AUTHOR'S NOTE: The following story is very disconnected from Dawn of X and any of its supporting storylines. This is just me writing a quick story that would raise questions about the system of Krakoa and I wanted to tell it through Cable because he is a teenager, (it may or may not be in character for him idk.) Just don't want any confusion for those of you keeping/catching up. xx
Charles Xavier took Cyclops aside after one of his meetings with the Quiet Council. His face was set in a grim expression, despite having most of it obscured by the new Cerebro. This quickly catches Scott's attention as he quietly asks what's wrong. He was aware that no one else was around them so it had to be dire if they were speaking privately.
"Your son," Charles starts dryly, "he has died."
Scott flinched and tilted his head in response. "Wha— how?"
"As far as I'm aware of—" and Charles was aware of a lot, "He went monster hunting, alone. He made a blunder and allowed a beast to catch him unawares."
"He…"
"He was mauled to death."
Scott inhales sharply and rubs at his temple with apprehension at the news. He told his son not to go out there and he was sure that he was very clear. No matter how hard Scott tried, Nathan always found a way to disobey or to disrespect him. The boy was used to taking his own orders and adjusted poorly in the family dynamic.
Charles spoke again in response to Scott's dead silence. "I have his memories backed up. The Five will be working to resurrect him as soon as they can."
Scott nods, "Yes, thank you."
Charles laid a steady hand on Scott's uneasy shoulder, as if to assure him that he's a good father and that everything will be alright. Scott himself has gone through the resurrection protocols, he had nothing to worry about.
"Tell Jean," Charles instructs him, "And I will let you know when he returns."
The process of gathering Cable's memories in the right order took a few days since Nathan Summers was a time traveler, and unlike most others who waited to be resurrected, Charles put Nathan at the top of his list. After all, through Scott, he was pretty much family. Playing favorites may show toward the other inhabitants of Krakoa, so Cable's resurrection ceremony was to be done privately. Only his parents would be allowed to be there. As far as anyone else would be concerned, Cable has not died and was probably out fixing mutant problems in man's world.
Charles also had to sort through young and old Cable's memories, to make sure that their Nathan Summers would return to them just as he was. Giving him memories from the older Cable would probably confuse him and drive him towards the brink of insanity. Charles could have gotten rid of the older (now dead) Cable's memories but they could be used to his leverage for later. Cable was a time traveler and his memories could warn Charles of what's to come. He couldn't be too sure what Moira had in mind and he planned to ultimately take her out of the picture as the one calling the shots. Although he loved her once and still regards her dearly, he thought it best.
Due to these circumstances, after an appropriate number of days, Nathan was finally brought back. His mother prepared a change of clothes and his father prepared himself with a stern look. Grounding someone for dying was sure to be a first.
Nathan Summers returned to the world, having forgotten who he was until Charles returned his memories, gently pressing a hand into his forehead. Nathan's yellow glowed with agitation as all the memories came to him at once.
"I…" Nathan croaked.
"You died." his father supplied before Charles could say anything. Scott stood a decent distance away and his harsh voice caused Nathan to shrink into himself. That and noticing he was naked, covered in a strange substance that made his hair stick to his forehead.
Nathan examined his chest and his arms, seeing that they were free of the claw marks that had ultimately killed him. "I remember now."
"You're grounded," Scott adds. "I told you to not go over to that monster infested area and you got yourself killed."
"Honey please, let him at least get his bearings. He just died, this can't be easy for him." Scott's wife kindly objects. She goes over to give Nathan his clothes and allows him a brief moment of privacy as he stands to change. "This should be punishment enough." Jean states.
Scott begrudgingly agreed. "Fine."
"Are you good enough to go home?" asked Charles who stood the closest to Nathan.
Nathan nods and ruffles his hair. "Yeah I think so… that was so weird."
"As resurrection will always be." Charles said rather amusedly. "You weren't gone for long, worst case scenario is that you missed some wonderful dinners that your mother makes."
Nathan nodded again, getting used to his current situation. He felt perfectly fine, and if he wasn't gone for long, everything else was going to be fine. "Okay," he said. "Thank you."
"Think nothing of it my child, go on back to your parents." Charles guided him back to his mom and dad who would go on to take him home.
The rest of the day goes on normally as Nathan's family welcomes him back. He assured them that he didn't want any coddling, because enough was enough when even Rachel was offering to get him anything he wanted. So Nathan went away from her and the others to train the rust off of his combat techniques and get his body back into the swing of things. He methodically kept up to this process as his mother periodically came in to check on him.
After several hours and a much deserved shower, Nathan sat on his bed and observed Fishclops in his bowl. He briefly wondered if anyone had fed him in his absence, but it didn't matter anyway. The fish was still alive.
"Huh," Nathan tilted his head and squinted his eyes in thought. "If you died, you can't come back. We're really lucky to have that, aren't we?"
As expected, the fish didn't respond and continued to swim his meaningless circles, living out his meaningless life.
Well, Nathan considered, if I can come back at any time, I can do something meaningful. It wouldn't matter if it costs me my life.
At that moment Nathan felt invincible, and this disposition was going to inform his every decision for the following weeks to come.
Everyday since then, Nathan put his life at risk. He would get hurt but there will always be medicine for him and knowing this made him careless. He allowed for more slip ups, for more injuries, as long as he got the job done. The bigger and more dangerous the better.
His parents hadn't taken notice as Nathan asked other mutants to heal him before he even returned home. He mostly asked Hope because of their strange familial connection and her connection with the Five. Everyday Nathan came to her, she said he was being stupid, and everyday, he ignored her. It wasn't until he died once more did everything get revealed.
While defending some mutants who wanted to move to Krakoa, Nathan carelessly allowed himself to get shot at by the human police. Just one bullet, and the life recently restored to him had leaked out. It was the Marauders who found and retrieved his body, bringing this to the attention of Charles and the Summers.
Whereas Charles might've been aware of Nathan's outings, he feigned a stance of ignorance. Though, judging by the loud thought of Hope Summers, Jean was able to discern Hope's knowledge of everything.
"I couldn't stop him if I tried," Hope had told them. "He was hellbent." She obviously showed her remorse and offered to get back on the process of reviving Nathan. That's when Charles offered his counter.
"For the very reason of his suicide missions, I could refuse his resurrection a second time. We all know he did these things with intent."
"You can't do that, Xavier," Scott said angrily. "You're going to bring back my son just like you're going to bring back everyone else."
"Very well then." Charles responded, and they got started.
This time when Nathan returned, he knew what to expect and faced the scene before him with confidence. He was quickly met with a symphony of frowns, and somehow his father's frown was deeper than before. Though, it was Charles who spoke to Nathan first this time around.
"What have you done, my boy? Why have you harmed yourself in the name of justice?"
"I, uh…" Nathan hung his head, suddenly feeling ashamed as Charles' words washed over him.
"You thought it wouldn't matter." Charles supplies, reading his exact thoughts. "But it does. You're still hurting yourself, and you're getting clumsy."
"I'm sorry…" Nathan said. For once in his life he wanted to sob and shout, throwing fists into the empty air. The last time he felt this strongly was when he brought his father back himself. He heard his own words echo in his head, twisted to fit the current situation.
It wasn't right.
He had no right to do that to himself. To Hope. To everyone he loves. Something was truly wrong with him. Charles and the Five made amends to bring him again while someone else could be more deserving.
He heard his father begin to scold him, but the words drowned out with the sound of his mother doting over him, goading him to get his clothes on. But all he heard were the same words.
It wasn't right.
It wasn't right.
Resurrection is a privilege and he just abused it.