Subject: [OTL]: (X-Men/X-Factor I/Magneto) Convergence (PG-13) Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2000 20:08:25 -0700 From: Phil Hartman will1@earthling.net Convergence by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: Everyone here is Marvel's. No money is being made off of this. Please don't sue. NOTE: This is the third in what's rapidly becoming an actual arc of stories (no overall name yet), focusing on an alternate timeline of X-history. The other stories in the arc, in chronological order, are: Gatherings (alternate Excalibur) Ships in The Day (alternate X-Men/X-Factor I/New Mutants I/Excalibur) -------------------------------------------------------- 2/15/94: Manhattan, NY: 22:12 hrs EDT: -------------------------------------------------------- Nathan Summers hated when this happened. #Bad dreams stink,# the 7-year-old boy thought, turning over in his bunk bed. His twin sister Rachel stirred in the bunk beneath Nate's, dreaming something Nate couldn't detect over their twin psi-link. #Hope I didn't wake her up,# Nate thought with sincerity. #Ray's been nice t'me ... I gotta warn her !# The dream-image - of something blue-lipped and laughing, looming over a helpless and bound Nate - flickered in the boy's mind as he levitated himself down to sit beside Rachel on her bunk. She stirred, looking at the white-brown-haired boy with an annoyed glance. ~Ray, look in my mind,~ Nate sent over their link, fear radiating from him sufficiently to stir his sister. Rachel nodded, waking fully with bulging green eyes when Nate's dream hit her head-on. "We gotta tell Mom an' Dad," the girl insisted, throwing back her covers. Then their Ship shook, and the kids yelled in terror as the air flickered. -------------------------------------------------------- Savage Land: -------------------------------------------------------- "Mommm, 'm tired ..." "Just a little farther, Charlie," Adelaida Rhiannon O'Malley-Lehnsherr - popularly known to the majority of man and mutant both as Rogue, wife of the infamous mutant "terrorist" Magneto - told her yawning 7-year-old son as they trudged through the jungles of the Savage Land. #Wish she'd lemme dress like a native,# Chuck thought, looking at his khaki shorts and shirt with contempt. #THEY have fun !# Rogue stopped, trying not to snicker when Chuck ran into the back of her legs and fell on his rump. She shushed him with a finger to her lips, and closed her eyes. "Well, ah'll be ... !" Rogue gasped, opening her eyes and smiling when the brush parted. "Rogue !? Charles !" the metallic Piotr Rasputin - wearing a loincloth and carrying a similarly-clad black-haired boy on his shoulders - cheered. "What brings you to the Savage Land, my friends ?" "PETEY ! Ah thought - the others - ya big galloot ! Where ya been !!" Rogue cheered, her biomagnetic shield protecting her from absorbing Piotr's powers and psyche when she hugged him. "Hey, kiddo," she told the boy, whom Piotr set down gently. "Hi. I'm Peter, an' this's my dad," the boy said, smiling back. He waved at Chuck, who stood and waved back with a half-smile. "Your - well, Petey, ya've been busy," Rogue teased the suddenly-blushing Piotr. "Who's the lucky lady ?" "Nereel, chieftaness of the United Tribes," Piotr said, walking with Rogue as Peter Jr. led them and Chuck back to the village. "I came back here after the X-Men temporarily disbanded following that demon invasion of New York last year. I have finally found happiness, Rogue - Peter is a wonder, and Illyana is happy here as well." "Illyana - she shrank !" Rogue laughed, waving at the tunic-clad Illyana as the girl ran to greet her nephew and Charles. "Chuck an' ah've been tourin' the deep South, givin' Erik time t' find out what he wants t'do with hisself after we told the Inner Circle t' step off. He tol' us he'd be down here if we needed him ..." "Good ! I am glad to hear that Magnus refuses to let himself be duped by those fiends," Piotr said, smiling. "Come, partake of our evening meal, and stay for a time. We would be happy to have you join us - Nereel ! I'm home !" "Then YOU can hunt the 'raptor haunch next time, dear," Nereel joked, kissing Piotr's cheek. She smiled as Rogue bowed and said, "You needn't bow, Lady Lehnsherr - or may I call you Adelaida ? - we've heard of you from our OTHER guest." "DAD !" Chuck cheered, running to hug a tall man with long white hair wearing a kilt who was helping the hunter skin velociraptors. "Charles ! Adelaida !" Erik Magnus Lehnsherr called, jogging to hug his son and wife. "I've missed you - I apologize, but after fighting that imbecile Shaw, my powers needed time to recharge, and my proximity to the south magnetic pole helped ..." "Silly Erik," Rogue laughed, kissing him. "Ya didn't think ah'd understand the need for a little solitude ?" "More the fool I," Magnus said, grinning as Rogue kissed him again. "And you, little man," he said, tossing Chuck in the air. "I've missed you ..." "Missed you too, Dad," Chuck said, grinning as he hugged his father. "Can I PLEASE wear native stuff ? I think it's neat !" "Wild l'il punk," Rogue teased as she nodded, watching Chuck tear off after the younger Peter and some other village boys. "Ya spoil him, ya know." "Rogue, it's sweltering down here. Let Charles have a vacation," Magnus said amicably. A grin of a different kind crossed his face as he whispered, "The local wardrobe would only accentuate your own appearance ..." "Ya do lahk livin' dangerously, don'cha ?" Rogue teased, grinning back. "Months, ya nevah call ... silly man." "Please ?" Magnus said, giving Rogue puppy-dog eyes. "OOH ! Fine !" Rogue mock-huffed, looking at Nereel with the start of a request. "We've got something in your size, I'm sure," Nereel said, laughing. "You're lucky you came when you did. Szarla and Betria were starting a pool on who'd get Magnus first." "Oh, REALLY," Rogue said, grinning evilly at the ashen Magnus as she followed Nereel. "Comrade, I think you had best take Rogue and Charles with you on your next 'sabattical,'" Piotr advised Magnus. "Oh sure. For once, I'm not trying to take over the world, and she grouses about me keeping in shape," Magnus sighed. "With the helmet, I'm a megalomaniac. Without it, I'm a target for every love-crazed jungle woman in sight. I can't win, Piotr." #Not EVERY jungle woman, Magnus,# the owner of a pair of eyes in the underbrush thought, slinking back into the deep jungle. -------------------------------------------------------- Manhattan: -------------------------------------------------------- "Well, well, well," the red-and-brown-skinned mutant stepping from the transportal said, looming over Ray and Nate, "what DO we have here ? Future servants for the High Lord ?" "SHUT UP !" Ray yelled, lashing out with her telepathy. The creature screamed, howling when Nate grabbed a baseball bat and smacked their attacker on the side of the head. "RUN !" Nate yelled, grabbing Ray by the hand. The pajama-clad kids bolted for the hallway, horrified at the sight before them. A short, black-haired young man stood over their kneeling, terrified mother, cackling at random. "He's a tepe ! He's hurtin' Mom !" Ray shouted, trying to mindblast the attacker. Nate grabbed her arm, then shook his head as he pointed at Jean - - and the man screamed, falling over with a bloody nose. "You little TROLL,~ Jean sent, laughing with the kids in their ears and minds as they hugged her. "C'mon, guys - let's find Artie, Leech and Sarah and help your dad and the rest of the crew deal with these 'Riders of the Storm.'" -------------------------------------------------------- Savage Land: -------------------------------------------------------- "What, no 'Kumbayah' ?" "Rogue, PLEASE ..." Magnus groaned, taking her by the hand as the drummers started to pound a beat by the firelight. Couples moved rhythmically, while children and the oldest tribesfolk clapped to the beat and Piotr and Nereel led the dance, spinning and weaving. "Ah c'ld get t' lahk livin' here," Rogue said, smiling at Magnus with a twinkle in her eyes while the stars spun overhead. "Diff'rent constellations, o'course, but ya're right 'bout the dress code ..." "Well, some of us have adapted quite quickly," Magnus chuckled, pointing at the now-loincloth-clad Charles trying to teach Peter Jr., Illyana and some other village children how to play baseball in the distance. "Ah swear, that boy has a clothin' allergy," Rogue snorted, snuggling close to Magnus when they sat down. "Gotta admit, it's nice t'be in a warm climate f'r the winter - WHAT'S THAT !?" The villagers shouted, pointing as T-rexes and pteranodons stormed the perimeter. Chuck and the other kids ran to their parents, shivering in terror, while Magnus and Rogue looked at each other and nodded. "Piotr ! Protect the children with your life !" Nereel shouted. "Warriors, counter-attack !" "For all the good it will do you," a raven-haired woman at the head of the ground troops laughed coldly. "Take them alive - and BRING ME - ghurk - " She scream-shrieked something unintelligible as blue and green fire lit up the night. "Sugah," Rogue said, a predator's slash of a grin across her face, "ya messed with mah vacation an' scared mah son an' mah friends. "Ah'm NOT a happy campah." -------------------------------------------------------- Manhattan: -------------------------------------------------------- ~Scott !~ "Right here, Jean," Cyclops said aloud, blasting another Rider of the Storm across the main control room of the Ship. Ray and Nate breathed sighs of relief at the sight of Artie, Leech and the Morlock girl Sarah huddled behind Iceman's ice-shield. "Guys !" Sarah waved, her bone-horns jutting from beneath her pink mop of hair. The Summers kids ran to stand beside their friends, while Scott and Jean finished off a towering stone-like Rider and looked at where Beast was working. "Some kind of alien virus has infected Ship's hard-drive, Fearless," Hank McCoy advised Scott. "We're doing what we can to counter it, but -" "But these tendrils are starting to get through my magnetic shield !" Lorna Dane shouted over the sound of slithering. She and Alex Summers continued to counter-attack the tendrils, and Warren Worthington snarled when the Riders teleported out. "Three guesses who's behind this - Apocalypse, I WILL have your heart ... !" Warren cursed, letting his wing-knives carve more tentacles. "Charlotte -?" "I'm still going here, Wings," NYPD police officer Charlotte Jones shouted, firing a projectile weapon lifted from a Rider calling himself "Gauntlet" at the tendrils. "Beast, a solution'd be nice ... !" Then the entire Ship rumbled, and everyone was pinned to the floor for a split-second. "What - Mom, what happened !?" Ray yelled. "We're lifting off," Hank said in horrified realization. "Ship - work with me here !?" Then all was light, and thunder - -------------------------------------------------------- - and Ray and Nate yelled as a T-rex went flying overhead. "Sorry f'r the surprise, gang," Lila Cheney said, grinning as she fired a plasma rifle into the firefight surrounding X-Factor and the kids. "But Charlie thought gettin' to you might even the odds a bit when we went after the Shadow King." "'Charlie' - Lila - but that means - " Scott stammered. A bald man wearing Shi'ar battle armor smiled sheepishly from the bottom of a pile of X-Men and said, "Hello, Scott. Sorry I never called." "PROFESSOR XAVIER !" the kids cheered, laughing when Chuck Lehnsherr, Peter Jr. and Illyana ran to their side. "Charles ! You're alive - good of you to, dare I say it ?" Magnus said, helping Storm, Gambit, Psylocke, Forge, Wolverine, Jubilee and Banshee to their feet as he grinned at Rogue. "'Drop in,' yes, Magnus, ha-ha," Xavier said, smirking as he stood. "Interesting clothing ..." "When in the Savage Land, Prof," Rogue called, hurling Gaza into the underbrush with a magnetic blast. "Witch by the name o' Zaladane went an' attacked the locals - care t' help out ?" "Indeed, Rogue - and it is good to see you again," Ororo said, blasting the invaders with a hurricane gale which sent them flying. "But our Ship - hey !" Nate exclaimed, watching a ball of light hover near him. [Fear not, Nathan. While my corporeal form was destroyed by the explosion, I have reformed in this energy state,] Ship said. [Now, perhaps we should seek cover while the X-Men, X-Factor and the Lehnsherrs assist the natives in battling Zaladane ?] "'Zala'-Dane ?" Lorna asked, her eyes narrowing as she and Zaladane caught each other's attention. "You know something I should, you witch !?" "Ah. Sister dearest is here at last," Zaladane snorted, taking aim with a large weapon. "I - AIEEK !?" The ground beneath her exploded, and Havok blew on his fists with a satisfied expression. "Never trust a woman with a big gun," he said, smiling innocently at Lorna as the invaders started to break ranks. "Thank you all !" Nereel exclaimed, shaking hands. "If you had not been here - even with Magnus and Rogue's help, of course - I fear what the outcome might have been." "'Sister' !?" Lorna yelled, pinning Zaladane's hands behind her back with a spear-tip from a fallen attacker. "Talk, you skank, or I'll get ugly - !" "Whoa, easy, Lorna," Alex said, hugging Lorna from behind. "What's happening ?" He yelled, and Lorna shrieked, when Xavier whirled on her and narrowed his eyes. "Farouk !" Xavier shouted into the night. "Come back, you monster !" ~Come and GET me, Charles ... you know where to look,~ a telepathic voice like the buzz of flies on rotting meat rasped in the aether. The Summers kids shrieked in terror, clinging to Jean, while Betsy's lip curled in disgust. Then something - screamed - and Magnus and Xavier nodded in unison, their powers lancing towards the distance. "NOW, Charles !" Magnus shouted, watching as Xavier manifested a massive psionic blade and slashed the air - - and something exploded. "YES !" Betsy shouted. "It's been shattered, Professor - but we have to find the Shadow King's Earthly host, or all this will have been useless !" "I fear I know where he's lurkin'," Sean Cassidy said with a sorrowful tone. "Muir Island." "Nereel, could you -" Jean began, turning to the chieftaness. "Watch the children while you deal with the soul-stainer ?" Nereel replied with a smile. "I give you my word, fire-haired one, no harm shall come to them." She caressed Piotr's cheek and said, "You will go with them, will you not, my love ?" "Nereel ... I love you," Piotr said, his voice thickening. "But there is true danger on Muir ..." "Then go. And know that I will wait for you, love," Nereel said, kissing Colossus full on the lips. "Tythria n'kale, Piotr-myora." "My heart to you, Nereel," Piotr said in reply, kissing Nereel back. He turned to Xavier with a sigh and said, "Shall we, Godspotin ?" "Thank you, Peter," Xavier said, smiling sadly. "I promise, I won't keep you long - I pray." "Hey - WOLVIE !" Jubilee yelled, watching as Lila opened the transportal and Wolverine pushed Jubilee back. "It's bad 'nuff that Dazz an' Longshot ditched me with you guys ! You can't stiff me again - you owe me, furball ! Who saved your furry butt from Deathbird !?" "This's serious, girl," Logan said, his hard eyes locking with Jubilee's. They softened for a heartbeat, and he said, "I know you're good, Lee. But this ... this ain't some regular caper. Farouk's gutter-ugly bad. You understand ?" Jubilee swallowed once, hard, and hugged Wolverine quickly as he followed the other X-Men, X-Factor, the Lehnsherrs and Colossus through the transportal. "Jub'ee ? Why'd you stay ?" Leech asked. "'Cause, kid," Jubilee said, smiling down at the younger children, "I owe the X's, too. And ... I think Wolvie was tryin' to protect me. Now, what's up around here ?" "Well ... you c'n help us help the natives, if you wanna," Ray asked. The other kids nodded, and Jubilee smirked, looking around. "A LITTLE civilization, puh-leeze ?" Jubilee sigh-joked. -------------------------------------------------------- "Erik," Rogue said as they landed on Muir Island, "gear ?" "Yes," Magnus said. He concentrated, reconfiguring his kilt into his usual armor with a gesture. Rogue followed suit, "creating" an X-Men uniform with a similar effort. "Magnus, Rogue, create a counter-psionic field," Xavier said, dividing the teams. "X-Men, protect Forge as he completes his psionic disruption unit. X-Factor, with me - we need to -" "Too late, Chuck !" Logan yelled, dodging a fireball. "Why, Daddy dearest has arrived with the help," a mocking youthful voice giggled over the sound of the explosion. Xavier paled at the sight of the approaching forces. "David ... ?" he whispered, watching Legion rise over the crowd of mutants approaching with cold eyes. "Your son - my IDEAL weapon to shatter your heart, Xavier !" the Shadow King cackled from Legion's lips. "And I get to savor your despair as your associates kill your students ... !" "Now," Magnus whispered to Rogue, as Forge held a device in the air - - and the Lehnsherrs poured their power into the object, smiling when white fire lashed out across the entranced defenders of the isle. "NOOO !" Legion shrieked, watching his puppets fall. "CURSE YOU, Magnus ! You will die as painfully as your precious Isabelle did in Lisbon decades ago !" Rogue cast a sidelong glance at her suddenly-wrathful husband, his nostrils flaring in the light of his biomagnetic field, and said, "Erik. He's tryin' ta manipulate ya." "But if he was anywhere near as powerful as he claims, my psi-disruptor would've been countered !" Forge shouted, running from fallen victim to fallen victim and injecting them with psi-blocking devices. "Why hasn't he seized our minds yet ?" "Your new peace-chief's attack in the Savage Land did weaken me, barbarian," Legion admitted, glaring at Xavier. "But I will not -" He screamed, falling, while Xavier went rigid. Legion caught himself telekinetically, levitating before Xavier as the older man's eyes narrowed further, locking onto his son's. Visible white fire leapt between them, staggering all who dared come near. "MOIRA !" Sean shouted over the conflagration, running to help his lover and his daughter to their feet. "THERESA !" "CHARLES ! YOU'RE TEARING THE ISLAND APART !" Jean shouted, pointing at the shattering ground beneath the massive psionic battle. "T'THE BOATS !" Moira called, trying to help the natives get away from the psi-storm. "MAGNUS, CAN YE DO SOMETHIN' !?" "NOT WHILE THEY ARE MIND-LINKED !" Magnus shouted, deflecting some of the worst of the storm. "IF I DARED TRY, I MIGHT KILL CHARLES ACCIDENTALLY !" "WE HAVE TO FINISH THIS !" Jean yelled, linking hands with Scott. He nodded, taking Ororo's hand in his, and the X-Men and X-Factor started to take each other's hands to form a ring around Xavier and Legion. "ERIK !" Rogue said from where she took Colossus' hand. Magnus clutched his wife's hand, then looked at the red-and-black-eyed man next to him and offered the X-Man a hand. "I LEFT NEW'AWLINS F'R DIS !?" the Acadian joked, taking Magnus hand before linking his with Storm's - - and the psi-light leapt from them into Xavier, and into Legion. Something dark, and sickening, and damned burst from the youth, shrieking, before the light boiled over and burned the wraith to psionic ash. David Haller crumpled at his father's feet, and Charles Xavier dropped to his knees, shuddering as he cradled his son. "Charles ... ?" Magnus asked, removing his helmet and dropping to one knee beside his friend. "He's ... Erik ...," Xavier whispered, looking at Magnus with a horribly lost expression on his face. They remained there for a long moment, until first Jean, then Scott, and the other X-Men stepped forward, regardless of recent team rosters. -------------------------------------------------------- 2/16/94: 11:00 hrs Scottish time: -------------------------------------------------------- "Daddy ?" Scott held Ray and Nate close to him, letting Jean bury her face in his jacket-covered shoulder as the casket sank into the heath. Jubilee slipped her hand into Logan's, thankful for his presence. She smiled weakly at the brown-haired white girl on the other side of Wolverine, who nodded once with a weak smile and gripped the hand of her black-haired male companion a little tighter. The mourners slipped away, in knots, leaving Xavier to watch the servo-bots place dirt over the casket. "Professor ?" Xavier turned, smiling politely at the young, black-mohawk-haired woman wrapped in furs against the North Sea wind, as she said, "For all my people, I wish to express our deepest sympathies. Piotr has told me much of his days as an X-Man ... I thank you for bringing him to my life, even indirectly." "Thank you, Lady Nereel," Xavier said, walking with her towards Moira's cottage for the funeral lunch. He caught her eye and added, "I shan't ask Peter to come back to the X-Men. He's found his peace -" "He will come back to me in time," Nereel said, nodding with a sad smile. "His heart is split in two, and for now, he needs to be with the family he found when you took him in." She took Xavier's hand and said, "I entrust you with my steelknight's safety, Professor." "I pray that trust will be returned as it should be, milady," Xavier said, hanging his head. "Your son's death is sorrowful, true," Nereel said as Xavier's head rose. "But among my people, creating a new life to replace and honor the lost one is an ancient tradition. I have heard your fem-myora is across the stars, but a figurative new life could be crafted ..." Xavier looked at the crowd of X-Men scattered across Moira's yard, chatting, while Excalibur and the survivors of the previous night's battle mingled. And he smiled. "Perhaps, Lady Nereel," Xavier said, "we can start over." -------------------------------------------------------- TBC in Warcry; in which this Earth's X-Force is tempered, and Magneto receives an offer from the United Nations. --------------------------------------------------------