August 19, 1992
"There's some sort of block there," Jean said, "I can't get through it!"
"Me neither," David said.
He looked down at his father. His silence was agreement enough. David could feel the desperation well up in him. If they couldn't make it through to Remy, then they wouldn't be able to make it through to Lorna or Warren.
"Screw this," Logan said.
His claws came out of his hands. David saw the horror on Rogue's face, could feel it building up in him. Alex was looking at Logan, his eyes flickering between Remy and the claws. Alex knew what would happen if they let Logan do things his way, what it would mean for all of them. David knew it too.
He wanted to scream. It couldn't be like this. This couldn't be their only choice. There were other people they had to save. He opened his mouth to say something, but Rogue grabbed Logan's arm.
"Not like this," she pleaded.
Logan sighed. Remy was getting back up, his eyes still dead and vacant.
"You're not usin your head," he said, "None o you are."
"We can't dismiss the situation so easily Logan," Charles said, "We can't let this be our final word on the matter. Too much is at stake."
Logan looked back at Remy.
"You all keep goin," he said, "I'll take care of this."
"You're not listening!" David said.
"Not gonna kill im kid," he said, "But he can't kill me either. I can slow him down will you all go after Apocalypse."
He gestured to David with his claws.
"The moment you all figure out this is the only way though, tell me," he growled.
Remy pulled out some more cards. Logan charged through the group and tackled him. David sighed, knowing he was running out of options.
"We need to get going," he said, "Siryn, Deadpool, Sharon, and Amanda are still up there."
"Amanda's up there?" Kurt asked, sounding hysterical.
"You try to hold her back when she gets determined," David said, "Besides, you have to admit that she has a useful skill set."
"While the name isn't completely foreign to me, I still don't know who that is," his father said.
David shared a look with Kurt.
"We'll explain later," he said, "Right now we need to get out of here. We need to take down Apocalypse as fast as possible."
He began to walk towards the entrance, hating himself for not having a better solution to Remy's plight. Hopefully Logan would stay true to his promise, and they would be able to figure something out.
Max touched Rogue's arm and gestured towards the stairs.
"We have to get out of here," he said.
"Ah'm stayin," Rogue said.
Max bit his lip.
"I know-" he said.
"One way or another, ah need to be here," Rogue said, her voice quiet.
Max patted her shoulder. David knew that Max was fifteen, that Rogue was only seventeen. They seemed older in that moment though, and as though they had known each other for much longer than a few weeks. X-men had to grow up fast.
He walked away and joined his father. Alex picked up Luna and they hurried up the stairs. David knew that they needed to help the rest. He heard the sounds of battle from behind him. David could only hope that Rogue would keep Logan to his word.
"Why are you still here?" Moira murmured.
Mystique looked at her before turning back to the control panel. Moira couldn't help but see the same condescension that Mystique had always held for her. Moira remembered seeing Mystique for the first time as she immediately dismissed Moira as another one of her brother's conquests.
"As I said, I don't like it, but I owe you," Mystique said.
Moira pushed herself against the glass. Talking hurt, but there were some things that needed to be said. If she was going to die, then she certainly wasn't going to die before she said this.
"To be honest," Moira said, "I never...we never got on...but...you left Kurt with us..."
"You were the only ones I knew who had anything that looked like a stable home life," Mystique said, not turning around, "You had a son, so Kurt would have a friend. I thought that he'd be raised weak, yes, but he'd grow up. At least he's not weak."
Moira sighed. She could feel the black still trickling from her lips, and she didn't bother to wipe it away. Her hands felt too tired.
"For a long time...I wondered...how," Moira said, "how you could've left him."
"You, of all people, don't get to judge me," Mystique hissed, "What would you have done if you found yourself in the middle of a war, pregnant, the child's father dead because of someone else's failure? What would you have done?"
Moira sighed again. She didn't really want to have this conversation. She wanted to die with her husband in her mind, surrounded by her sons, not bickering over old wounds. However, it wasn't as though the first way was an option. Moira needed to think ahead, and there was only one way she could do that.
"The child would be...all I would've had left," Moira said, "All I'd have left of his father-"
"And that's why I couldn't do it," Mystique snapped, "Kurt's a mirror image of his father. To see him every day and be reminded of what I'd lost-"
"What you'd gained, the love you'd had," Moira said.
Mystique fell silent, her fingers ferociously pounding the keypad.
"He's a good boy," Moira said, "A little...romantic...but strong...thoughtful...kind..."
"A son I can be proud of," Mystique said, "And all it took was other people to raise him for me."
She paused at the keypad.
"I'm not you Moira," Mystique said, "I would've hated him for resembling his father, and I would've ruined him."
"Maybe not," Moira whispered.
It pained her, but it was something that she had to say. Although Moira couldn't imagine a world where Kurt wasn't her son, where she hadn't loved him and raised him alongside David, there had always been that possibility. She'd spent so much time trying to shelter him from his real heritage, to keep him with her and Charles, and to keep him away from the Brotherhood.
As painful as it was, it was time to consider what it would be like if she hadn't.
"He might've been the making of you," Moira said.
"Or I could've been the destruction of him," Mystique said, punching in more keys, "I couldn't take that risk. Not with Azazel's son."
Moira coughed up some more black fluid. She wanted to move, but she was too weak now. She looked at the woman she had never gotten along with, had hated for leaving Charles, had looked down on for abandoning her son.
It was hard to say what she was going to admit next.
"Maybe you...made the right choice," Moira whispered, "You...really loved him, didn't you?"
"Azazel or Kurt?" Mystique asked.
"Both," Moira said.
Mystique stopped punching in numbers. She looked back at Moira, and Moira thought she saw some tears in her eyes.
"He'll talk to you," Moira said, "He's...that kind of boy."
"I'm not his mother now," Mystique said, "You are."
Moira tried to shrug, but she couldn't.
"Maybe...but...you can still...talk..." she said.
Mystique bit her lip and turned back to the keypad.
"Save your strength," she said, "Kurt's already lost one mother. I'm not having him lose another."
"He's stirring," Sharon said.
Amanda let go of his arms. She took the crowbar that she had tied to her back and hit Archangel over the head. Sharon cocked her head just to make sure. The air was filled with explosions and gunfire, but she could still hear that his heartbeat had slowed.
"Okay, it's good," she said.
"He's heavy," Amanda said.
"He has metal wings," Sharon said.
"Right, I forgot," Amanda said, her voice sarcastic.
They continued to drag him towards the main battlefield. Sharon saw Terry and Deadpool shooting down a few lines of soldiers. Deadpool pulled a grenade out of his pocket and tossed it into the crowd. There was an explosion and a shower of dirt.
"Certainly picked the right people to make a distraction David," Sharon muttered.
"How did those two meet anyway?" Amanda asked.
"Don't ask," Sharon said.
"Complicated?" Amanda asked.
"No. I don't really know," she said.
From the back of the Institute she saw a small group coming out. Sharon shielded her eyes, trying to see who it was. There was a flash of black smoke and, suddenly, Kurt was next to her.
"Kurt!" Amanda said.
She dropped Archangel and ran into his arms. He held her tightly.
"You shouldn't have come," Kurt said, "You shouldn't have-"
She kissed him and pulled away.
"I'm glad to see you're alright too," Amanda said.
She gestured to Archangel.
"But we need his blood now, right?" Amanda asked.
Kurt smiled at her and held her hand. He knelt by Archangel.
"Do we have a vial or anything?" he asked.
Deadpool jumped over and tossed a flask to Kurt. Kurt caught it and looked at Deadpool.
"I drink a lot!" he said, "Haven't used that one in a while though. Don't like the color."
Kurt stared at him. Deadpool casually balanced his gun on his shoulder and shot a soldier behind him.
"Well, don't drink too much, you're pretty underage," Deadpool said.
He turned around and began running back into the fray. Sharon shook her head.
"What does Terry see in him?" she asked.
"Something I guess," Amanda said.
Kurt knelt next to Archangel. He picked up his arm, looking for veins.
"I feel kind of bad for doing this," Sharon said, "He doesn't really know-"
"I feel bad too," Kurt said, his words low and soft, "But my mother's life depends on this."
He picked up his tail and slashed downwards through some of Archangel's veins. Kurt put the bottle underneath his arm as the blood began to trickle down into the bottle.
Sharon sighed and rubbed her temples. She looked over at Terry and Deadpool. They were still fighting the soldiers, but the rest of the X-men had jumped in as well. They would be able to polish them off easily.
Her eyes fixed on Terry.
"Kurt, is there a time limit on the wounds that Warren's blood can heal?" she asked.
Kurt looked up, surprised.
"I've never...it's not like we've experimented with this sort of thing before," he said.
"Then it's worth a try," Sharon said, "We've got to get Terry over here."
Kurt finished capping the bottle of blood.
"You think like my brother," he said.
"It's been brought to my attention," Sharon said.
"I've got to go make sure my mother's fine," Kurt said, "Tell my brother that's where I've gone."
He touched Amanda's hand.
"I'll be back, okay?" he said.
"Right," Amanda said.
Archangel began to move again. Amanda hit him over the head with the metal pipe.
"I'll just make sure that he's still out," she said.
Kurt grinned at her and disappeared. Amanda rubbed her head.
"The Xavier boys are something, aren't they?" she asked.
"Pretty much," Sharon said, "I'll have to try to get Terry's attention. As soon as there's a lull-"
The door to the Institute flew open. A man with gray skin and blue tattoos walked out, his eyes glowing. Lorna stood behind him, her eyes reflecting that same deadness that had showed in Archangel's eyes. Sharon could only suppose that this was Apocalypse.
"I don't think that lull's going to be anytime soon," Amanda said.
