The New Exiles
By The Uncanny R-Man And Agent-G
Shout Outs-Daveykins: Yeah I don't think he'd have a major problem, a bit of a surprise but after the shock he would be fine with it.
Winblades: Don't worry this is a PG-13 story so no detail sex scenes or anything mostly you might see some kissing and such. Of course not, that's one of the reasons Morph's such a fun character.
Janusi: Sorry wrong immortal I meant Guardian.
Ruby631: You can thank R-Man for that last chapter and yes I think immortality is hard you'll see why.
X-Over: Again wrong immortal, has everyone forgotten Guardian already?
Damn-my-name-was-taken: Okay we don't think just about sex, it is up there but we do think of other things. (varies from person to person what those are) Although I figure Van will go after the next pair of legs that will cross his path.
Chapter 19: Pain of the Immortals
The Complex -Blink's Room-It was the early morning and Blink was just waking up, she looked over to the other side of her bed and saw a space but she heard the shower going and smiled to herself. She rolled onto her back and placed an arm behind her head holding the bed sheet up to her bare chest seeing as how she was naked under it, she looked and still saw their clothing over the floor. She had to admit it was nice being in a relationship again, okay that and after months of getting over Cal she was also had been getting the need for some sex too.
Well by how her new boyfriend Vincent had been for the past few days since they've been sleeping together she had to guess it had been awhile for him too, not that she was complaining. She stretched herself out enjoying the morning, for the past few months she noticed how the weather was basically the same and she looked it up and found that this place was close enough to the equator of this planet to give them a decent climate.
She also looked back on her life and realized with a smile on her face that things finally seemed to be looking up. She had gone from a living hell, to fighting a hopeless war, to being on a team with no end in sight for their little 'quest' for Timbroker but now finally life seemed to be giving her and the others a break. She sighed and figured she might as well get up. She grinned at a thought that came into her head. Maybe she should see if Vince needed help washing up, or he could stick around and help her wash her back, for starters that is.
Else ware in the building the others were waking up, well most of them. Morph was getting some sleep since he and Rahne have a little fun last night before he got back and Heather and James were staying in as well, enjoying the married life.
August was in the personal kitchen in the residential section, which was just like a kitchen you'd find in anywhere else only this was used by the residents instead of asking for server bots or going to the dinning hall for food. April had came in along with a sleepy Jono while Dare was out for a morning run.
But the one they never saw in the mornings was Guardian. Normally that was because he rarely slept anymore, and didn't really need to eat for long periods it wasn't that he didn't need to, he did from time to time, only he could go weeks without sleep or food before he felt it. He had been up all night working on the Thunderbird problem and was nearing the end. He just could figure it out and he knew that only a few options remained and he would have to bring her into this…he didn't like the idea of bringing her in mainly due to her relationship and how complicated things would get for her alone was troubling.
He put down the work PADD onto his glass-like desk and rubbed his temples. He hated failure and he never liked it, mainly due to the fact that a few of the failures he had had taken the lives of so many he knew. He pushed those thoughts aside and leaned back in his chair and groaned while both hands covered his face. "Sir." Alfred the Complex AI winked into the room. "You really should take a break, and have you thought of taking a vacation sir?" He asked in his British accent.
"And do what?"
"I don't know…relax maybe? The last recorded time you ever took any time off was over ten years ago…it's not healthy sir."
"I know I know." He sighed. "Maybe I'll take a walk." He got himself out of his chair and walked out for nowhere in particular he just wanted to go for a breather.
-Rec. Room-
All the Exiles were in the Rec Room wondering what to do for the day. Heather was snuggling up to James, Blink's head was in Vince's lap as he stroked her hair, Morph and Jono were in comfortable chairs, Dare and April were sitting together in a love seat and August a lounging on a seat of her own too.
"So anyone got any ideas?" Morph asked. "Hey how about we swing by The Tender Loins?"
"What about Rahne?" August asked him.
"Oh right." Morph said. "I better call her and see if she would want to go too." Everyone rolled their eyes at that.
"I've been meaning to visit the other cities on this world." James said. "There's this Cyber City full of machines."
"Oh yeah." Jono said remembering reading about the other cities on this world. "That's the city run my AIs right? Well there are a few other cities I wanted to go to too."
"Yeah there's New Atlantis, Night City, Wasteland country, and a lot of other ones too." Dare spoke up counting them off on her fingers.
At that moment Guardian had walked in. He was going to see if there was anything to do to help him relax but didn't expect to see the entire team here. "I hope you all aren't bored." He said with a smile.
"No just trying to figure out what to do next." April said to him.
He smiled at that. 'Ah…youth.' He could barely remember what it was like to be like that again. "Well I'll leave you alone then."
"Hey man why take off. You never hang out with us." Morph said to him.
"I admit mate, we know next to nothing about you." Jono said sitting back in his chair.
"I'm new here and ever I would like to know more about you. I mean how long have you been at this for instance?" James asked him.
August was next with a question. "What about friends? I mean you got to have tons with all you do."
Guardian face fell and turned around. "You don't want to know." He said coldly and the Exiles sat up straighter.
"Come on." Blink asked him. "I think we deserve to know something about you. I mean we've been working for months, just open up."
He considered her words and knew that this wouldn't end until they got something. He was wondering just what he should tell them…but he decided that showing them was the only way. It was then that they would learn what kind of answers those questions had to them.
"Follow me." He simply said and they followed him into the secure areas of the North Tower. The areas that only he had access to. They walked down the corridors but these were smaller and more plain then the other halls of the Complex. They were more cold and impersonal.
They asked where they were going but he said nothing and they were all wondering what he was going to do. They came to a set of doors and punched in a code and it opened to a plain square room with only a set of devices. They were curved half circular devices with a strange glowing light and a control panel of some kind near them.
"Step inside the markers please." He said and they saw circles on the ground and they all took their positions and then he punched in a few commands. After a couple of seconds a humming was heard and three glowing circles appeared before them all, one behind them and suddenly a zoom like sound and they found themselves in a new room with identical devices.
"What the hell was that?" Dare asked.
"Inter-Dinemsional portal device. A type of transportation to a secluded spot on this world that only I go to." He pointed to a button on the control panel. "Hitting that red button is the return command." He said and walked to a flight of stairs.
They walked up the stairs and saw light at the end of the hall. When they emerged they found themselves on a giant circular marble floor in an open sky. When they looked up they found a glass dome overhead and around them were curved smooth walls with images carved into them that looked life like. There was a small eternal flame in front of a carved-out stone globe of Earth with what looked like a tomb of some kind in the centre in from of what looked like the main image.
"So…you all want to know about me." Guardian said evenly.
"I think we would like to know something about you." Blink said.
"Yeah man open up already, I mean we've known you for months but we know pretty much jack. What's your story?" Morph asked him.
Guardian nodded. "Very well." He sighed. "I am a Guardian, but before I received The Power, which is the source of my Guardian abilities I was a normal human at one point." He pointed to the stone Earth. "I got The Power just before a giant meteorite crashed into my Earth…I was the only survivor because of my immortality."
The others stood there looking at the Earth looking at the eternal flame and understood the meaning of that. He walked to the image up front of a man, a woman and two kids. "This is the mausoleum, these were my parents and brothers…dead of course." He walked to an image of a beautiful woman and a boy.
"This was Angela and Marcus…my wife and son."
"Oh God." Heather whispered which was pretty much the sentiment of the rest of the team. "They died on Earth too."
"No, actually I met my wife after that…you see I used to work for this organization called The Confederation. I won't bore you with the details but I met my wife there, we were both what you might call agents and we fell in love, married had a kid…I would have given it all up for her you know." He said sadly looking at the image of them.
"A Guardian can give up The Power and become mortal again…but she didn't want me to do that while both of us were still working. When both of us retired then I was going to give it up. She didn't want me to die…but she died on a mission…a few years later our son joined up trying to follow in our footsteps…he was killed." The others didn't know what to say about his loss.
"You see I wanted to bring them back but The Confederation has these laws, they have to approve of a resurrection."
"They didn't did they." James stated, he guessed from the sound of his voice that they didn't.
Guardian nodded. "Yeah…" He moved to an image of a woman that kind of looked like Tygra of the Avengers only without a tail, different hair and different stripes. "This was Kathea. She was this little Catharian girl whose parents were killed by this psycho calling himself Plague. He was a walking disease and she watched her parents die in front of her. I was sent to take him out and I did. She and I spent two days in decontamination because we might have picked something up."
"We got close and when we got out and social services came for her she clutched my leg so hard I thought it would go numb." He smiled at the memory. "I took her in…I remember how I adopted her and after three years…it was the first time…she called me daddy." A few tears fell from his eyes. "She was nine at the time and she just let it slip out. I called her over and she was going on about how sorry she was and everything…I just hugged her close and told her that she may not have been of my blood…but she was my daughter."
A few of the Exiles were moved by his words, they were full of emotion and they could see the love he must have had for the girl. "I watched her grow up, get married, have kids…and grow old…and…I was there when she died. I was there with her family in that hospital bed." He chocked back on the memory of his daughter. "She asked me to take her somewhere, to a lake I always used to take her, it was our private place and I teleported us all there. We were in time to see the sunrise and I held her…she…she looked out over the water and smiled. She told me she loved me and couldn't have asked for a better father…I…I said she was my pride and joy and was happy to have a daughter like her…then…she died in my arms." Guardian bowed his head. "I never went back to that lake after that…I…I just couldn't go back there…not after that."
A few of the Exiles were crying at the story. Heather was being held by James as she was remembering her own loss of her first husband, Blink, and Vince were thinking of their world and all they lost, Morph thought of Sunfire his best friend, April of the family she barely knew, Dare was thinking of what her life would be like without her parents. Jono thought of his lost friends in Gen-X.
Guardian wiped away the tears and gestured to the other two images of two young men. "These were two other children I took in. Korin a Saiyan." It showed a spiky hair boy with what looked like a monkey like tail around his waist. "The other was Ken a human boy I took off the streets. They were great boys and they did me proud. Ken died from old age and made me swear he wanted to live a life and not have me revive him no matter what…I am a man of my word…no matter how much it hurts. Korin died in battle like all Saiyans want to."
"Geez man…what about this?" Jono asked pointing to the crypt.
"That's for me for when I die…I want to be placed here." The immortal told them.
"But I thought you were…" April stared to ask him.
"Even Immortals can die April." He simply said and walked to an opening between the walls and they followed him they then saw a small area of grass filled with small white markers of some kind. The ones in front they could make out that they had a plaque with a name on it and some kind of crystal on top. He passes his hand over one of the crystals and images of a person and personal history of that person showed up on holographic screens.
"All of these…these are markers I've placed here…each one for someone I once knew. A friend, a loved one, someone I let get close to me." The Exiles could only stare out over the place. Mainly due to the fact there were thousands or tens of thousands it was too difficult to tell.
They all looked at all the markers and all the people he had known over his existence and no one could say anything. "I know the names of all of them, names of people that have died so long ago I'm the only one that ever knew they exist. In this way I tried to make sure that at least something of them existed through time, that they wouldn't have faded into nothingness as if they never existed."
"This is what it means to be immortal, this is our pain to watch all those we care about die. We live in constant pain. Either the pain of loneliness when we push everyone away, when we travel alone through time so we don't have to lose another person in our lives. But then when that pain becomes too much we allow ourselves to grow close to others and then as the pain of loneliness fades it's replaced by the pain of loss when those that are close to us start to die."
"Then when that gets too much we go back to being alone. We are in a constant state between the two. It never ends and I know that when all of you are long gone and there are markers for you here I'll be the only one that will one day know you existed." He said sadly. It was always something he knew what would happen. That those he knew would always die, he wasn't used to it and he was glad…if he ever got used to it then that would mean he had stopped caring. "Well…I hope this answers some of your questions." He said in a neutral tone.
"I…I didn't know…I-" James turned around but Guardian had vanished. The Exiles just stood there looking at all the marks. A few of them sat down the weight of all this seemed to crush them onto the ground. They all just looked out among all the people he had known and they couldn't help but feel sorrow for him.
"How?" Jono asked. "How can someone live like this?" He couldn't see himself living for as long as he must have and seeing all these people dieing.
"I don't know." Vincent said sitting on the ground. "I'm trying to put myself into his place, trying to see how he must feel but…"
"But you can't." Blink said who was sitting next to him. "I mean, losing your world, and your friends along the way. That I can understand…but all of this…my god." She shook her head looking out.
"No one could understand all of this." Morph said to them all. "It's impossible. I mean…" He shrugged. "I mean you can't really fully understand any of this unless you lived it."
"He's right." August said. "We've all lost someone to some degree. That first part of this place is more easier because some of us can relate to that, we can see that. But seeing all these people…it's like living our lives over and over seeing all those people we've seen and known dying all over and over again." She was holding herself trying to see what it would be like to see all her friends die over and over again but she couldn't. She just couldn't see it, or wanted to see it. It was too hard and too much to think about.
They all eventually sat there just looking out over all the markers in silence. After some time they left the same way they came but after that day they had a deeper understanding towards Guardian and they never saw him the same way again.
From that day forward they didn't see some strange immortal man of mystery. They saw a man who lived with something no one should and yet he still found the strength to go on. They had a deeper respect for him and any doubts they may have had were gone. He had opened up to them and for one moment they saw the man underneath all that mystery.
They saw a man in pain, a man who never seemed to give up and they knew that he wouldn't stop doing what he does because not only was it in his nature to never give up, but also because it was the one thing that would always be with him.
His work, his self appointed task to save others was the one thing he had in his life that would never fade away or leave him. It was also the one thing he only had left in his life.
TBC…