WARNING: The following episode contains scenes that may be disturbing to some readers after the events of the Boston Marathon Bombing.
-
-
AN: I guess this is this season's "fluff episode", mostly setting up for the rest of the season and the mid-season finale. Going with the theme all the way from Episode 3, the events of this episode happen immediately after Episode 4, and next week's episode will take place two weeks after the events of this episode. Next week is also the mid-season finale!
-
-
The crowded sidewalks of New York City were a host to many kinds of people. African-Americans, Asians, tall people, short people, fat people, skinny people, and plenty of average people. Hundreds of people shuffled down the cold concrete of New York City. It was the first week of December, after all of the hype from Black Friday had finished.
Cars packed the streets, many taxi cabs, some limos, some just regular vehicles. Bikers weaved in and out of traffic, breathing in the cold air, letting it fill their lungs. After so long in such a cold environment, their lungs had gotten used to the frigid air and noxious exhaust from the vehicles.
A hooded woman, shrouded beneath the shadow of her white hoodie, stopped near a garbage can and glanced around before dumping a green parcel into the garbage can. She looked up the street. A young man in the same colored hoodie glanced at her and nodded. The small girl across the street and the tall, skinny man across from her nodded as well. The woman turned and picked up a pay-phone, dialing 911.
"911, what's your emergency?" a bored voice came over the line.
"We are the Morlocks." The woman whispered, still looking around. "This is for the mutants."
Silence on the other end. The woman set down the phone without hanging it up and continued to walk with the crowd down the street. As soon as she was confident the rest of her team was clear, she pulled out a cell-phone and dialed a number, smiling and turning to watch as flames erupted from the garbage can, littering the street with explosives. Boom, boom, boom, boom. Four explosions rocked New York City. A piece of shrapnel caught the fuel tank of a taxi and it exploded as well, flipping onto the sideway, crushing civilians. Police sirens screamed in the distance and Calypso grinned, turning and walking off, disappearing into thin air.
-
"Ya slackin' mon amour." Gambit called, hurdling a wall. The Cajun was wearing his usual battle outfit: purple body armor covering his legs and torso with a thick brown trench-coat pulled over that. Unlike Rogue, who was wearing a sweater and yoga pants, Gambit had "an allergy to da cold" and was shivering even inside the insulated Worthington Labs building on Genosha.
"Oh yeah?" Rogue challenged, sliding under the barrier, rolling, and leaping over Gambit's head, snatching his ear-muffs off.
"Hey!" he shouted. "I'm cold!"
Rogue laughed and placed them over her ears, smiling and sighing at the warmth and softness.
Gambit made a playful growl and picked up his pace, darting after her. There was a wall coming up and Rogue would have to slow down. The wall was ten feet tall. Gambit pulled out his staff, planning to vault over the wall and take the lead again. Rogue surprised everyone though when she jumped, kicked off the obstacle wall onto the outside wall, kicked off of that and landed on the top of the obstacle wall before kicking off of that, jumping to the other side and rolling to brace her fall. Gambit stared in shock and ran flat into the wall, forgetting to stop of pole vault.
The viewers of this race between lovers: Pyro, Blink, and Toad burst out laughing. Rogue slid to a stop and walked over to the groaning Cajun who was clutching his head.
"Ouch."
"Hey, gumbo." Rogue called. "There's a wall there."
"Sorry, was lookin' at som'un else." Gambit replied with a smile.
Rogue smirked at him and extended a hand. He took it, but instead of hoisting himself up, pulled Rogue down on top of him, her clothed body landing on his with an "oof!" Rogue giggled and wrapped her arms around him. Gambit wrapped an arm around her and for a moment they enjoyed the touch. The Rogue got off of him and stood up. Gambit reached for his staff when something strange happened. The second his finger landed on the staff, it turned a brilliant shade of magenta and started quivering.
"Down!" Gambit yelled, his instincts taking over. He tackled Rogue to the ground as the staff exploded. He rolled off of her and she sat up, staring at the black burn mark on the rubber track.
"Looks like Gambit's a little excited!" Pyro called. He high-fived Blink and Toad, laughing.
"Woops." Gambit smiled. Rogue giggled and stood up, heading to the showers to go wash off. Gambit returned the smile, but stared in concern at where the staff had been, then at his hand.
-
The X-Men, Jean, Scott, Xavier, Lyla, Lorna, Amara, Laura, Kitty, and Jubilee appeared in the entrance hall of the Xavier Institute in a flurry of orange sparkles and lights. There was some commotion as the X-Men broke apart from the teleportation, which had been surprisingly smooth, and tried to straighten themselves up. Storm entered from the other room.
"Bobby! Rahne! Everyone come down here right now!" she shouted. She walked over to Xavier. "Are you all right? What happened to your wheelchair?"
"There was a bit of an incident." Charles smiled. "Luckily, our new ally helped us out."
"Lorna!" Bobby exclaimed, hopping over the stairway and gliding down a slope of ice to the green-haired mutant. He grabbed her, embracing her tightly, pressing his face into her hair, breathing the sweet scent of apple shampoo.
"Rahne! Go get the Professor's chair!" Storm ordered. "The two of you to the infirmary now. We're getting you checked out."
"I should probably go, too." Scott said, reaching up and taking off the ruby-red glasses he had grabbed before leaving the lab.
"Scott!" Storm exclaimed, followed by the rest of the X-Men.
"Well the cure works." Scott said dryly.
"All of you! Now!" Storm ordered.
"Wait," Lyla said, turning. "Who's our mysterious helper?"
Everyone turned to look at the girl.
"And how did you get that costume?" Jean demanded.
"You gave it to me." The girl replied simply with a smile.
"What? I've never told anyone about that costume!"
"Oh, right, that's not for…quite a while."
"What?" Amara asked.
Laura had already put the pieces together. "You are a time traveler, are you not?"
"Give this girl a prize." The red-head replied.
"So when do you hail from?"
"Depends, what's the date, year included please."
Charles gave the date.
"Oops! I travelled back farther than I thought!" the girl exclaimed. "I'm from about twenty-five years in the future."
"What are you doing back here? Do we need to stop another apocalyptical future?" Kitty asked. "The last time didn't go so well."
The girl smiled. "No, I just came back to visit the X-Men when they had a full roster."
The X-Men glanced at each other. Full roster? How desolate was the future?
As if reading their thoughts, the girl replied "Oh don't worry, everything's fine in the future."
The girl stood there and glanced around. "So where are the guest quarters?"
"Wait," Amara said. "Shouldn't we at least know your name?"
"Oh, apologies." The girl replied, smiling. She did an elaborate bow and said "Rachel Grey, at your service."
Shock rippled through the room, as well as some recognition. The X-Men had thought she looked familiar.
"Wait, did you say your name was—" Scott asked.
"Yep," Rachel replied, turning to Jean. "I'm your daughter!"
-
X-Men: Standing Guard
Season 2 Episode Five
"Force"
-
Every member of the Xavier Institute was gathered in the Dark Room awaiting the verdict of whether or not their mysterious savior was in fact the daughter of Jean and Scott from the future. This many people hadn't been in the Dark Room at one time since Days of Future Past. Rachel's body was currently being scanned by a machine and her DNA was running through a computer program to determine whether or not she was truly the daughter of an X-Man.
Jean and Scott stood next to her, acting just as parents would. They were still as surprised at the news as anyone else, but their parental instincts had kicked in and now they refused to leave Rachel's side. Amara, Lorna, Lyla, and Bobby were currently in the Infirmary with Storm getting checked out. Jubilee and Laura stood to the side, chatting, Rahne and Roberto stood hand in hand a few feet away and Jubilee shot them nasty looks whenever possible. Charles sat near the computer, staring intently as data streamed in. Beast was on his way to double-check their findings, but Charles decided to trust whatever came from the computer first. Several of the younger X-Men had returned home to their families after the attack on the school. Kitty stood near the Summers. Something drew her to them.
The computer beeped and everyone looked at it. Charles typed on the keyboard before turning and pressing a blue button. The cover to the scanner lifted and Rachel stumbled out, coughing at the difference in air. Charles read the readout before turning and smiling. "I believe congratulations are in order."
The room burst into applause. For the first time, Jean and Scott hugged their daughter. Rachel burst into a smile and hugged them in return.
"The computer confirms her DNA is a match to both yours and Jean's, Scott, and I've done a telepathic sweep. From what she showed me, she is indeed from the future."
"From what she showed you?" Jean asked.
Charles smiled and glanced at Rachel. "It seems she has inherited your very strong telepathic abilities, improved upon them, and had intensive training. She is very good."
Jean smiled and hugged her daughter.
Recognition came over Kitty and she opened her mouth to say something when a small voice itched the back of her mind.
'Do not mention seeing me in the time-stream, Kitty.*' Rachel's voice came softly. Rachel stared at Kitty intently from her embrace. 'I will explain everything later, I promise, but it is critical you do not speak of seeing me.'
Kitty closed her mouth and eyed the red-head carefully. She nodded slightly.
Amara darted in the room.
"Guys! Mutant bombing! Morlocks are claiming responsibility!"
-
Laura glanced at her phone, tapping the black outer casing with her fingernail, making a "knack, knack, knack" noise. She moved from sitting on her bed to lying on it, staring at the ceiling, her hands on her forehead, as if taking her own temperature. She pushed her straight brown hair away from her face and ran her fingers through it. Jullian had stopped calling by the time they had gotten back to the Xavier Institute. She had tried to call him, but Jubilee had insisted she wait for him to call. Laura did not understand this logic, nor attempted to. It was something to do with pride, but not war-pride like she was used to. This pride was new and unexplained to her.
Laura stood up, fixing the strap of her black tank-top and walked onto the balcony outside of her and Amara's room. She stood, staring into the afternoon sun, the cold December wind blowing her hair, stinging her face. Storm clouds were on the horizon and she could smell the snow on its way. She sighed, glanced at her phone one more time, then tucked it into the back pocket of her jeans and turned to walk back inside when it rang. Laura reached into her back pocket desperately and pulled the phone out in the blink of an eye. Her finger went to hit the answer button, but paused, hesitatingly. What if he truly was angry at her? She could not handle that. It would be too devastating.
Laura took a deep breath, risked happiness, and hit the answer button. She slowly raised it to her ear, pushing some more of her straight brown hair out of the way.
"Hello?" she asked, unsure of the response she would get.
"Laura? Thank God! Why haven't you been answering my calls!"
This was not what Laura was expecting. "I-uh-was preoccupied with a mission. I apologize."
"No, that's fine. Are you alright? After what happened at school today—"
"I apologize for lying to you." Laura said, turning towards the balcony and standing straight, staring into the sun like a soldier, one hand on the phone, one behind her back.
"Lying? What?" Jullian asked.
"About being a mutant." Laura replied, nearly stumbling over the word mutant, but fortunately not.
"What? That's fine! I just want to see if you are okay!"
"You are not angry?"
"Angry? Of course not! How could I be angry at you?"
Laura smiled and loosened up. Perhaps Jubilee was right…
"So it does not bother you to learn I am a mutant?"
"I mean, it took my by shock, of course. But I don't care about any abilities you have, I care about you, the person you are."
Laura smiled again, closing her eyes and enjoying the warmth of the sun on her skin in the cold weather. She leaned against the metal railing; it was ice cold, but the fact barely grabbed at her attention.
"I really wish I could kiss you right now." Laura spurted out.
"Me too," Jullian responded. "Where are you?"
For some reason, Laura grinned wickedly. "How far are you?"
"I'm at my house." Jullian responded.
"Movie?" Laura asked.
"Absolutely." Jullian replied.
"I will be there in ten minutes." Laura grinned, hanging up the phone and bursting into a wide grin. She made a noise that sounded like a happy squeal and spun, her hair spinning with her to find Amara staring at her like she had grown a third eyeball. Laura froze.
"Be where in ten minutes?" Amara asked. "And why do you look so…so…giddy?"
Laura kept the phone carefully hidden. "I have a…meeting to attend."
"A meeting?" Amara asked, folding her arms over her chest.
"Yes," Laura replied. "I need to dress. Excuse me."
Amara continued to stare at her strangely, but moved and allowed the brunette to dress. What the hell was this girl up to?
-
"Yeah, look, Kate, S.H.I.E.L.D. is going to be all over this bombing. If you go near it, they're going to try and figure out your identity again. Trust me, we've got this." Kitty said.
"Speaking of identity crisis," Kate Bishop replied on the other end of the line. "What did I tell you about Rogue?"
"No need to rub it in." Kitty replied bitterly. "She was a friend. She was acting really strange, talking about secrets and trusting her…"
"Yeah, well, we see where that went."
"Alright! Just say I told you so and get it over with!"
"I told you so."
Kitty smiled wryly. "Alright. You have fun with your boyfriend this week. Eli, I think?"
Before Kate could protest, Kitty hung up the phone and snickered. Served her right, too. Piotr walked into the room, dressed in a tight black T-shirt and jeans.
"Hey Piotr!" Kitty grinned.
"Who was dat on the phone?" Piotr asked in his heavy voice.
"Nobody," Kitty smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "It's good to see you survived the Danger Room session."
Kitty kissed him gently on the lips. He smirked. "You never said they were lethal." He muttered into her lips.
"Did I forget that?" Kitty smirked, pressing her lips to his again.
Piotr grinned and put a hand under her butt, lifting her up. Kitty wrapped her legs around Piotr's waist.
"There's an e-mail from Illyana about Sentinels." Kitty muttered.
"Read it later." Piotr replied, walking towards the bed. Kitty grinned, tangling her fingers in his black hair. He pressed his lips to her neck and she giggled.
-
A S.H.I.E.L.D. Heli-Carrier hovered over New York City, bringing itself to bear over the Empire State Building. The massive floating battle-station had arrived in New York City on the orders of Director Nick Fury. After the Morlock bombing, the populous and government were in an outrage. President Kelly, declaring New York in a "state of emergency", had sent the Coast Guard armed with mutant detectors from the original Sentinel Program, and special, non-lethal weapons. While Kelly was against mutants, he did realize killing one would be very bad P.R.
Hellier Jets and Quin Jets launched from the Heli-Carrier. The Quin-Jets could hold more cargo and passengers, and flew down near the roped off crime scene. It hovered for a moment, kicking up trash, then touched down. The boarding ramp lowered and Nick Fury, his dark trench coat waving in the wind, stepped off and looked around. Half a dozen heavily armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents disembarked as well. The NYPD was doing a good job of keeping the civilians behind the yellow tape. Hellier Jets screeched overhead, beginning patrols through and around the city.
Fury walked up to a white-haired man standing there dressed in a full blue Captain's suit.
"Captain Stacy," Fury greeted, extending a hand. "Good work keeping the civilians back."
Stacy shook his hand. "Thank you, Director. Anything to help."
"Have your men scanned the area?" Fury asked, turning to look at the empty street.
"No, sir. We evacuated the area and did a preliminary test for more bombs, but it seems there was only the four. We've left the rest to you." Stacy replied.
"Thank you," Fury smiled. He tapped his ear comm as he walked away. "S.H.I.E.L.D. C.I.s get down here now!"
-
The S.H.I.E.L.D. Hellier Jets that were screeching around the city had one disadvantage, they couldn't see underground. At the moment, the Morlocks were creeping around the sewers beneath the New York Presbyterian Hospital. They planted packages of C4 beneath the building, some sneaking into the basement. There was a scuffle and Calypso paused. It was a small squad of mutants she had brought. She gestured for them to be quiet and pulled a rifle off of her back. There was a tense moment, then the two mutants returned.
"What happened?" Calypso demanded.
"Guard caught us! We had to slit his throat! We need to jet!" The limestone mutant responded.
"Go!" Calypso urged. She planted a final bomb and darted off after her comrades. She held out her hand and the little girl with the inflated arm handed her a phone. Calypso dialed 911.
"911, what is your emergency?"
"FOR MUTANTS!" Calypso shouted, and pressed the detonator.
-
A loud explosion sounded in the distance. Fury and Stacy whirled. Their comms burst with activity.
"This is HJ-341 acknowledging explosion at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Moving in."
"Captain Stacy! Someone called 911 about the time of the explosion and declared it for mutants!"
"All units to nymph!" Stacy yelled, using slang for the hospital. "Go! Go! Go!"
"Fury to all fighters, do your rounds. How did we miss them?"
-
Jullian was waiting by the door of the theater. He looked cold, Laura thought. He was wearing a black shirt and a school jacket, black with green sleeves. His dark jeans clung to his frame. His messy black hair blew in the wind. He looked strong, yet compassionate.
Laura was dressed in black leather pants, insulated and armored, she had stolen them from her uniform and simply removed the orange stripes. She had on a yellow turtleneck and her usual black motorcycle jacket. She had combed and straightened her hair as well as borrowed some of Amara's makeup, which had been rather difficult because the teen had been practically watching her every move.
The snow was starting to fall and the wind blew it into Laura's and Jullian's faces. She smiled when she saw him and darted over, hugging him tightly. He smiled and put a gloved hand on her cheek, pressing his lips to hers. Laura wrapped her arms around his neck and twisted her fingers into his hair. He rested his hands on her lower back, pushing her stomach into his. She smiled and pulled away.
"I can see you really meant what you said." She whispered softly, snow falling into her hair.
Jullian grinned. "Of course I did." He kissed her again.
Laura opened her mouth to say something, but instead, snowflakes flew inside and she gagged on the intake of powdery ice. Jullian laughed. "They're snowflakes, silly! Catch one on your tongue!"
Laura looked at him curiously, but stuck out her tongue and caught one. It was cold, and yet somehow sweet. She looked at him with a new enthusiasm in her eyes and Jullian laughed.
"Alright, it's cold. Let's go inside." He said. He offered her his arm and Laura slid hers into his. Jullian led her inside the theater and up to the concessions stand.
"What are we here to see?" Laura asked.
"Some DC Comics Movie." Jullian replied. "Superman or Batman or something."
Laura had heard briefly of these characters. Sandy, Banshee, was a huge fan of the Arrow and Flash TV series and was, as Amara described her, "a total geek".
Jullian handed her a ticket and glanced at the candy. "What do you want? Ooh! They've got pickle pop-corn. You want to try that?"
"I have never—" Laura was about to say she had never had a pickle, then she remembered the disgusting one that Rogue had given her and changed to "—tasted that before. I would like to give it a try."
Jullian smiled and ordered a large popcorn and a large drink. They walked up to the ticket stand and Laura handed hers to the man, passing by. Jullian was right beside her until the man stopped Jullian. "Sorry, kid. Gotta see a ticket."
"Oh." Jullian said. "I put it in my pocket." He glanced at the coke in one hand and the popcorn in the other. "Umm…"
"Here." Laura said, sticking her hand into his pocket and pulling out the ticket. Jullian raised his eyebrows. The man smiled and showed them the room where the movie was playing. The two headed down the hallway.
"That was so hot." Jullian whispered to Laura.
"What?" Laura asked.
"That whole ticket thing." Jullian replied. "So damn hot."
It took Laura a few seconds to realize what he was referring to, and when she did, she blushed sharply. She almost stumbled out an apology, but decided to instead, slip a finger back in and allow him to lead her from there. He raised his eyebrows but kept his mouth shut.
Laura yawned.
"Someone's tired." Jullian smiled, walking up the stairs while a preview for The Equalizer blared behind them.
"I have not gotten much sleep recently." Laura admitted.
"Oh." Jullian asked. "Do you need to go home and sleep? I don't want to keep you out—"
"I asked you out, remember?" Laura asked, digging her finger unconsciously harder into his pocket. "I-" Laura yawned again. "I am fine."
Jullian looked at her. "If you need to go to sleep, that's fine."
"No, I can stay awake." Laura replied. "It is not as if this is the first time I have had to do so." An image of HYDRA soldiers and vials of disgusting fluid on the shelves. Laura shook the image out of her head.
Jullian set the coke down in a drink holder and sat down, Laura removing her finger from his pocket and instead, resting it on his thigh. Jullian struggled to focus on her and not her hand. "If you need to rest, that's fine."
"No, I do not need to rest." Laura replied. "I wish to spend time with you."
Jullian smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, tugging her head to rest on his chest. Laura drummed out little patterns on his thigh, smiling at the reaction she got.
The lights dimmed for the official previews and Laura yawned quietly. She was very tired. Jullian was here, his warmth flowing into her. There was something so peaceful about this place. She decided to close her eyes until the previews were over, so that she could focus on the movie.
Before the third trailer was over, Laura had fallen asleep.
-
"X-23"
Laura was in the maze again. Its white walls stained with blood. She was herself in this dream, dressed in the clothes she was wearing in the real world. She was no longer a ten year old in a nightgown or an eleven year old in an assassin suit. She was herself. And that was what terrified her.
The voice that spoke was hollow, empty of any humanity. It echoed throughout the maze in a way that signified not only Laura's complete aloneness, but also the power from the being who spoke.
"X-23." It repeated.
"Who are you?" Laura demanded.
"We are your creators, your rulers, and your controllers."
"I am controlled by no one! Ruled by no one! You may have created me, but I am my own person!"
"WRONG!" The voice yelled loudly, hissing back. "YOU ARE OURS!"
"NO!" Laura shouted.
"You will join us, soon, X-23." The voice came, much more peaceful now.
"Who are you?" Laura demanded again.
"You will come to us, to complete your creation and your training."
"Who the hell are you?" Laura yelled, looking around for the source of the voice, but instead found only shifting greens on the walls.
"Then you will be ours! Join us!"
"No!"
"Kill for us!"
"No!"
"Leave what you have learned and join us!"
"NO!"
"Out of the shadows, into the light!"
"Show yourself!" Laura demanded, her mental condition about to snap. "Show yourself! Fight me! Come out and fight me!"
Someone put a hand on her shoulder and she whirled.
-
It was Jullian. He smiled down at her. "Movie's over."
Laura glanced at the screen. White words were scrolling. She glanced at Jullian. "Did I—"
"Yeah, you slept through the whole thing." Jullian replied.
Laura had been about to ask if she had hurt anyone, but from Jullian's response, she concluded she had not. It had been close. She had almost stabbed the person in her dreams.
"I-I am sorry." Laura stuttered.
"Naw, it's fine. I liked watching you sleep." Jullian paused. "Wow that sounded creepy."
Laura smiled and shook her head. She stood up and stretched her legs and arms, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"So," Jullian whispered, placing his arms on the sides of her waist. "Do you want to go get lost somewhere?"
Laura leaned into him and almost said yes when she remembered the close call she had just had. "No need t' tempt fate twice." Rogue had once told her.
"Mmm…not tonight." Laura said, running a finger over his chest. "But…soon."
Jullian smiled, his green eyes meeting with her brown ones. "I guess I'll see you soon?" he asked.
Laura smiled and nodded, pressing her lips to his. They stood there, attached at all points for a moment (well, almost all points), then broke apart and stared at each other. Laura smiled and left Jullian at the door of the theater. She knew what she had to do.
-
"Get this one!" Scott shouted, tossing a frisbee into the air. Rachel grinned and teleported, landing on the Frisbee with one foot and using her telekinesis to glide back to her parents.
"Easy, Scott! Let's go for two!" Rachel exclaimed.
The brown-haired man, now able to be in public without his ruby sunglasses, tossed two Frisbees into the air in two separate directions. Rachel disappeared in a flash of flames and landed on one Frisbee, grabbing the front of it, and teleporting again, settling a foot on the second Frisbee and wielding them like rocket boots. Rachel flipped in the air, swinging around at lightning speeds. She laughed, her trench-coat flapping violently in the wind, her red hair blowing out of her face. She flew past Scott, throwing his long brown hair out of his face. He laughed and tossed a third Frisbee at her. Rachel caught it with her hand and did a hand-stand in the air, her trench-coat falling near her shoulders. Jean giggled and shoved Rachel telekinetically, causing her to "fall" over in the air. Rachel laughed and zoomed at her mother, zipping past her.
Jubilee and Laura stood under the pavilion, leaning on the white railing, watching the three Summers practice. The weather was getting cold. Jubilee was wearing thick, bright yellow, fur lined pants and parka. She had the hood pulled down and her spiky brown hair fluttered in the wind. She loved the feel of the cold wind in her face, stinging her eyes and nose, burning her lungs. Laura stood next to her, dressed in the usual dark jeans, gradient blue top and black leather motorcycle jacket. Her long, straight, brown hair was pulled behind her shoulders perfectly. Laura had allowed her hair to flow over her ears to keep them somewhat insulated. Jubilee was rather impressed at Laura's resistance to the cold. Must be that HYDRA training. Rachel stumbled mid-flight, but righted herself, flying past her dad again, still laughing, but staring at the two of them.
"Pretty damn cool, huh?" Jubilee asked.
"What?" Laura asked, still watching Rachel carefully, as if trying to determine the best way to take her down.
"Rachel!" Jubilee exclaimed, glancing at the clone. "She's got teleportation, telepathy, telekinesis, can travel through time—"
"Chronokinesis." Laura stated simply.
"Yeah, whatever. And she's got those sick-ass orange tips! I need some tips in mine. What do you think? Pink?" Jubilee grabbed a strand of her hair and tried to look at it, which resulted in her acting like a dog trying to catch its own tail. Laura laughed. Jubilee ruffled her hair and Laura giggled, flattening it out once more.
The two girls turned back to watching Rachel and her parents. A concerned look came over Laura's face. Jubilee noticed.
"Sup?" she asked, leaning against the railing again.
"Something is not quite right with Rachel Grey." Laura said.
"Really?" Jubilee asked, glancing back at the newest arrival.
"Yes." Laura replied. "And I am going to get to the bottom of it."
Jubes raised an eyebrow and turned towards her. "Speaking of getting to the bottom of things, how's your investigation into Rogue going?"
"I got my answer from Professor Xavier." Laura replied.
"Really?" Jubilee asked. "What did he say?"
"Rachel! Careful! Heads up you two!" Scott shouted.
Laura's hand darted out and caught the Frisbee, tossing it back at Rachel as fast as he had thrown it. Rachel smirked, winked, and flew off. It occurred to Laura that Rachel had purposely interrupted their conversation.
"So how are you and Jullian doing?" Jubilee asked.
"We are doing fine." Laura replied.
"I hear from a reliable source that you were acting strange last night." Jubilee said with a gleam in her eye. "I didn't see a walk of shame though. Did you two-?"
"No." Laura replied. "We did not."
Jubilee nodded. "I still can't believe he hasn't pressured you yet."
"He has asked two times, both times I told him to wait and he has, seemingly patiently."
"Yes, well, don't wear out that patience." Jubes remarked, turning back to face Rachel and her parents who were talking and heading towards the pavilion.
"We will soon." Laura said. "I must do something first."
"What?" Jubilee asked, turning to look at her.
"It is inconsequential." Laura replied, waving off the question. Jean and Scott split from Rachel to do something, the three waving good-bye, and Rachel proceeded towards the pavilion.
"Stay here." Laura said, and walked towards Rachel. The red-head glanced at her. Rachel was several inches taller than Laura, but it did not phase the clone.
"Hey, Laura!" Rachel greeted.
"Who are you?" Laura demanded.
"Rachel Grey." Rachel responded.
"You are very peculiar." Laura said, tilting her head.
"I'll take that as a compliment." Rachel smiled.
"You purposely interrupted my conversation with Jubilee when I was about to mention Rogue, and you stumbled when Jubilee mentioned HYDRA." Laura said pointedly, trying to detect a quickened heart beat or elevated breathing, but she detected nothing.
Rachel stared at her. "I think you're paranoid. Go take a bath and relax, Laura." Rachel walked off. "I'm not here to hurt anyone!"
-
"What is this? The rag-tag?" Fury whispered to Maria Hill. The X-Men, consisting of Wolfsbane, Sunspot, Pixie, and Angel walked up to the S.H.I.E.L.D. station near the ruined bottom of the bombed hospital.
"Director Fury, Angel." The blonde greeted, extending his hand. Fury shook it.
"Good to see you, Angel. Where's the rest of the X-Men?" Fury asked.
"Pre-occupied." Angel responded. "We've had a rough few days."
"Obviously." Fury responded. "I hope everyone is doing better. By the way, we detected a large amount of psychic energy and a teleportation yesterday. Everything alright?"
Angel smiled. "You'll have to take that up with the Professor."
Fury nodded.
"What's the situation, Director?"
Fury gestured at a map. "The Morlocks have hit three locations so far. As far as S.H.I.E.L.D., FBI, CIA, NYPD, and everyone else can tell, they have nothing in common. It seems the Morlocks are striking whatever attracts attention."
Wolfsbane walked up to the map and looked at it. "Hold on."
"What?" Fury asked.
"Num'er the attacks ple'se."
Fury glanced at Angel who shrugged. He dotted 1, 2, and 3 next to the dots of the attack.
"Ah, aha. Ha ha! They're smart li'l bast'rds."
"What?" Fury asked.
"It's a game we us'd t' play in me village. The goal was ter plant an object, fer us 't'was a bag o' sugar or some'n'. Anyway, y' had to plant the object and see if ye could get fer of 'em down wi'out the o'er team findin' 'em. This is what we called "baby" plan. It was so 'spected that you could sometimes get away wi't."
"Well don't keep us in the dark." Fury said. A gentle sprinkle descended on the darkening city.
"Ferst strike twas here." Rahne pointed at a point on the map. "The bakery."
Fury started to say something, but Angel gestured for him to wait.
"Sec'n' strike was here, the millhouse." Rahne tilted her head. "Funny, dat's another bakery…or…Angel, what's this buildin' fer?"
Angel looked at it. "It looks like a theater."
"What are you getting at, Wolfsbane?" Fury asked.
"When we was playin' this, we'd start at the bakery an' make our way to the windmill, the storage shed, then the farm where the wheat was grown, trackin' the bread to it's creation. This do'n't make sense tho'…"
"Ugh, rain." Pixie grumbled.
Rahne glanced at her.
"Oh, no, the weather." Pixie responded, her pink hair already getting wet.
"Fury," Sunspot asked. "What's beneath that building?"
Hill turned and pulled up a holographic map. "Emergency Services deployment."
"Aha!" Rahne exclaimed. "See, they bombed this area, that creates casualties. Then they bombed 'mergency s'rvices, that's deployment. The hospital was third, that's where the wounded go. Now, where do dead bodies go af'er the hospital?"
"City Morgue." Fury said. "Hill, dispatch squads. Good work, Wolfsbane."
The red-head grinned.
-
"What's the point of bombing the city morgue?" The mutant constructed of limestone asked.
"It's part of a process. We kill them, we stop them from getting to the hospital, those who get to the hospital are killed by our bomb, the bodies we blow to hell. No one gets to rest in peace."
"Well," one said. "Pieces plural. Very plural."
Calypso grinned.
A fire burned out of one of the sewer pipes and the mutants looked up. The Phoenix, glowing in her glory, descended upon the Morlocks.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her demonic, echoing voice ringing through the underground home.
"Striking the humans, just like you taught us!" Calypso exclaimed.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. is on to you. You need to lay low for a time." Phoenix replied, walking over to Calypso.
"No! We're just now showing them we won't stand back and suffer!"
"You will show them you can be caught and killed just as easily as them!" Phoenix growled.
"You showed us how to attack the humans." Calypso said. "We're just doing what you taught us."
"Now I am teaching you to law low. There is an important lesson to be learned here."
"Cowardice?"
"Tactical Advantages!" Phoenix snapped. "You are supposed to know that, Calypso. I can feel your body screaming for you to lay low, and you are ignoring it."
"I've been wrong before."
Phoenix's hand glowed and she grabbed Calypso around the neck. The other mutants prepared to make battle, but without a movement, Phoenix threw them all to the opposite side of the room.
"You will stand down!" Phoenix shouted. "Or I will feed you to them like steak to a dog."
Phoenix dropped Calypso and disappeared in a shower of flames.
-
"Where're we goin'?" Rahne asked.
"When a disaster strikes, all of the bodies go to one city morgue. S.H.I.E.L.D. installed cryo-chambers there to keep bodies frozen so we can investigate. This has to be where the Morlocks will be." Fury replied.
"Do they even know 'bout it?" Wolfsbane asked, trying to lean up towards the front seat of the S.H.I.E.L.D. van, but Fury took a sharp turn and sent Rahne into Roberto.
"Undoubtedly." Fury replied. "All units, where is bomb squad at the morgue?"
"Unresponsive, sir."
"Damn it!"
-
The S.H.I.E.L.D agents lay bleeding on the floor, dead or unconscious the Morlocks neither knew nor cared. In a few moments, they would be ash. Calypso had three backpacks full of C4 and the mutants were going to blow the morgue to Kingdom Come. There were only six mutants here, Calypso, Spyke, Cannonball, the girl with the inflated arm, the mutant made of limestone, and a girl with purple skin and yellow eyes.
Calypso had just planted a bomb inside a body container when the door burst open and Fury, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in Hulkbuster armor, Angel, Wolfsbane, Pixie, and Sunspot came through the door.
"So you caught on." Calypso grinned. "Good job, Director."
"Actually, 'twas me." Rahne called.
"So, you betrayed your own kind." Calypso smiled coldly. "Congratulations, Uncle Tom."
Rahne snarled and shifted to her werewolf form.
"Easy, Wolfsbane…" Angel soothed.
"Just because you caught us, Director, doesn't mean you stopped us."
"I've got a Heli-Carrier full of reasons you're wrong."
"You don't think I'm willing to die for my cause?"
"I do, but I just ordered an EMP targeted to your body. The trigger in your hand—it doesn't work."
Calypso stared at it and pressed the button. Nothing happened.
"Fine. I see she tipped you off." Calypso responded, tossing the remote onto the floor.
"Who?" Angel demanded.
"Don't play stupid. The Phoenix!"
Fury's eye widened.
"Oh. Oops." Calypso grinned. "That was one of those secrets that now I've told you—" Calypso pulled a sword off of her back. "I'm going to have to kill you."
-
Laura walked into her room, typing a message to Jullian. There was a new Subway opening a few blocks from his house, he had asked her if she wanted to try it. Laura had almost replied she did not like sandwiches, but had found many things she had not liked at the Institute, she had found she liked more with Jullian, so she replied yes and added one of those smiley faces that Jubilee had shown her. Laura was unceremoniously interrupted by Amara.
"AHA!" she exclaimed. Laura almost gave herself whiplash, turning to look at the blonde. Amara was standing in a loosely tied bathrobe, her hair in a towel, and a toothbrush in her mouth. She ducked into the bathroom and spit, dropping her toothbrush into the sink, and leaning back out, marching over to Laura. "I knew you were up to something!"
Laura looked horrified.
"What is that?" Amara asked, reaching and grabbing the phone.
"Amara!" Laura exclaimed. "Give that back!"
Amara darted around the room, over beds, behind desks, frantically scanning Laura's text messages.
"My God, you text like this?"
"Amara!" Laura exclaimed, leaping at Amara over the bed, but missing her bathrobe by a fraction of an inch. Laura darted in front of Amara and held out her hand, but kept her feet in a position to spring at the blonde.
"Who's Jullian?" Amara asked.
"Amara!" Laura exclaimed, leaping, tackling Amara onto her bed. The two struggled. Amara held the phone above her head but when Laura reached, the blonde pulled it down to her chest, trying to huddle it into her chest. Laura grabbed at it, but instead, grabbed one of Amara's breasts.
"Laura!" Amara exclaimed, struggling to get away. She tossed the clone the phone, Laura holding onto it like a wild animal with a raw steak, and Amara re-adjusted her robe. "Jeez! Take the damn thing! No need to get all touchy-feely!"
"My apologies." Laura replied.
"So who's Jullian?" Amara asked after a moment.
Laura remained quiet.
"Oh come on, Laura, you might as well tell me!"
Laura hesitated. "He is my boyfriend."
"Oh!" Amara said, obviously not expecting that answer. She walked over to the bed, tugging her robe a little closer to her body and leaning over to look at Laura's phone. "What's his last name?"
Laura glanced at her carefully before replying "Keller. Jullian Keller."
"Like Bond. James Bond?" Amara snickered. Laura stared at her and Amara realized how lame that joke was. She huffed and became silent for a moment. A moment was about as long as she could stand, however, and she broke the brief silence with another question. "So do you have a picture of him?"
Laura nodded, pressing a few buttons on her phone and pulling up a picture of Jullian from the waist up.
"Mrow, mrow." Amara grinned. "I'd like to put my teeth around him!"
"Amara!" Laura exclaimed.
"What? I'm just saying!" Amara replied.
"He is my boyfriend." Laura said, huddling the phone like raw steak again.
"Details, details." Amara said, rolling her eyes. At the look on Laura's face, she burst out laughing. "I was just kidding! I think you have a good taste in men."
Laura smiled at the compliment, easing up. She did not fully understand when someone was "fooling around" and when someone was being serious. Rogue had told her she never would.
"So have you two gone at it like wild animals yet?"
Laura made a disgusted face. "Not yet."
"He hasn't asked?"
"Twice." Laura sighed. "Both times I told him to wait and he has, patiently."
"Hnn." Amara said.
"Unlike you I do not have sex with my boyfriend the first night."
"Don't see why not…" Amara replied, walking back into the bathroom.
Laura rolled her eyes. Rogue would have launched into an hour long speech about how that wasn't right, but Laura didn't think about her right now. She smiled and looked at the picture of Jullian.
-
Calypso grinned and pulled out her sword. Angel dove at her, grabbing at the sword, but Calypso moved to the side. The limestone mutant raised a wall of green rock and the other mutants took cover behind that as Fury and his Hulkbuster soldier opened fire. Sunspot used his powers to begin melting away the rock. Wolfsbane morphed into full wolf mode and leapt over the wall and attacked the mutants covering behind it.
"Pixie!" Fury shouted. "Bombs!"
"On it!" the pink-haired mutant replied, pulling goggles over her face and flying towards the Morlock side of the Morgue.
Angel was busy fighting Calypso while Wolfsbane and Sunspot kept the other mutant's attention occupied. When Spyke spotted Pixie flying towards the bombs, however, he fired a burst of spikes at her. Angel turned and waved his wing, creating a gust of air to knock Pixie out of the way. She yelped as she fell on her back, but seemed rather grateful after the brown bone-marrow spikes impaled themselves right where she would have been.
Calypso took advantage of Angel's momentary distraction, and placed a kick to his stomach, knocking him backwards. She swung her sword at him, scratching his wing and his arm. Angel cried out.
"Sunspot! Cover Angel!" Fury yelled. "Pixie! On those bombs!"
"Got it!" Pixie saluted, flying towards the bombs and picking them up one by one. Calypso swung a sword at her, but the pink-haired mutant dodged it and punched her right in the face. Megan covered her mouth and let out a slight sound of surprise before ducking beneath Calypso's legs and running for the fourth bomb.
Sunspot had taken over Angel's duties and was firing beams of heat at Calypso. Calypso activated her wrist gauntlet and a shield sprung out. The flames bounced off of the metal. Calypso could feel it warming on her arm, however, and leapt, swinging at Sunspot.
Rahne leapt off of the mutants she had been engaged with and onto Calypso's back, grabbing a tuft of hair and yanking. Calypso shook desperately to get the red-haired wolf off of her back, but Rahne was unwilling to let go and very stubborn.
Fury and his Hulkbuster soldier stepped in to take over the mutants, quickly subduing them at close range. The limestone mutant made a run for it, but Fury shot him in the shoulder and he fell to the ground, moaning and groaning in pain.
Pixie had finished collecting the bombs and handed them to the Hulkbuster.
"Director!"
"Angel! Can you get these in the air?" Fury demanded.
Angel grimaced, but nodded. He grabbed the bombs, five in all, stuck to each other with an adhesive, and disappeared out the door.
Calypso had finally gone down. The Hulkbuster was pulling spikes out of his suit. Sunspot wiped his brow. Pixie stood triumphantly, the only one not injured. A boom sounded in the distance and a moment later Angel returned.
"Good job, everyone." Fury said, handcuffing Calypso.***
-
Rachel, Jean, and Scott were sitting around the table in the kitchen. It was almost ten at night and everyone else had already eaten. The Summers had wanted to eat a meal as a family, something they and everyone else were getting used to. Jean had elected to cook, and had dished up a pan of spaghetti and meatballs, a plate of garlic bread lathered in butter, and a salad drowned in Italian dressing. The three had calmed down from their exercise earlier and were now calmly discussing the past and, to an extent, the future.
Scott was wearing a pair of khakis, a white dress shirt, and a khaki sports coat. Jean was wearing a dark green, sleeveless cocktail dress. Rachel had slid some hair bands into her hair for decoration, the golden coated metal glinting in the light from the ceiling fixture. Rachel was wearing a yellow, long-sleeved top and bell-bottom jeans. The three continued eating and talking until Rachel spotted Kitty walk past the kitchen in her pajamas. She glanced at her parents and asked to be excused for a few minutes. Jean and Scott nodded and Rachel left, following Kitty silently upstairs. The red-head snuck up behind the brunette, wrapped a hand over her mouth, and pushed her into a side-room. Kitty whirled to look at her.
"What the hell?" she asked.
"Sorry." Rachel replied. She was no longer smiling. "I told you earlier that I would explain everything to you, but I couldn't risk someone overhearing what I'm about to tell you."
"Which is…?" Kitty asked. She glanced Rachel over once, twice, then stared into her velvet green eyes.
"The real reason I came into the past." Rachel said. "It wasn't why I said. I didn't arrive at the wrong time, either. I timed it to the second. I came back with a mission."
"What mission?" Kitty asked.
-
Laura fiddled with the quilt on Rogue's bed. She had always thought it soft and comfortable. It was warm all of the time, as if it had magic properties, and made her feel warm inside, safe. Rogue's room had remained untouched since her departure. No one could get in the room, so they left it.
No one except Laura.
Laura had reached under the bed to a second secret box Rogue kept just for her. Inside was a duplicate of the silver wind-chimes Rogue had. Rogue had taken her pair with her, but left these for Laura in case she needed them. Now she did.
The moonlight was interrupted by a shadowy figure, one with long hair, dressed in black and red leather. Laura tapped a button on the security panel and the windows opened. McKenna Pryde walked in.
"Hello, Xiǎo māo." McKenna greeted. "I see you have a pair of chimes just as Eliza does. She made them for you?"
Laura nodded. "She gave them to me should I ever need your help. I do now."
McKenna tilted her head, encouraging her to go on.
"I have been having flashbacks recently, to my time as a HYDRA agent. I can not sleep without destroying something or hurting someone. I can no longer live like this. I can not advance my relationship with my boyfriend. I need you—" Laura took a deep, shaky breath. "I need you to erase my memories of HYDRA so they do not bother me again."
That was curious, McKenna thought. Rogue's device she placed under Laura's pillow before her "betrayal" should have done that. McKenna wasn't about to expose Rogue though, so she nodded and gestured for the bed. Laura walked over and sat down. McKenna removed her vest, sliding the zipper in the back down, and removing it completely. This left her in a black tank-top. McKenna pulled her hair back behind her head and popped each one of her fingers, making sure she was loose.
"This could hurt." McKenna warned, approaching Laura. "And remember if I take anything you want back, I can return it."
Laura nodded and closed her eyes. "Do it."
McKenna placed her hand on either side of Laura's temple. She closed her eyes and searched around. Laura grunted in pain. Having someone dig around in your mind was always painful. McKenna had found that it worked better on near-death people.**
McKenna dug around for another five minutes, but found nothing. There were small remnants of memories, but the originals were not there. Whoever had erased Laura's mind had done a damn good job. McKenna did find something strange. These memories were being given to Laura. She could not tell from where, but they were being sent to Laura, she was not remembering them.
McKenna pulled off with a gasp and Laura put a hand on the bed to brace herself.
"Is it done?" Laura asked.
McKenna lied.
"Yes. You are free to sleep once again. If you have any problems, let me know." She smiled.
Laura returned the smile. "Thank you, McKenna."
"You are welcome, Xiǎo māo." She responded. "Now I must go."
-
Rogue's laptop buzzed. For a moment she did nothing, remaining asleep in her bed. Then it grew recognizable. Rogue glanced at her alarm clock. It was 2a.m. EST. Why the hell was Xavier calling her this early. She groaned a second time, realized it could be nothing good, and slid out of bed, walking over to her desk and opening the video-chat system. Xavier's face wasn't on the other end, it was a female's. She had short red hair with orange streaks in it. It was short and spiky, like Rogue's had once been. Her eyes were a familiar emerald shade of green and she had red tattoos on her face streaking from her lips, eyes, and nose. They, too, were red. She wore a red, orange, and yellow full body suit with a red trench-coat over that, the whole thing reminding Rogue of a phoenix for some strange reason.
"Who are you?" Rogue asked sleepily. "How'd you get this number?"
"My name is Rachel Grey." The girl introduced herself.
"Grey?" Rogue asked.
"Jean Grey is my mother. I believe you know her."
"Yeah, but Jean's too young to have a daughter your age." Rogue said, squinting her eyes in the harsh light of the computer. "That doesn't explain how you got this number"
"There's a lot to explain. And if you'll let me, I'd like to make you an offer."
"What kind of offer?" Rogue asked.
"I'm putting together a team, and I'd like you and your specific set of abilities and resources on my team."
"Team?" Rogue asked.
"Well," Rachel replied. "It's really more of a…force."
-
-
X-Men: Standing Guard will Return Shortly
-
* See "Days of Future Past" when Kitty is time travelling. The girl in red.
** This scene could be very important in explaining something between Season 2 and Season 3. REMEMBER THIS!
***Yes, this might seem a bit out of place, but it will make sense later…much later….