"The Costs of Victory and Defeat" by Shadow Master
(BTVS/X-Men the Animated Series/X-Men '97/Others)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted materials contained herein. They are the rightful property of their respective creators and/or associated companies. I make no profit from this whatsoever and I have no intention of changing this at any point in the future. I write because it's fun and because there are those who enjoy reading my stories. Therefore please do not take any legal action against me because I can promise you that even if you drain me dry it won't cover even half your legal fees.
Note: Got the compulsion to write this after watching episode 5 of X-Men '97. Won't spoil anything for those who haven't seen it yet but it is by far one of the greatest episodes of the entire first season. Won't say it tops everything in the 90s animated series but it definitely had my adrenaline pumping. So I thought about the possibilities and this is what I come up with. Might just be a one time thing but hey if enough readers like it maybe I'll write a part 2 or something grander.
The Costs of Victory and Defeat
Earth-92131
Earth's Moon, Watcher's Citadel
Uatu's POV
~There are times when the oath of my people is especially difficult to follow.~ He thought as he used his abilities and equipment to look down on the Earth below.
He knew why the oath was sworn, the lesson of the Prosilicans unforgettable even for a race as long lived as his own, but it did not make the horrors he bore witness to any less impactful. One might think that after having lived so long that he would become desensitized to it all and merely observe and record what he saw each day but they would be wrong. In seeing the majesty and awe inspiring moments that he had he could not help but treasure what he saw and feel great sadness when tragedy or catastrophe occurred.
His loyalty to his people and his comprehension of the mistake they made with the Prosilicans often proved to be enough to stay his hand but there were exceptions. Times when he could not justify doing nothing. In most cases the ramifications of his interference didn't extend far enough to attract the notice of his people and he took steps to 'cover his tracks' but sadly even he couldn't keep his actions unnoticed forever.
Directing his awareness to a specific spot he had little trouble detecting the tools of Eta and Zoma but he suspected that that was the point. They weren't trying to catch him the act but to make it clear that they were watching him and would pounce the second he said or did anything that could be viewed as a violation of the Oath. Unlike most mortals his people had little trouble multitasking so there was no risk of them neglecting their own duties to monitor him.
Indeed it was possible that they were paying extra close attention to him given what event was most likely on the horizon.
Genosha.
In many parts of the multiverse the history of the island nation remained the same beginning as a 'thriving country' and one of the richest in the world. Secretly though the country's prosperity was brought about either by the creation of artificial mutants or the abduction, brainwashing and enslavement of naturally born mutants. There was even an established protocol that if any newborns in Genosha were found to have the x-gene they would immediately be stripped of human rights before being transformed into mindless slaves.
For many of these realities it was through the involvement of the X-Men and their allies that this economy of slavery was brought to an end. Then later on either through force or politics the country was turned over to the mutant Master of Magnetism who did his best to turn it into a mutant nation. Indeed it was pleasing to see that after witnessing so many horrible things done to the mutant race that they be given a place where they could truly live free of persecution.
Sadly in a great many of those realities the mutant nation was short-lived falling to destruction either at the hands of anti-mutant factions, alien empires or infernal beings of a terrible nature. All that varied in each case was the number of survivors if any that walked away from the decimation.
And on this Earth he was watching the beginning of the march to that terrible moment.
In this reality the number of champions was significantly fewer in number and not as organized as he would've liked. Spider-man, the X-Men and X-Factor were the most established but none of them possessed the resources needed to avert what was to come. In other realities there existed Earth's Mightiest Heroes, a foursome of the elements and a dynamic group of protectors who could have been rallied to the island's defence. Sadly this Earth was not so fortunate and so unless something happened to change things it would only be a few short months before death, destruction and suffering would be visited on Genosha.
This time by the hate filled hearts of men determined to fight evolution in the most ill advised and irrational manner possible.
On this Earth he had witnessed many such turning points from the potential assassination of a prominent senator to the creation of a deadly plague and more recently an ancient evil's attempt to destroy the linchpin of time so that all might be recreated at the source.
One event, one action, from which would spring a chain of domino effects that could lead to extinction or a fate worse than death.
Each time it was through the actions of the X-Men and their allies that Earth's future was directed to one still possessed of hope.
Sadly despite their past successes were not enough to convince him that the band of mutants and their friends would be enough to prevent Genosha's fall.
In the face of such death, suffering and sorrow there was no way that the mutants of the world wouldn't react with only those aligned with the light denying their more violent impulses. The death of so many would only spark an escalation in conflict between man and mutant with the latter demanding vengeance and the former either applauding the slaughter or attempting to deny any personal responsibility for the massacre. Unless some sort of action was taken to cool the anger on either side war was the inevitable outcome leading to further loss of life for both mutant and homo-sapien alike.
It would be anyone's guess how long such a war would last before a conclusion was reached never mind what state the Earth would be in for the 'victors'.
While not so terrible as some fates that could befall a world it still did not sit well with him.
The question was: could he do anything about what was to come?
In the past he would have resolved matters by warning certain heroes of the horror to come and if possible point them in the direction of salvation. However Eta and Zoma would make such a direct action impossible with dire consequences at the hands of Lord Fulcram. Therefore whatever he had to do would need to be subtle, covert and by all appearances a mere act of chance. A method came to mind that had been employed by Watcher's in the past though it had fallen out ofd practice over the last millennia or so.
During the course of their lives it wasn't uncommon for Watchers to come into possession of various items that were either given for safe keeping or were appropriated after a confrontation so as not to let them fall into the wrong hands. Before a millennia ago some Watchers chose to cast the more dangerous items into the void between the various worlds of the multiverse believing it impossible for anyone to find anything in such a vast expanse. However after three incidents where the impossible was proven to be quite possible many Watchers chose to stay on the side of caution and keep their inventory close at hand.
His people had not forbidden the practice but only some considered it wise.
~If I 'lightened my load' at just the right moment something or someone else might just 'accidentally' slip through.~ He thought while mentally reviewing his inventory, ~A variable that might just send ripples outward through the future and the past. Ripples that could change the future of Genosha.~
The only problem was that he could not open gateways to the void for very long lest he give Eta and Zoma reason to be suspicious. As a result there was little way to see what was there and choose objects or people best suited to combatting the death machine that would soon visit Genosha. Indeed it would be more akin to blind luck…
…or a leap of faith.
While some might think that Watchers had no religion and instead focused entirely on their work that was not the case. In point of truth each Watcher had a patron deity, each a half of the current multiverse, choosing either Infinity or Eternity to pray to. While such prayers were rarely answered due to the nature of beings it did happen from time to time. Maybe…maybe if he combined prayer to Infinity, his preferred half of the multiverse, with his elimination of certain items in his inventory he would be granted what what he sought.
It was a gamble.
A BIG one.
But it was indeed the only chance he had.
With that in mind he left his observation room giving away nothing of his thoughts or his intentions heading towards his storage vault. In his mind he was already making up a short list of items fit for disposal and if asked he would say that with the increase in space traffic it was practical to reduce the potential risks by putting inventory out of unworthy reach. Most would say that few in the galaxy were a match for their people technologically and those that were were unlikely to visit Earth's system anytime soon. However he would counter that if observing the multiverse had taught them anything it was that anything was possible somewhere and so it was better to be prudent and err on the side of caution.
With a combination of technology and the powers of his people he willed the vault to open before levitating them to follow him as he walked.
Little by little he checked things off his mental list before leaving the vault for the gateway room and he could tell that both Eta and Zoma had heightened their observing. Not unexpected given that he had not done this since they began their observation. However he did his best to show nothing of note, nothing remarkable, the entire walk and when he arrived he began the standard procedure for 'disposing' of dangerous items.
Only when the portal began to open did he begin to mix in the religion of his people praying to Infinity using the commonly used words. However if one looked at them, from a certain point of view, they could in fact be interpreted as a request for guidance and aid. It was a bit of a stretch but that would be what would allow him to deny that anything suspicious was going on.
Even as he began to psionically guide the objects through the portal he continued to pray to Infinity firmly yet not fanatically. It was only when he was down to his last three items that he began to feel something influencing his actions as well as a sense of timing. Feeling that it could only be Infinity answering his prayers he followed the guidance hoping that his watching kin did not sense anything off.
Then, as the last item made contact with the event horizon, sparks of instability began to manifest on the event horizon but it didn't last long. Once the item vanished from sight everything stabilized allowing him to conclude his business and shut down the portal. He knew not what has been done or how it might influence the event approaching but he chose to have faith in Infinity.
Leaving the portal room he began to travel back to the observation room.
He didn't get far before Zoma teleported in front of him with an expression that was equal parts suspicion and disapproving. It didn't bother him all that much since he'd never known his brother to have any other expression on his face so keeping a blank face was simple.
"A little odd to be casting items into the void of the multiverse Uatu." Zoma said making it clear he suspected something.
"It is a practice that is not as common as it once was Zoma but I was feeling…nostalgic…for the old ways." He said careful not to oversell the lie.
"Really? How odd considering how many centuries have passed since you last disposed of dangerous items." Zoma said reminding him that their kind had records of just about everything especially their own activities.
"Nostalgia is much like the weather and the times my brother." He said wisely without giving anything away, "Both can come upon you without warning. In any case given the patterns of the multiverse I felt that I would likely need the additional room in the near future."
Indeed while the multiverse made clear that anything could happen there were also certain events and patterns that stayed pretty consistent with only minor variations. As such for his people it was possible to anticipate what was to come in one reality or another allowing them to plan for 'new inventory'.
"Indeed. Unless this reality proves to be the exception to the pattern of others an era of darkness might soon begin." Zoma said with mild callousness in his tone, "During such times I imagine many terrible things might well be made."
"Sad but true. Such periods make our calling more difficult to carry out than others." He said with regret, "However our Oath exists for a reason as I have been often reminded and so I will watch and record whatever transpires. Perhaps barter with Dionysus for a cask of his work to console myself with."
"Perhaps you would be better served to learn how to detach yourself from those you observe." Zoma said with criticism, "Our duty is to observe, record what we observe and when we gather share what we have observed with the rest of our kin. Allowing yourself to…become emotionally affected by those you observe has the potential to taint your observations if not invalidate the information entirely."
"That does sound wise brother Zoma." He said slightly bowing with gratitude for the advice, "I can only hope that I can put such words into practice."
For a few seconds Zoma glared at him, scrutinized him, but thankfully did not attempt to telepathically force his way to the truth.
"Do more than hope Uatu or you may find yourself without even a bit of it when brought before the Living Tribunal." Zoma declared firmly before teleporting away.
He knew all too well that he was treading close to the edge with the choices he'd made thus far and might make in the future. Nevertheless in spite of these warnings he believed he could only ever be who he was and if that eventually landed him before the Living Tribunal with a verdict all but decided then so be it.
He would face his fate without regrets.
How many could say that?
Anchor Bay, Massachusets
Confusion.
Pain.
Cold water.
Sand.
These were the things that registered with him the most but instinct told him that he needed more so despite the difficulty he slogged his way out of the chaos towards order. It was like swimming your way through tar if he was being honest even though he lacked the mental coherence to know what tar was at the moment. When he got far enough he was able to open his eyes and just BARELY push his upper body up off what a part of him recognized as the shore of a beach. Looking about he could recognize plants, rocks, fences and a little ways away from him evidence of people. This assuaged some of his worries but not all of them so with what strength he had left he tried to recall how he had got this way in the first place.
He recalled…a place that felt like home…friends…maybe family…a feeling of urgency…peril…and then…then…
"ARGH!" He exclaimed in agony as a pain that felt like it was caused by an ice pick fresh from the forge spasmed through his brain.
It almost sent him back to dreamworld but instinct and innate stubbornness had him put a chokehold on consciousness refusing to let go of it. Realizing that going after the past was a little too painful he instead turned his focus to what might be vital towards his future. He could tell that he was in bad shape and if he just stayed where he was he would likely die so even though it was asking the impossible he knew he had to get to where people were. Whether that would deliver him to safety or deeper into danger he didn't know but a part of him would rather do something rather than nothing.
Right.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Through sheer stubbornness he used his arms one after another to pull himself closer to the lights and buildings of people in the hopes that he'd bump into someone. If this was a place where humans lived there was a good chance that he'd get taken to a hospital or to someone with some knowledge of First Aid.
Given how bad he felt any help would be better than none.
After he got patched up? He'd cross that bridge when he came to it.
He didn't know how much time passed with his mind focusing on putting one arm in front of another but eventually even his stubbornness reached its limit. Consciousness began to waver with the most he was able to keep doing was breath steadily but it was anyone's guess how long even that would last. Was this the end?
He wanted to say no but wanting something to be so didn't necessarily make it so.
It was as conscious thought and sensory input began to slide back into the blackness of unconsciousness that he picked up on sounds that hadn't been there before.
"Oh my God!" A girl exclaimed in shock, "Eve! Go get Dad!"
"On it!" Another girl's voice said before the sounds of running feet reached his ears.
"Hey! Can you hear me?" The first girl asked sounding a little out of her depth but no less determined to help if she could.
He couldn't muster the strength to do more than groan a bit but this seemed to be good enough for the girl.
"My sister's gone to get my dad. He has a car and can get you to the hospital in no time." The girl said sounding a little more at ease, "Just stay conscious 'kay! Keep breathing!"
He couldn't respond to her but he did his best to follow her orders only just able to keep conscious long enough for two sets of feet hitting pavement to reach his ears.
After that he could do no more and unconsciousness took him.
Los Angeles, California
An Unnamed Hospital
"HEY! Can I get some help here!?" She yelled even as she mostly carried a five and a half foot brunette with one arm over her shoulder.
It wasn't what she'd been expecting to do this evening especially with her hand to mouth legal practice at the moment. She might've graduated from UCLA summa com laude but that didn't mean she automatically had a high paying job waiting for her upon graduation. L.A after all was one of the biggest and most important cities in America so the lawyer population was already high to begin with. When added to the fact that most of the people with money would prefer to hire people working for established firms and it left people like her working out of rented offices scrounging for whoever was left.
Not that the number of zeroes on her pay check determined who she took on as a client but without money she couldn't make ends meet.
Food, shelter, an office and whatever other oddities popped up that were necessary cost money after all.
"Put her over here." A Doctor said pushing an empty gurney towards her, "Any clue what happened to her?"
"Not really. Was walking home when I heard things getting smashed in an alley so I went to check it out." She replied as she gently put the late teens girl onto the gurney, "Found her barely conscious pretty much as you see her. This was the closest place I could think to bring her."
The doctor nodded at this before beginning an abbreviated examination no doubt to get an idea of how serious things were for the unknown girl. It took a minute but when he spoke there was no doubt in his words implying he was confident in his prognosis.
"Looks like numerous spots of blunt force trauma, possibly a concussion considering she's barely conscious and some mild lacerations." The doctor said before waving over some nurses, "We'll need to do some X-Rays to make sure nothing's broken and bandage up the cuts. As for the concussion rest will probably be best but I'll still have to find out just how bad it is. Did she say anything on the way here?"
"Nothing really helpful." She replied recalling all the chats she'd tried to strike up with the girl, "Just talks about a tree, someone I think is a guy friend not boyfriend and complaining about ruining her favourite outfit."
"Probably a grade two or three concussion then." The doctor said before beginning to move the gurney down the hallway, "If you'll stay here I need to get her to X-Ray and inform the police. They'll probably want to ask you more questions."
"Don't worry I know how this works." She said finding an empty chair to sit down on.
Besides once the girl was better she might be able to offer her services as a lawyer to take down whoever it was that'd hurt the girl. What she'd seen when she'd come upon the crime scene and the state of the girl herself did not allow words like 'accident' to be used so that could only mean someone, man or woman, was responsible. Assault, battery and considering how things tended to be in Los Angeles there was the possibility of more but she'd leave it to the doctor to figure that out. She had decent rates and if it turned out the girl didn't even have that much money she wasn't above doing at least a few pro bono cases each year.
Part of being a lawyer was getting your name out there and proving you had the chops for cases both major and minor.
It didn't take more than an hour for two cops to show up and like she'd expected each of them began asking her question after question about the girl and the alleyway. By the time they were done the doctor returned to add in his two cents and thankfully it looked like things were better off than she'd originally thought. The girl would still need some recovery time but there were no broken bones and the cuts turned out to not be as deep as they'd looked at first glance. When the police officers had asked when the girl would be well enough to answer questions the doctor stated that given the nature of the concussion the soonest would be a day or two. If the victim was so messed up mentally from the concussion then they wouldn't get anything reliable out of her before the unknown girl's body had time to recover at least that much.
After that one of the cops decided to set up shop outside of the girl's room in case whoever attacked her came back to finish the job. A reasonable assumption since a live witness made getting a conviction easier than just what a dead body could tell the police via an autopsy. With that in mind she decided she'd head back to her apartment and grab a few things before returning to add one more obstacle to anyone looking to take another swing at the girl. Scumbags tended to wait until the fewest number of people were around a target before making a move so adding herself to the police officer would up the difficulty level even if it was only a little. True she had no experience at this sort of thing and much of her knowledge came from movies and TV shows but she figured there had to be some truth mixed in with the fiction.
It took a little over twenty minutes on a bus to get to her apartment but when she reached out to put her key in the lock she heard noise from inside that put her on edge. Reaching into her purse she took out the bottle of mace she always carried with her before opening the door as quietly as possible. While her apartment building wasn't exactly in the bad part of town there were few places in Los Angeles that could really claim to have a near nothing crime rate. Once she was inside she crept little by little closer to the kitchen where the sounds were coming from even as she thought up a plan.
~Most B&Es are done by thieves and those type of crooks aren't looking for a fight.~ She thought getting ready to take action, ~I give them a big enough scare and maybe a face full of mace they'll bolt before going into hiding.~
If she turned out to be wrong she knew where a few things were that she could use to defend herself were located.
When she thought that she couldn't get any closer without getting noticed she jumped out into the open aiming the bottle of mace at the form her eyes registered.
"I don't know who you are pal but you picked the wrong apartment to break into!" She declared trying to sound confident and intimidating at the same time, "So howsabout you turn around nice and slow so I can tell the police what an idiot's face looks like."
"Says the woman who actually believed her mom's line about doing clerical work for Santa Claus." The figure said in a voice she knew all too well.
"Bruce?" She asked in shock as she took in the details and soon saw the face that all but sealed the deal.
"Long time no see Jen." Her cousin Bruce said looking like he'd fallen on some hard times.
Something told her that she was in for a long story.
She HATED long stories.
Central City, California
A Wealthy Estate
"So have you learned anything about her?" She asked looking at the young redhead still unconscious in the guest room bed.
"It's still early to draw any conclusions but preliminary results from analysis of her point of arrival as well as her strongly indicate that she is not of this world." Her boyfriend said even as he continued to sift through the thick pad of notes he'd taken.
"She's an alien?" She asked looking back at the unconscious girl not quite believing it.
Sure she might've heard enough to now that not aliens would LOOK alien but the statement still sounded off to her.
"Not in the sense that she's from outer space but rather from a parallel reality." Her boyfriend replied before jotting down another note, "While the tests thus far have detected the presence of materials consistent with this reality there are others that do not match anything I've ever seen before. Nothing harmful per se but enough to strongly support the theory that she came from an alternate reality that while similar to our own possessed some distinct differences."
"I thought that parallel realities were only theoretical." She said remembering the discussions she'd heard on the subject.
"Up until now they were but I would say that this young lady might well be confirmation that at least one parallel reality does indeed exist." Her boyfriend said with that twinkle in his eye, "It really is quite fascinating. I wonder if she'll be able to tell us how she came to be here."
"Easy there Brain-Box." She said mildly cautioning him, "Let's at least let her get her bearings before we start playing twenty questions. If you're right and she's from another reality she's probably going to be more than a little off balance once she realizes where she is. Something tells me she didn't come here intentionally."
"Of course. Sorry." Her boyfriend said looking like he realized he was getting ahead of himself, "It's just so interesting to be presented with something I've never encountered before."
"Don't worry. We've been dating long enough that I know what you're like when you've found a scientific anomaly you want to sink your teeth into." She said in an understanding tone of voice.
Seeing a spasm in the girl's right arm her attention focused before going over to the monitors hooked up to the young lady. Most were what you could find in any well equipped hospital but a few of the machines were custom made either by herself or her boyfriend. Considering that both of them were focused on studying the edge of what was known to science garden variety equipment just didn't cut it sometimes.
"Interesting. That is the sixth neural surge the equipment was attached." Her boyfriend said moving over to the monitoring machine to gather more information, "Each one has only lasted five point two seconds and each time there has been a marked increase in neuro-kinetics."
"Does that mean she's increasing in intelligence?" She asked trying to interpret the data herself.
"Not necessarily. It could simply mean increased data processing capacity." Her boyfriend replied jotting down more notes, "Essentially she might be able to process data input from various sources at a faster rate than conventional human brains. It doesn't mean that she will be able to take that information to the application stage to produce something of use. We will only be able to know for sure once she regains consciousness an minimal mental coherence."
"Do you think she'll wake up before the test flight in three weeks?" She asked recalling how important the Marvel-1's test flight was to her boyfriend.
"Based on current data and presuming that there are no physiological anomalies when compared to the human norm I believe so." Her boyfriend replied after finishing his latest round of notes, "If not H.E.R.B.I.E should be able to care for her until we get back."
"Are you sure? There are still a few…bugs…in his programming." She said recalling the last time they attempted to broaden his array of functions.
"Only where the more complex tasks were concerned." Her boyfriend said quick to support his creation, "So long as we restrict them to monitoring her vitals, administering basic medications and alerting Miss Harkness next door if anything serious occurs it should be safe enough."
True.
Agatha had been a wonderful neighbour and had the uncanny knack for stopping by with just the thing to fix a problem or make an already good thing even better. She remembered asking a few times how the woman had known they needed the item they brought but all she got was the claim that when you got old you learned to read the signs. It was spoken in humour and despite her boyfriend's academic mind insisting on something more definitive they didn't dig any deeper.
Reaching out to brush aside a lock of the young lady's red hair a quiet grin on her face as her mind entertained ideas of a little sister or perhaps even a future daughter. It was silly to do so for a stranger who quite literally had been dropped in their laps under strange circumstances but her heart warmed to either possibility. While there were some women who had no desire to start a family or preferred to live the solo life rather than be tied down by relationships she wasn't either one.
She wanted to get married, have some kids and she cherished those she had formed bonds with.
Would this young lady be another one?
She hoped so.
One Month Later
Anchor Bay, Massachusets
Why am I here?
Why am I still alive?
These were the questions he'd been asking himself ever since he'd recovered enough to focus on something other than the pain and odd sensation that occasionally popped up in his body. However he hadn't made a lot of progress on getting answers but at least he wasn't playing the whole amnesia guy routine to the hilt.
He knew he was Alexander LaVelle Harris and that he'd been born in the small town of Sunnydale in California with his best friends Willow Rosenberg and Jesse McNally. He remembered always feeling like his town wasn't normal but had never had the free time to try and find the truth. It wasn't until one Buffy Summers had come to Sunnydale that the truth had been revealed in the form of a MOSTLY sealed portal to hell and yeah the supernatural was real. With this knowledge and the loss of his brother in all but blood a group was formed that felt more like family than his actual blood kin. Together they worked to fight the good fight and keep the world spinning while still living the typical teenager lifestyle.
Then came a night that changed everything.
He'd been on a budget and thought he'd lucked out with the full body stocking, body paint and something that he really should've thought twice about lugging around. It'd been necessary in order to sell who he'd dressed up as but it'd still been a bother lugging around the prop even as he tried to keep his group of kids under control.
Then G-Man's old friend Ethan Rayne raised the curtain on his little bit of fun causing everything to change. It should've been impossible. Even Giles had been dumbfounded by the weird turn things had taken but even with the hiccups he'd been thrilled at finally having something to bring to the Scooby table besides his loyalty and determination. Practice reduced the hiccups and with the power he now hand coming out of each hand he'd managed to cause quite a few demons to move their operations out of Sunnydale.
It'd made him smile and in retrospect he should've realized that things would turn to crap eventually.
It was just the way that things went for the Harris family in general and him in particular.
His memories blurred when he tried to recall specifics about what happened next but there were things that stood out enough that he was confident he had the basics down pat. His new powers had made waves and while some had been interested in taking advantage of the instability his new gifts caused more wanted to return things to the way they were. He got gentle offers and attempts were made to quietly get rid of him but neither he or the Scoobies were interested in abandoning the progress they'd been making with his powers.
That's when the gloves had come off.
He remembered getting caught off guard…remembered the Scoobies scrambling to get everyone someplace safe…getting confronted just outside of Sunnydale…and then…then…
…then nothing but pain until he'd woken up on the beach where Dawn and her sister Eve had found him.
With kindness you didn't normally see in people the sisters and their father had done what they could to help him recover even calling in a favour from a local doctor. Afterwards he'd played up the amnesiac angle if only because it'd be easier for the Greenwood family to swallow than 'I come from another reality'. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that this wasn't his reality what with the mention of mutants and giant robot killing machines but it also gave him more footing that most would have after being dropped in a new reality.
An unexpected bit of luck thanks to his choice in Halloween costumes.
Not everything was there that he was expecting but enough that he wouldn't need to worry about stumbling into stupidity.
Yet no matter how many times he tried to dredge up more info about his last moments in his native reality he either got nothing or a butt load of pain. It'd scared Dawn a few times when she'd been around but he'd brushed it off as nothing before covering it up with one of his usual self-depreciating jokes. All he could think of was that either his departure had been so traumatic that his mind was repressing the memories or something foreign was keeping the info locked away from him.
In either case he couldn't help but worry about what this missing info might lead to.
If someone wanted him dead did that not mean that the possibility existed that they might come after him in order to confirm the kill?
Was he sent to this reality for a reason or was it merely random? If it was the former then how long did he have before his 'travel agent' showed up with the bill? If it was the latter that was almost worse since it was impossible predict what sort of repercussions there might be. Throw a rock into a lake and there'd be ripples that expand outward pretty far creating changes both grand as well as minor. Considering the sort of beings that likely existed in this reality they might just make the malcontents back home seem like small potatoes when it came to expressing their displeasure at the waves he was making.
All in all he felt that the best move he could probably make would be keep as low a profile as he could and not consciously make any waves.
Some might think that to be impossible but that does not mean it should not be attempted.
Rolling over in the bed that the Greenwoods had been letting him sleep in since being discharged from the hospital he decided sleep was preferential to all this thinking. Tomorrow he'd be meeting with some government people to get put into the system since apparently in this reality Xander Harris didn't exist. After that…
…he'd hit the job market and find something capable of providing him with the essentials.
Couldn't depend on the Greenwoods forever.
An island of wonder and joy.
A people that'd finally found someplace where they could live in peace without having to worry about being attacked or discriminated against.
Protected by those with formidable powers of magnetism and superhuman strength to name just two champions.
A night of revelry to commemorate the crowning of the new king where truths of the heart were accepted.
Then it all ended.
In fire.
In destruction.
In blood.
In death.
Above all the catastrophe stood a mechanical monstrosity that was so big that even Godzilla might develop height issues had the king of the monsters been there.
Then, as though looking through someone else's eyes, he found himself looking right at what made him think of a mutant killing Sentinel that'd been designed by committee.
"Mutant threat detected. Terminating."
All that came next was terrible, agonizing, green light that washed over his body.
"AAAhhhh!" He exclaimed sitting up in bed with such suddenness that some might make the mistake of thinking someone had dumped a bucket of cold water on him.
But no the reason why there was a sheen of moisture on his skin was because it was sweat not some external source of water. It had been a long time since he'd last had such a terrible nightmare that waking up in a sweat and it never boded well. He wished he could brush it off as just a bunch of junk that'd chosen to pop up from his subconscious but he'd heard enough post nightmare reports from Buffy to consider a more ominous possibility.
Did he really want to consider all the implications?
Did he dare listen to the whispers coming from the back of his mind?
He got his answer when he noticed a glow coming from his right hand and looked to see something he thought he'd never see again. Though he couldn't remember he wholeheartedly believed that so long as he'd had an ounce of power he would've used it to stay with those he loved. Indeed since he'd recovered enough for coherent thought there hadn't been so much as a spark to indicate that he had any power left.
The other Scoobies often commented how he could often spot things that they'd overlooked entirely and in this case that same unique point of view painted a picture for him.
Could this answer one of his questions?
Was this why he was here? To prevent that nightmare from coming to pass?
Maybe.
~Looks like I'll be putting a bit of time in at the library tomorrow.~ He thought while trying to calm down so he could get back to sleep, ~Same old song but different day.~
Los Angeles, California
~Why can't fresh starts be like they are in the movies?~ She thought loafing on Jen's couch.
In the movies it seemed to take no time at all for somebody new to town to find a place to live, get a job and make friends.
Reality though? A lot tougher especially since she didn't exist in this world since it meant boring people and even more boring paperwork just get started. Seeing as how she'd been told that she'd been found in an alley bruised and bloody she'd used a tactic that'd often worked on her mother whenever she got caught coming back in after a night of Slayage. Namely making it look like she'd been through something traumatic and didn't want to talk about it or sometimes she went with the whole suppressed memories bit depending on which would work best. So far it'd kept the questions the cops and Jen had to a minimum and unless she missed her guess they'd probably stop in two weeks or so.
After that she'd be free to start her new life as Elizabeth 'Buffy' Smith!
Here no one knew who she'd been and wouldn't know anything other than what she chose to let them know. No Watcher's Council telling her to obey them and do her duty. No deadbeat father cheating with his secretary. While she wasn't quite sure about there being no demons or vampires in this world she did know based on what she'd seen that there were other people who could handle those problems. Superheroes existed here and both the police as well as the military had more advanced tech at their disposal. Sure most people acted like vamps and ghosts were make believe but that didn't mean the people in charge were ignorant.
This world wouldn't turn to ash just because Buffy Summers aka Buffy Smith just wanted a normal life.
At least…that's what she'd believed…before last night.
For the month she'd been in this new world things had been more or less okay with her Slayer healing making short work of her injuries. She'd navigated the problem of not being in any government system and was on the cusp of starting her new life….then the nightmare hit her last night. It'd been horrible, as bad as any Slayer dream, and thanks to that godforsaken Halloween she'd recognized some of the faces that'd been shown while she slept. If this had happened back home she would've gone to Giles, rounded up the gang and they'd all research a way to keep the nightmare from becoming a reality.
But she couldn't do that now…
…not now or ever again.
Shaking her head to get free of the train of thought that would just leave her a crying mess she changed the channel on the TV to find something to distract herself with.
Too bad the news was what caught her attention.
"To recap the days top story: after an intense confrontation between the X-Men and the Friends of Humanity the United Nations has chosen to give Magneto a full pardon for his past crimes. To add to the shock they have elected to begin the process of admitting the mutant nation of Genosha into the U.N in an effort to further unite the two branches of humanity." The news anchor woman stated randomly glancing at the papers in her hand, "While these choices have been met mostly with approval by the world at large it has only stoked the hatred of anti-mutant groups around the globe as well as people whose lives were harmed by Magneto in the past. Sources within the law enforcement community indicate that efforts will be made to increase police presence in the more volatile cities in order to quell any chaos that might erupt. However this reporter has to wonder if an increase in police numbers will be enough to contain the anti-mutant fervour present in some communities."
Thanks to her Halloween costume choice and the various forms of media she'd been exposed to since arriving in this new world she was no stranger to the prejudice against mutants. While she would admit that mutants could be dangerous the nature of their genetics meant it was pretty much a random draw as far as what they'd get. It could be something as harmless as reptile eyes or it could be something as dangerous as full control over the weather in a set area. Like any other talent, skill or tool whether a mutant power became a threat to people depended on the person used it for. A gun in the hands of a police officer could be used to protect people but put that same gun in the hands of a serial killer and it brought nothing put pain as well as death.
As far as she was concerned it was this randomness that was at the heart of the anti-mutant sentiment.
If mutants only appeared with one of ten powers and no more then things wouldn't be near as bad as they were. With only ten powers to worry about normal humans would simply need to develop technology and tactics to counter them sufficiently to restore order. However with mutant powers being so varied in nature and potency it was impossible for normal humans to feel completely safe and their fear only naturally turned to hatred.
~It sucks but it's not like there's a lot I can do about it.~ She thought only half paying attention to what was on the TV, ~I get involved I'd probably get pegged as a mutant and that'd pretty much turn my new life to ash in a big hurry.~
From what she could see while the super powered community wasn't exclusively mutant the number of humans in costume who had powers or tech to help out were few in number. Even if you took all the non-mutant members of the spandex crowd none of them had come together to form a reliable team. In short it'd be the easier for the intellectually challenged (see Friends of Humanity) to just lump her in with the rest of the 'muties'. She wasn't heartless but a lot like back home she wasn't willing to throw her clean slate life away by going all in to combat injustices against mutantkind.
KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!
"Coming!" She yelled putting down the remote before heading for the apartment door.
Seeing as how she hadn't had anything to do or a place to go she'd been spending most of her time in Jen's apartment and that occasionally meant answering the door to receive packages or documents. It didn't happen enough to make anyone mistake her for Jen's assistant but she'd gotten used to it.
Unlocking the door she saw a delivery guy on the other side with a box in his hand looking like he was a bit in a hurry.
"Jennifer Walters?" The guy asked checking the label on the box.
"Nope. Sorry but she's still at work." She replied feeling a little sympathy for the guy, "Probably won't be back for another hour or so."
"Ah man! The boss said this had to make sure the lady got this." The guy said his stress level going up a notch.
"No problem. I'm pretty much Jen's roommate for the next few weeks." She said deciding to cut the guy a break, "Give it to me, I'll sign for it and make sure Jen get's it when she comes home."
"Yeah…yeah…that could work!" The guy said with a smile of relief on his face, "Thanks!"
She reached out to take the box from him so she could put it aside and sign the paperwork when…
BANG! BANG! BANG!
It all happened so fast.
One second she'd felt the cardboard against her bare forearms and the next three loud noises filled the air even as corresponding points of pain blossomed across her chest. It wasn't until her back hit the floor of the apartment that she realized that the power behind the pain had been enough to knock her off her feet. As if they had a will of their own her eyes drifted back to where the delivery guy was only to find a gun in his hand rather than a cardboard box. Bits of paper and packing popcorn were fluttering to the ground but it was the sinister smirk on the guy's face that had her attention.
"Thanks for the help babe." The guy said raising his gun hand to fire yet again, "I'd tell you to let Walters know not to mess with Nicholas Trask but you're gonna be dead soon. She'll put it together when she gets home right babe?"
She was in pain but more than that she was PISSED!
For one thing she was NOT a masochist and did not enjoy pain in any way shape or form.
For another this was apparently related to Jen's career as a lawyer and happened because she stuck her nose into some scumbag's business. In her mind anyone who thought it was okay to kill a bystander just to send their real enemy a message was just barely a notch above a demon.
However what really got her blood boiling could be summed up in one sentence: THIS ASSHOLE RUINED HER FAVOURITE SHIRT!
Thus with anger flowing through body like rushing waters and in doing so fabric was strained, rips began to manifest and that which was once quite petite became decidedly bigger.
Bigger and decidedly GREEN.
Central City, California
A Wealthy Estate
"Now where did I put those test results?" She asked herself as she worked diligently to chase down the truth she wanted.
She knew she should feel a little guilty about going through someone else's documents but ever since she'd woken up her mind had been operating at near light speed. Honestly it made all the times she'd suffered the side effects of drinking one too many triple mocha lattes at the Espresso Pump feel like a light buzz. She did her best to cope like usual but when that didn't work she decided the only thing she could do was feed her brain something until it started getting drowsy. Fortunately the people who'd found her when she'd landed here were fairly well off and had a VERY big library so she had been optimistic that it'd last until she came up with a plan for the future.
By the time Reed and Sue needed to leave for Cape Canaveral with Johnny and Ben she'd already combed through half the books impressing them with her speed reading and perfect recall. Johnny tried to brush it off as her pretending to be a big brain or having attention deficit disorder but when she proved capable of quoting any paragraph from any page in any book she'd claimed to have read that shut the doody-head up nicely.
Honestly she'd been a little freaked at what she could do at first but like a true advocate of academics she picked up on the plus side of her new upgrade.
Since then she'd been devouring anything and everything she could get her hands on almost to the point of forgetting to eat, drink or sleep. If it wasn't for the periodic visits of Miss Harkness next door she'd probably be passed out on the floor someplace. The woman was kind and acted like this wasn't the first time she'd been asked to look after someone with a hunger for knowledge but there was also a bit of oddness to the fifty-something woman. Every once in awhile her babysitter would look at her in a strange way but the one time she asked about it the 'oh I must be going senile' excuse would pop up.
Either that or the woman would make some lame joke like the ones she used to experience…a long time ago.
At the moment though she'd decide to follow her curiosity that'd been sparked when she'd come across some of Reed's paperwork on the Marvel-1. A part of her knew that this info was probably classified or something she shouldn't be looking at but reading about the experimental rocket quipped with a hyperdrive prototype just pressed the right buttons with her. One thing led to another until you reached the present where she had all the documentation she could find about Marvel-1 arrayed out on a table in front of her. Naturally there were more than a few things missing since Reed had probably taken the papers with him but she took it as a challenge by treating it like a game.
She was taking all the pieces she did have and then used what she knew to fill in the blanks with scientific logic as well as deductive reasoning. She knew she'd have to wait until Reed and Sue came back from Marvel-1's test flight to see if her reasonable guesses were accurate but that wasn't a problem.
Or at least it wouldn't have been a problem if she didn't notice something potentially alarming about the test results she'd been looking for once she found the right paper.
It started out as just a set of numbers that didn't mesh with what she'd read so far but when she began to piece together what data she had that would've led to those numbers it went from potentially alarming to definitely concerning. The data she was looking at pertained to the radiation shielding of the prototype that was designed to protect the occupants of Marvel-1 from cosmic radiation that historically did not react well when it came into contact with organic matter. She was frustrated when some documents that could've helped were nowhere to be found but what she did have had her worried that something had been overlooked.
Walking over to the shelves where Reed kept all the latest scientific journals in the fields he was interested in she pulled the ones with articles involving space and radiation. While she didn't think anyone had built their own prototype space shuttle like Reed and Sue had there had been other ventures. Bringing the journals over to the main table she opened one up before turning the pages to the article that was most relevant before reading it thoroughly word for word. By the time she got to the final journal she was definitely worried and as fast as her feet could carry her she ran for the main house phone where Sue had left a contact number for her. It wouldn't get her directly through to whatever room the blonde and her boyfriend were working out of but it'd get her further than if she simply called the number in the phone book.
"C'mon, c'mon! Pick up!" She said more to herself than anyone else.
Someone up above apparently heard her since a moment later someone picked up.
"Cape Canaveral situation Room." An official and probably authoritative man said with a bit of irritation in his tone.
"Um…yeah…this is Willow calling from Mister Richards' estate." She said hoping this didn't come out right, "I have urgent information that Mister Richards needs to hear. Would it be possible to speak with him?"
"Ah yes. The girl Reed's been mentoring." The man said sounding like Mister Richards had talked about her often, "Unfortunately I think it would've been better if you'd been mentoring Reed in common sense."
"What do you mean?" She asked worried about he implications.
"I can't tell you a lot due to security but Reed's test flight got canned this morning by his backers. From what I hear they've been losing interest in the whole 'exploring outside our star system' for awhile now and finally lost it today." The man that answered the phone replied, "The smart move would've been to taken some time to rework his original project goal into something a little more appetizing to the money lenders. Unfortunately the man proved that even the smartest man on the planet can do something dumb."
"What did he do?" She asked not liking what she was hearing in the least.
"He somehow managed to launch Marvel-1 on his own taking Sue, Johnny and Ben with him." The man replied suddenly talking softer, "It happened just ten minutes ago. The big shots are trying to convince Reed to turn the ship around but all they're getting is Johnny's lame jokes."
Typical.
Reed would've just kept quiet but Johnny was not the sort of person to pass up a chance to be the centre of attention.
But that wasn't important!
"You gotta put me through to Reed!" She said urgently, "I've been going through the data Reed left behind on Marvel-1 and there's a thirty-three point five percent chance the radiation shields won't be enough. I know I'm a nobody to you but I'm telling you that if they leave the protection of Earth's atmosphere there's a very real chance they'll be in danger."
"…give me a second. I'll see what I can do." The man said sounding like he was debating how much to stick his neck out.
She couldn't blame him for that but she really needed to get through to Reed and tell him to turn back. Even if this was important to Reed it wasn't worth risking four lives over.
However instead of the man coming back to let her know she could talk to Reed the sounds of commotion and alarms came over the phone. This formed a pit of dread in her stomach since it was never considered a good sign when such things filled the air in a situation room at Cape Canaveral. She waited, hoping that it was nothing, but only got more worried as the yelling continued with the alarms never once ceasing.
The final nail in the coffin came next.
"…radiation spike…not responding…"
"…where is it…down…"
"…Ithaca, New York…"
"…Emergency responders….NOW!"
The phone dropped from her fingers as her upgraded brain pieced together what must've happened.
She'd been too late.
One Month Later
Anchor Bay, Massachusets
Tonight.
If he'd done his math right then the nightmare, the horror, would happen tonight.
And he didn't dare do anything to stop it!
Off and on for the past four weeks he'd been having the same nightmare over and over again never once waking up without a sheen of sweat on his skin. It was sheer luck that he'd only woken up one of the Greenwoods once or twice but he'd managed to brush off their concerns by saying that it was just a harmless nightmare. He'd gotten plenty of practice putting on a brave face to cover up his own troubles and only one person had ever been able to see past it to the truth.
Someone…that he'd likely never see again.
Worried about what it might imply he'd chosen to test his body and the power he could see was still within him. If something terrible was going to happen then his first inclination was to step up and do something to prevent it. Just like with Buffy at the end of the first year of knowing her he refused to believe in destiny, in fate, and would always act to change things for the better. In secluded parts of Anchor Bay he'd carefully reached within him to see just how much power he had to work with and how well he could wield it. He wasn't stupid enough to think that it'd be exactly as it'd been back home and going into a life or death situation with a flawed understanding of what you could do could be a fatal error for more than just you. Day by day he'd delved deeper and for a good while he'd been encouraged by the growing pool of power that existed within him.
Until…two days ago…when he decided to delve deeper than ever before…and felt the first signs of THEM.
Or more precisely HIM.
Out of sheer fright he'd withdrew from the power within him with all the haste he could manage and suppressed the power to the best of his ability. It never happened before even back home but in a split second it'd happened here with his mind as well as his inheritance from another instantly recognizing what was happening.
FOOLISH!
How could he have been so foolish!?
He was now in a world where mutants existed! Where Iron man existed! Where Spider-Man existed!
How could he fail to anticipate that in a world that had once been fiction to him could have some very real consequences?
Ever since that millisecond of contact he'd been going back and forth between the need for intervention tonight and the fear of he might set in motion if he did. Without a doubt the scale of death and destruction that would soon happen in Genosha was appalling with any moral being wanting nothing more than to stop it from coming to pass. However he felt that in order to stop such a nightmare he would need to draw on the power within him to such a degree that there was no way that HE wouldn't pick up on it. While HE tended to look down on everyone and everything prioritizing only his own needs an oddity such as him might just be enough to prompt investigation.
What would be the point in saving the people of Genosha if it meant exposing the entire planet to HIM?
Every time he thought he'd come to a decision on the matter one way or another some little sliver in his mind would tempt him into changing his mind before the process started all over again.
~What am I going to do?~ He thought looking at the sun on the horizon from the beach bench he'd been sitting on for the last hour.
If this had been back home he'd have said something along the lines of 'fuck it' and just did what his heart told him was the right thing to do. Problem with that was back home the people or beings that'd get pissed at that were super obsessed with keeping the existence of the supernatural and demonic a secret. This hampered their actions quite a bit but if HE showed up HE wouldn't care about consequences or collateral damage.
It'd be the end of everything.
"Room on that bench for one more?" A voice asked causing him to look up to see a young lady his age in red jogging clothes taking a sip from her water bottle.
"Sure." He replied scooting over a bit to give her as much room as possible.
"Thanks." The redhead said not hesitating for a moment, "Still got another few miles to go but it was about time for a break anyway."
"You training for something or just working out?" He asked just to make idle chit-chat.
"A little of both. My job needs me to be in shape and there's nothing wrong with making yourself just a little bit faster or stronger." She replied taking in the sun before turning to look at him, "How about you? You here for the view or do ya got something in mind?"
"More like on my mind." He said offhand not really having any plans for the future per se, "One of those 'damned if you do and damned if you don't' sort of problems. Trying to figure out which way to go and even after two days I'm stuck in a deadlock."
"Had more than a few of those moments." She said with a rueful grin on her face, "Usually when the stakes were pretty high."
"Any tips for dealing with times like those?" He asked on the off chance the young lady had a hint he could work with.
"Well if there're going to be consequences one way or another you just gotta pick the set you can handle." She replied after thinking it over a bit, "Consequences going to happen at the same time either way?"
"If I go one way the consequences'll be pretty immediate but if I go the other way…" he replied thinking it over, "…could be a few weeks to a few months. Depends on travel time and stuff."
Vague but more or less accurate.
Didn't want the lady to think he was a fruitcake by telling her the complete unfiltered honest truth.
"Then go with the second choice. If you've got time before consequences hit you then you've got time to figure out ways to handle them." She said sounding so sure of herself, "And if you can't handle it on your own that's what friends are for."
If kept to the basics yeah that'd be the smart move but somehow he thought she'd sing a different song if he told her all about HIM and the real nature of the consequences.
"Somehow I don't think I know anyone who has the skills or the resources to help me handle things if I go with the second choice." He said while wearing an expression of appreciation for her input, "It'd kinda be a 'man vs nature' sort of thing and common sense says to just get out of the way of those kind of consequences."
Seeing no change in her expression he felt safe in assuming that she thought he was speaking in metaphor rather than literally.
"Well unless you're a mutant with unparalleled telepathic abilities you can't really know for sure right?" She asked rhetorically without any negative bias towards mutants in her words, "The world's a big place. Might be some people somewhere willing to help that you just don't know about yet."
True.
It wasn't like the media knew about every costumed hero, villain or whatever on the planet. Indeed some members of the costume crowd probably kept their activities to the shadows to avoid drawing unwanted attention to themselves. He wouldn't say that the beginning of superherodom happened only a decade or so ago but neither would he say that world governments had modified their laws on vigilantes much either. Sure individual cops and people might be willing to look the other way for heroes like Spider-Man or the truth that Thor was out of their league but on the whole if you didn't have a badge you were looking at jail time.
Still…
"Maybe but what're the odds that I'll be able to find them and they'll be able to get ready in time?" He asked pointing out another problem, "Like you said it's a big world and some solutions require both time as well as resources. Not sure if we'll have a lot of either."
"Well if you don't try you'll never know." The young lady said getting up off the bench, "Besides when it comes to the future nothing's written in stone. Some times all it takes is one person, one choice, to change it all."
Thinking back on his life, on his choices, he had to admit that there was something to that. Prophecy after all had declared that Buffy would die at the hands of the Master yet he had chosen to ignore prophecy in favour of his own willpower. He, by his lonesome (Deadboy didn't count), had defied prophecy and won.
"See you around!" The young lady said before resuming her run down the walkway that bordered the beach area.
Some might claim it was only when he was truly alone that he finally came to a decision free of doubt but those who knew him best knew better.
The moment he'd been reminded of his stance on fate, destiny and an inescapable future his path became all too clear.
"I'll save everyone I can!" He declared with conviction as he stood up from the bench, "And if you show up later you better be ready for a fight 'my master'."
With his resolve solid he reached within himself and with the same commitment he used to help the Scoobies summoned forth the power he knew dwelled within. Higher and higher it went until it reached the point where before he'd felt THEM and for a split second there was hesitation before his spirit pushed him past that point. If he hadn't been so focused on pulling the power forth he would've noticed as what appeared to be liquid silver began to seep through the pores of his skin. As the volume increased parts transformed from liquid to something more akin to solid metal until in no time at all not a speck of pink skin could be seen. Even his eyes had changed going from their usual chocolate brown to pools of fathomless white energy that'd make any flashlight seem like a pale imitation.
Then…then something happened that was both good and bad.
The good part was when arcs of white energy began to dance over his skin with ever greater intensity until as though directed by his will the energy went off to his side to become something more. Little by little a transmutation of energy into matter occurred until empty air was replaced by a length of metal similar to what now coated his skin. Measuring roughly seven feet tall, nineteen inches wide and a little over two inches thick the newly formed item hovered in place as though held there by some unseen force.
The bad part he only discovered once the light show came to an end and the arcs of energy died down leaving only the illumination in his eyes behind.
"Ah MAN! I liked those clothes!" He exclaimed looking down at the charred bits of fabric and ashes that now lay smoking on the ground.
He really should've thought ahead and found someplace discreet to do this but he'd just been so determined to follow through with his decision that it slipped his mind.
~Oh well. No sense crying over it now.~ He thought before he raised an arm to guide his board to a place one foot above the ground in front of him, ~Lives are in danger and I must save them.~
To do any less would bring shame to his 'predecessor', the Scoobies and himself.
If only for one night the mutants of Genosha would have the protection of a silver sentinel in the face of the more genocidal version that sought their extinction.
A Short Distance Away
"Thank god." She said with hope in her eyes as she watched the silver being shoot through the twilight sky in the direction of Genosha, "I hope it's enough."
"It'll have to be." Said a woman obscured by the shadow cast by the tree close by, "Our temporal transceivers aren't going to last much longer. If we don't go now it's going to be a bumpy right back. Maybe too bumpy."
Both of them didn't like the truth but neither could they deny it. Despite their best efforts of the Resistance in their time acquiring the technology and parts necessary to make trips into the past was too difficult to be done without a large enough payoff at the end. Preventing the assassination of the nineties, putting a stop to the plague and protecting Charles Xavier from that scumbag Fitzroy were just a few examples of how high the stakes needed to be. When the benefits of temporal travel weren't high enough the Resistance leadership denied any proposed missions to acquire the necessary resources to make it happen.
Forge was one of the top assets they had but even he couldn't make something out of thin air. He needed raw materials, parts and in some cases specific pieces of technology all of which were either hard to find or guarded by Master Mold's forces. Harsh times bred hardy people but with limited resources training surviving mutants with useful powers into soldiers wasn't easy. So in order to make this trip they'd been forced to get what they needed on their own without any backup and with potential consequences.
It'd been close, sometimes TOO close, but they'd been able to gather the bare minimum Forge needed to send them back to this time.
"What do you think it'll be like when we get back?" She thought remembering how dark it'd been when they'd left, "Will it be better?"
"Hard to say. It depends on what theory of time travel is right and which ones are wrong." The woman replied bringing up her arm around which a metal band was wrapped, "Our actions here might change when we come from or it might just spawn a separate timeline leaving ours unchanged. At the very least we've made sure one timeline won't wind up like ours."
With that the woman pressed a button on the metal band before disappearing in a swirl of energy as she was yanked back to her native time.
~Mom…dad…good luck.~ She thought before pressing the button on her own armband, ~You and the X-Men both.~
The Island of Genosha, Capitol City
The Royal Palace, Evening
Madelyne Pryor's POV
~What's…wrong with me?~ She asked even as she stumbled towards the balcony.
Even as she looked once more at the blood that'd come from her nose after the intense mental burst she'd experienced she didn't have an answer. Much of it had been the imagery she'd pulled from Henry Peter Gyrich's mind when the X-Men had been trying to track down the source of the Sentinel tech that the Friends of Humanity had in their possession. A terrible image of countless tombstones, a demonic giant sentinel and rats almost completely covering a pile of corpses. A part of her knew that…that Jean had probably experienced the burst as well but probably didn't have any more of an idea of what it meant than she did.
Stepping out onto the balcony she took in the sight of Genosha's capitol at night with fireworks lighting up the night sky far and wide.
It was refreshing but at the same time her mind drifted to the voice that'd been intermixed with the imagery of the psionic burst. It…it sounded familiar. Like she'd heard it before but even though it was right at the tip of her tongue she couldn't take that final step towards recognition. However her attention did not stay on the voice for long when her eyes caught sight of emerald green bursts of energy that looked like they were located at Genosha's main harbour.
~What is that?~ She thought not knowing of any pyrotechnic or form of entertainment that could produce an effect like that.
A mutant's gift maybe? It would have to be pretty potent in order to produce a volume of light that big and the person would need a corresponding level of control in order to keep it from hurting others. With curiosity guiding her she took a few steps closer hoping to spy more from where she was but movement in closer proximity caused her to turn her head. In a surprising turn of events the source of the movement turned out to the mysterious mutant known as Cable who'd popped up quite a few times during her time as a member of the X-Men. White hair, a cybernetic arm, advanced weapons and possessing a soldier's discipline it was often wondered where he'd come from as well as what he was after.
"Kill the music!" Cable ordered running towards her with an urgency, "You have to get everyone out! Now! He's coming!"
"Who's coming?" she asked her mind confused as to what the man could mean.
"—divergent point imminent. Access body slide—" came a synthesized voice from a semi-transparent cube incorporated into Cable's cybernetic arm.
"No! NO!" Cable said with desperation even as he looked about for something, "Not again!"
Seeing him in such distress she tried to look closer as if she could glean some detail from the expression on his face about what was so worrying. However it was when she focused n his eyes, his brown eyes, that a connection formed and even though others would consider it absurd she suddenly just knew who she was really looking at.
Nathan.
Her son that she'd been forced to let Bishop take into the future in order for a cure to be found for the techno-organic virus Mister Sinister had infected her baby with.
"Your eyes…you made it…you survived…" she said even as tears of joy trickled down her face to know the son she and Scott had created was alive.
Before the soldier in front of her could get a word out though three things managed to snag both their attention with fate deigning to allow them a few seconds more before events resumed. From the sky to the right a single silver clad being riding what appeared to be a surfboard shot towards the harbour with all the speed of a fighter jet. From the sky to the right an aerial vehicle of unknown design curved towards the origin point of the three blossoming domes of green energy that looked to only be capable of carrying five people in its partially open cockpits. Finally, right above the destination point for the previous two, a storm cloud appeared out of nowhere before in a flash of light a bolt of lightning dropped briefly turning night into day.
"What in the world-?" She asked only getting more confused as the seconds passed by.
"I don't believe it…they did it…" Cable said sounding like he was worried that this was a trick of the mind, "…the Surfer…Buffy…the Fantastic Five…Thor…they're here! Maybe this time…maybe this time will be different…"
"Different? What do you mean?" She asked almost getting irritated by her lack of understanding.
"It doesn't matter." Cable said even as a triangular portal of energy manifested behind him, "Tell Magneto to get everyone deep underground and his strongest fighters to the harbour! Hurry or it'll be like Pearl Harbour but worse!"
With those final words Cable…Nathan…her son…was sucked into the portal with all of it vanishing without a trace.
Her heart cried out in protest at this wanting nothing more than for her son to stay so she could learn of all that she'd missed so she could make up for not being there. However as bolts of lightning, ship mounted weaponry and explosions looked to be tearing apart Genosha's harbour she knew what her priority needed to be. Whirling around she ran back into the ballroom intent on delivering her message to Magneto as quickly as she could to honour her son's request.
It was nowhere near enough to give her a clear picture but she knew enough to take action. If they needed to get as many people below ground as possible that meant that staying on the surface meant either death or serious injury. If the strongest mutants with combat training needed to get to the harbour then the threat was strong enough to potentially wipe out everyone in Genosha. Comparing this to Pearl Harbour…a surprise attack by a known enemy that resulted in the deaths of thousands…and added to the psionic burst she'd experienced…it could only mean one thing…
Upon setting eyes on Magneto who thankfully didn't have his helmet on she reached out with her telepathy knowing that time was of the essence if they were to prevent the horrific imagery she'd glimpsed in Gyrich's mind.
That would NOT be their future!
She would not have her son's efforts be for nothing!
Note: Since I started writing this two more episodes came out that added some things that conflicted with my vision. So consider this a reality that ran parallel to the canon episodes of 'X-Men '97' up until the end of episode 5 then diverged in a different direction. If this proceeded into another Drabble or a full story Xander and the others would be part of a team:
Xander - Silver Surfer
Buffy- She Hulk
Willow - Brainstorm aka Valeria Richards
Miss Marvel
Quicksilver
Scarlet Witch
Thor
Captain America
In this reality Miss Marvel would be restored and gain the powers she had after returning to the mainstream 616 universe after the whole Onslaught thing. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch would leave X-Factor to join the team. Thor would stop being a solo hero and join the team and the line up until this point would free Captain America from the time vortex he'd been trapped in. Any information that was revealed after episode five will either be ignored or modified to mesh better with my vision for the story. Everything in this Drabble happens after the multi-part story where Apocalypse went to the Axis of Time did not happen in this universe.