Chapter Seven: Destiny
A/N: I may use quotes for some of Bliss' words, and I won't credit all authors, because I can't remember a lot of them, but please be aware that not all of her words are mine (although some are).
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of Marvel's characters. HOWEVER I do own all the others, so please ASK before you use them. Thank you very much.
Please read and Review, so I know someone's actually reading this story. It gives me a reason to keep writing.
Destiny looked around at all the people coming in. She'd told the Undertaker she wanted to see them all. She was tired of hearing their voices buzzing around in her head like over exited butterflies. She flexed her silvery-green wings and enjoyed the feeling of Haven braiding her long, white hair.
"I am as big as an elephant, but lighter than a feather. What am I, Haven?" She felt his fingers pause in her hair as he thought for a moment. She and Haven had been playing this game for hundreds of years – she would make up riddles and he would find all the answers, like a good little lion. Her Haven… He was so precious…
"The air, or the wind, maybe?"
"Good, good, good!" She clapped her hands excitedly. Everyone was here now and she could play!
"Would you like me to come with you?" Her wonderful protector asked, before letting her go. She absently shook her head at him and moved towards the girl with the funny coloured hair.
"Little girl, you with the funny stripes!" The girl tried to pin Destiny with what was supposed to be a frightening glare, but it didn't work. Nothing worked. Destiny just sailed through everything. "What is black and red and white all over?" The girl just blinked.
"I don't know."
"Does Illyria know?" The girl scratched her head.
"She says: a sunburned penguin." When Destiny laughed the sound was as clear as a bell.
"Do you know how extraordinary your abilities are?" The Rogue looked away, but Destiny put a bare hand under her chin, ignoring the girl's flinch. "You won't hurt me," she reassured, "your ability is a gift, however hidden it may be. It's also a brilliant test of character, those who love enough to not need touch will shine like rough diamonds in the moonlight…" Speaking of diamonds in the rough, Destiny drifted away from Rogue without another word. She spun out toward Remy LeBeau with a curious glint in her eye.
"Bad, Remy. No cookie…"
"Pour quoi, petite?"
"You left without saying goodbye…" She felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes, but made no attempt to hide or stop them. Tears were natural - she would cry them.
"Y' already knew Remy was going."
"It's the thought that counts." She sniffled. "What goes all the way around the world but still stays in one corner?" He shrugged and she rolled her eyes at him. "A stamp. You didn't call, you didn't write. Silly you, make it look like you don't care."
"But you know I cared."
"Of course, I know everything." She smiled her wicked smile. Remy looked oh so pretty now – tall, handsome. He still had those haunting, wonderful eyes she'd spoken of years before. He looked like exactly what they called him – le diable blanc.
"Remy, have you ever felt this way?"
"What way, félicité?"
"Like you want to shoot for the moon, but you're too busy gazing at starts. Like you want to take a deep breath, capture the night and pray that the liquid silver in your blood never fades, because if it does – you might just explode." His eyes widened. "I told you, long ago, that you're time would come. It's here, my pretty little thief… What is it Felix says…? Go get 'em, tiger?" She winked. "Do you remember what I said?"
"Oui, petite, a man don' forget words like that. Y' said Remy would find something that would burn him from t' inside. Y' said he would crash and burn, but what came from the destruction would be stronger, prouder, better. Something worth being. Y' said Remy'd find his way, petite, but to do that he had to fall first." His eyes were grim as he recited her prophecy back to her. "Y' scare me, félicité."
"A necessary evil, I'm afraid." She tilted her head to the side and heard some muttering. Naughty people, speaking out of turn. They would make the fish angry if they kept at it! "You shouldn't make my fish angry, Logan. They tend to eat all your bread." The gruff looking Wolverine seemed surprised that she would speak to him.
"What fish?" Ahh, such a brute.
"It's not only what you see that's there." When she faced him, she watched the butterflies dance above his head a little, before they flew away. "Why is the moon so lonely, Logan?" He blinked at her. Why did no one ever just answer the question? Not true, Haven always answered….
"Why?"
"Because she used to have a lover. Someone has already told you this story, haven't they, Logan?" His eyes narrowed. Animal time. On reflex, Bliss looked around for Haven, who was beside her as always – solid as a rock.
"What do you know about me?" The feral man growled. Bliss reached for Haven's left hand, he held onto her, enveloping her in his safety.
"Everything." She whispered. "I've seen it all." And what a long story it was…
"Tell me!" She shook her head; her white braid was a thick rope in an ocean breeze behind her back.
"Can't. Can only tell you what the voices say I can. They said tell you that the name of the moon's lover is Kuekuatsu. Do you know what it means?"
"What do I care what it means?"
"Humour me." She clutched at Haven tighter, although she was no afraid. The noisy ones made her nervous.
"Fine, what does it mean?"
"It means the Wolverine." She watched as Logan's eyes widened and a memory flashed through his mind. A memory of a woman with midnight black hair and sky blue eyes who told him a story of lovers, moons and wildflowers. She watched him stutter and shake. She watched the emotions swim across his face. "The only way to lose true love is to forget it, Wolverine." She tilted her head to the side, knowing she had his attention. The fish and birds fluttering about him all watched her now. "Red is really not your colour." She caught his eyes flickering to the red haired telepath.
"What is my colour?" Now he was asking the right questions!
"Amethyst." His eyebrows went up. "She'll have eyes of amethyst and a heart of steel. You'll find her covered in cherry blossom in a place you thought you'd forgotten." She walked closer to him, her bare feet making no sound on the living room's plush carpet. She laid a tiny hand on his rough cheek.
"Much like our London, you will ask yourself how any woman in their right mind could be so blind that she might find you safe. Much like our Kinessa she will stand tall in the heart of darkness and say she knows you have a soul even though you're heartless. She will find colour in the darkest places and beauty in the saddest faces. She will teach you to do the same." He seemed shocked and a little in awe of her hand on his face, as if few people touched him voluntarily.
"How do you know, though?"
"I've seen it."
"What if you're wrong?" She threw back her head and laughed, turning to face Larmes du Soleil.
"Have I ever been wrong?"
"Vague, but never wrong." Cardinal answered. She was always so graceful, Destiny thought. Was it by design, or was it natural? Probably natural, at least that's what the stars said… and after all, the stars were never wrong.
"I'm not wrong, Wolverine. I cannot give you a time, or a place, or a name. That's not what the voices said. They said all you needed was hope." Her sage-green eyes met his hazel ones, and she wondered if he understood – it didn't matter to her if he did, she'd said her piece – but it would have been nice… He just nodded, so she moved on.
"London?"
"Yeah, love?"
"Did you go and see The Nutcracker, like I told you?" He smiled and bit the side of his cheek, an old nervous habit of his.
"That, I did, pet."
"Did you find what you didn't know you were looking for?"
"I did." She smiled at him. London had always had such strange fish. They were wild and angry, but they shone so, so, bright she couldn't help but like them.
"I'm glad for you, dear heart." She looked at him, standing so tall. "You always make me feel such a coward, London. You're like a hurricane to a house of cards. Such potential for total destruction… so unstoppable." She twirled around before him; listening to the voices of his life whisper to her, sing to her. "Are you afraid of fire, London?"
"I should be." He answered. Yes, he should be.
"But you've never gone around fire expecting not to sweat?"
"I know if I strike a match, I'm going to feel the flames." Smart boy.
"But you are not afraid." She stopped turning. The voices had said all they would say. "Your strength puts me to shame." She bowed her head in respect of his character. "You will give anything, but you will not give up. You will not care what kind of hole is in the ground, or what kind of ocean is in your way. You won't care what kind of hell you need to cross. No, you won't go halfway." She looked at her reflection in his glasses. "You're like a heat seeking missile."
"Do we know who I'm looking for?"
"Mercy."
"Is that Mercy, with a capital, love, or mercy?"
"That's for you to find out." He nodded his thanks for her words and slipped an arm around his lover's waist, his worry for her safety clear in the thin line his lips made. "Forge your own path," she advised, "you never fit in the system." He chuckled a little at that.
Bliss looked around the room. All the X-men sat pretty much together, and all Larmes du Soleil had made themselves comfortable in their usual places. Zeus was leaning on the side of an armchair, with London at her side. Cardinal sat in one of the leather chairs, with the Undertaker perched on one arm, close enough to be a safety net, far enough away for them both to breathe – the way they did everything. Aisling had her legs crossed and was on the plush carpet, watching everything quietly. Felix leaned on the mantle piece. Haven stood, feet shoulder width apart, arms crossed over his chest, watching her closely. But the far corner of the room was empty. Illyria was not leaning in the space between the door and the window – the darkest corner. It looked bare an empty. Her body was gone, but her butterflies and bees and dolphins still whispered…. She would come to that later.
"Why do you wear glasses?" She asked the stern faced man who stood next to the telepath with the red hair. Her name… Jill? Jane? Jean? Yes, Jean!
"I thought you knew everything." Hm, maybe she'd have fun with this one.
"I know the answer. Do you?" She got the impression he rolled his eyes.
"I can't control my powers." She came closer, until she was less than a foot away from him.
"Can't you?" He shook his head. "Take them off." He shook his head again. "You won't hurt me. I promise." Very slowly, it wouldn't do to spook him; she reached up for his glasses. She wasn't sure if it was curiosity or shock that kept him from stopping her. Jean though, she tried it.
"No!" She knocked Bliss' hands away. "He said he can't control his powers! Are you crazy?" Bliss held up hand to stop Haven moving forward – it wouldn't do to get blood on the carpet – and tilted her head to the side.
"Of course I'm crazy. Hadn't you noticed?" Jean looked a little taken aback at that. Good. "Please have a little faith." Quick as a flash, she whipped off Scott's sunglasses. He cramped his eyes shut. "Dear, dear, dear me what did they do to you?" She asked him. He just kept his eyes closed. "Open them. I want to see your eyes."
"Why?" He demanded.
"Because you have them covered at all times, which means you needn't guard them. You're eyes are the windows into your soul, and no one sees them, so they have no reason to lie. I value truth above beauty. Show me." Slowly, he cracked them open – and nothing happened. There were no red optic blasts. He didn't put a football-sized hole in Bliss. He just opened beautiful grey-blue eyes and saw the world in technicolor. He looked around in awe and Bliss smiled at her handy work.
"How did you do this? How?" He touched his eyes gently, closing and reopening them all over again.
"It's a mix of mutation and magic."
"You can do magic?"
"Is faith not magic, youngling?" He blinked again. "Look around you, see the world as it is meant to be seen." She displayed the room for him, then a thought brought tears to her eyes.
"What? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Scott's voice was worried, and she was touched.
"I wish Maverick was here. Her hair really is magnificent. Beautiful blue waves – like the ocean… It would look so wonderful to you now."
"Maverick?"
"Illyria, of course." He nodded in understanding, still a little overwhelmed by the colours around him.
"Your mutation, is part of it neutralising abilities?" She cocked her head to the side and thought about that.
"I have lots of abilities, Mr. Summers. I've been around a long time. Sometimes you just can't help but collect them." She smiled at him tenderly, having decided she liked him.
"When will this stop? When will my powers come back?" His eyes were wide, trying to absorb every detail.
"When I walk away, after I've said my piece, it will be up to you to learn control."
"How do I do that?"
"You have faith."
"Faith?"
"Faith," she whispered, "is taking the first step even though you can't see the staircase. You don't believe in yourself Mr. Summers – you believe in who you are supposed to be, not who you are. I suggest you take a long hard look at who you have become and ask yourself: why?" He frowned, his beautiful eyes clouding over with frustration.
"But I did everything how it was supposed to be done. I did everything right…"
"And therein lies the problem." She smiled. "You never made a mistake. You never did anything just because. You may do as you will, it is no business of mine, but consider that one day you may wake up asking yourself if this is who you want to be. Think about it. As long as you are unsure, your powers will be out of control - when you find yourself, they will be yours to command." He hesitantly placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Thank you."
"I did but speed up the process. You would have found your way eventually." With one last touch, she wondered away from him and he put his glasses back on.
"I'm afraid I do not understand much of what you are saying, dear." The wheelchair man addressing her caught her off guard. Why was he talking?
"Why are you talking?"
"Am I not allowed to ask questions?" She widened her eyes at him, and reached out for Haven.
"Haven, why does it speak to me?" He took her hand in his and smiled.
"I think, he doesn't understand."
"That is no problem of mine!" She cried. Haven turned to the Professor.
"Shut up. She says what she wants, how she wants, when she wants. You only speak when spoken to. Understood?"
"That's hardly fair!" Jean joined in the protesting. Destiny heard all the voices get louder. She heard all the little thoughts scream. They cried and they cried and they whispered and she couldn't even hear herself think anymore.
"Haven!" she reached out for her protector and he was right there, wrapping his body around hers, tight enough that she could stay anchored to the world. "Haven, they made the trees talk! I named all the stars this morning, but I'm still so confused." Tears ran down her face and the tips of her fingers began to ache.
"Why're you confused, D?"
"Because I named them all the same name!" She had to scream to be heard above all the fish. They wouldn't let her talk.
"What name did you name them?" He asked, calm as ever. Haven would help fix this, she was sure.
"Twinkle-twinkle!" She sobbed into his shirt. "I named them all twinkle-twinkle…"
"How about, you and me name them all different names tonight? How about we name one after every person you watch over? That okay?" She sniffled and looked up into his eyes, completely unaware that the whole room was watching them both.
"You'll help me name all the stars?"
"Every god-damn one. We'll rename ever single twinkle-twinkle, okay?" She nodded, her faith in him so strong that she would follow him to the end of the world.
"And no one will speak out of turn?" He looked at the room, glaring pointedly at the Professor and Jean.
"If anyone speaks out of turn, Cardinal will have to order a new carpet. Promise." She nodded, and ever so slowly, tried to stand by herself. She hated it when the voices got too loud, whispering too many futures, pasts and present lives into her small mind. Some days they got so bad Haven had to put those pointy things in her, and pour all the liquid in just so she could sleep. She hated those days… she always forgot what her name was then, not that she remembered her real name anyway.
"Good." She nodded. "Good, good." She was going to stand, but her head began to swim and the room she was in slipped away until she was in a different time and place. She watched a scene unfold with silent eyes and bated breath. When she faded back to reality, Haven's face was the first thing she saw.
"What did you see, D?" She blinked at him, then turned to find Felix.
"Why are you afraid o the Goddess?" He straightened his tall frame out and narrowed his eyes.
"We talking about who I think we're talking about?" She nodded. "I'm not afraid of her, D, I'm afraid of what she means."
"And what's that?" She was genuinely curious; this was the first she'd seen of the Goddess.
"She's everything I'm not."
"Ugly, impolite, dishonourable, humourless and angry?" His eyebrows shot up.
"What?"
"That's a few of the things you are not." He was going to explain but she cut him off. "Don't be afraid. I've seen it. It's going to happen. Let go your fear, embrace your hope. There is much love in you, Reverend. Preach to her – show her what it means to be real." Then she addressed the Cardinal. "I would like to retire, but I will probably re-emerge at some point, if you do not mind."
"Of course not, darling, you are always welcome." Destiny nodded her head, took Haven's hand and drifted back down from whence she'd come. The voices were a-whispering and she had new painting to paint. And they had to rename the stars. They had to give all the twinkle-twinkles a new calling…
A/N: Let it be known, that writing from the perspective of someone as insane as I wanted Bliss to be is a nightmare! Please let me know what you think – it'll help if I need to write her again.
