✓ END OF PROLOGUE: Chapter 08: To the Future
.
>> NEW YORK
>> 80 YEARS IN THE FUTURE
.
>> SHEEPSHEAD BAY / BROOKLYN
One day earlier, Layla Miller and Madrox's duplicate arrived in the future to investigate what was happening in that timeline. Upon arriving, they quickly encountered a world seemingly devoid of mutants at first glance.
But after some time, they discovered that mutants did exist in this future, though they were apparently all confined to a mutant relocation center.
Upon learning this, Layla and Madrox decided to infiltrate the facility, as anything worth investigating in this timeline would surely be inside that place.
They quickly caused a commotion at the entrance of the relocation center and then surrendered to the guards who came to arrest them. The guards, confirming that both were mutants, promptly took Madrox and Layla inside the mutant relocation center, successfully allowing them to execute their infiltration plan.
Entering as prisoners, Layla and Madrox were duly "processed," having their hair shaved and brutally branded with a virus that marked their very DNA. After being marked by the virus, an M-shaped tattoo appeared on their faces.
After this painful experience, the two were soon sent to the courtyard of the relocation center, where they quickly encountered several other mutants.
Inside the center, Layla and Madrox reunited, and initially, Madrox was shocked and angry that the guards had also shaved Layla's hair and tattooed her, but Layla said she didn't care at all.
Soon, Layla acted mysteriously and led Madrox to meet a mutant who was born in this grim future.
"Wait, what… meet who?" Madrox asked, following behind Layla.
"Lucas Bishop… He grew up here."
Some time passed, and Layla and Madrox found a young, dark-skinned boy.
"Excuse me… Are you… Are you Lucas Bishop?" Layla Miller asked the boy.
"Who's asking?" the young Bishop replied with a serious expression.
"My name's Layla, this is Jamie."
"Can we talk to you?" Layla asked.
"Talk to yourselves," the young Bishop said, leaving the area, not in the mood to chat.
"Lucas… wait!" Layla said, running after the boy.
"Lucas, you need to listen to me! Trust me, I know…" Layla said as she followed the young Bishop, who was running near a guard in the area.
Spotting the guard, the young Bishop pushed Layla toward him, causing her to collide with the guard.
"Hey!" the guard shouted angrily.
"Don't ever touch me again, you filthy freak," the guard said, quickly grabbing his baton and striking Layla on the head, causing her to fall violently to the ground.
But in that brief moment, the guard didn't notice that when Layla bumped into him, she swiftly took something from his belt and hid it in her clothing.
"Take your friend and get away from me, you genetic freaks," the guard said angrily to Madrox.
After helping Layla up, Madrox continued to chase after Bishop, quickly finding him hiding in a corner.
"Lucas!! Wait… please," Madrox said, standing in front of the boy, afraid he'd run off again.
"What—the 'M' on your faces, does it stand for 'Mongol'?" Lucas questioned angrily.
"Are you trying to get me in trouble? You don't talk openly in front of the guards," the young Lucas Bishop continued, furious.
"I'm sorry, Lucas, but we need to talk to you. There are things we need to know," Layla said, as if she didn't already know everything happening there.
"Nobody here knows anything. And nobody trusts anybody. The sooner you learn that, the better," Bishop said, arms crossed.
"We know you've been through a lot, but we really need you to talk to us. It's important."
"We need to know what caused this. Who did this," Layla said, referring to the place.
"Wait a second… are you two freaks of destiny?" the young Bishop asked, surprised.
"We're what?" Madrox asked, confused.
Quickly, the young Bishop began explaining some things to them.
"There was a group of mutants who believed the mutant race was 'special.'"
"And that mutants were supposed to lead humans to their great destiny. And together, everyone would live as one. All that nonsense."
"As if humans wanted to be led anywhere. All that crap, you know… inflated ego crap," Bishop said angrily.
"And then, almost eighty years ago, almost all the freaks of destiny disappeared. It was called 'the great darkness.' And everything would've been fine if it had stayed that way."
"But no… The freaks of destiny kept going. And another mutant showed up. The mutant messiah. Things seemed great for mutants then," the young Bishop continued.
"But without the 'messiah,' mutants wouldn't exist anymore, you never would've…" Madrox said, being interrupted.
"Never what? Been born in a camp? Watched my parents die? Yeah, I never—"
"But no, the messiah showed up, and everything was fine! Nobody saw a problem with mutant births, until the Messiah killed 8 million humans," Bishop said angrily.
"What?" Madrox asked, shocked.
"That's right… I wish the Messiah had never been born."
"I heard some people tried to kill her when she was born. I wish they'd succeeded… I wish someone had, I wish I could've done it, I wish my parents hadn't died," Bishop said, punching a wall in anger.
"Damn it!! What's wrong with you guys, why are you talking to me?" the young Bishop said, starting to cry as he remembered his dead parents.
Bishop quickly ran off, while Layla and Madrox watched the traumatized child, grieving for his parents.
"You!!! Girl," a voice shouted behind them, interrupting their thoughts.
"Layla, what are you…" Madrox said, confused because Layla had just hugged him, as if saying goodbye.
"Where is it? You little brat!! Where's the grenade you stole from me? It had to be you," the guard shouted angrily, running toward them from a distance with a baton in hand.
"Grenade?! Layla, what's he… talking about…?" Madrox asked before seeing Layla quickly step away from him and toss an object at him. A grenade.
"I'm sorry, Jamie," Layla said, crying.
"But this is the only way. Trust me. I'm Layla… Madrox, I know…" Layla said, quickly interrupted by the sound of the explosion.
"Boom." The grenade exploded instantly at Madrox's feet.
Officially killing that duplicate.
______
>> DALLAS/TEXAS
>> FORGE'S RESIDENCE
Minutes after Scott requested that the Stepford Cuckoos locate Cable.
The atmosphere in the room at Forge's building was thick with tension. Scott, leaning back in an armchair, was lost in thought, his hand on his chin signaling deep concentration as he pondered what he might have overlooked, aware of the strangeness of the situation.
Suddenly, Emma Frost entered the room, interrupting his reverie with a serious expression.
"The girls found the babies' location," Emma announced as Scott quickly rose from the armchair.
"Muir Island," Emma said.
"Alright… Muir Island. Lucas, you know what to do," Scott said, relaying instructions via radio to Bishop's aircraft.
"Go ahead, we're right behind you," Scott continued.
"Understood. Cyclops, we're heading there now," Bishop replied from the other end, ready to act.
"Scotland… Lucky you, Rahne, a free trip home," Wolverine commented on the ship, addressing the mutant Wolfsbane behind him.
"Aye, I just wish I had better reasons to go back home, though," Wolfsbane replied with a slight sigh, her concern evident in her voice.
"Are you kidding?" Wolverine asked, incredulous.
"We're on our way to the biggest brawl to save two babies and the mutant race!!"
"Girl, the circumstances are the least of it," Wolverine said, a defiant smile playing on his lips, his readiness for battle clear in his gaze.
>> Back at Forge's building
In the infirmary room of the building, Theresa Cassidy, also known as Siryn, a member of the X-Factor team, stood by the unconscious body of Madrox, the leader of her team.
With her eyes closed, Siryn prayed fervently, pleading with God for a miracle to bring Madrox back to consciousness.
As she finished her prayer, Siryn slowly opened her eyes, and her surprise was evident as she saw Madrox's eyes open.
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—!!!" Siryn exclaimed in shock, barely able to believe that Madrox was now regaining consciousness before her eyes.
"Scott!! Everyone, get down here!! Now!!" Siryn shouted to the upper floor of the building, using her sonic powers to urgently summon the X-Men and X-Factor.
In an instant, the mutants arrived at the scene, ready to help.
"Jesus, Siryn, could you lower the volume a bit?" Guido, another X-Factor member, asked, holding his ear, affected by her sonic scream.
"Siryn, what happened? Is Jamie—?" Scott began, but his words trailed off as he saw Madrox slowly rise from the bed, clutching his head as if in pain.
"Where's Bishop?" Madrox asked, as an M-shaped tattoo appeared on the right side of his face.
___________________
>> AT THE SAME TIME NEAR DALLAS
Inside the Blackbird, stolen from X-Force, Charles quickly reached Cable.
"Charles, the babies are gone. I need your help. I don't know where the Marauders might have taken them…" Cable said before being interrupted by Charles.
"No. First, explain about the babies, how you're still alive, and how those Sentinels were turned against us," Charles questioned, his piercing eyes searching for answers.
"Sentinels? What are you talking about?" Cable said, surprised by the accusation.
"Don't play dumb, Nathan. You know what I'm talking about. See for yourself," Charles said, sending memories of the Sentinel attack into Cable's mind.
Cable was shocked by the images flooding his mind, especially the outcome of the confrontation, where the Sentinels were destroyed by red beams similar to those of his father.
Cable recalled a peculiar moment when he was with the babies. Little Michael suddenly fired red beams from his eyes, which shot up rapidly into the sky. At the time, Cable couldn't understand the reason behind it, but now, in light of recent events, he began to consider a possible explanation.
Reflecting on the event, Cable theorized that the boy might possess a telepathic consciousness with planetary reach. This theory gained strength from the fact that the red beams were fired when they were in Alaska, while the X-Men's mansion was in New York.
"Charles… You don't think I sent the Sentinels to attack the mansion, do you?" Cable said, interrupting his thoughts about the boy's power.
"Nathan, your recent actions… you have a lot of explaining to do," Charles said, his voice heavy with concern.
"For starters, you were supposed to be dead in Providence. And now you reappear without warning and take the first two mutant babies born since M-Day," Charles continued, his expression serious.
"And if that weren't enough, the pilots of the Sentinel robots protecting the mansion were suddenly infected and killed by nanosentinels… nanosentinels you recently came into contact with."
"So, Nathan, you'll have to excuse our doubts." Charles concluded, his gaze fixed on Cable.
Cable let out a sigh, stepped in front of Charles, placed a hand on his shoulder, and said, "Charles, listen to me, we don't have time for this. The only thing that matters now is the survival of those babies."
"The only thing," Cable said seriously.
"I've seen the future, Charles. It's grim, it almost killed me. But without that child…" Cable hesitated, his words heavy with meaning.
"So, Charles, I could explain how this child can change everything, how she can save us all," Cable continued, his determination evident in his voice.
"But frankly, you could bypass my telepathic shields and see it for yourself."
"And then… Should I have contacted all of you? Half of my old team was made up of Marauders; I couldn't risk the future like that," Cable explained.
"Now we're wasting too much time here. I'm the only one who can keep those babies safe. You know that."
"We need to find those babies now," Cable said, looking deeply into Charles's eyes.
Charles stared at Cable for a minute, simultaneously deciding what to do.
"I've already found them," Charles said after a determined sigh. "They're on Muir Island, but I fear what we might find there." He paused, weighing the decision to help Cable before proceeding.
______________
>> MUIR ISLAND
"This island… It's brought me nothing but pain."
"So much of my life changed here."
A woman with red hair and blue skin spoke, Mystique, looking sadly at another woman lying unconscious on a bed in the facility.
"I killed Moira MacTaggert on this island… I lost Destiny here… And now I might lose my daughter here too…" Mystique's voice trembled with emotion as she gently stroked Rogue's hair with a gloved hand.
Rogue was currently infected with a terrible virus called Strain 88, a cruel plague that brutally amplified her powers, turning them into a lethal weapon. But this power was also consuming her own body, slowly leading her to death.
Moreover, not long ago, Rogue faced a powerful living weapon of the Shi'ar Empire known as Hecatomb, a being that devoured minds. Upon defeating Hecatomb, Rogue absorbed the psyches of 8 billion entities it had consumed, leaving her unable to remain conscious due to the incessant voices in her mind.
"You came to tell me there's no hope for her. That she's going to die."
"Isn't that right, Sinister?" Mystique addressed Sinister, her voice laden with resignation and despair.
Sinister approached, careful not to touch Rogue, and said, "Yes… Rogue will die soon. If I had more time, maybe… But I don't have a cure for you now." Sinister's cold response echoed through the room.
"Mourn for a few minutes, because after that, I'll need you. LeBeau is already on his way back with the children," he continued mercilessly.
"I know," Mystique's voice sounded firm as she stared at Sinister's bowed head, her blue eyes reflecting a dark determination.
In a swift and lethal move, Mystique lunged, grabbing Sinister's head and pressing it against Rogue's cheeks, as if sealing the grim fate that enveloped them.
In an instant, Sinister was officially dead. At least that clone, of course.
"I always knew."
Moments later, the Marauders arrived at Muir Island with the babies. Gambit walked with the little girl in his arms, while little Michael floated telekinetically beside him.
"Shhh, it's okay, sweetie, it'll be over soon. In the meantime… enjoy your moment of glory. Look how everyone came to greet you," Gambit teased, holding the crying baby girl in his arms.
"You're a very important person, practically royalty almost," he added, smiling at the baby in his arms before turning his attention to little Michael. "We don't know who you are, but maybe you're important too," Gambit said, giving a thumbs-up to the boy floating beside him.
After walking through the island, Gambit soon reached a small building, from which Sinister quickly emerged.
"Well, well, so these are the individuals who gave us so much trouble… A pleasure to meet them," Sinister greeted, observing the baby in Gambit's arms and little Michael beside him.
"Hmm…?" Sinister said with a tone of curiosity after also looking at the small baby floating next to Gambit.
The moment Sinister looked at the boy, Michael floated toward him, swiftly passing by his side and entering the building.
"Alright… Come in, Gambit, we have a lot to do," Sinister said, staying in place and giving an order to the Marauders as Gambit passed by him and headed into the building.
"What do you mean, 'do'? We've already done everything you asked," Sunfire questioned, standing in front of the other Marauders and acolytes present.
"Sunfire… If you thought for a moment that this was over… Then you're a fool."
"Prepare to fight the X-Men; they're coming here," Sinister said, issuing an order to the two groups, who quickly left the area as he entered the building.
"Ahh, the baby stopped crying," Sinister said with a smile as he held the girl in his arms.
"How'd you manage that? Mind control?" Gambit asked, intrigued, since the girl hadn't stopped crying since he arrived on the island.
"No, nothing like that," Sinister replied, as his appearance rapidly began to transform into a feminine form, with blue skin and red hair. Her eyes glinted with a slight spark of amusement at Gambit's confusion.
It was obviously Mystique, using her shapeshifting power. "No mental tricks, just a mother's touch," she added, her voice taking on a softer tone as she gently caressed the baby's cheek, calming her little by little.
"I've always been good with kids…" Mystique said, entering a room and glancing at Sinister's body lying dead on the floor.
"My God, Raven… you used Rogue to…" Gambit said, shocked, looking at Sinister's body and quickly being interrupted.
"Sinister got careless, and that carelessness killed him… You knew this had to happen," Mystique replied, gently stroking the baby's head in her arms.
"Sinister would never let the kids out of his control once he had them… And I need her," she stated firmly, her voice filled with resolve.
"I can't believe he's dead… That I'm finally free of him," Gambit sighed, crouching on the floor, looking at Sinister's body.
"Alright, what do we do now?" Gambit asked, standing up and looking at Mystique.
Suddenly, screams and gunfire broke the silence outside, as if a battle were starting near the room they were in.
"The X-Men are here," Gambit sighed, resigned to facing his old teammates again.
"We don't have much time now. Even if the X-Men don't manage to defeat Sinister's group, one of them will surely find their way here," Mystique explained.
"Are you sure this baby can really save her?" Gambit asked, looking at the girl in Mystique's arms.
"I don't need to believe, I know she can," Mystique replied with conviction.
"Destiny saw you and me in this room with Rogue and this baby. Everything I did was to reach this moment. This child will save my daughter," Mystique said with certainty, looking at the girl in her arms.
Mystique possessed the diaries of her late former lover, Irene Adler, also known as Destiny, a mutant gifted with precognitive powers.
Before her death, Destiny recorded her visions and predictions in a diary, revealing details about future events. Among these predictions was the birth of this girl, and Irene made it clear that she would play a crucial role in saving Rogue. This connection to Irene's diary gave Mystique a glimpse of the future and shaped her actions regarding the girl and the fate awaiting her.
"Alright… But now what? How does this work? Does she have some kind of power? Are you going to hook her up to some machine?" Gambit asked, looking at the baby.
"Not exactly," said a third voice in the room.
The moment the voice spoke, both Mystique and Gambit were immediately startled, and even the baby in Mystique's arms showed surprise, looking at the speaker.
"That's how it works," said little Michael in a babyish voice, speaking for the first time since coming into this world, as he quickly and carefully telekinetically pulled the girl from Mystique's arms.
Before Gambit and Mystique could react in any way, Michael swiftly moved the girl telekinetically toward Rogue, gently making her touch Rogue's head and cheeks.
The moment the girl touched Rogue, an intense light burst from Rogue's body, blinding everyone in the room for a few seconds.
"No!!" Gambit shouted after the light faded, trying desperately to pull the girl away from the boy, but to no avail. The girl was somehow held telekinetically in the air, her light and fragile form sustained by an invisible, powerful force that resisted Gambit's efforts to free her.
"Damn it!! Kid, what the hell did you do… You just killed…" Gambit yelled angrily at Michael before quickly stopping as he heard a sound in the room.
"Goo," the little girl floating beside Michael made a small sound, completely unharmed.
"What??… My God… how? The virus killed Sinister, but the kid…" Gambit asked, incredulous, his eyes wide as he stared in disbelief at the girl, who was perfectly fine even after touching Rogue.
"It's fate, LeBeau… Hmm… Rogue?" Mystique said, looking at Rogue, unconcerned with what little Michael had done, as she herself was about to do exactly that. She was even a little grateful she didn't have to.
"Rogue… Wake up!… Please… NO! No, no, no, no," Mystique shouted beside Rogue's unconscious body, tears streaming from her eyes, as even after this, Rogue still hadn't woken up.
"Calm down… She'll wake up eventually," said the innocent and gentle voice of little Michael, floating behind her with the little girl also floating beside him.
"That's what Destiny saw, right? And she was right. Don't worry, Rogue will wake up soon, completely cured of the Strain 88 virus, and she'll also be free of any other psyches in her mind… And when she wakes up, she's going to be very angry with you, even though it wasn't you who pressed the girl against her skin, but me."
"So, a little advice… You'd better get out of here… If Cyclops catches you here, he'll definitely kill you," Michael's words echoed through the room.
"Trust me, she'll be fine…" Michael continued.
"Oh, right. Someday I'll find you again in the future, Mystique, to talk about something," Michael added with an enigmatic tone, leaving an intriguing sense of foreboding in the air.
"Well… for now, bye-bye," little Michael's farewell was brief but laden with meaning before he quickly vanished from everyone's sight, leaving a trail of mystery in the air.
Seconds later, Gambit looked at Mystique in bewilderment, his eyes filled with unasked questions. With a tone heavy with confusion, he finally voiced his question:
"Who the hell was that talking baby, Mystique? And how did he know all that?"
Mystique responded with a grim expression, her eyes reflecting uncertainty about the recent encounter.
"I don't know… Irene predicted the birth of only one baby, that girl, but this boy is completely unknown even to her. It's as if he came out of nowhere."
Meanwhile, outside on Muir Island, chaos had just erupted with the X-Force's battle against the Marauders and the Acolytes.
Initially, the X-Force struggled to face them all, but minutes ago, the X-Men and X-Factor had also arrived at the scene. At the same time, Cable and the Professor had stealthily reached the island, making the bloody battle evenly matched in terms of numbers.
"Alright, I think it's time to put an end to this," said Michael, floating above the island alongside the girl as they looked down at the fight below.
Little Michael quickly closed his eyes, focusing on the positions of all the Marauders and Acolytes. A second later, he opened his eyes and made a small gesture with his hand.
In an instant, all the Marauders, Acolytes, and even Mystique and Gambit were teleported to various locations around the world, far from Muir Island.
But there was still one person he needed to send away—or perhaps not.
Michael searched with his eyes, piercing through any walls in the area. In the blink of an eye, he quickly found who he was looking for: a certain man hiding there, evading the X-Men who were now relentlessly hunting him.
With a simple wave of his hand, Michael made the man appear before him, floating in the air as if controlled by invisible puppet strings.
That man was the traitor to the X-Men, Lucas Bishop.
"What!!??" Bishop exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock at what had just happened. His mind was in disarray, as moments ago he had been carefully hidden in a remote location, far from the watchful eyes of the X-Men. Yet, in an instant, everything changed, and he found himself face-to-face with a baby, unable to comprehend how this had happened so quickly.
"Emma truly is a skilled telepath… She managed to completely break and nullify the effects of my Tsukuyomi," Michael's voice sounded surprised as he observed Bishop, who had escaped his mental illusion.
"It's you!!!… What the hell are you? Let me go, you're not my target… I have to kill her," Bishop said angrily, his words strained with effort as he tried desperately to free himself from Michael's telekinetic grip, which kept him completely immobilized in the air.
"Silence!" Michael's voice resounded with overwhelming intensity, echoing through the air and enveloping Bishop in an aura of unquestionable authority, forcing him to obey instantly as if dominated by a supernatural force.
"I could have ended you back then, but I chose not to because I know that one day you'll regret the decision you made today…" Michael said, his voice heavy with tension as he exerted telekinetic pressure on Bishop's body, the sound of cracking bones echoing in the air.
Michael quickly stopped his grip, giving up on killing Bishop. He let out a sigh and then said, "I'm giving you a second and final chance today." With a swift gesture of his hand, Michael sent Bishop's body teleporting far from Muir Island.
"But I didn't say I'd let you go with a complete body," Michael continued, his voice cold and merciless. With a cruel gaze, he cast Bishop into another Tsukuyomi. When the teleportation was complete, Bishop reappeared almost whole, far from Muir Island, except for his right arm, which had been brutally torn off in the process.
With a red energy beam shooting from his eyes toward Bishop's severed arm, Michael disintegrated it completely after hitting it.
"I'm almost certain I'll regret letting that guy live today," Michael murmured, already feeling uncertainty settle within him. At the last second, he couldn't bring himself to kill Bishop, knowing the future and every event unfolding there. He was aware that, in the future, Bishop would deeply regret what he did today. Michael didn't want to be responsible for the death of a good man who had made just one wrong decision in his life.
Michael was almost certain that his choice to let Bishop live today, even if for altruistic reasons, would bring dark consequences for his future and those around him.
He cast one last glance at the sky, feeling the weight of the choices he had made that day. Before quickly vanishing from the scene with the girl, he was enveloped in an aura of melancholy, aware that his actions would have unpredictable and possibly devastating repercussions in the future.
Down below, the X-Men were all shocked to realize that the Marauders and Acolytes had completely vanished from the area. The sudden emptiness left a sense of perplexity in the air as they tried to understand what could have happened to their enemies.
"What the hell happened here?" Wolverine asked angrily, as seconds ago he was about to sink his claws into one of the Marauders' heads, but in the blink of an eye, the Marauder vanished, leaving Wolverine confused and frustrated.
"They were all teleported far from here," Emma said, who moments ago had been locked in a fierce mental battle against Exodus. In an instant, she sensed his mind was now somewhere in Germany.
"Emma, Monet, now that you're both free, check if that traitor Bishop is still here," Scott ordered with a mix of indignation and irritation. His clenched fists betrayed the tension he felt after discovering that Bishop, not his son Cable, had been responsible for the Sentinel attack on the mansion.
Before Emma and Monet could mentally scan the island for Bishop, a massive pink mist enveloped the mutants, obscuring their vision and causing confusion. Then, in an instant, the New X-Men appeared on the scene, accompanied by two enormous Predator X monsters behind them, heightening the tension and introducing a new threat.
Pixie had just teleported nearly all the mansion's inhabitants to the island, as minutes earlier, brutal attacks by these two large Predator X monsters had been occurring at the mansion.
The New X-Men fought desperately against these creatures to protect the other mutants in the mansion but found it extremely difficult to penetrate the monsters' metallic skin. Even when they succeeded, the creatures' accelerated regeneration made the situation even more challenging.
Pixie, recalling the moment when she saw X-23 kill one of these monsters previously, decided to act and teleport the New X-Men along with the Predators to Muir Island in a desperate attempt to deal with the threat alongside the X-Men.
However, the spell went out of control, resulting in the arrival of not only the fighters and the two Predator X monsters but also the wounded and all the mansion's inhabitants, further escalating the situation's gravity.
"Alright… Can someone explain what the hell is going on here?" Wolverine asked, aggressively charging toward the monsters alongside X-23 and other X-Men members, ready to aid the New X-Men in battle.
Before the X-Men could attack the two Predator X monsters on the scene, the creatures were caught off guard by two red energy beams that struck them in rapid succession. The beams pierced through one Predator and hit the other dead-on, momentarily halting their advance against the mutants.
In the blink of an eye, the Predator X monsters' bodies began to disintegrate on the spot, dissolving into a dark mist and vanishing completely, leaving nothing behind.
The mutants' recognition was almost instantaneous, as those energy beams were familiar: they were the same ones that had struck and destroyed the Sentinels during the attack on the mansion.
Surprise and relief mingled in the mutants' expressions as they quickly turned their gazes toward the source of the red beams. There stood Cable, holding the two babies alongside Charles Xavier.
Cyclops, realizing the chaos had finally come to an end, slowly approached Cable. With a serious and determined expression, he drew near and said firmly, "It's over, Nathan. Hand me the babies."
"Scott…" Cable said softly, his gaze shifting between his father and the two babies in his arms, who had mysteriously appeared right after the Marauders and Acolytes vanished from the scene.
"She is the future. The one who will save us. If she stays here, she'll die," Cable said to his father, his voice firm and determined.
"You can't be sure of that," Cyclops replied, a note of concern in his voice.
"Yes, I am," Cable affirmed, gripping his weapon tightly, ready to make any decision necessary to protect the future.
Before Scott could say anything, Cable quickly said, "Dad… For God's sake, look around you. Everyone wants to claim her or take her out of the equation. She won't last a day here, no matter what you do or don't do," Cable said, his voice filled with urgency and determination as he held the two babies with one hand and, with the other, aimed his weapon at Cyclops.
Scott looked around and saw the chaos the battle against the Marauders and Acolytes had caused on the island. Debris was scattered everywhere, smoke rose from several spots. At the same time, his eyes met the members of X-Force and the X-Men, some of them injured and exhausted, witnesses to the turbulent events that had just unfolded. The weight of responsibility pressed on his shoulders as he assessed the situation and considered his son's words.
"Scott, are you okay?" Emma asked telepathically, concerned as she sensed Scott's racing heartbeat.
"I'm fine, just reassessing the situation," Scott replied telepathically, observing the babies in Cable's arms.
"You're right…" Cyclops said, giving a slight nod and reconsidering his decision to keep the babies.
"What?" Cable asked, lowering his weapon, stunned by his father's change of stance.
"Take them away from here… Let them be free to be themselves… Allow them to make their own choices."
"Let them not be mere pieces in a game or strategic assets in others' hands."
"Give them the freedom I was never able to give you."
"Scott…" some of the X-Men murmured, concerned about the decision to let Cable take the children to the future.
"Enough, the decision is made," Scott cut off any objections from the X-Men.
"Nathan, can I hold them… for a moment?" Scott asked, extending his arms toward the babies.
"Sure," Cable said, handing the girl to Scott while little Michael remained in his arms.
Scott held the girl in his arms and looked at her hopefully, wishing her birth would truly be what Cable expected: the rebirth of the mutant race. He felt a mix of hope and responsibility as he held the child, aware of the weight of expectations placed on her future.
After a few moments, Scott handed the girl back to Cable and now held little Michael in his arms. He looked into the baby's eyes, wondering what this boy would cause in the future.
"Thank you," Scott said, looking at little Michael.
"Hmm??" Michael made a small, confused sound.
"I don't know how you did it, but thank you for destroying the Sentinels that were attacking the mansion," Scott expressed his gratitude, clearly recognizing that the energy beams that hit the Predator X monsters were the same ones that struck the Sentinels.
"Nathan, do you need help getting to the future safely?" Scott offered, looking at Cable.
"No, I've got a temporal device I took from Forge's room," Cable replied, showing the small device on his metal shoulder.
"Scott, I…" Cable began to say goodbye but was interrupted.
"Save your words for another time. This isn't goodbye," Scott said, placing a hand on Cable's shoulder.
"No, it's not. I'll be in touch as soon as we're safe. I'll send a report on our progress."
"Alright," Scott said, stepping back slowly from Cable.
"Thank you for everything," Cable said, expressing his gratitude. He pressed a button, and in an instant, a white energy enveloped his body, making him disappear instantly from the scene along with the babies.
"Scott… Now what?" Bobby asked at his side, looking at the spot where Cable had been.
"We pray."
"We pray that the birth of these children means something, that we aren't the last, and that there's still something good left in the world for us."
...