AUTHOR'S NOTE: Shout outs going out to tenshi no koneko and
Thanx4reading! (As well as the original characters of Thanx4reading, who
made me laugh and then made me cry. ;) For those of you who have been
living under a rock for the past ten years, the Wachowski brothers are the
guys responsible for the Matrix series.
241 timeline 04-19-2034 Manhattan, New York, United States
The 700 Wendigo G-7. A sleek handgun, made entirely of adamantium, which fired blasts of genome-Iron plasma, heated to 700ºC, at a .7 thickness. Rachel's favorite toy. She shoved the chunk of metal into the back of her black nylon pants. She telekinetically formatted a black leather trench coat that hugged her torso and fell to the soles of her knee-high boots.
The Relic Room, on the first floor of the Baxter Building, displayed costumes, weapons, and gadgets of all the Fantastic Four allies. Rachel stepped over to the X-Men section. Her father's ruby quartz sunglasses were revolving upon a stand in a glass case, catching a glimmer from the halogen lights above. She released a minuscule optic blast, shattering the case, and snatched the glasses off the stand. They fit her face perfectly. Looking at her reflection, she saw that they hid most of her tattoos, and she was surprised at how much she looked like her mother without them.
"Look at you!" Rachel snapped around to see Kate in her old X-Men uniform, a grin on her face. "If the Wachowski brothers saw you, they'd be suing for property rights," her friend teased.
Rachel threw a duffel bag of rifles, grenades, and ammo into her face, and she caught them with some difficulty. "At least I don't look like I just jumped out of a comic book." Kitty laughed good-naturedly and motioned for her to follow. The two went to the garage below, where more than 30 beautiful cars sat, either trashed beyond repair, or shining with 20 pounds of wax.
Kate retrieved a key chain from a security booth and went to a 2002 Matrix X-8. She dropped the duffel bag in the trunk and looked up with a look of accomplishment. "It's an old one of the X-Men. Used to belong to Cyclops, actually." Rachel pet the car affectionately, memories springing to her mind, and Kate's voice took a suspicious turn. "Is there a reason you're wearing the man's shades?"
Summers gave a small chuckle. "Let's just say, he's always been my hero," she said. "What're we gonna do about the Sentinels upstairs? The others will trace their distress signal here."
"Why don't you just torch them like you did right after Franklin-" Kate lost her words. "-you know."
"No, I don't. What're you talking about?"
"Well, you kinda pulled a Jean Grey, to be honest," said Kate. "There was a lot of fire, a big bird, and then our problem was solved."
Rachel's stomach lurched. ~Phoenix?~ She could sense that her friend knew more than she gave away, but she didn't like to pry into others' minds, and really wasn't comfortable with the thought of following her mother's footsteps. ~The whole me-but-Phoenix-but-Dark Phoenix cycle just doesn't sound appealing.~ Rachel finally realized Kate was waiting for an answer. "Well, I don't really have any control over that-" She needed to change the subject. "Look, are you gonna start this thing up or not? We've gotta get a move on."
Kate smirked. "I thought you'd like take it for a ride."
* * *
616 timeline 04-19-2004 Westchester, New York, United States
Rachel was awakened by chirping birds in the distance, as a cool breeze swept over her frame. She looked up, where cotton ball clouds were slowly migrating to her left, against a perfect blue backdrop. She felt different; her hair had grown out to the middle of her back, and her body ached immensely.
~Where am I?~ A procession of images flew through her. She saw herself driving the Matrix, Kate phasing the both of them through miles of traffic at 95 mph. She saw herself fighting bravely, Kate beside her, bullets and plasma spraying in all directions. She saw the Sentinels overcoming the two girls, closing in on all sides, possibly hundreds of them. She saw Kate bending over her, telling her to leave, urging her, hypnotizing her.
~Fuck!~ Somehow, when Rachel had transported Kate's consciousness back in time, she had given some of her own powers to her friend. ~So, she knew that Cyclops was my father, and she knew that it was the true Phoenix inside me that had killed all those Sentinels.~ More images came. She saw herself flying through the timestream, engulfed in the Phoenix Force, far away from her home. Kate had sent Rachel to another timeline, forcing her to leave her best friend to her death. She pounded the ground with a fist. ~Damn her!~
She looked around, shocked to find that she was in Westchester, a mere mile or 2 from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. She got up, somewhat afraid to see the place that she had cherished in her memories for 11 years; what if it wasn't as perfect as she remembered? She mounted the marble steps to come to enormous double-doors, made entirely of glass. The doors opened automatically, swinging wide for her to enter, and she stepped into the elaborate lobby of the mutant school.
She saw 3 ornate chandeliers, 2 room-sized sitting areas, and a wall of glass, from marble floors to mirrored ceilings, looking out onto the scenery outside. She was shocked; it truly was Heaven on Earth. She looked forward, where a woman with moving, tentacle-like tresses of hair was standing behind a counter. Above her head, a sign read INFORMATION. The woman politely and discretely entered her mind to ask what she was looking for, and Rachel rudely ignored her.
She looked to a schedule above the Information Booth, which told her that the morning break began at 9:30, and sure enough, the digital clock beside it said 0929. A soft wind chime sounded, and the halls erupted with noise. Children, as young as 6 years old and as old as 18, began pouring out into the hallways, running, shouting excitedly, laughing together. They invaded the once quiet room, jumping upon the couches and throwing pillows at each other. Some sat calmly before 1 of the 12 small chest stands. Others played music from boom-boxes.
Rachel was overwhelmed. She stumbled backward from the chaotic crowd of crazy children, but bumped into someone. Turning, she came face to face with a tall teenage girl, with black hair that was highlighted bright purple in thick streaks, matching her contacts.
"I'm sorry, miss," the girl said in a thick Russian accent. "I don't think I've seen you here before. Did you just register? My name's Illyana. I can show you around if you li-"
"Illyana?!" Rachel couldn't stop the words from blurting out of her mouth. "Rasputin!"
"Well, yes...have we met?" A look of sudden realization, mingled with shock, came over Illyana's face, and Rachel decided she didn't want to know what the girl was thinking. She took off running.
Rasputin, whose own head was spinning, tried to keep the stranger back, but was met with a small shove of TK. She ran as fast as she could down the corridor she'd just come from, until she came to the office of Charles Xavier. She burst through the door without knocking, interrupting a teacher meeting.
"Professor! I think I just saw Jean!"
241 timeline 04-19-2034 Manhattan, New York, United States
The 700 Wendigo G-7. A sleek handgun, made entirely of adamantium, which fired blasts of genome-Iron plasma, heated to 700ºC, at a .7 thickness. Rachel's favorite toy. She shoved the chunk of metal into the back of her black nylon pants. She telekinetically formatted a black leather trench coat that hugged her torso and fell to the soles of her knee-high boots.
The Relic Room, on the first floor of the Baxter Building, displayed costumes, weapons, and gadgets of all the Fantastic Four allies. Rachel stepped over to the X-Men section. Her father's ruby quartz sunglasses were revolving upon a stand in a glass case, catching a glimmer from the halogen lights above. She released a minuscule optic blast, shattering the case, and snatched the glasses off the stand. They fit her face perfectly. Looking at her reflection, she saw that they hid most of her tattoos, and she was surprised at how much she looked like her mother without them.
"Look at you!" Rachel snapped around to see Kate in her old X-Men uniform, a grin on her face. "If the Wachowski brothers saw you, they'd be suing for property rights," her friend teased.
Rachel threw a duffel bag of rifles, grenades, and ammo into her face, and she caught them with some difficulty. "At least I don't look like I just jumped out of a comic book." Kitty laughed good-naturedly and motioned for her to follow. The two went to the garage below, where more than 30 beautiful cars sat, either trashed beyond repair, or shining with 20 pounds of wax.
Kate retrieved a key chain from a security booth and went to a 2002 Matrix X-8. She dropped the duffel bag in the trunk and looked up with a look of accomplishment. "It's an old one of the X-Men. Used to belong to Cyclops, actually." Rachel pet the car affectionately, memories springing to her mind, and Kate's voice took a suspicious turn. "Is there a reason you're wearing the man's shades?"
Summers gave a small chuckle. "Let's just say, he's always been my hero," she said. "What're we gonna do about the Sentinels upstairs? The others will trace their distress signal here."
"Why don't you just torch them like you did right after Franklin-" Kate lost her words. "-you know."
"No, I don't. What're you talking about?"
"Well, you kinda pulled a Jean Grey, to be honest," said Kate. "There was a lot of fire, a big bird, and then our problem was solved."
Rachel's stomach lurched. ~Phoenix?~ She could sense that her friend knew more than she gave away, but she didn't like to pry into others' minds, and really wasn't comfortable with the thought of following her mother's footsteps. ~The whole me-but-Phoenix-but-Dark Phoenix cycle just doesn't sound appealing.~ Rachel finally realized Kate was waiting for an answer. "Well, I don't really have any control over that-" She needed to change the subject. "Look, are you gonna start this thing up or not? We've gotta get a move on."
Kate smirked. "I thought you'd like take it for a ride."
* * *
616 timeline 04-19-2004 Westchester, New York, United States
Rachel was awakened by chirping birds in the distance, as a cool breeze swept over her frame. She looked up, where cotton ball clouds were slowly migrating to her left, against a perfect blue backdrop. She felt different; her hair had grown out to the middle of her back, and her body ached immensely.
~Where am I?~ A procession of images flew through her. She saw herself driving the Matrix, Kate phasing the both of them through miles of traffic at 95 mph. She saw herself fighting bravely, Kate beside her, bullets and plasma spraying in all directions. She saw the Sentinels overcoming the two girls, closing in on all sides, possibly hundreds of them. She saw Kate bending over her, telling her to leave, urging her, hypnotizing her.
~Fuck!~ Somehow, when Rachel had transported Kate's consciousness back in time, she had given some of her own powers to her friend. ~So, she knew that Cyclops was my father, and she knew that it was the true Phoenix inside me that had killed all those Sentinels.~ More images came. She saw herself flying through the timestream, engulfed in the Phoenix Force, far away from her home. Kate had sent Rachel to another timeline, forcing her to leave her best friend to her death. She pounded the ground with a fist. ~Damn her!~
She looked around, shocked to find that she was in Westchester, a mere mile or 2 from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. She got up, somewhat afraid to see the place that she had cherished in her memories for 11 years; what if it wasn't as perfect as she remembered? She mounted the marble steps to come to enormous double-doors, made entirely of glass. The doors opened automatically, swinging wide for her to enter, and she stepped into the elaborate lobby of the mutant school.
She saw 3 ornate chandeliers, 2 room-sized sitting areas, and a wall of glass, from marble floors to mirrored ceilings, looking out onto the scenery outside. She was shocked; it truly was Heaven on Earth. She looked forward, where a woman with moving, tentacle-like tresses of hair was standing behind a counter. Above her head, a sign read INFORMATION. The woman politely and discretely entered her mind to ask what she was looking for, and Rachel rudely ignored her.
She looked to a schedule above the Information Booth, which told her that the morning break began at 9:30, and sure enough, the digital clock beside it said 0929. A soft wind chime sounded, and the halls erupted with noise. Children, as young as 6 years old and as old as 18, began pouring out into the hallways, running, shouting excitedly, laughing together. They invaded the once quiet room, jumping upon the couches and throwing pillows at each other. Some sat calmly before 1 of the 12 small chest stands. Others played music from boom-boxes.
Rachel was overwhelmed. She stumbled backward from the chaotic crowd of crazy children, but bumped into someone. Turning, she came face to face with a tall teenage girl, with black hair that was highlighted bright purple in thick streaks, matching her contacts.
"I'm sorry, miss," the girl said in a thick Russian accent. "I don't think I've seen you here before. Did you just register? My name's Illyana. I can show you around if you li-"
"Illyana?!" Rachel couldn't stop the words from blurting out of her mouth. "Rasputin!"
"Well, yes...have we met?" A look of sudden realization, mingled with shock, came over Illyana's face, and Rachel decided she didn't want to know what the girl was thinking. She took off running.
Rasputin, whose own head was spinning, tried to keep the stranger back, but was met with a small shove of TK. She ran as fast as she could down the corridor she'd just come from, until she came to the office of Charles Xavier. She burst through the door without knocking, interrupting a teacher meeting.
"Professor! I think I just saw Jean!"