Disclaimer: I don't own Mutant X or the X Men.
Discoveries
I am soo sorry for the missed day. Again it's because my routine is all messed up. Please forgive me.
Chapter 14
"Step away from the controls and no one will hurt you." Cyclops watched as the young man turned and looked into the control booth.
"Dad, thank God. I need your help."
Cyclops stood with his mouth opened for a moment. He couldn't have heard what he thought. 'I must just be tired.' "Move away from the door and put your hands up. I promise you won't be hurt." Seeing the intruder following his instructions, Cyclops remotely opened the doors. Wolverine, Gambit and Iceman were the first to enter and fan out to check the perimeter of the room. The rest of the team slowly walked in and stood at a distance until they were given the 'all clear'. Cyclops moved to the front of the group as they all began to approach the stranger. "Now, why don't you tell us who you are and how you got in here."
"What's the date?" he asked.
"Now, suga, what's that got to do with anythin'?" Rogue moved a step forward.
"Please, just tell me. What's the date?" he pleaded.
"Okay, kid, relax," Jubilee moved to one side as the team began to spread out. "It's September 24th, very early in the morning." Jubilee wasn't a morning person.
"What year?" he persisted.
"2004," Storm answered calmly.
"2004," he repeated to himself. "Right after her birthday." He stood taller and smiled. "Nice job, Mikey."
"What's going on, bub? You'd better start explainin' fast." Wolverine began to move closer as the boy eyed him cautiously.
"Wolverine, hold on," Cyclops ordered. Moving toward the young man he tried again. "Don't get nervous; just tell us who you are."
"That's right; I was only about nine months old. There's no way you'd recognize me." He looked from face to face and saw the unasked questions. "Listen, this is gonna sound crazy but, my name is Thomas Xavier Summers." He paused as he watched everyone look to each other. "I can prove it. Watch."
Uncly Remy, toss a dead card.
Remy was startled to hear the strange voice in his head and to be addressed as uncle. After only a moment he pulled a card and threw it into the air above the man's head.
Everyone was stunned when Thomas sent a low charge optic blast and incinerated the card in mid air.
Wolverine stepped closer and studied him. "He believes what he's sayin'. I'd smell it if he were lying."
"Thomas?" Cyclops moved closer and looked closely at the man claiming to be his newborn son.
"Yeah, Dad. It's me." Thomas smiled and let his father approach unhindered.
Cyclops, bring him here. Charles had been monitoring the situation from the Library.
Stilling and standing straighter, he turned to the others. "The professor wants us in the Library." He turned to Thomas, "It's this way."
Thomas laughed, "Dad, I was raised here. I can walk it blindfolded." He walked out the door as everyone moved to the side. "I used to hide from you so well you'd get mad. There are places I hid that, to this day, I've never told you about." He moved closer to the wall as he walked. He suddenly tapped his fist against the wall and a panel slid to the side, revealing an empty storage bin. "Like that one," he smiled as everyone stopped and stared from him to the wall. Tapping it again closed it.
Jean, you'd better get dressed and come down to the Library. I'll meet you there and try to explain. It's safe to bring everyone down. Scott called to his wife.
We'll be right there.
Thomas walked in and moved to kneel in front of the professor. He knew he would get scanned and he was ready for it. He just met the professor's searching eyes and waited.
"My God, it really is you. Thomas, what have you done?" Everyone gasped when the professor erased all doubt.
"Gramps, I knew you'd be upset but you have to believe me when I say there was no other way."
"Scott, what's going---," Jean stopped mid sentence when her eyes fell on the young man she knew in an instant. She slowly stepped closer as he rose to meet her. Thomas?
Hi, mom.
"But, how could this be?" Jean moved to touch his face.
"I'll explain everything." He took her hands, led her to the sofa and sat down with her. Everyone moved around the room as he began. "I'm 20 now. I'm an X Man just like the rest of the kids, all your kids," he looked around and met their wondering eyes, "I grew up with. Gramps," he turned and smiled at Charles, "let us actually join the team about two years ago when things began to get really bad. Anti mutant activity got worse because the Brotherhood of Mutants became very proactive. They began causing trouble all around the globe. Even some of the new mutants were joining them." He stopped and looked at Adam. The questioning look and the furrowed brow he had come to know all too well from another he knew as uncle. "They began to threaten your control of the mutant underground and Sanctuary was breached."
"No, way. How could that happen?" Jesse protested.
"I was there when it took its first attack. My family was visiting and when the mountain was struck, I can remember Dene and I grabbing Bryan and Shawna and running for cover. Uncle Adam always told us that the safest place in Sanctuary was" he turned to Adam as they spoke together. "in the storeroom of the hangar." He smiled at his uncle and continued. "The mansion had been expanded as I grew up and Mutant X moved into the West Wing."
Just then the doors to the library opened and Evie came through with a crying infant in her arms. "I'm sorry for the noise but she won't stop crying. Hank, will you check her again?"
Thomas stood and moved toward her. "Dene?{pronounced with both e's long} Aunt Evie, let me try?" He reached for the child only to find his aunt frowning and turning her daughter away from him.
Adam moved quickly to her side. "Evie, it's ok. We're trying to get the story now but this is Thomas; Scott's son."
She looked deep into his eyes and found a familiarity there that took her by surprise. "Thomas?"
"Hi, Aunt Evie. Please let me hold her. I know I can get her to calm down." He held his arms out and just waited.
Evie turned to see her husband agree and then slowly placed the crying infant into Thomas's arms.
He cradled her close to him and began speaking softly and lovingly to her. Immediately she quieted and fell asleep in his arms.
"That's amazing." Jubilee said.
"Not really. Whenever Dene is upset about anything she comes to me. She always has, for as long as I can remember."
"I'm glad to know that the two of you are very close," Evie smiled at him.
"Well, actually, last week I asked Uncle Adam if he would allow us to marry."
Silence was all of a sudden tangible.
"What did I say?" Adam asked with a hint of fatherly authority in his voice.
Thomas met his eyes with a bashful smile. "You said, yes, as long as I didn't take her away from you."
"Well so much for that long line of suitors we were concerned about." Scott smiled as he patted Adam's shoulder.
Shalimar came in slowly when she was a man holding Nadene. Her eyes turned golden and she began a low growl that only Logan heard.
"Shalimar, No. She's safe." Logan moved quickly from his place by the door to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder until she turned questioning brown eyes to him.
Brennan was by her in a flash and began to fill her in. "Shal, this is Scott's son, Thomas, from the future."
From the moment Logan called her name, Thomas had been staring at her. "Aunt Shalimar? Is it really you?" he stepped closer to her as he looked into her face. As if they were the only ones in the room he continued. "Uncle Brennan said that you were as beautiful as your pictures but they don't do you justice. You are much more beautiful in person; even more beautiful than Shawna."
"Thomas, enough, please. I hope you did not travel back in time just to set off our alarms and comment on your aunt's beauty." Charles pointedly brought him back to the subject.
"No." He turned quickly to address his grandfather. "I assure you that you trained me much better than that. And as for the alarms," he turned toward Marie and Remy, "Jimmy must have pulled the wrong codes from the archives."
He turned back to the professor and sat on the floor in the middle of the room with Nadene in his arms. "Let me explain from the furthest pertinent point. Shortly after all the trouble began to intensify we raided a Brotherhood base and found a device they had been planning to use against us. It was a sort of time travel machine if you will. You had everyone examine it and it was Uncle Jesse who finally figured out how it worked and that it was actually operational. He tried some minor experiments with inanimate objects just to prove its viability. You ordered me and Mikey to destroy it. You believed that it would be too dangerous to tamper with timelines."
"That sounds reasonable. I would not want something with that potential waiting to fall into the wrong hands."
"Yeah, that's what you told us, then. But---" he looked down at the child in his arms, "we didn't destroy it. We kept it and hid it in a place we were sure no one would ever find it.
About two days ago we uncovered evidence of a plot against the mansion. The Brotherhood in full force decided it was time to wipe the X Men out." His voice began to carry the rage he had been suppressing. "We did everything we could to prepare. We got all the younger children into hiding and the rest of us reinforced the defenses and suited up for the attack. We didn't think they knew that we knew so we thought we had the upper hand."
He turned his head down and began caressing the baby's face. "Then less than 24 hours ago, Dene passed out in my arms. We were talking about what we would do when all this was over. She was fine. Then all of a sudden she was unconscious." He turned tear filled eyes up to Hank. "You said that she needed a serum that you couldn't make. That only Aunt Shalimar could have helped her."
"Thomas," Shalimar called to him gently. "Why didn't I help her? And why did you act as if you'd never met me?"
"Because---"he hesitated to weigh his words, "because you contracted a virus while you were away on your honeymoon in Hawaii. It only made you sick at first. You recovered quickly. Then, as you were pregnant with Shawna it became proactive in your system again and you --- you died. I'm sorry." He watched as Brennan came up and took her protectively into his arms.
He took a deep breath and looked at his father to continue. "About six hours ago in my time the mansion was attacked. They were more numerous than we expected. We pulled every punch we could think of and still they breached the outer perimeter. Within three hours they were in the mansion. Everyone was fighting. Even Uncle Adam and Grampa were in the thick of it. Only Aunt Evie remained in the lab by Dene's side. My group and I were forced to retreat to the war level. We secured the entrances and fell back to try to come up with a plan. The mansion was slowly being demolished around us. This was all that was left."
"Why did you pick this time to come back to? Wouldn't it have been a wiser choice to return closer to your own time to stop the attack before it started?" Beast asked.
"I came back for Aunt Shalimar." He turned and looked at her. "This is the only time I was sure of. I knew from all the stories I was told that you were all here right after Dene was born and you had the double wedding in the mansion. Aunt Kitty loves to talk about her wedding." He turned a weary smile to her.
"Thomas, you risked changing time and possibly losing the mansion in order to return further than necessary just to save Nadene?" The professor's voice was stern and demanding.
Sitting up straighter and meeting his grandfather's eyes he replied, "Yes. I would move Heaven and Earth to save her. I can't lose her. She means more to me than my own life. I had to risk it. Everyone agreed. This was the time to pick. You could help us defend the mansion and Aunt Shalimar could save Dene. Please you have to help me. I can't return alone and just watch her die." He cuddled the infant closer as a tear fell from his eye.
Everyone waited as Charles sat quietly contemplating. "Tampering with time can have dangerous repercussions. We don't know what the outcome will actually be."
"We already know too much to not tamper with the future," Bobby offered.
"We also don't know if the Brotherhood didn't use this device to do their own tampering. There should have been no way that the underground was compromised or Sanctuary located, much less destroyed," Adam added.
"I can't let her die, Professor," Shalimar pleaded.
"Maybe if we hit hard and fast we won't have to be in the future long enough to affect anything else." Jesse guessed.
The professor considered again and moved his chair to address the entire group. "Very well, I want you to make sure there are absolutely no frivolous encounters. We don't need to know or have any problems due to the excess of the future revealed. Secure the grounds and return to this time. Leave your older selves and the next generation," he nodded toward Thomas, "to clean up. You should all go. Adam, I and the babies will remain here. Theoretically, you should return at almost the same time you leave, from our perspective. Thomas, please note the time and date. Shalimar, will you be able to do this?" He looked tenderly at her.
Moving away from Brennan, she stood tall and confident. "Yes, Professor; I'll be fine."
Adam proudly walked over to her. "Realize that there are people there who don't know you and people who haven't seen you in a very long time. You will be a shock to some of them." He looked over at Brennan. "Don't let it shock you and make you falter. Be ready for it." He lovingly put his hands on her shoulders.
"I understand, Adam. Thank you." She smiled and tried to hide the emotions playing in her mind faster than she could sort them.
Thomas looked at his watch. "Mikey will be pulling me back in 15 minutes. That is if the war level is still secure."
Cyclops stood and faced his son. "Let's not waste time then, Everyone, let's suit up. We'll all meet in the danger room in 10."
Evie gently took her child as she smiled at Thomas. When everyone was gone Thomas felt a brush on his mind.
Thomas
He turned and sat across from his grandfather. Yes, Gramps? He smiled when Charles chuckled.
Will I ever get used to hearing that?
There are only 12 of us that call you, Gramps. Everyone else respectfully uses, Professor.
12. He shook his head then turned up again to look into his grandson's eyes. Thomas, I am still not sure this is the best of ideas.
I'm sorry if I disappointed you by disobeying.
It would seem that you had better foresight than I did under the circumstances.
I take responsibility for the decisions of my team, but the foresight wasn't mine. He watched as Charles raised an eyebrow in question. It was Dene. Her telepathy is almost as strong as yours. When she was 16 we found out she was also precognitive. She isn't really a know-it-all but on occasion she'll touch something and get a vision. She saw the attack on the mansion. We decided to keep the device but I don't think any of us really believed our home would fall. He looked down in grief.
Thomas, look at me. This is a strange situation but you must know that I am proud of the man you will become. I'm sure, just from your feelings for the others that I will be proud of them as well. When you were born, I held you in my arms for hours at a time. You were the first of a generation for whom we do what we do. Every action on our part, be it correct or in err, we do for you to live in a better world. Perhaps with the information you have given me, we need to wait a little longer for that better world but you will see it. Remember to never give up that vision. Fight if you must. Fight for yourselves and for your children. Don't lose hope when it is dark and don't let the others waiver. Go, tell the others what I said and no matter what happens then, remember I love you.
Thomas moved closer and hugged his grandfather then stopped at the doorway. "Just one more thing, Gramps. When you find out that a certain kid decided to be creative and burned pictures in the wood of your private book shelves with his eyes, don't be too hard on him."
Adam watched as Evie dressed for whatever was ahead of her. "Stay low and away from the front," he told her. "I'm sure they will bring whoever is wounded to you. Stay in the med lab if you can."
"I'll try," she answered automatically as her mind was filled with what ifs.
"Evie, listen to me. Hank and Shalimar will save her." He tried to be strong for her but he couldn't stop the helplessness knowing that his daughter was dying and there was nothing he could do. He hugged her and held her close for a moment then pulled back. "It'll be strange seeing yourself there. You may even see me but remember he's her husband. Yours is waiting for you right here." He kissed her again and walked with her to the danger room but didn't enter.
Everyone met in the danger room and hoped they were ready for whatever faced them in the future. Beast was the last to arrive after making a stop in his lab. "I apologize for my tardiness but there was something I had to obtain in order to accomplish this undertaking."
Thomas couldn't help but laugh then stopped and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Uncle Hank, but we've wondered if you were always a walking Thesaurus. Now I can tell everyone it's true."
"My dear young man, A good command of the English language---"
"goes hand in hand with knowledge and knowledge is the only true power'," he droned. "I know. You've told us for years."
"Well then, it seems I must remind myself to commence vocabulary instruction sooner in your elementary education."
Everyone laughed as they saw him wince.
"Ok, get ready people. We don't know what will greet us when we arrive." Cyclops stood next to his son.
In a matter of moments they found themselves surrounded by a group of teenagers dressed as X Men. At first everyone was stunned at the sight of each other.
A young redhead moved in and ran to embrace Thomas. "Thank God, you're ok. I was so worried."
Holding her close he kissed her forehead. "It's ok Chrissy. I'm back. Come and see mom and dad." He slowly took her to see her parents.
The adults stood still as they watched in shock as the teens began to approach them.
Rogue and Gambit watched in awe as a boy and girl who could have easily passed for them in their teenage years approached them. Standing tall and holding out his hand, the boy spoke. "I'm Jimmy and this is my sister Anna."
Jesse moved closer to Kitty when he saw a very muscular handsome young man approach with his arm protectively around a very young girl. Kitty looked at him then back to the young people.
"Mommy?" the girl spoke. "Daddy," she suddenly ran into Jesse's arms. "Daddy, I was so scared."
Shocked, Jesse just embraced her and began to shh her. He looked up at the boy who reached for his sister. "Tracy, dad's in the med lab, remember." She ignored him and held Jesse tighter. "I'm Bryan. Forgive her, she's only 13. I know she isn't getting all this time travel stuff yet."
Jesse looked down at the child in his arms. "I don't think we're getting it either."
Bobby gripped Jubilee's hand tighter as two very young teens came to them. The girl appeared to be older and spoke first. "Hi, I'm Katie and this is RJ. Well, it's really Robert Junior. I guess we end up being your kids. I think this is so cool."
Bobby laughed as Jubilee turned a creased brow to him. "There's no doubt about it. She's definitely your daughter." He winced as Jubilee delivered an elbow to his ribs.
Logan watched as a strapping young man took his sister's hand and began to approach him. Storm moved to his side as they watched the two come to an abrupt stop at a distance. They exchanged troubled glances and moved toward the children who seemed to tense at their movement. The girl was the picture of Storm with the exception of her hair color. In place of white she had a flowing black mane. The boy seemed to have inherited his mother's white hair and blue eyes but in every other way was the twin of his father in feature and physique.
Thomas was watching as his group met their parents. He noticed Mikey and Hannah freeze in their tracks. He walked over to them as he sent. It's ok guys. I know you feel threatened but it's really them. You don't have to be afraid.
Logan watched Thomas approach and saw the two look at him. "What's wrong? Why are they afraid?"
"The twins, Mikey and Hannah are very sensitive to everything around them. Because you both are tied to nature, they became the strongest ferals we've ever seen. Even Shawna Mulwray has nothing on them. Individually they are indomitable but together they are as wild and powerful as nature herself." He took Hannah's hand and Mikey's shoulder and guided them into their parents' embrace.
Shawna was the only one who remained still. She just stared at the woman who she only knew from pictures. Brennan watched as these two beautiful women stood and began to cry. Slowly he pulled Shalimar under his arm and began to walk to the girl. "Shawna? Thomas told us you were a beautiful girl." He watched as she stretched out her hand.
"Mama?" She quickly stepped forward and fell against her mother as they embraced each other for the first time. They cried as Brennan just wrapped his arms around his family.
Jubilee stepped forward out of Bobby's arms and wiped the tears from her eyes. Straining at a thought she called out. "Thomas?"
"Yeah, Aunt Jubes?"
"Thomas, something's wrong. I don't hear anything."
TBC