Flickering Souls

Chapter Three: Scott and Xavier

The man had been hanging around the front gate for almost twenty minutes. Twenty-one minutes was, Scott told himself, his limit for allowing people to hang idly around the front gate.

He stood inside the front window, staring at his watch, and only occasionally glancing up to see if the man was still there.

Scott's watch flipped the minute hand and he watched the second hand sweep around another twenty seconds before smiling to himself, starting out the door, and then down the driveway.

"Like, wow man." The strange little man shook his head slightly. "You're really you, aren't you."

"I think so." Scott replied. "Can I help you with something?"

"Oh, sure. I want you to take my picture with the sign." He gestured to the mansions address plate.

"Ooooookay …" Scott stepped out of the gate and took the small disposable camera from the man, then took his picture in front of the sign.

"Now, can I get one in front of the mansion, like from here?" The man asked.

Scott took two steps back and took the other picture.

"Excellent." The man nodded and reached for his camera. When he got it back, he took another step closer to Scott and extended the camera to arms length and took a picture of the two of them talking to each other.

The man then snatched Scott's hand and pumped it twice. "Really man, this was a real treat. Thanks a million.""

"No, ahhh, no problem." Scott told him.

And the man snapped another picture of Scott. "Far out." He exclaimed again. "See!" He said enthusiastically. "You're not all that stuck-up!"

"Ahh, thanks." Scott volunteered.

"No problem." The man grinned and waved as he wandered away – before taking another picture of Scott – from a distance this time.

As Scott headed back up the driveway he could hear the man behind the wall.

"Far – freakin' – out!"

Scott shook his head, amused.

"Fru – uit – cake!" He told himself, as he headed back to the mansion.

Later that afternoon Scott met with Xavier. "Scott, please, do come in."

The Professor sat behind his desk and Scott entered slowly.

"You sent for me Professor?"

"Yes. I hear you met a visitor at the gate today." Xavier smiled. He was amused despite himself.

"Yeah. A real nut. I figured it would have happened sooner, like right after the world discovered we were mutants."

"Have you ever heard of Fanfic?" Xavier asked Scott.

Scott shook his head "No."

Xavier steepled his fingers and considered his words. "That was no ordinary gawker today Scott."

Scott hesitated. "No?" He asked slowly, shaking his head.

"No." Xavier confirmed. "He wasn't even from our dimension."

Scott swallowed nervously.

"He's the fourth tourist we've had in the last two weeks. All from off-world and calling themselves 'fans'."

"Fans of what?" Scott asked quickly.

"That's trickier to explain, but the short answer is: Us." Xavier smiled at his confusion. "Perhaps it would be easier if I explained your mission."

"My mission sir?"

"Yes. I think you're ready to solo and I believe that this particular assignment will be to your liking." Xavier leaned back in a seemingly infinite patience and nodded to himself as he considered this statement.

"There is an extradimentional … entity. He calls himself The Author."

Scott's eyebrow rose skeptically.

"He is the one whose been sending the fans to our door."

"But, why?" Scott wondered out loud. "What's he want?"

"I believe that the fans were to attract my attention and let me know when he would be in town and where to find him. He very specifically told each of them a piece of the puzzle that I could easily perceive telepathically." Xavier smiled. "Although that wasn't entirely obvious until the two girls appeared at the gate on Thursday."

Scott cocked his ear like a dog listening to his masters voice.

"They were …" Xavier cleared his throat. "Fans of Kurt's."

"Kurt?" Scott asked, surprised.

"Yes. Apparently he has quite a following off world."

"He is a character." Scott leaned back, relaxing.

"Too true." Xavier smiled. "But back to the subject at hand. This Author, he writes us."

"He writes to us?" Scott asked.

"No. He writes us. Some of the people of his world are authors. And an even fewer number write the events that unfold in our lives."

Scott shook his head reflexively. "No." He said plainly.

"Come now Scott, haven't you ever noticed an event unfolding around you with some indication of organization or planning that's beyond the control of those in our world?"

"Of course." Scott agreed quickly. "But …"

"They don't script everything Scott." Xavier smiled. "Nor are they aware of our every day actions. Further more, not everything they write actually comes to pass." Xavier grimaced. "That's where the fans come in."

"Readers." Scott realized quickly. "They read what he writes …"

"And somehow, that psycho-spiritual energy derived from all those imaginations focusing on us …"

"… Acts like telekinesis." Scott concluded. "It motivates events to unfold around us in a particular manner."

"And has an effect on us as well, like a series of telepathic and subconscious suggestions that we can not differentiate from our own thoughts and impulses." Xavier finished.

"So … What does he want?" Scott asked again.

"His motivations are his own." Xavier shrugged. "However, his methods are not." Xavier pulled a manuscript out of his desk.

"This is a story he wrote, called Gambit's Terms." He explained. "It was set in another dimension, where Gambit – that card thrower of Magneto's – had seen the error of his ways … but done so too late. This other Gambit spent his life as an X-Man trying to atone for his past … a past and path which denied him a real future."

Scott sat in rapt attention.

"But this story was different. Most stories of this kind create small branch universes, and once the story plays out, the newer universe collapses back in to the root universe when the differences are no longer relevant."

"But it was different?"

"Indeed." Xavier sighed, then met Scott's eyes. "He re-wrote the root universe. He completely altered the past and future of an entire world in order to provide one man with a chance at the life he could never have."

"What happened?" Scott asked with a dry mouth.

Xavier smiled. "He was reprimanded and certain restriction were set in place to insure that such a thing could not happen again."

Scott relaxed slightly.

"Of course, he's found a way around them." Xavier watched Scott sit bolt upright. "And I do believe he's planning to re-write our root universe."

"When?" Scott asked.

"In about four hours." Xavier said, staring at his watch for a second.

"What can we do?" Scott asked.

"Well, fighting such an entity would be futile. I'm told it results in our appearing – badly written." He grimaced. "And so I have decided to try another approach." He smiled. "I'm sending you to request that he include you in his story."

"What good will that do?" Scott was puzzled.

"I want you to remind him of his obligations to us – the original inhabitants of this universe."

"But how?" Scott felt like panicking at the thought of facing a whole, new world alone.

"My best explanation is that he will see your words. And should he need prompting or reminding …"

"I see." Scott said. "But …"

"Please, let me finish." The Professor interjected. "Because you need to know a few more things before you're ready, and we've little time."

Scott nodded apologetically.

"First, his plan for this year is to give three gifts. One of Hope, one of Charity, and one of Contentment. He has already made it clear who will be receiving the gifts of hope and charity. I want you to ask for the gift of contentment."

"But I am content Professor." Scott argued. "I …"

The Professor smiled and leaned across the desk. "Scott, I am the worlds most powerful telepath. You may fool some of the people, some of the time …"

Scott dropped his eyes. He was content in all things, save for one.

"So you know?" Scott asked.

Xavier smiled. "I know only that a missed opportunity was pointed out to you, rather brazenly, and since then it has been a source of discomfort in your life."

"You know who …"

Xavier waved his hand between them, silencing Scott.

"I know that it does not matter. That you are perfectly willing to live on, bearing the brunt of your emotions and feeling like you've failed a test you were never given." Xavier explained. "But I need a man on the inside, and this is important. I want you to ask for his gift."

"Of course." Scott assured him. "Anything I can do."

"Now, there are two more points I need to address." Xavier took a deep breath. "I have had the opportunity to review what he has written – at least, what he's written in to our world. I'm technically not permitted to have this copy of Gambit's Terms. It's been outlawed in all the rewriteable dimensions – so that no one gets any idea's about contacting an author."

Xavier sighed. " Scott … He wrote Abair." (For full details see Everything Important by Remedy=Chill)

"WHAT?" Scott realized quite suddenly that he had risen to his feet.

"Now, calm down." Xavier told him.

"He wrote Abair. The guy who put me up against the wall and …"

Xavier smiled kindly and sympathetically. "And told you about Rogue's feelings for you. Yes."

Scott dropped back in to his seat, deflated. "A little late really, since I was already with Jean."

"And both Abair, and The Author understood that Scott. They weren't asking you to violate that trust."

"I know." He replied softly, his eyes cast down to the floor.

"I wasn't happy with that fact either Scott." Xavier prompted. "I was very concerned for Rogue after Abair's departure, and I felt responsible for introducing them." He explained. "To discover that some form of higher power brought that about, on purpose no less, was very disturbing."

Scott raised his eyes. "Why would he write something like that? Why would anyone?"

Xavier reminded himself that there were things about Abair that Scott still did not know.

Xavier leaned back and considered the young man before him. He had grown so much, changed more than Xavier could have foreseen, and still, he asks the same questions as when he first came to the mansion. Of course, then it had been about Magneto.

"I think .. It bothered him." Xavier swallowed, feeling the discomfort he spoke of. "He wanted to be sure that – at least once – She was happy." His voice was almost a whisper as he finished speaking.

Scott sat, alone in the silence.

Xavier wiped his eye, almost distractedly.

"Was there something else?" Scott asked at last.

"Yes." Xavier nodded. "He seems to have … favorite … characters ….in the different universes he affects. People he's willing to… go out of his way for."

"Like Rogue." Scott observed.

"In our world, yes. Rogue, Kurt … But …"

"But?"

"Well, not so much … you." Xavier shrugged.

"He doesn't … like me?" Scott asked, shocked.

"Er, ah …" Xavier smiled plainly, there was no other way to say it. "No. He doesn't like you."

Scott tossed his hands in to the air with a quick and absurd grin. "So, when do I leave – or for that matter, why would he give me his gift?"

"You leave immediately." Xavier told him. "And I believe that he will include you because when he wrote Abair – he wrote him to be fair. A quirky pain in the ass – but fair, and decent. And those traits had to come from somewhere. Not to mention …" Xavier narrowed his eyes "He owes you the chance to make good on your word – because it was he who made you promise it in the first place."

Scott nodded respectfully, nervous but ready to try his best, and Xavier handed him the address.