by Gouki
Chapter Eight
The Xavier Institute For Higher Learning
The X-Men were assembled in the observation booth at the Danger Room watching Blink replay with Jean and Scott the events in the Age of Apocalypse that had brought her to their world. The program was one that amazed Blink. First it scanned her memories to recreate the environments she had been in and the people she had interacted with, then it recreated them holographically. A holographic representation of Blink was even included, using video data that the X-Men had provided, so that Blink could see what she looked like in those memories.
The sounds were missing, because Blink requested not to have hear all the horrible sounds of her friends being killed in battle around her, but the effect really had not been lessened. Jean noticed a wince from Blink when the holoprojectors replayed the incident where Morph took a stray blast to the chest and looked to Blink with an almost amused look on his face before sinking to his knees, dead even before his knees touched the ground. Sunfire, always claiming he could not stand Morph, then freaked out and incinerated everything around him, screaming with rage and sadness at the loss of his friend. Blink fought back tears when Shadowcat had foolishly decided not to phase when her insane husband Colossus charged at her in an effort to save his sister Illyana, found herself unable to turn away when his gigantic organic-steel body colliding into Shadowcat's with a hideous snapping and cracking sound.
Jean put a comforting hand on Blink's shoulder. "Let's stop this," she said sympathetically.
"No," Blink said, her face hardening. "I have to let you people see what kind of world I lived in, and besides, we're getting to the important part, right now."
"What are you talking about--Oh!" Jean gasped as she saw the holographic representation of the one-handed Weapon X ruthlessly shredding apart Infinites, a destroyed look on his face, tears flowing endlessly. His emotions, indeed, even his life seemed to be gone until Prelate Cyclops entered the melee with a dying Jean Grey in his arms. At this point, Logan's voice came over the speakers.
"Those're the two, alright," he growled, "only the one runt that looks like me had both his hands when we found 'im at the boat house."
Jean put her hand over her mouth. In essence, she was watching herself be carried helplessly through the brutal battle. Regaining her composure, she listened as Blink explained that this was the point where she made the transition from her world to theirs.
"I guess Weapon X didn't wanna lose the chance to save you," Blink said softly. "I mean, save her. You know what I mean, Phoenix."
Jean nodded. "Yeah, I guess I do." She looked off in the direction of the M'Kraan Crystal. "Computer: Volume On. Isolate conversation between Designates: Prelate Cyclops and Weapon X."
The volume restored, but the conversation between Prelate Cyclops and Weapon X was not available. "Unable to isolate conversation," a synthetic female voice responded. "Data does not exist."
Blink shrugged. "Sorry," she blushed. "It was too noisy and I was too far away from them."
Jean smiled. "That's alright. I was just wondering what they were saying."
They focused their attention to the holographs of Blink and Wild Child as they reacted to Weapon X's actions. He grabbed Prelate Cyclops and Jean Grey, slung them over his shoulders and took off running.
"I don't like the looks of this, Wild Child," Blink mumbled nervously. "We gotta keep them away from this crystal."
Wild Child nodded his understanding and growled his affirmative.
"Hold it right there, Logan!" hologram Blink shouted. "We can't let you do that."
Weapon X looked at her and shook his head. "What're you gonna do about it, pup? You'll have to kill me, you know that. I ain't gonna lose her."
Blink withdrew several darts from her quiver, while Wild Child took on a menacing stance, both of them ready to pounce as Weapon X continued toward the M'Kraan Crystal. Wild Child jumped at Weapon X, who, despite carrying two people over his shoulders, easily dodged the attack, as well as the charged darts that Blink launched at him. The two of them then watched as he jumped into the crystal with his companions, before they too were taken into the M'Kraan by Sabretooth.
"C'mon kids, we're goin' fer a ride!" he had shouted, grabbing by the collars of their uniforms.
Blink looked to Jean and shook her head. "Now you know how we got here," Blink said. "Computer: Stop Playback."
The scene in the Danger Room dissolved, and Blink looked up at the observation booth window. Her eyes found Logan's. He looked away.
"I'm done now," Blink muttered.
"Okay, guys," Scott looked up gave a thumbs-up to the X-Men in the observation booth, "we can bring the Forest Program back up for Sabretooth."
"I don't know why we're bothering to give this jerk such a good life," Logan growled, "but if the little presentation is over, I'm gonna go back outside."
Ororo Munroe appeared outside the Danger Room door with Sabretooth's cage as Jean and Blink were exiting. Blink stopped to look at Sabretooth. His eyes looked so sad, so innocent. His shoulders slumped forward, the sound coming from him was the quiet huff of his breathing. He was naked, except for a pair of blue shorts, made of unstable molecules so that his meanderings in his little forest wouldn't damage them. In his cage was a plate of raw meat that sat untouched, and a pitcher of milk that had been kicked over in disinterest. Seeing the forest, his spirits seemed to lift slightly, and when Ororo ever so carefully opened his cage, he bolted from it and scampered around in the sunny meadow nearby, unmindful of his observer.
Blink watched Sabretooth, fighting back tears. How could this be the same monster she had seen while traveling the M'Kraan Crystal? How could he even still be alive? Of course, she knew the answers to these and most of the other questions she had asked herself, but she still didn't understand all of it. She took a step toward Sabretooth before feeling a hand on her shoulder, holding her back.
"I wouldn't do that just now, young one," Ororo warned kindly. "Sabretooth has not fully adjusted to his injuries yet, and we are unsure of how he would react to someone unfamiliar to him."
Blink scowled. "I'm not helpless you know. Mr. Creed taught me how to fight, and I'm pretty sure I'd be able to take care of myself if Sabretooth decided to flip out."
Nevertheless, she followed Scott and Jean out of the Danger Room, looking back to Sabretooth one last time before the doors closed.
He smiled at her.
* * *
"So," Blink mumbled, as she met up with Logan outside, "how are you, Mr. Logan?"
Logan grunted. He didn't look to be in too good of a mood at the moment. "Do me a favor, pup. Don't call me 'Mister,' okay?"
"Sorry."
The chirping birds and buzzing insects somewhat bothered Blink as she stood in the forest, trying to talk to a man that she was trying her best not to hate. It wasn't like the "birds and the bees" were bothering her, but she didn't really connect with nature much back home. Logan didn't seem like too bad of a person, but she just couldn't get the thought of him stabbing Sabretooth in the brain with his claws, even if that Sabretooth WAS an evil man. She bit her lip and told herself not to hate him, preparing to deliver her interview to him.
For his part, Logan didn't seem too thrilled with Blink. In truth, he didn't particularly trust her, partly because she was brought up by Sabretooth in her world. He was willing to forgive that much, because she was young, but he was not about to take any lip for what he did to Sabretooth from her.
"I'm sorry," Logan said softly, "I mean, about--"
"About Clarice Ferguson dying?" Blink asked. "It's not your fault. It's not even the Professor's fault, even though I was angry at him about it. I guess I just wanted to know that, in a different world, things would be different."
Logan nodded. "I guess I know how that feels. I've lost a lotta people that I care about in my life, an' I'd sometimes wonder how things would be in a different world. Guess some things ain't meant to have happy endings in ANY world."
Blink looked at the sky. "It just isn't fair!" she burst out. "I mean, I've been miserable for my entire life! The Age of Apocalypse SUCKED! All I'd ever hoped for was that I'd wake up and find that it was just a nightmare, but then I learned to live with all of the death and ruin and war. Magneto made me an X-Man, and gave me hope that Apocalypse could be killed and that maybe some hope and peace and sanity would return to that God-forsaken Earth! All the time, I spent praying that I would live through the war so that when it was all over I could maybe start over.
"Then Bishop shows up and dashes those hopes with his psychotic babbling that all of it is just some sort of sick cosmic joke, that none of it belongs because Charles Xavier is supposed to be still alive. I thought that maybe if THAT were true, if Apocalypse never took over the world, I would HAVE to live a happy life with Mom and Dad and my Robbie--"
Logan interrupted. "Robbie a boyfriend?"
Blink almost giggled. "No, silly! Robbie was my brother. I loved him so much. He was killed with my parents when Apocalypse started his Cullings. They were all normal humans, so he murdered them, but that didn't matter anymore, because they're all alive here!" She looked crestfallen. "But is even that for certain? I mean, if I die here, what might have happened to them? I might as well have just stayed behind in the Age of Apocalypse.
"I might as well be dead here," she concluded morbidly.
Hearing that, Logan spun around to face her, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her until her teeth chattered. "Don't!" he shouted. "Don't ever... EVER... think that! I hear everything yer sayin', and God knows I've been through some of it, but it ain't never worth being dead for! Now I don't pretend to know just how much Apocalypse took from your world, but I know that he couldn't take that soul of yours. Look Clarice, you are still alive, no matter what happened to any 'reality-twin,' dead or otherwise. And no, just because you defeated Apocalypse and restored this world to 'normal' doesn't mean that everything that happened to you, all your hurt, all your loss, is gonna just disappear. Happiness ain't free in any world, I can tell you that, but it ain't impossible to get."
Blink bit her lower lip, trying not to cry. "I know, but how long do I have to keep putting up with all of this nonsense before I get MY happiness? Mr. Creed told me it was a good thing that you poked Sabretooth in the brain with your claws, but when I saw that, all I felt was... sadness! Mr. Creed told me that all the X-Men that died when the nukes went off weren't really dying, and that I should feel happy that they're all getting a second chance, but all I feel is sadness! My friends and I get attacked by this weirdo who calls himself Spider-Man as soon as we get here, and THEN we get invited to stay at his place, where I find out that the Clarice Ferguson of this world has been dead for months, after believing that I'd be happy in a different world?" Tears started to flow down her cheeks.
Logan frowned. "How'd you find out at his place that you'd 'died' in this world?"
Blink sniffled and wiped away her tears. "He let me use his computer and I found out on the internet after doing a little research on 'myself.'"
He nodded. "Yeah, computers suck, don't they? But hey, think of what Weapon X'll be going through when he wakes up. I mean, the only reason he came here, according to your story and what we saw in the Danger Room, was to save his Jean Grey. He and that Prelate Cyclops are here, but no Jeannie. So you ain't the only one with these problems."
Blink sighed, too tired to argue. "Wonder what happened to her anyway?" she said, stifling a yawn. "Betcha it has something to do with why Weapon X has his hand back and Prelate has his other eye back. Did they say anything to you when you found them?"
Logan shook his head. "Weapon X woke up for a coupla seconds, but he passed out again after talkin' to Jeannie, and Prelate Cyke STILL hasn't woke up yet. Far as I know, they're both still unconscious." He thought about her witnessing his fight with Sabretooth while she traveled through the M'Kraan Crystal to his world. Was her world SO different that Creed was actually decent? Slowly he could feel his resolve against her "Mr. Creed" weakening. "And about Sabretooth, no, I ain't proud about what I did to him. Maybe he had it comin', but I didn't have the right to almost kill him like that. How much of that you saw, how much it affected you, I don't know, but I can't take it back, an' apologizin' for it won't make you forgive me for it."
Blink hugged him, and for a moment, Logan felt safer for it. To him, it almost felt like Jubilee was back, or Kitty Pryde. His fatherly instincts took over, and he hugged back. He thought back to the time he held Jubilee like that, a year ago, when Illyana died from the Legacy Virus. With Jubilee gone off to Emma Frost's Massachusetts Academy, Logan had become lonelier than he'd care to admit. He wondered how jealous Jubilee would be to see him comforting Blink, but put the thought out of his mind almost as quickly as it appeared. Jubes could be possessive at times, but she wasn't irrational or unreasonable.
"I love him, Logan," Blink whispered. "I know you hate him, but he's the closest thing to a daddy that I have."
Logan hugged her tighter. "I don't hate yer Mr. Creed, pup. I don't even KNOW him, so let's hope he's as good a man as you say he is."
Their tender moment was interrupted as Professor Xavier summoned Logan.
*Wolverine,* the Professor called out urgently, *our guests are awake, and they are not in good moods.*
*Both of 'em awake this time, Chuck?* Logan asked. *If they're itchin' fer a fight, I'll be glad to scratch.*
"What's going on?" Blink asked. "Is something wrong?"
Logan looked at the boat house. "Could be. Normally I'd say don't follow me, this could be dangerous, but I get the feeling we might need your help on this one. Weapon X and Prelate Cyclops are up now, and from the sound of the Prof's voice, they're causing some trouble."
Blink was happy for the distraction. "Good. Let's kick some butt."
They ran off, eager to meet the challenge.
* * *
Psylocke and Storm held Weapon X to the ground while Beast and Bishop restrained Prelate Cyclops. High levels of adrenaline were present in all participants of this fight, a fact that Phoenix and Professor Xavier were trying to handle by telepathically soothing the minds of the two Age of Apocalypse exiles. To a certain extent, it was working on Prelate Cyclops, but it was only making Weapon X more angry.
"Get outta my head, you freakin' brain-pirates! An' get these two frails offa me 'fore I gut 'em!" he growled.
It had all started when Phoenix had greeted the two as they awoke from their comas. Weapon X confused her for his Jean Grey, and grew very violent when he realized that she was not. Before any explanations could be given, he and Prelate Cyclops were tearing down the walls of the cell they were being held in. Phoenix was safe for the most part, encasing herself in a telekinetic bubble to protect her from debris and any attacks that might have been made against her, but by the time she had summoned the Professor for assistance, the two confused warriors had pretty much totaled the boat house they were being held in. Seeing the damage done, the X-Men naturally assumed that the two had gone berserk, and before Phoenix could protest that it was all a misunderstanding, the fight was well underway.
As groggy as they were from just regaining consciousness, the two were quickly overpowered by the X-Men.
"I'm warnin' you babes," Weapon X growled, "if you don't let me up, an' I mean right now, both of you are gonna feel some serious pain."
"Really, now," Psylocke's lovely British voice responded, "your charm makes it impossible to say 'no.'"
Psylocke and Storm let go of him, but not before Psylocke plunged her psychic knife deep into his brain, finishing the telepathic task that Phoenix and Professor Xavier had begun. Suitably sedated, he began calling out for his beloved Jean.
Prelate Cyclops, still under telepathic paralysis, was limp as Bishop and Beast looked to the Professor for the okay to let him go. "Well," the Prelate said as they released him, "I suppose you're going to take us to Apocalypse. Or are you just going to execute us here?"
The other Cyclops dropped from the sky and landed on his feet directly in front of the Prelate. "I know this is going to come to you as a shock," he said to his twin, "but we are trying to help you."
Prelate Cyclops looked at X-Man Cyclops and did a double take. "What the hell...?"
Archangel swooped down and folded his arms across his chest. "You aren't going to find Apocalypse anywhere on this world, pal. He died on the moon several months ago. I should know: I killed him myself."
"Damn! I missed all the fun!" came the gruff voice of Wolverine. He and Blink arrived on the scene just in time for Weapon X to come out of his trance and hop to his feet, battle ready.
Blink hopped over to Weapon X and carefully put her hand on his shoulder. "Easy," she said softly, "they're on our side, Logan."
Weapon X looked at Wolverine. "Eh? Who's that? A long lost twin brother that nobody told me about?"
Blink sighed. "When you took Cyclops and Jean Grey and hopped into the M'Kraan Crystal, you ended up in a parallel timeline. Our world doesn't exist anymore, Logan."
Weapon X took a step back cautiously. His claws retracted, but he was still on edge. "None o' that matters t'me! All I want is to find Jeannie. She's gotta be in some kinda danger, and I can't let nothin' happen to her!"
Professor Xavier's hoverchair hummed as he made his way over to Weapon X. "I am Professor Charles Xavier, leader of this team. I call them X-Men, and if you'll let us, we'll be more than willing to assist you in finding her."
Prelate Cyclops made his way over to the Professor. He and Weapon X then took turns solemnly shaking the bald, crippled man's hand.
"Shall we be getting back to the mansion?" Beast inquired. "I have some tests I want to run, as well as medical examinations for all three of you from this so-called Age of Apocalypse--"
A brilliant flash of light cut off Beast, revealing in it's wake one of the X-Men's most dangerous foes. Legion. All his dark black hair stood on end, and his eyes sparkled with a sinister green glow. In the past, the X-Men had seen him dressed in a green hospital gown and matching pants. Here he was dressed like an ancient Roman senator, in a white toga, gold bracelets, and sandals. However, this was not the most amazing part of his new image. His left arm was gone, replaced with a wing-like appendage, and a triple-halo of fire hovered above his head. He looked at Professor Xavier and smiled sweetly.
Weapon X and Prelate Cyclops hadn't said a word since Legion arrived, but neither one of them seemed happy to see him. Weapon X walked up to the one-winged angel and unsheathed his adamantium claws.
"YOU!!!" he shouted. "What have you done with Jean?"
Legion cast down a bolt of psionic fire upon Weapon X after a look of annoyance. The adamantium clawed mutant writhed in agony, dropped to his knees and gurgled out all kinds of incomprehensible profanities. Legion looked to the X-Men, who were now even more alarmed.
"That's right," he crowed, his voice unnaturally amplified, "I'm back, by popular demand! And for the crimes against me, there is no one in ANY universe who will be left untouched! All living beings will suffer my wrath! Ah-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
With that, he disappeared, leaving the X-Men to wonder what kind of danger the universe was in now. To Weapon X and Prelate Cyclops, the search for Jean had come across it's first big roadblock. Finally, Blink was left wondering what cosmic problems Mr. Creed and Wild Child were suffering, and if they were even close to the ones she'd just gotten into.
END SECTION ONE