Episode 6: Funeral and Farewell

"Herbert Edgar Whyndham was not my father" the woman known as Jessica Drew did her best not to cry, however her eyes betrayed her and a tear fell slowly down her cheek. She was honored to give the euology, but she had no idea it would've been so difficult. She continued, gathering strenght as she saw the people, the entire human population of Terra. "But he was the closest thing I ever knew to one."
The X-Men watched in silence, in the back of the Grand Cave, as the funeral unfolded befored them. Not twenty-four hours had passed since the High Evolutionary died, saving Terra from the menace of Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds. "I can't stand this..." said Exodus, turning to leave.
"Paris, we have to stay" said Storm's calm voice as she placed a hand on his shoulder "That man died to save our lives as well."
"I don't care." he said removing her hand. "Our saviour died and we haven't cried his death yet." Exodus looked defiantly at Storm's eyes and, after a moment of silence, he left.
"I'll go after him... try to calm him down a bit..." said Dazzler, leaving after Exodus while bowing her head.
Storm and Lila Cheney remained alone, watching as Dr Strange took to the podium and began to speak.
"Are you ok, Ororo?" Lila asked after a while
"Yes. I am... Exodus' just a brat." She responded, her eyes fixed on Strange.
"I wasn't talking about him... I'm talking about Pietro. Why isn't he here with us?"
But Ororo did not reply with words. A faint thunder could be heard, even though they were miles beneath the surface. She knew quite well were Pietro was.

"It's been... how long? Twelve years?" asked Pietro Lensherr.
"Something like that, yes." smiled Elisabeth Braddock, tying Jamie's hair as he slept on his bed.
"Your hair was all purple back then." remembered Pietro with a smile
"Yes well, it's quite difficult to find purple dye here on refugee planet..." replied Betsy playfully. Her tone changed as she asked "Munroe's still mad at me, isn't she?"
"Can yo blame her?" responded Pietro
"Not really. And you?" she said, her bright blue eyes finding his as she lifted her head.
"I am willing to forgive and forget. If there's someone who can understand you... that's me. I would've done anything for Wanda." his voice trembled as he mentioned his dead sister's name.
Elisabeth left his brother and crouched before Pietro's wheelchair. Without saying a word she kissed him passionately. Pietro Lensherr was surprised and soon found himself responding to the kiss. But then he stopped her. "I've missed you so Pietro..." she whispered.
"I... I'm with Ororo now...I ... love her." he said, moving his chair backwards.
"Are you sure?" said Betsy, standing up and grinning.

"Where in Magneto's name is that blasted child?" asked Sunfire out loud as he walked down the now-deserted cavern system. Illyana Rasputin, their seven year old resident mutant child, had decided not to go to the funeral like everyone else. She claimed someone was calling out to her. Shiro Yoshida had volunteered to go in her search as she ran away, and he now regretted that choice. Illyana had walked through the tunnels like she was born in them, walking faster as she went deeper down the mountains, and a moment's distraction was all Shiro needed to loose sight of his quarry. "Illyana!" he shouted without an answer or the thousandth time. The tunnels were darker now. Even his own flame wasn't enough to light the entire cave. he moved carefully, remembering the child did not have any light of her own, and then he heard it. A distinct shout of fear, and he recognized Illyana's voice. He ran, despite the darkness, as fast as he could towards the source of the scream.

"A new age is dawning." Said Dr Strange from his podium "Following the Galactus Incident, we started negotations with the Kree. Apparently the former Kree Commander in charge of their operation on this planet, failed to inform his Supremors about us, about the humans. The Supreme Intelligence of the Kree, their supreme ruler and master, holds a great scientific interest in all races, and he has never encountered humans before. As such, he has offered us to form an alliegeance. We will have control of Terra, as long as we defer to the Kree Empire and ocassionally help them against their enemies, the Skrull. I weighed the options... and accepted. The Kree will return our city to us..." Dr Strange smiled "... so go pack your things. We go back to the surface."
The answer from the humans didn't make itself wait. Cheers and clapping filled the Grand Cave. "Humanity will live under the stars again." finished Dr Strange over the clamour of his people. Strange moved his hands, dispersing the crowd, which took quite a while to do. As they did, Storm began to walk towards Strange, closely followed by Lila.
"Illyana?" asked Sunfire as he saw a powerful flame emanating from a cave before him.
"Shiro? Come... it's ok..." said Illyana's voice, which sounded far calmer than before.
Shiro Yoshida moved forward slowly and carefully and, when he arrived at the cave's entrance, he couldn't believe his eyes. Illyana was crouched, petting a small purple dragon.
"Don't touch him... back away kid... do it slowly..." he said, turning his flame off and moving carefully inside.
"Don't be silly... why would I want to do that?" Illyana replied as the dragon cooed.
"Illyana... he looks dangerous..." Shiro said moving slowly closer.
"Of course he does! He is dangerous!" said Illyana Rasputin matter-of-factly "Those two big spider-things attacked me and he went and defended me. He saved my life. He's my friend." she said, petting the dragon and looking at Shiro.
Sunfire saw the carcasses of the dead spider-like things and then at Illyana. "Be that as it may... we have to go back. So, leave your friend and let's go..." he couldn't even believe his words as he spoke them. In the past, instetad of trying to reason with Illyana, he would've fried the dragon with his power and taken the child back forcefully if necessary.
Illyana stood up and looked at the dragon "I have to go now..." she said, her eyes sad.
"Cooooo?" said the dragon looking up.
"yes, I know... It've been a very short time... " she petted him behind his ear once more and then an idea crossed her head. "Hey! Do you want to come with us?" She said as Shiro shook his head. The dragon looked at Shiro and grinned, accepting with his head the child's generous offer. "Yay! let's go then." Illyana said standing up. The small dragon outstrechted his wings and began to flap them, levitating behind Illyana. "I can keep him, can't I?" She asked Shiro, forcing her eyes to look as puppy-like as possible.
"Oh... ok I guess." Shiro said, remembering how much pain the child had recently been through
"Great. Sunfire, this is Lockheed. Lockheed, this is Sunfire, but you can call him Shiro too..." and the dragon moved his small paw forward, and Shiro shook it, not really believing what he was doing.
"Storm's gonna kill me..." he muttered and then he sighed "Let's go..."

"Ms Munroe... dazzling as ever..." smiled Dr Strange in the middle of crowd, turning at Storm after shaking a human's hand.
"Dr Strange. We need to talk." said Storm bluntly
"Say no more..." he lifted his hands and moved them fast, and soon, Storm, Lila and Strange dissapeared in a flash of light, appearing instantly in a room the X-Men had not seen before.
"By the Goddess!" Ororo shouted surprised as she saw the skies unfolding behind a gigantic window.
"Sorry for teleporting with no previous indication... welcome to the Defenders Tower." He said proudly. Ororo and Lila looked beyond the window, they clearly were in the middle of the surface city, on the highest tower, on what also seemed the topmost floor. "I thought we could speak more freely here" He added, pointing at a table surrounded by chairs and beckoning his guests to sit.
"Of... of course..." said Storm, moving towards a chair. After they were seated, Ororo spoke once more "Stephen.. I will get to the point, for I do not like to speak needlessly. We need to go home. We have to go back to Earth."
"Before you make such drastic choice. Will you not consider remaining here, on Terra? You're heroes, just like my team. Though few are still prejudiced against mutants, they know you fought to save them. It's only a matter of time before they accept you." He replied, placing his hands together before him.
"It's not about mutant hatred... I...we appreciate the offer... more than you could possible imagine... but there are things we must do on Earth. Friends to bury, and a society to rebuild."
"I would lie if I said I dodn't want to return to Earth too, but our ship was severely damaged during the initial hostilities and I'm afraid our new allies, the Kree, cannot provide us with a ship big enough for all of us..." Storm's face changed abruptly, while Strange hid a smile, however, Lila Cheney stopped him before he could continue.
"Dr Strange, How can you trust the Kree?" she asked bluntly
"I never said I did, child. This pact is the best thing we could have done, but that doesn't mean we blindly trust the Kree. While they're studying us, we will study them, and who knows, perhaps in time we will be able to trust them, but for now... it's trust, but verify..." he said dismissively, and then he cleared his throat and continued "... as I was saying, the Kree cannot provide us with a ship big enough for all of us... but they are more than willing to lend you a ship more than sufficient for your team's needs." he smiled at last, and somehow the sunlight became lighter and clearer.

"I really wanted to kill them all..." said Exodus, sitting atop the mountainside, several feet from the cave entrance, where timid humans began to exit, beginning the journey to their city. "... I really wanted to lash out at all of them..." he added slowly, his eyes focused on the sky above.
"All of them?" asked Dazzler, grabbing his hand, sitting next to him, her knees close to her chest.
"The humans... back in the cave... I can't stand being around them...ยท said Paris Bennet, gently removing his hand from her grip " I can't stop thinking that people like them killed Lord Magneto"
"But you know these humans have nothing to do with it... don't you?" Alison Blaire said, grabbing his hand once more, while caressing his hair
"I know... but... I still feel the same way... I mean, they're not that different from the humans on Earth... they still hate us... gods... I just hope we get out of here soon... the sooner the better..." he said, allowing her to touch him, closing his eyes.
"Ororo's working on it... we'll be out of here soon, you'll se..." she said reasurringly
"I hope so... I ... I don't want to lose control of myself again..." he said, opening his eyes and looking at her ominously.

"We are going back to Earth. Storm's doing all she can to do so. Will you come with us?" said Pietro Lensherr, approaching the door of Elisabeth Braddock's quarters.
"And you think high-and-mighty Ms Munroe will allow me to join you?" she said, while packing her things.
"I am the son of Magneto. If I choose to forgive your... indiscretions... so must she." he said matter-of-factly
"That sounded far more colder than the Pietro I used to know..." she said looking athim over her shoulder. "I don't know what I'll do yet."
"Very well. You know my wishes... I hope you will make the right decision." he said, moving his wheelchair away
And as he left the room, Betsy Braddock grinned broadly.

The hours passed swiftly as the X-Men helped the Defenders to shepherd the people towards the city, helping in any way they could, be it flying the sick and elderly or merely helping with their belongings. It was nightime when they met at last, in the middle of the city's Central Park, where Dr Strange had summoned them.
"I think he's cute..." said Alison Blaire, petting the small dragon in Illyana's arms
"Are you sure he is not dangerous?" Storm asked, her arms in her waist, looking at Sunfire
"He is dangerous... but he seems to obey Illyana." he responded swiftly
"Lockheed would never hurt me or anyone else... can I keep him? Please?" Illyana said, stressing her tone slightly and repeating the infamous puppy eye manuever.
"Fine..." Storm said, completely vulnerable to such an attack "...you can keep him" she smiled at the child, who leapt in joy.
It was not long before Dr Strange and Hellcat walked towards them, as a Kree ship began to descend in front of them.
"Everything all right?" asked Dr Strange, placing himself next to Storm.
"Of course." she replied, looking discretely at Pietro, who was playing with Illyana and her dragon.
The ship landed and its hatch opened, and a familiar face walked dowm from it. Captain Mar-Vell smiled at the gathered heroes. "We meet again my friends. I bring a gift from the Empire to those who aided us."
"A gift we receive most graciously..." said Dr Strange bowing slightly.
"You have our eternal gratitude Captain" said Storm, extending her hand at the Kree, who looked at it confused at first, but then remembered and shook it awkwardly
"Has everyone forgotten none of us know how to fly a spaceship? And a Kree spaceship at that?" murmured Exodus rather loudly.
"Fear not young mutant" said Mar-Vell "All Kree ships posses a sophisticated Artificial Intelligence that guides the, You need not know how to fly one."
"And how long will we be at the mercy of this AI?" asked Pietro skeptically
"Using the coordinates Dr Strange gave me, I've already traced teh road to your planet... it will take about eleven months, give or take"
Lila Cheney moved slowly away from the team. She could take them all home in the blink of an eye. But she was unsure of her powers. She didn't understand them, she didn't like them. And this time, Remy Lebeau wasn't there with her. His love and her determination not to loose it were intrinsecal to return to Earth last time. But now... without Remy, without his love... she was so unsure, so afraid...
"Eleven months in the hands of an alien computer?... that doesn't sound too good for me..." said Elisabeth Braddock, pushing her brother's wheelchiar and approaching the team.
"Braddock? What are you doing here?" said Storm, as the sky clouded itself and thunder broke in the distance.
Betsy looked up, smiling "Offering you an alternative to reach home... Unless you're still willing to let the past hinder your future."
"There is nothing wrong with the AI... I myself don't know how to pilot a ship... I'm used to fly on my own..." said Mar-Vell, scratching the back of his head.
Ororo was not sure what to do, and before she could answer, a voice stopped her.
"What do you mean, Braddock?" asked Dazzler, her brow furrowed and her eyes fixed on the young woman.
"Simple. Why don't you leave the same way you arrived here?" she said, as Illyana moved closer to Jamie, showing him her new dragon friend. "Cheney can get us home faster."
"Us?" repeated Storm angrily
"I... I don't know if I can... my power is not... reliable..." said Lila turning to see the others
"Yes. Us. I can use my telepathy to help Lila take us back to Earth. We would return instantly." said Betsy, leaving the wheelchair and moving closer to Lila
"Can you do that? Really?" Exodus' eyes sparkled with hope.
"Of course I can. It's easy." smiled Betsy "If Lila's ok with it..."
"I... Storm?" asked Lila, unsure what to respond
Ororo looked at her teammates. Her hatred of Braddock had intensified since that fateful last meeting. Her actions in the past made it impossible for Ororo to trust in her. Nonethless, she trusted the Kree AI even less. She looked at her teammates eyes, trying to divine their thoughts. It was obvios Exodus and Dazzler liked Betsy's idea. sunfire seemed more concerned about Illyana and the dragon than about their return home. And Pietro... everytime she tried to find his eyes he avoided her. Suddenly, someone placed a hand on her shoulder.
"The past is gone Ms Munroe. Is it better to work together, for the future." Ororo turned slightly to see Dr Strange. His words made a lot of sense. It was what they had done with the Kree. She closed her eyes, slowly dispersing the clouds she had subconsciously gathered, and then she spoke. "Very well. We will try Braddock's way" She turned to Mar-Vell "We kindly appreciate the Kree Empire and its magnanimous help... but we will return by our own means..." she said solemnly
"No harm done." Smiled Mar-Vell "Good journey then..."
Elisabeth Braddock smiled, standing behind Lila as the others gathered around them.
"Just promise me one thing Ms Munroe..." said Dr Strange shaking her hand. "Come back for us once you've brought peace to Earth."
"We will Stephen. You have my word." said Storm warmly
Betsy placed her hands next to Lila's temples, and both women closed their eyes. Storm joined her teammates as Lila began to shine with a pure white light.
"See ya! Don't forget to write!" shouted Hellcat, waving her hand
Betsy guided Lila and her light expanded, covering the mutants, bathing them with its bright radiance. And the white light slowly dispersed, and the mutants were gone.

Storm opened her eyes, she could feel the others with her. Slowly her vision returned, and she realized something.
"We're not on Earth." she said with a clear tone of 'I knew it..'
"No... but we're near..." said Sunfire. They all turned and saw through a gigantic glass panel. Earth was right below them. They were on a ship of some sort, orbiting near their home.
Elisabeth Braddock opened her eyes, and so did Lila "A... presence, for lack of a better term... guided us here."
"She... it... said we were needed here first" followed Lila
No sounds were heard inside the ship save their own. "We're needed here? This place seems dead" said Dazzler looking around the weird computers on the walls and the turned off lights.
"You will be dead soon... muties..." said an ominous voice. They turned at once, away from the window and saw as four people walked out of the shadows. A gigantic, orange monster caught their attention first. A woman, hovering next to him and perpeatully burning was second. A man with a strange device on his chest and whose body seem like taffy was third. And last, the man who spoke slowly became visible before the other three. "We don't want muties here..." he said simply, threatingly
"I know you... you work with the Human Council... you're Doom!" said Storm, pointing at the previously invisible man
"Knowing me will avail you nothing mutant! Attack!" and at Doom's command, the others hurled themselves towards the X-Men...

To Be Continued