Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, who are the property of Marvel, nor do I own the Gargoyles, who are the property of Disney.
Epilogue
Eight Years, Six Months later
Dr. Hank McCoy was in his lab, making the finishing touches on a speech he was preparing for the Presidential Council of Mutant Affairs concerning the breakthrough he made in the curing of the Legacy Virus. In several days, he would be traveling to Washington, D.C. to present it to the Council, where President Patricia Marquez, herself, would be presiding. It was a good time to be a mutant, he thought to himself. The President was known to be a mutant, and quite a powerful one at that. Saving the speech to his floppy, he looked to the closet where he usually kept his lab-coat. In its place was a new suit, specially made to fit his unique physique.
"They are finally going to wed. They have been courting for such a long time," he mumbled to himself, looking at his watch. It read 7:30 p.m. The ceremony wasn't going to start until nine o'clock, though. He began to clean his lab a little, planning on dressing in about fifteen minutes. As he was putting away an Erlenmeyer flask, Jean came in, seemingly flustered over something. She had been though for several months because she had been organizing the wedding with Jubilee. She was dressed in a very flattering red dress, and had came in so suddenly that Beast had dropped the flask, shattering it on the floor.
"Sorry, Hank," she said, as she began to help him pick up the shards of glass. "I need you to do me a favor, though."
"Yes, my dear?"
"Would you be kind enough to help Logan with Jonathan? He's giving Logan a hard time; you know how stubborn they both are, and I'm kind of busy right now, trying to put the finishing touches on the reception."
"I shall try, however, I cannot guarantee that I shall succeed," he said. "Young Jonathan is perhaps as wild as his father had been at that age." Then bounding out of the room, he went in search of Jean's husband and son, who were undoubtedly playing an "unfair game" of hide and seek.
Wolverine and Beast were now in the kitchen, having tracked Jonathan there. Hank was distinctly aware of his disadvantage in trying to find his friend's son. He had realized that both of them, father and son, had hyper-keen senses, and the only ones who could sneak up on the boy were Logan and Betsy. Logan bent over and sniffed, incredibly quietly, at a cabinet. He pointed to it, and then motioned Beast to imitate him by making a loud growling noise. The doctor began to make the noise, but strained his throat too much, and began to cough a little. He tried it again, and sounded much more like his compatriot. It had the desired effect, as Jonathan ran out of the cabinet, in the opposite direction of Beast, and into his father's arms.
"Gotcha, John-boy," Logan said.
"Hey, you guys cheated. No fair," the boy exclaimed, now draped over his dad's shoulder.
"Nope, we just outsmarted ya. And if I gotta dress up like a penguin, yer gonna hafta do it to 'cause yer sister'll fry us both if we don't look nice fer her weddin'."
"Hank, yer girlfriend's here. I just heard 'er car."
"Uncle Hank and his girlfriend sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Jonathan taunted before being silenced by a growl from the man holding him.
"I refuse to sink to your level, young Jonathan," the doctor said. Then, in a singular act of childishness, the blue mutant stuck his thumbs in his ears, wiggled his fingers, and stuck out his tongue.
"Hey, pop, did you see what Uncle Hank just did?"
"Nope. An' why do ya keep callin' him Uncle Hank? Before ya used ta call him Doc."
"'Cause, pop, he's almost as hairy as you are." Another growl emanated from deep within the chest of the short man in a mock warning as he carried his son up to his room.
Beast opened the door to find a beautiful woman standing in the doorway, with short red hair that reflected the waning rays of the sun as it began to sink below the horizon. "My love," he said, taking her slender hand in his, kissing it gently. She came in, and kissed him on cheek, noticing that he had seemingly forgot to dress himself.
"Henry, my dear," she said. She smiled as she said this, thinking of his apparent absentmindedness. "Perhaps we should go to your lab."
"Whatever for," he asked, clearly puzzled.
"You need to get dressed, my dearest."
"Ah, yes. It seems that in the excitement to find Jonathan, I forgot to clothe myself."
"Besides, you were going to show me how to lessen the pain during my transitions."
Reaching the door to his lab, Hank opened the door for her, grabbed his suit, and went to change. While he was in the bathroom, the red-head was wandering through his lab, marveling at the amount of time he spent working. Even she, as CEO and owner of her own company, spent less time at work. But, she thought, he is much more dedicated than almost anyone else. As she was doing this, she happened to notice the sun finally slipping over the horizon.
"Henry. It's sundown." Though Beast knew there was nothing he could do to help her, he still felt awful when she began to transform. Before he could think any further, a loud scream of pain echoed through the lab. It slowly turned into one that seemed more animal-like, almost as if she were no longer human. Now, though, the scream was not in pain, but rather in rage at the previous pain. It stopped to reveal the sound of her breathing heavily, and Hank standing next to her with a worried look on his face.
"Do not be so worried, Henry. I have dealt with this for so many years that I have lost count. But, you said you had something that would at least help to alleviate my pain, did you not?"
"Ah, yes, I did, Demona, my love," he said as he turned away to search for the substance that would help her. He returned several minutes later with a test tube filled with an amber liquid. Handing it to her he said, "Inject this into you bloodstream several minutes before sundown and sunup. It is a combination of endorphins, noradrenalin, adrenalin, and several other hormones that are produced by shape-shifters when they change their appearances. It triggers the anti-pain receptors in your nervous system."
"Do I take all of it at one time?"
"No, but I will explain the amount that you need after the wedding. That reminds me, when should the others be here?"
"Soon. Detectives Maza and Bluestone stayed at a hotel while the clan slept above them. Besides, I do not think my daughter wishes to suffer the wrath of the "great and powerful" Jubilee."
"Yes, if the maid of honor were not here, the bride would perhaps be in a mood not unlike that of her father on his worst days," he responded, smiling at her remark.
Less than fifteen minutes later, Elisa Maza's Fairlane pulled up the driveway of the Xavier School for the Gifted. Beside her was her partner, Matt Bluestone, and far above and behind her, flew her mate/husband Goliath. Beside him was their son, Cronus, who was already almost half the size of his father. On the other side of Goliath was Angela, and behind her was Broadway, and the rest of the clan. As the female detective was about to ring the doorbell, Goliath and their son landed, the rest not far behind.
She looked to their son, Ronnie, the only natural hybrid of human and gargoyle ever known, and smiled. Despite all of the hardships they had endured the last eight years, the joining of the universes, the union of the FOH and the Quarrymen, and the belief that gargoyles were a type of mutant, they had fought amongst their friends, the X-Men, and they with them. This place, she realized, was one where no matter who you are, no matter how strange you may look, you would always be accepted. It was a relief from the rest of the world's prejudices against her, and her family. This was one of the few places where everyone in her family, even her extended family, would be accepted.
As Elisa was thinking this, the door opened, revealing Bobby Drake. His tie was hanging down his shirt, somehow totally cock-eyed, apparently tied in some incredibly complex knot. "Hey, Lis, you know how to tie one of these things?"
"You know, Bobby," she said, smiling, "I've always wondered how you get yourself into messes like this." Elisa pushed him back and out of the way, to let the others come in behind her. At seeing the enormous knot, Brooklyn and Broadway started laughing, at the expense of the Iceman.
"Hey, hey," Elisa said, feeling Bobby's skin becoming colder. "And as for you two," she said, looking at the two gargoyles, "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you. Brooklyn, you needed more help than Bobby did, and Broadway, we couldn't even figure out what you did to your tie."
"Yes, mother," they said in unison.
She scowled at them each in turn, causing them to fall silent. Once she turned away, they started laughing again, and went to the back of the mansion to be seated.
"There. That should do it." He thanked her, and went to be seated, following in the steps of the rookery brothers.
She turned around to see Ronnie so bored, he was nearly falling asleep standing. "Ronnie, I'll tell you what. If you can wait through the ceremony, you can play with Johnny during the reception."
"Really?"
"Yep. Just gotta make sure Logan and Jean know. The two of you could destroy the entire block." She meant that both metaphorically and literally. Both of them were mutants, and were getting their powers very early. Ronnie seemed to be able to breathe fire, and to be able to make what he called "fire loogies".
In his seat, Henry McCoy was thinking of what had happened eight years beforehand. After they left, the portal between the two universes tried to close. It would have closed properly if it had not been for the damaged device that had been worn by Omega Red. There was still no reason as to why it was not destroyed when the Russian was killed. What they did know was that the contraption had worked in the opposite direction in which it was designed. Instead of bringing matter through the portal, it had brought antimatter through the portal in the opposite direction. When they traveled through the antimatter, they had a protective shield which surrounded their body, that was only disrupted by internal bodily fluids for a reason as yet unknown. Needless to say, there had been no shield, and the antimatter had freely reacted. The weird thing, though, had been that most matter had not reacted, and was, instead, drawn into the wormhole. This had happened in both worlds. As the matter from the two worlds collided, they made themselves into an amalgamation of them both. No one even knew what happened, that is to say, no one remembered it. That is, except the X-Men and the Wyvern-Manhattan Gargoyle clan. This was what truly mystified him. There was no reason-
He was interrupted from his musings as Demona, the woman who he would one day marry, sat down.
"Henry," she said, "you must really learn to relax. And I know just the thing." She leaned in close, and whispered something in his ear, her ruby lips tickling his furry ear. As she pulled away, his face was an expression of surprise.
"But, my love, that will have to wait until later." She pointed in front of them, where Angelo Espinoza, a.k.a. Skin, was waiting for his bride-to-be. Behind them, now stood Jubilee, arm in arm with the man who she viewed as her father, Logan.
As the music began, all of the guests stood, straining to see the bride. As the feral man gave the young woman away, a new chapter in the lives of the X-Men, and in the lives of Wyvern clan, was about to begin.
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