Chapter 15
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Wolverine, Rogue, and Kitty returned to the X mansion. This was the third time Rogue came here and wanted to try and be a member of the Xmen. Avalanche and Bishop had never been a part of this team, but Xavier was welcoming towards them. They needed Bishop's knowledge of the future, even if the future had been somewhat altered. And Lance had been a part of Magneto's team once, hopefully he could provide useful intel. And Xavier believed in rehabilitation rather than punishment, he hoped he could lead Lance to some form of redemption. Also, they needed all the help they could get. President Kelly seemed to be sincere about working towards mutant rights. When Congress tried to pass the Mutant Registration Act, Kelly vowed to veto it. He was willing to work with anyone in order to stop Galactus. Unfortunately Bishop wasn't certain when Galactus would come, it could be in the next ten years, or in 100 years. And while Kelly seemed sincere today, there was no guarantee that he might not find it easier to stand up to mutants rather than his own right flank. There were anti-mutant riots, the Friends of Humanity labeled Kelly a traitor, and they seemed to be becoming more popular. Magneto had made it clear that if Xavier's methods failed, he would do what he needed to do. Wolverine adjusted to being a father, and was surprisingly good at it. It was an adjustment for Scott and Jean, but family was important. Rogue sometimes watched over little Laura, but even with her father's healing ability they couldn't take the chance of them touching. At one point Jean asked, half-jokingly, if Rogue was lying about her powers in order to avoid changing diapers. Rogue responded "No. And don't use your mind reading power on me." Xavier enjoyed having these new family members, and the return of old ones. Because if Bishop's vision of the future hadn't been stopped, they needed to seize what happiness they could, while they could. Bishop enjoyed this new world, the simple pleasures of pizza and ice cream were new to him. It was an adjustment, he considered sleeping for four straight hours to be over-sleeping. He feared this new world wouldn't last for very long, and wanted to savor it while he could.
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On some lever Robery Kelly had always known that what he was doing was wrong. He had been turning people against each other out of fear and for personal gain. He hadn't invented anti-mutant hatred, he merely exploited it, and rather successfully. When Kelly's own daughter Brooke came out to him as a mutant, he didn't reject her or throw her out of the house, but he also told her to stay silent about it. Kelly was as anti-mutant as the next homo sapien, but somehow he could make an exception for his own child. As long as it wasn't known to the general public ofcourse. Her "Power" was that she coud stretch her neck a great distance. Brooke was no rea threat to anyone, Kelly just didn't want it to ruin his political career. But when he saw Bishop's memories of the future, he saw the end result of this hatred. Kelly vowed to do what he could to stop this, whatever it took. He pardoned those who had saved his life. Those who had tried to kill him, they had fled to Genosha to fight with the mutant rebels. Kelly made no effort to apprehend them, a part of him hoped that the Colonel, who for the moment at least was still in charge, would kill them all. But he also tried to convince the Colonel to make peace with the rebels, to end the save labor on Genosha. He also reconciled with his daughter, tried to make up for his past mistakes. He told her that she should come out publicly when she was ready, and it woud be her decision. Kelly knew he had sinned against God with his anti-mutant stance, he could only hope to make amends. He became a born again christian, and vowed to devote his time as president to fight for mutant rights. This was not easy, all over the country there were Human Citizen Councils who made "Gentlemen's agreements" to not hire mutants, not sell or rent property to mutants, to home school their children if the public schools admitted mutants. Those people were the mainstream ones, officially they didn't condone violence against mutants. But if groups like the Friends of Humanity attacked mutants, the local Human Citizen's Council would often raise money for their legal defense. Kelly would do what he could for mutant rights. But his main priority was always to prevent the dystopian Hell that Bishop came from. That might mean he would have to do some other things that weren't so morally correct.
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Spiderman wasn't born a mutant, he became one from a radioactive spider bite. Nevertheless, he had become sympathetic to the plight of mutant kind. And he had become a friend and an ally with the Xmen. So when something unusual happened, he went to Charles Xavier's school for help.
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Xavier: What can I do for you Peter?
Peter: Last week I saw someone in a Spiderman outfit helping an elderly woman across the street. At first I figured it was someone being a good citizen, I was even flatered that they saw me as a role model. But I was in court the other day, covering a story. It seems that this alleged mugger was accused of breaking parole. Spiderman web slinged the guy as he was stealing a woman's purse. Now Matt Murdoch was his lawyer, and he said that there was no proof that his client had broken parole. His victim couldn't pick him out of a lineup, and Spiderman wasn't around to testify. The judge decided there wasn't any evidence, so he had to release the defendant.
Xavier: Our judicial system can be imperfect at times.
Peter: I asked Murdoch about it, he couldn't betray attorney-client priviledge, he said that Spiderman just made a mistake, but that he had no reason to think it wasn't Spiderman. The thing is, I didn't do it.
Xavier: Someone else web-slinged that mugger?
Peter: I think so. Then I saw Spiderman web-slinging across some buildings. I ran up to one of these buildings to try and find some of his web. I got caught, but I told the security guard I was trying to get a Spiderman web, and he let me grab a piece. It dissolved within an hour, just like one of mine.
Xavier: There's another Spiderman?
Peter: Not the first time. But al the others, Miles, Anya, Gwen, even Octavius, they all try to make their own identities. This one, he's trying to take my identity, and not just my Spiderman identity. I visited Aunt May this morning, and she said I had been there earlier that morning, I wasn't. At this point I got scared, I called MJ, let her know someone was impersonating me. She was shocked, particularly since she thought she and I made love last night. Whoever this bastard is, he's threatening my aunt May and he raped my wife. I need all the help I can get in taking him down.
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As Peter was talking to professor Xavier he was informed that someone was outside the gate, asking to come in. It was Peter Parker, asking for help. He was telling a similar story to the one that this Peter was telling, just from the other perspective. This made Xavier wonder, which one, if either, was the real Peter Parker. Both Peters seemed to trust Xavier. So even though both of them hated each other, they were willing to be in the same room while Xavier tried to determine who was who. Fortunately both men consented to letting Xavier read their minds. It turned out that the second Peter had his memories. The first one on the other hand, had no such memories. He only had pieces of information, and it wasn't complete.
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Xavier: It would seem that you are the original Peter Parker.
Peter 2: And what am I, a clone.
Xavier: We try not to use the C word around here. Logan and Jean's daughter, we don't want to dehumanize her.
Peter: I'm sorry, but what exactly am I?
Xavier: I'm not sure, but I'd like to do some tests, if that's okay with you.
Peter: Yeah, let's find out.
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Dr Hank Mccoy did some tests on this Peter, the one who came to the mansion first. It soon became clear he wasn't human, he was a cyborg. It seemed to be the same technology used to create sentinels.
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Peter: I'm a sentinel?
Hank: It would seem so.
Peter: But I have memories, proposing to MJ at a Met's game.
Hank: What was the score of that game?
Peter: The Mets beat the Pirates 5-1.
Hank: How did the hot dogs taste that day?
Peter: I don't remember.
Hank: What memories do you have of your uncle Ben?
Peter: He encouraged my science fair projects, took me fishing.
Hank: How did the wind feel when he brought you fishing?
Peter: I don't remember. What is your point?
Hank: All of your memories are things that could have been learned from Peter Parker's social media accounts. They're not memories, they're just data.
Peter: I thought sentinels were created to kill mutants, I honestly don't want to hurt any of you.
Hank: There are those in the military and government who might not want to exterminate mutants, but they do want to use us for military operations. If they view us as expendable, they're more comfortable giving these mutants for more dangerous missions. It does make sense that they would create sentinels for these missions.
Peter: So basically I'm a robot designed to what, replace Peter Parker.
Xavier: Perhaps I should speak with president Kelly.
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Xavier called president Kelly, the robot version of Peter Parker was in the room as well.
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Kelly: This program was created to create sentinels who could infiltrate the enemy.
Peter: Is that why I have no real memories, just data?
Kelly: Yes. Like most people these days Peter Parker was active on social media.
Peter: How did you even know he was Spiderman?
Kelly: The fact that he always got those impossible pictures of Spiderman was a good clue, the rest required a little bit of research and investigation to confirm it.
Peter: Why would you want to replace him?
Kelly: We didn't. You were the first experiment, to see if a hero with mutant powers could do the same job. We chose Peter Parker because all of our investigations showed he was incapable of taking a human life.
Peter: I'm not much of a sentinel if I can't kill anyone.
Kelly: Until they figure out how to differentiate between innocent civilians and terrorists, this seemed a good way to avoid collateral damage. As far as our scientists can tell, at some point you just forgot that you were a sentinel, and believed you really were Spiderman.
Peter: So what now?
Kelly: That's up to you. It's clear to me that you are a person. At what point that happened, God only knows. But I won't force a person to be enslaved. You can return here if you wish.
Xavier: Or you can stay here. I can perhaps teach you.
Peter: Yeah, I think I'd prefer to stay with you professor.
Kelly: Very well. For what it's worth son, I am sorry for any pain this caused you.
Xavier: Are you sorry enough to cancel the sentinel program completely?
Kelly: We still have threats to deal with. We don't even know where Apocalypse is, how long before Galactus comes. But we will try to not have the next ones forget that they are robots. But you have my word that I will never use these sentinels against all mutants.
Xavier: But you're not always going to be president.
Kelly: And not all mutants are as noble as your students.
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Before the original Peter Parker left he said goodbye to his sentinel counterpart.
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Sentinel: I'm sorry for intruding on your life.
Peter: It's okay. I spoke with aunt May and MJ, they don't blame you either.
Sentinel: I'm going to be a different kind of Spiderman, I think Xavier can really help with that.
Peter: Yeah he seems like a good teacher. He agrees with uncle Ben's philosophy that "With great power...
Sentinel: "...there must always come great responsibility." I figure I need a name of my own, so I'm going to call myself Ben.
Peter: That is a fitting tribute to a good man. MJ and I talked about naming our son Ben, but now she's certain it's a girl.
Ben: She's pregnant?
Peter: Yeah, we're getting ready to tell everyone this weekend.
Ben: Congragulations.
Peter: Thanks. Best of luck to you.
Ben: You too.