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| When the Future comes calling; Rachel, Shade, Nate | |
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| Topic Started: May 16 2014, 07:31 AM (394 Views) | |
| The Shade | May 16 2014, 07:31 AM Post #1 |
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Darkforce, Teleportation
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March 4th, pre-dawn A patch of darkness opened in the thick woods but it blended with the pre-dawn gloom, making it merely another patch of shadows in the morning woods. Shade emerged first, trailing wisps of darkforce behind him. His boots making no noise on the dew-covered new grass of Spring. Looking around, his gaze peered through the gloom better than Nate’s ever could. “No one here,” he told his companion, “yet.” They were just inside the treeline, and across a sports field, lay the sprawling, heavily rebuilt Xavier mansion. “Are we going to her or waiting for her to come by,” he asked. Nate stepped out of the portal and looked around at this place, where he was educated, where he spent so many happy days, hard ones too. His power was tricky, just like his parents' was, he'd had to fight to earn his place on this team, his legacy a heavy heavy weight. "It looks smaller," he muttered, looking at the mansion, and then he nodded, "They haven't added the Annex yet..." Next to him, Max spoke and he had to shake himself out of his reverie to realize it. "Oh, what? No, we'll stay here, but we're not going to wait for her." He tapped his temple. "My cousin's a telepath, remember. We just have to think her here." He looked over at Max, "Look, I know you don't believe in me, Prince. I'm trying, I really am, and I'm trying to do this the best way I can. I don't know that I can do this your way, but I believe that there's a way to do this mine. I want to go home, Max... I want my family whole. I want to save the world." Max had been looking forward the dimly lit school when Nate caught his attention. “You sound like I want you to fail; I don’t. It would be a pleasant change if good won, just by virtue of being good.” Suddenly, his hand clamped onto Nate’s shoulder, forcing them both down into a crouch and lead them to a thick bramble that shielded them from the mansion. “Just to avoid being spotted by anyone other than Rachel,” he explained, although he didn’t need to. Darkness flowed from the shadows and solidified into a bench that Max promptly took advantage of, wordlessly creating enough space beside him for an extra seat. “Saving the world is a noble thing. It’s hard to think of anyone who’d be against it. Well,” he made a face as he thought on Nate’s uncle Vulcan, “anyone who isn’t a lunatic.” Leaning forward, he propped his elbows on his knees, letting his hands dangle between them, “I guess I just see you as a plate spinner trying to keep a dozen spinning at the same time and me underneath, waiting to catch them when… if they start to fall,” he admitted. Lifting a finger in warning to Nate, he said, “And I will deny it if you ever tell anyone I said that.” Nate yelped a little as Max forced him into the bramble, but he smiled as he listened to what his sorta-cousin was saying. "I guess that's kinda the exact thing that keeps you from being an X-Man. You don't believe in the good winning because they're good. You and Luna both, even Anya and Lil, I guess, you guys have this cynicism, that, I don't know, I just don't share. I mean, I know there's true evil in the world, or else why would we be here? But," he sighed and shook his head, "maybe it is just a Summers trait. Maybe we're idealists, and you guys, you're realists. I'm not sure that one is better than the other." Nate gave a small laugh when Max compared him to a plate spinner and he said, "Ah, you're a prince amongst men, my friend, but I think you underestimate me. The plates are going to fall. It's inevitable. But I'm not as dumb as you think I am. I save the good china for special occasions." He grinned at Nate’s laugh, and then snorted, “Pffft. Maybe not the good china, but you still care as much each time. It twists you up and makes you emotional, which makes my fillings tingle and sweat like I’m in a sauna. But you aren’t doing a badly as you think,” Max admitted. “We got handed a lot of unexpected obstacles. And besides, like you said, we’re trying to save the world, with just six of us. Your father and Uncle Scott had a lot more people supporting them when they did it. And were older.” Nate nodded, and he shrugged, "I just want to do what's right. It just always seemed like Dad and Uncle Scott always knew what that was, and Rachel inherited that. I think it skipped me because a lot of times... I just don't know. Not in my head, I guess. Only in my heart. That's why I get so worked up. It's the only way I know how to make this all make sense." He smiled at his friend and said, "Thanks, though, Max, for being here. The girls... they won't really tell me the truth about these things, and what they do say... well, you know how girls are...and Greg, he's a good guy, but he's a pup, loyal like a dog. You, you don't pull your punches... but you also have reason for saying the stuff you do. I don't give a damn what anyone else thinks about who your dad is, or anything like that. If this is a team, you're my second in command. I wouldn't want anyone else to watch my back." Max listened, they’d been friends and sort-of family for so long it had seemed like forever, but he was still touched by the depth of feeling that Nate had for him, and in the shark-infested environment of his father’s court, where you never got attached or it would be used as weakness, Max was surprised that he felt the same, and equally not surprised that he’d never really be able to express it as well or openly as Nate did. An acidic quip rose on his tongue, something amusing to defuse the sentimentally of the conversation. Hold on, Nate, we’ve veered into chick-flick territory and I need to get out my hankie. Hold me. But didn’t say it; it would’ve been an insult brush away Nate’s olive branch with a snide remark. With a small self-conscious cough, he said, “Thanks. I don’t care what they say about him either,” he said, unsure if that was the truth or just something he told himself for protection. “And your doubts about yourself are none of mine. I worry that your hang-up about not being as good as Rachel, in your eyes, will make you second guess yourself. I’m proud to be your wingman, and to have you as mine. And for what it’s worth, I don’t it comes that easy for your dad or uncle. I think they do what my dad does.” Junior smiled looking back in his memories, “I used to think he knew everything too. Had all the bases covered. He was spooky that way. But now I think he just really good at faking it.” "Yeah," Nate said, his good nature not allowing him to acknowledge Max's being touched by the words, and he hadn't said them to manipulate the shadow wielder. They were honest, like Nate himself was. Straight from the heart, which was as warm as his powers were. "Parents never know as much as they pretend to." He didn't address Max 's comments about Rachel, and his hero worship. He didn't even really understand it, himself, honestly, but he knew her pedestal was impossibly high. Brushing his hand over his blond head, Nate looked back at his friend and said, "You ready for this? Be prepared to get us out of here if anyone other than Rachel comes out, ok?" Then' putting his finger tips to his temple, he thought, as hard as he could. "RACHEL, HELP, I NEED YOU!" Dropping his hand he said, "I hope she heard that." “I hope she waits to hear us out before she purees the minds of two “intruders”,” Max countered. “That Phoenix-y side has always been on the hot-tempered side too.” |
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| Nocturne | May 22 2014, 07:46 AM Post #2 |
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Unregistered
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Talia had not yet gone to sleep, she was on the roof reading a book borrowed from her father. It was starting to become a habit, really. An odd little seclusion that she could have to herself. Outside of that she had no sense of the intruders. But they were of a special variety, so it wasn't long after their communication attempt with Rachel that there was one very brief between the flame haired telepath and her blue furred best friend. It didn't have to take long. The instant Talia realized what this could be she was standing, eyes scanning briefly before she jumped off the roof, smoke pluming around her as she disappeared from the sky. She didn't know what to expect when she popped up in the area Rachel had directed her to. The edge of the forest just past the field. Talia herself looked quite a bit different than when she last saw the pair. She had longer hair now, but always kept that confident way of carrying herself. It was hard to remember that they might be different. That franklin and Rachel couldn't get them home and that could mean something bad. This could be bad. They needed help, which could mean a trap. But at the same time it couldn't be ignored. If they were here.... Talia and Rachel had been here for far longer than a calendar year, there were too many possibilities for what this could be. If they were controlled... If they were Hounds she could only hope that it was something Rachel could detect. It was still fairly dark out but her eyes genetically allowed her excellent vision in the dark. No doubt if they were close they would see the cloud of brimstone smoke and her arrival with the glowing of her eyes. "Nate? Junior?" Her tone was curious and urgent, in case they really did need help. Her tone dropped slightly to mutter, assuming they weren't hiding close enough to hear. "Swear to god if you wind up attacking me I'll make sure Franklin turns you both into goldfish." |
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| Cable | May 22 2014, 09:10 AM Post #3 |
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Thermomagnetism
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The puff of smoke and the smell of sulfur was not what either young man was expecting. Talia Wagner, one of those who had been left behind because her abilities were too valuable in the fight against the technovore. She was a perfect escape path, much like The Shade, but because she was an X-Kid, like Nate, she was accepted more readily than he was. Nate had not even considered asking her along. He hadn't expected her to want to abandon the fight. "TJ, what are you doing here?" Nate asked surprised. For her part, Nate would look very different from the last time she had seen him, dressed in the threadbare camp jumper from his escape, his hair a little too long, his face a little too thin. He was sturdier than she'd remember, and his black suit with its intricate pattern of faintly glowing green power reservoirs. His blonde hair was cut and groomed, and he had none of the sickly look that they all usually supported. But the eyes were the same, full of a mixture of concern and hope. His father's eyes. Max Jr, of course, looked like Max Jr. Dark, brooding and hidden in the shadows. "Swear to god if you wind up attacking me I'll make sure Franklin turns you both into goldfish." "Why would we attack you?" Nate frowned, "Do we look like the Technovore has taken us? I'm surprised you're here. What happened has that metal monster been taken down? Erik? Is he alright?" He looked at Max and then looked back at the girl, "Something's wrong, isn't it? Something horrible happens to us, doesn't it. We fail and it destroys us." The air around him began to warm up, slightly, and the green in his suit began to brighten, the light throbbing in a low pulse. Forcing himself to get it under control he asked, "Do you know why we're here? Do you know that we came back to stop the Technovore before it goes live and consumes the world? Is that why you came back here too? Did we fail?" He looked back at Max Jr and then something TJ had said registered. Who was going to turn them into goldfish? "Who's Franklin?" he asked. |
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| The Shade | May 23 2014, 12:46 AM Post #4 |
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Darkforce, Teleportation
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Junior watched as Nate closed his eyes and got a strained look on his face. It was done; as a man more comfortable watching from the shadows, sometimes it was a strain being friends (best friends?) with someone who was like a bull in a china shop. As they waited for some kind of response, Junior thoughts went to the weird and complex and mostly tangled bonds that linked the Summers and Maximoffs. He knew Rachel, of course, but distantly. He’d known Luna all his life and her life, and for her sake, Pietro had grudging accepted him into his home. The bond between Pietro and his sister Wanda was strong and tight, their households practically one seamless family. To Junior, Pietro’s bond with his other sister, Lorna, wasn’t as close, but he and Luna had spent endless time roaming, with Nate added as their third musketeer. But Rachel… she was part of the ‘other’ Summers line, who seemed too … unbending. Plus, telepaths were people he avoided, not trusting any of them not to trespass in his head and crack open his secret thoughts. Just the idea made him recoil. So, dreading the up-coming encounter with Rachel, it was a surprise to hear a – bampf- and smell the acrid aroma of brimstone. “TJ?” Junior gaped and Nate jumped forward, peppering her with questions. Junior took a step forward, just as concerned as Nate as to why she was here, in this time, but his concern ran along more personal lines. While he didn’t rub shoulders with the X-Men often, he had made close friendships with a few, such as Talia. What started as a friendly rivalry between teleporters, and mutual grousing at being the taxi service (and usually taken for granted) for every mission they went on, changed and one thing lead to another…. Trading looks with Nate, he gave TJ a look and speaking in unison, echoed Nate’s question, “Who’s Franklin?” But for more personal reasons. |
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| Rachel Summers | May 23 2014, 03:21 AM Post #5 |
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Unregistered
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"God in Heaven!" Rachel woke screaming. She had never been the type to sleep soundly. Growing up in a place where death could strike at any time did that to people. And becoming one of the evil things that go bump in the night hadn't helped things. But it wasn't those memories that pulled Rachel from her beautiful slumber that night. No, it was something much much worse. Was it him? Could it be real, or was this some trick perpetrated by someone or something who wanted to hit Rachel where she was most vulnerable? She scanned a familiar place for her mind to go and found TJ awake. Filling her in on the situation, she asked her to go ahead and check things out, adding that, "If something- ANYTHING feels wrong about this, get the hell out of there. This could be anything. There's no reason to get our hopes up....or wherever our hopes would go, should they actually be here. I'm just saying, keep your guard up. I'll be right behind you." Changing as quickly as she could, she took to the air and followed where the distress signal called her. There weren't many people out. It was before dawn, after all. She smelled the stench of sulfur in the air and, as she descended, felt the signatures that took her breath away. THey were here; Nate and Max. She was stunned; stunned enough that the psionic masking she always wore; the one covering her Hound marks, faded away. Her feet touched the ground, but she wasn't sure the rest of her had. "What- what are you doing here?" She scanned their minds quickly, but she already knew the truth. It was them; the real them. "Junior? Nate? Nate, are you hurt? I-" Her eyes got hard, and her stance solidified. This could not be good. THe fact that they were her threw everything into question. THe future was supposed to be saved. It was supposed to be over. Of course now, it couldn't be. "Franklin is my boyfriend. He's extremely important in a lot of ways, but right now, I need you to tell me what's going on." |
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| Nocturne | May 27 2014, 08:27 AM Post #6 |
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Unregistered
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Talia held to caution up to the moment Nate questioned her. Then that caution was thrown to the wind and she embraces both future boys in turn. Nate had always been someone special, working with Xfactor and his father, always a voice of reason for her. She always was rather impulsive and he was a kindhearted balance. Junior was different. Most of the others didn't take to the 'brat prince' as Nate called him. With his own crew and technology stores capable of running a better defense than even the X-rebellion, the two had always held a like-minded comraderie that drew them towards each other. But living in a state of constant war didn't allow for much outside of that. It was these two that had given her the opportunity to hunt down and nearly kill the Hound. They were what remained of her closest family and she loved them both dearly. How could she not be overjoyed to see them looking so much better. "I didn't know how to get word out to you. Rachel brought the two of us here but neither of us could remember how for the longest time. I never imagined you two would actually come after me." She took a step back and looked at both of them carefully, noticing the vast changes in their appearance. "Glad you finally ditched the prison duds, Nate. If your dad could see that outfit he'd be beaming. Pun intended. And you, Junior, I'm impressed you're willing to stomach Nates teasing long enough to come back here. Did you use Longshots weirdo connection to come back? He could have warned me. I was dying wondering what happened to you two and the survivors. " But the concern and the words coming out of his mouth caused a greatly confused expression to pass over her own face. "Erik? lensher? Are you two feeling okay? Magneto died when we were like....ten. Technovore? What are you talking about? You know damn well I came back here to kill Hound Rachel for what happened. I thought you came back here to look for the four of us, it's been over a year since I left and close to two for Franklin and Valeria." Thank God Rachel showed up when she did, confirming with her reaction that these two were real. Maybe their memories weren't? She offered a hand out towards them. "Let me in. Let me see what's in your head and you can see mine. Maybe seeing my memories will jog yours." She had no intention of forcefully possessing either one of her friends. Her possession, if both parties were willing, let the cominging parties view memories like photographs or very vivid movies, depending on the connection. They'd feel what the other felt during it, which was what many disliked about that particular power. "Please, I need to know if we made things worse by coming here." |
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| The Shade | May 27 2014, 09:21 PM Post #7 |
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Darkforce, Teleportation
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Junior’s usual calm and aloof arrogant mask briefly slipped aside at Talia’s suggestion and the brat prince looked like a claustrophobic confronted with a cramp, dark tunnel or an acrophobic made to stand on the edge of a skyscraper and look down. Without realizing it, his feet had backed away from Talia and cloaked himself in shadows; his mind loudly screaming, no no no no nonononono, as his heart pounded in fright. He recovered quickly, slipping the mask back in place but the fear didn’t go away, it was just stamped down and wrestled back under control. “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Junior said from his cover of darkness. “My memories are fine.” If there was a flicker of something in Talia’s eyes, that was too bad, but he couldn’t change how he was; he didn’t love easily, he didn’t trust easily; that was a hard, long road to walk. He could count on one hand the number of people who had walked that road, who had stuck with him far enough to see the person at the end of it; to see him with the masks laid aside and most importantly, vulnerable. He feared that vulnerability; it made his heart an open wound in his chest and an easy target for a dagger. “Yours are the ones that seem to be clouded.” |
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| Nocturne | May 28 2014, 09:15 AM Post #8 |
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Unregistered
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(JP Nate and Talia) Nate didn't want to admit how relieved he was to see his cousin, but he was. It's hard living in a shadow and maybe he shuoldn't have had to, but he did. Rachel was the daughter of the best of his family, which seemed traitorous to think sometimes. Shouldn't he think of his father first? But even Havok said it. Cyclops was the best of them, so why wouldn't his daughter be the best of the second generation? But there was something strange here. First and foremost was the mention of this Franklin person. A boyfriend? Since when did she have a boyfriend? Then, there was the clear confusion in her face, as if she barely knew them. Had something happened to them? How could she ask that? Something had obviously happened to her... something that was echoed in TJ's face and words. Nate looked at the blue skinned girl, one of the few of the next gen not related to him in some way and he frowned, confused by her questions. "Lehnsherr? No, TJ, Maximoff. Uncle Piet and Aunt Avery's youngest. He..." His eyes went wide, "Grandpa Erik is alive. What do you mean he's..." He took a step back and said, "You're talking gibberish. Hound? Kill Rachel? Prison duds? Valeria? Franklin? I don't... I don't..." TJ held out her hand out, offering to possess them so that he could understand what was happening and immediately, at his side, Max refused. That was very unsurprising. The Coleridges were... secretive. The Summerses were not so much. He took Talia's hand. "Go ahead. You've done it before." Max immediately and vehemently refused, even going so far as to retreat a little bit. She had to admit she was disappointed in his refusal, though maybe more so at the way he did. "I am not clouded." But almost just as quickly Nate accepted and took her hand. She gave him a nod and her appearance started to fade and shift until she disappeared into the Summers boy. Because he was accepting and so was she this wouldn't be a painful process. 'You ready?' She opened her mind to him and waited for him to do the same, enjoying the warm and strange sensation of his powers. The sensation was not new to him, but there was a strangeness to it, this time, a subtle difference that he didn't entirely understand. She spoke in his head and he responded in the same way, opening his mind to hers. The memories poured out of him, and he held none of them back. His childhood at the school and with X-Factor. All of them growing up together, being taught by their parents, learning to be superheroes in the shadow of men and women who had saved the world so many times. There wasn't true peace yet, but the X-Teams were strong and eventually even beloved. The mutant race was thriving, and the legacy children of these good people were afforded privileges that their parents had not been allowed, freedoms that had been recognized as rights. Life was not perfect, but it was sunlit and it was hopeful. And, always overhead was the Stark Satellite. Energy, communication, eventually even weather control, made the world so much better, so much cleaner. They were dependent on the satellite in so many ways, but it was not an unhealthy dependence... Until the evolution of the Technovore, and the destruction of the major cities... the conversion of those who were captured into consuming, metallic monsters, energy sources for their every growing master... hundreds of thousands, faceless strangers, until the capture of one of their own, the youngest, Erik Maximoff, the darling of the group, only seventeen, a sweet natured and determined young man... too young... too inexperienced. The Technovore took him, and used his powers to blast an EMP that shut down much of the world before he was taken down and forcibly seperated from the hive. His parents raged and mourned, and his grandfather had reminded the world that he was a man of power, but it wasn't enough, it would never be enough. Who was it that suggested there was a way to stop what was happening? Who was the first one to speak? It didn't matter, what matter was that Nate had gathered his people and he had made this decision on his own. He was a Summers, he was a leader, and damnit, he believed that there was still hope that this world could be changed for the better. Tears streaked down Nate Summers's cheeks there in the evening chill on the lawn of the school that had not yet become his home, staring blanking into the blackening void of the sky, and those tears puffed away into tiny blasts of steam in the heat of his emotions. Nates memories were definitely real and Talia was in awe at the life that not only he lived, but herself and Rachel too. Seeing Xfactor and the world thrive and work towards the goals Xavier had wished for the world.... Until the Technovore brought sadness and misfortune upon that future. Whatever this was she believed this, believed him. And she felt a pang of regret that he'd be experiencing her future when she'd been gifted with his. But he needed to see. Needed to see what happened when no one got along. The deaths when they were younger. The destruction of the school and the murders, Scott, Jean and the others. The slow turning against mutant kind followed by the rebellion and the war. Everything she experienced from Reed Richards and Hounds to Rachel and the massacre of the XMen and Havok. There was virtually nothing left of mutant kind in her future. What remained were freedom fighters, bitter and living in desolate destruction. Then came Nate and Junior, helping her track down Rachel. Nate in his good nature wanting Rachel to be saved while Talia intended her to die. The fight with Hound Rachel and then waking up here, hiding and scraping by until memory could recover enough for Franklin and Rachel to find her. Living and fighting with the XMen for over a year through the illuminati. Experiencing what a difference life was with the XMen still around and how needed they truly were. When hers ended she slipped away and just stood there, head lowered and unable to speak for a short while. This was... Well she didn't have words for it. So she just hugged him. He was Nate and he wasn't. She both celebrated and mourned that fact. What he saw in her mind, what he saw in her history... the tears that coursed down his cheeks, were they for what he had lost or what they had never had? TJ stepped out of Nate's body and he whispered, "You're not my Talia..." He looked over at Rachel, "You're not my... " The blue skinned girl stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, and he hugged her tight. "It's too much... it's too much..." he murmured. "You saved your world by giving birth to mine, but it's still too much." Nate stepped backwards, untangling himself from the girl's arms. "One world is saved and another falls? Don't you see what this means? It means... it means the fight will never end, that we're always going to suffer. One way or another. We are always going to have to fight to survive." For the first time in his entire life, he felt hope slipping away from him. "God," he muttered, "We're never going to have peace, are we?" Talia was excellent at being lighthearted in situations but rarely was she actually hopeful. But Nates surprising pessimism resulted in the opposite in her.... Sort of. "I think there will always be a struggle, always be something to fight. But I... Don't you see? We didn't do anything special when we came back. For over a year we didn't even know why. But look what a difference it made. Where you're from before the Technovore is amazing. What a difference for such a small difference we made here. No matter what the four of us won't stop trying to make the future a better place but for once... For once I believe it can actually happen." She looked back at Rachel, hoping her friend would agree. "Let us help you stop that thing." |
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| Rachel Summers | May 30 2014, 03:49 AM Post #9 |
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Unregistered
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Rachel's eyes welled up as she watched Nate react to what he saw in Talia's mind. Seeing him experience what they had lived through, the darkness of the world that, through their actions, had been averted, tugged at her heart. "I am," Rachel said, brushing fresh tears from her face. "I am your Rachel. It's not the same, I know. And it doesn't look the same, but I am yours. I-" she looked to Talia. "We fought damn hard to change the horrors that you saw. So yes Nate. I'm yours, you're mine. We earned that. Don't you think?" She twitched her finger and threw him toward her telekintically. She wrapped him in a hug; a hug she never thought she'd experience. This family of hers; so broken, so scattered, so strong- in so many ways, it was all she had. And if it came down to it, she knew it would be all she needed. "Don't worry about the struggle; not right now." She pulled away from him and looked at Junior. His arrogance was palpable and did much to steer Rachel away. But he was part of this too. He had fought. He had earned his way into this world no different than her. And perhaps he was just as concerned with its outcome. She felt echos of her father ripple through her as she started to speak. What would he say; Scott Summers, who rallied the troops in the darkest of days, who pulled greatness from disaster always? "There's no denying that there's work to do. If coming back here, seeing the past and watching all these things unfold has taught me anything, it's that there will always be work to do. Our parents have fought the good fight. They're still fighting the good the fight. And now, we get the priveledge of fighting alongside them." She grabbed Nate's hand. "I know it's hard, to see these things and realize that we might never get to see the fruits of our labor. But maybe that isn't the point. Maybe we fight so that tomorrow isn't as bad as it could be. And maybe we fight because one day things might be good. But I think we fight because it's in our blood; because it's who we are. And because, no matter what world we come from, we're still the same people- people who do what's right; people who save the world- no matter how many times it takes." |
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| The Shade | May 31 2014, 03:28 AM Post #10 |
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Darkforce, Teleportation
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Nate and Jr JP The tears that rolled down Nate’s cheeks were a surprise; he was used to Nate’s emotions stretched tight and when plucked, he exploded in heat and magnetic pulses. He wasn’t a crier but something in what he’d learned from the two women had taken him to that point in the blink of an eye. Junior watched helplessly from the shadows as the three of them bonded over knowledge shared. From what little he could piece together from them, Talia and Rachel weren’t the Talia and Rachel that they knew. He felt a tinge of disappointment in that; disappointment that the blue woman before them wasn’t the person he knew, wasn’t the one he’d touched and kissed and laughed with. Putting more distance between them, he watched them more warily. “Are you alright, Seebeck?” he asked, deliberately using Nate’s call-sign. This was business now and these two, whatever they looked and sounded like, weren’t really friends. Nate nodded at Max's concern, as Rachel pulled him close and hugged him tightly, speaking the words that sounded so much like her father. This was why he thought she was better than him. His team was falling apart with doubts about his leadership, but in five minutes she, and Talia too, had restored his faith, his hope in something better. With the heel of his gloved hand, he scrubbed at his eyes and said, "Yeah, yeah, Shade, I am. I'm ok..." He stepped away from the girls, dividing them unconsciously by sex like kids at a junior high school dance, and explained to Max, "They aren't from our time... the world... it was different. Horrible, dark, mutants kept in pens, giant robots stomping down... They came from that future to stop that horror from happening, and whatever they did, it fixed it. It made the world what you and I remember. We're living in an alternate timeline they created to save the world..." He looked at them, suddenly, as something struck him, "But, they didn't get to go home... They're stuck...You're stuck, aren't you?" Junior spoke before they did, though he was no expert on time travel, who was? “Probably. You have memories of Rachel at Summers family parties and Christmas get-togethers. I doubt this one has those memories. Whatever they did … for us… they’re now the last remnants of a time and place that never was. We have to make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to us.” He frowned as the tragic nature of their existence sank in even deeper. “Though, it would be some cold comfort that the gaps we’d leave behind would be filled and no one would know that we were gone.” Nate looked at him sharply, "That's not comfort. I don't want to stay here. I want to go home. I want to save Erik..." He looked back at the girls, "Erik is Uncle Piet and Aunt Avery's youngest kid. Their only son. The Technovore took him, and... It was my fault. He wasn't ready to be in the field, but we were so desperate. If we don't stop the Technovore, he's going to die, but if we do stop it... we'll never see our home again." He chewed on his lip and said, "There has to be a way, there has to be some way to change the future without changing the past." “The Past is a nice place to visit but I’m not looking to make it my permanent address either,” Junior snapped in reply. “That’s something else we’ll need to talk with Wiccan about. As disturbing as their story is, I think you’ve lost sight of one very important point – they can’t give us the information about our future that we came here looking for.” "No," Nate agreed with him, "they can't... but they gave us something else. We know now that we can't change what's going to happen by erasing it or we'll do even greater damage. If we're going to save Erik, save our timeline, the Technovore has to happen... so what we need to do is stop it from spreading." He looked at Max, his blue eyes hopeful again, "I have an idea, Prince. I have an idea, and I think we can make this work... Max... Max... " he smiled, "Oh, my god, I know what to do." He threw his arms around Rachel first, kissing her on the cheek, and then around Talia, giving her the same overly warm, overly excited treatment. "I knew coming to talk to you would be the right thing, Rachel. I knew it would help." Then, just as quickly, his joy and hope seemed to drain and he said, "Oh... but that doesn't help you get home, does it..." There wouldn’t any help for them, Junior thought sadly. Even if these time travelers could hitch a ride on their coat tails, when they all got home, they’d be… not clones, really… doppelgangers of the other Rachel and Talia and whoever else came with them. It might not be a perfect solution, but it was one they could offer. “We can try,” Junior said. “Given the Summers’ luck, though it can’t be compared to Longshot’s, is still nothing to squeeze at. My father taught me that,” he said, giving Nate a sly, knowing smirk that made him look eerily even more like Coleridge Sr. |
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8:58 AM Jul 11