*****

13. Dreams and Dreamers

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Steven Rogers dreamed.

He felt a tender hand brush his cheek. He smiled, feeling gentle warmth envelop him. The feeling of comfort, safety, and love permeated his being.

For a small moment, he was content.

For a small moment, he forgot.

Then he remembered.

Magik. The soul-wound. The deaths. Sam. Sinister. His children.

His children.

"Mason," he gasped, bolting up. "Sarah!"

Sad cypress green eyes set in a face delicately lined in a black sunburst tattoo looked back at him. "No. Just me."

He stared at her, blue eyes blank and lost. "My children...?"

Phoenix pulled away from him. "I... Magik and I looked into the future Mojoworld and... they weren't there anymore. It's all different. I..." She pressed her fists into her chest. "I can't tell you how sorry I am," she said thickly, bowing her head. "About them. About... Mason. I should have been able to stop her... if I had just---"

"STOP IT," he cried, grabbing her shoulders. He crushed her against his chest, fiercely whispering, "It's not your fault. It's not your fault," into her ear.

She pushed away from him again, just enough to look him in the eye. "And you didn't fail them," she said with equal fervor. "You didn't!"

He turned away from her. "Mason's dead. They're all dead," he said flatly. "No, worse. They don't even exist now!"

Phoenix shivered. "I know," she said softly.

"Then I fail to see how I didn't fail them!" He squeezed his eyes shut. "Was I fooling myself, Phoenix," he asked finally in a voice so vulnerable it broke her heart. "Believing that I could have them all born free?"

She slid a hand over his shoulder. "I don't know," she sighed. "But I do know that you had to try, Captain."

He said nothing.

She turned his limp body around until she could face him. "Listen to me," she said, voice intense. "You had to try!" She held his head between her hands, green eyes burning with conviction. "And I know what it meant to Mason and Sarah, that you tried to help them. I KNOW, Captain."

"Read that from their mind?" he asked bitterly, trying to pull away.

Phoenix wouldn't let him go. "No," she said. "Because I know how devastated I was when my future parents didn't give a damn if I was to be born or not!"

His cheeks flushed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't you be sorry, Captain America. Just listen. I had to fight long and hard for just a scrap of attention, a crumb of love from my future parents. The happiest day in my life was when they finally got married, opening the door to my POSSIBLE birth. But I have to tell you... if I had received a fraction of the love you showed your children from the start... I think I could have died content knowing I'd be remembered with love."

"But the other children... they believed the lie. They never knew... I never got a chance to..." The Captain swallowed painfully.

"No," Phoenix agreed. "There never was a chance. But," she said, voice hesitant. "But Sarah knows."

Blue eyes widened. "Sarah's alive," he demanded. "Is she alright? Where is she?"

"Magik is watching over her... and... Mason's remains. NO, she's NOT doing anything to them, I swear," she said hastily at the look on his face. "Sarah is resting safely, and Mason is lying in state. Magik said it was the least she could do. And... that all you have to do is ask for any arrangements for him, or... anything else you want."

"Sarah would know how he wanted to be..." he choked off the rest of that sentence. "Sarah... I have to go to her---"

"Captain," Phoenix said sadly. "She doesn't want to see you."

"But... sweet country, she needs me! And I-I need to see her, Phoenix!"

"I know," she said, stopping his babbling by simply putting a finger over his lips. "But she's mortally ashamed of herself. She blames herself for Mason's death. She knows the other Raccoons are gone. It's all I can do to keep her asleep."

"Why asleep?" Steve asked, knowing the answer but needing to hear it anyway.

"To keep her from killing herself," Phoenix finally said.

"So she does need me!"

"Heaven knows I'm not reaching her," Phoenix sighed in frustration. "I'm trying to give her something to live for, something that she'll want more than death."

He touched her chin. "What?"

Phoenix looked at him in silence for a moment. "There is a time, in a very distant future, that affects the whole mutant-human relations dramatically. Humans will be slaves. Mutants despots."

"Pretty familiar territory for Sarah," Steve observed.

"Yes. I've been thinking about this for a while now..." Phoenix looked at him defiantly. "I think I can make a difference. And I believe Sarah can too. Humans and mutant working together, for freedom."

Steve inhaled sharply. "Freedom fighters."

She nodded.

"This particular future... it might not come to pass."

"In a very odd way," Phoenix said sadly, "it has."

"More time tampering," he asked warily.

"I know what you're thinking, and I won't insult either of us by saying it's a different case."

"Then why do it?" he probed. "The ends don't justify the means---"

"I know that," she flared, "but that doesn't mean that it shouldn't be done! It MUST be done, Captain."

"Do you have any idea what kind of life that is?" he demanded of her. "It's no better than the kind of life she left!"

"Begging the Captain's pardon," Phoenix said sarcastically, "but if you haven't noticed, she doesn't want a life right now. And if she does this, it'll be because she chose to do this. That makes all the difference." Her eyes flashed celestial white. "You know that better than anyone. Besides," she said in a much gentler voice. "If you can offer her a better life, one that she'll really live for and not just exist, please tell me. I don't want her to be hurt anymore than she has been."

"Phoenix--- dammit, no," he whispered. "I can't."

"Do you still trust me, Captain? Trust me to do the right thing?"

Steve looked at her steadily. "Yes. Always."

Phoenix gave an inelegant snort. "Now I'm worried."

"I'm not," Steve said, holding her hand to his chest. "Not anymore." Memories tumbled frantically in Steve's mind, especially of another freedom fighter he had feelings for, long ago. "You do realize, Phoenix... you're setting yourself up as the leader."

"Temporarily," she said quickly. "That'll change."

"...no... I don't think so." Steve looked at Phoenix hard with new eyes. "Every movement needs a visionary. A dreamer. That person becomes, at the very least, the figurehead. The rallying point. It's practically inevitable. Trust me. I live it."

"Yes," she said, touching the star on his chest. "I guess you do."

"I think... for Sarah, the first step is to get her to see you in that light," he said slowly. "She throws her heart into supporting family... so perhaps we should encourage her to see you like a---" he grinned suddenly, blushing, "---a m-mother figure."

Phoenix's head snapped up. "What? Mother? ME?" She laughed--- and abruptly sobered. "Oh, hell, you're probably right," she groaned, digging her palms into her eyes. "Me. A mother. Great."

"Unless... you'd let me come," he asked softly.

"...I wish..." she said softly. "But your place is in your own time... even as out of place as you feel in it, you're vital to it. And who knows," she said with a wan smile, "it could be that something you do will make everything alright."

"Phoenix---"

"Rachel," she said suddenly, grinning her sardonic grin. "My name is Rachel. If I'm going to play mother to your daughter, you should at least know my name."

"Rachel." He smiled. "I'm Steve."

"Steve." Her grin widened. "Good to know even legends have real names."

His smile faded. "Rachel, if you're going into into battle with my child, start a rebellion, I have to know. CAN you lead her? Can you think like a strategist, a tactician?"

"I..." She took a deep breath. "I've never done anything like that before. I've fought, been part of a team, learned leadership from my father, but... like that..." She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"I have."

Her eyes snapped open. "Are you offering---"

"Take what you need," he told her firmly, pulling off his mask.

"Steve," Rachel frowned, "you don't have to do this."

"Yes I do." He stroked her cheek. "If this is what it takes to keep you two safe," he told Rachel, taking her hands in his, "then so be it."

"Steve, I couldn't possibly---'

He placed her hands on the sides of his head. "Why not?" he asked. "I trust you. Besides... it's the only thing I can give you."

"Not the only thing," she said, slipping her mind into his, pulling him closer to her lips. "Not the only thing."

XAVIER'S INSTITURE FOR HIGHER LEARNING, SALEM COUNTY, Dec. 12 10:58pm

Storm carried the tray of refreshments to the living room, miraculously untouched by the fighting. She placed the silver platter on the table. "Would you two like anything?" she asked her houseguests curled on the couch. "Spider-man?"

"A cup of black java, thanks."

She poured a cup. "And you, um... Mrs. Spider?"

Sparkling emerald eyes twinkled mischievously from a ski mask. Storm was glad for her presence, a spot of brightness in a bleak atmosphere. "I'm fine, Storm, thank you." She snuggled up against her husband's side. "If I get thirsty, I'll steal a sip from the Mister."

Beast simply shook his head from his armchair. "I still can't assimilate it. Married."

"Shh," Spidey said, pulling up part of his mask so he could drink his coffee. "Not so loud. I got a rep to--- ow!"

"Keep that up, SPIDEY, and someone's sleeping on the couch tonight."

"Um, yes, dear."

"Hush, children," Storm said raising the TV's volume. "It's on."

A hastily arranged press conference had been assembled in the famed Avengers' Park. Huge stone figures of the legendary heroes dotted the winter landscape. Quite blatantly, the Scarlet Witch chose to stage this in front of Captain America's statue.

"It does not seem right that we left her to deal with this alone," Storm said.

"Let's face it, Storm," Spidey sighed. "The public doesn't exactly like any of us. 'Cept the doc there, but Colossus ain't out of the woods yet."

"Fortuitously, the medical capsule was much more durable than even I thought. Our ferric friend should come out of his enforced slumber within the week, though," Beast grinned, "he'll never believe what's been happening to him."

"Quiet," Spidey said. "She's on."

The Scarlet Witch swept onto the platform, her crimson cape flapping in the wind. Flanking her was the Black Widow and Dr. Henry Pym, with Nick Fury limping up to bring up the rear. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press." Her lilting voice carried clearly over the murmuring. "Let me begin by saying that Dr. Pym," she nodded to the man, "has announced Captain America's condition to be stable. At present, he is resting comfortably within Avengers Mansion. Various members on the present roster and within the Reservist ranks have volunteered to monitor him around the clock until he is awake."

"Why isn't he in SHIELD custody?"

The Scarlet Witch smiled humorlessly. "Straight to the point." Her voice became velvet-covered steel. "Very well. What crime has he committed to warrant arrest?"

"There is talk of the Captain going against Presidential orders of some kind."

Scowling and puffing heavily on his fresh cigar, Fury handed the Witch a paper with the Presidential Seal. "We just received this minutes ago via SHIELD courier. The President himself has stated that whatever the rumors might be, Captain America is an honorable man, first and foremost this country's greatest champion. There is nothing that he has done that can be considered immoral or wrong in anyway. I quote, 'Would that all men of power have his unyielding sense of right and wrong. If there has been anything done that can be called questionable in this affair, be certain that it was not the fault of the Captain's.'"

"A rather wordy, vague, and round-about way of apologizing and pardoning our patriotic pal," Beast muttered. "After all the evidence collected against the Kingpin, you would think the President would show a little more gratitude for weeding out some of the more insidious corrupters in our fair capital."

Spidey began to choke on his coffee.

"Or not," Beast said with a sigh.

"What was with that light show at that School in Upstate? And, why aren't you in custody for stabbing the Captain?"

If she was bothered by that question, the Witch didn't show it. "Simply put, the Captain was unfortunately caught up in an arcane battle. Sadly, some six citizens of this city died before it could be brought to a halt." Now emotion flickered across her face. "I grieve that the Avengers were not here to prevent that. Captain America is the greatest among us, but even he cannot be in more than one place at once. He tried, and almost paid with his life. What I did was necessary to banish some very malevolent spells."

"So are the rumors of the Captain being a mutant not true?"

"Ooh, this is going to be good," Spidey said.

The Scarlet Witch grinned mirthlessly. "Look up here, sir," she said, linking hands with her fellow Avengers, "and tell me... does it truly matter? Is he still not the same Captain America that has fought the good fight since World War II? The same Captain America that has saved this country, this planet so many times that I can scarce even guess the number? The same Captain America who would willingly die so that you," she freed a hand to jab a finger at the reporter. "...and you...." She pointed at another. "...and you, can have the right, the freedom to stand there and condemn him for possibly having an extra gene? Of being different?" She let her gaze sweep the crowd. "Of course he is different. He has to be in order to love this land, the ideals and dreams of the nation, to so passionately defend what intolerance seeks to destroy."

A long silence.

"I ask you, citizens of America, to join me in prayers for the speedy health of the Captain, and also the Falcon, who was shot in an anti-mutant riot that took place on the Avengers' very doorsteps. He also, to our relief, is in stable condition. But, as long as there is such hate in the world, not one of us, adventurer," she motioned to her teammates, "or ordinary citizen, can truly live in the peace and unity that is the promise of America. Please. Remember. And thank you for listening."