Sheldon Swifties LIX: "The X-Advisors…"
Summary: Like my Immortal Beloved bits in my Buffyverse stories, these are fragments and short bits, some longer…Just to fiddle with ideas, possibly forming longer tales later.
Disclaimer: All is Chuck's…
Part XLIV…
"So…You two managed to find each other…" Xavier eyed Penny and Amy across the hotel room table, he eating a large breakfast heartily.
"Dr. Hofstadter located me." Amy noted, sipping her Penny-tasted, on Penny's insistence, juice.
"And managed to convince you of who she was and how she got here. By the way, 'Doctor' Hofstadter, I haven't had the chance to mention how much I admire your courage in following us through the vortex, you surely had no idea where or when you might end up."
"I knew I had to, to stop you." Penny, grimly.
"As my broken hand attests, you're a very determined woman."
"Can we stop playing, Doctor?" Penny cut him off. "You're a mass murderer and you know it. I have every right to kill you. I'm not doing that yet, in part because I don't want Amy here to see me do that, in part because I want to know what you're planning, and in part because I hope I may learn something that could restore our world as it was from you. If you have something to say to us, say it."
"I'd be glad to leave the room and let Penny deal with you, I should say." Amy noted, calmly. "You did, after all, kill me and my Sheldon and I understand, from Penny, a number of people I loved. I don't see anything wrong if Penny acts preventatively, except that you might be useful to us."
"I sound quite the evildoer." Xavier sighed. "And yet, I've asked you to this little bunch to make peace among us. My goals are quite aligned with yours. I want to see our timeline restored and all those who died, live as they should have."
"I don't believe you." Penny glared. "You destroyed our world without any regard for the people in it, you had no sure proof we could restore that universe, and even if the people here don't get destroyed in 2017, our world remains gone, to us."
"And I deeply regret that, Penny." Francis, earnestly. "I know you are the victim here. I would have given much to have prevented you from entering the vortex. You'd never have experienced any loss, your life would have simply gone on…Leonard's experiment would have seemed a fine success, once I restored the timeline, avoiding Susan's effort and with no changes that would have affected you or your friends personally. It's only that your double followed mine and Susan's that you suffered this. I am truly sorry."
"The fact that I exist…And you exist…And Susan, somewhere exists here…Proves that our world was destroyed. You can't escape that…" Penny, tensely. "So, 'Dad'? When do you see uncle Francis?" she changed tone as a housekeeper passed the open door.
"I've no intention of visiting Francis, my dear. I've no need to, now."
"You're lying." Amy shook head. "You either need to go back further and prevent Susan from being born…In which case you need his help, telling him some lie, no doubt. Or you need to eliminate young Susan, to avenge yourself on Dr. Stein."
"My dear. I don't kill children." Xavier frowned, annoyed. "I'm sorry I gave you that impression, either of you."
"You just killed billions of children." Penny, icily. "What's one more, when she's the best way to punish your ole pal."
"Whatever you may think about me, I've no intention of harming young Susan. She is free to live to experience everything she did, excepting utilizing her father's theory to destroy our world. My ole pal as you say…And he still was at this juncture, will suffer quite enough from her sad fate without my intervention." Xavier smiled. "Sorry if that worries you, Miss Fowler. But I'm confident you'll triumph over her yet again. Perhaps she'll even manage happiness, with another, if we work together. I should point out though that adult Susan is still out there, probably planning mayhem."
"Before I even consider listening to you further, I want to know…What are you up to here, Dr. Francis? You said you had intended to make a further jump back but Susan got the better of you." Penny noted.
"I wish you'd try the eggs, Miss Fowler, they're excellent." Xavier offered dish. "No? You really should try to eat more protein, as a scientist you should understand that." He set dish down.
"My intake is sufficient for my needs, Doctor. Are you avoiding Dr. Hofstadter's question?" Amy, calmly.
"Well…Not quite right, 'Doctor'. I said Susan got the better of me, yes. I didn't specify when or where I wished to go myself."
"Not to prevent Susan…" Penny eyed him. "She's not Margaret's daughter. She was just…Convenient. She was able and willing to steal her father's work, what he didn't publish. Whatever it was you needed to do this. But you were going even further back, to save Margaret."
"Bingo." Xavier grinned. "Just as you mean to save Leonard and the others, a goal I share, truly. I meant to save Margaret. I had the knowledge, if I arrived soon enough, I could halt her illness. I was sure of it. I'd seen cases like hers treated with ease in our time."
"And Dr. Stein wouldn't help you…" Penny eyed him.
"My ole friend, my dear pal…Held the key in his hands and wouldn't let me have it." Xavier, bitterly. "Funny, there was a time when he would've reviewed the situation and happily participated just for the thrill of the accomplishment. But life…And I suppose, I, Margaret, and others, taught him to be cautious and considerate. Perhaps Susan and her mother played a role there. He learned the consequences of acting needed to be considered. But it pushed him too far in that direction, he lost the capacity to see that…"
"The ends can justify the means…" Amy frowned. "Please…Oldest lie in the world."
"I meant to say that the consequences can be mitigated, thanks to the inherent stability of the multiverse. Again, I point out all those who died are only potentially dead."
"That's enough for me." Penny coldly. "Besides, you're not simply looking to help us and accept the situation, you want to try again. Destroy this world and any others you have to…To save Margaret."
"And you would kill me and Susan to save Leonard…Our goals and our methods align. But I would find it difficult to destroy this world or rather, repeat what Susan did. The computing power is limited, the right equipment hasn't been invented."
"You know how to remedy all of that." Amy frowned. "You're an experimental physicist, you could build any equipment you need. But you need Stein's work or adult Susan's knowledge of it. Because she never shared it with you, she was too clever for that."
"I think we've heard enough, 'Dad'. But we should get you to that hospital appointment." Penny rose.
"No dice then?" Xavier smiled.
"No. No deal."
"May I at least propose an alternative? Susan remains the threat to us both. Lets at least work together to find her and neutralize her."
Ping of elevator in the hallway…
"He wants to find her to use her, Penny." Amy eyed him, rising from the table as well.
"Susan's already proved that that is difficult." Xavier shrugged, rising as well. Taking wallet out. "I should check what funds I have remaining…" smile to the girls.
"But you've managed to get her help before." Penny noted. "Amy? I told you Sheldon's in danger. He's going to try to blackmail her by threatening Sheldon. Even Susan would…"
"Police!" two officers now appeared, one burly, the other rather lank and tall.
"Ah, right on time, gentlemen." Xavier beamed. "The desk clerk contacted you as I suggested?"
"Are these the girls?" one officer eyed Penny, then with some surprise, Amy.
"Yes, they demanded money when I refused their offers and threatened to blackmail me." Xavier noted. "Naturally I didn't wish to see the hotel's reputation besmirched by a honey trap situation, so I alerted the authorities. I'm sorry ladies, your offer was tempting but I dislike being manipulated."
"You'll need to come with us, ladies."
"Officer? I'm a student here." Amy tried.
"You are?"
"It's very sad. You'll find though the older woman has only a fake id, even the wrong year…" Xavier noted, politely.
"This man kidnapped us and was trying to force us to have sex with him." Penny, calmly. "He has a rep for chasing young girls here. He told us he'd hurt us if we didn't come and then threatened to have us arrested when we tried to get away before."
"Really, my dear…" Xavier chuckled.
"The desk clerk saw you both come in on your own, you came in with this man yesterday and left several times." The other officer noted. "Doesn't sound like a kidnapping to me, honey."
"You have an obligation to arrest him as well as us." Amy insisted, firmly. "I'm a minor and I confirm what my bestie says. This man threatened to kill me, that's why Penny came back."
Penny offering smile.
"And you didn't call the police or inform anyone?" the second officer addressed Penny.
"I thought my friend was in danger…No."
"If you must take me as well, please." Xavier shrugged. "I just want to see Justice done. And I certainly want to clear myself of such foul charges." Smile at Penny who gave a cold look back.
"I think we'll have to, Doc." The first officer nodded. "Come along all of you."
…
Where to go? Sheldon, on foot, hurrying down the street in front of Stein's house, to escape the campus police, said campus police car passing him even as he turned a corner.
If I go to the university, they may be gone. It might be best to go to Sheldon's and wait it out.
Though I have no key. Stand on the porch or the sidewalk, like a vagrant?
"Sheldon!" Stein's voice called to him from his car at the corner. "Get in, immediately!"
He hurried to the car and entered in the rear, to find Amy, Kripke, and Amy's elder self, seated. The older Amy copy besides him.
"We'll need to scrunch a bit. Hello, Sheldon." Dr. Fowler-Horowitz noted, shifting position. "I'm Amy's grandmother. I understand we have met, at least by computer link, in the future."