Memories
Joining and Breaking
Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men or any of their characters. Tora and Weapon X-ii are my own though.
"I can't go out."
"Tora…"
"Everyone's there!"
"Tora…"
"They'll all stare at me!"
"TORA!"
"I can't…"
"Tigress, you will go out there right now or my name isn't Jean Grey."
"Please Jean, don't make me go out there."
"Tora, Logan will kill you if you don't go out there right now!"
"But everyone will stare."
"No they won't. I'll make sure of that."
"I'm scared."
"Tora, you made a choice."
"Please…"
Suddenly Jean, Ororo, Kitty and Eloise were all hugging her.
"It will be alright Tora. Just one step and then take another. One step after another and you'll be beside Logan before you know it."
She was pale, from fear and lack of sleep. And it looked like every hero since World War Two was there. But she could see Cap standing beside Logan and Kurt looking expectantly down the aisle. And she could see Etana with her silver hair covered in a blood-red scarf. She still went by the old tradition of keeping her head covered for special occasions. She also offered to take Kitty to the synagogue on the Sabbath but Kitty had refused. So Etana went alone, face covered. She refused an image inducer. And the legends had been passed down. The woman who kept her face covered at all times, who never spoke. Who listened then left. She never missed the Sabbath. She never fought or used her powers either. She often remained locked in her attic room.
But now she was sitting quietly with the other X-Men. Or rather Scott, Warren, Hank, Remy, Charles and Piotr. Kurt had been a little worried as for a week he'd thought he was going to have to be best man and the priest but Logan had ended up asking his old/new friend to best man to stop Kurt getting Sinister to clone him or his mother to pretend to be him. Jean, Ororo, Kitty, Jubilee, Rogue and Eloise were all crowding her, trying to persuade her to leave the house.
"Right Tora. If you do not walk out there in ten seconds I will paff you."
"Thanks Jubilee. Tora really needed that."
"No Jean. That's just what I needed."
And in a sudden flurry of movement so at contrast with the deathly stillness of moments before she swept down the steps. The others had to rush a bit to keep up. Jean only just remembered to send everyone a message about not staring. Most people ignored it. Tora had vetoed the dress. Instead she wore a white version of her costume with a silver headdress and no facemask. The long silver-grey cloak Etana had given her finished off the outfit. She didn't so much walk as stalk, with all the fierce animal pride that made her look almost beautiful. And the beauty didn't matter. Anyway, many knew if Logan heard any of what they were thinking, they would probably lose a few limbs.
Nerves were screaming, but Tora ignored them. She glanced at Jubilee.
"If it looks like I'm getting scared, paff me, right."
Jubilee gave a huge and evil grin. She was so going to enjoy this!
"How many times did she paff Tora?"
"Five. Twice when she was trying to say the vows."
"I loved the fact she told Kurt to cut out the obeying bit unless Logan had it as well."
"She knew he'd either order her out of battle or something stupid. And she didn't do obeying well."
Etana finally stopped hugging them both and started crying. She'd held up remarkably well during the service. As she pointed out, she was the closest thing to the groom's mother possible. It was her job to cry. The feathers around her eyes were soaked.
"I wasn't certain what to get you. Then I remembered these."
She held up two rings.
"Soul-bands. Linked. If you wear them, you'll always know where the other is and if they are in danger. I was going to give them to you in place of wedding rings but you'd already bought them. I understand if you don't want them. But they work. I used to use them for work purposes. I know how to make them change owner. But you have to be wearing them so they work."
She didn't get any further as Tora gave her a quick hug.
"Thank you."
The slender silver bands with tiny gemstones were worn immediately. Etana gave a slightly sad smile before leaving to allow others to get on with crowding the couple. Somehow she managed to be on the edge of the celebrations so no one saw the sadness in her eye.
"Shadow?"
"It's Etana, Steve."
"Etana then."
She turned to see the handsome blond man.
"You know something don't you?"
"Yes."
"What?"
"My teacher, the one I trusted more than anyone told me what would happen. I know what's going to happen to them. I know how I'm going to die."
"Etana?"
"I'm not afraid. If anything, I'm happy with how I choose to go. Remember asking me in Poland why I wasn't afraid of dying?"
"Yes. Your answer threw me. 'I know when I am going to die. I choose to die.'"
Etana was gazing sadly into space.
"Etana?"
"Steve, no matter what happens, I need you to tell Logan that the darkness won't last."
"What?"
"I have to go. I only stayed because Logan and Tora needed me. I thought I would stay but she told me I didn't and since I got to know Tora I can understand why."
"What are you talking about?"
Tears were staining her short fur.
"I…I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because if I tell you, you'll tell them and the entire time stream will go shooting off at an angle."
"You said you knew when you were going to die. When?"
"Not for a year."
"You're telling me you have a year to live."
"May 19th, 2007. It puts a damper on their first wedding anniversary."
"You know you've less than a year to live and you're talking about ruining their wedding anniversary?"
"When you've lived as long as I have, death is actually quite promising. All those I never got a chance to say goodbye to."
"How?"
"Oh, I'm not dying violently. Even if I decide I don't want to die the way I will, I'll die anyway."
"What?"
"When I die, I'll be ill. Dying of a plague. A virus. A Legacy. It's easier the way I chose. I know it's not exactly my religion but 'A man can show no greater love than to lay down his life for his friends'."
"Stop the classical quotes! Shadow, you've just told me quite calmly you're going to die!"
"Death isn't the end Steve. Surely you know that. You have died and come back."
"I was frozen in ice. There's a difference."
"Really?"
"YES!"
"Steve, I've accepted my death. You should too. When you find out how I die, you'll understand."
"I can't believe you don't try and change things!"
"If you continue in this attitude Steve, I'll leave."
"Shadow… You can't die. We never talked about things…"
"At the time it wouldn't work out. Now, I won't hurt you anymore."
"That's why Steve came bursting in and told us to find her. A day late."
"Yes."
"I cried for hours."
"She chose to die. She gave her life for us. All of us. Remember that Jean."
Etana smiled slightly. She looked back at Logan and Tora sitting in the back of the Blackbird talking animatedly. Ororo was acting as pilot. Kurt had challenged Spider-man to a wall-crawling contest and in the confusion that resulted, Etana, Ororo, Logan and Tora had slipped away. Etana because she knew where the house was, Ororo because Etana couldn't fly. She couldn't drive either. Apparently she never got round to learning how.
"Logan, we will be there soon. Ororo, you need to adjust the course slightly. You're aiming too far south."
"Is that better Shadow?"
"Yes."
She stood up and walked to the back, dived into the food locker and removed the painkillers. Her wings were screaming again, the pain getting control. Once upon a time, she'd loved flying. Now it hurt just to move her wings too fast. She never used to teleport, preferring to run or fly. Now it was an easy way of moving. She downed half the recommended dose and put the pack back. She couldn't forgive Mystique for being responsible for the breaking of her wings. And the attempted infanticide. Sometimes she wondered about having her wings amputated. They weren't much use as they were. She caught a snatch of conversation as she walked past.
"Yar certain?"
"Yes, I am certain Logan. I heard the words exactly."
Wondering what they were talking about, Etana returned to her seat and began correcting the flight path. If she had stayed to listen, she may not have been pleased.
"She says she dies?"
"She told Captain America she dies next year."
"How can she know?"
"Something about her teacher…"
"Why did you have to tell me this?"
"Because I felt you had a right to know."
"You were eavesdropping…"
"I couldn't help it. I was going over to talk to her and I heard her telling Cap she dies on the 19th of May."
"That exact huh?"
"It's not funny Logan. Our friend is going to die!"
"We don't know that for certain. She's not a precog. She doesn't know for certain…"
"She knows Logan. She was taught by a time-traveller. She told me. Her teacher is someone close to us. A incredibly powerful mutant."
"An X-Man?"
"She didn't say. But she said we'd know her when we met her. Said she was one of the greatest warriors of all time. Apparently she defeated Magneto in single-combat. With her powers blocked."
"Defeated…Magneto…"
"Hard to believe. I've been practising against the Magneto robot and I've only ever beaten him at 40%. And never with the dampeners down."
"Any other clues?"
"Something about her being Jean's sister."
"Jean's sister is human though."
"I think she meant it figuratively. The only person I can think of is 'Ro, but I'm not sure she could beat Magneto without her powers."
"Did she actually say Jean's sister?"
"No. She said 'My teacher was the sister of the Phoenix.' Does that mean something else?"
"It could. The Phoenix could mean Jean. Or the Phoenix Force."
"So, could the person be, I don't know, another Phoenix Force avatar?"
"Possibly. I don't think there could be anything like the Phoenix. It's pretty unique."
"PRETTY UNIQUE!"
"Calm down dear."
"Jean, he just completely ignored my existence and the existence of countless other cosmic entities. We aren't even as powerful as Eternity."
"He didn't know you existed. You always were the more quiet of us. And he certainly knew your avatar existed."
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Moments when I let my pride get the better of me."
"You've only lost control four times in the whole span of the universe."
"Yes, but I'm worse than you. I apologise in advance for throwing you in the black hole."
"I shattered you throughout the multiverse."
"Yes, but I chucked you into a black hole."
"Look, that was ages ago."
"Yes, but it's only a few years in the Eye."
"Look, that's all in the past. To be fair, you fixed it in three minutes. I left you shattered."