Love & Marriage

LOVE & MARRIAGE

Part III: Those Whom God Has Joined Together, Let No Man Put Asunder

By David Wheatley

Somewhere in time and space, in the place between dimensions known as The Complex was John Wraith’s office. As the latest in a long line of expediter’s for Landau, Luckman and Lake, Wraith’s role and responsibilities were vast, and as all before him he was responsible for keeping watch on a certain former operative, long-time ally and special project to LL&L. The life and times of the man known as Logan lay before him and he knew everything there was to know about him that they had in their files.

The file in front of him had been read and reread by not only himself but by members of the agency, and what it told them he knew Logan would give plenty to learn about. It had been quite a series of surprises, including who Logan’s parents had been, when he was born and where, his childhood, his life, who his first love had been and what is actual relationship to Sabretooth was. That revelation had been the biggest surprise of them all and Wraith knew how valuable this file was. All the missing pieces of information that people had been after for years, information and memories that Logan no longer had access to thanks to the manipulation by numerous forces over the years.

Including the Weapon X project. Wraith felt a shiver go down his spine as he thought of the information he’d read in the file, how Landau, Luckman and Lake had funded the project. Not in the sense of money but how they had provided information on candidates for use in the project, given access to specialist otherworldly technologies and pointed them in the direction of the technologies on Earth. However, such things did not come without a price and in return it ensured that the Team X candidates were available for special missions for LL&L. Logan had been the first of the Team X candidates chosen, selected because of his prior relationship to the company, his special abilities and more importantly his will to survive. The adamantium bonding process had taken place after the Team X and had been the catalyst to the team’s discharge.

The problem was the men in charge at LL&L had hoped that the situations Logan was placed in would relieve the trauma he had suffered during the first World War in which he had erased all knowledge of his claws from his memory. The bonding process was a traumatic experience, which triggered the release of the claws for the first time in nearly fifty years. It had been a deliberate, planned attack on Logan to release his full potential, but it backfired and unleashed a feral side to Logan he had long kept under control, and with a virtually indestructible body he escaped.

Landau, Luckman and Lake dropped their support for the project, it was dissolved and the remainder of Team X lived the rest of their lives, some unaware they were even part of the project. The project was reborn time and again but without the previous backing, they were all doomed to failure as there was no way to repeat the impossible. With the death of Experiment X, the erasing of the mind of Aldus Ferro and the destruction of the old complex, the project was finally history as the remainder of the original project were dealt with and Logan’s destiny was still on track.

Or it had been until now. Logan was under attack on the eve of his wedding and the only allies he had were under the influence of his enemy. The Complex had been locked down from accessing the UK via the warp chambers and there was no way that he could help him directly. He pressed a panel on the console.

“Culloden,” came the voice at the other end. As expediter, Wraith’s authority could only go so far. He needed the permission of the Overboss for this one.

“Zoë, it’s John Wraith. We have a situation regarding file 170771.”

“I’m monitoring the Logan situation myself. Whoever’s doing this has power, John. What are you thinking?”

“We open the gateway through the sixth dimension.”

“You don’t ask for much, Wraith.” The tone of Zoë’s voice told him how difficult this was going to be. “Who do you want to send in?”

“Maverick.”

“Acceptable. Get me the proposal and backdate it to yesterday. I’ll sort it now.”

“Certainly,” said Wraith and hung up. What he didn’t see at the other end of the line was Zoë, her hand brushing over the picture of Logan and Elektra that sat on her desk. Nothing would spoil the wedding of her parents, their moment of unparalleled happiness. It was a promise she had made so long ago, and something she had managed to keep out of the files of Landau, Luckman and Lake.

Nothing was more important than family…

Elektra was restless and awoke with a start, knowing there was something wrong. Not with her or the baby, but something else. There was only one thing she could think of that was left – Logan, and she quickly grabbed a dressing gown that was hung over the end of the bed, pausing as she left the room only to retrieve her sai. As she got closer to Logan’s room she could hear voices. Voices that she knew. Then came a shout.

“NO!” The voice was, as far as Elektra recognized it, was that of Charles Xavier, the founder of the X-Men and the world’s foremost telepath.

“What is it?” asked someone who could only have been Kurt Wagner, for there was only he with a German accent in the place.

“Logan’s mind. The attack is greater than we feared.” That was the voice of Jean Grey

“What’s happening?” quickly came the voice of her husband, Scott Summers.

“Logan is living out a fantasy where Mariko Yashida did not die from poison and they married.” Jean’s heart was filled with the pain and love that she felt for what Logan was going through, and Elektra felt a surge of jealousy between herself and this married woman.

“Mon dieu.” The Cajun accent and use of French gave away the presence of Remy LeBeau. “What’s different dis time from de rest?”

“His instincts are being dulled by a force we cannot locate,” said Xavier. “However there is a more immediate problem to this mental attack. We can only ‘see’ what is going on, we do not have the power to interfere or affect things and Logan currently believes he is dying of the Legacy Virus.”

“Professor,” started another distinct accent in the group, this time Russian making its owner Peter Rasputin.

“I’m fine, Peter,” said Xavier, confirming what Elektra had been thinking. “Logan’s state of mind is such that he believes himself at peace and ready to die. Given the state of his healing factor it’s probable that whoever is attacking him means for him to die when he believes the Legacy Virus kills him.”

“I’m not sure. I think there’s something else, something that we’re missing.” The voice was very English in its sound but there was something else, a trace of menace and a deeper love, making it Elizabeth Braddock.

“How would you know,” snapped Scott. “You’re not a telepath anymore.” There was a silence and Elektra knew that the violence of earlier was about to restart and the X-Men needed their wits to save Logan, so Elektra did the only thing she could think of.

“Jesus!” cried Scott as his shoulder exploded in pain. A sai flew through the air and embedded itself in his left shoulder and pinned him to the wall.

“Scott!” cried Jean and the X-Men as well as Brian and Meggan all turned to see Elektra standing there, a scowl across her face.

“That’s enough, all of you!” she said, using the techniques of the Chaste to purge her mind of the anger that tried to invade her being. She could sense it was coming from an outside force and she refused to give in to it. The Chaste had chosen her for a reason. Now instead of each other, the X-Men were focusing on her.

“That was a very foolish thing to do, frauline,” said Nightcrawler, breaking the silence at the horror of what she’d done.

“He’s alive, the blade won’t have done any major damage, and frankly you were going to kill each other. He is killing him in there and you are fighting amongst yourselves? What kind of family are you?” The X-Men stopped and looked about at her words and the harshness behind them, as she made the negativity in the air work for her.

“Xavier,” she said. “You and Jean have the power to block whatever is being done to you. Do it now, or I swear if Logan dies you’ll have nothing to worry about from the Legacy Virus.”

“Jean,” said Xavier, more than a little annoyed at the chiding he had just received, and the two of them focused, creating a psionic buffer zone, both of them knowing it would take a lot to keep the negativity at bay. It left the rest of them cut off from Logan psionically, only able to use the intuition of Betsy to guide them. As they did so, Brian reached across and pulled the sai from Scott’s shoulder, freeing him.

To Cyclops’ credit he didn’t cry out but he did wince in the pain.

“Kurt,” gestured Brian and Nightcrawler held on to Scott and teleported him to the mansion’s medical bay area. The remainder of the group looked at Elektra as if to figure out what to do next.

“We get in there,” she said. “However we do it, we have to. I’m not going to lose him. We’re not going to lose him.”

“How the hell did you do that?” asked Maverick of John Wraith as they exited the office.

“Let’s just say the three L’s have more reach and influence than your erstwhile employer.”

“I figured that,” said Maverick, checking his armour. “I’ve just never seen him cowed before.”

Maverick had been just ready to head off to Genosha at the behest of his mysterious benefactor when Wraith had arrived. Teleported in, much to the surprise of the inhabitants of the room.

“How did you get in here?” was the first thing demanded of him, at which point Wraith smiled.

“I have my ways,” he said. “We have our ways. My card.” He flipped a piece of plastic to the desk in front of him, which the mysterious stranger sat.

“Landau, Luckman and Lake,” he said as he glanced down at the card. “So, Mister Wraith, you’re the latest expediter? Am I supposed to be impressed?”

“I don’t give a monkey’s ass if you’re impressed or not,” said Wraith, his smile disappearing. “I’m here for Maverick.”

“No,” came the answer.

“That wasn’t a request,” he said. “Mister North is leaving with me, I have a task for him and he owes me a favour for last year.” Both the employer and employee raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“And if I don’t want him to leave?” Before either man could blink, Wraith was in front of the man with his hand around his throat.

“I’ll choke you in to unconsciousness, then I’ll tell everyone who you are, who you used to be and then I’ll request that my employers send in a crew and shut you down. The first will take a minute, the rest in about an hour, and I’ll still be taking Maverick with me.” Wraith’s eyes were angled in a way that they were looking over the top of the frames of his glasses and the stranger saw the power within them. He knew all about Wraith, the same way he knew about Maverick. He knew of their involvement in the Weapon X program and he knew that Wraith had the power to do as he said. From the look in his eye, he wasn’t bluffing either.

“Take him,” came the answer, and Wraith released him.

“Thank you,” he said. “Have a nice day. Davey, you’re with me.”

“Okay,” said Maverick, uncertain of what was going on, but knowing that if Wraith did need help then he ought to. It wasn’t often he asked.

“What’s this favour?” he asked as they made their way to a car outside. “You don’t mean informing me about the project?”

“Yes,” said John. “I do. You wouldn’t have known without me. So you owe me one.”

“I though I repaid it by helping shut the program down.”

“You thought wrong,” said Wraith as they got in. The world outside them seemed to shift and they were some place else.

“I hate that,” said Maverick, knowing that Wraith had used his power to teleport them. Wraith smiled. It wasn’t as much as he moved from place to place, but the place moved instead. Wraith’s talent was not to move himself, but the universe itself. For him it was like staying in position while the world about him moved at incredible speeds. “So what do you need me to do?”

“We need you to travel through the barrier and enter the sixth dimension.”

“The what?”

“I’ll explain everything later, but time is of the essence and if you don’t hurry Logan will die.”

“No,” said Maverick, knowing that Logan was one of the few friends he had left.

“You’re the only one who could survive the travel with your power to absorb kinetic energy,” said Wraith, knowing that Maverick wouldn’t be as keen to help if he knew how responsible Logan was for Elena’s death.

“You’ve got my help. Why am I going there?”

“To get Logan’s guardian angel and bring him here.”

Pete Wisdom put the pedal to the floor as he sped toward Braddock Manor. He didn’t want to go back just yet, but they were all in terrible danger – Sabretooth was there and ready to kill everyone. Black Air had told him this, for reasons unknown, but the people in the manor were like his family and if he could help them, then that was what he was going to do.

Day was beginning to dawn across the UK and he was still some way from getting to the manor and he hoped he’d be in time.

Victor Creed didn’t understand why he didn’t enter the manor while they were distracted and slaughter them all. He tried moving forward, thinking that his opinions of earlier were contradictory to his nature, but he couldn’t move. Obviously someone was messing with his head – something he didn’t think was possible any more.

That said, whoever was directing these things obviously had enough power to keep him and the X-Men at bay, so he decided that his earlier idea of waiting until it was over was good enough. He thought back to Black Air, how they had brought him into this in the first place.

He knew he didn’t like them, however they had arranged things for him in the past. It had been Black Air, along with the Hellfire Club in the United States who had arranged for the adamantium bonding to his skeleton. It was also Black Air who had sent the assassin McLeish after Wolverine a few months before his wedding to Viper. He’d made it his business to find out about that, because nobody killed the runt other than him, and McLeish was one of the few who could have achieved it.

They just hadn’t counted on Logan’s healing factor and the true survival instinct of the runt. The main question was where did they have this supply of adamantium? They had offered to put it back as his payment for killing Excalibur, but he’d declined knowing that after the Weapon X debacle, and the deal with Apocalypse, his healing factor needed a rest before he underwent such a major surgical procedure. After all, he’d seen them do it to Logan at Weapon X all those years ago.

He sighed impatiently and wished the being in the manor would get on with things.

The X-Men were trying their level best to get into the room where Wolverine lay, but their adversary had built his walls well. He could see the anguish on their faces as Xavier gave out brief reports of Logan’s status. This little drama involving Mariko was a much better one than the one with Silver Fox he decided, as it was more grounded in reality.

He wasn’t there to kill Wolverine, but to destroy him and to have his body accept what was being done to it. Plus he was showing him the anguish of marriage from both sides. He had watched Silver Fox age away while he had not and now he was going to die before Mariko, seeing what he had felt in the eyes of another. Once his mind had convinced him he was ‘dead’, the truth would be revealed and he would see what he would put Elektra through if he married her. He would have the choice of living and knowing what was to come, or stay ‘dead’ and then his body would follow suit and he would be really dead.

It was an exquisite torture, and he knew that the dark powers that Wolverine had stopped before would appreciate the torture well. This was revenge pure and simple – for Blackheart and Logan’s thwarting him at Christ’s Crown; for Mephisto and Logan’s interference in the Mephisto’s Devil’s Reign crusade; for Loki when Wolverine and Alpha flight stopped his plan to make the world into a metahumans world; for Hela who was denied his soul; for Muramasa and Logan’s fighting of the power of the Black Blade; for Ba’al and his destruction at Wolverine’s hand; for Spore and Logan’s involvement in his defeat; the demon Agathon who Wolverine prevented from killing the Child of Tomorrow; for every other para-mystical denizen that Wolverine had stopped, killed, aided in their defeat – this would be payback.

So swore he. The advantage of his attack was that for a being of his power, the side effects reached out, hitting his friends and family, attacking them in the very core of their souls. The X-Men were at each other’s throats and so far the telepaths were protecting the small circle that formed the rescue committee. Now daylight was coming and soon the others would start to wake, and then they too would be affected and then not even the mighty Professor X could help them and his people would be at each other’s throats on levels so far unseen.

Like all families they all had their grievances with one another. Most of the time they stayed buried and hidden but in these days the X-Men were fragmented and the unity that had protected them before was not as strong as it was. Getting them to defeat each other was almost too easy. Outside was the butcher Sabretooth, waiting for his shot – but not before the work with Logan was done, and then he could do what he needed to. Justice would be satisfied and the voices of the many would be silenced as Logan’s capability in combating evil on all its levels was crushed once and for all.

As the first rays of light entered the room he smiled and opened the doorway back in to Logan’s mind. Soon it would be too late for the X-Men to do anything to help their comrade.

Maverick stepped through the doorway and saw a man working at a desk. He gave a little cough and the man looked up.

“So you made it okay, then?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Maverick, sensing a familiarity with this man. “Have we met before?”

“No,” came the answer. “We’ve never met, but I have worked with you before.”

“I don’t get it,” said Maverick.

“I’m one of the many ‘guardian angels’ of your dimension. I keep an eye on certain people in many worlds, helping them, pushing them along, giving them challenges and providing them with hope and hopefully a brighter tomorrow. For a short while I looked after you. Now I work with others.”

“How do you do that?” asked Maverick. “Do you control our destiny?”

“It would take a lot of time to explain, my friend. Suffice to say, I direct the course of the lives of the people I watch. I’m not a god; I’m just a man doing a job. On this plane of existence all I have is the power to influence your realm. In every other respect I’d be what you call a flatscan. A very minor one at that.”

“So why do Landau, Luckman and Lake need you?”

“From time to time, events spiral out of control on your realm, sometimes to such a degree that even I can’t do anything. There are powers in reality much greater than any of us. The three L’s found a way of travelling to our realm and brining us to yours, where we can sort things out a little easier. They only do this in times of great crisis, for it really screws things up.”

“Wolverine…” said Maverick.

“Yes, they need my help to sort this one out. I don’t even know the name of the thing that’s doing this to him and I certainly can’t do anything about it from here. I thought my work was done with Wolverine – I was about to hand him over to a new ‘guardian.’ Guess I can’t leave things like this.”

“What about the healing factor? Logan told me when he invited me to the wedding about his condition.”

“Oh, no. I can’t sort that out,” he answered with a knowing smile. “Every guardian must leave a challenge for the newcomer. I spent a long time setting things up just like this for Wolverine. It’s not been a bad run, I was pleased and so were many others. Some things can’t be solved with a magic wand, David. You should know that.”

“So what do you want me to do? Do I take you back?”

“You just open the door, I get us to where we need to be,” he answered, putting down his pen. “I won’t be missed here as time moves differently here than it does in your world. Messes some people up like you wouldn’t believe, because they have no sense of continuity.”

“How do you become a guardian angel?” asked Maverick as he activated the recall device Wraith had given him.

“Hard work, commitment to the past, present and future, a dash of talent and a lot of luck. There are much better guardians than me out there, but a hell of a lot worse too. We’re constantly watched to see if we make a mistake – it’s our job not to. The fewer mistakes we make, the more people want us to be guardians. Wolverine wasn’t my first assignment and he won’t be my last. Just one loose end to tie up.”

The doorway opened, and Maverick gestured.

“After you.”

“I hope I get this right,” he said as he walked to the door.

“What do you mean?” asked Maverick, suddenly worried.

“Didn’t you know?” came the reply with a wicked grin. “This is my first time…” Then the doorway exploded in a brilliant white light.

A bright light hits me, and I can barely take it but my healing factor attacks the damage being done. The pain is almost too much, but without even having to sniff the air I know who has arrived.

“M’iko.”

“I am here, my beloved,” she answers, and I can sense her at my side. My senses are at levels that go beyond anything else, as my healing factor is at levels uncharted. The only problem is it can’t fight off the Legacy Virus and I know I haven’t got long anymore. I’m going to die soon, my body is telling me so. The door closes and we are in darkness again, but I can see Mariko there as clearly as it is day.

“Hi,” I say, as her eyes adjust to the darkness. “John and Amiko were just here.”

“I know. They came out and told me what was happening.”

“Amiko wanted to stay, but she couldn’t,” I reply. “She saw her mother die, she’s seen so much death. She couldn’t watch me die as well. I don’t blame her, and she knows how much I love her.”

“The X-Men are en route,” says Mariko, but we both know they won’t get here in time. “It came on so quickly.”

“We should have realized, it was that way with Xavier and Moira. They seemed fine and the next minute they were deteriorating fast. I know it broke Scott’s heart when the Professor died and he wasn’t there to say goodbye, to say he was sorry.”

“He still blames himself,” said Mariko, her hand gently caressing my face, the lacerations and blisters caused by the virus don’t seem to bother her an’ I can’t deny that her touch makes me feel easier.

“He shouldn’t,” I answer, forcing my body to sit up, but knowing it really shouldn’t. I hold her and she holds me for a moment or two and we sit in silence, my eyes closed so that I can sense her in every other way. I can feel her every emotion through her body language – the way she smells, the way she moves, the way she breathes. I reckon I can feel her presence more than any telepath and she knows as well as I do that I don’t have much longer left.

Then she suddenly pulls away.

“M’iko?” I ask as I open my eyes and I see her undressing. She unties her robe and it falls to the floor, as she climbs into the bed. “Aw, darlin…” I can’t say much more than that as she holds me tight, but I have enough left in me to say one thing to her. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I know, but I want to. If I am to lose you, then I want to be as close to you as I can. I want to feel your breathing slow and stop; your heart stop beating and your body relax as you go. I want to feel the ripple of warmth come from your body as your soul is released to the heavens. I will be with you until your last, as I know you would be with me.”

I can’t say anything more, as I feel the water trickle down her cheek as she speaks, and as I smell her hair a tear drops from mine, echoing her own. I pull her close, my head cushioned against her bosom and her tears drop onto my face and intermingle with my own. The pain of the virus as it starts its final, deadly countdown is countered by the passion and emotion I feel with her and I close my eyes once more. I can feel my body relax as motor control begins to fail. My central nervous system begins to collapse and my healing factor stops the fighting it had been doing. The battle is lost as I feel the heaviness around my bones from the adamantium that is bonded to them.

My strength is failing and Mariko is tryin’ to cry herself to sleep in my arms. I open my eyes and find the strength to lift my head and look up at her.

“Goodbye, my love,” I whisper and our lips meet for a final time as I close my eyes and I feel my body simply stop working, Mariko’s kiss the last thing I ever feel as…

I…

Die…

“NO!” cried Xavier as he felt Logan die in his mind. “He’s gone…”

“No,” said Elektra, repeating the word for everyone in the area, her resolve gone and her spirit broken.

“He is still alive,” said Meggan as she looked in to the room. “He still breathes and I can sense his spirit.”

“Yet he thinks he is dead,” says Xavier. “Unless someone can force his mind to accept he is alive, then he will consider himself dead.”

“But how?” said Brian, his fists pounding helplessly on the barrier. “We can’t get in, and you can’t use all of your power to help otherwise we’ll kill each other.”

“I know,” said Xavier, uncertain of what to do.

“We have another problem,” said Kurt as he appeared. “What was affecting us, is affecting the others as they awaken. Soon we’ll have a riot on our hands.”

“I can’t see what we can do here,” said Jean. “We don’t have a hope against this evil force.”

“I…” said Xavier as suddenly a bright light appeared and then Maverick stood besides them all.

“Hi,” said Maverick, looking at the stunned faces of the people watching him, and he took off his mask.

“What are you doing here?” asked Colossus.

“We’re here to help,” said Maverick. “We were sent by Landau…” Then he was interrupted.

“Pardon, mon brave,” said Gambit. “But dere’s only one o’ you.”

“Oh,” said Maverick. “I can explain.”

“Can you indeed?” said the Professor. He had met with Maverick before, and he hadn’t been impressed with him or his attitude then.

“I can try,” said Maverick and began to explain what he was doing here and why.

“How goes it?” asked Zoë as she walked into the office of the Expediter and John Wraith looked up.

“We’re about to play the endgame, but there’s a variable that just entered the play that we didn’t foresee.”

“What?” asked Zoë, wondering what could have gone wrong now. Granted it was not this reality that Wolverine and Elektra were her parents in, but she still had a promise to keep and so far this had been the only world where they had gotten together.

“Sabretooth is outside the manor,” said Wraith, his mouth gaining a bitter taste at the mention of his former teammate. “Guess he’s here to stop the wedding.”

“Damn,” said Zoë, softly. Her ‘brother’ was always creating problems. The underlying hatred between Logan and Creed was indeed a father/son variation, but it was not the way everyone had suspected. Sabretooth was the son of Wolverine, the heightened savagery, the evolution of the claws, the advancement of the mutation.

When S.H.I.E.L.D. had done the blood test of them before Logan had returned to Project X the first time, and the results had been different the reason was simple – the adamantium had altered Logan’s body chemistry. His body still produced bone marrow to keep his real bones healthy, but the process had significantly changed the content of his blood. Then when the X-Men had scanned Wolverine after Logan had punctured Creed’s brain, their test results were almost identical. It had been put down to the regression but Zoë knew the truth. On some level Sabretooth did as well, even if he didn’t know why.

“Hold on,” said Wraith as new data began to come in, and Zoë looked at the screen. “Interesting.”

“So the knight errant comes to the rescue,” she said as she noted the oncoming Pete Wisdom.

“Creed against Wisdom, place your bets…” said Wraith, but a glare from Zoë silenced him, and they turned their attention to Logan himself, where the battle for his very being was about to begin.

“I thought I was dead.” Logan looked about him and at himself and to his surprise his body was normal.

Where he was standing was surrounded in light, which no longer hurt his eyes as his sense were now at the proper levels and suddenly he knew what he had been through with Silver Fox and Mariko had been illusions, but they were now a part of him, something that now made the very core of his very being.

“Not just yet,” came the voice and he turned to see a creature of darkness, having a scent of death and evil. “You see, you have annoyed a lot of very powerful beings, little man. My job is to ensure your punishment, however what kind of punishment is given is your choice.”

“What are you?”

“The darker side of humanity. The creature that sparked the darkness in Magnus, the being that allowed the greater darkness of Magneto to merge with that of Charles Xavier to create Onslaught. I am the genesis of all that such beings stand for.”

“Is this reality?” asked Wolverine.

“Not a physical one, more a higher level of consciousness above the Astral Plane which Xavier and his mind lord over.”

“All I needed to know.”

*SCHLUKT*

The claws came out as Logan knew it wouldn’t spark any damage with his healing factor as this wasn’t physically real and he sliced the being open in half in one swift move, the torso falling to the floor.

“I don’t like people messin’ with my head, bub.”

“I’m not partial to being sliced in half either,” said the creature as the torso seemed to melt back in to the still-standing legs and rebuilt itself in to a whole being again. “So I guess that makes us even. I told you this wasn’t a reality you’re familiar with. Physicality has no meaning here, and besides it wouldn’t work anyway.”

“Do tell,” said Logan as he retracted his claws. “So what are my options here?”

“You can either live or die.”

“Too simple, bub. What’s the catch?”

“That’s up to you. You saw what it was like to lose the person you love and be helpless about it. How did that feel for you, to see both sides from your own perspective?” Logan shivered as he remembered how he had felt when he watched Silver Fox die in front of him, and the pain as he saw what he put Mariko through as the Legcay Virus claimed him.

“Wasn’t an experience I cared to relish.”

“Was the life you led before worth it?”

“Yes, it was.”

“Worth putting those you love the most through that amount of pain? Amiko couldn’t bare to watch.”

“It wasn’t real. It was one of yer illusions.”

“Mostly, however it was based on your own expectations of the people, of your hopes and dreams, of what you knew of these people. Or at least, what you remember. It may have been an illusion, but in your heart you know it was real. So was it worth putting those you love the most through that amount of pain?”

Logan was deathly quiet.

“I thought so. Imagine that from Kitty Pryde, or Jubilee, or the looks on your other children.”

“Children?”

“You’ll see.”

“I…” Logan was uncertain. His doubts of earlier began to plague him. He remembered what he had been feeling before he had gone to sleep and he knew his enemy was winning. He couldn’t do that to Elektra and the others. Perhaps it was better to go quietly into the night now before it became too much for any of them. The creature chuckled as he saw the thoughts in Logan’s mind.

“Live or die, your choice.”

“I don’t think that’s fair,” said another voice. “Not without giving him all the facts.”

“Who the hell are you?” asked the dark creature, stunned at the appearance of someone else.

“The yin to your yang. I’m what people would call a ‘guardian angel’. More specifically his.” He gestured to Logan.

“You can’t do this. This is my realm and I am all-powerful here! I created this! I am in charge!”

“That sounds familiar. Are you from Australia? Actually don’t answer that. I’ve heard enough from you already.”

“And what will you do?” sneered the being.

“Glad you asked,” he said with a smile. “My powers are a lot more far-reaching here than in my own dimension. You like playing with the X-Men? I think they ought to meet you, while Logan and I have a little chat. Buh-bye.” The creature disappeared, cast out of his world to where some very irate X-Men were waiting. “You’ll like this,” he said to Logan, placing a hand on his shoulder and creating a window to the real world.

Xavier scanned the stranger, and Meggan knew at once he was the cause of all this. Then the X-Men went on the offensive. They wouldn’t hold him for long, a being of such power, but it would be long enough for the two of them to talk.

“So who are you really?”

“Let’s just say I have taken an interest in your destiny for the past year or so. A tweak here, a touch there. In almost every way, I am your guardian angel, but my time is almost up. I’m not your first, and I won’t be your last. There’s a lot of people out there with more talent and imagination than me who can do what I did with just as much ease.”

“So howcum I’ve never seen you people before?”

“You never knew we were there, how could you?”

“So what are you doin’ here? Come to save me from the darkness?”

“Yes, actually. Plus it gives me a chance to say goodbye to you personally. You see, what our friend didn’t tell you is that the future isn’t set. It isn’t certain and certainly not written by me.”

“Written?”

“Nevermind. You see you’re a man with great potential. Yes, you’ve had a lot of crap thrown at you but you’ve come through it. Some of it has made you a better person for it. Some of that was my doing, though a lot of it belongs to others. It just depends on how you weave the threads of what has gone before.”

“So what are you sayin’, bub? It’s poetic, but tells me nothin’.”

“I’m saying that there’s always someone there to watch your back. They won’t let some asshole like that dictate the terms of what does and doesn’t happen to your life. A guardian will direct what happens to you to a certain extent, but your life is your own. What you do is an extension of what you’ve done. Some bits may look familiar, but then there are the times that are different, that have a twist and something new. You can revisit the past, but you can never truly go back. Do you have any idea the amount of people who would like to see you have the adamantium back?”

“What if I don’t want it?”

“Then you don’t have it. It’s not up to those who sit above what happens and long for what they perceive as ‘glory days’. You take what you’ve got and run with it. Remember how things were, they set the standard for how things will be. The good old day weren’t all that good…”

“An’ tomorrow’s never as bad as it seems. I know the song, too.”

“It’s true for whatever you do in life. Mine isn’t a bundle of roses, but I get on with things. Everyone has hardships, it’s how you deal with and overcome them that makes you who you are.”

“Amen to that, bub.”

“Now that wasn’t nice,” said the creature as it returned.

“Bite me,” said the guardian angel. “Logan, it’s time. As he says – live or die. Your call, my friend.”

“Live, because while there’s life there’s hope.”

“Damn you!” cried the creature, his shout directed at the stranger. “Damn you both!”

“Already done,” came the answer in unison.

“Logan,” said the man. “It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to work with you. Good luck in the future, my friend. I hope my successor will follow the in the same tradition as I did with my predecessor.”

“Will you work with me again?” asked Logan, uncertain as how to phrase it.

“Not with you exactly,” came the answer, “but there’s a whole universe out there.”

“Good luck then,” said Logan and the stranger nodded, and then vanished as he went back where he belonged. “Bub, I made my choice. Send me back – I’ve a wedding to attend.”

“You’ll regret this,” said the creature.

“No, I won’t,” said Logan and then he sat bolt upright in bed.

“Logan!” called Elektra as the barriers fell and the darkness surrounding the X-Men was lifted.

“Darlin’,” said Logan with a smile. “You won’t believe what just happened to me…”

The darkness lifted around the manor and Creed knew his time had come. The X-Men were tired and off guard. The unpleasantness from earlier had lost its intensity but the old grievances were still there and he smiled.

“Now it’s my turn,” he said and began to make his way over, then he sensed it coming. “What the hell?” Then a car slammed in to him.

“Now then, slaphead,” said Pete Wisdom, as he leapt from the vehicle over to Creed’s body which lay on the lawn. “Let’s have a little chat.” Creed roared in defiance as he leapt up at Pete, who launched several hot knives at Sabretooth.

Creed twisted, but one of them managed to strike him in the side and he landed flat, clutching his side.

“You want a piece of my mates, you’re gonna have to come through me.”

“Pleasure’s mine, runt,” said Creed as he felt his healing factor kick in and fix the damage done. It may not have been as fast as it had been a while back, but it was good enough. “Yer dead.”

“No, I’m Wisdom. Pete Wisdom.” Instead of firing hot knives, he simply formed them at the ends of his fingers, matching Creed’s claws. “An’ I am having a really bad day.”

“Gonna get worse,” said Creed as he stood and he and Wisdom paced each other in a circle. “I know you from Apocalypse. He took yer ex and tortured her. The info he got from her was surprising. Wanna know what she thought of you?”

“Wrong buttons to push, pillock,” said Pete as he fired a hot knife from his hand, and cut through Creed’s shoulder. “Kitty and me have sorted out what she feels for me.” Creed didn’t say anything, but leapt at Pete instead. Pete had been trained by Black Air, was a fighter in his own right and when it came down to it he could be as much of a killer as Creed. He knew exactly what Creed would do, because it would have been what he would have done long ago and he was ready for it.

As Sabretooth leapt for him, he pointed the hot knives at the floor and launched himself up in to the air, avoiding the deadly claws. Then he redirected the knives at Creed who was suddenly sprawled on the floor after missing the target. He hadn’t expected such control over the mutant abilities and had intended on a quick kill. The hot knives came down and skewered each limb twice, as the two remaining hot knives gently carried Pete down. As he landed, Sabretooth found the strength to stand.

“Ain’t enough to stop me,” he said, his teeth bared and the venom in his voice, but Pete’s knives had skewered him good. His arms were momentarily useless and his ability to stand was dependant on his healing factor. It hurt like blazes but he was still standing.

“Yes it is,” said Pete, as he fired three hot knives at him, covering his head much as Logan’s claws had once done with one scorching the underside of his chin, and Creed suddenly felt a surge of fear. He’d almost died when Logan had popped a claw in to his brain. Pete Wisdom’s hot knife would do much more damage than the claw, searing away a good chunk of his head. “Now you listen and you listen good. You come near any of my friends again, I will hunt you down and I will barbecue you like a pig on a spit. You hurt any one of them again, same applies. Kitty and Logan go way back, and frankly you hurt him, you hurt her. That happens, not even God himself will stop me from killing you.” The hot knife scorching his chin pushed up, digging into his jaw and piercing his tongue. “Understand?”

Creed nodded, his eyes flashing hatred and revenge.

“Good.” Then he used his free hands to fire hot knives in to Creed’s chest and throw him away from the manor. It would take a while to heal from that, by which time the X-Men would know he was there and would be ready for them. Pete sighed, and pulled a cigarette from his pocket. He’d been lucky, and he knew it. If Creed had been on top form, he’d have killed him. He hadn’t been and Pete thanked God for minor miracles. Someone was looking out for him after all, and he wondered if there were such a thing as guardian angels and who his was.

Then he decided to cut the metaphysics crap and go get a coffee from the manor and let them know what had just happened. It would be good to see Kitty again.

Later that afternoon, the assembled X-Men and allies watched as Wolverine took Elektra as his lawfully wedded wife. Logan stood there, looking elegant in his suit and bowtie, while Elektra positively shone in the wedding dress. For the afternoon, all the differences between the X-Men family were forgotten and all of them were proud to be there, as Logan’s friends and a part of his family.

Some things were more important in life.

“Will you, Logan, take this woman to have and to hold, to love and cherish from this day forward as long as you both shall live?”

“I will.”

“Will you, Elektra Natchios, take this man to have and to hold, to love an cherish from this day forward as long as you both shall live?”

“I will.”

“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Logan nodded and kissed Elektra full as cheers came from the gathered, fireworks exploding from Jubilee, as a tear ran down her cheek in happiness. Scott and Jean held hands, remembering their own wedding, as did Meggan and Brian.

Gambit and Rogue looked on wistfully, knowing it was what they wanted for each other, but as yet could never have and those who were no longer couples nodded at each other, hugged each other and remembered times when they too had seemed like getting married.

They partied until the guests began to slowly trickle away, each having lives to get to, however before they left Logan and Elektra spoke to Scott and Xavier together.

“Fellas,” said Logan. “I’m gonna be taking a leave of absence from the X-Men. I told you I wasn’t going to take sides, but I would support you both. Right now I need time to get sorted out and as it stands I ain’t much use to either team with my healing factor shot.”

“I know how you feel,” said Scott. “It was the same for myself and Jean.” Until Xavier dragged us back, he didn’t add.

“I thought you might say this,” said Xavier, with a nod. “You are always welcome at Westchester, you know. You will always have a place with the X-Men, and a home if you need one. All those who are X-Men do,” he said, directing it more at Scott, who nodded. “You, Elektra and the children.”

“That’s the second time someone’s said that today,” said Logan. “What do you mean, Chuck?”

“I mean that I’m not having one baby,” said Elektra. “I’m having three. Triplets, Logan.”

“No!” he said, visibly stunned. Elektra flushed, knowing it wasn’t shock but happiness that had flooded his being.

“Congratulations, Logan,” said Scott taking him by the hand.

“Well,” said Logan with a grin. “Anything you can do, I can do better.”

“So it seems,” said Cyclops, accepting the joke in the way it was meant. “Good luck, my friend.” Then he nodded to Xavier and walked away to find Jean, to whom Logan had already said his goodbyes.

“Where are you going now?” asked Xavier.

“Canada,” said Elektra. “There’s a cabin…”

“Ah, where Silver Fox is buried,” said Xavier. “From what Logan has told me, it is a most beautiful spot. If you’ll excuse me, I will say goodbye to the others before they leave.” Logan nodded and watched as Xavier floated away in his hoverchair.

“So what happens now?” asked Elektra.

“Wait and see,” said Logan and he kissed his wife. The future was waiting.

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