AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanx4reading and Tenshi no koneko, thank you for your
reviews. (Sorry, Mimic, about the bet. If it makes you feel any better, I
was disappointed when I read it, too. Rachel sooo could've won, if she just
stayed Phoenix-ed up!) Now, I know those of you who read the comics are
going to freak out when Nathan is born to Jean, but remember: it's an
alternate timeline. Anything can happen, and actually, this does happen
several times that we know of. Sorry that there isn't much concrete detail
in this one; I confess I've never actually read a comic with the Beyonder
in it, and I can't find anything on him on the net, so I left it brief
rather than doing it wrong. In any case, I hope it didn't ruin the chapter
completely.
835 timeline 03-20-2017 Westchester, New York, United States
Death was far beyond anything she had ever imagined. When she'd first heard of her own demise, she had envisioned clichés of dark tunnels and out- of- body experiences. She'd never thought that death would look like a starburst of infinite light, nor sound like a thousand individual heartbeats, muffled by a vast blanket of space. But, as before, Rachel's death was not the end of her story. Fate, maybe, pulled her from the depths of a bottomless ocean, or perhaps she'd willed herself into existence, through the power of the Phoenix. Some believe that the Phoenix Force itself had blown breath back into her, without any consideration of her own will. Still others speculate that a third party, such as the rogues Cable, Bishop, or Nate Grey, might have manipulated the original order of time, in order to ensure the formation of the Clan Asakani. In any case, her rebirth was, without doubt, a miracle. Yet, when Rachel awoke, she did not consider herself blessed. She knew only fury. And she might have easily resorted to the Hound again, had it not been for...
The first thing she heard was a feeble cry, which quickly grew into a wail of protest. As she regained her vision, Rachel found herself in the Medlab of the X-Men headquarters, hidden underground, below Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Her beloved family, biological and extended, was crowded around a standard hospital bed, and Dr. Hank McCoy, the blue-furred Beast, wore a white robe, gloves, and a surgeon's cap.
"Okay, Jean," he said softly, "we just need one more push." Lying upon the bed, with a sheet over her lower body, Jean Grey contracted her lower abdominal muscles, contorting her face in pain. Her cringe faded into a smile, and she lay back against a long pillow in satisfaction. Hank moved to a sink for a few seconds. When he returned to Jean's side, he held a baby in his arms, which he wrapped in a blanket and laid across its mother's chest.
Jean calmed her child with a soft telepathic embrace, and a newborn Nathan Christopher Charles Summers quieted his wail to a coo. His father, Scott, put his arm around his mother's shoulders, and stroked his smooth face with a thumb weathered by years of warfare. He cleared his throat and sang one of his favorite verses to the son he never thought he'd be able to fit into his life. He sang a verse of hope and love, and gave an internal prayer of thanks.
"Welcome to the planet. Welcome to existence..."
As Rachel watched the scene before her, completely unnoticed, she grew ashamed of herself. How could she have forgotten the sound of her father's singing? How could she have forgotten Ororo's smile, or Xavier's tears? "...I dare you to move like today never happened..." She looked around at her loved ones. She had once lived the life that her half-brother just began, also sheltered by the love of Jean Grey, Scott Summers, Charles Xavier, Ororo Munroe, Hank McCoy, John Grey, Elaine Grey, Sarah Grey, Christopher Summers, Alex Summers, Kitty Pryde, Warren Worthington, Bobby Drake, Lorna Dane, Reed Richards, Sue Richards, and, of course, a man known only as Logan.
Scott looked up from his family and to the man that had raised him. "Professor?"
"What is it that worries you, Scott?"
"Well, I know Jean and I told you that you'd be the godfather of our children when we got married, but-well, you are his grandfather, as far as anyone in this room is concerned."
Xavier smiled at his son. "Scott, I know what you have in mind," he said. "I think it entirely appropriate. But you shouldn't be asking me this question."
Scott turned to his teammate, who stood by his side. "Logan, would you be Nathan's godfather?" Wolverine nodded, silently choking back tears, and gave Summers a strong hug.
She felt foolish. When she saw the darkness of mankind's hatred, she forgot its beauty and strength. Angered, she left mankind behind entirely, and in doing so, only added to the deepening shadow. "...Maybe redemption has stories to tell. Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell..." No more. In that instant, Rachel made a vow to protect the light of man at all costs, and above all, she would protect her baby brother.
Suddenly, the world turned on its axis. Rachel traveled through years of time in seconds, and saw a holocaust of absolute proportions. She saw flames, ruins, corpses. Rachel pulled away from the horror, and found herself back at her old home, her screams unheard by those around her. Gasping, she tried to make sense of what she'd seen. One image stood out from the others, as a killer stands out from a sea of his victims. That image was the Beyonder, a creature of immense power, whose only joy in life was death.
Rachel Summers opened herself to the Phoenix Force once more, this time with a clear mind and a full heart, calling upon the legendary entity for a single act of justice. In a shot of light and flame, she left the Medlab, the X-Mansion, New York, the US, Earth, and the Milky Way. She stopped in a galaxy far from her home, and sent out a telepathic scream that transcended light-years in a matter of moments.
Just as she suspected, the Beyonder followed her cry, seeking a source of despair to quench his greedy thirst. The fly was heading straight for the widow's web. Rachel gathered her thoughts on the stars and planets around her, focusing mainly upon vast untamable space between them. She began to bend matter, and, though she didn't understand how it was possible, she found herself bending the absence of matter as well. Space became her weapon, and the Beyonder her target. For once, she found a way to pay for her past crimes against humanity. She had no idea it would lead to another crime, and another beautiful world lost.
* * *
Timestream
Rachel knew exactly where she was before she ever opened her eyes or regained her telepathy. She remembered her struggle with the Beyonder. She remembered when things got out of control. She'd meant to create a weapon, and she had; she'd created a black hole. She'd meant to destroy the Beyonder, and she had; she'd destroyed the entire timeline. She'd broken her vow only minutes after she'd made it, and in doing so, she not only betrayed and embarrassed her brother's name, but killed him, and everyone she ever loved. The cycle had come full-circle, yet again. No matter how hard she tried to be a better person, her good intentions inevitably led to devastation. She wept. And wept. And wept...
835 timeline 03-20-2017 Westchester, New York, United States
Death was far beyond anything she had ever imagined. When she'd first heard of her own demise, she had envisioned clichés of dark tunnels and out- of- body experiences. She'd never thought that death would look like a starburst of infinite light, nor sound like a thousand individual heartbeats, muffled by a vast blanket of space. But, as before, Rachel's death was not the end of her story. Fate, maybe, pulled her from the depths of a bottomless ocean, or perhaps she'd willed herself into existence, through the power of the Phoenix. Some believe that the Phoenix Force itself had blown breath back into her, without any consideration of her own will. Still others speculate that a third party, such as the rogues Cable, Bishop, or Nate Grey, might have manipulated the original order of time, in order to ensure the formation of the Clan Asakani. In any case, her rebirth was, without doubt, a miracle. Yet, when Rachel awoke, she did not consider herself blessed. She knew only fury. And she might have easily resorted to the Hound again, had it not been for...
The first thing she heard was a feeble cry, which quickly grew into a wail of protest. As she regained her vision, Rachel found herself in the Medlab of the X-Men headquarters, hidden underground, below Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Her beloved family, biological and extended, was crowded around a standard hospital bed, and Dr. Hank McCoy, the blue-furred Beast, wore a white robe, gloves, and a surgeon's cap.
"Okay, Jean," he said softly, "we just need one more push." Lying upon the bed, with a sheet over her lower body, Jean Grey contracted her lower abdominal muscles, contorting her face in pain. Her cringe faded into a smile, and she lay back against a long pillow in satisfaction. Hank moved to a sink for a few seconds. When he returned to Jean's side, he held a baby in his arms, which he wrapped in a blanket and laid across its mother's chest.
Jean calmed her child with a soft telepathic embrace, and a newborn Nathan Christopher Charles Summers quieted his wail to a coo. His father, Scott, put his arm around his mother's shoulders, and stroked his smooth face with a thumb weathered by years of warfare. He cleared his throat and sang one of his favorite verses to the son he never thought he'd be able to fit into his life. He sang a verse of hope and love, and gave an internal prayer of thanks.
"Welcome to the planet. Welcome to existence..."
As Rachel watched the scene before her, completely unnoticed, she grew ashamed of herself. How could she have forgotten the sound of her father's singing? How could she have forgotten Ororo's smile, or Xavier's tears? "...I dare you to move like today never happened..." She looked around at her loved ones. She had once lived the life that her half-brother just began, also sheltered by the love of Jean Grey, Scott Summers, Charles Xavier, Ororo Munroe, Hank McCoy, John Grey, Elaine Grey, Sarah Grey, Christopher Summers, Alex Summers, Kitty Pryde, Warren Worthington, Bobby Drake, Lorna Dane, Reed Richards, Sue Richards, and, of course, a man known only as Logan.
Scott looked up from his family and to the man that had raised him. "Professor?"
"What is it that worries you, Scott?"
"Well, I know Jean and I told you that you'd be the godfather of our children when we got married, but-well, you are his grandfather, as far as anyone in this room is concerned."
Xavier smiled at his son. "Scott, I know what you have in mind," he said. "I think it entirely appropriate. But you shouldn't be asking me this question."
Scott turned to his teammate, who stood by his side. "Logan, would you be Nathan's godfather?" Wolverine nodded, silently choking back tears, and gave Summers a strong hug.
She felt foolish. When she saw the darkness of mankind's hatred, she forgot its beauty and strength. Angered, she left mankind behind entirely, and in doing so, only added to the deepening shadow. "...Maybe redemption has stories to tell. Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell..." No more. In that instant, Rachel made a vow to protect the light of man at all costs, and above all, she would protect her baby brother.
Suddenly, the world turned on its axis. Rachel traveled through years of time in seconds, and saw a holocaust of absolute proportions. She saw flames, ruins, corpses. Rachel pulled away from the horror, and found herself back at her old home, her screams unheard by those around her. Gasping, she tried to make sense of what she'd seen. One image stood out from the others, as a killer stands out from a sea of his victims. That image was the Beyonder, a creature of immense power, whose only joy in life was death.
Rachel Summers opened herself to the Phoenix Force once more, this time with a clear mind and a full heart, calling upon the legendary entity for a single act of justice. In a shot of light and flame, she left the Medlab, the X-Mansion, New York, the US, Earth, and the Milky Way. She stopped in a galaxy far from her home, and sent out a telepathic scream that transcended light-years in a matter of moments.
Just as she suspected, the Beyonder followed her cry, seeking a source of despair to quench his greedy thirst. The fly was heading straight for the widow's web. Rachel gathered her thoughts on the stars and planets around her, focusing mainly upon vast untamable space between them. She began to bend matter, and, though she didn't understand how it was possible, she found herself bending the absence of matter as well. Space became her weapon, and the Beyonder her target. For once, she found a way to pay for her past crimes against humanity. She had no idea it would lead to another crime, and another beautiful world lost.
* * *
Timestream
Rachel knew exactly where she was before she ever opened her eyes or regained her telepathy. She remembered her struggle with the Beyonder. She remembered when things got out of control. She'd meant to create a weapon, and she had; she'd created a black hole. She'd meant to destroy the Beyonder, and she had; she'd destroyed the entire timeline. She'd broken her vow only minutes after she'd made it, and in doing so, she not only betrayed and embarrassed her brother's name, but killed him, and everyone she ever loved. The cycle had come full-circle, yet again. No matter how hard she tried to be a better person, her good intentions inevitably led to devastation. She wept. And wept. And wept...