SPLIT ENDS

By Ryan Krupienski

They’ve been waiting for nearly an hour. Cyclops, Archangel, and Shadowcat have been sitting somewhat patiently in the Worthington Estate’s living room, waiting for any word on the condition of their friend and one-time teammate Alsion Blaire, a.k.a. Dazzler, and her unborn child. No one’s said much of anything… they’ve just been waiting, while Beast, Phoenix, and Cecilia Reyes work to save Dazzler’s baby… if it can be saved.

Archangel lets out a sigh. “It’s been almost an hour… what’s going on?”

“I’m sure everything’s under control, Warren,” Cyclops replies. “I know you’re concerned about Alison, considering you two are close, but Hank and Cecilia are professional doctors, and with Jean telepathically sedating her, I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“That would be so horrible if Alison lost her baby… she’s already lost Longshot, and to lose her child on top of that…?” Shadowcat feels a wave of sadness come over her, as she thinks back to the loss she suffered a few months back. She doesn’t want Dazzler to feel what it’s like to lose someone you love.

“We don’t know for sure that Longshot’s dead, Kitty… hopefully we’ll be able to go back to Mojoworld someday and find him,” Archangel says in a consoling tone. “I still can’t believe that Betsy deliberately disobeyed your orders and left him there, Scott!”

“Well, after this is over with, I’m going to have a talk with Betsy about…”

All of a sudden, the Beast comes barging in the room, bouncing about hysterically. “Attention, one and all! I would like to cordially invite all of you to a gathering in the Med-Lab in honor of the arrival of the daughter of one Miss Alison Blaire!”

Cyclops, Archangel, and Shadowcat almost jump out of their seats and anxiously follow Beast to the Med-Lab. As the four X-Men leave, another looks down from the tall balcony above the room, shrouded in darkness. A look of anger is in her eyes… suffice to say, Psylocke is not a happy camper.

‘Yes, Warren, you do care about Alison… so much, in fact, that you’ve taken off to greet her child, and haven’t even attempted to come find me and ask how I am. I wonder… do you truly love me, or are you just holding on to me until you’re ready to move on? I’ve heard what you said about my changes in attitude and power… it seems you don’t trust me anymore, so much in fact that you’ve gone behind my back to discuss the matter. Well, Warren… no more. No more!’

Minutes later in the Med-Lab…

The X-Men gather around the bed, on which lies Dazzler. In her arms is a tiny baby, wrapped up in a pink blanket. The X-Men’s faces are bright with joy to see that Dazzler’s baby has made it into the world, but they all pale in comparison to the joy of Dazzler herself.

“She’s adorable,” Shadowcat says happily, gently touching the baby’s tiny hand. “What’s her name?”

Dazzler thinks for a moment, then replies, “I think I’ll name her… Rebecca.”

Phoenix smiles. “Rebecca Blaire… that sounds perfect.”

“Yes, it does.” Dazzler’s smile fades a bit, as she thinks of Longshot. “I just… I wish Longshot were here. I don’t know if… if I can do this alone…”

“Longshot’s alive, Alison,” Cyclops reassures. “We’ll find a way to return to Mojoworld and bring him back… until then, you’re more than welcome to stay with us.”

Dazzler’s face brightens once more. “Thank you, Scott. You’ve all done so much already… if not for Hank, Jean, and Doctor Reyes, I’m not sure my baby would have made it into this world. I owe you her life… and mine.”

“No you don’t, Alison,” Beast affirms, blushing slightly. “It was my utter pleasure to bring little Rebecca here into the world.”

Phoenix looks down at her own belly, shocked to see how far along in her pregnancy she is. “It’s not too long before our children arrive either, Scott,” she says, hugging her husband.

“I can’t wait,” Cyclops replies with a smile, kissing Phoenix on the forehead.

“Alright, enough with the sentimental stuff!” Cecilia jokes. “Y’all gonna make me cry!”

The group shares a laugh, and take another look at Dazzler’s newborn child. “Well, Miss Blaire here needs some rest, as does this little baby girl… we’ll move you into one of the guest suites so you can get some sleep, and put the baby in the nursery,” Beast announces. He turns to the other X-Men and motions for all of them besides Cecilia to leave. “Shoo! Off with you!”

“Good night Hank,” Cyclops laughs, walking out of the room with his arm around Phoenix.

Archangel and Shadowcat say their goodbyes as well, and exit the room behind Cyclops and Phoenix. Dazzler focuses her attention on her baby once more, rubbing her head gently and playing with her tiny hands. “Ready to go to your room?” Cecilia asks, turning back to Dazzler.

“Yes, I am.”

Beast smiles. “Welcome home, Alison.”

The next morning brings rays of sunshine in the nearly cloudless blue sky, and a refreshed group of X-Men are sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. Absent are Betsy Braddock, who hasn’t yet been seen since the return from Mojoworld, and Alison Blaire, who is still resting after her long ordeal the night before. The X-Men who are present are enjoying a batch of pancakes, courtesy of the team’s resident telepath, Jean Grey-Summers, a.k.a. Phoenix.

“Mmm mmm! Girl, you never told me you could cook like this!” Cecilia exclaims, taking another bite of Jean’s pancakes, which she’s enjoying immensely. “Forget being an X-Man, you should open up a restaurant!”

“Let’s not go that far,” Jean jokes. “I may be able to make a mean batch of pancakes, but when it comes to other things… let’s just say the smoke alarm is very sensitive to my cooking.”

Scott laughs a little. “Don’t I know it,” he mutters under his breath.

“I heard that!” Jean says defensively, playfully hitting Scott with her napkin.

“So, how’s Alison doing, Hank?” Warren asks, taking a sip of his orange juice.

Hank gets up out of his seat and picks up his now-empty plate. “She’s doing fine, Warren. In fact, I was just about to go check on her, and bring her some breakfast. I’ll be sure to give you an update later.” Hank turns to Jean. “Everything was delicious”

As Hank leaves the room, a serious look crosses Kitty’s face. “Look guys, I don’t want to ruin this wonderful morning, but… I think we should talk about what happened on Mojoworld. I know what I went through was pretty intense… I was faced with a facsimile of Darkchylde, the evil manifestation of Illyana when she had the Soulsword. I know you guys must have gone through some pretty intense stuff too… and maybe it’d help to talk about it.”

“Excuse me… I’m going to my room.” Cecilia gets up and runs out of the room, having been reminded of the horrible ordeal she’d gone through on Mojoworld. She can’t bare to talk about it… she hasn’t been able to deal with it herself yet, and she certainly isn’t ready to share her feelings with others.

“Was… was it something I said?” Kitty asks, feeling a bit guilty.

“No, it’s not your fault, Kitty,” Scott reassures. “Your suggestion was a good one… it was hard for me to face Thunderbird, even if it was a duplicate of him. Cecilia’s new to all this, and whatever she went through was likely something she never expected. We’ll just give her time.”

Before another word can be spoken, the sound of the doorbell echoes through the mansion. “I’ll get it,” Kitty says, getting up and dashing through the wall in her phased form. She walked swiftly through several hallways and after a minute or two, arrived at the front door. She opens it, and there stands a medium-height caucasian woman with shoulder-length black hair.

“Uhm, hi…” the woman says.

“Can I help you?” Kitty asks politely.

“I hope so… I’m looking for Hank McCoy. My name’s Trish Tilby.”

One floor up, the sought-out Hank McCoy is tending to his latest patient, Alison Blaire, and her newborn daughter, Rebecca.

“And how are we this morning?” Hank asks, bringing a breakfast tray over to Alison. “Did you sleep well?”

“I slept okay,” Alison replies. “That smells delicious! Did you make it?”

“No, this fine cuisine would be the effort of our very own Jean Grey-Summers. It’s quite tasty. So, you eat up, and I’ll go fetch your daughter from the nursery.”

Alison takes a bite of the pancakes. “These are good… tell Jean she’s outdone herself.”

Beast nods, and walks out of the room. While on his way to the nursery, Kitty appears in front of him. “Hank, there’s someone at the door for you. Her name is Trish Til…”

“Trish?!” Hank exclaims. His eyes go wide… he hasn’t heard from his former lady love for months. To learn that she’s here, now, is shocking. “Is she at the front door?”

“Yes, I told her you’d be right down,” Kitty replies. “Should I tell her to wait…?”

“No, not at all. If you wouldn’t mind, please go to the nursery and bring Rebecca to her mother. I’ll deal with Trish.” Hank rushes down the hall and down the stairs, as Kitty makes her way to the nursery.

Back in the kitchen…

“Well… I think it’s time I go find Betsy and talk to her about everything that’s been going on with her lately,” Scott says relunctantly. “Warren, have you seen her?”

“I’m right here,” says a cold, female voice from behind the three X-Men.

Scott, Jean, and Warren swings their heads around, only to see Betsy, still in her uniform, melting out of a shadow. She walks towards Scott, a serious, slightly angry look on her face. “You want to talk… let’s talk.”

“Let’s go to the living room…”

“No, the kitchen is fine,” Betsy interrupts. She turns to Jean and Warren. “You may leave now. Cecilia’s sitting up in her room and is quite upset… go tend to her. This is a private matter.”

“No, Betsy, Jean and Warren are staying. This is a matter between you and your team leaders, and Jean is one of them. And Warren’s your boyfriend. He has the right to sit in on this one,” Scott replies, attempting to take control of the situation.

Betsy rolls her eyes and sighed. “Fine.”

“Actually… I’ll go check on Cecilia. Maybe I can find out what’s bothering her.” Warren walks out of the kitchen swiftly. ‘Man oh man… I don’t know why, but I couldn’t stand being in there with Betsy! It’s best to let Scott and Jean deal with this…’

Scott, Jean, and Betsy all take seats at the kitchen table. “Well, talk,” Betsy says, acting as if her time is being wasted.

Scott clears his throat. “Well, Betsy… I’m disturbed by your recent behavior. You’ve been acting very different since the X-Men split up, and it’s gotten worse in recent months.”

“Oh… how so?” Betsy asks.

“Well, you’ve been somewhat rude to many of us on a few occasions, and for no reason. You’ve been disobeying my orders left and right, and taking situations into your own hands when you should have let myself or Jean deal with it. Back when we battled the Masters of Evil, you teleported yourself, Jean, Moonstone, and Citizen V onto the Crimson Cowl’s flying fortress without my permission…”

“You were too busy deciding who was going to do what. The Cowl was getting away.”

“That’s not the point, Betsy!” Scott says, raising his voice ever so slightly. “I’m team leader, and you follow my orders! And it didn’t stop there… Warren told me about how you attacked some woman at the mansion in Westchester without even giving her a chance to explain herself. You sent Hazard who knows where with your shadow-slipping powers, you disobeyed me on Mojoworld and left Longshot to die…”

Betsy’s facial expression changes from annoyed to angry. “I did what had to be done, Cyclops! If I hadn’t done to Hazard what I did, who knows how many more people he would have killed! And Longshot made it clear he did not want to come with us… and if we stayed there, we would have been killed!”

“That’s not your call to make, Betsy! I will decide the best course of action, not you! You’re part of a team, a team I happen to lead!”

“And you’re doing quite a piss-poor job!”

Scott and Jean are shocked at what Betsy has just said. “Excuse me, Betsy, but who do you think you are…!” Jean starts.

“It’s true, Jean. Scott is an incompetent leader… he forced us to battle the Thunderbolts and never gave them a chance to explain what truly happened in Robinette. He led us into battle against the Masters of Evil, and nearly got us all killed! He dealt with the situation with Hazard quite poorly, and let himself get captured on Mojoworld. If he was half the leader that Ororo was…”

“How dare you! Who do you think you are?!” Jean yells angrily, rising from her seat. “Scott’s put his heart and soul into this team, and you have to pick out every little mistake he makes! Guess what, Betsy… we all make mistakes, and you’re no exception! You’re rude, arrogant, self-righteous… you’re a different person. A colder person. I don’t even know you anymore!”

Scott stands up as well, attempting to calm Jean down. “Don’t get overworked, Jean, it’s not good for the babies,” he says. He gets Jean to sit down, and turns back to Betsy. “I’ll deal with Psylocke.”

“Deal with me? Quite frankly, there’s nothing to deal with,” Betsy replies. She too rises out of her seat, and stares at Scott right in the eyes. “Shall I tell you what I think of you? You, Scott Summers, are and always will be a child. You can’t deal with the fact that your ‘new direction’ for the X-Men isn’t working out as well as you had wanted, and now you’re using me as a scapegoat for all your problems, blaming me for mistakes that are truly yours. Do everyone on this team a favor, Cyclops… go back to Charles Xavier before your shoddy leadership gets someone killed…”

“SHUT UP!” Scott shouts, slamming his fist down on the kitchen table. His words echo throughout the mansion, enabling pretty much everyone to hear him. “I’m not going to take this crap from you anymore! You’ve changed since being exposed to the Crimson Dawn, and you’re getting worse by the minute! You’re off this team, Betsy! You’re FIRED!”

Betsy is taken aback by Scott’s words… he actually just threw her off the team, which is hardly what Betsy had in mind. She was about to quit the team, just so she could walk away with her pride intact… but the tables have been turned.

A dark mass forms under Betsy’s feet, and she begins to sink into it. “Fine then… I’m leaving. And I WON’T be back – ever!” And with that, Betsy Braddock is gone.

Back at the front door…

“What’s all the yelling about?” Trish asks, looking around in an effort to discover where the echoing words came from.

“I… don’t know. But I’ll check later.” Hank turns back to Trish, feeling a bit awkward. “Trish… what are you doing here? And how did you find me? I haven’t talked to you in ages, and I never told you where I’d be.”

“Oh, so I don’t get a ‘hello’ kiss? No ‘I missed you’?” Trish says, slightly peeved. “If you have to know, I called the mansion in Westchester and talked to Bobby. He told me where you could be reached.”

“Trish, I… this is just a bit odd. You disappear for months, don’t call me at all… I tried to reach you so many times, and I left you so many messages… after a while, I just assumed we were over with,” Hank says, trying to explain his situation as delicately as possible.

Trish looks down. “I… know, Hank. I’m sorry, I was… away.”

“Where?” Hank inquires.

Trish looks relunctant to say anything. “That’s… not important. What’s important is that I’m here now, and that we’re back together again.”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” Hank sighs.

Trish becomes a bit worried. “What… what is it?”

It’s not exactly an ‘it’. More like a ‘she’ – Dr. Cecilia Reyes, the newest X-Man and latest love interest for Hank McCoy. Since rejoining the X-Men, she’s been through a lot, the most recent event being the fight she had with her ‘father’ on Mojoworld. Fighting the Ru’tai, the Shadow King, and the Masters of Evil was a piece of cake… but her own father?

Now she sits alone in her room, thinking back to the fight on Mojoworld. It wasn’t really her father she fought… but it sure felt like it. She’s always hoped that her father was watching her from a better place, and that he’s proud of her for all the good she’s done. Mojo’s recreation of her father wasn’t like that… he told ‘his’ daughter that she was a freak, an abomination, and that he was ashamed to be her father… and that frightens Cecilia. She knows it was a duplicate of her father, but just the thought that maybe her father is watching her and is ashamed… that’s more than she can bear.

As Cecilia lies on the bed, holding a pillow, Warren Worthington III, a.k.a. the Archangel, knocks on the half-open door and walks in. “Cecilia? Are you okay?”

Cecilia sits up and catches sight of Warren. Trying to pretend she isn’t upset, she says, “I… I’m okay. What’s up?”

“I don’t think you’re okay… the way you ran out of the kitchen after Kitty mentioned Mojoworld proves that something happened back there that’s not easy for you to deal with.” Warren walks over to Cecilia and sits at the foot of the bed. “Do you… want to talk about it?”

Cecilia looks unsure. “I… I’m not sure. It was so horrible, and it’s hard to even think about it, let alone talk about…”

Suddenly, the phone rings. “I’ll get it… excuse me for a moment.” Warren gets up and walks over to the small table which it’s on, and picks it up. “Hello?”

Cecilia watches as Warren listens to the voice of the person on the other end of the line. His eyes widen as he replies to what he just heard. “What? Tomorrow?! I’ll be there as soon as possible!” Warren hangs the phone up, and starts towards the door, still looking at Cecilia. “I’m sorry, Cecilia, I really wanted to talk with you… but something’s come up.”

Cecilia smiles as much as she can. “It’s okay, Warren. Thanks for the offer. You go do what you gotta do… I’ll go find Hank.”

“I’ll see you later,” Warren says, exiting the room.

Seconds later, Cecilia gets off the bed and heads towards the door herself. She exits the room, and heads down the winding staircase, arriving at the front door. ‘I thought I heard the doorbell ring…’

Cecilia heads down a wide hallway, passing the living room. However, something catches her eye, and she backs up and enters the living room, only to find Hank and Trish sitting together on the couch.

Hank looks up, and upon seeing Cecilia becomes a bit pensive. Trish Tilby and Cecilia Reyes, two women with whom he has intimate relations, in one room. This is going to get ugly…

“Hank… who’s this?” Cecilia asks, eyeing Trish suspiciously. “Wait, I know you… you’re Trish Tilby, the newscaster from CNBC!”

Trish replies, “That’s correct. And you would be…?”

“Ah, Cecilia, how are you doing?” Hank says nervously, leaping to Cecilia’s side. “Now isn’t a good time… Trish is an old friend, and we’re doing some catching up,” he whispers to Cecilia.

“‘Old friend,’ Hank?” Trish says, standing up and walking towards Hank and Cecilia. “I think it’s more than that.”

“What’s she talking about, Hank?” Cecilia demands.

“Hank and I are an item, ‘Cecilia’… didn’t you know?”

Cecilia’s face turns red and she yells, “WHAT?! She’s your girlfriend?!” She slaps Hank across the face, as tears begin to roll down her cheeks. “You lied to me! I hate you! I HATE YOU!”

Cecilia storms out of the room, as a look of anger washes over Trish’s face. “How could you?” she says coldly, looking at Hank with disgust. “After everything we’ve been through, you just gave up on us that easily?!”

“I’m going to check on Cecilia,” Hank says softly, walking out of the room.

Trish’s face becomes red with anger. “Get BACK here! I’m NOT through with you, Henry McCoy!”

Back in the kitchen…

Scott’s head hangs low in disappointment, as his body slouches in the chair. “I can’t believe this… this shouldn’t have happened…”

Jean pushes her seat closer to Scott’s and puts her head on his shoulder. “It’s not yor fault, Scott… it was probably the best thing to do. Betsy’s totally out of line, and I honestly think we’re better off without her.”

“I… I guess so,” Scott replies with a sigh. He kisses Jean, then gets up out of his seat. “Well, I’m going to go take a shower, unless you need any help with the dishes…?”

“No, I can manage. Telekinesis makes it all much easier,” Jean replies with a wink.

Scott smiles back, and walks out of the kitchen, leaving Jean by herself. She activates her telekinetic powers and lifts all the dishes from the kitchen table, and transfers them to the sink on the other side of the room. Within minutes, she fills the sink with water and soap, and leaves the dishes to soak. She then pulls an envelope out of her robe pocket…

Jean stands there, staring at the envelope, pondering what to do. ‘Logan… he wants me to meet him tonight! I can’t tell Scott, though… he’s going through enough right now. I’ll let Kitty know, and maybe she can help cover for me. It’s time we started dealing with the rift between the two teams of X-Men – and a meeting between Phoenix and Wolverine is a good place to start!’

Jean quickly tucks the envelope back into her pocket and, forgetting about the dishes soaking in the sink, walks out of the kitchen. She has to start getting ready… she’s going out tonight.

NEXT ISSUE: Who will Beast end up with – Trish or Cecilia (if either of them!)? Will Professor X come to Archangel’s aid in stopping Melissa Bennett from taking control of Worthington Industries? Will Shadowcat be able to single-handedly defeat the infamous Whirlwind? Be here next issue for the answers to those questions, plus a guest appearance by everyone’s favorite Canucklehead!