[OP: "I Am The Weapon"-- Three Days Grace]

Cristy Nord it was. Though most of them had no idea who that was.

Only Emma had any actual memory of her. Logan had this vague sense of shared memory with the other Wolverine, and he said, "Wait...it has something to do with that cabin I found, doesn't it...? Maverick's kid."

"So you do know me, a little," Cristy said. "More mind wiping? Or...just different person?"

"He's not the one you know," Emma said. "But I am."

"Emma Frost." Cristy smiled. "I've owed you for a long time, you and Wolverine. Glad I finally got a chance to repay. Come in. You guys all look exhausted."

She gestured at the inside of the house.

She led them into the fairly normal-looking living room and dining room area, with a fire lit.

"I know it's probably been the worst day," she said. "Believe me...it has been for all of us, for 15 years, but, still, seeing you all here is a miracle.... When Dust told me, I thought I'd die of shock.... I'm sorry about your team though.... I wish I could have helped them, but it was work just to set this up. Here, you can sit down."

She pointed at some couches.

They did. Emma really had no choice. She was starting to get shaky.

"Want some tea?" Cristy picked up a tray and set it on the coffee table. 

"Sure..." Shine sank down. "I'm sorry, this is a little much.... So you're the daughter of Logan's old teammate?"

"Yeah," Cristy sighed.

"What happened to him, Maverick?" Logan asked. "Is he here?"

"No.... My...dad and I have kind of a different idea of how to deal with this..." Cristy said. "Don't get me wrong...he hates Apocalypse and Sinister. They remind him of his old bosses.... He remembers a lot more now, by the way...not everything, but.... Anyway, the thing is, though, he thinks we have to survive. We have this big house. You can probably guess he works for the government.... He thinks the only way to sabotage this is to just follow their rule and try to cut people slack where we can."

"But he's around?" Logan said.

"Sort of," Cristy said. "Hardly home anymore, honestly." She pursed her lips. "Just as well. I don't think he'd want me talking to you guys. You know how you hope your father will stop being overprotective when you're an adult? Well...uh, not in a regime like this. I'm not supposed to call it that, but you all know."

"And yet you're still here," Emma said. "How?"

"Favor to my dad," Cristy said. "He earned his stripes so he could keep me with him. I--you know the Weapon X program changes people, right, Wolverine? He's...never been the same guy. More afraid of them...more focused on surviving. I love him, and I'm glad we got to stay together...and I'm pretty powerful myself...so I get by. They think I'm useful to have around. I work for them as little as possible...but I had to start pretending to do the job, just to stay in touch with the underground."

"You're basically the upper class here?" Shine surmised.

"You could call it that. Being upper class is kind of like being a lower middle class person used to be," Cristy said wryly. "Only with less freedom...and more pollution. I mean, we can afford air filters, but have you stepped outside?" She coughed at the mere thought of it. "Still, we're lucky...way lucky. I think we could be using that...but, more and more, there's just nothing we can do. It feels like I was just about ready to give up hope, but I heard you were here. I knew I had to talk to you.... I might be able to help. I mean, I can get you into places that most people can't, with a little bribing and maneuvering...and not telling my Dad. I wish I could do more, but...what do you need? We can try to figure this out."

They were all a little taken aback by this offer.

"You do know you'll be accused of treason if you're caught with us here?" Emma said. "And they are tracking us."

Cristy looked grim. "So...it's already too late"

Emma nodded.

"Then I have nothing to lose." Cristy shrugged it off with some difficulty. "So...work fast?"

They stared at her.

Then Storm said, "It would be foolish not to accept her help.... Shine, Wally, the whole group is tired. We're in no shape to fight even if we move on."

Shine nodded somberly. "We need to rest. Maybe if we're not moving, they won't bother coming so soon. It's a stupid chance, but so far they only seem interested in retrieving the other X-men, not us. We have the Talis again...but maybe we can sleep for a few hours. Let's see what He says."

She looked up.

Then she closed her eyes wearily. "He says to stay the night. I guess it's all right."

"It might take them a while to find you," Cristy said. "They won't just come here without warning, unless they want to deal with a full fight from me and our staff." She made a fist. "We're one of the few people who can employ someone else, other than the government. We just hired body guards...but they're pretty loyal. We're nicer to them than the Capitol's would be."

"It's nice to find some kindness here, even here," Shine said. "You must be an angel...unless this is a trick again." She frowned. "I don't think it is, but I can't feel sure of anything much anymore.... Forgive me...but all I can think about is those kids...and what they're going to do to them."

"Try not to think of it," Storm said. "Reasonably, Shine, they won't make them do anything till tomorrow. I'm sure they have the combat matches in the daytime, considering how dark this city is. We have till then to stop all this. If we leave before dawn, we just may be able to intercept Apocalypse before they do anything to the kids. For now, they'll just lock them up."

"And they'll be scared of out of their minds, and if we don't do this, they'll die." Shine had reached the point where she couldn't stop herself from the morbid--and seemingly all too realistic thoughts.

"Oh, don't." Emma couldn't take this. "Please."

"Why did we even bring them?" Shine burst out. "It wasn't right to bring kids! And that rat Caliban--I...I'd rather it have been me!"

"Shine, listen to yourself. We need you," Storm said. "We all knew there was a risk of being separated."

Logan put a hand on her shoulder. "She doesn't care, Storm. It's too much for a person sometimes."

Storm bit her lip. "I understand. But we cannot give into despair."

Cristy looked genuinely sorry for them.

"It's terrible what they do in those games," she said. "Games, such a misnomer...but if it helps, they usually assess the people first.... My dad went to one once...made him sick, he said.... He swore he'd never let me be in one. But they'll measure their strength and figure who to pit them against.... You might have at least one day to rescue them. I can...try to look into it. Before they come for us. If you get out of here before they show up, I could probably even deny that I ever saw you. They couldn't accuse me without admitting to spying, and that's going to cause problems...so if that happened, I can try to get in there, maybe bid or something, try to improve their odds...if it helps."

"Thanks, Cristy," Shine said, putting her face in her hands. "I'm sure in a short time I'll feel better because of that thought. I just don't now."

"Shine, you can feel bad. You've earned it," Wally said. "And no one should give you any crap for it. I'm broken up about this too. But you've gotta rest too, okay? Storm is right, we all need to. So...come on.... Hey, can we sleep here?"

"Of course. You can use our empty rooms," Cristy said. "Sometimes we take in some of the kids off the street for a short time...try to get them out of this city. The others aren't much better, but sometimes they can hide from the recruiters in the more remote places. We can't save as many as we like, but we try, try to find them slightly less harsh jobs. We have a few here right now, but most of the upstairs is empty. It's all attic, so it's not that comfortable, but in a pinch...I can pull out some more cots and inflatable beds and stuff."

"Thanks," Logan said. "You're a good kid. Can see why my other self took a likin' to ya."

"Yeah, well...." Cristy stood up. "I want this to be over too. I don't know the whole story of why you guys are here, but I know it's our best chance. My dad knows the rumors about how Apocalypse took over...messing with time and stuff. The higher ups hear more about it. We don't know how. We've tried to find out for years, but I don't think they trust us that much. Power doesn't get you everything, it turns out. Anyway, we always wondered if, somewhere in time, there were still some X-men, trying to get through to us.... It seemed like a stupid hope most of the time, but it's like a fairy-tale, in a way.... You know you want it to be real, and it's something to think of...but here it is. Heck, even if you guys failed, I'd still be blown away by all this. So, thanks." She smiled.

"God provides," Shine said.

"And I'm sure you'd all like a shower," Cristy said. "I know how dirty it is in those streets." She made a face. "And the pipes, gross. We have three baths, so you can all take turns. And I'll get you other toiletries too. Believe me, it's a privilege to have them at all."

"Sister, I've been on enough mission trips to know that's true." Shine stood up. 

"And I'll ask one of the staff to cook something simple up too," Cristy said. "Okay? We have a video player if anyone just wants to...you know, chill. I mean, they banned most of the good stuff, but we have a few old DVDs that still work. Or, you know, anything else you want. Just tell me. The least I can do if you're going to go fight the bad guys tomorrow is make your last night here comfortable."

"Believe me, it's better comfort than we imagined," Storm said. "And thank you."

Scott was shaking his head. "Thanks, but I can't say I'm in the mood for any of that. I'd rather just get some rest.... We're going to need it."

"Okay, give us about 20 minutes," Cristy said.

She hit an intercom button.

"Jeeves? Can you get some guest rooms ready?"

"Right, Miss," a voice answered over the system.

"Jeeves?" Wally said in disbelief.

"Old joke," Cristy said. "That's not his real name...but we don't really use real names, except in private, and he didn't like his 'mutant' name, so we compromised. Outside the house, I go by Sculptor [yes, made up by me]. Dad still goes by Maverick. I know, mine doesn't fit my power that well, but I don't like being called like a pet dog, so...you know." She shrugged.

"Ororo," Storm introduced herself. "Also known as Storm."

"Yeah, I'm Scott," Scott said dully. "Or Cyclops."

"Ya know me already," Logan said.

"I'm surprised you remembered me at all," Emma muttered. "We barely met."

"How could I forget the person who helped my dad remember me?" Cristy said. "I mean, all this would have been so much worse without you." She smiled. "And Wolverine, of course, both of you. In a way, getting kidnapped by Weapon X was the best thing that ever happened to me. Kind of gives you a new perspective on things.... I always felt like Apocalypse taking over just wasn't right.... The rumors just made it seem truer. Maybe it wasn't meant to happen?"

"You catch on fast," Morph said.

"I've been looking this stuff up for years," Cristy said. "But most of the books on it are long gone. And the trails ran cold.... The underground didn't know much either. You all know, right?"

"Perhaps we can explain more," Storm said, "later.... Our guides are tired."

And they were.

Shine and Wally both went to one of the rooms a few minutes later, when it was ready, and probably talked in private.

Cristy politely asked if any one else was doubling up.

She got some surprised looks in return, and then "no."

"Oh...really? What are the odds?" she said.

"Well, aside from them--" Emma pointed at Storm and Logan. "--all the rest of us are either single or have had our love interest kidnapped in the last few days. So..."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Cristy said. "I can't relate.... That was outlawed, but, you know, the stories about it...sound awful. My dad doesn't remember my mom that much, so..." She looked sad. "But yeah...I hope they're okay."

"I'm sure some of them are," Storm said. "Our team is tough."

After that aside, some of them sat down in the dining room to eat a late meal, and the people were too tired for that were at least re-hydrating.

All of them took showers and got to brush their teeth and hair again. 

After even one day of being filthy, it was almost pathetic how good it felt to do something human again and to wash the grit of the sewers and the soot off of them, even for a short time.

Cristy found all of them spare clothes that were mostly t-shirts and comfortable jeans or sweatpants (or yoga pants for the girls). And most of it fit okay.

It was weird to get out of costume, but one of the staff took it all to get speed cleaned and dried, and it should be ready by morning, assuming no one came for them before then. But so far, nothing.

Forge busied himself after that by tricking out his weapons.

And while he was at it, he tricked out Domino's guns.

Domino watched him do this. She seemed to feel out of place with the rest of the team, and it gave her something to do at least that wasn't talking about the X-men.

She seemed in a dark mood still.

Forge wasn't too good with feelings, but after a while it got so obvious, he ventured to say, "Are you still upset about earlier?"

"About Rogue?" The answer must have been yes, if she got it that fast. "Ah...no, not really." She folded her arms. "Well, yes, actually.... It's difficult to understand."

"Oh, sure," Forge said, eyeing one of his tools. "And it's not like it's any of my business. I just thought it's kind of a bad situation, and it's even worse to be fighting with the person you're working with. So...you know. Maybe clearing things up would be better."

"It probably would be, if there was a way to do it," Domino admitted. "But it's pointless.... We all make choices...different paths. I guess the X-men could get a major 'I told you so' right now to those of us who've supported the idea of mutant supremacy...but, still...there's too much bad blood."

"Eh, it doesn't matter that much anymore," Forge said. "After today, no one is going to remember who was on what side in the past. None of us were ready for this future."

"No, we weren't," Domino said. 

She frowned. "So what's your take on all this?"

"Mine?" Forge had not been asked that in...well...ever.

"Yeah, I mean the irony is crushing, isn't it?" Domino said. "Rogue's on her soap box already. Everyone gets their turn. At least in the brotherhood. Don't you have opinions on it? I mean, how did we get here? How did all this happen?"

"It sounds like someone messed up the timeline," Forge said. "Not that much guess work." He laughed nervously. That was still scary to think about.

"Sure, but...even with that...someone had to go along with it," Domino said. "I had to be part of all this. Weird. Even Polaris is. Not sure how. I think we left her at home...but then, nothing makes sense now. Too much is mixed up in the timeline. Maybe she left after us. Maybe it was before us. This is like a really bad episode of Dr. Who."

"Yeah, kind of," Forge admitted, "but...without the part where The Doctor knows how to solve everything. I wish it was that clear."

"Yeah," Domino snorted. "That'd be the day. Nothing is ever that easy."

"Well, I prefer not thinking about it," Forge said. "I'm not the kind of guy who gets involved in all this stuff. It's too much headache. I just stick to machines." He held up the gun. "I think this should pack a bit more of a wallop now. If you want to test it...I wouldn't do inside."

"Yeah, I'd draw the attention of the patrol anyway. I think I'll have to wait to test it till I have a target," Domino said. "But thanks." She took it. "Might mean I could be mildly useful. I feel like those grunts..." She frowned. "Ah, it makes me sick thinking of what we did to them."

"It's not like we knew what would happen," Forge said. "We were trying to help them."

"X-men always try to help," Domino said. "But then look at The Brotherhood, we're no better. We tried to help Nitro.... That worked out. Eh, helping people was never really our big thing, I guess. I mean, I thought it was, but all Quicksilver ever cared about was Magneto. We were just a means to an end for him. And he tossed us aside once that wasn't the case."

"Guess he and Magneto are more alike than they think," Forge said nervously.

"No, they're exactly alike," Domino said with confidence. "Probably why Magneto never gave him any respect. Heck, it was obvious to the rest of us. But there's no reasoning with Pietro, not about this. I tried a few times.... It's too important to him." She frowned. "But I never thought he'd doom the whole world over it. It's just unbelievable. Don't they...see what this is?"

"Maybe not," Forge wondered. "Maybe they've never actually taken a real look at it. I mean, I doubt they ever got arrested and made to work in those places. Maybe if we were at the top, this wouldn't look so terrible to us. I don't know. I've never been at the top, but it kind of felt like that's how it was with Genosha. So..."

Domino frowned. "How do you mean?"

"You know...just the...cutting them off from the rest of the world, instead of trying to make things better. Thinking of mutants as superior to humans. I don't know, it's just...it sounds weird, doesn't it? It'd be nice to get away from the persecution, but living all alone like that? Just doesn't sound like it'd last.... I can't understand ruining it for yourself though--attacking your own island. I guess enough is never enough for Magneto."

"Nope, it's not," Domino agreed. "And we look stupid for going along with it now."

"Well, if you didn't know, you only look a little stupid." Forge honestly thought that was a comforting thing to say until he heard it out loud. "Uh...that came out wrong."

Domino laughed dryly. "So honest.... No, you're right though."

"Uh, not that I'm anyone to judge," Forge backtracked. "I'm just with X-men because it's where I've always been. I never gave most of this much of a thought. Hearing what those kids said earlier, though, made me wonder how much I missed before. In 20 years, how does it get this bad?"

"I think it takes less than that," Domino mused. "Really, if people had free reign to do what they wanted. Why is it that they all want to bully other people? I mean it's like we can't shake this...mutants or humans. If someone could explain why to me, I'd be grateful."

"I can tell you why." Emma was leaning in the doorway, wearing makeshift pajamas made out of regular clothes.

It was weird to see her not look so put together.

"Oh...hi, Frost," Domino said pointedly.

"Please, there are hardly any private conversations anymore," Emma said. "And you want to know how this happened? I'll tell you. It was you, and it was me, and it was everyone who ever thought that using power to get their way was acceptable. You want to know why we're all bullies? Look at yourself. Whatever you're afraid of, whatever you secretly like making other people do...it's all part of this."

She frowned almost to herself. "I'm inclined to think Shine is right...we're all inherently flawed. Original sin and all that. I always thought that theory was a lot of nonsense, but the proof is in front of us now. Mutants went along with this because we're not any better than humans. I used to think it was weak to say that. We could be better than them, couldn't we? But all this has shown me we're not better. Instead we were handed all this power, and this is the world we made with it. Did Apocalypse really tempt people with something they didn't want? Or is it the fantasy of most mutants to have supremacy?"

"It's not my fantasy," Forge said.

"You never wished you could just stop a problem with your power?" Emma said.

"I guess maybe, but I wouldn't want to be in charge," Forge said.

"Well, you're lucky, then," Emma said. "Most of us would."

"I mean, bossing people around is a pain," Domino said. "I just didn't want to feel like a freak anymore. Was that so much to ask?"

"But what were you willing to do to get there?" Emma said. "Turning Rogue against her friends? Then kill them. I know about that. I was there, remember? What are you mad at her for? She ought to betray your little group. You took advantage of her."

"Hey, she led us to believe she was ditching the X-men. Who took advantage of who?" Domino said.

"Perhaps that's true," Emma allowed. "Both sides were at fault. And that just makes you wonder...who are we kidding? The 'heroes' lie, cheat, steal, and betray. The villains just do it a little more and with a little more leeway for violence. Shine likes to say our goodness is like filthy rags. It's in that book of hers.... It seems harsh until it seems just, doesn't it? None of us can possibly say we never did things that were wrong to get what we wanted. You want the answers for how the world got like this, Domino? There it is."

"And I heard you were the idealist," Domino said dryly. "You lied too. But it was to 'save everyone', right? Or was that just a rumor?"

"Yes, I thought it was," Emma said. "And I was wrong." She looked grim. "It wasn't worth it. I died, essentially for my mistake. Pray you don't die for yours, Domino. Perhaps now is not the time to be judging other mutants."

Domino stared at her.

Then she looked down at the table. "Yeah, you know? You're right. I'm not any better."

Forge shook his head. "With that logic, who is?"

"You've got it," Emma said. "I wonder if it's too late."

She leaned on the door frame.

"You look like h---," Domino said. "Why don't you go to bed or something? Aren't you falling apart?"

"Oh, don't you start," Emma said. "The rest of this team is bad enough. I don't need lip from the new hire. But yes...I should rest. Maybe I can hold it together for one more day, then."

She made a wry expression that was not cheerful at all. "Not that it's going to be any more pleasant than today was."

She walked away.

"She's fun," Domino said. "And the X-men didn't want to keep her on the team?"

"We were gonna," Forge said. "At least...bring her back. But she disappeared. It's weird to see her going around in one piece...almost one piece anyway. It's terrible what happened to her though."

"Could be all of us soon enough," Domino said. She shook her head.

After a weirdly long pause where neither of them had anything to say, she broke the silence. "By the way, thanks for before."

"For what?" Forge had no clue what she was talking about.

"Bailing me out," Domino said. "I know it's what you heroes do, but The Brotherhood would have left my butt in prison...if they knew I was pretty much going to be useless here. We did it to Toad once...almost, anyway. I supported that decision."

She suddenly clenched her fists. "Looking back, I can't believe I did that. I thought I was doomed for a while there.... It was the worst feeling.... I was willing to do that to someone else just because they were useless. Yeah, it would have been karma if you just left me there with the other weaklings."

"Wow." Forge couldn't believe they'd almost done that. "That is pretty heartless."

Domino looked up shamefacedly.

"Uh, not that it means I would have left anyone.... I mean, that's just wrong," Forge said. "Just harsh to Toad."

"Well, you haven't met Toad," Domino said, rolling her eyes. "But it was still a cruel thing to do. Quicksilver's idea, but we didn't stop him. I swear...if I ever get back there, I--well, I might not apologize, but I'll never vote for that again. But thanks. You didn't have to do that. I'm not an X-man. To be honest, one of us might not have done that for one of you. Maybe you guys are better than us."

"Well, I wouldn't say it was that noble," Forge said. "I was just trying to get anyone out I recognized, so...and, hey, you wanted to go get Rogue, and I wasn't even sure we could, so if anything, I just picked the easiest option. But with a little luck, I guess we pulled it off. Could use that most of the time. My luck is terrible on missions."

"You're just saying that."

"Oh, no, seriously, I always get knocked out of the fight first." Forge chuckled weakly to hide the pain. "It's actually pretty pathetic."

Domino laughed dryly. "More pathetic than having a power that literally just lets you jinx other people to be at all useful? If I could grow weapons out of my body, I wouldn't be complaining about having bad luck."

"Yeah, kind of just makes it worse," Forge said. "I mean, 9/10 that rescue would never have worked without your mutation helping us, so if that helps..."

"It's kind of cruel irony though.... I never know if anything I do is actually useful on its own," Domino said. "Maybe it's just luck. Try having an identity with that." She frowned. "But it is what it is. At least it's useful."

"I mean...luck or not, you still had to learn how to do all that," Forge said. "It's not like I just already knew how to make stuff either. I could look at it as cheating, but I prefer to think of it as enhancing. Though with being part of a hero team..."

"Or whatever The Brotherhood is," Domino agreed. "You know, I had to talk them into letting me join at all. But I can fly and do other stuff, so, too useful to discard.... At least that's more than luck."

"I think I'd like that good luck," Forge said. "Sounds great."

"At the cost of other people having bad luck," Domino said. "Catch 22. A simple mutation would be way easier to sleep with at night...but we can't change what we have." She leaned on her hand. "No use brooding about it.... Eh, you know that's why Quick is such a prick. Everyone else in The Brotherhood is a freak, even for mutants. Except maybe Avalanche.... He's a prick too."

"It's easy to feel like everyone else's mutation is cooler," Forge said. "Except Rogue's.... Not to be mean, but..."

"Oh, no...no one wants that," Domino said. "Don't tell her I said that."

"Don't tell her I said what I said," Forge winced.

"Well, on the record, anyone who can do a prison break like that with only the help of one teenager is okay by me," Domino said, shrugging. "The Brotherhood would totally have hired you."

"Really?" Forge perked up. "That's more flattering than I would have expected."

"Well, it wouldn't be trading up--we don't live in fancy Mansions and have our own gym," Domino said.

"A lot of good it does to have that when I just have to fix it all the time," Forge said. "I never even use it. But that is the nice thing about machines--they're predictable."

"Yeah, give me guns any day over relying on a person to be where they're supposed to be," Domino agreed. "People are dumb. But what can you do?" She leaned back and gestured flippantly. "Anyway I guess I better try to rest too. Sorry for the tirade earlier..."

"It's fine. We've all had a really long day." Forge didn't care anyway. As long as no one expected him to answer them, they could talk all they wanted.

"And thanks for the upgrade," Domino said, picking up her weapons. "And again, for the save. I'll pay you back if I get the chance."

She then shocked him by kissing him on the cheek, the sort of 'thank you' kind that girls do, not any kind of big deal.

[Domino and Forge image by Julianna Gardner]

But that literally never happened to Forge, so it still caught him way off guard.

Domino didn't think much of it and left the room.

Forge grinned foolishly to himself. It was nice to be appreciated for once...

Then he shook himself. This was no time to be getting all excited over that. He needed to finish what he was doing before tomorrow...

[How many ships can I fit into one story?

All of them.

Okay, seriously, it's cute though. And it even makes a weird sort of sense. Don't know why, it just does.]

[100 again, whoo whoo!...and we're getting close to the end, but I didn't quite meet my goal. Too many complex plot points, #sorrynotsorry.]