Red Witch: Thank you very much! I'm honored. I hope I can do right by your characters.
RogueFanKC: Thank you. I was afraid it might feel cliched. And thanks for adding me! It is an honor.
c-wolf: Thank you. That's a wonderful compliment to a writer such as myself.
Chapter 3: Tempus Temptation
Bayville, The present...
"'Us'," repeated Todd. "What do you mean, 'us'?"
"They are myself, Avalanche, and Roadblock," Xi told him.
"How is that possible?" asked Scott.
"Time travel device," said older Roadblock. "It wasn't nice. Nearly tore off my head. Without this helmet, I'd be dead."
"That's Roadblock, alright," grinned Althea.
"Wait," said Jean. "Did you say, 'time travel device'!"
"Yes," said older Xi. "Trinity created a means by which we were able to come back in time and prevent our future."
"WHAT!"
hr
"Mutant Registration Bill?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
"Civil war. Enemies became friends, and friends became enemies. We can't tell you who, because we want to make it so it never happened."
Xavier steepled his fingers in front of his face, deep in thought. Across from him sat older Xi, Roadblock, and Avalanche. Also crowded into his office were Todd, Althea, Lance, Xi, Roadblock, Scott, Jean, Logan, Hank, and Ororo. There was a link open to General Hawk at the Pit.
"I see," he said. "If what you say is true, we will help you in any way we can. But I can't even detect your minds. I have no way of knowing."
"They are us," Xi insisted. "They are telling the truth."
"If Xi says they're on the up-and-up, I believe him, yo," Toad told him.
"I don't see how we have any other choice," said Hawk over the link. "We can't risk our future because of a few doubts."
"Very well," sighed Xavier. "We'll help."
"Thank you," older Roadblock told him.
Older Avalanche and Lance walked through the woods bordering the mansion. Each was silent, uncomfortable with the other.
"So," Lance broke the silence, "do I get Kitty?"
Older Avalanche looked at him. "I can't tell you, rmember?" he told his younger self.
"Right," sighed Lance.
Older Avalanche took pity on his younger self. "I can show you something cool," he grinned. He concentrated. The ground rose up around them, the earth molding itself into humanoid forms. As Lance watched in amazement, the earth took on the features of some of the Joes and Misfits.
"Well," he commented, "I'm impressed. When does that happen?"
"About a month from now," older Avalanche told him. "A word of advice? Don't form a Kitty when you're trying it out. I was in double therapy sessions for three months with Beach Head and Psych-Out."
Lance grinned. "I'll keep that in mind."
Xi and XI were following a different path through the woods. One involving trees.
"You must be made ready," XI said suddenly. Xi cocked his head to the side. "For what?" he asked.
"For the enemy's attack," XI told him. "It will come from closer than you think."
"Who?" Xi asked simply.
XI told him.
The Pit
Hawk disconnected the link with a final "Goodbye, Mr. President." He turned to Duke, who was standing behind him.
"Now that the President knows the general situation, we can proceed with full authority. I want quarters prepared for our three time travelers. Put them in with the kids. We'll see how they get along."
"Yes, sir," Duke nodded.
Older Avalanche winced suddenly, and let out a tiny yelp of pain. Lance turned to him instantly, and concernedly asked, "What's wrong?"
"Don't worry, kid," gasped older Avalanche. "Just an old wound from the war."
He hobbled over to the side of the path, and formed a chair out of the exposed earth. He collapsed into it, clutching his right leg.
"What happened?" asked Lance.
Older Avalanche regarded him for a second, then sighed. "I guess you have the right to know," he told his younger self. "It was about ten years from now. The Misfits who are still alive were on a mission in what used to be Texas. We got ambushed by Cobra troops." He paused, collected himself, and continued. "A few of the X-Men were with us. Iceman, Gambit, Colossus. When Cobra started firing, Colossus tried to armor up. But it was too late. He'd been hit several times, was barely breathing. I picked him up, and yelled at the others that we had to get out of there. We tried. We really did. But I got hit in the leg. I dropped Colossus. Fred picked him up, and tried to shield the rest of us, but even he wasn't big enough. Cobras killed both Gambit and Claudius. Dumb kid shouldn't even have been with us." His eyes filled with tears. "Dumb kid. Dumb us for letting him come." He started to sob. Lance stood there awkwardly, not sure what to say. Older Avalanche sniffed, and continued. "When we got back to base, they took me straight to the infirmary. Stayed there for three days. Left when I heard Colossus wouldn't make it. I stood by him while he died. Just before it happened, he turned to me, grinned, and said, 'You win.'"
The two were silent, as the shadows of the woods grew deeper around them.
Bayville, 20 years in the future...
Hawk stood back up. "I thought you'd never get here," he said.
"We were delayed by a little roundup problem," said the leader. "What should we do with this mess?"
"Leave it," Hawk ordered coldly. "All that matters is that we have the device. There is just one little problem."
"What is it, Lord Zartan?" asked the leader.
"Hawk" grabbed his hair and pulled. His face slid off, revealing the visage of Zartan underneath.
"Three of them managed to leave before you got here," he said.
Next time: What is Zartan doing as Hawk? What will happen now that future Cobra has it's hands on the time machine? And how will Lance react to the news of Colossus' future death? All this and more, coming soon! Tune in again, for chapter four of Misfits In Time!
Note: To keep confusion from reigning, I think a chronology and roll call are in order.
Chronology: While Misfits In Time takes place in Red Witch's Misfitsverse, it is an alternate timeline to that series. You might say it's an AU-squared. While keeping constant with some developments, such as transporter watches and the departure of Spyke from the X-Men, other developments, such as the arrival of new Misfits past Arcade and X-Men past Gambit and Colossus, have not occurred. I hope that clears that up.
Roll Call (in no particular order):
X-Men: Professor Xavier, Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Logan, Ororo Munroe, Kitty Pryde, Kurt Wagner, Rogue, Tabby, Remy, Piotr Rasputin, Bobby Drake, Jamie Madrox, Ray, Roberto, Amara, Forge, Hank McCoy
Misfits: Roadblock, Low Light, Shipwreck, Cover Girl, Spirit, Lance Alvers, Fred Dukes, Pietro, Wanda, Xi, Todd Tolensky, Althea Delgado, Arcade, Trinity (Brittany, Daria, Quinn), Claudius, Baby Beak
Joes: General Hawk, Duke, Falcon, Bazooka, Alpine, Jinx, Lady Jaye, Beach Head, Psych-Out, Blind Master, Storm Shadow, Sgt. Slaughter, The Renegades (Tauros, Red Dog, Mercer), BA LaCarte
Other: The Jugglers (Generals Red, Black, Blue, Green), General Whithalf, Older Xi (XI), Older Roadblock, Older Avalanche
Villains: Cobra (Cobra Commander, Destro, The Baroness, Dr. Mindbender, Xamot, Tomax), Magneto, Emma Frost, Zartan, Zanya