Fifteen Years Later...
Time had left its mark on the city of Bayville. Once a mid-sized urban center with no significant happenings (apart from a few strange incidents surrounding the local high school), the city had grown to a full-scale city easily the size of New York, Paris, or London. It was a clean, well-kept city and now almost totally devoid of crime, a marked change over the past decade or so. And now it had a claim to fame.
It was Mutant City, USA.
Mutant relations had improved in the past few years, and now they were no longer hated, persecuted, or feared any more than an idiot with a handgun or a drunk driver (both of which were also less frequent these days). True, a few very small, narrow-minded individuals like the Friends of Humanity were against mutants, but like other racist groups of the past, they were a dying breed and within another decade or so they'd be nothing more than a word in the history books. Mutants were now accepted, even welcome, members in any community. True, the methods used to allow for control of mutants powers were still not 100% accurate, and thus a great number of people turned to aid from the Xavier Institute, with its leading experts on mutations.
Today was a sunny day, marked only by the occasional cloud. It was also, unfortunately... the first day of Fall Semester at Bayville High.
Rachel sat alone, idly chewing on the end tip of her pencil as she stared down at the blank paper before her. It was lunch time, and she'd finally managed to escape from the teachers to catch a few moments to herself. She sat alone, but she was expecting her friends to arrive at any moment. They were going to purchase lunch, after all. She'd wisely chosen to bring hers.
Dressed in a crisp white t-shirt and a navy blue skirt that went down to her ankles, Rachel was a very pretty girl, though she would've denied it almost vehemently. Her hair was as red as blood, cut short and drawn back from her face, pushed back over her ears to reveal her sky-blue eyes. Her features were classic beauty, raised cheekbones, slanted eyes, and a pert little nose. She was average height with a slim, soft body. A pair of thin, wire-rim glasses rested on her nose. A small red backpack rested by her sandaled feet, though it was usually slung over her shoulder.
"Hmmm..." she muttered to herself, adjusting her glasses, still idly chewing on the pencil as she pondered what to put to paper. Giving a slight shrug, she dropped the pencil, deciding to give her mind a chance, see what she made. It was a hobby of hers, drawing artwork.
Closing her eyes and letting her mind guide it, the pencil slid up through the air as if guided by an invisible hand, tracing images on the paper. Rachel smiled... this way was easier, sometimes.
A short giggled interrupted her train of thoughts, however, and she glanced up, the pencil standing upright as she glanced over a few tables. The source of the giggle came into view, and Rachel gave a sigh as she spotted her.
Perhaps three tables away (they were outside, enjoying the beautiful autumn day) a short, dark-haired girl walked, dressed in a bright red halter-top and a pair of khaki shorts. Her skin was the rich color of cerulean, and her legs were long and shapely. Obviously she worked out to maintain her image. Her eyes were the most pretty shade of blue, like Rachel's. But whereas Rachel's were blue like the sky, hers were dark as the ocean's depths. Her long hair reached down to her shoulders, the color of a flowing waterfall. As she walked, her hips swayed, and a long blue tail the same color as her skin peeked out from a slit in her shorts, waving back and forth. The tip was heart shaped and, as Rachel watched, it gave a little wave as some of the boys from a nearby table flirted with the blue lady. She flirted back, giving them a wink, but walked past, uninterested.
"You should stop encouraging them like that," remarked Rachel, as the girl slid into the seat across from her, drawing her knees up to her chest in an almost child-like gesture, her arms wrapped around them. "It's not very nice."
"It's just some harmless flirting," replied Bluebelle. Rachel's best friend since as long as either of the girls had known one another. They were so close they were practically sisters.
"Oh fine, like you'll ever listen to me," muttered Rachel. Sisters, yeah. And siblings got on each other's nerves.
"As Auntie Rogue says... 'damn straight'... you gonna eat those?" asked Bluebelle, pointing at Rachel's unopened bag of chips. Rachel didn't even bother to reply, just gave them a gentle nudge with her mind. They flew over into Bluebelle's eager hands.
They were soon joined by the other members of their little clique, the LeBeau twins as they were infamously known around Bayville High. Infamous for breaking hearts, that is. Which was, of course, a total lie. Neither Charles nor Adrienne ever broke a heart, they left it just as intact when they broke up with someone as when they started. That way the lucky boy/girl was even more in love with them when it was over.
Charles was a tall one, towering above Rachel easily, and looked more like a college student than the high school junior he was. The illusion was added too by a short beard gracing his chin. He had very handsome features, very rugged, with dark forest green eyes and long auburn hair. He was dressed in a black and dark red t-shirt and black jeans, over which he'd thrown a trench coat. His hands and particularly his fingers were long and slender, designed for intricate work... both during and after school. His twin sister Adrienne was about a head shorter, with thick dark brown hair that flowed down the back of her head to just above her shoulders, with a distinct streak of white dangling in front of his eyes, and a saucy smirk perpetually on her face. She dressed in a light green halter and a darker green sweater thrown over it. A spiked collar was wrapped around her slender throat, and an ankh-shaped earring dangled from her ear. Her eyes were a very distinct red on black that she'd inherited from her father.
So it was the foursome chatted about this and that, about teachers they liked or hated, about who was riding with who on the way home (Charles had a motorcycle, Rachel had a red convertible she'd inherited from her father), and most importantly, what they had to do once they got home, but conversation came to an almost dead halt as another student walked up to their table and said...
"Mind if I sit here?"
It was a dark-skinned boy, short and muscular, with dark black hair that was cut very short in an almost military style, shaved completely off around his ears and the back of his head. He had a pair of incredibly piercing black eyes to match. He was dressed in a tan t-shirt and jeans, and under his arm he held a skateboard. A backpack was slung casually over his other shoulder.
"I suppose not," replied Rachel, nodding to an empty seat the group always seemed to have at this particular table. Now, with the young man sitting in it, the circular lunch table was complete, all five spots filled. "What's your name?"
"Terrance," he stated, dropping his bag and his board on the ground behind him. "Terrance Daniels. Most people call me Terry."
"Nice to meet you," said Bluebelle, pausing in her scarfing of chips to grab a napkin and wipe her mouth off, then offering a three-fingered hand to Terry in greetings. He shook it.
"You new here?" asked Charles.
"Not exactly," he replied. When they looked at him strangely, as if expecting an explanation, he took a moment to consider how to properly phrase his response. He ultimately settled for the truth.
"You guys ever hear of the Morlocks...?"
Sitting at the opposite end of the lunch court was an entirely different gathering, and this particular table was given a wide berth by anyone not in this particular group.
The first was a boy, with dark-brown hair and a perpetual scowl on his face, dressed completely in black, head to toe, down to his socks and fingerless gloves. His dufflebag lay on the ground beside him, stuffed with his books, and everything about him had a half-hazard look, like he'd been traveling most of his life and was ready to be gone in an instant. His surprisingly soft brown eyes had locked onto a figure at the far table, and they rarely wandered away from that figure. His lunch sat by his elbow, ignored.
The figure sitting behind him, on the opposite end of the table, snorted idly in disgust, sipping on her coke through a straw. She was of average height, with dark blacks locks cut short and out of her eyes. Eyes that had yellow hues and slit-like pupils. Her skin was a pale greenish-tan mixture, and had the rough texture that was almost scaly to the touch. She was dressed in gothic attire, blacks and dark purples, and all but covered in jewelry and piercings. At least three earrings and a nose-ring, that could be seen with a casual glance.
The third figure sat slightly to the left of the second, resting her head on her arms and idly wondering when the day would end. She was the shortest of the three, her body small and underdeveloped, but she was only fifteen years old, with some time left to grow and mature. She idly blew her hair out of her silver-blue eyes, letting the silver-white bangs fall back over them almost instantly before she did it again. She was bored. She was dressed in preppy tight white t-shirt with the Bayville High logo and red skirt, her hair held back in a ponytail by a pink scrunchie.
"Oh give it up Dominic, you know she's completely out of your league," remarked the green-skinned girl, in between sips of her drink.
"Shut up," he grunted, barely paying any attention to her.
"She is right you know," remarked the silver-haired girl, who'd grown bored with blowing her hair and was now idly spinning a quarter on the table-top, watching it fall, the spinning it again. "Come on, can't we leave already? I'm so goddamn BORED in school. I wanna go to the mall and do some SHOP-PING."
"Oh give it a rest Luna, we're all sick of you and your shop 'til you drop frenzies," remarked the reptilian girl, finishing off her drink and starting on her fries. Luna'd made a lunch run to grab some McDonalds food for the trio, since they hated cafeteria food.
"Shut up Tonya," retorted the silver-haired girl, sticking her tongue out at her.
"You shut up!"
"You shut up!"
"You!"
"You!"
"Both of you shut up!" grumbled Dominic, finally paying attention to their whining. He grunted, grabbing the table and activated his mutant power. Instantly it turned as insubstantial as smoke, along with the seats attached to it (linked underneath the table to prevent them from being moved). Both of the girls, unprepared for the move, instantly found their seats gone, and landed hard on their butts.
"Ow... Dom! What the hell, we were just..." started Tonya, but she froze upon seeing his expression. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with her.
"Fine,whatever,I'moutofhere," remarked Luna, and in a flash of light and a blur, she did just that, vanishing from the table and heading off into the school. Tonya grunted something similar and trudged off to her locker. She and Luna were Dominic's only friends, but that was only because they could put up with him for very long. Still, he was nicer than his 'back-off' appearance and attitude seemed to suggest.
Dominic paid no attention to either of them. Now that it was quiet again, he turned back to his favorite pastime. Watching a beautiful, admittedly unattainable, girl.
Downtown was chaos. Not just simple, semi-restrained chaos, like when Johnny Depp Jr. was signing autographs for hordes of screaming girls. This was unrestrained, pure havoc, run-or-you-die chaos. People were running and screaming, filling the streets and abandoning their cars in pre-rush hour roadblocks, all fleeing before it.
It did not understand what it was doing was chaotic. It only understand what it was told. It had been programmed with a simple command. Albeit layered by countless other commands on top of that, but its core program was a simple, one-sentence line.
Kill all mutants.
Nimrod floated down, landing on its two feet as its massive head turned from side to side. It was not an easy process for it, with its incredibly thick neck, but in general it preferred to turn its entire body anyway. For now, it wanted to remain on the ground. Less noticeable, if only by a 5% chance. Nimrod was the ultimate sentinel, the masterwork of his creator Trask. Having lay inactive for so long, it'd only recently been re-activated by the man known as Graydon Creed and given its purpose, to destroy all mutants. Nimrod had thus far followed its new instructions without flaw. Creed's dead body would attest to this, as would his latent mutant gene. Its highly-power sensors picked up another mutant, three blocks down, having been knocked over by the mob and lying helpless. Only a child. Low-threat. Nimrod did not hesitate as it raised its hand, a ball of energy forming between his fingers, pouring out of the tiny hole in his palm. It did not allow its emotions for a young child interfere. It did not have such emotions. The energy ball launched from its hand, speeding towards its target...
... only to bounce off an invisible wall and be sent spinning up into the air harmlessly. Nimrod turned its head slightly, its yellow eyes glowing as it regarded the newcomer. Its sensors immediately identified her as a mutant.
Rachel Summers was a changed girl, and anyone who knew her from High school would've had trouble connecting her to the redheaded woman standing before Nimrod. Gone were her glasses, her geekish shirt and skirt, replaced by a skin-tight black uniform that covered her from neck all the way down to her toes, covered in gold and red flames. On her belt and her shoulders rested a now world-wide familiar black 'X' on a field of red. She was Phoenix. She was one of the X-Men.
"Leave them alone," she said to Nimrod, as if she actually had a chance of reasoning with a machine. Nimrod lifted itself up into the air again, hovering as easily as Phoenix did. It raised its hand with methodical purpose, firing off another energy ball at Phoenix. She held up her hands, blocking it with another telekinetic shield, giving a smirk. "That all you got?"
Nimrod's threat assessment of Phoenix, holding out both hands this time, and giving off a controlled, concentrated blast of energy that quickly cracked Phoenix's shield and sent the young woman tumbling through the air to slam onto the hood of a buick.
"Ooooh... guess not..." she muttered, getting back to her feet. It was damn powerful, for a robot especially, she thought.
Nimrod floated over towards Phoenix, determined to finish her off. It didn't get the chance. An explosion hit it and it staggered, turning in a complete half-circle to face its other opponents on the other side of the street which had been, to its knowledge, previously empty. Three of them, all mutants.
Bluebelle was dressed in a bright red and black uniform much like her father had worn in his time as an X-Man, both of her hands resting on the shoulders of those who were now Plague and La Mort, aka Adrienne and Charles. La Mort had six cards in his hands, all charged up and ready to fly. His other hand was empty... for now. Plague had taken up a defensive stance, unsure yet of how her own power would be useful in a fight against a machine. Bluebelle kept a tight grip on their shoulders, ready to 'port out the instant things got too hot.
Nimrod began a slow, controlled approach of the three mutants, ignoring Rachel for the moment as it raised its hands to test their powers. It let out three short controlled bursts. The X-Men dodged, La Mort retaliating with some charged cards that hit Nimrod dead center... blasting a crater clear in its chest. They could see the shiny silver metal beneath, and the X-Men gave up a cheer. It died on their lips, as Nimrod's body seemed to morph and flow like quicksilver, and the wound sealed itself over, good as new. Nanotechnology. Liquid metal. Whatever it was, it equaled bad news for the young team of mutants. Plague's hand dropped down to her belt, resting on the communicator they all carried in case they would need back-up.
"Back off, metal man!" came a shout, again drawing Nimrod's attention. A black boy was making a charge at him, riding a skateboard to increase his acceleration. Confused by his aggressive tactics, Nimrod opened fire. The boy dodged aside, reaching to his elbow...
... and drawing out a four foot long serrated steel sword right out of his skin.
Razor of the Morlocks ducked as he sped right past Nimrod, slicing at his stomach with his steel blade. It shattered on impact, and he nearly spun out of control, but came to a stop with the other X-Men, kicking his board up for a controlled stop. Razor was in a uniform now too, of sorts. A criss-crossing pair of leather buckles over a black t-shirt and a belt with a dented but obviously well cared for 'X' buckle. A gift from his dad. Just like the spikes, except that his entire skeletal system was metal instead of bone. Hence his codename.
Nimrod attacked the mutants, focusing on the larger group and ignoring Phoenix for the moment. This was fine by her, since her head hurt like hell after being knocked back like that. She grunted, clutching her forehead, brushing back her red locks as her temples pounded.
A hand came from nowhere, right into her line of vision, and she glanced up in surprise.
"Need a hand?" asked Dominic, giving her a lift up from her seated position. Dominic Alvers, she remembered. They shared chemistry class together, as lab partners. He'd always been an enigma to her. So tough and mean towards everyone... except her... when he'd be so shy. And here now...
It took her a moment to realize, he was in a uniform too. A black, flowing ensemble that would've looked at home on a Matrix star. Like everything else he wore, all black.
"Looked like you X-Geeks could use a hand," remarked Tonya, dropping down off the nearby alley wall and landing gracefully next to the two lovebirds. She was dressed now in bright green scales, a uniform that stretched across her skin and covered her from head to toe. It perfectly fit her codename. Reptilia.
"Sowedecidedtoshowupandbeofassistance," added Luna, zipping up beside them. The Fastest Girl Alive, as she proclaimed loudly and quite often, was also in uniform. A skin-tight green and blue number that looked almost just like her dads. Only this one emphasized her blossoming figure. She liked to call herself Warp.
"We'll gladly take the help," replied Rachel. She glanced up, catching a mental blip. Then she smiled. "Looks like we just got some reinforcements!" she added, pointing up at the arriving Blackbird. The side-door slid open, and out jumped Vapor, sending out a chill that formed a perfect ice-bridge, allowing her to slid down effortlessly to the ground, before she formed a ball of water and tossed it at Nimrod. No such luck, Kylie Drake found... it was a waterproof design, this sentinel.
After her came the Guthrie twins, Fang and Claw, immediately assuming their lycranthropic forms as they leapt at Nimrod. It batted them aside effortlessly, but fortunately they were caught by a quick jump from the agile Reptilia and a tiny whirlwind from Warp. Jebediah and Joshua continued their assault, their non-mutant little sister Moira giving them an encouraging wave from the cockpit of the X-Jet.
Iris, better known as Yan Aquilla-Smith, adopted heir of the Nova Roma throne, followed as soon as the Jet lowered to the ground, unable to safely jump out. She launched a bright flurry of rainbow lights and colors at Nimrod, hoping to blind it. She succeeded, and the big machine stumbled backwards. But then it was quick to recover, and blasted away at her. As his blast neared blasting away the tiny girl, a figure rose up out of the gone, de-phasing and activating his other power, that of increased mass. Shadow, better known as Dominic, barely felt a thing as the blast slammed into his hardened body. He could hardly move in this form, but it was worth it to be a human wall. Like his mother, Dominic could phase his body in a manner that it became insubstantial, but he'd gained an additional power to push his own molecules closer together, to the point that it was practically impossible to break through him.
"Go!" he shouted, ordering Iris out of the way. A second blast caused Shadow to stumble. Nimrod was still very powerful. But this time it was Phoenix who rescued -him-, grabbing his hands as she swooped overhead and lifting him out of the fight.
Nimrod was surrounded. Twelve mutants, one latent mutant, with a variety of powers and abilities. Worse, they worked as an effective team. They had a purpose, to save themselves and their friends and families, to fight for a cause, and it only had its programming to fall back on, unable to retreat, to mindless to surrender. The X-Men and their allies continued to fight this new menace, as they had for two decades and more, and would continue to do so for many, many years to come...
And so the battle raged on. Some things had changed, but some things never would.
Author's Notes:
There ya have it folks, the end of my X-Men Evolution masterpiece, and the final glimpse you'll see of what I think the Evo world will turn out like. I hope I don't have to tell any of you who Rachel Summers or Bluebelle Wagner are. If so then you need to seriously read an on-line x-men archive or something. Okay, Charles and Adrienne LeBeau are Remy and Rogue's kids (duh) Charles with Remy's power, Adrienne like the Horseman who had the same codename (TAS, at least) and are the creations of Comet-hime. Terrance 'Terry' Daniels, AKA Razor, is the son of Evan and Callisto and is my humble creation. As are Dominic Alvers (Shadow), Tonya Tolenski (Reptilia) and Luna Maximoff (Warp). Luna is the real name of the child of Pietro and Crystal in the comics, though there she was completely normal (and hated by her granddaddy Magneto because of that fact). Dominic is the name of comics Avalanche, seemed appropriate for his son. Kylie Drake (Vapor) belongs to Kinomi and is the child of Bobby and her OC Darcy. Yan Aquilla-Smith (Iris) is Comet-hime's, Jebediah (Fang), Joshua (Claw), and Moira Guthrie are mine. Nimrod is, of course, seen in the final scene from "Ascension" before the big group photo, and thus ties up the last of the images in my stories. Graydon Creed's name was given mention, he was the son of Sabertooth and Mystique, half-brother to Kurt and Rogue. In the comics he was completely human and head of the Friends of Humanity, I could not resist giving him a latent gene and having Nimrod destroy him. How's that for ironic? Nimrod's ability to repair his own body was from the comics, but a twisted part of me modified it to resemble the T-1000's and T-X's from 'T2' and 'T3', respectively.
And on that note, I am done. Moving on to greener pastures. Hope you enjoyed the wild ride. I have so many people to thank, I don't know where to begin. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed my story, giving valuable insight and necessary criticism (I am only human, after all). Thanks to the writers of X-Men Evolution, who brought us such a lovable show in the first place. Thanks to the cast of X-Men Evolution, for working with me to bring themselves to light in my stories. Thanks especially to Comet-hime for providing artwork and inspiration, and for beta-reading my stories to approve my ideas. Thanks also to anyone who created an Evo OC and permitted me to use them in my stories.
Nessie6: I'm still of the firm belief the only people who should have unhappy endings are villains. And even then I judge on a case-by-case basis. Me too, I've always preferred Sam/Rahne, because of their screen time and some of Scribbler's works, plus I'm not a very big fan of Roberto, who's said maybe three lines in the whole series (poor fellow). Rogue can touch. Re-read the last chapter of Annihilation for explanations. Of course, you never really stop being an X-Man. But its like military service or such, you can do other things in your free time. Dominic's an okay name, so I figured I could give it to Lance and Kitty's kid. As Todd proved to Kurt, looks are not everything, so of course its personality. Definitely rather make Crystal an orphan than deal with her comic origins. I'm glad you enjoyed the fates of the other X-Men and other mutants and OC's and canon characters. TAS made me hate Cyclops and Jean too, and Gambit's third-person speech, and bits of Wolverine and definitely Jubilee.
Lady Iapetus, Roving Wanderer: Ah, so I was right, what a relief. The end? This end is the beginning of a new end… beginning… or something. I move on from Evo (though I may be back to play with my Neo X-Men later) but I move on to other genres and other stories, and don't have any plans to stop writing fanfiction anytime in the conceivable near future.
Rogue14: Going to what? Make him into a thrashin' near-perfect version of his father? I live for happy endings, damnit! Happy! Happy Happy Happy! And now, -this- is the end. Hope you enjoyed the ride, and continue to read my non-Evo stories that I will be writing later.
Todd fan: You're a fan of Todd/Wanda and Sam/Rahne? Cool. Glad you liked what happened then with the families and all. And yes, another chapter, although this was it, I hope you enjoyed. No TJ, but Bluebelle and Rachel for you to enjoy. Hehehe.
Oceanbang: Believe you me, it was not easy determining what happened to the entire cast of Evo over the last five years, and even tougher for fifteen years. But I'm glad you enjoyed all the hard work I put into my story, which could've just as easily been wasted studying for my last midterm. We are all fortunate I know where my priorities are. Heh.
DoubleL27: Remy is a charmer but more importantly he's a decent guy at heart, despite being a thief. I try to emphasize that part of his nature. Happiness is always best after angst, and angst drives a story. Glad you liked the showing of the OC's (not just Comet-hime's, also Scribbler's, Internutter's, and Kinomi's) and the canon characters. Hope you also enjoyed -this- glimpse into the even farther future, including those lovable X-Babies you love so much, all grown up and goin' to High School, just like their parents did before them. Maddie… Madelyn? Madelyn Pryor, Jean's clone?
Star-of-chaos: What, seeing an eight-foot tall man and his five foot puny business partner walking in and saying they can do a fifty man job in half the time? That guy must've miscarried. And yeah, I figured I could be nice to Gambit, I had no intention to let him rot in jail forever (tempting though it would be). Actually I'm starting in JL, I'll be moving on to TT after that. Or maybe some cute little crossover, since they're both DC universe.
ViciousAssassin: Actually with this story I have left some loose ends with my Neo X-Men, in case I ever want to come back. I doubt it though. And no, none of those three, sorry to disappoint you. Not all mutants get happy family endings, some just drift off quietly into the background. Yeah Sarah's got her hands full but, like daddy, she knows how to handle 'em. 'fraid no reunion for the Daniels-Munroe family, just wouldn't work out. But its not like they've forgotten about one another.
X00001: Working hard is good in that uhm… whatcha call it… real life, yeah! Uhm, but glad you could review for my story too. Enjoy the final chapter, hope to see you over in my other stories.
Kinomi: Glad you liked the screentime of Darcy and hoped you liked even more the time of her and Bobby's kid Kylie. I know you're busy these days so you can't write but I was shocked when I saw you'd reviewed, I didn't think you were still reading my stuff. So thanks mucho. Hope that someday in the future you can return to Melt Me, but I understand you got things to do for right now.
Comet-hime: I think the only thing I know I can't write well is humor. I leave that to the masters like Red Witch. But thanks very much for saying so, you made my day. Glad you liked the future glimpses, and I know you loved the introduction of your OC's Willow, Masque and Misery. They're a lot younger in my story than yours, but still the lovable characters with the same lovable personalities and relationships (if you get my drift). Yay, imagination fuel! Now, if only I could get some for my tank, I've started to run on empty lately… ah well. Enjoy what is to come, oh beta-reader and artist of my work.
Princess Myra: Me too, but I always gotta go through plot before I can get to interaction, character insight, and the like. Stories without plot are lacking somehow. Ah, Emma was a number of factors I obviously did not explain well enough. For one, she actually -did- have an attraction to Scott, intending to have him brainwashed and into a slave like Jean was for Lucas. Two, she was betrayed by Lucas, that was obvious enough that she had loyalty to someone who didn't care about her. She's mostly being good for David now because she doesn't want to get smacked around by him, the X-Men, and the authorities.