|
Earth-295. More specifically, the Sea of Tranquility in Marvel Universe Earth-295. A desperate battle rages between the tattered remains of the X-Men, X-Force, X-Ternals.. all of the remaining resistance that could be mustered, and Apocalypse and his Prelates. A female mutant smashes her fist through one of the prelates armor, just to get blasted in the back.
In the midsts of it, Clarice is teleporting away the wounded, trying to get them back to safety for treatment. She's tired, beaten, but she's still going. "It's not looking good out there." she offers to the blonde girl that's trying to treat a larger metallic mutant. "It's not looking good out there." she says grimly, as she's preparing to go out again.
"I know." says the heavily accented Russian. "There has been new orders for you. You are to return to the Human Council and let them know that we are failing - and they are to launch."
"But, that means!" Clarice starts to protest, tears coming to her eyes. "I can't! I won't!"
"You have to." says the voice calmly. She stands up for a moment and pulls Blink into a hug. "We have been friends for as long as I can know. We always will be. I need you to do this."
"O..okay." Clarice says, opening a portal. "Come with me?" she turns to ask the blonde.
The blonde's own spell flashes at the same time. "I can't. Be safe, Clarice. Be well." With that, she sends out a force of blast to push Clarice into the portal. "No!"
Meanwhile, at the Hall of Jus… the Xavier Institute…
A strikingly similar Russian blonde is out on the Institute's grounds, some distance from the entrance, tucked off in a corner where two walls meet. She sits in midair, in a lotus position, candles floating around her and hair streaming out and back from her head like a platinum halo.
The candles move about her in intricate patterns, tracing something akin to a Celtic knot in the air around her, and one by one the flames begin to etch their light into the air around her, the pattern of their passage wrought in sparks and whorls. Now Illyana begins to move, one hand guiding the candles, her eyes still closed, as they surround her in a sphere of this brilliant tracery.
The other points to a spot on the ground outside the shell she's creating for herself, and she utters words in a gutteral tongue she has taken great care not to let a certain polyglot hear her speak. "Ex inferno, ex nihilo," she continues in Latin. "Ex apocolypto." Back to demonic chanting.
*thwip-thump* Pause. *thwip-thump* It may be cliche, but the Cheyenne girl is practicing her archery. A trio of small targets loosely lined up further down the grass are backed by cubes of baled hay, to keep her arrows from zipping off into the grassy abyss. Danielle is near, but not /too/ near, the spell-casting blonde. Why? She's not entirely sure. It could be that she's become used to 'guarding' when magic is in use. Bad things can happen, after all, when spells are disrupted prematurely. Or so Amanda tells her, and who is she to disagree?
As she nocks another arrow to the string of her compound bow, she pauses to glance skyward, then over at Illyana with a bemused frown. Eh. Whatever she's inclined to ask, it can apparently wait. She pulls the bowstring to her cheek and aims calmly once again.
"Take care, tovarishch." says the Russian blonde in the Sea of Tranquility. "Ex apocolypto!" she calls, snapping the spell in place, meaning to send Clarice back - before the Prelates. Before Sinister. Before Apocalypse. To the mansion. She'll be safe there.
But time and space and teleporters are all fickle things, as Illyana's spell starts to flare and grow in effect, an unfamiliar purple glow to it. That is before there's a sudden pop and the figure in magenta skin and green dress suddenly materializes within the knot that the Russian mutant has formed before the young woman tumbles out.
"…don't do it, Illyana!" she's crying out, finishing her thought as she suddenly arrives in the semi-tranquil field, and the girl tumbles, her breath catching as she takes in the fresh scent and blinks a few times as she immediately doubles over from the knot in her stomach of her own abilities being mixed with magic.
Illyana is aware of somebody entering her sphere, and then of that person tumbling out and away. Her eyes open. She remains hovering in the air as she looks down upon the lavendar mutant on the ground, brows furrowing. "That was not supposed to happen," she says, primarily for Dani's benefit. "She's not a demon, Dani — give her a minute to explain herself before you hurt her, okay?" The bubble around her pops, and she lands on her feet, offering her hand to Blink. "Are you alright?"
"A minute…" Dani echoes in a voice somewhere between sardonic and growly. At the abrupt appearance of the stranger, she twisted and half-crouched, tension in the bowstring ratcheting up a notch as she points the business end of her arrow at the .. girl. "I didn't know you had a 'Summon Purple' spell in your book." If she's making smartass comments, she isn't overly worked up.
Still, as she very very slowly relaxes the tension in her bow, she scans the lawn and the sky in a smooth turn. Just to make sure there aren't more surprises lurking in the shrubberies.
Clarice looks around for a moment. The grass is green. The birds chirp. The air is fresh. The mansion.. stands?! And then.. there's Illyana. But she looks different. Yet the same. The young mutant considers for a moment and then nearly tackles Illyana in a hug, if not for that sphere of protection. "Yana! Where are we? How? This is the mansion? But the mansion's destroyed? What happened on the Moon? Did we stop Apocalypse?!"
Illyana is not much of a hugger. She never has been. There are a few people she allows to embrace her, but this is not one of them. This is somebody she's never seen in her life. She does not push Clarice away, but instead gets a somewhat panicked look on her face and her arms snap out to her sides. "Uh. I think is one of those wibbly wobbly timey wimey things," she says, voice trying to squeak in a way that Illyana would NEVER allow. "I don't know anything about Apocalypse." To Dani, "I swear, I was trying to summon a copy of a movie from forty years from now."
Danielle finally unnocks her arrow and tucks it into the quiver slung low on her hip. The bow is lowered, and she approaches. "There's a lesson in here, somewhere. I just know it." She reaches a hand for Clarice's shoulder, and tries for a less panicky response. "Hi there. Could we try for maybe a deep breath, and then letting my friend go? I'm sure there's a perfectly bizarre reason for all this, but Illyana's more of a .. no-touchy type." She'll let moon talk and apocalyptic concerns just float in the ether for the moment.
As soon as Danielle approaches, Clarice nearly jumps, a flash of a portal and she's suddenly ten feet away from the two, holding one of her glowing gars in a defensive position. "I don't know what you're talking about. We were on the moon. Things were going bad. Mister Creed was really badly hurt, and you said that I had to warn the human council.. and.. oh, Illyana, what have you done." she says quietly, sinking to her knees. There's no more words said, the girl realizing now what her best friend has done to her.
And she's hating it.
"I promise," Illyana says, "I didn't do anything to you. I'm sorry. I don't even -know- you." She starts toward Blink, glancing at Dani. She will jump back if there's another attack hug, but for now… well, it seems to her that the girl probably needs help, and while she may not be the best person in the world to offer it, at least Blink recognizes her. "You know my name, clearly. This is Dani Moonstar, with the bow. I have never been to the moon."
Dani doesn't quite suppress the snort. "Nobody's been to the moon. Unless you believe some of that science fiction stuff on TV." Sure, timelost purple teleporters, Russian mages, and Cheyenne valkyries are all perfectly normal, but the moon? Let's not get silly. "You also seem to recognize the school, so. Let's see. It's 1964, and this is upstate New York." Pause. "In the USA." Pause. "On Earth."
"…1964. The Cuban Missile Crisis? Did the US and Russia not go to war?" Clarice asks in clear confusion. "The war.. it didn't happen. Apocalypse didn't…" she blanches slightly, not that it shows well on her magenta skin as she draws in her breath. "You're not my Illyana. No. But.. she sent me away." the girl sighs shakily, sinking to her knees, disipating the purple blade in a flash of light. "..she knew it was over, and she sent me someplace else. She sent me here."
Illyana considers this for a moment. If she had somebody she cared about very deeply (not romantically, that's just silly, but a friend, or a sibling), and it was pretty much the end of the world as she knew it, and she could save that person… Yeah, she'd probably send that person away, someplace safe. "Sounds like something I'd do," she says. "Sounds like things I've done. I'm sorry. But you're safe here, for the moment." Pause, glance at Dani, look back to Blink as she moves to very tentatively set her hand on the girl's shoulder. "What's your name?"
Danielle unstraps her quiver, and props it and her bow against one of the convenient bits of lawn furniture. "She's right. You're safe here. If nothing else, safe enough to catch your breath and get your bearings." Carefully, she again closes the distance between the other two girls, though not /as/ close as before. Still very much in line-of-sight for the shaken Clarice. "If your Illyana sent you away, I'm sure it's because she felt like she had no other choice. If she's as clever and careful as ours is, anyway."
"Clarice. Clarice Ferguson. My friends called me Blink." She feels the hand on her shoulder, and she's not jumping away immediately, but it's easy to tell that she's seen action - recently. The smell of cordite still clings to her clothing, and small smatters of blood on her skin are clearly not her own. "It's 1964. There's no war. No him. What about Mister Lehnsherr? Is he the headmaster of the school?"
Bobby's heard before he's seen. Or rather, the sound of his Harley is heard before it's visible. But it's not long before he comes riding up the driveway, heading toward the garage. Glancing over at the small group of people, he'd normally not stop but does a small double take and turns his bike toward them. Coming to a halt nearby, he dismounts and walks the rest of the way. "That's a nice shade of pink." he says, giving Clarice a grin. "Hi new person. I'm Bobby. Hey Yana, Dani."
The odors rising off of Blink certainly give Illyana pause, however briefly. She's not at all unfamiliar with the ravages of war — if one wannts to apply that word to her time in Limbo. She certainly fought a war against Belasco. There was no cordite, but as a trained X-person she's quite familiar with the aroma. "Charles Xavier is the headmaster," she tells Clarice. "I call him Chuck. Occasionally the Professor, but mostly Chuck." She waves toward Bobby as he comes close — the three young women are in a corner of the yard where archery butts are set up, and there's a certain lingering smell that might be associated with Illyana's magic. "Welcome to the Institute, Clarice. We'll introduce you to Chuck soon as we have a chance."
"He loves being called Chuck," Danielle adds helpfully, if not necessarily truthfully. As Bobby vrooms into view, she shoots a glance his direction, waggles some fingers. "Hey. This is Clarice. She's… an unexpected arrival. A bit shell-shocked, so be nice," she mock-warns. "Clarice, this is Bobby. And that noisy beast behind him is his motorcycle."
"The Professor is alive? No, no, this is all wrong!" Clarice says suddenly, blinking her eyes in rapid confusion. Then they're calling the normal looking guy 'Bobby' and there's only one Bobby she knows. She stares blankly at him, unsure what to say except to lift her hand in greetings. And be thankful that she's already on her knees in the grass, otherwise she'd probably go all wobbly kneed and faint on the spot. "I know what a motorcycle is. Mister Logan had one." she says quietly.
Bobby gives Illyana a glance at her words. "Oh. /Really/ new person if you haven't even met the Prof yet. Well, welcome to the school. How'd you hear about us?" Dani's reference to unexpected implies neither of them brought her so he definitely wants to know if someone is talking who shouldn't be. And then he blinks. "Why wouldn't he be alive? Oh, wait. Don't tell me. You're from the future too? Is there a hole or something leading here?"
"She literally got teleported here ten minutes ago, Bobby," Illyana puts in. She takes a step back, leans against the wall thoughtfully. "And it was me who sent her here. Sort of. Another dimension, I think, more than the future — 'cause she thought I was her 'Yana, so we must be about the same age, but I know nothing of fighting Apocalypse on the moon."
Logan rides up towards the manor, straddling a motorcycle, his leather jacket the one he wears for winter, with the fleece collar up around his neck. He has a flannel, jeans and a pair of leather gloves, his boots digging into the dirt as he sees the gathering out front, pulling up and unstraddling his bike.
"Kids," he says with his usual husky voice, drawing a cigar from his pocket, "What's the ruckus? Anythin' I should be concerned about or you just about to have a…bop or whatever the frig ya call it?"
The scene so far: three semi-forgotten archery targets lurk on the lawn some distance away from everything else. A bow and a quiver rest against the patio furniture for the time being. The trees are many shades of orange, gold, red, brown, and the October sun blazes comfortably overhead. Danielle is standing near Illyana, with Bobby not too far away. Oh, also, there's a Clarice on her knees, looking stressed and befuddled.
"An alternate Earth? Different timeline?" Dani muses, then shakes her head. "We might need someone more brainy to untangle the science. But, Clarice, remember those deep breaths. A few more won't hurt."
"Mister Lehnsherr brought me here after I was rescued from the slave pits near Miami. Me and Yana." Clarice explains, trying to figure it all out. "But the school was destroyed by then. The war. It was all there. I know a Charles.. he was just a baby though." And she's not about to open that can of worms about MagnetoXRogue. "I've probably said entirely too much by now. And it seems. I'm stuck. I guess this was my Illyana's last present to me." she sighs and lowers her head. "I just want to cry. They're all gone. All of them."
Bobby studies Clarice as Yana explains, brow furrowing at mention of the moon. "Who's Apocalypse? Is he someone we need to worry about if it's not our future?" He's been away about a year and his Harley is nearby which explains why he's dressed like James Dean. Looking over at the sound of another bike arriving, he asks "Hey Logan. Miss me?" The question's accompanied by a grin before he looks back at the others. "We should ask Hope. Have you met her yet? She claims to be from the future so would know if it concerns us." Running a hand over his hair, his gaze on Clarice is sympathetic. "At least you're safe now, like she wanted."
Illyana frowns to herself. "I need to see what happened," she says. "There's a chance I can get you home, Clarice. Maybe. Not making any promises. But…. I need to do the research now. Excuse me." She casts a warning eye at Bobby and Logan, a less dangerous one at Dani. "Take care of her." The 'or else' is only implied.
"C'mon," Dani suggests gently, offering a hand to the new and purple arrival. "There's a perfectly good chair over here. If you need a cry, go right ahead. I can't imagine what you're processing, but that seems a perfectly normal and reasonable reaction." She nods assuringly at 'Yana, as the blonde retreats for research. "We'll do whatever we can to help, alright? And if nothing else, you landed among friends."
Logan snorts at Bobby, lighting his smoke with a drag of a match against the heel of his boot, "Were ya gone? I didn't notice," he says with a joking tone, walking over and slapping the Iceman on the shoulder a bit roughly. "Looks like we're lucky we didn't have ta come bail ya out somewheres. Yer dressed like the greaser kids down at Hooch's," he says, referring to a dive bar down near the city.
He sees Blink and frowns a bit, sniffing the air. Something he can't quite put his finger on there, nagging at the back of his head. "Hey there, darlin'. I dunno what's ailin' ya, but yer gonna be safe here, that much we c'n promise," he says.
Well, she should smell weird to Logan. She was just, less than an hour ago, in the proximity of one of the largest mutant mashups of her world - and the final battle for their world. Creed, Jean, Remy, even Logan's scent is on her along with the smell of blood and cordite and gunpowder. She glances up at Dani for a moment, starting to nod, then notices Logan and the color doesn't quite drain from her face. But.. that is the official limit of her excitement and exhaustion for a cross-dimension hop, because just as she stands up, she falls flat on her face and is outcold. Zonk.
"It's comfortable." Bobby points out. And it's not like he needs to worry about the temperature. He nods his agreement with Dani. "Yeah, whatever you need. I've got some beer and vodka if you want to get drunk. Or some really good MJ I brought from Califor… Or not." he adds as Clarice faints. "Well, we can find her a room."
Ack! "Whoa whoa whoa…" Dani shifts from helpful hand to emergency arms, quickly twisting a bit to half-catch Clarice before she lands on the ground. "Oof. Okay, so.." She takes a moment, then scoops the purple girl up in her arms carefully. "Let's get her inside and comfortable." She smiles an apology to Logan, "I'm partially sure it's not personal. But she had a hell of a journey to get here, from the sound of it."
Logan shakes his head, "No problem. Takes a lot more t'scratch my hide than makin' a girl pass out," he says.
He reaches down and carefully takes her up, figuring he's probably best suited to carrying a body, putting her over his shoulder as delicately and respectfully as he can. "Gotta be some spare rooms around," he says. "Anybody know if this'n needs special accomodations? Extra sunlight or a bowl o' water to breathe in or shit like that?"
Bobby just shrugs at the question. "You know as much about her as I do. She just popped in from an alternate dimension about fifteen minutes ago. Not a good place from the little I heard her say. "I'm sure there are some empty rooms in the girl's wing."
Danielle is happy to let Logan take the deadload of a zonked elf. Easier on her shoulders, to be sure. "Let's get her settled. Then probably need to let the Prof know what 'Yana and I could piece together about her." On the way inside, she remembers to grab her archery gear, but those forgotten targets will just sit sadly, far less interesting compared to a purple teleporting elf from another Earth.