...You must realize that being a hero, means that sometimes you need to bring hope to a hopeless world. I know of a few students who have been struggling hard in these times to bring hope to those who have none and bring a certain sense of unity to the world. They may at times feel like it’s a losing battle, but they know they must keep the hope alive. And the only way to do that is to be together.
Twilight blinked her eyes open as she took in the world around her. Around her stood her old library home, as it was before Tirek destroyed it. All of the books were in their proper places, and the smell of wood gave her fond memories of her old home. As she walked to one of the books, she pulled it out and opened it, pulling back in surprise when she saw an image play out before her, “What?”
The image was of her as a little filly, playing in the tub and splashing around her,”Bat Bat! Wet SHINNY!”
Shining Armor, mane now soaked, groaned and said, “Yes, Twily, you gave me a bath too.”
She let out a giggle and put away the book, “I can’t believe I remembered that.” she said, grabbing another book on the shelf and watched as another memory played before her.
“Ok, I think I got this. Plenty of control and-” she flew straight into a tree, much to the laughter of her friend Rainbow Dash.
“Why do all of these books have my memories?” Twilight asked as she put away the book. Taking a step back, she looked at the tall bookcase and saw that it was labeled, ‘Memories.’ Across from her was another bookcase labeled ‘Fears’, followed by ‘Paranoia’, and ‘Relationships’.
Taking a minor step back, she said, “I must be in the dream realm, but I have never seen it like this before.” she said, looking around her at the vast library that seemed to go on for miles around her.
Her desire to learn became stronger as she began to walk through the library’s halls, looking at the various shelves and books. Certain things made her curious to read while other books, such as ‘Mistakes’ made her want to turn away. She would’ve continued her investigation into her mind, but she stopped when she had heard voices, “Thank you for offering to watch over her, doctor. She is a terrific student and a fast learner.” said a soft and feminine voice.”And thank you for telling me where she was. I was, very scared for her when I found her missing.”
“When I had discovered her unique magical signature, I quickly traced it to creatures from your realm. I knew I had to call you as soon as possible. And from what you have told me, I believe you, Princess,” a deep masculine voice said, taking a sip of his tea. “And do not worry, I’ll be sure that she remains safe as long as she is in this realm.”
The voices came from a room labeled ‘Principal’s Office’. Her brow raised in curiosity, she slowly opened the door and saw a tall regal woman with multicolored hair flowing in the breeze and dressed in pure white. It did not take Twilight long to realize who it was, “Princess Celestia,” she whispered.
Looking straight across from Celestia was a tall lanky man with a goatee and white streaks in his hair. While he was dressed in mostly blue robes, this was obscured by his long flowing red cape with a high collar. His yellow-gloved hand to wave off the cup and then smile at the guest at his door, “But it seems your time is short on this plane. I bid you good luck in watching over Equestria while your champions are gone.”
“I have watched over it for a 1000 years,” Celestia said, looking over her shoulder at the door, “I think the world can survive without her for a few weeks. I just hope that she knows that she knows how important she is to me and that I will be watching over her always, no matter the distance.” she then smiled as she in a flurry of sparkles.
“Princess!” Twilight said, stepping through the door and watching as she faded away from sight.
“Sadly, it seems that even for a living god, transmitting her astral form across a multiverse is straining even for her. She was able to maintain the connection for five minutes,” the man said, standing up from his chair and wiping away the table.
“Who are you? And why did Celestia talk to you instead of me,” asked Twilight.
The doctor sighed, ignoring a pain in his heart and washing a memory away in his mind, “Can you imagine how painful it would be, for a mother to try and talking to her daughter for only a few moments and knowing that she couldn’t touch her? It would be like knowing that your love is far away, and you are unable to touch her.” sighing he shook his head, he bowed “As for who I am, my name is Doctor Strange. Sorcerer Supreme and master of the mystic arts.”
“Please to meet you,” Twilight said, taking a seat across from him, and taking an offered cup of tea. “I am Twilight Sparkle.”
“A pleasure, your teacher has said much about you,” Dr. Strange said with a smile, “How you are a fast learner, one of the most powerful mages she has ever seen in her life, respectful-”
“Well, I don’t think I’m all that powerful and I just like to study a lot,” Twilight said, blushing a little as she finished drinking her tea, “I also just happen to know a lot about the ins and outs of magic, so it just looks like I know more than I really do.”
“And you are modest to a fault,” chuckled Strange as he waved his hand and refilled her tea, “ You may have overheard, but when you and your friends entered this dimension, I tracked your magical signature back to your home dimension and then called your teacher here. If you want, I could send you back.”
Twilight shook her ehad, “That man sent us here for a reason. If we go back now, there is nothing stopping him from doing it again. The answers are here.”
Strange smiled warmly, “You are a hero, and have a very powerful mind. That is why I sent you here to this realm.”
“I was about to ask that,” Twilight asked, taking another sip of her tea, “Where am I?”
“The Astral Plane, or the Mindscape, depending on how you want to describe it,” Strange said, standing up, “Here, metaphors reign supreme. You are a studious and intelligent mare, so thus everything about your mind is organized into a library and perfectly organized.”
“I see. Add onto the fact that I still see myself as a student after all of this time and, we have a library,” Twilight said plainly as she looked at her cup.
“Precisely,” Strange said, standing up and changing the realm around them into a long pathway. Waving his hand to beckon her to follow, he continued to walk, “Our magic is different than yours in this world. Ours comes from three sources: Ambient, personal, and extradimensional. As I train you, you will learn to harness all forms of our magic..”
“But, how is it that I was able to use magic so quickly here when in the other human world I visited I couldn’t,” Twilight said, looking at her hand as it glowed a dull purple.
“In that world, magic was harder to unlock, but since it is a little more common here, you were able to use instinct to wield Fireball and Telekinesis.” Strange, watching Twilight nod. Then a small chuckle escaped his lips, “Impressive, it took me days to cast those spells. Instinct is a wonderful thing, isn't it? Seems that Princess Celestia was not joking when she bragged about your raw power.”
Twilight blushed and looked away, “Well, I wouldn’t know about power and instinct. I just,” she stammered before a bit of realization dawned on her, “Wait, do I even have enough time to learn your world’s magic? We have only a few days to make it to Jump City.”
“You are in the Astral Plane, a few days there will be only a few hours out in the real world,” Strange said, and then with a smirk, he looked at Twilight casting a powerful fire spell in front of Strange, “See, you already are learning.”
Twilight looked on at the magic in awe, before turning to Strange and nodded, “I’m ready...Master.”
When she woke up the next morning, she looked out at the camp that her friends rested in near their van. Sighing a little to herself she said, “And soon, I’ll have to start helping my friends train too.”
“You’ll manage, sugar cube,” Applejack said, sitting in front of a small frying pan and some toast cooking next to her, “We made it through worst with you leading us. We’ll be fine here too.”
“Applejack?” Twilight said, looking at her friend confused, “You’re awake this early?”
Shrugging, Applejack said, “What can Ah say, never was one for sleeping in. Getting up, making breakfast and doing morning chores? Just comes naturally Ah guess.”
“I can see that,” Twilight said, sitting with Applejack and taking an offered cup of coffee. Across from her, she watched as the rest of her friends slept soundly. Except for Rainbow Dash, “Celestia, she snores like a dragon with its hand broken.”
“Ah was about to say like a timberwolf going into labor, but that works too,” Applejack said, chuckling as she looked at the frying pan. Then she looked back at her team, “So peaceful, aren’t they?”
“You would think that this is just a camping trip for them and we aren't stuck in an entirely different universe, who knows how many miles away from home,” Twilight said, sighing and shaking her head. “How do you girls keep it up like this?”
“Simple,” Applejack said with a smile, lightly nudging her friend’s arm, “Got a great leader and friend keeping an eye out for us.”
Twilight nodded, “Yeah, a great leader who is still dealing with several disadvantages. Everyone here is without talents and powers. Dash doesn't have her speed, Fluttershy can’t control animals and-”
“Pinks is now our speedster,” Applejack said with a shrug. “Doesn’t sound like a disadvantage at all, just something new for us to learn. Yeah, we may not like it, but give it time and we can get used to all of this.”
“With me to lead you, I know,” Twilight looked at her friends, “Teaching them, that’s going to be a challenge.”
“You can do it,” Applejack said, patting Twilight’s shoulder, “We all know you can.”
Twilight looked back at her friend, seeing her green eyes staring back with a world full of confidence in them, “Why do you guys keep putting so much faith in me?”
“Simple, you’re our friend, you are pretty smart, and we know you’ll pull through. Yeah, you are gonna make a mistake or three, but that’s living,” Applejack said, smiling.
“Yeah, but,” Twilight looked down, “Can’t help but feel like half of the problems we face wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me.”
“And if not us, then somepony else would be,” Applejack said, “And if not them, then somepony else and so on. You know we chose this, and we don’t regret it. That’s because you are our friend, and in the end, that’s all that is important to me.”
“Thanks, Applejack,” Twilight said, getting up and walking back to the van, “I am going to get some things ready for the lesson, you finish with the breakfast.”
“All right, Ah’ll wake everypony up,” Applejack said, before sighing and looking at the pan, “Once again, the pillar of ...”
“Are you fine with being the only one without something special?”
“Yeah, Ah am...”
The woman stood in the ruins of a destroyed city, the fires from the broken buildings turning the sky a deep orange. As she walked through the streets of the desolate city, she would hear amongst the crackling fires, the screams of people as they died horribly. Looking around her, her red hair flowed wildly behind her, matching the wind that blew through the streets. When she neared a clearing, she saw a crater beneath her.
Within the crater was a garden of crosses with the bodies of men and women latched onto their wooden frames. Gasping in horror the girl looked around, praying that she would see some form of life, but all she saw was the burnt-out husks of friends: The African wind goddess, the beast with a kind heart, the spiritual demon, the metal soldier, the rogue and her lover. Eyes wide in horror, she called out the only two people she could not find, “SCOTT! Logan!”
“J-Jean, don’t do this,” whispered a gruff voice that the woman recognized.
“Logan!” the woman gasped, she ran to where she heard the voice, only to step back when she saw her own face on a form she never wanted to see again.
The other woman laughed loudly as she began to burn the lone wolf into a metallic skeleton, “What is the matter, Logan? I am sending you to a reward long denied you, to a place where you can rest.” she laughed, dropping the dead body of the man to the ground and melting his bones into a silvery puddle.
“Jean! No,” a man said, stepping out from the rubble and looking at the puddle that was his friend, “How could you do this, Jean!”
Jean Grey looked to the man next to her, trying her best to call to him, “Scott! No! Run! Please, leave! You can’t fight this!”
The other Jean laughed as she lowered herself to the ground, her red skin-tight outfit was covered in trophies of her previous kills, “What, love? Defeat the world's champions?” she asked pulling out a red and yellow S, burning it, “prove that compared to me, the strongest are nothing more than ants to be crushed? Or remind the world that when you go to the sun, you will get burned?”
“You killed our friends,” Scott said, holding his finger to his yellow visor, eyes narrowing with an intent to kill. “How could you?”
“Simple, they wanted me to lower myself to their level,” Jean said, sashaying her way to Scott, a sultry smile on her lips, “To become human again. To deny my inner nature as a doom bringer, as the taker of life. Besides, I only gave them a respite from their fruitless dream.”
“It isn’t fruitless Jean. And you are human!” Scott said, shaking his head as Jean placed her hand onto Scott’s cheek.
“You are wrong Scott, I am not human,” Phoenix said, placing her hand behind Scott’s head and smiling, “I am a goddess. A goddess of passions. A passion for chaos, for death, and love. It’s love why you cannot pull the trigger on your visor, and love is why I do this.” slowly, she pulled her lips closer to Scott’s and kissed him deeply, slipping her tongue into his mouth as her yellow-gloved hand caressed his chest.
“I admit, you were a fun mortal plaything for a while, but now you are finished,” Phoenix whispered as she began to burn Scott alive.
“NO!” screamed Jean as she watched her husband burn away. “Stop this!”
Phoenix laughed as she turned to look back at her human self, creating a throne of fire for her to sit on, “Stop? Stop our destiny? Stop our true purpose? Surely you jest.”
“I am not you! This is not who we are!” screamed Jean as she felt the flame wings begin to wrap around her body, burning away her nightgown and bringing her closer to her. “I deny you!”
“You deny us? You deny our power? Have you forgotten what it was like to touch the sky, to kiss the stars? The Shi’ar haven’t, and you haven’t either. Especially those six billion lives on that one world we obliterated,” Phoenix said, tucking Jean’s chin with a bit of flame and smiling as she looked into her mirror image. “Now come, embrace the sun.”
Jean shook her head and screamed in fright as she was enveloped by the fiery entity. In her place, stood Dark Phoenix. Smiling, she stretched and flexed her body as she embraced the power, “Ohhhh, so good to have my power back. Now I grow weary of this little planet.” her eyes looked to the sun, and smiled, “Dinner time.”
Jean Grey shot up in her bed with a gasp, her body covered in sweat. Panting, she looked to the body next to her and smiled, feeling her spirit calm down. Scott Summers was always a hard sleeper, in spite of his usual attitude, and it was times like this Jean loved seeing him. Calm and relaxed, snoring softly and looking like a normal human. Running a hand through his hair, she sighed and leaned in to kiss him softly on the lips.
As her lips left his, Scott woke a little, his words tumbling out as he started to waken, “Mmmm? Please tell me that I am being woken up by my wife and not some person who wants to use me in a cruel experiment.”
“See for yourself,” Jean said, telekinetically pulling his ruby quartz sunglasses and putting them onto his eyes.
Opening his eyes, he looked up at the love of his life, and smiled warmly, “Well, that is good news. Morning Jean. Why are you up so early? Not throwing up again are you?”
Jean shook her head, “No, just wanted to wake up my favorite mutant and see him before I get breakfast ready.” she said, rolling out of bed and putting on her clothes.
“Thought that was Ororo’s job,” Scott said, leaning back on the bed.
“Storm is on Themsicara, something about wanting to see Diana. Logan is who knows where, and the others are busy. This leaves you, me, some of the others and a bunch of students eager to learn,” giggled Jean.
Scott rolled his eyes, “Joy.” he let out a sigh and looked back at Jean, “Remember when it was just the five of us?”
“Yes, and I was the only girl on the team of five men, ogled by all but one of you and drooled at. Hoping that I might take a shower and Angel could abuse your powers for a peephole,” Jean said, walking out the door, “Happy times.”
Scott looked away, “I never oogled.”
“The only difference between now and then Scott,” she said, shaking her butt at him, “Is now you can touch me, as well as look.”
Scott watched his wife walk away, leaned back and sighed, “Guess you're right, Professor, things do change.”
“Now according to some theories on mutations, it is possible for mutant powers to evolve over time or to change with the person,” Jean said, looking at the class of half-asleep and attentive students.
One student raised his hand, “Mrs. Grey, is this what happened to Professor McCoy.”
“Good question. No, what happened to Hank was that...that,” Jean began to speak, but then began to sway back and forth.
Jump City. Help her, save them.
...My friends.
For a few brief moments, Jean saw a young blonde girl running away from a dark hand. Pale, she threw several large boulders at him only to watch them fade away into the shadows. Stepping forward Jean tried to save the girl as she was swallowed in darkness. When she looked at the black void, she saw a pair of cat-like eyes glaring at her.
“AHHHH!” Jean screamed as she fell backward, summoning a large pillar of flame.
As she collapsed, a young blonde-haired man looked into the classroom and gasped in horror. In a flash of snow and ice, the young man was encased in a suit of ice. Holding out his hand, he froze the flame pillar, “Oh god, what happened?”
“Bobby!” One of the students said, “Mrs. Grey, she was just giving a lecture and-”
“Got it,” he said, running to the unconscious form of his friend and picked her up to carry her off.
For a few moments afterward, Jean’s world was blackness. She laid on the cold gurney unable to move or open her eyes. The low rhythmic beeping of the EKG was the only thing that she could hear. Her breathing came out slow and steady as she laid there on the bed, trying to recollect her thoughts, “What happened to me? I haven’t had a flare up since,” she shuddered, trying to put the memory of her corruption behind her.
That was when she began to hear the voices in her head. While it was an unspoken rule of telepaths to never read a person’s mind without permission, it was an automatic reflex for her, especially when she recognized the voice as that belonging to her husband, “Scott?”
“What happened to her. I hope that it isn’t...no Scott, don’t think about it, not now. But, if she is...I don’t know what to do.”
Jean held her hand to her heart and sighed, shaking her head, “I hope so too Scott.” Then she began to hear talking outside.
“Bobby, what happened in that room?”
“It’s like the kids said, Slim. Jean was teaching the class when suddenly she flared up like the human torch. I came in, found her passed out in front of a pillar of flame and I had to put it out. You know, a thank you would be nice.”
“I...thanks Bobby, really. Any idea why she fell? Psionic attack? A parasite? Something with her powers?”
“Nothing. I put her in the med bay, had some of the machines scan her and got bubkiss. If she is under attack, then the guy is hiding pretty well.”
“Thanks, Bobby. Go upstairs and tell the kids that classes are canceled for today.”
“Right, boss.”
Jean looked down, trying to ignore the rage in her mind at being attacked and the loss of control as she listened for the door to open. Looking up, she smiled as she ran her hand through her red hair at the sight of Scott walking in, “I’m fine, in case you’re wondering. No psy attacks, no corruption, and I am not being manipulated by a cosmic entity to be used as a tool for destruction.”
Scott allowed himself a laugh as he sat next to the gurney and take her hand, “ our lives really so weird that those are the possible excuses for fainting? Why can’t it ever be babies?”
“Because that is what you signed up for when you put that suit on,” Jean said, wrapping her fingers with his.
Brown eyes met green as he asked, “Then what happened?”
“I had a vision,” Jean said, “This teenaged girl running away from some dark force, while these cat-like eyes stare at me, staring at the Phoenix Force. I don’t know why she is doing this or who it’s from. I just know that it wants me to go to Jump City.”
“I’ll get the team together, and then we can all go and investigate,” Scott said, standing up and walking to the door.
“Scott, it wants me. You don’t need to-”
“Jean, I know what happens when we don’t nip these small problems in the bud. Sooner or later they become bigger problems. They only way we can stop this before anything should happen is by all of us working together,” Scott said, walking out of the med bay.
Jean then heard him say in his thoughts.
“And to save you, if I can’t.
The dark skinned woman sat alone in a small box, keeping her eyes closed. Her breathing slow and steady as she whispered to herself, “It’s ok, Ororo, it’s just a box. Just an enclosed box that you allowed yourself to be imprisoned in. A black, enclosed, scary box that is holding you back from escaping a place that is denying you your freedom and I need to get out!” she shrieked, summoning a powerful lightning bolt that decimated the box.
“Good job,” A feminine voice spoke as she watched Storm walk away from the ruins of the destroyed box. “My sisters spent weeks on designing that box to withstand your powers and you destroyed it in seconds.”
Storm sighed and looked to the speaker, “I am sorry, Diana. I was not expecting my fears to be that harsh or to unleash that powerful of a blast.”
Wonder Woman shook her head and spoke in a comforting voice, “Ororo, I am proud of you for trying to conquer your fears, but sometimes you have to deal with this part of you.”
“I know, Diana, but I find it bizarre that I am a powerful wielder of weather and yet-”
“A simple closed room can break you,” chuckled Diana, “but I know what you are trying to do, and it is admirable.”
Storm nodded and was about to say more, when she heard a beeping on her communicator, “My team is calling me. I must go. Thank you for your help, Diana.”
The class on Quantum-Dimensional Physics was known to have unusual guest speakers, from the famous like Mr. Fantastic to the lesser known like Bloodwyn. All usually had something to discuss on their adventure through the multiverse and journeys through the various dimensions. Today’s guest speaker was considered to be one of the weirder ones, for thy never had one so furry and bestial. Dr. Hank Mccoy adjusted his glasses and lightly coughed to clear his throat as he stepped onto the stage, “I am grateful for your teacher inviting me here to discuss my various encounters with other dimensions. Now, I know my colleagues have discussed with you alternate forms of themselves, and morality when it comes to dealing with worlds that have different ideologies compared to you; however, I wish to discuss something different.”
Dr. McCoy stepped aside and looked to the large fish tank next to him, “In some universes, evolution favored other dominant species other than homo sapien or superior. These eventually come to live in civilizations that are similar to ours, with the same jobs, cultures, and even the same ideals as ours. These cultures could end up being starfish, anthropomorphic animals, or even ponies. I even met a six-fingered man who discussed a world of people who were all shaped in the letter M.” Letting out a chuckle at the thought he looked to the tank, “To help with my point, I brought with me a friend from a dimension populated by on cephalopods.”
Inside the tank was a very large red lobster wearing what could only be described as a doctor's uniform made for lobsters. Beast continued, “Our friend here volunteered to leave his job as a brain surgeon to give us the lecture. Now-” Beast paused when his communicator rang out, “My apologies. Henry, would you mind finished my lecture while I take care of some business.”
“Sure thing boss!” said the deep-voiced lobster as he waved off Beast. “Now boys, let's talk about these different dimensions here.”
Two editors of noted fame sat in a bar, their two drinks sitting in front of them. The man on the left had a stubby mustache that complimented his buzz cut hairdo. Glaring his eyes at the man across from him, he growled, “You know your problem, White? You are far too lenient on your reporters, the issues, and on the tougher subjects.”
“Jameson, just because I don’t jump on the superhero bandwagon everytime a hero is caught with his pants down or eating the wrong burger, does not make me any less of an editor,” Perry White said, looking at his rival editor.
“Your ‘paper’” Jameson said, wagging his fingers, “was nearly bought out five freaking times. At least once by that madman Morgan Edge, what do you say to that?
“At least I don’t rely on defamation and libel to get my readers,” said Perry, smirking, “Or do I imagine all those I Hate Spider-Man headlines? What is your problem with heroes anyway?”
Jameson put out his cigar, “Not all of them, just the ones who hide behind a mask. Captain America, Superman, Iron Man, they don’t operate like those freaks in the masks. They are real heroes.”
A man with hair spiked up and large sideburns tried his best to drown out the rabble from the two editors. Instead, he wanted to focus on finishing his drink and heading outside. For a moment, he was grateful for his healing factor stopping the onset of cirrhosis of the liver, allowing him to enjoy his brew as much as he could without worry. As he took another swig, he demanded, “Another one, bub.”
“Yes, sir,” the vaguely cockney man said, opening another bottle. Then he frowned as he looked to a young woman in the shadowy corner for the bar, “Oh, bollocks.”
The man looked over his shoulder at a bunch of thugs as they walked to the young girl, over hearing various catcalls and vulgar remarks. Some of them demanded she would show parts of her body she would only show her lover, while others demanded a bit of her time that she did not want to give. For any other man, he would ignore this and walk away, but he found himself unable to resist a good barroom brawl, and the yearning to help someone was also strong in him. Looking back at the bartender, he asked with a smirk, “Place insured?”
“Oh yes, we are. But do be careful of the damages, we do try to keep the prices down,” said the bartender.
Looking back over his shoulder, the man with sideburns said, “Put it on Jameson's tab.” Then he unsheathed two of his claws and walked to the first putz he saw. As the man trembled in utter horror, Logan then whispered, “The girl said no. Or would you like me to give you a more straight answer.”
As the thug felt the third claw slowly touch the back of his neck, he gasped, “Oh shit, we have a filthy mutie here. Help me.”
“Oh, a fucking mutant huh? Good, I wanted to carve one of those up for a while,” chuckled one of the men.
Logan smirked. There were three things he loved to beat up during me time: Sexists, racists, and trolls who write fanfcs of shows they hate. They just pressed two of his favorite buttons.
Outside of the bar, Jameson and Perry walked out, singing their favorite tunes in their drunken stupor. They did not hear, nor did they care about the sound of screams, cracks of broken bones, or various other sounds of the brawls inside.
As the sounds died down, the blonde woman began to yell and scream at Logan as he walked out of the bar, “That was a very important undercover operation you ruined! I was going to take one of them out back and interrogate them about what they know intergang and you fucked it up, you drunken idiot!”
“Yesh, shut up Sawyer,” Logan said, growling as he walked to his bike, “If I had known it was you getting manhandled, I wouldn’t have stepped in.”
The blonde crossed her arms as she leaned against the wall, “Well, maybe you should pay more attention,” Looking up, she smiled a little bit as she thought she saw a cape hide in a rooftop.
“Yeah, whatever,” Logan said, using his middle claw to flip her off before driving to the mansion.
The man sat at the table and looked at the southern belle in front of him. Her brown hair was tinged with a skunk stripe that gave her an air of exotic beauty that he could never deny or look away from. It didn’t help that her green and yellow dress helped to accentuate all of her perfect curves. Turning his attention back to her emerald eyes, he listened to her speak, “Why Remy, Ah do believe that this is the finest restaurant you ever took me too. Any particular occasion?” she asked, running her gloved finger along the rim of the wine glass.
“Well, for one thing, it’s the anniversary of the day you actually agreed to go on a date with Gambit, mon chere. Gambit wanted to make it special,” Gambit said with a smirk.” There is another reason .”
Rouge looked a little surprised, but then smiled sweetly, “Oh really, and what is that, cajun?”
“You see, Gambit’s been doing a lot of thinking and he has realized,” Gambit said, reaching his hand into his pocket, reaching for a small black case. Just as his fingers touched the small case, his comm began to ring on his side. “Merde.”
Rouge shook her head as she got off the chair, “No rest for us, hey Cajun?”
Gambit frowned and sighed, the small black bost resting in his sit as he followed his lady out the door.
Sister Maggie stepped behind the man in his hood and smiled, watching him pray silently to himself. It always did her good to see a visitor to her little part of New York, even if it wasn’t the man she hoped to see. Watching him stand, she asked, “Praying for a good time, my son?”
Faint yellow eyes showed from beneath the hood, “Just a small prayer for constant battles to end, and for family to be reunited. And for mothers to come home to their children.”
Sister Maggie sighed and nodded, watching as a blind lawyer walked into the cathedral and put some money in the donation bn. Smiling warmly, she said, “Aye, family is a good thing to cherish. Especially in these-” she paused, seeing a faint light in his robe, “Oh, are you being called?”
“Yes sister,” Kurt said, pulling back his hood. Smirking, he said, “My apologies for bringing a devil into your home.” Looking up, he saw an open window and bamfed out of the cathedral.
“Trust me,” she said, watching as the blind man left, “You are not the only devil in my life.”
“Still thinking of your sister, Markov?” Piotr Rasputen asked his friend as he watched him look off to the west.
“Yes,”Geoforce said, saying as he leaned against the tree, “Though I know she is alive and safe, it does not make it easier. I wish she would come back home to her family, to me. At least I know she is here.”
“I know how you feel. Though my dear sister Illyana is back home with my family, I still worry about here when I am here. I fear that something may happen to her or some monster could turn her evil,” Piotr said, shaking his head as he walked around his friend .”After all, what are good brothers for, if not to be protectors for our younger siblings?”
“Indeed. I am especially fearful for her life right now. I feel like some dark force is watching over her. Like something is ready for the strike, and I will not be able to help her,” Geoforce said, sighing.
Piotr shook his head, and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder “You worry too much, my dear friend. She is safe in school right? What could-”an alarm in his belt alerted him “I am sorry, but I must be going”
Geoforce nodded and waved Colossus off. Taking another deep breath, he looked to the sky and said “Be safe...Terra.”
Logan took his seat in the conference room of the basement in the X-mansion, his yellow mask pulled back to reveal his usual scowl and pointed hair. Narrowing his eyes, he looked back up at the man who stood before them, Cyclops. Dressed in his blue uniform, the man looked very much like the commander he had to know. Respected? Well, that was another story, “All right, Cyke, what is the point of calling us here?” he asked in his usual gruff tone. Looking at his right, he saw the other members of his team that have gathered.
Gambit sat to his right, grumbling something about lost chances or other. Then there was Nightcrawler, followed by Rogue and Storm. His eyes paid special attention to her, as there was always something about her that made her attractive, like how her white jumpsuit seemed to cling to her body tightly. To his left, sat Colossus and Rogue, each looking with concerned at the three people in front of them. Scott was the first to talk, “I think it’s best to let Jean tell you.”
Jean stepped forward and nodded, “For the past month, I have been getting visions. At first I thought they were just nightmares or worries over the coming school year, but lately, they’ve become more intense. What started as just echoes of a phoenix's cry have now turned to visions of a hellscape. I see of that monster killing all of you and then turning sights on the world. Then I wake up.”
Gambit looked up from his deck and asked, “So, do you know who is doing this psychic attack?”
“That is the curious thing,” Beast said, pressing a button on the console and bringing up a body scan of Jean, “Bobby put her body into the psy-scanner earlier and I later confirmed it with my own tests to see that she is remarkably healthy, both psionically and physically. No tempering, no signs of being a shapeshifter, the body is that of a young woman, no psionic tampering, brainwashing, or even a neurotoxin. For a woman of her condition, she is perfectly fine.”
“What is wrong with our lives when we have to put shapeshifter as a possible ailment?” Nightcrawler facepalmed.
“Then what is messing with her?” growled Logan, sharpening a claw.
Cyclops sighed and lowered his eyes, “We don’t know.”
“There has been something recent happening in my dreams,” Jean said, looking down, “A voice begging me to come to Jump City, to protect her. And to save them.”
“Jump City, that is where the Teen Titans live isn’t it?” asked Storm.
“Interestingly enough,” Beast said, pressing another button on the console to show a map of the united states with two red dots on it. “ There have been two different anomalies happening recently, one near Jump City, and one back in New York.” One of the images showed the Rainbooms and their fight, “I checked the newsfeed and came up with these six mysterious girls.”
“Hmmm, nice,” said Gambit, only to get elbowed in the stomach by Rouge.
Nightcrawler nodded, “I saw the end of their battle, they do not seem dangerous. Do you know where they are?”
“Sadly I do not, they disappeared as of late. I would use my connections with the Avengers, but, they all seem to be busy off world” Beast then clicked on the red dot, “This leaves us with this location.”
“I also used Cerebro and found a mutant in that city. She seems to be hiding, and worried about someone or something,” Jean said, looking down, “I don’t know why, but there is something surrounding that town...”
Cyclops nodded and turned off the screen, “There you have it. We are going to Jump City and investigate what is going on there. Maybe we can get to the bottom of Jean’s nightmares. I want all of you to meet up in the Blackbird in a few minutes.”
Silently, the group nodded and left the room. When Scott left the room after the others had left, he was stopped by a voice from behind, “Alright, Cyke, out with it. Why did you get us all here?”
“What do you mean?” asked Scott.
“Don’t act like you don’t know. You could’ve done this alone with just Jean. You didn’t need the others, and you didn’t need me,” Logan said, stepping in front of Cyclops and growled lowly, “You are scared of something aren’t you.”
Behind his visor, Scott’s brown eyes slightly closed before he let out a sigh “reads me like a freaking book. It’s Jean.” he said simply. “I’m afraid that she might have a relapse and become Dark Phoenix again, and this time... there is no going back.”
Logan frowned, and then growled as he said, “And when that happens, you want me to do what you can’t. We’re all here to just to do something that you don’t have the balls to-”
“I couldn’t kill her when she transformed the first time! What makes you think I could do it a second time,” Cyclops clenched his fists as he snarled. “Do you know what it’s like? Looking down at the love of your life with your finger on the trigger, ready to choose between stopping her, the universe, or breaking your heart? I’ve lost my family, lost friends, and so much more! Asking me to take Jean’s life, it’s just too much.”
“And you think, that it would be easier for me?” asked Logan.
“You want me to say it? You want me to admit it? Fine, you are stronger than me! You have the strength to pull yourself back from tragedy and heal from it! You are better than me, happy?!” asked Scott, pressing his finger to his friend’s chest.
“Not really,” Logan said, pulling Scott’s finger away, “Because I hate seeing you trying to drag yourself down like that.” he then turned away and walked away, “It’s not going to happen, but if it does... I’ll do what needs to be done.”
As Logan walked to the hangar bay, he looked over his shoulder at Scott, “Just remember, our team doesn't have one strong person. Don't’ count yourself short.”
Scott chuckled, “If I didn’t know better, I thought you were complimenting me.”
Logan said nothing, only holding up a middle claw.
With a powerful burst of flame and boom of jet engines, the Blackbird took off, fading into the clouds. Sitting in the pilot’s seat, Scott calmly began to adjust the controls and check his instruments. A sigh escaped his lips as he watched the sky and clouds pass him by, his mind thinking of the mission ahead. Looking to his side at Jean, he smiled faintly, hoping to himself that they would be able to help her and she would be fine. Looking behind him, he looked at his team, and quickly he reminded himself that he had more than his lady love to worry about, he had an entire team to watch over.
Narrowing his eyes, he could only ask himself, “Whatever is in Jump City...be ready.”
Twilight stepped in front of a chart and looked to all of her friends, each in various states of wakefulness. Smiling, she brought out a little stick, “Be ready, everypony! I have a big day scheduled ahead of us.”
“Twilight? Why do we even need this? I think our first fight shows off how good we are at this,” Dash said, her confidence showing through her voice.
Twilight shook her head as she walked, “I know we did good back there, but what we did was mostly on instinct. We need to train and get better at this. Whatever is waiting for us, we need to be ready, and to do that, we need to understand the full potential of our powers. So, get ready, I am going to put you through your paces!!!”
“Oooh, I brought the music!” Pinkie cheered as she hit the stereo nearby.
“You are listening to Kjump! Beaming music nationwide from the beautiful city of Jump. Up next... Kenny Loggins.”
In a small pocket dimension, off the beaten path of many dimensional gateways, a figure stood in the main room of his castle at the top of the tower. He looked over the landscape with a bit of sadness in his eyes as he let out a sigh, “Please, be safe guys.” Count Logan spoke, his deep voice gone and replaced a higher scratchier tone. “And whatever happens next...please forgive me.”
A young and peppy female voice called out from outside of the room, “Oh, Count! I have news for you!”
Putting on his old tone of voice, he spoke, “What is it, Kamica?”
“Kami...Oh yeah! The code names you wanted us to have!” she said, giggling and shaking her head, “That’s right, forgot. Well, I was watching the big tv thing downstairs and the two teams that you brought over here are making their way to Jump City right now.”
“E.T.A.,” asked Count Logan.
“Well, I don’t know where Etta Candy is right now, but I can tell you that they should both arrive at Jump city in two days!” Kamica laughed, “Should me and the others get ready?”
“Have the preparations for the game been set?” asked Count Logan, his eyes narrowing.
“As sure as your eyebrows are big!!” cheered Kamica. Then she laid her head to the side, “Speaking of which, why the-”
“Because they look cool and make me look intimidating!” shouted Count Logan. Then with a sigh, he said, “Now go and be prepared to meet the three teams when they arrive.”
“Yes sir!” Kamica said with a silly salute before cartwheeling off.
A feminine voice spoke from the darkness, a slight purr in her voice as her yellow eyes stared at him, “Are you sure you picked good players for the game? I don’t want this to be too easy for them.”
“Yes, I am sure, now go,” Count Logan spoke, watching the eyes dissipate. Looking up, he shook his head, and then took off his mask, looking back at the green face that stared at him, “Please...”
Jump City, while the city slept, none could hear the mournful cry of a raven.