked face. "Peter, this is my husband, Tom."
Logan's eyebrows shot up. He didn't know what he had expected from this encounter, but it truly wasn't that.
Tom nodded, bringing his hand out for Peter to shake. "Nice to meet you."
Peter looked at the hand like it was diseased. "Sorry, man, I don't do handshakes."
Violet sighed. "Forever a child, I see." Peter looked genuinely hurt by that. "Don't worry, Tom is like us. Like I would ever marry a human."
"Oh really?" Peter puffed up his chest. "What can you do?"
Tom's irises disappeared, clear white eyes replacing them. When he lifted his arm, Peter gaped at his arm moving the exact same way, twisting the same way, eventually his whole body turning around against his will. Violet and Tom couldn't see his face, however Logan could, and he frowned.
Tears were forming in the speedsters eyes, it was the saddest he had ever seen the mutant. "Cool." he said, his voice cracking. A pang of empathy found its way to Logan's heart. Poor kid.
Eventually, Peter could move by himself again, and when he could, he quickly and quietly excused himself. He zipped away, making himself impossible to find. Logan eventually did, he had found a corner in the living space, found solace in a half drank bottle of Jack Daniels that was undoubtedly Logan's. Tear tracks flowed down his cheeks, his nose snotty and face red. Honestly, dressed in his super suit and goggles, he looked like an idiot.
"Peter..." Logan could only think to say. What could you say?
The man sniffed, rubbing his glove against his nostril. "We had a fight." Logan stayed silent, knowing venting would help the kid. "We were together, we had a fight, and then we weren't anymore. I fucked up, Logan." He looked up at him through tears. "I really fucked up with her. She hated her life where we lived, and she wanted to run away with me."
"Why didn't you?"
Peter shook his head. "I've never liked change. I lived in my mom's basement for most of my life for Christ sake!" He sobbed. "I told her I wasn't moving, she left, and I never saw her again. I joined the X-Men, hoping she would be there, but when I went on my first mission, she was the person we were fighting against. We went out separate ways, and I was dumb enough to think she would be the same as she was all those years ago."
"You can't repeat the past, Peter."
He laughed humourlessly. Logan felt that same pang of empathy.
"I thought I could."
xXx
It was supposed to be a simple breakout mission.
A few of their own had been kidnapped by the Sentinels, sentenced to be tortured and experimented on so they could improve them. Logan knew it was sketchy from the outset, but Xavier wasn't about to leave fellow mutants to that fate and neither it seemed, was Erik.
They had a plan set out. Logan, Erik, Violet and Storm were to distract the guarding Sentinels while Peter, Kitty, Tom and Bobby were to get the prisoners out. But it was apparent from the start who was going to win the battle. For it was so obvious, that in the end Xavier felt immensely guilty and horrible about his decision.
The Sentinels didn't take prisoners. This was an ambush.
Exiting the X-Jet, the mutants were severely outnumbered. They had a hard time keeping them back. The Sentinels were fast, agile and worst of all, smart. They adapted their fighting technique specifically to each mutant. Logan only hoped Peter was fast enough to get everyone in and out in time. He watched from the corner of his eye as Peter took everyone into the facility, coming out with everyone a few seconds later. "Guys, it's an ambush! Fall back!"
Everyone reacted, including the Sentinels. The group migrated back to the X-Jet as fast as they could, but found themselves strapped into their seats moments later. Logan blinked as he saw a silver blur pop in and out of the jet. "Peter!" He called. "Come on, get in!"
"Hold on, Tom's trapped!" He said, strapping Violet in.
At that, Violet tried to undo her seatbelt. "Let me out, I can help!"
"No!" he cupped her face, looking into her eyes. "You stay here, don't move a fucking muscle alright!"
"You can't tell me what to do-!"
"I know, but it's time I got off my ass and actually did something for once."
Somehow, Logan felt like this was his goodbye.
"No!" Violet cried, tears filling her eyes, the most emotional Logan had ever seen her. "Wait!"
But he was gone, sprinting over to Tom who was trapped under some rubble. "I got you." They could hear over their comm. "I got you."
Tom gawked at him. "Thank you."
Peter didn't say anything, just grabbed the back of his neck ran to the jet. He only brought him to the entrance however, as the Sentinels had adapted their techniques once again.
In a moment, Peter was running, and the next he wasn't moving at all.
Both men jolted to a halt, Peter horrified to see a large hand wrapped around his leg. Tom was propelled into the jet. He glanced back up from the hand to look at the group with a smile. "Too late again, huh?"
"Peter!" Erik cried, standing, prepared to do anything.
Violet struggled against the belt he had locked her to the chair with.
What happened next was a blur. Logan doesn't remember most of it.
He remembered Peters abdomen with a hole through it. Violet's gut wrenching, blood curdling scream and Erik's fury being unleashed. Magneto lifted his hand and the Sentinel was blown back into wall upon wall, layers and layers of rubble falling onto it. Violet finally freeing herself in time to help Logan drag the poor kid in.
Erik pushed his way to him. "You idiot!" He seethed.
"Sorry, pops, looks like I out bested you"
"Peter!" Violet said, despair evident in every move, every word. "Peter, oh god! Oh my god!"
Logan grimly watched Peter search for breath, but with the gaping hole in his stomach, it was done in vain. He stepped forward. "Talk to him, Nova."
Suddenly, he didn't see Nova anymore, but that same, awkward teenager Peter had grown so fond of. "Peter, can you speak?"
He didn't say anything, but with a wriggle, it seemed he had acknowledged her. "Oh god. You're gonna be fine, alright? We're gonna get you to Charles and you're going to get you fixed." she brushed a piece of hair away from his sweaty forehead, smiling for the first time. "Can't have you dying on me, can I?"
"He pushed me into the jet." Logan heard Tom whisper to Bobby. "I thought we were both dead but he pushed me in."
"Shh." Peter faintly whispered, smiling. " 'S okay, Vi."
Her tears mixed with the beads of sweat flowing down his face. "Please!" she let out desperately. "I only just found you again."
"It wouldn't..." he gasped, deciding to change the subject. "When I was younger, I was gonna marry you." Logan shook his head with an angry sigh as he practically felt the broken sob Violet let out. "Would you have said yes?"
Either she forgot Tom was in the room, or she was only saying it to give him peace, she whispered. "Yes."
He chuckled. "Knew it." they both laughed together and with one final breath, Peter Maximoff lulled to the side, his eyes dead and unmoving. There was a moment of silence before the plane began to shake.
"Erik, stop it!" Logan growled.
"It isn't me!"
"Guys, the engines are overheating!" Bobby cried.
Violet's scream echoed throughout the jet.
Quicksilver had fallen.
xXx
A few days later, a new plan was developed, a riskier plan.
Logan was going to go back in time with the help of Kitty to prevent all this from happening. He wasn't sure he was completely okay with it, but he knew he had to do it. He had to save everyone, he had to.
As the remaining X-Men got the place ready for the journey, he noticed Violet was leaning against the wall, miles away. Her stoic and stone like features present once again. He made his way over to her. "You okay with this?" he asked.
"Does it matter?" She rasped.
He dropped that subject immediately and said. "Listen, I know you cared for Peter, hell, all of us did, but you can't-"
"Did you see her when he died?" she asked all of a sudden.
"Her?"
"You saw me, Violet, but you didn't see Nova." he frowned. "Nova would've tore that plane asunder, killing every single one of us without a thought. Burned through those engines without a second glance." she watched as Erik sat alone too, still not over his son and daughter untimely demises. "Nova had nothing to loose. Her children died two weeks into the attacks and her husband was barely keeping it together. But Violet had Peter, and in those years I was Nova, I never truly lost myself in her."
"Because you had Peter." and then, her cold, hard exterior was peeled back and Logan saw the vulnerable, scared teenager that once was Violet Jones.
"This world was cruel to Violet, this world feared Nova. Am I okay with you going back and making sure I and many other mutants don't have to experience that?" She folded her arms. "You're damn fucking right I am."
Logan nodded. "Good to know."
"If you meet me." she said, facing him now, her eyes Peter had once told him were made of sunset made their way into his soul. "By the off chance that you do, tell me. Tell me that I make the biggest mistake of my life leaving Peter Maximoff. That whatever hardships I think I'm going through, nothing compared to what is coming if I do."
"Logan, we're ready," Bobby called.
Logan sighed, and did the one thing he probably shouldn't have.
"I promise I will."
He was going to change the future. For Xavier and Erik, for Storm and Kitty, for Bobby and everyone else.
And goddamnit, for Peter and Violet too.
xXx
A/N: oh man, this hurt. I felt like having Logan be the POV in this chapter was the best way to do it because he could sort of Nick Carraway the situation and sort of be omniscient in a sense. Also, to diffuse confusion: Violet's alias in Nova in this timeline, but Icarus in the alternate timeline. It will all be explained in due time ;).
In response to anonymouscsifan: could you point where the mistakes were in the last chapter. I've gone over it a hundred times and can't see them. Thank you for telling me though, I'd rather die than have grammar/spelling mistakes in chapters. And urge anyone to tell me if they've found one!
Stay awesome, Gotham! - e