August 19, 1992
Alex stared at his wife. Her eyes were blank, her features unaffected by the sight before her. He knew, in any other time in her life, she'd have been horrified at the damage, the injuries, the fact that her son was in an X-man uniform.
Now she just waited, impervious to the fact that her husband, children, father and friends were mere steps away from her. That wasn't how it was supposed to be. That wasn't how it had ever been.
Apocalypse waved his hand and Lorna stepped forward. Immediately the metal in the fallen soldiers' weapons flew off and hovered in the air. She cocked her head at them before flexing her fingers. The metal hurtled towards them.
Magneto stepped out, his hand outstretched. The metal stopped and the rest of them scrambled out of the way. Alex grabbed Max's arm who, along with Luna, had their eyes fixed on their mother.
"Max," Alex said, "However this shakes out, you and your sister are going to be safe."
"Dad-" Max began.
"No," Alex said.
He threw all of his weight behind the word, all of the authority he had accumulated as a leader of men, a father, and a brother. He'd never had to use that tone before, and certainly not to his son.
Max faltered and Alex gripped him by your shoulders.
"Whatever happens, take care of yourself and your sister," Alex said.
He looked over at Magneto. Lorna's fingertips were still fully stretched, her eyes glowing green. Magneto didn't seem to be having too much trouble, but Alex knew that he couldn't keep it up forever.
Hate for Apocalypse swelled up inside him. He was attacking his life. Oh, there were other things at stake, but at the heart of the matter it was all very personal. Remy was barely more than a child, one who was continuing the legacy that Alex had created alongside his friends. Warren had been one of his students. He'd taught him to fly the Blackbird and shouted at him to move faster during simulations.
Lorna was the love of his life though, and the mother of his children. He'd yearned for her when she was still Magneto's heir. He'd held her through her nightmares and she had taught him of the better things in life. Lorna had showed him what true strength and courage were. The last thing he wanted to do was harm her.
If she were in possession of her faculties though, if she knew what she was doing, then she would want him to stop her. Alex knew that like he knew himself. He had to do right by her, and he had to do right by the world as well.
He ran towards her, his hands glowing red. Lorna's head turned towards him and, for a moment, he thought he saw a flicker of understanding in her eyes. She knew what he had to do. The crystal on her forehead glowed and the light dimmed in her eyes. It had only lasted for a moment, but it was enough to give him strength.
"God forgive me," he muttered.
Alex gathered up the light in his hands and sent a blast towards his wife.
Rogue watched as Logan was sent flying through the room. She went to his side, but he pushed her beside him. A card landed on his chest a second later, which blew him back even further. Blood splashed onto Rogue's face and she fell back.
Logan was healing though, and he got onto his knees. He growled and slid his eyes over to Rogue.
"I can't keep doing this," he said.
"What other option is there?" Rogue asked.
Logan put his hand on her shoulder.
"Kid, you know what it is," he said.
"Logan, you can't!" Rogue said.
"I know that you care about him," Logan said, "But-"
Another card blew up the wall behind them. Logan grabbed her and pulled her out of the explosion's path. Rogue could see that he looked tired, and Rogue could feel her throat swell. It wasn't his way to tread gently. He was doing this for her, and it was causing him a lot of pain.
She looked back at Remy, her fingers digging into the floor. He didn't look like Remy anymore. His skin was still pure black, and she could see the gray veins in his face. He picked two of his cards out of his jacket and they began to glow.
Rogue wanted to cry. She hadn't known Remy for very long. She didn't know much about him, or where he had come from. They had only met because he'd punched someone down the hallway that she'd been studying by.
The boy rolled his eyes and shook his head. He stopped shaking his head abruptly. Rogue felt his eyes one her, saw a strange kind of curiosity in them.
"An who might ya be?" he asked.
She bit back a cry. Rogue had wanted to know him though. He'd been interesting, and funny, and adventure. Bobby had been kind and safe, and she'd known that he'd cared about her, but despite everything she'd been through, she hadn't wanted safe. She had wanted to live again.
Rogue had wanted something to happen with Remy, to figure out what was going to happen next in her life, a life that had taken so many strange turns. Now it seemed like she was never going to get that opportunity.
Lorna was knocked back onto the front lawn. She got up, the front of her armor slightly melted. One of the soldiers guns flew out and hit him in the head. Alex fell to his knees, sinking to the grass.
One of her legs kicked out, sending him down. She'd always had a powerful kick.
"You feel like living?"
Alex smiled grimly to himself and got up. They had been his first real words to her, the beginning of a different, unfamiliar journey for them. He caught her next punch and rammed his head into her skull. It hurt them both, but it disoriented her. She moved back, giving him just enough time to signal the rest.
"What are you waiting for?" he yelled, pointing at Apocalypse, "Get that sonuvabitch!"
He didn't have time to see if they replied. Lorna was aiming for his throat, and he could see that her eyes were still glowing green. He managed to roll just as another wave of metallic objects went towards him.
There was another wave, but they stopped in mid-air. Alex saw Magneto with his arm outstretched, one of his eyes on their battle. Alex nodded slightly to him. He'd hated him for so long, but it appeared that Lorna had been right about one thing: he did care about her.
He looked back at Lorna, dancing around her kicks and punches, each one powerful. He longed to see some recognition in there, to see some scrap of his wife.
Her eyes had widened, her lips still open as though she would stop him. Perhaps she believed the lie that he did and was trying to protect herself. It wouldn't help though, so he couldn't afford to let her speak. It was time to set them both free.
"There has been times when you when I've felt so miserable, like there was no reason in getting up, in doing anything," he said, "But there have also been times that I've felt happier than I ever had in my life. And just being around you, just listening to you laugh...it's...I've never felt that before."
She hit him in the jaw, and he felt it almost snap. He saw some alarm in her eyes before the crystal on her forehead glowed again. An idea started to form inside Alex's head, one that he didn't like, but he didn't know how many options he had left.
He dodged the next blow. Lorna would never forgive him if he did what he was planning. He'd meant what he'd said to Magneto though: his life wasn't his own. Max and Luna were still behind him, watching. It would hurt Lorna to know that she hurt him, even if someone had been dominating her mind. It would kill her to know she had done something to her children.
Rogue saw Logan's bones break for the hundredth time, and she knew she couldn't let this go on. Logan was getting tired, and he wouldn't be able to keep things up forever. If Remy managed to get past him, to get upstairs, then she knew that the fight would only get worse. Not everyone healed as quickly as Logan.
She stepped forward, moving to the side. Remy saw her and Rogue wanted to cry again. Over the past few nights it seemed as though the two of them had become so close, as though things could have gone somewhere. It felt as though her opportunities had been wasted. How could she have known how little time they'd had?
He threw a card towards her, and Rogue moved out of its way. She got as close to him as she dared.
"What are ya getting at?" Rogue said, her voice sharp.
Remy sighed again and pulled a card out of his pocket. He charged it with pink light and held it in front of his face. Rogue moved back a bit and Remy threaded the card through his fingers.
"What Remy's tryin ta say is dat we're not all tickin time bombs chere," he said.
He let the charge die from the card.
"Some of us are jus tryin ta make our way no matter how weird we be," Remy said, "An Remy's been around de Institute long enough ta recognize dos people when he sees dem."
"I think you could've understood me," Rogue whispered.
He threw another card at her, but there was some recognition in his eyes.
"I'm sorry," she said.
She put her hands on his shoulders as he drew another card. Rogue leaned forward and kissed him. She could feel his lips beneath hers, cold and lifeless. There was a spark of familiarity there though, like something sweet. It only lasted seconds, but it felt like home.
Then she felt his veins pulse under her skin, felt the power drain out of him. She held onto him, knowing she had to. Seconds passed and he fell to the floor. Rogue's breath came in choking sobs as she sank to the ground.
Logan's arms wrapped around her, and she cried openly.
He saw Lorna stretch her arm out. A knife flew into her hand and he forced himself to quiet his breathing. To his surprise, he found that he was scared. He hadn't felt scared for his own life in a long time, mostly because he'd never thought about it.
However, he couldn't force the image of her anguish at hurting him out of his mind. This was how it was going to be, how it had to be.
"I just don't want to be alone tonight," Lorna said.
There was a pause, and then Alex held her tighter.
"You won't have to be alone tonight," he said, "You won't have to be alone ever again."
Lorna put her hand over the hand on her waist. Alex closed his eyes, feeling her closeness. He couldn't believe it was happening.
"I love you Alex," she said.
"I love you too Lorna," he said.
She lashed out with the knife and Alex stood still. He felt the knife dig into his ribs, heard Max and Luna scream. He saw Lorna's expression change, her eyes lose their blankness. Tears began to well up there, flowing down her cheeks.
They sank to the ground together. The green crystal was glowing brightly, but Lorna was still crying.
"I'll never let you be alone," Alex said.
