By Orkoad
Based on characters and situations created and/or owned by Marvel Comics, Sunbow
Entertainment, Kids WB and John Proft.
Special thanks to Red Witch for the use of her character, Spyder.
Chapter 14: past sins
Note to the reader: im sorry if this chapter didn't live up to everyones expectations, ive been under alot of stress and it shows in this chapter, i ask you all to bear with me and i promise the next chapter will be much better, im bringing more of the marvel univers into the series soon.
XxXxX
Jack found himself waking in the small graveyard he had just visited on liberty island. He felt a shiver run down his spine as he looked around. a dense fog had risen around him. He could barely see more than five feet ahead of him. He wanted to call out, to call for help but he remembered he'd give away his position to some sort of futuristic evil. There was that and... The fact that he didn't have a single friend here.
Just then he heard something, a scraping sound, like someone dragging their feet against the cold ground. Jack followed the sound, assuming someone had come to look for him, assuming that he was free from the fog at last. As he walked a figure became visible in the thick fog, but when he saw the figures face, and his heart froze in horror.
"Jack... Help us..." Professor Xaviers voice called out from the pail and darkened husk of flesh that had once been a human being, like a zombie, slowly tumbling forward towards him, hands outstretched, bits of dried blood and flesh crumbling off.
"!" Jack screamed. He sat up, heart pounding, his hands shaking as he whipped the sweat off his face. He looked around at his surroundings, shivering as the very thin and torn up blanket struggled in vein to warm him. He was in the war room, still in the future, still in the post apocalyptic hell he was some how responsible for.
The door swung open, a tall man with white hair, half his body seemed to be made of metal, with one eye glowing a gold shine as he swung a gun left in right.
"What is it, what's wrong?" He asked, almost eager to kill something. Jack just groaned, resting his head in his hands.
"It's nothing cable... I just... I had a nightmare." He said, still struggling to control his breathing. Cable groaned, lowering his gun, the glow in his eye dimming and brightening randomly as he walked in, closed the door behind him, took one of the spare chairs and took a seat next to jack as he sat on couch against the wall.
"Bad one huh?" Cable asked. Jack nodded, still trying to get the gruesome image of his adopted father's rotting corpse reaching for him. Jack looked up at cable. In terms of age he was a lot older than him. He looked like he was in his late forty's, his hare a shinning gray and the flesh part of his face showed his age in his grizzled features. "yea know, we're not supposed to talk about our past.. Your future but... You know.. You knew my parents." Jack's eyes went wide in amazement.
"What? Who, Kurt and Amanda? Kitty and lance?" Cable shook his head.
"That's more than IM aloud to share, but they always told me that you were the best of the human race... My dad would never truly believe that you caused what happened 10 years ago, he always held on to this belief that something happened to turn you into something else inside castle doom, like a... Mind altering lazer or something." Jack couldn't help but feel a little better hearing this.
"What do you think cable?" Jack asked. Cable shrugged, standing up, lifting his massive blaster to rest the The barrel on his shoulder.
"I don't know kiddo, I don't think your capable of what happened... But not many people here feel that way, so watch yourself." Cable said, giving jack a friendly slap on the back before starting back out the door. "You got a lot to fix in this world kid, but you got atleast one person backing you, alright kid?" Cable asked with a smile. Jack couldn't help but smile back, and nod.
XxXxX
Six hours later jack sat at a round table, Cable, Howard, Spider-girl and a few other people Jack didn't recognize as they went over potential plans to take out, for lack of a better term, Jack's future self.
"so it's agreed, spider-girl will lead the diversion team threw the main entrance while cable and I will sneak Jack threw the sewage system to take out the um... To take out future jack, and get the generator we need to power the time mechanism." Howard said as they went over a map of the area. Jack had heard this plan four times and couldn't handle it any more, so he decided to slip out. He was starting to wonder why they even went back in time to pull him to the future. He was five feet out the door when he was knocked over by a 3 foot blur. Jack fell hard on his ass and shook his head, to find a little girl looking up at him. This little girl smiled brightly at him with a giggle.
" HI!"" She said brightly as she and jack stood up. Jack couldn't help but smile back.
"Hey there kiddo, what's your name?" Jack asked as he kneeled down to be at eye level with her.
"I'm Navi, have you seen my mommy?" She asked Johnny chipperly. Jack shook his head.
"I don't know sweetheart, who's your mom?" Jack asked as he looked around, gulping as he looked around for whoever could be her mother, getting only nasty looks from people nearby. Just as Navi was about to answer the door behind jack opened and the group who were going over the plan piled out. Spider-girl instantly raced up and scooped the girl into her arms.
"Navi baby, what are you doing out of your room?" She asked the little girl. The little girl just smiled from spider-girl to jack.
"I was just talking to this nice man mommy." Jack froze, he knew spider-girl didn't like him, but maybe this little girl saw something in him that spider-girl didn't.
"Don't talk to him sweety, he's not a good person." Jack's heart fell, he had been hit again and again with these emotional punches, but somehow this felt like the worst. After a moment he felt a hand on his shoulder. Jack looked back to see cable again at his side.
"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked, smiling weakly. Jack just sighed, looking back at spider-girl as she walked away, navi sticking her toung out now at him. He looked down for a moment before looking back up at cable.
" I know my future self has done a lot of bad things but... why is it that she hates me so much more than anyone else... And... why dose it hurt so much more coming from her?" Jack asked cable. Cable just shrugged.
"I can't help you there bro, all I know is that she lost a lot of friends in the overthrow. I'd be careful pal, a lot of people here arnt exactly fans of yours."
XxXxX
Three hours later, jack, Howard and Cable were slowly wading threw knee deep sewage water, walking down the dark tunnel that would lead them to their mission. THey let cable take the lead as Howard sat on Jack's shoulders.
"Howard... Do you really think I could have done what I apparently did?" Jack asked as they walked threw the dark water.
"I don't know kid, I know when you came out of that place you were a different person, I just hope to god you learned your lesson." Jack stopped and looked up at the duck on his shoulders.
"that's why you guys sent me here isn't it, to warn me of what could happen." Howard sighed.
"Kid, I brought you here cause your the only one who could help us take out... Yourself, if you think I planned some divine idea to stop time from..." But Howard was interrupted when cable threw his fist into the air, signaling them to stop in their tracks, sending Howard sailing off jacks shoulders and face first into the dreadful dark water. After a moment Howard stood up in the water, arms flailing and screaming.
"Damnit cable, do you know what IM standing in, you know I can't swim!"He said agrely. Jack and even cable couldn't help but snicker.
" I think there's a sensor grid ahead, we've gonna have to be careful from here on in." Cable replied after he took a moment to calm himself. Jack walked up and lifted Howard back onto his shoulders, and slowly followed cable down the tunnel.
XxXxX
Hours passed, and after avoiding three separate traps, Howard, cable and jack came to the end of the sewage water. Off to one side stood an old slimy concrete staircase. Cable took the lead, jack set Howard down before following them out of the water, stopping for a moment to check his gear. His boots, gauntlets, armor and helmet all checked out fine so he armed the weapons, ready for anything as he followed the others up the staircase.
Slowly the three friends climbed up the staircase to an old dingy door. Cable stopped for a moment, facing Howard and jack.
"Okay, this is it, be on your toes, and ready for anything." Cable said evenly, setting his massive gun up in both arms, then he turned and kicked the door open. There was a blinding light from the room beyond, but it didn't stop cable from charging in. Howard followed. Jack shook his head to clear his vision, then raced off after them. He stopped in horror at what he saw in the next room.
The room itself looked just like the interior of castle doom, except this building hadn't suffered from years of neglect, but what truly turned jack's blood cold was that there were no less than fifty robot solders, all pointing blasters at jack and his friends. One robot had actually held Howard by his arms and he flailed about wildly in anger. Jack groaned and followed cables motion to raise his hands. One robot closed in on the three of them. It stopped to look over at cable first.
"Identity, unknown, but known member of rebel alliance, destination, detention center." then the robot looked over Howard, who still flailed about in vein. "Subject, Howard T. Duck, leader of the rebel alliance, destination, execution center, sentence to be carried out at 2300 hours." then the robot focused on jack, who gulped, not sure what to do. "Subject unclear, unit potential malfunction, performing diagnostic." The robot froze for a moment, but before anyone could say or do anything, an age ravaged voice boomed over an unseen intercom.
"There is no malfunction unit7396, proceed with the other prisoners, bring the boy to me."
XxXxX
Jack gulped as he stood alone in a massive throne room, if he didn't know any better he would have sworn it was the same one in latveria he was in with nightcrawler long ago. That whole life felt like it was a lifetime ago, and in some ways it was that long ago. He took a deep breath, not sure what he should do. Should he try to rescue his friends, or did he have a better chance at saving everyone by playing along with his captor.
"I know what your thinking." A voice said from the door behind him. Jack turned, away from the throne, to see a face, his face, walking up to him, passing him, up the small staircase, to sit leisurely on the throne at the top. "Your thinking, I couldn't possibly be you, I couldn't have possibly done things so evil and unfeeling. Well my boy, let me put your mind at ease. I am you, but only in appearance. You see, your mind left this body long ago, now there is only... Doom." Jack's eyes widened, an anger he never knew flooding up inside him. In a rage he raced up the staircase, but when his fingers were inches away from wrapping around this man's throat, he simply raised a hand.
"I wouldn't do that were I you boy, in a way I am you," doom's voice said with a chuckle, as he pressed a button on the arm of his throne, "touch me and your friends will suffer." as he spoke, theater size monitors lowered from the ceiling, showing not only cable and Howard, but spider-girl and her team all sitting in a very small prison cell. Jack backed off, and stepped down a few stairs, looking at the man angrily.
"how doom, how did this happen?" The man slouched back in his chair, as if looking back at childhood moments.
"It all started when I realized that you and your friends were my chance at immortality. You see while the hate plauge virus did not claim me, the cure I had developed left me to age rapidly, I was dying of old age at an alarming rate. So I kidnapped some of your mutant friends, they proved the perfect bait, once I had you in my presence I simply demanded you repay me for the favor you promised me, oh don't be to angry at yourself, I swore to kill your friends if you didn't aid me, and after you agreed, it was a simple matter to transfer my mind into your youthful body." Jack's fists were so clenched he almost couldn't feel them within his gloves.
"What did you do with my mind?" Jack asked firmly, struggling hard to keep from attacking doom.
"Well... It was a battle of wills for a long time, but before long doom was the victor, and if your thinking of bringing your elder self to the surface, it has been dormant for much to long, your consciousness is for the most part... Brain dead." Jack bit his lip in anger, trying hard to think, to find some way out of this, when he suddenly had a flashback, as if seeing forge's explanation of what his gear was capable of.
"well... My mind may be gone in that head, but not in this one." Jack said with a small snicker, and in a flash, jack pointed his fist, and shot a pellet at doom. But doom was just as fast, catching the pellet in his hand.
"Do you truly expect defeat the great doom with something as simple as a freeze pellet?" Jack just smiled.
"Of course not, but I got more than one toy in my bag of tricks." And as if his words were the trigger, doom shook as he was engulfed in electricity. Suddenly the lights burst one by one, and the monitors went blank. In the span of 3 seconds, every electrical device, with the exception of jack's gear, went dead. Jack walked up to doom, who lay lifeless on the floor. Jack nudged him with his boot, finally feeling like he had done something good.
Jack started down the stairs, a smile spreading on his face, when suddenly he felt someone tackling him from behind, sending the two body's spinning down he stairs. Jack stumbled on his back, doom's angry fists connecting with him, punching vengeful.
"How dare you, HOW DARE YOU Attempt to get the better of doom!" He screamed, punching so hard he cracked the screen in jacks helmet. Jack took a moment but he was able to flip doom off him and roll to his feet.
"What the hell?" Jack asked in confusion.
"A EMP Pulse has indeed incapacitated my palace and defenses, but doom is always prepared, my internal armor has a back up generator." Doom replied as he took a stance, ready to pounce again. Just then doom froze, feeling the cold steel of a hand gun pressed against his cheek.
"Yeah, well I never feel safe without old Betsy here." Cable said, pointing a gun very closely at his head. Doom lowered to a defeated stance.
"Very well Carson, you have gotten the better of doom, however... Doom always finds away to persevere, be warned, this is not the end." And in a flash, doom pressed a button on his belt, sending him flying like superman threw the building wall and out of view.
XxXxX
Jack stood at the step of a large glowing platform, back at crumbling ruins of what was once castle doom, his helmet under his arm, looking deep in the nearly blinding light of the platform.
"are you sure this is going to work?" Jack asked as he turned to look back at Spider-girl. She walked over to stand next to him, looking into the brilliant glow.
"Yeah, it should, once you return home it will be as if you never left." She said, before resting a hand on his shoulder, turning him to face her. "Jack I... I just want you to know how happy you've made me... And.. That IM sorry I ever lost my faith in you." Jack was confused.
"Your faith in me, what are you talking about?" Jack instantly forgot the question when he saw her pull off her mask, to reveal a long mane of golden blond hair, pail, gray skin and a set or lively red eyes. Jack struggled to find the words. "s... Ollie?" She said nothing at first, but smiled, and kissed his cheek.
"go home big brother." She said with a bright grin, and pushed him onto the platform. Jack fell into the light but didn't land on the platform. It felt as though he was falling forever. After a feeling as thought his mind and his body had almost split, he hit something, landing on something soft, but cold. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head before standing up, looking around. It was bright, almost blinding.
He stood there a moment, letting his eyes ajust, and realized he was standing in the middle of endless snow, tall mountains kissed the skyline in all directions. He looked around to see nothing but mountains, pine trees and snow. He took a deep breath and groaned, slipping his helmet on, feeling the chill of the cold already sinking in.
"Ollie... damnit what did you do..." He said as he wrapped his arms around himself and started walking threw the knee high snow.
XxXxX
At that very moment, half a world away, Jean was sitting in the large spherical room with a small catwalk that lead to a small computer terminal with a helmet in the middle, the helmet resting on her hear as the professor sat next to her. Her eyes were closed, focused on something unseen, when suddenly her eyes went wide in shock.
"Jean, what is it, what's wrong?" The professor asked in fear, sensing her sudden fear. Jean took the helmet off and took a moment to catch her breath.
"Professor, I was focusing on the other students in the mansion, and... I couldn't tell who but... Someone just disappeared from the mansion and... Somehow re appeared in Antarctica...
End of chapter
Next Chapter: to survive the savage land