"Strange, they didn't find the bodies of those two Marauders at the scene… Or maybe, for some obscure reason, the media is covering it up."
Scott spoke as he watched multiple floating screens in the room, displaying various news channels reporting on the incident in the city of Cooperstown, which they had just left.
"Sinister isn't stupid. He probably sent someone to clean up his mess. It's not like he wants the whole world on his back more than it already is," Emma commented, also scanning the news.
"Probably… But that's not right. They're the Marauders, not amateurs," Scott expressed with frustration.
"You saw those bodies... They were just discarded like they were nothing," Scott said angrily, furious at Sinister's cruelty, even toward his own group.
"I know, but for now... Let's focus on what really matters," Emma said calmly.
"Good idea. Did you make that call?" Scott asked.
"Of course. They're already on their way. Should arrive in about two hours," Emma replied.
"Great. We need to move fast if we want to recover those children... We don't have time for rebellions," Scott added, already sensing a new presence entering the room behind him.
"Scott," said the figure who had just entered.
"Professor," Scott replied coldly.
"Why didn't you inform me that you sent a team?" asked Professor Charles Xavier, slightly upset.
"Hank and I are trying to repair Cerebro, but that doesn't mean—" Charles was interrupted.
"Since when do I need your permission to lead the X-Men?" Scott replied icily, not even looking at Xavier.
"In case you forgot, Professor... The first new mutant to appear since M-Day is likely in the hands of one of our worst nightmares."
"So no, I won't be discussing any course of action with you," Scott stated firmly.
"ESPECIALLY considering your recent decisions," Scott added with a slightly mocking tone.
The Professor frowned, showing a look of guilt and sorrow, already aware of what Scott was referring to.
"Scott, that's not fair," Charles said.
Scott lost his temper, turning toward the Professor with anger.
"Oh, isn't it? Aren't you the man who left my brother in outer space last month?"
"Aren't you the man who erased my memories—and even those of other X-Men—about my third brother, Gabriel Summers?"
"Aren't you the man who lied about the Danger Room?"
"Aren't you the man who lied about Krakoa?" Scott listed off some of the Professor's major mistakes.
"It didn't happen exactly like that, and you know it."
"Besides, I'm the man who trained all of you, and who knows more about new mutants than anyone else on this planet," Charles concluded.
Scott exhaled slowly, calming himself.
"Except maybe Sinister, huh?" Scott responded with sarcasm.
"For God's sake! Let me help you, Scott," Charles pleaded.
"Then help me, Professor—help me by letting me do what you trained me for years to do... Lead."
"And help me by fixing Cerebro as fast as possible, because we desperately need it right now," Scott added.
"You need my help," the Professor insisted, eager to contribute more.
"I'll be the first to say when I do, Professor. Believe me... This isn't pride," Scott affirmed.
"I know what it is..."
"It's disappointment," Charles said sadly, using telepathy to speak directly into Scott's mind.
"Maybe," Cyclops replied mentally, not denying his disappointment.
"While you're working on Cerebro, maybe you and Hank can also figure out what this new mutant manifested at birth."
"Very well," Charles said with a sigh, before turning to leave.
"Believe me... Professor, I already have everything under control."
"Right now, I've got a team in the field looking for clues on Sinister and his people, and another team already on their way here," Scott concluded, giving his final word before Charles exited the room.
---
.
> 2 HOURS LATER, AT THE MANSION .
Two individuals, invited by Scott, arrived at the mansion—two members of another mutant team, X-Factor.
"What are you doing? Summers, what the hell is she doing to me?" Madrox asked, one of the guests, questioning Scott about why Emma was invading his mind.
"I'm just making sure you're the real, original Madrox, and not one of your duplicates," Emma answered the man who had the power to duplicate himself.
"Next time, maybe just ask, White Queen. And maybe not with mental suggestions included," said Madrox, the leader of X-Factor.
"Jamie, Rictor... My apologies for the way Emma brought you here, but as she already told you... This is extremely important."
"More important than any issue between our teams," said Scott.
"What's going on, Scott? I haven't seen you like this since that damn day," said Madrox, before being interrupted by someone new entering the room.
"Everything changed," said the newcomer—also a member of X-Factor.
A blonde teenage girl... Also known as the girl who remembered the future.
"You brought Layla Miller? I didn't ask for her to come," Emma said in clear disdain to Madrox.
"I know, Miss Frost... That's why I came. Madrox needs me with him for what's coming," Layla Miller said mysteriously.
"And what is coming?" Emma asked, intrigued.
"A new mutant was born," Layla replied with a smile.
"Correct," Cyclops confirmed for Madrox and Rictor, who were both stunned by Layla's statement.
"A new mutant was born? That's wonderful news!" Madrox said with a wide smile.
"It's not just one. There are two," Emma added, leaving the three of them even more shocked—including Layla.
"Two? But... That's impossible," Layla whispered, trying to recall her memories of the future, which clearly showed only one mutant being born. She even knew the name of that mutant, their power, and their importance for the future.
"Oh, this is rare—the first time I've seen you like this, Layla. Maybe I should take a picture," Emma said sarcastically, though clearly curious about the expression on the girl's face.
This girl truly was a mystery to everyone—especially to Emma Frost, since Layla's telepathic shields were unlike anything she had ever encountered and were incredibly powerful.
That was one of the reasons Emma didn't like her—Emma often tried to invade the girl's mind to see her future memories.
But of course, those shields always completely blocked her attacks.
The other reason why Emma and many other X-Men weren't too fond of her was that, even though Layla Miller knew certain things about the future, she almost never told them anything. For example, right now—she knew a new mutant would be born but never mentioned it. It was as if she were trying not to alter the timeline too much... Or maybe afraid to.
"What is it, Layla? Something wrong?" Rictor asked beside her.
"In my memories, I only saw one mutant being born—not two," Layla said, worried, because if two mutants really had been born, then her memories of the future might no longer matter, due to the changes this second mutant could cause.
"A temporal anomaly?" Madrox asked.
"We don't know, but it's definitely possible," Emma Frost said, deep in thought.
"Why? Why is that possible?" Layla asked with great curiosity.
"Because he's the child of one of the most powerful mutants to ever exist," Emma replied mysteriously to Layla, who looked a bit frustrated at Emma's cryptic answer.
"He's the son of Jim Jaspers," Scott said.
"What? That guy was killed by some robot from another universe, wasn't he?" Madrox asked, shocked. He knew how Jim Jaspers had died thanks to his old friendship with Captain Britain.
According to the Captain, an extremely powerful robot called Fury was responsible for Jaspers' death. After a colossal battle that shook the very fabric of reality, the robot emerged victorious but was weakened. The Captain then took advantage of that weakness to destroy it.
And the creator of that robot was none other than Mad Jim Jaspers—but from another universe.
That alternate, insane version of Jaspers had distorted his own universe so much that the Dimensional Development Court, responsible for maintaining Omniversal integrity, had to act directly to stop his madness.
If they hadn't, and if he had continued warping his universe, those distortions would eventually spread to others—and he could have easily become a threat to the entire multiverse.
The only way to stop that Mad Jim Jaspers was to use a powerful artifact that literally destroyed his entire universe—thus erasing him as well.
And according to Captain Britain, that version was one of the weaker ones.
"Well, from what the Captain told us, that battle happened less than a year ago. So, it's very possible he fathered a child during that time," Emma commented.
"So... Should we contact the Captain to report this?" Madrox asked, clearly worried.
"No, we won't. We don't know what he might decide to do with the boy. I'm almost certain he wouldn't harm him, but we don't know what that woman might do to him."
Replies Cyclops, referring to Opal Luna Saturnyne, the Omniversal Majestrix and leader of the Captain Britain Corps, as well as one of the heads of the Dimensional Development Court.
...
A few minutes later, the group continued talking, and then Scott turned to Madrox and Rictor, mentioning who was most likely with the babies.
"What? You think Sinister has those two babies? That's not good, Summers… That's the opposite of good," says Madrox, worried as he looked at the screens showing the disaster that occurred in Cooperstown.
"It's just a hypothesis for now," Scott replied, trying to reassure Madrox.
"All we know for sure is that the Marauders and the Purifiers destroyed that town—and each other—during the process... And that the babies are still missing," says Scott.
"Sinister is our best bet."
"Honestly, we have to hope the babies are actually with Sinister and not the Purifiers. Because the worst Sinister might do is run some dark experiments on them… He probably wouldn't kill them like the Purifiers would," Scott says.
"But even so, we still have to consider all possibilities… That's why I wanted Rictor to be here," Scott explained, looking at Rictor.
"Alright, Scott. What do you want me to do?" asks Rictor, sighing—he wasn't sure if he could be of much help to Scott, especially since he'd completely lost his Earth energy manipulation powers after M-Day.
"Something you're not going to like," Cyclops warned.
"I'm already starting to like it," Rictor replied, half amused.
"He wants you to infiltrate the Purifiers," says Layla, already knowing the future.
"Hey, I can speak for myself," Scott said, slightly irritated by the girl's interruption.
"Sorry, but you're right. Rictor hasn't been a mutant since M-Day, so maybe he can infiltrate," Layla agreed, supporting Scott's plan.
"You want to throw me in the middle of those sick maniacs and their twisted hatred for mutants… The same people who killed all those babies and children in that town," says Rictor, frowning.
"Exactly… Is that going to be a problem?" asks Scott.
Rictor shakes his head from side to side, signaling no. A mission was a mission, especially one that involved the future of his kind.
"What's Jamie's role then?" Rictor asks.
"Want to tell him, Layla?" Scott asks.
"We're going to find Forge," Layla says with a smile, and then looks at Madrox and asks...
"Wait… Who's Forge again?"
---
SEVERAL HOURS LATER
Rictor had successfully completed Scott's plan as agreed.
Rictor's plan to infiltrate the Purifiers was simple and basic—but extremely risky.
It involved asking Rahne Sinclair, also known as Wolfsbane, to violently attack one of the Purifiers' bases.
But before the attack, Cyclops asked Douglas Ramsey—also known as Cypher—to send a coded message to the Purifiers' base, warning them about the arrival of a man named Jake, supposedly one of Reverend William Stryker's men.
After sending the message, Wolfsbane's attack would begin quickly. Then, Rictor, disguised as Jake, would appear and start firing fake bullets at Wolfsbane, simulating a rescue from the Purifiers' perspective.
Despite the risks, the plan worked, and Rictor successfully infiltrated the Purifiers' base.
However, he still hadn't found the crucial information Scott needed:
Whether or not the Purifiers were in possession of the mutant babies.
---
Texas
Dallas
Forge's Residence
"Hoh, Madrox, good to see you. And who's this?" asks a man to the two people standing at the door of his building.
"I'm Layla Miller," says the teenage girl, holding an umbrella and dressed in eccentric Hello Kitty clothes.
"She knows stuff," adds the man next to her before she can say anything else.
"You've noticed I haven't said that in a while, right? Everyone's been saying it for me. Isn't that funny?" says Layla with a smile.
"No. It's not…"
"Hey, Forge, you wanna get us out from under this…"
"—Rain?"
says Madrox just before watching Layla walk right through Forge and into the building.
"Is that one of the things she knows?" Forge asks, intrigued at how quickly the girl figured out he was a hologram.
"You don't have a shadow. Part of the stuff I know comes from paying attention," Layla answers, pointing at the holographic Forge's feet.
Forge nods and smiles in agreement, then gestures for them to come inside.
"Welcome, Madrox and Layla."
"You're dripping on my floor," says Forge to the two.
"Afraid there's not much I can do abou—" Madrox begins before being interrupted by a sort of screen suddenly appearing in front of them.
"Ah?!" Madrox exclaims, slightly frowning, unsure of what the machine is about to do.
Layla also looks at it—but with fascination, not fear.
The screen in front of them begins glowing red, and soon a warm energy washes over both of them, drying them off instantly.
"Wow. I thought all your inventions were, you know… weapons," says Madrox, running a hand over his now warm, dry clothes.
"Now you know they're not," Forge replies, walking over to them.
"Look, that scary-looking device in the corner makes coffee. Grab some if you want," says Forge, pointing to a machine in the room.
"How much did Scott tell you?" Forge asks the two.
"Not much. Just that you had some kind of information-gathering device," replies Madrox.
"Yeah, well, I do," says Forge, nodding.
"And what is it?" Madrox asks while fiddling with the coffee machine.
"A time machine."
"Well, more accurately, it's a kind of GPS—for time and space. I call it the chronal tracer. The next one will be more compact, but this one works too," says Forge, typing on a screen.
"I see… Like a DeLorean," jokes Madrox.
"Funny… But here's the thing: time branches off in infinite directions, but after M-Day, all branches involving mutants became… well… linear, for lack of a better word…" says Forge, continuing.
"I searched countless futures for signs of mutants, and the result was insignificant."
"But ever since the birth of the lost children, two new branches have appeared—and they're worth investigating," Forge tells Madrox.
Madrox nods in agreement as he sips his coffee.
"And that's where I come in—me being a detective and all," says Madrox.
A few minutes pass as Forge explains his plan to Madrox.
"I get it… So we're going to send a couple of my duplicates into these two timelines, let them play out a bit, and then have them come back with information?" Madrox asks.
"That's basically the plan," Forge replies with a nod.
"Okay… Well, before we begin, there's a downside. Lately, my dupes have been a bit unpredictable. They don't always do what I want," says Madrox, embarrassed, remembering a certain incident when one of his duplicates tried to kill him.
Forge gives him a weird look.
"But… I'll do my best," says Madrox as he activates his power, and suddenly two duplicates appear in the room.
"Alright, what do we got, fellas?" Madrox asks his duplicates, testing if they'll obey his orders.
"I'll do whatever's necessary for the greater good of mutantkind," says Duplicate 01.
"I'm just a guy with a job to do," says Duplicate 02.
"Well, I guess we've got our guys," says Madrox, smiling, pleased that his duplicates seemed to be cooperating.
"Good. Let's make this work," says Forge while working on the computer.
"First volunteer, onto the platform please," says Forge to one of the duplicates.
The duplicate quickly steps onto the platform and gets into position.
"Alright."
"Ignition in three… two… one… launch," says Forge, pressing a button. A red light instantly surrounds the duplicate. In a blink, the light vanishes—and the duplicate is gone.
"Next," says Forge to the second duplicate, who quickly steps up to the platform.
"Ready?" Forge asks.
"Yes," says Duplicate 02.
"Ignition in three… two… one… launch—" says Forge, just as he sees someone rushing toward the platform to join the duplicate.
"What…? Layla, what are you doing?!!!" shouts the duplicate on the platform.
"Stuff," replies Layla as she jumps and grabs the duplicate.
"Nooooo!!!!!!" screams the duplicate in horror as, in a flash, the two vanish from the room.
"Layla!!!!" screams the original Madrox, staring at the spot where Layla and his duplicate disappeared.
"Reverse it! Reverse it! Now!" Madrox shouted desperately at Forge.
Forge put his hand to his face, then shook his head, saying,
"I can't! They're both on a one-way trip," Forge replied to the desperate Madrox.
"One-way trip?!"
"How the hell were my dupes supposed to come back?!" Madrox snapped angrily.
"They're not...
— When each of them disappeared, a message was psychically transferred into their brains. Once they arrive, they'll know," Forge said.
"Know what?!" Madrox asked, panicked at the thought of losing a member of his team.
"That once they've collected the information... they're supposed to kill themselves. Then the knowledge will transfer back to your mind — in seconds," Forge replied.
"What??" Madrox said, still not believing what his friend had just told him.
"Hey!" said Forge as he noticed Madrox grabbing his shirt violently, his fist raised, ready to punch.
"You manipulative bastard...!! You condemned Layla to—" Madrox yelled, his fist trembling in the air.
"I didn't condemn her to anything!! She wasn't supposed to go, neither you nor I told her to!" Forge said, prying Madrox's hands off his shirt.
"You son of a—"
Madrox yelled — when suddenly his eyes turned completely white, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"What the—?"
"Madrox? Madrox!! Jamie!"
------------