#81

"Dissolution and Rebirth Epilogue"

May, Year 4

By Will Short

"My God.....Gambit..." Jean Grey says almost in a whisper, her telepathic scan of the entire area not revealing any trace of her possibly former teammate.

"I dinna mean for 'im to get into it...I figered I had it handled! I shoulda seen 'im 'n stopped..." Blockade says apologetically, and Archangel grabs the large Irishman by his collar, pulling Blockade in his direction to face him.

"Yes, you should have. And since you didn't know what you should have, one of our friends is dead!" the winged playboy yells into Barry's face with rage, holding back his arm and forming a fist.

"Warren, stop it this instant!" Cyclops orders, grabbing his old friend's arm to keep him from hitting their new partner.

Barry's easily variable temper flushes out most of the grief in him as he pushes away from the relatively weak Archangel, his face more red than usual. "Ye dinna have to stop 'im, Cyclops...I can take th' wimp with or without me powers."

"I bet you'd just love a chance to kill off another of us, wouldn't you, you over grown Leprechaun..." Warren retorts, trying to free himself from Cyclops's hold. Scott does not yield.

"Why, I outta..." Blockade begins, ready to pummel the not so angelic Archangel.

"Barry...Warren...please!" Cyclops exclaims, aiming Archangel away from his antagonist. Moira walks over to Barry and slaps him on the back of the head lightly, but with enough force to catch his attention.

"Th' boy's right about ye bein' an overgrown Leprechaun...yer sure actin' like a fool o' some sort!"

"But Moira..." Barry tries to make an excuse, but he can tell she does not want to be interrupted. For his size and disposition, Barry is very submissive to Moira, usually.

"These folks just lost a good friend o' theirs...a teammate, fer cryin' out loud! Ye'd act the same way, if ye lost me."

".....I'd probably act worse, even. I'm sorry, X-Men, fer what I said and fer what I did to yer friend Gambit...if I could go back, I'd take th' boy's place at any time. He was a brave one..."

Cyclops has let Warren go and puts his hand on Barry's shoulder.

"He was brave, but he was also wasn't thinking, not for himself or the team.....damn it, Gambit..." Scott almost fades out of his own sentence, but catches himself. "Excuse me, Barry, I'm still...still not used to him being gone. We accept your apology, and I'd like to apologize for Warren, too. None of us have a right to treat you that way...it wasn't your fault, or anyone else's, besides Remy."

Barry is surprised by this display. So far, Cyclops has seemed like...well, a cold, selfish leader. But Barry gets the feeling that that's only some sort of front he puts on in battle...or maybe another person all together that Cyclops becomes. Either way, Barry feels some of a burden lifted from his broad shoulders by Scott's words.

"Thank ye, Cyclops..."

"Please, call me Scott. Any one who helped the X-Men with a threat like that deserves at least that much." Cyclops and Blockade shake hands, both grips firm and friendly.

Despite this warm scene, around it is a much more melancholy one. Phoenix comforts Shadowcat, the two women standing in a silent embrace of bonding and friendship, and of sorrow. Iceman, recently woken from his unconsciousness is being told what happened by Archangel, apparently the only way the blue-skinned mutant can blow off some steam. Innocently, Rhane is at Moira's heal, her half-lupine head bowed as she waits for what is to happen next. The three Irish natives are standing with Cyclops, simply waiting...for what, they don't know. Perhaps what happens next is the answer.

In the short distance, Cyclops can hear a familiar voice asking a question, a voice with a light, gentle German accent.

"Warren? What's happened here?"

Turning, he sees a sight he knew he would be seeing since days ago...Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Rogue, returned from Mojoworld. And apparently, they're brought friends. Scott recognizes Longshot and Dazzler, but not the attractive young blonde with them.....

".....no....mah...m-mah Remy?" Another familiar voice, Rogue's southern drawl.

Scott should be expecting this, but he has been distracted.

Rogue screams. Her lithe figure runs to the charred area in the grassy field, pushing her way through Iceman and Archangel. She does not do this gracefully...along the way, she stumbles, and finally falls to her knees at the very site where who could have been called her lover, Gambit, met his apparent end earlier that day.

"Come on, Rogue.....let it out...just let it go." Phoenix says quietly to her friend. Jean, Allison, and Kitty have moved to Rogue now, Kitty standing over her and putting her hands on the sobbing woman's shoulders, and Jean and Allison kneeling with Rogue, hugging her and allowing her to cry into Jean's shoulder. The women, or most of them at least, have flocked together in a pile of mourning and understanding.

"Scott!" Colossus's powerful voice calls out Cyclops's name. Nightcrawler and the towering Russian walk over to Cyclops and the three Irishmen. They back off, knowing the state of the team's relationships.

Cyclops does not respond, yet. He's thinking of what to say. Just the right thing...the right thing to show them how wrong they were. The right thing to make them understand that his orders are the only way they should think. Just the right thing to get a response...

"Dear God.....Scott. I can't believe this really happened..." Nightcrawler says, looking from Cyclops to Rogue and her comforters.

"It wouldn't have had to, if you three hadn't got up and left."

Nigthcrawler quickly turns his head back, his yellow eyes beginning to squint. The three men do not say anything at first. The tension has been released...there is no anticipation. It has already happened.

"...what....did you say, Scott?" Kurt Wagner, the Nightcrawler, asks in a low, cold voice.

"In general, I said that you three are the reason this happened. If you hadn't disobeyed both my and the Professor's orders to run off to some far away dimension, leaving the team underhanded, we probably could have avoided this. This is your fault..."

Scott halts for a second, and Kurt still doesn't say anything.

"...You hear me, Kurt? It's your fault...all of you."
Nightcrawler stands almost completely still, until his blue form begins to tremble. Not from cold. Not from fear. It is from anger...pure outrage.

"You dare?" Kurt says, at first low, but raises his voice gradually. "You dare blame this on us?"

Scott looks at Kurt and does not answer yet. Without any change in his expression, Scott looks smug to Kurt, and it makes him all the more angry.

"We leave New York for a day and a half to help two old friends of the teams, two former members, and when you mess up, we get the blame for it? We did the right thing, Scott. We feel bad about Gambit, Scott...we feel very bad. But I'm not going to take the blame for it...neither is Peter, and no matter what Rogue says or thinks, I won't let you put any of the blame on her."

Piotr Rasputin takes his own say in the conversation. "Scott, this is madness. You cannot truly think that we are to blame for this. How could we have changed what happened here?"

"Any number of things could have happened differently, Peter. Who knows what would have happened...but this shows the rest of us just how little commitment you three have for this team."

Rogue, whose sobbing has subsided for the moment, has been hearing parts of the conversation. This part of it is what tears it for her.

"What...?" she says hoarsely at first, and then stands up a little awkwardly. Scott does not know that Rogue is listening, but God only knows if he would care if he did.

"Excuse me, Scott?" Peter asks, his face becoming a little flushed.

"You know what I said, Colossus. You and Nightcrawler have both moonlighted over the years, and Rogue...well she's had her own past. We can't really say you three are the most trust-worthy X-Men..."

"What in the Hell, Scott?" Rogue interrupts, and the three conversing mutants look over to her.

Rogue begins walking over to the trio and puts her hands on her womanly hips. "Is that really you, Slim? Under that ice? 'Cuz it sure doesn't sound like it."

"Rogue, I was just pointing out that..."

"You were just pointin' out our imperfections, that's all, right Scott? How we screwed 'yer' team up? How we aren't part of the damn group? We work our butts off for years, and then once, just once, we disagree, and then ya know what happens? You go an' get Remy killed, and we get the second degree fer leavin' to help 'Shot and Dazzler!"

"I didn't get Gambit killed, Rogue. Remy did that himself."

The anger boils to Rogue's top, and easily overflows. Raising her gloved hand, she slaps Scott hard and bitterly across the face. Even without Rogue's former super strength, this slap hurts.

"Shut up, Cyclops...just shut up! Don'cha think we feel horrible for what happened to Gambit? Or are ya just too much of a robot to understand that? Ah miss 'im the most already, and ah feel bad.....oh God, Scott, ah feel bad. But ah'm SICK and TIRED of bein' a slave, Slim. You an' the Professor just expect us to sit back, shut up, and take orders like good little children..."

Rogue's tears are coming again, this time more from anger than mourning. Scott recovers from the blow physically, but he can hardly believe she struck him.

"We gave you a home, Rogue! We trusted you, we took you in...we helped you. But sometimes I have second thoughts..."
"Well, if yer so unsure about me, maybe you should just kick me off the team.." Rogue says defiantly in Scott's face. Getting closer and more upset, she speaks again. "Or even better.....Ah quit."

Rogue turns back around and puts her hand to her face, trying to wipe away her tears and walk at the same time. She does not go far, and slumps over on Colossus's strong chest, sobbing loudly into it. Peter, holding her head against his costume, stares at Cyclops with an anger he doesn't believe he's ever felt for a friend before.

"Rogue...please....." Kitty finally enters, but is cut off.

"Katya, she is right." Colossus interrupts, "Things have changed.....this team has changed. I cannot be a part of it when it is like this. I, too, will leave."

"And you can be sure that I won't be staying around, Scotty." Nightcrawler says with hostility.

"Fine.....fine, you three."

"Scott!" Jean says, walking to her husband with surprise. "No matter what happened, they are our friends! We can't just let them walk away."

"They can make their own choices, Jean. If they're going to quit, then they're going to quit." Scott does not seem surprised or saddened by his friends' reaction to his accusation.

"Scott...what's wrong? What do you have against them?"

"This is a team. We have to work together as a team. They can't seem to understand how what works anymore. I don't want them to be a part of something that can't handle."

Jean feels embarrassed and confused by her husband's new outlook on their old friends. Nevertheless, she stands by him, whether she agrees completely or not.

Rogue raises her beautiful, tear-stained face from Colossus's muscular chest. She looks him in the eyes, and backs up. "C'mon, Petey. Let's go get our stuff."
The three prodigal mutants join together and begin walking towards the mansion, off in the distance. No one offers them company, and they do not ask for it. No one speaks, except for Bobby Drake, the Iceman, as he looks at the others present.

"Look at all those unhappy faces....."

Two short, armored figures sit in the shadows of the dark, filthy warehouse room.

"We must make our move, Peter." One of them, the egg shaped form, says. The other says nothing.

Cries, high pitched talking, and whimpers can be heard from a nearby room..

"Our family cannot stay here long. We must do as Destiny told us..."

"...We must take Jean Grey for the future of our family, Peter."

The second, taller armored figure nods and remains silent.

The warehouse seems extremely crowded.

The mansion that is Charles Xavier's has many different individual rooms, each coming together with another to form the whole of the mansion. On this particular day, though, the rooms each become their own world, each one's inhabitants thinking only of the others in the room and themselves.

In the core of the universe that is the X-Mansion, the Meeting Room.....

"Gambit.....dead?"

Professor Charles Xavier's strong voice is loud through the speakers surrounding the screen that holds his distinguished face.

"Yes, Professor.....we...it happened so quickly. Blockade was..." Cyclops, along with his wife Jean, answers his mentor and long time friend, and Charles interrupts him.

"Blockade? Who is that?"

"Um..." Cyclops holds for just a moment. He does not know how Charles will take hearing that his former love, whom he even had a child with, has a new love. Jean takes her cue.

"...Professor, Blockade is an Irish mutant. He came here searching for the Word, and Moira and Rhane followed."

"Moira is in the states?" Charles asks, his eyes becoming a little brighter with surprise and delight, his shock over Gambit's death overshadowed for just a moment.

"Yes, she's at the mansion right now...but her and the other two are busy right now. Blockade still feels bad after what happened..."

"What do you mean?"

Cyclops fields that one, and explains Blockade's involvement in Gambit's death.

"This.....this is horrible." The Professor admits. "Gambit always seemed so.....everlasting, I guess. It can't have come a worse time...my campaign, the three quitting..."

"What do you mean, Professor?" Jean asks curiously.

"I have some news for the X-Men, but it must wait."

Jean wants to say something, but doesn't. It wouldn't feel right, objecting to him or Scott. He stays quiet.

"We'll be waiting to hear, Professor. How is the campaign coming, by the way?" Scott asks.

"You'll know soon enough. Now, there's still the matter of filling up the roster once again..."

"We've already begun looking into it, Professor. Longshot and Dazzler have opted to join the team again, but that still doesn't bring us up to full strength, so we're going to contact former members and see what we can get."

"That sounds fine, Scott. I'm sure you will make a good choice. I need to stay informed, though."

"Of course, Professor."

In the Recreation Room.....

Bobby Drake and Warren Worthington III, the Iceman and the Archangel two long time partners, friends, close to brothers. This brotherhood can be felt by all of the five original X-Men, and the feeling does not waver in this situation. Bobby throws darts dejectedly, while Warren sits on the couch, looking at the television even though its not on. He cannot stand not moving around...he needs the action. If the Danger Room had someone to operate it right now.....

"Warren.....has there been something wrong, recently?" Bobby asks, acting like he isn't that concerned. Warren looks over to his friend, and sees that the Iceman isn't even looking at him, still throwing darts at the board.

"What do you mean, Bobby?"

Bobby throws a dart, and lands very far away from the center.

"I dunno, it just seems like you've been distracted a lot lately."

Warren sits and thinks for a moment.

"No...no, I haven't really felt distracted."

Bobby looks at his friend, and nothing looks wrong, really. That is, if you don't count that, ten years ago, Warren didn't look like this. He had wings, but they were made of white, soft feathers. They were angelic. Now they are steel, or something, and represent Death, with the blades buried in the depths of the metallic figures. Warren's face and whole body are now dyed a deep blue, another change made by Apocalypse when he turned Warren into his Angel of Death.

Bobby throws another dart, and lands closer to the middle of the board, but still a bit off.

"Well...what is it then? Something is obviously bothering you. Are you on edge since the others left?"

"Not really...I sort of saw it coming. Scott has been a little more strict recently...that's bound to ruffle anyone's feathers."

"That's true. Scott has been more strict...and that probably means he'll be talking to me about my condition, soon. He's not going to want a repeat of what happened...with Remy..."

Archangel stands up suddenly and smashes his fist down on the nearby table, causing the lamp on it to fall to the ground and break violently.

"Dammit, Remy!" he half yells, gritting his teeth and then withdrawing his hand from the table.

Bobby finally looks over at his friend. "Woah...Warren, I know that there's something going on."

"I...I don't know, Bobby. It's strange.....I don't know if I can really explain it..."

Warren sits down, and Bobby turns back to his game, throwing another dart as he speaks.

"It just seems like you've got a lot of aggression...like there's something inside of you that has to be let out."

Bullseye.

In the room of Kurt Wagner, Nightcrawler.....

Of any "super team" organized on Earth, one of the most closely knit and family-like was Excalibur, the England-based team of which Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Colossus, and Wolfsbane have all been a part. They meet in Nightcrawler's room, as the demonic swashbuckler of a mutant packs his possessions.

"Peter...Kurt.....please, you have to stay. I'm sure we can work something out with Cyclops and the Professor....." Shadowcat, Kathryn Pryde, pleads with her two closest friends on the X-Men.

"How, Katya? By begging them to forgive us? I could not do such a thing." Peter Rasputin says nobly, waiting for Kurt to be done packing.

"I know the Professor," Wolfsbane says to them, "And I know he wouldn't stand for the way Cyclops is treating you. Maybe if we all talked to him alone..."

"Cyclops and Phoenix spoke to the Professor already. He and Scott seem to be on the same page on this subject." Nightcrawler answers shortly. He picks up his suitcases, finally ready.

"Oh, guys.....Peter..." Shadowcat says, wrapping her little arms around Colossus's mighty torso, powerful even out of his armored form. He hugs her close, and soothes her.

"Don't worry, Katya...I will see you again, soon. You can be sure that things are not over between us and the X-Men forever."

He holds Shadowcat back from him and then pulls her up to give her a short but meaningful kiss on the lips. It ends quickly, and Kitty moves to her other good friend, and kisses him on the cheek while hugging him.

"Don't you be a stranger either, fuzzy elf!" she says as she lets him go.

"Only Colossus could keep me away from seeing you, lipchein." He says, and kisses her hand in her gentleman-like fashion.

Wolfsbane merely hugs her two friends and wished them luck.

Rhane Sinclaire has been a part of many teams.....the New Mutants...X-Factor...Excalibur...but only at a few times did she ever feel like she really fit in.

She hopes that will change.

In an extra guest room.....

Moira and Barry hold each other tightly, taking in the scent and feeling of each other's bodies. Barry feels bad for what's happened.....but Moira is so.....persuassive.

Moira thinks that only a young man would go along with this.

In Rogue's room.....

Rogue's few possessions have been gathered, and she is at the door, hugging Dazzler, carefully, and saying her good-byes to both the beautiful mutant singer and her husband, the otherworldly Longshot.

"Are ya'll sure ya don't wanna come with me and the others?" Rogue asks one last time. She could use the company of more good friends...they all could.

"We would...but we really need a solid place to stay right now." Allison says, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"Me and Allison need a home with plenty of support." Longshot adds.

"Ah understand." Rogue hugs Longshot too, and notices his handsome features once again after a long absence.

When she pulls back, she looks over to Allison with a little smirk on her face.

"Ah.....Allison? Ya know, there's somethin' I wanna do one last time before ah go....." Rogue says slyly, cocking her head in the direction of Longshot as she looks at Allison, hinting. The Dazzler realizes what she means, and for old times' sake, she concurs.

"Ohh.....go ahead, Rogue. But don't hurt him...and don't you enjoy it, 'Shot!"

"Huh...? Mmmmff...." he tries to speak, but Rogue's soft lips are pressed to his before he can get the words out. Almost as soon as it's begun, it ends. Longshot feels his body go slightly weak, but it is something he has felt before...the side effect of being lucky enough to receive Rogue's kiss.

"Somethin' to remember ya by, shuga. Ah'm gonna need all the luck ah can get." She says enticingly, and then hugs her two friends again, carefully, before exiting the room.

And once again, back at the core of the X-Mansion, the Meeting Room.....

"They've quit...because of you, Cyclops? I must come see them at once!" This time, the voice of Sunfire comes through on the speakers, his face on the screen.

"But Sunfire, we were calling to see if you'd join..." Jean tries to reason with him, but he interrupts her.

"A fine mess you've put yourself in, Summers..." he says, and then ends the transmission.

"Looks like we didn't have as many prospects as we thought...Psylocke's with the Crusaders...Siryn is a reserve member on the West Coast Avengers...we can't seem to contact Storm..." Scott lists.

"I'm worried about Ororo." Jean says concernedly.

"Don't be...Storm's a strong woman, she can take care of herself."

The door opens, and Bobby sticks his head in, telling the married couple that the time has come for the others to leave. Jean goes with Bobby, but Scott doesn't feel right seeing them again. He stays in the Meeting Room, alone with his thoughts and feelings.

The day is warm and dry. The sky is blue, and bright with the sun. The clouds seem to have faded out of view...

Everyone must say goodbye, sometime. Nightcrawler kisses all of the women's hands, and hugs all of the men. Colossus shakes the men's hands, and hugs the women, ever gentle and honorable. He kisses Kitty one last time, and she turns away sobbing lightly. Rogue just says goodbye to her friends. She doesn't want to risk anymore stealing for the day...

Bobby makes a few jokes.

Jean feels embarrassed and sad.

Moira is active.

Jenny feels out of place, not knowing any of the people very well.

Longshot loses more of his life.

Warren feels anger and confusion and sadness, all at once.

Allison is jealous that Longshot is even looking at Rogue.

Kitty cries into Rhane's shoulder.

Rhane wishes she had the courage to take control like those three did.

Barry feels tired.

They all watch their friends load up their car and drive off slowly into the horizon, out of the estate of Charles Xavier, and out of their lives. Cyclops comes out.

"Are they gone?" he asks without emotion.

"Yes, Scott..." Jean answers him.

"Then it's time I think we had a meeting." All the others turn to pay attention to what the leader of the X-Men has to say.

"The X-Men just lost three of its more powerful members, and even with the addition of Longshot and Dazzler, we are still in need of some help. I'd like to ask any of our guests right now.....Barry...Rhane..."

"I'll stay." Barry says first, cutting off Scott. "I like it 'ere in th' states...and I like th' X-Men. An' I'm sure Moira'll enjoy seein' her old flame Chuckie..." Moira hugs him and smiles.

"Is that alright, Scott?"

"Of course you can stay, Moira. You're always welcome here, and I'm sure we'll have some use for your services."

"That means that I'll stay, too." Rhane adds, and no one is surprised.

"I.....I'd like to stay." Jenny Livenhill's voice is quiet and small when she speaks, this time.

"You...you're Jenny, aren't you? Mirror?" Jean asks, before Scott can answer.

"Yes..."

"Scott, they said she's very powerful. Maybe with some training....." Jean tries to convince her husband.

"Oh, alright...I suppose we could use a reserve recruit, anyway."

"Thank you...thank you so much. I'm going to have to talk to my mom first, though....."

"Isn't that how it always is with new mutants?" Bobby throws in.

"You're not too old yourself, frosty." Shadowcat teases Bobby, shoving him lightly.

The group, growing more lively and happy with each passing minute, is too distracted to notice the two armored figures flying towards them over the X-Mansion.

So, the old order is changed, to some extent. The team is rounded out to an even ten now...three more than the JLA's original "big seven" idea, and less than the usual fifteen or more members of the X-Men in the real MU. The players: Cyclops, Phoenix, Iceman, Archangel, Wolfsbane, Blockade, Dazzler, Longshot, Shadowcat, and Mirror. The others may be appearing in a short arc in an anthology title soon, so watch out for that.

This issue's only letter comes from, my favorite fan, Steve Crosby. Where would my ego be without you, Steve?...

"I tried to read this story as soon as it came out, and jumped right in once the link was fixed. Will, the overall story was excellent. The characterization was dead-on, and the battles were spectacular. Cyclops is still an a$$, more interested in being in charge than in anything actually being done. The Blockade/Moira/Word plot was alright, but I do have one question. If Blockade and Word have been foes for awhile, and he and Moira been a pair for awhile, then wouldn't Moira have mentioned that little solution earlier? Maybe it's just the first time she's seen the Word.

The battle between the Mojoworld team and the Childhood was hilarious! I feel like an idiot for not connecting Helmet-Head with Juggernaut, but Matchstick had me thinking along the lines of the old Brotherhood mainstays. Mojo is not only a director and producer, he's also an actor, and a good one. I was completely fooled by his act, wondering what the hell you were doing. However, I am confused about Mojo suddenly being revealed as god-like.

If you want a solution about Rogue's powers, I'll give you one. When she absorbed Ms. Marvel, she also absorbed a Kree DNA template. Therefore, her mutant powers stopped evolving, and she never gained the control she eventually would have. Its a perfect setup to have some Kree scientists kidnap her and experiment. Kree DNA spliced with a mutant's DNA would help evolve the Kree further. Mirror is, I'm sorry to say, a rip-off of Mimic and Synch.

Now that the old order will change, I may as well guess as to the new members.

Since you're so found of new characters (much like myself), It's obvious that Blockade and Mirror will join. Longshot and Dazzeler will probably join as well. Gambit's definately gone, and I suppose Cyclops will kick Kurt, Rogue, and Peter off the team. Archangel may leave as well, what with his recent problems. And Shadowcat will probably leave with Peter.

So, my guess as to the new X-Men is:

Cyclops, Pheonix, Iceman, Blockade, Mirror, Longshot, and Dazzeler.

The series is going good Will. I'll be sure to keep reading (as long as you avoid direct crossovers with the other X-Titles!)!

Wise Steve Solomon"

Thanks to all for reading, and keep that up...along with writing. Also, thanks to Alvaro Ibanez, my branch editor, for being so quick on everything. He's a busy guy.