Epilogue:
It was dark here.
He knew at any given time, there was always sunlight falling somewhere in the world...
...but here it was dark.
A being stood in the forest above Aklalai Lake, and stared out into the darkness.
Stryker had only ever referred to him as 'The Stranger' but this being had many other names...most of which he had forgotten over the years.
Unlike those humans with the mutant gene, those names never defined what he was or what he could do. He was beyond definition...and what he could do could not be described in spoken words.
He had come to Alkalai Lake again...after that child (Mary, he knew her name was Mary) had somehow...interfered with him. He would not allow himself to think of it as a defeat...simply an interruption in his work.
The being stood in the form of a man, an image of what he had once been. For he was not a god...nor any immortal creature.
As he walked forward, he gripped his chest painfully. He had only ever revealed to a few how old he actually was...and that he was dying...but he had not planned on being injured by anyone before his work was complete.
Luckily, his legacy and his power would be passed on to his heir.
More than two decades ago, he had been given a child, a gift offered to him by the child's elders (voluntarily by all except one) in exchange for their lives and the sanctity of their most horrific secrets. Since then, he had been raising this child, training this child, to continue his cause after he died...which he did hope would be very soon.
But...until he could pass on his powers...he had to make sure no one alive could oppose this heir.
Mutants, He thought with fury, Human creatures with the power to break...anything...everything...and they don't even know it...
The being who called himself Legion...or some variation of that...had once been human. Just a simple man, two millennia before the word mutant would be uttered for the first time, and he had been taken...possessed by a legion of demons...who were then cast out by a good man. But the effects of those creatures left him changed...different...still alive, and with powers that would take generations to understand. The good man had told him to have faith in himself, no matter what the future holds...but two millennia was a long time, even for the sanest of creatures...
The being stared out over the dark waters, uncertainly. There was power here as well, power that could prove dangerous for all beings, not just himself.
He would need to find another, like Stryker, who would be willing to aid in the containment of these growing...powerful...mutants...
The being closed his eyes...and rose into the air...
...he moved south...
...as the Wolverine drove through the dark countryside...
...as Xavier's children slept peacefully in his protective care...
...as Lensherr flew back to his Island, with confident and vengeful plans for the future...
...as President McKenna walked through the White House with concern for his country...
...as a young woman named Mary read a book about monsters...
...he moved south...
In a small neighborhood, not too far from Washington, D.C., Edward Kelly yawned wearily. He was doing some last minute research for an early court appearance scheduled for the next day. He would be the prosecuting attorney for a family who claimed a neighbor had purposefully hit one of their children with his car because they thought the child had been a mutant.
Edward sighed heavily and frowned as he read the case notes from a similar trial last year in New Hampshire, where a school lunch aide had refused to feed several children at lunch who were rumored to be mutants. Hell, even Judge Judy was airing cases of mutant persecution now. It always seems to be everyone's favorite topic, even if no mutants had been involved.
Yet, to Edward's secret distaste, he had a suspicion that his client, who he would represent in the morning, was in fact a mutant. He had only met the child once, a small girl with a sweet little voice and a cheerful attitude, despite her broken arm and leg. But, it had not escaped his attention that her parents had dressed her in a wig for their first appointment at his office. There could be a hundred other reasons for the disguise, but the child had made Edward a drawing while he had been talking with her parents. It was a picture of the girl and her family, but the child drew herself above her family, in the air...like she was flying...
Edward Kelly, brother of the late Senator Robert Kelly, slammed the book he was reading shut and tossed his lazily across the room.
Mutants, mutants, mutants, he thought with annoyance, It always comes back to mutants...
Fortunately for his current clients, Edward did not always share his brother's views on the subject. The family, mutants or not, were paying customers, and fairly wealthy paying customers. So what if their kid could fly...as long as the little bitch did not do it in the court room, everything would be fine.
Edward rubbed his eyes and yawned again. Thoughts of his brother made him frown and he quickly pushed the memories away. They had never been very close, but it was a shame that the bastard got himself blown up after he changed his tune from anti-mutant to pro-mutant immediately after the Liberty Island terrorist attack. Robert had never had great timing.
After a few more minutes, Edward headed upstairs, shuffling quietly past the rooms of his own children (both completely human, thank God) and quietly slipped into bed next to his wife.
Mutants, he thought again, Life would be a lot simpler without them...
I couldn't agree with you more, a voice suddenly rang in his head.
Edward sat up quickly in bed and glanced around his dark room. He looked over at his wife, who was still sleeping soundly. His heart was racing and he broke out into a sweat, even though the room had become very cold.
"What the hell..." he said aloud, and then shook his head, "I've gotta stop these all-nighters..."
Night... A voice said again, ...is the only good part of the day...
"Who is that?" Edward hissed at the darkness, "Fucking telepathic..."
Don't you dare believe that I am one of those abominations, The commanding voice sounded painfully in his head.
"What are you?" Edward said aloud, fear in his voice.
A friend...of your brother... The voice lied, A friend to all great men...who can do great things...
"Great men?" Edward asked.
You believe your brother lost his way, The voice said, But, he did not die that day when his helicopter was destroyed. He had been killed months before that...
"What are you talking about?" Edward asked, "This is crazy...I'm talking to myself..."
Don't question your sanity, Mr. Kelly, The voice assured him, Think of me...as a muse... here to help you become the great man you should be...
That statement struck Edward to his bones. Robert had always been the oldest, the first to become a lawyer, the first to make their parents proud, then he was elected to senate, and began his stupid crusade.
"I should be a great man," Edward mumbled, his eyes widening as the Stranger took hold of him, "I am a great man...they just don't know it..."
"You have the power to do great things, Edward," the Stranger said, now appearing before Kelly in the shadows, "Great things...and I will help you... I'll give you what you want... and in time, you'll give me what I want..."
"What you want," Edward said without question, "What you want...what I want... to be great..."
"Yes, Edward," the Stranger said, and the voice and the figure began to fade away, "Once they are out of our way..."
"They?" Edward mumbled, "They...mutants...they're in our way...in the world's way...in my way..."
The Stranger smiled.
Good night, Edward, the voice said.
Kelly's eyes closed dully and he fell backward onto his pillow again.
...I'll be seeing you again very soon...
End of Book 4
Author's note: Phew...Finally able to wrap this one up. The next one will have more action in it I hope. We'll just have to wait and see what happens...
tap tap tap
Author: turns around and looks behind her
Kurt: tap tap tap
Author: Will you cut that out?!?! I'm getting to book five already!
Kurt: frowns and blinks What? What did you say? Takes headphones off his head
Author: The tapping! Now what?!?!
Kurt: Oh, no, I wasn't tapping at you. Points at CD player This is just a really good song.
Author: ........... Can I get to review responses now?
Kurt: Puts on headphones again Vatever...
Author: Thanks again to everyone who's following along with this confusion!
To DemonRogue13: Thanks again and again and again for all the reviews! :-)
To LilSis: It's secret LAIR not secret LAYER! A secret LAYER would be some extra feature you can get in a birthday cake or something. Or the secret LAYER in your cheesy-gordita crunch. :-P
To Capitalist Madhatter: First of all, I love your nickname and bet you throw wicked tea parties. lol Thanks for following along, and watch for more fuzzy Kurt goodness in book 5. And you're a Toad-fic convert, eh? There's a lot primo-Toadage in some of the other fics on this site too. :-D
Kurt: PS – You are right...I'm VAY better than Scott...
Toad: And apparently, I'm vay better than you, mate...
Kurt: VAT!? You are not!
Toad: Yes, I bloody well am!
Annoying battle ensues for heart of fans
Author: I'm getting out of the freakin' book, man. Tacos make people crazy...