Memories
Trinity
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Tora didn't move, instead sitting calmly in the centre of the room. She was the spinning centre of the universe, a gyroscope on a string. Then, slowly, ever so slowly, her fingers began tracing large circular shapes on the floor, leaving gleaming lines of electrum light. Her body started to sway with the movements and she started to sing from the back of her throat, a simply scale, up and down then back up again. Gradually a pattern began to emerge, light peeking through the non-existent cracks in the floor she was tracing. Interlocking lines, interlocking circles. The oldest of formulas. Circles within circles, some letters, others whole words. And then she finished and the light leapt up around her and she faded out, appearing outside in the matching circle Hope had conjured up. She rose swiftly and turned away.
"The Third is planning something."
"Isn't it always?"
Silence. They were too alike, too close, interwoven and lost in the deepness of the other's personality. They were drowning and neither could pull themselves out. Hope had taken to periods of quiet introspection whilst Tora had started fierily rushing into things. Their very selves were bleeding out and soon…soon there would be no Tora or Hope, only a ToraHope amalgamation. Which would eventually be consumed by the PhoenixDragon which in turn would destroy itself. There was little hope for them. They would lose themselves in the wide wide ocean of power. A part of her –a part so small and coiled and afraid that it almost wasn't there- kept screaming and screaming and screaming. Then she turned and swiftly walked forward, her hair swaying from side to side. She was so tired. She just wanted to fall to the ground and sleep for a thousand years. Maybe she would… when all was good. They had almost completed their work. The last of the irrigation and water channels had been laid. She reached out for Magik, who was in Kenya.
The final improvements of Kibera are complete.
Show us.
The image that flashed across her mind was a series of small houses but laid out in a neat pattern and built of stone or brick, not mud and wood. She reached out and all across the globe, images like that appeared –slums turned into decent housing, wells of fresh water dug in every settlement. This world was almost healed. Equality was coming and people were scared. Anything that upset the status quo did that. But she was healing everything! Couldn't they see that? No, all they saw was their chances to manipulate and take advantage of those worse off than themselves was being lost. She felt Angel and Shadowcat reach out.
We have found a depositary of stolen funds in a number of accounts. We are rewiring the money back to those it was taken from.
Everything was proceeding just as planned.
But there was a quiet little voice of discontent. There was something important they were supposed to be doing. Something they had to do? What was it…?
"Oh, that always happens."
"Jean, please stop the gross exaggeration."
"Right, we have the plan. No impaling with extreme prejudice, no backstabbing and no swearing."
Logan sighed then nodded.
"Deal. No behaving in any way that could do anything to make Tora less suspicious."
"We need her to worry. We need them both to come, not send envoys."
"I know the plan. Luckily, Tora knows all about the Mojo fiasco. So, you ready?"
"Of course."
Logan pointed at the Young Avengers.
"You kids stay here. Stay safe, stay down, keep out of sight."
"But…"
"Do it."
"Okaayy…"
"Is that the same 'okaayy' as the 'okaayy we won't go looking for the Scarlet Witch' okaayy?"
"Nooo…"
"And was that the same as the "noo, of course we wouldn't go after the Scarlet Witch' no?"
"Billy, he's on to us."
"I'm a teacher. I also have to put up with Curt and Jubes. So, you will stay here, else I will do something inventive with the Danger Room."
Speed stuck up his hand.
"We aren't your students. You can't do that."
"He's Wolverine. He does what he wants."
Wanda started moving her hands.
"I'm ready."
Logan stood beside her and they faded out. Tommy immediately ran forward then crashed into an invisible wall, which rippled red. He swore.
"They were onto us!"
"Ah, your best ever playpen for children."
"They were sixteen."
"Compared to us, they are babes."
"In that case, so was Logan."
"You know, you really always have to be an insufferable know-it-all, don't you?"
"It's kind of in the job description, Jean."
He ran as fast as he could, hearing the soft rustle as Tora followed him. Then he felt a clasp like iron on his arm and turned.
Her head was tilted sideways, her lips slightly parted and an odd look in her eyes.
"Don't you remember…? The days when we could take each other's breath away? With just…one…kiss?"
Logan staggered as he felt the flood of memories, Tora's memories, of events long past. Her emotions, amplified and enhanced until they were almost excruciating in intensity. He screamed and he felt her…concern?
"Do not be scared. This is what you are capable of. All this…"
He felt himself collapse to his knees. Wanda, now would be a good time!
"Tora was born to love you."
He felt his heart sink. Tora had said that once. Laughing as she wrapped her arms around his neck. But she'd been quoting the music playing at the time, her eyes sparking with love and that quiet humour.
"Now give us the Phoenix Gun!"
And then there were the quiet words.
"By the Trinity of the Phoenix, the Dragon and the Other Whose Name Cannot Be Spoken, I command you to leave him."
Ah, Wanda had arrived. And then there was the relief of no more burning emotions in his head. He opened his eyes in time to see the red light burning so brightly he had to close them again and still the afterimage was burning in his eyes.
"You told me I wouldn't be ready until I knew. And now I know."
There was the sharp hiss that Tora made when angry, and Wanda spoke again.
"I am not Earth or Air but Ether, through which everything must pass. I am not Thought, which can be wrong; or Knowledge which is heartless. I am Soul. I am the Moment. I am… I am the Third. I am the Qilin, the Griffin. And I am Everything."
Logan opened his eyes and immediately realised what had happened. The light had blinded him, for which he was both thankful and incredibly mad about.
"You may know your name but you have no power."
"Really?"
There was a whistling wind rushing past his face and he tried to lever himself upright but a weight pushed down on his back and he couldn't tell if it was Tora or Wanda. He didn't struggle.
"Come on, Tora."
"That name is no longer my own."
"Oh, I know. So get out of my friend!"
He heard a quick exhale of air and a slight crunch. Tora had been thrown by the sound of it. He pulled himself to one side, inhaling. There was blood in the air. First blood. Tora's blood. Then another voice. Hope had joined the fight.
"You have made your last mistake, Griffin."
"No. I haven't. Because you can't kill me. If you do, there's no now. So get back, get out!"
Then, even through Logan's blindness, he saw the fire blossom and red light gleam through some part of his eye not totally blinded and then he heard a thud and the steady sound of a body being dragged along the ground. Please don't be Maximoff, please don't be Maximoff, please don't be Maximoff…
"Logan, are you okay?"
"I can't see…"
"Is that better?"
Her cool hand touched the side of his head and he could suddenly see. He blinked a few times. Wanda had barely changed, not in the way Tora and Jean had changed. She was still in red but pink tights and top were now gleaming copper and a small clasp on her cloak in the shape of a griffin. She'd kept the red headdress. She noticed the look on his face.
"The Griffin likes understatement. Look, it's kind of odd. If Tora puts up with this on a daily basis, then I'm amazed she hasn't gone insane."
"She says the voices quiet down after a while…"
Wanda nodded then turned.
"I have to fix this."
"You can?"
"Of course. You might want to get back. This could get a little bright."
Logan retreated to what he assumed was a safe distance then watched as Wanda sat down with Tora and Hope –both somehow rendered unconscious, he'd have to ask about that later- and held her hands to the sky.
"Return to those who own you!"
Electrum light was suddenly in her hands and she opened her hands, placing them palm-down over the comatose women's mouths.
"Leave them."
Light slid from their mouths and noses and Wanda clapped her hands together, creating a ball of bright light. As he watched, she pulled her hands apart, silver condensing around her left hand, gold streaming to her right. Then she placed her hands on the upturned faces and whispered softly under her breath.
"Enter and be done with this."
The mists dissipated and there was a soft groan. Tora moved slightly and tried to sit up, but a hand rested firmly but gently on her chest.
"You need to rest."
"What… What happened…?"
"Tora?"
"I… I was on the Moon… Tony shot me…"
Logan felt his heart leap up in his chest. Tora didn't remember! Therefore, they could plead possession and she wouldn't be punished for… for… come to think of it, aside from imprisoning the Avengers, what had she done wrong? She'd helped millions of people, healed countless others and exposed a great deal of corruption. Which of course would make enemies but…
"Logan?"
He looked over at her. She looked…awful, in a word. Her hair was tangled and there were scratches over her face that were slowly healing. She looked exhausted and haggard. Possession did that to you. He wanted to move forward but Wanda spoke first.
"I think we have something to do first, Tora?"
"Oh…! You mean, I didn't?"
"We'll explain later. If you'd care to wake up Hope?"
Tora shook the girl awake then sat down cross-legged. Wanda did the same and Hope dragged herself up. They sat in their circle, staring at each other, then, wordlessly, reached out and grasped the shoulders of the other two. They started rocking from side to side and as he watch, they changed.
Hope… the turquoise of her clothes changed to bright white, golden gloves and the Phoenix bright. Tora was darkening, deepening to a black so dark it looked like a hole in the universe, so the silver Dragon appeared to be gleaming.
And Wanda… Calling it plain grey was an insult to it. It was grey –as far as the human eye could distinguish it. But Logan… He saw it, only for the briefest of moments. It was every shade of every colour, all at once, all in the same place. They continued moving and there was fire and waves and red light and then they spoke in unison, in a language Logan could only hope to understand. The Phoenix soared, the Dragon roared and something materialised around Wanda, something vast and made of red light, with a birdlike head and powerful, feline legs –a griffin, Logan realised. Only… It wasn't quite the classical approach. There was something…different, that he couldn't place. And as he watched they screamed and then fell backwards, crashing hard into the ground as the beings rose up and vanished, dissipating. Logan ran forward and turned Tora over. Then he choked back the bile rising in his throat.
Her face was covered in burns, down to the metal itself. Blood was trickling from the few uninjured areas of skin. Feeling a sudden flash of worry, he turned first Wanda, then Hope over… Nothing. No injuries at all… Then he went back through what had happened in his head. They'd had their hands on each other's shoulders and then they rocked towards Tora and the energy had flowed through her, out into the air. He immediately turned her hands over and found the same kind of mess of burnt and bloodied skin on her arms and wrists. As he watched, tiny pieces of undamaged skin started growing over the injuries but at a far slower pace than he'd have liked. Then he heard the voices calling out.
"Step away from the criminal, sir!"
What? The next thing Logan knew, he was being pushed aside as heavily armoured SHIELD agents cuffed Hope then, ruthlessly, clasped cuffs tightly around the raw flesh just beginning to creep over Tora's wrists. Hell. They'd brought out the old cape-killer armour. Then he heard Steve's quiet voice.
"Stand down. Uncuff them."
"But, sir…"
"Look at her wrists, damn you! She's in no fit state to be cuffed! Logan, are you…?"
"Fine… Cap, they've no memory of what happened."
"What happened? I heard you'd been planning something…"
"Wanda depossessed the X-Men and ripped the Phoenix and the Dragon apart. Then they did…something…"
"Would that 'something' be anything to do with the sudden manifestation of mutants across the globe?"
"I…I think so…"
"What happened to Tora?"
"Best I can guess is she channelled all the power through her. Possibly because she's the quickest to heal."
"She doesn't look like she's healing."
"I'm sorry, she did just change reality."
Steve reached out and brushed the bleeding wrists.
"Get her in the ship! She needs medical assistance!"
Logan could have hugged him. Only he wouldn't. Because that would be embarrassing.
"Typical, channelling that much power should kill you and she does it without a second thought."
"I'm sorry, it was all the being thrown at stuff that did it. Her brain was sort of rattled."
A.N. Ok. So, I've had an idea for some AUs. Would anyone like to see the Avengers Movieverse, a segregated reality or one where Tora is catapulted to a different multiverse? (DC could be fun… Or Harry Potter… Or [insert own suggestion]…) So, tell me what you think and I hope you've enjoyed Memories so far! On the other point. I've sat my exams and come out quite well actually. I just have more mocks later.