X-Calibre - Return to Weapon X

Epilogue
Muir Island

“I was genuinely worried about you,” Kristofer said, sitting next to Klaw on the edge of her bed, which was the only thing in her small quarters to sit on. Living in a converted cell still didn’t open much space, even with the wall knocked down between every two cells to combine the open area. “It probably sounds silly since you’re more than likely the last person here I should have to worry about being hurt. Especially with how you fight.”

For the first time since Klaw was snatched from her home to live in Sinister’s pens, she felt comfortable around anybody else other than Kross. “I hate bringing that side of me out. I was never that violent until Sinister tampered with me, but I had to learn to live with it so we can accomplish what we’ve set out to do.”

Kristofer reached out and took her hand into his. “Maybe we’ll succeed, and you can live in a world where you don’t have to kill anymore,” Blitzkrieg hesitated, “and I want you to live in that world with me, Phenix. Ever since Coventry I’ve been harboring feelings for you, and if we die tomorrow I couldn’t risk not telling you how I feel today.”

He leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Klaw’s lips. She could feel the light tingle of electricity running through his lips and into her, and it slightly excited her. Any hesitation left in Phenix disappeared as they lowered themselves onto the bed.

Then they were interrupted by the sounds of raised voices echoing down the hall.

“Guardian, can I talk to you?”

“Of course, Bobby, how can I help you?” Jon stopped his progress up the hallway, turning to his left to face his younger teammate, who was standing in the connecting hallway.

“How do you do it? How do you do that to people weaker than you and live with yourself?” Bobby walked closer and stared up into the face of Prescott, who towered over him, his green eyes blazing. “You and I both know you could have incapacitated those men as easily as you killed them, or even ignored them for all the damage they were inflicting, but you cut them down like…like…like Apocalypse! What, is your new mantra Survival of the fittest all of a sudden?”

“How DARE you?!” Guardian said, his eyes igniting in a short burst of fury. “I…”

“What? Gonna knock my head off of my body now? Melt me into butter with your energy?” Bobby asked. “Go ahead, be a glorified bully, teach me a lesson!} Having had to restrain his fury during the plane ride home, Bobby was astonished inside at how quickly his planned conversation had turned into a shouting match, and even more so to find himself subconsciously shifting into Freezer Burn, growing in height to match Prescott eye-to-eye, his own blue eyes blazing.

“I don’t want to fight you, Freezer Burn, but I’ll not be lectured by some inexperienced civilian who can’t even read!” Guardian said, stabbing Bobby in the back in retaliation for the Apocalypse comment. “If you weren’t so weak hearted we wouldn’t have to face the possibility that the magician and six-armed muscle head you fought won’t try to kill us again some day.”

{We don’t have to kill everyone we come into contact with, Guardian!} Freezer Burn’s breath crystallized as it left his mouth and melted a split-second later as it entered Guardian’s nuclear aura. {We’re supposed to be saving the world, remember? It’ll be awful fucking lonely if it’s just down to you and me alive arguing for eternity!}

“Don’t worry about it, Bobby, I don’t think you have the heart to make it that far,” Guardian said, turning and stalking off, brushing past Klaw and Blitz, who were standing in the doorway to her quarters, flabbergasted by the exchange.

{You’ll be lucky if one of your own teammates doesn’t turn on you, Jon,} Freezer Burn shot at Guardian’s back. {How can we trust you to care for and protect us when you so casually slaughter those weaker than you?}

“If you’re going to get up on a soap box, Bobby,” Guardian said, turning around and pointing at him, “then you might direct some of that fire to Klaw as well. Ask her how much blood she spilt today. Or Wraith. Or Knight. I think you’ll find you’re in the minority here.”

{Doesn’t mean I’m not right,” Bobby said as he returned to his human form. “It’s not the Age of Apocalypse any more, Jon. The future is now and its what we make of it. You can’t forge a new future committing the same sins of the past. We have to find a new way.”

“You’re naive,” Jon said.

“You’re hard headed,” Bobby shot back.

For a moment, neither of them spoke while Klaw and Blitz looked from one to the other. Finally, Bobby sighed and lowered his shoulders. “Breakfast?” he asked Jon.

Jon nodded. “See you at eight.”

Wraith sighed as he lay quietly on the uncomfortable infirmary bed next to his unconscious brother. He had spent the past two hours going into his brother’s mind undoing all of the mental tampering his father did to get Alan to turn on him. Right now, Alan just needed to rest his exhausted mind. “So is there any reason why I am still here, Cecilia?” he asked, finally breaking the silence.

Cecilia’s back was turned to him as she hunched over a computer monitor with DNA strands and enzyme patterns covering the screen. “Yes there is, now shut up and lay still,” she snapped, concerned that if he stepped outside of the dampening field Mastermold erected around the bed to protect her equipment, then everything in the infirmary would short out.

Chris rolled his eyes and spied the sophisticated scanner above him, mounted in the ceiling, with its red light on in the center of it. He guessed that Cecilia was scanning him, if only he knew why. Suddenly she turned around, and slid a tube of dark yellow fluid into the air needle and walked to the table. She held the needle out, somewhere in front of him she hoped, “Take this and press it against your neck.”

“What’s that supposed to do?” Wraith asked as he sat up, the vinyl upholstery squeaked as he moved.

“Just take the damn thing, and do as I said, okay? That’s why I’m the doctor and you’re the patient.” She hid her discomfort when she saw the needle float out of her hand for a split second before it disappeared, enveloped by Christopher’s invisible aura. She did grin slightly when she heard the puff of air that signaled the injection of the fluid into his body.

Wraith jerked his neck after the injection, and rubbed the sore spot. “That stung, and my neck feels like there’s hot water flowing through it.”

“Good,” she said with her hand outstretched; she felt the weight of the air needle in her palm and the light brushing of Chris’s fingers as he let the needle go, and it visibly reappeared in her hand. “That means the serum I gave you is working, interacting with your glands.”

Chris shook his head as he felt a moment of dizziness and then it passed. “Interact with my glands?”

Cecilia turned to the small metal table next to the bed and placed the needle down. “Your body has various different glands, more so than the normal human body has. It took Mastermold and I a while to figure out what those glands did, and then separate out their function and dependent systems.”

“So what does that have to do with anything?”

“If you just shut up and let me finish I’ll tell you, Mister Get-to-the-Point,” she snapped as her famous bedside manner showed through. “I had a chance to go through the Genetic data brought back from Weapon X, and found out the specifics of what the scientists did to you. From there, I was able to come up with a way to get rid of your little problem. Which should be gone right about,” she stalled to look at her watch, “now.”

In front of Cecilia, a male figure suddenly blinked into existence, and it startled Cecilia. “What the hell is that?” she asked, staring at Christopher’s choice of outfit, which was vastly different from the traditional Aikido clothing she saw him in earlier.

“What do you mean?” Wraith asked, quickly looking around for a threat not realizing that Cecilia could actually see him.

Cecilia pointed. “That thing you’re wearing. What the hell is that?”

“Oh! It’s a skinsuit that I modeled after Alan’s. I also did some digging through the…” and Wraith trailed off. “Wait a minute… What I’m wearing? You can see me!” he asked excitedly.

“Yeah fool. What do you think that serum was for? A flu shot? I was able to figure out that an enzyme one of your specialized glands was constantly producing was the problem. It was overloading your powers, causing you to absorb more energy than your system could handle. Your body was venting off enough energy to wrap light around, kinda like a radiator. You’ll have to relearn how to cloak, but from now on it should be a controlled reaction.”

“YES!” Wraith leapt off the table before Cecilia could shout a warning, and before she knew it the younger man had wrapped his arms around her. “You’re the greatest!”

Cecilia’s force field kept Wraith from physically touching her, and he reached up and pulled his arms apart. She half expected the computers, and other delicate equipment, to explode in a shower of sparks, but when it didn’t she was slightly surprised. “How come you’re not shorting out my lab?” she asked, almost disgusted at the texture of the skinsuit that Chris now wore that covered his missing mouth and nose, but she dealt with it since it never made direct contact with her skin.

“The suit, it keeps me from randomly absorbing energy around me.”

“Good, well get the hell outta my lab. I got work to do. When your brother wakes up, I’ll let you know.”

Wraith nodded, “Okay,” he replied and walked towards the door, then stopped and looked back to Cecilia and said, “Thank you” one more time before leaving.

The End…

· Chapter: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5


	· Muir Island \| Team Roster \| Team History \| The World RETURN TO WEAPON X When there's nowhere left to run, no place left to hide, and nobody left to turn to. Humanity's last best hope will lie in the very mutants they've sought to destroy... Epilogue Muir Island “I was genuinely worried about you,” Kristofer said, sitting next to Klaw on the edge of her bed, which was the only thing in her small quarters to sit on. Living in a converted cell still didn’t open much space, even with the wall knocked down between every two cells to combine the open area. “It probably sounds silly since you’re more than likely the last person here I should have to worry about being hurt. Especially with how you fight.” For the first time since Klaw was snatched from her home to live in Sinister’s pens, she felt comfortable around anybody else other than Kross. “I hate bringing that side of me out. I was never that violent until Sinister tampered with me, but I had to learn to live with it so we can accomplish what we’ve set out to do.” Kristofer reached out and took her hand into his. “Maybe we’ll succeed, and you can live in a world where you don’t have to kill anymore,” Blitzkrieg hesitated, “and I want you to live in that world with me, Phenix. Ever since Coventry I’ve been harboring feelings for you, and if we die tomorrow I couldn’t risk not telling you how I feel today.” He leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Klaw’s lips. She could feel the light tingle of electricity running through his lips and into her, and it slightly excited her. Any hesitation left in Phenix disappeared as they lowered themselves onto the bed. Then they were interrupted by the sounds of raised voices echoing down the hall. “Guardian, can I talk to you?” “Of course, Bobby, how can I help you?” Jon stopped his progress up the hallway, turning to his left to face his younger teammate, who was standing in the connecting hallway. “How do you do it? How do you do that to people weaker than you and live with yourself?” Bobby walked closer and stared up into the face of Prescott, who towered over him, his green eyes blazing. “You and I both know you could have incapacitated those men as easily as you killed them, or even ignored them for all the damage they were inflicting, but you cut them down like…like…like Apocalypse! What, is your new mantra Survival of the fittest all of a sudden?” “How DARE you?!” Guardian said, his eyes igniting in a short burst of fury. “I…” “What? Gonna knock my head off of my body now? Melt me into butter with your energy?” Bobby asked. “Go ahead, be a glorified bully, teach me a lesson!} Having had to restrain his fury during the plane ride home, Bobby was astonished inside at how quickly his planned conversation had turned into a shouting match, and even more so to find himself subconsciously shifting into Freezer Burn, growing in height to match Prescott eye-to-eye, his own blue eyes blazing. “I don’t want to fight you, Freezer Burn, but I’ll not be lectured by some inexperienced civilian who can’t even read!” Guardian said, stabbing Bobby in the back in retaliation for the Apocalypse comment. “If you weren’t so weak hearted we wouldn’t have to face the possibility that the magician and six-armed muscle head you fought won’t try to kill us again some day.” {We don’t have to kill everyone we come into contact with, Guardian!} Freezer Burn’s breath crystallized as it left his mouth and melted a split-second later as it entered Guardian’s nuclear aura. {We’re supposed to be saving the world, remember? It’ll be awful fucking lonely if it’s just down to you and me alive arguing for eternity!} “Don’t worry about it, Bobby, I don’t think you have the heart to make it that far,” Guardian said, turning and stalking off, brushing past Klaw and Blitz, who were standing in the doorway to her quarters, flabbergasted by the exchange. {You’ll be lucky if one of your own teammates doesn’t turn on you, Jon,} Freezer Burn shot at Guardian’s back. {How can we trust you to care for and protect us when you so casually slaughter those weaker than you?} “If you’re going to get up on a soap box, Bobby,” Guardian said, turning around and pointing at him, “then you might direct some of that fire to Klaw as well. Ask her how much blood she spilt today. Or Wraith. Or Knight. I think you’ll find you’re in the minority here.” {Doesn’t mean I’m not right,” Bobby said as he returned to his human form. “It’s not the Age of Apocalypse any more, Jon. The future is now and its what we make of it. You can’t forge a new future committing the same sins of the past. We have to find a new way.” “You’re naive,” Jon said. “You’re hard headed,” Bobby shot back. For a moment, neither of them spoke while Klaw and Blitz looked from one to the other. Finally, Bobby sighed and lowered his shoulders. “Breakfast?” he asked Jon. Jon nodded. “See you at eight.” Wraith sighed as he lay quietly on the uncomfortable infirmary bed next to his unconscious brother. He had spent the past two hours going into his brother’s mind undoing all of the mental tampering his father did to get Alan to turn on him. Right now, Alan just needed to rest his exhausted mind. “So is there any reason why I am still here, Cecilia?” he asked, finally breaking the silence. Cecilia’s back was turned to him as she hunched over a computer monitor with DNA strands and enzyme patterns covering the screen. “Yes there is, now shut up and lay still,” she snapped, concerned that if he stepped outside of the dampening field Mastermold erected around the bed to protect her equipment, then everything in the infirmary would short out. Chris rolled his eyes and spied the sophisticated scanner above him, mounted in the ceiling, with its red light on in the center of it. He guessed that Cecilia was scanning him, if only he knew why. Suddenly she turned around, and slid a tube of dark yellow fluid into the air needle and walked to the table. She held the needle out, somewhere in front of him she hoped, “Take this and press it against your neck.” “What’s that supposed to do?” Wraith asked as he sat up, the vinyl upholstery squeaked as he moved. “Just take the damn thing, and do as I said, okay? That’s why I’m the doctor and you’re the patient.” She hid her discomfort when she saw the needle float out of her hand for a split second before it disappeared, enveloped by Christopher’s invisible aura. She did grin slightly when she heard the puff of air that signaled the injection of the fluid into his body. Wraith jerked his neck after the injection, and rubbed the sore spot. “That stung, and my neck feels like there’s hot water flowing through it.” “Good,” she said with her hand outstretched; she felt the weight of the air needle in her palm and the light brushing of Chris’s fingers as he let the needle go, and it visibly reappeared in her hand. “That means the serum I gave you is working, interacting with your glands.” Chris shook his head as he felt a moment of dizziness and then it passed. “Interact with my glands?” Cecilia turned to the small metal table next to the bed and placed the needle down. “Your body has various different glands, more so than the normal human body has. It took Mastermold and I a while to figure out what those glands did, and then separate out their function and dependent systems.” “So what does that have to do with anything?” “If you just shut up and let me finish I’ll tell you, Mister Get-to-the-Point,” she snapped as her famous bedside manner showed through. “I had a chance to go through the Genetic data brought back from Weapon X, and found out the specifics of what the scientists did to you. From there, I was able to come up with a way to get rid of your little problem. Which should be gone right about,” she stalled to look at her watch, “now.” In front of Cecilia, a male figure suddenly blinked into existence, and it startled Cecilia. “What the hell is that?” she asked, staring at Christopher’s choice of outfit, which was vastly different from the traditional Aikido clothing she saw him in earlier. “What do you mean?” Wraith asked, quickly looking around for a threat not realizing that Cecilia could actually see him. Cecilia pointed. “That thing you’re wearing. What the hell is that?” “Oh! It’s a skinsuit that I modeled after Alan’s. I also did some digging through the…” and Wraith trailed off. “Wait a minute… What I’m wearing? You can see me!” he asked excitedly. “Yeah fool. What do you think that serum was for? A flu shot? I was able to figure out that an enzyme one of your specialized glands was constantly producing was the problem. It was overloading your powers, causing you to absorb more energy than your system could handle. Your body was venting off enough energy to wrap light around, kinda like a radiator. You’ll have to relearn how to cloak, but from now on it should be a controlled reaction.” “YES!” Wraith leapt off the table before Cecilia could shout a warning, and before she knew it the younger man had wrapped his arms around her. “You’re the greatest!” Cecilia’s force field kept Wraith from physically touching her, and he reached up and pulled his arms apart. She half expected the computers, and other delicate equipment, to explode in a shower of sparks, but when it didn’t she was slightly surprised. “How come you’re not shorting out my lab?” she asked, almost disgusted at the texture of the skinsuit that Chris now wore that covered his missing mouth and nose, but she dealt with it since it never made direct contact with her skin. “The suit, it keeps me from randomly absorbing energy around me.” “Good, well get the hell outta my lab. I got work to do. When your brother wakes up, I’ll let you know.” Wraith nodded, “Okay,” he replied and walked towards the door, then stopped and looked back to Cecilia and said, “Thank you” one more time before leaving. The End… · Chapter: 1 \| 2 \| 3 \| 4 \| 5
BLAH