Like A Prayer
By Nadja Lee
English is not my native language. Please
forgive me my mistakes.
Disclaimer: "X-men" and all the characters here belong to Marvel, 20
Century Fox and I intend no infringement,
this is a piece of amateur fan fiction, and I make no money of it.
Disclaimer: "Like A Prayer" belong to Madonna and whoever wrote the
song and I intend no infringement, this is a piece of amateur fan fiction, and
I make no money of it. The song will not be in the story but I was inspired by
it and the fantastic moving music video to the song.
Only the original idea contained within this work is the property of the
author. Please do not copy this story to any website or archive without
permission of the author.
Timeline: Set after the movie. Set years into the future.
Universe: Set in the movie universe. Only the movie NOT the book that goes with
it!
Pairing: Scott/Jean, Logan/Rogue, others
Summary: A darker look at tomorrow.
Archiving: Want, ASK, take, have.
Feedback: Yes, please. It would mean so much to me.
Rating: PG-13
Dedicated to: Helene, Julia, Jemi, April and Jaguarita. Thanks for your
kindness and friendship.
Thanks to Christina for the Beta.
Warning: Character death!
*mmmm * is telepathically thoughts spoken in the mind. " mmmmm
" is spoken out loud.
Part 1:
Voices,
shouts and dogs barking. Scott ran pained towards the building. His pain-clouded
mind saw only one thing, thought only one thing; in there he'll be save. He'll
be protected. With difficulty he opened the heavy wood door, blood running from
his wound in his right shoulder to drip onto the handle as he opened it wide
and went into the church. Closing the door behind him, he walked with slow agonizing
steps towards the altar. Only his heavy pained breathing broke the silence of
the church. Reaching the altar he knelt by it and looked up into the eyes of
the statue of the Mother Mary and the small child on her arm. She looked so
peaceful, the child so sweet that he almost cried. But he didn't. He hadn't
cried for years. He had cried when Jean had died, he had cried when Alex had
died, he had cried when the Professor had died. But then his eyes had run dry.
He had had no more tears left for the others. He had known even as he fought,
as he lead his friends into battle, that he was leading them into certain
death, that they couldn't win but he didn't care. He was beyond caring about
his life or anything else. He only wanted revenge, to unleash all his anger,
all his pain at something real.
Part 2:
He closed
his eyes and called Jean's image to him as he remembered her. Long red hair,
green eyes and soft white skin yet it were colours he had never seen and over
the years her image had gotten blurry as had all certainties in his life. She
had been one of the first to be killed; her powers not strong enough but that
hadn't been why she had died. Her compassion had killed her. A child in danger,
an anti-mutant fanatic with a gun and his world had shattered into a thousand
pieces. He had cradled her in his arms, cried, pleaded, begged and demanded for
her to breathe. But no one had listened. No one had cared. In the end Logan had
had to force him away from her body when the others had heard the sound of sirens,
which meant that the government troops were coming.
After her
death all had fallen and he had died then even though he still walked the
earth. Time seemed to lose its meaning as did everything else as a dream had
fallen and the stars had gone into hiding from the pain which they saw. Images
of past deeds ran through Scott's pain clouded mind. He remembered when he had
hold the professor's broken body in his arms, his tears falling on the man's
face like rain. Why? All he had wanted to know was why? Xavier had tried to
make one last desperate action for peace and they had lost his light. Soon
after Eric had followed him to his grave but not after he had avenged his old friend's
death as far as he could. He had been killed in an attack on a government building.
And then
his brother...his long lost kid brother, Alex...he and his wife, Lorna, had
tried to stay out of it all, minding their own business. They had come to them
at night, hooded men with torches like a scene out of the civil war at its
worst. They had burned down their home, raped and killed Lorna and kicked and
beaten Alex till he stopped moving and his calls for his wife had ceased. Scott
had found them there, laying on the cold frozen winter ground outside their
house, the new fallen snow making a blanket for them. He had fallen to his
knees and cried his last tears as he held Alex to his chest. He had barely
gotten a chance to know him, they had first found each other a few weeks before
and now he was already gone. Lost to him forever. That night as he buried his
brother and sister-in-law in the cold naked ground, his eyes had frozen and no
tears ever escaped his eyes since then.
He recalled
Remy, their own master thief that Ororo had let into her heart. A scoundrel by
appearance but a hero by heart. He remembered how they had found Ororo hanged
up in a street lamp and all had broken down for Remy. He had killed without
mercy and his red on black eyes had shown such an anguish that Scott had felt
his broken heart dieing. A soldier had pointed his weapon at Ororo`s naked and
broken body but Remy had jumped in front of the bullet. It had killed him
instantly and Scott found some comfort in that because he'll have hated knowing
what had happened to Ororo to break her so. More than anything he'll had hated
realising that Ororo had already been dead when they had found her. Rogue had
said that his sacrifice had been in vain but Scott didn't feel that. He was at
peace now. He was with Ororo somewhere where they had always wanted to be.
Somewhere where the sun still shore and love still lived. He wanted to believe
that. He needed to believe that. Logan had killed Remy´s murderer and Scott had
ordered the others to kill as many soldiers as they could as payback for Remy
and Ororo. The time for mercy and compassion was long gone and all any of them
had left was revenge and so they killed. Covered in blood not their own they
had fled the scene as the resistance had become too great.
He
remembered Peter falling beneath fire as he shielded his beloved Kitty from the
bullets that had been made especially for mutants so her phasing couldn't save
her. He remembered watching in horror as Peter fell. He saw out of the corner
of his eye while he broke the neck of a soldier, Kitty running to Peter even as
Scott and the others yelled out a warning. As in slow motion he saw her fall to
her knees besides Peter and crying the tears all the others had lost the
ability to let fall long ago. He saw the gun being raised, he saw Kitty looking
with tear filled but unafraid eyes at it but didn't move. Holding Peter's hand
in hers, she closed her eyes and the bullet entered her breast. She fell and
lay still on Peter's chest, never letting go of his hand even in death.
He
remembered seeing Rogue fall by a shot in the back; he remembered the pain and
look of fury in Logan's eyes as he killed her attackers. He remembered Logan
taking her dying body in his arms. Scott had told him to leave her, they had
to. He couldn't carry her all the way. Logan had shaken his head in no and
cradled her body to his chest. Firing behind Logan at the soldiers Scott had
urged Logan forward. He had seen Logan take a hit to the shoulder but still
moving forward, Rogue still cradled in his arms. Scott had urged him to let her
go. She was dying. They couldn't save her. Let her go. Just let her go. Logan
had refused, pain lashed in his voice as he denied her nearing her death. She
would be alright, he vowed. She had to. A shot had hit Logan in the leg and he
had pained moved forward. Scott continued to make cover fire but they were
outnumbered at least 500 to 2. They had no chance and they knew it. They had
been the last. The last three. Scott had again urged Logan to let Rogue go as a
bullet hit him in the shoulder. A tear formed in Logan's eye as he still refused.
Scott had watched in horror as a rain of bullets was heading for Logan's back.
Dump her, Scott had desperately urged as he uselessly tried to shot all the
bullets down with his eye blasts. Logan had uttered a pained "Never"
through teeth clashed tight shut against the pain. When the bullets reached him
and entered his back, he still tried to stand, to drag Rogue with him. A rain
of more bullets made him lay still. Even in death, his body remained her shield
as he lay above her, still honouring his promise of protecting her that he had
given long ago. Scott caught a bullet in the leg and one in his left arm as he
ran to his fallen friends. Both men knew that she had been killed by that shot
to the back. She had been a death weight in Logan's arms but never in his
heart. In his heart she had always come before anything else. The firing
increased and Scott ran, being forced to leave Rogue and Logan behind. He
caught another bullet in the leg and one came dangerously close to his heart as
he forced himself to run and run until he reached the church and entered.
Part 3:
The dogs barking
were getting louder and so was the noise of human voices. Scott looked up at
the statue of the Virgin. He wanted to be mad at Her. He wished he could wish
Her and Her son had never lived but he couldn't. Those anti-mutants fanatics
and now the government said they acted in the name of God. That they had every
right to hunt mutants simply because they were born differently. To burn,
torture and kill. To ruin a man's world and destroy a dream. As he looked at
the small child's smile he knew they were wrong. He had been an outcast Himself
and had walked among the weak and poor. He had preached forgiveness and love
above all, never hurt and pain.
Dogs scratching at the church door made Scott turn his head towards it. He
looked back at the statue and wished he hadn't lost his faith long ago. Wished
life hadn't changed him. Wished he could have his innocence and belief again.
But pained and hard years had told him that dreams always died and wishing was
a waste of time. No one listened. No one cared.
Scott
closed his eyes and called forth Jean's image. He imagined her in a golden cornfield,
her hair flying for the wind. It was a beautiful warm day without any fears.
She'll laugh and take his hand in hers. Her love would wash over him in the bond
that they had shared. He'll feel her compassion and sympathy, her love and
mercy through that bond as he had once instead of the coldness and darkness her
sudden death had placed in the bond where her loving and warm presence had
always been. He'll hug her close, forgetting all his fears in the warmth of her
embrace. She'll lift her lips to his and for the first time in years he'll feel
love again, he'll feel warm again, he'll feel safe again. Her lips would be
warm and willing, tasting of sugar and honey. He tasted salt on his tongue and
didn't realise it was from his own eyes. A smile graced his face as the door
was broken in and soldiers came into the church. Seeing the man kneeling by the
altar, they raised their weapons and slowly the last man fell to the floor. His
right hand reached out in front of him, reaching towards the statue of the
Maiden Mary as blood ran from his mouth and wounds onto the floor. He reached
for her in a gesture like a prayer he couldn't say with his lips anymore but
She didn't come to him. He died alone and cold as he had lived for so many
years. As the light left his eyes so did the light leave the sky. A dream had
been killed and so had love. Someone put his broken body in a cold empty grave
where he'll spend the rest of eternity. Alone. No light would enter and no warm
hand would hold his through the ages. Darkness had been lowered over the land,
as dreams were lay to waste.
The End
