Subject: [OTL]: (alt. Betsy/Star Wars) Fanged Butterfly 2: Knightcross 58D/? (PG-15) From: Phil Hartman Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:43:56 +0000 will1@earthling.net Fanged Butterfly Vol. 2: Knightcross Chapter 58D by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: Marvel's are Marvel's. LFL's are LFL's. Any original characters are mine. The rest belong to their owners/creators. No money is being made off of this. Please don't sue. WARNING: Violence, language, themes. ----------------------------------------------------------- 5/10/08: Summers House, Xavier Institute Grounds: 09:00 hrs EDT: ----------------------------------------------------------- He found her sitting in a small office - Scott's, probably, given the precision of everything laid out on the desk and walls, not a trace of clutter on the desk, precise like Scott felt through the Force - her Force-presence drawn in on herself. Mara, Luke realized probably far too late, was upset. And given that she was shielding from him ... he was very likely the cause. "What've I done now?" he asked - no accusation, no anger; he full-well knew by now that he HAD kriffed up somehow. The last few days' worth of shocks had illustrated that painfully. Green ice-chips speared Luke, and he winced at the blend of pain, betrayal and concern that leaked over their Force-bond. He sat on the far end of the couch from Mara, keeping his distance, and let her finish composing her thoughts. Luke realized the importance of NOT trying to touch Mara's mind until SHE was good and ready for him to do so. "You've reconnected well with Ben. I'm very glad. It's ... past time. And you're not forcing him to see things `your way.' That's extremely positive ... keep it up," she began, meaning every word. The emphasis of "your way" wasn't lost on Luke ... and then the ice-chips grasped HIS heart, and he begged, "Mara, I'd never try to mind-control YOU - not INTENTIONALLY -" "SHUT. UP. FOR. A. MINUTE," she whispered. What was more quieting were the TEARS in Mara's eyes, and Luke's heart shattered. She never cried, unless ... He'd put them there. He'd hurt his own wife, the one person who'd stood beside him - "Exactly, Skywalker. I stood beside you - and I still am, make no mistake. But you better damn well do two things from now on," she insisted, her eyes piercing him as she wiped them. "First, you do right by Ben. You're trying, and it's going OK - but don't you DARE hurt him. Jacen's betrayal left him without the father figure he identified with the most. I know that hurts to hear, but face it - you - WE - let Jacen practically raise him because we thought Jacen would help him with the Force," Mara continued. "Except that the Force is just PART of who we are, and not only did you forget that ... I let myself forget it. We used to LIVE, damnit, Luke ... and it's a sad statement that you and Ben have to get to know each other all over again when he should've been home with us, and going to school, instead of running around playing Jedi." Luke didn't squirm; the obsession with the Force that had gripped the Order, the ... paranoia ... over "worldly temptations" that had so paralyzed them ... wasn't just Jacen's fault. It was old Jedi Order dogma. It was what Luke had THOUGHT the modern Jedi had needed for cohesion. "And I unintentionally turned us into a battle droid army with myself as a droid control ship," he mumbled, looking at the floor in shame. "Well, the Anakin we have fired a couple proton torpedoes into the reactor core, but your shielding was too damn thick until now. At least Ben's kept questioning," Mara said, almost sympathetic. Luke met her gaze, trying to smile ... and couldn't. He'd turned into something worse than Palpatine - Mara snorted, almost back to HER old self, and snapped, "You goob. You are NOT VADER OR PALPATINE. You were ... Vrook. Yes, Vrook, the stick-up-his-karkhole rules-obsessed jack-shebs who put the monastic crap we've been addicted to before being a real person." Her ice returned, then, as she added, "The second thing: Don't EVER, EVER, forget to check your damn charisma levels again. "I love you, Luke. But if I ever find out you've been mindkriffing ANYONE again ... even accidentally ... I'm going Hapan on your fine ass, tying you to the bed, and deprogramming you ... the hard way. Now, go find Ben - and keep being human. You're back. Now STAY here." ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ben shivered as he nibbled on a sandwich in Aunt Jean and Uncle Scott's kitchen; he could sense his parents ... they weren't arguing, exactly. But Mom was mad. REALLY mad. #Don't be a hypocrite. You were pissed off at Jacen for messing with your mind, and then Dad ... but Dad messed with the Council on ACCIDENT. Jacen erased my memory of Tace and Allana on purpose, then KEPT lying about it,# Ben thought, trying not to be bitter ... Aunt Jean ruffled his buzzed hair, and Ben smiled at her sadly. "You're not OK, are you? I try not to poke around in my kids' heads, either, but I can feel you're hurt," she asked, sitting beside him. "It's ... Marrissa told you what we found Jacen did to my memory?" Ben asked; he didn't expect news to take long to get around the school, with so many telepaths. Aunt Jean became all cold and steely - kind of like Mom, just with more ... restraint? was that the right word? - and nodded. "I can promise you, if he was here, he could toss all the Force lightning he wanted and it wouldn't keep us from ... well, we try not to kill," she said. Ben gulped; Aunt Jean MEANT it. She smiled, at least, and ruffled his hair again. "Sorry. I know he means a lot to you -" Aunt Jean started. Ben sighed and looked away, then back at Aunt Jean. "I don't want him dead. Really. And I don't think he erased the memory to hurt me; he was trying to protect Tace and Allana. You know how kids have big mouths - it took me a while to learn not to blab stuff, even if I was 9 when they were born," he tried to explain. But then the hurt welled up, and Ben sniffed - stangit, he HATED bawling - "It's just that I TRUSTED him. I shouldn't be so selfish - Jacen's gone out and hunted Corellians, and he didn't kill or injure me. I don't want to sound like `oh, nobody knows how Ben feels.' He's hurt others worse." "But he was like your big brother, your hero. It's OK to be angry. Just don't let it consume you," Aunt Jean said - and Ben smiled; she GOT it. "I won't, Aunt Jean. I know about how much anger can mess up Skywalkers. I just can't - the Jedi, like they are now, aren't OK either. Something's gotta change before - well, I don't feel right about THEM, either," Ben tried to explain, sensing Dad approach. "Your insight serves you well, pal. Just because you're young doesn't mean that you can't help fix things. And if I can help you ..." Dad asked. And Ben knew exactly what kind of help to ask from him, and smiled. ---------------------------------------------------------------- "ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?" That was probably the most coherent reaction to the gossip that swept the school once the news slipped out of the Summers house ... Luke Skywalker. Lightsaber practice. Danger Room. The control booth was more crammed-full of spectators than it'd been for that time Scott and Ororo had fought over leadership. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Luke glanced at the control booth - he was used to quietly attentive learners and Padawans, not a mix of teenagers and adults all pouring awe and tension into the Force, when he taught a lightsaber class. Then again, none of them were quite as tense as Ben ... but the boy was handling his fear well. And Ben wasn't - thank the Force - afraid OF Luke anymore ... he was afraid of HURTING Luke. "Hey. I trust you. And we can take a break anytime you need to," Luke tried to encourage his son. Ben smiled gratefully, but shook his head. "Thanks, but I gotta get past this whole fear of sparring thing. I think Jacen was too into the whole `Force over body' stuff too much, and even if I can do OK ... I want to learn from the best," he said - smiling. #My son wants to learn from me. He doesn't resent me - why, WHY the KRIFF did I ever give him to Jacen?!# Luke thought, a lump in his throat ... He took a moment to look - REALLY look - at Ben. The boy was getting tall - he filled out the solid-black training bodyglove he wore, and his red hair was barely more than a dusting on his scalp, given the military buzzcut he preferred. Since cutting off his Padawan braid, Ben looked not just like a teenager ... he was almost grown. Luke could see the years he'd let slip by, entrusting his son to another, and that lump in his throat grew a little bigger. "Dad?" Ben said - Luke met his son's eyes. But Ben didn't tease Luke. Instead ... he smiled back, and said, "We're together NOW. And I trust you, too." Then words weren't necessary. They just grinned, tried to ignore their suspiciously blurry vision, lit their lightsabers - Ben's azure, Luke's verdant - and started to spar. ------------------------------------------------------------------- "Oh. My. GOD," somebody - Betsy wasn't sure who - breathed; it was hard TO breathe, given that they had most of the X-Men on campus crammed into the room ... but yes, Luke in action WAS damn cool. #But it's even bloody better that he and Ben are getting so close again. In a healthy way. EAT IT, JACEN!# Betsy enthused - some of the other adults gasped when Ben leapt over Luke's blade, but it was clear Luke could've pulled the lightsaber away at any moment; he'd never intentionally harm Ben. And Ben was getting more confident - not cocky, he was entrusting the Force to guide him - as he dueled. The tentative nature of his jabs, the weaker thrusts behind his swings, were giving way to stronger blows ... even as he kept watching Luke. Sometimes imitating him. "The movies are so ... WEAK ... compared to the real thing. Damn, Maul himself wouldn't last five MINUTES in there," Bobby said, but Betsy glanced at him, then smiled darkly. "Robert, I had a Zabrak Padawan. They're not nearly so flamboyant when they're light-side. If anything, they're rather stodgy - well, K'urod was. I should check on him when we get back," Betsy said, suddenly aware of two things besides the sparring session: 1. Everyone was suddenly very tense about her leaving again. 2. Where in the bloody HELL was Warren Worthington? ~Forgive me for sensing your thoughts, Elizabeth, but ... well, you did just return. We had hoped ... well, we'll talk. And as for where Warren got to ...that's harder to explain,~ Xavier sent, and Betsy glanced at him - but everyone suddenly went "OOOHHH!" and Betsy turned back to the sparring, as Ben landed after a Force-jump OVER Luke, and the boy cautiously swung at his father's back. Luke blocked it, his lightsaber behind his back, and the look on his face as he spun - with his amusement/pride/amazement in the Force - was wonderful. And Ben - he was just so HAPPY, for once, with a smile that just glowed all the way up in the control booth ... he deserved this. #Oh, Jacen. You've failed. And it's wonderful,# Betsy thought ... then turned to Xavier and asked, "Well, now that that's settled for the moment, where IS Warren?" ---------------------------------------------------------------- Harry's Hideaway, about 2 miles outside of Salem Center: --------------------------------------------------------------- Well, the fuses on the Falcon had been replaced, and the deionization of the hyperdrive was going OK (Artoo knew what he was doing) ... so Han and Chewie had decided it was time for a drink. And that friend of Betsy's, Logan, had caught wind of it ... Of course they'd stolen Scott's motorcycle. He had six kids under 18, and two small grandchildren - he NEVER had time to drive it, Logan had grunted. Han admired the short furry guy's style. Still, it was kind of funny, trying to fit Chewie into the sidecar. "Harry's ain't your usual watering hole. The fact that they keep letting us in after all the crap that's happened is part of it," Logan said once they'd arrived (and used a prybar to get Chewie out of the sidecar). The RODIAN who'd walked out of the place proved THAT, and Logan shrugged, grinning. "The other part is the transdimensional nexus in the back room - Harry's from a few timelines upstream of ours," he chuckled, letting Han read the sign outside: NO BLASTERS - BYOB "BYOB? It's a CANTINA!" Han spat, leaving his DL-44 in the sidecar. "Bring Your Own Broom. They started it after Hank turned furry," Logan said with a smirk. "Oh. Well, Chewie, check the toolbox," Han deadpanned, but Chewie just snorted - HE didn't shed. The place was dark, with some neon - it was WAY early, so the crowd wasn't too bad - and Harry, a giant bearded human man behind the bar, returned Logan's greeting grunt. "First round's on me, Harry - damn. THERE he is, drunken lout," Logan snorted, paying for Han and Chewie's first drafts before looking at a booth in the back. The blond guy with the wings - and several empty glasses, and such a sad look that even Han winced - glanced at them, then waved. "Logan. Oh God, I'm DRUNK. I'm hallucinating you're here with an elderly Han Solo and Chewbacca," Winged Guy said ... and Han and Chewie shared an offended look, while Logan sat by the blond. "Who you calling `elderly'?" Han snorted. Then he squinted, and asked, "Aren't you Betsy's ...?" THAT stirred the blond from his dregs - Warren, Han thought Betsy had called him during one of her early wistful moments (hey, he respected longing for a lost loved one, he just didn't do weepy). "She DIED. That brat Lehnsherr killed her," Warren moaned. "Nope. She got back yesterday. Solo here brought her back. The whole Skywalker-Solo clan? Alive. Real. We're in their backyard," Logan said, and Warren eyed him as Han and Chewie sat down. "There is a Wookie in the booth," Warren observed, very drunk. Chewie barked, and Han grinned. "OK. Assuming Logan's not B.S.ing me, and this is just a warped hallucination brought on by too much beer ... I'm looking for passage to Betsy," Warren stumble-spoke. Han went back in time 40 years ... and grinned even more. Chewie warned him, but Han just winked. "What's the cargo?" Han asked, and Logan stifled a chuckle. "Just passengers - myself, the furball, and two beers ... no questions asked," Warren said, low and focused. "Local trouble?" Han asked, pretending to visually sweep the bar. "Let's just say I'd like to avoid any ... ex-girlfriend entanglements," Warren said, sighing. "Well, that's the real trick, isn't it? And it's going to cost you something extra - 10 beers. All in advance," Han grinned. "I can get you two now, plus 15 when we reach Betsy," Warren promised. Han pretended to be taken aback. "17, huh? Well, you've got yourself a ship. Meet me at the mansion's hangar in a hour," he said, downing his drink and motioning Chewie after him when Warren gave them money for two more beers. Chewie chastised him. "Hey, those 17 beers could really save my neck. Call the mansion and tell Betsy she owes me one," Han told his old friend. Chewie snorted, heading for the phone as Han grinned. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "YOU RE-ENACTED THE CANTINA SCENE WITH A DRUNK WARREN?!" "What? I thought it was innocent fun!" Han tried to defend himself - and honestly, Betsy would be laughing her arse off ... but taking shots at Han AND Warren at the same time? Priceless. Han himself wasn't that sober - he was coherent, being Han, of course, but not exactly in the moment - and he winced when Leia glared at him from across the teacher's lounge, then stood beside him. Warren was sleeping on the couch, head carefully propped to avoid drool problems, as Betsy checked his vitals. And yes, there were an additional 15 beers in a cooler by Chewie. "I swear, if he wakes up mumbling about disturbances in the Force - the cantina scene. SERIOUSLY, Han, Warren has an unlimited tab at Harry's for all the times he's paid to rebuild the place!" Betsy pretended to harangue Han, and Chewie chuckled. "Well, he's an honest rich boy, at least," Han muttered, holding a cold beer to his forehead to fight a hangover he shouldn't have ... Betsy gave Logan a knowing stare, and asked, "What brand?" "The ones Wings bought `em?" the Wolverine replied innocently. "LOGAN," Betsy demanded - Logan was as conniving a prankster as Bobby, just far more poker-faced about it. "Schlitz," Logan admitted, and Betsy tried not to giggle - SCHLITZ? "What? It was a crap beer, wasn't it? SHAVIT!" Han yelled - then groaned, as Leia snickered, and Chewie whuffed. "Hey, he did get'cha Molson for the other 15," Logan snickered. "Bad Wolvie - ah, the hero awakens," Betsy said, soothing Warren's sudden, horrid awakening to a throbbing skull ... "Oh. OW. Damnit, Logan, I got drunk again, missing - Betsy," Warren said, blinking up at his girlfriend. "Warren," she said, dropping to one knee beside the couch and stroking his forehead. "You're ... older," he breathed - then realization hit him, but so did the hangover. Betsy just kissed him, as the Solos, Chewie and Logan left, smiling. Sometimes dreams - even drunken ones - did come true. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 5/11: Studio/Quarters of Piotr Rasputin: 13:00 hrs EDT: ---------------------------------------------------------------- Jaina knocked on the door - she'd been invited to talk with any of the X-Men, but she had been raised to respect private quarters - and heard a pleasantly-if-oddly-accented voice call, "Come in." "Mr. Rasputin?" she asked, seeing the tall - Wookie-sized, actually - man eyeing what appeared to be some kind of canvas with a palette in one hand and a brush in the other. He was wearing blue jeans, a red T-shirt, and a painter's smock, his black hair cut short, and nodded for Jaina to enter. "Piotr, please, Mrs. Solo-Fel," Colossus - human - said, smiling as she admired his work. "Jaina's fine - Stang. That's amazing," Jaina breathed, admiring the painting - it was the FALCON, with all the details, against clouds ... ? "That's Bespin, isn't it? I keep taking for granted that you folks know almost more about us than we do," Jaina said, amazed at the detail and the care that had obviously gone into the work. "Da. And thank you for your kind words - I have not painted or sketched in far too long. The peace finally found last year has only now truly settled in, and between art classes and raising my son, I find little time to pursue my own work," Piotr said. "That was what I wanted to ask you about ... we have holos, of course, but ... Betsy told me once about how you painted her ... tastefully ..." Jaina trailed off, blushing ... she wasn't usually this ... intimidated ... "Ah. Well, I am always looking for new subjects - and I would be honored to illustrate you. In whatever state you wish," he said, smiling politely - he did understand, as he looked her over. What impressed Jaina was that there really wasn't ANY prurient interest coming from him - admiration for her athleticism, and yes, a man seeing a woman ... but Piotr wasn't lecherous about it. He almost seemed to catch her assessment, and added, "I am in a relationship with a woman ... my son's mother ... she rules a land far from here, and we see each other only rarely. And no decent artist - no decent person - cheapens another person by seeing only their body. Our value is far more than the flesh. 'Luminous beings are we,' da?" "Then I think I've found my anniversary present for Jag," Jaina said, as Piotr set aside his canvas and set up a new one. And the Sword set about unsheathing herself, unzipping her coverall. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 5/13: Z'noxx Chamber: 10:25 hrs EDT: ------------------------------------------------------------------ ~Very impressive, Mrs. Skywalker ...~ ~We're rather past introductions, aren't we, Professor? Mara's fine,~ she sent as she sparred with Xavier on the astral plane - the finer points of telepathy were so like her combat training that adapting the katas to her "new" power were simplicity itself. The Phoenix Force hovered, thankfully quiet - Mara had cut it a deal: It left Ben alone, and he got to hone his telepathy with Betsy - his duel with Jacen had been more luck and instinct than skill - and in exchange ... well, seeing Luke in the cosmic sense added spice to ... things. Of course, Mara was no fool; she wanted insurance the giant kriffing firebird wasn't going to take over her body. It SEEMED to play fair, but it WAS a cosmic entity. "Caprice" wasn't beyond it. Mara ducked and weaved - Xavier had taught her early on to check for tendrils of psionoplasm wielding weapons when facing an opponent head-on on the astral plane, and sneak attacks from behind were almost to be expected - then leapt free and focused a psionic blast - and they were jolted off the astral plane, into their bodies, from the reverberations bouncing off the walls of the Z'Noxx chamber. "Well. You've learned VERY quickly indeed, Mara - and please, call me Charles. I'm far past `Professor' when Jean, Robert, Henry and Warren address me. I DO try to respect that at least some of my students have grown up," Xavier said, opening the chamber as Mara collected her thoughts. She tilted her head, as he added wistfully, "I didn't always do so ..." "Reminds me of another overachieving leader of an organization dedicated to keeping peace between a variety of sentients ..." Mara said dryly. She reached out Force-wise, smiling as she sensed Luke and Ben practicing telekinesis on the lawn ... Xavier caught her hint, and smiled. "Your husband seems to be learning that we are more than our crusades. A word of advice, if I may?" he offered, and Mara nodded - he'd earned her respect. "Much like staring into the sun, it takes time to regain one's vision after being blinded by a cause. Like Jean, you are a practical woman ..." Xavier continued, trailing off ... and Mara got the hint. "I know. Guess I'll just have to keep Farmboy's sights clear," she mock-sighed, grinning at her preferred method of "balance" ... ---------------------------------------------------------------- 5/15: Braddock Manor, Britain: 15:10 hrs local: ---------------------------------------------------------------- "Mein Gott." Kurt Wagner's amazed grin quickly gave way to an assessing look as he practiced with the lightsabers Betsy had brought for him to play with - and yes, he COULD wield one in his tail remarkably well. "Remarkable. A circulating energy matrix that cuts when the containment field is broken - then it reseals itself after passing through the material it cuts," Brian assessed, but Betsy just rolled her eyes and let her brother examine her violet blade, then turned to the other women present - her sister-in-law Meggan, Kitty Pryde, and Kurt's wife, Amanda Sefton-Wagner. "I'm sorry I didn't visit sooner," Betsy said sincerely, accepting a cup of tea from Kitty, and smiling when Lockheed landed on her shoulder, nuzzling her cheek. "Hey, you'd been gone for almost 16 years, from your point of view. You had every right to catch up with Warren. If I'd been away from Pete for that long ... well, you know," Kitty said, grinning a little as Betsy winked. Meggan looked troubled, though, and Betsy looked at the empathic metamorph with true kindness. "You're going back," Meggan said without asking. Brian shut down Betsy's lightsaber, turmoil and respect for her fighting inside his heart - she didn't need the Force to know that, they were twins. "I have family there, too - not of blood, but ... this isn't a fangirl flight of absurdity. The galaxy IS in trouble. Jacen Solo's either Sith or on the brink of it, Ben Skywalker is my godson ... I'd no sooner abandon the Jedi Order than I would the X-teams, were they in dire need. And I WILL return," Betsy promised, her hands on Brian's chest as he gazed gently down at her. "I know. And I'd never ask you to betray any of those you hold dear. I just ... this life is so bloody UNSTABLE, Betsy. We're dead, we're not, we're tossed halfway across the galaxy and back in time - I just ... stay safe?" Brian asked, and Betsy hugged him in promise. ~Always, little brother,~ she sent, smiling when her surprise came over the horizon ... and Kitty lit up like a little girl seeing a birthday cake, while Meggan squealed, and Kurt and Amanda gasped, grinning. The Millennium Falcon - repaired, on a test-flight and cloaked thanks to a little toy Franklin had installed with a snorted, "Too small for a cloaking device, my ASS!" - swept into sight, landing gently on the front lawn. Excalibur looked at Betsy, who grinned and said, "Once around the moon?" --------------------------------------------------------------------- 5/16: X-Mansion Main Hangar: 07:00 hrs EDT: -------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, the next time Wisdom challenged Betsy to "Strip Name That Ewok" with shots ... he'd know better. Maybe. She snickered at the holos of a very drunken Pete wearing a lampshade and not much else - the naughtiest ones were Kitty's, Betsy had NO interest in seeing a totally au naturel Wisdom - and checked her "baggage;" her room at the Coruscant Temple would be filled with stuff from Earth. And it was time to go. And it was so terribly bloody hard. #But Rogue's lost somewhere with that bloody Sith holocron, Jacen's quite off his nut, and there are Skrulls running loose. We HAVE to stop this before the galaxy gets lit aflame again,# Betsy reminded herself. She still couldn't quite keep from crying when she hugged Ororo, Jean and the others farewell - NOT goodbye. "You all take care," Betsy said to Logan, as Mara, Ben and Luke finished saying farewell to the Summerses and Greys. "You know it, darlin'. You need anythin' ..." Logan said, pressing some kind of cylindrical small object into her hand, and Franklin winked. "Subspace beacon. Whenever, whereever - I'd like a crack at some of those Skrulls myself, but I have a bad feeling we'll see more of them sooner than I'd like," Franklin said, hugging Betsy. "When you recorpealized me, you acted as if it was an accident. And yet - I saved Chewbacca and Anakin, Mara's forewarned about Jacen killing her ..." Betsy almost asked ... but Franklin just smiled. He did grow serious, though, and said, "Betsy, this timeline - it's been altered. Fundamentally. TWICE, now, from WITHIN. That's NOT supposed to happen without generating an alternate timeline, and yet ..." "Flow-walking - bloody MUCKING about with reality... ?!" Betsy gasped. "I'm not sure. But when I look at Ben, I see ... shadows of alternate possibilities, yet ... more solid than the usual outlines of alternates. Has he ever been ... shaped by these Yuuzhan Vong?" Franklin asked. "Bloody hell, NO. I'd die to prevent that," Betsy snarled, giving Ben a protective glance - he looked confused, but she smiled, and he relaxed before boarding the Falcon. "Be careful what you vow - and don't let Jacen mess with flow-walking again," Franklin called as Betsy boarded the freighter, its engines revving. #If I have my way, Franklin, Jacen won't be ABLE to mess around ...# -------------------------------------------------------------------- tbc ...