GO WEST

Chapter 13: "Stars Overhead"

"No more, no more, I can't take this much humiliation all at once!"

Marie-Ange removed her fencing mask, letting her hair spill out. "Do not sell yourself short, mon brave; you've improved tremendously."

"Thanks," Doug groaned, sitting down on a lawn chair and taking off his own mask. "Ouch. You know, when I was at Xavier's over this last summer, I learned about a dozen martial arts styles by fighting computer simulations in the Danger Room. I figured I could figure out any fighting style after that. But this... is tough."

"I am also hardly a simulation," she smiled at him.

"That's true," Doug grinned back. "With the simulators, I could predict the computer's moves after a while. You're a lot more difficult to read."

"So I've been told," she replied, cryptically.

"Just when I think I've figured out your moves, you go and do something I don't expect."

Her grin deepened, and she lightly smacked his bent knee with the end of her foil. "Care to try again?"

"Not particularly. Haven't I had enough?"

"If you wish. Come. Let's shower and get changed."

Doug very nearly answered "Together?" but quickly bit back on this retort. "Sounds good," he nodded, instead.

They headed into the house together, to find most of the others hard at work as well. Dani and Rahne were working out with the weights in the hub, while Warlock was down the hall, doing homework at the dining room table. Catseye was sunning herself out by the pool, and Ric was not yet back from school (heaven help them all, he was at the library -- they'd make a student out of him yet). They followed the main hall around to the living wing, then went off to their own rooms. Doug watched her as she went, and just before she disappeared into her room, she turned around and raised her foil in a jaunty salute. "A bientôt, cher."

"Something like that," Doug nodded, smiling as he closed his door behind him.

Doug believed in taking long showers, both for the relaxing effect of the hot water and steam, and for the opportunity to reflect. As a student with thirty-four quarter units (all coming to a boil as finals drew close) and a part-time job, not to mention having some measure of a social life, it seemed that every moment of his time was taken with one concern or another. The shower was one of the only moments he had to pause and take stock.

Of paramount concern, of course, was his evolving relationship with Marie-Ange. This one continually threw him off. School, work, finals... hell, even life as a mutant was child's play compared to this.

There was no mistaking the fact that they were closer now than ever, given the past week. Ever since the night of the dance and the impromptu birthday party, there had been something of a tacit understanding between the two (or so it seemed) that there was something there that went beyond simple friendship, but Doug, as yet, could not piece together exactly what that something might be. There had been hand-holding, a lot of smiling, a lot of looking into one another's eyes, and even the occasional kiss.

As for what that might mean, he couldn't hazard a guess. As for where to go from here, he was even more clueless. Things seemed to be moving a tad more quickly than he would have guessed, considering everything that she'd been through, and he wasn't sure whether or not he should go with it or question it.

The simple fact of the matter was that the woman he was falling quite impossibly in love with was, by no fault of her own, a victim of a crime that was a grim, horrifying parody of love -- an act of purest violence and domination. It had taken something which should have been a wonderful shared experience between two people in love, and turned it into something twisted and... well, Doug could think of no better word than 'evil,' as cliché as it sounded.

What, Doug asked himself again and again, do you say to a rape victim? How do you convince them that everything's alright now, and that they're safe, and that it doesn't have to be that way? As he had told Danielle on several occasions, in spite of appearances, he felt as though he were walking on eggshells around her, not wishing to inadvertently dredge up the painful memories. What could he do to convince her that she was loved, and that everything would get better?

Then again, as he knew, Marie-Ange was an intelligent, reasonable woman, as well as a believer in fate. Theoretically, she would have already put everything behind her.

Theory, however, does not always equate into practice.

Having finished with the shower, Doug turned off the water, stepped out of the cubicle, dried himself off, and wrapped himself in his robe. He took the door to his room, opened the sliding doors of his closet, and got out something to wear. All the while, he couldn't get the questions out of his mind.

Maybe the best thing to do would be to go on letting things evolve, and just be there for her, in whatever way she might need him.

Again, nice in theory, something else again in practice.

Doug decided to go join the others in the hub, and see how their respective workouts were going. When he arrived, he noticed that Dani was bench-pressing the maximum weight the Nautilus machine had to offer, and was only just starting to break a sweat. Rahne, off to one side with a set of one-hand dumbbells, noticed him come out, and waved to him. "H'lo, Douglas!"

"How's everything?" he asked, seating himself cross-legged on the diving board.

Dani sat up from the bench and regarded him with a smirk, rubbing her arms. "So, you ready to try the big sword yet, kiddo?"

"Give me a few years and a body like Ahnold's, and then I'll be ready for it," Doug snorted. "I can barely lift the thing right present."

Catseye chose that moment to rise and stretch mightily, and then, without warning, she dove into the pool, splashing the other three.

"Aaah! Wet cat!" Dani yelled out, melodramatically.

Rahne quickly checked the radio, to make sure it was dry. "Sharon, ye great silly," she muttered, admonishingly.

The local classic rock station, to which the radio had been tuned, chose that moment to finish up the Yes song it had been playing and launch into a Lila Cheney/Roger Daltrey duet of "Love Reign O'er Me." "'Tis Lila!" Rahne called to the others, surprised.

Sharon pulled herself up along the side so that her head and shoulders were above the water level, and shook her mane out, grinning. "Ahhh. Much better."

"Thought you hated getting wet, kittycat," Doug laughed.

"Is good sometimes," she shrugged. She then kicked off from the side and started doing laps up and down the pool.

Ric was the next to join them outside, having just arrived home from the library. "Man, I have had enough!" was the first thing he said upon reaching the hub. He made a great show of dragging himself over to Rahne and collapsing onto the concrete at her feet.

"Silly," she admonished him with a smile. "Did ye get a lot done?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"Nearly caught up on everything?" Doug asked.

"Yeah, kind of."

"Ready for finals?" Dani went on.

"Yeah, kind of."

"That works," Doug nodded.

Marie-Ange arrived next. She always took a long time getting out of the shower, given that her hair required considerable attention. "Bonjour, mes amis," she smiled at the group.

"Did you have fun whomping our pal, here?" Dani grinned, pointing to Doug.

"I would hardly call it 'whomping,'" Marie-Ange laughed.

"That makes one of us," Doug groaned, sarcastically, laying back on the diving board. Marie-Ange sat down next to him and gave him a little pat on the head.

The song ended, then, to be replaced by the voice of the D.J. "It doesn't get any better than that. Lila Cheney and Roger Daltrey on KLAS. As you all know, Lila's here in town with Hawkwind tonight, playing the Sports Arena, and if you don't have tickets yet, well, too bad, it's been sold out for weeks. BUT we just happen to have a couple, and we'll give 'em to the nineteenth caller at 555-KLAS."

"Where's the cordless?" Ric demanded, looking around frantically.

"Lila's in town?" Doug gaped. "I don't believe it!"

"I never heard anything about it!" Dani added.

"You guys kidding?" Ric asked, still searching frantically. "It's been on the radio for weeks! Where's the damn phone?"

"It's in on the kitchen counter," Rahne told him, pointing back into the house.

"Thanks," he nodded, hurdling over the freeweight bench and darting into the house to get the phone. He came out a moment later, followed by a surprised-looking Warlock.

"Well, I didn't even know she had a new album out," Dani shrugged. "Last one I heard was the live duets album she did after her last tour."

"She doesn't have one yet," Ric replied, dialing and redialing. "I hear she and Hawkwind might do a live one together, though."

"Lila and Hawkwind," Doug considered. "Well, both British, both have a sort of bastardized heavy-metal/folk/sci-fi feel, both very very loud... Yeah, that's a match made in heaven."

Ric bit back on a particularly nasty curse. "I'm not gettin' through."

Dani looked over at Doug, then at Warlock, cocking her head to one side. "You guys haven't seen her since you came back, have you?"

"Negative, frienDani," Warlock replied. "Self responds with question of equivalent syntax."

She paused. "Oh. Oh, yeah. No, I haven't seen her either."

"That's 'cause she ain't toured since then," Ric pointed out. "I was gonna suggest it when I heard about it, but it sold out in less'n a day."

A slow smile spread across Dani's face as she looked from Doug to Rahne to Warlock. "We should go," she said, simply.

"Yeah!" Doug grinned with her. "That'd be a blast!"

"Damn!" Ric growled, switching off the phone. "And what're you guys talking about? Haven't you been listening? It's sold out!"

"Oh, come on," Dani shrugged. "If Lila knew we were here in town, she'd probably get real miffed that we didn't come by. Especially 'cause she thinks you two are still dead." She said this last pointing out Doug and Warlock. "What do you think, Rahney?"

"That'd be lovely," Rahne agreed. "I've not seen Lila since she saved us from those horrid beasties out in space."

"Self responds equivalently," Warlock put in. "Self would enjoy opportunity to see selfriendLila again."

Ric gave them all a blank look, then nodded, giving them a knowing grin. "Oh, yeah, I remember this one," he said. "Lila used to be Sam Guthrie's girlfriend back when you guys were still the New Mutants. Come on, I didn't believe it then, and I don't believe it now."

"Ric, it's not a story," Doug assured him. "Weird as it sounds, it's all true. What say we get dressed up and head on down to the Arena?"

"I'm there," Dani nodded. Rahne and Warlock agreed as well.

"Doug, you can't expect me to believe this," Ric said, shaking his head. "I mean, I liked Sam and all, but let's face it, he was kind of a goofball. Assuming he and Lila ever even met, what would a rich, famous rock star see in a guy from the sticks?"

"FriendBobbySunspot often voiced identical question," Warlock replied. "Self has no answer."

"Face it, Ric," Dani laughed at him, toweling herself off. "The man's got that down-home charm."

"You have completely lost me," Marie-Ange interrupted at this point. "All of those rumors we heard at the Academy about Sam and Lila were true, then?"

"Well, I don't know about all of them," Doug shrugged. "But they were together, that's certain. You want to come and meet her?"

"I..." Marie-Ange groped for the words. "I don't know much of her music, I'm afraid. But I always try to open myself to new listening."

"Don't open the ears too wide now, Angie," Dani warned her. "They're liable to start bleeding. Lila puts on a loud show."

"Catseye wishes to come see rockshow too!" Sharon nodded, slipping out of the pool. "Would rocklady like to meet Catseye, as well?"

"I'm sure the two of ye would hit it off," Rahne smiled.

"Yeah," Doug agreed. "Lila's pretty feline herself, I have to admit."

"Guys," Ric said, in a tone that implied he wasn't going to take this any longer, "I still don't believe you. Give it up already, okay?"

"Ric, why in the name of the Father would we lie t'ye about somethin' such as this?" Rahne asked him, a touch of exasperation in her voice.

"Look, Ric, I'll tell you what," Doug offered. "I'm going to go get changed and get ready to go, and if you want to come, you're welcome to. Have a little faith, man."

"Or don't," Dani shrugged. "You'll miss a good show, though."

Ric put both hands up to ward off further comment. "Okay, even assuming you all are telling the truth here, how would you get a chance to even see Lila? She's gotta have bodyguards up to here, man." He held one hand up about two feet above his own head to illustrate.

"Leave that to self," Warlock grinned. "Self has a plan."

"Great," Ric said, still not looking convinced. "Okay, I'm game."

"Ye willna' regret this, Ric," Rahne smiled.

San Diego Sports Arena, 6:03 pm

The Sports Arena parking lot was packed by the time they arrived, which made sense, given that the show was supposed to be starting in less than an hour, but they were nonetheless able to find a place to park the minivan way out in the outskirts. The seven mutants got out, and together, made their way toward the complex itself.

Down at one end, they saw several tractor-trailers parked close together, around a tour bus with Lila's very distinctive name-logo painted on one side.

Doug quickly led them around to one very particular set of doors at this far end, which were being guarded by a couple of excessively large men. They stood to either side of the doors, doing a wonderful job of looking menacing.

"Backstage doors," Dani said, quietly.

"Ain't no way we're getting past those guys," Ric nodded. They watched as a group of autograph-hounds approached, and were sent away in short order. "You ready to go home now?"

"Trust me, Ric," Doug nodded. "We won't need to. Warlock, you ready?"

"Self is, as ever, at the ready," Warlock nodded.

"Coolness." Doug caught Marie-Ange's eye, and winked at her. "Let's go up there nice and slow. Let me do the talking."

En masse, the seven ambled up toward the back doors. Doug detached himself from the rest of the group and approached the two bodyguards, looking for all the world like a wide-eyed fan. "Excuse me, sirs?"

"You got a backstage pass, kid?" one asked.

"No, my friends and I were just wondering if Lila was going to be signing autographs before the show."

"No autographs, kid. Sorry."

"Really?" Doug asked, looking crushed. "Are you sure?"

"Positive, kid," said the bodyguard, with the resigned tone of one who'd answered this question many times already. "Now go on. Enjoy the show."

"Okay," Doug sighed, trudging back down to the group.

"What now?" Ric asked, sotto voce.

"Warlock?" Doug asked.

"Messenger probe sent," Warlock nodded.

"Now, we wait," Doug said in reply to Ric.

After a couple of minutes, Ric cast an uneasy look at the bodyguards. "Dude, they're not gonna like us hanging around here."

"Warlock?" Doug asked again.

"Any second now," Warlock assured them with a grin.

All of a sudden, the backstage doors flew open from the inside, forcing the guards to dodge to either side. Standing in the open doorway, resplendent in her best black leather stage outfit, makeup and hair only half-finished, and with a look of amazed delight on her face, was Lila Cheney. "Oh. My. God!"

Before Doug or Ric or the bodyguards or anyone else could say anything, she shot out of the doors and launched herself at the group, giving Doug a colossal bearhug. "Douglas! Good Christ, luv, you're not dead!"

Even Doug looked a little surprised by the welcome. "Hey! Looking good, Lila!" he grinned. "Good to see you!"

"Likewise!" she laughed, looking almost giddy. She then noticed Dani, and gave her another bearhug. "Dani! Damn, you got taller on me! About bloody time you got back!"

"I could say the same for you," Dani laughed.

"Hullo, Lila!" Rahne chimed in, happily.

Lila went from Dani to Rahne then, nearly picking up the smaller girl as she embraced her. "I can't believe this! Rahne, you're looking wonderful!"

"Thank ye," Rahne nodded, grinning hugely. "'Tis all the clean livin' we've been doin' out here."

Lila released Rahne and looked up at Warlock, cocking her head to one side. "Warlock?" she asked.

"Salutations and other formal greetings!" Warlock said with a shy little wave.

"Thought so," she crowed, giving him a crushing hug. "Damn, luv, hold on to this form; it's a keeper! Good to see you alive and well!"

"Self expresses appreciation and thanks!"

Lila then moved on to the next, who happened to be Ric, and spread her arms to give him a big hug as well. Before she did, though, she paused in that pose. She then shook her head, still grinning. "I have no idea who you are," she observed.

"Uh," said Ric.

"Lila, this is Ric Torres," said Rahne, coming up beside Ric and putting one arm around his waist. "Ric, this is..."

"Lila Cheney," said Ric, his throat dry.

Still smiling, Lila grabbed his hand and shook it vigorously. "Glad to meet you, luv. New addition to the fold?" she then asked Rahne.

"One of several," Rahne nodded.

"Lila," Doug spoke up then, moving to stand next to Marie-Ange, "I'd like you to meet our other two additions. That's Sharon Smith, and this is Marie-Ange Colbert." Angie shot him a confused look at the use of their real names, but Doug gave her a reassuring nod. "Don't worry, she's safe."

Lila shook Sharon's hand, then, looking way up at her. "Tall women," she huffed, smilingly. "What's with all the tall women? Rahne, luv, you'd better stay close or I'm liable to get a complex."

"Very pleased to meet rocklady!" Sharon beamed, shaking Lila's hand in return.

"Rocklady's pleased too," Lila replied with a grin, moving on to Angie. After shaking hands with her, though, she got a thoughtful look, then started snapping her fingers to stimulate her memory. "Hey, didn't you play with the Boston Pops this last spring?"

Marie-Ange gaped. "You saw that?"

"Yeah!" Lila grinned. "You were outstanding!" She looked over at Doug, then. "Have you ever heard this girl play? She's amazing!"

"Not often enough," Doug smiled.

Lila looked around the group, looking simply thunderstruck. "I still can't believe you're all here! I thought you two were dead, and that you were off in Asgard fighting the evil hordes or something!"

"We got better," Warlock quoted in an excellent John Cleese voice.

"And I got sick of it," Dani shrugged. "Anyway, we're back now!"

"Uh, Ms. Lila," one of the bodyguards put in, approaching from the doors, "I take it you know these people."

"'Course I do, Nunzio," she grinned back. "Um, look, guys," she then told the group, "I'd love to chat now, but I've got a show to put on back here. You guys wanna come backstage and tell me more while I'm getting ready? We've got room for you all to watch in the wings, too."

"Love to," Doug nodded. "Thanks, Lila."

"Any bloody time, luv," she nodded, emphatically. "You lot have made my night. Come on, let's go. And the party's at my place after the show!"

Lila led the way in, followed by the others. Ric brought up the rear, still in shock. "We're gonna watch from the stage?" he asked Rahne, quietly.

"Aye, Ric. That we are."

"And we're going to Lila's place after?"

"Aye, Ric. Now don't ye wish ye'd believed us?" she mocked him.

"Whoa," was all he could say in reply.

The seven watched from the wings as the final preparations got underway. Lila had taken leave of them, saying that she had to get herself in place for her big entrance, but had acquired backstage passes for them all, so that no one would question their presence.

"So many people!" Marie-Ange commented to Doug. "I had no idea it took so many to put on a concert of this magnitude."

"Most of 'em are tech crew," Doug nodded. "Lila's shows are always on the cutting edge as far as technology goes. She uses lasers, holograms, moving sections of the stage, all kinds of stuff." He leaned closer, so that he would not have to raise his voice over the noise of the capacity crowd. "The trick is that she uses a lot of alien equipment that's beyond anything developed on Earth."

She gave him a surprised look. "How does she get it?"

"She's a mutant, see. An interstellar-range teleporter. She spends at least as much time performing in space as on Earth."

"Ah," Marie-Ange nodded, eyes wide. "My goodness..."

Doug smiled at her surprise, then craned his neck to try and look out at the crowd. "You know, this isn't a bad life," he remarked. "Sometimes I feel like I missed my calling. Being on stage feels... natural, I don't know..."

"It's not as easy as it looks, mon brave," she told him.

"I can imagine not. Still, you've done your time under the lights, I guess. The Boston Pops?"

She blushed. "It was a one-time event. I played solo violin with them. It was... incredible."

"Yeah, I'll bet... I wish I could have seen it. Like I said to Lila before, we don't get to hear you play nearly often enough."

"Oh, was that it?" she grinned, impishly. "I thought you were saying that my playing wasn't amazing often enough."

He stopped in his verbal tracks, and her expression dissolved into laughter. "Only teasing, Douglas."

"Heads up, everyone!" Ric called over the roaring crowd. "Looks like they're getting ready to go!"

At that moment, the stage went completely black, causing the crowd to cheer all the louder. Projectors came to life all over the arena, making the entire place appear as though it were flying through a field of stars. A screen at the back of the stage also lit up with stars, slowly growing closer and passing to either side along the walls, or above to the ceiling. The effect was to make the arena seem like a spaceship flying through the cosmos.

A single electric guitar blared through the colossal speakers, raising still greater cheers. The members of Hawkwind began to appear on stage, standing on platforms that raised them up through openings in the stage floor. Laser light spilled down from above, encompassing each one in a narrow, spinning pyramid of green beams. Only the guitarist, at this point, was playing, but it was more than enough sound to fill the hall. The drummer and keyboardist quickly got in place, letting the intro build more and more, until it teetered on the brink of the downbeat.

The rest of the band came in, then, playing "Images," the opening piece from their "Space Bandits" album. The view in the front screen changed suddenly, giving the impression that the ship had just hit warp speed, sending the stars hurtling past.

At the same time, from the far end of the arena, Lila emerged from the lighting tier, rocketing across the open space and playing her guitar, held aloft by a jet-pack around her waist. Spotlights hit her from either side, and she flew from one side to another in the space of four measures, touching down on stage and extinguishing her jets as the words began. She sang using a headset microphone, so that both hands were free for her guitar.

Lila and the band rocked through the first verse and chorus, and as they went, the projected flight-course of the screens changed, sending them on a twisting, turning course through space, still hurtling forward at warp velocity. Perhaps it was just part of the illusion, but it seemed to all present that the whole arena was moving all around them.

Lila launched herself back into the air as the first chorus ended, spinning round and round as she played her guitar. She then slowed to a perfect hover to sing the next verse in midair, while the band rocked out below, under the ever-changing laser lights. It was a journey through space powered by music, and they were all along for the ride.

As they sang through the second verse and chorus, another, larger ship appeared on the forward screen. It sped quickly toward them, and then seemed to come right out of the screen, projected above the astonished crowd as a gigantic hologram. The song made an abrupt change, and it became apparent that they were under attack. The other ship sent multi-colored laser lights down to impact on stage, sending up several small, timed explosions. Then, a huge green beam came from the larger ship, engulfing them, and pulling them closer. Now, all that could be heard were various synthesized notes, as well as noises made by the respective ships. Lila and Hawkwind's Dave Brock brought strange, fantastic sounds from their guitars, and Lila lay her voice over it, shouting the lyrics at their captors. Del Detmar and Nik Turner brought bizarre sounds from their keyboards, sending them echoing around the hall every which way. It built in volume and intensity, as the alien vessel seemed to suck all power from the arena, leaving the stage suddenly dark as the lyrics and music abruptly cut out. All that was left was the stars as they drifted away, having been released from the aliens once all power was gone. The only sound was that of a violinist, rising up on a platform at the back of the stage, playing their dirge.

Doug glanced over at Marie-Ange to see her staring at the spotlighted violinist, an incredulous smile on her face. It was a look reflected by all of the others as they witnessed this amazing spectacle.

Then, quite suddenly, lights came back up around Lila, Brock, and the drummer, as they suddenly seemed to come back to life, getting back to full speed rock again. The lasers spotlighted the band once more, and the ship sped forward into the stars, pursued by the gargantuan alien vessel. The violinist stood at the very front, his dirge having turned into a screeching counter-melody above the sounds of guitar, bass and drums below him. He played so fast that smoke seemed to be rising off of his strings.

"Is that smoke?" Ric asked over the noise.

"Rosin!" Marie-Ange called back.

Lila went airborne again as the song went on, singing from midair as the chase resumed. The alien ship sped up until it was again keeping pace above them, but this time, they were ready for it. Lasers shot from the stage, and from all around the arena, nailing it on the fly, and causing several simulated explosions on its holographic structure. The chase became a mad dogfight, and here the vertigo became more intense, like a space-age roller-coaster ride. It was difficult to tell whether or not the floor was actually moving beneath them.

The battle raged on, eventually ending in triumph, as the alien ship went nova in the blackness above them. This, however, sent them spinning off course, the stars swirling around them. They quickly regained stability, though, and their ship sped into the endless night of the stars, the song ending with a long, sustained chord from the guitarists.

"Hello, San Diego!" Lila screamed into her microphone. "Are you ready to fly?!"

The crowd roared with approval, a cheer that was echoed by the seven mutants gathered in the wings. "This is incredible!" Ric whooped.

Before the first song could echo away, they went into the second one, where a loud, steady drum beat indicated the opening of "Black Elk Speaks." Their flight path had leveled off and slowed, now, and before them, on the "bridge" of the ship (the stage), a hologram of the Sioux holy man appeared before them, ten feet tall, speaking his words of truth. Hawkwind had used this speech in their recording of this song, and here, too, it added an ethereal presence to the music.

"Grandfather," the old man chanted, "great mysterious one... You have been always, and before you, nothing's been. There is nothing to pray to but you. The star nations all over the universe are yours, and yours are the grasses of the Earth..."

Dani whistled loudly as Lila and Brock added a guitar melody to the prayer, and the synth players gradually came in as well, playing soft, almost eerie chord accompaniment. Black Elk finished his prayer, and slowly faded away, leaving the crowd to cheer his departure as though he'd actually been there. Lights came up around Lila as she began chanting as well, her words ringing out into the hall.

In your throat is a living song, a living spirit-song
His name is Long-Life Maker...
Yes, I'm here to heal, with the healing ways
Both the magic of the ground and the magic of the Earth...
So go on, my friend... and sing with the healing spirit...

Soon, a huge flock of beautiful winged creatures, almost fey in their appearance, flew up to meet them, seeming to come out of the screen and flit around the arena, their wings beating so fast as to be blurs of every color of the spectrum. These images, holograms as well, flew out into the audience, circling around them, while broad-beamed floodlights came up to spotlight their flight.

The song was Hawkwind's "Wings," which mildly surprised Doug, as they seemed to be doing the album "Space Bandits" in exact sequence, with not a sign yet of Lila's own music. Still, it was an incredible song, telling the sad tale of a beautiful winged race that destroyed itself with advances in industry and technology. Lila and Brock sang their story as they flew.

I can see them dying cold
In a sky that is so old
I remember where they once flew
Where they sang to the morning dew
Now their wings are soaked in oil...

No longer do we hear them sing...
No longer do we hear the fluttering... of wings...

Lila and Hawkwind turned out to be a match made in heaven not just in terms of their similar musical styles, but in their message as well. Lila had written dozens of thoughtful songs about the human condition and about peace versus war, the message there if people would only let themselves hear the words. Hawkwind was much the same way, and had been doing such music for many years. They had gone from a science-fiction fight scene to Native American prayers to endangered wildlife in their opening three numbers, pushing back the ends of the envelope as ever.

The concert carried on from there with a pretty even split of Lila's music and Hawkwind's. Hers was new and fresh thanks to their very unique sound, and theirs was made to sound more vital than ever with her guitar and vocals. They'd had no opening act, so that they could put on as much of a show as they could by themselves. As it was, their voyage across space, time, and music took over three hours and had two encores. It was a show never to be forgotten.

Finally, when it was over, Lila ran off the stage to be practically mobbed by Go West, congratulating her on the show. Even with her hair plastered to her face by sweat, she still managed to look giddily full of energy, thanking them all with smiles and big hugs.

"And that, my friends, is that," she crowed. "Ready to party?"

"This group's always ready to party!" Ric laughed.

"We're off, then!" she winked at him. A flash of light enveloped them, and when their eyes cleared, they were standing in sunlight, in the middle of the strangest city any of them had ever seen. Doug, Rahne, Dani and Warlock recognized where they were right away, of course, but Ric, Sharon and Marie-Ange were looking around in wonder at the strange, alien monoliths all around them.

"Where the hell are we?" Ric asked quietly.

"The far side of the galaxy," Lila laughed. "Welcome to my place!"

From there, the group was treated to a once-in-a-lifetime party with Lila, the members of Hawkwind, and the tech crew, many of whom turned out to be aliens. It was an experience not to be forgotten, with much food, drink, and general revelry. The tech crew, once Lila fetched them from the stage in San Diego, proceeded to get particularly hammered, as they apparently did after every successful show. There was music as well, with an impromptu jam between Brock on guitar, a Skrull playing sax, a Kree pounding on the drums, and a Kymelian playing something that looked like keyboards, but built to be played by alien hands. They played up on a raised platform at one end of the large alien dining hall where everyone had come to blow off steam.

Lila was monopolized that night by Go West, catching up on stories and gossip. "So you lot finally left Xavier's? About bloody time. I hate to say it, but being in space for as long as he was changed that man for the worse."

"Well, you're not without a few changes yourself," Doug pointed out. "Why're you touring with Hawkwind? Mind you, I loved the show, but where's your band?"

"Split up," Lila sighed. "Conal wanted to go solo, and Ben's too mad about the man to want to be away from him, so the two of them went off together. I wish them luck, anyway."

"Off together?" Rahne asked. "Ye mean the two of them were..?"

"Gay, yes," Lila nodded. "And very much in love. More power to 'em, I say. But still, that leaves me without a guitarist and a bass player, and as tempting as it was to go up on stage with just me and Alan, I don't think it would have worked with just guitar and drums. Alan's a good kid, and a hell of a drummer, but just the two of us?"

"What're you gonna do?" Ric asked. "Been a long time without a new album now."

"Well, Alan's gone back home to drum up some help. I'd rather trust him to find some new blood than have open auditions. With luck, he'll have some names for me pretty soon. Meanwhile, I've got a band for my shows away from Earth," here she pointed to the wildly playing aliens, "and I've got this tour going with Hawkwind. I'm even taking 'em with me to play a few dates out in the far sectors." She gave them a V-shaped grin. "I can't wait to see how those shows turn out."

"Are you gonna do a tour album?" Ric asked her. "I really dug the duets one."

"Ohhhh, for a few million others like you," Lila laughed. "Ric, sweetheart, that album was the biggest financial bomb of my career."

"What're you talking about? I thought it went platinum a while back."

"Well, yes, but most of the profit got eaten up in paying for the rights to have all those artists appear. I myself didn't make pound one, but that was voluntary; I did it for the sake of the art, and I'd already made more than enough off of 'Faces in Starlight' and the whole tour. It didn't lose money for the studio, but it bloody well didn't make much. I don't know if they're ready to take another risk like that on me."

"How could they not?" Marie-Ange asked. "Your music tonight was... fantastic! Simply incredible! I've never seen anything like it."

"Thank you," she smiled, "but they're thinking that an album wouldn't capture the... what was it... 'essence' of the live show."

"It'd be tough to capture an experience like that," Dani nodded. "Was it just my imagination, or was that place moving?"

"Of course it wasn't," Lila laughed. "That was just the best damn simulation I could find out here. I had lots of fun little gadgets."

"Like the jetpack?" Doug asked.

"Oh, that was actually just a prop," she waved. "I was using a personal anti-grav device. The pack was for show."

"I was wondering," he nodded. "It didn't seem like quite enough to keep you off the ground, but I didn't see any wires either."

"Ah, well," Lila sighed, but she was still grinning at them. Then, abruptly, her expression fell for the first time all night. "Listen, I don't suppose any of you have seen Sam lately?"

"No," said Doug, shaking his head. "I was hoping you had."

"Not since the 'Faces' tour," Lila shrugged. "I really thought he'd stay, but... that Cable fellow came and dragged him back into his little platoon. One of these days, I'm tracking him down..."

"I've tried," Doug offered. "If there's anything X-Force seems to be good at, though, it's keeping hidden."

Lila took a deep breath and sighed, but then got her smile back in place. "Still, it's wonderful to see you lot again! You will keep in touch, won't you?"

"O' course we will!" Rahne smiled.

"If we can find you, that is," Dani added, giving her a sardonic look.

"Well, you can always reach me at my place in Malibu one way or another," Lila shrugged. "Remind me to give you the number there. And I'll simply have to drop by a time or two to see this new place of yours."

"Hey, the door's always open," Doug grinned.

Lila nodded. "Hard to keep someone like me out, anyway. Damn, though, I wish I'd known you were going to be there. I'd have put 'Heroes' Welcome' on the set list for tonight. I already did 'Wishbringer' and 'Cry, Wolf,' so that covered Dani and Rahne, but..."

"Wait, you lost me," Doug said then. "What do you mean?"

"Douglas," Lila said, giving him a level stare, "don't tell me you haven't heard 'Faces in Starlight' yet."

"Well, I've been... y'know, a little out of touch..." Doug floundered.

"Ah, luv, you missed it, then," she sighed. "I wrote the songs for that album out in space, when I was separated from all of you for all that time. Most of the songs on the album were based on you all from the New Mutants."

"You're kidding!" Ric gaped.

"Of course not! If you read the liner notes, I mention thanks to all of you by first name... or at least all of you that I knew at the time. Come on, Dani, didn't the words to 'Wishbringer' sound familiar?"

"Come to think of it, they did," Dani laughed. "Funny... that's the name Catseye uses for me."

"Mes amis," Marie-Ange interrupted then. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

Doug suddenly realized he hadn't heard Warlock speak up in a while. "Yeah, and where's Warlock?"

Taking stock of the group, they realized that Sharon and Warlock were not with them. A quick look around, though, revealed that they were up on the makeshift stage. Sharon was watching the Kree drummer very closely, and Warlock was with the Kymelian keyboard player, studying his moves. Up there on stage, they blended right in with the rest of the aliens and mutants.

"They seem to be enjoying themselves," Lila noted. "Where were we?"

"Songs about mutants," Doug reminded her. "So 'Cry, Wolf' was Rahne's song?"

"Och, Lila, I'd no idea!" Rahne gushed. "'Twas sweet of ye."

"I write from life, luv," Lila smiled back, 'and you all were part of it. And you, Douglas, last I had heard, you were dead, so I wrote a sort of posthumous ballad for you. Then, when I got back to Earth, I found out that Warlock was dead, too, so I rewrote it the day before we started recording, and did it for the both of you."

"Wow," Doug whispered. He'd never been the subject of a song before.

"Would you like to hear it?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll get a copy of the album right away," Doug nodded.

"Silly," she laughed. "Stay right here, now." She then got up and fairly dashed toward the stage, the crowd parting for her as she went. The band quickly wrapped up their number as she called them into a huddle, leaving Warlock and Catseye to wander off together, looking confused.

"Do you think I should be embarrassed?" Doug asked Marie-Ange, pitching his voice so that the others wouldn't hear.

She slid her chair closer to his and took his hand. "Non, mon brave," she smiled, warmly. "Enjoy it."

"Ladies, gentlemen, and so on," Lila called out, her voice drawing everyone's attention, "I have an announcement to make. Some old friends of mine came by tonight to see the show -- friends I haven't seen in years. I want you to give 'em all a big welcome!"

She pointed over the crowd to where they were sitting, then off to the side, where Warlock and Catseye were standing. The assorted men, women and aliens gave them all a rousing cheer.

"What's more, two of them are back after being presumed dead for a long time, and I'm grateful for their lives. We're going to do a song for Doug and 'Lock, now. I know you all know it, but they've never heard it, I guess, so we're going to play it now. It's called 'Heroes' Welcome.'"

Lila picked up a bass guitar from nearby, and got herself plugged in. The song was in a minor key, of course, and as Lila had said, was quite the ballad. It seemed more fitting to call it a dirge, but Lila's voice, even in this mournful tone, was far too full of life.

You came into our world and shared
Our love, our war, our strife
We offered up our friendship
You offered up your life
A warrior unarmored
Yet you made our fight your own
We gave you a hero's welcome
So we would not fight alone...

You came to us from distant worlds
On the run from a troubled past
You found new life among us
You found your place at last
We learned from one another
Both in times of peace and war
We gave you a hero's welcome
But you gave us so much more...

Your flames snuffed out in sacrifice
As your battles reached an end
You died for love and honor
You fell to save a friend
And we live on, and hope you've found
The light where you belong
They'll give you a heroes' welcome
And the peace you sought so long...

Yes, they'll give you a heroes' welcome
And the peace you sought so long...

Having lost none of the energy from her three-hour show, Lila led the group into a rousing rendition of "See No Evil," one of her original hit singles, causing cast and crew alike to leap up from their tables and dance. Ric grabbed Rahne's hand and pulled her out onto the floor, laughing all the way, and Sharon did the same to Warlock, much to his surprise. Dani joined them soon after, leaving Doug and Marie-Ange alone.

"That was beautiful," she said to Doug, in reference to the song.

"Yeah," Doug managed. He was having a difficult time not getting choked up. "Yeah, it was."

After a pause, he shook himself, then smiled at her. "Do you want to dance?"

"Actually," she admitted, "I'm in desperate need of some fresh air. I believe I shall step out for a moment."

"I'll come with," Doug offered.
 
 

Their walk took them up to the top of one of the huge spires of the alien city. It had taken a long, swift elevator ride to get there, and by looking down from the edge, it became apparent that they were at least a mile up.

"The view is incredible," Marie-Ange noted, gazing off at the seemingly endless metropolis. "Would you explain to me again the physics involved here, Douglas? I don't think I have it quite yet. We're on the inside of a sphere?"

"A Dyson Sphere," Doug nodded. "A huge shell built around a G-type star like our own sun, at a distance that'll support life. People live on the inside of the sphere, with what might as well be an infinite amount of space to build on. A shell of atmosphere is held in place above us, and weather is artificially stimulated by the atmosphere generators."

"Who could have built such a thing?" she asked, incredulously.

"Well, we don't know that," Doug shrugged. "I've done some time up here translating their carvings, glyphs, data storage and other writings, but it hasn't given us much idea who it was, or why they're not here anymore. Lila found this place by accident, and uses this deserted city as her base of operations. In all the years she's lived here, she's never contacted any other inhabitants. But given the amount of space involved here, there could be millions, even billions of... well, anything living here, and we'd never know it."

"Incredible," she whispered, leaning over the ledge atop their spire to look down. The height didn't seem to faze her in the slightest. "The amount of time and material it must have taken to build even this city, much less the entire sphere, must have been..." She could not find words to describe it.

Doug nodded, understanding her speechlessness. "It sort of gives you perspective, to know that things like this are out there in the universe. They almost make the Earth seem... I don't know, insignificant. I think about how complicated our own world is, and then I see something like this, and... I just can't grasp it."

She nodded, wordlessly, looking up at the sun. "I don't believe the sun has changed position at all since we've arrived. It's still right above us."

"Well, that's just because of the dimensions. From any point on the inside of a sphere, the center will always seem to be straight up."

"Oh, of course," she nodded. "That makes sense... I'm just so used to our own world. The sun never rises or sets here, then? It's always daylight? Quelle dommage."

"I think so," Doug nodded. "Unless they have some sort of artificial night I don't know about yet."

"Mon dieu, I can't bear the thought of never having nights. To never be able to see the stars? It would be horrible!"

Doug nodded. Then, he gave her a slow smile. "Do you want to see the stars?"

"How?" she asked.

"Do you trust me?"

She gave him a humored look. "You know that."

"Just making sure. Follow me."
 
 

Doug led the way back down the spire, and led her on a complicated tour of the city. "I know it's around here somewhere," he assured her as they went. "This is one of the places we found by accident the first time we came here... Ah, here it is!"

"What is it?" she asked, as he took her hand and led her into a short, squat building. They passed through automatic sliding doors and into a large room, its walls decorated with what looked like navigational charts, only using stars rather than landmarks as guideposts. "C'est incroyable!" she whispered.

"Oh, this is nothing," Doug grinned. "Come on over here."

He led her into what looked like another elevator, this one larger than the other. Before they stepped in, he looked at her again and smiled. "Now, once again, do you trust me?"

"Of course I do."

"Good to know. Step inside, then, ma chère."

She took a couple of dubious steps into the cubicle, then looked around. "It seems harmless enough."

Doug followed her in, then pressed a few buttons on a small computer terminal on the near wall. The doors slid shut. "Hold on, then," he warned her. "This thing goes a little quickly."

There were two handrails to grab onto, one at about chest level, and one an equal distance from the ceiling. He took hold, as did she, just as the elevator began a swift plummet. She nearly lost her balance, and grabbed his hand for support. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see," he nodded, smiling smugly. There was an odd quality to his voice, as though he were trying not to use any air.

"Douglas, why are you holding your breath?"

He exhaled, then took another breath. "Old habit," he shrugged.

They descended for a long time, and Marie-Ange became gradually aware of a very subtle change in the environment. "What's happening?" she asked.

"Hold on a second," he told her, holding up one hand. The elevator gradually came to a stop. "Ever been in zero gravity before?"

With a start, she realized that she was weightless. Experimentally, she gave herself a gentle push from the floor, and she started sailing off toward the ceiling, unable to stop herself. With a vague cry of alarm, she reached out to take Doug's hand, but only succeeded in pulling him into the air with her.

"Just relax," Doug said, putting one arm around her waist to steady her. "We're passing through the structure of the sphere, and we've hit the gravity threshold. The elevator's pausing to give us time to realign ourselves."

"I don't..."

"Here, just hold onto me, and I'll move us."

Still too confused to argue, she put both arms around him and pulled herself close. Doug smiled at her softly, then began to maneuver them around, using the handrails to turn them so that their feet were now facing the ceiling.

Except now the ceiling was the floor. The elevator started moving again, and slowly, gravity came back, causing them to gently float back to the new floor together. For a while after they landed, though, she held herself close to him.

"You know," he said, softly, "I really didn't do this just to get you this close... I can't argue with the result, though."

She smiled at him. "Merci," she nodded. "Neither can I."

It was an eyes-meeting-eyes moment, and this time, both of them leaned just slightly forward to meet in a kiss. It started as a small, very ordinary kiss, but quickly snowballed into something much, much more passionate. Doug found himself vaguely alarmed at the intensity, but the greater part of his mind was more concerned with the feeling of her body pressing close to his, or the feel of his lips touching hers. He quickly decided, as before, to just go with it.

At length, the elevator slowed down, and they broke. Marie-Ange placed her forehead against his and closed her eyes. "Merci," she whispered.

"For what?" he asked, quietly.

"For being there for me. I... cannot tell you what this has meant to me."

"Angie," Doug whispered, putting his fingers beneath her chin and turning her face up to look at him, "I'll always be here. I promise."

The elevator lurched to a halt, then, and Doug took a nervous look around. "Okay, we're here. Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Just trust me."

She nodded, closing her eyes. Doug took both of her hands, and led her through the now-open elevator doors, out into an open space. The air was cool and fresh, and even with her eyes closed, she could tell that it was very dark. After leading her for a few dozen steps, they stopped.

"You can open them now," he said, softly.

She opened her eyes to find herself standing on a vast, flat plain, with uncountable stars shining down on her from above. The only light was that of these alien suns, making the view all the more spectacular. She felt that she was looking into infinity.

"Douglas," she whispered, "where are we?"

"On the outside of the sphere," he explained. "This is an observation area. There's a transparent dome above us a few miles up, and the area itself is about twelve miles wide."

There was a small computer terminal here, mounted on a four-foot-high pedestal, and Doug began typing at it. Marie-Ange just looked up, eyes huge, unable to speak. "It's... beautiful," she managed at last.

"Yeah, it is," Doug agreed, speaking softly. "I think out of all the sights I've seen in space, this one's still the most fantastic."

He continued to type, and an environment suddenly began to form around them, changing the sterile metal floor to a grassy plain, with a few pine trees dotting the landscape. They heard the sounds of crickets and night birds, and in the distance, a coyote howled. "The technology here's not unlike what we had in the Danger Room at Xavier's," he said, absently. "I was able to figure it out pretty quickly the last time we were all here."

Having finished with the environment, he stepped up behind her and put his arms around her, following her gaze into the starry emptiness above.

"Douglas," she whispered, "I don't... recognize these stars."

"They're different here," he explained.

"But the stars... the stars are... where are the constellations? I cannot find them!"

"Like Lila said, we're on the opposite side of the galaxy. These aren't our stars at all, really. You've... never been in space before, have you?"

"Non," she whispered.

He nodded slowly. "It's weird. I guess I figure because a Joe Average mutant like me has been out here, everyone else has, too."

"The stars have always been there for me," she whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm babbling, aren't I?"

"Let yourself be amazed if you want to be," Doug smiled. "You only have one chance to see all of this for the first time, after all."

"But... the odd part is that I have always watched the stars, and counted upon them. The constellations of the zodiac are very much intermeshed with the lore of the Tarot, after all. It's difficult to think that here, those stars don't affect us..."

"Angie, don't worry about that," Doug shushed her, turning her to face him and putting one finger to her lips. "Just let yourself enjoy the view. It's all ours tonight, chère."

She put her arms around him, and held him to her tightly. "Thank you," she whispered. "I... cannot explain how I'm feeling right now..."

"Don't explain, then," Doug whispered. "Just feel."

There was a silence, broken only by another howl from the coyote in the distance. They sat down together on the soft grass, and gazed up into the sky again. Doug looked back into her eyes, to see every star reflected there. Her eyes were a sky in themselves.

"I love you," he whispered.

She took a sudden, almost startled breath, and tore her eyes from the sky to look at him. "Douglas..?" she breathed, as though she could not believe what she'd heard.

"I love you, Marie-Ange," he said again.

Her eyes misted over, and she put her arms around him. "Oh, Douglas... Je t'aime aussi, mon cher, je t'aime aussi..."

They kissed again, with a million glittering stars watching over them from above.
 
 

Next: "Closer to Fine"

Go West #13: "Stars Overhead"
by Jeremy Bottroff, 19 January 1994

This story (c) 1994, 1999 Jeremy Bottroff

"Stars Overhead" performed by Cats Laughing, words and music by Adam Stemple and Steven Brust, (c) 1989, 1999 Adam Stemple and Steven Brust, from the album ANOTHER WAY TO TRAVEL

"Images," "Black Elk Speaks" and "Wings" performed by Hawkwind, (c) 1999 Griffin Music, Inc., from the album SPACE BANDITS (which is sadly out of print)

"Heroes' Welcome" and lyrics thereof (such as they are) by Jeremy Bottroff, (c) 1999 Jeremy Bottroff

Lila Cheney, Marie-Ange Colbert (Tarot), Roberto DaCosta (Sunspot), Conal Duran, Sam Guthrie (Cannonball), Ben Locklin, Danielle Moonstar (Mirage), Douglas Ramsey (Cypher), Rictor, Rahne Sinclair (Wolfsbane), Sharon Smith (Catseye), Warlock, Nathan Winters (Cable), Charles Xavier (Professor X), New Mutants, X-Force, Danger Room, Massachusetts Academy, Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters (c) 1999 Marvel Entertainment Group

The Kymelian playing the keyboards is called Doovers.  There's a joke there, but it can wait.

Nunzio is Guido's brother, by the way, with thanks to Robert Asprin and his Myth books.

Alan Olifson is a real drummer, a former member of the Beasts from the East (which is not a band, by the way), and is part of the Put Your Former College Dorm-mates Into A Band program.  Hello, Alan.  We'll get Hack, Weldon and John in there soon.

The author shamelessly borrowed Hawkwind (Dave Brock, Del Detmar, Nik Turner and company) for this chapter.  He hopes they wouldn't mind too terribly.  He just likes their music, 'sall.

I, for one, would pay top dollar to get a copy of a Lila/Roger Daltrey duet of "Love, Reign O'er Me," but YMMV.

The San Diego Sports Arena is a real place, home to the San Diego Gulls minor-league hockey team, innumerable concerts, and a series of failed professional basketball franchises (except the Rockets and Clippers, who just ran screaming from the place).  The acoustics have been said to leave something to be desired... like a pair of earplugs.