In a world that hates and fears them, the X-men – prodigies of Professor Charles Xavier and Tony Stark of X-Corporation – have braved their way to the island of Genosha, an island founded by Cameron Hodge and Obadiah Stane, who had been planning to test out Warren Worthington, Jr.'s Legacy Cure out illegally on mutant teenagers and children. Among these hostages were Alex Summers and Angelica Jones, the younger brother and best friend of Scott Summers and Bobby Drake.

However, Cameron Hodge had decided to torment Warren Worthington III by kidnapping and torturing Warren's girlfriend Candy. Despite finding Candy in time, Warren and Jean Grey bared witness to the grotesque sighting of Hodge shooting Candy in the stomach with a handgun. With Candy's life on the line, the X-men race to get her to Dr. Cecilia Reyes of Claremont Regional Hospital, hoping Dr. Reyes would be able to save Candy's life.

Issue 19: Failure's All You've Known

Skies above Liberty Island – The Blackbird

In the back of the Blackbird, Warren and Jean, still donning their Marvel Girl and Angel uniforms and masks, were attempting to keep Candy awake in the med bay. She was still coughing up blood, her skin having no color to it and her body drenched in sweat. Warren wished more than anything that they could soak a rag in some cold water to cool her off. But he knew that they had to work with what they had. Plus, they had several other mutants from Genosha that potentially needed medical attention too. Alpha Flight had taken some with them too.

Mutants such as Clarice Ferguson and Megan Gwynn were runaways due to their families not being accepting of their mutations, and had been living like street rats eating out of dumpsters just to survive. Lorna Dane was orphaned and was deemed helpless due to her bipolar disorder and had spent the past few years of her life locked away in an insane asylum which wasn't equipped to handle mutants. In fact, the asylum Lorna had been stuck in had been more like a prison than anything else. Alex, Scott's younger brother, had been dragged out of his foster home in California by Stane and Hodge officials. While Alex wanted nothing more than to return home to his foster family, he also wanted to catch up on some lost time with his older brother.

Jean and Warren's hands were soaked with blood as they continued to apply pressure to Candy's wounds. The blood just continued to gush out.

"Clotted blood," Jean whispered as she continued to try and stop the bleeding. She had to block out Warren's strong emotions and Candy's pain in order to concentrate on what she was doing.

Warren continued holding his girlfriend's hand tightly in his own. She was squeezing so hard he was losing circulation. He was pressing kisses to her forehead over and over, whispering several words of "I love you" repeatedly in between kisses. Hank came around the corner.

"We're a minute away from the hospital. Get ready," he told them.

Warren nodded, leaning in to whisper in Candy's ear. "Almost there, baby," he told her softly. "Just hang on, sweetheart."

Jean could tell that Candy was still making desperate attempts at speaking to Warren, but every time Candy made the attempt she just coughed up more blood. Jean let out a sigh as she proceeded to link Candy and Warren's minds together by telepathy. What she was hearing between the two of them made her tear up.

'War . . . I-I . . .' Candy was projecting.

'Shhhh . . . shhhh . . . you're going to be okay, beautiful, you're going to be okay. I love you . . . I love you so much,' Warren was saying.

'I-I love you too.'

'Candy, just hold on, honey . . . you'll be alright . . .'

'It hurts . . . it . . . it hurts so bad . . . I-I want to pass out!'

'Try to relax and stay awake . . . I love you . . .'

'I love you.'

Jean's eyes stung with moisture as she noticed the sight of Warren crying so freely. The fact that he was getting so emotional over his girlfriend; it was a sight Jean never thought that she'd see. It didn't surprise her though. Warren had the purest, most golden heart there was in the world.

Before they knew it, they were outside Claremont Regional Hospital, Warren lifting his girlfriend up and into his arms, supporting her head on his chest and rushing out of the jet, running into the ER. He bolted to the front desk.

"Get me Dr. Cecilia Reyes, immediately," he said anxiously.

The secretary nodded and called the doctor down to the emergency room immediately. Warren got a good look around the space, noticing various mutants sitting in the waiting area awaiting medical attention. He suddenly realized that this in particular was a hospital that was a safe haven for mutants. No wonder Dr. Reyes would be working there. That was the moment a stately, Puerto Rican-American woman came into the ER with a gurney and IV. Warren set Candy down onto it as he turned to Dr. Reyes.

"Help her, please," he pleaded quietly.

Dr. Reyes just nodded quietly. She could tell by looking at him that the mutant that had rushed into the hospital was Warren Worthington III. She figured that the winged mutant that had saved the life of Senator Kelly a month prior had been him.

"I'll do everything I can, Mr. Worthington," she said quietly. "And your secret is safe with me here."

"Thank you," Warren told her quietly.

Dr. Reyes nodded and started shouting different commands at the nurses there, pressing an oxygen mask over Candy's face so that fresh oxygen could make its way into her weary lungs before taking her in for surgery. Warren stood there, his mask still over his face because there was not a shot in hell he was going to just reveal his identity in the hospital. If he did that, it'd be a media circus and turn into a zoo. That was the moment he noticed Tony coming into the hospital, a look of actual concern on his face.

"Angel," he said, grabbing Warren by the elbow and dragging him out of the hospital and around the corner where Hank, Jean, Scott, Bobby, Pepper and Professor Xavier already were, the X-men still wearing their masks over their faces.

"Just so you guys don't risk exposing yourselves," said Pepper, pulling something out of her briefcase that she had with her. She handed Bobby, Hank, Scott, Jean and Warren each watches. "Put these on. They should do the trick."

The five X-men each took their watches and slipped them on, instantaneously appearing to have their street clothes on. Scott swapped his Cyclops visor for his sunglasses. They also noticed Hank's appearance looked normal and human rather than blue and beastly.

"Hologram watches; they should allow you kids to keep a low profile and get in and out of uniform quickly, designed by Forge and myself with help of Dr. Hank Pym and Dr. Reed Richards. We've been working on these for the past month," Tony explained, leaning a hand on Warren's shoulder.

"Thank you, Tony," said Jean in relief.

"Yeah, this is helpful," Bobby said with a heavy sigh.

"How's Candy?" asked Professor Xavier, turning to Warren.

"Dr. Reyes took her in for surgery; I've got a feeling she'll be in there for a while," Warren explained heavily.

"Yeah." Jean swallowed hard. "Do you want us to wait in there with you until –?"

Warren nodded, and the five X-men, minus Professor Xavier, Tony and Pepper went into the hospital.

"This is screwed up," Tony whispered. "If there's anyone that doesn't deserve this, it's Candy and Warren."

"Well, Logan, Carol and the rest of Alpha Flight are in the process of getting Stane and Hodge to the Alpha Flight base in Canada. In a couple weeks, they'll be in trial and they'll hopefully be sent to Rikers," Xavier explained.

"Good. But, I can tell you that when Senator Kelly finds out, he's not going to be happy," said Tony.

"Senator Kelly might be anti-mutant, but he's not a senseless killer. There's no way that he would have even approved of Hodge and Stane having their own private island to experiment on mutant prisoners," said Pepper with a shake of her head. "He wants to keep them in line, not kill them."

"But it's extremists like Hodge and Stane who take it to the next level. This is why we must remain vigilant," Professor Xavier said. "Besides, Tony, you know we're going to have to explain things to the press eventually, because they're going to be wondering exactly who the X-men are."

"Yeah, we'll have to figure that out," said Pepper with a heavy sigh. "But, you do know once the press gets here to the hospital, it's going to turn into a zoo. Bottom line is that Candy and Warren both deserve their privacy right now. It's about respect."

Claremont Regional Hospital – Waiting Room

For the next two hours, Scott, Jean, Warren, Hank and Bobby were sitting in the waiting room at Claremont Regional Hospital, waiting for any kind of update on Candy's condition. Tony, Pepper and Professor Xavier were sitting in chairs not too far from where they were. None of them could sleep, considering the life of Warren's girlfriend was on the line.

Jean was resting her head in Scott's lap, her legs spread out on the chairs in front of her as she tried to sleep. But, like the others, she couldn't sleep because of how worried she was. Looking up at the clock, Jean saw that it was about one o'clock in the morning.

Warren was pacing throughout the waiting room, walking back and forth as he bit his lower lip out of worry for Candy. He knew for a fact that the members of Alpha Flight were sending Hodge and Stane back to their HQ in Alberta, but for Warren, it didn't feel good enough. He'd nearly killed Cameron by choking the living daylights out of him due to how angry he was at that moment in time. If his girlfriend hadn't been laying there on the ground coughing up blood, he most certainly would have strangled Hodge to death until he stopped breathing. He wanted nothing more than to get his hands on Hodge and decapitate him, but, he knew at that point that would be useless. What was done was done. All he could do was stand there and wait. But, that didn't stop him from constantly badgering the nurse at the front desk and asking about Candy's condition, wanting constant updates.

"Warren, sit down for two minutes. You're not doing yourself any service," said Bobby.

Warren shook his head. He knew that Bobby was right, but, that did not mean he wanted to stop pacing. What else was there for him to do at that moment?

Scott currently had Jean sprawled out on his lap, stroking her hair. He didn't know what else he could do either. Just knowing Candy was still in surgery was a bitter pill for all of them to swallow. That was the moment Carol and Logan came into the hospital, wearing normal, everyday clothes and exhausted expressions.

"How'd you do?" asked Warren anxiously.

"We arrested those bastards," Logan said. "They're sitting in cells at Alpha Flight awaiting trial. If they're convicted, they'll be sent to Rikers. Their court date is in a few weeks. We additionally made some calls to one of our contacts, Clint Barton, so he can swoop in and clean up the mess."

"Good, thank you," Hank said.

"Nothing but my pleasure, furball," Logan said roughly as he sat beside Scott.

They all continued to sit there for the next twenty minutes or were growing all the more anxious as time went by, but no one more so than Warren, who was feeling sick to his stomach with worry. Finally, he'd given up and he sat down. But he found he was constantly shaking his leg as he sat there, clasping his hands together hard as he prayed to whatever higher being was out there that Candy would pull through.

'Candy, c'mon, pull through, baby. I can't live without you. You're my beacon,' Warren thought as he swallowed hard, shutting his eyes hard. Finally, after what felt like an eternity later, Dr. Reyes came back into the room, a neutral expression on her face. The minute she entered the waiting area, Warren shot up from his seat, rushing over to her with an anxious expression of his face.

"Dr. Reyes is she alright?" asked Professor Xavier.

"Please . . . please tell me she's okay!" Warren begged, though he had a feeling in his gut that something had gone wrong in the surgery.

Dr. Reyes couldn't seem to find the right words to say as she looked at Warren's pleading expression. She could see that the tears were already starting to melt in his eyes. The more she remained silent, the more uneasy Warren felt. He was hoping and praying Candy was okay. When he'd heard her scream over the phone after Hodge had so brazenly called him to taunt him, he had been horrified and scared shitless.

When he'd gotten to Genosha and he had seen the look of pure terror in Candy's eyes, it had made him feel so sick, so angry, so nervous that he didn't know what to do in that moment except beg, considering Hodge had had a gun shoved down her throat. It had been the most horrific sight that Warren would never be able to get out of his head. He just knew that with Candy, he now felt so stupid for hesitating when it came to proposing to her. The fact that he had waited too long, he now officially regretted it. It was like Scott said. A day could be one day too late. As he continued to stand there, Warren could feel the presence of Scott, Jean, Bobby, Logan, Hank, Carol, Pepper, Tony and Xavier standing behind him. He felt his knees growing weak as the nausea built up inside his stomach.

"Dr. Reyes, please!" Warren pled, his tears threatening to spill over and onto his cheeks as he stood there, feeling Jean and Scott's hands on his shoulders, giving him a form of silent support. He didn't even notice as Scott gestured for Hank to go and grab a wastebasket from the corner of the room in case Warren had to throw up.

Dr. Reyes struggled to find the right words to break the news to Warren and the rest of the X-men. Finally, she opened her mouth to say something to them. "I-I'm so sorry, Warren," she said quietly. "I . . . I honestly do not know how she had managed to survive as long as she did. But she's – she's gone. We lost her at 1:34 A.M . . ."

Dr. Reyes' words echoed in Warren's ears as he stood there, his whole body starting to violently shake as his chest filled with sobs that had to be released. That was the moment his knees gave out and he collapsed to the floor below.

Scott and Jean caught him underneath the armpits as his nausea overwhelmed him and he became sick in the trashcan. It started out with dry heaves before he began throwing up, retching violently as his grief overwhelmed him. Shudders ran through him as sobs finally escaped his throat.

He didn't even notice as Logan and Scott hauled him up and onto his feet after he'd finished vomiting. He didn't even notice as Pepper, Bobby, Carol, Logan and Hank left the room. He didn't even notice as Tony and Scott guided him to a nearby chair, his arms wrapped over their shoulders as the sobs overwhelmed him. He slowly became aware of Jean rubbing circles against his back to try and soothe him, but tears were rolling down her own face freely. Scott had a hand on his knee, squeezing hard.

"Warren, I'm so sorry," Tony said quietly.

Warren could only sit there, crying his eyes out as his hands gripped his hair out of grief. He kept repeating, "Candy" over and over again. When his sobs lessened and stopped wracking his body as much, his head just hung there in misery.

"She didn't deserve this," he whispered miserably. "She-She was supposed to be doing something with her life. She shouldn't have –" His words were cut off as his sobs consumed him once again.

Jean brushed the tears out of her eyes as she leaned her hand on the winged mutant's arm. "That's not how she felt, War," she said. "I-I read her mind a few times when I was in her presence. She'd felt as though she had already lived her life to the fullest because the last few years, she had had them with you every single day. She felt nothing but proud to be with you. She felt that you were going to be the one to do something special with your life. She thought you would be the one to make a difference in the world for mutants, and maybe even change it. She adored you. She loved us. She loved being one of us. Nothing was ever going to change that for her."

Warren looked up to look at Jean, who had a compassionate look in her eyes. "How-How do you know what I feel?" he asked her.

Jean just brushed away more tears out of her eyes as she said, "I know what everybody feels." She reached over and grabbed him by the hand, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze. They just sat there in solemn silence, closing their eyes as they accepted their first failure as a team. It was a painful thing to accept, but, they also knew that they had to do just that in order to move on.

Up next: Moving Forward

Be sure to REVIEW! Also, be sure to support me on my newest X-men story, The Evolution Project.

Additionally, on my blog, I will be posting sneak peaks of the issues of Peace in Our Time. Remember, blog name is MakeupGeek Comics on blogspot.

Excelsior-

DC-MarvelGirl 1997