The sun was slowly starting to set over the ocean, letting a reflection of it fall onto the island of Genosha. Scott was standing on the edge of the pier and watched the deep orange skies that faded into scarlet, which created pink tinted clouds. It looked like something that was far too beautiful to even exist. He was so mesmerized by it that Scott hadn't noticed footsteps walking towards him until he finally saw Alex out of the corner of his eye, making his way over to join him.
A sudden feeling of guilt overtook Scott as he realized that even though they had been reunited, he and Alex really hadn't gotten that much time to really get to know each other all that well. Life at the school, life as a member of the X-Men had always been busy and hectic.
"How are you holding up?" Scott asked, once Alex was standing right next to him.
"I'm fine." Alex answered. "It's you I'm worried about."
"Me?"
The younger brother got right to the point.
"Scott, what you said to Magneto the other night." Alex began. "About not having anything else to live for-"
"I misspoke." Scott quickly interjected. "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."
Alex sighed with relief.
"I just wanted to make sure your head is in the right place."
"I'm okay, really."
The two of them gave each other nods as they stood quietly side by side while they stared out into the ocean, looking on as the waves crashed against the steep rocks.
"I don't think this is going to work." Alex admitted, finally voicing his concern with the plan. "Trying to change the future that lies ahead."
Scott looked over at his brother.
"Why do you say that?"
"Back when I was with Sinister, he taught me about a theory in Quantum Physics." Alex began after taking a deep breath. "It says that time is immutable. It's like a river, you can throw a pebble into it, create a ripple, but the current always corrects itself. No matter what you do, the river just keeps flowing in the same direction."
"Are you saying that the Sentinels taking over the world is inevitable?" Scott asked.
"What I'm saying is, what if the world as we know it is simply meant to come to an end. Even if we're able to stop the Sentinels, the world might just end in some other way. What if we are only postponing the inevitable?"
They were silent for a minute as they went back to watching the waves in the ocean before the older Summer's brother finally responded;
"Where's the stone?"
"What?" Alex asked, confused. "What stone? What are you talking about?"
"Nothing is set in stone. Things change all the time. Tides change, seasons change, perspectives change, feelings change." It was something that Magneto had told Scott back when he was a professor at the institute and Scott was only a student. It was probably the most useful piece of wisdom that old bastard had ever told him. "No, I don't believe that theory, Alex. The only constant is change."
Thankfully, that seemed to give his younger brother some comfort. The sound of footsteps let them know that they were not alone anymore. Emma Frost was heading over to join them on the pier.
"Speaking of feelings." Alex motioned to Emma with his eyes which made Scott turn around to see who it was. "I'll leave you two alone."
"Wait, Alex." Scott gritted through his teeth as his younger brother walked away. Emma smiled as she took the vacancy that Alex had left behind and stood right next to Scott.
"All the kids are settled in for the night." Emma informed him. Scott nodded. "What have you been up to?"
"I just thinking about what my plans are once all this is over."
"That is if we manage to make it out of this alive?"
Scott sighed heavily.
"Yeah."
"What do you want to do?" Emma asked, curious.
"That's just it. I have no idea." He admitted. "The school will need to be rebuilt, but with the way the Professor has been acting I don't know if he even wants to rebuild it." Seeing the Professor lose faith in the goal that he had been working so hard to achieve had affected Scott worse than he ever could have imagined. "My whole life had been that school, the X-Men. If that's over, I don't know what to do anymore."
Emma meticulous studied her fingernails. "It just so happens that a position is open at the Massachusetts Academy, if you're interested." Emma stated. "The students there could benefit from someone like you being around."
"You're asking me if I want to come to your school?" Scott questioned. "Why me?"
Emma ran her index finger along the railing of the pier.
"Because I'm in love with you." She whispered.
"Emma."
"I know it may be hard for you to believe, but I swear it's the truth."
Scott didn't know what to say to that.
"I know how much trouble I've caused you and I'm so sorry. But I can't apologize for falling in love with you."
Tilting his head up, behind the shades of his sunglasses Scott closed his eyes. He thought about Jean, about her sacrificing herself to get all of them to safety at Alkali Lake. He remembered the anguish he had felt, but he got her back. Then he lost Jean all over again. With everything he had gone through, didn't he deserve the chance to be happy again? When Scott didn't reply, a dejected Emma lowered her head and began to turn away but Scott gently grabber her wrist and pulled her to him. The next thing Emma felt was Scott's lips on hers. Slowly, Emma wrapped her arms around Scott's neck, deepening the kiss.
At that moment, Emma allowed someone to see the real her and Scott allowed himself the possibility of loving someone again.
"Yes." Scott finally answered.
"Yes, what?" Emma asked, hopeful.
"I'll go with you."
XXXXXXXXX
Washington D.C.
It was now going on eight thirty that night, and at the Washington Hilton a big party was being held in the hotel's large ballroom. The desk clerks that were responsible for greeting the guests and checking them in and out of the hotel had their hands full, so they weren't about to notice a couple of people sneaking in, least of all a speedster. Outside, the group of mutants got out of their hummer as they looked over their surroundings. Peter then stood right next to Pyro, placing his hand on the back of his head which caused the pyromaniac to slightly jump.
"What are you doing?" Pyro questioned.
"I'm holding your head so you don't get whiplash." Peter explained.
"What?"
Peter looked to the other mutant, this time speaking slowly. "Whip-lash."
PFAZZZZZZZZZZT!
In the blink of an eye, they were now on the second floor of the hotel. Pyro had a smile on his face, as if he had a slight buzz going but that was until motion sickness quickly took a hold. He then reached out hand, placing it on the wall to steady himself as he closed his eyes.
"It's alright. It'll pass in a few seconds, it happens to everyone." Peter assured, then in a flash was back outside by the hummer. He grabbed Rogue and zipped back up to the second floor until she was standing right next to Pyro. Peter continued to repeat this as one by one he got the rest of them into the hotel, through the hall and into a room. Unbeknownst to the clerks, several keys to rooms were gone.
The first thing Logan did was raid the minibar as everyone else got situated in the three rooms that connected to each other. Rogue was sitting cross legged on the bed as Pyro took a seat on the bed right next to hers that Rogue assumed he would be sharing with Bobby. "So, Rogue." Pyro began, smiling as he pulled his mask out of his backpack. "You can fly, you're bulletproof. Is there anything else you can do?"
Rogue shifted uncomfortably.
"I can shoot some kind of energy out of my hands. I think that's it."
"Damn, that's badass." Pyro grinned.
"I'd rather not talk about it-"
"Bobby told me you got it from absorbing another mutant. Is that right-"
"Hey." Remy spoke up, getting Pyro's attention. "She said she'd rather not talk 'bout it. Okay, mon ami?"
Logan smirked upon hearing that. Admittingly, he didn't like LeBeau when he first met him but over the last few weeks, seeing how he continued to be there for Rogue during such a rough time for her, the young Cajun mutant had grown on him. Logan was just about to down yet another small bottle of Grey Goose vodka when he felt a whooshing sound from behind him, which got the attention of Ororo as well.
"Is everything good?" Logan asked.
"Hey, uhh." Peter began, looking uncomfortable. "I don't want to sound like a baby or anything, but why do I have to stay with the old guy?"
"You'll be fine, Peter."
"Have you guys ever heard of 'NAMBLA?' Does that mean anything to you?"
Logan and Ororo looked at each other and their expressions held both amusement and disgust.
"He's not going to hurt you." Ororo assured as she spoke up. "Why don't you ask him who he is?"
"I already know who he is." Peter responded. "He's Magneto." Then, just was swiftly he had run into the room, Peter was gone again in the blink of an eye.
"He's much more than that." Ororo whispered.
As everyone else was getting ready to turn in for the night, Bishop was standing out on the balcony, silently watching the stars overhead, reveling in their beauty. The sound of footsteps got Bishop's attention as Pyro walked out onto the terrace. Apparently, Bishop wasn't the only one who found stargazing to be relaxing.
"They're beautiful, aren't they?" Bishop asked, referring to the stars.
"Yeah, I guess." Pyro answered.
"I haven't seen a sight like this in so long. We don't even get clear blue skies anymore."
Pyro sighed heavily.
"I'm sorry, but I have a hard time believing in this whole future stuff." Pyro admitted. "It sounds like something straight out of 'The Terminator'." Bishop looked at him and Pyro immediately knew that the other man had no idea what he was talking about. "Seriously?"
"We don't have much time to watch movies." Bishop explained while giving a shrug. "We don't have time to do much of anything other than survive day by day."
"If we are successfully, if we stop the Sentinels." Pyro began. "Then what's going to happen to you?"
Bishop snorted.
"That's a good question. I keep wondering that myself. I can't go back to my time, because there's nothing to go back too. Everything will change. At least, that's what the Professor told me."
The two of them then walked back into their room.
"Which of us are left in the future?" Pyro asked.
"You and Bobby are in the same group I'm in." Bishop revealed.
"Do I make it?" Remy asked.
Bishop looked at the Cajun before shaking his head.
"No."
Remy's expression dropped as he and Rogue looked at each other.
"Okay." Ororo spoke up. "Maybe we shouldn't talk about this."
"You two are there." Bishop then said, referring to her and Logan.
Logan and Ororo stole a short glance at each other. Before they could continue their conversation, Bobby walked into the room.
"Hey, everyone." He began, getting the attention of his group. "Magneto wants to see us."
No one argued as they followed Bobby and gathered together in Magneto's room. The television was on, and it had been turned to a news channel. The volume was turned up as the group of mutants focused on what the reporter was saying. "According to my sources, Dr. Bolivar Trask is working on a new wave of Sentinels to be released into the public. "It is rumored that these new robots are going to be able to adapt to any and all capabilities of mutants."
Magneto abruptly turned the screen off before turning to face his team. Out of all of them, it was Bishop who looked the most frightened.
"This can't be right." Bishop muttered as he shook his head. "This wasn't supposed to happen now. Prime Sentinels didn't come out until the year 2016."
"The timeline has been fractured, altered." Magneto theorized. "You being here has likely done that. We're trying to stop the Sentinels in the present day. Therefore, this Mastermold you spoke of is creating its new weapons now, not later. This is good news for us."
"How can this be good news?" Rogue almost snapped.
"It's in panic mode." Magneto explained. "When you stop thinking clearly and start rushing you tend to make mistakes."
"This is artificial intelligence you're talking about here." Remy responded.
Magneto smirked.
"Not even machines are perfect."
XXXXXXXX
After leaving Magneto's Room, Rogue headed up the stairway to the roof which had its own swimming pool and full patio set up. Fortunately, no one else was up here. Rogue looked out at the city for few minutes before she pulled something out of her pocket. Before she could even look at it the door to the roof opened up. Rogue figured it was a young couple, coming up to use the pool. When Rogue spun around, much to her surprise it was Logan who had come up here.
"Hey, kid." Logan greeted. The two of them really hadn't talked about what had happened at the Grey House, about her absorbing and inadvertently killing Ms. Marvel. "Are you okay?" He walked closer toward her. "I know it's a stupid thing to ask considering what we all know, but seriously. Are you okay?"
"I...I don't even know what I'm doing here." Rogue responded.
"You know why you're here. The same reason we're all here. To try and change the future."
Slowly, Rogue opened up here hand and showed Logan what she had. A test tube with a glowing purple liquid. Logan stared at it, dumbfounded.
"Is that the-"
"Yes."
"How long have you had it?"
"Months, almost a year. Hank gave it to me. It's the last sample of the cure."
"What's been stoppin' you from taking it?" Logan asked, curious.
"I don't know." Rogue confessed.
"Look." Logan carefully put his hands on Rogue's shoulders. "I know how guilty you feel over what happened to Carol Danvers. The best way to honor her, is use her abilities to help stop those things."
"Logan, I..." Rogue shook her head. "I have no idea how to control these powers."
"Then don't." Logan firmly stated. "This is war."
Rogue looked at Logan for a moment before carefully pulling away. She turned around and walked to the edge of the roof, Logan watching her the whole way. After taking a moment to clear her thoughts, Rogue placed the test tube back into her pocket before extending her arms. As she concentrated, Rogue slowly began to levitate off the ground and was floating in the air.
She looked down at the roof, where Logan was standing and looking up at her as she continued to go up higher and higher into the sky. The stars were getting much closer as Rogue took off her gloves. Rogue turned her hands so she was staring at her palms before clenching them.
Silver photonic energy began to surge throughout Rogue's body as she let loose, making Rogue start to glow like an actual star herself.
This wasn't what Rogue had wanted for herself.
However, at that moment she decided that Logan was right. Rogue would use these powers to fight. To help stop the Sentinels from destroying the world. Even though she didn't know the woman, deep down, Rogue had to believe that this is what Carol Danvers would have wanted. This was for her.