I had to find a lame excuse that, I know, the red didn't buy about the fact that she isn't accessing my thoughts ... If there is anyone suspicious here, besides me, it's Jean. But I couldn't tell her anything, not without first knowing which side she would like to defend. Because I know one thing: there is no wrong side, there is only the side that we 'are in and that makes sense to us ... In the end, someone always loses and that's what hurts the most. So, I always tried to choose the side where I could win and, even then, I lost so many friends.
I give her a hurried kiss, I say I have something personal to deal with, but I was going to look for Charlie after that to understand why she couldn't read my thoughts. This second part relaxes her, I can smell it. But I know it wouldn't be enough ...
I needed to think! Put the information in a logical order and there is only one place in the world where I can do this without being disturbed. I go deep into the most closed forest of Krakoa - the Mutant Nation - and find a camouflaged portal, when I cross it, all the majesty of what was once the X-Men HQ opens before my eyes.
No matter how long it takes me to return, the Mansion of Xavier's family always surprises me with its greatness and sobriety. Like a good ronin looking for answers, I clear my mind and try not to look for them, I need to create a receptive field for anything that the Universe has to say to me. I walk, mechanically, to the Danger Room, without paying much attention to the Banfs on the way. They adopted the place as a refuge and that keeps humans away, it couldn't have a better symbiosis.
The technology in the room reads who I am and greets me in a metallic female voice: "Welcome, Mr. Logan. How can I help?"
- Thanks, let's go to W32 simulation, just to warm up, okay?
And the totally metallic environment starts to change in realographies, something more advanced than holographs. Realographs really hurt! And we started to "dance", while my mind starts to receive the intuition that the Mansion, in a not so distant past, housed some mutants who believed in a dream, a dream of equality between humans and mutants; with some mishaps and many opportunities, but always trying to protect the weakest in the evolutionary chain ... Charles never discredited humans and never denied help to them, did he? Which Charles ?! My? Or another? But he is helping others with flowers from Krakoa, isn't he? Curing diseases, increasing the life span, he still has the same dream ...
At that time, I receive a painful blow from Creed's realography and, looking at the scene, I see that he is not 'alone: Omega Red, Magneto and Blob are with him; I release my animal side, while the rational manages to focus on something else: all these old villains are together with us now! He gave amnesty to guys who should never be on our side ... There is no way to serve everyone, there is no way to win by giving in to everyone! What is Charlie up to ?!
When I left this kind of trance, the simulation was over and I was on top of a roof in Madripoor, with a beautiful sunset as hell, despite the strong smell of rot and death that rose to me.
There was no way I could face Charlie at first. It became clear to me that his dream was distorted, under a haze of what was the truth; as for the others, there was no way to talk about such a crazy thing ... I had to go to the source, I had to know which portal to find Moira and chat with the Irish girl...
I spend the next three days without going back to my room, but since I am a loner by nature, I did not arouse suspicion. The missions of the other mutants were now more focused on administrative matters and on preventing factions that tried to steal the shipments of flowers to sell on the underground market. Nothing that needed an intervention of which I'm an expert: death.
I keep an eye on Magneto, I analyze his conversations with Mystique and the Stepford sisters, but I cannot capture anything but a real commitment to the current situation. Erik no longer had the smell of Moira so strong, and I was losing hope of getting a clue, I decided to run to the limits of the northwest side of the Island, without stopping to think, just run and see what was going on. Amazing how my instincts, the instincts of a clone, still work!
Just before arriving at the beach, a breath of air brings her scent, almost imperceptible, almost lost, but she was there! I follow the track confidently, attentive to the sounds around and focused on the odor; I need to stop before I get into focus, because the sound of someone's breathing and then their smell made me stop.
- Kitty! What are you doing here, girl ?!
And I see laterally her boat moored and the dinghy she used to get to the beach. She was crouched and is surprised by my arrival. But the surprise lasts a few seconds, she quickly composes herself and extends her hand to me, saying:
- Please, Logan ... Call me Kate, will you?
- What? The fuck! Come here, girl! - and I give you an effusive hug. I can't seem to pull it out of my memory the last time I saw it. In fact, a part of me is surprised to remember who she is and that feeling is very strange ...
At first, she does not return my embrace, but it does not last long, being overcome by my insistence. I don't ask anything, I don't say anything, I just take a deep breath, I smell so many different smells, like the sea, that mixture of sand, seaweed and salt; like Emma and Lockheed, as well as other unknown smells. We fall apart and she looks me suspiciously in the eyes:
- Logan? ... Are you really? ... I ... I heard you died, in space, Logan ...
I don't understand much the suspicion and the doubt, if I was me ! Who else could I be?
- K... I also knew that I died on a mission, but strangely, I feel myself and not a clone shit, you know ?! 'I'm very happy to see you! I don't even know when we last saw each other ...
- What are you doing around here? There's not much to see here, is there?
- Well, you know I wasn't cloned and if 'you're dressed funny like that now, as a pirate captain, you must have your reasons. I have mine too, but you can't talk here ... I know that Krakoa has ears everywhere. You don't want to invite me to a drink at your ship, do you?
She smiles and does not pretend, whistling, calls three more women who were very well hidden nearby, two of them armed with crossbows and one with a rapier. We started walking in silence to the boat and, with the hand in the water, after we had done almost half of the route, Kitty breaks the silence:
- The water temperature has changed, Logan. Here we no longer have the influence of Krakoa and you can't imagine, my friend, how good it is to hear that you have some suspicion about all that we're experiencing!
I look at the other three women on the boat, as if asking if they are really trustworthy and if I can open up:
- Don't be afraid. They are my arms and legs. I introduce you: Ada, specialist in sword fighting. And the twins, Tharik and Farik, with excellent aim. They know about my suspicions and do not accept a world only of mutants. As has been preached before, by those who remember...
- ... Peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants. - Kate's gaze shines and the other three women greet me with a nod, answered by me. - Well, in order not to get tired, I'll shorten it by saying that I need to chat with Moira. I think the girl is alive and knows a little more about what is happening than I am ... And I think that close to where we were, there is a portal that leads to her. Intuition really. Now, your turn.
- You don't even remember the last time you saw me? ... - to which I answer negatively. - We were out of Krakoa, in a bar, talking happily for the possibility of - finally - being respected for being mutants. You were a goat because you didn't agree with the amnesty; until that moment, I didn't understand you, you know?
She pauses the speech when we get to the frigate, we climb up the side ropes and I see her greeting the dragon Lockheed with enormous affection, I had no idea how much he had grown! That could only mean one thing: my memories of Kitty had been erased! My memories must be so complex that not even Charlie's resuscitation scheme was able to take away what I lived with her for good. Apparently, my neurons were finding a way to find their way back ... Even in a cloned body like this!
We went to the captain's cabin and she poured me a nice glass of rum, while opening a bottle of juice for herself. She took out her weapons and sword, hung up her overcoat and sat, relaxed, in a chair that must have been quite old. I sit in front of her, on a giant and very old sofa too, waiting for her to complete what she started.
- I only started to understand that there was something rotten when I learned how they betrayed Mystique - I looked surprised, she explained: They asked her to do something for them, but in return, Mystique asked to resurrect Irene. When it came to fulfilling the agreement, they denied it! They didn't do their part and that left the blue very screwed ... I haven't heard from her in a while and, honestly, I hope Raven doesn't make it cheap. To be used like that, while spreading to the seven winds that are tolerant and that accept all mutants ?! This is the greatest hypocrisy in mutant history! Don't you think, Logan?
- Kate, I'm not aware of all the variables involved, but I know one thing: you can't keep wolves and lambs free, you know? And if the lambs started to be the wolves I don't want to be there to know what the wolves are going to become! ... But what about you? What are you doing here and not in Krakoa?
She sighs, probably unhappy with my amnesia and wondering if she should really trust me. Look at me some more. I feel a growing nervousness, either because of the smell or the tachycardia.
- Hey! It's me! You can always count on me, Kitty ... I may not remember everything yet, but I know that my healing factor is working to fix this, you know? A word from you and I'm leaving your ship, don't worry, brown ...
She gets up, starts to walk in circles in front of me. I think I only saw her nervous like that when we were both in Japan and she still had doubts about whether Ogun was still possessing her body. I knew instinctively that pressure doesn't work for her, so after my sentence, I relax my body, enjoy the rum and wait. I notice that my change in attitude works, the beats return to normal and she, still excited, says to me:
- I don't know who to trust, Logan! I ... That damned island forbade me to enter! I don't have access to the changing paradise of Krakoa through its portals. What does that make me, huh ?! I ended up becoming a kind of luxury guard of the shipments of flowers and, according to Emma, I am the new Red Queen ... But I just want to understand what happened to everyone ?! Since when did we stop believing in the dream of peaceful coexistence and become mere dictators? You met me today on a mission to try to find answers ... I didn't have a definite target, but now that you commented on Moira, it would be very interesting to know why they don't want precogs or people who can cross any and all walls, don't you think?
- Wow! It's a lot of information and, since you opened up like that, I also have a business to tell you ...
I explain about the other Kate, the Gray Howlett one and everything she said to me. Katherine sits back down, paying extra attention to Moira's lives and how she's in trouble up to her neck in this.
- If Charles had been led to rethink his dream, Logan, he might as well have subverted to what we have now, wouldn't he?" I do not know! I've already broken my head a lot, but nothing makes sense!
- I can't speak for others, of course! But look at us! So much has happened, I have been cloned and yet my essence has not gone out! I'm here, wanting to prevent from committing an intergalactic shit and, as always, I'm going to need to be against most of the ones I love ... It's a bummer when that happens! I understand that there are no victims, but that we are the choices we make. And Charlie's choice was to abandon the dream to try something totally new. As if we don't have more time, you know? As if we were in overtime ... I think our two minds can think better than apart. Do you mind if I stay here for a few days?
- What did you find there? Were you following a trail or a smell?
- A smell, babe. The smell of someone who should have been dead...
- Great, with the idea that Moira is alive and reducing the places of demand, we can spend a few days here, analyzing the coast. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of technology. But we still have the good old telescope. - for a few seconds, I could see the old fire in the Nymph's eyes and that pleased me so much. - Make yourself comfortable with the vessel, Logan. We may have some order of action and need to set sail, but I'm not going to wait much longer to talk to Moira and, I'm sure, soon we will have a better location. You can sleep on that couch, if that's okay with you - and I nod as she goes out on deck.
I can hear your orders for positioning the telescopes and the request for constant surveillance, in turns. I also hear her talking to Lockheed, hearing his wings flap away afterwards. It could be a good idea to have a "drone" with his intelligence helping to find the portal. But it could also be a stupidity that would alert Krakoa of our presence ... Only time will tell.
I go on deck and see about twenty people moving like a ballet, each knowing what to do. As dusk dawned, some set up a large table on the deck for dinner. They use barrels and wooden boards in all this mobile construction and that's when I saw Kate on the bridge, holding the helm while some release the sails.
- Let's take a little tour, friends, so they don't think we're spying! - and everyone burst out laughing.
Tharik and Farik ask me to sit between them. The twins weren't just good at targeting! They were good at drinking! If it weren't for my healing factor, I would lose to them! The only irritating thing was that they completed each other's sentences! They said they were my fans and it was an honor to be able to hear some of my stories. While they served a lot of seafood, of varied preparations, and red meats with beans and pasta; everything washed down with a lot of beer and wine, as well as homemade bread that I hadn't tasted in decades, I was telling the adventures I remembered, especially those with Kitty Pride. She corrected me in some parts, but, in general, the memories came to my mind, and this exercise, added to the later exercise in the twins' cabin, reminded me of much more, of things that seemed blocked by a skilled telepath! Or she? My God! As we were off course...
When I wake up the twins are no longer there and I hear a buzz outside, in addition to the delicious smell of coffee. I get up and wash my face in a bowl of fresh water that was in the corner of the room, I slap my hair and realize that my clothes are folded on a chair, I smile at their affection. Kitty laughs when she sees me leave the cabin while she calls me for coffee:
- No "pirate" can go hungry, especially when you spend so much energy at night, right?
I smile yellow, it is funny to see someone I consider as a daughter to talk about my sex like that, for everyone to hear, but everyone's behavior is very stripped down and I soon start making jokes too. But soon I focus on Lockheed:
- Ah! He returned?
- Yes, after we retire. He didn't get much more than we did. We are in the right place, but looking for the wrong thing, I think ... We are looking for a typical Krakoa portal, but the island doesn't want to expose Moira, does she?
- That makes sense, girl ... But we are too close to the palace of the White Queen, you know ... less than ten kilometers to the northeast we are in the domains of the Black King. But what intrigues me is the strong smell ... Something happens there, and Moira is involved. What if we waited to try to see what it is?
- Being close to the White Queen's palace was my excuse, in case I was discovered by some sentry, I don't know ... I have found myself more impatient than I would like, Logan ... But we still have a few days before the next shipment of flowers need an escort. Let's look at what we have.
I finish my coffee and go to her cabin. When I enter, a strong smell of roses invades me and, in Kitty's bed, I see Ada between the sheets, still sleeping. Kitty looks at me as if to say, "these women!" and goes to the edge of the bed, without making a noise. She touches the other on the shoulder with her lips as she says softly: "Good morning, princess ... Sorry, but I'm going to need to use the monitors and I didn't want you to be scared."
They greet each other and I get strangely excited. I fight with myself! What it is! Kitty is like a daughter! While my brain counters: "as one does not mean that she is a daughter ...". I turn the other way, pretending to be interested in some navigation maps and only look at the brunette again when the door slams.
- If there is one thing about all this madness that we are living approved by me, it is that we mutants do not have the same behavior as humans, you know? We can be whatever we want, away from their petty and selfish standards ... So, if you want to vary from the twins, Ada is another big fan of yours, see?
- Katherine! Please...
- What?! Don't give me false morals, mister dash-a-Jean-e-o-Scott!
I have no arguments to counter that ... I stay quiet while she puts whiskey in two glasses with ice and offers me one.
- Our telescopes are all interconnected with our central computer. I made some improvements after I switched to this nutshell. They have a night and movement display, but I preferred to leave the second option disconnected. It could be that together, we notice something in the images, right? How do you want to do it? Together or each on your monitor?
It took me a while to realize what she was talking about and, I swear, I was going to answer something else in "how I wanted to do it". Luckily, she pushed a button and two monitors left the console where they already had two chairs.
- Each one in his, can it be?
It was more than ten hours of filming, from five different equipment to which I protest:
- Is there a way to superimpose these images?
- Good idea! Yes, it is.
I see Kitty doing something she likes a lot: fiddling with technology. A longing for times I don't even know I lived in ... In a few minutes our screens showed the videos in layers and at 5x speed.
- Yes, girl! Now, let's focus!
And so we stayed until lunch time. While we watched the recordings, the crew took turns to see the scenes live.
Unfortunately, none of us succeeded in capturing anything but grass being blown away...
We had lunch and this time, I helped to serve some of the dishes, since the twins were cooks that afternoon. That's why I hadn't seen them all morning! I helped to dismantle the table and, it seems, most of the crew had some free time to take a nap. Kitty didn't seem to want to sleep, she went to the bridge and I accompanied her:
- Do you have a map of Krakoa, K? I'm thinking about something here...
- Sure, come with me.
We enter the cabin, and she asks:
- Do you want the official or homemade map?
I smile sideways, I knew that the girl had already done her homework:
- The homemade, Kate, always the homemade...
Both laugh and she goes to a safe behind an abstract painting, rotating the combination and then brings a super thin paper rolled up while taking another thick map from the bookshelf. The thick one opens first, placing the super thin over it and showing me a dotted area that was northwest of the "Hellfire Club" sector.
- What the hell?...
- It is very close to that, Logan ... Up to a few kilometers from the Black King's palace there is still Krakoa vegetation, after that, there are only rocks. Something very different and suspicious ... Lockheed was hanging around a few months ago when a gust of wind took him to this place. I did not dare to go, because I am not allowed by the governors of Krakoa to navigate these coordinates ... You, my dear, on the other hand, are a citizen of Krakoa. You must have free access, right?
I raise my eyebrow in disagreement.
- The only thing we are not in Krakoa, Kitty, is free! I know that if I go that route, it won't be long before I become a "persona non grata" in Krakoa. I think you will have to leave a cabin for me, huh? ...
- No way, Logan! Not even in your days in Madripoor, a super coastal city, did you spend more than a few days on a boat. I don't see you as a sailor, my friend! But even so, I will always keep a sofa available ... So, you think that there is a scheme?
- Kitty, I always thanked Charlie for giving me a family, you know? I always felt respected at the Mansion, but I couldn't feel loved by who I most wanted ... Now, miraculously, here in Krakoa, I get not only the red, but the skinny too?! You can only be kidding, right? It is the famous "shut up". We give you everything you want, but in return you need to be everything we want and if we act in disagreement, we can always kill and resurrect you in a way that suits us! Ah! What it is! I have run away my whole life from being controlled by others ... It only hurts more because it is my family ...
- Well, if it's any consolation, many of them are no longer family. They are so overwhelmed by all the achievements that they don't even stop to think about what they are doing! And because they are doing it! ... Flowers are nothing more than bribes to friendly countries to turn a blind eye as Krakoa grows!
As soon as she finishes that sentence, we both look at each other, scared ... What if ... No! It can not be! Our focus is Moira! We have to find and confront the redhead to see what she has to say to us. The question is: was it on the dashed part of that map?
- How close can you get me to the "x" area, Kitty? - she points on the map behind, about four kilometers after the Black King's palace. I would still need a lot of fuel to get as far west as possible from the rocks and, once in the waters of Krakoa, only God knows what challenges I will face...
- I know you don't just go with a boat and claws. What else can I offer you, my friend?
- An aerial surveillance? How does your telepathy with the little dragon work?
- If he's on Planet Earth, I can feel him and know what he's thinking. But even if he tells me, I would still have to decide if I would give up what little I have and any chance to change something, or if it would help you...
- What happened to "my friend"? - I ask, while she smiles nervously, I understand the billiard pool I put her on, but I also understand the reason for my hesitation.
- Kitty! Relax! I think I understand a little. I was never the guy to hesitate, right? - she nods - And at that moment, my whole being is screaming for me not to go to that place, that is - and she interrupts me, screaming and hugging me.
- It's a fucking telepathic implant, Logan ! What a pothole!