Disclaimer:
I don't own X-Men Evolution, though I wish I did.
Summary:
Just as the X-Men had their first days as raw recruits, so to do they have a day when they graduate and move on. This story will lead them along the path to it. Unfortunately, not all of them will follow down this path. Heavy on Scott/Jean, with mentions of most of the other Evo couples throughout. Phoenix, Weapon X, Inner Circle, and more. Action, adventure, romance, drama, and a little humor. Expect the unexpected. Sequel to 'Annihilation.' Cameos galore, mostly towards the end. Includes glimpses into the future of the X-Men and co.
"Okay... everybody hold that pose... aaaannnndd... say cheddar!"
"Cheddar!"
The button was clicked, the light flashed, the picture was taken. Before it stood the X-Men as they were. Who, as soon as the picture was taken, immediately relaxed their postures and eased their smiles (Logan's and Sarah's all but vanished in seconds) and generally were glad the picture had finally been taken.
"Okay now somebody take mine!" shouted Danielle, offering the camera to Kitty as she jumped to her feet.
"Oh darn, we're out of film," remarked Kitty.
"Oh... well we can always do this again," said Danielle. "Speaking of which, where's Lance? Wasn't he an X-Man too?"
"Said he'd sooner be caught dead than join us X-Geeks," remarked Scott, as most of the others gathered started to disperse, realizing that their time was over. A good number headed inside to change out of their uniforms.
"He did not!" remarked Kitty with a huff. "He's busy at his new job. Couldn't be spared today."
"Well, maybe next time he and I can get in the picture with everyone else," replied Danielle, taking the camera back. "And maybe Forge too, you guys said he was a pretty good help. He deserves a place in the picture."
Saturday being what it was, most of the students were all eager to disperse and get on with their lives. And being as it was summer, most had decided that their lives would resolve around the olympic-sized swimming pool in the back yard of the Xavier Institute.
Professor Charles Xavier alone did not join the others outside, but sat on his balcony, overlooking the festivities. Hank and Ororo were chaperoning the kids by the pool, administering good natured 'don't run' or 'settle downs' in case they got unruly. Hank did it from the safety of a nearby tree's shade, since he and Kurt never did particularly well in the sort of summer heat New York was infamous for. Kurt was faring slightly better, performing his infamous 'bamf and cannonball' dive, splashing water over as many people as he actively could. Nearby, Rahne had climbed up on Sam's shoulders and the two were engaged in a playful battle against Jubilee and Roberto, until all four had gone floundering into the water, laughing. And there by the far end of the pool, Bobby Drake was being chased by a small horde of very angry girls (Danielle, Tabby and Amara) whom had previously been sunbathing. Apparently they had not enjoyed his practical joke. One of their guests of the day, Evan, was flipping burgers at the grill with Warren and Piotr, and Alex was sipping cool lemonade under a nearby umbrella.
A smile touched Charles lips as he watched them all, his students, his children, his family. And he felt immeasurably proud of them all.
Then he glanced over at his first students, to Scott and Jean, sitting quietly on the loveseat of the pool and just talking, and he felt a chill run down his spine. Again, he questioned the wisdom of holding such information from them... but as always, he decided it was for the best.
The future was not written in stone.
Yet Charles had seen it. Seen it in the mind of Apocalypse, seen glimpses of what was to come. Such information was not for any man to know, lest they be tempted to change the natural course of time. Apocalypse has seen the future, and it had driven him to madness. Driven him to his mad scheme to re-work the world in his own image, to fuse his body to the technology of the future. Charles Xavier could not in good conscience alter it either. Not and risk remaining as he was. He had to let things happen as they happened.
But still... Sarah had come to live with them, and while immeasurably welcome she had been seen in his visions. So had Rogue's ability to fly, and that to was true, he noted as he watched her and Gambit splashing one another at one end of the pool. And so had the very picture that had been taken earlier this day. Charles' heart had stopped as the flash had been taken. It was all coming true.
And that meant...
Jean's face scrunched in confusion as she glanced up at the balcony, as Professor Xavier rolled off the ledge and back into his room, closing his glass doors behind him. His thoughts were... so worried.
"Jean?" asked Scott to her side. "You alright?"
"Sure, sure I'm fine," she replied a little too quickly, giving Scott one of her award-winning smiles. He returned one of his own, making her blush.
"Bobby Drake you are a dead man!" shouted Tabby, rushing after the cackling Iceman as iced his way across the pool and safely out of her reach. Amara joined the blonde as they chased after him.
"Are they really going to kill him?" asked Sarah, glancing over at Kurt. He shook his head.
"Nein, though he'll probably learn that women are nothing to trifle with," he remarked with a toothy smirk.
"I could've told him that," replied Sarah, folding her arms across her chest.
Two Years Later...
"We are in agreement then?"
"We are."
"Not that we do not trust you but... what guarantees do we have that you will uphold your end of the bargain?"
"You know that my goal has always remained the same. Using you to do it simple makes it easier."
"Just don't forget that. And then, there is of course, the matter of your offspring."
"Leave them out of this."
"As long as you uphold your end of the bargain. When we have what we want, you will have what you want, and no one will be harmed."
"Agreed."
Author's Notes:
Recognize the picture? Final shot from 'Ascension,' baby. I always wondered to myself why Forge, Danielle and Lance never were in that particular picture. My explanation why, best I could come up with. But then again, we all have photos like that where we can't get quite everyone we wanted. Professor X's visions of the future are, of course, the glimpses we saw at the end of 'Ascension.' And those who read my previous works in 'Nullification,' 'Infection,' and 'Annihilation' know that I'm slowly working towards those visions. You'll be seeing a lot more as time goes on. As for the creepy voices at the end, deliberately vague and shadowy? An idea popularized by 'Nullification,' brought back again. Have fun guessing whom our evil villains are for this wacky adventure. Wacky, heh. Frequent updates are a thing of the past. Expect one a week, at most. Terribly sorry, but such is life. I hope I won't lose any of my hardcore fans. Equally ominous note… this is, counting my failed movie crossovers, thirteenth X-Men Evolution fanfiction. Thirteen. Beware.