IN THESE TIMES…

By Ryan Krupienski

Christmas. A time of happiness, togetherness, and celebration. A time for giving, sharing, and loving. A time for family. Even if you’re a mutant; specifically, an X-Man.

Scott Summers and Jean Grey both fit the description of a mutant. They were born with incredible abilities that set them apart from humanity, thanks to a renegade gene in their DNA. They’ve fought for years to bring human and mutant together as one, and intend to do so for a long time to come. Not tonight, though – it’s Christmas Eve, and they’re going to spend this special time with their family.

Their car pulls into the snow-covered driveway of the home of John and Elaine Grey. Scott turns the car off, and he and his very pregant wife exit their vehicle and make their way to the front door of the house.

Jean, about to ring the doorbell, stops her hand in mid-air and turns to her husband. “Do you think he’s coming?”

“I… don’t know,” Scott replies with a sigh. “I’m not even sure he got our invitation…”

“Oh, you bet I did.”

Scott and Jean spin around excitedly, almost dropping the packages they’re holding. Their expressions of shock transform into smiles as they see the face of the one behind them…

“Nathan!” Jean exclaims, telekinetically lowering the single package she holds to the ground and gently hugging her would-be son. “I’m so happy you showed up.”

Nathan Christopher Summers, alias Cable, returns the hug, and kisses Jean on the cheek. “I’m glad you invited me. I’m anxious to meet the rest of my family.”

Jean turns back to the door of her former home, and rings the doorbell, as Nathan relieves Scott of some of the packages he holds. Within seconds, the door swings open, and the three are greeted by a middle-aged woman with short, brown, curly hair, who just so happens to be Jean’s mother.

“Jean, Scott! Merry Christmas!” Elaine says happily, hugging and kissing her daugter and son-in-law. She then looks at Nathan, a bit puzzled. “Who… who’s this?”

Scott looks at Jean, and vice-versa. “Do you want me to tell her?”

“No, I will,” Jean replies, motioning for Nathan to approach Elaine. She turns back to her mother. “Mom, I’d like you to meet Nathan Christopher Summers… your grandson.”

Meanwhile, many miles to the West at The Marc, a restaurant in Chicago…

Scott and Jean aren’t the only mutants taking advantage of the holiday season. Henry ‘Hank’ McCoy and Cecilia Reyes are celebrating Christmas as well, with a romantic dinner at one of Chicago’s finest – and most expensive – restaurants.

Cecilia, sitting across from Hank at a table, looks past him and notices two women staring at him, wide smiles on their faces. Hank, who’s babbling about how “delicious the Tiramisu is” looks up from the menu and at Cecilia, then turns his head around. The two women smile and waved at him, and he turns back around, slightly blushing.

“Looks like you’ve got your own personal cheerleaders,” Cecilia says in annoyed tone.

Hank grins. “Oh, come now, Cecilia. Can I help it if women find me attractive? It’s the fur, or maybe it’s the fangs? No, it must be the fur…”

“You are so full of yourself!” Cecilia playfully throws her napkin at Hank and laughs a bit. “But really… I wish the girls over there on Easy Street would mind their own business.”

“You’ve nothing to fear, my dear. They’re harmless… and they’re not even my type. They can’t possibly compare to someone of such eloquent beauty and high intellect as yourself.” Hank reaches over and takes Cecilia’s hand and gently kisses it.

“You never fail to remind me how much I love you,” Cecilia sighs happily, smiling once more at Hank. “So, about that Tiramisu…”

“Ah yes, the Tiramisu, the consumable object of our impending dessert. It is delectable, with…”

Cecilia covers Hank’s mouth with her hand. “I’ll take your word for it! No need to explain what’s in it, or what chemical compounds it’s composed of.”

Hank nods, and Cecilia removes her hand. He signals for the waiter to come to the table.

“Have you decided on what you’d like for dessert?” the waiter asks, adjusting his tie and taking out his order form.

“We’ll both have the tiramisu,” Hank replies, handing the dessert menus to the waiter.

“Very good, sir,” the waiter says, taking the menus and walking off.

Hank turns back to Cecilia, a look of excitement on his face. “That buys us at least ten or fifteen minutes.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out an item, hiding it in his hand. “There’s… something I want to give you.”

“I thought we were waiting until tomorrow morning to exchange our Christmas presents,” Cecilia says with a smile.

“This isn’t exactly a Christmas present… it’s more like an ‘I love you’ present.” Hank places the item on the table in front of Cecilia. “Go ahead, Open it.”

Cecilia gasps, as she feels her heart start to race. She stares at Hank’s gift in awe… a box… a little black jewelry box.

Not far away, at the Worthington Estate…

Festive decorations are hung all around; a tall Christmas tree stands near the blazing fireplace; the lights are dim; soft, mellow music is playing. Sitting in this pleasantly peaceful room on a comfortable couch are Kitty Pryde, Warren Worthington III, and Alison Blaire, who is holding her two-month old daughter Rebecca. Across the room looking out the window is Kitty’s alien companion, Lockheed.

“I want to thank you guys again for letting Lockheed and I spend Christmas with you,” Kitty Pryde says, looking gratefully at Warren and Alison. “My roommate is spending Christmas with her family, and I couldn’t really go home to celebrate Hannukah with my mother. We’re not exactly on speaking terms anymore, not since my father died.”

Alison, gently bouncing her baby girl Rebecca on her knee, smiles and replies, “No need to explain yourself. You may have left the team, but you’re still part of the family.”

Across the room, Lockheed huffs, and a small cloud of smoke emerges from his mouth. He flies on over to the large couch in the middle of the living room and rests himself on Kitty’s shoulder. He seems a bit anxious about something, but what it is, is anyone’s guess.

“What is it, Lockheed? Something bothering you?” Kitty takes the tiny purple dragon into her arms and pats him on the head.

Lockheed sighs. ‘If only I could talk to you… I actually could, but I’m not sure how you’d feel about me being able to speak your language…’

Lockheed struggles out of Kitty’s grip and flies out of the room. Everyone has confused looks on their faces. Kitty and Warren stands up and go off to see what Lockheed is up to.

“Is something wrong? He seems agitated,” Warren says, following Lockheed’s trail of smoke alongside Kitty.

They arrive at Lockheed’s stopping point – the front doors. Kitty walks over to him, and he lands on her shoulder. “What is it, little guy?”

Lockheed jumps off her shoulder and turns towards the front doors. He attempts to open them with his tiny claws, but to no avail.

“You want to go outside?” Kitty says, puzzled. She opens the door and follows Lockheed outside, but not before phasing her body to protect herself from the brutal cold of the night.

Lockheed flies off, out of Kitty’s sight, reappearing seconds later with tiny snow balls in his hands. He grins, and launches one at Kitty. Although it passes through her body, it still startles her. She looks at Lockheed and smiles. “Oh, I get it… you want a snowball fight, huh? Well, wait right her while I get my coat, gloves, and scarf.”

Kitty walks back inside, and over to the rather large closet next to the front doors. “You up for a snowball fight?” she asks Warren, as she put her coat on.

Warren sighs. “I… I’m not sure. I’m not exactly in a great mood… Betsy’s left me, and I lost my company to Melissa Bennett… this isn’t exactly turning out to be a Merry Christmas for me.”

“Oh, come on!” Kitty pleads. “It’ll be fun! It’ll take your mind off Betsy and the Bennett Beast… you need to relax and forget about your problems. Here’s your chance.”

Warren thinks for a moment, then looks back at Kitty. “Okay, let’s do it,” he says, a smile forming on his face.

Kitty, fully clothed in her winter attire, smiles back. “You get your coat and stuff on… I’ll get Alison.”

Back at the home of John and Elaine Grey…

“…So, to save my life from the techno-organic virus Apocalypse infected me with, Scott sent me into the future. An awful future… one ruled by Apocalypse and his genetically ‘superior’ minions.” Nathan stops for a moment to catch his breath. John and Elaine look at him in awe, somewhat anxious to hear more of his incredible tale.

“That’s… quite a story, Nathan,” John says. “Jean’s told us about some pretty amazing adventures she’s had with the X-Men, but evil clones? Time-travel? Future worlds ruled by ancient mutants? I… I can’t believe it…”

Nathan hangs his head low and sighs. “Sometimes I don’t want to believe it… sometimes I wish I had a normal life.”

Elaine gets up from her seat and walks over and sits down next to Nathan. “Nathan… you’re such a strong man. You’ve been through so much, and have lived to tell the tale. I’m very proud to have you for a grandson.”

Nathan is a taken aback. Here he is, telling all about his screwed-up life to a family who has only just met him, and that same family is already accepting him. But at the same time, he feels wonderful… knowing he has a real family that loves him is something he’s never had the chance to experience until now.

“Is something wrong, Nate?” Jean asks with concern.

“No…” Nathan starts, “it’s just that… this has probably been one of the best days of my life.” He looks Elaine in the eyes. “Thank you, for accepting me into your family.”

Elaine smiles and embraces Nathan. “Our family.”

A tear runs down Jean’s cheek, as Scott takes hold of and squeezes her hand. They glance at each other, happiness emanating from both their faces. At that moment, they know they made the right decision by bringing Nathan here for Christmas.

All of a sudden, the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs is heard. Joey and Gaylen run into the living room, looks of anxiety on their faces. “Grandma! Grandpa!”

John stands up, and walks over to Joey and Gaylen. “You two were told to go to sleep… you know what will happen if you don’t.”

Joey rolls his eyes. “Grandpa, will you stop already? We’re thirteen, not five… we know Santa Clause isn’t real.”

“Hell-o! We didn’t come down here to talk about Santa!” Gaylen chimes in. “We heard something on the roof… like, footsteps or something!”

“Footsteps?” Elaine asks with worry, rising from her seat. “John, maybe we should go check…”

Nathan gets up from his seat as well, interrupting Elaine. “I can check the roof. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“That’s not necessary…”

Nathan ignores Elaine’s words and walks to the front door of the house. He walks outside and, using his telekinesis, levitates up into the air and onto the roof. He looks around, seaching for clues that someone has been there.

‘Hmm… no footprints. In fact, no prints of any type. I wonder what it was…’

Suddenly, a voice calls from behind. “Nathan?”

Back at The Marc…

Cecilia doesn’t move. She doesn’t speak. She just stares at the little black box before her, too overwhelmed to do anything.

“Um…” Hank says meekly, “go ahead… open it.”

Cecilia slowly reaches for the box, and looks up at Hank. “Hank, this… I… it’s too soon…”

“Oh, it’s not what you think,” Hank replies, anxiously waiting for Cecilia to open the box. “Open it! I insist!”

Cecilia gulps nervously as she looks down at the box, and flips it open. She gasps as she looks at the object in the box. “It’s… it’s beautiful!”

Cecilia takes the object, a small gold key pendant on a gold chain, out of the box. Her eyes light up and a smile forms on her face, as she studies her gift. Hank smiled]s too, pleased that Cecilia loves his gift so much.

“I take it you like the necklace,” Hank says.

“Yes… I love it,” Cecilia replies, looking into Hank’s eyes. “I… I have to admit that I thought…”

“…That it was an engagement ring,” Hank continues, finishing Cecilia’s sentence for her. “I considered it… but I realized it was too soon. I love you, Cecilia, and I don’t want to lose you. We should take it slow, make our relationship work; so, in observance of my ever-lasting love for you, I give you this…”

Hank gets up from his seat and walks over behind Cecilia, helping her put on the necklace. As Cecilia turns to look at him and takes his hand, Hank concludes his sentence, “…This, the key to my heart.”

Cecilia stands up, diving into Hank’s arms, and kisses him. A tear rolls down Cecilia’s cheek as the two lock lips. Many of the people sitting around them at other tables glance at the couple and smile, some even clapping. That doesn’t divert Hank and Cecilia’s attention… they stay focused on each other, although the warm reception from the crowd does make it all the more wonderful.

Cecilia pulls away from Hank, and looks deep into his eyes. “Thank you, Hank… you’ve made me so happy. This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had. I love you… very, very much.”

Outside on the snow-covered ground of the Worthington Estate…

“INCOMING!” yells Kitty as she throws a snowball at Warren, who’s airborne.

As the snowball zooms past his head, Warren looks down and grins at Kitty. Within seconds he’s diving towards her, and succeeds in pummeling her into a huge pile of snow. “No, that was incoming!”

Mere feet away, Alison is busy dodging Lockheed’s barrage of snowballs. “Yo, guys… a little help over here!” she cries happily, as Lockheed continues his attack.

Warren has managed to gather up quite a bit of snow, and is preparing to dump it all on Lockheed. However, the winged X-Man catches the purple dragon’s eye just in time, and to prevent from becoming a snowdragon, Lockheed evaporates the snow with a bright flare of flames from his mouth.

“Nuh-uh, little guy!” Alison rounds up a couple of snowballs and throws them both at Lockheed. One misses, but the other hits him smack on the side of the face. Lockheed swings his head around, and stares at Alison with a look of mock anger on his face.

Kitty, having finally unburied herself from under the many feet of snow, launches snowballs at both Warren and Alison and hits her targets successfully. “Hey, leave ‘im alone!” Kitty laughs, running to Lockheed’s side. “Aw, poor Lockheed!”

Warren and Alison are already gathering up more snow when all of a sudden they’re interrupted by the wails of a baby. Alison rolls her coat sleeve up from over her wrist, looking at a small radio device.

“I guess Rebecca woke up. I’ve got to go check on her, see what’s wrong,” Alison says, as she starts towards the doors. She stops and turns around to face Kitty, Warren, and Lockheed. “I’ll be back to finish this!” she says with a grin.

As Alison continues toward the main house, Kitty, with Lockheed perched on her shoulder, turns to Warren. “Now, didn’t I tell you you’d have fun?”

“Yeah,” Warren says with a smile. “Thanks, Kitty… you’ve really cheered me up.”

Kitty smiles back and gives Warren a hug. “No problem, Warren… and Merry Christmas.”

Back at the Grey residence…

Nathan turns around at the sound of the voice behind him; his jaw drops, and his eyes go wide.

“Rachel?!”

The young woman known as Rachel Summers smiles. “Hi Nate. Merry Christmas,” she replies.

Nathan raises himself into the air and floats towards Rachel, wanting to give her a hug. When he tries, though, he passes right through his sister.

“Sorry… I’m not really here. Not physically, anyway,” Rachel replies, a tone of sadness layering her voice. “It’s taking a lot for me to maintain my astral presence here in the past… but I had to see you, one last time… to warn you. It’s him, Nate.”

“Apocalypse,” Nathan says bitterly, knowing whom Rachel is referring to from the tone of her voice.

“I came here to warn you of what’s to come. You probably already know that Apocalypse’s accension will begin soon… and it’ll be up to you, Nathan, to stop him. You must gather the Twelve, protect them from Apocalypse… he can’t be allowed to destroy them!”

Nathan sighs. “Rachel, I… I don’t know if I can do this. Yes, I’ve trained all my life for my final battle with Apocalypse… but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. Scared that I’ll fail, in turn allowing Apocalypse to carry out his plans.”

“And if you do nothing, Nathan… then Apocalypse will lay waste to the planet like he did in our future. You can’t let that happen! I know you can do this Nathan… and I wish I could be there with you, to help you destroy him once and for all.”

“We both know that’s not possible,” Nathan replies. He sighs once more, as Rachel’s astral form began to fade. “Rachel… wait, you can’t leave! Not yet!”

Rachel’s hand reaches for Nathan, as her last words floated from her mouth. “I believe in… you… don’t let… him win… love you… tell… mom… dad… I love them…”

“Rachel…” Nathan holds his hand up to where Rachel’s was been before she faded. He frowns, then looks up and stares into the star-filled night sky. “I won’t fail you, Rachel. I promise.”

Christmas morning!

The sun shines in through the large windows, as Hank, Warren, Kitty, Alison with baby Rebecca, Cecilia, and Lockheed gather around the tall Christmas tree, picking up gifts and giving them to their rightful recipients.

“Well, I say we go youngest to oldest,” Kitty says innocently, glancing at her friends with an almost childish look on her face.

Alison sits Rebecca on the floor, placing a gift in front of her. “Well, that means my little girl goes first. That is, unless you’re under three months old, Kitty.”

The tiny girl makes little baby sounds, and even drools a little bit, as she grabs at the package before her. Everyone laughs, commenting on how cute she is, as Lockheed waddles over to Rebecca and assists her in opening the package. The baby giggles at Lockheed and pats his nose; he just grins.

‘These human infants are great!’ Lockheed thinks. ‘I should ask for one for Christmas next year.’

Rebecca’s gift is finally opened, and is revealed to be a stuffed Pikachu doll. Alison places it in her daughter’s arms, as it chants “Pikachu!” over and over again.

Alison takes a look at the card that comes with the gift, then looks up at Kitty and smiles. “Thanks, Kitty.”

Kitty smiles back. “You’re welcome. I hope lil’ Becky here enjoys it!” She reaches over and gently pats Alison’s daughter on the head, then picks up her first gift.

She reads the tag on her package and a smile forms on her face. “From Logan.” She eagerly tears away the paper and opens the box, taking out a framed picture of her and Wolverine from several years ago on the first Christmas they had spent together.

Kitty looks up, and, as if she’s speaking to Logan, says, “Thanks, Logan.”

Cecilia clears her throat and asks, “Kitty, I don’t mean to be rude… but aren’t you Jewish? I thought you celebrated Hanukah.”

“I do,” Kitty replies, “But I still celebrate Christmas. Just for the fun of it.”

Before anyone else can say a word, the doorbell rings. Warren immediately gets up, saying “I’ll get it,” as he exits the room. The others get up from around the tree, taking some of their gifts to the large couches with them. A minute later, Warren returns with several cards in his hands.

“We’ve got mail. Christmas cards, specifically,” Warren announces, plopping down onto the couch next to Hank and Alison.

“On Christmas? Who delivers mail on Christmas?” Kitty wonders, a puzzled look on her face.

“They’re all marked ‘deliver on Christmas’… I guess this is some special thing the post office does.” Warren takes the first card from the pile and puts the rest down on the table. He opens the envelope, and pulls out the card, reading what it says:

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas.

Sincerely, Hawkeye, Moonstone, Atlas, Songbird, Jolt, and Charcoal.

Kitty is suprised. “A Christmas card from the Thunderbolts?”

“The Thunder-who?” Alison questions.

“The world’s latest group of super-heroes, alongside whom we fought to bring down the Masters of Evil,” Hank replies, clearing up Alison’s confusion.

Warren proceeds to open the next envelope, and pulls out a letter which reads:

My Dear Friends,

It has been too long since I last wrote to you, and I apologize. I wish you all a wonderful Christmas, and regret that I will not be with you to celebrate. I have decided to remain in Russia and become a part of the Winter Guard. I promise, though, that I will come to visit! Enjoy the holidays.

Love, Piotr

“It’s good to hear from Piotr,” Kitty sighs happily. “I still wish he was here, though…”

Lockheed nuzzles his face against Kitty’s gently, as if reminding her that she still has him around.

“Okay, last one,” Warren says, opening the final envelope and pulling out a rather large card. His eyes go wide as he opens the card and a loud, obnoxious Christmas song sung in high-pitch voices begins playing.

Ho-ho, hoes.

Bobby

Warren begins laughing hysterically, Hank joining in after taking a look at the card. Cecilia grabs it, and can’t help but smile. “Drake… that chump!”

The card is passed to Kitty then to Alison, who both also join in the laughter. And for the next ten minutes, there they sit, laughing… as a family.

New Year’s Eve.

Scott, Jean, Hank, Warren, Kitty, Alison, and Cecilia all stand among the massive crowd on the streets of Chicago, looking up at the huge clock counting down the minutes until the year 2000.

“This is so cool… I mean, yeah I’ve traveled to alien planets and hopped through dimensions, but… the year two-thousand! I never thought I’d be so excited about it!”

Cecilia turns and smiles at Kitty. “Girl, you aren’t the only one! I just can’t believe the turnout for the celebration, though… I mean, the way the media’s been hypin’ the Y-Two-K Bug and all…”

“Oh, spare me,” Hank sighs, looking as if he’s going to gag. “It’s bad enough that they keep saying two-thousand is the start of the new Millennium when it’s really two-thousand one… but the Y-Two-K Bug? It’s quite fiendish of them to intentionally scare…”

“Hank, with all due respect – shut up,” Jean says with a laugh, patting her longtime friend on the cheek. Hank obliges, smiling and closing his mouth.

“Too bad Cable didn’t come,” Kitty says, turning to Scott and Jean. “And I hope Lockheed’s okay with Rebecca at the mansion…”

“Oh, I’m sure they’re fine,” Alison chimes in happily. “He’s great with her… and it’s good that she stayed home. This crowd would have been too much for her.”

“EVERYONE, LOOK!” someone in the crowd shouts excitedly. “There’s only seventeen seconds left!”

The entire crowd stares at the clock, their eyes glowing with excitement. As the final seconds of 1999 approach, everyone joins in the countdown…

“Five!”

“Four!”

“Three!”

“Two!”

“One!”

The countdown ends, as ‘Happy 2000!’ takes its place on the clock. The song ‘Will 2K’ begins playing very loudly, as spectacular fireworks light up the sky. No power outages, no planes falling out of the sky, no end of the world… the year 2000 has arrived, and things couldn’t be better.

IN UNCANNY X-MEN #14: It begins here – Genetic Eclipse, the storyline that will change the X-Men forevermore! The Year 2000 has dawned… and the time for the Age Of Apocalypse is now! Apocalypse has come for Kitty Pryde, but her teammates aren’t about to let him take her away. It’s the battle of the year as the X-Men take on Apocalypse!