[OP: "Look Down"-- Les Miserables]

The X-men disembarked from their bus, and Kevin had to sit down and rest. He had a pounding headache now.

They were in a ditch about 75 feet from the walls. It seemed to act like a protective moat.

"Gee, do you think there are crocodiles in the moat?" Wally asked.

In fact, Logan said he could smell some kind of animal down there. Crocodiles or other reptiles.

"How much more uncreative could he get?" Morph complained.

"You know, I'd bet you that's Sinister's idea," Shine said. "Demon plants, dinosaurs--a moat of crocodiles would suit him. After all, Nathaniel Essex was born in the later 1800s. That's just when classic horror stories were becoming the new thing."

Morph shook his head. "I really would have thought the idea of running into Sinister would bug me more, but would you believe if I said it'd almost be a relief now, instead of just dancing around it?"

"No, Morph, I know exactly what you mean." Shine put a hand on his shoulder. "But soon enough, no doubt. Then we can all wish we were on the road again."

"How do we sneak in, do you think?" Wally asked.

"We could perhaps have just driven it here," Storm said. "But not if there's a pass code.... And Rogue is no longer telepathic. We can't just fly up either."

"Honestly, we could walk right in, if we just want to see Apocalypse," Shine said. "I'm certain he'd want to gloat at us in person, but I don't want to get captured by him just yet. More info about this place first."

"Why?" Logan said. "Ya think ya can defeat 'im, and I'd like another crack at 'im myself."

"Ball is in his court, then," Shine said. "And, Logan, it's just that kind of simplistic thinking that lets him always get away. No offense, but, to catch a rat like Apocalypse, you have to cut off his escape routes. We can't do that till we know more. This information has been carefully hidden from us in all our searching, and there has to be a reason. I've thought there's some point in this Merging he's vulnerable in still, or he'd have brought us here ages ago or come to us himself. Or sent more people. Why is he taunting us slowly?"

"To humiliate us?" Rogue said bitterly.

"Granted," Shine said. "But, Emma, here, you're a strategist. Don't you agree? This tactic makes no sense unless--"

"Unless there is something he's still worried about," Emma agreed, leaning on the edge of the wall, looking tired. "No, I agree. It's a formality at this point perhaps, but for a while they must have thought you could stop them. The question is if they still think that. They're letting us march in--they know we're coming, and I don't see any sign of a regiment coming out to catch us."

"Couldn't we just be in the wrong place?" Jubilee said.

"Somehow, I doubt it," Shine said. "Apocalypse lets people find the places...once he's made it useless for them to do so, doesn't he? I think he figured it's too late for us to really stop this...and he may be right.... We can't stop things from having started already. But the truth is, he may just not know it's reversible. Us stopping it probably would have foiled his plans, but sadly, still messed up our timelines. For that, he may think it's beyond our reach. We all know he's luring us in. But that begets another question...why make us come willingly? We know those Tears can't snatch us DJs...and some of you also. We all know which ones.... But Raven went..."

"Well, the thing about that," Emma said, "I saw the portal the hunters used. It wasn't a Tear. It was more like a mutant's teleportation...or, possibly, a device, as you mentioned Sinister had those. I'm sure, in that, she could have been brought along. Funny, we have not see one of those Tears since we arrived."

"Maybe they're too unstable to use when the Merging is so close to them," Wally said.

"Unstable, or just unnecessary," Shine said. "Why bother? Why not just put all their energy towards the problem Emma sensed before. If we're doing the job for them by coming."

"But why is this important?" Kitty was tired and short tempered right now.

"You have to get inside your opponent's head a little," Shine said. "No one ever knows what Apocalypse is really planning. All of you fall for his twists every time. Raven and Magneto successfully surprised him one time. We have to learn from that. And now that we're here...now is the time not to make mistakes if we can help it. I've thought about it a lot, in between running for our lives...but I've never met him. Once I've met someone, it's easy to read them, for me...but I have only guesses right now. But...all evidence considered, I believe he may simply not be able to capture us DJs straight up, at least not till we put ourselves in a vulnerable enough position for him. Or he did not want to risk trying. One might wonder, then, has he discerned that our portals don't mix with the Tears? It's dangerous for us, but it's also dangerous for them to get us close to it, even using mutant portals, if they're working for him and part of this Merging. These rules can be kind of transitive."

"Kind of what?" Ryan asked.

"It means that what applies to one can apply to the other," Morph supplied. "What? I can do math."

"Associative also," Shine said. "Whatever you call it. The point is, all portals are similar in some ways, so when you mess with one of them, you can mess with the rest. I think us walking ourselves here was just his best bet. But now he'll want to capture us, for sure...but I'm not sure he'd want to kill us, not yet. I don't know how long we could stall, however."

Emma rubbed her head. "So does this give us a plan?"

"We were told to look for Caliban," Shine said. "If we want to get intel on the city, I have a feeling that may be the best option. So, we sneak inside, we find a way to get underground.... That's the only plan I have. For that..." She glanced at Kitty and Kurt.

"Ah, I see," Kurt said.

"Hey, I'm fast enough," Quicksilver said.

"Yes, but you can't run through an actual wall," Shine said. "They probably won't have mutation-blocking technology in the wall itself--they'd cripple their own forces--so, if you can get close un-spotted, Kitty, I see no reason you can't sneak in...but, for obvious reasons, that's quite a dangerous assignment...so I'm not going to make you do it. We can try something else if you just can't take that kind of risk."

They all looked at Kitty uncertainly.

Kitty swallowed.

"Sounds like long shot," she said.

"Everythin' is a long shot now," Logan said.

"So I go up to that wall...try to phase through it...and hope no one spots me," Kitty said. "Then I just have to figure out how to make an opening for you guys."

"I vill go vith you," Kurt said, "so you are not alone."

"Why do I feel like any other plan you have is one that's going to sound even worse?" Kitty said.

Shine shrugged uncertainly.

"All right, fine, I'll do it." Kitty swallowed her fear. "I guess...we all just have to be taking these chances now, right? And I thought graduating college early was going to be my biggest life challenge.... Those were the days, right?"

Morph laughed vaguely.

"We'll have to sink into the ground, kind of," Kitty said, "but keep our heads up, I guess. I've never tried to hold that for that long, but it's just like a sprint underwater...right? So let's go."

She grabbed Kurt by the arm.

He poofed them around the moat, and Kitty sank into the dirt, taking him with her, and then started swimming, sort of, towards the wall.

"Brave girl," Colossus said.

"And now we wait," Shine said. "Could take several minutes...several nerve-wracking minutes."

She hugged her sides. "You know, I hate this--calling the shots and asking kids to risk their lives.... If it doesn't work, I'm going to feel like it's my fault...but worst of all, they could get hurt."

"It's goin' to happen anyway," Logan said. "Anyway, no one's makin' us listen to ya. Ya have the ideas, and apparently both of ya have done this before. That's better than the fat lot of nothin' the rest of us have. Usually we just stop this stuff from gettin' this far."

"True, I have never seen anything like this," Storm agreed. "If you have, then perhaps you know best. Have a little faith, Shine."

"I seem to be hearing that a lot today," Shine said.

Wally hugged her silently.

Emma shook her head at them and looked the other way.

Rogue was flying back and forth along the ditch, ostensibly to look out for anyone coming, but really she was just a ball of nerves.

Losing Mystique had only reminded her all the more of Gambit...

She'd been trying to push it aside all day, but she was almost going mad with worry...and guilt too. Why hadn't she made things more clear when she had the chance? Apologized? Made him listen to her explain herself.

Or she should have been less of a chicken to begin with.... What if it was too late now?

But he had to be all right.... They'd have kept him around, just to taunt the X-men...right?

She glanced up at the foreboding looking city. "I'm comin', Remy," she muttered. "So ya just sit tight. It'll be all right."

Because that sounded like what he'd have said...

Gambit wouldn't have given up on getting one of them out, she was sure of it.

* * *

Minutes ticked by.

"Before we go in, Emma," Shine said suddenly, "let's try to reinforce you again.... It may be the last time we can do this.... I don't know if we'll get separated."

"You should save your energy," Emma said. "We both know, it won't last anyway."

"And we have no idea how long it needed to last, Emma, perhaps only an hour," Shine said. "Come on...even if you just could use your telepathy the slightest bit, it's better than nothing, going in there blind. Or at least being less tired. I'll recover, no worries."

"You should let her," Scott said.

"I can help," Wally said. "It won't be as bad then.... Yeah, Emma, come on, give us peace of mind at least."

"If you're all going to gang up on me, I won't waste my time," Emma gave in rather ungraciously. "On the record, I think you'd be better off focusing on something that would do you any good in the long run."

"When did you become such a pessimist?" Shine asked her bluntly. She put a hand on her head.

Wally did also.

"Dear Lord..." Shine said, after a few more quieter phrases no one else heard, "You know what we are going into, better than we do. I ask You to protect Emma with Your grace, as well as each and every one of us. Whatever is in store for us, You knew already...and we know that Time, while not clear to us, is never a mystery to You, and You hold it in Your hands. And the balance is Your decision to sway whatever way You want.... I pray that these foolish men who try to take it out of Your hand will have their plans fall back on them, and the very thing they use to destroy us will roll back on them and destroy their own works instead. I pray for Your Glory to show through us or whatever other means You choose to bring Your victory to this time. And I pray that the mission to be part of that will rest on each of us, with the amount of help we need, just when we need it."

"And I'm praying that all those kids are going to be okay," Wally said. "Because no one is going to be taking them away. And that we're going to find all of the people we lost and help them...or that, if we don't, someone else will."

"Amen," Shine said.

"Amen," Wally said.

"Amen," Storm echoed quietly.

"Yeah," Logan said. "Sure..."

"Why do we say amen?" Kevin asked.

"Amen means 'so be it,'" Shine said. "It's just like saying 'I agree,' but we use it more specifically to agree with things that are true and good. You wouldn't say amen about saying that people are corrupt or that murder is bad...not usually anyway. It's rather an abuse of its purpose."

"That makes sense," Kevin said.

"And here I thought it was just the way you ended prayers," Ryan said. "I never knew it meant anything."

"Everything means something, Ryan. We don't just have customs for no reason." Shine sat back. "Well, that is all we can do now, any of us."

Emma clasped her hands together. "Miss Likstar...a word, if I may?"

"Uh...okay?" Shine said.

They moved a little away from the others.

"Emma, if this is about staying, I already know," Shine said.

Emma's mouth dropped open, then she said, "Scott told you."

"He did. He wanted to know if it was possible."

"Is it?"

"Possibly...probably," Shine said. "But is it wise? Are you quite sure that's what you want, Hon?"

Emma bit her lip. "I thought I was sure, but I'm not sure now.... I'm not sure what's happening anymore. Do you know, it would have been easier to just die?"

"As a song writer in my time has put it, 'dying is easy, living is harder,'" Shine said. "We all could die, no doubt...but for you, it's almost more of a challenge if that doesn't happen. You could accept your place as a sacrifice for the others, but as something more? That wasn't the plan, was it?"

"As usual, you seem to have read my mind," Emma said. "What do I do? Do I walk into this trying as hard as all of you? Or do I bow to what I think is inevitable anyway? I don't want you all protecting me."

Shine gazed at her for a moment. "Emma, who has a mutation on this team?"

"Everyone," Emma said. "Except Trinity...and you, I suppose. And West...though he might a well have it."

"Without the Sword, I have no power, not really," Shine said. "The Sword is a gift, Emma. I can wield it, but it's not what I am. It's just inside me, but it can be removed...or it can just not be active, for whatever reasons. I believe it is always there when I need it, but I too have had a time where I couldn't access it and felt pretty much just like the human being I was...frail and helpless. It was those times when other people had to help me...or I just had to let God help me. That didn't always look like winning a fight.... It could just look like standing strong, whether or not I could win."

Emma blinked at her.

"Think about what you have, Emma," Shine said. "Not your powers, perhaps, but you have people who love you." She glanced around. "You have much better insight than you used to into what is right and wrong...and you have more honesty than you ever did about where you fit into all this. If you had to lose your power to get that, wasn't it worth it? You lose one thing to gain another in this life, and no mistake. Glory to Glory. You want to know what you should do? Emma, I can't tell you if you'll have to give yourself up again. Or if I will. Any of us may make that choice. But I will tell you, none of us will make it lightly. I want to be part of the correct future, whenever it's restored. It's okay to eat the fruit of your labors--the Bible says that. Martyrdom is an honor, but so is living. All of us were put here for just such a time as this, and it's not about worthiness, Emma. It's just purpose. And you have only just begun to find yours. If I were you, I'd not give that up unless it was absolutely demanded of me. You don't know what God can do with all this. Don't play His part for Him. How do you know your fate is better off if you die now? A week from now and you may find that idea shockingly narrow. A year and you may laugh that you ever could have had it. We just don't know. I've been in dark places too...but I came out of them, and I had the most enriching experiences of my life, and I count this as one of them."

She put a hand on Emma's shoulder. "You'll see it eventually, I promise. Just let yourself, just for once, let yourself see things a little outside the realm of your experiences. And it will become clearer than you could imagine now. Do you understand my answer?"

Emma bit her lip. "You want me to fight."

"I want you to believe, Emma. And then act accordingly," Shine said. "Can you do that? You might as well stay here if you can't. All of us are trying to believe. Will you join us, or will you have no faith? Faith in God is best, but faith in goodness at all at this point would be enough to satisfy me. You have little faith in any of that. That is why you're close to giving up. It's not that you're tired, it's that you've run out of faith in yourself, and without that you don't know what to believe in."

Emma saw suddenly that she was correct.

She shivered. All the last few weeks came into perspective.

No faith in herself whatsoever anymore, that was true. She'd failed pretty consistently throughout this whole adventure.

Perhaps this is what Mystique had meant.... She of all people should know.

"No, you're right," she said, rather meekly for her. "That is true."

"Well, then, believe in something else," Shine said. "You know faith is a choice, Emma. At first, that's all it is. It's not a feeling. Feelings come and go. I couldn't feel it right now myself. But I choose it.... I've had a lot of practice. I'd not recommend this situation to be the first time you tried, but, if it is, it is. It's certainly not the time to not have faith. Feelings come eventually, but we have to act first. 'Faith without works is dead,' that's what James says. We can't say we believe in goodness and never risk anything to make it happen--or we're liars.... So...I think I've answered your question."

Emma nodded, then she surprised Shine by quickly hugging her slightly.

"Don't read into this," she said in a stiff tone, "but...thank you. I may not get the chance to say it later...but thank you for all of it. Also, I'm sorry. I never made it easy for you."

https://youtu.be/3Ez7vi-kQdM

Kitchen Sink--21 Pilates]

Shine almost started crying but swallowed it. She had a feeling Emma would hate a scene right now.

"Ah, it wasn't so bad," she played it off. "Raven was way more trouble..."

But actually that wasn't the best person to think of if she didn't want to cry, and she choked up anyway. "I hope she's all right..."

"Oh, please, if there's one thing she knows how to do, it's survive," Emma said. "I sure she'll be waiting for us, probably in trouble, but otherwise intact."

"Yeah, yeah...thanks." Shine wiped her eyes furiously. "Ah, I've got to stop doing this in the middle of battle.... What will the kids think?"

"That you haven't yet is more impressive," Emma said. "They've all done their share of losing it--who are they to judge?"

"And there's the Emma Frost I know." Shine laughed in the middle of crying. "Salty as ever. Good, back to normal."

"Oh, do shove it." Emma crossed her arms. "It's not like I have only one emotion."

"Could have fooled the rest of us." Shine's sass was back for a second. "But there, that's mean. Sorry, I needed to lighten the mood."

"If it cheers you up. I think that's Kurt now, on top of that wall." Emma looked up. "They got in."

* * *

Before that moment, one other significant conversation took place.

Morph, Scott, and Wally, left in their own circle, exchanged looks.

"So, Mystique mentioned you and Emma." Morph picked an awkward thing to break the silence. "Good for you, man."

"How did Mystique know?" Scott forgot to deny it.

"Just on accident," Morph said. "I mean, she figured it out. You know how she is."

"Oh, that," Scott said, more calm.

Morph decided not to tell him Mystique had seen them. Maybe better to just let that one slide.

"I guess you caught on," Scott said after a moment.

"Dude, not to burn you, but I think everyone did." Wally gestured around flippantly. "You guys aren't exactly subtle."

"Is that what all of you think?" Scott was surprised.

Morph snorted a laugh. "Uh...yeah..."

Scott looked shocked. "But you never said anything."

"Was it really our business?" Wally said. "I mean, not that I wouldn't rib you about it normally, but since you had Jean and all, I didn't want to overstep on the teasing."

"Yeah, same," Morph said. 

"Yeah, you and Mystique, huh?" Scott said. "That's...something I never thought I'd see."

"Surprisingly, it's not a bad match up," Morph said. "She gets me."

"You mean she actually thinks you're funny?" Scott had never thought Morph was funny--because Scott didn't think most things were funny.

"Well...not always, but she doesn't judge me for being unfunny," Morph said.

"That's a keeper," Wally said. "Shine's the same way with my jokes... She says they grow on you though. Think she's just being nice?"

"Probably, yes," Morph said.

Wally chuckled. "Ouch, man..."

"Eh, no one appreciates us jokesters anyway," Morph said.

Scott was silent.

"You don't seem very happy about it," Morph said.

"I don't know what I think," Scott said. "And this is the worst time imaginable to try to figure it out...but the thing is, if I don't, I may never. She's thinking of not going back."

"Get out," Wally said. "Why? She's afraid...? Oh, wait, that makes sense..."

"Yeah, I could kind of see where she's coming from," Morph said. "It would be awkward for her."

"And would you say it's right, then?" Scott said.

"Well, I made that choice, but I didn't have any ties, really," Morph said. "I had friends here, and you guys at home, you didn't really need me. So...for me it was right. But I wouldn't make that choice if I had attachments, big ones. But to get away from the guilt, maybe I would."

Scott frowned. "I didn't think I...you know...felt any different about her, not till the past few days, but I started to wonder... At first it was just wondering, if not for the link with Jean, what would I feel about everything? But then...and after she said she was not going back, I started to realize it. But I'm not sure... I could just feel guilty."

"Well, that's valid," Wally said. "You did kind of make a lot of mistakes there..."

Scott frowned at him. "Is that supposed to help?"

"But I don't think that's what it is," Wally finished. "I think you'd be okay with her staying here if it was just guilt, because then she could get away from it. So I think it's personal if you don't want that."

"I feel that," Morph said. "But...what about Jean? You just don't feel it anymore?"

"I don't know," Scott said.

Wally and Morph both shot him skeptical looks.

"You know that's not fair, right?" Wally said. "You can't play girls like that--well, you can...but you shouldn't. Sure, it's a nice fantasy for us guys, having multiple girls after us, but one day you wake up to how painful it is to be treated that way. My best friend went through that firsthand. It kind of changed him. Not that he wasn't already uptight...but it was even worse after that. You don't want to do that to someone. You want to be honest with them."

"I can't relate about that," Morph said. "But I do know it sucks when you don't know how someone really feels about you. Better to just let them know upfront. Did Emma ever tell you if she likes you?"

"No," Scott said. "And I think I may have been the one to confuse this further... I might have done something I'm not sure I should have."

"Oh, please tell me you didn't," Wally said.

"Dude!" Morph said.

"Not...not that far, just...you know..." Scott said.

"Which base?" Morph asked.

"Morph!" Wally said.

"I'm trying to ask in a PG way," Morph said.

"I...don't really remember how that works anyway," Scott said. "It was...just a kiss...maybe more than one..."

"Oh, you did not," Wally said.

"I feel bad enough," Scott said. "I know what you're going to say--no self control."

"That and dang," Morph said. "'Cause, to be real, Emma is kind of a hard person to get close to, so that's kind of impressive; but mostly, yeah, I mean...without owning up to it anyway. Jerk move, buddy."

"I wouldn't be too harsh." Wally rubbed his head. "I mean, we all know how tempting it can be sometimes... It's hard to be a guy and know what to do here... Girls, they want stuff, and we don't know what they want always... I mean, if she didn't slap you or something, maybe it wasn't too far, but the thing is, you still have a girlfriend... At least, your girlfriend still thinks you do."

"Yeah...that," Scott said. "That's what I feel bad about."

"That's a tough one," Morph said. "But I mean there's only one thing to do, Scott. You know that, right? You're just going to have to be honest about it...with both of them. You have crap timing though. The world could end soon. I saw that train coming and got off the tracks and on board the whole relationship train because I didn't want to get hit by it, if you know what I mean... Kind of lost this metaphor, but..."

"I get it," Wally said. "We only have so much time anyway. We shouldn't waste time being confused. That's Shine and my attitude about stuff. Being a hero is a tough gig. You can't waste your time only half trying at things. So what are you gonna do, Scottie?"

"There's only one thing to do, and you guys are kind of just saying what I've been thinking," Scott said. "I have to decide...decide what to do, anyway. I'm just worried that before I can do anything about this, it'll all be over. Emma isn't doing well, and she's...kind of given up on herself, I think. I was sort of hoping to buy time with this, but...I mean, not that I thought that at the time, but if it worked out that way later, I thought. But it's not going to work."

"Uh...no, not knowing Emma," Wally said. "She might be too tired right now to hash it out, but yeah, she won't put up with it."

"And she's super scary," Morph said.

"Can I ask a weird question?" Scott said. "Who would you guys pick? I mean...objectively, not just if you were me."

"Objectively?" Wally said.  "Like if I was single, and we had a chance, and I had to pick?"

"Yeah," Scott said.

"Emma," Wally said.

"Definitely Emma," Morph said.

"Why?" Scott asked.

"Because, even though Jean's pretty and she can be nice...well, at least the one I know," Wally said, "I've never had a single conversation with her that felt at all natural, and I'm not sure she has a sense of humor...and the one you know kind of sounds a little scary. To be honest, before I was married and stuff, I might have said Jean because she seems easier to get along with, but being married kind of taught me that it's better if you have your conflict up front, and then the rest of the time, you just focus on what's good. And looks don't make up for everything. You don't want a picture, you know, you want a human being...so I'd pick whoever made me feel more human, I guess. Less like a running gag--get it? Running gag."

"That was pretty good. I may have to use that," Morph said.

Scott gave Wally a sideways look. "That was surprisingly thought out."

"Was it?" Wally said. "Shine's habit of that is catching, I admit. It's cute, right? She makes stupid puns now."

"That is cute," Morph agreed.

Scott thought it was weird, not cute.

"Well, my reasons would be different," Morph said. "I guess I'm a little biased now that I've had the experience, but I'd pick Emma more because I think she'd kind of understand that people aren't perfect. Always being the funny guy, or the good guy, it can be lot of pressure. Again, before I was in a relationship, I'd probably have said like Wally, that you want the easiest person...but sometimes it's easy to get along with people because they never actually show you what's really going on in their head. That's been my whole life. At least since my mom died." He sobered but then went on. "I tend to get dismissed as that by people, and I don't really blame them. I do kind of make it easy to think I'm just the funny guy. At first, Raven annoyed me by just not letting me do that. She kinda forced me to talk about stuff I didn't like, because she would never talk about anything but that... Over time, though, I realized I liked it. I didn't have to pretend. I didn't have to be okay with anything if I didn't want to be. She didn't expect that. I think it's having the past that does it. Turns out, a person with a past is less quick to judge. Now I think that might be the golden find, really."

"True," Wally agreed.

"Boy, wasn't that deep," Morph said. "I swear, a year ago I would have just wondered which of them was prettier and more fun... It changes a guy to actually get in a serious relationship."

"It really does," Wally said. "We sound so cool and mature now, don't we?"

"Yeah!" Morph high-fived him.

Scott frowned. "You guys don't act that mature."

"Look who's jealous he's not part of the bro-five club," Wally said.

Scott sighed. "That aside...you guys do have some good points. I've never thought about any of this before. But it could be that there's more to making all this work than I thought. I picked a terrible time to start figuring that out."

"Better late than never," Wally said.

"At least it wasn't 50 years for you," Morph said. "Give or take a few timelines..."

Scott really hoped that was a joke.

[Fun fact: My sister and I made up Morph's age...as it's not really known. Seriously, check his wiki. He's a shapeshifter, so he probably doesn't age. But we kind of jokingly based it on the approximate length of time his character has been around in its multiple forms. 😜

The first concept of him was called the Changeling, and he debuted in 1967. If you do the math to today, where Morph's last comic appearance was I believe the New Exiles, in 2009, it's 42 years. If you give and take a few years for the different timelines Morph traveled though, you could probably make it out to roughly 50. So there you go. The fact no one asked for, but that still shows how much we overthink things here at worldwalkerdj.]