GENETIC ECLIPSE

Part IX: Two Paths Converging

By Mike Franzoni

Author’s Note: This story is continued from Shadowcat #7

He stands in the doorway, lost in his own reverie as they wander around the room, pretending that there is no tension between them. Who’re they kidding, he wonders, as he feels the burden of a past decision weighing heavily upon his shoulders. And the oddest thing is, he’s almost entirely outside the decision, tied only loosely to Xavier’s dream by means of blood ties, former charges, and a destiny that intertwines with the dream. Cable almost prefers to be that way, the grey outlier who intermingles with both groups as it becomes necessary.

Only now, there is a greater urgency in the air, and he knows that it’s coming time to make a choice from which threads the future will be woven.

“By all preliminary analyses, our combined efforts have succeeded in minimizing the degenerative qualities of Jean’s infection. However, should further expanses of time elapse, the virus will certainly increase in ferocity until it has consumed the entirety of Jean and her unborn,” Henry McCoy says, leveling his eyes above the rims of his specs as he addresses his contemporaries, both former and current, in the remains of the medical bay at Xavier’s mansion in Westchester, New York.

“Hey, furball, ya mind breaking that down into simple, two-syllable words?” Bobby retorts, exhibiting the strictest sense of control as he meanders a stream of ice crystals up the back of Beast’s left leg.

Cable shakes his head, knowing the gravity of the situation and relatively ashamed at Iceman’s approach to it all. He keeps quiet, though, knowing that each of the X-Men have different methods of dealing with stress. And he knows that by lecturing Bobby, he will only serve to add further tension to an already mounted tension. “What he means is that Jean is in a bad way. She’s stabilized for the moment, but the disease is highly unstable, and could claim her and the twins at any given time. We must make our choices and bring this madness to an end.”

“While I cannot agree more,” Xavier starts, his hoverchair crossing to the center of the medical lab. His face bears the ever-present expression of gravity as he continues, “We must maintain some sense of strategy. If we rush off into battle with Apocalypse and his Horsemen, we run the risk of losing the entire battle. Haste makes waste, and at this juncture of time, every moment is of grave importance.”

“Professor, this is a battle I have been fighting for most of my life, in one timestream or the next. If the moment were not important, I would not be here. However, the more time we waste debating strategy, the more we allow Apocalypse to progress with his own plans. He has already obtained a vast amount of data on the Legacy Virus, has kidnapped Shadowcat, and now he’s set his sights on the X-Men. How much more must we endure before we react?”

Cyclops steps forward, placing his hands squarely on his hips. Up until now, he has been content to let the scene unfold, preferring to remain silent and ascertain the flow of the conversation. But now he sees that nothing has changed, that every decision made now will be made as it has in the past, with pain-staking analysis attached to it. He cannot allow this happen. “This is our moment, Charles. The world is at stake, and he’s picking off our loved ones individually, trying to drive a wedge among our ranks. I won’t sit here while my family is threatened. Now is the time to act, and if you don’t have the strength to do so, I will.”

“It’s not an issue of strength, Scott,” Xavier responds, shooting Cyclops a glance of disappointment. “We have several injured parties here at the mansion who need attention, and as you said, the rest of the world is at stake. Do you not realize that there is more at risk here than two people?”

“Are you trying to tell me that I should sacrifice the lives of my wife and unborn children, the life of Kitty Pryde is favor of sitting back and watching you, Beast, and Cecilia cure this disease? I’m surprised at you, Charles. It used to be that you cared for your X-Men. Now, it seems as if they’re just a means to your ends.”

“That’s not fair, Scott…”

“Maybe not, but I’ll tell you what’s not fair. My wife, the woman who I love beyond anything in this world, is lying in that medi-bed, dying of God-knows-what. My children will soon join her as victims if nothing is done, and you’re suggesting that I cross my fingers and hope that you can make everything all better? I’ve made enough sacrifices in my life, Charles, and I’m no longer willing to make anymore. Not when it comes to the X-Men, and not when it comes to my family.”

Cable’s mind is reeling as Scott talks about the importance of family, having been the recipient of that sacrifice. He knows that it was for the better good, to save his life, but it is still a decision that has forged the path his life has followed. If not for Scott sending him into the future, he would have never become one of the Askani, would have never returned to the past to lead X-Force, and perhaps the world would be in a worse place right now. He’s argued this several times with himself, wondering if he missed out on the chance for love and acceptance, if this somehow made him into the soldier that he is now. But it is not an issue he likes to dwell upon for long, especially when there is a job that needs to be done. He looks at Charles, waiting for the man to respond, but then decides to cut him off.

“Guys, this is not the time to argue. Now, we know that Apocalypse has plans for this virus. He wouldn’t have developed it unless he had the intention of using it. Shadowcat relayed a message to us, informing us of just that. Triangulation places Kitty’s location here, in Egypt,” Cable says, seizing the floor, and pointing to a map on the computer screen. “Apocalypse has had dealings with Egypt before, so this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. However, we’ve never faced him and a full cadre of his Horsemen and Dark Riders on his own turf before. I’m open for suggestions on this one.”

“Well, according to my best projections,” Beast says, interjecting, “Apocalypse would seek to release the contagion in an area with a high population density, or an area where it could be carried, en masse, to other parts of the world. New York City would be a prime example of such a place, but I believe there may be a more suitable target in mind. This week, the World Health Organization is holding an annual summit in Washington, D.C., aiming to raise the awareness of the Legacy Virus and how it affects the world at large. If Apocalypse is planning on releasing a rogue strain of the virus, one aimed at the human population, it would be a dreadful irony when released at this summit. But, taking into account the variety of countries represented at this convention, it would also seem like the most likely target. This information was confirmed by Shadowcat from her position in Egypt.”

“Unfortunately, Beast,” Cable responds, “this divides our attentions even further.”

He waits for the argument to come, knowing that Cyclops and Xavier will soon launch into a bitter tirade of differing opinions on strategy. It is an uneasy truce, at best, to have them under the same roof. Thus far, this encounter has rung heavily with the overtones of a previous arguement that Cable was later made privy to…

“It seems instead of taking a step foward, we’ve taken quite a few huge leaps backwards. Now we’re to the point where a human/mutant war could be brewing. I think we need to reconsider how we do things. We need to be more proactive, get to those mutant and even human criminals who would do harm and damage before they can do that harm and damage.”

“To put it simply, we need to find, capture, and turn in any and all evil mutants that we can find.”

Cyclops stopped. Some of the X-Men’s eyes went wide, including the Professor’s. Xavier looked at Cyclops, absorbing his words.

“Scott… you want the X-Men to hunt down our own kind?” Xavier said sternly.

Storm looked at Cyclops and said, “Scott, the X-Men were not formed to hunt people down. Charles formed this team to create peace and harmony between human and mutantkind… your ideas have validity, but that is not the way to go about making the Professor’s dream a reality.”

“Ororo, thank you for your support, but I can handle this,” Xavier said, still looking at Cyclops.

“Professor, not to be rude, but there is nothing to handle. If we just sit around and wait for some evil mutant to attack, we’re never going to get anywhere.”

“Scott, the X-Men were formed to help mutants,” Xavier stated, “help them better understand and control their powers…”

“Like you tried to help Sabretooth?”

The tension was growing between Cyclops and Xavier, everybody could see it. They glared at each other for what seemed an eternity, until Xavier broke the silence…

“That’s not fair, Scott.” Xavier gave Cyclops a cold look.

“How so? Sabretooth is one of the most vicious killers we have ever come across. You tried to help him, but couldn’t. He lived for killing. Like Magneto lived for mutant superiority. And Apocalypse lives for survival of the fittest. And many other mutants live for their own personal goals. Instead of trying to help them, we should just be locking them up and throwing away the key!”

Xavier was getting impatient with Cyclops. “Scott… are you saying you’re going to act on this, even after I’ve stated my opinion on it?”

“Yes, Charles. Contrary to popular belief, I do have a mind of my own!” Cyclops was getting frustrated. “Maybe you can sit around and wait for one of our old enemies to resurface and take lives, but I can’t!”

The tension in the room was now at boiling point. Storm and Xavier were clearly against Cyclops’ proposal, but the others had remained silent.

“So what happens now, Scott?” Xavier asked with a sigh.

“Well, Charles… it’s clear you’re not willing to do anything about this. We’re not going to agree at all on this… so I guess I’m going to have to leave and do something about it myself!”

Instead, it is Storm that speaks, and for the first time since he’s arrived, he notices that she has been awfully quiet today, perhaps because she feels it is not her place any longer. “Both of you make valid arguments, but either decision may very well cost lives. Let us not forget that the X-Men operate with a formidable power base, and one which could likely handle both situations. However, we will be weakened by the split attentions.”

“I still maintain that the masses should be protected first, then we should pursue our personal attentions,” Xavier offers, rubbing a slight pain from his temples.

“With all due respect, Professor,” Scott replies, tiring of the endless caution exhibited by the Professor, “but regardless of what you say or how you say it, I’m still taking a team into Egypt and putting an end to this madness. How many times do we have to beat Apocalypse back and let him come back with a new scheme and a more dangerous tone? It’s an endless cycle, and the longer we tip-toe around it, the more lives we’re going to lose. Now, who’s going with me?”

Cable glances around the room, waiting for the others to speak up. He knows already which team he must follow, as destiny precludes any decision he might make otherwise. The faces of his fellow X-Men maintain different expressions, some of confusion, some of anger, and some of shock over the presentation of the arguments. But even before they speak, he knows who will go wear, in fact, those decisions have been made already, once before.

Cecilia is the first to step forward, and this surprises everyone in the room. She knows that they expect her to be the last to make a decision, but she also knows that there is only one place where she will be truly effective in this plan. “I’ll be staying here, working alongside Beast and the Professor to develop a cure. You gotta stay where your talent lies, and while the boys are toiling over a cure, I can at least help keep Jean alive.”

“Well, I ain’t gonna piss my time away waiting for some lame freaks to attack the capital. I’ve got a friend in the clutches of Big Blue Lips, and until I get Tom back, he ain’t gonna be able to hide anywhere on this planet,” Cain states, stomping a boot on the ground as he steps over toward Cyclops. “Besides, I got a hankering to bust some heads. But one warning, don’t get all preachy with me, Slim. I still ain’t good at taking orders.”

Dazzler crosses the room, and hands the baby in her arms to Cecilia, kissing her daughter on the forehead before joining Cyclops and Juggernaut. “I can’t allow my child to grow up in a world that fears this man. I’m sorry, Charles.”

Bobby stands up, letting the ice crystals drop from Hank’s fur, and putting on his best facade as leader of his team. “My team will take Washington, D.C. We’re still pretty sore from our rounds with the Horsemen, so the chance to do something more team-building will be just what we need. Unfortunately, we’re one short with Gambit being off on his own. Hope you guys don’t mind.”

If there any concerns, they do not voice them as Rogue, Nightcrawler, Storm, Marrow, and Spark join their team leader and head off toward the Blackbird. It will be a tireless job, and Cable silently wishes them well. He envies their restraint somewhat, knowing that each of them would, at least deep down, like to take their aggressions out on the High Lord. “I’ll be going along with Cyclops’ team, and I’m sure that everyone suspected that I would be going to Egypt anyway. There is something there that I must protect, and while I can’t speak directly of it now, I know that a day is coming soon.”

“Count me with Scott as well. I’ve got a few words to say to Apocalypse, and maybe, just maybe I’ll find out something about these wings that he’s given me,” Warren says, shattering the silence he had surrounded himself with.

Cable sighs to himself as he watches Cyclops and Xavier stare each other down, each one hoping to say something in the terms of an apology, but neither willing to make the first step. This is going to be a long and difficult road for both of them, and eventually, those two paths must converge once more. For now, however, time is winding down, and the world is spirally quickly toward its fate.

END OF VOLUME ONE

Read Genetic Eclipse: Gambit #1, Wolverine #14, X-Men #13, Uncanny X-Men #16, & Apocalypse #10 for parts 10-14 of Genetic Eclipse!